Thursday, July 3, 2014

Sutra of Light - as first read at the Relic Tour

Sutra of Light

I've been reading the Golden Light Sutra
Have you ever heard of it?

I encountered it at the Relic tour when I visited Grass Valley.
And reading it I found it up lifting so I wanted to know more about it.








The Sugatagarbha Translation Group is translating the whole sutra into english:
Most current translation show the 21 chapters I believe.
Isn't this an awesome picture for the 'Preamble' or Chapter 1?

It makes the text come alive!


The Exalted Sovereign King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light: A Mahāyāna Scripture

ADORATION TO ALL THE PAST, FUTURE, AND PRESENT BUDDHAS, BODHISATTVAS, PRATYEKABUDDHAS, AND ĀRYA SHRAVAKAS!

Thus have I heard: At one time, the Bhagavan, the Transcendent and Accomplished Conqueror, was in Rajagriha on the summit of Vulture’s Peak Mountain, in the profound basic space of phenomena, entirely and utterly pure, the sublime experiential dimension of the Tathāgatas, the Ones Gone to Suchness.


An immense sangha of fully-ordained monks, ninety-eight thousand in number, were all abiding together in the same company. All of them without exception were great arhats, and like a king of elephants, extremely subdued. They had exhausted their defilements, were without afflictive mental states, and their minds were absolutely and thoroughly liberated. Their discerning wisdom had been absolutely and thoroughly released. They had done what had to be done, laid down their burden, and accomplished well their own welfare. They had comprehensively cut the connections with conditioned existence. They had attained the supreme amongst sacred sovereignties, dwelt solely in completely pure ethical conduct, were perfectly abiding in skillful method and sublime wisdom, had actualized the Eight Emancipations, and had come to the end of the far shore alone.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Journey to the Maitreya Loving Kindness Tour II

Journey to the Maitreya Loving Kindness Tour II

More on the Mani Prayer Wheel 

More text body

As I come and go on the retreat center grounds, of the Land of Medicine Buddha center, the large prayer wheel seems to be the center of the site.  One may give a turn on way to meditation or walking past for a walk.  There is a beautiful poster there explaining the function and creation.

 












Large Mani wheel at the center of the retreat grounds at Land of Medicine Buddah

Here is some text from poster explaining the background of the prayer wheel, "...According to legend, the Buddha Dipamkara gave the practice to beings called Nagas.  The great Indian pandit Nagarjuna was then instructed by Chenrezig to go to the naga realm and  bring a prayer wheel into the world of humans.  For centuries, the practice of prayer wheels has been among the most cherished by Tibetan Buddhists and it continues today, Whether being turned by Tibetans and spiritual pilgrims at sacred sites, by people in Western Dharma centers, the prayer wheel continues to transform minds and offer its blessings...

This prayer wheel has 170,425,600,000 mantas including

400,000 Longest Chenrezig (Avolokiteshvara) Mantras
168 Billion- Om Mani Padme Hum Mantras
400 Million Kurukulla Mantras,
300 Million Miltrugpa Mantras
200 Million Stainless Pinnacle Mantras
100 Million Kunrig Mantras
400 Million Namgyalma Mantras
500 Million Wish Granting Wheel Mantras
400 Million Padmasambhava Mantras
100,000 Four Dharmakaya Relic Mantras
20 Million Dependent-Related Heart Mantras
5 sets of extensive Kangyur Dharma text
5 sets of extensive Lama Tsong Khapa collection text
5 sets of extensive Gyaltsab Je collection text
5 sets of extensive Khedrup Je collection text
100,000 sets of Drang Nge text
25 million Amitayus Long Life Sutras... "


That's a whole lot of prayin going round!

Sunday morning I take one last look before I had back to Berkeley