明末清初佛教復興，禪宗因著陽明心學而盛，強調明心見性的自覺，因過度膨脹引來恣意狂妄的行徑，終被譏為「狂禪」。淨土高僧雲棲袾宏試圖以念佛法門革除狂禪弊端，並提出「禪淨一致論」擺脫傳統「禪主淨副」或「實禪虛淨」的說法。但在面臨禪、淨在自性／依他性的修行矛盾、本心／他土的境界矛盾上，仍引來不少爭論。此一爭論也反映在戲曲創作上，屠隆的《曇花記》、《修文記》、黃粹吾的《西廂昇仙記》雖皆為倡導往生西方的淨土之作，但劇中闡發的主旨仍是淨土即在心中，心外無土的禪宗思想，擺脫不了傳統「實禪虛淨」的說法。這些劇作引起淨土信仰者的不滿，於是有葉憲祖作《雙修記》、僧人智達編寫《歸元鏡》駁其禪淨互舉之不當，於劇中專言淨土修行法門。這些作品不但反映當時禪、淨之爭的現象，也開創戲曲新議題。在戲曲理論上，身為淨土大師的雲棲祩宏也利用戲曲說淨土，除了以戲臺上「有無俱非真，只求專心一意」打破禪宗與淨土爭執西方世界有無的執著，指出信心念佛才是正道；又特別撰寫《諺謨曲典》，針對佛門觀戲行為提出見解。其後，淨土弟子智達編寫《歸元鏡》傳淨土之道，更撰寫〈戲劇融通〉、〈問答因緣〉與〈客問決疑〉闡述戲、佛融通之理，尤其站在淨土立場提出「道種說」和五種因緣和合：佛法、世諦、文字、音律和通俗的方便法門，進一步確立戲佛融通、以戲傳教的功能與意義。智達將理論落實於《歸元鏡》創作中：改「傳奇」為「實錄」，改「齣」為「分」，以維持宗教本貌；強調劇本「真實性」，確保內容為真理、真事，以保有作品神聖性格；強調語言、文字「通俗性」，使庸夫俗婦皆能持佛名號、往生西方；將演出過程視為儀式，不但演員、觀眾必須誠心齋戒，尚有「坐著演」的特殊規範，或即淨土讚歌「坐著唱」表演方式的承襲；配合淨土「以音聲為佛事」，在音樂上更自訂曲牌名稱，穿插咒語、讚歌與佛教細樂演奏，並將重要故實、教義及儀式譜曲演唱，透過音樂宣唱淨土樂景。智達《歸元鏡》於淨土宗廣為流傳，其落實五種因緣和合的方便法門，真正達到以戲傳教的目的。

In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties when Buddhism was revived, Zen Buddhism also thrived thanks to the dominance of the Yangming School of Mind. Zen Buddhism highly valued self-consciousness; a clear mind was considered vital to discovering true human nature. However, due to unscrupulous behaviors resulting from following the mind in an unconstrained manner, the school was eventually satirized as “Wild Zen.” In response, Pure Land Buddhism master Yun Qi-zhu-hong (雲棲袾宏) attempted to abolish the corrupt practice of Wild Zen by proposing the method of chanting Amitabha. In addition, to counter the traditional belief that Zen Buddhism was superior to Pure Land Buddhism, he asserted that Zen Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism should be practiced in tandem. However, these two schools held contradictory opinions toward the practice of Buddhism, i.e. such as whether the practice should rely on one’s true nature/mind or on external objects/other lands, which led to many debates. Such debates were also reflected in the creation of Chinese opera pieces such as Tan Hua Ji (曇花記) and Siou Wun Ji (修文記) written by Tu Long (屠隆) and the Xi Xiang Sheng Xian Ji (西廂昇仙記) by Huang Cui-Wu (黃粹吾) . Although these works promoted the belief of being reborn in a western paradise, the so-called Pure Land, the main idea of the works still involved the Zen Buddhist concept that “the pure land exists in the mind.” Those works consequently aroused contention among the Pure Land Buddhism followers. As a result, Ye Xianzu (葉憲祖) wrote Shuang Xiu Ji (雙修記) and a monk, Chin Da (智達) , wrote Guei Yuan Jing (歸元鏡) to refute the coexistence of Zen Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism by focusing on the practice of Pure Land Buddhism in their opera pieces. These works reflected the debates of Zen and Pure Land Buddhism while also initiating new issues for Chinese opera. Based on opera theory, Pure Land Buddhism master Yun Qi-zhu-hong used Chinese opera to explicate the doctrine of Pure Land Buddhism, in an attempt to end the debate between Zen Buddhism practitioners and Pure Land Buddhism practitioners as to whether a western paradise exists, by presenting the concept that no matter whether a western paradise exists or not, performances onstage are not reality; full concentration on chanting Amitabha was the only right path. Furthermore, he created Yan Mo Qu Dian (諺謨曲典) to express his opinion on how practitioners of Buddhism appreciated operas. After that, Chin Da wrote Guei Yuan Jing to preach the doctrine of Pure Land Buddhism. He also wrote Xi Ju Rong Tong (戲劇融通) , Wen Da Yin Yuan (問答因緣) and Ke Wen Jue Yi (客問決疑) to elaborate on the fusion of Chinese opera and Buddhism. Stressing the standpoint of Pure Land Buddhism, he proposed “Dao Zhong Shuo” (道種說, meaning that nature possesses the seed of Buddhahood.) and the harmony of five causes: Buddha dharma, common principles, scripture, music and common convenient methods of practicing Buddhism. This further established the function and significance of preaching Buddhist doctrines through Chinese opera. Chin Da incorporated these theories into his creation, Guei Yuan Jing. In order to maintain religious style, he changed “Chuan Qi” (傳奇, meaning short stories.) into “Shi Lu” (實錄, meaning record.) and “Chu” (齣, meaning chapter.) into “Fen” (分, meaning part.) . In order to maintain the holiness of the operas, the contents were all based on truth and facts, emphasizing the authenticity of the script. Also, to enable ordinary people to chant Amitabha so that they could be reborn in the western paradise, common language and writing styles were stressed. In addition, the performance process was deemed a ritual; performers and audiences were to fast with pious minds and special performance rules were to be observed, such as seated performance or seated singing, also known as the anthem of Pure land Buddhism. With the idea of“preaching with music,” he changed the names of tunes, inserting incantation, anthem and Chinese orchestra music performance into the play. Important stories, doctrines and rituals were combined with music to praise the pure land of western paradise, truly implementing a convenient method to the harmony of the five causes.