Guanyin means "to hear the sounds of the world", and this bodhisattva's vow or, shall we say "mission", is to hear people's needs and respond with compassion. When the cries are from life-threatening situations, Guanyin will manifiest to save you if you sincerely called out Guanyin's name.
Guanyin, as the Lotus Sutra describes, is able to transform into many different personalities to best help each person. Many Buddhists have had personal encounters with Guanyin.
Why is Bodhisattva Guanyin so powerful? Because (1) He believed that he can be that powerful (2) He practiced according to the Dharma, and (3) We believe in Guanyin.
Guanyin, or anyone of us, can be that powerful, because our mind is infinite. But we need to learn to discipline the mind through meditation, awaken the mind to the truth, and be free from one's ego to be able to appear as any person. When we are fixated about who we are and who we are not, we can't be flexible, and therefore, our abilities become self-limited.
Question: Why does Guanyin only help those who call out his name? Isn't that ungenerous and limited in compassion (Guanyin is known as "the Great Compassionate One")? Shouldn't the bodhisattva help everyone equally?
What do you think?
觀音菩薩的力量來自何處？一、對自己能成佛的信心。二、依法修行，由聞思修入三摩地。三、我們對觀音的信心。
觀音為何能三十二應身？因為無我。有我則有限，是我則非彼，則不能隨類化身，應念現形，廣度眾生。
疑問：觀音為何只度「一心誦念觀音名號」的人？這樣不是不夠慈悲嗎？你的答案是什麼？
（來日分曉）
Posts
Amituofo Ven. Jian Hu Shifu,
ReplyDeleteShifu told us about when the Buddha had been walking with Ananda down a road and saw a woman who was tending her crop. When the Buddha went to ask the woman for an offering, the woman did not even tend notice to the Buddha. But when Ananda asked, she responded lividly.
Is it because that the karmic connection needs to be greater for Guanyin to help us? Because if our karmic connection is not great, than we might not even know Guanyin, or have any basis to come into contact with Guanyin. Another example that Shifu talked to us about was about a merchant that the Buddha taught the Dharma to briefly , and because of his lack of interest, did not ask any more question but just continued along his way.
Amituofo,
Chuan Zheng
Posting on behalf of Anh Tran:
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1: The ten titles of the Buddha:
1. The World Honored Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Light Tathagata
2. The Medicine Buddha Tagatha
3. Tathagata.
4. The World Honored One
5. The Venerable World Honored One
6. The Thus Coming One.
7. The Unsurpassed One.
8. The Great Compassionate Father
9. The Enlightened One.
10. The Blessed One.
Question 2: At the beginning of the second half of the Diamond Sutra, Subhuti asked the exact same question that he did at the beginning of the sutra.
The answer of the same question at the beginning of the diamond sutra: Dharma is definite. Right and wrong are duality. But we start form Right /Wrong first.
The answer of the same question at the second half of the diamond sutra: Dharma is infinite “…when all sentient beings have attained nirvana, in fact, not a single sentient being has been liberated." The acceptance/observation of the-way-it-is. No more good/bad. Middle Way.
Question 3:What are these five stages?
1. Give rise to the bodhi mind. A single thought wanting to attaint (actually to gain back) Bodhimind.
2. Tame the mind. The mind is covered with layers of environmental dust over time, goes far away from the Bodhi mind, needs to be cleansed away these dust, by certain procedures, taming by practicing: walking/breathing meditation, prostration, chanting, reading scriptures…
3. Awaken to the bodhi mind. Practice makes master/venerable. An outcome of a long practice.
5. Ultimate bodhi mind. The final perfect result of meditation practicing is Buddhahood achievement.
Question 4: Which passages/chapters in the Diamond Sutra correspond to each of these five stages?
Question 5: Have you made the bodhi resolve? If so, how has that changed you? If not, what is making you hesitate? I am not sure I understand this question. bodhi resolve?
This goes back to the fundamental goal/means of education/teaching. Buddha is obvious an educator, shows sentient beings the way.
1.Have you made the bodhi resolve? If so, how has that changed you?
o Application for non-self
I can practice(/resolve?? How? )a little with my job, as an educator, the term educator is too technical. I just would like to see myself as simple as a person, I wanted to give sick people some ideas that I have to help with their “issues”. If so, how has that changed you? I know that I give my best, but absorption/outcome is also dependent on other’s karma. Most of the time, must accept the-way-it-is, if I come at the late stage. Consulting has some effects, to buy some time. But ultimately, have to respect the course of nature, the 4 Noble Truth. For both Buddhist/non-Buddhist, I advice praying to their God. If Buddhist I strongly encourage to pray to the Medicine Buddha. Can’t be better means. I guess Jesus is a Boddhisatva. Sick people pray to Jesus, and forget about their bodies! No more body, no more pain.
I was not a believer, but I must admit that praying is the strongest medicine at the end.
2. Have you made the bodhi resolve? If so, how has that changed you?
If not, what is making you hesitate? You can begin the practice of "liberating all sentient beings."
o Application for self
I have to free myself first before I can save others. And here I am still heavy with baggage of samsara business, I can’t resolve by cutting my hair and put on the robe yet. See that I just have to practice “The Way” in the samsara world, which is pretty difficult and I fail often, only to treat the 3 poisons. I do what I can.
I wish I had more quiet time for meditation.
sorry, i have to say that
ReplyDeleteGuanyin does not mean "to hear the sounds of the world", but "listening to the inner sound", which is described in the buddhist scriptures.
Where the "sound" come from is up to interpretation. In the Lotus Sutra, it says,
ReplyDeleteThe Buddha said to the Bodhisattva of Infinite Thought, "Good man, if hundreds, thousands, millions, or a countless number of sentient beings, undergoing all kinds of distress and sufferings, heard of this Bodhisattva Guan Shi Yin and single-mindedly called upon his name, he would instantly perceive the sound of their voices, and they would all be liberated."
In The Shurangama Sutra, it says that Guanyin, "I perceiving the callers by NOT perceiving external sounds", meaning that by turning the awareness inward, the bodhisattva is able to perceiving externally.
Yet another translation Guanyin is "to perceive the master within". It depends on how one divide the original Sanskrit name AValoketishvara.
Shifu:
ReplyDeleteCT Sunnyvale recently held the New Year Guan Yin Blessing Ceremony. I was re-reading an English translation of the 25 Chapter of the Lotus Sutra describing Guan Yin's vows to aid sentient beings that called his name:
若有持是觀世音菩薩名者，設入大火，火不能燒…...大水所漂，即得淺處…..皆悉斷壞，即得解脫。
While we tend to focus the efficacy of Guan Yin's vows on the level of faith of the caller, if one contemplates Guan Yin's vows to protect us from harm, they are dualistic juxtapositions. In effect, the vows are all merely pointing at Impermanence and Emptiness: the Essence is free of death from fire, from drowning. We called Guan Yin's name because we are attached to this frail body, yet the meaning of Guan Yin is the Middle Path Reality where there is no body and no death.
Furthermore, Guan Yin's thousand arm transformation:
若有國土眾生，應以佛身得度者，觀世音菩薩即現佛身而為說法...人非人等身得度者，即皆現之而為說法；應以執金剛身得度者，即現執金剛身而為說法。
This seems exactly like Shakyamuni's teaching of 64,000 Dharma Doors. Extending further, it is the entire Dharmadhatu or the Pureland, where every dharma speaks the Buddhadharma. The whole Triple Realm is Guan Yin's practice/transformation; each/all dharma (妙法) has its response (相應) in complete accord with causality, completely unobstructed, freely enlightening all sentient beings. When Shakyamuni Buddha compassionately bestows prediction of future Enlightenments in the 2nd half of the Lotus Sutra, this is precisely saying the same thing, that the entire Dharmadhatu is 妙法相應, even the icchantika has a share and is not outside this reality. This idea is beautifully stated:
《圓覺經》云:[一切障礙即究竟覺，得念失念無非解脫，成法破法皆名涅槃，智慧愚癡通為般若.菩薩外道所成就法同是菩提，無明真如無異境界，諸戒定慧及婬怒癡俱是梵行，眾生國土同一法性，地獄天宮皆為淨土，有性無性齊成佛道；一切煩惱畢竟解脫，法界海慧照了諸相猶如虛空。此名如來隨順覺性。]
Amitoufo. 傳運