淨土警語

Exhortation to Give Rise to True Faith

Practitioners from ancient times to the present have all cherished the Buddha-Recitation Samadhi^[1]. Ever since Patriarch Huiyuan initiated it on Mount Lu and founded the Lotus Society^[2], pure practices have been cultivated throughout the six periods of the day, gradually forming an excellent tradition handed down through the ages.

Although this practice is said to yield lofty merit and permit easy progress, few practitioners in the Dharma-ending age obtain results. This is because their faith and vows are not single-minded, and therefore they cannot yet direct their wholesome practices toward rebirth in the Pure Land.

Now that many good companions have been invited to cultivate the cause of purity together, if we do not carefully examine the mind with which we set forth, how can we clearly know the path of liberation from suffering?

Those of us participating in this Dharma assembly must possess true faith. Without true faith, although one may observe a vegetarian diet, recite the Buddha’s name, release living beings, and cultivate merit, one will merely be a good person in the world, enjoying only the blessed rewards of the heavenly and human realms. While enjoying such blessings and pleasures, one creates karma; once karma has been created, one must inevitably fall into the realms of suffering. Examined with right view, such a person is only one step above an icchantika^[3] or a chandala^[4]. How could faith of this kind be true?

True faith means the following:

– First, one must believe:

Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three are no different. I am a Buddha not yet accomplished, while Amitabha is a Buddha already accomplished. The nature of awakening is nondual. Although I am confused and deluded, the nature of awakening has never been lost. Although I have revolved through samsara for many kalpas, the nature of awakening has never moved. Thus it is said:

Do not look down upon one who has not yet awakened;

In a single thought of inward illumination, one immediately accords with what is originally attained.^[5]

– Second, one must believe:

I am a Buddha in principle and a Buddha in name only.

Amitabha is the ultimate Buddha. Although our nature is nondual, our stages are as far apart as heaven and the abyss. If I do not single-mindedly recite that Buddha’s name and seek rebirth in the Pure Land, I will inevitably follow my karma and continue revolving through samsara, enduring boundless suffering!

This is called the Dharma-body wandering through the five paths^[6]; such a one is not called a Buddha but a sentient being.

– Third, one must believe:

Although my karma is deep and my hindrances are heavy, and although I have long dwelt amid suffering, I am still a sentient being within the mind of Amitabha Buddha. Although Amitabha Buddha, adorned with myriad virtues, is far beyond ten trillion lands, he is also the Buddha within our own minds. Since mind and nature are nondual, the interaction of stimulus and response naturally takes place. My earnest sincerity can certainly evoke a response; the Buddha’s compassion can certainly respond. Like a magnet attracting iron, this matter cannot be doubted. This is called:

The Buddha remembers sentient beings as a mother remembers her child.

If the child remembers the mother as the mother remembers the child, then mother and child will never be far apart, even through many lifetimes.

If the minds of sentient beings remember the Buddha and recite the Buddha’s name, they will certainly see the Buddha in the present or the future and will not be far from the Buddha.

When one possesses true faith as described above, even the slightest merit or goodness, as minute as a mote of dust or the tip of a hair, can be dedicated toward adorning the Pure Land in the West. How much more so can observing vegetarian precepts and moral discipline, giving alms, releasing living beings, reciting Mahayana scriptures, making offerings to the Three Jewels, and cultivating all wholesome practices serve as provisions for rebirth in the Pure Land?

The only fear is that one’s faith may not be true, causing one to remain submerged in the conditioned realm of outflows. Therefore, there is no other essential secret to present-day cultivation: throughout all twenty-four hours, simply strengthen these three kinds of true faith, and none of one’s practices will need to be altered!

If you wish to abandon this teaching and discuss other abstruse methods of cultivation, there are many eminent Chan masters in various places and practice centers everywhere; go and seek their instruction. There is no need to remain in this Lotus Society.

If the mind seeking fame and gain has truly ceased altogether, and our aspirations and vows are shared, then through the fortunate convergence of time and conditions we may regularly gather together. Morning and evening, we recite the Buddha’s name; throughout the day, in all six periods, we uphold the Name. This has been the practice from ancient times to the present, and the old tradition has not yet been lost. Only then may we hope in future lives to serve as bridges, drawing near to and guiding one another in cultivation, and in this life to serve as skillful means, assisting one another as we advance together.

May each and every one of us strive diligently!

Notes:

^[1] Buddha-Recitation Samadhi: A samadhi in which recollection of the Buddha forms the content of contemplation. It is also a type of samadhi involving contemplation of the virtues of the Buddhas or recitation of their names.

There are two kinds of Buddha-Recitation Samadhi:

– Buddha-Recitation Samadhi as causal practice: This comprises three methods—contemplating the Buddha’s excellent marks, contemplating the true aspect of the Dharma-body, and reciting the Buddha’s name.

– Buddha-Recitation Samadhi as fruition: The three kinds of causal practice described above are brought to fulfillment.

^[2] Lotus Society: The White Lotus Society was an association that took Buddha-recitation as the guiding principle of its practice. It originated with the Buddha-recitation society founded by Master Huiyuan during the Eastern Jin dynasty. In 384, during the Eastern Jin dynasty, Master Huiyuan went to Mount Lu and resided at Donglin Monastery by Tiger Stream. Monastics and laypeople from all regions heard of his renown and gathered like clouds to seek the Way.

In the seventh month of 402, 123 people—including Huiyong, Huichi, Daosheng, Liu Yimin, Zong Bing, Lei Cizong, and others—jointly held a vegetarian offering before the image of the Buddha of Infinite Life enshrined on the Prajnaparamita Terrace at Donglin Monastery. Together they vowed to establish a Buddha-recitation society dedicated to cultivating the Buddha-Recitation Samadhi and seeking rebirth in the West. Because many white lotuses grew in the monastery pond, and because the society aspired to rebirth in the Land of Lotuses, it was named the White Lotus Society.

Thereafter, the number of practitioners steadily increased, initiating the development of the Pure Land teaching. From the late Tang to the early Song dynasty, the Pure Land teaching flourished greatly. Like-minded practitioners jointly established Pure Land practice centers and diligently cultivated pure karma; all revered Master Huiyuan as the first patriarch of the Lotus Society. The Buddha-Recitation Lotus Society took the Pratyutpanna Samadhi Sutra as its guiding doctrine and regarded seeing the Buddha and attaining rebirth as its objective.

In 1308, during the Yuan dynasty, the Lotus Society was prohibited. At that time, Master Youtan Pudu (?–1330) of Donglin Monastery presented the emperor with the ten-fascicle Precious Mirror of the Lotus Tradition of Mount Lu to illuminate the essential purport of the Lotus tradition. The emperor consequently rescinded the prohibition and appointed him leader of the teaching. Through the Ming and Qing dynasties and down to the present, people have continued to establish Buddha-recitation societies. The movement to establish such societies also spread to Japan and Korea, where it flourished greatly.

^[3] Icchantika: A person who has exhausted all roots of goodness, has no faith in the Buddhadharma, and finds it difficult to encounter the conditions necessary for awakening.

^[4] Chandala: The lowest class in Indian society, whose members traditionally engaged in such occupations as prison guards, traders, butchers, hunters, and fishermen.

^[5] Originally attained: The inherently present, luminous, and pure mind possessed by all sentient beings.

^[6] Five paths: The realms of hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, and heavenly beings.

Exhortation 1

In ancient times, Venerable Zhenxie said:

Buddha after Buddha transmitted it hand to hand;

Patriarch after patriarch passed it on;

There is only this one matter,

And no other matter besides.

Shakyamuni Buddha dwelt in the world for seventy-nine years and expounded the Dharma in more than three hundred assemblies. Yet he was especially earnest and unceasing in praising the Pure Land teaching. Was this not because he regarded it as the direct and expedient path by which ordinary beings transcend their state and enter the ranks of the sages?

Nevertheless, this Dharma gate is truly easy and also truly difficult. If ordinary beings uphold the Name, cultivate every kind of merit, and dedicate it with utmost sincerity, they will immediately attain rebirth. Once reborn there, they cut across the six paths^[1], swiftly escape the three realms^[2], and advance directly to the stage of non-retrogression without passing through many kalpas. Is this not simple and direct?

If the affairs of the Saha world bind the mind everywhere, while one’s practice of Buddha-recitation is not single-minded—ardent one day and cold for ten—then, when encountering the five desires, one clings to them as firmly as glue and lacquer, and when encountering adverse circumstances, one harbors resentment and nurses hatred. To wish, while living in this way, to be received and guided by Amitabha Buddha at the time of death is naturally impossible. Therefore, it is said to be difficult.

From this, we may observe:

The Pure Land Dharma-door is medicine.

Craving and attachment to the Saha world are contraindications.

Sentient beings suffer from the illness of karma and are instructed to trust and follow the King of Physicians. Yet immediately after taking the medicine, they consume the very things that are forbidden. How, then, could the medicine be effective? When death approaches, they fall according to whichever karma is heaviest. Their pure causes being weak, they can hardly escape the suffering of samsara. They then turn around and say that the King of Physicians deceives people and that the Buddhadharma is ineffective. How lamentable! Such people are gravely mistaken and deluded!

Why do they not recall the eighteen eminent worthies of the White Lotus Society on Mount Lu, and the one hundred and twenty-three members in all, whose auspicious signs of rebirth were preserved and fully recorded in the historical accounts? The sun and moon remain today as they were of old; the mountains and rivers remain today as they were of old. They were resolute persons—why should we not be the same? We should understand that the sole reason we fail to equal the ancients is that we cannot relinquish what we cherish.

All who belong to this assembly with me—monastics and laypeople, old and young—should reflect deeply upon the dangers and evils of the Saha world and promptly aspire to escape it. Wandering endlessly through the six realms or roaming freely among the nine grades^[3]: the benefit and harm of these two differ as vastly as heaven and the abyss. You should awaken with great resolve!

You must give rise to profound revulsion toward the Saha world and joyful aspiration for the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Abandon defilement and choose purity. Believe that this choosing and relinquishing is fundamentally no different from non-choosing and non-relinquishing.

Do not pursue empty fame; do not cling to a view of emptiness; do not crave what is lofty, abstruse, and wondrous, only to be deluded and confused by the mere verbal samadhi of Chan practitioners!

Do not seek rapid results overnight, vainly imagining that a Buddha outside the mind will come to receive you. Such thinking can easily lead to demonic disturbances!

Whether at home or attending the Lotus

Society, always take Buddha-recitation as the primary practice and diligent cultivation of wholesome deeds as the supporting practice. Furthermore, exert yourself to polish away habitual tendencies of greed, desire, and anger, causing what is heavy to become light and what is not yet mature gradually to mature. When pure mindfulness continues without interruption and vows and practice support each other, all will naturally be completely secure.

Among all practices, releasing living beings is the highest wholesome deed. Consider carefully: they possess the same knowing nature as we do. Though they belong to other species, we must still rescue and aid them—how much more so those of our own kind! Because their obstructions are deep and their karma heavy, some will soon fall into the lower realms, while others are presently suffering in hell. The suffering of hell exceeds the worldly pain of being slaughtered or burned by hundreds of thousands of times. How, then, could we remain here, turning a deaf ear and making no effort to rescue them?

Yet the method of rescue lies precisely in this present time: single-mindedly recite the Buddha’s name so as swiftly to return to the Land of Peace and Nurture. Then, relying upon your fundamental vows, employ great spiritual power, arouse impartial loving-kindness, and expand the compassion of shared substance. Manifest divided bodies and forms throughout the lower realms in all lands of the ten directions.

Like Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, seek out the cries of suffering and bring deliverance; like Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, vow to empty the hells. Uproot the causes and effects of suffering for all sentient beings. Bestow upon them all the happiness of this world and the supramundane, gather all the myriad beings together to attend upon the compassionate father Amitabha, and lead them to the place of complete peace and security.

Only one who fully possesses such an aspiration is a resolute person. Without such an aspiration, even if people gather here year after year and practice Buddha-recitation and the release of living beings, it will be no more than an ordinary social gathering. How could it be said that those without merit are not admitted?

This is what I earnestly hope for from all you supreme virtuous friends. I hope you will examine it with the utmost care!

Notes:

^[1] The six realms: the six modes of rebirth undergone according to the karmic power of sentient beings: 1. Hell beings; 2. Hungry ghosts; 3. Animals; 4. Asuras; 5. Humans; 6. Devas. Of these, the first three are called the three lower realms, and the latter three the three fortunate realms.

^[2] The three realms: the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm.

^[3] See the section “A Brief Explanation of the Nine Grades,” page 65.

Exhortation 2

Although the Pure Land Dharma-door is praised in common by all Buddhas and patriarchs, the learned gentlemen of the present age have never cast an eye upon the teachings given throughout the Buddha’s lifetime.

If they had not planted wholesome roots in the past, how could they hear this teaching and then have profound faith in it? I shall now briefly cite one or two great sutras and important treatises as representatives of the other scriptures and treatises, so that everyone may recognize the excellence of this Dharma-door and readily give rise to faith and joyful aspiration.

The Avatamsaka Sutra, for example, is the vast gateway of the teachings and the king among sutras. It is like the sun shining in the midst of the sky and overwhelming the light of all the stars, or like Mount Sumeru^[1] towering amid the great ocean and rising above every other mountain. When that sutra speaks of worlds, it does not say that they are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, but calls them Buddha-lands as numerous as ineffable particles of dust. Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, through the power of penetrating wisdom, with a single glance surveys the boundless oceans of fragrant waters and the boundless lands as though viewing a fruit in the palm of his hand. From the near to the far, direction by direction, he reveals each of their names, characteristics, and forms.

The Land of Ultimate Bliss lies within the Vairocana Realm. That realm has twenty tiers, broad above and narrow below, shaped like an inverted stupa. The Saha world and the Land of Ultimate Bliss are both situated on the thirteenth tier. Within this tier are worlds as numerous as the dust motes in thirteen Buddha-lands surrounding it. The Land of Ultimate Bliss is one among them.

The worlds within this Vairocana Realm are as numerous as all the grains of rice harvested throughout Jambudvipa^[2] over one hundred years and then gathered into a single lofty heap. Within it, the Land of Ultimate Bliss is like a single grain of rice. How much more innumerable, then, are the boundless worlds beyond that realm, which cannot possibly be discussed or calculated!

Although the sutra is so vast, its final conclusion uses the Ten Great Kings of Vows to guide beings toward the Land of Ultimate Bliss. It exhorts them solely to be reborn in the Land of Peace and Nurture and to aspire solely to encounter Amitabha Buddha. Its earnest words repeatedly encouraging and enjoining beings to arouse this resolve are all fully set forth in the Chapter on the Practices and Vows. They will not be recounted at length here.

Furthermore, six hundred years after the Buddha entered nirvana, the great master Asvaghosa—the twelfth patriarch in India—appeared in accordance with the Buddha’s prophetic prediction and revived the true Dharma. Relying upon the principles contained in one million one hundred thousand volumes of Mahayana scriptures, he composed a treatise entitled The Awakening of Faith. This treatise can enable sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age to arouse true faith in the Mahayana. It is like embroidering flowers upon brocade or gathering nectar from a hundred blossoms.

The arguments it establishes and the principles it analyzes are subtle and profound in the extreme. It fully explains all Dharma-doors and many kinds of samadhi,^[3] enabling all who cultivate them to attain true faith. Moreover, the master pointed out that among all Dharma-doors, every kind of samadhi is difficult to cultivate and easy to regress from. Only at the end did he teach the Buddhas’ supreme skillful means, saying:

Furthermore, newly practicing bodhisattvas in this Sahā world may encounter the sufferings of heat and cold, untimely winds and rains, famine, and so forth. Or they may see frightening, unwholesome beings who, bound by the three poisons, engage in evil deeds.

In such circumstances, bodhisattvas become fearful, concerned that they may be unable to perfect pure faith. Doubts arise in them, and they wish to retreat. Therefore, they should make a vow to single-mindedly and exclusively recite the Buddha’s name.

Because bodhisattvas give rise to a resolute mind, immediately after their lives end here, they attain rebirth in the Buddha-lands, meet Buddhas and bodhisattvas, and forever leave the evil paths behind.

As stated in the sutra:

Good men and good women who exclusively recollect Amitābha Buddha in the Land of Ultimate Bliss in the West, dedicate all their wholesome roots, and vow to be reborn there will assuredly attain rebirth. They will constantly behold that Buddha, their faith will increase, they will never again regress, and they will enter the Stage of Right Establishment.

Therefore, we know that while the Buddha was still in the world, there were Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra. After the Buddha entered parinirvana, there were Aśvaghoṣa and Nāgārjuna. Such great beings all encouraged rebirth there and themselves vowed to attain rebirth so that they might draw near to Amitābha Buddha. Other scriptures, such as the Ratnakūṭa and Mahāsaṃnipāta, and all the major collections of sutras likewise praise and encourage this practice; they cannot easily be cited in full.

Although the Pure Lands of the Buddhas throughout the ten directions are innumerable, the sutras and treatises generally direct us toward the Land of Ultimate Bliss. In brief, there are three reasons:

– * First, that Buddha has karmic affinities with the people of this realm. Thus, whether noble or lowly, foolish or wise, old or young, everyone knows the name of Amitābha Buddha. When suffering or injustice befalls them, all naturally and immediately recite his name.

– * Second, because Bhikṣu Dharmākara’s^[4] power of vows was supreme, he gathered the adornments of two billion one hundred million pure Buddha-lands and combined them into the single, magnificent Land of Ultimate Bliss. He made forty-eight vast vows to receive and guide all Buddha-recollecting beings throughout the ten directions to rebirth in his land. Although the fruition and virtues of all Buddhas are truly equal, the power of the vows they made while cultivating the causal path naturally embraces sentient beings; thus, within what is undifferentiated, distinctions nevertheless appear.

– * Third, Amitābha Buddha is precisely the Dharma-realm treasury-body, and the Land of Ultimate Bliss is precisely the Ocean of the Lotus Treasury. To see one Buddha is to see ten thousand Buddhas; to be reborn in one land is to be reborn in innumerable lands; to recollect one Buddha is to recollect all Buddhas and thereby receive the mindful protection of all Buddhas. Because the Dharmakāya is nondual, sentient beings and Buddhas are nondual; the person who recollects and the Buddha who is recollected are likewise nondual.

Although the sutras and treatises praise this teaching extensively, at first no one among the beings of this realm knew of it. Only when Master Huiyuan of the Jin dynasty initiated the practice on Mount Lu and founded the first Lotus Society did the Way flourish. At that time, worthy and virtuous people and renowned Confucian scholars, such as Liu Yimin^[5], Zong and Lei, came of their own accord, without prior arrangement. They all placed their faith in him, submitted to his guidance, and requested instruction; thereupon this Way flourished.

Later, from the Song dynasty onward, Chan studies gradually became vigorous. Most educated scholar-officials greatly admired the Chan School and delighted in lofty, extraordinary teachings.

Yet during the past thousand years and more, those who were genuinely able to see their nature amounted to no more than a few people, such as Vice Minister Yang Yi^[6], Imperial Son-in-law Li Zunxu^[7], and Director Xu Shilang^[8]. All the rest were merely visitors wandering at the gates of Chan. Consequently, this supreme and inconceivable Dharma-gate came to be regarded as a practice for foolish men and ignorant women.

During this period, several venerable masters successively followed the example of their predecessors and expounded this teaching, but they did not necessarily guide many people of lofty standing or widely teach beings of every capacity. It was not until the end of the Ming dynasty that Great Master Zhuhong of Yunqi appeared. Relying upon compassionate vows from past lives, deeply versed in Confucian learning and transcending worldly conventions, the Great Master devoted himself to propagating the Pure Land practice.

A great many eminent and worthy people of the time took refuge in his teaching and placed their faith in it, while those who doubted, disparaged, opposed, and challenged it were also not few. With his marvelous eloquence, the Great Master remained indomitable through a hundred debates, thereby turning these encounters into the joy of Dharma. Consequently, monastics and laypeople joyfully placed their faith in him, as though Patriarch Huiyuan had returned to life and Master Yongming had appeared again. The Pure Land Dharma-gate once more flourished greatly. Did he not render an exceedingly great service by restoring this Dharma-gate after more than a thousand years of decline?

Alas! He has now passed away! The path in this Dharma-ending age is dark, and the defilements of sentient beings are grave. Upon this dangerous and evil road, we have lost our wise and discerning guide. How truly sorrowful!

I was born too late and could not remain close to the Great Master Zhuhong. Therefore, I treasure the teachings he left behind more than pearls and jade. Whenever I open his books and read them, I cannot restrain my emotions; tears stream down my face, and my resolve surges powerfully.

Since coming to this Puren Monastery, I have often been joined by worthy and virtuous people who gather to practice the Way throughout the six periods of the day and night, in accord with my aspiration.

Whenever I meet a fellow member of the society, however, I dare not regard that person as an ordinary worldling. Inwardly, I think: “The Lotus Land has gained yet another good friend. Long ago, our Original Teacher Śākyamuni Buddha prophesied that sixty-seven koṭis of bodhisattvas from this realm would attain rebirth in that land. This person must surely be one of them.”

Although we know that the road is long and far-reaching, and therefore many people retreat, once one has aroused the resolve to recollect the Buddha, one has already entered Amitābha Buddha’s ocean of vows. It is like a person who swallows a small piece of diamond: ultimately, it can never be digested. Though people differ in diligence and indolence, speed and slowness, in the end they will assuredly be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Once reborn in the Pure Land, they will ultimately attain realization, manifest the eight aspects of accomplishing the Way,^[9] and universally liberate all sentient beings.

Therefore, whenever people now first enter this society, I immediately look forward to all of you becoming future Buddhas. These are sincere words, but I do not know what you expect of yourselves. If you can hold such expectations, then all the good friends present here are lotus buds growing with me upon the same stem.

I observe that wealthy people and those who have attained success, profit, and advantage in the present age:

– Some crave coarse sounds and forms, unaware that they are the root of suffering.

– Some cling to petty fame and position, failing to recognize that they are illusory.

– Others delight in increasing their wealth and profits, calculating

business ventures; in the present they remain busy throughout their lives, and in the future they drift according to their karma.

They neither hear nor know of the infinitely sublime joys and the magnificent adornments of the circumstantial and direct rewards in that Buddha-land. From birth until death, they never once give rise to a thought directed toward it. They are inferior even to destitute and ignorant people, many of whom are able to recollect the Buddha. Though such people may be ignorant, they proceed from darkness into light and will certainly be reborn in a good destination.

Therefore, I now respectfully exhort all you friends: since your names have been entered into the Lotus Society, you are already udumbara flowers^[10] within the burning house. You should form sincere vows and arouse minds of disenchantment and joyful aspiration:

– Regard the three realms as a prison.

– Regard houses and homes as shackles.

– Regard sounds and forms as poison.

– Regard fame and profit as cangues and fetters.

– Regard the adversity and success encountered over several decades as no different from yesterday’s dream.

– Regard life in the Sahā world as a stay at an inn, and trust that after spending the night, you will depart.

Take returning home as the one essential matter. Whether things accord with your wishes or not, whenever you have even a moment of leisure, single-mindedly recite the Buddha’s name. If one practices in this way yet fails to be reborn in the Pure Land, then all the Buddhas would have become liars.

May we encourage one another and strive diligently!

Notes:

^[1] Sumeru: Originally a mountain in Indian mythology, it was adopted by Buddhism and regarded as the lofty mountain standing at the very center of a minor world-system. With this mountain as the center, eight ranges of mountains and eight seas encircle it, forming a world—the Sumeru world.

^[2] Jambudvipa: Formerly called Southern Jambudvipa. Its inhabitants are courageous, possess retentive memories, perform various karmic actions, cultivate the holy life, and witness the appearance of Buddhas in the world.

^[3] Samadhi: To establish the mind upon a single point or object; it refers to a state of meditative concentration.

^[4] The Dharma name of Amitabha Buddha before he attained Buddhahood.

According to the Infinite Life Sutra, many long kalpas ago in the distant past, during the time of Tathagata Lokeshvararaja, there was a king who heard the Buddha teach the Dharma and immediately aroused the unsurpassed aspiration. He relinquished his throne, entered monastic life, and was named Dharmakara. After beholding twenty-one billion Buddha lands, he made forty-eight great vows.

Because he preserved the Dharma without allowing it to be lost and accumulated it in great abundance, the Infinite Life Sutra translates his name as Dharmakara, “Dharma Treasury.” The Assembly of the Tathagata of Infinite Life in fascicle 17 of the Maharatnakuta Sutra, translated during the Tang dynasty, renders it as “Dharma Abode”; the Mahayana Sutra of the Adornment of Infinite Life, translated during the Song dynasty, renders it as “Maker of Dharma”; and the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom renders it as “Accumulation of Dharma.”

^[5] Liu Yimin: A man of the Jin dynasty, whose courtesy name was Zhong’en and personal name Chengzhi, he resided in Pengcheng. At first, he served as a military adviser and was later appointed magistrate of Yichang and Chaisang Counties. Afterward, he resigned and lived in seclusion with Zhou Xuzhi, Tao Qian, and others; people of the time called them the “Three Recluses of Xunyang.” According to tradition, the title “Yimin” was bestowed upon him by Emperor Wu of the Liu Song dynasty because of his unyielding character.

Later, he went to Mount Lu, revered Master Huiyuan as his teacher, and built a small hermitage in the mountains, where he devoted himself to the practice of meditation for fifteen years and frequently perceived the Buddha’s light. Together with Master Huiyuan, he founded the White Lotus Society at Donglin Monastery and vowed to attain rebirth in the Pure Land. He composed a declaration of vows whose elegant language and refined meaning have continued to be recited without interruption to the present day.

In the winter of the sixth year of the Yixi era, knowing beforehand the date and hour of his death, he offered incense and paid homage to the Buddha, then passed away while seated upright facing west. He was fifty-nine years old. One fascicle of his work Xuanpu remains extant.

^[6] Yang Yi: A native of Pucheng (present-day Jian’ou, Fujian) during the Northern Song dynasty, his courtesy name was Danian. In childhood he became renowned for his literary talent, and Emperor Taizong once summoned him to the palace and personally examined him through questions and answers. The emperor praised him as a child prodigy.

During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, he held such offices as Hanlin Academician and Vice Minister. He maintained purity and integrity and did not fear those in power. At first, he knew nothing of the Buddhadharma.

Encouraged by Academician Li Wei to investigate the teachings of Chan, he developed profound faith. Later, he studied and practiced under Chan Master Guanghui of Ruzhou and attained the Dharma. He often devoted himself to supporting the Dharma gate, and for a time the scholar-officials who studied Buddhism acclaimed him as their leader.

He also frequently served by imperial decree in compiling the catalog of the Tripitaka, collating the Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, and acting as a stylistic editor in the sutra translation institute. In the fourth year of the Tianxi era, while slightly ill, he wrote a verse for Li Zunxu and then passed away at the age of forty-seven. A collection of his writings circulated in the world.

^[7] Li Zunxu: Known as Layman Hewen, he attained the Dharma under Chan Master Yuntong. When he first came for instruction, Master Yuntong answered him with the koan concerning Cui Zhaogong’s question to Master Jingshan. At that very moment, he awakened.

^[8] Xu Shi: He served as prefect of Hangzhou and studied under Master Dongshan, penetrating the essential core of the true Dharma.

^[9] The eight aspects of attaining the Way: 1. Descending from Tusita Heaven; 2. Entering the womb; 3. Being born; 4. Leaving the household life; 5. Subduing Mara’s hosts; 6. Attaining the Way; 7. Turning the wheel of the true Dharma; 8. Entering nirvana.

^[10] Udumbara: A cryptogamous plant of the mulberry family, found at the foot of the Himalayas, on the Deccan Plateau, and in Sri Lanka. Its trunk grows to more than three meters in height, and it has two kinds of leaves. The first kind is smooth and flat, while the second is coarse and rough; both are ten to eighteen centimeters long, with slightly elongated, pointed tips.

It has separate male and female flowers. Those with large calyxes are the size of a fist, while the smaller ones are the size of a thumb. They grow in clusters of more than ten flowers upon the trunk.

Although edible, they are not pleasant in taste. According to fascicle 8 of Huilin’s Sounds and Meanings, this flower appears in response to an extraordinary auspicious omen; it is a celestial flower not found in the ordinary world. When a Tathagata is born, the power of his great merit and virtue causes this flower to appear.

Because this flower is rare and difficult to encounter, Buddhist sutras frequently use it as a metaphor for the difficulty of encountering a Buddha’s appearance in the world.

Instructions to a Three-Year Buddha-Recitation Assembly

Those who wish to participate in a period of Buddha-recitation and ensure that their practice is not in vain should arouse three kinds of resolve as skillful means:

1. Arouse the resolve to cherish time:

Although the agreed period is three years, it is not much time. The ancients compared it to suffering successive days of malarial fever: after three bouts of alternating chills and heat, when the appointed time arrives, one’s life ends.

During this period, if you do not diligently urge your body and mind onward and make use of every second and every minute, you will regard these three years as a long time. If you regard them as long, you will let the months and years drift away, allow your mind to become confused, and readily give rise to weariness and discouragement; then your practice of pure karma will not be accomplished. How truly regrettable this would be!

Moreover, life endures only from one breath to the next. Who can guarantee three years? Even if you survive those three years, how could your life be preserved indefinitely? It is said that we are like prisoners proceeding to the execution ground, or sheep going to the slaughterhouse—with every step, death draws nearer!

You must concentrate day and night, entirely forgetting heat and cold, never allowing a single recitation of the Buddha’s name to cease. If you can practice in this way, then even without Amitabha Buddha coming to receive and guide you to the Pure Land, you will certainly attain rebirth there.

All who practice together with me should take care not to be diligent at first and lax afterward. You must regard the three years as no more than a single day, passing as swiftly as the blink of an eye.

2. Arouse the resolve to seek only liberation:

During these three years of practice, not only should you

seek no worldly blessings or rewards, you should also seek absolutely no merit, wisdom, eloquence, or knowledge. Nor should you seek to become a monastic life after life in order to propagate and cause the Buddhadharma to flourish. Vow only that, at the end of your life, you will attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss and escape the suffering of samsara.

This vow must be present in every second and every moment. It is like a person who has fallen into a dry well a thousand feet deep and learns the fox’s secret method: fixing his gaze intently upon the mouth of the well, he desires single-mindedly to escape. Although he continues to gaze in this way, the mouth of the well does not grow larger, nor does his body become smaller, yet he naturally flies out.

Buddha-recitation is the same: concentrate your mind upon the Buddha and single-mindedly seek rebirth. When your recitation becomes utterly earnest, then in reality the Buddha does not come and you do not go, yet you naturally attain rebirth.

Upon attaining this single aspiration, one sees the Buddha and hears the Dharma, severs delusion and realizes the fruit, without relying on expedient means; naturally, the mind opens and awakens. Hundreds of thousands of samadhis immediately manifest before one, and great vows as numerous as motes of dust, beyond all telling, are simultaneously fulfilled. What matters here is firm faith, strenuous practice, and single-minded dedication; only then can success be attained.

3. Resolve to live harmoniously and observe the regulations:

Since there are not many members of the assembly in the Sangha quarters, living together from morning to night, they may be called good spiritual friends practicing in fellowship. Each person should guard body and speech, remain humble and harmonious, refine one another, and serve as models for one another.

During these three years, regard yourselves as being in closed retreat and confined to the monastery grounds. Take the monastery precincts as your boundary and do not go outside. Even if relatives or friends meet with illness or death, you must not make an exception and leave, thereby opening the way for others to follow your example. Still less may anyone indulge in negligence or be absent from the daily practice sessions without permission. The sole exception is when illness makes eating and drinking impossible; yet whether sitting or lying down, one must still silently recite the Buddha’s name. Indeed, during illness, one should practice with even greater urgency.

Outside the daily practice sessions, whenever there is spare time,

you must examine yourselves and not let body and mind pass the time in heedlessness. Do not engage in frivolous conversation or indulge in unrestrained joking and play, thereby leading yourselves astray and hindering others as well.

Do not read non-Buddhist books or chant and compose poetry and verses. Such activities not only waste time but also betray the generosity of donors and faithful benefactors.

In the Sangha hall, take turns appointing one person as duty supervisor, changing every five days and handing over the duty tablet. If anyone fails to observe the regulations or acts contrary to the Dharma, the duty supervisor should admonish that person immediately.

It is best if the person accepts the first admonition. If, after being admonished three times, that person still refuses to listen, the matter should be reported to the assembly for disciplinary action. If the duty supervisor, swayed by personal feelings, conceals the matter, neither intervenes nor reports it, an appropriate penalty should be imposed according to the circumstances. If all venerable practitioners discipline and respect themselves, and everyone practices diligently without heedlessness, the regulations will become unnecessary. That would be best of all.

Strive diligently!

Strive diligently!

Instructions for a Seven-Day Buddha-Recitation Assembly

During seven days of reciting the Name, what matters is single-mindedness without distraction, interruption, or admixture. Rapid or abundant recitation is not necessarily better. Simply recite neither too slowly nor too urgently, silently maintaining the Name so that each invocation of the Buddha is clear and distinct within the mind. Whether walking, standing, lying down, or sitting; whether eating or dressing, one should keep the august Name continuous and unbroken, like the breath. When there is neither distraction nor torpor, recitation of the Name in this way is called “single-minded diligence at the phenomenal level.”

A genuine practitioner of the Way can directly investigate and realize that “all dharmas are thus, without dual characteristics.” This means:

– Sentient beings and the Buddha are nondual.

– Self and others are nondual. Because self and others are nondual, the dependent and primary recompenses are nondual.

– Defilement and purity are nondual.

– Suffering and happiness are nondual.

– Attraction and aversion are nondual.

– Grasping and relinquishing are nondual.

– Bodhi and afflictions are nondual.

– Samsara and nirvana are nondual.

All such opposing dharmas share the same characteristic and the same pure essence. There is no need to arrange them by force; one should simply investigate them personally in accordance with ultimate truth. When this investigation reaches its utmost point, one suddenly accords with one’s own original mind.

Only then does one know that dressing and eating are entirely samadhi, while laughter, jesting, anger, and scolding are wholly Buddha-work. At that time, discussions of a single-minded or distracted mind ultimately become useless words. Throughout the twenty-four hours of day and night, not the slightest mark of difference can be found.

Although one recites with utmost sincerity, it is no different from casually opening one’s mouth to berate someone. Although one diligently cultivates and maintains the practice, it is still an austerity performed within a dream. Only one who comprehends this is a genuine practitioner of the Way.

Recitation of the Name in this manner is called “single-minded diligence at the principial level.”

Single-mindedness at the phenomenal level seems difficult, yet is easy.

Single-mindedness at the principial level seems easy, yet is difficult.

If one attains only phenomenal single-mindedness, one will assuredly attain rebirth in the Pure Land. If one also attains principial single-mindedness, one can certainly ascend to the highest grade. Yet both kinds of single-mindedness are practices that ordinary beings can undertake; anyone with a mind can cultivate and learn them.

I universally exhort all monastic and lay members of the Lotus Society: never relegate the lofty realm of the sages to an exalted distance while resigning yourselves to being inferior.

Each person must spur on body and mind—for the immediate term, throughout these seven days; for the longer term, throughout an entire lifetime. If you believe in this way and constantly practice in this way, then even if you do not realize the fruit, the seed of the lotus will be strong. When, in the future, you entrust your form to the Lotus Pool, you certainly will not belong to the middle or lower grades. But if, once the seven days have passed, you again abandon yourselves and do not strive earnestly in the work of Buddha-recitation, your afflictions will remain just as before, difficult to subdue. Ultimately, you will be unable to attain maturity in the practice, and the habitual forces of ignorance and karma will lead, bind, and fetter you.

If you wish only to accomplish the work within seven days, yet during those seven days never attain single-mindedness without distraction, then you truly possess few roots of goodness, merits, virtues, causes, and conditions. How could you hope for rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss? This even causes the true words from the Buddha’s golden mouth to be doubted as deception. Whose fault is that? We are all members of the seven pure assemblies.^[1] May each person examine themselves, take warning, and strive diligently!

Notes:

^[1] The seven assemblies comprise five monastic assemblies and two lay assemblies. The five monastic assemblies are bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, sikshamanas, shramaneras, and shramanerikas; the two lay assemblies are upasakas and upasikas.

Choosing a Dharma Gate

Among the immeasurable Dharma gates, the World-Honored One especially taught an extraordinary and supreme expedient means: mindfulness of the Buddha and aspiration for rebirth in the Pure Land.

Yet the practice of mindfulness of the Buddha itself contains many approaches, which in brief do not go beyond four kinds:

1. Mindfulness of the Buddha of True Suchness: that is, the principle and nature of original awakening, as clearly explained in the Mahasamnipata Sutra.

2. Mindfulness of the Buddha’s Dharma gates: that is, the many kinds of samadhi, as clearly explained in the Mahayana sutras.

3. Mindfulness of the Buddha’s marks and excellent characteristics: that is, the supreme and lesser characteristics of his physical form, as clearly explained in the Sutra on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Infinite Life.

Although these three methods of mindfulness of the Buddha are supreme, they are not extraordinary expedient means. This is because one must thoroughly comprehend both phenomena and principle and deeply penetrate the realm of contemplation. They are difficult even for those of superior wisdom and entirely beyond the capacity of those with dull faculties.

4. Mindfulness of the Buddha’s Name: that is, single-mindedly maintaining the Name, as clearly explained in the shorter Amitabha Sutra. This Dharma gate alone relies upon the supreme power of the Buddha’s vows. Regardless of whether one possesses wisdom, and regardless of whether one’s faculties are superior, middling, or inferior, if one simply holds fast to the Name with single-mindedness and without distraction for seven days, or even for one day, this itself constitutes abundant roots of goodness, merits, virtues, causes, and conditions. One will then be welcomed and guided by Amitabha Buddha and the assembly of sages and will be mindfully protected by all Buddhas throughout the ten directions.

That Buddha originally made this vow: “If sentient beings who wish to be born in my land have wholehearted faith and joyful aspiration, and sincerely recite my Name even ten times, yet fail to attain rebirth there, may I not attain Perfect Enlightenment.”

This is an inconceivable and extraordinary expedient means. Precisely because it is extraordinary, it is supreme.

There are also four kinds of Pure Land:

1. The Land of Eternally Quiescent Light: the dwelling place of sages who have reached the ultimate fruition. Only those who have completely severed the delusion of ignorance^[1] can be born there.

2. The Land of Unobstructed True Reward: This is the dwelling place of bodhisattvas who have reached the stages of abiding in the Separate Teaching, the Perfect Teaching, and above. Only after eliminating the delusions innumerable as dust and sand^[2] can they be born there.

3. The Land of Expedient Means with Remainder: This is the dwelling place

of saints who have attained the Four Fruits^[3], bodhisattvas of the Three Worthy Stages in the Separate Teaching, and bodhisattvas of the Ten Faiths in the Perfect Teaching. Only after eliminating the delusions of views and thought^[4] can they be born there.

Although these three kinds of Pure Land are supremely excellent, they are not extraordinary expedient means. This is because one must eliminate delusive afflictions before being born there; thus, they are the same as transcending the three realms vertically.

4. The Land Where Ordinary Beings and Saints Dwell Together: This is where provisional and true saints and worthies dwell together with ordinary beings. Only in this Pure Land, through the Buddhas’ power of acceptance and guidance, is it unnecessary to eliminate delusive afflictions; one may attain rebirth there while still carrying karma.

One needs only faith and vows to lead the way ahead. Through the mutual communion of stimulus and response, karmic obstacles gradually become lighter, and one escapes the suffering of samsara. Moreover, within this very Land of Peace and Bliss where ordinary beings and saints dwell together, one can conveniently advance directly to the Lands of Expedient Means, True Reward, and Tranquil Light. Therefore, the wise can swiftly attain the purity of all four lands, while even the foolish can transcend the three realms horizontally, without the trouble of cultivating the nine successive concentrations^[5] and without waiting until three asamkhyas^[6] have passed before attaining realization.

This is an inconceivably extraordinary expedient means; precisely because it is extraordinary, it is supremely excellent.

Regarding this especially extraordinary and supreme Dharma-gate, long ago in distant India, Buddha Shakyamuni earnestly exhorted and instructed us. Tathagatas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges all manifested the sign of their broad, long tongues and praised it throughout the lands of the ten directions. Could they possibly be deceiving us?

Nagarjuna’s Vibhasha Treatise^[7] states: “The Buddha-Dharma has immeasurable gates, just as the roads of the world include those that are difficult and those that are easy. Traveling on foot is difficult, while riding in a boat or raft is easy. Those who wish to travel easily and arrive swiftly should be mindful of the Buddha and should recite the name of Amitabha Buddha; then they will swiftly attain unsurpassed, true, perfect enlightenment.”

The Treatise on Ten Doubts^[8] by Great Master Zhizhe states: “In the age of the five turbidities^[9], it is extremely difficult to seek the stage of non-retrogression. It is like a lame person traveling on foot, unable to cover more than a few miles in a day. If one has faith in the Buddha-Recitation Samadhi and relies upon that Buddha’s power of vows to gather in and sustain one, one will certainly attain rebirth, just as one who boards a boat and meets a favorable wind travels more than a thousand miles in but a moment.

It is also like a lowly person who accompanies a Wheel-Turning King^[10] and, in a single day and night, travels throughout the four continents. This is not accomplished through one’s own power, but through the power of the Wheel-Turning King, just as one rides in a carriage in the world.”

Many practitioners of the Chan teaching that directly points to the mind attack the Western Pure Land, saying that this Dharma-gate is intended solely to gather in those of dull faculties and inferior capacities. They say that if one can leap directly into the state of Buddhahood, why rely upon other-power? Yet they fail to consider that Bodhisattvas Manjushri and Samantabhadra, Ashvaghosha and Nagarjuna, as well as Chan Masters Zhizhe and Zhijue in this land, all vowed to attain rebirth there. Were all these venerable ones of dull faculties?

At the Treasure Accumulation Assembly, the World-Honored One urged his father, King Shuddhodana, and sixty thousand members of the Shakya clan to vow to be born in the Pure Land. Were they all people of inferior capacity?

Through this Pure Land Dharma-gate, without relying on expedient means, one naturally awakens to the mind-nature. How could there be such a direct path! As soon as one is born within the lotus womb, one immediately ascends to the stage of non-retrogression^[11]. Why should this be regarded as a trifling matter?

Even one who had awakened to the essential teaching of mind, such as Master Guishan, still said in the Admonitions: “If, life after life, one does not regress, one can accomplish the fruit of Buddhahood.” The relative difficulty and ease, speed and slowness, are plainly evident and may readily be understood.

Yet students in the world either doubt, disparage, and belittle the Pure Land Dharma-gate, or dislike speaking about it. Such people are truly gravely mistaken!

Notes:

^[1] Delusion of ignorance: the root delusion that obscures the true nature and is the basis of all afflictions. Only bodhisattvas can clearly discern and completely eliminate this delusion of ignorance; therefore, it is also called the distinctive delusion.

^[2] Delusions innumerable as dust and sand: dust and sand are used as an analogy for the countless delusions in the minds of ordinary beings. Therefore, bodhisattvas must study Buddha-Dharmas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges before they can destroy these delusions.

^[3] The Four Fruits: the four stages of attainment realized by shravakas of the Lesser Vehicle. In successive order, they are: 1. Stream-Enterer; 2. Once-Returner; 3. Non-Returner; and 4. Arhat.

^[4] Delusions of views and thought: these comprise delusions of views and delusions of thought. Erroneous views, knowledge, and perceptions that contradict the true Dharma are called delusions of views; erroneous thoughts, judgments, and conclusions that do not accord with the true Dharma are called delusions of thought.

^[5] The nine successive concentrations: the four dhyanas, the four formless concentrations, and the concentration of cessation. These are nine kinds of meditative concentration into which no other mental state is intermingled, each concentration being entered successively in order.

^[6] Asamkhya: an Indian numerical unit denoting an exceedingly vast, incalculable number. According to one method of calculation, one asamkhya consists of a thousand myriads of myriads of myriads… of millions.

^[7] The Vibhasha Treatise: comprising fourteen fascicles, composed by Shidapanni and translated by Sanghabhadra during the Former Qin dynasty. It is included in volume 28 of the Taisho Tripitaka. The treatise extensively explains the characteristics of the dharmas taught by the Sarvastivada school.

^[8] The Treatise on Ten Doubts: a single-fascicle work composed during the Sui dynasty and included in volume 47 of the Taisho Tripitaka.

Based on the Dharma-gate of rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land, the work presents ten questions and then answers them in sequence.

^[9] The five turbidities: five kinds of defilement that arise during the declining kalpa.

According to fascicle 5 of the Compassionate Flower Sutra and fascicle 98 of the Forest of Pearls in the Dharma Garden, the five turbidities are:

1. The turbidity of the kalpa (Kalpakasaya): during the declining kalpa, when the human lifespan decreases to thirty years, the calamity of famine occurs; when it decreases to twenty years, the calamity of disease occurs; and when it decreases to ten years, the calamity of warfare occurs, harming all beings in the world.

2. The turbidity of views (Drstikasaya): the true Dharma has disappeared, the semblance Dharma gradually arises, and false teachings begin to emerge. Wrong views flourish, causing people not to cultivate wholesome Dharma.

3. The turbidity of afflictions (Klesakasaya): beings are filled with sensual desire, greed, and stinginess; they delight in contention, flattery, and deceit, and embrace false teachings, causing their minds to become troubled and confused.

4. The turbidity of sentient beings (Sattvakasaya, also called the turbidity of living beings): most beings are wicked. They are neither filial nor respectful toward their parents and elders; they do not fear evil karmic retribution, do not create merit, do not practice charitable giving, and do not observe the fasting precepts.

5. The turbidity of lifespan (Ayakasaya, also called the turbidity of longevity): in ancient times, people lived for eighty thousand years. In the present age, because evil karma has increased, lifespans have gradually diminished, and those who live to one hundred are extremely rare.

^[10] Wheel-Turning King: a king who causes the true Dharma to prevail in the world and rules the four continents surrounding Mount Sumeru. The realm under his rule is prosperous and beautiful, and its people live in peace and happiness. The king travels in a precious carriage and possesses all seven treasures: the wheel, elephant, horse, luminous jewel, precious woman, householder, and army, as well as four virtues: longevity, freedom from illness, handsome appearance, and abundant treasure.

^[11] Non-retrogression: the state of never falling back in one’s cultivation until Buddhahood is attained.

A Brief Presentation of the Nine Grades

The Pure Land teaching, although it broadly embraces beings of every capacity and enables them all to attain the stage of non-retrogression, nevertheless differs vastly—as far apart as heaven and abyss—with regard to whether one sees the Buddha sooner or later, hears the Mahayana or Hinayana Dharma, and realizes the fruit or receives a prediction of buddhahood sooner or later.

The Sutra of Infinite Life divides aspirants into three classes, but this is not as detailed as the Contemplation Sutra of the Buddha of Infinite Life, which divides them into nine grades. Generally speaking:

– The highest grade takes understanding and awakening as its foundation.

– The middle grade takes observance of the precepts and the practice of goodness as its foundation.

– The lowest grade consists of those who are wholly evil and devoid of goodness, but who, at the time of death, encounter a good spiritual friend and, in a single thought, give rise to faith, eradicate their transgressions, and attain rebirth.

This will now be analyzed clearly:

1. Rebirth in the Highest Level of the Highest Grade:

Those who read and recite the Mahayana scriptures, thoroughly comprehend both the essential principle of mind-nature and the doctrinal teachings, and cultivate the six recollections^[1], whose understanding and practice accord with each other, attain rebirth in the time it takes to snap one’s fingers. They see the Buddha, hear the Dharma, and awaken to the principle of the patience of the non-arising of dharmas.^[2] In an instant, they travel throughout the ten directions to attend and serve all Buddhas, and personally receive a prediction of buddhahood.

Among monastics, masters such as Huiyuan and Zhiyi, and among laypeople, persons such as Liu Yimin and Yang Wuwei,^[3] deserve to be included in this grade.

2. Rebirth in the Middle Level of the Highest Grade:

Although these persons have not yet read and recited the Mahayana scriptures, they are able to understand the Ultimate Meaning.^[4] Thus, they themselves have also gained awakening and entry, but their practice and realization do not equal those of the highest level of the highest grade. Therefore, after one night, the lotus blossoms and they see the Buddha. Because of their cultivation from previous lives, every sound they hear everywhere expounds the profound truth of the Ultimate Meaning.

After seven days, they attain non-retrogression from the path to unsurpassed, true awakening. Thereafter, they cultivate the various samadhis of right concentration and, after one minor kalpa,^[5] realize the principle of non-arising and non-ceasing—the patience of the non-arising of dharmas.

3. Rebirth in the Lowest Level of the Highest Grade:

Although these persons have not yet gained awakening and entry, they have nevertheless aroused the resolve for the unsurpassed path and wish personally to perceive their intrinsic nature clearly. Because they have ultimately not yet fulfilled this aspiration, they seek rebirth in the Pure Land.

After seven days, they see the Buddha, but only after twenty-one days do they hear the wondrous Dharma. After three minor kalpas, they enter the Ground of Joy.^[6]

4. Rebirth in the Highest Level of the Middle Grade:

Laymen and laywomen who possess pure faith, observe the precepts, and seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land see the Buddha at the time of death and attain rebirth. Their lotus blossoms immediately, and upon hearing the teaching of the Four Noble Truths,^[7] they instantly attain the fruit of arhatship.^[8]

Because of the power of their diligent and pure observance of the precepts, their lotuses blossom and they attain the fruit very swiftly. Because they have not yet aroused the resolve for the unsurpassed path, they hear only the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths and attain merely the lesser fruit.

5. Rebirth in the Middle Level of the Middle Grade:

Men and women who have entered monastic life, observe the precepts, and seek rebirth—keeping the novice precepts or the bhikshu precepts for one day and one night—attain rebirth despite the very short duration of their observance, in order to reveal the excellence of the Dharma of the precepts. How much more so is this true of those who observe the precepts for a long time!

Nevertheless, monastics whose observance of the precepts is diligent and pure are reborn in the highest level of the middle grade. Laypeople who temporarily observe the fasting precepts for a short period are also reborn in the middle level of the middle grade; thus, these classifications may overlap.

At the time of death, they see the Buddha and attain rebirth. After seven days, their lotuses blossom; they see the Buddha, hear the Dharma, and attain the fruit of stream-entry.^[9] Thereafter, after half a kalpa, they attain the fruit of arhatship.

6. Rebirth in the Lowest Level of the Middle Grade:

These, too, are laymen and laywomen who have not ordinarily taken refuge in the Three Jewels but who possess loving-kindness and filial devotion and advance along the path of virtue. When they are about to die, they encounter a good spiritual friend who instructs and guides them, whereupon they attain rebirth.

After seven days, they see the two great bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta. Upon hearing the Dharma, they attain the fruit of stream-entry, and after ten minor kalpas, they become arhats.

7. Rebirth in the Highest Level of the Lowest Grade:

These are evil laypeople who, when about to die, encounter a good spiritual friend who teaches them to recite the Buddha’s name. Their transgressions are eradicated, and they attain rebirth.

After seven days, their lotuses blossom and they see the two Great Beings. Upon hearing them expound the profound twelve divisions of the scriptures,^[10] they arouse the resolve for the unsurpassed path and, after ten minor kalpas, enter the First Ground.

8. Rebirth in the Middle Level of the Lowest Grade:

These are evil monastics who have violated the precepts and who, at the time of death, encounter a good spiritual friend who praises the Buddha and expounds the Dharma for them to hear. In a single thought, they attain rebirth.

After six kalpas, their lotuses blossom and they see the two Great Beings. Upon hearing the profound Mahayana scriptures, they arouse the resolve for the unsurpassed path.

9. Rebirth in the Lowest Level of the Lowest Grade:

These are extremely evil persons, including both monastics and laypeople, who have committed the five rebellious offenses^[11] and the ten evil karmas.^[12] When they are about to die, they encounter a good spiritual friend who teaches them to recite the Buddha’s name. Upon completing ten recitations, they attain rebirth. After twelve kalpas, their lotuses blossom; they hear the two Great Beings explain the True Characteristic of all dharmas and immediately arouse the bodhicitta.

For the latter two grades, the length of time required to enter the First Ground is not stated. Likewise, those in the highest level of the lowest grade arouse the resolve for the unsurpassed path only after ten minor kalpas.

Although those of the three middle grades seek rebirth by observing the precepts and practicing goodness, their resolve to deliver themselves is firm while their practice of delivering others is deficient. Therefore, although they ultimately attain the Mahayana, they must provisionally ascend through the lesser fruits.

Although those of the three lowest grades are extremely evil ordinary beings, because they hear the two Great Beings expound the profound Dharma, they are immediately able to arouse the unsurpassed resolve. Although they pass through many kalpas, they enter directly into the stage of the noble ones.

Thus, whether a single thought is vast or narrow determines whether one swiftly transcends the lesser fruits of the provisional vehicle; diligent cultivation in a single lifetime can far surpass many kalpas. Those who arouse the resolve and strive in cultivation should carefully examine what they are practicing, with respect to the length or brevity of time and the size of the lotus embryo.

Those who seek rebirth after awakening avail themselves of the favorable conditions of the Land of Ultimate Bliss, where it is easy to sever afflictions and habitual tendencies, easy to cultivate samadhi, and swift to perfect the power of patient endurance in order to deliver sentient beings. Those who seek rebirth before awakening can easily see their nature because they draw near to Amitabha Buddha. Master Yongming said, “Once you see Amitabha Buddha, why worry that you will not attain awakening?” This is precisely what he meant.

Of the two approaches, Chan and Pure Land, one should practice each exclusively, without needing to cultivate both together. However, if one entertains distinctions between this and that, one has not penetrated the Buddha’s intent. Those who practice Chan, whether awakened or not, are all reborn in the highest grade when they attain rebirth. Those who practice Pure Land, even if they have committed the five rebellious offenses and the ten evil karmas, may still be included in the lowest level of the lowest grade if they know to repent, provided that they have not slandered the Mahayana. Thus, those who slander it cannot attain rebirth; this should be understood.

Those who first awaken and afterward vow to attain rebirth are like a great sail meeting a favorable wind. Those who recite the Buddha’s name while disparaging Chan are like people who plant spoiled seeds in fertile soil. The signs of superiority and inferiority, and the crucial consequences of gain and loss, must be clearly distinguished.

Notes:

^[1] The six recollections: recollection of the Buddha, recollection of the Dharma, recollection of the Sangha, recollection of the precepts, recollection of generosity, and recollection of devas. According to the Nirvana Sutra, the term “deva” has three categories:

1. Devas by birth: the devas within the three realms.

2. Pure devas: all noble and holy beings of the three vehicles.

3. Devas of the Ultimate Meaning: nirvana itself.

^[2] Patience of the non-arising of dharmas: contemplating the principle that all dharmas neither arise nor cease, thoroughly realizing that principle, and abiding with the mind unmoving.

^[3] Yang Wuwei: A man of the Song dynasty from Wuwei Prefecture, styled Wuweizi. In his youth, he passed the imperial examination and served as Vice Director in the Bureau of Receptions of the Ministry of Rites and as Judicial Commissioner of the Two Zhejiang Circuits. He revered the Buddha-Dharma and awakened to the Chan school.

He said: “The faculties of sentient beings may be keen or dull, but the only Dharma-gate that is easy to understand and easy to cultivate is the Pure Land Dharma-gate.” He once wrote prefaces for the Treatise on Ten Doubts Concerning the Pure Land and the Collection Resolving Doubts Concerning the Pure Land, thereby promoting the Dharma-gate of Buddha-recitation. In his old age, he had an image of Amitabha Buddha made, sixteen feet in height, and always carried it with him as an object of offering.

He perceived Amitabha Buddha coming to welcome and guide him, then passed away while sitting upright.

^[4] Ultimate truth: It is called foremost because it is the most ultimate reality. This is what the wisdom of the sages realizes for itself—a realm in which all dualities are utterly transcended, language is left behind, and all thought and deliberation cease entirely.

^[5] Minor kalpa: An extremely long period of time. The Sutra of the Bodhisattva’s Diadem and Fundamental Activities says: “Suppose there were a square block of stone forty li on each side. Once every three years, a long-lived celestial being would fly down and brush it with an exceedingly fine celestial garment. When the stone had finally been worn away completely, that would be called one minor kalpa.”

^[6] Ground of Joy: Also called the First Ground, it is the first of the ten grounds. Having newly realized and entered the nature of equality and just attained awakening, one experiences immense joy; therefore, it is called the Ground of Joy.

^[7] Four Noble Truths: The four truths of suffering, the cause of suffering, the state in which suffering has ceased, and the path leading to that state.

^[8] Arhat: A sage who has completely eliminated the delusions of views and thought within the three realms, attained the knowledge of exhaustion, and is worthy to receive all offerings from the world; this is one of the four fruits of the shravaka path. The term has three meanings: slayer of the enemy, worthy of offerings, and not subject to further birth.

^[9] Stream-enterer: The first of the four noble fruits of the shravaka vehicle.

^[10] The twelve divisions of scripture: Twelve categories of scriptures distinguished according to their mode of presentation and the content of their teachings.

1. Sutra (Sūtra): Extended prose; that is, prose passages directly recording the Buddha’s teachings.

2. Corresponding verses (Geya): Reiterative verses; that is, verses that restate and explain teachings previously given in the sutra prose.

3. Prophecies (Vyākaraṇa): Also called predictions of attainment. Originally, these were passages explaining the meaning of the teachings; in later usage, the term referred particularly to the Buddha’s prior confirmation of what his disciples would accomplish in the future.

4. Independent verses (Gāthā): Also called spontaneously arising verses; that is, independent verses directly recording the Buddha’s teachings without repeating the meaning of preceding prose passages.

5. Spontaneous discourses (Udāna): Teachings that the Buddha expounded on his own initiative without waiting for anyone to request the Dharma.

6. Causes and conditions (Nidāna): Records of the causes and conditions under which the Buddha taught the Dharma and transformed beings, such as the introductory chapters of sutras.

7. Parables (Avadāna): The use of parables to explain the meaning of the Dharma.

8. Accounts of past events (Itivṛttaka): Scriptures recounting the conduct of the Buddha and his disciples in past lives, apart from the Jataka tales. Sutras beginning with the words, “Thus the Buddha spoke,” also belong to this category.

9. Birth stories (Jātaka): Scriptures recounting the practices cultivated by the Buddha in his past lives.

10. Extensive teachings (Vaipulya): Scriptures expounding vast and profound meanings of the teachings.

11. Marvelous events (Adbhuta-dharma): Also called unprecedented teachings, recounting rare and wondrous deeds of the Buddha and his disciples.

12. Expositions (Upadeśa): Discourses in which the Buddha analyzes and distinguishes the essential nature of all dharmas, thereby illuminating their meaning.

These twelve categories are found in both the Mahayana and the Hinayana. Some scriptures, however, hold that the extensive teachings are found only in the Mahayana; others maintain that, apart from prophecies, spontaneous discourses, and extensive teachings, the remaining nine divisions all belong to the Hinayana. Another view holds that, apart from causes and conditions, parables, and expositions, the remaining nine divisions all belong to the Mahayana. Some say that the nine divisions of scripture exclude parables, birth stories, and expositions, while others say they exclude spontaneous discourses, parables, and expositions.

^[11] Five heinous offenses: Also called the five rebellious offenses. These are five extremely evil offenses that violate moral principle. According to the Hinayana teaching, the five heinous offenses are: 1. Killing one’s mother (Mātṛghāta); 2. Killing one’s father (Pitṛghāta); 3. Killing an arhat (Arhadghāta); 4. Maliciously causing a Buddha’s body to bleed (Tathāgatasyāntike duṣṭacitta-rudhirotpādana); and 5. Creating a schism in the harmonious Sangha (saṃghabheda). The first two offenses destroy the field of gratitude, while the last three damage the field of merit. Those who commit these five offenses will fall into the Hell of the Five Uninterrupted Torments.

^[12] Ten evil karmas: Killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, divisive speech (words that create discord and cause disruption), harsh speech (crude and malicious words), frivolous speech (meaningless words or speech arising from a defiled mind), covetousness (craving, grasping, and miserliness), anger, and wrong views (that is, delusion).

Instructions to Layman Xia Ziyi

The Sutra of Infinite Life says: “Practicing for one day and one night in the Saha world surpasses performing good deeds for a hundred years in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.”

This is because it is difficult to advance in cultivation in this realm, whereas it is easy to accomplish meritorious practices in that realm. According to this principle, practicing for one day amid the dust and turmoil of worldly life surpasses practicing for hundreds or thousands of days in a secluded, pure monastery deep in the mountains. Of this there can truly be no doubt!

Therefore, the capital may still be visited and the world of red dust may still be entered. What matters is that the pure vow must never be forgotten and pure practice must never be neglected.

Alas!

How could the dust and turmoil of the world ever defile a person? I fear only that people themselves become attached to and defiled by the world’s dust and turmoil!

Layman, your roots of goodness are deep and abundant, and your faith is focused and earnest. You have long understood that “being selected for official rank cannot compare with being selected to become a Buddha.” Serving as an official is originally nothing more than an unavoidable necessity, but when the examination hall for selecting Buddhas opens, you may enter it.

Whether in a pure monastery deep in the mountains or amid the dust and turmoil of worldly life, you need only let your aspiration serve as the guide pointing out the true direction ahead. If you firmly uphold your resolve, then although you spend the entire day amid the dust and turmoil of worldly life, how would that differ from dwelling peacefully at home? Chang’an and this very place are not separated by even a mote of dust. Let this body brave heat and cold, travel through prefectures and counties, compose literary works, and sit astride a horse—every place is a place of practice, and every moment is the work of the Buddha.

When the pure vow and pure practice are constantly present, you will naturally reach the Pure Land, behold Amitabha face to face, join the ranks of the Nine Grades, and advance through the Ten Abodes^[1], the Ten Practices^[2], the Ten Dedications of Merit^[3], and the Ten Grounds^[4]. When the Buddhas of the ten directions cease their work of teaching and transformation, you will then manifest divided bodies as a bodhisattva in the position of succession, issue commands, govern humans and celestial beings throughout the nine Dharma realms, and harmonize and mature disciples through the seven expedient means^[5].

To be selected for official rank and to be selected to become a Buddha in this manner—is this not truly the conduct of a great person? Yet speaking is easy and practice is difficult. Practicing in a pure monastery deep in the mountains is easy, whereas practicing amid the dust and turmoil of worldly life is difficult.

I hope, Layman, that you will accomplish this difficult task; in the future, you will surely attain a great achievement. Exert yourself in the thoughts of your mind at this very moment.

Time passes swiftly, and old age and decline draw nearer with each day. As you journey back and forth along the long road, do not waste your time. Apart from your prescribed periods of practice, whenever you have spare time, you should only recite the Buddha’s name more. Other Dharma methods, such as the Shurangama Mantra and the Great Compassion Dharani, are all of no great importance.

Notes:

^[1] Ten Abodes: the ten abodes in the course of a bodhisattva’s cultivation, namely, the eleventh through the twentieth among the fifty-two stages of the bodhisattva path. They are: 1. Abode of the Initial Awakening of the Mind; 2. Abode of Preparing the Ground; 3. Abode of Cultivation; 4. Abode of Noble Birth; 5. Abode of Perfecting Skillful Means; 6. Abode of the Right Mind; 7. Abode of Non-Retrogression; 8. Abode of the True Child; 9. Abode of the Dharma Prince; and 10. Abode of Anointment.

^[2] Ten Practices: the ten practices for benefiting others that bodhisattvas from the twenty-first through the thirtieth stages must cultivate. They are: 1. Practice of Joy; 2. Practice of Benefiting Others; 3. Practice Free from Anger; 4. Inexhaustible Practice; 5. Practice Free from Delusion and Confusion; 6. Practice of Skillful Manifestation; 7. Practice of Non-Attachment; 8. Practice of Reverence; 9. Practice of Wholesome Dharma; and 10. Practice of Truth.

^[3] Ten Dedications of Merit: the ten stages from the thirty-first through the fortieth among the fifty-two stages of the bodhisattva’s cultivation. They are: 1. Dedication of Saving and Protecting All Sentient Beings While Transcending the Characteristics of Sentient Beings; 2. Indestructible Dedication; 3. Dedication Equal to All Buddhas; 4. Dedication Reaching All Places; 5. Dedication of the Treasury of Inexhaustible Merit; 6. Dedication Accordant with Impartial Roots of Goodness; 7. Dedication Accordant with Equanimously Contemplating All Sentient Beings; 8. Dedication of the Characteristic of Suchness; 9. Dedication of Unbound and Unattached Liberation; and 10. Dedication of the Immeasurable Dharma Realm.

^[4] Ten Bhūmis: ten stages in the course of cultivation undertaken by disciples of the Buddha. Bhūmi, in Sanskrit, means an abiding place, a place of residence, and that which engenders. That is, one abides at that stage and takes it as one’s home, while preserving the Dharma, nurturing the Dharma, and causing its fruit to arise. The term “Ten Bhūmis” is set forth in the sutras and treatises.

Avataṃsaka Sutra, fascicle 23 in the old translation and fascicle 34 in the new translation. They are: 1. Bhūmi of Great Joy; 2. Bhūmi of Stainlessness; 3. Bhūmi of Illumination; 4. Bhūmi of Blazing Wisdom; 5. Bhūmi Difficult to Conquer; 6. Bhūmi of Manifest Presence; 7. Far-Going Bhūmi; 8. Immovable Bhūmi; 9. Bhūmi of Excellent Wisdom; and 10. Dharma-Cloud Bhūmi.

^[5] Seven Expedient Teachings: comprising the Human Vehicle, Deva Vehicle, Śrāvaka Vehicle, Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and the Bodhisattva Vehicle as taught in the Tripiṭaka Teaching, the Shared Teaching, and the Distinct Teaching.

Instruction to Layman Đinh Canh Dã

In former times, Venerable Tịch Thất said: “People who wish to cultivate Pure Land karma should not say, ‘I am busy; let me wait until I have leisure,’ or ‘Today I am poor and destitute; let me wait until I am wealthy,’ or ‘Today I am still young; let me wait until I am old.’ If one’s lot is always to be busy and poor and to die young, then one will have no opportunity to cultivate Pure Land karma. Should death suddenly come, even though one regrets it, how could there still be time? It would be better to exert oneself in cultivation while the body is healthy.”

These words are indeed of the utmost reason!

Yet at present, few people believe in and delight in the Pure Land. Even when they are able to believe deeply, they keep procrastinating until their entire lives gradually pass away. Most people are like this.

Layman, your disposition is honest, generous, careful, and steadfast. Though you had not known me for long, you were immediately able to awaken to impermanence, adopt lifelong vegetarianism, and serve the Buddha. Thus, you must already have formed affinities in a former life.

Your family owns no real property, and its livelihood depends each year upon the harvest. Since your household owns no real property, it is clear that your means are not abundant. Since you hold an official post, you have no leisure; and since you are fifty years old, you know that you have not yet reached decrepit old age.

All at once, you took leave of your home, declined to receive disciples, undertook to observe fully the upāsaka precepts, and shut your door for an entire year to cultivate Pure Land karma single-mindedly. At first, you did not even concern yourself with such necessities as firewood and water. If you were not a vigorous man of great resolve, how could you have done this?

Moreover, the small and narrow room in which the Buddha image

and scriptures have been placed is already half occupied. Dwelling within it, secluded from clamor and applying yourself single-mindedly to cultivation, you are no different from someone living in a spacious house during summer, feeling entirely contented and at ease. Yet I fear only that you may be unable to sustain this for long.

Alas! The circumstances of people in this world have never been fixed. I think: “As for leisure, nothing provides more leisure than not letting time go to waste; as for wealth, nothing provides greater wealth than always knowing contentment; as for vigor, nothing provides greater vigor than diligent effort.”

Now, Layman, you possess all three. Therefore, if the leisure, wealth, and vigor of all the people beneath heaven were compared with yours, I know that theirs would exist in name alone, not in reality. Among those aspiring to be reborn in the Pure Land, where could anyone like you be found?

There is one more thing about which I hope we may admonish one another:

Suppose a great ship is about to set sail. Although it has a tall mast, a properly aligned rudder, all provisions fully prepared, and its resolve to depart firmly established, so that it could sail before a favorable wind and cross a thousand miles in an instant, if those aboard are still unwilling to pull up the stake before the bow, or if the ship remains bound by a single rope, then no matter what methods they use to push it out, they cannot possibly succeed.

Nowadays, practitioners of Pure Land karma recite the Buddha’s name all day long, repent, and make vows, yet the Western Land remains far away, and their rebirth there is not assured. There is no other reason for this: the stake of attachment has not been pulled up, and the rope of affection remains tightly bound.

If one can regard the bonds of affection in the Sahā world as tasteless as chewing wax, paying no heed to busyness or leisure, movement or stillness, suffering or happiness, joy or sorrow, but relying solely upon the one phrase of the Buddha’s name, steadfast as Mount Sumeru and unmoved by any circumstance or condition;

and if, whenever one feels indolent or weary and deluded habitual tendencies appear, one immediately arouses a single thought like the Heaven-Leaning Long Sword^[1], leaving the demon armies of affliction nowhere to hide, and like a fiercely blazing furnace, completely melts away the emotional consciousness accumulated since beginningless time—then although this person still dwells in the world of the five turbidities, their entire being is already seated within the Lotus World.

Why must they wait for Amitābha Buddha to take them by the hand and Avalokiteśvara to welcome them before believing that they will attain rebirth there?

Someone may say:

– That layman is so vigorous and diligent; how could he still be led astray by emotional attachment? This is like giving medicine to someone who is not ill.

I say:

– It is not so!

The ancients said: “If attachment were not heavy, one would not be born in the Sahā world.” They also said: “If one’s mindfulness of the Way equaled one’s thoughts of emotional attachment, one would have attained Buddhahood long ago.”

Through diligent effort over many kalpas, an immortal may attain the five supernormal powers,^[2] yet because the outflow of sensual desire has not been eliminated, all his cultivated practices may still be ruined. Therefore, one should know that before attaining the fruit of sagehood, scarcely anyone is free from the bonds and afflictions of sensual attachment.

Layman, if your thoughts of worldly matters are faint and your mind intent upon the Way is strong; if you shun sensual desire as you would avoid a fiery pit and remember the Buddha as you would remember a loving mother; if you maintain a vegetarian diet and cultivate according to a fixed daily schedule, vowing never to change for the rest of your life—then even if a healthy person without illness regularly takes strengthening medicine, what harm could there be? Would that not make their steps still lighter and their health even stronger?

In summary, although the afflictions are endless, the root of birth and death is simply craving and attachment. This craving and attachment can drown practitioners and obstruct rebirth in the Pure Land. Therefore, the Buddhist sutras censure it everywhere. If emotional attachment grows weaker by one part, Pure Land karma matures by one part. Only then can one hope to reach the shore of liberation from birth and death.

Layman, you should strive diligently!

Notes:

^[1] Heaven-Leaning Long Sword: a famously sharp sword in Chinese history.

^[2] Five supernormal powers: also called the Five Spiritual Powers, five naturally transcendent abilities attained through cultivating the four fundamental dhyānas.

“Spiritual” means inconceivable, while “power” means free and unobstructed mastery. The five supernormal powers are:

1. Supernormal Power of Realized Knowledge of Miraculous Manifestations (Rddhi Visaya jnansaksatkriyabhijna): also called the power of miraculous manifestations or the power of supernatural travel, by which one can freely go anywhere.

2. Direct Knowledge of the Divine Eye (Divyacaksur jnansaksatkriyabhijna): also called the Superknowledge of the Divine Eye or the Divine Eye; it enables one to see what ordinary human eyes cannot see.

3. Direct Knowledge of the Divine Ear (Divya srotra jnansaksatkriyabhijna): also called the Superknowledge of the Divine Ear or the Divine Ear; it enables one to hear sounds that ordinary people cannot hear.

4. Direct Knowledge of Others’ Minds (Cetah paryaya jnansaksatkriyabhijna): also called the Superknowledge of Others’ Minds, the Knowledge of Others’ Minds, or Penetration of Others’ Minds; it enables one to comprehend clearly the thoughts in the minds of others.

5. Direct Knowledge of Recollection of Past Abodes (Purve nivasanusmrti jnansaksatkriyabhijna): also called the Superknowledge of Past Abodes, Knowledge of Past Lives, or Penetration of Past Lives; it enables one to know clearly the events of the past.

Sent to Layman Cố Trệu Trinh

In this degenerate age of the Dharma, people are shallow and tend toward deceit. It is exceedingly difficult to find someone who devotes himself to the Way, maintains sincerity, observes the ancient ways, and is as simple and genuine as the venerable layman—like a parrot trying to choose the moon. Among the friends of the Pure Land, we have in you a meritorious stalwart; moreover, Mr. Đinh Canh Dã and Mr. Thuấn Nghi are both your relatives. It is truly like qilins and phoenixes gathering together. Among them, Mr. Thuấn Nghi is supremely filial, even forgetting his own person. The austere and difficult practices he has undertaken are things I have never done and could not do. I admire him inwardly, yet neither pen nor speech can adequately praise and recount them.

Upon reading the layman’s long poem, I found it worthy of him. After reading and rereading it two or three times, I found it increasingly subtle, skillful, and exquisite. In ancient times, Mr.

Tri Chương still delighted in chanting verse at the age of eighty, while Mr. Khâu Vi was still accomplished in composing rhapsodies at ninety. Now the layman is nearly the same age as those two, and your writings encompass the talents of both.

I hope that you will treasure every moment, lessen your fondness for brush and ink, and concentrate your spirit and strength exclusively upon the Pure Land practice, so that the sprouts of wisdom may grow and the seeds of the Way may ripen. When, in the future, you attain transformation birth within a lotus before the Buddha, how could it be said that you merely resemble Mr. Khâu and Mr.

Hạ?

Reply to Layman Cố Trệu Trinh

I received your brief message, in which you said: “The defiled conditions of worldly attachments are very difficult to eliminate. When shall I attain wondrous contemplation?”

From this, your earnest aspiration in seeking the Way is evident. Yet, according to my limited view, this very mind that is weary of defiled worldly attachments and delights in wondrous contemplation is precisely an inner obstruction for a student of the Way. Moreover, there has never been any method in this world by which one can flee clamor in search of tranquility.

Can defiled worldly attachments truly be eradicated entirely? You must understand: “The myriad dharmas are originally at ease; it is only people who create their own turmoil.” How excellent these words are!

Master Ngẫu Ích said: “Although it is said that the six faculties run outward and the six consciousnesses are agitated, consider the matter carefully. Since sense objects are not at fault, how could the faculties be at fault? Since the faculties are not at fault, how could the consciousnesses alone bear the blame?”

The three categories analyzed above have no true sovereign or master. Even if they are brought together, how could there be any real dharma?

Nevertheless, within these illusory dharmas, we cling firmly to self and others, rejecting this and grasping that. It is like diseased eyes seeing a flurry of illusory flowers and still wishing to distinguish which flowers are beautiful and which are ugly. Is this not a grave error? Simply relinquish the entire body, mind, and world, and the eye of wisdom will shine brightly. Where, then, would there be any defiled worldly attachment to loathe?

However, in wishing to recite the Buddha’s name and seek rebirth in the Pure Land, there is truly no harm in arousing a powerful mind of joyful aspiration and aversion. If one clings to this mind of aspiration and aversion, however, it becomes an erroneous affliction; if one understands it clearly, it is merely an expedient means. This, too, depends upon the individual.

Regarding wondrous contemplation, the Infinite Life Sutra says: “The ocean of the Buddhas’ true and universal knowledge arises from mental contemplation. When the minds of sentient beings contemplate the Buddha, this mind is itself the thirty-two excellent marks^[1] and the eighty fine characteristics^[2]. This mind makes the Buddha. This mind is the Buddha.”

These few words alone constitute the essential point of the Buddha-Recitation Samadhi. All methods of contemplation arise from this. For if one knows that this mind makes the Buddha but does not know that this mind is the Buddha, one falls into the provisional vehicle and the lesser fruition.

If one knows only that this mind is the Buddha but does not know that this mind makes the Buddha, one will fall among false demons and non-Buddhist paths.

“This mind makes the Buddha” is the contemplation of emptiness and provisional existence.

“This mind is the Buddha” is the contemplation of the Middle Way.

This mind is wholly the Buddha and makes the Buddha; it wholly makes the Buddha and is the Buddha.

Within a single thought, the three contemplations are perfectly interfused. Therefore, a verse in the Great Collection Sutra says:

If, upon entering samadhi, one thinks only of Amitabha,

This is called the unsurpassed, wondrous, profound Dhyana.

When, with utmost sincerity, one contemplates the Buddha’s form,

That itself is the Dharma neither arising nor ceasing.

Dhyana Master Vĩnh Minh said:

When one thought corresponds, that one thought is Buddha.

When every thought corresponds, every thought is Buddha.

Buddha is the principle of intrinsic enlightenment contemplated, while contemplation is the wisdom of initial enlightenment. Therefore, one should know that at the very moment of Buddha-recitation, initial enlightenment and intrinsic enlightenment unite; principle and wisdom secretly correspond; both subject and object are forgotten; self and other are nondual. There is no Buddha outside contemplation to serve as the contemplation and the object contemplated, nor is there contemplation outside the Buddha with which to contemplate the Buddha. It transcends emotional attachments, utterly leaves behind the four propositions and the hundred negations^[3], and directly realizes the perfect and sudden teaching. Nothing surpasses this!

Apart from the practice of Buddha-recitation, could there be any other method of wondrous contemplation to accomplish?

I believe that medicine should not be judged as expensive or inexpensive; whatever cures the illness is good medicine. Treatment of the root or the symptoms should accord with whether the condition is gradual or urgent. The layman is already advanced in years and knows to turn his mind toward the Way. Even if you live to be a hundred, how much time remains? You should exert yourself on this most easy and secure path. Why should the layman continue investigating abstruse mysteries and linger expectantly at some other byway?

Previously, when I met the layman, not only did I refrain from discussing the subtle method of visualization—the gate of wondrous contemplation—I mentioned it only briefly and spoke at length about the daily practice schedule, using solely the six-character name of Amitabha to encourage you. This is precisely excellent divine medicine for curing a critical illness. Moreover, it treats both root and symptoms and is suitable for both gradual and urgent conditions. What matters is only profound faith and diligent practice. The ancients said: “You need only behold Amitabha Buddha; why worry that you will not attain awakening?” Then what defiled worldly attachment would fail to dissolve, and what samadhi would fail to manifest before you?

Today, however, even if there are hundreds of thousands of Dharma gates and immeasurable subtle and wondrous principles, set them all aside without employing them. I offer you only this single remedy, this single prescription. If you do not resolve decisively and vigorously to exert yourself in single-minded recitation, with what will you rouse and establish yourself?

If one insists that the efficacy of name-recitation is inferior to visualization, then with respect to Amitabha Buddha’s subtle, majestic, and adorned bodily marks, together with the profound and minute contemplations expounded in the sutras and treatises, I fear that ordinary beings who have only recently begun cultivating will not easily attain accomplishment. Ultimately, nothing is as secure as following the Amitabha Sutra and single-mindedly reciting the Name. You need only clearly comprehend both practice and principle while reciting the Name and attain single-mindedness without distraction. That itself is the object of contemplation; there is no need to seek any other mystery.

Moved by the venerable layman’s utmost sincerity—disregarding your advanced age and earnestly condescending to inquire of one beneath you—I have dared to state my limited view openly and completely, without reservation. Please examine it closely and determine what should be adopted.

Notes:

^[1] The Thirty-two Excellent Marks: the thirty-two excellent marks, comprising: 1. The soles of the feet are level and even; 2. On each sole is the mark of a wheel with a thousand spokes; 3.

The fingers are long, with slender and pointed tips; 4. The hands and feet are soft and supple; 5. Between the fingers and toes is a thin membrane like a net; 6.

The heels are full; 7. The insteps are high and full; 8. The calves are rounded like those of a blackbuck; 9.

When standing, the hands extend below the knees; 10. The male organ is concealed; 11. The body is tall and well proportioned; 12.

The pores of the body emit a bluish radiance; 13. The hairs of the body curl to the right; 14. The body shines like pure gold; 15.

A halo constantly radiates around the body; 16. The skin is fine and smooth; 17. The soles, palms, shoulders, and crown—the seven places—are full; 18.

The armpits are full; 19. The body is majestic like a lion; 20. The body is upright and well formed; 21.

The shoulders are rounded and proportionate; 22. There are forty teeth; 23. The teeth are white, lustrous, even, and closely set; 24.

The four canine teeth are larger than the others; 25. The cheeks are prominent like those of a lion; 26. The saliva imparts a delicious fragrance to all food; 27.

The tongue is broad, long, soft, and thin, and when extended can reach the hairline; 28. The voice is refined and carries far, like the voice of the god Brahma; 29. The eyes are deep blue; 30.

The eyelashes are long and beautiful; 31. A tuft of white hair that constantly emits light grows between the eyebrows; 32. The flesh on the crown of the head rises like a topknot.

^[2] The Eighty Minor Marks: the eighty minor marks. There are various accounts describing them. According to fascicle 381 of the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra, the eighty minor marks are: 1.

The nails are long and slender, thin and lustrous; 2. The fingers and toes are rounded, long, slender, soft, and supple; 3. The hands and feet are well proportioned, and when the digits are brought together, there are no gaps between them; 4.

The hands and feet are radiant, lustrous, and gracefully elongated; 5. The sinews and bones are concealed and do not protrude; 6. Both ankle bones are concealed; 7.

He walks straight ahead with the majestic and unhurried bearing of a royal elephant; 8. His gait is dignified and composed like that of the lord of lions; 9. His gait is steady like that of the king of bulls; 10.

His manner of advancing and stopping is graceful and elegant like that of the king of geese; 11. When turning to look, he always turns to the right, like a royal elephant turning its whole body; 12. The joints of the hands and feet are even, rounded, and beautiful; 13.

The bones are joined together like the coils of a dragon; 14. The knees are rounded and full; 15. The private parts bear beautiful and graceful markings; 16.

The hands and feet are smooth, soft, and clean; 17. His countenance is honest and serene, dignified, and manifests the aspect of fearlessness; 18. The hands and feet are strong and robust; 19.

The body is healthy and perfectly developed; 20. His bodily form resembles that of a sage-king, the entire body being upright, majestic, radiant, and pure; 21. A circular halo surrounds his body and constantly shines of itself; 22.

The abdomen is well formed and dignified; 23. The navel is deep and spirals to the right; 24. The navel is full, neither sunken nor protruding; 25.

The skin is free from sores and blemishes; 26. The palms are soft, and the soles are level; 27. The lines on the palms are deep, long, and distinct; 28.

The lips are deep red, lustrous, and soft; 29. The face is neither long nor short, neither large nor small, but dignified and perfectly proportioned; 30. The tongue is thin, soft, broad, and long; 31.

His voice is majestic, far-reaching, and clear; 32. Its resonance is beautiful, like an echo from a deep cavern; 33. The bridge of the nose is high and straight, and the nostrils are concealed; 34.

The teeth are even, white, and lustrous; 35. The teeth are rounded, white, lustrous, and sharp; 36. The black and white portions of the eyes are clearly distinguished; 37.

The eyes are long and broad; 38. The eyelashes are even, thick, and long; 39. The eyebrows are long, fine, and smooth; 40.

The eyebrows are deep blue like lapis lazuli; 41. The eyebrows are set well above the eyes and curve like crescent moons; 42. The rims of the ears are broad and large, and the earlobes are full and pendant; 43.

The two ears are even and flawless; 44. His appearance inspires love and reverence in all who behold him; 45. The forehead is broad and level; 46.

His dignified bearing is perfect; 47. The hair is long, deep blue, and thick, without any gray; 48. The hair is fine and smooth and gives forth a pure fragrance; 49.

The hair lies smoothly and is never tangled; 50. The hair neither breaks nor falls out; 51. The hair is smooth and lustrous, and dust does not cling to it; 52.

The body is firm and full; 53. The body is tall, upright, and handsome; 54. The sense organs are pure, rounded, and beautiful; 55.

His strength surpasses that of ordinary people; 56. His bodily form delights all who behold it; 57. His face is like the full autumn moon; 58.

His expression is serene; 59. The skin of the face is smooth and lustrous, without wrinkles; 60. The skin is clean, without grime or foul odor; 61.

All the pores constantly emit fragrance; 62. The mouth constantly gives forth a pure fragrance; 63. His bodily form is full and beautiful; 64.

The hairs of the body are deep blue and pure; 65. His Dharma voice responds to each assembly without error; 66. No one can see the mark on the crown of his head; 67.

The whorl patterns on the fingers and toes are clearly defined; 68. When walking, his feet do not touch the ground; 69. He protects himself without relying upon the guardianship of others; 70.

His majestic virtue encompasses all; 71. The Buddha’s voice accords with the capacity of each sentient being to receive it; 72. He teaches the Dharma according to the inclinations of sentient beings; 73.

He expounds the true Dharma in a single voice, yet sentient beings of every kind each understand it; 74. He teaches the Dharma in due sequence and according to causes and conditions; 75. The Buddha’s words always praise good and censure evil, yet his mind is free from attachment and aversion; 76.

Whatever he undertakes, he first observes and only afterward acts; 77. Sentient beings can never fully behold all his excellent marks; 78. The bone at the crown of the head is firm, rounded, and full; 79.

His countenance remains ever youthful and never ages; 80. His hands, feet, and the front of his chest all bear auspicious marks of virtue.

^[3] The Four Propositions and the Hundred Negations: these are expressions commonly used to dispel the deluded and erroneous attachments of sentient beings to the duality of existence and nonexistence, thereby revealing the truth of true emptiness, which has no characteristics that can be grasped, and helping practitioners attain the quiescent state beyond discriminative thought. The four propositions are: existence; nonexistence; both existence and nonexistence; and neither existence nor nonexistence. The hundred negations include: neither existent nor nonexistent; neither conditioned nor unconditioned; neither contaminated nor uncontaminated; neither past, nor future, nor present.

An Exposition on the Name, Presented to Layman Jin Shuiruo

Master Zhizhe employed the “Six Identities with the Buddha” to make clear distinctions and prevent indiscriminate claims. The first is identity with the Buddha in principle; the next is identity with the Buddha in name. From the time one first hears the sacred teachings up to and including the point when one clearly perceives the nature of mind, one has still not passed beyond the stage of identity with the Buddha in name. It should be understood that one remains within this stage of name for a very long time, and that its meaning and principles are likewise exceedingly profound and immeasurable.

The layman’s personal name is Shan, meaning “Good,” and his courtesy name is Shuiruo, meaning “Like Water.” If he clearly understands this personal name and comprehends this courtesy name, he will have already discerned more than half of the principle of seeing one’s nature and becoming a Buddha.

Gaozi said: “Human nature is like flowing water. If a channel is opened toward the east, it flows east; if a channel is opened toward the west, it flows west. Human nature makes no distinction between good and not-good, just as water makes no distinction between east and west.”

How remarkable! Although Gaozi’s words concerning human nature do not represent the ultimate principle of the Confucian tradition, they nevertheless resemble the Buddha’s sutras. Regrettably, Gaozi was overcome by Mencius’s arguments and in the end was unable to elucidate his own doctrine. It was like woodworms eating through timber and accidentally forming written characters.

The ten Dharma realms originally arise from the one undivided mind, in which both wholesome and unwholesome dharmas are fully present within the mind-nature. This is already clear! It is said that within the Nature are seeds of both defilement and purity; therefore, not a single worldly or supramundane dharma can exist outside the Nature.

To follow the pure seeds within the Nature and bring them into actual manifestation is the way of the noble person; this is called cultivating goodness. To follow the defiled seeds within the Nature and bring them into actual manifestation is the way of the petty person; this is called doing evil. The Doctrine of the Mean says: “Following the Nature is called the Way.” Confucius said: “The Way has only two aspects: benevolence and the absence of benevolence.” Just as the Way is not divided into benevolence and the absence of benevolence, so the Nature is not distinguished as wholesome or unwholesome.

If the Nature were solely wholesome, everything would be wholesome. Then the evil destinies of the three lower realms would not be created by the mind, so how could they be called Dharma realms? Therefore, although icchantikas cut off the cultivation of goodness, they do not cut off the goodness inherent in the Nature.

If they were to cut off the goodness inherent in the Nature, they could ultimately never attain Buddhahood. Buddhas and sages cut off only the doing of evil, but they do not eradicate the evil inherent in the Nature. If they eradicated the evil inherent in the Nature, they could not manifest in evil worlds to tame sentient beings.

The relationship between Cultivation and Nature is

something that must be thoroughly understood. One cannot initiate Cultivation apart from the Nature, nor can one abandon Cultivation and speak only of the Nature.

Allow me to explain this by means of water:

In terms of Nature, water is naturally wet and flows downward, whether it flows east or west.

In terms of Cultivation, one channels the current eastward or channels it westward.

If the lay practitioner wishes to cultivate the Pure Land karma, he need not concern himself with terminology, but must carefully examine the reason for practicing this Dharma.

If, thought after thought, the mind inclines toward and pursues greed, anger, and delusion, and over long days and months cannot be drawn back or led out, while most actions issuing from body and speech accord with evil, this is called channeling the current eastward. Ultimately, one will become a human or an animal in the land of Saha.

If, thought after thought, the mind turns away in weariness from the five desires, remembers Amitabha Buddha, and longs to draw near to him as a child remembers its mother, without being dragged away by karmic conditions or confused by other divergent paths, this is called channeling the current westward. One will certainly be born by transformation within a lotus blossom in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, see the Buddha, and receive a prediction of Buddhahood.

Examined in this light, seeing the Nature and attaining Buddhahood also depend solely upon this “channeling of the current.” If one can channel the current westward, the water will flow westward: it will not enter the cauldrons of boiling water in the three lower realms; it will not mingle with the waters of craving belonging to humans and devas; it will not mix with the turbid waters of ordinary beings; it will not be tainted by the evil waters of demons and non-Buddhist paths; it will not fall into the stagnant waters of the Two Vehicles^[1]; and it will not resemble the suddenly surging waters of the Provisional Vehicle. It will constantly receive the water of Principle to moisten the field of the mind and the water of Wisdom to bring the myriad practices into perfect harmony.

Even at the stage of “Identity in Name,” it perfectly merges with the water of the Tathagata’s Nature. Once it has merged with the water of the Nature, it flows into the seven-jeweled pond, where it is pure, cool, sweet, soft, moistening, peaceful, healing, and beneficial, ultimately becoming the sacred water endowed with the eight virtues. Here the westward flow of water reaches its culmination and truly penetrates to the utmost depth of the nature of water.

However, I observe that the lay practitioner’s personal name and style name follow the meaning intended by Mencius, not the doctrine of Gaozi.

If one resolutely chooses wholesome dharmas and cultivates them to perfection, and resolutely destroys unwholesome dharmas, cultivating so as to eliminate them completely, then the Way of the noble person will increase while the way of the petty person will diminish, until one finally rests in the highest good. Would this not accord with Gaozi? Would it not accord with the Ultimate Sage? Would it not accord with the Great Sage of the West?

Will the lay practitioner devote himself to this “channeling of the current”?

Notes:

^[1] The Two Vehicles: two kinds of teachings of the Buddha, likened to two vehicles that carry people to the fruit of liberation. They are the sravaka vehicle and the pratyekabuddha vehicle.

The Chapter on Mahasthamaprapta’s Perfect Penetration in the Surangama Sutra

The Surangama Sutra was taught after the Lotus Sutra and is a vast and profoundly deep scripture within the Buddhadharma. In ancient times, when Master Zhiyi classified the teachings, this sutra had not yet been transmitted to China. Therefore, he regarded only the Lotus Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra as representing the final flavor of the Dharma.

Had he once seen this sutra, he would surely have written a commentary explaining it extensively and classified it as the supreme flavor of clarified butter. Yet what could be done? After the four classes of sages upon whom sentient beings may rely—the Great Beings of the Four Reliances^[1]—had entered nirvana, commentators past and present each advanced differing views.

Over time, numerous disputes arose, leaving later students without the Dharma eye of discernment, not knowing whom to follow, to the point that some proposed discarding all commentaries and reading only the sutra text. This too is a one-sided view. For when people rely upon their own wisdom to study the sutra text, they are mostly unable to comprehend its purport and ultimately remain in obscurity and confusion.

If we calmly consider the matter, could it truly be that the commentaries have no merits? Nevertheless, when they do not err through mistakes and contradictions, they err through crudeness and excessive brevity. There have also been scholars of exceptional ability who used this sutra as a basis for elaborating novel theories of their own minds.

Among commentaries that truly relinquish personal opinions, follow the sutra, and accord with the Buddha’s intent, apart from the commentary by Master Xihu Jian, I have seen none that surpasses it. Who says that people of the present age can never surpass those of antiquity? Some may well fault the Master for pressing his own position too strongly or criticize him for lacking a textual basis.

Yet even if his commentary cannot be said to be entirely beyond reproach, it is nevertheless a commentary that has rendered immense service to this sutra. As for the teaching of “relinquishing consciousness and employing the sense faculties, with emphasis on perfect penetration,” these are the sincere words of the Buddhas—who would dare disbelieve them? This is the mode of instruction suited to this region—who would dare refuse to follow it?

To dispute this matter further would be to contradict the sutra and oppose the Buddha.

Now that you good friends have set your minds upon the Pure Land and also wish to study this sutra, this is truly commendable. Without discussing the preceding or following sections, this Chapter on Perfect Penetration alone contains major points that can easily lead to misunderstanding. If it is not skillfully read and properly understood, it would not be far-fetched to say that clarified butter can turn into poison.

Have you not heard it said: “At the Buddha-selection examination held during the Surangama assembly, Avalokitesvara passed with honors, while Mahasthamaprapta failed”? If practitioners of the Pure Land cannot skillfully discern and assess this statement, how can they elucidate the profound and hidden intent of this sutra? How can they preserve the practices and vows of later students in steadfastness?

It is only because Mahasthamaprapta’s Dharma door is not the principal doctrinal theme of this sutra that Master Xihu Jian’s commentary mentions it without elaboration. I shall now first explain this Dharma door clearly and afterward reveal its profound and hidden meaning.

a. A Clear Explanation of the Dharma Door:

It should be understood that Great Strength Bodhisattva’s Dharma of Perfect Penetration belongs to the faculty element among the Seven Elements, because it gathers in all six faculties. Relying on the six faculties to cultivate the Buddha-Recitation Samadhi, there are three distinct kinds: first, reciting the Buddha of one’s own nature; second, reciting another Buddha; and third, reciting both the Buddha of one’s own nature and another Buddha.

– If one recites the Buddha of one’s own nature, this is the same

as the Dharma doors of Perfect Penetration of the other sages: taking the nature of the faculties as the Dharma door that is contemplated, and taking the return to the inwardly quiescent nature as the means by which one contemplates. As the Angulimala Sutra teaches: “His eye faculty is always complete, cultivated without diminution, clearly and distinctly seeing the Tathagatas… His mind faculty is always complete, cultivated without diminution, clearly and distinctly knowing the Tathagatas.” Likewise, in this sutra, the Buddhas of the ten directions together told Ananda: “If you wish swiftly to realize the wondrous and constant peace and liberation of quiescence, it is solely through your six faculties, and through nothing else.”

It is also as the Patriarch said: “In the womb it is called the body; in the world it is called a person; in the eyes it is called seeing; in the ears it is called hearing; at the nose it distinguishes fragrances; at the mouth it engages in discourse; in the hands it grasps and holds; and in the feet it walks and runs. Those who understand call it Buddha-nature; those who do not understand call it the soul.” From ancient times, the Patriarchs have given a great many teachings such as these. This samadhi of reciting the Buddha of one’s own nature completely encompasses all doctrines and all Dharma doors of direct pointing in the Chan school, without the slightest omission.

– If one recites another Buddha, this differs from the Dharma doors of Perfect Penetration of the other sages: the six faculties are that which recites, while the fruition of Buddhahood is that which is recited. Although the Dharma body being recited is originally of one substance with us, we do not possess the two kinds of adornment. The Buddhas are complete in merit and wisdom and have become the Honored Ones Perfect in Both. One recollects the Buddha’s virtues of fruition without weariness or aversion: the eyes constantly gaze upon the Buddha’s excellent marks; the ears constantly hear the Buddha’s teachings; the nose constantly smells the Buddha’s fragrance; the tongue constantly recites the Buddha’s name; the body constantly bows before images of the Buddha; and the mind constantly remembers the Buddha’s Dharma. The six faculties are wholly concentrated upon the Buddha as their object, continuing in this way without interruption or admixture. This samadhi of reciting another Buddha completely encompasses all the Amitabha, Medicine Buddha, and Maitreya’s Ascent sutras, and all the karmic practices and visualization Dharma doors concerning phenomenal characteristics taught within the Lotus Society, without the slightest omission.

– If one recites both the Buddha of one’s own nature and another Buddha, this is at once similar to and different from the other Dharma doors of Perfect Penetration. First, one must swiftly open perfect understanding, clearly knowing that sentient beings and Buddhas are alike, and that mind and land are nondual. One relies upon Amitabha Buddha’s dependent and primary recompenses to reveal one’s own mind-nature. One is neither deluded into believing that a Buddha exists outside one’s nature, nor attached to the view that the other land is not mind. This “swift opening of perfect understanding” is what resembles the other Dharma doors of Perfect Penetration. The difference is that one must rely upon the environment of the Land of Ultimate Bliss, which the Sutra of the Contemplation of the Buddha of Infinite Life calls an extraordinary and supremely excellent expedient means. Here, the Surangama Sutra says: “Without relying upon expedient means, the mind itself becomes awakened.” Through this extraordinary and supremely excellent expedient means, one need not rely upon any other expedient means.

Now, comparing these three kinds of Buddha-Recitation Samadhi within the Perfect and Sudden teaching with the four kinds of Pure Land, we shall briefly explain their vast function of gathering in sentient beings:

Reciting only the Buddha of one’s own nature belongs to the two Pure Lands of True Reward and Quiescent Light, but one can realize and enter them only vertically and cannot transcend the three realms horizontally. This Dharma door can liberate only those of sharp faculties and cannot universally receive and guide all beings. Moreover, because this Dharma door is the same as the Dharma doors of Perfect Penetration of the other sages, it cannot reveal its extraordinary and distinctive character and therefore appears not to be the original intent of Great Strength Bodhisattva in receiving and guiding sentient beings back to their source.

What is being taught here is precisely to gather practitioners of the two approaches—reciting another Buddha, and reciting both the Buddha of one’s own nature and another Buddha—into the Pure Land of Common Residence, while at the same time enabling them to ascend directly beyond it to the Lands of Expedient Means, True Reward, and Quiescent Light. Therefore, the sutra text profoundly explains the benefits arising from the sympathetic resonance and interpenetration of the Way.

b. Presenting the sutra’s hidden and profound intent:

Selecting a Dharma door of Perfect Penetration is like a nation deploying troops and choosing generals: one may be advanced to serve as the vanguard, or moved back to guard the rear. Appointing one person to lead the vanguard and assigning another to guard the rear are the principal arrangements; all the others merely follow with the regular forces. Such advancement and reassignment are not done without reason.

Among the eighteen dhatus^[2], for example, the faculties ordinarily come first, the objects next, and consciousness last. Yet this sutra places the six objects first and the faculties after them. Among the six objects, form ordinarily comes first, followed by sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas; yet this sutra presents sound first and form second.

Among the six faculties, it presents only five faculties there, placing the ear faculty after the twenty-four Dharma doors of Perfect Penetration, because the genuine mode of teaching in this world is made lucid and pure through sound and hearing. Therefore, the sound-object is placed at the beginning and the faculty of hearing at the very end so that this principle may be separately and thoroughly explained. Although the reason is not explicitly stated, everyone clearly understands that emphasis has been placed upon perfect penetration through the ear faculty.

Given the essential purport of the entire sutra, the Dharma doors of Perfect Penetration naturally had to be arranged in this way.

Nevertheless, the Dharma door of Buddha-recitation is also suited to the faculties of beings in this world, and sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age must rely upon Buddha-recitation to attain liberation. Yet this sutra urges practitioners to use only one Dharma door to enter deeply and directly realize their own nature. If both Dharma doors were selected, the sutra’s intent would become obscure. But if the Dharma door of Buddha-recitation were mingled among the regular forces, the meaning of the extensive praise it receives in other sutras would be lost. Therefore, the Buddha skillfully devised the expedient arrangement of advancing one and moving the other back, like a secret military order not yet permitted to be disclosed.

Thus, among the eighteen dhatus, the sutra draws out the ear faculty as an important general, while among the Seven Elements it covertly selects the faculty element as a chief general. Since the faculty element inherently belongs to the Dharma door of Buddha-recitation, this neither contradicts the principal purport of the extensive praise given in other sutras nor goes against the meaning of the faculty employed in this sutra. It may be called exceedingly skillful and, at the same time, exceedingly profound and hidden!

The Seven Elements are ordinarily ordered as earth, water, fire, wind, space, perception, and consciousness. Perception is precisely the root of the faculties, so the faculty element should precede consciousness. Yet here consciousness is moved to the sixth position and the faculty element is placed last, just as the ear faculty is placed at the end of the eighteen dhatus. Furthermore, among the preceding five elements, the fire element is made the vanguard, with earth, water, wind, and space arranged after it. There are two meanings here:

– First, because the teaching was given in response to the immediate circumstances of one who had fallen into sexual misconduct, the image of excessive lust bringing forth a blazing fire was used to admonish the many listeners that they must first eliminate the outflow of sensual desire. Thus, the sutra says: “One of excessive lust transforms [lustful thoughts] into a fiercely blazing mass of fire, and ultimately transforms the mind of excessive lust into the fire of wisdom. The Buddhas named me Fire-Head. Through the power of the Fire-Light Samadhi, I became an arhat, and I vowed to serve as a mighty guardian, personally subduing the demonic adversaries”... This was clearly intended as an admonition concerning that matter. Throughout all the sutras and Vinaya texts, the precept against killing is placed first, whereas in this sutra, the prohibition against sexual misconduct is explicitly declared to be the foremost definitive teaching. Among the three conditions, lust is likewise placed before killing and stealing; the intent is the same.

– Second, it serves as an antidote to the profound and weighty karmic obstructions of sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age. Although the afflictions are many, sexual desire alone is the root of birth and death and the dharma that most obstructs rebirth in the Pure Land. Therefore, the Buddha taught practitioners to contemplate that the fire of sexual desire within the bodies of ordinary beings is precisely the true, empty fire within the nature of the Tathagata-garbha, manifested in accordance with karma. Through profound contemplation, one attains awakening; that fire of desire becomes the light of wisdom and not only ceases to obstruct rebirth in the Pure Land but even enables the practitioner to ascend to the highest grade. Therefore, Vimalakirti praised lust, anger, and delusion, because their nature is precisely the nature of the Tathagata-garbha, while their defiled or pure functioning can be reversed as easily as turning over one’s hand. For this reason, Fire-Head was placed first among the assembly of sages who recounted their methods of Perfect Penetration through the seven elements, just as Dignaga was placed first among those associated with the eighteen dhatus.

Please carefully examine the sutra passage recounting the sages’ methods of Perfect Penetration. Apart from those two foremost standard-bearers, all the others follow the ordinary sequence without confusion. This can readily be seen. When the twenty-five sages rose from their seats during the compilation conducted by the great disciples, every deportment and every act of standing or sitting possessed profound meaning and accorded with the doctrinal import. How could a coarse and superficial mind comprehend it?

Thus, although Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara alone was openly declared to have passed the examination, could Mahasthamaprapta truly have failed it altogether? It was merely that Avalokitesvara was selected openly, whereas Mahasthamaprapta was selected implicitly. Because Avalokitesvara entered Perfect Penetration specifically through the faculty of hearing, he was selected openly; because the Dharma-gate of mindfulness of the Buddha gathers in all six faculties, it was selected implicitly.

Because this world’s mode of instruction is clearly based upon sound and hearing, the former was selected openly; because this realm has an affinity with the latter, it was selected implicitly. Because the former universally benefits those present and accords with sentient beings of both the present and future, it was selected openly. Because the latter especially benefits sentient beings in the evil Dharma-ending age who cannot behold the Buddha, it was selected implicitly.

Everyone knows those whose names are prominently displayed on the examination board, but who knows of the secret mark made beneath the examiner’s red robe? Therefore, it is said, “There is a point here that causes great confusion; one must read skillfully and understand skillfully.”

Someone may say: “If this was a hidden meaning, why disclose it? The examination hall for selecting a Buddha has been open, and the Surangama Sutra has displayed the results, for two thousand years. If people at that time could not discern the hidden meaning, how could it have been useful?” Or someone may say: “If it is truly as you say, then when Manjusri spoke his verses of selection, could he also have been unaware of the hidden meaning? Why did he not follow the precedent above and select them all?”

Answer: When the sages presented their methods of Perfect Penetration, each declared their own to be foremost. It was therefore necessary, through the skillful means of praising some and setting aside others, to indicate the hidden import. If Manjusri, when obeying the Buddha’s command to make a selection, had simply followed the precedent above throughout, how could it have constituted a hidden meaning?

Only the object of sound and the element of fire still followed the ordinary sequence. Because these two approaches merely had the special purpose of assisting the revelation and were not the principal destination, they were not mentioned again. As for Mahasthamaprapta’s Dharma-gate, in the sequence of the prose passage it is placed after the discussion of the element of consciousness, becoming the last of the twenty-four Dharma-gates of Perfect Penetration.

How could that be said not to follow the sequence?

The Buddha instructed Manjusri to select one Dharma-gate, so why did Bodhisattva Manjusri not select Mahasthamaprapta’s Dharma-gate? Examine Manjusri’s appraisal of Mahasthamaprapta’s method of Perfect Penetration; it differs from his appraisals of the other sages. He merely said: “Since cause and effect now differ, how could Perfect Penetration be attained?” His meaning was this: Although one gathers in all six faculties and sustains pure mindfulness continuously, that continuous mindfulness belongs to the formations skandha, which changes and passes away, and is therefore still a conditioned dharma subject to arising and cessation.

Yet if it is used as the cause for attaining rebirth in the Pure Land and beholding the Buddha, who could say that this is impossible? If one now wishes to realize the Perfect Penetration that is free from arising and cessation in this very life, however, the cause does not correspond to the result; how, then, could it be attained? That criticism was directed at the difficulty of realizing Perfect Penetration in this very life; it did not address the benefits obtained after rebirth in the Pure Land.

Moreover, the other sages were mindful only of their own realization of the Buddha, which pertained to cultivation and realization in the present life. Manjusri therefore set those methods aside completely, because they did not accord with the capacities of beings in this realm or conform to the mode of instruction used in this world. Those determined to cultivate and attain realization should reflect carefully upon this point!

This explanation is given for those whose power of faith is not yet firm. As for those who possess profound faith in the Pure Land, even if the Surangama Sutra criticized Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta alone, they would still harbor no doubt. Why is this? Because the sutras extensively praise this Dharma-gate as possessing “inconceivable merit,” as being “a Dharma difficult for the world to believe,” as being “protected and kept in mind by all Buddhas,” as “the unsurpassed profound and wondrous dhyana,” as “an extraordinary and supremely excellent skillful means,” and as “the king of all samadhis.” It is extolled in the highest terms in many places. If one fails to give rise to faith in the face of all these praises, why should a single apparent criticism immediately give rise to doubt?

Moreover, the Surangama Sutra never specifically criticized the Dharma-gate of mindfulness of the Buddha; on the contrary, it revealed it to be the implicitly selected Dharma! It is regrettable that sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age read this sutra yet are unable to follow its teaching by entering deeply through the faculty of hearing and realizing Perfect Penetration in this very life. Instead, they delight in raising doubts about the Dharma-gate of mindfulness of the Buddha, even going so far as to destroy others’ pure faith and obstruct their wholesome practices.

Those of little wisdom and scant merit habitually behave in this way. Therefore, I must now rely upon the Dharma and the sutras to analyze and clarify the matter. I am unaware that my words may have become overly elaborate; this, too, was not my original intention!

Notes:

^[1] The Four Reliances, Great Beings: According to the Nirvana Treatise, these comprise bodhisattvas of the First Bhumi, Sixth Bhumi, Eighth Bhumi, and Tenth Bhumi.

^[2] The eighteen dhatus: the six faculties—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—which possess the capacity to produce cognition; the six objects—forms, sounds, odors, flavors, tangible objects, and dharmas—which are the objects of cognition; and the six consciousnesses—eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, and mind-consciousness.

An Explanation of the Words “Lữ Tam”

The Lotus Sutra says: “The three realms are without peace, like a burning house. If sentient beings become greedily attached and enamored, they will be consumed by the flames.” Therefore, in ancient times the Buddha, the World-Honored One, employed skillful means to exhort and guide sentient beings out of the burning house, because it was filled with every kind of suffering and offered no security.

In Master Ouyi’s Collection on Pure Faith, it is said: “The true nature is originally quiescent yet illuminating, but it is obscured by the five abiding grounds of defilement and worldly toil,^[1] and thus few people constantly live in accordance with that true nature. Even the Four Dhyanas,^[2] the Four Formless Attainments,^[3] and the realm of expedient means are merely temporary lodgings.” How vast indeed is the meaning of temporary lodging!

Whenever there is lodging, there must be a lodger and a place of lodging. Since one is a lodger, one must have companions, a place to rest, and one’s own fundamental karma. Examined broadly, the three realms are but a single inn.

Just as sentient beings have different fundamental karma, since their karma differs, their places of lodging and their companions also differ. Alas! Since beginningless time, throughout kalpas as numerous as dust particles, the bones we have discarded, if piled together, would rise higher than Mount Vipula; the milk we have received from our mothers would exceed the waters of the great ocean.

The scenes of drifting and the sufferings of wandering therein are beyond all reckoning.

At times we have been companions of beings in the hells, with the five heinous offenses and the ten evil deeds as our fundamental karma, and the intermittent or Avici hells as our lodging. At times we have been companions of hungry ghosts, with greed and miserliness as our fundamental karma, and desolate plains and remote mountains as our lodging. At times we have been companions of animals, with delusion as our fundamental karma, and the earth, the waters, and the sky as our lodging.

At times we have been companions of asuras, with anger and arrogance as our fundamental karma, and Mount Sumeru and the great ocean as our lodging. At times we have been companions of human beings, with the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues as our fundamental karma, and the various lands of the four continents^[4] as our lodging. At times we have been companions of devas in the Desire Realm, with the five precepts and the ten wholesome deeds as our fundamental karma.

At times we have been companions of devas in the Form and Formless Realms, with meditative concentration as our fundamental karma, and the Four Dhyanas and Four Formless Attainments as our lodging. No sooner do we arrive at a temporary lodging than we become attached to it, unaware that it is only a transient abode. Alas!

The dream of our native home remains obscure; how could life in an inn ever be ultimate? Unless we rely upon the Land of Peace and Nurture to transcend the three realms, awaken to the Land of Tranquil Light, and reach the final destination, how could we go beyond the meaning of temporary lodging?

Layman Wang Runsheng of Tiandu, whose Dharma name was Xingjing and whose style name was Lüsan, spent many years away from home pursuing his studies, and in old age returned to live in Qinchuan. His heir had grown to maturity and was also capable, having early assumed responsibility for the family estate; therefore, the layman was not constrained by domestic circumstances. Although his spacious and splendid residence could have afforded him a pleasant old age, he regarded it as empty and insubstantial as an inn. He observed lifelong vegetarianism, venerated the Buddha, delighted in a simple and frugal life, sought nothing, and was earnest only in studying the Way and cultivating the practice.

The first day of the eighth month in the Yimao year of the Kangxi era marked the celebration of his seventieth birthday. Friends and relatives, near and far, vied with one another in composing prose pieces and congratulatory poems, but the layman declined even to look at them. Even if he did look, he merely glanced through them and said: “Such things merely circle about the ears and eyes, bringing flattering words only to sully my name. How could they compare with words of true Dharma that benefit my mind?”

The layman then invited me to discuss his style name, “Lüsan.” I thought: “Since the layman has lodged (lü) within the three (san) realms, the place of his lodging is exceedingly vast. How could it be limited merely to Tiandu and Qin Township?” Yet I privately reflected: “Most of his kinsmen and relatives are merchants in pearls and precious stones who travel in every direction. They know only how to reap profits and have not yet been able to fathom the full meaning of this lodging.

Now the layman is temporarily staying here. Suppose someone were to come and show him Yisheng’s scheme for boiling the sea, or present to him Guo Shi’s plan for moving mountains; I know that the layman would surely cover his ears and depart!” At this celebration of his seventieth birthday, he was able to refuse the cup of congratulatory wine and would not sit beside the sacrificial cauldron of meat. Instead, he asked me about the shore of simplicity and quiescence and inquired into the essential purport that runs counter to worldly ways and common customs.

May it be said that the layman’s genuine purity of virtue has not been lost and that his unadorned nature still remains—and that he is therefore close to the Way?

The answer is: Not yet!

Since he is called Lüsan—one who lodges in the three realms—all dharmas are lodgings, and there is no dharma outside the word “lodging.” Yet whenever he encounters any place, he immediately becomes attached to it, unaware that it is but a temporary lodging. This is “lodging in the principle-nature.”

To understand clearly that the three realms are all inns, and that fundamental karma, places of residence, and companions differ in every case, is “lodging in name.”

To know that it is not one’s home and therefore neither abide in it nor become attached to it, and, while dwelling amid coarse and adverse conditions, not give rise to craving or attachment, is “lodging in contemplative practice.”

To employ expedient means to subdue the afflictions that are like transient dust, while the long, unending dream of lodging seems about to end in awakening, is “lodging in semblance.”

Without departing from the Dharma realm, to accord with conditions and temporarily entrust this body to the dusty world, taking pity upon the lodgers and exerting oneself fully to convey them to the other shore, is “lodging in partial realization.”

This old, decaying house belongs to one man; I constantly dwell within it, teaching the Dharma and transforming beings.

When the great fire burns, my land nevertheless remains peaceful and secure. This is “ultimate lodging.” If one does not clearly understand this meaning, one mistakes inns and rest houses for one’s native home, and everything one seeks remains an affair within the burning house.

Some people fear that this temporary abode is filled with too many sufferings and calamities, so they hastily enter cessation and do not return to liberate beings. Thus the beings of the six paths remain in darkness, and the four modes of birth^[5] know not upon whom they may rely. If this is so, it does not accord with the meaning of lodging.

Therefore, today the layman should take the Land of Peace and Nurture as his destination and should not remain forever a traveler in this Saha world. When the lotus blossoms and he beholds the Buddha, realizing the true and eternal, he should take pity upon the Saha world, return to this lodging, protect his companions, and guide those who are deluded. He should further manifest emanation bodies throughout all directions, traveling back and forth to teach and transform beings in the three realms without ever growing weary.

This is precisely the ultimate traveler. Only then may it be hoped that the intention behind the layman’s adoption of the style name Lüsan will not have been in vain.

Notes:

^[1] The five abiding grounds of defilement and worldly toil: also called the five abiding grounds of affliction, namely, the afflictions of deluded views and the delusion of ignorance. They comprise: 1. the abiding ground of views concentrated in one place (deluded views); 2. the abiding ground of craving in the Desire Realm; 3. the abiding ground of craving in the Form Realm; 4. the abiding ground of craving for existence; and 5. the abiding ground of ignorance. This teaching originates in the Srimala Sutra. These five kinds of affliction serve as the support and dwelling place of all afflictions and are also capable of generating afflictions; hence they are called abiding grounds.

^[2] The Four Dhyanas: the four fundamental types of meditative concentration used to counteract deluded karma and generate various merits, namely, the First Dhyana, Second Dhyana, Third Dhyana, and Fourth Dhyana.

^[3] The Four Formless Attainments: 1. the Sphere of Infinite Space; 2. the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness; 3. the Sphere of Nothingness; and 4. the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception.

^[4] The four continents: the four great continents according to the cosmology of ancient India.

Ancient Indians believed that within the salt ocean, between the seven ranges of golden mountains and the Great Iron Encircling Mountain, there were four great continents situated in the four directions around Mount Sumeru. According to fascicle 1 of the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions and fascicle 8 of the Illuminating Commentary on the Abhidharmakosa, the four continents are:

1. Eastern Continent of Superior Bodies (Purva Videha): because the inhabitants of this continent possess excellent bodies, it is called Superior Bodies. The continent is shaped like a half-moon, and the faces of its people are likewise shaped like half-moons.

2. Jambudvipa, the Southern Continent (formerly called Southern Jambudvipa): Jambu is originally a transliteration of the jambu tree. This continent takes the name of that tree as its own. The continent is shaped like a carriage box, and the faces of its people are likewise shaped.

3. Aparagodaniya, the Western Continent of Cattle Exchange (formerly called Western Godaniya): Because cattle are used there for trade and exchange, it is called the Western Continent of Cattle Exchange. The continent is shaped like the full moon, and the faces of its people are likewise shaped.

4. Uttarakuru, the Northern Continent (formerly called Northern Uttarakuru): Kuru means “supreme land.” Because the territory of this realm is more excellent than those of the three continents mentioned above, it is called the Northern Continent of Uttarakuru. This continent is square, like a square pond, and the faces of its people are likewise shaped.

The sun, moon, and stars circle halfway up Mount Sumeru, illuminating the four continents beneath heaven. Each of the four great continents has two intermediate continents and five hundred minor continents. The four great continents and the eight intermediate continents are inhabited, while the two thousand minor continents may or may not be inhabited. The karmic recompense in Uttarakuru is exceptionally excellent: there is much happiness and little suffering. However, no Buddha appears there, so it is one of the eight difficulties. Each of the four continents possesses three distinctive qualities:

– Southern Continent: The people of this continent are courageous and possess retentive memories; they perform various karmic deeds, cultivate pure conduct, and have Buddhas appear in their world. These three qualities surpass those of the other three continents and even those of the devas.

– Eastern Continent: This continent is exceedingly broad, vast, and wondrous.

– Western Continent: It has many cattle, many sheep and goats, and many pearls and precious gems.

– Northern Continent: Its people are not subject to domination, have no notion of personal possession, and live for one thousand years.

^[5] The four modes of birth: This refers to the four modes of birth of sentient beings within the six realms of the three worlds, comprising:

1. Birth from eggs (Andajayoni): beings born from eggs, such as geese, peacocks, chickens, snakes, fish, ants, and so forth.

2. Birth from the womb (Jalabuja, also called abdominal birth): beings born from the mother’s womb, such as humans, elephants, horses, buffaloes, cattle, pigs, goats, donkeys, and so forth.

3. Birth from moisture (Samsedaja, also called birth through causes and conditions or birth from the conjunction of cold and heat): beings born from damp vapors in moist places, such as moths, mosquitoes, worms, termites, gnats, sesame worms, and so forth.

4. Transformational birth (Opapatika): Beings that suddenly arise without anything upon which to depend are said to undergo transformational birth. Sentient beings such as devas, hell beings, and beings in the intermediate state are all born through transformation by the force of karma from past lives.

Among the four modes of birth mentioned above, beings born through transformation are the most numerous.

The Contemplation of the Buddha’s White Tuft Mark

The Sutra on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Infinite Life states: “If a person wishes to be born in the Western Pure Land, that person should contemplate an image of the Buddha sixteen feet tall above a pond.” It further records: “The excellent marks upon the Buddha’s body are exceedingly numerous and cannot all be contemplated in their entirety; therefore, one should contemplate only a single mark. That is, one should single-mindedly contemplate the white tuft of hair.

Once this contemplation has matured, all the remaining marks will naturally manifest.” This white hair is fifteen feet long and coils into a circle five inches in circumference. It has eight facets on the outside and is hollow and open within, like a crystal tube. It is situated precisely between the eyebrows, signifying the principle of the Middle Way.

This hair is soft and supple, curling clockwise, white as jade, bright, pure, and translucent, its radiance illuminating the Buddha’s entire body of pure gold. During contemplation, the mind must remain firmly established. If the mind becomes dull or distracted, one must immediately subdue it and restore it to lucidity and stillness.

Lucidity means that it is not obscured; stillness means that it is not distracted. It should be understood that lucid stillness is precisely the result of calming and contemplation. The essence of samadhi and wisdom is also the fundamental essence of the mind.

Calming and contemplation are the practice; samadhi and wisdom are the causal practices; lucid stillness is their result. When lucidity and stillness reach perfection, they accord with the fundamental essence. If one attains the supreme fruition, one accomplishes the adornments of merit and wisdom.

When body and mind have attained quiescent concentration, that is calming; contemplating the Buddha’s white tuft mark is contemplation; when the white tuft mark appears distinctly, that is lucidity; and when the mind remains firmly established and unmoving, that is stillness. This means relying upon the Buddha’s bodily marks to perfume one’s own mind-nature. If contemplative wisdom matures, these marks will naturally manifest—this is precisely the meaning.

Yet if one wishes to cultivate this contemplation, one must first clearly understand that all dharmas arise from mind. The sutra teaches: “The mind is like a skilled painter, creating the bodies of the five skandhas; all worldly dharmas are fashioned entirely by the mind.” Therefore, one should know that Amitabha Buddha’s white tuft mark is inherently complete within our own minds, and that all marks appearing in samadhi are likewise transformations manifested from our own minds.

This mind produces the white tuft mark; this mind itself is the white tuft mark. It does not come from elsewhere, nor can it be obtained by seeking outside. Only understanding in this way can be called cultivating contemplation in accordance with the Dharma.

In summary, the wisdom that contemplates is the threefold contemplation in a single mind^[1], while the contemplated white tuft mark is the three truths in a single object^[2]. Why is this so? Although the white tuft mark appearing in samadhi manifests before one’s eyes, it arises entirely from thought and recollection; it possesses neither a real mark nor a real nature.

A dharma born through causes and conditions inherently possesses no intrinsic nature, no other-derived nature, no shared nature, and no causeless nature. Since all four kinds of nature are empty, it has no real nature. This white mark arising through contemplation is empty not only in nature but also in appearance, like a reflection in a mirror or the moon in water; therefore, it has no reality.

Because both its nature and appearance are unreal, emptiness itself is the ultimate truth. Because it is seen in accordance with thought, provisional existence itself is the conventional truth. Since provisional existence itself is the conventional truth, it is neither ultimate nor empty; since emptiness itself is the ultimate truth, it is neither conventional nor provisional.

Thus, with the arising of a single thought, attachment is simultaneously dispelled and reality illuminated; one is free from both identity and non-identity, and free from both “it is” and “it is not.” Therefore, this is the inconceivable object of contemplation of the Middle Way, in which the three and the one are perfectly interfused. Contemplation arises entirely from the truths, and contemplation in turn illuminates the truths.

The object and contemplation are nondual; they are but one mind. Therefore, an ancient composed this verse:

The object is wondrous provisional existence; contemplation is emptiness,

Object and contemplation both empty—this is the Middle.

Dispelling and illuminating, before and after have never existed;

When the single mind perfectly merges, no trace remains.

The wording of this verse is exceedingly concise, so a brief explanation is needed. To say, “The object is wondrous provisional existence,” means that the object contains emptiness and the Middle within it. If it did not contain emptiness and the Middle, how could it be called wondrous provisional existence?

To say, “Contemplation is emptiness,” means wondrous emptiness that contains the Middle and provisional existence within it. To say, “Both object and contemplation are empty,” means that simultaneous illumination is already contained therein. Both being empty means neither emptiness nor provisional existence; simultaneous illumination means that emptiness itself is provisional existence.

One clings to neither of the two extremes, yet does not depart from them; therefore, this is called the Middle Way. The following two lines state that white radiance and illumination occur simultaneously, merging within the single mind.

Although the object contains all three, it belongs to the object contemplated and is therefore called only wondrous provisional existence. Although contemplation contains all three, it belongs to the contemplation exercised by the wisdom capable of contemplating and is therefore called only wondrous emptiness. Although object and contemplation each contain all three, wondrous contemplation employs the simultaneous relinquishment and simultaneous illumination of both, and thus accords silently with the wondrous object that both negates and reveals the two.

Yet in this wondrous Middle, to present one is to include all three, and to speak of the three is to speak of one. The three and the one are not identical, yet the three and the three are not different. This cannot be fathomed by discriminating consciousness or distinguished through language.

Therefore it is said, “White radiance and illumination—before and after, never before seen; the single mind merges completely, leaving no trace.”

The wondrous principle of the perfect interpenetration of object and contemplation is fully encompassed in only these four lines of verse. To understand this wondrous verse is better than reading several hundred volumes of Tiantai texts. Yet unless one clearly understands the principle of the single mind and thoroughly penetrates the doctrinal meaning of the Tiantai school, I fear it will not be easy to comprehend.

The sutra states: “Merely hearing the name ‘white urna’ can extinguish immeasurable offenses,” how much more so when one practices it single-mindedly in accordance with the Dharma. This Dharma was taught directly by Shakyamuni Buddha; Master Zhizhe earnestly exhorted practitioners to cultivate it exclusively; and in recent times, only Venerable Youxi practiced it regularly. Now, if practitioners of Pure Land karma can single-mindedly uphold the Buddha’s name, their rebirth in the Pure Land is assured.

If they also combine this with the cultivation of this wondrous contemplation, they will certainly attain rebirth in a high grade. Why, then, should superior practitioners of keen faculties not exert themselves in its practice?

(Translation completed in October 2002.)

Notes:

^[1] The threefold contemplation in a single mind: within a single thought, one can perfectly contemplate the Three Truths. That is, one contemplates: From where does a single thought arise? Where does it go? Ultimately, it cannot be found and is pure like empty space; this is called the contemplation of Emptiness. The wisdom capable of contemplating and the object contemplated are clearly and distinctly discerned; this is called the contemplation of Provisional Existence. Although their original nature is inherently empty, emptiness is not fixed as emptiness, and provisional existence is not fixed as provisional existence; this is called the contemplation of the Middle. The three are themselves one, and the one is itself three; this is called the threefold contemplation in a single mind.

^[2] The Three Truths in a single object: this means that the Three Truths of Emptiness, Provisional Existence, and the Middle mutually interpenetrate within a single mind. This is the teaching of the Perfect Teaching of the Tiantai school.