|
|
|
|
 HOME |
|
www.lebichson.org
|
.. |
THE PURE TRANSCENDENT STREAM By Tâm Lạc Jessica A.Tran
Namo Amitabha Buddha, As loving as a mother’s lullaby for a deaf child[i] As desperate as the cries of a newly born orphan
Namo Amitabha Buddha, As gentle as the soothing whisper of the wind Ever flowing as the sweet homeland stream waters[ii]
Namo Amitabha Buddha, As courageous as a song in a frightening thunder storm,[iii] As lovely and warm as the flame in a freezing ice prison
Namo Amitabha Buddha, Like the ocean, like the sky, like the vastness of a mother’s unconditional love Forever in the universe, eternally in every breath and every second
Namo Amitabha Buddha, Listen carefully and intently, and you will hear this magnificent sound This sound, this calling- longing and waiting for the loving exalted Father
Namo Amitabha Buddha, As inexorable and endless as sentinent beings’ streams of tears[iv] Compassionate as the rescue boat upon the vast ocean waves leading to shore[v]
Namo Amitabha Buddha, Is the hopeful shine in the darkness of night, surviving Infinite kalpas It is the shining moon radiating measureless sentinent beings
Namo Amitabha Buddha, Is Purity, equanimity... It is true awakening The inexpressible indescribable name of compassion.[vi]
Translated version from the original Vietnamese poem “Nguồn suối nhiệm mầu” written by Lay Buddhist Student Tam Lac 1/10/04 Written especially for my students Troy, Shah and Lisa
Tâm Lạc Jessica A.Tran [i] A mother’s unconditional love symbolises the great compassionate heart of Amitabha Buddha, therefore we must ask “Who is the deaf child” this verse is trying to point to, “who is the mother” and “what is in the lullaby that she is singing?” [ii] Once one has attained the Pure Land level of “One mind undisturbed”, one would feel as though the name “Amitabha” flows freely, endlessly and naturally as a perfumed stream which originates straight from inside of them and not from an external reminder. [iii] A thunder storm is a frightening ordeal, in which causes fear and hostility; this thunder storm represents the Saha world in which we are living in now. The recitation of “Amitabha” is like a sweet song in the middle of a frightening painful experience, in which those who could recite such a pure name has proven bravery and courage. [iv] In the Buddha sutra writes if sentient beings’ tears where to be collected, then they would drown the oceans; for this Saha realm is a sea of suffering and pain and is inevitably endless. If we were to compare and convert such immense number of tears into an immense number of recitations of Amitabha, how much virtue and blessings are to come to us instead of pain! [v] Especially referring to the suffering of Vietnamese boat people in 1970’s and 1980’s when all hope was lost as thousands drifted astray on the ocean currents. The name of Amitabha Buddha is as beautiful to the practitioner as a rescue boat is beautiful for people drowning in the oceans. [vi] In this end, all the worlds most meaningful words added together cannot describe the magnificence of Amitabha recitation and therefore only the practice of Pure land may speak to the practitioners more than any words could..
|
.. |
