The Wondrous Adornments of the Rulers of the Worlds

Chapter One, Part Two

 

Sutra:

Celestial King Wondrous Adornment of the Sounds of Constellations gained a passage into liberation of emitting light and manifesting the Buddhas’ three wheels to gather in and transform beings.

Commentary:

Celestial King Wondrous Adornment of the Sounds of Constellations emits light and manifests auspicious portents. His light, like that of the stars, adorns Buddhalands in a wondrous way. He gained a passage into liberation of emitting immeasurably bright light like that of the stars and constellations, which pervasively illumines and adorns the Dharma Realm, and of manifesting the Buddhas’ three wheels to gather in and transform beings. “Buddha” can refer to Sãkyamuni Buddha or to the Buddhas of the ten directions. What are the Buddhas’ three wheels?

The three wheels refer to the body, mouth, and mind. The Buddha’s three wheels, the Bodhisattvas’ three wheels, and sentient beings’ three wheels are all different. The Buddhas’ three wheels can be said to be one wheel. One wheel can become three wheels, and three wheels can become nine wheels. What does that mean? Every wheel contains the function of all three wheels.

For example, not only can the mouth act as the wheel of speaking Dharma, it can also function as the wheel of formulating intent and the wheel of spiritual travel. Likewise, the mind can act as the wheel of speaking Dharma, the wheel of formulating intent, and the wheel of spiritual travel. The body also functions as the wheel of speaking Dharma, the wheel of formulating intent, and the wheel of spiritual travel. Each wheel contains the functions of all three. The wheels keep turning without cease, turning the Great Dharma wheel. For this reason, the Buddha’s three wheels differ from the three wheels of sentient beings. With sentient beings, the mouth is the mouth, the body is the body, and the mind is the mind. With the Buddha, the three wheels function interchangeably without obstruction.

The Buddha’s three wheels take the Four Methods of Gathering Beings In as their basis, and so the text says “gather in and transform beings.”

To gather in means to attract them to you. A person may be in Hong Kong, but you can gather him in and draw him to America. Or, someone may be in New York, but if you take out your magnet, you can draw an iron filing from New York. That’s gathering in. Gathering in can be visible or invisible. You may write a letter, send a cable, or make a phone call. When people read your letter or cable, or talk to you on the phone, or read an announcement in the newspapers, they come. Those are visible forms of gathering in. Invisible forms of gathering in occur on a psychological or spiritual level. “Is it like hypnosis?” you wonder. No, it’s different. For hypnosis to work, the cooperation of the two people involved is required. In this case, however, you use the power of spiritual travel to gather a person in. You may never have met the person before, and yet, perhaps when he is sitting or sleeping, or in his dreams, you can appear before him and influence him to come here. That’s an invisible form of gathering in. The Buddha constantly gathers in and transforms beings both visibly and invisibly. He uses his spiritual powers, as well as his kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity to gather in and transform sentient beings.

In general, there are Four Methods of Gathering Beings In:

1.    Giving
2     Kind words
3.    Beneficial deeds
4.    Similar work

1. Giving. There is the giving of wealth, the giving of Dharma, and the giving of fearlessness. When you see people in dire straits and help them out by giving them some money, they will be moved, and then you will have gathered in and transformed them. If people don’t know the Buddhadharma, you can teach them the Dharma and explain the sutras to them, causing their wisdom to unfold. They will be moved by your gift of Dharma, and you will have gathered them in. If people are panicked and you can comfort them and alleviate their fears, you are giving them fearlessness.

Someone may say, “I’m terrified of ghosts. The ghosts are coming to get me. What should I do?”

At this time, you say, “Don’t worry. I’m an expert at catching ghosts. You say a ghost is coming after you? Don’t fear. I’ll catch it.” When he hears that, his fear subsides. In general, if you allay people’s fears in any kind of frightening situation, you are giving fearlessness.

2. Kind words. This doesn’t mean saying things like, “I love you, I love you.” Rather, it means talking to sentient beings the way a parent would talk to his or her child, gathering the child in with kindness and compassion.

3. Beneficial deeds. This means sharing benefits with everyone equally. You don’t keep all the benefits to yourself.

4. Similar work. For example, if a Bodhisattva wishes to teach and transform people in the business world, he may appear as a businessman and do business with them, teaching and transforming them in the process. If a Bodhisattva wishes to teach government officials, he may appear as an official. When a Bodhisattva wishes to teach scholars, he manifests as a scholar. In general, one engages in the same kind of work as the people whom one wishes to teach and influence. Those are the Four Methods of Gathering Beings In.

The Buddha uses the Four Unlimited Aspects of Mind, which are kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, as well as the Four Methods of Gathering Beings In, to teach and transform beings. The Celestial King gained this passage to liberation.

Sutra:

At that time, Celestial King Pure Wisdom’s Renown received the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, universally contemplated the multitudes of the Heavens of Lesser Purity, the Heavens of Limitless Purity, and the Heavens of Pervasive Purity, and spoke the following verse:

Commentary:

At the time, after it had been stated that Celestial King Wondrous Adornment of the Sounds of Constellations gained a passage into liberation of emitting light and manifesting the Buddhas’ three wheels to gather in and transform beings, Celestial King Pure Wisdom’s Renown received the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power. All the multitudes in this Dharma assembly relied on the Buddha’s awesome power. They didn’t claim it was their own power, but rather, acknowledged that they were relying on the Buddha’s power.

This Celestial King universally contemplated the multitudes of the Heavens of Lesser Purity, the Heavens of Limitless Purity, and the Heavens of Pervasive Purity. There was not only one set of these heavens; there were countless sets of Lesser Purity Heavens, Limitless Purity Heavens, and Pervasive Purity Heavens. He contemplated the beings in these heavens and spoke the following verse in praise of the Buddhas.

Sutra:

The one who understands that the nature of dharmas is unobstructed
Appears everywhere in countless lands of the ten directions.
He explains the inconceivable realm of the Buddhas,
Bringing all beings back to the ocean of liberation.

Commentary:

The one who understands that the nature of dharmas is unobstructed. Who would that be? A Buddha. Only a Buddha can understand all worldly and world-transcending dharmas. He knows that the nature of all dharmas is perfectly fused without obstruction.

The Buddha appears everywhere in countless lands of the ten directions. Having understood himself, the Buddha also wishes for all beings to understand the nature of dharmas as being perfectly fused without obstruction. And so he appears in all lands throughout the ten directions. People tend to assume that there is only one Buddha who appears in this world. Actually, Buddhas appear simultaneously in infinitely many worlds throughout the ten directions.

He explains the inconceivable realm of the Buddhas. The Buddha teaches the Dharma to help sentient beings understand the Buddha’s inconceivable state, bringing all beings of the ten directions back to the ocean of liberation. He wants all beings to gain the same enlightenment that he himself gained. That enlightenment is an ocean of liberation.

Sutra:

The Thus Come One abides independently in the world,
Like a reflection of light, manifesting in many countries.
Dharmas ultimately do not come into being.
King Supreme Views enters this passage.

Commentary:

The Thus Come One is one of the ten titles of the Buddha and is another name for the Buddha. Thus Come One refers to the Buddha. Some people say, “Thus Come One Buddha,” but they don’t know which Buddha that is. Actually, all Buddhas of the ten directions are called Thus Come Ones. He abides independently in the world. There is no fixed place, no fixed country in which he stays to teach and transform beings. Why is that? The Buddha teaches and transforms beings in all the lands throughout the ten directions. In the Brahma Net Sutra the Buddha says, “I have come to this Saha world eight thousand times to teach and transform beings.”

Some unorthodox sects say this is the tenth time Sãkyamuni Buddha has come to this world. That’s an ignorant claim. There’s no evidence to back it up.

“Well, is there any evidence for saying that the Buddha has come here 8,000 times?” Actually, it’s not necessary to furnish any evidence. Why do I say that? The Buddha never lies. The Buddha only utters true and factual words. Those unorthodox teachers who claim that this is the tenth time the Buddha has come into the world are telling a big lie. Their claim is totally groundless. The masters of unorthodox sects spout theories without caring whether or not there is any basis for such theories. Sãkyamuni Buddha has come to just this one world, the Saha world, eight thousand times.

He is like a reflection of light, manifesting in many countries. The Buddha is independent and has no particular country to which he is attached. He is like a reflected image that appears universally in all lands. The principle of light and reflection has been discussed in previous sections, so we won’t go into it again now.

Dharmas ultimately do not come into being. Dharmas, in the ultimate sense of their fundamental nature, neither come into being nor cease to be, are neither pure nor defiled, and neither increase nor decrease. King Supreme Views enters this passage. Celestial King Supreme Views understands this dharma door.

The Celestial Kings each have their own understanding, and so the verses they speak in praise either of one Buddha or the Buddhas of the ten directions are different. Each of the Celestial Kings has his own viewpoint, his own special enlightenment, and his own attainment. Now, based upon the dharma they have attained and enlightened to, they speak verses in praise of the Buddhas. If Celestial Kings praise the Buddhas, how much the more should we people! But some nonbelievers, not taking good stock of themselves, dare to slander the Buddha. They are like someone who spits upwards at the sky; eventually the spittle will fall back on his own face. They end up disgracing themselves.

Sutra:

For countless oceans of eons he has cultivated skillful means,
That have purified lands everywhere in the ten directions.
The Dharma Realm abides in Thusness, forever unmoving.
The god Serene Virtue awakened thus.

Commentary:

For countless oceans of eons he has cultivated skillful means. The Buddha did not become a Buddha by cultivating for just a single lifetime. In fact, for countless great eons, oceanic in extent, he cultivated various skillful means.

For three asamkhyeyas he cultivated blessings and wisdom;
For a hundred eons he perfected his hallmarks and characteristics.

Asamkhyeya means “countless number.” It is impossible to reckon just how many eons are equal to three of those great countless numbers, so the text says, “countless oceans of eons.” During that incredibly long period of time, the Buddha cultivated various expedient means, the Six Perfections and the myriad practices. He could renounce what was difficult to renounce, endure what was difficult to endure, and yield what was difficult to yield. What is hard to renounce? Our life is the most difficult thing to renounce.

In practicing the path of a Bodhisattva, he renounced his head, eyes, brain, and marrow; his country, city, wife, and children. These are the most difficult things to part with, and that’s why one should renounce them. One should also endure what is difficult to endure, and accept what is difficult to accept. For example, King Kali once chopped off the four limbs of the Buddha and asked him whether he could endure it. The Buddha said he could. King Kali said, “What proof do you have that you can endure this? You’re simply saying that you can bear it.”

The Buddha, who at that time was the Patient Immortal, said, “If I’m not able to endure this, then these four limbs that have been chopped off will remain the way they are. However, if I’m truly able to endure this, may my four limbs grow back again!” Right after he spoke those words, his hands and feet grew back. That was proof that the Buddha could endure that experience.

When he was cultivating at the level of planting causes, the Buddha renounced his body to feed a tiger. Tigers are the fiercest of beasts, but the Buddha was able to give up his body to feed a tiger. Most beings would think, “Since the tiger is so ferocious, it ought to starve to death, and then there would be one disaster, one wild beast, less in the world. The sooner it starves, the better.” The Buddha didn’t think that way. He thought, “This tiger is about to starve to death. I ought to offer it my body in order to create affinities with it.”

Once, when the Buddha was cultivating in a previous incarnation, he also cut off his flesh to feed an eagle that wanted to eat a bird. The bird went and hid by the Buddha. The eagle protested, “You have saved the bird, but now I will starve. How can you do that?” The Buddha then cut off his own flesh and fed it to the eagle. That kind of ascetic practice—doing what is hard to do—is known as “skillful means.”

“Throughout countless seas of eons he has cultivated skillful means” that have purified lands everywhere in the ten directions. The Buddha adorned and purified Buddhalands. Purifying and adorning are basically the same thing. The Dharma Realm abides in Thusness, forever unmoving. “Abiding in Thusness” means not moving, not changing or vacillating. The god Serene Virtue awakened thus. Celestial King Serene Virtue understands the Buddha’s state in this way.

Sutra:

Sentient beings, occluded by delusion,
Blindly remain in the throes of birth and death.
The Thus Come One shows them the path to purity.
Sumeru Sound is emancipated thus.

Commentary:

Sentient beings refers to you, me, and all other beings, who are born from a multiplicity of causes and conditions coming together. Sentient beings are dull and deluded. If they were intelligent, they would walk on the proper path. But since they are deluded, they walk on improper, crooked paths. If you explain the Proper Dharma to them, they don’t believe you. If you introduce them to deviant dharmas, they believe you. Why is that? They are occluded by delusion. Why are beings dull and deluded? They don’t study the Buddhadharma, and as a result they become more and more ignorant as the days go by. If you study the Buddhadharma, you will become more intelligent day after day. If you are intelligent, you aren’t occluded. If you are dull and deluded, then you are occluded. Occluded means being covered over and obstructed. What is covering and obstructing these sentient beings? Their ignorance and their karmic offenses do that. Since they are covered over by their karmic offenses, it’s not easy for them to become liberated.

There are many kinds of occlusion and obstruction. Now we will bring up an example by way of illustration. Let’s talk about Sãkyamuni Buddha’s son, Rahula. Rahula made a vow that he would become the son of every Buddha who appeared in the world. However, he had heavy obstructions. He stayed in his mother’s womb for six years. Most people stay in the womb for approximately ten [lunar] months, but Rahula remained in his mother’s womb for six years. Rahula’s name, a Sanskrit term, means “obstruction.” Why did he have this particular kind of obstruction? In a past life when he was a child, he was very naughty. Once he saw a mouse run into a mouse hole, and he stopped up the mouse hole with a piece of wood, and then added bricks on the outside. He kept the mouse hole blocked up for six days. Then he thought, “I might as well open up the mouse hole to see if the mouse has starved to death.” When he opened the hole, the mouse ran out. Since he was guilty of such a karmic offense, of having imprisoned a mouse in a mouse hole for six days, in this life he had to remain in his mother’s womb for six years. He experienced that kind of obstruction.

Having created such karma, he had to undergo the corresponding retribution. On top of that, he also obstructed his mother.

Sãkyamuni Buddha [when he was still a prince] was married to Yashodhara. When Yashodhara asked for a son, the Prince pointed his finger at her abdomen, whereupon she conceived a child. Then the Prince left home and went to live in the Himalayas for six years. When Rahula was born, most members of the Sãkya clan said that Yashodhara was not a virtuous woman: how could she have given birth to a son when her husband wasn’t around? The Buddha had been gone for six years; how could she have gotten pregnant during that time? They insisted that she had been unfaithful and wanted to throw her into a pit of fire. At that time, Yashodhara made a vow, “If I have been faithful, then when I leap into the flames, may the flames turn into a lotus flower. If I have been unfaithful, then I deserve to be burned.”

The members of the Sãkya clan dug a huge pit and lit a big fire inside, with the intent of burning Yashodhara and Rahula to death. Carrying Rahula in her arms, Yashodhara leapt into the flames. Instantaneously the flames turned into a lotus blossom. That proved that Yashodhara had been a faithful wife and had not been promiscuous. Although she had been obstructed in the beginning, she managed to overcome the obstruction.

Sentient beings are like blind people, immersed in darkness. Not only are they blind, they are also deaf. They cannot see or hear, and they blindly remain in the throes of birth and death. Why are we said to be like blind people? When we are born, we don’t know which family name we have, whether we are from the Zhang, Li, Wang, or Zhao family. We are born muddled and die in a stupor. That’s called “being blind and in the dark.” Sentient beings forever remain in birth and death. Not understanding birth and death, they are blind and in the dark. The Thus Come One shows them the path to purity. The Buddha points out a path of pure cultivation. Sumeru Sound is emancipated thus. This is the dharma door that this Celestial King attained.

Sutra:

The unsurpassed path tread by all Buddhas
Cannot be fathomed by any sentient being.
They are shown various kinds of expedient doors.
Pure Eye understands this through careful observation.

Commentary:

The unsurpassed path tread by all Buddhas of the ten directions, the fruition of the path of their cultivation, cannot be fathomed by any sentient being. No sentient being can speculate on the Buddha’s state or the unsurpassed path that he cultivates. Why aren’t they able to fathom it? Ordinary beings are ignorant and lack wisdom. Since they cannot fathom the Buddha’s state, they are shown various kinds of expedient doors. The Buddha compassionately reveals to sentient beings the path they should cultivate. He uses various skillful means to help them understand the Buddha’s unsurpassed path.

Pure Eye completely understands this through careful observation. Celestial King Pure Eye observes and investigates this principle and understands this state.

Sutra:

The Thus Come One constantly uses methods of
uniting and upholding,
Profuse as dust motes in oceans of lands,
To instruct and teach sentient beings everywhere.
Celestial King Universal Illumination enters thus.

Commentary:

This verse expresses the state of understanding of Celestial King Universal Illumination. The Thus Come One constantly uses methods, dharma doors, of uniting and upholding to teach beings. One method of uniting and upholding branches out into infinite methods of uniting and upholding. The Sanskrit term for “uniting and upholding” is dharani.

He generates great dharani doors that are as profuse as motes of dust in oceans of lands / To instruct and teach sentient beings everywhere throughout all Buddhalands, enabling them to each obtain the dharma door that is appropriate for their needs.

Celestial King Universal Illumination enters thus. Who has understood this state? Celestial King Universal Illumination gained this passage into liberation.

Sutra: 

A Thus Come One’s advent in the world is not easy to meet with.
It may happen only once in an ocean of uncountable eons.
Buddhas can inspire faith and understanding in beings.
The god Sovereign attains this realization.

Commentary:

Celestial King Sovereign [World Ruler] describes his state of attainment in a verse. A Thus Come One’s advent in the world is not easy to meet with.

The unsurpassed, most profound Dharma
Is hard to encounter in a hundred million eons.
I now see and hear it, receive and maintain it,
And I vow to understand the Thus Come One’s true meaning.

This verse praises the Dharma. The Buddha is unsurpassed and most honored, having realized the fruition of wonderful enlightenment. Sentient beings may encounter a Buddha, but it may happen only once in an ocean of uncountable eons. The verse in praise of Dharma said that it’s hard to meet the Dharma in “a hundred million eons.” This line says that it’s hard to meet a Buddha “in an ocean of uncountable eons,” which is an even longer time. Maybe once, during that long period of time, we might get to meet a Buddha. We don’t get to meet Buddhas all the time.

Buddhas can inspire faith and understanding in beings. When a Buddha appears in the world, he enables beings to give rise to faith and understanding, so that they can cultivate in accordance with the Dharma. The god Sovereign attains this realization. That Celestial King understands this aspect of the Buddha’s state.

Not only is it hard to get to meet the Buddha, it is just as hard to get to meet the Dharma. In a hundred million eons it is not easy to meet the Dharma. And it is even hard to get to meet the Sangha. If there is no Buddhadharma, there will be no Sangha, and if there is no Sangha, there will be no Dharma. And without the Dharma, there will be no Buddha. Therefore, all Three Jewels are essential. Each of these jewels is extremely hard to encounter.

It is also hard to come upon a Dharma assembly where sutras are lectured. Think it over. In the past, did anybody in this country lecture on an entire sutra all the way from “Thus I have heard,” to the very end, “they believed, received, and put it into practice”? In several thousand years, no one has ever given a full lecture series in this part of the world. Only in recent years have people begun lecturing on the sutras and speaking Dharma. If you think this over, you will realize that the Buddhadharma is indeed hard to encounter. Not only that, it is also difficult to understand.

You might be speaking Dharma with the utmost sincerity, and yet those who don’t understand your language might think you were singing a song. They fail to understand the meaning. Therefore, it may have to be translated into the appropriate language. Wouldn’t you say that was difficult? And yet, if you don’t do what is difficult, you will never be able to extensively propagate the Buddhadharma. Therefore, right in the midst of toil and hardship, we have to go against all odds and try out best to do what is difficult. It is difficult to encounter, listen to, and explain the Dharma in the sutras.

Right now in this country people have begun lecturing on the sutras and speaking Dharma, and yet those who don’t understand it say, “What are they doing? Are they play acting?”Unfortunately, such people don’t even know anything about how to put on a play. Isn’t that pathetic? Such people don’t understand the Buddhadharma, and yet they slander the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. There are plenty of people like that, which makes things difficult, wouldn’t you say? It’s not easy to have a Dharma assembly where sutras are lectured. Not only in this country, but all over the world there are very, very few places where sutras are lectured in the proper way.

Sutra:

The Buddha says that the nature of dharmas isn’t a nature at all,
And yet they are profound, vast, great, and inconceivable.
Thus he inspires pure faith in sentient beings everywhere.
Celestial King Blazing Light understands this well.

Commentary:

What Celestial King Blazing Light understands of the Buddha’s state differs from the perception of the previous Celestial King Sovereign. The Buddha says that the nature of dharmas isn’t a nature at all. Dharmas don’t have a nature of their own. Does this imply annihilationism? Does it mean that dharmas don’t exist? No. And yet they are profound, vast, great, and inconceivable. Speaking of the profound, there is nothing more profound than the Dharma; speaking of the vast and great, there is nothing vaster and greater than the Dharma. On top of that, it is inconceivable—you cannot conceive of it mentally or express it verbally. And yet, the Buddha uses his great wisdom and awesome spiritual strength, and thus he inspires pure faith in sentient beings everywhere. He causes beings everywhere to purify their minds and have proper belief. Celestial King Blazing Light understands this state of liberation well.

Sutra:

Thus Come Ones of the three times perfect meritorious virtues.
They transform the realms of sentient beings in incredible ways.
Reflection upon this brings exultant joy.
Thus proclaims Joy in Dharma.

Commentary:

The Thus Come Ones of the three periods refers to the Buddhas of the past, present, and future, in the long span of time. Or “three periods” could be explained as the past being last year, the present being this year, and the future being next year. To shrink the time frame even more, we could consider last month as the past, this month as the present, and next month as the future.

We could also say that yesterday is the past, today is the present, and tomorrow is the future. Those three days can serve as an analogy for the three periods of time. By shortening the time interval, people may find this concept easier to understand. If you speak of a protracted period of time, people find it hard to understand. For example, children only know about candy. Give them one piece, and they will ask for more.

The Thus Come Ones of the three periods of time perfect meritorious virtues. How can we perfect our merit and virtue? We have to cultivate blessings and wisdom constantly and everywhere. By not upsetting people, we cultivate blessings and wisdom. When we make others afflicted, we lose blessings and wisdom as well as merit and virtue.

For instance, working in the kitchen is a form of practicing the Bodhisattva Path and cultivating blessings and wisdom. However, if we waste things and don’t cherish them, spilling flour and rice all over the floor so that the mice come to share in the vegetarian meal, we will have no merit and virtue. Instead, we lose our blessings and wisdom, because we don’t cherish the temple’s property and we ruin things. Not only do we have no blessings or wisdom, we create offenses.

Another mistake is that people don’t make a point of knowing what food is in the kitchen. They leave the food there until it grows moldy, and then they remember, “Ah, we haven’t eaten that food.” By then the food has spoiled and is inedible. Perhaps someone doesn’t feel like cooking anymore, so he thinks of a way to get out of it. He simply makes a mess of the food, and then everyone is displeased and his job gets taken away from him. These are all ways of losing blessings and wisdom. The Buddhas of the three periods of time have perfected their merit and virtue. How did they do that? They didn’t waste even the least bit of blessings, and they insisted on cultivating every little bit of wisdom, however tiny.

They transform the realms of sentient beings in incredible ways. The Buddhas use various expedients to teach and transform sentient beings. Why do they do that? As long as our blessings and wisdom are not yet perfected, we have to teach and transform beings. Well, after the Buddhas perfect their blessings and wisdom, do they still teach and transform beings? Yes, they continue to do so, because the Buddhas aren’t afraid of having too many blessings or too much wisdom. In fact, the more, the better.

Reflection upon this brings exultant joy. No matter what sentient beings are thinking about, the Buddhas avoid making them afflicted, and instead make them exultant and joyful. They are very happy. “How wonderful that I have met the Buddhadharma!” Thus proclaims Joy in Dharma. Celestial King Joy in Dharma understands this state.

Sutra:

Sentient beings are drowning in an ocean of afflictions.
Their delusion and turbid views are alarming indeed.
Out of sympathy, the Great Teacher helps them leave all that forever.
King Transformation Banner observes this state.

Commentary:

The first two lines refer to the Five Turbidities. “Sentient beings” refers to the turbidity of beings; “drowning” refers to the turbidity of time; an ocean of afflictions” refers to the turbidity of afflictions; “delusion” refers to the turbidity of life span; “turbid views” refers to the turbidity of views. Those are the Five Turbidities of this evil world, and they are quite terrifying.

Sentient beings are drowning in an ocean of afflictions. There are 84,000 kinds of afflictions, which can be summed up in the Three Poisons of greed, anger, and delusion, or more simply, as ignorance. Afflictions are infinite; they are as profuse as an ocean. Therefore we continually make the following vows.

“I vow to save the boundless beings.” Since the turbidity of beings is boundless, we vow to save all those beings. “I vow to cut off the endless afflictions.” Afflictions are inexhaustible, yet we vow to sever them. “I vow to study the limitless dharma doors.” There are countless ways to enter the Buddhadharma, and we vow to learn them all. “I vow to attain the supreme Buddha Way.” There is nothing higher than Buddhahood, and we vow to achieve it. These are the Four Magnanimous Vows of a Bodhisattva, and they are an excellent method for saving beings in the Evil World of the Five Turbidities.

Their delusion and turbid views are alarming indeed. “Delusion” refers to the life turbidity. Being born deluded has to do with one’s life and fate. “Turbid views” are views that aren’t proper and pure. Such views are very frightening.

Out of sympathy for all beings, the Great Teacher, the Buddha, the Teacher of Gods and People, helps them leave all that forever. They get out of this evil world of the Five Turbidities. Celestial King Transformation Banner observes this state. He knows this state.

Sutra:

The Thus Come One’s light is forever bright.
Countless Buddhas appear in each and every ray.
One and all, they manifest and work at transforming sentient beings.
The god Wondrous Sounds enters this passage.

Commentary:

Celestial King Wondrous Sounds perceives how the Thus Come One’s light is forever bright, pervading the Dharma Realm. There are countless Buddhas who appear in each and every ray. Infinitely many Buddhas appear in the midst of the light. Every Buddha emits hundreds of millions of rays of light, and within each light there appear infinitely many Buddhas.

What are the Buddhas doing? One and all, they manifest and work at transforming sentient beings. They appear transformationally to teach beings, enabling them to hear the Dharma, cultivate, attain the Way, and realize Buddhahood. That is the work of every Buddha. The god, Celestial King Wondrous Sounds, enters this passage into liberation.

previous   next   Contents

Chapter 1 Part 2 pages:   1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14

return to top