廬山蓮宗寶鑑 9.2

9.2

Because pure karma was cultivated in the causal stage, the pure realm is obtained as the effect: a transformation Buddha guides one onto the golden terrace, and the noble and wise welcome one back to the Realm of Bliss. High above the three realms, far removed from the four currents, karma is exhausted and defilements vanish, feelings are extinguished and anxious thoughts cease. Entrusting one's physical form within a lotus bud, one's spirit roams within the jewelled realm. Face-to-face, one serves Amitābha Buddha as fundamental teacher, and meets Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta as close companions. In the great assembly of the pure ocean-like multitude by the jewelled pond, the superior streams of the nine grades each recount their causal practices. The five fragrances waft over the body, and the three virtues adorn the person. As a gentle breeze momentarily stirs, one listens to the multitude of sounds expounding the Dharma; as rain of colorful blossoms scatters, one beholds the blazing nets radiating light. Ethereal clouds and mists float near their divine feet; light and airy robes catch wonderful flowers. In the morning, they pay homage to the Compassionate Countenance, receive the seal of Dharma, and return to their realm; in the evening, they roam the golden lands, listening to jade-like gāthās in carefree ease. The auspicious lotus first blooms to dispel remaining calamaties; the newly transformed practitioners accomplish practices without falling back. Not only are gross sufferings immediately forgotten, but the fruit of Buddhahood is also not far off. Playing and sporting in the jade groves, bathing in the waters of virtue, the pavilions of a hundred jewels are resplendent and magnificent, and the seven tiers of tree rows are stately and solemn. The seasons are perpetual spring; the ground is flat as the palm of a hand. Food and clothing arrive at a thought; heavenly instruments play of themselves without being struck. Enjoyments arise naturally, and happiness is truly not of the human realm—countless billions of times beyond comparison with the various heavens, and praised together by Buddhas numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Their bodies possess brilliant and wonderful marks, their steps tread the fragrant stairs of the noble path; their lifespan is difficult to measure, and their vows of compassion are unending. Shedding two layers of birth and death, theirs is no longer a body bound to the karmic destinations; attaining the constant light of the fundamental limit, they are free from the marks of coming and going. That conditions are powerful and virtues supreme is entirely born of the mind of buddhānusmṛti; that blessings are complete and lifespan long is entirely the retribution induced by pure causes. Therefore, know that the Buddha has the vow to gather sentient beings, and sentient beings have the cause to respond to the Buddha. Such superior conditions arise from faith and aspiration; with such wondrous fruits, the primary and environmental retributions are perfected. At times meditating and reciting beside the pond of seven jewels, at times walking in meditation upon the golden ground; satisfied with the precious flavors of dhyāna joy and Dharma delight, wearing the heavenly robes of kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity; their merit nourishes the spirit, increasing compassion and wisdom; with composed elegance they cultivate the path, nurturing the noble embryo. Entering the gate of non-arising, they straightway ascend to the rank of bodhisattva; attaining avaivartika, they do not regress from the bodhi mind. Abiding in the house of the Dharma King, they all receive the Tathāgata's prediction; hearing the Great Vehicle Dharma, they are all called honored ones of next-in-succession. Thought after thought is empty and profound, mind after mind is tranquil meditation; attaining the correct absorption of samādhi, endowed with the six kinds of supernatural powers; presenting offerings across the ten directions with unhindered coming and going, multiplying bodies in billions of lands without losing the samādhi mind; sprinkling the water of Dharma upon the three thousand worlds, drawing sentient beings forth from the burning house; benefiting both self and others, their practices and vows are complete and round. It may be called: hundreds of thousands of samādhis are all Mind-only; merit and adornments return to oneself.