法苑珠林 13.15

13.15

又觀佛三昧經云。昔過去久遠有佛出世。號曰空王。入涅槃後有四比丘。共為同學習佛正法。煩惱覆心不能堅持佛法寶藏。多不善業當墮惡道。空中有聲語比丘言空王如來。雖復涅槃。汝之所犯謂無救者。汝等今可入塔觀像。與佛在世時等無有異。聞空聲已。入塔觀像眉間毫相。即作念言。如來在世光明色身與此何異。佛大人相願除我罪。作是語已。如太山崩五體投地懺悔諸罪由入佛塔觀像毫相懺悔因緣。後八十億阿僧祇劫不墮惡道。生生常見十方諸佛。於諸佛所受持甚深念佛三昧。得三昧已。為十方佛現前授記。今悉成佛。東方有國名曰妙喜。佛號阿閦。即第一比丘是。南方有國。名曰歡喜。佛號寶相。即第二比丘是。西方有國。名曰極樂。佛號無量壽。即第三比丘是。北方有國。名蓮華莊嚴。佛號微妙聲。即第四比丘是。以是因緣行者。應當如是數觀佛也。

The Guanfo sanmei jing also states: "In the remote past, a Buddha appeared in the world named Śūnyarāja. After he entered nirvāṇa, there were four bhikṣus who studied the Buddha's true Dharma as fellow companions. Afflictions covered their minds, so that they could not firmly uphold the treasury of the Buddha's Dharma, and having committed many unwholesome deeds, they were due to fall into the evil realms. A voice in the sky addressed the bhikṣus, saying: 'Although the Tathāgata Śūnyarāja has entered nirvāṇa, for what you have violated you think there is no deliverance. You may now enter the stūpa and view the image; it is no different from when the Buddha was in the world.' Having heard the voice from the sky, they entered the stūpa and viewed the ūrṇā mark between the eyebrows of the image. They immediately thought: 'When the Tathāgata was in the world, how was his radiant physical body any different from this? May the Buddha's great human marks eliminate my sins!' Having spoken these words, like Mount Tai collapsing, they threw their five limbs to the ground and repented their various sins. Through the cause of entering the Buddha stūpa, viewing the ūrṇā mark of the image, and repenting, for eighty billion asaṃkhyeya kalpas thereafter they did not fall into the evil realms, and in life after life they constantly saw the Buddhas of the ten directions. In the presence of those Buddhas, they received and upheld the profound samādhi of recollecting the Buddha. Having attained the samādhi, predictions were bestowed upon them face to face by the Buddhas of the ten directions, and now all have attained buddhahood. In the east there is a realm named Abhirati, whose Buddha is named Akṣobhya: he was the first bhikṣu. In the south there is a realm named Ratnagarbha, whose Buddha is named Ratnaketu: he was the second bhikṣu. In the west there is a realm named Sukhāvatī, whose Buddha is named Amitāyus: he was the third bhikṣu. In the north there is a realm named Padmavyūha, whose Buddha is named Sugandhasvara: he was the fourth bhikṣu. By this circumstance, practitioners should frequently contemplate the Buddha in this manner."