觀無量壽經義疏 1.8.3

1.8.3

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?