[COMPLETELY UPDATED! Includes downloads too!] “The Annotated True Buddha Sutra” - Short Book Review/Summary/Analysis

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

The Annotated True Buddha Sutra
By Master Sheng-Yen Lu (Living Buddha Lian-sheng)
Translated by Janny Chow
Published by Purple Lotus Society, 2001 http://www.purplelotus.org/
ISBN: 1-881493-08-3
Links of high interest:
http://www.purplelotus.org/shop/en/mbooks.html
http://www.purplelotus.org/temple/en/plpub/ptrans.html

Noteworthy quotes-

Day 1 - (Number One of Thirteen in a series of talks by Living Buddha Lian-sheng discerningly and sincerely elucidating the True Buddha Sutra)
• “In this dualistic world where one aspect is called `true,` there is another called `false`…But, please examine the matter further. These agreements as to `truth` or `falsity` are just mental fabrications, and nothing in this world can be fundamentally one or the other.” [pg 23]
- WOW!!

• “What is a `sutra`? It is a kind of road or pathway. Thus to follow this True Buddha road [via the True Buddha Sutra] and walk ahead is to move in a certain direction, which leads to the abode of the True Buddhas. / What then is a `Buddha Sutra`? It is a path to True Awakening and Realization. Therefore the title identifies the sutra as a means to True Wakening and Realization – that is the essential meaning of the entire sutra.” [pg 24]

• “Shakyamuni Buddha said, `The Heart is not outside, nor is it inside.`” [pg 25]

• “The Heart/Mind referred to by Shakyamuni Buddha is the Consciousness of the entire Universe. Included in it are you, everything within you, and everything outside you. The Whole Universe comprising oneself and all others is known as the Heart.” [pg 25]

• “In this one sentence – `The Sutra is the spontaneous revelation of the Own Heart…` – the phrase `Own Heart` expresses both the fundamental identity of individual and universal awareness.” [pg 26]

• “Narcissism of the ego is in no way comparable to spontaneous Heart/Mind revelation.” [pg 26]

• “Achieving Realization through this sutra definitely allows us to return to the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds of the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss.” [pg 27]

Links of high interest:
http://www.purplelotus.org/shop/en/mbooks.html
http://www.purplelotus.org/temple/en/plpub/ptrans.html

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 9, 2005 (03/09/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

Day 2 - (Number Two of Thirteen in a series of talks by Living Buddha Lian-sheng discerningly and sincerely elucidating the True Buddha Sutra)
• [pg 28-29] The three [Sanskirt] seed-syllables in the beginning, `Om, Ah, Hum,` have already been explained as follows:
`Om` is the Universe,
`Ah` is One, the Buddha,
`Hum` is fruit, the Fruition.
`Om, Ah, Hum` is the same as: The Buddhas in the Universe have manifested all phenomena, all fruition.
Actually these three seed-syllables are very profound. They need not refer only to all phenomenal manifestations of the Universe and the Buddhas. They can also mean:
The Purity of Heaven,
The Purity of Earth,
The Purity of sentient beings
– The Original Purity of Beings.

• “`With reverence I make my purified body, speech, and mind an offering to Mahavairocana`…Every practitioner should `have a zipper across the mouth` and keep it `zipped up` to prevent unnecessary quarrels and disputes…The mouths of many people bring forth `flying swords,` not `sweets` (like chocolate). Otherwise they are just talking hypocrisy, lies, nonsense, or being flirtatious. When one commits no transgression by the mouth, that is pure speech.” [pg 29]

• “I hope that whenever one hears some talk, one will just swallow it and discharge it from the other end. After all, much talk is pretty foul.” [pg 30]

• “Transgressions on these two levels [of body and speech] can be more easily prevented through moment-to-moment practice of mindfulness and introspection. Mindfulness means keeping the precepts in mind, and introspection means ongoing self-assessment in view of the precepts.” [pg 30]
- Similar to the metacognitive technique of self-assessment

• “In the Realms of Desire and Form, the purification of mind or pure awareness is extremely difficult. Sages absorb themselves in the Formless Realm where there is no mental projection, only pure awareness.” [pg 30]
- Desire = want
- Form = projection of physical image
- Thus, the `physical` form is merely a mental image projection of `self`

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 9, 2005 (03/09/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

Day 3 - (Number Three of Thirteen in a series of talks by Living Buddha Lian-sheng discerningly and sincerely elucidating the True Buddha Sutra)
• “`Disciples of Buddha should constantly cry out [for His pure light which magnifies virtue and wisdom]` – this means that students should practice unceasingly. It does not call for endless plaintive weeping or strenuous yelling. A real practitioner regards each moment as his last and cultivates ceaselessly. Through moment-to-moment application the practitioner will remain pure and tranquil.” [pg 36]

• “Upon liberation, one should endeavor in the same way to liberate others.” [pg 36]

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 9, 2005 (03/09/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

Day 4 - (Number Four of Thirteen in a series of talks by Living Buddha Lian-sheng discerningly and sincerely elucidating the True Buddha Sutra)
• “`Namo` means taking refuge in all the great Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the True Buddha Assembly.” [pg 40]

• “Oneness is all-encompassing. The answer to your question [and all questions] is certainly to be found among this all-inclusive totality.” [pg 46]

• “In the Great Heavens which transcend all duality there is no separation between masculine and feminine nature.” [pg 46]

• “Goals of spiritual cultivation are to become `Emptiness` and `Nothingness`.” [pg 47-48]

• “Please don’t be unnecessarily critical!” [pg 48]

• [pg 49-50]
“The White Padmakumara, silently calling forth his spiritual power,” this is a wonderful usage of the word “silently” because spiritual power is, after all, invisible and inherently present in all of nature’s transformations
…
In reality, many housewives are already “silently calling forth their spiritual powers” when they prepare meals in their homes. First one goes to the supermarket to buy a fish, the kind that is quite cheap, with a nauseating fishy smell. Then one comes home and starts marinating the fish in soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and green onion. The fish is then fired in fragrant oil. In an instant a foul-smelling fish is “silently transformed through spiritual power” into an “aromatic fish.” After such aromatic food is consumed by each of us, it again undergoes “silent transformation,” turning back into something that is as foul as it was before.
…
When the filthiest and most foul smelling substances are fed to plants, fish, fowl, or mammals, they become nourishment for growth and expansion. The filthiest materials give rise to the most fragrant things which in turn produce the most foul smelling substances. The foul are fed into the aromatic and the aromatic are fed again into the foul. They mutually nourish each other. If one sees this relationship, one will understand that the underlying principle of the Universe is an ongoing cycle of transformation, a “silent manifestation of spiritual power” through the phenomenal world.

• “…the `silently calling forth` of mysterious and wonderful faculties. How is `silently calling forth` accomplished? It is achieved by completely quieting down until the deepest level of consciousness is reached. The moment the self reaches the most quiescent and fundamental level of consciousness, it is transmuted into Emptiness. At that moment, one is in a state of attunement with all powers, and the greatest spiritual or miraculous power occurs.” [pg 51]

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 9, 2005 (03/09/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

Day 5 - (Number Five of Thirteen in a series of talks by Living Buddha Lian-sheng discerningly and sincerely elucidating the True Buddha Sutra)

• “Good music can, indeed, cleanse and purify one’s consciousness.” [pg 56]
- `Music` = wonderful consciousness
- When situations or thoughts of committing potential transmigrations occur, abandon all of one’s animalistic emotions and fully employ conscious thought, logic and wisdom in rising above temptation. As mentioned by Master Sheng-Yen Lu in The Inner World of the Lake, “An instant of happiness can also be an eternity of sorrow” (118). Remember, you are a holy person. Develop a strong conscious in order to triumph over life’s attractions, lusts, filths, and troubles. Imagine this great realm of consciousness as harmonious and graceful, heavenly music, and “when one’s lusts are raging like fire, this harmonious and graceful heavenly music will pour down upon one’s head like cold water. This most beautiful, pure, and transparent ice cold water will rinse away the filthy thoughts in one’s mind. …Hear this harmonious and graceful, heavenly music, all of these troubling thoughts will disappear” (The Annotated True Buddha Sutra, 54).

• “If one’s mind always harbors negative thoughts, if one does not do spiritual practice, is too much concerned with money, and is always swimming in “dirty water ditches,” one’s body odor will be a stench. If a person likes to gamble and his thoughts are always on wins and losses, as soon as he sits down, a waft of money odor will drift from his body.” [pg 57]
- Bring closure to all unresolved business and debt. Getting closure is essential in separating from one’s attachments.
- Sever all worldly attachments, both emotional and materialistic.
- Undergo self-induced cleansing.
- Strive daily and make all effort to eradicate all of one’s karmic hindrances.

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 11, 2005 (03/11/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

Day 6 - (Number Six of Thirteen in a series of talks by Living Buddha Lian-sheng discerningly and sincerely elucidating the True Buddha Sutra)

• “What is `at that moment`? It is neither this moment nor a moment in the past. …moments transcend the limit of time… `At that one moment` is a most fitting term to use in writing, as it encompasses all time.” [pg 59, 63]
- Remember: transcend duality

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 11, 2005 (03/11/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

Day 7 - (Number Seven of Thirteen in a series of talks by Living Buddha Lian-sheng discerningly and sincerely elucidating the True Buddha Sutra)

• “`Great` signifies infinity and `wisdom` signifies a wholeness of the highest order. This is a wisdom that is totally complete and boundless.” [pg 63]

• “The `great wisdom` refers to your mind, your thoughts, and the many levels of consciousness within your mind, which extend all the way to the deepest level of consciousness.” [pg 64]

• “What is `subtle`? `Subtle` denotes a nature that is most minute and refined. What is `wonderful`? `Wonderful` denotes a nature that is most optimal and `just right.` Thus, to really find out this secret formula to Buddhahood [Enlightenment], one must understand the meaning of `subtle` and `wonderful`. One must go deep into the most refined levels of mind to reach the deepest level of consciousness. …`great wisdom light` is the `subtle and wonderful light`.” [pg 65]

• “If one emulates the Bodhisattva, one has to be tolerant of everything, act in a gentle manner and not volley back with any words.” [pg 67]
- Don’t allow oneself to be pushed to the point where one forms negative thoughts, speaks negatives, or performs negative actions.

• “Take heed of words of goodness, stay away from evil acts, and participate in wholesome deeds. This is the meaning of subjugation…Perhaps you have fallen off a bicycle or gotten yourself scraped. Note this as a warning…savor a taste of warning.” [pg 68]
- Punishment is for one’s own good, especially as an impetus to return to the righteous track.

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 11, 2005 (03/11/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

Day 8 - (Number Eight of Thirteen in a series of talks by Living Buddha Lian-sheng discerningly and sincerely elucidating the True Buddha Sutra)

• “`Red Padmakumara (emitted) the Vow Light.` As I [Master Sheng-yen Lu] have said before, every good and kind-hearted person who performs charities, who generates a great vow to help others, who practices alms-giving and entirely donates his or her time, money, and deeds to the welfare of other people will have a kind of `red vow light` emitting from his or her crown.” [pg 69]

• “I have often contemplated this quotation form the Bible: It is more blessed to give than to receive. Why? It is indeed true! I realize that, in the past, I have not done that much charity work, and I have recently started to do a little more. I have learned that, when we give away things to other people, or perform almsgiving or other good deeds, we feel an extraordinary happiness and peacefulness in our hearts. This kind of happiness reaches an even higher level when you give to other people the object you are most fond of, the item you cherish most, or something you are most reluctant to part with.” [pg 69]
- The Buddhadharma is what I find to be the most precious. That is why I feel an extraordinary happiness and peacefulness when I share the Buddhadharma with all of you.

• “We have to shatter the concept of ownership, that `this is mine and this is yours.` If you want to transcend the idea of ownership, you have to enact your vows. By integrating your vows and your actions, you can transcend the view that `this is mind and that is yours.`” [pg 69-70]

• “Give this some thought! If, in the future, it occurs to you that `what I have is what all beings have,` your crown will manifest the red vow light. If everyday you indulge in thinking that `What’s mine is mine, what’s yours is mine, and what’s everyone else’s is also mine,` then you will have a black light above your crown. To become a Buddha or a Bodhisattva or to engage in spirituality is to do away with these words: This is mine.” [pg 70]

• “In fact, in all the world, there is not one thing that is yours. Therefore, when you reach the realization that `there is not a single thing in this world that belongs to me,` the red vow light will appear above your crown. Your heart will expand and become as immense as heaven and earth, and you will have a heart of infinite kindness to help others. Such people will in the future be the Red Padmakumaras.” [pg 70]

• “`Purple Padmakumara emitted the Proper and Dignified Light.` … `Stateliness` comes from an inviolate uprightness. When we learn to tune our heart into a state of pure awareness without any modification, our behaviors will become stately and flawless.” [pg 70]

• “Fortunes come from both virtues and wisdom.” [pg 71]

• “`And the Orange Padmakumara emitted the Child Innocence Light.` What is `child innocence`? … The hearts of small children symbolize a very pure and innocent state that is free of the dualities of good and evil.” [pg 71]

• “I find that the older one grows, the more hypocritical one becomes. … Spiritual cultivators have to recover this `child innocence` and get rid of hypocrisy.” [pg 72]
- Remember: no double-speak

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 14, 2005 (03/14/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

Day 9 - (Number Nine of Thirteen in a series of talks by Living Buddha Lian-sheng discerningly and sincerely elucidating the True Buddha Sutra)

• “`The Holy Revered One is the most mighty and powerful.` … `Mighty` denotes great dignity and supreme majesty. … Power denotes authority, influence, and the strength that one wields.” [pg 75]

• “In the practice of an authentic Buddhadharma, one explores one’s inner world to realize the Heart. When one is able to temper the True Heart by transforming human nature into Buddha Nature, one is practicing the authentic Buddhadharma. So, an authentic Buddhadharma is not external worship, chanting, praying, or ritualistic repentance. It is not. It has to do entirely with understanding one’s inner world and gaining awakening. The practice of Buddhadharma cannot be separated from one’s Heart. Once it deviates from the Heart, it is no longer Buddhadharma” [pg 81]

• “The authentic Buddhadharma is contained in this True Buddha Sutra. Only the practice of an authentic Buddhadharma can remove hindrances and bestow blessings.” [pg 82]

• “To change fate, one has to study an authentic Buddhadharma and change one’s internal world. When basic changes take place in the inner world of heart and mind, then there is transformation in one’s fate.” [pg 82]

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 14, 2005 (03/14/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

Day 10 - (Number Ten of Thirteen in a series of talks by Living Buddha Lian-sheng discerningly and sincerely elucidating the True Buddha Sutra)

• “After offering our own hearts to help all beings, then in turn offer the beings we have helped to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.” [pg 84]

• “On the surface, one is an ordinary person but, inside one’s heart, there is the Buddha Nature. Therefore, all beings are Buddhas.” [pg 84]
- Remember- Mandarin: “Fo wo her ee”; Literal English translation: “Buddha and I are one”

• “When one is deluded, one is an ordinary being; when one awakens and sees, one is a Buddha.” [pg 84]
- Don’t be deluded.

• “Offering of Buddhas to the Buddhas is tantamount to offering all beings to the Buddhas. The offering of Buddhas to Buddhas is unexcelled; the highest kind of offering.” [pg 84]
- Offer yourself, your mind, your heart to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

• “Instead of winning and conquering, it should become all losing and surrendering. Partial surrendering is not enough; it has to be total surrendering.” [pg 85]
- Losing should not be looked at in a negative manner because in actuality one owns nothing, meaning one has nothing to lose. Therefore, when one is losing, he or she is losing nothing at all.

• “The World of Omnipresence is the world of Kuan Yin, the Bodhisattva who observes the sounds of the world and who has attained self-mastery.” [pg 87]
- Be like Kuan Yin Bodhisattva and achieve the feat of mastering and triumphing over oneself and one’s emotions.

• “`Sorrowless` is free from emotional afflictions. `Pure Rest` is full of complete purity. `Dharma Thought` is full of the consciousness of Buddha Dharma.” [pg 88]
- Act on a level free from emotional afflictions. Think, speak, and act on a level of full consciousness of Buddha Dharma at all times, 24/7.

• “In any case, the fact that the Holy Revered One has come for the sake of all beings, which is in itself a manifestation of the cause and fruition of great compassion, is a very remarkable and extraordinary event.” [pg 91]

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 14, 2004 (03/14/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

Day 11 - (Number Eleven of Thirteen in a series of talks by Living Buddha Lian-sheng discerningly and sincerely elucidating the True Buddha Sutra)

• “The Holy Revered One of great compassion…transcended all worldly passions…showering compassion on all living beings. … With Lian-sheng as His name, He announces and proclaims the Dharma to all. We have now all heard and shall vow to protect and uphold His Dharma.” [pg 93]

• “…`great compassion` refers to an expansive and boundless salvation and deliverance.” [pg 94]

• “Why is the Holy Revered One a great compassionate one? I know of the existence of a place called the Maha Twins Lotus Ponds in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss [Sukhavati], and I know of a method of cultivation that may enable one to go there. I could have just gone there myself and not bothered to tell anyone about it! To put it in more down-to-earth terms: food is so bountiful there that it will never be exhausted; the palaces there are gorgeous; the attendants there are so numerous that one may go there alone and become king. Although I have such knowledge, I do not want to keep it a secret to myself. I want everyone to know of this place and the procedure to be able to go there. This is great compassion.” [pg 94]

• “We have to go beyond a `little compassion` and engender the `great compassion`. … Unlike ordinary secular people who only have a `little compassion,` which is actually based on an egotistic mind, we spiritual cultivators have to develop great compassion. This is the meaning behind `the Holy Revered One of great compassion.`” [pg 95]

• “The phenomenon of one becoming more and more revered by others is an indication of the supreme qualities inherent in oneself.” [pg 95]

• “As long as you practice cultivation and attain Enlightenment, you will also become a family member to all of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.” [pg 96]

• “…depart from all worldly desires and transcend the Saha World.” [pg 96]
- I believe we can all achieve this!

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 14, 2005 (03/14/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

Day 12 - (Number Twelve of Thirteen in a series of talks by Living Buddha Lian-sheng discerningly and sincerely elucidating the True Buddha Sutra)

• IMPORTANT: “`At that moment, the holy revered White Mahapadmakumara instructed the assembly, saying `In cultivation, the key to realization the Buddha Jewel Sambodhi is a quiescent mind; that of realizing the Dharma Jewel is purity of body, speech, and mind; that of realizing the Sangha Jewel is refuge in a True Buddha Guru. … This one passage is the most important passage of the whole True Buddha Sutra. It is also the essence of the whole sutra. Every True Buddha practitioner, as long as he or she is able to actualize this one passage, will attain Buddhahood. In this one passage is the secret to the whole True Buddha Sutra. However, this does not mean one may then ignore all passages preceding or pursuant to this one.” [pg 99]

• “As long as you are able to embody and enact the essence of this one passage, you are a genuine True Buddha. `No thought` or a quiescent mind is the key to the Buddha Jewel of Perfect Realization.” [pg 100]

• “I am going to tell you the secret to these Zen riddles. … The one word is: `stop.` Just `stop.` … Why can `stopping` bring one to Enlightenment? To ask you to `stop` is to ask you to not think anymore! Do not have any thought; this is `no thought.` There are many examples of such Zen riddles. The key understanding these riddles rests on the word `stop,` which means `no thought.`” [pg 101]

• “To become Enlightened, you have to enter into samadhi and that is to `stop` the thoughts. You have to put all your thoughts to rest. Only by stopping all your thoughts can you enter into the state of `no thought,` the state of a quiescent mind. In a true samadhi, one does not think about `good` or `bad,` and there is `no grasping` and `no thought.` The authentic True Mind of the Universe is `No Thought.` At the time of a genuine `no thought,` your mind then becomes wide open, infinite, and merges with the Mind of the Universe.” [pg 101]

• “If you are able to cultivate to the state of `no thought,` stopping all of your thoughts, there will immediately be the flowing of energy from the Universe into your body to recharge it.” [pg 102]

• “Throughout the day, all you need is just a few minutes of `no thought` to replenish your energy. When your mind is in the realm of `no thought,` it becomes `infinite.` An infinite mind is the `mind of Enlightenment.` / Only at the moment of `no thought` does one achieve their greatest purity and most stainless state. Only at the moment of `no thought` can one truly arrive at the other shore of the Buddha and attain perfect Enlightenment. / All wisdoms of the Buddha-mind, as well as all powers that emerge from stability, are grounded in the state of `no thought.`” [pg 102]
- Wow!! “An infinite mind is the `mind of Enlightenment.`”

• “In Zen, `stop` is `one.` Being able to put a `stop` to one’s thoughts, or to put a `gap` between two thoughts, is already quite a remarkable achievement. If one further enters through the `gap` into the dimension of `no thought` – an infinitely open and boundless dimension – one attains the `Buddha Jewel of Perfect Enlightenment` and becomes a Buddha.” [pg 102]
- Gap space: Work in the secretive domain of void space.

• “When you arrive at the true state of `no thought,` you will possess the highest, greatest Dharma power in the Universe. You achieve your wishes and all your desires in that state. While you are in that realm of `no thought,` the Universe is all yours, because you are already a Buddha!” [pg 103]

• [pg 103]: “that of realizing the Dharma Jewel is purity of body, speech, and mind.” These are the three secrets [in Vajrayana]that pertain to the body, speech, and mind.
When we hold a mudra, the body is engaged in a temporary purity for the duration of that moment.
When we chant the mantra, “Om, Guru, Lian-sheng Siddhi, Hum,” one’s speech is engaged in a temporary purity for the duration of the moment.
By tapping your head once to stop the string of conceptual thoughts, your mind is engaged in a moment of temporary purity.
We cultivators must train ourselves to extend this temporary purity of the body, speech, and mind into all aspects of our daily lives: while we are walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. To be able to maintain at all times these three kinds of purities is to practice the `unifying of the three secrets.`”

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 14, 2005 (03/14/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

Day 13 - (Number Thirteen of Thirteen in a series of talks by Living Buddha Lian-sheng discerningly and sincerely elucidating the True Buddha Sutra)

• [pg 109] I shall explain this mantra: Om, Guru, Lian-sheng Siddhi, Hum.
“Om” is the Universe.
“Guru” is the guide or teacher of the Universe.
“Lian-sheng Siddhi” means that, under the guidance of the teacher, all beings are to be transformed and born as lotuses; siddhi is the Buddha-land.
“Hum” is perfect accomplishment.
As a whole, the mantra means: the great, guiding teacher of the Universe leads all beings to be born, via transformation, into lotuses, accomplishing a Buddha-land at the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds.

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 14, 2005 (03/14/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

SeattleThomas · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 45 Location: Seattle, WA

The Sutra of Authentic Dharma that Removes Hindrances and Bestows Good Fortune (aka “True Buddha Sutra”)
“This sutra contains the authentic Buddhadharma and holds the key to eradicating one’s disasters and receiving good fortune. This is tantamount to transforming one’s fate. Additionally, this sutra can help one attain rebirth to the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds, the highest realm within Amitabha’s Pure Land.”

Downloads:

• The Chinese Text of the True Buddha Sutra
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• The English Translation of the True Buddha Sutra
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• (Highly recommended!!) PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTIONS of Chinese Characters in the True Buddha Sutra
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Miscellaneous

--Posted by Thomas Weisey Chung--
March 9, 2005 (03/09/2005)
_________________
OmManiPadmeHum

Check out these Sutras:
True Buddha Sutra

& book reviews:
Four Essays on Karma

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