往生集 3.16

3.16

At the Kukkuṭārāma Monastery in India, a bodhisattva with the five superknowledges traveled by spiritual power to the Land of Peace and Joy, met Amitābha Buddha, and stated: 'Sentient beings of the Sahā world wish to be born in the Pure Land, but lack the Buddha's form and bearing. We request that you deign to grant it.' The Buddha said: 'You should go first; it will soon appear there.' When the one of five superknowledges returned, the holy image had already arrived: one Buddha and fifty bodhisattvas, each sitting on a lotus, upon tree leaves. It was subsequently transcribed and disseminated. This is seen in the Gantong zhuan.