Found this interesting so I am sharing them.
From Virmalakirti Nirdesa Sutra
Thereupon, a certain goddess who lived in that house, having heard this
teaching of the Dharma of the great heroic bodhisattvas, and being
delighted, pleased, and overjoyed, manifested herself in a material
body and showered the great spiritual heroes, the bodhisattvas, and the
great disciples with heavenly flowers. When the flowers fell on the
bodies of the bodhisattvas, they fell off on the floor, but when they
fell on the bodies of the great disciples, they stuck to them and did
not fall. The great disciples shook the flowers and even tried to use
their magical powers, but still the flowers would not shake off. Then,
the goddess said to the venerable Sariputra, "Reverend Sariputra, why
do you shake these flowers?"
Sariputra replied, "Goddess, these flowers are not proper for religious persons and so we are trying to shake them off."
The
goddess said, "Do not say that, reverend Sariputra. Why? These flowers
are proper indeed! Why? Such flowers have neither constructual thought
nor discrimination. But the elder Sariputra has both constructual
thought and discrimination.
"Reverend Sariputra, impropriety
for one who has renounced the world for the discipline of the rightly
taught Dharma consists of constructual thought and discrimination, yet
the elders are full of such thoughts. One who is without such thoughts
is always proper.
"Reverend Sariputra, see how these flowers
do not stick to the bodies of these great spiritual heroes, the
bodhisattvas! This is because they have eliminated constructual
thoughts and discriminations.
"For example, evil spirits have
power over fearful men but cannot disturb the fearless. Likewise, those
intimidated by fear of the world are in the power of forms, sounds,
smells, tastes, and textures, which do not disturb those who are free
from fear of the passions inherent in the constructive world. Thus,
these flowers stick to the bodies of those who have not eliminated
their instincts for the passions and do not stick to the bodies of
those who have eliminated their instincts. Therefore, the flowers do
not stick to the bodies of these bodhisattvas, who have abandoned all
instincts."
Then the venerable Sariputra said to the goddess, "Goddess, how long have you been in this house?"
The goddess replied, "I have been here as long as the elder has been in liberation."
Sariputra said, "Then, have you been in this house for quite some time?"
The goddess said, "Has the elder been in liberation for quite some time?"
At that, the elder Sariputra fell silent.
The
goddess continued, "Elder, you are 'foremost of the wise!' Why do you
not speak? Now, when it is your turn, you do not answer the question."
Sariputra: Since liberation is inexpressible, goddess, I do not know what to say.
Goddess:
All the syllables pronounced by the elder have the nature of
liberation. Why? Liberation is neither internal nor external, nor can
it be apprehended apart from them. Likewise, syllables are neither
internal nor external, nor can they be apprehended anywhere else.
Therefore, reverend Sariputra, do not point to liberation by abandoning
speech! Why? The holy liberation is the equality of all things!
Sariputra: Goddess, is not liberation the freedom from desire, hatred, and folly?
Goddess:
"Liberation is freedom from desire, hatred, and folly" that is the
teaching of the excessively proud. But those free of pride are taught
that the very nature of desire, hatred, and folly is itself liberation.
Sariputra: Excellent! Excellent, goddess! Pray, what have you attained, what have you realized, that you have such eloquence?
Goddess:
I have attained nothing, reverend Sariputra. I have no realization.
Therefore I have such eloquence. Whoever thinks, "I have attained! I
have realized!" is overly proud in the discipline of the well-taught
Dharma.
Sariputra: Goddess, do you belong to the disciple-vehicle, to the solitary-vehicle, or to the great vehicle?
Goddess:
I belong to the disciple-vehicle when I teach it to those who need it.
I belong to the solitary-vehicle when I teach the twelve links of
dependent origination to those who need them. And, since I never
abandon the great compassion, I belong to the great vehicle, as all
need that teaching to attain ultimate liberation.
Nevertheless,
reverend Sariputra, just as one cannot smell the castor plant in a
magnolia wood, but only the magnolia flowers, so, reverend Sariputra,
living in this house, which is redolent with the perfume of the virtues
of the Buddha-qualities, one does not smell the perfume of the
disciples and the solitary sages. Reverend Sariputra, the Sakras, the
Brahmas, the Lokapalas, the devas, nagas, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras,
garudas, kimnaras, and mahoragas who live in this house hear the Dharma
from the mouth of this holy man and, enticed by the perfume of the
virtues of the Buddha-qualities, proceed to conceive the spirit of
enlightenment.
Reverend Sariputra, I have been in this house
for twelve years, and I have heard no discourses concerning the
disciples and solitary sages but have heard only those concerning the
great love, the great compassion, and the inconceivable qualities of
the Buddha.
Reverend Sariputra, eight strange and wonderful things manifest themselves constantly in this house. What are these eight?
A
light of golden hue shines here constantly, so bright that it is hard
to distinguish day and night; and neither the moon nor the sun shines
here distinctly. That is the first wonder of this house.
Furthermore,
reverend Sariputra, whoever enters this house is no longer troubled by
his passions from the moment he is within. That is the second strange
and wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, this house
is never forsaken by Sakra, Brahma, the Lokapalas, and the bodhisattvas
from all the other buddha-fields. That is the third strange and
wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, this house is
never empty of the sounds of the Dharma, the discourse on the six
transcendences, and the discourses of the irreversible wheel of the
Dharma. That is the fourth strange and wonderful thing.
Furthermore,
reverend Sariputra, in this house one always hears the rhythms, songs,
and music of gods and men, and from this music constantly resounds the
sound of the infinite Dharma of the Buddha. That is the fifth strange
and wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, in this
house there are always four inexhaustible treasures, replete with all
kinds of jewels, which never decrease, although all the poor and
wretched may partake to their satisfaction. That is the sixth strange
and wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, at the
wish of this good man, to this house come the innumerable Tathagatas of
the ten directions, such as the Tathagatas Sakyamuni, Amitabha,
Aksobhya, Ratnasri, Ratnarcis, Ratnacandra, Ratnavyuha, Dusprasaha,
Sarvarthasiddha, Ratnabahula, Simhakirti, Simhasvara, and so forth; and
when they come they teach the door of Dharma called the "Secrets of the
Tathagatas" and then depart. That is the seventh strange and wonderful
thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, all the splendors of
the abodes of the gods and all the splendors of the fields of the
Buddhas shine forth in this house. That is the eighth strange and
wonderful thing.
Reverend Sariputra, these eight strange and
wonderful things are seen in this house. Who then, seeing such
inconceivable things, would believe the teaching of the disciples?
Sariputra: Goddess, what prevents you from transforming yourself out of your female state?
Goddess: Although I have sought my "female state" for these twelve years, I have not yet found it.
Reverend
Sariputra, if a magician were to incarnate a woman by magic, would you
ask her, "What prevents you from transforming yourself out of your
female state?"
Sariputra: No! Such a woman would not really exist, so what would there be to transform?
Goddess:
Just so, reverend Sariputra, all things do not really exist. Now, would
you think, "What prevents one whose nature is that of a magical
incarnation from transforming herself out of her female state?"
Thereupon,
the goddess employed her magical power to cause the elder Sariputra to
appear in her form and to cause herself to appear in his form. Then the
goddess, transformed into Sariputra, said to Sariputra, transformed
into a goddess, "Reverend Sariputra, what prevents you from
transforming yourself out of your female state?"
And
Sariputra, transformed into the goddess, replied, "I no longer appear
in the form of a male! My body has changed into the body of a woman! I
do not know what to transform!"
The goddess continued, "If the
elder could again change out of the female state, then all women could
also change out of their female states. All women appear in the form of
women in just the same way
as the elder appears in the form of a
woman. While they are not women in reality, they appear in the form of
women. With this in mind, the Buddha said, 'In all things, there is
neither male nor female.'"
Then, the goddess released her
magical power and each returned to his ordinary form. She then said to
him, "Reverend Sariputra, what have you done with your female form?"
Sariputra: I neither made it nor did I change it.
Goddess:
Just so, all things are neither made nor changed, and that they are not
made and not changed, that is the teaching of the Buddha.
Sariputra: Goddess, where will you be born when you transmigrate after death?
Goddess: I will be born where all the magical incarnations of the Tathagata are born.
Sariputra: But the emanated incarnations of the Tathagata do not transmigrate nor are they born.
Goddess: All things and living beings are just the same; they do not transmigrate nor are they born!
Sariputra: Goddess, how soon will you attain the perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood?
Goddess:
At such time as you, elder, become endowed once more with the qualities
of an ordinary individual, then will I attain the perfect enlightenment
of Buddhahood.
Sariputra: Goddess, it is impossible that I should become endowed once more with the qualities of an ordinary individual.
Goddess:
Just so, reverend Sariputra, it is impossible that I should attain the
perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood! Why? Because perfect enlightenment
stands upon the impossible. Because it is impossible, no one attains
the perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood.
Sariputra: But the
Tathagata has declared: "The Tathagatas, who are as numerous as the
sands of the Ganges, have attained perfect Buddhahood, are attaining
perfect Buddhahood, and will go on attaining perfect Buddhahood."
Goddess:
Reverend Sariputra, the expression, "the Buddhas of the past, present
and future," is a conventional expression made up of a certain number
of syllables. The Buddhas are neither past, nor present, nor future.
Their enlightenment transcends the three times! But tell me, elder,
have you attained sainthood?
Sariputra: It is attained, because there is no attainment.
Goddess: Just so, there is perfect enlightenment because there is no attainment of perfect enlightenment.
Then
the Licchavi Vimalakirti said to the venerable elder Sariputra,
"Reverend Sariputra, this goddess has already served ninety-two million
billion Buddhas. She plays with the superknowledges. She has truly
succeeded in all her vows. She has gained the tolerance of the
birthlessness of things. She has actually attained irreversibility. She
can live wherever she wishes on the strength of her vow to develop
living beings."
Thanks a lot, AEN. I like reading this a lot.
I have many questions about how a Bodhisattva develops great love for sentient beings if he considers them to be 'empty'.
I also have many questions about what that great love is like.
Do you happen to know the Chinese title for this sutra?
Originally posted by Spnw07:Thanks a lot, AEN. I like reading this a lot.
I have many questions about how a Bodhisattva develops great love for sentient beings if he considers them to be 'empty'.
I also have many questions about what that great love is like.
Do you happen to know the Chinese title for this sutra?
Wei-mo-jie-jing
ç¶æ‘©è©°ç¶“
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Wei-mo-jie-jing
ç¶æ‘©è©°ç¶“
Ah, no wonder it sounds familiar. It is actually one of main canon for Zen practitioners, if I did not remember wrongly. The other one is the Diamond Sutra.
Originally posted by Spnw07:Ah, no wonder it sounds familiar. It is actually one of main canon for Zen practitioners, if I did not remember wrongly. The other one is the Diamond Sutra.
There are many other sutras that are very important to Zen. Count Lankavatara (prior to Hui Neng, Lankavatara is the main Zen sutra) and Shurangama sutra in. Also.. Lotus Sutra, Platform (Hui Neng) sutra, Perfect Enlightenment Sutra, Nirvana Sutra, etc etc...
Found this from last year's chatlog:
(12:40 AM) Thusness: have i told u why one lack compassion?
(12:41 AM) Thusness: i said once b4 that impersonality is percieved as 'cold' and 'remote' only when?
(12:42 AM) Thusness: because it is conceptual
(12:43 AM) Thusness: and the very fact that it is perceived conceptually, it is 'cold'.
(12:43 AM) Thusness: concept is a form of abstraction and by itself is remote and does not have the 'sentience'
(12:44 AM) Thusness: it cannot understood in that capacity
(12:44 AM) Thusness: so to speak.
(12:44 AM) Thusness: though there is hardly an 'it'. :P
------------------
Because Emptiness does not mean 'non-existence', 'void', 'lifeless', and emptiness is none other than form, it is completely possible to feel for another sentient being's suffering while at the same time clearly seeing that there is no separate sentient being or inherent existence.
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:There are many other sutras that are very important to Zen. Count Lankavatara (prior to Hui Neng, Lankavatara is the main Zen sutra) and Shurangama sutra in. Also.. Lotus Sutra, Platform (Hui Neng) sutra, Perfect Enlightenment Sutra, Nirvana Sutra, etc etc...
AEN, mind if you provide the chinese names of the above sutras as well? I'm poor in knowledge of English names of sutras.
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Found this from last year's chatlog:
(12:40 AM) Thusness: have i told u why one lack compassion?
(12:41 AM) Thusness: i said once b4 that impersonality is percieved as 'cold' and 'remote' only when?
(12:42 AM) Thusness: because it is conceptual
(12:43 AM) Thusness: and the very fact that it is perceived conceptually, it is 'cold'.
(12:43 AM) Thusness: concept is a form of abstraction and by itself is remote and does not have the 'sentience'
(12:44 AM) Thusness: it cannot understood in that capacity
(12:44 AM) Thusness: so to speak.
(12:44 AM) Thusness: though there is hardly an 'it'. :P------------------
Because Emptiness does not mean 'non-existence', 'void', 'lifeless', and emptiness is none other than form, it is completely possible to feel for another sentient being's suffering while at the same time clearly seeing that there is no separate sentient being or inherent existence.
Wow, chim explanation of emptiness, but luckily it's still short enough for me to memorise. :)
Originally posted by Spnw07:AEN, mind if you provide the chinese names of the above sutras as well? I'm poor in knowledge of English names of sutras.
楞伽ç»� (lankavatara sutra), 楞嚴經 (shurangama sutra), 妙法蓮è�¯ç¶“ (lotus sutra), å…祖壇經 (platform sutra), 圓覺經 (perfect enlightenment sutra), 涅槃經 (Nirvana Sutra), etc..
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:楞伽ç»� (lankavatara sutra), 楞嚴經 (shurangama sutra), 妙法蓮è�¯ç¶“ (lotus sutra), å…祖壇經 (platform sutra), 圓覺經 (perfect enlightenment sutra), 涅槃經 (Nirvana Sutra), etc..
Thanks AEN, only two are unknown to me in terms of chinese equivalent title and that is lankavatara sutra and shurangama sutra.
Originally posted by Spnw07:Thanks AEN, only two are unknown to me in terms of chinese equivalent title and that is lankavatara sutra and shurangama sutra.
Leng jie/leng jia jing, and leng yen jing.
http://www.lifewithoutacentre.com/4.html
........Yes, it all appears to no-one, happens for no-one, but it’s not a detached world, no, not at all…. in fact, it’s now all so intimate, in fact it is nothing but Intimacy itself…. because there is simply no “me” separate from “it”…
Only It, only Life in its totality, the One and only, in its infinite, intimate manifestations.
This will never be communicated. It is beyond all that, too great for all that…. and yet too simple for it too.
Just this – shimmering this, impermanent this, ineffable this...........
Yesterday I watched a video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF_gCAquRnc