“Monks, I will teach you about the nature of a person without integrity and a person with integrity. Listen carefully and pay close attention.”
“Yes, Lord,” the monks replied in unison.
The Blessed One began, “What defines a person without integrity? Such a person is ungrateful and unthankful. This ingratitude and lack of thankfulness are characteristics of rude individuals and belong entirely to those without integrity. These individuals fail to recognize and appreciate the good done to them by others. They are driven by selfish desires and a sense of entitlement, neglecting the virtue of gratitude, which is the foundation of a harmonious and compassionate society.
“In contrast, a person with integrity is grateful and thankful. This gratitude and thankfulness are traits of civilized individuals and belong entirely to those with integrity. They recognize the value of the kindness and support they receive from others and make it a point to express their appreciation. Such individuals foster positive relationships and contribute to a community where mutual respect and support flourish.
“Monks, there are two people who are difficult to repay. Who are they? Your mother and father. Even if you were to carry your mother on one shoulder and your father on the other for 100 years, attending to their needs by anointing, massaging, bathing, and rubbing their limbs, even if they were to defecate and urinate right there on your shoulders, you still would not have repaid them. If you were to establish them in absolute sovereignty over this great earth, filled with the seven treasures, you still would not have repaid them.
“Why is that? Because parents do much for their children. They care for them, nourish them, and introduce them to this world. From the moment of birth, parents make countless sacrifices, enduring sleepless nights and countless worries to ensure their child’s well-being. They provide food, shelter, education, and unconditional love, guiding their children through the complexities of life. These acts of love and devotion create a debt that is immeasurable.
“However, monks, the greatest way to repay one’s parents is not through material means or physical care alone. True repayment comes from leading them towards the path of virtue and wisdom. If someone inspires his unbelieving mother and father to have faith, guides his unvirtuous parents towards virtue, encourages his stingy parents to be generous, and leads his foolish parents to wisdom, then, to that extent, he has repaid his mother and father.
“Consider the transformative power of such actions. When you rouse your unbelieving parents to embrace faith, you open their hearts to a greater understanding of life’s purpose. By encouraging them to practice virtue, you help them cultivate qualities that bring inner peace and happiness. Inspiring them to be generous allows them to experience the joy of giving, and guiding them towards wisdom leads them to a deeper comprehension of the world and their place in it.
“Monks, remember that integrity and gratitude are the cornerstones of a meaningful life. By embodying these virtues and helping others, especially your parents, to do the same, you contribute to a legacy of compassion and understanding that extends beyond your lifetime. This is the true measure of repayment and the highest expression of filial piety.”
The monks, deeply moved by the Blessed One’s words, reflected on the profound teachings and resolved to cultivate integrity and gratitude in their own lives, vowing to honor and repay their parents in the most meaningful way.
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, from beginningless eons, has been tirelessly saving countless sentient beings with his immense compassionate power. Despite his boundless efforts, he felt a sense of inadequacy. Thus, from the power of samadhi born of great compassion, he formed an immense compassionate force. This force, combined with the great compassionate power of Buddhas from the ten directions, resulted in a drop of green tear flowing from his eye, transforming into the infinitely majestic green female Bodhisattva, known as Green Tara. Due to this origin, Tara’s power to save is boundless and infinite.
Green Tara is revered as the Great Compassionate One and the Holy Savior Mother Buddha. The practice of the Green Tara ritual has a rich history that originated in India and later spread to China, Tibet, Japan, and beyond. The sacred roots of this practice trace back to Green Tara herself, who was initially the ancient Buddha Pravartaka and an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva.
Chanting the Green Tara mantra even once, with focused contemplation of Tara’s sacred image, brings immense merit. Such merit is equivalent to chanting the names of seventy-two billion Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Both the exoteric and esoteric traditions have extensive practices based on this ritual, and many practitioners have achieved great success and benefit from it.
Over time, the original texts and mandalas related to this profound practice have suffered from omissions and distortions in their transmission. For the past two hundred years, these deviations have increasingly moved away from the authentic regulations. In recent decades, the practice has nearly completely lost its true essence. Furthermore, the representations of Green Tara have deteriorated in form, lacking the dignity of the authentic appearance. This includes discrepancies in hand mudras, attire, and overall sacred depiction, resulting in a significant loss for the Buddhist community.
The Green Tara Perfect Practice Ritual and Thangka by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III
In response to these issues, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III transmitted the “Green Tara Perfect Practice Ritual” and personally supervised the creation of the Green Tara mandala thangka.
This three-dimensional thangka is not only lightweight and portable, making it easy to carry, but also presents the mandala clearly and vividly, ensuring that it remains etched in memory. Additionally, it possesses several extraordinary merits:
Authenticity and Compliance: The Green Tara mandala presented in the thangka fully complies with the regulations of the “Green Tara Perfect Practice Ritual.” This ensures that the practice remains true to its original form.
Historical and Miraculous Significance: Tara had already attained Buddhahood countless eons ago, her divine power is illustrious, and her sacred deeds are well-documented. Today, in the “Tara Hall” in Nethang, Tibet, the sacred statue of Tara once spoke to Atisha, instructing him, further propagating her holy name and Dharma power across China and Tibet. During the creation of this three-dimensional thangka, many miraculous occurrences were witnessed. For example, the sacred image of Tara, originally looking straight ahead, appeared differently in subsequent photographs taken from the same angle: one showed her looking up at the sky, while the other depicted her looking down at sentient beings. This clearly demonstrates Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva’s extraordinary vow power: above, he shares the same compassionate force with all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; below, he joins in compassionate aspiration with all sentient beings in the six realms. Additionally, when viewed from different angles, the main deity of Green Tara always faces the observer, and the seed syllables in the sky behind her follow her movement, appearing above her head. Furthermore, the colorful clouds, initially close to the sun and moon, seem to remain stationary while the sun and moon move vividly between the clouds from different perspectives.
Majestic and Unmatched Representation: The sacred image of Green Tara in the thangka is exceptionally majestic and perfect, unrivaled in both China and Tibet throughout history. The twenty Taras, each with different postures, exhibit supreme Dharma power, arranged behind the main deity, appearing and disappearing miraculously. Notably, standing in different positions reveals the Great Brahma Deva, the primary protector, initially as one, then suddenly as two, and then back to one again, a phenomenon unprecedented in history! Meanwhile, the Four Great Heavenly Kings and the Eight Dragon Kings remain unchanged. Additionally, Indra, the Four Great Heavenly Kings, and the retinue of the Eight Dragon Kings, wielding their divine weapons and instruments, surround and protect Tara with unmatched divine transformation. Visualizing this thangka makes the practice highly effective and rapidly fruitful.
Validation and Praise
Upon the completion of the “Green Tara Perfect Mandala Thangka,” Buddha Master specifically instructed disciples to bring all existing Green Tara statues of various materials from around the world to the Vajra Dharma Circle for public verification. They were to determine which one is the most orthodox and perfect thangka. The Vajra marbles immediately entered the mandala thangka, confirming that the Buddhas and Dharma protectors of the ten directions unanimously endorsed it.
Many of the seven classes of Buddhist disciples, upon practicing with this three-dimensional thangka, experienced unprecedented and unique realms. High monks, living Buddhas, and even Dharma Kings from around the world have all respectfully praised and recommended this rare and precious sacred image. In truth, among all the existing Green Tara images, none can compare to the perfection and majesty of this mandala thangka. Its blessing power is extraordinarily miraculous; a single glance imprints it deeply in the mind, leaving a lasting impression.
The Green Tara Perfect Practice Ritual and its accompanying thangka, as transmitted and supervised by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, represent a revival of the authentic practice of Green Tara. This thangka not only restores the true essence of the practice but also enhances the spiritual experience for practitioners worldwide, offering unparalleled blessings and merits.
The speech given by the Venerable Rambo Tsemang at the 2024 Dharma ceremony in honor of the holy birthday of Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III on June 15, 2024, is published below.
Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III!
Namo Shakyamuni Buddha, Lord of Buddhism in the Saha World!
Namo Yuhua Shouzhi Wang Holy Mother the Great Mahasattva!
Namo all Buddhas in the ten directions, Vajra Beings, Bodhisattvas, Sky-goers, and Dharma Protectors!
Today, Buddhist disciples from all over the world have once again gathered here to commemorate the Holy Birthday and infinite merit of Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III. We want to express our gratitude to Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III for bringing to humanity His magnificent, unprecedented, and unsurpassed Buddha Dharma and accomplishment in the Five Vidyas.
I will summarize the questions that some of you have raised recently and share my personal thoughts for your reference.
First: Cultivation is the foundation for all Buddhists to attain liberation
Throughout the time that Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III propagated Dharma to save living beings, His Holiness the Buddha continuously reminded Buddhist disciples that cultivation is of utmost importance, and it is the only foundation for attaining liberation. In many audio recordings of expounded Dharmas, Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III taught many aspects of cultivation and emphasized that Buddhist disciples must practice cultivation at all times. Therefore, we must always remember the teachings of Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III by respectfully listening to the audio recordings of the Dharmas of His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III and reading the “Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III Complete Sutra Collection.” That is how we may learn correct knowledge and views and apply them in our own cultivation practice. This is very important for all Buddhist disciples. We must always remember that it is by practicing cultivation that we may accumulate good fortune and merit, stay away from dark karma, receive initiation to the highest Dharmas, and ultimately attain liberation from transmigration and cyclical birth and death. We must not pay lip service to practicing cultivation. Cultivation must be applied to every thought, word, and deed.
Some people tend to sway or regress from their cultivation whenever they encounter setbacks, but they should not be like that. We should know that during our transmigration since beginningless time, we have done so many bad deeds and taken on so much dark karma. All of our suffering and adversities are the effects of bad causes that we planted. By understanding this, we then understand that both good times and bad times are opportunities for us to practice our own cultivation. As our respected ancient elders said, “We do not evade bad retributions and face them with ease. We must be cautious with our every word and deed to plant good causes.”
Second: Actively Promote the “Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III Complete Sutra Collection”
Ever since Buddha Shakyamuni established Buddhism in our sahā world, the Sutras of the World Honored Buddha have enabled innumerable Buddhist disciples to attain liberation and accomplishment. The “Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III Complete Sutra Collection” is, once again, a collection of Dharmas expounded by a Buddha in this world. This Collection will certainly enable many more Buddhist disciples to attain liberation. Namo Buddha Shakyamuni’s Sutras have been the guidance that we have followed for more than 2,000 years. Upon that foundation, Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III used simple language to teach us the quintessence of Buddha Dharma, and the essentials for attaining liberation and accomplishment. Therefore, the “Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III Complete Sutra Collection” is and will be the fundamental guide for all Buddhist cultivators in the sahā world to attain liberation.
Since we have received this supreme Dharma treasure, the “Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III Complete Sutra Collection,” we should apply the four limitless states of mind and Bodhicitta to enable more people to learn the Sutra Collection. Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III taught us that we will accumulate the most abundant merit by propagating Dharma to benefit living beings and that more merit we have, the sooner we can attain Buddhahood. The best method to propagate Dharma now is to actively promote the “Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III Complete Sutra Collection.” This is the quickest way for us to accumulate merit.
Think about this: In the Diamond Sutra, Buddha Shakyamuni told Subhuti that if someone were to grasp just the four-line gatha of the Dharma and make it known and explain it in detail to living beings, this person’s merit would far exceed someone who were to fill the billion worlds of this universe with the seven jewels in almsgiving.
The four-line gatha is only about emptiness and Dharmakaya. The “Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III Complete Sutra Collection” comprises the truth about Dharmakāya, Saṃbhogakāya and Nirmāṇakāya, and how to attain realization states of the Three Bodies. Therefore, by promoting the “Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III Complete Sutra Collection,” not only will you enable others to understand the truth contained in the four-line gatha; you may even enable them to achieve abidance in the realization states described in that four-line gatha and become a holy person. Then your merit will increase even more. That’s why whenever you introduce one person to study the “Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III Complete Sutra Collection,” you will gain an increment of merit.
However, we must be clear that explaining the four-line gatha to others or promoting the Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III Complete Sutra Collection doesn’t mean that we as ordinary people would then quote Dharma out of context or randomly explain Dharma to others. In doing so, we would end up in the hell realm. We should guide living beings to study the Sutras and respectfully listen to the audio recordings of the Dharmas themselves, so that they can learn directly from His Holiness the Buddha. In this way, we can also increase our merit without incurring any sins.
Third: Make Effort to Protect the Dharma
There are many different ways to protect the Dharma, such as protecting organizations that propagate true Tathagata Dharma or supporting Buddhist cultivators who have correct knowledge and views and who practice in accordance with the Dharma. What I want to talk about here is how to protect the Dharma on the Internet.
In the current Internet era, Buddhist disciples make use of the Internet to propagate Buddha Dharma. However, evil demons also make use of the Internet to slander true Buddha Dharma. Therefore, if any one of us sees any evil deeds of slandering the Buddha or the Dharma, we must rebut those slander with correct knowledge and views.
There are two things that we must not misunderstand about protecting the Dharma.
First, it is seriously wrong to think that rebutting others is getting yourself tied up in matters of right and wrong. It is only with correct knowledge and views that you may understand Buddha Dharma, but some people understand Dharma incorrectly due to their incorrect knowledge and views. We must be very clear about this without any confusion: If a Buddhist disciple cannot differentiate between correct and incorrect knowledge and views, how can they properly understand the Dharma? If they cannot understand the Dharma, how can they attain accomplishment? Getting involved in matters of right and wrong usually refers to personal arguments about who’s right and who’s wrong as a result of attachments to self and to worldly phenomena. This is not the same as defending the correct meaning of the Dharma. The meaning of Dharma must be made clear.
Second: It is wrong to think, “I don’t want to do the work of protecting the Dharma, but I will make effort to practice forbearance and cultivate my conduct.” Actually, protecting the Dharma is an important aspect of cultivation. If you don’t protect Buddha Dharma, you are essentially a fake Buddhist who is not cultivating yourself. Therefore, it will be impossible for you to attain accomplishment. When cultivating ourselves, if anyone points out our shortcomings or wrongdoings, we should thank them, reflect upon ourselves, and do better in our cultivation. For whatever reasons, if someone insults us or attacks us, we should ignore those distractions and focus on cultivating ourselves with forbearance. But if the attacks are targeted toward the Buddha and Buddha Dharma, we must step up and fearlessly protect the Buddha and Buddha Dharma. Even if we don’t have enough abilities on our own, we can work with other Buddhists and discuss how to protect the Dharma together. If we don’t even protect the Buddha, if we don’t protect the integrity and benefit of Buddha Dharma, will Buddhas and Bodhisattvas receive us in the Buddha Lands? Will Dharma Protecting Bodhisattvas and deities help us?
All in all, if we want to attain liberation and accomplishment, we must cultivate ourselves. To cultivate ourselves, we must abide by the precepts, promote the “Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III Complete Sutra Collection,” and protect the Dharma. By doing these three things well, we can quickly eliminate our dark karma, accumulate merit, receive Buddha Dharma, and be liberated from transmigration forever! Throughout Buddhist history, all holy people who attained holy accomplishments were precept-abiding. They all propagated Dharma to benefit living beings. They all protected the Dharma. That’s how respected ancient elders attained accomplishment. These are also the things that we must do to attain accomplishment.
Here, I wish that all congregants and living beings fulfill their good wishes, have good fortune and wisdom, and attain accomplishment and liberation! I wish that the countries that you live in be prosperous and powerful, and that all people enjoy happiness. May there be peace in the world and the circumstances of all living beings be auspicious.
Finally, let us once again pay obeisance:
Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III!
Namo Shakyamuni Buddha, Lord of Buddhism in the Saha World!
Namo Yuhua Shouzhi Wang Holy Mother the Great Mahasattva!
Namo all Buddhas in the ten directions, Vajra Beings, Bodhisattvas, Sky-goers, and Dharma Protectors!
The “Ten Paths to Happiness” sutra, where an eight-year-old girl named Sumati asks Buddha ten profound questions. These questions explore essential aspects of human life and happiness, and Buddha provides insightful answers. This sutra is significant as it presents complex philosophical ideas in an accessible manner through the dialogue between Buddha and a child.
Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha was in the city of Rājagṛha, on the mountain of Gṛdhrakūṭa, along with a great assembly of bhikṣus, twelve hundred and fifty people in all. The bodhisattva-mahāsattvas there numbered ten thousand in all.
At that time in the city of Rājagṛha, there was a laywoman named Sumati, who was in her eighth year. Her appearance and features were upright, colorful, and beautiful, appearing so nice that those who saw her were happy. Already, she had approached and made offerings before innumerable buddhas of the past, planting good roots. When that maiden went to the place of the Tathāgata, she bowed her head at the feet of the Buddha, and then circled around him three full times to the right. Kneeling with palms joined, she spoke a gāthā:
Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi Is a lamp for the entire world! Of the practices of a bodhisattva, I wish you would hear my questions!
The Buddha said to Sumati, “You may now ask questions as you like, and the answers will cut through your net of doubts.” At that time, Sumati went before the Buddha and spoke a gāthā to inquire:
How can one attain upright features And a body of wealth and nobility? Moreover, what causes and conditions Make kinship difficult to destroy?
How may one perceive oneself Receiving birth by transformation, Arising from a thousand-petaled lotus flower, And giving reverence to the bhagavāns face-to-face?
How is one able to attain realization Of supreme and sovereign superknowledge, And go off to innumerable lands To pay homage to the buddhas?
How can one attain blamelessness, So that others will have belief, Purely removing obstacles to the Dharma And forever departing from the deeds of Māra?
How is one able, at the end of life, To attain perception of the buddhas, Hear the speech of the pure Dharma, And not be subject to suffering?
Great compassionate supremely honored one, I merely wish you would speak of these for me!
At that time, the Buddha spoke to the maiden Sumati, saying, “Excellent, excellent! It is good that you are able to ask about such profound matters. Now listen carefully, listen carefully and well mindfully, and I will tell you.” Sumati then spoke, saying, “Just so, Bhagavān. We are joyfully wishing to hear it.”
The Buddha told Sumati, “A bodhisattva who accomplishes four dharmas receives an upright body. What are these four? [1] The first is not giving rise to a mind of hatred for bad friends. [2] The second is to abide in great kindness. [3] The third is to have profound delight in the correct Dharma. [4] The fourth is to create images of the Buddha.”
“Moreover, Sumati, a bodhisattva who accomplishes four dharmas will attain a body that is rich and noble. What are these four? [1] The first is that you should give timely gifts. [2] The second is to do so without a mind of disdain for others. [3] The third is to do so with happiness. [4] The fourth is to do so without expecting any reward.”
“Moreover, Sumati, a bodhisattva who accomplishes four dharmas will attain birth by transformation before the buddhas, seated upon a lotus flower. What are these four? [1] The first is to give flowers, fruit, and fine powdered incense as offerings to the Tathāgata and to the stūpas. [2] The second is not to tell lies or harm others. [3] The third is to make images of the Tathāgata placed within a lotus flower. [4] The fourth is to give rise to profound and pure faith in the bodhi of the buddhas.”
“Moreover, Sumati, a bodhisattva who accomplishes four dharmas may travel from one buddha-land to another buddha-land. What are these four? [1] The first is to not perceive others’ cultivation of goodness as obstruction or annoyance. [2] The second is to never hinder others when they are expounding the Dharma. [3] The third is to burn lamps and make offerings to the stūpas of the Tathāgata. [4] The fourth is to constantly strive to cultivate the dhyānas.”
“Moreover, Sumati, a bodhisattva accomplishes four dharmas for the station of blamelessness in the world. What are these four? [1] The first is to draw near to virtuous friends without a mind of flattery. [2] The second is to not have a mind of jealousy regarding others’ excellence in the Dharma. [3] The third is to always be happy when others receive honors and recognition. [4] The fourth is to not vainly criticize the practices of a bodhisattva.”
“Moreover, Sumati, a bodhisattva accomplishes four dharmas for his speech to be believed by others. What are these four? [1] The first is develop speech and cultivation always in unison. [2] The second is to not do evil things to virtuous friends. [3] The third is to not find faults in the Dharma one has heard. [4] The fourth is to not give rise to a mind of evil for one who speaks the Dharma.”
“Moreover, Sumati, a bodhisattva accomplishes four dharmas for being able to leave obstacles to the Dharma and quickly attain purity. What are these four? [1] The first is to accept the Threefold Discipline with profound conviction. [2] The second is that one does not give rise to slander for extremely profound sūtras. [3] The third is to perceive the newly-developed intention of a bodhisattva as the arising of the mind of omniscience. [4] The fourth is regarding sentient beings with great kindness and equanimity.”
“Moreover, Sumati, a bodhisattva accomplishes four dharmas for being apart from māras. What are these four? [1] The first is to fully know the equality of the nature of dharmas. [2] The second is to give rise to determination. [3] The third is to constantly strive to be mindful of the Buddha. [4] The fourth is to transfer over all good roots.”
“Moreover, Sumati, a bodhisattva accomplishes four dharmas so that at the end of life, the buddhas manifest before him. What are these four? [1] The first is to fulfill the wishes of others by giving what they are seeking. [2] The second is giving rise to profound faith and understanding of good dharmas. [3] The third is to give adornments to the bodhisattvas. [4] The fourth is to diligently make offerings to the Triple Gem.”
At that time, the maiden Sumati heard what the Buddha had spoken, and said, “Bhagavān, as the Buddha has spoken of the practices of a bodhisattva, so will I practice them! Bhagavān, among these forty practices, if there is one that is lacking or uncultivated, then this will be conflicting with the Buddha’s teachings and deceiving the Tathāgata.”
At that time, Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana spoke to Sumati, saying, “The practice of a bodhisattva is extremely difficult to carry out. You are now developing this extraordinary great aspiration. How will you attain accomplish mastery over this vow?”
Sumati replied, “Venerable, if my great aspiration is true and not void, able to bring these practices to complete fulfillment, then may the three thousand great thousand-worlds shake in six directions, and the heavens rain wondrous flowers, and may the drum of heaven sound of its own accord!” When this had been spoken, flowers fell from the sky like rain, and the drum of heaven sounded of its own accord, and the three thousand great thousand-worlds shook in six directions.
At this time, Sumati again addressed Maudgalyāyana, “From my true words, in a future era I will attain buddhahood, just as Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata. In my land there will be no deeds of Māra, and not even the words for evil destinies, or for women. If what I say is not fabrication, then may the bodies of those in the great assembly all take on a hue of gold!” After speaking this, the assembly took on a hue of gold. At that time, Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana then arose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, and bowed with his head at the Buddha’s feet. He spoke saying, “Bhagavān, from these things I have developed the mind of a bodhisattva and even that of the assembly of bodhisattva-mahāsattvas!”
At that time, Dharma Prince Mañjuśrī spoke to Sumati, saying, “In what dharma do you abide to make this sincere aspiration?” Sumati replied, saying, “Mañjuśrī, it is not proper to ask this. Why? This is because in the Dharma Realm there is nothing which abides.” He also asked, “Then what is Bodhi?” She answered, “The non-differentiation of dharmas is what is called Bodhi.” He also asked, “Then what is it that is called a bodhisattva?” She answered, “A bodhisattva is one who is aware that all dharmas are equal to the manifestation of empty space.” He also asked, “What is it that is called the practice of Bodhi?” She answered, “The practice of Bodhi is like a mirage, or like the echo of a valley.” He also asked, “With what underlying meaning do you say such things?” She answered, “In this I do not perceive even the slightest thing which may be underlying or manifest.”
He also asked, “If it is as you say, then all ordinary people would have Bodhi.” She answered, “You speak of Bodhi as being different from an ordinary person? You should not have this view. Why? These are all of the same characteristic of the Dharma Realm, to be neither grasped nor abandoned, with nothing to accomplish or destroy.” He again asked, “How many beings are able to fully understand your meaning?”
She answered, “Their number is like the number of illusory minds and mental functions. The illusion of sentient beings is already able to understand my meaning.” Mañjuśrī said, “Illusions are without basis, so how can there be such minds and mental dharmas?” She answered, “The Dharma Realm is also such, neither existing nor non-existing, and for the Tathāgata is it also such as this.”
At that time, Mañjuśrī addressed the Buddha, saying, “Bhagavān, this Sumati is extraordinary, even able to accomplish such dharma-patience!” The Buddha said, “Thusly, thusly! What she has spoken is sincere and true. In such a way, this maiden has long since developed the mind of Bodhi, throughout the past thirty eons, even developing the destiny of my supreme Bodhi, causing such abiding in the patience of the non-arising of dharmas.”
Hong Kong’s superstar Jacky Cheung has achieved numerous successes in the entertainment industry and is widely recognized as a superstar. However, few people know about his dedication to studying Buddhism. Jacky Cheung’s master is H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, an internationally acclaimed master in arts, philosophy, and culture. He was awarded the International Master of Arts and Culture by the World Cultural Conference, comprising experts from 48 countries and regions. Additionally, the Chinese government built a grand museum in his honor in Dayi County, Sichuan, highlighting his unique achievements and contributions.
Around 1995, at the earnest request of many disciples, including Jacky Cheung, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III composed a unique masterpiece called “Rare Supreme Chant.” The lyrics, composition, singing, and chanting were all personally handled by the master.
The song’s melody is rich, and its sound changes are exquisite, ranging from powerful and resonant to gentle and intricate. It includes lion’s roars, sacred chants, deep contemplations, and even modern rock and rap elements. The singing techniques transcend traditional vocal resonance, harmonizing with the cosmic realm. This “Rare Supreme Chant” not only broadens the listener’s auditory experience, allowing them to hear various sounds, but also elevates the mind, nurtures moral strength, and purifies body and soul through the blessings of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III’s voice.
According to those who provided musical accompaniment for H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, his lyrics and melodies are filled with ancient charm and profound knowledge. His voice is versatile and spontaneous, making it difficult to complement with our limited cultural and musical expertise. While they believe his unaccompanied voice is superior, they fear that without accompaniment, the music might be too challenging for listeners to appreciate, thus missing the compassionate intention behind its creation. Despite these challenges, they made an effort to provide accompaniment, hoping listeners would understand and appreciate the master’s work. Listeners are encouraged to attentively enjoy and experience the profound benefits of the music.
The Great Bright Six Syllable Mantra is a very popular Buddhist song, with many audiotapes and CDs distributed worldwide. However, His Holiness’s rendition of the Great Bright Six Syllable Mantra is entirely different from all others I have heard. It is in a powerful vajra style, and at the end of the song, His Holiness uses the lion’s roar voice, with a bursting energy that seems to penetrate the universe and awaken all living beings.
The great bright six syllable mantra
The song “Guo Ping Chang” describes the scenery and feelings of His Holiness passing through Ping Chang (a place in Sichuan).
The sound of the flute sends me across Pingqiang, The boat docks at Wuyou, filled with lantern-lit halls. The spring breeze warmly welcomes visitors, Mist colors the dusk, but the mountains remain evergreen.
This song was sung in an opera style. It has four lines of lyrics, which the Buddha sang using four different Peking Opera styles. This fully demonstrates the Buddha’s profound vocal skills, leaving listeners deeply moved and with a lasting impression.
Passing through PingQiang
H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, has even composed a unique masterpiece, in modern rock and rap style, the energetic and festive song “Chinese Dragon,” showcasing the dragon’s cultural significance. This song demonstrates the Buddha’s ability to effortlessly and masterfully handle any musical form.
Chinese Dragon
The Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra is a very important Buddhist scripture. The Buddha composed an elegant and beautiful yet powerful melody for this sutra. His voice is rich and clear, strong yet gentle, as if bringing the compassionate love of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to every sentient being.
Jeffrey Hopkins, a brilliant scholar, author, teacher, and translator who founded one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist Studies programs in the West, died on July 1 in Vancouver, Canada. He was 83.
For more than three decades, beginning in 1973, Hopkins was a leading light at the University of Virginia. He directed UVA’s Center for South Asian Studies for twelve years and taught Tibetan Buddhist studies and Tibetan language for thirty-two years, but his signature achievement was the Tibetan Buddhist studies doctoral program he established in 1975, which became the largest in North America. Among its graduates are some of the most esteemed academics in the field today, including Anne C. Klein of Rice University, Donald Lopez of the University of Michigan, Georges Dreyfus of Williams College, and Bryan Cuevas of Florida State University. Hopkins’s program, by placing Tibetan Buddhism (rather than Indian, Chinese, or Japanese Buddhism) at its center and bringing prominent Tibetan masters from India to Charlottesville to teach the classic texts of that tradition, “changed the way Buddhism is taught in the American academy,” Donald Lopez says.
Hopkins’s singular force was evident from the moment he arrived at UVA in 1973. Lopez, a senior when Hopkins joined the faculty, remembers:
Despite being a newly arrived assistant professor, he immediately gained a large following among the “Be Here Now” crowd. By the second semester, students were walking around campus wearing buttons that said, “Buddha’s Slogan: Dependent Arising.” In a men’s room on campus one day I noticed something written on a urinal. Assuming it said “R. Mutt” [as Marcel Duchamp had signed his urinal artwork, “The Fountain”], I went closer and saw that it was four words stamped in red letters: “DOES NOT INHERENTLY EXIST.” Inspired by such visions, I wrote my senior thesis, master’s thesis, and doctoral dissertation under Hopkins’s direction.
Convinced that scholars of Tibet must be able to both read classical Tibetan and speak modern Tibetan, Hopkins established the first Tibetan language program at UVA and coauthored a comprehensive language course, Fluent Tibetan: A Proficiency Oriented Learning System. He also compiled a 900-page Tibetan-Sanskrit-English dictionary of Buddhist terms that is posted online.
During his career, Hopkins also held visiting professorships at the University of Hawaii and the University of British Columbia. After he retired from UVA, he focused on translating. He was the founder and president of the UMA (Union of the Modern and Ancient) Institute for Tibetan Studies and from 2011 directed its Great Books Translation Project, set up to make Tibetan texts freely available.
Hopkins was also a peace and human rights activist and published The Art of Peace, edited from talks at a conference of Nobel laureates he organized in 1998 for UVA and the Institute for Asian Democracy, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that promoted self-governance in Asia, particularly in Burma. Hopkins was president of the institute from 1994 to 2000.
One of the most respected Tibetologists of his generation, Hopkins authored, edited, or translated more than fifty books. His extensive published work includes scholarly books on emptiness and tantra, as well as translations of works by such famed figures as Nagarjuna, Chandrakirti, and Tsongkhapa. His first and most influential work was his massive 1973 doctoral dissertation, Meditation on Emptiness, which provided the first detailed presentation of the Geluk synthesis of philosophy and practice. After circulating widely as a bound Xerox copy, it was published by Wisdom Publications in 1983. A fortieth-anniversary edition will be published next year. Much of Hopkins’s work was devoted to the Geluk founder Tsongkhapa, translating major sections of his massive exposition on tantra, Stages of the Path of Mantra. Later he turned to Tsongkhapa’s most beloved work among Geluk scholars, Essence of Eloquence, a text recited from memory by the monks of Ganden Monastery at his funeral in 1419. Although Tsongkhapa’s text is rather brief, Hopkins devoted three large volumes to it: Emptiness in the Mind-Only School, Reflections on Reality: The Three Natures and Non-Natures in the Mind-Only School, and Absorption in No External World.
In 1979, Hopkins was instrumental in arranging His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s first visit to the United States and served as his chief translator from 1979 to 1989 on tours of the US, Canada, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Hopkins translated and edited His Holiness’s teachings for sixteen books, including The Dalai Lama at Harvard, along with titles aimed at a general audience, such as Kindness, Clarity and Insight; How to See Yourself As You Really Are; How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life, Mind of Clear Light, Mind of Clear Life: Advice on Living Well and Dying Consciously; How to Be Compassionate; and How to Expand Love: Widening the Circle of Loving Relationships.
Hopkins collaborated with the tulkus Lati Rinpoche and Denma Locho Rinpoche on Meditative States in Tibetan Buddhism, based on a text by the Geluk master Panchen Sonam Drakpa. With the Nyingma lama Khetsun Sangpo he published Tantric Practice in Nyingma, a translation of a famous work by Patrul Rinpoche that would later be translated as Words of My Perfect Teacher.
Born Paul Jeffrey Hopkins in 1940, he grew up in Barrington, Rhode Island. A rebellious youth, he was a member of what he later described as a “suburban gang . . . disgusted by the aims that were being presented to us: merely making money and so forth.” Hopkins was then sent to Pomfret, a prep school in Connecticut, where he thrived. During his freshman year at Harvard, he read Thoreau’s Walden and retreated to the woods of Vermont, where he lived in a one-room cabin, wrote poetry, and “began finding my own integrity,” he later told an interviewer. Further inspired by Herman Melville’s Typee and W. Somerset Maugham’s The Moon and Sixpence, he hopped a freighter to Tahiti. It was during this period that Hopkins began meditating—in a fashion.
Hopkins returned to Harvard after a year and a half, then between his junior and senior years, took off again. While floating down a river in Oklahoma, he saw a dead man propped up on a bank. It was a turning point. “I suddenly realized that his last perception in this lifetime would be no fuller than any of his other perceptions,” he recalled. “I began to recognize the ultimate futility of external activities and to turn my attention inward, to a light within. When I returned to Harvard in the fall of 1962, it was as if a coffin had been opened. I had been living my life in a coffin and had not recognized the presence of the sky.”
During Christmas vacation from college that year, a classmate drove Hopkins to Freewood Acres, New Jersey, to meet Geshe Wangyal, a Kalmyk Mongolian Tibetan Buddhist who had established a monastery there in 1958. In 1963, after graduating magna cum laude from Harvard—an English major, Hopkins won the Leverett House Poetry Prize for his translation of the Anglo-Saxon poem “The Wanderer”—Hopkins spent seven years studying with Geshe Wangyal in New Jersey. After a false start in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, he enrolled in the doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Later, Hopkins called his time in the Buddhist Studies program at Wisconsin as “thrilling in many ways and . . . certainly a crucial choice for my career.” At Hopkins’s urging, Richard Robinson, the head of the Buddhist Studies program, hired Geshe Lhundup Sopa, a Geluk scholar who had been living at the Kalmyk monastery in New Jersey. He was instrumental in the hiring of renowned tantric master Kensur Ngawang Lekden, former abbot of the Tantric College of Lower Lhasa. Anne Klein, then a master’s candidate at Wisconsin, recalls that Hopkins, with Robinson, “founded Tibet House on a farm outside Madison, where Kensur, Jeffrey, and grad students could live, learn Tibetan, and share kitchen duties. Jeffrey served ice cream on small, flat plates, which, as Kensur demonstrated with delight, meant you could lick them clean.” Hopkins read with Kensur daily, Klein remembers, material that formed his dissertation, Meditation on Emptiness.
Throughout his career, Hopkins’s interest in Buddhist studies was broad, encompassing South Asia, Tibet, and East Asia. He was the recipient of three Fulbright fellowships and made twelve trips to India and five to Tibet for research.
As a translator, Hopkins had an approach unusual among his peers at the time: working closely with Tibetan scholars and regarding them not as “native informants” but as collaborative partners. “I thought it was . . . extremely important to treat every Tibetan scholar fairly, to give them credit for their part in producing any book,” he said. “If I couldn’t understand the text without somebody informing me of its meaning, then that person has played an equal role in its translation even if they don’t know English.”
In 1991, Hopkins suffered a debilitating, near-fatal case of Lyme disease that temporarily left him partially paralyzed with noticeable mental gaps. He recovered, but “I had to reconstruct my mind,” he later told Tibetan Buddhist nun Robina Courtin. “In any field, I had to consciously make a logical connection, and then once the connection had been made, that area was reopened.” What saved him, he ventured, was a habit formed in his years at the monastery in New Jersey: repeating the intelligence mantra of Manjushri, bodhisattva of wisdom, aimed at enhancing mental acuity: Om ah ra pa tsa na dhih. “I overheard Geshe Wangyal tell one Mongolian boy who was having trouble memorizing it, ‘Then do dhih dhih dhih . . . endlessly,’ ” he recalled.
When we were young, our parents and elders all taught us not to lie. Many stories and fairy tales illustrate the consequences of lying, such as a child being eaten by a wolf or having a long nose like Pinocchio. Different cultures and religions praise honesty and disapprove of liars. However, most of us have told a lie at one time or another, often to gain an immediate benefit, without realizing that the long-term consequences of lying can be very costly. In Buddhism, one of the ten precepts is to abstain from lying.
There is a recorded story in a Buddhist sutra about Shakyamuni Buddha teaching his son to refrain from lying.
The Buddha’s son, Rahula, was quite mischievous in his youth. He often enjoyed playing pranks on others, using deceptive words to tease people. For instance, when someone came to see the Buddha, Rahula, knowing that the Buddha was not present, would intentionally mislead them about the Buddha’s whereabouts, causing them to search in vain for amusement.
When the Buddha learned of this, he asked Rahula to bring him some water to wash his feet. After washing his feet, the Buddha pointed to the water and asked Rahula, “Can this water be drunk?”
Rahula replied, “The water is dirty from washing feet; it cannot be drunk.”
The Buddha then asked, “Can this basin, used for washing feet, be used to hold food?”
Rahula replied, “No, it cannot. The basin is dirty and cannot be used to hold food.”
The Buddha sternly said, “You are like this water. The water was originally very clean, just as you were originally a prince, able to renounce the false glories of the world and become a monk. But if you do not diligently pursue the path, do not purify your body and mind, and do not speak carefully, the impurities of the three poisons will fill your heart, just like the clean water being soiled by washing dirty feet. You are like this basin. Although you have become a monk, if you do not practice precepts, concentration, and wisdom, and do not purify your body, speech, and mind, how can the food of the Great Path fill your heart?” After speaking, the Buddha kicked the basin, causing it to roll. Rahula was very frightened. The Buddha asked, “Are you afraid the basin will break?”
Rahula replied, “No, the basin is a coarse utensil; it doesn’t matter if it breaks.”
The Buddha said, “Rahula, you don’t cherish this basin, just as people will not cherish you. As a monk, if you do not uphold dignity and discipline, and speak deceitfully, the consequence is that no one will care for you or value you. When your life ends, you will not attain enlightenment, but will only increase your delusion.”
From then on, Rahula changed his mischievous ways, strictly observed the precepts, and diligently practiced the path.
According to the teachings of the Buddhist sutras, we should take a long-term view and consider the consequences of lying for both this life and future lives.
In this life, if we frequently lie, deceive, or slander others, we will inevitably face retaliation from those we have wronged. In the mundane world, most people are naturally inclined to protect themselves and have a tendency for “an eye for an eye” revenge, unless they are saints who have subdued their own minds. If we deceive others, the victims, unwilling to be deceived, will expose our misdeeds among people. As word spreads from one to ten and from ten to a hundred, our bad reputation will quickly become widespread. Our credibility will be utterly destroyed, and our trustworthiness will plummet. From then on, even if we speak the truth, it will be seen as a lie, and people will be wary of us to avoid being deceived. No one will trust us. In such a predicament, we will constantly feel the pain of isolation and helplessness. Our lives will shrink, and our careers will suffer as a result.
In future lives, under the influence of the dark karma of lying, one will inevitably fall into the three lower realms. When the bad karma diminishes and one is reborn as a human, the residual effects of lying will manifest in various speech-related congenital obstacles in both body and mind. These may include having an impaired tongue root, stuttering, or unclear speech. Additionally, there will be a habitual tendency to lie, and sometimes, even when one wishes to speak the truth, it will come out as a lie involuntarily. In interactions with others, one will frequently be slandered and deceived. Even when speaking the truth, people will not believe it. Moreover, even when preaching the true Dharma, others will be unwilling to listen.
Sister Sun Houfang has gone to the hospital for chemotherapy again. She suffers from leukemia, a disease that is almost a death sentence, but she has miraculously survived. She became a Buddhist disciple in July 2016 and often says, “Others with the same illness as mine have all died, but I am still alive. I want to thank Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III and all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions. I also want to bring those with affinity into Buddhism.” No one expected that her friends with affinity would be three Christian friends.
On April 28, 2017, I visited Sister Sun at the hospital again. She was having lunch, so we chatted briefly. I learned that she was scheduled to start chemotherapy medication the next day, and her wardmate, Wei Wenwen, was to be discharged in the afternoon. I sincerely invited them to our Tantric Buddhist Center the next morning to participate in a blessing ceremony. I hoped that through the blessing, they would receive good fortune and have their suffering alleviated. Sister Sun immediately agreed to delay her medication by a day, and Wei Wenwen also wanted to delay her discharge. At this moment, the patient in bed 6, Lu Shaohua, spoke up. She said she was a Christian and did not dare to believe in Buddhism, fearing it would be against her faith. She also mentioned, “A few days ago, I couldn’t sleep at night after arriving here. It was very uncomfortable, and no matter how much I recited the Bible, I couldn’t fall asleep. Ms. Sun suggested I recite the Buddha’s name instead, and after doing so, I was able to sleep.” I said, “That’s great! It shows you have a deep connection with Buddhism. Each of us has our own karmic reasons for our religious beliefs, but regardless of the religion, the key is the benefit we receive from it. In fact, many people don’t know that the Virgin Mary is an incarnation of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.”
In the Dharma audio teachings of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, there is a story about hundreds of Christian Taiwanese indigenous people converting to Buddhism. This took place in 1995 when H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, visiting Taiwan under the guise of an art delegation, was greeted by the chief of the indigenous group, a devout Christian. (There is a video recording on youtube for this event https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxdaug7x9IU）
H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III asked, “Have you ever seen the Virgin Mary? If you haven’t, I can invite her to come, and you can meet her.”
The chief responded, “Can I? Even our priest has never seen her!” H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III said, “If I let you see her, will you then take refuge in Buddhism?”
The chief replied, “That would depend on the Virgin Mary’s approval. We have taken vows and been baptized.” H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III said, “Let’s do it this way: let the Virgin Mary tell you what to do, and you can follow her guidance. How about that?” The chief agreed, saying, “Okay!”
At this moment, the chief began to recite the Bible and use his inner power. His Holiness told the chief, “That won’t work.” Then, His Holiness performed a Dharma practice, and the Virgin Mary suddenly appeared standing on a cloud, several dozen feet high, astonishing the chief on the spot!
The Virgin Mary said to the chief, “My child, although I am your Holy Mother, I am also a servant of the Buddha. I am learning Buddhism. You should immediately take refuge before this supreme Buddha, who represents the true Dharma of the Tathagata in this world.”
Hearing this, the chief prostrated himself in full devotion and immediately took refuge. Later, all nine tribes of the indigenous group came to take refuge in His Holiness as their chief king.
Photos from video in youtube
In the Universal Gate chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha tells the world that Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva will manifest in various forms and save sentient beings according to their different karmic conditions. Any worldly being in danger will be delivered instantly upon calling her name. Therefore, Guanyin has been worshipped and revered by all classes of people. As a compassionate divinity with countless virtues and merits, she is endowed with transcendental power. The Bodhisattva excels in skillful means, allowing the Bodhisattva to appear in whatever form is needed by sentient beings.
After hearing my story, Lu Shaohua seemed to understand something and expressed a willingness to explore Buddhism.
On the morning of April 29, two Christians, accompanied by their families, came to our Tantric Buddhist Center. After everything was prepared, the blessing ceremony began. As we chanted the Heart Sutra, I heard intermittent crying from the crowd.
After the ceremony, I noticed tears still on their faces, but their complexions looked much better than when they first arrived. I asked them, “Did you all cry? How do you feel?” Wei Wenwen said, “I really enjoyed listening to the Heart Sutra. I felt very comfortable and happy here, and I didn’t want to leave.” Lu Shaohua also said, “As soon as I heard it, I couldn’t help but cry. I don’t know why, but it felt like meeting a family member.”
From that moment on, the three Christians—Wei Wenwen, Huang Youyou, and Lu Shaohua—began to listen to the extraordinary Dharma teachings of Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III. Through listening to the Dharma, they understood some principles of karma, realized the impermanence of life, and the illusory nature of dreams and bubbles. They expressed their determination to stop killing, to practice releasing living beings, and to diligently study and practice Buddhism. They even took home Buddha statues to venerate and vowed to take refuge in Buddhism.
Although Buddhism is the teaching of perfect liberation, Christianity is also a good teaching. When Christians shed tears upon hearing Buddhist scriptures and find peace in reciting the Buddha’s name, it indicates their inherent karmic connection to Buddhism. The differences in religious beliefs among sentient beings arise from their various karmic roots and blessings accumulated over countless eons. All good teachings should coexist harmoniously and tolerate each other without rejection, as true good teachings all aim to free sentient beings from suffering and bring them happiness.
Once, the Buddha was residing in the Jetavana Monastery in the kingdom of Śrāvastī, spreading his teachings. At that time, there was a prince of a celestial king named Pilu. One day, he flew down from the heavens to the Jetavana Monastery, prostrated himself at the Buddha’s feet, and, with hands folded in reverence, asked the Buddha: “In this world, people are constantly pursuing clothes, food, treasures, pleasures, official positions, and territories. Are there any treasures that pursue people in return?” The Buddha praised Prince Pilu: “You have asked a good question. Indeed, there are situations where territories, treasures, and pleasures pursue people.”
Prince Pilu asked again, “What does it mean for the causes and conditions that fulfill people’s wishes and bring complete satisfaction to always follow them?”
The Buddha replied, “All actions can be categorized into two types: doing good deeds, which brings blessings, and committing evil deeds, which results in calamities. Whether it is blessings or disasters, they always follow each person like a shadow.”
Prince Pilu said, “This is truly extraordinary! Just as the World-Honored One has taught, in my past life, I was once a king among humans. Because I was aware of the impermanence of life and had no attachment to material things, I wanted to practice generosity widely. One day, during a gathering of my ministers, I announced: ‘I want to make a great drum whose booming sound can spread for a hundred miles. Who can accomplish this task for me?’
However, the ministers all replied, ‘We are incapable of doing so!’ At that moment, a minister named Kuang Shang, who had always been loyal to the court and compassionate towards the people, stepped forward and said to the king, ‘I can accomplish this task, but it will require some funding.’
The king said, ‘Great! Whatever amount you need is not a problem.’ Thus, the treasury was opened, and a large sum of money was handed over to Kuang Shang.
Kuang Shang transported a carriage full of treasures to the gate of the royal palace and beat the drum to announce, “Today, our benevolent king, with great compassion, is distributing wealth to the world to relieve all those in poverty and distress, as well as to provide for the needs of practitioners. Anyone in need can come to the palace gate to receive these goods.”
The news quickly spread to neighboring countries. The poor, carrying their babies and bringing along the elderly and young, came in droves, filling all the roads leading to the city. People would often look up to the sky and exclaim, “Thank you, benevolent king! We, the poor people, finally have the chance to escape the days of hunger and cold!”
A year later, the king asked Kuang Shang, “Is the great drum completed?” The minister replied, “Your Majesty, it is done.” The king asked again, “Since it is finished, why haven’t I heard the drum sound?” Kuang Shang responded, “Please, Your Majesty, take a trip into the city tomorrow, and you will hear the sound of virtue resonating far and wide.”
The next day, the king’s procession entered the city, discovering it was crowded and bustling. The king exclaimed, “Why are there so many people in the city?” Kuang Shang answered, “Last year, Your Majesty ordered me to create a great drum, hoping its mighty sound would spread for miles, proclaiming Your Majesty’s benevolence. I thought that a drum made of dead wood and cowhide would not adequately convey the king’s virtue. After much deliberation, I decided to use the treasures Your Majesty entrusted to me to provide for the practitioners and relieve the poor and distressed. Since the announcement, people from neighboring countries have come, hoping for Your Majesty’s benevolence, like hungry children yearning for their compassionate mother.”
Upon hearing this, the king asked the nearby citizens, “Where have you come from?” The people respectfully bowed and replied, “We came from a hundred miles away.” Some said, “I came from two hundred miles away.” Others said, “I came from thousands of miles away.” Then, they all declared, “Wise and benevolent king! Your widespread generosity has brought joy to the people of the neighboring countries. Many have even moved their entire families here, seeking to live under your benevolent protection and hoping for a stable life henceforth.”
The king was very pleased and said, “Kuang Shang, you have done an excellent job! Previously, I was attached to fame, hoping that the great drum’s mighty sound would resonate far and wide. Now, I finally understand that the unrest in the country comes from the people’s unease. Just as a sick body needs medicine to be healed, I should provide remedies to address the people’s suffering. You, my minister, understood the hardships of the people and distributed food to help the poor and needy, allowing the people to live in peace and return their loyalty to me.” Thus, the king declared, “From now on, as long as it concerns the people’s needs, take care of it to the best of your ability without needing to consult me!”
After the king’s natural death, he was reborn in heaven as King Miao. After his life in heaven ended, he was reborn as a Cakravartin (Wheel-Turning) King on earth, always accompanied by seven treasures and surrounded by followers who protected him. Now, he has again been reborn in heaven as a prince of the heavenly king. All of this was because he strictly upheld pure precepts and compassionately aided all living beings, earning such blessings. If we follow the Buddha’s teachings and rectify our body, speech, and mind, we can all obtain such magnificent blessings.
The Buddha encouraged Prince Bilu, saying, “A person’s actions are like a shadow following the body, or an echo responding to a sound. For every cause, there is an effect, and retribution is certain!” Prince Bilu, after hearing the Buddha’s teaching, joyfully made obeisance and departed.
This complex world is neither exclusively rosy nor entirely thorny. The rose, soft, beautiful, and fragrant, grows on a stem filled with thorns. What is rosy remains so, and what is thorny persists. One should not interfere with the thorns due to the presence of the rose, nor disparage the rose because of the thorns.
To an optimist, the world appears absolutely rosy; to a pessimist, it seems entirely thorny. However, a realist views the world neither as entirely rosy nor wholly thorny. From a realistic perspective, the world is a blend of beautiful roses and prickly thorns.
An understanding person appreciates the rose’s beauty without becoming infatuated, acknowledging the thorns’ nature and taking precautions not to be wounded.
Similar to a pendulum swinging between right and left, four inevitable conditions prevail in life — gain and loss, fame and defame, praise and blame, happiness and pain.
Gain and Loss: Businesspeople experience both gain and loss. While it’s natural to be pleased with profits, one must exhibit moral courage and maintain a balanced mind in the face of losses. Anticipating losses and being prepared helps reduce disappointment.
Fame and Defame: Fame and defame are inevitable in life. Seeking undue praise or avoiding criticism can lead to unfulfillment. True greatness is indifferent to external approbation.
Praise and Blame: Wise individuals remain unaffected by praise or blame, recognizing that opinions vary. The Buddha’s teachings emphasize responding to false accusations with patience and understanding.
Happiness and Pain: Genuine happiness is not solely derived from material possessions, power, or external circumstances. Inner happiness is found in non-attachment and leading a blameless life.
Facing pain, whether from old age, disease, separation, or death, requires equanimity. The Buddha himself endured physical suffering but maintained a balanced mind. Death, inevitable for all, should be faced with perfect equanimity.
Amidst these dualities, a balanced mind is crucial. The Buddha’s teachings encourage cultivating equanimity in the face of worldly conditions.
Peace LiLy 