Section on the Underlying Meaning

of the Contemplation Sutra

To begin, everyone should aspire for refuge in the Three Gems.

Monastics and householders of the present time:

Let us all awaken the supreme Bodhi-mind.

Samsara is hard to loathe -

Just as the Dharma is hard to love.

Together we arouse a vajra-like heart,

To leap beyond, break the Four Inundations apart.

Aspiring to be born in Amitabha’s land,

In refuge we bow with folded hands.

O World-Honored One, my mind singularly tied,

I entrust my life through all realms far and wide,

To Dharma-nature, True Suchness, as the ocean vast,

To all Reward and Emanation Buddhas amassed.

To all Bodhisattvas in their forms sublime,

With relations boundless, in magnitude so prime,

To all their splendors, all transformations free,

The Ten Stages and Three Sages, grand as the sea.

Whether the appointed kalpas are fulfilled or yet remain,

Whether wisdom and conduct are complete or to be attained,

Whether afflictions are gone or linger in trace,

Whether latent habits endure or have been effaced,

Whether exertion is needed or effort stilled,

Whether wisdom is gained or remains unfulfilled,

Wondrous Enlightenment and Equal Awakening,

They abide in samadhi, vajra-mind persisting.

With truth resonant in a single thought,

Attaining the fruit and virtue nirvana has brought.

To them we entrust our lives, all and complete -

To Buddhas of Three Bodies, honored for Bodhi feats.

With unhindered power, in their mighty grace,

May they grant unseen support, their vows embrace.

To them, with full devotion, we entrust our lives -

To saints and sages of the Three Vehicles, noble and wise.

Emulating the Buddhas, great compassion we track,

Through countless kalpas, never turning back.

Sincerely we pray for their support from afar,

In each thought, behold them all, wherever they are.

Deluded and lost in ignorance we stray,

Adrift in samsara through vast kalpas’ sway.

Yet Shakyamuni, the Buddha we now meet,

In Dharma Decline, his sutras endure as our guiding creed.

The Fundamental Vow of Amitabha, profound,

To the Land of Bliss, the gateway vitally bound.

Virtues from meditation and non-meditation transferred,

We swiftly attain the birthless body conferred.

On the Bodhisattva Canon my reliance shall be,

Sudden teaching, One Vehicle, vast as the sea.

In the Three Gems I urge refuge, by speaking these odes,

In tune with the Buddha-mind, my resolve unfolds.

Buddhas in ten directions, countless as Ganges sand,

With sixfold powers, shine on me and understand.

Following the teaching of the Two Buddhas,

I open wide the Pure Land path.

May the merit gained from these deeds I share,

Be received by all beings, equally and everywhere.

Let the Bodhi-mind arise in all and never cease,

And us be reborn in the Land of Joy and Peace.

Within this Contemplation Sutra, an initial analysis is made in seven

sections, followed by an interpretation of the sutra’s entire text.

Preface and main theme.
Explanation of the sutra’s title.
Textual interpretation; discussions of (i) differing core principles

and (ii) classification of the teachings.

Spotlighting various speakers of sutras, places of delivery, and

audiences.

Differentiation between meditative and non-meditative virtues, as

well as the difference between general and specific requests.

Reconciliation of ostensible discrepancies between this sutra and

certain commentaries, with extensive question-and-answer discussions to

resolve doubts.

Identification of the point in time when Lady Vaidehi gained

benefit from hearing the Buddha’s direct teaching.

E11«Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra, in Four Fascicles ?????»

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