Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue

The Samantabhadra
Samantabhadra
Samantabhadra , is a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with Buddhist practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and fellow bodhisattva Manjusri he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism...

Meditation Sūtra ' onMouseout='HidePop("98409")' href="/topics/Japanese_language">Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

: 普賢經; Rōmaji

Romanization of Japanese

The romanization of Japanese is the application of the Latin alphabet to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is known as , less strictly romaji, literally "Roman letters", sometimes incorrectly transliterated as romanji or rōmanji. There are several different romanization systems...

Fugen-kyō), also known as the Sūtra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue, is a Mahayana

Mahayana

Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

Buddhist sutra

Sutra

Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...

teaching meditation and repentance practices.

The extant Chinese text of the meditation sutra was translated by Dharmamitra between 424 and 442 CE (T09n277). The Samantabhadra Meditation Sūtra is often included in the so-called "Threefold Lotus Sutra

Threefold Lotus Sutra

The Threefold Lotus Sutra is the composition of three complimentary sutras that together form the "three-part Dharma flower sutra":...

," along with the Lotus Sutra
Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...

and the Innumerable Meanings Sutra
Innumerable Meanings Sutra
The Innumerable Meanings Sutra also known as the Infinite Meanings Sutra is a Mahayana buddhist text that was translated from Sanskrit into Chinese by Dharmajātayaśas, an Indian monk of the 4th to 5th century...

. It is not known, however, when or by whom the sutra was first recited, but it is considered by many Mahayana

Mahayana

Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

sects to be a continuation (an epilogue) of the Buddha

Buddha

In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...

's teachings found within the Lotus Sutra. This sutra is believed to have followed two earlier translations, including one by Kumarajiva

Kumarajiva

Kumārajīva; was a Kuchean Buddhist monk, scholar, and translator. He first studied teachings of the Sarvastivada schools, later studied under Buddhasvāmin, and finally became a Mahāyāna adherent, studying the Madhyamaka doctrine of Nagarjuna. Kumārajīva settled in Chang'an, which was the imperial...

, which are now lost; no original Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

translation has been found.

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva

According to the sutra

Sutra

itself, Samantabhadra

Samantabhadra

Samantabhadra , is a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with Buddhist practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and fellow bodhisattva Manjusri he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism...

Bodhisattva ("Universal Virtue") was born in the east Pure Wonder Land and whose form was already mentioned clearly by the Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

in the Avatamsaka Sutra
Avatamsaka Sutra
The is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras of East Asian Buddhism. The title is rendered in English as Flower Garland Sutra, Flower Adornment Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture....

. In the Threefold Lotus Sutra

Threefold Lotus Sutra

The Threefold Lotus Sutra is the composition of three complimentary sutras that together form the "three-part Dharma flower sutra":...

, the chapter preceding the Samantabhadra Meditation Sūtra, chapter 28 of the Lotus Sutra
Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...

, describes Samantabhadra as a perfect example of an adherent to the four practices:

He practices the teachings of the Lotus Sutra.
He protects the Dharma teachings from every kind of persecution.
He witnesses the merits obtained by those who practice the teachings and the punishments of those who slander the Dharma or persecute the practitioners.
He proves that those who violate the Dharma can be delivered from their transgressions if they are sincerely penitent.

In the Meditation Sutra, the Buddha describes Universal Virtue's body as unlimited in size, and the range of his voice and the forms of his image are also described as unlimited. He possesses divine powers

Iddhi

Iddhi is a Buddhist term which refers to supernormal powers. These powers are physical, as opposed to mental...

that enable him to come into the world when he wishes and shrink down to a smaller size. Through his wisdom-power, he appears transformed as if mounted on a white elephant to the people

Human beings in Buddhism

Humans in Buddhism are the subjects of an extensive commentarial literature that examines the nature and qualities of a human life from the point of view of humans' ability to achieve enlightenment...

of Jambudvīpa

Jambudvipa

Jambudvīpa is the dvipa of the terrestrial world, as envisioned in the cosmologies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, which is the realm where ordinary human beings live...

defiled by the three heavy hinderances

Five hindrances

In Buddhism, the five hindrances are negative mental states that impede success with meditation and lead away from enlightenment...

: Arrogance, envy, and covetousness. The Buddha Shakyamuni describes in detail the form of the elephant on which Universal Virtue is mounted:

"The elephant has six tusks and, with its seven legs, supports its body on the ground. Under its seven legs seven lotus flowers grow. The elephant is white as snow, the most brilliant of all shades of white, so pure that even crystal and the Himalaya Mountains cannot be compared with it. The body of the elephant is four hundred and fifty yojanas in length and four hundred yojanas in height. At the end of the six tusks there are six bathing pools. In each bathing pool grow fourteen lotus flowers exactly the size of the pools. The flowers are in full bloom as the king of celestial trees. On each of these flowers is a precious daughter whose countenance is red as crimson and whose radiance surpasses that of nymphs. In the hand of that daughter there appear, transformed of themselves, five harps, and each of them has five hundred musical instruments as accompaniment. There are five hundred birds including ducks, wild geese, and mandarin ducks, all having the color of precious things, arising among flowers and leaves. On the trunk of the elephant there is a flower, and its stalk is the color of a red pearl. That golden flower is still a bud and has not yet blossomed. Having finished beholding this matter, if one again further repents one's sins, meditates on the Great-vehicle attentively with entire devotion, and ponders it in his mind incessantly, he will be able to see the flower instantly blossom and light up with a golden color. The cup of the lotus flower is a cup of kimshuka gems with wonderful Brahma jewels, and the stamens are of diamond. A transformed buddha is seen sitting on the petals of the lotus flower with a host of bodhisattvas sitting on the stamens of the lotus flower. From the eyebrows of the transformed buddha a ray of light is sent forth and enters the elephant's trunk. This ray, having the color of a red lotus flower, emanates from the elephant's trunk and enters its eyes; the ray then emanates from the elephant's eyes and enters its ears; it then emanates from the elephant's ears, illuminates its head, and changes into a golden cup. On the head of the elephant there are three transformed men: one holds a golden wheel, another a jewel, and yet another a diamond-pounder. When he raises the pounder and points it at the elephant, the latter walks a few steps immediately. The elephant does not tread on the ground but hovers in the air seven feet above the earth, yet the elephant leaves on the ground its footprints, which are altogether perfect, marking the wheel's hub with a thousand spokes. From each [mark of] the wheel's hub there grows a great lotus flower, on which a transformed elephant appears. This elephant also has seven legs and walks after the great elephant. Every time the transformed elephant raises and brings down its legs, seven thousand elephants appear, all following the great elephant as its retinue. On the elephant's trunk, having the color of a red lotus flower, there is a transformed buddha who emits a ray from his eyebrows. This ray of light, as mentioned before, enters the elephant's trunk; the ray emanates from the elephant's trunk and enters its eyes; the ray then emanates from the elephant's eyes and again enters its ears; it then emanates from the elephant's ears and reaches its head. Gradually rising to the elephant's back, the ray is transformed into a golden saddle which is adorned with the precious seven. On the four sides of the saddle are the pillars of the precious seven, which are decorated with precious things, forming a jewel pedestal. On this pedestal there is a lotus-flower stamen bearing the precious seven, and that stamen is also composed of a hundred jewels. The cup of that lotus flower is made of a great jewel."

Universal Virtue rides the white elephant for the sole purpose of guiding the people of Jambudvīpa, or the sahā-world, through practices that are associated with their environment. The bodhisattva riding on his white elephant is a symbolic image of Buddhist practice, as well as a representation of purity. The purity of the six sense organs is represented by the six tusks of Universal Virtue's white elephant.

It is undeniable that the Meditation Sutra is a continuation of the Lotus Sutra

Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...

, because the sutra itself testifies to the "Dharma Flower Sutra" three times. The person who composed this sutra was perhaps a profound believer of the Lotus Sutra and took the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue as an ideal from descriptions in the Lotus Sutra and the Avatamsaka Sutra.

Meaning of Repentance

The denotational meaning of the word "repentance" in a general sense, is the confession or remorse of one's own past physical and mental misdeeds, or transgressions

Sin

In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...

. When we repent, we purify our minds and we free ourselves from a sense of sin, and we feel greatly refreshed. Many psychoanalysts have applied this principle in helping many people who are mentally afflicted.

Contemplation of Reality

In Japan, the text is also called the Repentance Sutra (Japanese

Japanese language

: 懺悔經; Rōmaji

Romanization of Japanese

: Sange-kyō). The second chapter of the Lotus Sutra

Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...

explains in detail the concept of Tathātā, or "Suchness". The sutra emphasizes repentance by means of meditating on "the true aspect of reality

Ten suchnesses

The Ten suchnesses are a Mahayana doctrine which is important, as well as unique, to that of the Tiantai and Nichiren Buddhist schools of thought...

" and the "Vaipulya sutras."

The essence of Buddhist repentance is summed up in the following lines from the verse spoken by the Buddha

Buddha

In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...

concerning the purification of the six sense organs:

The ocean of impediment of all karma

Karma

Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....

Is produced from one's false imagination.

Should one wish to repent of it

Let him sit upright and meditate on the true aspect of reality.

All sins are just as frost and dew,

So wisdom's sun can disperse them.

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva

Meaning of Repentance

Contemplation of Reality

See also