English
English version What is great compassion? Answer: Although Sukhavati (the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha) accommodates the emotions of ordinary beings, it actually has two meanings. First, it is happiness in contrast to suffering; because there is no suffering, it is called Sukhavati (the Land of Ultimate Bliss). Second, it is happiness in accordance with one's true nature; without suffering or happiness, it is called Sukhavati. How can this true happiness be compared to emotional consciousness? Moreover, the Shravakas (Disciples of Buddha) take Nirvana as happiness, while the Great Saints take compassion as happiness. Isn't great compassion itself eternal happiness? But worldly people are easily saddened, which is truly focusing on the trivial. Question: Impurities are necessary for skillful means. In the past, Preacher Xuan (a strict Vinaya master) upheld the precepts very strictly, and the manifested Buddha repeatedly used impurities to break his attachments. I privately think that people in the Pure Land are born through diligent adherence to the precepts. The Buddha should universally show these people impure appearances to break their attachments. Why show pure appearances instead? Isn't this like using water to treat water? If it is said that these people are destined to be like this, then what about 'wanting to spread the Dharma sound and the transformations that are made'? Who wants it? Who is transforming? Answer: The Buddha's skillful means are used according to what is appropriate. Some situations are suitable for reverse destruction, while others are suitable for smooth accomplishment, each according to the individual's capacity. The Saha world (the world of suffering) is first subdued and destroyed with suffering. The Land of Peace and Nourishment (referring to the Western Pure Land) is suitable for being received with purity. It is necessary to ensure that old habits are permanently abandoned and good roots are fully matured. How can one immediately use impurities to break them, causing base and stingy thoughts to sprout again? The water birds and trees all proclaim the wonderful Dharma, and this is for that reason. Only when the power of patience is strong can one return to the defiled world to benefit beings. Now, some careless Bhikkhus (Buddhist monks) have not yet achieved any virtue and first try all kinds of hardships, becoming stained with defilement, which is truly self-inflicted. Question: When a person performs Buddhist deeds, all Buddhas should know. If Buddhas from the ten directions come to greet them, which direction should this person face? The essence of all Buddhas is the same, their manifestations are the same, and everything is the same. Those who recite the Buddha's name should be greeted by all the Buddhas from the ten directions. Now, only the Three Saints of the West come to greet them. It must be that when this person recites the Buddha's name, what they see is biased and shallow. Answer: Although all Buddhas can know everything, they respond to opportunities without confusion. Since one Buddha diligently and attentively recites the Buddha's name, the response naturally corresponds. Those who cultivate the Pure Land, even if all the Buddhas manifest simultaneously, there must be a principal and companions. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
弥陀独显。化佛云从。因果法尔如然。非是偏浅所致。 问。涅槃云。释迦亦有净土。本我导师。在彼末法。最后诚言。可无信受。便尔六时但念迦文。生难胜国。岂不当机耶。释迦极赞弥陀。合如其愿。既生彼已。遣我承事弥陀。亦复何碍。 答。诸佛谁无净土。弥陀亦有秽邦。良繇土土交资。佛佛互赞。如世易子而教。犹华接干而生。妙用微权。不可思议。恶知难胜。非即清泰之乡。安辨瞿昙。得无法藏之后。但遵现教。毋用他求。 问。有云大彻大悟人。不妨更见弥陀。既已不历诸位。立地成佛矣。以佛见佛。犹以知知知。此一见为是参。为是证。意者权示榜样。又或理既顿超。身犹凡下。往获妙用。乃可度生耳。 答。凡夫心始得悟。见处与佛相齐。菩萨行实无边。功能去佛犹远。不妨再依古佛。重受新闻。且证且参。何穷何尽。昔人谓离师太早。不能尽其妙。况离佛乎。若执三祇薰炼。是藏教小乘。而弱羽狂飞。失利多矣。可不慎诸。 问。即净即秽。即秽即净。西方此土。不逾分寸。生而即无生。去则实不去。今曰弹指。曰一念顷。曰屈伸臂。此已约时。便似举足移步。虽云极速。犹是两途。 答。执谢惑销。纵使路阻千山。而融通不二。情关识锁。就令速超弹指 现代汉语译本： 阿弥陀佛独自显现，化身佛陀如云般随从，这是因果法则自然而然的体现，并非是片面或浅显的理解所能达到的。 问：涅槃经中说，释迦牟尼佛也有净土，他是我们本来的导师。在末法时代，他最后的真诚教诲，难道不应该信受吗？如果只是六时念诵释迦牟尼佛的名号，希望往生到难胜国土，难道不更符合时机吗？释迦牟尼佛极力赞叹阿弥陀佛，应该如他所愿。既然已经往生到西方极乐世界，再派遣我来承事阿弥陀佛，又有什么妨碍呢？ 答：哪一尊佛没有净土呢？阿弥陀佛也有秽土。正是因为净土与秽土相互资助，诸佛之间互相赞叹，就像世俗之人交换孩子来教育，又像花朵嫁接枝干而生长。这种妙用和权宜之计，是不可思议的。认为难胜国土就是清泰之乡是错误的理解。又怎么能断定释迦牟尼佛在获得无法之藏后，就不能去其他净土呢？只要遵从现在的教诲，不要向其他地方寻求。 问：有人说，大彻大悟的人，不妨碍再去拜见阿弥陀佛。既然已经不需要经历各个修行阶段，可以立即成佛了，那么以佛的境界去见佛，就像用知觉去感知知觉一样。这一次拜见，是属于参拜，还是属于证悟呢？或许只是权宜之计，为了给大家做个榜样，又或者是因为理上已经顿悟，但身体仍然是凡夫，前往西方极乐世界获得妙用，才可以更好地度化众生吧？ 答：凡夫的心刚刚开始觉悟，所见到的境界与佛的境界相同，菩萨的修行实际上是无边无际的，其功德和能力距离佛的境界还很遥远。不妨再次依止过去的佛，重新接受新的教诲。证悟和参拜，是没有穷尽的。古人说，过早地离开老师，就不能完全领会其中的奥妙，更何况是离开佛呢？如果执着于三大阿僧祇劫的熏修，那是藏教小乘的观点，就像羽翼未丰就狂妄地飞翔，失去的利益会更多。难道不应该谨慎吗？ 问：净与秽是相互依存的，西方极乐世界与我们所处的娑婆世界，并不超过一寸的距离。往生就是无生，离开实际上并没有离开。现在说弹指之间，说一念顷刻，说屈伸手臂，这已经是在用时间来衡量了，就像抬脚迈步一样，即使说速度极快，仍然是两个不同的过程。 答：如果执着消除了，迷惑也消散了，即使道路被千山阻隔，也能融会贯通，达到不二的境界。如果情感的关卡和意识的枷锁被打破，即使是超越弹指一挥间也是可以实现的。
English
English version: Amitabha Buddha manifests alone, with the manifested Buddhas following like clouds. This is the natural manifestation of the law of cause and effect, not something achievable through superficial or shallow understanding. Question: The Nirvana Sutra says that Shakyamuni Buddha also has a Pure Land, and he is our original teacher. In the Dharma-ending Age, shouldn't his final sincere teachings be believed and accepted? If one simply recites the name of Shakyamuni Buddha during the six periods of the day, hoping to be reborn in the Land of Difficult Victory (Nan Sheng Guo), wouldn't that be more appropriate for the times? Shakyamuni Buddha highly praises Amitabha Buddha; we should follow his wishes. Since one has already been reborn in the Western Pure Land, what harm is there in being sent to serve Amitabha Buddha? Answer: Which Buddha doesn't have a Pure Land? Amitabha Buddha also has impure lands. It is precisely because Pure Lands and impure lands support each other, and Buddhas praise each other, like people exchanging children for education, or like grafting branches onto a tree. This wondrous function and expedient means are inconceivable. To think that the Land of Difficult Victory is the same as the Land of Pure Serenity (Qing Tai) is a misunderstanding. And how can one be certain that Shakyamuni Buddha, after obtaining the Treasury of No-Dharma, cannot go to other Pure Lands? Just follow the present teachings and do not seek elsewhere. Question: Some say that a person who has attained great enlightenment may still visit Amitabha Buddha. Since they no longer need to go through various stages of practice and can attain Buddhahood immediately, seeing a Buddha with the mind of a Buddha is like using consciousness to perceive consciousness. Is this visit considered a pilgrimage or an attainment? Perhaps it is just an expedient means to set an example for others, or perhaps it is because one has already had a sudden enlightenment in principle, but the body is still that of an ordinary person, and going to the Western Pure Land to obtain wondrous functions is necessary to better liberate sentient beings? Answer: When an ordinary person's mind first awakens, what they see is on par with the Buddha's realm, but a Bodhisattva's practice is truly boundless, and their merit and abilities are still far from the Buddha's realm. There is no harm in relying on the ancient Buddha again and receiving new teachings. Attainment and pilgrimage are endless. The ancients said that leaving the teacher too early prevents one from fully understanding the subtleties, let alone leaving the Buddha? If one clings to the cultivation of the three asamkhya kalpas, that is the view of the Hinayana of the Tripitaka teachings, like a fledgling bird flying wildly, losing more than it gains. Shouldn't one be cautious? Question: Purity and impurity are interdependent; the Western Pure Land and our Saha world are not more than an inch apart. Rebirth is non-birth, and leaving is actually not leaving. Now we speak of a snap of the fingers, a moment of thought, or the bending and stretching of an arm. This is already measuring with time, like lifting a foot and taking a step. Even if we say it is extremely fast, it is still two different processes. Answer: If attachments are eliminated and delusions are dispelled, even if the road is blocked by thousands of mountains, one can still achieve fusion and non-duality. If the barriers of emotions and the shackles of consciousness are broken, even surpassing the snap of a finger is possible. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
。而判隔弥深。今学人唯图句语尖新。喜谈即秽即净。不知头没九渊之下。谓天壤无殊。身沈鲍厕之中。谓薰莸不别。良可哀夫。 问。执途之人而问之。皆曰。念佛。耳之。则口称。非心念也。诘之。则曰。心口相应云。夫心口相应斯成声。因心而动斯为念。安得以声为念乎。或谓万法唯心。何声之非心耶。然则钟鼓琴瑟之鸣。亦是念乎。几矫乱矣。 答。钟鼓虽含洪韵。非叩不鸣。琴瑟虽具妙音。无指不发。钟鼓琴瑟。譬唇舌之外张。若击若弹。似心念之内动。如其绝念。从何发声。是以寐语喃喃。亦繇梦想。岂得佛声浩浩。不自心源。但世人任运称呼。不专不切。初则藉念成声。顷则随声乱念。名曰相应。实不相应耳。天如有言。口与心。声声相应。心与佛。步步不离。如是念佛。其庶几乎。 问。善财之参德云。始知念佛法门。及南过百城。五十四参而见阿弥陀佛也。则三昧成矣。他日文殊现身竹林。但令人念阿弥陀佛。夫以善财位臻十信。文殊何不径指即见弥陀。而顾使周历百城乎。彼学人未南询而辄议西归者。太早计乎。 答。始参而教念佛。则从源以及流。周历而见弥陀。则繇末而归本。所谓无不从此法界流。无不还归此法界也。是故南询而后西返。岂曰迟还。往生而后遍游 现代汉语译本： 而判断的差别如此之深。现在的学佛人只追求语句的尖锐新奇，喜欢谈论即是污秽又是清净，不知道已经头没入深渊之下，还说天下没有差别；身子沉在粪坑之中，还说香草和臭草没有区别，真是可悲啊。 问：抓住一个路人问他，都说在念佛。听到的，只是口头称念，并非心里念。追问他，就说心口相应。心口相应才发出声音，因为心里动才成为念头。怎么能把声音当作念头呢？或者说万法唯心，难道声音就不是心吗？如果这样，那么钟鼓琴瑟的鸣响，也是念头吗？这简直是矫揉造作，扰乱正法了。 答：钟鼓虽然包含洪亮的声音，不敲击就不会鸣响；琴瑟虽然具有美妙的音调，没有手指拨动就不会发出声音。钟鼓琴瑟，好比唇舌的外在表现；敲击弹拨，类似于心念的内在活动。如果断绝了念头，又从哪里发出声音呢？所以梦话喃喃，也是因为做梦。怎么能说浩浩荡荡的佛号声，不是来自心源呢？只是世人随意称念，不专注不恳切，开始是借助念头发出声音，不久就随着声音扰乱了念头，名为相应，实际上是不相应的。天如有句话说：‘口与心，声声相应；心与佛，步步不离。’这样念佛，或许可以吧。 问：善财童子参访德云比丘，才开始知道念佛法门，以及后来向南走过一百多座城市，五十四参才见到阿弥陀佛。这样三昧才算成就。后来文殊菩萨现身竹林，只是教人念阿弥陀佛。以善财童子已经达到十信的位次，文殊菩萨为什么不直接指示他立即见到阿弥陀佛，而偏偏要让他周游一百多座城市呢？那些学佛人还没有向南参访就议论往生西方极乐世界，是不是太早打算了？ 答：开始参访就教他念佛，这是从源头到支流；周游参访后见到阿弥陀佛，这是从末端回归根本。这就是所谓的‘无不从此法界流，无不还归此法界’。所以向南参访而后回归西方，怎么能说是迟缓呢？往生西方极乐世界之后才能遍游十方世界。