We had the first Dharma talk for the Thousand Hands Sutra last night (the English translation of Daehaeng Kun Sunim’s Korean edition)Lots of great people showed up and in general had a nice time. I’ll put the text below; we recited it first, had a Dharma talk with Q&A, and then wrote it out for about 10 minutes. I seem to have some difficulties telling the difference between “record” and “standby,” ahem :-), so the recording below is a recap/repeat of last nights Dharma talk, done instead today after the early morning service. Please let me know if you have any problems getting the audio file.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwEuidbLSTnhRGxKQ05sQ3hqdmc/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwEuidbLSTnhRGxKQ05sQ3hqdmc/view?usp=sharing
The Thousand Hands Sutra, by meaning
The mantra for realizing inherently bright nature, speaking truthfully,
and completely letting go of delusions
such as good karma and bad karma,
like and dislike,
defiled and pure:
Speak from the truth
and each word becomes a mantra,
speak outside of the truth
and each word becomes karma.
(repeated three times)
All Buddhas throughout all realms
exist at this very moment within my one mind. Thus sincerely relying upon my one mind is itself a true mantra.
My one mind
present throughout every realm,
ceaselessly I follow it,
earnestly I trust it.
(repeated three times)
The world we live in
is none other than the realm of Buddha.
Here it is forever Spring,
flowers bloom without end,
and the fragrant path is ever open.
The minds of all Buddhas are
fully present
within my one mind.
Buddha’s mind is realized in an instant.
Not knowing this instant
causes an eternity of suffering.
The minds of all Buddhas are my mind.
Nothing I see, hear, or do
exists apart from
the truth they realized.
My one mind itself is the Buddha-dharma,
present throughout all aspects of my life.
If I truly awaken,
all directions burst open
and everything is utterly complete
just as it is.
All things that arise
all things that I do
I will entrust to my one mind
for it does everything.
(repeated three times)
The minds of all Buddhas are my one mind, so I ask my one mind
to take care of everything in my life
Avalokitesvara,
the Bodhisattva of Compassion,
who hears the cries of all the world,
resides within my one mind.
How can I express my gratitude?
Wake Up and Laugh! 
Is this a direct translation of the Thousand Hands Sutra? I’ve been trying to read the sutra with the Korean (Han Kul) translation and it is much more succinct and cryptic….sadly. Please advise. Leslie
Hi Leslie,
This translation was done in the late 1970’s, from the Hanmun(chinese character) version to Hangul(vernacular Korean) by Daehaeng Kun Sunim. It’s a bit closer to an interpretation because she wanted people to actually understand what it was saying! 🙂 In the foreword to the English translation, I said that this was the world as seen by an enlightened person, which I think is still correct.