Friday, May 15, 2009

More Sublime Continuum of the Great Vehicle (Uttaratantra)

The following is a quote from a book by Jeffrey Hopkins and Elizabeth Napper called Meditation on Emptiness from the Chapter called "History of the Mahayana from page 357.
I used the following to try to find this page


http://books.google.com/books?id=26FkjziPVfAC&pg=PA357&lpg=PA357&dq=Sublime+Continuum+of+the+Great+Vehicle+(Uttaratantra)&source=bl&ots=mXTezZaWl9&sig=enQIJSpPTs2HpuLyQThnHIoaPzQ&hl=en&ei=elUOSqMYkO61A_mR4fUC&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4

Begin quote from book:
Therefore, he was called Naga-Arjuna, Nagarjuna.

His third proclamation of doctrine commenced with a visit to the northern continent three hundred years into his lifetime. On the way he met the king Shatavahana, then in his youth, and prophesied his ascension to the throne. From the northern continent, where he stayed for two hundred years in altruistic activity, he wrote the king a letter called the "Precious Garland of Advice for the King". When the average life-span was eighty years--nine hundred years after the death of the Buddha and five hundred years into his lifetime--Nagarjuna came for the third time to South India, the first time being his birth and the second his return from Naga-land. he brought with him the Great Drum Sutra(Mahabheriharakaparivarta), the Lion's Roar of Shrimaladevi Sutra(Shrimaladevisimhanada), the Tathagata Essence Sutra(Tathagatagarbha), and the Ornament of the Wisdom Engaging the Sphere of All Buddhas Sutra(Sarvabuddhavishayavatarajnanalamkara). These four sutras became the basis of extensive explanation in Maitreya's Sublime Continuum of the Great Vehicle which clarifies the meaning of the Tathagata essence, or emptiness of the mind, that permits development into Buddhahood.
end quote from book

As it was explained to me by a Tibetan lama during the 1980s, the Buddhas function intuitively. One could say almost automatically being aware of everything and automatically being in the right place at the right time naturally. This being in perfect sequence all the time was a quality also said to be one of Jesus' as well.

This is how I would put it logically. First, one has a deep deep feeling of compassion for all life in the universe while simaltaneously being aware of all potential problems of any given situation so that one automatically finds solutions to whatever problems arrive that one can solve that don't have further karma to work them out themselves. Whenever possible the Buddha or Christ bestows grace as one does upon one's children(like one prevents one's two year old from running out into the street because one doesn't want that child to be run over). This grace allows beings to stay alive long enough to begin to become enlightened. If possible, they become enlightened in that lifetime. If possible, instant enlightenment through a powerful experience and realization is created. In other words the Buddha(or Christ) maximizes as much as possible the potential of each soul or being and moves all forward in this way as efficiently and as compassionately and in as right mindful a compassionate way as possible by amplifying the dharma of all by all and allowing, if possible for all to become enlightened together.

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