What are the rules when reading Sutra?
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Heaven been reading sutra for quite some time.Last impression is tat,u need to obey some rules like kant sit on the floor when reading the sutra.
Welcome any enlightenment!
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i also dunno wat u referring to
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where did you read that from? There is no rules whatsoever about reading sutra. You can read it in any way, just that out of respect we should not put it in places like toilet. We should not keep it inappropriately. Therefore it also goes to say, we dont bring buddhist books and sutras into places like toilet to read. By the way what sutras have you read?Originally posted by knightlll:Heaven been reading sutra for quite some time.Last impression is tat,u need to obey some rules like kant sit on the floor when reading the sutra.
Welcome any enlightenment! -
A sutra is the teachings of Lord Buddha, and reading a sutra is as good as receiving the teachings directly from him. Hence we ought to show our utmost respect towards the sutra.Originally posted by knightlll:Heaven been reading sutra for quite some time.Last impression is tat,u need to obey some rules like kant sit on the floor when reading the sutra.
Welcome any enlightenment!
It's not advisable to read sutra while in the bed, unless your room is very small and a reading table is not available. We should never read while lying down. Sitting on the floor is fine. Sutra should never to be placed on the floor and like AEN said, should never bring it to Toilet. Before you read the sutra, it's best to make aspiration that you will be able to gain wisdom to attain boddhicitta, and after you've finished reading, to dedicate your merits to all the sentient beings.
Hope it helps. -
like what forumers said, i agree that one don't usually read sutras in the toilet while doing private business, it's disgusting, you'll dirty the book. to lay down on bed reading is harmless however it is eventually the karma one bears be it respectfully or disrespectfully.
rules are also no rules, no rules are also rules.
when reading sutras without the thought of anything, and not relying on some places or thoughts or people or life, that is pure. sitting upright on a chair placing sutra on the table & read is good cos its not only appropriate besides respectful, it gives you good energy & concentration from good posture. be it on the floor or bed.... after it is all a state of mind & thoughts.
hope this helps a little to you. -
cannot read while eating meat...
erm.. while ppl chanting.. oso cannot eat meat..
last time got 1 book machiam comic... got tell us what are the dos n dont's...
u go those monastery got... -
in fact when you are reading any material, be it religious-- bible, koran, sutras or any impt txt such as historic relics, ancient txts: sumerian, mayan , great pieces of art; shakespear or any thing.
all are impt and shld be respected.
as for reading sutras, i like my hands clean-washed and dry before reading.
and also after reading, dont just chuck it one side on the table, just put it back on the shelf when it belongs...
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Can you be more formal and serious in your question? That is if you are seriously seeking guidance? You are like SMSing.Originally posted by knightlll:Heaven been reading sutra for quite some time.Last impression is tat,u need to obey some rules like kant sit on the floor when reading the sutra.
Welcome any enlightenment! -
Reading Sutras as a Spiritual Practice
Master Sheng-yen
A talk delivered at Tibet House in New York City, on 5 November, 1994 and edited by Linda Peer and Harry Miller, edited with permission for NCF by John Crook 1998. In this talk Shifu tells us about the traditional uses to which the Sutras are put in China. Some of us may like to make use of these methods. For Westerners Sutra reading is also important. In particular the oldest Sutras, the ones Ananda so carefully remembered and which begin: "Thus have I heard..." reveal for us exactly what Gautama the Buddha was like as a man teaching, instructing and dealing with everyday matters of life in the 6th century BC. Readers unfamiliar with the Sutras might well begin there, meeting the Tathagata in person in his daily life. Contemplating his actions and sermons is the root of Buddhism. (Eds.)
The Buddhist scriptures are divided into three categories. The Vinaya and Sila are moral codes and precepts spoken by the Buddha, the Shastras are commentaries on the Buddha's teachings by Bodhisattvas and great masters, and the Sutras are discourses spoken by the Buddha. Together they make up the Tripitaka. Each kind of scripture has special benefits. The Sutras are particularly concerned with the mind, and their function is the cultivation of samadhi and wisdom. The Vinaya helps us to behave in a correct and proper way, so that our actions, speech and thoughts accord with Buddhadharma. Finally, the Shastras help us to cultivate our analytical understanding of Buddhadharma.
The Heart Sutra is common to all Chinese Buddhist sects. Although the teachings and practices of the Chan school are not based on written words or language, we still recite Sutras. Perhaps this is surprising; the old masters often seemed disrespectful of the Sutras. Once a monk asked Master Lin-chi (Jp. Rinzai), the founder of one of the two schools of Chan which survive into our time, about the usefulness of the Sutras. Master Lin-chi said that they are very good for wiping up pus! A monk saw Chan Master Yao-shan reading a scripture and said, "Chan is not based on written words and language, so what are you doing reading scriptures?" Master Yao- shan replied, "I only use the scriptures to shade my eyes."
We can see from these stories that Chan does not place strong emphasis on scriptures. However, Chan teaching can be traced back to two Sutras, the Lankavatara Sutra (Sutra on the Descent to Sri Lanka) and the Diamond Sutra (Vajrachchedika Prajnaparamita-Sutra). Additionally the Heart Sutra is recited every day in Chan monastic communities.
The famous Sixth Patriarch, Hui-neng, was illiterate, but he became enlightened after overhearing a phrase from the Diamond Sutra. Obviously, reciting scriptures can be very useful, and we should do it. We may even be the catalyst for someone else's enlightenment!
Both the Chinese and Japanese traditions teach us to use the scriptures and the recitation of scriptures as a mirror in our practice. Reciting a Sutra should cause us to reflect on our actions of body, speech and mind. Do they accord with the Sutra we recite? If not, we should change our actions to pattern them on the scripture.
(..to be continued) -
(continued from previous posting)
There have been many versions of the Record of Eminent Monks coming from the Liang, the T'ang, Sung, and the Ming dynasties. In these records, eminent monks are categorized according to their kinds of practice, one of which is reciting and upholding the scriptures. Practitioners who use Sutra chanting as a major practice usually choose one Sutra to chant, commonly the Avatamsaka Sutra or the Lotus Sutra. Master Fa-tsang (643-712), the Fourth Patriarch of the Hua-yen Sect (whose teachings are based on the Avatamsaka Sutra), sat in meditation one night and overheard someone next door recite all eighty volumes of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Each volume of this Sutra is ten thousand words long, but in a flash he heard the Sutra from beginning to end, and understood it with utmost clarity. It is impossible to recite the Avatamsaka Sutra in one day. In a day, you can only recite ten volumes, so the whole Sutra would take eight days. Yet Fa-tsang experienced the recitation in a very short period. In another story an ancient practitioner who had recited the Avatamsaka Sutra for many years had no need to beg for food, because deities and Dharma protectors looked after him and brought him what he needed. In yet another story from long ago a practitioner recited the Lotus Sutra a few thousand times. When he died, a lotus flower blossomed from the mouth of his corpse.
If you wish to practice the formal recitation of scripture in the Chinese manner, you must wash your hands and mouth and dress with decorum. There must be an altar with a Buddha image. You adorn the image and make offerings to the Buddhas of flowers, food, fruit, light and so forth. With such preparations, you can recite with utmost sincerity.
You begin with a mantra of purification of body, speech and mind, then an opening gatha, followed by the actual Sutra. You may have had wandering thoughts and missed some words of the Sutra. Afterwards, you recite the 'Mantra to Make Up For Mistakes'. Convenient, isn't it? You may have had wandering thoughts while doing the recitation, yet a mantra makes up for all the mistakes you made! Finally, you recite the gatha for the transferring of merits, so that the benefits of your recitation are transferred to all beings.
What of the posture in reciting Sutras? It depends on the length of the scripture. You may kneel or stand for shorter Sutras. In most Chinese monasteries, the morning and evening services, which last two hours, are done standing up. A whole-day recitation can be done kneeling or sitting, or alternating between the two. Sitting is either crosslegged on the floor, or on a chair. Kneeling is done by half-standing kneeling, so that one is not sitting on the heels. In the Chinese tradition, we usually adopt the half-standing position, while in the Japanese tradition practitioners usually sit on their heels.
The Japanese have special methods of scriptural recitation. They did not translate the Chinese scriptures into Japanese. Rather, they use the original Chinese characters, so reading the scriptures is quite involved. Alone, they recite the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese characters. This involves the reading and understanding of the scripture. In group practice, they also read phonetically, pronouncing the characters in Japanese to an accompaniment of drumming on the wooden fish. It follows that when the Japanese recite Sutras in Chinese it is like reading dharanis or mantras. They do not understand the meaning; they simply recite the sounds. This is difficult and praiseworthy, for the Sutras that they recite are often long. For instance, the Avatamsaka Sutra is eighty fascicles, the Parinirvana Sutra is thirty fascicles, and the great Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra is 600 fascicles. Their ardour in performing such difficult recitation is indeed praiseworthy.
The Japanese, however, also have a shortcut. Reciting the whole Sutra, character by character, is called 'true recitation'. As we have seen this is quite strenuous, so the Japanese have invented another kind of reading, which is called 'turning recitation'. Here the title of the scripture is recited once to represent each fascicle, while the pages of the scripture are turned. For example, for each of the eighty fascicles of the Avatamsaka Sutra, they recite, 'Homage to the Mahavaipulya Avatamsaka Sutra,' and flip through the pages!
When I was in Japan, I visited a monastery and the monks told me that they were going to recite the Avatamsaka Sutra that day. I was impressed, and said, "You're going to recite the Avatamsaka Sutra! How are you going to finish it?" They said, "No problem. We'll finish." This was before I found out how they were going to do it. Using this method, even the 600-fascicle Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra can be 'recited' in a short period of time. As far as I know, 'turning recitation' exists only in Japan, not in China. -
(..continued from previous posting)
In the Lotus Sutra we find a recitation with prostration practice. You recite the Sutra character by character, and after each word you perform a prostration and recite a phrase of homage to the Bodhisattvas who were in the assembly when the Sutra was delivered. Some practitioners in China recite the Diamond and Avatamsaka Sutras in this way. You must be thoroughly familiar with the scripture before you engage in this practice in order not to prostrate without understanding the words.
Sutras usually begin with 'Thus have I heard...' In Chinese this phrase is four characters, just as it is four words in English. So you would start by saying, 'Thus', and then you would prostrate to all the Bodhisattvas and the Buddhas associated with this scripture. For example, if you are practising the Lotus Sutra, you say, 'Thus,' and then prostrate while chanting aloud, 'Homage to the Lotus Sutra, Homage to the Assembly of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas present at the Lotus Sutra Assembly.' I have done this practice myself.
Some of you may be familiar with the Nichiren Sho-shu sect in Japan, which associates itself with the Lotus Sutra. They do not prostrate, but they recite the title of the Lotus Sutra. When you engage in this practice, do not recite or prostrate quickly. The idea is not to finish the scripture too soon.
In the Tibetan tradition, practitioners do the 'four uncommon preparatory practices', one of which is one-hundred-thousand prostrations. It doesn't take quite that many prostrations for the Lotus Sutra. There are only eighty thousand characters!
Now I would like to talk about six benefits derived from reading the scriptures. The Dharma is never fixed. Although I only mention a few benefits, there may be innumerable others, so please tell me if you think of any I may miss out.
First, by reading the scriptures we can realize mind, or 'illuminate the mind'. When we engage in Sutra recitation, we make use of the Sutra as a mirror to reflect back the reciting mind. This mind, prior to practice, is full of darkness and ignorance. We take the Sutra as a mirror by which we can model our behavior, until our minds fuse with the Sutra, and we directly realize the nature of our mind. I tell this to my monks and nuns in Taiwan but they refuse to understand. They ask, "Why don't you explain the Sutra first? Then it will be easier to read and memorize."
Second, Sutra reading can help us understand the meaning behind the Sutras. When I was a novice, I asked my master the meaning of the scriptures. All he said was, "Just keep reading, and you'll understand". Now I realise that complete familiarity with the Sutras naturally elicits the meaning.
Third, Sutra recitation can be samadhi or one-pointed concentration practice. I teach my disciples to use their ears to listen while they follow the chanting and not think about the meaning. One should use the mind to be fully aware of hearing as well as of one's own recitation. When you are alone, of course, you listen to your own voice reciting. But in group practice it is better to listen to other people's recitation. After all, one's own voice is really of no use, because you are unlikely to enter into samadhi by listening to it! How we enjoy listening to the sound of our own voices! Such attachment prevents us from entering samadhi. It is more helpful to do Sutra recitation in a group because then you can listen to others' voices in harmony.
A fourth benefit of Sutra recitation is the spreading of the Dharma. The Sixth Patriarch of Chan realized enlightenment upon hearing a layman recite a phrase from the Diamond Sutra: 'Let the mind arise without dwelling on anything'. In reciting Sutras do not be concerned with your own enlightenment. It is not important, so long as someone else achieves enlightenment.
Reciting Sutras can cause the ripening of another's virtuous karmic root. A non-Buddhist I know was travelling on a boat, feeling anxious and agitated. Next to him, a woman recited the Heart Sutra aloud. Since he had nothing better to do, he listened to her. After a while his mind became settled. That stimulated his interest. He thought, 'If just listening to scriptural recitation can benefit me, how much more will I benefit if I do the recitation myself.' He began to recite scriptures, and finally became a Buddhist.
The fifth benefit of scriptural recitation is the protection of Buddhadharma. The Mahayana scriptures say that whenever a person recites and upholds the sutras it is a manifestation of the Tathagata, the Buddha. Wherever there is recitation, there is the presence of the Buddha. Also, the Dharma-protectors and deities from the ten directions protect the people reciting and the area around them.
If we want to make Buddhadharma last in the world, it is not enough that the Sutras be present. We must recite and uphold the Sutras. If the scriptures exist, but no one recites and makes use of them, then they are just pieces of paper. They are very good for wiping pus, as Master Lin-chi said. But when they are recited and upheld, then they become Buddhist scriptures.
Sixth, Sutra recitation can be done to benefit the deceased. We can wish for their merit and virtue. Buddhists usually want Sutras to be recited for deceased family members. Some time ago, I had a Western student who placed great emphasis on seated meditation and practiced all the time. It happened that one of his close friends passed away, and he felt lost. He asked me what to do. I recommended that he recite Sutras as a way of transferring merit to his deceased friend. Now, you may ask, 'Is sitting meditation helpful for others?' It is helpful, but it is not as direct as Sutra recitation.
When a Sutra is recited, the power of Buddhadharma calls back the deceased so that he or she can benefit from listening to the Buddhadharma. If the deceased cannot come back, numerous sentient beings always gather when Sutras are recited, and it is they who benefit from listening to Buddhadharma. Because they benefit, the one who passed away also benefits.
The Brahmajala Sutra says that Bodhisattvas should explain the Mahayana Sutras and Vinaya for the sake of sentient beings whenever someone is seriously ill, and on the day when a family member, spiritual advisor or dharma master passes away. At the time of passing, and for three to seven weeks afterward, the practitioner should have a master expound the Sutras, and should himself recite sutras and make offerings, in order to benefit the deceased.
Finally, we recite the Sutras hoping to benefit sentient beings directly so that they generate Bodhi mind, the altruistic mind of enlightenment, and attain Buddhahood. -
coolbluewater, that was some good guidelines. thanks. it benefited me.
back to the topic question, i feel that "rules" are just a creation. sutras & dharmas have no creation. be it now or at death, it is the mind that just is. i used to wonder & think what are the proper ways to study recite or pay respects to the buddha, it is the pure mind that matters or in fact matters are no matters also. i admit i enjoy reading sutras & admit i enjoy the profound teachings from my favourite - diamond sutra & heart sutra but this attachment of like & enjoyment & favourite are a condition i created that is no different from rules people set for reciting them. just be authentic. don't dwell on it.
i recommend readers diamond sutra & heart sutra. whatever you read. be in no thoughts.
do go ahead & correct me if i am wrong anywhere. thanks. -
Don't get me wrong, I'm not overturning your statement here....Originally posted by paperflower:coolbluewater, that was some good guidelines. thanks. it benefited me.
back to the topic question, i feel that "rules" are just a creation. sutras & dharmas have no creation. be it now or at death, it is the mind that just is. i used to wonder & think what are the proper ways to study recite or pay respects to the buddha, it is the pure mind that matters or in fact matters are no matters also. i admit i enjoy reading sutras & admit i enjoy the profound teachings from my favourite - diamond sutra & heart sutra but this attachment of like & enjoyment & favourite are a condition i created that is no different from rules people set for reciting them. just be authentic. don't dwell on it.
i recommend readers diamond sutra & heart sutra. whatever you read. be in no thoughts.
do go ahead & correct me if i am wrong anywhere. thanks.
I would say reading whatever sutra, always read with an open heart, the kind of thoughts that you show that you are ready to receive a teaching. You can, and should question whatever point you are in doubt, or does not understand, but never criticise.
Reading a sutra is different from reading a story books, and there's no hard rules as to how you read the sutra. Nevertheless, we have to be mindful that sutras are the words passed down from Lord Buddha, and reading it is exactly like listening to his teaching directly, therefore some form of respect is appropriate. And yes, the thought and attitude you have towards the teachings in sutra is important. -
sorry i think you got it wrong. did i mention names? no i didn't mention names. no worries, you are right & i am wrong. you won't be able to overturn me in anyway.Originally posted by path_seeker:Don't get me wrong, I'm not overturning your statement here....
I would say reading whatever sutra, always read with an open heart, the kind of thoughts that you show that you are ready to receive a teaching. You can, and should question whatever point you are in doubt, or does not understand, but never criticise.
Reading a sutra is different from reading a story books, and there's no hard rules as to how you read the sutra. Nevertheless, we have to be mindful that sutras are the words passed down from Lord Buddha, and reading it is exactly like listening to his teaching directly, therefore some form of respect is appropriate. And yes, the thought and attitude you have towards the teachings in sutra is important.