觀無量壽佛經義疏 3.63

3.63

"[The Buddha said:] 'The Buddha Amitāyus possesses eighty-four thousand major marks. Within each mark there are eighty-four thousand minor characteristics. Within each characteristic there are further eighty-four thousand rays of light. Each ray of light shines everywhere throughout the worlds of the ten directions, gathering in and never abandoning sentient beings who are mindful of the Buddha.'" A sixteen-foot body possesses thirty-two major marks and eighty minor characteristics. Now, Amitāyus's body possesses eighty-four thousand in each of the three dimensions of marks, characteristics, and lights, making their number boundless and beyond calculation. Below, showing that the light shines everywhere to gather in beings refers to the very essence of Amitāyus's compassionate mind. Question: Does the Buddha's light gather in persons who are not mindful of the Buddha? Answer: Whether they are mindful or not, there are none whom the light does not encompass. Yet, only those who are mindful of the Buddha resonate with the light; thus they are gathered in to attain rebirth [in the Pure Land] without backsliding. The Dazhidu lun states: "For example, with fish eggs, if the mother is not mindful of them, the eggs will rot." The Śūraṅgama Sūtra states: "The Buddha is mindful of sentient beings as a mother yearns for her child, but it depends on whether the child yearns for the mother or not." It is also like a blind person beneath the solar disc: there is nowhere the sun does not illuminate, yet the blind person does not see it; persons who are not mindful of the Buddha are also like this. Second, making clear the brevity of words.