Selected Lectures from the Sutra of the Compendium of Fathers and Sons (Lecture 135)

Outside the city walls, there are seven precious moats, all formed together from the seven treasures. Each precious moat is half a yojana deep and one yojana wide. Gold sand covers the bottom, and the eight meritorious waters are limpid and clear, brimming full. Various wonderful-voiced birds soar and gather within them. Utpala flowers, Kumuda flowers, Padma flowers, and Pundarika flowers bloom everywhere. Encircling staircases are formed from four treasures: with gold as the steps and silver as the risers; silver as the steps and gold as the risers; lapis lazuli as the steps and crystal as the risers; crystal as the steps and lapis lazuli as the risers. Each staircase path is formed from the seven treasures. Beside them, golden banana trees are planted. Furthermore, at the head of the paths, jeweled thrones are placed, exquisitely adorned and arranged, exceedingly delightful and pleasing.

Explanation: Outside the city walls are seven precious moats, all formed together from the seven treasures. Each moat is half a yojana deep, which is twenty Chinese miles deep, and one yojana wide, which is forty Chinese miles wide. Gold sand covers the bottom, and the eight meritorious waters within are limpid, clear, and brimming full, filling the moats. Many birds with wonderful singing voices soar and gather within them, producing harmonious, elegant, beautiful, and pleasing sounds. There are also Utpala flowers, Kumuda flowers, Padma flowers, and Pundarika flowers blooming everywhere. The surrounding staircases are formed from four treasures: with gold as the steps and silver as the risers; silver as the steps and gold as the risers; lapis lazuli as the steps and crystal as the risers; crystal as the steps and lapis lazuli as the risers. Each staircase path is formed from the seven treasures. Beside the staircase paths, golden banana trees are planted. Furthermore, at the head of the paths, a jeweled throne is set, adorned and arranged very exquisitely, evoking joy and delight. One great yojana in India equals forty Chinese miles in our China, and one small yojana equals twenty Chinese miles in our China. The seven-jeweled ponds in the Land of Ultimate Bliss also have gold sand covering their bottoms. The water in the jeweled ponds possesses eight meritorious qualities. As described in the Sutra on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life: The eight meritorious waters respond to the minds of sentient beings—reaching the knees if they wish it to reach the knees, reaching the waist if they wish it to reach the waist—limpid, clear, soft, and brimming full, filling the jeweled ponds. Many Buddha-lands in the ten directions are inhabited by beings of fortune; beings without merit and virtue are drawn to Buddha-lands that are filthy, defiled, and impoverished. The living environment of sentient beings is determined by the roots of goodness and merits of the sentient beings themselves.