Mindful Visualization of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara
A Mindfulness Practice Taught by Sakyamuni Buddha
Mindful Visualization of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is the 10th of the sixteen visualization techniques directly extolled by Sakyamuni Buddha to Queen Vaidehi, the queen of the city of Rajagrha, some 2,500 years ago in response to her yearning for a place to be reborn that is free of afflictions and sufferings.
Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, who is also widely known as Guanyin or Kannon, is one of the Three Sages of the Western Pure Land, an equal-enlightenment Bodhisattva in this Pure Land. When Amitabha Buddha’s lifespan finally ends and passes into final nirvana, Avalokitesvara will become the next Buddha in that Pure land.
At the time of Queen Vaidehi, she requested Sakyamuni Buddha to teach her how to visualize such a place where she may hear no evil words, see no evil beings, and be reborn there. Among all the Buddha-lands that were revealed, the Queen chose to reborn in the Western Pure Land.
By preaching this 10th visualization, Sakyamuni highlighted that, “Those who perform this visualization will not encounter any misfortune; their karmic obstructions will be purified, and the evil karma binding them to birth-and-death for countless eons is eliminated.”
We are immensely grateful that we then have a detailed account of the magnificent and miraculous physical features of this Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara expounded directly by Sakyamuni Buddha.
What’s better than learning to practice mindfulness directly from our teacher, the Buddha? Let’s dive into the words of the Buddha for the Visualization of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
The Buddha said to Ananda and Vaidehi,
“When you have clearly and distinctly seen the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, next, visualize Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. This Bodhisattva’s body is eighty sextillions of yojanas tall and is purple-gold in color.
On the top of the head is a mound of flesh surrounded by a halo of light which shines from behind the neck. Both the halo and the Bodhisattva’s face are one hundred thousand yojanas in diameter.
“Within this halo of light, there are five hundred miraculously created Buddhas that resemble Sakyamuni Buddha, and each miraculously created Buddha is attended by five hundred miraculously created Bodhisattvas and countless numbers of heavenly beings.
“Within the light emanating from this Bodhisattva’s body, sentient beings of the five realms of birth-and-death appear in all their various forms. Atop the Bodhisattva’s head is a heavenly crown made of sakrabhilanga-mani pearls, and within this heavenly crown stands a miraculously created Amitabha Buddha, twenty-five yojanas high.
“The face of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is the golden color of the sands of the Jambu river. A tuft of hair between the eyebrows possess all the colors of the seven kinds of jewels, and streaming from it are eighty-four thousand different rays of light.
Within each of those rays of light there are immeasurable and countless hundreds of thousands of miraculously created Buddhas, each attended by countless miraculously created Bodhisattvas. These Buddhas and Bodhisattvas miraculously appear everywhere, completely filling the worlds of the Ten Quarters.
“This Bodhisattva’s arms, the color of a red lotus flower, are adorned with ornaments made of eight hundred million exquisite rays of light. Within these ornaments, the majestic works of the Buddha are reflected in their entirety.
The palms of the hands are the color of five billion lotus flowers of various colors, and the tip of each of the ten fingers shows eighty-four thousand patterns like those on an engraved seal. Each pattern has eighty-four thousand colors, each color emits eighty-four thousand rays of light, and each soft, delicate ray of light illuminates all beings. With these jewel-like hands, this Bodhisattva embraces and guides sentient beings.
“When this Bodhisattva raises a foot, the thousand-spoked wheel that marks the sole of that foot changes of its own accord into a pedestal which emits five billion rays of light. When the foot is lowered, flowers made of diamonds and mani jewels are strewn about everywhere, filling and covering everything.
All other physical characteristics and marks are exactly like those of the Buddha. The mound of flesh upon the head and the invisibility of the uppermost part of this mound, however, are inferior to those of the World-Honored One. This is the visualization of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara’s true physical features and is called the Tenth Visualization.”
The Buddha said to Ananda,
“Those who wish to visualize Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara must do so with this method of visualization. Those who perform this visualization will not encounter any misfortune; their karmic obstructions will be purified, and the evil karma binding them to birth-and-death for countless eons is eliminated.
Even to hear the name of this Bodhisattva is to gain immeasurable merits; how much more so if this Bodhisattva is clearly visualized?
“Those who wish to visualize Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara should first visualize the mound of flesh on the head; next, visualize the heavenly crown; then visualize the remaining physical characteristics in order.
All of them should be seen as clearly and distinctly as you might see the palm of your hand. Performing this visualization is called the right visualization. If one performs other visualizations, that is called an incorrect visualization.”
Consider it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come across and practice this method, as one will then achieve non-retrogression (no falling back to lower realms) to ultimately attain the Highest Perfect Enlightenment. Sakyamuni taught the 16 wonderful visualizations to Queen Vaidehi so that she can be reborn in the Pure Land and attain Buddhahood in one lifetime. Any sentient being follows such technique and practices it persistently in this life will reap the same benefits too.
Buddha images and Buddhist art serve to convey a feeling of calmness and reflect proper mental discipline in an attempt to help us control over our negative emotions such as greed and fear. To gain a better understanding of how mindfulness and Amitabha’s Pure Land go hand-in-hand, one should read the full text of the Visualization Sutra.
Set aside time to practice it everyday. Immerse your mind in this visualization and cultivate a pure mind with the perception of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
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Resources:
Visualization Sutra — Full sutra text
Five Pure Land Sutras
Amitabha Mindful Chanting Music Collection
