This brings to mind a famous teaching about meditation: “In zazen, leave your front door and your back door open. Let thoughts come and go. Just don’t serve them tea.” When you offer tea to a guest, this will make them feel “at home”. It is an invitation to stay. [Shunryu Suzuki Roshi]
Category: chinese
Mantra of Eleven Headed Avalokitesvara
This is quite possibly the second most popular Buddhist mantra in the world, after Om Mani Padme Hum. Namo Ratna Trayāya (Homage to the Triple Gem) Namaḥ Ārya Jñāna Sāgara (Homage to the ocean of noble wisdom) Vairocana (The Luminous One or The Illuminator) Vyūha Rājāya (To the King of the Manifestations.) Tathāgatāya (To the […]
“Break through the side door and see the moonlight” (劈破傍門見月明)
What does it mean to transcend the three realms through the side door? It’s like an insect in a piece of bamboo. If the insect were to gnaw its way out through the length of the bamboo, it would have to go through all the sections; it would take a long time. If the insect were to gnaw a hole in the side of the bamboo instead, it would get out very easily. People who are mindful of the Buddha are like the insect who goes out the side of the bamboo; they escape the three realms on a horizontal plane, right at the level they are. “One carries one’s karma into that rebirth.” The karma one carries is former karma, not current karma, it is old karma, not new karma.
龍頭蛇尾 (Head of a Dragon, Tail of a Snake)
龍 頭 蛇 尾 룡 두 사 미 ryong du sa mi dragon head snake tail
dok-cham (dokusan) “獨參” “독참”
獨參 is pronounced “dok cham” in Sino-Korean. It is more widely known in the West using the Sino-Japanese pronunciation “dokusan”. The characters literally mean “alone” (獨) + “consult” (參).
“The One Mind Is Our Original Home” (三界如客舍 一心是本居)
A verse from Kukai’s “Secret Key to the Heart Sutra”
“Guard it well.” (宜善護持)
宜善護持 “Guard it well.”
宜 yí should
善 shàn good, appropriate
護 hù protect, safeguard, defend
持 chí hold, retain (as in dharani)
The Record of Linji at CBETA (with an example)
約山僧見處，勿嫌底法。
“As far as this old mountain monk is concerned, everything has basic goodness.”
A story about the origin of the Correcting Mistakes Mantra, 補闕眞言
Then Jijang Bosal told Linju that instead of leading Linju on to his next life, he was going to teach Linju a mantra and then send him back to his previous life so he could teach the mantra to Daoru and everyone else. Everyone should chant this mantra in order to correct the mistakes we make in our chanting. After being “dead” for seven days, Linju suddenly recovered and told everyone about his encounter with Jijang Bosal, and the mantra he had been taught.
The Universal Gateway Chapter of the Lotus Sutra in Sino-Korean
관세음보살보문품
觀世音菩薩普門品
Kwan Se Eum Bo Sal Universal Gateway Chapter