念佛三昧寶王論

GATE VIII

MINDFULNESS OF THE PRESENT BUDDHA, CONCENTRATING EXCLUSIVELY UPON ONE OBJECT

Question: I have heard the profound meaning of mindfulness of future Buddhas—that is, mindfulness of sentient beings—and have understood its deep and extensive principles. Yet I fear that the scattered mind is difficult to restrain. I now wish to use one practice to encompass all: to concentrate exclusively upon one Buddha in the West, ascend to the stage of non-retrogression, relinquish the outflow-tainted mind, launch the boat upon the golden pond, and pay homage to Amitabha Buddha within the jeweled palace. Can this practice penetrate the three times and enable one to ascend through the nine grades of rebirth?

Answer: The Treatise on the Ten Stages of the Bodhisattva Path was composed by Bodhisattva Nagarjuna to explain the Avatamsaka Sutra. In its Chapter on Easy Practice it says: “The bodhisattva path includes difficult practices, like traveling by boat over dry land, and easy practices, like sailing downstream. Through the power of Amitabha Buddha’s original vows, if anyone hears his name, wholeheartedly invokes it, and vows to be born in that land, it is like sailing downstream with a favorable wind: in a single passage one travels a thousand miles.

Is this not easy? How else could the father of Shakyamuni Buddha and sixty thousand members of the Shakya clan have been born in the Land of Utmost Bliss? This proves that Amitabha Buddha has exceedingly deep affinities with the sentient beings of this world.

Is it not excellent, then, to concentrate exclusively upon one object in a practice that penetrates the three times?”

Question: The principle that exclusive concentration upon one object penetrates the three times is entirely correct. Yet invoking the Buddha’s name and vowing to be born in the Land of Utmost Bliss are conditioned and illusory, like waves raised by a strong wind. If so, would it not be better to cease pursuing external conceptions, gather the mind inwardly, and accord with the purport of the unconditioned?

Answer: Although conditioned things are false and deceptive, if they are abandoned, the work of the path cannot be accomplished. Although the unconditioned is true, if one clings to it, the mind of wisdom will not shine. The sutra says: “To reject conditioned merit is the work of Mara; to delight in and cling to unconditioned merit is also the work of Mara.” If you allow rejection and delight to contend with each other, how could you avoid falling into Mara’s net?

If the mind gathered by sages is called inward, while the deluded pursuits of ordinary beings are called outward; if outward pursuit is regarded as distraction and inward abiding as concentration; and if one then allows inward and outward to govern oneself, this truly does not accord with the intent of gathering the mind in the Samadhi of Buddha-Mindfulness.

In his commentary on the Vimalakirti Sutra, Kumarajiva records: “In a foreign land there was a beautiful woman whose body was golden in color. The son of an elder, named Dharmottara, offered her one thousand taels of gold to accompany him to the Bamboo Grove, riding together in the same carriage. Manjushri transformed himself into a layman dressed in magnificent garments and walked along the road. When the woman saw the beautiful clothing, desire arose in her mind. Manjushri said to her:

—If you wish to obtain beautiful garments, you must arouse the mind of bodhi.

The woman asked:

—What is the mind of bodhi?

—It is precisely your body.

—Why is bodhi my body?

—The nature of bodhi is empty, and the nature of your body is empty.

“This woman had planted roots of goodness in the time of Kashyapa Buddha and had extensively cultivated wisdom. Upon hearing Manjushri’s words, she immediately attained the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. Having attained it, she wished to reveal the fault of sensual desire, and so entered the forest with the elder’s son. There she manifested her body as dead, decomposing, and putrid. Seeing this, the elder’s son was utterly terrified and went to the Buddha. The Buddha taught him the Dharma, and he too attained the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas.”

Until one has become a greatly awakened being, one has not yet attained complete ease; therefore it is called “patient acceptance.” Just as one contemplates the true mark of one’s own body, so should one contemplate the Buddha: the woman’s body is empty, and the Buddha’s body is also empty; they have never differed. How, then, could the meaning of bodhi be different? If this is so, all conditioned things are the unconditioned, and all that is inward or outward is neither inward nor outward. Thus, amid existence there has never been existence; although existent, it is constantly empty. Amid emptiness there has never been emptiness; although empty, it is constantly existent. What obstruction, then, could there be in the Buddha’s possessing marks and the mind’s possessing mindfulness?

GATE IX

THIS LIFE, THE NEXT LIFE, ONE THOUGHT, AND TEN THOUGHTS

Question: The purport of easy and difficult practice, and of contemplating the body as itself bodhi, has now become clear. Human life passes as swiftly as a spark struck from flint; if one delays for even a single thought, I fear regret will come too late. Practitioners do not cling to mind, much less to body; if they do not cling even to the body, how could they cling to things outside it? People commonly fear that a single exhalation may not be followed by an inhalation, whereupon they already belong to the next life, like a dry blade of grass blown by a violent wind, not knowing where it will go. Please instruct me in the teaching of one thought and ten thoughts, and in preparation for this life and the next.

Answer: How magnificent is the work of the Pure Land assembly! Followers of the Two Vehicles still the spirit in empty nothingness, delusively cling to emptiness, fear phenomenal characteristics, and do not remain mindful of sentient beings; therefore, they have no Pure Land. The Mahayana, however, possesses Pure Lands because it arouses the mind of bodhi.

The Karunapundarika Sutra states: “In a former life, Amitabha Buddha was a Wheel-Turning Sage-King named Aranemin. The king possessed the seven treasures and had one thousand sons. With Ratnasamudra as his spiritual friend, he aroused the mind of bodhi before Ratnagarbha Buddha and established the Pure Land of Utmost Bliss.

Accordingly, the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and shravakas mentioned throughout the sutras were later incarnations of those one thousand princes. The eldest prince, Animisha, became Avalokiteshvara. The succeeding princes included Mani, who became Mahasthamaprapta; Rajajana, who became Manjushri; Nengqienu, who became Bodhisattva Vajra Wisdom Radiance; Abhaya, who became Tathagata Lotus Venerable; Ambara, who became Bodhisattva Space Radiance; Thousand-Armed, who became Bodhisattva Lion Fragrance; Guiding Leader, who became Bodhisattva Samantabhadra; and Misu, who became Akshobhya Buddha.

From the time Prince Misu first aroused the aspiration until the present, with every step he took, his mind and mental factors concentrated exclusively upon recollecting the Buddhas; he therefore became Perfectly Awakened in the world of Abhirati.”

I maintain that whether walking upon a broad road or roaming through a deep forest, one should be no different from Prince Misu. When one brandishes a jade tablet while entering the court, or attends the sovereign within the jeweled hall, majestic and dignified amid the clamor of horses and carriages, could one not apply the mind with every step? Would it be necessary to alter one’s customary activities?

As for a person approaching the bank of the river of death, before the breath has ceased, if one exhalation is not followed by an inhalation, one instantly passes into the next life. It is precisely as you have asked. Most people use pearls, crystal, bodhi seeds, vajra beads, or various tree seeds to make rosaries for Buddha-mindfulness.

I, however, take inhalations and exhalations as my rosary for Buddha-mindfulness, invoking the name in accord with the breath. Thus I have a firm support and no longer fear that, should the breath fail to return, I will already have passed into another life. Whether walking, standing, lying down, or sitting, I constantly use this rosary.

When weary, I hold the Buddha in mind as I sleep; upon waking, I continue my mindfulness of the Buddha. I will surely behold Amitabha Buddha in dreams, just as smoke seen while drilling wood indicates that fire will soon appear. If such dreams continue, samadhi will certainly be accomplished.

One will behold the jeweled urna with one’s own eyes and receive a prediction from the Buddha; then, of ten thousand people seeking rebirth, not one will be left behind. You should therefore exert yourself!

Question: Of rebirth in the Pure Land through one thought and through ten thoughts, which is the orthodox teaching?

Answer: Rebirth through a single thought, followed by abiding in the stage of non-retrogression, is the orthodox teaching. As the Buddha said, slandering the Buddha, destroying scriptures, striking members of the Sangha, reviling one’s father or mother, the five heinous offenses, and the four grave transgressions are all accomplished through a single thought of evil karma, and one falls into hell as swiftly as an arrow flies.

Today, mindfulness of the Buddha and rebirth in the Pure Land are likewise accomplished through a single thought of wholesome karma; one reaches the Land of Utmost Bliss in the time it takes to bend an arm. With the preceding thought, the five skandhas cease; with the following thought, the five skandhas arise. It is like a wax seal impressed upon clay: the seal is destroyed, yet the imprint remains.

Even two thoughts are unnecessary, much less ten. Although striking a member of the Sangha or reviling one’s father or mother may not constitute the principal form of a heinous offense, they are nevertheless included among the five heinous offenses.

Regarding a single thought, let me cite the following accounts from the sutras. A novice monk was fond of butter and milk. Because of a single thought of attachment, after death he fell into rebirth as a worm living in butter. The wife of an elder named Mahasattva looked into a mirror and became enamored of her own appearance while traveling by boat. Suddenly, a storm arose at sea and sank the vessel. The elder’s wife died and was immediately reborn in her next life as a maggot within her former corpse, crawling and playing back and forth inside it. This too resulted from only a single thought; ten thoughts were not required.

The Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra says that one who is mindful of the Buddha for a single thought will certainly attain rebirth. The Contemplation Sutra speaks of ten thoughts because a sick person is physically weak and possesses feeble mental strength, so that as many as ten invocations of Amitabha Buddha’s name may be needed to support that single thought. If a person’s mind is strong, lucid, and undeluded, rebirth through one thought is like planting a sprout as fine as a strand of silk or a hair and obtaining a luxuriant tree a hundred times greater.

GATE X

THIS MIND IS BUDDHA; THIS MIND BECOMES BUDDHA

Question: As the sutra teaches, “This mind is Buddha; this mind becomes Buddha.” Why, then, are such remote practices as invoking Amitabha Buddha’s name and contemplating the Land of Utmost Bliss necessary, or such immediate practices as recollecting the Buddhas and revering future Buddhas? All these activities seek externally. How can it be said that this mind is Buddha?

Answer: Your question is incorrect. You merely quote the words of the sutra without understanding its purport. This sutra is precisely the Contemplation Sutra of the Buddha of Infinite Life, which specifically elucidates the meaning of mindfulness of Amitabha Buddha.

Because through mindfulness of the Buddha, the Buddha arises from the mind’s contemplation, it is said, “This mind is Buddha.” How could you steal the contemplation of Amitabha from the sutra and then turn around and disparage the mind that is mindful of Amitabha? If, without being mindful of the Buddha, we say that this mind is Buddha, would it be possible, without the mind thinking evil, to say that this mind is evil?

Certainly not! This matter is the same. Moreover, in the Land of Utmost Bliss, Amitabha Buddha is like Sumeru, king of mountains.

The ten trillion ([10]) Buddha lands do not obstruct one’s vision, and the marks and excellent characteristics radiating light rays as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are successfully contemplated through the Buddha’s vow-power. One attains rebirth in the time it takes to bend an arm; why calculate whether that land is near or far?

Question: I have now heard the meaning of “This mind is Buddha.” Yet this sutra explains the sixteen wondrous contemplations attained by Queen Vaidehi. Ice and the sun can be contemplated, but when contemplating the Buddha’s body, radiant like a golden mountain, how does one distinguish the Buddha’s light from Mara’s light, one’s own contemplation from an external manifestation, and the true from the false when they are intermingled? Please instruct us so that those mindful of the Buddha may practice with peaceful minds even when away from a teacher.

Answer: Contemplating ice is the basis for contemplating the ground of lapis lazuli, while contemplating the sun gradually leads to contemplation of the light of the white urna. A manifestation corresponding to the intended contemplation is called one’s own and true; one not corresponding to the intended contemplation is called external and false. If the original intention is to contemplate the white urna but the urna does not appear, while blue eyes appear before one has contemplated them, this contradicts the original intention. How could it not be false? How much more so with other imagined things. Moreover, Mara’s light casts shadows and dazzles the eyes, while the Buddha’s light casts no shadow and does not dazzle. Therefore, the Lankavatara Sutra contains this verse:

The Buddha-ground is supremely excellent,

Pure, wondrous, and magnificently adorned;

It shines brightly like a great fire,

Its radiance reaching everywhere.

Brilliant, yet it does not dazzle the eyes;

Universally embracing, it liberates the three realms ([11]).

Question: Is brilliant light that appears and damages the eyes not Mara’s light? And is light that does not dazzle the eyes not the Buddha’s light?

Answer: True light causes the body and mind of one mindful of the Buddha to become still, clear, and pure, while counterfeit light causes the mind to become agitated, frightened, and confused. Therefore, the Nirvana Sutra says: “Stillness, clarity, and purity are true liberation.” True liberation must indeed be the light of the Tathagata.

Question: The consummate person is free from contrivance. Is it not mistaken, then, to employ conception?

Answer: The Dharani Sutra of Great Majestic Virtue says: “If one wishes to transcend afflictions, one must arouse a mind of desire that contemplates desirelessness.” It is likewise so here: to cultivate mindfulness of the Buddha, one must arouse a conceiving mind that contemplates non-conception. Therefore, the Bhadrapala Vaipulya Sutra says: “When an evil intention conceives a woman, one dreams of a woman; when a wholesome intention contemplates the Buddha, one dreams of the Buddha.” I maintain that both are called conception, but good and evil are as far apart as heaven and earth.

Therefore, one should not hear the word “conception” and reject it altogether. If one rejects it altogether, then even if one does not slander the Buddhist sutras, one will surely be born in the Heaven of Non-Conception. If one stubbornly clings to non-conception and disparages those who contemplate the Buddha, one is a slanderer of the Dharma.

Because one slanders the Buddhadharma, I fear one will remain in hell with no appointed day of release; what hope would there then be of a heavenly palace? Even if one were born in a heaven, it would be the heaven of non-Buddhist paths, not the path of liberation.

The Nirvana Sutra records: “When the deadly sound of a drum is struck, all who hear it, whether near or far, must die.” It is likewise here: regardless of how near or far one goes in repudiating contemplation, one will fall. The sutra speaks of “sometimes leaving the ground by one or two feet and moving back and forth”; this is its meaning. How could that be liberation from transmigration through the three realms? How could it equal rebirth among the nine grades? Moreover, whether a boat sinks or is carried onward depends upon the current; whether one falls or rises occurs upon the same ground. To arouse false conceptions is to be a sentient being; to arouse true contemplation is to be a Buddha. Apart from this contemplation, what else could one employ?

Question: You have explained the phenomenal aspect; what of the principle? The Pratyutpanna Samadhi Sutra says: “When the mind gives rise to conception, that is delusion; non-conception is nirvana.” Is it not therefore wrong to employ conception now?

Answer: It is not so! If one still holds the notion that the Buddha is the object contemplated and the mind is the contemplator, and then avoids contemplating the Buddha, grasping perniciously at emptiness as non-conception, that is extreme delusion. I now understand that Buddhas all arise from contemplation. When there is neither Buddha nor contemplation, where could delusion exist? This is precisely the contemplation of emptiness in samadhi, in which wrong views no longer remain.

You further ask where the principle lies. The consummate person tacitly accords with the quiescent true essence and keeps the heart-mind open and empty. Although illuminating the myriad dharmas, the mind has never possessed them.

Thus one attains true wisdom without an object and is therefore said to be without thought. Conventional wisdom has objects; therefore, thoughts and conceptions arise. Furthermore, conception is not different from emptiness, and emptiness is not different from conception.

This is called the principle of the Middle Way and the ultimate truth, revealing the Dharma body. Emptiness itself is conception; this is called the principle of conventional truth. Merits as numerous as the sands of the Ganges all depend upon conventional truth, revealing the Reward body.

Conception itself is emptiness; this is called the principle of ultimate truth. It destroys the twenty-five realms ([12]) and attains the twenty-five gates of samadhi ([13]); constantly empty, it nevertheless constantly manifests in responsive transformations, concealing its radiance and benefiting beings. This reveals the Transformation body.

Thus, by using the three contemplations ([14]) to contemplate the three truths ([15]), one realizes the three virtues ([16]), accomplishes the three bodies ([17]), and even attains the ten sets of three dharmas ([18]). What could not be attained? Yet you wish to abandon pure contemplation and cling to the conception of non-conception.

This blocks the gate of dhyana while clinging to the threshold of Buddhahood.

The Lankavatara and Ghanavyuha Sutras both teach: It is better to give rise to a view of “existence” as great as Mount Sumeru, because one still believes in cause and effect and still thinks of being mindful of the Buddha and attaining rebirth in the Land of Utmost Bliss. Therefore, they say, “It is better to cling to existence.” Do not give rise to a view clinging to “emptiness” even as small as a mustard seed, for this repudiates cause and effect and disparages mindfulness of the Buddha, leading inevitably to the Avici Hell. Therefore, they say, “Do not give rise to a view clinging to emptiness.” Alas! How fearful is such a view!

GATE XI

LOUD INVOCATION OF THE BUDDHA’S NAME AND FACING WEST

Question: I have now heard that conception itself is non-conception. Yet the Vaipulya Sutra teaches that, in cultivating the profound and wondrous supreme dhyana gate, one must continuously contemplate the mark of the white urna while also invoking the Buddha’s name in hopes of attaining excellent concentration. I believe that, after one has entered into accord, both mind and Buddha are forgotten. Nevertheless, if silent mindfulness flows like a clear stream, samadhi will naturally arrive. Why must one make such a clamor throughout the villages and shake the mountains and forests before it can be called the Path?

Answer: It is precisely as you say. Nevertheless, sound is not at fault. Let us now discuss sound:

The essential technique for eliminating distraction must rely upon sound. If the voice is faint, the mind scatters and cannot become concentrated. Just as uprooting a tree together with its roots requires force, one must urge oneself with a loud voice. Through lifelong vigor, one will surely put an end to the hundred anxieties. This is the first meaning.

Speaking of what is near, wherever the sound reaches, myriad calamities are extinguished, while the forest of merit flourishes and thrives. This is the second meaning.

Speaking of what is distant, the golden countenance shines brilliantly and its light illuminates everywhere, while jeweled flowers rain down in abundance, all appearing as clearly as an object indicated in the palm of one’s hand ([19]). All this is attained through sound. This is the third meaning.

It is like pulling heavy timber or stones: when they cannot be moved, one raises a loud cry and can then pull them with ease. This is the fourth meaning.

It is like battling Mara’s armies: one must have banners and drums, using loud cries of encouragement to focus the army’s will and vanquish the powerful enemy. This is the fifth meaning.

Since sound possesses meanings such as these, why should it be rejected?

Nothing is better than employing both loud recitation and silent contemplation. Cultivating both shamatha and vipashyana accords with the Buddha’s intent. When concentration and wisdom are equal, both mind and Buddha are forgotten. This accords with what you have just asked. Therefore, in his preface to the Samadhi of Buddha-Mindfulness, Master Huiyuan of Mount Lu said: “Among practices of lofty merit that are easy to cultivate, mindfulness of the Buddha is foremost.” When the mind listens to the mysterious sound being struck, all defilements cease and every stagnant attachment is released. If this were not the supreme wonder under heaven, who would be willing to undertake it? I shall cite a verse from the Avatamsaka Sutra as evidence:

I would rather endure immeasurable suffering

And be able to hear the Buddha’s voice

Than enjoy every kind of pleasure

And never hear the Buddha’s name.

Thus, the far-reaching sound of Buddha-recitation causes roots of goodness to sprout in myriad beings, just as spring thunder awakens the vital force of plants and trees. It should not be taken lightly.

Question: I have now heard the meaning of invoking the Buddha’s name loudly or softly. Since Tathagatas dwell in the Pure Lands of all ten directions, why cling to facing west?

Answer: Your question is incorrect, for facing west is taught by the Buddha in the Vaipulya sutras; it is not merely the opinion of teachers. You should not slander the Vaipulya sutras.

Question: I ask to hear the principle behind this teaching.

Answer: It has its principle as well. Suppose a foolish person sees Avalokiteshvara with eleven faces and asks why he does not have twelve. If Avalokiteshvara had twelve faces as the person suggested, he would then ask why he did not have eleven. Your wish to use east to question west has the same meaning. A deluded person who has not awakened must place this body steadily in one position and not allow it to turn toward any other direction; then that person will naturally awaken. If one still does not awaken, one is certainly impossible to teach and can only be pitied.

The Chapter on the Two Practices in the Sutra of the Victorious Heavenly King discusses the eighty secondary characteristics of the Tathagata. Among them is a meritorious secondary mark of radiance named “Never Turning His Back upon Any Direction.” Thus, the Buddhas never turn their backs on sentient beings but always face them all. They are not like enemies who do not wish to see one another.

This fully reveals the ultimate compassion of the Buddhas. From childhood to maturity, Great Master Zhizhe always joined his palms when lying down and faced west when sitting. As he approached parinirvana, he instructed the assembly to recite the forty-eight vows and the nine grades of rebirth.

Light filled the mountain, heavenly music resounded, and he was born in the Pure Land. Is not the meaning of facing west vast indeed?

Question: I have now heard the principle of facing west. What, then, is the meaning of pratyutpanna?

Answer: The Sanskrit pratyutpanna is translated into Chinese as “present before one.” It means recollecting without interruption, so that the Buddha appears within concentration. Walking continuously for ninety days without lying or sitting is a supporting condition for pratyutpanna; it is not itself a direct explanation of the word’s meaning.

Question: I have now heard a complete analysis of the meaning of pratyutpanna within the wondrous gate of the Pure Land. But has anyone in recent times been born in the Land of Peace and Bliss? Since none has returned to report the news, how can we know where they went? I ask you to explain this.

Answer: During the Jin dynasty, Dharma Master Huiyuan of Mount Lu was the first to promote the practice of the Samadhi of Buddha-Mindfulness. Together with his younger fellow monk Huichi, the eminent monk Huiyong, and such noble and virtuous recluses living in purity and poverty as Sun Bing, Zhang Ye, Liu Yimin, Lei Cizong, Zhou Xuzhi, Que Gongze, and others—a total of one hundred and twenty-three people—he engraved an inscription upon the mountain and vowed to attain rebirth in the Pure Land.

Liu Yimin composed a text that says, in essence: “Reflecting that one may sink into perdition in a single instant, we suddenly awaken with painful clarity to impermanence. We consider how difficult it is to escape the karmic retribution of the three perilous paths. Therefore, companions of common purpose should diligently exert themselves morning and evening in hopes of liberation.

Through wondrous contemplation, we open the mind to right illumination and perceive the dependent and primary recompenses of that land. Temporarily borrowing this body, like a hibiscus blooming in the morning and fading by evening, we practice mindfulness of the Buddha amid the current beneath the shade of the jade tree. Cloud garments float when one reaches eighty; fragrant breezes drift gently at the end of one’s years.

The body forgets ease and becomes ever more harmonious; the mind transcends pleasure and rejoices in itself. One enters the three paths without becoming entangled and wanders through heavenly palaces yet still takes leave of them. We introduce everyone to this excellent path so that future generations may follow, pointing out the place of perfect repose as our appointed meeting place.” Upon carefully examining this principle, is it not vast indeed?

Master Huiyuan wrote in his preface to the Samadhi of Buddha-Mindfulness: “What is samadhi? It is focused recollection and tranquil contemplation. With focused recollection, one’s resolve does not shift; with tranquil contemplation, the vital energy becomes pure and the spirit becomes luminous.

When the vital energy is pure, wisdom shines and awakens to the wondrous principle; when the spirit is luminous, no subtle obscurity remains unpenetrated. These two naturally and tacitly accord with the profound principle and further give rise to wondrous functioning. Moreover, the various gates of samadhi have numerous names, but among those of lofty merit that are easy to cultivate, mindfulness of the Buddha is supreme.” Thus, the concentrations of ordinary beings with their respective objects cannot be compared with this samadhi.

Xie Lingyun composed the following hymn to the Pure Land:

Dharmakara dwelt within a royal palace,

But, loving the Path, renounced kingdom and city.

He made forty-eight vows,

Pledging to liberate all sentient beings.

The Pure Land is a wondrous realm;

All who arrive there are spiritually refined.

That land knows neither decline nor aging;

Those to be liberated should swiftly attain rebirth.

You asked: “No one who attained rebirth has yet been seen to return and report the news.”

I reply: During the Jin dynasty, Que Gongze vowed to attain rebirth and then return to report the news. After his death, a fellow practitioner went to White Horse Monastery in the Eastern Capital and recited sutras, dedicating the merit to him. That night, the hall suddenly became brilliantly illuminated, and a voice spoke from the sky: “I am Que Gongze. My vow to be born in the Land of Utmost Bliss has now borne fruit, and so I have returned to tell everyone.” After speaking, he disappeared. Zhi Daolin composed this eulogy:

Lofty indeed was Master Que,

Wondrous and spiritually numinous!

His spirit was born in the Land of Utmost Bliss,

While his responsive trace appeared in the Eastern Capital.

He soared through empty space,

His body radiant, his voice harmonious.

Reverently offering a few words,

He left this record for the world.

Yu Xiaojing also composed a eulogy:

Wondrous indeed was Master Gongze,

Who first tasted the flavor of the Dharma.

How few could truly know him;

Only the profound and subtle Path is precious.

Golden light blazed through the night,

His jade countenance shone like the sun.

Not abandoning those with affinities,

He informed his companions on the same path.

GATE XII

ILLUMINATING SAMADHI THROUGH THE SINGLE MIND, DREAM, AND REALITY

Question: I now believe that Que Gongze attained rebirth and returned to report the news. The Buddha said that all dharmas are like dreams. I do not know whether the Buddha who is recollected and the Pure Land where one seeks rebirth are also like dreams. If they are not dreams, the Buddha exists outside the mind. If they are dreams, the Buddha is within the mind, just as one sees gold in a dream but finds nothing upon awakening. I fear that one may recollect the three bodies in vain and that, in the end, it will all be a delusion. Please explain this to me.

Answer: It is not a delusion! How do we know? If one who cultivates the Samadhi of Buddha-Mindfulness were like a dreamer who sees gold but has no gold upon awakening, both would equally be delusions.

Yet one who is mindful of the Buddha ultimately attains rebirth in the Pure Land precisely through that mindfulness. How could this be called delusion? It is also like a person practicing the method of the divine eye.

At first, one visualizes the light of a jewel, fire, and so forth. One continues visualizing without interruption until the divine eye actually arises. Who would call that delusion?

How could this resemble dreaming of gold and ultimately possessing nothing? Do not compare the divine eye, by which one sees distant things as if they were near, to a dream; likewise, one should not regard mindfulness of the Buddha leading to rebirth as equivalent to a dream.

The Avatamsaka Sutra says: “Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three are without difference.” When the mind is deluded, it is like a dream and fully manifests the sentient beings of the nine Dharma realms. When the mind awakens as if from sleep, the single Dharma realm is the Dharma realm of the Buddhas. Delusion and awakening exist only in the one mind; dream and waking are not two. Therefore, the sutra often says: “When one realizes that delusion is originally itself the truth, one beholds Vairochana.” Even if this dream were delusive, where would the error lie? One should simply contemplate through the principle of mind-only and should not cling rigidly.

GATE XIII

RECOLLECTING THE BUDDHA’S THREE BODIES TO DESTROY THE THREE OBSTRUCTIONS

Question: The Buddha has three bodies. How should they be recollected? Please show me an expedient means so that I may avoid error.

Answer: The Buddha’s three bodies are the Dharma body, the Reward body, and the Transformation body. The Dharma body is like the substance of the moon. The Reward body is like the moon’s radiance. The Transformation body is like the moon’s reflections. The moon appears within ten thousand streams: are these moons many or one? One cannot say they are one, because the moonlight differs in each of the ten thousand streams. Nor can one say they are many, because the moon in the sky remains one. It is like the Sanskrit letter “...” (Yi), composed of three dots, and like the god Maheshvara, who has three eyes. Whether arranged vertically or horizontally, they differ, yet all are inconceivable.

The sutra says: “He may manifest a small body, sixteen or eight feet tall.” These are all Buddhas within the mind-water of sentient beings. The Buddha does not even possess form or characteristics; how could there be two bodies? Pure lands and defiled lands also arise from the minds of sentient beings. If one wishes to use recollection of the three bodies to destroy the three obstructions, I shall now explain it.

The contemplation of the Buddha’s body arises through cultivating shamatha and vipashyana. If shamatha and vipashyana are not balanced, obstructions arise. When one mindful of the Buddha cultivates shamatha and the mind sinks into torpor, the obstruction of darkness arises and conceals the Buddha’s Transformation body. One must then employ illuminating contemplation to raise the mind. Contemplation of the white urna thereby destroys the obstruction of darkness.

When one cultivates vipashyana and the mind becomes restless and agitated, deluded thoughts arise and obstruct the Buddha’s Reward body. One must return to shamatha to halt these deluded thoughts. By recollecting that the Buddhas’ past causes possessed merits as numerous as the sands of the Ganges and that their wisdom became perfect and complete, one understands that the body received in recompense for those former causes is called “Reward,” and thereby destroys the obstruction of deluded thought.

If the obstructions of the two extremes—torpor and distraction—become active, displaying myriad diverse and bustling appearances, these two thieves, whether strong or weak, both obscure the Buddha’s Dharma body. One must therefore destroy them with the emptiness of the Middle Way and ultimate truth.

The verse says:

Without color and without form,

Without faculties and without abiding place,

Because it neither arises nor ceases,

I pay homage to That Which Cannot Be Contemplated.

The principle of the object contemplated is like the mighty Vairambha wind dispersing dense clouds and clearly revealing the jeweled moon of the pure Dharma body. It destroys the obstruction of afflictive torment, no differently from prescribing medicine according to the illness. I teach others, and they in turn teach still others; self and others all attain accomplishment, and samadhi flourishes ever more greatly. Because sentient beings are inexhaustible, samadhi will never cease.

The six gates presented above all convey the meaning of “mindfulness of the present Amitabha Buddha penetrating the three times.” This issue is extensively explained in such works as the Yingluo Collection, Great Master Tiantai’s Treatise on Ten Doubts, Dharma Master Huaigan’s Treatise Resolving a Multitude of Doubts, the Biographies of Rebirth, and Dhyana Master Chou’s Treatise on the Meaning of the Dharma Treasure. I, Feixi, also previously composed a volume entitled Collected Transmission of the Dharma Treasure of the Supreme, Profound, and Wondrous Dhyana Gate, likewise for the purpose of extensively expounding this Dharma gate.

Notes:

[10] The Amitabha Sutra says: The Land of Utmost Bliss lies ten trillion Buddha lands from here.

[11] The three realms (the three modes of existence): the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm.

[12] The twenty-five realms: 1. Hells, 2. Animals, 3. Hungry ghosts, 4. Asuras, 5. Purvavideha, 6. Aparagodaniya, 7. Uttarakuru, 8. Jambudvipa, 9. The Abodes of the Four Heavenly Kings, 10. The Abode of the Thirty-Three Gods, 11. The Yama Heaven, 12. The Tushita Heaven, 13. The Heaven of Delight in Transformation, 14. The Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Transformations, 15. The Great Brahma Heaven, 16. The First Dhyana, 17. The Second Dhyana, 18. The Third Dhyana, 19. The Fourth Dhyana, 20. Non-Conception, 21. The Pure Abodes of Anagamins, 22. The Sphere of Infinite Space, 23. The Sphere of Infinite Consciousness, 24. The Sphere of Nothingness, 25. The Sphere of Neither Conception nor Non-Conception.

[13] The twenty-five samadhis: 1. Stainless Samadhi, 2. Non-Retrogression Samadhi, 3. Joyful Mind Samadhi, 4. Gladness Samadhi, 5. Sunlight Samadhi, 6. Moonlight Samadhi, 7. Blazing Heat Samadhi, 8. Illusion-Like Samadhi, 9. Immovable Samadhi, 10. Difficult-to-Subdue Samadhi, 11. Pleasing Samadhi, 12. Blue-Color Samadhi, 13. Yellow-Color Samadhi, 14. Red-Color Samadhi, 15. White-Color Samadhi, 16. Variegated Samadhi, 17. Twin Samadhi, 18. Thunderous-Sound Samadhi, 19. Rain-Pouring Samadhi, 20. Space Samadhi, 21. Mirror-Illumination Samadhi, 22. Unobstructed Samadhi, 23. Permanence Samadhi, 24. Bliss Samadhi, 25. Self Samadhi.

[14] The three contemplations: contemplation of emptiness, contemplation of provisional existence, and contemplation of the Middle.

[15] The three truths: 1. The truth of emptiness, also called ultimate truth or the truth of nonexistence; 2. The truth of provisional existence, also called conventional truth or the truth of existence; 3. The truth of the Middle, also called the ultimate truth of the Middle Way.

[16] The three virtues: The three virtues of nirvana are the Dharma body, prajna, and liberation.

The three virtues of the fruit of Buddhahood are the virtue of wisdom, the virtue of severance, and the virtue of beneficence.

[17] The three bodies: the Dharma body, the Transformation body, and the Reward body.

[18] The ten sets of three dharmas according to the Tiantai school:

1. The three paths (delusion, karma, and suffering)

2. The three consciousnesses (amalavijnana, alayavijnana, and adanavijnana)

3. The three Buddha-natures (direct cause, revealing cause, and conditioning cause)

4. The three prajnas (true mark, contemplative illumination, and samadhi)

5. The three bodhis (true mark, true wisdom, and expedient means)

6. The three Mahayanas (principle, accordance, and attainment)

7. The three bodies (Dharma body, Reward body, and Response body)

8. The three nirvanas (pure nature, perfect purity, and expedient purity)

9. The Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha)

10. The three virtues (Dharma body, prajna, and liberation)

[19] This passage means that the noble realm manifests directly before one.