This paper is an analysis of the life of the Qing monk, Chengjie 乘戒 (active during the Qianlong to Daoguang eras) and his thought within the Weixin ji 唯心集. It will focus on the following concepts of Chengjie in the Weixin ji: mind-only Pure Land, the relationship between the nine ranks and rebirth in the Pure Land, and filial piety. According to the Weixin ji, Chengjie passed away before 1874 and his works include Weixin ji and Dizang pusa benyuan chanyi 地藏菩薩本願懺儀. The Wanfa guixin lu 萬法歸心錄 was also proofread by him. As we can see from his writings, he paid much attention on the joint practice of Chan and Pure Land Buddhism and also on the practice of filial piety. He used many huatou 話頭 and gongan 公案 to explain the concept of the mind-only Pure Land. The concept of mind-only Pure Land in Chengjie’s thought can be divided into three stages, including: (1) the mind-nature theory that self-nature is Buddha; (2) the theory of coherency between the nature is mind and the mind is Buddha; and (3) the theory of negativism of non-mind and non-Buddha. According to these three theories, the theory of negativism of non-mind and non-Buddha is the ultimate concept of mind-only Pure Land in Chengjie’s thought. Chengjie considered the practice of reciting Amitabha’s name and filial piety as the main causes of rebirth in the Pure Land. Reciting Amitabha’s name is very important to practice filial piety in people’s daily lives. Also, filial piety plays a very important role in Chinese society. Since reciting Amitabha’s name is an important part of practicing filial piety, it provides people an easy way to release themselves from suffering, repay the kindness of their family and relatives, and accumulate merit at the same time. The Weixin ji provides people a way to release themselves from samsara and its explanations of Buddhist practices were locally adapted to Chinese culture. The people in the Qing dynasty were eager to find a way to release their suffering from government repression and the Weixin ji showed them the way by explaining the concept of mind-only Pure Land, which they could use to attain enlightenment immediately. Furthermore, Chengjie stated that people could be reborn in the Pure Land by reciting Amitabha’s name and relying on the power of Amitabha, based on descriptions of the nine ranks. Since people had lower capacities at that time, they could better accumulate merit by practicing filial piety in order to repay the kindness of parents and achieve Buddhahood through all these practices.
