Practices and Vows of
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva

Chapter Forty, New Edition

 

 

SUTRA: 

If there are Buddhas who wish to enter Parinirvana,
I beseech them with utmost sincerity,
Wishing that they long remain in the world for as many kalpas as there are particles in kshetra-lands, To benefit and bring happiness to all living beings.

All of the blessings from worshipping, praising, and making offerings,
From beseeching the Buddhas to remain in the world and turn the Wheel of Dharma;
And from all the roots of goodness gained from following and rejoicing, and repentance and reform,
I transfer to living beings and to becoming a Buddha. 

COMMENTARY: 

If there are Buddhas who wish to enter Parinirvana, I beseech them with utmost sincerity. Some people do not want to enter Nirvana. They say, “Nirvana is death. Buddhism calls death Nirvana.” In fact, Nirvana means “not produced and not destroyed;” it is the Pure Land of Eternal Serenity and Light. It is neither produced nor destroyed, neither increasing nor decreasing, neither impure nor pure. It is the place where all Buddhas dwell.

The world we now live in is called “the land where common people and enlightened sages dwell together.” This is because in this world there are common people, enlightened sages, which includes the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, Shravakas, and Those Enlightened to Conditions who all live together.

The place where those of the Two Vehicles dwell is called the “Expedient Land with Residue.” Why is it called expedient? Although that place is acceptable, it is still not ultimate Nirvana. Rather it is a one-sided truth. It is the one-sided truth of Nirvana with Residue.

Bodhisattvas dwell in the “Beautified Land with True Rewards.” Bodhisattvas roam about at their leisure with spiritual powers, they purify Buddha lands, and they teach and transform living beings.

The place where only Buddhas dwell is called the Pure Land of Eternal Serenity and Light.

If you study the Buddha-dharma, and somebody asks you, “What are the four lands?” You should know them. For example, a certain person said that he had already become a Buddha, so then I asked him, “In what land do you live?” He could not answer. He basically did not have any place for himself, so what kind of Buddha had he become? He became a Buddha that does not even know where he dwells. He goes around saying, “Everyone is a Buddha.” However, if you ask him what land he lives in, he’s speechless. He does not have anything to say.

“Who gave you your prediction? When you become a Buddha, what will be your name?” He cannot answer these questions either. This proves that he is a counterfeit Buddha.

For example, to say that a ghost is a Buddha is false and a fake. Or another example might be that one sells apples labeled as the highest grade. However, they are not really of the highest grade. These are counterfeit. When you become a Buddha, you should know where you’re going and what your name will be. Shariputra had studied with Shakyamuni Buddha for over forty years. Then the Buddha gave him a prediction of Buddhahood, saying that he would be called Flower Light Buddha. If you say you are a Buddha, then what is your Buddha name? If you do not know, then you are not a Buddha. I say this is a counterfeit Buddha or a false Buddha. There are all kinds of false things in this world, even false or counterfeit Buddhas.

This is when the Buddhas have rescued and transformed the living beings that they should have rescued. That is, they have taught and transformed living beings for measureless numbers of kalpas and completed their task of saving them. This is called “having finished transforming those with whom they have affinities.” Then they wish to enter Nirvana. However, if the Buddhas enter Nirvana and go to the Pure Land of Eternal Serenity and Light, then Samantabhadra Bodhisattva says, If there are Buddhas who wish to enter Nirvana, I request with utmost sincerity...I, with utmost earnestness and sincerity, request that they not enter Nirvana, but rescue more living beings. Only wishing that they remain in the world for a long time, as many kalpas as there are particles in kshetra-lands. I only wish that that they dwell for a long time in the world for kalpas as numerous as particles in kshetra-lands. To benefit and bring happiness to all living beings. That is, all living beings that exist are benefited and all are taught and transformed.

All of the blessings from worshipping, praising, and making offerings. This line refers to the vows that were spoken of previously, to worship all Buddhas and to praise the Tathagatas. It also refers to the vow to extensively make offerings. “Blessings” refers to making offerings to those with blessings. Some texts read, “To make offerings to the Buddhas,” but the meaning is the same. Making offerings to the Buddha is the same as giving offerings to those with blessings, because the Buddhas have perfected blessings and wisdom; they are the doubly perfect ones, perfect in blessings and wisdom.

From beseeching the Buddhas to remain in the world and turn the Wheel of Dharma. With a sincere mind, relying on the power of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s ten great King of Vows, I request that the Buddhas remain long in the world and constantly turn the wondrous wheel of Dharma.

And from all the roots of goodness gained from following and rejoicing, and from repentance and reform. The merit and virtue that comes from following and rejoicing and from repenting and reforming produces all kinds of roots of goodness. Once you repent and reform, your karmic offenses are lessened and your roots of goodness increase. I transfer to living beings and to becoming a Buddha. The text means, “I will not keep my roots of goodness for myself, but I transfer them to all living beings of the Dharma Realm. All my merit and virtue belongs to living beings of the Dharma Realm. And all the offenses of living beings in the Dharma Realm can be given to myself alone, so that I will take on the burden of their offenses.” This is called undergoing suffering on behalf of living beings. Therefore the text says that I transfer it to living beings and the path of the Buddhas. That is, all of my merit and virtue is dedicated to living beings and the path of the Buddhas.

SUTRA: 

I follow and learn from all the Tathagatas
And cultivate the perfect practices of Samantabhadra.
I make offerings to all the Tathagatas of the past,
The Buddhas of the present throughout the ten directions. 

And to all the Teachers of Gods and Humans of the future.
May all my aspirations be fulfilled.
I wish to learn from all the Buddhas of the three periods of time
And quickly attain great Bodhi. 

COMMENTARY: 

I follow and learn from all the Tathagatas. I wish always to study with the Buddhas, to eternally learn the Buddha’s Path from all Buddhas. And cultivate the perfect practices of Samantabhadra. And I will cultivate and study Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s perfect practices. I make offerings to all the Tathagatas of the past. I make offerings to all the Buddhas of the past and the Buddhas of the present throughout the ten directions.

And to all the Teachers of Gods and Humans of the future. The future teachers of gods and men are the Buddhas. May all my aspirations be fulfilled. That is, may all my hopes and wishes, and all the things I take pleasure in, be fulfilled and accomplished. I wish to learn from all the Buddhas of the three periods of time. I wish to constantly learn and practice the Buddha-dharma with all Buddhas of the three periods of time, and quickly attain great Bodhi. I’ll very quickly attain the path of Enlightenment that is great Bodhi.

SUTRA: 

In all the kshetra-lands throughout the ten directions,
Vast, pure, and wonderfully adorned,
The assemblies surround the Tathagatas,
As they sit beneath their royal Bodhi trees. 

May all living beings in the ten directions
Be without worry, and always have peace and happiness,
Obtain the Proper Dharma’s profound benefit,
And may their afflictions be eradicated without remainder. 

COMMENTARY: 

In all the kshetra-lands throughout the ten directions. “All” includes the ten directions of the Dharma Realm—north, south, east, and west, northeast, southeast, northwest, southwest, above, and below, and all the kshetras lands, that is all the Buddha lands. That are vast, pure, and wonderfully adorned.

Because the entire great expanse of the ten directions of the Dharma Realm is meant, the line of text says, “vast.” Pure means it is extremely pure without the slightest bit of defilement. “Wonderfully adorned,” means that these kinds of inconceivable, subtle and wonderful things adorn the ten directions of the Dharma Realm.

The assemblies surround the Tathagatas. All the assemblies throughout the Dharma Realm—the oceanic assemblies of Bodhisattvas, the oceanic assemblies of Shravakas, the oceanic assemblies of Those Enlightened to Conditions, the oceanic assemblies of Bhikshus, Bhikshunis, Upasakas, and Upasikas, the oceanic assemblies of gods, dragons, and the rest of the eightfold pantheon of spiritual beings surround the Tathagatas, which are all the Buddhas. As they sit beneath their royal Bodhi trees. Every one of the Buddha lands of the ten directions has a Bodhi tree, and each Buddha accomplishes the path beneath that Bodhi Tree.

May all living beings in the ten directions be without worry and always have peace and happiness. I will transfer merit to them and vow that all living beings in all the worlds throughout the ten directions will be apart from all worry, grief, suffering, and affliction, and always obtain peace and happiness. Obtain the Proper Dharma’s profound benefit. I vow that they will all obtain the extremely profound and wondrous Dharma of Prajna—this kind of benefit. And may their afflictions be eradicated without remainder. They eradicate all afflictions, so that not the slightest bit remains. To destroy all afflictions without remainder means that not even a hairsbreadth of afflictions remains.

Speaking about this is very easy, but doing it is very difficult. You say that you want to rid yourself of afflictions and then think that you can be without any afflictions, but your afflictions still arise. You might wish to cut off your afflictions, but you cannot. It is not known how many great kalpas you have had intimate connections with your afflictions. Therefore, although you may want to leave them, you cannot separate from your afflictions. Why can’t you separate from your afflictions? Because you have no wisdom; you are deluded. Only people with wisdom can destroy all their afflictions without remainder.

When we listen to the Sutras and hear the Dharma, we study our inherent wisdom. Although we call it “studying our inherent wisdom,” we do not acquire this wisdom by means of study. This wisdom is something we already have by nature. However, we have forgotten it. For a long time we have not used this profound prajna-wisdom, so we have forgotten it. Now because we hear the Sutras and the Dharma, we remember our inherent wisdom, and once it is remembered, delusion and afflictions go away. Then, even if you don’t try to get rid of them, they cannot exist anymore.Where do afflictions and ignorance reside? They reside in darkness. If you have light, then the darkness will go away. What is light? Light is wisdom. What is darkness? Darkness is ignorance. If you have no ignorance, you will have no afflictions. Then you will give rise to real wisdom. Why do people have afflictions? It’s just because they lack understanding. If they have understanding, they will not have any afflictions.

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