* The video begins with the
English translation of the first part of the Master's talk which was an overview.
He then gave specific directions in Chinese on meditation techniques, which
were then translated into English.
At the 1989 Ullambana
celebration at City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, Venerable Master Hsuan Hua
began his talk with the Venerable Mahamauglyayana's attainment of the Five
Eyes and Six Spiritual Penetrations, and closed by reiterating the
opportunity that every living being has to one day accomplish Buddhahood. English
translation by Dharma Master Heng Sure.
This DVD, "I Came from Empty
Space," illustrates the life journey of
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua with photos and brief introductions presented
side by side. English subtitles.
Numberless tiny bugs
die in the cold or sleep in hibernation.
In the midst of
stillness you should contemplate,
and within movement you should investigate.
Dragons spar and tigers
wrestle in continual playful sport;
Ghosts cry and spirits
wail, their illusory transformations strange.
Ultimate truth
transcends words;
Not thought about or
talked about, you ought to advance with haste.
With great and small
destroyed, with no inside or out,
It pervades every mote
of dust and encompasses the Dharma Realm,
Complete, whole, and
perfectly fused, interpenetrating without obstruction.
With two clenched
fists, shatter the covering of empty space.
In one mouthful swallow
the source of seas of Buddhalands.
With great compassion
rescue all,
Sparing no blood or
sweat, and never pause to rest!
- I want to
tell you about the "Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra" [Om Mani Padme
Hum] Recitation Session held at Gold Mountain Monastery in 1972...for
seven days and seven nights...They were praying for world peace; they
wanted to invisibly eradicate the calamities of the world...In 1974, it
was predicted that there would be an earthquake in San Francisco....
After the seven-day session was over, their
sincerity in reciting the mantra inspired me to compose the poem "White
Universe" as a commemoration....
>> text
Contemplate the universe
of a billion worlds: you will see that bad karma has welled up and
filled it all. Nations ravage nations, creating world wars;
families slay families, creating civil strife; men murder men, starting
interpersonal wars; we kill ourselves, making war between the mind and
the nature, and so forth, until space destroys space, and water destroys
water, making wars between the realms of matter and the intangible.
There are so many wars! How sorrowful, how painful!
Each of these limitless
crises comes from the evil karma of killing. If we do not wake up
soon and put a stop to the causes, conditions, methods, and karma of
killing, then great disasters will surely be hard to avoid; we will
never know peace and happiness.
It will not be hard to
recognize our basic identity; our inherent wisdom will spontaneously
appear. The wind and light of this primary land* has a unique and
wonderfully delightful flavor that does not grow stale. If we wish
to try its taste we must simply purify our minds.
With great heroism let us
direct our thoughts towards the good; resolve to cultivate and realize
the results of the Way; take others across and reach the other shore
together; join the assembly of superior and good people who take delight
in their meeting, and always be companions of Bodhisattvas who never
retreat.
Like the moon reflected in
water, like flowers in a mirror, such things are merely shadows cast
without forms. It may just be a case of hoping against hope, of
striving for the impossible, thus the book's title
Water-Mirror Reflections of Nature.
>> Commentary on the Preface...
*The
wind and light of the original ground means simply that having
returned home, we once again see the long forgotten vista from the
original dwelling, the place where we belong and from which we have
estranged ourselves so very long. The other shore is the standard
explanation of the word "paramita", which may also be translated
"perfection". It is the other side, Nirvana, which is opposed to this,
our restless turning in birth and death. It is everything that this
shore is not and yet, its bliss exists only in opposition to the
suffering on this shore.
Today
What is the present time?
It is a time of the imminent extinction of living beings. As we
look around the Dharma Realm we see that countries battle each other,
families contend with each other, individuals struggle against on
another, on and on until great wars between world systems arise.
An ancient author said,
War results from
quarrels over land, the corpses fill the fields. War arises from
conflicts over cities, and corpses fill the streets. The earth
is made to eat the flesh of people. Such offenses are not
redeemed by death.
I sincerely hope that the
leaders of all nations will embody Nature's preference for life,
establish good government and bestow humane justice; banish contention
and do away with greed; ignore themselves and help others; benefit
themselves by benefiting others; see the universe as one family, and
regard all people as one person.
Emulate the thinking of
the ancient worthy who said,
If anyone is killed, it
is as if I killed him myself. If anyone has been cheated, it is
as if I cheated him myself.
At all times, reflect
inwardly and examine your conscience.
If you offend before
heaven, you have no place to pray.
If at the age of 50, one
can know the errors of the previous 49 years, one resembles the Ideal
Human who reforms his errors and improves himself. an author in
ancient times said,
Aware of my failure to
set right past faults,
I know I can rectify
what is to come;
Astray, yet not too
far from the path,
I have awaken to today's
rights and yesterday's wrongs.
In Buddhism it is said,
For all bad karma I have
done
With body, mouth and
mind,
Based on beginningless
greed, hared and ignorance,
I now repent and reform.
Buddhism also teaches that
Offenses arise from
thoughts;
So through thoughts we
reform.
When thoughts are
forgotten,
Offenses are no more.
With thoughts forgotten
and offenses wiped away,
We realize that both are
empty--
This is called true
repentance and reform.
I hope that all living
beings of the dharma realm will read these words carefully, sample their
flavor, and put them into actual practice. I hope that they will
feel deep shame and a wish to change and to renew themselves.
Confucius said,
To have faults and not
change is indeed a fault.
For this reason, when you
have faults, do not shrink from change. There is no greater good
than this.
Since we have been born in
this age, we must resolve to be new and great people. Emperor Tang
had a motto inscribed on his bathtub that said,
If you can renew
yourself once,
Renew yourself day after
day;
Become new again and
again.
The Proclamation of Kang
said,
Make a new people!
But one look at
present-day weapons' technology shows that research in weaponry advances
daily; lethal armaments are modernized each month. although we
call this progress, it is nothing more than progressive cruelty.
This branch of science takes human life as an experiment, as its toy.
The men who create new destructive weapons use power as their right, to
satisfy their selfish desires.
Why shouldn't we think
instead of washing clean the body and mind; of brushing away accumulated
dirt; of developing a sense of shame, and painstakingly changing our
former wrongs to create a new life; of becoming awesome people full of
the vitality of life; of doing beneficial deeds for the sake of all
living beings in the Dharma Realm, of developing virtue on behalf of our
fellow citizens of the myriad nations; and of acting as a model for all
on earth?
With humanness and
integrity, represent Nature in proclaiming truth and transforming
kindred beings; with filial respect and a sense of responsibility for
the welfare of every nation, instruct all people of the world.
INSIGHTS: The Wisdom and
Compassion of a Buddhist Master
Q&
A
for Every Day
by Venerable Master Hsuan Hua
Back to the Source
by
Karl Ray
An Interview with the Venerable Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua
Ji Li Business College Talks
All of
you senior monks from all of the monasteries and mountains...
Venerable Master Hua Address Chang
Geng Hospital
All of
you Bodhisattvas who have returned on the strength of your past vows,
you are now doctors and nurses...
Q & A on Vegetarianism
Can we
become enlightened though we eat meat?
Avoid Defying Natural Creation
How
should we cultivate? We must first let go of our desires and put and
end to love.
Hard-hitting Words by the Venerable
Master
What
instructions does the Venerable Master have for Taiwan's current
situation?
Devils Instigate Wars
People
were most scared when the great flood washed over the world.
Moral Virtue is True Riches
As the
saying goes: "Virtue means true riches; the absence of morals is
plain poverty."
Q & A from talk given on Oct. 27,
1990 in Grenoble, France - 1993
According to doctrines of Theravada Buddhism, the "body between sets
of skandhas" (the "soul" or consciousness after it leaves the
corpse) is immediately reborn. But Mahayana Sutras say that it may
take from seven to forty- nine days before rebirth occurs.
Q & A at Taipei Institute of
Industrial Technology
If we
recite mantras on a daily basis, should we recite just one mantra or
many different mantras? Which is more beneficial?
How to Get Rid of Fear and Karmic
Obstacles
How can
we use skillful means to overcome lust, fear, and doubt?
The Nature, Consciousness, Intent,
and Mind
If you can remain unperturbed by external states,
then you are cultivating. If you
are turned by external states, then you will fall.
It's Difficult to Encounter a Good
Way-place
If you
can't find a good Way-place, then even if you want to cultivate, you
won't be able to.
Science and the Heaven of Light-Sound
Basically, science doesn't exist. It's just called science because
that's what we call it.
科學本來不存在，我們叫它科學，它就叫科學。
The Vajra Strikes: Part 1 ~ Part 5
A
Collection of Q & A's with the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua
I have
been listening to the speeches by the various speakers about how
young people feel alienated from the world, to the point that they
are obsessed with a death wish.
Our
Founder, Our Teacher:
