Shurangama Mantra with Verses and Commentary

by Venerable Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua

7. NAM-MÔ TÁT BÀ 

南無薩婆

Cung kính nhất thiết Ma Ha Tát

Thanh tịnh phước điền bồ đề nha

Bồi dưỡng quán cái thường tinh tấn

Công viên quả mãn phó Long Hoa.

恭敬一切摩訶薩

清淨福田菩提芽

培養灌溉常精進

功圓果滿赴龍華

NA MWO SA PE

 

Paying reverence to all Mahasattvas,

In the pure field of blessings grow Bodhi sprouts.

Nurture and water them, be constantly vigorous.

With merit perfected and fruition full, you can join the Dragon Flower.

 

COMMENTARY:

 

SA PE translates as "all," so the first line of the verse says, Paying reverence to all Mahasattvas. One returns one's life to all the Great Bodhisattvas, the sages and saints of the Sangha, like Kuan Yin Bodhisattva, Great Strength Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Universal Worthy Bodhisattva, as well as all the Arhats. The sages and saints of the Sangha comprise "fields of blessings."

 

In the pure field of blessings grow Bodhi sprouts. If you are reverent to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, then you plant the reward of blessings and the sprouts of Bodhi. Nurture and water them, be constantly vigorous. You have to nourish and tend your Bodhi sprouts by constantly being vigorous in your cultivation. With merit perfected and fruition full, you can join the Dragon Flower. When your merit and virtue are perfected, you can attend the Dragon Flower Assembly, the Dharma Assembly of Maitreya Bodhisattva when he becomes a Buddha in the future. So, if you cultivate now, in the future you can join the Dragon Flower Assembly.