Illustrated

Contemplation Sutra

(16-21)

Illustrations from the Taima Mandala

by Professor Hisao Inagaki

Contemplation of the image of Amida and Amida himself.

[16] The Buddha said to Ananda and Vaidehi, "After you have seen this, next visualize the Buddha. Why the Buddha? Because Buddhas, Tathagatas, have cosmic bodies, and so enter into the meditating mind of each sentient being. For this reason, when you contemplate a Buddha, that mind itself takes the form of his thirty-two physical characteristics and eighty secondary marks. Your mind produces the Buddha's image, and is itself the Buddha. The ocean of perfectly and universally enlightened Buddhas thus arises in the meditating mind. For this reason, you should single-mindedly concentrate and deeply contemplate the Buddha, Tathagata, Arhat and Perfectly Enlightened One.
"When you visualize the Buddha, you should first form his image. Whether your eyes are open or closed, perceive a jewelled image of him, who is the color of gold from the Jambu River, sitting on that flower-throne. When you have perceived a seated image of the Buddha, your mind's eye will open and you will clearly and distinctly see the seven-jewelled glorious objects of the Land of Utmost Bliss, including the seven-jewelled ground, the jewelled ponds, the rows of jewelled trees covered with heavenly jewelled curtains and jewelled nets spreading over the sky. Perceive these as clearly and distinctly as if you were seeing an object in the palm of your hand.
"After you have seen this image, visualize on the Buddha's left a large lotus-flower, [343b] which is exactly the same as the one described above, and then another large one on his right. Visualize an image of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara sitting on the flower-seat on his left, sending forth a golden light just like the Buddha image described above, and then an image of the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta sitting on the flower-seat on his right.
"When you have attained this vision, you will see these images of the Buddha and bodhisattvas sending forth golden rays, which illuminate the jewelled trees. Under each tree there are also three lotus-flowers with images of a Buddha and two Bodhisattvas sitting on them, so that the land is completely filled with such images.
"When you have attained this vision, you will perceive the streams, rays of light, jewelled trees, ducks, geese, male and female mandarin ducks, and so forth, all expounding the wonderful Dharma. Whether in meditation or not, you will always hear the wonderful Dharma. When you rise from meditation, you should remember what you have heard, not forget it, and confirm it with the sutras. If it does not agree with the sutras, it should be called an illusion, but if it does agree, it is called the attainment of the general perception of the Land of Utmost Bliss. This is the visualizing of the Buddha-image, and is known as the eighth contemplation. If you have attained this, the evil karma which you have committed during innumerable kotis of kalpas of Samsara will be extinguished and, while in this life, you will attain the Buddha-Recollection Samadhi. To practice in this way is called the correct contemplation, and to practice otherwise is incorrect."

[17] The Buddha said to Ananda and Vaidehi, "After you have succeeded in seeing these images, next envision the physical characteristics and the light of Amitayus. Ananda, you should realize that his body is as glorious as a thousand million kotis of nuggets of gold from the Jambu River of the Yama Heaven and that his height is six hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of yojanas multiplied by the number of the sands of the Ganges. The white tuft of hair curling to the right between his eyebrows is five times as big as Mount Sumeru. His eyes are clear and as broad as the four great oceans; their blue irises and whites are distinct. From all the pores of his body issues forth a flood of light, as magnificent as Mount Sumeru. His aureole is as broad as a hundred kotis of universes, each containing a thousand million worlds. In this aureole reside transformed Buddhas numbering as many as a million kotis of nayutas multiplied by the number of the sands of the Ganges. Each Buddha is attended by innumerable and uncountable transformed bodhisattvas.
"The Buddha Amitayus possesses eighty-four thousand physical characteristics, each having eighty-four thousand secondary marks of excellence. Each secondary mark emits eighty-four thousand rays of light; each light shining universally upon the lands of the ten quarters, embracing, and not forsaking, those who are mindful of the Buddha. It is impossible to describe in detail these rays of light, physical characteristics and marks, transformed Buddhas, and so forth. But you can see them clearly with your mind's eye through contemplation.
"Those who have envisioned them see all the Buddhas of the ten quarters. Because they see the Buddhas, this is called the Buddha-Recollection Samadhi. To attain this contemplation is to perceive the bodies of all the Buddhas. By perceiving these, one also realizes the Buddha's mind. The Buddhas' mind is Great Compassion. It embraces sentient beings with unconditional Benevolence. Those who have practiced this contemplation will, after death, be born in the presence of the Buddhas and realize the insight into the non-arising of all dharmas. For this reason, the wise should concentrate their thoughts and visualize Amitayus.
"In contemplating him, begin with one of his physical characteristics. Visualize only the white tuft of hair between his eyebrows until you see it quite clearly and distinctly. When you visualize it, all the eighty-four thousand physical characteristics will spontaneously become manifest. When you see Amitayus, you will also see innumerable Buddhas of the ten quarters. Having visualized these innumerable Buddhas, you will receive from each the prediction of your future Buddhahood. This is the general perception of all the physical characteristics of the Buddha and is known as the ninth contemplation. To practice in this way is called the correct contemplation, and to practice otherwise is incorrect."

Contemplation of Avalokiteshvara (Kannon) and Mahasthamaprapta (Seishi) Bodhisattvas

[18] The Buddha said to Ananda and Vaidehi, "After you have seen Amitayus clearly and distinctly, next visualize the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. His height is eighty kotis of nayutas of yojanas multiplied by the number of the sands of the Ganges. His body is the color of purple-gold, and on the top of his head is a mound surrounded by an aureole with a radius of a hundred thousand yojanas, in which there are five hundred transformed Buddhas. Each transformed Buddha resembles Shakyamuni, and is attended by five hundred transformed bodhisattvas and innumerable devas. In the light emanating from his entire body are seen the sentient beings of the five realms of Samsara in all their distinct physical forms. On his head he wears a heavenly crown made of Shakra-abhilagna-mani-gems, on which stands a transformed Buddha (Amitayus) measuring twenty-five yojanas in height.
"The face of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is the color of gold from the Jambu River, while the tuft of hair between his eyebrows has the colors of the seven jewels, and from it issue forth eighty-four thousand different rays of light. In each of these rays dwell innumerable and uncountable hundreds of thousands of transformed Buddhas, each attended by countless transformed bodhisattvas, all of whom manifest in various forms at will, filling completely the worlds of the ten quarters. Avalokiteshvara's arms are the color of red lotus-flowers. They emit eighty kotis of exquisite [344a] rays of light in the shape of ornaments, in which are reflected all the glorious objects of that land. The palms of his hands are the color of five hundred kotis of various lotus-flowers. Each of his ten fingertips bears eighty-four thousand signs like impressed patterns, each with eighty-four thousand colors. Each color in turn emits eighty-four thousand delicate rays of light, illuminating all beings. With his jewelled hands he welcomes and guides sentient beings.
"When he lifts one of his feet, the mark of a thousand-spoked wheel on its sole spontaneously changes into a pedestal, which emits five hundred kotis of light-rays. When he puts his foot down, flowers made of diamond and mani-gems are scattered everywhere. All the other physical characteristics and marks which he fully possesses are the same as the Buddha's, except for the mound on his head and the uppermost, invisible part, which are not equal to those of the World-Honored One. This is the visualization of the true physical features of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara and is known as the tenth contemplation.
Then the Buddha said to Ananda, "Those who wish to see the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara should follow the method of contemplation just mentioned. Those who practice this contemplation will not encounter any misfortune, but will be freed from karmic hindrances and rid of the evil karma which they have committed during innumerable kalpas of Samsara. If you only hear the name of this bodhisattva, you will obtain immeasurable merit. And so, how much more merit will you acquire if you clearly visualize him! Those who wish to see the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara should first envision the mound on his head and, next, his heavenly crown. Then they should visualize the other physical characteristics in order, as clearly as if they were looking at something in the palm of the hand. To practice in this way is called the correct contemplation, and to practice otherwise is incorrect."

[19] The Buddha said to Ananda and Vaidehi, "Next visualize the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta. The dimensions of this bodhisattva are the same as those of Avalokiteshvara. His aureole, two hundred and twenty-five yojanas in diameter, shines to a distance of two hundred and fifty yojanas. The light emanating from his entire body illuminates the worlds of the ten quarters, making them shine like purple-gold. This light can be seen by anyone who has a close karmic relationship with him. Even if one sees the light emanating from only one pore of his skin, one can perceive the pure and glorious lights of the innumerable Buddhas of the ten quarters. This is why this bodhisattva is called Boundless Light. Furthermore, he has great power to illumine all beings with the light of wisdom in order to deliver them from the three evil realms. It is for this reason that he is also called Possessed of Great Power.
"The heavenly crown of this bodhisattva is adorned with five hundred jewelled lotus-flowers, each having five hundred jewelled pedestals. On each pedestal appear the pure and resplendent lands of the Buddhas in the ten quarters with all their boundless and glorious features.
"The mound on his head, shaped like a lotus-bud, has a jewelled vase in front. This is suffused with various lights which reveal all the activities of the Buddha. The rest of the characteristics of his body are [344b] exactly the same as Avalokiteshvara's. When this bodhisattva walks, all the worlds in the ten quarters shake. Wherever the earth trembles, five hundred kotis of jewelled flowers appear, each as beautiful and brilliant as a flower in the Land of Utmost Bliss. When this bodhisattva sits down, all the seven-jewelled lands, from that of the Buddha Golden Light in the nadir to that of the Buddha King of Light in the zenith, tremble simultaneously. From between these, manifested bodies of Amitayus, Avalokiteshvara, and Mahasthamaprapta, as innumerable as particles of dust, all assemble like clouds in the Land of Utmost Bliss, filling the entire sky. Sitting on lotus-seats, they expound the wonderful Dharma to save suffering beings. To visualize thus is known as the contemplation of Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, and is also called the contemplation of Mahasthamaprapta's physical characteristics. To visualize that bodhisattva in this way is known as the eleventh contemplation. It extinguishes the evil karma which one has committed during immeasurable and uncountable kalpas of Samsara. Those who practice this contemplation will no longer be subject to birth from the womb. They can journey to the pure and exquisite lands of the Buddhas. These contemplations are called the complete contemplations of Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta. To practice in this way is called the correct contemplation, and to practice otherwise is incorrect."

Contemplation of the aspirants themselves as they are born in the Pure Land

[20] The Buddha said to Ananda and Vaidehi, "After you have contemplated thus, next visualize yourself as born in the Western Land of Utmost Bliss sitting cross-legged upon a lotus-flower. Visualize this lotus-flower as closed; as it opens, five hundred rays of colored light illuminate your body; then your eyes are open and you see Buddhas and bodhisattvas filling the sky and hear the sounds of the water, birds and trees, and the voices of the Buddhas all expounding the wonderful Dharma in accord with the twelve divisions of the scriptures. When you rise from meditation, keep those things in mind and do not forget them. Seeing them thus is called the visualization of the Land of Utmost Bliss of the Buddha Amitayus. This is the comprehensive visualization, and is known as the twelfth contemplation.
"Innumerable transformed bodies of Amitayus, together with those of Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta, will always accompany those who contemplate thus. To practice in this way is called the correct contemplation, and to practice otherwise is incorrect."

Contemplation of Amida and the two bodhisattvas

[21] The Buddha said to Ananda and Vaidehi, "If you sincerely desire to be born in the Western Land, you should first picture a figure, sixteen feet tall, on the surface of a pond. The dimensions of Amitayus as previously described are boundless and beyond the mental scope of ordinary beings. But, by the power of the original vows of that Tathagata, those who contemplate him will certainly succeed. You can acquire immeasurable merit simply by visualizing an image of that Buddha. And so, how much more merit will you acquire by visualizing his complete physical characteristics! [344c]
"Amitayus, exercising supernatural powers at will, can freely manifest his various forms in the lands of the ten quarters. At times he may appear as a large figure, filling the whole sky; at other times as a small figure, only sixteen or eight feet high. The figures which he manifests are all of the color of pure gold. The transformed Buddhas and jewelled lotus-flowers in the aureole of each manifested form are like those described above.
"The Bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta have a similar appearance, wherever they are. Sentient beings can only tell one from the other by looking at the emblems on their heads. These two bodhisattvas assist Amitayus in saving all beings everywhere. This is the miscellaneous visualization, and is known as the thirteenth contemplation. To practice in this way is called the correct contemplation, and to practice otherwise is incorrect."