Shurangama Mantra with Verses and Commentary
by Venerable Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua
235. A KỲ NI BÀ DẠ
阿祇尼婆夜
AGNIBHAYA
Trùng tụng Thần danh tức hỏa nạn
Bạch y nam phương ứng bính đinh
Cứu hộ hữu tình ly nhiệt não
Phổ hoạch thanh lương đắc minh đăng.
重頌神名熄火難
白衣南方應丙丁
救護有情離熱惱
普獲清涼得明燈
Repetitive Verses,' or a
spirit's name, dispels the difficulty with fire.
The white-robed one is in
the south.
Sentient beings are
rescued so they leave heated afflictions.
And all gain clear
coolness and the brightness of their lamp.
Sutra:
“If a person who upholds the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva enters a great fire, the fire will not burn him, all because of this Bodhisattva’s awesome spiritual power.”
Commentary:
Guanshiyin Bodhisattva rescues living beings from the seven kinds of difficulties, the first of which is fire. Now another hypothetical case is presented, of a person who upholds the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva. “Uphold” means to receive and maintain, and not to forget. In every thought one recollects the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, reciting "Namo Guanshiyin Bodhisattva." If such a person enters a great fire, the fire will not burn him. However, this means that one recites the Bodhisattva's name during ordinary times. One cannot wait until there is a disaster and then recite like crazy to make up for lost time.
There is a saying,
In your free time you never light incense,
But when there's an emergency, you are on your knees before the Buddha.
If you do not cultivate during ordinary circumstances but wait until an emergency to do so, it is not going to work.
"Sometimes there are cases when someone does not ordinarily recite, but Guanshiyin Bodhisattva does save them. How does that happen?" You ask.
Everyone has his or her own set of causes and effects. In former lives, perhaps this person recited vigorously and performed many kinds of meritorious deeds. In this life, even though he does not recite, the power of his good roots from reciting in previous lives carries through and he is saved. This is an example of a distance cause. However, if you think you can wait and rely on your good roots, there is no guarantee. If you recite well in this life, I guarantee that in the future you will be helped in an emergency. If you do not have the penetration of past lives, how do you know whether you recited in the past? If you have the Heavenly Eye or Heavenly Ear, you might know; but in order to be sure it is still better to recite now.
Once there was a man who wanted to go to Mount Putuo in Nanhai to bow to Guanshiyin Bodhisattva. He became a vegetarian three years before going to Mount Putuo. But can you guess what happened? Just as he got on the boat, a neighbor came running up and said, "Our entire neighborhood is on fire." Then his relatives arrived and said, "Bad timing. Come back and save our home!"
"I have been preparing for this pilgrimage for three years, and now I am on the boat. If the house is supposed to burn, it will burn anyway, even if I get off the boat now. If Guanshiyin Bodhisattva protects me, then it would not burn and I do not need to get off the boat. I can go to the mountain. I would rather have my house burn down, than not go bow to Guanshiyin Bodhisattva."
He did not pay attention to anything after that. He went to Mount Putuo to bow to Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, and when he returned to his own village, every house in his neighborhood had burned down except for his. Everyone said, "Why didn't your house burn?"
He replied, "I put everything down. I just went to bow to Guanshiyin Bodhisattva. It was through the power of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva."
So if a person enters a great fire, the fire will not burn him, all because of this Bodhisattva's awesome spiritual power. That is why he would not be burned.
VIÊN-THÔNG VỀ HỎA-ĐẠI
Ông Ô-xô-sắt-ma, ở trước đức Như-lai, chấp tay đỉnh-lễ nơi hai chân Phật mà bạch Phật rằng: " Tôi thường nhớ trước kia, trong kiếp xa-xôi, tính có nhiều tham-dục; lúc ấy, có đức Phật ra đời hiệu là Không-vương, bảo người đa-dâm như đống lửa hồng và dạy tôi quán khắp những hơi nóng lạnh nơi trăm vóc tứ-chi; tôi nhờ quán như vậy, mà được giác-tính sáng-suốt lặng-đứng bên trong, hoá tâm đa-dâm thành lửa trí-tuệ. Từ ấy, các đức Phật đều gọi tên tôi là Hỏa-đầu. Tôi dùng sức hỏa-quang-tam-muội mà thành quả A-la-hán; trong tâm phát đại-nguyện, khi các đức Phật thành-đạo, thì làm lực-sĩ, thân ở bên Phật, uốn-dẹp bọn tà-ma quấy-phá. Phật hỏi về viên-thông, tôi dùng pháp quán các hơi-ấm nơi thân tâm đều lưu-thông không ngăn-ngại; các lậu đã tiêu, sinh ra ngọn lửa đại-trí quý-báu, lên bậc vô-thượng-giác, đó là thứ nhất."
Ông Ô-xô-sắt-ma
VIÊN-THÔNG VỀ HỎA-ĐẠI
Ucchushma : Perfect penetration through the fire element.
Ông Ô-xô-sắt-ma, ở trước đức Như-lai, chấp tay đỉnh-lễ nơi hai chân Phật mà bạch Phật rằng: " Tôi thường nhớ trước kia, trong kiếp xa-xôi, tính có nhiều tham-dục; lúc ấy, có đức Phật ra đời hiệu là Không-vương, bảo người đa-dâm như đống lửa hồng và dạy tôi quán khắp những hơi nóng lạnh nơi trăm vóc tứ-chi.
Sutra:
Ucchushma came before the Buddha, put his palms together, bowed at the Buddha's feet, and said to the Buddha, "I can still remember how many kalpas ago I was filled with excessive greed and desire. There was a Buddha in the world named King of Emptiness. He said that people with too much desire turn into a raging mass of fire. He taught me to contemplate the coolness and warmth throughout my entire body."
Commentary:
Ucchushma is a powerful Vajra lord. He is one of those whom this sutra refers to as Vajra Secret Traces, that is, dharma protectors. The history of these dharma protectors was as follows: limitless kalpas ago, there was a wheel-turning king whose first wife gave birth to a thousand sons. The wheel-turning king understood the Buddhadharma. He had his thousand sons draw lots; they would become Buddhas in the order of the numbers they drew. The thousand Buddhas of this kalpa, the Worthy kalpa, are the sons of that wheel-turning king.
Kanakamuni Buddha became the first Buddha, and Shakyamuni Buddha was the fourth Buddha of the Auspicious kalpa, so called because it is a time when worthies and sages appear in the world. Another of the wheel-turning king's wives had two sons. The elder son vowed that when each of his thousand brothers became a Buddha, he would go to that place and make offerings to them. The younger brother made a vow that when each of his brothers became a Buddha, he would go and protect him, he would be a Vajra-powerful lord.
Why does it say that he came before the Buddha, instead of saying that he arose from his seat? This is because Vajra-powerful lords are spirits, and spirits cannot sit in the presence of the Buddha. They stand. There is no seat available to them in the Buddha's assemblies. As for ghosts, they are not only forbidden to sit down; they aren't even given a place to stand. They must kneel. The dharma protectors must kneel to hear the dharma. In this very assembly now there are many ghosts kneeling to listen to the sutra. If you can't see them yourself, you don't have to take my word for it. You can ask my disciple who has his five eyes open. He will tell you.
Ucchushma came before the Buddha, put his palms together, bowed at the Buddha's feet, and said to the Buddha, "I can still remember how many kalpas ago I was filled with excessive greed and desire." This person had a tremendous amount of desire. He was obsessed with women. He probably inherited it from his father, who, as a wheel-turning king, also had a lot of desire and lust.
"At that time, there was a Buddha in the world named King of Emptiness. He spoke dharma for me; He said that people with too much desire turn into a raging mass of fire. In the future they will fall into the hells and be seared by a furious fire. The Thus Come One, King of Emptiness taught me to contemplate the coolness and warmth throughout my entire body." Why do people have excessive desire? It comes from a "fire of desire" in the body. So the Buddha, King of Emptiness, had him return the light and look within at the fire in his own body. He observed the fire of his desire.
Tôi nhờ quán như vậy, mà được giác-tính sáng-suốt lặng-đứng bên trong, hoá tâm đa-dâm thành lửa trí-tuệ. Từ ấy, các đức Phật đều gọi tên tôi là Hỏa-đầu.
Sutra:
A spiritual light coalesced inside and transformed my thoughts of excessive lust into the fire of wisdom. After that, when any of the Buddhas summoned me, they used the name "Fire-head."
Commentary:
"I contemplated the fire in my body, and after a long time I came to abhor it and to be alarmed about it. Once I became alarmed, I no longer liked the thoughts of desire, and I gradually did away with them. Once they were gone, a spiritual light coalesced inside." He produced his own light, and transformed my thoughts of excessive lust into the fire of wisdom. A change took place in his obsessive thoughts of desire: they turned into fiery wisdom. After that, when any of the Buddhas summoned me, they used the name "Fire-head." They called him "Fire-head Vajra" ( huo tou jin gang).
Tôi dùng sức hỏa-quang-tam-muội mà thành quả A-la-hán; trong tâm phát đại-nguyện, khi các đức Phật thành-đạo, thì làm lực-sĩ, thân ở bên Phật, uốn-dẹp bọn tà-ma quấy-phá.
Sutra:
From the strength of the fire-light samadhi, I accomplished arhatship. I made a great vow that when each of the Buddhas accomplishes the Way, I will be a powerful knight and in person subdue the demons' hatred.
Commentary:
From the strength of the fire-light samadhi, I accomplished arhatship. I then made a great vow that when each of the Buddhas accomplishes the Way, I will be a powerful knight and in person subdue the demons' hatred. When each of the thousand Buddhas of the Worthy aeon accomplishes the Way, I will be a powerful and great Vajra lord, a big dharma protector, and tame all the demons and enemies.
Phật hỏi về viên-thông, tôi dùng pháp quán các hơi-ấm nơi thân tâm đều lưu-thông không ngăn-ngại; các lậu đã tiêu, sinh ra ngọn lửa đại-trí quý-báu, lên bậc vô-thượng-giác, đó là thứ nhất."
Sutra:
The Buddha asks about perfect penetration. I used attentive contemplation of the effects of heat in my body and mind, until it became unobstructed and penetrating and all my outflows were consumed. I produced a blazing brilliance and ascended to enlightenment. This is the foremost method.
Commentary:
The Buddha asks each of his disciples about perfect penetration. I used attentive contemplation of the effects of heat in my body and mind, until it became unobstructed and penetrating and all my outflows were consumed. The effects of heat were turned into the fire of wisdom, and my inherent nature within was unhindered and flowed freely. It burned away all my outflows, and I produced a blazing brilliance and ascended to enlightenment. This is the foremost method, the best dharma door.
NAM MÔ NGÀI BẠCH-Y BỒ-TÁT MA-HA-TÁT
Như-Ý-Châu Thủ Nhãn Ấn Pháp
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