Identical Appearance in the Pure Land
From Amitabha Buddha’s Great Vows 3, 4 & 5
Identical Appearance in the Pure Land
Amitabha Buddha’s Great Vows 3, 4 & 5
Sakyamuni Buddha speaks of the monk Dharmakara, his practice, and his forty-eight vows before he became Amitabha Buddha. Excerpted from the Infinite Life Sutra:
When I become a Buddha, all living beings from the worlds in the ten directions who are born in my land will have a body the color of pure gold. They will have the thirty-two marks of a great hero and an identical appearance of uprightness and purity. If there are differences in their appearances, some who are good-looking and some who are ugly, I will not attain perfect enlightenment.
- Vow 3. A body the color of gold.
- Vow 4. Thirty-two marks.
- Vow 5. No difference in appearance.
The “ten directions” are relative to each being. When Amitabha Buddha is the center, the buddha-lands in the ten directions surround him. The beings who are born in the Western Pure Land are all from the ten directions. The ten are east, southeast, south, southwest, west, northwest, north, northeast, zenith, and nadir.
Buddhas have a permanent, unchanging appearance to reflect their permanent, unchanging nature. “A body the color of pure gold” describes a Buddha’s unchanging body. Pure gold never rusts, decays, or changes color — it always maintains its natural purity. Any being born in the Pure Land will also have a body the color of pure gold. This shows the impartiality of Amitabha Buddha for this vow is for all beings to be like a Buddha.
The “thirty-two marks” are the physical attributes of Buddhas, mahasattva bodhisattvas, and universal monarchs. The thirty-two marks of mahasattva bodhisattvas and Buddhas are earned by the power of their vows and their virtues and merits that have been cultivated over many kalpas. The monarchs’ thirty-two marks are due to their good karma. While the monarchs have the same physical thirty-two marks as Buddhas, they do not have a Buddha’s abilities and wisdom. Governing in accordance with the Dharma, the monarchs are virtuous rulers.
“Great hero” here refers to beings who possess great courage, continuously persevere in their cultivation, and do not regress. They are able to accomplish what others cannot. Beings who are born in the Pure Land will immediately acquire a body possessing the thirty-two marks of a great hero, a Buddha.
Actually, Buddhas possess infinite marks.
Of all his infinite marks, Sakyamuni Buddha showed only the thirty-two marks that humans can see and appreciate. They were recognized by the ancient Indians as the best qualities of a wise being, as marks derived from perfect virtues. And so, these Indians were drawn to the Buddha and respected him. Some examples of the thirty-two marks of the manifestation body include a white tuft of hair between his eyebrows, thousand-spoked wheels on his palms and soles of his feet, a tall and straight body that is well proportioned and golden, an excellent voice, a protrusion on the crown of his head. Those who have wisdom can recognize all thirty-two marks.
In accounts of Sakyamuni Buddha’s life, we learn of the time when the revered hermit sage Asita came to see King Suddhodana’s newborn son, Prince Siddhartha. As Asita gazed down, tears began to roll down his cheeks. Greatly alarmed, the king asked if some terrible misfortune lay in his son’s future. Asita, having seen the thirty-two marks of a great being on the baby, assured the king that that was not why he wept. Rather, the prince would grow up and become either a fully awakened one — a Buddha — or a universal monarch. Asita knew the prince would most likely choose to renounce secular life, attain buddhahood, and teach the Dharma. But Asita, already ninety years old, would no longer be alive to hear the teachings. And so, he wept.
Other than the thirty-two marks, there is another important visual attribute. From their cultivation, Buddhas and bodhisattvas have an appearance of uprightness and purity. Such an appearance is important because it helps deepen people’s respect and helps them to feel calm and safe in the great being’s presence. People can trust such beings knowing that they must have cultivated virtues over a long period of time to be able to have such great good fortune. The great good fortune to have the thirty-two marks and also an upright and pure appearance.
As important as an upright, pure appearance is, it is not all that is important. Also important is an identical appearance. Unawakened beings see everything and everyone in terms of duality. And so, they deem some people beautiful and appealing. The rest, the vast majority, they view as unattractive or even flawed. When viewing others in terms of such differences, discrimination will come forth as the mind gives rise to thoughts of good and bad, like and dislike. Succumbing to such discriminatory thoughts, one’s actions will reflect what the mind thinks.
And the result of tallying up physical appearances? Many will gravitate towards those deemed good-looking. Those viewed as physically lacking in some way can find themselves ridiculed, discriminated against, or even bullied. Such may be the outcome when the perceiver is unawakened. And where foolishness abounds.
When the sense of equality is lost, viewpoints get pulled one way or the other. As differing opinions arise, they become more firmly entrenched and can give rise to discord. Succumbing to discord, one develops afflictions, which will only guarantee that one will continue to be mired in samsara.
Having seen all the afflictions that arise due to physical differences, Dharmakara vowed that there would be no differences in the appearance of all who dwell in his land. He also vowed that all beings in his land would have a body the same as that of the body of a Buddha — a body the color of pure gold, the thirty-two marks of a great hero, and an identical appearance of uprightness and purity.
Dharmakara then concluded these three vows as he did all the following ones by saying that if his vows were not accomplished, he would “not attain perfect enlightenment.” The first time that Dharmakara made a vow, he used the phrase “supreme, perfect enlightenment.” In all subsequent vows, he said “perfect enlightenment.” Both “supreme, perfect enlightenment” and “perfect enlightenment” refer to the same level of attainment: buddhahood.
>> Learn more: The Initiation, Amitabha Buddha’s Forty-eight Vows
—
Dedication of Merit
May the merits and virtues accrued from this work
adorn the Buddha’s pure land,
repay the four kinds of kindness above,
and relieve the sufferings of those in the three paths below.
May all those who see and hear of this
bring forth the bodhi mind
and at the end of this life,
be born together in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Note: The above is excerpted from the book “Awakening the Bodhi Mind: Amitabha Buddha’s Forty-Eight Vows”, which is available for download at eLibrary collection, Amitabha Gallery.
The Amitabha Buddha’s forty-eight vows is derived from the Chinese verses of the Infinite Life Sutra, that we are immensely grateful to the compilation efforts by Mr Xia Lianju. Translation credits go to The Pure Land Translation Team, Pure Land College Press.
