佛說觀無量壽佛經 1.31

1.31

buddhas. By perceiving these, one also realizes the buddhas’ mind. The buddhas’ mind is great compassion. It embraces sentient beings with unconditional benevolence. Those who have practiced this contemplation will, after death, be born in the presence of the buddhas and realize insight into the non-arising of all dharmas. For this reason, the wise should concentrate their thoughts and visualize Amitāyus.

“In contemplating him, begin with one of his physical characteristics.

Visualize first the white tuft of hair between his eyebrows until you see it

quite clearly and distinctly. When you visualize it, all the eighty-four thou-

sand physical characteristics will spontaneously become manifest. When

you see Amitāyus you will also see innumerable buddhas of the ten direc-

tions. Having visualized these innumerable buddhas you will receive from

each the prediction of your future buddhahood. This is the general percep-

tion of all the physical characteristics of the Buddha and is known as the

ninth contemplation. To practice in this way is called the correct contem-

plation, and to practice otherwise is incorrect.”

18 The Buddha said to Ānanda and Vaidehī, “After you have seen Amitāyus

clearly and distinctly, next visualize Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. His height

is eighty koṭis of nayutas of yojanas multiplied by the number of the sands

of the Ganges River. His body is the color of purple-gold, and on the top of

his head is a mound surrounded by an aureole with a radius of a hundred

thousand yojanas, in which there are five hundred transformed buddhas.

Each transformed buddha resembles Śākyamuni and is attended by five hun-

dred transformed bodhisattvas and innumerable devas. In the light emanat-

ing from his entire body are seen the sentient beings of the five realms of

samsara in all their distinct physical forms. On his head he wears a heavenly

crown made of śakra-abhilagna-maṇi-gems, on which stands a transformed

buddha (Amitāyus) measuring twenty-five yojanas in height.

“The face of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara is the color of gold from the

Jambu River, while the tuft of hair between his eyebrows has the colors of

the seven kinds of jewels, and from it issue forth eighty-four thousand dif-

ferent rays of light. In each of these rays dwell innumerable and countless

hundreds of thousands of transformed buddhas, each attended by countless

transformed bodhisattvas, all of whom manifest in various forms at will, fill-

ing completely the worlds of the ten directions. Avalokiteśvara’s arms are

the color of red lotus flowers. They emit eighty koṭis of exquisite rays of