Friday, August 22,1975 (evening)

[Bhikshuni Heng Chih records: It's raining. The Venerable Master just told Guo Tong to stop the rain.]

Venerable Master: The reason for this is his rocket didn't go off and he cried, and the dragons couldn't do anything about it. You see? He doesn't have any talent except crying. We're not going to listen to that anymore.

Bhikshuni Heng Yin: Today's rain was brought to you by Guo Tong, because he cried and cried so much that the heavens started crying too.

Guo Tong: This is a story about the Buddha in a life before he became Shakyamuni Buddha. He was a Patient Immortal...

 Master: Are there any questions?

Student: I would like to know if the coming of Maitreya Buddha and the return of Christ is going to be the same event.

Master: What's your name? (Student: Guo Li)

Master: What do you think?

Student: It makes sense that it would be, but I don't know.

Master: Why do you think it makes sense?

Student: I don't know a lot about the coming of Maitreya, but I think they're both supposed to come to save humanity and they're both supposed to come soon.

Master: I have no comment on when Christ is due to come. As for Maitreya Bodhisattva, it's still very early to look for his coming. Those who say that Maitreya is due simply do not understand the situation. Although Maitreya actually comes here all the time, he hasn't yet become a Buddha. When we talk about the coming of Maitreya, this refers to his return as a Buddha, not just as an ordinary savior.

Every one hundred years our average height decreases by one inch and our average lifespan by one year. When the average human lifespan, which is now sixty or seventy years, has decreased to ten years, it will begin to increase again. When it reaches eighty-four thousand years, then it will start to decrease. When it has decreased to eighty thousand years, then Maitreya Buddha will appear in the world. So if you cal­culate the time, it is still in the distant future. Those who are coming now are Maitreya's transformation bodies, not his true body, and they are not coming to manifest the attainment of Buddhahood.

Do you who are Christians know that Jesus disappeared for three years, during which time no one knew his whereabouts? During those three years, he went to India to study the Buddhadharma. Having studied the Buddhadharma, he preached about rebirth in the heavens and going to a heavenly paradise. This concept is pretty similar to what the Amitabha Sutra says. Jesus was also a part of Buddhism. He used those methods to teach and transform a certain kind of living beings, but ultimately, they will all go back to the root and return to the source and everyone will become a Buddha. But many people are unaware of this. (Added during translation: Jesus was a part of Buddhism. He was a Buddhist. However, he did not want to admit that he was Buddhist, so he did not preach Buddhism.)

A few days ago I said that all the world's religions are included within Buddhism. This is because Buddhism takes the Dharma Realm, the universe, as its substance, and no living being can escape it. Other religions do not teach this. There are Ten Dharma Realms: The Dharma Realms of the Buddhas, the Bodhisattvas, the Condition-Enlightened Ones, the Hearers, the gods, humans, asuras, animals, ghosts, and the beings in hell. No religion surpasses these Ten Dharma Realms and so all are included within Buddhism; none are not Buddhism. Although they might not admit to being a part of Buddhism, it's only just a matter of time. In the future they will certainly acknowledge it. There will be no way they can avoid acknowledging it, since they can't run outside of the Dharma Realm. Buddhism takes the Dharma Realm as its substance. I hope that you will all use effort and look into this doctrine.

Many people do not acknowledge that they are Buddhists, but this is no problem. Why don't they acknowledge that they are Buddhists? Because they have not understood that they are within the Dharma Realm. They are like dreamers who are not in control of their actions. They are out of touch with what is really going on. They are also like the insane. Sometimes insane people don't even know that they are human beings. When you ask them what they are, they may answer, "nothing at all," or they may think that they are some strange crea­ture of their own demented fantasy. When a person has lost touch with his humanity, you can't rely on his own word when he tries to identify himself. In the same way, you can't accept as reasonable the statement that one is not within the Ten Dharma Realms when it is made by someone who does not know the truth.

The Shurangama Sutra relates the story of Yajnadatta, who one day looked in the mirror and noticed that the person reflected in it had a head. At that point, he lost his wits and said, "How come that person has a head and I don't? Where has my head gone?" He then ran wildly through the streets asking everyone he met, "Have you seen my head? Where has it gone?" He accosted everyone he met, yet no one knew what he was doing. "He already has a head," they said. "What's he looking for another one for?"

There are a lot of people just like poor Yajnadatta.

Are there any more questions?

Student: Are there people who have written about Buddhism, other than yourselves, who are worth reading? Most writers come from a Western orientation and this tends to lead them to alter the doctrines.

The Master: There are other translations, but it is not a question of relative worth. Many previous translators of Buddhist texts were priests, ministers, scholars, or professional writers. Although they did translate Sutras, they didn't necessarily understand the Buddhadharma. However, their translations cannot be said to be of no worth—they sell; people buy them. Thus they are worth something. But their principles do differ from the orthodox tradition. The translations done at Gold Mountain Monastery are done by Bhikshus, Bhikshunis, Shramaneras, Shramanerikas, laymen and laywomen, professors, and scholars of the Buddhadharma who all work together. They translate Sutras from within the Buddhadharma. Previous translations were largely done by people standing outside of Buddhism. Even if these Sutras were translated by Buddhists, they represent only one person's opinion. They were not subjected to the scrutiny of others, not examined by many people, and inaccuracies passed unchecked into print. It is not, then, a question of worth; it's a question of validity.

Previous translations do exist, but the difference is here: The transla­tors have an external viewpoint—they do not stand inside the study and practice of the Dharma. "Outsiders" don't have a genuine, reliable understanding. That's where the problem lies.

The translations done at Gold Mountain Monastery are checked and criticized by many people. We do not claim that our translations are perfect, but we do strive for perfection. We don't want to imitate the earlier translations (done by clergymen or scholars) which became ve­hicles used to talk about the doctrines of Christianity. We don't substi­tute Christian terminology for Buddhist technical terms, so that nothing substantially Buddhist remains in them.

We have been investigating the Buddhadharma for many years, yet there are many things we do not understand. How much the less can those who have never looked into Buddhism be expected to render the original meaning of the Buddhist Sutras?

We at Gold Mountain Monastery would not dare to say that our trans­lations alone have worth. We would simply not say that. But we are trying to do a good job; we are striving for perfection.

To be continued