Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra 

A Detailed Exposition by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu 

Translated into English by the True Buddha School Vimala Sutra Translation Team 

Discourse 56, 31 December 2022 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)  

Chapter One—Buddhaverse

The parasol contained the whole three-thousand-great-thousand worlds, with the Vast and Lasting One [Buddha] appearing at the center.

In these three-thousand-great-thousand worlds, there appeared all the mountains: Mount Meru, Snowy Mountain, Mount Muzhenlintuo, Mount Maha Muzhenlintuo, Fragrant Mountain, Treasure Mountain, Gold Mountain, Black Mountain, Iron-fenced Mountain, the Great Iron-fenced Mountain; the seas, the oceans, rivers, streams, springs; the sun, the moon, and the stars; the lords of the celestial palaces, dragon palaces, and all palaces of the divinities. Inside the parasol, all the buddhas of the ten directions were shown to give dharma teaching. 

Let’s now talk about the Vimalakirti Sutra. 

Inside the precious parasol, there is the Vast and Lasting One [Buddha] manifesting at the center. Even the three-thousand-great-thousand worlds are inside the parasol.

…there appeared all the mountains: Mount Meru, Snowy Mountain…

In the Buddhist cosmology of a small-thousand-world, Mount Meru is at the center and is surrounded by the four major continents and eight subcontinents, the seven mountains and the eight seas—the fragrant ocean. And it is surrounded by the Iron-fenced Mountain. This is the Buddhist depiction of a small-thousand-world. 

In the parasol manifested by Sakyamuni Buddha, Mount Meru is inside the parasol. The Snowy Mountain is also inside the parasol. The Snowy Mountain refers to the Himalayas that are covered in snow all year round, extending across India, Nepal, and Bhutan. They are covered by the parasol. 

…Mount Muzhenlintuo…

What is Mount Muzhenlintuo? Muzhenlintuo is the name of a dragon king who lives within this mountain. Therefore, the mountain is called Mount Muzhenlintuo. 

…Mount Maha Muzhenlintuo…

What is meant by Mount Maha Muzhenlintuo? It refers to a bigger Muzhenlintuo Dragon King, living in that mountain. 

…Fragrant Mountain…

What is the Fragrant Mountain? We know of the fragrant ocean in Buddhist cosmology, and this mountain is the mountain in the fragrant ocean.

           …Treasure Mountain…

What about Treasure Mountain? It is the mountain with precious minerals and treasures. 

            …Gold Mountain…

What is the Gold Mountain? It is a mountain that contains gold. In my opinion, it is a mountain with gold mines. There is a mountain in Nanjing called Zijinshan, meaning the Purple Gold Mountain, but it is merely a name.

            …Black Mountain…

What about the Black Mountain? When we recite the Ksitigarbha Sutra, the Black Mountain is mentioned. Some hells are in the Black Mountain close to the Iron-fenced Mountain.

            …Iron-fenced Mountain…

What is the Iron-fenced Mountain? The Buddhist cosmology talks about the mountain range surrounding the small-thousand-world, and it is called the Iron-fenced Mountain [Range].

…Great Iron-fenced Mountain…

What about the Great Iron-fenced Mountain? The mountain range that encircles the great-thousand-world is called the Great Iron-fenced Mountain [Range].

…the seas, the oceans, rivers, streams, springs; the sun, the moon, and the stars; the lords of the celestial palaces, dragon palaces, and all palaces of the divinities. 

All the seas, oceans, rivers, streams, springs; the suns, the moons, and the stars; the celestial palaces, dragon palaces, and all palaces of the divinities are shown within the parasol. Wow! That precious parasol is so enormous that it can cover all the suns, moons, stars, rivers, seas, mountains, the three-thousand-great-thousand worlds, celestial palaces in the sky, dragon palaces under the sea, and the palaces of the divinities—including those of the buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Inside the parasol, all the buddhas of the ten directions were shown to give dharma teaching. 

Under the parasol, one could see the Buddha giving dharma teachings, as well as all the buddhas of the ten directions giving dharma teachings. Can you imagine how incredible Sakyamuni Buddha’s transcendent power is? The precious parasol not only contained the small-thousand-world, but also the entire three-thousand-great-thousand worlds! And not only that, it also contained all the buddhaverses and dharma realms of all buddhas of the ten directions. His transcendent power was truly inconceivable. 

By comparison, Grandmaster Lu only manifested one parasol above the Taiwan Lei Tsang Temple last Saturday—“a small potato.”

Yet, the transcendent power of Sakyamuni Buddha was truly tremendous, the parasol he manifested could cover suns, moons, stars, … It makes me think of a song. Let me sing it.

[“Planting Stars,” by Zhu Yilong and Yang Enyou]

The twinkling stars, are any of them your eyes? 
The drifting clouds float in the sky and fall into my heart.
The pretty flowers grow and glitter in my heart.
If you are willing to believe in it, you can plant stars too.
If you are willing to believe in it, you will be the most fortunate person. 

Outside the long pavilion, by the ancient path.
The lush green grass meets the blue skies.
The evening wind caresses, the faint sound of the flute.
The evening sun sets over the never-ending mountains.

The twinkling stars, are any of them your eyes? 
The drifting clouds float in the sky and fall into my heart.
The pretty flowers grow and glitter in my heart.
If you really believe in it, you can plant stars too.
If you really believe in it, you will be the most fortunate person. 

We believe in Sakyamuni Buddha. He manifested such great transcendent power to let all attendees of the dharma ceremony back then witness the suns, the moons, the stars, the celestial palaces, the dragon palaces, all the palaces, all the heavens and their lords, all the buddhaverses, and all the buddhas of the ten directions to appear within the precious parasol. 

The Buddha states that he always speaks truthfully. The Buddha’s words are true and absolute; they are “one” and not “two.” He will not speak falsely or in any other way. He does not speak much, either—he is not loquacious. Yet, he can manifest such an amazing transcendent power. Hence, we should believe in the words of the Buddha, such as the Vimalakirti Sutra as spoken by the Buddha, which I will continue to expound in the future.

Om mani padme hum.

Next discourse on the Vimalakirti Sutra: Discourse 57, 7 January 2023 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)

Previous discourse on the Vimalakirti Sutra: Discourse 55, 24 December 2022 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)

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Full webcast of 2022.12.31 Thousand-armed Thousand-eyed Avalokitesvara Homa Ceremony (Taiwan Lei Tsang Temple) and dharma discourse with English interpretation: https://youtu.be/y3XRpRH4J5c