The Bodhi Way (三乘菩提)

Good for you iwonder! It’s really awful and sad that the victim Mimi says… if he has sex with you, is actually opening the way to enlightenment. It’s a little bit similar to this Stockholm syndrome, you’re locked up in this tiny environment where someone is beating you up everyday but it’s also the person who’s giving you the only emotional attention and the actual food.

1 Like

Can’t agree more with Zeusma’s two match’s. In the name of religion, in fact doing emotional and sexual abuse is as evildoers. I can’t see these types of absurdity would possibly be anything near enlightenment.

One of the best way to send farewell to 2016 to welcome 2017, is to pray for repentance.

In Buddha’s teaching, there are many ways gaining Bodhi merits. Repenting accordingly with the guidance of Bodhi Dharma, would bring very effective merit. The wise ones would do their repentance big or small without hesitation, so long as they don’t keep commiting those same faults on purposely without contemplating.

Merits of repentance would also work as good to Tantric sex methods practitioners.
To repent and vow to the real Buddha, Sakyamuni, the will of withdrawing, quiting from Tantrism once for all, is the best and only life saving from rebirth into three bad realms. But got to do it the earliest the best.

Sincerely hope, let’s all adding up a repenting list, devouting to Buddha Sakyamuni, while contemplating and listening… to the correct dharma.

[Queen Śrīmālā said to the Buddha:] “World-Honored One! It is not due to the destruction of dharmas that the extinction of suffering is so named. The term ‘extinction of suffering’ designates that which is beginningless, unconditioned, non-arising, inexhaustible, separate from exhaustion, everlasting, inherently existent, pure and undefiled, and separate from the stores of all afflictions. World-Honored One! The Dharma-body of the Tathāgata is not separate from, free from, or different from the attainment of the inconceivable Buddha-dharmas that are more numerous than the sands of the Ganges River. World-Honored One! This Dharma-body of the Tathāgata, when it is not separate from the stores of afflictions, is called the tathāgatagarbha.” [Srimaladevi Simhanada Sutra]
Translation of the scriptural passage was adapted from Diana Paul’s rendition, p.36 [Paul, D. (2004)]
「世尊!非壞法故,名為苦滅。所言苦滅者,名無始無作、無起無盡、離盡常住、自性清淨,離一切煩惱藏。世尊!過於恒沙不離、不脫、不異、不思議佛法成就,說如來法身。世尊!如是如來法身不離煩惱藏,名如來藏。」
《勝鬘師子吼一乘大方便方廣經》卷1 (CBETA, T12, no. 353, p. 221, c7-11)

"However, this inconceivable Dharma-body of the Tathāgata has already existed on the causal ground, wherein it is already extremely inconceivable but co-exists with afflictions. These afflictions include (1) the boundless and countless higher afflictions, (2) the boundless and countless habitual seeds of afflictive hindrances, and (3) the afflictions present in ordinary people, who have not eliminated self-view, including the “afflictions abandoned through vision” and the “affliction eradicated through cultivation.” But even so, this Dharma-body is still a mind that is inherently free from defilement. For this reason, it is said that this Dharma-body of the Tathāgata is not separate from the storage of the seeds of afflictions when it is on the causal ground; therefore, it is called the storehouse of the Tathāgata (tathāgatagarbha).

A Discourse on the Srimaladevi Simhanada Sutra, Vol. 4, pp. 207-208
《勝鬘經講記》第四輯,頁207-208

1 Like

This thread has being so much happening with all those significant correct dharma Buddhism has giving/replying to us readers.,
With each time whenever I did a quick reviewing, I would still be deeply moved, amazed and thankful to thy talented practitioner, learner, trainer; praise Buddhism; praise Buddha, the World Honorable One; praise thy magnificent Tathagatagarbh Dharmas.,
Amitofo.,

The Dharani Mantra of True Enlightenment 正覺總持咒
The five aggregates and the eighteen elements,
Nirvana and the Matrix of Buddhahood,
Wisdom of the Ultimate Reality,
And Knowledge of the aspects of paths,
All dhramas are summed up in them.

The first is the most supreme among all,
The second occurs together with the first,
The third is projected by the two above,
The fourth stems from variations in the three above,
The fifth is manifested by the four above,
All phenomena emerge in such order.

These five categories of dharmas,
Comprise the Path to Liberation,
And the Pathe to Buddhahood.
To benefit oneself and others,
Practitioners seeking true enlightenment,
Should comprehend and realize them all.

1 Like

“There are two subjects that are difficult to comprehend: the mind that is inherently pure and the fact that this [same] mind has been contaminated by defilements. These two subjects can be heard and accepted by you and the Bodhisattvas-Māhasattvas who have achieved the great Dharma, whereas others, namely the hearers, can only believe in Buddha’s words.”
Srimaladevi Simhanada Sutra
Translation of the scriptural passage was adapted from Diana Paul’s rendition. [Paul, D. (2004)]
「有二法難可了知:謂自性清淨心難可了知,彼心為煩惱所染、亦難可知。如此二法,汝及成就大法菩薩摩訶薩乃能聽受,諸餘聲聞唯信佛語。」
《勝鬘師子吼一乘大方便方廣經》卷1 (CBETA, T12, no. 353, p. 222, c4-7)

“Once you have found your own ‘mind that is inherently pure,’ you will realize that we are all encompassed within it. Our five aggregates are within this mind and have never been apart from it. They have never operated outside it; they have always been within it. This inherently pure mind remains pure and uncontaminated while operating to assist us, whereas we, the product of this pure mind, are defiled and contaminated.”
《勝鬘經講記》第六輯,頁208
A Discourse on the Srimaladevi Simhanada Sutra, Vol. 6, p. 208

1 Like

Another new publication:

1 Like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdFWP8dZ6GU
Cheng weishi lun (成唯識論)
Two Chan masters elaborate on Yogācāra Buddhism
(Only in Chinese available for the time being)
An excellent video clip.

1 Like

●“ Why? Because practicing compassion and charity without attachment is the way to reaching the Highest Perfect Wisdom, it is the way to becoming a living Buddha.”

(The Diamond Sutra / Translation by Alex Johnson in U.S.A. website: diamond-sutra.com)

● 何以故? 若菩薩不住相布施,其福德不可思量 。
(金剛經 原文/ 鳩摩羅什 譯 diamond sutra original translation by Kumarajiva)

● 這是為什麼呢? 因為如果菩薩不根據一切相而行布施,那麼他的福德將是無邊不可思量的啊!
(白話文翻 譯… 釋印順 /Shi Yin Shun translated to modern Chinese)

**the above English Translation, I happened to spotted something very different from the original version.
This reminds me of my post in this thread some years ago, about people of different groups, changed Buddha’s teaching to suit their own private needs, so to mislead Western learners, while translating sutras into English… that is some huge karma waiting for them ahead of, I would think. Don’t you think so?!
Good people, be aware of !!

**In the above case, I can not see any sign written in Kumarajiva version any where mentioned or hinted to do with: “ … the Highest Perfect Wisdom … and … a living Buddha”.

And, this misleading here, is just one example in many many…

Another new Buddhist publication in English!!


Selected Excerpts from the Buddhist Writings of the Venerable Xiao Pingshi
 Is the awakening in the Chinese Chan tradition really attainable and verifiable?
 What is the essence of awakening?
 What are the stages of cultivation after attaining awakening?
 Does achieving a thoughtless mental state through meditation mean awakening?

“Śāriputra! What do I mean by saying it is for this one great cause alone that Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the world? The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the world to unveil the knowledge and insight of Buddhas so that sentient beings can attain purity. They appear in the world to demonstrate the knowledge and insight of Buddhas to sentient beings. They appear in the world to help sentient beings realize the knowledge and insight of Buddhas. They appear in the world to enable sentient beings enter into the path of the knowledge and insight of Buddhas.”
The Lotus Sutra
Translation of the scriptural passage was adapted from the rendition of Gene Reeve. [Reeve, G. (2008). The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classics. Boston: Wisdom Publications, p. 83.]
「舍利弗!云何名諸佛世尊唯以一大事因緣故出現於世?諸佛世尊,欲令眾生開佛知見,使得清淨故出現於世;欲示眾生佛之知見故,出現於世;欲令眾生悟佛知見故,出現於世;欲令眾生入佛知見道故,出現於世。」
《妙法蓮華經》卷1〈方便品 2〉(CBETA, T09, no. 262, p. 7, a22-27)

"Therefore, to help sentient beings realize the knowledge and insight of Buddhas and attain purity, Buddhas appear in the world to unveil and demonstrate them. But what is the purpose of the unveiling and the demonstrating? It is to open up the knowledge and insight for all to see. Buddhas have to continuously demonstrate their knowledge and insight to the sentient beings obstructed by ignorance such that they can attain direct realization. Now, if this is the purpose of the unveiling and the demonstrating, we should first investigate: what are the knowledge and insight all Buddhas acquire after attaining enlightenment? The simplest answer to this question: the true suchness (bhuta-tathata) and the Buddha-nature.
《法華經講義》第二輯,頁282-283
A Discourse on the Lotus Sutra, Vol. 2, pp. 282-283

[The Buddha said to Śāriputra:] “Śāriputra! In the chaos amidst the turbidity of age, sentient beings are mired in heavy defilements, greed, and jealousy and develop unwholesome roots; therefore, with their powers of skillful means, the Buddhas distinguish three vehicles within the single Buddha-vehicle. Śāriputra! If any of my disciples declare themselves to be arhats or solitary-realizers, but do not hear or know that all Buddhas-Tathāgatas teach only the bodhisattva doctrines [that transform sentient beings into bodhisattvas], they are not true disciples of the Buddhas, and are not true arhats or solitary-realizers."
[Reeves, G. (2008). The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classics. Boston: Wisdom Publications, p. 85]

(佛告舍利弗:)「如是,舍利弗!劫濁亂時,眾生垢重,慳貪嫉妒,成就諸不善根故,諸佛以方便力,於一佛乘分別說三。舍利弗!若我弟子,自謂阿羅漢、辟支佛者,不聞不知諸佛如來但教化菩薩事,此非佛弟子、非阿羅漢、非辟支佛。」《妙法蓮華經》卷1〈方便品 2〉(CBETA, T09, no. 262, p. 7, b24-29)

“This passage confirms the fact that those who claim that the Great Vehicle is not the Buddha’s teaching are definitely not Buddha’s disciples; nor are they arhats or solitary-realizers. They certainly cannot be enlightened bodhisattvas.”

A Discourse on the Lotus Sutra, Vol. 2, pp. 302-333
《法華經講義》第二輯,頁327

"In all the Buddha-lands in the ten directions,
There is only the Dharma of the single vehicle,
Not a second or a third,
Except what Buddhas teach by skillful means.

Buddhas use provisional expressions
To lead and guide sentient beings;
They all appear in this world
To teach their Buddha’s wisdom.

Only this is real,
The other two are not;
Buddhas do not ultimately liberate sentient beings
Through a lesser vehicle…

Buddhas themselves abide in the Great Vehicle,
In accordance with the Dharma they have attained.
Adorned with concentration, wisdom, and powers
They liberate sentient beings with the Great Vehicle.

Buddhas have self-realized the unsurpassed path,
The impartial Dharma of the Great Vehicle;
If I used a lesser vehicle to liberate
Even one person,
Thus would I begrudge—
And this could never happen."
[Reeves, G. (2008). The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classics. Boston: Wisdom Publications, pp. 88-89]

十方佛土中,唯有一乘法,
無二亦無三,除佛方便說。

但以假名字,引導於眾生;
說佛智慧故,諸佛出於世。

唯此一事實,餘二則非真;
終不以小乘,濟度於眾生。

佛自住大乘,如其所得法,
定慧力莊嚴,以此度眾生。

自證無上道,大乘平等法;
若以小乘化,乃至於一人,
我則墮慳貪,此事為不可。
《妙法蓮華經》卷1〈方便品 2〉
(CBETA, T09, no. 262, p. 8, a17-28)

“These verses state clearly that the essence of the Buddha-lands in the ten directions is the one and only Great Vehicle—the Buddha Vehicle. Given that it is named the Buddha Vehicle, it is certainly not the Hearer Vehicle or the Solitary-Realizer Vehicle, and it certainly would not lead only to the fruition of arhatship or pratyekabuddhahood. In the same vein, when we talk about the “Buddha Dharma,” we are not talking about the Dharma for the hearers or solitary-realizers. If it is the Buddha Dharma that we are cultivating, this Dharma understandably leads to the attainment of Buddhahood, as it is the Dharma realized by all Buddhas. If the Dharma we cultivate can only bring us to attain the fruition and wisdom of hearers or solitary-realizers, this Dharma cannot be called ‘Buddha Dharma.’ It can only be called the Śrāvaka Dharma or Pratyekabuddha Dharma.”

A Discourse on the Lotus Sutra, Vol. 3, p.59
《法華經講義》第三輯,頁59

The French version of the “Eight Brothers”
https://www.amazon.fr/Les-huit-freres/dp/B072ZDZYNM/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500299485&sr=1-7&keywords=huit+frères

"That is why, Śāriputra,
For their sake I established skillful means,
Taught ways to end sufferings,
And showed them nirvāṇa.

Though I have taught nirvāṇa,
It is not true cessation.
All phenomena from the very beginning,
Have always had the marks of quiescence and cessation.

When children of the Buddha
Have taken this path,
In a future life
They will become Buddhas."
[Reeves, G. (2008). The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classics. Boston: Wisdom Publications, pp. 90-91]

是故舍利弗! 我為設方便,
說諸盡苦道, 示之以涅槃。
我雖說涅槃, 是亦非真滅,
諸法從本來, 常自寂滅相。
佛子行道已, 來世得作佛
《妙法蓮華經》卷1〈方便品 2〉
(CBETA, T09, no. 262, p. 8, b22-26)

“From this passage, we can see that although the World-Honored One spoke of nirvāṇa, this nirvāṇa is not nihilistic emptiness or actual cessation. The reason is that within nirvāṇa lies the tathãgatagarbha. The tathãgatagarbha is imperishable and abides everlastingly due to its diamond-like nature. It cannot be destroyed or extinguished by any phenomenon, and hence is not actual cessation. The statement “all phenomena from the very beginning have always had the marks of quiescence and extinction” confirms the fact that nirvāṇa without remainder is not a state of nothingness resulting from cessation.”

A Discourse on the Lotus Sutra, Vol. 3, pp. 119-120
《法華經講義》第三輯,頁84-122

The Bulgarian-English version of the Eight Brothers

"With the power of skillful means,
I have revealed the Dharma of three vehicles;
Yet all the World-Honored Ones
Teach the One Vehicle way.

Now everyone in this great assembly
Should rid themselves of doubt.
The Buddhas do not differ in their claim
That there is only One Vehicle, not two.

. . . .

All these World-Honored Ones
Have taught the Dharma of One Vehicle,
Transforming countless living beings,
Enabling them to enter the Buddha way.

Moreover, all the great saints
Knowing the deepest desires of all the gods,
Humans, and other beings of all the worlds,
Have still other skillful means to further clarify the ultimate truth.

[Gene Reeves, (2008) The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classics, (Boston: Wisdom Publications), p.91]
我有方便力, 開示三乘法。
一切諸世尊, 皆說一乘道,
今此諸大眾, 皆應除疑惑,
諸佛語無異, 唯一無二乘。
過去無數劫, 無量滅度佛,
百千萬億種, 其數不可量。
如是諸世尊, 種種緣譬喻,
無數方便力, 演說諸法相。
是諸世尊等, 皆說一乘法,
化無量眾生, 令入於佛道。
又諸大聖主, 知一切世間,
天人群生類, 深心之所欲,
更以異方便, 助顯第一義。
《妙法蓮華經》卷1〈方便品 2〉
(CBETA, T09, no. 262, p. 8, b27-c9)

“From this passage, we can see that all Buddhas achieved Buddhahood by practicing the bodhisattva way. There will never be a Buddha who attained Buddhahood by practicing the ways of the solitary-realizers or hearers. Since all Buddhas practiced the bodhisattva way, the cultivation of which leads to the attainment of the Buddha Bodhi, what they have realized is most certainly the teaching of the One Vehicle, i.e., the single Buddha Vehicle. Since what they have realized is the teaching of the single Buddha Vehicle, which is the path toward the attainment of the Buddha Bodhi, when they manifest in the human world they will certainly expound this One Vehicle. But because it is difficult for sentient beings in the impure world of five turbidities to accept the teaching of the One Vehicle, Buddhas apply their skill in means to demonstrate and reveal three separate Vehicles. Yet, in the end, they will always expound the one and only Buddha Vehicle, and would not depart from the human world after teaching only the two lesser Vehicles.”

A Discourse on the Lotus Sutra, Vol. 3, pp.129-130.
《法華經講義》第三輯,頁129-130

1 Like

“The Tathagata is also likes this, for he is a father to the whole world. He has long ago completely gotten rid of all fear, distress, anxiety, ignorance, and blindness; has attained immeasurable insight, powers, and freedom from fear; and has gained great supernatural powers and wisdom. He has fully attained the perfections of skillful means and wisdom. His great mercy and compassion never stop. He always strives for benevolence and the enrichment of sentient beings. He was born into this threefold world, an old decaying burning house, in order to save sentient beings from the fires of birth, old age, disease, death, anxiety, sorrow, suffering, agony, folly, blindness, and the three poisons, and to teach and transform them, enabling them to reach supreme and perfect enlightenment.”
[Gene Reeves, (2008) The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classics, (Boston: Wisdom Publications), p.91]

如來亦復如是,則為一切世間之父。於諸怖畏、衰惱、憂患、無明闇蔽,永盡無餘;而悉成就無量知見、力、無所畏,有大神力及智慧力,具足方便、智慧波羅蜜,大慈大悲常無懈倦,恆求善事利益一切而生三界朽故火宅,為度眾生生老病死憂悲苦惱、愚癡闇蔽三毒之火,教化令得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。
《妙法蓮華經》卷2〈譬喻品 3〉
(CBETA, T09, no. 262, p. 13, a11-18)

“In short, the desire-realm is plagued by all three poisons, the form-realm by two poisons, and the formless-realm by one poison. In other words, the three realms are nothing but greed, aversion, and delusion. Seeing that all sentient beings are suffering from the fires of the three poisons, the Tathagata has made the great sacrifice to be born in the human world in order to teach them how to stay away from the miseries and extinguish the fires of the three poisons. After a Tathagata is born in the human world, he will teach sentient beings the way to attain the fruition of the unsurpassed, complete and perfect enlightenment.”

A Discourse on the Lotus Sutra, Vol. 4, p. 295
《法華經講義》第四輯,頁295

1 Like


"Essentially, to ‘enter samādhi,’ one needs to be able to not only ‘rein in all six sense faculties’ but also to ‘abide in one continuous pure thought.’ The fulfillment of these two conditions specifically points to a state free of any signs. Here’s a passage from the Jewel Heap Sūtra (S. Ratnakūṭa Sūtra; 大寶積經) that illustrates my point:
Signlessness refers to the absence of a body and its designation, the absence of words and letters, and the absence of appearances and manifestations.

"‘Abiding in one continuous pure thought’ connotes the one thought held in mind being of a pure nature. Thoughts about worldly matters are not pure thoughts, even thoughts about virtuous acts or the Buddha Dharma are not considered pure either. In terms of the cultivation of meditative concentration, any thoughts that come with language, symbols, or images are considered deluded and impure. The recollection and mindfulness of Buddha can only be deemed pure if the thought of Buddha is free of them. Only when one can bear such a pure thought of Buddha in mind without interruption can one be considered as “abiding in one continuous pure thought.”

Signless Buddha-Mindfulness, pp. 51-53

1 Like