大乘起信論 勝方便・念佛往生
修行信心分講完了四信、五門、坐法、魔事、十利益、止觀俱行。
然後論主停下來，補了一段很短的話。
它先說的不是法，是人的狀態
「復次，眾生初學是法欲求正信，其心怯弱。」
前面各門皆以「云何修行」起問——先出法。這一節先說人：初學、想求正信，而心裡發虛。
虛在哪裡？
「以住於此娑婆世界，自畏不能常值諸佛、親承供養。懼謂信心難可成就，意欲退者」
怕自己遇不到佛，怕這個信心成就不了——然後就想退了。
不是懷疑法，是懷疑自己。不是不想修，是覺得條件不夠。
而論主的回應是一句轉語
「當知如來有勝方便攝護信心。」
勝方便。不是替你修，是把那顆快散掉的信心攏住。
「謂以專意念佛因緣，隨願得生他方佛土，常見於佛永離惡道。」
他怕的是「不能常值諸佛」——給他的正是一個能常見佛的去處。
藥是照著病配的。
全論唯一一次出現佛號
「如修多羅說，若人專念西方極樂世界阿彌陀佛，所修善根，迴向願求生彼世界，即得往生，常見佛故，終無有退。」
一部從頭到尾講一心、二門、三大、熏習、覺與不覺的論，在末尾忽然出現一個具體的佛號、一個具體的方向。
而論主稱這一路為「勝」。
還有最後一句，常被略過
「若觀彼佛真如法身，常勤修習畢竟得生，住正定故。」
觀那位佛的真如法身，也能往生。
前面十三段講的真如，在這裡沒有被繞開。
兩條路並列，論主不作高下之判——因緣分裡第六因緣說止觀、第七因緣說專念方便，本來就是並列的兩條。
篇幅有長短，位次無高下。
這一節之所以要單獨讀
前面那些單元說心的構造、迷的次第、熏習的機制、坐時的方法——都極精密，也都極需要力氣。
而這一節承認：有人此刻沒有那個力氣。
論主沒有說『再努力一點』。他說：如來有勝方便。
一部把道理講到那麼細的論，末了留了一道給撐不住的人走的門——而且用「勝」字稱它。
The part on practicing the mind of faith has finished with the four kinds of faith, the five gates of practice, the method of sitting, the works of Māra, the ten benefits, and calming and contemplation practiced together.
Then the author pauses and adds a very short passage.
It Begins Not with a Teaching but with a Person
“Further, some sentient beings first learning this dharma wish to seek right faith, but their minds are fainthearted.”
The preceding gates begin by asking how to practice—Dharma first. This passage begins with the person: new to the teaching, wishing to seek right faith, yet unsure of the strength to continue.
Where does that uncertainty lie?
“Because they live in this Sahā world, they fear that they will not always encounter the buddhas or personally attend on them and make offerings. Anxiously they think that faith may be difficult to accomplish, and so the thought of retrogressing arises.”
The danger lies not in doubt about the Dharma but in doubt about one’s ability to continue. The wish to practice remains, but the conditions seem insufficient.
The Author Answers with One Turn
“Know that the Tathāgata has a surpassing expedient that gathers in and protects faith.”
A surpassing expedient does not practice in your place. It gathers together the faith on the point of scattering.
“Through the condition of single-minded recollection of a buddha, sentient beings can be born according to their wishes in a buddha-land elsewhere, constantly see a buddha, and forever leave the unwholesome destinies behind.”
The fear was of being unable always to encounter the buddhas. The answer is a place where the Buddha can constantly be seen.
The medicine fits the illness.
The Treatise Names a Buddha Only Here
“As the scriptures say: if a person single-mindedly recollects Amitābha Buddha of the western land of Ultimate Bliss, dedicates the wholesome roots cultivated, and vows to seek birth in that world, that person will attain birth in that land. Because one constantly sees the Buddha, one will ultimately never retrogress.”
A treatise that has spoken throughout of the one mind, the two aspects, the three greatnesses, perfuming, awakening, and non-awakening now arrives at its end and gives one particular Buddha and one particular direction.
And the author calls this course surpassing.
One Last Sentence Is Often Missed
“If one contemplates that buddha’s dharma-body of suchness and constantly practices with diligence, one will ultimately attain birth in that land, because one abides in right settlement.”
The suchness unfolded through all the preceding units remains inside this course rather than being bypassed.
The two courses stand beside one another, and the author does not rank them. The sixth occasion at the beginning of the treatise speaks of calming and contemplation; the seventh speaks of the skillful means of focused recollection. They were parallel from the start.
The lengths differ; their standing does not.
Why This Short Passage Must Be Read by Itself
The preceding units explain the structure of mind, the sequence of delusion, the workings of perfuming, and the method of sitting—each with great precision, and each requiring strength.
This passage admits that someone may not possess that strength at this moment.
The author does not say, “Try harder.” He says that the Tathāgata has a surpassing expedient.
A treatise that explains the doctrine with such precision leaves, at the end, a gate for the person who cannot hold on—and calls that gate surpassing.
馬鳴菩薩造·梁西印度三藏法師真諦譯《大乘起信論》〈勝方便・念佛往生〉· 大正藏 T32n1666〔起 T32 0583a12〕。段／行首〔T32 …〕＝大正藏頁・欄・行錨。
〔T32 0583a12〕復次，眾生初學是法欲求正信，其心怯弱。以住於此娑婆世界，自畏不能常值諸佛、親承供養。懼謂信心難可成就，意欲退者，當知如來有勝方便攝護信心。謂以專意念佛因緣，隨願得生他方佛土，常見於佛永離惡道。如修多羅說，若人專念西方極樂世界阿彌陀佛，所修善根，迴向願求生彼世界，即得往生，常見佛故，終無有退。若觀彼佛真如法身，常勤修習畢竟得生，住正定故。 已說修行信心分。
The canonical text stands in Chinese only. This edition renders the essence, the plain reading, the exposition and the apparatus into English — never the sūtra itself. Switch to 漢讀本 or 並行雙語 above to read it.
馬鳴菩薩造·梁西印度三藏法師真諦譯《大乘起信論》，自「復次，眾生初學是法」至「已說修行信心分」。段首（…）＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔一·為誰而說〕（0583a12）再者，眾生初學這個法、想求正信，而其心怯弱。
〔二·怯弱從何而來〕（0583a13）因為住在這個娑婆世界，自己怕不能常常值遇諸佛、親自承事供養；憂懼地想：信心恐怕難以成就——因而起了想退的心。
〔三·如來有勝方便〕（0583a15）應當知道：如來有殊勝的方便，攝受護持信心。就是以專意念佛的因緣，隨其所願得生他方佛土，常見於佛、永離惡道。
〔四·經證〕（0583a17）如經中說：若人專念西方極樂世界阿彌陀佛，把所修的善根迴向、願求生到那個世界，就得往生；因為常見佛的緣故，終究沒有退轉。
〔五·觀真如法身者亦得生〕（0583a20）若觀那位佛的真如法身，常常勤加修習，畢竟能得往生——因為住於正定的緣故。
〔六·本分結〕（0583a21）以上，修行信心分說完了。
Composed by the Bodhisattva Aśvaghoṣa; translated by Paramārtha, Tripiṭaka Master of Western India, under the Liang. The Awakening of Faith in the Great Vehicle, from “Further, sentient beings first learning this dharma” to “The part on practicing the mind of faith has been spoken.” The bracketed figures at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line.
〔1 · For whom this is spoken〕（0583a12）Further, some sentient beings first learning this dharma wish to seek right faith, but their minds are fainthearted.
〔2 · Where the faintheartedness comes from〕（0583a13）Because they live in this Sahā world, they fear that they will not always encounter the buddhas or personally attend on them and make offerings. Anxiously they think that faith may be difficult to accomplish, and so the thought of retrogressing arises.
〔3 · The Tathāgata has a surpassing expedient〕（0583a15）Know that the Tathāgata has a surpassing expedient that gathers in and protects faith. Through the condition of single-minded recollection of a buddha, sentient beings can be born according to their wishes in a buddha-land elsewhere, constantly see a buddha, and forever leave the unwholesome destinies behind.
〔4 · Scriptural witness〕（0583a17）As the scriptures say: if a person single-mindedly recollects Amitābha Buddha of the western land of Ultimate Bliss, dedicates the wholesome roots cultivated, and vows to seek birth in that world, that person will attain birth in that land. Because one constantly sees the Buddha, one will ultimately never retrogress.
〔5 · One who contemplates the dharma-body of suchness also attains birth in that land〕（0583a20）If one contemplates that buddha’s dharma-body of suchness and constantly practices with diligence, one will ultimately attain birth in that land, because one abides in right settlement.
〔6 · The part concludes〕（0583a21）With this, the part on practicing the mind of faith has been spoken.
修行信心分講到這裡，四信說了、五門說了、坐法說了、魔事說了、十利益說了、止觀俱行也說了。
然後論主停下來，補了一段很短的話——一百多字。
而這一段是為一種人寫的：心怯弱的人。 全論之中，唯有這一節是先把讀者的處境寫出來，才開口說法的。
先說病，再說藥
「復次，眾生初學是法欲求正信，其心怯弱。」
注意這一節的寫法與前面全都不同。前面各門皆以「云何修行」起問——先出法，再說怎麼做。這一節先說人的狀態：初學、想求正信，而心裡發虛。
虛在哪裡？論主寫得很具體：
「以住於此娑婆世界，自畏不能常值諸佛、親承供養。懼謂信心難可成就，意欲退者」
——住在這個世界，自己怕沒辦法常常遇到佛、常常親自承事供養；於是憂懼地想：這個信心大概成就不了吧。然後就想退了。
這幾句寫的是一種很真實的心境。不是懷疑法，是懷疑自己；不是不想修，是覺得條件不夠。一個人不會因為道理錯了而退，多半是因為覺得自己撐不到。
而論主把這個心境的來由也寫清楚了：「以住於此娑婆世界」——問題出在所處之地。不是他的信不好，是這個地方不容易常值諸佛、不容易常得親承供養。論主沒有把退心歸咎於人的品質，他歸於處境。
這一點很要緊。若把怯弱判成信不真，那麼藥就只能是責備；既然判成處境所致，藥就可以是換一個處境。下面那句勝方便，正是照這個判斷開的。
「當知如來有勝方便」
論主的回應只有一句轉語：「當知如來有勝方便攝護信心。」
勝方便——殊勝的方便。而它的作用只有四個字：「攝護信心」。不是替你修，也不是替你證，是把你那顆快要散掉的信心攏住、守住。
方法是什麼？「謂以專意念佛因緣，隨願得生他方佛土，常見於佛永離惡道。」
專意念佛 → 隨願往生他方佛土 → 常見於佛 → 永離惡道。四步之中，前二是因，後二是果；而因的那一頭仍舊落在自己身上——所謂勝方便，不是省去了因。
而這一串的關鍵在「常見於佛」四個字——它正好對治了前面那個病。他怕的是「不能常值諸佛」，所以給他一個能常見佛的去處。藥是照著病配的。
再往下看一層：他怕的其實不只是見不到佛，是怕自己的信心撐不到那一天。而「常見於佛」之所以能治這個怕，不在於見了佛就多懂什麼，在於信心有了持續的所依。前面熏習那一段說過，淨法之熏要「乃至久遠」；一個人若在這漫長的久遠裡不斷失去所依，那個熏就接不上。往生佛土之所以被稱為勝方便，關鍵在此：它保住的是熏習的連續性。
論主接著說「永離惡道」，也是同一個道理——不是許諾一個好去處，是斷掉那些會把熏習打斷的境況。
「攝護」二字
那句轉語裡有兩個字值得單獨看：攝護。
不是拔濟，不是代修，是攝與護——把散開的攏回來，把已有的守住。
這與這部論一貫的說法是合的。前面說熏習時，論主從未說過有一個力量能替人走那條路；他說的是「用熏習」——諸佛作眾生的外緣。此處也一樣：勝方便所作的，是讓那顆已經生起、卻快要散掉的信心不散。
信是他自己的，只是撐不住了；勝方便給的是撐。
這樣看，這一節與整部論的關係就不是外掛的。分別發趣道相那一段說信成就要「經一萬劫」，說沒成就的人「遇惡因緣，或便退失墮二乘地」——那一段把難處說得很老實，而這一節正是接著那個老實話來的：既然難，那麼有沒有一個辦法，讓人不至於在半路上散掉？
有。而且論主把它放在四信五門講完之後，不是講完之前。
也因此這一節不與前面任何一段相違。若說念佛是『不必自己修』，那就與四法熏習那一段的「若雖有外緣之力，而內淨法未有熏習力者，亦不能究竟」相牴觸了。論主在此並沒有翻自己的案——他仍然說「專意念佛」，那是行，不是等。
那個唯一被點名的佛號
接著論主引經：「如修多羅說，若人專念西方極樂世界阿彌陀佛，所修善根，迴向願求生彼世界，即得往生，常見佛故，終無有退。」
這是全論唯一一處出現佛名與土名的地方。
一部從頭到尾講一心、二門、三大、熏習、覺與不覺的論，在末尾一節忽然出現一個具體的佛號、一個具體的方向（西方）、一個具體的世界。
這件事本身就值得停一下。論主沒有把這一路當成低一等的權宜——他稱它為「勝方便」，並且把它放在整分的收束處。
而所往生的效果，論主只說一件：「常見佛故，終無有退。」——不退。回到修行信心分開頭那句話：這一分是為「未入正定眾生」說的，怕的就是退；而這一節給的正是不退。
而它還留了另一條
一般引這一節的人多半引到上面就停了。但論主還有最後一句：
「若觀彼佛真如法身，常勤修習畢竟得生，住正定故。」
——若觀那位佛的真如法身，常勤修習，畢竟也能往生，因為住於正定。
這一句把整節接回了全論。前面十三個單元講的真如，在這裡沒有被繞開：念佛可以往生，觀彼佛之真如法身也可以往生。
而這兩句的差別，也正是這部論一直在講的那兩門。「專念西方極樂世界阿彌陀佛」是就相而念——有名號、有方向、有一個可以繫心的處所；「觀彼佛真如法身」則是就體而觀——所觀的是那個離言說相、離名字相的。前者近於生滅門的路數，後者近於真如門的路數。
而論主說二者「畢竟得生」，並沒有為後一路加上更高的果。理由末後給了：「住正定故」——兩路所歸的是同一個位。
還有一件小事值得記：後一句用的是「常勤修習」四個字。念佛那一路說「專意」「專念」，觀法身這一路說「常勤」——兩邊都不是等著，都是行。 這部論裡沒有一條不必動手的路。
兩條路並列，而論主不作高下之判。這正是這部論一貫的分寸：因緣分裡第六因緣說止觀、第七因緣說專念方便，本來就是並列的兩條；到了修行信心分，止觀說了兩個單元，念佛說了這一節——篇幅有長短，位次無高下。
一件誠實的事：那部經，論主沒有指名
論主說「如修多羅說」，卻沒有說是哪一部修多羅。
這一點不必替他補。古來注家所指也不盡一致，而此處的作法是照實記：論文標了它是經證，沒有標它是哪一部。
這件事其實有它的分量。論主在引一個具體的佛號、一個具體的方向時，用的是「如修多羅說」——他是在轉述所受之教，不是在自立一個法門。 一部處處自陳「假以言說引導眾生」的論，到這裡仍然守著同一個姿態。
為什麼這一段值得被單獨讀
若把這一節併進前面的止觀，讀的人很容易把它讀成一個附註。而它其實是這部論對一種人的正面回應。
前面那些單元，說的是心的構造、迷的次第、熏習的機制、坐時的方法——都極精密，也都極需要力氣。而這一節承認：有人此刻沒有那個力氣。
論主沒有說『那你再努力一點』，也沒有說『那你就先修別的』。他說的是：如來有勝方便。
一部把道理講到那麼細的論，末了留了一道給撐不住的人走的門——而且用「勝」字稱它。
「勝」字用得極講究。它沒有把這一路說成權宜、淺近或暫且之計；它說這是殊勝的方便。方便而稱勝，是因為它對得準那個機。 對心怯弱的人來說，一切精密的法門都不如一件他做得到的事來得有力——而做得到，正是此刻最要緊的。
而這一節放在修行信心分的末尾，也有它的次第意味：先講四信五門、講止觀、講魔事，最後才說這一路。不是把它藏在最後，是走完一遍之後，替走不動的人留一句話。
而這句話留下之後，論主隨即收束全分：「已說修行信心分。」——不再多說，也不回頭替這一路辯護。一部論在此處的節制，本身也是一種分寸：該給的門給了，走不走是讀的人的事。
承衍——注家如何讀這一段
上來是這一段自身的義。此下另以注家之眼旁照——注非論，只是同一樁事，換一個位置來看。
法藏《大乘起信論義記》於此節隨文而釋，未另立大判——文既短，注亦不繁。
而本節在論自身的科裡位置很清楚：因緣分列造論八因緣，其第七是「為示專念方便，生於佛前必定不退信心故」。論主在開篇就報了名，到這裡才兌現。 一部論肯在一千多字之前預告一件一百多字的事，可見它在論主心裡不是附帶。
元曉《起信論疏》於本段不重錄論文，是隨科而釋；兩本此段亦無相違之判可並錄。
而論自己那句「當知如來有勝方便攝護信心」還立在那裡——它不需要注家，也不需要階位。
The part on practicing the mind of faith has by now explained the four kinds of faith, the five gates of practice, the method of sitting, the works of Māra, the ten benefits, and calming and contemplation practiced together.
Then the author pauses and adds a very short passage—a little more than a hundred characters.
It is written for one kind of person: someone whose mind is fainthearted. Nowhere else in the treatise does a passage first set out the reader’s predicament and only then begin to teach the Dharma.
The Illness Is Named Before the Medicine
“Further, some sentient beings first learning this dharma wish to seek right faith, but their minds are fainthearted.”
The writing differs from all the preceding gates. They begin by asking how one practices—first the Dharma, then the method. Here the condition of the person determines where the teaching must begin.
Where does that uncertainty come from? The author is concrete:
“Because they live in this Sahā world, they fear that they will not always encounter the buddhas or personally attend on them and make offerings. Anxiously they think that faith may be difficult to accomplish, and so the thought of retrogressing arises.”
The order matters: no doctrine is disputed, but practice is threatened by the loss of sustaining conditions. People often do not turn back because a principle has proved false, but because they fear they cannot endure long enough.
The author also states the source of that fear: living in this Sahā world. The difficulty lies in a place where the buddhas cannot always be encountered and personally attended upon. The impulse to retreat is not blamed on a defect in the person’s character; it is traced to the conditions in which that person must practice.
This matters. If faintheartedness were judged to mean insincere faith, the only medicine would be reproach. Once it is understood as a response to conditions, the medicine can be a different set of conditions. The surpassing expedient that follows is prescribed on precisely that basis.
“Know that the Tathāgata Has a Surpassing Expedient”
The author answers with one turning sentence: “Know that the Tathāgata has a surpassing expedient that gathers in and protects faith.”
Its work is contained in the words gathers in and protects. It does not practice in your place or realize in your place. It gathers together a faith on the point of scattering and keeps what has already arisen from being lost.
What is the method? “Through the condition of single-minded recollection of a buddha, sentient beings can be born according to their wishes in a buddha-land elsewhere, constantly see a buddha, and forever leave the unwholesome destinies behind.”
Single-minded recollection of a buddha → birth according to one’s vow in another buddha-land → constantly seeing a buddha → forever leaving the unwholesome destinies. The first two are cause; the latter two are fruit. Even in a surpassing expedient, the causal end still rests with the practitioner—the cause has not been removed.
The crucial words are constantly see a buddha. They answer the fear named just above. The person is afraid of being unable always to encounter the buddhas, so a place is offered where the Buddha can constantly be seen. The medicine fits the illness.
At a deeper level, the fear is not only of failing to see a buddha but of faith giving way before the path is complete. Constantly seeing the Buddha addresses that fear by giving faith an unbroken support. The earlier account of perfuming says that the perfuming of the pure dharma continues “even into the far-distant future.” If a person repeatedly loses every support during that long course, the continuity of perfuming is broken. The surpassing character of birth in a buddha-land lies here: it preserves the continuity of perfuming.
The promise of forever leaving the unwholesome destinies makes the same point. It is not merely an attractive destination; it cuts off the kinds of circumstance that could interrupt that continuity.
What “Gathering In and Protecting” Means
The turning sentence deserves another look. It does not speak of being carried across without practice. It speaks of gathering and protecting—drawing back together what is scattering and guarding what has already arisen.
This accords with the treatise throughout. In explaining perfuming, the author never says that an external power can walk the road on someone’s behalf. The buddhas act as external conditions for sentient beings. The surpassing expedient performs that same office here: it prevents a faith that has arisen but is beginning to scatter from being lost.
The faith belongs to the person; what the surpassing expedient supplies is support when that person cannot hold it alone.
Seen in this light, the passage is not an attachment added onto the treatise. The earlier discussion of arousing the mind says that the accomplishment of faith may require “ten thousand kalpas,” and that before accomplishment, someone who “encounters harmful conditions may retrogress and fall to the ground of the two vehicles.” That passage states the difficulty without softening it. This one answers the question created by such honesty: if the road is that difficult, is there a way for someone not to fall apart halfway through?
There is. And the author places it after the four kinds of faith and five gates of practice, not before them.
For the same reason, this passage conflicts with nothing that precedes it. If recollection of the Buddha meant “no practice is required of oneself,” it would contradict the account of fourfold perfuming: “Even if the power of external conditions is present, if the pure dharma within has not yet acquired the power of perfuming, one still cannot ultimately turn away from the suffering of birth and death and delight in seeking nirvāṇa.” The author does not reverse himself here. He still says single-minded recollection. It is an act, not a waiting.
The Only Buddha Named in the Treatise
The author next cites a scripture:
“As the scriptures say: if a person single-mindedly recollects Amitābha Buddha of the western land of Ultimate Bliss, dedicates the wholesome roots cultivated, and vows to seek birth in that world, that person will attain birth in that land. Because one constantly sees the Buddha, one will ultimately never retrogress.”
This is the only place in the whole treatise where a buddha and a buddha-land are named.
A work that has spoken from beginning to end of the one mind, the two aspects, the three greatnesses, perfuming, awakening, and non-awakening now arrives at its final passage and suddenly gives a specific Buddha, a specific direction—the west—and a specific world.
The fact deserves a pause. The author does not present this course as an inferior concession. He calls it the surpassing expedient and places it at the close of the entire part.
Only one result is named: “Because one constantly sees the Buddha, one will ultimately never retrogress.” Non-retrogression returns us to the opening of the part on practicing the mind of faith. This part is addressed to those “not yet in the rightly settled group,” for whom retrogression is the danger. Its final passage gives precisely what that danger requires.
A Second Course Remains Beside It
Many citations of this passage stop there. The author adds one last sentence:
“If one contemplates that buddha’s dharma-body of suchness and constantly practices with diligence, one will ultimately attain birth in that land, because one abides in right settlement.”
The suchness unfolded through all the preceding units remains inside this course rather than being bypassed. The Pure Land passage is thus articulated through suchness as well as through named recollection.
The difference between the two statements recalls the two aspects taught throughout the treatise. “Single-mindedly recollect Amitābha Buddha of the western land of Ultimate Bliss” approaches through mark: a name, a direction, and a place on which the mind can be bound. “Contemplate that buddha’s dharma-body of suchness” approaches through substance: what is contemplated is free from the marks of speech and names. The former resembles the course of the aspect of mind as arising and ceasing; the latter resembles the course of the aspect of mind as suchness.
Yet the author says of both that birth in that land is ultimately attained and does not assign a higher fruit to the latter. The reason comes last: “because one abides in right settlement.” The two courses arrive at the same position.
There is also a small but telling detail. The latter sentence uses the words “constantly practices with diligence.” The course of recollection uses “single-minded” twice; the course of contemplating the dharma-body uses “constantly” and “with diligence.” Neither side waits. Both are practice. This treatise contains no road on which nothing need be done.
The two courses stand beside one another, and the author makes no judgment of higher and lower. The sixth occasion at the beginning of the treatise announced calming and contemplation; the seventh announced the skillful means of focused recollection. They were parallel from the outset. Within the part on practicing the mind of faith, calming and contemplation receive two units, and recollection of the Buddha this single passage—the lengths differ; their standing does not.
One Honest Fact: The Scripture Is Not Named
The author says “as the scriptures say” but never tells us which scripture.
There is no need to complete the sentence for him. Ancient commentators do not all point to the same text. The honest record is simple: the treatise identifies its witness as scripture but does not identify the scripture.
This restraint has weight of its own. When the author introduces a particular Buddha and a particular direction, he does so with the phrase as the scriptures say. He presents a teaching received from scripture; he does not establish a Dharma-gate on his own authority. A treatise that has repeatedly described language as a provisional means for guiding sentient beings maintains the same posture here.
Why This Passage Deserves to Stand Alone
If this passage were joined to the preceding discussion of calming and contemplation, it would easily be read as an afterthought. In fact, it is the treatise’s direct response to a particular kind of person.
The preceding units describe the structure of mind, the sequence of delusion, the workings of perfuming, and the method of sitting—all with great precision, and all requiring great strength. This passage admits that someone may not possess that strength at this moment.
The author does not say, “Then try harder,” or “Begin with some other practice.” He says that the Tathāgata has a surpassing expedient.
A treatise that explains the doctrine with such precision leaves, at the end, a gate for the person who cannot hold on—and calls that gate surpassing.
The word surpassing is chosen with care. This course is not called makeshift, shallow, or merely temporary. It is a surpassing expedient because it precisely fits the capacity before it. For someone whose mind is fainthearted, one thing that can actually be done has more force than a whole array of exacting methods—and being able to do it is what matters now.
Its place at the end of the part also carries an order. The four kinds of faith and the five gates of practice, calming and contemplation, and the works of Māra are explained first; only after the whole road has been shown is this course set out. It is not hidden at the end. It is the sentence left for someone who has walked the road in thought and found no strength to continue.
Once that sentence has been given, the author immediately closes: “The part on practicing the mind of faith has been spoken.” Nothing further is added, and no defense of the surpassing expedient follows. The restraint is itself exact: the gate has been given; whether to walk through it belongs to the reader.
Carrying Forward — How the Commentators Read This Passage
The foregoing is the sense of this passage in itself. What follows lets the commentators’ eyes shine on it from the side—a commentary is not the treatise, only the same matter seen from another position.
Fazang’s Record of the Meaning of the Awakening of Faith in the Great Vehicle follows this brief passage phrase by phrase without establishing a separate major judgment. The text is short, and the commentary remains concise.
Its place in the treatise’s own architecture is nonetheless clear. Among the eight occasions for composing the treatise, the seventh is “to disclose the skillful means of focused recollection, so that beings may be born in the presence of a buddha and assuredly attain non-retrogression in faith.” The author names the matter near the opening and fulfills it only here. That a treatise announces this hundred-character passage more than a thousand characters in advance shows that it is no incidental addition.
Wonhyo’s Commentary on the Awakening of Faith follows the outline without repeating the text of this passage; the two commentaries offer no divergent judgment here to set side by side.
And the treatise’s own sentence remains where it was: “Know that the Tathāgata has a surpassing expedient that gathers in and protects faith.” It needs neither a commentator nor a claim to a stage of attainment.
考據Apparatus
一、科判定位
本單元為全論十六單元之第十五，範圍〔T32 0583a12–0583a21〕，一百五十四字（含收句「已說修行信心分」）——本帙最短之單元。為修行信心分之末節：怯弱者之勝方便。
小而不併之故：本節所說為他力一路（專意念佛、隨願往生），與前二單元止觀之自力一路各成一門；併入則讀者面失其分際——小而不併，是義理之判不是版面之判。
二、異譯對勘
實叉難陀本此節之語與本段不盡同形；本段之名不得逕搜彼本。二本此段之逐段對勘未備，誌之。
三、經論宗依
論文於此明標經證：「如修多羅說，若人專念西方極樂世界阿彌陀佛，所修善根，迴向願求生彼世界，即得往生」〔0583a17〕——所引之經，論文未標其名；古來注家所指亦不一致，誌不判，不代為繫某經。
〔本叢書之內另有《佛說阿彌陀經》一帙（T366·jingtu 軸），其與本節所引是否同指，屬對讀之問，非本帙所判。〕
四、本段釋要
本節文短，《義記》隨文而釋，無另立之判可另舉。誠實記之。
五、諸家異釋（分欄並錄）
本段無二家相違之判可並錄——已查 T44n1846、T44n1844 兩本。
六、術語
- 勝方便〔0583a15〕：論文自作「如來有勝方便攝護信心」。
- 專意念佛〔0583a16〕；專念西方極樂世界阿彌陀佛〔0583a17〕：本論唯此一處出佛名與土名。
- 真如法身〔0583a20〕：「若觀彼佛真如法身，常勤修習畢竟得生」——本節於念佛之外另出一路，其所觀者仍是真如。
- 正定〔0583a21〕：「住正定故」，與前之正定聚相繫。
七、譬喻·修辭
本段無譬喻——一百五十四字全為直說。誌此，不代為本段造譬。
其修辭之特出者：本節先說病（心怯弱、意欲退），後出方便——與前諸門之先出法而後說行者不同，是因機而設之寫法。
八、徵引承衍
- 論內之前後相繫：本節承因緣分第七因緣「為示專念方便，生於佛前必定不退信心故」〔0575c03〕——論於因緣分所預告之第七事，至此方兌現；其所對之機（心怯弱者）亦與該處所判之上品相應。
- 本叢書之內：淨土一系諸帙（jingtu 軸）與本節可對讀，然名相體系與所依之經各出其書；各繫其書，不相混計。
九、校本定位
本單元域〔0583a12–0583a21〕之異讀二處，並錄不判：
| 錨 | 大正作 | 他本作 |
|---|---|---|
| 〔0583a13〕 | 住 | 往・往 |
| 〔0583a14〕 | 承 | 乘 |
〔0583a13〕「以住於此娑婆世界」之「住」他本作「往」——一字之別而所指之向相反（住此／往彼），於本節之義頗有關涉；並錄不判。
本單元域內：缺字標記 0、私用區字 0、夾註 0。
Placement of the passage as a whole. This unit is the fifteenth of the sixteen units of the whole treatise, its range 〔T32 0583a12–0583a21〕, one hundred and fifty-four characters, including the closing sentence 「已說修行信心分」—“the part on practicing the mind of faith has been spoken.” It is the shortest unit in this edition. It forms the final passage of the part on practicing the mind of faith: the surpassing expedient for those who are fainthearted.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
Why this short passage stands alone: it presents a course that relies on another’s power—single-minded recollection of the Buddha and birth in a buddha-land according to one’s vow. This is distinct from the course of self-power through calming and contemplation in the preceding two units. Combining them would erase that distinction from the reader’s view. Smallness is not a reason for combination: the division follows doctrine, not page design.
II. Cross-Recension Collation
The wording of this passage in Śikṣānanda’s recension does not take precisely the same form; the name used for this passage may not simply be searched for in that recension. A passage-by-passage collation of the two recensions for this unit has not been prepared; this is recorded.
III. Scriptural and Treatise Basis
The treatise expressly identifies a scriptural witness here: 「如修多羅說，若人專念西方極樂世界阿彌陀佛，所修善根，迴向願求生彼世界，即得往生」—“As the scriptures say: if a person single-mindedly recollects Amitābha Buddha of the western land of Ultimate Bliss, dedicates the wholesome roots cultivated, and vows to seek birth in that world, that person will attain birth in that land” 〔0583a17〕. The treatise does not give the scripture’s title. Ancient commentators likewise do not agree on its identification. Recorded without adjudication; no particular scripture is assigned on the treatise’s behalf.
〔Another edition within this series is devoted to the Amitābha Sūtra, T366, on the Pure Land axis. Whether that scripture and the one cited here are the same belongs to comparative reading, not to a judgment made by the present treatise.〕
IV. Exegesis of the Passage (the word-by-word mirror, phrase by phrase)
This passage is brief, and the Record of the Meaning follows it phrase by phrase without establishing a separate judgment that can be raised independently. This is recorded honestly.
V. Divergent Readings of the Commentators (recorded side by side, without adjudication)
No divergent judgment between the two commentators is present here to record side by side—T44n1846 and T44n1844 have both been checked.
VI. Terms (first occurrences in this passage)
- 勝方便 — the surpassing expedient 〔0583a15〕: the treatise itself says 「如來有勝方便攝護信心」—“the Tathāgata has a surpassing expedient that gathers in and protects faith.”
- 專意念佛 — single-minded recollection of a buddha 〔0583a16〕; 專念西方極樂世界阿彌陀佛 — single-minded recollection of Amitābha Buddha of the western land of Ultimate Bliss 〔0583a17〕: this is the only place in the treatise where the name of a buddha and the name of a buddha-land appear.
- 真如法身 — the dharma-body of suchness 〔0583a20〕: 「若觀彼佛真如法身，常勤修習畢竟得生」—“If one contemplates that buddha’s dharma-body of suchness and constantly practices with diligence, one will ultimately attain birth in that land.” Alongside recollection of the Buddha, this passage sets out another course; what is contemplated remains suchness.
- 正定 — right settlement 〔0583a21〕: 「住正定故」—“because one abides in right settlement,” connected with the rightly settled group named earlier.
VII. Simile and Rhetoric
This passage has no simile—all one hundred and fifty-four characters speak directly. This is recorded; no simile is made on the passage’s behalf.
Its distinctive rhetorical movement is that the illness comes first—the mind is fainthearted and intends to retrogress—and the expedient follows. Earlier gates first present the Dharma and only then speak of the practitioner; this passage is shaped in response to a particular capacity.
VIII. Citation and Carrying Forward
- Connections before and after within the treatise: this passage fulfills the seventh occasion announced in the part on the occasion, 「為示專念方便，生於佛前必定不退信心故」—“to disclose the skillful means of focused recollection, so that beings may be born in the presence of a buddha and assuredly attain non-retrogression in faith” 〔0575c03〕. Only here does the seventh matter anticipated at the opening of the treatise come to fulfillment. The capacity addressed here—the fainthearted—also corresponds to the higher capacity distinguished there.
- Within this series: works of the Pure Land axis can be read beside this passage, but their systems of terms and the scriptures on which they rely belong to their respective works. Each remains attached to its own work; their counts are not pooled together.
IX. Text-critical Placement
Within the range of this unit 〔0583a12–0583a21〕 there are two variant readings, recorded side by side without adjudication:
| Anchor | Taishō text | Other witnesses |
|---|---|---|
| 〔0583a13〕 | 住 | 往・往 |
| 〔0583a14〕 | 承 | 乘 |
At 〔0583a13〕, 「以住於此娑婆世界」—“because they live in this Sahā world” uses 「住」—“live,” which appears as 「往」—“go” in other witnesses. The difference of one character reverses the direction of the phrase—living here or going there—and bears closely on the meaning of the passage. Recorded side by side without adjudication.
Within the range of this unit: lacuna markers 0, private-use-area characters 0, interlinear notes 0.