The Sutra on the Contemplation of Amitayus: The Eighth Contemplation

The original text: All Buddhas and Tathāgatas are the Dharma-realm body, which enters into the mental contemplations of all sentient beings. Therefore, when you contemplate the Buddha, this mind is precisely the thirty-two major marks and the eighty minor characteristics. This mind creates the Buddha; this mind is the Buddha. The ocean of perfect universal knowledge of all Buddhas arises from mental contemplation. Therefore, you should single-mindedly concentrate and attentively contemplate that Buddha: Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksaṃbuddha.

Explanation: This introduces the method of Buddha-image contemplation. Starting from the seventh contemplation, one cultivates Buddha-image contemplation. Upon successful cultivation, the Buddha-image spontaneously manifests within the mind; it is not fabricated by imagination but appears by itself. This is a state of samādhi where concentration (śamatha) and insight (vipassanā) are equally present. The body and mind abide in the samādhi of Buddha-image contemplation, thereby realizing the mind and attaining enlightenment. The seventh contemplation is contemplating the lotus seat upon which the Buddha sits; the eighth contemplation is contemplating the Buddha-image. Initially, one contemplates the image using mental attention. When the power of meditative concentration (dhyāna) and the power of wisdom (prajñā) are sufficient, samādhi arises, and the Buddha-image spontaneously appears, visible only to one's exclusive consciousness (manas-vijñāna), not to others. This Buddha-image is a form with shape and characteristics; it is a Buddha-image with a five-aggregate body (skandha-kāya). Contemplating the Buddha-image means contemplating the Buddha’s five-aggregate reward body (saṃbhogakāya) to realize the Buddha’s Dharma-body (dharmakāya).

Therefore, when sentient beings mentally contemplate the Buddha, the Buddha-image appears within their minds. The Buddha-image is produced, conceived, and manifested by the minds of sentient beings; it is a transformation of the sentient mind. This Buddha-image is the Dharma-realm body of the Tathāgata, possessing the five aggregates, the twelve sense bases, and the eighteen elements, and is fully endowed with the thirty-two major marks and eighty minor characteristics. The manifestation arises from the mind. As is the mind, so is the manifestation; as is the manifestation, so is the mind; mind and image are one. If the minds of sentient beings are constantly dwelling on the five desires and six dusts (objects of the senses) — form, sound, smell, taste, touch, wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep — constantly occupied with matters of the six realms, then sentient beings manifest the appearance of beings within the six realms of birth and death. The mind and the image are consistent; the mind accords with the state. If the minds of sentient beings are virtuous, the manifestation and the state are virtuous; if the minds are evil, the manifestation and the state are evil. Similarly, if sentient beings mentally contemplate the Buddha and recite the Buddha’s name, sentient beings are the Tathāgata Buddha with the thirty-two major marks and eighty minor characteristics. It is precisely the mind of sentient beings that can create the Buddha; the mind of sentient beings is the Buddha.

One of the ten great epithets of the Buddha is "Perfect Universal Knowledge" (Samyaksaṃbuddha), meaning the one who correctly and without error knows all dharmas, possessing omniscience. When all Buddhas of the ten directions gather together and appear simultaneously, it is the "ocean of perfect universal knowledge." If the minds of sentient beings contemplate the Buddhas of the ten directions, the ocean of perfect universal knowledge arises from within their minds. For example, when the samādhi of Buddha-recollection arises, the Buddhas of the ten directions will stand before them; the ocean of perfect universal knowledge manifests, visible only to one's exclusive consciousness, not to others. All Buddhas are manifestations of the minds of sentient beings; there is no Buddha outside the mind, and apart from the mind, there is no Buddha. Therefore, sentient beings should single-mindedly and attentively contemplate that Buddha-image, without scattered or distracting thoughts, without mixing in worldly deluded thoughts. If one thinks of the world, the world appears, but the Buddha does not appear. To see the Buddha and awaken to the Way, one must single-mindedly recite the Buddha’s name and contemplate the Buddha.