"The first meditation is the meditation of love in which thou
must so adjust thy heart that thou longest for the weal and
welfare of all beings, including the happiness of thine enemies. 21
"The second meditation is the meditation of pity, in which thou
thinkest of all beings in distress, vividly representing in thine
imagination their sorrows and anxieties so as to arouse a deep
compassion for them in thy soul. 22
"The third meditation is the meditation of joy in which thou
thinkest of the prosperity of others and rejoicest with their
rejoicings. 23
"The fourth meditation is the meditation on impurity, in which
thou considerest the evil consequences of corruption, the effects
of wrongs and evils. How trivial is often the pleasure of the
moment and how fatal are its consequences! 24
"The fifth meditation is the meditation on serenity, in which
thou risest above love and hate, tyranny and thraldom, wealth and
want, and regardest thine own fate with impartial calmness and
perfect tranquillity. 25
"A true follower of the Tathāgata founds not his trust upon
austerities or rituals but giving up the idea of self relies with
his whole heart upon Amitābha, which is the unbounded light of
truth." 26
The Blessed One after having explained his doctrine of Amitābha,
the immeasurable light which makes him who receives it a Buddha,
looked into the heart of his disciple and saw still some doubts
and anxieties. And the Blessed One said: "Ask me, my son, the
questions which weigh upon thy soul." 27
And the disciple said: "Can a humble monk, by sanctifying
himself, acquire the talents of supernatural wisdom called
Abhiññas and the supernatural powers called Iddhi? Show me the
Iddhi-pāda, the path to the highest wisdom? Open to me the Jhānas
which are the means of acquiring samādhi, the fixity of mind
which enraptures the soul." 28