Vairocana, Bhadraśrī, Amitābha, Akṣobhya
The hymn's great catalogue now names its buddhas by name: some see Vairocana, who, across boundless, countless kalpas, adorns and purifies this very world, attaining the most correct awakening. Some see the buddha Bhadraśrī and the great bodhisattva Samantabhadra — these two entirely fill the land of Lotus-Wondrous-Merit. Some see Amitābha and the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, those who anoint the crown and confer prediction — these fill every Dharma-realm. Some see the buddha Akṣobhya and the great bodhisattva Gandhahastin — these two entirely fill the land of Wondrous-Joy-Adorned-Purity. Some see the buddha Candraprajñā and the great bodhisattva Kanakadhvaja — these two entirely fill the land of the Bright, Pure, Wondrous Mirror.
Five Buddhas, Five Lands, Five Great Bodhisattvas
「或見盧舍那， 無量無數劫，
嚴淨此世界， 得成最正覺。
或見賢首佛， 普賢大菩薩，
斯等悉充滿， 蓮華妙德剎。
或見阿彌陀， 觀世音菩薩，
灌頂授記者， 充滿諸法界。
或見阿閦佛， 香象大菩薩，
斯等悉充滿， 妙樂嚴淨剎。
或見月慧佛， 金幢大菩薩，
斯等悉充滿， 明淨鏡妙剎。」
"Some see Vairocana, who, across boundless, countless kalpas,
Adorns and purifies this very world, attaining the most correct awakening.
Some see the buddha Bhadraśrī and the great bodhisattva Samantabhadra —
These two entirely fill the land of Lotus-Wondrous-Merit.
Some see Amitābha and the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara,
Those who anoint the crown and confer prediction — these fill every Dharma-realm.
Some see the buddha Akṣobhya and the great bodhisattva Gandhahastin —
These two entirely fill the land of Wondrous-Joy-Adorned-Purity.
Some see the buddha Candraprajñā and the great bodhisattva Kanakadhvaja —
These two entirely fill the land of the Bright, Pure, Wondrous Mirror."
This stanza names, for the first time anywhere in this entire translated collection, the pairing of Amitābha (阿彌陀, "Infinite Light," the buddha of the Sukhāvatī pure land) and the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (觀世音, "Regarder of the World's Sounds") — among the most widely revered figures across the whole of East Asian Buddhism — appearing here as only one among several such buddha-bodhisattva pairs, each presiding over its own distinct pure land: Vairocana in this Sahā world, Bhadraśrī with Samantabhadra in Lotus-Wondrous-Merit, Akṣobhya ("the Unshakable," associated with a land called Abhirati, here rendered by its own descriptive name) with Gandhahastin ("Fragrant Elephant"), and Candraprajñā ("Moon-Wisdom") with Kanakadhvaja ("Golden Banner"). Fazang reads this juxtaposition as the hymn's own deliberate demonstration that no single pure land or buddha-bodhisattva pairing, however beloved in later devotional practice, holds unique or exclusive status within the total, boundless field this final vision reveals — each is one true and complete vision among countlessly many, all equally real, all beheld only according to the karma of whoever sees them.
Part 437 Complete
Five named buddha-lands are now given in full. Part 438 continues this extraordinary catalogue further, as it was still unfolding — naming Sūryagarbha and further buddhas and bodhisattvas yet to be read.
Continue to Part 438 →