略諸經論念佛法門往生淨土集卷上 1.18

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進此經文。智為第一。如何偏讚禪定為勝。故博學者辯才無礙。寡聞者辭理俱滯。何不摧伏人我聽所。未聞屈節於師。諮量未悟。貢高我慢。不肯稟承。空腹高心發言違教。於人無恥邪不愧佛。然諸禪師。不顧聖教。胸臆自斷。不可依信。禪師復言。造像有為功德。非成佛因者。此亦非理。違聖教量。佛有誠言。備在諸經。殷勤稱讚。造像功德。滅過現殃。來成正覺。如何卒暴。違佛言教。不許為因證菩提耶。問曰。若能為因感菩提果。憑何典誥而得知耶。答曰。諸經總說。略引二部。證成此義。即如造像經上卷云。若復有人。能於我法。未滅盡來。造佛像者。於彌勒初會。皆得解脫。若有眾生非但為己。而求出離。為欲得無上菩提。造佛像者。當知。此則為三十二相之因。能令其人速致作佛。造像經下卷復云。爾時彌勒菩薩摩訶薩白佛言。世尊。如佛所說。於佛法中。犯波羅夷。不名為生。或復有人。作斯罪已。發心憶念諸佛功德。而造佛像。於佛法中。得再生否。又於今生第二第三第四生中。獲證法否。佛告彌勒菩薩言。彌勒。譬如有人。身被五縛。若得解脫。如鳥出網。至無礙處。此人亦爾。若發信心念佛功德。而造佛像。一切業障。皆得消除。於生死中。速出無礙。彌勒。當知。乘有三種。所謂聲聞乘。獨覺乘。及以佛乘。此人隨於何乘。而起願樂。即於此乘。而得解脫。若但為成佛。不求餘報。雖有業障。而得速滅。雖在生死。而無苦難。乃至當證無上菩提。獲清淨土。具諸相好。所得壽命。常住無盡。下文又云。善男子。假使如前。微塵等數。舍利弗等。所有智慧。不及如來一念之智。何以故。如來於念念中。常能出現過前塵數三昧解脫陀羅尼等。種種無量勝功德故。諸佛功德。一切聲聞。辟支佛。於其名字。亦不能知。是故若有清信之心。造佛形像。一切業障。莫不除滅。所獲功德無量無邊。乃至當成阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。永拔眾生一切苦惱。法華經第一方便品下偈云。

According to this scriptural passage, wisdom is foremost. Why do [you] praise dhyāna exclusively as superior? Therefore, those of broad learning possess unimpeded eloquence, while those of limited hearing are impeded in both words and principles. Why not subjugate [your] ego, listen to what has not yet been heard, humble yourself before a teacher, and consult about what has not yet been awakened to? Puffed up with arrogance and conceit, you are unwilling to receive [instruction]. With an empty stomach and an arrogant mind, you utter words contrary to the teaching; shameless before humans, do you not feel guilty before the Buddha? However, the Chan masters disregard the sacred teachings and make arbitrary decisions from their own opinions; they are not to be relied upon or trusted. Furthermore, the Chan masters say: 'Making images is a saṃskṛta merit and is not a cause for attaining buddhahood.' This is also unreasonable and contradicts the sacred scriptural authority. The Buddha had truthful words fully present in the various sūtras, earnestly praising the merit of making images as eliminating past and present calamities and leading to the future attainment of correct awakening. How could one be so rash as to violate the Buddha's spoken teachings and not allow it to be a cause for realizing bodhi? Question: If it can serve as a cause to elicit the fruit of bodhi, on what canonical records do we rely to know this? Answer: The various sūtras speak of it generally; I will briefly cite two works to substantiate this meaning. For instance, the upper fascicle of the Zaoxiang jing says: 'If there is someone who, before my Dharma is completely extinguished, is able to make a Buddha image, they will all attain liberation at Maitreya's first assembly. If there are sentient beings who, not merely for themselves seeking renunciation, make a Buddha image wishing to attain unexcelled bodhi, you should know that this is the cause of the thirty-two marks and can cause that person to swiftly attain buddhahood.' The lower fascicle of the Zaoxiang jing further says: 'At that time, Maitreya Bodhisattva-mahāsattva addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-Honoured One, as the Buddha has said, in the Buddha's Dharma, committing a pārājika is not called living. If someone, having committed such an offense, arouses the mind to recollect the merits of the Buddhas and makes a Buddha image, will they obtain rebirth in the Buddha's Dharma? Furthermore, in their present life, second life, third life, or fourth life, will they attain realization of the Dharma?" The Buddha told Maitreya Bodhisattva: "Maitreya, suppose a person's body is bound by the five bonds; if they obtain liberation, they are like a bird escaping a net, reaching an unobstructed place. This person is also like this: if they arouse a faithful mind, recollect the merits of the Buddhas, and make a Buddha image, all karmic obstructions will be eradicated, and they will swiftly transcend saṃsāra without obstruction. Maitreya, you should know that there are three kinds of vehicles: the śrāvakayāna, the pratyekabuddhayāna, and the buddhayāna. Whatever vehicle this person gives rise to aspiration and joy toward, they will attain liberation in that very vehicle. If they [act] solely for the sake of attaining buddhahood and do not seek any other reward, even if they have karmic obstructions, these will be swiftly extinguished; even though they are in saṃsāra, they will have no suffering or hardship, and will eventually realize unexcelled bodhi, obtain a pure land, be endowed with all the marks and signs, and the lifespan they attain will abide eternally without end."' A later passage also says: 'Good sons, even if the wisdom of as many Śāriputras and others as the dust motes mentioned before were combined, it would not equal the wisdom of the Tathāgata in a single thought-moment. Why is this? Because the Tathāgata, in thought-moment after thought-moment, is constantly able to manifest various immeasurable, supreme merits—surpassing the aforesaid dust motes in number—such as samādhis, vimokṣas, and dhāraṇīs. All śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas cannot even know the names of the merits of the Buddhas. Therefore, if someone with a mind of pure faith makes an image of the Buddha's form, all karmic obstructions will be eradicated without exception, and the merits obtained will be immeasurable and boundless, leading even to the attainment of anuttarāsamyaksaṃbodhi, permanently eradicating all afflictions of sentient beings.' A verse in the first chapter of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra, 'Expedient Means', says: