敘淨土往生傳
Preface to the Biographies of Rebirth in the Pure Land
宋福唐飛山沙門戒珠敘
Preface by Jiezhu, a Monk from Feishan, Song Dynasty, Fuzhou, Futang
給孤園中聖賢之眾畢集。是時眾無一辭之請。如來遽然而告曰。過是西方十萬億國有淨土焉。其土廣博百寶成焉。又曰。眾生思焉念焉。求而以生者。皆如願焉。說者曰。十二分教以羅萬有。此乃無問自說之一分也。其義猶何。猶母之拊嬰兒不俟其請。但欲顧其手足乳而哺之。腹而擁之也。然如來捨淨梵降迦維。其說法者五十年。流慈振毓。隨機有授。其間龍天釋梵聲聞緣覺大菩薩眾。棄頭目捐髓腦。外於國城珍寶。殷勤三請者非一。如來或辭或默。止止而不說也。有之至是而乃自說。誠悲五濁異生流浪。而不息者長劫。夫將厭五濁。期生于淨土。必在乎專念。念言之至以繫乎想十六觀。所以第資焉。經稱諸佛正遍知海從心想生。其故何哉。明其始也。舉其漸之之謂也。行始於有修。智始於有習。無上極果以始于深心。深心者確乎其不可拔者也。故一念轉三塗之苦。十念階九品之善。此雖大乘方等諸經。皆所互陳而互發。非止一經。言而發之也。漢魏已來。翹誠西向。蔑聞其有人者。實以大法初流經文之未備矣。西晉時劉曜寇蕩京雒。僧顯避地江東。始由三事因願。驟感祥異。然其拳拳之志。以遭亂世。遺風勝業代或無聞。東晉之末。遠師憩跡廬阜。其時同意法師。釋道炳竺道生佛陀耶舍。洎在家英豪。劉遺民雷次宗周續之等一百二十三人。締結方外之遊。希風來集。遠以幻集之期不克。以常保夢遊之軀。不可以長存。因指無量壽國。結之遐遊焉其已也。又言。其國清淨無三塗無六趣。眾生依向不一。生而生者。寶幢為之前導。金蓮為之受質。於是相與而有蓮社之想焉。今之以蓮社云云。蓋其始也。或時以為淨社義亦詳矣。自遠而下。淨土之修益振。故宋有曇弘。齊有慧進。梁有道珍。李唐之間。頴悟通識之士。如道綽善導者累復有焉。余以像季之餘。值佛遺法。𥾝懷淨業其亦有年。每以前賢事績散於諸傳淪於異代。不得類例。相從條然以見。繇是歷考梁隋而下慧皎道宣諸師所撰傳記十有二家。洎大宋通慧大師新傳。且得顯等七十五人。其傳之作理。或有所暗昧。辭或有所叢脞。因復修正而發明之。外有鴻業慧明等六十二人。在其生平想像。至於捨生之際。不甞以矚勝相。備之不足起深信。乃無以備之。後之明哲。或患其所不足。摭而備之者。亦余之闕有補焉。
In the Garden of the Solitary, an assembly of sages and saints had gathered. At that time, without anyone asking a single question, the Tathagata immediately announced, “Beyond this world, to the west, past a hundred thousand billion lands, there is a Pure Land. That land is vast and adorned with the treasures of a hundred jewels.” And he continued, “Sentient beings who think of it, who remember it, who seek it and are reborn there, will all have their wishes fulfilled.”
The scriptures tell us that the Buddha’s teaching, organized into twelve divisions, encompasses all phenomena. This particular teaching is the one that was spoken without being asked. What does this mean? It is like a mother who tends to her infant without waiting for the baby to ask. She simply looks to the child’s needs, offers her breast and milk, and embraces the little one in her arms.
Although the Tathagata had left the pure celestial realms to be born in Kapilavastu, he taught the Dharma for fifty years, streaming forth compassion and nurturing beings according to their capacities. During this time, countless devas, dragons, humans, Brahmas, Shravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and great Bodhisattvas offered up their eyes, heads, marrow, brains, kingdoms, cities, and treasures, earnestly making request after request. Yet the Tathagata sometimes refused, sometimes remained silent, saying, “Stop, stop,” and did not speak. But here, he taught without being asked. This truly shows his compassion for the beings of the five turbidities, who wander and drown in suffering for endless kalpas without respite.
Those who wish to turn away from the five turbidities and be reborn in the Pure Land must be devoted to mindfulness. The pinnacle of mindfulness is to fix one’s thoughts on the sixteen contemplations, which progressively guide one there. The sutra says that the ocean of the Tathagata’s perfect, all-knowing wisdom arises from the mind’s thoughts. Why is this? It clarifies the beginning, speaking of gradual progress. Practice begins with cultivation, wisdom begins with learning. The supreme, ultimate fruit is founded on a deep mind—a mind that is firm and unshakable. Thus, a single thought can transform the suffering of the three lower realms, and ten recitations can lead to the goodness of the nine grades of rebirth. This teaching is not unique to one sutra; it is illuminated and developed across many Mahayana and Vaipulya scriptures.
From the Han and Wei dynasties onward, few were known to sincerely aspire toward the West, mainly because the great Dharma had just begun to spread and the sutras were not yet complete. During the Western Jin, when Liu Yao sacked Luoyang and Chang’an, the monk Xian fled south of the Yangtze. He began with three practices and earnest vows, and suddenly experienced auspicious signs. Yet his fervent aspirations, born in a time of chaos, left little legacy. By the end of the Eastern Jin, Master Huiyuan settled at Lu Mountain. At that time, fellow Dharma masters—Shi Daobing, Shi Daosheng, Buddhayaśas, and lay luminaries like Liu Yimin, Lei Cizong, Zhou Xuzhi, along with 123 others—formed a spiritual fellowship, drawn by the wind of his example. Huiyuan, knowing that gatherings of illusion cannot last and that the body of dreams is not eternal, pointed to the Land of Measureless Life and formed a bond to journey there together. He also said that this land is pure, without the three lower realms or the six paths of existence. Those who sincerely take refuge are not reborn as ordinary beings; instead, a jeweled canopy guides them forward, and a golden lotus receives them. Thus, they conceived the idea of the Lotus Society. The term “Lotus Society” originates from this. Some also call it the Pure Society, and its meaning is clear.
From Huiyuan onward, the practice of Pure Land flourished. During the Song, there was Tanhong; during the Qi, Huijin; during the Liang, Daozhen; and during the Tang dynasty, many enlightened and wise masters like Daochuo and Shandao appeared. I, living in the latter days of the Dharma image age, have encountered the Buddha’s remaining teachings. For years, I have cherished the practice of the Pure Land. Observing that the biographies of former sages were scattered across various records and lost in distant eras, without a consistent and organized collection, I thoroughly examined twelve biographical works by masters such as Huijiao and Daoxuan from the Liang, Chen, and Sui dynasties, as well as the new biography by the wise master of the Great Song. I compiled accounts of Xian and 74 other eminent figures. Where the original records were obscure in logic or messy in expression, I revised and clarified them. For 62 others, like Hongye and Huiming, their life stories lacked a clear vision at the moment of death, insufficient to inspire deep faith. Therefore, I did not include them. May future sages, if they find this work lacking, supplement it—so that these omissions may be filled.