丁未夏過雪山和尚方丈。和尚出一書授(余)曰。此寶筏也。且緣起甚奇。明末時。吳城八友同修𢆯門。日請乩仙以談其術。於卒也。有仙至。所談與諸仙異。因日事之甚狎熟。久之。忽勸以念佛。眾問念佛可乎。曰善。眾皆稱南無佛。曰不如是念也。眾問如何。曰汝須合掌至心。向西頂禮。念南無阿彌陀佛。眾從之。于是為之微細開示念佛法門。令捨偽歸真求生極樂。始宣示夙昔因緣。菩薩名號。及現異香天花種種靈瑞。而八人者。皆反其邪修。歸于正信。無朽者。八人中之師也。菩薩令往三昧和尚處。受毗尼圓僧相。和尚始難之。既而見菩薩月偈。遂敬禮西方為之剃度。葢菩薩始至時。眾以為仙。指月為題求句。因示以偈曰。一月光含千世界。分身無量照羣迷。當知本體原無二。不動莊嚴變化機。始於明崇禎癸未五月二十八日。迄清順治丁亥十月初二日。前後共二十四會。所說皆修行要妙。因偈中有確指正修路句。遂名之曰西方確指。余讀之。身心踴躍。不啻醍醐之滴入焦腸也。因嘆奇不已。和尚曰。(余)始亦不之信。既而閱之。神采煥發。即欲不信而不能矣。(余)曰菩薩往昔因中與八人具有大緣。悲念深故權巧接引。此豈同於應乩之流。且觀菩薩臨行。有曰鸞乩之設。本為神鬼依憑。非大菩薩應化常事。則是書也。豈可作乩書視也。(余)時即願刊布流通。廣利羣有。而因緣未和。迄今己酉春。僧俗道侶。無不踴躍歡喜願施貲助成。至有讀而哭。哭而讀。頓舍所愛室宇衣服器具。入深山念佛者。豈非菩薩以無緣慈。攝化眾生。不可思議乎。遂與靈曦慧楫二老師。謀付諸梓。梓成道其始末如此。

In the summer of the year Dingwei, I visited Monk Xueshan at his abode. The monk handed me a book, saying, "This is a precious raft for crossing the sea of suffering. Its origin is quite remarkable. At the end of the Ming dynasty, eight friends in Wucheng were practicing together in Taoist cultivation, often summoning spirits through the planchette to discuss their arts. Eventually, a spirit arrived and its teachings differed from the others. Day by day, they grew close to this spirit. After a long time, it suddenly urged them to recite the Buddha's name. They asked, 'Can we practice recitation?' The spirit replied, 'Yes.' They all chanted, 'Namo Buddha.' The spirit said, 'This is not the proper way.' They asked, 'Then how should we do it?' The spirit instructed, 'You must place your palms together, with sincere mind, bow to the West, and recite "Namo Amitabha Buddha."' They complied. Then the spirit gave them detailed instructions on the method of reciting the Buddha's name, urging them to abandon falsehood and return to truth, and to seek birth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Only then did it reveal its past karmic connections, the names of bodhisattvas, and various spiritual signs like a wonderful fragrance and celestial flowers. The eight individuals turned away from their deviant practices and embraced true faith. Among them was Wuxiu, their master. The Bodhisattva told him to go to the Venerable Sanmei to receive the precepts and become a fully ordained monk. The Venerable initially hesitated, but after seeing a verse from the Bodhisattva about the moon, he paid homage to the West and performed the tonsure.

When the Bodhisattva first appeared, they thought it was a spirit. They asked for a poem about the moon, and the Bodhisattva gave this verse: 'One moon's light contains a thousand worlds, Its countless bodies illuminate confused beings. Know that its essence is originally non-dual, In unmoving stillness, transformation's arts arise.' This began on the 28th day of the 5th month in the 16th year of the Ming Chongzhen era, and continued until the 2nd day of the 10th month in the 4th year of the Qing Shunzhi era. In total, there were 24 sessions, all teaching essential practices for cultivation. Because the verses included the line, 'Clearly pointing to the true path of cultivation,' the collection was named *Western Directions Clearly Pointed Out*."

As I read it, my body and mind were elated, as if nectar were dripping into my parched intestines. I marveled endlessly. The monk said, "I, too, was skeptical at first. But after reading it, I found it so inspiring that I couldn't disbelieve even if I wanted to." I replied, "The Bodhisattva had deep karmic connections with these eight people from past lives. Out of deep compassion, they used skillful means to guide them. How could this be compared to ordinary spirit-writing practices? Look at what the Bodhisattva said when departing: 'Planchette writing is merely a tool for ghosts and spirits to rely on; it is not a common practice of great Bodhisattvas to manifest through it.' So how could we regard this book as merely a planchette production? At that time, I wished to publish it and distribute it widely for the benefit of all beings, but the conditions were not yet ripe."

Now, in the spring of the year Jiyou, both monastics and laypeople are enthusiastic, willing to donate funds to help complete this work. Some have wept while reading it, and then read while weeping, abruptly leaving behind their cherished homes, clothes, and possessions to enter the mountains and recite the Buddha's name. Is this not an inconceivable display of the Bodhisattva's unconditional compassion? So I consulted with the two Dharma masters Lingxi and Huiji, and we decided to have it printed. Once the printing was done, I have recounted the story from beginning to end as above.

Western Confirmed Directives (西方確指)

Western Confirmed Directives (西方確指)