Having last month considered the Buddha’s manifestation in this saha world, we consider the attributes of the Buddha and conclude the first chapter of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings.

Your Brahma voice—that rolls like thunder, that has eight virtues,
That is pure, deeply resonant, sublime, and far-reaching—
Conveys the Four Noble Truths, the perfection of the six spiritual
attitudes, and the twelve-linked chain of dependent origination
To living beings according to their mindsets and their karmic actions.
The minds and hearts of those who hear you will invariably open;
They will not fail to sever themselves from the cycle of countless births and deaths (samsara).
Those who hear you will variously attain the fruit of entering
the stream (srota-āpanna),
The fruit of one remaining return (sakṛdāgāmin), the fruit of
non-returning (anāgāmin), the fruit of arhatship;
Or freedom from delusion and desire, and transcendence of cause and condition, in the status of a pratyekabuddha;
Or the bodhisattva stage in which phenomena are grasped as being without origination or cessation.
Or they will obtain countless Dharma-grasping empowerments;
Or the ability to expound pleasingly with unrestrained great eloquence—
To orate in verses profound and sublime
While bathing and reveling in the pure pond of Dharma.
Or they will manifest wondrous abilities to reach any place, to leap and to soar,
And to move at will into and out of water and fire. Such are the signs of a wheel of the Dharma;
Thus is it pure and limitless, and hard to give form to in thought
or in word.
Together, all of us will bow again
And take refuge in a Dharma wheel whenever it is turned.
We will bow again and take refuge in the sound of your Brahma voice.
We will bow again and take refuge in the Four Noble Truths, the perfection of the spiritual attitudes, and dependent origination.
World-honored One! Ever since innumerable kalpas ago,
You have cultivated and practiced all beneficial works devotedly
For our sake—human beings, heavenly beings, nāga kings— Extending universally to all manner of living beings.
You were able to give up everything that is difficult to forgo—
Your wife, your child, all of your wealth, and your palaces and lands. As selfless with regard to inner matters as you are with material things,
You give your mind, your perceptions, and the essence of your being completely for the sake of all people.
You will reverently uphold the principles of pure behavior of all buddhas
With unbroken resolve until the end of your life.
Should someone bearing sword or staff come to do you harm,
Or to disparage or denounce you, you will be without anger
to the end.
Through kalpa after kalpa of all-out endeavor, your intensity
has never waned.
Night and day you govern your mind, keeping it constantly focused. You have completely mastered all ways to grasp the Dharma,
And your insight penetrates deeply into the core of living beings: Thus, you have come to achieve unhindered capabilities.
In total command of the Dharma, you are as its king. Together we all bow to and take refuge in the one
So steadfast in purpose toward all that is difficult to overcome.

See Implanting Our Ideal of the Buddha

Having last month considered the attributes of the Buddha, we consider the Buddha’s manifestation in this saha world.

Your manifestation is nearly sixteen feet tall, aglow in purple-gold, Well proportioned, greatly radiant, and lustrous.
The tuft between your eyebrows curves like the crescent moon; the nape of your neck glows like the sun.
Your hair is dark blue and curly; there is a wen on the top of your head.
Pure eyes shine brightly as they blink up and down.
Eyebrows and eyelashes are deep blue and long; mouth and cheeks have fine definition:
Your lips and tongue are beautifully red, like vermilion fruits; White teeth, forty in number, are like snowy agates.
Your forehead is wide, your nose is full, and you have a welcoming face.
Your chest is like that of a lion, and it is marked with a svastika, the sign of virtue.
Hands and feet are flexible and have the mark of one thousand spokes.
Your armpits and palms are rounded; nothing escapes your grasp.
Your arms are long from shoulder to elbow to wrist; fingers are slender and straight.
Your skin is soft and delicate, and the hair on it curls to the right. Ankles and knees are not prominent; genitals, in equine manner,
are concealed.
You have slender muscles and ligaments, and your calves are
curved like a deer’s.10
Unblemished purity reflects on the outside and pervades within: You are pure water, never muddied or stained.
There are thirty-two aspects like these,
And eighty special features can similarly be seen.
But, in truth, you are without a form that has or does not have aspects.
All aspects of all things are beyond the scope of the eye.
The characteristic of your aspect-embodiment is that of having
no aspects;
The characteristic of the aspect-bodies of all living beings is the same.
You are able to inspire living beings to joyfully pay homage,
To deeply, sincerely, and devotedly show respect,
And, by such cause, to cast off arrogance and pride of self
And achieve a consummate embodiment such as this.
We, the assembled eighty thousand,
Collectively bow in homage to, and together take refuge in,
The Great Sage who is without attachment, the tamer of elephants and horses
Who has superseded emotion, conception, mind, volition, and discrimination;
We bow to and confide in the Dharma embodied—The synthesis of perfection in behavioral principles, concentration, discernment, emancipation, and perspective that pertains to emancipation;
And we bow to and take refuge in the wonderfully symbolic robe.
We bow to, and take refuge in, that which is hard to give form to in thought or in word!

This being the week of Hanamatsuri, see this post about the svastika, the sign of virtue, on the chest the Buddha.

Having last month considered the powers of the bodhisattvas, we consider the attributes of the Buddha.

The monks known by name were Greatly Wise Śāriputra; Transcendent Maudgalyāyana; Lifelong Sage Subhūti; Mahākātyāyana; Pūrṇa, Son of Maitrāyaṇī; and Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya. Others like them were Supremely Perceptive Aniruddha; Upāli, Upholder of Behavioral Principles; Ānanda, the Attendant; Rāhula, Son of the Buddha; Upananda; Revata; Kapphiṇa; Vakkula; Acyuta; Svāgata; Mahākāśyapa, He of Constant Practice; Uruvilvākāśyapa; Gayākāśyapa; and Nadīkāśyapa. Such monks as these were twelve thousand in number; all of them were arhats, had ended the outflow of all desires, were unhindered by attachments, and had gained true emancipation.

There came a certain moment when the great-being bodhisattva Fully Composed—having recognized that all at the gathering had seated themselves with a settled mind—arose from where he sat, as did the eighty thousand great-being bodhisattvas within the assembly. They made their way to where the Buddha was, bowed their heads at his feet in homage, walked around him a hundred thousand times, and burned incense and scattered flowers.8 Heavenly flowers, heavenly incense and garments, garlands of celestial jewels, and priceless celestial treasures accumulated like clouds in the four directions and spiraled down from the sky as offerings to the Buddha. Celestial bowls and containers were filled to overflowing with hundreds of heavenly delicacies that were spontaneously fully satisfying by appearance and aroma. Celestial flags, celestial banners and canopies, and marvelous celestial amusements were arranged everywhere, and heavenly music was played for the Buddha’s enjoyment. Thereupon they went before the Buddha, knelt formally on one knee, placed their palms together, and, with one mind and one voice, spoke words of praise in verse:

Great One! Most Venerable Fully Awakened Master!
You are without stain, contamination, or attachment!
Nurturer of human and heavenly beings! Tamer of elephants and horses!
You infuse the fragrance of virtue into all things by means of the winds of the Way!
You are serene in wisdom, calm in emotion, composed in deep reflection,
And—volition extinguished, discriminations set aside—likewise tranquil in mind.
You have forever cast away delusive ideas, reflections, and thoughts—
No more to become entangled in all the facets of existence.
What you embody is not existing, and yet not nonexistent;
Is neither direct nor indirect cause; has no sense of self or other;
Is neither square nor round; is not brief or long;
Neither appears nor disappears; is without origination or cessation;
Is neither created nor self-arisen, nor is it produced;
Neither sits nor lies down; does not walk or stand; Neither moves nor turns; is not static or idle;
Neither advances nor retreats; is not imperiled or secure;
Neither is, nor is not; has no gain or loss;
Is neither here nor there; does not come or go;
Is neither blue nor yellow; is not red or white;
Is not crimson, is not purple or multicolored;
Comes forth from the perfection of behavioral principles, concentration, discernment, emancipation, and perspective that pertains to emancipation;
Rises from three kinds of transcendent knowledge, the six transcendent powers, and the avenues to enlightenment;9
Emanates from kindness, compassion, ten capabilities, and dauntlessness;
And emerges according to the good karmic actions of living beings.

See Innumerable Matters of Translation

I’ve been waiting since Jan. 17 to get to this point in my monthly review of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings so that I can discuss something I discovered in my reading for an online class I’m taking on the Lotus Sutra offered by Rissho Kōsei-kai in North America (RKINA).

As preparation for the class discussion on the first chapter of the sutra, I discovered a very significant difference in Rissho Kōsei-kai’s “modern” translation published in 2019 and the BDK English Tripiṭaka translation that I use in my monthly practice.

Here’s the Rissho Kōsei-kai translation of the gāthās describing the attributes of the Buddha and his manifestation:

“He has forever put an end to fantasies and delusional thoughts,
Having transcended all elements of experience,
His physical existence is neither being nor nothingness.
It has neither causes nor conditions and is neither itself nor something else.
It is neither square nor round, not short or long;
Neither appearing nor disappearing, not arising or perishing;
Neither created nor arisen, not made or produced;
Neither sitting nor lying, not walking or stopping;
Neither moving nor turning, not calm or quiet;
Neither advancing nor retreating, not in safety or danger;
Neither right nor wrong, having no gain or loss;
Neither this nor that, not coming or going;
Neither blue nor yellow, not red or white;
Neither crimson nor purple, and not any other color.
He is born of precepts, meditation, wisdom, emancipation, and perception.
He springs forth from the merits of samadhi, the six transcendent powers, and the practices that assist the Way.
He arises from compassion, the ten powers, and fearlessness.
And he comes forth as a result of his good karma as a living being.”

Note in that last line: “He comes forth as a result of his good karma as a living being.”

The BDK English Tripiṭaka translation renders that last line:

“And emerges according to the good karmic actions of living beings.”

In reading these verses I’ve always enjoyed this revelation that the Buddha, having removed himself from provisional existence, shows himself and makes himself available to us through his merits and powers because of “the good karmic actions of living beings.”

My good causes make it possible to see the Buddha in my life.

I have three additional translations of this sutra.

Gene Reeves says, “He emerges from / The good actions of living beings”

Burton Watson says, “emerging because of the good actions of living beings.”

And Rissho Kosei-Kai’s 1975 translation says, “He has come in response / To good karmas of living beings.”

This is not an insignificant difference. The Buddha’s reliance on the “good karmas of living beings” is an important lesson we should take to heart.

Having last month consideredthe great Bodhisattvas, we consider the powers of the bodhisattvas

They are able, moreover, to clearly perceive conditioned desires of the senses. By means of Dharma-grasping empowerments (dhāraṇīs), and with unlimited facility of eloquence, they call upon the Buddha to turn a wheel of the Dharma; emulating him, they are able to turn it as well. They first bring it down in tiny drops that dissolve the dirt of delusive passions. They open nirvana’s gates and fan winds of emancipation—dispelling the world’s fevers and trials with the cool refreshment of the Dharma. Next, raining down the deeply profound twelve-linked chain of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda), they drench the intense solar fires of assembled sufferings of ignorance, illness, aging, and death. Then, pouring the supreme Great Vehicle to overflowing, they immerse and soak the various roots of goodness that living beings possess, cast seeds of goodness widely over fields of beneficial effects, and inspire all beings everywhere to germinate the sprout of enlightenment. With wisdom accumulated over cycles of the sun and the moon, and with skillful means applied within a moment or over time, they advance and extend the work of the Great Vehicle: to enable living beings to quickly achieve the full dynamic of ultimate enlightenment and always abide in the reality that is joyful beyond description. With boundless great compassion, they rescue living beings from suffering.

These are the true companions of good influence for all living beings. These are bountiful spheres of kindness for all living beings. These are the spontaneous teachers of all living beings. These are centers of joyful tranquility, places of deliverance, shelters for protection, and great havens of reliability for all living beings. As such, they serve everywhere as extraordinary guides who are of benefit to all—capable of acting as eyes for those who do not see, as ears for those who do not hear, as a nose for those with no sense of smell, as a tongue for those who do not speak. They are able to make deficient faculties become whole, and to turn contrariness, unbalance, frenzy, and confusion into complete right mindfulness. They are the shipmasters and great captains that ferry living beings across the river of birth and death, landing them on nirvana’s shore. They are the greatest physicians and master doctors who distinguish the aspects of illnesses, know well the properties of medicines, offer remedies appropriate to an affliction, and have beings trustingly take them. They are directors and master directors who never lose control—like tamers of elephants or horses who are capable of training without fail. They are like valiant lions whose unconquerable majesty invites respect from all other beasts. Comfortably progressing in all bodhisattva practices of perfection, steadfast and immovable in the tathāgata realm, serenely abiding in the strength of their resolve, and refining buddha lands far and wide, they will realize and achieve the full dynamic of ultimate enlightenment before long. All such great-being bodhisattvas possess this kind of wondrous power to do beneficial works.

For me, Buddhism is bodhisattva practice. As the translators note in their introduction:

While the Lotus Sutra is never mentioned by name in this text, the Infinite Meanings Sutra, like the Lotus, is a strong proponent of the concept of bodhisattva practice. In his discourse in the sutra, the Buddha emphasizes that leading others to the Way is a prime factor in attaining ultimate enlightenment, and that the teaching of the sutra itself is infinite in its meanings because it relates to the unlimited desires of living beings.