觀無量壽經義疏 1.8.3

1.8.3

四、「佛告」下，明觀利益； 五、「若有」下，重顯觀儀； 六、「作是」下，辨觀邪正。 第二段中，觀相有十：一、觀身相； 二、觀頂相； 三、觀圓光； 四、觀寶冠； 五、觀面相； 六、觀毫相； 七、觀瓔珞； 八、觀手相； 九、觀足相； 十、「其餘」下，并舉餘相，指同前佛。 初觀身中，先觀身量。 向前佛身長六十萬億那由他恒河沙由旬，此菩薩身長八十萬億那由他恒河沙由旬。 後觀身色，色如紫金。 觀頂可知。 觀圓光中，句別有三：一、觀光中化佛多少； 二、觀化佛侍者多少； 三、觀化佛色身光明，五道眾生皆於中現。 觀寶冠中，先觀寶冠，後觀冠中化佛大小。 第五門中，觀其面色如閻浮金。 觀毫相中，句別有五：一、觀毫色色如七寶； 二、觀毫光； 第三、觀察毫相光中化佛多少； 四、觀化佛侍者多少； 五、觀化佛所現神變。 「現自在滿十方界」下，觀瓔珞及手足等，文皆可知。 自餘總結。 觀益觀儀及觀邪正，文亦可知。 勢至觀中，文別有五：一、總生起； 二、辨觀相； 三、總結之； 四、「除無數」下，明觀利益； 五、「此觀成」下，總結觀音及大勢至二觀成義。 第二段中，文別有七：一、觀身相； 二、觀寶冠； 三、觀肉髻； 四、觀寶瓶； 五、「諸餘」下，并舉餘相同觀音； 六、「行時」下，觀其行相； 七、「坐時」下，觀其坐相。 初觀中，先觀身量如觀世音，後觀身光。 於中先、觀身光廣狹。 二、「有緣」下，明光利益。 有四：一、有緣皆見此菩薩一毛孔光，即見十方一切佛光。 以此菩薩與一切佛法身體同，故見此光即見一切諸佛光矣。 二、「是故」下，結嘆其名，名無邊光。 三、「智慧」下，明光利益，明照眾生，令離三塗，得佛上力。 四、結歎其名，名大勢至。 次五可知。 觀坐相中，初、勸坐時一切動搖； 後、明分身無量，諸佛觀音勢至悉皆雲集演說妙法。 上來第二、廣辨觀相。 第三、總結，第四、觀益，第五、總結觀音勢至二觀成義，文皆可知。 此二相須，故今總結。 上來一分佛菩薩觀，次下一門自往生觀。 於中有五：一、往生想； 二、「與十二」下，明其觀儀； 三、「見此」下，彰成分齊； 四、總結之； 五、明觀益，化佛菩薩恒至其所。 初中有七：一、往生想； 二、於花中跏趺坐想； 三、花合想； 四、花開想； 五、蓮華開時有諸光明來照身想； 六、眼目開想； 七、見佛菩薩及聞法想。 餘皆可知。 次下一門，重復明其佛菩薩觀。 何故須重？ 向前所辨佛菩薩觀，凡下不及，故此復重教凡觀察。 於中先辨，後總結之。 辨中先明觀察佛身，後觀菩薩。 觀佛有六：一、正教觀察丈六之像在池水上。 像表彼佛，池水表彼瑠璃之地。 二、「如先」下，辨明須教觀像所以。 如前所說，佛身無邊非凡所及，故教觀像。 三、「然彼」下，明諸凡夫觀者必成，生人學意。 由彼如來本願力故，觀者必成。 四、「但想」下，明觀多益，勸人觀察。 但觀形像得無量福，況復佛身。 五、「阿彌陀」下，明其所觀若大若小皆是佛身，拂去眾疑生人重意。 眾云何疑？ 前聞佛身廣大無量，今聞觀小，疑非佛身，於小不敬，故須拂遣，明皆是佛，生其重意。 六、「所現」下，明其所現大小雖殊，色身相好與前不異，遮人異觀。 人聞大小皆是佛身，謂作異相亦得觀察，故說如前，防其異觀。 下觀菩薩。 於中初明觀音勢至於一切處身同眾生難以取別。 「但觀」已下，教人別之，但觀首相，即知二別。 此觀頭首，非觀手足。 觀音頂上有其化佛，勢至頂上有其寶瓶，故觀二首便知別矣。 「此二菩薩助阿彌陀」者，彰此二菩薩助化多益，令人必觀。 下總結之。 此佛菩薩通以觀察，故名為雜。 自下三觀合為一分，為他生觀，觀察他人九品生相。 何故觀此？

Fourth, from "The Buddha told" onward, the benefits of the contemplation are explained. Fifth, from "If there are" onward, the contemplation ritual is shown once more. Sixth, from "Making this [contemplation]" onward, the mistaken and correct contemplations are distinguished. In the second section, there are ten aspects of contemplation: first, contemplating the bodily marks; second, contemplating the mark of the uṣṇīṣa; third, contemplating the circular halo; fourth, contemplating the jeweled crown; fifth, contemplating the facial marks; sixth, contemplating the white curl mark; seventh, contemplating the necklaces; eighth, contemplating the marks of the hands; ninth, contemplating the marks of the feet; tenth, from "The rest" onward, all other marks are cited together and indicated as identical to those of the previous Buddha. In the first contemplation of the body, one first contemplates the bodily size. Above, that Buddha's body was six hundred thousand koṭis of nayutas of Gaṅgā-sands of yojanas in height; this Bodhisattva's body is eight hundred thousand koṭis of nayutas of Gaṅgā-sands of yojanas in height. Next, one contemplates the body's color: its color is like purple-gold. Contemplating the crown of the head is clear. In contemplating the circular halo, there are distinct three clauses: first, contemplating how many transformed Buddhas are in the light; second, contemplating how many attendants of the transformed Buddhas there are; third, contemplating the light of the form bodies of the transformed Buddhas, in which sentient beings of the five destinies all appear. In contemplating the jeweled crown, one first contemplates the jeweled crown, and next contemplates the size of the transformed Buddhas in the crown. In the fifth section, one contemplates the color of the face as being like Jāmbūnada gold. In contemplating the white curl mark, there are distinct five clauses: first, contemplating the color of the curl as having the colors of the seven treasures; second, contemplating the light of the curl; third, contemplating how many transformed Buddhas are in the light of the white curl mark; fourth, contemplating how many attendants of the transformed Buddhas there are; fifth, contemplating the supernormal transformations manifested by the transformed Buddhas. From "Manifesting sovereign mastery and filling the worlds of the ten directions" onward, contemplating the necklaces, hands, feet, and so forth is clear from the text. The remainder is a general conclusion. The benefits of contemplation, contemplation ritual, and mistaken versus correct contemplation are also clear from the text. In the contemplation of Shizhi, the text has five distinct parts: first, a general introduction; second, explaining the aspects of the contemplation; third, a general conclusion of it; fourth, from "Eradicates countless" onward, explaining the benefits of the contemplation; fifth, from "When this contemplation is accomplished" onward, a general conclusion on the meaning of accomplishing both contemplations of Guanyin and Mahāsthāmaprāpta. In the second section, the text has seven distinct parts: first, contemplating the bodily marks; second, contemplating the jeweled crown; third, contemplating the fleshy protuberance; fourth, contemplating the treasure vase; fifth, from "All the rest" onward, citing the remaining marks together as identical to Guanyin's; sixth, from "When walking" onward, contemplating the marks of his walking; seventh, from "When sitting" onward, contemplating the marks of his sitting. In the first contemplation, one first contemplates the bodily size as being like Avalokiteśvara's, and next contemplates the bodily light. Within that, first, one contemplates the breadth and narrowness of the bodily light. Second, from "Those with karmic affinity" onward, the benefits of the light are explained. There are four: first, anyone with affinity sees the light of a single pore of this Bodhisattva and thereby sees all the lights of the Buddhas of the ten directions. Because this Bodhisattva is identical in substance with the Dharma body of all Buddhas, seeing this light is seeing the light of all Buddhas. Second, from "Therefore" onward, his name is praised and concluded, being named Boundless Light. Third, from "Wisdom" onward, the benefits of the light are explained: it illuminates sentient beings, enabling them to abandon the three destinies and attain supreme Buddhic power. Fourth, his name is praised and concluded, being named Mahāsthāmaprāpta. The next five are clear. In contemplating the marks of his sitting, first, when seated, everything trembles and shakes; next, it explains that through countless divided bodies, all Buddhas, Guanyin, and Shizhi gather like clouds to expound the wondrous Dharma. The above was the second [part], extensively explaining the aspects of contemplation. The third is the general conclusion; the fourth is the contemplation's benefits; the fifth is the general conclusion on the meaning of accomplishing both contemplations of Guanyin and Shizhi—all are clear from the text. These two depend on each other, which is why they are now concluded together. The above was one part on the contemplation of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Next is one gate on the contemplation of one's own rebirth. Within it are five parts: first, the visualization of rebirth; second, from "Together with twelve" onward, explaining the contemplation ritual; third, from "Seeing this" onward, revealing the measure of accomplishment; fourth, a general conclusion of it; fifth, explaining the benefits of contemplation, in that transformed Buddhas and Bodhisattvas constantly arrive at that place. The first has seven parts: first, the visualization of rebirth; second, the visualization of sitting cross-legged within the lotus; third, the visualization of the lotus closing; fourth, the visualization of the lotus opening; fifth, the visualization of various lights coming to illuminate the body when the lotus flower opens; sixth, the visualization of the eyes opening; seventh, the visualization of seeing the Buddha and Bodhisattvas and hearing the Dharma. The rest are all clear. Next is one gate, which once again explains the contemplation of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. Why is it necessary to repeat it? Because ordinary and inferior persons cannot reach the contemplation of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas explained earlier, here it repeats the teaching to instruct ordinary people to contemplate. Within it, it first explains and then concludes in general. Within the explanation, it first explains contemplating the Buddha's body, and next contemplates the Bodhisattvas. Contemplating the Buddha has six parts: first, directly instructing one to contemplate the sixteen-foot image above the pond water. The image represents that Buddha, and the pond water represents that lapis lazuli ground. Second, from "As previously" onward, explaining the reason why one must be instructed to contemplate the image. As stated earlier, the Buddha's body is boundless and beyond the reach of ordinary people, so one is instructed to contemplate the image. Third, from "However, that" onward, explaining that when ordinary persons contemplate it, they will definitely achieve it, giving rise to people's desire to practice. Due to that Tathāgata's original vow power, those who contemplate will definitely succeed. Fourth, from "Merely visualizing" onward, explaining that the contemplation has many benefits, encouraging people to contemplate. Merely contemplating the image yields immeasurable merit, how much more so the Buddha's body itself! Fifth, from "Amitāyus" onward, explaining that whether the object of contemplation is large or small, both are the Buddha's body, brushing away doubts among the assembly and giving rise to people's attitude of veneration. What doubts would the assembly have? Earlier they heard that the Buddha's body is vast and boundless; now, hearing of contemplating a small one, they might doubt that it is the Buddha's body and fail to respect the small. Therefore it must be cleared away, making it clear that both are the Buddha, generating an attitude of veneration. Sixth, from "That which is manifested" onward, explaining that although the manifested size differs, the marks and signs of the form body are no different from the previous, preventing people from holding divergent views. When people hear that both large and small are the Buddha's body, they might think that creating different marks would also be suitable for contemplation, so it states that it is as before, preventing such divergent views. Next is the contemplation of the Bodhisattvas. Therein, it first explains that Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta have bodies identical to sentient beings everywhere and are difficult to distinguish. From "Merely contemplate" onward, it instructs people how to distinguish them: merely by contemplating the marks of their heads, one knows the distinction between the two. This is contemplating the head, not the hands or feet. On Avalokiteśvara's crown is a transformed Buddha; on Mahāsthāmaprāpta's crown is a treasure vase. Therefore, by contemplating the two heads, one easily knows the difference. "These two Bodhisattvas assist Amitāyus" highlights that these two Bodhisattvas' assistance in conversion brings abundant benefits, causing people to definitely contemplate them. Below is the general conclusion. Because this Buddha and these Bodhisattvas are contemplated together, it is called "miscellaneous." The following three contemplations are combined into one section, which is the contemplation of others' rebirth, contemplating the marks of rebirth in the nine grades of other people. Why is this contemplated?