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.”