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Source: pramana-mt · Machine translation by Gemini 3.8 Flash (2026-10-21) of in.bauddha.taisho.2826 · Machine output without human authorship: no copyright is claimed (CC0 1.0). The original text keeps its own…

1 — 23 parts

Text

1.1

Compiled by the Tripiṭaka Master Huiri (Cimin) of the Great Tang

Bowing my head, I take refuge in the Great Guide, / and the Tathāgatas of the ten directions and three periods of time.
Now I assemble from various sūtras the teachings of buddhānusmṛti, / to rescue those drowning in the river of craving and saṃsāra.
Among the eighty thousand practices, selecting the essential practice, / I reveal the gateway to the Western Pure Land,
Advising myself and urging others to be born in that realm, / wishing for the empowering support of the Buddha's compassionate power.
Bowing my head, I take refuge in Amitāyus, / the Lord of Great Compassion in that realm of another world.
Hearing His name, I look up in yearning and make obeisance from afar, / wishing that together, myself and others, may serve Him in person.
Sentient beings are entangled in delusion and karma; / the suffering of transmigrating through the six destinies is immeasurable.
Even if weary of the Sahā world and seeking renunciation, / relying on what gateway may one quickly achieve vimokṣa?
Citing various sūtras in praise of the Pure Land, / I teach [beings] to practice buddhānusmṛti and go to the West,
Respectfully invoking Amitābha and His retinue / to come in person at life's end, holding a seat to welcome them.

1.3

Now, out of pity for all sentient beings whose minds are veiled by ignorance, who are confused about the Pure Land, who are passionately attached to the traidhātuka and do not seek rebirth, and who wander through saṃsāra transmigrating in the six destinies, for these inverted, faithless pṛthagjanas, I have compiled the Pure Land teachings from various sūtras and treatises into three fascicles. I wish to cause those who see or hear it to turn their minds to study and practice, extending up to an entire lifetime or down to as few as ten recitations, so that they will certainly be reborn, soaring high into the pure realm. Their transformed bodies will be pure, forever cutting off the womb; seeing the Buddha and hearing the sūtras, in an instant they will become sages. Their supernatural powers will be unimpeded, expanding and contracting at will; they will make offerings to Buddhas in other directions, coming and going in a single thought-moment. Abiding on stages without regression, they will enter the stream of sage-like conduct; samādhi manifesting before them, they will swiftly realize bodhi. May this cause the wise who see it to double their devotion, and lead the foolish and ignorant who come to know it to cease their disputes.

Pṛthagjanas are heavily defiled, stupified by greed and craving; they do not realize that this body is a false assemblage of the four great elements, composed of pus, blood, and impurities joined together. When adorning, smearing, and rubbing it, they cherish it; driven by the three poisons, they commit sins and indulge their passions, giving no thought to the fierce suffering of Avīci Hell across long kalpas. Indulging in the five desires, drunkenly imbibing the six dusts, they only attend to extravagance, how could they know of pariṇāmanā? Only when pressed by suffering at the verge of death do they begin to take refuge. Even if they wish to be sincere, where could they focus their minds? Frantic and bewildered, losing their resolve, they have no Dharma to rely upon, willingly entering the three wretched paths with no hope of deliverance. How pitiable and sorrowful! Stubborn and reckless pṛthagjanas, negligent throughout life, do not draw near to good spiritual friends; only at life's end do they regret, with no destination and nowhere to take refuge.

Now, for these faithless monastics and laypeople, I establish the Pure Land teaching, causing them to practice buddhānusmṛti, have faith, and make pariṇāmanā. Now, whoever establishes a doctrine must first refute and then establish. Why? If one does not refute the heterodox, it is difficult to reveal the orthodox. Therefore, the first fascicle first narrates divergent views, expelling them with doctrine and reason so they know what is wrong. Next, the second fascicle extensively cites the sacred teachings, establishing the orthodox doctrine of the Pure Land and buddhānusmṛti. Next, the third fascicle harmonizes and explains the ancient and modern doubts and blockages concerning various teachings, comparing the slowness and speed of various practices in achieving renunciation.

Yet among those who give rise to divergent views regarding the Buddhadharma, there are fourfold assemblies of men and women, both monastic and lay. Fearing the suffering of saṃsāra and loathing mundane dust, some live in the mountains, some rely on villages, some reside in monasteries, or remain at home. They pass on their teachings from one to another, instructing people to "observe purity." By day they indulge in sleep; by night they temporarily focus their thoughts. Seeing the world as empty and tranquil, with not a single thing existing, they take this as the ultimate and say: "All dharmas are like the hairs of a tortoise or the horns of a hare; originally having no substance, what could arise or perish? There is no good to cultivate, no evil to sever. The marks grasped by the mind, as well as sūtras and Buddhas, should all be distanced. One need only let the inner mind abide in emptiness, knowing the world to be false and the ten thousand dharmas to be entirely non-existent. Though one is a pṛthagjana, if one can understand like this, this itself is the Buddha. One has already realized dhyāna, already severed saṃsāra, and will not undergo future existence. Why labor bitterly to seek the World-Honoured One from afar? Nor does one rely on buddhānusmṛti or chanting sūtras as the cause for renunciation. This very dhyāna is an asaṃskṛtadharma, a cultivable dharma, a swift dharma, and the cause for renunciation. Apart from this, all other gateways of practice are entirely false. Namely, buddhānusmṛti, chanting sūtras, seeking rebirth in the Pure Land, giving, observing precepts, patience, vigor, up to wisdom, copying sūtras, making images, erecting stupas and temples, paying reverent homage, being filial to parents, serving teachers and elders, and the like—these are causes of saṃsāra, not causes of vimokṣa. Why? Because seeing good as cultivable and evil as severable, nirvāṇa as desirable and saṃsāra as loathsome, and vowing to sever saṃsāra and realize bodhi—all these are mental movements where the mind has attainment; practicing with attachment to marks is false discrimination. These are saṃskṛtadharmas, dharmas of saṃsāra. Even if one practices diligently, one cannot avoid drifting in saṃsāra."

I have extensively searched the Tripiṭaka, investigating facts and principles, and observing the views of those Chan masters of late, their errors are exceedingly great! They contradict the sūtras, oppose principle, and run counter to the Buddha's intent. How could there be a pṛthagjana who merely abides in the gateway of emptiness, neither severing nor cultivating, indolent and lazy, and yet attains vimokṣa?

Question: You said earlier that contemplating emptiness contradicts the sacred teachings; I wonder with which sūtras and teachings it is in conflict?

Answer: It is just as the first fascicle of the Wushangyi jing says: "Furthermore, there are people of abhimāna who, within the True Dharma, contemplate emptiness and produce the two views of existence and non-existence. This true emptiness is the direct approach toward unsurpassed bodhi, the single pure gateway of vimokṣa. Although it is clearly expounded and correctly explained like this, if one generates a view of emptiness within it, I say that [such a person] is incurable. Ānanda, if someone clings to the view of self as large as Mount Sumeru, I am not alarmed or shocked, nor do I revile him; but if a person of abhimāna clings to the view of emptiness even as minute as one sixteenth of a hair, I do not permit it."

Also, the seventh fascicle of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: "Regarding the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: if one extensively practices and studies the dharma of emptiness, this is unwholesome. Why? Because it extinguishes all dharmas and destroys the True Dharmadhātu of the Tathāgata. Practicing and studying like this is called cultivating emptiness, not the truth of the cessation of suffering. One who cultivates the cessation of suffering opposes all externalists. If one says that cultivating emptiness is the truth of cessation, then all externalists also cultivate the dharma of emptiness, so they ought to have the truth of cessation. If someone says: 'The tathāgatagarbha exists, though it cannot be seen; if one can eliminate all afflictions, then one can enter it'—if one gives rise to this mind, through the condition of a single thought-moment, one attains sovereignty among all dharmas. If there is someone who cultivates the Tathāgata's secret treasury as non-self and empty tranquility, such a person will transmigrate and suffer in saṃsāra for immeasurable lifetimes."

Also, the first fascicle of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa says: "For example, suppose a person wishes to build a palace on an open plot of ground; he may do so as he pleases without hindrance... [It is difficult] to see the Buddha, difficult to attain dhyāna, difficult to attain vimokṣa, difficult to attain renunciation. Because of these difficulties, the Unsurpassed Compassionate Father diligently instructs and admonishes: 'This is an impure land, this is a prison, this is a burning house; it has no joy, only suffering.'

There is the suffering of the difficulty of encountering the Buddha's age; the suffering of the difficulty of hearing the True Dharma; the suffering of the difficulty of attaining dhyāna; the suffering of the difficulty of realizing sagehood; the suffering of having companions with wrong views; the suffering of being oppressed by old age, sickness, and death; the suffering of the karmic retribution of the three wretched paths; the suffering of being forcibly met with enemies; the suffering of being coerced by kings and officials; the suffering of chasing after fame and profit; the suffering of not obtaining what one seeks; the suffering of poverty in food and clothing; the suffering of mutually binding one another; the suffering of constantly worrying about livelihood; the suffering of perpetually fearing a bad reputation; the suffering of clinging to life and fearing death; the suffering of transmigrating in the six destinies. Having such an immeasurable mass of sufferings pressing upon body and mind, one ought to be weary and renounce it, single-mindedly seeking the Western realm of Amitābha Buddha.

Furthermore, that Buddha's realm has no suffering, only joy: the joy of being without the three evil destinies; the joy of surpassing the eight difficulties; the joy of forever cutting off transmigration; the joy of being free from old age, sickness, and death; the joy of constantly seeing the Buddhas; the joy of listening to the True Dharma; the joy of awakening and understanding upon hearing; the joy of transcending the ordinary and realizing sagehood; the joy of entering various dhyānas; the joy of sovereignty in supernatural powers; the joy of traveling through the ten directions; the joy of associating with the assembly of sages; the joy of making offerings to the Buddhas; the joy of having what is needed appear upon thought; the joy of non-retrogression in a single lifetime; the joy of having bodhisattvas as companions; the joy of being born apparitionally according to form; the joy of forever severing saṃsāra; the joy of realizing great bodhi. Having such immeasurable delights, one ought to rejoice and make the vow to be reborn there. Foolish sentient beings, unaware of His kindness and virtue, instead give rise to slander, reviling without faith, and lovingly clinging to the traidhātuka and transmigrating in the six destinies, they do not delight in rebirth in Sukhāvatī.

1.4

As for the principle: if one clings to one's own view and does not rely on the sacred teachings, saying that asaṃskṛtadharmas are allowed to be cultivated and have increase, then asaṃskṛtadharmas would possess arising and perishing. Why? Because one accepts that they have increase. Now, whatever has increase has arising and perishing; accepting that they have arising and perishing, they become identical with saṃskṛta[dharmas] and are also false. If one accepts that they are false, one contradicts the sacred teachings and destroys one's own doctrine. If one does not accept it, it conflicts with reason. Why? Because one has oneself accepted that asaṃskṛta has arising and perishing, and so forth. Furthermore, the six pāramitās and the three trainings are all saṃskṛta; dhyāna is subsumed under one of the six pāramitās and three trainings. How can one stubbornly maintain that it is asaṃskṛta? Whether stepping forward or retreating in cross-examination, they have nowhere to flee and hide. Their ignorance is thick and heavy, their mountain of conceit is high; clinging to their own views, they obstinately contradict reason and teaching—how deeply deluded they are! Most of those who merely practice seated [meditation], whether monastics or laypeople, have minds that are dark and blocked; encountering situations they get stuck, unfamiliar with the sacred teachings, and their speech is full of loose errors. They stubbornly maintain that anuttarāsamyaksaṃbodhi, as well as their dhyāna, bodhi, the four wisdoms, and other saṃskṛtadharmas, are all asaṃskṛta, motionless and eternal; yet they conversely claim that asaṃskṛta, eternal dharmas can be cultivated and that their substance has increase. If it were like this, then asaṃskṛtadharmas would become saṃskṛta, and saṃskṛtadharmas would conversely become asaṃskṛta! This means saying asaṃskṛta is existent, saying saṃskṛta is non-existent; impermanence and permanence are completely transposed. Clinging to this erroneous understanding, they take it as correct. Even if one cites the sacred teachings to enlighten their deluded minds and bring them back to the correct principle, they instead give rise to slander and will not accept in faith. For example, a lost person follows his own confused mind, and east, west, south, and north are completely reversed for him. When one who is not lost, taking pity on him, skillfully tells him: 'What you see as east, west, south, and north is only because of your confused mind; it is not correct knowledge'—the lost person, upon hearing this, becomes doubly enraged: 'You yourself are confused and cannot distinguish east and west, yet you wrongfully accuse me of mistaking north and south!' Not considering it a gain, he conversely considers it a loss, failing to understand good intentions, which leads to disputes. Contemporary monastics and laypeople are also like this: fearing saṃsāra, each seeks renunciation, but being blind to the path of a single lifetime, they abandon it and do not cultivate it. Instead, they devote themselves to the circuitous path of long kalpas, focusing their thoughts on contemplating emptiness, just whiling away morning and evening. The deluded masses collectively cling to this, taking it as a shortcut, unaware that there is a further, essential ford of skillful means. I, a poor monk, personally having arrived [at this realization] and out of sorrowful pity for them, open up the shortcut, the essential gateway of the Pure Land, pointing out the West so that they may enter it. I distinguish the dharma-marks so they are not conflated, determining right from wrong, refuting the heterodox and revealing the orthodox. Fools who hear it increase their anger all the more; the wise who see it should therefore turn their minds towards it. For those who first hear the True Dharma, heterodox teachings cannot sway their minds; for those first tainted by heterodox teachings, it is exceedingly difficult to bring them to faith in the True Dharma. Each harbors their own views, banding together with clinging minds, perfumed by what their teachers taught, unwilling to turn around. Like a tortoise hiding its six limbs, they protect their flaws; seeing only the faults of others, they do not reflect upon their own errors. The Buddhadharma is of one flavor and should have no distinction between this and that; but the causal practices are of ten thousand varieties, so how could there be no slowness or swiftness? Gaining the superior, one must abandon the inferior; encountering the swift, one should discard the slow. Stubbornly persisting without changing, how could one escape saṃsāra? Even as to saṃskṛta and asaṃskṛta, sāsrava and anāsrava, meditative and non-meditative, cultivable and uncultivable, realized and unrealized, ordinary and non-ordinary, slow and swift—though the doctrinal principles are distinct and clear, they are still unable to comprehend them.

1.5

earth, manifesting transformations with ease, whose lifespan—long or short—may be extended or curtailed at will. Sixth is the supernatural power of the extinction of contaminations: for all sentient beings of this world and other realms, as well as for one's own body, one knows completely and without error, in a single instant of thought, the degrees and numbers of all afflictions and contaminations severed, and the stages of fruit attained. These six supernatural powers are the fruits of concentration. Yet regarding the monastics and laypersons of today who claim to have already attained realization: it is not yet clear what dhyāna they have realized. If they have realized sāsrava concentration, then, excluding the supernatural power of the extinction of contaminations, they would obtain the remaining five supernatural powers. If they have realized anāsrava concentration, they ought to obtain all six supernatural powers. Hence, a verse in the first chapter of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra says: 'Further, I see bodhisattvas / who constantly abide in quiet seclusion, / deeply practicing dhyāna, / and attaining the five supernatural powers.' The explicit statements of the sacred teachings certainly do not speak in vain. Since the Chan lineage flowed east, we have never heard of anyone who has realized the five supernatural powers, much less the six supernatural powers! When they do not yet comprehend the very meaning of 'supernatural powers', how can they know whether dhyāna is realized or not? They merely practice deceit, slandering [the teaching by saying] that there is no Pure Land, disparaging the sacred teachings, consigning the World-Honoured One to oblivion, and extolling their own virtues. How are they any different from faithless icchantikas? Now, to seek dhyāna, one must first uphold the precepts of fasting; with the precepts of fasting as the cause, concentration can then be drawn forth. Hence, a verse in the first fascicle of the Samādhirāja Sūtra says:

1.6

"Only through immeasurable application is it accomplished; / if one deeply contemplates this, one can attain concentration. / No object can bring forth this concentration; / it must arise from pure moral precepts."

1.7

Yet those who sit in meditation are completely lax regarding those precepts of fasting; most do not uphold them. Taking what as a cause could they attain dhyāna? How is it known that practitioners of sitting do not uphold the precepts of fasting? It is known by direct perception, not by inference. As for the monastics: their medicinal foods after midday number in the thousands, indulging their desires to the full. As for the householders: they eat their fill three times a day—where is their upholding of fasting? They treat wine as medicine, and use foul and pungent substances to nourish themselves; when ill, they consume the leavings of birds and beasts that died of themselves—how can pure precepts be preserved? Deducing from this principle: they do not uphold the precepts of fasting, but only nourish their present bodies; how could they cultivate for future retributions? Although their mouths speak of emptiness, their actions abide in existence. When instructing others with the Dharma, they say that all things are empty; yet when it comes to their own persons, everything exists. They are unable to sacrifice their bodies and dedicate themselves to the Path and the precepts of fasting for even a single day or night, and their support is only driven by fear that they will not survive—this is their conduct mingling with the dust of the world, far removed from the meaning of a śramaṇa! Fortunately, there are wise people who, seeing this, will reflect upon it, abandon those deluded followers, and follow the discerning. Furthermore, dhyāna is a practice of superior beings. When one has not truly attained or realized it, yet says one has attained it: if judged according to the precepts, the transgression is a pārājika; according to the sūtras and treatises, one falls heavily into abhimāna. Yet many who sit [in meditation] today commit this transgression. Why is that? Because teachers and disciples mutually praise one another, all saying that they have attained and realized it. They further say that those who sit [in meditation] will, in this very body, realize and awaken to the noble fruit, forever sever saṃsāra, and never again receive birth. The error of the Chan masters lies precisely in this: not only do they ensnare others, but they also bring harm upon themselves. Moreover, the Chan masters urge all monastics and laypersons to seek the Buddha internally from within themselves, rather than relying on an external Buddha as a spiritual friend; they should also not rely on a Chan master's guidance, but understand for themselves how to observe the mind. Yet the Chan masters are themselves ordinary beings, devoid of realization or understanding, who nonetheless cause monastics and laypersons to bustle about in their service, loving them more than their parents, weeping tears like rain, and forsaking their lives to beg for a single word from them—why do they not instruct them to seek within rather than sending them to seek externally? Even if they were to obtain something, it would be superficial speech, unworthy of regard.

1.8

It is serene and eternally abiding, without arising or ceasing; how could it be attained through initial striving? Chan masters also say that all is illusory, empty, and without a single thing; how is this different from the emptiness view of those non-Buddhists? They also say: 'Those who cultivate the contemplation of non-arising will, for the rest of this single life, never again receive birth.' How is this any different from the grasping views of the non-Buddhists of annihilationism? They further say: 'The suchness of all dharmas has a single essence, serene and eternally abiding, unarising and unceasing, and there is no initial thought or subsequent thought to be found.' How does this differ from the views of the non-Buddhists of eternalism? Receiving the sheltering shade of the Buddha, they do not think of repaying his kindness; abhorring the Buddha and disliking the sūtras, they neither recite them nor chant them. How is this different from Sunakkhatta, how does it differ from Devadatta? Due to such perverse views, they bring harm to the true Dharma. As nominal sons of the Buddha, how can we fail to correct them? For those who aspire to seek vimokṣa, see the Buddha, and hear the Dharma, the practice of the Pure Land is the most swift. For those who cling with craving to the traidhātuka and do not seek vimokṣa, let them settle their minds according to their lot to pass the days and months. Fortunately, there are wise people who will reflect upon this and examine it, selecting and practicing according to what they delight in. Chan masters also say: 'Those who recollect the Buddha and are reborn in the Pure Land cultivate by grasping marks; this is a false practice, not the cause of attaining buddhahood.' I respectfully submit that this is not permissible: to utter such coarse words from within the mind of saṃsāra does not accord with the sacred teachings. As the seventeenth fascicle of the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra says: 'If there are sentient beings who generate the bodhicitta, single-mindedly recollect Amitāyus Buddha, cultivate various good deeds, and dedicate them in aspiration for rebirth, then at the end of such a person's life, Amitāyus Buddha, together with an assembly of bhikṣus, will welcome them to be reborn in that land, where they will attain non-retrogression and shall realize unexcelled, correct, and complete bodhi.' The first fascicle of the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra says: 'Single-mindedly and exclusively recollect Amitāyus Buddha, cultivate good deeds to a lesser or greater extent, and uphold the precepts of fasting; then, when that person's life comes to an end, Amitāyus Buddha will manifest his transformed body, with light and physical marks fully complete just like a true Buddha, appearing before that person together with the great assembly; [the person] will then follow the transformed Buddha, be reborn in that land, and dwell in non-retrogression.' The Amitābha Sūtra says: 'Śāriputra, if there is a good man or good woman who hears of Amitābha Buddha and upholds his name, whether for one day, two days, three days, four days, five days, six days, or seven days, with a mind that is single and undisturbed, then when that person approaches the end of life, Amitābha Buddha, together with the assembly of noble ones, will appear before them. When this person's life ends, their mind will not be inverted, and they will immediately attain rebirth in Amitābha Buddha's Land of Ultimate Bliss.' And further: 'If there are people who have already made the vow, wishing to be reborn in Amitābha Buddha's land, all such people have attained non-retrogression in anuttarāsamyaksaṃbodhi.' The Contemplation of Amitāyus Sūtra states below: 'Good men and good women, merely by hearing the names of the Buddha and the two bodhisattvas, eliminate the offenses of saṃsāra for immeasurable kotis of kalpas; how much more so if they recollect them! If someone recollects the Buddha, you should know that this person is a puṇḍarīka flower among men; Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva and Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva become their superior friends, and they shall sit in the place of enlightenment and be born into the house of all Buddhas.' These passages of the sūtras all say that by buddhānusmṛti and rebirth in the Pure Land, one shall achieve correct enlightenment. How can Chan masters judge it to be false and not the cause of attaining buddhahood? Does this not contradict all these teachings? A verse below in the first chapter on 'Expedient Means' of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra says:

1.9

"I predict that such persons / will in future worlds accomplish the Buddha path. / Because with a profound mind they recollected the Buddha / and cultivated and upheld the pure precepts. / If a person with a scattered mind / enters into a stūpa or temple, / and even once calls, 'Namo'lla Buddha,' / all have already accomplished the Buddha path."

1.10

The Avataṃsaka Sūtra, fascicle sixty-two, states: 'It causes them to abide stably in the powers, through the gate of buddhānusmṛti, because it causes them to enter into the Tathāgata's ten powers.' The Sūtra on the Samādhi of Contemplating the Buddha, fascicle one, states: 'The Buddha told his royal father: The mind of buddhānusmṛti is likewise thus. By virtue of this mind, one can attain the three kinds of roots of bodhi.' The Sūtra on the Samādhi of Contemplating the Buddha, fascicle nine, states: 'Śākyamuni Buddha and Maitreya Bodhisattva in the past, in the presence of Candana Buddha, practiced the samādhi of buddhānusmṛti, and only now have attained Buddhahood.' Furthermore, the Sūtra on the Samādhi of Contemplating the Buddha, fascicle ten, states: 'One who practices buddhānusmṛti is like a strongman pulling the lock of the mind-king, severing it and arriving at the other shore of wisdom.' The lower fascicle of the Mañjuśrī-Prajñā Sūtra states: 'If a good man or good woman wishes to enter the One-Practice Samādhi, they should reside in an open, quiet place, abandon all distracting thoughts, not grasp at marks and appearances, fix their mind on one Buddha, exclusively recite [his] name, face in the direction of that Buddha with body erect and straight, and be able to maintain uninterrupted mindfulness of one Buddha from thought to thought; then within that very mindfulness they will be able to see all the Buddhas of past, future, and present. Why is this? The merit of contemplating one Buddha is immeasurable and boundless, and is nondifferent and inconceivable compared to the merit of immeasurable Buddhas. The Buddha-dharma is equal without distinction; all ride upon the One Suchness to achieve supreme, perfect awakening.' Passages such as these provide sincere testimony more than once, all stating that buddhānusmṛti is the cause of bodhi. Why do you suddenly and arbitrarily, with worldly views, contravene all the sacred teachings and claim that it is false and not the cause of achieving Buddhahood? How reckless this is! The Chan master further says: 'Reading and reciting Mahāyāna scriptures is attachment to marks and false, not the cause of achieving Buddhahood.' These meaningless words are fiercer than raging fire, incinerating the Buddha-dharma and harming people's wholesome roots. They are blindfolds for sentient beings, causing them to plunge from darkness into darkness, nurturing the three wretched paths and cutting off the Buddha-seed. As a disciple [of the Buddha], hearing these crude words, how could I not feel deep anguish piercing to my very marrow? Drawing upon scriptures to vindicate the doctrine, I shall crush those heterodox followers. Establishing and refuting, success and failure, must rely on the authoritative texts. Therefore, I broadly cite the sacred teachings to demonstrate this to those deluded people. If faith does not arise in them, they are truly dead and difficult to save. I ask all Chan masters to prick up your ears and listen carefully! The definitive standards of all teachings are all the words of the World-Honoured One, containing no false statements. For instance, the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā states: 'Śāriputra, what do you think? If someone were to fill the trichiliocosm with the seven jewels and give them in charity... and further, if there were someone who upheld even a four-line gāthā of this sūtra and explained it to others, their blessing would surpass that. Why is this? Śāriputra, all Buddhas and the anuttarāsamyaksaṃbodhi of all Buddhas emerge from this sūtra.' A later passage also states: 'If someone can uphold, read, recite, and broadly explain it to others, the Tathāgata fully knows this person, fully sees this person; all such people attain immeasurable, incalculable, boundless, inconceivable merit. Such people are bearing the anuttarāsamyaksaṃbodhi of the Tathāgata. Why is this? Śāriputra, if one delights in inferior dharmas, being attached to the view of a self, the view of a person, the view of a sentient being, or the view of a soul, then regarding this sūtra, they cannot listen, accept, or explain it to others.' According to this sūtra text, one who refuses to read, recite, listen to, or explain [it], and merely sits in silence, is a person who delights in inferior dharmas and is attached to the view of a self, the view of a person, the view of a sentient being, and the view of a soul. It also states: 'Furthermore, Śāriputra, if a good man or good woman upholds, reads, and recites this sūtra, and if they are despised and reviled by people, this person's sinful karma from past lives would have caused them to fall into the evil destinies; but because they are despised and reviled by people in the present life, the sinful karma from past lives is extinguished, and they will attain anuttarāsamyaksaṃbodhi.' The Nirvāṇa Sūtra, fascicle six, states: 'For example, although a novice monk has not yet undertaken the full precepts, he is already counted among the saṅgha. Good man, if there are sentient beings who generate the mind and begin to study, who copy, uphold, read, and recite the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, it is likewise thus: although they have not yet fully attained the ranks of the ten abodes, they are already counted among the ten abodes. Or there may be sentient beings, whether disciples of the Buddha or not, who, out of fear or for the sake of material gain, listen to and accept this complete sūtra, even down to a single gāthā, and upon hearing it do not slander it: you should know that such a person is already close to anuttarāsamyaksaṃbodhi.' It also states: 'If there are those who can listen to such a sūtra, they will not regress from anuttarāsamyaksaṃbodhi, and according to what they vow, all will be accomplished, just as I can proclaim today.' Furthermore, the Nirvāṇa Sūtra states that the Boy of the Snow Mountains, for the sake of seeking half a gāthā, abandoned his cherished body to feed a rākṣasa; by this cause, he ultimately achieved Buddhahood. The Sūtra on the Buddha's Requital of Kindness, fascicle two, states that a wheel-turning sage king, for the sake of seeking half a gāthā, gouged out a thousand lamps from his body; based on this supreme cause, he ultimately achieved Buddhahood. The Sūtra on the Buddha's Requital of Kindness, fascicle seven, states: 'Bodhisattvas diligently seek the twelve divisions of scriptures. Why is this? Out of mindful recollection of the Buddha's profound kindness, wishing to disseminate the correct Dharma of all Buddhas, wishing to increase all Buddha-dharmas, wishing to cause the world to have faith in the Buddha-dharma, and wishing to cause all immeasurable sentient beings to attain supreme bodhi.' The Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra, fascicle eight, states: 'All those sentient beings who listen to this sūtra, in future lives for immeasurable hundreds of thousands of koṭis and nayutas of kalpas, will constantly enjoy supreme bliss among gods and humans, meet all Buddhas, and swiftly achieve anuttarāsamyaksaṃbodhi.' The Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra, fascicle nine, in verse states:

1.11

"In ancient times, the great Dharma master Ratnarāśi
Spoke the wondrous Dharma for Kalyāṇakārin;
Because he expounded this king of sūtras,
In the east he visibly became Akṣobhya Buddha.
In the past, when I heard the sūtra, I rejoiced in the wholesome;
The mass of merit obtained was difficult to measure.
By virtue of this merit I realized bodhi,
And attained the true, wondrous wisdom of the Dharma-body."

1.12

The Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra, fascicle ten, states: 'If you are able to sincerely propagate such a king of sūtras, so that even after my parinirvāṇa it is not allowed to scatter and perish, this is the correct cause of supreme bodhi.' The Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra, fascicle three, states: 'If śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas believe the scriptural Dharma spoken by these sixteen bodhisattvas, and uphold it without reviling it, all these people will attain anuttarāsamyaksaṃbodhi and the wisdom of the Tathāgata.' The Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra, fascicle four, in verse states:

1.13

"Whoever wishes swiftly to attain
Wisdom of all modes
Should uphold this sūtra."

1.14

[When the bodhisattva attains] Buddhahood, sentient beings who possess unimpeded skillful means in all dharmas come to be born in his land. The thirty-seven bodhipakṣadharmas are the bodhisattva's Pure Land; when the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, sentient beings [endowed with] the foundations of mindfulness, correct exertions, bases of spiritual power, faculties, powers, and factors of awakening come to be born in his land. The mind of pariṇāmanā is the bodhisattva's Pure Land; when the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, he attains a land complete with all merits. Up to: the ten paths of wholesome action are the bodhisattva's Pure Land; when the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, sentient beings whose lives are not cut short prematurely, who possess great wealth and pure conduct, whose words are true and sincere, who constantly use gentle speech, whose kin are not separated, who are skilled in reconciling disputes, whose words are always beneficial, who are free from jealousy and anger, and who have right view, come to be born in his land. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra, fascicle thirteen, states: 'At that time, Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva asked Jñānaprabha Bodhisattva, saying: "Son of the Buddha, in the Buddha-dharma, wisdom is foremost. Why does the Tathāgata at times praise giving for sentient beings, or praise upholding precepts, or praise forbearance, or praise vigor, or praise dhyāna, or praise wisdom, or again praise loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, yet never state that by a single dharma alone one can attain renunciation and achieve anuttarāsamyaksaṃbodhi?" At that time, Jñānaprabha Bodhisattva answered in verse, saying:

1.15

"Son of the Buddha, it is most rare
To be able to know the minds of sentient beings.
As you have asked concerning this meaning,
Listen attentively to my words:
In past, future,
And present, all the Guiding Teachers
Have never spoken of a single dharma
By which the Way is attained.
The Buddha knows the minds of sentient beings,
Whose natures and dispositions are each different;
According to what is appropriate to save them,
He preaches the Dharma in this way.
To the stingy he praises giving;
To precept-breakers he praises moral discipline;
To the wrathful he praises forbearance;
To the indolent he praises vigor;
To the distracted he praises dhyāna;
To the foolish he praises wisdom;
To the furious and harmful he praises great compassion;
To the sorrowful he praises sympathetic joy;
To the devious-minded he praises equanimity.
Practicing in this sequence,
One gradually fulfills all Buddha-dharmas.
Just as one first lays the foundation
And only then builds the halls and chambers,
Giving and precepts are likewise:
The root of the bodhisattva's manifold practices.
Just as one builds city walls
To protect the multitude of people,
Forbearance and vigor are likewise,
Safeguarding all bodhisattvas.
Just as a mighty king
Is looked up to and revered throughout the land,
Samādhi and wisdom are likewise,
What bodhisattvas rely upon.
And just as a wheel-turning king
Can bestow all joys,
The four immeasurables are likewise,
Bestowing joy upon all bodhisattvas."

1.16

Sūtras such as these broadly explain that manifold practices are the cause of achieving Buddhahood, not only the six pāramitās. How can the Chan master obstinately insist that dhyāna alone is the correct cause of achieving Buddhahood, and not the other pāramitās? However, all sacred teachings state that wisdom is supreme, being the correct cause of achieving Buddhahood, while the rest are all auxiliary conditions. For instance, the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, fascicle thirteen, states: 'Mañjuśrī asked Jñānaprabha Bodhisattva, saying: "Son of the Buddha, in the Buddha-dharma, wisdom is foremost."' A verse in the upper fascicle of the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra states:

1.17

"Giving, subduing the mind,
Precepts, forbearance, and vigor;
In such samādhis,
Wisdom is foremost."

1.18

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:

1.19

If people, for the sake of the Buddha, / Erect various forms and images, / Carving them into the manifold marks, / They have all already attained the Buddha Path. / Whether made of the seven treasures, / Brass, red or white copper, / Pewter, lead, or tin, / Iron, wood, and clay, / Or using lacquer, resin, and cloth / To adorn and make Buddha images, / Persons such as these / Have all already attained the Buddha Path. / If they paint Buddha images, / Adorned with the marks of a hundred merits, / Whether doing it themselves or having others do it, / They have all already attained the Buddha Path. / Even children at play / Using grass, wood, or a brush, / Or with their fingernails, / Draw and make Buddha images, / Persons such as these, / Gradually accumulating merits / And perfecting the mind of great compassion, / Have all already attained the Buddha Path.

1.20

If one wished to cite all the sūtras fully, it would take up too much paper and ink. Relying on these two teachings is sufficient to clarify superiority and inferiority. Hence we know that making images with a faithful mind yields boundless merit, definitely realizes bodhi, and cuts off all difficulties. Respectfully making them in accordance with the sūtras, one will surely reach nirvāṇa. If one adopts fallacious words, one will be entangled in saṃsāra. Formerly, not having heard the teaching, you belittled the Buddha and valued humans; now that you see the scriptural text, why not dedicate [merit]? Furthermore, the Chan masters say: 'Copying the sūtras and vinaya is an attachment to marks and false, not a cause for attaining buddhahood.' These words are not good; they contradict and harm the sacred teaching, seeking to plunge sentient beings into the net of wrong views. If copying them were surely harmful and without benefit, why would the World-Honoured One earnestly urge sentient beings to flay their skin and break their bones to have them copy the sūtras and vinaya? The Bodhisattva Precepts state: 'If a Buddha-son, one should always single-mindedly receive, uphold, read, and recite the Mahāyāna sūtras and vinaya, flaying skin for paper, piercing blood for ink, using marrow for water, and breaking bones for pens to copy the Buddha's precepts. Tree bark, mulberry paper, silk, and bamboo slips should all likewise be written upon and maintained. One should always use the seven treasures, priceless incense and flowers, and all kinds of gems to make cases to contain the scrolls of sūtras and vinaya. If one does not make offerings according to the Dharma, one commits a light defilement offense.' A later passage also says: 'All Buddha-sons receive the precepts with a faithful mind. If kings, crown princes, the hundred officials, and the fourfold disciples, relying on their high nobility, destroy the Buddha's Dharma, clearly creating prohibitions, enacting laws to control me, not allowing the fourfold disciples to go forth from the household life and practice the Path, nor allowing them to erect images and Buddha stūpas, establishing hierarchies over sūtras and vinaya, controlling the assembly and setting up registers, recording monks and bhikṣus, establishing the bodhisattva stage, with laypeople occupying high seats and widely practicing unlawful things—like the laws for soldiers and slaves—whereas a bodhisattva ought properly to receive offerings from all people, yet on the contrary runs errands for officials, employing unlawful and non-vinaya measures; if kings and the hundred officials, having received the Buddha's precepts with good intentions, do not commit these sins of destroying the Three Jewels, but act as destroyers of the Dharma, they commit a light defilement offense.' Based on these two passages of precept text, if one does not flay skin and pierce blood to copy the sūtras and vinaya, one commits a light defilement offense; and enacting prohibitions not allowing them to be copied also incurs a light defilement offense. Hence we know that copying with a faithful mind should seek liberation; creating obstructing conditions for it will surely bring about future suffering. Chapter 4 of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra, 'The Dharma Master', states: 'If a good son or good woman, with respect to the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra, receives, upholds, reads, recites, explains, or copies even a single verse, and makes various offerings to the scripture scrolls with flower incense, necklaces, powdered incense, paste incense, burning incense, silken canopies, banners and flags, clothing, music, and joins palms in reverent respect, this person should be looked up to and revered by all the world, and one should make offerings to them as one would make offerings to the Tathāgata. You should know that this person...'

1.21

Since marks are not different [in having substantial reality], they are likewise false. By this principle, although the various practices cultivated to realize bodhi all grasp marks, they are not false; they can definitely serve as causes for realizing nirvāṇa. Thus they are not like erroneous mental activity with its calculating discriminations, attachments to self and what belongs to self, which are inverted and false.

Question: If cultivating bodhisattva practices, despite grasping marks throughout, can definitely serve as causes and are not false, why do sūtras such as the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā and the Laṅkāvatāra say, 'All marks are false'? To say now that having marks is not false—how does this not contradict those sacred teachings?

Answer: When the sacred teachings speak of 'false,' there are four meanings:
First, speaking of falsehood in the contrast between principle and phenomena.
Second, speaking of falsehood in the contrast between the causes and effects of saṃsāra versus those of release from bonds.
Third, speaking of falsehood in the contrast between ordinary persons and sages.
Fourth, speaking of falsehood in the contrast between nonexistence and existence.

Regarding the first, speaking of falsehood in the contrast between principle and phenomena: principle is real and phenomena are false. Why? Principle is the pariniṣpannasvabhāva. Because it is an asaṃskṛtadharma, it is serenely eternal; because it has neither coming nor going; because it has neither increase nor decrease; because it has neither arising nor cessation; because its substance is solid and real; because it has no alteration. Phenomena are the paratantrasvabhāva. Because they are saṃskṛtadharmas; because they are conditioned dharmas; because they have increase and decrease; because they have arising and cessation; because they are like a clay vessel or an illusion; because they have alteration. Therefore, looking at phenomena from the perspective of principle, principle is real and phenomena are false. This is falsehood that has an entity; it is not like a rabbit’s horns.

Regarding the second, speaking of falsehood in the contrast between the causes and effects of saṃsāra versus those of release from bonds: the causes and effects of release from bonds are real, while the causes and effects of saṃsāra are false. Why? Because the cause is real, the fruit is real; because the cause is false, the fruit is false. Causes and effects induce each other by the nature of things. Thus the fruit of saṃsāra is false, while the fruit of release from bonds is real. Why? The retribution of saṃsāra revolves unsettled; gain and loss are inconstant. The fruit of release from bonds, once obtained, is never lost; once realized, there is no regression. Being inconstant, it is false; having no regression, it is real. Therefore, the cause follows the fruit: reality or falsehood must correspond. The fruit proceeds from the cause: in principle, emptiness and reality are equal. If one looks at saṃsāra from the perspective of release from bonds, the cause and fruit of saṃsāra, although having an entity, are false; the cause and fruit of release from bonds, having cut off fetters, are solidly real. The fruit of release from bonds is none other than bodhi and nirvāṇa; there is no other thing. The fruit is exclusively anāsrava, while the cause admits of the sāsrava. Bodhisattvas are of two kinds, due to the distinction between the sudden and the gradual: for sudden-enlightenment bodhisattvas, before the stages [the causes] are sāsrava, gradually becoming anāsrava; before the seventh stage they admit of both sāsrava and anāsrava; from the eighth stage onward, anāsrava continues unbroken.

Regarding the third, speaking of falsehood in the contrast between ordinary persons and sages: ordinary persons are false, while sages are real. Why? Ordinary persons are inverted and cannot understand that dharmas such as permanence and impermanence, saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, blue, yellow, red, and white, male and female, originally have no names and are merely provisionally established according to conventional usage. With deluded minds they calculate them to be real, cling to them following the names, and forcibly produce discriminations. As the objects are divided into agreeable and disagreeable, feelings of hatred and love then arise. In accordance with these two minds, immeasurable afflictions arise. With heavy avidyā, they do not understand provisional designations, cling to reality on their basis, and create karmas of saṃsāra.
Bodhisattvas are not like this. Remaining far from inversions, they fully comprehend that dharmas such as permanence and impermanence, saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, blue, yellow, red, and white, male and female, are originally nameless. Wishing to generate speech to call upon dharmas, they comply with the conventional world and provisionally establish names. They understand that names and dharmas do not belong to each other. Why? Because all dharmas are free from verbal discourse; speech cannot reach them. Merely for the sake of negative description are names and terms provisionally established. Now, discerning this and that without confusion, they blaze forth in expounding the Dharma to deliver sentient beings, broadly establishing names and terms, laying open the good and evil, pointing out the existence of nirvāṇa to inspire disgust with saṃsāra, and encouraging vigorous effort to cut off evil and cultivate good. Knowing that provisional names are established to delineate dharmas positively, they derive understanding from names without dogmatic attachment. Attachment being absent, hatred and love do not arise, and afflictions do not exist. Afflictions having vanished, false thoughts are severed. False thoughts having ceased, they are called sages. Therefore, looking at ordinary persons from the perspective of sages, ordinary views are false; it is not that the understanding of sages is identical with the view of ordinary persons and is also false. When sūtras say 'false,' it is only in reference to the false mind: because the mind's false view does not accord with knowledge of the object, that false view is called 'false.' One cannot cause all those dharmas to be entirely false following the falsely perceiving mind. If one says that dharmas must be falsely nonexistent following the false mind, [consider that] when a false mind suspects a stump to be a person or a ghost, the stump itself is not false. Since that is not so, how could this be so? Hence we know that one cannot cause objects to be false simply because the mind is false.

Regarding the fourth, speaking of falsehood in the contrast between nonexistence and existence: nonexistence is false and existence is real. Why? Nonexistence is the parikalpitasvabhāva, and existence is the paratantrasvabhāva. Yet paratantra dharmas are conditioned, illusory existence; dharmas arise from conditions, and conditions exist from dharmas. When conditions and dharmas combine, they can have form and extent, and can have functions, so that we know things exist. This is unlike the imagined self of the parikalpita, which is empty and devoid of any object. Relying on those five aggregates, the deluded mind falsely grasps, calculating that there is a real self different from the five aggregates with a separate substance. Yet the substance of this self is nothing but a false calculation; it has no function, nor discernible form and extent. Because of this false clinging, various defilements and karmas increase, and grief, sorrow, suffering, and distress are born from it. It is like being confused about a rope and falsely conceiving the notion of a snake: the snake does not exist and is false; the rope exists and is real. The paratantra is compared to the rope; the self is like the snake. The substance of the self is empty and nonexistent; being nonexistent, it is false. Paratantra dharmas exist; they exist like illusions.

Now, when the sacred teachings speak of falsehood, it does not exceed these four. The wise who examine the texts should recognize the intention of the sūtras. The word 'false' is broad, encompassing both nonexistence and existence; each rests on its own meaning—how could it contradict the teachings? If one were to say that the World-Honoured One spoke of all saṃskṛta dharmas as definitely being like sky-flowers, without a single real thing, and called them 'false,' then a false, nonexistent dharma could not be the cause of vimokṣa. How then could the World-Honoured One instruct his disciples to diligently cultivate the six pāramitās, the myriad practices as wonderful causes, so that they should realize the fruit of bodhi and nirvāṇa? How could a wise person praise a city of the gandharvas as solid and lofty, and further urge people to take a rabbit’s horns as a ladder that can be ascended?

By this principle, even though one is an ordinary person, if one generates the bodhicitta, practices the bodhisattva conduct, vows to cut off saṃsāra, and advances toward great bodhi, the various practices cultivated—although sāsrava and practiced with attachment to marks—are real and correct. They are falsehood that has an entity; they are not like turtle hair, empty without a single thing, spoken of as false. If one can understand the intention of the sūtras in this way, one constantly acts among marks yet marks cannot obstruct; one quickly leaves saṃsāra and quickly attains vimokṣa.

Confined by deluded feelings and narrow clinging, people do not penetrate the teaching. Though seeking to leave marks, they are constantly bound by marks; wishing to seek vimokṣa, they sink back into saṃsāra. This is truly because the dhyāna masters do not take joy in extensive learning; their views are shallow, their clinging minds fixate, and they are blind to the sacred words. Though they toil diligently, dedicated to seeking renunciation, they do not understand the slow and the swift, the false and the non-false, existence and nonexistence, the heterodox and the orthodox among those gates of practice. Even if they cultivate, it is useless toil.

Therefore the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'Suppose a person is sporting in a boat, and a lapis lazuli jewel falls into the deep water. People vie to retrieve it, and each gets tiles and stones, thinking them to be real and rejoicing. If someone says, "What you have retrieved are all tiles and stones; the lapis lazuli jewel is still beneath the water," they will not believe or accept it.'
Yet the dhyāna masters are also like this: together they transmit false and deviant dharmas, deem them real, cherish them, and joyfully practice them. If a wise person, relying on the sacred teachings, explains the Buddha-Dharma, the true samādhi, and the gates of practice to be cultivated, they slander it and do not believe. Abandoning the wholesome minds of the three wisdoms of hearing, reflection, and cultivation, they adopt the indeterminate mind, neither cutting off nor cultivating, and deem it real. This is the error among errors; nothing exceeds it. Why? The indeterminate is neither good nor bad; it is an indifferent mind that does not arise from discrimination and contemplation, but merely turns spontaneously according to causes and conditions. Its substance is feeble and weak, incapable of serving as a cause to induce the fruits of the three realms of existence—how much less could it realize that marvelous transcendental fruit of vimokṣa!

The wisdom of hearing, reflection, and cultivation is the true cause of vimokṣa. Why not abide in it to benefit oneself and others? To transmit the indeterminate mind from one to another, holding firmly without wavering—is that not erroneous?

The Tathāgata’s Dharma gates are eighty-four thousand; taught according to suitability, they are scattered throughout the teachings. The ignorant and indolent cannot examine them all, but cling to their own foolish views, taking them to be ultimate. Blind to the direct path, their minds incline toward circuitous routes; they come and go in the traidhātuka, never seeking to see the Buddha. How pitiful and lamentable are inverted sentient beings! How could one become a Buddha while remaining distant from the Buddhas and Tathāgatas?

Or there is a class of men and women, both monastic and lay, who do not believe at all in that Pure Land, [saying], 'As long as one makes the mind pure, this place is it; where else could there be a Western Pure Land?' How extraordinary is their sinful karma, not believing the sacred teachings! Could the Buddha, the World-Honoured One, have spoken falsely?

Now, among the eighty-four thousand paths to bodhi, the essential, marvelous, labor-saving, and easily completed one, whereby one quickly gets to see the Buddha, quickly leaves saṃsāra, quickly attains samādhi, quickly attains vimokṣa, quickly attains supernormal powers, quickly attains the holy fruit, quickly attains mastery, quickly travels everywhere in the ten directions to make offerings to all Buddhas, manifests great divine transformations across the worlds of the ten directions, manifests forms in the six destinies to rescue and gather sentient beings, advances without regress, quickly completes the myriad practices, and quickly attains buddhahood—is solely this single gate of the Pure Land! Dedicating this entire lifetime, single-mindedly cultivating and studying, vowing to be reborn in that land, all such dharmas will be fully accomplished.

How do we know that by attaining rebirth in the Pure Land, all such dharmas are accomplished? In the Guan Wuliangshou jing, the passage on the highest grade of the superior class says that the practitioner sees his own body sitting on a vajra seat, following behind the Buddha; in the snap of a finger, he is reborn in that land. He immediately awakens to the anutpattikadharmakṣānti; in an instant, he travels to serve the Buddhas across the worlds of the ten directions, receives prophecies in sequence before all Buddhas, and returning to his original land, attains immeasurable hundreds of thousands of dhāraṇī gates. Taking this text as proof, the attainment is not erroneous.

As for sitting in dhyāna and practicing samādhi, one endures prolonged toil, passing through many kalpas of difficult and bitter practices that are hard to achieve, with much regression and little progress, hard to see the Buddha, hard to attain samādhi, hard to attain vimokṣa, and hard to leave behind difficulties, for the conditions are remote and doubts and difficulties abound.

The Unsurpassed Compassionate Father earnestly instructs and earnestly admonishes: 'This is an impure land, this is a prison, this is a burning house; there is no joy, only suffering.'
There is the suffering of the Buddha's era being difficult to encounter;
the suffering of the True Dharma being difficult to hear;
the suffering of samādhi being difficult to attain;
the suffering of the holy fruit being difficult to realize;
the suffering of evil and deviant companions;
the suffering of being pressed by old age, sickness, and death;
the suffering of retribution for sins in the three wretched paths;
the suffering of forced encounters with enemies;
the suffering of oppression by kings and officials;
the suffering of being driven by fame and profit;
the suffering of desires going unfulfilled;
the suffering of poverty in food and clothing;
the suffering of binding one another in mutual ties;
the suffering of constant worry over livelihood;
the suffering of perpetual fear of an evil reputation;
the suffering of clinging to life and fearing death;
the suffering of transmigrating in the six destinies.
There are such immeasurable aggregates of suffering pressing upon body and mind; one should feel disgust and renounce them, seeking the Western realm of Amitābha Buddha.

Yet that Buddha-land has no suffering, only joy:
the joy of having no three evil destinies;
the joy of surpassing the eight difficulties;
the joy of forever cutting off transmigration;
the joy of having no old age, sickness, or death;
the joy of constantly seeing the Buddhas;
the joy of listening to the True Dharma;
the joy of understanding upon hearing;
the joy of transcending the ordinary and realizing the holy;
the joy of entering various samādhis;
the joy of mastery in supernormal powers;
the joy of roaming through the ten directions;
the joy of associating with the holy assembly;
the joy of making offerings to all Buddhas;
the joy of necessities appearing at a thought;
the joy of non-retrogression in a single lifetime;
the joy of having bodhisattvas as companions;
the joy of taking birth by transformation according to form;
the joy of forever cutting off saṃsāra;
the joy of realizing great bodhi.
There are such immeasurable joys; one should rejoice and make the vow to be reborn there.

Foolish sentient beings do not recognize this kindness and virtue; instead they generate slander, disparage, and do not believe, remaining attached to the traidhātuka and transmigrating in the six destinies, taking no joy in being reborn in the Land of Peace and Bliss. Or there are some who resolve their minds, weary of the suffering of saṃsāra and seeking swift vimokṣa, yet not meeting good spiritual friends, harbor much hesitation regarding the gate of the Pure Land, unable to make a firm decision to advance single-mindedly. Following along with the confused multitudes, contemplating emptiness and denying existence, they drift along from morning to night, revolving in the burning house, floating and sinking at will.

Now, for those who have nowhere to turn, who cling to deluded errors, who do not believe in the Pure Land, and who are hesitant and undecided, I have searched the sacred teachings and extracted the essentials of the buddhānusmṛti Dharma gate, gathering them in one place, so that those who see and hear them will all turn around: causing the faithless to believe, the deluded to awaken, those without refuge to have refuge, and the undecided to decide.

If one can dedicate merit and vow to be reborn in the Pure Land, one should straighten one's body and face directly toward the Western Pure Land, bind one's mind to that Amitābha Buddha, recite his name in thought after thought without interruption, and constantly recite it while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. In addition, recite [the name of] Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, and chant the Guan Wuliangshou jing and the Amitābha Sūtra once daily. Forbid and do not consume wine, meat, and the pungent roots until the end of life, allowing no exception even for medicine; uphold the purification precepts, purify the three karmas, recite the Buddha's name and chant the sūtras, and dedicate merit vowing to seek the highest grade of the superior class. Ending this single lifetime, one will definitely attain rebirth, ascending to the pure realm, abruptly casting off wandering, and saying farewell forever to the traidhātuka. Samādhi and supernormal powers are attained immediately upon birth. In a single thought-moment, one travels across the worlds of the ten directions; passing through lands, one serves millions of Buddhas, and after completing the offerings, in an instant one returns to one's native land together with an assembly numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Day after day it is like this, until buddhahood is attained. If through great compassion and skillful means one guides and transforms sentient beings, one can multiply one's body in a single thought to go everywhere throughout the worlds of the ten directions, manifesting a body and expounding the Dharma according to what is suitable for them, enabling them to attain vimokṣa.

Question: The Amitābha Sūtra only speaks of attaining rebirth in the Pure Land through buddhānusmṛti. Why do you now additionally instruct people to chant sūtras and be mindful of the two great bodhisattvas in order to attain rebirth?

Answer: The Amitābha Sūtra merely instructs one to practice buddhānusmṛti to attain rebirth in the Pure Land; it does not open up the nine grades and the distinctions of practice and karma. Now, relying on the Guan jing, the stages are divided into three classes and the practices are opened into nine grades. For the highest grade of the superior class, one must uphold the precepts, practice buddhānusmṛti, chant sūtras, and also be mindful of the bodhisattvas. Therefore, the passage on the highest grade of the superior class in the Guan jing says: 'First, having a compassionate mind and not killing, being endowed with the various precepts; second, receiving, upholding, reading, and reciting the Mahāyāna and vaipulya scriptures; third, cultivating the six mindfulnesses, dedicating merit and making vows, wishing to be reborn in that land. Endowed with these merits, in one day or up to seven days, one will attain rebirth.'
The six mindfulnesses are: first, mindfulness of the Buddha; second, mindfulness of the Dharma; third, mindfulness of the Saṅgha; fourth, mindfulness of giving; fifth, mindfulness of the precepts; sixth, mindfulness of the devas. Now, being mindful of Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta is mindfulness of the bodhisattvas, who are the holy Saṅgha. Based on this sūtra passage, for the highest grade of the superior class, one definitely must practice buddhānusmṛti, chant sūtras, and also be mindful of bodhisattvas. Each rests on its own meaning, and they do not contradict each other.

If one does not cut off wine, meat, and the pungent roots, after one's life ends one will definitely fall into hell; even a human body is lost, how much more the Pure Land! Therefore, Chapter 8, 'Prohibiting the Eating of Meat,' in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra says: 'Therefore, Mahāmati, I see all sentient beings as an only child; how could I permit the eating of meat as food? Nor do I rejoice in it, how much less eat it myself! Mahāmati, all such scallions, leeks, garlic, and scallion-bulbs are foul-smelling and impure; they can obstruct the holy path and obstruct the pure places of humans and devas in the world, how much more the fruit and retribution of the pure lands of the Buddhas! Wine is also like this: it can obstruct the holy path, harm wholesome karma, and produce various faults. Therefore, Mahāmati, one who seeks the holy path should not consume any foul-smelling flavors such as wine, meat, scallions, leeks, garlic, and scallion-bulbs.' The verse below further says:

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