念佛三昧寶王論

VIII—CONCENTRATING MINDFULLY UPON THE SINGLE OBJECT OF A PRESENT BUDDHA

Question: Concerning the contemplation of future Buddhas, namely sentient beings, the profound meaning and the vast scope of principle and phenomena have already been clearly understood. Yet I fear that contemplating in this way will cause the mind to become scattered and difficult to control. I now wish to unify it by concentrating exclusively upon the West and contemplating the single Buddha Amitabha, in hopes of reaching the stage of non-retrogression, eliminating the outflow-ridden mind, sailing a little boat upon the golden pond, paying homage to Amitabha in the white-jade hall, penetrating the three times, and partaking of the nine grades. Would this be possible?

Answer: In the Treatise on the Ten Stages by Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, written to explain the Golden Flower Ornament Sutra, the discussion of the easy practice states: “The bodhisattva path includes difficult practices, like propelling a boat over dry land, and easy practices, like rowing a vessel upon water. Buddha Amitabha possesses the power of his original vows. If anyone hears his name, invokes it, and personally aspires to be born in that land, it is like a vessel finding water and then meeting a favorable wind: in an instant it crosses a thousand miles with the greatest ease.

Thus the father of Shakyamuni Tathagata and his relatives—sixty thousand members of the Shakya clan—were all born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. This was because Buddha Amitabha had exceptionally profound karmic affinities with sentient beings of this world.” Thus, concentrating upon this single object is also an excellent method for completely penetrating the Buddhas of the three times.

Question: That concentrating upon a single object completely penetrates the three times is certainly true. Yet invoking the Name and personally aspiring for birth in that land are conditioned and illusory activities, like strong winds and great waves that make the mind still more disturbed. Why not abandon such outwardly roaming thoughts and merely gather the mind inwardly so that it accords with the essential meaning of the unconditioned?

Answer: Although the conditioned is illusory, if it is abandoned, the work of the path cannot be accomplished. Although the unconditioned is true, if it is grasped, the mind of wisdom will likewise fail to shine. A sutra says: “To disdain the merit of conditioned dharmas is the work of Mara; to delightingly cling to the merit of the unconditioned is also the work of Mara.” Since people still harbor aversion and attachment, how can they escape the domain of Mara?

Moreover, seeing sages and worthies gather the mind and calling that “inward,” while seeing ordinary beings let their thoughts roam and calling that “outward,” and then asserting that “to engage outward objects is distraction, while to abide inwardly is concentration”—this itself is roaming between inward and outward. It is not the essential meaning of gathering the mind in the samadhi of Buddha-remembrance. When explaining the Vimalakirti Sutra, Dharma Master Kumarajiva related: “In a certain country there was a maiden whose body was golden in color.

The son of an elder, named Dharmottara, offered her a thousand taels of gold and invited her to accompany him into a bamboo grove. At that time Bodhisattva Manjushri manifested as a layman dressed in garments adorned with precious jewels and stood midway along the road. When the maiden saw him, desire immediately arose in her mind.

Manjushri discerned this and said: ‘If you wish to obtain these garments, you must arouse the mind of bodhi.’ The maiden asked: ‘What is the mind of bodhi?’ Manjushri answered: ‘It is precisely your body.’ The maiden asked: ‘How can it be my body?’ Manjushri replied: ‘The nature of bodhi is empty, and your body is also empty; therefore, the mind of bodhi is your body.’ This maiden had formerly planted many roots of goodness in the presence of Buddha Kashyapa and had extensively cultivated wisdom.

Upon hearing these words, she immediately attained the Patient Acceptance of the Non-Arising of Dharmas. Having attained this acceptance, she disclosed the fault of her own desire and afterward departed with the elder’s son for the grove. Once inside the grove, she manifested her body as dead, swollen, and foul-smelling.

The elder’s son was horrified at the sight 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 great awakening has been accomplished, one is not yet free from the work of cultivation; hence it is called patient acceptance. When one contemplates the true characteristic of one’s own body and the true characteristic of the Buddha’s body, the woman’s body is empty and the Buddha’s body is also empty; they have never differed. Thus, how could the meaning of bodhi be different?

Therefore, all conditioned dharmas are unconditioned, and everything inward and outward is neither inward nor outward. Amid existence, there has never truly been existence; it exists yet is constantly empty. Amid nonexistence, there has never truly been nonexistence; it is nonexistent yet constantly exists. If so, why worry that the Buddha has characteristics and the mind has thoughts?

IX—THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT DEPEND UPON ONE THOUGHT AND TEN THOUGHTS

Question: The essential meanings of easy practice, difficult practice, and contemplating the body as bodhi are now clear, leaving no further doubts. Reflecting upon it, human beings live in this world, yet the world passes as swiftly as a flash of lightning or a shooting flame. Once a single thought goes astray, regret comes too late.

Since practitioners of the path do not cherish even the mind, how could they cling lovingly to the body? If they do not cherish their own bodies, how could they cherish external bodies? I constantly fear that once the breath goes out and does not return, I shall belong to the next life, like tumbleweed swept by the wind, dimly drifting without knowing where it will go.

Please teach the Dharma of one thought and ten thoughts so that I may prepare for this life and the next.

Answer: To encounter the Pure Land Dharma gate is to possess great blessed karma and merit. Practitioners of the two vehicles still their spirits in the realm of empty nonbeing, cling to inert emptiness, fear all characteristics, and give no thought to sentient beings; therefore, they have no Pure Land. Only the Mahayana possesses the Pure Land.

The Karunapundarika Sutra says: “In a former life, Buddha Amitabha was a wheel-turning king named Aranemin, who possessed all treasures and had a thousand sons. Through the great minister Samudrarenuka, who served as his good spiritual friend, he aroused the mind of bodhi before Buddha Ratnagarbha and vowed to receive and uphold the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss in the West.” Throughout the sutras, the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and shravakas were all among his thousand sons in former times.

The crown prince, named Animisha, became Avalokiteshvara. The next, named Mani, became Mahasthamaprapta. The next, named Rajajana, became Manjushri.

The next, named Nghananu, became Bodhisattva Vajra Wisdom Radiance. The next, named Abhaya, became the Tathagata Lotus Honored One. The next, named Ambara, became Bodhisattva Empty-Space Radiance.

The next, named Subahu, became Bodhisattva Lion’s Fragrance. The next, named Mendu, became Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. The next, named Misu, became Buddha Akshobhya.

From the time Prince Misu first aroused the aspiration, with every step while walking or standing and with every thought, he constantly recollected all Buddhas. He has now attained perfect enlightenment and been born in the Land of Wondrous Bliss. When we find ourselves walking along broad roads or stepping through deep forests, how is our perception different from that of Misu? Thus, whether entering a bustling place or walking through a tranquil one, amid every kind of splendid adornment or while horses and carriages hurry past, could we not employ the mind to recollect the Buddha at every step? If we can do so, our integrity will be no different from that of the ancients.

Whenever eating, drinking, working, or interacting with others within the round of birth and death, no one is without the inhalation and exhalation of breath. If one breath goes out and does not return, one belongs to the next life, exactly as you asked above. Most people in the world make rosaries from precious jewels, crystal, diamonds, bodhi seeds, or various kinds of wood.

If we take our breaths as a rosary and invoke the Buddha in accordance with each breath, we will have a refuge. Why should we still fear that “if the breath does not return, one immediately belongs to the next life”? There will no longer be anxiety about rebirth.

Whether walking, standing, lying down, or sitting, I always use this rosary of breath. Even if I fall deeply asleep, I fall asleep holding the Buddha in my mind and resume immediately upon awakening. In this way, I will certainly see the Buddha in dreams.

It is like rubbing wood to make fire: smoke is the precursor of fire, and when smoke appears, fire will surely follow. Likewise, if one frequently sees the Buddha in dreams, samadhi will certainly be achieved. In the future, one will certainly behold Buddha Amitabha face to face, draw near to him, and receive his prediction of enlightenment.

If this is attained, not one among the myriad affairs will be lost. You should strive diligently!

Question: Birth through one thought and birth through ten thoughts—which is correct?

Answer: Birth is attained through a single thought, and one then abides among those who do not retrogress. This is correct. As the Buddha said: “To slander the Buddha, malign the sutras, strike members of the Sangha, revile sages, or commit the five rebellious acts and four grave offenses—all such evil karma is accomplished in a single thought, and one falls into the Avici hell as swiftly as an arrow flies.

Now, in recollecting the Buddha and being born in the Pure Land, wholesome karma is likewise accomplished in a single thought, and birth in Ultimate Bliss occurs as swiftly as bending one’s arm. With the preceding thought, the five skandhas perish; with the succeeding thought, the five skandhas arise. It is like candle wax adhering to an object: when the wax is gone, its impression remains.” Thus, not even two thoughts are necessary; how could ten be required?

Another example of one thought is given in a sutra: A novice monk enjoyed eating cream. Merely because he aroused a single thought of craving, he was later reborn as a worm in the cream. Likewise, the wife of the elder Mahasattva sat looking into a mirror and became enamored of her own body. Later, while traveling at sea, her boat was capsized by the wind and she drowned. She was reborn as a worm within her own corpse, where she played happily, moving back and forth without leaving it. In both cases, it was one thought, not ten.

Furthermore, the Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra says: “Even those who recollect the Buddha for only a single thought will all attain birth.” The ten thoughts mentioned in the Contemplation Sutra have a reason. A person weakened and emaciated by illness has little strength and a feeble mind, and therefore needs to invoke Amitabha ten times to support the inward thought. But if one’s mind is vigorous and undeluded, a single thought is sufficient for birth.

X—THIS MIND IS BUDDHA; THIS MIND BECOMES BUDDHA

Question: The sutra says: “This mind is Buddha; this mind becomes Buddha.” Why, then, must one still employ the mind to invoke Amitabha and fix one’s thoughts upon the distant Land of Ultimate Bliss? Moreover, recollecting a present Buddha and revering future Buddhas both seem to be external seeking. How can this be called “this mind is Buddha”?

Answer: Your question is mistaken! You know only how to quote the sutra, but you do not know its purport. This sentence appears in the Sutra on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Infinite Life, which teaches the recollection of Buddha Amitabha.

Because one recollects the Buddha and the Buddha arises from that thought, it says, “This mind is Buddha.” Why steal the contemplation of Amitabha and then use it to disparage the mind that contemplates Amitabha? If it were as you understand it, could one refrain from recollecting the Buddha yet still say that the mind is Buddha, or refrain from thinking evil yet say that the mind is evil? Neither is so.

Moreover, as regards Amitabha, even ten trillion Mount Sumerus cannot obstruct his faculty of vision, and his forms, marks, and radiance as numerous as the sands of the Ganges were all brought into being through the power of his vows. As regards Ultimate Bliss, one attains birth there in the time it takes to bend an arm. Why still worry about whether that land is near or far?

Question: I respectfully accept your explanation of the principle that “this mind is Buddha.” Yet among the sixteen contemplations presented in this sutra, one may visualize ice, the sun, radiant golden mountains, and so forth. But demonic light and Buddha-light, one’s own contemplation and another’s contemplation, may be mingled as deviant and correct. If both are calm and clear, how can they be distinguished? Please explain these matters so that a practitioner of Buddha-remembrance who cultivates alone, far from a teacher, may set his mind at ease.

Answer: Visualizing ice is the foundation for expanding the visualization to the lapis lazuli ground; visualizing the sun serves gradually to visualize the light of the white urna. When an appearance manifests in accordance with one’s visualization, it is called one’s own and is correct. When it does not manifest in accordance with the visualization, it is called another’s and is deviant. For example, if one originally visualizes the white urna but it has not yet appeared distinctly, while blue eyes appear even though one has not visualized them, that contradicts the original mind and is called deviant. The same applies to visualizing all other things.

Furthermore, demonic light casts shadows and dazzles the eyes, whereas Buddha-light casts no shadow and does not dazzle. Thus a verse in the Lankavatara Sutra says:

“The Buddha-land surpasses all,

Most pure and splendidly adorned,

Blazing brightly like a great fire,

Its radiance shines universally.

Brilliant, yet it harms no eyes,

It encompasses all three realms.”

Question: Does this mean that blazing light which harms the eyes is demonic, while light that does not dazzle is the Buddha’s?

Answer: If it is true light, it causes the body and mind of the Buddha-recollecting practitioner to become tranquil, clear, and pure. False light makes the practitioner’s mind agitated and alarmed. Therefore, the Nirvana Sutra says: “Clarity and purity are true liberation. True liberation is the Tathagata.”

Question: The supreme person, the sage, is free from contrivance. If I now employ visualization, would that not be mistaken?

Answer: It is not mistaken. The Great Majestic Dharani Sutra says: “If one wishes to transcend the bonds of all realms, one must arouse a mind of aspiration and visualize that which is free from desire.” It is the same here: if one wishes to cultivate Buddha-remembrance, one must arouse the mind of visualization to contemplate that which is beyond visualization. For this reason, the Samantabhadra Vaipulya Sutra says: “When the mind desires evil and visualizes a woman, one dreams of a woman; when the mind delights in goodness and visualizes the Buddha, one dreams of the Buddha.”

One should therefore know that although both are visualizations, the difference between their goodness and evil is as vast as that between heaven and an abyss. Do not hear that “it is visualization” and therefore reject it. If one rejects visualization, then even though one does not malign the sutras or slander the Buddha, one will still be born only in the Heaven of Non-Perception. If one stubbornly clings to non-perception and disparages the visualization of the Buddha, this is called slandering the Dharma. Those who slander the Dharma fall into prisons throughout the ten directions and have no day of release; how could they hope for a heavenly palace? Even if they are born in that Heaven of Non-Perception, it is called the heaven of externalists, not the path of liberation.

The Nirvana Sutra says: “Those who hear the poisoned drum die, whether near or far.” It is the same here: those who abandon visualization fall, whether near or far. When a sutra says, “At times they travel back and forth one or two feet above the ground,” it refers to this. How, then, could they escape wandering through the three realms and attain birth together within the nine grades of lotus flowers? Furthermore, the same water sinks a vessel or keeps it afloat; the same ground causes one to stumble or enables one to stand. Likewise, deluded visualization is sentient being, and true visualization is Buddha. Apart from visualization, what is there to employ?

Question: The phenomenal aspect has been explained; what of the principle? The Pratyutpanna Samadhi Sutra says: “When the mind gives rise to thought, that is delusion; freedom from thought is nirvana.” If you now say that visualization must be employed, does that not contradict the sutra?

Answer: It does not contradict it. To maintain the visualization of the Buddha and constantly direct the mind toward the Buddha is not delusion. Only abandoning the visualization of the Buddha, adopting evil thoughts, and grasping emptiness as non-perception constitute the gravest delusion. We now clearly know that the Buddha arises from visualization, while originally there is truly neither Buddha nor visualization. What delusion could there be in this? This is the contemplation of the “samadhi of emptiness”; it is not a deviant view.

You also ask about the principle, so I shall explain it clearly. One who has entered the true and quiescent essential nature always has a mind as open as empty space. Although the myriad dharmas are reflected within it, the mind has never given rise to a thought.

Thus, true wisdom engages no object and is without thought, while conventional wisdom engages objects and gives rise to thoughts. Furthermore, “visualization is not different from emptiness, and emptiness is not different from visualization” is called “the Middle Way of the ultimate truth”; this reveals the Dharma-body. “Visualization itself is emptiness” is called the ultimate truth; by destroying the twenty-five realms, one attains the twenty-five samadhis.

Constantly empty and quiescent, yet constantly manifesting transformations, harmonizing light with the world and benefiting beings—all arise from the ultimate truth. This reveals the transformation body. “Emptiness is visualization” is called conventional truth; merits as numerous as the sands of the Ganges all rely upon conventional truth.

This reveals the reward body. Thus, employing the three contemplations to contemplate the three truths, one realizes the three virtues and accomplishes the three bodies, extending even to the ten kinds of threefold Dharma. What, then, could not be attained?

Yet you wish to eliminate pure visualization, grasp the perception of non-perception, block the path of meditative concentration, and forever remain separated from the attainment of Buddhahood.

The Lankavatara and Ghanavyuha Sutras record: “It is better to give rise to a view of existence as great as Mount Sumeru than to give rise to a view of nonexistence as small as a mustard seed.” The view of existence means believing in cause and effect and maintaining the visualization of the Buddha. By giving rise to such a view, one is born in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss; hence it is said, “It is better to give rise to a view of existence.” To give rise to a “view of emptiness” means repudiating cause and effect and maligning Buddha-remembrance. By giving rise to such a view, one will certainly be born in the Avici hell; hence the admonition, “Do not give rise to a view of nonexistence.” This is truly to be feared.

XI—LOUDLY INVOKING THE BUDDHA WHILE FACING WEST

Question: The Vaipulya Sutra says: “Those who wish to cultivate the unsurpassed and profoundly wondrous Dharma gate of meditative concentration should continuously visualize the Buddha’s white urna while also invoking his name, thereby attaining supreme concentration. Once concentration has been realized, both mind and Buddha disappear.” This can be accepted in faith. Yet I reflect that if one silently recollects the Buddha in stillness, samadhi will naturally arise. Why must one loudly invoke the Buddha to accomplish the true path?

Answer: As your question indicates, there is nothing wrong with loudly invoking the Buddha; indeed, your question instead reveals its efficacy. Why? First, the essential method for eliminating distraction is to maintain audible recitation.

If the sound of recitation is indistinct, the recollecting mind becomes scattered, drifting, and unsettled. When the sound is distinct, however, the mind becomes single-pointed and free from anxious thought. This is the first meaning.

Second, when the voice resounds, calamities disappear and merit flourishes. Third, loudly invoking the Buddha evokes a response from the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, causing auspicious signs to appear, such as the Buddha’s radiance shining upon one and precious flowers falling sparsely like rain. Fourth, loud recitation is a wondrous expedient that supports mindfulness, like a heavy log that cannot be carried away, yet is lifted at once when everyone raises a single shout.

Fifth, loudly invoking the Buddha has the power to subdue the afflictions caused by Maras. It is like a battle in which one employs the sound of drums to overwhelm the enemy’s spirit and thereby ensures victory.

Since loud invocation possesses these five meanings, why abandon it? If one both visualizes the white urna and loudly invokes the Buddha’s name, one will certainly accord with the Buddha’s intention, balance concentration and wisdom, and enter the realm in which mind and Buddha both disappear. Therefore, in his preface to the “Samadhi of Buddha-Remembrance,” Master Huiyuan said: “When considering practices whose merit is lofty yet whose cultivation and advancement are easy, Buddha-remembrance is foremost.”

As for silent recollection, one continuously raises the sound inwardly, concentrates the mind, and listens attentively, thereby causing the defilements of sensory objects to vanish and obstructed thoughts and feelings to become lucid and unobstructed. Yet this is not an easy Dharma for everyone to practice.

As evidence, the Flower Ornament Sutra says:

“Better to endure immeasurable suffering in order to hear the Buddha’s voice

Than to accept pleasures while never hearing the Buddha’s voice.”

Thus, loudly invoking the Buddha is the seed from which goodness arises, just as the thunder of spring awakens grasses and trees. Why disparage it?

Question: I respectfully accept the meaning of invoking the Buddha loudly and softly. May I ask: Tathagatas dwell in the Pure Lands of all ten directions, yet we face only west. Is this not attachment?

Answer: It is not. This is taught in the Vaipulya Sutra; it is not something devised by human beings. How could one malign the Vaipulya Sutra?

Question: Please explain the principle involved.

Answer: It does indeed have a principle. Suppose a foolish person sees Avalokiteshvara with eleven faces and challenges: “Why does he not have twelve faces?” Whatever answer is given, he then retorts: “Why, then, does he not have eleven faces?” You now wish to use the East to challenge the West; you are just like that person.

Furthermore, because sentient beings remain deluded and have not yet awakened, they must keep the body settled and direct the mind unwaveringly toward one direction. They may then awaken. If they fail to awaken, there will be no way to teach and transform them; they can only be pitied.

In the chapter “The Two Practices” of the Sutra of the Supreme Heavenly King, the Tathagata is said to possess eighty excellent marks. Among them is the “meritorious mark of responsive radiant light,” which constantly faces sentient beings without abandoning a single one and readily emits light toward any being who seeks it. This is truly most compassionate.

From childhood, Great Master Zhizhe always observed the practice of joining his palms when lying down and facing west when seated. Later, when grown, he read the forty-eight vows and the nine grades of birth and received the auspicious response of light illuminating the mountain and heavenly music resounding through the sky. Finally, he was born in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Should not the practice of facing west therefore be widely proclaimed?

Question: Please explain the meaning of Pratyutpanna.

Answer: The Sanskrit word Pratyutpanna is translated into Chinese as “present before one.” It means that if one remembers and recollects the Buddha continuously without interruption, the Buddha will appear within samadhi. The practice of constantly walking for ninety days provides supporting conditions for the Pratyutpanna practice; it is not its primary meaning.

Question: The wondrous gate to the quiescent land, Pratyutpanna, has now been explained. Yet in recent times, has anyone reached the Land of Peace and Bliss? Since there has been no sign reporting the news, how can we know that anyone has arrived there? Please explain clearly.

Answer: During the Jin dynasty, Master Huiyuan of Mount Lu was the first to initiate the cultivation of the Pure Land practice. After Buddhabhadra transmitted to him the Dharma gate of the samadhi of Buddha-remembrance, he and his Dharma brothers Huichi and Huiyong gathered scholars, retired officials, recluses, and eminent men of reputation—including Zong Na, Zhang Ye, Liu Yimin, Lei Cizong, Zhou Xuzhi, Que Gongze, and others—123 people in all. Together they carved an inscription into the mountain and vowed to be born in the Pure Land. The text, composed by Liu Yimin, states in summary:

“Casting off the bonds of the submerged mundane world, awakening to the fleeting swiftness of impermanence, clearly understanding the constant urgency of the three kinds of retribution, and knowing the perilous realm to be difficult to escape, these worthy gentlemen, united in aspiration, reverently and diligently apply themselves day and night, hoping that compassionate Amitabha will come to rescue them. With the wondrous contemplation of the great mystery, they open their minds and train their contemplative wisdom to remain ever lucid, upright, and true.

Thus consciousness becomes awakened and the physical form is thereby transformed. They hope to borrow this provisional body, ephemeral as a hibiscus blossom, to enter the stream of the holy assembly; to take shelter beneath the jeweled blossoms of the Buddhas and nurture their spiritual nature; to don the robe of liberation and soar within Ultimate Bliss, where lies the lotus pond of eight virtues; and, borne upon the pure fragrant wind, to return and deliver their deluded companions of the same age, like the poor son.

Their bodies will transcend all safety and danger while remaining forever harmonious, and their minds will surpass both suffering and happiness while naturally abiding in joy. Looking down, they will see the Three Evil Destinies as unfathomably deep; looking back, they will find the heavenly palaces already far behind. Following the path of the holy assembly, they aspire to return to the quiescence of nirvana.”

Upon clear examination, should such a path not be propagated?

In his preface to the “Samadhi of Buddha-Remembrance,” Master Huiyuan wrote: “What is the samadhi of Buddha-remembrance? It is focused remembrance and tranquil visualization. When remembrance is focused—continuous and unceasing—one’s resolve does not waver.

When visualization is tranquil—all other perceptions stilled—one’s vital energy is pure and one’s spirit luminous. When the vital energy is pure, awakened wisdom shines everywhere; when the spirit is luminous, it illuminates even the darkest places. These two secretly accord and converge, producing wondrous function.

There are many gates of samadhi, but in terms of lofty merit and ease of cultivation and advancement, Buddha-remembrance is foremost. Since each person has affinities with different forms of concentration, one cannot say which concentration is better or worse.” Xie Lingyun composed a poem praising the Pure Land:

“Dharmakara was raised within the royal palace;

Cherishing the path, he renounced kingdom and citadel.

He proclaimed his forty-eight vows,

Vowing broadly to save every kind of sentient being.

How wondrous indeed is that single Pure Land!

All who arrive there are of finest excellence.

How could declining years be reckoned there?

Relying on his transformation, all journey forth spiritually.”

Tentative translation:

“Dharmakara once dwelt within a royal palace,

His heart enamored of the path, he renounced kingdom and citadel.

From his compassionate mind arose forty-eight vows,

He vowed to save all sentient beings everywhere.

He established a Pure Land filled with supreme wonders;

All who return there possess the finest excellence.

There is no old age and no painful affliction;

Manifesting upon lotus pedestals, they travel freely.”

You ask why no one has returned to report attaining birth. Why do you not recall the story from the Jin dynasty of Que Gongze, who returned after attaining birth to announce the news? While still alive, Que Gongze vowed that after attaining birth, he would return and inform everyone. Later, after he had died, his friends who had vowed and practiced with him were reciting sutras one night at White Horse Monastery in the Eastern Capital during his memorial observance. Suddenly the great hall became radiant with golden light, and a voice in the air said: “I am Que Gongze. Formerly I sought birth in Ultimate Bliss. Now that I have attained the result, I have returned here to report the news.” When he finished speaking, these extraordinary signs disappeared.

Having witnessed this, Zhi Daolin praised him in these words:

“Great indeed was Master Que,

Embracing empty serenity, he received numinous illumination.

His spirit was transformed in the Western Region;

His traces bore testimony in the Eastern Capital.

Circling in the empyrean, his breath lingered;

He left behind a wondrous form that resounded.

How could one admire him with only a single praise?

This shows that his passing was not extinction.”

Tentative translation:

“Lofty indeed was Master Que,

Silent and luminous, he manifested numinous signs.

With right mindfulness, his spirit returned to the realm of bliss;

Awakening the deluded, his responsive traces appeared in the Eastern Capital.

Amid the clouds, his voice seemed clearly heard;

His jade-like features remained impossible to forget.

His wonders cannot be exhausted by words of praise;

Who could call the Buddhas and sages a shadowy dream?”

(Excerpted from Several Melodies of the Pure Lotus)

Wu Xiaojing also praised him:

“Excellent indeed was Gongze,

Who first savored the flavor of Dharma.

Few are those who know what I seek;

That path is therefore precious.

Golden light shone brightly at night;

His jade countenance appeared resplendent at dawn.

Not abandoning those with affinities,

He spoke to inform his companions.”

Tentative translation:

“Excellent indeed was Gongze,

Who first savored the flavor of Dharma.

Knowing what I seek,

That path is truly precious.

Thus he manifested golden light,

His wondrous form appearing distinctly.

Not forgetting his former vow,

He returned to report from the Western Land.”

XII—DREAMING AND WAKING ARE BOTH THE ONE MIND

Question: The Buddha said that all dharmas are like dreams. I do not know whether the Buddha whom we recollect and the Pure Land in which we seek birth are also like dreams. If they are not dreams, the Buddha becomes something outside the mind; but if the Buddha is a dream, then the Buddha is merely something within a dream. It would be like seeing gold in a dream and finding nothing upon awakening. I fear that contemplating the three bodies will become utterly empty and ultimately prove entirely illusory. Please explain further.

Answer: It is not illusory. How do we know this? If practitioners of the samadhi of Buddha-remembrance were all like people who see gold in a dream, then how could the ultimate result—clearly attaining birth in the Pure Land through Buddha-remembrance—be called false?

It is also like a person training in the divine eye. At first, he visualizes the light of a fire-jewel and continues the visualization without ceasing. Later, the genuine divine eye arises. Could that also be called false? Is it the same as seeing gold in a dream and ultimately having nothing? Therefore, do not use shortsighted eyes to regard a distant matter and call it a dream. Never suppose that recollecting the Buddha and attaining birth are entirely events within a dream.

The Flower Ornament Sutra says: “Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three are without distinction.” The deluded mind resembles dreaming; this constitutes the nine Dharma realms of sentient beings. The awakened mind resembles waking; this is the Dharma realm of all Buddhas. Delusion and awakening both abide within the one mind; dreaming and waking have never occupied two different places.

Moreover, a sutra says: “Clearly realizing that the false is originally true.” Thus, there is no error in seeing Vairocana as dreamlike. This is discerned by the mind.

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

Question: The Buddha has three bodies. How should they be recollected? Please explain so that no errors arise during contemplation.

Answer: The Buddha’s three bodies are the Dharma-body, the reward body, and the transformation body. The Dharma-body is like the true moon in the sky. The reward body is like the moon’s light. The transformation body is like the moon’s reflection upon water. The moon appears in ten thousand bodies of water. Is this moon many, or is it only one? One cannot say it is one, because each of the ten thousand bodies of water contains a distinct moon. Nor can one say it is many, because there is only one moon in the sky.

A sutra says: “Whether manifesting a small body sixteen feet in height and eight feet across, all are Buddhas within the minds of sentient beings.” Since even form has no fixed existence, how could there be two Buddhas? Both the pure land and the defiled land abide within one’s own mind.

If one wishes to employ the recollection of the Buddha’s three bodies to destroy the three obstructions, one should now examine this clearly: these Buddha-bodies appear through our cultivation of calming and contemplation. When calming and contemplation are not cultivated in balance, the obstructions arise. When a practitioner of Buddha-remembrance cultivates calming and the mind sinks into torpor, the “obstruction of dullness and darkness” arises and obstructs the Buddha’s transformation body. One should then employ contemplation to invigorate the mind by visualizing the light of the Buddha’s white urna. In this way, the obstruction of dullness and darkness is destroyed.

If, while cultivating contemplation, the mind becomes restless and thinks of evil matters, thereby obstructing the reward body, one should return to the practice of calming and prevent and eliminate all evil thoughts by contemplating that “the Buddha’s former wholesome causes possessed merits as numerous as the sands of the Ganges and perfected wisdom; through those causes, he attained the reward body.” In this way, the “obstruction of evil thoughts” is destroyed.

If the “obstruction of the two extremes”—the obstruction of discriminating attachment—arises, producing numerous strange forms, confused appearances, and soft and hard disturbances that obstruct the Buddha’s Dharma-body, one should destroy it by means of the “emptiness of the ultimate truth of the Middle Way.” As the verse says:

“Without form and without appearance,

Without faculties and without dwelling place,

Because it neither arises nor ceases,

I pay homage to that which cannot be contemplated.”

Tentative translation:

“Without material form and also without appearance,

Without faculties and also without a dwelling place,

All things originally neither arise nor cease;

I pay homage to the wondrous contemplation of ‘non-arising existence.’”

The meaning of this contemplation of non-possession is like a powerful wind dispersing dense clouds and clearly revealing the moon of the pure Dharma-body, thereby destroying the oppressive obstructions of the afflictions.

Prescribing the appropriate medicine according to the illness does not go beyond these principles. When self is identified with others, others with things, and self and things become alike, samadhi becomes complete and powerful. At that time, just as sentient beings are inexhaustible, samadhi is likewise boundless.

The preceding six sections discuss the recollection of the present Buddha Amitabha in order to penetrate the meaning of recollecting the Buddhas of the three times. More extensive explanations are found in the Collection on Peace and Bliss, the Tiantai Treatise on the Ten Doubts, the Treatise Resolving the Multitude of Doubts by Dharma Master Huaigan, the Biographies of Rebirth, the Treatise on the Meaning of the Dharma Treasure by Meditation Master Chou, and the Collected Transmission of the Dharma Treasure of the Unsurpassed, Profound, and Wondrous Gate of Meditation by Meditation Master Feixi.