The First Contemplation of the Sutra on the Contemplation of Amitayus

The First Contemplation of the Sutra on the Contemplation of Amitāyus (Illustration 1 below)  Original Text: (The Buddha said) The Tathāgata now instructs Vaidehī and all sentient beings of future generations to contemplate the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. By the power of the Buddha, they shall perceive that pure land. Just as one sees one's own reflection when holding a bright mirror, upon beholding the supremely wonderful joyful phenomena of that land, their minds will rejoice, and at that very moment, they shall attain the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas (anutpattika-dharma-ksanti).

The Buddha addressed Vaidehī: You are an ordinary person with feeble mental faculties. Without the divine eye, you cannot perceive distant realms. However, the Buddhas and Tathāgatas possess extraordinary skillful means to enable you to see.

Then Vaidehī addressed the Buddha: World-Honored One! As I now, by the Buddha's power, perceive that land; after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, when sentient beings are defiled, unwholesome, and oppressed by the five sufferings, how could they possibly perceive Amitābha Buddha's Land of Ultimate Bliss?

The Buddha told Vaidehī: You and sentient beings should single-mindedly concentrate your thoughts on one point, contemplating the West. How should you contemplate? All contemplators among sentient beings—unless born blind—who possess eyesight can see the sun setting. You should arouse right mindfulness, sit upright facing west, and intently observe the place where the sun is about to set, causing your mind to remain firmly fixed, focused without shifting. See the sun about to set, appearing like a drum suspended in the air. Having seen the sun, whether with eyes open or closed, make it appear clearly. This is the contemplation of the sun, called the first contemplation.

Explanation: To enable those with feeble mental faculties to attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss at life's end, the Buddha taught sentient beings a skillful method: first face west and contemplate the setting sun, then contemplate water, and finally contemplate the earth. Upon accomplishing these three contemplations, rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is assured at life's end. There are sixteen contemplations in total, each imbued with the Buddha's power. If sentient beings relied solely on their own contemplation, accomplishment would be extremely difficult, for the Buddha stated that sentient beings' mental faculties are feeble and their contemplative power weak. Why are sentient beings' mental faculties feeble and contemplative power weak? Because throughout immeasurable kalpas, sentient beings' karmic seeds are profound and heavy; their clinging to worldly dharmas is excessive, and their minds are too scattered, unable to concentrate fully on one thing. Thus, they find it hard to accomplish anything and can only rely on the Buddha's power to complete the contemplation.

The Buddha said: I now instruct Queen Vaidehī and all sentient beings of future generations to contemplate the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. By the power of the Buddha's blessing, they will perceive the pure land in this very life, just as one sees one's own face when holding a bright mirror—directly beholding the supremely wonderful and majestic phenomena of the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Thereupon, their minds will rejoice. Due to this mental joy, they will immediately realize the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, knowing that all dharmas are illusory transformations arising from their own minds—all are non-arising, none truly exist. Enduring this realization, they attain the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas.

The Buddha told Queen Vaidehī: You are still an ordinary person now, with very weak mental faculties, lacking contemplative ability and the divine eye. You cannot perceive distant realms, let alone the Land of Ultimate Bliss. However, the Buddhas and Tathāgatas possess some skillful means to enable you to perceive the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Vaidehī addressed the Buddha: World-Honored One, as I now, due to the Buddha's power, can perceive the Buddha-land of Ultimate Bliss; after the World-Honored One's parinirvāṇa, when future sentient beings are defiled and unwholesome, oppressed by the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death, how could they directly perceive Amitābha Buddha's Land of Ultimate Bliss?

The Buddha told Queen Vaidehī: You and these sentient beings should single-mindedly concentrate your thoughts on one point, contemplating the West. How to contemplate? All sentient beings who wish to contemplate—unless born blind—those with eyes capable of seeing forms can observe the scene of the sun setting in the west. You should arouse right mindfulness, focus on one point alone, sit upright facing west, and intently observe the place where the sun is about to set, causing your mind to remain steadfastly fixed on this scene, focusing exclusively on this image without shifting. At this time, you should be able to see the sun about to set, its shape perfectly round like a large drum suspended in mid-air. After observing the setting sun, whether with eyes closed or open, you should be able to clearly visualize the appearance of the setting sun. When you can perceive it constantly without losing it, samādhi is attained. This is the contemplation of the sun, the first of the sixteen contemplations.

This is the meaning conveyed in the original text. To facilitate contemplation, when the sun sets, we can record a video with a mobile phone; the video is more vivid and clear, aiding memory for contemplative practice. The setting sun should not be white; the sutra describes it as orange-red, reddish with a slight yellow tint. The actual appearance of the setting sun should be personally witnessed—the more realistic, the better. The setting sun in the West is typically around five or six o'clock; it should not be imagined or artificially edited (P-ed). Select one scene you particularly like, save it on your phone, and view it regularly, contemplating it long-term. Do not contemplate multiple scenes; you must be single-minded, without distraction, otherwise samādhi will not arise. Also, do not add other patterns or backgrounds, as they will scatter attention and hinder attainment of samādhi; the simpler the image, the better. We are not appreciating the scenery; an appreciative mind is a scattered mind and a mind of attachment—such a state cannot yield samādhi.

Select a sunset scene, then watch it daily. After viewing, use your isolated mental consciousness (mano-vijñāna) to recall and visualize it. Once the recollection becomes stable and you can recall it constantly, train yourself to see the sunset scene with closed eyes. When you can constantly visualize the sunset with closed eyes, finally, whether eyes are open or closed, the sunset scene remains before you, never disappearing—then the samādhi of sun contemplation is accomplished.

When the third contemplation is accomplished, the Buddha guarantees sentient beings rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss at life's end. During this period, samādhi is never lost—this practice is extremely sublime. When samādhi is attained, heavy karmic offenses become light, and minor offenses vanish. Therefore, all accomplishments in samādhi can eliminate karmic obstacles, especially Pure Land practice with the Buddha's power, which can further eliminate karmic obstacles and maintain the samādhi state without loss. When the seventh contemplation is accomplished, all karmic obstacles leading to the three evil realms are completely eradicated, and one instantly attains enlightenment, seeing all Buddhas of the ten directions standing before them.

This is a method to transform and subdue the mental faculty (manas). Once the mental faculty is subdued, any samādhi practice can be quickly accomplished; various samādhis become easy to attain. After accomplishing the sun contemplation, contemplate water next—water contemplation can also be quickly accomplished. Following that is earth contemplation; once earth contemplation is accomplished, rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is guaranteed.

Select one sunset scene, view it long-term, then recall it. When you can recall it constantly without losing it, then visualize it constantly with closed eyes. Once you can visualize it constantly with closed eyes, practice seeing it with open eyes. If you can perceive the sunset scene constantly whether eyes are open or closed, without it scattering or disappearing, the first contemplation is accomplished. After accomplishing the first contemplation, the second contemplation becomes easy to accomplish, and even the third contemplation becomes easy. Rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is then assured. After accomplishing the first contemplation, any other contemplative practice becomes easy to accomplish—Buddha-recitation samādhi, realizing the mind and seeing one's nature become no longer difficult. For those with relatively heavy karmic offenses, such contemplative practice, as guaranteed by the Buddha, can eliminate offenses, ensure rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, and enable realization of the mind and seeing one's nature.