The Universal Door of Gwanshiyin Bodhisattva
(The Bodhisattva Who Contemplates the Sounds of the World)

Chapter 25

 

Sutra:

“Inexhaustible Intention, such is the self-mastery and spiritual power of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, who roams throughout the Saha world.”

Outline:

K6. Concluding praise.

Commentary:

Inexhaustible Intention, such is the self-mastery and spiritual power of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, who roams throughout the Saha world. Thus, everyone should recite his name, “Namo Guanshiyin Bodhisattva,” and make offerings to him and revere him.

Sutra:

At that time, Inexhaustible Intention Bodhisattva used verses to ask this question:

“World Honored One, complete with wondrous marks,
I now ask again,
Why is this disciple of the Buddha
Called Guanshiyin?”

Outline:

F2. Verse.
G1. Question.

Commentary:

At that time, Inexhaustible Intention Bodhisattva used verses to ask this question. Verses are used to restate the doctrines of the previous prose passage so as to elaborate upon them. The verses to this chapter were not translated by Dharma Master Kumarajiva, the original translator, but were added later.

World Honored One, complete with wondrous marks, I now ask again. The Buddha has Thirty-two Marks and Eighty Subsidiary Characteristics. The Buddha's appearance is perfect and full. Why is this disciple of the Buddha called Guanshiyin? The Buddha is the Dharma King, and the Bodhisattvas are his disciples. Why is this disciple of the Buddha called "Contemplator of the World's Sounds"?

Sutra:

The Honored One of Perfect, Wondrous Marks,
With verses answered Inexhaustible Intention:
Listen to the practice of Guanyin,
Who skillfully responds in all places.

With vast vows, as deep as the sea,
Throughout inconceivable eons,
He has served many thousands of kotis of Buddhas,
And has made great, pure vows.

Outline:

G2. Answer.
H1. Verses to praise his conduct and vows in general.

Commentary:

The Honored One of Perfect, Wondrous Marks, with verses answered Inexhaustible Intention. "Perfect" means nothing lacking and nothing in excess. It also means perfect in both blessings and wisdom. But here we are not just talking about blessings and wisdom. We are talking about the perfection of the Thirty-two Marks and Eighty Subsidiary Characteristics of the Buddha. He is perfect in all respects.

Inexhaustible Intention Bodhisattva asked his question in verse, and so the Buddha answers him in verse.

Listen to the practice of Guanyin, who skillfully responds in all places. Guanyin Bodhisattva uses skillful expedients. He contemplates the potentials of living beings and dispenses the teaching. He manifests in the body of a Buddha, a Pratyekabuddha, and so forth, to speak the Dharma according to the needs of the living beings being taught. He skillfully responds to the needs of the person. A skillful method is not fixed; it varies with the needs of the person. For this reason, the Vajra Sutra says, "There is no fixed dharma called anuttarasamyaksambodhi."

To save people, you need to know a lot of worldly dharmas. Let's say you become a Dharma Master and you want to teach and transform people. You still have to understand a lot of doctrines. If you see a businessman, you might talk about business, "How is it going? Making money? How is the economy?" If you see a laborer, you might say, "How are working conditions? Are you really busy?" and talk about his work. When the person finds out that you care about him and his work, he will be happy. Once he is happy, you can speak a little Buddhadharma to him, and he will think, "Hey, that is pretty good!" If you see a student, you can ask him about his studies, "How is science or philosophy?" And so the saying goes,

Prescribe the medicine according to the illness;
Speak the Dharma in accord with the person.

This is to "skillfully respond" in all places. We also say,

With clever expedients we save living beings,
Skillfully turning the dust of the world into the Buddha's work.

All worldly affairs are turned, with ingenuity, into Buddhadharma.

With vast vows, as deep as the sea, throughout inconceivable eons, he has served many thousands of kotis of Buddhas. Guanshiyin Bodhisattva is in all respects subtle, wonderful, and inconceivable. He has served many, many millions of Buddhas. And he has made great, pure vows in every life—vows of great kindness and great compassion. The realm of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva is indeed lofty, deep, and unfathomable!

Sutra:

I shall now tell you in brief,
That for those who hear his name or see him,
And who are mindful of his name unceasingly,
He can extinguish the suffering of all realms of existence.

Outline:

H2. Specific verses in answer.
I1. Answers to previous questions.
J1. General answer.

Commentary:

Guanshiyin Bodhisattva made pure vows. What are pure vows? "Pure" means that they are not made for one's own selfishness; they are public and unselfish. Guanyin Bodhisattva's vows are based on his compassionate wish to save living beings.

Shakyamuni Buddha said to Inexhaustible Intention Bodhisattva, "I shall now tell you in brief, that for those who hear his name or see him." To hear Guanyin Bodhisattva's name, you must have good roots. If you do not have good roots, you cannot even hear Guanshiyin Bodhisattva's name, let alone see him in person. Now we have all heard his name. To see him does not mean you necessarily have to see his physical body. It can also mean seeing a painting or a statue made of clay, copper, iron, silver, gold, wood, or mani. That is just the same as seeing him in person.

And who are mindful of his name unceasingly. This means that you keep his name in mind and do not let the time slip by idly. You recite without wasting your time. Time is the most precious thing, more precious than gold. Do not waste your precious time. Instead recite, "Namo Guanshiyin Bodhisattva."

What advantages does recitation of Guanyin Bodhisattva's name bring? He can extinguish the suffering of all realms of existence. All of existence refers to the twenty-five planes of existence in the Three Realms—the realms of desire, form, and formlessness.

Sutra:

If someone is the victim of another’s harmful intent,
And is pushed into a pit of fire,
If he evokes the strength of Guanyin,
The pit of fire will turn into a pool.

Outline:

J2. Specific answers.
K1. The seven difficulties.
L1. The difficulty of fire.

Commentary:

If someone is the victim of another's intent. Let's say you go into business with someone and then the two of you take a trip together in the mountains. You are way up on a cliff, and your partner realizes, "If I push him off the cliff, I can have all the money!"

And if a person is pushed into a pit of fire, if he evokes the strength of Guanyin, the pit of fire will turn into a pool. Recitation of Guanyin Bodhisattva's name has great power and brings a great response. It is truly inconceivable.

Now that we can hear this chapter of the Dharma Flower Sutra and understand this doctrine, we should always and everywhere recite the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva. If you recite the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, in the future he will protect you. Such incidents are too many to be spoken of in full.

Sutra:

If someone is being tossed about in the great sea,
And is surrounded by the dangers of dragons, fish, and ghosts,
If he evokes the strength of Guanyin,
The waves will not drown him.

Outline:

L2. The difficulty of water.

Commentary:

If someone is being tossed about in the great sea, with no sign of the shore anywhere, and is surrounded by the dangers of dragons, fish, and ghosts. There are poisonous dragons and rakshasa ghosts in the sea. Big fish can eat people, too. But if he evokes the strength of Guanyin, the waves will not drown him. Somehow, he will find himself in shallow water, transported to the other shore, or he will be saved by a boat or something. But if you do not recite the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva or see Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, things can get very dangerous.

I remember when I was in Hong Kong, I had a very bad disciple. In what way was he bad? He had hurt people. His name was Zhang. His family owned a Western pharmacy, and they were very wealthy. He imported Western drugs into Hong Kong. This was right after the Japanese had surrendered. Since it was right after the war, there were a lot of sicknesses and epidemics on the mainland. When he was on a boat coming back with a cargo of drugs, he pushed his business partner overboard. The business partner did not know about reciting Guanshiyin Bodhisattva's name, and he drowned.

When Zhang returned, he made a lot of money. He also sold counterfeit drugs and made a fortune on them. He was incredibly rich. But, eventually, the retribution caught up with him, and he got cancer. Six of the most famous doctors in Hong Kong said that he would surely be dead within a hundred days; that there was no way to cure it. He advertised in the newspaper saying that if anyone could save his life, he would pay that person US$200,000, which was a considerable amount in those days. But no one could take him up on this offer, and so he came to Western Bliss Garden and asked me what to do.

I said, "You should do good deeds and make offerings to the Triple Jewel. The first thing you need to do is take refuge with the Triple Jewel. Next, make offerings. Then maybe you will get better."

And so, on the eighteenth day of the fifth month, he signed up to take refuge. I encouraged him to make offerings to the entire Triple Jewel by presenting a bolt of sturdy cloth to every member of the Sangha in Hong Kong. At that time, many Bhikshus and Bhikshunis had come from the mainland and they had no clothes to wear or places to stay. There were two or three thousand of them. I told him to give each of them HK$20 [US$15]. He agreed to do this.

Now, there were a lot of old Dharma Masters in Hong Kong who, hearing that Zhang Yujie had taken refuge with me, manifested their spiritual powers. What do I mean? They sent their friends and relatives to talk to Zhang to get him to go to their temples instead. The old Dharma Masters all got people to "climb on conditions," that is, to be opportunistic on their behalf. All the old and well-known Dharma Masters with status were after him. So Zhang went and did some merit at this temple and some virtue at that temple.

He had agreed to give each left-home person coming from the mainland HK$20 as I had told him to, but he did not do it. He gave them each a bolt of cloth, though not the good kind he had promised but a kind of inferior quality, and he only gave them $5 each. Since I had already told the left-home people about this offering, I had to make up the difference. I borrowed money and made up the extra $10. Now, not one of them knew I had done this. Today, they still do not know. Monks know that other monks do not like to give money away. They prefer to receive money. In fact, there is a saying, "Left-home people are not greedy for money? The more the better." Zhang wanted to spend his money on something else, so I did not say anything.

Anyway, one hundred days went by, and he did not die. All the Dharma Masters said, "We did it for you by bowing repentances." Each one of them claimed that he was responsible for saving Zhang's life. "I bowed to the Buddha every day for you. That did the trick." They all did their bit. I did not claim to have anything to do with it, and I had nothing to say to him about it.

Six years passed, and he had not died.

At that time, I was building Cixing Monastery at Dayu Mountain [on Lanto Island]. He heard I was building a temple, and since he was a disciple, he sent a servant to me with a small amount of money. The servant brought the money and said that Zhang wanted to help me build the temple. I did not even look at it. I just threw it out the door. I said, "His money is not clean. It did not come in the proper way. Give it back to him."

This scared Zhang nearly to death. He went to one of the groveling Dharma Masters, Dingxi by name, and tried to get him to give the money to me with some compliments. I said to Dingxi, "The work here is done. I do not need any money. He can do some other kinds of merit and virtue with his money. There are so many Dharma Masters and temples. Take it somewhere else." The old Dharma Master was a bit embarrassed.

Another two years went by. And then, in the first month of the year, I announced, "Zhang Yujie took refuge eight years ago. He said he was going to offer US$200,000 to build a temple. It has not happened yet, and I am not going to wait anymore for it to happen. However, after this, no matter what kind of a problem he has, I am not going to pay any attention to it. He can kneel in front of me until he dies, but I am not going to pay any attention to his business."

Less than six months later, his cancer returned. He sent his relatives to me because none of the other temples could bring him a response at that time. So he came to me, but I said, "I already announced in the first month of this year that I was no longer going to pay any attention to Zhang Yujie's affairs." I did not either, and he died of cancer a few days later. His younger brother had committed suicide earlier by jumping into the ocean. That was before Zhang took refuge with me.

Soon after that, Dharma Master Dingxi, who had taken advantage of Zhang Yujie, also got cancer and died about a year later. Probably Zhang’s ghost had gone to get him, saying “You said that I was cured because of the repentances you bowed, but I still died of cancer.” The laywoman who had convinced Zhang Yujie to go to Dingxi also died of cancer. The three of them were of one substance. They stuck together while alive and they all died of cancer together.

Zhang Yujie died because he had pushed his business partner into the ocean. His partner could not recite Guanyin's name, and so he became a vengeful ghost and caused Zhang to have cancer. Basically, since Zhang had taken refuge with the Triple Jewel, if he had truly brought forth faith, he would not have died. But his faith was not solid, and so even though he did not die after a hundred days, he died eight years later. His family is still very rich. But when he died, he could not take any of it with him. All the money he cheated out of everyone was useless. It all went to his other younger brother.

Why did his business partner drown? Because he did not recite Guanyin Bodhisattva's name.

Sutra:

If someone is on the peak of Mount Sumeru,
And another person tries to push him off,
If he evokes the strength of Guanyin,
He will stand firm as the sun in space.

Outline:

L3. The difficulty of falling off Mount Sumeru.

Commentary:

If someone is on the peak of Mount Sumeru, and another person tries to push him off. Mount Sumeru is the name of the highest mountain. However, the text here does not mean just Mount Sumeru; it could be any high place. Sumeru is a Sanskrit word that means "wonderfully high." Being "on the peak of Mount Sumeru" here can also mean that people flatter you and praise you until your ego soars to lofty heights, and then they pull the carpet out from under you, leaving you with nothing to stand on. That is also like being pushed off Mount Sumeru.

If he evokes the strength of Guanyin, he will stand firm as the sun in space. The sun in space shines for ten thousand miles. Even if people put you on a pedestal and then let you fall, you will have samadhi power and will not be upset. This is as when,

In praise or blame,
His mind doesn't move.

Sutra:

If someone is pursued by evil people,
Who want to throw him off a Vajra Mountain,
If he evokes the strength of Guanyin,
Not a single hair on his body will be harmed.

Outline:

L4. The difficulty of falling off Vajra Mountain.

Commentary:

If someone is pursued by evil people, who want to throw him off a Vajra Mountain. Who are evil people? Those who do not listen to reason. They specialize in murder and arson. "What is yours is mine, and what is mine is mine! Your money is mine. My money is mine even more so." Does that make any sense? Evil people are completely unreasonable. They use force to oppress others and have no respect for others' rights.

Suppose a person is pursuing someone else. He keeps his eyes on his victim all the time and waits for him to fall asleep, so that he can push him off a steep cliff and steal his money. However, if he evokes the strength of Guanyin, if the person who is being pursued is mindful of Guanyin, not a single hair on his body will be harmed. The Vajra Mountain represents a high and solid place. When meeting with a danger like this, if you do not forget to recite Guanyin Bodhisattva's name, you will certainly obtain a great response and the Bodhisattva will save you. This is called,

You meet with misfortune, it turns lucky;
You encounter disaster, it becomes auspicious.

The danger will no longer be dangerous. That is how efficacious this Dharma is!

Sutra:

If someone is surrounded by vicious bandits,
Who threaten him with knives,
If he evokes the strength of Guanyin,
The bandits will all give rise to compassion.

Outline:

L5. The difficulty of bandits

Commentary:

Everything that people encounter has to do with former causes and latter effects. Now we meet up with bandits. Before it was evil people; they were not outright robbers. But robbers are just outright murderers, and they do all kinds of evil. They will do anything except what is good. Perhaps they are our enemies because in past lives we stole from them, killed them, or treated them badly. Thus, in this life, we meet them as enemies. It is said,

If you kill, you will pay with your life,
If you owe money, you will have to pay it back.

This is all the matter of cause and effect. Since this is so, if we encounter hateful enemies, we should not hate them in return. We should not curse the heavens or resent people.

Manjushri Bodhisattva once told this story: "In every life, life after life, I never stole anything from anyone. How can I prove it? I will take my most priceless jewel, put it right by the city's gate for three days without keeping my eye on it, and no one will take it. This will prove that I never stole or coveted other's goods."

Some people did not believe him, so they tried it out. They put the jewel right by the gate, where everyone walked. Three days went by, and no one touched it. Manjushri Bodhisattva was able to do this because he never stole.

Now we meet with hateful enemies, and this proves that we are receiving retribution for deeds done in former lives. And so, if you lose something or take some loss, you should not take it too hard and get all upset. You are just undergoing what you deserve.

If someone is surrounded by vicious bandits, who threaten him with knives. This reminds me of when I was at Nanhua Monastery for one year. The day before Guanyin Bodhisattva's anniversary, which was on the nineteenth day of the ninth month, some bandits showed up to rob Nanhua Monastery. The bandits knocked on the door and I refused to open it. Finally, they beat the door down, and suddenly I found myself surrounded by guns. It was a tight situation, but I did not feel afraid at all. I said, quite casually, "What are you pointing those guns at me for?"

"Why didn't you open the door?" they demanded.

"If you were me," I said, "would you have opened the door? No! I did not open the door because you are coming to steal from me, not to give me a present."

"Give us your money!" they demanded.

At that time I was wearing a rag robe. I said, "Take a look at this robe! Do I look like someone with money?"

"Then who has money?" they said.

I said, "I am a teacher here. These are my students. If I have no money, how could the students have any? If you do not believe me, you can take a look in my room. You can take anything you want, any treasure you find. Go right ahead."

At that time, I really did have two treasures in my room. They were "living" treasures. When the bandits came, they were so scared that they could not even walk. They crawled around saying, "What shall we do? We are scared!" I said, "Do not be afraid. You can hide under my bed." Hearing me tell the bandits that they could take whatever they wanted, these two "treasures" were terrified. They were so scared that their teeth were chattering. Well, the bandits did not go in.

Dharma Master Huaiyi saw me talking with the bandits in such an amicable manner, and so he came out of his room. The bandits turned around and pointed their guns at him, and he burst into tears. I said, "He does not have any money. Talk to me!" At that point they were surrounding him, and he led them to his room. They got about two hundred dollars from him, probably several years' worth of savings.

The next day it was announced to the two hundred monks that I was the only person who had not been afraid. I said to everyone, "I am not the only one who was not afraid. There were four of us. The first was the Sixth Patriarch. He sat there in samadhi, 'Thus, thus, unmoving! Take what you want, bandits. I am not paying any attention to you.' The second was the Patriarch Hanshan. He also sat in samadhi. The third was the Patriarch Dantian. He did not have quite the samadhi power, since he turned his head to look at the bandits. (I said that because his flesh body does lean forward a bit.) The fourth was I myself. I was only number four."

And so, if a person meets with bandits who threaten him with knives, if he evokes the strength of Guanyin, the bandits will all give rise to compassion. The bandits did not hit me or shoot me. No doubt that was because I recite Guanyin Bodhisattva's name. They started out very fierce, but eventually, they became subdued and kind. When they saw me in my rag robes they thought, "This monk is really pitiful."

Sutra:

If someone is in trouble with the law,
And on the verge of being executed,
If he evokes the strength of Guanyin,
The knives will break into pieces.

Outline:

L6. The difficulty of knives and staves.

Commentary:

If someone is in trouble with the law. If you break the imperial law, there is no politeness about it; you have your head cut off. This happens sometimes by mistake, too. You get arrested and sentenced when you are actually innocent. And so the law has its advantages and disadvantages.

People may bear false witness against someone who is innocent. That happens a lot when lawyers get involved. The defendant may clearly be guilty, but if he gets a "good" lawyer to defend him, he can get off free. On the other hand, the lawyer can also "prove" someone broke the law, and that person gets executed when, in fact, he is innocent. Where are you ever going to find the truth in this world? You will have to look in the Buddhadharma. You will not find it in the world. The world is ruled by force, not by reason.

The text brings up the hypothetical case of a person who is in difficulty with the law, regardless of whether he is innocent or guilty, and on the verge of being executed. However, if he evokes the strength of Guanyin, the knives will break into pieces. At such a time, if you can remain calm and can remember to recite Guanyin Bodhisattva's name, the knife will just break into pieces. Your neck will become stronger than Vajra.

Now, you cannot try out these things as experiments. If you do, you will end up getting your head chopped off. In order for it to be efficacious, you must have faith. If you have no faith and decide to try it out, it will not work. That is because in trying it out, you show that you have no faith. If you really believed, you would not need to try it out. You should simply bring forth a genuine heart of faith in Guanyin Bodhisattva, then everything will be efficacious. Do not have doubts.

* * * * * * * * * *

Everyone should cooperate to translate the Sutras. We are now starting to translate the Sutras, but not on the grand scale, certainly, that translation was carried out in China. In China the emperors supported the translation of Sutras. It was a national project, and all the monks got together to translate Sutras. Dharma Master Kumarajiva had eight hundred monks helping him translate the Sutras. Now, we are just beginning in America. Everyone should make whatever contribution they can to these pioneering efforts. We should forge ahead and put our effort into this work.

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