end quote:
What I find interesting about this sentence is that Geshe Lobsang Gyatso after taking us from Bodhgaya where my family received the Kalachakra empowerment in Bodhgaya from the Dalai Lama, he also took us to Nalanda University (the ruins) where Padmasambhava came from this Buddhist University at the time of King Trisong Detsun and helped Buddhism interface with Bon Po to become the present Tibetan Buddhism of Today. Padmasambhava was and is a Mahasiddha which means something like a "King Magic User" (in other words someone capable of supernatural feats similar to what Jesus did like levitation etc.
So, I think you might have to call Jesus also a "Mahasiddha" too from this explanation.
But, in addition to taking us to Nalanda University ruins he also took us to Varanasi to the "Burning Ghat". I'm thinking he experienced our connection to Maitreya at this time because we showed up magically for the Kalachakra while we didn't even know at the time what the Kalachakra was or that it was occurring then in Bodhgaya. We simply went there to meet our friend, Geshe Lobsang Gyatso from Thailand intuitively at the time. So, I'm realizing this all right now over 30 years later here in 2017.
Begin quote from:
pure land,
Pure land
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Buddhafield" redirects here. For the American cult, see Buddhafield (cult).
| Part of a series on |
| Mahāyāna Buddhism |
|---|
 |
 Mahayana Buddhism portal |
Contents
Discussion
In the Mahayana sutras, there are many pure lands.[1][2][3][4] Bodhisattvas such as Avalokiteśvara and Manjusri would obtain pure lands after they attained buddhahood.[5]In the Lotus Sutra, Buddha followers such as Śāriputra, Mahākāśyapa, Subhuti, Maudgalyāyana and Rāhula would also have pure lands. The relative time-flow of pure lands may be different.[6] A day in a pure land may be the same duration as years in another.
Pure lands have been documented as arising due to the intention and aspiration of a bodhisattva such as the case of Amitābha, but other discourse has codified that they are entwined with the theory of the sambhogakāya and are understood to manifest effortlessly and spontaneously due to other activities of a Buddha and the pure qualities and the mysteries of the Three Vajras. The five features of Buddhahood - the attributes of the sambhogakāya - play a role: perfect teacher, teaching, retinue, place and time.(Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje 2012, p. 1991)
Nakamura (1980, 1987: p. 207) establishes the Indian background of the padma imagery of the field which is evident iconographically, as well as in motif and metaphor:
The descriptions of Pure Land in Pure Land sutras were greatly influenced by Brahmin and Hindu ideas and the topological situation in India. There was a process of the development of lotus (padma)-symbolism in Pure Land Buddhism. The final outcome of the thought was as follows: the aspirants of faith and assiduity are born transformed (anupapāduka) in the lotus flowers. But those with doubts are born into the lotus-buds. They stay in the calyx of a lotus (garbhāvāsa) for five hundred years without seeing or hearing the Three Treasures. Within the closed lotus-flowers they enjoy pleasures as though they were playing in a garden or palace.
— Nakamura Hajime(Nakamura 1980, p. 207)
Five Pure Abodes
The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism states that "The heavens of the realm of subtle materiality (rūpadhātu) consist of sixteen (according to the Sarvāstivāda school), seventeen (the Sautrantika school), or eighteen levels (the Theravada/Sthavirankāya school) of devas ... The last five heavens are collectively designated as the five pure abodes, and the divinities residing there are called the Śuddhāvāsakāyika devas."[7]Five Pure Abodes (of the form realms) (Wylie: gtsang-ma'i gnas lnga; Sanskrit: pañcaśuddhanivāsa)
- Avṛha — Free from affliction (Sanskrit; Tibetan: མི་ཆེ་བ, Wylie: mi che ba)
- Atapa — Without torment (Sanskrit; Tibetan: མི་གདུང་བ, Wylie: mi gdung ba)
- Sudṛśa — Perfect form (Sanskrit; Tibetan: གྱ་ནོམ་སྣང་བ, Wylie: gya nom snang ba)
- Sudarśana — Perfect vision (Sanskrit; Tibetan: ཤིན་ཏུ་མཐོང, Wylie: shin tu mthong)
- Akaniṣṭa — Highest (Sanskrit; Tibetan: འོག་མིན, Wylie: 'og min)[8]
The Source
Very important to all pure abodes is the 'Source' (Tibetan: ཆོས་འབྱུང, Wylie: chos 'byung; Sanskrit: dharmodaya) from which they dwell and which supports them, the 'Wellspring' of myriad fonts as emergent. It may be understood as an interface, portal or epiphany between the Dharmakaya and the Sambhogakaya. It is seminal in the establishment of mandalas governing the outer, inner or secret dimensions. It is the opening and consecration of the sacred space which enfolds and supports the expanse of the pure abode. In iconography it is represented by the six-pointed star, the two interlocking offset equilateral triangles that form a symmetry. This is the 'sanctum sanctorum' (Sanskrit: garbha gṛha). It later developed into the primordial purity of the lotus which supports the mandala, thangka or the murti of the deity. In temple siting it is the power place or 'spirit of place' that was augured or divined in the sacred geometry of 'geodesy' (Sanskrit: vāstu śāstra). In yoga asana, the 'source' is Vajrasana, the 'seat of enlightenment' the ancient name of Bodh Gaya and an alternate name for mahamudra or padmasana.[9]"Source of phenomena or qualities (chos 'byung, dharmodaya). Pundarika defines dharmodaya as that from which phenomena devoid of intrinsic nature originate. "Phenomena devoid of intrinsic nature" refers to the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, and the other 84,000 aspects of the teachings. Their source, dharmodaya, is the pure realm, the abode of all buddhas and bodhisattvas, the place of bliss, the place of birth; it is not the place that discharges blood, urine, and regenerative fluids, i.e., the vagina. Source: Stainless Light, Toh. 1347, vol. Da, f237a3-5".[10]
Śuddhāvāsa worlds
The Śuddhāvāsa (Pāli: Suddhāvāsa; Tib: gnas gtsang.ma) worlds, or "Pure Abodes", are distinct from the other worlds of the Rūpadhātu in that they do not house beings who have been born there through ordinary merit or meditative attainments, but only those Anāgāmins ("Non-returners") who are already on the path to Arhat-hood and who will attain enlightenment directly from the Śuddhāvāsa worlds without being reborn in a lower plane (Anāgāmins can also be born on lower planes). Every Śuddhāvāsa deva is therefore a protector of Buddhism. (Brahma Sahampati, who appealed to the newly enlightened Buddha to teach, was an Anagami from a previous Buddha[11]). Because a Śuddhāvāsa deva will never be reborn outside the Śuddhāvāsa worlds, no Bodhisattva is ever born in these worlds, as a Bodhisattva must ultimately be reborn as a human being through their 'compassion' (Sanskrit: Karuṇā) and bodhisattva vows.Sukhavati
Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, in discussing the mindstream of Lokeṣvararāja (Japanese: Seijizaio Nyorai) that in fulfillment has come to be known as Amitābha:According to the sutra known as the Rolling of Drums, countless eons ago there was a joyous kingdom whose sovereign had great devotion for the buddha of that time, Lokesvararaja. The king renounced his kingdom, became a monk, and vowed to reach enlightenment. He expressed his bodhicitta intention through forty-eight vows, and promised to refuse buddhahood if any of these vows were not fulfilled. With these words, the earth trembled and flowers rained down from the skies. Praises resounded and with them the prophecy that this monk would surely become a buddha. And so he did, as the Buddha Amitabha.Sukhavati is by far the most popular among pure land Buddhists. There are many old and recent Buddhist texts reporting the condition of its dying believers. Some Buddhists and followers of other religions claimed they went there and came back, and they were viewed as cults.[13][14][15][16]
In his lifetime as this bodhisattva monk, Amitabha saw that countless pure realms existed for realized ones who had been victorious over the mind's delusions, but no such realm was accessible to those still struggling on the path. Among his forty-eight vows was the aspiration to create a pure realm for all those who heard his name, wished to attain that realm, established the roots of virtue, and dedicated their merit in order to be reborn there. So powerful was his intention that he swore to refuse buddhahood if it did not enable him to manifest such a realm.[12]
Some controversial teachings said the successors of Amitabha in Sukhāvatī would be Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta.[17][18][19][20]
Other well-known pure lands
- Mount Grdhrakūta (靈鷲山釋迦淨土): While Zhiyi was chanting the Lotus sutra, he saw the meeting of Buddha Gautama and Boddhisattvas there. 灵山一会
Field of Merit
The Field of Merit (Wylie: tshogs zhing) is a pictorial representation in tree form of the triratna and the guru, employed in Tibetan Buddhism as an object of veneration when taking refuge. It is visualized internally as a part of the commencement phase of each sadhana.The Field of Merit is a Pure Land. Each school or sect has its own distinctive form of the tree in which the numerous lineage-holders or vidyadhara and dharma protectors or dharmapala are represented.
In discussing the visualisation of the Merit Field, Namkha'i links the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha with the Three Roots of Guru, Deva and Dakini:
The merit field (tshogs zhing), that is the source of all the accumulation of merit, designates the manifestation of the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) and of the Three Roots (Guru, Deva, Dakini) visualised by the practitioner.[54]
Mandala
Pure Land Mandala: "絹本著色浄土曼荼羅図" in Japan of Kamakura period (1185-1333), Kyushu National Museum.
Notes
- Norbu, Namkhai (2001). The Precious Vase: Instructions on the Base of Santi Maha Sangha. Shang Shung Edizioni. Second revised edition, p. 103. (Translated from the Tibetan, edited and annotated by Adriano Clemente with the help of the author. Translated from Italian into English by Andy Lukianowicz.)
Bibliography
- Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (23 July 2012). The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 978-0-86171-734-7.
- Nakamura, Hajime (1980). Indian Buddhism: A Survey with Bibliographical Notes. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-0272-8.
- Gomez, Louis, O. (2004). "Pure Lands", in Buswell, Robert E., ed. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 703–706. ISBN 0-02-865718-7.
- Galen, Amstutz; Blum, Mark L. (2006). Editors’ Introduction: Pure Lands in Japanese Religion. Japanese Journal of Religios Studies 33 (2), 217-221
- Halkias, Georgios (2013). Luminous Bliss: a Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet. With an Annotated Translation and Critical Analysis of the Orgyen-ling golden short Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra. University of Hawai‘i Press, 335 pages.
No comments:
Post a Comment