Two Bodhisattvas, and an Entire Land Made Visible
Once the image of the Buddha stands firmly in mind, the practice opens outward: first to Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, seated to either side using the very same method already mastered, and then to the entire land itself, its trees and towers and ponds becoming visible in every posture of daily life.
The Same Method, Extended to Two Attendants
七、從見此已下，結成上像身觀，生後二菩薩觀也。八、從復當更作一大蓮華下，至坐右華座已來，正明成上三身觀，生後多身觀。欲觀此二菩薩者，一如觀佛法也。九、從此想成時下，至遍滿彼國已來，正明結成上多身觀，生後說法相。此明諸行者等，行住坐臥，常緣彼國一切寶樹、一切寶樓華池等，若禮念，若觀想，常作此解也。
Seventh, from "having beheld this" onward, this concludes the image-body contemplation described above, and opens the contemplation of the two bodhisattvas that follows.
Eighth, from "one should then further form one great lotus flower" down through "seated upon the lotus throne to the right," this makes plain the conclusion of the three-body contemplation described above, and opens the contemplation of these manifold bodies that follows. As for contemplating these two bodhisattvas, this follows entirely the same method as contemplating the Buddha himself.
Ninth, from "when this contemplative thought is accomplished" down through "filling that entire land completely," this makes plain the conclusion of the manifold-body contemplation described above, and opens the mark of Dharma-teaching that follows. This makes plain that every practitioner, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, should constantly hold in mind that entire land's own jeweled trees, jeweled towers, and lotus ponds, whether through reverent recollection or through contemplative visualization, and should constantly form this very understanding.
Shandao's brief note that contemplating the two bodhisattvas "follows entirely the same method as contemplating the Buddha himself" confirms the claim made in the previous part about this contemplation's own priority: the forward-and-reverse, crown-to-feet technique is not specific to the Buddha's own image but transfers directly to any figure the practitioner needs to hold in mind. What began as a single golden image now expands to a full assembly, and then further still to an entire landscape — the same disciplined technique simply applied at increasing scale.
Guarding What Has Been Seen and Heard
十、從此想成時下，至憶持不捨已來，正明因定得見極樂莊嚴。又聞一切莊嚴皆能說於妙法，既見聞此已，恒持莫失，名守定心也。
Tenth, from "when this contemplative thought is accomplished" down through "bear it in mind and never let it be lost," this makes plain that, through this settled concentration, one comes to behold the splendor of the Land of Ultimate Bliss directly. Further, hearing that every one of these adornments is able to expound the wondrous Dharma, having thus both beheld and heard this, one should constantly uphold it and never let it be lost — this is called guarding the settled mind.
The term Shandao introduces here — "guarding the settled mind" — names something distinct from the achievement of vision itself: not the moment of beholding this splendor, but the ongoing discipline of retaining it afterward, "never letting it be lost." This matters because everything described across this contemplation, from a single golden image to an entire self-teaching landscape, is only as useful to the practitioner as their own capacity to carry it forward, rather than letting a hard-won vision dissolve the moment concentration relaxes.
Part 56 Complete
This closes Part 56. Part 57 completes the image contemplation in full: the correct/mistaken distinction applied once more, and the closing benefit of this contemplation — attaining the very samādhi of buddha-recollection itself, brought within reach of beings whose obstructions run deep precisely because the true, formless contemplation of the Buddha remains too difficult for them to attain directly.
Continue to Part 57 — Closing the Image Contemplation →