念佛四十八法 35) 即禪即佛持名 Zen is Buddha Recitation
- 即禪即佛持名
Zen is Buddha Recitation
Meditation based on a koan(18) is ca led koan meditation. Meditation in which the practitioner sits and stops the thought process is referred to as sitting meditation. Koan and sitting meditation are both Zen. Zen and Buddha are both Mind. Zen is the Zen of Buddha. Buddha is the Buddha in Zen. Buddha Recitation does not conflict with koan or sitting meditation. Moreover, the meditator can use the words 「Amitabha Buddha」 as a koan, reciting forward, reciting backward, reciting in one direction, reciting in another, upside down, turning around, without leaving his current thought. Even if it is not ca led Zen, Zen is still part of it.
The Zen practitioner, to succeed in his cultivation, must practice to the stage of 「one thought in resonance with the M ind」 (samadhi), and enter suddenly into the realm of Emptiness.
To recite the Buddha』s name to the level of one-pointedness of m ind – if this is not resonance (samadhi) what else can it be? To recite to the point where the m ind is empty, is it not perpetual samadhi?
In alert, focused Buddha recitation there is samatha, vipassana, samadhi, wisdom – each recitation is perfect. Where else can Zen be found if not here?
或看一話頭者，謂之參禪，或坐或息念者，謂之坐禪，參也坐也，總是禪也。禪也佛 也，總是心也，禪即佛之禪，佛即禪之佛，念佛法門，何礙于參禪坐禪乎？且參禪 者，能將此阿彌陀佛四字，當做一句話頭，念來念去，反復不舍，不言參禪，禪在其 中矣！坐禪者，要到一念相應，豁然如托空方為得手，念佛念到一心不亂時，非相應 乎？念到心空時，非永遠相應乎？于念佛時，不昏不散，止觀定慧念念圓成，若欲別 求禪，那禪當更在何處？
Commentary
Zen is Pure Land because both Zen and Pure Land aim at reaching one-pointedness of mind. Although two expedients are involved, the result is the same. However, Zen is ten times as difficult! The well-known commentary Returning Directly to the Source contains the fo lowing similes: 「those who practice methods other than Pure Land are no different from ants climbing a high mountain or worms crawling up to the tip of a bamboo stalk. The Pure Land method of Buddha Recitation is a shortcut relying on the Buddha』s power. It is lik e a boat sailing downstream with the wind in its sails or a worm digging its way out sideways [horizontal escape(19)]. There is no faster way.」