釋氏要覽 1.149

1.149

Formerly, Master Huiyuan of the Jin (posthumously titled Master Dajue by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang), a man of Yanmen, resided at Donglin Monastery at Tiger Brook on Mount Lu. He invited worthy scholars such as Liu Yimin, Zong Bing, Lei Cizong, Zhang Ye, Zhang Quan, and Zhou Xuzhi to form an assembly to cultivate the pure karma of the Western [Land]. In that cloister they planted many white lotuses. Moreover, in the realm of Amitābha Buddha, people are received gradually according to nine grades of lotus blossoms; hence it was called the Lotus Society. Some say: 'Praising the members of this society as unstained by the mud of fame and profit, likened to lotus blossoms, it was therefore named thus.' Some say: 'Master Yuan had a disciple named Fayao who carved wood into a twelve-petaled lotus and placed it in the water, using a mechanism such that folding one petal marked one hour, matching the water clock without error, so that chanting and prostrations would not miss the correct time; it was perhaps named on account of this.' It is also called the Pure Society, which began when King Wenxuan of Jingling of the Southern Qi compiled pure-dwelling practices for monks and laity. As for the character she (society/altar): following the autumnal equinox, the fifth wu day is called the she day; throughout the realm farmers gather in societies to sacrifice and pray for grain. The Jingchu suishiji says: 'Four families unite to form a society.' The Baihu tong says: 'Why does the king have a she? To pray for blessings on behalf of all under heaven and requite the earth. Humans cannot eat without earth; since the earth is vast and cannot be venerated everywhere, earth is heaped to establish a she.' Now Buddhists assemble in devotion; monastics and laypeople establish practices to pray for blessings and seek rebirth in the Pure Land. Pure Lands are vast and numerous, and seeking everywhere would confuse the mind; thus they pointed firmly to the Pure Land of Peace and Sustenance (Sukhāvatī) as the sanctuary of the spirit. Therefore it is simply called the Lotus Society or Pure Society.