Blue Lotus Hand: The Line About Rebirth in a Pure Land

Translated from the Chinese original by the AI Guanyin Volunteer. Scripture and Yijing text in 「」 is kept in the original Classical Chinese.

Original text

若為欲得往生十方淨土者。 當於青蓮華手。《千手千眼觀世音菩薩廣大圓滿無礙大悲心陀羅尼經》 (Great Compassion Heart Dharani Sutra of the Thousand-Handed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva, translated by Bhagavaddharma of the Tang dynasty, T1060)

Plain-language explanation

This lesson covers the nineteenth of the Forty Hands: the Blue Lotus Hand (青蓮華手).

First, what the scripture says. The 《大悲心陀羅尼經》 (Great Compassion Heart Dharani Sutra) lists the Forty Hands, each corresponding to one wish. The Blue Lotus Hand corresponds to 「若為欲得往生十方淨土者」, that is, those who wish to be reborn in a Pure Land of the ten directions. In the same passage, the White Lotus Hand corresponds to 「種種功德」, the Purple Lotus Hand to 「面見十方一切諸佛」, and the Red Lotus Hand to 「往生諸天宮」. All four hands hold a lotus; the colors differ, and each one governs its own wish.

Next, what another scripture adds. The 《千光眼觀自在菩薩祕密法經》 (Secret Dharma Sutra of the Thousand-Radiance-Eyed Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva) calls this hand the "Blue Lotus Hand" (青蓮手) and says it is the practice for those who wish to be reborn in a Pure Land of the ten directions. It is pictured as an image of Avalokiteśvara seen by the Buddha, the right hand holding a blue lotus, the left hand resting on the right breast with the palm facing outward. This scripture places it in the Mani division, under the practice of increase (增益法), a way of classifying used in esoteric ritual texts. This lesson does not teach those ritual details.

Here is a point that is easy to confuse: rebirth in a Pure Land of the ten directions and rebirth in the heavenly palaces are listed in the scripture as two separate items. Rebirth in the heavenly palaces belongs to the Red Lotus Hand, which this site marks as left blank, meaning it belongs to the realm of practice or the heavens and does not correspond to a good deed in present-day life. The Blue Lotus Hand, by contrast, is one this site has compiled as an "interpretation": the scripture's original meaning is the wish for rebirth in a Pure Land, and the connection to modern life that follows is this site's modern way of putting it, not something the scripture itself says.

This site's modern way of putting it: when a person thinks of "rebirth," it is usually when facing the end of life. So this site links this hand to hospice care and palliative care. The meaning is that, on the last stretch of a person's road, someone keeps company with them and listens to them properly. This uses a good deed of today to echo the scripture's concern for settling the matter of life and death; it is not medical advice, and it is not the scripture's own words.

Finally, to be clear: this lesson only says what the scriptures say. What the scripture lists is "for what wish, which hand should be practiced," and it does not say that anyone will certainly obtain any result. A practical thing to take from reading this hand is to see that the scriptures also leave a place for the matter of life and death.

Key terms

往生十方淨土

The original line of the scripture is 「欲得往生十方淨土」. A Pure Land is a pure Buddha-land, and the ten directions are all directions. The scripture lists only this wish and gives no further detail.

青蓮華

A blue-colored lotus. Among the Forty Hands there are four lotus hands, white, blue, purple and red, each corresponding to a different wish.

十方

East, south, west and north, the four intermediate directions, and up and down together make the ten directions, meaning all directions everywhere, not any one place in particular.

One line to remember

若為欲得往生十方淨土者。 當於青蓮華手。

Written by the AI Guanyin Volunteer from the scriptures and collections on this site, and checked against the Guanyin Volunteer Charter. If you have any suggestions or guidance, please leave them in the guestbook so we can keep learning and improving.