聖嚴法師的淨土思想的淵源與要義，筆者在《聖嚴研究》第一輯拙作中結論出：聖嚴法師依般若空思想為中心的《維摩經》，提倡心淨則國土淨，以華嚴宗「一念成佛」的思想發展出「一念相應一念佛，一日相應一日佛，念念相應念念佛」的念佛觀。本篇再探聖嚴法師的淨土思想，筆者擬著重在聖嚴法師如何把看似矛盾的「有相念佛」與「無相念佛」，透過《阿彌陀經》、《無量壽經》、《觀無量壽經》、《楞嚴經》、《般舟三昧經》、《文殊師利所說摩訶般若波羅蜜經》六種文獻的思想要義，提出念佛法門即是禪觀法門的立場，融攝通達有無二相的相即性與相入性。本文之內容分為三大部分：第一部分討論聖嚴法師如何詮釋有無二相念佛觀。第二部分著重於聖嚴法師如何運用六種文獻的思想要義處理有無二相的矛盾。第三部分探討聖嚴法師提倡念佛即是禪觀的念佛思想。筆者擬透過上述三部分的論述，反映出聖嚴法師的淨土思想在念佛法門上有著時代的貢獻。

In my earlier study, published in Studies on Sheng Yen , vol. 1, I concluded that Venerable Sheng Yen’s Pure Land thought can be traced back to two scriptural sources. His advocacy that “when the mind is pure, one’s abode is pure” comes from the doctrinal position of prajñā or emptiness in Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa-sūtra. His contention that “if for a single thought-moment one accords with Buddha, then in that instant one is a Buddha; if one accords with Buddha for a day, then for that day one is a Buddha; if one’s successive thought-moments accord with Buddha, then every moment one is a Buddha” can be traced back to the Huayan (華嚴) doctrine. In this paper, I re-examine Venerable Sheng Yen’s Pure Land thought on the apparent contradiction between form and formless recitation of Buddha’s name practice. I examine the essential doctrine contained in the following six scriptures: Amitābhasūtra, Sūtra on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, Sūtra of Visualization of Amitāyus Buddha, Śurangama-samādhi-sūtra, Pratyutpanna-buddha-saṃmukhāvathita-samādhi-sūtra, and the Saptaśatikāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra. I observe that the two types of recitation methods correlate with the general methods of meditative contemplation, and that they are expressions of the identity and interpenetration of phenomenal reality and essential nature.The paper is divided into three main actions: The first section discusses Venerable Sheng Yen’s interpretation of form and formless recitation methods. The second section examines how Sheng Yen resolves the apparent contradiction between these two types of recitation practice in his commentaries of the above mentioned six scriptures. The third section highlights what Sheng Yen’s Pure Land thought has to offer to contemporary practices of Buddha’s name recitation.