No. 1196-A序
Preface
夫所謂土者。心而已矣。心外無土。土外無心。淨名所謂心淨則土淨也。倘以肉團為心。緣影為心。既未證心之所以為心。又安識土之所以為土。則夫應觀法界。一切惟心。心佛眾生。三無差別者。果何所謂也。而迷心作境者。昧然罔覺。一心之趨向。遂成兩土之分歧。有穢淨。斯有苦樂。有苦樂。斯有生佛。一切之國土。想網之所成也。濁惡眾生。既不能信。復何能證。誰則背塵向覺。起厭生欣。當今之世。而欲求一超生死之捷徑。脫輪迴之方便。舍此淨土一門。其何從而有之。台宗卍蓮法師。深究宗門。廣稽教部。不以宗教為究竟。而以淨土為指歸。其亦悟徹根源。契理亦復契機。故發為詩歌。作為銘詞。無不闡揚淨土。大放厥辭。二十九章之雜綴。所以辯明淨土也。四十八首之題像。所以宏讚淨土也。唯心之頌百八。所以徧窮淨土。也要約之律二十。所以勸修淨土也。而且欣厭有銘。警䇿有偈。無非反復叮嚀。欲人之同歸於淨土也。夫菩薩之用心。利他更切於自利。恐淨土之不知所修也。爰輯儀式以示之。恐淨土之有外乎禪也。復擬牛頌以通之。法師之於淨土。固已深信。而證之於其心矣。余與法師交契有年。深知巔末。十八猶負薪。二十始薙染。未當學問。而能言之亹亹者。不亦難乎其難哉。因弁數語於簡端。以明法師之專心淨土。絕不以宗教接人。正是善宗者不言宗。善教者不言教也。後之學者。當知無宗之非教。無教之非宗。無宗教之非淨土也。幸勿岐而二之。是為序。
What people call "a land" is nothing but mind itself. There is no land apart from mind, and no mind apart from land. As the Vimalakirti Sutra says, "When the mind is pure, the land is pure." If you take the physical heart as mind, or the fleeting reflections of thought as mind, you have not yet realized what mind truly is. How then could you understand what land truly is? So what does it mean when we say, "One should observe that the entire realm of reality is nothing but mind; the mind, the Buddha, and all beings—these three are not different"? Those who confuse mind with external objects remain ignorant and unaware. The direction the mind takes creates two separate lands: one impure, one pure. With impurity and purity come suffering and joy; with suffering and joy come ordinary beings and Buddhas. All lands are woven from the net of our thoughts.
Beings defiled by turbid evil cannot believe this, let alone realize it. Who would turn away from defilement and face toward enlightenment, giving rise to renunciation and aspiration? In today's world, if you seek a shortcut to transcend birth and death, or a method to escape the cycle of rebirth, without the Pure Land method, where else could you find one?
Master Wanlian of the Tiantai school has deeply investigated the Chan school and extensively researched the doctrinal teachings. He does not regard these teachings as the ultimate; rather, he takes the Pure Land as his final goal. He has fully awakened to the root source, harmonizing with both principle and circumstance. Thus, when he composes poems or writes inscriptions, they all elaborate on the Pure Land and express its great meaning. The twenty-nine miscellaneous chapters clarify the Pure Land; the forty-eight portrait verses extol the Pure Land; the one-hundred-and-eight verses on "Mind-Only" explore the Pure Land in all aspects; and the twenty essential precepts encourage cultivation of the Pure Land. Moreover, he has inscriptions on renunciation and aspiration, and verses on exhortation—all repeated reminders urging people to return together to the Pure Land.
The Bodhisattva's intention is to benefit others even more than himself. Fearing that people may not know how to practice the Pure Land, he compiled rituals to guide them. Fearing that the Pure Land might be seen as separate from Chan, he further composed the "Ox verses" to bridge them. The Master has deeply believed in the Pure Land and verified it in his own mind.
I have known the Master for many years and know his background thoroughly. At eighteen, he was still carrying firewood; at twenty, he first shaved his head and became a monk. He never had a formal education, yet he can speak eloquently and fluently—truly a difficult feat! Therefore, I write these few words at the beginning to make clear that the Master is wholeheartedly devoted to the Pure Land and never uses doctrines or teachings to attract others. This is exactly because one who is skilled in Chan does not speak of Chan, and one who is skilled in the teachings does not speak of the teachings. Future students should know that there is no Chan that is not the teachings, and no teachings that are not Chan—and there are no teachings or Chan that are not the Pure Land. Please do not divide them into two. This is my preface.
大清光緒乙亥歲孟春月樂成吳鄭衡書於三一閣之香染室
Written by Wu Zhengheng of Yuecheng in the First Month of the Spring of the Yihai Year, Guangxu Era, at the Xiangran Studio of the Sanyi Pavilion.