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The Beginning Chapter
Maha-Vairocana the Bhagavan who illuminates universally, accompanied by an ocean-like grand assembly of Eternally Quiescent Light [2], wanders throughout the Dharma Realm Palace, and enjoys the Bliss of Dharma.
The Bhagavan descends from the Tathagata Lifespan Vajra to the Great Compassion Womb Store, and says these verses of Self Awakenment [3] :
“Homage to the Originally Awakened Heart and the Dharma Body.
The eternally existing Miraculous Dharma is on the Lotus Platform of Heart.
All the merits of the Three Bodies [4] are already present in the primordial Origin.
The Thirty-seven Lords [5] reside in the nation of Heart.
The Universal Gate [6] produces Samadhis more than atoms in the universe.
The Dharma Thusness [7] that transcends cause and consequence is Complete by Itself.
The boundless ocean of Virtue is originally fulfilled and perfect.
Therefore I return to Self and bow to all Buddhas manifested by the Heart.”
Vajrasattva asks the Buddha : “What are told by these eight sentences of Self Awakenment ?“
Maha-Vairocana the Bhagavan tells Vajrasattva : “The first four sentences relate that the Thirty-seven Lords from Vajra Realm’s assembly, sitting in a Moon Wheel, travel to the central platform. The last four sentences are about the Lords associated with the eight petals, the Universal Gate that produces all Samadhis, and the Dharma Thusness Mandala assembly. The Five Halls and Two Realms [8] are in the same body of a grand Mandala of the all-creating Heart of Self.”
Vajrasattva asks the Buddha again : “Inside One Heart, how to merge the two Mandalas to construct a grand Mandala of Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower ?”
Maha-Vairocana the Bhagavan tells Vajrasattva : “Inside One Heart, the Thirty-seven Wisdoms [9] from Vajra Realm’s assembly are stationed on the Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s central platform. The Lords from Womb Store Realm’s assembly sit on the Lotus Flower’s eight petals. [10] This is the Universal Gate that produces all Samadhis.”
Vajrasattva asks the Buddha again : “How does the Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra [11] manifest as a Lotus Flower with a central platform and eight petals ?” [12]
Then Maha-Vairocana the Bhagavan tells Vajrasattva : “Listen attentively, and ponder it well in your mind, this is the Tathagata’s secret teaching regarding the Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower, its origin, its eight petals, its central platform, and the associated Lords.”
“The Introduction Chapter ( the first chapter of Lotus Sutra ) is an unfolding of all the eight petals, the associated Lords are therefore revealed. The middle chapters are manifestations of the eight petals and the central platform. The Encouragement Chapter ( the last chapter of Lotus Sutra ) is a closure ( summarizing conclusion ) of the eight petals. The twenty-six chapters between the first and the last chapter represent the eight petals and the central platform, and are associated with different Lords.” [13]
“The Expedient Means Chapter ( Chapter 02 ) and the Parable Chapter ( Chapter 03 ) together form an Eastern Petal associated with Akshobhya Buddha.”
“The Belief and Understanding Chapter ( Chapter 04 ), Medicinal Herbs Chapter ( Chapter 05 ), and Awarding Signs of Future Buddhahood Chapter ( Chapter 06 ) together constitute a Southeast Petal associated with Samantabhadra ( Universal Perfectness ) Bodhisattva.”
“The Analogy of the Transformed City Chapter ( Chapter 07 ) is a Southern Petal associated with Ratna-sambhava Buddha.”
“The three chapters, from the Five Hundred Disciples Receiving Signs of Future Buddahood Chapter ( Chapter 08 ), to the Dharma Master Chapter ( Chapter 10 ), together constitute a Southwest Petal associated with Manjusri Bodhisattva.”
“The eleven chapters, from the Precious Tower Chapter ( Chapter 11 ), to the Tathagata’s Divine Power Chapter ( Chapter 21 ), together constitute the Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s Central Platform, which is the Inner Enlightenment of Heart. The two Buddhas, staying in the Abundant Treasure Tower of Eternally Quiescent Light, travel throughout all spaces.” [14]
“The Entrustment Chapter ( Chapter 22 ) and the Medicine King Bodhisattva Chapter ( Chapter 23 ) together form a Western Petal associated with Amitabha Buddha, who is the Chief of the Lotus Flower Family.”
“The Miraculous Music Bodhisattva Chapter ( Chapter 24 ) and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Chapter ( Chapter 25 ) together form a Northwest Petal.”
“The Dharani Chapter ( Chapter 26 ) is a Northern Petal associated with Heavenly Drum Thunder Sound Buddha.”
“The Wondrous Adornment King Chapter ( Chapter 27 ) is a Northeast Petal associated with Maitreya Bodhisattva.”
“Furthermore, every chapter of the Lotus Sutra has all the eight petals, so does every paragraph, and every sentence of the sutra.”
“The Introduction Chapter ( Chapter 01 ) and the Emerging from the Earth Chapter ( Chapter 15 ) , each is an unfolding of all the eight petals associated with different Lords.”
“The Expedient Means Chapter ( Chapter 02 ) and the Tathagata’s Lifespan Chapter ( Chapter 16 ), each starts to manifest the eight petals.”
“The Peaceful and Joyful Practice Chapter ( Chapter 14 ) and the Encouragement Chapter ( Chapter 28 ), each is a closure of the eight petals.” [15]
“Moreover, in the Expedient Means Chapter ( Chapter 02 ) it is written : ‘Only a Buddha and another Buddha, can fully understand and share with each other, the knowledge about the Reality behind all phenomena.’ - this sentence represents the Self Enlightenment on the central platform.” [16]
“The text from ‘Then the Bhagavan told Sariputra’ ( in Chapter 02 ) onward, to the end of the chapter, represents an Eastern Petal and a Southeast Petal. On the Eastern Petal there is an Eastern Gate associated with Sariputra.”
“The Parable Chapter ( Chapter 03 ) is a Southern Petal.”
“The Belief and Understanding Chapter ( Chapter 04 ), Medicinal Herbs Chapter ( Chapter 05 ), and Awarding Signs of Future Buddhahood Chapter ( Chapter 06 ) together constitute a Southwest Petal.”
“The Analogy of the Transformed City Chapter ( Chapter 07 ) is a Western Petal.”
“The three chapters, from the Five Hundred Disciples Receiving Signs of Future Buddahood Chapter ( Chapter 08 ), to the Dharma Master Chapter ( Chapter 10 ), together constitute a Northwest Petal.”
“The Precious Tower Chapter ( Chapter 11 ) and Devadatta Chapter ( Chapter 12 ) together form a Northern Petal.”
“The Exhortation to Uphold the Sutra Chapter ( Chapter 13 ) is an Northeast Petal associated with Maitreya.”
“In such a way the first fourteen chapters ( of the Lotus Sutra ) can manifest as a Lotus Flower, whose central platform and eight petals are associated with various Lords.”
“As for the last fourteen chapters, the Tathagata’s Lifespan Chapter ( Chapter 16 ) is a central platform associated with Vairocana Buddha.” [17]
“The Expounding of Merits Chapter ( Chapter 17 ) and Rejoicing In Accord With Merit And Virtue Chapter ( Chapter 18 ) together form an Eastern Petal with an Eastern Gate.”
“The Dharma Master’s Merits Chapter ( Chapter 19 ) and Never Slighting Anyone Bodhisattva Chapter ( Chapter 20 ) together form a Southeast Petal.”
“The Tathagata’s Divine Power Chapter ( Chapter 21 ) is a Southern Petal.”
“The Entrustment Chapter ( Chapter 22 ) is a Southwest Petal.”
“The Medicine King Bodhisattva Chapter ( Chapter 23 ) is a Western Petal.”
“The Miraculous Music Bodhisattva Chapter ( Chapter 24 ) and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Chapter ( Chapter 25 ) together form a Northwest Petal.”
“The Dharani Chapter ( Chapter 26 ) is a Northern Petal.”
“The Wondrous Adornment King Chapter ( Chapter 27 ) is a Northeast Petal.”
Vajrasattva asks the Buddha : “Is it true that Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra has two Origin Lords, who are Manjusri and Samantabhadra ?” [18]
Maha-Vairocana the Tathagata tells Vajrasattva : “You are correct. For the first fourteen chapters of Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, Manjusri is the Origin Lord. For the last fourteen chapters of Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva is the Origin Lord.”
“Therefore in the first fourteen chapters of Dharma Lotus Sutra, Manjusri is honored as the mentor, and Candra-Surya-Pradipa ( Moon-Sun-Lamp ) Buddha [19] was Manjusri’s mentor who taught him the Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.”
“And it was also Manjusri who entered into the Dragon Palace and expounded only the Dharma Lotus Sutra. The dragon king’s daughter received his guidance and therefore was able to become a Buddha instantly.” ( mentioned in Chapter 12 - Devadatta )
“And in the Peaceful and Joyful Practice Chapter ( Chapter 14 ) it was also Manjusri who asked about the Peaceful and Joyful Practice.”
Vajrasattva asks the Buddha : “In Devadatta Chapter ( Chapter 12 ), when Manjusri emerged from the ocean, how did he look ?”
Vairocana replies : “At that time, when Manjusri emerged spontaneously from the great ocean, he was sitting on a Thousand-Petaled Lotus Flower, and wearing an Eight-Petaled Precious Crown on his head.”
Vajrasattva asks the Buddha again : “Among the eighty thousand great Bodhisattvas, Manjusri was the only one who entered into the Dragon Palace, what does this mean ?”
Vairocana replies : “Manjusri is the Wisdom Mother of all Buddhas of the past, present, and future. The animals in the Dragon Palace were quite ignorant. Manjusri’s Wisdom destroyed the ignorance of those dragons, so that the eight-year-old dragon girl was able to arouse her Bodhi-Heart [20] within a moment, and achieve True Awakenment [21] in a blink.”
Vajrasattva asks the Buddha again : “Samantabhadra Bodhisattva is the Origin Lord of the last fourteen chapters of Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. So what can be understood ?”
Vairocana replies : “As it is written in the Encouragement Chapter ( Chapter 28 ) - If the Dharma Lotus Sutra circulates in Jambudvipa, anyone who accepts and upholds the sutra should be mindful that this is solely because of Samantabhadra’s mighty and divine power. If anyone accepts, upholds, reads, recites, correctly remembers, understands the meanings, and practices the Dharma of Lotus Sutra, it should be known that this person is walking towards Universal Perfectness ( Samanta-bhadra ).”
Vajrasattva asks again : “As an Origin Lord of Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower, does Samantabhadra exist in different levels of Reality ?”
Vairocana replies : “You are Samantabhadra yourself, why do you ask about yourself ? [22] There are five levels of Samantabhadra. One, Equal Awakenment Samantabhadra; Two, Miraculous Awakenment Samantabhadra; Three, Origin Awakenment Samantabhadra; Four, Word Samantabhadra; Five, Ultimate Reality Samantabhadra.”
“The first one, Equal Awakenment Transformation Body [23] Samantabhadra, is the Samantabhadra Bodhisattva associated with the Southeast Petal of the eight-petaled Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower. He was also the Samantabhadra Bodhisattva who came from the East, as mentioned in the Encouragement Chapter ( Chapter 28 ).”
“The second one, Miraculous Awakenment Samantabhadra, is the Ratna-sambhava ( Treasure-Generating ) Tathagata associated with the Southern Petal of the eight-petaled Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower.”
“The third one, Origin Awakenment Samantabhadra, is the originally Awakened Maha-Vairocana Tathagata associated with Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s central platform.”
“The fourth one, Word Samantabhadra, is the Samantabhadra of Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s Origin Word, the letter ‘a’ [24], which is uncreated and omnipresent.”
“The fifth one, Ultimate Reality Samantabhadra, is the Universally Perfect Reality behind all phenomena manifested by Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower.”
Vajrasattva asks the Buddha again : “Samantabhadra has four types of bodies - Self-existent Body [25], Self Enjoyment Body [26], Altruistic Enjoyment Body [27], and Transformation Body [23]. [28] What can be told about them ?”
Vairocana replies : “The first one is Samantabhadra’s Self-existent Body. As it is revealed in Flower’s Sublime Beauty Sutra ( Avatamsaka Sutra ), Samantabhadra is united with Thusness [7], and is not attached to any worlds. This is Samantabhadra’s Self-existent Body.”
“The second one is Samantabhadra’s Self Enjoyment Body. As it is revealed in the Sutra, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s every single pore contains incalculable Buddha Worlds as many as atoms in the universe, so does his every meritorious body feature, and every smallest body part. This is Samantabhadra’s Self Enjoyment Body.”
“The third type, Samantabhadra’s Altruistic Enjoyment Bodies, are like these - In Akanistha the highest heaven of Form Realm, a sublime Enjoyment Body is manifested to subdue the ninety-five types of Exterior-path practitioners. On the other hand, a Bodhisattva descends from Tusita Heaven [29] to Jambudvipa, and becomes a Buddha in his legendary life that consists of eight phases. [30] These two are both Samantabhadra’s Altruistic Enjoyment Bodies.”
“The fourth type is the Transformation Body. For example, the Dharma Lotus Sutra says, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva came from the East. And the Samantabhadra Visualization Sutra [31] says, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva was born in an Eastern pure wonderland, which is described in detail in Flower’s Sublime Beauty Sutra. They both refer to a Transformation Body of Samantabhadra.”
Maha-Vairocana Tathagata further states : “Samantabhadra also exists in nine layers of Reality.”
“One, Similarity Flow [32] Samantabhadra.”
“Two, Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s Equal Awakenment Samantabhadra.”
“Three, Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s Miraculous Awakenment Samantabhadra.”
“Four, Samantabhadra existing as the originally Awakened Maha-Vairocana on Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s central platform.”
“Five, Samantabhadra as the originally Awakened Vairocana Tathagata of Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s omnipresent Equality.”
“Six, Samantabhadra as the originally Awakened Vairocana Tathagata of Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s all manifestations.”
“Seven, Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s One Wheel Samantabhadra.”
“Eight, Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s Top One Samantabhadra.”
“Nine, Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s Over The Top Samantabhadra.”
At this moment, Vajrasattva is wearing a Five Wisdom Crown [33] on his head, holding a Vajra Bell in his left hand and a Five-pronged Vajra Pestle [34] in his right hand, and sitting on a Lotus Seat. He presses the Vajra Pestle to the center of his chest, where his heart is located, and then a great light emits from his body, illuminating the entire Dharma Realm.
Vajrasattva says to the Bhagavan : “Now what I understand from the Buddha’s teaching, is that Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra has three Origin Lords. One, Sakyamuni Tathagata, a Transformation Body of Vairocana Tathagata. Two, Manjusri, the Origin Lord of the first fourteen chapters of the sutra. Three, Samantabhadra, the Origin Lord of the last fourteen chapters of the sutra. All Dharma practices of Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower lead to the One Palace of Origin Awakenment, where there is the Primordial Origin Infinite Lifespan Absolute Tathagata, namely Maha-Vairocana Tathagata.”
Maha-Vairocana Tathagata tells Vajrasattva : “Excellent, Excellent ! You are able to enter deeply into the boundless ocean of Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s all-creating nature. It is as you say, Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower has Sakyamuni Buddha, a transformation of Maha-Vairocana, as its Origin Lord, and also has Manjusri, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva as its Origin Lords.”
“The ten Suches [35] manifested by the Reality are associated with ten Lords, they are the nine Lords on the eight petals and central platform of the Lotus Flower, plus an additional Lord.”
“Regarding the nine Lords stationing on the Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower’s eight petals and central platform, the four Bodhisattvas on the petals of the four corners [36] represent Equal Awakenment, the four Buddhas on the petals of the four directions [37] represent Miraculous Awakenment, and the Maha-Vairocana Tathagata on the central platform represents Origin Awakenment, which is neither cause nor result, and transcends both cause and result.”
“The Womb Store Realm represent Equal Awakenment. The Vajra Realm represent Miraculous Awakenment. Above the Womb Store Realm and Vajra Realm there is the Dharma Realm containing an ocean-like grand assembly of Eternally Quiescent Light, which is beginningless, endless, and eternally existing in nature. This is the Origin Awakenment.”
“The Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower that has eight petals and one central platform, as well as the ten Suches and ten Lords, can all be found within every living being. [38] Therefore the Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra is called the King of Sutras.”
(End of the Beginning Chapter)
(Translated into English by Silfong Tsun)
(July 2022)
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