What does it mean to transcend the three realms through the side door? It’s like an insect in a piece of bamboo. If the insect were to gnaw its way out through the length of the bamboo, it would have to go through all the sections; it would take a long time. If the insect were to gnaw a hole in the side of the bamboo instead, it would get out very easily. People who are mindful of the Buddha are like the insect who goes out the side of the bamboo; they escape the three realms on a horizontal plane, right at the level they are. “One carries one’s karma into that rebirth.” The karma one carries is former karma, not current karma, it is old karma, not new karma.
龍頭蛇尾 (Head of a Dragon, Tail of a Snake)
龍 頭 蛇 尾 룡 두 사 미 ryong du sa mi dragon head snake tail
dok-cham (dokusan) “獨參” “독참”
獨參 is pronounced “dok cham” in Sino-Korean. It is more widely known in the West using the Sino-Japanese pronunciation “dokusan”. The characters literally mean “alone” (獨) + “consult” (參).
“The One Mind Is Our Original Home” (三界如客舍 一心是本居)
A verse from Kukai’s “Secret Key to the Heart Sutra”
“Guard it well.” (宜善護持)
宜善護持 “Guard it well.”
宜 yí should
善 shàn good, appropriate
護 hù protect, safeguard, defend
持 chí hold, retain (as in dharani)
The Record of Linji at CBETA (with an example)
約山僧見處，勿嫌底法。
“As far as this old mountain monk is concerned, everything has basic goodness.”
A story about the origin of the Correcting Mistakes Mantra, 補闕眞言
Then Jijang Bosal told Linju that instead of leading Linju on to his next life, he was going to teach Linju a mantra and then send him back to his previous life so he could teach the mantra to Daoru and everyone else. Everyone should chant this mantra in order to correct the mistakes we make in our chanting. After being “dead” for seven days, Linju suddenly recovered and told everyone about his encounter with Jijang Bosal, and the mantra he had been taught.
The Universal Gateway Chapter of the Lotus Sutra in Sino-Korean
관세음보살보문품
觀世音菩薩普門品
Kwan Se Eum Bo Sal Universal Gateway Chapter
Sutras from the Ratnakuta
The excellent folks at 84000 have completed translations of 22 (out of 49) of the Sutras in the Ratnakuta. Here is the master page with a link to each of the completed translations, and a placeholder for the ones they are still working on: https://read.84000.co/section/O1JC114941JC14667.html And here is a link to their overview page on […]
“When consiousness leaves the body at death, what place does it go to?”
In his commentary on the Diamond Sutra (Chapter 18: “Reality is a Steadily Flowing Stream”), Thich Nhat Hanh recommends reading the Sutra called “The Manifestations of Consciousness”, which is part of the Ratnakuta Sutra (a big Sutra that is basically a collection of shorter Sutras). In that Sutra the Buddha is asked the following question: […]