佛說觀佛三昧海經 2

English (machine translation) 2

Language: English

2.1

Translated by Guṇabhadra, Tripiṭaka Master from India during the Eastern Jin

2.2

Chapter 3: Contemplating the Marks (Part 2)

The Buddha said to his father the king: "What is called the light of the mark of the Bodhisattva's white curl at the time of subduing Māra? Māra Pāpīyān observed Jambudvīpa from afar with his divine eye and saw the son of the Śākyas cast off his kingdom like spittle, sitting beneath the Tree of the Way with his flesh and bones withered and dry, his body emaciated like that of a chronically sick man; only his golden light became ever more radiant, his eyes sunken and dark like stars at the bottom of a well, his joints protruding against each other, losing their coiled-dragon lines. Pāpīyān rejoiced, saying: 'Gautama's body is emaciated and his bones are like rotting grass; though he has light and color, little of his life remains. While the Way is not yet accomplished, I should go and destroy him.' Blazing with wrath, he ordered the yakṣas to assemble the army swiftly: 'I now intend to descend to Jambudvīpa to campaign against Gautama.'"

2.4

At that time, Māra had a son named Sātāra, who knelt long and said to his father: “When the prince of Śuddhodana was born, ten thousand gods attended him, and his light penetrated all the heavens. That man's loving-kindness and compassion broadly cover all beings. Now, for the sake of all living creatures, he sits beneath the Tree of the Path. Why, Father, do you conceive such evil and rebellious intentions?” Māra then said angrily: “You are young and ignorant, to claim that Gautama has superior virtue and the Path! Gautama's body is emaciated like a dry skeleton; what can he possibly do, that you speak of loving-kindness and compassion?” The son said again: “Gautama’s body is emaciated simply because he has not eaten. Looking upon his radiance and complexion, it is like a vajra mountain pouring forth purple flames. He has sat serenely for six years, his mind without wavering; looking upon his face, it has never worn an expression of fear. I beg of you, Great King, stay for now in your heavenly palace; do not wish to go and attack him.” Pāpīyān said again: “Just be silent! Why must you babble so?”

2.5

Then the lord of the yakṣas, named Citra, came before Māra, touched his head and face to the ground to pay homage to Māra, and said to the heavenly king: “What are your commands?” Pāpīyān told him: “With my voice, command the six desire heavens, summon the ghost kings below along with all the eight classes [of beings], as well as the wilderness ghosts and the spirits of Yamarāja across the eighteen hells; have them all assemble and proceed to where Gautama is.”

2.6

At that time, all the ghosts gathered from the four directions like rising clouds. Some ghosts had heads like ox heads with forty ears, from within which grew iron arrows with red flames rising one yojana high; they had eighteen horns, upon the tips of which they lifted up mountains, on which were dragons holding heated iron balls in their mouths. Other ghosts had heads like fox heads with ten thousand eyes, their eyelashes long and great like lightning flames, mouths upon their necks vomiting blazing fire, and the hairs upon their bodies like trees of swords. Other ghosts hung suspended upside down in the air with twelve legs, bearing a thousand wheel-knives at their heels, their heads like Mount Tai, with five hundred sword-trees atop their heads from which fires flared up. Other ghosts crept along writhing on their bellies, bearing Mount Cakravāḍa upon their arched backs as they arrived. Still other ghosts had many heads upon a single neck, mouths with a thousand tongues, upon which grew thorny bramble trees, their hair and manes surging upward, raining blood from the tips of the hairs, vomiting thorns as they ran swiftly, soaring through the sky as they came.

2.7

Piśāca ghosts uttered great, vile cries, their vapors billowing like clouds, raining down heated iron balls as they arrived in a flash. Kumbhāṇḍa ghosts squatted on earthen mounds, displaying their hideous forms. Pūtana ghosts were dark and emaciated, wearing large cauldrons filled with heated iron balls upon their heads, holding wheel-knives in their hands, their left feet trampling dogs and their right feet trampling wolves as they rushed forward. The rākṣasa kings had backs black as lacquer, chests white as the moon, eyes like roaring fires, disheveled hair like bundles of thorns, dog-fangs protruding upward like sharp swords, the claws of their ten fingers sharp as blade-tips, the ten claws of their feet crisscrossing like swords, their heads bound with iron halters as they came running swiftly. The great generals of the wilderness ghosts and spirits had six heads upon one neck, six faces on their chests, and two faces on their kneecaps, their whole bodies growing hairs like arrowheads with which they braced themselves and shot at people, their eyes opened wide and blazing red with blood flowing down, running swiftly alongside all kinds of ferocious creatures as they arrived.

2.8

Still other ghosts had heads like tiger heads with twelve eyes, noses like elephant trunks with thirteen trunks, carrying mountains on their left shoulders and bearing fire on their right shoulders, holding sharp swords in their hands and treading on lions beneath their feet, roaring as they arrived. Still other ghosts had bodies like clouds, lightning fires rising like the tops of clumping clouds, beside which were hundreds of thousands of myriads of dragons whose bodies could not be seen, but only their spitting venom; in the ten directions, all manner of evil things gathered like clouds. The spirit Hārītī brought her children, each holding a rock wall ten leagues square, towering and terrifying, as they raced to arrive. Still other ghosts curled their backs and tucked their tails, sniffing the ground with their noses, fire issuing from their noses; the flames transformed above, giving birth to ghosts who carried their faces as they ran.

2.9

At that time, the demon king looked around at the yakṣas and commanded all the ghosts: “Now that the ghost army has gathered like clouds, Gautama is a good man and may perhaps know spells; we must raise the fourfold army.” Using his demon king’s wish-fulfilling pearl, he magically conjured the fourfold army: elephants, horses, chariots, and infantry arrayed with weapons like a forest, exceedingly terrifying, descending straight from the sky to the side of the Tree of the Path.

2.10

Māra thought again: “An army such as this still might not be able to subdue Gautama.” He then removed his jeweled crown and pointed it toward the subterranean earth. The radiance of the crown reached directly to the regions below, above the palace of the apparitional beings of Yamarāja, and he shouted loudly, commanding all the ghosts: “You hell-wardens and Yamarāja! Lift up all the wheel-knives, swords, halberds, fire-chariots, and charcoal braziers of the Avīci hell toward Jambudvīpa; I wish to destroy Gautama and hurl him into their midst!”

2.11

The Avīci hell is eighty thousand yojanas in length and breadth, perfectly square, with seven layers of iron walls and eighteen tiers below, and forests of swords on four sides in eighteen rows. To the east there are eighteen minor hells surrounding it; to the south there are eighteen tiers surrounding it; to the west there are eighteen tiers surrounding it; and to the north there are eighteen tiers surrounding it. Beneath the earth there are naturally roaring, fierce fires that burn the iron walls and iron nets until both blaze, with all the scorching flames swirling around and passing downward through the eighteen tiers. If there are sentient beings who commit the five heinous sins, their bodies fill it, enduring such suffering day and night without ceasing, with no gap or interval. When the kalpa is about to end, the four gates open naturally. The sinners see all the forests of swords outside the eastern gate looking like cool forests; rising from the lower tier to the second tier, and from the second tier to the third tier, and so forth upward, they run toward the eastern gate. The rākṣasa hell-wardens pierce their eyes in counter-thrusts with heated iron pitchforks; their eye-vitality, like molten copper, flows out upon the ground, and they immediately fall prostrate, filling the eighteen tiers, their minds faint and overwhelmed for a full minor kalpa. Only then do they rise again and head toward the southern gate. Thus it is for the four directions, no different from before, suffering agony day and night through an entire great kalpa. When the kalpa ends, they are reborn into the remaining minor hells. The shapes and sizes of those other hells, the lightness and heaviness of retribution, the handsome and ugly forms, and all the miscellaneous retributions, will be explained in detail in the [chapter on] the samādhi of loving-kindness.

2.12

At that time, the hell-wardens numbered eight thousand at the east of the wall, and likewise in the other three directions. The hair of each hell-warden was like a mountain, growing wheel-knives, swords, and halberds. Their ears were like donkey ears of a hundred thousand varieties, with smoke and flames rising together from each ear. Their lips, mouths, and teeth surpassed those of rākṣasas by hundreds of thousands of myriads of times. Their horns were like ox horns with swords growing at the tips, visible differently from the five directions. Their bodies were reddish-black like mangy dogs, with four hundred tails. At the ends of their tails were pus, blood, and boiling feces, with iron wireworms coiled around their bodies. Holding iron pitchforks in their hands, they trod on wheels beneath their feet, the wheel-knives piercing upward straight to the core of their marrows. Swift as the wind, each used iron pitchforks to spear the waists of the sinners and rushed straight upward; the Avīci hell followed them like a shadow following a form, pursuing the sinners as it came.

2.13

In an instant, they arrived beside the Tree of the Path, gathering at once like clouds, intending to commit evil and rebellion. At that time, the Bodhisattva remained dignified and motionless, entering the supreme contemplation of loving-kindness. The demon king raged deceitfully, brandishing his weapons and roaring, commanding all the troops: “Quickly press in and harm Gautama!” Above, heavenly thunder rumbled, raining down heated iron balls; wheel-knives and weapons piled up one upon another, crisscrossing in the sky. All the ghosts from the four sides attacked simultaneously, but their fire arrows did not approach the Bodhisattva.

2.14

Then the Bodhisattva slowly raised his right arm, stretched the hair between his eyebrows, and directed it downward toward the Avīci hell. He caused all the sinners to see flowing streams of water emerge from within the white hair, pouring down like cart axles and raining upon the great fires. The great fires were temporarily extinguished, with only smoke remaining, allowing the minds of those undergoing punishment to gain a slight awakening, naturally recalling the sins they had committed over a hundred lives, a thousand lives, or hundreds of thousands of myriads of lives in past ages. The hell-wardens held their great iron pitchforks to hoist the sinners up, but with all their physical strength they could not move them. Suddenly, they themselves saw the tips of their great iron pitchforks become like white silver mountains with ten million shrines and chambers, where white lions coiled their bodies to form seats, and upon these seats grew white lotus flowers, upon which wondrous bodhisattvas entered the supreme contemplation of loving-kindness, adorned like Mount Sumeru. Letting go of their pitchforks, they threw them to the ground; flowers of the seven treasures grew beneath the bases of the pitchforks, and white light shone upon all the hells and the bodies of the hell-wardens, causing Yamarāja and the hell-wardens to appear as white silver mountains, seen momentarily like flashes of lightning. For the sinners, fierce fires swiftly arose in their six sense faculties; fires flared at their joints and nails drove through their tendons and veins. Yet, momentarily able to rise, they joined their palms and held their hands toward the mark of the white curl, and immediately their minds opened. They saw the persons within the white hair as no different from themselves, sitting in a grove of lotus flowers, pouring water upon the crowns of the sinners' heads, causing the burning afflictions in their minds to momentarily become cool and refreshing, whereupon they all simultaneously exclaimed: “Namo Buddhāya!” Due to these causes and conditions, when their retribution was completed, they were born directly among humans, endowed fully with all sense faculties, with right view, and went forth into homelessness. Having gone forth, they shattered twenty billion blazing fetters and attained the fruit of srotāpanna.

2.15

Māra, seeing these signs, was languid and distressed, and retreated to lie upon his bed. Māra had three daughters: the eldest named Delight-in-Others, the second named Glad-Heart, and the youngest named Great-Charm. Then the three daughters of Māra came before their father, knelt long with folded hands to pay homage to their father, and said: “Father! Why are you so sorrowful and emaciated today?” Their father replied: “The śramaṇa Gautama has made a profound and grave vow; now he sits beneath the Tree of the Path, determined to ruin my subjects. Therefore am I sorrowful!” The daughters addressed their father: “We are capable of going to confound him; may our father not sorrow.” Thereupon they adorned themselves, donning crowns of various jewels, their seductive charms extraordinary, surpassing Māra’s queen hundreds of thousands of myriads of times. Casting sidelong glances and striking poses, they displayed all manner of coquettish wiles, their necklaces shimmering with light that eclipsed the six heavens. Riding in jeweled feather carriages, they set up jeweled canopies hung with celestial flowers; at the tips of the flower stamens, magically conjured jade maidens held musical instruments, drumming, playing strings, and singing with ten thousand kinds of tones—everything that people in the world delight in. Each jade maiden had five hundred maidens as attendants, and silk parasols and banners descended like clouds. From the pores of their bodies fragrant smoke wafted forth in hundreds of thousands of colors, dark blue and yellow glistening brilliantly, exceedingly pleasing to the eye. Walking with leisurely and graceful steps, they arrived at the Bodhisattva's place, alighted from the carriages, joined their palms in reverent homage to the Bodhisattva, circumambulated him seven times, and addressed the Bodhisattva: “When the prince was born, ten thousand gods attended you and the seven treasures arrived. Why have you abandoned the heavenly throne to come beneath this tree? We are heavenly maidens of incomparable beauty, our radiant complexions unmatched in the six heavens. We now offer our humble bodies to the prince to serve at your side and perform sweeping and sprinkling. We are skilled at massaging and soothing the body; now we wish to become intimate with you, and pray that you fulfill our humble wish. The prince sits beneath the tree, his body exhausted; you should rest and partake of nectar.” Thereupon they presented the hundred celestial flavors in jeweled vessels.

2.16

The prince remained serene, his body and mind unmoved. Directing his white curl toward them, he caused the three heavenly maidens to see within their own bodies the sacks of pus, snot, and saliva, the nine apertures, tendons, and veins—all the root constituents—the large intestines, small intestines, undigested-food receptacle, and digested-food receptacle. In between these, twisting, writhing, and surging forth were all kinds of worms, their count reaching eighty thousand families, with each family containing nine hundred million tiny worms. When the worms played, they scurried into the small intestine, all having four mouths opened upward; when the large worms played, they entered the large intestine, emerged from the large intestine, and re-entered the stomach. When cold ailments arose, the stomach duct became blocked and the worms could not enter, so food would not digest. Between the spleen, kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, gall bladder, throat, lung-fat, and diaphragm, another four worms were born, like four coiling snakes, feeding together upward and downward on all the internal organs until the dregs were exhausted and fluids flowed out, becoming tears when entering the eyes, mucus when entering the nose, saliva when gathering in the mouth, and drool when issuing from the mouth. In the thin skin, thick skin, tendons, marrow, and all the vessels, worms were born, finer than autumn hairs, exceedingly numerous beyond description.

2.17

"When the daughters saw this, they immediately vomited endlessly from their mouths. They then saw their own bodies: from the left grew a serpent's head, from the right grew a fox's head, and in the middle grew a dog's head; atop their heads there appeared by transformation nine-colored corpses, like those in the contemplation of the nine stages of a corpse.

2.18

"As for the contemplation of the nine stages of a corpse: First is the mark of the newly dead. One may see a dead person whose body is rigid and conscious of nothing at all, and one reflects, 'My body must also become like this, no different from it.' Thus it is called the mark of the newly dead. Second is the mark of livid discoloration. One may see a dead person, from one day up to seven days, whose body is swollen, livid, and blackish-blue, [and one reflects,] 'The body I cherish must also become like this, no different from it.' Thus it is called the mark of livid discoloration. Third is the mark of pus and blood. One may see a dead person whose body has already putrefied, with blood flowing and smearing about, utterly revolting and unbearable to behold, [and one reflects,] 'The body I cherish must also become like this.' Thus it is called the mark of pus and blood. Fourth is the mark of crimson fluid. One may see a dead person with yellow water flowing out in all directions over the body, resembling crimson fluid, [and one reflects,] 'The body I cherish must also become like this.' Thus it is called the mark of crimson fluid. Fifth is the mark of being devoured. One may see a dead person being eaten by crows and birds, devoured by worms and wolves, and infested with maggots from flies, its flesh nearly gone or only half the body remaining, [and one reflects,] 'The body I cherish must also become like this.' Thus it is called the mark of being devoured. Sixth is the mark of a bundle of faggots bound by sinews. One may see a dead person whose skin and flesh are entirely gone, with only sinews and bones linked together, like a bundle of faggots holding its form without scattering apart because of this, [and one reflects,] 'The body I cherish must also become like this.' Thus it is called the mark of a bundle of faggots bound by sinews. Seventh is the mark of separated bones and joints. One may see a dead person whose sinews have already rotted away, with bones and joints scattered about and no longer in one place, [and one reflects,] 'The body I cherish must also become like this.' Thus it is called the mark of separated bones and joints. Eighth is the revolting mark of being charred by fire. One may see a dead person burned by a domestic fire or consumed by a wildfire, charred and shriveled upon the ground, utterly revolting and unbearable to behold, [and one reflects,] 'The body I cherish must also become like this.' Thus it is called the revolting mark of being charred by fire. Ninth is the mark of aged bones. One may see old, dried bones, whether fifty years, or up to one hundred, two hundred, or three hundred years old, that have turned white again; scorched through by the sun, flames blaze up from atop the bones, and after being burned by fire, they are blown by the wind into the earth and return to dust. This is called a brief exposition of the nine stages. This was how the Bodhisattva, when first seated beneath the tree, initially opened the gate to the contemplation of impurity.

2.19

"At that time, the three demon daughters saw upon their own backs an old mother they were carrying, with white hair, a wrinkled face, a twisted and crooked mouth, contorted hands and feet, and a dark, moist complexion like a stiffened corpse. In front of their chests, they were each clasping a dead infant, from whose six apertures flowed various purulent fluids, and within the pus were born worms resembling roundworms. Seeing this, the daughters screamed in horror and shrank backward. Lowering their heads to look at their navels, from their navels grew six dragons that spat water and fire, from their ears issued various winds, and their bodies became hard as iron. They saw that their female forms had turned into such wretched, base foulness. In their private parts were small worms, each having four heads—two facing up and two facing down—gnawing at the female bodies. From their mouths issued five poisons, and the poisons had five channels that ran upward to the heart and up to the throat. From the six sense faculties were born ninety-nine roots of channels, which flowed straight down to the heads of the worms, jointly irrigating and penetrating the worms' hearts. Because these women had committed various corrupt deeds over countless lifetimes, they had obtained such impure and wretched bodies through the conditions of their evil karma. Furthermore, there were worms like arm-bracelets, coiled together in rings and possessing multiple mouths, which produced the five poisons and gnawed at the female organs. Because these women had engaged in sexual misconduct in previous lifetimes, they obtained foul and loathsome bodies as their adornment.

2.20

"When the daughters had seen this, their hearts felt extreme grief and pain, as if an arrow had pierced their hearts. Shrinking backward, they crawled away like the gait of an emaciated camel. As they first lifted their feet, fire blazed from every joint; their hair, yellowish-black like a thicket of brambles, bound their bodies. Wailing and sighing, they came before the Demon King. The Demon King was enraged; brandishing his sword with a fierce countenance, he was about to charge straight forward. The demon's son admonished him, saying: 'Father, do not bring wounds and sores upon yourself blamelessly! The Bodhisattva's practice is pure and immovable as the earth; how could he be destroyed?'

2.21

"While he was giving this admonition, the Bodhisattva once again pointed the light of his white curl toward them, causing the demon's retinue to experience peace and bliss of body and mind, like a monk entering the third dhyāna. Hungry ghosts saw the white curl, and at the tip of each hair were hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of great bodhisattvas. These bodhisattvas had also entered the samādhi of supreme loving-kindness; each took the tip of a left finger with his right hand, and from the tips of the nails milk was produced, which sprinkled and extinguished the raging fires. Once the raging fires were extinguished, they immediately gained cool refreshment, were spontaneously sated, and rejoiced with leap and bound in body and mind. They generated bodhicitta, and on account of this mind, they shed the suffering of hungry ghosts. These ghosts saw their own bodies to be like white jade, like mountains of lapis lazuli, like mountains of crystal, like mountains of gold, like mountains of agate; the pores of their bodies were like strings of real pearls, their eyes were clear and bright like moon-pearls, the smoke and flames of their bodies were like clouds of various jewels, and the swords and staves they held were like seven-jeweled terraces. Inside the seven-jeweled terraces were laid out multiple layers of fine rugs and red cushions, and to their left and right were transformation Brahma kings spontaneously present. They saw transformation bodhisattvas seated on flower terraces, each differently explaining the retributions of sinful people: 'Because in your previous lives you committed evil karma, you obtained such repulsive forms.' As these words were spoken, among these ghosts and spirits there were those who generated the unsurpassed bodhicitta; there were those who planted the conditions for becoming śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas; and there were those who were to be reborn in the superior, blissful realms of humans and gods in future lives.

2.22

"At that time, the Demon King suddenly returned to his palace, and the white curl followed him straight up to the sixth heaven. In the space between, countless sons of gods and daughters of gods saw that the pore of the white hair was hollow throughout its center, round and lovely like the banner of a Brahma king. Within that hollow space were jewel lotus flowers numbering like the particles of dust in hundreds of thousands of myriads of Ganges sands. For each lotus flower, immeasurable and boundless wonderful white colors served as its terrace, and upon the terrace was a transformation bodhisattva emitting the light of the great person's mark of the white curl, just like this! Atop the heads of the bodhisattvas were wonderful lotus flowers of golden color, and upon these flowers were the seven buddhas of the past. These transformation buddhas proclaimed their own names, in no way different from the sūtras.

2.23

"Furthermore, gods who possessed past roots of goodness saw a bodhisattva emerge from each pore of a transformation bodhisattva, and atop the head of each bodhisattva was a transformation buddha, no different from before. At that time, flowers adorned with hundreds of jewels emerged from between the eyebrows of the transformation buddhas, their color beyond compare in any world of the gods. There were platforms of transformed light, upon which were transformation buddhas no different from before. From the pores of the transformation bodhisattvas' bodies, all the rare sights longed for by sentient beings of the ten directions were manifested by transformation. Beneath the feet of the transformed persons were platforms of transformed light that gave birth to divine palaces surpassing the palaces of the Demon King of the six desire heavens, and surpassing even the palace where the Great Brahma maintains his dignified presence. The marks on the crowns of the Brahmas were born from the spaces between the wheel-spokes on the soles of the transformation bodhisattvas' feet. In this way, the white hair reached upward to the formless realm, illuminating all the immeasurable and boundless worlds of the gods, all of which became like clear mirrors of white precious crystal.

2.24

"Having seen these supreme auspicious marks, the gods took no delight in celestial pleasures and generated bodhicitta. The Demon King's eighty-four thousand celestial maidens looked upon Pāpīyān's body as appearing like a dead dog, or like charred wood. Gazing only upon the light of the Bodhisattva's mark of the white curl, their hearts rejoiced beyond compare, and they were angry with Pāpīyān: 'In what you did before, you plotted to destroy another, only to lose your own army!' As these words were spoken, hundreds of thousands of countless sons and daughters of gods again generated the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi."

2.25

The Buddha told the Great King: "Such various supreme marks and events were produced merely from the white curl between the Bodhisattva's eyebrows! They required no effort from the merits of the rest of his body.

2.26

"After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, if members of the fourfold assembly can temporarily set aside distraction and focus their minds to correctly contemplate the mark of the Bodhisattva's white curl when subduing the demon, they will extinguish the dark karma and evil hindrances of countless kalpas, eliminate the afflictive hindrances of the ten evils, and be able in their present life to see the Buddha's image clearly and distinctly. Such various realms of contemplating the marks cannot be fully described.

2.27

"After my parinirvāṇa, those who wish to contemplate the mark of the white curl when the Tathāgata subdued the demon should practice this contemplation. To contemplate in this way is called correct contemplation; to contemplate otherwise is called incorrect contemplation."

2.28

"What are called the Tathāgata's mark of the great person, mark of the awakened person, mark of the unshakeable person, mark of the liberated person, mark of the luminous person, mark of the person endowed with full wisdom, mark of perfection in all pāramitās, and mark of the oceans of samādhis such as the śūraṅgama, at the time of attaining buddhahood? The Bodhisattva Mahāsattva arises from the samādhi of supreme loving-kindness and enters the concentration of cessative thought; arises from the concentration of cessative thought and returns to enter the śūraṅgama; arises from the śūraṅgama and enters the samādhi of the torch of wisdom; arises from the samādhi of the torch of wisdom and enters the samādhi of the characteristics of all dharmas; arises from the samādhi of the characteristics of all dharmas and enters the samādhi of luminous marks; arises from the samādhi of luminous marks and enters the samādhi of the lion's voice; arises from the samādhi of the lion's voice and enters the samādhi of the lion's prowess; arises from the samādhi of the lion's prowess and enters the samādhi of the ocean-like mind; arises from the samādhi of the ocean-like mind and enters the samādhi of universal wisdom; arises from the samādhi of universal wisdom and enters the samādhi of the dhāraṇī-seal marks; arises from the samādhi of the dhāraṇī-seal marks and enters the samādhi of universally manifesting form-bodies; arises from the samādhi of universally manifesting form-bodies and enters the samādhi of the nature of the dharmadhātu; arises from the samādhi of the nature of the dharmadhātu and enters the samādhi of the lion's roar king of power; arises from the samādhi of the lion's roar king of power and enters the samādhi of eradicating all demonic marks; arises from the samādhi of eradicating all demonic marks and enters the samādhi of empty wisdom; arises from the samādhi of empty wisdom and enters the samādhi of understanding the marks of emptiness; arises from the samādhi of understanding the marks of emptiness and enters the samādhi of great wisdom of emptiness; arises from the samādhi of great wisdom of emptiness and enters the samādhi of form-bodies omnipresent in all places; arises from the samādhi of form-bodies omnipresent in all places and enters the samādhi of the mark of a tranquil mind; arises from the samādhi of the mark of a tranquil mind and enters the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva's samādhi of adamantine marks; arises from the samādhi of adamantine marks and enters the vajra-crown samādhi; arises from the vajra-crown samādhi and enters the ocean of all samādhis; arises from the ocean of all samādhis and enters the samādhi of the ocean of all dhāraṇīs; arises from the samādhi of the ocean of all dhāraṇīs and enters the samādhi of the ocean of all buddha-realms; arises from the samādhi of the ocean of all buddha-realms and enters the samādhi of the ocean of liberation and liberation-knowledge-and-vision of all buddhas; arises from the samādhi of the ocean of liberation and liberation-knowledge-and-vision, and only then enters the gates to the oceans of samādhis numbering as immeasurable particles of dust; arises from the gates to the oceans of samādhis and enters the samādhi of tranquil thought and cessative thought; arises from the samādhi of tranquil thought and cessative thought and enters the gate of marks of the great liberation samādhi of the vajropama-samādhi.

2.29

"At that time, the ground of the bodhimanda transformed to resemble vajra, fully eighty li in extent, its color pure white and beyond the capacity of sight to take in completely. When this mark appeared, the light of the mark of the white curl between the Bodhisattva's eyebrows stood upright, pure, and straight, pointing due east; it was one zhang and five chi in length, revealing ten facets. The woman Migā and the five women of her kind, countless myriads of koṭis of devas, nāgas, ghosts, and spirits, Maitreya and the bodhisattvas of the Bhadrakalpa, Bhadrapāla and others, and immeasurable, boundless asaṃkhyeyas of great bodhisattvas numbering as dust particles, also saw this mark."} ],

2.30

“When this mark appeared, beneath the roots of the Buddha’s Bodhi tree, by the power of the white ūrṇā-hair, a jewelled lotus spontaneously manifested, forty yojanas in length and breadth evenly, with golden petals and an adamantine dais. The light from between the Buddha’s brows shone upon this flower dais, and its radiance went straight downward to the adamantine limit, where two adamantine seats were spontaneously manifested at the adamantine limit. Striking against each other, their sound shook the trichiliocosm, causing this great earth to shake in six ways. Those adamantine seats surged upward toward the lotus flower, reaching its root. The root of that lotus was also adamantine; the three adamantine elements struck one another, turned straight back down, passed through to the adamantine limit, revolving back and forth ten times. The radiance of the white ūrṇā encircled them in ten circuits, rendering the adamantine seats resolutely unshakeable.

2.31

“Sitting upon this seat, the Buddha eliminated the three hindrances and completed the path to bodhi. The realm of the Buddha’s mind cannot be exhaustively spoken of; were it to be explained at length, not a single sentient being, up to even the bodhisattvas of the tenth ground, could know or comprehend it. Therefore, within this mark of the white ūrṇā, it is kept concealed and not spoken.

2.32

“By the power of the radiance of this white hair, the Bodhi tree had an adamantine trunk and adamantine roots, was adorned with the seven jewels, and light arose upon its adornments. Each had sevenfold [radiance] encircling the Buddha’s body, transforming into jewelled draperies. The tree leaves were golden, the flowers possessed the colors of a hundred jewels, and upon the flowers was radiance with the colors of hundreds of thousands of jewels—the jewelled light of the devas could offer no comparison. The fruits were the color of white jewels, with which the subtle white jewels in the Yāma Heaven could bear no comparison. The fruits’ radiance transformed into a network of maṇi jewels that covered the tree, and within that net, like white silk, it wound and hung down, transforming into jewelled bells.

2.33

“At the four corners of the bells were great jewelled platforms, which rose aloft, surpassing the immeasurable worlds of the zenith. Having passed beyond those worlds, they further transformed into yet greater jewelled platforms, sublime and lofty beyond description, gloriously radiant and subtle—as though hundreds of thousands of koṭis of Mount Sumerus were merged together. Upon those platforms was a great jewelled canopy made purely of vajra, variegated with interspersed, subtle lights, whose radiance hung down to transform into banners and curtains. From within the banners and curtains rained clouds of jewelled canopies; from the clouds of jewelled canopies rained clouds of flags and banners; from the clouds of flags and banners rained clouds of instrumental music; from the clouds of instrumental music rained clouds of jewelled light; from the clouds of jewelled light rained clouds of diverse incenses; from the clouds of diverse incenses rained clouds of lion thrones; from the clouds of lion thrones rained clouds of flower garlands; from the clouds of flower garlands rained clouds of wondrous sounds; from the clouds of wondrous sounds rained clouds of verse and praise; from the clouds of verse and praise rained clouds of precious jewels and offerings. Various offerings such as these all issued from the light of the white ūrṇā mark of the Bodhi tree.

2.34

“Then the light of the white hair hung down and illuminated the ground, causing seven ponds to form on the adamantine ground beside the site of awakening. The ponds brought forth water of virtue, which possessed seven colors, distinct and vivid, and each color possessed ten rays of light that shone upward upon the king of trees. The four shores of the ponds were formed of manifold jewels—one shore being formed of a hundred jewels together, with a single jewel pouring forth hundreds of koṭis of rays of light. The bottom of the ponds was composed entirely of adamantine maṇi serving as sand. Manifold flowers grew from the water with petals of pure yellow gold, and upon the petals a thousand rays of light transformed into wheels of radiance. The ponds had seven channels from which the water welled forth spontaneously; at the mouths of the ponds flowers bloomed, petal after petal in succession, and from the filaments of the lotuses flowed various waters, clear and luminescent like vaidūrya pearls. Along both sides of the channels grew eighty-four thousand flowers in ranks, adorned with manifold jewels. The waters in these channels poured into one another, and as the waters flowed, the light revolved along with them, illuminating the Bodhi tree. In the light of this tree, jewelled lotus flowers grew upon each leaf, and those flowers spread throughout all worlds. Above those flowers, white jewelled terraces were manifested, reaching everywhere to the immeasurable worlds of the ten directions. The radiance of the white ūrṇā issued from between the Buddha’s brows, and the jewelled lotuses were perfectly circular and even, a full yojana in extent. In this manner, they succeeded one another, ascending through immeasurable, boundless, incalculable dust-mote worlds of the zenith. Lotus followed upon lotus, and upon each flower one Buddha was seen seated, his body golden-yellow, sixteen cubits in stature, seated in full lotus posture upon the dais of the lotus flower. His adamantine seat and Bodhi tree were identical to those described above without any difference; and so it was throughout the ten directions as well!

2.35

“From within the white ūrṇā, jewelled flowers emerged once again, a hundred billion times superior to the previous ones. Upon each flower was a Buddha, identical to Śākyamuni without difference; and at the tip of each flower’s filaments was yet another Buddha, whose body was also sixteen cubits, absorbed in deep dhyāna, his mind unshakeable.

2.36

“Such radiance illuminated immeasurable, incalculable hundreds of thousands of worlds in the eastern direction, causing all those worlds to become golden in color. Those sentient beings saw the pores of the transformation Buddha open and display light, which likewise emitted immeasurable hundreds of thousands of jewelled rays; within each ray of light, there were further immeasurable tens of billions of transformation Buddhas.

2.37

“At that time, devas, nāgas, ghosts, spirits, yakṣas, gandharvas, and the like, beholding this light, circumambulated the Buddha a thousand times. Illuminating the lands of the ten directions, they saw those lands clearly and distinctly, in their heights, depths, large and small aspects, just as if holding a bright mirror and seeing one’s own reflection. All these multitudes, including the eighty billion members of Māra Pāpīyān’s retinue, spirits, devas, nāgas, and yakṣas, each saw the white ūrṇā, straight and fifteen cubits long, visible by the light of the ten directions, dazzling the eyes like tens of billions of suns, so brilliant that it could not be fully viewed. Within the light, they merely saw immeasurable, incalculable tens of billions, hundreds of millions of transformation Śākyamunis, with the white hair between their brows measuring exactly fifteen cubits. From each hair issued immeasurable rays of light, and within each ray of light were immeasurable transformation Buddhas; the spaces between the brows of the transformation Buddhas were likewise! From the circular contour of this white ūrṇā’s light, manifold lights flowed forth, rising to the Buddha’s forehead, displaying the mark of a broad and flat forehead. The hairs on his forehead all curled upward, and beneath the roots of the hairs was the color of brahma-maṇi, satisfying the minds of sentient beings. From the tips of the hairs flowed light like molten purple gold; the luminous mark curled upward and entered the hairline, winding and hanging down beside the rims of the ears, then spreading and rising into the hair, circling the conch-like spirals hundreds of thousands of times. Arising from the occipital bone, like the petals of a golden lotus blooming in the sunlight, between the lotus petals and its filaments, it appeared distinct and vivid like a painting by Śakra, displaying varied colors. Amidst those colors were immeasurable transformation Buddhas, each Buddha attended by seven bodhisattvas and devas, holding jewelled flowers of the whitest white in their hands, the flowers possessing five lights of five distinct colors, accompanying the transformation Buddhas without straying from their stations. This is called the light of the white ūrṇā mark when the Tathāgata first attained buddhahood.

2.38

“Owing to the light of the white ūrṇā, the halo behind his neck first arose. When he was born in the royal palace, this light was like the sun, not clearly seen; the halo of one fathom will be explained separately. At that time, the eight classes of beings, beholding the light of the white ūrṇā, saw different things: some saw the white hair like the Buddhas; some saw the white ūrṇā like the bodhisattvas; some saw the white hair like their own parents. All venerated matters of the world were seen clearly at the tip of the hair, and upon seeing them they rejoiced. Some brought forth the supreme bodhicitta; some brought forth the minds of śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas; and the ghosts who saw the white hair naturally developed minds of compassion, free of any malice.”

2.39

The Buddha told his father the king: “Regarding the Tathāgata’s white hair, from its first arising up to his attainment of buddhahood, the subtle and minor matters between them may be observed and contemplated. Once he had attained buddhahood, the light of the white ūrṇā was complete with all marks, as the Buddha has already explained extensively in the sūtras. The ultimate reach of the light of the white ūrṇā mark can only then be seen by bodhisattvas of the tenth ground; the minor aspects were spoken first, as these are easy for the world to see.”

2.40

The Buddha said to his father the king and instructed Ānanda: “Listen attentively, listen attentively, and reflect upon this well! Convey this to future disciples so that all are made to know it. If after my parinirvāṇa the bhikṣus ask about this matter—‘By cultivating what practices in the past did the Bodhisattva attain this white ūrṇā mark?’—you should answer: ‘The Buddha’s white ūrṇā mark was attained from immeasurable kalpas of practicing giving with a renouncing mind free from stinginess, not clinging to former appearances, not recollecting wealth, and with a mind free of attachment; by taking hold of bodily deportment with bodily and mental dharmas, protecting and upholding the prohibitive precepts as dearly as his two eyes, yet with his mind completely open and serene, not seeing the arising of infractions or the dharmas of relinquishment and downfall, his mind settled like the earth, without shaking. Suppose a person were to butcher and sever his body with hundreds of thousands of knives; suppose another were to flog and whip his body with thorns—the Bodhisattva had not even a single thought of anger. Suppose a person had a thousand tongues in his head and from each tongue uttered a thousand words, insulting him with various reviling remarks—the Bodhisattva’s facial countenance did not change, remaining like a pure lotus; his mind had no attachment, and his body and mind were untiring, with an urgency free of weariness, as if rescuing his head from fire. Just as one whose pores suffer from suppurating ulcers seeks an excellent physician and exerts vigor day and night, so his mind was undefiled, like a vaidūrya pearl pure both inside and out. Restraining his body and gathering his thoughts, closing his eyes and clasping his hands, sitting upright in proper absorption, his mind was like an ocean, serene and unshakeable, like an adamantine mountain, indestructible. Although he maintained this mindset, he did not follow along with dhyāna to extinguish his mind and eliminate his wisdom; without bias, he had neither coarse nor subtle mental contemplation, yet he was not without contemplating phenomena. His mind and wisdom were sharp and vigorous, gathering all expedient means; he did not see any phenomenon, whether great or small, as having subtle marks. Such numerous practices are called the pāramitās. He also attained this white ūrṇā through the thirty-seven factors of awakening, and further through the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, great loving-kindness, great compassion, the three foundations of mindfulness, and all such wondrous virtues.’

2.41

“If after my parinirvāṇa the Buddha’s disciples abandon all evils, leave behind noisy bustling states, delight in the Dharma of few words, do not busy themselves with many affairs, and during the six periods of the day and night can, during one period—or dividing that one period into a fraction, and within that fraction, for even a moment—mindfully contemplate the Buddha’s white ūrṇā so that their mind is lucid, free of mistaken or confused thoughts, abiding clearly and correctly, maintaining their focus without ceasing to contemplate the white ūrṇā, whether they see its marks or cannot see them, such persons will eradicate the sins of birth and death spanning ninety-six billion nayutas of Ganges sands of dust-mote kalpas.

2.42

“Furthermore, suppose a person merely hears of the white hair and their mind is neither alarmed nor doubtful, but rejoices, believes, and accepts it; this person will also eradicate the sins of birth and death spanning eight billion kalpas. If bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, or upāsikās commit the four root offenses, offenses such as minor infractions, or the five deeds of immediate retribution, excepting slander of the vaipulya sūtras—if such persons wish to repent, then during the six periods of the day and night they must be tireless in body and mind. It is like a person walking through deep grass, when fire erupts on all four sides and a fierce wind blows, about to consume his body; that person thinks: ‘If the fire burns me, before I die my limbs will be severed and destroyed. How can I extinguish this fire? If I do not devise a plan, my life will certainly not be saved. Who is the wise person of many expedients that can save my life? If my life is fully preserved, I will begrudge that person nothing!’ Having reflected thus, like a great mountain collapsing, he throws his five limbs to the ground, weeping and shedding tears like rain, joins his palms toward the Buddha, and praises the Tathāgata’s various virtues. Having made this praise, he recites the repentance liturgy, binds his mindfulness before him, and contemplates the light of the white ūrṇā mark between the Buddha’s brows. From one day to seven days, the former four kinds of offenses can be alleviated; at twenty-one days, the marks of the offenses will gradually vanish; and after forty-nine days, the legal act (karman) may then be performed—this matter is found in other sūtras. If a bhikṣu commits a minor infraction and, when contemplating the light of the white ūrṇā, sees it dark, black, and non-manifest, he should enter a stūpa to contemplate between the brows of an image, for one to three days, joining his palms, weeping, and single-mindedly and attentively contemplating, and then enter the saṅgha to declare his former offenses; this is called eradicating offenses. For the former five kinds of offenses, one contemplates the light of the white ūrṇā for eight hundred days, and then there is another separate karman procedure.”

2.43

The Buddha said to his father, the king: “The Tathāgata possesses immeasurable marks and secondary characteristics; within each mark, there are eighty-four thousand minor marks and secondary characteristics. Yet such marks and secondary characteristics do not equal even a small fraction of the merit of the white hair-tuft (ūrṇā). Therefore, today, for the sake of evil sentient beings of future eras, I expound the contemplative practice of dispelling evil through the great wisdom-light of the mark of the white hair-tuft. If there are people of extreme, grievous evil with wrong views who, hearing this contemplation method with its fully complete features, were to give rise to thoughts of anger and hatred, that is impossible. Even if they were to produce anger, the light of the mark of the white hair-tuft would still shelter and protect them. Merely hearing these words eliminates the sins of three kalpas, and in their next life they will be born in the presence of the Buddhas. Such hundreds, thousands, and billions of kinds of subtle, wondrous realms of contemplating the various lights cannot be fully described; when contemplating the white hair-tuft, they will naturally arise. Contemplating in this way is called correct contemplation; contemplating otherwise is called incorrect contemplation.”

2.44

“What is called contemplating the broad, flat, and even forehead, the mark of the broad, flat, and even forehead? There are lights of two wheels; the rims of the lights’ wheels, with hubs and rims of a thousand spokes, form maṇi jewels, in shape like a painting by the Viśvakarman deva. From within the painting flows out sublime golden-colored light, which comes and enters the white hair-tuft, circles the tuft seven times, ascends and enters into the pores on the forehead, and extends to the hairline among the various colored marks, meandering down to the ear-rims, and scattering upward into the hair, circling the hair seven times. Emerging from the occipital bone, it circles the preceding lotus mark, making seven round turns with seven distinct lines. The lines have seven colors, each color producing seven flowers, and each flower has a Buddha with seven bodhisattvas as attendants, reverently surrounding him and revolving to the right. Thus are the three marks of the broad, flat, and even forehead: the hairline mark, the mark of the pores on the head, and the mark within the brain. Within the brain there are also fourteen rays of light appearing within the channels, transparent both inside and outside, distinct and lovely, gushing forth white light interspersed with reddish-purple, whose color is subtle, emerging from the occipital bone and also circling the preceding [mark] three times. Between each line sits a Buddha, with two bodhisattvas as attendants, even more distinct and many times surpassing the previous ones.”

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佛說觀佛三昧海經 — Classical Chinese