English
There are fountains which bubble up of their own accord, but there is no heat of summer, or cold of winter." [Tho section then proceeds to describe the glorious buildings (Temples), tlu^ Lotus-covered tanks, tho pleasant-sounding avenues of trees, the beautiful net-woi'k curtains, which adorn the land. It speaks of the golden colour of those born in this land, who are all produced by transformation, seated on a precious lotus, it describes the glory which proceeds from the top of the head (ting), and which in the case of Buddha extends to the distance of a thousand myriad worlds, in the case of a Bodhisatwa to a hundred million myriad lis, and in the case of the Sravakas to seven cliang (eighty feet). It speaks also of the beautiful birds, whose songs delight the ears, as they chant the praises of Buddha, but which are only miracu- lous creations, for no such real birth can exist in this Paradise ; and also of the immeasureablo duration of life, countless asankhoyas of years, which belong to tho happy per- sons born there, and which give the name of Amita (boundless) to the Buddha who rules in it. Finally, it tjuotes a passage from the Avatauisaka Sutra : " One K;il|)a of the Saha luiiverse is equal to a day and night of the Sukhavati world] ." SCKIPTURBS FROM THE CHINESE. 119 ON THE TRUE CAUSE OF BIRTH IN THAT LAND, 4. There are three classes of persons whose firm purpose it is to be born in the Paradise (of Amitabha). 1. The superior class, consisting of those who having left their homes and the desires of the flesh/ have become disciples (Shamans) . The heart without any remnant of covetousncss, carefully attending to the rules of conduct contained in the scriptures, practising the six Puramitas" towards the attain- ment of the condition (Karma) of a Budhisatwa; ever in- voking the name of that Buddha, and devoting the life to every species of religious merit ; such persons as these in their sleep beholding the form of Buddha and the Bodhis- atwas, at the end of life, escorted by Buddha and the Holy Assembly, shall instantly be born as a Budhisatwa, seated on a Lotus, in the midst of a precious lake in that Paradise. 2. The middle class, consisting of persons who being unable to become disciples (Shamans), yet have thoroughly devoted themselves to the attainment of religious merit; ever accepting and obeying the words of Buddha;'^ deeply exciting the heart of the insurpassable wisdom ; ever reciting the name of that Buddha, practising virtue with determination ; reverently complying with the rules of the church (fasting, &c.) ; contributing to the erection of temples (pagodas) and sacred images; giving food and drink to the Shamans ; suspending religious banners, and pro- viding lamps for worship; offering flowers, and burning incense ; in this condition'' of mind, earnestly longing to be born in that land, then at the end of life, drawn by the • The five desires of beauty, sound, odours, taste, and touch. 2 For an account of the Paramitas, vid. Lotus, p. 544. ' Auuttara Bydhi. The whole phrase, which is eminently Buddhistic, is er^uivalent to what we sliould express by " earnestly striving after spiritual perfection." ■■ In this "converted condition." The phrase " hwui hiang," is of frequent occurrence in Buddhist books of woishij), c. gr., the confes- sional of Kwan-yin. 120 A CATENA OF BUDDHIST power of Buddha, they shall be born in that place, in a degree of excellence coming after the former, o. The in- ferior class, consisting of persons unable to prepare every kind of rehgious merit who on some former occasion have earnestly practised the rules of piety, and on the conclusion of each day recite the name of Buddha; these also towards the end of life, beholding the appearance of Buddha in their sleep, shall also be born in that land, only in an inferior de- gree of excellence to the former class. Again, there are three other classifications, 1. Those who observe the rules of religious fasting, and with one heart (the whole heart) invoke Buddha, for ten successive morn- ings and evenings. These, when they die, shall be born in that land; 2. Those unable to complete the ten days and nights, but yet retain an undisturbed state of mind, and avoid all sexual intercourse, with body and mind pure, ob- serving the rules of fasting, invoking the name of Buddha, doing all this for one day and night, these shall also be born there; 3. Those men or women who excite in themselves a re- ligious disposition, and who observe all the rules about pre- serving life, and doing good to all creatures, invoking the name of that Buddha, and also of others, throughout the various regions of space, at the end of life Buddha shall come to them, and they also shall be born in a pure land. If, however, a man prepares himself to acquire merit, and prays for birth in that land, and yet afterwards goes back and loses his faith, he shall be born, if he again turns to the true behef, in a ''territory of doubt," where he shall for five hundred years neither see Buddha nor hear the Law or the Bodhisatwas. A GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE SUBJECT. 5. The work known as the Po-kion (precious record or mirror) of the Lotus school, says : '' By cultivating inno- cence (a good Karma) we inherit a reward in one of the pure lands. Buddha, assuming an apparitioual appearance. SCRIPTURES FROM THE CHINESE. 121 draws up his followers to the golden eminence^ where in the company of sages and saints^ they return as to a place of joy — overleaping the three worlds coming out of the four streams of life, an end of Karma, and of intermixture in earthly scenes, forgetting life and dismissing anxiety, held safely within the folds of the Lotus, the spirit traversino- here and there in the midst of the precious limits, reverently beholding face to face the great teacher Amitabha, and gazing on Kwan-Yiu, a covenant saviour (a sworn friend), thus occupying the precious lakes, and the perfectly pure oceans, they are born, &c. [and much more to the same effect] . And now with regard to the situation of this Paradise and Sukhavati, compared with the Sahalukadhatu, it is due west more than ten myriads of lakhs of systems (kchetras) of Buddha. And if we regard the position of this Paradise in reference to the superimposed systems of worlds, it is in the thirteenth tier, regarding the Sahalokadhatu as in the middle of this tier, then going to the west an infinite dis- tance (a distance corresponding to worlds as numerous as the grains of dust in an entire system), we come to this border land of the thirteenth tier, called Sukhavati, where those are born who invoke the name of Buddha (Amitabha) — a land perfectly pure, and richly adorned, &c." ON THE VARIOUS TIERS OP WORLDS (kCHETEAS). 6. The Avatamsaka says : " In the midst of an illimitable ocean, known as the 'Hwa-tsong-choang-yen-shi-kiai,^ are the innumerable oceans of worlds scattered through space. In the very middle of it there is a Fragrant Ocean, called 'Wou-pien-miau-hwa-kwong,' from which is produced a Lotus called ' Yih-tsai-hiang-mo-ni-wang-choang-yen,^ above which is fixed a tier of worlds called ^p'o-chiu-shih-fang-chi- yen-pao-kwong-raing ;' the worlds themselves are innumer- able. The lowest tier consists of a system of worlds, called 'tsui-shing-kwong-pien-chiu,' the name of the Buddha who 122 A CATENA OP BUDDHIST presides over this tier, is ' tsing-ngan-li-kau-tang;' the num- ber of worlds which he scattered throughout the tier is beyond the power of words to express. - Above this tier, after passing an innumerable number of systems of worlds, is a second tier (and so on for twenty tiers). The thirteenth tier is called So-po (Saha loka dhatu), and is ruled by a Buddha called Vairojana, in the very midst of which is the system we inhabit, and to the extreme west of which, after passing systems of worlds, incalculable for number, is the Paradise of Sukhavati. [And so towards each of the Ten Regions there are similar tiers of sj^stems of worlds ; these again are suri'ounded by others, incalculable for number, all being contained v/ithin the illimitable ocean above named. ]"^ ON THE NAMES OP THE GREAT NUMBERS USED IN BUDDHIST BOOKS. 7. The number spoken of as " unutterable " (asankheya), can only bo thoroughly known by Buddha.