Author: envba

Commentary:

Now Buddha had completed the instructions, we have arrived at the concluding section on dissemination. This section opened with bodhisattva Most Excellent of Worthies praising this sūtra for its revelation to all sentient beings on the inconceivable practice to enlightenment.…

Commentary:

On conducting meditation retreats, Buddha’s answer was very concrete. He said,

“Good Sons, among all sentient beings, whether it is when the Buddha is alive, or after he has passed away, or even during the period of the degeneration of the dharma, there are a number who have the aptitude for Mahayana and who have faith in the Buddha’s mysterious mind of great Perfect Enlightenment, and who want to practice it.…

Commentary:

The eleventh inquiring bodhisattva is Perfect Enlightenment, the tenth in terms of the practice.

Perfect Enlightenment was last inquiring bodhisattva here, he thus inquired on how one leads their lives to cultivate the pure realm of perfect enlightenment, he asked on conducting meditation retreats, and the guidelines of the retreats.…

This post is a continuation of the previous post, where Bodhisattva Universal Enlightenment asks, “What kind of person should we have the sentient beings seek? On what kind of teachings should they rely? What kind of practice should they do?…

Commentary:

The tenth inquiring bodhisattva is Universal Enlightenment, in terms of the practice, the ninth.

To answer Purifier of All Karmic Hinderances, Buddha pointed out the kind of meditation sicknesses a practitioner may have. Objectifying realizations, understanding, insight, enlightenment, these are all meditation sicknesses, which led to the request of Universal Enlightenment, “Greatly Compassionate World-Honoured One.…

Commentary:

After explaining the four traces, Buddha proceeded to explain that the four traces as the cause for sentient beings for not consummating the fruits of sagehood. Practicing the correct dharma and yet incapable of reaching fruition is the hallmark of the latter days of authentic dharma (“degenerate age” in the text).…

Commentary:

To answer Purifier’s question, Buddha answered in four parts.

The first part illustrates how sentient beings are deluded by four appearances. They are the appearances of self, person, beings, and beings of longevity (“lifespan” in the text).

The second part illustrates how the four appearances gives rise to further confusions.…

Commentary:

The ninth inquiring bodhisattva is Purifier of All Karmic Hindrances, but in terms on the practice itself, he is the eighth bodhisattva. The questions of the previous seven bodhisattvas all involve the way to perfect enlightenment, to which Buddha had answered all of them, ending with his illustration of twenty-five expedient practices.…

Commentary:

Buddha answering Voice of Discerning by teaching 25 expedient practices, now we have come to the last practice of “the three kinds of accordance with the purity of the self-nature,” or the simultaneous practice of śamatha, samāpatti, and dhyāna.

…

Commentary:

Buddha answers Voice of Discernment by teaching the twenty-five expedient means. We have now introduced seventeen of them, and will proceed to the third set of alternating practices, the 18^th to the 24^th with dhyāna as the main practice.…