The Art Of Meditation
By Master Sheng-yen Lu
Translated and published by Lei Zang Si Singapore
This was translated from Grandmaster Lu's 45th book,
坐禪通明法.
CHAPTER
8 - Evidence for External
Empowerment
I once heard some Esoteric masters criticizing some Exoteric master:
"Could you become Buddhas just by reciting the name of the Buddha
and singing? Still a long way to go!" Some Exoteric masters
criticized Esoteric masters: "You practice all sorts of strange and
bizarre ways. You say you radiate lights. Is that true?" As the
Exoteric and Esoteric teachings advocate different ways of practice,
there is inevitably misunderstanding between the two schools, and
rejection and criticism are unavoidable among masters who do not know
the true meaning of the other.
I would make the following distinction between the two schools, in terms
of internal power and external power.
For Esoteric practice, you become a Buddha in the present life, mostly
by internal power plus a minor portion of external power.
For Exoteric practice, you get a rebirth in the Buddha land mostly by
external power, plus a minor portion of internal power.
Moreover, Buddhist teachings have always regarded Taoist teachings as
heretic (worshipping gods and ghosts), which is not a correct attitude.
Taoist practitioners also have rank distinctions. The highest in rank
are gold celestial beings, next below are heavenly celestial beings,
further down are Earth immortals, and then below that are ghost
immortals. Gold celestials rank equal with the Four Nobles, also out of
the cyclic realms of existence. Buddhism and Taoism have comparable
realms. The Heavenly celestial beings are the various gods in Heaven;
the Earth Immortals are gods in this world of endurance, while the ghost
immortals are gods in all the realms.
In whatever way you practice, as long as the right thought dominates and
the concentrated mind can emit lights, your meditation will in due
course get blessed by external power, so as to achieve realization.
Practice in keeping with the teachings will certainly produce responses.
This is what I make bold to tell my readers here. The reason is that all
the Buddhas are kind and compassionate; if they do not bless and embrace
those who practice honestly, how could they claim to have the greatest
kindness and the greatest compassion?
Esoteric masters say that "to become a Buddha in the present
life" is direct, whereas "to get rebirth with you karma"
in the Pure Land teachings is indirect. However, in practicing Esoteric
teachings, we also need external force for empowerment. I shall write
about this in the next chapter. What follows is a discussion on
empowerment by external force in the Pure Land.
The Pure Land teachings were brought to China by the Indian monk
Buddhacinga (232-348) during the East Jin Dynasty and the Northern and
Southern Dynasties. He first taught the doctrine to Tao An, and later
Master Hui Yuan (334-416) established a school. When Master Hui Yuan was
reading sutras in the Sutra Attic, he found a short version of the
Amitabha Sutra. (The original was too long: Sutra protected by all
Buddhas who praise the inconceivable merit of the Pure Land.) The sutra
talked about birth into the Pure Land by reciting the Buddha's name.
Master Hui Yuan believed that this was very easy, and set up the Pure
Land School for its practice.
The Amitabha Sutra says: "Sariputra, if a kind man or kind woman
hears about Amitabha, and recites his name for one day, for two days,
for three days, four, five, six or seven days, without distraction of
the mind, when that person passed away, Amitabha and other Buddhas will
appear before that person; if the person's mind is not confused, he/she
will be born into Amitabha's Land of Great Bliss."
This paragraph from the Amitabha Sutra makes practitioners believe that
the Pure Land Way was very easy, and for this reason, the Pure Land Sect
thrived. A second reason was that the Pure Land Way could be practices
by anybody, at any time, and at any place, relying on the blessing by
other powers rather than one's own. This made it extremely convenient.
However, I would believe that it is also very difficult to practice the
Pure Land teachings. The difficulty lies in "the mind is not
confused" and "without distraction of mind". When we are
passing away, the six types of deceased relatives will surely come to
meet us, devils produced by our karma will also come to fetch us, and on
top of that, our family members will be crying and wailing. Under such
circumstances, very few people could keep their mind unconfused and get
rid of all distractions. Though we say this Dharma gate is convenient,
it is not so easy to be born in the Buddha's Pure Land without great
concentration power.
What is the power we need in order not to be distracted or confused? It
is no other than meditation power. That is why I say that if you have
not practiced meditation power, your mind will be confused and
distracted, making it difficult to go to the Western Paradise.
In fact, in the Western Paradise, there are three hundred sixty
trillion, one hundred nineteen thousand and five hundred Amitabhas by
the same name. In the Buddha lands, there are four lands and nine
grades, corresponding to the nine grades of aspirants to Amida's Pure
Land. The highest is the Land of External, Tranquil Light, where those
with Perfect Enlightenment (rank 13), and Wondrous Enlightenment (rank
12) live--that is the land for Buddhas. The next highest is the
"Land of Non-Hindrance as the true reward for the performance of
meditation practice", where those of Equal Enlightenment live
(ranks 8, 9, 10, 11). Next is the "Land temporarily established for
those who have destroyed major evil passions, thereby attaining
emancipation from delusions to be dealt with". These are
Bodhisattvas and Arhants from rank one to rank seven, considered as the
highest birth of the highest class. The lowest is the land where
ordinary people and sages live together. From the middle birth of the
highest class, down to the lowest birth of the lowest class is the Realm
that Dharma Kara created by his great vows of compassion, for
transformation bodies. All those still with karma live in this land.
This is not a high state. The transformation bodies need practice,
meditation and reciting the name of Buddha, need to visit the various
Buddha lands, and need to make offerings to Buddhas in the ten
directions. To put it simply, the Land for ordinary people and sages is
a "preparatory class" for Buddhahood and Bodhisattvahood.
I feel that if Pure Land practitioners also learn to practice
meditation, then they can practice visualization, in addition to
recitation of Amida's name, thought of Amida, and looking at Amida's
statue. The self-power from meditation and Amida's embracing power will
merge to take the practitioner to the Western Paradise without any
doubt. Meditation for luminosity in particular is very effective, and,
if Pure Land practitioners also practice meditation, they will certainly
go tho the Western Paradise. This is: "Meditation without Pure Land
teachings will go astray in nine cases our to ten. Meditation plus Pure
Land teachings will be like a tiger with horns." This is to say
that both of them are important.
Here is how I describe how to do visualization:
Visualize yourself as Amitabha, standing on a lotus seat in red
clothing, holding a golden lotus in the left hand, right hand downward
with fingers straight together to form the Mudra of compassion. On your
right stands Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Kuan Yin), in white, with the
left hand hanging down, and the right hand holding a white lotus in full
bloom. On your left stands Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, in pink, with
the right hand hanging down, and the left hand holding a bell. Visualize
further that over your own Amitabha, there are auspicious clouds, in
which a Buddha is sitting on a lotus seat which, is the Bodhicitta of
your own Nature. The lotus stem under the flower goes from your crown to
your pubic region.
Recite four times the fourfold refuge mantra: "Namo Guru bei, Namo
Buddha ye, Namo Dharma ye, Namo Sangha ye."
Recite the text for Bodhicitta generation, according to your own vows.
Now recite: "Hum" nine times, and say it loudly just once, to
show that the crown is smashed open and is emitting the five-colored
lights of the Buddha.In the lights appear the incarnations of the Three
Nobles in the Western Paradise (Amitabha Buddha, Avalokitesvara
Bodhisattva and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva), and the auspicious clouds
begin to illuminate. The stem of the lotus seat for the self-Nature
Bodhicitta is also radiating strong white light, going right to the
pubic region through the crown.
At this stage, one moment the five-color Buddha lights go up; the next
moment the white lights go down to the pubic region, until they become a
kind of circulation. This will happen seven times.
When this is completed, recite the mantra in concentration, "Om,
Y-ma, loh-nee, ze-din-deeh-ye, sa-he". Recite this mantra 108 or
1000 times.
Now, recite the verse of Merit Transference: "When I am about to
pass away, may all hindrances be eradicated. May I go and see the
Buddha, and transcend life and death, and may I, like Buddha, deliver
all beings from suffering."
This brings the session to a finish.
The present writer knows, however, that the most important thing about
practice is to do it every day without interruption. Don't do it every
tenth day! Take the practice for your daily official homework. What is
particularly important is your single-mindedness; don't follow your
inclinations. If your thoughts are kept away from worldly affairs, you
will naturally develop an affinity with the Buddhas and celestial
beings. A combination of the Pure Land teachings and meditation is the
most wondrous method. Daily perseverance will sooner or later bring
forth responses and blessing from the Buddhas and celestial beings.
If Esoteric masters criticize the Exoteric masters, the former is to
blame. If Exoteric masters criticize Esoteric masters, it is the former
that is to blame. If Buddhist criticize Taoists, the Buddhists are to
blame. The reason for all this is that, although cultivation methods are
different, the difference lies only in the amount of self-power and
other power. The Esoteric practitioners also use external force for
empowerment, and have no reason to laugh at Exoteric cultivators. Nor is
the reverse acceptable.
Source: http://www.padmakumara.org
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Up Preface 01 - Cultivation of the Mind 02 - Removal of Karmic Hindrance and the Four Preliminaries 03 - The Struggle Between True Nature and Consciousness 04 - Visualization 05 - The Active Original Spirit 06 - Workings of the Five Aggregates 07 - Correct Responses in Meditation 08 - Evidence for External Empowerment 09 - The Three Stages in Meditation 10 - Wisdom in the Threefold Contemplation 11 - The Light of the Third Eye 12 - Merit in Making Offerings 13 - The Secret Empowerment I Received 14 - What Is Meant by Wild Fox Zhan? 15 - Tantric Practice of Meditation #1 16 - Tantric Practice of Meditation #2 17 - Tantric Practice of Meditation #3 18 - Tantric Practice of Meditation #4 19 - Tantric Practice of Meditation #5 20 - Realization of the Pure Land Practices 21 - Realization of the Taoist Practice 22 - Prajnaparamita Hrdaya Sutra: A Realized Realm 23 - The Equality of Tantrayana and Sutrayana 24 - Another Evidence for Remote Spiritual Healing 25 - Talisman Healing of Asthma and More 26 - The Root Guru Response Method 27 - The Divine Hand and Spiritual Healing 28 - Responses to Good God's Foresight 29 - Beware of "Absolute Emptiness"
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