Translator’s Preface
The Biography of the Great
Compassionate Bodhisattva of Mount Xiang (henceforth known as the Biography) is
one of the primary sources for the Chinese belief in a female Guanyin or
Avalokiteśvara.[1]
This belief has spread throughout China,
Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as among some other Southeast Asian
countries. Its influence is most significant among lay practitioners. However,
the Biography has also motivated influential monks such as the twentieth
century Ven. Shi Xuyun[2] [3], among others.
The current translation is a preliminary one based primarily
on Professor Yang Zengwen’s (Yang 2018, pp 171-176)
2018 revision of Mr. Cao Erhu’s transcription of a complete ink rubbing of the
Biography. (In 2007, Mr. Cao Erhu, an avid collector of ancient books and
paintings, located a full (and subsequently authenticated) copy of the
Biography, deposited at the Beijing University Library during the early 1930s.[4] [5])
The current translation also differs from previous
English translations, because it uses the best existing text as its source. Past English translations used a post-Cultural
Revolution text that suffered significant damage.
Nityaukṛṣṭa
Dedicated October 17, 2019 [19th
day of the 9th lunar month, 2019 – on Guanyin’s Renunciation Day] [6]
Mount Xiang Ruzhou Stele Text
Jiang Zhi Qi reedited and rephrased [the original manuscript
for this stele. Jiang Zhi Qi held the
governmental posts of: ]
1. Grand
Master of General Consultation [civilian official of the fourth rank in the
Bureau of Rites]
2. Associate
Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs [second highest rank for civilian
officials in charge of Military Affairs]
3. Founder
of the Nation Marquis of Yiyang County[7] [hereditary noble similar to
Marquis – the fifth-highest rank in the nobility]
[Jiang Zhi Qi received from the imperial government the]
taxes of two thousand households [and his descendants holding the title of
Marquis of Yiyang County received in perpetuity the] taxes of three hundred
households. [8]
Cai Jing [one of the four greatest Song Dynasty
calligraphers] copied [Jiang Zhi Qi’s manuscript onto the stele using the
kaishu script.[9] Cai Jing held the governmental posts of: ]
1. Director
of the Hanlin Academy [top official of the Hanlin Academy – workplace for
officials who scored highly on the civil service exam]
2. Grand
Master of the Middle Rank [civilian official of the fifth rank]
3. Consultant
of Knowledge [civilian official who the 中書舍人, a
high-ranking civilian official may consult in the composition of imperial
edicts on behalf of the emperor limited in scope to matters related to the
imperial palace]
4. Imperial Reader [civilian official who reads for the Emperor]
5. Compiler
of National History [Hanlin Academy official]
6. Highest
Pillar of the Nation [an official of the second rank awarded the highest
military merit award][10]
[Cai Jing received from the imperial government the]
taxes of one thousand two hundred households [and his descendants received in
perpetuity the] taxes of two hundred households.[11]
Thus have I heard.
The Vinaya Master Daoxuan[12] was practicing the Dharma[13] at Mount Zhongnan’s Ling’gan
Monastery located in Chang’an[14]. The Vinaya Master, who conducts himself on
the principles of virtue while practicing pure Brahma Conduct[15], stirred the Heavenly Devas[16] to attend to him.
The Master one day asked the Heavenly Deva:
I have heard that Guanyin
Mahāsattva[17]
has a karmic affinity with this land.
However, I do not know any details about the excellent place where the
efficacious traces have manifested.
The Heavenly Deva replied:
Guanyin
can manifest anytime and anywhere. Mount Xiang[18] is the excellent place
because Guanyin left traces of her flesh body there.
The Master asked:
Where is Mount Xiang?
The Heavenly Deva replied:
A
little over two hundred li[19] south of Mount Song[20], there are three mountains,
side by side. The middle-one is Mount
Xiang. Mount Xiang is where the
bodhisattva became enlightened.
To
the northeast of Mount Xiang, there used to live a King Zhuang. His wife’s name was Bao De. The King had heterodox beliefs and did not
respect Buddhism.
The
King had no sons. He only had three
daughters. The eldest was named Miao
Yan.[21] Miao Yin was the
second. The youngest was named Miao
Shan.
Of
the three daughters, two had already married; only the last one had inborn [religious]
talent not seen in ordinary people.
On
the evening of her pregnancy [with Miao Shan], the King’s wife dreamt, she
swallowed a bright luminous pearl[22]. When finally she gave birth, the six
directions of the world[23] shook[24], an unusual fragrance pervaded
the palace, and a bright light shone both inside and outside of the palace.[25] [26]
The
people were astonished and said there appeared to be a fire amid the palace.
That
evening the birth occurred. Miao Shan was pristinely clean even though no one
had washed her.[27]
She
had all the appearances and well-formed marks[28] of a bodhisattva while the
five-colored auspicious clouds hovered over her body. The people wondered, “Our country seems to
have given birth to a holy person.”
The royal father was full of wonder [regarding
the circumstances of her birth] and named her Miao Shan.[29]
Once she reached adulthood, she did
not adorn herself[30] and was above worldly
concerns.
Her natural disposition was sweet-natured
and virtuous. Her intentions were kind
and loving. She often wore dirty clothes
and did not care for beautiful adornments.
She only ate once a day [before noon][31] and observed a
Buddhist-style vegetarian diet[32]. She did not speak when it was inappropriate.[33] However, when she did speak, she promoted the
upholding of the precepts[34], expounded on cause and
effect, and the impermanent and illusory nature of the world. [35] In the palace, they often
called her “Buddha’s Heart.”[36]
Those, whom she taught, all changed
to good, observed the Buddhist-style vegetarian diet, and practiced the
Dharma. Not one abandoned their resolve.
The King heard of this and said to
his wife:
Miao
Shan is very virtuous. She teaches all
the ladies-in-waiting to practice the Dharma, and they have abandoned beautiful
adornments. It is almost rather uncaring
and strange. What am I to do?
The wife replied:
Great
King, “Why are you worried? Quickly arrange a marriage for her and command her
to pick a husband.”
The King finished listening and then
said to his daughter:
You
are already an adult and should obey my commands. Do not create confusion among the
ladies-in-waiting in the palace. Your
father rules a country and does not like the way you are carrying yourself. Your mother and I will find a husband for
you. From now on, you should follow the
proper way and not learn from the heterodox way nor corrupt the customs of our
country.
Miao Shan listened to her royal father’s commands and
with a slight smile replied:
Look,
royal father, the river of desire [greed][37] has vast waves[38].
The waves of the suffering
sea of saṃsāra[39]
are deep.
The riches and honor of the world cannot last forever.
The glory and splendor of the world are like an ephemeral bubble.
In a flash, change arrives.
There is no use of equivocating.
Greedy for a lifetime of
joy;
Only to sink into the
morass of tens of thousands of kalpas[40] of suffering.
I have reflected on these
matters and
I am deeply dissatisfied
with life.
I beg for a chance to
become a nun so that
I can practice and learn
the Dharma
To achieve the unexcelled
complete enlightenment of a Buddha;[41]
To repay the kindness of my
parents; and
To take away the sufferings
of all sentient beings.
If ordered to marry,
Your daughter does not dare
to obey.
She respectfully hopes her
royal father will use a commiserating heart to investigate my feelings.
The royal father listened and then said to his wife: Miao
Shan does not obey me.
The wife replied:
King, please try to console yourself.
Then, she summoned her daughter and demanded an
explanation.
Miao Shan said:
Mother, why bother to command me to marry?
I will obey my mother's command to marry [only] if it can avoid three sufferings.
Mother asked:
What are the three sufferings?
Miao Shan replied:
Firstly, the young people
of this world have faces like the bright white jade-like moon.[42] However, once they become old, their hair
turns white and their faces wrinkled.
Even their walking, standing, sitting, and sleeping are unlike young
people.
Secondly, when people’s
limbs are healthy and robust, they walk as quickly as if they are flying. However, once sickness arrives, they lie in
bed, the four limbs fail[43], and nothing is pleasurable
anymore.
Thirdly, loved ones surround
people when they have a large gathering of relatives. However, once death arrives, even if the two
were as close as father and son, not one of them can take the others place.
Your child will get married
if her husband can escape these sufferings.[44] However, if he is unable to, then your child
shall vow not to marry.
Your child is sympathetic
to the people of this world who must endure these sufferings. The people of this world, who want to escape
these sufferings, depend on Buddhist monastics who cultivate the Dharma intending
to attain the fruit [of unexcelled complete enlightenment of a Buddha]; [the
process of attainment enables them] to deliver all people from suffering. That
is why I have already given rise to bodhicitta[45], and I hope you can grant my
wish [of becoming a nun].
The wife finished listening and conveyed her daughter’s
message to the King. The King became
even more enraged. He expelled his
daughter to a reed-thatched hut in the garden in the back of the palace. He also ordered the palace’s
ladies-in-waiting not to serve any food or drink to her and not to have contact
with her. The sad mother secretly
ordered a palace-maid to send food and drink to her.
The King said:
I hear since the time I
banished her to the back garden, and she has not eaten. It seems she is not afraid of dying. Please get her two sisters, Miao Yan and Miao
Yin, to come along, and all three of you can visit her and urge her to change
her mind so I can see her again.
Otherwise, she might die from starvation.
The wife then went with her two daughters and some
ladies-in-waiting to the back garden and saw her daughter quietly sitting
upright without moving.[46] Miao Shan did not even notice her mother’s
presence.
The wife embraced her and cried loudly:
Since the day you left the
palace, I have cried my two eyes dried, and my liver and innards have
shattered. How can you be at peace after
causing so much grief to me, your mother?
Your father is in the palace, and he feels stressed because of you. He has
not held royal audiences or attended to governmental affairs for several
consecutive days. He ordered your
sisters and me to implore upon you to change your mind. It would be best if you think about your
father and seriously reconsider. Would
becoming a stay-home nun[47] be the best way to practice
the Dharma?
Miao Shan replied:
Your daughter does not
suffer here. Why do my parents
worry? Emotional ties of the world never
end.[48] All familial interactions must end with
separation. Even if my parents live to a
hundred years of age, once death arrives, family members must separate without
exception. Mother, please try to console
yourself. Fortunately, you have my two
older sisters whole-heartedly waiting upon you. Then, why do you [still] need
me? Mother, please return to the palace,
your daughter will not retreat from her resolve.
Miao Yan and Miao Yin continued their mother’s plea and
said:
Our little sister, who
lives here, willingly bears these hardships for a chance to become a
Buddha. Have you ever seen anyone
nowadays who has left her family to become a nun, and can emit
rays of light and shake the earth? Then
become a Buddha or a Patriarch so that she can repay the kindness of those
above[49] and save all sentient beings
below? Would it be better to follow the
rites and get married rather than causing worry for our parents?
Miao Shan heard the pleas and said to her two sisters:
You are attached [only] to
glory and splendor, marital love, and the pleasures of the present. However, you do not realize those pleasures
are the karmic causes of suffering. [..] [50] You are unable to depend on relatives to die
instead of you when your time of death has arrived. Can your husband replace you [to take care of
our parents] at the time of your death?
Miao Yin, each person only
has one life. Please visit me without a
doubt. However, please do not implore me
to change my mind. The Truth is before
your eyes. There is no use in having empty
regrets. Please urge my mother to return
to the palace and advise our father, the illusory world is limited, but my vow
is limitless. Let us have our royal
father decide whether I live or die.
Miao Yan and Miao Yin returned and told their mother:
Little sister does not
listen to our pleas. We had better let
her have her way. Advise our father to
allow her to become a nun.
The wife returned and advised the King. The King then became even more enraged. At that time, there was a nun named Hui Zhen.
The King then summoned her and said:
My youngest daughter, Miao
Shan, does not follow righteousness or propriety and is determined to become a
nun. I have no choice but to ask you and
your nun-cohorts to lure my daughter into changing her mind. I will allow my youngest daughter to reside
in your nunnery for seven days so that you can convince my daughter to obey my
wishes. If you succeed, I will rebuild
your abbey and arrange a vegetarian feast for the nuns. Otherwise, I will set fire to your nunnery, kill
all your followers without exception.
Then the King had a messenger accompany the nun to the
palace garden to bring Miao Shan on her way to the nunnery. Five hundred nuns welcomed Miao Shan’s
arrival. They accompanied her to the
statue of Buddha, where they burn offerings of incense.
The next day, the nuns said to Miao Shan:
Miao Shan, you grew up in
the royal palace. Why bother to seek
loneliness? Is it far better to return
to the inner sanctum of the royal palace, certainly better than a quiet place
like the nunnery?
Miao Shan listened and with a smile replied:
I left home to become a nun
to look for a Teacher to inquire about the Dharma, to practice the Brahma
Conduct to become enlightened so that I can save all sentient beings. I feel contempt now that I have met monastics
with knowledge and insights like yours.
If monastics can speak as you spoke to me while being disciples of
Buddha, how much more so for everyday people!
It is no wonder why my royal father hates people like you. Now I understand better why he forbade me
from becoming a nun. Do you know the
meaning behind the shaved head[51] and monastic robes? One who becomes a monastic is disgusted with
the world. The Buddhist monastic,
therefore, leaves behind glory and splendor, romantic love, concerns with bodily
adornments, and colorful clothes. The
Buddhist monastic is also profoundly concerned with reflecting on the causes of
the world’s suffering, realize enlightenment for oneself, and then aim to
enlighten others. You [nuns], however,
unexpectedly only match a small portion of the above expectations for
monastics. Our Lord Buddha left
[monastic] precepts for monastics to uphold.
During the monastic ordination ceremony, monastics promised to abandon
adornments, wear ragged colored robes, and carry an alms bowl, then sustain
oneself through begging. How can you
have beautiful and gorgeous events, conduct oneself in a flirtatious manner,
and wear brightly colored robes and personal adornments? You have boldly joined the Buddhist monastic
order breaking the pure monastic precepts in public view. You are undeserving of the offerings from
faithful believers. You have wasted your
time as monastics as you are monastics only in name as secular sensibilities
contaminate you in body and spirit. That
is why my royal father does not respect Buddhism due to hypocritical monastics
like you, who have entered the monastic life.
Miao Shan upbraided the nuns for their irresponsibility,
and they remained silently unable to respond to the criticism.
At that time, Hui Zhen became anxious and told Miao
Shan:
The King ordered the nuns to admonish you, Miao Shan.
Then Hui Zhen described the King’s commands as mentioned
before. Hui Zhen begged Miao Shan to
reconsider quickly. Otherwise, impending
disaster awaited the nunnery and its nuns.
Miao Shan replied:
Have you heard about the
causal ground[52]
for Buddha [when he abandoned his body numerous times for the Dharma]? Buddha, [in one of his previous
incarnations,] gave up his life for half a gāthā of Dharma.[53] [54] The Bodhisattva Prince once jumped off a
cliff to feed a tigress, at which point he obtains nirvana.[55] [56] King Śivi cut off pieces of flesh to save a
pigeon and, as a result, became enlightened.[57] [58] Since you have already
received the monastic vows, you should view this illusory body as:
1. ephemeral
and detestable and
2. a
changing and temporary combination of the four elements (mahābhūta)[59] that was originally
non-existent.
Therefore, you should want
to leave transmigration with every thought and vigorously pursue its solution
(i.e., nirvana). Why then do you fear
death and cling onto life, continuing to love this leather sack of fishy, stinking
blood[60]? How can you create barriers to those wanting
to take the monastic vows so that you can escape death by obeying the King’s
commands? That monastic candidate then
endures eons of suffering. This
obstruction defies Buddhism.
Furthermore, you will
receive the karmic retributions of the three lower worlds.[61] Nevertheless, you should rest assured, for
when I attain enlightenment, I will save you from transmigration. You need not worry.
The nuns heard her speech and discussed among
themselves:
Miao Shan grew up in the
palace. She does not know the
difficulties of living on the outside.
She expects the monastic life to be happy. Therefore, it is right [for us] to abuse and humiliate
her through arduous labor to make her feel fear and regret her decision.
They then said:
Since you want to enter the
monastic life[62],
you must toil at the arduous monastic duties.
Miao Shan replied, “Yes.”
You are responsible for the two monastic meal offerings,
be the first to start work at the kitchen, and personally do all the tasks
others are unable to do.
The nuns said:
The vegetable garden has no
vegetables. However, you are still
responsible for the meal offerings when mealtime arrives; you must come with
the offerings even if there is not enough food to offer.
Miao Shan entered the garden and noticed very few
vegetables growing in the garden. She
then thought to herself how she was to obtain enough food for tomorrow’s meal
offering. At the very moment, she was
thinking those thoughts, the Dragon deity [the tutelary deity] for the
monastery used his spiritual powers to help.
By dawn break, the vegetable garden had luxuriant growth of all kinds of
vegetables, more than enough for the meal offering.
The nuns then said to Miao Shan:
The kitchen has no more
water; it is very exhausting to walk one to two li to fetch water, what are we
to do?
Miao Shan transformed into a deva, and on the left side
of the kitchen, a spring with clear sweet water sprang forth.
Hui Zhen realized these were no ordinary events, that
[Miao Shan] was able to move the Dragon deity to assist her and therefore
submitted a petition to the King.
At that time, the royal father, in a fit of anger said
to those around him:
My youngest daughter has
practiced the heterodox way for a long time.
Therefore, I reproached her and put her in the nunnery. However, she again used her magic to confuse
the people and subjected me to disgrace repeatedly.
He ordered the envoy to arrest her on the outskirts of
the city and to bring her decapitated head.
When the envoy arrived, Miao Shan obeyed the royal
command and said at once to the nuns:
Quickly hide, they are going to execute me.
When Miao Shan appeared before the executioner, her time
of death had finally arrived. The
mountain deity of Mount Long intervened at the precise moment when the sword
blade was about to behead Miao Shan. The
deity knew Miao Shan was a Bodhisattva of Great Power[63] fated to be enlightened,
save, and deliver all sentient beings.
He also knew the unjust King was wrong in wanting to behead her. The mountain deity then used his divine
powers to blacken the sky; let loose violent winds accompanied with thunderous
lightning. Simultaneously, he suddenly
snatched Miao Shan away and placed her at the foot of the mountain. The envoy no longer knew the location of Miao
Shan, rushed to submit his update report to the King. The royal father was again shocked and
enraged. He ordered five hundred
soldiers to behead the nuns and set fire to their monastery. The wife and the royal family all wept
bitterly for Miao Shan, saying it was now too late to rescue her as she had
already died.
The King said to his wife:
Do not weep sorrowfully for
her, for this girl was no kin of mine.
She was a demon who was born into our family. I have succeeded in driving out this demon,
and it is a joyous occasion.
Because of the divine intervention of the Mountain
Deity, Miao Shan was now at the bottom of Mount Long[64]. She looked around and saw no one in the
vicinity. Miao Shan then slowly climbed
up the mountain. Suddenly, she smelled a
fishy stench and at the same time, wondered, “How can this place smell this
way?” as the mountain-forest seemed secluded and silent. The Mountain Deity then appeared in the form
of an aged man, and when he saw Miao Shan asked, “Where does the Kind One[65] wish to go?”
Miao Shan replied:
I want to enter this mountain to practice the Dharma.
The aged man said:
In this mountain, there are
animals with scales, feathers, and fur.[66] It is not a place for the Kind One to
practice the Dharma.
Miao Shan asked:
What is the name of this mountain?
The aged man replied:
Mount Long, dragons live on
this mountain, and that is how the mountain received its name.
Miao Shan asked:
Is the peak on the west suitable?
The aged man replied:
Dragons live there also,
and that is why in ancient times, people called it the Little Dragon
Mountain. Only the small peak between
the two mountains called Mount Xiang is suitable for the Kind One to practice
the Dharma, as it is a proper place because of its purity.
Miao Shan asked:
Who is the person making suggestions to me regarding where I should reside?
The aged man replied:
Your disciple is not
human. I am a deity of this
mountain. You are soon to reach enlightenment,
and I have taken a vow to protect you while Kind One practices the Dharma.
Finished speaking, the aged man vanished.
Miao Shan then went to Mount Xiang. She climbed to the mountaintop, looked
around, and noticed absolute silence without a trace of human activity. Then she thought to herself, and I should
teach the Dharma here.[67] That is how Miao Shan practiced the Dharma in
a reed-thatched hut, living a simple life by relying on straw-woven clothes and
fruits and nuts from trees for food.
That is how she spent three years without anyone noticing a single
thing.
At that time, the royal father received karmic
retribution for his evil karma. Jaundice[68] spread throughout his skin
and body, and he slept with difficulty.
All the best physicians in the kingdom were unable to cure him. His wife and the royal family worried day and
night for him.
One day a mysterious monk[69] stood in front of the palace
and said:
I have a divine prescription that can cure the King's sickness.
The people around him heard this and rushed to report it
to the King. The King listened and
invited the monk to enter the palace.
The monk said this before the King:
I have medicine that can save the King and cure his disease.
The King replied:
What is the medicine you have that can treat my disease?
The monk said:
I have a prescription that consists of two main medicinal ingredients.
The King said, “Please go on.”
The monk replied:
To make this medicine, one
needs to compound the arms and eyes of a person who never gets angry.
The King said:
Please do not tell me
absolute nonsense. How can a person not
be angry when one takes away his arms and eyes?
The monk replied, “Your kingdom has such a person.”
The King said, “Where is this person located?”
The monk replied:
There is a mountain located
in the southwestern part of your kingdom, name Mount Xiang. On the peak of this mountain, there lives a ṛṣi,[70] who practices the Dharma
with outstanding attainment; this person’s existence is unknown to this world, this
person has no anger.
The King asked, “How can I obtain her[71] arms and eyes?”
The monk replied:
She will reject other
people’s request; only the King can obtain them. This ṛṣi in the past had a close karmic
affinity with the King. After receiving
her arms and eyes, [someone] can cure the King’s disease instantly without a
doubt.
The King listened and then made offerings of incense and
prayed:
If my terrible disease can
be cured successfully and the body returned to normal, I prayed this ṛṣi would
freely offer me her arms and eyes.
After the prayer, he ordered the envoy bearing incense,
to go to Mount Xiang.
The envoy arrived and observed a ṛṣi with a perfectly
formed and awe-inspiring face and demeanor, meditating in the full lotus
position[72]
inside a reed-thatched hermitage.
The envoy then made offerings of wonderful incense to
her and read the King’s pronouncement:
The
King has had jaundice for the last three years, and all the best doctors of the Kingdom and their
best medicines have been unable to cure him.
A monk suggested a prescription that uses the arms and eyes of a person
who never gets angry to make the medicine.
We have heard privately with our profound respect for the ṛṣi’s
outstanding attainment that you, in all probability, must be without
anger. We dare to beg you, O Ṛṣi, to donate your
arms and eyes to save the King from his disease.
The envoy bowed twice.
Miao Shan recalled and reflected:
My royal father did not
respect Buddhism. He destroyed Buddhism,
burned down the monastery, executed the nuns by beheading, and summoned this
disease as his karmic retribution.
[Nevertheless], I will donate my arms and eyes to save the King from his
hardship.
After Miao Shan finished her thoughts, she said to the
envoy:
Your King is suffering this
terrible disease because of his mistake in not believing in the Triratna.[73] I will offer my arms and eyes to make the King’s
medicine. However, I only wish the
medicine and disease are an exact fit to cure the King’s terrible illness. The King, therefore, must make a vow to take
refuge in the Triratna,[74] and only then he will
recover.[75]
After having finished speaking, she used a knife to
gouge out her eyes and then ordered the envoy to cut off her two arms.
Right at that moment, the entire mountain shook, and
from the sky, a voice praised her saying:
Truly rare! Truly rare! She
can save all sentient beings and do what is impossible in this world.[76]
The envoy felt terrified.
The ṛṣi said:
Please
do not be terrified! Please do not be
terrified! Take my arms and eyes back to
the King and remember what I have told you.
The envoy took them on behalf of the King
and returned to report to the King. The King
took the arms and eyes and felt deep shame, and ordered the monk to mix the
medicine. The King then took medicine,
and before the tenth day[77], the drug completely cured
the King’s sickness. The King, queen,
royal family, the court officials, the ordinary people, and the rest of the
people of the kingdom, all rejoice at the news.
The King summoned the monk. The King gave him offerings of thanks to the
monk and then said:
Without
your help, my terrible sickness still would be uncured.
The monk said:
It
was not by my power [that you were cured].
King, without the arms and eyes of the ṛṣi, you would remain
uncured. King, you should enter the
mountain and make thanksgiving offerings to the ṛṣi.
After finishing this speech, the monk
vanished.
The King was startled, put his palms
together in the manner of prayer,[78] and said:
Even
though my karmic affinity is weak, it still moved the holy monk to come and
save me.
He then commanded those around him:
Tomorrow
we will go to Mount Xiang to make thanksgiving offerings to the ṛṣi.
The next day, the King, with his wife
and two daughters, accompanied by the palace staff, prepared carriages to leave
the capital city, headed towards, and then entered Mount Xiang. They then climbed up to the hermitage of the ṛṣi
laying out a lavish display of offerings.
The King made offerings of incense in
thanks and said:
When
I suffered this terrible disease, it would be impossible to make a recovery
without the ṛṣi’s arms and eyes. For
this reason, I have personally brought my flesh and blood with me to come and
visit this mountain to make thanksgiving offerings to the ṛṣi.
The King, his wife and palace’s
ladies-in-waiting, all came forward to look at the ṛṣi without her arms and
eyes. They all felt deep sorrow as the King
caused her disfigurement.
The wife investigated by gazing at
the features of the ṛṣi in detail, and said to the King:
I
looked at the shape and features of the ṛṣi, and it is very much like our
daughter.
The wife finished speaking and could
not help but choked back her tears and lamentations.
The ṛṣi suddenly spoke:
Mother,
do not reminisce about Miao Shan; I am here.
I contributed my arms and eyes for my royal father’s terrible disease to
repay the Kingly favors he had bestowed upon me.
The King and his wife heard these
words, embraced her, and let out a loud sob, full of sorrow, and extreme grief
moving both heaven and earth and said:
My
immorality caused my daughter to lose her arms and eyes and endure tremendous
suffering. Your royal father wants to
use his tongue to lick your two eyes[79] and join on your two
arms. I hope the deities of Heaven and
Earth allow the shriveled eyes of my child to grow back and her hacked off arms
to regrow completely.
The King finished making his vow, but
before his mouth could make contact with her eyes, Miao Shan suddenly vanished
from the site. At that moment, Heaven
and Earth shook, radiant light shined, auspicious clouds canopied the skies,
and the Drum of Heaven[80] thundered. Then the All-Pervading Compassionate[81] Guanyin of the Thousand Arms
and Thousand Eyes appeared. She was like
the bright full moon amid the star-studded sky, perfectly formed and
awe-inspiring in appearance, irradiating dazzling light, lofty and magnificent.
The King and his wife accompanied by
the palace’s ladies-in-waiting gazed at the Bodhisattva’s face and body. They then stood up and struck themselves,
beating their chest and letting out a grievous cry and then raising their
voices to show their repentance said:
Your
disciples’ mortal eyes did not recognize a holy person; our evil karma
obstructed our minds. We pray you will
now save and protect us and absolve our former evil deeds. Your disciples from now on will [practice the
Dharma and] transfer those merits[82] to the Triratna and rebuild
Buddhist monasteries. We pray to you,
Bodhisattva, in your great compassion to return to your original form and
permit us to honor you with offerings.
In an instant, the ṛṣi reverted to
her original form, complete with arms and eyes, sitting down meditating in full
lotus position with her palms joined in the form of a prayer. She simultaneously, solemnly entered
parinirvana, as if still sitting in meditational samadhi.[83]
The King and his wife then offered
incense and made a vow:
Your
disciples will make an offering of fragrant firewood and will place your holy
body onto the funeral pyre. Upon
returning to the palace, your disciple will construct a stupa and make
offerings to it in perpetuity.
After finishing the pronouncement of
his vow, the King surrounded the holy body with pure incense and then lit up
the pyre. Once all of the fragrant
firewood burnt up, the transcendental body firmly sat there. No one could move it.
The King made another vow:
It
seems the Bodhisattva is unwilling to leave this site, desiring all sentient
beings to see, hear, and make offerings here.
Having finished saying the above, the
King and his wife tried [again] to move the body. This time, however, the body immediately
rose. The King later built a precious
shrine and respectfully placed the Bodhisattva’s actual body in it. Around the shrine, he made a solemn treasure stupa (to enclose the shrine) on the outside. They buried the Bodhisattva underneath the hermitage
located on the mountaintop. The King,
with his court officials and relatives, kept watch without sleep day and
night. Later after the passage of a
considerable amount of time, they returned to the capital and rebuilt the
nunnery. They increase the number of
monks and nuns permitted to take the monastic vows and treated the Triratna
with respect. The King spent funds from
his private account to build a thirteen-story pagoda to house the Bodhisattva’s
actual body.
The Heavenly Deva then said:
Your
disciple has answered with a summary of the entire event concerning the
Master’s question about the efficacious traces of the Bodhisattva. If you want to know about the Bodhisattva’s
secret transformation bodies, your disciple does not know about them.[84]
The Vinaya Master again asked:
How
is the treasured pagoda of Mount Xiang faring now?
The Heavenly Deva replied:
People
abandoned the pagoda long ago. Now only
an earthen stupa remains that no one knows.
The traces of the Holy Person have their times of bloom and decay. Three hundred years from now, it will bloom
again.
The Vinaya Master finished listening
and joined his palms in the fashion of prayer.
He then said the following praises:
Guanyin
Mahāsattva’s divine power is as described above, without the great and vast
compassionate vow of the Bodhisattva, the traces described would not manifest. Had this land’s sentient beings karmic
affinity not ripen, they would not be this response. The limitless lofty merit is difficult to
attain and is inconceivable.
Then he commanded his disciple
Yichang to record it, wishing for its transmission for posterity.
********************
Words of Praise: [Written by Jiang
Zhi Qi]
The Thousand Hand and Thousand Eye
Guanyin of Mount Xiang is precisely an incarnation of Guanyin. Wonderful!
On the last day of the eleventh lunar
month, 1099 CE, [Jiang Zhi Qi] came from [the capital Kaifeng to] assume the
position of Prefecture Chief of Ruzhou.
As expected, [this prefecture] has Mount Xiang within its precinct.
The abbot Huai Zhou dispatched an
attending monk to invite me to Mount Xiang.
They sent me to the main hall and prepared vegetarian food. Huai Zhou, with a solemn and circumspect
courteous bearing, then spoke to me in a leisurely-unrushed manner:
On
the first day of this lunar month, a [unusual] monk visited Mount Xiang.
His
bearing and features appeared ancient, and his clothes were ragged.
After
inquiring, we found out he came from Chang’an Zhongnan Monastery.
He
had heard there was an All-Pervading Compassionate Bodhisattva on Mount Xiang.
That
is why he came here to make obeisance.[85]
We
then invited him into the monastery.
That
evening, the monk circumambulated the pagoda until dawn and then
He visited
the abbot’s quarters and said:
I
have obtained in the past a scroll entitled “The Biography of the Great
Compassionate Bodhisattva of Mount Xiang” among a pile of sutras located in an
old room in Mount Zhongnan’s Ling’gan Monastery. The Biography records the divinely effective
and unbelievable answers given by the Heavenly Deva to the Tang Dynasty Mount
Zhongnan Vinaya Master Daoxuan’s inquiries regarding the history of the
Bodhisattva’s transformation body. The
scroll remained hidden[86] for many years there. I have traveled to Jingxi Province Ruzhou
Prefecture’s Mount Xiang, because, it is the place where the Bodhisattva
attained enlightenment. I hope to do
obeisance here, and as expected, the divine traces are [still] here.
Thereupon
he gave the scroll to Huai Zhou.
Huai Zhou had wished the abbot had
come here for a long time, but he was not successful in his endeavor to obtain
it. Today the monk had brought it with
him, had it not been for the friendly karmic affinity, the monk could have left
with the scroll.
The next day, Huai Zhou then wanted
to invite the monk for a talk, but no one could find him and Huai Zhou said:
We
looked all day for him, but where did that monk go? Although we looked for him
[outside], it seems no one knew where he was staying. Huai Zhou did not even know whether he was a
mortal or a holy one, and that is why I have left this account for [future]
reference.
I have read the Biography, the entire
work in detail. However, its language is
coarse and unrefined. It might be the
ordinary, low literary talent was unable to convey the meaning of the words of
the Heavenly Deva.
However, as far as the words of the
Bodhisattva, the sections concerned all conveyed it brilliantly, describing the
wonderful and special events in the utmost reasonable manner.
There is currently no stele recording
the events of the Bodhisattva’s manifestation on Mount Xiang. I have obtained the text recording it quite
by chance. Could the circumstances of my
receiving this text be a sign or command from the Bodhisattva to have me
rewrite the text?
Therefore, I will rearrange it into
proper order, eliminate the coarse and unrefined phrases, and rewrite it in the
Bodhisattva’s own words.
Hmm.
The Heavenly Deva said after three hundred years [from the telling of
the Bodhisattva’s events], Mount Xiang would prosper again. Is it not at that time now!
Written 1100 CE the first day of the
ninth lunar month
********************
Abbot Fu Man, Direct Linear Descendant from
Buddha, wrote a gāthā to commemorate this event:
Bowing
down to the All-Pervading Compassionate Heart
The
Power of the Vow is without limit
The
old stele damaged by wind and rain
So
a new one was engraved and placed here
Respectfully
recorded
1308 CE the most fortuitous day[87] of the seventh lunar month at
Mount Xiang Da Pumen Chan Monastery by monks and supervisory monastics, etc.,
Yan Xiao Qing of Luoyang wrote the
stele.
Zhang Yin and Ning Yin Yin of Ruyang
rebuilt the stele.
Wei Bo Yin of Yintai engraved the
stele.[88]
Works Cited (works with only translators names are translations from the
Taisho Tripitaka)
Beal, Samuel tr., 1876. "Miscellenea - A Buddhist Jātaka
from the Chinese." [translated from Dharmakṣema’s Mahaparinirvana Sutra
(Taisho Sutra No. 1509) ] The Indian Antiquary - A Journal of Oriental
Research 5: 222-224. London. (in English)
Chung Tai World Editorial Staff 【中台世界編】 2019. “Cutting off Flesh to Feed the
Hawk" 【割肉餵鷹】.” Puli, Nantou. https://www.ctworld.org.tw/sutra_stories/story088.htm.
(in Chinese)
Daw Mya Tin tr., 1986. The Dhammapada: Verses and Stories.
Rangoon: Editorial Committee of the Burma Tipitaka Association. (in English)
Dharmakṣema. (曇無讖) tr., 416-423 CE. Mahaparinirvana Sutra
【大般涅槃經】. (Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 12 Sutra
No. 374) Taipei: CBETA Electronic Version of Taisho Tripitaka. (in Chinese)
—. 415-426 CE. The Sutra of
Golden Light 【撰集百緣經】. (Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 16 Sutra
No. 663) Taipei: CBETA Electronic Version of Taisho Tripitaka. (in Chinese)
Ding Fubao (丁福保)
1921. Dictionary of Buddhism 【佛教大詞典】. Shanghai. Electronic Version. (in Chinese).
Ennin. (圓仁) au., 839 CE. The Catalog of Sutras From Tang China Obtained in the Japanese Regnal Year Jōwa 5
【日本國承和五年入唐求法目錄】. (Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 55 Sutra
No. 2165) Taipei: CBETA Electronic Version of Taisho Tripitaka. (in Chinese)
Foguangshan Foundation for
Buddhist Culture and Education (佛光山文教基金會) 1989.
Foguangshan Dictionary of Buddhism 【佛光山大詞典】. Kaohsiung. (in Chinese)
Kang Seng Hui. (康僧會) tr., 251 CE. Collection of Writings about the Six
Paramitas 【六度集經】.
(Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 3 Sutra No. 152) Taipei: CBETA Electronic Version of
Taisho Tripitaka. (in Chinese)
Kumārajīva. (鳩摩羅什) tr., 402-405 CE. Nāgārjuna
(龍樹) au., Treatise on the
Great Perfection of Wisdom 【大智度論】. (Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 2 Sutra No. 1509) Taipei:
CBETA Electronic Version of Taisho Tripitaka. (in Chinese)
Legge, James tr.,
1884. A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms. [translated from Records of the High Monk Faxian【高僧法顯傳】authored
by Shi Faxian (釋法顯) 403-405 CE (Taisho
Sutra No. 2085)] London. (in English)
Li Rongxi (李荣熙) tr., 1995. A Biography of the
Tripitaka Master of the Great Ci’en Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty. [translated from the same title
authored by Shi Xuanzang (釋玄奘) Shi Yancong (釋彥悰)
ed., 668 CE (Taisho Sutra No. 2053)] Tokyo. (in English)
—. 1996. The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the
Western Regions.
[translated from the same title authored by Shi Xuanzang (釋玄奘) Shi Bianji (釋辯機)
ed., 646 CE (Taisho Sutra No. 2081)] Tokyo. (in English)
Monier-Williams, Monier au., 1899.
A
Sanskrit-English Dictionary Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with
Special References to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Oxford. (in English)
Shi Faxian. (釋法顯) au., 402-405 CE. Records
of the High Monk Faxian 【高僧法顯傳】.
(Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 51 Sutra No. 2085) Taipei: CBETA Electronic Version of
Taisho Tripitaka. (in Chinese)
Shi Hsing-yun (釋星雲) au., 2003. “Master Hsing yun Explains the Gāthā ‘All Conditioned
Things are Empheral’” 【星雲說偈 諸行無常】. The Merit Times 【人間福報】. Kaohsiung. February 6. https://www.merit-times.com.tw/NewsPage.aspx?unid=293597.
(in Chinese)
Shi Huijiao. (釋慧覺) tr., 445 CE. The Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish【賢愚經】. (Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 4 Sutra
No. 202) Taipei: CBETA Electronic Version of Taisho Tripitaka. (in Chinese)
Shi Sheng-yen (釋聖嚴) au., 1999. Correct Beliefs in Buddhism【正信的佛法】. Taipei:Dharma Drum Publications. (in Chinese)
—.
1999. Inquiries into the Dharma 【學佛群疑】. Taipei: Dharma Drum Publications. (in Chinese)
—.
2007. Orthodox Chinese Buddhism 【正信的佛法】. Translated by Douglas Gildow and Otto Chang. Elmhurst, New
York and Berkeley, California: Dharma Drum Publications. (in English)
Shi Wei-chueh (釋惟覺) au. “Turning the Dharma Wheel : The Meaning Behind the Eight Precepts and its Merits”【開山法師法語：八關齋戒的意義與功德】. Puli, Nantou.https://www.ctworld.org.tw/turn/lecture/b052.htm .
(in Chinese)
Shi Xuyun (釋虛雲) au., 2003. “Autobiography of Master Xuyun” 【虛雲和尚年譜】. https://www.bfnn.org/book/books2/1184.htm.
(in Chinese)
Speyer,
J.S. tr., 1895. Bhikku Ānandajoti rev., 2010. Ārya Śūra [a.k.a. Aśvaghoṣa] au.
Jātakamālā or The Garland of Birth Stories. (in English)
Yang Zengwen (杨曾文) au., 2018. “A Tentative Discussion of Chinese Buddhism's
Belief in Guanyin Bodhisattva 【中国佛教的观世音菩萨信仰试论】.” Research on Buddhism 【佛教研究】 Beijing. December 31: 157-176. (in Chinese)
Zhi Qian (支謙) tr.,
223-253 CE. The Hundred Avadana Sutra 【撰集百緣經】. (Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 4 Sutra No. 200) Taipei: CBETA Electronic Version
of Taisho Tripitaka. (in Chinese)
Zhou Fenting (周分廷) 2009. The Search for the Complete Ink
Rubbing of the "Biography of the Great Compassionate Bodhisattva of Mount
Xiang"【《香山大悲菩萨传》碑拓片全文追寻记】. Beijing. September 8. https://www.fjnet.com/wywznr/200909/t20090908_134782.htm. (in Chinese)
[1] There were
other earlier female forms of Guanyin in China.
However, the Biography played a decisive role in the dominance of the
female forms of Guanyin in China.
[2] According to Master Xuyun’s
autobiography, The Precious Scroll of Mount Xiang, a later elaboration of the
Biography, made an indelible impression on him.
(Cf. Year 13 of the Autobiography of Master Xuyun.)
[3] The birth, renunciation and
enlightenment of Guanyin Bodhisattva as recounted in the Biography are
celebrated by hundreds of millions of followers and throughout Buddhist temples
in China and Vietnam. The holidays are:
a. Guanyin’s birthday – 19th
day of 2nd lunar month
b. Guanyin’s enlightenment day – 19th
of 6th lunar month
c. Guanyin’s renunciation day – 19th
of 9th lunar month
[4] According
to (Zhou 2009), Su Shi Shu and Qinghua University Professor Xiao Hong met Mr.
Cao Erhu in 2007 at a publishing house.
(Mr. Cao was in the process of publishing a book.) They suggested that
Mr. Cao should investigate the Beijing University Library as a possible source
for more ink rubbings. Mr. Cao searched
and later found a complete copy of the ink rubbing first
deposited at the university library in the early 1930s.
[5] The text
of the Biography, similar to most premodern Chinese text was unpunctuated. (Cf.
Preface of the Chinese Version of the Biography (forthcoming) for details
regarding Professor Yang Zengwen’s modification of Mr. Cao Erhu’s 2009
transcription of the Biography.)
[6] Square-bracketed
text is not part of the source text but rather the translator’s clarifications
on the text.
[7] The Song
Dynasty’s Yiyang County is located in today’s Huangchuan, Henan province.
[8] The taxes of two thousand households was worth approximately
300 taels of silver on an annual basis. Likewise, the taxes of three hundred households was worth about 45 taels of silver on an
annual basis. The purchasing power of silver was much greater during the Song Dynasty.
[9] Kaishu
script is a type of non-cursive Chinese block script that is very readable.
[10] There may
be standardized English translations for Song Dynasty governmental posts. However, I do not know them. Therefore, these translations are
approximate. I hope the reader can get
an idea as to the background and status of the persons involved in the
transmission of the Biography. Although
not mentioned in the stele, Jiang Zhiqi eventually became the Director of the
Bureau of Military Affairs and Cai Jing became Prime Minister.
[11] The taxes of one thousand two hundred households was approximately 180 taels of silver on an annual basis. The taxes of two hundred households was approximately 30 taels of silver on an annual basis. The purchasing power of silver was much greater during the Song Dynasty.
[12] Daoxuan (596-667
CE) was a famous monk of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. He became a monk at the age of 15 under
Zhishou (智首) and received his
full ordination at the age of 19. When
the famous monk-scholar and translator Xuanzang returned to China from India,
he was part of the translation team that assisted Xuanzang. He was especially
interested in the study of the Vinaya (the monastic precepts for monks and
nuns). He wrote five commentaries on the
Dharmaguptaka Vinaya known to posterity as the Five Great Works of Mount
Zhongnan. He also wrote a compendium of brief biographies of monastic
personalities known as the Continuation of the History of Eminent Monks and
supervised the compilation of the Neidian Catalogue of the Chinese Buddhist
Tripitaka. Daoxuan’s ability to
communicate with a heavenly deva associated with Śakra is renowned. He had over a thousand disciples. For the association of Ling'gan Monastery with Daoxuan please see (Ennin 839, p. 1075) : Ennin's catalog includes the text entitled Travels of the Tang Dynasty Mount Zhongnan Ling'gan Monastery Vinaya Master Daoxuan.
[13] Dharma
with a capital ‘D’ refers to the Buddhist Teachings. Another equivalent name is
Saddharma, True, or Correct Dharma; used to distinguish between Buddhist
Teachings and Teachings of other religions.
[14] Chang’an
was the capital city during the Tang Dynasty.
It is now called Xian.
[15] Brahma
Conduct refers to the conduct of a bodhisattva, which benefits all sentient
beings. It is conduct capable of
rejecting all evil conduct and conducting only good or wholesome, pure conduct.
[16] Heavenly
Deva refers to sentient beings residing in the Heavens. Deva is similar to a god.
[17] Mahāsattva
refers to a Great Bodhisattva, sometimes also known as a Noble
Bodhisattva. A Mahāsattva has already
cultivated the bodhisattva path for ages.
[18] Mount
Xiang is located in today’s Pingding, Henan province.
[19] Li is a
Chinese unit of measure for distance.
During the Tang Dynasty, one li equaled 0.4185 kilometers or 0.26 miles.
[20] Mount Song
is located in today’s Dengfeng District in Henan province. It is the site of Shaolin Monastery, the home
of Chan Buddhism in China and the ancestral home of Korean Son, Japanese Zen
and Vietnamese Thiền Buddhism.
It is also the site of Zhengyue Monastery, a famous Daoist monastery.
[21] The name
of the oldest daughter of King Zhuang is Miao Shu in the Precious Scroll of
Mount Xiang (a later elaboration of the Biography).
[22] Literally, Bao De swallowed a bright moon; but, it can also refer to a bright luminous pearl – i.e.,
a bodhisattva who illuminates the way for the world. Swallowing either item during a dream is an
auspicious omen of the birth of a holy person.
[23] The six directions in Buddhism are: north, south, east
and west; above and below.
[24] The shaking of the earth in the six directions is an omen
of an unimaginably auspicious event.
[25] The shaking of the earth, the unusual fragrance, the shining bright light are all omens of an unimaginably auspicious
event.
[26] The 19th day of the 2nd
lunar month is the traditional day for Guanyin’s birthday; and is celebrated in
China and Vietnam.
[27] The lotus
is the Buddhist symbol for purity; the lotus flower is pristine even though it
emerges through the mud. The stalk of
the lotus is high above the water, with the beautiful unstained lotus flower on
top originating from its roots still submerged in the mud. The lotus is an analogy for the Bodhisattva’s
pure conduct in the tainted world.
Similarly, Miao Shan’s emergence from her mother’s womb perfectly clean
despite having been unwashed indicates that she is a Great Bodhisattva.
[28] 端嚴梵相translates
as pure and dignified, perfectly formed awe-inspiring marks (i.e., The physical
marks of a Buddha) and the appearance of a bodhisattva. Miao Shan’s palms
contained the mark of the Thousand-Spoke Wheel of Buddha, according to The
Precious Scroll of Mount Xiang (a later adaptation of the Biography).
[29] The
literal meaning of Miao Shan is Wonderful Goodness.
[30] Miao Shan is
following the Eight Precepts (Upavāsa Precepts) for laypersons. The purpose of the Eight Precepts is to afford laypersons a chance to observe a monastic lifestyle for a whole day. The Eight
Precepts includes the Five Precepts, followed by most laypersons. The Five Precepts are:
1.
Do not kill
2.
Do not steal
3.
Do not lie
4.
Do not engage in illicit sexual activities
5.
Do not take intoxicants which affect the
mind
The Eight Precepts includes the above and adds the
following:
6.
Do not eat past noon
7.
Do not use perfumes, garlands or ointments;
i.e., no adornments
8.
Do not perform, watch or listen to songs,
dances and dramas as well as a prohibition on using high beds or couches (a modern single size bed is acceptable)
It also modifies the fourth of the Five Precepts to
prohibit any sexual activity.
Some laypersons observe the Eight Precepts on holy days
or pilgrimages; but usually limited to a day or brief interval. Some other laypersons observing the Six Day Observances per Lunar Month or the Ten Day Observances per Lunar Month will observe the Eight Precepts on one of those observance days in addition to holy days. Mahayana adepts following those observances will also eat according to Buddhist style Vegetarian rules on all of those observance days. Variations exists as per days observed.
Miao Shan seems to be keeping them on a
long-term basis. Cf. (Shi Sheng-yen 2007,p. 204 Footnote 3) for more details regarding the Upavāsa Precepts. Also Cf. (Shi Wei-chueh) for detailed explanations regarding the observance and merits in upholding the Upavāsa Precepts.
[31] Cf.
Footnote 24 – the sixth precept. During Lord Buddha’s time, monks and nuns only
had one meal before noon.
[32] Buddhist style
vegetarian diet is a vegan diet excluding the pungent vegetables such as
onions, scallions, chives (all kinds), garlic and asafetida. Eating such pungent vegetables is a violation
of duskṛta precepts. While Chinese (and Korean and Vietnamese) monks and nuns are almost always full-time vegetarians in the fashion mentioned above, most laypersons are not.
More serious layperson practitioners in China, Korea and Vietnam (perhaps also Japan) are often part-time vegetarians and a minority are full-time vegetarians.
For more details on the part-time vegetarians, please see for more details and free 2020 Buddhist Vegetarian Calendars
[33] She did
not speak when it was inappropriate refers to frivolous speech. To not talk frivolously, is one of the ten
good deeds. Miao Shan conducts herself in the bodhisattva way. She behaves according to the Six Perfections
and the Three Sets of Precepts. (Shi Sheng-yen
2007,p. 145) The Six Perfections
are:
1.
Giving (especially Dharma)
2.
Keeping the precepts – to do no evil and to
do good
3.
Patience
4.
Diligence – to go forward bravely, undaunted
by obstacles
5.
Samadhi – to fix the mind unwaveringly on
one object
6.
Wisdom – to be a lamp for oneself and others
The Three Sets of Precepts are:
1.
To uphold all the pure precepts without
exception
2.
To cultivate all good qualities without
exception
3.
To deliver all sentient beings without
exception
[34] Miao Shan
probably promoted the Five Precepts for the Buddhist Layperson. Cf. Footnote 24, the first five precepts.
[35] Miao Shan
here practices Giving, the first of the Six Perfections.
[36] The heart
of the Buddha is infinitely compassionate and merciful.
[37] The Chinese phrase
is “愛河,” which is a
translation of the Sanskrit term “tṛṣṇa nadi.” The first word means craving
excessive or inappropriate desire. The
second word means river. Together the words mean the “river of excessive desire
for material things, romantic and sexual love, dislike, hatred, and so forth.”
“The river of excessive desire causes
one to drown,” is a typical Buddhist adage using this phrase. Xuanzang’s translation of the Yogācārabhūmi
Śāstra in 648-649 CE is the earliest usage concerning this phrase in Chinese
Buddhism. Buddhism sees the infatuation
with desire as an impediment on the road to higher spiritual achievement.
The Classic of Poetry, a collection of poetry dating
from the 11th century to the 7th century BCE, is the
earliest secular usage of the above Chinese phrase. Here the phrase translates as the “river of
romantic love,” which is a subset of the Buddhist sense.
The Biography uses the Buddhist sense of the phrase.
[38] Vast waves
refer to hidden dangers, as one does not know about the hidden dangers lurking
beneath these waves.
[39] Saṃsāra
refers to the cycle of life and death.
[40] One kalpa
is 16,798,000 years, a very long time.
[41] The
ultimate enlightenment of a Buddha or Nirvana is different from the attainment
of Arhat-hood.
[42] Bright
white jade-like moon refers to the fair and smooth skin of youth.
[43] The
failure of the four limbs fail refers to the inevitable failure of the body.
[44] Below is a
chart comparing the Four Sights of Buddha with Miao Shan’s Three Sufferings.
|
Four Sights of Buddha |
Three
Sufferings of Miao Shan |
|
An aged man is weak and frail. |
Comparison of youth and elderly. The aged man has
wrinkled skin and weakened mobility. |
|
A sick man is unable to attend to matters as usual. |
Comparison of healthy and sick. The sick can no longer
attend to matters as usual. Therefore,
the ill are unhappy. |
|
A corpse or death is what awaits all sentient beings. |
Death is inevitable.
Even close relatives are unable to die instead of the dying person. |
|
A Holy Man is the solution (religious meditation and
subsequent enlightenment). |
Miao Shan’s desire to be a nun is equivalent to Buddha
seeing the holy man. Religious
practice is the way out of the cycle of life and death. |
The Four Sights motivate Prince Siddhartha Gautama to
leave behind royal comforts and pursue spiritual practices. He eventually meditates under a Bodhi tree
located in Bodhgaya, where he attains unexcelled ultimate enlightenment. Thereby he becomes the Buddha.
The Three Sufferings motivates Princess Miao Shan to
leave behind royal comforts and pursues nun-hood. She eventually meditates on Mount Xiang and
attains enlightenment. She becomes
Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Both Buddha and Guanyin Bodhisattva encourage their
followers to practice the Dharma in their everyday lives.
[45] Bodhicitta
is the determination to be a Buddha. Bodhicitta requires the following:
1.
The Heart of Great Wisdom – the realization
that the ego is not permanent or unchanging
2.
The Heart of Great Vows – the endeavor to
practice all good Dharmas
3.
The Heart of Great Compassion – rescuing all
sentient beings from suffering
[46] Miao Shan
is in deep meditation.
[47] Stay-home
nun likely refers to Upāsikā, a female layperson who observes layperson
precepts and who may marry.
[48] Emotional
ties without regard to good or bad never end because people continue to
reincarnate without end.
[49] The phrase “repay
the kindness of those above” refers to filial piety. Both the Indic and Sinitic worlds respected
filial piety. However, they differed in
the details.
Gautama Buddha’s ascension to the
Trāyastriṃśa Heaven shows the importance of filial piety in Buddhism. Buddha’s birth mother, Maya, reincarnated
into the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, seven days after giving birth to him. After Buddha attains enlightenment, he
ascends to Heaven from Vaishali, to teach the Dharma to his mother as a sign of
his filial piety. The entire Buddhist
world recognizes this miracle of filial piety.
Even today, Vaishali is still an important pilgrimage site for
Buddhists. An Asokan Stone Pillar marks
the location of the miracle; therefore, Buddhists have been coming on pilgrimages
to this site for at least 2,300 years.
(King Aśoka reigned during the 3rd century BCE.) Buddha’s adopted mother, Mahāprajāpatī
Gautamī, became the first Buddhist nun. Cf. (Shi
Sheng-yen 2007, pp. 85-88) for more details regarding Indic Buddhist
filial piety.
[50] This part
is untranslated for the moment. I will
add it later.
[51] All
Buddhist monastics shave their heads.
[52] Causal ground
refers to karmic actions in this and previous lives. In this case, it refers to the practices of
Dharma that eventually led to Buddha becoming enlightened.
[53] The
Biography is referring to “Himavat Kumāra” or “the youth from Mount Snow,” who
was a previous incarnation of the Buddha who sacrificed himself for a
half-verse of the invaluable Dharma.
Himavat Kumāra or Himavat Mahāsattva was a Brahmin (a member of the
Hindu Priest caste) who searched the world for the Truth but was unable to get
an utterly fulfilling answer. One day,
Himavat Kumāra met a fearful rākṣasa (a man-eating demon) while he was
meditating on Mount Snow (Himavat Parvata). (Śakra, the ruler of the Trāyastriṃśā Heaven,
transformed himself into a rākṣasa to test the youth.) The rākṣasa repeatedly sang half of this
gāthā or verse:
All conditioned things are ephemeral; all conditioned things arise and cease.
Himavat Kumāra heard the gāthā and was very pleased with
its accurate description of the nature of the world. However, the gāthā sung did not give a path
out from this cycle. Therefore, Himavat
Kumāra approached the rākṣasa and said to him:
What you have sung is very
reasonable. However, it seems to contain
only part of the whole gāthā. Please
tell me the other half.
The rākṣasa replied:
This gāthā is the Truth of the world
and is therefore very precious. In the
past, people have sacrificed their lives to hear it. How can I haphazardly give it to you?
Himavat Kumāra replied:
I am
willing to give up my life to hear the other half.
The rākṣasa realized that Himavat Kumāra was sincere and
therefore sang the other half:
To
end arising and ceasing, extinction (nirvana) is the eternal, peaceful way.
Upon hearing this, Himavat Kumāra scribbled the gāthā on
a wall for posterity and then climbed a tall tree prepared to jump to his death
to keep his promise. The rākṣasa
reverted to his original form as Śakra and caught Himavat Kumāra before his
plunge. Śakra then praised Himavat
Kumāra for his willingness to sacrifice his life in pursuit of the Dharma. The translator’s summary above is based primarily on (Shi
Hsing-yun 2003). Additional details come from the full Chinese translation found in (Dharmakṣema 416-423 CE, Scroll 12 pp. 450-451).
For a dated English translation, please see (Beal 1876).
It may seem unusual for the Buddha to
have sacrificed himself for a verse of Dharma. However, this theme is present in many other
stories about Buddha’s previous incarnations.
There is also the story of King Sumukho’s sacrifice of his life for one
gāthā. Śakra knows of the King’s
predilection for the Dharma and decides to test him by again transforming into
a rākṣasa. He informs the King that he
possesses an essential religious verse to share with him but is unable to due
to extreme hunger. The King first offers
his son to the rākṣasa. (The Prince was a previous incarnation of Ānanda, the
first cousin of Gautama Buddha who after Buddha’s parinirvana recited the
entire Tripitaka.) The rākṣasa is not
sated. The King then offers his wife.
(The wife was a previous incarnation of Yaśodhorā, the wife of Gautama
Buddha.) However, the hungry rākṣasa is
still not sated and insists on eating Sumukho as well. The King accepts his demands but on the
condition that the rākṣasa tells him the gāthā before his death. The rākṣasa then said:
Because
of sensual love sorrow arises, because of sensual love fear comes
Those able to leave attachment,
forever break with the endless fear
After chanting the gāthā, the rākṣasa
reverted to his original form as Śakra and brought back the King’s son and wife
from the dead. The translator summarized the
above based on (Zhi Qian 223-253 CE, Scroll 4, Avadāna 34, pp 218-219).
Cf. Pali Dhammapada No. 214 (Daw Mya
Tin 1986, pp 515-516):
Attachment
(to sensual pleasures) begets sorrow; attachment begets fear
For him, who is free from
attachment, there is no sorrow, how can there be fear for him?
[54] Xuanzang once visited the site of Himavat
Kumāra’s sacrifice.
More
than four hundred li to the south of the Maṅgala city, one reached Hiḍḍa
Mountain, where the stream in the valley flows westward. As one goes to the east against the current
of the stream, there are various kinds of flowers and strange fruits covering
the gully and climbing the steeps. The
peaks and cliffs are precipitous, and the brooks and ravines wind and meander. The sound of loud talking and the echo of
music are sometimes heard. Lying linked
together in the valley, there are square rocks resembling bedsteads made by
craftsmen. This was the place where the
Tathāgata once in a former life, forsook his life for half a stanza of the
Dharma.
(Li
1996, p 85)
This site is located in Udyāna, north
of Peshawar along the Swat River, somewhere in today’s Northwestern Pakistan
and Southern Afghanistan.
[55] The Prince
Bodhisattva in the Biography is referring to Prince Mahāsattva, who is a
previous incarnation of the Buddha. In
the avadāna, “The Mahāsattva Donates his Body to the Tigress,” Prince
Mahāsattva and two brothers walk through a forest. They observe a sick and skeletal tigress
attempting to nurse her two cubs. The
tigress appeared to be near death. Prince Mahāsattva thought that the tigress
out of desperation might even have devoured her cubs. To prevent this tragedy from unfolding, the
Prince decides to offer himself to the tigress.
She, however, is too weak to eat. Therefore, the Prince slashes his arms
and feeds her dripping blood in order to strengthen her. Prince Mahāsattva then climbs a cliff and
jumps down. The tigress thereupon eats
him. Because of his selfless
compassionate act, he ascends to the Tuṣitā Heaven. The translator summarized the above
based on (Shi Huijiao 445 CE, Scroll 1, Nidana No. 2, pp 352-353).
In another version of the Avadāna entitled “Donating
Body”, Prince Mahāsattva, in the versified portion, takes a vow “to save all
sentient beings and to achieve unexcelled complete enlightenment in the
future.” Immediately after his vow, he
jumps down to feed the starving tigress and her seven cubs. (Dharmakṣema
415-426 CE, Scroll 4, Chapter 17, pp 353-356)
The earliest translated version entitled “The Previous
Incarnation of the Bodhisattva for the Sake of Obtaining the Paramitas, Amid
the Wilds, Thinks only of the Dharma and Does Not Violate any Evil” is also a
simplified version. (Kang 251 CE, Scroll 1, Avadāna No. 4, pp 2)
An Indic version of the story appears in “The Story of
the Tigress (Dāna).” (Speyer 1895, pp 3-12)
[56] Buddhists
throughout the world (including the Indic world) appreciated this Avadāna. Both Faxian (in the late 4th
century CE) and Xuanzang (in the early 7th century) visited the
stupa that marked the location where Prince Mahāsattva sacrificed his life for
the starving tigress:
Seven days’ journey to the east
bought the travelers to the kingdom of Takṣaśilā, which means “severed head” in
the language of China. Here, when Buddha
was a Bodhisattva, he gave away his head to a man; and from this circumstances
the kingdom got its name. Going on
further for two days to the east, they [Faxian] came to the place where the
Bodhisattva threw down his body to feed a starving tigress. In these two places also large topes [stupas]
have been built, both adorned with layers of all precious substances. The kings, ministers, and peoples of the
kingdoms around vie with one another making offerings at them. The trains of people who come to scatter
flowers and light lamps at them never cease… (Legge 1884, chapter 11)
Again crossing the Indus River at the
northern frontier of Takṣaśilā and going southeast for more than two hundred
li, he [Xuanzang] crossed the Great Rocky Pass.
This is the place where Prince Mahāsattva formerly sacrificed his body
to feed a starving tigress and her seven cubs. As the ground had been stained by the
Prince’s blood, it was still of a deep red color and the plants there were also
deep red. (Li 1995, p 60)
The Mankiala Stupa located in Takṣaśilā, Pakistan may be
the same stupa Faxian and Xuanzang visited over a thousand years ago
[57] The
Biography is referring to King Śibi (or Śivi), who is a previous incarnation of
the Buddha. The translator summarized the
following based on (Chung Tai Monastery, 2019):
Śakra, the ruler of the Trāyastriṃśa
Heaven, has a worried look on his face.
The occupants of Heaven ask him what bothers him. Śakra says he is concerned about his
impending reincarnation since, at that moment, a Buddha does not exist in the
world. The denizens console him and
remind him of a King Śibi who practices the Bodhisattva way. Śakra, however, doubts King Śibi. He then confers with another deva,
Viśvakarman, and together they hatch a test for the King.
Śakra then transforms into a hawk,
and Viśvakarman turns into a pigeon.
They both descend into the human realm.
The hawk mercilessly pursues the pigeon.
The pigeon desperate to escape flies in front of King Śibi’s throne and
then squeezes into the King’s armpits.
The pigeon begs the King to protect him from the hawk. The hawk arrives moments later and complains
to the King:
I have not eaten for days, and you, O King, are depriving me of vital food.
With the pigeon now hidden in one of
his shirtsleeves, the king protests and told him of his vow to save and protect
all sentient beings. The hawk now
retorts:
Am I not one of those sentient
beings? You are depriving me of my food,
and I will die as a result.
The King then asked the hawk, how
much food he needed to free the pigeon.
The hawk replied :
Firstly, I only eat freshly killed meat that still warms the touch.
Secondly, I wish to be fair. Therefore, I only want as much meat as the
pigeon weighs on a balance scale.
The King thought it would be unfair
to kill another to feed the hawk. Therefore,
he decided to cut off chunks of his flesh to feed the hawk. However, a curious thing happened, namely, no
matter how much flesh the King cut from his own body, the balance scale was
always in a deficit. King Śibi, by this
time, was very weak, and he exhorted himself to pull up his entire body onto
the scale to save the pigeon. King Śibi thought,
“I must overcome this suffering.
Otherwise, I will be unable to fulfill my past vow of saving all
sentient beings. Their suffering is
infinitely greater than what I am currently enduring.” Right then, a miracle happened, and the King
succeeded in pulling himself onto the scale.
The scale tipped to equilibrium and the pigeon became free. At that moment, the earth shook, the ocean
wave crested, barren desiccated trees blossomed flowers, and heaven rained
fragrant rain and flowers. The devas and
devis (female devas) witnessing this act of self-sacrifice proclaimed,
He is a true Bodhisattva.
He will undoubtedly soon become a Buddha.
The hawk by now reverted to his
original form as Śakra and asked:
You have done something extremely
challenging. Is there anything you want
in return?
King Śibi replied:
I took a vow to save and protect all
sentient beings. I do not seek honor,
splendor, or happiness. I only wish to
achieve the unexcelled complete enlightenment of a Buddha as soon as possible.
Śakra then asked:
Don't you feel any regrets just now when you were cutting chunks of your flesh?
King Śibi answered: No, I did not feel any regret.
Śakra retorted:
Just now I saw your body trembling,
breathing almost at an end, what proof do you have that your assertion is true?
King Śibi replied:
From beginning to end, I had not an
inkling of regret. If I am telling the
truth, let my body regain its normal form just like the way it was before I
started cutting chunks of flesh off it.
At that moment, the King’s body
immediately reverted to its original form, proving his vow was genuine. Devas and humans then celebrated, sang songs
of praises…
For the full account, please see (Kumārajīva 402-405 CE, Scroll 4, pp 87-88).
[58] Both
Faxian (in the late 4th century CE) and Xuanzang (in the early 7th
century CE) visited King Śibi’s stupa:
In that country also Buddhism is
flourishing. There is in it the place
where Sakra Ruler of Devas, in a former age, tried the Bodhisattva, by
producing a hawk (in pursuit of a) dove, when (the Bodhisattva) cut off a piece
of his own flesh, and (with it) ransomed the dove. After Buddha had attained to Perfect Wisdom,
and in travelling with his disciples (arrived at this spot) to inform them that
this was the place where he ransomed the dove with a piece of his flesh. In this way the people of the country became
aware of the fact and on the spot, reared a tope [stupa], adorned with layers
of gold and silver plates. (Legge 1884, chapter 9) contains Faxian’s account.
Sixty of seventy li to the west of
Mayū Monastery is a stupa built by King Aśoka.
This was the place where the Tathāgata once in a former life, as a king
named Śivaka (Giving, formerly transcribed as Shipi [Shibi]) in erroneously),
sliced his body to ransom a dove from a hawk, in order to acquire Buddhahood
when he was practicing the way of the bodhisattva. (Li 1996, p 86) contains
Xuanzang’s account.
[59] Mahābhūta
or the four elements are constituents that comprise our bodies. Hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, muscle,
bones, etc., come from the elements earth.
Saliva, mucus, blood, phlegm, tears, etc., come from the element
water. Warmth comes from the element
fire. Movement, air, etc., comes from
the element wind. Once the combined
elements of the body disperse, there is no remaining body. Therefore, the body is illusory.
[60] This is an
epithet of the body often used as an object for meditation.
[61] The three
lower worlds are the realms of animals, hungry ghost and hell.
[62] It is
unclear whether Miao Shan underwent the monastic ordination ceremony. Some later versions of the Biography clearly
state that she did. Buddhists in China
and Vietnam regard the 19th of the 9th lunar month as
Guanyin’s ordination or renunciation day.
If Miao Shan did undergo the monastic ordination ceremony, the 19th
of the 9th lunar month marks this event. Otherwise, it may mark the moment Miao Shan
cultivates the Dharma upon arriving at Mount Xiang.
[63]
Bodhisattva of Great Power refers to a Great Bodhisattva or a Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva. There are fifty-two stages
in the practice to be a Buddha. Buddha
is at the stage of Wondrous Enlightenment.
A Bodhisattva Mahāsattva is at least at the stage of Equivalent
Enlightenment; the stage immediately before Buddhahood. Cf. (Shi Sheng-yen
2007, p 188) for the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva-hood.
[64] Mount Long
means Mount Dragon.
[65] Kind One
is the respected address of an inferior to a superior.
[66] Animals
with scales refer to fishes and dragons.
Animals with feathers refer to birds and animals with fur refer to
bears, tigers, etc.,
[67] 化緣 refers to the
karmic affinity all people have with the Dharma that can transform people’s
lives. Therefore, it has come to mean
the teaching of the Dharma and its ability to transform sentient beings. Initially, it referred to the karmic affinity
generated through the solicitation of alms by Buddhist monastics. Theravada countries retain this meaning even
today. Buddhist monastics there, solicit
food alms daily. The soliciting of food
alms allows the donor to generate merit through his donation. It also allows the monastic to teach the
Dharma to the donor, thereby potentially transforming the donor’s life. In later times, not all monastics went out
for alms; the word has taken the additional meaning of donations to the Sangha
and the teaching of the Dharma by the Sangha to the people. The Sanskrit term is piṇḍapātaḥ.
[68] 迦摩羅 or
‘kāmalā’ based on a medieval Sanskrit-Chinese dictionary is translated as a
type of incurable jaundice. (Jaundice in
modern western medicine is the yellowing of the skin and eyes characterized by
liver disease.) Other modern interpolations of the disease briefly described in
the Biography vary from lupus to leprosy.
However, even today in Indian Ayurvedic medicine, the word ‘kāmalā’
refers to jaundice, although, there are six different stages of ‘kāmalā,’ and
only one is incurable. Monier-Williams’
Sanskrit-English dictionary defines ‘kāmalā’ as a fatal type of jaundice
characterized by joint stiffness.
[69] The
“mysterious monk” in the “Precious Scroll of Mount Xiang,” a later elaboration
of the Biography, is Miao Shan transformed into the form of a monk.
[70] Ṛṣi have several
layers of meaning depending on whether one looks at it from the Indian/Hindu,
Chinese/Buddhist or Chinese/Daoist perspective.
From all three viewpoints, a ṛṣi was formerly a human practitioner who
achieved some degree of Dharmic attainment.
From the Indian/Hindu perspective, a ṛṣi can be either a sagely human
practitioner with a normal lifespan or someone who is almost immortal with
supernatural powers. From the
Chinese/Daoist perspective, a ṛṣi was a human hermit, who succeeded in his
Daoist practice, and achieved immortality. A Daoist ṛṣi is a god but on a lower
plane. From the Chinese/Buddhist
perspective, a ṛṣi is someone with a long lifespan due to his or her Dharmic
attainments. A ṛṣi from all three
viewpoints may have supernatural powers.
A hermit never has such powers.
[71] The
Chinese term is 他 and is gender-neutral. The translator has translated the word as her
because it refers to Miao Shan.
[72] The text
does not mention the meditational position.
The translator has taken the liberty to assume Miao Shan is sitting in the
full-lotus meditational position. The meditator bends one’s legs by bringing
the bottom of both feet upwards to rest on the thighs. This position is reputed to be the meditational
position selected by all Buddhas of the Three Ages (past, present and
future).
[73] The
Triratna or the Three Treasures of Buddhism are the Buddha, the Dharma
(Buddhist Teachings) and the Sangha (monastic community of monks and nuns as
well as Bodhisattvas).
[74] Taking
refuge in the Triratna or taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha mean
to depend on the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha to guide oneself through life. Taking refuge in the Triratna implies that
one has confidence in eventually become a Buddha just as the Buddha did in the
past.
Miao Shan’s prescription has two steps: 1. Take medicine
made from her arms and eyes 2. Take refuge in the Triratna.
Only by doing both is King Zhuang able to drive out incurable
jaundice.
[75] Here, Miao
Shan is taking on the role of a physician just like Buddha. One of Buddha’s many epithets is Vaidyarāja
or Medicine King found in both Theravada and Mahayana Sutras.
[76] The
various Jātaka and Avadāna narratives about the past lives of the Buddha have
similar praises. I will mention two of them:
The first example is from Himavat
Kumāra’s sacrifice of his life for half a gāthā of Dharma. Śakra accompanied by various devas and Brahma
praised Himavat Kumāra, saying:
Sadhu! Sadhu!
You are a true Bodhisattva, able to benefit others by teaching the
Dharma and transforming limitless sentient beings, those whose minds are in
total ignorance… You, in the future, will surely attain the unexcelled complete
enlightenment of a Buddha. I hope to see
you save and rescue sentient beings. (Dharmakṣema 416-423 CE, Scroll 12 p.
451)
The
second example is from King Śibi Feeds the Hawk by Cutting off his
Flesh:
The
various devas, dragon rājas, asuras, ghosts and people praised the King and
said:
To do such a thing [sacrifice his life] for the sake of a small bird is truly rare!
Immediately afterward, the world
shook in the six directions; the ocean waves crested and thrashed. Withered trees blossomed, heaven rained down
fragrant rains and precious flowers scattered everywhere. The devis then sang
songs of praises, “He, for sure, will attain Buddhahood!”
At that time, the devas and ṛṣis of
the four directions all came and praised him:
He
is a true Bodhisattva.
He
surely will become a Buddha soon.
The hawk (Śakra) said to the pigeon
(Viśvakarman):
Our
test succeeded at last.
He
does not care for his body or life.
He
is a true Bodhisattva.
Then they said this
gāthā:
He
was born amid the land of compassion,
To
all the Lords of the Bodhi tree (i.e., Buddha),
We
should make offerings,
Moreover,
we should not be sad or worried.
(Kumārajīva 402-405 CE, Scroll 4, p 88).
[77] The week
in China was formerly ten days long.
[78] In Chinese
Buddhism, greeting someone by putting one’s palms together in the manner of
prayer indicates respect for the recipient.
All sentient beings have Buddha-nature or the potential ability to
become a Buddha. Greeting each other in
this fashion acknowledges that we, too, have Buddha-nature.
[79] King
Zhuang’s intention of licking Miao Shan’s eyes are two folded. One is to show his love. The other is to cure her disease. (cf. Shun licks the eyes of his blind father
Gu Sou and cures his blindness)
[80] Drum of
Heaven refers to 天鼓 or the Drum of the Trāyastriṃśa
Heaven. It is a Drum used to remind the
Devas and Devis to stay away from excessive desire or craving. This Drum is a symbol of the teaching of the
Buddha Dharma. Its sound frightens those
who do not follow the Dharma and invigorates those who follow the Dharma. It can also transform evil into good.
[81] The translator
translated the term 大悲 or Mahākaruṇā as the All-Pervading
Compassion. It is different from
ordinary compassion and is similar to motherly love equally for all sentient
beings.
[82] 迴向 translates
as ‘transfer of merits’; in Sanskrit, it is pariṇāmanā. The Biography refers to the dedication or
transfer of the individual practitioner’s good merits to the Triratna or
Buddhism. Buddhism transforms all
sentient beings through the teaching of Dharma.
Therefore, this transference of merit to the Triratna in effect,
benefits all sentient beings.
[83] Buddhists
in China and Vietnam observe the 19th day of the 6th
lunar month as Guanyin’s Parinirvana Day or Enlightenment Day.
[84] The
Bodhisattva’s secret transformation bodies may be referring to Guanyin’s
previous incarnations before she attained enlightenment. (cf. The Buddha’s earlier incarnations as
described in the Jātakas and Avadānas)
[85] Opinions
differ on the meaning of the phrase 瞻禮. Some believe it is to prostrate with one’s
head touching the floor. In contrast, others
believe it is to prostrate with one’s
head touching the ground while having one’s palms facing upwards.
[86] It was
lost among the pile of sutras unknown for many years.
[87] The
translator has translated 上吉日 as the most fortuitous day; the
actual day is unknown to me. The most
fortuitous day of the month is calculated based on astrological
principles. It, therefore, varies
monthly and yearly.
[88] The
translator thinks there were three male donors and at least one female donor –
Ning Yin Yin.