by Donald Lopez
With each new year you should write out the names of the twelve months and paste the sheet on the wall of your room. For each month that you refrain from taking life, write the… words ‘I did not kill’ beneath the respective month. If you refrain from taking life for one month, it constitutes a lesser or inferior good. If you refrain from taking life for a whole year, it amounts to a middling level of good. If you avoid killing for an entire lifetime, it is the highest degree of good. If, for successive generations, [a family] refrains from taking life it is the most excellent of moral excellences. I pray that all will refrain from taking life, and that household after household will observe vegetarian fasts. The buddhas will be filled with joy, and the myriad gods and spirits will extend their protection to you. Armed conflict will for ever cease; punishments may never need be applied; the hells will be emptied; and people will for ever depart from the causes [that produce] the ocean of miseries.
Translated by Daniel Stevenson from Zhuhong, Jiesha wen, from a longer tract known as Jiesha fansheng wen, in Lianchi dashi (Zhuhong), Lianchi dashi quanji (Taipei: Dongchu chubanshe, 1992), pp. 3345–54.
46
FEEDING HUNGRY GHOSTS
As described in Chapter 1, ghosts suffer from hunger and thirst. They are constantly seeking food and drink, and when they find it they encounter obstacles. The Sanskrit term that is rendered here as ‘ghost’, preta, means ‘departed’, suggesting that these ghosts are the wandering spirits of departed ancestors whose families have failed to make the proper offerings for their sustenance in the next life. Buddhist monks and nuns, who (at least theoretically) have renounced the responsibilities of family life, have traditionally taken it as their task to feed the hungry ghosts.
In the eighth century a text appeared in China that would gain wide popularity. It was entitled Sūtra for the Spell that Brought Deliverance to the Flaming Mouth Hungry Ghost (Fo shuo quiba yankou egui tuoluoni jing). In the text, Ānanda was sitting in contemplation when he was approached by a hungry ghost of horrifying visage, named Flaming Mouth. The ghost informed Ānanda that he would die in three days, to be reborn as a hungry ghost. Ānanda asked whether there was anything he could do to avoid this horrible state. The ghost told him that the next day he must distribute one bushel of food and drink to hundreds of thousands of ghosts and to hundreds of thousands of brahmins. If he did so, Ānanda’s lifespan would increase and Flaming Mouth would be released from the realm of ghosts and be reborn as a god. It was impossible for Ānanda to prepare such a feast in such a short period of time. However, the Buddha explained another method, involving the recitation of long mantras or dhāraṇī. An elaborate ritual based on this story, sometimes taking five hours to perform, became popular in China. The feeding of hungry ghosts became a standard responsibility of Buddhist monasteries in China, and a daily (and much briefer) ritual would be performed as part of the worship service each evening, when ghosts were known to wander.
One of the most widely practised versions of that daily rite appears below. It is known as the Mengshan rite (named after a monastery in Sichuan province). Its authorship is traditionally attributed to the dhaima-master Ganlu (Budong) of the Xixia (1032–1227) and Song periods (c. 960–1279), although portions of the rite are clearly taken from older sources. Evidence indicates that the particular arrangement here may date back as far as the Yuan Dynasty (1260–1368). In the text below, the words to be recited are indented.
Tradition holds that [this rite] was compiled by the foreign dharma-master Ganlu [Amṛta] after he settled from his wanderings as a mendicant at Mengshan in Sichuan.
Fierce fires blaze vigorously, illumining the Iron City [of the hells].
Inside the Iron City, it scorches the solitary souls.
If those orphaned souls should wish to gain birth in the Pure Land,
They should listen to this reciting of the half-verse from the Avataṃsaka Sūtra:
If you wish to know all the buddhas of the three times, you should contemplate the dharmadhātu as, by nature, being entirely the creation of the mind.
Recite the mantra for breaking open the hells.
Recite the mantra for conjuring or summoning all [wandering] souls.
Recite the mantra for untying the knots of resentment.
Homage to the great vaipulya Avataṃsaka Sūtra.
Homage to the eternally abiding [Buddha, dharma, saṅgha] of the ten directions.
Homage to our original teacher, Buddha Śākyamuni.
Homage to the bodhisattva Guanshihyin, the greatly compassionate one.
Homage to the bodhisattva Dizang, who delivers beings from the tribulations of the netherworld.
Homage to the venerable Ānanda, who inspired creation of this teaching.
The officiant comes forth from his or her station and prostrates to the buddhas three times. Accordingly he or she visualizes that, by dint of their original vows, the three jewels, Śākyamuni, Guanyin, Dizang, and Ānanda all hear our intoning of their names and manifest in the air, in order to alleviate the sufferings of the hungry ghosts.
I take refuge in the Buddha; I take refuge in the dharma; I take refuge in the saṅgha.
I take refuge in the Buddha, the most revered among two-legged creatures.
I take refuge in the dharma, the teaching that transcends worldly desires.
I take refuge in the saṅgha, the most exalted of all communities.
Refuge in the Buddha has been taken; refuge in the dharma has been taken; refuge in the saṅgha has been taken.
All evils committed by [(1) children of the Buddha, (2) sentient beings, (3) solitary souls], that have been generated by body, mouth and mind, under the influence of beginningless craving, hatred and delusion – all of them the [(1) children of the Buddha, (2) sentient beings, (3) solitary souls] accordingly confess and repent.
Sentient beings without limit I vow to deliver.
Afflictions without end I vow to sever.
Approaches to dharma beyond count I vow to master.
Buddhahood without peer I vow to achieve.
Sentient beings that are identical with my own original nature I vow to deliver.
Afflictions identical with my original nature I vow to sever.
Approaches to dharma identical with my original nature I vow to master.
Buddhahood that is identical with my own original nature I vow to attain.
Recite the mantra that extinguishes determinate karma.
Recite the mantra that extinguishes karmic obstacles.
Recite the mantra that opens the throats [of hungry ghosts]. Form mudrā gestures; sketch Sanskrit syllables in the air.
Recite the mantra of the samaya precepts.
Take the water vessel in your left hand [holding it between thumb and second and third fingers]; dip the ring finger of the right hand. Stir the water; remove and flick the droplets abroad with the finger.
Recite the mantra for food transformation.
Take the vessel of food in the left hand; touch [the index] finger of the right hand to [its lip]. Visualize as follows: ‘I now recite this excellent dhāraṇī of sovereign blazing radiance that is endowed with inestimable merits, and thereby I empower this food. One single meal thereupon becomes countless meals. Yet those countless meals all coalesce in this single meal. They are neither one nor are they countless; and at the same time they are both one and countless. From this single [meal], [countless meals] are reproduced, over and again, until they fill all space and extend throughout the universe of the dharmadhātu. There they alleviate all hunger and destitution, causing beings everywhere to depart from suffering and to experience happiness.’
Recite the mantra of the ambrosial water.
Visualize as follows: ‘This water, empowered by the spell, is now perfectly purified. Extending throughout the universe, it causes the throats of all hungry ghosts to open automatically. Creatures throughout the dharmadhātu at one and the same instant all obtain this ambrosial food and drink.’
&nbs
p; Recite the mantra of the single-syllable waterwheel.
Recite the mantra of the milk sea.
Homage to the tathāgata Many Jewels.
Homage to the tathāgata Bejewelled Excellence.
Homage to the tathāgata Body of Marvellous Form.
Homage to the tathāgata Body of Vast Extent.
Homage to the tathāgata Deliverer from Fear.
Homage to the tathāgata King of Ambrosia.
Homage to the tathāgata Amitābha.
With these divine spells we empower this [(1) pure food of dharma; (2) the food of dharma distribution; (3) ambrosial waters], which we charitably distribute to multitudes of [(1) children of the Buddha; (2) sentient beings; (3) solitary or orphaned souls] as countless in number as the sands of the Ganges River. May they all receive their fill and foreswear craving and attachment, speedily be set free from the netherworld and be reborn in the pure land. [May they thereby] take refuge in the three jewels, arouse the resolve to achieve buddhahood, and ultimately achieve supreme perfect enlightenment. For all time to come, may the illimitable merits [of this rite of bestowing food on hungry ghosts] extend to [and enable] all [(1) children of the Buddha; (2) sentient beings; (3) solitary or orphaned souls] to share in the food of dharma.
At this juncture the officiant takes the pure food outdoors and places it on the pedestal for beings. It should be divided into three portions: one for species of the waters, so that they may protect human beings and beings of the air; a second for furry beings, so that they may protect the dharma; and a third for beings of the other regions. He or she should pray that all will be satiated and led, thereby, to realization of the unoriginated nature of all things. If there is no pedestal for beings, place the food on purified ground. A large stone will also suffice. But do not place it at the foot of either a pomegranate or peach tree. Spirits and demons will be afraid and will not be able to eat it. The text of [master] Yunqi [Zhuhong] does not contain instructions for dividing the food into three parts, which would seem to be more appropriate. But here we follow the established custom.
Listen all you [(1) children of the Buddha; (2) sentient beings; (3) solitary souls]. We have now distributed to you this offering of food, which has suffused universally throughout the ten directions, reaching all [(1) children of the Buddha; (2) sentient beings; (3) solitary souls] together. We pray that the merits [of this offering] will extend universally to all beings everywhere, that those who have charitably distributed the food and all you [(1) children of the Buddha; (2) sentient beings; (3) solitary souls] who have received it will all realize buddhahood together.
Recite the mantra of universal offering.
Recite the Heart Sūtra once; recite the spell of rebirth three times.
Recite the mantra for the universal dedication of merits.
May the day be auspicious. May the night be auspicious.
May the six periods of day and night be altogether auspicious.
May every moment be auspicious.
May all exalted teachers take pity on and receive us.
May all the three jewels take pity on and receive us.
May all dharma-protectors always watch over and keep us.
Translated by Daniel Stevenson from the popular Chinese Buddhist breviary, Chanmen risong (Daily Recitations for Chan Practitioners) (Taipei: Xinwenfeng chubanshe, 1988), pp. 34a–36b.
47
A SŪTRA FOR LONG LIFE
As we have seen in chapters 5 and 38, it is typical for a Mahāyāna sūtra to conclude with a description, often of considerable length, of the extraordinary benefits to be received by those who in some way revere the sūtra. In the body of the sūtra, the Buddha will have set forth the dharma, expounding various doctrines and practices, sometimes telling parables, sometimes describing distant universes, sometimes recounting events of the distant past, sometimes predicting the future. The sūtra will then conclude with a proclamation of the virtues of maintaining the sūtra in any number of ways, from teaching it to others to offering it a flower. Scholars have speculated that in many cases these concluding sections have been inserted into the text at some point after its original composition.
Yet we also encounter Mahāyāna sūtras whose entire contents are devoted to the benefits of their worship. The Sūtra on Unlimited Lifespan (Aparimitāyuh Sūtra), translated in its entirety here, is such a text. The text begins with the Buddha explaining to the assembly that there is a distant realm presided over by a buddha named Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejas, which might be rendered as ‘Unlimited Lifespan Brilliant Analytical Wisdom’ (and who may be referred to more briefly as Aparimitāyus, ‘Unlimited Lifespan’, later in the text). He then explains that anyone who pays homage to the sūtra that he is at that moment expounding – and he enumerates many ways of paying homage – will live for one hundred years. He goes on to provide a dhāraṇī (a kind of long mantra in 108 syllables) which one can also write down with similar results.
This is essentially the content of the sūtra, and it is important to note that the Buddha does not discuss the nature of reality or describe the stages of the bodhisattva path, or condemn the Hīnayāna. The text appears to have a much more straightforward and simple purpose: to bestow long life, and other worldly benefits, on those who hear it. Yet the sūtra concludes with verses on the six perfections (pāramitā), known also as the bodhisattva deeds: charity, discipline, patient acceptance, vigour, concentration and wisdom.
Homage to noble Avalokiteśvara!
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus have I heard on one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, in the grove of Anāthapiṇḍada, together with a large assembly of monks, twelve hundred and fifty monks, and a great many bodhisattvas and mahāsattvas.
At that time the Blessed One spoke to the crown prince Mañjuśrī: There is, Mañjuśrī, in the upper region a world-realm called ‘Immeasurable Collection of Good Qualities’, and there at present dwells the tathāgata, arhat, complete and perfect buddha, the one complete in knowledge and good conduct, sugata, knower of the worlds, unsurpassed, leader of beings who are to be trained, teacher of gods and humans, buddha, blessed one, named Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejas, there he remains, abides, and teaches the teaching to beings.
Listen, Crown Prince Mañjuśrī! These human beings of the Jambu continent will be short-lived, and will have lifespans of only a hundred years. Untimely deaths are foretold for many of them. But those beings, Mañjuśrī, who will write down or have others write down the discourse on the teaching called ‘Extolling the Good Qualities and Fame of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyus’, or who will hear, retain and recite even its mere name – up to: ‘who will just keep it as a book in the home, worship it with flowers, incense, lamps, scents, garlands, unguents, aromatic powders, cloth, umbrellas, banners, bells and flags – they, their lifespan exhausted, will once again come to have a full lifespan of one hundred years.
And again, Mañjuśrī, those beings who will hear, retain and recite the one hundred and eight names of the tathāgata, arhat, complete and perfect buddha Aparimitāyursuviniścitatejorāja will increase their life span as well.
Thus, Mañjuśrī, gentle sons or gentle daughters who, wishing for a long lifespan, will listen to the one hundred and eight names of that tathāgata Aparimitāyus, write them down or have others write them down will come to have the following meritorious benefits:
[The one hundred and eight syllable dhāraṇī:]
oṃ namo bhagavate aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorājāya tathāgatāyārhate samyaksaṃbuddhāya || tad yathā || oṃ puṇya puṇya mahāpuṇya aparimitapuṇya aparimitāyuḥ puṇyajīānasambhāropacite || oṃ sarvasaṃskārapariśuddhadharmate gagaṇ. asamudgate svabhāvaviśuddhe mahānayaparivāre svāhā ||
Whosoever, Mañjuśrī, will write down this litany of the one hundred and eight names of the tathāgata, have others write it down, just keep it as a book in the home, or recite it – they, thei
r lifespan exhausted, will once again come to have a full lifespan of one hundred years. After they have died they will be reborn in the buddha-field of the tathāgata Aparimitāyus, and will have an unlimited length of life [aparimitāyus] in the world-realm ‘Immeasurable Collection of Good Qualities’. [dhāraṇī]
On that occasion once again ninety-nine billions of buddhas spoke this Aparimitāyuḥ-sūtra with single mind and single voice, [dhāraṇī]
On that occasion once again eighty-four billions of buddhas spoke this Aparimitāyuḥ-sūtra with single mind and single voice, [dhāraṇī]
On that occasion once again seventy-seven billions of buddhas spoke this Aparimitāyuḥ-sūtra with single mind and single voice, [dhāraṇī]
On that occasion once again sixty-five billions of buddhas spoke this Aparimitāyuḥ-sūtra with single mind and single voice, [dhāraṇī]
On that occasion once again fifty-five billions of buddhas spoke this Aparimitāyuḥ-sūtra with single mind and single voice, [dhāraṇī]
On that occasion once again forty-five billions of buddhas spoke this Aparimitāyuḥ-sūtra with single mind and single voice, [dhāraṇī]
On that occasion once again thirty-six billions of buddhas spoke this Aparimitāyuḥ-sūtra with single mind and single voice, [dhāraṇī]
On that occasion once again twenty-five billions of buddhas spoke this Aparimitāyuḥ-sūtra with single mind and single voice, [dhāraṇī]