佛說觀佛三昧海經

CHAPTER ONE: SIX ANALOGIES

Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha was dwelling at the Nigrodha Monastery in the city of Kapilavastu. At that time, Śākya Mahānāma invited the Buddha and the Sangha to receive offerings for three months. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after the Sangha had completed the pravāraṇā ceremony, the Buddha’s father, King Śuddhodana, and the Buddha’s maternal aunt, Gautamī, went to the Sangha quarters to make offerings to the monks. After paying homage, presenting tooth-sticks, and offering bowls of water for washing, the king called to Ānanda and said:

“I wish to go before the Blessed One. Would that be appropriate?”

Thereupon, Ānanda conveyed these words to the Blessed One. The Buddha told Ānanda:

“My father the king will certainly come to ask about the wondrous Dharma. Go and inform all the bhikṣus throughout the Sangha that they must promptly assemble in the grove. Summon Mahākāśyapa, Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Kātyāyana, Aniruddha, and the others, as well as Bodhisattva Maitreya, Bhadrapāla, and the sixteen worthy ones, so that they may all come to the assembly together!”

This proclamation seemed to resound throughout all directions. At that time, the lords of the devas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, nāgas, and others, together with their retinues, all assembled. Then the king, Śākya Mahānāma, and three hundred million members of the Śākya clan entered the Buddha’s monastery.

As they entered, they saw that the Buddha’s monastery resembled a crystal mountain, and they bowed their heads in homage to the Buddha. Before they had time to raise their heads, they saw before the Buddha an enormous lotus made of many kinds of precious substances. Upon the lotus was a great platform of light.

When the king saw this, his heart filled with joy, and he praised it as something never before seen. He then circumambulated the Buddha three times and withdrew to sit at one side. The king then rose and addressed the Buddha:

“O Blessed One! The Buddha is my son, and I am the Buddha’s father. Today, while still in this world, I behold the Buddha’s physical body, yet I see only its exterior and not its interior. When Prince Siddhārtha dwelt in the palace, the physiognomists all saw his thirty-two marks. Now that he has attained Buddhahood, his radiance is hundreds of thousands of myriads of times more manifest than it was in former days. After the Buddha enters nirvana, how should sentient beings of later generations contemplate the physical marks of the Buddha’s body? How far does the Buddha’s light ordinarily extend? I pray that the Honored One among Devas will today distinguish and explain these matters for me and for sentient beings of later generations!”

At that time, the Blessed One entered the Samādhi of the Universally Pure Form Body. Arising from that samādhi, he smiled. The smiles of all Buddhas emit five-colored light. The five-colored light transformed into five hundred colors and issued from the Buddha’s mouth, illuminating the crown of the king’s head and the platform of light. From the platform of light, it illuminated the monastery and then shone throughout the entire Sahā world. That light then returned and entered the crown of the Buddha’s head. The Buddha then told the king:

“My father the king, listen attentively! Listen attentively and reflect well upon this! The Tathāgata shall teach the Dharma by which sentient beings of later generations may behold the Buddha.”

The king addressed the Buddha:

“Yes, indeed, O Blessed One! I now wish to listen attentively!”

The Buddha said:

“My father the king! In Jambudvīpa there is a lion king named Vimala. It is the nature of lions that the females and males meet only once every forty years. Once they have mated, they run about and roar, yet the female moves gracefully and supports her body so as not to harm the lion cub within her womb. Although the cub is no different from its father, the king of beasts, Great King, you should know that it has never yet occurred that while still in the womb it could roar, soar upward, descend, run about, hide, or crouch.”

The king addressed the Buddha:

“While the cub of the king of beasts is in its mother’s womb, are its head, eyes, teeth, and claws like those of its father?”

The Buddha replied:

“Great King! It is no different from its father; only its strength cannot equal even one hundred-thousand-myriadth part of its father’s strength.”

The Buddha said:

“My father the king! So it is! So it is! In the future age, good men, good women, and all others should single-mindedly bind their thoughts within, sit upright, enter proper meditative absorption, and contemplate the physical body of the Buddha. You should know that the minds of such people will be like the Buddha’s mind, no different from the Buddha. Although they dwell amid afflictions, they will not be obstructed by any evil. In the future age, they will cause the rain of the great Dharma to descend.

“Furthermore, my father the king! It is as though the eraṇḍa tree and sandalwood both grew on Mount Malaya. Ox-Head Sandalwood grows amid a dense grove of eraṇḍa trees.

Before it has grown large, while it is still close to the ground, its shoots, trunk, branches, and leaves resemble bamboo shoots in Jambudvīpa. People do not recognize it and say, ‘This mountain contains only eraṇḍa trees and no sandalwood.’ The eraṇḍa, however, has a foul odor, stinking like a swollen corpse, which spreads as far as forty yojanas. Its flowers are red and very pleasing, but if anyone eats them, that person will go mad and die.

Although the Ox-Head Sandalwood grows within this forest, it has not yet matured and therefore cannot emit its fragrance. During the mid-autumn season, beneath the full moon, it suddenly emerges from the earth and becomes a sandalwood tree. Everyone then perceives the supremely exquisite fragrance of the Ox-Head Sandalwood, and the foul odor of the eraṇḍa tree is forevermore no longer present.”

The Buddha said:

“My father the king! The mind that recollects the Buddha is likewise. Because of such a mind, one can attain the three kinds of roots of bodhi.

“Furthermore, my father the king! In Jambudvīpa and throughout the four continents, there is a golden-winged bird named Right Sound, the king of the garuḍas, which possesses great mastery among all birds. As a karmic retribution, this bird delights in eating nāgas. In Jambudvīpa, each day it eats one nāga king and five hundred lesser nāgas. The following morning, in Pūrvavideha, it again eats one nāga king and five hundred lesser nāgas. On the third day, in Aparagodānīya, it eats one nāga king and five hundred lesser nāgas. On the fourth day, in Uttarakuru, it again eats one nāga king and five hundred lesser nāgas. Having completed the circuit, it begins again, continuing thus for eight thousand years.

“At that time, signs of death appear in the bird. The nāgas emit venom and can no longer be eaten. Tormented by hunger, the bird rushes everywhere in search of food but can find none. It travels throughout the mountains but finds no rest, until it reaches the Vajra Mountain and remains there temporarily. Afterward, from the Vajra Mountain, it plunges straight down to the boundary of the great waters. From the boundary of the great waters, it reaches the boundary of the wind-wheel, where the wind blows it back to the Vajra Mountain. This happens seven times, after which it dies.

“After the bird dies, its venom causes ten jeweled mountains to burst simultaneously into flames. Fearing that the fire will consume these mountains, Nāga King Nanda sends down great raindrops as large as chariot axles. The bird’s flesh entirely dissolves, and only its heart remains. The bird’s heart plunges straight downward as before seven times and afterward returns to rest upon the summit of the Vajra Mountain. Nāga King Nanda takes this bird’s heart and makes it into a radiant pearl. When a Wheel-Turning King obtains it, it becomes a wish-fulfilling jewel.”

The Buddha said:

“O Father King! When good men and good women recollect the Buddha, their minds are likewise. Furthermore, O Great King!

In the Snow Mountains there is a kind of tree called Angada. Its fruit is exceedingly large, yet its seed is exceedingly small. When its origin is traced, it is found to have come from Fragrant Mountain, reaching the Snow Mountains through the power of the wind.

During the depths of winter, when the weather is bitterly cold, rakshasas and yakshas seek sheltered places in mountain ravines in which to dwell. Their filthy, impure excrement flows out upon the ground. Fierce winds blow snow over this excrement, and gradually it forms a trench fifty yojanas deep.

Through the fertilizing power of the excrement, this fruit is produced. The roots, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits of that tree flourish luxuriantly. During the three months of spring, the sunlight and winds arising simultaneously from the eight directions melt away the ice and snow, leaving only the fruit of that tree.

In shape and appearance, this fruit cannot be compared with any fruit in Jambudvipa. It is perfectly round and measures fully half a yojana across. When a brahmin eats it, he immediately attains the way of the seers, fully acquires the five supernormal powers, and lives for an entire kalpa without aging or dying.

When an ordinary person eats it, he advances toward stream-entry; when a non-returner eats it, he becomes an arhat, with the three knowledges and six supernormal powers all fully perfected. Someone once brought a seed and planted it in decayed, fertile soil in Jambudvipa. Thereafter, when the tree sprouted, it grew to the height of a tala tree.

The tree was named Nyagrodha, and its fruit was named Talak, being as large as a five-dou jar. When the people of Jambudvipa eat this fruit, it can dispel illnesses of fever and heat.”

The Buddha said:

“O Great King! Good men and good women who, with right mindfulness, contemplate the realm of the Buddhas are likewise. Furthermore, O Great King!

It is like the tree growing in Shakra’s Garden of Delight called Parijataka. When celestial maidens behold it, their bodies and minds become so joyful that they cannot contain themselves. When Shakra sees it, thoughts of desire immediately arise in him, and his eighty-four thousand consorts and others at once experience pleasure.

When this tree first grows, its branches bend down to the ground; then, beneath the ground, its flowers develop into fruit. The fruit is golden in color and radiantly luminous. Moreover, the flowers and leaves of that tree never wither or fall.

They possess all ten colors, flash forth light, and emit delightful sounds. When autumn arrives, in the eighth month, the tree bursts forth from beneath the ground and rises to a height of three million four hundred and fifty thousand yojanas. When the devas behold it, they rejoice beyond measure.”

The Buddha said:

“Great King! The contemplation of the Buddha samadhi in the ground of afflictions is likewise just so: when that tree grows, it resembles that jeweled tree, splendidly adorned and worthy of beholding. Furthermore, Great King!

At the beginning of a kalpa, there arises a kalpa of fire, a kalpa of rain, a kalpa of wind, and a kalpa of earth. When the earth kalpa had been formed, the devas of the Heaven of Radiant Sound flew through the world and descended to bathe in the waters. Because they bathed, the vital essences of the four great elements entered their bodies.

As their bodies experienced pleasurable contact, their vital essences flowed into the water. Winds from the eight directions blew them away, and they fell into the mire, where they naturally formed an egg. After eight thousand years, that egg finally hatched and gave birth to a daughter.

Her body was dark blue, like mud. She had nine hundred and ninety-nine heads; each head had one thousand eyes and nine hundred and ninety-nine mouths. Each mouth had four teeth, and fire issued from the teeth like thunderbolts.

She had twenty-four arms, each holding every kind of weapon. Her body was as tall and immense as Mount Sumeru. She entered the great ocean and amused herself by splashing the water.

A violent cyclonic wind blew across the waters of the great ocean, and the essence of the water entered her body, whereupon she became pregnant. After eight thousand years, she gave birth to a son. The child’s body was four times as tall and immense as his mother’s. He had nine heads, each with one thousand eyes; fire issued from his mouths. He had nine hundred and ninety-nine arms and eight legs. A voice arose from the ocean, saying: ‘His name is Vemacitrin, king of the asuras.’ This demon sustained himself solely by swallowing mire, lotus roots, and lotus stalks.

When the child grew up and saw celestial maidens surrounding others, he said to his mother: ‘Everyone has a mate—a wife or a husband. Why am I alone?’

His mother told him: ‘On Mount Gandhamadana there is a class of deities called gandharvas. Among them is a divine maiden of beautiful countenance and graceful bearing. From every pore of her body issue wondrous sounds, and she greatly pleases me. I shall now seek her hand in marriage for you. Would that fulfill your wish?’

The asura replied: ‘Excellent! Excellent! I pray that Mother go and seek her hand for me!’

His mother then went to Mount Gandhamadana. After arriving there, she addressed the deity of music: ‘I have a son of sovereign and awe-inspiring power, unequaled throughout these four continents. You have an honored daughter who is very well suited to my son.’

When the deity’s daughter heard this, she gladly consented to the asura. After the asura took that maiden as his wife, his heart was at ease, and he consummated the marriage with her. Before long, she became pregnant. After eight thousand years, she gave birth to a daughter. This daughter’s features and bearing were upright and beautiful beyond all others; in heaven or on earth, none could equal her. Her beauty surpassed every beauty and was naturally adorned. On her face were eighty-four thousand captivating charms; on her left side were also eighty-four thousand, on her right side eighty-four thousand, before her eighty-four thousand, and behind her eighty-four thousand.

The asura beheld her with wonder. She was like the moon amid the stars, extraordinarily marvelous and unique. When Kausika heard of her renown, he sent an envoy down to the asura to seek the daughter’s hand in marriage. The asura said: ‘By your celestial merit, if you can enable me to ride in a palace made of the seven precious substances, I shall give you my daughter in marriage!’

When Sakra heard these words, his heart filled with delighted joy. He immediately removed his jeweled crown and transformed it into a palace upon the ocean. Through the karmic recompense of his ten wholesome deeds, he enabled the asura to sit within that magnificent palace. The asura leapt with joy and gave his daughter in marriage to Kausika. Sakra then came to receive his bride upon a terrace made of six precious substances. Within the palace, eighty-four thousand wondrous jeweled maidens were spontaneously born through transformation from great lotus flowers. In the brief time it takes a strong man to bend and extend his arm, they arrived at Sakra’s Hall of Excellent Dharma.

At that time, the celestial palace surpassed its former splendor by hundreds of thousands of myriads of times. Sakra Devendra bestowed upon the maiden the name Delightful to the Mind. When the devas saw her, they all praised her as unprecedented: looking east, they forgot the west; looking south, they forgot the north. When the thirty-two attendant ministers saw Delightful to the Mind, their hearts were also filled with joy, and even every hair upon their bodies rejoiced.

Whenever Sakra went to the Garden of Delight and entered a pond with the celestial maidens to amuse himself, Delightful to the Mind became jealous. She sent five yaksas to inform her royal father: ‘Today Sakra no longer favors her, but is roaming and amusing himself with the other celestial maidens.’

When her royal father heard these words, anger arose in his heart. He immediately mobilized the four divisions of his army to attack Sakra. The asura king stood upon the waters of the great ocean, spread his legs, and planted his feet upon the summit of Mount Sumeru. At the same time, his nine hundred and ninety-nine arms shook the City of Delightful Appearance and rocked Mount Sumeru, causing the waters of the four great oceans to surge simultaneously.

Sakra Devendra was terrified and did not know where to flee. A deity within the palace said to the celestial king: ‘Do not be so afraid! A Buddha of the past taught the Prajnaparamita. If the King upholds and recites it, the demon army will disintegrate of itself.’

Sakra then sat in the Hall of Excellent Dharma, burned every kind of renowned incense, and made this great vow: ‘The Prajnaparamita is the mantra of great illumination, the unsurpassed mantra, the unequaled mantra, truly genuine and not false. By upholding this Dharma, I shall attain the Buddha path. May it cause the asuras naturally to retreat and disperse.’

As he spoke these words, four wheels of blades appeared in empty space. Through the merit of Sakra, they descended naturally and hovered directly above the asura host. Immediately, the ears, noses, feet, and hands of the asuras all fell off at once, turning the waters of the great ocean as red as crimson dye. The asuras were terrified and had nowhere to flee, so they hid within the holes of lotus fibers. The illusory power of those demons, produced by desire, anger, and delusion, could be so great; how much more inconceivable, then, is the Buddhadharma!

The Buddha said:

“Great King! Good men and good women who bind their minds and contemplate the realm of the Buddhas can also abide in the oceans of samadhi. The merit of such people cannot be reckoned or described; they are equal to the Buddhas, without difference.

CHAPTER TWO: EXPLANATION OF THE GROUND OF CONTEMPLATION

What is meant by contemplating the realm of the Buddhas? When the Buddhas, the Tathagatas, appear in the world, they adorn themselves with two kinds of Dharma. What are the two?

– First, they initially teach the twelve divisions of the scriptures, enabling sentient beings to read and recite them fluently and without obstruction. All such things are called the gift of Dharma.

– Second, with their wondrously beautiful bodies they manifest in Jambudvipa and throughout the worlds of the ten directions, enabling sentient beings to behold the Buddha’s physical body, perfectly adorned with the thirty-two excellent marks and eighty subsidiary characteristics, without any mark deficient or diminished, so that joy arises in their hearts.

From what causes are such marks obtained? They are all born from hundreds of thousands of ascetic practices in former lives, from cultivating the paramitas and the factors that assist the path.

The Buddha said:

– Father, suppose there are sentient beings who wish to be mindful of the Buddha, contemplate the Buddha, see the Buddha, distinguish his excellent marks, understand the Buddha’s light, know the interior of the Buddha’s body, learn to contemplate the Buddha’s mind, learn to contemplate the crown of the Buddha’s head, learn to contemplate the thousand-spoked wheel-mark beneath the Buddha’s feet, wish to know the marks displayed when the Buddha was born, wish to know when the Buddha took a consort, wish to know when the Buddha renounced the household life, wish to know when the Buddha practiced austerities, wish to know when the Buddha subdued Mara, wish to know when the Buddha attained unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, wish to know the marks of the Tathagata when he turned the Dharma wheel, wish to know the Tathagata’s precious mark of the sheathed male organ, wish to know the marks of the Tathagata when he ascended to the Trayastrimsa Heaven to teach the Dharma to his mother, Lady Maya, wish to know the marks of the Tathagata when he descended from the Trayastrimsa Heaven, wish to know the marks of light manifested in the Tathagata’s four deportments of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, wish to know the marks of the Tathagata when he journeyed to the city of Kusinagara and subdued and converted the Mallas, or wish to know the light issuing from his pores when the Tathagata subdued the ghosts and spirits of the wilderness.

The Buddha said:

– Father, after the Buddha has entered nirvana, if the four assemblies, devas, nagas, yakshas, and others wish to bind their thoughts, wish to contemplate, wish to practice meditation, and wish to attain the right absorption of samadhi—then the Buddha said—Father, what is meant by binding one’s thoughts? Some sentient beings delight in contemplating the complete bodily marks of the Tathagata. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating each one of the Tathagata’s excellent marks. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s excellent marks in their proper sequence. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s excellent marks in reverse sequence. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s light. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating the Tathagata walking. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating the Tathagata standing. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating the Tathagata sitting. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating the Tathagata lying down. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating the Tathagata going on almsround. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating the Tathagata at the time of his birth. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating when the Tathagata took a consort. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating when the Tathagata renounced the household life. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating when the Tathagata practiced austerities. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating when the Tathagata subdued Mara. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating when the Tathagata attained Buddhahood. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating when the Tathagata turned the Dharma wheel. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating when the Tathagata ascended to the Trayastrimsa Heaven to teach the Dharma to his mother. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating the Tathagata subduing the ghosts and spirits of the wilderness. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating when the Tathagata, in Naganhara, subdued the nagas and left behind his image. Some sentient beings delight in contemplating the Tathagata, in the city of Kusinagara, subduing the followers of the six teachers, including Niti Jian, and those of evil discipline who were deeply mired in wrong views.... Thus, Father, after I have entered nirvana, sentient beings who undertake these various practices and karmic deeds will entertain these various conceptions, and their understanding will not be the same. According to what is perceived within the thoughts of those sentient beings, they should be taught, in due sequence, to bind their thoughts. While I still abide in the world, there is no need to bind one’s thoughts. It is like the rising of the sun: all who were in darkness are illumined, and only those without eyes see nothing. In the future age, all disciples should cultivate three dharmas. What are the three?

– First, recite the exceedingly profound sutra scriptures.

– Second, purely uphold the precepts and rules of deportment without transgression.

– Third, bind one’s thoughts in contemplation so that the mind is not scattered.

What is meant by binding one’s thought? Some bind the mind to contemplate the crown of the Buddha’s head. Some wish to bind the mind to contemplate the Buddha’s hair.

Some bind the mind to contemplate the line of the Buddha’s hair. Some wish to bind the mind to contemplate the Buddha’s broad and level forehead mark. Some wish to bind the mind to contemplate the white urna mark between the Buddha’s eyebrows.

Some wish to bind the mind to contemplate the Buddha’s eyebrows. Some wish to bind the mind to contemplate the Buddha’s eyes, like those of the king of bulls. Some wish to bind the mind to contemplate the Buddha’s straight nose.

Some wish to bind the mind to contemplate the Buddha’s gaze, like that of the king of eagles. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s mustache, shaped like tadpoles and emitting light. There are beings who delight in contemplating the rim of the Tathagata’s mouth above his lips.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the beautiful red color of the Tathagata’s lips, like the fruit of the bimba tree. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s lower lip, like the stalk of a padma flower. Upon its rosy-red hue appears the color of the bimba fruit.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the mark of the Tathagata’s forty teeth. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s teeth, which are white, even, and closely set. There are beings who delight in contemplating the patterned marks impressed upon the Tathagata’s teeth.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the lines separating the Tathagata’s teeth. There are beings who delight in contemplating the upper palate of the Tathagata’s mouth, with its eighty-four thousand clearly distinct patterns. There are beings who delight in contemplating the lower part of the Tathagata’s mouth, which resembles the body of an udumbara flower in color.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s throat, like a tube of lapis lazuli and resembling a lotus flower. There are beings who delight in contemplating the mark of the Tathagata’s broad, long tongue, shaped like a lotus petal and bearing five distinctly visible patterns, each of a different color. Beneath the tongue are ten blood vessels from which rays of light pour forth, and the broad, long tongue covers the Buddha’s entire face.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the three folds of the Tathagata’s throat. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s chest, which resembles the eye of a golden-winged bird. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s head.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s eighty-four thousand hair marks. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s hairs curling to the right. There are beings who delight in contemplating how a single curling hair grows from each of the Tathagata’s pores.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the skin of the Tathagata’s scalp. There are beings who delight in contemplating the bone of the Tathagata’s ushnisha. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s brain.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s long, pendant ears. There are beings who delight in contemplating the rims of the Tathagata’s ears. There are beings who delight in contemplating the whorls of the Tathagata’s ears, from which arises the mark of seven hairs.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the fullness of the Tathagata’s collarbones, within which appears a luminous dais. There are beings who delight in contemplating the fullness beneath the Tathagata’s armpits, where five jewels hang like mani gems within the Buddha’s armpits. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s round and tapering arms, like the trunk of a royal elephant.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the bones of the Tathagata’s elbows, which resemble the gracefully curling hair of a dragon king. Their five-colored patterns remain unmarred; the joints are full and curve like coiled dragons, leaving no visible trace of articulation. The fingers are of graduated lengths and remain properly aligned, and twelve rings appear upon the joints at their tips.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the copper-red color of the Tathagata’s fingernails and toenails. These nails display eight distinctly visible colors. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s webbed palms.

The webbing is visible when the hands are opened and disappears when they are closed, like a net of pearls, distinctly radiant beyond Jambunada gold by hundreds of thousands of myriads of times. Its color is luminous and pure, surpassing the range of vision. At the tips of all ten fingers appears the svastika character.

Interspersed with the svastikas are thousands of wheel-spoke circles. All the marks are complete, like hundreds of thousands of lotus flowers joined together. There are beings who delight in contemplating the patterns upon the Tathagata’s palms, perfected like the palace of the Heaven of Self-Mastery.

Those palms are level in a way possessed by neither gods nor humans. Within each palm appears the mark of a thousand spokes, emitting mani light in ten directions. Beneath these circles are ten kinds of patterns, each resembling the eye of a god of Self-Mastery, clear, pure white, and distinct, which then merge into the palm mark.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s hairs lying flat in one direction and the reverse sides of those hairs, resembling blue lapis lazuli and emitting five-colored light that enters the net. There are beings who delight in contemplating the softness of the Tathagata’s hands and feet, like heavenly kalpa cloth. There are beings who delight in contemplating the inner and outer surfaces of the Tathagata’s closed hands.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s chest, impressed with the auspicious svastika mark, and the luminous mark of the “three manis.” There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s navel, like a Vailangika jewel. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s hips, large and small in perfectly even proportion, gracefully supporting one another. There are beings who delight in contemplating the individual bones of the Tathagata, tightly joined together like coiled dragons.

There are beings who delight in contemplating how the Tathagata’s bones are linked together, bending and extending freely without obstructing one another. There are beings who delight in contemplating the color of the Tathagata’s bones: bright white and crystalline, beyond comparison even with a snowy mountain. Above them is rosy light intermingled with patterns, while moisture gathers like fat.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s thighs, like those of the royal eni deer. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s heels. There are beings who delight in contemplating the level upper surfaces of the Tathagata’s feet.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the color upon the Tathagata’s feet, the color of Jambunada gold, with the hairs above lying flat in one direction and the webbing of the toes resembling a radiant patterned net. Within those patterns are intermingled rays of light from heaven and earth whose names cannot all be enumerated. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s copper-red nails, at the tips of which are five lion mouths (?).

There are beings who delight in contemplating the patterns at the tips of the Tathagata’s toes (?), like the engraved seals of the god Vishvakarman. There are beings who delight in contemplating the soles of the Tathagata’s feet, level and full, admitting not even a single hair; the thousand-spoked wheel mark beneath each foot; the complete rim and hub of the wheel; next, the mark of fish scales (?); and then the vajra-pestle mark.

Upon the heels there is also the mark of Brahma’s crown, together with every engraved seal, without difference. Such a person is said to delight in contemplation in the direct order. There are beings who delight in reverse contemplation, beginning with the thousand-spoked wheel mark beneath the feet.

Contemplating upward from below to the toes, they clearly contemplate in reverse order every mark, every excellence, and every color, from bottom to top. This is called the method of reverse contemplation. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s golden color.

Because the Buddha was born in Jambudvipa, his was the supreme color among all colors, like hundreds of thousands of suns illuminating a purple-gold mountain, impossible to behold in full. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s body, sixteen feet in height. There are beings who delight in contemplating the Tathagata’s circular halo, extending one fathom.

There are beings who delight in contemplating the light of the Tathagata’s entire body. There are beings who delight in contemplating the auspicious signs that appear when the Tathagata teaches the Dharma. There are beings who delight in contemplating the upward-facing and downward-facing marks of the Tathagata’s navel (?).

CHAPTER THREE: CONTEMPLATING THE MARKS

I. The Buddha said:

“Father King! What is meant by contemplating the crown of the Tathagata’s head? The crown-bone of the Tathagata is round like a clenched fist.

The crown’s natural color is white, but when the skin is thin it appears pink, and when the skin is thick it appears adamantine. The hairline is golden, and the brain is crystalline, containing fourteen blood vessels with all their markings complete, as well as fourteen rays of light. Those rays are as distinct and clearly defined as blood vessels.

From within the blood vessels of the brain, further rays of light arise and stream upward into the skull. Then, from the skull to the hairline, fourteen colors radiate forth and encircle the strands of hair. The golden color beneath the hair also emits rays of light that enter those fourteen colors.

This is called the cranial protuberance at the crown of the Tathagata, which appeared when he was born in the palace. Only upon this crown did the five marks of Great Brahma arise; neither Mother Maya nor the Buddha’s maternal aunt could see them. When these five marks of Great Brahma opened and appeared, their light reached the Brahma world, then passed through immeasurable worlds above and transformed into palaces, terraces, and realms of the Buddhas that even bodhisattvas of the Ten Grounds could not see.

“Today, for the sake of the Father King, I speak of the mark of the crown that appeared at birth. Those who hear of it should contemplate the Buddha’s supreme crown-mark. The light of that mark is as innumerable as the motes of dust throughout the great trichiliocosm and cannot be fully described. If sentient beings in later ages hear these words, contemplate this mark, and harbor no regret in their hearts, it will be as though they behold the light of the World-Honored One’s supreme crown-mark. When they close their eyes, they will be able to see it; through the power of mental visualization, it will become lucid and distinct, just as if they were seeing the Buddha present in the world.

“Although one cannot contemplate many aspects of this mark at once, one should begin with one feature, then visualize another; after visualizing one feature, visualize yet another. Proceeding forward and backward, turning away and returning, one should do this sixteen times, until at last the mind’s visualization becomes clear and keen. Thereafter, keep the mind fixed and bind one’s mindfulness to a single point. Gradually raise the tongue toward the palate and cause it to rest there correctly. After twenty-seven days, body and mind may become peaceful and secure. One should then again restrain the mind and return to contemplating the crown of the Buddha’s head. The method of contemplating the Buddha’s crown begins by entering through the pores.”

The Buddha addressed the Father King and instructed Ananda:

“Listen attentively! Listen attentively! Consider this well! Upon the Tathagata’s head there are now eighty-four thousand hairs. On both sides of the head, they grow curling smoothly toward the right, evenly distributed and clearly defined, with the four corners distinct. From each pore arise five rays of light, which enter the fourteen colored rays mentioned previously.

“In former times, while I was in the wet nurse’s palace, she washed my hair. My maternal aunt, Mahaprajapati, came to me. Knowing that many extraordinary and wondrous events had occurred at Siddhartha’s birth, she asked me, ‘How long is your hair? How am I to answer unless we measure it now and learn its length?’ She then instructed me to let down my hair. Mother measured it with a ruler and found it to be one zhang, two chi, and five cun long. After it had been released, the hair curled back toward the right and again formed a moth-like pattern (?).

“When I was about to take a consort, my hair was washed once more. Mother again said, ‘When your hair was measured previously, it was one zhang, two chi, and five cun long. Now it should be measured again.’ I then let down my hair, and when it was measured it was one zhang, three chi, and five cun long. When I left the household life, a celestial spirit carried away my hair, and it too was one zhang, three chi, and five cun long. Today, does the Father King wish to see the mark of my hair?”

The Father King replied:

“Yes, O Celestially Honored One! I delight in seeing the Buddha’s hair!”

The Tathagata then used his hand to release his hair. From the Nigrodha Monastery all the way to the Father King’s palace, the Buddha’s hair appeared like blue-green vaidurya and wound around the city seven times. Within the Buddha’s hair, the great assembly saw countless colored rays of light, too numerous to describe fully. Each ray illuminated everything and rendered it the color of blue-green vaidurya. Within that vaidurya hue were innumerable transformation Buddhas. Having manifested this mark, the Buddha withdrew the light and wound up his hair. Curling gracefully toward the right, the hair returned to rest upon the crown of the Buddha’s head and formed a painted moth-like pattern. The Buddha said:

“This is called the true mark of the Tathagata’s hair. If bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, upasikas, and others wish to contemplate the Buddha’s hair, they must perform this contemplation and must not contemplate it otherwise. To contemplate it otherwise is called false contemplation, deranged contemplation, loss of mind, wrong view, and an inverted mind. Even if such a person were said to attain samadhi, that would be impossible.

“Thus, Father King, the true mark of the Buddha’s hair is indeed as described. After contemplating the mark of the hair, one should next contemplate the hairline. It resembles red pearls, curving gracefully downward, with five thousand rays of light intermingled yet clearly distinct.

All stream upward and encircle the strands of hair. Then, issuing from the crown, they circle it five times, like a design fashioned by a celestial painter: perfectly round, smooth, level, even, and fine as a single silken thread. Within that thread-like space arise transformation Buddhas, accompanied by transformation bodhisattvas as their retinues.

Devas, the eight classes of beings, and forms of every kind also appear within it. Its color is like the orb of the sun and cannot be seen in its entirety. This is called contemplating the Buddha’s hairline.

One who contemplates in this manner practices right contemplation; contemplation in any other manner is called false contemplation.”

The Buddha said:

“Father King! This is called the true contemplation of the Tathagata’s hairline.

“What is meant by contemplating the mark of the Tathagata’s broad and even forehead? Within the mark of the broad and even forehead are three marks.

“The first is the mark of the white hair. When the Buddha had just been born, the king and queen brought the prince to the sage Asita and asked him to examine the prince’s marks. The sage parted the fine hairs and first saw a coiled white hair between the prince’s eyebrows. Beside the white hair were circular outlines that coiled along with it. The physiognomist pulled the hair straight and saw that it was long and thick. He then took a ruler to measure its length and found that it was exactly five chi long, like a tube of vaidurya. When released, it curled to the right like a crystal jewel and displayed hundreds of thousands of colored rays of immeasurable variety. This is called the light of the urna mark when the bodhisattva had just been born.

“When he reached the age of eight, his maternal aunt again observed Siddhartha as he grew older and saw that the hair between his eyebrows had also grown with the passing years. Wishing to examine it, she pulled the white hair straight and saw that it was perfectly straight, like a tube of white vaidurya. From its tip issued five-colored light, which then returned into the pore. Her loving affection was boundless, and she told everyone, ‘The mark of my child’s hair has become like this.’ After everyone had seen it, the hair curled up as before and was exceedingly lovely. This is called the mark of the white urna hair when the bodhisattva was a child.”

What is called the sign of the White Urna Hair when the bodhisattva took a consort? The father of Yasodhara personally sent a physiognomist to examine the Crown Prince’s marks. The physiognomist saw that the thirty-two marks were as distinct as a painting, but his mind could not comprehend the mark of the White Urna Hair alone.

The physiognomist then said: “O Earthly Deva, Crown Prince! All your other marks are identical to those of a Gold Wheel-Turning King. Only this mark of the White Urna Hair, which emits all manner of light, lies beyond my ability to understand.

I now wish to pull it straight to see it. May I do so?” The Crown Prince said: “Do as you wish.” At that time, the physiognomist used his hand to pull the hair outward. The hair streamed forth like the milk of a kingly cow and shot into the physiognomist’s eyes.

His eyes became clear and pure, and within the hair he immediately saw hundreds of thousands of Wheel-Turning Sage Kings, each fully endowed with the seven treasures and a thousand sons.... Astonished, the physiognomist said: “O Earthly Deva, Crown Prince! I pulled out the white hair because I wished to see its length.

I do not know why it shot into my eyes like the milk of a kingly cow. Was this a true vision? Was it a dream?

Was it madness? I have now entirely forgotten all the Crown Prince’s excellent marks; all have vanished. I see only hundreds of thousands of Wheel-Turning Sage Kings with their seven treasures, a thousand sons, and four kinds of troops arising from the four directions.

My heart rejoices like a brahmin who has attained the bliss of the Brahma realm.” Having spoken, he released the hair. It spiraled gracefully to the right and returned to its original place. At that time, the physiognomist, whose name was Laudubaduo, having witnessed this event, prostrated himself with all five limbs upon the ground, bowed to the Crown Prince, and said: “The Crown Prince’s marks cannot be seen in their entirety.

By the principles of my physiognomy, I can swiftly and freely discern all the marks of a king who rules the four continents. Yet the Crown Prince’s marks are like those of Mahesvara: their freely exercised spiritual power cannot be recorded. How, then, could they be comprehended?” The Crown Prince said: “I have not realized this!

Return home and report it to your king!” The physiognomist then returned to his own country and fully related the foregoing events to the king. Upon hearing this account, the king ordered his royal charioteer, named Xiangdao, to bring hundreds of thousands of people and proceed to the city of Kapilavastu. Arriving at the palace of King Suddhodana, the king washed the Crown Prince’s hands with water, presented his daughter to him, bowed, and said: “O Earthly Deva, Crown Prince!

Please accept my daughter; she is capable of managing a household! The physiognomist has seen your supremely wondrous hair-mark. I now wish to see it.

May I do so?” The Crown Prince said: “Examine it as you wish!” At that time, Yasodhara’s father used his hand to pull the Crown Prince’s white hair straight. He saw that the hair resembled a crystal tube, with joint after joint of equal size. Within the spaces between the joints, he saw innumerable Brahma kings, Sakra Devendra, and other eminent heavenly beings together with their palaces, all as clearly visible as one beholds one’s own countenance in a bright mirror.

Having seen this, the king rejoiced and released the hair. It spiraled to the right and returned to abide between the eyebrows. Brilliant light scattered throughout the four directions and then entered the encircling walls, beyond all possible description.

This is called the sign of the White Urna Hair when the bodhisattva took a consort.

The Buddha said:

– Father! After the Buddha has entered nirvana, if the four assemblies wish to contemplate the sign of the bodhisattva’s White Urna Hair when he was a youth and when he took a consort, they should form this contemplation. One who contemplates in this way is said to practice right contemplation; contemplation otherwise is called wrong contemplation.

The Buddha said:

– Father! What is called the sign of the White Urna Hair when the Tathagata renounced the household life? When I wished to renounce the household life, my father and mother ordered the palace women to follow and guard me constantly. The doors were barred, and opening or closing them produced a sound like a lion’s roar. All the windows were tightly shut; small bells were suspended, and golden locks were linked together, so that dragons, ghosts, and yaksas could not enter. At that time, the Four Heavenly Kings, from within empty space, called out from afar: “O Earthly Deva, Crown Prince! The appointed day and hour have arrived. You should depart to seek the Way! We now wish to come and make offerings to the Crown Prince, but we fear that entering the palace would create a sound, and so we have no means to enter.” The Crown Prince then used his hand to pull the hair straight, extending it as far as the Four Heavenly Kings. Its colors resembled the five-colored silk of the heavens, soft and lovely. When the Four Heavenly Kings saw it, their hearts were filled with reverence and affection. Because of their reverent affection, they immediately saw within the hair transformed bodhisattvas seated cross-legged, each resembling the Crown Prince in appearance. Each bodhisattva was, in turn, surrounded by innumerable great bodhisattvas as his retinue. When this sign appeared, innumerable devas, dragons, yaksas, and others were all able to enter the palace at the same time. The Crown Prince ordered Chandaka: “Go behind the stables, saddle Kanthaka, and bring him here!” Chandaka replied: “Now, upon this ground, whenever a foot is raised, the earth trembles and roars like a great elephant. How can I reach the stables?” At that time, the Crown Prince again extended the White Urna Hair, causing Chandaka to see it as a lotus flower, its petals arranged layer upon layer and as white as snow. After Chandaka saw this, his mind’s eye immediately opened, and upon the lotus petals he beheld transformed bodhisattvas seated cross-legged, as numerous as motes of dust, their number impossible to express. The white hairs between the eyebrows of those transformed beings were also just like this. Chandaka then saw that the ground within the palace was crystal-colored, yet inwardly solid and hard like vajra. His footsteps were light and made no sound. He swiftly reached the rear of the stables, fitted the horse with a golden saddle, and led him before the palace hall. Chandaka said to the Crown Prince: “The devas stand solemnly in empty space with palms joined and hands respectfully folded, praising in unison the merit of renouncing the household life. The time has come; may the Crown Prince quickly mount the horse!” At that time, the Crown Prince again released the White Urna Hair, which assumed the forms of the young women, causing the female attendants to rejoice in body and mind like bhiksus who have attained the third dhyana. The hair then gracefully spiraled to the right and returned between his eyebrows. The devas again saw hundreds of thousands of rays of light between the Crown Prince’s eyebrows, resembling rivers of milk flowing everywhere. Within those rivers of milk were transformed bodhisattvas riding upon transformed lotus flowers, all together praising the merit of renouncing the household life. From between the eyebrows of each transformed bodhisattva, rivers of milk likewise streamed forth light.

The Buddha said:

– Father! These are called the various auspicious manifestations of the sign of the White Urna Hair when the bodhisattva renounced the household life. After the Buddha’s parinirvana, if members of the four assemblies wish to contemplate the sign of the White Urna Hair when the Tathagata renounced the household life, they should form this contemplation. If they contemplate otherwise, it is called wrong contemplation.

The Buddha said:

– Father King! What is meant by the appearance of the White Urna during the practice of austerities? After I departed from the palace city, not far from the city of Gaya, I went to the A-lun-da tree. The heavenly prince Ket An, together with hundreds of thousands of heavenly princes, all thought: “If the bodhisattva sits here, he will certainly require a seat. I should now offer him celestial grass.” The heavenly princes immediately brought pure and soft celestial grass called Auspicious Grass. The bodhisattva accepted it, spread it upon the ground, and sat down. At that time, the devas carefully contemplated the bodhisattva’s lovely bodily marks and also saw the white hair, three inches in circumference, curling gracefully to the right, with hundreds of thousands of colors flowing into the various marks. As the heavenly princes contemplated the White Urna, they each formed this thought: “Today the bodhisattva has accepted only my grass, not yours.” At once, within the white hair, myriads of kotis of bodhisattvas appeared seated in the lotus posture, each spreading that quantity of grass as a seat beneath this tree. Every heavenly prince saw such an appearance within the White Urna. At that time, the heavenly prince Cat An praised him, saying: “Excellent! This Victorious One cultivates great loving-kindness and compassion! Through the power of loving-kindness and compassion, he has attained the marks of a Great Man. Within this mark, immeasurable transformations appear, fulfilling all the wholesome aspirations of the devas, preventing them from giving rise to disputes, and causing them to awaken the bodhi-mind.” Sakra, Brahma, and the devas saw the bodhisattva seated beneath this tree and all brought ambrosia to present as offerings. At that time, because the bodhisattva wished to subdue the six non-Buddhist teachers, he did not accept those offerings. The devas caused sesame and rice to arise naturally on his left and right, but the bodhisattva did not eat them. The devas all said: “This good man has not eaten for many days. His strength is exhausted, and little remains of his life; how then will he be able to attain bodhi?” At that time, the bodhisattva entered the Samadhi of Cessation of Thought. The state of this samadhi is called the quiescence of all the faculties. The devas cried aloud, their tears falling like rain, and entreated the bodhisattva to arise and take food and drink. When the devas uttered this entreaty, its sound resounded throughout the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system, yet the bodhisattva remained unaware of it. A heavenly prince named Delightful Mind saw grass growing from the earth, piercing through the bodhisattva’s flesh and rising as high as his elbows. He said to the devas: “How extraordinary! This man practices austerities to such an extent! He has not eaten for a very long time, does not hear our cries, and is unaware even when grass grows through him!” That heavenly prince then used his right hand to pull and extend the bodhisattva’s white hair. The hair became perfectly straight and measured exactly one zhang, four chi, and five cun in length. It resembled a white celestial jewel and was hollow both within and without. The devas saw hundreds of kotis of rays of light within the hair. That light was so wondrous and subtle that it could not be fully described. Within that light appeared magically manifested bodhisattvas, all practicing austerities in precisely the same manner as this bodhisattva. The bodhisattva did not become smaller, nor did the hair become larger. Having seen this, the devas praised it as unprecedented. They then released the white hair, which curled gracefully to the right, while it and the light all returned to their original state. At that time, the devas carefully contemplated the white hair, never taking their eyes from it even for a moment. They saw that within the white hair, five tubes emerged below and entered through the mouth, pouring ambrosia drop by drop without interruption. It flowed from atop the tongue into the body, which became transparent and clear like a mountain of vaidurya. Hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of great bodhisattvas appeared within that body. Upon seeing this, the devas joined their palms in joyful acknowledgment that their former words had been foolish, for they had said that little remained of this Great Man’s life. Seeing this mark today, they knew that he would certainly attain Buddhahood—clearly, beyond any doubt! Before long, the unsurpassed sun of wisdom would illuminate the world! After speaking these words, they circumambulated him hundreds of thousands of times and then all returned to their celestial palaces. The sound of these words resounded as far as the six heavens of the desire realm.

The Buddha said:

– Father King! After the Buddha’s nirvana, if the four assemblies wish to contemplate the appearance of the White Urna when the Tathagata practiced austerities, they should form the contemplation exactly as described here. This is called right contemplation; any other contemplation is called wrong contemplation.

End of the First Fascicle