The Chapter of Easy Practice
A disciple, terrified of the difficult path's own risk of falling into the lesser vehicles, asks for an easier way. Nāgārjuna answers with buddhas of the ten directions, Amitābha's own original vow quoted directly, and pages of buddhas and bodhisattvas to call upon by name — the earliest scriptural root of Pure Land Buddhism's own distinction between self-power and reliance upon a buddha's vow, closing with the fourfold practice of confession, exhortation, rejoicing, and dedication.
The Question: Is There an Easier Way?
易行品第九
問曰：是阿惟越致菩薩，初事如先說。至阿惟越致地者，行諸難行，久乃可得，或墮聲聞、辟支佛地；若爾者是大衰患！
如《助道法》中說：若墮聲聞地， 及辟支佛地，是名菩薩死， 則失一切利。若墮於地獄， 不生如是畏；若墮二乘地， 則為大怖畏。墮於地獄中， 畢竟得至佛，若墮二乘地， 畢竟遮佛道。佛自於經中， 解說如是事，如人貪壽者， 斬首則大畏；菩薩亦如是， 若於聲聞地，及辟支佛地， 應生大怖畏。
是故，若諸佛所說，有易行道疾得至阿惟越致地方便者，願為說之。
答曰：如汝所說，是儜弱怯劣，無有大心，非是丈夫志幹之言也！
何以故？若人發願欲求阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，未得阿惟越致，於其中間應不惜身命，晝夜精進如救頭燃。
如《助道》中說：菩薩未得至， 阿惟越致地，應常勤精進， 猶如救頭燃；荷負於重擔， 為求菩提故，常應勤精進， 不生懈怠心。若求聲聞乘， 辟支佛乘者，但為成己利， 常應勤精進；何況於菩薩， 自度亦度彼，於此二乘人， 億倍應精進。
行大乘者，佛如是說：「發願求佛道，重於舉三千大千世界。」汝言：「阿惟越致地，是法甚難，久乃可得，若有易行道，疾得至阿惟越致地」者，是乃怯弱下劣之言，非是大人志幹之說！
汝若必欲聞此方便，今當說之。
The Chapter of Easy Practice
Question: The very first matter concerning this irreversible bodhisattva has already been explained. But reaching the stage of irreversibility requires practicing what is difficult to practice, attained only after a very long time — and one may, along the way, fall into the ground of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha. Should this be so, this is indeed a great calamity!
As the Treatise on Aids to the Path states: "Should one fall into the ground of the śrāvaka, or the ground of the pratyekabuddha, this is called the death of a bodhisattva, and every benefit is thereby lost. Falling into hell itself does not give rise to a fear such as this; but falling into the ground of the two lesser vehicles is indeed a source of great terror. Falling into hell, one is certain, in the end, to arrive at buddhahood; but falling into the ground of the two lesser vehicles permanently obstructs the path to buddhahood. The Buddha himself, within the sūtras, has explained this very matter — just as a person who cherishes their own life is filled with great terror at the thought of beheading; the bodhisattva is likewise so — toward the ground of the śrāvaka, and the ground of the pratyekabuddha, they ought to give rise to great terror."
It is for this reason that, should the buddhas themselves have spoken of some easy path, some skillful means for swiftly reaching the stage of irreversibility, I ask that you explain it to me.
Answer: What you have said here is feeble, timid, and inferior, lacking any great resolve — this is not the speech of one possessed of a great person's own strength of will!
And why is this so? Should a person give rise to the vow to seek unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, and not yet have attained irreversibility, throughout this very interval they ought to begrudge neither body nor life, exerting themselves diligently day and night, as though extinguishing a fire upon their own head.
As the Treatise on Aids to the Path states: "The bodhisattva who has not yet attained the stage of irreversibility ought constantly to exert diligent effort, just as though extinguishing a fire upon their own head; bearing this heavy burden for the sake of seeking bodhi, they ought constantly to exert diligent effort, never giving rise to a mind of indolence. Even one who seeks merely the vehicle of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha, seeking only their own benefit, ought constantly to exert diligent effort — how much more so, then, should the bodhisattva, who liberates both themselves and others, exert effort a hundred million times more diligently than these two vehicles' own followers!"
As for those who practice the Great Vehicle, the Buddha has spoken thus: "To give rise to the vow seeking the path to buddhahood is weightier than lifting the entire three-thousandfold great thousand-world system itself." What you have said — that the stage of irreversibility is so difficult a Dharma, attainable only after so long a time, and asking whether there might be some easy path to reach the stage of irreversibility swiftly instead — this is itself the speech of the feeble and the inferior, not the speech of a great person's own strength of will!
Yet, since you truly wish to hear of this skillful means, I shall now explain it.
Nāgārjuna's own answer opens not with reassurance but with a direct rebuke — calling the very question "feeble and inferior" before agreeing to answer it at all. This rhetorical posture matters for how the easy path that follows should be read: it is offered not as an admission that the difficult path was somehow mistaken or unnecessary, but as a concession granted despite Nāgārjuna's own evident preference for the "extinguish a fire on one's own head" urgency of self-effort. The easy path arrives framed, from its very first sentence, as a response to weakness rather than a repudiation of strength.
The Ten Buddhas of the Directions
佛法有無量門，如世間道，有難、有易；陸道步行則苦，水道乘船則樂。菩薩道亦如是：或有勤行精進，或有以信方便易行疾至阿惟越致者。
如偈說：東方善德佛， 南栴檀德佛，西無量明佛， 北方相德佛；東南無憂德， 西南寶施佛，西北華德佛， 東北三行佛；下方明德佛， 上方廣眾德，如是諸世尊， 今現在十方。
若人疾欲至， 不退轉地者，應以恭敬心， 執持稱名號。
若菩薩欲於此身，得至阿惟越致地、成就阿耨多羅三藐三菩提者，應當念是十方諸佛，稱其名號。
如《寶月童子所問經．阿惟越致品》中說：佛告寶月：東方去此，過無量無邊不可思議恒河沙等佛土，有世界名無憂。其地平坦，七寶合成，紫磨金縷，交絡其界，寶樹羅列，以為莊嚴。無有地獄、畜生、餓鬼、阿修羅道，及諸難處。
清淨無穢，無有沙礫、瓦石、山陵、垖阜、深坑、幽壑。天常雨華，以布其地。
時世有佛，號曰善德如來、應供、正遍知、明行足、善逝、世間解、無上士、調御丈夫、天人師、佛、世尊。大菩薩眾恭敬圍繞，身相光色，如燃大金山，如大珍寶聚。為諸大眾，廣說正法。初、中、後善，有辭、有義，所說不雜。具足清淨，如實不失。何謂不失？不失地、水、火、風；不失欲界、色界、無色界；不失色、受、想、行、識。
寶月！是佛成道已來，過六十億劫。又其佛國，晝夜無異，但以此間閻浮提日月歲數，說彼劫壽。其佛光明，常照世界。於一說法，令無量無邊千萬億阿僧祇眾生，住無生法忍，倍此人數得住初忍、第二、第三忍。
寶月！其佛本願力故。若有他方眾生，於先佛所，種諸善根，是佛但以光明觸身，即得無生法忍。寶月！若善男子，善女人聞是佛名能信受者，即不退阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。
餘九佛事，皆亦如是。
The Buddhadharma possesses immeasurable gates, just as a worldly road may be either difficult or easy — traveling on foot by land is arduous, while riding a boat by water is pleasant. The bodhisattva path is likewise so: some diligently exert effort, while others, by means of faith and skillful means, follow an easy practice and swiftly arrive at irreversibility.
As the verse says: "In the east, the Buddha of Good Virtue; in the south, the Buddha of Sandalwood Virtue; in the west, the Buddha of Immeasurable Light; in the north, the Buddha of Formed Virtue; in the southeast, the Buddha of Sorrowlessness; in the southwest, the Buddha of Jeweled Giving; in the northwest, the Buddha of Flower Virtue; in the northeast, the Buddha of the Threefold Conduct; below, the Buddha of Radiant Virtue; above, the Buddha of Vast Assembled Virtue — these World-Honored Ones exist, even now, throughout the ten directions."
"Should a person wish swiftly to reach the stage of non-retrogression, they ought, with a mind of reverence, to hold fast to and call upon these very names."
Should a bodhisattva wish, within this very body, to reach the stage of irreversibility and accomplish unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, they ought to be mindful of these buddhas of the ten directions, calling upon their very names.
As the Sūtra Requested by Ratnacandra Kumāra states, in its Chapter on Irreversibility: The Buddha told Ratnacandra: "To the east of here, past immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, there is a world named Sorrowless. Its ground is level and even, formed entirely of the seven treasures, threaded through with pure gold, its very boundaries interlaced with it; jeweled trees stand arrayed in rows, forming its own adornment. It possesses no hell, no animal realm, no hungry ghosts, no realm of asuras, and none of the other perilous states.
"It is pure and free of any impurity, without sand, gravel, broken stone, mountain ridges, mounds, deep pits, or dark ravines. The devas constantly rain down flowers, scattering them across its ground.
"At that time there was a buddha in this world, named Sudṛṣṭi Tathāgata, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly and Fully Awakened, Complete in Wisdom and Conduct, Well-Gone, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed, Tamer of Beings, Teacher of Devas and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One. A great assembly of bodhisattvas surrounded him in reverence; his own bodily form, radiant in color, was like a great mountain of blazing gold, like a great mass of precious treasure. For the sake of this great assembly, he expounded the true Dharma at length. Excellent in its beginning, its middle, and its end, possessed of both eloquent expression and true meaning, what he expounded was never mixed with anything extraneous. Complete in purity, it was exactly as it truly is, and never lost. What, then, is meant by 'never lost'? Never losing sight of earth, water, fire, and wind; never losing sight of the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm; never losing sight of form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness.
"Ratnacandra! It has now been sixty koṭis of kalpas since this buddha accomplished the path. And within this buddha's own land, day and night are indistinguishable; it is only by means of the sun, the moon, and the count of years within this Jambudvīpa of ours that the span of this kalpa is described at all. This buddha's own light constantly illuminates this entire world. Within a single exposition of the Dharma, he causes immeasurable, boundless thousands of ten thousands of koṭis of asaṃkhyeyas of sentient beings to abide within the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, and twice this number of beings to abide within the first, second, and third levels of acceptance.
"Ratnacandra! This is through the power of this buddha's own original vow. Should there be sentient beings from other realms who have already planted roots of goodness in the presence of former buddhas, this buddha, merely by touching their body with his own light, causes them to attain the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas at once. Ratnacandra! Should a good son or good daughter hear this buddha's own name and be able to accept it with faith, they shall not retrogress from unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening."
The matters concerning each of the remaining nine buddhas are, in every case, likewise so.
The extended quotation from the Sūtra Requested by Ratnacandra Kumāra, given in full for Sudṛṣṭi Buddha alone before the treatise abbreviates "the matters concerning each of the remaining nine buddhas are, in every case, likewise so," establishes the template the rest of this chapter will assume without repeating: an immeasurably distant pure land, a buddha whose own light or name alone is sufficient to grant the acceptance of non-arising, and a vow explicitly extended to beings who merely hear this name with faith. This is the exact scriptural shape that Amitābha's own vow, quoted directly further below, will follow as well — Sudṛṣṭi is not a digression before the chapter's real subject, but the pattern that subject fits into.
The Ten Directions Named, and Verses of Homage
今當解說「諸佛名號」及「國土名號」。
善德者：其德淳善，但有安樂。非如諸天、龍神福德惑惱眾生。
栴檀德者：南方去此無量無邊恒河沙等佛土，有世界名歡喜，佛號栴檀德，今現在說法。譬如栴檀香而清涼，彼佛名稱遠聞，如香流布。滅除眾生三毒火熱，令得清涼。
無量明佛者：西方去此無量無邊恒河沙等佛土，有世界名善，佛號無量明，今現在說法。其佛身光及智慧，明炤無量無邊。
相德佛者：北方去此無量無邊恒河沙等佛土，有世界名不可動，佛名相德，今現在說法。其佛福德高顯猶如幢相。
無憂德者：東南方去此無量無邊恒河沙等佛土，有世界名月明，佛號無憂德，今現在說法。其佛神德令諸天人無有憂愁。
寶施佛者：西南方去此無量無邊恒河沙等佛土，有世界名眾相，佛號寶施，今現在說法。其佛以諸無漏根、力、覺、道等寶，常施眾生。
華德佛者：西北方去此無量無邊恒河沙等佛土，有世界名眾音，佛號華德，今現在說法。其佛色身猶如妙華，其德無量。
三乘行佛者：東北方去此無量無邊恒河沙等佛土，有世界名安隱，佛號三乘行，今現在說法。其佛常說：聲聞行、辟支佛行、諸菩薩行。有人言：說上、中、下精進故，號為三乘行。
明德佛者：下方去此無量無邊恒河沙等佛土，有世界名廣大，佛號明德，今現在說法。明，名身明、智慧明、寶樹光明，是三種明，常照世間。
廣眾德者：上方去此無量無邊恒河沙等佛土，有世界名眾月，佛號廣眾德，今現在說法。其佛弟子福德廣大故，號廣眾德。
今是十方佛，善德為初，廣眾德為後。若人一心稱其名號，即得不退於阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。
如偈說：若有人得聞， 說是諸佛名，即得無量德， 如為寶月說。
我禮是諸佛， 今現在十方，其有稱名者， 即得不退轉。
東方無憂界， 其佛號善德，色相如金山， 名聞無邊際；若人聞名者， 即得不退轉，我今合掌禮， 願悉除憂惱。
南方歡喜界， 佛號栴檀德，面淨如滿月， 光明無有量。能滅諸眾生， 三毒之熱惱，聞名得不退， 是故稽首禮。
西方善世界， 佛號無量明，身光智慧明， 所照無邊際；其有聞名者， 即得不退轉，我今稽首禮， 願盡生死際。
北方無動界， 佛號為相德，身具眾相好， 而以自莊嚴；摧破魔怨眾， 善化諸人天，聞名得不退， 是故稽首禮。
東南月明界， 有佛號無憂，光明踰日月， 遇者滅煩惱；常為眾說法， 除諸內外苦，十方佛稱讚， 是故稽首禮。
西南眾相界， 佛號為寶施，常以諸法寶， 廣施於一切；諸天頭面禮， 寶冠在足下，我今以五體， 歸命寶施尊。
西北眾音界， 佛號為華德，世界眾寶樹， 演出妙法音；常以七覺華， 莊嚴於眾生，白毫相如月， 我今頭面禮。
東北安隱界， 諸寶所合成，佛號三乘行， 無量相嚴身；智慧光無量， 能破無明闇，眾生無憂惱， 是故稽首禮。
上方眾月界， 眾寶所莊嚴，大德聲聞眾， 菩薩無有量；諸聖中師子， 號曰廣眾德，諸魔所怖畏， 是故稽首禮。
下方廣世界， 佛號為明德，身相妙超絕， 閻浮檀金山；常以智慧日， 開諸善根華，寶土甚廣大， 我遙稽首禮。
過去無數劫， 有佛號海德，是諸現在佛， 皆從彼發願；壽命無有量， 光明照無極，國土甚清淨， 聞名定作佛。
今現在十方， 具足成十力，是故稽首禮， 人天中最尊。
I shall now explain the names of these buddhas, and the names of their own lands.
"Good Virtue": his own virtue is pure and wholesome, bringing only peace and joy — unlike the merit of devas, nāgas, and spirits, which can still confound and afflict sentient beings.
"Sandalwood Virtue": to the south of here, past immeasurable, boundless buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, there is a world named Joy, whose buddha is named Sandalwood Virtue, presently expounding the Dharma. Just as sandalwood incense brings coolness, this buddha's own renown is heard from far away, spreading like the very fragrance of this incense, extinguishing the burning heat of the threefold poison within sentient beings, bringing them to coolness.
"Buddha of Immeasurable Light": to the west of here, past immeasurable, boundless buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, there is a world named Goodness, whose buddha is named Immeasurable Light, presently expounding the Dharma. This buddha's own bodily light, and his own wisdom, shine forth immeasurable and boundless.
"Buddha of Formed Virtue": to the north of here, past immeasurable, boundless buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, there is a world named Immovable, whose buddha is named Formed Virtue, presently expounding the Dharma. This buddha's own merit rises high and visible, just like a banner's own standard.
"Sorrowlessness Virtue": to the southeast of here, past immeasurable, boundless buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, there is a world named Moon-Bright, whose buddha is named Sorrowlessness Virtue, presently expounding the Dharma. This buddha's own spiritual virtue causes every deva and human to be entirely free of sorrow.
"Buddha of Jeweled Giving": to the southwest of here, past immeasurable, boundless buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, there is a world named Assembled Marks, whose buddha is named Jeweled Giving, presently expounding the Dharma. This buddha constantly bestows upon sentient beings the treasures of the uncontaminated faculties, powers, factors of awakening, and path.
"Buddha of Flower Virtue": to the northwest of here, past immeasurable, boundless buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, there is a world named Assembled Sounds, whose buddha is named Flower Virtue, presently expounding the Dharma. This buddha's own bodily form is just like a wondrous flower, his own virtue immeasurable.
"Buddha of the Threefold Conduct": to the northeast of here, past immeasurable, boundless buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, there is a world named Peace, whose buddha is named the Threefold Conduct, presently expounding the Dharma. This buddha constantly expounds the conduct of the śrāvaka, the conduct of the pratyekabuddha, and the conduct of the bodhisattvas. Some say he is named the Threefold Conduct because he expounds diligent effort of the highest, middling, and lowest degree.
"Buddha of Radiant Virtue": below, past immeasurable, boundless buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, there is a world named Vast, whose buddha is named Radiant Virtue, presently expounding the Dharma. "Radiance" refers to the radiance of the body, the radiance of wisdom, and the radiance of the jeweled trees — these three kinds of radiance constantly illuminate this entire world.
"Vast Assembled Virtue": above, past immeasurable, boundless buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, there is a world named Assembled Moons, whose buddha is named Vast Assembled Virtue, presently expounding the Dharma. Since this buddha's own disciples possess merit vast and extensive, he is named Vast Assembled Virtue.
These, then, are the buddhas of the ten directions, from Good Virtue first through Vast Assembled Virtue last. Should a person, with a single mind, call upon these very names, they attain non-retrogression from unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening at once.
As the verse says: "Should there be a person who comes to hear these very names of these buddhas spoken, they attain immeasurable merit at once, just as was spoken for Ratnacandra himself.
"I bow in homage to these buddhas, presently existing throughout the ten directions; whoever calls upon their names attains non-retrogression at once.
"In the eastern world of Sorrowlessness, its buddha is named Good Virtue, his own form the color of a mountain of gold, his renown reaching without any bound; should a person hear this very name, they attain non-retrogression at once — I now join my palms and bow, praying that every sorrow and affliction be entirely removed.
"In the southern world of Joy, the buddha is named Sandalwood Virtue, his face pure as the full moon, his light beyond all measure. Able to extinguish the burning affliction of the threefold poison within every sentient being, hearing this name grants non-retrogression — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"In the western world of Goodness, the buddha is named Immeasurable Light, his bodily light and wisdom's own radiance shining without any bound; whoever hears this very name attains non-retrogression at once — I now bow my head in homage, praying to reach the very end of birth and death.
"In the northern world of Immovability, the buddha is named Formed Virtue, his own body complete with every excellent mark, adorning himself thereby; crushing and destroying the hosts of hostile māra, skillfully transforming every deva and human, hearing this name grants non-retrogression — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"In the southeastern world of Moon-Brightness, there is a buddha named Sorrowlessness, his own light surpassing the sun and moon, extinguishing the afflictions of whoever encounters it; constantly expounding the Dharma for the assembly, removing every inner and outer suffering, praised by the buddhas of the ten directions — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"In the southwestern world of Assembled Marks, the buddha is named Jeweled Giving, constantly bestowing every treasure of the Dharma extensively upon all; the devas bow their heads in homage to him, their own jeweled crowns beneath his feet — I now, with my whole body, take refuge in this Honored One of Jeweled Giving.
"In the northwestern world of Assembled Sounds, the buddha is named Flower Virtue, this world's own assembled jeweled trees giving forth the wondrous sound of the Dharma; constantly adorning sentient beings with the flower of the seven factors of awakening, his white curl of hair like the moon itself — I now bow my head in homage.
"In the northeastern world of Peace, formed entirely of every treasure, the buddha is named the Threefold Conduct, his body adorned with immeasurable marks; his light of wisdom immeasurable, able to break through the darkness of ignorance, sentient beings there free of sorrow and affliction — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"In the upper world of Assembled Moons, adorned with every treasure, its assembly of great and virtuous śrāvakas, its bodhisattvas beyond number; the very lion among every sage, named Vast Assembled Virtue, feared by every māra — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"In the lower, vast world, the buddha is named Radiant Virtue, his own bodily form wondrous beyond compare, like a mountain of Jambūnada gold; constantly, through the sun of his own wisdom, opening the flowers of every root of goodness, this jeweled land exceedingly vast — I bow my head in homage from afar.
"In ages past, countless kalpas ago, there was a buddha named Ocean Virtue; every one of these presently existing buddhas gave rise to their own vow following after him; their lifespan beyond measure, their light illuminating without limit, their lands exceedingly pure — hearing their names, one is certain to become a buddha.
"Now, presently existing throughout the ten directions, complete in accomplishing the ten powers — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage, the very foremost among devas and humans."
Naming ten buddhas across the eight compass directions plus above and below — rather than a single buddha in a single direction — establishes a structural principle this chapter will repeat at ever-larger scale: the easy path is not built around one uniquely privileged buddha, but around the sheer availability of many. Only after this full compass rose is completed does the chapter turn to Amitābha specifically, introduced not as a lone alternative but as one name among "Amitābha and the rest" — a phrasing worth noting given how singularly Amitābha's own name would come to dominate later Pure Land practice.
Amitābha's Own Vow
問曰：但聞是十佛名號，執持在心，便得不退阿耨多羅三藐三菩提？為更有餘佛、餘菩薩名得至阿惟越致耶？
答曰：阿彌陀等佛， 及諸大菩薩，稱名一心念， 亦得不退轉。
更有阿彌陀等諸佛，亦應恭敬、禮拜、稱其名號。今當具說：無量壽佛、世自在王佛、師子意佛、法意佛、梵相佛、世相佛、世妙佛、慈悲佛、世王佛、人王佛、月德佛、寶德佛、相德佛、大相佛、珠蓋佛、師子鬘佛、破無明佛、智華佛、多摩羅跋栴檀香佛、持大功德佛、雨七寶佛、超勇佛、離瞋恨佛、大莊嚴佛、無相佛、寶藏佛、德頂佛、多伽羅香佛、栴檀香佛、蓮華香佛、莊嚴道路佛、龍蓋佛、雨華佛、散華佛、華光明佛、日音聲佛、蔽日月佛、琉璃藏佛、梵音佛、淨明佛、金藏佛、須彌頂佛、山王佛、音聲自在佛、淨眼佛、月明佛、如須彌山佛、日月佛、得眾佛、華生佛、梵音說佛、世主佛、師子行佛、妙法意師子吼佛、珠寶蓋珊瑚色佛、破癡愛闇佛、水月佛、眾華佛、開智慧佛、持雜寶佛、菩提佛、華超出佛、真琉璃明佛、蔽日明佛、持大功德佛、得正慧佛、勇健佛、離諂曲佛、除惡根栽佛、大香佛、道映佛、水光佛、海雲慧遊佛、德頂華佛、華莊嚴佛、日音聲佛、月勝佛、琉璃佛、梵聲佛、光明佛、金藏佛、山頂佛、山王佛、音王佛、龍勝佛、無染佛、淨面佛、月面佛、如須彌佛、栴檀香佛、威勢佛、燃燈佛、難勝佛、寶德佛、喜音佛、光明佛、龍勝佛離垢明佛、師子佛、王王佛、力勝佛、華齒佛、無畏明佛、香頂佛、普賢佛、普華佛、寶相佛。
是諸佛世尊，現在十方清淨世界，皆稱名憶念。
阿彌陀佛本願如是：「若人念我——稱名、自歸，即入必定，得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。」是故常應憶念。
Question: Is it merely by hearing these ten buddhas' own names, holding them fast within one's own mind, that one thereby attains non-retrogression from unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening? Or are there further buddhas, and further bodhisattvas, whose names are likewise able to bring one to irreversibility?
Answer: "Amitābha and the other buddhas, together with every great bodhisattva — calling upon their names with a single, undivided mind of mindfulness likewise brings non-retrogression."
There are further buddhas, Amitābha among them, whom one likewise ought to revere, bow in homage to, and call upon by name. I shall now set them forth in full: Amitāyus Buddha, Lokeśvararāja Buddha, Siṃhamati Buddha, Dharmamati Buddha, Brahmalakṣaṇa Buddha, Lokalakṣaṇa Buddha, Lokasudṛśa Buddha, Maitrīkaruṇā Buddha, Lokarāja Buddha, Narendrarāja Buddha, Candraguṇa Buddha, Ratnaguṇa Buddha, Lakṣaṇaguṇa Buddha, Mahālakṣaṇa Buddha, Maṇicchattra Buddha, Siṃhakesara Buddha, Avidyābheda Buddha, Jñānapuṣpa Buddha, Tamālapattracandana-gandha Buddha, Mahāguṇadhara Buddha, Saptaratnavarṣa Buddha, Atikrāntaśūra Buddha, Krodhavigata Buddha, Mahāvyūha Buddha, Alakṣaṇa Buddha, Ratnagarbha Buddha, Guṇaśikhara Buddha, Tagaragandha Buddha, Candanagandha Buddha, Padmagandha Buddha, Mārgālaṃkāra Buddha, Nāgacchattra Buddha, Puṣpavarṣa Buddha, Puṣpāvakīrṇa Buddha, Puṣpaprabhāsa Buddha, Sūryasvara Buddha, Sūryacandrapraticchanna Buddha, Vaidūryagarbha Buddha, Brahmasvara Buddha, Śubhaprabha Buddha, Suvarṇagarbha Buddha, Sumerumūrdha Buddha, Girirāja Buddha, Svaravaśitva Buddha, Viśuddhanetra Buddha, Candraprabha Buddha, Sumeru-sadṛśa Buddha, Sūryacandra Buddha, Gaṇaprāpta Buddha, Puṣpodbhava Buddha, Brahmasvaranirghoṣa Buddha, Lokādhipati Buddha, Siṃhacārin Buddha, Sudharmamati-siṃhanāda Buddha, Maṇicchattra-vidruma-varṇa Buddha, Mohatṛṣṇāndhakāra-bheda Buddha, Udakacandra Buddha, Puṣpasamūha Buddha, Prajñāvikāsa Buddha, Miśraratnadhara Buddha, Bodhi Buddha, Puṣpātikrānta Buddha, Bhūtavaidūryaprabha Buddha, Sūryāvacchāda-prabha Buddha, Mahāguṇadhara Buddha, Samyagbuddhi-prāpta Buddha, Śūra Buddha, Anātyāyika Buddha, Akuśalamūlacchedana Buddha, Mahāgandha Buddha, Mārgāvabhāsa Buddha, Udakaprabha Buddha, Sāgaramegha-buddhi-vicārin Buddha, Guṇaśikhara-puṣpa Buddha, Puṣpālaṃkāra Buddha, Sūryasvara Buddha, Candrottama Buddha, Vaidūrya Buddha, Brahmasvara Buddha, Prabhā Buddha, Suvarṇagarbha Buddha, Giriśikhara Buddha, Girirāja Buddha, Svararāja Buddha, Nāgottama Buddha, Vimala Buddha, Śuddhamukha Buddha, Candramukha Buddha, Sumeru-sadṛśa Buddha, Candanagandha Buddha, Anubhāva Buddha, Dīpaṃkara Buddha, Durjaya Buddha, Ratnaguṇa Buddha, Priyasvara Buddha, Prabhāsa Buddha, Nāgottama-vimalaprabha Buddha, Siṃha Buddha, Rājarāja Buddha, Balottama Buddha, Puṣpadanta Buddha, Abhayaprabha Buddha, Gandhaśikhara Buddha, Samantabhadra Buddha, Samantapuṣpa Buddha, Ratnalakṣaṇa Buddha.
Every one of these buddhas, these World-Honored Ones, presently exists within a pure world throughout the ten directions — every one of them to be called upon by name and held in mindfulness.
Amitābha Buddha's own original vow is precisely this: "Should a person be mindful of me — calling upon my name, and taking refuge in me of their own accord — they shall enter the stage of certainty at once, and attain unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening." It is for this reason that one ought constantly to hold him in mindfulness.
This single sentence — "should a person be mindful of me, calling upon my name and taking refuge in me of their own accord, they shall enter the stage of certainty at once" — is the passage that later Pure Land tradition would treat as this treatise's own single most consequential line, and the earliest surviving scriptural articulation of what would become Amitābha's own eighteenth vow in the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, already translated on this site. Nāgārjuna offers it here not as an isolated proof-text but as the culminating example within a list of well over a hundred buddhas' names — a structural choice worth sitting with: within this treatise's own presentation, Amitābha's vow is the clearest and most explicit statement of the easy path's own mechanism, but it is offered as one instance of a much broader principle, not as this principle's sole source.
Verses in Praise of Amitābha
以偈稱讚：無量光明慧， 身如真金山，我今身口意， 合掌稽首禮；金色妙光明， 普流諸世界，隨物增其色， 是故稽首禮。
若人命終時， 得生彼國者，即具無量德， 是故我歸命。
人能念是佛， 無量力威德，即時入必定， 是故我常念。
彼國人命終， 設應受諸苦，不墮惡地獄， 是故歸命禮。
若人生彼國， 終不墮三趣，及與阿修羅， 我今歸命禮。
人天身相同， 猶如金山頂，諸勝所歸處， 是故頭面禮。
其有生彼國， 具天眼耳通，十方普無礙， 稽首聖中尊；其國諸眾生， 神變及心通，亦具宿命智， 是故歸命禮。
生彼國土者， 無我無我所，不生彼此心， 是故稽首禮。
超出三界獄， 目如蓮華葉，聲聞眾無量， 是故稽首禮。
彼國諸眾生， 其性皆柔和，自然行十善， 稽首眾聖王。
從善生淨明， 無量無邊數，二足中第一， 是故我歸命。
若人願作佛， 心念阿彌陀，應時為現身， 是故我歸命。
彼佛本願力， 十方諸菩薩，來供養聽法， 是故我稽首。
彼土諸菩薩， 具足諸相好，以自莊嚴身， 我今歸命禮。
彼諸大菩薩， 日日於三時，供養十方佛， 是故稽首禮。
若人種善根， 疑則華不開，信心清淨者， 華開則見佛。
十方現在佛， 以種種因緣，歎彼佛功德， 我今歸命禮。
其土甚嚴飾， 殊彼諸天宮，功德甚深厚， 是故禮佛足。
佛足千輻輪， 柔軟蓮華色，見者皆歡喜， 頭面禮佛足；眉間白毫光， 猶如清淨月，增益面光色， 頭面禮佛足。
本求佛道時， 行諸奇妙事，如諸經所說， 頭面稽首禮。
彼佛所言說， 破除諸罪根，美言多所益， 我今稽首禮；以此美言說， 救諸著樂病，已度今猶度， 是故稽首禮。
人天中最尊， 諸天頭面禮，七寶冠摩尼， 是故我歸命。
一切賢聖眾， 及諸人天眾，咸皆共歸命， 是故我亦禮。
乘彼八道船， 能度難度海，自度亦度彼， 我禮自在者。
諸佛無量劫， 讚揚其功德，猶尚不能盡， 歸命清淨人；我今亦如是， 稱讚無量德，以是福因緣， 願佛常念我。
我於今先世， 福德若大小，願我於佛所， 心常得清淨；以此福因緣， 所獲上妙德，願諸眾生類， 皆亦悉當得。
In verses of praise: "Immeasurable light, and immeasurable wisdom, his body like a mountain of true gold — I now, with body, speech, and mind, join my palms and bow my head in homage; his golden, wondrous light flows universally throughout every world, increasing the very color of whatever it touches — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"Should a person, at the moment life ends, attain rebirth within that land, they thereby possess immeasurable merit at once — it is for this reason that I take refuge in him.
"A person able to be mindful of this buddha, of his immeasurable power and majestic virtue, enters the stage of certainty at that very moment — it is for this reason that I am constantly mindful of him.
"Should the people of that land, at the moment life ends, be due to undergo any suffering, they do not fall into the evil hells — it is for this reason that I take refuge in him, bowing in homage.
"Should a person be reborn within that land, they never fall into the three lower destinies, nor into the realm of the asuras — I now take refuge in him, bowing in homage.
"Humans and devas there share the very same bodily form, just like the summit of a mountain of gold, the very destination every excellent being turns toward — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"Whoever is reborn within that land possesses the divine eye and the divine ear, unobstructed throughout the ten directions — I bow my head in homage to this most honored one among sages; the sentient beings of that land possess spiritual transformation and the penetration of others' minds, and further possess the knowledge of past lives — it is for this reason that I take refuge in him, bowing in homage.
"Whoever is born within that land is free of self and of what belongs to self, giving rise to no thought of 'this' and 'that' — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"Transcending the very prison of the three realms, their eyes like the petals of the lotus flower, this assembly of śrāvakas beyond number — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"The sentient beings of that land, their own nature entirely gentle and harmonious, naturally practice the ten wholesome courses of action — I bow my head in homage to this king among sages.
"Born from goodness, arising in pure brightness, immeasurable and boundless in number, foremost among those possessed of two feet — it is for this reason that I take refuge in him.
"Should a person vow to become a buddha, holding Amitābha in mind, he manifests his own body before them at that very moment — it is for this reason that I take refuge in him.
"Through the power of this buddha's own original vow, bodhisattvas of the ten directions come to make offerings and to hear the Dharma — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"The bodhisattvas of that land, fully possessed of every excellent mark, adorn their own bodies with them — I now take refuge in them, bowing in homage.
"These great bodhisattvas, day after day, across three periods of time, make offerings to the buddhas of the ten directions — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"Should a person plant this root of goodness yet harbor doubt, their own lotus flower does not open; should their mind of faith be pure, this flower opens, and they behold the Buddha at once.
"The buddhas presently existing throughout the ten directions, through causes and conditions of every kind, praise this buddha's own merit — I now take refuge in him, bowing in homage.
"That land is adorned in the greatest splendor, surpassing even the palaces of the devas, its merit exceedingly deep and abundant — it is for this reason that I bow in homage at the Buddha's own feet.
"The Buddha's own feet bear the mark of a thousand-spoked wheel, soft as the very color of a lotus flower — whoever beholds them is filled with joy, and bows their head in homage at the Buddha's own feet; the white curl of hair between his brows shines like the pure moon itself, increasing the very radiance of his countenance — I bow my head in homage at the Buddha's own feet.
"When he originally sought the path to buddhahood, he practiced every rare and wondrous deed, exactly as every sūtra describes — I bow my head in homage.
"This buddha's own words break through the very root of every offense, his beautiful speech bringing benefit far and wide — I now bow my head in homage; by means of this beautiful speech, he rescues every being afflicted with the sickness of attachment to pleasure, having already liberated them, and still liberating them even now — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"Most honored among devas and humans, the devas themselves bow their heads in homage to him, their own seven-jeweled crowns and maṇi-jewels laid before him — it is for this reason that I take refuge in him.
"Every assembly of the worthy and the noble, and every assembly of humans and devas, together and entirely take refuge in him — it is for this reason that I too bow in homage.
"Riding upon the very boat of the eightfold path, able to cross the ocean so difficult to cross, liberating himself and liberating others as well — I bow in homage to this master of himself.
"Every buddha, across immeasurable kalpas, praising and extolling his own merit, is still unable to exhaust it — I take refuge in this pure person; I too, in just this same way, now praise his immeasurable merit, and, through the causes and conditions of this very merit, pray that this buddha may constantly be mindful of me.
"Whatever merit, great or small, I myself possess from this present life and from lives past, I pray that, in this buddha's own presence, my mind may constantly attain purity; and, through the causes and conditions of this very merit, whatever supreme and sublime virtue I thereby obtain, I pray that every class of sentient being may likewise, in every case, come to obtain it as well."
The verse on doubt preventing the lotus from opening — "should a person plant this root of goodness yet harbor doubt, their own lotus flower does not open; should their mind of faith be pure, this flower opens, and they behold the Buddha at once" — anticipates, in miniature, the entire narrative structure Shandao's Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra develops at far greater length: unopened lotus flowers, sealed shut in proportion to the doubt or grave offense of the being reborn within them, appear repeatedly across that commentary's own account of the nine grades, already translated in full on this site. The image's own presence here, centuries before Shandao's own commentary, confirms how early this particular picture of Pure Land rebirth had already taken shape.
The Seven Buddhas of the Past, and Further Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
又亦應念：毘婆尸佛、尸棄佛、毘首婆伏佛、拘樓珊提佛、迦那迦牟尼佛、迦葉佛、釋迦牟尼佛，及未來世彌勒佛。皆應憶念、禮拜，以偈稱讚：
毘婆尸世尊， 無憂道樹下，成就一切智， 微妙諸功德；正觀於世間， 其心得解脫，我今以五體， 歸命無上尊。
尸棄佛世尊， 在於邠他利，道場樹下坐， 成就於菩提；身色無有比， 如然紫金山，我今自歸命， 三界無上尊。
毘首婆世尊， 坐娑羅樹下，自然得通達， 一切妙智慧；於諸人天中， 第一無有比，是故我歸命， 一切最勝尊。
迦求村大佛， 得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提， 尸利沙樹下；成就大智慧， 永脫於生死，我今歸命禮， 第一無比尊。
迦那含牟尼， 大聖無上尊，優曇鉢樹下， 成就得佛道；通達一切法， 無量無有邊，是故我歸命， 第一無上尊。
迦葉佛世尊， 眼如雙蓮華，弱拘樓陀樹， 於下成佛道；三界無所畏， 行步如象王，我今自歸命， 稽首無極尊。
釋迦牟尼佛， 阿輸陀樹下，降伏魔怨敵， 成就無上道；面貌如滿月， 清淨無瑕塵，我今稽首禮， 勇猛第一尊。
當來彌勒佛， 那伽樹下坐，成就廣大心， 自然得佛道；功德甚堅牢， 莫能有勝者，是故我自歸， 無比妙法王。
復有，德勝佛、普明佛、勝敵佛、王相佛、相王佛、無量功德明自在王佛、藥王無閡佛、寶遊行佛、寶華佛、安住佛、山王佛，亦應憶念恭敬禮拜，以偈稱讚：
無勝世界中， 有佛號德勝，我今稽首禮， 及法寶僧寶。
隨意喜世界， 有佛號普明，我今自歸命， 及法寶僧寶。
普賢世界中， 有佛號勝敵，我今歸命禮， 及法寶僧寶。
善淨集世界， 佛號王幢相，我今稽首禮， 及法寶僧寶。
離垢集世界， 無量功德明，自在於十方， 是故稽首禮。
不誑世界中， 無礙藥王佛，我今頭面禮， 及法寶僧寶。
金集世界中， 佛號寶遊行，我今頭面禮， 及法寶僧寶。
美音界寶花， 安立山王佛，我今頭面禮， 及法寶僧寶。
今是諸如來， 住在東方界，我以恭敬心， 稱揚歸命禮。
唯願諸如來， 深加以慈愍，現身在我前， 皆令目得見。
復次，過去、未來、現在諸佛，盡應總念、恭敬、禮拜，以偈稱讚：過去世諸佛， 降伏眾魔怨，以大智慧力， 廣利於眾生；彼時諸眾生， 盡心皆供養，恭敬而稱揚， 是故頭面禮。
現在十方界， 不可計諸佛，其數過恒沙， 無量無有邊；慈愍諸眾生， 常轉妙法輪，是故我恭敬， 歸命稽首禮。
未來世諸佛， 身色如金山，光明無有量， 眾相自莊嚴；出世度眾生， 當入於涅槃，如是諸世尊， 我今頭面禮。
One likewise ought to be mindful of: Vipaśyin Buddha, Śikhin Buddha, Viśvabhū Buddha, Krakucchanda Buddha, Kanakamuni Buddha, Kāśyapa Buddha, Śākyamuni Buddha, and Maitreya Buddha, still to come. Every one of these ought to be held in mindfulness and bowed to in homage, praised with verses such as these:
"Vipaśyin, this World-Honored One, beneath the sorrowless tree of awakening, accomplished omniscience, and every subtle and sublime merit; rightly contemplating this world, his own mind attained liberation — I now, with my whole body, take refuge in this unsurpassed, honored one.
"Śikhin Buddha, this World-Honored One, at Puṇḍarīka, seated beneath the tree at the very seat of awakening, accomplished bodhi itself; his own bodily form beyond compare, like a blazing mountain of purple gold — I now take refuge in him of my own accord, this unsurpassed, honored one of the three realms.
"Viśvabhū, this World-Honored One, seated beneath the sāla tree, naturally attained penetration into every subtle and wondrous wisdom; among every human and deva, foremost and beyond compare — it is for this reason that I take refuge in him, this most excellent, honored one of all.
"The great Buddha of Krakucchanda attained unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening beneath the śirīṣa tree; accomplishing great wisdom, forever freed from birth and death — I now take refuge in him, bowing in homage, this foremost, incomparable, honored one.
"Kanakamuni, this great sage, this unsurpassed, honored one, beneath the udumbara tree, accomplished and attained the path to buddhahood; penetrating every dharma, immeasurable and boundless — it is for this reason that I take refuge in him, this foremost, unsurpassed, honored one.
"Kāśyapa Buddha, this World-Honored One, his own eyes like a pair of lotus petals, beneath the tender kuruvaka tree, accomplished the path to buddhahood; fearless throughout the three realms, his own gait like that of the king of elephants — I now take refuge in him of my own accord, bowing my head in homage to this boundless, honored one.
"Śākyamuni Buddha, beneath the aśvattha tree, subdued the hostile enemy that is māra, and accomplished the unsurpassed path; his countenance like the full moon, pure and free of any blemish — I now bow my head in homage to this valiant, foremost, honored one.
"Maitreya Buddha, still to come, seated beneath the nāga tree, accomplishes a vast and expansive mind, naturally attaining the path to buddhahood; his own merit exceedingly firm and unshakeable, none able to surpass him — it is for this reason that I take refuge in him of my own accord, this incomparable, wondrous king of the Dharma."
There are, further, Guṇajaha Buddha, Samantaprabha Buddha, Jayaśatru Buddha, Rājalakṣaṇa Buddha, Lakṣaṇarāja Buddha, Amitaguṇaprabhāsvararāja Buddha, Bhaiṣajyarājānāvṛta Buddha, Ratnacaṅkramin Buddha, Ratnapuṣpa Buddha, Susthita Buddha, and Girirāja Buddha — these too one ought to hold in mindfulness, reverence, and homage, praising them with verses such as these:
"Within the world of Unsurpassed, there is a buddha named Guṇajaha — I now bow my head in homage to him, and to the treasure of the Dharma and the treasure of the Saṅgha.
"Within the world of Manojña, there is a buddha named Samantaprabha — I now take refuge in him of my own accord, and in the treasure of the Dharma and the treasure of the Saṅgha.
"Within the world of Samantabhadra, there is a buddha named Jayaśatru — I now take refuge in him, bowing in homage, and in the treasure of the Dharma and the treasure of the Saṅgha.
"Within the world of Suviśuddhasamucchraya, the buddha is named Rājadhvajalakṣaṇa — I now bow my head in homage to him, and to the treasure of the Dharma and the treasure of the Saṅgha.
"Within the world of Vimalasamucchraya, there is Amitaguṇaprabhāsvara, master throughout the ten directions — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"Within the world of Avitatha, there is Bhaiṣajyarājānāvṛta Buddha — I now bow my head in homage to him, and to the treasure of the Dharma and the treasure of the Saṅgha.
"Within the world of Suvarṇasamucchraya, the buddha is named Ratnacaṅkramin — I now bow my head in homage to him, and to the treasure of the Dharma and the treasure of the Saṅgha.
"Within the world of Manojñasvara, upon a jeweled flower, dwells Girirāja Buddha, firmly established — I now bow my head in homage to him, and to the treasure of the Dharma and the treasure of the Saṅgha.
"These Thus Come Ones, now dwelling within the eastern realm, I, with a mind of reverence, extol and take refuge in, bowing in homage.
"I pray only that these Thus Come Ones, deeply moved by compassion, might manifest their own bodies directly before me, that all might behold them with their own eyes."
Furthermore, the buddhas of the past, the future, and the present ought, in every case, to be held in mindfulness together, revered, and bowed to, praised with verses such as these: "The buddhas of ages past subdued the hosts of hostile māra, and through the power of their own great wisdom, brought benefit far and wide to sentient beings; the sentient beings of that time, with their whole heart, made offerings to them, revering and extolling them — it is for this reason that I bow my head in homage.
"The buddhas presently existing throughout the ten directions are beyond all reckoning, their number surpassing the sands of the Ganges, immeasurable and boundless; compassionate toward every sentient being, constantly turning the wondrous wheel of the Dharma — it is for this reason that I revere them, taking refuge in them and bowing my head in homage.
"The buddhas of ages yet to come, their bodily form like a mountain of gold, their light beyond measure, adorning themselves with every excellent mark; coming into the world to liberate sentient beings, and then entering into nirvāṇa — these World-Honored Ones such as these, I now bow my head in homage to."
The seven buddhas of the past named here — Vipaśyin through Śākyamuni — belong to a fixed lineage recognized across nearly every school of Buddhism, distinguishing this list from the immeasurably distant, otherwise unattested buddhas of the ten directions catalogued earlier in this chapter. By moving from those cosmic, barely nameable figures to this well-established sevenfold lineage, and then to Maitreya as the certain buddha of the future, the chapter closes its own account of "buddhas to call upon" with figures the entire tradition already recognized, grounding the easy path's own vast catalogue in names no reader could dispute.
Bodhisattvas to Call Upon
復應憶念諸大菩薩：善意菩薩、善眼菩薩、聞月菩薩、尸毘王菩薩、一切勝菩薩、知大地菩薩、大藥菩薩、鳩舍菩薩、阿離念彌菩薩、頂生王菩薩、喜見菩薩、欝多羅菩薩、薩和檀菩薩、長壽王菩薩、羼提菩薩、韋藍菩薩、睒菩薩、月蓋菩薩、明首菩薩、法首菩薩、成利菩薩、彌勒菩薩。
復有：金剛藏菩薩、金剛首菩薩、無垢藏菩薩、無垢稱菩薩、除疑菩薩、無垢德菩薩、網明菩薩、無量明菩薩、大明菩薩、無盡意菩薩、意王菩薩、無邊意菩薩、日音菩薩、月音菩薩、美音菩薩、美音聲菩薩、大音聲菩薩、堅精進菩薩、常堅菩薩、堅發菩薩、莊嚴王菩薩、常悲菩薩、常不輕菩薩、法上菩薩、法意菩薩、法喜菩薩、法首菩薩、法積菩薩、發精進菩薩、智慧菩薩、淨威德菩薩、那羅延菩薩、善思惟菩薩、法思惟菩薩、跋陀婆羅菩薩、法益菩薩、高德菩薩、師子遊行菩薩、喜根菩薩、上寶月菩薩、不虛德菩薩、龍德菩薩、文殊師利菩薩、妙音菩薩、雲音菩薩、勝意菩薩、照明菩薩、勇眾菩薩、勝眾菩薩、威儀菩薩、師子意菩薩、上意菩薩、益意菩薩、增意菩薩、寶明菩薩、慧頂菩薩、樂說頂菩薩、有德菩薩、觀世自在王菩薩、陀羅尼自在王菩薩、大自在王菩薩、無憂德菩薩、不虛見菩薩、離惡道菩薩、一切勇健菩薩、破闇菩薩、功德寶菩薩、花威德菩薩、金瓔珞明德菩薩、離諸陰蓋菩薩、心無閡菩薩、一切行淨菩薩、等見菩薩、不等見菩薩、三昧遊戲菩薩、法自在菩薩、法相菩薩、明莊嚴菩薩、大莊嚴菩薩、寶頂菩薩、寶印手菩薩、常舉手菩薩、常下手菩薩、常慘菩薩、常喜菩薩、喜王菩薩、得辯才音聲菩薩、虛空雷音菩薩、持寶炬菩薩、勇施菩薩、帝網菩薩、馬光菩薩、空無閡菩薩、寶勝菩薩、天王菩薩、破魔菩薩、電德菩薩、自在菩薩、頂相菩薩、出過菩薩、師子吼菩薩、雲蔭菩薩、能勝菩薩、山相幢王菩薩、香象菩薩、大香象菩薩、白香象菩薩、常精進菩薩、不休息菩薩、妙生菩薩、華莊嚴菩薩、觀世音菩薩、得大勢菩薩、水王菩薩、山王菩薩、帝網菩薩、寶施菩薩、破魔菩薩、莊嚴國土菩薩、金髻菩薩、珠髻菩薩。
如是等諸大菩薩，皆應憶念、恭敬、禮拜，求阿惟越致地。
One ought, further, to hold in mindfulness these great bodhisattvas: Sumanas, Sunetra, Candraśravaṇa, King Śibi, Sarvajit, Mahāpṛthivīvid, Mahauṣadha, Kuśa, Alīnacitta, King Mūrdhagata, Priyadarśana, Uttara, Sarvadatta, King Dīrghāyus, Kṣānti, Velāma, Śyāma, Candracchattra, Prabhāśikhara, Dharmaśikhara, Siddhārtha, and Maitreya.
There are, further: Vajragarbha, Vajraśikhara, Vimalagarbha, Vimalakīrti, Vimaticcheda, Vimalaguṇa, Jālinīprabha, Anantaprabha, Mahāprabha, Akṣayamati, Manorāja, Anantamati, Sūryasvara, Candrasvara, Manojñasvara, Sumanasvara, Mahāsvara, Dṛḍhavīrya, Nityadṛḍha, Dṛḍhotpāda, Vyūharāja, Nityaśoka, Sadāparibhūta, Dharmottara, Dharmamati, Dharmapriya, Dharmaśikhara, Dharmarāśi, Vīryotpāda, Prajñā, Śuddhatejas, Nārāyaṇa, Sucintita, Dharmacintita, Bhadrapāla, Dharmalābha, Uttamaguṇa, Siṃhacārin, Prāmodyendriya, Uttamaratnacandra, Asaṃśayaguṇa, Nāgaguṇa, Mañjuśrī, Manojñasvara, Meghasvara, Jayamati, Prabhāsa, Śūrasaṃgha, Jayasaṃgha, Īryāpatha, Siṃhamati, Uttamamati, Hitamati, Vardhanamati, Ratnaprabha, Prajñāśikhara, Pratibhānaśikhara, Guṇavat, Avalokiteśvararāja, Dhāraṇīśvararāja, Maheśvararāja, Aśokaguṇa, Asaṃśayadarśana, Apāyavigata, Sarvaśūra, Tamovidhvaṃsana, Guṇaratna, Puṣpaguṇa, Suvarṇamālāguṇa, Sarvāvaraṇaviṣkambhin, Asaṅgacitta, Sarvacaryāviśuddha, Samadarśana, Viṣamadarśana, Samādhikrīḍita, Dharmeśvara, Dharmalakṣaṇa, Prabhālaṃkāra, Mahāvyūha, Ratnaśikhara, Ratnamudrāhasta, Nityapragṛhītahasta, Nityāvalambitahasta, Nityakhinna, Nityaprahasita, Prāmodyarāja, Pratibhānasvaraprāpta, Ākāśagarjitasvara, Ratnolkādhāra, Śūradatta, Indrajāla, Aśvaprabha, Ākāśapratighāta, Ratnottama, Devarāja, Mārapramardin, Vidyudguṇa, Vaśavartin, Śikharalakṣaṇa, Atikrānta, Siṃhanāda, Meghacchāya, Śakyasiṃha, Girilakṣaṇadhvajarāja, Gandhahastin, Mahāgandhahastin, Śvetagandhahastin, Nityodyukta, Anikṣiptadhura, Sucintita, Puṣpālaṃkāra, Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, Jalendra, Girirāja, Indrajāla, Ratnadāna, Mārapramardin, Kṣetrālaṃkāra, Suvarṇacūḍa, and Maṇicūḍa.
Every one of these great bodhisattvas ought, in every case, to be held in mindfulness, revered, and bowed to in homage, in seeking the stage of irreversibility.
Two names on this list carry a resonance no reader of this site's own Pure Land translations will miss: Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, listed here matter-of-factly among well over a hundred other bodhisattvas, are the same two attendant bodhisattvas who accompany Amitābha throughout the Contemplation Sūtra, the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, and Shandao's own commentary on all of it — already translated in full on this site. Their appearance in this earlier, more general roster, well before their own iconic pairing with Amitābha had become fixed, is a small but genuine trace of how the specific triad later Pure Land art and liturgy would take for granted was still, at this stage, only one grouping among many possible ones.
Removing Karma: Confession
除業品第十
問曰：但憶念阿彌陀等諸佛，及念餘菩薩得阿惟越致，更有餘方便耶？
答曰：求阿惟越致地者，非但憶念、稱名、禮敬而已，復應於諸佛所懺悔、勸請、隨喜、迴向。
問曰：是事何謂？
答曰：十方無量佛， 所知無不盡，我今悉於前， 發露諸黑惡。三三合九種， 從三煩惱起，今身若先身， 是罪盡懺悔。於三惡道中， 若應受業報，願於今身償， 不入惡道受。
十方諸佛者，現在一切諸佛，命根成就未入涅槃。十方，名四方、四維、上下。佛，名所應知事，悉知無餘。
發露者，於諸佛所，發露一切罪無所覆藏，後不復作，如堤防水。
黑惡者，無智、慧、明故多犯眾惡，若不善法，若隱沒無記。
三三種者，身、口、意生惡；現報、生報、後報；自作、教他作、隨喜作。
從三種煩惱起，三種煩惱，謂欲界繫、色界繫、無色界繫；若助貪欲煩惱、若助瞋恚煩惱、若助愚癡煩惱；若上煩惱、若中煩惱、若下煩惱。
今身、先身盡懺悔者，今世、先世所作眾惡，盡悔無餘。
地獄者，八種熱地獄、十種寒氷地獄。畜生者，若地生、若水生、若無足、若二足、若多足。餓鬼者，食唾、食吐、食蕩滌汁、食膿血屎尿等。
若我行業應於此三惡道受者，願令是罪此身現受；若後身受，莫於地獄、餓鬼、畜生中受。
復次，佛自說懺悔法。若菩薩欲懺悔罪，應作是言：「我於今現在十方世界中，諸佛得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，轉法輪、雨法雨、擊法鼓、吹法䗍、建法幢。以法布施滿足眾生，多所利益多所安隱，憐愍世間饒益天人。
「我今以身、口、意，頭面禮現在諸佛足，諸佛知者、見者、世間眼、世間燈。
「我於無始生死已來，所起罪業，為貪欲、瞋恚、愚癡所逼故，或不識佛、不識法、不識僧；或不識罪福；或身、口、意多作眾罪；或以惡心出佛身血；或毀滅正法，破壞眾僧，殺真人阿羅漢；或自行十不善道，或教他令行，或復隨喜；若於眾生有不愛語；若以斗秤欺誑侵人，以諸邪行惱亂眾生；或不孝父母；或盜塔物及四方僧物；佛所說經戒或有毀破，違逆和尚阿闍梨；若人發聲聞乘辟支佛乘、發大乘者，惡言毀辱，輕賤嫌恨；慳嫉覆心故，於諸佛所或起惡口；或說是法非法，說非法是法。
「今以是罪，於現在諸佛知者、見者、證者所，盡皆發露不敢覆藏，從今已後不敢復作。若我有罪，應墮地獄、畜生、餓鬼、阿修羅中，不值三尊，生在諸難，願以此罪今世現受。
「如過去諸菩薩求佛道者，懺悔惡業罪，我亦如是發露懺悔，不敢覆藏，後不復作。
「若今諸菩薩求佛道者，懺悔惡業罪，我亦如是發露懺悔，不敢覆藏，後不復作。
「如未來諸菩薩求佛道者，懺悔惡業罪，我亦如是發露懺悔，不敢覆藏，後不復作。
「如過去、未來、現在諸菩薩求佛道者，懺悔惡業罪，已懺悔、今懺悔、當懺悔，我亦如是懺悔惡業罪，不敢覆藏，後不復作。」
Removing Karma Chapter
Question: Is holding these buddhas, Amitābha among them, and further bodhisattvas, in mindfulness sufficient by itself to attain irreversibility — or is there some further skillful means as well?
Answer: One who seeks the stage of irreversibility does not rely upon mindfulness, calling upon these names, and reverent homage alone — one ought, further, in the presence of these buddhas, to confess, to exhort, to rejoice, and to dedicate merit.
Question: What, then, is meant by this?
Answer: "Before the immeasurable buddhas of the ten directions, whose knowledge leaves nothing whatsoever unknown, I now confess and lay bare, in their very presence, every one of my own dark and evil deeds. Three groups of three make nine kinds, arising from three kinds of affliction; whether within this present body, or within a former one, I confess and repent of these very offenses in their entirety. Should there be karmic retribution owed within the three evil destinies, I pray that I might discharge it within this very body, and never enter these evil destinies to undergo it."
"The buddhas of the ten directions" refers to every buddha presently existing, their own life-force still intact, not yet entered into nirvāṇa. "The ten directions" refers to the four cardinal directions, the four intermediate directions, and above and below. "Buddha" refers to one who knows whatever ought to be known, in its entirety, without remainder.
"Lay bare" means, in the presence of these buddhas, to lay bare every offense without any concealment whatsoever, never to commit it again afterward — just as one builds a levee to hold back water.
"Dark and evil deeds" refers to committing manifold evils on account of the absence of wisdom, insight, and clarity — whether unwholesome dharmas, or those that are concealed and indeterminate.
"Three groups of three" refers to: evils arising through body, speech, and mind; retribution experienced in this present life, in the next life, or in a life thereafter; and committed by oneself, taught to another to commit, or rejoiced in when committed by another.
"Arising from three kinds of affliction": these three kinds of affliction refer to those bound to the desire realm, those bound to the form realm, and those bound to the formless realm; or those that assist craving, those that assist anger, and those that assist delusion; or those of the highest degree, the middling degree, and the lowest degree.
"Confessing entirely, whether within this present body or a former one" means to repent, without remainder, of every evil committed within this present life and within former lives.
"The hells" refers to the eight hot hells and the ten cold hells. "Animals" refers to those born of the earth, born of the water, without feet, with two feet, or with many feet. "Hungry ghosts" refers to those who feed on spittle, on vomit, on rinse-water, or on pus, blood, urine, and excrement, and the like.
Should my own karmic conduct be such that I ought to undergo retribution within these three evil destinies, I pray that this offense might instead be undergone directly within this very body; and should it be undergone within a later body, may it never be undergone within hell, among hungry ghosts, or among animals.
Furthermore, the Buddha himself has spoken this very method of confession. Should a bodhisattva wish to confess an offense, they ought to speak in this way: "Within the worlds of the ten directions presently existing, the buddhas have attained unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, turning the wheel of the Dharma, raining down the rain of the Dharma, beating the drum of the Dharma, blowing the conch of the Dharma, and raising up the banner of the Dharma. Through the giving of this Dharma, they satisfy sentient beings, bringing benefit far and wide, and peace and security far and wide, compassionate toward this world, bringing abundant benefit to devas and humans.
"I now, with body, speech, and mind, bow my head in homage at the feet of these presently existing buddhas — these buddhas who know, who see, the very eye of the world, the very lamp of the world.
"Since beginningless birth and death, whatever offense and karma I have given rise to, pressed upon by craving, anger, and delusion — whether failing to recognize the Buddha, failing to recognize the Dharma, failing to recognize the Saṅgha; or failing to recognize offense and merit; or committing manifold offenses through body, speech, and mind; or, with an evil mind, drawing blood from a buddha's own body; or destroying the true Dharma, causing schism within the Saṅgha, or killing a true arhat; or myself practicing the ten unwholesome courses, or teaching another to practice them, or further rejoicing in them; whatever unloving speech I have spoken toward sentient beings; whatever deception through dishonest measures or scales, encroaching upon others, or troubling and confounding sentient beings through wrongful conduct; or failing to be filial to my own parents; or stealing property belonging to a stūpa or property belonging to the Saṅgha of the four quarters; or breaking and destroying the scriptures and precepts spoken by the Buddha, defying my own preceptor or instructor; or, toward one who has given rise to the vehicle of the śrāvaka, the vehicle of the pratyekabuddha, or the Great Vehicle, speaking evil words, reviling and belittling them, holding them in contempt and resentment; or, my own mind covered over by stinginess and envy, giving rise to evil speech in the presence of these buddhas; or declaring what is Dharma to be not the Dharma, and what is not the Dharma to be the Dharma —
"I now, on account of these very offenses, in the presence of these presently existing buddhas who know, who see, who bear witness, lay them bare in their entirety, daring to conceal nothing, and from this moment onward daring never to commit them again. Should I possess any offense that ought to cause me to fall among hell-beings, animals, hungry ghosts, or asuras, never encountering the Three Jewels, born amid every calamity, I pray that this very offense might be undergone directly within this present life.
"Just as the bodhisattvas of ages past, seeking the path to buddhahood, confessed and repented of their own evil karma and offenses, I too, in just this same way, lay bare and confess them, daring to conceal nothing, never to commit them again afterward.
"Should the bodhisattvas of the present, seeking the path to buddhahood, confess and repent of their own evil karma and offenses, I too, in just this same way, lay bare and confess them, daring to conceal nothing, never to commit them again afterward.
"Just as the bodhisattvas of ages yet to come, seeking the path to buddhahood, shall confess and repent of their own evil karma and offenses, I too, in just this same way, lay bare and confess them, daring to conceal nothing, never to commit them again afterward.
"Just as the bodhisattvas of the past, the future, and the present, seeking the path to buddhahood, confess and repent of their own evil karma and offenses — having already confessed, now confessing, and yet to confess — I too, in just this same way, confess this evil karma and these offenses, daring to conceal nothing, never to commit them again afterward."
The formula's own closing structure — repeating the identical confession four times, for bodhisattvas of the past, the present, the future, and then all three together — is not mere repetition for emphasis. It places the speaker's own act of confession inside a continuous, unbroken lineage of confession stretching across every possible moment of time, so that a single individual's private admission of fault becomes, by the formula's own logic, one instance within a practice every bodhisattva who has ever existed, exists now, or will ever exist has likewise undertaken.
Exhortation and Rejoicing
問曰：汝已說懺悔法，云何為勸請？
答曰：十方一切佛， 現在成道者，我請轉法輪， 安樂諸眾生；十方一切佛， 若欲捨壽命，我今頭面禮， 勸請令久住。
轉法輪者，說四聖諦義三轉十二相：是苦諦、是苦集、是苦滅、是至苦滅道，是名一轉四相。
是苦諦應知、是苦集應斷、是苦滅應證、是至苦滅道應修，是名第二轉四相。
是苦諦知已、是苦集斷已、是苦滅證已，是至苦滅道修已，是名第三轉四相。
四相者，四諦中生眼、智、明、覺。
有人言：聲聞乘、辟支佛乘、大乘，是名法輪。解說是三乘義，名為轉法輪。
安樂諸眾生者，五欲樂不名為安樂，為今世、後世得清淨安樂入於三乘，是名安樂。是人勸請諸佛轉法輪，令諸眾生受涅槃樂，若未得涅槃，令受世間樂，是故說安樂。
壽者，受業報因緣故，命根相續得住，如變化所作，隨心業而住，心業止則滅。
勸請，名「至誠求願」。諸佛觀諸眾生，巨細無異，是故求請望得從願：莫捨壽命，住無量阿僧祇劫度脫眾生。
復次，佛自說勸請法，菩薩應作是言：「我禮現在十方諸佛，始得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，未轉法輪我今求請，願轉法輪、擊法鼓、吹法䗍、建法幢，設大法祠、然大法炬，以是法施滿足眾生，多所利益多所安樂，憐愍世間饒益天人，是故我今勸請。」——是名勸請諸佛轉法輪。
久住者，亦應言：「現在十方諸佛，是諸佛欲捨壽命我請久住，多所利益、多所安樂，憐愍世間饒益天人。」
問曰：汝已說懺悔、勸請，云何名為隨喜？
答曰：所有布施福， 持戒修禪行，從身口意生， 去來今所有；習行三乘人， 具足三乘者，一切凡夫福， 皆隨而歡喜。
布施福者，從捨慳法生。持戒福者，能伏身、口業生。禪行者，諸禪定是。
從身口生者，因身、口，布施、持戒、迎來送去等；因意生者，禪定慈悲等。
去來今所有者，一切眾生三世福德。
行三乘者，求聲聞乘、辟支佛乘、大乘。具足三乘者，成就阿羅漢乘、辟支佛乘、佛乘。一切者，皆盡無餘。凡夫者，未得四諦者是。福德者，有二種業：善及不隱沒無記業是。
隨喜者，他人作福心生歡喜，稱以為善。
Question: You have already explained the method of confession — what, then, is meant by exhortation?
Answer: "Every buddha of the ten directions who has now accomplished the path, I request that they turn the wheel of the Dharma, bringing peace and joy to every sentient being; every buddha of the ten directions who wishes to relinquish their own lifespan, I now bow my head in homage, exhorting them to abide long in this world."
"Turning the wheel of the Dharma" means expounding the meaning of the four noble truths through three turnings and twelve aspects: this is the truth of suffering, this is the arising of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the path leading to the cessation of suffering — this is called the first turning, with its four aspects.
This truth of suffering ought to be known, this arising of suffering ought to be severed, this cessation of suffering ought to be realized, this path leading to the cessation of suffering ought to be cultivated — this is called the second turning, with its four aspects.
This truth of suffering has already been known, this arising of suffering has already been severed, this cessation of suffering has already been realized, this path leading to the cessation of suffering has already been cultivated — this is called the third turning, with its four aspects.
"The four aspects" refers to the eye, the wisdom, the clarity, and the awakening that arise within these four noble truths.
Some say: the vehicle of the śrāvaka, the vehicle of the pratyekabuddha, and the Great Vehicle are together called the wheel of the Dharma; explaining the meaning of these three vehicles is called turning the wheel of the Dharma.
As for "bringing peace and joy to every sentient being": the pleasure of the five desires is not called peace and joy; rather, attaining pure peace and joy, within this present life and lives to come, and entering into one of the three vehicles — this is called peace and joy. This person exhorts the buddhas to turn the wheel of the Dharma, causing sentient beings to receive the joy of nirvāṇa, and, should nirvāṇa not yet be attained, causing them to receive worldly joy instead — it is for this reason that this is called peace and joy.
As for "lifespan": through the causes and conditions of undergoing karmic retribution, the life-faculty continues in unbroken sequence and thereby abides — just as with something magically conjured, it abides in accordance with the mind and karma that sustain it, and ceases the moment this mind and karma come to rest.
"Exhortation" means to seek this vow with utmost sincerity. Since the buddhas regard sentient beings, great and small alike, without any distinction, one seeks and requests, hoping that this vow might be granted: that they might never relinquish their own lifespan, but abide for immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas, liberating sentient beings.
Furthermore, the Buddha himself has spoken this very method of exhortation; the bodhisattva ought to speak in this way: "I bow in homage to the buddhas of the ten directions presently existing. Should they have only just attained unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, and not yet turned the wheel of the Dharma, I now seek and request that they turn this wheel of the Dharma, beat the drum of the Dharma, blow the conch of the Dharma, raise up the banner of the Dharma, hold the great sacrifice of the Dharma, and kindle the great torch of the Dharma; through the giving of this Dharma, satisfying sentient beings, bringing benefit far and wide, and peace and joy far and wide, compassionate toward this world, bringing abundant benefit to devas and humans — it is for this reason that I now offer this exhortation." This is what is meant by exhorting the buddhas to turn the wheel of the Dharma.
As for "abiding long," one ought likewise to say: "To the buddhas of the ten directions presently existing, should any of these buddhas wish to relinquish their own lifespan, I request that they abide long instead, bringing benefit far and wide, and peace and joy far and wide, compassionate toward this world, bringing abundant benefit to devas and humans."
Question: You have already explained confession and exhortation — what, then, is meant by rejoicing?
Answer: "Whatever merit of giving, of upholding the precepts, or of cultivating meditative practice, arising through body, speech, or mind, whatever exists from the past, the future, and the present; whatever merit belongs to those who practice the three vehicles, and to those who have fully accomplished the three vehicles, and every root of merit belonging to ordinary beings as well — in all of this, I rejoice together with them."
"The merit of giving" arises from relinquishing the dharma of stinginess. "The merit of upholding the precepts" arises from subduing the conduct of body and speech. "Meditative practice" refers to the various meditative absorptions.
"Arising through body and speech" refers to giving, upholding the precepts, welcoming and sending off others, and the like, brought about through body and speech; "arising through mind" refers to meditative concentration, loving-kindness and compassion, and the like.
"Whatever exists from the past, the future, and the present" refers to the merit of every sentient being across the three times.
"Those who practice the three vehicles" refers to those seeking the vehicle of the śrāvaka, the vehicle of the pratyekabuddha, and the Great Vehicle. "Those who have fully accomplished the three vehicles" refers to those who have accomplished the vehicle of the arhat, the vehicle of the pratyekabuddha, and the vehicle of the buddha. "Every" means entirely, without remainder. "Ordinary beings" refers to those who have not yet attained the four noble truths. "Merit" refers to two kinds of karma: wholesome karma, and karma that is neither concealed nor indeterminate.
"Rejoicing" means that, upon another's own act of merit, one's own mind gives rise to joy, praising it as good.
Confession, exhortation, rejoicing, and dedication together form a structure that later East Asian Buddhist liturgy would develop into the standard "repentance ritual" (懺法) still performed in Chinese monasteries — this chapter's own account is among the earliest systematic treatments of what would become that entire genre. Notably, none of these four practices requires any particular meditative attainment: confessing a fault, wishing a living teacher a long life, and feeling genuine gladness at a stranger's own small act of kindness are each, in principle, available to any practitioner at all, regardless of how advanced their own cultivation may be — a democratizing feature entirely of a piece with this chapter's own governing theme of an easy path open to those unable to sustain the difficult one.
Dedication
問曰：汝已說懺悔、勸請、隨喜。云何為迴向？
答曰：我所有福德， 一切皆和合，為諸眾生故， 正迴向佛道。
我者，己身。
所有福德者，若從身生、若從口生、若從意生、若因布施生、若因持戒生、若因修禪生、若因隨喜生、若因勸請生，如是等及餘所有善，皆名所有福德。
一切皆和合者，心念諸福德，合集稱量，知其廣大。
諸眾生者，三界眾生。
正者，如諸佛迴向，如真實迴向，迴向菩提。
迴向菩提者，迴諸福德向阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。
又，隨喜、迴向此二事，佛亦自說：有菩薩摩訶薩，欲隨喜、迴向，應念諸佛，斷三界相續道，滅諸戲論，乾煩惱淤泥，滅諸刺棘，除諸重擔，逮得己利，正智解脫，心得自在盡諸有結。無量無邊不可思議阿僧祇十方世界，一一世界中，亦無量無邊不可思議阿僧祇諸佛出已滅度；從初發心乃至得佛，入無餘涅槃，至遺法未盡，於其中間，是諸佛所有善根福德，應六波羅蜜及所受辟支佛記所有善根；又，聲聞人善根，若布施、持戒、修禪，及學、無學、無漏善根；及諸佛戒品、定品、慧品、解脫知見品，大慈大悲等無量功德；及諸佛有所說法，於此法中，有人信解、受學得此法利，是諸人等所有善根，於此法中，及凡夫所種善根；及諸天、龍、夜叉、乾闥婆、阿修羅、迦樓羅、緊那羅、摩睺羅伽，得聞法已生諸善心，乃至畜生聞法生諸善心；及諸佛欲入涅槃時，眾生所種善根；是諸善根福德，一切和合稱量使無遺餘，以最上、最妙、最勝，無上、無等、無等等隨喜。
隨喜已，以是隨喜所生福德，迴向阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。
未來、現在諸佛亦如是。是三世諸佛福德，及因諸佛所生福德，心皆隨喜，迴向阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。
是故偈說：罪應如是懺， 勸請隨喜福，迴向無上道， 皆亦應如是；如諸佛所說， 我悔罪勸請，隨喜及迴向， 皆亦復如是。
無始世界來，有無量遮佛道罪，應於十方諸佛前懺悔、勸請諸佛、隨喜、迴向亦應如是。如佛所知、所見、所許懺悔，我亦如是懺悔。勸請諸佛、隨喜、迴向，亦復如是。若如是懺悔、勸請、隨喜、迴向，是名正迴向。
問曰：云何名為諸佛所知、所見、所許「懺悔、勸請、隨喜、迴向」？
答曰：懺悔、勸請，如先說。
隨喜、迴向，如《大品經》中：須菩提白佛言：世尊！所說菩薩於過去、未來、現在一切諸佛及諸弟子，一切眾生所有福德善根，盡和合稱量，以最上隨喜。
世尊！云何名為最上隨喜？
佛告須菩提：若菩薩於過去、未來、現在諸法，不取、不念、不見、不得、不分別而能如是思惟：「是諸法皆從憶想分別，眾緣和合有。一切法實不生，無所從來。是中乃至無有一法已生、今生、當生，亦無已滅、今滅、當滅。諸法相如是，我順諸法相隨喜。」
隨喜已，亦隨諸法實相，迴向阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。
是名「最上隨喜、迴向」。
復次，須菩提！求佛道善男子、善女人，不欲謗佛者，應以善根如是迴向。應作是念：「如諸佛心、佛智、佛眼，知見是善根福德，本、末、體相，從何而有？我亦如是，隨諸佛知見隨喜，如諸佛所許，我亦如是以善根迴向，若菩薩如是迴向，則不謗諸佛亦無過咎。」深心信解如實迴向，是名「大迴向、具足迴向」。
復次，須菩提！善男子、善女人，以諸善根福德應如是迴向。如諸賢聖戒品、定品、慧品、解脫品、解脫知見品，不繫欲界、不繫色界、不繫無色界，不在過去、不在未來、不在現在，以不繫三界故，是迴向亦如是不繫，所迴向處亦不繫。若菩薩能如是得心，信解如實，是名「不失迴向、無毒迴向、法性迴向。」若菩薩於此迴向取相貪著，是名「邪迴向」。
是故諸菩薩摩訶薩，應如諸佛所知法相，以是法相迴向，能至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，是名「正迴向」。
十住毘婆沙論卷第五
Question: You have already explained confession, exhortation, and rejoicing — what, then, is meant by dedication?
Answer: "Whatever merit I myself possess, gathered together in its entirety, for the sake of every sentient being, I rightly dedicate toward the path to buddhahood."
"I" refers to one's own person.
"Whatever merit I possess" refers to whatever arises through body, through speech, or through mind; whatever arises through giving, through upholding the precepts, through cultivating meditative practice, through rejoicing, or through exhortation — all of this, together with every other form of goodness besides, is called one's own possessed merit.
"Gathered together in its entirety" means that, holding every one of these forms of merit in mind, one gathers them together and weighs them, coming to know their own vastness.
"Every sentient being" refers to the sentient beings of the three realms.
"Rightly" means dedicating it just as the buddhas themselves dedicate it, just as it is truly dedicated, dedicated toward bodhi.
"Dedicated toward bodhi" means turning this merit toward unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
Furthermore, concerning these two matters, rejoicing and dedication, the Buddha himself has likewise spoken: There is a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who, wishing to rejoice and to dedicate merit, ought to be mindful of the buddhas — of their severing the continuous path of the three realms, extinguishing every idle proliferation of thought, drying up the mire of the afflictions, eliminating every thorn and bramble, casting off every heavy burden, having attained their own true benefit, their right wisdom liberated, their mind having attained mastery, every fetter of existence exhausted. Throughout the immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable asaṃkhyeya worlds of the ten directions, within each and every one of these worlds, immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable asaṃkhyeya buddhas likewise have arisen and already passed into extinction; from the very first arising of the aspiration up until the attainment of buddhahood, entering nirvāṇa without remainder, up until the very moment their bequeathed teaching is not yet exhausted — throughout this entire span, whatever roots of goodness and merit these buddhas possess, corresponding to the six pāramitās, and whatever roots of goodness belong to those who received the prediction of pratyekabuddhahood; and further, the roots of goodness of the śrāvakas, whether through giving, upholding the precepts, or cultivating meditative practice, and the uncontaminated roots of goodness of both the trainee and the one beyond training; and the buddhas' own category of the precepts, of concentration, of wisdom, and of the knowledge and vision of liberation, together with great loving-kindness and great compassion and every other immeasurable quality of merit; and whatever Dharma the buddhas have spoken, within which some person has faith, understanding, receives it in study, and attains this very benefit of the Dharma — whatever roots of goodness such persons possess within this Dharma, together with whatever roots of goodness ordinary beings have planted; and whatever devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, and mahoragas, having heard the Dharma, give rise to wholesome minds, even down to animals who, hearing the Dharma, give rise to wholesome minds; and whatever roots of goodness sentient beings plant at the very moment a buddha is about to enter nirvāṇa — all of these roots of goodness and merit, gathered together in their entirety and weighed without a single remainder omitted, are rejoiced in with the very highest, most sublime, most excellent, unsurpassed, unequaled, and unequaled-to-any-equal rejoicing.
Having rejoiced in this way, one dedicates whatever merit arises from this very rejoicing toward unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
It is likewise so for the buddhas of the future and the present. Toward the merit of the buddhas of these three times, and toward the merit arising through these buddhas, one's mind, in every case, rejoices, and dedicates it toward unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
It is for this reason that the verse says: "One's offenses ought to be confessed in this way, and the merit of exhortation and rejoicing likewise ought all to be dedicated toward the unsurpassed path in just this same manner; exactly as every buddha has spoken, I confess my own offenses, exhort the buddhas, rejoice, and dedicate this merit, in just this same way."
Since beginningless time, there have been immeasurable offenses obstructing the path to buddhahood; one ought, in just this same way, to confess them in the presence of the buddhas of the ten directions, to exhort these buddhas, to rejoice, and to dedicate this merit. Exactly as the buddhas themselves know, see, and sanction this confession, I too confess in just this same way. Exhorting the buddhas, rejoicing, and dedicating merit are likewise so. Confessing, exhorting, rejoicing, and dedicating merit in this way is called right dedication.
Question: What, then, is meant by "confession, exhortation, rejoicing, and dedication" as known, seen, and sanctioned by the buddhas themselves?
Answer: Confession and exhortation are as already explained above.
As for rejoicing and dedication, as the Larger Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra states: Subhūti addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One! It is said that the bodhisattva, toward every root of goodness and merit belonging to every buddha of the past, the future, and the present, together with their disciples, and every sentient being, gathers it together in its entirety and weighs it, rejoicing in it with the very highest rejoicing.
"World-Honored One! What, then, is meant by this very highest rejoicing?"
The Buddha told Subhūti: "Should the bodhisattva, toward the dharmas of the past, the future, and the present, neither grasp at them, nor dwell upon them, nor perceive them, nor attain them, nor discriminate among them, and yet be able to reflect in just this way: 'Every one of these dharmas arises entirely from recollection and discriminating thought, existing through the coming together of manifold conditions. Every dharma, in truth, does not arise at all, coming from nowhere whatsoever. Within this, there is not even a single dharma that has arisen, is arising now, or shall arise; nor is there any that has ceased, is ceasing now, or shall cease. Such is the very mark of every dharma — I accord with this mark of every dharma, and rejoice in it accordingly.'
"Having rejoiced in this way, one likewise, according with the real mark of every dharma, dedicates this merit toward unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
"This is called 'the very highest rejoicing and dedication.'
"Furthermore, Subhūti! Should a good son or good daughter, seeking the path to buddhahood, wish never to slander the Buddha, they ought to dedicate their own roots of goodness in just this way. They ought to reflect: 'Just as the buddhas' own mind, the buddhas' own wisdom, and the buddhas' own eye know and perceive these very roots of goodness and merit — their origin, their end, their essence, their mark — from where do they actually arise? I too, in just this same way, rejoice according to the buddhas' own knowledge and vision; exactly as the buddhas themselves have sanctioned it, I too dedicate my own roots of goodness in just this same way. Should a bodhisattva dedicate merit in this manner, they thereby neither slander the buddhas, nor incur any fault.' Holding faith and understanding with a profound mind, dedicating merit exactly as it truly is — this is called 'the great dedication, the complete dedication.'
"Furthermore, Subhūti! A good son or good daughter ought to dedicate their own roots of goodness and merit in just this way. Just as the categories of precepts, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation belonging to every worthy and noble one are bound to neither the desire realm, the form realm, nor the formless realm, and exist within neither the past, the future, nor the present — because they are bound to none of these three realms — this very dedication is likewise unbound in just this same way, and the very destination toward which it is dedicated is likewise unbound. Should the bodhisattva be able to attain a mind such as this, with faith and understanding exactly as it truly is, this is called 'the dedication that is never lost, the dedication free of poison, the dedication according with the very nature of the Dharma.' Should the bodhisattva, within this very act of dedication, grasp at any mark or harbor any craving attachment to it, this is called 'wrongful dedication.'"
It is for this reason that every bodhisattva-mahāsattva ought, in accordance with the very mark of the Dharma as known by the buddhas themselves, to dedicate merit by means of this very mark of the Dharma, thereby able to arrive at unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening — this is called "right dedication."
Fascicle 5 of the Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā Śāstra
The chapter's own final turn is worth pausing on: after two entire chapters spent naming names — over a hundred buddhas, more than a hundred bodhisattvas, each to be called upon, revered, and held in mindfulness — the closing teaching on dedication insists that the very highest form of this practice involves grasping at no mark whatsoever, not even the mark of the merit being dedicated. The easy path this fascicle has spent so long populating with countless nameable figures closes by folding back into the same signless, markless dialectic that closed the previous fascicle's own account of irreversibility. The easy path and the difficult path's own philosophical rigor, it turns out, are not actually two separate destinations.
Fascicle 5 Complete
This closes Fascicle 5 — the Chapter of Easy Practice in its entirety, and the opening chapter on Removing Karma. Amitābha's own original vow, quoted directly, alongside well over a hundred further buddhas and bodhisattvas to call upon by name, and the fourfold practice of confession, exhortation, rejoicing, and dedication that closes this treatise's own most historically consequential chapter. Fascicle 6 continues within the Removing Karma chapter, and the treatise's own account of the bodhisattva's merit and its distinguishing marks.
Continue to Fascicle 6 →