Medicine Master Sutra
with Commentaries
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PART 4
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Sutra: “Manjushri, these are the twelve sublime and wonderful vows that the World Honored One, Medicine Master Vaidurya Light Tathagata, One of Proper and Equal Enlightenment, made while cultivating the Bodhisattva Way.”
Commentary: Manjushri, is a way of translating Sanskrit into English, meaning “Gentle Glory”. This is the Bodhisattva with the wisdom ranked at the top first category, the ashram in China located at the Five-Peaks Mountain. There, snow falls all year round, extremely cold. He chose this place as a monastery, because he likes the cold climate or likes to live in this cold place to meditate. The Five Peaks are also mentioned in the Flower Adornment Sutra.
In this Medicine Master Sutra, the Buddha-Shakyamuni called out the name Manjushri to preach the main sutras because those who are not wise enough cannot understand the power of the Medicine Buddha, but it must be the great wise person like Manjushri who can understand it.
“So the twelve vows are very miraculous (the miracle of the vow) of the Medicine Master Buddha. “The Awakened One” as well as “Tathagata” are two of the ten titles of Buddha.
“these are the twelve sublime and wonderful vows that the World Honored One, Medicine Master Vaidurya Light Tathagata, One of Proper and Equal Enlightenment, made while cultivating the Bodhisattva Way.” During the past life time when he was a monk, the Medicine Buddha practiced the Bodhisattva way, he took such wonderful and miraculous vows. Though the vows are not much, they are crucial in that they cover all the problems of beings, even though they are miserable, they can be happy, whether it is a wise person or a fool, thus saying “miraculous vows” are the vow of superiority.
Sutra: “Moreover, Manjushri, if I were to speak for a eon or more about the great vows made by the World Honored One, Medicine Master Vaidurya Light Tathagata, when he practiced the Bodhisattva Way and about the merit, virtue, and adornments of his Buddhaland, I could not finish.”
Commentary: “Moreover, Manjushri” The Buddha once again told Bodhisattva Manjushri; “The great vows of the Medicine Buddha, when he practiced the Bodhisattva Way“, when the Medicine Master Vaidurya Light Tathagata was in the time of practicing the Bodhisattva Way; “Took the great vows”, great vows that he took “and about the merit, virtue, and adornments of his Buddhaland“. If I say it to the end of a life, or more than one life, I could not finish”, if we say it for a lifetime, or more than one life, it is impossible to say it all.
Sutra:“That Buddhaland has always been completely pure; there are no women, no evil destinies, and no sounds of suffering. The ground is made of vaidurya, with golden cords lining the roads. The city walls, towers, palace pavilions, studios, windows, and latticework are all made of the seven treasures. The merit, virtue, and adornments of this land are identical to those of the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.”
Commentary: “That Buddhaland has always been completely pure“. That Buddhaland only have the color of purity, doesn’t contain any impurity, clear as jade.
“there are no women.” There are no girls or women. There is a small group of activists for woman rights, they outburst the Buddhaland. They question”There are no women, is that mean Amitabha Buddha discriminate women? Is there no equal for men and women? Do they put more important on men than women?
This is completely wrong. The Earth is often called the “five evil world”, a world with five kinds of evil, five kinds of impurity. First, the “Impurity Life”. It means the present time that we reside on this earth is not perfect. Second is the “Conflicting View”, means the human view of the world is not pure. Third is the “Negativity”, means that we have lot of personal problem. Fourth is the “Being”, because of the sexuality between male and female. In general all beings that have blood and energy, all born from sexuality., including the small animal like bacteria. Beings having sex is considered impure, that is why it is call “Being”.
Fifth is the “Life” means that the life of all earth being are created from the location of impurity. For example, Heaven is a place without dirt. In the Land of Ultimate Bliss, the land surface is gold. In the Vaidurya Land, the land surface is made of jade. These three places do not any dirt. Only on the this earth, everything we see, hear, smell, taste and feel are only clean, that is why the earth is often called the five evil planet
Being reside at the Land of Ultimate Bliss doesn’t have any sexual desired. Being reborns there because the power of Amitabha Buddha. Because the lack of sexual desired, being reborn here doesn’t have any female. That doesn’t mean man and woman are not treated equally, or treat man better than woman. We are on earth being born with the woman body need to understand that Earth is fully of miserly, a place with lot of evil, nothing here for us to desired, nothing value for us to linger. It is a place with full of impurity. Because of that meanings, there are no women in the Ultimate Bliss Land and Vaidurya Land.
“No evil destinies“. That is the way of evil. In the Vaidurya Land, there is no evil paths, no hell, hungry ghost, animals, “and no sounds of suffering”, the sound of suffering doesn’t exist, no sound of sadness that made others relent, cry, for example. All of those do not exist.
“The ground is made of vaidurya“, the ground is made of jade, that is why it is called the Vaidurya Land of the East. “With golden cords lining the roads.” golden cord are used as hand rails or border to distinguish the lanes. “The city walls, towers, palace pavilions, studios, windows” which are the city with imperial palace, the palace with window on the wall. All of the palaces and towers.
“latticework” Lattice is the room inside the palace, with windows, bright light, clean, arrange like the net of rooms.
“all made of the seven treasures” All of the above places are made of by seven treasures: gold, silver, glass, crystal, nacre, pearl, agate; “The merit, virtue, and adornments of this land are identical to those of the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.”, merit and dignity are exactly the same as the Ultimate Bliss in the West, there is no different.
Sutra: “Residing in that land are two Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas; the first is called Universally Radiant Sunlight, and the second, Universally Radiant Moonlight. They are the leaders among the immeasurable, uncountable hosts of Bodhisattvas in that land and will be the successors to that Buddha. They are able to maintain the precious treasury of the Proper Dharma of the World Honored One, Medicine Master Vaidurya Light Tathagata. Therefore, Manjushri, all good men and women who have faith should vow to be born in that Buddha’s land.”
Commentaries: “Residing in that land“: The Buddha does not initiate the mind to distinguish the Medicine Buddha or the Amitabha as well as the Pure Vaidurya or the Ultimate Bliss. But here he talks about the world of the Pure Vaidurya. Here, “are two Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas”, all the great Bodhisattvas;
“The first is called Universally Radiant Sunlight, and the second, Universally Radiant Moonlight. They are the leaders among the immeasurable, uncountable hosts of Bodhisattvas in that land.” Leader means leading, doing the work of assisting the Medicine Buddha to teach beings.
“And will be the successors to that Buddha.” When the Medicine Buddha resigns, the Universally Radiant Sunlight Bodhisattvas will replace his position until resigning, then the Universally Radiant Moonlight will continue taking the Buddha position
“They are able to maintain the precious treasury of the Proper Dharma of the World Honored One, Medicine Master Vaidurya Light Tathagata.” When the two Bodhisattvas above become the next Buddha, they will follow the vows of the Medicine Buddha. will adorn themselves with the merit and the dignity of the Medicine Buddha. They will also use the appropriate methods of teaching from their predecessor Buddhas to govern the beings. They receive and recite the vow of merit and spiritual practice to preserve the Dharma of the Medicine Master Buddha.
“Therefore, Manjushri, all good men and women who have faith“. Manjushri, because of these vows, all good men and women those who have faith, “should vow to be born in that Buddha’s land.”. All should take a vow to be reincarnate in the land of Pure Vaidurya, meet the Medicine Buddha. In the near future, they will soon become Buddha.