ÐẠI-BI-TÂM ĐÀ-RA-NI

 MAHAKARUNA  DHARANI

 PART TWO:

THE GREAT COMPASSION MANTRA

The great Compassion Heart Dharani Sutra has been fully explained, but the Great Compassion Mantra has not. Actually, there is absolutely no way to explain the Great Compassion Mantra, because it is a secret, esoteric language. Previously I spoke a verse about the mantra:

 

“The great mantra of great compassion penetrates heaven and earth.

One hundred recitations for one thousand days causes ten kings to rejoice.

          Its great compassion and kindness cure all disease;

          And so an announcement is projected high upon the offense screen.”

 

When you recite the Great Compassion Mantra, the heavens quake and the earth trembles as the mantra penetrates heaven and earth. If you recite it 108 times every day for a thousand days-- that’s about three years-- reciting it at the same time everyday without missing a day no matter how busy you are, then the ten kings who are directors in the hells in the courts of Yama are delighted.

 

Why is it called the “Great Compassion Mantra?” Because its compassion can relieve living beings of all their suffering and difficulty. Because it relieves suffering and bestows  happiness, it’s called the Great Compassion Mantra. Most important, it can cure illness. No matter what your illness, if you recite the Great Compassion Mantra, you will be cured.

 

Someone asks, “I recite it. Why haven’t I been cured?”

 

You haven’t been cured because your heart is not sincere. With a sincere heart, you will certainly obtain a response from the mantra.

 

When you have recited 108 times every day for a thousand days, the ten directors in the courts of Yama will be delighted, and all illness will be cured. You will have earned a great deal of merit because for three years: while reciting the mantra, you were not creating offenses, you weren’t drinking wine, eating meat, or eating the five pungent plants.

 

In the hells there is a platform on which stands the “offense screen.” On it you view, just like a movie everything you’ve ever done--killing, stealing, arson-- reliving all those experiences again. But if you have no karma, then nothing will show up on the screen. Because you are devoid of karmic obstacles, they hang a sign up in the hells which says, “So-and-so recites the Great Compassion Mantra and has already destroyed his offense-karma.” All ghosts and spirits in the hells must bow down in respect to him as if they were meeting all the Buddhas of the past, present, and future. They protect him as they would the Buddhas, and they must inform all other ghosts and spirits not to give him any trouble. So the power of the Great Compassion Mantra is inconceivable.

 

 

1. NAM-MÔ HẮC RA ÐÁT NA ÐA RA DẠ DA

    NAMO RATNATRAYÀYA

    Quy mạng lễ Tam-Bảo.

We recite “NAMO Amitabha Buddha,” and “NAMO Original Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha,” but do you know what NAMO means? Very few people do. A few years ago I asked this question of the assembly and no one could give a satisfactory answer.

NAMO is a Sanskrit word which means “to take refuge”. It also means “to offer up one’s life and respectfully submit.” That is, “I have given my life to the Buddha. I, myself, don’t want it. I have given it to the Buddha and if he tells me to live, I live; if he tells me to die, I die. I obey the Buddha’s commands. This is called “giving my life.” To “respectfully submit” means to reverently submit and rely upon the Buddha. This is the meaning of NAMO.

NÊN QUI MẠNG : Đem thân mạng về nương, giao phó  cho Phật, Pháp, Tăng chính là nghĩa  của hai chữ " Nam-mô".

”Those people believe and accept his words, forgetting their initial resolve. They offer up their lives, feeling they have obtained something unprecedented. They are all beguiled and confused into thinking he is a Bodhisattva. As they pursue his ideas, they break the Buddha’s moral precepts and covertly indulge their greedy desires. 8:117

”He is fond of saying that the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue are the Pure Land, and that the male and female organs are the true place of Bodhi and Nirvana. Ignorant people believe these filthy words. 8:118

”This is a poisonous ghost or an evil paralysis ghost that in its old age has become a demon. It disturbs and confuses the good person. But when it tires of doing so, it will leave the other person’s body. Then both the disciples and the teacher will get in trouble with the law. 8:118

”You should be aware of this in advance and not get caught up in the cycle of transmigration. If you are confused and do not understand, you will fall into the Relentless Hells. 8:119

 

The Shurangama Sutra

By returning our life in refuge, we take refuge with the Buddha with our physical body and with our mind; body and mind, we offer up our life to the Buddha and take refuge with him.

In general NAMO RATNATRAYÀYA means “to take refuge with the limitless, limitless Triple Jewel of the ten directions.”

It is the original body of the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World’s Sounds. Although it is the original body of the Bodhisattva, it also means to take refuge with  all the Buddhas of the ten directions in the past, present, and future. Reciting this sentence of the mantra, you not only tell yourself to take refuge with the limitless, eternally dwelling Triple Jewel of the ten directions, but all living beings who hear its secret language are caused to reture their lives and respectfully submit as well.

You know what the Triple Jewel is, don’t you? The Buddha Jewel, the Dharma Jewel and the Sangha Jewel. You really should know that the Buddha Jewel is the most lofty and precious thing there is. Likewise , the Dharma Jewel and the Sangha Jewel are the most lofty and honorable. Not only in the world, but even beyond the world, all the way to the Heaven of Neither Perception nor Non-perception, there is nothing loftier or more honorable than the Buddhadharma’s Triple Jewel. The Dharma Realm of the Buddhas is the highest of the ten dharma realms. Therefore, we should reverently seek refuge in the most lofty Triple Jewel and, with deep, profound belief, accept it faithfully, without the slightest particle of doubt.

One may ask, “What is the advantage of taking refuge with the Buddha?”

At the very least, if you take refuge with the Buddha, you won’t fall into the hells; if you take refuge with the Dharma, you won’t become a hungry ghost, and if you take refuge with the Sangha, you won’t turn into an animal. This is on the condition, however, that you offer up all good conduct in accord with the teaching. If you continue as before to kill, steal, commit sexual misconduct, lie, or take intoxicants, commit arson, doing whatever you please, you won’t be able to avoid the three evil destinies. There is no politeness in the Buddhadharma. You can’t say, “I’ve taken refuge with the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, and so I won’t fall into the hells, and I won’t become an animal or a hungry ghost. Therefore, I suppose I can do just what I please.”No. you must change your evil habits and practice what is wholesome, and never do evil things again. If you continue to commit offenses, you will go to hell all the same.

Buddhism is not like external religions which claim, “All you need is faith. If you believe, even if you commit offenses, you can go to heaven. On the other hand, if you don’t bevieve, even if you foster merit and virtue, you’re going to go the other direction.”

If you believe in the Buddha but commit offenses, you’ll go to hell anyway. Even if you don’t believe in the Buddha, if you foster merit and virtue, you can go to heaven all the same. Buddhist doctrine does not confuse people by saying, “If you believe in the Buddha, then anything goes.” If you believe in the Buddha, then anything goes.”It you believe in the Buddha you still must not commit offenses, for if you do, you’ll go to hell.

“All right,” you may ask,” you may ask, “if we go to hell all the same, then why should we take refuge with the Triple Jewel?”

In taking refuge, you must change the evil and turn towards the good, change your faults, and be like a brand new person, doing only good deeds and no evil deeds from then on. Then you can attain benefit. Therefore “NAMO RATNATRAYÀYA” means “to take refuge with the limitless, limitless Triple Jewel.” When you recite this sentence of the mantra, it eradicated disasters. In a time of disaster, if you continually recite “NAMO RATNATRAYÀYA,” the disaster will disappear. Great disasters will become small and small ones will disappear altogether. This is the “Dharma of Eradicating disasters,” one of the Five Kinds of Esoteric Dharma.

 

The five are:

1)   Eradicating disasters

2)   Increasing benefits

3)   Accomplishment

4)   Causing to surrender

5)   Summoning and capturing

 

Recitation of this sentence of the mantra is also a “Dharma of increasing Benefits.” If you already have good roots and recite the mantra, your good roots will increase and you will obtain even more benefits. This is the “Dharma of Increasing Benefits.”

If you can recite the Great Compassion Mantra, even if it’s just the first line, that’s a “Dharma of Accomplishment.” No matter what you think you want, you’ll obtain it as you like and your every wish will be granted. You’ll be successful in everything you attempt. If you don’t have a son and wish to have one, you need only recite “NAMO RATNATRAYÀYA” and you’ll get one. But you must recite with a sincere heart, and not just for one or two days. You must recite at the least for three years. If you have no friends and would like a good friend just recite “NAMO RATNATRAYÀYA,” and you’ll get a good friend. If you can recite the entire mantra, that’s even better, but if you can’t, you can just recite the first sentence and attain an inconceivable success, the accomplishment of inconceivable merit and virtue. This sentence of the mantra is also a “Dharma of Causing Surrender.” It causes heavenly demons and those of other religions to surrender when they hear it. This sentence, however, is not a “Dharma of Summoning and Capturing.” When you recite a mantra, Dharmas of Summoning and Capturing grab all the strange demons and weird monsters and hold onto them. So, the strength of the one sentence “NAMO RATNATRAYÀYA”  is inconceivable. If it were to be spoken in detail, it would be inexhaustible.

NAMO means “to return the life and respectfully submit.” RATNA means “Jewel.” TRAYÀ means “three.” YA means “worship.” Together they mean that we should take our bodies, our natures, and our lives and offer them to and take refuge in the limitless limitless Triple Jewel of the ten directions and the three periods of time. We should bow in reverence to the Triple Jewel.

The Buddhas of the past are limitless, the Buddhas of the present are limitless, and the Buddhas of the future are limitless. Therefore the Triple Jewel is limitless, limitless.

2. NAM-MÔ A RỊ DA

     NAMO ARYA

    Quy Mạng Lễ Thánh-giả.

 

NAMO, as explained, means "to offer up one's life and respectfully submit," to most respectfully study under the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. AR means "the sagely one.” It also means "distant from all evil and unwholesome dharmas.” One should remain distant from all evil dharman.  YA means “worship.”

 

3. BÀ LÔ YẾT ÐẾ THƯỚC BÁC RA DA

    AVALOKITÉSHAVARAYA

    Quán-Tự-Tại.

 

AVALOKITÉ means "to contemplate.” Others translate it as meaning "light," as in the word Vairochana, "bright light universally illumining." It is also translated as “that which is contemplated and investigated,” that is, the realms which are observed.

 

SHAVARAYA means "comfort.” The entire sentence means "contemplative comfort," that is Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World's Sounds.

4. BỒ-ÐỀ TÁT ÐỎA BÀ DA

    BODHISATTVAYA

     Bồ-tát (Giác-độ).

Everyone knows that BODHI means "enlightenment.” SATT means "to cross over," as in crossing over living beings. BODHISATTVAYA means that Bodhisattvas enlighten themselves and take themselves across. They wake themselves up and they cross over their own living beings. VAYA still has the meaning of "to bow in worship." YA meaning "to bow with one's head on the ground to pay reverence." To whom does one bow in reverence? One bows to the Bodhisattva who has enlightened himself and taken himself across. The illustration says that this is Not-empty Lariat Bodhisattva marshalling the spirit troops. When you recite this sentence of the mantra, Not-empty Lariat Bodhisattva dispatches the heavenly troops and heavenly generals to protect you.

 

5. MA HA TÁT ÐỎA BÀ DA

     MAHASATTVAYA

     Ma-Ha-Tát (Đại-Dõng mãnh giả).

MAHA has three meanings: "great,” "many,” and "victorious." MAHA : Those who have brought forth the great Bodhi heart. MAHA: Many people who have brought forth the Bodhi heart. MAHA: The many people who have brought forth the Bodhi heart have all obtained accomplishment; all have been victorious.

 

SATT here has a different meaning from the one above. There it meant "to cross over," but here it means "one who is heroic," that is, brave and fearless. It also means "one who is vigorous," and refers to those who cultivate with great effort and go forward vigorously.

 

VAYA again means "to worship." Altogether, the sentence means: "I bow my head in worship to the great Bodhisattva who is fearless and vigorous and has brought forth the great Bodhi heart." Bodhisattvas enlighten themselves and take themselves across; they also enlighten others and take others across.

 

6. MA HA CA LÔ NI CA DA

    MAHA KARUNIKAYA

    Bậc đủ lòng Đại-bi.

 

MAHA again means "great, many, and victorious." KARU means "compassion." NIKA means "heart." Together they mean "the great compassion heart." YA means "to worship." The meaning is that we should bow in worship to the Great Compassion Heart Dharani Spirit Mantra.

7. ÁN

AUM!

Đấng Bản-Mẫu.

 

AUM!  means the "original mother." The original mother is also the "mantra mother," and the "Buddha mother." The Buddha mother is just the mother of the hearts of living beings, because the hearts of living beings contain all the wisdom of the original mother. Through the power of the mantra, ten kinds of Dharma-doors arise:

 

The first is "words." The second is "phrases." The third is "to contemplate," that is, one uses contemplation and investigation in cultivating.

 

The fourth is "wisdom." With the wisdom sword, one slices off all afflictions. Wisdom refers to the door of Prajna Paramita, the perfection of wisdom. Contemplation refers to the door of Dhyana paramita, the perfection of Dhyana meditation.

 

The fifth is "practice." One cultivates and practices according to the Dharma. The sixth is "vows." One should make vows to cultivate this Dharma-door. The seventh is the "teaching." You should make vows to cultivate in accord with the Buddha's teaching. If you don't cultivate in accord with it, then even if you cultivate for as many aeons as there are sand grains in the Ganges River, you still won't succeed. You might as well be boiling sand expecting it to become rice; it will never happen.

 

However, in order to be able to cultivate in accord with the Buddha's teaching, one must first understand the doctrine. Therefore, the eighth is the "doctrine," that is, the principle of the Way. If you unite with the wonderful doctrine of the Buddhadharma, you will gain understanding. If you don't, you'll be cultivating blindly and practicing in the dark. No matter how long you cultivate, you'll not succeed.

 

The ninth is "cause." You must plant a good cause, a supreme cause, a pure cause. Then in the future you can reap a good fruit, a wonderful fruit, and a supreme fruit, the fruit of ultimate enlightenment. And so the tenth is the "fruit."

 

Thus, the word AUM! gives birth to ten doors to the wonderful Dharma. When you recite the Great Compassion Mantra and say the word AUM!, all the ghosts and spirit put their palms together. They are extremely respectful and don't dare slack off or be the least bit lazy while they listen to you recite the Great Compassion Mantra. The word is so powerful that, be they evil ghosts, spirits or genii, all must follow the rules. AUM! causes all the ghosts and spirits to listen with palms together to the recitation of the mantra.

8. TÁT BÀN RA PHẠT DUỆ

SAVALAVATI

Tự-Tại Thánh-Tôn (Phật).

 

SAVALA means "masterful." When you recite this sentence, the Four Heavenly Kings come to act as your Dharma-protectors. VATI means "world honored" or "sagely honored." It refers to the masterful World Honored One, the masterful Sagely Honored One, the masterful Buddha. The sentence refers to the Buddha Jewel.

 

9. SỐ ÐÁT NA ÐÁT TỎA

SUDHANATASYA

Chánh-giác thắng mầu (Pháp).

 

Most people read the first word of this line as "shu," but it should be pronounced SU "swo." SUDHANA means "Dharma." What Dharma? It is "the place of wonderful victory," the "dharma of wonderful victory." It also means "lofty, supreme, and arising from victory." There is nothing loftier than this dharma and nothing more supreme; it arises from victory.

 

Another interpretation is "wonderful arising, victorious body." This kind of arising is subtle and wonderful and the body is victorious.

That's one method of translating it. Another way to translate it is "the stage of the most supreme vehicle,” referring to the realm of one who has already attained the tenth stage of Bodhisattvahood.

 

TASYA represents the Sangha Jewel. SAVALAVATI represents the Buddha Jewel. SUDHANA represents the Dharma Jewel. TASYA represents the Sangha Jewel. Thus, the entire sentence refers to the Triple Jewel. AUM!  SAVALAVATI. SUDHANATASYA. It means that we should request the Triple Jewel's Protection. In reciting this sentence of the mantra, we request the help of the Triple Jewel.

 

TASYA is to use the doctrines of the Teaching to command all ghosts and spirits, and to use the mantra to summon them, that is, "to proclaim the teaching and summon with the mantra."

10. NAM-MÔ TẤT KIẾT LẬT ÐỎA Y MÔNG A RỊ DA

NAMASKRITTVA NIMAN ARYA

Quy mạng lễ bái đấng Thánh-giả của con.

 

NAMA, NAMA again and again. It seems that you are always saying NAMA to others and never to yourself. Those who cultivate the Way should say NAMA to themselves and not merely pay homage to others.

 

NAMA means that I, myself, take refuge with the limitless, limitless Triple Jewel of the ten directions.

 

SKRIT means "completely," to "completely bow in worship."

 

TVA NIMAN means "I." It is the "I of no I.” So one completely bows to oneself, but to the oneself of "no-self." How can there be no self? If someone hits you, you don't feel pain; if they scold you, you don't feel uncomfortable. If they insult you it's as if nothing were happening. You don't even need to be patient, because if you have to use patience, you have already fallen into the second position. Here, you don't even need patience, because there's basically no patience to use and no one to use it.

 

ARYA means "sagely one.” So one completely bows in worship to "I", the sagely one. All the Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas, all the gods and dragons and the entire Eight-fold Division of supernatural beings should bow to the sagely one of the "I" of "no I." There are many of these sagely ones. Who are they? Here, I will tell you:

11. BÀ LÔ KIẾT ÐẾ THẤT PHẬT RA LĂNG ÐÀ BÀ

AVALOKITÉSHAVARA LANTABHA

Là đức Quán-Thế-Âm ở nơi hải đảo.

 

AVALOKITÉ means "to contemplate."

 

SHAVARA means "comfortable," or "sounds of the world." This is just the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World's Sounds. But it's not necessarily just the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World's Sounds who is comfortable in contemplation and who contemplates the sounds of the world. If you can be comfortable, if you can be masterful and rescue living beings, then you are just the Bodhisattva. It's not for certain that only the Bodhisattva Who Regards the Sounds of the World is the Bodhisattva. If you can master this Dharma, then you, yourself, are a transformation of that Bodhisattva; if I master it, I am a transformation of the Bodhisattva.

 

LANTABHA means "an island in the sea." It refers to Potala Mountain where the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World's Sounds lives, P'u T'o mountain in China. Potala means "little white flowers," because it is covered with small white blossoms. There's a palace there made out of stone called "The Compassionate Love Palace." This is where the Bodhisattva lives. It's as splendidly adorned as a heavenly palace and is made out of the seven gems: gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, mother-of-pearl, red pearls, and carnelian. But it's not easy to get there.

AVALOKITÉSHAVARA is the compassionate person.

LANTABHA is the compassionate palace where the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World's Sounds lives.

12. NAM-MÔ NA RA CẨN TRÌ

NAMO NILAKANTHA

Quy mạng đấng hiền-ái.

 

In this line NAMO still means "to take refuge" and "to offer up one's life and respectfully submit."

 

NILA means "worthy one," and KANTHA means "love," that is love in the sense of compassionate loving protection. So the love of the worthy one affords good protection. Previously, I discussed the ten hearts of the Sutra which are the appearance of the mantra; we should rely upon them in cultivation.

 

NILAKANTHA "good protection of the loving worthy one," refers to the first, sixth, and last of the ten hearts, that is, the Great Compassion Heart, the Respect Heart, and the Unsurpassed Bodhi Heart.

13. HÊ RỊ MA HA BÀN ÐA SA MẾ

SRI MAHAPATASHAMI

Tâm rất sáng suốt.

 

SRI means "heart." Which heart is this? It is the fourth of the ten hearts, the Undefiled and Unattached Heart, which instructs you to maintain a pure heart, pure and undefiled. Your heart is defiled by thoughts of greed, hate, stupidity, pride, and doubt. Without such thoughts, your heart is undefiled.

 

MAHA still means "great."

 

PATASHAMI: What does this mean? If I didn't tell you, it's for sure you wouldn't know. For you to know, I must first tell you. Then you may say, "Oh, so that's what it means!" PATASHAMI means "great bright light." MAHA may also mean "long." PATASHAMI then means "long illuminating brilliance," constantly illuminating brightness.

 

You may say, "I've heard a lot of Sutra lectures and..."

 

Yes, but unless I have hold you the meaning of the Great Compassion Mantra, you'd never know it. I will tell you: it's most difficult to meet someone who can explain the Great Compassion Mantra. In fact, to be perfectly frank, there isn't anyone who knows how to explain it; there isn't anyone who knows, in the end, just what the Great Compassion Mantra is all about, or how to translate it.

 

 

“Then how do you know?" you ask.

 

Don't ask me how. I didn't ask you, so you shouldn't ask me. How do I know? Of course, I know. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to explain it to you. So don't ask me how I know. Instead of asking me how I know, ask yourself how to come you don't know. If you know why you don't know, then you will know how come I know. On the other hand, if you don't know why you don't know, you won't be able to know how come I know. That is precisely what makes it wonderful.

 

For example, someone once asked me, "Why did you leave the home-life?" I didn't answer his question. Instead, I said, "Why didn't you leave the home-life? If you knew why you didn't leave home, you would know why I did." Such is the principle. Instead of asking me why I understand, ask yourself why you don't understand. When you know why you don't understand you will also know why I do understand.

 

All of you who have met with an explanation of the Great Compassion Mantra have great good roots, but you must protect your good roots and take good care of them. Use those good roots, which go back for a long time, to study the Buddhadharma, and don't let an instant go to waste. Don't forget that time has not the slightest bit of human feeling. Once today has gone by, you can never get it back again. Make good use of your time to study the Unsurpassed Buddhadharma; if you just let the time, go by, you will never be able to understand the Buddhadharma, you will only have wasted your time.

 

PATASHAMI, "great bright light," or "long illuminating brightness," corresponds to the fifth of the ten hearts, the Contemplation of Emptiness Heart. Through the Contemplation of Emptiness, one obtains wisdom. With wisdom, one has bright light and with bright light one obtains long illuminating brightness and is without "non-brightness," that is, "ignorance."

 

(In Chinese, the word for ignorance is composed of two characters which mean, literally, "without light”)

 

 

Why are you ignorant? Because you don't have long illuminating brightness. The reason you don't have long illuminating brightness is because you have no bright light If you have bright light, you can have long illuminating brightness, and with that you can destroy ignorance. Once ignorance is destroyed, the Dharma nature manifests, this is your genuine intelligence.

 

The Grandson Marries the Grandmother

 

Master Chih Kung of the Liang Dynasty was a Dhyana Master of great virtue. No one knows who his father and mother were. One day a woman heard the sound of an infant crying coming from an eagle's nest. She climbed up to the nest, took the child home, and raised him. Although the child looked like a person, his hands and feet were unlike those of human beings, they were talons. The Master grew up, left the home-life, and later became enlightened and obtained the Five Eyes and the Six Spiritual Penetrations. Because no one knew who his father and mother were and because he was taken from an eagle's nest, it was generally assumed that he was hatched from an eagle's egg.

 

At that time, the Liang Dynasty Emperor Wu had faith in the Master and many other people also believed in him. No matter what the occasion--the birth of children, the death of relatives, marriages, funeral and so forth--they would ask the Master to come and recite Sutras. Once a wealthy man asked the Master to recite Sutras at his daughter's wedding and to say a few auspicious words to ensure that the marriage would go smoothly. Dhyana Master Chih Kung went there, took a look at the new husband and wife and said,

 

Ancient, ancient, strange,

Strange, strange, ancient:

The grandson marries the grandmother.

 

"Ancient, ancient, strange," means that such a situation had never been before. It was uncommonly strange, uncanny, and weird to see a grandson marrying his grandmother. In the world of people, it is said that everyone has been everyone else's husband and wife; everyone has been everyone's father and son: everyone has been everyone's mother and daughter. If you don't know the affinities from previous lives, you may not realize that perhaps it is your former grandfather who has been reborn and come to marry you, or your grandmother has returned to be born as your daughter. There's nothing fixed about it.

 

In this story, the "grandson marries the grandmother. Just before the grandmother died, she told her family, "My sons have married and have children of their own. My daughters are married, and I'm not worried about them. Her mind was at ease, and she had put everything aside--except for one thing: her little grandson. "What will his future be like?" she said. Who will watch over him? Will his future wife be good to him? I just can't stop worrying about him," and she grabbed her grandson's hand. It is said that if one's affairs are in order, one may die with one's eyes shut. If they are not, one will die with one's eyes open. The grandmother said, "I am so concerned about you, I can't die with my eyes shut." She died with them open, and, still worrying, she went to see King Yama, the Lord of Death.

 

"My grandson has no one to care for him!" she complained to King Yama.

 

"Very well," Yama replied, "go back and watch over him, and he sent her to rebirth immediately. Then when she was of marriageable age, she married her former grandson. Don't you agree that this is ancient, ancient, and strange?

 

"How did Master Chih Kung know this?" you may wonder.

 

He knew because he had opened the Five Eyes and had the Six Spiritual Penetrations. With one look he saw the previous relationship. Because the grandmother had one thought she couldn't let go of, she returned to become her grandson's wife.

 

Then the Master took a look at the wedding guests:

 

"The son beats a drum.

made from his father's skin,

Pigs and sheep are sitting on the couch,

And the six kinds of relatives

are cooking in the pot.

Everyone offers congratulations,

But I see it as true suffering."

 

"Little girl," said the Master, "that piece of mutton you are about to bite into was your mother in the past. She was reborn as a sheep, killed, and cooked. So, you are eating your mother's meat."

 

"Little boy," he continued, "the drum you're beating was once your father. He was reborn as a donkey, then slain, and a drum was made from the skin. So, you are beating a drum made out of your father's skin."

 

Taking a look at the guests on the sofa, Master Chih Kung saw that they were pigs, sheep, and chickens who had been reborn as people.

 

Since the entire family, fathers, mothers, brothers' sisters, relatives, and friends, had eaten pork, they were reborn as pigs, were slaughtered, chopped up, and cooked Thus “the six kinds of relatives where cooking is the pot.”

 

"Everyone offers congratulations," said the Master "but in my opinion, it's truly suffering. As I see the situation. It's just the doing of karma, and the doing of karma is the cause of suffering."

 

Master Chib Kung understood the cause and effect with regard to this household. How are we to know that other households are any different? Those who cultivate the Way must be careful to plant proper causes, because when the time comes for you to reap the effect, you will be responsible for your accounts. Why do people become people? In order to settle accounts, to pay back their debts of cause and effect. Unless you pay what is due, your debt continues, just like a bank loan.

 

The Wife-beater

 

I've thought of another story. There was once a family which raised a donkey and put it to work in a granary. The donkey's master felt it worked too slowly and be beat it every day with a broom. The donkey worked and worked grinding grain until it died. It was then reborn as a man. When the donkey-beater died, he was reborn as a woman, and the two of them were married.

 

What do you think their marriage was like? All day long, the man beat his wife. He beat her with chopsticks-with anything he could find. He beat her and screamed at her; nothing she did was right.

 

One day Master Chih Kung passed by, and the woman spoke to him. "My husband beats me every day," she said, "and I don't know why. Old Cultivator, you who have the Five Eyes and the Six Spiritual Penetrations, please take a look and tell me the causes and effects involved. Why does he beat me?"

 

Master Chih Kung said, "I will tell you the causes and conditions. In your last life you were a man. You continually beat the donkey in your mill. You beat it every day with a broom made of one hundred stalks of bamboo. Now you have been born a woman, and the donkey has been born a man, and he beats you every day just as you used to beat him. Since you now know the causes and effects involved. I'll give you a method to bring them to an end. Hide everything in your house except for a horse-hair whip. When your husband sees that there's nothing else available, he will grab the whip and beat you with it. Since it is made of several hundred strands, your debt will be paid. Then you should explain to him the former causes and latter effects clearly, just as I have explained them to you, and he will not beat you anymore."

 

The woman did as she was instructed. When her husband came home, he looked for something to beat her with. Seeing only the horse-hair whip, he picked it up and started beating her. Normally, she would try to run away, but this time she just sat patiently until he finished.

 

Finding that strange, he finally asked her why she wasn't trying to escape. She related her meeting with Master Chih Kung in detail and explained the causes and effects. Her husband thought: "In that case.

I won't beat her anymore. If I do, she will only come back and beat me again in my next life." And he gave up beating his wife.

 

So, you can see that everyone has a relationship to everyone else. You never know who, in a previous life, was your mother, brother, father or sister. Causes of the past bring about the present effects and determine the relationships of the people who surround you. If you understand the principles of cause and effect, you should change them; improve them by refraining from evil actions.

 

Master Chih Kung ate two pigeons every day for lunch. Since he was so fond of them, his cook thought they must be very good, too, and one day he decided to sneak a taste. As he stole a bite, he thought: "I'll Just take a taste and see what it is like." At the same time he rationalized it and said to himself, "I'm just testing them to see if they are well cooked."

 

When the cook brought Master Chih Kung his lunch, the Master took one look at it and said, "Who stole some of my pigeon? Cook! Was it you?"

 

The cook denied it, so the Master said, "So, you deny it, huh? I'll show you whether you ate it or not. Watch this!" He ate his lunch and then opened his mouth and spit out two live pigeons. One flew away, but the other just limped across the room because it was missing a wing. Master Chih Kung said, "If you didn't steal part of my lunch, then why can't that bird fly? You ate its wing, that's why!"

 

The cook then knew that Master Chih Kung was no ordinary person. In fact, he was a transformation of a great Bodhisattva and so he was able to eat pigeons for lunch and then spit them out again.

14. TÁT BÀ A THA ÐẬU THÂU BẰNG

SARVAD VATASHUBHAM

Hay cho tất cả sự giàu sang – không nghèo, sự nghiêm sạch-không lo.

 

This sentence of the mantra is divided in three and when recited it has three different meanings. SARV means "all,” and conveys the meaning of "equality.” Thus it represents the second of the ten hearts, the Equality Heart.

 

AD VATA means "wealth, happiness, and no poverty," One possesses abundance and is joyful because one is not poor. The line also may be said to mean "as you will, not extinguished." As you will means that any situation is just as you think you would like it to be. The as you will quality is forever inextinguishable. Of the ten hearts, this line refers to the third, the Unconditioned Heart, that is "wealth and happiness without poverty."

 

SHUBHAM means "majestic and pure, without worries.” Since it is majestic and stern, it is clear and pure, and therefore, there are no worries. This line represents the ninth of the ten hearts, the Heart without Views or Grasping. Views and grasping are together one of the Five Quick Servants. When you see something, your heart grasps it and becomes attached to it. But with the ninth heart, there are no views and no grasping.

 

15. A THỆ DỰNG

ASHIYUM

Xin nương pháp Vô-tỷ.

 

ASHIYUM, as before, is in the language of the Great Brahma Heaven. It means "incomparable Dharma."

No Dharma can compare with this one. It also means "incomparable teaching," for no other religions can compare with it. This line represents the seventh heart, the Humble Heart, the heart of being extremely respectful and agreeable to everyone you meet. The line also represents the eighth, the Unconfused Heart. This is the pure and unstained Prajna-heart Dharma of the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World's Sounds.

 

The ten hearts are the appearance of the Dharani, and we should put their principles into practice, and not forget them. We should cultivate according to The Dharani Sutra and rely on it to accomplish the Way and certify to the fruit.

16. TÁT BÀ TÁT ÐA, NA MA BÀ TÁT ÐA, NA MA BÀ GIÀ

SARVASATTVA NAMO PASATTVA NAMO BHAGA

Cùng tất cả bậc Bồ-tát, bậc đồng Chơn-Khai-Sĩ thân tâm rộng lớn, Quy mạng đấng Vô đẳng đẳng Thế-Tôn.

 

SARVASATTVA is Sanskrit and means "Bodhisattva of great body and heart."

 

NAMO PASATTVA, also Sanskrit, means "virgin youth, beginning knight," which denotes a Dharma Prince--a Bodhisattva. The phrase "virgin youth," represents the original nature. "Beginning knight" is a title given specifically to Bodhisattvas. They are also called great knights. On their way to the position of Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas are called Dharma Princes right up to the Tenth Ground.

 

NAMO BHAGA means "unequalled.” The same meaning appears in The Heart Sutra, "Therefore, know the Prajna Paramita, this great divine mantra, this great bright mantra, this supreme mantra, this unequalled mantra..."

 

"What can nothing equal?" you may ask. Answer: BHAGA. BHAGA means "World Honored One," the Buddhas of the ten directions.

17. MA PHẠT ÐẠT ÐẬU

18. ÐÁT ÐIỆT THA

19. ÁN! A BÀ LÔ HÊ

20. LÔ CA ÐẾ

21. CA RA ÐẾ

22. DI HÊ RỊ

23. MA HA BỒ-ÐỀ TÁT ÐỎA

24. TÁT BÀ TÁT BÀ

      SABHO SABHO 

 

The sentence SABHO SABHO accompanise the Precious Seal hand and Eye and means “benefit and happineness to all.”

 

By cultivating this Hand and Eye, you can bring profit and joy to all begins. The gods, King Yama’s generals in the hells, and the ghost kings will all obey you can say, “Release that offender at once,” and they will. Why? Because you have the Precious Seal.

 

The Precious Seal is like the emperor’s seal. When a document bears the imperial seal, everyone honors it and conducts his affairs accordingly. No one dares oppose it. With your Precious Seal, you can benefit and bring joy to everyone . You can tell them which advantages to seek, and they will obtain them.

 

 

If you work hard and accomplish your caltivation of the Precious Seal, then if someone is on the verge of death, you can put your seal on a piece of paper and write a few lines to King Yama saying, “Let that person go right away. Let him return. You must not let him die.” King Yama won’t dare oppose you. The wonderful function of the Precious Seal can bring the dead back to life. But in order to use it, you must first have cultivated it successfully. If you haven’t, it won’t be of any great use.

 

What is meant by successfully cultivating it? It’s like going to school. First, you attend elementary school. Then you go to high school, and on to college. Eventualy, you may get a Ph.D. Cultivating the Precious Seal successfully is like getting a Ph.D., except it’s much higher than a Ph.D. The Precious Seal benefits and aids all living beings and brings them joy. Do you see how wonderful it is? If you wish to use it, then cultivate the Forty-two Hands and Eyes. SABHO SABHO is one of them.

 

Hearing me speak this way, someone is thinking, “I’ll cultivate the Precious Seal right away, and then whenever anyone is about to die I’ll give them a seal and not allow King Yama to let them die.” Go ahead, you can prevent them from dying if you like, but when it comes time for you to die, there may not be anyone who can give you a seal.

 

I have used the Precious Seal twice, once in Manchuria and once in Hong Kong. In Manchuria it was a grave emergency, because the person would surely have died had I not give her a seal. One rainy afternoon, on the eighteenth of the fourth month, a person named Cao Đức Phúc (Kao Te Fu) came to Three Conditions Temple where I was staying. He knelt before the Buddha images, unwrapped a chopping knife from a newspaper and lifted it; ready to chop off his hand and offer it to the Buddha. What do you think? Was he intelligent or wise? Of course, he must have been very studpid. His stupidity, however, was “stupidity for the sake of filial piety.”

 

You see, his mother was deathly ill. She had been an opium addict and her addiction had progressed to the point that she was too ill even to smoke opium. She lay in a coma, not eating or drinking. Her tongue had turned black and her lips had split open. Both Chinese and Western doctors had given up hope of curing her, but her son said, “The Bodhisattvas are most efficacious. I will go to Three Conditions Temple and chop off my hand as an offering to the Buddhas. With a sincere heart I will pray that my mother’s illness may be cured.”

 

Just as the boy was about to cut off his hand someone grabbed him from behind saying, “What are you doing?” You can’t commit suicide here!”

 

“I’m chopping off my hand as an offering to the Buddha,” said the boy, “so that my Mother’s illness might be cured. You can’t stop me.” The boy struggled, but the person wouldn’t let him go and reported the incident to the Venerable Abbot. The Abbot said there was nothing he could do, and he sent his most influential Dharma protector, cư sĩ Lý Cảnh Hoa (Li Ching-Hua), to get me.

 

Although I was still a Shramanera, a novice, I was then serving as superintendent at Three Conditions Temple, a position second only to the Abbot’s. As a novice, however, I wasn’t one of the “eating, sleeping, and drinking” novices. I got up before everyone else, not after I did the jobs that no one else wanted to do and I never ate except once a day at lunch. I didn’t have private snacks. Cultivation is just changing your little faults. Not changing them shows a lack of ability to cultivate.

 

Well, the Venerable Abbot sent for me and I said to him, “Someone asks for your help and you hand the problems to me. You won’t pay attention to such matters, and yet you give me too much trouble.”

 

“Be compassionate,” said the Abbot, “and help him out.” The Abbot said a few nice words to me and I was persuaded. “Very well,” I said, “ I’ll go.” Then I said to the boy, “Ride your bicycle home and I will follow you.”

 

“But do you know the way?” he asked.

 

“Never mind about me,” I said, “just go home.”

 

It was about 5:00 o’clock when he left, and the sun was just setting. He took the main road and I took a smaller one. The house was about six miles away and when he arrived, he was surprised to see me sitting there, waiting for him. “Old Cultivator, how did you get here first?” he asked.

 

 

“You probably dallied on the way,” I said. “Or else you stopped off to see a movie or play ball.”

 

“No!” said the boy. “I rode straight home as fast as I could.”

 

“Well,” I said, “your bicycle isn’t as fast as mine because I got here first.”

 

As soon as I saw his mother, I felt that there was no way to save her life. I decided to try anyway and wrote out a seal which read:

 

“This boy is so sincere that he tried to cut off his hand to save his mother’s life. Now that I have prevented him from doing this, this woman must not die, no matter what.”

 

Then I sealed it and sent it off. The next morning the woman, who had been in a coma as if dead for seven or eight days, sat up and spoke to her oldest son, calling him by his nickname.

 

“Phúc ơi... Phúc ờ” (Chu-tzu, Chu-tzu) she said, “I’m hungry. Bring me some rice gruel.” The boy, who had not heard his mother call his name for over a week, was extremely happy. He ran to her side, saying, “Mama! You were sick for so many days and didn’t say a word. Are you well now?”

 

She said, “For I don’t know how many days, I was running in a black cave without the light of the sun, moon, stars, or a lamp. I ran and ran, day after day looking for my home. I called out, but no one came. Then last night I met a poor monk in a tattered robe who guided me back home. Now, I would like to eat some rice gruel.”

 

“What did the monk look like?” her son asked.

“He was very tall,” she said. “I’d surely recognize him if I saw him again.”

“Is that him?” said the boy, pointing at me. I was already asleep on the couch.

“Yes!” she exclaimed, “He’s the one who brought me back!”

 

 

Then the entire family of over ten people, young and old, knelt before me saying that I had saved their mother’s life and then they all took refuge with me. “Whatever you tell us to do, we will gladly follow your instructions,” they said.

 

Not long after that, the entire village came to take refuge and asked me to cure their illnesses. I said, “I’ll cure you by hitting you!” and I hit them each three times with my whisk brush. As I hit them, I asked, “Are you well now?” and, to their surprise, they were cured.

 

That was the troublesome affair which took place in Manchuria. The second time I used the seal was in Hong Kong. When Madalena Lew’s father, who was over seventy, became ill, the fortune tellers and diviners all told him he would certainly die within the year. He came and asked to take refuge in order to save his life.

 

“Master,” he said, “can you prevent my death?”

 

“So you don’t want to die?” I said. “I’ll let you live another twelve years. How’s that?”

“Fine, of course,” he said. Then I did a little something for him and he lived twelve more years.

 

However, you shouldn’t use this this dharma to prevent people from dying or to bring them back from the dead. If you do, you’ll become King Yama’s competitor and King Yama may say, “Very well, since you prevented his death, I’ll take your life.” When it’s time for you to die, I’ll take your life.” When it’s time for you to die, no one will give you a seal. If you think you can seal yourself, you’re wrong. Your Dharma skills are like a knife that cannot cut its own handle, and when you run into difficulty, it will be the same as with the clay Bodhisattva:

 

When the clay Bodhisattva crosses the sea,

He has a hard time protecting his own body.

 

So, if you’ve mastered this dharma, you still must cultivate. For this reason I no longer mind other peoples’s business. Whoever dies, dies, and I pay no  attention to them. I don’t take care of such matters anymore.

25. MA RA MA RA

       MARA MARA　

 

These two sentences of the mantra mean “increasing and growing.” They also mean “as you will” and “according to your will.” They accompany the As-You-Will Pearl Hand and Eye, which increases blessings, fosters the growth of wisdom, and makes everything auspicious, “as you will,” in accord with your heart.

Do you see how many advantages it has? This is why it is the first of the Forty-two Hands and Eyes. The precious As-You-Will Pearl is wonderful beyond words.

If you’d like to get rich, cultivate this Hand and Eye, for once you perfect it, you’ll have everything you want, and you’ll need never worry about being poor. You will always be wealthy and have limitless and unbounded blessings.

26. MA HÊ MA HÊ RỊ ÐÀ DỰNG

      ASHI MASHI RIDHAYU 

 

MASHI MASHI means “no words, the ultimate mind.”

No words means, “Do not speak!” The ultimate mind means the “utmost thought.” And what is that? It’s just what is wonderful.

 

MASHI MASHI may also be translated as “comfort.”

To be as comfortable as the Great Brahma Heaven King: no sorrows, no worries, without care or anxieties, you are happy and in control all day long.

 

This is the Five-colored Cloud Hand and Eye.

Carrying an auspicious five-colored cloud on palm of your hand, you are extremely “comfortable.” Its uses are also limitless and unbounded, and its comfortable, wonderful functions are endless.

RIDHAYU is the Blue Lotus Hand and Eye. It means “heart of the lotus flower.” When you have cultivated this hand and eye to perfection, the fragrance of the blue lotus will be manifest, and you will be praised by the Buddhas of the ten directions. It is extremely subtle and wonderful, and inconceivable,

"A supreme and extremely profound Dharma,

Which in a billion aeons is difficult to encounter."

27. CU-LÔ CU-LÔ KIẾT MÔNG

      GURU GURU GHAMAIN 

   

GURU GURU is also Sanskrit and means “doing Dharma,” or “the function adornment,” or “blow the conch and tie off the boundaries.” This is the Jeweled Conch Hand and Eye.

Now that we have entered the Dharma-ending age, people think that mere recitation of the Great Compassion Mantra is the attainment of the Buddhadharma, but this is not actually the case. The Great Compassion Mantra was spoken for the sake of the  Forty-two Hands and Eyes and the wonderful advantages of the Great compassion Mantra are those of the Forty-two Hands and Eyes; they are the complete substance of the Great Compassion Mantra.

If you are only able to recite the Great Compassion Mantra, but don’t know how to cultivate the Forty-two Hands, you are like a person who has hands but no legs and cannot walk. On the other hand, if you only cultivate the Forty-two Hands but do not cultivate the Great Compassion Mantra, you are like someone who has legs but no hands, and cannot pick things up; it’s of no use either.

Therefore, in order to genuinely understand the Great Compassion Mantra, one  must first fathom the Forty-two Hands, and then recite and hold the Mantra. Then one may genuinely understand this wonderful Dharma of the Buddha.

It’s not merely a matter of hearing the Dharma Master explain the mantra and thinking,

“Ah! I know what each sentence means.”

That is also of no use; it’s like someone who has a body, but doesn’t have arms or legs. You’ ve got to have arms, legs, and a body. Then you can make them work together to accomplish merit and virtue.

The Jeweled conch Hand and Eye is for doing Dharma. When you perform a dharma, you should blow the conch. When you blow it--  Ohhhhhhhhh!--  the sound is heard in the heavens, heard in the hells, and heard by people; heard everywhere, and the boundaries are tied. All the territory within the reach of its sound is yours. Strange demons and ghosts are not allowed in.

“The function adornment” means that with the Jeweled Conch Hand and Eye you cultivate the conch. When you blow it, the great earth turns into gold, adorned with the seven precious gems.  It’s extremely subtle and wonderful. You who study the Buddhadharma should know that within the last three hundred years no one has encountered the Forty-two Hands and Eyes, and nobody understands them.

Now that we have an understanding of the Great Compassion Mantra, we should wholeheartedly and with firm resolve cultivate the Forty-two Hands. Then they can be of use.

 

GHAMAIN is Sanskrit. It is not from India, however. It’s from the Great Brahma Heaven. The Sanskrit of India also came from the Great brahma Heaven.

 

GHAMAIN means “to take care of affairs,” or “merit and virtue,” that is, to take care of affairs which are meritorious and benefit others. Benefiting others is just benefiting oneself. A Bodhisattva does things which benefit himself and benefit others; he enlightens himself and enlightens others.

 

This sentence refers to the practice of the Six Perfections and the Ten Thousand Conducts. It is the White Lotus Hand Eye. See: You hold a white lotus in your hand just like this. You hold the flower and recite the mantra, “GHAMAIN, GHAMAIN …”

 

Not only do you recite the mantra, but you must also recite the True Words. When you recite them both you can carry out all meritorious activities. When you recite the Great Compassion Mantra and also know how to recite and cultivate the Forty-two Hands, then you may perfect the Six Perfections and the Ten Thousand Conducts.

The wonderful advantages are ineffable; one could never finish speaking of them. If one could finish, then they wouldn’t be wonderful; they would be limited. What is wonderful has not beginning or end. With GHAMAIN you can accomplish all meritorious acts, and in the future, in every life, you will bear the fragrance of a white lotus and will be protected.

 

There is no way to exhaust the praises of the Great Compassion Mantra.

 

28. ÐỘ LÔ ÐỘ LÔ PHẠT XÀ DA ÐẾ

     DHURU DHURU BHASHIYATI 

   

DHURU DHURU is Sanskrit and means “crossing over the sea,” the bitter sea of birth and death. It also means “bright and pure.”

 

Having crossed over the sea of birth and death, you gain the light of wisdom and attain  the clear, pure basic substance, arriving at the other shore, which is Nirvana.

 

In brightness you have wisdom, you understand all the Dharma-doors, and you are certain to end birth and death. With samadhi, you can pure. Samadhi power will enable you to be born in the clear, pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

 

Which Hand and Eye is this? It’s the Moon Essence Mani hand, and it is the Dharani spoken by Moonlight Bodhisattva. It causes everyone to attain clarity and coolness.

    

BHASHIYATI is the Shield Hand and Eye.

BHASHIYATI is  Sanskrit and means “vast and adorned.” It also means “vast and great,” and “to cross over birth and death.” If you cultivate the Shield Hand and Eye, you can cross over the sea of birth and death. If you don’t cultivate it, you can’t. With the Shield Hand and Eye, you can cross over the bitter sea of birth and death, through the massive flow of afflictions, and arrive at the other shore--Nirvana.

29. MA HA PHẠT XÀ DA ÐẾ

       MAHA BHASHIYATI 

This line means “the most victorious, vast Dharma Way.”

The Dharma is great and it is most supreme; the Way is also great and most supreme. It’s the most supreme and vast Dharma Way.

This is the Jeweled Halberd Hand and Eye, which conquers heavenly demons and subdues externalist religions. It also has many other uses; for example, it can protect the country against enemies. If your country is about to be invaded and you cultivate this dharma, you can, without any outward manifestation, cause the enemy to retreat.

 

30. ÐÀ RA ÐÀ RA

      DHARA DHARA 

    

This Sanskrit is difficult to understand. Even those who have studied Sanskrit are unable to understand the mantra or explain its meaning. I understand a bit of the meaning of the Great Compassion Mantra, however.

This is The Kundi Hand and Eye in which the Bodhisattva who Regards the World’s Sounds keeps the sweet dew. The Bodhisattva puts a willow branch in the bottle and then sprinkles the sweet dew on living beings. No matter what your problem is or what sickness you have, if you get a drop of the Bodhisattva’s sweet dew, you’ll get better.

DHARA DHARA means “able to unite, seal, and hold” the hearts of all living beings. This is just to say that the Bodhisattva uses the Sweet Dew Hand and Eye, The Kundi Hand and Eye, and the Willow Branch Hand and Eye--  all three of them--  to sprinkle the sweet dew on living beings, rescuing them and taking them across.

31. ÐỊA RỊ NI

      DHIRINI 

 

DHIRINI is Sanskrit and has many meanings. The first is “very courageous,” that is , very high-spirited. It also means “still extinction, clean and pure.”

Still extinction is the mark of Samadhi and

very courageous is the mark of movement.

It also means “covering, holding, and breaking up,” this is, suppressing all unwholesome dharmas, maintaining all wholesome dharmas, and breaking apart all karmic obstacles and evils.

This is The Corpse  Iron Hook Hand and Eye which can employ ghosts and spirits and  summon them to come and protect you. If you practice this dharma, you can order the heavenly dragons to make it rain and it will rain. You can order them to make the wind blow and it will blow. If you want the wind and rain to stop, you can do that as well.

“I don’t bevieve it,” you say. Really? That’s exactly why I told it to you. Just so that you wouldn’t believe! Why do I want you not to believe?  Just for the sake of your not believing, that’s all.

If you like, you can ask the people who are returning from Taiwan today about the rain in Taiwan. When I called them on the telephone they told me it was raining and really cold. “Would you like it to be warm?” I asked them. “Okay. If you want it to stop raining, that’s very easy.”

“How  can you make it stop raining?” they asked.

“You just wait and see whether or not it stops,” I told them. And as soon as I hung up the phone, it stopped raining. They thought it was very strange.[1]

Actually, it was nothing but the strength of the Iron Hook Hand and Eye! You just point it and say, “Dragons! It’s not allowed to rain,” and it won’t rain the dragons will listen to your orders, but only if you have mastered this dharma and have understood the Iron Hook Hand. Then you can hook the rain dragons with it and they won’t dare let it rain.

 

You think I’m joking, but that’s all right. If you believe it’s the truth, that’s all right, too. But I’m lecturing the  Sutra for you now and I’m telling you the True Words, not jokes.

 

[1]

 

(As one who went to Taiwan in 1969 to take the precepts, I can testify to the above. It rained in Keelung, Taiwan at least forty-eight out of the fifty-three days we were there for the ordination. The monastery was unheated, and once something got wet, there was no way to dry it out. However, on the day mentioned above, it is a fact that the instant we hung up the phone, the sun came out, the sky cleared up, and the air grew warm.--  Trans.)

32. THẤT PHẬT RA DA

      SHVARAYA 

  

SHVARAYA is Sanskrit. Recite it once and an electric flash goes off throughout the whole universe.

Say, “SHVARAYA!” and there’s a lightning flash. The sentence means “to emit light.” It also means “comfort,” that is, “ishvara,” as in “Avalokiteshvara.” The meaning here is that you must “regard” before you can attain “comfort.” If you don’t regard or contemplate, you won’t  gain comfort. 

This contemplation is done inwardly, not outwardly. Contemplate and ask yourself, “Am I here or not?” Is the “master” present within you? Are you in control? Is the self-nature-master present? Is the eternally dwelling true heart, the bright subtance of the pure nature, present or not? If present, you gain mastery, you gain comfort. If it’s not present, you do not.

Emitting light also carries the meaning of comfort. If you gain comfort, you will emit light. If you don’t you won’t.

It may also be translated as “blazing fire light.” But it is not the fire of a hot temper, or the heat of afflictions, which may cause you to say, “I have too much temper.” It’s not blazing anger, it’s wisdom. It’s just the water of wisdom which puts out the fire of ignorance, genuine true wisdom manifesting from out of the fire of ignorance--  a “blazing fire light.”

When you recite SHVARAYA, you emit light, but you must first have gained comfort. Without comfort, you won’t emit light. Remember that.

This is the Sun Essence Mani Hand and Eye and it used to cure sicknesses of the eyes. When the eyes are dim and cannot see, use this Hand and Eye to cure them.

33. DÁ RA DÁ RA

      JÁLA JÁLA 

JÁLA JÁLA means “moving into action,” that is, movement such as when an army mobilizes on command. The mobilization is a call to action, and if you don’t follow orders, you are disobeying the command.

This is Jeweled Bell Hand and Eye. When you ring the bell, its sound rings out and is heard in empty space and heard in the heavens; the entire great trichiliocosm quakes. If you want something done, just ring the bell and all the gods, people, ghosts, and spirits, as well as strange demons and weird creatures will obey your commands and follow the rules. For example, with earthquakes: you need only ring the bell and send out the command that, “The earth is not permitted to quake.”

The Jeweled Bell Hand is extremely useful. If you want to sing with a pleasing voice, cultivate the Jeweled Bell Hand and Eye and your voice will be as clear and as resonant as a bell, “Laaaaaaaanng.”--  like bells ringing in space. That’s the Jeweled Bell Hand and Eye.

34. MẠ MẠ PHẠT MA RA

        MÀMÀ BHÀMARA 

 

MÀMÀ means “I, who accept and hold.” It is a kind of command, a call to action. It means, “Everything I do must certainly be successful!”

MÀMÀ is the White Whisk Hand and Eye. In China Taoist Masters Buddhist Monks usually carry a whisk Buddhist High Masters usually carry a whisk when they take the High Seat to speak the Dharma.

The White Whisk Hand and Eye is used to dispel all obstacles to the body, all karmic obstructions and painful illnesses. A few swats with the brush will cure you of your karmic obstacles or demon-obstacle sicknesses.

The White Whisk Hand and Eye has many uses, but the people who know how to use it are very few; I know that at present there are very few.

The first Westerners to have received the Complete Precepts are returning from Taiwan as genuine Bhikshus and Bhikshunis. They will arrive at the airport at 4:30 this afternoon on China Airlines, Flight 910. We have lots of cars today so all the Buddhist Lecture Hall Dharma protectors, as well as all the Buddhists in San Francisco who want to go to the airport to welcome them may go.

Originally I wasn’t going to go to the airport, but there are several Buddha images coming on the flight and I’m going to the airport to welcome them, not my disciples. My disciples don’t need me to welcome them and they don’t need me to see them off. When they left I told them,

“When deluded, one’s Master takes one across;

when enlightened, one takes oneself across.”

 

Now they have taken themselves across; they’ve run off and returned, and they can certainly find their way home from the airport. They don’t need me to tell them, “Turn there; take that road, that’s the road home…”

The funniest thing was when they wrote that they had lost a box of Buddhist Sutras. I said, “Losing a box of Sutras is not important. What is important is that none of you got lost.” Five of them left and five returned. Why? I had already bought insurance from the Bodhisattvas and so it was not permissible for any of them to get lost. Not one of them could fail to return. If one hadn’t returned, the Bodhisattvas would have had to pay on the policy. So I was quite confident that all of them would return together, and the Bodhisattvas’ insurance agents don’t need to pay the policy.

You should remember this clearly: those who are returning today are Pioneer American Buddhist Patriarchs. Don’t look upon them lightly. This is true and real. It’s not like people who call themselves Buddhist and sit at home as “stay-at-home” Patriarchs. A few days ago, in fact, one of the self-made Patriarchs came here and said he wanted to sing me a song. “I hate it when you sing!” I teased, and he said, “Oh!” and ran away.

  

BHÀMARA is the Great Demon-subduing Vajra Dharma protector who is holding a gold wheel. He can transform his body into the size of Mount Sumeru.

BHÀMARA means “most victorious, apart from filth.”

It is the most supreme and is also separate from all defiling dust. It also means “incomparable, as-you-will,” because nothing can compare with it and, according to your thought, it is as-you-will.

This is The Transformation Palace Hand and Eye. What is it used for? If you cultivate the Dharma of this Hand and Eye, in every life you can live in the same palace as the Buddha and not undergo birth by means of womb, egg, or moisture. Cultivate this Hand and Eye to be with the Buddha in every life; that’s its application.

35. MỤC ÐẾ LỆ

     MUDHILI 

 

MUDHILI is the Buddha’s Willow Branch Hand and Eye. It is the branch you see the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World’s Sounds carrying in one hand while in the other the Bodhisattva carries the Pure Water Bottle. The Willow Branch is dipped  into the Pure Water Bottle and then sprinkled over all living beings. The pure water is not like ordinary water. It’s sweet dew. Living beings who are sprinkled with it obtain many benefits. It can relieve their hunger and thirst and cause them to be clear and cool.

MUDHILI means “liberation,” that is liberation from all suffering and hardship, from all sickness, and from all inauspicious circumstances. The Bodhisattva uses the Willow Branch to liberate all living beings from their illnesses and difficulties and unlucky affairs. On the surface, the Hand and Eye may not seem to be very important, but when you have cultivated it to perfection, you can use it not only to liberate beings from their difficulties and sicknesses and from inauspicious events, but you will also be able to overcome all heavenly demons and externalist religions. When the heavenly demons and externalists are sprinkled with the sweet dew, they will naturally turn their thought to the good and offer up their conduct in accord with the teaching. Thus, this Hand and Eye is endless, inexhaustible, and inconceivable in its function.

The sweet dew water of the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World’s Sounds can not only liberate you from all hardships, cure all illnesses, and free you of all inauspicious circumstances, but it can even cause you to live when the time has come for you to die. When dead plants and trees are sprinkled with sweet dew, they can come back to life. Although trees and plants are basically insentient, if they are moistened by the sweet dew, they can grow again; they may grow new branches and leaves, bloom, and bear fruit. Living beings who obtain sweet dew gain even more inexhaustible, wonderful advantages. That’s the Willow Branch Hand.

36. Y HÊ DI HÊ

      EHY EHY 

 

EHY EHY is the Skull Bone Staff Hand and Eye. It means “complying with the teaching,” that is, when you tell someone to do something, he does it; when you teach him something, he conducts himself according to your teaching. It also means “the heart arrives,”  that is, whatever your heart wishes, you will attain it.

This sentence of the mantra causes the Maheshvara Heaven King, an externalist demon-king who thinks he is quite the greatest to place his palms together and offer up his conduct in accord with the teaching. There’s no way he can avoid it.

So when you recite EHY EHY he comes, and whatever your heart would like to have done, you need only tell him and he will carry out your orders immediately.

The Skull Bone is a human skull. The Bodhisattva uses this sentence of the mantra and piece of bone to practice and perfect his skill. When perfected, it’s called the Skull Bone Staff.

When you carry a Skull Bone Staff, all the ghosts and spirits must obey your commands or be punished. The power of this sentence of the mantra is inconceivable.

37. THẤT NA THẤT NA

      SHINA SHINA 

    

This sentence means “great wisdom.” It also means “vast vows.” This is the Jeweled Mirror Hand and Eye. The Jeweled Mirror is an analogy for the Buddha’s Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom.

What is great wisdom? It is the absence of the false thinking which living beings engage in. With great wisdom, all thinking is an expression of genuine Prajna wisdom, wisdom of great bright light. If you have genuine wisdom, you will have bright light, but if you do not, you are stupid and dark.

Bright light is POSITIVE (YANG) light, whereas darkness is NEGATIVE (YIN) energy. Why is one stupid? Because one’s NEGATIVE energy level is too high. Why is one wise? Because one’s POSITIVE light is greater.

Those with great wisdom do not think like common, ordinary people. They can clearly distinguish right from wrong. They don’t need to ask anyone else; they know it on their own. They do not take the wrong road; they advance down the right road and cultivate. In cultivation, you must first have great wisdom. Then you will clearly know right from wrong so that you can go down the right road and retreat from the wrong road.

But you can’t clearly know that an action is wrong and yet insist on doing it. You can’t clearly know that an action is a violation of the precepts, but go ahead and do it anyway, just to try it out, just to see if it really is an offense. Such behavior is the height of stupidity and shows a complete lack of wisdom.

“oh no,” you may object. “I have wisdom. I just did it wrong that one time.”

Doing it wrong that once just means that you are stupid and have no wisdom. People with great wisdom have no perverted thoughts. So Ananda the Venerable said,

“Destroy my million aeons of perverted thinking.

So that I needn’t pass through uncountable aeons to attain the DharmaBody.”

A million aeons, not just one, two, three, four, five or a hundred aeons, but an unreckonable number of aeons’ worth of perverted thinking, he wishes to destroy.

But why are our hearts so full of false thinking? When one false thought passes away, another takes its place, and when that one passes away yet another comes. It’s just like the waves on the ocean.

You may think that ocean is an inanimate object, but actually it is not outside of our own hearts. It is contained within the hearts of living beings. The waves on the sea never stop rising and falling, and in just the same way, our false thinking never stops. It continues, one false thought after another, one after another, around and around and on and on, in a ceaseless, never-ending stream. And none of them wants to fall behind; they all race to the front. Why are you riddled with such false thinking?

It’s  just because you have no wisdom. If you were wise, there would be no  waves on that water.

The winds may rise, but they blow in vain,

For there are no waves on the water.

 

when you attain samadhi power in  cultivation, it is  like the ocean without any waves. When you have concentration,  the water of wisdom manifests without a single wave, without a single false thought.

 

That is a time of true purity and clarity. Truly, one is not defiled by a speck of dust and the myriad lands all are empty. That is the manifestation of great wisdom.

People with great wisdom are successful in all they do, people without it fail in all their undertakings. Therefore, wisdom is of the utmost importance.

 

What is stupidity? Ignorance is stupidity; stupidity is just ignorance. When ignorance arises, people become unclear. You may ask people who have done something wrong: “why did you do that?” and they may reply, “ I don’t know…”  Just that is stupidity, the absence of wisdom and understanding. But, although they act wrongly out ignorance, they won’t admit their ignorance. “I know!” they insist. “I know it was wrong it’s extremely strange. Stupid people simply don’t have the Perfect Mirror Wisdom and they haven’t cultivated the Jeweled Mirror Hand and Eye. If they had, they wouldn’t be stupid, no matter what happened.

 

If the demon comes, slay the demon;

If the (phony) Buddha comes, slay the Buddha.

 

(Phật “THẬT”, thì không từ đâu đến cũng không đi về đâu.-KINH KIM CANG)

This is just like holding a knife so sharp that it cuts right through anything it comes in contact with. Great wisdom is like a knife; it is also like a sword.

 

 “The wisdom sword is very heavy,” you may say. “It’s not easy to pick it up.”

 

That’s just because you haven’t picked it up. If you had, you’d have found out that it doesn’t take the least bit of effort. If you don’t pick it up, it’s heavy. If you pick it up, it’s light. If you don’t pick it up, what is light becomes heavy. If you do pick it up, what is heavy becomes light. Why? Because you picked it up!

 

If you say, “I know that the wisdom sword is  important, but it’s too heavy. I can’t lift it,” and so you don’t lift it, then it is indeed very heavy. But if you just reach out, grasp it, and pick it up, then all states are understood as they hit the blade, without the slightest problem. So I often tell you that “Everything ’s okay.” It is just that principle. If everything is not okay with you, it’s because you don’t have a wisdom sword. If you had one, there would be no problems whatever. What problems could there be? None at all. The wonderful is right at this point.

 

The mountains, rivers, land, buildings, the Dependent-retribution World as well as the Proper-retribution World--  all do not go beyond the present thought within our hearts.

 

What is the Dependent-retribution World? The mountains, rivers, the great earth, and all the buildings  are called the Dependent-retribution World. Proper-retribution World is our bodies, which are undergoing retribution proper. If you can understand retribution while undergoing it, you will be without ignorance. The absence of ignorance is wisdom. This can be compared to a mirror:

 

When an object comes, it reflects it.

When it goes, the mirror is clear.

 

It doesn’t hold on. People with wisdom will take care of matters and then let them go; their hearts don’t hold on to them. Although they don’t keep them, there are always manifest and although they are constantly manifest they are not kept. We common people who have no wisdom must make a special effort to remember something, or perhaps recite it a few times: “YHY, YHY, SHINA, SHINA …”  We recite it once and forget it, recite it twice, three times, several hundred times, and we still can’t remember it. This is forcing it. It is not forced when you can see it once and not forget it, when it passes by your eyes once and is never forgotten, because your wisdom is like a mirror.

 

36. YHY YHY 

      (Ê HY Ê HY)

37. SHINA SHINA 

    (SI NA SI NA)

 

Those of you with wisdom should know that everything is contained within your heart. If you know this, you won’t be greedy, hateful, stupid, arrogant, or full of doubt. Why not? Because everything is manifest from the heart; these are all things which your heart originally possesses. Whether good or bad, it’s no problem. Nothing presents any problem.

 

Although it is easy to talk about such a state, reaching it takes a bit of skill. It takes skill to reach that level. Those without skill who say, “Nothing is any problem for me,” may outwardly appear to have no problems, but problems arise internally and they fight with themselves. Those who  have genuine wisdom are very few.

 

You should  also know that there are people with worldly wisdom and people with transcendental wisdom. Those  who have great worldly intelligence can fashion a principle when the need arises. Where there is no principle, they can make one up, one which sounds very reasonable. When stupid people hear it, they think, “He’s not bad. What he says makes a great deal of sense.” Actually, if you had genuine wisdom, you would not be drawn into stupidity by him. The stupid doctrines which he speaks would not make you stupid as well. It is said, “Within the positive  there is negative.” Within wisdom there is stupidity-- stupid wisdom.

 

One the other hand, “within the negative there is positive.” Inside of stupidity there is wisdom. For example, you  may see someone who doesn’t speak much and seems very  ordinary, but he does things properly. He may appear to be stupid and clumsy, but he always acts in accord with principle. There are many such people. In observing other people, you will find out whether or not you, yourself, have wisdom. If you have genuine wisdom, you won’t be led by others into stupidity; if you don’t have it, you will. So it is with wisdom and so it is with everything else.

 

Wisdom and stupidity have a direct relationship. The absence of stupidity is wisdom, and the absence of wisdom is stupidity. Stupidity itself is wisdom and wisdom itself is stupidity. How can this be? Wisdom and stupidity are one. If you can use it, it is wisdom; if you can’t it’s stupidity. For example, if you pick up the wisdom sword, that’s wisdom; if you put it down, it’s stupidity. There aren’t two things; there is only one. So don’t say that you’re going to seek wisdom and chase out stupidity. It doesn’t  work that way. It’s just a matter of “turning it over.”

 

Let’s say that the palm of the hand represents wisdom and the back of the hand represents stupidity. If you try to pick something up with the back of your hand, you won’t be able to do it, but if you use the palm of your hand, you will. Not being able to pick things up is stupidity and being able to  pick them up is wisdom. It’s one thing with two sides and it’s up to you which side you use. Do you understand?

 

Someone says, “I understand the BuddhaDharma now! Wisdom and stupidity are my hand!” Wrong again! The hand is an analogy. Don’t think that wisdom and stupidity are themselves the hand. It’s like the analogy of the finger and the moon. When someone points to the moon, don’t mistake the finger for the moon.

 

SHINA SHINA means “great wisdom” and “vast vows.” Vows  are made in order to accomplish something.  For example, before Amitabha Buddha had realized Buddhahood, when he was cultivating on the causal ground as a Bhikshu, he made Forty-eight Great Vows. The Bodhisattva Samantabhadra also made Ten Kingly Vows. The Bodhisattva Who Regards the World’s Sounds also made many vows, and so did the Patriarchs. I’m telling you about vows, but whether you  make vows or not is up to you. I’m bringing the subject up because I know that you don’t understand, but it’s not up to me to force you to make vows. Now that we are studying the BuddhaDharma, everyone should make his own vows, the gigger the better. The greater your vow power is the greater your accomplishment will be. We are now studying Buddhism in the causal ground and have not yet realized Buddhahood; we should make our vows in the causal ground. Each of you should write them out in detail. Don’t be sloppy or vague about it or just blurt out, “I vow to save living beings!”

 

Really? How are you going to save them? All you do all day is think about wearing good clothes, eating well, and living in a nice place, saving the living beings in your mouth, in your stomach, and on your body. That’s not allowed. You must be specific about the vows that you make and about what they involve now and in the future. As for the past, we’ll forget about whether you applied effort and cultivated. What are you going to do in the future? Each and every one of you should make vows. The greater the vows you make now, in the causal ground, the greater your position will be in the result. If you put all your vow power in a hair pore, you can make a great vow from within a hair pore!

 

Vows are solemn promises and all who study Buddhism should make them. They are important because without them you have no guidelines. It’s like walking down the road without knowing where you are headed or whether you are walking in the right direction. If you make vows, you have a guide like a traveler who has a guide to show him around.

 

Why did all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas make vows while cultivating the Way? It’s because once one has made vows, one can conduct oneself according to them. For example, white in the causal ground, Earth Store Bodhisattva made a number of vows. He said.

 

If the hells are not empty,

            I vow not to become a Buddha;

When all living beings are saved,

            only then will I certify to Bodhi.

 

The power of his vows is extremely great! We should also make vows. Each of you should make vows in accordance with what you would like to do.

38. A RA SÂM PHẬT RA XÁ-LỢI

      ALASHIN BALASHÁRI 

 

ALASHIN means “Wheel-turning Dharma King.” This is the great Dharma King who turns the great Dharma Wheel, thus continuously proclaiming the wonderful Great Vehicle Dharma. The doctrines explain when you expound this Dharma are extremely profound, subtle, and wonderful. Others can’t speak such subtle and wonderful Dharma, but you are able to explain it in fine detail.

That is what is meant by this sentence of the mantra. This is The Transformation Buddha Hand and Eye. You should cultivate this dharma because if you do, then in every life you will be able to be born near Buddhas and to follow them in study.

 

There are others who explain the Great Compassion Mantra. For example, there is certain Dharma Master who has taken each Hand and Eye and explained it as a Bodhisattva. For example, he says the Transformation Buddha on the Crown Hand and Eye is the Transformation Buddha on the Crown Bodhisattva Hand and Eye. This is a case of being off by just a hair’s breadth in the beginning and ending up off by thousand miles. Why? There is absolutely no such Bodhisattva. You can read through the entire Tripitaka if you like, from the beginning to the end, and you won’t find any Bodhisattva named “Transformation Buddha on the Crown.”

You might say that this is the Transformation Buddha on the Crown Hand and Eye which the Bodhisattva cultivated, but you can’t say that it’s the Transformation Buddha on the Crown Hand and Eye Bodhisattva. If you do, it’s a big mistake.

You can’t say, “This is the Jeweled Bowl Bodhisattva Hand and Eye, “you can only say, “This is the Jeweled Bowl Hand and Eye cultivated by the Bodhisattva. Jeweled Bowl, in other words, is not the name of a Bodhisattva. In the commentary to the Great Compassion Mantra which recently arrived from Hong Kong, the Forty-two Hands were written up as the names of  Forty-two Bodhisattvas. That’s wrong. The Forty-two Hands are all cultivated by one Bodhisattva. Students of the Buddhadharma should take note of this and not make statements that are not based on actual fact. In explaining the Buddhadharma you must have a solid basis for what you say or else you will be incorrect.

ALASHIN is the Transformation Buddha Hand and Eye which the Bodhisattva cultivated.

 

“Which Bodhisattva?” you may ask.

It’s not any particular Bodhisattva. Whoever cultivates the Forty-two Hands and Eyes is that Bodhisattva. Whoever does not cultivate them is not that Bodhisattva. If you cultivate the Forty-two Hands and Eyes successfully, you can certify to the attainment of the Bodhisattva position.

 

BALASHÁRI means “enlightened body seeds.” This is the Recitation Beads Hand and Eye cultivated by Bodhisattva.

When the Bodhisattva cultivates this Hand and Eye, the Buddhas of the ten directions will quickly come to confer a prediction upon him and take him to the lands of the ten directions to realize Buddhahood there.

39. PHẠT SA PHẠT SÂM

     BASHÁ BHASNIN 

BASHÁ BHASNIN “joyful speech, joyful smiles,” that is, happy to speak, very happy. It also means “great hero” and “unsurpassed knight.” It has these three meanings.

This is The Jeweled Bow Hand and Eye. When you cultivate it, if you are one who dwells at home, you may become a high official; if you are one who has left home, you may certify to the fruit of Arhatship.

40. PHẬT RA XÁ DA

      BHARASHÁYA 

      

Above, in BALASHÁRI (BA LA SÁ RI), SHÁRI (SÁ RI) had the meaning of “body seeds.”

In BHARASHÁYA (PHA RA SÁ DA), SHÁYA (SÁ DA) means “elephant.” When your heart is enlightened, you are the Elephant Prince, which is to say the Dharma Prince. You can be the dharma-door’s very highest Dharma King. The general meaning of this sentence of the mantra is “the most lofty elephant prince with an enlightened heart.”

 

The sentence BHARASHÁYA speaks of the original body of Amitabha Buddha. Amitabha Buddha is the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World’s Sound’s teacher. Since the Bodhisattva is also reverent toward his master, he pays respect to him in speaking the Great Compassion Mantra. In this sentence, Amitabha Buddha emits light to illumine the one who holds the mantra.

BHARASHÁYA is the Purple Lotus Hand and Eye. In the Forty-two Hands and Eyes are a White Lotus Hand and Eye, a Blue Lotus Hand and Eye, a Purple Lotus Hand and Eye, and a Red Lotus Hand and Eye. When you cultivate this Hand and Eye you can meet the Buddhas of the ten directions. For this reason, the Purple Lotus Hand and Eye is extremely important.

41. HÔ LÔ HÔ LÔ MA RA

      HULU HULU PRA 

      

HULU HULU PRA means “doing Dharma as-you-will.” It also means “the doing of Dharma is not separate from me.”

It is the Jade ring Hand and Eye. Our cultivation of the Forty-two Hands and Eyes is called “doing Dharma.” “As-you-will” means accordance with the way we wish it to be in our hearts. When we have perfected the cultivation of Hand and Eye, it is “according to our heart, as-we-will.”

“The doing of Dharma is not separate from me” means that in cultivation it is oneself who must cultivate. One must do it oneself. As I cultivate the Dharma, the Dharma is not apart from me and I am not apart from it. The Dharma and I are one. Then, there is neither Dharma nor me, and the two attachment of self and Dharma are emptied. There is no attachment to self and no attachment to Dharma. That is what is meant by “not separate from me.”

The Jade Ring Hand and Eye, when cultivated, can cause all beings to obey your instructions. They will cultivate whatever dharma you tell them to cultivate, most obediently.

42. HÔ LÔ HÔ LÔ HÊ LỴ

       HULU HULU SHRI

 

HULU HULU SHRI means “doing Dharma without thought,” and also “doing Dharma with comfort.” The “as-you-will” of HULU HULU PRA still retains “will” or “mind.” With HULU HULU SHRI not even a thought exists while doing Dharma. If you have a single thought, you have a false thought. If you have no thought, you have no false thought, and because you have no false thought you can “do Dharma with comfort,” and become the one who  “regards in comfort,” that is, the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World’s Sounds in Comfort.

This sentence of the mantra is the Jeweled Bowl Hand, the third of the Forty-two Hands. This Hand and Eye can relieve living beings of the pain of illness.

Some people who have left home, seeing that someone is sick, will mantra a cup of Great Compassion Water and give it to him to drink. After it is drunk, sometimes the illness is cured and sometimes it isn’t. It depends on your causes and conditions. If the conditions are right, when you drink the Great Compassion Water, you may be cured and then come to believe in the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World’s Sounds. If you aren’t cured, you may not come to believe in him.

The truth is--and now I’m transmitting a dharma to you--that in empowering the Great Compassion Water, you don’t need to recite the Great Compassion Mantra all the way through. You need only recite “HULU HULU SHRI”. Recite it five times and then blow three puffs of air over the water. Give it to the sick person to drink and his sickness will be cured. Sometimes he won’t be cured and other times he will get well right away. It all depends on what your affinities with the sick person are. If you have an affinity with him, when he drinks your Great compassion water he will be cured. If you have no affinity, he may drink it, but he won’t have any faith in it, and he won’t be cured. 

In general, there are various conditions which make up the foundation of your Dharma affinities. If you are sincere and cultivate you may drink it and get well.

If you cultivate but are not sincere about the Great Compassion Water, you may drink it and not get well. If you are sincere about it and do not cultivate, you may drink it and get well all the same. Those with heavy karmic obstacles may drink the water, but it won’t have enough potency to cure their illness. Those with light karmic obstacles may drink the Great Compassion Water and it may carry great power. What power? The power obtained through your constant recitation of the Great Compassion Mantra, which creates strength of Way-responsiveness and efficacy; this will cure the illness.

So, no matter what the circumstances, there are all kinds of causes and conditions which aid in its success. Don’t think, “I cultivate the Jeweled Bowl Hand and I mantra some Great Compassion Water, so why didn’t it work at all?” It’s not that the Great Compassion Water isn’t effective; it’s simply that your lack of skill detracted from its effectiveness.

Some externalist religions use the Great Compassion Water to cure illness with great success. Why is it so effective? It’s because heavenly demons are aiding the externalist cultivators so that other people have great faith in them and can easily be led into the ranks of the heavenly demons. Although it may be the same dharma which is cultivated, the surrounding circumstances may vary greatly.

Curing illness with Great Compassion Water is one way of practicing the Bodhisattva Way. But if you want to practice the Bodhisattva Way, you must first cultivate the conduct and actions of a Bodhisattva. You must have a heart which keeps no “self” or “others” and which retains no mark of self, no mark of others, no mark of living beings, and no mark of a lifespan.

Don’t think, “I can cure people’s illnesses, and when I recite the Great Compassion Mantra I elicit a great response.

 “If you think like that, you are attached, and having an attachment you may catch a demonic obstruction. Even without such thoughts, it’s easy enough to get a demonic obstacle when practicing this dharma, since most illnesses are caused either by karma or demons. If the illness is caused by karma, it’s no problem if you cure it. But if it’s caused by a demon and you cure it, the demon may come to possess you, to make war on you. If your Way power is insufficient, if you have none to speak of, you may be led into the sphere of the demon. If you have Way power and if you create an affinity with the demon, he will continually  try to find a chance to come and defeat you in battle.

I used to like to cure illnesses, and when anyone was sick, I would certainly find a way to cure them. But later I ran into a great demonic obstacle. In Manchuria, strange sea-monster demons tried to drown me. They didn’t succeed, but fifty or sixty people died in the flood they created, and over eight hundred homes were destroyed. Later, when I was on my way from Tiensin to Shanghai, the sea monsters tried to overturn the boat and I barely missed being turned into fish-food. After that, when I traveled inland, I seldom cured illnesses.

Curing illness is a good way to establish affinities. But it is also easy to create enmity among the demon-hordes. It has its good and bad points. If you can be without self, others, living beings, or a lifespan-- devoid of these four marks-- then you can pull it off. But if you cannot empty yourself of the four marks, it’s very easy to catch a demon obstacle. Establishing affinities through illness is a complicated matter.

43. TA RA TA RA

       SARA SARA

    

Do you hear the sound? SARA SARA! It’s very fierce! It means “solid power.” This is power which is so solid nothing can harm it.

This solid power can destroy and conquer all heavenly demons and externalists.

It is the Vajra Pestle Hand and Eye which is used to conquer and defeat all hateful demons.

44. TẤT RỊ TẤT RỊ

      SIRI SIRI 

 

SIRI SIRI has three meanings.

 

The first is “resolute,” as in war; when one is resolute one is only victorious and is never defeated.

The second meaning is “supreme,” especially fine and extraordinary because again, there is only victory, never defeated.

Thirdly, it means “auspicious.” Because one is resolute, one is victorious, and consequently all is auspicious.

 

I have told my disciples, by the way, that wherever they go they are only allowed to win, never to lose. If they lose, they can’t come back and see me again. What is use of being such a defeatist? They are nothing but, as they say in Canton, “water-skins.” In northern China we call them “grass-sacks,” the straw bags used for storing rice which are soft and weak and useless. So remember this: whoever wants to be my disciple must always be victorious and have power as solid as the Vajra Pestle! No water-skins or grass-sacks allowed!

 

SIRI SIRI is The Joined Palms Hand and Eye which causes people to be kind and respectful toward one another. But you must truly be victorious, auspicious, and have a resolute heart. It’s not enough just to talk about it; you’ve got to do it.

45. TÔ RÔ TÔ RÔ

      SURU SURU 

SURU SURU means “sweet dew.” This is the Sweet Dew Hand and Eye. Sweet dew has many great uses which have already been discussed. It can cause all the hungry ghosts to become full and to gain the quality of “as-you-will.” It banishes hunger and thirst, brings auspiciousness, and confers many other advantages.

Sweet dew is also called the medicine of immortality. When those who are about to die drink it, they can continue to live. But it’s not easy to obtain sweet dew. If you get some, however, and you drink it, then if you were supposed to die, you can continue to live.

46. BỒ-ÐỀ DẠ BỒ-ÐỀ DẠ

       BUDDHÀYA BUDDHÀYA 

 

These two sentences of the mantra mean “enlightened Way.” It also means “enlightened heart.” If you want to obtain the enlightened Way, you must first have an enlightened heart. Without an enlightened heart you won’t be able to cultivate the enlightened Way. Cultivators must first have a heart which is genuinely awakened and then they will be able to cultivate and realize the enlightened Way.

These two sentences of the mantra are the Non-retreating Gold Wheel Hand and Eye; it is the Bodhi heart which will never retreat. From the present, right up until the time when you realize Buddhahood, the Bodhi heart which you have brought forth will daily grow more vigorous and will never retreat or turn away. Because your Bodhi heart does not retreat, you will quickly realize the fruit of Buddhahood. If your Bodhi heart retreats, slips, then you will do so more slowly.

Cultivators of the Way should be more energetic every day; every day our Bodhi hearts should come forth stronger. Don’t retreat or misplace them.

For example, when listening to Sutras, one should think of them as difficult to encounter. Dharma assemblies are very rare. Although this one seems quite ordinary, if you stop and think about it, it’s quite remarkable. Where else in the world is there such a vigorous assembly that gathers every day to listen to the Dharma? Where else is the Dharma flowing like water, like a river flowing on and on?

Having encountered the Dharma, one should find the time to come and listen to the Dharma no matter how busy one is and no matter who is lecturing. And don’t discriminate between “good” and “inferior” speakers and only come to hear the good speakers. If you keep listening, sooner or later, regardless of who is lecturing, you will hear the genuine principle come forth. No matter who is lecturing, you should come to support the Dharma assembly. Since there are lectures seven nights a week, you should attend seven nights a week. Don’t be lazy!

This Dharma-door is hard to encounter in a billion aeons. Having encountered it, we should make vigorous progress.  Your vigorous progress is just the “non-retreating Bodhi heart.”

 

There are three levels of Non-retreat.

 

The first is Non-retreating in Position. If you have already certified to the fruit of Arhatship, you won’t retreat to the level of a common person. If you have certified to the Bodhisattva fruit, you won’t retreat to the level of the Arhat. If you have certified to the Buddha fruit, you won’t retreat to the level of the Bodhisattva-- unless you yourself wish to do so. For example, if you say, “Now that I have certified to the Buddha fruit, I would like to appear in the body of a Bhikshu in order to teach and transform living beings,” that’s all right.

The second is Non-retreating in Thought. Cultivators may sometimes feel, “It’s boring studying the Buddhadharma! I’m not going to cultivate anymore or go to any more lectures.” This is to retreat in thought. When you retreat in thought, the demon obstacles arise, because the demons are only happy when you are retreating. Once you have attained the level of Non-retreating Thought, however, the more you listen to the Buddhadharma, the more you enjoy listening to it. The more you enjoy listening, the more you come to listen. 

With Non-retreating Thought you will attain The third, Non-retreating Conduct. Conduct means cultivation. Everyday you should be more vigorous and energetic. As you bring forth a courageous and vigorous heart to cultivate the Way, you do not retreat in conduct. If you cultivate the Non-retreating Gold Wheel Hand and Eye, from now right up until the time you realize Buddhahood, you will not retreat. But you must cultivate!

47. BỒ-ÐÀ DẠ BỒ-ÐÀ DẠ

      BUDHÀYA BUDHÀYA 

 

This and the preceding line are the same except for the middle syllable. The Sanskrit BUDHÀYA means “knowing one” and “enlightened one.”

 

Genuine “Knowledge” is wisdom. “Enlightenment” is waking up. The sentence refers to one who has genuine knowledge and has awakened.

 

This is The Transformation Buddha on The Crown Hand and Eye. The Transformation Buddha is the “enlightened one” and the Bodhisattva who cultivates this Hand and Eye is the “knowing one.” Basically, “knowing” and “enlightenment” are not much different from one another.

 

Enlightenment follows knowing; knowing is a level which precedes enlightenment.

 

If you cultivate the Transformation Buddha on the Crown Hand and Eye to accomplishment, you will be one of genuine wisdom, one who is awakened to himself. If you cultivate this hand and eye, the ten direction Buddhas will quickly come to rub you on the crown and confer upon you a prediction of Buddhahood.

 

While reciting the Buddha’s name or holding mantras or doing the work of Dhyana meditation, cultivators may sometimes feel that there is something on top of their head, like a bug crawling around, running back and forth. But when you reach up and brush your head, there’s nothing there. I’ll tell you what it is. At that time, the Buddhas of the ten directions have come to rub you on the crown and confer upon you a prediction of Buddhahood.

 

But without the penetration of the Heavenly Ear, you won’t hear them, and without the penetration of the Heavenly Eye, you won’t see them. Nonetheless, the Buddhas of the ten directions have gone out of their way and made a special trip to come and rub you on the crown and give you a prediction. So if this happens to you, you will know that it’s a response brought about from your cultivation. But don’t let it make you happy or arrogant, thinking “Ah, the Buddhas have come to rub me on the crown and lend their support.” Thoughts of delight or arrogance are attachments, and although it is  a good state, if you become attached it can turn into a bad one.

 

In the last roll of the Shurangama Sutra various states are discussed which are basically responses gained in cultivation. But if a cultivator thinks he has obtained a good state, he becomes attached to it and enters the hordes of deviant practitioners. He becomes possessed by the demons.

 

Therefore, in cultivating dharmas such as these, you must be “thus, thus, unmoving.” Whether it’s a good or a bad state, you should remain unmoved. Remaining unmoved, you have Samadhi power, and with Samadhi power you can come to have wisdom power. With genuine wisdom power, you will be the “knowing one,” the “enlightened one.”

 

48. DI ÐẾ RỊ DẠ

      MAITRIYÉ 

 

MAITRIYÉ means “proper measure.”

It also means “great measure,” that is, a great number.

It also means “great compassion heart.” The compassion heart is great in that it has no boundaries. It protects all living beings and leads them to attain happiness. They return to the origin, avoiding all fear and calamities.

 

This is The Pewter Staff Hand and Eye. The Pewter Staff has nine rings on top, and in the past, those who had left home carried The Pewter Staff when they went walking, and with every step they took the nine rings made a sound, warning all the tiny insects to get out of the way so that they wouldn’t get stepped on. The Pewter Staff  is a Buddhist Treasure. Earth Store Bodhisattva always carries one and uses it as a key to open the gates of hell. If you cultivate this Hand and Eye, your great compassion heart will mature, and you can rescue and protect all living beings.

 

49. NA RA CẨN TRÌ

      NILAKANSTA 

  

NILAKANSTA means “worthy love, foremost worthy,” the foremost leader of the worthies. It also means “good protection, good crown.” The cultivator is able to protect all living beings and be mindful of them and to deliver them to the very highest position of enlightenment.

This is the Jeweled Bottle Hand and Eye, also called the HU Bottle Hand and Eye. This bottle can get rid of all the world’s filth, relieving living beings of all their illnesses. The Bodhisattva who cultivates this Hand and Eye is fully able to protect and be mindful of all living beings. When you have cultivated the Hand and Eye to accomplishment, you will be able to help all beings and to prevent all hardships and disasters.

50. ÐỊA RỊ SẮC NI NA

         TRISA RANA

 

Next, TRISA RANA means “solid and sharp.” It also means “sword.” This is the Jeweled Sword Hand and Eye. Previously, when I taught you the Forty-two Hands and Eyes, I told you that the Jeweled Sword was used to subdue all 魑魅  LI MEI and 魍魎  WANG LIANG ghosts. When you have cultivated this Hand and Eye successfully, all the heavenly demons and externalists and all the 魑魅  LI MEI and 魍魎  WANG LIANG ghosts will be tamed and conquered because they fear your Jeweled Sword. This Hand and Eye is very fierce. If a heavenly demon or externalist refuse to obey your instructions, you can cut him down with your Jeweled Sword!

51. BA DẠ MA NA

     BHAYA MANE 

     

BHAYA MANE has three meanings. It means, “the name is heard,” because the name has been heard throughout the worlds of the ten directions. It also means “joyful praise,” for the Buddhas of the ten directions take delight in praising the name. It also means “accomplishing the name,” and “accomplishing all meaning,” that is, all affairs are accomplished.

This is the Jeweled arrow Hand and Eye. If you cultivate it, you can quickly meet good friends.

 

52. TA BÀ HA

53. TẤT ÐÀ DẠ

54. TA BÀ HA

55. MA HA TẤT ÐÀ DẠ

56. TA BÀ HA

SITAYA. SVAHA.

MAHA SITAYA. SVAHA.

 

53. SITAYA  

 

SITAYA has five meanings “Accomplishment, sudden auspiciousness,” “done”, “perfecting benefit,” “accomplishing all meaning,” and “praising the venerable.”

 

“Accomplishment, sudden auspiciousness”, means that through the use of the power of the mantra we can immediately obtain whatever we wish.

 

You may say, “I recite the Great Compassion Mantra, and I haven’t received anything immediately.” Your recitation requires a corresponding response from your own spiritual skill. Without this corresponding response, there will be no accomplishment. With it, and whatever you seek will follow in accord.

 

SITAYA also means “Done”. Whatever you do, it turns out perfectly. Accomplishing all meaning means that no matter what business is at hand, it will be a success. The perfection of benefit refers to self-benefit and benefitting others. “Praising the venerable” means that everyone says, “You’re very good!”

 

 

55. MAHA SITAYA  

 

MAHA SITAYA: Everyone knows that Ma Ha means “great.” The sentence means that you can accomplish all kinds of great matters, great merit and virtue, and great Way-karma. In everything you do, there is great accomplishment.

 

The two sentences together, SITAYA. SVAHA. MAHA SITAYA. SVAHA.

are Jeweled Sutra Hand and Eye. The Jeweled Sutra is a very precious text, a Dharma treasure. If you cultivate this Hand and Eye you will obtain inexhaustible, endless benefit. In the future, your wisdom and memory will be especially strong, and you will have extensive learning and a powerful memory.

 

Our memories are way off. It’s like not being able to walk without our crutches: after we read something, we can’t remember it clearly. When it’s time to make use of our education, we have to go look things up or check our notes. Why is your memory so poor? It’s because you’ve never cultivated the Jeweled Sutra Hand. If you cultivate it, you’ll have extensive learning and encyclopedic knowledge, like the Venerable Ananda, who was number one in learning.

No doubt the Venerable Ananda had cultivated the Jeweled Sutra Hand and Eye very perfectly for limitless aeons, so that once something passed his ears, he never forgot it, even to the point that he could remember things he hadn’t even heard. Why do I say that? The Venerable Ananda was born on the day the Buddha realized Buddhahood and so  he did not hear the Dharma the Buddha spoke until twenty years later when he left home. Then how could Ananda have compiled the Sutras the Buddha spoke, as he did after the Buddha went to Nirvana?

 

It’s just because he heard the Sutras from the elder disciples and  remembered them. Or it may have been that the elder disciples didn’t tell him, but the Buddha himself personally repeated them to Ananda while Ananda was in samadhi so that he would be able to remember them all. He was able to remember them because he had cultivated the Jeweled Sutra Hand and Eye very completely and his memory strong.

 

People have asked me how to gain a strong memory, and the answer is simply to cultivate the Jeweled Sutra Hand and Eye. No doubt those who remember the Sutras very clearly have an affinity with this Hand and Eye. This is, according to the illustrations, the Bodhisattva emitting light and holding a red banner. His entire body puts forth a brilliant light which represents the unfolding of great wisdom, a strong memory, wide learning, and extensive knowledge--  merit and virtue such as this.

SVAHA 

 

 

In the Great Compassion Mantra, SVAHA is very important. It occurs fourteen times. It has six meanings, and it has these meanings wherever it occurs in any Mantra.

 

 

Its first meaning is “ACCOMPLISHMENT.” If you recite the Mantra, you can accomplish everything you want to accomplish and gain everything you seek. If you don’t have this response, it’s only because you haven’t a sincere heart. If you have a sincere heart and have true faith, you will certainly succeed. But if you have even the slightest bit of disbelief in the mantra, a combination of faith and disbelief, you won’t have accomplishment.

 

Secondly, SVAHA means “AUSPICIOUS.” When you recite the Mantra, all inauspicious affairs become auspicious. But you must have true faith. The Bodhisattvas know whether or not have faith. They know whether you really believe, whether you half believe and half disbelieve, whether you mostly believe and disbelieve just a bit, or whether you mostly disbelieve and only believe a little bit. So if you want accomplishment and want things to be auspicious, or if there is something you want, you must have true faith. For example, if your father is sick and you want him to get well, you may recite the Mantra. If you really believe, there will be a response. Perhaps you may think, “I haven’t seen my best friend for a long time and I’ d like to see him again.” If you recite the Mantra with faith, very quickly you’ll see him. Or you may think, “I have no friends. I’ d like a good friend,” and if you recite the Mantra with faith, and keep it up, you will get a good friend, even a Good Knowing Advisor.

 

The third meaning of SVAHA is “COMPLETELY STILL.” When Bhikshus go off to rebirth, to Nirvana-- when they die-- it is called becoming “completely still.” This is not to say that you recite the Mantra, SVAHA, SVAHA, SVAHA,” then die and become completely still yourself, however; you don’t recite the mantra in order to die. What would be the use of that? No one wants to die. complete stillness means that your merit is complete and the nature of your virtue is still to the extent that ordinary people cannot fathom it and only the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can know your virtuous practice.

 

“ELIMINATING DISASTERS” is the fourth meaning All calamities are put to rest and eliminated.

 

“AUGMENTING BENEFIT” is the fifth meaning. Recitation of SVAHA is especially beneficial.

 

I don’t believe anyone knows what the sixth meaning of SVAHA is. If any of you do, you can tell me.--  Why doesn’t  anyone know? Because I’ve not explained it before. It’s “NON-DWELLING.” In The Vajra Sutra it says, “one should produce that thought which does not dwell anywhere.” Non-dwelling means non-attachment. The heart dwells nowhere and is not attached to anything. Non-attachment means that everything’s all right. It’s a kind of non-activity dharma-- nothing done, yet nothing undone. Non-dwelling is non-activity and non-activity is non-dwelling.

 

When you give rise to a thought, it should not abide anywhere: that is the sixth meaning of SVAHA. You don’t dwell in affliction, ignorance, greed, hatred, stupidity, pride, or doubt. If you have such thoughts, you must hurry and conquer them. Bring them under control so that you dwell nowhere. Conquer them with the Jeweled Sword Hand. You say that your heart is full of greed? I’ll slay it. Full of hate-demons? I’ll cut them down. Stupidity-demons? I’ll chop them into mincemeat! I’ll do it all with my Vajra King Jeweled Sword, my Wisdom Sword. If you want to conquer the heavenly demons and externalists, you must first conquer your own false thinking. When you’ve conquered that, the demons and externalists  will also have been conquered, and even if they come to bother you, they’ll have no way to harm you.

 

Wherever SVAHA occurs, it has these six meanings.

57. TẤT ÐÀ DU NGHỆ

      SITAYAYE 

58. THẤT BÀN RA DẠ

      SHVARAYA

59. TA BÀ HA

      SVAHA 

    

SITA means “accomplishing benefit.” YAYE means “non-activity,” or “empty space.”

SHVARAYA means “comfort.” This is the Jewel-chest Hand and Eye with which one can uncover all the treasures hidden within the earth and use them to benefit living beings.

The sentence means that the principle substance of your self nature has gained comfort and accomplished  all benefits.

60. NA RA CẨN TRÌ

61. TA BÀ HA

62. MA RA NA RA

         PRANILA

63. TA BÀ HA

        SVAHA 

 PRA means “as-you-will.”

NILA means “highly venerated.”

This is the Lariat Hand and Eye, which can bring peace to all troubled situations, such as sickness, mishaps, or obstacles.

The Lariat Hand has many uses. You make a rope out of threads of five colors, and when you have cultivated the Hand and Eye to perfection all you have to do is throw the Lariat and lasso all the strange demons, ghosts, monsters, 魑魅  LI MEI and 魍魎  WANG LIANG ghosts. They won’t be able to get away because you’ve got them tied up. Since they can’t get away, they will surrender. This is a wonderful Dharma, although it looks very ordinary.

64. TẤT RA TĂNG A MỤC KHÊ DA

     SHRISINHAMUKHAYA 

 

65. TA BA HA

        SVAHA 

SHRISIN means “accomplishment, loving protection”—loving protection towards all living beings.

HAMUKHAYA means “not empty, not rejecting.” Not empty refers to existence, but this existence is wonderful existence.

Not rejecting means that not one dharma is cast aside; all dharma are studied. So it is said:

In the practice of the Buddha’s work, not a single dharma is rejected;

In the substance of True Suchness, not a single dust mote is established.

 

HAMUKHAYA also means “loving assembly, harmoniously united.” This refers to cherishing all living beings and living in harmony with them.

This is the Jeweled Ax Hand. If you cultivate it, you won’t undergo imprisonment and in all places, at all times, you will avoid legal problems.

 

The sentence also means that, within your own self nature you comfortably accomplish all merit and virtue.

 

You may wonder, “If I cultivate this dharma, can I break the law and avoid being put in jail?”

 

No! You must not break the law! If you cultivate this dharma and understand the Buddhadharma, how could you break the law? Since you haven’t broken the law, of course you won’t be arrested or imprisoned.

 

Sometimes, however, innocent people are arrested and jailed. This is because they have never cultivated the Jeweled Ax Hand and Eye.

66. TA BÀ MA HA A TẤT ÐÀ DẠ

67. TA BÀ HA

.... 66.  ASTAYA

 

ASTAYA means “unlimited accomplishment,” and means that the Great Vehicle Bodhisattva Dharma can ultimately arrive at the other shore with unlimited accomplishment.

 

This is “The Grape Hand and Eye”. When this hand has been cultivated to accomplishment, your mouth will always have a taste in it which is even sweeter than sugar. You may notice the sweet taste as you cultivate this dharma, and this is the beginning of a response. If you cultivate this hand and plant any grains, vegetables, or fruit trees, bugs will not harm them. They will run off and not eat them. Your fruit trees, peaches, pears, oranges, apples, all of them will grow especially fast and taste especially sweet.

 

The Grape Hand has many uses and with it unlimited Great Vehicle Dharmas are accomplished.

...

68. GIẢ KIẾT RA A TẤT ÐÀ DẠ

           CHAKRA ASTAYA

69. TA BÀ HA

        SVAHA 

CHAKRA ASTAYA means “vajra wheel.” Most vajras are round, but this one is round in a different way from other vajras. The sentence also means “conquering hateful demons.” Demons are Demons because their hearts are always upset.

They are critical of everything. They say, “The Buddhas do things incorrectly and so do the Budhisattvas, Arhats, gods and Yama!” They violently object to  everything and hate everything. “Everything is wrong!”

They are like insane people who pay no attention to any laws at all. They are odds with the entire world. Among people this is called insanity; among the ghosts and spirits it’s called “demonism.”

Hateful demons fill the skies with their hateful energies. “You’re all just too impolite to me,” they complain. “Buddha? I’ll knock him over. Bodhisattvas and Arhats, I’ll do the same. People I’ll eat them all! Ghosts, I’ll squash them beneath my feet. I’ll  grab them and squeeze them to death!” Demons are violent!

With the Vajra Hand and Eye, the vajra wheel, you can smash to smithereens all the heavenly demons externalists, and ghosts. No matter what kind of demon they are, they all submit and are tamed when you use this wheel and perform this dharma. They bow to you and say, “I will reverently follow the rules. I won’t ever break the rules again.” They surrender.

Not only can the Vajra Wheel destroy demons, but it also has a roaring sound. In Taoism they speak of “five thunders which strike your head.”

Thunder usually comes from the sky, but the Taoist Masters can shoot thunder from the palm of their hand. The peal of thunder will freeze the heavenly demons in their tracks and even blow the skin right off their bodies.

I lectured on The Shurangama Sutra I mentioned that I had a friend who could do this. When you have cultivated this Hand and Eye successfully, thunder will sound when you practice this dharma and will conquer all the hateful demonds.

ASTAYA means “incomparable accomplishment.” Nothing compares with the great merits and virtue of this accomplishment, and therefore it can conquer all the hateful demons.

70. BÀ ÐÀ MA YẾT TẤT ÐÀ DẠ

      PADMAKÉSTAYA 

71. TA BÀ HA

      SVAHA 

   

PADMA means “red lotus.”

KÉSTAYA means “good victory.”

 

The Red Lotus is victorious over all and brings about accomplishment. When you cultivate this Dharma, the Red Lotus Hand and Eye, then if you want to ascend into the heavens, it’s very easy to be born in any heaven you wish.

 

72. NA RA CẨN TRÌ BÀN ÐÀ RA DẠ

      NILAKANTÉ PANTALAYA 

73. TA BÀ HA

       SVAHA 

In this sentence of the mantra, NILAKANTÉ means “worthy protection.”

PANTALAYA means “regarding in comfort,” or “regarding the world’s sounds.”

This is the Bestowing Fearlessness Hand and Eye which the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World’s Sounds uses to rescue all living beings, so that they are never afraid in any situation. The Bodhisattva relieves them of all their fears.

74. MA BÀ LỴ THẮNG YẾT RA DẠ

75. TA BÀ HA

      MOPHOLISHAN KARAYA 

      SVAHA 

 

MOPHOLISHAN means “great bravery.” It also means “the virtue of the great hero,” the virtuous practice of the great hero. The Buddha may be called a great hero and so may the Bodhisattva who Regards the world’s Sounds.

KARAYA means “the nature at birth,” or the “basic nature.” This means that the original self nature of living beings has the virtuous practice of a great hero. The great hero’s virtuous practice is the Uniting and Holding Thousand Arms Hand and Eye. This Hand and Eye can conquer all the hateful demons, not only in our world, but in all the worlds in the cosmos.

Those who cultivate the Forty-two Hands and Eyes should know that this Hand and Eye is the most important of the forty-two. When you cultivate it, all the other forty-two are included within it.

“Then can I  only cultivate this one hand and not cultivate the other forty-one?” you ask.

You can, if you like being lazy. If you  aren’t lazy, you’ll cultivate all forty-two together. If, on the other hand, you like being lazy and would like to cultivate towards becoming a lazy Bodhisattva, then you can cultivate the last one which includes all the others. It will take a bit longer to have success, however, because if you are lazy, the dharma won’t be accomplished quickly. So, there are no fixed dharma. If you don’t want to  become a lazy Bodhisattva, then you would do well not to worry about taking more time to cultivate a bit more of the dharma.

76. NAM-MÔ HẮT RA ÐÁT NA ÐA RA DẠ DA

77. NAM-MÔ A RỊ DA

78. BÀ LÔ YẾT ÐẾ

79. THƯỚC BÀNG RA DẠ

80. TA BÀ HA

81. ÁN! TẤT ÐIỆN ÐÔ

82. MẠNG ÐA RA

83. BẠT ÐÀ DẠ

84. TA BÀ HA

 

ÐẠI-BI-TÂM ĐÀ-RA-NI

 

 

1. NAM-MÔ HẮC RA ÐÁT NA ÐA RA DẠ DA

2. NAM-MÔ A RỊ DA

3. BÀ LÔ YẾT ÐẾ THƯỚC BÁC RA DA

4. BỒ-ÐỀ TÁT ÐỎA BÀ DA

5. MA HA TÁT ÐỎA BÀ DA

6. MA HA CA LÔ NI CA DA

7. ÁN

8. TÁT BÀN RA PHẠT DUỆ

9. SỐ ÐÁT NA ÐÁT TỎA

10. NAM-MÔ TẤT KIẾT LẬT ÐỎA Y MÔNG A RỊ DA

11. BÀ LÔ KIẾT ÐẾ THẤT PHẬT RA LĂNG ÐÀ BÀ

12. NAM-MÔ NA RA CẨN TRÌ

13. HÊ RỊ MA HA BÀN ÐA SA MẾ

14. TÁT BÀ A THA ÐẬU THÂU BẰNG

15. A THỆ DỰNG

16. TÁT BÀ TÁT ÐA, NA MA BÀ TÁT ÐA, NA MA BÀ GIÀ

17. MA PHẠT ÐẠT ÐẬU

18. ÐÁT ÐIỆT THA

19. ÁN! A BÀ LÔ HÊ

20. LÔ CA ÐẾ

21. CA RA ÐẾ

22. DI HÊ RỊ

23. MA HA BỒ-ÐỀ TÁT ÐỎA

24. TÁT BÀ TÁT BÀ

25. MA RA MA RA

26. MA HÊ MA HÊ RỊ ÐÀ DỰNG

27. CU-LÔ CU-LÔ KIẾT MÔNG

28. ÐỘ LÔ ÐỘ LÔ PHẠT XÀ DA ÐẾ

29. MA HA PHẠT XÀ DA ÐẾ

30. ÐÀ RA ÐÀ RA

31. ÐỊA RỊ NI

32. THẤT PHẬT RA DA

33. DÁ RA DÁ RA

34. MẠ MẠ PHẠT MA RA

35. MỤC ÐẾ LỆ

36. Y HÊ DI HÊ

37. THẤT NA THẤT NA

38. A RA SÂM PHẬT RA XÁ-LỢI

39. PHẠT SA PHẠT SÂM

40. PHẬT RA XÁ DA

41. HÔ LÔ HÔ LÔ MA RA

42. HÔ LÔ HÔ LÔ HÊ LỴ

43. TA RA TA RA

44. TẤT RỊ TẤT RỊ

45. TÔ RÔ TÔ RÔ

46. BỒ-ÐỀ DẠ BỒ-ÐỀ DẠ

47. BỒ-ÐÀ DẠ BỒ-ÐÀ DẠ

48. DI ÐẾ RỊ DẠ

49. NA RA CẨN TRÌ

50. ÐỊA RỊ SẮC NI NA

51. BA DẠ MA NA

52. TA BÀ HA

53. TẤT ÐÀ DẠ

54. TA BÀ HA

55. MA HA TẤT ÐÀ DẠ

56. TA BÀ HA

57. TẤT ÐÀ DU NGHỆ

58. THẤT BÀN RA DẠ

59. TA BÀ HA

60. NA RA CẨN TRÌ

61. TA BÀ HA

62. MA RA NA RA

63. TA BÀ HA

64. TẤT RA TĂNG A MỤC KHÊ DA

65. TA BA HA

66. TA BÀ MA HA A TẤT ÐÀ DẠ

67. TA BÀ HA

68. GIẢ KIẾT RA A TẤT ÐÀ DẠ

69. TA BÀ HA

70. BÀ ÐÀ MA YẾT TẤT ÐÀ DẠ

71. TA BÀ HA

72. NA RA CẨN TRÌ BÀN ÐÀ RA DẠ

73. TA BÀ HA

74. MA BÀ LỴ THẮNG YẾT RA DẠ

75. TA BÀ HA

76. NAM-MÔ HẮT RA ÐÁT NA ÐA RA DẠ DA

77. NAM-MÔ A RỊ DA

78. BÀ LÔ YẾT ÐẾ

79. THƯỚC BÀNG RA DẠ

80. TA BÀ HA

81. ÁN! TẤT ÐIỆN ÐÔ

82. MẠNG ÐA RA

83. BẠT ÐÀ DẠ

84. TA BÀ HA

 

MAHA  KARUNA  DHARANI

 

1. NAMO RATNATRAYÀYA

2. NAMO ARYA     

3. AVALOKITÉSHAVARAYA

4. BODHISATTVAYA

5. MAHASATTVAYA

6. MAHA KARUNIKAYA

7. AUM!

8. SAVALAVATI

9. SUDHANATASYA

10. NAMASKRITTVA NIMAN ARYA

11. AVALOKITÉSHAVARA LANTABHA

12. NAMO NILAKANTHA

13. SRI MAHAPATASHAMI

14. SARVAD VATASHUBHAM

15. ASHIYUM

16. SARVASATTVA NAMO PASATTVA NAMO BHAGA

17. MABHATETU

18. TADYATHA

19. AUM! AVALOKA

20. LOKATE

21. KALATI

22. ISHIRI

23. MAHABODHISATTVA

24. SABHO SABHO

25. MARA MARA

26. MASHI MASHI RIDHAYU

27. GURU GURU GHAMAIN

28. DHURU DHURU BHASHIYATI

29. MAHA BHASHIYATI

30. DHARA DHARA

31. DHIRINI

32. SHVARAYA

33. JÁLA JÁLA

34. MÀMÀ BHÀMARA

35. MUDHILI 

36. EHY EHY 

37. SHINA SHINA

38. ALASHINBALASHÁRI

39. BASHÁ BHASNIN

40. BHARASHÁYA

41. HULU HULU PRA

42. HULU HULU SHRI

43. SARA SARA

44. SIRI SIRI 

45. SURU SURU 

46. BUDDHÀYA BUDDHÀYA

47. BODHÀYA BODHÀYA

48. MAITRIYÉ 

49. NILAKANSTA

50. TRISA RANA

51. BHAYA MANE

52. SVAHA

53. SITAYA

54. SVAHA 

55. MAHA SITAYA 

56. SVAHA

57. SITAYAYE

58. SHVARAYA

59. SVAHA

60. NILAKANTHI

61. SVAHA 

62. PRANILA

63. SVAHA 

64. SHRISINHAMUKHAYA

65. SVAHA

66. SARVA MAHA ASTAYA

67. SVAHA 

68. CHAKRA ASTAYA

69. SVAHA 

70. PADMAKÉSHAYA

71. SVAHA

72. NILAKANTÉ PANTALAYA

73. SVAHA 

74. MOPHOLISHAN KARAYA

75. SVAHA

76. NAMO RATNATRAYAYA

77. NAMO ARYA

78. AVALOKITÉ

79. SHAVARAYA

80. SVAHA 

81. AUM! SIDDHYANTU

82. MANTRA

83. PATAYA

84. SVAHA