..續本文上一頁ttva Mahasthamaprapta; it is also known as the visualization of the physical features of Mahasthamaprapta, which is called the Eleventh Visualization. For those who visualize this Bodhisattva, the evil karma binding them to infinite aeons of birth-and-death is eliminated, and those who perform this visualization will no longer be subject to birth from the womb, but will roam freely throughout the pure and exquisite lands of the Buddhas. When this visualization has been completed, it is called the complete visualization of Mahasthamaprapta. Performing this visualization is called the right visualization. If one performs other visualizations, that is called an incorrect visualization."

　　XIII. TWELFTH VISUALIZATION:

　　THE BUDDHA OF INFINITE LIFE span”S WORLD OF SUKHAVATI

　　The Buddha said to Ananda and Vaidehi, "When these visualizations are completed, they are called the complete perfection of the visualization of Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta. When you have seen these things, visualize yourself as being born in the Western Realm of Ultimate Bliss, sitting cross-legged inside a lotus flower. Visualize the lotus flower as being closed. When the lotus flower opens, rays of five hundred colors shine down and illuminate your body.

　　"Then your eyes are open and you see the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas filling the skies and hear the sounds of waters and trees, the notes of birds, and the voices of the Buddhas all proclaiming the exquisite Dharma in accordance with the twelve pisions of the Sutras. Even after you rise from meditation, keep in mind and do not forget all that you have seen and heard.

　　"Seeing these things is called the vision of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life and the Realm of Ultimate Bliss. This is the comprehensive visualization of its imagery and is called the Twelfth Visualization. The countless miraculously created bodies of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life together with those of Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta will always appear before those who contemplate thus. Performing this visualization is called the right visualization. If one performs other visualizations, that is called an incorrect visualization."

　　XIV. THE THREE SAGES OF THE REALM OF ULTIMATE BLISS

　　The Buddha said to Ananda and Vaidehi, "If you wish with a sincere mind to be born in the Western Quarter, you should first visualize a sixteen-foot image of the Buddha standing on the surface of a lake. As I previously explained, the physical measurements of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life are boundless and are beyond the grasp of ordinary minds. But because of the power of that Tathagata”s vows fulfilled in a previous life, those who keep the Buddha in mind will, without fail, be able to perceive this body. Simply visualizing the Buddha”s image brings one immeasurable merits; how much more so if one visualizes all the perfect physical characteristics of that Buddha

　　"This Buddha Amitayus, able to utilize transcendent spiritual powers at any time, can freely manifest various forms throughout the lands of the Ten Directions, here appearing as a great body that fills the sky, there appearing as a small body only sixteen or eighteen feet tall. The color of these manifested figures is that of pure gold, and the miraculously created Buddhas and the jeweled lotus flowers in the surrounding circle of light are the same as I described before.

　　"The physical features of the Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta are the same in all respects, and sentient beings who simply visualize the features on their heads can distinguish between Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta. These two Bodhisattvas assist Buddha Amitayus in the work of universal liberation. This is the composite visualization which is called the Thirteenth Visualization. Performing this vis…

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