念佛三昧寶王論

The middle fascicle comprises six gates. Mindfulness of Ultimate Awakening is mindfulness of the Buddha of the present, concentrating upon a single object.

8. Mindfulness of the Present Buddha, Concentrating upon a Single Object

Question: Mindfulness of future Buddhas refers precisely to sentient beings. Having heard this profound purport, broad in scope and deep in principle, I still fear that the distracted mind is difficult to restrain. I now wish to use one practice to penetrate all: to concentrate upon Amitābha Buddha in the West, to be mindful of one Buddha and enter the stage of non-retrogression, to abandon the outflowing mind, sail a boat upon the golden pond, and pay homage to Amitābha Buddha in the White Jade Hall. May this encompass the three times, in the hope of entering the nine grades?

Answer: The Treatise on the Ten Stages, the Vibhāṣā, was composed by Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna on the basis of the Avataṃsaka Sutra. Its chapter on easy practice says: “The bodhisattva’s path includes difficult practice, like a person traveling on foot with toil and hardship, and easy practice, like a person traveling by boat, physically at ease and swiftly arriving. Through the power of Amitābha Buddha’s original vows, if people hear his name and recollect it, they will assuredly attain birth in his Land of Utmost Bliss.

Like a boat traveling downstream with a favorable wind, crossing a thousand leagues in a day, how could this be difficult?” Therefore the royal father and relatives of Śākyamuni Tathagata, sixty thousand members of the Śākya clan, were all born in the Land of Utmost Bliss. Because Amitābha Buddha and the sentient beings of this world have profound affinities, concentrating upon one object while perfectly penetrating the three times is indeed excellent.

Question: Concentrating upon one object while perfectly penetrating the three times is indeed excellent. Yet invoking and recollecting with one’s own mind to attain birth in that land employs the false and conditioned, like wind raising many waves. Is this not deluded imagination directed outward? If I merely gather the mind inwardly, how does that accord with the purport of the unconditioned?

Answer: Although the conditioned is false, if it is abandoned, accomplishment of the path is difficult. Although the unconditioned is real, if it is grasped, the mind of wisdom will not shine. A sutra teaches: “To reject the merits of the conditioned is the work of Māra; to delight in and cling to the merits of the unconditioned is also the work of Māra.” By disputing over aversion and delight, do you not fall into a demon’s cave? If a noble sage’s gathering of the mind is called inward, while an ordinary person’s thoughts are called outward; if running outward is deemed distraction and abiding inward concentration—then running distractedly either outward or inward is not the intent of gathering the mind in the Buddha-Recollection Samādhi.

In his commentary on the Vimalakīrti Sutra, Dharma Master Kumārajīva recounts: In a foreign land there was an exceedingly beautiful woman whose body resembled pure gold. The son of an elder, named Dharmodara, paid one thousand taels of gold to marry her. As the bridal procession passed the Bamboo Grove Monastery, Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva transformed himself beside the road into a female lay devotee dressed in extremely precious and magnificent garments.

Seeing her, the woman became covetous and desired those beautiful clothes. Mañjuśrī said: “If you wish to have these beautiful garments, you must arouse bodhicitta, and I shall give them to you.” The woman asked, “What is bodhicitta?” Mañjuśrī answered, “It is precisely your body.” She asked, “What does that mean?” Mañjuśrī replied, “The nature of bodhi is originally empty, and your body is also empty.” In a former life, the woman had planted many wholesome roots before Kāśyapa Buddha and extensively cultivated wisdom.

Upon hearing these words, she immediately realized the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. Having attained this acceptance, she recognized that her desire was mistaken and entered the forest with the elder’s son. Upon entering the forest, she appeared to faint and die; after some time, her body swelled and stank.

The elder’s son was terrified and went to the monastery. The Buddha taught him the Dharma, and he too attained this patient acceptance.

Before great awakening is accomplished, because the matter is not yet finished, it is called “acceptance.” Just as one contemplates the true characteristic of the body, so should one contemplate the Buddha. The female body is empty, and the Buddha’s body is also empty—what is there to be? If one realizes this, all conditioned things are unconditioned, and everything inward and outward is neither inward nor outward. Thus, amid existence there has never been existence: existence is constantly empty. Amid emptiness there has never been emptiness: emptiness is eternally existent. Why then worry that the Buddha has characteristics and the mind has recollection?

9. One Thought and Ten Thoughts in This Life and the Next

Question: The easy and difficult practices have been explained, and the purport of contemplating the body as bodhi is clear. Human life is as fragile as a flash of lightning; if one lets even a single thought drift by, regret may come too late. Practitioners know that the mind is impermanent, much more the body; the body is impermanent, much more external possessions. Once an outgoing breath does not return, one belongs to the next life. Blown adrift by the winds of karma, one goes dimly on without knowing where. Please explain how one thought and ten thoughts bring rebirth, and what provision should be made for this life and the next.

Answer: The Pure Land Dharma gate has tremendous power. Those of the Two Vehicles still the spirit in vacuity, sink into emptiness, fear characteristics, and do not keep sentient beings in mind; therefore they say that there is no Pure Land. The Mahayana, however, continually emphasizes it.

The Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka Sutra teaches: Amitābha Buddha was formerly a wheel-turning king named Araṇemin, possessed of abundant treasures and many children. Guided by the good spiritual friend, the minister Samudrareṇu, he aroused bodhicitta before Ratnagarbha Buddha and adorned the Western Pure Land of Utmost Bliss. The sutra says that its Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and śrāvakas were all his children.

The eldest crown prince, named Animiṣa, is Avalokiteśvara; the next son, Maṇi, is Mahāsthāmaprāpta; the next, Rājasaṅgha, is Mañjuśrī; the next, Indra, is Samantabhadra; the next, Nighoṣa, is Vajrajñānaprabhā Bodhisattva; the next, Abhaya, is Padmottara Tathagata; the next, Ambara, is Ākāśaprabha Bodhisattva; the next, Gandhabāhu, is Siṃhagandha Bodhisattva; and the next, Mṛdu, is Akṣobhya Buddha.

From the time Mṛdu aroused the mind and began practice, he constantly employed the method of counting Buddha-recollections with each step. Through it, he swiftly attained perfect awakening and has now become a Buddha in the land of Wonderful Joy. Today, whenever we walk upon a road or stroll through a grove or garden, we should imitate Mṛdu’s method of Buddha-recollection. Even in an imperial capital, amid passing crowds, bustling carriages and horses, and a clamorous atmosphere, we should constantly remember that birth and death are the great matter and apply the mind to Buddha-recollection with every step.

Human life in this world is fragile, and birth and death lie within a breath. At any time, even while rinsing the mouth or combing the hair, we stand at the boundary between life and death. Most people use jewels, wood, or stone as beads for counting Buddha-recollections; I alone take the breath as my rosary.

I recite the Buddha’s name with the breath, one phrase with each breath. This has many benefits, for one need not fear that if a breath fails to return, one has already entered the next life. Whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, you should always use this kind of rosary to recollect the Buddha.

Even as you fall asleep, hold the Buddha’s name in your mouth as you sleep, and upon awakening resume it. You will certainly see Amitābha Buddha in a dream, just as when one rubs wood to make fire, smoke appears and the flame immediately blazes forth. If you can continue this practice even in dreams, the Buddha-Recollection Samādhi is accomplished.

You will behold Amitābha Buddha face-to-face and ask him for a prediction; the result will surely be attained. Strive diligently!

Question: For birth in the Pure Land through one thought or ten thoughts, which is primary?

Answer: Birth through one thought into the stage of non-retrogression is primary. As the Buddha taught, slandering a Buddha, reviling a sutra, striking a member of the Sangha, or insulting a venerable person—offenses belonging to the five heinous acts and four grave transgressions—are each completed in one thought, causing one to fall into hell as swiftly as a shot arrow. Today, a person recollecting the Buddha is born in the Pure Land through the accomplishment of a wholesome karma in one thought and reaches Utmost Bliss as swiftly as a finger-snap. In the preceding thought the five skandhas cease, and in the following thought the five skandhas arise, like a seal impressed into clay: the seal dissolves, but the design is formed, without two intervening thoughts.

Long ago, a novice monk delighted in cream. A single thought of craving arose, and afterward he was born as a worm within the cream. The wife of the elder Mahāsattva sat before a bright mirror and, seeing her reflection, aroused a single thought of attachment to her body. Later, when wind sank her ship, she was born as a worm within her corpse. All these arose from one thought. The Infinite Life Sutra states that those who recollect the Buddha for one thought all attain birth. The Contemplation Sutra teaches ten thoughts for those who are sickly and weak, with feeble strength and mind, using ten invocations of the name to support the single thought. If the mind is vigorous and undeluded, one thought alone suffices for birth, without any cause for concern.

10. This Mind Is Buddha; This Mind Becomes Buddha

Question: The sutra clearly states, “This mind is Buddha; this mind becomes Buddha.” Why then invoke and recollect the name of Amitābha Buddha far away and retain the characteristics of Utmost Bliss? Is this not seeking the Buddha outside the mind?

Answer: Your question quotes the Contemplation Sutra, whose central purport explains recollection of Amitābha Buddha. Because one remembers the Buddha, the Buddha arises within one’s contemplation; therefore it says, “This mind is Buddha.” How could one appropriate the method of contemplating Amitābha Buddha and turn around to claim that one’s own mind itself is Amitābha Buddha? To say that there is no need to invoke and recollect Amitābha Buddha’s name because this mind is Buddha would be like saying that without contemplating evil, this mind is nevertheless an evil mind. The comparison makes the matter clear.

Moreover, Amitābha Buddha is the supremely honored one in the Land of Utmost Bliss. Although that land lies a hundred thousand koṭis of Buddha lands away, even Mount Sumeru is an object within the mind and therefore does not obstruct our faculty of sight. His excellent characteristics, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, are formed in contemplation through the power of the Buddha’s vows. In a finger-snap one attains birth; why indulge deluded feelings about that land being far or near?

Question: The Buddha’s light and Māra’s light, self-contemplation and contemplation from another—wrong and right are confused. Please clearly distinguish each point.

Answer: A manifestation accordant with one’s contemplation is called one’s own contemplation; this is correct contemplation. A manifestation not accordant with one’s contemplation is called contemplation from another; this is wrong contemplation. For example, if I contemplate the white ūrṇā but it does not appear, while, before I contemplate the blue eyes, blue eyes appear, this contradicts the original mind—how much more so other images.

The Buddha’s light is gentle, shadowless, and does not dazzle the eyes; Māra’s light casts shadows and dazzles. The Śūraṅgama Sutra teaches: “Māra’s light makes one painfully hot, like a blazing fire; the Buddha’s light is cool and does not dazzle.” Furthermore, the Buddha’s light makes the body and mind of the Buddha-recollector peaceful, still, and pure; Māra’s light makes the person feel agitated and alarmed. The Nirvana Sutra teaches: “Transparent purity is true liberation.”

Question: The supremely realized person is free of thought and anxiety. Yet you speak here of employing contemplation. Is this not mistaken?

Answer: The Great Awesome Virtue Dhāraṇī Sutra teaches: “To transcend the three realms and the delusions of views and thought, one must arouse the mind of aspiration.” Contemplation is not a mind of craving. This must be clearly stated: “Those who wish to cultivate Buddha-recollection must arouse the contemplative mind, contemplating without contemplation.” The Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sutra teaches: “One with evil desire thinks of a woman and dreams of a woman; one with wholesome aspiration contemplates the Buddha and dreams of the Buddha.” Although both are called contemplation, wholesome and evil are as far apart as heaven and earth.

Therefore one must not become weary merely upon hearing the word “contemplation.” If one truly rejects contemplation, one will certainly be born in the Heaven of Non-Perception. If one clings to non-perception and disparages contemplation of the Buddha, one will fall forever into Avīci Hell. How could one hope to reach a heavenly palace in the ten directions?

Moreover, the heavens are not the path of liberation.

The Nirvana Sutra teaches: “When a poisoned drum is heard, all who are near or far die.” So it is here: those who negate emptily and reject contemplation, whether near or far, all fall. A sutra teaches: Some may be born in the heavens, but after rising high and descending low, they eventually fall. Whether a boat is borne up or overturned depends upon water; whether one stands or falls depends upon the ground. Deluded contemplation constitutes sentient beings; true contemplation constitutes all Buddhas. Apart from contemplation, what else can be employed?

The Pratyutpanna Sutra teaches: “When the mind gives rise to contemplation, this is delusion; non-contemplation is nirvana.” Know, therefore, that a mind capable of contemplating, a Buddha who is the object contemplated, grasping contemplation of the Buddha, or taking attachment to emptiness as non-contemplation—all belong to delusion. Today we understand that the Buddha arises from contemplation, yet there is neither Buddha nor contemplation; how could there be delusion? This is precisely the Samādhi of Contemplating Emptiness, free from wrong views.

One who is supremely true understands that the true essence is quiescent; the mind is always open like space, yet illuminates the myriad dharmas and never clings to existence. This is the non-objectification of true wisdom and is therefore called non-thought. Conventional wisdom has objects, and contemplative thought consequently arises.

Furthermore, contemplation is not different from emptiness, and emptiness is not different from contemplation. This is precisely the Middle Way, the ultimate truth, revealing the Dharmakāya. Emptiness is not different from contemplation: this is conventional truth.

Merits as numerous as the sands of the Ganges all depend upon conventional truth; this reveals the Sambhogakāya. Contemplation itself is emptiness: this is absolute truth. It destroys the twenty-five modes of existence, realizes the twenty-five samādhis, teaches through what is permanent and impermanent, mingles its light with the dust, benefits beings, and brings them across; this reveals the Nirmāṇakāya.

Thus, with the three contemplations one contemplates the three truths; by contemplating the three truths one realizes the three virtues and accomplishes the three bodies. This applies even to the ten kinds and the threefold dharmas: what cannot be attained thereby? Why would one discard pure contemplation to adopt the contemplation of non-perception? The Śūraṅgama and Ghanavyūha Sutras both teach: “Better to arouse a view of existence as great as Mount Sumeru than a view of emptiness as small as a mustard seed.” Those who believe in cause and effect still contemplate and recollect the Buddha and are born in the Pure Land of Utmost Bliss. Those who negate cause and effect and disparage Buddha-recollection will certainly fall into Avīci Hell. Alas! How could one not be afraid?

11. Recollecting the Buddha in a Loud Voice, Facing West

Question: I have now heard that contemplation itself is non-contemplation. The Vaipulya Sutra teaches: “To cultivate the unsurpassed, profound, and wondrous meditative concentration, one must continuously contemplate the white ūrṇā and also invoke the Buddha’s name in order to seek the supreme concentration.” Once accord is attained, both mind and Buddha are forgotten; then faith is complete. It should suffice to recollect silently, letting the spring of the mind clear itself so that samādhi naturally arrives. Why must one recite so loudly that the sound echoes through villages and resounds across mountains and forests? Can this be regarded as the path?

Answer: Sound is an excellent aid to cultivation. The essential method for treating torpor or distraction requires the voice. If the voice is indistinct, the mind drifts and cannot become settled. There are five meanings:

1. When uprooting weeds, one must pull out the roots. So too with vocal Buddha-recollection: using one’s full strength in a single utterance, all afflictive thoughts disperse like clouds.

2. Wherever the sound of Buddha-recollection reaches, all evil spirits withdraw. Thus it causes the Grove of Merit to flourish for a thousand years.

3. The ancients recollected the Buddha loudly and immediately saw auspicious signs: the Buddha manifested wondrous forms, and flowers scattered through space.

4. When people haul timber or stone, one person calls loudly and many respond in unison, turning what is heavy into something light. Through the assistance of sound, strength arises.

5. When two armies engage and victory remains undecided, if one side uses sound to rouse its soldiers, it can defeat a mighty enemy. Drums or shouted commands may be used to urge them onward.

One cultivating samādhi should first recollect the Buddha loudly; this is śamatha. Silently contemplating the white ūrṇā is vipaśyanā. Loud Buddha-recollection ends distraction and torpor, allowing the mind contemplating the white ūrṇā to become peaceful and still. Practicing in this manner, one will certainly receive the Buddha’s protection because it accords with the Buddha’s intent.

The preface to the Fascicle on the Buddha-Recollection Samādhi teaches: “Of practices lofty in merit and easy in progress, Buddha-recollection comes first. As soon as the sound of Buddha-recollection issues forth, defiling burdens disappear. When defiling attachments disappear, the mind of wisdom shines. No one can reach the most wondrous state, freed from defiling toil, without the sound of Buddha-recollection.” The Avataṃsaka Sutra teaches: “Better to endure immeasurable suffering and hear the sound of ‘Buddha’ than to enjoy every pleasure without hearing the Buddha’s name.” Therefore, as soon as Buddha-recollection resounds, it opens the seed of buddhahood, like spring thunder and lightning causing plants to sprout. How could it be disparaged?

Question: Pure Lands and Tathagatas exist throughout the ten directions. Why must one always face West? Is this not rigid attachment?

Answer: This is the Buddha’s teaching as stated in the Vaipulya Sutra; it is not an idea devised by the masters. One who does not accord with the sutra’s intent disparages the Dharma. A fool sees Avalokiteśvara with eleven faces and objects, “Why was he not depicted with twelve faces?” If an image has twelve faces, he then asks, “Why was he not depicted with eleven?” One who pursues such frivolous argument is a fool.

The Sutra of the Supreme Heavenly King teaches: “The Tathagata possesses eighty excellent characteristics. According to his merit, he reveals light, which is said to face some and turn away from others.” Know that the Buddha’s face is always turned toward all sentient beings. When a practitioner faces one direction, all directions are faced; how could there be distinctions of here and there, facing toward or turning away?

Long ago, Great Master Zhiyi, from his ordination in youth until the age of sixty, joined his palms while lying down and always faced West while sitting. As he approached rebirth, he instructed the Sangha to recite the forty-eight great vows and the contemplation of the nine grades. Light shone throughout the mountain, celestial music resounded, and he passed away seated facing West. Thus, facing West is a great matter for practitioners of the Pure Land.

Question: What are the wondrous gate of the Pure Land and the great meaning of pratyutpanna? Yet recently those who reached the Land of Peace and Nurture have not returned to inform us. How can we know where they went?

Answer: Pratyutpanna is Sanskrit, translated into Chinese as “present before one.” It means that when continuous contemplation does not cease, the Buddha appears immediately within samādhi. The practitioner sets a period of ninety days; this fixed period merely assists the supporting conditions and is not the primary meaning.

Long ago, Dharma Master Huiyuan of Mount Lu received the Buddha-Recollection Samādhi teaching from the Tripiṭaka master Buddhabhadra. Together with his younger brother Huizhi, the eminent monk Huiyong, worthy and eminent court officials, and pure recluses such as Sun Bing, Zhang Ye, Liu Yimin, Lei Cizong, Zhou Xuzhi, and Que Gongze—123 people in all—he made a solemn vow at Mount Lu. All attained samādhi, and all were born in the Pure Land. Of these 123 people, only Que Gongze vowed that after attaining birth he would return to report the news.

After Gongze passed away, his remaining friends gathered one night at White Horse Monastery in the Eastern Capital and recited sutras in his memory. At that moment, the hall and the grove outside both turned golden. A voice spoke from the sky: “I am Que Gongze. My aspiration for birth in Utmost Bliss has now borne fruit, so I have returned to inform you.” After speaking, he vanished.

Zhi Daolin composed a eulogy:

Yu Xiaojing also composed a eulogy:

12. One Mind, Like Dreaming and Waking, Clarifies Samādhi

Question: The Buddha taught, “All dharmas are like a dream.” Is a person’s recollection of the Buddha and birth in the Pure Land also like a dream? If it is not like a dream, the Buddha exists outside the mind. If it is like a dream, then it resembles finding gold in a dream and having none upon awakening; it is entirely false, and nothing is obtained.

Answer: The intent of the verse is to indicate the dharmas of sentient beings in the nine realms. They are conditioned dharmas and are therefore said to be like a dream. Buddha-recollection, however, is the supramundane Dharma of all Buddhas and should be spoken of as awakening. The ancients said: “The deluded mind, like a dream, comprises the sentient beings of the nine realms. The awakened mind, like waking, is the Dharma realm of all Buddhas.” A person dreaming of finding gold follows delusion, while recollection of the Buddha and birth in the Pure Land are true and therefore not a dream.

It is like a person training in the divine eye: first he contemplates the light of a fire-jewel without ceasing, and then the genuine divine eye arises. Who could then call that divine eye false? The Avataṃsaka Sutra says: “Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three are without distinction. The deluded mind, like a dream, comprises the sentient beings of the nine realms; the awakened mind, like waking, is the Dharma realm of all Buddhas. Delusion and awakening both lie within the one mind; dreaming and waking have never left two separate traces.” A sutra says: “Understanding that delusion is originally rooted in truth, one immediately beholds Vairocana.” Even if the dream is delusive, what harm is there?

13. Recollecting the Buddha’s Three Bodies to Destroy the Three Kinds of Obstruction

Question: The Buddha has three bodies. How should they be recollected?

Answer: Although the Buddha has three bodies, they remain one: the Dharmakāya is like the moon; the Sambhogakāya is like moonlight; and the Nirmāṇakāya is like the moon’s reflection in water. They cannot be said to be one, because the moons reflected in different waters vary in every way. Nor can they be said to be many, because the moon is one. They are like the three dots of the character i, or the three eyes of Maheśvara: differing horizontally and vertically, truly inconceivable.

A sutra teaches: “Sometimes he manifests a great body filling space; sometimes he manifests a body sixteen feet tall.” All are the Buddha within the mind-water of sentient beings. The Buddha has no form in the first place; how could there be two? Pure and impure lands likewise arise from the minds of sentient beings.

If you wish to use recollection of the Buddha’s three bodies to destroy the three obstructions, I shall explain. The Buddha body arises from śamatha and vipaśyanā. Because śamatha and vipaśyanā are not balanced, obstructions arise. When one practicing Buddha-recollection cultivates śamatha and sinks into torpor, the obstruction of darkness arises and obstructs the Buddha’s Nirmāṇakāya. At that time, one must use contemplation to spur the mind onward, recollecting the characteristic of the white ūrṇā to destroy the characteristic of darkness.

When the mind becomes buoyant during contemplation, there is no evil it will not create—deluded thoughts arise in confusion. This is the obstruction of evil karma, which obstructs the Buddha’s Sambhogakāya. One must again cultivate śamatha to stop all evil thoughts. The Buddhas possess merits as numerous as the sands of the Ganges and perfect wisdom. With respect to the cause, this is called recompense, and it destroys the obstruction of evil karma.

If the afflictive obstruction and cognitive obstruction arise together on both sides, changing shape and appearance while myriad characteristics appear in confusion, these two thieves pull one about and obstruct the Buddha’s Dharmakāya. One must destroy them with the emptiness of the ultimate meaning of the Middle Way. A verse says:

“Without color, without form or characteristics,
Without root and without abiding place,
Neither arising nor ceasing—
I pay homage to that which is not an object of contemplation.”

The principle of the contemplated object is like a strong wind dispersing mountain mist, revealing the pure moon of the Dharmakāya and destroying the obstruction of torment. Medicine must be prescribed according to the illness; practitioners must understand this clearly. I have transformed others, and others transform beings; beings and I together accomplish the unobstructed interpenetration of all phenomena. Samādhi grows ever more flourishing. Sentient beings are inexhaustible; samādhi is unceasing.

The six gates above concern recollection of the present Amitābha Buddha, though their meaning encompasses all Buddhas of the three times. They are explained extensively in the Collection on Peace and Bliss, the Treatise on Ten Doubts, the Treatise Explaining the Rites of Contemplation, the Biographies of Rebirth, the Treatise on the Meaning of the Dharma Jewel, and the Accounts of the Unsurpassed, Profound, and Wondrous Gate of Meditation.