Purple Lotus Publisher > Journal > Volumn NO. 5

The Annotated True Buddha Sutra (cont.)

by Grand Master Sheng-yen Lu

Translated by Janny Chow and Master Kender Tomko [1]

Incense Praise: The Censer is now lit, suffusing the Dharma Realm, and from afar the scent is inhaled by the True Buddha Assembly. Auspicious are the gathering clouds, as we now request, with sincere and earnest hearts, that all Buddhas manifest.
Namo Cloud Canopy of Fragrance, Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas. (3 times)
Namo the True Buddha Assembly, all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas. (3 times)

We sing this Incense Praise every time, as you know. Because you have offered the incense in this way, the scent rises far above, suffusing the whole Dharma Realm. Subsequently, all these offerings are received by the True Buddha Assembly. Your incense offerings fill up the sky like the auspicious gathering clouds. In response to the earnest and sincere request in your hearts, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas manifest completely. What is "cloud canopy of fragrance"? That means your offerings, like the fragrant clouds, are pervading the sky like a canopy.

"Namo" [Sanskrit: "I call upon"] means taking refuge in all the great Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the True Buddha Assembly.

(10)

Evocation of the two Buddhas and Eight Bodhisattvas:
Namo Vairocana Buddha of the All-Conquering Palace in Dharma Realm;
Namo Amitabha Buddha of Western Paradise;
Namo Mahasattva Avalokitesvara;
Namo Mahasattva Maitreya;
Namo Mahasattva Samantabhadra;
Namo Mahasattva Vajrapani;
Namo Mahasattva Manjusri;
Namo Mahasattva Hindrance-Removing Bodhisattva;
Namo Mahasattva Ksitigarbha;
Namo All Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas;

The two Buddhas being evoked are: "Vairocana Buddha of the All-Conquering Palace in the 'Realm of Ultimate Truth', " and Amitabha Buddha of the Western Paradise. Some esoteric Buddhists consider Vairocana Buddha to be the Primordial Buddha which means the original source of all other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. His title mentions an "All-Conquering Palace in the Realm of Ultimate Truth" and this may bring to mind the image of a very beautiful palace, perhaps like the Ah-Fang Palace of Emperor Qin (221-207 B.C.E.) that burnt down. However, what is mentioned here is the Dharma Realm. What is signified? The totality of all beings and existence, including the Fourfold Realm of Sages and the Sixfold Realm of Ordinary Beings. The realm of Fourfold Realm of Sages consists of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Solitary Buddhas, and Arhats. The Sixfold Realm of Ordinary Beings consists of Heavenly Beings, Human Beings, Fighting Gods, Hungry Ghosts, Animals, and Hell Beings. Therefore, this palace is comprised of the entire Universe, all that can be seen and all realms of existence that cannot ordinarily be seen. The whole universe exists within this celestial palace.

What is meant by "All Conquering"? It means that it is the ultimate, the perfect, the most harmonious, and most pervasive. We all know that the Vairocana Buddha is the Fundamental Buddha, the Primordial Buddha from whom the True Buddha School originates in terms of lineage transmission. So before reciting the scripture, we must first call upon the Buddha who originally transmitted these teachings.

Why then call upon Amitabha Buddha of the Western Paradise? Because Amitabha is the Buddha who requested Lotus Youth [Padmakumara] of the Great Twin Lotus Ponds to enter the human realm and transmit the True Buddha Tantra [Sanskrit: "esoteric yogic method of spiritual integration"]. Since Amitabha entrusted this mission to Lotus Youth, it is necessary that we call upon Amitabha.Were it not for the Buddhas Vairocana and Amitabha, there would be no True Buddha School today.

We must then call upon the Eight Bodhisattvas: Namo Mahasattva Avalokitesvara, Namo Mahasattva Maitreya, Namo Mahasattva Akasagarbha, Namo Mahasattva Samantabhadra, Namo Mahasattva Vajrapani, Namo Mahasattva Manjusri, Namo Mahasattva Hindrance-Removing Bodhisattva, and Namo Mahasattva Ksitigarbha.

Finally we call upon the totality of all Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas. This is due to the very great affinity the totality of these Beings have with our True Buddha School. The Two Buddhas and Eight Great Bodhisattvas are the root lineage holders of the True Buddha Dharma, while the remaining bodhisattvas also come to listen and uphold the True Buddha Dharma.

(11)

Sutra Opening Verse:
The most supreme profound Dharma,
Is rarely encountered in hundreds and thousands of kalpas.
Having now received this transmission and blessing,
I vow to penetrate the true meaning of Tathagata.

Next we will discuss the Sutra Opening Verse. It is found in every sutra. These few simple sentences are saying that such profound Dharma is rarely encountered. Today you have come upon it, and so should study, recite, and contemplate the meaning of the scripture from this moment onwards.

(12)

The Sutra of Authentic Dharma that Removes Hindrances and Bestows Good Fortune, Spoken by Living Buddha Lian-sheng.

Thus Have I Heard.

Now we get to the sutra itself. The first sentence is "Thus have I heard." This is equivalent to saying "I heard this firsthand at a Teaching Assembly" [conducted by a Buddha]. This sentence is found at the beginning of every sutra, every Buddhist scripture. Some of you present are older than the Grand Master and some of you are younger. In the future, when I am no longer here, I cannot guarantee the elder students will still be present, while many more of the younger students will likely remain at my passing. Recently I have contemplated the significance of writing the eightieth book in my series of public writings. It is called The King of Buddha Kings, and the title may lead others to accuse me of plagiarism; a similar title, "King of all Kings" has already been used. But in fact, the approach taken in this book is very serious, with little levity. Actually, it is a rather profound and difficult work, for it contains the crucial formulas of the Buddhist spiritual discipline. With this book I have completed a major cycle in my spiritual writings. While I will continue writing in the future, I can now rest, as when having carried a knapsack for a very long distance one can then put it down.

I then remind myself that to take a very long break would mean "closing the act" at age forty-four, which would be a rather short life. In order not to leave so soon, it becomes necessary to involve myself soon in the eighty-first book project. This will be titled The Liturgies of the True Buddha School, and it will contain the rules and answers to many questions raised concerning liturgical practice. The publication date has not been determined. [This book has been published as of March, 1989.]

This eightieth book corresponds to a rest stop in my life, and I do feel that with the completion of this volume, I have fulfilled the primary mission of my present incarnation. Amitabha Buddha can take care of future concerns while I can approach my life without feeling so burdened.

In the future, any of you present who write concerning this teaching may begin with the classical phrase "Thus have I heard." For you are present in the Dharma Teaching Assembly during the original exposition, and others will be able to confirm this. When the followers of Buddha Shakyamuni collected his teachings together, they have placed this remark at the beginning of each book to signify direct reception of the original teaching. In this case, the classical opening phrase indicates that I myself was present at the Great Twin Lotus ponds of the Western Paradise, and at that time witnessed the teaching of the Great Being Lotus Youth.

The life of the individual results from many causes and develops through many rounds of death and rebirth. Actually, to be "born" or to "die" simply means that you disappear from here to reappear elsewhere. This is the basic meaning of transmigration.

I was present at the Great Twin Lotus Ponds in the Western Paradise among all others there. But I then transmigrated to the present life. Let me recall my age upon coming to the United States. I lived in Taiwan for thirty seven years and then I was "reborn"in the United States exactly seven years ago. Perhaps next year I will die to this life circumstance and be reborn in Indonesia! Or in Malaysia, or Singapore, or Australia! This is to say that transmigration is not extinction of the individual.

Life and death are intimately inter-related. Here you are born through transmigration from somewhere else, or vice versa. It is very peaceful to view the cycle of change in this way. When someone passes on you may cry in great bereavement due to a sense of personal loss, yet that individual may well have gone on to a far better existence. Therefore keep in mind this broader perspective.

(13)

"At one time, white Mahapadmakumara was present at the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds, sitting upon the Great White Lotus Dharma-Throne;"

What is meant by saying "At one time"? Even the very distant past is included.

There was once an aged Buddhist master known by the name "Sky Dragon Zen Master." Whenever people asked him existential questions, he always responded in the same way: he would silently raise his right index finger. He would respond thus when he knew the asnwer to a question, and even when he did not. Now, what does this signify? People were unable to understand such a response, and would ask him for clarification.

Sky Dragon Zen Master would reply by saying "Oneness is all-encompassing. The answer to your question is certainly to be found among this all-inclusive totality. So I can guarantee you that this is the right answer."

A person would ask, "Where is the Mount-Meru?" [This is the cosmological "world mountain" of the Hindus and Buddhists.] Sky Dragon Zen Master made this gesture, which indeed resembled a mountain.

When asked, "Where is the world?", he would respond the same, indicating that the entire universe evolves from the primal element [of akasha, or space]. And when asked, "What is the nature of the feminine?", or "How does one distinguish masculine from feminine?", Sky Dragon Zen Master made this gesture again of extending his right index finger upwards, because in the Great Heavens which transcend all duality there is no separation between masculine and feminine nature.

So this Totality encompasses Heaven and Earth, the mountains and waters, humanity and all else. The primordial state of being, the past, the present, and the future are all within this totality. That is why the old monk, when challenged with a difficult question, would raise his right index finger in response.

As it happens, a student of his began to imitate him in this. Sky Dragon Zen Master challenged the student, who responded once more with an upraised index finger, and the enraged Master grabbed this finger, chopping it off with a knife. The Master then asked the howling student, "Where is your 'Oneness' now?" And it was only "this." [Here Grand Master holds up his right hand with the index finger folded in to represent a missing digit.]

The essence of Zen is not always explained or explainable in words and many related meanings are implicit in its principle. Thus you may ask me, "Grand Master, when exactly is this 'At one time'?" I tell you that one century, one millenium, one eon, ten eons or even a thousand eons are within the indicated time. "At one time" thus means at that one time, which includes all times.

"At one time, White Mahapadmakumara was present at the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds." The color white mentioned here is significant: white is the union or sum of all colors. For example, there are simple demonstrations of physical science in which a multicolored wheel is spun around at high speed and the composite color is white, is it not? But if one of the colors of such a wheel is taken out then the resultant composite color is black.

However one may spin the wheel painted with such a full color spectrum, the result is the same, so white is shown to be the most complete color, from which all others derive. This is why Buddha Vairocana and his All Conquering Palace in the Primordial Dimension are represented by the color white.

Similarly, the principal Padmakumara in the Great Twin Lotus Ponds is white in color, because all Buddhas-to-be must engage the "White Purification Practices" before attaining Enlightenment. In other words, they must undergo purification to reach the ultimate goal of pure awareness, and this goal corresponds to the color white.

In a dharma talk just given by Master Cheng, it was explained that the goals of spiritual cultivation are to become "Emptiness" and "Nothing." What then is the color corresponding to these? The color white. To mix in any other color would represent a modification. Only white is truly pure. Therefore, the Great White Padmakumara is the principal deity at the Great Twin Ponds and he sits on top of the great white Lotus dharma-throne.

One student argued with me, "Grand Master, 'to sit on the great white lotus dharma-throne' will do, why use the phrase 'on top of'? [Translator's note: in the Chinese text, the phrase "upon" is literally "on top of."] One of course will only sit on top of the lotus and not under it, nor to one side. So the phrase is redundant..." I replied, "Please don't be unnecessarily critical! It is enough to understand that the Padmakumara is sitting on top of the Lotus dharma-throne. If you try to find minor faults like this, how can this sutra be written at all?"

(14)

Surrounding Him were seventeen other great lotus blossoms. The Green Lotus radiated green light, the Yellow Lotus yellow light, the Red Lotus red light, the Purple Lotus purple light. Each lotus blossom was mysteriously wonderful, pure, and full of fragrance.

Surrounding this white lotus are altogether seventeen other great lotus blossoms. That student was indeed very confrontational. He said, "This paragraph also contains many redundancies, with the green lotus radiating green light, and so forth. Can the Grand Master be color blind? Does anyone expect the green lotus to radiate red light? And will the yellow lotus radiate green light? How did you manage to obtain your driver's license?" Actually, he was also trying to find fault. The seeming redundancy carries distinct meanings, for example that there is a lotus of a certain color, and then that the lotus radiates light of the same color.

Actually, the Buddhist sutras are replete with examples such as this: The green Lotus Youth holds a green lotus which is also radiating a green light and the whole surrounding becomes green. There are such precedents in the sutras to be followed. We are not being contradictory or redundant.

"Each lotus blossom was mysteriously wonderful, pure, and full of fragrance." This describes the mysterious wonders and fragrance of each lotus. Here fragrance represents purity and goodness. The "smell is good and clean." The phrase "mysteriously wonderful" is often encountered in the Buddhist sutras. It refers to a state wherein everything is extremely fine.

One True Buddha student is Shen Mui-chuen, who formerly lived in Tai-Chung, Taiwan. Her given name contains the word "wonderful" [i.e. the Chinese character "Mui"]. She did not originally fancy the name "wonderful" at all, and remarked, "A name is just a name, what is so 'Mui' about it?" When someone would call her, it was as though she were being mocked: "Wonderful? What is so wonderful about you? Your name is baffling, not wonderful." Since however she has taken refuge in the Grand Master, Mui has read many sutras and found that "wonderful" is very commonly found in Buddhist scriptures. Furthermore, the True Buddha School has a local chapter in California named Mui Yin Tong. So she thought to herself "Ah! This is just too wonderful! Mine is a fine name after all." And so she decided to not change her name.

Footnotes
[1] Oral commentary on the True Buddha Sutra given by Grand Master Lu between October 1, 1988 and January 21, 1989 at the Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple, Redmond, Washington, USA. Translated by Janny Chow and Acharya Kender Taylor.