【Master Shandao】善導大師
In the fifteenth year of the Zhenguan era( 貞觀 ), at the age of twenty-nine, the Master visited Xuanzhong Temple( 玄中寺 ) in Shibi Valley , Xihe, where he met Zen Master Daochuo( 道綽禪師 ) and received the *Infinite Life Sutra *( 《無量壽經》 ) from him. Upon seeing the Pure Land Nine Grades of Practice,( 淨土九品道場 ) he was overjoyed and exclaimed , "This is truly the essential path to Buddhahood! Other practices are circuitous and difficult to achieve, but this Dharma gate swiftly transcends birth and death !" ( 唯此法門，速超生死 ) Therefore, he diligently and assiduously recited the Buddha's name day and night, as if his head were on fire . Whenever he entered his room, he would kneel and chant the Buddha's name until he was completely exhausted. Even in freezing weather , he would chant until his clothes were soaked with sweat. When he went out, he expounded the Pure Land Dharma gate for over thirty years without ever sleeping. ...
