The Whole Sūtra, in Five Parts
The sūtra closes with a second, brief transmission at Vulture Peak, and Shandao pauses here to look back across the entire text at once — five sections, from Vaidehī's opening plea to a whole assembly's closing joy — before his own line-by-line commentary formally comes to its end.
A Second Transmission, at Vulture Peak
五、就耆闍會中，亦有其三。一、從爾時世尊已下，明耆闍序分。二、從爾時阿難已下，明耆闍正宗分。三、從無量諸天已下，明耆闍流通分。上來雖有三義不同，總明耆闍分竟。
Fifth, within the Vulture Peak assembly, there are likewise three parts. First, from "at that time, the World-Honored One" onward, this makes plain the introductory section at Vulture Peak. Second, from "at that time, Ānanda" onward, this makes plain the main exposition at Vulture Peak. Third, from "immeasurable devas" onward, this makes plain the transmission section at Vulture Peak. Though the above has unfolded across three distinct meanings, this concludes the general account of the Vulture Peak section.
The sūtra's own narrative closes with the teaching carried from Vaidehī's private palace out to the wider assembly gathered at Vulture Peak — the same threefold structure of introduction, main exposition, and transmission recurring here in miniature, just as it governed the whole sūtra at the largest scale.
The Entire Sūtra, Mapped in Five Sections
初、從如是我聞下，至云何見極樂世界已來，明序分。二、從日觀下，至下品下生已來，明正宗分。三、從說是語時下，至諸天發心已來，明得益分。四、從爾時阿難下，至韋提等歡喜已來，明王宮流通分。五、從爾時世尊下，至作禮而退已來，總明耆闍分。上來雖有五分不同，總解《觀經》一部文義竟。
First, from "thus have I heard" down through "how, then, may the World of Ultimate Bliss be beheld," this makes plain the introductory section. Second, from the contemplation of the sun down through the lowest rebirth of the lower rank, this makes plain the main exposition. Third, from "when this was said" down through "the devas gave rise to this aspiration," this makes plain the benefit section. Fourth, from "at that time, Ānanda" down through "Vaidehī and the rest rejoiced," this makes plain the palace transmission section. Fifth, from "at that time, the World-Honored One" down through "made obeisance and withdrew," this generally makes plain the Vulture Peak section.
Though the above has unfolded across five distinct sections, this concludes the full explanation of the text and meaning of the entire Contemplation Sūtra.
With this single sentence, Shandao formally closes his own line-by-line commentary on the sūtra's text — the work this translation has followed since Fascicle 1's own opening verse. The five-part map offered here (introduction, main exposition, benefit, palace transmission, and Vulture Peak) is Shandao's own retrospective account of everything just translated: over one hundred parts of contemplations, blessings, and grades, now folded back into a structure simple enough to hold in a single glance. What follows is no longer commentary on the sūtra's own words, but Shandao's own voice speaking directly — his reflections on the work just completed, his vow before the Buddha, and the account of the visions that convinced him to commit it to writing.
Part 107 Complete
This closes Part 107 — the formal completion of Shandao's own commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra's text. Part 108 turns to something new within this same fascicle: Shandao's own direct address to the reader, his vow before the Three Jewels, and the first of the dream-visions he offers as evidence that this commentary carries the Buddha's own sanction.
Continue to Part 108 — Shandao's Own Vow →