Sowing Sutras

lobster

In this sewing thread, favourite sutures for the dharmically afflicted ...

One of the earliest is the Rhino suitor, about ... something or other ...
https://accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.1.03.than.html

What gems have you found sewn up?

Jason

One of my favourite and eminently practical sutures is MN 61.

federica

I love this one, but I must advise personal caution: There is a small element of Ego attached, as I get a mention....

Vastmind

Alagaddupama Sutta: The Water-Snake Simile

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.022.than.html

ETA:
Aunt Fede...I'm slow on the uptake.... I'm looking and looking....

and then... I see you! ..... I love it! You know I'm impressed!!

@federica

Jeroen

@lobster said:
One of the earliest is the Rhino suitor, about ... something or other ...
https://accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.1.03.than.html

I would find it very hard to bring myself to follow the way of life prescribed in that poem. It speaks of a great loneliness, each quatrain telling you something to be left behind in ‘wandering alone, like a rhinoceros’, so that one does not lose the focus of the path.

In a way the ties of family and companionship are a source of gladness, a form of celebrating this life which we have been given, and I find it somewhat unnatural at a deep level to consider letting these things go before their time.

Not so long ago my grandmother passed away, and I’ve been speaking to my mother about her from time to time. It was beautiful and it was her time to go, she had such trouble with her memory, and the process of letting her go has taken a good year and will probably continue for my mother for a while yet.

Jeroen

I’ve recently come across MN.13, the Great Mass of Stress, about the drawbacks of sensuality, form and feeling. It made quite an impact on me.

Vastmind

Advice to a householder:

Sigalovada Sutta: The Buddha's Advice to Sigalaka

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.31.0.ksw0.html

For my fellow Zennies, I can't leave out the Flower Sermon....AKA- Transmission

http://www.katinkahesselink.net/tibet/flower-sermon.htm

Jeroen

Today’s reading led me to the Abhisanda Sutta, AN.08, about rewards. I found it particularly beautiful because it makes clear that by holding to the precepts, we give gifts to the world and it’s inhabitants, gifts of freedom from danger, animosity and oppression. That’s more powerful to me than just an appeal to self restraint.

Vimalajāti

@Vastmind said:

For my fellow Zennies, I can't leave out the Flower Sermon....AKA- Transmission

http://www.katinkahesselink.net/tibet/flower-sermon.htm

The ending of the Chinese recension I am familiar with is particularly beautiful:

From 拈花微笑, or "The flower plucked and the faint smile"

世尊在靈山會上拈華示眾
The Lord dwelt at the Vulture Peak with the assembly and plucked a flower as a teaching.

眾皆默然唯迦葉破顏微笑世尊云吾有正法眼藏涅槃妙心
The myriad totality were silent, save for Kāśyapa whose face cracked in a faint smile. The Lord spoke: "I have the treasure of the true dharma eye, I have nirvāṇa as wondrous citta,

實相無相微妙法門不立文字教外別傳付囑摩訶迦葉。
I know signless dharmatā, the subtle dharma-gate, which is not standing on written word, which is external to scriptures, which is a special dispensation, which is entrusted to Mahākāśyapa."

Vimalajāti

I have always been a fan of the Buddha's miracle stories, while I certainly am skeptical that many of them occurred.

The Ādīptasūtra (燃燒經 T99.50b14) has one of these.

Like this, I heard:
One day, the Buddha dwelt, on his travels with monks near the Gayāsīsa stūpa, at that time there were one thousand on the hill gathered, all of them former tangled-haired Brahmns. At that time, the Lord, for these thousand mendicants, enacted three kinds of miraculous manifestations for the purposes of their conversion.

Which three? A theurgical manifestation, a telepathic manifestation, and a persuasive manifestation. This was the manifestation of theurgy that the Buddha caused to happen:

The Lord, right where he was in that moment, thus manifested the "Entering into the Cessation of Sensations" meditation, he rose into the sky toward the east, and performed the four comportments: he walked, he was still, he sat, he lay down, and entered fire-samādhi. He issued varieties of fire and light: green, yellow, red, and white. In crystalline form, water and fire appeared both together, among these miraculous occurrences, the lower body issued forth fire, the upper body issued forth water, the upper body issued forth fire, the lower body issued forth water, all-circularly, in all four directions, just like that.

At that time, the time that the Lord executed myriad numerous miraculous transformations, afterwards, amongst them, the monks, he again sat, that was the manifestation of theurgy.

For the telepathic manifestation, the Lord demonstrated knowledge in accordance with other minds, in accordance with other intentions, in accordance with other consciousnesses, he said that others should cultivate such-and-such notions, should not cultivate such-and-such notions, he said to those others that such-and-such notions that are to be abandoned, that others should do as such to embody realizing meditation, that was called the telepathic manifestation.

The persuasive manifestation was thus, so the Lord spoke:

"Myriad monks! All is burning as such. To speak of what all that is burning so? Monks, all is on fire. What is all on fire? To say the eye burns so, as appearances, as eye consciousness, as eye contact, the eyes' contact's causal origination, the development of that, whether if bitter or if pleasurable, if neither bitter nor pleasurable, that also burns so.

Thus so it is definitively: the nose, the tongue, the body, and ideas burn in such a way. Phenomena, ideas, the ideas' contact, the ideas' contact's causal origination's development of feelings, whether if bitter, if pleasurable, if neither bitter nor pleasurable, that also burns so.

Because of what do they burn so? Because of greed, fires burn. Because of rage, fires burn. Because of delusion, fires burn. The all is on fire with the flames of delusion, and it is on fire with the flames of birth. Because of age, because of sickness, because of death, because of worry, of sorrow, of anger, and because of bitterness, fires burn so."

At that time, the thousand monks heard the Buddha say this, without constructing myriad outflows, their minds attained understanding of liberation, Buddhavacana this sūtra was thereafter, many monks heard the Buddha teach it, joyfully they practiced it.

The theurgical manifestation (神足變化), very mysterious, isn't it?

I often wonder what it could have meant to the people of the time. This miracle, in Pāli literature, is called the "Twin Miracle", and it has to do with the simultaneous production of water and fire.

Consider that it comes before the Fire Sermon. How is fire treated in Buddhist literature? Often as symbolic of saṃsāra. I sometimes wonder if the water is representing cessation, alongside the fire, in a unity. But that may well be my Madhyamaka sympathies speaking.

federica

@Vimalajāti, Nobody here, as far as I know, can read Chinese....

Jason

@Vimalajāti said:
Consider that it comes before the Fire Sermon. How is fire treated in Buddhist literature? Often as symbolic of saṃsāra. I sometimes wonder if the water is representing cessation, alongside the fire, in a unity. But that may well be my Madhyamaka sympathies speaking.

It's an interesting idea. The Buddha often used the imagery of fire in his discourses. Thanissaro Bhikkhu has an insightful book called Mind Like Fire Unbound, which looks at the way the imagery of fire is used throughout the Pali Canon.

Vimalajāti

@Jason said:

@Vimalajāti said:
Consider that it comes before the Fire Sermon. How is fire treated in Buddhist literature? Often as symbolic of saṃsāra. I sometimes wonder if the water is representing cessation, alongside the fire, in a unity. But that may well be my Madhyamaka sympathies speaking.

It's an interesting idea. The Buddha often used the imagery of fire in his discourses. Thanissaro Bhikkhu has an insightful book called Mind Like Fire Unbound, which looks at the way the imagery of fire is used throughout the Pali Canon.

That was actually the text I had in mind!

Vimalajāti

The Nan Tien Institute (NTI) hosts the Taishō Tripiṭaka (the canon of Mahāyāna scriptures commonly accepted in East Asia) online, but alas only some of it is translated into English.

They happen to have hosted a wonderful introductory translation and commentary on the Diamond Sūtra (T235), a nearly universally celebrated Mahāyānasūtra, and I would recommend anyone who has not yet read this sermon to check it out.

It can be found here: http://ntireader.org/taisho/t0235.html

The English translation is by Venerable Yīfǎ. The commentary is by a Ph.D. student (a certain Dr. Alex Amies) from the NTI institute. It was written in 2014 and is largely non-sectarian in nature: it investigates the numerous parallels that this early Mahāyāna text has with the "Early Buddhist Texts" (EBTs) found in the Pāli Canon and the āgama-layer of the Taishō Canon, as well as provides a trilingual gloss (Chinese-English-Sanskrit) comparing the two different major recensions that this work comes down to us in: namely, a Sanskrit version and a Chinese version.

A preview, from within the document:

Text

如是我聞

Thus have I heard

Sanskrit: evaṃ mayā śrutam|

Comments

Every sūtra spoken by the Buddha begins with this text, 'Thus have I heard.' The Buddha instructed Ananda to use these words to make it clear that he was repeating what he had heard from the Buddha (Tzu Chuang, 2012). In Indic religions teachings were transmitted orally, so that learning by listening is especially important. So the Sanskrit the term used here, śruta (Chinese 聞), is especially relevant. (Mittal and Thursby 2006, p 18)

The Sanskrit word evaṃ is the accusative (grammatical object) form of the word eva (English: thus, Chinese: 如是). The Sanskrit word mayā is the instrumental case, first person, singular pronoun (English: I, Chinese: 我).

Text

一時，佛在舍衛國祇樹給孤獨園， 與大比丘眾千二百五十人俱。

Yifa: Once, the Buddha was in the Kingdom of Sravasti, in Jetavana, Anathapindika’s Park, with a great assembly of bhiksus, one thousand two hundred and fifty in all.

Sanskrit: ekasmin samaye bhagavān śrāvastyāṃ viharati sma jetavane'nāthapiṇḍadasyārāme mahatā bhikṣusaṃghena sārthaṃ trayodaśabhirbhikṣuśataiḥ saṃbahulaiśca bodhisattvairmahāsattvaiḥ|

Comments

This sentence is the preface (序分) or the first part of the three parts of the sūtra. The teaching of the Dhárma requires six different elements that are known as the Six Accomplishments (六成就). These are faith (信成就), hearing (聞成就), time (時成就), teacher (主成就), location (處成就), and assembly (眾成就) (Hsing Yun 2012, p 58; Jiang Wei Zhen 1941). Without any one of these elements no teaching could take place. We have faith because of the phrase 'Thus have I heard' at the beginning of the sūtra, which also includes hearing. The time is 'one time.' The teacher is the Buddha. The location is Jeta Grove in Śrāvastī. This sentence also gives some details about the sixth accomplishment, the assembly, which consists of 1,250 monks.

The Buddha spent about 25 years in Sravasti, in the ancient kingdom of Kosala. Sravasti is located on the river Aciravati, the present-day Rapti River, which is a tributary to the Ganges, after joining the Ghaghara River. Anāthapiṇḍada, literally meaning Feeder of the Defenceless, whose personal name was Sudatta, was a wealthy lay person who offered Jeta Grove to the Buddha. Anāthapiṇḍada covered the ground of Jeta Grove with gold to buy the land for the Buddha. The Cullavagga (Pali Vinaya) says,

Then the householder Anathapindika saw Prince Jeta's pleasure grove, neither too far from a village . . . fitting for meditation, and seeing it, he approached Prince Jeta ; having approached he spoke thus to Prince Jeta : "Give me, young master, the pleasure grove to make a monastery."

"The pleasure grove is not to be given away, householder, even for the price of a hundred thousand."

"Young master, the monastery is taken."

"The monastery is not taken, householder." They asked the chief ministers of justice, saying : "Is it taken or is it not taken?" The chief ministers spoke thus : "The monastery is taken at the price fixed by you, young master." Then the householder Anathapindika, having had gold coins brought out by means of wagons, had the Jeta Grove spread with the price of a hundred thousand.
(Cv VI.4 223)

The kingdom of Kosala was defeated by the kingdom of Magadha after the passing of the Buddha. Magadha rose to further prominence in the Mauryan Empire, especially in the time of King Ashoka, with its capital based in Pataliputra. (Avari 2007, p90-91)

The Sankrit text uses the term vihara, which is today thought of as a Buddhist monastery or a place for monks and nuns to live and practice.

Jeta Grove is called jetavane in Sanskrit. This is composed of two parts: Jeta, named after Prince Jeta and vane the locative case for the word vana (forest).

This Sanskrit version gives 1,300 monks.

Text

爾時， 世尊食時，著衣持缽，入舍衛大城乞食。

Yifa: Then, during mealtime, the World-Honored One put on his robe, took up his bowl, and entered the great city of Sravasti to beg for food.

Sanskrit: atha khalu bhagavān pūrvāhṇakālasamaye nivāsya pātracīvaramādāya śrāvastīṃ mahānagarīṃ piṇḍāya prāvikṣat|

Comments

Begging was an accepted practice in ancient India. It was not uncommon for wandering ascetics of the Śramaṇa trdition tradition at that time to live by collecting alms (Harvey, 1990). By begging for food the Buddha showed his dependency on other members of society and that he was humble enough to do so even though he came from a priliged position in that society. The same was true of many of his followers who were Brahmins.

Here the Buddha is referred to as the Bhagavān, which literally means 'Blessed One.' The Chinese term used is 世尊, which literally means 'World Honored One.' You will see 'World Honored One' used frequently in other English translations.

The Sanskrit text uses the term piṇḍāya, the dative case for the noun pieces (of food) piṇḍā. Since people in India eat with their hands, rather than utensils, pieces is appropriate.

Text

於其城中， 次第乞已，還至本處。

Yifa: After begging from house to house inside the city, he returned to where he was staying.

Sanskrit: atha khalu bhagavān śrāvastīṃ mahānagarīṃ piṇḍāya caritvā kṛtabhaktakṛtyaḥ paścādbhaktapiṇḍapātapratikrāntaḥ

Comments

There were rules for begging sequentially at each house. Monks had to stop at each house, had to accept what was given, and could not take more than would fit into an alms bowl.

The Sanskrit word caritvā is a gerund meaning 'having moved.' The Chinese text uses the term sequentially (次第) but does not mention moving from door to door.

Text

飯食訖，收衣缽， 洗足已，敷座而坐。

Yifa: When he finished eating his meal, he put away his robe and bowl, washed his feet, arranged his seat, and then sat.

Sanskrit: pātracīvaraṃ pratiśāmya pādau prakṣālya nyaṣīdatprajñapta evāsane paryaṅkamābhujya ṛjuṃ kāyaṃ praṇidhāya pratimukhīṃ smṛtimupasthāpya| atha khalu saṃbahulā bhikṣavo yena bhagavāṃstenopasaṃkrāman| upasaṃkramya bhagavataḥ pādau śirobhirabhivandya bhagavantaṃ triṣpradakṣiṇīkṛtya ekānte nyaṣīdan||1||

Comments

This sentence emphasizes the Buddha's mindfullness of taking care of everyday things. Although the Chinese text does not include the term mindfulness, the Sanskrit text does include the word smṛti (English: mindfullness). He takes care of these things before beginning to talk. Interestingly, it also gives us a glimpse at the life that the Buddha lived in ancient India. The practice of begging for food house-to-house is an ascetic practice described in the Visuddhimagga (Buddhaghoṣa 1991). The sequence of begging for alms from house to house and returning to eat at Jeta Grove demonstrates the Six Paramitas (Hsing Yun 2012, p 43-44).

The Sanskrit word for foot is pāda. This is very close to the Latin word pod, which is the basis for many medical and scientific words in English, such as podiatry, the medical study of feet. In the Sanskrit text above the dual form pādau is used to indicate that the Buddha washed both feet. The use of dual form is like plural in English (eg, feet) and must be used when the number is two.

Vimalajāti

@Vimalajāti said:
The English translation is by Venerable Yīfǎ. The commentary is by a Ph.D. student (a certain Dr. Alex Amies) from the NTI institute. It was written in 2014 and is largely non-sectarian in nature

I wanted to add this to the post above, but I am not yet used to the time limit here in editing posts. Apologies.

In case others are not familiar with her work, Venerable Yīfǎ is a nun ordained in the 佛光山僧伽 (Fó Guāng Shān Saṃgha, or "The Assembly of Buddha's Illuminated Mountain"). It is a non-sectarian association of (para-secular) humanist monks and nuns.

Vimalajāti

The Āryākāśa­garbha­nāma­mahā­yāna­sūtra is a text directed at those who are beginning their bodhisattva practice. It can be found here:

http://read.84000.co/translation/UT22084-066-018.html#title

Venerable Śāntideva wrote his bodhisattvayāna catechism text, Śikṣāsamuccaya, some time in the 8th century in India. Within, he gives an account of eighteen root downfalls that may be committed by a retrogradable bodhisattva. His primary source for these bodhisattva prohibitions is the Āryākāśa­garbha­nāma­mahā­yāna­sūtra, a sūtra written for beginner practitioners in an easy and direct style, with a focus on moral cultivation.

They are:

1. To steal the Three Jewels' possessions,
2. to spurn the saddharma,
3. to assault the monks or to take their saffron robes, even from the ones who spoil their discipline, or to sentence them to jail, to kill or cause them to abandon their monastic state,
4. to commit the five sins of instant retribution,
5. to espouse wrong views,
6. to destroy a homestead,
7. to set forth emptiness to those whose minds are yet untrained,
8. to turn those entering the path to buddhahood away from their complete enlightenment,
9. to cause the ones who tread the path of prātimokṣa (i.e. vinaya-observers of the listener's vehicle) to leave it for the mahāyāna,
10. to hold, and to lead others to believe, that on the path of śrāvaka cultivation, craving and the like cannot be overcome,
11. to praise oneself for sake of fame and wealth,
12. to claim untruthfully that one has gained the realization of the profound view,
13. to victimize the monks, imposing fines, thus causing them to take from the Three Jewels,
14. to cause practitioners to give up their calm abiding, or to give sustenance to those who merely study or recite.

This list is abbreviated to remove some material specifically addressing Buddhist monarchs.

Source: Venerable Khenchen Kunzang Pelden, jam dbyangs bla ma'i zhal lung bdud rtsi'i thig pa ("The Nectar of Mañjuśrī's Speech"), pages 141-2, commentary on Āryaśāntidevasyabodhisattvacharyāvatāra

Jeroen

It is clear how such a list of rules may be beneficial to beginners in a certain setting. But I think most people here won’t gain much from it. In my experience the more beneficial parts of the lore are those which encourage you to turn within, to look at your negative impulses and see what is at the root of them, so that you may bring insight and mindfulness to that part of you where lives greed, desire and ill-will.

Ultimately good behaviour will come from creating a spacious mind, where things live in clarity and honesty, good properties reinforcing other good properties, where one can spend time searching out compassion, empathy and generosity.

lobster

Thanks everyone

This is the phenomenal phena sutta
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.095.than.html

Which explains nothing ...

Vimalajāti

The Chinese recension of the Maggaṅgasutta, the Asaṁskṛtadharmasūtra, T99.224b7, has a lovely poem at the end of it. The Pāli parallel can be found at SN 43.11 (https://suttacentral.net/sn43.11/en/sujato).

It is after the sūtra proper, a little tag on the end. It might be an ancient Venerable's reflection on the sūtra, or perhaps something that a scribe accidentally incorporated into the text from some other text.

Either way, there is a wonderful and very beautiful tag at the end of the Chinese Maggaṅgasutta. It doesn't offer much in the way of 'direct' advice, per se, but it may be a manner of suture for the dharmically afflicted.

如無為，如是難見、
不動、不屈、不死、
無漏、覆蔭、洲渚、濟渡、依止、擁護、不流轉、
離熾焰、離燒然、
流通、清涼、微妙、安隱、
無病、無所有、涅槃，亦如是說。

Like this is the uncreated, like this is that which is difficult to realize,
no moving, no bending, no dying,
lacking secretions, smothered in yìn, an island shore, there is ferrying, there is crossing, there is dependency ceasing, there are no circulating transmigrations,
the exhaustion of the flame, the ending of the burning,
flowing openly, pure and cool, with secret subtlety, and calm occultation,
lacking ailment, lacking owning, nirvāṇa, also like this spoken of.

Vimalajāti

@Vimalajāti said:
smothered in yìn

This is yin-yang thought, something foreign to the Buddhadharma before it entered into East Asia.

Note, however, how the yin-yang is turned upside down and subverted for Buddhist use.

"Smothered in yin". Conventional yin-yang cosmology would have the two in balance.

Vimalajāti

Always living here,
speaking dharma,
I always live here.
Through many godly powers,
I lead into error sentient beings:
although close by,
not seen.

Many see me,
I pass into extinguishment,
widely they worship my ashes,
sweetly, their hearts, each and every,
wish to look upon my heart with reverence.

When someone becomes faithfully obedient,
noble in heart,
soft and gentle,
and with oneness of heart,
wishes to see the Buddha,
with no hesitations,
and with no illusions about this world,
and this life,
then I and the assembly,
entirely without exception,
have appeared on the Eagle Peak.

(The Lotus Sūtra, T262.43b10, Chapter 16, Discourse on the Lifespan of the Buddha)

Vimalajāti

O, sons and daughters.

Imagine a single voluminous great scripture.

It is as if that scripture is like the threefold world itself, like the threefold world all entirely without exception, from Lord Indra's palace to to the meditation heavens, all remembered and recorded.

It is as if these things and more of the threefold world are in the voluminous great scripture, all recorded.

It is as if this great rolled scroll is compacted into one extremely minute atom.

And it is as if it is inside all atoms, each and every one, also.

Eventually there is a hero who goes forth to flourish in a generation. Wise, acute, able to accomplish the goal, with clear divine sight.

He regards this scripture bound inside of atoms. He speaks aloud like this:

"Why in this way is the voluminous great scripture bound inside atoms and not unbound for the benefit of all sentient beings? I will muster great perseverance and power to break these atoms and send forth the scripture, so that it may be for the benefit of all sentient beings."

Then that man promptly musters power. He breaks the atoms sending forth the scripture for the benefit of all sentient beings.

O, sons and daughters.

The Thus-Gone's wisdom. The signless wisdom. The unobstructed wisdom.

It perfectly dwells within all sentient beings’ minds.

Yet in ignorance, sentient beings err and think it covered.

Not knowing, not seeing, not giving rise to faith.

(Āryamaitreyanāthasyottarekayānaratnagotraśāstra, T1611.827a16)

Vimalajāti

The spotless consciousness,
most extremely pure,
tranquil,
all unspoiled phenomena supporting,
this name applying to the consciousness of the Tathāgata.

Bodhisattva, one of two vehicles, ordinary person.

These are thrones which hold seeds subject to infusion.

To acquire the virtuous clean mind of a Buddha which is resolute suchness, scripture says:

Tathāgata's spotless consciousness,
a clean place without outflows,
it is liberation from all bondage,
it is like spherical mirror,
it is consciousness always in internal coherence.

(Vijñaptimātratāsiddhiśāstra, T1585.13a19)

Vimalajāti

These learnt, they became intoxicated with pride, thinking to themselves: “The Supreme Buddha knows just these three baskets of scripture, and we know them too. So what is the difference between us?”

(from the Jākata Tales, Ja 425)

Vimalajāti

This one's a little bit cryptic. Likely, people here already know, but, since this is NewBuddhist.com, can anyone guess what the "āh" here might mean?

I'll spoil it for you at the end.

Thus have I heard: At one time, the Lord was at the Vulture Peak in Rajgir, together with eighty-three fully-ordained monks, and many hundreds of thousands of millions of bodhisattvas, who were all abiding together in one company.

Thereupon, at that time, at that moment, the Lord gave teaching to the Venerable Ānanda thus:

“Ānanda! This is the Far-Reaching Perfection of Deep Insight in a Single Syllable. For the benefit and happiness of all sentient beings, you should retain this!

And it goes thus:ཨཱ། [āh]."

The Lord spoke those words, and the monks, bodhisattvas, and all the assemblies of gods, humans, demigods and celestial spirits, along with the entire world, rejoiced: they deeply praised what had been spoken by the Lord, the transcendent and accomplished Conqueror.

(Ākakaśaramprajñāpāramitāsarvatathāgatamanāmamahāyānasūtra, apocryphal)

As I have heard it explained to me, the above is a delightful philosophical shorthand. The āh is how one presents the letter "a" alone in Sanskrit.

The letter a, in Sanskrit as well as in English, is used to form a negatory prefix, a-, which we can see in temporal --> atemporal.

This negation is standing in for the teaching of universal emptiness, which is being presented as the foundational teaching of the Buddha.

ZendoLord84

@lobster said:
In this sewing thread, favourite sutures for the dharmically afflicted ...

One of the earliest is the Rhino suitor, about ... something or other ...
https://accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.1.03.than.html

What gems have you found sewn up?

Not to answer your question.
I really love the Rhino sutta.

It helped me continu this path through many difficult periodes.
It gave me the confidence to practise without getting sucked up in the buddhist stream.
Each time, up to this day, when I feel spiritualy lost I picture this elephant just chillin' doing his thing and most is good.

Awesome.

federica

@ZendoLord84 said:

@lobster said:
In this sewing thread, favourite sutures for the dharmically afflicted ...

One of the earliest is the Rhino suitor, about ... something or other ...
https://accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.1.03.than.html

What gems have you found sewn up?

Not to answer your question.
I really love the Rhino sutta.

It helped me continu this path through many difficult periodes.
It gave me the confidence to practise without getting sucked up in the buddhist stream.
Each time, up to this day, when I feel spiritualy lost I picture this elephant just chillin' doing his thing and most is good.

Awesome.

Well, which is it, Rhino, or elephant - ?!

ZendoLord84

Lol hahaha ive had the image of an elephant in my head yesterday, hilarious

Vimalajāti

@federica said:
Well, which is it, Rhino, or elephant - ?!

The wikipedia page reports a different sort of confusion!

There is an ongoing dispute over whether the title, "sword-horn" sutra, is to be taken as a tatpuruṣa compound ("a sword which is a horn") or as a bahuvrīhi compound ("one who has a sword as a horn"). In the former case, the title should be rendered "The Rhinoceros-Horn Sutra"; in the latter case, it should be rendered "The Rhinoceros Sutra." There is textual evidence to support either interpretation.

Fare singly as a rhinoceros's horn. That doesn't quite have the same ring to me.

Vimalajāti

These are bodies not for long,
all will return to earth,
appearance broken, spirit fled,
depending on these dwellings,
why are we attached?

This heart builds its own home,
in the past, ever since the past's furthest end, onwards,
this heart has known much evil, much triviality,
naturally, it beckons it's own misery,
for such thoughts spread themselves,
and no father or mother can help.

If we ourselves strive,
directed towards the righteous,
there follows happiness without end.

Concealing six cravings, like the tortoise,
guarding the mind, like the city and the moat,
the wise and Māra fight,
and in victory there is no future hardship.

(Cittavargasyakūrmagāthādharmapade, The Thought-Chapter's Tortoise Hymn in the Dharmapada, T211.584b11)

Vimalajāti

At one time, Mañjuśrībodhisattva was seated on a jewelled lotus, having a five-knotted crown on his head, his dark blue hair hanging down to his shoulders, his bodily form that of shining gold, his left and of concentration holding a blue lotus with a five pronged Vajra above it, his right hand of wisdom grasping a sutra-box, and his body shining like an autumn rainbow.

Perfectly dwelling in the state of concentration called the moon-ring, he spoke to the Buddha, saying, “Bhagavān. We all have, from the distant past, listened to the Tathāgata’s preaching of the Dharma. From which Buddha did the Tathāgata hear this preaching of the Dharma sounds?”

The Buddha spoke to Mañjuśrī, saying, “I received the preaching of Mahāvairocanabuddha after passing through the forty-one levels to enter the great inner chamber.”

Mañjuśrībodhisattva again spoke to the Buddha saying, “Who is within the inner chamber of the forty-one levels?”

The Bhagavān again said, “After passing through the ten stages of abodes, the ten stages of practice, the ten stages of merit-transference, ten bodhisattva stages bhumi, the stage of becoming comparable to enlightenment and entering the inner chamber, I received the preaching of the Dharma by Mahāvairocana, who is at the stage of wonderful enlightenment.”

Mañjuśrībodhisattva again spoke to the Buddha, saying, “From what Buddha did Mahāvairocana on the state of wonderful enlightenment receive the preaching of the Dharma?”

The Bhagavān replied, “Mahāvairocanabuddha on the stage of wonderful enlightenment received the preaching of the Dharma from the beginningless and endless original Buddha who is of one mind and one thought.”

Mañjuśrībodhisattva again spoke to the Buddha saying, “From what Buddha did the beginningless and endless original Buddha who is of one mind and one thought receive the preaching of the Dharma?”

The Bhagavān again said, “The beginningless and endless original Buddha who is of one mind and one thought received the preaching of the Dharma from the original Buddha of no mind and no thought.”

Mañjuśrī again spoke to the Buddha, saying, “From what Buddha did the original Buddha of no mind and no thought receive the preaching of the Dharma?”

The Bhagavān again said, “There is no Buddha above and beyond the original Buddha of no mind and no thought. There is no Buddha below and no Buddha after no mind and no thought. The original Buddha is in essence beyond conceptual understanding. From the beginning he does not go nor come, does not have the nature of the threefold body, does not have the nature of the ten destinies.

Mañjuśrī again spoke to the Buddha, saying, “If above and beyond the original Buddha of no mind and no thought there is no nature of the threefold body and the ten destinies, from what basis do the threefold body and ten destinies arise?”

The Bhagavān again said, “The original Buddha of no mind and no thought is by nature beyond conceptual understanding. Both the conceptually understood natures of the threefold body and sentient beings in the ten destinies, and the nature of that which is without a nature, arise from the nature that is beyond conceptual understanding.”

Mañjuśrī again spoke to the Buddha, saying, “If this is so, then is there no Buddha who teaches at the beginning?”

The Bhagavān again said, “There is nothing that teaches or receives above and beyond the original Buddha of no mind and no thought. Moreover, this is a single Buddha, and there are not two Buddhas. You all should shut your eyes and contemplate the original Buddha that is without beginning and without end.”

Mañjuśrī spoke to the Buddha, saying, “That which the Bhagavān preaches is exceedingly profound. It is true yet beyond our power to comprehend. It is good; it is good. I gladly preach this sutra.”

At that time Bhiṣmagarjītasevararājanāmatathāgata spoke to Mañjuśrī, the prince of the Dharma, saying, “Well done, prince of the Dharma. You have questioned the Tathāgata in such a way that it is cause for a great event. Now, listen carefully; listen carefully. Reflect well on these things.”

The Buddha, after preaching this sutra, sat in the lotus position and entered the concentration that is wonderful and supreme. At that time, Mañjuśrī, prince of the Dharma, and everyone in the assembly of eighty-four thousand monks, all entered the samādhi through the power of the Buddha.

The following events were seen.

The Buddha, from within his state of concentration, emitted a great circle of light from his own face, illuminating with insight Mañjuśrī and the eighty-four thousand monks. A sword of wisdom appeared from the top of Mañjuśrī’s head, and from his side emerged a golden-haired lion. The Tathāgata’s ray of light extended everywhere, and the colour of his body was like that of gold.

Mañjuśrī spoke to the Buddha, saying, “Bhagavān. We have attained unprecedented insight. Our hearts greatly rejoice.”

The Tathāgata again preached in a verse, saying,

The supreme path of all Buddhas
Has the marks of perfect light and eternal abiding.
Those who enter meditative concentration together with the Buddha
In the same way realize bodhicitta.

When the Buddha finished preaching these verses, the great monks in the assembly at once stood up, bowed, and went on their way.

(Nihon Daizōkyō Hensankai, Shugendō shōso 1, bussetsu sanjin juryōmuhen kyō, Sutra on the Unlimited Life of the Threefold Body)

Vimalajāti

At home what with coronavirus-related work shortages, etc., I had the time to take a look at a bodhisattvaśīla sūtra that I've long wanted to take a closer look at. It is a strange piece of Chinese-born apocrypha, with two names: the Brahmājālasūtra (梵網經) and the longer Vairocanabhāṣitabodhisatvasyacittabhūmiśīlaskandhasūtra (盧舍那佛說菩薩心地戒品經).

Posters familiar with the Pāli suttas might recognize the name "Brahmājālasūtra," because that name is nearly identical to the first sutta in the Dīghanikāya (DN 1). Why this Chinese piece of apocrypha bears the name of the twenty-first sūtra in the Dīrghāgama (DA 21) and that other Pāli sutta is largely an unsolvable mystery. It is a Chinese composition dating from after 200AD. Perhaps it originated as an esoteric vaipulya (expansion) on DA 21?

The second longer name of the sūtra means "Vairocana Speaks the Sūtra of the Bodhisatva's Mind-Ground; the Aggregate of Precepts." It is a bodhisattvaśīla sūtra, meaning it is a sūtra concerned with the preservation of the methods of teaching, meditation, and the interpretations of the precepts for a certain monastic community, in addition to presenting a codified system of upāsakaśīla (lay precepts) for the supporters of the community.

Here is the opening of the sūtra abridged (i.e. with some superfluous details removed, i.e. elaborate displayed of visual light miracles, etc., for the sake of readibility):

Śākyamuni Buddha resided within the fourth dhyāna in the heavenly mansion of Maheśvara Devarāja in the company of the limitless host of Mahābrahmā Devarājas of the heavens and with an incredibly multitudinous host of bodhisattvas.

Coming out of deep dhyāna, the Lord spoke of the Sermon of the Lotus Vault, the Sermon of the Womb of the World-System. He spoke of the sermon which Vairocana Buddha spoke: the Sermon of the Dharma Gate of the Mind-Ground. Then, from Śākyamuni Buddha's body, radiated a luminous wisdom, which brightened in the minds of the assembly the celestial palace of the heavens and on high, ascending to the Lotus Vault, to the Womb of the World-Systems, where they witnessed Vairocana Buddha enthroned with one million lotus blossoms in a bright brilliant constellation around him.

Śākyamuni Buddha spoke: "Within these world-systems, from their grounds to the empty spaces [above their skies,] what stirs the fate of a living being toward the consummation of the path of the ten bodhisatva grounds? What are the fruits, the myriad marks, of the completion of Buddhahood?"

Vairocana Buddha, the Mahākāruṇika, then manifested the Samādhi of Empty Space that illuminates the Svābhāvika, that illuminates the root source of the completion of Buddhahood. He manifested the samādhi that illuminates the Dharmakāya. To the assembled many he then revealed this samādhi. He spoke: "O sons[, O daughters,] of the Buddha, listen carefully and practice this well, for I have cultivated for one hundred endless aeons this mind-ground, and with this as cause, first abandoned the way of the worldlings and attained that gnosis which is consummate, which is highest, taking on the name of Vairocana and dwelling here in the Lotus Vault, here in the Womb of the World-Systems, here in the Ocean. I am surrounded everywhere on all sides by the petals of the lotus blossom, each petal bearing a world-system, each world-system bearing a thousand worlds.

"Now, I am become one thousand Śākya sages in one thousand world-systems enthroned on one thousand thrones of gnosis, each expounding that which you have asked of me, each elaborating on the bodhisatva mind-ground. Now, I am become nine hundred and ninety-nine Śākya sages each emanating ten trillion Śākya Sages like this. Each of the one thousand Śākya sages atop these lotus petals are my transformative bodies. All of the ten trillion Śākya sages are one thousand transformative bodies. I am the root source for all these -- named Vairocana Buddha.

"All bodhisatvas should know that to the patience of deep faith there are ten entrances and ten fruits, ten decisions of inclination. These are the [inclination of the] heart that renounces the world, that observes the precepts, that is patient, that is enduring, that is vigorous, that is in dhyāna, [the heart] that is goodwill, that is protected, that is joyous, and which is inclined to the highest wisdom. The bodhisatvas should know the ten nourishments by which one enters into the ten entrances and experiences the ten fruits, which are kindness, pity, joy, detachment, generosity, good speech, beneficence, empathy, concentration, and wisdom. They should know the ten vajras of the mind by which they are nourished so that they may enter into the ten entrances and experience the ten fruits, which are faith, mindfulness, the dedication of merit, penetration, directness, nonretrogression, the great vehicle, signlessness, wisdom, and indestructibility. Relying on these ten vajras, they enter into the entrances and fruitions of the firm path of the ten grounds, which are the ground of svābhāva, the ground of the svābhāva of wisdom, the ground of the svābhāva of luminosity, the ground of the svābhāva of flaming wisdom, the ground of the svābhāva of bright wisdom, the ground of the svābhāva of the bright lotus, the ground of the svābhāva of consummation, the ground of the svābhāva of the Buddha's roar, the ground of the svābhāva of the avataṁsaka, and the ground of the svābhāva of entrance into the Buddhadhātu.

"Via these forty dharma gates Śākyamuni, formerly, as a bodhisatva, entered into the source of the fruits of Buddhahood. In the same way, like this, all living beings enter into the inclinations [of the heart,] the nourishments, the vajras, and the ten grounds, and demonstrate the fruit of completion, the uncreated, the signless, the great consummate constant abiding. With ten powers and eighteen definitive practices, the Dharmakāya, the Body of Wisdom, is completely attained."