While many traditional surviving pagodas are built of square sections, this 8th century pagoda near the Seokgulam statue (outside the southern city of Gyeongju) uses squares, circles, and 8-sided sections.
The use of the word “surrender” is interesting; it’s a bit more common in Korean, and is sometimes used in the sense of “behave,” “wise up,” or “get with the program.” So the unruly things, whether outside me or inside, recorded as the consciousness of the lives within me, upon meeting this inherent nature, settle down and get with the program. So in that sense, part of spiritual practice is taking whatever arises, and introducing it to our inherent nature. I’m reluctant to write so much, either here or in the captions, because I don’t want to take anything away from this text. It’s only two lines, but there is *such* power there! There is such power in raising an intention like this.
May everything that arises in my life surrender to and follow my inherent nature.
The pagoda marking the geographic center of Unified Silla Kingdom, built during the 8th century
This next series are a set of intentions we can give rise to, which seem slightly random, but are things that naturally arise when we see every thing and being around us as another part of ourselves. There’s two ways to approach seeing like this: One is to just awaken and do it (that’s all, lol), the other is to begin moving our thoughts and perspectives in tune with this truth, even though we don’t yet see it for ourselves.With time, as we keep doing this, the underlying truth of this will suddenly become clear to us.
May I see the world as it truly is.
May I awaken to the great truth.
May I uphold the principles of the unseen realms, as well as the rules of society.
May I become one hand.*
* “One hand” means the hand of Buddha that reaches every time and place.
This is the third part of the Noon Blessing, which is chanted everyday during the midday service. The senior sunim present reads this out after the Thousand Hands Sutra has been recited. It’s not originally read in parts; I’ve only split it up here to keep the length from getting out of hand. (It grew in the translation!) Still, try to read it through a couple of times and let it sink down within you.
Here in this place, with our utmost sincerity, with these pure offerings, we raise the intention that each and every person attending this ceremony, be safe and healthy, and with the great protective power of our one mind, manifested by all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, may they be safe wherever they go,
whether on long journeys or just short errands, may all their encounters be positive and joyous, and may disaster and misfortune always be strangers. May every kind of legal trouble, every kind of natural disaster and civil disorder, and diseases of all types utterly vanish. May our families all be harmonious, and far from the presence of those with evil intentions. May couples love each other and get along well, and may brothers and sisters care for and look after each other. May those who are teenagers not get caught up in activities that darken their spirit. May others’ lives always be just as precious as our own. Don’t covet those things that belong to others, let go of deceptiveness and overblown pride, speak truthfully and uphold trust, and in all circumstances, cultivate bright and upright wisdom, always relying upon our inner foundation. In this way, may we all come to realize our inherent nature.
When we repeat these lines to ourselves, we’re teaching the lives within us, the untold numbers of consciousnesses of the lives within us, to see from a higher perspective. A perspective that they either haven’t achieved on their own, or one that they sort of tasted, but couldn’t figure out how to take that and move forward. Now, here, are instructions on how to move forward.
May the bright eye of wisdom fill the universe with light shining brightly, illuminating all. May all beings become one, become one one with all Buddhas one mind, one mind one body, one body.
May all beings escape together escape from suffering and become free.
Without eyes keep watching and watching, diligently watching. Going and going, changing and changing, meeting this great truth of emptiness all suffering and disasters fall away and disappear disappear.
The sounds of our reciting spread throughout all realms. Hearing this, may the one mind of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas look after us.
Please guide me so that my mind becomes one with the mind of all Buddhas. With the wisdom of the eye that’s not an eye, please make this happen and look after me.
“How do we change? How do we become someone better? How do we transcend our habits?” This really is the issue, because often times it looks like this only happens after a lot of pain. Yet even those habits happen because that’s the way we’re viewing things. That’s the way we look at the world and the way we expect that things should work. So if we want something different, then the first step is to practice viewing ourselves and the world from a different perspective. A more harmonious perspective. A perspective more in tune with the truth of how the world worlds. That’s what reciting these verses from the Thousand Hands Sutra can give us.
All things arising or disappearing, coming or going are done through the foundation. With a quietly flowing mind, I will become one with my foundation.
