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The Master described for Yün-chü the following exchange between Nan-ch'üan and a monk who was a specialist on the Maitreya Sutra. 85 "Nan-ch'üan asked the monk, 'When will Maitreya descend to be reborn on the earth?
"The monk replied, 'Maitreya is in his Heavenly Palace, and will descend later to be reborn.'
"Nan-ch'üan then said, 'There is no Maitreya, either in heaven above or on earth below.'"
Following up on this, Yün-chü asked, "If there is no Maitreya, either in heaven above or on earth below, I wonder who gave him his name?"
As soon as the Master was asked this question, his meditation seat began to shake. He said, "Acarya Ying, when I was with Yün-yen and asked the old man a certain question, the brazier shook. 86 As soon as you questioned me today, my body was covered with sweat."
Commentaries
85. The Maitreya Sutra (T.454),translated by Kumarajiva (344-413), concerns the Buddha yet to come, Maitreya. He is said to be dwelling in the Heavenly Palace in Tusita Heaven, the fourth of the six heavens in the Realm of Desire. He will reside there for a total of 5,670,000,000 years before descending as a savior.
86. It is not clear what exchange Tung-shan is referring to here, but it appears to be one in which Tung-shan demonstrates his worthiness as Yün-yen's heir. The importance of that event is confirmed by the shaking of the brazier. Likewise, Tung-shan's transmission to Yün-chü is confirmed by the shaking of his meditation seat.
The Maitreya Sutra translated by Kuarajiva is pretty long, a passage from there, just to give a taste: http://www.sutrasmantras.info/sutra11.html
“‘Among you, there are those who have been reborn in the place where I am, because they have acquired merit, whether by reading and reciting the Tripiṭaka—the Sūtras, the Vinaya, and the Abhidharma—by praising their tenets and expounding them to others, or by, without jealousy, teaching and enabling others to accept and uphold [the Dharma]. [...] Among you, there are those who have been reborn in the place where I am, because they have acquired merit by observing their precepts, hearing much [of the Dharma], practicing meditation, and developing affliction-free wisdom. [...].’
“Having spoken these words, Maitreya Buddha will praise [me] Śākyamuni Buddha: ‘Very good! Very good! He was able to teach and transform, in the world of the five turbidities, a billion koṭi evil sentient beings, enabling them to develop their roots of goodness and to be reborn in the place where I am.’
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Who gave him his name? Does this mean the Buddha? Are these Zen Masters calling the Buddha a liar? But indirectly? If so why is saying things indirectly so important?
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Part of the reason I quoted the Maitreya Sutra is because denying it is to deny I think something about the Buddha - perhaps all this about gaining merit, as Boddhidarma spoke to the Chinese King, “No merit was gained” through many of the things the Buddha in this sutra speaks as ways to gain merit, perhaps also this about practicing meditation, perhaps also about the Buddha being meritorious in this manner. What teaching was the Buddha able to teach? Isn’t the whole point of a lot of Buddhism, of a lot of Zen, that it rejects any doctrine, any teaching?
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“The brazier shook”, “I was covered with sweat”, “the shaking of the meditation seat”: the supernatural. How does the supernatural fit into this? In the sutra I quoted the Maitreya Buddha is stated as performing magic or miracles as part of the proof of his Buddhahood. is Dongshan’s or Zen Masters’ enlightenment also proven through miracles?
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Whether you know that Maitreya is coming, or that he is not coming, this is to know something unknowable. This is not something you can see with your eyes. That you say that the Buddha was lying, if that is what is happening here, is also to claim to know somehting in much the same manner as the Buddha and Nan chu’an. Where does this knowledge come from? Is it also supernatural?
Submitted May 10, 2020 at 09:22AM by 2bitmoment https://ift.tt/2AfQOn5
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