佛說觀佛三昧海經 9.36

9.36

The Buddha told Ānanda: "After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, when there is no Buddha present, one should contemplate the Buddha's image. As for those who contemplate the Buddha's image, if monks, nuns, upāsakas, upāsikās, gods, dragons, the eight classes of beings, and any sentient beings wish to contemplate the image, they must first enter a stupa, plaster the ground with fine fragrant mud and tiles or earth to make it clean, burn incense, and scatter flowers according to their ability to make offerings to the Buddha's image, confess their own errors and evils, and repent before the Buddha. They should subdue their minds in this manner for seven days. Then they should go among the assembly, sweep and plaster the monastic grounds, remove all filth and excrement, repent before the Saṅgha, and prostrate before the feet of the community of monks for another seven days. Making offerings in this way without weariness of mind, if they are renunciants, they should recite the Vinaya until it is extremely fluent; if they are householders, they should be filially pious toward their parents, respect their teachers and elders, and tame their minds to make them pliant. If the mind is not pliant, they should forcefully subdue it to make it tame and compliant, just as one tames an elephant or a horse without losing control. When the mind has become gentle and compliant, they should dwell in a tranquil place, burn various famous incenses, bow to Śākyamuni, and speak these words: 'Homage to the Greatly Virtuous One, my Great Upādhyāya, the Arhat, the Samyaksambuddha, the Greatly Compassionate Bhagavat! May you cover and protect your disciple with the cloud of loving-kindness.' Having spoken these words, they should cast the five limbs to the ground, weeping with tears before the image. Rising from the ground, they should arrange their robes, sit cross-legged, and fasten their mindfulness to a single spot according to their disposition: fastening the mind to the tip of the nose, fastening the mind to the forehead, or fastening the mind to the toes. In such various ways, they may fasten mindfulness wherever they wish, focusing on a single place, not letting it scatter or causing the mind to waver. If the mind wavers, they should raise the tongue to press against the palate, close the mouth, close the eyes, clasp the hands, and sit upright for one to seven days to make the body settled. After the body is settled, they should then visualize the image.