觀無量壽佛經疏 3.42

3.42

Second, the words "contemplate the jeweled trees" restate the name of the contemplation. The words "contemplate each of them" and below introduce the subsequent contemplative aspects, directly teaching the rules. This explains that Amitābha's pure realm is vast and boundless; how could the jeweled trees and jeweled groves be measured merely by seven rows? When it now speaks of "sevenfold," in some cases there is a tree with yellow gold as roots, purple gold as trunk, white silver as branches, agate as twigs, coral as leaves, white jade as flowers, and pearls as fruit; in this way, seven tiers mutually serve as roots, trunks, and so on up to flowers and fruit, making seven times seven, or forty-nine tiers. Or there are trees of a single jewel; or trees of two, three, four, or up to hundreds of thousands of myriads of inexpressible jewels. This meaning has already been extensively discussed in the commentary on the Amitābha Sūtra. Therefore it is called "sevenfold." As for the word "rows," although the grove trees in that land are numerous, row upon row they are neat and straight without confusion. As for the word "visualization," for those not yet skilled in the true contemplation that is effortless and accords with the mind, it is necessary to rely on provisional visualization to anchor the mind; only then can they realize the benefit.