Pure Land of The Patriarchs
ZEN MASTER HAN-SHAN TE-CH’ING
Translated by Dharma Master Lok To
Sutra translation committee of
The United state and Canada
New York– San Francisco – Toronto
Introduction
All teachings in the Tripitaka (Buddhist Canon) are tools to induce sentient beings to sever attachments. To those attached to Emptiness, Buddha Sakyamuni taught Existence to break that gasp. To those attached to Existence. He taught Emptiness so as to loosen that grasp. To those grasping at both Emptiness and Existence, He taught “neither Emptiness nor Existence” to break that grasp. Lastly, to those grasping at “neither Emptiness nor Existence” He taught both Emptiness and Existence to break that attachement.
In short, the purpose is to draw all sentient beings away from attachments. That is The Buddhist teaching of salvation. There is no other way to return to the source, though there are many different expedient methods. We Buddhist students and practitioners should not become attached to these methods. When thoughts arise in our mind discriminating between what is right and what is wrong, that is against the purpose of the Buddhas and is a deviation from the Buddhist path.
For example, when Buddha Sakyamuni taught the Dharma of Emptiness, His message was not that it was the opposite of Existence, but rather that it was Truth and Reality. What are Truth and Reality? Let me quote the T’ien T’ai Patriarch Chih I:
When there is Emptiness, then all is Emptiness; there is no separate Non-Emptiness. Without Non-Emptiness to contrast with Emptiness, Emptiness itself is unattainable [does not exist]
CONTENTS
Introduction
Master Han-Shan’s Dream Roamings
Zen and Pure Land
The Important Dharma of Pure Land
People Should Practice Pure Land
The Important Doctrines of Pure Land and Zen
Pure Land Can Save All Sentient Beings in the Ocean of Suffering
The Reason for Teaching the Dharma of Pure Land
Appendix I: The Pure Land Tradition
Appendix II: The Youth Sudhana Meets his first Teacher
Editor’s Notes
Editor’s Glossary