Master Zhenlin’s Commentary on Lingmei’s Sutra-lecturing Trip to Mount. Sumeru
Mount. Sumeru is the highest moutain in the Three Realms. I sent Lingmei for a sutra lecture there as many living beings dwelling in Mount. Sumeru could not enter the Heaven Realm. Mount. Sumeru is quite close to us. Therefore, the frame of mind of the living beings there is also similar to we humans’. Their mind, too, can be characterized by impatience. They could hardly wait having learnt that Lingmei would be visiting them.
Text:
While a mere single day has passed in the Mountain, it has been one thousand years in the secular world. So eager are we to hear the Dharma that one second seems longer than one thousand years.
Commentary:
“While a mere single day has passed in the Mountain, it has been one thousand years in the secular world.” At the outset, it is written that, one day in Mount. Sumeru is tantamount to one thousand years on earth. We cannot figure out how their state is unless we are there in person. It is a different state.
“So eager are we to hear the Dharma that one second seems longer than one thousand years.” This shows their eagerness to hear the sutra. It is like they have waited for it for one thousand years. They get impatient as we humans do.
Text:
Master told me that he would like to send me to visit Mount. Sumeru after I had returned from the Heaven of Neitehr-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought. I asked Master whether it could be delayed for one day. I had just been to San Jiang city during the day and was exhusted in the evening. However, the living beings in Mount. Sumeru could hardly wait. When I was sitting in meditation in the morning, I could feel many people were waiting for me. I said that I would go there in the evening. Then I saw them. They were weeping tearfully. It wrung my heart to see their tears.
Commentary:
Lingmei wanted to take a rest for a few days before visiting Mount. Sumeru. The living beings there, however, could hardly wait. Lingmei had just been to San Jiang city to see her child. She was tired from the trip. However, as she was sitting in meditation in the morning, she felt many people were waiting for her. She said she’d go there in the evening. After saying that, she saw many of them weeping tearfully.
She first felt them with her sixth sense. Later she saw them because she had been in the state. These people could hardly wait!
“It wrung my heart to see their tears.” Their minds were connected once Lingmei was in the state. She’d feel happy if they were happy, and sad when they were sad.
Text:
I then asked Master for bestowal of power. With a flash of golden light, I arrived at Mount. Sumeru. The mountain was boundless. There were as many people as I could see. They all knelt down, and said in chorus, “We have been waiting for Master for a long time. We gathered here as soon as we learnt you were coming. May the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have mercy on us…” They all looked different from each other in size and shape. Some were over 1,000 years old, with long gray beard, others looked teenagers, and still others were small immortals who made their way there by cultivating in different Paths. I knew I should not waste any time more. They just kept weeping in tears. They were anxious!
Commentary:
“I then asked Master for bestowal of power. With a flash of golden light, I arrived at Mount. Sumeru.” Why did she describe it as “a flash of golden light”? Well, this is how immortals manifest as they fly around. With a flash of golden light, they go to wherever they want. So, Lingmei arrived at Mount. Sumeru. Mount. Sumeru, in the eyes of the living beings, is a mountain. It is very very large. If you pay a visit there, you should know that the mountain is, in truth, boundless.
“There were as many people as I could see.” This line describes just how many people there were, and they were kneeling down. This shows how sincere and eager they were to hear the Buddha Dharma.
“and said in chorus, ‘We have been waiting for Master for a long time. We gathered here as soon as we learnt you were coming. May the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have mercy on us…’ ”: They had been waiting for Lingmei for a long time. “waiting for a long time” shows the extent of their sincerity and eagerness. They asked the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to show mercy on them. After all, they don’t get such an opportunity often.
“They all looked different from each other in size and shape.” Why is it so? Some of them are great immortals. They must have cultivated for thousands of years. A great immortal dwells above Mount. Sumeru, while a small immortal dwells under it. They exist with different in size and shape. Lingmei is correct in the description. It is beyond description. Some of them were so advanced in age that their beard reached the knees. That was why she felt they must be over 1,000 years old. The younger ones looked like teenagers. That was exactly how they looked. They were small immortals who practiced cultivation in different paths, including fox immortals, and Kitchen Spirit, Earth Spirit, Land Spirit, Househall Spirit, and so on. As Lingmei wrote, she knew she should not waste any more time. “They just kept weeping in tears. They were anxious” to listen to the sutra lecture.
Text:
I said to them, “At the behest of Master,, I have come to you to lecture the Sutra of Longevity, and wish that you gain release from the Three Realms as soon as possible.” I then read, “Now I will again tell you the only True Path. You should give thought to protect single mindfulness. The single mindfulness is known as The Bodhi Mind. The Bodhi Mind is also known as The Mind of the Great Vehicle. Because the root nature of the living beings is different, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas teach and differentiate the Three Vehicles. You should constantly be mindful, and look after the Bodhi Mind. Never should you forget it. Even if your body is burnt by the five skandas, is being swallowed and eaten by the four snakes, is being attacked by the three poisoning, is being invaded by the six thieves, and is being harmed and tormented by the devils and demons, you should remain firm and never should you change your Bodhi Mind." With the Bodhi Mind, your body will be as hard and firm as the Vajra. Your mind will resemble the empty space, where no one can really harm and destroy it."
Commentary:
This paragraph explains the Bodhi Mind aptly. The single-mindfulness is also known as the Bodhi Mind. Many think it is easy make it. It is in fact far from easy to achieve single-mindfulness. It is not achieved unless our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and consciousness are in harmony. It is not single-mindful if you want to eat more even being full. We have to harmonize and make in tune our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, consciousness, storehouse consciousness, and alaya consciousness. That is to say, you attain the Bodhi Mind when the eight consciousnesses are united as one. See, it is certainly not easy to attain the Bodhi Mind. The Bodhi Mind takes you into the realm of the Great Vehicle.
The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas teach Three Vehicles, namely, the Small Vehicle, Middle Vehicle, and Great Vehicle. Why do they do so? It is so we human beings are of different levels of comprehension. We may not understand whatever the Buddha says. Shakyamuni Buddha once drew an analogy. The secular world is like a large house in fire. We living beings are the kids playing around in the house while Shakyamuni Buddha the owner of the house. He is like the father. Once day, when he turns back home he found the house on fire while the kids are still frolicking inside. “It is blazing with fire. Come out!” He shouts to us, but none of us listens to him but continues with the game. We are not afraid at all and none of us wants to leave the house.
Shakyamuni Buddha then employs an expedient means. He says, “Ok, I have three wagons ready, one is sheep-drawn, another deer-drawn, and still another cattle-drawn. They are right outside the door. They belong to whoever gets there first. The kids are fond of the wagon toys, which is what the Buddha Dharma is likened to. The eighty-four thousand Dharma doors and the twelve divisions of the Tripitaka are like the toys. The sheep-drawn wagon is the Small Vehicle, the deer-drawn the Middle Vehicle, and the Cattle-drawn the Great Vehicle. When we run out of the house and get on the sheep-drawn wagon, we get liberated and are in the realm of the Small Vehicle. The deer-drawn wagon is analogous to the state of the Pacceka Buddha, while the cattle-drawn wagon the state of the Bodhisattva. That is why cultivating the Great Vehicle Buddha Dharma is also known as practicing the Bodhisattva Path.
“You should constantly be mindful, and look after the Bodhi Mind. Never should you forget it. Even if your body is burnt by the five skandas, is being swallowed and eaten by the four snakes, is being attacked by the three poisoning, is being invaded by the six thieves, and is being harmed and tormented by the devils and demons, you should remain firm and never should you change your Bodhi Mind.”
The five skandas refer to forms, feelings, thoughts, activities and consciousness;
The four snakes refer to earth, water, fire and wind;
The three poisons refer to greed, hatred and delusion;
And the six thieves refer to forms, sounds, fragrance, tastes, senses of touch and dharma.
They pester us. The four snakes sicken us and make it uncomfortable for us. We get to feel about it all through the five skandas. The three poisons of greed, hatred and ignorance are the root causes of all of our afflictions, while it is the six thieves that allow them in. If we are able to subdue them, look after the Bodhi mind well, and then no devils or demons can inflict harm on us. These are demons of our mind. They won’t be able to disturb us if we remain single-mindful. We shall thus attain the Bodhi Mind. With the Bodhi Mind, our body will be as hard and firm as the Vajra. Our mind will resemble the empty space, where no one can really harm and destroy it."
When our body is hard and firm as the Vajra, it is in a state where it is unmarked, formless, and tasteless. It can do nothing and yet everything. It certainly will be safe from any harm by then. Our mind will resemble the empty space and never get destroyed.
Text:
As I recited these lines of the Sutra text for them, the air was filled with all kinds of treasures which fell lightly upon me like rain. I realized just how sincere they were. Without hesitation, I transferred them to Master. Many of them seemed enlightened when they heard the lines. They offered with even their palaces. Again, I transferred them to Master. It is inexpressibly touching!
Commentary:
“As I recited these lines of the Sutra text for them, the air was filled with all kinds of treasures which fell lightly upon me like rain.” It happened in several of the trips and she was used to it. She knew how sincere they were in making the offerings. She accepted them, and transferred them, without hesitation, to Master.
“Many of them seemed enlightened when they heard the lines. They offered with even their palaces. Again, I transferred them to Master. It is inexpressibly touching.” If you had been there at the sutra lecture, you would know how touching it is! It was quite similar to what happened when I gave the sutra lecture in Hangzhou last time. It was deeply moving!
Text:
I found myself integrated with them all. I knew well what they were thinking and their sincerity. We humans can never ever match them.
Commentary:
She found herself integrated with the living beings of Mount. Sumeru. She knew clearly what they were thinking.
“We humans can never ever match them.” Lingmei was talking in terms of sincerity and understanding of the Buddha Dharma. Their sincerity is unsurpassed. Many people, for example, would make offerings to Master with what they do not use and still proudly think they are showing sincerity by doing so.
Text:
The King of Mount. Sumeru bowed to me, as I was about to leave, and said, “Having listened to Master’s talks, we feel the fairy tales about immortals told for thousands of years are now as real as right before our eyes. In no time will we gain release, and we will repay Master’s kindness once out of the Three Realms. By the time we meet again before the Buddha, we shall fulfill the vows to benefit all the beings. I now exhort all the immortals in the Three Realms. It is once in a blue moon that we get an opportunity like this, but it is presented before us today. Thanks to it, we are able to experience it again at the sutra lecture. From now on our minds should be connected, and count me in in achieving harmony and unification.”
Commentary:
The King of Mount. Sumera thanked her when she was about to leave, and said, “Having listened to Master’s talks, we feel the fairy tales about immortals told for thousands of years are now as real as right before our eyes.” While the King, in the eyes of we ordinary people, is an immortal himself, he is unable to get access to higher heavens, such as the Heaven of Brahman, or the Heaven of Thirty-three. Mount. Sumeru, after all, is not is a very high state. People dwelling there know the existence of the heavens and the Buddhalands, but they are unable to go there. It is like a fairy tale to them. However, they did see the state previously inaccessible to them as Lingmei was lecturing the sutra. That is why he went on to say, “In no time will we gain release, and we will repay Master’s kindness once out of the Three Realms.” They listened to the Sutra of Longevity, and would soon gain release from the Three Realms and Five Elements. They vowed to repay Master’s kindness after the release.
“By the time we meet again before the Buddha, we shall fulfill the vows to benefit all the beings.” We shall all return back to be with the Buddha. The King was exhorting all the immortals, the Earth Immortal, the great immortals, and the small immortals, of the Three Realms to protect the Sutra of Longevity as well as they could, and to serve as the Dharma protector wherever there are people reciting, copying, and upholding it. This is the fulfillment of the vows to benefit the beings.
The King of Mount. Sumeru told the living beings of the Three Realms that they would be able to hear the sutra lecture before the Buddha when they gain release.
“It is once in a blue moon that we get an opportunity like this, but it is presented before us today. Thanks to it, we are able to experience it again at the sutra lecture.”
Two thousand years ago, Shakyamuni Buddha sent a disciple to lecture Buddhist scripture at Mount. Sumera. Thanks to the opportunity, they were able to hear the sutra again what they had heard before.
From now on our minds should be connected: We should connect our minds.
“…and count me in in achieving harmony and unification”: This is the vow made by the King of Mount. Sumeru. We should all count ourselves in in achieving the harmony and unification of the Three Realms. By then, the heaven and earth shall be connected! Well, the heavenly beings look down upon as thinking we are filthy like some one goofing around in the toilet. After listening to the sutra, they realized that we should all stand together to propagate the Buddha Dharma. They also would accumulate merits and virtues by doing so, and gain release while the Buddha Dharma shall abide permanently.
Text:
Having said the verse, he again spoke to me, “Please take care of yourself. We look forward to seeing you again.” With that, I was back.
Commentary:
We shall meet again before the Buddha and listen to him speak the sutra.
Text:
After I turned back, a voice spoke to me, “Amitabha-Buddha! Excellent! Excellent! Blessed by the Buddha, you have performed a hugely meritorious deed. Despite the passage of time, the love to the beings has remained unchanged as we move around in the Three Realms. Hold on to it, and in due time, you shall reap the fruit and enter Buddhahood. The time and space will be moved and it will be filled with joy in both the Heaven and Earth. Master shall feel hugely gratified if that state can be achieved.” It was with tears that I noted down these touching words. Master, the Heaven and earth, the sun and the moon shall testify to your earnestness! I have but felt one ten-thousandth of it.
Commentary:
It was spoken by Master. It happens only when one is in the state. Amitabha Buddha! It is certainly great! She could not have performed such a hugely meritorious deed without the blessing of the Buddha!
“Despite the passage of time, the love to the beings has remained unchanged as we move around in the Three Realms.” We have always loved the beings with our great kindness and compassion!
“Hold on to it, and in due time, you shall reap the fruit and enter Buddhahood.” Do not harbour any doubt about it. Try our best to propagate the Buddha Dhama, apply real efforts to cultivation. We transform others by leading as an example. We do not get someone and say to him that I am going to deliver you. No, it won’t work.
“The time and space will be moved and it will be filled with joy both in Heaven and on Earth.” It means that all of us in the Three Realms shall be doing it. It will be very harmonious and we are all well united. The heavenly beings shall come to protect the Dharma. This is what “the time and space will be moved” refer to. It shall be filled with joy both in the Heaven and on Earth. Master shall feel hugely gratified if that state can be achieved. It shall be deeply touching if we all work together to propagate the Dharma. Many miracles that hardly happen shall occur, too.
Lingmei was touched to tears as she heard it. She wrote it down tearfully.
“Master, the Heaven and earth, the sun and the moon shall testify to your earnestness. I have but felt one ten-thousandth of it.” Well, indeed the Buddha Dharma is inconceivably profound and esoteric. There is no need to be humble about it. Lingmei’s experience is but a tip of the iceberg.
Text:
This trip brings home to me why the Sutra of Longevity is so popular in the Heavens. The heavenly beings value it as much as their own life. Why is it so popular in Mount. Sumeru? It relieves them from the sea of suffering! It is such a good opportunity that one hardly encounters it once in ten thousand eons.
Commentary:
Certainly we hardly encounter such a great opportunity once in ten thousand eons. The immortals there are particularly sincere. Lingmei got to know how much they have gone through via the trip.
Text:
Why were the immortals so sincere in inviting me there? After all, they have undergone unspeakable suffering. Their fruit of cultivation may have ripened, but, when without the right guidance, they will get deviated and turned on the wheel of rebirth and have to start it all over again. Some fail to ascend to the Brahman Heaven even having cultivated for over a thousand years. Although the merits and virtues do accrue as they cultivate, their mind tends to be riddled by impatience and anxiety. Some, as a result, transform themselves into goblins and inflict harm on humans, which only brings them to a more miserable end. There is no way to tell how long they have to be subject to the cycle of birth and death before they gain release.
Commentary:
“Their fruit of cultivation may have ripened, but, when without the right guidance, they will be subject to rebirth and start it all over again.” How will they get reborn? They may be reborn in the Path of Animals, which is quite a pity. Some of them have cultivated for over a thousand years, and still fail to ascend to the Heaven of Brahman, not even the Heaven of Light Sound or Suyama. As a result, albeit the merits and virtues having accumulated, their mind may be rattled by different thoughts. They may get angry, hateful, arrogant, or unrealistic. They are impatient in cultivation, and the more they cultivate, the worse it is. They even become goblins inflicting harm to humans. Some of them get angry when they are about to die. In that case, their souls are reluctant to go to the hell. As they have some spiritual powers, they transform into goblins flying around. If they do not know where to dwell, they just stay attached to human body.
Their lifespan is finite. It is only more miserable for them when their life comes to an end. For sure they shall fall to the Avici Hell to receive retributions for ten thousand eons. After that, they shall be subject to the cycle of birth and death for numerous times before possibly seeing the heavenly sun again. By saying “seeing the heavenly sun”, I mean they get reborn as humans. See, it is just that tragic.
Text:
I would like to share with you how I feel now and I feel about it keenly: as a cultivator, we are different from ordinary people, and should learn to discard all the attachment. Broaden our frame of mind. Cultivation of the Way is a must. Be a good person. Keep in mind the Proper Enlightenment. Do not be attached to whether it is a win or a loss. Heaven and Earth know it well.
Commentary
Lingmei has realized it and said, “As a cultivator, we are different from ordinary people, and should learn to discard all the attachment.”
Many people find it difficult to discard desires, emotions, and the three poisons of greed, hatred, and ignorance. Be sure to broaden our mind. Keep cultivating the Way and be a good person!
“Keep in mind Proper Enlightenment.” What does Proper Enlightenment refer to? I have stressed many times to you that we need to contemplate the Dharma with our eyes, listen to it with ears, smell it with nose, talk it with the tongue, feel it with the body, and comprehend it with consciousness. This is the path leading us to Proper Knowledge and Proper Enlightenment.
“Do not be attached to whether it is a win or a loss.” Do not be delighted if it is a win, nor distressed if a loss.
“Heaven and Earth know it well”. Heaven and Earth know it well if you can make it. Do not think that what you are doing is not known by Heaven and Earth. Some people are in the habit of deceiving others and themselves, but never can they deceive the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
Text:
The Sutra of Longevity is such a treasure! It can dissolve all of our afflictions, as long as we show faith in it! This is the conclusion I come to from the trips. In one word, reflect and find the answer from within. Always remember to cultivate the mind!
Commentary:
“The Sutra of Longevity is such a treasure. It can dissolve all of our afflictions, as long as we show faith in it! This is the conclusion I come to from the trips.” She woke up to it through the trips and to sum it up, “reflect and find the answer from within”. It is so because a fundamental principle underlying the Buddha Dharma is that everything is made by the mind! Always remember to cultivate the mind!
Text:
Below is what I heard when in the state. Hopefully it can prove to be thought-provoking for you. “Riding an armoured horse, you go through half of your life fighting the battle. At east you should be even when wielding the golden spear riding the horse. You will be able to do what an immortal does. Waver in the faith, and you shall fall off the precipice. From now on, always reflect within and listen to your mind. You need to make obeisance to and fall down before your Master when he is expounding the Dharm for you, just as how you would do when before the Buddha. You need to cherish each and every second when with the Master. There won’t be anything left in your mind. When looking back, you’d find it is like a piece of cloud dwelling in the emptiness, and laugh happily that your life is not spent in vain. By the time when you fulfill the mission and get back to the Buddha, you brothers shall be filled with joy.”
Commentary:
The following passage of the text was spoken by Shakyamuni Buddha. He did not appear when speaking it. His voice filled the empty space.
“Riding an armoured horse, you go through half of your life fighting the battle.” He is sending a message to us the disciples. We live the first part of our life without the Buddha Dharma nor do we cultivate it. It is like fighting in a battle.
“At east you should be even when wielding the golden spear riding the horse. You will be able to do what an immortal does.” If we can take it easy, forget what happened in the past, do not worry about what is coming in the future, and we shall be able to do what an immortal does. What can be done by the immortals is within our reach, too.
“Waver in the faith, and you shall fall off the precipice.” Why the wording “precipice”? Living in the secular world is like standing at the brink of a precipice. It is very dangerous, and one may fall off it unwarily. Therefore, always stay cautious! Refrain from transgression. Our mind is always changing, wavering between proper knowledge and deviant knowledge.
“From now on, always reflect within and listen to your mind.” We need to reflect inwardly, turn the light on our inner world, and follow the instructions of Master.
“You need to make obeisance to and fall down before your Master when he is expounding the Dharm for you, just as how you would do when before the Buddha.” We need to cherish each and every second when with the Master. If we can value each and every second, apply real efforts to cultivation, it shall all change. Nothing will be left in our mind.
“There won’t be anything left in your mind.” It indicates we are already in the state of emptiness. Our mind will be unhindered, and dwells nowhere.
“When looking back, you’d find it is like a piece of cloud dwelling in the emptiness, and laugh happily that your life is not spent in vain.” By the time we return back to the Buddha and reflect upon our present life, we will find it very interesting and funny like a dream, but we shall also feel gratified that it is not spent in vain.
“By the time when you fulfill the mission and get back to the Buddha, you brothers shall be filled with joy.” Eventually we shall all successfully complete the mission and get together before the Buddha. By then, we shall all be filled with joy.
OK, we now come to the end of the lecture.
May the merit and virtue accrued from this work,
Adorn the Buddha’s Pure Lands,
Repaying the four kinds of kindness above,
And aiding those suffering in the paths below.
May those who see and hear of this,
All bring forth the resolve for Bodhi,
And when this retribution body is over,
Be born together in Ultimate Bliss.
Amitabha-Buddha! May we all be filled with the joy of the Dharma!
Feb 25, 2009
The Sutra-lecturing Trip to Mount. Sumeru
The Sutra-lecturing Trip to Mount. Sumeru
While a mere single day has passed in the Mountain, it has been one thousand years in the secular world. So eager are we to hear the Dharma that one second seems longer than one thousand years.
Master told me that he would like to send me to visit Mount. Sumeru after I had returned from the Heaven of Neitehr-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought. I asked Master whether it could be delayed for one day. I had just been to San Jiang city during the day and was exhusted in the evening. However, the living beings in Mount. Sumeru could hardly wait. When I was sitting in meditation in the morning, I could feel many people were waiting for me. I said that I would go there in the evening. Then I saw them. They were weeping tearfully. It wrung my heart to see their tears.
I then asked Master for bestowal of power. With a flash of golden light, I arrived at Mount. Sumeru. The mountain was boundless. There were as many people as I could see. They all knelt down, and said in chorus, “We have been waiting for Master for a long time. We gathered here as soon as we learnt you were coming. May the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have mercy on us…” They all looked different from each other in size and shape. Some were over 1,000 years old, with long gray beard, others looked teenagers, and still others were small immortals who made their way there by cultivating in different Paths. I knew I should not waste any time more. They just kept weeping in tears. They were anxious!
I said to them, “At the behest of Master, I have come to you to lecture the Sutra of Longevity, and wish that you gain release from the Three Realms as soon as possible.” I then read, “Now I will again tell you the only True Path. You should give thought to protect single mindfulness. The single mindfulness is known as The Bodhi Mind. The Bodhi Mind is also known as The Mind of the Great Vehicle. Because the root nature of the living beings is different, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas teach and differentiate the Three Vehicles. You should constantly be mindful, and look after the Bodhi Mind. Never should you forget it. Even if your body is burnt by the five skandas, is being swallowed and eaten by the four snakes, is being attacked by the three poisoning, is being invaded by the six thieves, and is being harmed and tormented by the devils and demons, you should remain firm and never should you change your Bodhi Mind." With the Bodhi Mind, your body will be as hard and firm as the Vajra. Your mind will resemble the empty space, where no one can really harm and destroy it.”
As I recited these lines of the Sutra text for them, the air was filled with all kinds of treasures which fell lightly upon me like rain. I realized just how sincere they were. Without hesitation, I transferred them to Master. Many of them seemed enlightened when they heard the lines. They offered with even their palaces. Again, I transferred them to Master. It is inexpressibly touching!
I found myself integrated with them all. I knew well what they were thinking and their sincerity. We humans can never ever match them.
The King of Mount. Sumeru bowed to me, as I was about to leave, and said, “Having listened to Master’s talks, we feel the fairy tales about immortals told for thousands of years are now as real as right before our eyes. In no time will we gain release, and we will repay Master’s kindness once out of the Three Realms. By the time we meet again before the Buddha, we shall fulfill the vows to benefit all the beings. I now exhort all the immortals in the Three Realms. It is once in a blue moon that we get an opportunity like this, but it is presented before us today. Thanks to it, we are able to experience it again at the sutra lecture. From now on our minds should be connected, and count me in in achieving harmony and unification.”
Having said the verse, he again spoke to me, “Please take care of yourself. We look forward to seeing you again.” With that, I was back.
After I turned back, a voice spoke to me, “Amitabha-Buddha! Excellent! Excellent! Blessed by the Buddha, you have performed a hugely meritorious deed. Despite the passage of time, the love to the beings has remained unchanged as we move around in the Three Realms. Hold on to it, and in due time, you shall reap the fruit and enter Buddhahood. The time and space will be moved and it will be filled with joy in both the Heaven and Earth. Master shall feel hugely gratified if that state can be achieved.” It was with tears that I noted down these touching words. Master, the Heaven and earth, the sun and the moon shall testify to your earnestness! I have but felt one ten-thousandth of it.
This trip brings home to me why the Sutra of Longevity is so popular in the Heavens. The heavenly beings value it as much as their own life. Why is it so popular in Mount. Sumeru? It relieves them from the sea of suffering! It is such a good opportunity that one hardly encounters it once in ten thousand eons.
Why were the immortals so sincere in inviting me there? After all, they have undergone unspeakable suffering. Their fruit of cultivation may have ripened, but, when without the right guidance, they will get deviated and turned on the wheel of rebirth and have to start it all over again. Some fail to ascend to the Brahman Heaven even having cultivated for over a thousand years. Although the merits and virtues do accrue as they cultivate, their mind tends to be riddled by impatience and anxiety. Some, as a result, transform themselves into goblins and inflict harm on humans, which only brings them to a more miserable end. There is no way to tell how long they have to be subject to the cycle of birth and death before they gain release.
I would like to share with you how I feel now and I feel about it keenly: as a cultivator, we are different from ordinary people, and should learn to discard all the attachment. Broaden our frame of mind. Cultivation of the Way is a must. Be a good person. Keep in mind the Proper Enlightenment. Do not be attached to whether it is a win or a loss. Heaven and Earth know it well.
The Sutra of Longevity is such a treasure! It can dissolve all of our afflictions, as long as we show faith in it! This is the conclusion I come to from the trips. In one word, reflect and find the answer from within. Always remember to cultivate the mind!
Below is what I heard when in the state. Hopefully it can prove to be thought-provoking for you. “Riding an armoured horse, you go through half of your life fighting the battle. At east you should be, even when wielding the golden spear riding the horse. You will be able to do what an immortal does. Waver in the faith, and you shall fall off the precipice. From now on, always reflect within and listen to your mind. You need to make obeisance to and fall down before your Master when he is expounding the Dharm for you, just as how you would do when before the Buddha. You need to cherish each and every second when with the Master. There won’t be anything left in your mind. When looking back, you’d find it is like a piece of cloud dwelling in the emptiness, and laugh happily that your life is not spent in vain. By the time when you fulfill the mission and get back to the Buddha, you brothers shall be filled with joy.”
I said to them, “At the behest of Master, I have come to you to lecture the Sutra of Longevity, and wish that you gain release from the Three Realms as soon as possible.” I then read, “Now I will again tell you the only True Path. You should give thought to protect single mindfulness. The single mindfulness is known as The Bodhi Mind. The Bodhi Mind is also known as The Mind of the Great Vehicle. Because the root nature of the living beings is different, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas teach and differentiate the Three Vehicles. You should constantly be mindful, and look after the Bodhi Mind. Never should you forget it. Even if your body is burnt by the five skandas, is being swallowed and eaten by the four snakes, is being attacked by the three poisoning, is being invaded by the six thieves, and is being harmed and tormented by the devils and demons, you should remain firm and never should you change your Bodhi Mind." With the Bodhi Mind, your body will be as hard and firm as the Vajra. Your mind will resemble the empty space, where no one can really harm and destroy it.”
While a mere single day has passed in the Mountain, it has been one thousand years in the secular world. So eager are we to hear the Dharma that one second seems longer than one thousand years.
Master told me that he would like to send me to visit Mount. Sumeru after I had returned from the Heaven of Neitehr-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought. I asked Master whether it could be delayed for one day. I had just been to San Jiang city during the day and was exhusted in the evening. However, the living beings in Mount. Sumeru could hardly wait. When I was sitting in meditation in the morning, I could feel many people were waiting for me. I said that I would go there in the evening. Then I saw them. They were weeping tearfully. It wrung my heart to see their tears.
I then asked Master for bestowal of power. With a flash of golden light, I arrived at Mount. Sumeru. The mountain was boundless. There were as many people as I could see. They all knelt down, and said in chorus, “We have been waiting for Master for a long time. We gathered here as soon as we learnt you were coming. May the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have mercy on us…” They all looked different from each other in size and shape. Some were over 1,000 years old, with long gray beard, others looked teenagers, and still others were small immortals who made their way there by cultivating in different Paths. I knew I should not waste any time more. They just kept weeping in tears. They were anxious!
I said to them, “At the behest of Master, I have come to you to lecture the Sutra of Longevity, and wish that you gain release from the Three Realms as soon as possible.” I then read, “Now I will again tell you the only True Path. You should give thought to protect single mindfulness. The single mindfulness is known as The Bodhi Mind. The Bodhi Mind is also known as The Mind of the Great Vehicle. Because the root nature of the living beings is different, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas teach and differentiate the Three Vehicles. You should constantly be mindful, and look after the Bodhi Mind. Never should you forget it. Even if your body is burnt by the five skandas, is being swallowed and eaten by the four snakes, is being attacked by the three poisoning, is being invaded by the six thieves, and is being harmed and tormented by the devils and demons, you should remain firm and never should you change your Bodhi Mind." With the Bodhi Mind, your body will be as hard and firm as the Vajra. Your mind will resemble the empty space, where no one can really harm and destroy it.”
As I recited these lines of the Sutra text for them, the air was filled with all kinds of treasures which fell lightly upon me like rain. I realized just how sincere they were. Without hesitation, I transferred them to Master. Many of them seemed enlightened when they heard the lines. They offered with even their palaces. Again, I transferred them to Master. It is inexpressibly touching!
I found myself integrated with them all. I knew well what they were thinking and their sincerity. We humans can never ever match them.
The King of Mount. Sumeru bowed to me, as I was about to leave, and said, “Having listened to Master’s talks, we feel the fairy tales about immortals told for thousands of years are now as real as right before our eyes. In no time will we gain release, and we will repay Master’s kindness once out of the Three Realms. By the time we meet again before the Buddha, we shall fulfill the vows to benefit all the beings. I now exhort all the immortals in the Three Realms. It is once in a blue moon that we get an opportunity like this, but it is presented before us today. Thanks to it, we are able to experience it again at the sutra lecture. From now on our minds should be connected, and count me in in achieving harmony and unification.”
Having said the verse, he again spoke to me, “Please take care of yourself. We look forward to seeing you again.” With that, I was back.
After I turned back, a voice spoke to me, “Amitabha-Buddha! Excellent! Excellent! Blessed by the Buddha, you have performed a hugely meritorious deed. Despite the passage of time, the love to the beings has remained unchanged as we move around in the Three Realms. Hold on to it, and in due time, you shall reap the fruit and enter Buddhahood. The time and space will be moved and it will be filled with joy in both the Heaven and Earth. Master shall feel hugely gratified if that state can be achieved.” It was with tears that I noted down these touching words. Master, the Heaven and earth, the sun and the moon shall testify to your earnestness! I have but felt one ten-thousandth of it.
This trip brings home to me why the Sutra of Longevity is so popular in the Heavens. The heavenly beings value it as much as their own life. Why is it so popular in Mount. Sumeru? It relieves them from the sea of suffering! It is such a good opportunity that one hardly encounters it once in ten thousand eons.
Why were the immortals so sincere in inviting me there? After all, they have undergone unspeakable suffering. Their fruit of cultivation may have ripened, but, when without the right guidance, they will get deviated and turned on the wheel of rebirth and have to start it all over again. Some fail to ascend to the Brahman Heaven even having cultivated for over a thousand years. Although the merits and virtues do accrue as they cultivate, their mind tends to be riddled by impatience and anxiety. Some, as a result, transform themselves into goblins and inflict harm on humans, which only brings them to a more miserable end. There is no way to tell how long they have to be subject to the cycle of birth and death before they gain release.
I would like to share with you how I feel now and I feel about it keenly: as a cultivator, we are different from ordinary people, and should learn to discard all the attachment. Broaden our frame of mind. Cultivation of the Way is a must. Be a good person. Keep in mind the Proper Enlightenment. Do not be attached to whether it is a win or a loss. Heaven and Earth know it well.
The Sutra of Longevity is such a treasure! It can dissolve all of our afflictions, as long as we show faith in it! This is the conclusion I come to from the trips. In one word, reflect and find the answer from within. Always remember to cultivate the mind!
Below is what I heard when in the state. Hopefully it can prove to be thought-provoking for you. “Riding an armoured horse, you go through half of your life fighting the battle. At east you should be, even when wielding the golden spear riding the horse. You will be able to do what an immortal does. Waver in the faith, and you shall fall off the precipice. From now on, always reflect within and listen to your mind. You need to make obeisance to and fall down before your Master when he is expounding the Dharm for you, just as how you would do when before the Buddha. You need to cherish each and every second when with the Master. There won’t be anything left in your mind. When looking back, you’d find it is like a piece of cloud dwelling in the emptiness, and laugh happily that your life is not spent in vain. By the time when you fulfill the mission and get back to the Buddha, you brothers shall be filled with joy.”
I said to them, “At the behest of Master, I have come to you to lecture the Sutra of Longevity, and wish that you gain release from the Three Realms as soon as possible.” I then read, “Now I will again tell you the only True Path. You should give thought to protect single mindfulness. The single mindfulness is known as The Bodhi Mind. The Bodhi Mind is also known as The Mind of the Great Vehicle. Because the root nature of the living beings is different, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas teach and differentiate the Three Vehicles. You should constantly be mindful, and look after the Bodhi Mind. Never should you forget it. Even if your body is burnt by the five skandas, is being swallowed and eaten by the four snakes, is being attacked by the three poisoning, is being invaded by the six thieves, and is being harmed and tormented by the devils and demons, you should remain firm and never should you change your Bodhi Mind." With the Bodhi Mind, your body will be as hard and firm as the Vajra. Your mind will resemble the empty space, where no one can really harm and destroy it.”
Master Zhenlin’s Commentary on Lingmei’s Sutra-lecturing Trip to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non- Thought
Master Zhenlin’s Commentary on Lingmei’s Sutra-lecturing Trip to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non- Thought
Lingmei was quite happy after she roamed through the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought. It is highest Heaven in the Three Realms. The living beings dwelling in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought know well that they are the host of the Three Realms. Wherever it is illuminated by light, they exist as living beings. Or rather, they exist by means of light. After Lingmei had posted the article detailing her trip, I told you to try your best to set your mind at peace when reading this article. Actually, when your cultivation reaches a certain level, your mind is set at peace naturally. By then, a response will be evoked between you and people from the the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought. You feel it when they are inspired or excited. That is why the other day I jokingly said to you to get tissue paper ready just in case you need to wipe off tear. After all, the Heavenly King of the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought is the very host of the Three Realms. He takes all the living beings dwelling in the Three Realms as his own kids. However, there is still a particle of ignorance that they are not able to break through so that living beings of the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought cannot gain release from the Three Realms. While it takes a long time for we humans to cultivate, so do the living beings up in the Heaven. Anyone who makes it to break through ignorance in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought and put it down shall gain release immediately from the cycle of rebirth in the Three Realms and detached from the five elements.
While Lingwei did roam through it, the words and verses were not spoken by her. It begins with four thought-provoking verses.
Text:
“Everyone is fond of immortals. All want to cultivate to gain spiritual penetration. Going down the wrong path only misleading. It is important to reflect within, and propagate the Dharma with the mind.”
Commentary:
“Everyone is fond of immortals. All want to cultivate to gain spiritual penetration. Going down the wrong path only misleading.” We humans want to see immortals, and become immortals, thinking that by then we shall be able to do everything we want with the spiritual penetration endowed. It is not for no reason that you do not have spiritual penetration. Once you gain it, you shall realize that it, too, works in accordance with the Law. It is misleading if you cultivate only for the purpose of gaining spiritual penetration.
“It is important to reflect within, and propagate the Dharma with the mind. “This is to say, when we really reflect and turn the light within, we will be able to propagate the right Dharma with the mind. It is what the Great Vehicle is about.
Everything is made by the mind. This is a doctrine of the Buddha Dharma. Everything evolves from the mind, and is manifestation of the false thoughts. Therefore, it is important for us to reflect within and contemplate the mind. Lingying was quite true when she said just now that we have to be at peace first before we get the chance to turn the light and reflect within. Who am I? Where do I come from? Where shall I go? When we know the answers for them, we get enlightened and see the true nature. So, you don’t have to keep thinking how many things you can do after you gain spiritual penetration. In fact, those who possess it do not necessarily use it.
Everywhere false manifestations are found in the world, including our body. Often we here people arguing that we cultivators of the Buddha Dharma tend to be malnourished as we stay vegetarian. Is it really the case? What about the cow? It takes grass only, but remains strong and well-fed! They challenge the vegetarian lifestyle because they discriminate. Lingmei also had this weakness. The other day when I told her that she need to visit the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, she asked, “Why, Master, why do I feel the less up to it, the higher-level the Heaven I go to?” It was so because her cultivation was not advanced enough. When the conditions changed, it turned easy. So, Lingmei went on to say:
Text:
Sitting in stillness, my mind is at a relaxed stated. Master reminds me that I am but an ordinary person, but I have a special mission to fulfill.
Commentary:
When you are able to cast aside the burdens in your mind, you feel yourself just a common being. You feel relaxed when not burdened.
Text:
As if in a trance, I was sitting on a lotus. With a flash of thought, I arrived at the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought.
Commentary:
She went to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought.
Text:
I found it different from the Brahman Heaven. I could see nothing. Hence, I asked Master for a bestowal of power. Having said so, I saw numerous dots, bright, but not offending to the eyes. I asked several times, “Heavenly King, may I meet you?” Upon saying that, I felt a beam of white light flashing before me. So, still, it was but a ray of white light. A voice said, “May you, Venerable Master, grant us your teachings?” I replied, “I am Lingmei. At the behest of my Master, I come to you to lecture the Sutra of Longevity. All the Heavenly Beings shall gain benefits from it.” The Heavenly King was filled with joy when he heard it and said, “It is such a rare opportunity. One can hardly meet it in a thousand years!” Instantly, as he was saying it, numerous heavenly beings arrived.
Commentary:
She found the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought different from the Brahman Heaven. She saw nothing. Was it because it was dark? No, it wasn’t. She just did not see any objects. She then asked Master for a special bestowal of power. Soon after that, she saw numerous dots, bright, but not offending to the eyes. She asked, “Heavenly King, May I meet you?” Upon saying that, she felt a ray of white light flashing before her. So, still, it was but a ray of white light. It was formless. Soon she heard a voice saying, “May you, Venerable Master, grant us your teachings?”
She answered, “I am Lingmei. At the behest of my Master, I come to you to lecture the Sutra of Longevity. All the Heavenly Beings shall gain benefits from it.”
The Heavenly King was filled with joy when he heard it and said, “It is such a rare opportunity. One can hardly meet it in a thousand years!” Yes, as the King put it, it is indeed something that happens only every a few thousand years. Upon saying that, numerous heavenly beings arrived. This is unlike in other heavens where the kings had to summon them.
Text:
I saw in the air bright dots flashing, so many of them that it was actually incalculable. The heavenly beings, too, are of different levels. I felt their existence up on the top. It is flashing on an off at the middle level,with intermittent gleams. It was quite bright at the lowest level.
Commentary:
Then she saw in the air bright dots flashing flickering, so many of them that it was actually incalculable. She soon noticed that heavenly beings, too, are of different levels. The higher the level, the less of form. She described it quite plainly. “I felt their existence up on the top”—which means it is formless, but there is existence of life; “It is flashing on an off, with intermittent gleams”—the lights were hardly visible. They seemed to be there but seemed not either. “It was quite bright at the lowest level”—they exist in the form of light. This is what Lingmei witnessed during her trip there. One would not have described it so well, including how the living beings are and how they exist, unless having personally been there.
Text:
Thinking of the mission for which I was there at the Heaven, I said, “How can I not act in compliance with the instructions of Master? With my level of skills and strength, I can hardly convey the merits and virtues of the Sutra. I am doing it now with the bestowal of power by Master, you will gain benefits from it as long as you listen to it attentively.
Commentary:
Thinking of the mission for which she was there at the Heaven, Lingmei said, “How can I not act in compliance with the instructions of Master? With my level of skills and strength, I can hardly convey the merits and virtues of the Sutra.” She was referring to the Sutra of Longevity.
“I am doing it now with the bestowal of power by Master, you will gain benefits from it as long as one listens to it attentively.” This is superb! I told Lingmei before her first trip that she need not worry about it at all. She would be able to lecture it naturally and fluently once she is in such a state.
Whichever state one is, there are always verses that suit one the best from the Sutra of Longevity, as have been proved by Lingmei’s several trips recently.
As living beings in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought still has the last particle of ignorance to break through, Lingmei realized the Twelve Conditioned Links of Causation fit them the best.
Text:
I lectured to them the passage about the Twelve Conditioned Links of Causation from the Sutra of Longevity:
“If there is no false thought because of delusion, then from where will activities and karmic deeds arise?
If there is no activity and Karmic deeds, from where will there be the entering of womb by consciousness?
When there is no consciousness to enter the womb, what then will give rise to a foetus, the form of a body?
When there is no feeling, there is no love.
Without love, attachment to possession will not arise.
When there is no attachment to possession, there are no more karmic causes for future birth.
When there is no karmic cause for the future birth, there is no more birth in the future.
Without birth, there is also no old age and death. And the worries, sorrows, sufferings and Extinction of the Twelve Conditioned Links of Causation. “
Commentary:
I talked on these verses when I was lecturing the Sutra of Longevity. Anyway, we do not need to give detailed explanations before the heavenly beings.
Text:
When I was reciting the passage, I saw innumerable rays of light flickering in the air. Many of them got enlightened. Not until then did I realize why it was flashing on an off non-stop as I was lecturing the sutra. I felt that they were offering me with the treasures they had, including their mind and spiritual penetration.
Commentary:
If they get the point, innumerable rays of light will be flickering in the air. Lingmei wrote about it with just one sentence. After all, many of them got enlightened when they heard the Twelve Conditioned Links of Causation, and gained release from the Three Realms and five elements. That is to say, they had been taken across, or ferried over. Do no think that being taken across is needed only by those in the Hell. Rather, it is to ferry the beings over to the other shore, or to another state. When Lingmen recited the verses, many of the heavenly beings got enlightened and therefore ascended to a new state. When she was lecturing the sutra, many of the beings made offerings to her. As is written here, “It was flashing on an off non-stop as I was lecturing the sutra. I felt that they were offering me with the treasures they had, including their mind and spiritual penetration.” See, let is just how sincere they were!
How meritorious it is to make offerings depends on how sincere we are. The more sincerity we show, the more merits and virtues we amass. Many people among us seem to, however, make offerings with what they do not need. How sincere is that and how many merits and virtues can be accrued by doing so? Making offerings evokes responses only if we show utmost sincerity. Heavenly beings are not like humans. They offer the best of their treasures, even their mind and spiritual penetration. The mind of the living beings in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought consists of the very small trace of consciousness they have. Their spiritual penetration is very superb, though.
Text:
Without hesitation, I transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and master. By then, I found myself changing in size and became larger endlessly. It was unlike when in other heavens. I felt myself in one with the empty space. Though I could not see myself, I was omnipresent.
Commentary:
Lingmei knew well what to do after the previous trips. Without hesitation, she transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Master. As she did so, she found herself changing in size and became very large. Or, as she wrote it, “it was unlike when in other heavens.” There at the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, she found her body size immeasurably big, without any limit. She felt herself integrated with the empty space. This is to tell us that our body could pervade the whole universe and yet we cannot see it. Nevertheless, you have yet to make it. You can still see your physical body easily. When in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, the body has such a manifestation as Lingmei has described. She realized what such a state was like and how it was to be in the emptiness.
Text:
I found the heavenly beings are just that sincere!
Commentary:
At that time, she was integrated as one with them. They evoke responses from each other. She was keenly aware just how sincere the heavenly beings were.
Text:
Before I left, the Heavenly King saw me off, and said respectfully, “So long ago it was when we last heard Dharma talks. How much we repent when we hear it again. The obsession to spiritual penetration obstructs us from gaining release from the Three Realms. Put down the obsession, and we’d be out of the five elements immediately! Be it in the heaven or earth, the Sutra is transmitted by Masters. Filled with joy the living beings are in the Three Realms. It is likely that the Three Realms shall be linked. Getting harmonized and united is not an illusion. All the living beings in the Three Realms are my love, except the mind is not open yet. With the merits and virtues of the Sutra, change can be very fast. How great is it!
Commentary:
Let’s see what the Heavenly King said to her when she was about to leave: “So long ago it was when we last heard Dharma talks. How much we repent when we hear it again. The obsession to spiritual penetration obstructs us from gaining release from the Three Realms.”
Why did he say “So long ago it was when we last heard Dharma talks”? The living beings there have very long lifespan, 160,000 kalpas. That is how long they live. They did hear Shakyamuni Buddha talked the Dharma before, but it was very very long time ago.
The Dharma sound had long disappeared. When they heard it again, they started to repent and reform. With their obsession to spiritual penetration, they are not able to get out of the Three Realms. No matter how superb the penetration is, it is all empty. Once they put down the obsession, they gain release immediately from the five elements. The five elements are gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. In the Buddha Dharma, we usually talk of only four elements, namely, earth, water, fire, and wind. Anyway, they are quite the same. When the heavenly beings heard of it and got the point, cast away the greed and obsession to spiritual power, they immediately get released.
“Be it in the heaven or earth, the Sutra is transmitted by Masters. Filled with joy the living beings are in the Three Realms, as likely it is likely that the Three Realms shall be linked. Getting harmonized and united is not an illusion. All the living beings in the Three Realms are my love, except the mind is not open yet. With the merits and virtues of the Sutra, change can be very fast. How great is it!”
Written here is the prediction of what is going to happen. A heavenly secret, so to speak.
“The Three Realms shall get united and be in harmony.” How to make it? The Buddha Dharma is the only way out. Only the Buddha Dharma can get the Three Realms harmonized into one. Whoever can speaks the Buddha Dharma can do it and he is certainly great! She revealed a heavenly secret here: it is likely that the Three Realms shall be linked. Getting harmonized and united is not an illusion. I think you all can understand the verses.
Text:
I felt the time and space changed after he had finished saying it. Perhaps it contains a heavenly secret. I am not supposed to write about it. I was back in less than a second.
Commentary:
Lingmei realized it was such a heavenly secret and therefore she talked of it no more.
Text:
After I was back, I heard a voice speaking to me, “It is a rewarding trip. The precious sutra is now being spread in the Three Realms. If you can make the sutra known by more, your merits and virtues will be greater than the brightness of the sun and the moon. As the raging waves wash away the sand, the gold is panned.”
Commentary:
After she returned from the trip, a voice said to her, “It is a rewarding trip. The precious sutra is now being spread in the Three Realms. If you can make the sutra known by more, your merits and virtues will be greater than the brightness of the sun and the moon. As the raging waves wash away the sand, the gold is panned.” It was spoken to her by Shakyamuni Buddha.
Lingmei had a talk with me before this trip. She said she wanted very much to see Shakyamuni Buddha. After she returned from the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, Shakyanmuni Buddha said to her, “It is a rewarding trip.” It is rewarding because the precious sutra is now being spread in the Three Realms. The living beings are reading it now! Lingmei went to Mount. Sumeru, and was welcome by the eager audience. The King Yama from the Hell also invited her there. The lower the Realm, the more eager they are. If we can make the sutra known by more, our merits and virtues will be greater than the brightness of the sun and the moon. They are immeasurable. By then, “As the raging waves wash away the sand, the gold is panned”. This means you make it.
Text:
All of a sudden, I understand Master’s intention in sending me for the trip! Master has given a lot of thoughts to it! Not only are humans beings fond of the spiritual penetration, so are heavenly beings. Because of such fondness, they are not able to gain release from the Three Realms. As Master often says, “spiritual penetrations are but a piece of cake for the Buddha Dharma. It is not why we cultivate it. We cultivate it to find our true-self. The true-self is omnipotent. It is not produced, nor will it go extinct.”
Commentary:
Lingmei then went on to write: “All of a sudden, I understand Master’s intention in sending me for the trip!” Certainly Master has given a lot of thoughts to it! I am hoping that through these manifestations more get transformed. Hopefully more can be transformed and enlightened by the words of the immortals. After all, humans tend to admire immortals instead of ordinary people. Well, they do show interest to people who look the same like them, with a head, with a face, and a physical body. They see nothing special.
Not only are human beings fond of the spiritual penetration, so are heavenly beings. Because of such fondness, they are not able to gain release from the Three Realms. After all, as I often tell you, spiritual penetrations are but a piece of cake for the Buddha Dharma. It is not why we cultivate it. We cultivate it to find our true-self. The true self is omnipotent. It is not produced, nor will it go extinct. What on earth is the true self? It is without the self. It is formless, unmarked, tasteless, and without any smell. It can do everything and yet nothing. So, nothing can be spoken here.
Text:
As I was thinking over it, the voice spoke to me again, “People of the common sort are bound by the common mind from playing the spiritual penetration. Refrain from emulating each other out of jealousy or vanity. It is difficult to overcome the obstacle from the mind. Try to let it go, and stay in accord with conditions. Follow your master in propagating the Dharma, be it in the spring, summer, autumn, or winter. While the body dwells on it, the mind does not. Cultivating in the secular world leads to the Buddhahood. The Buddhalands are not far away but right in your mind. All is like a dream by the day you make it.”
Commentary:
Again, when she was contemplating it, the voice reached her again. It was yet another message from Shakyamuni Buddha. Before she went to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, we had a talk and asked whether Shakyamuni Buddha would meet with Lingmei after she fulfilled the task. Regarding this question, Shakyamuni Budda said, directly, that there was no need for Lingmei to meet Him, and gave the following instructional talk, “People of the common sort are bound by the common mind from playing the spiritual penetration.” This is so because common people are obstructed by the seven emotions and six desires, and deeply rooted in greed, hatred, and ignorance. Shakyamuni Buddha does not ask us to be free from them completely. He asks to have them as few as possible.
The other day Lingmie asked me this question, “Master, what if I cannot uphold the precepts completely after taking refuge?” Shakyamuni Buddha asked us to have selfish desires as few as possible. We can try casting them away bit by bit.
It is because that our mind is too burdened by worldly ways that our spiritual penetration does not manifest. He later also warned us against emulating each other out of jealousy or vanity. I have reminded you of this time and again. As you cultivate further, the spiritual penetration will manifest bit by bit. You should refrain from such a negative mentality. Face your mind squarely.
“It is difficult to overcome the obstacle from the mind.” So, it is our mind that is obstructing us. How to overcome it? It is by our consciousness. Guard against the thoughts. Gradually, and bit by bit, we won’t give rise to any. By then, our body and mind shall be purified, and the Buddalands in the ten directions will naturally be illuminated, and we shall have limitless spiritual penetration. Nevertheless, we need to take good care of the mind. Try to let it go, and stay in accord with conditions. Once we can make it, great! We shall realize that there is no distinction between we co-cultivators, the Buddhas, and the Bodhisattvas. They are all united and in harmony.
“Follow your master in propagating the Dharma, be it in the spring, summer, autumn, or winter.” This is to tell us that we need to endure hardship. The four seasons are analogous to joy and bitterness in life. We may feel joyful in the spring, hot and stuffy in the summer, and uncomfortable in the winter. We inevitably encounter challenges as we propagate the Dharma.
Shakyamuni Buddha then said, “While the body dwells on it, the mind does not.” Not to have our mind turned by the states in the world though we live here. We should remain unmoved by the states. Don’t make it as if we were not a human, by eating only one meal a day, or do not sleep. Why bother with it? Do it as we should as a human, eat when we should eat, drink when we should drink, and go to the toilet when we should go! I have been asked by many whether I take only one meal a day. Says who? I eat three meals a day. I am no different from ordinary people. However, deep inside, we should not be. We should know how to empty the mind, and how to give up. When we know how to do it, we make it.
If we find it hard to give up, that means the desire for fame, profit, and selfishness still exist in our mind. I told you the story of the old man from the frontier who lost his horse. How could one have known that it would not be fortuitous? It is not necessarily a loss when we give up something. I used to work for a large company and held the position as head of the Youth League, a rather senior position. The salary was good, and I got well recognized working for such a large company. Nevertheless, I still chose to resign. I had to rely on myself from then on. The good thing is that when we do give up, we get mature. After all, there is no road that has no turning, as long as our mind is firm enough. This is the same when I was building my own business. It was impossible that there was no difficulty at all.
If we pay attention, we’d notice that those successful businessmen and politicians, when inquired of the key to success, focused talking of the trial and challenges they had gone through. They have long put aside the joy of success but keep in mind clearly the bitter trials. So, we don’t need to be afraid of trials. Just remember not to be turned by the states.
Shakyamuni Buddha then said, “Cultivating in the secular world leads to the Buddhahood!” This is meant to remind us that cultivating in the Saha World can be more accomplishing than if in the Buddhalands. It is more rewarding.
“The Buddhalands are not far away but right in your mind”. The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, the Akshobhya Buddhaland, Fragrant-Rice Buddhaland, etc, are right in our mind, hidden in it, and therefore not far-away. They are as big as our mind is. This is the first aspect of the verse. Shakyamuni Buddha also means to tell Lingmei and all of us that there is no need to meet Him, because the Saha World is right in our mind. Besides, we are missionaries for Him to fulfill the task of propagating the Buddha Dharma. How are we going to account for it if meet Him without finishing the task? So He won’t meet us before we complete the task. Still, He comforts us by saying that “All is like a dream by the day you make it.”
He gave us the message here: once we complete the mission, we shall turn back to his side, and listen to him talk the Dharma. We shall still have the mark that is our due. Our merits and virtues will not drop by the least bit, but will increase. Shakyamuni Buddha is encouraging us here, and of course it is the truth. He is unlike some people who lie and still think it is ok to lie.
The next passage is what Lingmei learnt from the trip.
Text:
See, everything, every piece of teaching, and every experience is to remind us that we need to cultivate the mind! We won’t be blinded by the small bit of selfish interest as long as we hold on tight to proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness, regardless of the time and location.
Commentary:
By saying proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness, it means we need to apply the eyes to contemplate the Dharma, ears to listen, nose to smell, tongue to talk, body to experience, and consciousness to feel. If we can make it everyday, we shall gradually enter the state of proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness. No interest can keep us blinded, no matter how tiny it is. What is the form that we see with eyes? It is the myriad manifestations in the world. As long as we have proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness, the tongue will be speaking the Dharma and the body in Samandhi whenever and wherever we are.
Text:
Put it down, stay in accord with conditions, and there will be no impediment in our mind. Many things will be accomplished before you know it. Amitabha-Buddha! Let us cultivate to make progress together!
Commentary:
“Put it down”. We feel liberated and free once we put it down. Being liberated and free is found by staying in accord with conditions. It is easier said than done to stay in accord with conditions. When faced with a challenge, work to address it, without thinking of what the outcome will be. This is what it means to stay in accord with conditions. Most people, however, cannot make it. They keep bothering themselves by thinking “am I doing it right?”, or “Is it the best solution”. There is no need to bother ourself with such questions since they have not yet happened. If we can make it to stay in accord with conditions, our mind will be unfettered and unobstructed. There will be no impediment in our mind. If our mind is impeded, many things will be accomplished before we know it.
Nevertheless, it seems Lingmei has yet to put it down once back to the real life. : )
We need to keep cultivating and reflect within. It will be superb if one day you don’t give rise to any thoughts. By then, we shall be able to fly and roam around without asking Master for a special bestowal of power.
Lingmei said she wanted to meet Shakyamuni Buddha the other day but was turned down on the ground that the conditions were not ripe. In fact, if we can make it to let it go, stay in accord with conditions, with an impeded mind, we can see Him anytime we want. Not only Shakyamuni Buddha, but also the disciples following Him wherever He goes, as well as the Great Bodhisattvas around Him such as Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.
We now come to the end of the lecture on Lingmei’s trip to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non- Thought
May the merit and virtue accrued from this work,
Adorn the Buddha’s Pure Lands,
Repaying the four kinds of kindness above,
And aiding those suffering in the paths below.
May those who see and hear of this,
All bring forth the resolve for Bodhi,
And when this retribution body is over,
Be born together in Ultimate Bliss.
Amitabha-Buddha! May we all be filled with the joy of the Dharma!
Lingmei was quite happy after she roamed through the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought. It is highest Heaven in the Three Realms. The living beings dwelling in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought know well that they are the host of the Three Realms. Wherever it is illuminated by light, they exist as living beings. Or rather, they exist by means of light. After Lingmei had posted the article detailing her trip, I told you to try your best to set your mind at peace when reading this article. Actually, when your cultivation reaches a certain level, your mind is set at peace naturally. By then, a response will be evoked between you and people from the the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought. You feel it when they are inspired or excited. That is why the other day I jokingly said to you to get tissue paper ready just in case you need to wipe off tear. After all, the Heavenly King of the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought is the very host of the Three Realms. He takes all the living beings dwelling in the Three Realms as his own kids. However, there is still a particle of ignorance that they are not able to break through so that living beings of the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought cannot gain release from the Three Realms. While it takes a long time for we humans to cultivate, so do the living beings up in the Heaven. Anyone who makes it to break through ignorance in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought and put it down shall gain release immediately from the cycle of rebirth in the Three Realms and detached from the five elements.
While Lingwei did roam through it, the words and verses were not spoken by her. It begins with four thought-provoking verses.
Text:
“Everyone is fond of immortals. All want to cultivate to gain spiritual penetration. Going down the wrong path only misleading. It is important to reflect within, and propagate the Dharma with the mind.”
Commentary:
“Everyone is fond of immortals. All want to cultivate to gain spiritual penetration. Going down the wrong path only misleading.” We humans want to see immortals, and become immortals, thinking that by then we shall be able to do everything we want with the spiritual penetration endowed. It is not for no reason that you do not have spiritual penetration. Once you gain it, you shall realize that it, too, works in accordance with the Law. It is misleading if you cultivate only for the purpose of gaining spiritual penetration.
“It is important to reflect within, and propagate the Dharma with the mind. “This is to say, when we really reflect and turn the light within, we will be able to propagate the right Dharma with the mind. It is what the Great Vehicle is about.
Everything is made by the mind. This is a doctrine of the Buddha Dharma. Everything evolves from the mind, and is manifestation of the false thoughts. Therefore, it is important for us to reflect within and contemplate the mind. Lingying was quite true when she said just now that we have to be at peace first before we get the chance to turn the light and reflect within. Who am I? Where do I come from? Where shall I go? When we know the answers for them, we get enlightened and see the true nature. So, you don’t have to keep thinking how many things you can do after you gain spiritual penetration. In fact, those who possess it do not necessarily use it.
Everywhere false manifestations are found in the world, including our body. Often we here people arguing that we cultivators of the Buddha Dharma tend to be malnourished as we stay vegetarian. Is it really the case? What about the cow? It takes grass only, but remains strong and well-fed! They challenge the vegetarian lifestyle because they discriminate. Lingmei also had this weakness. The other day when I told her that she need to visit the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, she asked, “Why, Master, why do I feel the less up to it, the higher-level the Heaven I go to?” It was so because her cultivation was not advanced enough. When the conditions changed, it turned easy. So, Lingmei went on to say:
Text:
Sitting in stillness, my mind is at a relaxed stated. Master reminds me that I am but an ordinary person, but I have a special mission to fulfill.
Commentary:
When you are able to cast aside the burdens in your mind, you feel yourself just a common being. You feel relaxed when not burdened.
Text:
As if in a trance, I was sitting on a lotus. With a flash of thought, I arrived at the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought.
Commentary:
She went to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought.
Text:
I found it different from the Brahman Heaven. I could see nothing. Hence, I asked Master for a bestowal of power. Having said so, I saw numerous dots, bright, but not offending to the eyes. I asked several times, “Heavenly King, may I meet you?” Upon saying that, I felt a beam of white light flashing before me. So, still, it was but a ray of white light. A voice said, “May you, Venerable Master, grant us your teachings?” I replied, “I am Lingmei. At the behest of my Master, I come to you to lecture the Sutra of Longevity. All the Heavenly Beings shall gain benefits from it.” The Heavenly King was filled with joy when he heard it and said, “It is such a rare opportunity. One can hardly meet it in a thousand years!” Instantly, as he was saying it, numerous heavenly beings arrived.
Commentary:
She found the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought different from the Brahman Heaven. She saw nothing. Was it because it was dark? No, it wasn’t. She just did not see any objects. She then asked Master for a special bestowal of power. Soon after that, she saw numerous dots, bright, but not offending to the eyes. She asked, “Heavenly King, May I meet you?” Upon saying that, she felt a ray of white light flashing before her. So, still, it was but a ray of white light. It was formless. Soon she heard a voice saying, “May you, Venerable Master, grant us your teachings?”
She answered, “I am Lingmei. At the behest of my Master, I come to you to lecture the Sutra of Longevity. All the Heavenly Beings shall gain benefits from it.”
The Heavenly King was filled with joy when he heard it and said, “It is such a rare opportunity. One can hardly meet it in a thousand years!” Yes, as the King put it, it is indeed something that happens only every a few thousand years. Upon saying that, numerous heavenly beings arrived. This is unlike in other heavens where the kings had to summon them.
Text:
I saw in the air bright dots flashing, so many of them that it was actually incalculable. The heavenly beings, too, are of different levels. I felt their existence up on the top. It is flashing on an off at the middle level,with intermittent gleams. It was quite bright at the lowest level.
Commentary:
Then she saw in the air bright dots flashing flickering, so many of them that it was actually incalculable. She soon noticed that heavenly beings, too, are of different levels. The higher the level, the less of form. She described it quite plainly. “I felt their existence up on the top”—which means it is formless, but there is existence of life; “It is flashing on an off, with intermittent gleams”—the lights were hardly visible. They seemed to be there but seemed not either. “It was quite bright at the lowest level”—they exist in the form of light. This is what Lingmei witnessed during her trip there. One would not have described it so well, including how the living beings are and how they exist, unless having personally been there.
Text:
Thinking of the mission for which I was there at the Heaven, I said, “How can I not act in compliance with the instructions of Master? With my level of skills and strength, I can hardly convey the merits and virtues of the Sutra. I am doing it now with the bestowal of power by Master, you will gain benefits from it as long as you listen to it attentively.
Commentary:
Thinking of the mission for which she was there at the Heaven, Lingmei said, “How can I not act in compliance with the instructions of Master? With my level of skills and strength, I can hardly convey the merits and virtues of the Sutra.” She was referring to the Sutra of Longevity.
“I am doing it now with the bestowal of power by Master, you will gain benefits from it as long as one listens to it attentively.” This is superb! I told Lingmei before her first trip that she need not worry about it at all. She would be able to lecture it naturally and fluently once she is in such a state.
Whichever state one is, there are always verses that suit one the best from the Sutra of Longevity, as have been proved by Lingmei’s several trips recently.
As living beings in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought still has the last particle of ignorance to break through, Lingmei realized the Twelve Conditioned Links of Causation fit them the best.
Text:
I lectured to them the passage about the Twelve Conditioned Links of Causation from the Sutra of Longevity:
“If there is no false thought because of delusion, then from where will activities and karmic deeds arise?
If there is no activity and Karmic deeds, from where will there be the entering of womb by consciousness?
When there is no consciousness to enter the womb, what then will give rise to a foetus, the form of a body?
When there is no feeling, there is no love.
Without love, attachment to possession will not arise.
When there is no attachment to possession, there are no more karmic causes for future birth.
When there is no karmic cause for the future birth, there is no more birth in the future.
Without birth, there is also no old age and death. And the worries, sorrows, sufferings and Extinction of the Twelve Conditioned Links of Causation. “
Commentary:
I talked on these verses when I was lecturing the Sutra of Longevity. Anyway, we do not need to give detailed explanations before the heavenly beings.
Text:
When I was reciting the passage, I saw innumerable rays of light flickering in the air. Many of them got enlightened. Not until then did I realize why it was flashing on an off non-stop as I was lecturing the sutra. I felt that they were offering me with the treasures they had, including their mind and spiritual penetration.
Commentary:
If they get the point, innumerable rays of light will be flickering in the air. Lingmei wrote about it with just one sentence. After all, many of them got enlightened when they heard the Twelve Conditioned Links of Causation, and gained release from the Three Realms and five elements. That is to say, they had been taken across, or ferried over. Do no think that being taken across is needed only by those in the Hell. Rather, it is to ferry the beings over to the other shore, or to another state. When Lingmen recited the verses, many of the heavenly beings got enlightened and therefore ascended to a new state. When she was lecturing the sutra, many of the beings made offerings to her. As is written here, “It was flashing on an off non-stop as I was lecturing the sutra. I felt that they were offering me with the treasures they had, including their mind and spiritual penetration.” See, let is just how sincere they were!
How meritorious it is to make offerings depends on how sincere we are. The more sincerity we show, the more merits and virtues we amass. Many people among us seem to, however, make offerings with what they do not need. How sincere is that and how many merits and virtues can be accrued by doing so? Making offerings evokes responses only if we show utmost sincerity. Heavenly beings are not like humans. They offer the best of their treasures, even their mind and spiritual penetration. The mind of the living beings in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought consists of the very small trace of consciousness they have. Their spiritual penetration is very superb, though.
Text:
Without hesitation, I transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and master. By then, I found myself changing in size and became larger endlessly. It was unlike when in other heavens. I felt myself in one with the empty space. Though I could not see myself, I was omnipresent.
Commentary:
Lingmei knew well what to do after the previous trips. Without hesitation, she transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Master. As she did so, she found herself changing in size and became very large. Or, as she wrote it, “it was unlike when in other heavens.” There at the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, she found her body size immeasurably big, without any limit. She felt herself integrated with the empty space. This is to tell us that our body could pervade the whole universe and yet we cannot see it. Nevertheless, you have yet to make it. You can still see your physical body easily. When in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, the body has such a manifestation as Lingmei has described. She realized what such a state was like and how it was to be in the emptiness.
Text:
I found the heavenly beings are just that sincere!
Commentary:
At that time, she was integrated as one with them. They evoke responses from each other. She was keenly aware just how sincere the heavenly beings were.
Text:
Before I left, the Heavenly King saw me off, and said respectfully, “So long ago it was when we last heard Dharma talks. How much we repent when we hear it again. The obsession to spiritual penetration obstructs us from gaining release from the Three Realms. Put down the obsession, and we’d be out of the five elements immediately! Be it in the heaven or earth, the Sutra is transmitted by Masters. Filled with joy the living beings are in the Three Realms. It is likely that the Three Realms shall be linked. Getting harmonized and united is not an illusion. All the living beings in the Three Realms are my love, except the mind is not open yet. With the merits and virtues of the Sutra, change can be very fast. How great is it!
Commentary:
Let’s see what the Heavenly King said to her when she was about to leave: “So long ago it was when we last heard Dharma talks. How much we repent when we hear it again. The obsession to spiritual penetration obstructs us from gaining release from the Three Realms.”
Why did he say “So long ago it was when we last heard Dharma talks”? The living beings there have very long lifespan, 160,000 kalpas. That is how long they live. They did hear Shakyamuni Buddha talked the Dharma before, but it was very very long time ago.
The Dharma sound had long disappeared. When they heard it again, they started to repent and reform. With their obsession to spiritual penetration, they are not able to get out of the Three Realms. No matter how superb the penetration is, it is all empty. Once they put down the obsession, they gain release immediately from the five elements. The five elements are gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. In the Buddha Dharma, we usually talk of only four elements, namely, earth, water, fire, and wind. Anyway, they are quite the same. When the heavenly beings heard of it and got the point, cast away the greed and obsession to spiritual power, they immediately get released.
“Be it in the heaven or earth, the Sutra is transmitted by Masters. Filled with joy the living beings are in the Three Realms, as likely it is likely that the Three Realms shall be linked. Getting harmonized and united is not an illusion. All the living beings in the Three Realms are my love, except the mind is not open yet. With the merits and virtues of the Sutra, change can be very fast. How great is it!”
Written here is the prediction of what is going to happen. A heavenly secret, so to speak.
“The Three Realms shall get united and be in harmony.” How to make it? The Buddha Dharma is the only way out. Only the Buddha Dharma can get the Three Realms harmonized into one. Whoever can speaks the Buddha Dharma can do it and he is certainly great! She revealed a heavenly secret here: it is likely that the Three Realms shall be linked. Getting harmonized and united is not an illusion. I think you all can understand the verses.
Text:
I felt the time and space changed after he had finished saying it. Perhaps it contains a heavenly secret. I am not supposed to write about it. I was back in less than a second.
Commentary:
Lingmei realized it was such a heavenly secret and therefore she talked of it no more.
Text:
After I was back, I heard a voice speaking to me, “It is a rewarding trip. The precious sutra is now being spread in the Three Realms. If you can make the sutra known by more, your merits and virtues will be greater than the brightness of the sun and the moon. As the raging waves wash away the sand, the gold is panned.”
Commentary:
After she returned from the trip, a voice said to her, “It is a rewarding trip. The precious sutra is now being spread in the Three Realms. If you can make the sutra known by more, your merits and virtues will be greater than the brightness of the sun and the moon. As the raging waves wash away the sand, the gold is panned.” It was spoken to her by Shakyamuni Buddha.
Lingmei had a talk with me before this trip. She said she wanted very much to see Shakyamuni Buddha. After she returned from the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, Shakyanmuni Buddha said to her, “It is a rewarding trip.” It is rewarding because the precious sutra is now being spread in the Three Realms. The living beings are reading it now! Lingmei went to Mount. Sumeru, and was welcome by the eager audience. The King Yama from the Hell also invited her there. The lower the Realm, the more eager they are. If we can make the sutra known by more, our merits and virtues will be greater than the brightness of the sun and the moon. They are immeasurable. By then, “As the raging waves wash away the sand, the gold is panned”. This means you make it.
Text:
All of a sudden, I understand Master’s intention in sending me for the trip! Master has given a lot of thoughts to it! Not only are humans beings fond of the spiritual penetration, so are heavenly beings. Because of such fondness, they are not able to gain release from the Three Realms. As Master often says, “spiritual penetrations are but a piece of cake for the Buddha Dharma. It is not why we cultivate it. We cultivate it to find our true-self. The true-self is omnipotent. It is not produced, nor will it go extinct.”
Commentary:
Lingmei then went on to write: “All of a sudden, I understand Master’s intention in sending me for the trip!” Certainly Master has given a lot of thoughts to it! I am hoping that through these manifestations more get transformed. Hopefully more can be transformed and enlightened by the words of the immortals. After all, humans tend to admire immortals instead of ordinary people. Well, they do show interest to people who look the same like them, with a head, with a face, and a physical body. They see nothing special.
Not only are human beings fond of the spiritual penetration, so are heavenly beings. Because of such fondness, they are not able to gain release from the Three Realms. After all, as I often tell you, spiritual penetrations are but a piece of cake for the Buddha Dharma. It is not why we cultivate it. We cultivate it to find our true-self. The true self is omnipotent. It is not produced, nor will it go extinct. What on earth is the true self? It is without the self. It is formless, unmarked, tasteless, and without any smell. It can do everything and yet nothing. So, nothing can be spoken here.
Text:
As I was thinking over it, the voice spoke to me again, “People of the common sort are bound by the common mind from playing the spiritual penetration. Refrain from emulating each other out of jealousy or vanity. It is difficult to overcome the obstacle from the mind. Try to let it go, and stay in accord with conditions. Follow your master in propagating the Dharma, be it in the spring, summer, autumn, or winter. While the body dwells on it, the mind does not. Cultivating in the secular world leads to the Buddhahood. The Buddhalands are not far away but right in your mind. All is like a dream by the day you make it.”
Commentary:
Again, when she was contemplating it, the voice reached her again. It was yet another message from Shakyamuni Buddha. Before she went to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, we had a talk and asked whether Shakyamuni Buddha would meet with Lingmei after she fulfilled the task. Regarding this question, Shakyamuni Budda said, directly, that there was no need for Lingmei to meet Him, and gave the following instructional talk, “People of the common sort are bound by the common mind from playing the spiritual penetration.” This is so because common people are obstructed by the seven emotions and six desires, and deeply rooted in greed, hatred, and ignorance. Shakyamuni Buddha does not ask us to be free from them completely. He asks to have them as few as possible.
The other day Lingmie asked me this question, “Master, what if I cannot uphold the precepts completely after taking refuge?” Shakyamuni Buddha asked us to have selfish desires as few as possible. We can try casting them away bit by bit.
It is because that our mind is too burdened by worldly ways that our spiritual penetration does not manifest. He later also warned us against emulating each other out of jealousy or vanity. I have reminded you of this time and again. As you cultivate further, the spiritual penetration will manifest bit by bit. You should refrain from such a negative mentality. Face your mind squarely.
“It is difficult to overcome the obstacle from the mind.” So, it is our mind that is obstructing us. How to overcome it? It is by our consciousness. Guard against the thoughts. Gradually, and bit by bit, we won’t give rise to any. By then, our body and mind shall be purified, and the Buddalands in the ten directions will naturally be illuminated, and we shall have limitless spiritual penetration. Nevertheless, we need to take good care of the mind. Try to let it go, and stay in accord with conditions. Once we can make it, great! We shall realize that there is no distinction between we co-cultivators, the Buddhas, and the Bodhisattvas. They are all united and in harmony.
“Follow your master in propagating the Dharma, be it in the spring, summer, autumn, or winter.” This is to tell us that we need to endure hardship. The four seasons are analogous to joy and bitterness in life. We may feel joyful in the spring, hot and stuffy in the summer, and uncomfortable in the winter. We inevitably encounter challenges as we propagate the Dharma.
Shakyamuni Buddha then said, “While the body dwells on it, the mind does not.” Not to have our mind turned by the states in the world though we live here. We should remain unmoved by the states. Don’t make it as if we were not a human, by eating only one meal a day, or do not sleep. Why bother with it? Do it as we should as a human, eat when we should eat, drink when we should drink, and go to the toilet when we should go! I have been asked by many whether I take only one meal a day. Says who? I eat three meals a day. I am no different from ordinary people. However, deep inside, we should not be. We should know how to empty the mind, and how to give up. When we know how to do it, we make it.
If we find it hard to give up, that means the desire for fame, profit, and selfishness still exist in our mind. I told you the story of the old man from the frontier who lost his horse. How could one have known that it would not be fortuitous? It is not necessarily a loss when we give up something. I used to work for a large company and held the position as head of the Youth League, a rather senior position. The salary was good, and I got well recognized working for such a large company. Nevertheless, I still chose to resign. I had to rely on myself from then on. The good thing is that when we do give up, we get mature. After all, there is no road that has no turning, as long as our mind is firm enough. This is the same when I was building my own business. It was impossible that there was no difficulty at all.
If we pay attention, we’d notice that those successful businessmen and politicians, when inquired of the key to success, focused talking of the trial and challenges they had gone through. They have long put aside the joy of success but keep in mind clearly the bitter trials. So, we don’t need to be afraid of trials. Just remember not to be turned by the states.
Shakyamuni Buddha then said, “Cultivating in the secular world leads to the Buddhahood!” This is meant to remind us that cultivating in the Saha World can be more accomplishing than if in the Buddhalands. It is more rewarding.
“The Buddhalands are not far away but right in your mind”. The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, the Akshobhya Buddhaland, Fragrant-Rice Buddhaland, etc, are right in our mind, hidden in it, and therefore not far-away. They are as big as our mind is. This is the first aspect of the verse. Shakyamuni Buddha also means to tell Lingmei and all of us that there is no need to meet Him, because the Saha World is right in our mind. Besides, we are missionaries for Him to fulfill the task of propagating the Buddha Dharma. How are we going to account for it if meet Him without finishing the task? So He won’t meet us before we complete the task. Still, He comforts us by saying that “All is like a dream by the day you make it.”
He gave us the message here: once we complete the mission, we shall turn back to his side, and listen to him talk the Dharma. We shall still have the mark that is our due. Our merits and virtues will not drop by the least bit, but will increase. Shakyamuni Buddha is encouraging us here, and of course it is the truth. He is unlike some people who lie and still think it is ok to lie.
The next passage is what Lingmei learnt from the trip.
Text:
See, everything, every piece of teaching, and every experience is to remind us that we need to cultivate the mind! We won’t be blinded by the small bit of selfish interest as long as we hold on tight to proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness, regardless of the time and location.
Commentary:
By saying proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness, it means we need to apply the eyes to contemplate the Dharma, ears to listen, nose to smell, tongue to talk, body to experience, and consciousness to feel. If we can make it everyday, we shall gradually enter the state of proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness. No interest can keep us blinded, no matter how tiny it is. What is the form that we see with eyes? It is the myriad manifestations in the world. As long as we have proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness, the tongue will be speaking the Dharma and the body in Samandhi whenever and wherever we are.
Text:
Put it down, stay in accord with conditions, and there will be no impediment in our mind. Many things will be accomplished before you know it. Amitabha-Buddha! Let us cultivate to make progress together!
Commentary:
“Put it down”. We feel liberated and free once we put it down. Being liberated and free is found by staying in accord with conditions. It is easier said than done to stay in accord with conditions. When faced with a challenge, work to address it, without thinking of what the outcome will be. This is what it means to stay in accord with conditions. Most people, however, cannot make it. They keep bothering themselves by thinking “am I doing it right?”, or “Is it the best solution”. There is no need to bother ourself with such questions since they have not yet happened. If we can make it to stay in accord with conditions, our mind will be unfettered and unobstructed. There will be no impediment in our mind. If our mind is impeded, many things will be accomplished before we know it.
Nevertheless, it seems Lingmei has yet to put it down once back to the real life. : )
We need to keep cultivating and reflect within. It will be superb if one day you don’t give rise to any thoughts. By then, we shall be able to fly and roam around without asking Master for a special bestowal of power.
Lingmei said she wanted to meet Shakyamuni Buddha the other day but was turned down on the ground that the conditions were not ripe. In fact, if we can make it to let it go, stay in accord with conditions, with an impeded mind, we can see Him anytime we want. Not only Shakyamuni Buddha, but also the disciples following Him wherever He goes, as well as the Great Bodhisattvas around Him such as Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.
We now come to the end of the lecture on Lingmei’s trip to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non- Thought
May the merit and virtue accrued from this work,
Adorn the Buddha’s Pure Lands,
Repaying the four kinds of kindness above,
And aiding those suffering in the paths below.
May those who see and hear of this,
All bring forth the resolve for Bodhi,
And when this retribution body is over,
Be born together in Ultimate Bliss.
Amitabha-Buddha! May we all be filled with the joy of the Dharma!
Lingmei's Sutra-lecturing Trip to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non- Thought
The Sutra-lecturing Trip to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non- Thought
“Everyone is fond of immortals. All want to cultivate to gain spiritual penetration. Going down the wrong path is only misleading. It is important to reflect within, and propagate the Dharma with the mind.”
Sitting in stillness, my mind is at a relaxed stated. Master reminds me that I am but an ordinary person, but I have a special mission to fulfill.
As if in a trance, I was sitting on a lotus. With a flash of thought, I arrived at the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought.
I found it different from the Brahman Heaven. I could see nothing. Hence, I asked Master for a bestowal of power. Having said so, I saw numerous dots, bright, but not offending to the eyes. I asked several times, “Heavenly King, may I meet you?” Upon saying that, I felt a beam of white light flashing before me. So, still, it was but a ray of white light. A voice said, “May you, Venerable Master, grant us your teachings?” I replied, “I am Lingmei. At the behest of my Master, I come to you to lecture the Sutra of Longevity. All the Heavenly Beings shall gain benefits from it.” The Heavenly King was filled with joy when he heard it and said, “It is such a rare opportunity. One can hardly meet it in a thousand years!” Instantly, as he was saying it, numerous heavenly beings arrived.
I saw in the air bright dots flickering, so many of them that it was actually incalculable. The heavenly beings, too, are of different levels. I felt their existence up on the top. It is flashing on an off at the middle level, with intermittent gleams. It was quite bright at the lowest level.
Thinking of the mission for which I was there at the Heaven, I said, “How can I not act in compliance with the instructions of Master? With my level of skills and strength, I can hardly convey the merits and virtues of the Sutra. I am doing it now with the bestowal of power by Master, you will gain benefits from it as long as you listen to it attentively.
When I was reciting the passage, I saw innumerable rays of light flickering in the air. Many of them got enlightened. Not until then did I realize why it was flashing on an off non-stop as I was lecturing the sutra. I felt that they were offering me with the treasures they had, including their mind and spiritual penetration.
Without hesitation, I transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and master. By then, I found myself changing in size and became larger endlessly. It was unlike when in other heavens. I felt myself in one with the empty space. Though I could not see myself, I was omnipresent.
I found the heavenly beings are just that sincere!
Before I left, the Heavenly King saw me off, and said respectfully, “So long ago it was when we last heard Dharma talks. How much we repent when we hear it again! The obsession to spiritual penetration obstructs us from gaining release from the Three Realms. Put down the obsession, and we’d be out of the five elements immediately! Be it in the heaven or earth, the Sutra is transmitted by Master. Filled with joy the living beings are in the Three Realms. It is likely that the Three Realms shall be linked. Getting harmonized and united is not an illusion. All the living beings in the Three Realms are my love, except the mind is not open yet. With the merits and virtues of the Sutra, change can be very fast. How great is it!
I felt the time and space changed after he had finished saying it. Perhaps it contains a heavenly secret. I am not supposed to write about it. I was back in less than a second.
After I was back, I heard a voice speaking to me, “It is a rewarding trip. The precious sutra is now being spread in the Three Realms. If you can make the sutra known by more, your merits and virtues will be greater than the brightness of the sun and the moon. As the raging waves wash away the sand, the gold is panned.”
All of a sudden, I understand Master’s intention in sending me for the trip! Master has given a lot of thoughts to it! Not only are human beings fond of the spiritual penetration, so are heavenly beings. Because of such fondness, they are not able to gain release from the Three Realms. As Master often says, “spiritual penetrations are but a piece of cake for the Buddha Dharma. It is not why we cultivate it. We cultivate it to find our true-self. The true-self is omnipotent. It is not produced, nor will it go extinct.”
As I was thinking over it, the voice spoke to me again, “People of the common sort are bound by the common mind from playing the spiritual penetration. Refrain from emulating each other out of jealousy or vanity. It is difficult to overcome the obstacle from the mind. Try to let it go, and stay in accord with conditions. Follow your master in propagating the Dharma, be it in the spring, summer, autumn, or winter. While the body dwells on it, the mind does not. Cultivating in the secular world leads to the Buddhahood. The Buddhalands are not far away but right in your mind. All is like a dream by the day you make it.”
See, everything, every piece of teaching, and every experience is to remind us that we need to cultivate the mind! We won’t be blinded by the small bit of selfish interest as long as we hold on tight to proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness, regardless of the time and location.
Put it down, stay in accord with conditions, and there will be no impediment in our mind. Many things will be accomplished before you know it.
Amitabha-Buddha!
“Everyone is fond of immortals. All want to cultivate to gain spiritual penetration. Going down the wrong path is only misleading. It is important to reflect within, and propagate the Dharma with the mind.”
Sitting in stillness, my mind is at a relaxed stated. Master reminds me that I am but an ordinary person, but I have a special mission to fulfill.
As if in a trance, I was sitting on a lotus. With a flash of thought, I arrived at the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought.
I found it different from the Brahman Heaven. I could see nothing. Hence, I asked Master for a bestowal of power. Having said so, I saw numerous dots, bright, but not offending to the eyes. I asked several times, “Heavenly King, may I meet you?” Upon saying that, I felt a beam of white light flashing before me. So, still, it was but a ray of white light. A voice said, “May you, Venerable Master, grant us your teachings?” I replied, “I am Lingmei. At the behest of my Master, I come to you to lecture the Sutra of Longevity. All the Heavenly Beings shall gain benefits from it.” The Heavenly King was filled with joy when he heard it and said, “It is such a rare opportunity. One can hardly meet it in a thousand years!” Instantly, as he was saying it, numerous heavenly beings arrived.
I saw in the air bright dots flickering, so many of them that it was actually incalculable. The heavenly beings, too, are of different levels. I felt their existence up on the top. It is flashing on an off at the middle level, with intermittent gleams. It was quite bright at the lowest level.
Thinking of the mission for which I was there at the Heaven, I said, “How can I not act in compliance with the instructions of Master? With my level of skills and strength, I can hardly convey the merits and virtues of the Sutra. I am doing it now with the bestowal of power by Master, you will gain benefits from it as long as you listen to it attentively.
When I was reciting the passage, I saw innumerable rays of light flickering in the air. Many of them got enlightened. Not until then did I realize why it was flashing on an off non-stop as I was lecturing the sutra. I felt that they were offering me with the treasures they had, including their mind and spiritual penetration.
Without hesitation, I transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and master. By then, I found myself changing in size and became larger endlessly. It was unlike when in other heavens. I felt myself in one with the empty space. Though I could not see myself, I was omnipresent.
I found the heavenly beings are just that sincere!
Before I left, the Heavenly King saw me off, and said respectfully, “So long ago it was when we last heard Dharma talks. How much we repent when we hear it again! The obsession to spiritual penetration obstructs us from gaining release from the Three Realms. Put down the obsession, and we’d be out of the five elements immediately! Be it in the heaven or earth, the Sutra is transmitted by Master. Filled with joy the living beings are in the Three Realms. It is likely that the Three Realms shall be linked. Getting harmonized and united is not an illusion. All the living beings in the Three Realms are my love, except the mind is not open yet. With the merits and virtues of the Sutra, change can be very fast. How great is it!
I felt the time and space changed after he had finished saying it. Perhaps it contains a heavenly secret. I am not supposed to write about it. I was back in less than a second.
After I was back, I heard a voice speaking to me, “It is a rewarding trip. The precious sutra is now being spread in the Three Realms. If you can make the sutra known by more, your merits and virtues will be greater than the brightness of the sun and the moon. As the raging waves wash away the sand, the gold is panned.”
All of a sudden, I understand Master’s intention in sending me for the trip! Master has given a lot of thoughts to it! Not only are human beings fond of the spiritual penetration, so are heavenly beings. Because of such fondness, they are not able to gain release from the Three Realms. As Master often says, “spiritual penetrations are but a piece of cake for the Buddha Dharma. It is not why we cultivate it. We cultivate it to find our true-self. The true-self is omnipotent. It is not produced, nor will it go extinct.”
As I was thinking over it, the voice spoke to me again, “People of the common sort are bound by the common mind from playing the spiritual penetration. Refrain from emulating each other out of jealousy or vanity. It is difficult to overcome the obstacle from the mind. Try to let it go, and stay in accord with conditions. Follow your master in propagating the Dharma, be it in the spring, summer, autumn, or winter. While the body dwells on it, the mind does not. Cultivating in the secular world leads to the Buddhahood. The Buddhalands are not far away but right in your mind. All is like a dream by the day you make it.”
See, everything, every piece of teaching, and every experience is to remind us that we need to cultivate the mind! We won’t be blinded by the small bit of selfish interest as long as we hold on tight to proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness, regardless of the time and location.
Put it down, stay in accord with conditions, and there will be no impediment in our mind. Many things will be accomplished before you know it.
Amitabha-Buddha!
Master Zhenlin’s Commentary on Lingmei’s Trip to the Heaven of Light Sound
Master Zhenlin’s Commentary on Lingmei’s Trip to the Heaven of Light Sound
Text:
Time flies by, invoking constant changes in Heavens and Earth. It looks like a myth as I contemplate the flowers in meditation. One day, my soul travelled to the Heaven of Light Sound as I was sitting in meditation. It seemed like a dream and yet in truth it was not. “How come there was nobody around?” I was thinking to myself when I remembered what Master had spoken to me, “The living beings there are formless and unmarked. You may ask them to appear to you.” Soon, I was able to see numerous beings. I said, “The Great Brahman King, please!” The Brahman King showed up, in all awesome might, soon after I had requested it. With great respect, he said to me, “May the Master give us the teachings!” I replied, “At the behest of Master, I have come to lecture the Sutra of Longevity here. Could you please summon all the heavenly beings of the Heavens of Brahman here?” The Brahman King then conjured up something helical in shape, held it in his hand, and puffed a breath in it. In no time numerous beings showed up.
Commentary:
A genuine cultivator of the Buddha Dharma is respected by not only human beings but also heavenly beings, though he may look no different from ordinary people. Actually he looks very ordinary and in perfect harmony with the living beings around. He also bows to Buddha Statues, but when he does so, his true-self is not in the bowing position. You will see why if your Dharma eyes are open. No heavenly beings, immortals, spirits, or humans can afford to receive his bowing. His human manifestation is to be seen by people. When such a genuine cultivator visits the heavens, he is very much esteemed and respected.
Lingmei looked no different from ordinary people, but even the Brahman King addressed her as master. Lingmei, too, replied him in a majestic and awe-inspiring manner that she was there to lecture the Sutra of Longevity and asked the Brahman King to summon all the heavenly beings there. See, isn’t that mighty? The Brahman King, upon hearing she say that, conjured up something helical in shape and puffed breath in it. Immediately he got all the heavenly beings dwelling in the Heavens of Brahman to the Heaven of Light Sound.
Text:
I requested a bestowal of power from Master so that I could see clearly just how many beings there were. I found out that the heavenly beings were of several levels. At the highest level, while it looked nobody was there, I could feel there were numerous beings. At the middle-level, it was a vast expanse of whiteness, cloudy and foggy, and still incalculable. The low level was further divided into sub-levels, where the beings were of form and mark, though not clearly visible.
Commentary:
Lingmei did not know how many of them there were. One cannot tell it unless his or her dharma eyes or heaven eyes are open. Lingmei was certainly smart. She thought of asking Master for a bestowal of power, which enabled her to see them clearly.
She felt there were numerous beings around, and yet they were not clearly visible. Yes, indeed, it is true that heavenly beings are of different levels, and that was exactly how they stood to listen when a sutra lecture was being held. Lingmei looked up, and saw them. She looked down, and still saw them. They were all over around. After all, it was the empty space and therefore there could perch everywhere.
How come they are of different levels? The highest on in the Heavens of Brahman is not the Heaven of Light Sound, but the Ultimate Form Heaven. It was very close to the Heaven of Neither Thought Nor Non-Thought where the heavenly beings hardly had any form. Lingmei took notice of it, too.
She described it well as “At the highest level, while it looked nobody was there, I could feel there were numerous beings.” They do exist though without a physical shape.
“At the middle-level, it was a vast expanse of whiteness, cloudy and foggy, and still incalculable.” Heavenly beings at the middle level are shadow-like that they seem not there while in truth they were.
“The low level was further divided into several sub-levels. Some of them looked like five-year-olds, others eight-year-olds, but no older than 12-year-olds.” See, the heavenly beings at the low level are of form and shape. Lingmei could see them, and they were yet again further divided into sub-levels, except not clearly visible. It was not clearly visible, because Lingmei was not advanced enough in her spiritual penetrations. It would have been very clear to all had her heavenly eyes or dharma eyes been open. She could even tell exactly how many of them there were.
Text:
At that time, a group of heavenly beings, about ten-year-old, and with their hair worn in a single upward braid, came to bow to me joyfully. They thanked me for ferrying them over to enjoy the heavenly bliss. I was confused for a while, but soon realized they were those whom I had met when I visited the Hell. I rescued them from the torture by reciting the Sutra of Longevity for them so that they got reborn in the heaven. I soon was reminded of why I was there at the Heaven of Light Sound. I found myself sitting on a lotus which was shining with light. I had grown much larger in size. Many Dharma-protecting Vajras were standing by me.
Commentary:
She then saw some people, around ten-year-old, and with their hair braided upward, bow to her, and thanked her for ferrying them over so that they got reborn in the heaven where they enjoyed heavenly bliss.
She had yet to realize why. “I was confused for a while.” She was confused, and soon realized why. Well, Lingmei had a trip to the hell sometime before where she ferried the people over. I had told Lingmei before she visited the hell that she should recite the Sutra of Longevity for the beings there, and those who heard it would be reborn in the Brahman Heaven. This is also why I arranged the trip for Lingmei to visit the Brahman Heaven.
I have said many times at the lectures on the Sutra of Longevity that we could recite it to ferry over those dead. He who listens to as little as half a verse shall immediately be reborn in the Brahman Heaven. Well, that did happen when Lingmei visited the hell. While Lingmei could not recognize them, they remember her well. Lingmei’s look remained unchanged, while theirs had. They bowed to her respectfully.
That reminded Lingmei of why she visited the Heaven of Light Sound. She was there to lecture the Sutra of Longevity. With that thought in mind, a lotus flower dais appeared and she found herself sitting on a lotus which was shining. The heavenly lotuses do radiate light. The beauty of the light is beyond words.
The lotus looks different from what we usually see here on earth. Things like peacock feathers are placed around the dais. Anyway, it is beyond description. It is just beautiful.
“I had grown much larger in size.” She did not know why. It was so because by lecturing the Sutra, she became a Bodhisattva, and certainly was large in size. A great Bodhisattva, radiating rays of golden lights! For sure, many Dharma-protecting Vajras would show up around her. See, when in the Heaven of Brahman, Dharma-protecting Vajras appeared.
Why is Buddhist scripture so powerful? It is because every copy of it is followed and protected by Dharma-protecting Vajras. They manifest once a sutra lecture is being held. They are invisible to ordinary people, though.
Text:
I then started the lecture and recited, “From innumerable long kalpas until now, I always proclaim for you all this Sutra and the Dharma to protect the body, in order to help all the sinful living beings to eradicate their offences after listening to the Sutra of Longevity, even if they can only listen to as little as half a verse. How much more the effect would be as I am now again proclaiming it to you!”
The Sutra of Longevity can be understood by all beings with their original consciousness. The heavenly beings were quick to understand it. Many of them got enlightened immediately as they listened to the lines of the text.
Commentary:
The Sutra of Longevity can be understood by all beings with their original consciousness. I stressed to you often this point when I was lecturing it. I did so to draw your attention to it. This is just how superb and wonderful the Sutra is. No other sutras are endowed with such power. Only the Dharani Sutra of the Buddha on Longevity, the Extinction of Offences and the Protection of Young Children has such magical power. It can be understood by all beings: humans, animals, immortals, spirits, heavenly beings, etc.
The heavenly beings, once enlightened after listening to the Sutra, shall disappear immediately and gain release from the Three Realms. They soon are in the state of the Arhat or Pacceka Buddha. They are no longer subject to the cycle of birth and death. This is just how meritorious it is to lecture a sutra upon in the heavens! Shakyamuni Buddha has entered Nirvana, by which he hides himself away from being seen by us. Something more significant shall occur.
Lingmei did not go into details as she wrote it. After all, some of them were heavenly secrets and she was not supposed to reveal it.
Text:
I went on to explain to them that the Sutra of Longevity, wherever it is, is such a treasure and that for we human beings it grants our wishes in every aspect. While the heavenly beings are free from the desires that we humans have, they shall be able to increase heavenly lifespan, and gain release from the Three Realms, by upholding the Sutra.
By then, the air was filled with all kinds of treasures that fell lightly upon me like heavenly rain. I transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Master. Some of them even made offerings to me with their palaces. Again, I transferred them to Master. Music was then being played. It was inexpressibly beautiful. I transferred the heavenly sound to Master, too. After that, I found myself changed to be a ray of light, like the heavenly beings, without any shape or mark.
Commentary:
The heavenly beings, too, have a finite lifespan like we humans. They are subject to rebirth in the six destinies when their life comes to an end, unless they gain release from the Three Realms before that.
Heavenly beings love to listen to the Buddha Dharma. They make the best offerings to it. Anyway, they possess lots of treasures. See, they made good offerings to Lingmei when she was lecturing the Sutra of Longevity for them. Some offered with their heavenly clothes, others treasures, so much so that, as Lingmei wrote, “The air was filled with treasures, and fell slightly upon me like heavenly rain.” There were so many treasures offered by the heavenly beings that Lingmei could not even tell which was which. Without hesitation, she transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Master. Some of them even offered their heavenly palaces to her. They were really sincere! You should know that the palace of a heavenly being is no less important than his life. Offering the palaces to Lingmei was tantamount to sacrificing their life.
Lingmei won’t be able to see the heavenly beings again when she visits it the next time. They must have gained release from the Three Realms as long as they showed single-minded sincerity in making the offerings. Isn’t it superb and wonderful that they even offered Lingmei with their palaces?
The human beings are different. Many people make offerings to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Master with what they do not need. This is really a bad habit. How meritorious is such an offering, anyway?
The merits and virtues are as large as we are sincere. For example, someone so impoverished that he gets nothing but an apple, which he buys for the money he has saved for three months, makes the offerings to Master with the apple, and he certainly accomplishes great merits and virtues by doing so.
In the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha also praised the living beings of the Brahman Heaven. All of them made offerings to the Buddha with their own palaces. That’s just how sincere they are! Nothing but single-minded sincerity!
It takes sincerity of the mind to cultivate the Buddha Dharma. Putting up a front won’t do. I often stress this to you. Master knows well how you cultivate, how sincere you are when making an offering, and how you perform the merits and virtues. I do not talk to you about it directly though. After all, how much you progress and how many merits and virtues you accomplish all depend on your mind. The fruit you reap reciting and upholding the Sutra depends on your thoughts. Sure, it also depends on how vigorous you are. Do not slacken your efforts.
The heavenly beings were so reverent and sincere that they even offered their palaces to Lingmei. When she visits the Heaven next time, those who offered her with the palaces have long ago been liberated from the Three Realms. Lingmei transferred the palaces to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Master.
After that, music was played from the air. It was inexpressibly beautiful. For sure it was beautiful. It was heavenly music! How unlikely one is to hear it here in the secular world. Lingmei heard it because she showed filial piety. She also found herself changed too. She was then the same like the heavenly beings, without any shape or mark, but became a ray of light. Nevertheless, it is not illusory. The heavenly beings in the Heaven of Light Sound are of mark. When in the Heaven of Neither- Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, there is only light, nothing but the light.
Text:
After I had finished the sutra lecture, the Great Brahman King saw me off in person. With all reverence, he said, “Having listened to the instructional talk by Master, the heavenly beings and immortals get awakened. They all say it is great to be immortals, yet we should never slacken our efforts to cultivate the Way. After all, when the heavenly bliss is exhausted, we shall be subject to rebirth in the Six Destinies. Occurrences of past eons have now surfaced in my mind. Let us seize the opportunity and connect our minds. Transmit the sutra treasure in the heaven and earth.” I got the King’s point. In less than a second, I was back.
Commentary:
These lines are quite interesting and thought-provoking.
“Having listened to the instructional talk by Master, the heavenly beings and immortals get awakened.” What Lingmei talked woke them up. They heavenly beings have good blessings. They do nothing but attend sutra lectures and sit in meditation. They do not have to eat three meals a day, nor answer the call of nature as we humans do. Ours is too complicated. They are well-blessed.
“They all say it is great to be immortals, yet we should never slacken our efforts to cultivate the Way. After all, when the heavenly bliss is exhausted, we shall be subject to rebirth in the Six Destinies.” Do not leave the Buddha Dharma out of the mind no matter how great the blessings are! Cultivation of the Way is a must! The heavenly beings, too, have a finite lifespan. When the blessings come to an end, they shall be subject to rebirth in the six destinies, and may get reborn in the Path of the Animal as a cat or dog.
“Occurrences of past eons have now surfaced in my mind.” Lingmei did not know why, as she was not thinking from the angle of the Brahman King. The king was endowed with the spiritual penetration of Knowing Past Life as Lingmei recited the Sutra of Longevity for him. He saw clearly his past, how much suffering he had undergone, and how he had cultivated bit by bit, life after life, with all the toil and sweat, before he became the Brahman King. It all appeared in his mind clearly when Lingmei recited the Sutra.
“Let us seize the opportunity and connect our minds.” He talked of seizing the opportunity and connecting the minds of cultivators in the secular world with theirs.
“Transmit the sutra treasure in the heaven and earth.” This is a commitment to us by the Brahman King. He shall serve as the Dharma Protector for us so that the Sutra of Longevity can be well transmitted both in the Heavens and on earth. Lingmei got the King’s point. In less than a second, she was back.
Text:
I understood why Master arranged the sutra-lecturing trips for me after I came back. The treasure is right in our mind. It is such a rare opportunity that we really need to seize it. We do accumulate merits and virtues cultivating in the secular world, while on the other hand, the task is arduous and journey tough.
Commentary:
I do hope you have got the point of the Brahman King. You are right to reflect upon it after you returned and thought over why Master sent you to lecture the sutra for them.
“It is such a rare opportunity that we really need to seize it”: What is the opportunity? Our getting-together again to study and cultivate the Buddha Dharma is a rare opportunity and we need to seize it.
“We do accumulate merits and virtues cultivating in the secular world, while on the other hand, the task is arduous and journey tough”: Do not think it is suffering. We do reap fruits cultivating in the secular world. The treasure is right in our mind. Regulate the mind well and cultivate it.
There are more tasks for Lingmei and places that she has yet to visit. Why do I send her to do it? She is transmitting the Buddha Dharma upon in the heavens. It has been so long it was done last, since Shakyamuni Buddha entered Nirvana.
This is what it is meant to lead and reunite the Three Realm. I am not going to dwell on it further. You should ponder over it yourself.
May the merit and virtue accrued from this work,
Adorn the Buddha’s Pure Lands,
Repaying the four kinds of kindness above,
And aiding those suffering in the paths below.
May those who see and hear of this,
All bring forth the resolve for Bodhi,
And when this retribution body is over,
Be born together in Ultimate Bliss.
Amitabha-Buddha! May we all be filled with the joy of the Dharma!
Text:
Time flies by, invoking constant changes in Heavens and Earth. It looks like a myth as I contemplate the flowers in meditation. One day, my soul travelled to the Heaven of Light Sound as I was sitting in meditation. It seemed like a dream and yet in truth it was not. “How come there was nobody around?” I was thinking to myself when I remembered what Master had spoken to me, “The living beings there are formless and unmarked. You may ask them to appear to you.” Soon, I was able to see numerous beings. I said, “The Great Brahman King, please!” The Brahman King showed up, in all awesome might, soon after I had requested it. With great respect, he said to me, “May the Master give us the teachings!” I replied, “At the behest of Master, I have come to lecture the Sutra of Longevity here. Could you please summon all the heavenly beings of the Heavens of Brahman here?” The Brahman King then conjured up something helical in shape, held it in his hand, and puffed a breath in it. In no time numerous beings showed up.
Commentary:
A genuine cultivator of the Buddha Dharma is respected by not only human beings but also heavenly beings, though he may look no different from ordinary people. Actually he looks very ordinary and in perfect harmony with the living beings around. He also bows to Buddha Statues, but when he does so, his true-self is not in the bowing position. You will see why if your Dharma eyes are open. No heavenly beings, immortals, spirits, or humans can afford to receive his bowing. His human manifestation is to be seen by people. When such a genuine cultivator visits the heavens, he is very much esteemed and respected.
Lingmei looked no different from ordinary people, but even the Brahman King addressed her as master. Lingmei, too, replied him in a majestic and awe-inspiring manner that she was there to lecture the Sutra of Longevity and asked the Brahman King to summon all the heavenly beings there. See, isn’t that mighty? The Brahman King, upon hearing she say that, conjured up something helical in shape and puffed breath in it. Immediately he got all the heavenly beings dwelling in the Heavens of Brahman to the Heaven of Light Sound.
Text:
I requested a bestowal of power from Master so that I could see clearly just how many beings there were. I found out that the heavenly beings were of several levels. At the highest level, while it looked nobody was there, I could feel there were numerous beings. At the middle-level, it was a vast expanse of whiteness, cloudy and foggy, and still incalculable. The low level was further divided into sub-levels, where the beings were of form and mark, though not clearly visible.
Commentary:
Lingmei did not know how many of them there were. One cannot tell it unless his or her dharma eyes or heaven eyes are open. Lingmei was certainly smart. She thought of asking Master for a bestowal of power, which enabled her to see them clearly.
She felt there were numerous beings around, and yet they were not clearly visible. Yes, indeed, it is true that heavenly beings are of different levels, and that was exactly how they stood to listen when a sutra lecture was being held. Lingmei looked up, and saw them. She looked down, and still saw them. They were all over around. After all, it was the empty space and therefore there could perch everywhere.
How come they are of different levels? The highest on in the Heavens of Brahman is not the Heaven of Light Sound, but the Ultimate Form Heaven. It was very close to the Heaven of Neither Thought Nor Non-Thought where the heavenly beings hardly had any form. Lingmei took notice of it, too.
She described it well as “At the highest level, while it looked nobody was there, I could feel there were numerous beings.” They do exist though without a physical shape.
“At the middle-level, it was a vast expanse of whiteness, cloudy and foggy, and still incalculable.” Heavenly beings at the middle level are shadow-like that they seem not there while in truth they were.
“The low level was further divided into several sub-levels. Some of them looked like five-year-olds, others eight-year-olds, but no older than 12-year-olds.” See, the heavenly beings at the low level are of form and shape. Lingmei could see them, and they were yet again further divided into sub-levels, except not clearly visible. It was not clearly visible, because Lingmei was not advanced enough in her spiritual penetrations. It would have been very clear to all had her heavenly eyes or dharma eyes been open. She could even tell exactly how many of them there were.
Text:
At that time, a group of heavenly beings, about ten-year-old, and with their hair worn in a single upward braid, came to bow to me joyfully. They thanked me for ferrying them over to enjoy the heavenly bliss. I was confused for a while, but soon realized they were those whom I had met when I visited the Hell. I rescued them from the torture by reciting the Sutra of Longevity for them so that they got reborn in the heaven. I soon was reminded of why I was there at the Heaven of Light Sound. I found myself sitting on a lotus which was shining with light. I had grown much larger in size. Many Dharma-protecting Vajras were standing by me.
Commentary:
She then saw some people, around ten-year-old, and with their hair braided upward, bow to her, and thanked her for ferrying them over so that they got reborn in the heaven where they enjoyed heavenly bliss.
She had yet to realize why. “I was confused for a while.” She was confused, and soon realized why. Well, Lingmei had a trip to the hell sometime before where she ferried the people over. I had told Lingmei before she visited the hell that she should recite the Sutra of Longevity for the beings there, and those who heard it would be reborn in the Brahman Heaven. This is also why I arranged the trip for Lingmei to visit the Brahman Heaven.
I have said many times at the lectures on the Sutra of Longevity that we could recite it to ferry over those dead. He who listens to as little as half a verse shall immediately be reborn in the Brahman Heaven. Well, that did happen when Lingmei visited the hell. While Lingmei could not recognize them, they remember her well. Lingmei’s look remained unchanged, while theirs had. They bowed to her respectfully.
That reminded Lingmei of why she visited the Heaven of Light Sound. She was there to lecture the Sutra of Longevity. With that thought in mind, a lotus flower dais appeared and she found herself sitting on a lotus which was shining. The heavenly lotuses do radiate light. The beauty of the light is beyond words.
The lotus looks different from what we usually see here on earth. Things like peacock feathers are placed around the dais. Anyway, it is beyond description. It is just beautiful.
“I had grown much larger in size.” She did not know why. It was so because by lecturing the Sutra, she became a Bodhisattva, and certainly was large in size. A great Bodhisattva, radiating rays of golden lights! For sure, many Dharma-protecting Vajras would show up around her. See, when in the Heaven of Brahman, Dharma-protecting Vajras appeared.
Why is Buddhist scripture so powerful? It is because every copy of it is followed and protected by Dharma-protecting Vajras. They manifest once a sutra lecture is being held. They are invisible to ordinary people, though.
Text:
I then started the lecture and recited, “From innumerable long kalpas until now, I always proclaim for you all this Sutra and the Dharma to protect the body, in order to help all the sinful living beings to eradicate their offences after listening to the Sutra of Longevity, even if they can only listen to as little as half a verse. How much more the effect would be as I am now again proclaiming it to you!”
The Sutra of Longevity can be understood by all beings with their original consciousness. The heavenly beings were quick to understand it. Many of them got enlightened immediately as they listened to the lines of the text.
Commentary:
The Sutra of Longevity can be understood by all beings with their original consciousness. I stressed to you often this point when I was lecturing it. I did so to draw your attention to it. This is just how superb and wonderful the Sutra is. No other sutras are endowed with such power. Only the Dharani Sutra of the Buddha on Longevity, the Extinction of Offences and the Protection of Young Children has such magical power. It can be understood by all beings: humans, animals, immortals, spirits, heavenly beings, etc.
The heavenly beings, once enlightened after listening to the Sutra, shall disappear immediately and gain release from the Three Realms. They soon are in the state of the Arhat or Pacceka Buddha. They are no longer subject to the cycle of birth and death. This is just how meritorious it is to lecture a sutra upon in the heavens! Shakyamuni Buddha has entered Nirvana, by which he hides himself away from being seen by us. Something more significant shall occur.
Lingmei did not go into details as she wrote it. After all, some of them were heavenly secrets and she was not supposed to reveal it.
Text:
I went on to explain to them that the Sutra of Longevity, wherever it is, is such a treasure and that for we human beings it grants our wishes in every aspect. While the heavenly beings are free from the desires that we humans have, they shall be able to increase heavenly lifespan, and gain release from the Three Realms, by upholding the Sutra.
By then, the air was filled with all kinds of treasures that fell lightly upon me like heavenly rain. I transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Master. Some of them even made offerings to me with their palaces. Again, I transferred them to Master. Music was then being played. It was inexpressibly beautiful. I transferred the heavenly sound to Master, too. After that, I found myself changed to be a ray of light, like the heavenly beings, without any shape or mark.
Commentary:
The heavenly beings, too, have a finite lifespan like we humans. They are subject to rebirth in the six destinies when their life comes to an end, unless they gain release from the Three Realms before that.
Heavenly beings love to listen to the Buddha Dharma. They make the best offerings to it. Anyway, they possess lots of treasures. See, they made good offerings to Lingmei when she was lecturing the Sutra of Longevity for them. Some offered with their heavenly clothes, others treasures, so much so that, as Lingmei wrote, “The air was filled with treasures, and fell slightly upon me like heavenly rain.” There were so many treasures offered by the heavenly beings that Lingmei could not even tell which was which. Without hesitation, she transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Master. Some of them even offered their heavenly palaces to her. They were really sincere! You should know that the palace of a heavenly being is no less important than his life. Offering the palaces to Lingmei was tantamount to sacrificing their life.
Lingmei won’t be able to see the heavenly beings again when she visits it the next time. They must have gained release from the Three Realms as long as they showed single-minded sincerity in making the offerings. Isn’t it superb and wonderful that they even offered Lingmei with their palaces?
The human beings are different. Many people make offerings to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Master with what they do not need. This is really a bad habit. How meritorious is such an offering, anyway?
The merits and virtues are as large as we are sincere. For example, someone so impoverished that he gets nothing but an apple, which he buys for the money he has saved for three months, makes the offerings to Master with the apple, and he certainly accomplishes great merits and virtues by doing so.
In the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha also praised the living beings of the Brahman Heaven. All of them made offerings to the Buddha with their own palaces. That’s just how sincere they are! Nothing but single-minded sincerity!
It takes sincerity of the mind to cultivate the Buddha Dharma. Putting up a front won’t do. I often stress this to you. Master knows well how you cultivate, how sincere you are when making an offering, and how you perform the merits and virtues. I do not talk to you about it directly though. After all, how much you progress and how many merits and virtues you accomplish all depend on your mind. The fruit you reap reciting and upholding the Sutra depends on your thoughts. Sure, it also depends on how vigorous you are. Do not slacken your efforts.
The heavenly beings were so reverent and sincere that they even offered their palaces to Lingmei. When she visits the Heaven next time, those who offered her with the palaces have long ago been liberated from the Three Realms. Lingmei transferred the palaces to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Master.
After that, music was played from the air. It was inexpressibly beautiful. For sure it was beautiful. It was heavenly music! How unlikely one is to hear it here in the secular world. Lingmei heard it because she showed filial piety. She also found herself changed too. She was then the same like the heavenly beings, without any shape or mark, but became a ray of light. Nevertheless, it is not illusory. The heavenly beings in the Heaven of Light Sound are of mark. When in the Heaven of Neither- Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, there is only light, nothing but the light.
Text:
After I had finished the sutra lecture, the Great Brahman King saw me off in person. With all reverence, he said, “Having listened to the instructional talk by Master, the heavenly beings and immortals get awakened. They all say it is great to be immortals, yet we should never slacken our efforts to cultivate the Way. After all, when the heavenly bliss is exhausted, we shall be subject to rebirth in the Six Destinies. Occurrences of past eons have now surfaced in my mind. Let us seize the opportunity and connect our minds. Transmit the sutra treasure in the heaven and earth.” I got the King’s point. In less than a second, I was back.
Commentary:
These lines are quite interesting and thought-provoking.
“Having listened to the instructional talk by Master, the heavenly beings and immortals get awakened.” What Lingmei talked woke them up. They heavenly beings have good blessings. They do nothing but attend sutra lectures and sit in meditation. They do not have to eat three meals a day, nor answer the call of nature as we humans do. Ours is too complicated. They are well-blessed.
“They all say it is great to be immortals, yet we should never slacken our efforts to cultivate the Way. After all, when the heavenly bliss is exhausted, we shall be subject to rebirth in the Six Destinies.” Do not leave the Buddha Dharma out of the mind no matter how great the blessings are! Cultivation of the Way is a must! The heavenly beings, too, have a finite lifespan. When the blessings come to an end, they shall be subject to rebirth in the six destinies, and may get reborn in the Path of the Animal as a cat or dog.
“Occurrences of past eons have now surfaced in my mind.” Lingmei did not know why, as she was not thinking from the angle of the Brahman King. The king was endowed with the spiritual penetration of Knowing Past Life as Lingmei recited the Sutra of Longevity for him. He saw clearly his past, how much suffering he had undergone, and how he had cultivated bit by bit, life after life, with all the toil and sweat, before he became the Brahman King. It all appeared in his mind clearly when Lingmei recited the Sutra.
“Let us seize the opportunity and connect our minds.” He talked of seizing the opportunity and connecting the minds of cultivators in the secular world with theirs.
“Transmit the sutra treasure in the heaven and earth.” This is a commitment to us by the Brahman King. He shall serve as the Dharma Protector for us so that the Sutra of Longevity can be well transmitted both in the Heavens and on earth. Lingmei got the King’s point. In less than a second, she was back.
Text:
I understood why Master arranged the sutra-lecturing trips for me after I came back. The treasure is right in our mind. It is such a rare opportunity that we really need to seize it. We do accumulate merits and virtues cultivating in the secular world, while on the other hand, the task is arduous and journey tough.
Commentary:
I do hope you have got the point of the Brahman King. You are right to reflect upon it after you returned and thought over why Master sent you to lecture the sutra for them.
“It is such a rare opportunity that we really need to seize it”: What is the opportunity? Our getting-together again to study and cultivate the Buddha Dharma is a rare opportunity and we need to seize it.
“We do accumulate merits and virtues cultivating in the secular world, while on the other hand, the task is arduous and journey tough”: Do not think it is suffering. We do reap fruits cultivating in the secular world. The treasure is right in our mind. Regulate the mind well and cultivate it.
There are more tasks for Lingmei and places that she has yet to visit. Why do I send her to do it? She is transmitting the Buddha Dharma upon in the heavens. It has been so long it was done last, since Shakyamuni Buddha entered Nirvana.
This is what it is meant to lead and reunite the Three Realm. I am not going to dwell on it further. You should ponder over it yourself.
May the merit and virtue accrued from this work,
Adorn the Buddha’s Pure Lands,
Repaying the four kinds of kindness above,
And aiding those suffering in the paths below.
May those who see and hear of this,
All bring forth the resolve for Bodhi,
And when this retribution body is over,
Be born together in Ultimate Bliss.
Amitabha-Buddha! May we all be filled with the joy of the Dharma!
Lingmei's Sutra-lecturing Trip to the Heaven of Light Sound
The Sutra-lecturing Trip to the Heaven of Light Sound
Time flies by, invoking constant changes in Heavens and Earth. It looks like a myth as I contemplate the flowers in meditation.
One day, my soul travelled to the Heaven of Light Sound as I was sitting in meditation. It seemed like a dream and yet in truth it was not.
“How come there was nobody around?” I was thinking to myself when I remembered what Master had spoken to me, “The living beings there are formless and unmarked. You may ask them to appear to you.” Soon, I was able to see numerous beings. I said, “The Great Brahman King, please!” The Brahman King showed up, in all awesome might, soon after I had requested it. With great respect, he said to me, “May the Master give us the teachings!” I replied, “At the behest of Master, I have come to lecture the Sutra of Longevity here. Could you please summon all the heavenly beings of the Heavens of Brahman here?” The Brahman King then conjured up something helical in shape, held it in his hand, and puffed a breath in it. In no time numerous beings showed up.
I requested a bestowal of power from Master so that I could see clearly just how many beings there were. I found out that the heavenly beings were of several levels. At the highest level, while it looked nobody was there, I could feel there were numerous beings. At the middle-level, it was a vast expanse of whiteness, cloudy and foggy, and still incalculable. The low level was further divided into sub-levels, where the beings were of form and mark, though not clearly visible.
At that time, a group of heavenly beings, about ten-year-old, and with their hair worn in a single upward braid, came to bow to me joyfully. They thanked me for ferrying them over to enjoy the heavenly bliss. I was confused for a while, but soon realized they were those whom I had met when I visited the Hell. I rescued them from the torture by reciting the Sutra of Longevity for them so that they got reborn in the heaven. I soon was reminded of why I was there at the Heaven of Light Sound. I found myself sitting on a lotus which was shining with light. I had grown much larger in size. Many Dharma-protecting Vajras were standing by me.
I then started the lecture and recited, “From innumerable long kalpas until now, I always proclaim for you all this Sutra and the Dharma to protect the body, in order to help all the sinful living beings to eradicate their offences after listening to the Sutra of Longevity and the Extinction of offences, even if they can only listen to as little as half a verse. How much more the effect would be as I am now again proclaiming it to you!”
The Sutra of Longevity can be understood by all beings with their original consciousness. The heavenly beings were quick to understand it. Many of them got enlightened immediately as they listened to the lines of the text.
I went on to explain to them that the Sutra of Longevity, wherever it is, is such a treasure and that for we human beings it grants our wishes in every aspect. While the heavenly beings are free from the desires that we humans have, they shall be able to increase heavenly lifespan, and gain release from the Three Realms, by upholding the Sutra.
By then, the air was filled with all kinds of treasures that fell lightly upon me like heavenly rain. I transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Master. Some of them even made offerings to me with their palaces. Again, I transferred them to Master. Music was then being played. It was inexpressibly beautiful. I transferred the heavenly sound to Master, too. After that, I found myself changed to be a ray of light, like the heavenly beings, without any shape or mark.
After I had finished the sutra lecture, the Great Brahman King saw me off in person. With all reverence, he said, “Having listened to the instructional talk by Master, the heavenly beings and immortals get awakened. They all say it is great to be immortals, yet we should never slacken our efforts to cultivate the Way. After all, when the heavenly bliss is exhausted, we shall be subject to rebirth in the Six Destinies. Occurrences of past eons have now surfaced in my mind. Let us seize the opportunity and connect our minds. Transmit the sutra treasure in the heaven and earth.” I got the King’s point. In less than a second, I was back.
I understood why Master arranged the sutra-lecturing trips for me after I came back. The treasure is right in our mind. It is such a rare opportunity that we really need to seize it. We do accumulate merits and virtues cultivating in the secular world, while on the other hand, the task is arduous and journey tough.
Time flies by, invoking constant changes in Heavens and Earth. It looks like a myth as I contemplate the flowers in meditation.
One day, my soul travelled to the Heaven of Light Sound as I was sitting in meditation. It seemed like a dream and yet in truth it was not.
“How come there was nobody around?” I was thinking to myself when I remembered what Master had spoken to me, “The living beings there are formless and unmarked. You may ask them to appear to you.” Soon, I was able to see numerous beings. I said, “The Great Brahman King, please!” The Brahman King showed up, in all awesome might, soon after I had requested it. With great respect, he said to me, “May the Master give us the teachings!” I replied, “At the behest of Master, I have come to lecture the Sutra of Longevity here. Could you please summon all the heavenly beings of the Heavens of Brahman here?” The Brahman King then conjured up something helical in shape, held it in his hand, and puffed a breath in it. In no time numerous beings showed up.
I requested a bestowal of power from Master so that I could see clearly just how many beings there were. I found out that the heavenly beings were of several levels. At the highest level, while it looked nobody was there, I could feel there were numerous beings. At the middle-level, it was a vast expanse of whiteness, cloudy and foggy, and still incalculable. The low level was further divided into sub-levels, where the beings were of form and mark, though not clearly visible.
At that time, a group of heavenly beings, about ten-year-old, and with their hair worn in a single upward braid, came to bow to me joyfully. They thanked me for ferrying them over to enjoy the heavenly bliss. I was confused for a while, but soon realized they were those whom I had met when I visited the Hell. I rescued them from the torture by reciting the Sutra of Longevity for them so that they got reborn in the heaven. I soon was reminded of why I was there at the Heaven of Light Sound. I found myself sitting on a lotus which was shining with light. I had grown much larger in size. Many Dharma-protecting Vajras were standing by me.
I then started the lecture and recited, “From innumerable long kalpas until now, I always proclaim for you all this Sutra and the Dharma to protect the body, in order to help all the sinful living beings to eradicate their offences after listening to the Sutra of Longevity and the Extinction of offences, even if they can only listen to as little as half a verse. How much more the effect would be as I am now again proclaiming it to you!”
The Sutra of Longevity can be understood by all beings with their original consciousness. The heavenly beings were quick to understand it. Many of them got enlightened immediately as they listened to the lines of the text.
I went on to explain to them that the Sutra of Longevity, wherever it is, is such a treasure and that for we human beings it grants our wishes in every aspect. While the heavenly beings are free from the desires that we humans have, they shall be able to increase heavenly lifespan, and gain release from the Three Realms, by upholding the Sutra.
By then, the air was filled with all kinds of treasures that fell lightly upon me like heavenly rain. I transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Master. Some of them even made offerings to me with their palaces. Again, I transferred them to Master. Music was then being played. It was inexpressibly beautiful. I transferred the heavenly sound to Master, too. After that, I found myself changed to be a ray of light, like the heavenly beings, without any shape or mark.
After I had finished the sutra lecture, the Great Brahman King saw me off in person. With all reverence, he said, “Having listened to the instructional talk by Master, the heavenly beings and immortals get awakened. They all say it is great to be immortals, yet we should never slacken our efforts to cultivate the Way. After all, when the heavenly bliss is exhausted, we shall be subject to rebirth in the Six Destinies. Occurrences of past eons have now surfaced in my mind. Let us seize the opportunity and connect our minds. Transmit the sutra treasure in the heaven and earth.” I got the King’s point. In less than a second, I was back.
I understood why Master arranged the sutra-lecturing trips for me after I came back. The treasure is right in our mind. It is such a rare opportunity that we really need to seize it. We do accumulate merits and virtues cultivating in the secular world, while on the other hand, the task is arduous and journey tough.
Master Zhenlin’s Commentary on Lingmei’s Visit to Guanyin Bodhisattva
Master Zhenlin’s Commentary on Lingmei’s Visit to Guanyin Bodhisattva
Lingmei’s faith wavered. She was struck by fear, and kind of at a loss. Therefore, I sent her to meet Guanyin Bodhisattva (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva). Guanyin Bodhisattva has been our venerable master since innumerable long kalpas till now. He showed great care for us. With His great kindness and compassion, He has been rescuing the beings from suffering.
Text:
“A man’s body and mind are a Dharma vessel, as well as the twelve divisions of the Buddhist Canon. Since time beginless, it has been read and chanted…” It came right into my mind as I was sitting in meditation with some doubt in mind. Therefore, I decided to put into words what Guanyin Bodhisattva spoke to me when my soul traveled to meet him at Mount. Luo Jia.
Commentary:
This is an excerpt from The Buddha Speaks the Eight-Yang Spiritual Mantra Sutra of Heaven and Earth. It serves well to dissolve her doubt.
Text:
As if in a trance, I thought of what Master had told me and decided to go to Mount. Luojia to pay a visit to Guanyin Bodhisattva. I hence asked Master for a bestowal of power. In a flash of thought, I was there. Wow! Certainly it is a heavenly abode!
Commentary:
Why did she make such a comment? In fact, ours is a holy land where heavenly beings and immortals dwell, in the same space with us, except we ordinary people cannot see it.
For example, while many people have been to Mount. Potala, known as the Bodhimandala of Guanyin Bodhisattva, few visitors are unable to enter the state of Him. For one reason, Guanyin Bodhisattva, in truth, dwells in Mount. Luojia, instead of Mount. Potala.
You won’t be able to reach His state even you are in Mount. Luojia, unless you have gained spiritual power through cultivation. In fact, the Bodhisattva’s state there is both marked and unmarked. What I mean is that it manifests differently, depending you who you are. Zhi Ming (disciple), for example, saw something different when he was in the state.
Text:
Upon arrival, I immediately felt refreshed all over. First came into my eyes were the lotuses. The palaces were surrounded by the aureole of the cloud light. Gradually, the lotuses I had seen grew larger and larger, till they merged to radiating golden light.
Commentary:
So, this is what Lingmei saw there. Anyway, the state was empty and illusory. The mark was not a mark. Lingmei saw lotuses and palaces surrounded by the aura of cloud light, like in an empty space. She then saw the lotuses growing larger and larger until they merged to golden light. It was the manifestation of the mark.
Text:
Guanyin Bodhisattva appeared before me, sitting on a lotus, just when I was being amazed by it all. Exactly as I had thought, He was so amicable and respectable. I could not hold back my tears when I saw Him. I had been feeling at a loss in those days.
Commentary:
Lingmei was eager to see Guanyin Bodhisattva. Guanyin Bodhisattva made Him what Lingmei had thought He should look like. The Bodhisattva has numerous transformations. There is too much suffering living in the secular world. Lingmei could not hold back her tears at the sight of Guanyin Bodhisattva. After all, He has great affinity with we living beings in the Saha World. Lingmei bowed to Him.
Text:
I bowed to Him, and said, “Bodhisattva! I don’t want to return. Can I just stay?” Guanyini Bodhisattva smiled to me, and said, “The condition has not yet ripened. You have yet to complete the mission.”
Commentary:
“The condition has not yet ripened” is very thought-provoking. Much is to be understood and said about it. Many of you are born in the secular world to ferry the living beings over. You are here to propagate the Buddha Dharma and make it abide. The task is arduous. You are not supposed to leave before it is completed. Guanyin Bodhisattva knew well what Lingmei was thinking, without having to even contemplate it, except Lingmei’s mind was not awakened.
Text:
Guanyin Bodhisattva then spoken to me in verse form, “While the task is arduous and the journey tough, always keep in mind the Dharma talks. Cultivation is like climbing up a mountain. The goal is right before you. Keep your mind clean like the lotus, while cultivating in the secular world. Do not just look at what others are doing. You are fulfilling your vows, and shall return. Time is empty and passing by fast. There is no need to count how long it has been.”
Commentary:
The verse was spoken to remind us that we had made very ambitious vows before Shakyamuni Buddha. That is why “The task is arduous and the journey tough”, but always keep in mind the Dharma talks by the Buddha.
“Cultivation is like climbing up a mountain, and the goal is right before you.”
Yes, cultivating the Dharma is like climbing up a mountain. It can be tough, challenging, dangerous, and exhausting. Why did He draw such an analogy?
When on the top of the Mount. Tian’mu, in Hangzhou, for example, we get a bird’s view of the Xin’an River at one glance. The journey up the mountain, however, can be quite tough. The same holds true for cultivation. If we regulate our mind well, we enter Buddhahood. Nevertheless, it is a step-by-step process. It is unrealistic for one to let it go all and get enlightened in one breath.
We should make our mind a lotus when cultivating in the secular world. A lotus stays clean from filth though its root is buried in the mud. Perhaps you are not aware of it, that the lotus blossoms and bears fruits simultaneously. This is analogous to cultivation. While there are many things we cannot put down at the moment, and heavy karma has yet to be removed, we are already accomplishing merits and virtues. That is why Guanyin Bodhisattva reminded us that we need to keep our mind clean while cultivating in the secular world. Refrain from manifesting a unique style as if we are different from ordinary people. I have emphasized this to you time and again. We should live an ordinary life, but our mind should be detached from the secular world. Refrain from excessive dining, drinking, let along prostitution or gambling. Contemplate the Dharma with the eyes, smell it with the nose, speak it with the tongue, feel it with the body, and comprehend it with the consciousness. If you can make it, your mind shall be as pure as a lotus and exist in the empty space.
“While cultivating in the secular world…”: Behave no different from ordinary people. Keep our mind pure and clean as if in the empty space.
The lotus of our mind blossoms as we cultivate. How many seeds it bears, however, shall depend on how vigourously we cultivate. The flower blossoms at the same time as the fruits are borne.
“Do not just look at what others are doing.”
Do not be a bystander. This is very thought-provoking.
By saying it, Guanyin Bodhisattva is criticizing those who only keep an eye on others while they themselves do not cultivate. How much can they inspire others? That is why the saying, “one has to ferry oneself over before taking others across”. Shakyamuni Buddha did speak the truth. First of all, we need to cultivate and take ourselves cross first. We then can inspire and transform others by how we behave. It won’t work if one tries to ferry others over while he or she had but read a few Buddhist sutras without applying real efforts to cultivating.
“You are fulfilling your vows, and shall return. Time is empty and gone. There is no need to count how long it has been.”
Some may not get the right point from it. It means that it is because of the vows we have made that we are here in the secular world. Nevertheless, we still shall return one day. Do not get lost. Everything in the secular world is illusive and empty. Keep this in mind. Do not take it as true.
“Time is empty and gone. There is no need to count how long it has been.”
Since unspeakable numbers of kalpas, we have been doing the same thing. We keep doing it since we first made the vows before the Buddha. Time is gone, and boundless like the empty space. There is no way to count how long it has been.
“There is no need to count how long it has been.”
It is impossible to figure out how long it has been anyway. Lingkong (disciple) said just now that she was to observe herself. Where is your Self? How to find it? Well, it is right within your mind! Lingmei did not get the point of what Guanyin Bodhisattva had told her.
Text:
Realizing that I did not understand it, He added, “It is accumulated bit by bit, and manifests accordingly bit by bit. Follow your Master’s instruction, and reflect within. Though having witnessed all the scenes, you should never overlook the mind.”
Again, very thought-provoking remark! He is inspiring us and exhorting us to apply real efforts to cultivation in the secular world. Bit by bit, our merits and virtues shall accrue accordingly. Our level of comprehension and spiritual penetrations shall improve accordingly as well.
Guanyin Bodhisattva then reminded you that you need to follow master’s instruction. Do not look outwardly but reflect within.
Why do we practice sitting in meditation? It is to reflect within and get our mind awakened. It is to think over what we have done in the day, how it is done, and whether it is ethically acceptable. There is no need to seek it externally. Lingmei is an example. She has witnessed it all from heavens to the secular world. There is not much more surprise left for her. After all, it is all but illusion. What matters is our mind. Never overlook it. Do not take it for granted or think low of it. It can house the whole universe, the Buddhalands in the ten directions, not to mention the Three Realms. It can do nothing and yet everything.
It is in the mind where true liberation is found, and the Buddha Nature dwells. Guanyin Bodhisattva was exhorting us to reflect within, and inspiring us at the same time. Some of you are impatient and want to achieve instant success. Wake up now! You have yet to complete the task and have to stay here.
Text:
Honestly, I still did not get the point. Guanyin Bodhisattva then spoke to me, “Don’t you want to take a look around? Go ahead.” Upon saying that, He disappeared. A voice spoke into my ears, “It is a different wonderland.” I looked around, and found it all changed around me. I was by a bamboo grove. Cranes were strolling at a leisurely pace. They were happy to see me and told me, “This is the entrance.” I soon got in. Certainly it was a completely different wonderland.
Commentary:
Lingmei confessed that she still did not understand it. Guanyin Bodhisattva then spoke to her, “Don’t you want to take a look around? Go ahead.” After saying that, He disappeared. It took less than a second for Him to disappear.
Then, a voice spoke to her, “It is a different wonderland.”
Surely it was still Guanyin Bodhisattva speaking. She got in, and saw a bamboo grove—it was the Purple Bamboo Grove. There were cranes walking at a leisurely pace in the grove. They were happy to meet Lingmei and pointed the entrance to her.
“I soon got in. Certainly it was a completely different wonderland.”
This is a transformed state. Everywhere Guanyin Bodhisattva presents the Buddha Dharma to us. The wonderful scene, too, was a means employed to enlighten us.
Text:
I walked to a brook. The water was limpid and clean. It is rushing downward rapidly from its origin in the upper reach. I then saw an elderly gentleman sitting by the brook fishing. I said to him, “Grandpa, the water runs so rapidly and is crystal clean that we can even see right to the bottom. How can there be any fish in it?”
The gentleman replied, “Yes, no fish can survive in such clean water, and rushing water flow takes away everything. Why fish here?”
I soon understood why. It was Guanyin Bodhisattva trying to enlighten me. The elderly gentleman disappeared before I knew it. The air was filled with Bodhisattvas. A voice resounded from above: “With myriad transformations, I relieve the beings from suffering by contemplating their sound. Mindful of the Buddha, and you get liberated in due time.”
Commentary:
Lingmei saw a brook whose water was extremely clean that she could see its bottom while its water flow was running down rapidly. Then, she saw an elderly gentleman fishing by the brook. She asked him, “Grandpa, the water runs so rapidly and is crystal clean that we can even see right to the bottom. How can there be any fish in it?” The gentleman said to her, “No fish can survive in such clean water, and rushing water flow takes away everything.”
We don’t need to manifest a unique lifestyle as if we cultivators have transcended the secular world and are therefore different from ordinary people. How can we ferry people over if we act like that?
“No fish can survive in extremely clean water. Rushing water flow takes away everything.”
Refrain from being impatient or hasty no matter what we do, be it everyday business or cultivation. Get impatient, and we reap nothing.
The next line makes it clear: “Why fish here?”
We’d get nothing. By then, Lingmei realized what had happened: “It was Guanyin Bodhisattva trying to enlighten me.”
Guanyin Bodhisattva was happy to see Lingmei enlightened. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas show themselves up when they are happy. He transformed into numerous Bodhisattvas. Lingmei did not know how to describe it but simply wrote “the air was filled with Bodhisattvas.”
A voice resounded from above: “With myriad transformations, I relieve the beings from suffering by contemplating their sound. Mindful of the Buddha, and you get liberated in due time.” Guanyin Bodhisattvas are omnipresent. He is everywhere, with His numerous transformations, to rescue the beings from suffering by contemplating their sound.
“Mindful of the Buddha, and you get liberated in due time.”
Lip services won’t work. You have to be truly mindful of the Buddha. If you can make it to contemplate the Dharma with eyes, listen to it with ears, smell it with nose, speak it with tongue, experience with body, and comprehend it with the consciousness, then you are truly mindful of the Buddha. You shall achieve the target, that is to get liberated in due time. What is to get liberated in due time? You shall gain release from the Three Realms and Five Elements.
Text:
In less than a second, I was back. I thought over what Guanyin Bodhisattva had said to me, and realized it served well to address the challenges I faced in cultivation. More and more, I dislike socializing with others. The other day, my husband warned me, “Are you not going to live like a human anymore?”
Guanyin Bodhisattva was reminding me that I should not behave as if I had transcended the secular world. After all, there are many things waiting for me to do and I need to keep the mind pure as the lotus, and improve myself by practicing the power of Buddha in the very secular environment. Do not just look. Practice it, but refrain from being impatient. Bit by bit our merits and virtues shall accrue. Be patient, and persistent in sutra recitation and meditation sitting. Follow the Master’s guidance, and reflect within. Place the focus in the cultivation of the mind.
Commentary:
Lingmei returned instantly when she heard it. Nevertheless, she kept pondering over what Guanyin Bodhisattva had spoken to her. It served well to address her challenges. In fact, that was also why I arranged such a trip for her.
As is written here, “More and more, I dislike socializing with others.”
Even her husband asked whether she was a human or an immortal. At that point, she understood it. Guanyin Bodhisattva told us that we should not behave as if we had transcended the world. Rather, we should be no more than an ordinary person in the eyes of others. After all, there are many things to be done by us. We should keep cultivating and improving ourselves in the secular world while at the same time try to transform others by how we behave and ferry them over. We want to make the Buddha Dharma abide permanently and get spread widely. Guanyin Bodhisattva warned us against being impatient. Merits and virtues accrue bit by bit. “Be patient, and persistent in sutra recitation and meditation sitting. Follow the Master’s guidance, and reflect within.” Anyway, while you may get the point, can you make it in practice? Keep reflecting within so that you can!
May the merit and virtue accrued from this work,
Adorn the Buddha’s Pure Lands,
Repaying the four kinds of kindness above,
And aiding those suffering in the paths below.
May those who see and hear of this,
All bring forth the resolve for Bodhi,
And when this retribution body is over,
Be born together in Ultimate Bliss.
Amitabha-Buddha! May we all be filled with the joy of the Dharma!
Lingmei’s faith wavered. She was struck by fear, and kind of at a loss. Therefore, I sent her to meet Guanyin Bodhisattva (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva). Guanyin Bodhisattva has been our venerable master since innumerable long kalpas till now. He showed great care for us. With His great kindness and compassion, He has been rescuing the beings from suffering.
Text:
“A man’s body and mind are a Dharma vessel, as well as the twelve divisions of the Buddhist Canon. Since time beginless, it has been read and chanted…” It came right into my mind as I was sitting in meditation with some doubt in mind. Therefore, I decided to put into words what Guanyin Bodhisattva spoke to me when my soul traveled to meet him at Mount. Luo Jia.
Commentary:
This is an excerpt from The Buddha Speaks the Eight-Yang Spiritual Mantra Sutra of Heaven and Earth. It serves well to dissolve her doubt.
Text:
As if in a trance, I thought of what Master had told me and decided to go to Mount. Luojia to pay a visit to Guanyin Bodhisattva. I hence asked Master for a bestowal of power. In a flash of thought, I was there. Wow! Certainly it is a heavenly abode!
Commentary:
Why did she make such a comment? In fact, ours is a holy land where heavenly beings and immortals dwell, in the same space with us, except we ordinary people cannot see it.
For example, while many people have been to Mount. Potala, known as the Bodhimandala of Guanyin Bodhisattva, few visitors are unable to enter the state of Him. For one reason, Guanyin Bodhisattva, in truth, dwells in Mount. Luojia, instead of Mount. Potala.
You won’t be able to reach His state even you are in Mount. Luojia, unless you have gained spiritual power through cultivation. In fact, the Bodhisattva’s state there is both marked and unmarked. What I mean is that it manifests differently, depending you who you are. Zhi Ming (disciple), for example, saw something different when he was in the state.
Text:
Upon arrival, I immediately felt refreshed all over. First came into my eyes were the lotuses. The palaces were surrounded by the aureole of the cloud light. Gradually, the lotuses I had seen grew larger and larger, till they merged to radiating golden light.
Commentary:
So, this is what Lingmei saw there. Anyway, the state was empty and illusory. The mark was not a mark. Lingmei saw lotuses and palaces surrounded by the aura of cloud light, like in an empty space. She then saw the lotuses growing larger and larger until they merged to golden light. It was the manifestation of the mark.
Text:
Guanyin Bodhisattva appeared before me, sitting on a lotus, just when I was being amazed by it all. Exactly as I had thought, He was so amicable and respectable. I could not hold back my tears when I saw Him. I had been feeling at a loss in those days.
Commentary:
Lingmei was eager to see Guanyin Bodhisattva. Guanyin Bodhisattva made Him what Lingmei had thought He should look like. The Bodhisattva has numerous transformations. There is too much suffering living in the secular world. Lingmei could not hold back her tears at the sight of Guanyin Bodhisattva. After all, He has great affinity with we living beings in the Saha World. Lingmei bowed to Him.
Text:
I bowed to Him, and said, “Bodhisattva! I don’t want to return. Can I just stay?” Guanyini Bodhisattva smiled to me, and said, “The condition has not yet ripened. You have yet to complete the mission.”
Commentary:
“The condition has not yet ripened” is very thought-provoking. Much is to be understood and said about it. Many of you are born in the secular world to ferry the living beings over. You are here to propagate the Buddha Dharma and make it abide. The task is arduous. You are not supposed to leave before it is completed. Guanyin Bodhisattva knew well what Lingmei was thinking, without having to even contemplate it, except Lingmei’s mind was not awakened.
Text:
Guanyin Bodhisattva then spoken to me in verse form, “While the task is arduous and the journey tough, always keep in mind the Dharma talks. Cultivation is like climbing up a mountain. The goal is right before you. Keep your mind clean like the lotus, while cultivating in the secular world. Do not just look at what others are doing. You are fulfilling your vows, and shall return. Time is empty and passing by fast. There is no need to count how long it has been.”
Commentary:
The verse was spoken to remind us that we had made very ambitious vows before Shakyamuni Buddha. That is why “The task is arduous and the journey tough”, but always keep in mind the Dharma talks by the Buddha.
“Cultivation is like climbing up a mountain, and the goal is right before you.”
Yes, cultivating the Dharma is like climbing up a mountain. It can be tough, challenging, dangerous, and exhausting. Why did He draw such an analogy?
When on the top of the Mount. Tian’mu, in Hangzhou, for example, we get a bird’s view of the Xin’an River at one glance. The journey up the mountain, however, can be quite tough. The same holds true for cultivation. If we regulate our mind well, we enter Buddhahood. Nevertheless, it is a step-by-step process. It is unrealistic for one to let it go all and get enlightened in one breath.
We should make our mind a lotus when cultivating in the secular world. A lotus stays clean from filth though its root is buried in the mud. Perhaps you are not aware of it, that the lotus blossoms and bears fruits simultaneously. This is analogous to cultivation. While there are many things we cannot put down at the moment, and heavy karma has yet to be removed, we are already accomplishing merits and virtues. That is why Guanyin Bodhisattva reminded us that we need to keep our mind clean while cultivating in the secular world. Refrain from manifesting a unique style as if we are different from ordinary people. I have emphasized this to you time and again. We should live an ordinary life, but our mind should be detached from the secular world. Refrain from excessive dining, drinking, let along prostitution or gambling. Contemplate the Dharma with the eyes, smell it with the nose, speak it with the tongue, feel it with the body, and comprehend it with the consciousness. If you can make it, your mind shall be as pure as a lotus and exist in the empty space.
“While cultivating in the secular world…”: Behave no different from ordinary people. Keep our mind pure and clean as if in the empty space.
The lotus of our mind blossoms as we cultivate. How many seeds it bears, however, shall depend on how vigourously we cultivate. The flower blossoms at the same time as the fruits are borne.
“Do not just look at what others are doing.”
Do not be a bystander. This is very thought-provoking.
By saying it, Guanyin Bodhisattva is criticizing those who only keep an eye on others while they themselves do not cultivate. How much can they inspire others? That is why the saying, “one has to ferry oneself over before taking others across”. Shakyamuni Buddha did speak the truth. First of all, we need to cultivate and take ourselves cross first. We then can inspire and transform others by how we behave. It won’t work if one tries to ferry others over while he or she had but read a few Buddhist sutras without applying real efforts to cultivating.
“You are fulfilling your vows, and shall return. Time is empty and gone. There is no need to count how long it has been.”
Some may not get the right point from it. It means that it is because of the vows we have made that we are here in the secular world. Nevertheless, we still shall return one day. Do not get lost. Everything in the secular world is illusive and empty. Keep this in mind. Do not take it as true.
“Time is empty and gone. There is no need to count how long it has been.”
Since unspeakable numbers of kalpas, we have been doing the same thing. We keep doing it since we first made the vows before the Buddha. Time is gone, and boundless like the empty space. There is no way to count how long it has been.
“There is no need to count how long it has been.”
It is impossible to figure out how long it has been anyway. Lingkong (disciple) said just now that she was to observe herself. Where is your Self? How to find it? Well, it is right within your mind! Lingmei did not get the point of what Guanyin Bodhisattva had told her.
Text:
Realizing that I did not understand it, He added, “It is accumulated bit by bit, and manifests accordingly bit by bit. Follow your Master’s instruction, and reflect within. Though having witnessed all the scenes, you should never overlook the mind.”
Again, very thought-provoking remark! He is inspiring us and exhorting us to apply real efforts to cultivation in the secular world. Bit by bit, our merits and virtues shall accrue accordingly. Our level of comprehension and spiritual penetrations shall improve accordingly as well.
Guanyin Bodhisattva then reminded you that you need to follow master’s instruction. Do not look outwardly but reflect within.
Why do we practice sitting in meditation? It is to reflect within and get our mind awakened. It is to think over what we have done in the day, how it is done, and whether it is ethically acceptable. There is no need to seek it externally. Lingmei is an example. She has witnessed it all from heavens to the secular world. There is not much more surprise left for her. After all, it is all but illusion. What matters is our mind. Never overlook it. Do not take it for granted or think low of it. It can house the whole universe, the Buddhalands in the ten directions, not to mention the Three Realms. It can do nothing and yet everything.
It is in the mind where true liberation is found, and the Buddha Nature dwells. Guanyin Bodhisattva was exhorting us to reflect within, and inspiring us at the same time. Some of you are impatient and want to achieve instant success. Wake up now! You have yet to complete the task and have to stay here.
Text:
Honestly, I still did not get the point. Guanyin Bodhisattva then spoke to me, “Don’t you want to take a look around? Go ahead.” Upon saying that, He disappeared. A voice spoke into my ears, “It is a different wonderland.” I looked around, and found it all changed around me. I was by a bamboo grove. Cranes were strolling at a leisurely pace. They were happy to see me and told me, “This is the entrance.” I soon got in. Certainly it was a completely different wonderland.
Commentary:
Lingmei confessed that she still did not understand it. Guanyin Bodhisattva then spoke to her, “Don’t you want to take a look around? Go ahead.” After saying that, He disappeared. It took less than a second for Him to disappear.
Then, a voice spoke to her, “It is a different wonderland.”
Surely it was still Guanyin Bodhisattva speaking. She got in, and saw a bamboo grove—it was the Purple Bamboo Grove. There were cranes walking at a leisurely pace in the grove. They were happy to meet Lingmei and pointed the entrance to her.
“I soon got in. Certainly it was a completely different wonderland.”
This is a transformed state. Everywhere Guanyin Bodhisattva presents the Buddha Dharma to us. The wonderful scene, too, was a means employed to enlighten us.
Text:
I walked to a brook. The water was limpid and clean. It is rushing downward rapidly from its origin in the upper reach. I then saw an elderly gentleman sitting by the brook fishing. I said to him, “Grandpa, the water runs so rapidly and is crystal clean that we can even see right to the bottom. How can there be any fish in it?”
The gentleman replied, “Yes, no fish can survive in such clean water, and rushing water flow takes away everything. Why fish here?”
I soon understood why. It was Guanyin Bodhisattva trying to enlighten me. The elderly gentleman disappeared before I knew it. The air was filled with Bodhisattvas. A voice resounded from above: “With myriad transformations, I relieve the beings from suffering by contemplating their sound. Mindful of the Buddha, and you get liberated in due time.”
Commentary:
Lingmei saw a brook whose water was extremely clean that she could see its bottom while its water flow was running down rapidly. Then, she saw an elderly gentleman fishing by the brook. She asked him, “Grandpa, the water runs so rapidly and is crystal clean that we can even see right to the bottom. How can there be any fish in it?” The gentleman said to her, “No fish can survive in such clean water, and rushing water flow takes away everything.”
We don’t need to manifest a unique lifestyle as if we cultivators have transcended the secular world and are therefore different from ordinary people. How can we ferry people over if we act like that?
“No fish can survive in extremely clean water. Rushing water flow takes away everything.”
Refrain from being impatient or hasty no matter what we do, be it everyday business or cultivation. Get impatient, and we reap nothing.
The next line makes it clear: “Why fish here?”
We’d get nothing. By then, Lingmei realized what had happened: “It was Guanyin Bodhisattva trying to enlighten me.”
Guanyin Bodhisattva was happy to see Lingmei enlightened. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas show themselves up when they are happy. He transformed into numerous Bodhisattvas. Lingmei did not know how to describe it but simply wrote “the air was filled with Bodhisattvas.”
A voice resounded from above: “With myriad transformations, I relieve the beings from suffering by contemplating their sound. Mindful of the Buddha, and you get liberated in due time.” Guanyin Bodhisattvas are omnipresent. He is everywhere, with His numerous transformations, to rescue the beings from suffering by contemplating their sound.
“Mindful of the Buddha, and you get liberated in due time.”
Lip services won’t work. You have to be truly mindful of the Buddha. If you can make it to contemplate the Dharma with eyes, listen to it with ears, smell it with nose, speak it with tongue, experience with body, and comprehend it with the consciousness, then you are truly mindful of the Buddha. You shall achieve the target, that is to get liberated in due time. What is to get liberated in due time? You shall gain release from the Three Realms and Five Elements.
Text:
In less than a second, I was back. I thought over what Guanyin Bodhisattva had said to me, and realized it served well to address the challenges I faced in cultivation. More and more, I dislike socializing with others. The other day, my husband warned me, “Are you not going to live like a human anymore?”
Guanyin Bodhisattva was reminding me that I should not behave as if I had transcended the secular world. After all, there are many things waiting for me to do and I need to keep the mind pure as the lotus, and improve myself by practicing the power of Buddha in the very secular environment. Do not just look. Practice it, but refrain from being impatient. Bit by bit our merits and virtues shall accrue. Be patient, and persistent in sutra recitation and meditation sitting. Follow the Master’s guidance, and reflect within. Place the focus in the cultivation of the mind.
Commentary:
Lingmei returned instantly when she heard it. Nevertheless, she kept pondering over what Guanyin Bodhisattva had spoken to her. It served well to address her challenges. In fact, that was also why I arranged such a trip for her.
As is written here, “More and more, I dislike socializing with others.”
Even her husband asked whether she was a human or an immortal. At that point, she understood it. Guanyin Bodhisattva told us that we should not behave as if we had transcended the world. Rather, we should be no more than an ordinary person in the eyes of others. After all, there are many things to be done by us. We should keep cultivating and improving ourselves in the secular world while at the same time try to transform others by how we behave and ferry them over. We want to make the Buddha Dharma abide permanently and get spread widely. Guanyin Bodhisattva warned us against being impatient. Merits and virtues accrue bit by bit. “Be patient, and persistent in sutra recitation and meditation sitting. Follow the Master’s guidance, and reflect within.” Anyway, while you may get the point, can you make it in practice? Keep reflecting within so that you can!
May the merit and virtue accrued from this work,
Adorn the Buddha’s Pure Lands,
Repaying the four kinds of kindness above,
And aiding those suffering in the paths below.
May those who see and hear of this,
All bring forth the resolve for Bodhi,
And when this retribution body is over,
Be born together in Ultimate Bliss.
Amitabha-Buddha! May we all be filled with the joy of the Dharma!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
