Bodhisattvas to the Rescue

Post sayings or stories from Buddhist traditions which you find interesting, inspiring or useful. (Your own stories are welcome on DW, but in the Creative Writing or Personal Experience forums rather than here.)
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Nicholas Weeks
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Bodhisattvas to the Rescue

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

From the Kuan Yin book by Chun-fang-Yu, page 166. May other Dharma Wheelers add further examples!
Gunabhadra arrived in Canton
in 435 after a dangerous journey from Ceylon during which the wind suddenly
stopped and the boat was marooned in the ocean. He asked his fellow
passengers to concentrate on the buddhas of the ten directions and call on
Kuan-yin. He himself secretly chanted a dharani sutra, repented to the bodhisattva
and worshiped him. The wind rose up and rain began to fall. Then the
boat could continue to sail. After he arrived in China, he was well received. But
because he could not speak Chinese, he had to rely on translators. When he was
asked to give lectures on the Hua-yen Sutra by the prime minister, he felt very
ashamed because he himself could not speak the language. That same night, he
performed a repentance rite and begged Kuan-yin for help. He then dreamt of
a person in white who carried a sword in one hand and a man’s head in the
other. The person asked Gunabhadra why he was worried. When told the reason,
he told Gunabhadra not to worry. He cut off Gunabhadra’s head and put
the head he was holding on the latter instead. The next morning when Gunabhadra
woke up, he could speak Chinese perfectly (T 50:344b).
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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Ayu
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Re: Bodhisattvas to the Rescue

Post by Ayu »

Uh - means: don't be too attached, not even to your own head.

I could tell some stories about how the Bodhisattvas helped me within the meditation, told me some wise solution of a problem. Without this help my reaction on the problems might have been much more stupid.
Nicholas Weeks
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Re: Bodhisattvas to the Rescue

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Ayu wrote:Uh - means: don't be too attached, not even to your own head.

I could tell some stories about how the Bodhisattvas helped me within the meditation, told me some wise solution of a problem. Without this help my reaction on the problems might have been much more stupid.
The purpose of this thread is share stories, whether personal or from the tradition, that remind us of the helpful acts of bodhisattvas. So tell away.

Here is another from ancient China:
In the Biographies of Promoters of the Lotus Sutra (Hung-tsan
fa-hua chuan)
, there is the story about the monk Shih Fa-ch’eng (562–640),
who was committed to the constant chanting of the Lotus Sutra as his vocation.
At one time, however, he was exhausted both physically and mentally and felt
that he had to give up his practice. So he carried out a ritual program of worshiping
Kuan-yin and prayed for protection. When he finished the twenty-one
day rite, he suddenly saw a giant in white standing in front of the Buddha
image. The giant gave him some medicine and asked him to swallow it. After
that he became doubly vigorous in body and mind. He could then recite the
sutra without stopping (T 8:37b).
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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Ayu
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Re: Bodhisattvas to the Rescue

Post by Ayu »

This is a psychological story, but anyway it was very strong for me.

There was a time I suffered from great fearfulness. There were some existing occurences for being anxious. Because of that my heart was aching physically since some weeks. It became stronger all the time and I felt like I could die soon, if this would not stopp.
So in my dispair I sat down for meditation and started with the recitation of 21 Taras, after finishing I focussed on the image of Green Tara in my mind. Somehow my mind kept on speaking and I told Her of my distress. With a very subtle, friendly smiling voice She answered something like: "Don't worry, I'll manage that for you. And you'll never feel this heartache again. I promise that." And she seemed to roll up her sleeves for to help right away. :smile:

The heartache was gone in that moment and didn't come back.
Schrödinger’s Yidam
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Re: Bodhisattvas to the Rescue

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

...I told Her of my distress. With a very subtle, friendly smiling voice She answered something like: "Don't worry, I'll manage that for you. And you'll never feel this heartache again. I promise that." And she seemed to roll up her sleeves for to help right away.

The heartache was gone in that moment and didn't come back.
Nice.
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
Nicholas Weeks
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Re: Bodhisattvas to the Rescue

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

About a decade ago, a big article about a kidnapping case appeared in the newspapers in Taiwan. A young, successful construction business owner named Mr. Wang was targeted by the mafia. One night, out driving, he was taken by five or six gangsters. They took him deep into the mountains, where they had dug a large hole in advance so they could leave him there. Mr. Wang’s hands and feet were bound tightly. In addition, they gagged his mouth so he couldn’t call fo rhelp.They threw him into the hole and left him alone. Mr.Wangknows the Great Compassion Mantra, and he remembered that the mantra could help anyone who was in danger. Even though he couldn’t recite the mantra out loud, he tried his utmost to do it in his mind. He kept on reciting and reciting for an unknown period of time. Suddenly, the rope around his hands fell off and the rope around his feet loosened up. Happily, he climbed out of the hole and tumbled down a hill. It was early morning. Hungry and exhausted, he saw a farmhouse ahead. Moving with difficulty, he knocked on a farmer’s door for help. The farmer answered the door and, seeing that his face, clothes, and body were all blackened, asked him, “Are you a ghost?” He answered that he wasn’t a ghost and gave the farmer a short version of what had happened to him. He asked for food and clothes and said he had to call the police. The farmer kindly gave him some food to eat and let him take a shower and change his clothes. When he had finished eating, Wang called the police and reported the kidnapping. The police were able to catch the kidnappers quite quickly with Mr. Wang’s information. A Buddhist reporter made this headline news and demonstrated the miraculous power of the Great Compassion Mantra. So this is an extremely wonderful response that came about from reciting the Great Compassion Mantra.
[Vajra Bodhi Sea, Apr. 2011, p 32]
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
muni
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Re: Bodhisattvas to the Rescue

Post by muni »

Anecdotes from the life of the great Tibetan master Gyalse Ngulchu Thogme (1295-1369)

When Gyalse Thogme was about thirty, a sick beggar used to stay outside near his door. His body was completely infested with lice. Thogme used to give him whatever food and drink he had, bringing it to him discreetly at night to avoid making a show of his generosity.

But one night the beggar was not in his usual place, and Thogme set out in search of him. Finding him at last as dawn broke, Thogme asked him why he’d gone away.
“Some people told me I was so disgusting that when they walked by they could not even look at me, and they kicked me out,” said the beggar.
Hearing this, Thogme was overwhelmed by compassion and wept.

That evening he brought the beggar to his room, and gave the man his fill of food and drink. Then Thogme gave him his own new robes. Taking in exchange the beggar’s rags, Thogme put them on and let the lice feed on his body.

It was not long before he looked as though he had been stricken by leprosy, or some other disease. He was so weakened and disabled by sickness that he had to stop teaching. His friends and disciples came to see him, wondering whether he had fallen seriously ill. They soon saw the condition he was in.

“Why don’t you be a good practitioner again?” they admonished him.
Some quoted from the scriptures: “If your compassion is not totally pure, do not give your body away.”
Others begged him, “For your sake and ours, don’t carry on like this, get rid of these lice!”
But Thogme said, “Since time without beginning, I have had so many human lives, but they have all been in vain. Now, even if I were to die today, I will at least have done something meaningful. I will not get rid of the lice.”

He kept feeding the lice for seventeen days, but they gradually died by themselves and he was free of them. He recited many mantras and dharanis over the dead lice, and made tsa tsas with them.

Everyone now marveled at the purity of his mind, his loving kindness, and everywhere he became known as Gyalse Chenpo—the Great Bodhisattva.
http://www.matthieuricard.org/en/blog/p ... 95-1369-iv
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tidathep
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Re: Bodhisattvas to the Rescue

Post by tidathep »

Dear Muni,

I love your dhamma story( and Reddust's).... very much I copied/posted @ Sariputtadhamma/JTN/Buddhavihara....

tidathep :thanks: :namaste:
muni
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Re: Bodhisattvas to the Rescue

Post by muni »

Sawadee Ka Tidathep!

:namaste:

To add here a story of Guan Yin, a story teaching the result of deep trust, devotion. The result as compassionate protection and the Gift of Dharma.

Bowing.

GUAN YIM AND SHAN TSAI
Shan Tsai (also called Sudhana in Sanskrit) was a disabled boy from India who was very interested in studying the Buddha Dharma. When he heard that there was a Buddhist teacher on the rocky island of P'u-t'o he quickly journeyed there to learn. Upon arriving the island, he managed to find Bodhisattva Guan Yim despite his severe disability.
Guan Yim, after having a discussion with Shan Tsai, decided to test the boy's resolve to fully study the Buddhist teachings. She conjured the illusion of three sword-wielding pirates running up the hill to attack her. Guan Yim took off and dashed off to the edge of a cliff, the three illusions still chasing her.
Shan Tsai, seeing that his teacher was in danger, hobbled uphill. Guan Yim then jumped over the edge of the cliff, and soon after this the three bandits followed. Shan Tsai, still wanting to save his teacher, managed to crawl his way over the cliff edge.
Shan Tsai fell down the cliff but was halted in mid air by Guan Yim, who now asked him to walk. Shan Tsai found that he could walk normally and that he was no longer crippled. When he looked into a pool of water he also discovered that he now had a very handsome face. From that day forth, Guan Yim taught Shan Tsai the entire Buddha Dharma.

More here: http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/C ... an_Yin.htm
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tidathep
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Re: Bodhisattvas to the Rescue

Post by tidathep »

muni wrote:Sawadee Ka Tidathep!

:namaste:

More here: http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/C ... an_Yin.htm
-----------
Dear Muni,

Thanks for this cute story...especially, the LEGEND OF MIO SHAN...I must say that this legend is the most wonderful story I've read about Guan Yin...Thai people love this GODDESS OF METTA very much...there are so many GuanYin temples in Thailand..near the beaches...on the mountain ...in the caves.

tidathep :reading: :anjali:
Nicholas Weeks
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Re: Bodhisattvas to the Rescue

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

When I interviewed pilgrims on P’u-t’o Island in March 1987, I asked if they
knew of any stories about Kuan-yin’s response either to their own prayer or
somebody else’s. Invariably the reply was affirmative. For example, a young
woman of twenty-four came with her mother, a retired nurse of forty-nine,
from Shanghai to fulfill a vow (huan-yüan). Two years earlier, the mother had
developed cancer of the intestines. When she was operated on, the cancer was
very advanced and had spread. So the doctor sewed her up and predicted that
she would die soon. The mother prayed to Kuan-yin for a whole year and
vowed that if she should survive, she would come to P’u-t’o to give thanks. Two
years had passed and she was well, so the mother and daughter traveled to the
island.
From Kuan-Yin by Chün-fang Yü, page 152
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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