VII. The Sounds of Music are Foremost among All the Sounds in Worlds in the Ten Directions
The Buddha told Ananda, “A king in the human world is entertained by 100,000 kinds of music, and music is also played in the palace of a Wheel-Turning King and in each of the six desire heavens. The music in each place is ten million koti times superior to that in the preceding place. However, the 10,000 musical tones in the sixth desire heaven are 1,000 koti times inferior to even a single tone from the trees made of the seven treasures in Amitayus Buddha’s land. These trees naturally play 10,000 kinds of instrumental music. The sounds of music are none other than Dharma tones, which are pure and resonant, wonderful and harmonious. They are foremost among all the sounds in worlds in the ten directions.”
Let’s first translate this part of the Sutra into vernacular Chinese. The Buddha told Ananda, “A king in the human world is entertained by 100,000 kinds of music, and music is also played in the palace of a Wheel-Turning King and in each of the six desire heavens. The music in each place is ten million koti times superior to that in the preceding place. However, the 10,000 musical tones in the sixth desire heaven are 1,000 koti times inferior to even a single tone from the trees made of the seven treasures, in Amitayus Buddha’s land. These trees naturally play 10,000 kinds of instrumental music. The sounds of music are none other than Dharma tones, which are pure and resonant, wonderful and harmonious. They are foremost among all the sounds in worlds in the ten directions.”
In this part of the Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha describes the melodious and stately music in the Pure Land as foremost among all the sounds in Worlds in the Ten Directions.
In our world, the sounds of nature are beyond calculation, such as the sounds of rustling breeze, dripping rain, tinkling water, roaring sea, sirens, chirping birds, barking dogs, crowing cocks, and so on, as well as the sounds of music produced by various instruments. Whether it’s the natural sounds or the sounds produced by musical instruments, some people who enjoy listening will feel raptured by these sounds, while others who do not like these sounds will feel they are but noises. Moreover, human beings have limits in hearing capacity. Sounds above or below a certain decibel range cannot be heard by human beings. In the Pure Land, no matter where the sound comes from, whether it is from the wind, or the jeweled trees, the flowing water, the wonderful jeweled nets, the flock of birds, or coming from the sky, each sound is pure and resonant, wonderful and harmonious. The sounds are none other than Dharma tones that pleasingly nourish all sentient beings both mentally and physically and fill them with Dharma joy. Shakyamuni Buddha introduces emphatically how pleasing the music to the ear. From the music entertained by kings in the human world in the world of Saha, to that played in the palace of a Wheel-turner and in each of the six desire heavens, the music in each place is superior to that in the preceding place as a result of their blessed reward and different environments. However, the most beautiful musical tones enjoyed by a deva king in the sixth desire heaven are 1,000 koti times inferior to musical tones emitted by a single tree made of the seven treasures in Amitayus Buddha’s land. The musical tones made by trees are just one kind of music, much less 10,000 kinds in the Pure Land, which naturally come through the emptiness of the Pure Land. Myriads of musical tones are pure, soothing, bright and harmonious. These tones are so subtle that all sentient beings upon hearing them can attain the Way in delight.
Every sound in the Pure Land is none other than the Dharma tone spoken to devas of different roots. If celestial beings are willing to hear, music will naturally play; if they are not, music will stop and void silence befalls. The merits and wonderful applications inherent in these sounds are unparalleled in worlds of the ten directions. In truth, all the sounds in the universe are speaking Dharmas, all having wonderful uses and equal blessings. However, this realm, in our world of humanity, is unattainable unless one has entered through the gateway of the ear-faculty and perfected the inner illumination of samAdhi.
While in the Pure Land, it is a natural phenomenon in Dharma world that every celestial being experiences sounds and music in this way.
I believe that music-lovers in ten quarters will be drawn by sounds and music in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Now let’s continue to look at the scripture.
VIII.The Auditoriums, the Jeweled Ponds and Auspicious Water with the Eight Virtues
“The auditoriums, ashrams, palaces, and towers in that land are made of the seven treasures by magic. Covering them are intermingled multitudinous jewels such as precious gems and moon jewels. Inside and outside of these structures are bathing ponds 10, 20, or 30 yojanas, or even 100,000 yojanas in size. Each pond’s length, width, and depth are equal. They are filled with water with the eight virtues, pure and fragrant, tasting like sweet nectar. The beds of yellow gold ponds are covered with silver dust. The beds of coral ponds are covered with amber dust. The beds of amber ponds are covered with coral dust. The beds of emerald ponds are covered with conch shell dust. The beds of white jade ponds are covered with purple-tinged gold dust. The beds of purple-tinged gold ponds are covered with white jade dust. Some ponds are made of two, three, or even seven treasures. On the banks of these ponds stand sandalwood trees covered with leaves and flowers, wafting fragrances everywhere. All over the surfaces of the waters are lotus flowers, such as celestial utpalas, padmas, kumadas, and pundarikas, all gleaming with colorful light.
When Bodhisattvas and voice-hearers enter a jeweled pond, if they wish the water to cover their feet, the water will cover their feet. If they wish the water to reach their knees, the water will rise to their knees. If they wish the water to reach their waist, the water will rise to their waist. If they wish the water to reach their neck, the water will rise to their neck. If they wish the water to shower on their body, the water will shower on their body. If they wish the water to return to its former level, the water will return to its former level. The water temperature can be adjusted at will to be either cool or warm. The water vitalizes the spirit, delights the body, and cleanses the mind of filth. Pure and clean, it is as clear as if invisible, and the treasure dust at the bottom of the pond can be seen at any depth. The ripples merge and separate, vanishing peacefully, neither too slow nor too fast. The ripples produce innumerable wonderful sounds. No one fails to hear the sounds suiting his needs, whether the sounds of the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha, silence, emptiness, no self, great loving-kindness and compassion, the paramitas, the Ten Powers, the Four Fearlessnesses, the Eighteen Exclusive Dharmas, the overall wisdom-knowledge, no act, no arising or ceasing, the Endurance in the Realization of the No Birth of Dharmas, or even sweet nectar pouring on one’s head. Such wonderful Dharma sounds that suit one’s needs delight one beyond measure. They accord with the true meaning of purity, freedom from desires, and nirvana; with the power of the Three Jewels, the Fearlessnesses, and the Eighteen Exclusive Dharmas; and with the path and wisdom of Bodhisattvas and voice-hearers. That land does not have even the names of the three evil life-journeys; it has only joyful tones. Therefore, that land is called Peace and Bliss.”
Let’s first translate this part of the Sutra into vernacular Chinese.
The Buddha said, “The auditoriums, ashrams, palaces, and towers in Amitayus Buddha’s land are manifested and adorned with the seven treasures. Covering them are intermingled multitudinous jewels, such as pearls, moon jewels and Mani, a felicitous pearl, which is ever bright and luminous, therefore a symbol of Buddha and of his doctrines. Inside and outside of these structures are bathing ponds 10, 20, or 30 yojanas, or even 100,000 yojanas in size. Each pond’s length, width, and depth may vary, but they are of same grade and non is superior than another. They are filled with water with the eight virtues, pure and fragrant, tasting like sweet nectar. The beds of silver ponds are covered with yellow gold dust. The beds of coral ponds are covered with amber dust. The beds of amber ponds are covered with coral dust. The beds of conch shell ponds are covered with emerald dust. The beds of white jade ponds are covered with purple-tinged gold dust.
The beds of purple-tinged gold ponds are covered with white jade dust. Some ponds are made of two, and some are made of three, or even seven treasures. On the banks of these ponds stand sandalwood trees covered with leaves and flowers, wafting fragrances everywhere. All over the surfaces of the waters are lotus flowers, such as celestial utpalas, padmas, kumadas, and pundarikas, all gleaming with colorful light. When Bodhisattvas and voice-hearers enter a jeweled pond, if they wish the water to cover their feet, the water will cover their feet. If they wish the water to reach their knees, the water will rise to their knees. If they wish the water to reach their waist, the water will rise to their waist. If they wish the water to reach their neck, the water will rise to their neck. If they wish the water to shower on their body, the water will shower on their body. If they wish the water to return to its former level, the water will return to its former level. The water temperature can be adjusted at will to be either cool or warm. The water vitalizes the spirit, delights the body, and cleanses the mind of filth. Pure and clean, it is as clear as if invisible, and the treasure dust at the bottom of the pond can be seen at any depth. The ripples merge and separate, neither too slow nor too fast, flowing peacefully. The ripples produce innumerable wonderful sounds. No one fails to hear the sounds suiting his needs, or fails to hear what he wishes to hear.
In the sounds produced by the ripples, some hear the chanting of Buddha’s name; some hear dharma teachings of the Buddha; some hear the Sangha reciting passages from scriptures; some hear the sound of silence proclaiming emptiness and no self; the sound that gives rise to great loving-kindness and compassion; the sound that lectures the paramitas; the Ten Powers, the Four Fearlessnesses, the Eighteen Exclusive Dharmas; the overall wisdom-knowledge; no act; no arising or ceasing; the Endurance in the Realization of the No Birth of Dharmas; or even sounds like sweet nectar pouring on one’s head. Such wonderful Dharma sounds delight one beyond measure. They accord with the true meaning of purity, freedom from desires, and nirvana; with the power of the Three Jewels, the Fearlessnesses, and the Eighteen Exclusive Dharmas; and with the path and wisdom of Bodhisattvas and voice-hearers. That land does not have even the names of the three evil life-journeys; it has only joyful tones. Therefore, that land is called Peace and Bliss.”
This part of the Sutra focuses on introducing the water of virtues in the Pure Land.
Let’s first talk about these bathing ponds filled with water with eight virtues. Located inside and outside the auditoriums, ashrams, palaces and towers which are made of seven treasures and manifested naturally, these bathing ponds are covered with nets of intermingled multitudinous precious jewels of rarity from worlds in the ten directions. The West Pure Land is the manifestation of merits and virtues of Amitabha Buddha, and each place is the fruition of Amitabha Buddha’s innumerable kalpas’ almsgiving, patience under insults, zealous progress and strong and durable power of vows. The reason why precious jewels are so rare and seldom seen in worlds in the ten directions is that there is a sense of lack in the hearts of sentient beings. In the Pure Land, these precious treasures represent the attributes inherent in the achievers of the Way, such as, wealth and honor, sense of fulfilment, nobility, rarity, everlastingness, purity, immortality, and nirvana. When sentient beings see the ground, palaces and towers made of precious treasures, they will naturally possess these qualities and find themselves satisfactorily filled with a sense of fulfilment of inner abundance and material prosperity that all Buddhas naturally have. Upon seeing the treasures in the Pure Land, one will no longer experience the sense of lack and have no regrets in his life. In our world, treasures may fuel human insatiability, the possession of which may not help sentient beings to attain the relevant qualities in the precious jewels and get liberation. In contrast, the multitudinous jewels in the Pure Land are manifested by virtue of merits, from which sentient beings truly derive perfect inner richness.
The water in the Pure Land is known as “the Water of Eight Virtues”. These Eight Virtues based on human understanding refer to: 1. Transparent; 2. Cool and refreshing; 3. Sweet and refreshing; 4. Light and soft; 5. Soothing and moisturizing.; 6, Composed and placid; 7. Removing hunger, thirst, and physical and mental illnesses; 8. Nourishing the six roots and increasing one’s virtues and blessings when taken.
Water in our world comes into being due to sentient beings’ lust, which is found in ponds, lakes, rivers and oceans, etc. Water keeps alive sentient beings in the realm of desire and brings disasters to them as well. There is the calamity of water, one of three great calamities for world destruction, during which our world is completely submerged by water. Water in our world can be polluted and turbid. Some water can be directly consumed by humans; some water is bitterly undrinkable; some water spreads infectious diseases. Water can be so cold that it chills to the bone, or terribly hot to the point of scalding sentient beings. Some sentient beings may accidentally drown in water. All disasters brought about by water in our world do not take place in the Pure Land.
There are no ponds, ravines, rivers, mountains, or oceans in the Pure Land. The land is flat and boundless, and water is stored in bathing ponds. The word “bathing ponds” may remind us of a bathtub used for bathing at home. Actually, “bathing ponds” in the Pure Land are 10, 20, or 30 yojanas, or even 100,000 yojanas in size. Such vast expanse of water is equivalent to oceans in our world. There are gold ponds, silver ponds, crystal ponds, aquamarine ponds, coral ponds, amber ponds, conch shell ponds, emerald ponds, white jade ponds, purple-tinged gold ponds. Some ponds are made of two, three, or even seven treasures. On the banks of these ponds stand sandalwood trees covered with leaves and flowers. Water of eight virtues naturally fills every bathing pond. If any sentient beings enter the jeweled bathing pond and want the water to be as high as they want, the water will change according to their will and will never cause them to drown in it. If they wish the water to shower on their body, the water will shower on their body. The water temperature can be adjusted at will to be either cool or warm. The water is forever transparent, pure and clean no matter how it is used. When bathing in the water, the water vitalizes the spirit, delights the body, and cleanses the mind of filth.
In our world, the sounds of water audible to us are few, such as those of springs, rivers, sea waves, etc. However, the ripples produce innumerable wonderful sounds in the Pure Land and no one fails to hear the sounds suiting his wishes. Of course, there are only two great wishes for celestial beings in the Pure Land who are able roots with wisdom. First, to quickly become a Buddha, like Amitabha Buddha, to build one’s own Pure Land to benefit all sentient beings; Second, to quickly become a Buddha and to go to other worlds of sufferings to assist Buddhas in saving sentient beings.
Therefore, in the sounds produced by the ripples, according to their respective needs, some hear the chanting of Buddha’s name; some hear dharma teachings of the Buddha; some hear the Sangha reciting passages from scriptures; some hear the sound of silence that enables one to enter Samadhi; some hear the dharma teaching about emptiness and no self; some hear the sound that gives rise to great loving-kindness and compassion, etc. Such wonderful sounds delight one beyond measure and help one to attain the Way very quickly.
Some fellow Buddhist brothers get somewhat impatient when reading about what bathing ponds are made up of just as they read about those jeweled trees. The material of the beds of ponds and dust covering them are described in detail. Perhaps human beings do not find such bathing ponds appealing and important, but the formations of the Pure Land correspond to the needs of sentient beings in worlds in ten directions, not merely to the needs of the human beings in our world. Even in our world, dragons who often live in water are truly fond of these beautiful ponds. As humans living on land, we may have a preference for the water of virtues in the pond or the palaces composed of seven treasures in the Pure Land.
Human beings rely on air and water for survival. Even if practitioners do not eat grains, they still need to drink water. For human beings, such water of eight virtues is too good to be true, like a myth. But we’d better not treat this water as a fairy tale, because we will get reborn from the lotus in this water, and this Water of Eight Virtues is truly important to us.
Moreover, every drop of water in the Pure Land is subtle, possessing immeasurable merits and blessings. All beings from worlds in the Ten Directions who get reborn in the lotus flowers of boundless light, instantly enjoy the supremacy of the water, which nourishes and awakens them from dreams just like mother’s milk nurturing babies in our world. When flowers bloom, one will see the Buddha. All beings will primarily experience the endless comfort and peace of the Pure Land in this Dharma milk, and attain bodily and mental contentment instantly. This land is thus called the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Now, let’s continue to look at the scripture.