Programming note: This is the final quote I set aside during my 21-day Retreat Encouraged by Universal Sage Bodhisattva.

In my post The Innumerable Day Before Day 1, I discussed the difficult  topic of the nature of emptiness in The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings. The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva also places importance on understanding emptiness (Reeves, p416):

Then the buddhas in all ten directions will reach out with their right hands to touch the head of a follower, saying: “Good, good, good son! Because you have now read and recited the Great Vehicle sutras, the buddhas in all directions will teach the Dharma of repentance for you. Bodhisattva practice is neither a matter of cutting off all bonds and services nor of living in the ocean of servitude. If you contemplate your mind, you will find no mind, except the mind that comes from perverse conceptions. The mind with such conceptions arises from delusion. Like the wind in the sky, it has no grounding. Such a character of things neither appears nor disappears.

“What is sin? What is virtue? As the thought of self is itself empty, neither sin nor virtue is our master. In this way, all things are neither permanent nor destroyed. If one repents like this, meditating on one’s mind, one finds no mind. Things also do not dwell in things. All things are liberated, show the truth of extinction, and are calm and tranquil. Such a thing is called great repentance, sublime repentance, repentance without sin, the destruction of consciousness of mind. People who practice this repentance are pure in body and mind, like flowing water, not attached to things. Whenever they reflect they will be able to see Universal Sage Bodhisattva and the buddhas in all directions.”

Then all the world-honored ones, emitting rays of light of great mercy, will teach for followers the Dharma of formlessness. The followers, hearing the first principle of emptiness being taught, are not surprised by hearing this. In due time they will gain the status of true bodhisattvas.

From The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva (Reeves, p410):

Then, with one voice from different mouths, the bodhisattvas will have followers purify their six sense organs.

One will say, “You should reflect on the Buddha.”
Another will say, “You should reflect on the Dharma.”
Another will say, “You should reflect on the monastic community.”
Another will say, “You should reflect on morality.”
Another will say, “You should reflect on generosity.”
Another will say, “You should reflect on the heavens.”

“These six methods express an aspiration to become a buddha. They give birth to bodhisattvas. Before the buddhas, you should now confess your past sins and sincerely repent.

Here’s another quote from The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva that I want to keep around (Reeves, p410):

Then Universal Sage Bodhisattva will emit another ray of light from between his eyebrows, the sign of a great man, and he will send it into the hearts of followers. After this ray has entered their hearts, followers themselves will remember that under countless hundreds and thousands of buddhas in the past they had received and embraced, read and recited the Great Vehicle sutras. Having the ability to penetrate clearly to previous states of existence, they will see their own former bodies with complete clarity, exactly as if they had the ability to see into the past.

This quote (Reeves, p408) from The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva follows a reference to the Lotus Sutra and Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma. This is part of the instructions given to the contemplating practitioner by “hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of innumerable buddhas everywhere”:

“Now you should practice diligently and never be lazy. These Great Vehicle sutras are the buddhas’ storehouse of the Dharma; they are the eyes of the buddhas in all directions and in the past, present, and future; and they are the seeds that give birth to tathagatas in the past, present, and future. One who embraces these sutras embraces the body of the Buddha and does the work of the Buddha. Such a person should understand that he or she has been sent by the buddhas and are covered by robes of buddhas, the world-honored ones. This is a child of the true Dharma of the buddhas, the tathagatas. Practice the Great Vehicle and do not cut off the seeds of Dharma!

The source of the instruction underscores the universality of the message, which is full of concepts also found in the Lotus Sutra.

The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva (Reeves) and The Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhistattva Universal Virtue (Threefold Lotus Sutra) and The Sutra Expounded by the Buddha on Practice of the Way through Contemplation of the Bodhisattva All-embracing Goodness (BDK English Tripitaka) all offer English translations of the ancient Chinese translation of this sutra, which is considered the closing sutra of the Lotus Sutra.

Before this three-week stay-cation retreat I didn’t fully appreciate the difficulty in creating these English versions of a sutra. It is not a simple task of finding the English word for the Chinese word. There’s a lot more required and a good example is this quote from the Reeves translation (Page 416):

“Where can I practice the teaching of repentance?”

The voice in the sky will then say: “Shakyamuni Buddha is called Vairocana, the Omnipresent. His dwelling place is called Always Tranquil Light, a place that is taken up by constant practice, a place that is made stable by self-practice, a place where the characteristics of existence are extinguished by pure practice, a place where body and mind cannot live in comfortable practice, a place where the character of existing or non-existing cannot be seen in anything, and a place of tranquil liberation, which is the practice of wisdom. Because these forms are the ever-present Dharma, you should now meditate on the buddhas in the ten directions.”

I could follow most of this illustration of the Buddha’s teaching of emptiness, but I stumbled over “where body and mind cannot live in comfortable practice.” So I went to the other translations that I have.

Here’s what the Threefold Lotus Sutra (Page 363-363) offers:

“At what place may I practice the law of repentance?”

Thereupon the voice in the sky will speak thus, saying: “Śākyamuni Buddha is called Vairocana Who Pervades All Places, and his dwelling place is called Eternally Tranquil Light, the place which is composed of permanency-pāramitā, and stabilized by self-pāramitā, the place where purity-pāramitā extinguishes the aspect of existence, where bliss-pāramitā does not abide in the aspect of one’s body and mind, and where the aspects of all the laws cannot be seen as either existing or non-existing, the place of tranquil emancipation or prajn͂āpāramitā. Because these forms are based on permanent law, thus you must now meditate on the buddhas in all directions.

For me, this was incomprehensible and another reason why I’ve shunned this translation of the entire threefold sutra.

Which brings us to the BDK translation (Page 69):

At what place may I now practice the way of self-amendment?

The ethereal voice will then immediately reply, saying:

Śākyamuni Buddha is Vairocana – the One Who Is Present in All Places. Where this buddha abides is called Perpetual Tranquil Light – where perpetuity is perfectly achieved, where the perfect truth of self is constituted, where perfect purity casts off the aspects of existence, where perfect happiness is no longer a characteristic that occupies body and mind, where phenomena are no longer perceived as having or not having aspects, where likewise there is serene liberation as well as perfect wisdom. As these are features of the ever-abiding Dharma, you must accordingly contemplate the buddhas of the ten directions!

Already understanding the concept of emptiness of self – there is no fixed, enduring thing that is myself; what we perceive is provisional existence that arises from causes and conditions; and the Middle Way encompasses all of this – the BDK translation left far fewer questions. It also gave me a much better appreciation of the task of translating Buddhist texts into English.

From The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva (Reeves, p420), something I want to set aside for future reference:

Having recited these verses, the Buddha said to Ananda: “Repent now of the six sense faculties, embrace the teaching of meditation on Universal Sage Bodhisattva, and explain it clearly everywhere for all the heavenly beings and people in all directions. After the extinction of the Buddha, if the disciples receive and embrace, read and recite, and explain the sutras of the Great Vehicle, the Expansive Teaching, in a quiet place, such as a graveyard or under the trees of a monastery, they should read and recite the sutras of the Expansive Teaching and should think about the meaning of the Great Vehicle. As a result of the strong power of reflecting. They will be able to see my body, the Stupa of Abundant Treasures Buddha, the countless buddhas embodied in all directions, Universal Sage Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Medicine King Bodhisattva, and Medicine Lord Bodhisattva. As a result of revering the Dharma, these buddhas and bodhisattvas, living in the sky with wonderful flowers, will praise and revere those who practice and embrace the Dharma. And as a result just of their reciting the sutras of the Great Vehicle, the Expansive Teaching, the buddhas and bodhisattvas will make offerings day and night to those who embrace the Dharma. …

“After the extinction of the Buddha, if his disciples faithfully follow the Buddha’s words and practice repentance, it should be known that they are doing the work of Universal Sage. Those who do the work of Universal Sage neither see evil characteristics nor experience retribution from evil actions. If there are living beings who show respect to the buddhas in all ten directions six times night and day, recite the Great Vehicle sutras, and think about the profound first principle of the teaching of emptiness, in the time it takes to snap one’s fingers they will rid themselves of the sins of life and death committed during hundreds of myriads of thousands of billions of eons. Anyone doing this work is truly a child of the Buddha, born from the buddhas. The buddhas in all directions and the bodhisattvas will become their teachers. Such people will be said to be perfect in bodhisattva precepts. Without going through a special ceremony, they will become accomplished naturally, and be worthy of receiving offerings from all human and heavenly beings.”

Accomplished naturally without going through a special ceremony.