Jang chub Sempa
thubtenpematenzin
Equanimity,Sutra of Metta,Sutra of Karuna :
So regarding the development of the special kind of deeper compassion
for all beings.We might see some disaster or image and use that to
assist in developing deeper compassion .In this case both benefit in
terms of merit.Then as a comparison example we can use two different
things such as seed for flowers,also planting the fruit seed after
either people or animals have eaten the fruit.But in this case we want
to start with the interconected nature of all manifest things and also
their impermanence ,also if we carefully examine there are many causes
and conditions of dependent origination.reference:Pratityasamutpada
pali text or the Mahayana text Aggama Sutra on Dependent co arising
and Sunyata.The practice of Bodhicitta(Jang Chub Sempa) in the
Vajrayana there is the section of refuge prayer when we recite Di zang
chang jub nyingpo ma ton bar,Lama konchog sum la kyab su chio,Dan ney
chin so gye pey so nam chur,Ma Gyur semchen kungye pende ma tong
bar.Also we can appreciate that instead of conflicting we might
practice together and benefit each other.We say as with the Bodhisatva
vows that as beings we have had many mothers and conditions and if we
were to collect those tears it would be able to fill the Ganges .Also
even the mother animals have deep concern and they would give up their
life to protect their young.Then we can reflect we are just like the
shoppers at weekend market or partners at country dance the family you
have now ,the kind of faith you have in the Triple Gem. and so within
this perception of the nature of our bodies decline.Also we with out
the suffering beings need for relief then what would be the point of
the appearance of Arhat,Bodhisattva,Vajra Master,Buddha and even
Dharma it exist in answer to the variety of needs of sentient
beings.When we practice the Paramita of Equanimity the result will be
the increase of being able to see our own suffering or obstacles in
the conditions of all beings. So then when we examine the numerous
conditions which might include seed, good soil and proper amount of
sun and rain,then we need bee's to pollenate the fruit or flower.Also
in both cases we can directly observe impermanence of all things.Then
also we understand the ridiculous idea of manifest things existing
without all the causes and conditions,if we are without even one
factor then the result would be to point out this inter dependent
nature.
So if we want to contemplate the fact that within the six realms there
is a pervasive nature of equal suffering.So from the God realm at the
pinacle to the lower realms which includes the animal realm,hungry
ghost realm,and hell beings of 8 hot hells and 8 cold hells.The lower
realms exist as the result of hate,anger,violence.The cold hell
relates to cold or un feeling towards others suffering.Then some
inquisitive persons might inquire if we have a occupation which causes
suffering for others then the karmic effect would be endless suffering
in both this life and the next.In addition we might wish to make
special offerings and volunteer or liberate the beings from the
butcher.It is the case that even if we only rejoice in others
happiness also if they are engaged in positive actions and we rejoice
then we share the merit with others.So in this case we can read in the
Sutra about merit and karma.Also strong connections formed in the past
life then we can correct our habbit patterns which are like a audio
tape played on a loop
we had mistakes in numerous previous lives so that's reason beings
suffer.Alternatively if we did many meritorious actions and we form
strong bond within the conciousness so this is the case with Buddha
Dharma and practice habbits.
Jangchub Sempa Kyab su chio
Om Mani Padme Hung Hri
Lady Azure, Baroness of the North Pole
What do you do when you find it is not Legend or Myth but Fact that the
Book of the Dead is about YOU.
That You are the Nobel Descendant of the Buddha.
Your Family are in fact the Fish of the Ocean and the Bheares the world
calls Xion/Zion/Sion.
That you regardless of the appendage between your legs are a descendant of
"The Great Mother", the Green Buddha of Tara, Queen o Amahon!
That she who collected the Tears is the "RIVER" and that she uses those
tears of the Victim to Anoint and Polish the Armor of her Warriors before
Battle.
She has many names, Nemesis, Justice, Karma, the "Washer Woman" of the
Scoti.
Some say Hachepsute(?)
That you are the Descendant of the Og, he who gave the World "OGHM" the
WORD.
Padme "HUNG"(?) to the Om Mani.
Julian
Send someone to the bar to get the next round in.
norbu_tragri
wrote:
Well said.
i echo that with Santideva's vows:
SHANTIDEVAS' BODHISATTVA VOWS
(Bodhicaryavatara chapter 3)
In the spiritual energy that relieves
The anguish of beings in misery and
Places depressed beings in eternal joy
I lift up my heart and rejoice.
In the goodness producing illumination
I lift up my heart and rejoice.
I rejoice in the beings who have gained
Eternal liberation from suffering.
And I rejoice in those attained to Buddhahood
As well as in their offspring, the noble Bodhisattvas.
In the ocean-like virtue of the Bodhimind
That brings joy to all beings
And in accomplishing the well-being of others,
I lift up my heart and rejoice.
To the Buddhas of the ten directions
I join my hands in respect
Let blaze the light of Dharmas truth
For the beings lost in darkness
To the Buddhas considering parinirvarna
I join my hands in prayer
Do not abandon the beings in sorrow
But remain and teach for countless ages.
May any spiritual energy thus generated
By my devotion to the enlightened ones
Be dedicated to dispelling the misery
Of living beings without exception.
As long as diseases afflict living beings
May I be the doctor, the medicine
And also the nurse
Who restores them to health.
May I fall as rain to increase
The harvests that must feed living beings
And in ages of dire famine
May I myself serve as food and drink.
May I be an unending treasury
For those desperate and forlorn.
May I manifest as what they require
And wish to have near them.
My body, every possession
And all goodness, past, present and future
Without remorse I dedicate
To the well-being of the world
Suffering is transcended by total surrender
And the mind attains to nirvana.
As one day all must be given up,
Why not dedicate it now to universal happiness?
My bodily powers I dedicate
To the well-being of all that lives.
Should anyone wish to kill, abuse or beat me,
The responsibility is purely their own.
Should anyone wish to ridicule me
And make me an object of jest and scorn
Why should I possibly care
If I have dedicated myself to others?
Let them do as they wish with me
So long as it does not harm them.
May no one who encounters me
Ever have an insignificant contact.
Regardless whether those whom I meet
Respond towards me with anger or faith,
May the mere fact of our meeting
Contribute to the fulfilment of their wishes.
May the slander, harm
And all forms of abuse
That anyone should direct towards me
Act as a cause of their enlightenment.
May I be a protector to the helpless,
A guide to those travelling the path,
A boat to those wishing to cross over;
Or a bridge or a raft.
May I be land for those requiring it,
A lamp for those in darkness,
May I be a home for the homeless,
And a servant for the world.
In order to fulfil the needs of beings
May I be as a magic gem,
An inexhaustible vase, a mystic spell,
A cure-all medicine, and a wish granting tree.
May I act as the mighty earth
Or like the free and open skies
To support and provide the space
Whereby I and all others may grow.
Until every being afflicted by pain
Has reached nirvanas shores,
May I serve only as a condition
That encourages progress and joy.
Just as all previous Buddhas
First gave rise to the precious Bodhimind
And just as then carefully followed
The stages of the Bodhisattva disciplines.
Likewise for the sake of sentient beings
Do I now myself generate the Bodhimind,
And likewise will I train myself
In the disciplines of a Bodhisattva.
They who out of wisdom
Have seized the supreme Bodhimind
Praise, glorify and rejoice in it,
That it may grow to fulfilment.
From today I will reap the fruit of life;
Having well won the state of man,
Today I am born in the Buddha-family
And am now a child of the Buddhas.
Thus in future I should make every effort
To live in accord with the Bodhisattva Ways,
And never should I act as would bring shame
To this noble faultless family.
Like a blind man fumbling in garbage
Happens to find a rare and precious gem,
Likewise I have discovered
The jewel of the precious Bodhimind.
Thus was found this supreme ambrosia to dispel
The Lord of death, destroyer of life;
An inexhaustible treasure able to cure
The poverty of all sentient beings.
It is the highest of medicines
To quell the ills of the living,
And it is a tree giving shade
To those wandering on the paths of life.
It is a strong and mighty bridge
By which beings can cross from misery,
And it is a moon to shine in the mind
To clear away the pains of delusion.
The Bodhimind is a great radiant sun
To disperse the darkness of unknowing,
And it is the very essence of butters
Gained from churning the milks of Dharma.
For all guests on the roads of life
Who would take the very substance of joy,
Here is the actual seat of true happiness,
A veritable feast to satiate the world.
Thus today in the presence of all awakened Ones
I invite every living being to this festival
Giving both immediate and lasting joy.
May the gods and all others rejoice.
:)
Lady Azure, Baroness of the North Pole
To bad you haven't a clue Newbie.
Green Buddha of Tara, was not only a real person, she was my ancestor.
�
Lady Azure, Baroness of the North Pole
Does the little Red Oxi so gleefully surrender itself to the Physical Abuses
of Man, to be the Meat of the Sacrifice, is it your place to "EXPECT" such
"SACRIFICE from the little Red Oxi, or does he in fact serve the Karmic Law,
the Judge of Sheba, who has Given of "SELF' to attain a more perfect
society, irrespective of the physical dangers which knowingly lay in the
path.
You would Sacrifice and eat the little Oxi to satiate your own egoic lusts,
but what happens when you discover the greater Good, you stripped from the
world.
What happens when you find you had it all backwards and Murdered the Key to
the Door, now your all stranded because of a Selfish Act of a few or even
one.
�
�
Julian
I'm related to all and everything, even you,
and that's what saves you from being a total loser, baby!
norbu_tragri
Sorry for the misunderstanding:
Those were Shantideva's bodhisattva vows, not mine.
But they weren't about sacrifices etc, though it sounds like that....
As for me...not much to tell...my vows...etc...
...hmmm...well,...maybe if i tell about when i met fox...
About twenty-five years ago i sat down in a rock alcove above a river.
Just breathing, without a story.
A fox came to me, didn't see me...mere inches away.
i tapped my knee softly - look, don't be startled -
The fox saw me - startled, head spun in quick circles, looking for
danger -
but it was just a person sitting there, green eyes looking into green
eyes.
The fox looked into my eyes and the stories of fear it faded away,
i looked into the fox's eyes with peace, love, wonder...
after awhile the fox looked away, looked around, went on in peace...
looked back at me, no story of drama there, two friends meeting
without stories or drama. after awhile i got up and went on my way.
.
thubtenpematenzin
> On Nov 26, 4:57 pm, thubtenpematenzin <thubtenpematen...@gmail.com>
FYI hate is not a Buddhist teaching
norbu_tragri
wrote:
> On Dec 4, 2:36 am, norbu_tragri <norbu.tra...@gmail.com> wrote:> On Nov 26, 4:57 pm, thubtenpematenzin <thubtenpematen...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> I rarely encounter such a large group of fake Buddhist.
All beings suffer and yet have the heart of tathagatagarbha. There
are,
indeed, many who say things that the Buddha did not say, but are they
not
exploring their own suffering to find the satbuddhadharma? Upaya,
skillful means,
is expedient then, is it not? It's all very workable and a rich field
as the tathagatagarbha pervades all beings.
>
> FYI hate is not a Buddhist teaching
Just so. Your post regarding Santideva's teachings was, as i noted,
"well said".
i followed that up with Santideva's Boddhisattva vows, as i think the
boddhisattva vows follow that liberation.
In the chapter you noted Santideva does indeed teach on the
uselessness of hate.
Being the mere librarian to your post, to assist others reading this,
here
is that chapter in full :
The Bodhicaryavatara
Chapter VI: The Perfection of Patience
1. Anger destroys all the good conduct, such as generosity and
worshipping the Sugatas, which has been acquired over thousands of
eons.
2. There is no vice like hatred, and there is no austerity like
patience. Therefore, one should earnestly cultivate patience in
various ways.
3. The mind does not find peace, nor does it enjoy pleasure and joy,
nor does it find sleep or fortitude when the thorn of hatred dwells in
the heart.
4. Even dependents whom one rewards with wealth and honors wish to
harm the master who is repugnant due to his anger.
5. Even friends fear him. He saddens his friends. He attracts with
generosity but is not served. In brief, there is nothing that can make
an angry person happy.
6. One who recognized hatred as the enemy, knowing that it creates
sufferings such as these, and persistently overcomes it, becomes happy
in this world and in the other.
7. Finding its fuel in discontent originating from an undesired event
and from an impediment to desired events, anger becomes inflamed and
destroys me.
8. Therefore, I shall remove the fuel of that enemy, for that foe has
no function other than to harm me.
9. Even if I fall into extreme adversity, I should not disrupt my
happiness. When there is frustration, nothing is agreeable, and virtue
is forsaken.
10. If there is a remedy, then what is the use of frustration? If
there is no remedy, then what is the use of frustration?
11. For loved ones and for oneself, one does not desire suffering,
contempt, verbal abuse, or disgrace; but for an enemy, it is the
opposite.
12. Happiness is obtained with great difficulty, whereas suffering
occurs easily. Only through suffering is there release from the cycle
of existence. Therefore, O mind, be strong!
13. The devotees of Durga and the people of Karnata needlessly endure
the pain of burns, cuts, and the like. Why then am I timid when my aim
is liberation?
14. There is nothing whatsoever that remains difficult as one gets
used to it. Thus, through habituation with slight pain, even great
pain becomes bearable.
15. Do you not consider the pain of bugs, gadflies, and mosquitoes, of
thirst and hunger, and the irritation of a serious rash and the like
as insignificant?
16. Cold, heat, rain, wind, traveling, illness, captivity, and
beatings should not induce a sense of fragility. Otherwise, the
distress becomes greater.
17. Some, seeing their own blood, show extraordinary valor, while some
faint even at the sight of others blood.
18. That comes from mental fortitude or from timidity. Therefore, one
should become invincible to suffering, and surmount pain.
19. Not even in suffering should a wise person disrupt his mental
serenity, for the battle is with the mental afflictions; in battle
pain is easily obtained and there is much agony.
20. Courageous victors are dismissive of all suffering, and they
conquer such enemies as hatred. The rest just kill corpses.
21. Suffering has another quality since arrogance diminishes because
of despair, and ones feels compassion for beings in the cycle of
existence, fear, and sin, and a yearning for the Jina.
22. I am not angered at bile and the like even though they cause great
suffering. Why be angry at those who have minds? They too are impelled
by conditions.
23. Just as sharp pain arises although one does not desire it, so
anger forcibly arises although one does not desire it.
24. A person does not intentionally become angry, thinking, "I shall
get angry," nor does anger originate, thinking, "I shall arise."
25. All offences and vices of various kinds arise under the influence
of conditions, and they do not arise independently.
26. An assemblage of conditions does not have the intention, "I shall
produce," nor does that which is produced have the intention, "I shall
be produced."
27. That which is regarded as the Primal Substance and that which is
construed as the Self do not originate, thinking, "I shall come into
being."
28. Since it has not arisen, how could it wish to come into existence?
Since it engages with objects, it cannot strive to cease either.
29. If the permanent self is not sentient, it is obviously inactive
like space. Even in conjunction with conditions, what activity does
the immutable have?
30. What is the use of action to the self, which at the time of action
is the same as it was before? If the relationship is that it has
action, then which of the two is the cause of the other?
31. Thus, everything is dependent on something else, and even that on
which something is dependent is not autonomous. Hence, why would one
get angry at things that are inactive, like apparitions?
32. Qualm: Averting anger is inappropriate, for who averts what?
Response: That is appropriate, because it is a state of dependent
origination and is considered to be the cessation of suffering.
33. Therefore, upon seeing a friend or an enemy committing a wrong
deed, one should reflect, "Such are his conditions," and be at ease.
34. If all beings would find fulfillment according to their own
wishes, then no one would suffer, for no one wishes to suffer.
35. People hurt themselves with thorns and the like out of negligence,
with fasting and so on out of anger, and by desiring to obtain
inaccessible women and so forth.
36. Some kill themselves by hanging, by jumping from cliffs, by eating
poison or unwholesome substances, and by non-virtuous conduct.
37. When under the influence of mental afflictions, they kill even
their own dear selves in this way; then how could they have restraint
toward the bodies of others?
38. If you do not even have compassion toward those who, intoxicated
by mental afflictions, commit suicide, then why does anger arise?
39. If inflicting harm on others is the nature of the foolish, then my
anger toward them is as inappropriate as it would be toward fire,
which has the nature of burning.
40. If this fault is advantageous and if sentient beings are good by
nature, then anger toward them is as inappropriate as it would be
toward pungent smoke in the sky.
41. Disregarding the principle of cause, such as a stick and the like,
if I become angry with the one who impels it, then it is better if I
hate hatred, because that person is also impelled by hatred.
42. In the past, I too have inflicted such pain on sentient beings;
therefore, I, who have caused harm to sentient beings, deserve that in
return.
43. Both his weapon and my body are causes of suffering. He has
obtained a weapon, and I have obtained a body. With what should I be
angry?
44. Blinded by craving, I have obtained this boil that appears as a
human body, which cannot bear to be touched. When there is pain, with
whom should one be angry?
45. I do not desire suffering; yet, fool that I am, I desire the cause
of suffering. When suffering emerges due to my own fault, why should I
be angry with anyone else?
46. Just as the forest of razor leaves and the birds of hell are
brought into existence by my actions, so is this. With whom should I
be angry?
47. Those who hurt me are impelled by my actions, as a result of which
they will go to the infernal realms. Surely, it is I alone who have
ruined them.
48. On account of them, many vices of mine diminish through
forbearance. On account of me, they enter infernal realms with long
lasting agonies.
49. It is I alone who harm them, and they are my benefactors. O Wicked
mind, why do you misconstrue this and become angry?
50. If there is virtue in my intention, I will not enter the infernal
realms. If I protect myself, what will happen to them here?
51. If I were to retaliate, they would not be protected and my conduct
would be impaired. Because of that, those in anguish would be lost.
52. Because of its immateriality, the mind can never be harmed by
anyone. However, due to its attachment to the body, the mind is
tormented by suffering.
53. Neither contempt, abusive speech, nor disgrace harms the body. Why
then, mind, O mind, do you become angry?
54. Will the unkindness of others toward me devour me in this life or
another, that I am so adverse to it?
55. If I am adverse to it because it hinders my material gain, my
acquisitions will vanish in this life, but my sin will surely remain.
56. It is better that I die today, than have a long, corrupt life. For
even after living a long time, I shall have the suffering of death.
57. One person wakes up after enjoying a hundred years of pleasure in
sleep, and another person wakes up after being happy for a moment.
58. Does happiness return to either once they have awakened? It is the
same at the moment of death for one who lives a long time and for one
who lives a short time.
59. Even though I have acquired many possessions and have enjoyed
pleasures for a long time, I shall depart empty handed and naked as if
I had been robbed.
60. What if I destroy vice and perform virtue while living off my
acquisitions? Do vice and the destruction of virtue not occur for one
who gets angry on account of material gains?
61. If the meaning of my life vanishes, then what is the point of a
life that creates only non-virtue?
62. If you think that your hatred toward one who disparages you is
because he dries away sentient beings, why does your anger not arise
also when others are defamed in the same way?
63. You have patience toward those who are unkind because their
ungracious behavior is directed toward someone else, but you do not
have patience toward one who disparages you when he is subject to the
arising of mental afflictions.
64. My hatred toward those who revile and violate images, stupas, and
the sublime Dharma is wrong, because the Buddhas and the like are free
of distress.
65. As in the preceding case, one should ward off anger toward those
who injure spiritual mentors, relatives, and friends, by seeing this
as arising from conditions.
66. Harm is certainly inflicted on beings either by sentient beings or
non-sentient things. This distress is felt in a sentient being, so
endure that pain.
67. Some do wrong out of delusion, while others, being deluded, become
angry. Among them, whom do we call innocent, and whom do we call
guilty?
68. Why did I previously act in such a way that now I am harmed by
others? All are subject to their actions. Who am I to alter this?
69. Realizing this, I shall strive for virtues in such a way that all
will have loving thoughts toward each other.
70. When fire spreads from one burning house to another, one should
bundle up the straw and the like, take it out, and discard it.
71. Likewise, when the mind burns with the fire of hatred due to
attachment, one should immediately cast it aside because of the fear
of burning the body of merit.
72. If one who is to be executed has his hand amputated and is
released, is this unfortunate? If a person is freed from hell by human
suffering, is this unfortunate?
73. If one who is unable to endure even this slight suffering of the
present, then why does one not ward off anger, which is the cause of
pain in hell?
74. Thus, solely due to anger I have brought myself into hells
thousands of times, and I have not brought about benefit for myself or
others.
75. But this suffering is not of that kind, and it will bring about
great benefit. Only delight in suffering that eliminates the suffering
of the world is appropriate here.
76. If others find pleasure and joy in praising the abundance of
someone’s good qualities, why, O mind, do you not praise it and
delight in this way, too?
77. This joy from your rejoicing is a blameless source of happiness.
It is not prohibited by the victorious ones, and it is the most
excellent way to attract others.
78. If you do not like it, thinking that it is a pleasure for that
person only, then if you were to stop giving wages and the like, your
seen and unseen reward would be destroyed.
79. When your own good qualities are being praised, you want others to
rejoice as well. When good qualities of someone else are being
praised, you do not want happiness even for your self.
80. Upon generating the Spirit of Awakening out of the desire for the
happiness of all sentient beings, why are you angry at sentient beings
now that they have found happiness themselves?
81. If you desire sentient beings’ Buddhahood, which is worshipped in
the three worlds, then why are you burned up when you see them
slightly honored.
82. One who nurtures a person who you should nurture is making you a
gift. Upon finding a person who supports your family, are you not
delighted, but angry?
83. What does one who wishes Awakening for sentient beings not wish
for them? How can one who becomes angry at others’ prosperity have the
Spirit of Awakening?
84. If someone does not receive that gift and if it remains in the
house of the benefactor, then you do not have it anyway. So what use
is it to you, whether it is given away or not?
85. Why would you have him ward off merits, kind people, and his own
good qualities? Let him not accept when he is being given something?
Say, at what are you angry?
86. Not only do you not repent for sins you have committed, but you
also wish to compete with others who have performed virtues.
87. If something unpleasant happens to your enemy, would your
satisfaction make it happen again? It would not happen merely due to
your desire, without a cause.
88. Even if that suffering were brought about by your desire, why
would you take delight in that? If you say it brings you satisfaction,
what is worse than that?
89. Once I am snagged by this horrible fishhook cast by the fishermen,
the mental afflictions, I will certainly be stewed in infernal
cauldrons by the guardians of hell.
90. Praise, fame, and honor are not conducive to my merit, long life,
strength, health, or physical well-being.
91. If I recognize my own self-interest, what good is there in that
for me? If I want only mental pleasure, I should devote myself to
gambling, drinking, and so on.
92. For the sake of fame, some sacrifice their wealth, and even kill
themselves. Yet what good are words? When one dies, who has that
pleasure?
93. At the loss of praise and fame, my own mind appears to me just
like a child who wails in distress when its sandcastle is destroyed.
94. Since a word is not sentient, it cannot praise me. But knowing
that someone likes me is a cause of my delight.
95. Whether it is for someone else or for me, what good to me is the
affection of another? That joy of affection belongs only to that
person. Not even a tiny fraction of that belongs to me.
96. If I take pleasure in that person’s pleasure, then I should take
it in every single case. Why am I am unhappy when others are made
happy through their favor for some one else?
97. Therefore, it is because I am being praised that pleasure arises
in me. But due to such absurdity, this is nothing more than the
behavior of a child.
98. Praise and so on distract me and remove my disillusionment with
the cycle of existence. They stir up jealousy toward gifted people,
and anger at their success.
99. Therefore, are those conspiring to destroy my reputation and so
forth not protecting me from falling into hell?
100. The bondage of acquisition and honor is unfitting for me who
seeks liberation. How can I hate those who are freeing me from
bondage?
101. How can I hate those who, as if due to the Buddha’s blessing,
block the gate as I seek to enter suffering?
102. It is wrong to feel anger toward someone, thinking that person
impedes my merit. As there is no austerity equal to patience, shall I
not abide in that?
103. If on account of my own fault I do not practice patience here,
then I myself have created an obstacle when grounds for merit have
been presented.
104. If one thing does not exist without another, and does exist when
the other is present, then that other thing is its cause. How can that
be called a hindrance?
105. For a supplicant is not a hindrance to generosity at the time of
alms giving; and when a person who bestows an ordination arrives, he
is not called a hindrance to the ordination.
106. Beggars are easy to meet in the world, but malefactors are
difficult to find, for no one will wrong me when I do no wrong.
107. Therefore, since my adversary assists me in my Bodhisattva way of
life, I should long for him like a treasure discovered in the house
and acquired without effort.
108. Thus, he and I have obtained the fruit of patience. It should be
given to him first, for patience is caused by him.
109. If an adversary does not deserve respect because his intention
was not that I accomplish patience, then why is the sublime Dharma
honored? It too has no intention to be a cause of that achievement.
110. If an adversary is not respected because his intention is to
cause harm, then for what other reason would I have patience toward
him, if he is like a physician who is intent on my well-being!
111. Thus patience arises only in dependence on that evil intention,
so he alone is the cause of my patience. I should respect him just
like the sublime Dharma.
112. The sage has declared that the field of sentient beings is the
field of the Jinas, because many have reached the highest fulfillment
by honoring them.
113. As the attainment of the Buddhas qualities is equally due to
sentient beings and the Jinas, how is it that I do not respect
sentient beings as I do the Jinas?
114. Their greatness is not in terms of their intention but in terms
of the result itself. The greatness of sentient beings is comparable
to that, so they are equal.
115. A friendly disposition, which is honorable, is the very greatness
of sentient beings. The merit due to faith in the Buddhas is the very
greatness of the Buddhas.
116. Therefore, sentient beings are equal to the Jinas in their share
in the acquisition of the qualities of the Buddha; but none of them
are equal to the Buddhas, who are oceans of good qualities with
endless portions.
117. If even a minute good quality of those who are a unique
collection of the essence of good qualities is found in someone, not
even the three worlds would be enough to honor that one.
118. Because sentient beings have some portion of the superb qualities
of the Buddha, it is right to honor sentient beings for just that
similarity.
119. Apart from respecting sentient beings, what other repayment to
true friends, the immeasurable benefactors, is possible?
120. The kindness of the Bodhisattvas, who sacrifice their lives and
enter Avichi, is repaid by service to sentient beings, so even if
sentient beings harm one, they are to be treated with kindness.
121. Why do I generate pride and not act like a servant toward those
masters for whose sake my Lords have no regard for their own selves?
122. The sages are delighted with their joy, and they are not pleased
if they are harmed; by pleasing them, all the sages are overjoyed, and
to injure them is to injure the sages.
123. Just as there is no mental pleasure in all sensual gratification
whatsoever when ones body is on fire, likewise there is no way for the
compassionate ones to be happy when sentient beings are in pain.
124. Therefore, whatever displeasure I have brought to all the great
compassionate ones by harming sentient beings, I confess that sin
today. Thus, may I be forgiven by the sages whom I have displeased!
125. In order to please the Tathágatas, today with my entire being, I
place myself in the service of the world. Let streams of people step
on my head and strike me down. May the Protector of the World be
pleased!
126. There is no doubt whatsoever that those Compassionate Beings
regard all beings as themselves. Are they not seen as the Protectors
in the form of sentient beings? Why then is there disrespect for them?
127. This alone is pleasing to the Tathágatas. This alone is the
accomplishment of one’s goal. This alone removes the suffering of the
world. Therefore, let this alone be my resolve.
128. When some king’s man tyrannized the populace, the farsighted
among them cannot retaliate.
129. Because that man is not alone, and his power is the kings power.
So one should not disparage any weak person who has done wrong,
130. Since his power is the guardians of hell and the Compassionate
Ones. Therefore, one should please sentient beings, just as a servant
would a hot-tempered king.
131. What could an angry king do that would equal the anguish of hell,
experienced as a result of inflicting mental pain on sentient beings?
132. What could a gratified king give that would equal Buddhahood,
experienced as a result of delighting sentient beings?
133. Let alone future Buddhahood, do you not see that in this life,
fortune, fame, and happiness ensue from pleasing sentient beings?
134. While transmigrating, a patient person, with beauty, health,
charisma, and so forth, achieves longevity and the abundant joy of a
Cakravati.
Lady Azure, Baroness of the North Pole
No that is what saves YOU from it, I am a Nemed which the Arianhod has told
their Name.
I am the new Bonnie Lad of the Lake.
Fight Nature, or be at one with it on its Quest.
�
Lady Azure, Baroness of the North Pole
I live in a Magpie Rookery.
One day I was sitting on my porch and I saw a Large Fox trotting down the Drive.
As I look I saw a Mag chasing it, just running behind it biting it on the tail as
they went.
Finally the Fox got tired of the attacks and turned on the Mag, just snarling.
At which the Mag politely Flared its wings and nailed the fox right in the face
about 7 or 8 times.
Well the Fox didn't know what to do so it bolted off away from the Mag.
Poor thing, when right straight into the rookery, about a thousand Mag's started
screaming at the fox and attacking it.
�
�
Lady Azure, Baroness of the North Pole
> On Dec 4, 2:36 am, norbu_tragri <norbu.tra...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Nov 26, 4:57 pm, thubtenpematenzin <thubtenpematen...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:I rarely encounter such a large group of fake Buddhist.
> FYI hate is not a Buddhist teaching
Is to the Wanna Be's.
Lady Azure, Baroness of the North Pole
> On Dec 6, 11:01 pm, thubtenpematenzin <thubtenpematen...@yahoo.co.in>
> wrote:
> > On Dec 4, 2:36 am, norbu_tragri <norbu.tra...@gmail.com> wrote:> On Nov 26, 4:57 pm, thubtenpematenzin <thubtenpematen...@gmail.com>
> > > wrote:
>
> > I rarely encounter such a large group of fake Buddhist.
>
> All beings suffer and yet have the heart of tathagatagarbha. There
> are,
> indeed, many who say things that the Buddha did not say, but are they
> not
> exploring their own suffering to find the satbuddhadharma?
This is something they can not stand and refuse to allow.
How dare you refuse to "Suffer"!!!!!!!!!
Julian
Yes, dear.
thubtenpematenzin
speaking from your own genuine practice experience any person can cut
and past .That is not what I did .I'm not going to warn you again with
regards to you 3yrs old playmates high on psychadelic or psychotropic
narcotics your will be reported marked as spam and blocked.If
necessary google legal will be notified.To re interate what I stated
earlier if you don't speak up against hate mail and spam your as bad
as they are.
STOP spamming me and stay on TOPIC that includes you and all your
playmates.I don't want or need your advice.If I wanted you to spam me
with lengthy messages I would say hey mr.Intellectual understanding of
dharma spam me but I have not nor will I ever type those words.So get
lost and take your todler buddies with you .
STOP DENIZENS OF INTERNET
On Dec 4, 2:36 am, norbu_tragri <norbu.tra...@gmail.com> wrote:
Julian
> Do not place any cut and past lengthy post on any of my topics.
No.
Zen Master Hakuin's
Letter in Answer to an Old Nun of the Hokke [Nichiren] Sect
The 25th day of the Eleventh Month of Enkyo 4
(C.E. 1747)
This fall when I gave my lectures on the Lotus Sutra I said that outside the
mind there was no Lotus Sutra and outside the Lotus Sutra there was no mind.
Thinking what you heard to be strange, you have written to ask me to
explain to
you the principle I expounded and to tell you of any other pertinent
matters. In
this letter I shall deal largely with the import of what I said, and ask
you to
read and reread what I write, in the hope that it will prove to be to your
satisfaction.
I do indeed always say: Outside the mind there is no Lotus Sutra and
outside the
Lotus Sutra there is no mind. Outside the ten stages of existence there
is no
mind and outside the ten stages of existence there is no Lotus Sutra.
This is
the ultimate and absolute principle. It is not limited to me, but all the
Tathagata of the three periods, and all learned sages everywhere, when
they have
reached the ultimate understanding, have all preached the same way. The
essential purport of the text of the Lotus Sutra speaks gloriously to this
effect. There are eighty-four thousand other gates to Buddhism, but they
are all
provisional teachings and cannot be regarded as other than expediencies.
When
this ultimate is reached, all sentient beings and all Tathagata of the three
periods, mountains, rivers, the great earth, and the Lotus Sutra itself, all
bespeak the Dharma principle that all things are a non-dual unity
representing
the true appearance of all things. This is the fundamental principle of
Buddhism. We have indeed the 5,418 texts of the Tripitaka, that detail the
limitless mysterious meaning spoken by Shakyamuni Buddha. We have the
sudden,
gradual, esoteric, and indeterminate methods. But their ultimate
principle is
reduced to the 8 volumes of the Lotus Sutra. The ultimate meaning of the
64,360-odd written characters of the Lotus Sutra is reduced to the 5
characters
in its title: Myoho-renge-kyo. These 5 characters are reduced to the 2
characters Myoho [Wondrous Law] and the 2 characters Myoho return to the one
word mind. If one asks to where this one word, mind, returns: "The
horned rabbit
and the furry turtle cross to nowhere mountain." What is the ultimate
meaning?
"If you wish to know the mind of one who laments in the midst of spring,
it is
at the time when the needle is stopped and words cannot be spoken."
This One Mind, derived from the two characters Myoho mentioned above, when
spread out includes all the Dharma worlds of the ten directions, and when
contracted returns to the no-thought and no-mind of the self-nature.
Therefore
such things as "outside the mind no thing exists," "in the three worlds
there is
One Mind alone," and "the true appearance of all things," have been
preached.
Reaching this ultimate place is called the Lotus Sutra, or the Buddha of
Infinite Light; in Zen it is called the Original Face, in Shingon the
Sun Disc
of the Inherent Nature of the Letter A, in Ritsu the Basic, Intangible
Form of
the Precepts. Everyone must realize that these are all different names
for the
One Mind.
One may ask: "What proof is there that the five characters Myoho renge
kyo point
to the fountainhead of the one mind?" These five characters, just as
they are,
immediately serve as proof that can readily be substantiated. Why? Myoho
renge
kyo is a title that sings the praises of the mysterious virtues of the
One Mind.
It is composed of words that point to and reveal the inherent character
of this
One Mind, with which all men are innately endowed.
To be more speficic, look at calligraphy and painting. Or better, when
someone
says that so-and-so has a genius for peforming on the biwa or the koto,
if we
ask just where that genius lies, nobody, no matter how eloquent or gifted of
tongue he may be, will ever be able to explain it in words. We cannot
teach this
uninherited talent to the child that we cherish. But when this
mysterious spot
is touched upon, it operates unconsiously, emerging from some unknown
place. The
mysterious nature of the mind with which all people are endowed is like
this.
You may laugh or gossip when you read this letter, but is this not a strange
thing, endless as a thread from a reel, that reveals its activity without a
trace of error in any one you meet? But if you ask what thing is this
that acts
freely in this way, and look inward to seek it there, you will find that
it has
neither voice nor smell. Furthermore, it is empty and without traces,
and if you
think it is something like wood or stone, being free and unattached, it will
change endless times. If you say it is in existence it will not be
there; if you
say it is in non-existence it will not be there either. This place,
where words
and speech are cut off, this free and untrammeled place, is
provisionally called
the Wondrous Law (Myoho). The Lotus (renge), while its roots lie in the
mud, is
in no way soiled by the mud, nor does it lose the wonderful scent and
odor with
which it is blessed. When the time comes for it to bloom it sets forth
beautiful
blossoms. The Wondrous Law of the Buddha mind is neither sullied nor does it
decrease within sentient beings and it is neither made pure nor does it
increase
within a Buddha. In the Buddha, in the common man, among all sentient
beings it
is in no way different. To be sullied by the mud of the five desires is
to be
just like the lotus root lying covered by the mud.
Later in the Himalaya the Buddha discovered the nature of the mind that is
endowed from the outset. He called in his noble voice: "How marvelous! All
sentient beings are endowed with the wisdom and the virtuous
characteristics of
the Tathagata. He preached the sudden and the gradual teaching and the
partial
and complete doctrines of the various sutras, and became himself the great
teacher of the three worlds. When he is venerated by Brahma and Sakra,
it is as
though the lotus had emerged from the mud and opened its full beauty.
Just as
the lotus's color and fragrance inhere in it as it lies in the mud, as it
emerges, and as it blooms above the surface, so when the Buddha spoke of the
Dharma being as numerous as the sands in the Ganges, he referred to
nothing that
was brought in from the outside. In terms of the common man, he spoke of the
appearance of the Buddha-nature itself, with which all are without a doubt
endowed; in terms of sentient beings, once the vow to become a Buddha
has been
made, the Wondrous Law of the One Mind does not increase nor lessen one
bit. It
is just the same as the lotus: at the time that it lies amidst the mud
and after
its blossoms are scattered in the summer, it does not undergo any
fundamental
change whatsoever. Thus he provisionally likened the lotus plant to the
Wondrous
Law of the One Mind. Is this not irrefutable proof that the Buddha mind,
with
which all people are endowed, was called the Lotus Sutra of the Wondrous
Law?
The word kyo [sutra] means "constant," in the same sense as the eternal,
unchanging Buddha-nature. This kyo teaches that the eternal, unchanging
Buddha-nature does not increase in a Buddha nor decrease in a sentient
being. It
is of the same root as heaven and earth and is one substance with all
things,
and has not changed one iota since before the last kalpa began, nor will it
change after it has ended. Moreover, Myoho [Wondrous Law] is the
substance of
the Buddha mind. The Lotus Sutra was composed as a way of praising this
Wondrous
Law of the Buddha mind, and so it is nothing more than another name for
the One
Mind. It is one reality with two names, just as mochi and kachin are two
names
for the same thing, a rice-cake.
Moreover, the True Reality that is the Lotus Sutra cannot be seized by
the hands
nor seen by the eye. How then is one to receive and hold to it? What
then should
one say to the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra who wishes to take it to
himself?
There are three types of capacity. The practitioner of inferior capacity is
captivated by the yellow scroll with its red handles and copies,
recites, and
makes explanations of it. The practitioner of average capacity,
illuminates his
own mind and so receives and holds to the Sutra. The person of superior
capacity
penetrates this Sutra with his [Dharma] eye, just as though he were
viewing the
surface of his own mind. That is why the Nirvana Sutra says: "The
Tathagata sees
the Buddha-nature within his eye." The practitioner of the Lotus Sutra,
if he is
engaged in the true practice of the ultimate of Mahayana, will not find
it an
easy thing to do. What is simple is very much so; what is difficult is very,
very difficult indeed.
We have seen before the passage in the Lotus Sutra that reads: "To hold
to this
Sutra is difficult. If someone holds to it even for a short while, I
will feel
great joy and the many Buddhas likewise." Thus, the practice of holding
to this
Sutra is of the utmost importance. Chih-i of the Tendai school has said:
"Without taking the book in your hands, always recite this Sutra. Without
uttering words from your mouth, recite all the texts everywhere. Even
when the
Buddha does not preach always listen to the sound of the Law. Without
engaging
the mind in thinking, always illumine the Dharmakaya." This describes
the true
recitation of this Sutra. Should someone ask: "What sort of a sutra is
this that
one recites without taking the work up in one's hands?" can one not say in
return, "Isn't this the Wondrous Law of your own mind?" If someone asks:
"What
does 'without engaging the mind in thinking, always illumine the Dharmakaya'
mean?" can one not say in return, "Isn't this the True Lotus?" This is
known as
the Sutra without words. If one just grasps the yellow roll with its red
handles
and holds to the belief that this is the Lotus Sutra, one is like
someone who
licks a piece of paper extolling the virtues of some medicine, expecting
that
this will serve to cure a disease. What a great mistake this is!
Should a person wish to hold this Sutra, he must throughout all the
hours of the
day and night without the slightest doubt in his mind, carry on the real
practice of true meditation on the total form of all things, thinking
neither
good nor of evil. In this respect Han-shan, who was an avatar of
Manjusri, has
said in a verse: "If you wish to attain the road to enlightenment, let
no thread
hang in your mind." True practice of this sort is the ancient and changeless
great center, the place from which all the Tathagatas of the three
periods and
all the wise men and great priests attained to great enlightenment. This
is the
direct road to [experiencing the state in which] "no-thought is
produced, before
and after are cut off, and with sudden enlightenment you attain to
Buddhahood."
Although the Tathagata said, "This Sutra is difficult to hold to," is
this not
really the ultimate principle? The true place to which the sages of all
three
religions have attained is, to a large measure, the same. Although the
degrees
of efficacy is based on the depth and the quality of the perseverance in
practice, the content of the first step is the same. The Confucians call
this
place the Ultimate Good, the Undeveloped Mean. Taoists call it
Nothingness or
Nature. Among Shintoists it is known as Takamagahara. The Tendai school
calls it
"the Great Matter of the cessation and meditation on the three thousand
worlds
in one instant of thought." In Shingon it is called "the contemplation
of the
Inherent Nature of the Letter A."
The Patriarchs of the various schools encourage sitting in meditation and,
although they advocate the recitation of the sutras, isn't this recitation
merely a device to make us reach the state where the mind is
unperturbed, pure,
and without distractions? The founder of Eihei-ji has said: "If one
practices
and holds to it for one day, it is worthy of veneration; if one fails to
hold to
and practice it for a hundred years, these are a hundred years of
regret." It is
enough to make one shed tears at the regrettable and wretched state of
understanding in which, while possessing the difficult-to-obtain body of
a man,
a person does not cultivate in himself the determination to practice.
Instead,
like a dog or a cat or some beast that has no understanding at all, he
allows
his whole life, one so difficult to encounter, to rot carelessly away, and
returns to his old abode in the three worlds of suffering, without having
learned a thing. To say "a difficult thing is very, very difficult,"
leaves no
doubt on our part. But what does this "an easy thing is very easy
indeed" mean?
Should a person release his hold on the Sutra and attempt lightly to
maintain
the dignities of walking, standing, sitting, and reclining, he must make
a vow
seeking once to verify for himself the True Face of the Lotus. Once a person
sees this True Face of the Lotus, then coughing, swallowing, waving the
arms,
activity and quietude, words and actions, all plants, trees, tiles,
stones, the
sentient and the non-sentient, all manifest the Sutra of the Wondrous
Law, and
throughout all the hours of the day, harmonize deeply with the Sutra.
What need
is there to hold to any other thing? If you try to hold to the Lotus Sutra
without seeing once the True Lotus, you will be like a man who holds a
bowl of
water in his hands and night and day tries to keep from spilling it or
letting
it move, but still expects to gain sustenence from it. Even if he should
succeed
in holding it in this way for his whole life, he wouldn't be able to sustain
himself or keep himself from dying of thirst. His hopes to benefit
himself and
others by the practice of the vow will be cut off midway. What possible
use does
this serve?
For the person who once sees the True Lotus and holds to the Sutra, it
is as if
he had poured this one bowl of water into rivers and lakes everywhere.
At once
it merges with the thirty-six thousand riplets and its beneficence joins
with
the waters, so that if all the creatures that leap, run, fly, or crawl
came to
drink at the same time, it would never be exhausted.
The person who has not seen the True Lotus is like the man who holds the
bowl of
water. Not only can he be of no benefit to others, but neither can he bring
benefit to himself. The person who once sees the True Lotus is like the
man who
pours the bowl of water into all the rivers and lakes. Unconsciously he
leaps
into the great sea of Nirvana of the various Buddhas, harmonizes deeply
with the
true Dharma body and the precepts, meditation, and wisdom of the many
Buddhas,
at once shatters the dark cave of the alaya-consciousness, and releases the
Illumination of the Great Perfect Mirror. Passing over numberless kalpas, he
practices the almsgiving of the Dharma with no limitations whatsoever. The
breadth and greatness of the virtue of the one view of the Lotus is quite
without bounds. Rather than read all the works in the Tripitaka, see the
True
Lotus once. Rather than make a million statues of the Buddha, see the
True Lotus
once. Rather than adhering to the view that holding a yellow scroll with
its red
handles is [the practice of] the Lotus Sutra, see the True Lotus once.
Rather
than recite the Lotus Sutra a billion times, see the True Lotus once
with your
own Dharma eye. This is truly a lofty statement of complete truth and
indestructibility.
How can one penetrate to the True Face of the Lotus? To do this one must
raise
the great ball of doubt. What is being pointed out when we speak of the True
Face of the Lotus? It is the Wondrous Law of the One Mind, with which you
yourself are endowed from the outset. It is nothing more than to see
into your
own mind. And what is this "own mind?" Don't look for something white or
something red, but by all means see it at once. Courageousely and firmly
establish your aspiration, raise up the great vow, and night and day
investigate
it to the end. For investigating the mind there are many methods. If you
are a
practitioner of the Lotus Sutra who ignores the teachings of other
schools, then
you must transcend the practice of the Lotus Samadhi. The practice of
the Lotus
Samadhi is from today on to determine, despite happiness and pain,
sadness and
joy, whether asleep or awake, standing or reclining, to intone without
interuption the title of the Sutra alone: Reverence to the Lotus of the
Wondrous
Law Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. Whether you use this title as a staff or as a
source
of strength, you must recite it with the fervent wish to see without
fail the
True Face of the Lotus. Make each inhalation and exhalation of your
breath the
title of the Sutra. Recite it without ceasing with intense devotion. If you
recite it without flagging, it will not be long before the mind-nature will
truly be set as firmly as a large rock. Dimly you will gain an awareness
of a
state in which the One Mind is without disturbance. At this time, do not
discard
this awareness, but continue your constant recitation. Then you will
awaken to
the Great Matter of true meditation, and all the ordinary
consciousnesses and
emotions will not operate. It will be as if you had entered into the Diamond
Spere, as if you were seated within a lapis lazuli vase, and, without any
discriminating thought at all, suddenly you will be no different from
one who
has died the Great Death. After you have returned to life,
unconsciouslessly the
pure and uninvolved true principle of undistracted meditation will
appear before
you. You will see right before you, in the place where you stand, the
True Face
of the Lotus, and at once you body and mind will drop off. The true,
unlimited,
eternal, perfected Tathagata will manifest himself clearly before your
eyes and
never depart, though you should attempt to drive him away. This is the
time that
the Tendai school refers to as "plunging into the treasure abode, where the
Dharma-nature is undisturbed, yet constantly illuminating." In Shingon
it is to
be illumined by the Sun Disc of the Inherent Nature of the Letter A. In the
Ritsu it is the harmonize with the unparalleled Diamond-Treasure
Precepts of the
Many Buddhas. In the Pure Land School it is to fulfill one's vow for
rebirth in
Paradise, to see before one's eyes the marvelous birds and trees of
Paradise and
to keep constantly in mind the wondrous ornamentation of the Buddha, the
Dharma,
and the Sangha.
Opening the True Eye that sees that his very world is itself the
brillance of
Nirvana, one reaches the state where all plants, trees, and lands have
without
the slightest doubt attained to Buddhahood. What is there among the good
fruits
of the worlds of men and devas that can be compared to this? This is the
basic
vow that accounts for the appearance in this world of the many Buddhas
of the
three periods. One recitation of the title of this Sutra has no less
virtue than
a single Zen koan. The purport of all this has been uttered by all the
learned
sages of all the directions of the three periods and the eighty thousand
gods of
Japan. If what I say were even slightly incorrect, why should I risk
committing
a crime by writing it all in a long-winded letter? There is absolutely
no doubt
about it. If in one's practice one is not remiss, the mind-ground known
in Zen
as "clenching the left hand and biting the middle finger," will
gradually become
clear.
Nowadays one occassionally hears people say: "There is no point in studying
koans under a teacher. What do you do after finishing your study of the
koans?
[Once you have reached the stage of the] direct pointing to 'this very
mind is
Buddha,' you neither regret when a thought arises nor feel joy when a
thought is
stopped. The mountain villager's unpainted bowl is best, for it
represents the
original nature as it was at the time that the bowl was made. If you don't
lacquer the bowl, there will be nothing to chip and wear away." People
who talk
in this way are like blind turtles that pointlessly enter an empty
valley every
day and are satisfied with this. This is the view of the Indian heretics
of the
naturalistic school. If things like this were called the pivot of the
progress
toward the Buddha mind, even the guardian gods of the remotest village would
clap their hands and burst out in laughter.
Why is this so? Aren't such people similar to the imbecile who thinks he
see the
spirits that Ch'ang-sha talks about? When the Surangama Sutra cautions
against
recognizing a robber and making him your son and talks of the eventual
inability
to know the substance of original purity, it is referring to people of this
type. They are totally unaware of the fact that the Tathagata did not
acknowledge proficiency in meditation even for those sages who had
gained the
four grades of sainthood, had reached the state of non-retrogression, had
penetrated the principles of the self and the dharmas, were endowed with
magical
gifts, and had gained great fame everywhere. That is why the Sutra says:
"Even
the great arhats among my disciples cannot understand the meaning. It is
only
the group of bodhisattvas who are able to comprehend it." It is speaking of
those who, without even possessing the accomplishment of seeing into
their own
natures, recklessly call themselves worthy of veneration. What sort of
mental
state is this?
At any rate, nothing surpasses the casting aside of all the myriad
circumstances
and devoting oneself to recitation. But do not adhere to the one-sided
view that
the title of the Sutra alone will be of benefit. This applies as well to the
Shingon and Pure Land schools. The followes of the Pure Land, by the
power of
the concentrated recitation of the Buddha's name, resolving to see once
the Pure
Land of their own minds and the wondrous form of Amida Buddha in their own
bodies, give rise to a valiant great aspiration, and devote themselves
ceaselessly to the recitation of the name, as fervently as though they were
dousing flames on their own heads. Is there any reason that they should
not see
the form of the Buddha, who is spoken of as not being far off, the trees
of the
seven treasures, and the pond of the eight virtues? The followers of
Shingon, by
the mysterious power of the dharani resolving to see without fail the
great Sun
Disc of the Inherent Nature of the Letter A, give rise to a great
aspiration to
persevere, just as in Zen one koan is taken up and concentrated upon. Is
there
any reason that they should not polish and bring out the true form of the
Diamond indestructible that Koya Daishi has described as "[attaining
enlightenment] without being reborn in a new body"?
But should any one of these people, thinking he has saved up merit, talk
about
waiting until after he dies, he will find that his ignorance and
carelessness
have resulted in a situation almost without hope. Do not lament about
how far
away it is. Is there anything nearer than to see your own eyeballs with
your own
eyeballs? Do not be afraid about how deep a thing is. If you try to see
and hear
it at the bottom of a deep chasm or in the depths of the sea, then you
may well
fear how deep a thing is. Is there anything nearer than to see your own mind
with your own mind, to use your own nostrils to smell your own nose?
Although
the world is in a degenerate age, the Law itself is not degenerate. If
you take
the world as degenerate and cast it away without looking back, you will
be like
someone who enters into a treasure mountain, yet suffers from hunger and
cold.
Do not fear that because this is a degenerate age [enlightenment] cannot be
accomplised. In the past the Abbot of the Eshin-in, more recently Sokuo of
Akazawa and Engu of Yamashiro, and the sick girl of Osaka, each by the
power of
the calling of the name, fulfilled the vow described above. Honen Shonin
also
had this aspiration deeply, but because he had no religious guide, he
said that
the state of his mind was as though his wings were too short for so long a
flight.
Perhaps it is a mark of this degenerate age that recently bad customs have
arisen and monks and laymen are both so accustomed to seeing and hearing
of them
that they say that to want to see the Buddha Mind of the Wondrous Law
today is
like having the apsirations of an eel that wants to climb a tree. Yet to
spend
one's whole life in darkness certainly represents a miserable state of mind.
Supposing several sons of a farmer have inherited from him a large amount of
land. Among the sons is one who is weak and unworthy, but whose words
are clever
and shrewd. He says: "In these days it is beyond the ability of people
of our
humble status to imitate our ancestors of old, to angage in agriculture and
farming, and to attempt to raise a large family. It would be just like a
duck,
in imitation of a hawk, positioning its wings as though it were about to
attack
and bring down a crane. Or like a lame turtle, in imitation of a carp,
stretching out its neck as though it were about to ascend a waterfall.
Ridiculous! If we continue in this way, we'll end up having to drink
water from
a sickle. This is quite unthinkable! Just figure it out for yourselves!
Worn out
people such as we [must tend] this farm, that stretches like a vast
field filled
with luxuriantly growing weeds. We cut the fields and after they are cut, we
cultivate. We irrigate, hoe, sow the seeds, transplant the seedlings,
weed the
paddies, cut and dry the plants, remove the rice, and polish off the
rice bran.
Then we must braid the rope and weave matting and make bales. When we
can sit
back and look at the results, we are struck by the tremendous
difficulties of
the work. It is indeed an old story. The results are worth nothing at
all. There
is a much better way to pass through this world, taking your ease with your
hands in your sleeves. Wherever a person's feet take him, he can spend three
days here or five days there."
Someone objected, saying: "If we have shoulders, don't we need clothes
to hang
on them? If we have a mouth, don't we need food to put in it?"
To this he replied: "I have heard that a certain lord of a certain
province is a
man of great humanity. They say he gives stipends to such as we. This is
were we
really ought to go. With things as good as that, we would have nothing
to lament
about. It's all a great mistake to move one's hands and feet to earn a
living
through one's own efforts. There is nothing to worry about. It's best
just to
put on a humble appearance from the beginning and make no effort to
work. Do not
look as if you wanted to pile up money."
Throwing away the two or three old garments they have and putting on
clothes of
straw matting, people like this say: "We are impoverished and inferior
beings,
lost, with no place to stay and no one to tell our troubles to. Out of pity,
please help us." Wandering about crying in this way, because of the
compassion
that exists in the world, it is not impossible for a person to be fed.
People
are taught such things and rejoice without a trace of doubt, believing
all this
to be true. Thus they become poverty stricken, although they were not so
from
birth, and end up spending their lives in this way.
Such people are known as destroyers and wasters of their own selves. The
Master
Lin-chi berated them as "spoiled people of inferior capacity." They are like
fish in water who lament the fact that because of their natures they are
unable
to see the water, or like birds flying through the air who regret the
fact that
to see the air is an unattainable desire. They are unaware that of all
the lands
everywhere, there is none that does not contain True Reality, nor is
there any
human being anywhere who is not endowed with this Wondrous Law. It is a pity
that while living amidst the Wondrous Law of the One Mind and the Pure
Land of
Tranquil Light, they cling to the prejudice that in this life they are
part of
the ordinary world and that as sentient beings they are as such deluded.
Mistakenly they believe that after death they will enter hell, and so they
lament the endless torment in store for them. They discard the Buddha
Mind of
the Wondrous Law that wells up before the eyes and the Dharma-nature of True
Reality that is always pure, feeling that these are things to which they
cannot
possibly attain, things for which they cannot possibly hope. Thus they cast
aside their desires as unobtainable, and look for the pointless concepts of
deluded consciousness, and end up spending their lives in vain. What is most
regrettable is that, although we have this Lotus of the Wondrous Law,
incomparable in all the three worlds, a scripture of the most exquisite
quality,
yet, because there is no one who practices its teachings properly, it is
stuffed
away on library shelves along with a lot of ordinary books, and rots
away from
disuse. Thus people mistake the impure world for the Pure Land and concern
themselves with the three evil paths and the six modes of existence. Is
there
anything more lamentable?
Someone has asked: "What specifically does this teaching point to? Is it the
four peaceful contentments? Is it the conduct of the five types of
Master of the
Law?"
In answer I say: "Not at all. It is the 'eye' of the Sutra, that is
described in
the text of the chapter on Expediencies in these words: 'the reason the
Buddha
appeared in this world was [to show] the way to open up the wisdom of the
Buddha.'"
Although the numerous Tathagatas who have appeared successively in the world
have expounded Laws as numerous as the sands in the Ganges, they have all
appeared solely for the purpose of opening up the Buddha's wisdom to all
sentient beings. No matter what Law you practice, if you don't seek to
open up
the Buddha's wisdom, you will never be able to come into accord with the
vow of
the many Buddhas. The opening up of the Buddha's wisdom is to make clear the
Wondrous Law of the One Mind. There is nothing more regrettable in this
degenerate world than to discard tidings of this Wondrous Law of the One
Mind
and to just go along as one pleases. When unexpectedly we meet something
that
seems to be this Wondrous Law, we find that nowadays everyone has made
it into
an intellectual teaching, scarcely worth talking about. No one gives
heed to the
saying in the Maha-Vairocana Sutra: "Know your own mind as it really
is." Not
following the teaching of the Lotus Sutra and not knowing where the
Wondrous Law
is, people rush about madly, saying vague things like: "It's in the
West," or
"It's in the East," and spend their days declaring that this or that is the
Buddha Way. Their behavior can be likened to that of the people in the
following
story.
Supposing that there were a very rich man, who, after undergoing many
hardship,
finally managed to bring under cultivation vast tracts of land.
Supposing that
he were to say to his sons: "You cultivate this land and become rick men
like
me." He then distributes to his various sons, without regard to the
capacities
of each, his excess lands. His sons, however, do not follow their father's
teaching, but scatter to various provinces. Some stand beside the doors of
people's houses and beg their food. Some say: "We are mirror polishers," and
walk about polishing tiles. Others scuttle about chasing away the birds that
feed on grain. Some say: "We are millionaire's sons," and although
looking like
beggers and outcasts themselves, they recklessly make light of others.
Some turn
over the leaves of their account books every day, but do not even know
what the
fields look like. Others say: "As long as we have our acocunt books we have
nothing to fear," and selfishly practice their evil ways. Some say: "We
know the
conduct becoming to a millionaire," but they starve and thirst while
practicing
the forms of this proper conduct. There are some who do not even know
where the
fields are, but keep screaming about them day and night. Others are a
bit aware
of the vast extent of acreage and, becoming greatly boastful, degenerate
into a
life of sex, wine, and meat-eating. There is not one son among them who
carries
out the intention of his millionaire father.
The fields stand for the Wondrous Law of the One Mind. The account books
are the
sacred scriptures. "To stand before people's houses and beg," means to
acknowledge the Great Matter of the opening up of the wisdom of the
Buddha, the
process of learning for oneself whether the water is cold or hot by
experiencing
in one's own body pain and suffering, and then, because this is a degenerate
age, to accept the teachings of others, to hear and learn things that
are not
the substance, and to consider this to be enlightenment. Is this not
like the
prodigal son in the Lotus Sutra?
In the Mahayana sutras even the four grades of sainthood of an arhat are
condemned as representing ordinary men of the two vehicles. If this
[enlightenment] is such an absurd and uncomplicated thing as people say, why
then did the Buddha confine himself in the Himalaya for six years until
his skin
stuck to his bones and he was so emaciated and exhausted that he looked
like a
tile made to stand by winding string around it? He was unaware that the
reeds
had pierced his lap and reached to his elbows; so absorbed was he in his
painful
introspection that he was not conscious of the lightning striking down
horses
and cattle before his very eyes. Imagine what a thing it was for the
first time
he opened up the wisdom of a Buddha!
The Buddha Way from ancient times has been one of vast difficulties. Is it
something that should be made easy now? Is it something like radishes,
potatoes,
or chestnuts that are hard at first but get soft when cooked? If what is
easy
today is good, then what was difficult in the past must be bad. What was
difficult in the past was the painful introspection, and this was a very
painful
introspection indeed. With the smallest bit of development and progress,
suddenly the state of sage, Buddha, or Patriarch was reached. When that
place,
when this time was transcended and [understanding] touched upon even to the
slightest degree, then lightning flashed and the stars leapt in the sky. The
surpassing easiness of today is surpassing indeed, yet when you look
into it, it
is no more than a painting of a wise monk. With the smallest bit of
development
and progress, you are still as before, like a fish stuck in a trap, like
a lame
turtle fallen into an earthen jar. This time and that place are not
transcended,
and, as you press on, you are like a blind ass walking on ice.
Which will it be, the easiness of the present-day practice or the
difficulty of
that of the past? No matter how much you insist that this is after all a
degenerate ago, to speak in such terms is useless. Even the men of old
knew that
later the teaching of Zen and the true form [of the Lotus] were destined to
perish. Let it be known that to seek the Wondrous Mind on soiled paper or to
assign the True Law to verbal discussions is indeed a pathetic thing. If
everything could be accomplished through the use of written words and
talk, then
Shen-kuang would not have had to cut off his arm, Hsuan-sha would not
have have
injured his foot, Hosshin's head would not have swollen, and Hatto would not
have shed tears. No matter what other people do, you must determine that
"come
what may, I will without fail intone the title [of the Lotus Sutra] day and
night and see for myself the form of the Lotus." Then, if you intone it
faithfully, without having to enter the Himalaya or to bear the suffering of
having your head swell, the real essential Lotus of the Wondrous Law of
your own
nature will open in all its beauty. The essential point is to resolve not to
give in while you have yet to see the Wondrous Lotus of your own mind. Then
there will be nothing so venerable as this thing to which you have
devoted all
your hopes. When the Tathagata, the World-honored One, had still to see the
Wondrous Law of his one mind, he was no different from any ordinary mortal,
endlessly sunk in the rounds of birth an death, and he himself was
constantly
dying and being reborn. Later in the Himalaya he awoke to the Wondrous
Law of
his own mind and for the first time achieved True Enlightenment.
The polishing of a tile is to think that as long as one recognizes the
non-differentiation of the alaya-consciousness and is not deluded into
thinking
that this represents the original face, then what is left is a Buddha
mind that
is like a mirror. People are taught merely that everything is reflected
in the
mirror just as it is; the crow is black, the crane white, the willow
green, and
flower red, and they are told to strive constantly to polish [the mirror] so
that not a speck of dust can collect. This wiping away of deluded
thoughts night
and day is the same as polishing a tile or chasing away birds that feed on
millet. This is known as seeking for the spirit. It permits no chance
for the
luminescence to be produced that make clear the mountains, rivers, and
the great
earth. Practice of this sort was fairly frequent even during the T'ang
dynasty.
Nan-yueh's polishing of a tile before Ma-tsu's hut was for the purpose of
conveying this meaning to Ma-tsu.
Thus Ch'ang-sha has said in a verse:
The failure of the student to understand the truth,
Comes from his prior acceptance of spirits.
The basis of birth and death from endless kalpas in the past;
This the fool thinks of as the original man.
It is for this reason that Patriarchs such as Tz'u-ming, Chen-ching,
Hsi-keng,
and Ta-hui were indescribably kind in gritting their teeth and attempting to
drive out such concepts. There is no point in bringing up the views of
all the
other Masters on this subject. There is no Buddha or Patriarch in the three
periods and ten directions who has not seen into his own nature. This is the
eternal, unchanging center of the teaching. To see into your own nature
is to
see for yourself the True Face of the Lotus. If you do not have this
desire, but
that that all varieties of things are the Buddhadharma, you will be like
a band
of children that rushes to board a large boat that has no captain. They
do not
know where they wish to go nor what the harbor of their destination is.
Crying,
"Let's row over here." or "Let's row over there," they pull the oars any
which
way--yesterday they drifted following the tide to the east, today they drift
following the tide to the west--and in the end they are hopelessly lost
at sea.
Then suddenly a captain who knows the way appears in the boat and,
setting his
compass, takes the rudder and within the day reaches the harbor of his
destination.
The captain is the great aspiration to see into one's own nature. The
compass is
the teaching of the True Law. The rudder is the determination and conduct
throughout one's life. How is one to row into the harbor of the Wondrous
Law?
Ordinary practitioners seek the Buddha, seek the Patriarchs, seek
Nirvana, or
seek the Pure Land. They are accustomed always to rowing to the outside.
Therefore, the more they seek the further away from their goal they are.
The practitioner of the true Wondrous Law is not like this. Purusing the
investigation of what sort of thing is his own innate Wondrous Law is,
he seeks
neither the Buddha nor the Patriarchs. He does not say that the Wondrous
Law is
inside or that it is outside. No matter where it is, no matter what
color it is,
he will not let things be until he has finally seen it once. All day long,
everywhere, without interruption, strenuously, bravely, he forces his
spirit on.
Refusing to leave what he has resolved to accomplish unfinished, asleep,
awake,
while standing, while reclining, he does not cast it aside. Night and day he
examines things; at times he goes over things again. Constantly, he
proceeds,
asking, "What is this thing, what is this thing? Who am I?" This is
called the
way of "the lion that bites the man." To proceed asking only, "What is the
Wondrous Law of the Mind?" is called the way of "a fine dog chasing a
clod of
dirt." Just under all circumstances cast aside all things, become without
thought and without mind and intone: "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, Namu Myoho Renge
Kyo, Reverence to the Lotus of the Wondrous Law." If you think that this old
monk has any Dharma principle better than this to write of, you are terribly
mistaken. Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, "Reverence to the Lotus of the Wondrous
Law."
Written by the old monk under the Sala tree.
25th day of the eleventh month of Enkyo 4 [= Dec. 26, 1747]
Although this long, tedious letter may be difficult to read, please show
it to
others at your hermitage. I have written it in the hope that it will
also serve
as the almsgiving of the Dharma. I wish that you will without fail see the
Ultimate Principle, the Wondrous Law of your own mind. With the wish
that you
will continue to intone ceaselessly the title: Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
"Reverence
to the Lotus of the Wondrous Law."
Supplement: Kambun text appended to letter
After I had written the draft of this letter I read it over carefully.
At that
time a monk who had long been a friend of mine was sitting beside me. He
read
what I had written and when he came to the part about the True Face of the
Lotus, he let out a long sigh and said, "Master, are you handing out a
yellow
leaf to keep the child from crying?"
The color drained from my face and I replied: "What are you talking
about? Are
you saying that what I have written is only worth a red leaf? This is
real gold,
not a red leaf. I wrote it to bring out the basic meaning of the Lotus
Sutra. By
calling it a read leaf aren't you slandering the Sutra? Crimes that
slander the
True Law are beyond the bounds of repentance. What part of what I have
written
makes you call it a red leaf?"
The monk bowed his head and answered: "Recently the various students
from far
and near who live at the temple have embraced a heroic resolution. They
blithely
sit, forgetting their own emaciated condition, and carry on their
practice at
the risk of their own bodies. Renting an old house or sneaking into an
abandoned
shrine, for fifteen years they have found sweet the bitter milk of the
Master's
poison, and are loath to disperse. But this year a tidal wave has swept
over the
fields and gardens and rice grains have not formed. The farmers, to support
their wives and children, wish in secret that they might move to some other
areas. I am deeply distressed and have lost all hope. There will not be
a monk's
staff left hanging at the Kokurin Monastery. The garden of Zen could not
be any
more desolate.
"Recently a monk said to me: 'Apart from those common, unstable men who seek
fine food and clothing and long for noise and bustle, not one of the
superior
men who have been studying earnestly for so long a time, seeking
understanding
and a breakthrough to enlightenment, has left. Their perseverence and
excellence
is ten times what it was last month. In groups of five or ten they stay,
some by
the shore, some under the trees, without eating and without sleeping for
five or
ten days on end. All of them say: "This is like the association for the
Buddhadharma held in olden days in evil years of famine."
"'They are as thin as men in mourning for their deceased mothers, as weak as
persons afflicted with a dread disease. Their cold and hunger, the suffering
that besets them, would cause spirits to shed tears, and demons to join
their
palms together in respect.
"'Today monasteries everywhere are equipped with lofty temple buildings and
sumptuous quarters for the monks. The two wheels turn at the same time
and the
four offerings are piled up. What sort of mind is it then that does not pay
attention to such things? Living in a place where hunger, cold, and poverty
abound, all that enters their ears are the evil words and abuse of the
Master;
all that passes their mouths is chaff of millet and wheat, and there is
not one
thing that in their hearts they feel is good. Yet these monks are not here
because they have no other place to go. They are all superior monks, fully
qualified to be in monasteries, but each of them devotes himself
assiduously to
the search for his own enlightenment, and pays no attention to anything
else.'
When I hear things like this I am greatly impressed and feel that it is
fortunate indeed that this is a time when many people will gain the
Buddhadharma.
"You must proclaim the need to take up the forging irons of progress toward
enlightenment and look for superior monks who have really studied and
gained a
true awakening. If you approach people with the secondary meaning and use
methods with a different import, you will be doing people a great harm. They
will be blocked by the others gates to enlightenment, and in the end you
will
not be able to produce even the least significant kind of person. Thirty
years
ago I suffered the painful polishing accorded by my Master, and after
undergoing
numerous hardships, attained understanding of the innate Buddha-nature,
penetrated the True Face of the Lotus, gained the true understanding
without the
slightest doubt of the mysterious principles of the three thousand
worlds in one
instant of thought and the innermost meaning of the perfect unity of the
three
truths. My Master himself acknowledged that I had gained an
understanding of the
True Face of the Lotus, and I thought in private to myself that as far
as I was
concerned, everything in the world had been determined.
"When recently I listened to your lectures on the Pi-yen lu, however, it was
just as if I were a farmer standing far away down the steps, listening to
lectures being delivered by various gentlemen of high rank at the
Secretariat. I
was like a man with bad vision who strains his eyes to see the scenery of
Hsiao-shui, like a deaf man who cocks his ears to hear the music
emanating from
Tung-t'ing Lake. With this, my strength drained away; the sweat of remorse
poured from my armpits, and tears of pain filled by breast. It was as
though all
the painful practice I had been through had not done the slightest bit
of good.
In the beginning I thought that the powers I had attained were on the
same level
as yours. But now I realize that to hold doubts about you is like a sheep
pointing at a fine steed and saying: 'This is my father,' or like a lame
turtle
indicating a heavenly dragon and saying: 'This is my Master.'
"I was depressed and irritated because I felt privately that you were
making me
the butt of deception. Just now I read what you had written about the
True Face
of the Lotus, and I was aroused to envy and so said: 'This is a yellow
leaf for
a crying child.' You can understand my reaction, I hope. The various
monks in
the temples all lament in the same way, saying that you point to the
place to
which they have attained by arduous labors, and call it 'the Zen of a
corpse in
a coffin.'"
I replied: "This is quite true. Ah! Keep going with your practice! Do
you see
that old pine tree towering above the hills and valleys? Its branches
pierce the
highest heaven; its roots reach through to the bowels of the earth.
Above, the
hanging moss reaches for a hundred feet; below, the fungus that grows
only after
the tree has lived a thousand years clings to the roots. Its strength is
that of
the flood-dragon that grasps the mists and seeks to rise to the heights
of the
sky. Below is a pine tree one inch high just putting forth a shoot of
needles.
One can pluck it out with the fingers, snap it off with the nails.
"If I point to these two trees and ask someone what they are, the answer
will
invariably be: "They are both pine trees. It all depends on the amount
of time
that they have been growing." But don't say: 'It's a matter of the
passage of
time.' If you guard the materials used for making a coffin and end up by
living
in a demon's home, even if you pile them up to the year X, of what
possible use
will they ever be?"
Once there were two children of Mr. Chang. The elder brother was named
Chang Wu
and the younger Chang Lu. One day they bundled up some provisions and
set out on
a long journey. While on the way they happened to find a bar of gold,
and they
danced for joy at the discovery. But later their ways parted and some thirty
years passed in which each of the brothers did not know whether the
other was
dead or alive. Lu, wondering about his brother, sought him in all
directions,
and finally having discovered his borther's whereabouts, journeyed there
from
afar to pay him a visit. When Lu came finally to his brother's place, he was
amazed at its opulence: the water wheels groaned as they turned and
carts filled
with grain came rumbling past. Oxen and horses filled the stables, flocks of
geese crowded the ditches. The sound of bamboo flutes and pipes floated
from the
house and voices were raised in song. Elegant guests came in and out.
Lu, shaking with fear, was unable to cross the threshhold. Bowing to the
ground
with terror and trembling, he offered his name card. Two boys handsome in
appearance and elegant in bearing came to greet him. Chang Lu followed
them in,
walking with extreme diffidence. The magnificence of the walls and the
beauty of
the buildings were such that K'ang I and Shih Nu would have felt at home in
them. Chang Lu's spirits faltered and his legs trembled and he did not know
where to sit down. After a short while Chang Wu, attended by his
concubines and
female servants, appeared from beneath an embroidered canopy. The
resplendent
costuming of the women who attended on his brother astounded Chang Lu; the
embroidered damasks overwelmed his eyes. A golden incense burner poured
forth
the fragrance of a thousand flowers; jade ornaments gave off hundreds of
delicate sounds. A crimson embroidered cap adorned Chang Wu's head; from his
shoulders a purple gown hung. He seated himself on a luxurious green
cushion and
leaned his arm on a sandalwood table. He glared with the haughty eyes of a
tiger; he held his shoulders arrogantly in the pose of a kite.
Chang Lu took one look and could not help but lower his eyes to the
ground. His
body seemed to shrink and his tears flowed without cease. We was quite
unable to
raise his head and look his brother straight in the face.
Deliberately Chang Wu began to speak: "My brother, why were you so long in
coming? How is it that you appear in such distressed circumstances?"
Chang Lu, wiping away his tears, asked then timidly: "My brother, to
what lord
are you indebted? From whom have you received patronage that you are so
great
and wealthy now?"
Chang Wu answered: "I am not the minister to any man, nor have I
received the
largess of a patron. I am just someone who a long time ago found some
money."
Chang Lu said: "How many boxes of gold did you find? Was it as much as
can be
piled into a large wagon or loaded onto a giant ship? Was it money that fell
from heaven or a treasure buried beneath the earth? Who was the person who
forgot about all this wealth?"
"Not at all. It was the money that thirty years ago you and I found together
upon the highway," replied his brother.
Chang Lu responded: "How strange! With only one bar of gold you were able to
attain all these riches?" Then suddenly Chang Lu became greatly
troubled. "Are
you perhaps a member of an evil gang, a partner in crime with the
thieves Tao
Chih and Chuang Ch'iao? If so, I'd better leave in a hurry so that I'll
be able
to escape the fate that is sure to fall on the nine families of
relatives. If I
stay here, I'll just be inviting my own death."
Chang Wu laughed heartily: "What happened to the money you picked up thirty
years ago? Did you gamble it away? Squander it on wine and women?"
Chang Lu replied: "I see, I see. My disreputable appearance must seem very
strange to you. Please ask the others to leave the room. I have
something I want
to say to you in private." Chang Wu glanced up and then asked all his
women to
leave. Chang Lu cautiously drew nearer: "Do I look like someone who
loses his
money gambling or concerns himself with the women of the gay quarters? I
am not
poor because I lost the money, but rather trying to protect it has worn
me out.
Didn't you tell me long ago: 'Guard the money well. Don't squander it
recklessly'? I am not the one who would go against the instructions of his
brother."
As soon as Chang Lu had found the money, he wrapped it in a tenfold
cloth and
guarded it with the utmost care, as though he were protecting the jewel
of Pien
Ho or the precious Night-illuminating Jewel. He carried it with him
wherever he
went. For thirty years he had not relaxed, and had remained sleepless,
fearing
that he was constantly under the threat of death from thieves and
assassins. He
dreaded it if people inquired of his health, turned away from all his
friends,
and avoided association with anyone. He became a man of abject poverty,
wearing
on his shoulders a disreputable gown, patched in a hundred places, and
on his
head a tattered cap. People paid him absolutely no attention, never
giving him a
second thought, and this, in turn, he found a blessing. Fearing that he
might
exhaust his money, he took no wife, remaining always single. He hid
himself in
places where he need have nothing to do with other men, seeking out
abandoned
houses and dilapidated mausoleums to sleep in. He never stayed at an inn
and was
content with the most miserable of food. He begged beside the gates of
people's
houses, and if he was forced to stand for an appreciable length of time, he
might on occassion sing for his food.
Then saying: "The gold is right here," he looked about several times to make
sure that no one else was there to see him, and then he loosened his filthy,
torn gown and fishing about in the folds finally drew out a packet wrapped
around ten times in cloth. He undid it, and looking all around again, he
took
out the gold and showed it to his brother. "Where is the money that you
picked
up?" he asked. "Bring it out and let's see it for old time's sake."
Chang Wu laughingly replied: "Not long after you and I parted some
thirty years
ago I lost the gold."
Chang Lu paled and stared intently at his brother's face. Reflecting
pensively
he remarked: "You lost the money while I guarded it. Yet, though you
lost it,
you have become wealthy, and I who guarded mine am miserably poor." He
opened
his eyes wide and struck his forehead and gnashed his teeth and gnawed
on his
lips and could not help feeling deeply depressed. After a while he said:
"If it
is bad to guard something and starve from poverty and good to discard
something
and revel in riches, then, even though I am late about it, shouldn't I also
throw the gold away? Please tell me how to discard it."
Chang Wu laughed uproariously and said: "The gold that you picked up was
worth
less than a yellow leaf. Not only did it fail to benefit you, but on the
contrary, it impoverished you and did harm to your heart and entrails.
Had you
wrapped up a red leaf, it would have weighed nothing as you went on your
rounds,
nor would you have been afflicted by poverty; instead you might have
spent your
time in a simple cottage, caring for a wife and children, and might have
slept
comfortably, with your head high on a pillow. What you guarded was the
road that
led away from these things; what I threw away was the road that led to them.
"After I left you those thirty years ago, I went to Yang-chou. To me my
gold was
lighter than a yellow leaf, and I bought with it a great amount of salt.
As soon
as I sold the salt, with the profit I bought silk floss. As soon as I
sold the
silk floss, with the profit I bought hemp. As soon as I sold the hemp,
with the
profit I bought grain, fruit, fish, and meat. I sent people throughout the
country to gather the treasures of mountain and sea, the beauties of
land and
water. Bringing all these things together, I opened several large stores
with
some three hundred employees. People stormed my doors with money in
their hands
and there was no variety of food that I did not sell. My possessions and
wealth
became enormous; T'ao Chu-kung's riches were small by comparison, I Tun's
possessions would amount to nothing beside mine. My storehouses and
granaries
stand eave-to-eave in rows. I possess fifteen thousand acres of fertile
land. I
have purchased several score of mountains clothed with cypress and pine and
groves of catalpa and cedar, and have set myself up in the
establishment. This
is the road I trod by casting away the gold, that I regarded as lightly
as one
does a red leaf."
Chang Lu stood up, bowed, and said: "Blessings on you, my brother. I
hope that
you continue in the best of health. Your casting away, while only
seeming like
casting away, actually turned out to be devoting your efforts to
guarding. My
guarding, which only seemed to be guarding, was actually devoting my
efforts to
throwing away. Guarding and throwing away bring different results
indeed. One
knows for a certainty that when it comes into the hands of a wise man, a
yellow
leaf is true gold; when it falls into the hands of a stupid person, true
gold is
only a yellow leaf. Oh, how I regret the thirty years of pain I have caused
myself, the energies I have exhausted without a particle of gain!" His
voice was
choked with painful sobs.
Studying Zen under a teacher is just like this story. What you obtain at
first
is the nature with which man is innately endowed. It is the true face of the
unique One Vehicle of the Lotus. What I have obtained is this very same
nature,
innate from the outset, this one and only true face of the One Vehicle
of the
Lotus. This is called seeing into one's own nature. This nature does not
change
in the slightest degree from the time one first starts in the Way until
complete
intuitive wisdom is perfected. It is like the metal refined by the Great
Metal-maker. Therefore it has been said: "At the time that one first
conceives
the desire to study Buddhism, enlightenment has already been attained."
In the
teaching schools this is the first of the ten stages. But even more so,
it is
also the very last barrier. Who can tell how far in the distance the
garden of
the Patriarchs lies?
At times one hears people, from the vantage of a one-sided view, say:
"The place
that I stand facing now is the mysterious, unproduced pre-beginning
where the
Buddha and the Patriarchs have yet to arise. Here there is absolutely no
birth,
no death, no Nirvana, no passions, no enlightenment. All the scriptures
are but
paper fit only to wipe off excrement, the bodhisattvas and the arhats
are but
corrupted corpses. Studying Zen under a teacher is an empty delusion.
The koans
are but a film that clouds the eye. Here there is nothing; there there is
nothing. I do not seek the Buddhas. I do not seek the Patriarchs. In
starvation
and sleeplessness what is there lacking?"
Even the Buddhas and the Patriarchs cannot cure an understanding such as
this.
Every day these people seek a place of peace and quiet; today they end
up like
dead dogs and tomorrow it will be the same thing. Even if they continue
in this
way for endless kalpas, they will still be nothing more than dead dogs.
Of what
possible use are such people! The Tathagata has compared them to
scabrous foxes.
Anguilimalya has scorned them as having the intelligence of earthworms.
Vimalakirti has placed them in the category of those who would scorch
buds and
cause seeds to rot. Ch'ang-sha has called them people who cannot move
from the
top of a hundred-foot pole. Lin-chi has described them as being in a deep,
dismal, black pit. These are people who do not separate from the so-called
device and rank, and thus fall into the sea of poison. Sticking to a
one-sided
view, and spending their time time polishing and perfecting purity, they
end up
having spent their whole lives in error. They are like that Chang Lu who,
embracing his bar of gold, spent his whole life exhausted and persecuted.
Tz'u-ming, Huang-lung, Chen-ching, Hui-t'ang, Hsi-keng, and Ta-hui
devoted all
their energies to eradicating this attitude, but they could not save
people like
these.
When I was seven or eight years old my mother took me to a temple for
the first
time and we listened to a sermon on the hells as described in the Mo-ho
chih-kuan. The priest dwelt eloquently on the torments of the Hells of
Wailing,
Searing Heat, Incessant Suffering, and the Red Lotus. So vivid was the
priest's
description that it sent shivers down the spines of both monks and
laymen and
made their hair stand on end in terror. Returning home, I took stock of the
deeds of my short life and felt that there was but little hope for me. I
did not
know which way to turn and I was gooseflesh all over. In secret I took
up the
chapter on Kannon from the Lotus Sutra and the dharani on Great
Compassion and
recited them day and night.
One day when I was taking a bath with my mother, she asked that the water be
made hotter and had the maid add wood to the fire. Gradually my skin
began to
prickle with the heat and the iron bath-cauldron began to rumble. Suddenly I
recalled the descriptions of the hells that I had heard and I let out a
cry of
terror that resounded through the neighborhood.
From this time on I determined to myself that I would leave home to
become a
monk. To this my parents would not consent, yet I went constantly to the
temple
to recite the sutras and to study the works of Confucianism. At fifteen
I left
home to become a monk and at that time I vowed to myself: "Even if I
should die
I will not cease my efforts to gain the power of one whom fire will not
burn and
water will not drown." Day and night I recited the sutras and obeisance
to the
Buddhas, but I noticed that when I was ill or taking acupuncture or moxa
treatment, the pain I felt was just as it had been before. I was greatly
depressed and said to myself: "I became a monk against my parents'
wishes and
have yet to make the slightest progress. I have heard that the Lotus is
the king
of all the sutras, venerated even by ghosts and spirits. People who are
suffering in the lower worlds, when they rely on others in their efforts
to be
saved, always ask that the Lotus Sutra be recited for them. When one
considers
that recitation by others can save a person from suffering, how much more
effective must be recitation by oneself! There must indeed be profound and
mysterious doctrines in this Sutra."
Thereupon I picked up the Lotus Sutra and in my study of it found that,
other
than passages that explain that there is only One Vehicle and that all
phenomena
are in the state of Nirvana, the text was concerned with parables
relating to
cause and effect. If this Sutra had all these virtues, then surely the six
Confucian classics and the books of all the other schools must be equally
effective. Why should this particular sutra be so highly esteemed? My
hopes were
completely dashed. At this time I was sixteen years of age.
When I was nineteen I happened to read the [Wu-chia] cheng-tsung tsan,
in which
the story of how the Master Yen-t'ou was killed by bandits and how his
cries at
the time resounded for over three li is described. I wondered why such an
enlightened monk was unable to escape the swords of thieves. If such a thing
could happen to a man who was like a unicorn or phoenix among monks, a
dragon in
the sea of Buddhism, how was I to escape the staves of the demons of
hell after
I died? What use was there in studying Zen? What a fraud Buddhism! How I
regretted that I had cast myself into this band of strange and evil men.
What
was I to do now? So great was my distress that for three days I could
not eat
and for a long time my faith in Buddhism was completely lost. Statues of the
Buddha and the sacred scriptures looked like mud and dirt to me. It
seemed much
better to read lay works, to amuse myself with poetry and prose, and
thus to a
small degree to alleviate my distress.
When I was twenty-two I went to the province of Wakasa, and while attending
lectures on the Hsu-t'ang lu, I gained an awakening. Later, when I was
in the
province of Iyo, I read the Fo-tsu san-ching and achieved an intense
awakening.
I concentrated night and day on the Mu koan without a moment's rest, but
to my
great disappointment I was unable to achieve a pure and uninvolved state of
undistracted meditation. Equally disappointing to me was the fact that I
could
not achieve the state where waking and sleeping are the same.
The spring of my twenty-fourth year found me in the monk's quarters of the
Eigan-ji in Echigo, pursuing my strenuous studies. Night and day I did not
sleep; I forgot both to eat and rest. Suddenly a great doubt manifested
itself
before me. It was as though I were frozen solid in the midst of an ice sheet
extending tens of thousands of miles. A purity filled my breast and I could
neither go forward nor retreat. To all intents and purposes I was out of
my mind
and the Mu alone remained. Although I sat in the Lecture Hall and
listened to
the Master's lecture, it was as though I were hearing a discussion from the
distance outside the hall. At times it felt as though I were floating
through
the air.
This state lasted for several days. Then I chanced to hear the sound of the
temple bell and I was suddenly transformed. It was as if a sheet of ice
had been
smashed or a jade tower had fallen with a crash. Suddenly I returned to my
senses. I felt then that I had achieved the status of Yen-t'ou, who
through the
three periods of time encountered not the slightest loss [although he
had been
murdered by bandits]. All my former doubts vanished as though ice had melted
away. In a loud voice I called: "Wonderful, wonderful. There is no cycle of
birth and death through which one must pass. There is no enlightenment
one must
seek. The seventeen hundred koans handed down from the past have not the
slightest value whatsoever." My pride soared up like a majestic mountain, my
arrogance surged forward like the tide. Smugly I thought to myself: "In
the past
two or three hundred years no one could have accomplished such a marvelous
breakthrough as this."
Shouldering my glorious enlightenment, I set out at once for Shinano.
Calling on
Master Shoju, I told of my experience and presented him with a verse. The
Master, holding my verse up in his left hand, said to me: "This verse is
what
you have learned from study. Now show me what your intuition has to
say," and he
held out his right hand.
I replied: "If there were something intuitive that I could show you, I'd
vomit
it out," and I made a gagging sound.
The Master said: "How do you understand Chao-chou's Mu?"
I replied: "What sort of place does Mu have that one can attach arms and
legs to
it?"
The Master twisted my nose with his fingers and said: "Here's someplace to
attach arms and legs." I was nonplussed and the Master gave a hearty
laugh. "You
poor hole-dwelling devil!" he cried. I paid him no attention and he
continued:
"Do you think somehow that you have sufficient understanding?"
I answered: "What do you think is missing?"
Then the Master began to discuss the koan that tells of Nan-ch'uan's
death. I
clapped my hands over my ears and started out of the room. The Master called
after me, "Hey, monk!" and when I turned to him he added: "You poor
hole-dwelling devil!" From then on, almost every time he saw me, the Master
called me a "poor hole-dwelling devil."
One evening the Master lay cooling himself on the veranda. Again I
brought him a
verse I had written. "Delusions and fancies," the Master said. I shouted his
words back at him in a loud voice, whereupon the Master seized me and rained
twenty or thrity blows with his fists on me, and then pushed me off the
veranda.
This was on the fourth day of the fifth month after a long spell of
rain. I lay
stretched out in the mud as though dead, scarcely breathing and almost
unconscious. I could not move; meanwhile the Master sat on the veranda
roaring
with laughter. After a short while I regained consciousness, got up, and
bowed
to the Master. My body was bathed in perspiration. The Master called out
to me
in a loud voice: "You poor hole-dwelling devil!"
After I devoted myself to an intense study of the koan on the death of
Nan-ch'uan, not pausing to sleep or eat. One day I had an awakening and
went to
the Master's room to test my understanding, but he would not approve it.
All he
did was call me a "poor hole-dwelling devil."
I began to think that I had better leave and go somewhere else. One day
when I
had gone to town to beg for food I encountered a madman who tried to beat me
with a broom. Unexpectedly I found that I had penetrated the koan on the
death
of Nan-ch'uan. Then the other koans that had puzzled me, Su-shan's Memorial
Tower and Ta-hui's verse on the Roundness of the Lotus Leaf, fell into
place of
themselves and I penetrated them all. After I returned to the temple I
spoke of
the understanding I had gained. The Master neither approved nor denied
what I
said, but only laughed pleasantly. But from this time on he stopped
calling me a
"poor hole-dwelling devil." Later I experienced enlightenment two or three
times, accompanied by a great feeling of joy. At times there were words to
express such experiences, but to my regret at other times there are
none. It was
as though I were walking about in the shadow cast by a lantern. I
returned then
and attended on my old teacher Nyoka, who had fallen ill.
One day I read in the verse given by Hsi-keng to his disciple Nampo as
they were
parting, the passage: "As we go to part a tall bamboo stands by the
gate; its
leaves stir the clear breeze for you in farewell." I was overcome with great
joy, as though a dark path had suddenly been illumined. Unconsciously I
cried
aloud: "Today for the first time I have entered the samadhi of words." I
arose
and bowed in reverence.
After this I set out on a pilgrimage. One day when I was passing through
southern Ise I ran into a downpour and the waters reached to my knees.
Suddenly
I gained an even deeper understanding of the verse on the Roundness of
the Lotus
Leaf by Ta-hui. I was unable to contain my joy. I lost all awareness of
my body,
fell headlong into the waters, and forgot completely to get up again. My
bundles
and clothing were soaked through. Fortunately a passer-by, seeing my
predicament, helped me to get up. I roared with laughter and everyone there
thought I was mad. That winter, when I was sitting at night in the
monk's hall
at Shinoda in Izumi, I gained an elightenment from the sound of snow
falling.
The next year, while practicing walking meditation at the monk's hall of the
Reisho-in in Mino, I suddenly had an enlightenment experience greater
than any I
had had before, and was overcome by a great surge of joy.
I came to this dilapidated temple when I was thirty-two. One night in a
dream my
mother came and presented me with a purple robe made of silk. When I
lifted it,
both sleeves seemed very heavy, and on examining them I found an old mirror,
five or six inches in diameter, in each sleeve. The reflection from the
mirror
in the right sleeve penetrated to my heart and vital organs. My own mind,
mountains and rivers, the great earth seemed serene and bottomless. The
mirror
in the left sleeve, however, gave off no reflection whatsoever. Its
surface was
like that of a new pan that had yet to be touched by flames. But suddenly I
became aware that the luster of the mirror from the left sleeve was
innumerable
times brighter than the other. After this, when I looked at all things,
it was
as though I were seeing my own face. For the first time I understood the
meaning
of the saying, "The Tathagata sees the Buddha-nature within his eye."
Later I happened to read the Pi-yen lu again, and my understanding of it
differed completely from what it had been before. One night, some time
after, I
took up the Lotus Sutra. Suddenly I penetrated to the perfect, true,
ultimate
meaning of the Lotus. The doubts I had held initially were destroyed and I
became aware that the understanding I had obtained up to then was greatly in
error. Unconsciously I uttered a great cry and burst into tears.
I wish that eveyone would realize that studying Zen under a teacher is
not such
a simple matter after all. Although I am old and dissipated, and have
nothing of
which I can be proud, I am aware that at least I have not spent forty
years in
vain. Was it not for this reason that Chang Wu, when he was in
Yang-chou, let go
of his gold and engaged in his painful struggles [toward success]? As in the
example I gave you, if you shoulder the one-sided understanding you have
gained
and spend your whole life vainly polishing and purifying it, how are you any
different from Chang Lu, who guarded his piece of gold throughout his life,
starving himself and bringing only harm to his body?
In India such a person is called the poor son of a rich man, [a
follower] of the
Two Vehicles. In China he is poken of as belonging to the group that
practices
the heretical silent-illumination Zen. None of these knows the dignity
of the
bodhisattva, nor does he reach the understanding that illuminates the
cause for
entrance to a Buddha land. Nowadays people go about carrying on their
shoulders
a single empty principle and with it "understand the Buddha, understand the
Patriarchs, understand the old koans." Then they all say: "Like the
stick, like
the dharani, like the katsu." How laughable this is! Exert yourselves,
students,
for the Buddha Way is deep and far. Let everyone know that the farther
you enter
the sea the deeper it becomes and the higher you climb a mountain the
taller it
gets.
If you wish to test the validity of your own powers, you must first
study the
koan on the death of Nan-ch'uan.
A long time ago San-sheng had the head monk Hsiu go to the Zen Master
Tsen of
Ch'ang-sha and ask him: "What happened to Nan-ch'uan after he passes away?"
Ch'ang-sha replied: "When Shih-t'ou became a novice monk he was seen by the
Sixth Patriarch."
Hsiu replied: "I didn't ask you about when Shih-t'ou became a novice monk; I
asked you what happened to Nan-ch'uan after he passed away."
Ch'ang-sha replied: "If I were you I would let Nan-ch'uan worry about it
himself."
Hsiu replied: "Even though you had a thousand-foot winter pine, there is no
bamboo shoot to rise above its branches."
Ch'ang had nothing to say. Hsiu returned and told the story of his
conversation
to San-sheng. San-sheng unconsciously stuck out his tongue [in surprise] and
said: "He has surpassed Lin-chi by seven paces."
If you are able to understand and make clear these words, then I will
acknowledge that you have a certain degree of responsiveness to the
teachings.
Why is this so? If you speak to yourself while no one is around, you
behave as
meanly as a rat. What can anyone possibly prove [about your understanding]?
I may have been hitting a dangerous animal in the teeth three times. I
join my
palms together and say: "Let's leave it at that for today."
Source: The Zen Master Hakuin: Selected Writings.
Translated by Philip B. Yampolsky. Columbia University Press: New York. 1971
edition, pp. 86-123.
norbu_tragri
wrote:
> Do not place any cut and past lengthy post on any of my topics.
i will stop doing so. there was only good will in my previous posts.
> Try
> speaking from your own genuine practice experience any person can cut
> and past .That is not what I did .
indeed. and i said your post was well said!
> I'm not going to warn you again with
> regards to you 3yrs old playmates high on psychadelic or psychotropic
> narcotics your will be reported marked as spam and blocked.If
> necessary google legal will be notified.
i understand and respect your concern. Unsenet groups are not
moderated.
Google groups legal is only concerned with fraudulent business
proposals.
They do not concern themselves with hate speech - there are groups
that are dedicated to nothing but the worst hate speech imaginable -
Google does nothing about them.
i can advise people to let your posts be - without reply - if you
wish that.
But that is all i can do. Hate benefits no one. i was taught that all
beings have
the heart of samyaksambuddha - tathagatagarbha -
that all beings will eventually awake as Buddhas - that all beings
were in
the vast ocean of samsara my mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers,
sons, daughters,
etc etc - that the four gates of the mandala are friendliness,
equanimity,
compassion and rejoicing for others. Both before and after taking
Bodhisattva vows
- heart opens - bodhicitta - then it's all "how can i help, rejoice,
etc"...
> To re interate what I stated
> earlier if you don't speak up against hate mail and spam your as bad
> as they are.
i just have. and i have always advocated right speech on the
buddhadharma usenet groups.
> STOP spamming me and stay on TOPIC that includes you and all your
> playmates.
i take it you are using a "news server" that sends Usenet posts to
your email.
That might be part of the misunderstanding. i post from the Google
archive -
It's an online site - there are thousands of groups i have no interest
in - they are not spam to me -
there are hundreds of posts to the groups i read that have no interest
to me -
i just don't read them - it's not spam. If you subscribe to have
usenet groups
delivered to your email then - yes - it will look like spam.
If you want to free up your email from that i recommend posting from
the Google Groups
archive.
> I don't want or need your advice.
i'm sorry if i seemed to to say any thing like that! i chatter about
what i was taught and practice,
no disrespect intended...just what i was taught and what i'm
practicing...not saying "you should"
or "you don't" do that. You have taken a high and difficult path as a
bhikksu, all i want is for you
know that i respect you for that choice and am wishing you all the
best!
> If I wanted you to spam me
> with lengthy messages I would say hey mr.Intellectual understanding of
> dharma spam me but I have not nor will I ever type those words.
if i could spam you with respect and good wishes i would -
please have a long life and help everyone to find liberation and
lead all others to complete awakening!
> So get
> lost and take your todler buddies with you .
i think the other posters here wish you all best as well.
however they phrase it.
p.s.
i have helped some folks go through chemo etc -
some dietary regimes that don't interfere with chemo but might help
against
bad side effects,
> STOP DENIZENS OF INTERNET
>
> On Dec 4, 2:36 am, norbu_tragri <norbu.tra...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
<snip for brevity>
norbu_tragri
> thubtenpematenzin wrote:
> > Do not place any cut and past lengthy post on any of my topics.
>
> No.
>
> Zen Master Hakuin's
> Letter in Answer to an Old Nun of the Hokke [Nichiren] Sect
> The 25th day of the Eleventh Month of Enkyo 4
> (C.E. 1747)
>
> This fall when I gave my lectures on the Lotus Sutra I said that outside the
> mind there was no Lotus Sutra and outside the Lotus Sutra there was no mind.
Thanx, Jules,
i always thought that amid the good hearted people of Japan the
sectarian crap did'nt apply.
on the other paw, Thubten Pema is requesting that we not post replies
to his posts while
he is undergoing treatment for cancer...maybe misunderstandings, etc -
just avoid them,
wish him well and recovery. i will no longer reply to his posts to
avoid misunderstandings, and wish him
all the best to recover from this and to go on to help others.
- n.
Lady Azure, Baroness of the North Pole.
Kewl.
But I got da toopid pedogree to prove it.
You laugh, but I am a heir of Zeus and Odin.
"Right"!!!!!!! (You Say)
RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Got the Paperwork to back me up too.
�Public Opinion does not eradicate that fact.
Mor (The Muse/Musc) was one of the 3 Daughters of Zeus, She who sang to the
Dragon of the River to incite the Whirlpool during the war with the Sea People.
My Family the Magho were titled the Rou Gi, and or Deu Che by Atilla.
The Stewarts including those of India were driven out in the 1700's during the
"Wars of Succession", so they went to America and started a new place.
Julian
I used to have the paper work to prove I was an U.N.C.L.E. agent.