VIIII. Food for Thought and Wonderful Utensils for Daily Life
“Ananda, those who are reborn in that land are endowed with pure physical bodies, wonderful voices, and the virtue of transcendental powers. The palaces in which they live, their clothing, food and drink, and adornments, such as wonderful flowers and incense, are like those in the sixth desire heaven. When they desire to eat, bowls made of the seven treasures spontaneously appear before them. Such bowls, made of gold, silver, aquamarine, conch shell, emerald, coral, amber, or the moonlight jewel, appear at their wish. The bowls are naturally filled with food and drink of one hundred flavors. Although such food is present, there are no eaters. Gentle in body and mind, they are naturally satiated merely by seeing the food and smelling its aroma. They take their intention of eating as food, with no attachment to flavors. The bowls vanish when the meal is over, and reappear in due time. The purity, peace, and wonderful pleasures of that Buddha Land are below only the state of nirvana, which is free from causes and conditions.”
Let’s first translate this part into vernacular Chinese.
The Buddha said “Ananda, those who are reborn in that land are endowed with pure physical bodies, wonderful voices, and the virtue of transcendental powers. The palaces in which they live, their clothing, food and drink, and adornments, such as wonderful flowers and incense, are like those in the sixth desire heaven. When they desire to eat, bowls made of the seven treasures spontaneously appear before them. Such bowls, made of gold, silver, aquamarine, conch shell, emerald, coral, amber, or the moonlight jewel, etc., appear at their wish. The bowls are naturally filled with food and drink of one hundred flavors. Although such food is present, there are no eaters, just like human diners. Gentle in body and mind, they are naturally satiated merely by seeing the food and smelling its aroma. They desire no food in the world, with no attachment to flavors. The bowls vanish when the meal is over, and reappear in due time. The purity, peace, and wonderful pleasures of that Buddha Land are below only the state of nirvana, which is free from causes and conditions.”
In this part of the Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha introduces to us the physical appearance of celestial beings in the Pure Land and their daily lives about clothing, food and shelter. Those celestial beings are perfectly endowed with pure Dharma bodies, wonderful voices, and the virtue of transcendental powers.
In the Pure Land, the palaces in which celestial beings live, their clothing, food and drink, naturally appear before them at their wish. Shakyamuni Buddha talks about how celestial beings eat in the Pure Land. They take food for thought, that is, they are naturally satiated merely by seeing the food and smelling its aroma. At mealtime, beautiful bowls made of the seven treasures spontaneously appear before them. The bowl is full of delicious food to each celestial being’s liking. After seeing the food and smelling its aroma, each sentient being feels satiated and no longer greedy for any foods in other worlds in ten directions. After dinner, there is no need to wash the pots and pans like we do. The bowls vanish when the meal is over, and reappear in due time.
There are four kinds of food in our world. 1. Food for the body and its senses; 2. Food for the emotions; 3. Food for thought; 4. Food for wisdom i.e. for alayavijnana. “Food for the body and its senses” refers to eating food at regular intervals to nourish the body and life. “Food for the emotions” refers to the sense of satiation when coming into contact with objects of touch to nourish life. “Food for thought” refers to relying on hopeful thoughts and ideas to nourish life. “Food for wisdom” refers to food of consciousness (for alayavijnana) by which are kept alive beings. (ref. vol. 103 of Abhidharma-mahavibhasha shastra).
Among these four kinds of food, “Food for the body and its senses” is limited to certain beings of the Realm of Desire, the other three kinds of food apply to beings of the Three Realms.
But celestial beings in the Pure Land are dependent on food for thought. When they desire to eat, beautiful bowls full of food spontaneously appear before them at their wish. They are naturally satiated merely by seeing the food and smelling its aroma. They become gentle and soft in body and mind, no longer greedy for any flavors of food. This is similar to human attainment of the power of Samadhi and visualization. When we eat our fill, we feel stuffed and we also need to use the toilet after digestion. By comparison, after having a meal in the Pure Land, sentient beings feel softness of both body and mind, experiencing a sense of fulfilment and happiness of Samadhi. Furthermore, even if humans in our world have had a tasty meal, they will still be greedy for other delicacies in their hearts, whereas celestial beings in the Pure Land are fully satisfied after a meal, with no attachment to more flavors.
When it comes to diet, we’d better not be limited by our imagination. We naturally associate diet with food of grains and seasonings, such as, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. The diets of sentient beings in different worlds vary greatly. Some live on minerals; some have flower centers; some drink dews. For example, we often say that practitioners of superior attainments intake wind and drink dew. Actually, they no longer eat human food such as miscellaneous grains, probably because they can absorb energy, intake air or just visualize food and feel full instantly.
Eating in the Pure Land is a ceremonial occasion. When celestial beings desire to eat, bowls made of the seven treasures full of delicious food spontaneously appear before them. The seven-treasure bowl is also one of the favorite items for practitioners in our world. When the Buddha was in the world, monks were only allowed to have three garments and one bowl. Bowl has always been an important personal item for monks. In the Chinese Classic—Journey to the West, when the Tang Monk embarked on a journey to the West for Buddhist scriptures, he received a gift from Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva—kasaya, a patchwork outer vestment worn by a Buddhist monk adorned with sparkling seven treasures. Another gift he received from the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was a bowl made of purple-tinged gold. Besides Tang Monk’s flesh, these two treasures had always been remembered by thieves who wanted to take for themselves on Tang Monk’s way of pilgrimage. When the Buddha was in the world, those ordained disciples might not be tempted by gold, silver and jewelry since the Buddha made precepts that prohibited monks from keeping money and valuables. However, the seven-treasure bowls and kasayas may still allow Buddhist disciples to feel wealthy and content in a unique way.
Amitabha Buddha fulfills everyone’s wishes, so in the Pure Land, eating is not just a matter of thought for food, but more of a ceremonious occasion. Amitabha Buddha could have made eating an extremely simple matter, but in His Pure Land bowls exquisitely made of precious treasures and full of delicious food of many flavors naturally appear.
These details remind us of a loving mother who prepares a lot of beautiful playing things for her children while they eat their meals. We feel Amitabha Buddha’s endless compassion for sentient beings unfolding before our eyes, all over the Pure Land. Besides food, wonderful clothing adorned with treasures can be seen everywhere, each piece being a Dharma robe manifesting Amitabha Buddha’s merits.
Ok, let’s continue to look at the Scripture.
X. The Inhabitants’ Wonderful and Dignified Appearances and Brilliant Light Rank First in All Worlds
“The Bodhisattvas, voice-hearers, and gods of that land have superb wisdom and marvelous transcendental powers. They all appear in the same form, without any difference. To conform to the way of other lands, the name ‘gods’ is used for them. They have wonderful appearances, with even facial features, extraordinary and unearthly. Being neither gods nor humans, they all are endowed with bodies that are naturally ethereal and boundless.” The Buddha told Ananda, “As an analogy, when a poor beggar in the world stands beside a king, can you compare his features with those of the king?” Ananda replied to the Buddha, “If this person stands beside the king, his features, ugly and sordid beyond analogy, are reckoned as a billion koti times inferior to the king’s. Why is he so? The poor beggar is lowly, and his clothes can barely cover his body. He can hardly feed himself to stay alive. He is always hungry, cold, and in distress, having lost all human standards. All his tribulations stem from his past lives, during which he did not plant roots of virtue. Wealthy and miserly, he did not give any of his accumulated riches to others. He desired to acquire things unearned, never tiring of his greedy pursuits. He did not believe in cultivation of virtue, and the evil he did piled high, like a mountain. In this way, he died, and his wealth and treasures all dispersed. The wealth amassed by his toiling body, which caused him concern and distress, did not benefit him, but went to others in the end. Without goodness or virtue to depend upon, after death he went down an evil life-path to undergo long suffering. After his sins have been purged, although he is reborn as a human, he is lowly and extremely stupid and sordid.
A king in the world is honored among men because of the merit he has accumulated in his past lives. Caring and generous, he gave alms to the needy with lovingkindness. He honored his trust and cultivated virtue, never disputative. After his death, supported by his merit, he is reborn to go up a good life-path. He can even be reborn [as a god] in a heaven to enjoy myriad pleasures. With a wealth of accumulated credit, he is reborn as a human into a royal family. Noble by birth, he has even, comely features. Respected and served by the multitudes, he enjoys wonderful garments and choice delicacies served at his command. Supported by the merit acquired in his past lives, a king lives a king’s life.” The Buddha told Ananda, “What you say is true. Although a king is dignified and noble among men, his even, comely features, in comparison with those of a Wheel-Turning King, are lowly and sordid, just like the beggar standing beside the king. The Wheel-Turning King’s awesome appearance is the foremost one in the world. However, he is ugly in the presence of the god-king of Trayastrimsa Heaven, 10,000 koti times uglier by comparison. If this god-king is compared with the god-king of the sixth desire heaven, he is 100,000 koti times inferior in appearance. If the god-king of the sixth desire heaven is compared with Bodhisattvas and voice-hearers in Amitayus Buddha’s land, his radiant features and colors are a billion koti times inferior.”
Let’s first translate this part of the Sutra into Vernacular Chinese.
The Buddha said “The Bodhisattvas, voice-hearers, and gods of that land have superb wisdom and marvelous transcendental powers. They all appear in the same form, without any difference. To conform to the way of other lands, the name ‘gods’ is used for them. They have wonderful appearances, with even facial features, extraordinary and unearthly, surpassing all beings in other worlds. Seldom can be seen such wonderful and decorous beings elsewhere. Unlike gods nor humans in our world, they all are endowed with bodies and appearances that are naturally ethereal and delicately wonderful. Their physical and mental realms assume natural and unreal quality, and they enjoy infinite longevity.”
The Buddha told Ananda, “As an analogy, when a poor beggar in the world stands beside a king, can you compare his features with those of the king?” Ananda replied to the Buddha, “If this person stands beside the king, his features, ugly and sordid beyond analogy, are reckoned as a billion koti times inferior to the king’s. Why is he so? The poor beggar is lowly, in the lowest echelons of society. His clothes can barely cover his body. Fighting for his life all day long, he can hardly feed himself to stay alive. He is always hungry, cold, and in distress, having lost all human dignities. Even moral principles and ethics are almost completely abandoned.
All his tribulations stem from his past lives, during which he did not plant roots of virtue. Wealthy and miserly, he did not give any of his accumulated riches to others. He desired to acquire things unearned, never tiring of his greedy pursuits. He did not believe in cultivation of virtue, and the evil he did piled high, like a mountain. In this way, he died, and his wealth and treasures all dispersed. The wealth amassed by his toiling body, which caused him concern and distress, did not benefit him, but went to others in the end. Without goodness or virtue to depend upon, after death he went down an evil life-path to undergo long suffering. After his sins have been purged, although he is reborn as a human, he is lowly and extremely stupid and sordid to the extreme, living a life without dignity that humans should have.”
“A king in the world is honored among men because of the merit he has accumulated in his past lives. Caring and generous, he gave alms to the needy with lovingkindness. He honored his trust and cultivated virtue, tolerant and never disputative. After his death, supported by his merit, he is reborn to go up a good life-path. He can even be reborn as a god in a heaven to enjoy myriad pleasures. When he spends his past good karma as a god, and if there is still a wealth of accumulated merits to rely upon, he is reborn as a human into a royal family. Noble by birth, he has even, comely features. Respected and served by the multitudes, he enjoys wonderful garments and choice delicacies served at his command. Supported by the maturation of merits acquired in his past lives, a king lives a king’s life.”
The Buddha told Ananda, “What you say is true. Although a king is dignified and noble among men, his even, comely features, in comparison with those of a Wheel-Turning King, are lowly and sordid, just like the beggar standing beside the king. The Wheel-Turning King’s awesome appearance is the foremost one in the world. However, he is ugly in the presence of the god-king of Trayastrimsa Heaven, 10,000 koti times uglier by comparison. If this god-king is compared with the god-king of the sixth desire heaven, he is 100,000 koti times inferior in appearance, totally beyond comparison. If the god-king of the sixth desire heaven is compared with Bodhisattvas and voice-hearers in Amitayus Buddha’s land, his radiant features and colors are a billion koti times inferior.”
In this part of the Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha introduces the figures, temperament, dignified appearances of sentient beings in the Pure Land. Moreover, celestial beings all appear in the same form, without any difference. To conform to the way of other lands, the name ‘gods’ is used for them.
In our world of Saha, celestial beings’ wonderful and unearthly appearances stem from merits they have accumulated in their past lives, whereas, celestial beings’ even, comely features and temperament in the Pure Land come from Amitabha Buddha’s perfection of merits and firmness of vow power. Then enjoy the state of purity and peace below only the state of nirvana, which is free from causes and conditions. Therefore, the Buddha says that the radiant features and happiness enjoyed by gods in the Pure Land are far superior than those of the celestial beings in worlds in the ten directions who get born as gods depending on their own good karma. Gods in the Pure Land have infinite lifespan. How dignified and beautiful is one’s appearance in the Pure Land? noble emperor. If a beggar stands beside the king, his features, ugly and sordid beyond analogy, are reckoned as far inferior to the king’s. Similarly, if a king stands beside the Wheel Turning King, the Wheel Turning King beside the god-king of Trayastrimsa Heaven, the god-king of Trayastrimsa Heaven beside the god-king of the sixth desire heaven, the former’s appearance is extremely ugly and sordid, reckoned as far inferior to the latter.
Their appearance and temperament differ enormously by 100,000 koti times due to their merit, and they cannot even be compared with each other. If the god-king of the sixth desire heaven, who is incredibly beautiful beyond our imagination, is compared with Bodhisattvas and voice-hearers in Amitayus Buddha’s land, his radiant features and colors are much inferior and the comparison is hardly meaningful.
In our world, due to good karma and the power of Samadhi, celestial beings assume subtle and unearthly features formed by extremely delicate pure light. Their other-worldly transcendence and perfect beauty are beyond description. Bodhisattvas and voice-hearers in Amitayus Buddha’s land, their radiant features and colors are a billion koti times inferior. We can hardly imagine the beauty and solemnity of gods in the Pure Land. All celestial beings in the West Pure Land possess golden-hued bodies with the thirty-two marks characteristic of Buddhas. All gods are the same in physique, with even and solemn features. No one will lose confidence because no one is incomplete in his faculties or ugly-looking. There is no need for being jealous of and fastidious about others. When practicing Buddhism, it is easy for celestial beings in the Pure Land to break their attachment to the body, because there is no difference in form and shape, all complete with physical marks of a Buddha. Perhaps, in this way it will be easier for us to understand the ultimate truth of Buddhism that all sentient beings are essentially Tathagata.
The sentient beings who have been reborn into the Pure Land have not become Buddhas yet, but why do they possess golden-hued bodies with great man’s thirty-two marks? That is because celestial beings are born out of lotus flowers, which are formed by Amitabha Buddha’s infinite merits and strong power of vows. Therefore, it is often said that “I wish to be reborn in the West Pure Land, with the nine-grades lotus flower as my parents.” All beings born in the Pure Land are the children of Amitabha Buddha. It will be the highlighting moment of the most complete manifestation of merits of Amitabha Buddha when lotus flowers unfold and Buddha appears before one’s eyes. And of course, celestial beings born out of the lotus flowers will have all the characteristics of the fruit stage of Buddhas.
So, beautiful women on earth should pay attention to the fact that only with perfect merit can you achieve the most perfect features in worlds of the ten directions. Plastic surgery, applying cosmetics, and even good karma are not sufficient causes to achieve the end. In order to stay at the top of the ranking list of beauty in worlds of the ten directions, beauty lovers shall renounce evil and cultivate goodness, accumulate merits, and make a vow to get reborn in the West Pure Land.
Now let’s continue to look at the scripture.