Thursday
Vespers
Blessed One, come to my assistance
O’ Lord, make haste to help me
Glory be to the Blessed Buddha and to the Divine Dharma and to the Hallowed Sangha, both now and forever and ever. Swaha.
Come, Bless the Lord, all you supplicants of Holy Gnosis. You who reside in the house of the Noble One, in the sanctum sanctorum of the Unborn Mind.
Blessed One, be merciful to me, a transgressor of your ways. Oh Lord, create in me a mind and heart that is worthy of your Divine Precepts. I have fallen out of your favor, turn-me about O’ Lord, so that I may again rest secure in the hidden light of thy holy Countenance.
Loving mother of all Buddhas,
imageless gate of the Dharmakaya,
assist those who seek safe-haven in you.
To the bewilderment of all the composed you conceived
in the darkened womb of Bodhi a fetus so singular in nature,
Yet remained a virgin after as before.
You have received Mañjuśhrī’s Wisdom Stamp,
Arya Tara, may we be indivisible from you.
Your name is Our Lady of the Void. You alone are Holy Mother of all Buddhas
and are raised on high over all spheres. O’ Spouse of the Unborn, we honor you as the Mediatrix of the Divine Mercy of the Tathāgatas. At all times we
reverently proclaim you Blessed for you conceived the Holy Garbha Child of
supreme auspiciousness.
From Vimalakirti series: Out on a Limb, Part 1:
Thereupon, the Buddha said to the Licchavi Vimalakirti, “Noble son, when you would see the Tathagata, how do you view him?” Thus addressed, the Licchavi Vimalakirti said to the Buddha, “Lord, when I would see the Tathagata, I view him by not seeing any Tathagata. Why? I see him as not born from the past, not passing on to the future, and not abiding in the present time. Why? He is the essence which is the reality of matter, but he is not matter. He is the essence which is the reality of sensation, but he is not sensation. He is the essence which is the reality of intellect, but he is not intellect. He is the essence which is the reality of motivation, yet he is not motivation. He is the essence which is the reality of consciousness, yet he is not consciousness. Like the element of space, he does not abide in any of the four elements. Transcending the scope of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, he is not produced in the six sense-media. He is not involved in the three worlds, is free of the three defilements, is associated with the triple liberation, is endowed with the three knowledges, and has truly attained the unattainable.
“The Tathagata has reached the extreme of detachment in regard to all things, yet he is not a reality-limit. He abides in ultimate reality, yet there is no relationship between it and him. He is not produced from causes, nor does he depend on conditions. He is not without any characteristic, nor has he any characteristic. He has no single nature nor any diversity of natures. He is not a conception, not a mental construction, nor is he a nonconception. He is neither the other shore, nor this shore, nor that between. He is neither here, nor there, nor anywhere else. He is neither this nor that. He cannot be discovered by consciousness, nor is he inherent in consciousness. He is neither darkness nor light. He is neither name nor sign. He is neither weak nor strong. He lives in no country or direction. He is neither good nor evil. He is neither compounded nor uncompounded. He cannot be explained as having any meaning whatsoever. “The Tathagata is neither generosity nor avarice, neither morality nor immorality, neither tolerance nor malice, neither effort nor sloth, neither concentration nor distraction, neither wisdom nor foolishness. He is inexpressible. He is neither truth nor falsehood; neither escape from the world nor failure to escape from the world; neither cause of involvement in the world nor not a cause of involvement in the world; he is the cessation of all theory and all practice. He is neither a field of merit nor not a field of merit; he is neither worthy of offerings nor unworthy of offerings. He is not an object, and cannot be contacted. He is not a whole, nor a conglomeration. He surpasses all calculations. He is utterly unequaled, yet equal to the ultimate reality of things. He is matchless, especially in effort. He surpasses all measure. He does not go, does not stay, does not pass beyond. He is neither seen, heard, distinguished, nor known. He is without any complexity, having attained the equanimity of omniscient gnosis. Equal toward all things, he does not discriminate between them. He is without reproach, without excess, without corruption, without conception, and without intellectualization. He is without activity, without birth, without occurrence, without origin, without production, and without nonproduction. He is without fear and without subconsciousness; without sorrow, without joy, and without strain. No verbal teaching can express him. “Such is the body of the Tathagata and thus should he be seen. Who sees thus, truly sees. Who sees otherwise, sees falsely.”
[Commentary from the series]
The noble Tathagata-kaya (body of a Tathagata) rips-apart all dichotomous associations. The Tathagata-kaya is beyond the three times (past, present, future); it is neither marked nor unmarked; it cannot be comprehended by the skandhas or by any elements of consciousness itself. Thus, a Tathagata is nothing conceivable nor perceivable. The foot of a Tathagata is neither on this shore or the other shore, neither within nor without, nor anywhere in-between. The Tathagata is also non-relational with any moral or unmoral attributes. The truth behind the Tathagata-kaya is certainly not truth in the conventional sense of the word. Thus come, thus gone essentially means that the Tathagata has not gone, will not go and does not go; he has not come, will not come and does not come. Anyone reading this with “conventional eyes” will say, “Well, then, what the hell is a Tathagata?” Such is the body of a Tathagata that it is not perceivable or conceivable through conventional lens. It is seen through imageless eyes and is therefore beyond thingness and no-thingness . One who sees the Tathagata through imageless eyes sees correctly (samyak pasyati); anyone vainly trying to see the Tathagata through conventional eyes does so in vain (mithya pasati). This brings to mind a comment that was made saying that the Sanskrit language is just a lot of hocus-pocus from some dead Indians from long ago. In reality, terms like Tathagata forever shine on in “deathless wonder”. For the vain, coarse and vulgar-minded these terms will appear as meaningless as a janitor trying to make head or tails out of a Nuclear Physicist’s manual. And that’s the point of the sutras in general—they are not meant for the shallow appetite of popular consumption. Yet, anyone with a pure mind and effort, like Hui-neng (the sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism)—who heard through dharma–ears (dhammasota) the words of the Diamond Sutra—“Let your minds function freely, without abiding anywhere or in anything”—can and will become Bodhi-minded. This IS the language of the Bodhi-Spirit and is not meant for the spirit of this world.
Adittapariyana Sutta (From The Fire Sermon):
Thus have I heard:
The Blessed One was once living at Gayaslsa in Gaya with a thousand Bhikkhus.
There he addressed the Bhikkhus: Bhikkhus, all is burning.
And what is all that is burning? Bhikkhus, the eye is burning, visible forms are burning, visual consciousness is burning, visual impression is burning, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither painful, nor pleasant, arises on account of the visual impression, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of craving, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion; I say it is burning with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with grief’s, and with despairs.
The ear is burning, sounds are burning, auditory consciousness is burning, auditory impression is burning, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither painful nor pleasant, arises on account of the auditory impression, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of craving…
The nose is burning, odors are burning, olfactory consciousness is burning, olfactory impression is burning, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful, or neither painful nor pleasant, arises on account of the olfactory impression, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of craving…
The tongue is burning, favors are burning, gustative consciousness is burning, gustative impression is burning, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither painful nor pleasant, arises on account of the gustative impression, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of craving…
The body is burning, tangible things are burning, tactile consciousness is burning, tactile impression is burning, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither painful nor pleasant, arises on account of the tactile sensation, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of craving…
The mind is burning, mental objects (ideas, etc.) are burning, mental consciousness is burning, mental impression is burning, also whatever sensation, pleasant o painful or neither painful nor pleasant, arises on account of the mental impression is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of craving, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion; I say it is burning with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with grief’s, and with despairs.
Bhikkhus, a learned and noble disciple, who sees things thus, becomes dispassionate with regard to the eye, becomes dispassionate with regard to visible forms, becomes dispassionate with regard to the visual consciousness, becomes dispassionate with regard to the visual impression, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither painful nor pleasant, arises on account of the visual impression, with regard to that too he becomes dispassionate.
He becomes dispassionate with regard to the ear, with regard to sounds…
He becomes dispassionate with regard to the nose… with regard to odors…
He becomes dispassionate with regard to the tongue…with regard to favors….
He becomes dispassionate with regard to the body… with regard to tangible things…
He becomes dispassionate with regard to the mind… with regard to mental consciousness, becomes dispassionate with regard to mental impression, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither painful nor pleasant, arises on account of mental impression, with regard to that too he becomes dispassionate.
Being dispassionate, he becomes detached; through detachment he is liberated. When liberated there is knowledge that he is liberated. And he knows: Birth is exhausted, the holy life has been lived, what has to be done is done, there is no more left to be done on this account.
This the Blessed One said. The Bhikkhus were glad, and they rejoiced at his words. While this exposition was being delivered, the minds of those thousand Bhikkhus were liberated from impurities, without attachment.
O’ Immaculate Virgin Mother-Void, we fervently acclaim your triumphal victory over all evil; your blessed foot tramples upon the vile serpent, Mara, and all his ignominious dominions. We implore you to stamp-out all that is contrary to the Buddhadharma. May the Unborn Buddha-Lord who highly exalted you enflame our eternal tribute.
From the blog The Living Flame of the Unborn (by the Black Dragon, John of the Cross):
To reach satisfaction in all
desire its possession in nothing.
To come to possession in all
desire the possession of nothing.
To arrive at being all
desire to be nothing.
To come to the knowledge of all
desire the knowledge of nothing.
To come to the pleasure you have not
you must go by the way in which you enjoy not.
To come to the knowledge you have not
you must go by the way in which you know not.
To come to the possession you have not
you must go by the way in which you possess not.
To come by the what you are not
you must go by a way in which you are not.
When you turn toward something
you cease to cast yourself upon the all.
For to go from all to the all
you must deny yourself of all in all.
And when you come to the possession of the all
you must possess it without *wanting* anything.
Because if you desire to have something in all
your treasure in the Unborn is not purely your all.
A Buddhist Parable, from the Jakata Stories (The Birth of a Banyan Tree):
Once upon a time, there was a big banyan tree in the forest beneath the mighty Himalayas. Living near this banyan tree were three very good friends. They were a quail, a monkey and an elephant. Each of them was quite smart.
Occasionally the three friends got into a disagreement. When this happened, they did not consider the opinion of any one of them to be more valuable. No matter how much experience each one had, his opinion was treated the same as the others. So it took them a long time to reach an agreement. Every time this happened, they had to start from the beginning to reach a solution.
After a while they realized that it would save time, and help their friendship, if they could shorten their disagreements. They decided that it would certainly help if they considered the most valuable opinion first. Then, if they could agree on that one, they would not have to waste time, and possibly even become less friendly, by arguing about the other two.
Fortunately, they all thought the most valuable opinion was the one based on the most experience. Therefore, they could live together even more peacefully if they gave higher respect to the oldest among them. Only if his opinion were clearly wrong, would they need to consider others.
Unfortunately, the elephant and the monkey and the quail had no idea which one was the oldest. Since this was a time before old age was respected, they had no reason to remember their birthdays or their ages.
Then one day, while they were relaxing in the shade of the big banyan tree, the quail and the monkey asked the elephant, “As far back as you can remember, what was the size of this banyan tree?”
The elephant replied, “I remember this tree for a very long time. When I was just a little baby, I used to scratch my belly by rubbing it over the tender shoots on top of this banyan tree.”
Then the monkey said, “When I was a curious baby monkey, I used to sit and examine the little seedling banyan tree. Sometimes I used to bend over and nibble its top tender leaves.”
The monkey and the elephant asked the quail, “As far back as you can remember, what was the size of this banyan tree?”
The quail said, “When I was young, I was looking for food in a nearby forest. In that forest, there was a big old banyan tree, which was full of ripe berries. I ate some of those berries, and the next day I was standing right here. This was where I let my droppings fall, and the seeds they contained grew up to be this very tree!”
The monkey and the elephant said, “Aha! Sir quail, you must be the oldest. You deserve our respect and honor. From now on we will pay close attention to your words. Based on your wisdom and experience, advise us when we make mistakes. When there are disagreements, we will give the highest place to your opinion. We ask only that you be honest and just.”
The quail replied, “I thank you for your respect, and I promise to always do my best to deserve it.” It just so happened that this wise little quail was the Bodhisatta the Enlightenment Being.
The moral is: Respect for the wisdom of elders leads to harmony.
From Blog-post, Jesus and the Dharmakaya:
Some modern sources wrongly make the assertion that the Dharmakaya (the absolute, imageless Buddha Body of Perfect Suchness within the Buddhaic Trikaya) is comparable to the Christian notion of the unseen Creator God, the one who has created all things, both visible and invisible, within the sphere of phenomenal reality. The Dharmakaya is not linked with any Eternalist-Creationist notion of some Divine Being that has formulated the created order; on the contrary, it is creation-less and existential-less and whose imageless (this includes all known phenomenal attributes of perception) and undivided kingdom of one’s True Self Nature (ref.,Tozen)—the Essential Truth Body, represents what cannot be expressed within carnal knowledge.
Jesus the Christ, the world-transcending Bodhisattva of Unborn Buddahic Light, highlights, (in his bodily manifestation as Jesus) as did Sakyamuni Buddha before him, the Nirmanakaya or the physical formulation of the Trikaya. It was his superessential Christos (anointed) element, revealed through his mystical teachings (the Sambhogkaya, or the enjoyment-body realm wherein the essential truth of the dhamma is awakened for those with eyes the hear and ears that see) that empowered many to enter into union with the Dharmakaya Element of Truth, who, Jesus referred to as Abba. “The Father and I are One…Be One as I Am in the Father and the Father is in me and we are IN you.” Jesus came to preach this essential teaching and truth of the Father’s Kingdom (The Dharmakaya). Jesus always stated that his Father’s kingdom was not of this world (the created, manifested realm) but that IT was a Reality hidden deep within—“the Kingdom of my Father is within You”. This is not to be confused with pantheistic notions that the Unborn Spirit is equivalent to all phenomena…but rather, as Tozen’s Dharmakaya Sutra states, “the body consciousness IS IN my spirit, my spirit IS NOT IN this body consciousness.”
This, undivided, Dharmakayic Kingdom of the everlasting Self is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus spent his last drop of blood bringing this Self-Realization to light, and that was “knowing my spirit, my true self, as thus is to know my Buddhanature and knowing my Buddhanature will release me from self-ignorance and future pain”. (Dharmakaya Sutra, v 3.9) When Jesus breathed his last dying words on the Cross of Phenomenal pain, “Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit”(in the Lucan gospel account, 23:46)—he fully revealed this Divine Self-Realization, and conquered Mara for all time. His final “fiat” in saying yes to the Divine Unborn Will of the Dharmakayic Father-Self, thus empowered many to cross over the sea of samsara into radiant and Unborn Light—the Nirvanic Entrance into the Dharmakaya Itself.
Unborn Magnificat
My soul magnifies the Unborn.
And my spirit rejoices in the Buddhadharma,
For the Blessed One has anointed me;
Behold! All generations shall call me blessed,
For the Mighty Lord has bestowed His Immaculate Bodhi-Seed within me;
And hallowed is His Dharma-realm.
His mercy and compassion are conferred upon all who revere Him.
He has scattered the darkness of ignorance,
And has cast-down Mara from his throne.
He has filled the restless with peaceful repose,
And has turned the haughty-minded away in their delusions.
His Spirit enlightens the resolute in their Recollective Resolve,
Being thus mindful of His Divine-Mercy,
The promise He made to our fathers of old,
To Bodhidharma and his disciples forever.
Glory be to the Blessed Buddha and to the Divine Dharma and to the Hallowed Sangha, both now and forever and ever. Swaha.
May all the Buddhas and Dharma-Guardians bless us, protect us from all harm, and awaken us to the Light of Truth in the Unborn. Swaha
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