蓮宗寶鑑序
Preface to the Jewel Mirror of the Lotus School
禪淨二門分袒各幟幾同敵國矣。慈覺賾禪師有營田開庫之喻。各隨所好皆得如心。此亦方便和會之談耳。二物可會若本非二和會奚為。夫禪有如來禪祖師禪。祖師禪且置。佛語禪那華言靜慮。所謂八禪八定也。念佛三昧曰一心不亂。都攝六根。淨念相繼非靜定耶且念佛與唱佛不同。唱者口也。念者憶也。母憶子子憶母口乎心乎。所念之佛栴檀耶。閻浮檀金耶。毘首羯磨所作耶。應身耶。報身耶。法身耶。過去佛耶。現未佛耶。淨土在西方耶。舉足下足即道場耶。觀經金口所宣。而曰是心作佛是心是佛。故觀心即觀佛也。觀佛即念佛也。極而言之念本無念佛亦無佛。能念空所念亦空。如來禪即祖師禪也。故大勢至念佛無生。觀世音反聞自性。二菩薩似各一圓通。而同在安養左右彌陀。接引東土明乎。即淨即禪眾聖一揆。而後來釋子分張門戶。譬之祖宗房屋原只一間。而子孫于中牆壁夾斷。插籬種棘不相往來。其為執迷顛倒極矣。或難言三聖接引。則淨土在西方明矣。得無與自性惟心之旨相矛盾乎。余曰。彌陀者。眾生之彌陀也。眾生者。彌陀之眾生也。極樂者。彌陀之惟心也。惟心者。眾生之極樂也。故識自性惟心之旨。謂西方有彌陀。可謂東土皆彌陀。亦可謂法報身是佛。可謂丈六劣應身。與毘首羯磨所作是佛。亦可謂念過去佛。可謂念現來一切佛亦可。而又何禪淨之分別為耶。蓮宗寶鑑一書乃廬山優曇和尚所集。標真正譌尋香討根。實淨土之指南也。因屬楞嚴白法師。刻而傳之而僭為之引。
The Chan and Pure Land schools have become intensely polarized, almost like enemy nations. Master Ci Jue of the Changlu school used the analogy of farmland and a granary—each person follows their own preference and gets what their heart desires. This is merely a conciliatory attempt at harmonization. But if two things can be united, and they were never separate to begin with, what need is there for such forced reconciliation?
Chan has two kinds: the Tathagata Chan and the Patriarchal Chan. Leaving aside Patriarchal Chan, "Chan" in the Buddha's language means "dhyana," or "calm reflection." This refers to the eight meditative states (the eight dhyanas and eight samadhis). The practice of "Buddha-recitation samadhi" is described as "one-pointed mind without distraction," "gathering in all the sense faculties," and "pure thoughts following one after another." Isn’t this stillness and concentration?
Furthermore, reciting the Buddha's name (chanting aloud) is different from mindful remembrance of the Buddha (nian). Chanting is done with the mouth; mindful remembrance is done with the mind. When a mother remembers her child, and the child remembers the mother, does it happen through the mouth or the heart? As for the Buddha being recalled: Is it a sandalwood statue? Is it made of Jambu River gold? Is it created by the divine artisan Vishvakarman? Is it the Nirmāṇakāya (manifested body), the Sambhogakāya (reward body), or the Dharmakāya (truth body)? Is it a Buddha of the past, present, or future? Is the Pure Land located in the West? Or is "every place one walks on the path itself a place of enlightenment"?
According to the Sutra of Contemplation, taught directly by the Buddha: "This mind makes the Buddha; this mind is the Buddha." Therefore, contemplating the mind is contemplating the Buddha. Contemplating the Buddha is mindful remembrance of the Buddha. Taken to its ultimate point: mindful remembrance itself has no fundamental "remembrance," and the Buddha has no fundamental "Buddha." The subject of that remembrance is empty, and the object being remembered is also empty. Thus, the Tathagata Chan *is* the Patriarchal Chan.
Hence, Mahasthamaprapta attained non-arising through mindful remembrance of the Buddha, while Avalokiteshvara realized his own nature through returning the hearing inward. These two great bodhisattvas seem to practice different perfect penetrations, yet both dwell in the Western Paradise at the side of Amitabha. Is it not clear they guide beings from the East, proving that Pure Land *is* Chan, and all sages share the same principle?
Later, however, followers of the Buddha’s teaching set up divisive factions, much like descendants of a family who take an originally single-room ancestral home and partition it with walls and fences, planting thorns so that no communication occurs between them. Such attachment to misconceptions is extreme.
Someone may raise an objection: "The three sages coming to guide beings clearly shows that the Pure Land is in the West. Doesn't this contradict the doctrine of 'mind-only' and 'self-nature'?"
My answer is: Amitabha is the Amitabha of all beings. All beings are the beings of Amitabha. The Ultimate Bliss is the "mind-only" of Amitabha. Mind-only is the "Ultimate Bliss" of beings. Therefore, when one understands the principle of "self-nature mind-only," one can say that there is Amitabha in the West, or that all beings in the East are Amitabha. One can say that the Dharmakaya and Sambhogakaya are the Buddha, but also that the inferior sixteen-foot manifested body created by Vishvakarman is the Buddha. One can say one is recollecting a past Buddha, or equally that one is recollecting all present and future Buddhas. Where, then, is the division between Chan and Pure Land?
The book *Precious Mirror of the Lotus School*, compiled by the monk Udan of Lushan (Double Lotus Festival), clearly distinguishes correct from false teachings, seeking to get to the root. Truly, it is a guide to the Pure Land. Therefore, of Master Lengyan Bai, who has engraved it and made it widely known, I have presumptuously written this introduction.
紫柏弟子錢士升書於放下菴之更雨堂
Written by Qian Shisheng, disciple of Zibo, at the Changing Rain Hall of the Letting Go Hut.