Practices and Vows of
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva

Chapter Forty, New Edition

 

 

SUTRA: 

His clan, family, race, or skin color,
His appearance and wisdom are all perfect.
All demons and those of heterodox paths cannot destroy him,
And for those in the three realms, he can become worthy of offerings. 

He will quickly advance to the great Bodhi-tree king,
And seated there subdue the horde of demons,
Realize the Equal and Right Enlightenment and turn the Wheel of Dharma,
And benefit all living beings everywhere. 

COMMENTARY: 

His clan, family, race, or skin color. “Clan” refers to your ethnicity and “family” refers to your family name or surname. “Race” means the race of people to which you belong. And “color” refers to whether you are a white person, a yellow person, a black person, or a red person. His appearance and wisdom are all perfect. Your physical characteristics and appearance are beautiful, dignified, and complete, and your wisdom will also be complete and great. Therefore, the text reads that they “are all perfect.”

All demons and those of heterodox paths cannot destroy him. None of the heavenly demons or adherents of heterodox paths have any method to give you trouble. Why? Because the inconceivable power from the ten great king of vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva will support and protect you.

And for those in the three realms, he can become worthy of offerings. You can become one who should receive the offerings of those in the three realms of existence, that is, the Realm of Sensual Desire, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm. This means that you have realized the level of attainment of an Arhat and the position of one who is “worthy of offerings.”

He will quickly advance to the great Bodhi-tree king. You will very quickly go to the base of the Bodhi Tree and become a Buddha, and sit in the great Bodhimaṇḍa. And seated there subdue the horde of demons. At that time, beneath the Bodhi Tree you will be able to vanquish all demons and others such as these. Realize Equal and Right Enlightenment, turn the Wheel of Dharma. You will accomplish the Unsurpassed, Right and Equal, Proper Enlightenment, and turn the great wheel of Dharma and benefit all living beings everywhere. You will benefit all living beings universally.

SUTRA: 

If a person with respect to these vows of Samantabhadra,
Reads, recites, receives, upholds, and explains them,
One’s reward can only be known by the Buddha,
And one will certainly attain the path of supreme Bodhi. 

If a person recites these vows of Samantabhadra,
I’m only speaking about a small portion of one’s roots of goodness
In a single thought, everything will be perfected.
And one can accomplish the pure vows of living beings. 

I practice the supreme conduct of Samantabhadra
And transfer all of its boundless and superior blessings,
Vowing that all living beings everywhere, who are sinking and drowning,
Will quickly go to the kshetra-land of Measureless Light Buddha! 

COMMENTARY: 

If a person with respect to these vows of Samantabhadra…Suppose you are able to cultivate the ten great king of vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and one reads, recites, receives, upholds, and explains them...if you’re able to read and recite them, or to receive and uphold them, or explain them for others, then one’s reward can only be known by the Buddha. Only the Buddhas can verify and know this kind of reward. And one will certainly attain the path of supreme Bodhi. For sure you will obtain the great path of Bodhi.

If a person recites these vows of Samantabhadra...Suppose someone can read and recite the ten great king of vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. I’m only speaking about a small portion of one’s roots of goodness. I’m only speaking about a very small amount of one’s roots of goodness. In a single thought, everything will be perfected. In a single thought, everything that one seeks for will be fulfilled. And one can accomplish the pure vows of living beings. One will be able to accomplish the vows made by all living beings.

I practice the supreme conduct of Samantabhadra. I cultivate the practices of Samantabhadra, which are the most excellent, subtle, and wonderful practice. And transfer all of its boundless and superior blessings. I transfer all the measureless and boundless, and wondrous rewards of blessings from this practice, to all living beings of the Dharma Realm. Vowing that all living beings everywhere, who are sinking and drowning…I vow to rescue and liberate all living beings everywhere who are sinking and drowning in the ocean of suffering. So that they will quickly go to the kshetra-land of Measureless Light Buddha! They will very quickly go to the Land of Ultimate Bliss of Amitabha Buddha, Measureless Light Buddha.

 

Epilogue

SUTRA: 

At that time, after Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, had finished speaking before the Tathagata these pure verses on the great king of vows of Samantabhadra, the youth Sudhana was overwhelmed with boundless joy. All the Bodhisattvas were extremely happy as well. And the Tathagata praised him, saying, “Very good! Very good!”

At that time, this supreme Dharma of the inconceivable state of liberation was spoken in the presence of the World Honored One and the Sagely Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas with Manjushri Bodhisattva as their leader.

Also present were all the great Bodhisattvas and the six thousand Bhikshus who had matured in their practice, with Maitreya Bodhisattva as their leader and all the great Bodhisattvas of the Worthy Kalpa who were led by Immaculate Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.

COMMENTARY: 

At that time refers to the time after Samantabhadra Bodhisattva had finished speaking these pure verses. Thus the text says, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Mahasattva. Samantabhadra Bodhisattva is a great Bodhisattva among Bodhisattvas, while before the Tathagata, the Buddha, finished speaking these pure verses on the great king of vows of Samantabhadra. Samantabhadra Bodhisattva was in front of Shakyamuni Buddha and he explained the vast and great king of vows of Samantabhadra that he made himself. The ten great king of vows are as follows:

The first is to worship all Buddhas;
The second is to praise the Tathagatas;
The third is to extensively cultivate making offerings;
The fourth is to repent of karmic obstacles and reform;
The fifth is to follow and rejoice in the merit and virtue of others;
The sixth is to request the turning of the wheel of Dharma;
The seventh is to beseech the Buddhas remain in the world;
The eighth is to always follow and learn from the Buddhas;
The ninth is to constantly conform with living beings;
The tenth is to transfer all merit and virtue.

After he finished speaking these pure verses on the great king of vows, the youth Sudhana was overwhelmed with boundless joy. After the youth Sudhana had heard about these ten great king of vows, he jumped for joy. All the Bodhisattvas were extremely happy as well. Not only did the youth Sudhana become so happy that he jumped for joy, all the Bodhisattvas were happy too. And the Tathagata, Shakyamuni Buddha, praised Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, saying, “Very good! Very good!” He said, “It’s truly good that you have explained this Dharma. This is really the best!”

At that time, this supreme Dharma of the inconceivable state of liberation was spoken in the presence of the World Honored One, Shakyamuni Buddha, and all the Sagely Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas and all the great Bodhisattvas. They heard the inconceivable state of liberation that was previously spoken. With Manjushri Bodhisattva, also known as “Wonderfully Auspicious” Bodhisattva, as their leader. He was a leader among those Bodhisattvas.

Also present were all the great Bodhisattvas and the six thousand Bhikshus who had matured in their practice. There were all the great Bodhisattvas and also six thousand Bhikshus in the Dharma Assembly, with Maitreya Bodhisattva as their leader. He was the leader of the Bhikshus and great Bodhisattvas. Maitreya is a Sanskrit word that means someone who belongs to the clan named “Kindness.” It also means “invincible” or “Ajita.”

And there were also all the great Bodhisattvas of the Worthy Kalpa. This kalpa of ours is called the Worthy Kalpa. Why is it called the Worthy Kalpa? It’s because many sages and worthies will appear in this world at this time. All these great Bodhisattvas who were led by Immaculate Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva named Immaculate Samantabhadra Bodhisattva was at the head of the great assembly.

SUTRA: 

Assembled together were also all the great Bodhisattvas who will succeed to the position of a Buddha in one life and who were at the position of Anointment of the Crown, as well as all the remaining Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas from the various different worlds of the ten directions, who were as numerous as the smallest atomic particles in an ocean of kshetra-lands, gathered together.

All the great Shravakas were headed by the greatly wise Shariputra, Mahamaudgalyayana, and others. Also present were all the people, gods, and all the rulers of the worlds, as well as heavenly dragons, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, non-humans, and so forth. Upon hearing what the Buddha had said, all in the entire great assembly were extremely happy, faithfully accepted it, and put it into practice.

COMMENTARY: 

Assembled together were also all the great Bodhisattvas who will succeed to the position of a Buddha in one life.

What is meant by “will succeed to the position of a Buddha in one life.” He is called a Dharma Prince and is at the position of Dharma Prince. In our Saha world, Shakyamuni Buddha is the Dharma King. When his Buddha-dharma passes into extinction, the one who will succeed to the position of the Buddha is Maitreya Bodhisattva. Maitreya Bodhisattva, in one life, will be the next Buddha.

Maitreya Bodhisattva lives in the inner palace of the Tushita Heaven. Each Bodhisattva who is about to succeed to the position of a Buddha lives in the inner palace of the Tushita Heaven. For example, before Shakyamuni Buddha became a Buddha, he lived in the inner palace of the Tushita Heaven. After that he descended from the Tushita Heaven, entered the womb, left the womb, renounced the life of a householder, realized the Path, turned the wheel of Dharma, and rescued living beings.

When Shakyamuni Buddha was in his mother’s womb, he also turned the wheel of Dharma, but most people could not perceive this kind of state. They thought that he just spent his time in the womb without doing anything else. Actually he spoke Dharma for all the ghosts and spirits while in his mother’s womb.

Maitreya Bodhisattva will succeed Shakyamuni Buddha. Amitabha Buddha is the Teaching-Master in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. When he retires, Guan Shi Yin Bodhisattva will be his successor as the Buddha in one life. When Guan Shi Yin Bodhisattva steps down, Great Strength Bodhisattva will follow him in becoming a Buddha in one life. This is the meaning of “succeed to the position of a Buddha in one life.”

And, who were at the position of Anointment of the Crown...When a Buddha becomes a Buddha, his head must be anointed. The emperors of the past, when they were about to succeed to the throne, similarly did the ritual of having their head anointed. After they did the ritual of Anointment of the Crown, they became the Sons of Heaven (i.e. emperor). When the Buddha is about to become a Buddha in one life, it is the stage where one will “succeed to the position of a Buddha in one life.” It is also called the position of “Anointment of the Crown.”

Anointment of the Crown occurs when one is about to become a Buddha. All the Buddhas of the ten directions anoint with sweet dew Dharma-water the crown of the head of the one who is about to become a Buddha. When Shakyamuni Buddha came into the world, nine dragons came to anoint his head. This is also called the ritual of Anointment of the Crown. When one dwells at the stage where one will succeed to the position of a Buddha in one life or the position of Anointment of the Crown, one is about to become a Buddha. One will become a Buddha in one’s next life.

“The great Bodhisattvas” are those who will succeed to the position of a Buddha in one life and occupy the position of Anointment of the Crown. There are not just one or two who are like this. There are many, many Bodhisattvas from all the worlds of the ten directions who are going to become Buddhas. They are those who will succeed to the position of a Buddha in one life. These Bodhisattvas who are at the position of Anointment of the Crown are quite numerous.

As well as all the remaining Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas from the various different worlds of the ten directions, who were as numerous as the smallest atomic particles in an ocean of kshetra-lands...They all came to the Saha world to listen to Shakyamuni Buddha explain the Flower Adornment Sutra and to hear Samantabhadra Bodhisattva speak the Chapter on the Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra. They came from Buddha-lands as numerous as the smallest atomic particles in a great ocean of kshetra-lands. They were so numerous that one could not say just how many there were. “All Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas” means that there were also a lot of great Bodhisattvas.

All the great Shravakas were headed by the greatly wise Shariputra, Mahamaudgalyayana, and others. There were both Mahamaudgalyayana and the one of great wisdom, Shariputra. Shariputra was foremost in wisdom. How do we know this? When Shariputra was in his mother’s womb, he enabled his mother to defeat her brother in debate. Before she was with child, she could not defeat him regardless of what principles she presented. Her brother defeated her every time they debated. But when Shariputra’s mother was carrying him, she never lost a debate with her brother. He always lost after that.

Her brother told her, “The child in your womb must be exceptional. He certainly has great wisdom. It is only due to his help, that you are able to win in these debates. You never had such great wisdom before, so it’s certain that you are carrying a very wise child in your womb.”

He thought that when his sister has this child, he will be his uncle. If an uncle were defeated in debate by his nephew, he would lose face and be humiliated. Therefore, he decided that he would travel widely to study the classics and works of heterodox teachings.

How diligently did he study? He did not cut his hair or shave his beard. In fact he did not even have time to cut his fingernails. Why? It was not that he did not want to cut his hair or shave, or cut his nails, but rather that he did not have time to tend to such things. He was constantly studying the literary works of heterodox teachings. His fingernails grew so long that they grew into curls, and people called him “the Long-Nailed Brahmin.” Brahmin is one who cultivates pure practices. He was so busy he did not even have time to cut his fingernails. Just imagine how great his devotion to learning was.

Why did he study so hard? He wanted to be able to return home and defeat his nephew, the child of his younger sister. That was his wish.

After he studied for over ten years, he returned home and told his sister that he wanted to debate her son. Who would have known, but his sister’s child was not there. He asked, “Where is your son?”

She replied, “He has already become a monk with Shakyamuni Buddha.”

When the uncle, whose name was Kaushthila, heard this, he became angry. “How can he become a monk with the Buddha? What kind of spiritual virtue does the Buddha have that the child would become a monk with him? He is better off learning the spiritual path with me. My learning and virtue are the highest. Why did he want to renounce the householder’s life to become a monk with Shakyamuni Buddha?”

Then Kaushthila went off looking for Shakyamuni Buddha in order to bring his nephew back. However, he could not get him back without a reasonable excuse. He decided that when he met Shakyamuni Buddha, he would challenge him to a debate. He specialized in studying how to debate and was a master at it.

When he found Shakyamuni Buddha, he asked him, “On what basis have you taken my nephew as your disciple? What special abilities do you have to do this?”

Shakyamuni Buddha replied, “I don’t have any special abilities at all. He wanted to become a monk with me, so what else could I do?”

The uncle said, “Well, I’ve come here to debate with you. Let’s set up a topic to debate.

Shakyamuni Buddha replied, “What shall we debate? You go ahead and begin.”

The uncle said, “My tenet is that I don’t accept anything. This is my principle. No matter what you say, I won’t accept it.”

Shakyamuni Buddha then responded, “Your tenet is that you don’t accept anything. Well then, do you or do you not accept your view of this tenet that you don’t accept anything?”

Kaushthila thought, “If I accept this view, I will violate my original tenet, because I said that I don’t accept anything. However, if I do not accept this statement, I am rejecting my own tenet. It will be invalidated because I don’t accept it. If I accept it, I will be defeated, and if I don’t accept it, I will still be defeated. What am I going to do?”

Before Kaushthila began the debate with Shakyamuni Buddha, he had made a bet. He had said, “If I lose, I will give you my head,” and if Shakyamuni Buddha lost, he would return Kaushthila’s nephew to him. He’d have to return Shariputra to his uncle. In the beginning they had made this agreement. And now he realized his own principle would not stand up. He decided to run away. He ran for almost two hours. How far can you run in two hours? Not too far.

Then he thought, “I’m a man, not a woman. How can I not keep my word? If I said I would give my head, then I will give my head. Why make such a big deal out of it? I definitely should keep my word.” So he ran back to see Shakyamuni Buddha.

Shakyamuni Buddha said, “Why have you returned?” He answered, “Give me a knife.”

“Why should I give you a knife?”

“Because I want to cut off my head and give it to you!”

Shakyamuni Buddha said, “Why do you want to cut off your head to

give to me?”

“Because I said I would.” The uncle admitted that he had lost the bet. “I said clearly that if I were defeated, I would give my head to you.”

Shakyamuni Buddha replied, “It would be useless to cut your head off to give to me. What can I do with a head? But if you don’t cut if off, it might still be of some use. If you keep it on your shoulders, you can consider yourself the same as being dead, and then you can leave the life of a householder and become a monk. Wouldn’t that be better? Why cut off your head? Your head is now mine, and I don’t want you to cut it off. I want it kept on your body. Just shave your head and become a monk, then that will be enough. Shaving your head is equivalent to cutting it off.”

Kaushthila said with relief, “Oh! That’s okay!” He then left the life of a householder and became a monk with Shakyamuni Buddha.

Shariputra’s name means “the son of Shari.” His name came from his mother’s name, which was Shari. Putra means “son.” The shari is a name of a type of bird. In India it’s called shari. In English it is an egret. That bird’s eyes are expressive and beautiful. Shariputra’s mother’s eyes were as beautiful as an egret’s, so she was called Shari. And her son was called the son of Shari, Shariputra.

previous   next   Contents

Chapter 40 pages:  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17    18    19    20    21    22    23    24    25    26    27    28    29    30

return to top