No. 412-B敘
Preface
釋迦如來為一大事因緣出現於世。大事者何？生死大事也。故始於說法，終於拈華，不過欲諸眾生各證成等正覺而已。然歸元無二路，方便有多門。求其速了生死最捷徑者，莫過於參禪了道。而捷中之捷，徑中之徑，為異方便者，尤莫尚於念佛往生。乃世有聰明才智之士，往往鄙之為愚夫愚婦之所為者。夫口誦彌陀而心存塵垢，志希安養而念繫娑婆，誠可鄙矣。至於真能念佛之人，則淵寂通微，冥心入妙，能所兩忘，事理一致，如此而亦鄙之。真天如禪師所謂非鄙愚夫愚婦，乃鄙文殊、普賢及馬鳴、龍樹耳。此佛說觀無量壽佛經不可以不誦也。經中雖具有十六觀法，尤以觀佛為一經宗要。善觀者，觀一切相為非相，則能見彌陀之全體；觀一切法如幻法，則能入淨土之真境；觀我身之無我，則能具如來之正見。是以從一如來而見無量如來，入一境土而周無量淨土，悟一法身而融無量法身，無念而念，無修而修，無證而證，豈非善了大事因緣者哉？天台無盡法師，教中義虎，精通三觀，搆圖精工，攝頌爾雅。惜年久湮蕪，傳布甚少，故特重梓流通，復為麤釋一二典故，以便初機。俾見聞者，因相以寓目，因文而動懷，歡喜讚歎，發無上心，同結淨土勝緣。即有疑者謗者，亦植善因不淺。譬之城東老母，誓不見佛，以手障面，終莫能逃。況乎一歷識田，永為道種耶？是知此事，不問親疎，無分利鈍，各有自性彌陀，自現惟心淨土。所以十惡五逆，尚且十念往生；散心持名，亦可同登樂國。獨彼疑謗之人，籠鳥鼎魚，翻稱快樂；隙駒泡影，妄計久長。但恐一旦色力痿羸，神識迷亂，文章無靈，錢神莫挽，去路茫茫，無本可據。是使聰明才智之士，反見笑於愚夫愚婦也。敢請直下承當，共入彌陀願海。
The Tathagata Shakyamuni appeared in this world for one great cause. What is this great cause? It is the great matter of birth and death. Therefore, from his first teaching to his final holding up of the flower, his sole purpose was to enable all beings to realize perfect enlightenment. Although the ultimate destination is one, there are many expedient paths. Among the quickest and most direct ways to swiftly resolve the matter of birth and death, none surpasses the practice of Chan (Zen) for realizing the Way. Yet, within the quick, there is the quicker; within the direct, there is the more direct. As an extraordinary expedient means, nothing surpasses reciting the Buddha's name to be reborn in the Pure Land.
However, in this world, there are those of intelligence and talent who often scorn this practice as something for the ignorant and simple. Indeed, if one recites "Amitabha" with the mouth while the mind is mired in worldly defilements, or aspires to the Land of Peace and Nourishment while thoughts are bound to this Saha world, that is truly contemptible. But as for those who truly can recite the Buddha's name—those whose minds are profoundly still and subtly penetrating, who immerse their minds in the wondrous, who forget both subject and object, and for whom phenomena and principle are one—to scorn such practitioners is, as the Chan Master Tianru rightly said, not to scorn the ignorant and simple, but to scorn Manjushri, Samantabhadra, Mañjuśrī, and Nāgārjuna!
This is why the *Buddha Speaks the Sutra of Contemplation on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life* must be recited. Although the sutra contains sixteen contemplative methods, contemplating the Buddha is the essential core of the entire scripture. For one who contemplates well: contemplating all forms as non-forms, one can perceive the complete body of Amitabha; contemplating all dharmas as illusory dharmas, one can enter the true realm of the Pure Land; contemplating the self as without self, one can possess the correct view of the Tathagata. Thus, from one Tathagata, one sees immeasurable Tathagatas; entering one land, one pervades immeasurable pure lands; awakening to one Dharma-body, one merges with immeasurable Dharma-bodies. Reciting without reciting, cultivating without cultivating, realizing without realizing—is this not skillfully fulfilling the great cause?
The Tiantai Master Wujin, a tiger of doctrine who mastered the Three Contemplations, meticulously composed diagrams and elegant verses. It is regrettable that over the years they have become obscure and rarely circulated. Therefore, I have specially re-engraved them for widespread distribution and have added brief explanations of a few allusions to aid beginners. May those who see and hear them, through the forms engage their sight, and through the words stir their hearts, rejoice, praise, and give rise to the supreme mind, together forging the excellent connection with the Pure Land. Even those who doubt or slander will plant no shallow roots of goodness. Just as the old woman east of the city vowed not to see the Buddha and covered her face with her hands, yet ultimately could not escape, how much more so when a single impression enters the field of consciousness, it becomes an eternal seed of the Way?
Therefore, know that in this matter, there is no distinction between intimate and distant, no separation between sharp and dull. Each possesses their own Amitabha of self-nature and manifests their own mind-only Pure Land. Thus, even those who commit the ten evils and five rebellious acts can still be reborn through ten recitations; even those who recite the name with a scattered mind can likewise ascend to the Land of Bliss. Only those who doubt and slander are like caged birds or fish in a pot, yet call it happiness; like a glimpse through a crack or a bubble's shadow, yet falsely reckon it as lasting. I only fear that once their physical strength fails and their spirit becomes confused, their literary arts will have no power, their wealth-gods will be unable to save them, and the road ahead will be vast and boundless, with no foundation to rely upon. Thus, those of intelligence and talent may instead be laughed at by the ignorant and simple.
I dare to ask you to directly accept and undertake this, and together enter Amitabha's ocean of vows.
歲次乙未秋日武林菩薩戒弟子張文嘉仲嘉甫薰沐拜述
In the autumn of the year Yǐwèi, the disciple Zhang Wenjia, who has received the Bodhisattva precepts in Wulin, reverently presents this account after purifying himself.