Verse for Opening a Sutra --with commentary by Master Zhenlin

Verse for Opening a Sutra --with commentary by Master Zhenlin

The unsurpassed, profound, and wonderful Dharma,
Is difficult to encounter in hundreds of millions of eons,
I now see and hera it, receive and uphold it,
And I vow to fathom the Tathagata’s true meaning.

You must have recited before.. Most of you present at the Dharma Assembly today have done so.
Who wrote the four-line verse? It was written by Wu Zetian, the Empress in Tang Dynasty. The Verse is so well-written, so wonderful, so sublime and so classic that it is used by all of us. We need to cherish the same sincerity as she did when reciting it, though. Don’t just recite it without using the mind, or as is described in the saying, “the little monk who simply mumbles the prayers without showing his sincerity.” We won’t evoke any response if without sincerity.

“The unsurpassed, profound, and wonderful Dharma”: The Buddhist sutra is beyond comparison. Nothing surpasses it! It is so supreme! So profound! So helpful to us! This is what the line means.

“wonderful Dharma”: It is very subtle. You can’t even feel just exactly how wondeful it is. It can be applied in every aspect of our life! It is so useful! Inexpressibly wondeful! You need to express the feelings when reciting it!

“Is difficult to encounter in hundreds of millions of eons”:
That you are able to listen to Dharma talks in the present life does not mean you get to hear it again in the next life. If you do not apply good efforts to cultivating the Buddha Dharma, you will not be reborn a human! Perhaps you’d fall into the Avici Hell and stay there fore one thousand eons, which equals to one thousand lives, and get reborn as a dog, cat, earthworm, or maggot…Will you still get the chance to hear Dharma talks? You won’t! “in hundreds of millions of eons”: it is very rare that we encounter the Buddha Dharma in a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand lives!

“I now see and hera it, receive and uphold it”:
So lucky that we get born as humans in the present life and get to hear the Dharma today! It is so great! What’s next since we are now able to hear it, receive and uphold it?

“And I vow to fathom the Tathagata’s true meaning”:

I wish I could understand truly what the Buddha has said. It is rather difficult to understand the Buddhist scriptures. Why are there so few masters explaining the scriptures nowadays? Most masters do not understand the true meaning. This is so because there is in fact nothing to be said of the Buddha Dharma. Shakyamuni Buddha expounded it by drawing analogies. If we study it literally, we only get to know the literal meanings. We don’t get the truth behind the lines. That’s why we want to vow to fathom the Tathagata’s true meaning.

Take the offerings of incense sticks for example. Many of you are told that you may burn five incense sticks before the Buddha image. In fact, it is not the incense sticks that matter but rather the incense in your heart. To be specific, they represent precepts, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and liberation of wisdom. If you don’t get the point, you not only pollute the air, but will never reach Buddhahood. Nevertheless, I don’t mean it is useless to offer incense sticks. People do accumulate merits and virtues doing so. By the time they fall into the ghost realm, the merits and virtues shall make it easier for them.
The unsurpassed, profound, and wonderful Dharma,
Is difficult to encounter in hundreds of millions of eons,
I now see and hera it, receive and uphold it,
And I vow to fathom the Tathagata’s true meaning.

You must have recited before.. Most of you present at the Dharma Assembly today have done so.
Who wrote the four-line verse? It was written by Wu Zetian, the Empress in Tang Dynasty. The Verse is so well-written, so wonderful, so sublime and so classic that it is used by all of us. We need to cherish the same sincerity as she did when reciting it, though. Don’t just recite it without using the mind, or as is described in the saying, “the little monk who simply mumbles the prayers without showing his sincerity.” We won’t evoke any response if without sincerity.

“The unsurpassed, profound, and wonderful Dharma”: The Buddhist sutra is beyond comparison. Nothing surpasses it! It is so supreme! So profound! So helpful to us! This is what the line means.

“wonderful Dharma”: It is very subtle. You can’t even feel just exactly how wondeful it is. It can be applied in every aspect of our life! It is so useful! Inexpressibly wondeful! You need to express the feelings when reciting it!

“Is difficult to encounter in hundreds of millions of eons”:
That you are able to listen to Dharma talks in the present life does not mean you get to hear it again in the next life. If you do not apply good efforts to cultivating the Buddha Dharma, you will not be reborn a human! Perhaps you’d fall into the Avici Hell and stay there fore one thousand eons, which equals to one thousand lives, and get reborn as a dog, cat, earthworm, or maggot…Will you still get the chance to hear Dharma talks? You won’t! “in hundreds of millions of eons”: it is very rare that we encounter the Buddha Dharma in a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand lives!

“I now see and hera it, receive and uphold it”:
So lucky that we get born as humans in the present life and get to hear the Dharma today! It is so great! What’s next since we are now able to hear it, receive and uphold it?

“And I vow to fathom the Tathagata’s true meaning”:

I wish I could understand truly what the Buddha has said. It is rather difficult to understand the Buddhist scriptures. Why are there so few masters explaining the scriptures nowadays? Most masters do not understand the true meaning. This is so because there is in fact nothing to be said of the Buddha Dharma. Shakyamuni Buddha expounded it by drawing analogies. If we study it literally, we only get to know the literal meanings. We don’t get the truth behind the lines. That’s why we want to vow to fathom the Tathagata’s true meaning.

Take the offerings of incense sticks for example. Many of you are told that you may burn five incense sticks before the Buddha image. In fact, it is not the incense sticks that matter but rather the incense in your heart. To be specific, they represent precepts, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and liberation of wisdom. If you don’t get the point, you not only pollute the air, but will never reach Buddhahood. Nevertheless, I don’t mean it is useless to offer incense sticks. People do accumulate merits and virtues doing so. By the time they fall into the ghost realm, the merits and virtues shall make it easier for them.