Shurangama Mantra with Verses and Commentary

by Venerable Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua

98. DƯƠNG KỲ RA

揚岐囉

 

 

Xuy đại pháp loa Kích Pháp Cổ

Tồi phục oán ma ly bệnh khổ

Phổ sử hữu tình đăng giác ngạn

Vi Đà thường cử Kim Cang Xử.

 

吹大法螺擊法鼓

摧伏怨魔離病苦

普使有情登覺岸

韋陀常舉金剛杵

YANG CHI LA

 DƯƠNG KỲ RA

Blow the great Dharma conch and beat the Dharma drum!

Smash and subdue hateful demons; leave the pain of sickness

behind.

Cause all living creatures to ascend the other shore.

Wei T'ou Vi Đà always wields his Vajra pestle.

 

 

COMMENTARY:

 

 DƯƠNG KỲ RA is a great conch—the same as the Jeweled conch Hand in the Forty-two Hands andEyes. With the Jeweled Conch Hand, you blow the conch and when the heavenly demons and those of outside ways hear it, they all have to follow the rules and obey the Dharma orders. So it says blow the great Dharma conch and beat the Dharma drum!

 

Use the jeweled conch and beat the Dharma drum. To beat the Dharma drum means to proclaim and propagate the Buddhadharma, to lecture on Sutras and speak Dharma. All this is beating the Dharma drum. It means to raise the great Dharma banner. When the Dharma conch sounds, all the hateful demons are subdued. Smash and subdue hateful demons; leave the pain of sickness behind.

 

What are hateful demons? They are demons with a grudge. In your cultivation, you may cultivate mainly dharmas for subduing demons. You can subdue all of them. They don't have as much Dharma power as you, so they have to obey your Dharma commands. But in their hearts there remains always a toxic, hateful energy, a grudge. This hateful energy may cause you to run into calamities or get various kinds of strange and weird illnesses. These occur because hateful demons create them. When you blow the Dharma conch, the hateful demons naturally lose their hatred. It isn't that you force them to, either. They just think it over and decide to change from evil and go towards the good. They turn around and say," All this hatred between us is not very meaningful, I am going to drop all this hatred and let it go." That's what's meant by leaving the pain of sickness behind.

 

Cause all living creatures to ascend the other shore. All living creatures everywhere are caused to leave suffering and gain bliss. The sea of suffering has no boundary, but a turn of the head is the other shore. They turn their heads and go towards the Way of Enlightenment.

 

Vi Đà always wields his Vajra pestle. Vi Đà Bodhisattva always protects you and holds his Vajra Pestle to take care of you.

 27. The Jeweled Conch Hand and Eye