Guarding the Buddha's Own Lineage
Maitreya's hymn continues: Sudhana will perfect every great vow, subdue every māra, be endowed with pure karma, and dispel every affliction; he will accomplish all-knowing wisdom, fully realizing the profound Dharma, dispelling the afflictions and manifold sufferings of every being. Every sentient being turns upon the wheel that flows through birth and death — Sudhana will turn the pure Dharma-wheel to dispel the wheel of every suffering. He guards the buddha's own lineage, purely cultivates the Dharma-lineage, gathers in the saṅgha's own lineage, and fully realizes the lineage of the three times. He will perfect the net of every great vow, breaking apart the net of wrong views, tearing through every net of craving, and shattering every net of suffering. He accomplishes the nature of an upright mind, is endowed with the nature of wisdom, adorns and purifies the nature of the world, and liberates the nature of sentient beings.
Turning the Pure Dharma-Wheel to Dispel the Wheel of Suffering
「成滿諸大願， 降伏一切魔，
具足清淨業， 除滅諸煩惱。
成就一切智， 了達甚深法，
除滅諸群生， 煩惱眾苦患。
一切眾生輪， 迴流生死輪，
為轉淨法輪， 除滅眾苦輪。
守護佛種姓， 淨修法種姓，
攝取僧種性， 了三世種姓。
成滿大願網， 壞散邪見網，
爴裂諸愛網， 決破眾苦網。
成就直心性， 具足智慧性，
嚴淨世界性， 度脫眾生性。」
"He will perfect every great vow, subdue every māra,
Be endowed with pure karma, dispel every affliction.
He will accomplish all-knowing wisdom, fully realizing the profound Dharma,
Dispelling the afflictions and manifold sufferings of every multitude of beings.
Every sentient being turns upon the wheel, flowing through the wheel of birth and death —
He will turn the pure Dharma-wheel, to dispel the wheel of every suffering.
He guards the buddha's own lineage, purely cultivates the Dharma-lineage,
Gathers in the saṅgha's own lineage, fully realizes the lineage of the three times.
He will perfect the net of every great vow, breaking apart the net of wrong views,
Tearing through every net of craving, shattering every net of suffering.
He accomplishes the nature of an upright mind, is endowed with the nature of wisdom,
Adorns and purifies the nature of the world, liberates the nature of sentient beings."
"The buddha's own lineage... the Dharma-lineage... the saṅgha's own lineage" names the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Saṅgha) under the specific aspect of "lineage" or "seed-nature" (種姓, gotra) — the capacity within a being from which each Jewel's own qualities can grow. Fazang reads this stanza's fourfold structure, closing with "the lineage of the three times," as asserting that Sudhana does not merely revere the Three Jewels from outside but actively guards and cultivates the very seed from which each of them continues to arise across past, present, and future alike.
Part 333 In Progress
Maitreya's hymn draws near its close. Part 334 completes the hymn with Sudhana bringing boundless multitudes of beings, buddhas, and bodhisattvas to great rejoicing, and liberating all from the ocean of birth and death.
Continue to Part 334 →