The Wondrous Adornments of the Rulers of the Worlds

Chapter One, Part Four and Five

 

Sutra:

An ocean of great wisdom in the world, the Buddha
Releases pure radiance that reaches absolutely everywhere.
Hence, all give rise to vast faith and understanding.
Adorned Cowl understands and enters thus.

Commentary:

An ocean of great wisdom in the world, the Buddha. The Buddha is the wisest and most intelligent sentient being in the world. The Buddha is an enlightened one among sentient beings. He possesses the highest understanding. There is nothing he does not know or understand. He is the Greatly Enlightened One. Not only is the Buddha an ocean of great wisdom, the Dharma is also an ocean of great wisdom, and so is the Sangha. The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha are all oceans of great wisdom in the world. They are also lamps of inexhaustible brightness for the world.

The Buddha, an ocean of great wisdom, releases the pure radiance of great wisdom that reaches absolutely everywhere. The Buddha emits a pure light that shines upon the waters of all sentient beings’ minds. The Buddha’s light shines into beings’ hearts, causing them to bring forth the resolve for bodhi and realize the unsurpassed Way.

The pure wisdom light emitted by the Buddha universally shines upon sentient beings’ hearts. Hence all give rise tofaith and understanding that fills their minds. Beings who have attained the Buddha’s wisdom light give rise to vast and inconceivable faith and understanding.

Adorned Cowl understands and enters thus. Crop-ruling Spirit Wonderfully Adorned Circular Cowl awakens to and understands this state and principle, this passage into liberation.

Sutra:

The Thus Come One, beholding the world, gives rise to compassion.
He manifests to benefit sentient beings,
Showing them the supreme path of serenity and bliss:
Pure Flowers spirit is liberated thus.

Commentary:

Guo Hu, you explain the next four lines of verse.

[Guo Hu: The Thus Come One, beholding the world, gives rise to compassion. Some people talk about Thus Come One Buddha. Actually, the Thus Come One is just the Buddha, and the Buddha is just the Thus Come One. Here, the Thus Come One refers to Shakyamuni Buddha. Seeing how miserable the sentient beings of the world were, experiencing suffering in everything they do, he brought forth a heart of compassion and wished to relieve their suffering and make them happy.

He manifests to benefit sentient beings. The Buddha comes into the world to give beings the opportunity to achieve ultimate happiness.

Showing them the supreme path of serenity and bliss: The Buddha sees that sentient beings have 84,000 kinds of suffering, so he leads them onto the supreme path of serenity and bliss. He teaches him ways to make their minds serene and peaceful. This sublime path is one by which the Buddhas achieve purity in the Triple Realm, and by which the Sangha – those who have left the home-life –are purified. Pure Flowers spirit is liberated thus. She understands this state of the Buddha. This is her passage into liberation.

Is his explanation completely correct? Does everyone know its problems? How do you explain the word “serenity”? [Serenity means that what sentient beings do leads them to enlightenment. Serenity refers to being still and quiet; the absence of affliction. Alright, if no one else has any objections, I don’t have any, either.

Sutra:

The pure practices cultivated by the Well-Gone One
He fully proclaimed beneath the Bodhi tree.
Such teaching and transforming fills the ten directions:
Wonderful Fragrance spirit thus hears and accepts.  

Commentary:

The pure practices cultivated by the Well-Gone One. Well-Gone One is another one of the titles of Buddhas. The pure practices cultivated by the Buddha in the past involved staying away from all evil and carrying out all good deeds. In other words, he stayed away from all unwholesome dharmas and cultivated all wholesome dharmas. Unwholesome dharmas are defiled dharmas, whereas wholesome dharmas are pure dharmas.

He fully proclaimed beneath the Bodhi tree. One night, while the Buddha was seated beneath the Bodhi tree, he saw a star and awakened to the Way. Thereupon, he exclaimed, “How strange! All sentient beings possess the wisdom and virtuous characteristics of the Thus Come One. It is only because of confused thinking and attachments that they cannot realize them.” It is clear from this that confused thinking and attachments are great obstacles to the cultivation of the Way. If we had no confused thinking or attachments, we would very quickly realize unsurpassed, proper and equal right enlightenment. Why haven’t we realized it yet? Our attachments are too great, and our confused thoughts are too numerous.

After the Buddha attained the Way beneath the Bodhi tree, he proclaimed the Great Flower Adornment Sutra, but those of the Two Vehicles were such that:

They had eyes, but could not see Nishyanda Buddha.
They had ears, but could not hear the Perfect Sudden Teaching.

The Buddha spoke the Great Flower Adornment Dharma and all the other sutras to teach and transform all the sentient beings throughout the ten directions. Thus the text says: Such teaching and transforming fills the ten directions. The sentient beings of the ten directions can all be taken across to liberation.

Wonderful Fragrance spirit thus hears and accepts. Crop-ruling Spirit Accomplishing Wonderful Fragrance gains insight into this passage into liberation. She hears and accepts this Dharma door of liberation.

Sutra:

For those in the many worlds, the Buddha occasions the rise of
Freedom from distress, the upsurge of great joy.
Whatever dispositions and desire—he purifies all.
Delighting spirit awakens thus.  

The Thus Come One, appearing in the many worlds,
Ascertains the inclinations of delight in all beings’ hearts.
Hence, with skillful means he enhances their maturing.
This is Pure Light spirit’s passage to liberation.

Commentary:

The Spirit named Delighting the Beholder used a verse to praise the Buddha, saying: For those in the many worlds, the Buddha doesn’t appear only in our Saha world. He appears in all worlds throughout the ten directions. What for? The Buddha occasions the rise of / Freedom from distress, the upsurge of great joy. The Buddha pities sentient beings, for he sees them undergoing endless births and deaths in the dangerous paths of transmigration. They are suddenly born in the heavens, suddenly among people, suddenly in the hells, suddenly among hungry ghosts and animals, revolving endlessly in the six paths of rebirth. Being greatly concerned, the Buddha works tirelessly to save beings, trying to find ways to free all sentient beings from grief, suffering, and affliction so that they can experience tremendous happiness.

Whatever disposition or desire—he purifies all: Some sentient beings have good roots; others lack them. For those who have good roots, the Buddha uses numerous expedient means to help them increase their good roots. For those who lack them, the Buddha leads them to plant good roots. “Desire” refers to what sentient beings are fond of. Some are fond of wealth; some like beautiful women or handsome men. Others enjoy drinking wine or liquor. Some like to eat meat; others like to take drugs. Beings have many different kinds of dispositions and desires, but the Buddha is aware of them all and he can regulate and purify their habits accumulated from numerous lives and eons. He can transform their defilement into purity. As a saying goes:

Defiled thoughts arise easily.
Pure virtue is hard to achieve.

Yet, with his awesome spiritual might, the Buddha transforms defiled thoughts into pure ones. Thus the text says: “Whatever disposition or desire--he purifies all.” This is also as when an ordinary person who does not know anything about cultivation or following rules hears the Buddhadharma, and then starts following the rules, begins getting rid of his bad habits, and decides to cultivate. He casts aside his defiled thoughts, and pure thoughts arise. Delighting spirit awakens thus to this state and enters this passage into liberation.

The Thus Come One, appearing in the many worlds, / Ascertains the inclinations of delight in all beings’ hearts. The Buddha, observing what sentient beings delight in and wish for, expediently uses those things as tools to teach and transform them. Hence, with skillful means he enhances their maturing. It can be seen that saving sentient beings is not an easy thing to do. If it were easy, the Buddha would not need to use various skillful means. One kind would be enough. That the Buddha must use all manner of expedients goes to show how difficult it is to liberate sentient beings. If he tries one expedient method and doesn’t manage to save the sentient being, he must try another one and see if he can get that being to believe in, understand, practice, and realize the Dharma. Thus all kinds of expedient Dharma doors are used to bring beings to maturity, to realization of Buddhahood. That’s one way to explain this.

Another explanation is that all kinds of expedients are used to teach all kinds of beings. Since beings’ basic dispositions are all different, many different expedient methods must be employed to teach them. Each kind of sentient being requires his or her own kind of Dharma door.

This second explanation makes a little more sense, I feel. If the Buddha has to use all kinds of expedients to teach one sentient being, as per the first explanation, it seems to imply that the Buddha doesn’t understand that being’s dispositions and inclinations. Since the Buddha does know sentient beings’ dispositions and inclinations, he can convert a sentient being by using just one expedient teaching. He doesn’t need to use all sorts of Dharma doors to teach one being. Various Dharma doors are for teaching various beings and bringing them to maturity. Once one begins to teach and transform a sentient being, one must constantly help that being in his cultivation until he becomes mature and realizes the Way.

This is Pure Light spirit’s passage into liberation. This is the state and passage into liberation attained by Crop-ruling Spirit Immaculate Light.

Sutra:

Moreover, Medicine-ruling Spirit Auspicious gained a passage into liberation of universally contemplating all sentient beings’ minds and diligently gathering them in.  

Commentary:

Moreover, Medicine-ruling Spirit Auspicious prepared to elaborate further on the principles discussed previously. “Auspicious” has the meaning that when sick people take this kind of medicine, they will be cured. When those who are dying take this medicine, they will not die. When healthy people take this medicine, they will never get sick. That’s what’s meant by “auspicious.” What kind of medicine is this? Happiness. If you are happy, then if you are not ill now, you will never get ill. If you are ill and you can be happy, your illness will be cured. If you are dying and you give rise to happiness, your life will be prolonged. The “medicine” of happiness is auspicious. There’s a saying:

Since ancient times, the immortals have had no other method:
They are simply happy all the time, and never grieve or worry.

Immortals do not die. How is it that they can avoid death? They are happy every day, and never sad. Medicine-ruling Spirit Auspicious wants people to be happy, for happiness itself is auspicious. To have good luck, you must be happy. If you aren’t happy, things won’t be lucky. And if things aren’t lucky, you won’t be happy. If everyone is joyful and happy, everything will be lucky and auspicious.

Medicine cures illness. For each illness, there is a certain kind of medicine that must be taken. If you have a cold, you can take some yinqiao tablets. If you are coughing, you can buy a bottle of loquat syrup to take. These are all medicines.

This Medicine-ruling Spirit named Auspicious gained a passage into liberation of universally contemplating all sentient beings’ minds to see what diseases afflict their minds. Do they suffer from the disease of greed? Do they have the disease of anger, or that of delusion? The disease of greed is not easy to cure. The disease of anger is also difficult to cure, and the disease of delusion is even harder to cure.

What is meant by the disease of delusion? An example of a deluded person would be someone who has never studied hopes to come out first in the imperial examination. Well, he might win first place in illiteracy! Another example would be a person who does not plant the fields and yet wants to reap a harvest. Perhaps someone who has never studied the Buddhadharma wants to lecture a sutra. Wouldn’t you say that’s being deluded?

I’ve often spoken of these kinds of foolish fantasies. Some people think:
Beautiful flowers should stay abloom every day
And the moon be full night after night!

“How nice it would be if pretty flowers could bloom forever,” they think. Or perhaps they think, “Moon, you really don’t know how to be a moon.” Why don’t you stay full every night? Why must you wane? That’s so annoying!”

Let all the springs on this great earth turn into wine
And may money grow on every tree in all the forests!

People who are fond of drinking think, “Instead of having to spend money on wine, how nice it’d be if all the pools of water turned into wine!” People who covet wealth have even more incredible fantasies: “In order to have money to spend, I have to go out and make it. If money grew on every tree and all I had to do was pluck it when I needed it, wouldn’t that be wonderful?” Such people are foolish, and their foolishness if not easy to cure.

This Medicine-ruling Spirit diagnoses sentient beings’ illnesses and gives them the appropriate medicine. And in curing their illnesses he is diligently gathering them in to the Bodhi Way.

Yesterday we mentioned Great Master Shaokang, and the verse in praise of Elder Master Hsu Yun, which has the line, “Leveling the Bodhi path.” I don’t know if you remember the verse. Maybe I can recite it for you:

In past lives, he made pure vows
To diligently be mindful of the Buddha.
With prajna he transformed the multitudes,
Leveling the Bodhi path.
He saved countless people
Through skillful guidance and remonstration.
His radiance is Buddhahood.
The Buddha is just radiance.

Medicine-ruling Spirit Auspicious attained this passage into liberation.

PART FIVE

Sutra:

Medicine-ruling Spirit Candana Forest gained a passage into liberation of using light to gather in all sentient beings, and of causing those who see him not to do so in vain. Medicine-ruling Spirit Radiance of Leaving Dust gained a passage into liberation of using pure expedient means to extinguish all sentient beings’ afflictions. Medicine-ruling Spirit Universal Renown gained a passage into liberation of using great renown to expand the ocean of boundless good roots.  

Commentary:

The next Medicine-ruling Spirit is named Candana Forest. Candana is a type of incense. When one piece of it is lit, it‘s said that the fragrance can be smelled for forty li [about thirteen miles] around.

Medicine [Chinese herbal medicine] can be classified as cold, hot, warm, and neutral in nature. People who are running a fever (a “hot illness”) should take medicine of a cooling nature. Those with “cold” illnesses should take medicine of a hot nature to counteract the coldness. Warm means neither cold nor hot. Some illnesses should be treated with warm and gentle medicines. Neutral medicines are medicines that are not very strong or intense. An example is licorice root, which goes well with all other medicines and can neutralize any kind of poison because of its moderate and harmonious nature.

Therefore, it is known as the Minister of State [among Chinese medicines]. The medicine chuanjun has the function of breaking through barriers and locks like a valiant general. For example, if a sick person is constipated, and he eats some chuanjun, he will quickly have a bowel movement. Thus it is considered a general. The medicine xijiao (rhinoceros horn) relieves heat in the heart. Since there are numerous kinds of medicine, people must not be careless or casual about them. That’s why there is a spirit in charge of medicine. Each type of medicine cures specific ailments.

This Medicine-ruling Spirit gained a passage into liberation of using light to gather in all sentient beings. She understood the state of the Buddha in which the Buddha uses light to gather in and transform beings, causing those who see it not to do so in vain. Every sentient being who sees the light will benefit and gain advantages. In other words, they will all be gathered in and transformed. That’s the passage into liberation that this particular Medicine-ruling Spirit attained.

The next Medicine-ruling Spirit is named Radiance of Leaving Dust. Leaving the dust, she attains purity and thus has a radiance about her, hence her name. She gained a passage into liberation of using pure expedient means, expedient Dharma doors of purity, to extinguish all sentient beings’ obstacles of afflictions. She breaks through their ignorance and affliction, causing them to gain purity and light. She attained such a passage into liberation.

The next Medicine-ruling Spirit is named Universal Renown. Beings everywhere have heard of her. She is the most famous of all the Medicine-ruling Spirits, and her name is known everywhere. Her medicines are so efficacious that they can cure every sentient being’s ailments and generate all kinds of good roots. She gained a passage into liberation, a state of the Buddha, of using his great renown.Upon hearing her name, sentient beings make the resolve for bodhi. Having made the bodhi resolve, they expand the ocean of boundless good roots. That’s the passage into liberation that this Medicine-ruling Spirit attained.

We are now holding a Buddha Recitation Session. For seven days, we gather together to recite “Namo Amitabha Buddha.” This is a rare opportunity. Those who believe in the Buddha should take time out of their busy schedule to join the recitation. When you recite the Buddha’s name on your own, sometimes you have to pause and can’t keep reciting continuously. When everyone recites together, the recitation can continue without interruption. There is a verse that goes,  

If you recite the Buddha’s name, reciting without cease,
The mouth recites “Amita” and makes things of a piece.
Scattered thoughts do not arise; samadhi you attain.
For rebirth in the Pure Land, your hope is not in vain.
If all day you detest the suffering Saha’s pain,
Cut off the red dust thoughts within your mind.
Make rebirth in Ultimate Bliss your mind’s essential aim.
Put down impure reflections, and pure thoughts you will find.  

Your mouth recites “Namo Amitabha Buddha” and you enter the Buddha Recitation Samadhi. Your hope of being reborn in the Pure Land will certainly be fulfilled. If all day long you feel that the Saha world is full of suffering and vexation, you will let go of everything in this mundane “red dust” world. You make a vow to seek rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, and to you this is most important. When you cast aside defiled thoughts, pure mindfulness is then perfected.

During these seven days, we must be determined to attain the Buddha Recitation Samadhi, for then we will not have wasted our efforts. The more suffering it is, the more you must recite. The more difficult it is, the more you have to recite. Don’t be afraid of suffering or difficulty. Don’t think so highly of your stinking skinbag. You sit for awhile, and your back starts to ache. You walk a little, and your feet hurt. After reciting for a long time, your throat gets dry and your voice grows hoarse. You decide you can’t take it anymore. Who is it who can’t take it? Why do you place so much importance on your stinking skinbag? We should forget our bodies for the Dharma!

For the sake of the Buddhadharma, we should disregard our false shell of a body. You may cherish and pamper your body right now, taking care not to let it get sick, get cold, get hungry, or get thirsty. You help it and protect it and lavish lots of attention upon it. But after you have done this for a long time, it will no longer help you out. Bit by bit, it will quit on you. The eyes will quit on you, and then you won‘t be able to see clearly. The ears will quit and grow deaf, saying, “You’ve used us for such a long time; now it’s time to give us our freedom.” Your arms and legs will become feeble and unable to move, also resigning their jobs. At that time, no matter how dearly you cherish your body, it won’t take orders from you anymore.

Now when you are still healthy, it’s the perfect time to recite the Buddha‘s name. You can still “borrow what’s false to cultivate what’s true.” Each of you should pay attention to this. You should not say, “Last year I attended the recitation but didn‘t get anything out of it, so I don’t feel like attending this year.” That‘s the wrong attitude. If you didn’t gain any advantages last year, you should work even harder this year and be determined to gain some benefit. You should vigorously advance in your practice instead of retreating. It shouldn‘t be that:

When you have studied Buddhism for one year, the Buddha is right in front of you.
When you studied Buddhism for ten years, the Buddha is far away on the horizon.”

You ought to be more vigorous and sincere with each passing day. Then you will accomplish something.

I have another piece of good news to tell everyone. We have two Bhikshus who are doing a “three steps one bow” pilgrimage to Seattle in order to pray for world peace. Now there will not be any major disasters in the world. There might be some minor mishaps, but nothing to worry about. These two Bhikshus have reversed the tides of destiny, making it so that there are much fewer people dying in the world than there would have been. Everyone at Gold Mountain Monastery should be aware of this, especially since two weeks ago, we all made a vow that wherever the bowing monks were, it could rain there either the day before or the day after they were there, but not rain while they were there. Or, it could rain at night, but not during the daytime, for the rain would make it very miserable for them. These conditions have already been fulfilled. After we made that vow, there was no more rain, but only a little fog. Fog is not much of a problem, but it would be better if the fog vanished as well. That would make it easier for them to carry out their vow.

All of you should think it over: Despite all the suffering that they have to go through, they still go ahead and apply effort in cultivation. How does our recitation of the Buddha‘s name indoors compare to that? It can’t be considered suffering by any means. Therefore, we ought to recite diligently so we can attain the Buddha Recitation Samadhi.

After the lecture is over, we will do the Great Transference of Merit. Each one of you should transfer the merit with a true, sincere, and resolute heart. Don‘t let the time pass by in vain.

Sutra:

Medicine-ruling Spirit Shining Pores gained a passage into liberation of hoisting a great compassion banner that quickly alleviates all states of illness.

Commentary:

The next Medicine-ruling Spirit is named Shining Pores. She can emit light from her pores and is skilled at curing the illnesses of sentient beings. She gained a passage into liberation of hoisting a great compassion banner that quickly alleviates all states of illness. The banner of great compassion is a banner of kindness and compassion. Kindness brings joy, and compassion alleviates suffering. Kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity are the Four Unlimited Aspects of Mind of a Bodhisattva.

All good roots grow from these Four Unlimited Aspects of Mind, especially from the aspect of kindness. Thus the Flower Adornment Sutra Prologue has these lines:

By the power of the good roots of kindness,
The light of Moon Love and so forth is emitted.
The diseases of both body and mind
Are extinguished at once by mindfulness.

Kindness is the mother-substance of good roots. Without kindness, it would be impossible for good roots to grow. In order for your good roots to grow, you must cultivate the Samadhi of Kindness. Then you can radiate the light of the Moon Love Samadhi and so forth. It could be said that kindness makes possible the accomplishments of all the Hearers, Condition-Enlightened Ones, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. A kind heart generates all good roots. After all good roots are formed, the fruition of Buddhahood may be realized.

Therefore, kindness and compassion are the most important requisite virtues for cultivators. If you use a kind heart to practice giving, such giving reaps boundless merit and virtue. If you hold precepts with a kind heart, your precepts carry boundless merit and virtue. If you cultivate patience with a kind heart, that patience has boundless merit and virtue. If you apply kindness and compassion to the practice of vigor, the merit and virtue of your vigor is boundless. If you cultivate dhyana concentration with a kind and compassionate heart, the merit and virtue of your concentration will soon be realized. If you cultivate the perfection of prajna wisdom with a kind and compassionate heart, prajna will constantly manifest its light.

Therefore, it is essential for cultivators to have a kind and compassionate heart. They should also practice joy and equanimity. These are the Four Unlimited Aspects of Mind of a Bodhisattva. People who practice the Bodhisattva Path must possess kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. With these Four Unlimited Aspects of Mind as a foundation, all good roots will come forth. All good dharmas, and all the miraculous functionings of spiritual penetrations also come forth. Kindness is just the Buddha; the Buddha is simply kindness. Kindness is the Mahayana Teaching. The Mahayana Dharma does not go beyond kindness. If you have kindness, you are cultivating the Bodhi Path, for the Bodhi Path is just kindness. Kindness is the Thus Come One. Thus, kindness is extremely crucial.

Shakyamuni Buddha cultivated the Samadhi of Kindness and used it to subdue a drunken elephant. Devadatta was terribly jealous of the Buddha and wanted to kill him so that he could become the new Buddha. He collaborated with King Ajatashatru, whose name means “grudge before birth,” because he carried a grudge even before he was born. As the King, he had both position and power, and a word from him could decide whether a person would live or die. He was that powerful. He committed the worst evil deeds, including killing his father, killing his mother, killing an Arhat, breaking up the harmony of the Sangha, and shedding the Buddha’s blood. Although he committed those terrible offenses, because he still had some good roots, he was saved by the Buddha in the end.

Devadatta told King Ajatashatru [who at that time was still the Prince] to release the drunken elephant upon the Buddha, hoping that it would crush the Buddha to death under its feet. Being intoxicated, the elephant was intent upon running over and crushing anyone in its path, not caring whether that person was a Buddha or a Bodhisattva. Yet even in its intoxicated state, the elephant was still afraid of lions. The Buddha entered the Samadhi of Kindness, and then extended one hand out for the elephant to see. What do you suppose the elephant saw? It must have been truly drunk! It saw the Buddha’s fingers turn into five lions. The five lions started walking toward the elephant, scaring it right out of its drunken stupor. No longer drunk, the elephant was tamed by the Buddha. The five lions conjured up by the Buddha had subdued the drunken elephant. The Buddha told his disciples, “My fingers did not really turn into lions. They manifested as lions due to the strength of the good roots of kindness I cultivated.” The Buddha’s heart of great compassion subdued the drunken elephant.

What is meant by “the light of Moon Love and so forth”? It refers to the Moon Love Samadhi. When Shakyamuni Buddha was at the Grove of Twin Sala Trees, he observed that King Ajatashatru was gravely ill and on the brink of death. He was barely breathing. Contemplating the causes and conditions and seeing that it was time to save him, the Buddha entered the Moon Love Samadhi and emitted bright light. The light was not hot like that of fire; rather, it was as cool and refreshing as moonlight. One of the Forty-two Hands is the Moon Essence Mani Hand, which dispels fever and illnesses of heat. The Buddha sent forth a cool radiance that shone upon King Ajatashatru’s body, at which point the King recovered, his anxieties vanished, and he felt peaceful and refreshed. The King then asked Jiva, “The Buddha used the Moon Love Samadhi to cure me, but what exactly is the Moon Love Samadhi? Can you tell me?” Being a learned man, Jiva understood the principle behind the Moon Love Samadhi and explained its six meanings to the King.

1. Just as the moonlight causes all utpala blossoms to be fresh and beautiful, the Moon Love Samadhi causes sentient beings’ wholesome thoughts to blossom vigorously and their bodhi resolve to be long-lasting.

2. The moonlight delights all travelers, but it upsets thieves. However, the moon shines for the sake of travelers, not for thieves. Travelers like the moonlight, but thieves are afraid of it. The Moon Love Samadhi delights those who cultivate the path to nirvana. It brings happiness to anyone who cultivates the Buddhadharma.

3. Between the first and the fifteenth of the lunar month, the moon grows brighter and fuller day by day. Likewise, the Moon Love Samadhi causes the good roots of all sentient beings to grow day by day.

4. From the sixteenth to the twenty-third of the lunar month, the moon gradually wanes day by day. Similarly, the Moon Light Samadhi diminishes sentient beings’ afflictions day by day.

5. Just as moonlight can dispel heated and pent-up energies, which make one uncomfortable, the Moon Love Samadhi can rid all sentient beings of the heat of greed and affliction.

6. The moon, which is like a king among stars, gives off a light that everyone loves, like sweet dew. Likewise, the Moon Love Samadhi is the king of all goodness, and is like sweet dew in that all sentient beings love it. That’s why it’s called “Moon Love Samadhi.”

The last two lines of verse say,

The diseases of both body and mind
Are extinguished at once by mindfulness.

What are the diseases of body and mind? We will look into this a little later. Medicine-ruling Spirit Shining Pores attained a great compassion banner that quickly reaches all states of illness. Why does she want to quickly reach all states of illness? Does she want to become ill herself and die along with the patient? Not at all. She wants to go quickly to help those who are sick get better, to cure both their physical and mental diseases, so that their bodies and minds are free from illness. She gained a passage into liberation of quickly reaching all states of illness.

What are the illnesses of the body? The three evils of killing, stealing, and lust. These evils are diseases. The illnesses of the mind are greed, anger, and delusion. If you want to force an interpretation, you can explain it any way you like, but killing, stealing, lust, greed, anger, and delusion are a little easier to understand.

“Are extinguished at once by mindfulness.” As soon as you are mindful of kindness and of the Moon Love Samadhi, both mental and physical illnesses disappear and you feel cool and refreshed.

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