龍舒增廣淨土文

I have examined that within the Great Canon (Mahāyāna Tripiṭaka) there are the following sūtras:

The Sūtra of Immeasurable Pure Equal Enlightenment (Vô Lượng Thanh Tịnh Bình Đẳng Giác Kinh).

The Sūtra of Amitābha's Deliverance of the Human Realm (A Di Đà Quá Độ Nhân Đạo Kinh).

The Sūtra of Immeasurable Life (Vô Lượng Thọ Kinh).

The Sūtra of the Adornment of Immeasurable Life (Vô Lượng Thọ Trang Nghiêm Kinh).

Among these four sūtras the original is in fact a single sūtra; but because the translators were different, they came to set down these four different titles, and within them the sentences and characters contain a great many discrepancies. However, I have already collated and corrected them, and have also long since engraved the blocks and published them.

Today I draw from the four sūtras named above, together with other sūtras and biographies, to compose a general summary, so that those who wish to cultivate the Pure Land may easily understand it and may practice and follow it.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE PURE LAND

THE FIRST

To put it briefly, within the Great Canon there are not merely a dozen or so sūtras that speak of the matter of the Western Pure Land. The general purport spoken in those sūtras is that that land is entirely adorned with the seven treasures; it has no hells, no hungry ghosts, no beasts, nor even creatures that crawl, fly, or wriggle. It is always pure and natural, no longer having any of the habits of evil; therefore it is called the Pure Land.

The beings in this land are born from within lotus flowers; they live forever and do not grow old. Clothing, food, and dwellings all appear according to one's wishes. That scene remains in perpetual spring, with no more heat or cold, complete bliss with not the least suffering; therefore it is called the World of Ultimate Bliss (Sukhāvatī).

The name of the Buddha in that world is Amitābha. Amitābha is a Sanskrit word (Amita Buddha).

In the language of China it is translated as "Immeasurable." This is because the radiant light of that Buddha shines throughout the worlds of the ten directions without limit or measure.

For every sentient being who gives rise to the mind of reciting the Buddha's name, there is not a single sentient being whom He does not illuminate through and through; therefore He also bears the name: Buddha of Immeasurable Light.

The lifespan of that Buddha, together with the people of that land, is likewise without limit or measure. Though the number of kalpas like the sands of the Ganges may yet come to an end, that lifespan will never be exhausted. Therefore He bears the name: Buddha of Immeasurable Life (Amitāyus).

That Buddha has a great vow, vowing to deliver beings, and His awesome spiritual power is truly inconceivable! Therefore whoever with utmost sincerity believes, inclines toward Him, and recites His name will in this present life have calamities dissolved and disasters dispelled, will drive away demonic and malevolent beings together with grievances and karmic foes, and will attain peace of body and mind. Increasing one's blessings and lifespan, one reaches yonder Western realm, where within the pond of seven treasures a lotus flower naturally arises, and one day one is born by transformation within it, swiftly escaping the realm of saṃsāra.

Matters such as these all have their basis in fact; they are not fabricated, absurd, or deceiving words.

The teaching of reciting the Buddha's name is very easy to carry out. Within the whole Great Canon there are eighty-four thousand Dharma gates; but to sum up, among the Dharma gates that are easy to cultivate and practice, there is no Dharma gate equal to the Dharma gate of the Pure Land. And yet some people do not know of it—how pitiable, how regrettable! But those who know of it and do not practice it are even more to be pitied!

GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE PURE LAND

THE SECOND

In the Great Amitābha Sūtra it is said: "One day the countenance of Buddha Śākyamuni was extraordinary. His attendant, the Venerable Ānanda, seeing this, found it strange and asked about it. The Buddha said: Excellent indeed is your question; its merit is greater than taking all the wealth of the seven treasures and offering it to all the worlds (under heaven)—to the Śrāvakas, to the Pratyekabuddhas—and giving in charity to however many devas, people, and even creatures that crawl, fly, and wriggle, throughout many kalpas, and more than a hundred thousand myriad kalpas; however much merit that would be, it still cannot match a single fraction of the merit of your question here!

Why is this so? Because the devas, Indra, the people, and even the creatures that crawl, fly, and wriggle, all by means of your question attain the Way and are delivered."

From this we may see that when Buddha Śākyamuni wished to speak of the practices and vows of Buddha Amitābha, even before it was within His mind it had already been revealed outwardly upon His face, different from ordinary times; and thus one may fully know that Buddha Amitābha is one who stirs the response of the buddhas in an extraordinary way.

How much more does He stir the response of all sentient beings? Sentient beings who had not yet been delivered, thanks to the Venerable Ānanda's question and the Buddha's answer, were delivered.

This means that from the devas and Indra above, down to the creatures that crawl, fly, and wriggle below—all of the same class, still within the round of saṃsāra and not yet delivered—now, thanks to hearing the great vow and great power of Buddha Amitābha, they were delivered.

In His first vow, Buddha Amitābha said: When I attain Buddhahood, my fame shall spread throughout the ten directions. Should humans and devas, rejoicing, come to hear it, they shall all be born into my land. He further said: "Not only humans, but all beings of the hells, the hungry ghosts, and the animals as well shall be born into my land."

Thus all the sentient beings of the six paths, revolving in saṃsāra throughout the three realms—there is not a single sentient being who does not rely on the compassionate deliverance of Buddha Amitābha. This may be fully known.

Therefore this Amitābha Sūtra says: Buddha Amitābha is present in the Western World of Ultimate Bliss, and yet He is also within the other worlds of the ten directions teaching and transforming countless devas and people, and even the creatures that crawl, fly, and wriggle; everywhere, all of them attain liberation and deliverance.

"Creatures that crawl, fly, and wriggle": beings that crawl, fly, and stir. Even creatures that crawl, fly, and wriggle the Buddha still delivers. How much more does He deliver humans—truly the practices and vows of Buddha Amitābha to deliver sentient beings far and wide cannot be exhausted.

In general, whoever with a single thought takes refuge will straightway be born into His land, with no further doubt.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE PURE LAND

THE THIRD

In the Amitābha Sūtra it is further said: Immeasurable kalpas ago there was a Buddha named Lokeśvararāja (World-Sovereign King) who appeared in the world to transform and deliver sentient beings. At that time the king of a great country, coming to hear the Dharma and awakening to it, immediately abandoned the throne, went forth into homelessness, and cultivated the Way under the name Dharmākara Bhikṣu (that is, Buddha Amitābha).

Before the Buddha Lokeśvararāja he gave rise to forty-eight great vows. Each and every vow had the single aim of saving and delivering sentient beings.

Having made these vows, He cultivated diligently, escaped birth-and-death, and entered the fruition-stage of a Bodhisattva. To escape birth-and-death is to be thus-so with regard to the matter of birth-and-death. To enter the fruition-stage of a Bodhisattva means: inwardly to cultivate wisdom, and outwardly to cultivate blessings.

To cultivate wisdom is to refine the nature of wisdom, day by day more radiant, until upon attaining Buddhahood the nature of wisdom covers the entire void and all worlds—there being no place it does not know, no place it does not see.

To cultivate blessings is to be born by transformation among all kinds of beings, in the same bodily form, with the same speech, establishing methods to teach and transform them; therefore from the rank of Indra above, down to the minute species of worms and ants below, He is born by transformation among them all.

In this way, through immeasurable, countless kalpas down to the present, He establishes the Dharma to teach and transform sentient beings. Moreover, in establishing methods like these, how could He fail to gain blessings?

But gaining blessings He does not enjoy them; therefore the blessings accumulate ever more, and the more they accumulate the greater they grow, the greater they grow the longer they last, and the longer they last the more they overflow throughout the void and all worlds.

When blessings are great, awesome spiritual power is great. It is like a person of the world who holds high office: then his power and influence are great.

By that awesome spiritual power, there is no place He cannot reach; therefore He was able to accomplish the great vows, and because He accomplished the great vows He was able to be verified into the rank of Buddhahood.

From the first vow to the very last, there is no vow that does not save and deliver sentient beings.

Now He has already been a Buddha for more than ten great kalpas, and surely He will not go against His vow to deliver beings. Therefore whoever single-mindedly believes and inclines toward Him, reciting His name, will in this present life certainly rely on the aid of His blessings, and in the next body will swiftly be born into the World of Ultimate Bliss. Whoever can devotedly contemplate His image will in this present life also come to behold His true likeness. For the Buddha's awesome spiritual power is in no place absent; and one whose mind constantly recites the Buddha's name until it is thoroughly ripened will naturally obtain a response, and so the Buddha manifests His body (this account is told in the fifth scroll).

GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE PURE LAND

THE FOURTH

In the Amitābha Sūtra it is said: Buddha Amitābha, throughout immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas, cultivated the practices of a Bodhisattva. His power of forbearance being already accomplished, He paid no heed to the various sufferings; He constantly manifested a fresh and harmonious countenance and gentle, pleasing speech, working for the benefit of sentient beings. He well guarded the karma of speech, not faulting or speaking of others' errors; He well guarded the karma of body, not transgressing the rules and norms; He well guarded the karma of mind, pure and unstained. From His hands He constantly emitted all manner of garments, all manner of food and drink, all manner of banners, pennants, and jeweled canopies, all manner of music, and all manner of supreme necessities.

These He bestowed in charity upon all sentient beings, causing the sentient beings to attain joyful minds and to hear His teaching and transformation.

Therefore immeasurable, countless multitudes gave rise to the mind of Supreme Bodhi. He carried out compassionate practices such as these throughout immeasurable, countless hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of kalpas; His merit being complete and His awesome spiritual power resplendent, He at last accomplished what He had vowed and entered the rank of Right Enlightenment. Because of this, throughout the countless worlds of the ten directions, the devas and people, and even the creatures that crawl, fly, and wriggle—there is not a single kind that does not rely on His compassionate deliverance.

Therefore I, by means of a single thought of taking refuge, am born into that land—all within the lotus flowers, born within the ponds of seven treasures, growing up naturally; nor must there be anyone to nurse or feed them, for food naturally appears when one but thinks of it. Their features and bodily forms are upright, fresh, and beautiful, such as the people of this world cannot equal, nor can even the devas of heaven match! Their bodies are naturally clear and bright, light and buoyant, living for a span beyond all limit.

Throughout the whole land, all are people of the rank of supremely good persons—there are surely no women. All have a lifespan beyond measure; they possess the penetration of the deva-eye, seeing through all things, and the deva-ear, hearing all—however far, they see it; however small, they hear it. They are all of one kind, persons who seek the "good" Way, with no other kind of person. Though many kalpas pass by, of the matters from long ago down to the present there is no matter that they do not know clearly.

Moreover they know, of the worlds of the ten directions, the matters of the past, the future, and the present. They also know, of the countless beings above the heavens and below the heavens, the people, and even the creatures that crawl, fly, and wriggle, what their minds wish to think and what their mouths wish to say; and they further know in what kalpa, what year, what month, and what day those sentient beings will each be delivered from their kalpa, rise to be born as humans, and attain birth in the World of Ultimate Bliss. Because they have obtained the wisdom-nature of the Buddha, they are able to see and know in this way.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE PURE LAND

THE FIFTH

In the Biographies of the Pure Land it is said: Buddha Amitābha, together with the two Bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara (Guan Yin) and Mahāsthāmaprāpta (Shih Chih), sits upon the ship of the Great Vow, crosses the sea of birth-and-death, comes to this Sahā World, and calls to take aboard those sentient beings, raising them onto the ship of the Great Vow and carrying them off to the Western realm; of those who consent to go, there is not one who is not born there.

Looking at this, the Buddha and the two Bodhisattvas, pitying sentient beings who are sunk and drowned in the sea of suffering with no way to escape, therefore use the strength of awesome spiritual power and their vows to guide the people of the world to the Pure Land.

It is just like a ferryman who calls and hails the passengers to board the boat and carries them across to the other shore. There is only the fear that people will not believe—that is all; but for those of faith who believe and consent, then however grave their offenses and evils, they can all be reborn in the Pure Land. Why? First, because of the Buddha's vow, and second, because of one's own sincere faith; therefore it is said that the awesome spiritual power of the Buddha is not to be compared with that of ordinary mortals.

For an ordinary mortal, if there is no advantage of power and influence, if you do not befriend him, if there is no benefit to himself—then he will not befriend you; and therefore he is merely an ordinary mortal.

A worthy person, a noble gentleman, is still not like that—how much less a Buddha! Why? Because without a heart of compassion, one is not fit to be a Buddha; without delivering sentient beings, one is not fit to be a Buddha; without great awesome power, one is not fit to be a Buddha.

Because the Buddha lets fall His heart of compassion, seeing sentient beings sunk and drowned in the sea of suffering, He wishes to deliver them. Because the Buddha has great awesome power, He is therefore able to take the mind to deliver and then succeed in delivering them; this is what it means to be a Buddha.

In the Great Amitābha Sūtra it is said: A Great King of Physicians is able to cure all illnesses, but he cannot cure to health the illness of a person whose allotted span is exhausted; just so, the Buddha is able to deliver all sentient beings, but He cannot deliver those sentient beings who have no faith—who may be called persons utterly beyond help. Hence there is the saying: "A king must yield to the destitute beggar"—this is its meaning.

Is it not so that for a person of faith, the myriad matters are gathered back into a single thought? Just as a living person now, when a single thought of the mind wishes to go, then the body rises up and goes at once; when the mind wishes to stay, then the body straightway remains—thus the body must follow the thoughts of the mind.

But there are times when the thought of the mind wishes to go, yet the body is imprisoned and confined—how then can it go? Yet the body's being imprisoned and confined is a confinement during life; when the body decays and the life-span perishes, there yet remains one single thought of the mind, that is all.

Wherever the thought of the mind inclines, there it will assuredly go; and therefore, while we are still living here, if day by day we keep a vegetarian diet and recite the Buddha's name, our minds set on seeking birth in the Pure Land, then however tightly the body may be bound, when it perishes we will in any case attain birth in the Pure Land.

How much more so, when the Pure Land already has Buddha Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, who furthermore guide and come to receive us into that realm!

GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE PURE LAND

THE SIXTH

Buddha Amitābha made a vow, saying: "Whatever sentient beings have already been born into my land, should they then wish to be born into another land, they too shall attain it according to their wish, and shall surely no longer fall into the three evil paths." Why? Because one born into the Pure Land is one who has already been verified into the stage of the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas (anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti).

Moreover, one who has been verified into the stage of the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas is precisely one who is no longer subject to birth-and-death. One who has wholly cut off the path of birth-and-death, even should he enter into the realm of birth-and-death, that one spiritual nature remains bright and clear, never deluded or benighted—so by what means could he drift and tumble through the three evil paths?

Reasoning according to principle, it is already determined that he will not fall into the three evil paths; how much more, relying on the strength of protective sustaining, the falling is naturally and certainly impossible. Therefore, to reason thus: one born into the Pure Land not only lives long and ages not, but lives on kalpa after kalpa, life after life, while the path of birth-and-death is likewise suchness, unmoving.

Therefore, wishing to establish methods to teach and transform all sentient beings, he enters into all the realms of birth-and-death of sentient beings, yet his one true nature remains ever serene and ever bright, no longer deluded by external things, no longer dragged along by karmic conditions; although dwelling within the world of saṃsāra, he no longer revolves in saṃsāra as others do. Therefore it is said: "Worldly-yet-world-transcending." That is to say: though dwelling within the world, he has already departed beyond the world.

Therefore one who has attained rebirth into that Pure Land is wholly one who has already attained the path of birth-and-death as suchness, unmoving. At that time, should he wish to be born into the deva realm, he can; should he wish to be born again in the human realm, he can; should he wish to be born into a house of great wealth and nobility, he can; should he wish to be born into a pure realm, he can; even should he wish to live on forever and never die, he can; or should he wish, after dying, to come back to life again, he can. Whatever and however he wishes, there is nothing that does not accord with his wish (sovereign in his desires, in nothing not sovereign). And so the one thing I wish for that is most precious is to be born into the Pure Land!

The people of the world do not understand a wish such as this; vainly they remain within the path of birth-and-death. Wishing to be born into a wealthy and noble house, they are instead born into a poor and lowly house; wishing to be born into a realm of bliss, they are instead born into circumstances of grief and sorrow; wishing to be born with long life, they keep being born only to die young, to perish prematurely; wishing to be born to practice the good Way, they are instead born into evil destinies—each and every one being enticed by external circumstances and dragged along by karmic conditions, unable to be sovereign over themselves.

From immeasurable kalpas right down to the present day, revolving through the six paths of saṃsāra, there has never been a moment of escape. With a single thought, contemplating such matters of grief and suffering, turn the mind to reciting the Buddha's name and seek birth in the Pure Land, so as to end utterly all anxiety and calamity. A realm where all anxiety and calamity have already ended utterly—why should that realm not be called the World of Ultimate Bliss?

The person of wisdom who, with quiet attention, ponders and examines this may well see that it is so.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE PURE LAND

THE SEVENTH

The layman Wu-wei, named Yang Chieh, styled Tz'u-kung, passed the high examination in his youth and clearly understood the essential purport of the Chan school. He said: The capacities of sentient beings are keen or dull; they follow what is near and easy to understand, what is concise and easy to do. Only the Dharma gate of the Western Pure Land—if one with a single mind contemplates and recites, relying on the power of the Buddha's vow, one will swiftly be born into the Land of Peaceful Nurture (Sukhāvatī).

He, on behalf of Wang Min-chung, wrote a preface to the work Direct Pointing: Resolving Doubts About the Pure Land, saying: Buddha Amitābha emits light like a great, full, bright moon shining throughout the ten directions; when the water is clear and pure, the moon manifests in its entirety.

The moon does not go or come along with the water; whenever the water is turbid and stirred, the moon has no radiance—yet the moon also does not abandon the water and depart.

In the water there is clarity, there is turbidity, there is movement, there is stillness; but in the moon there is no grasping, no relinquishing, no going, no coming. Therefore the Avataṃsaka Sūtra records: The Elder's son said: I know that all the buddhas are likewise as reflections.

One's own mind is likened to water. Those Tathāgatas do not go to or come to this land, yet if we wish to see the Land of Peaceful Nurture and the Tathāgata Amitābha of that world, we straightway see them according to our wish. Therefore if sentient beings recite single-mindedly they will surely see Amitābha. And if one is born into that Western realm, then there is none of the various sufferings.

The Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra says: The Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla addressed Buddha Śākyamuni, saying: O Great Awakened World-Honored One! How are the sentient beings of future ages hereafter to see the buddhas of the ten directions? The Buddha taught: One must recite the name of Buddha Amitābha, and then one will straightway see all the buddhas of the ten directions in all the ten directions.

Further, the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra says: If sentient beings in worlds of other directions hear the name of the Tathāgata Amitābha of Immeasurable Life, and even to the extent of a single pure thought of faith toward the Buddha, with joy and longing aspiration, and the roots of goodness they have cultivated they dedicate, vowing to be born into that land, then according to their vow they attain rebirth and reach the stage of non-retrogression.

These are the words of Buddha Śākyamuni. If the words of the Buddha are not to be believed, what words are worthy of belief? If one does not seek birth in the Pure Land, then into what land should one seek to be born?

Su Tung-p'o said: Tz'u-kung in his old age served as an official, Inspector of Records and Prefect; he often painted an image of Buddha Amitābha one zhang and six feet (1.6 meters) tall, and wherever he went he carried it with him to make offerings and to contemplate. On the day of his death, moved by the Buddha coming to receive him, he sat firmly and passed away.

NAMO ROOT TEACHER ŚĀKYAMUNI BUDDHA

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