Commentary on the Samādhi Meditation Sūtra
Chapter 7: The Dharma Gate for Treating the Evenly-Mixed Afflictions
Original text: 第五法门治等分行。及重罪人求索佛。如是人等。当教一心念佛三昧。念佛三昧有三种人。或初习行。或已习行。或久习行。若初习行人。将至佛像所。或教令自往谛观佛像相好。相相明了。一心取持。还至静处。心眼观佛像。令意不转。系念在像。不令他念。他念摄之。令常在像。
Explanation: The fifth dharma gate of practice for counteracting afflictions: people who have committed grave offenses and wish to repent their karmic obstructions, seeking the Buddha's blessing to eliminate their grave offenses—such people should be taught to single-mindedly recollect the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) and cultivate the meditative concentration of recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti-samādhi). The practice of the dharma gate of recollection of the Buddha is divided into three types of people, who employ somewhat different methods: those who are just beginning to practice the dharma gate of recollection of the Buddha, those who have practiced it for a period of time, and those who have practiced it for a long time.
For one who is just beginning to practice the dharma gate of recollection of the Buddha, take him to a place where there is a Buddha image, or have him go to the place of the Buddha image by himself, and have him carefully observe the Buddha image adorned with major and minor marks (lakṣaṇa-vyañjana-sampad); every adorned dharma-mark of the Buddha must be clearly and distinctly comprehended within the mind. Afterwards, with the mind single-mindedly visualizing the Buddha image, he goes to a quiet place, and with the mind's eye visualizes the Buddha image again, keeping the image in mind, making every thought of the mind rest upon the Buddha image, not straying elsewhere, single-mindedly upon the image. If the thoughts shift away, he reins them back, keeping the mind filled entirely with the Buddha image, with his thoughts constantly abiding in visualization of the Buddha image.
Original text: 若心不住。师当教言。汝当责心。由汝受罪不可称计。无际生死种种苦恼无不更受。若在地狱。吞饮洋铜食烧铁丸。若在畜生。食粪啖草。若在饿鬼受饥饿苦。若在人中贫穷困厄。若在天上失欲忧恼。
常随汝故令我受此种种身恼心恼无量苦恼。今当制汝。汝当随我。我今系汝一处。我终不复为汝所困更受苦毒也。汝常困我。我今要当以事困汝。如是不已心不散乱。是时便得心眼见佛像相好光明。如眼所见无有异也。如是心住。是名初习行者思惟。
Explanation: If his mind cannot abide on the Buddha image, his teacher should teach him to reproach his own mind in this way: Because of you (the mind), the sufferings I have undergone are beyond calculation; of the boundless, endless varieties of birth-and-death suffering, there is not one I have not experienced. If in the hells, I swallowed boiling copper syrup and ate red-hot iron pellets; if among animals, I ate filth and grazed on grass; if among hungry ghosts, I endured the suffering of hunger; if among humans, I lived a life of poverty and hardship; if in the heavens, I was constantly vexed and distressed over losing the states I craved.
Because I constantly followed you (the mind), I was made to endure immeasurable sufferings of body and mind. Now I shall restrain you (the mind); you must follow me. I now bind you (the mind) fast in one place, and I will never again be plagued and afflicted by you (the mind). You have always plagued me; now I shall bind you fast by the method of recollecting the Buddha. By thus continually reining in one's own mind, the mind will never again scatter. At this time the mind's eye can behold the adorned radiance of the Buddha image, no different from what the physical eye sees, and the meditative concentration of recollection of the Buddha manifests and is accomplished. Settling the mind through such practice is the method of fixing the mind in contemplation that beginners in the dharma gate of recollection of the Buddha should employ.
Here, the "I" refers to the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) of the mind consciousness; the "you" refers to the manas.
Original text: 是时当更念言。是谁像相。则是过去释迦牟尼佛像相。如我今见佛形像。像亦不来我亦不往。如是心想见过去佛。初降神时震动天地。有三十二相大人相：
Explanation: At this time one should contemplate further, saying: Whose image is this appearance? It is the adorned image of Śākyamuni Buddha of the past. As for the form of the Buddha I now see, the image has not come, nor have I gone. By contemplating in this way, one beholds the Buddha of the past. When the Buddha first descended into the womb and came into the world, heaven and earth were shaken. The Buddha image has the thirty-two marks of a great man:
一者足下安平立。
(The soles of the feet are flat and level, with no hollows, yet one walks very steadily.)
二者足下千辐轮。
(On the soles of the feet there is the mark of a thousand-spoked precious wheel.)
三者指长好。
(The fingers are slender, long, and lovely.)
四者足跟广。
(The heels are broad and wide.)
五者手足指合缦网。
(There are webbing membranes between the fingers, and likewise between the toes.)
六者足趺高平好。
(The insteps are high, level, and fine.)
七者伊尼延鹿�。
(The calves are straight and even like a deer's legs.)
八者平住手过膝。
(When the arms hang straight down, the hands extend past the knees.)
九者阴马藏相。
(The male organ is like that of a fine horse, concealed and not visible.)
十者尼俱卢陀身。
(The body is majestic and upright, with proportions in perfect balance.)
十一者一一孔一一毛生。
(Each pore produces a single hair of dark-blue lapis lazuli color.)
十二者毛生上向而右旋。
(All the body hair of the Buddha points upward and curls to the right.)
十三者身色胜上金。
(The entire body is of true gold color.)
十四者身光面一丈。
(The body's radiance pervades the great thousand worlds, with beams one zhang long extending in each of the four directions.)
十五者皮薄好。
(The skin is fine, thin, and lustrous, with not a speck of dust upon it.)
十六者七处满。
(The seven places—the two hands, two feet, two shoulders, and neck—are full and supple.)
十七者两腋下平好。
(Below the two armpits, bone and flesh are full and complete, without hollowness.)
十八者上身如师子。
(The upper body is broad and full like a lion king.)
十九者身大好端直。
(The Buddha's body is large and upright.)
二十者肩圆好。
(The two shoulders are round, full, and majestic.)
二十一者四十齿。
(The Buddha has forty teeth, even, close-set, and white as snow.)
二十二者齿白齐密等而根深。
(The teeth are even, close-set, and snow-white, with deep roots.)
二十三者四牙白而大。
(The two canine teeth above and the two below are snow-white and large.)
二十四者颊方如师子。
(The cheeks are full and square like a lion's.)
二十五者味中得上味。
(Among all the tastes of food and drink, he obtains the supreme taste.)
二十六者舌大广长而薄。
(The tongue is broad, long, thin, and soft.)
二十七者梵音深远。
(The voice is pure like the music of the Brahmā heavens.)
二十八者迦兰频伽声。
(The voice is also as wondrous as the song of the kalaviṅka bird.)
二十九者眼绀青色。
(The Buddha's eyes are dark blue like blue lotus flowers.)
三十者眼睫如牛王。
(The eyelashes are even and orderly, not tangled, like those of a bull king.)
三十一者顶发肉骨成。
(The crown of the Buddha's head bears the mark of the flesh ushṇīsha.)
三十二者眉间白毛长好右旋。
(The white hair between the brows is long and fine, curling to the right.)
复次八十种小相：
一者无见顶。二者鼻直高好孔不现。三者眉如初生月绀琉璃色。四者耳好。五者身如那罗延。六者骨际如钩锁。七者身一时回如象王。八者行时足去地四寸而印文现。九者爪如赤铜色薄而润泽。十者膝圆好。十一者身净洁。十二者身柔软。十三者身不曲。十四者指长圆纤。十五者指纹如画杂色庄严。十六者脉深不现。十七者踝深不现。十八者身润光泽。十九者身自持不委陀。二十者身满足(三月受胎二月生)。
二十一者容仪备足。二十二者住处安(如牛王立不动)。二十三者威振一切。二十四者一切乐观。二十五者面不长。二十六者正容貌不挠色。二十七者唇如频婆果色。二十八者面圆满。二十九者响声深。三十者脐圆深不出。三十一者毛处处右旋。三十二者手足满。三十三者手足如意(旧言内外握者是)。三十四者手足纹明直。三十五者手纹长。三十六者手纹不断。三十七者一切恶心众生见者皆得和悦色。三十八者面广姝。三十九者面如月。四十者众生见者不怖不惧。
四十一者毛孔出香风。四十二者口出香气众生遇者乐法七日。四十三者仪容如师子。四十四者进止如象王。四十五者行法如鹅王。四十六者头如磨陀罗果(此果不圆不长)。四十七者声分满足(声有六十种分佛皆具足)。四十八者牙利。四十九者(无汉名故不得出也)。五十者舌大而赤。五十一者舌薄。五十二者毛纯红色色净洁。五十三者广长眼。五十四者孔门满(九孔门相具足满)。五十五者手足赤白如莲华色。五十六者腹不见不出。五十七者不凸腹。五十八者不动身。五十九者身重。六十者大身。
六十一者身长。六十二者手足满净。六十三者四边遍大光光明自照而行。六十四者等视众生。六十五者不着教化不贪弟子。六十六者随众声满不减不过。六十七者随众音声而为说法。六十八者语言无碍。六十九者次第相续说法。七十者一切众生目不能谛视相知尽。七十一者视无厌足。七十二者发长好。七十三者发好。七十四者发不乱。七十五者发不破。七十六者发柔软。七十七者发青毗琉璃色。七十八者发绞上。七十九者发不稀。八十者胸有"卍"字手足有"吉"字。
Original text: 光明彻照无量世界。初生行七步。发口演要言。出家勤苦行。菩提树下降伏魔军。后夜初明成等正觉。光相分明。远照十方。靡不周遍。诸天空中弦歌供养。散华雨香。一切众生咸敬无量。独步三界。还顾转身。如象王回。观视道树。初转法轮。天人得悟。以道自证。得至涅槃。佛身如是。感发无量。
Explanation: The radiance of the Buddha's body thoroughly illuminates immeasurable worlds. When the Buddha was first born, he walked seven steps, opened his mouth, and proclaimed the essential words: 'In heaven above and earth below, I alone am the honored one!' When he grew up, he left home and diligently cultivated the path through hardship, subdued the armies of Māra beneath the Bodhi tree, and in the latter watch of the night, as the sky first brightened, he accomplished the Buddha Way and attained perfect and equal enlightenment. The radiance of the Buddha's body shone afar, illuminating the worlds of the ten directions, pervading and covering them all, omitting none. In the skies of each of the heavens, drums, music, and song resounded, and flowers were scattered and incense rained down as offerings to the Buddha. All sentient beings gave rise to immeasurable reverence and respect toward the Buddha. The World-Honored One strode alone through the three realms; then, turning his head and body to look back—like an elephant king turning around to gaze about—he beheld the Bodhi tree beneath which he had accomplished the Way, and began to turn the Dharma wheel for the first time. Among the great assemblies of humans and gods, those who attained the Way were beyond count, personally validating the liberation of mind and the liberation of wisdom, ultimately reaching nirvāṇa. Such is the Buddha's body, able to inspire immeasurable sentient beings to give rise to the mind aspiring to the path of Bodhi.
Original text: 专心念佛。不令外念。外念诸缘。摄之令还。如是不乱。是时便得见一佛二佛。乃至十方无量世界。诸佛色身。以心想故。皆得见之。既得见佛。又闻说法言。或自请问。佛为说法。解诸疑网。既得佛念。当复念佛。功德法身。无量大慧。无崖底智。不可计德。
Explanation: In this way, recollect the Buddha single-mindedly, not letting the mind scatter outward toward other conditions. If the mind attaches to external dharmas, gather the mind back; thus the mind does not scatter, becoming settled on recollection of the Buddha. When the samādhi manifests, one can see the form bodies (rūpakāya) of one Buddha, two Buddhas, and even the Buddhas of immeasurable worlds throughout the ten directions. Because this is seen within the mind, one is able to see them all. Having seen the Buddha, one can also hear the sounds of the Dharma the Buddha preaches, or one may personally inquire about the Dharma, and the Buddha expounds it, breaking apart the net of doubts. After cultivating such meditative concentration of recollection of the Buddha, with the mind filled with thoughts of the Buddha, one should then further recollect the Buddha's Dharmakāya of merit, the immeasurable great wisdom, the boundless wisdom, and the incalculable merits.
多陀阿伽度(多陀秦言如阿伽度言解亦言实语又言诸余圣人安隐道来佛如是来复次更不来后有中也)阿犁(鲁迷反)呵(阿犁秦言贼呵言杀佛以忍辱为铠精进为坚牢禅定为弓智慧为箭杀憍慢等贼故名杀贼)三藐(无灼反)三佛陀(三藐秦言真实三佛陀言一切觉觉苦因习涅槃因道正解见四实不可转了尽无余故言真实觉一切)鞞伽(除夜反)遮罗那(鞞伽秦言明遮罗那言善行明三明也行清净之行以之独成无师大觉故言明善行也)三般那(秦言满成)宿伽陀(秦言善解亦名善自得又言善说无患)路伽惫(皮拜反路加秦言智智者知世因知尽道故名世智世智知世也)阿耨多罗(秦言无上善法圣智示导一切大德无量梵魔众圣莫有及者何况能过佛尊德大故言无上)富楼沙昙藐(富楼沙秦言大丈夫昙藐言可言可化丈夫调御师佛以大慈大悲大智故有时软美语有时苦切语或以亲教以此调御令不失道故名佛为可化丈夫调御师法也)舍(赊音)多(都饿反)提婆魔㝹舍喃(奴甘反秦言天人师尽能解脱一切人烦恼常住不退上法)佛婆伽婆(过去未来现在行不行知行尽不尽一切诸法菩提树下一切了了知故名佛婆伽婆言有大名声。复次婆名女根婆名吐永弃女根故女根吐也)。
Original text: 尔时复念二佛神德。三四五佛乃至无量尽虚空界。皆悉如是。复还见一佛。能见一佛作十方佛。能见十方佛作一佛。能令一色作金银水精毗琉璃色。随人意乐。悉令见之。尔时惟观二事。虚空佛身及佛功德。更无异念。心得自在。意不驰散。是时得成念佛三昧。
Explanation: Having recollected the merits of one Buddha, then recollect the merits of a second Buddha, of the third, fourth, and fifth Buddhas, and even of the immeasurable, boundless Buddhas throughout the reaches of empty space—all recollected in the same way. Then one beholds a single Buddha again: one can see one Buddha transform into the Buddhas of the ten directions, see the Buddhas of the ten directions transform into a single Buddha, and make a single color transform into the colors of gold, silver, crystal, and vaiḍūrya—according to the wishes of the person recollecting the Buddha, all can be seen. At this time one should engage in contemplative practice on only two things: first, contemplating the Buddha's body, which is like empty space; second, contemplating the Buddha's merits. Entertain no other thoughts, and the mind will attain great freedom; the mind will not gallop off toward other conditions, and the meditative concentration of recollection of the Buddha will be accomplished.
Original text: 若心驰散。念在五尘。若在六觉者。当自勖勉。克励其心。强制伏之。如是思惟。人身难得。佛法难遇。故曰众明日为最。诸智佛为最。所以者何。佛兴大悲。常为一切故。头目髓脑救济众生。何可放心不专念佛。而孤负重恩。若佛不出世。则无人道天道。涅槃之道。
若人香华供养。以骨肉血髓。起塔供养。未若行人。以法供养。得至涅槃。虽然犹负佛恩。设当念佛。空无所获。犹应勤心。专念不忘。以报佛恩。何况念佛。得诸三昧。智慧成佛。而不专念。是故行者。常当专心。令意不散。既得见佛。请质所疑。是名念佛三昧。除灭等分。及余重罪。
Explanation: If the mind gallops and scatters, with thoughts dwelling on the five sense objects, or if the mind has feelings toward the realms of the six sense objects, then reproach one's own mind, encourage it, and forcibly press it down and subdue it. In the mind one should contemplate that a human body is hard to obtain and the Buddha's Dharma is hard to encounter. Hence it is said: among all lights, the sunlight is the brightest; among all wisdoms, the Buddha's wisdom is the most vast. Why is this so? The Buddha aroused great compassion, constantly working so that all sentient beings might gain benefit, giving his head, eyes, marrow, and brain to rescue sentient beings. Why then do I still not settle my mind on single-minded recollection of the Buddha, instead of betraying the Buddha's kindness? If the Buddha had not appeared in the world, there would be no opportunity to study and practice the dharmas of the human path, the heavenly path, and the path of nirvāṇa.
If a person makes offerings to the Buddha with incense and flowers, or builds stupas with bone, flesh, blood, and marrow to make offerings to the Buddhas, this is still not as good as a practitioner making offerings to the Buddha by means of studying and practicing the Buddha's Dharma, thereby ultimately attaining nirvāṇa. Even so, one would still be betraying the Buddha's kindness; if one practices recollection of the Buddha yet gains nothing at all, one should still diligently and single-mindedly recollect the Buddha in order to repay the Buddha's kindness—how much more so when recollecting the Buddha leads to realizing various meditative concentrations of recollection of the Buddha and wisdom and to attaining buddhahood, which is all the more a mental act of repaying the Buddha's kindness. Why then not recollect the Buddha single-mindedly? Therefore practitioners should constantly recollect the Buddha with single-minded attention, without letting their thoughts scatter. Having seen the Buddha, one should request the Dharma from him, asking about the doubts in one's mind. This meditative concentration of recollection of the Buddha can eliminate the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, as well as other grave offenses.
