龍舒增廣淨土文

Those who have attained the most profound principle, even while dwelling in this world of the five turbidities, are no different from those dwelling in the Pure Land. Therefore, this volume records the most profound principles and is entitled: THE PURE AND THE TURBID ARE ONE.

Nevertheless, one should not rely on this teaching and neglect the cultivation of Pure Land karma, lest one easily fall into empty discourse, no different from the fault of mere talk among certain practitioners of Chan meditation.

A DISCOURSE ON THE EMOTIONS

Joy, anger, love, hatred, craving, and desire all belong to what is called emotion.

To nourish emotion is evil; to indulge emotion is to harbor a thief; to restrain emotion is good; to extinguish emotion is sagehood.

Eating delicious foods, wearing fine garments, and dwelling in spacious houses—such things are called nourishing emotion.

Eating extravagantly, dressing ostentatiously, and never being satisfied with one's dwelling—such things are called indulging emotion.

When others offend me, I do not hold it against them; when others oppress me, I do not become angry; when others harm me, I bear no resentment. This is called restraining emotion.

When others offend, oppress, or harm me, I regard it as nothing and moreover cherish compassion for those deluded people. This is called extinguishing emotion.

If one awakens to this principle, one's heart will always be pure, just as though one were dwelling in the Pure Land. Thus the Vimalakirti Sutra says: “When the mind is pure, the Buddha-land is pure.” This means that when this mind is pure, the Buddha-land is thereby pure.

ALL EXPERIENCE IS EMPTINESS

The Buddha, the World-Honored One, taught: “All experience is empty.” For example, however many delicious dishes one enjoys, once the chopsticks are set down, it is empty. When one goes out, many attendants may follow, but once one reaches one's destination, it is empty. One may spend the entire day roaming among mountains and seas, but once one returns home, it is empty.

Furthermore, after we have completed a good deed, the weariness of doing it is empty, yet the good karma remains. The same is true of evil deeds: while angry, one acts until one's anger is satisfied; once it is satisfied, it is empty, yet the evil karma remains.

If one deeply awakens to this principle, one should eat plain vegetarian food and thereby avoid the wrongful karmic offenses of killing. When going out, one should act according to one's means and thereby avoid vexing oneself and burdening others. Excursions and amusements should be abandoned, thereby avoiding the offense of indulgence; one should diligently perform good deeds, thereby avoiding the fault of procrastination; and one should guard against hatred, thereby avoiding the offense of indulging resentment and vengeance.

I, Wang Rixiu, rejoice in having understood this principle; therefore, I wish everyone to know it. (Experience has three meanings: 1. painful feeling; 2. pleasant feeling; 3. neutral feeling, which is neither painful nor pleasant. Although neutral feeling is neither painful nor pleasant, it still remains within the relative sphere of pain and pleasure.)

A DISCOURSE ON THE SIX SENSE FACULTIES

A thousand adornments serve only to dazzle eyes half an inch in size. A hundred kinds of music serve only to delight ears with openings the size of a bean. Sandalwood incense, camphor incense, and musk serve only to perfume a nose with two nostrils. A feast spread before a spacious hall serves only to please a tongue three inches long. Delicate beauty serves only a foul and decaying body. Agreeable greetings and welcomes serve only the clinging consciousness of affection.

If one can thoroughly understand this principle, one is truly a joyful person free from affliction. The Buddha taught: “The reason sentient beings have wandered in samsara from beginningless time until today is that they take the six thieves as their children, thereby allowing them to steal the treasures of their own household.” This means that the six sense faculties deceive us and cause us to lose our true nature.

Master Mencius said: “Only a sage can properly employ the physical form.” This means that a sage is not deceived by those thieves.

There was a courtesan who cultivated and attained realization. Manjusri asked her, “What is non-anger?” She replied, “To see that all sentient beings are not sentient beings.” Manjusri then asked, “How do you see the eighteen dhatus?” She replied, “As one sees the fire at the end of a kalpa consuming the entire world.”

Manjusri praised her, saying, “Wonderful are these words!” The explanation is this: Sentient beings have never truly existed; they arise only because of deluded thoughts within the mind. What, then, is there to be angry at? The eighteen dhatus are the six sense faculties, the six sense objects, and the six consciousnesses. Because of these eighteen, immeasurable affairs arise and immeasurable evil is created. Therefore, they are said to be like a fire burning the entire world. If one awakens to this principle, although one has not yet been born in the Pure Land, it is as though one had already been born there. Once born in the Pure Land, even after searching for immeasurable kalpas one would never hear the sound of anger, much less encounter anger itself.

A DISCOURSE ON TRUE NATURE

Section twenty-seven of the Diamond Sutra expresses this general meaning: Apart from “true nature,” there is nothing. It may be compared to empty space, yet ordinary empty space is inert emptiness. Inert emptiness is an emptiness that has no true reality. True nature is compared to empty space because within emptiness there is existence; therefore it is said, “True emptiness is not empty.” Inert emptiness, by contrast, has no true existence.

This ordinary emptiness remains within the realm of fabrication and, because it is fabricated, can be destroyed. For example, on a tract of solid ground, if one digs out one foot of earth, one foot of empty space appears; if one digs out ten feet, ten feet of empty space appear, and so forth. Thus inert emptiness remains within the realm of fabrication.

Furthermore, if an empty bowl is filled with rice, its emptiness is destroyed. If an empty house is filled with various materials, that emptiness no longer remains. Thus inert emptiness can be destroyed.

But no one can fabricate the emptiness of true nature! No one can destroy it! Cast it into fire, and the fire cannot burn it; cast it into water, and the water cannot carry it away. Though heaven and earth collapse and the world is shattered, the emptiness of true nature remains independently from beginningless time through endless time. It has never changed or moved and pervades the worlds and realms of empty space throughout the ten directions. What could ever destroy the emptiness of true nature?

There is nothing with which the emptiness of true nature can be compared. Thus, from necessity, inert emptiness is provisionally borrowed merely as an approximate comparison.

Therefore, the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra says: “All dharmas bear the mark of emptiness.” This means that all dharmas are empty; this is the emptiness of true nature. The subsequent phrases, “Within emptiness there is no form” and “no extinction and no attainment,” all reveal the empty aspect of true nature. Yet within true nature there is nothing at all, just as within inert emptiness there is nothing.

Although nothing exists within true nature, all sentient beings appear within it because of a single kind of deluded condition, like bubbles arising on the surface of water. The water represents true nature, and the bubbles represent sentient beings. When the bubbles dissolve, they return to the original substance of water and no bubbles remain.

Likewise, when the delusions of sentient beings cease, they return to true nature and no sentient beings remain.

Furthermore, true nature is like a bright mirror, and sentient beings are like images. Images come and go, but the mirror always remains steadfast. Sentient beings arise and perish, but true nature remains thusness itself. When arising and ceasing have been eliminated, true nature appears. Arising and ceasing are delusion; true nature is the real.

Therefore, the Surangama Sutra says: “When all delusions have been extinguished, what remains could only be the true.”

This true nature is fully possessed by all, from the Buddhas above down to every crawling creature endowed with consciousness. Fundamentally, there is no difference among them; whatever differs is delusion.

THE TRUE MIND AND DELUSORY APPEARANCES

In the first volume of the Surangama Sutra, the Buddha discussed the mind with Ananda seven times. Yet in the end, what Ananda indicated as the mind was only the ordinary mind, which is deluded thought and not yet the true mind. The true mind is the nature of pure awareness, perfect and luminous.

The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment says: “Sentient beings mistakenly take the conditioned shadows of the six sense objects to be their own thinking mind.” This ordinary mind is a conditioned shadow of the six sense objects. The deluded mind is fundamentally nonexistent, but because the six external sense objects serve as conditions, the deluded mind appears within.

For example, when an attractive form exists externally, a mind that loves form arises internally. Because a pleasing sound exists externally, love of hearing arises internally. Likewise, because fragrance, taste, touch, and dharmas exist externally, the mind internally gives rise to attachment to fragrance, taste, touch, and dharmas.

The explanation is this: True nature is like a mirror, the six sense objects are like forms before it, and the deluded mind is like their reflections. If there were no external objects of the six senses, there would be no deluded mind within. The deluded mind is conditioned by the shadows of the six sense objects. When a form arrives, its reflection appears; when the form departs, the reflection vanishes, while the nature of the mirror remains unmoving.

Therefore, the Diamond Sutra says: “The past mind cannot be apprehended; the present mind cannot be apprehended; the future mind cannot be apprehended.” These three minds are all called deluded thinking. Because of deluded thought, there is a past; because of deluded thought, there is a present; because of deluded thought, there is a future. The true mind, however, has neither beginning nor end and has never changed or moved. How could it possess past, future, or present?

“Cannot be apprehended” means empty. For example, when hungry one wishes to eat. Once one has obtained food, that desiring mind has already passed. While one is eating and discerning whether the food is delicious or unpleasant, that is the present mind. Before the desire to eat had arisen, this mind did not yet exist; that is the future mind. All three minds perish with time; therefore, they are said to be “unapprehendable.”

THE FIVE SKANDHAS ARE ALL EMPTY

The Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra says that Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, employing prajna wisdom, clearly saw that the five skandhas are all empty and thus transcended all suffering and distress.

The five skandhas are form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. Form is the physical body. Feeling is experience. Perception is thought and conception. Formations are activities that create good or evil karma. Consciousness is discriminative awareness.

These five gather together, bind tightly, and obscure true nature; therefore, they are called the “five skandhas,” or the “five aggregates of obscuration,” both names carrying the same meaning of darkening true nature.

Yet the physical body ultimately follows the fixed law of decay and destruction. Experience likewise passes immediately with time. Are not form and feeling therefore empty? Suppose we think about obtaining some object. Once it has been obtained, we no longer think of obtaining it. Is not such thought therefore empty?

When we turn the mind back and examine all our actions and creations, they seem like dreams and illusions. Are not these formations therefore empty?

Our consciousness discriminates and knows many kinds of things, yet when we are reborn in a later life, we no longer know them. Is not this deluded consciousness therefore empty?

All suffering and distress arise from these five. If we can now employ prajna wisdom to illuminate and clearly perceive them: Seeing that the physical body is empty, we do not cling to it or fear its death and loss; thus we transcend the suffering and distress of the form skandha. Seeing that experience is empty, we do not insist upon pleasures or greedily nurture this body; thus we transcend the suffering and distress of the feeling skandha.

Seeing that thought is empty, we do not become infatuated with thoughts, and the mind remains pure; thus we transcend the suffering and distress of the perception skandha. Seeing that all activities and creations are empty, we do not cling to our conduct and attain stillness; thus we transcend the suffering and distress of the formations skandha. Seeing that discriminative knowledge is ultimately nonexistent, we do not cling to knowledge and discrimination and constantly attain right concentration; thus we transcend the suffering and distress of the consciousness skandha.

Therefore, the beginning of the sutra says: “He clearly saw that the five skandhas are all empty and transcended all suffering and distress.”

These five skandhas are all empty and are not ultimate reality. They are merely conditioned shadows of deluded thought appearing within true nature. The same is true of the six sense faculties, six sense objects, six consciousnesses, twelve links of dependent origination, and Four Noble Truths.

ABANDONING THE MIND AND EMPLOYING THE FORM

Wang Rixiu said: “A bodhisattva benefits self and others.”

The Book of Liezi says: “Confucius abandoned the mind and employed the form.” To abandon the mind means that the mind is not defiled by the myriad things. To employ the form means that the body responds to the myriad things. I, Wang Rixiu, greatly cherish these words. Therefore, although I endure hardship and become haggard, I do not consider myself frustrated; although I receive glory and support, I do not consider myself successful. This is because the mind does not cling to the myriad things.

Out of compassion, bodhisattvas who have ended birth and death take provisional birth among all sentient beings and establish teachings to transform them. Their minds are unattached to the myriad things, while their forms respond to the myriad things in order to teach and transform.

Thus, when Confucius brought forth such a resolve, he was indeed a bodhisattva.

A DISCOURSE ON EMPLOYING THE BODY

Verses of a heavenly being bowing before dry bones:

The verses say:

You were my former life.

Through cultivation, I now possess the heavenly eye.

Precious garments appear according to my thoughts;

Jade-like food is naturally manifested.

Because you cultivated through hardship in a former life,

I now enjoy this happiness.

I scatter flowers and sincerely make offerings to you;

People of the world, do not be startled at this sight.

There are also verses about a hungry ghost beating a corpse. The verses say:

Because of this foul and putrid leather sack,

You bustled and scurried ceaselessly about.

You knew only greed for food and delight in pleasure,

Never pausing to turn back and reflect.

Not the slightest good karma did you cultivate;

Day after day, month after month, you made offenses leading to the Yellow Springs.

Today my whipping brings pain beyond measure;

My anger toward you is difficult to forget.

These two sets of verses may be used to instruct people, but one should not rigidly cling to them as literal truth. Why? Consciousness lodges within this body, and the body is directed by consciousness.

Consciousness is like a craftsman, while the body is like an axe or hammer. If the craftsman knows how to use these tools skillfully, he makes a fine object; if he uses them poorly, the object will be ugly. In his former life, the heavenly being knew how to use the body for cultivation, and thus he now enjoys the blessing of being a heavenly being.

In his former life, the hungry ghost did not know how to use the body for cultivation but continually committed evil, and thus he now undergoes retribution as a hungry ghost. Skillful or unskillful use, gain or loss, all occurred in the previous life; the present is merely the reception of that retribution. What benefit, then, could there be in either bowing to or beating the bones?

A DISCOURSE ON REGARDING BIRTH AND DEATH EQUALLY

ENDING BIRTH AND DEATH

Visualize the right big toe swelling, rotting, and oozing foul fluid. Gradually, the decay advances to the shin, the knee, and the waist. The left leg is likewise. Gradually, the decay spreads above the waist to the abdomen, chest, neck, and head, until the entire body has completely decayed, leaving only white bones.

Next, distinguish each bone clearly and contemplate the white skeleton, seeing every part distinctly. After calmly contemplating the white bones for a long time, reflect: Who is the one contemplating these white bones? And who are those white bones? One then realizes that one's body and consciousness are two separate things. Gradually practice visualizing the white bones moving away from oneself: first ten feet, then fifty feet, one hundred feet, one thousand feet, and finally ten thousand feet away. One then clearly knows that the white bones and oneself have no connection. By continually visualizing in this way, one realizes that consciousness and the body are fundamentally two separate things.

Consciousness temporarily dwells within the body. The body is like a house, and consciousness is like the householder. When the owner departs, the house collapses; likewise, when consciousness leaves, this body disintegrates.

How could one say that this physical frame remains undecayed long after death and that consciousness dwells within it forever?

By practicing contemplation in this way, one may hope to end the path of birth and death. How much more so when consciousness leaves this body and attains rebirth in the Pure Land! Practice in this way every day, and attainment will naturally occur. What is attained is known individually by each practitioner, just as when someone drinks water, no one else can know whether it is cold or warm. Practicing in this way makes the body strong and healthy and the spirit constantly clear and luminous.

A DISCOURSE ON SELF

REGARDING PHENOMENA: While there is still a conventional self, one should not cling to the notion that there is no self. If one clings to no-self, one may fall into sensual desire.

REGARDING PRINCIPLE: The self is provisionally compounded of the four great elements. Although conventionally there is a self, one should not cling to it. If one clings to a self, the mass of dark clouds of sensual desire will obscure the sun of wisdom, which is true nature.

Therefore, among Confucius's four renunciations is “no self.” A bodhisattva likewise has “no mark of self.”

If we thoroughly understand this principle, the capacity of our minds will be like empty space, vast and boundless. How could there remain any discrimination between turbidity and purity? Yet what must be feared is that it is not easy to penetrate the principle of the mind's selflessness!

HOMAGE TO THE FUNDAMENTAL TEACHER, SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA

END OF VOLUME TEN

POSTSCRIPT

WRITTEN BY ASSISTANT COUNCILLOR ZHOU DASI (THE WORDS OF ZHOU DASI)

Longshu, Wang Rixiu, was a man of profound learning and determination. He thoroughly understood the Six Classics, the Analects, Mencius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi. Of the essential teachings of earlier worthies, he neglected neither a word nor a character, and his application of resolve was exceedingly earnest.

Yet one day he set all these aside and devoted himself exclusively to the teaching of the Western Pure Land. He composed the Pure Land writings, arranging the inferior and superior, lofty and lowly teachings in orderly sequence, and printed them for free distribution to those who had affinities with this book. He also traveled throughout Zhejiang and other prefectures, personally having printing blocks carved and deposited at a bookseller's establishment in Jian'an, China. His compassionate concern seemed to leave him not a single day of leisure.

I, Dasi, have heard it said in the Infinite Life Sutra: “Sentient beings who hear the Buddha's name, give rise to joyful faith, and even for a single thought aspire to be born in that land will immediately attain rebirth there and reach the stage of non-retrogression.”

“Non-retrogression” is Avaivartika in Sanskrit. The Lotus Sutra says that Maitreya Bodhisattva has attained this stage. If we now single-mindedly recite the Buddha's name and attain birth in the Western Land, we will immediately become equal in stage to Maitreya. The Buddha's words are not false; we should faithfully accept them.

On the seventh day of the intercalary fourth month in the Renwu year of the Shaoxing era, the layman Weixin of Jingxi, surnamed Zhou, named Kui, and styled Dasi, wrote this postscript.

POSTSCRIPT

WRITTEN BY TOP SCHOLAR LIU SHIZHI

Previously, I heard the Sixth Patriarch discussing the characteristics of the Western Land with Governor Wei. His words were simple and his meaning exceedingly clear. East, the Saha world, and West, the Pure Land, are never separate. Yet there was nothing portraying its characteristics that could be transmitted to later generations. When I came to read Wang Rixiu's Pure Land writings, how unexpectedly lucid they were!

The Dharma itself has neither sudden nor gradual, but faculties may be sharp or dull. Thus the Sixth Patriarch taught the ultimate truth to people of superior wisdom. He moved the West to the East in an instant, and upon hearing his words they awakened, without waiting for deliberation. Wang Rixiu, wishing to awaken those of lesser faculties, composed this work and indicated the path leading to the Western Land. He hurried to carve the blocks and publish it, fearing that its circulation would not be wide enough. This arose from his single compassionate mind and may truly be called both diligent and earnest.

Those who awaken through Wang Rixiu's writings—are they not like hunters who, having caught the bird, put aside the crossbow, or fishers who, having caught the fish, forget the trap?

On the sixth day of the sixth month in the Renwu year of the Shaoxing era, the rustic Mu, named Liu Zhang and also styled Liu Shizhi, wrote this postscript.

POSTSCRIPT

WRITTEN BY MASTER MIAOXI, THE CHAN MASTER DAHUI (THE WORDS OF MASTER DAHUI)

Longshu, Wang Xuzhong Rixiu, after reading widely among many books, turned his attention to the Buddhist sutras and made benefiting others his personal responsibility. He truly deserves to be called “a lotus growing in fire”: genuine amid convention, dwelling in the dust yet undefiled. The Buddha said: “To seek to deliver others before one has delivered oneself is the resolve of a bodhisattva. To perfect one's own awakening and then awaken others is the appearance of a Tathagata in the world.”

I, Miaoxi, praise Longshu's aspiration and therefore inscribe this postscript. Those who have seen that their own nature is Amitabha thereby clearly understand that the Pure Land is within the mind. For those who have not yet attained this realization, Longshu's writings have assuredly not been composed in vain.

On the twentieth day of the eighth month in the Gengchen year, at Shuangjing Monastery, Miaoxi, styled Zonggao, wrote this postscript at the bookshop of Liu Jingwen in China.

ACCOUNT OF A DREAM BY LI OF LULING, CHINA

Yanbi was a son of the Li family. In the Guisi year of the Qiandao era, an epidemic afflicted his household. On the fifth day of the fourth month, Yanbi also fell ill and could take neither food nor medicine. Early on the morning of the nineteenth, he dreamed of a slender and refined man wearing a broad robe. The man touched Yanbi's body and said, “I shall make you recover quickly.” Frightened, Yanbi asked, “Who are you?”

“I am Longshu.”

“I am so ill that I cannot rise. Is there any method by which you can restore me to health?”

“Do you remember young Guan Zhong teaching you to recite the Buddha's name?”

“I remember, and every day I continually recite the name of Amitabha Buddha.”

“Rise and eat plain rice porridge; you will immediately recover.”

Yanbi then awoke, ate plain rice porridge, and immediately recovered. Later, when he saw a painted portrait of Longshu, it was exactly like the man he had seen in his dream. Yanbi had heard that the layman was an elderly scholar thoroughly versed in the Six Classics and deeply learned in the Book of Changes.

He taught others without weariness, and those who came to study were exceedingly numerous. Xie Jun built the Pure Ease Retreat and offered it to him, and sons of respectable families thronged outside his gate. On the eleventh day of the first month, Yanbi sent his son there to study.

Before long, the son returned and said: “Tonight, after the layman had finished lecturing, he recited sutras and bowed to the Buddha as usual. But during the third watch, he loudly recited the Buddha's name several times and said, ‘The Buddha has come to welcome me.’ Having spoken, he passed away standing upright!”

That night, some people in the region dreamed that two figures dressed in blue escorted him toward the West. When this auspicious sign became known, acquaintances and strangers alike came together to pay reverence, filling the house. They regretted only that they could no longer hear him expound and discuss the Dharma.

Three days before his passing, he had exhorted everyone to advance diligently in the path and was heard to say, “After this, you will see me no more.” Ten days earlier, while visiting Elder Zhao Gong, he passed through the quiet chamber of his friend Hang Zuo and said, “My work on the path is complete; now is a good time to depart.” He then totaled the number of Buddha-name recitations he had performed each day: nine million, one hundred and twenty-five thousand recitations. He posted this count on the wall of Elder Zhao Gong's house.

Alas! Unless one possesses luminous faculties and has penetrated the principle of birth and death, it is not easy to reach such a stage. Yanbi had once been so near death that his coffin and burial garments had already been laid before him. Through the layman's gracious aid he recovered. This may truly be called “restoring flesh and bone from death to life”! Some may ask whether Yanbi's dream was merely produced by his thoughts. Yet could the effective remedy of eating plain rice porridge be false?

We know only that the layman's compassionate vows were exceedingly profound and that his merit was intended to reach others. Although dwelling in the Land of Eternally Quiescent Light, he does not forget the power of mindfulness. He encourages the cultivation of the Pure Land and forms affinities leading to Buddhahood. Should we not strive and advance?

I reverently had his portrait engraved and recorded this account of the responsive event for wide circulation. I dared not allow the words to drift into inaccuracy, fearing that they would be wrongly transmitted to later generations. Therefore, I have related precisely what was seen and recorded everything fully here. I hope that all who see or hear it will reverently believe and together receive its benefit. May the luminous spirit of Master Wang truly attest to these words!

His surname was Wang, his personal name Rixiu, his courtesy name Xuzhong, and his title Layman Longshu. On the Lower Primordial Festival of this year, Li Yanbi of Luling respectfully recorded this postscript.

BENEFITING SELF AND OTHERS

The sutra says: “To seek to deliver others before one has delivered oneself is the resolve of a bodhisattva. To perfect one's own awakening and then awaken others is the appearance of a Tathagata in the world.”

We should emulate the aspiration of Longshu, Wang Rixiu. After reading widely among many books, he turned his attention to Buddhism and made benefiting others his personal responsibility. He was truly “a lotus growing in fire”: genuine amid convention, dwelling in the dust yet undefiled. If one sees that one's own nature is Amitabha, one immediately understands that the mind itself is the Pure Land. If one has not yet done so, this Longshu Pure Land collection becomes all the more valuable.

BENEFITING SELF AND OTHERS

What does it mean to benefit oneself and others? The Avatamsaka Sutra says: “One is all, and all are one.” Indeed, nothing in this world can stand firm and exist entirely by itself. For example, the bowl of rice we eat does not exist because we alone cultivated the field. We also depended upon the blacksmith, who forged the plow and hoe by which the field could be cultivated. Yet the blacksmith could not forge the plow and hoe by his strength alone; he also depended upon those who found and mined the iron ore, and so forth.

Conversely, the farmer has rice to eat but cannot eat plain rice alone; he needs those who make salt. Yet salt makers cannot live by eating salt alone! They must exchange salt for rice to cook and eat. Nor can rice simply be poured onto the ground to be eaten; one needs a bowl maker. Yet the bowl maker cannot eat bowls; he must sell them for money and use the money to buy rice to cook and eat. Even those who have money cannot eat money; they must use it to buy various things for nourishment.

Seen in this way, throughout the universe, from human beings to plants and trees, no species can grow and survive entirely on its own. We should not boast, “I work for my own food and need no one else.” We need look no farther than the meal before us to recognize the labor and crafts of countless people. This is the meaning of the Buddha's teaching that members of the Sangha should practice the “Three Recollections and Five Contemplations” when eating.

Before eating, they first make offerings to the Buddhas of the ten directions and pray for the donors; afterward, they “send forth a portion,” giving food to hungry spirits and deities. They thereby do not forget the meaning of benefiting self and others and remain grateful to all. Not only those living nearby, but even people everywhere whom we have never met are our benefactors.

For example, if we are ill and receive an injection, we are indebted not only to the physician who administered it, but also to all the predecessors whose labor developed the medicine and produced the books that transmitted the knowledge. If we can contemplate in this way, all our compatriots become our own flesh and blood, supporting and loving one another. When we go out, we see everyone practicing one craft or another. Others do their work, which is work done for us; we do our work, which is work done for others. Each works separately, yet all share the fruits.

From beginning to end, the sole purpose of this Longshu Pure Land collection is to benefit self and others. After Wang Rixiu passed the imperial examination and encountered the noble teachings of the Buddha, he brought forth this resolve. He was not someone “weary of the world.” He employed the ambrosial medicine of Buddhism to contribute to the peace and order of society; he was no parasite. As this book says, Buddhism is not different from Confucianism.

Confucianism teaches the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, just as Buddhism teaches its followers the Three Refuges and Five Precepts. Both are principles for benefiting human society and benefiting oneself and others.

I therefore earnestly hope that fellow practitioners and students will diligently and thoroughly investigate the principles and teachings of the Buddha, so that we may transform this unwholesome world. Constantly recite the name of Amitabha Buddha to purify the mind. Help one another and unite in mutual support and affection. Let children be filial and parents kind; live harmoniously and lovingly. Do not strike or oppress one another, nor allow the strong to vanquish the weak. Vow together to escape birth and death, and vow together to be born as one family in the Pure Land. So may it be.