歸元直指集

1. Right Faith in Mindfulness of the Buddha Leads to Rebirth

The Precious Mirror of the Lotus School states: “The essence of mind itself is the Land of Utmost Bliss pervading the ten directions. One’s own nature is Amitabha, perfect and complete in awakened wisdom. Wondrously responding to the sights and sounds of external conditions, it shines forth within one’s own mind. Therefore, once delusion and false thinking are abandoned, one immediately returns to the truth; directly leaving behind the dust of worldly defilements is itself awakening.”

“In former times, the venerable Dharmakara made his great vows and opened the wondrous path to the Land of Utmost Bliss. Therefore, the Blessed One pointed toward the West and taught Queen Vaidehi to discern clearly that sublime and wondrous realm. At that time, all Buddhas throughout the ten directions displayed their broad and long tongues and praised it. Thus it was foretold that when all other sutras had disappeared, the Amitabha Sutra alone would remain.

“The more the mind of sympathetic joy and equanimity benefits sentient beings, the greater becomes the scope of compassionate transformation and response. The teaching distinguishes nine grades and especially reveals this practice as an expedient means; when examined clearly with single-minded attention, it is indeed the direct path back to the source. The meeting of sages and ordinary beings occurs through affinity, like a traveler from afar returning to his former homeland; the communion of stimulus and response is the Way, like a small child clinging closely to a loving mother.

“Those who are deluded and do not clearly understand this principle go astray in every encounter with external conditions; those whose faith is complete will surely comprehend all things. How much more so when they receive the immeasurable power of the Buddha’s vows and are welcomed and delivered by the radiance of his compassion! It is like a boat traveling downstream, requiring no strenuous effort; it is as certain as a door swinging when pushed and a pestle falling when released. Once a vow has been made, one will certainly be welcomed back; there is no being with the proper affinity who will not receive a response. Just as a heavy stone can float upon the water by relying on a boat, so can the fires of hell be extinguished instantly through the power of mindfulness of the Buddha.

“The bodhisattvas and shravakas reborn in that land are too numerous to count. Among the worthy sages of the past and present, very many who attained the Way have been able to see and know it. Even parrots and kalavinka birds proclaim the sounds of the Dharma; therefore, creatures that fly and run must surely all receive the blessings of this wholesome teaching and transformation.

“The realm of the sages is never false; the words spoken by the Buddha cannot be mistaken. Why, then, do you remain submerged amid the surging river of craving and attachment without concern, dwelling within a blazing house continually consumed by fire without fear? When the net of delusion is dense, how can it be cut apart unless the sword of wisdom is sharp? When the roots of doubt are planted deeply, how can they easily be pulled out if faith is shallow? Thus, in the end, people willingly lose heart and accept calamity. They disparage the pure land while craving and clinging to this afflicted world!

“Moths flying into flames and silkworm cocoons consumed by fire—places entirely filled with calamity; fish in cauldrons and birds in cages—yet they regard these as pleasures! All this is because evil karma outweighs wholesome roots, and the roots of transgression run deeper than faith.

“Therefore, throughout the vast three realms, beings of the four modes of birth revolve without cease. All struggle because of their craving for life, yet how could they know the way home? In the end, all are tossed about according to their karma, never seeking a means of escape. Throughout the past, they have died and been born again for countless kalpas; the road of samsara that lies ahead is likewise so long that it cannot be reckoned!

“Without wholesome affinities from former lives, how could one easily encounter this cause? The drum has sounded and the prison gate has opened—hurry to leave! Having encountered a boat that rescues those sinking in samsara, do not delay. Reverently follow the golden words and skillfully rely upon the Buddha’s teaching. Those who do not hear or understand are truly pitiable! Moreover, in this evil realm of the five defilements, where fire burns on every side, if one wishes to be rescued and delivered, there is none but the Buddha who can do so!

“Having heard the wondrous Dharma, one should plant pure affinities. From a single thought of sincere faith, myriad virtues are cultivated. Even the worthy sages of ancient times found it difficult to encounter the true and eternal Dharma. May everyone follow the teaching, reverently practice in accordance with it, and wholeheartedly bow, believe, and accept it.”

° ° °

Question: Faith is spoken of, but it is not yet clear in which Dharma gate one should place one’s faith.

Answer: This faith is based upon what the Buddha taught in the sutras: mindfulness of the Buddha will certainly lead to rebirth in the Pure Land. Believe that mindfulness of the Buddha will certainly eradicate transgressions. Believe that mindfulness of the Buddha will certainly bring the Buddha’s protection. Believe that mindfulness of the Buddha will certainly be known and acknowledged by the Buddha. Believe that, at the time of death, mindfulness of the Buddha will certainly bring the Buddha to welcome and deliver one.

Believe that through mindfulness of the Buddha and rebirth in the Pure Land, one will certainly attain the stage of non-retrogression. Believe that through mindfulness of the Buddha and birth in the Pure Land, one will certainly never fall into the three evil paths. Therefore, one is exhorted to have faith in mindfulness of the Buddha, to believe and accept this teaching, and constantly to practice mindfulness in this way; one will certainly attain rebirth in the Pure Land.

Therefore, among the Buddhas of the three periods, the great bodhisattvas, and the patriarchs of every generation who cultivated the various practices, fulfilled their great vows, entered the Buddha’s realm, and attained the fruit of bodhi, there has never been anyone who did not gain entry by relying upon this single word: faith.

The Avatamsaka Sutra states: “Faith is the foundation of the Way and gives birth to all virtues. Faith can nurture and increase all wholesome roots. Faith can transcend the paths of Mara. Faith can enable entry into great samadhi. Faith can bring liberation from the ocean of birth and death. Faith can accomplish the Buddha-fruit of bodhi.”

° ° °

Alas! People today know how to observe a vegetarian diet and believe in keeping the precepts, yet they do not believe in the practice of mindfulness of the Buddha; they believe in venerating the Buddha, yet they do not believe in rebirth in the Pure Land. In this way, they deprive themselves of a great benefit!

Therefore, the Vimalakirti Sutra states: “Deep and steadfast faith is as firm as vajra.” Those who wish to reach the Western Land must first possess deep and steadfast faith.

Look upon the pure worlds: the Buddhas, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, were all once people who had planted the causes of right faith.

2. Honoring the Three Jewels and the Teaching

Throughout the world, the Three Jewels are most precious. Within and beyond the worldly realm, the Three Jewels are supreme. What are the Three Jewels? They are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

The Three Jewels may be understood in three ways. First are the Three Jewels of One Essence. According to the principle of true suchness, the luminous clarity of one’s own nature is called the Jewel of the Buddha. Upholding virtue in accordance with the proper model, the rectitude of one’s own nature is called the Jewel of the Dharma. Remaining undefiled and free from contention amid activity, the purity of one’s own nature is called the Jewel of the Sangha.

Second are the Transcendent Three Jewels. The Dharma-body, Reward-body, and Transformation-body, which manifest responsively according to the various kinds of beings, are called the Jewel of the Buddha. The Six Paramitas, the Four Noble Truths, and the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination are called the Jewel of the Dharma. Those at the stages of the Three Worthies and Ten Sages, and those who have attained the Four Approaches and Four Fruits, are called the Jewel of the Sangha.

Third are the World-Abiding Three Jewels. Paintings and images used for veneration are called the Jewel of the Buddha. Sutra texts transmitted and preserved are called the Jewel of the Dharma. Those who shave their heads and wear the kasaya are called the Jewel of the Sangha.

Those who take refuge in the Three Jewels eradicate innumerable karmic transgressions; those who reverently behold them increase their blessings without measure. Yet today there are misguided and foolish people who do not understand and have fabricated a book entitled Sutra of the Wondrous Meaning of the True School, falsely asserting that “essence is the Jewel of the Buddha, vital energy is the Jewel of the Dharma, and spirit is the Jewel of the Sangha.” This causes those who have already entered the wholesome path to follow such heterodox doctrines and cease honoring the Three Jewels. How truly pitiable!

If one does not know how to honor the World-Abiding Three Jewels, how can one attain the Three Jewels of One Essence and the Transcendent Three Jewels? Such people not only deceive themselves but also deceive others! This obstructs the true path, obscures everyone’s vision, destroys the authentic teaching concerning cause and effect, and disrupts the wholesome discipline of samadhi and wisdom. Nothing could be more harmful than this!

The Buddha taught: “If any living beings fail to take refuge in the Three Jewels, they will forever suffer rebirth in the three evil realms.” Have you not heard the ancient teaching: “The Buddhas of the ten directions, the perfectly complete Dharma, and the Mahayana bodhisattva Sangha—these Three Jewels possess inconceivable merit and virtue.”

Those who take refuge in the Buddha will not fall into the hells. Those who take refuge in the Dharma will not fall into the realm of hungry ghosts. Those who take refuge in the Sangha will not fall into the animal realm.

Why is this so? Because the Buddha is the unsurpassed King of Physicians. The Dharma is the excellent medicine that cures illness.

The Sangha are wise guides who show the way. These Three Jewels are all true and pure fields of merit. To turn away from them is deviance; to follow them is rectitude.

Whenever one sees an image of the Buddha, one should regard it as the Tathagata himself. Whenever one encounters any portion of the sacred teachings, one should reflect that it is exceedingly difficult to encounter. Whenever one meets a bhiksu of the Sangha, one should regard him as a patriarch.

Therefore, one must bow, make offerings, and never show contempt. Adorn your own body with the adornments of the Buddha’s body. If you can do this, the Three Jewels of One Essence are already perfectly complete within your own mind.

Good people! If you wish to attain the Way, you should follow the Buddha’s teachings. If one could attain the Way while acting contrary to the Buddha’s teachings, that would assuredly be impossible.

° ° °

Someone may ask: “When Master Bodhidharma came here from the West, he established no reliance upon words and letters. He pointed directly to the human mind: see one’s nature and become a Buddha. Why, then, must one study the scriptural teachings before awakening to the Way?”

The answer is: “Bodhidharma’s teaching was truly excellent medicine prescribed in accordance with the illness. People today fail to comprehend the patriarch’s essential principle and instead cling to the medicine until it becomes a disease. The patriarch spoke those words because he wished people to awaken to their own minds in harmony with the teachings of the Dharma. He feared that students of the Way would cling stubbornly to words and letters and refuse to contemplate and seek the fruit of Buddhahood, just like people who continually stare at the pointing finger but refuse to look up at the moon!

The Sixth Patriarch said: “Bodhidharma’s teaching of direct pointing is exceedingly thorough. Why is this so? You should understand that the two words ‘not establish’ are themselves already words and letters. How, then, can it be said that there are no words and letters? If words and letters were truly not established, people ought not to say anything at all. The very act of speaking already bears the characteristics of words and letters. How, then, can it be said that nothing is established? When foolish people hear the words ‘not establish,’ they single-mindedly cling to emptiness. By merely saying that words and letters are not established, they end up slandering the Buddhist scriptures. Their karmic offenses and obstructions are extremely grave; how could this not be guarded against?

Have you not heard Bodhidharma’s verse on transmitting the Dharma:

Originally I came to this land,

To transmit the Dharma and save deluded beings.

One flower opens into five petals;

The fruit will naturally ripen.

Patriarch Bodhidharma also said: “I have four fascicles of the Lankavatara Sutra, which I now entrust to you. This is the essential Dharma gate of the Tathagata’s mind-ground, enabling living beings to be opened and illuminated, shown the Way, understand the Way, and enter the Way.” Thus, did Bodhidharma not transmit words and letters to that person?

The ancients said: “One studies the sutras to understand clearly the Buddha’s doctrine.” Through the doctrine, one clearly understands the essential principle, so that one’s mind accords with the Dharma. Mind is transmitted through mind, without duality or difference. Therefore, one should understand that those who wish to attain the True Vehicle must study the scriptures. Through the Dharma, one comes to understand the principle. After understanding the principle, one then puts it into practice. When both practice and vows are complete and lacking in nothing, the fruit of the Way can be realized. Since studying the scriptural teachings offers such benefits, how could one disparage them?

The Admonitions of Guishan states: “If one refuses to engrave the Buddha’s teachings upon one’s heart, there will be no means by which the wondrous Way can be awakened to. By the time one reaches old age, although one may have been ordained for many years, one will truly have gained nothing within the mind. Because one refused to draw near to and learn from the virtuous and wise, one knows only arrogance and conceit....

In the end, one becomes unrestrained and coarse, and when confronted with matters, one is obstructed as though facing a wall. When novices come to seek instruction, one has nothing with which to guide them. Even if one forces oneself to speak, one merely misquotes the scriptures and distorts their meaning.

Yet when disparaged, one instead complains that the younger generation is discourteous. Having learned only a little, one immediately styles oneself a venerable mountain monk. Arrogantly clinging to self and others, one scorns and obstructs later students.

One’s entire life is wasted, and even regret cannot retrieve it. Turning endlessly in samsara, when will it ever cease!

“Alas! If a person’s faculties are merely ordinary and they cannot transcend all at once, they should devote themselves wholeheartedly to studying the Dharma. They should master the scriptures, thoroughly investigate and contemplate their subtle meanings, and then spread them widely everywhere, guiding later students and repaying the Buddha’s kindness. Time passes swiftly and must not be wasted; one should make such cultivation the foundation of one’s life. Maintain dignified conduct and become a worthy vessel of the Dharma within the Sangha. Do you not see how a vine, by relying upon the trunk of a pine, can climb to a towering height? Choose a lofty cause to which to entrust your life; only then can you bring benefit far and wide.”

Thus, how could one disparage the Dharma or a wise teacher? To disparage a wise teacher is to disparage the Dharma. To disparage the Dharma is to disparage the Buddhas and patriarchs. To disparage the Buddhas and patriarchs is to disparage one’s own mind-consciousness. If one disparages one’s own mind-consciousness, one will inevitably sink into the ocean of suffering!

Alas! The World-Honored One Sakyamuni was even willing to relinquish his life to hear half a verse and made his own body into a seat in order to seek the wondrous Dharma. Have you not seen the statement in the Chapter on Conduct and Vows: “Peeling off one’s skin to make paper, splitting one’s bones to make pens, and drawing one’s blood to make ink, one copies scriptures and piles them as high as Mount Sumeru, all out of reverence for the Dharma.” If one does not even cherish one’s own body and life, how much less a royal throne, cities, wife and children, elephants, horses, and the seven treasures? The World-Honored One revered the Dharma in this manner; how, then, could ordinary beings disparage it?

Bodhisattva Medicine King made a torch of his own body to repay the Buddha’s profound kindness. Bodhisattva Sadaprarudita sold his heart and liver to study the prajnaparamita. Master Shenguang severed his arm to seek the Dharma. Sudhana traveled south in search of instruction, weeping tears of blood. All these were beings who forgot themselves for the sake of the Dharma. Only thereby did they come to understand the great matter of birth and death.

The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment teaches: “Living beings who wish to cultivate during the Dharma-ending age should seek a person of right view and insight who understands all matters; they will then assuredly accomplish the fruit of unsurpassed bodhi.”

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: “One should revere teachers of the Way as one reveres the World-Honored One. Anyone who can explain profound principles clearly, dispel one’s doubts, and release one from their bonds brings benefit to oneself and must be revered wholeheartedly. One should not dwell upon that person’s outward faults. It is like an ugly bag containing treasure: one should not refuse to use the treasure merely because the bag is ugly. It is also like traveling along a dangerous road at night with someone dressed in tattered clothes who carries a torch beside you: one should not refuse the aid of the light merely because of that person’s ragged appearance.”

The Avatamsaka Sutra says: “Regard a person who expounds the Buddha-Dharma as exceedingly difficult to encounter. Regard your own body as afflicted by painful illness. Regard a virtuous spiritual friend as a king of physicians. Regard the Dharma being taught as excellent medicine. Regard spiritual practice as the method for curing illness.”

“If one hears even a single sentence of scripture or a single verse, this is an unprecedented Dharma, surpassing the acquisition of the seven precious substances sufficient to fill the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, as well as attaining the stations of Shakra or a wheel-turning king.”

The Lotus Sutra says: “One who can expound this sutra should be honored with offerings as though he were the Tathagata. Celestial precious objects should be scattered around him in praise, and celestial treasuries of jewels should be presented to him. Why is this? Because when that person joyfully expounds the Dharma, those who hear it for even a brief moment attain the ultimate state—the fruit of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment.

The Treatise on the Awakening of Faith says: “Just as wood possesses the nature of fire, that fire is the direct cause. Yet if no one knows of it and no skillful means are employed, it is certainly impossible for that inherent nature to ignite the wood by itself! Sentient beings are likewise. Although they innately possess the power of the direct cause, nurtured over innumerable ages, if they do not encounter the scriptural teachings of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas and the guidance of all spiritual teachers, it is certainly impossible for them to attain Buddhahood by themselves!”

The ancients said: “Those who give birth to us are our parents; those who help us succeed are our teachers and friends.” Is this not indeed so?

One must understand that the Mahayana scriptures are the teachers of all Buddhas. The fruit of bodhi attained by all Buddhas arises from them.

When we consider all those who cultivated the three pure karmas and attained birth in the highest grade of the highest rank, we find that they are all described as having read and recited the Mahayana scriptures and understood the supreme truth. If one can do likewise, one will certainly attain rebirth in the Pure Land.

What are the Mahayana scriptures? They are such sutras as the Avatamsaka Sutra, Lotus Sutra, Prajnaparamita Sutras, Nirvana Sutra, Shurangama Sutra, Lankavatara Sutra, Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, and Sutra of the Contemplation of the Buddha of Infinite Life, together with all scriptures devoted specifically to the Pure Land. Those who cultivate pure karma should uphold, read, and recite these sutras and practice according to the teachings they contain.

° ° °

Question: Those who are literate can read the sutras, but what can those who are illiterate do?

Answer: Although they cannot read or recite the texts, they can still take part in printing and circulating them. Moreover, if they regularly bow in reverence and rely upon them, a day will naturally come when they understand. Have you not seen how Sudhana realized the fruit in a single lifetime and the dragon girl attained Buddhahood at eight years of age? This must truly have resulted from diligent effort over many lifetimes; how could such attainment have been accomplished in a single day?

The chapter “King Wondrous Adornment” in the Lotus Sutra says: “If good men and good women have already planted roots of goodness, they will therefore encounter spiritual teachers in life after life. Those spiritual teachers can perform the work of the Buddha, revealing and teaching what brings them benefit and joy, and enabling them to enter and attain the fruit of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment.”

Great virtuous ones, you should know that a spiritual teacher constitutes a great cause and condition. Through that person’s instruction and guidance, one is enabled to behold the Buddha. Could this possibly be a minor benefit? Those in the present life who do not understand the Buddha’s principles are all people who disparaged the Buddha-Dharma in former lives. If they still do not know to honor it in this life, they will be even more foolish and distressed in the next.

The Lotus Sutra teaches: “Those who, throughout thousands of millions of billions of kalpas, do not hear the Buddha’s name and also do not hear the true Dharma are exceedingly difficult to save.” Have you not heard this?

How grievous! How grievous! Those who disparage the scriptural teachings and ridicule Dharma masters commit an offense even graver than reviling the Buddha. Do they still not know to fear and refrain from it? Anyone who does not believe this principle should read the chapters “The Burning House” and “The Dharma Master” in the Lotus Sutra to understand it clearly.

I now counsel future students of the Way: if you wish to cultivate the fruit of unsurpassed bodhi, you should seek out and pay homage to an enlightened teacher and heed that teacher’s instructions. If you encounter an inferior teacher, then although you may wish to transcend and ascend, you will instead end up sinking into the depths! Therefore it is said:

To cross the river, one must use a raft.

Once the shore is reached, what need is there of the boat?

3. Filial Care and Repayment of Gratitude to Parents

The Precious Mirror of the Lotus School says: “Mindfulness of the Buddha is the essential Dharma among all Dharmas; filial care is the foremost practice among the hundred practices. The filial mind is the Buddha-mind; how could filial conduct differ from the conduct of a Buddha? If one wishes to attain the great Way of the Buddhas, one must first attend to the filial care of both parents.”

Therefore Zen Master Zhai said: “The single word ‘filial piety’ is the gateway to all wondrous paths.” The Buddha’s words take filial piety as their guiding principle, and the Buddhist scriptures take filial piety as their precept. Let there be nothing obscure in one’s speech; guard the gateway of the mouth with lucid awareness, remaining direct, penetrating, and clear, and the ground of the mind will swiftly open.

Generally, within the way of filial piety there is the filial piety of householders and the filial piety of monastics. The filial piety of householders is this: when parents show affection, one rejoices but does not become heedless; when parents show displeasure, one toils without resentment. One devotes all one’s strength to supporting them and attentively complies with the expressions and wishes of father and mother.

The filial piety of monastics is this: sever attachment and affection, leave one’s relatives, regulate food and drink, and return to accord with one’s original nature; deeply understand the principle of the unconditioned; repay from above the profound and lofty kindness received; follow the path of liberation; and repay one’s debt to one’s parents vigorously and swiftly. In this way, one not only gains benefit in the future but also acquires a share of merit and fruition in the present life.

Therefore the Tathagata left the city at midnight and attained the Way upon the Snowy Mountains; Patriarch Lu Neng left money for his mother and inherited the Dharma at Huangmei. Yet even after taking up cultivation and relinquishing affectionate attachment, one must still attend to repaying the kindness of one’s parents. Thus the Buddha ascended to the Trayastrimsha Heaven to visit his mother and returned to the palace of Kapilavastu to visit his father.

Even if one is poor and has no place of support, one should personally provide for and attend upon one’s parents. Thus, because Pilindavatsa fulfilled his filial duty, the Buddha established a precept; Great Master Ren built a house to care for his mother; Chen Muzhou made sandals to support his mother; and Dharma Master Lang carried his parents while traveling in search of instruction.

Thus, although monastics take the flavor of the Dharma as their sweetness, they do not forget to repay the care they received from infancy. Although they take the work of the Buddha as their labor, they do not abandon the proper courtesies of worldly life.

Not only must the parents of this one lifetime be repaid; the parents of many lifetimes must all be repaid. Not only must the parents of this one body be delivered; parents throughout the Dharma realm must all be liberated and brought together to the shore of enlightenment.

Was it only the Duke of Zhou who accorded with the Way of Heaven? In awakening those lost in delusion, there was also Kao Shu, who was honored for his pure filial devotion.

How vast and universal are the benefits of the filial way of monastics! If causes and conditions are not yet harmonious and one’s parents do not consent, one should strive with all one’s strength to fulfill the filial way of a householder and encourage one’s parents to cultivate and uphold the Dharma, thereby creating causes and conditions for transcending the world. If one can understand that the conventional is itself the true, this too is a direct path ascending to the Buddha realm.

I earnestly hope that you will follow the ancient example and once more become as a little child, never leaving your parents’ bedside. To repay the kindness of those who nurtured you and gave you life is also to arrive at the complete One Vehicle. If householders can truly fulfill the practices of bodhisattvas, even noble monastics should follow their example. One should not be solely intent upon Buddhist cultivation while failing to devote oneself fully to the filial care of one’s parents. Anyone who understands and feels the truth of this principle should carefully examine oneself and bring the filial way to completion.

Alas! The days and months pass swiftly; how could the kindness of one’s parents be easily forgotten? To be able to see one’s parents still present before one is no different from having a Buddha in the world. To regard repaying one’s parents as virtue—this is precisely the successful accomplishment of mindfulness of the Buddha.

One should know that when parents are joyful, all Buddhas rejoice; when this mind is pure, the Buddha-land is pure. Thus it may be said:

Across the open plain, stretching far, there are no hills or mountains.

Sunlight shines, the water reflects—there is no division between the two!

4. On the Road to Seek a Master and Learn the Way

I, Zongben, was born into the Chen family in the region of Siming. Through the kindness of my parents, I was nurtured and provided with teachers from childhood. When I began formal study, my strict father instructed me and my teachers guided me, so I also gained an understanding of literature, rites, and righteousness.

When I was fifteen years old, an elder cousin named Xiumu died after a slight illness, and his body was still laid out in an empty house. Passing by the door, I saw my cousin's body, composed of the four great elements, and became frightened and sorrowful. I lamented to myself: “Alas! Bodily form in this world is never enduring or secure; life is merely like a lamp before the wind. When impermanence arrives, how difficult it is to escape!” I immediately wished to leave the household life and learn the Way, seeking liberation from samsara.

Yet I did not know how to begin cultivation, so my mind remained hesitant. I went to a small temple in the area to pay homage to the Buddha. Suddenly, I encountered a monk sitting upright with an awe-inspiring bearing. I immediately bowed my head in reverence and asked: “Who are you, Venerable Sir?”

The monk replied: “I am a Chan practitioner who travels from place to place.”

Upon hearing these words, I rejoiced beyond measure. I immediately invited the monk to my home and prepared abundant incense, flowers, food, and other offerings.

When the offering ceremony was complete, I knelt and bowed to the Chan master, asking: “This disciple wishes to escape the round of birth and death, but does not yet know which Dharma he should practice.”

The Chan master then carefully asked my family name, given name, and age. I, Zongben, replied: “This disciple's family name is Chen, his given name is Jingxiu, and this year he is fifteen years old.”

The Chan master praised me, saying: “Though still young, you have given rise to a lofty aspiration; this is truly rare in the world! Good man of the Chen family, keep your mind tranquil and listen as I speak: There is only one direct and straightforward practice—you need only be mindful of Amitabha Buddha.”

I, Zongben, asked in reply: “Can mindfulness of Amitabha Buddha enable one to transcend birth and death?”

The Chan master answered: “If you faithfully follow the Buddha's teaching, then among all practices for escaping suffering, none equals mindfulness of the Buddha. If one is not mindful of the Buddha, it is difficult to transcend birth and death.”

Zongben asked again: “From where does this Dharma gate of mindfulness of the Buddha originate?”

The Chan master replied: “The Dharma gate of mindfulness of the Buddha is not taught in only one sutra. Among the countless scriptures, there is none that does not fully speak of this Dharma gate of mindfulness of the Buddha. If you practice according to this method, you will certainly attain rebirth in the Pure Land.”

I asked again: “How great is the merit of mindfulness of the Buddha, that it can enable one to be reborn in the Pure Land?”

He replied: “If someone were to offer the seven treasures from the four continents beneath heaven to all Buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, sravakas, and arhats, that person's merit would be exceedingly great. Yet if someone were to encourage another person to recite the Buddha's name once, that person's merit would be even greater.”

I asked again: “How can the merit of reciting the Buddha's name once be even greater?”

The Chan master replied: “The work The Common Return of the Myriad Good Deeds cites the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom as saying: ‘Suppose a person, from the moment of birth and falling to the ground, could walk a thousand li each day, and continued walking in this way for a full thousand years. If that person took all the seven treasures in every world through which he had passed and offered them to the Buddha, this would still not equal the merit of a person in the later evil and defiled age who succeeds in reciting once, Namo Amitabha Buddha. The merit of the person mindful of the Buddha surpasses even that of the former person. If personally reciting the Buddha's name already brings such merit, how much more so does encouraging others to recite it?’

I asked again: “Although I understand that the Buddha's virtue is so great, ordinary beings have already accumulated abundant evil karma. How can merely being mindful of the Buddha during a single lifetime enable them to be reborn in the Pure Land?”

He replied: “The Sutra of the Sixteen Contemplations says: ‘To recite Namo Amitabha Buddha once with utmost sincerity can extinguish grave offenses accumulated throughout eight billion kalpas of birth and death. A person may commit the five rebellious offenses and the ten evil deeds throughout his life, yet if, at the time of death, he succeeds in reciting Namo Amitabha Buddha ten times, he can still attain rebirth there. How much more so can a person who observes a vegetarian diet, upholds the precepts, and is mindful of the Buddha throughout his life?’”

Zongben asked again: “How is it that Amitabha Buddha possesses such vast merit, virtuous conduct, and vows?”

He replied: “The Expanded Longshu Treatise on the Pure Land cites the Great Amitabha Sutra, saying: ‘One day, Shakyamuni Buddha's countenance appeared extraordinary. His attendant Ananda found this remarkable and therefore asked him about it. The Buddha taught: “Excellent indeed is your question!

Its merit surpasses making offerings to all the sravakas and pratyekabuddhas in one realm beneath heaven, as well as giving alms to devas, human beings, and even the smallest living creatures. Even if one were to make such offerings and gifts throughout a great many kalpas, and then multiply the resulting merit a hundredfold, a thousandfold, ten thousandfold, or a billionfold, it still would not equal the merit of this question.

Why is this? Because through this question, devas, kings, human beings, and even the smallest living creatures will all attain deliverance.”’

“From this, one may infer that this was precisely the moment when Shakyamuni Buddha intended to begin speaking about Amitabha Buddha. The mere arising of this intention in his mind caused his countenance to differ from its usual appearance. Thus, Amitabha Buddha's spiritual communion with all Buddhas is extraordinary, how much more so his spiritual communion with all sentient beings.

“Why is this? Examining Amitabha Buddha's original vows, we find these words:

May it be that when I attain Buddhahood,

My name shall resound throughout the ten directions.

Devas and humans shall rejoice to hear it,

And together be born in the Buddha-land.

... ... ...

Those in the hells, hungry ghosts, and animals

Shall also be born in the Buddha-land.

“From this, it may be known that among all sentient beings revolving through the three realms and six paths, there is not a single one whom he does not wish to save and deliver. Amitabha Buddha now dwells in the Land of Ultimate Bliss in the western direction and throughout the worlds of the ten directions, teaching and transforming incalculable multitudes of devas and humans, even down to the smallest living creatures. If the Buddha transforms and delivers even the smallest living creatures, how much more so human beings!

“Amitabha Buddha also made this vow: ‘If anyone is mindful of my name, that person shall certainly be born in my Buddha-land. If this does not come to pass, I vow not to attain Buddhahood.’ Therefore, he universally delivers sentient beings without limit. A person who gives rise to the resolve to take refuge, even for a single thought-moment, will ultimately also be born in his Buddha-land. From this, one may infer that the merit of mindfulness of the Buddha is truly inconceivable.

“Amitabha Buddha further taught: If sentient beings wish to be born in my Buddha-land among those of the highest grade, they should cultivate compassionate conduct, refrain from killing, lovingly protect all living beings, perfectly uphold the precepts, read and recite Mahayana scriptures, penetrate their true meaning, clearly comprehend their profound principles, make offerings to the Three Jewels, show filial respect to their parents, have compassion for the poor and suffering, teach and transform all sentient beings, eat and drink in accordance with the Dharma, extensively practice giving to spirits and deities, refrain from all evil, and constantly perform all good deeds.

If anyone is mindful of the Buddha in this manner, that person will certainly attain the highest birth within the highest grade and proceed directly to the fruit of Buddhahood.

“If one does not yet possess sufficient strength to do this, one should steadfastly observe a vegetarian diet and uphold the precepts, and be single-mindedly mindful of the Buddha. If one can remain single-mindedly mindful of the Buddha without interruption, one may also attain rebirth within the middle grade.”

“This Dharma practice of mindfulness of the Buddha makes no distinction between the wise and the foolish, the noble and the lowly, the rich and the poor; nor does it distinguish between men and women, old and young, monastics and laypeople, or those near and far. All can be mindful of the Buddha.

“The methods of being mindful of the Buddha are likewise unrestricted: one may recite aloud or softly; recite continuously like flowing water; recite while bowing in reverence; gather the mind and recite; investigate and recite; contemplate and recite; count prayer beads while reciting; circumambulate the Buddha hall while reciting; recite while standing upright, sitting quietly, or lying on one’s side; recite silently or audibly; recite a thousand times or ten thousand times—all are a single mindfulness. Most important is to possess firm and resolute faith and aspire to be born in the Pure Land. If one can practice in this way, why need one seek another spiritual teacher?

“Thus it may be said:

The boat’s course is surely determined by its helmsman;

The Buddha-land receives those who clearly know the way to practice.

Tong Bon further asked, “Many people in the world often say: ‘Household affairs keep us busy, and worldly matters entangle us. We shall wait until old age before attending to mindfulness of the Buddha.’ Master, please speak about such people.”

The Chan master replied, “Alas! Alas! How foolish and mistaken such words are! Have you not heard what Chan Master Si Xin said? People of the world possess treasures piled like mountains, with wives and concubines filling their homes, and enjoy themselves day and night. Would they not wish to live in this world forever? Yet life has its limit, and death always lies in wait. When life ends, one must depart; it cannot be delayed. King Yama does not accommodate human wishes, and when the ghost of impermanence suddenly arrives, who has ever seen its face?

“Consider only what everyone has seen with their eyes and heard with their ears: along the streets before and behind their homes, among relatives, loved ones, friends, and siblings, how many have died in the prime and vigor of youth! Have you not heard the ancients say:

Do not wait until old age to learn the Way;

How many beneath forsaken graves still had youthful hair!

“From their youthful years, people toil and strive to support their wives and children, establish homes, and endure countless bitter hardships. Suddenly, when their breath ceases and their lives end, they still cannot cast everything aside all at once. If their children and grandchildren are filial, they may invite masters to conduct vegetarian rites and recite sutras to aid their deliverance.

They may also observe the customary offerings in the third month of spring and the ninth month of autumn, presenting a few bowls of rice and soup on the full moon, and weeping a few times in grief; this is then called cherishing their father and remembering their mother. But if they encounter an unfilial child, then as soon as the parents have passed away, while the bones in their heads are still warm, the child will dissipate their wealth, sell off all their fields and gardens, and indulge freely in pleasure.

“From this one may infer how urgent and earnest the practice of mindfulness must be! Children and grandchildren each have their own karmic retributions of good and evil; there is no need to make far-reaching plans and anxious calculations on their behalf.

“An ancient virtuous master wrote this verse:

Laughable indeed is the wealthy old man,

Hurrying and striving throughout his life.

Rice in the granary breeds weevils;

Money stored in the treasury decays.

By day he weighs, measures, and counts;

At night he lights a lamp to reckon his accounts.

His body grows emaciated, feeble, and ill,

Yet stubbornly he clings to his old ways.

“Chan Master Si Xin exhorted and instructed people so wholeheartedly. How, then, could one claim that one should remain immersed in worldly affairs and wait until old age to be mindful of the Buddha? One should constantly reflect that human life truly does not last long; it passes in an instant, like a spark struck from flint or a flash of lightning—gone in the blink of an eye!

Therefore, before old age arrives, while still in the vigor of youth, one should rouse body and mind and set worldly affairs aside. For every day one remains clear-minded, one should be mindful of the Buddha for that day; for every moment one has available for practice, one should cultivate wholesome karma for that moment. Whether the final moment of life proves favorable or unfavorable, the most important thing is that one’s provisions for the journey have been fully prepared; then the road ahead will certainly be secure.

If one makes no preparations beforehand, regrets afterward will come too late. Reflect carefully upon this!

“It is a cause for rejoicing that Amitabha is so easy to recollect and the Pure Land so easy to attain through rebirth! Although it is difficult for people to avoid the cares and calculations of household affairs, they should nevertheless burn incense and be mindful of the Buddha morning and evening.

“Everyone can follow this Dharma gate of mindfulness of the Buddha. It is like a house that has remained dark for many years: as soon as a single lamp is lit, it becomes bright. Even those who slaughter cattle and butcher pigs can practice as soon as they lay down their knives.

“This practice is not difficult, nor does it obstruct people’s worldly occupations. When officials are mindful of the Buddha, it does not hinder their official duties. When intellectuals are mindful of the Buddha, it does not hinder their studies. When merchants are mindful of the Buddha, it does not hinder their commerce. When farmers are mindful of the Buddha, it does not hinder their planting and cultivation. When women are mindful of the Buddha, it does not hinder their household responsibilities. In government offices, mindfulness of the Buddha does not hinder obedience to one’s superiors. In monasteries, mindfulness of the Buddha does not hinder the practice of Chan meditation.

“In general, for those who cultivate the practice of mindfulness of the Buddha, no work whatsoever presents an obstruction. They may bow in reverence and recite the Buddha’s name early in the morning or in the evening, or they may recite while working; whether their tasks are urgent or unhurried, they can still be mindful of the Buddha. Each day they may recite the name a hundred thousand times, three or five hundred times, or ten times.... What is essential is to make a vow directed toward rebirth in the West. If one possesses such sincerity, rebirth there may be regarded as assured.

“O virtuous son of the Tran family! If you observe a vegetarian diet and uphold the precepts with purity and rigor, single-mindedly recite the Buddha’s name, yet are not born in the Pure Land, then I myself shall certainly fall into the Hell of Tongue Extraction.”

Seeing that the Chan master had made such a grave vow, I fearfully knelt and bowed, thanking him for his kindness in revealing and explaining the Dharma gate of mindfulness of the Buddha.

The Chan master taught, “As for the Pure Land Dharma gate, even if one spoke of it for hundreds of thousands of kalpas, one could never exhaust it. Therefore, I have merely given a brief account here of its most essential principles.

“The ancients said:

The wise, with single-minded and steadfast faith,

Immediately understand all matters clearly.

The foolish never put an end to their doubts;

The more they hear, the more their doubts increase.

How true these words are!

Those who sincerely possess firm faith in the practice and wish to attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land cannot merely speak empty words and then let the matter pass. They must embrace it in their hearts as the great matter of their entire lives and resolve to accomplish it!

“If you can give rise to faith, then from this day onward you must be utterly courageous and utterly diligent. Do not concern yourself with whether you know or do not know, whether you have seen your nature or have not seen your nature. Simply hold steadfastly in your heart the single phrase ‘Namo Amitabha Buddha,’ as though relying upon Mount Sumeru; even if disturbed or shaken, remain firmly unmoved.

This single mindfulness is the guiding teacher. This single mindfulness is the Buddha’s transformation body. This single mindfulness is the mighty general who shatters the hells.

This single mindfulness is the jeweled sword that cuts down the hordes of demons. This single mindfulness is the bright lamp that illuminates darkness. This single mindfulness is the great ship that crosses the sea of suffering.

This single mindfulness is the excellent medicine that delivers one from birth and death. This single mindfulness is the direct path out of the Three Realms. This single mindfulness is Amitabha Buddha within one’s own nature.

This single mindfulness is the Pure Land within one’s own mind.”

The essential point is always to keep in mind the single phrase “Amitabha Buddha,” never allowing it to lapse. At all times sustain this mindfulness; at all times keep this thought within the mind. In times of leisure, recite in this way; while occupied, recite in this way; in peace and happiness, recite in this way; in pain and suffering, recite in this way; while living, recite in this way; and when approaching death, recite in this way. With this single thought lucid and perfectly clear, what need is there to ask others about the road home?

Thus it may be said:

With one unmixed thought of Amitabha,

In but a carefree moment, one reaches the Western Land.

The Chan master further instructed him carefully: “Good man of the Chen family! I now transmit to you the Dharma teaching concerning the Ten Dharma Realms. You must use this teaching to guide and instruct those who come after you, striving together in diligent cultivation until the fruit of Buddhahood is attained.”

Zongben said: “I shall expound this Dharma widely for those who come after me, in the hope that it will bring benefit in the future.”

The Chan master taught: “Excellent, excellent! These Ten Dharma Realms are: the Dharma Realm of the Buddhas, the Dharma Realm of the bodhisattvas, the Dharma Realm of the pratyekabuddhas, the Dharma Realm of the shravakas, the Dharma Realm of the devas, the Dharma Realm of human beings, the Dharma Realm of the asuras, the Dharma Realm of hungry ghosts, the Dharma Realm of animals, and the Dharma Realm of hell beings.

“These Ten Dharma Realms are all fully present within the mind of every person. According to what one has created, one personally undergoes the corresponding result; each cause brings its own fruit, without the slightest error. Good and evil deeds are worldly causes, while the Three Realms and Six Paths are worldly fruits. Observing the precepts and being mindful of the Buddha are supramundane causes, while the Pure Land and the attainment of Buddhahood are supramundane fruits.

“Within the realms of devas and humans, cultivating merit should be foremost. In the ocean of suffering of birth and death, mindfulness of the Buddha is supreme. If one wishes to enjoy the pleasures of the realms of devas and humans without cultivating merit, or wishes to escape the ocean of suffering of birth and death without being mindful of the Buddha, it is no different from a wingless bird wishing to fly or a rootless tree wishing to flourish. How could this be possible?

“Therefore, the essential point is to take mindfulness of the Buddha as the planting of the primary cause and the cultivation of merit as the supporting practice. Only by cultivating both merit and wisdom can one become a perfectly and fully enlightened one. This is precisely the cause that produces the fruit, and the fruit depends entirely upon the cause.

Cause and effect never diverge; neither before nor after is there ever any error. Why is this so? When the form is straight, its shadow is upright; when a sound is harmonious, its echo is pleasing to the ear.

One should therefore know that when the cause is genuine, the fruit cannot be false. One’s ordinary daily life is the cause, and the final moment of life is the fruit. If one habitually commits evil, evil scenes will appear before one’s eyes at death; if one habitually practices mindfulness of the Buddha, the Buddha Land will naturally appear at death.

“The Avatamsaka Sutra says:

If anyone wishes clearly to know

All Buddhas of the three times and ten directions,

One should contemplate the nature of the Dharma Realm:

All is created by the mind.

“This expresses precisely that meaning.”

Zongben asked: “Master, what Dharma should one cultivate to attain the fruit of Buddhahood?”

The Chan master replied: “You should know that all sentient beings within the Six Paths inherently possess the Buddha-nature of true suchness and are equal without distinction. Contemplate every sentient being as a Buddha and as one of your own parents. Without distinguishing enemies from loved ones, vow to deliver them all. From this time onward, forever practice in accordance with the vows and conduct of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra. If you can cultivate in this way, you can become equal to the Buddhas.”

He asked again: “Master, what Dharma should one cultivate to reach the Dharma Realm of the bodhisattvas?”

The Chan master taught: “The practice of generosity eliminates greed and stinginess; observance of the precepts eliminates transgression; the practice of patience eliminates anger and hatred; diligent effort eliminates indolence and laziness; the practice of meditative concentration eliminates torpor and distraction; and the cultivation of wisdom eliminates delusion. If you can cultivate in this way, you can become equal to the bodhisattvas.”

He asked again: “Master, what Dharma would lead one only to the Dharma Realm of the pratyekabuddhas?”

The Chan master taught: “Those of the Middle Vehicle delight in solitary tranquility. Although they clearly understand the causes and conditions of all dharmas, they do not undertake to deliver sentient beings. Therefore, they can reach only the Dharma Realm of the pratyekabuddhas.”

He asked again: “Master, what Dharma would lead one only to the Dharma Realm of the shravakas?”

The Chan master taught: “Those of the Lesser Vehicle fear birth and death like deer fleeing without daring to look back. Because they seek only to leave the Three Realms as quickly as possible and attain the realm of nirvana for themselves alone, they can reach only the Dharma Realm of the shravakas and arhats.”

He asked again: “Master, what Dharma would enable one only to be reborn in a heavenly realm?”

The Chan master taught: “By cultivating the Ten Wholesome Actions, one will be reborn in a heavenly realm.”

He asked again: “Master, what Dharma would enable one only to be reborn in the human realm?”

The Chan master taught: “By observing the Five Precepts, one will be reborn in the human realm.”

He asked again: “Master, what sinful karma causes one to fall into the realm of the asuras?”

The Chan master taught: “Those who cultivate wholesome karma yet continue to harbor contentiousness, vying for superiority, resentment, and contemptuous arrogance toward others will fall into the realm of the asuras.”

He asked again: “Master, what sinful karma causes one to fall into the realm of hungry ghosts?”

The Chan master taught: “Those who cannot relinquish greed and stinginess, who despise the assembly and seize food for themselves alone, will fall into the realm of hungry ghosts.”

He asked again: “Master, what sinful karma causes one to fall into the realm of animals?”

The Chan master taught: “Those who create karma through delusion, deceit, perversity, and cruelty will certainly fall into the realm of animals.”

He asked again: “Master, what sinful karma causes one to fall into the realm of hell beings?”

The Chan master taught: “Those who disparage and slander the Three Jewels and commit evil deeds will certainly fall into the realm of hell beings.

“The Ten Dharma Realms just described all arise from each person’s deeds and cultivation.”

Zongben immediately bowed his head in homage, thanked his master, and said: “Had it not been for fortunate affinities from a former life, how could I have encountered an enlightened teacher who guides and instructs me in this way?”

As they parted, the Chan master further taught: “If you still have unresolved doubts, you should seek out and read works such as The Precious Mirror of the Lotus School, The Essential Guide to the Pure Land, Longshu’s Writings on the Pure Land, The Collection on the Common Return of the Myriad Good Deeds, Great Master Zhizhe’s Treatise on Ten Doubts, Chan Master Tianru Ze’s Questions and Answers, Shenqi’s Rhapsody on the Land of Peaceful Nurture, and The Treatise Resolving Doubts about the Pure Land. In general, you should seek out and read all sutras and treatises that praise the Pure Land Dharma Gate.”

Zongben said: “I respectfully obey your instruction. I shall accept it with faith and follow it wholeheartedly.”

5. An Essay of Reverent Homage Clearly Setting Forth the Method of Chan Inquiry

The gateway into the Way is fundamentally nothing extraordinary; one need only cleanse the sense faculties and their objects, taking realization as the standard.

Good people! If you wish to cultivate and attain the fruit of unsurpassed bodhi, you must steadfastly observe the precepts and fasting disciplines. If you do not strictly uphold the precepts and Vinaya, the fruit of bodhi can ultimately never be attained. Why is this? Moral discipline stands foremost among the myriad practices and is also the foundation of the six paramitas. It is like wishing to build a house: first you must prepare its foundation. Without a foundation, building upon empty space would truly be futile!

The precepts refer generally to the three groups of Mahayana precepts, comprising:

1. The precepts of embracing moral discipline: Eliminate all evil, meaning that no evil whatsoever is committed.

2. The precepts of embracing wholesome Dharma: Accumulate all that is good, meaning that every wholesome deed is faithfully practiced.

3. The precepts of benefiting sentient beings: Leave no sentient being undelivered, meaning that all sentient beings are universally delivered.

These three groups of precepts enable bodhisattvas to cultivate the path and attain Buddhahood. Only those who fully uphold these three groups of precepts can practice meditation. If one does not arouse such a resolve, what benefit is there in investigating Chan?

The Brahma Net Sutra says: “When sentient beings receive the Buddha’s precepts, they immediately enter the station of the Buddhas.” Is this not so?

The Buddha’s Crown Sutra says: “Precepts can give rise to samadhi, and samadhi can give rise to wisdom. When there is wisdom, the mind is lucid; when the mind is lucid, one sees one’s own nature; when one sees one’s own nature, one becomes a Buddha.” Never has anyone become a Buddha or a Patriarch without relying upon the precepts.

The single matter of investigating Chan is indeed the subtle and essential key to advancing upward; it is no small or ordinary affair. One must arouse an extremely courageous and vigorous resolve and practice with the utmost diligence. It is essential to put an end to every scheme and calculation, sever all entanglements with worldly objects, and turn seeing and hearing inward to contemplate one’s own nature.

All everyday discriminations, such as good and bad, love and hatred, right and wrong, must be swept entirely clean. It is like cutting through a bundle of silk with a sharp knife: with one forceful stroke, it is severed completely. It is also like cutting the anchor loose and launching the boat, surging straight ahead.

It is further like one person fighting ten thousand: one must be so swift and keen that there is not even time to blink, with no room for sluggishness or delay. Only when one can summon such fierce determination may it be said that one possesses the spirit required for investigating Chan.

Once one has the spirit required for investigating Chan, hold firmly to the phrase “Namo Amitabha Buddha,” as though leaning upon Mount Sumeru. Even when disturbed or shaken, remain steadfast and unmoving. With undivided concentration and single-minded intent, recite it three times or five times, then turn the discerning eye inward to contemplate yourself and ask: Who is reciting the Buddha’s name?

The essential point of this investigation is to see from where this single thought arises. After examining it for a long time and breaking through, there is still this single thought. Once doubt has arisen, intensify that doubt further.

Ask yourself again: I ask who is reciting the Buddha’s name—but who is it that asks? Continue investigating in this manner: ultimately, who is it? Upon reaching this point, you must seize the clue and follow it to its very source, never letting go.

It is like encountering an adversary from many lifetimes past: you must immediately seize the trail and follow it until everything is clearly known, without any further capacity for conceptual thought and without waiting to discuss, deliberate, or weigh anything. If one investigates Chan in this way, the day of clear penetration will surely come.

If you have not yet reached this point, you should listen carefully to these further words. A person exerting effort in investigation must be like someone who has fallen into a well a thousand feet deep: morning and evening, his reflection and inquiry are devoted solely to escaping from the well, with absolutely no other thought.

It is also like someone who has lost something vitally important: he searches in the morning and searches in the evening; he searches horizontally and searches vertically. If he searches without finding it, he constantly and silently keeps it in mind.

It is also like a cat stalking a mouse, body and mind fused into a single mass.

It is also like someone walking across a single-plank bridge, who must remain exceedingly careful at every moment.

If the mind is applied in this way, torpor and distraction will naturally disappear. Whether walking, standing, lying down, or sitting, always be as though holding an infant, without the slightest haste or negligence.

If you wish to find a pearl that has fallen beneath the water, you must wait until the waves subside and the water becomes still. If you search while the surface is turbulent, it will be difficult to retrieve. When the water has settled and become clear, the pearl of the mind’s essential nature will naturally appear distinctly.

An ancient said:

Dig the pond without awaiting the moon;

When the pond is complete, the moon appears of itself.

Therefore, the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment says:

Pure wisdom, free from obstruction,

Arises from meditative concentration.

If one can truly practice in this way, one will certainly gain mastery of the work. Even if one presently attains meditative concentration, one should not remain rigidly fixed there. One must thoroughly investigate the great matter of birth and death until it becomes completely clear, and fully perfect the wisdom that knows all things.

An ancient said:

It is not merely forgetting the body while the mind lies dead and still;

That is a grave illness made graver still.

Sitting quietly, penetrate and examine the source;

Only then may you hope to see your nature and realize innate truth.

This is precisely:

Atop a hundred-foot pole, take one step farther;

On the mountain slope, release your grasp—die, then live again.

Only then can one be called a person who has completed the matter.

Yet even after completing this, there remains another point of doubt. Whether the huatou is raised or not raised, clearly discerned or not clearly discerned, forceful or not forceful, light and peaceful or not light and peaceful—regarding all such matters, whether there is gain or loss, whether they are present or absent, do not allow the mind to become attached. Simply maintain a single-minded investigation; this is precisely the work.

Yet even after completing this, there remains another point of doubt. If a beautiful and favorable state appears before your eyes, you should not rejoice, lest you become submerged in that joy. If an ugly and harmful state appears before your eyes, you should not become afflicted, lest the demon submerge you in that affliction. You should know that these good and bad states do not come from outside. They all arise because the mind has sunk into torpor, or they manifest through the influence of karmic consciousness. Everything heard by the ears and seen by the eyes is illusory and false; you should not become attached to it. You must diligently advance straight ahead.

An ancient said: “Your skill has its limits; what I refuse to accept is fundamentally inexhaustible.”

If the body is ill, do not force yourself to investigate Chan. You should bow to the Buddha in repentance and recite the Buddha’s name until that period has passed; when the illness is cured, continue investigating Chan.

However, a person of wisdom can also take the occasion of illness as an opportunity for contemplation. You should know that the four great elements are fundamentally empty and that the five skandhas have no real existence. From where does illness come? Who is this person now ill? If you can illuminate the matter in this way, there may also come a moment of sudden awakening.

Yet even after completing this, there remains another point of doubt. If you feel that you clearly know and thoroughly understand all things, you should not become attached to that state; you must hasten to pass beyond it. If you abide securely in the state of such knowledge and perception, your original true face will certainly be buried and lost.

An ancient said: “The Buddha-Dharma is not a dead fish; why fear that it will rot?”

It is also like peeling the trunk of a banana tree: peel away one layer, and another remains. Peel away another layer, and yet another remains. Continue peeling until there is nowhere left to place your hand; only then does it become entirely one unified whole. Thereafter, when putting on clothes, eating food, defecating, urinating, in activity or stillness, while speaking or remaining silent, there is never a moment when the single thought of Amitabha Buddha does not penetrate everything.

From then on, the flower of the mind burst into radiance, illuminating the ten directions, like the sun in a cloudless sky, like a bright mirror upon its stand; within a single thought, one attained perfect enlightenment. Not only was the great matter of birth and death clearly understood, but all the diverse causes and conditions of the Buddhas and Patriarchs of former times were also thoroughly comprehended; both the Buddha-Dharma and worldly dharmas were clearly and discerningly known.

Even after reaching such a state, one should not abide there complacently or become attached. One must realize and thoroughly understand the causes and conditions of activity, and one’s realization must accord with the pivotal principles of Chan so that it may receive confirmation. Once it has been confirmed, neither ordinary beings nor sages inherently exist; grasping and rejecting are both forgotten. What need is there to speak of heaven or hell, or to distinguish south, north, east, and west? Throughout the Dharma-realm there is only the self-nature Amitabha; throughout the whole of empty space there is only the mind of the Pure Land!

At that time, one can manifest precious Buddha-realms upon the tip of a hair, sit within a mote of dust and turn the wheel of Dharma, guide and deliver future generations, and preserve and rescue the Dharma during the age of its decline. Only one who practices Chan and attains this may be called a great person who has transcended all conventions, standing alone above the multitudes.

If one has not yet attained this, one should rely upon the power of Amitabha Buddha’s vows and seek rebirth in the Pure Land. Why is this? It is feared that at the moment of death, when the signs of death appear before one’s eyes, the mind and spirit will become distraught and confused, leaving one unable to master oneself and inevitably swept away by karmic conditions. Therefore, one must earnestly recite the Buddha’s name, cultivate merit and wisdom together, wholeheartedly turn toward the Pure Land, and single-mindedly await the final moment of life.

Thus it may be said:

The ancient tower and native ground are indeed just so;

Only after returning there once will the heart find peace.

Alas! It has been long since the Sage appeared in the world, and the Buddha-Dharma grows more divided with each passing day! Recently, there has arisen a group of frivolous people whose eye of wisdom is not clear and who also disbelieve in the Pure Land.

They misconstrue the Patriarchs’ pivotal words and recklessly discuss the meaning of what the ancient Buddhas taught. They do not know how to devote themselves completely to investigation, but cling solely to the body composed of the four great elements. Today they practice twice, tomorrow three times, teaching people to busy themselves restlessly, rushing back and forth.

At present their minds lack concentration and their wisdom lacks clarity; in the end they must arrive at madness and confusion. They are unworthy of receiving the offerings of the faithful, and they betray the numinous awareness of their own minds in vain. They revolve through the three evil paths and undergo myriad sufferings.

It is only because they previously failed to meet a fully accomplished teacher that, even after cultivating into old age, they remain nothing but useless objects! Even if such people, cultivating blindly and training in darkness, were to continue wandering until Maitreya Buddha appeared in the world, there would still be no day when they attained clear awakening.

This is precisely:

Without Chan and without the Pure Land,

The iron bed and copper pillar await.

For thousands and myriads of kalpas one wanders on,

Forever with no one to offer rescue.

How painful! How painful!

With sincere words I exhort later students to be exceedingly cautious and discerning. Now I have distinguished and explained matters clearly in order to break through delusion, yet for doing so I am hated by others. To the wise, this is the precious and delicious ambrosia; to deluded fools who do not understand, it instead becomes poison! Thus, an error of a hair’s breadth leads one a thousand miles astray.

Alas!

When the sky clears, the orb of the sun shines brightly;

When rain descends, the earth becomes muddy mire.

I devote myself wholly to breaking through deluded attachments,

Yet fear that people lack the power of faith.

Take good care!

6. The Difficulties and Ease of the Practices of Chan and the Pure Land

Someone asked: “There are people in the world who cling to koans and teach others to apply themselves to them, seeking only to investigate Chan and awaken to the Way, without aspiring for rebirth in the Pure Land. What is this method like?”

The reply was: “Those of luminous capacity and profound wisdom may genuinely investigate and genuinely awaken. Yet the slightest error will cause them to fall into a grave mistake.”

The questioner asked: “How can we know that it is a mistake?”

The reply was: “The mistake lies in this: if they have not yet attained awakening, they will continue wandering through samsara. This cannot compare with practicing by observing the precepts and reciting the Buddha’s name, whereby they will certainly proceed directly to the Pure Land.

“Good spiritual friends! I do not discourage the investigation of Chan; I fear only that people will fail to recite the Buddha’s name! Why is this? Investigating Chan and awakening to the Way is difficult; reciting the Buddha’s name and attaining rebirth is easy.

The ancients said: “The essential purpose of investigating Chan is to penetrate the principle of birth and death, yet among a hundred people, scarcely two or three attain it. Of those who recite the Buddha’s name and seek rebirth in the Pure Land, all ten thousand succeed.” Therefore, it is said: “Of ten who cultivate Chan without cultivating the Pure Land, as many as nine lose their way.” Is this not so?

Moreover, investigating Chan and reciting the Buddha’s name do not obstruct each other. I shall now clearly set forth the difficulty and ease of the two practices of Chan and the Pure Land.

The eighty-four thousand Dharma-doors, when gathered together, do not go beyond the single phrase Namo Amitabha Buddha; the one thousand seven hundred koans likewise do not go beyond the single phrase Namo Amitabha Buddha. Why is this? Within the practice of Buddha-recitation there are swift and gradual approaches, present-day principles, and ancient precedents. Those of superior capacity and wisdom can immediately see their nature and become Buddhas. Those of middling and inferior capacity cannot yet transcend immediately, but by relying upon the Buddha’s power, they too will attain rebirth.

Therefore, the practice of Buddha-recitation surpasses all other Dharma-doors. If Buddha-recitation is taken as a koan, its merit surpasses the merit of all other koans by hundreds, thousands, myriads, and millions of times. Why is this?

If their merits were equal, the Buddhas of the three times and ten directions would have had no need to praise Amitabha Buddha, nor would countless sutras have needed to teach the practice for reaching the Western Pure Land. Have you not heard that every Patriarch throughout the generations recited the Buddha’s name? Even the eminent and worthy ones of the present age all recite the Buddha’s name.

Whether monastic or lay, male or female, all recite the Buddha’s name. If all Dharma-doors were the same, why would this one be singled out? Observe all practitioners: whatever Dharma-door they follow, whenever they open their mouths and raise their voices, they all recite the single phrase Amitabha Buddha.

Why is this? One should know that the power of Amitabha Buddha’s vows is boundless; therefore, this one name alone is invoked and recited.

Listen to this verse in praise of the Buddha:

Among the Buddhas of the three times and ten directions,

Amitabha is foremost.

With forty-eight vows he delivers sentient beings;

Sentient beings take refuge in the lotus thrones of nine grades.

From this it may be inferred that the koan of Buddha-recitation truly surpasses all other koans.

It is also said that the ninety-six schools of non-Buddhist paths all cultivate because they wish to escape birth and death, yet none attain liberation. Why is this? It is because they encounter ignorant teachers who explain the true Dharma as a false teaching and proclaim the Buddha-Dharma to be a demonic teaching. There are very many who err in this way. Having gone astray themselves, they also lead others to go astray with them. Truly:

The blind lead those who cannot see,

And together they fall into a deep, blazing pit!

On one occasion, the Tathagata taught Maudgalyayana: “It is like myriad rivers flowing together, with many pieces of wood floating along with the currents. Whether before or behind, they know nothing of one another, yet all eventually converge in the great ocean. People in the world are likewise: though some may be wealthy, honored, and prosperous, none can escape the sufferings of birth, aging, illness, and death.

Only because they do not believe the Buddhist sutras are they unable to be born among the thousand Buddha-realms. Therefore, I say that Amitabha Buddha’s realm is easy to reach and easy to attain; yet people refuse to cultivate for the sake of attaining rebirth and instead go to worship the ninety-six schools of non-Buddhist paths. Thus I say that such people have neither eyes nor ears!”

Moreover, the Accounts of Rebirth in the Pure Land and the Biographies of Eminent Monks record cases of both the wise and the foolish attaining rebirth there. Such cases have occurred from ancient times to the present. All departed from this defiled realm and returned to the pure land, were born within ponds of the seven treasures, escaped the suffering of the womb, transcended the ordinary and entered the holy, attained the Way and realized the truth, without having to pass through innumerable kalpas before accomplishing Buddhahood. Is this not due to reliance upon the inconceivable power of the Buddha?

If one wishes to transcend forever the cycle of birth and death and enjoy the bliss of nirvana, no Dharma gate surpasses the Dharma gate of rebirth in the Pure Land.

Why is this so? The defiled Saha world is replete with every kind of suffering, and thus it is difficult to accomplish the Way here; the Pure Land, by contrast, is replete with every goodness, and thus it is easy to ascend to the stage of non-retrogression. Those who recite the Buddha's name are protected and kept in mind by the Buddhas and attain rebirth there; those who give rise to the bodhi-mind are illumined by the virtue of Amitabha and become ever more diligent. Bodhisattvas and arhats are their companions; the forest trees, waterfowl, and birds all proclaim mindfulness of the Buddha. Their ears constantly hear the wondrous Dharma, while greed and anger are completely extinguished within their hearts. Their bliss is boundless, and their lifespans are unending.

Once born in that land, one immediately attains the stage of non-retrogression. How could this be compared with the realms of gods and humans, where countless adverse conditions lie directly before one's eyes? On the path of cultivating the Provisional Vehicle, wholesome roots are rarely brought to perfection.

The worthies of the three stages, not yet having entered the Ten Bhūmis, still do not understand the Way and therefore lose right mindfulness; even Sariputra, while abiding at the sixth stage, encountered adverse conditions and retreated from his resolve. Thus, in the Lotus Dharma assembly, five thousand people withdrew. In the Ratnakuta Sutra, those who lost the Way were also very numerous.

If matters were already thus while the Buddha was still in the world, how could it not be so today? Therefore, we know that practitioners of the Three Vehicles may pass through innumerable kalpas without completing their meritorious practices, whereas through the Dharma gate of mindfulness of the Buddha, one attains the stage of non-retrogression in no more than the snap of a finger.

Therefore, after being born in the Pure Land, one advances only and never retreats, and will assuredly attain Buddhahood. Thus, the Amitabha Sutra teaches: “All sentient beings born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss are avaivartikas.” Avaivartika means the stage of non-retrogression.

Alas! Those who have only recently given rise to the resolve still possess shallow faith. Unless they rely upon the Buddha's power for support, it is truly difficult for them to advance in cultivation. Amitabha Buddha has made profound vows, and all who possess the proper affinities are received and delivered.

Good sirs! From the very time the Buddha, the Founding Teacher, first established the Way, he taught the Dharma gate of mindfulness of the Buddha. How, then, could Chan practitioners today refuse to believe in rebirth in the Pure Land?

The practice of the Pure Land has never hindered the investigation of Chan. Why, then, do those who investigate Chan disparage and reject the Pure Land teaching instead of practicing it?

7. Distinguishing the Orthodox from the Heterodox to Put an End to Doubt

Great Master Mingjiao taught: “Shakyamuni left behind his teachings, taking Chan as their guiding principle and the Buddha as their Patriarch. The Patriarch is the great standard of the Way; the guiding principle is the great mainstay of the Way. If the mainstay is not clearly revealed, the world cannot converge upon a single path; if the standard is not upright, the world has no basis for firm faith.”

From ancient times to the present, students of Buddhism have competed to establish separate schools and contended over right and wrong. All such calamities arise because the guiding principle is not clearly revealed and the standard is not upright.

Alas! In recent times, bands of heterodox teachers have fabricated bizarre doctrines like demons and non-Buddhist heretics. Assuming the titles “Precious Grove” and “Dharma Wheel,” they have falsely composed what they claim to be the true guiding principle and the wondrous meaning of the scriptures, presumptuously calling it the unsurpassed Dharma treasure.

They deceive later generations, produce much confusion, command the deluded, and engage in many perverse deeds. Knowing nothing of the original Dharma-body Pure Land, they single-mindedly cling to this skin-bag filled with blood and pus. They use dream visions to authenticate their practice, and in turn disparage both Chan investigation and mindfulness of the Buddha as teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, while claiming that generosity and the creation of wholesome affinities are also impure merits.

They instruct people: there is no need to bow to the Buddha, no need to light incense, no need to observe the precepts, and no need to recite the sutras. Thus, they misconstrue the Buddha's words and wrongly interpret the sages' intent, saying that sexual misconduct does not obstruct awakening and that killing and stealing do not impede wisdom. They infiltrate our Way and transmit these practices from one to another, refusing to observe the pure regulations and disturbing the true Dharma.

They are bands of demons, ghosts, and monsters, gathering at night and dispersing at dawn, falsely claiming to possess an august orthodox Dharma and the secret Buddha-Dharma. They say that the lamps and candles must be extinguished so that the wondrous method may be transmitted in secret. They further claim that those who follow their practice will see their nature and awaken to the Way in only seven days.

They also instruct their disciples to enter a shrine, swear oaths, and compose memorials, calling this conformity with the laws of Heaven; they then burn the memorials as offerings to the Celestial Court, claiming that only in this way can Buddhahood be attained. They further teach that this is a wondrous and excellent affair that must not be made known to outsiders. If anyone divulges the secrets of Heaven, that person will certainly fall into the lower realms because of the oath. They also order people to guard the rear of the house and the front door, fearing that someone beyond the walls might see or hear, and so they maintain strict vigilance.

Alas! Why go to such trouble? If theirs were the true Dharma of the Buddha, they could simply ring the bells, beat the drums, ascend the platform, assemble the entire great congregation, set up the Dharma seat, expound the teaching, and give clear instruction. How could there be any reason for such concealment? One should only fear that the Dharma cannot be widely propagated; why would one fear that many people might learn of it?

Because they worship demons and heresies, they come to deceive both others and themselves. Year after year, they devise numerous forms of deception and create turmoil in other people's households. Those who possess faith but lack clear understanding and discernment compete with one another in following the path of demons.

Alas! If they merely deceived people at the outset, they might still be forgiven, but they further speak falsely, claiming that the Sixth Patriarch taught: “I would rather deliver tens of thousands of laypeople than half a monk from the gate of emptiness.” Such people not only deceive later generations but also slander the sages of former times. Have they not heard Chan Master Yongjia teach:

The Dharma lamp was first lit from Kashyapa.

There were twenty-eight Patriarchs in the Western Land.

The Dharma was transmitted eastward to this land;

Bodhidharma was the First Patriarch.

Its transmission through six generations is known to all;

Those who later attained the Way were beyond number.

Given this, how could there be any principle of delivering laypeople but not those who have left the household life? Such words truly slander the Three Jewels, ruin the traditions of the Chan school, perpetrate heterodox deeds, and violate the prohibitions. One day, when their deeds are fully exposed, the law of Heaven will find them unforgivable.

While alive, they will surely be punished by the law; after death, they will fall into the Avici Hell. Even when a thousand Buddhas have successively appeared in the world, they will not be permitted to repent. Why is this so?

When their punishment in the Avici Hell has ended, they will fall into other hells. When their hellish karma has been exhausted, they will then undergo the karma of animals and hungry ghosts, wandering in the cycle of suffering and torment without any time of respite. Truly it is said:

If you wish to avoid falling into the Avici Hell,

Never slander the Tathagata's Dharma.

A sage taught: “Seeing one wrongful thing is like an arrow piercing the heart; hearing of one wrongful thing is like an awl boring through the ear. Quickly keep far away; neither look upon nor listen to such things. Each person should contemplate and examine their own mind and must not allow it to run unrestrained.”

Good sirs! Those followers of heterodox paths encounter heterodox teachers because evil karma from previous lives has caused them to be born under such circumstances. Striving to do good is exceedingly difficult for them, and eliminating their evil minds is not easy. Moreover, the deluded practices of this age assume a great many forms. Here I have mentioned only a few of them in order to dispel the doubts of those who study the Way.

There are false teachers who fraudulently claim to have studied the Way of Master Bodhidharma. They teach students of the Way merely to contemplate the words “Buddha” and “nothingness” and to manipulate the inhalation and exhalation of the breath. They further teach people to forcefully drive the breath upward and press it to the crown of the head, claiming that this is a method of refinement requiring vigorous exertion. Such people all hold the wrong views of non-Buddhist paths. Even after passing through innumerable kalpas, they will not escape samsara.

There are also false teachers who teach that the region of the cinnabar field is the Land of Ultimate Bliss and the dwelling place of the Buddhas. They instruct students to contemplate that place, gripping, kneading, rubbing, and massaging it, shifting the essence and circulating the vital energy through the three passes, claiming that this is returning to the source, seeing one’s nature, and becoming a Buddha. When they hear a rumbling sound in the abdomen, they say it is the six kinds of shaking and the sound of the lion’s roar. People of this kind become demons in old age and remain submerged forever in the realm of ghosts.

There are also false teachers who do not understand the exalted name of the Great Sage and know nothing of the merit of reciting the Buddha’s name. They teach people absurd and irrelevant notions, such as that the Kan trigram represents the male and the Li trigram represents the female. They interpret the six words “Namo Amitabha Buddha” as six different things, deceiving the deluded and showing contempt for the Great Sage. Their offense is equal to dismembering the Buddha’s body or causing the Buddha’s body to bleed. People of this kind, teachers and disciples alike, will fall into hell.

There are also false teachers who claim to teach the Dharma gate of sudden awakening and tell practitioners that there is no need to recite the Buddha’s name. They misinterpret the principles of yin and yang, remove their clothing, lie on their backs, and contemplate emptiness. They point to the two channels running along the spine and say that these are the Caoxi lineage.

They teach people to draw up their legs and circulate the vital energy, falsely calling this the emission of great light. Fabrications such as these, great and small, are merely the means by which bands of demons and ghosts make their living. They do not realize that all Buddhas attained Buddhahood by accumulating merit.

How could anyone become a Buddha merely by relying on emptiness? Even the Buddha Dharma can still be obscured by sensory objects; how could it be found within the principles of yin and yang? Such people become companions of demons and sink forever in samsara.

There are also false teachers who falsely transmit 108 characters, calling them 108 mani pearls. They assign names to all the joints and vertebrae throughout the body, claiming that those above, below, to the left, and to the right each symbolize a Dharma. They have people count through all these bones and joints once, calling it equivalent to the cultivation of an entire session of Chan inquiry!

Although they bow to the sun, the moon, and the Northern Dipper, they do not dress properly: some expose their naked bodies, while others wear thin, revealing garments. They do not honor their ancestors or parents and prevent people from making offerings to the Buddha and providing vegetarian meals for the Sangha. They brazenly say: “A clay Buddha cannot pass through water, a wooden Buddha cannot pass through fire, and statues of gold, silver, or bronze cannot pass through the furnace.

The scriptures are merely tangled vines and creepers; there is no need to read or recite them.” In thus slighting the Buddha and scorning the Dharma, they do nothing but engage in misconduct. Only if everyone were like Danxia would it be permissible to burn a Buddha image; only if every place were like Baizhang would it be fitting to speak of emptiness. If one has not attained such a level, one will fall into hell in the blink of an eye.

There are also false teachers who fabricate numerous teachings, perversely instructing people to cultivate both nature and life and calling this the Great Way of the Golden Elixir, thereby deceiving faithful people in the world. They know nothing of genuine investigation or true realization but pursue only ghostly and bizarre practices. They call the twelve months of the year twelve degrees of cultivation; they call the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind Buddhas and bodhisattvas; and they call the skin, flesh, blood vessels, and joints the Eight Classes of Devas and Dragons.

When they suddenly hear a sound beside their ears, they immediately call it the attainment of a sravaka or arhat. When some dark, demonic apparition suddenly appears before their eyes, they immediately call it a realm painted upon emptiness. They may see golden sand covering the ground, jeweled lotuses with a thousand petals, towers and palaces, lions and royal elephants, dragons chanting and tigers roaring, or the sun and moon both shining brightly.

They may see the Buddhas of the ten directions or hundreds of billions of transformation bodies, whereupon they claim to be Shakyamuni or Amitabha and presumptuously style themselves the unsurpassed Dharma King! Such people will fall eternally into hell, with no day of release.

There are also false teachers who have cultivated illusory arts. They may sit silently and engage in covert visualization for many years, thereby attracting some ghostly spirit to enter their minds. Because they then acquire eloquence, they boast: “I possess the five eyes and six superknowledges and can know the past and the future.” They recklessly predict good and evil, calamity and fortune in the human world, saying today that a certain person will come and tomorrow that a certain event will occur.

When they see that a household is suffering misfortune, they falsely claim that they can remove it. They do this out of greed for wealth and profit. They even dare to proclaim themselves one Buddha or another who has appeared in the world to save those who believe in and follow them.

They teach people that there is no need to uphold fasting and precepts steadfastly or to pay homage to any other teacher; one need only make offerings to them, and they will teach one to become a Buddha naturally. Some foolish people admire and trust them so deeply that the belief penetrates their bones and marrow, and people from near and far come to follow them. Consequently, large crowds gather around them and devote themselves to wrongful deeds.

Such people will forever remain the retinue of demons and eternally create the causes of hell.

The Surangama Sutra teaches: “If practitioners do not put an end to sexual desire, killing, stealing, and false speech, yet wish to attain the Way, they are like those who cook sand hoping to make rice. Even after passing through innumerable kalpas, they will ultimately never succeed.”

Good people! If you study the Surangama Sutra, you will clearly recognize all classes of false demons and non-Buddhist paths.

There are also ignorant teachers who, although they instruct people to recite the name of Amitabha Buddha, do not thoroughly understand the profound principles taught by the Buddhas and patriarchs. They speak words that throw the Way into confusion, know nothing of directing the mind toward the Pure Land, and do not arouse the right vow to attain rebirth there, seeking only wealth and honor in the next life. They do not understand that wealth and honor also have their allotted term. Once their merit is exhausted, they must still revolve in samsara and wander through the evil destinies for many kalpas. Such people are truly lamentable and pitiful!

There are also ignorant teachers who do not teach people the koan of Buddha-recitation. They establish teaching halls, gather communities, and instruct them to sit in Chan meditation and investigate. Although they do not know the path, they devise numerous stages of cultivation.

Day after day, they do nothing but talk about Chan and the Way. Today the body feels heavy; yesterday it felt light. If they can hold their breath, they call it vigor.

If they vomit phlegm and blood, they call it the removal of defilements. If they sit insensibly as though dead, they call it meditative absorption. If they fall down and leap about, they call it manifestation and flourishing.

They may see Buddhas surrounding them and expounding the Dharma, or hear music that delights them as they please. Such people let the months and years pass in vain, betray their own spiritual nature, and must undergo samsara forever, with no means of attaining liberation.

Alas! The investigation of Chan and the study of the Way are originally the finest and most precious amrita, yet upon encountering people of this kind, they are transformed into poison! Have you not heard that the patriarchs throughout the generations all pointed directly to the mind’s essential teaching, so that one might see one’s nature and become a Buddha? Deluded people do not know that their own mind is the Buddha. How deeply pitiable they are!

It is only because the capacities and dispositions of sentient beings differ—some higher, some lower—and because realization likewise comes at different speeds—some swiftly, some slowly—that the Buddhas and Patriarchs established countless skillful means, analogies, and Dharma teachings. Yet if people in the world do not awaken to the principle of the Way, what benefit can these things bring? Bound once again by worldly passions and defilements, they continue to wander through samsara. By the time they regret it, it will already be too late!

I now exhort those who study the Way: if you lack the strength to attain sudden awakening, then firmly uphold the single phrase, “Namo Amitabha Buddha,” constantly recollecting it, keeping it in mind, and remaining ever wakeful and discerning. Why is this? Although you may not attain awakening while cultivating Buddha-recollection, at the end of your life you will be reborn in the Highest Grade. Once you have attained rebirth there, why worry that you will not awaken to the Way?

Good people! You should know that the single Dharma gate of Buddha-recollection truly surpasses all other Dharma gates. The Precious Mirror of the Lotus School teaches: “To follow other Dharma gates in studying the Way is like an ant climbing a lofty mountain, whereas attaining rebirth through the Pure Land Dharma gate is like a sailing vessel borne downstream by a favorable wind. Amitabha receives and guides you directly to bodhi; the sages lead and support you beyond the three realms. Those of the Highest Grade immediately ascend to the fruit of Buddhahood, while even those born in the Lowest Grade surpass the heavenly realms. May everyone cast aside doubt, cultivate together, and advance to the Stage of Non-retrogression.”

Those who wish to be reborn in the Pure Land should prepare their provisions for the journey. What are these provisions? They are three things: faith, practice, and aspiration. With all three complete, one will certainly be reborn in the Pure Land. The Precious Mirror of the Lotus School teaches:

From here westward lies that land,

A hundred thousand leagues away!

With provisions fully prepared,

Why fear you will not arrive straightaway?

The Perfect Penetration of Mahasthamaprapta teaches: “Those who remember the Buddha and recollect the Buddha will certainly behold the Buddha, either in this very life or in a future life.” To remember the Buddha and recollect the Buddha means to keep the Buddha in one’s heart and thoughts without interruption at any time. If one can do this, one will behold the Buddha appearing before one’s eyes in this very life, or will see the Buddha in a future life.

Thus, whether one is diligent or negligent depends entirely upon oneself. One need only possess firm faith, and all that has been said will prove neither false nor deceptive.

8. Exhorting People to Make Right Aspirations and Resolutely Seek Rebirth

Patriarch Cizhao taught: “If there is practice but no aspiration, that practice will certainly not be accomplished. If there is aspiration but no practice, that aspiration will certainly be feeble. With neither practice nor aspiration, one remains meaninglessly forever in Jambudvipa. With both practice and aspiration, one enters directly into the unconditioned realm. This is the foundation for cultivating the pure karma of the Buddhas and Patriarchs.

“Why is this? Principle is the guide of wisdom, while practice arises from aspiration. When practice and aspiration are equal, both principle and wisdom are complete.”

Aspiration means that which one delights in and longs for. For example, one longs to be reborn in the Western Pure Land and delights in the prospect of beholding Amitabha Buddha. One must first make this aspiration, and only then can one attain rebirth there. Without the mind of aspiration, one’s roots of goodness will eventually perish.

The Avatamsaka Sutra teaches: “If one does not make great aspirations, one will certainly be led away by Mara.” All fruits of Buddhahood arise from great aspirations. Therefore, those who wish to attain the fruit of unsurpassed bodhi must possess the paramita of aspiration. Thus, Samantabhadra opened wide the boundless ocean of aspirations, while Amitabha opened the forty-eight gates of aspiration. Hence, one should know that all Buddhas of the ten directions, as well as sages and worthies past and present, have attained bodhi through the power of aspiration.

In fascicle eight of the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, the following question is asked: “When bodhisattvas’ practices and karma are pure, they naturally receive superior recompenses. Why must they first establish vows before receiving those recompenses? Furthermore, just as one who cultivates a field will certainly obtain grain, why should one have to wait for an aspiration?”

The answer states: “Merit cultivated without aspiration has no destination. Aspiration is the power that guides and directs it toward its destination, thereby bringing it to fulfillment. As the Buddha taught: Suppose a practitioner has little merit and few precepts, and does not clearly understand the true cause of liberation.

Upon hearing of the pleasures of the human and heavenly realms, that person constantly longs for them. After death, that person will be born in one of those realms. All such rebirths occur because the power of aspiration guides one there.

Bodhisattvas who seek rebirth in the Pure Land can attain that rebirth only through firm and powerful resolve.” It also teaches: “Although one may cultivate little merit, through the power of aspiration one can receive the recompense of the Mahayana.”

The Treatise on the Great Adornment teaches: “Rebirth in a Buddha-land is a great matter. It cannot be accomplished through merit alone. The supporting power of aspiration is necessary before one can attain rebirth there; through aspiration, one beholds the Buddha.”

The Amitabha Sutra teaches: “Those who possess faith should aspire to be born in that land.”

The Practices and Vows chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra teaches: “At the final moment before the end of one’s life, all one’s faculties decay, all one’s relatives abandon one, and all one’s power and prestige vanish. Even elephants, horses, conveyances, treasures, and storehouses will no longer remain. Only one’s great aspirations will never abandon one, but will always guide one forward; thus, in a single instant, one will attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.”

From this, it follows that one should constantly make aspirations and long to attain rebirth there, praying for it every day and never allowing one’s resolve to regress.

Thus it is said: However vast the Dharma gate may be, without aspiration one will not follow it. Therefore, the Buddha responds to people’s hearts and enables them to attain what they aspire to.

Alas! Looking broadly at people in the world today who have faith in the Buddha’s gate, some arouse the mind because they suffer from illness and distress; some conceive the thought in order to repay their parents’ kindness; some wish to protect their homes and families; and some observe vegetarian abstinence out of fear of calamity. Although they possess faith, they lack practice and aspiration. Though they speak of recollecting the Buddha, they do not reach their own original source.

Most who perform good deeds merely hope to fulfill their personal desires. Extremely few make the aspiration, because of the cycle of birth and death, to recollect the Buddha and seek rebirth in the Pure Land. When people offer incense and lamps at a place of practice, their prayers are usually addressed to deities in the hope of escaping calamity, overcoming adversity, and enjoying long life.

In this way, they contradict the meaning of the sutras and repentance rites and fail to accord with the original vows of the Buddhas. Even if they cultivate, chant, and recite throughout their lives, they still do not understand the true purport and apply their efforts incorrectly. Thus it is said: “All day long, you count another person’s treasures, while you yourself do not obtain even half a coin!” If, at life’s end, they fail to attain rebirth in the Pure Land, it is solely because they lacked practice and aspiration!

There are also foolish people who, when taking refuge and receiving the precepts of the Buddha, offer incense before the Three Jewels and swear: “If I break the precepts, may virulent disease afflict my body, and may I fall into hell forever.” Or they swear: “If I break the precepts, may blood flow from my left eye and pus from my right; I willingly accept this retribution.”

I have seen many people utter such words while remaining heedless at heart. They continue to violate vegetarian abstinence and transgress the precepts, and consequently suffer calamities and misfortunes, receiving various evil retributions. Some are punished by the law in this very life; others, after death, fall into the three evil destinies: hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals.

Alas! They truly fail to understand that the Buddhas and Patriarchs arouse great loving-kindness and compassion. When have they ever taught people to do such things? These are entirely the errors of false teachers, who confuse punitive spellcraft with the making of aspirations. How grievously mistaken they are!

Reflecting upon this with compassion, I earnestly exhort everyone to join in making the right vow, seek rebirth in the Pure Land, and together proceed directly toward Buddhahood.

Some may surely say: “I am an ordinary being. How could I dare hope to be reborn in the Pure Land and attain Buddhahood? If I entertained such a hope, it would amount to nothing more than a delusion.”

I would reply: “That is not so. Worthy friends! Buddha means awakening, and the Pure Land is the mind.

Who does not possess this mind? When the mind is awakened, one is oneself a Buddha; when the mind is deluded, one is a sentient being. Because people of the world turn away from awakening and conform to sensory objects, they must revolve in samsara throughout the three realms, being born through the four modes of birth within the six paths.

Wholesome and unwholesome karmic conditions, and favorable and unfavorable retributions, all arise from mistakenly taking the four great elements to be the body and the six sensory objects to be truly existent. Thus, following the illusory phenomena outside themselves, they wander day and night, never willing to turn back and contemplate within, observe a vegetarian diet, and be mindful of the Buddha.

Throughout their lives, from youth to old age, they remain preoccupied with household affairs that are never finished. Their money and possessions have not yet fulfilled their wishes, yet the more they acquire, the more they seek; their greed is never satisfied! Even if they perform good deeds, cultivate merit, worship the Buddha, light incense, and make prostrations, they seek only wealth, rank, glory, and a long life without death.

As soon as they have performed a little good, they begin hoping for many rewards: that their granaries will overflow with rice, their descendants will attain distinction, and their cattle and horses will multiply.... The moment something fails to accord with their wishes, they complain that the Buddha has not protected them. Only when their wealth increases daily and many joyful events occur do they call it a response!

Such greedy calculation is truly a collection of false notions.

Yet they perversely claim that mindfulness of the Buddha and the aspiration for rebirth in the Pure Land are false notions. Is this not utterly inverted? All the meritorious deeds performed each day belong to conditioned dharmas; they are worldly causes subject to outflows, not the unconditioned, world-transcending Way.

Buddhist practitioners should carefully reflect upon this. Having today encountered the Buddha-Dharma through fortunate conditions, they should investigate it to its very root and not become entangled in its minor branches and twigs. In a single thought, turn back and contemplate your own mind, practice the world-transcending Dharma, vow to leave the Saha world, and seek rebirth in the Pure Land. It is like a traveler who has long dwelt far from home and now remembers and wishes to return to his native land. How could the vow to be reborn in the Pure Land and attain Buddhahood be equated with the false notions of ordinary beings?

The Pure Land Repentance states:

May I, when casting off this body,

Eliminate every obstruction.

May I behold Amitabha Buddha before me

And immediately attain rebirth in the Pure Land.

Thus it is said:

Once one advances directly upon the right path,

One finally knows that one’s former application of mind was astray.

9. Verses Instructing People to Be Mindful of the Buddha and Make Vows

The Essential Extracts on Amitabha teaches: “The most troubling thing for those mindful of the Buddha is their inability to attain proper correspondence.”

Why is this so? Although they speak of observing the precepts and being mindful of the Buddha, they have never aroused the vow to be reborn in the Pure Land. Thus they merely obscure their original mind from day to day and forfeit the benefit.

Therefore, generally speaking, those mindful of the Buddha must first arouse the resolve to escape birth and death and attain rebirth in the Pure Land, taking this great vow as their guiding purpose. They should constantly be mindful of the Buddha and, morning and evening, single-mindedly worship Amitabha, without missing a single day. Each day they will become more intimate with him, and both mind and speech will correspond with the Buddha. They will thus no longer be far from the Buddha: their mouths recite the Buddha’s name, their minds contemplate the Buddha, and they aspire to behold the Buddha. Their vows are deep and weighty, and their faith is firm and free of doubt.

After many years, when their practice has fully matured, samadhi will naturally be accomplished. At the end of their lives, Amitabha will come to welcome and guide them, and the realm of the Pure Land will appear before their eyes.

They should also vow that in this present life they will encounter good spiritual friends and not meet teachers who hold wrong views. They should neither give rise to doubt nor become indolent. If their mindfulness of the Buddha, profound faith, and vows are all like this, they fully possess faith, practice, and vows.

When they behold the Buddha at the end of their lives, he does not come from outside; the vision is manifested solely by the mind. It is like a seed lying within the earth that sprouts when spring arrives. It does not come from outside; it grows from what was already present within the earth.

Practitioners now likewise plant mindfulness of the Buddha, faith, and vows in the mind-ground of the eighth consciousness. At the end of their lives, these manifest as the Pure Land and Amitabha. They do not come from outside; all are manifested from within the mind.

Thus the verses say:

The myriad dharmas arise from the mind,

And likewise perish in accordance with the mind.

The Buddha, the Great Shramana,

Always taught in this way.

Observing precepts without faith and vows,

One cannot be reborn in the Pure Land.

One enjoys blessings among gods and humans,

But when those blessings end, one is born again,

And finds it difficult to escape samsara.

Reading sutras while lacking wisdom,

One fails to understand their profound meaning.

Though intelligent in a future life,

One will hardly escape a distracted mind.

Better to be single-mindedly mindful of the Buddha

And completely abandon gain and fame.

Whether standing or sitting, never depart from mindfulness;

Only then is Amitabha truly present.

Through the power of vows and precepts,

Dedicate the merit toward rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Practice precisely in this way,

And all among ten thousand will attain accomplishment.

Shakyamuni taught mindfulness of the Buddha;

Amitabha himself welcomes and guides us.

All Buddhas lend their aid,

And all devas offer protection.

Upon seeing one who practices mindfulness of the Buddha,

Know that Buddhahood is not far away.

Such a person will later sit at the seat of awakening

And expound the unsurpassed Dharma,

Universally delivering countless beings.

It is like a poor young woman

Pregnant with a wheel-turning king.

The devas constantly cherish and assist her,

Yet she herself does not know

That she carries a noble child.

Those mindful of the Buddha are likewise so,

Yet they themselves do not know it.

Constantly contemplating and recollecting the Buddha,

Before long they will attain Buddhahood.

They receive the protection of all Buddhas,

Yet they themselves do not know it.

They will attain rebirth in the Pure Land,

Yet still aspire in a future life

To be born in the human realm!

It is also like an impoverished person

Whose land and home already contain treasure.

A guardian spirit protects the treasury,

Allowing nothing to be lost,

Yet the person does not know

That the home contains a treasury.

Day after day, the person lives as a wanderer,

Toiling anxiously for food and clothing!

Those mindful of the Buddha are likewise so,

Yet they themselves do not know

That one who single-mindedly recollects the Buddha

Naturally possesses the Tathagata’s treasury.

Believing they have no share in it,

They therefore wish to be born in the human realm!

It is also like a sick person

Who already possesses excellent medicine

But does not know how to use it,

And therefore cannot cure the illness.

Daily enduring pain,

The person tosses and turns in boundless suffering!

Those mindful of the Buddha are likewise so,

Yet they themselves do not know

That single-minded mindfulness of the Buddha

Can completely cure greed and anger.

It is the king that cures all illnesses,

A vast treasury of precious things

That universally benefits everyone;

It is the Great Dharma King,

Who shelters all sentient beings.

Because they consider themselves ordinary beings,

They believe they cannot be reborn in the Pure Land.

They vow to eat vegetarian food and observe the precepts,

Hoping merely to become human again.

They believe that only by continuing to practice

Will they later reach that realm.

How many practitioners

Still habitually think this way!

They do not accord with Amitabha’s vow,

Nor do they accord with the Pure Land sutras!

Wrong views obscure their minds,

And ultimately liberation is difficult.

The obstruction is not external;

It comes entirely from within their own minds.

If they do not attain rebirth in this life,

They will not attain it even after a hundred lifetimes!

I urge all practitioners

To believe the Buddha’s teachings.

The Buddha’s words are always true;

How could they deceive anyone?

Only be diligent yourself,

Single-mindedly seeking the Pure Land.

It is like blowing upon a fire with the aid of wind:

It does not require much strength.

Having fortunately attained a mind mindful of the Buddha,

You must vow to escape samsara.

Encountering treasure, yet refusing to accept it!

Sitting before a meal, yet enduring hunger!

How strange for a person of great resolve!

Failing to understand the true meaning.

Now I offer a few words of counsel;

Upon hearing them, spread them far and wide,

So that everyone may know,

And all may become messengers of the Tathagata.

Only then are you children of the Buddha;

Only then do you repay the Buddha’s kindness.

May everyone practice accordingly,

And together be born in the Buddha-land!

10. Great Master Zhizhe exhorts people to devote themselves to cultivating the Pure Land practice

Someone may ask: “The Buddhas and bodhisattvas fundamentally take great compassion as their work. Those who wish to save sentient beings should therefore vow to be born within the three realms, amid the three evil paths and the five defilements, in order to relieve suffering. Why, then, should they seek birth in the Pure Land, securing peace for themselves while abandoning sentient beings? This is to lack great loving-kindness and compassion, to concern oneself solely with personal benefit, and to obstruct the path to bodhi.”

The answer is: “There are two kinds of bodhisattvas. The first are those who have long cultivated the bodhisattva path, attained the patience of the non-arising of dharmas, and possess sufficient power to carry out the salvation of sentient beings. The second are those who have not yet attained realization and have regressed, as well as ordinary beings who have newly awakened the aspiration.

Those practicing the bodhisattva path, so long as they remain ordinary beings, should not depart far from the Buddha. Only when their power of patience has been perfected can they remain steadfastly within the three realms, amid the defiled world, and relieve the suffering of sentient beings.

Therefore, the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom teaches: “For an ordinary being bound by afflictions, though possessing a heart of great compassion, to vow to be born amid defilement in order to relieve the suffering of sentient beings—such a thing is impossible.”

Why is this so? In the defiled world, afflictions are powerful. If one does not oneself possess the power of patience, the mind will be turned about by sensory objects and bound by sounds and forms.

One will then fall into the three evil paths oneself; how could one save sentient beings? Even if one is born as a human, it remains difficult to attain the path of liberation. Or, through observing the precepts and cultivating merit, one may be born human, possessing authority and influence, wealth, honor, and freedom; yet upon encountering a virtuous spiritual friend, one refuses to trust or heed that person, knowing only craving, indulgence, and the commission of transgressions.

Because of such evil karma, once one falls into the three evil paths, one must pass through innumerable kalpas. After emerging from hell, one must again endure a life of poverty and lowliness. Unless one meets a virtuous spiritual friend, one will eventually return to hell.

Through cyclic existence it has been thus until the present day; everyone is like this. This is what is called the difficult path of practice.

Therefore, the Vimalakirti Sutra teaches: “For one who cannot cure one’s own illness to cure the illnesses of others—such a thing is impossible.”

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom also teaches: “Suppose there are two people, each of whose relatives has fallen into the water. One, in excessive haste, immediately jumps into the water to perform a rescue; but lacking sufficient strength, both perish by drowning. The other considers and finds a skillful means, obtains a boat, rows out, and saves the relative from drowning. In the same way, bodhisattvas who have newly awakened the aspiration and do not yet possess sufficient power of patience cannot save sentient beings; therefore, they need to remain near the Buddha. After attaining the patience of the non-arising of dharmas, they can save sentient beings, just like the person who obtained a boat.”

That treatise further says: “Just as a young child should not leave its mother, lest it fall into a pit or well, or die from want of milk; and just as a fledgling whose feathers and wings are not yet fully grown should merely depend upon a tree and rest upon its branches, being unable to fly far—only when its feathers and wings are fully grown can it soar into the sky, naturally free from obstruction.”

Ordinary beings lack strength and need only single-mindedly recollect Amitabha Buddha, thereby attaining samadhi. Once it is attained, at the end of life they will, thought after thought, achieve rebirth there without the slightest doubt. After seeing Amitabha Buddha and realizing the patience of the non-arising of dharmas, they can return to the three realms, board the vessel of the patience of the non-arising of dharmas, save sentient beings, extensively perform the work of the Buddha, and act freely according to their wishes!

Therefore, the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom also says: “The practitioner journeys through the realms of hell, is then born in a Buddha-land and attains the patience of the non-arising of dharmas, and afterward reenters the realm of birth and death to teach and transform beings in hell and relieve sentient beings of suffering.” For this cause and condition, one must devote oneself to cultivating the Pure Land practice and pray to attain rebirth there.

O worthy ones! May everyone understand this teaching. Hence, the Commentary on the Ten Bodhisattva Stages calls this the easy path of practice.

11. Chan Master Yongming Yanshou admonishes those who have not awakened not to disparage the Pure Land

Someone asked: “If merely seeing one’s nature and awakening to the path enables one immediately to transcend birth and death, why is it necessary to concentrate upon recollecting that Buddha and seek birth in another realm?”

The answer is: “A genuine practitioner should examine oneself, just as one who drinks water knows for oneself whether it is hot or cold. Here is also this passage of reverent counsel, which may be used to dispel many errors.

O worthy ones! You should examine your own understanding and conduct. Have you truly seen your nature and awakened to the path, received a prediction of buddhahood from the Tathagata, succeeded to the position of a patriarch, and become like the venerable Asvaghosa or Nagarjuna?

Have you attained unobstructed eloquence and the Lotus Samadhi, like Tiantai Master Zhizhe? Are you thoroughly versed in both the principles of the school and scriptural exposition, and are your understanding and conduct complete, like National Preceptor Zhong? All these great beings left clear teachings and earnestly exhorted people to follow the Dharma of rebirth in the Pure Land.

This truly benefits both oneself and others; how could it be deceiving either others or oneself? Moreover, the Buddha praised this practice and personally gave meticulous instructions concerning it. To follow the ancient sages and reverently obey the Buddha’s teachings certainly cannot be mistaken.

Furthermore, the Biographies of Those Reborn in the Pure Land records the clear accounts of many eminent practitioners from ancient times to the present. You should therefore read these biographies carefully and use them to illuminate yourselves.

Moreover, you should always know yourselves and consider whether, when the end of life arrives and you stand at the threshold of life and death, you will assuredly possess complete freedom. Can you be certain that the heavy evil karma accumulated since beginningless time will not manifest again? Can you be certain that this body of karmic retribution will escape cyclic existence?

Among the diverse beings of the three evil paths, will you be able to enter and depart freely and escape every suffering? Throughout the worlds of the ten directions and all the realms of gods and humans, will you be able to take birth wherever you wish without obstruction? If you have not yet attained such abilities, do not allow a moment of arrogance to cause you to founder for many kalpas.

If you yourself cast away this excellent benefit, whom will you blame afterward? Alas! How lamentable!

By then, even grieving will be too late!

Spiritual practice commonly falls into one of four cases, which are set forth below for your consideration.

The first is:

Practicing Chan without the Pure Land,

Nine out of ten will go astray.

As soon as the realm of the skandhas appears,

At a single glance, they follow after it.

This means: If one merely understands the principle of the nature but does not make a vow for rebirth in the Pure Land, one will continue wandering through the Saha world and suffer the calamity of falling into lower states. The “realm of the skandhas” refers to the demonic states arising from the skandhas that manifest during meditative concentration. As the Surangama Sutra clearly explains, the five skandhas give rise to fifty demonic states. When Chan practitioners first behold these states and fail to recognize them clearly, they may imagine that they have attained unsurpassed nirvana. Deluded and unaware, they consequently fall into the Avici Hell.

The second is:

Without Chan, devoted to the Pure Land,

Not one among ten thousand will go astray.

If only one succeeds in seeing the Buddha,

Why worry about failing to awaken?

This means: If one has not yet understood the principle of the nature, one should simply vow to attain rebirth in the Pure Land. By relying upon the Buddha’s power, one will certainly reach the Pure Land, without the slightest cause for doubt.

The third is:

Practicing Chan and practicing the Pure Land,

Is like a tiger furnished with horns.

In this life, one teaches and guides others;

In the next, one becomes a Buddha or patriarch.

Having deeply understood the Buddha’s Dharma, one can become a teacher who instructs others. Moreover, by making the vow to attain rebirth, one advances all the more swiftly to the stage of non-retrogression. This may be described as:

Ten myriad strings of coins strapped around one’s waist,

Riding a crane up to Yangzhou.

The fourth is:

Neither Chan nor Pure Land;

The iron bed and copper pillar await.

For thousands and myriads of kalpas one drifts on,

With ultimately no one to offer rescue.

This means: Those who neither understand the principles of the Buddha nor aspire to attain rebirth must sink in samsara for myriads of kalpas, with no means of escape.

Good people! If you wish to transcend birth and death and swiftly realize bodhi, among the four cases stated above, please choose the best one and follow it.

12. Chan Master Zhang Luzhe Exhorts Chan Practitioners to Cultivate the Pure Land

If one merely regards mindfulness as mindfulness and birth as birth, that is the error of those attached to eternalism. If one regards non-mindfulness as non-mindfulness and non-birth as non-birth, that is the delusion of those holding wrong views. Only when one can be mindful yet without mindfulness, and be born yet without birth, is this the highest and truest meaning.

Therefore, considered according to the truth of the real nature, there is not so much as a mote of dust to be apprehended; above, there are no Buddhas whose names may be recited, and below, there is no Pure Land in which to attain rebirth! Within the Buddha’s gate no Dharma is rejected, but to gather in all the faculties, one must rely upon the samadhi of mindfulness of the Buddha. To return to the source, it is essential to expound and reveal the Dharma gate of rebirth.

Thus, one recites the Buddha’s name throughout the day without contradicting non-recitation, and clearly attains rebirth without contradicting non-birth. Therefore, although ordinary beings and sages occupy different stations, they can meet in responsive communion upon the Way; although East and West neither come nor go, consciousness journeys to and from the Pure Land. Therefore, the Amitabha Sutra teaches: “If good men and good women hear the teaching concerning Amitabha Buddha and single-mindedly recite his name for one day, two days, three days, four days, five days, six days, or seven days, with minds undistracted, then, when those people approach the end of life, Amitabha Buddha and the assembly of sages will appear before them.

When their lives end, their minds will not be confused, and they will immediately attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss of Amitabha Buddha.”

Alas! Those of shallow faith who stubbornly harbor doubts, disparage and disbelieve the truthful words of the Buddhas, and do not believe in rebirth in the Pure Land—are they not profoundly deluded?

If one believes the Buddha’s words and attains rebirth in the Pure Land, one will no longer be bound by karmic conditions; even the catastrophic fires at the end of a kalpa will be unable to burn one. One will put an end to the eight sufferings of the human realm and escape the five signs of decline in the heavenly realms. As for the evil destinies, one’s ears will not even hear their names mentioned, much less will they actually exist there.

The Amitabha Sutra teaches: “In that land, sentient beings undergo no suffering but enjoy every kind of bliss; therefore, it is called Ultimate Bliss.”

Let us now compare the Saha world with the Land of Ultimate Bliss: In this world, the body is made of blood and flesh, and birth entails suffering. In that land, one is born by transformation from a lotus flower, and there is no suffering of birth.

In this world, the seasons change, and aging and decline draw nearer day by day. In that land, there are no changes of heat and cold, and there is no suffering of aging.

In this world, the four great elements are difficult to harmonize, giving rise to many illnesses. In that land, one’s transformed form is fragrant and pure, and there is no suffering of illness.

In this world, living to the age of seventy is already rare, and impermanence comes swiftly. In that land, life is immeasurably long, and there is no suffering of death.

In this world, those dear to one are bound by attachment, and where there is attachment, there is separation. In that land, there are no parents, spouses, or children, and there is no suffering of separation.

In this world, enemies and adversaries who resent and hate one another must sometimes still come together. In that land, all who gather are virtuous, and there is no suffering of meeting those one hates.

In this world, one suffers from hunger and cold, and one’s cravings and pursuits are never satisfied. In that land, food, clothing, pearls, and precious objects all appear spontaneously according to one’s needs.

In this world, the bodily form is ugly and defiled, and the six faculties are often impaired. In that land, one’s features are upright, dignified, and refined, and one’s body shines with brilliant radiance.

In this world, one drifts and sinks in birth and death. In that land, one forever realizes the Dharma of non-birth.

In this world, mounds, pits, marshes, and lakes abound; thorns form forests; earthen and rocky mountains and filth are everywhere. In that land, the ground is made of pure gold, jeweled trees tower to the heavens, lofty buildings are adorned with the seven treasures, and flowers bloom throughout the four seasons.

In this world, Shakyamuni Buddha has entered nirvana between the twin sala trees, while Maitreya Buddha has not yet been born at the Dragon Flower Assembly. In that land, Amitabha Buddha is presently the Teaching Master and is even now expounding the Dharma.

In this world, we reverently look up to Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta. In that land, we can become good companions with those two bodhisattvas.

In this world, demons and followers of heterodox paths disturb those who practice the true path. In that land, the Buddha’s teaching gathers all into the One Way, and demons and heterodox paths are entirely eliminated.

In this world, the demons of sensual beauty and lascivious ghosts delude practitioners. In that land, the direct karmic recompense is pure, and there are no women.

In this world, savage beasts, ghosts, and demons create a tumult of perverse sounds. In that land, waterfowl and forest trees all proclaim the wondrous Dharma.

Comparing the two lands, their environments and conditions differ immeasurably. The superior qualities of the Land of Bliss are truly infinite and cannot all be enumerated.

Therefore, among the Mahayana scriptures, there is none that does not point toward the Pure Land. The worthies of former ages and the sages of later times all personally made vows to attain rebirth there. Thus, if one wishes to liberate others, one should first practice mindfulness of the Buddha oneself.

Alas!

Those who make no provision for the distant future

Will surely meet calamity close at hand.

Once the human body is lost,

It is difficult to regain for myriads of kalpas.

Therefore, I urge the entire assembly: each of you should recite the name of Amitabha Buddha a hundred, a thousand, or even tens of thousands of times. Dedicate the merit toward the one shared affinity, aspiring to attain rebirth in the Pure Land.

Strive to seek the supreme assembly of the Lotus Pond, where the golden ground shines with the Dharma’s radiance. By supporting and guiding one another, we shall surely fulfill this vow. It is like sailing a boat downstream while also aided by the strength of those rowing and steering: though the journey may extend ten thousand miles, one reaches the destination without wearying oneself!

In the winter of the fourth year of Yuanyou, I, Zongze, dreamed of a man wearing a black headcloth and white robes. He appeared about thirty years old, with refined features and a composed bearing. Joining his palms, he bowed to me and said: “I wish to enter the Amitabha Assembly. Please record my name.” I then took out the register of the Supreme Lotus Assembly, held up my brush, and asked: “What is your name?” The man replied: “My name is Puhui.” After I recorded his name, he added: “While you are at it, please also record my elder brother’s name.” I asked: “What is your elder brother’s name?” He replied: “His name is Puxian.” As soon as he had spoken, he vanished.

When I, Zongze, awoke, I inquired of elderly masters of lofty virtue. They all said that the names of these two great bodhisattvas appear in the “Detachment from the World” chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra. I thought: “When disciples of the Buddha perform the Buddha’s work, propagate the Buddha’s Dharma, and assist the work of teaching and transformation, sages and saints will surely offer unseen aid. How, then, could participation in this Assembly be a minor affinity? I now honor these two great bodhisattvas as the foremost members of this Assembly.”

Alas! Even great sages revere the Pure Land Dharma. How much less should ordinary beings practicing Chan meditation scorn and neglect it?

13. Layman Wang of Longshu Exhorts People to Practice the Direct Path of the Pure Land

In this world there are those who devote themselves exclusively to the practice of investigating Chan and constantly say that this very mind alone is the Pure Land, apart from which there is no other Pure Land, and that one’s own nature is originally Amitabha, apart from which there is no other Amitabha.

Such statements are all mistaken. Why is this? Those words are exceedingly lofty; it is only feared that one may be able to utter them but cannot easily realize them.

In the Pure Land of the West, there is no longer any greed, attachment, anger, or delusion. Can our minds at present truly be free of greed, attachment, anger, and delusion? In the Pure Land of the West, food and clothing appear as soon as one thinks of them; if one wishes for stillness, there is stillness, and if one wishes to go somewhere, one goes.

We think of clothing but have no garments, and so suffer from bitter cold; we think of food but have no rice, and so suffer from hunger and thirst; we wish for stillness but cannot attain stillness, and so suffer from disturbance; we wish to go but cannot go, and so suffer from restraints. In such a state, to say that this very mind alone is the Pure Land is truly not easy to realize.

Amitabha Buddha is replete with merit and wisdom, and his spiritual powers are vast. For him, transforming hell into lotus blossoms is as easy as turning over his hand, and he sees all the boundless worlds as though they were before his eyes. Our karmic hindrances are heavy; we must still fear that we ourselves will fall into hell, so how could we possibly transform it into lotus blossoms? We cannot even see what is happening on the other side of a wall, so how could we see throughout all the boundless worlds? In such a state, to say that one’s own nature is originally Amitabha is truly not easy to realize.

How can those who practice Chan in the present age forget the Pure Land and fail to cultivate it? How can they forsake Amitabha Buddha and not wish to see him? The Larger Amitabha Sutra teaches: “In the ten directions, countless bodhisattvas attain rebirth in the land of Amitabha Buddha.” Even bodhisattvas wish to attain rebirth there; why should we not wish to do so? Could we possibly surpass the bodhisattvas? According to such claims, the principle that “the Pure Land is mind-only and Amitabha is one’s own nature” is indeed vast but not essential, lofty but not practically necessary. Those practitioners who have not yet attained realization are very often led astray by it.

I shall now relate a few accounts as evidence.

Chan Master Qing Caotang was reborn as Lord Zeng Lu; Chan Master Zhe Lao was reborn and endured much anxiety and suffering; Elder Gu was reborn and fell into wealth and high rank; and a nun who upheld the Lotus Sutra was reborn as a courtesan in an official’s household. All these were people who did not believe in the Western Pure Land, and so they had to continue wandering through samsara and endure suffering. Had they cultivated and upheld the Pure Land Dharma-gate, they would certainly have joined the rank of the highest grade of the highest birth!

Only because they did not believe did their circumstances become so wretched. Far better to stand upon solid ground, uphold recitation, and cultivate in practice; one will assuredly be born directly in the Pure Land and escape samsara. Compared with those empty and unreal words, this is as far apart as heaven and earth!

Someone may ask: “Even through investigating Chan it is difficult to see one’s nature; what, then, of studying the Way of the immortals?”

The answer is: “To wish to study the Way of the immortals without cultivating the Pure Land is to abandon the beautiful jewel before one’s eyes and go searching for a stone that merely resembles jade and may not even exist. How gravely mistaken this is! Why is this? The Surangama Sutra teaches that there are ten classes of immortals, all of whom can live for thousands or tens of thousands of years. Yet when their allotted lifespan is exhausted, they must return to samsara. Because they have never understood the true nature, they are grouped together with the beings of the six paths, thus making seven paths; they still remain within the cycle of samsara.

Of ten thousand people in the world who study the Way of the immortals, not one succeeds. Yet even if one succeeds, one still cannot escape samsara. Because they cling to form and spirit, they cannot relinquish them. But that form and spirit are themselves merely deluded appearances manifested from the true nature; they are not real. Therefore, Hanshan’s verse says:

Even if through cultivation you become an immortal,

How is that different from guarding a corpse?

It is not as good as studying the Buddha’s teaching and personally understanding the principle of birth and death, so that nothing can bind you.

During the past several hundred years, among those who studied the Way and became immortals, there have been only Zhongli and Lord Lü. Yet surely those who studied under Zhongli and Lord Lü numbered more than thousands or tens of thousands? Even among the people I myself have known, their number was not small, but in the end they all died, their bodies buried beneath three inches of earth! They squandered the mental effort of an entire lifetime and ultimately gained no benefit whatsoever. Have you not heard the account of Dongbin casting his sword to strike Huanglong, only to be subdued by Huanglong instead? Only after meeting Chan Master Huanglong did Dongbin awaken to the true nature and understand the Way. He recited this verse:

I cast away the gourd and pouch and smashed the lute;

I covet not the countless stores of gold and silver.

Since meeting Huanglong and receiving his instruction,

I now know that before then I had followed the wrong path.

Have you also not heard of Dharma Master Tanluan of the Later Wei dynasty? At first, he obtained ten scrolls of immortal scriptures from Tao Yinjun. Delighted and self-satisfied, he believed that he could attain the station of an immortal. Later, he met Bodhiruci and asked him: “Does the Buddha’s Way possess a method of everlasting life? Can practitioners eliminate aging and death?”

Bodhiruci replied: “To live forever and never die is the Buddha’s Way that I teach.” He then handed him the Sutra of the Sixteen Contemplations and said: “You should recite and study this sutra. Then you will no longer be born within the three realms or enter the six paths. All vicissitudes, calamities and blessings, successes and failures will be unable to affect you, and your life will endure without end. Therefore, this is the method of everlasting life taught by my Way.”

Tanluan deeply believed his teacher’s instruction. He then burned the immortal scriptures and devoted himself exclusively to practicing according to the Sutra of the Sixteen Contemplations. Even when the weather changed or his body was afflicted by illness, he never became negligent. The Wei emperor was moved by his lofty aspiration and also praised him for cultivating personally, teaching and transforming the world, and spreading the teaching far and wide; he therefore bestowed upon him the title Shénluan.

One day, the Dharma master told his disciples: “You must fear all the suffering states of hell and diligently cultivate the nine grades of pure karma.” He then instructed his disciples to recite the name of Amitabha Buddha aloud. Master Shénluan turned to face west, closed his eyes, bowed his head, and passed into stillness. At that time, both monastics and laypeople heard wondrous music coming from the west, which ceased only after a long while.

Judging from this, the Pure Land Dharma-gate is exceedingly direct and straightforward. As for the methods of the immortals, whenever their practitioners obtain something, they conceal it and refuse to transmit it, claiming that it is an offense to divulge the secrets of Heaven. With the Buddhist Dharma-gate, however, one fears only that it will not be transmitted widely enough, and one wishes to continue until all sentient beings have been delivered. This is vast compassion, difficult to fathom, and the Way of the immortals cannot compare with it.

14. Chancellor Zheng Qingzhi Encourages the Cultivation of the Pure Land

People all say that cultivating the Pure Land is inferior to Chan, doctrinal study, and Vinaya. I alone maintain that the Dharma-gates of Chan, doctrinal study, and Vinaya are inferior to cultivating the Pure Land.

The true nature is luminous and wondrous, vast, open, and penetrating. Whether wise or foolish, there is no one who does not inherently possess it in full. Yet solely because of the faculties, their objects, and illusory appearances, beings sink together into delusion, revolving through birth and death in samsara without end throughout entire kalpas.

Therefore, Buddhism provisionally employs Chan, doctrine, and discipline as skillful means, enabling people to enter through these gates and thereby attain transcendence and awakening. Only Amitabha Buddha separately opened a Dharma gate. He taught: “Cultivating the Pure Land is like medicine that cures illness: simple yet essential, direct and clear. By single-mindedly concentrating on one thought alone, one immediately attains liberation. Whether monastic or lay, all can practice it. People merely regard this as a shallow teaching for transforming ignorant common folk, but in truth it is precisely the swift, direct path to accomplishing Buddhahood.

Students of Buddhism today do not go beyond the three gates of Chan, doctrine, and discipline. With respect to ultimate realization, Chan is supreme; yet unless one possesses superior faculties and sharp capacities, intuitively grasping and inwardly comprehending its meaning, one cannot avoid falling into attachment to emptiness. For studying the Three Vehicles, doctrine is supreme; yet unless one reaches the point of grasping the meaning and forgetting the words, one cannot escape the malady of empty learning amid piles of old papers! For restraining evil and encouraging goodness, discipline is supreme; yet unless one is pure in body and mind, the same within and without, one cannot escape the suffering of binding oneself.

Generally speaking, the gates through which one enters the Way are Chan, doctrine, and discipline, while their aims are morality, concentration, and wisdom. If one does not attain morality, concentration, and wisdom through Chan, doctrine, and discipline, then there is only the single Dharma gate of the Pure Land!

While reciting the Buddha’s name, one recites it with the mouth and recollects it within the mind; no evil can arise—is this not morality? With one mind contemplating the realm of purity, all illusory sensory objects vanish—is this not concentration? Reciting while in truth there is no reciting, the flower of the mind shines luminously—is this not wisdom?

If one can cast aside all thought and anxiety and single-mindedly turn toward the Pure Land, then without employing blows and shouts one nevertheless awakens to the import of the perfect and sudden teaching; without reading through the Tripitaka one nevertheless obtains the true Dharma eye; and without observing the four modes of deportment one nevertheless attains great freedom. At that time there is no longer defilement or purity, bondage or liberation—then what are morality, concentration, and wisdom, and what are Chan, doctrine, and discipline?

One’s own mind and the Buddha’s mind are no different from each other: this is the culmination of Pure Land practice. There is the water of the eight meritorious qualities, and there are golden lotus pedestals—what further need is there for doubt? The most essential point in the Pure Land Dharma gate is to exert oneself in practice.

15. Clarifying the Sixth Patriarch Great Master’s Teaching on the Western Pure Land

A Chan practitioner asked: “You say that reciting the Buddha’s name assuredly leads to rebirth in the West. Yet the Sixth Patriarch taught that the West is one’s own self-nature and that there is no need to seek rebirth there. Why do the words of the two of you not agree?”

Zongben replied: “The Sixth Patriarch’s teaching uses principle to determine phenomena, yet ultimately there is no principle apart from phenomena. My words use phenomena to elucidate principle, yet ultimately there are no phenomena apart from principle.

“You must understand that outside the mind there are no objects; all objects are mind. Mind and dharmas transform and pervade everywhere; phenomena and principle are equal. It is only because some have sharp faculties while others have slow understanding that differences in perception arise.

“If one truly reaches the state of the Sixth Patriarch, there is no Buddha to recite—how then could there be a Pure Land in which to be reborn? But if one has not yet attained such a state, listen carefully to my ultimate explanation.”

The man said: “I respectfully ask to hear it.”

Zongben said: “The Sixth Patriarch Great Master was a Buddha appearing again in the world; he cannot be equaled by ordinary people of the present age. When expounding the Dharma, the Sixth Patriarch spoke exclusively of the principle of the nature, chiefly wishing students to relinquish all conditions and become Buddhas on the very spot. People today do not understand the true meaning but merely imitate his words. How are they any different from parrots? A parrot can only imitate human speech; it cannot perform the deeds that humans perform. Those who have not reached the Patriarch’s state of mind yet use his words to engage in discourse and explanation are like parrots. It is truly laughable that they do not know themselves.”

The Chan practitioner again asked: “The Sixth Patriarch taught: ‘When people in the East commit offenses, they recite the Buddha’s name and seek rebirth in the West; when people in the West commit offenses, in what land do they recite the Buddha’s name and seek rebirth?’”

Zongben replied: “The Sixth Patriarch merely used the two directions, east and west, as an analogy comparing the two communities of monastics and laity; he never said that no Buddha-land exists. Just consider that the Platform Sutra of the Dharma Treasure also says: ‘Laypeople who know how to practice are like people of the East who are without offense; monastics who do not cultivate are like people of the West who are at fault.’ People today fail to understand the teachings of the ancients thoroughly, causing those words to become demonic deceptions.

“The Sixth Patriarch taught people to eliminate the deluded mind, the covetous and angry mind, the jealous mind, the ignorant mind, the afflicted mind, the deceitful and flattering mind, the deviant and false mind, the mind of love and hatred, the distracted mind, the mind of right and wrong, the arrogant mind, the mind of subject and object, the defiled and attached mind, the mind of self and others, the mind of grasping and rejecting, the mind of existence and nonexistence, and the mind of cultivation and realization. Only after completely eliminating these states of mind can one see the nature and become a Buddha.”

The Chan practitioner asked: “Have you eliminated even one of those states of mind?”

Zongben asked in return: “Are your wondrous functions of spiritual powers, exceptional understanding, wisdom, and virtue equal to those of the Sixth Patriarch Great Master? If not, you should not utter such words. To speak in that manner is to proclaim a demonic doctrine.

Because you sever the seed of Buddhahood, the Avici Hell will not release you in the future. Why is this so? If a beginner in cultivation single-mindedly believes your teaching, that person will be unable to recite the name of Amitabha Buddha, unable to reach the Pure Land, unable to escape the cycle of birth and death, and unable to avoid the sufferings of the hells.

It is bad enough that you yourself fall into hell, but causing others to enter hell is a sin surpassed by none. Compared with the offenses of ordinary people, it is one degree graver. Therefore, the Avici Hell already awaits you.

“Have you also not heard the ancients teach: ‘Those who slander the Pure Land and do not believe in rebirth there will suffer the torment of having their tongues pulled out’? Why is this so? You should know that the Buddhas of the ten directions praise the Pure Land Dharma gate with one voice, and the Chan schools throughout the world proclaim it in unison. Why, then, do later students refuse to heed them? They themselves reject the cause of liberation and instead follow a demonic doctrine. Not only do they fail to cultivate themselves, but they also obstruct others from cultivating. Such people fall into hell in the blink of an eye. How truly lamentable!

“You should repent at once and single-mindedly recite the Buddha’s name. When one day you attain transformational birth from a lotus flower, you will know that the words I speak today are neither false nor deceptive.”

Having heard this, the man became fearful and vowed to follow the teaching in practice.

16. The Patriarchs Turn Toward the Pure Land

The eminent masters who have taught the path of return to the Pure Land are too numerous to count. Here I shall speak only briefly of the Patriarchs as evidence.

Venerable Tianru taught: “I often see Chan practitioners today who neither investigate the ultimate meaning of the Buddha Tathagata nor understand the profound and wondrous import of Patriarch Bodhidharma. Their bellies are empty, yet their minds are haughty, and they habitually follow wild and deluded ways. When they see someone cultivating the Pure Land, they ridicule him, saying: ‘Such a person is merely imitating the practices of fools.’ How utterly base!”

“Such conduct is not merely contempt for foolish people; it is contempt for Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, Aśvaghoṣa, and Nāgārjuna. Such people not only remain personally deluded concerning the true path and sever their own seeds of Buddhahood, but also create the karma of slandering the true Dharma and incur the calamity of showing contempt for the sages. Should this not be avoided?

“With other teachings, birth and death remain difficult to escape. Through the practice of mindfulness of the Buddha, it is truly easy to escape samsara. Therefore, in the Dharma-ending age, only the name of Amitabha Buddha will remain to deliver sentient beings. Those who disbelieve and slander it will fall into hell and undergo every kind of suffering.”

Dharma Master Lingzhi said: “Ordinary beings throughout this world of dust are bound by deluded karma and wander through samsara, enduring every affliction for hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of kalpas. Suddenly they hear the Pure Land Dharma gate and sincerely aspire to attain rebirth there. By invoking the Buddha’s name for a single day, they are able to be born in the Buddha-land. Truly, it is:

Hard to encounter in myriad lifetimes,

A single occasion in a thousand kalpas.

“Those who accept this with faith and are mindful of Amitabha Buddha surpass all other virtuous deeds. Even if a person practices generosity, observes the precepts, cultivates meditation, and recites sutras, these do not equal the merit of mindfulness of the Buddha. Why is this? Although one may cultivate every kind of meritorious karma, without true faith and the aspiration for rebirth in the Pure Land, they all remain only minor roots of goodness. But to be mindful of Amitabha Buddha and vow to attain rebirth in the Pure Land—this alone is called a great root of goodness.”

Dharma Master Gushan taught: “Seeking rebirth in the Pure Land means relying upon other-power. Amitabha Buddha has made vows to receive and guide beings, Shakyamuni Buddha encourages and praises this path, and all Buddhas together protect and remain mindful of its practitioners. These three conditions are fully present. If faith is added, rebirth there is very easy. It is like a person crossing the sea who has a great ship, an excellent navigator, and a favorable wind: that person can certainly reach the farther shore swiftly. As for one who refuses to board the ship and instead delays and lingers upon a perilous road, consider whose fault that is.”

Judicial Commissioner Yang said: “Shakyamuni Buddha is the guiding teacher who clearly points out the road to the pure realm, namely the Land of Peace and Bliss, while Amitabha Buddha is the teacher in the Pure Land. Worthy ones! If you are born in the Pure Land, you will certainly have no further afflictions. Those who have never heard of or understood this Dharma gate are truly most pitiable!

“There are also virtuous people who, because they entertain three kinds of thoughts, do not seek rebirth there. This is even more regrettable! First, they think that they will surpass the Buddhas and transcend the patriarchs, and therefore the Pure Land is unworthy of rebirth. Second, they think that every place is the Pure Land, so there is no need to be born in the West. Third, they think that the Land of Ultimate Bliss is a realm of sages and that they, being ordinary beings, cannot be born there.

“Samantabhadra cultivated practices as boundless as the ocean, yet still vowed to behold Amitabha Buddha. Although Buddha-lands are empty, Vimalakirti still constantly cultivated the Pure Land. All Buddhas throughout the ten directions manifest the mark of the broad, long tongue and offer praise, while bodhisattvas throughout the ten directions also resolve to be born in the Pure Land. Examine yourselves: who among you can equal these sages? To say that the Pure Land is unworthy of rebirth is truly to deceive oneself exceedingly!

“As for Patriarch Longmeng, whose coming was foretold in the Lankavatara Sutra, and Patriarch Vasubandhu, a master of the doctrinal school who composed so many treatises, both wrote verses aspiring for rebirth. Patriarch Cien, whom everyone praised, also bowed his head and extolled the ten supreme features. Great Master Zhizhe, skilled in analyzing doctrinal principles, further clarified the ten doubts. All these were wise people of superior capacities, yet they diligently sought rebirth. To say that there is no need to be born in the West is truly to give rise to immense arrogance!

“A raging fiery cart can be extinguished; a boat carrying stones need not sink. None surpassed Zhang Qiu in receiving the immediate sign of the lotus: after ten invocations, he reached the realm of sages. None fell into hell more swiftly than Xiong Jun, yet he returned to life and obtained a wondrous cause for liberation. The faults of people today are not necessarily as grave as those of these two men. To say that one cannot attain rebirth in the Buddha-land is truly to disparage oneself exceedingly!

Patriarch Zhongfeng composed this verse:

Samsara is suffering! Samsara is suffering!

Who could number all the sufferings of samsara?

Yet people of the world take suffering for joy,

Willingly accepting countless losses.

A head protrudes from a foul-smelling leather bag,

Nurturing ignorance until delusion grows.

When the three inches of breath dimly fade away,

Cold ashes are buried beneath the frozen earth.

Rising and sinking through the five paths without respite,

Enduring bitter suffering for hundreds of kalpas and thousands of lives!

Worthy ones!

Far better to invoke Amitabha without delay,

Leave the sufferings of samsara far behind, and ascend beyond them.

The West is blissful! The West is blissful!

Who can fully know the bliss of the Western Land?

Its people and its realm are wondrous beyond compare;

There is neither heat nor cold, nor any of the three evil paths!

Newly born from within a lotus flower,

One constantly hears the Dharma taught amid celestial music.

The ground shines like lapis lazuli, entirely free of dust;

Gold, silver, and precious jewels form its towers and pavilions!

Food and clothing appear of themselves according to one’s wishes,

And the length of life is beyond all reckoning!

Worthy ones!

Far better to invoke Amitabha without delay,

And ascend the lotus throne in the Pure Land, the Realm of Bliss.

Vinaya Master Bianxiu taught: “Although I specialize in the Vinaya, I still practice mindfulness of the Buddha, taking the Pure Land as my place of return and peaceful repose. Those in the Chan school who have not yet attained awakening often say: ‘Mindfulness of the Buddha is a narrow, provisional Dharma gate.’ Or they say: ‘It is a Mahayana school attached to appearances.’ These are the opinions of impetuous and shallow people, not the penetrating principle understood by the wise and discerning. Why is this? Whatever is spoken is itself the nature; every thought that arises is suchness. Amid forms and fragrances, the Middle Way is present everywhere. How much more so is this true of right mindfulness?”

Great Master Jishi revealed the true understanding of the Pure Land, teaching: “Those who do not cultivate pure karma recklessly say: ‘My mind roams in meditative concentration, and I have awakened to the nature taught by the True School.’ Or, upon hearing the Pure Land explained, they immediately say: ‘The Pure Land exists only within the mind. When the mind is pure, the land is pure; why seek rebirth in another realm?’

“I, Jishi, say this: The Vimalakirti Sutra relates that when the Tathagata pressed the earth with his toe, the great assembly immediately saw the entire Saha world become magnificently pure. Before that, however, no one in the entire assembly had perceived this purity; only Brahma King Sikhin saw it. Those today who claim to have awakened to the nature—are they like that Brahma king, constantly seeing this world as the Pure Land?

“Now, in this realm, those who live in low houses with leaking roofs surely desire spacious halls and lofty terraces; those who eat coarse rice and vegetable soup surely crave delicious and exquisite food; those who wear torn garments with frayed sleeves surely long for cool trousers and fine silk robes! If it is said that a pure mind is itself the Pure Land, there should be no need to make such distinctions. How much more so when one undergoes the sufferings of old age, illness, and death and encounters the adversities of the world!

The physical bodies of the awakened and the unawakened are alike. While their mouths proclaim, ‘A pure mind is the Pure Land,’ their bodies remain bound by the afflictions of this defiled realm. This is nothing more than self-deception.

If you would not follow such a course, you should believe in the teachings, revere their principles, and practice according to the Pure Land Dharma gate.”

Chan Yếu Liễu Chan Master taught: “Of all direct and swift Dharma gates, there is only mindfulness of the Buddha. Those who wish to attain excellent results in cultivation and advance with ease must give foremost place to mindfulness of the Buddha. Those who seek liberation without being mindful of the Buddha will ultimately gain nothing. I urge all who possess faith to single-mindedly be mindful of the Buddha and vow to attain rebirth in the Pure Land; this can certainly never lead them astray.”

The Chan Master Cổ Âm taught:

One phrase of mindfulness of Amitabha Buddha—

The foremost koan of the Chan school.

Like one riding a horse while leaning on a staff,

It firmly secures one’s livelihood in life and death.

Whether male or female, monastic or lay,

Be mindful of the Buddha and the response is immediately seen.

In this life, one gains blessings and escapes calamities;

In future lives, all painful karma is extinguished.

If anyone faithfully accepts and upholds it,

Each shall obtain whatever the heart aspires to.

Having gained human birth and encountered the Buddha-Dharma,

It is like ascending a mountain of jewels;

How could one go there and return empty-handed?

This matter must be attended to early.

King Yama does not seek precious jade;

He values only a volume on Amitabha.

Wealth and honor are merely floating clouds;

A hundred years pass in the blink of an eye.

Please do not hesitate or delay;

Hasten to cultivate early and bring about transformation.

That Buddha is the vessel that crosses beyond suffering;

I urge all people swiftly to reach the other shore.

First, begin with vegetarianism and observance of the precepts.

Second, turn from evil and follow goodness.

Third, seek enlightened teachers and virtuous friends.

Fourth, make the true vow for liberation.

Fifth, clearly understand cause and effect.

Sixth, possess every skillful means.

Seventh, accumulate merit and virtue.

Eighth, gain the assistance of blessed conditions.

While walking, standing, sitting, or lying down,

Constantly recite the single phrase “Amitabha.”

One must believe that causes are profound and their fruits weighty;

Teach those who do not recite to recite of themselves.

Thought after thought, do not fall into a state of voidness;

After a long time, the recitation becomes a single whole.

While reciting, recognize the one who recites;

The reciter and the Buddha appear together.

One then realizes the Samadhi of Mindfulness of the Buddha

And personally knows the Pure Land within oneself.

Upon the lotus seat, one’s name is clearly inscribed;

Its realization is personally seen and known.

One personally receives the Buddha’s prediction,

Becomes a companion of the bodhisattvas,

And proceeds directly to the fruit of bodhi.

Forever manifesting births and transformations as the heart wills,

One returns in accordance with the true path

And will certainly attain Buddhahood without error.

Bạch Lạc Thiên composed this verse:

Now that I am past seventy,

I no longer delight in chanting poetry.

Reading sutras, I fear wearying my eyes;

Performing good deeds, I fear rushing about.

What can I do to escape suffering?

Only recite the one phrase “Amitabha.”

While walking, I recite “Amitabha.”

While sitting, I recite “Amitabha.”

Even when urgent matters arise,

I do not cease reciting “Amitabha.”

Those of great learning laugh at me:

“Why recite ‘Amitabha’ without end?”

What use is knowing much?

And what is there in not knowing?

I urge everyone

To recite “Amitabha” together.

If you wish to escape the suffering of samsara,

You must be mindful of Amitabha Buddha.

The layman Vô Tận said: “Though my body occupies the office of minister, my mind delights in the gate of emptiness. I reflect that this realm has the five turbidities that disturb the mind, while evil affairs intermingle everywhere; beings lack the power of right discernment and the power to understand cause and effect clearly.

“By nature, one’s own mind is originally Amitabha, and this mind alone is the Pure Land. Yet those who have not awakened to this principle should reverently follow the Buddha’s teaching, concentrate upon Amitabha Buddha in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, and seek the aid and protection of his great vows and mighty power. When they relinquish this body, they will attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. It is like traveling in a boat downstream: without exhausting one’s strength, one reaches the destination.”

Patriarch Viễn Công taught: “Some Chan practitioners, upon seeing people mindful of the Buddha who seek rebirth in the Pure Land, say: ‘They are practitioners attached to appearances; theirs is not the wondrous Dharma. It is inferior to investigating Chan, seeing one’s nature, and suddenly awakening to the true and eternal.’

“Those of shallow capacities and wisdom believe this mistaken doctrine, and therefore neither cultivate mindfulness of the Buddha nor study the scriptures. Living amid the mundane world, their mouths speak of investigating Chan, yet their minds do not follow the true path. They disparage and slander the Pure Land and do not believe in rebirth there. How grave their error is!

“They do not know that the single phrase ‘Amitabha Buddha’ is a method of Chan so profound that nothing surpasses it. People today do not understand its profound and extensive meaning, and so give rise to erroneous distinctions. If one wishes to investigate Chan and see one’s nature, there is no need to raise any other huatou; the single phrase ‘Amitabha Buddha’ is sufficient. Investigate it yourself, recite it yourself, examine it yourself, and question it yourself. After a long time, you will naturally attain realization. Even if you have not awakened by then, at the end of your life you will attain birth in the highest grade of the highest rank. At that time, why worry that you will not awaken?

“Consider the Chan Master Bách Trượng Đại Trí Hải, a direct Dharma heir of Mã Tổ in Jiangxi. Chan practitioners throughout the world follow his instructions, and from ancient times to the present no one has dared declare them mistaken. Monastic regulations throughout the world also follow the system he established, and no one dares violate any of its rules. He instituted the following procedure: when a monk falls ill, the assembly should perform recitation as follows:

“First, gather the entire assembly and recite a verse praising the virtues of Amitabha Buddha. Then, with one voice, recite ‘Namo Amitabha Buddha’ one hundred or one thousand times. Afterward, dedicate the merit and offer this prayer: ‘If his conditions in this life are not yet exhausted, may he swiftly recover his former health. If his allotted lifespan has reached its end, may he proceed directly to the Land of Peace and Bliss.’ Is this not guidance toward the Pure Land?

“Moreover, when a monk passes away, after the assembly has completed the recitation, they dedicate the merit and offer this prayer:

May his consciousness ascend beyond to the Pure Land.

May karmic consequences and worldly afflictions cease forever.

May his lotus blossom and he ascend to the highest grade.

May the Buddha predict his attainment after one more birth.

“Is this not guidance toward the Pure Land?

“When the deceased is buried, there is no other ceremony. The cantor is simply instructed to intone: ‘Namo Amitabha Buddha, Greatly Kind and Greatly Compassionate One of the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.’ He intones this ten times, and the assembly joins him in reciting the full ten times; this is called the Ten Recitations. Afterward, they dedicate the merit, saying: ‘Through these ten recitations of the Buddha’s name, may he be aided in attaining rebirth.’ Is this not guidance toward the Pure Land?

“From the time of Master Bách Trượng onward, funeral services for monks have all followed this rite. It is therefore said to accord with all five Chan schools. Thus, among all Chan practitioners, there is not one who does not believe in and follow the Pure Land teaching.

“According to the teachings of the venerable and accomplished elders, all of them clearly pointed out the path of return to the Pure Land.

“Chan practitioners today neither understand the patriarchs’ intent nor arouse a vigilant and awakened mind. They falsely claim to have awakened to the Way and say there is no need to vow for rebirth. Even if they later repent, they will still be unable to escape samsara.”

17. The Sutras That Lead Toward the Pure Land

Sutras teaching the Pure Land are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Only a few are briefly presented here to dispel doubt.

In the Larger Sutra of Infinite Life, the Buddha told Maitreya: In the Saha world, seventy-two billion bodhisattvas at the stage of non-retrogression will be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. The number of bodhisattvas at lower stages is incalculable, and they too will all attain rebirth there. Nor is this true only of the Saha world: throughout the worlds of the ten directions, innumerable great bodhisattvas are all mindful of Amitabha Buddha and vow to be born in that Buddha-land.

The Amitabha Sutra teaches that if good men and good women hear Amitabha Buddha expounded, they should single-mindedly recite his name. Through reciting the Buddha’s name, all their unwholesome karma will be extinguished. At the end of their lives, they will immediately be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss of Amitabha Buddha.

Also in the Amitabha Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha taught: All of you should believe and follow the teachings of me and the Buddhas. Those sentient beings who hear this Dharma should vow to be born in the world of Amitabha Buddha.

The Sutra of the Sixteen Contemplations teaches: If good men or good women merely hear the name of the Buddha and the names of the two bodhisattvas, they can thereby extinguish the karmic offenses accumulated throughout countless kalpas of birth and death; how much more so if they recollect and constantly recite them. Reciting once, “Namo Amitabha Buddha,” can extinguish grave offenses accumulated throughout eight billion kalpas of birth and death. If a person recites the Buddha’s name, one should know that this person is a pundarika flower among humankind and a good friend of the bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta.

The chapter “The Former Deeds of the Bodhisattva Medicine King” in the Lotus Sutra of the Wondrous Dharma teaches: Whoever hears this sutra and practices according to its teaching will, when life ends, immediately reach the Land of Peace and Bliss of Amitabha Buddha, be born by transformation within a lotus flower, and sit upon a jeweled seat surrounded by great bodhisattvas. That person will no longer be afflicted by thoughts of greed, anger, and delusion, nor by the evils of pride, conceit, jealousy, and envy, but will attain the spiritual powers of a bodhisattva and realize the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas.

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom teaches: The Buddha is the supreme Dharma King, and the great bodhisattvas are his ministers within the True Dharma. These ministers honor only the Dharma King, the Buddha. Some bodhisattvas recollected that in former times, because they had disparaged the prajnaparamita teaching, they fell into the evil realms and endured countless sufferings. They then spent innumerable kalpas cultivating other practices, yet still could not escape the ocean of suffering. Later, through encountering a good spiritual friend who taught them the practice of recollecting Amitabha Buddha, their karmic offenses and obstructions were immediately extinguished, and they were born in the Pure Land.

We should now bow in gratitude to Amitabha Buddha. Why is this so? Because none among all our parents, relatives, friends, or even kings and sovereigns in the heavenly and human realms can deliver us from the ocean of suffering. Only Amitabha Buddha receives us through the power of his vows, and thereby we are able to escape the ocean of suffering.

Thus, a verse says:

If anyone wishes to become a Buddha,

Let them recollect Amitabha;

Their vow will be fulfilled in this very life—

Therefore, bow your head in reverence.

It is also taught: “When the Buddha was still in the world, an old man requested permission to leave the household life, but Shariputra would not allow it. The Buddha contemplated and saw that in a previous life, while gathering firewood in a forest, the man had been chased by a tiger. He fled up a tree and, overcome by fear, attempted to recite ‘Namo Buddha,’ though he could not utter the words aloud. Through that small wholesome deed, he later encountered the Buddha, received deliverance, and attained the fruit of arhatship. Alas! If merely invoking the Buddha’s name once can bring liberation, how much more so can reciting the Buddha’s name throughout one’s entire life?

The Precious Mirror of the Lotus School records: Among the countless Tathagatas, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, Amitabha is foremost; among the countless Buddha-lands throughout the ten directions, as numerous as minute particles of dust, the Land of Ultimate Bliss is the destination toward which we aspire. Firm faith in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is the true and wondrous Dharma gate of liberation; upon careful reflection, Amitabha is indeed the loving father of all sentient beings.

Therefore, when a single thought arises, the spirits all know it; when faith is born, all the Buddhas appear. The moment one invokes the Buddha’s name, one has already planted a seed in the womb of a lotus flower; once one gives rise to the bodhicitta, one’s name is already inscribed in the golden land.

Only through wholesome conditions can one encounter this teaching, understand it for oneself, and cultivate it for oneself. Those of shallow faith who cannot believe and accept this Dharma are truly foolish and deluded. They merely lament that they have encountered the age of the Dharma’s decline, when erroneous and heterodox interpretations abound; they disparage and reject the practice of Pure Land karma, regarding it as merely a provisional expedient, and scorn recitation and observance as crude practices. Is this not to remain submerged within a burning house and willingly submit oneself to endless wandering, to oppose the Buddha’s teaching, suffer pain, and squander an entire lifetime in vain?

Believe this: without relying upon the Buddha’s power, one cannot extinguish the force of karma; without encountering this Dharma gate, there is no path by which to transcend birth and death. Therefore, those who scorn and reject this Dharma gate scorn and reject their own selves. Erroneous ways are very easily imbibed, while the true teaching is exceedingly difficult to hear. Thus, they must wander endlessly through the three evil realms, unable to escape for many kalpas!

The Essential Gate of Contemplating the Pure Land teaches: The Pure Land Dharma gate is precisely the path by which sentient beings in the age of the Dharma’s decline escape birth and death, and the secure vessel by which they cross the ocean of suffering. Once born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, they will never again retrogress. They will obtain bodies of pure gold, fly about freely, and naturally possess all the clothing and food they require. They will see the Buddha, hear the Dharma, and swiftly realize the noble fruit.

There, they are not troubled by tigers, wolves, lions, mosquitoes, flies, or vermin; nor do they suffer from thunder and lightning, wind and rain, cold and heat, hunger or thirst. Born by transformation from lotus flowers, they possess immeasurable lifespans. Because none of the sufferings of birth, aging, illness, and death exist there, it is called the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Therefore, Shakyamuni Tathagata, wishing to enable the deluded sentient beings of this realm to escape suffering, revealed this Dharma gate as the appropriate remedy. The loving father Amitabha, in turn, showed the path by which beings are welcomed and guided. For this reason, he tirelessly and repeatedly praised the Pure Land above all and broadly urged everyone to vow to attain rebirth there.

Thus, sages and noble ones, monastics and laypeople alike, who have attained rebirth through Buddha-recollection are too numerous to count. Yet lowly ordinary beings, intoxicated by and attached to worldly defilements, do not seek escape and willingly submit to drifting through birth and death. How truly pitiable they are!

The Collection on Peace and Bliss teaches: If one can recollect Amitabha Buddha, all karmic obstructions will be extinguished, and one will be born in the Pure Land. Why is this so? It is like someone using a lion’s sinew as the string of a lute: as soon as that lute is plucked, the sounds of all other lutes cease. If a person gives rise to the bodhicitta and constantly recollects Amitabha Buddha, all grave karmic obstructions and afflictions will cease.

It is also like someone placing cow’s milk, goat’s milk, donkey’s milk, and mare’s milk together in a bowl. If only a single drop of lioness’s milk is then added, all the other kinds of milk turn into plain water.

If anyone gives rise to the bodhicitta and constantly recollects Amitabha Buddha, all evil demonic obstructions will naturally disappear, and that person will be born in the Pure Land.

The Treatise Resolving Doubts teaches: A human body is difficult to obtain, while birth in the Pure Land is easy to attain. Why is this so? If one does not observe the five precepts, one cannot be born in either of the two realms of gods and humans. Only by keeping the five precepts pure can one be born as a human. Yet it is truly difficult to observe all five precepts perfectly, and there is no power of vows to guide one; therefore, it is said that a human body is difficult to obtain.

For practitioners of the Pure Land Dharma, setting aside whether or not they can observe the precepts perfectly, merely by reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha, they can repent even while still bearing karmic offenses. When they approach the end of life, Amitabha Buddha, together with Avalokiteshvara, Mahasthamaprapta, and countless members of the noble assembly, all endowed with the power of vows, will appear together to receive, deliver, and guide them. Therefore, it is said that birth in the Pure Land is easy to attain.

The Pure Conduct Dharma Gate teaches: Repentance is like diligently polishing an old mirror, gradually cleansing away the dust that has accumulated upon it over many years. Mindfulness of the Buddha is like fortunately encountering a virtuous king and immediately receiving his saving aid. Throughout the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, while walking, standing, lying down, or sitting, constantly contemplate the adorned realm of the Pure Land and constantly recollect Amitabha Buddha. If one practices mindfulness of the Buddha in this way, one will immediately attain samadhi, and there will no longer be any need to doubt one’s birth in the Pure Land.

The Great Collection Moon Treasury Sutra teaches: In the age of the decline of the Dharma, although countless sentient beings undertake spiritual cultivation, scarcely one among them may attain accomplishment. This is because the evil world is replete with the five defilements, and its confused and disorderly teachings make attainment difficult. Only the Dharma of mindfulness of the Buddha can open the way of entry.

One should know that it is exceedingly difficult to bring the practice to completion through one’s own power, whereas it is easy to attain accomplishment by relying upon supporting power from beyond oneself. It is like an insignificant person who, through the power of a Wheel-Turning King, can fly up and roam through the four heavenly realms, or like an ordinary person who, by means of an elixir of immortality, can reach the Three Isles.

This is truly an easy path of practice through which accomplishment is swiftly attained. These wholesome words have explained the matter clearly; therefore, one should wholeheartedly engrave them into one’s very bones and flesh.

The Treatise on the Jeweled King teaches: One who bathes in the great ocean has thereby used the waters of a hundred rivers; one who mindfully recites the Buddha’s name will certainly attain samadhi. It is like a precious pearl that can clarify water: when cast into turbid water, that water cannot fail to become clear. Likewise, when the sound of mindfulness of the Buddha enters a distracted mind, that mind cannot fail to contain the Buddha.

The Great Prajnaparamita Sutra teaches: If those who practice mindfulness of the Buddha do so with distracted minds, they are nevertheless freed from suffering and obtain inexhaustible merit. How much more is this true of those who practice mindfulness of the Buddha with composed minds—at the highest level attaining single-mindedness without distraction, and even at the lowest succeeding through ten recitations.

The Lotus Sutra teaches:

Even with a distracted mind,

If one enters a stupa or shrine

And invokes the name of a Buddha once,

One has already fulfilled the Buddha Way.

It also teaches:

The Buddha’s name resounds through the ten directions,

Bringing benefit to sentient beings everywhere.

All roots of goodness are brought to perfection,

And the bodhi mind ever increases.

The Avatamsaka Sutra teaches:

In every mode of conduct,

Constantly recollect the Buddha’s virtues.

Never cease, by day or night;

Thus should one practice.

It also teaches:

Better to endure the sufferings of hell

And hear the Buddha’s name

Than to enjoy myriad pleasures

Without hearing the Buddha’s name.

The Ratnakuta Sutra teaches: When sentient beings in other directions hear the name of Amitabha Buddha, if they can give rise to even a single thought of pure faith, joy, and aspiration, and dedicate all the wholesome deeds they have performed while vowing to be born in the realm of Amitabha Buddha, they will immediately attain birth there in accordance with their aspiration, reach the stage of non-retrogression, and advance directly and gradually toward Buddhahood.

In the section “Causes and Conditions for Hearing the Dharma” of the Larger Amitabha Sutra, the Buddha teaches: When people in the world hear the name of Amitabha Buddha, if they give rise to loving-kindness and rejoice, even to the point that their minds become purified and they are moved to tears, they are all people who have cultivated the Buddha Way for many kalpas or who have previously cultivated the bodhisattva path in Buddha realms of other directions; therefore, they are not ordinary people.

If there are people who do not believe the Buddha’s words, do not believe in mindfulness of the Buddha, and do not believe in birth in the Pure Land, they have all been born from the evil destinies. Their former evil karma has not yet been completely exhausted, and because they are deluded and do not understand, they cannot yet attain liberation.

Many bodhisattvas wish to hear this sutra but are unable to do so. If they are able to hear it, they will never again retrogress from unsurpassed enlightenment. Therefore, one should accept it with faith, retain and recite it, and practice according to its teachings.

I now expound this Dharma for you, enabling you to behold Amitabha Buddha and his realm. Because I have compassion for sentient beings, I specially transmit this Dharma.

The section “The Difficulty of Hearing the True Dharma” contains these verses:

Unless one has cultivated merit and wisdom through many lives,

One cannot hear this true Dharma.

Having formerly made offerings to the Buddhas,

One therefore possesses the causes and conditions to understand its profound meaning.

The joy of Amitabha’s Buddha realm is boundless;

Only the Buddhas clearly comprehend it.

Though shravakas and pratyekabuddhas throughout the world

Exert all their strength, they cannot understand it.

The wondrous Dharma of the Great Dharma King

Saves myriad beings from the ocean of suffering.

Whoever constantly praises, accepts, and upholds it

Is truly a good friend upon the path.

When the Buddha had expounded this sutra, the bodhisattvas, shravakas, and beings of the eight classes all rejoiced, faithfully accepted it, and reverently practiced according to it.

18. A Discussion of the Causes, Phenomena, and Principle of Mindfulness of the Buddha

Someone asked: “Master, you often exhort people to be mindful of Amitabha Buddha, but I do not yet know what this Buddha’s past causes were.”

Zongben replied: “The past causes of Amitabha Buddha are recorded extensively in the scriptures. Here I shall briefly cite a few passages in answer to this question.

The Drum Sound King Sutra records: In the distant past, there was a kingdom named Wondrous Joy. Its king was named Kaushika. His grandfather was King Qing Tai, his father was the Wheel-Turning King Yue Shang, and his mother was Shu Sheng Miao Yan. The queen bore three sons: the eldest was Yue Ming, the second was Kaushika, and the third was Di Zhong.

At that time, a Buddha appeared in the world named World-Sovereign King Tathagata. Kaushika relinquished the throne and renounced the household life under the Buddha, receiving the name Bhikshu Dharmakara. Reverently before the Tathagata, he made forty-eight great vows to universally deliver all sentient beings throughout the ten directions. If even one of those vows were not completely fulfilled, he resolved that he would not attain Buddhahood.

At that time, the devas scattered celestial flowers, the earth trembled, and a voice in midair proclaimed his praise; thus it was known with certainty that he would attain Buddhahood.

The Karunapundarika Sutra also records: In a past kalpa, there was a Wheel-Turning King named Aranemi and a chief minister named Samudrarenuka, who was the king’s spiritual friend. Both went to make offerings to Ratnagarbha Buddha and aroused the bodhi mind. The Wheel-Turning King vowed: ‘When I attain Buddhahood, I shall dwell in a pure and blissful world and gather in all sentient beings.’ The chief minister vowed: ‘When I attain Buddhahood, I shall dwell in an evil world afflicted by the sufferings of the five defilements and liberate all sentient beings.’ King Aranemi was Amitabha Buddha, while Chief Minister Samudrarenuka was Shakyamuni Buddha.

Since that time, there has been harmonious accord between king and minister, known as the two Dharma gates of subduing and welcoming. Therefore, Shakyamuni Buddha subdues sentient beings in the Saha world, while Amitabha Buddha welcomes sentient beings into the Pure Land.

The Lotus Sutra records this account: In the past, as many kalpas ago as there are minute particles of dust, when the Buddha Great Universal Wisdom Excellence appeared in the world, Amitabha and Shakyamuni were among the sixteen princes who constantly and extensively expounded the Lotus Sutra and vowed to save sentient beings. From that time through immeasurable kalpas, the two have never acted contrary to their original vows.

Good people! You should know that the profound kindness of Amitabha and Shakyamuni could not be repaid even if our bones were pulverized and our flesh reduced to dust.”

Again he asked: There are very many Buddhas throughout the ten directions. Why do people in the world exclusively recite the name of Amitabha Buddha?

Answer: Amitabha Buddha is identical with all Buddhas in principle, but differs from them in phenomena. Therefore, his name alone is recited.

In terms of principle, to be mindful of one Buddha is also to be mindful of many Buddhas, and to be mindful of many Buddhas is also to be mindful of one Buddha. Why is this so? Because all Buddhas share a single fundamental essence. The Avatamsaka Sutra teaches: “All Buddhas share the one Dharma-body of true suchness, equal and without distinction.” Does this not express precisely this meaning?

I shall now offer an analogy to put an end to your doubts. Suppose that hundreds of thousands of mirrors hang inside a house, and a shining lamp is placed in the middle of the house. At once, the light of that lamp appears in every mirror. Likewise, when a person recites the single name of Amitabha Buddha, that person thereby recites the names of all Buddhas in full.

The Pratyutpanna Samadhi Sutra teaches: “The bodhisattva Bhadrapala asked Shakyamuni Buddha: ‘How will sentient beings in the future be able to behold the Buddhas of the ten directions?’ The Buddha taught that they should be mindful of Amitabha Buddha, and then they would behold the Buddhas of the ten directions.”

Because all Buddhas share the same essence, they are said to share the same name and designation. Not only do all Buddhas share the same name and designation; it should be understood that the Four Holy Realms and the Six Realms of ordinary beings accord with this same principle. Why is this so? The Buddhas have awakened to this nature and therefore are holy ones; sentient beings are deluded about this nature and therefore are ordinary beings. Thus, all share this same principle.

In terms of phenomena, Amitabha Buddha brought forth vast compassion and established profound practices and vows. Therefore, his name alone is recited. The Larger Amitabha Sutra records his vow: “After I attain Buddhahood, the land of my world shall be more splendid and supremely adorned than all the lands throughout the ten directions. If this is not accomplished, I shall resolutely not attain Buddhahood.”

He further vowed: “After I attain Buddhahood, the teaching of the sutras and the cultivation of the Way and Dharma in my land shall be ten times more abundant than among the other Buddhas. If this is not accomplished, I shall resolutely not attain Buddhahood.”

He further vowed: “After I attain Buddhahood, any sentient being who invokes and recites my name shall certainly be born in my land. If this is not accomplished, I shall resolutely not attain Buddhahood.”

Because his vows are so great and the causes and conditions so powerful, people in the world are deeply moved, and everyone invokes and recites his name.

Have you also not heard the verse in praise of the Buddha by the Bodhisattva Great Compassion? The verse says:

Among the Buddhas of the three times and ten directions,

Amitabha is foremost.

Is this not indeed so? Not only do the bodhisattvas praise him, but all the Buddhas of the ten directions praise him as well. How much more should we, who are merely lowly ordinary beings, do so? From this it follows: what doubt could there still be about single-mindedly reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha?

Again he asked: It is said that, when those who recite the Buddha’s name approach death, the Buddha comes to receive and guide them. Yet throughout the worlds of the ten directions, countless people recite the Buddha’s name. How can he know them all and appear at the proper moment to receive and guide each one?

Answer: Even the light of the sun and moon in a single small world can illuminate all living beings everywhere; how much more so the radiance of the Buddha? The Amitabha Sutra states: “Why is that Buddha called Amitabha? Shariputra, the radiance of that Buddha is immeasurable, illuminating all the lands of the ten directions without obstruction. Therefore, he is called Amitabha.”

It should be understood that the Buddha’s radiance extends so widely that nothing can compare with it. Even arhats of the Lesser Vehicle possess the Three Knowledges and Six Superknowledges and can manifest transformation bodies at will; how much more wondrous are the Buddha’s supernormal powers and their subtle functions! Why is this so? If the body constantly bows in homage to the Buddha, the Buddha sees it, for the Buddha possesses the divine eye. If the mouth constantly recites the Buddha’s name, the Buddha hears and knows it, for the Buddha possesses the divine ear. If the mind constantly remembers and reflects upon the Buddha, the Buddha knows it thoroughly, for the Buddha possesses the knowledge of others’ minds.

Good people! The essential thing is that you yourselves remain resolute and cultivate reverently. You should not doubt that the Buddha has sufficient power to receive and guide you.

Again he asked: The Buddha possesses immeasurable radiance, so why can I not see it?

Answer: The sun shines brilliantly, yet a blind person cannot see it. This is not because the sun lacks brightness, but because that person is blind. Sentient beings are obscured by deep and heavy evil karma and therefore cannot behold the Buddha’s radiance. The darkness within an overturned basin is due to the obstruction that covers it, not because sunlight is unwilling to shine there.

If people strictly observe fasting precepts and wholeheartedly recite the Buddha’s name, then, at the time of death, they will behold Amitabha Buddha and immediately attain rebirth in the Pure Land.

Again he asked: Since the Buddha possesses such merit and virtue, why is it necessary to recite his name aloud and continuously? If someone called my name, that person would call only once, twice, or three times at most. If the person called incessantly, it would surely make me irritated and angry. Is that not so?

Answer: Your reasoning is mistaken and causes others to become confused and deluded. The names of the Buddhas belong to Great Sages. How could they be compared with foolish, attached ordinary beings caught in the view of permanence? The Buddha’s vow has already been clearly stated above: “Those who invoke and recite my name shall certainly be born in my land.”

The Contemplation Sutra teaches: “Reciting once, ‘Namo Amitabha Buddha,’ can extinguish all the grave offenses accumulated throughout eight billion kalpas of birth and death.” How much more so when one recites continuously without interruption!

The Amitabha Sutra teaches: “Through invoking the Buddha’s name, all offenses are extinguished.” The Treatise on Mahasthamaprapta’s Perfect Penetration teaches: “Those who remember the Buddha and recite the Buddha’s name will certainly behold the Buddha. At the highest level, one attains single-mindedness without confusion and exclusively upholds the name; even at the lowest level, one succeeds through ten recitations and attains rebirth in the Pure Land.”

How could one allow meddlesome people to utter erroneous words? Why, then, do I now advise people to recite the Buddha’s name constantly? First, it is to cleanse the evil karma of the mouth; afterward, it can purify both body and mind.

Alas! Even while ordinary beings recite the Buddha’s name, unwholesome thoughts still arise in them; how much more so when they do not recite it? As I now contemplate the matter, this practice is not merely the recollection of a Buddha external to oneself; it is also the awakening of one’s own original mind, so that one is no longer deluded and fails to perceive one’s original nature.

As soon as one is no longer deluded about one’s original nature, the three karmas naturally become pure. At that moment, Amitabha Buddha and I share one essence and are no different; Amitabha Buddha and I have always been nondual and have never been separate. This is precisely the mutual resonance and communion within the Way, like mother and child meeting one another; phenomena and principle are both clear, and nature and characteristics are both fully encompassed.

19. An Essay by Layman Longshu Exhorting People to Guard the Karma of Speech

Layman Longshu said: “When the mouth recites the Buddha’s name, it is like emitting pearls and jewels, and one will receive the blessed reward of birth in the heavens or in a Buddha-land. When the mouth speaks of virtuous deeds, it is like emitting fragrance and is equivalent to praising the merits of others. When the mouth speaks words of instruction and transformation, it is like emitting radiance that dispels the darkness of delusion for others. When the mouth speaks truthful words, it is like a piece of silk that smooths everything flat and is truly beneficial to others.”

“To speak of useless matters is like chewing sawdust; it is better to remain silent and nurture the breath. To utter falsehoods is like covering over a pitfall: whoever walks there will surely be harmed. A mouth fond of mockery is like one brandishing swords and blades; sooner or later it will wound someone. To speak of evil deeds is like giving off a foul stench and is the same as disparaging the faults of others. To utter filthy words is like harboring maggots within; one will suffer retribution in hell or be reborn as an animal.

“Human life consists of nothing apart from the karma of body, speech, and mind. Killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct are the three evil karmas of the body. False speech, meaningless ornate speech, divisive slander, and harsh, malicious speech are the four evil karmas of the mouth. Greed, anger, and delusion are the three evil karmas of the mind. Together they are called the Ten Evil Karmas. If one guards against committing any of the foregoing, they are called the Ten Wholesome Karmas.

According to the Buddha’s teaching, the karmic consequences of the mouth are more numerous than those of body and mind. Why is this? A thought may arise in the mind without yet appearing outwardly, but once words are spoken, others know them immediately. Moreover, the body may at times be prevented from committing an evil deed, whereas the mouth can very easily utter evil words. This is the reason.

Let us say nothing of former lives and speak only of this life. If someone today speaks a word of praise for another, that person may remain grateful throughout his life, and the blessing may extend even to his descendants. If someone speaks a word that brings harm to another, that person may suffer throughout his life, and the consequences may implicate even his children and grandchildren. Is not the karma of the mouth therefore exceedingly grave?

Whatever one says must ultimately return to oneself; thus, the karma of the mouth is truly fearsome! Everything arises from oneself, so blaming Heaven leads to an impasse, while blaming others is foolishness. It is only reasonable that one should carefully guard one’s own speech.

Therefore, following the intent of the sages and worthies, I have cited these teachings specifically to admonish people to guard the karma of the mouth.

20. The Three Teachings All Aim to Guide People Toward a Good Life

At present, three teachings circulate throughout the world. These are Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. The teachings of all three aim to induce those who hear them to abandon evil and practice good, to forsake what is deviant and follow what is right.

People of the world do not thoroughly understand the common source, but mistakenly divide the teachings according to their branches, saying: “In principles for governing the realm, nothing surpasses Confucianism; in teachings concerning the mind and nature and transcending birth and death, nothing surpasses Buddhism; in following what is natural and mastering Heaven, Earth, and humanity, nothing surpasses Daoism.” They also say: “Buddhism’s doctrine of quiescent extinction is remote from human affections; Daoism’s doctrine of nothingness is inadequate for governing the realm; and Confucianism’s doctrine of names and moral duties does not transcend samsara.” All such understandings are mistaken, for they arise from prejudice and indiscriminately disparage the teachings.

It would be better for one who wears the robes of a Confucian, reads Confucian books, and practices the Confucian Way simply to know himself as a Confucian; likewise, one who dons the Buddhist robe, recites Buddhist sutras, and practices the Buddha’s teachings should simply know himself as a Buddhist practitioner. That is all!

A certain skeptic said: “The Buddhist teaching is inherently heterodox and unworthy of belief.”

Nhất Nguyên asked in return: “Since you know that teaching to be heterodox, can you explain what it teaches?”

He replied: “I have no leisure to read their scriptures and books.”

Tông Bổn said: “You have never read their scriptures and books, so how do you know that anything in them is heterodox? Now, merely because you read the books of Confucius, you immediately suspect that Buddhism is wrong. You are just like Emperor Shun’s dog! Hearing others say it is wrong, you simply follow them in disparaging it. This is nothing but narrow-minded shallowness!”

Hearing this, the man grew angry and cried out: “The Buddhist teaching recognizes neither the duty between sovereign and subject nor the affection between father and son. Is that not heterodoxy?”