Visualization Sutra

 

          Thus have I heard: at one time, Sakyamuni Buddha was staying on Vulture Peak near Rajagrha with a great assembly of 1,250 bhiksus and 32,000 bodhisattvas, led by the Dharma Prince Manjushri.

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          At that time, in the great city of Rajagrha, there was a prince named Ajatasatru.  Following the counsel of Devadatta, an evil friend, he arrested his father, King Bimbisara, and confined him in a cell surrounded by walls seven layers deep, forbidding any officials or ministers from going there.  The queen, whose name was Vaidehi, remained loyal to the king.  Purifying herself by bathing, she anointed her body with an ointment of cream and honey mixed with wheat flour, and filled her ornaments with grape juice.  She then offered them to the king in secret.

          At that time, the king ate the flour paste and drank the grape juice, then asked for some water.  Having rinsed his mouth completely, he respectfully placed his palms together and, facing Vulture Peak, bowed to the World-Honored One.  He said, "Great Maudgalyayana is my friend and compatriot; I beg you to have the compassion to come and initiate me in the Eight Precepts."

          Thereupon, Maudgalyayana flew to the king like a swooping bird of prey.  Day after day, he came like this to initiate the kind in the Eight Precepts.  The World-Honored One also sent the Venerable Purnamaitrayaniputra, who delivered Dharma discourses and Sutras to the king.   Three weeks passed in this fashion.  Because the king was able to eat the flour paste and honey and to hear the Dharma teachings, his countenance became peaceful and calm.

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           At that time, Ajatasatru questioned the guard at the entrance: "Is my father, the king, still alive?"  The guard replied, "Your Majesty, the queen daily anoints her body with flour paste and fills her ornaments with grape juice.  And the monks Maudgalyayana and Purnamaitrayaniputra swoop down from the sky and deliver Dharma discourse to the king.  It is impossible to stop them."

          Hearing this, Ajatasatru became enraged with his mother and said, "My own mother is a criminal and with criminals does she associate!   Those evil monks, with their tricks, illusions and magical incantations, have caused this evil king to have escaped death for many days."  With this, he seized a sharp sword intending to kill his mother.

          At that time, there was a wise and intelligent minister whose name was Moonlight.  Along with the physician Jivaka, he bowed to the king and said, "Your Majesty, we have heard it said in the Vedic discourses that from the beginning of this aeon to the present there have been some 18,000 evil kings who have killed their own fathers because they desired the throne; yet never have we heard of anyone who committed the outrageous crime of killing his mother.  Your Majesty, if you commit such a vicious murder, you will bring disgrace upon the Noble Caste.  As your ministers, we cannot even bear to hear of it, for this indeed is the act of an outcaste.  We cannot stay here any longer.  Having spoken these words, the two ministers began to withdraw, each with his hand grasping on his sword.

          Ajatasatru, astounded and fearful, called out to Jivaka and said, "Are you going to desert me?"  Jivaka replied, "Great King, please restrain yourself; do not harm your mother."  Hearing this, the king repented and begged their forgiveness.  Thereupon he immediately put away his sword and gave up all thought of killing his mother.  Instead he ordered that she be detained in her quarters and kept in the palace so that she could not leave again.

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          Having thus been detained, Vaidehi was stricken with sorrow and grief.  Facing faraway Vulture Peak, she prostrated herself towards the Buddha and said, "O Tathagata, World-Honored One, in former times you never failed to send Ananda to come and comfort me.  Now I am greatly distressed and have no way to look upon World-Honored One's majesty.  I pray, send the Venerable Maudgalyayana and the Venerable Ananda to come and meet with me."  Having said this, she wept sorrowful tears that fell like rain as she bowed to the Buddha.

          But even before she raised her head, the World-Honored One, who was then staying on Vulture Peak and knew 

the thoughts in Vaidehi's mind, ordered Great Maudgalyayana and Ananda to go to her through the sky.  The Buddha also disappeared from Vulture Peak and reappeared in the inner chamber of the royal palace.

          When Vaidehi finished her prayer and raised her head, she saw the World-Honored One, the Buddha Sakyamuni.  His body was the color of purple-gold and he was seated on a hundred-jeweled lotus flower, attended by Maudgalyayana on his left side and Ananda on his right.  Indra and Brahma, along with the other heavenly beings guarded the world, hovered in the sky above him; scattering heavenly blossoms like rain, they paid homage to the Buddha.

          When Vaidehi saw the Buddha, the World-Honored One, she tore off her ornaments, rose and prostrated herself on the ground.  Weeping bitterly, she faced the Buddha and said, "O World-Honored One, what evil karma did I commit in a previous life that should cause the birth of such an evil son?  World-Honored One, what were the causes and conditions of his association with Devadatta and his kind?

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          My only wish is for the World-Honored One to reveal to me a place where I might be reborn that is without distress, for unhappy is this impure world in this evil kasaya era.  This defiled and evil place is full of hell-beings, hungry spirits and beasts, and there is an accumulation of much evil.  I pray that in the future I may hear no evil worlds, and may see no evil beings.  Now World-Honored One, prostrating before you, I ask for your compassion.  My only wish is for you to teach me to visualize a place where one can be born by performing pure and undefiled acts."

          At that time, the World-Honored One emitted a golden light from between his eyebrows.  It illuminated all the countless worlds of the Ten Directions, and upon returning rested atop the Buddha's head, forming a golden tower resembling Mount Sumeru.  Upon the tower were revealed the pure and wondrous worlds of all the Buddhas of the Ten Directions.  Some of these lands were made of the seven kinds of jewels, others consisted entirely of lotus flowers; some resembled the heavenly palace of Isvara, and others were like crystal mirrors in which all the lands of the Ten Directions were reflected.  These countless lands of the Buddhas could be seen by Vaidehi in all their majesty.

          Then Vaidehi said to the Buddha, "O World-Honored One, all these Buddha Lands are pure, free of defilement and brilliant, but I would prefer to be born in the Realm of Ultimate Bliss where the Amitabha Buddha resides.  My only wish is that you instruct me in how to concentrate my thoughts and attain samadhi."

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          At that time, the World-Honored gently smiled, and from the Buddha's mouth emerged five-colored rays of light, each ray illuminating the top of King Bimbisara's head.  Although the great king was in his cell and despite the obstacle of distance, his mind's eye remained unhindered, and he saw the World-Honored One.  Touching his forehead to the ground in homage, he spontaneously advanced to the Stage of a Non-Returner.

          At that time, the World-Honored One said to Vaidehi, "Do you not know now that the Amitabha Buddha is not far from here?  You should concentrate your thoughts upon and visualize that Buddha-land which is the result of pure actions.  I shall now give you detailed instructions so that you and future generations who desire to practice the pure actions may attain birth in the Western Realm of Ultimate Bliss."

          "Those who desire to be born in that land must perform the three meritorious acts: first, they should attend dutifully to their parents, honor the work of teachers and elders, with a compassionate mind refrain from killing, and cultivate the ten virtuous acts; second, they should receive and uphold the Three Refuges, keep the various precepts, and refrain from breaking the rules of conduct; third, they should awaken the mind that aspires for Enlightenment, believe deeply in the principle of cause and effect, read and recite the Mahayana teachings, and encourage those who practice the way.  These three acts are called the undefiled acts."

          The Buddha further said to Vaidehi: "You should know that these three kinds of virtuous deeds are none other than the true cause for the Enlightenment of all the Buddhas of the past, present, and future."

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          The Buddha said to Ananda and Vaidehi, "Listen closely and think well upon this!  I, the Tathagata, will now expound the pure and undefiled acts for the benefit of the future generations of all sentient beings who are affected by the enemy -- blind passions.  Excellent is this Vaidehi, who has done well to ask about this!  Ananda, you should receive and keep the Buddha's words and proclaim them widely for the benefit of the multitudes of beings.

          "I, the Tathagata, will now instruct you, Vaidehi and all the sentient beings of future generations in the visualization of the Western Realm of Ultimate Bliss.  By the power of the Buddha, they will see that Pure Land as though seeing their own images in a bright mirror.  When they see that land of ultimate and wondrous joy, they will rejoice and immediately acquire the insight into the non-origination of all existence."

          The Buddha said to Vaidehi, "You are but an ordinary person whose mental capacities are weak and feeble.  As you have yet to attain the divine eye, you are unable to see very far.  But the Buddhas, the Tathagatas, have special means to allow you to see that far."

          Then Vaidehi said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One, because of the Buddha's transcendent power, I may be able to see that land.  But how will sentient beings who come after the Buddha's death be able to see Amitabha Buddha's Realm of Ultimate Bliss when they are constrained by defilements, unwholesomeness, and the five afflictions?"

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