Mahayana

[Amita]

Sir W of Hats,

The dictionary quote I gave earlier will be supported if you research it more.  Xtianity & Xtian are perfectly acceptable abbreviations - "replacing Christ with the abbreviation Xt (from Ancient Greek Χ (Ch), the first letter of Χριστός (Christós, "Christ") + t, the last letter of "Christ")

Yet if you wish to bask in your feelings of being offended, as is so popular today, so be it.

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

1 hour ago, Amita said:

Sir W of Hats,

The dictionary quote I gave earlier will be supported if you research it more.  Xtianity & Xtian are perfectly acceptable abbreviations - "replacing Christ with the abbreviation Xt (from Ancient Greek Χ (Ch), the first letter of Χριστός (Christós, "Christ") + t, the last letter of "Christ")

Yet if you wish to bask in your feelings of being offended, as is so popular today, so be it.

I have permission to be offended? AWESOME.

[Amita]

The sutra continues on the 'body' of a buddha:

Quote

Buddha-Sons, Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyak-Saṁbuddha, is an unsurpassed medicine king. Through countless kalpas, He has completed His development of Dharma medicine, acquired all skillful means and illumination mantras, and arrived at the opposite shore. He is skilled in curing sentient beings’ diseases, i.e., ending their afflictions, and in sustaining His life for countless kalpas. His body is pure, free from deliberation and consumption, as it does Buddha work without rest. Sentient beings that see it can have their affliction-diseases cured. Buddha-Sons, this is the eighth characteristic of a Tathāgata’s body. In this way a Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva should see His body.

 

[Amita]

Quote

The Tathāgata’s wisdom is measureless, unimpeded, and universally able to benefit all beings. It resides in complete abundance within the persons of all beings. It is solely because of all foolish common people’s false conceptions and attachments that they fail to know this, fail to realize this, and fail to acquire its benefits. 

Then, the Tathāgata, using his unimpeded pure wisdom eye, universally contemplates all beings throughout the Dharma realm and utters these words: “It is strange. It is strange. It is so strange indeed. How could it be that all of these beings completely possess the Tathāgata’s wisdom, yet, because of their stupidity and delusions, they fail to realize this, even fail to perceive this. I should instruct them in the path of the Sages and cause them to forever abandon false conceptions and attachments. Then they will succeed in seeing that, within their very own persons, they possess vast wisdom of the Tathāgata that is no different from that of the Buddha himself."

Famous passage from chapter 37.

[Amita]

Rulu has just added, from one of her books, an excellent short survey of the Avatamsaka or Huayan (Chinese) corpus, lineage & teachings:

http://www.sutrasmantras.info/introbook5.html

Also has hot links to Glossary.

[Amita]

A new translation of the Mahayana-Sutralamkara, from Padmakara group:

A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle: An Explanation of the Ornament of the Mahayana Sutras by Padmakara Translation Group

[Amita]

Many noble ones are in the Mahayana lineage.  This day in December of 2018 is a day honoring Je Tsongkhapa (d. 1419).  Here a little from his Great Treatise, vol.2:15:

Quote

One who sees beings tormented by suffering and

who hastens to act for their welfare is called a "person of

great capacity" and an "adept." Chandragomin teaches:

 

Those who see beings disturbed by the

smoke cloud of ignorance that enshrouds the world,

Helplessly fallen into the blazing fire of suffering,

And hastily make effort as if their own heads were on fire

Are here called "great persons" and "adepts."

 

Therefore, the Mahayana is the origin of all the good of self and

others; the medicine that alleviates all troubles; the great path traveled

by all knowledgeable persons; nourishment for all beings who

see, hear, remember, and come into contact with it; and that which

has the great skill-in-means that engages you in others' welfare and

thereby indirectly achieves your own welfare in its entirety. One

who enters it thinks, "Wonderful! I have found what I am looking

for." Enter this supreme vehicle with all of the "strength of an excellent

person" that you have. Aryasura teaches:

 

This supreme vehicle is realized by genuine wisdom.

From it the omniscience of the Great Sage arises.

He is like the eye of the world,

His radiance like the rays of the rising sun.

 

Thus, enter the Mahayana after you have developed great respect

for it induced by seeing its good qualities from various perspectives.

 

Edited December 2, 2018 by Amita

[Amita]

If I had to pick one Mahayana text that covers every aspect of doctrine, path & results, I would suggest this one - in Sanskrit titled Mahayanasutralamkara. There are two excellent English translations, with commentaries. It is a large book with the commentaries, but those comments are needed to clarify many verses.

One came out in 2014 done by the Dharmachakra translation group and the other from the Padmakara translators just came out late in 2018.

The root text was taught to Asanga (a bodhisattva of the 5th century) by Maitreya a 10th stage bodhisattva, who will become in the distant future our next Buddha.

Ornament of the Great Vehicle Sutras is the title of the Dharmachakra version.

The Padmakara version is called A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle.

Both are in epub versions also.

[jaylemurph]

Maybe you could take time from posting in other threads to address the issue where you flippantly and insultingly said people who don't think like you don't read ancient texts in their original language.

Remember? I challenged you to a nice discussion about your choice of texts.

Which you promptly ignored.

Perhaps you'd like to apologize for your rash, incorrect and insulting remarks.

Or maybe you'd like to back away from your claim of being knowledgeable of different languages.

Either way, you're going to need to re-address your self-professed superior spirituality, as lying and insulting people are hardly ever signs of a superior soul.

--Jaylemurph

[Amita]

 

Quote

FOREWORD

JIGME KHYENTSE RINPOCHE  

In an age when science claims to have an answer for everything and is even attempting to prove the validity of Buddhist meditation, while many people’s ideas about different religions and spiritual paths reduce these to simplistic and misleading stereotypes, it is hard to comprehend the true breadth and profundity of the Buddha’s teachings. During his lifetime, Buddha Śākyamuni taught on countless occasions, on many different levels, and to different individuals, in order to help each particular person understand something that would bring him or her closer to enlightenment. For us to consider the vast scope of these teachings is as mind-blowing and awe-inspiring as gazing into the immensity of space.  

In the Sūtrālaṃkāra, the Buddha’s regent, Maitreya, brings this vast array of teachings together, arranging them in an orderly fashion and putting them into perspective so that we can begin to understand them and use them as a path to enlightenment. Of the three principal aspects of the path—view, meditation, and conduct—this text, like Shantideva’s The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicaryāvatāra), deals mainly with the view and conduct of the great bodhisattvas, whose sole aim is the enlightenment of all beings. Once we have an inkling of the extraordinary kindness and wisdom of these bodhisattvas, whom we can meet even today as our teachers, we can begin to infer that the incredible qualities and deeds that Maitreya describes are possible.  

I hope that this translation of Maitreya’s presentation, along with Mipham Rinpoche’s clear explanation, will help readers to gain a glimpse of the Buddha’s message in all its vastness, taking them beyond limited conceptions and inspiring them to practice the path it describes.

From: The Padmakara Translation Group, A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle.

[Razumov]

On 12/5/2018 at 5:01 PM, jaylemurph said:

Either way, you're going to need to re-address your self-professed superior spirituality

 Written without the slightest hint of self-awareness...

[jaylemurph]

52 minutes ago, Razumov said:

 Written without the slightest hint of self-awareness...

I defy you to find, anywhere, me referring to myself as a spiritual person at all, let alone a superior one. 

I’m a strict materialist and no moralist, so your comment is either ignorant in the extreme or grossly misinformed. It’s of too little consequence to figure out which. 

—Jaylemurph 

[Amita]

108 Names of Mahasattva Kshitigarbha - a powerful blessing:

https://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/education/teachings/texts/prayers-practices/108_names_kshitigarbha_a5.pdf

[Reignite]

Nice thread. Although an enormous piece of work, the only thing I don't like about Cleary’s translation is the fact he literally translated almost all proper nouns. It would be nice to see a translation have the original Sanskrit. Do you known of any ongoing translation projects?

[Amita]

32 minutes ago, Reignite said:

Nice thread. Although an enormous piece of work, the only thing I don't like about Cleary’s translation is the fact he literally translated almost all proper nouns. It would be nice to see a translation have the original Sanskrit. Do you known of any ongoing translation projects?

Not from the Sanskrit, but BDK publishers will have a new one from the Chinese in a couple of years.  Also Master Hua's group is slowly working on it, with Master's commentary.

http://www.cttbusa.org/fas1/fas_contents.asp

Edited January 25, 2019 by Amita

[Amita]

Quote

9. The mind is held to be eternally natural clear light;
It is coarsened by adventitious faults.
The mind is ultimate reality, and there is no other mind but clear light.
We speak of this as the nature of mind.
20. Bodhisattvas feel for sentient beings
A heartfelt love as great as that
Felt for an only child—
Their constant wish is to bring them help.
21. Because it brings benefit to sentient beings,
The fondness bodhisattvas feel does not become a downfall.
But hatred in them will always violate
And act against all beings.
22. Like doves who love their young the most,
Staying with them and holding them close,
With not the slightest place for anger,
Are those whose hearts are full of love for beings, their children.
23. Because they love, there’s never room for rage.
Because they pacify, malice is out of place.
Because they benefit, they never think deceitfully.
Because they comfort, they’ll never terrify.

Excerpt From: The Padmakara translation of the Mahayanasutralamkara: A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle, ch. 14

[jaylemurph]

Ah, so you have time to post irrelevant preaching, but not to apologize for making untrue statements.

Religion!

--Jaylemurph

[Amita]

One of the finest Mahayana sutras, the Jewel Cloud - Ratnamegha, has recently been translated into English.  Here is an excerpt:

Quote

1.3 - The Blessed One was also accompanied by a great gathering of eighty-four thousand bodhisattvas, all of whom were obstructed by only a single birth. They were all turned toward omniscience, pursuing omniscience, approaching omniscience, and reaching omniscience. They had all attained unimpeded retention and absorption, entered the absorption of the heroic gait, and were reveling in magnificent forms of superknowledge. Their path was uninterrupted, and they were entirely free of obscurations, hindrances, or disturbances. They spread their great love and compassion throughout all the worlds of the ten directions, and they were experts in traveling to infinite buddha realms. They experienced emptiness, remained within the absence of marks, and were free from any fixation on wishes. They pursued the welfare of all beings and were experts with respect to the entire domain of the buddhas. Their wisdom was boundless, their minds were vast like the sky, deep as the sea, and unshakable like Sumeru, the king of mountains. Like lotuses, their minds were unstained; like jewels, their minds were pure; like gold, their minds were refined.

http://read.84000.co/translation/toh231.html

Edited April 6, 2019 by Amita

[Amita]

Another excerpt:

Quote

1.7- Seated upon this well-arranged throne was the Blessed One. With perfectly pure wisdom, he was turning the wheel of Dharma. Conquering all māras and opponents, he remained unblemished by any mundane qualities. He was fearless and indomitable, like a dauntless lion. He was clear like a lake, immaculate and lucid. Resembling the ocean, he was deep and hard to fathom, a source of jewels. He was truly elevated like the king of mountains, sparkling like the sun, and delightful like the moon. Like a great nāga, he let the rain of Dharma fall. Like Mahā brahmā, he was the whole world’s superior. The master of an infinite circle of extremely adept disciples, he was the center of attention for the entire great assembly that contained Śakra, Brahmā, and one hundred sextillion guardians of the world.

 

[Amita]

After Buddha was asked many questions his first responses dealt with the Ten Perfections or pāramitās.  Each perfection has ten qualities or aspects. Here is Buddha Shakyamuni describing Giving (or Generosity), the first perfection:

Quote

1.64 - The Blessed One then said, “Noble son, bodhisattvas who practice perfect generosity possess ten qualities. What are those ten? They are the perfect giving of the Dharma, the perfect giving of fearlessness, the perfect giving of material things, the perfect giving free of expectation of a reward, the perfect giving of compassion, the perfect giving free of disdain, the perfect giving of respect, the perfect giving of reverence and worship, the perfect open-ended giving, and the perfectly pure giving.

 

Edited April 20, 2019 by Amita

[Amita]

Quote

446 - Noble son, bodhisattvas endowed with ten qualities ensure that the mind of

awakening is not lost. What are those ten? They are as follows: a bright and

honest mind free of pretense, deceit, and crookedness; absence of uncertainty,

suspicion, and doubt with regard to the qualities of the buddhas and the persons

who embody such qualities; not concealing that one is a Dharma teacher;

absence of stinginess with the Dharma; not adopting a livelihood that renders

one poor with respect to the Dharma; being trustworthy by keeping one’s

promises; upholding the Great Vehicle; respecting and revering others who

uphold the Great Vehicle by seeing them as equal; reaching, merging, and

blending with the Great Vehicle; and perceiving the individuals who explain the

Dharma as teachers and regarding them as spiritual friends. Noble son,

bodhisattvas who possess these ten qualities ensure that the mind of awakening

is not lost.

 

[Amita]

Quote

573 - Noble son, bodhisattvas endowed with ten qualities have knowledge of the

world. What are those ten? They are humility toward the haughty, no pride

when facing the proud, honesty toward the deceitful, truthfulness toward liars,

gentle words toward unskilled speakers, loving words toward the vicious,

patience toward the aggressive, love toward the brutal, compassion toward the

suffering, and sharing when meeting the stingy. Noble son, bodhisattvas who

possess these ten such qualities have knowledge of the world.

 

[Amita]

Another revered sutra is the Golden Light Sutra.  Study of it, or recitation, copying or sharing it brings blessings and merit:

https://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/teachers/zopa/advice/pdf/sutragoldenlight0207lttr.pdf

[quiXilver]

Deeply impacted lately with the concept of citta as addressed in the Pali.

Particularly in regards to the storyteller, or the builder addressed in some Tibetan circles, that dusty creator who covers citta and who interrupts raw response to stimulus with the fabrication of intellectualization and personlization.  The transforming of raw stimulus, into the phantasmagoric world of samsaric mis-identification we refer to as waking reality.  No wonder waking life is compared to the dreaming...

rarified air... staggering implications.

deep gratitude.

[Piney]

On 1/25/2019 at 9:59 AM, Amita said:

 BDK publishers

 

BDK uses truly bi-lingual translators. They do some great work.