The Lotus Sutras
Universal Gate Chapter
             on
 Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva     
 Fo Guang Shan International Translation Center
 2016 Fo Guang Shan International Translation Center
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The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter
     on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
	           62
	       70
	                76
	                78
                  Table of Contents
Praise of Holy Water	                       3
Sutra Opening Verse	                        5
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter
on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva	              7
Heart Sutra	                               63
Dharani of Great Compassion	               70
Triple Refuge	                             77
Dedication of Merit	                       79
Glossary	80
        Yang	 Zhi      Jing Shui Zan
 	       	 	 	 	 
Yang	   Zhi	   Jing   Shui	       Bian	   Sa	    San    Qian
	      	     	       	 	             	     	     Xing Kong	      Ba	   De	         Li	     Ren	   Tian	      	     	      	         	      	     
Fu      Shou Guang Zeng	Yan	      	     	      	         
Mie	    Zui    Xiao   Qian	      	     	      
Huo	    Yan    Hua    Hong	Lian	      	     	      	         
Nan	    Mo     Guan	 Shi	         Yin	    Pu	    Sa	      	     	      	         	      	     	
Mo	     He	    Sa	      	      
                              2
           Praise of Holy Water
With willow twigs, may the holy water be
   sprinkled on the three thousand realms.
May the nature of emptiness and eight virtues
   benefit heaven and earth.
May good fortune and long life both be enhanced
   and extended. May wrongdoing be extin-
   guished and be gone.
Burning flames transform into red lotus blossoms.
We take refuge in Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva-
   Mahasattva. (repeat three times)
                     3
Nan	     Mo	        Da	    Bei        Guan	    Shi	   Yin
 	      	         	     	         	       	     			
Pu	      Sa
	        
                	   Kai    Jing       	 Ji
		                  	     	         
Wu      Shang Shen         Shen       Wei     Miao	   Fa
	       	         	     	         	       	     Bai     Qian        Wan    Jie        Nan     Zao     Yu	       	         	     	         	       	     
Wo	      Jin	       Jian   Wen	       De      Shou    Chi	       	         	     	         	       	     
Yuan	    Jie        Ru	    Lai        Zhen    Shi	    Yi	       	         	     	         	       	     
                                  4
Homage to great compassionate Avalokitesvara
Bodhisattva.
(repeat three times)
                Sutra Opening Verse
The unexcelled, most profound, and exquisitely
   wondrous Dharma,
Is difficult to encounter throughout hundreds of
   thousands of millions of kalpas.
Since we are now able to see, hear, receive and
   retain it,
May we comprehend the true meaning of the
   Tathagata.
                         5
	                 Miao     Fa         Lian         Hua      Jing
     	             	                 	                  	
Guan	 Shi	           Yin	       Pu	          Sa	     Pu	     Men	    Pin
     	 	 	 	 	 	 	     Er	    Shi	     Wu          Jin	        Yi	      Pu	      Sa	     Ji
    	      	       	         	          	       	       	 	
Cong	 Zuo	           Qi	        Pian	       Tan	    You	     Jian	   He
    	      	       	 	                 	       	       	 	
Zhang Xiang	 Fo	                Er	         Zuo	     Shi	    Yan	    Shi	
    	      	       	 	                 	       	        	
Zun        Guan	    Shi	        Yin	        Pu	      Sa	      Yi	    He	
    	 	           	         	          	       	       	     	
    Yin    Yuan     Ming Guan	 Shi	                  Yin	     Fo     Gao	
    	      	       	         	          	       		          	
    Wu	     Jin	     Yi	        Pu	         Sa      Shan	 Nan	        Zi
    	      	       	         	           	            	     	
    Ruo	   You	     Wu      Liang	          Bai     Qian	 Wan	       Yi
    	      	       	         	          	       	       	     
                                                                           	
                                        6
    The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter
        on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
At that time, Aksayamati Bodhisattva rose from his seat,
bared his right shoulder, put his palms together facing
the Buddha, and said, World-honored One, for what
reason is Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva named Observing
the Sounds of the World?
	     The Buddha answered Aksayamati Bodhi
                                          sattva,
Good men, if there be countless hundreds of millions
 of billions of living beings [...]
                                7
8 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
Zhong Sheng Shou           Zhu	     Ku	     Nao    Wen	     Shi
 	      	 	            	       	       	 	         	Guan	 Shi	        Yin	      Pu	     Sa	      Yi	   Xin     Cheng 	      	       	       	       	 	         	       	
Ming Guan	 Shi	            Yin	     Pu	      Sa	   Ji	      Shi 	 	           	       	       	       	    	       	
Guan	 Qi	         Yin    Sheng	     Jie	     De	   Jie	     Tuo 	      	       	       	 	            	    	       	
Ruo	     You	     Chi	     Shi    Guan	     Shi	   Yin	     Pu 	      	       	       	       	       	    	       	
 Sa     Ming	 Zhe          She	     Ru	      Da	   Huo     Huo 	      	       	 	            	       	    	 	
Bu      Neng Shao         You	      Shi	     Pu	   Sa      Wei 	      	       	 	            	       	    	       	
Shen	     Li	     Gu	      Ruo	     Wei	     Da    Shui	    Suo 	      	       	 	            	       	    	       	
Piao Cheng	 Qi            Ming	 Hao	         Ji	   De      Qian 	 	           	       	       	 	         	       	
Chu      Ruo	     You	     Bai     Qian	    Wan	   Yi      Zhong 	 	           	       	       	       	    	       	
Sheng Wei	        Qiu	     Jin	     Yin	    Liu	   Li	      Che 	 	           	       	 	 	              	 	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 9
[...] experiencing all manner of suffering who hear
of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and call his name with
single-minded effort, then Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
will instantly observe the sound of their cries, and they
will all be liberated.
	      If anyone who upholds the name of Avaloki
tesvara Bodhi
             sattva were to fall into a great fire,
the fire would be unable to burn that person due
to the bodhi
            sattvas awe-inspiring spiritual powers.
If anyone, carried away by a flood, were to call his name,
that person would immediately reach a shallow place.
	      If there are living beings in the hundreds of mil-
lions of billions who go out to sea in search of such
treasures as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, mother of pearl,
10 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
 Qu	     Ma	      Nao	     Shan	 Hu	         Hu	    Po     Zhen
 	 	           	 	            	 	          	 	Zhu     Deng	 Bao	         Ru	      Yu	     Da	     Hai	    Jia 	      	       	 	            	       	     	 	
Shi	     Hei     Feng Chui	         Qi     Chuan Fang	     Piao 	      	       	       	       	       	     	 	
Duo	     Luo      Cha	     Gui	     Guo	     Qi    Zhong	Ruo 	      	       	       	       	 	          	      	
You	     Nai	     Zhi	      Yi	     Ren    Cheng Guan	     Shi 	      	       	       	       	       	     	      	
Yin	      Pu	      Sa     Ming	 Zhe	        Shi	   Zhu	    Ren 	      	       	       	       	 	          	      	
Deng	 Jie	        De	      Jie	     Tuo	    Luo	   Cha	    Zhi 	 	           	       	       	       	     	      	
 Nan	     Yi	     Shi     Yin     Yuan     Ming Guan	 Shi 	 	           	       	       	 	          	      	
 Yin	    Ruo	      Fu     You	      Ren     Lin    Dang	   Bei 	 	           	       	       	 	          	      	
Hai     Cheng Guan         Shi	     Yin      Pu	    Sa     Ming 	 	           	       	       	       	     	      	
Zhe	      Bi	     Suo      Zhi	     Dao Zhang	 Xun         Duan 	 	           	       	       	       	 	         	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 11
 carnelian, coral, amber, and pearls, and if a fierce storm
 were to blow their ship off course to make landfall in the
 territory of raksas, and further if among them there is
 even one person who calls the name of Avalokitesvara
 Bodhisattva, then all of those people will be liberated
 from the torment of the raksas. This is why the bodhi
 sattva is named Observing the Sounds of the World.
 	      Or if someone facing imminent attack calls the
 name of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, the knives and
 clubs held by the attackers will then break into pieces,
 and that person will attain liberation.
12 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
Duan Huai	         Er	     De	      Jie	    Tuo	    Ruo	   San
 	      	 	            	       	       	 	         	Qian	     Da     Qian     Guo	      Tu	     Man Zhong	 Ye	       	       	       	       	 	          	      	
Cha	     Luo	     Cha	      Yu	     Lai	    Nao	    Ren    Wen	 	            	 	            	       	     	 	
 Qi     Cheng Guan	        Shi	     Yin	     Pu	    Sa     Ming 	      	       	       	       	       	     	      	
Zhe	     Shi     Zhu	       E	      Gui    Shang	 Bu       Neng 	 	           	       	       	       	     	      	
 Yi	      E	      Yan	     Shi	     Zhi    Kuang	   Fu	     Jia 	      	       	       	       	 	          	      
 Hai     She	      Fu     You	      Ren	    Ruo     You	   Zui
  ?	 	          	       	       	 	          	      
Ruo	     Wu	      Zui     Chou	 Xie          Jia	   Suo    Jian 	      	       	 	            	       	     	      
 Xi	      Qi     Shen Cheng Guan	 Shi	              Yin	    Pu 	      	       	 	            	       	     	      
 Sa      Ming	 Zhe	        Jie	     Xi     Duan	 Huai	      Ji 	      	       	 	            	       	     	 
 De	      Jie	    Tuo      Ruo	     San	    Qian	 Da       Qian 	      	       	 	            	       	     	      	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 13
 	      If a great three thousand-fold world system was
 full of yaksas and raksas seeking to torment people, and
 they heard someone call the name of Avalokitesvara
 Bodhisattva, these evil demons would not even be able
 to see that person with their evil eyes, much less do any
 harm.
 	      Or if someone, whether guilty or not guilty, who
 is bound and fettered with manacles, shackles, and
 cangue calls the name of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva,
 then all the bonds will be broken, and that person will
 instantly attain liberation.
 	[...]
14 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
Guo	      Tu     Man Zhong Yuan	 Zei	              You	    Yi
 	      	 	            	       	       	 	        Shang	 Zhu       Jiang    Zhu     Shang	 Ren	      Ji	     Chi 	      	       	       	       	       	 	        
Zhong	 Bao        Jing    Guo	      Xian 	 Lu	     Qi     Zhong 	      	 	            	       	       	 	        
 Yi	     Ren	     Zuo	     Shi    Chang	 Yan       Zhu    Shan 	      	       	       	       	        	        
Nan	      Zi	     Wu	      De      Kong	     Bu	   Ru     Deng 	      	 	            	       	       	 	        
Ying    Dang	      Yi	     Xin    Cheng Guan	      Shi	    Yin 	      	       	       	       	       	    	      
 Pu	      Sa     Ming     Hao	      Shi	     Pu	   Sa     Neng 	      	       	       	 	            	    	      
 Yi	     Wu	      Wei	     Shi	     Yu     Zhong Sheng	    Ru 	      	       	       	       	       	    	 
Deng	 Ruo        Cheng Ming	 Zhe	            Yu	   Ci     Yuan 	      	       	       	       	 	         	      
 Zei    Dang	     De	      Jie	     Tuo    Zhong Shang	 Ren 	 	           	       	       		         	      
Wen	      Ju	      Fa    Sheng	 Yan	        Nan	   Mo     Guan 	 	           	       	        	         	      	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 15
 	      [...] If a great three thousand-fold world system
 were full of malevolent brigands, and a merchant chief
 were leading many merchants carrying valuable trea-
 sures along a perilous road, and among them one man
 were to speak up and say, Good men, do not be afraid.
 You should call the name of Avalokitesvara Bodhi
 sattva with single-minded effort, for this bodhisattva
 can bestow fearlessness upon living beings. If you call
 his name, then you will surely be liberated from these
 malevolent brigands! [...]
16 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
Shi	     Yin	      Pu	     Sa     Cheng	 Qi         Ming	 Gu
 	       	      	       		            	     	       Ji	     De	       Jie     Tuo	     Wu	      Jin	   Yi     Guan 	       	      	       	 	            	     	 
 Shi	    Yin	      Pu	      Sa	     Mo	      He	    Sa     Wei 	       	      	       	       	       	     	      
Shen	 Zhi	         Li	     Wei	     Wei	     Ru	    Shi	   Ruo 	       	      	 	            	       	     	 
You     Zhong Sheng	 Duo	           Yu	     Yin	    Yu     Chang 	       	      	       	       	       	     	 
Nian Gong	 Jing           Guan	 Shi	        Yin	    Pu	     Sa 	       	      	       	       	       	     	      
Bian	     De	      Li	     Yu	      Ruo	    Duo     Chen	 Hui 	       	      	       	 	            	     	      
Chang Nian       Gong      Jing    Guan	 Shi	       Yin	    Pu 	       	      	       	       	       	     	      
 Sa	     Bian	    De	       Li    Chen	     Ruo	    Duo	    Yu 	 	           	       	       	 	          	      
 Chi    Chang Nian        Gong	     Jing Guan	      Shi	   Yin 	 	           	       	       	       	     	      
 Pu	      Sa	     Bian	    De	      Li	     Chi	    Wu	    Jin 	       	 	           	       	       	 	         	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 17
 [...] and upon hearing this, if all of the merchants were
 to call out: I take refuge in Avalokitesvara Bodhi
 sattva, then by calling his name, they would instantly
 attain liberation.
 	      Aksayamati, lofty indeed are the awe-inspiring
 spiritual powers of the great Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.
 	      If any living beings are much given to greed, let
 them keep in mind and revere Avalokitesvara Bodhi
 sattva, and they will be freed from their greed.
 	      If any are much given to anger, let them keep in
 mind and revere Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and they
 will be freed from their anger.
 	      If any are much given to ignorance, let them keep
 in mind and revere Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and
 they will be freed from their ignorance.
 	[...]
18 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
 Yi     Guan	 Shi         Yin	      Pu       Sa	    You	    Ru
 	 	           	       	       	       	     	      Shi     Deng	     Da       Wei     Shen       Li	   Duo	    Suo 	      	       	       	       	       	 	         
Rao	      Yi	     Shi	     Gu     Zhong Sheng Chang Ying 	      	 	            	       	       	     	      
Xin     Nian     Ruo      You	      N	     Ren	    She	    Yu 	      	 	            	       	       	 	         
Qiu      Nan	      Li	     Bai     Gong Yang        Guan	 Shi 	      	 	            	       	       	     	      
Yin	     Pu	       Sa     Bian    Sheng      Fu	    De	     Zhi 	      	       	 	            	       	     	      
Hui	     Zhi	     Nan     She	      Yu	     Qiu	    N      Bian 	      	       	 	            	       	     	 
Sheng Duan Zheng	 You              Xiang	 Zhi	      N	     Su 	      	       	       	       	       	     	 
 Zhi	    De	      Ben     Zhong	 Ren         Ai	    Jing	   Wu 	      	       	 	            	       	     	 
 Jin	     Yi     Guan	     Shi	     Yin	     Pu	     Sa	    You 	      	 	            	       	       	     	      
 Ru	     Shi	      Li	     Ruo	     You Zhong Sheng Gong 	      	       	 	            	       	     	      	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 19
 	      [...] Aksayamati, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva pos-
 sesses such awe-inspiring spiritual powers, and many
 have benefited from them. This is why living beings
 should constantly keep him in mind.
 	      If any woman wishes for a male child by worship-
 ping and making offerings to Avalokitesvara Bodhi
 sattva, she will then give birth to a son blessed with
 merit and wisdom. If she wishes for a female child, she
 will then give birth to a daughter blessed with well-
 formed and attractive features, one who has planted
 the roots of virtue over lifetimes and is cherished and
 respected by all. Aksayamati, such are the powers of
 Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva!
 	[...]
20 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
Jing	     Li	     Bai     Guan	 Shi	        Yin	    Pu	     Sa
 	      	       	       	       	       	     	       Fu	     Bu      Tang     Juan	     Shi	    Gu     Zhong Sheng 	      	       	       	 	            	     	      
 Jie     Ying    Shou     Chi     Guan	     Shi	    Yin	    Pu 	      	       	       	       	       	     	      
 Sa      Ming	 Hao	        Wu	      Jin	     Yi	   Ruo	    You 	      	       	 	            	       	 	         
Ren     Shou	     Chi	     Liu	     Shi	     Er	    Yi     Heng 	      	       	       	       	       	     	      
 He	     Sha	     Pu	      Sa      Ming	     Zi	    Fu	    Jin 	      	       	       	       	       	 	         
Xing     Gong Yang         Yin	     Shi	     Yi	    Fu	    Wo 	      	       	       	       	 	          	 
 Ju	      Yi     Yao	      Yu	      Ru       Yi	   Yun	     He 	 	           	 	            	       	     	      
Shi     Shan      Nan	      Zi     Shan	     N	   Ren     Gong 	      	       	       	 	            	     	      
 De	     Duo	     Fou     Wu	       Jin      Yi	   Yan     Shen 	      	       		            	       	      
Duo	     Shi     Zun	      Fo	      Yan	    Ruo	    Fu     You	 	             	             	 	               	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 21
 	      [...] If any living being reveres and worships
 Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, their auspicious merit will
 not have been in vain.
 	      Therefore, let all living beings accept and uphold
 the name of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. Aksayama-
 ti, suppose someone were to accept and uphold the
 names of as many bodhisattvas as there are grains of
 sand along sixty-two hundred million Ganges Rivers,
 and spend a lifetime in making offerings of food, drink,
 clothing, lodging, and medicines to them. What do you
 think? Would the merit for such a good man or good
 woman be great or not?
 	      Aksayamati replied, Great indeed, World-hon-
 ored One.
 	[...]
22 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
Ren     Shou	 Chi         Guan	     Shi	    Yin	     Pu	    Sa
	       	       	       	       	       	      	     Ming	 Hao	        Nai	     Zhi	     Yi	     Shi	     Li	    Bai 	      	 	            	       	       	      	     
Gong Yang	        Shi	      Er	     Ren	     Fu     Zheng Deng 	      	 	            	       	       	 	         
 Wu	      Yi	      Yu	     Bai     Qian    Wan	      Yi	     Jie 	      	 	            	       	       	      	     
 Bu	      Ke     Qiong	 Jin	        Wu	      Jin	    Yi     Shou 	      	       	       	 	            	      	 
Chi     Guan	     Shi      Yin	     Pu	      Sa     Ming    Hao 	      	       	       	       	       	      	     
 De	      Ru	     Shi	     Wu      Liang	 Wu        Bian	    Fu	 	      	       	       	       	       	      	     	
 De	     Zhi	      Li	     Wu	      Jin	     Yi	     Pu	     Sa	 	      	       		            	       	      	     	
 Bai	     Fo	     Yan      Shi      Zun    Guan	 Shi	       Yin	 	      	        	            	 	           	     	
 Pu	      Sa	     Yun	      He      You	     Ci	    Suo	     Po	 	      	       	       	       	       	      	     	
 Shi	     Jie	    Yun	      He	     Er      Wei     Zhong Sheng
 	      ?	 	            	       	       	      	     	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 23
 	      [...] The Buddha said, Suppose there is another
 person who accepts and upholds the name of Avaloki
 tesvara Bodhisattva, and worships and makes offerings
 to him for a single moment; the merit gained by these
 two people will be exactly the same without any differ-
 ence. Such merit cannot be exhausted even in hundreds
 of millions of billions of kalpas. Aksayamati, such are
 the immeasurable and limitless benefits of the auspi-
 cious merit one obtains from accepting and upholding
 the name of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.
 	      Aksayamati Bodhi
                        sattva said to the Buddha,
 World-honored One, how does Avalokitesvara Bodhi
 sattva wanders through this Saha World? How does he
 teach the Dharma for the sake of living beings? How
 does he apply the power of skillful means?
24 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
Shuo	 Fa 	 Fang            Bian	 Zhi	        Li	    Qi	     Shi	
 	      	 	             	      	       	 	         	Yun	      He	      Fo      Gao	     Wu	     Jin	    Yi	     Pu	 	      		             	      	       	      	     	
 Sa      Shan     	Nan	     Zi	     Ruo     You     Guo	    Tu  	 	                  	 	           	      	     	
Zhong Sheng	 Ying	          Yi	     Fo     Shen	    De	     Du	 	      	 	             	      	       	      	     	
Zhe     Guan	     Shi	     Yin	     Pu	     Sa	     Ji	     Xian	 	 	           	        	      	       	      	     	
 Fo     Shen	      Er      Wei     Shuo	     Fa     Ying	   Yi	 	      	       	        	      	       	 	         	
  Pi	    Zhi	      Fo      Shen	    De	     Du	     Zhe	     Ji	 	      	       	        	      	       	      	 	
Xian	     Pi	     Zhi	      Fo     Shen	     Er	    Wei     Shuo	 	      	       	        	      	       	      	     	
 Fa      Ying	     Yi      Sheng Wen        Shen	 De	       Du	 	 	           	        	      	       	      	     	
 Zhe	     Ji     	Xian Sheng Wen            Shen	    Er	    Wei 	 	           	        	      	       	      	     	
Shuo	 Fa         	 Ying	    Yi	     Fan    Wang     Shen	   De	 	      	 	             	      	       	      	     	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 25
 	      The Buddha told Aksayamati Bodhisattva, Good
 men, if there are living beings in this land who should
 be liberated by someone in the form of a Buddha, then
 Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva will manifest in the form of
 a Buddha and teach the Dharma to them.
 	      For those who should be liberated by someone
 in the form of a pratyekabuddha, then Avalokitesvara
 Bodhisattva will manifest in the form of a pratyeka-
 buddha and teach the Dharma to them. For those
 who should be liberated by someone in the form of a
 sravaka, then he will manifest in the form of a sravaka
 and teach the Dharma to them.
 	[...]
26 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
 Du	     Zhe	      Ji     Xian	     Fan    Wang	 Shen	       Er	
 	      	 	            	       	       	      	      	Wei     Shuo	      Fa     Ying	     Yi       Di	    Shi     Shen	 	      	       	 	            	       	      	      	
 De	     Du	      Zhe	      Ji     Xian	     Di	    Shi     Shen	 	      	       	 	            	       	      	      	
 Er	     Wei     Shuo	      Fa     Ying	     Yi	     Zi	    Zai 	      	       	       	 	            	      	      	
Tian     Shen	     De	      Du	     Zhe	     Ji	    Xian	    Zi	 	      	       	       	       	 	           	      	
 Zai	    Tian Shen	         Er	     Wei     Shuo	 Fa        Ying	 	      	       	       	       	       	      	 	
 Yi	      Da	      Zi	     Zai     Tian     Shen	    De	     Du	 	      	       	       	       	       	      	      	
Zhe	      Ji     Xian	     Da	      Zi	     Zai	    Tian    Shen	 	 	           	       	       	       	      	      	
 Er	     Wei     Shuo	      Fa     Ying	     Yi     Tian	    Da	 	      	       	       	 	            	      	      	
Jiang	 Jun       Shen	     De	      Du       Zhe	    Ji	    Xian	 	      	       	       	       	       	 	          	
Tian	     Da     Jiang	    Jun     Shen	     Er	    Wei     Shuo	 	      	       	       	       	       	      	      	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 27
 	      [...] For those who should be liberated by someone
 in the form of King Brahma, then he will manifest in
 the form of King Brahma and teach the Dharma to
 them. For those who should be liberated by someone
 in the form of Lord Sakra, then he will manifest in the
 form of Lord Sakra and teach the Dharma to them. For
 those who should be liberated by someone in the form
 of Isvara, then he will manifest in the form of Isvara
 and teach the Dharma to them.
 	      For those who should be liberated by someone in
 the form of the Mahesvara, then he will manifest in the
 form of the Mahesvara and teach the Dharma to them.
 For those who should be liberated by someone in the
 form of a great heavenly general, then he will manifest
 in the form of a great heavenly general and teach the
 Dharma to them. [...]
28 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
 Fa      Ying	     Yi	      Pi	     Sha	    Men	 Shen	 De	
 	 	           	        	      	       	     	      	 Du	     Zhe	      Ji	      Xian	   Pi	     Sha     Men	    Shen	 	      	 	             	      	       	     	      	
 Er	     Wei     Shuo	      Fa      Ying	    Yi	    Xiao	   Wang	 	      	       	        	 	           	     	      	
Shen	 De	         Du        Zhe	     Ji	    Xian	 Xiao	     Wang	 	      	       	        	 	           	     	      	
Shen	 Er         	Wei      Shuo	    Fa      Ying	    Yi	    Zhang	 	      	       	        	      	 	          	      	
Zhe	     Shen	     De	      Du	     Zhe	     Ji	    Xian	   Zhang	 	      	       	        	      	 	          	      	
Zhe	     Shen	     Er	      Wei	    Shuo	 Fa	       Ying	   Yi	 	      	       	        	      	       	 	         	
 Ju	     Shi	     Shen	 De	         Du	     Zhe	     Ji	    Xian	 	      	       	        	      	       	 	         	
 Ju	     Shi     	 Shen	     Er	    Wei     Shuo	 Fa	       Ying	 	      	       	        	      	       	     	 	
Yi	      Zai	     Guan	 Shen	 De	           Du	     Zhe	     Ji	 	      	       	        	      	       	     	 	
Xian	    Zai     Guan	      Shen	 Er	       Wei	    Shuo	   Fa	 	      	       	        	      	       	     	      	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 29
 [...] For those who should be liberated by someone in
 the form of Vaisravana, then he will manifest in the
 form of Vaisravana and teach the Dharma to them.
 	      For those who should be liberated by someone in
 the form of a lesser king, then he will manifest in the
 form of a lesser king and teach the Dharma to them.
 For those who should be liberated by someone in the
 form of an elder, then he will manifest in the form of
 an elder and teach the Dharma to them. For those who
 should be liberated by someone in the form of a layper-
 son, then he will manifest in the form of a layperson
 and teach the Dharma to them. For those who should
 be liberated by someone in the form of a minister, then
 he will manifest in the form of a minister and teach the
 Dharma to them. [...]
30 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
Ying	     Yi	      Po	     Luo	     Men	 Shen	 De	          Du	
 	      	       	       	       	       	      	     	Zhe	      Ji	     Xian	     Po	     Luo	    Men	 Shen	      Er	 	 	           	       	       	       	      	     	
Wei	     Shuo	 Fa         Ying	     Yi	      Bi	    Qiu	    Bi	 	      	       	 	            	       	      	 	
Qiu	      Ni     	 You	     Po	     Se	     You	     Po	    Yi		       	 	            	       	 	           	     	
Shen	 De	         Du       Zhe	     Ji	     Xian	    Bi	    Qiu	 	      	       	       	 	            	      	     	
 Bi	     Qiu	      Ni	     You	     Po	      Se	    You	    Po	 	      	       	 	            	       	 	         	
 Yi      Shen	     Er	     Wei     Shuo	     Fa     Ying	   Yi	 	      	       	       	       	       	 	         	
Zhang	 Zhe	        Ju	     Shi	     Zai    Guan	 Po	        Luo 	      	 	            	 	            	 	         	
Men	      Fu	     N      Shen	     De	     Du	     Zhe	    Ji	 	      	       	       	       	       	      	 	
Xian	     Fu	     N      Shen	      Er      Wei    Shuo	   Fa	 	      	       	       	       	       	      	     	
Ying	     Yi	     Tong	 Nan        Tong	 N         Shen	   De	 	      	       	       	       	       	      	     	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 31
 [...] For those who should be liberated by someone in
 the form of a brahman, then he will manifest in the
 form of a brahman and teach the Dharma to them.
 	      For those who should be liberated by someone
 in the form of a bhiksu, a bhiksuni, an upasaka, or an
 upasika, then he will manifest in the form of a bhiksu,
 a bhiksuni, an upasaka, or an upasika and teach the
 Dharma to them.
 	      For those who should be liberated by someone in
 the form of a woman from the family of an elder, a lay-
 person, a minister, or a brahman, then he will manifest
 in the form of a woman and teach the Dharma to them.
 	[...]
 	
32 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
 Du	     Zhe	      Ji      Xian     Tong	 Nan       Tong	 N
 	      	 	            	       	       	      	       	Shen	 Er	         Wei     Shuo	     Fa      Ying	    Yi	     Tian	 	      	       	       	       	 	           	       	
Long	 Ye         	Cha      Qian	    Ta	      Po	     A	      Xiu	 	 	           	 	            	       	 	           	
Luo	      Jia    	 Lou	    Luo	     Jin	     Na	    Luo	     Mo	 	 	           	       	 	            	      	 	
Hou	     Luo	     Qie	     Ren	     Fei	    Ren     Deng	 Shen	 	      	       	 	 	                 	      	       	
 De	     Du	      Zhe	      Ji	     Jie     Xian	    Zhi	     Er	 	      	       	 	            	       	      	       	
Wei     Shuo	      Fa     	 Ying	   Yi	     Zhi	     Jin    Gang	 	      	       	 	            	       	      	       	
Shen	 De	         Du      	 Zhe	    Ji	     Xian	    Zhi	     Jin 	      	       	       	 	            	      	       	
Gang Shen	 Er             	 Wei     Shuo	    Fa	     Wu	      Jin	 	      	       	       	       	       	 	           	
 Yi	      Shi    Guan	 Shi	         Yin	     Pu	    Sa      Cheng	 	 	           	       	       	       	      	 	
 Jiu	     Ru	     Shi     	 Gong	 De	        Yi     Zhong Zhong	 	      	       	       	       	 	           	       	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 33
 	      [...] For those who should be liberated by
 someone in the form of a young boy or young girl, then
 he will manifest in the form of a young boy or young
 girl and teach the Dharma to them.
 	      For those who should be liberated by someone
 in such forms as a deva, a naga, a yaksa, a gandharva,
 an asura, a garuda, a kimnara, a mahoraga, a human or
 a nonhuman being, then he will manifest in all these
 forms and teach the Dharma to them.
 	      For those who should be liberated by a vajrapa-
 ni deity, then he will manifest as a vajrapani deity and
 teach the Dharma to them.
 	      Aksayamati, such is the merit that Avalokitesvara
 Bodhisattva has accomplished, and the various forms
 in which he wanders the various lands bringing libera-
 tion to living beings.
34 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
Xing	 You         Zhu     	 Guo	    Tu	     Du      Tuo    Zhong
 	 	           	       	       	 	          	      	Sheng	 Shi	       Gu	       Ru     Deng      Ying Dang	     Yi	 	 	           	       	       	       	     	      	
Xin     Gong Yang         Guan	 Shi	        Yin	    Pu	     Sa	 	      	       	       	       	       	     	      	
Shi     Guan	 Shi         	 Yin	    Pu	      Sa     Mo	     He	 	      	       	       	       	       	     	      	
 Sa	      Yu	     Bu       Wei	      Ji	    Nan	    Zhi    Zhong	 	 	           	       	       	       	     	      	
Neng	 Shi	        Wu	      Wei	     Shi	    Gu	     Ci	     Suo	 	      	       	       	 	            	     	      	
 Po	      Shi	     Jie	    Jie	     Hao	    Zhi	    Wei	    Shi	 	      	       	 	            	       	     	      	
Wu	      Wei	     Zhe	      Wu	     Jin	     Yi	    Pu	     Sa	 	      	       	 	           	       	     	      	
Bai	      Fo	     Yan	      Shi	    Zun	    Wo	     Jin    Dang	 	      	        	 	 	                     	      	
Gong Yang Guan	 Shi	                Yin	     Pu	    Sa	      Ji	 	      	       	       	       	       	      	
 Jie     Jing    Zhong 	Bao         Zhu     Ying	   Luo	    Jia	 	      	       	       	       	       	     	 	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 35
 	      This is why all of you should single-mindedly
 make offerings to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, for it is
 the great Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva who can bestow
 fearlessness in the midst of terror and in dire circum-
 stances. This is why everyone in this Saha World calls
 him the bestower of fearlessness.
 	      Aksayamati Bodhi
                        sattva said to the Buddha,
 World-honored One, now I must make an offering to
 Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. [...]
36 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
Zhi	      Bai    Qian     Liang	    Jin	     Er	    Yi	    Yu	
 	      	       	       	       	 	          	     	Zhi	     Zuo	     Shi     	 Yan	    Ren	    Zhe    Shou    Ci	 	 	           	        	            	 	        	
 Fa      Shi     Zhen     	 Bao    Ying	    Luo    Shi    Guan	 	      	 	            	       	        		       	
Shi	      Yin	    Pu	       Sa	     Bu      Ken    Shou	 Zhi	 	      	       	       	       	       	     	     	
Wu	       Jin	     Yi	      Fu	     Bai    Guan	 Shi	     Yin	 	      	       	       	       	       	     	     	
 Pu	      Sa	     Yan      Ren	     Zhe	    Min	   Wo     Deng	 	      	        	            	 	          	     	
Gu      Shou	      Ci     Ying	     Luo	     Er	   Shi	    Fo	 	 	           	       	        	          	     	
Gao      Guan	 Shi	        Yin	     Pu	      Sa    Dang	 Min	 	      	       	       	       	        	        	
 Ci	      Wu	      Jin	     Yi	     Pu	      Sa	    Ji	    Si	 	      	       	       	       	       	 	        	
Zhong	 Tian      Long 	     Ye     Cha     Qian	   Ta	     Po	 	 	 	 	                     	 	          	     	
 A       Xiu	     Luo	     Jia	     Lou	    Luo	   Jin	    Na 	 	      	       	 	            	       	 	        	
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 37
 [...] Then he took from his neck a necklace of numer-
 ous precious gems worth thousands of ounces in gold,
 and gave it to him saying, Kind one, accept this neck-
 lace of precious gems as a Dharma gift.
 	      At the time, Avaloki
                            tesvara Bodhi
                                         sattva was
 unwilling to accept it. Aksayamati spoke once more
 to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Kind one, accept this
 necklace as a kindness to us.
 	      Then the Buddha said to Avalokitesvara Bodhi
 sattva, Accept this jeweled necklace out of compassion
 for Aksayamati Bodhisattva, as well as the four groups
 of Buddhist disciples, the devas, nagas, yaksas, gand-
 harvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, human
 and nonhuman beings. [...]
38 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
Luo	      Mo     Hou      Luo	      Qie	    Ren	    Fei	   Ren	
 	 	           	       	       	 	 	             	Deng	 Gu         Shou	     Shi     Ying	 Luo	       Ji	    Shi	 	      	 	            	       	        	        	
Guan	 Shi	        Yin	      Pu	     Sa      Min     Zhu	    Si	 	      	       	       	       	 	           	    	
Zhong	 Ji	        Yu      Tian     Long	    Ren	    Fei	   Ren 	 	           	       	 	 	 	                  	
Deng Shou	        Qi       Ying     Luo	    Fen	    Zuo	   Er	 	 	           	       	       	 	           	    	
Fen	      Yi	     Fen     Feng	     Shi	     Jia	   Mou	   Ni	 	 	           	       	       	       	      	    	
 Fo	      Yi	     Fen     Feng     Duo	     Bao	     Fo	   Ta	 	 	           	       	       	       	      	    
Wu	      Jin	      Yi     Guan	     Shi	    Yin	    Pu	    Sa		      	       	 	            	       	      	    	
You	      Ru	     Shi	      Zi	     Zai    Shen	     Li	   You	 	      	       	       	       	       	      	 	
 Yu	     Suo	      Po	     Shi	     Jie	     Er     Shi	   Wu	 	      	       	       	       		           	    	
 Jin	     Yi	     Pu	      Sa	      Yi	      Ji     Wen	   Yue 	      	       	       	       	       	      	    
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 39
 [...] Thereupon, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva accepted
 the jeweled necklace out of compassion for the four
 groups of Buddhist disciples, the devas and nagas, and
 the human and nonhuman beings, and dividing it into
 two parts, presented one part to Sakyamuni Buddha
 and presented the other part to the stupa of Prabhuta-
 ratna Buddha.
 	      Aksayamati, it is with such freely exercised spiri-
 tual powers that Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva wanders
 through the Saha World.
 	      Then Aksayamati Bodhisattva asked his question
 in verse:
40 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
         Shi	     Zun	     Miao	 Xiang	 Ju
 	       	       	       	       	                Wo	      Jin    Chong Wen	          Bi 	       	       	       	       	       
          Fo	      Zi	     He	      Yin	    Yuan 	       	       	       	       	       
        Ming	 Wei         Guan	 Shi	         Yin 	       	       	       	       	       
          Ju	     Zu      Miao     Xiang	 Zun 	       	       	       	       	       
          Ji	     Da	      Wu	      Jin	     Yi 	       	       	       	       	       
         Ru      Ting     Guan	     Yin	    Xing 	       	       	       	       	       
        Shan     Ying	     Zhu     Fang	     Suo 	       	       	       	       	       
        Hong	 Shi         Shen	     Ru	      Hai 	       	       	       	       	       
          Li	     Jie	     Bu	      Si	      Yi 	       	       	       	       	       
         Shi	     Duo	     Qian	    Yi	      Fo 	       	       	       	       	       
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 41
     World-honored One with all the wonderful signs,
     Let me now ask about him once more:
     For what reason is this son of the Buddha
     Named Observing the Sounds of the World?
     World-honored One with all the wonderful signs
     Answered Aksayamati in verse:
     You listen now to the practice of Avalokitesvara,
     Who well responds to every region.
     His great vow is as deep as the sea,
     Inconceivable even after many kalpas.
     Having served Buddhas in the hundreds of billions,
42 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
          Fa	     Da      Qing	     Jing	 Yuan
 	       	       	       	       	                Wo	      Wei	     Ru	      Le	    Shuo 	       	       	       	       	       
         Wen	 Ming	         Ji	    Jian	    Shen 	       	       	       	       	       
         Xin	     Nian	    Bu	     Kong	 Guo 	       	       	       	       	       
         Neng	 Mie	       Zhu	      You	     Ku 	       	       	       	       	       
         Jia	     Shi	    Xing	     Hai	     Yi 	       	       	       	       	       
         Tui	     Luo	     Da	     Huo	     Keng 	       	       	       	       	       
         Nian	     Bi     Guan	 Yin	          Li 	       	       	       	       	       
         Huo	     Keng	 Bian Cheng	 Chi 	       	       	       	       	       
         Huo	     Piao	    Liu	     Ju	     Hai 	       	       	       	       	       
         Long	 Yu	        Zhu	     Gui	     Nan 	       	       	       	       	       
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 43
     He has made a great and pure vow.
     Let me briefly tell you:
     Hearing his name and seeing his form,
     Keeping him unremittingly in mind,
     Can eliminate all manner of suffering.
     Suppose someone with harmful intent,
     Casts you into a great pit of fire;
     Keep in mind Avalokitesvaras powers,
     And the pit of fire will change into a pond.
     Or you are cast adrift upon an immense ocean,
     Menaced by dragons, fish, and demons;
44 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
         Nian	     Bi	    Guan	 Yin	         Li
 	       	       	       	       	                 Bo	     Lang	 Bu        Neng	 Mo 	       	       	       	       	       
         Huo	     Zai	     Xu	      Mi	     Feng 	       	       	       	       	       
         	Wei	    Ren	    Suo	      Tui	    Duo 	       	       	       	       	       
         Nian	     Bi    Guan	      Yin	     Li 	       	       	       	       	       
         Ru	       Ri	     Xu	     Kong	 Zhu 	       	       	       	       	       
         Huo	     Bei	      E	     Ren	     Zhu 	       	       	       	       	       
         Duo	     Luo	     Jin     Gang	 Shan 	       	       	       	       	       
         Nian	     Bi    Guan	      Yin	     Li 	       	       	       	       	       
         	 Bu    Neng	 Sun	         Yi	     Mao 	       	       	       	       	       
         Huo	     Zhi	    Yuan	 Zei	        Rao 	       	       	       	       	       
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 45
     Keep in mind Avalokitesvaras powers,
     And the waves will not drown you.
     Or someone pushes you down,
     From the top of Mount Sumeru;
     Keep in mind Avalokitesvaras powers,
     And you will hang in the sky like the sun.
     Or you are pursued by evil doers,
     Who push you down from Mount Vajra;
     Keep in mind Avalokitesvaras powers,
     And not one of your hairs will be harmed.
     Or if surrounded by malevolent brigands,
46 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
         Ge	      Zhi	    Dao	      Jia	    Hai
 	       	       	       	       	                Nian	     Bi     Guan	     Yin	     Li 	       	       	       	       	       
         Xian	     Ji	     Qi	      Ci	     Xin 	       	       	       	       	       
         Huo	     Zao     Wang	 Nan	         Ku 	       	       	       	       	       
         Lin	     Xing	    Yu     Shou Zhong 	       	       	       	       	       
         Nian	     Bi     Guan	     Yin	     Li 	       	       	       	       	       
         Dao	     Xun     Duan Duan	 Huai 	       	       	       	       	       
         Huo	     Qiu	     Jin	     Jia	    Suo 	       	       	       	       	       
         Shou	    Zu	      Bei     Chou	 Xie 	       	       	       	       	       
         Nian	     Bi     Guan	     Yin	     Li 	       	       	       	       	       
         Shi	     Ran	     De	      Jie	    Tuo 	       	       	       	       	       
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 47
     Each one brandishing a knife to attack you;
     Keep in mind Avalokitesvaras powers,
     And they will all experience a mind of loving-
       kindness.
     Or if persecuted by the royal court,
     Facing death by execution;
     Keep in mind Avalokitesvaras powers,
     And the executioners blade will break into pieces.
     Or if imprisoned with cangue and chains,
     Hands and feet manacled and shackled;
     Keep in mind Avalokitesvaras powers,
     And the bonds will loosen and you will be liberated.
48 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
        Zhou	 Zu	         Zhu	      Du	     Yao
 	       	       	       	       	                Suo	     Yu	     Hai      Shen	    Zhe 	       	       	       	       	       
         Nian	     Bi    Guan	      Yin	     Li 	       	       	       	       	       
         Huan Zhuo	        Yu	     Ben	     Ren 	       	       	       	       	       
         Huo	     Yu	       E	     Luo	     Cha 	       	       	       	       	       
         Du      Long	 Zhu	        Gui	     Deng 	       	       	       	       	       
         Nian	     Bi    Guan	      Yin	     Li 	       	       	       	       	       
         Shi	      Xi	     Bu	     Gan	     Hai 	       	       	       	       	       
         Ruo	      E      Shou	 Wei	        Rao 	       	       	       	       	       
          Li	     Ya      Zhao	     Ke	      Bu 	       	       	       	       	       
         Nian	     Bi    Guan	      Yin	     Li 	       	       	       	       	       
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 49
     If there is someone who would do you harm,
     Using spells and various poisons;
     Keep in mind Avalokitesvaras powers,
     And any harm will rebound on the originator.
     Or if you encounter evil raksas,
     Venomous dragons, various ghosts, and the like;
     Keep in mind Avalokitesvaras powers,
     And then none of them will dare harm you.
     If you are surrounded by evil beasts
     With their sharp teeth and claws so horrifying;
     Keep in mind Avalokitesvaras powers,
50 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
          Ji	     Zou	    Wu	      Bian	 Fang
 	       	       	       	       	                Yuan	 She	         Ji	     Fu	     Xie 	       	       	       	       	       
         Qi	      Du	     Yan	     Huo	     Ran 	       	       	       	       	       
         Nian	     Bi     Guan	     Yin	      Li 	       	       	       	       	       
         Xun Sheng	         Zi	     Hui	    Qu 	       	       	       	       	       
         Yun	     Lei	     Gu	      Che	 Dian 	       	       	       	       	       
         Jiang	 Bao	      Shu	      Da	      Yu 	       	       	       	       	       
         Nian	     Bi     Guan	     Yin	      Li 	       	       	       	       	       
         Ying	    Shi	     De	     Xiao	    San 	       	       	       	       	       
        Zhong Sheng	 Bei	          Kun	       E 	       	       	       	       	       
         Wu      Liang	    Ku	      Bi	     Shen 	       	       	       	       	       
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 51
     And they will flee in all directions.
     When lizards, snakes, vipers, and scorpions
     Scorch you with their poisonous vapors;
     Keep in mind Avalokitesvaras powers,
     And they will retreat at the sound of your voice.
     When thunderclouds rumble with lighting strikes,
     As hailstones and torrential rains come down;
     Keep in mind Avalokitesvaras powers,
     And the storm will disperse that very moment.
     Living beings suffer in agony,
     Oppressed by immeasurable pain;
52 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
        Guan	 Yin         Miao	     Zhi	     Li
 	       	       	       	       	               Neng	 Jiu	         Shi	    Jian	     Ku 	       	       	       	       	       
         Ju	      Zu      Shen     Tong	      Li 	       	       	       	       	       
        Guang	 Xiu	       Zhi     Fang	 Bian 	       	       	       	       	       
         Shi     Fang	    Zhu	     Guo	      Tu 	       	       	       	       	       
         Wu	 Cha	 Bu	 Xian	Shen 	       	       	       	       	       
        Zhong Zhong	 Zhu	            E	     Qu 	       	       	       	       	       
         Di	      Yu	     Gui	     Chu     Sheng 	       	       	       	       	       
        Sheng	 Lao	       Bing	     Si	      Ku 	       	       	       	       	       
          Yi	     Jian	     Xi	    Ling	    Mie 	       	       	       	       	       
        Zhen Guan Qing	 Jing	               Guan 	       	       	       	       	       
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 53
     The power of Avalokitesvaras wondrous wisdom
     Can bring liberation from the worlds sufferings.
     Perfect in supernatural powers,	
     Widely practicing the skillful means of wisdom,
     In all the lands of the ten directions,
     There is no place where he fails to manifest.
     The lower realms in all their forms,
     That of hell-beings, hungry ghosts, and animals,
     The sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, and death,
     He steadily brings them all to an end.
     Contemplation of truth, contemplation of purity,
54 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
        Guang	 Da	         Zhi	     Hui	    Guan
 	       	       	       	       	                Bei     Guan	      Ji	     Ci	     Guan 	       	       	       	       	       
        Chang	 Yuan Chang Zhan	 Yang 	       	       	       	       	       
         Wu	      Gou	    Qing	 Jing Guang 	       	       	       	       	       
         Hui	      Ri	     Po	     Zhu	      An 	       	       	       	       	       
        Neng	 Fu	          Zai     Feng	 Huo 	       	       	       	       	       
         Pu      Ming Zhao	 Shi	            Jian 	       	       	       	       	       
         Bei	      Ti	     Jie	     Lei	    Zhen 	       	       	       	       	       
          Ci	      Yi     Miao	     Da	     Yun 	       	       	       	       	       
         Shu	     Gan	     Lu	      Fa	      Yu 	       	       	       	       	       
         Mie     Chu	      Fan	    Nao	     Yan 	       	       	       	       	       
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 55
     Contemplation of the vast and greater wisdom,
     Contemplation of compassion and contemplation
       of kindness;
     Ever longed for, ever looked up to.
     His undefiled light of purity
     Is the wisdom-sun dispelling all darkness,
     What can quell winds and fires that bring disaster
     And illuminate the world universally.
     Precepts of his compassionate body are like rolling
       thunder;
     The profundity of his kind mind is like a great cloud;
     He showers us with Dharma rain like nectar,
     That extinguishes the flames of affliction.
56 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
        Zheng	 Song       Jing    Guan	 Chu
 	       	       	       	       	                Bu	      Wei	     Jun     Zhen Zhong 	       	       	       	       	       
        Nian	      Bi     Guan     Yin       Li 	       	       	       	       	       
        Zhong	 Yuan	        Xi	     Tui	    San 	       	       	       	       	       
        Miao	     Yin     Guan	     Shi	     Yin 	       	       	       	       	       
         Fan	     Yin	     Hai     Chao	     Yin 	       	       	       	       	       
        Sheng	 Bi	         Shi	    Jian	    Yin 	       	       	       	       	       
         Shi	     Gu	      Xu     Chang	Nian 	       	       	       	       	       
        Nian	     Nian	    Wu      Sheng	 Yi 	       	       	       	       	       
        Guan	 Shi	         Yin	    Jing	    Sheng 	       	       	       	       	       
         Yu	      Ku	     Nao	      Si	       E 	       	       	       	       	       
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 57
     When lawsuits bring you to court,
     Or when fear strikes you in battle,
     Keep in mind Avalokitesvaras powers,
     And the enemy forces will all retreat.
     Contemplating the worlds voices with a wondrous
       voice,
     A Brahma voice, an ocean-tide voice,
     What surpasses those voices of the world;
     Therefore constantly keep them in mind.
     Never doubt from moment to moment,
     The pure and noble Avalokitesvara;
     For those in pain and agony, or facing death,
58 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
        Neng	 Wei	        Zuo	      Yi	      Hu
 	       	       	       	       	                 Ju	      Yi	    Qie     Gong	      De 	       	       	       	       	       
          Ci	     Yan	     Shi    Zhong	 Sheng 	       	       	       	       	       
          Fu	     Ju	      Hai	     Wu	     Liang 	       	       	       	       	       
         Shi	     Gu	     Ying	 Ding	        Li 	       	       	       	       	       
 Er	     Shi	     Chi	     Di	      Pu	      Sa	     Ji    Cong 	      	       	       	       	       	     	     
Zuo	      Qi     Qian	     Bai	     Fo	     Yan	    Shi	   Zun 	      	 	            	       	        	        
Ruo	     You     Zhong Sheng Wen	           Shi     Guan	 Shi 	      	       	       	       	       	     	     
Yin	     Pu	       Sa	     Pin	     Zi	     Zai	    Zhi	   Ye 	      	       	       	 	            	     	     
 Pu     Men	      Shi     Xian     Shen Tong	        Li	   Zhe 	      	       	       	       	       	     	     
Dang	 Zhi	        Shi	     Ren     Gong	     De	     Bu    Shao 	      	       	       	 	            	           
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 59
     He can be their aid and support!
     In possession of all merit and virtue,
     He views living beings with the eyes of loving-
       kindness;
     His ocean of accumulated merit is infinite,
     So worship him with prostrations.
 	      At this time Dharanimdhara Bodhi
                                        sattva rose
 from his seat, came forward, and said to the Buddha,
 World-honored One, if there are living beings who
 hear this chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva about
 his freedom of action, his revelation of the universal
 gate, and his supernatural powers, it should be known
 that their merits are not few.
 	[...]
60 Miaofa Lianhua Jing Guanshiyin Pusa Pumen Pin
 Fo     Shuo	 Shi	         Pu      Men	      Pin	   Shi    Zhong
 	      	       	       	       	       	     	 Zhong	 Ba        Wan	       Si    Qian     Zhong	 Sheng	 Jie 	      	       	       	       	       	     	      
 Fa	     Wu      Deng Deng	          A      Nou	    Duo	   Luo 	      	       	       	       	       	     	      
San      Miao	 San	        Pu	      Ti	     Xin	       	       	       	       	       
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 61
 	      [...] When the Buddha preached this chapter on
 the Universal Gate, the eighty-four thousand living
 beings assembled there all generated the aspiration to
 attain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.
 Bo	     Re	    Bo    Luo	        Mi     Duo	 Xin      Jing
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
Guan	   Zi	    Zai	   Pu	         Sa	    Xing	 Shen	   Bo
	      	     	     	          	 	        	     Re	     Bo	    Luo	   Mi	         Duo	   Shi	   Zhao	 Jian	      	     	     	          	     	 	        
Wu	     Yun	   Jie    Kong	 Du	          Yi	    Qie	   Ku	      	     	     	 	             	     	     
 E	     She	   Li	     Zi	        Se	    Bu	    Yi	    Kong	 	         	     	 	             	     	     
Kong	 Bu	      Yi	    Se	         Se	     Ji	   Shi	   Kong	      	     	     	 	             	     	     
Kong	   Ji	    Shi	   Se      Shou       Xiang	Xing	 Shi	      	     	     	 	             	     	     
 Yi	    Fu	    Ru	    Shi	        She	    Li	   Zi	    Shi	      	     	     	 	             	     	 
                             62
                     Heart Sutra
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, while contemplating deeply
the prajnaparamita, realized the five aggregates are empty
and was liberated from all suffering and hardship.
   Sariputra, form is not different from emptiness, emp-
tiness is not different from form. Form is emptiness.
Emptiness is form. The same is true of feeling, percep-
tion, mental formations, and consciousness.
   [...]
                            63
64 Mohe Bore Boluomiduo Xin Jing
Zhu	     Fa     Kong     Xiang	 Bu         Sheng	 Bu	     Mie
 	      	       	      	 	            	     	     Bu      Gou	     Bu       Jing	     Bu     Zeng	   Bu	    Jian	       	       	      	 	            	     	     
Shi	     Gu      Kong Zhong	 Wu	            Se	    Wu     Shou 	      	       	      	        	      	 	        
Xiang Xing	      Shi	     Wu	       Yan	    Er	    Bi	    She 	      	       	 	            	      	     	     
Shen	     Yi	    Wu	      Se       Sheng Xiang	Wei	 Chu	       	 	           	        	      	     	     
 Fa	     Wu	     Yan	     Jie	      Nai	   Zhi	    Wu	     Yi 	 	           	      	 	            	     	     
 Shi	    Jie	    Wu	      Wu       Ming	    Yi	    Wu	    Wu 	      	 	           	        	 	         	     
Ming 	 Jin	      Nai      Zhi	      Wu	    Lao	    Si	     Yi 	      	 	           	        	      	     	 
Wu	      Lao	     Si	     Jin	      Wu	     Ku	    Ji	    Mie 	      	       	      	 	            	     	     
Dao	     Wu	     Zhi	      Yi	      Wu	     De	    Yi	    Wu 	 	           	      	        	      	 	        
Suo	     De	     Gu	      Pu	       Ti	     Sa	    Duo	    Yi 	      	       	 	            	      	     	 	
                                             Heart Sutra 65
   [...] Sariputra, all phenomena are empty. They
do not arise or cease, are not defiled or pure, do not
increase or decrease. Thus, in emptiness, there are no
forms, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, or
consciousness.
   No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no form,
sound, smell, taste, touch or dharmas; no eye con-
sciousness so on unto mind consciousness; no igno-
rance and extinction of ignorance; even unto no aging
and death and no extinction of aging and death; no suf-
fering, cause of suffering, cessation, or path; no wisdom
and no attainment.
   [...]
66 Mohe Bore Boluomiduo Xin Jing
 Bo	     Re	      Bo	     Luo	     Mi	    Duo	    Gu	     Xin
 	      	       	      	       	      	      	 	 Wu	     Gua	     Ai	     Wu	      Gua	    Ai	    Gu	     Wu 	      	       	 	           	      	      	 	
You     Kong	     Bu     Yuan	     Li     Dian	   Dao     Meng 	      	       	 	           	      	      	      	
Xiang	 Jiu       Jing	    Nie	     Pan	   San	    Shi	    Zhu 	 	           	      	       	 	          	      	
 Fo	      Yi	     Bo	     Re	      Bo	    Luo	     Mi	    Duo 	 	           	      	       	      	      	      	
 Gu	     De	      A      Nou	      Duo	   Luo	    San     Miao	 	 	           	      	       	      	      	      	
San	     Pu	      Ti	     Gu	      Zhi	    Bo	     Re	     Bo		       	       	 	           	      	      	      	
Luo	     Mi      Duo	     Shi	     Da     Shen    Zhou	 Shi	 	      	       	 	           	      	      	 	
Da      Ming Zhou	        Shi	     Wu     Shang	Zhou	 Shi	 	      	       	 	           	      	      	 	
Wu      Deng Deng Zhou Neng               Chu	     Yi	    Qie	 	      	       	      	 	           	      	      	
 Ku     Zhen	    Shi	     Bu	      Xu	    Gu	     Shuo	    Bo	 	 	           	      	       	 	          	      	
                                               Heart Sutra 67
    [...] As there is no attainment, bodhisattvas who
rely on the prajnaparamita have neither worry nor
obstruction. Without worry and obstruction, there is
no fear. Away from confusion and delusion, they will
ultimately reach nirvana. All the Buddhas of the past,
present, and future rely on the prajnaparamita to attain
anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.
    Thus, know that the prajnaparamita is the great
profound mantra, is the illuminating mantra, is the
most supreme of all mantras, is the unequalled mantra,
able to eliminate all suffering, is true and not false.
    [...]
68 Mohe Bore Boluomiduo Xin Jing
 Re	     Bo	     Luo	     Mi	      Duo   Zhou	   Ji     Shuo	
 	      	       	      	       	    	 	          	Zhou	Yue 	      
 Jie	    Di       Jie	    Di	      Bo	   Luo	    Jie	    Di	 	      	       	      	       	    	      	      
 Bo	     Luo     Seng	    Jie	     Di	   Pu	     Ti	     Sa	 	      	       	      	       	    	      	      
 Po	     He 	      		
                                        Heart Sutra 69
   [...] Thus, proclaim the Prajnaparamita Mantra,
proclaim the mantra that says:
   Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.
           Qian Shou Qian	 Yan	 Wu	                 Ai	     	           	 	 	 	 	 	
	           Da	    Bei	    Xin        Tuo   Luo	    Ni
     	     	 	 	 	 	 Nan	       Mo	    He	     La	         Da	   Na	    Duo	   La	
    	     	     	      	          	    	     	     
    Ye	    Ye     Nan	    Mo	         A	    Li	    Ye	    Po	
    	     	 	         	          	    	     	 
    Lu	    Jie	   Di      Shuo	 Bo	         La	    Ye	    Pu	
    	     	     	 	               	 	       	 	
    Ti	    Sa     Duo	    Po	         Ye	   Mo	    He	    Sa	
    	     	     	      	          	 	       	     	
Duo	       Po	    Ye	     Mo	         He	   Jia	   Lu	    Ni	
    	     	     	 	              	    	     	     	
    Jia	   Ye	    An	     Sa	         Po	   La	    Fa	    Yi
    	     	 	 	                 	    	     	     	
                                 70
                              Dharani of Great Compassion 71
Shu	   Da	    Na	    Da	   Xie     Nan	     Mo	       Xi	
	     	     	     	    	 	            	      	Ji	    Li     Duo	   Yi    Meng	    A	       Li	      Ye		     	     	     	    	       	       	      	
Po	    Lu	     Ji	   Di	   Shi	     Fo	      La     Leng		     	     	     	 	         	       	      	
Tuo	   Po     Nan	   Mo	   Na	      La	     Jin	     Chi		     	 	        	    	       	       	      	
Xi	    Li	    Mo	    He	   Po	     Duo	     Sha	     Mie		     	     	     	 	         	       	      	
Sa	    Po	     A	    Ta    Dou	    Shu	     Peng	     A		     	     	     	 	         	       	 	
Shi	   Yun	   Sa	    Po	    Sa	    Duo	     Na	      Mo		     	 	        	    	       	 	           	
Po	    Sa     Duo	   Na	   Mo	      Po	     Qie	     Mo		     	     	 	       	       	       	 	
Fa	    Te     Dou	   Da	   Zhi	     Ta	     An	       A	     	     	 	       	       	 	 	
Po	    Lu	     Xi	   Lu	    Jia	    Di	      Jia	    Luo		     	     	 	       	       	 	           	
Di	    Yi	     Xi	   Li	   Mo	      He	     Pu	       Ti		 	        	     	 	         	       	      	
72 Qianshou Qianyan Wuai Dabeixin Tuoluoni
 Sa      Duo	     Sa	      Po	      Sa	       Po	     Mo	   La	
 	      	 	            	       	        	 	        	
 Mo	     La	      Mo	      Xi	     Mo	        Xi	     Li	   Tuo	
 	      	 	            	       	        	 	        	
Yun	     Ju	      Lu	      Ju	      Lu	       Jie    Meng	 Du	
 	 	           	       	       	        	      	 	
 Lu	     Du	      Lu	      Fa	     She	       Ye	     Di	   Mo	
 	      	       	       	       	        	      	 	
 He	     Fa      She	      Ye	      Di        Tuo	    La	   Tuo	
 	      	       	       	       	 	            	    	
 La	     Di	      Li	      Ni	     Shi	       Fo	     La	   Ye	
 	 	           	       	 	             	      	    	
Zhe	     La	      Zhe	     La	     Mo	        Mo	     Fa	   Mo	
 	      	       	       	 	             	      	    	
 La	     Mu	      Di	      Li	      Yi	       Xi	     Yi	   Xi	
 	 	           	       	 	             	      	    	
 Shi	    Na	      Shi	     Na	      A	        La	    San	   Fo	
 	      	       	       	 	             	      	    	
 La	     She	     Li	      Fa	     Sha	       Fa	    San	   Fo	
 	      	       	 	            	        	      	 	
 La	     She	     Ye	      Hu	      Lu	       Hu	     Lu	   Mo	
 	      	       	 	            	        	      	    	
                              Dharani of Great Compassion 73
La	    Hu	    Lu	    Hu	    Lu	     Xi	      Li	     Suo	
	 	        	     	     	      	       	 	
La	    Suo	   La	    Xi	    Li	     Xi	      Li	      Su	
	     	     	 	        	      	       	 	
Lu	    Su	    Lu	    Pu	    Ti	     Ye	      Pu	      Ti	
	     	     	 	        	      	       	      	
Ye	    Pu	    Tuo	   Ye	    Pu	    Tuo	      Ye	      Mi	
	 	        	          	 	     	       	 	
Di	    Li	    Ye	    Na	    La	     Jin	    Chi	      Di	
	     	     	 	        	      	       	 	
Li	    Se	    Ni	    Na	    Po	     Ye	     Mo	       Na	
	     	     	     	 	         	       	      	
Suo	   Po	    He	    Xi	    Tuo	    Ye	     Suo	      Po	
	     	     	 	        	      	 	           	
He	    Mo	    He	    Xi	    Tuo	    Ye	     Suo	      Po	
	 	        	     	     	      	 	           	
He	    Xi     Tuo	   Yu	    Yi	    Shi	      Po	      La	
	 	        	     	     	 	           	      	
Ye	    Suo	   Po	    He	    Na	     La	     Jin	     Chi	
	 	        	     	 	         	       	      	
Suo	   Po	    He	    Mo	    La	     Na	      La	     Suo	
	     	     	 	        	      	       	 	
74 Qianshou Qianyan Wuai Dabeixin Tuoluoni
 Po	     He	      Xi	      La     Seng	       A	     Mu	    Qia	
 	      	 	            	       	        	     	     	
 Ye	     Suo	     Po	      He	     Suo	       Po	    Mo	    He	
 	 	           	       	 	             	     	     	
 A	       Xi     Tuo	      Ye	     Suo	       Po	    He	    Zhe	
 	      	       	       	 	             	     	 	
 Ji	     La	       A	      Xi	     Tuo	       Ye	    Suo	   Po	
 	      	       	       	       	        	 	        	
 He	     Po	      Tuo	     Mo	      Jie	      Xi	    Tuo	   Ye	
 	 	           	       	       	        	     	     	
Suo	     Po	      He	      Na	      La	       Jin	   Chi	   Po	
 	      	       	 	            	        	     	     	
 Qie	    La	      Ye	      Suo	     Po	       He	    Mo	    Po	
 	      	       	 	            	        	 	        	
 Li     Sheng	 Jie	        La	      Ye	       Suo	   Po	    He	
 	      	       	       	       	 	           	     	
Nan	     Mo	      He	      La	     Da	        Na	    Duo	   La	
 	      	       	       	       	        	     	     	
 Ye	     Ye	      Nan	     Mo	      A	        Li	    Ye	    Po	
 	      	 	            	       	        	     	 	
 Lu	      Ji	     Di     Shuo	      Po	       La	    Ye	    Suo	
 	      	       	 	            	        	     	 	
                           Dharani of Great Compassion 75
Po	   He	   An	    Xi    Dian	   Du	     Man	     Duo	
	    	 	 	          	     	 	           	La	   Ba    Tuo	   Ye	   Suo	    Po	     He	 	      	     	 	        	       		
                       San Gui             Yi 			                   	 	 
 Zi	    Gui	    Yi	      Fo      Dang Yuan Zhong Sheng
	       	     	      	 	                  	     	     Ti	     Jie	   Da     	 Dao	        Fa         Wu    Shang	 Xin       	 	    	      	 	                  	     	    
	
 Zi	    Gui	    Yi      Fa       Dang Yuan Zhong Sheng
	       	     	      	 	                  	     	    
Shen	 Ru	       Jing    Zang         Zhi        Hui    Ru	   Hai
	       	     	      	 	                  	     	    
 Zi	    Gui	    Yi      Seng     Dang Yuan Zhong Sheng
	       	     	      	 	                  	     	    Tong	    Li	    Da     Zhong	        Yi         Qie    Wu	    Ai	       	     	      	 	                  	     	    
                                76
                   Triple Refuge
I take refuge in the Buddha, wishing that all sentient
beings understand the Dharma and make the supreme
vow.
I take refuge in the Dharma, wishing that all sentient
beings study the sutras diligently and obtain an ocean
of wisdom.
I take refuge in the Sangha, wishing that all sentient
beings lead the masses in harmony without obstruction.
                         77
		
		              Hui Xiang     Ji
			             	 	 
     Ci   Bei    Xi   She    Bian	 Fa     Jie
	   	 	 	 	 	 	      Xi   Fu    Jie   Yuan   Li    Ren    Tian
	   	 	 	 	 	 	     Chan Jing   Jie   Hen Ping Deng Ren
	   	 	 	 	 	 	     Can   Kui   Gan    En    Da    Yuan   Xin
	   	 	 	 	 	 	                        78
            Dedication of Merit
May kindness, compassion, joy , and equanimity
   pervade the dharma realms;
May all people and heavenly beings benefit from
   our blessings and friendship;
May our ethical practice of Chan, Pure Land, and
   Precepts help us to realize equality and patience;
May we undertake the great vows with humility
   and gratitude.
                      79
                          Glossary
anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. A Sanskrit term meaning com-
   plete, unexcelled enlightenment; an attribute of all Buddhas.
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. The bodhisattva of compassion
   whose name means Observing the Sounds of the World.
   He is known as one of the great bodhisattvas of Mahayana
   Buddhism and is very popular throughout China.
bodhisattva. While the term can describe a practitioner any-
   where on the path to Buddhahood, it usually refers to a
   class of beings who stand on the very edge of full enlight-
   enment but remain in the world to help other beings be-
   come enlightened.
Buddha. A Sanskrit word meaning Awakened One. Though
   there are many Buddhas, the term typically refers to
   Sakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha and founder of
   Buddhism. Buddhahood is the attainment and expression
   that characterizes a Buddha and the ultimate goal of all
   sentient beings.
Dharma. A Sanskrit word meaning truth; referring to the
   Buddhas teachings, as well as the truth of the universe.
                               80
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 81
      When capitalized, it denotes both the ultimate truth and
      the teachings of the Buddha. When the term appears in
      lowercase, it refers to anything that can be thought of,
      experienced, or named; this usage is close in meaning to
      the concept of phenomena.
 emptiness. The concept that everything in the world arises
    due to dependent origination and has no permanent self
    or substance. All phenomena are said to be empty of an
    inherently independent self.
 enlightenment. The state of awakening to the ultimate
     truth. This is freedom from all afflictions and suffering.
  five aggregates. The five aggregates make up a human be-
      ing. They are: form, feeling, perception, mental forma-
      tions, and consciousness.
  merit. Blessings that occur because of wholesome deeds.
  nirvana. A state of perfect tranquility that is the ultimate
      goal of Buddhist practice. The original meaning of this
      word is extinguished, calmed, quieted, tamed, or
     dead. In Buddhism, it refers to the absolute extinction
      of individual existence or the extinction of all afflictions
      and desires; it is the state of liberation beyond the cycle
      of birth and death.
82 Glossary
paramita. A Sanskrit word meaning crossed over or per-
    fection. This denotes passage to the other shore of the
   tranquility of nirvana. This is spiritual success.
prajna. A Sanskrit word meaning wisdom. This typically
    refers to a transcendent variety of wisdom that comes
    from seeing the true nature of reality. Prajna wisdom is
    considered the highest form of wisdom, the wisdom of
    insight into the true nature of all phenomena.
Saha World. Saha literally means endurance. It indicates
   the present world where we reside, which is full of suf-
   fering to be endured. The beings in this world endure
   suffering and afflictions due to their greed, anger, ha-
   tred, and ignorance. Also referred to as samsara, or
   the cycle of birth and death. When sentient beings die,
   they are reborn into one of the six realms of existence:
   heaven, human, asura, animal, hungry ghost, and hell.
   The cycle continues as a result of ones karmic actions.
   Outside of the Saha World exist four additional realms:
   that of the sravaka, pratekyabuddha, bodhisattva, and
   Buddha. Taken together with the six realms previously
   mentioned, they are called the ten realms.
Sakyamuni Buddha. Siddhartha Gautama of the Sakya
   clan, the historical Buddha and founder of the religion
   known today as Buddhism. The name Sakyamuni
The Lotus Sutras Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 83
      means Sage of the Sakyans. He was born the prince
      of Kapilavastu, son of King Suddhodana. At the age
      of twenty-nine, he left the royal palace and his fam-
      ily in search of the meaning of existence. At the age of
      thirty-five, he attained enlightenment under the bodhi
      tree. He then spent the next forty-five years expounding
      his teachings, which include the Four Noble Truths, the
      Noble Eightfold Path, the law of cause and effect, and
      dependent origination. At the age of eighty, he entered
      the state of parinirvana.
  Sariputra. One of the ten great disciples of the Buddha. He
      is known as foremost in wisdom.
  sutra. A Sanskrit word used to describe a variety of reli-
      gious and non-religious writings, but most commonly
      used in a Buddhist context to refer to the recorded dis-
      courses of the Buddha.
 Tathagata. One of the ten epithets of a Buddha, literally
     translated as Thus Come One, meaning the one who
     has attained full realization of suchness, which means
     true essence or actuality. Tathagata is the one dwelling
     in the absolute, beyond all transitory phenomena, so
     that he can freely come and go anywhere.
  three thousandfold world system. According to Buddhist
      cosmology, there are an infinite number of worlds. Each
84 Glossary
    world has at its center a Mount Sumeru surrounded
    by seven oceans with seven rings of golden mountains
    separating each ocean. Surrounding these are four con-
    tinents and eight subcontinents. Humans reside on the
    southern continent of Jambudvipa. When one thousand
    of these worlds are grouped together it is called a small
    world system, one thousand small world systems equal
    a medium world system, and one thousand medium
    world systems equal a large world system. A three
    thousandfold world system is a combination of these
    three types of world systems.
World-honored One. One of the ten epithets of the Buddha.
                    Fo Guang Shan
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