無量壽經優波提舍 心要連讀Treatise on Birth in That Land: The Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life · Continuous Heart-Essence

Twenty-four verses: one person looks over the place he means to go, from end to end, and then says—I am going.

The First Line Hands Over Oneself

“World-Honored One, with one mind I take refuge in the Tathāgata of Unobstructed Light who fills the ten directions, and I aspire to be born in the Land of Peace and Bliss.”

First one mind, then taking refuge, then the aspiration to be born. The order cannot be reversed: if the mind is still elsewhere, taking refuge is empty talk; if the refuge is not real, the aspiration has nothing to stand on.

And what is taken refuge in is a name—Unobstructed Light. That the light is unobstructed means nothing it reaches is blocked; if someone feels he has not been reached, what blocks is not on the side of the light.

What Is Relied On Is Not a Feeling

“I rely on the sūtra, on the mark of true merit, and speak these verses of aspiration as a comprehensive holding, in accord with the Buddha’s teaching.”

These twenty-four verses are not one person’s emotion; they are spoken in reliance on the sūtra. The land they contemplate is called “the mark of true merit”—not beautiful, but true; not scenery, but the mark of merit. Every adornment that follows must be read under these four words.

Seventeen Things, Telling Where a Place Has No Sickness

“Contemplate the aspect of that world: it surpasses the paths of the three realms.” From this line to the fourteenth verse, the verses look at the land.

Look at its purity; look at how it is “ultimate like empty space, vast and without bound”; look at how it is “born from the right path and great compassion, from supramundane roots of good.” Look at the light, the jewels, the touch that makes “those who touch it feel surpassing pleasure”; look at the adornments of water, ground, and sky; look at the raining flowers and robes, at “the Buddha’s wisdom, a bright pure sun, dispelling the world’s dark ignorance”; look at a name that is “subtle, heard in the ten directions.” Look at the lord there, the assembly there, the people there who take “meditation and samādhi as food” and are “forever free of the afflictions of body and mind.”

Each one is the one thing this world lacks.

And the most important takes four lines: “a realm of Mahāyāna roots of good, equal, with no name of reproach; women and the deficient in faculties, and the seed of the two vehicles, do not arise there.” There is only one taste there—no people divided into three ranks, and no names used to divide them.

Only after these seventeen does the verse say: “Therefore I aspire to be born in Amitābha’s land.”

Then Look at the One Who Sits There

“A king of measureless great jewels, a wondrous pure flower-dais.” Begin from the seat; look at the body, the voice, the mind—“like earth, water, fire, wind, and space, without discrimination”—the assembly, the leader, the lord.

Then a line to remember: “Contemplate the power of the Buddha’s original vow: none who meet it pass in vain; it can swiftly bring to fullness the great jewel-sea of merit.”

To have met is never to have met for nothing. This is a guarantee given by the master of that land, not something the one who goes has earned.

Having Gone, Look Back

“The Land of Peace and Bliss is pure; it ever turns the stainless wheel; the bodhisattvas, manifested buddhas, are suns, sustaining like Sumeru.”

The bodhisattvas there do not leave their place yet reach the ten directions; “in one thought and at one time” they “shine on all the assemblies of the buddhas”; they make offerings and praise “without a discriminating mind”; wherever there is no Buddha-Dharma, “I vow to be born there and show the Dharma as a buddha does.”

The nineteen verses before this are the going there; these four are the coming back. One goes in order to be able to come back.

The Last Line Is for Others

“I have composed this treatise and spoken these verses, aspiring to see the Buddha Amitābha and, together with all beings, to be born in the Land of Peace and Bliss.”

Twenty-three verses say “I”; the last exchanges “I” for “all beings.”

A person looks over the land, looks over the Buddha, looks over the bodhisattvas there, and what he says at the end is not “I will go,” but “let us go together.”

When the verses are done, the prose gives their intent in one sentence: “to contemplate the world of Peace and Bliss, to see the Buddha Amitābha, and to aspire to be born in that land.”

Two Questions

Then the treatise asks itself: “How does one contemplate? How does one give rise to faith?”

This is where the whole prose begins. It does not first demand faith; it first asks where faith comes from. And the answer is something that can be done: “practices the five gates of mindful practice to accomplishment, he will in the end attain birth in the Land of Peace and Bliss and see that Buddha Amitābha.”

Faith is not the starting point. It is practiced into being.

Five Names

“The first is the gate of worship; the second, the gate of praise; the third, the gate of making the vow; the fourth, the gate of contemplation; the fifth, the gate of dedication and direction.”

Body, mouth, mind, wisdom, compassion—each gate occupies one. Worship uses the body, praise the mouth, making the vow the mind, contemplation wisdom, dedication compassion. In a whole person, nothing is left idle.

Behind Every Gate There Is a “Because”

“With the body one worships the Tathāgata Amitābha, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Universally Knowing, because of the intention to be born in that land.” Worship, for one intention.

“With the mouth one praises, calling the name of that Tathāgata—according to the mark of that Tathāgata’s light, which is wisdom, and according to the meaning of that name, wishing to practice in accordance with reality and in correspondence.” Calling the name, so as to call it like its light, like its meaning.

“The mind constantly makes the vow, single-mindedly recollecting, to be born in the end in the Land of Peace and Bliss, wishing to practice śamatha in accordance with reality.” Making the vow, for the sake of stilling.

“With wisdom one contemplates, in right recollection contemplating that land, wishing to practice vipaśyanā in accordance with reality.” Contemplation, for the sake of seeing.

No gate is for its own sake. Worship is not for worship, calling the name is not for calling the name—the “because” at the end of each sentence says where that gate leads.

The Three Things Contemplated

“First, contemplating the adornment of merit of that buddha-land; second, contemplating the adornment of merit of the Buddha Amitābha; third, contemplating the adornment of merit of the bodhisattvas there.”

Land, Buddha, bodhisattvas. Exactly the three things the verses looked over. The verses look once; the prose teaches you how to look.

The Last Gate Opens Outward

“Not abandoning any suffering, afflicted being, the mind constantly makes the vow, with dedication and direction foremost, because of accomplishing the mind of great compassion.”

The first four gates go inward; this one faces out. Its place is last; its rank is “foremost”—dedication stands first, and the mind of great compassion is what it accomplishes.

Five gates passed, a person is born there, enters that land, and from there turns back.

The gate of contemplation is the longest of the five. The treatise takes one land, one Buddha, and a company of bodhisattvas apart into twenty-nine things in order to look at them.

First Say What It Is Like, Then Say What It Is Not Like

“The adornment of merit of that buddha-land is the accomplishment of inconceivable power. It is like the nature of the wish-fulfilling maṇi jewel—a dharma of resemblance and correspondence.”

A wish-fulfilling jewel rains down whatever is asked for. But the treatise says “resemblance”—the jewel gives only when asked; there, things are present without asking. The jewel gives clothing and food; what that land gives is the path.

Seventeen Things, Each Returning to a Line of Verse

“In contemplating the adornment of merit of that buddha-land, there are seventeen things that should be known.”

Purity, measure, nature, form, the various things, wondrous color, touch, adornment (water, ground, sky), rain, light, sound, the lord, the retinue, enjoyment, absence of hardship, the gate of the great meaning, the fulfillment of all that is sought. For each, the treatise says “because the verse says” such a line—the prose never steps away from the verse.

The gate of the great meaning is stated in most detail: “It should be known that the reward of the pure land is free of two kinds of fault of reproach: one in substance, one in name.” Those three kinds of people are not there, and neither are those three names. “‘Equal’ means of one equal mark.”

Then the treatise says this was only “briefly stated.”

Eight Things to See the Buddha, Four to See the Bodhisattvas

“In contemplating the accomplishment of the Buddha’s adornment of merit, there are eight kinds that should be known.” Seat, body, speech, mind, assembly, leader, lord, sustaining that is not in vain. After the eighth comes a line: “On seeing that Buddha, the bodhisattva who has not yet realized the pure mind in the end attains the dharma-body of equality, no different from the bodhisattvas of pure mind”—on seeing that Buddha, those who have not yet realized the pure mind are in the end no different from those who have.

“It should be known that those bodhisattvas have four kinds of accomplishment of merit in right practice.” Not leaving one land yet reaching the ten directions; in one thought and at one time shining on all the buddhas’ assemblies; making offerings to all the buddhas “without a discriminating mind”; wherever there are no three jewels, going there to show them “so that all understand and practice in accordance with reality.”

Gathered into One Phrase

“These three accomplishments are the adornment of the mind of the vow; briefly stated, they enter one dharma-phrase. The one dharma-phrase is the phrase of purity. The phrase of purity is the unconditioned dharma-body of true wisdom.”

Twenty-nine things, gathered into one phrase: purity. Look further into purity, and it is true wisdom, the unconditioned dharma-body.

Then the treatise divides purity into two faces: “first, the purity of the vessel world; second, the purity of the world of sentient beings.” The land is the vessel; the Buddha and the bodhisattvas are the beings. “Thus the one dharma-phrase gathers the two kinds of purity; this should be known.”

Taking apart is for seeing each thing clearly; gathering is for knowing they were one thing all along.

When stilling and contemplation have been practiced well, the mind becomes soft. What the treatise says next is where this softened mind is to go.

Give It Away

“The bodhisattva’s dedication and direction by skillful means means that all the merit and roots of good gathered by the five kinds of practice, worship and the rest, he does not seek for the pleasure of his own abiding and sustaining, but, wishing to draw all beings out of suffering, makes the vow to gather in all beings and be born together with them in that buddha-land of Peace and Bliss.”

Everything practiced through the five gates is not kept for oneself—not even the pleasure of that land is kept. Only one thing is wanted: to take all beings there together.

Three Things to Remove

“First, relying on the gate of wisdom, he does not seek his own pleasure, because he leaves behind the mind of self that is attached to his own person; second, relying on the gate of compassion, he draws all beings out of suffering, because he leaves behind the mind that gives beings no peace; third, relying on the gate of skillful means, with a mind that pities all beings, he leaves behind the mind that would have his own person given offerings and respect.”

Clinging to oneself, not caring for beings, wanting others to honor oneself—the treatise calls these three “dharmas contrary to the gate of awakening.” Here the treatise speaks only of whether they run contrary to the gate of awakening.

After the Three Are Removed

“First, the undefiled pure mind, because he does not seek pleasures for his own person; second, the peaceful pure mind, because he draws all beings out of suffering; third, the blissful pure mind, because he brings all beings to great awakening.”

Remove the clinging, and there is the undefiled; remove the not caring, and there is peace; remove the wanting of honor, and there is bliss. Nothing else is added.

Finally Gathered into One Mind

“As was said above, the undefiled pure mind, the peaceful pure mind, and the blissful pure mind—these three minds, gathered in one place, accomplish the supreme true mind of wondrous bliss; this should be known.”

Three minds are one mind. Its bliss is not the pleasure of the five senses, nor the pleasure of meditation; it is the bliss that a mind turned toward beings brings forth on its own.

And from beginning to end this passage says only one thing: “because he gathers beings into birth in that land.”

First, What Brings About Birth

“Such a bodhisattva, with the mind of wisdom, the mind of skillful means, the unobstructed mind, and the supreme true mind, can bring about birth in a pure buddha-land; this should be known.”

The four minds gathered up in the previous passage here find their destination: they can bring about birth in a pure buddha-land. Not some other condition—these four minds.

The Names of Five Gates

“The first is the gate of approach; the second, the gate of the great assembly; the third, the gate of the residence; the fourth, the gate of the chamber; the fifth, the gate of the garden-grove playground. Of these five gates, the first four accomplish the merit of entering, and the fifth accomplishes the merit of exiting.”

Like walking into a mansion: first to the doorway, then among the people, then into the residence, then into the chamber. And then—out into the garden.

Four Steps In

“Because, in worshipping the Buddha Amitābha, one aims to be born in that land, one attains birth in the world of Peace and Bliss; this is called entering the first gate.”

“Because, in praising the Buddha Amitābha, one calls the Tathāgata’s name in accordance with the meaning of the name and practices relying on the thought of the Tathāgata’s light, one attains entry into the number of the great assembly; this is called entering the second gate.”

“Because, single-mindedly recollecting and making the vow to be born there, one practices śamatha, the practice of the samādhi of stillness, one attains entry into the Lotus Treasury world; this is called entering the third gate.”

“Because, single-mindedly contemplating those wondrous adornments, one practices vipaśyanā, one reaches that place and enjoys the pleasure of every kind of taste of the Dharma; this is called entering the fourth gate.”

Worship, praise, making the vow, contemplation—the first four gates of mindful practice, each with one result: one arrives, enters the assembly, enters the world, tastes the Dharma.

One Step Out

“Exiting the fifth gate: with great compassion contemplating all suffering and afflicted beings, one also, in a body of response and transformation, turns back into the garden of birth and death and the forest of the afflictions, and with the play of supernormal powers reaches the ground of teaching, because one dedicates and directs by the power of the original vow; this is called exiting the fifth gate.”

The place one goes out to is called “the garden of birth and death and the forest of the afflictions.” That is where beings are. For going there, the treatise’s word is “play”—not that there is no suffering, but that there is freedom.

By what is one free? “Because one dedicates and directs by the power of the original vow.”

Four steps in, for the sake of this one step out.

The last three sentences of the treatise gather the five gates into two sides.

The Four Gates of Entering

“The bodhisattva entering the four gates accomplishes the practice of self-benefit; this should be known.”

Worship, praise, making the vow, contemplation—four gates one walks in through; this is oneself arriving.

The One Gate of Exiting

“The bodhisattva exiting the fifth gate accomplishes the practice of dedication and direction that benefits others; this should be known.”

Dedication and direction—one gate one walks out through; this is bringing others there.

Neither Stands Without the Other

Each sentence carries a “should be known.” What should be known is: without self-benefit there is no benefiting others; without benefiting others, self-benefit is not complete. The treatise gives no before and after; it only writes the four characters “benefiting himself and benefiting others” together.

Swiftly

“The bodhisattva, thus practicing the practice of the five gates, benefiting himself and benefiting others, swiftly accomplishes unsurpassed perfect awakening.”

The treatise’s last key word is “swiftly.” When the five gates are accomplished, becoming a buddha is swift. Why swift, the treatise does not say—the verses said it once: “Contemplate the power of the Buddha’s original vow: none who meet it pass in vain; it can swiftly bring to fullness the great jewel-sea of merit.”

Two Names

The opening title: “The Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life, with Verses of Aspiration for Birth.” The closing title: “The Treatise on the Sūtra of Measureless Life, in one fascicle.”

One book: it opens with the sounds of India, and closes with the words of this land.