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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1§9. MEDITATION ON BUDDHA AMITAVUS. 1 69 joices in one's heart and immediately attains a spirit of resignation prepared to endure whatever consequences may yet arise \' Buddha, turning again to Vaidehi, said : ' Thou art but an ordinary person ; the quahty of thy mind is feeble and inferior. ' Thou hast not as yet obtained the divine eye and canst not perceive what is at a distance. All the Buddhas, Tathag-atas have various means at their disposal and can therefore afford thee an opportunity of seeing (that Buddha country).' Then Vaidehi rejoined: ' O World-Honoured One, people such as I, can now see that land by the power of Buddha, but how shall all those beings who are to come after Buddha's Nirva;^a, and who, as being depraved and devoid of good qualities, w^ill be harassed by the five worldly sufferings '^ — how shall they see the World of Highest Happiness of the Buddha Amitayus ? ' Part U. § 9. Buddha then replied ; ' Thou and all other beings besides ought to make it their only aim, with concentrated thought, to get a perception of the western quarter. You will ask how that perception is to be formed. I will explain it now. All beings, if not blind from birth, are uniformly possessed of sight, and they all see the setting sun. Thou shouldst sit dow^n properly, looking in the western direction, and prepare thy thought for a close medi- ^ Anutpatikadharmakshanti, cf. Larger Sukhavaii, § 19, p. 39, and § 32, p. 5. Kern, ' the acquiescence in the eternal law,' Saddharrnapuwfl'arika XI, p. 254. 2 I. Birth, 2. Old age, 3. Sickness, 4. Death, 5. Parting.
2170 AMITAVUR-DIIVANA-sCtRA, §10. tation on the sun ; cause thy mind to be firmly fixed (on it) so as to have an unwavering perception by the exchisive apphcation (of thy thought), and gaze upon it (more particularly) when it is about to set and looks like a suspended drum. ' After thou hast thus seen the sun, let (that image) remain clear and fixed, whether thine eyes be shut or open ; — such is the perception of the sun, which is the First Meditation. ^ 10. ' Next thou shouldst form the perception of water ; gaze on the water clear and pure, and let (this image) also remain clear and fixed (after^vards) ; never allow thy thought to be scattered and lost. ' When thou hast thus seen the water thou shouldst form the perception of ice. As thou seest the ice shining and transparent, thou shouldst imagine the appearance of lapis lazuli. 'After that has been done, thou wilt see the ground consisting of lapis lazuli, transparent and shining both within and without. Beneath this ground of lapis lazuli there will be seen a golden banner with the seven jewels, diamonds and the rest, supporting the ground '. It extends to the eight points of the compass, and thus the eight corners (of the ground) are perfectly filled up. Every side of the eight quarters consists of a hundred jewels, every jewel has a thousand rays, and every ray has eighty-four thousand colours which, when reflected in the ground of lapis lazuli, look like a thousand millions of suns, and it is difficult to see them all one by one. Over the surface of that ground of lapis lazuli there are ' ' A banner supporting or lifting up the ground ' is rather strange, but there is no other way of translating it.
3§11. MEDITATION ON BUDDHA AMITAVU.'^. I 71 Stretched golden ropes intertwined crosswise ; divisions are made by means of (strings of) seven jewels with every part clear and distinct. * Each jewel has rays of five hundred colours which look like flowers or like the moon and stars. Lodged high up in the open sky these rays form a tower of rays, whose storeys and galleries are ten millions in number and built of a hundred jewels. Both sides of the tower have each a hundred millions of flowery banners furnished and decked with numberless musical instruments. Eight kinds of cool breezes proceed from the brilliant rays. When those musical instruments are played, they emit the sounds " suffering," " non-existence," " impermanence," and "non-self;" — such is the perception of the water, which is the Second Meditation. §11. 'When this perception has been formed, thou shouldst meditate on its (constituents) one by one and make (the images) as clear as possible, so that they may never be scattered and lost, whether thine eyes be shut or open. Except only during the time of thy sleep, thou shouldst always keep this in thy mind. One who has reached this (stage of) perception is said to have dimly seen the Land of Highest Happiness (Sukhavati). ' One who has obtained the Samadhi (the state of supernatural calm) is able to see the land (of that Buddha country) clearly and distinctly : (this state) is too much to be explained fully; — such is the perception of the land, and it is the Third Meditation. * Thou shouldst remember, O Ananda, the Buddha words of mine, and repeat this law for attaining to the perception of the land (of the Buddha country)
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1§9. MEDITATION ON BUDDHA AMITAVUS. 1 69 joices in one's heart and immediately attains a spirit of resignation prepared to endure whatever consequences may yet arise \' Buddha, turning again to Vaidehi, said : ' Thou art but an ordinary person ; the quahty of thy mind is feeble and inferior. ' Thou hast not as yet obtained the divine eye and canst not perceive what is at a distance. All the Buddhas, Tathag-atas have various means at their disposal and can therefore afford thee an opportunity of seeing (that Buddha country).' Then Vaidehi rejoined: ' O World-Honoured One, people such as I, can now see that land by the power of Buddha, but how shall all those beings who are to come after Buddha's Nirva;^a, and who, as being depraved and devoid of good qualities, w^ill be harassed by the five worldly sufferings '^ — how shall they see the World of Highest Happiness of the Buddha Amitayus ? ' Part U. § 9. Buddha then replied ; ' Thou and all other beings besides ought to make it their only aim, with concentrated thought, to get a perception of the western quarter. You will ask how that perception is to be formed. I will explain it now. All beings, if not blind from birth, are uniformly possessed of sight, and they all see the setting sun. Thou shouldst sit dow^n properly, looking in the western direction, and prepare thy thought for a close medi- ^ Anutpatikadharmakshanti, cf. Larger Sukhavaii, § 19, p. 39, and § 32, p. 5. Kern, ' the acquiescence in the eternal law,' Saddharrnapuwfl'arika XI, p. 254. 2 I. Birth, 2. Old age, 3. Sickness, 4. Death, 5. Parting.
2170 AMITAVUR-DIIVANA-sCtRA, §10. tation on the sun ; cause thy mind to be firmly fixed (on it) so as to have an unwavering perception by the exchisive apphcation (of thy thought), and gaze upon it (more particularly) when it is about to set and looks like a suspended drum. ' After thou hast thus seen the sun, let (that image) remain clear and fixed, whether thine eyes be shut or open ; — such is the perception of the sun, which is the First Meditation. ^ 10. ' Next thou shouldst form the perception of water ; gaze on the water clear and pure, and let (this image) also remain clear and fixed (after^vards) ; never allow thy thought to be scattered and lost. ' When thou hast thus seen the water thou shouldst form the perception of ice. As thou seest the ice shining and transparent, thou shouldst imagine the appearance of lapis lazuli. 'After that has been done, thou wilt see the ground consisting of lapis lazuli, transparent and shining both within and without. Beneath this ground of lapis lazuli there will be seen a golden banner with the seven jewels, diamonds and the rest, supporting the ground '. It extends to the eight points of the compass, and thus the eight corners (of the ground) are perfectly filled up. Every side of the eight quarters consists of a hundred jewels, every jewel has a thousand rays, and every ray has eighty-four thousand colours which, when reflected in the ground of lapis lazuli, look like a thousand millions of suns, and it is difficult to see them all one by one. Over the surface of that ground of lapis lazuli there are ' ' A banner supporting or lifting up the ground ' is rather strange, but there is no other way of translating it.
3§11. MEDITATION ON BUDDHA AMITAVU.'^. I 71 Stretched golden ropes intertwined crosswise ; divisions are made by means of (strings of) seven jewels with every part clear and distinct. * Each jewel has rays of five hundred colours which look like flowers or like the moon and stars. Lodged high up in the open sky these rays form a tower of rays, whose storeys and galleries are ten millions in number and built of a hundred jewels. Both sides of the tower have each a hundred millions of flowery banners furnished and decked with numberless musical instruments. Eight kinds of cool breezes proceed from the brilliant rays. When those musical instruments are played, they emit the sounds " suffering," " non-existence," " impermanence," and "non-self;" — such is the perception of the water, which is the Second Meditation. §11. 'When this perception has been formed, thou shouldst meditate on its (constituents) one by one and make (the images) as clear as possible, so that they may never be scattered and lost, whether thine eyes be shut or open. Except only during the time of thy sleep, thou shouldst always keep this in thy mind. One who has reached this (stage of) perception is said to have dimly seen the Land of Highest Happiness (Sukhavati). ' One who has obtained the Samadhi (the state of supernatural calm) is able to see the land (of that Buddha country) clearly and distinctly : (this state) is too much to be explained fully; — such is the perception of the land, and it is the Third Meditation. * Thou shouldst remember, O Ananda, the Buddha words of mine, and repeat this law for attaining to the perception of the land (of the Buddha country)
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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