Faith, Vow, and Practice
This is the passage the whole commentary is best known for: Ouyi's own framework of faith, vow, and practice (信願行), the "three provisions" later Pure Land teaching treats as its cardinal structure. Here he works through six distinct kinds of faith one by one — in oneself, in others, in cause, in effect, in phenomena, and in principle — before turning to vow, and closing with why holding fast to Amitābha's name is, among every skillful means the Buddha ever taught, the foremost.
Third: Elucidating the Essential Teaching
第三明宗者，宗是修行之要徑、會體之樞機，而萬行之綱領也。提其綱則眾目皆張，挈其領則襟袖隨至，故次體之後應須辨宗。此經以信願持名為修行之宗要。非信不足以啟願，非願不足以導行，非持名妙行不足以滿其所願而證所信，是故經中先演極樂依正以生信，次勸應當發願以導行，次示七日持名以徑登不退。信則信自、信他、信因、信果、信事、信理，願則厭離娑婆欣求極樂，行則執持名號一心不亂。
Third, elucidating the essential teaching. The essential teaching is the crucial path of practice, the pivotal mechanism by which one meets the essence, and the guiding thread of the ten thousand practices. Lift the guiding thread, and every mesh of the net opens at once; grasp the collar, and the sleeves follow along with it — hence, after the essence, one must next distinguish the essential teaching. This sūtra takes faith, vow, and holding the name as its own essential teaching for practice. Without faith, one cannot open up vow; without vow, one cannot guide practice; without the wondrous practice of holding the name, one cannot fulfill the vow one has made and thereby verify the faith one holds. This is precisely why the sūtra first expounds the dependent and direct rewards of Utmost Bliss in order to give rise to faith, next exhorts one to make a vow in order to guide practice, and then shows the seven days of holding the name in order to ascend directly to non-retrogression. As for faith: faith in oneself, faith in others, faith in cause, faith in effect, faith in phenomena, and faith in principle. As for vow: to grow weary of and forsake this sahā world, and joyfully seek the World of Utmost Bliss. As for practice: to hold fast to the name with one mind, undistracted.
信自者，信我現前一念之心本非肉團亦非緣影，竪無初後、橫絕邊涯，終日隨緣、終日不變。十方虛空微塵國土，元我一念心中所現之物，我今雖復昏迷倒惑，苟能一念回心，決定得生自己心中本具極樂，更無疑慮，是名信自。
Faith in oneself: believing that the mind of my own current single thought is fundamentally neither this lump of flesh nor a mere shadow cast by conditions; that vertically it has neither beginning nor end, and horizontally it is cut off from every boundary and edge; that all day long it follows conditions, and all day long it remains unchanging. The lands of the ten directions, empty space itself, and every mote of dust are, at root, things manifested within my own single thought of mind. Although I am, at present, still confused and inverted in delusion, if I can, in a single thought, turn my mind around, I will certainly attain birth in the Utmost Bliss inherently possessed within my own mind, with no further doubt or hesitation remaining. This is called faith in oneself.
信他者，信彼釋迦如來決無誑語，彌陀世尊決無虛願，六方諸佛廣長舌決無二言，隨順諸佛真實教誨，決志求生更無疑惑，是名信他。
Faith in others: believing that the Tathāgata Śākyamuni certainly speaks no deceiving word; that the World-Honored Amitābha certainly makes no empty vow; that the buddhas of the six directions, putting forth their broad and long tongues, certainly speak no divided word. Following in accord with the buddhas' own true and genuine instruction, resolving one's intent to seek rebirth with no further doubt or hesitation — this is called faith in others.
信因者，深信散亂稱名猶為成佛種子，何況一心不亂安得不非生淨土因！是名信因。
Faith in cause: deeply believing that even reciting the name with a scattered, distracted mind still serves as a seed for buddhahood — how much more, then, must holding the name with one mind, undistracted, be a cause of rebirth in the Pure Land! This is called faith in cause.
信果者，深信淨土上善聚會皆從念佛三昧得生，譬如種瓜得瓜、種豆得豆，亦如影必隨形、響必應聲，決無虛棄，是名信果。
Faith in effect: deeply believing that the gathering-together of supremely good people in the Pure Land is, in every case, brought about through the samādhi of buddha-recollection — just as planting a melon yields a melon, and planting a bean yields a bean; just as a shadow must follow its form, and an echo must answer its sound. Certainly nothing is spent in vain. This is called faith in effect.
信事者，深信只今現前一念不可盡故，所以依心所現一切十方世界亦不可盡，實有極樂國土在十萬億土之外，最極清淨莊嚴不同莊生寓言，是名信事。
Faith in phenomena: deeply believing that, precisely because the single thought present right now cannot be exhausted, every world of the ten directions manifested in dependence on mind likewise cannot be exhausted; that there truly exists a land of Utmost Bliss beyond a hundred thousand million buddha-lands, of the most utterly pure and adorned kind — and unlike Master Zhuang's allegorical fables. This is called faith in phenomena.
信理者，深信極樂國土雖在十萬億土之遠，而實不出我只今現前介爾一念心外，以吾現前一念心性實無外故。又復，深信西方若依正、若主伴，皆吾現前一念妙明真心中所現影，全事即理、全妄即真、全修即性、全他即自，我心遍故佛心亦遍，佛心遍故一切眾生心性亦遍。譬一室千燈光光互遍，重重交攝不相妨礙，是名信理。
Faith in principle: deeply believing that although the land of Utmost Bliss lies a hundred thousand million buddha-lands away, it in fact does not extend beyond the outer edge of the single, minute thought of mind present right now within me — because the nature of my own current single thought of mind truly has no "outside" at all. And further, deeply believing that everything in the West — whether dependent reward or direct reward, whether host or retinue — is entirely a shadow manifested within the wondrously bright, true mind of my own current single thought: the whole of phenomena is entirely principle, the whole of delusion is entirely the true, the whole of cultivation is entirely inherent nature, the whole of other is entirely self. Because my own mind pervades everywhere, the Buddha's mind likewise pervades everywhere; because the Buddha's mind pervades everywhere, the mind-nature of every sentient being likewise pervades everywhere. It is like a single room lit by a thousand lamps, each light mutually pervading every other, layer upon layer interpenetrating without obstruction to one another. This is called faith in principle.
The six kinds of faith (信自/信他/信因/信果/信事/信理) are Ouyi's own signature contribution to Pure Land exegesis, and later teachers treat this list as close to a fixed catechism. Faith in oneself and faith in others form one pair (trusting one's own mind-nature, and trusting the buddhas' testimony); faith in cause and faith in effect form a second pair (the recitation as seed, the rebirth as fruit); faith in phenomena and faith in principle form the third and most distinctive pair — faith in phenomena insists Sukhāvatī is a real, literal place, while faith in principle insists that very place is, at the same time, never outside one's own present mind. Ouyi's point throughout is that neither half of any pair can substitute for the other: a reader who accepts only "faith in principle" and treats the Pure Land as a metaphor for inner purification, without also holding "faith in phenomena," has not yet arrived at the faith this sūtra asks for. "Master Zhuang's allegorical fables" (莊生寓言) refers to Zhuang Zhou (莊子), the Warring States Daoist philosopher whose Zhuangzi is built almost entirely from parables never meant to describe literal events — Ouyi's point of contrast is that Sukhāvatī, unlike Zhuangzi's butterfly or his giant fish transforming into a bird, is being presented as an actual place with an actual location.
Vow: Taking and Forsaking as the Whole Dharma-Realm
如此信已，則娑婆即自心所感之穢，而自心穢理應厭離；極樂即自心所感之淨，而自心之淨理應欣求，厭穢須捨至究竟方無可捨，欣淨須取至究竟方無可取。故《妙宗鈔》云：取捨若極，與不取捨亦非異轍。今設不從事於取捨，但尚不取不捨，即是執理廢事，既廢於事，理亦非圓。若達全事即理，則取亦即理、捨亦即理，一取一捨無非法界，故次信之後而明願也。
Once this faith has been established, then the sahā world is precisely the defilement my own mind has brought about, and by the very principle of my own mind's defilement I ought to grow weary of and forsake it; Utmost Bliss is precisely the purity my own mind has brought about, and by the very principle of my own mind's purity I ought to joyfully seek it. Growing weary of and forsaking defilement must be carried through to its utmost limit, until there is nothing further left to forsake; joyfully seeking purity must be carried through to its utmost limit, until there is nothing further left to seek. Hence the Miaozong Chao says: "Once taking and forsaking are carried to their utmost limit, this is, in the end, no different a path from not taking and not forsaking at all." Now, suppose one does not actually engage in taking and forsaking at all, but merely rests in "neither taking nor forsaking" — this is precisely clinging to principle while discarding phenomena, and once phenomena have been discarded, principle itself is no longer perfect and complete either. But if one penetrates through to the fact that the whole of phenomena is entirely principle, then taking is itself principle, and forsaking is itself principle as well — a single taking, a single forsaking, neither one anything other than the entire Dharma-realm. This is why, immediately after faith, [the sūtra] next elucidates vow.
The Miaozong Chao (妙宗鈔) Ouyi cites here is Siming Zhili's (四明知禮, 960–1028) Song-dynasty commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra, the Guanjing Shu Miaozongchao — a text foundational to Tiantai's own reading of Pure Land practice, and already read on this site's own Contemplation Sūtra page. This short passage answers an objection Ouyi anticipates but never states outright: that a sufficiently advanced practitioner might reason his way out of practice itself, treating "the Pure Land is only mind" as license to stop actually reciting the name, forsaking neither this world nor that one. Ouyi's reply is that refusing to take and forsake is not a higher non-dual insight — it is simply clinging to principle while abandoning the actual work of practice, and a principle severed from phenomena is not the perfect, complete principle the true mark names in the first place. Genuine taking and genuine forsaking, carried all the way through, turn out to already be principle themselves — which is exactly why the sūtra's own instruction to "grow weary of the sahā world" and "joyfully seek Utmost Bliss" needs no apology.
Practice: Holding the Name as the Foremost Skillful Means
言執持名號一心不亂者，名以召德，德既不可思議，故名號亦功德亦復不可思議，名號功德不可思議，故使散亂稱名為佛種，況執持至一心不亂，安有不徑登不退者乎！然諸經所示淨土要行萬別千差，如觀像、觀想、禮拜、供養、五悔、六念等，一一行成皆生淨土；而惟此持名一法，收機最廣下手最易，故釋迦慈尊於此經中無問自說，特向大智舍利弗拈出，可謂方便中之第一方便，了義中無上了義，圓頓中最極圓頓。故古人云：明珠投於濁水，濁水不得不清；佛號投於亂心，亂心不得不佛也。信願持名以為一乘真因，四種淨土以為一乘妙果，舉因則果必隨之，故以信願持名為經正宗。至於四種淨土之相，詳在《妙宗鈔》及《梵網玄義》，茲不具述，俟後消釋依正文中，當略點示耳。
As for the phrase "holding fast to the name with one mind, undistracted": a name summons the virtue it names. Since that virtue is inconceivable, the name itself — its merit and virtue — is likewise inconceivable. Because the merit and virtue of the name are inconceivable, even reciting it with a scattered, distracted mind serves as a seed for buddhahood — how much more so, then, when one holds it fast all the way to one mind, undistracted; how could such a person fail to ascend directly to non-retrogression! Now, among the essential practices for the Pure Land set forth across the various sūtras, there are ten thousand distinctions and a thousand differences — visualizing an image, visualizing the Buddha directly, prostration, making offerings, the five kinds of repentance, the six recollections, and so forth — each and every practice, once accomplished, brings about birth in the Pure Land. Yet this single method of holding the name alone gathers in the broadest range of capacities and is the easiest to take up as a starting point. This is precisely why our compassionate lord Śākyamuni, in this sūtra, spoke of it entirely unprompted, without being asked, singling it out especially for Śāriputra, foremost in great wisdom — one may well call it the foremost among skillful means, the unsurpassed among teachings of complete meaning, the very utmost among perfect and sudden teachings. Hence the ancients said: "Cast a bright pearl into muddied water, and the muddied water cannot help but become clear; cast the Buddha's name into a scattered mind, and the scattered mind cannot help but become Buddha." Faith, vow, and holding the name serve as the true cause of the One Vehicle; the four kinds of Pure Land serve as the wondrous fruit of the One Vehicle — raise up the cause, and the fruit must necessarily follow. This is why faith, vow, and holding the name constitute the sūtra's own essential teaching. As for the characteristics of the four kinds of Pure Land, these are set out in detail in the Miaozong Chao and the Fanwang Xuanyi; I will not set them out fully here, but will point to them briefly, as the occasion arises, while explaining the main text below.
"The five kinds of repentance" (五悔) — repentance, entreaty, rejoicing, dedication of merit, and vow-making — and "the six recollections" (六念) — of the Buddha, the Dharma, the Saṅgha, morality, generosity, and the heavens — are standard Tiantai and general Mahāyāna devotional categories, listed here only to be set aside in favor of the sūtra's own single method. The Fanwang Xuanyi (梵網玄義) is Ouyi's own commentary on the Brahmā Net Sūtra's doctrinal preface, cross-referenced here rather than repeated; the fourfold Pure Land scheme it and the Miaozong Chao both detail — the land of ordinary beings and sages dwelling together, the expedient land with residue remaining, the realm of real reward, and the land of eternal, tranquil light — is the same scheme distinguishing-the-essence set up on Part 1 of this collection, and Ouyi returns to it directly in the fourth of the Five Profound Meanings, on the next page.
Part 2 Complete
This closes the third and longest of the Five Profound Meanings: the six kinds of faith, the argument that taking and forsaking are themselves the whole Dharma-realm rather than an embarrassment to be reasoned away, and why holding the name outranks every other Pure Land practice as a skillful means. Part 3 turns to the fourth and fifth of the Five Profound Meanings — power and function, and doctrinal classification — before the framework closes and the sūtra's own text finally begins, with the opening of the Introduction: the assembly gathered to hear it.
Continue to Part 3 — Non-Retrogression, and the Assembly Gathers →