Wake Up and Laugh!

“If you find yourself facing a calamity,
a disaster of untold magnitude,
If you can firmly entrust the thought that,
‘Juingong can deal with all of this!’

“If you let yourself believe that Juingong can take care of it,
and then even if fear or worry arises time after time,
you remain calm and dignified,
your foundation will be relentless in taking care of things.
It will be relentless in turning up solutions
because all the lives in our body respond and function
according to the thoughts we give rise to.

“Thus, these lives can work as bodhisattvas.
They take the form necessary
according to the needs and circumstances,
and help everything return to functioning as one mind.”

— Daehaeng Kun Sunim

As the Thousand Hands Sutra winds down, there are several short sections like this one. Here too, this is the entire section. But it tells where we can find those who protect the Dharma and practitioners, and how we can get in touch with them.

Daehaeng Kun Sunim gave a poem that was later turned into a song, that literally means “Live greenly,” and compares people to trees. While we translate this as “Live vibrantly,” there is a nuance to the Korean that I really like: How does a tree live? It turns its leaves or needles green by drawing upon it’s root. It draws energy from it’s root, and sends back air and light (and water).

There’s a huge, massive hint there for how we can live.

How often do we find ourselves trying draw upon our knowledge, upon all kinds of similar things? Upon affection from others, upon help from all kinds of places. But the first place we need to learn to go to is our own root. We need to practice drawing up it’s energy, and returning back to it everything that comes in.

The Dharma protectors of mind take care of my body

Entrusting and letting go – the truly limitless path.

This is all there is of this mantra. That’s the entire section. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s guidance for avoiding things that will cause us physical and mental suffering.

The Mantra for Purifying Mind

I’ll be upright and sincere in my behavior.

I take refuge in one mind,
the mother of heaven and earth,
the giver of life to all things.

“But Sunim,” some of you might be saying, “why all this stuff on repentance?” In part, because this is just the section in the sutra, lol. This text was gradually compiled around The Great Compassion Dharani, with people occasionally adding sections fore and aft. These extra sections were things that great teachers of the day thought people needed to know. Given that they weren’t cut out or dropped, I’d guess that centuries of people found them helpful.

The other reason is that we as growing, developing beings can’t move forward until we acknowledge that the harmful things we did were mistakes. Otherwise, we aren’t looking for new ways forward, and may even be hanging back, defending the way we did things.

The interesting, and truly odd thing about this section (which concludes tomorrow), is that nowhere aside from the title does it actually mention “repentance.” The contents are 100% about trying to find a new way forward. And that is also apparently a form of repentance.

If I am always aware of and rely upon
the great virtue and merit of one mind,
no disasters of this world can touch me,
and I will receive the blessings of all Buddhas.
Whether a heavenly being or a human being,
anyone who meets this treasure,
this one mind,
obtains the supreme Dharma.

There’s a bit more of this section, but nothing bad will come from reciting just this one line and letting it sink down within you. Truly.

The Mantra of Repentance

Let me awaken to how I should live. (repeated 3 times)

So, “Why repentance,” you may be wondering. On the one hand, that’s just this section of The Thousand Hands Sutra. But it’s an interesting text because it is, in my opinion, a complete manual for spiritual practice and growth. While the earlier parts talked about relying upon our inherent nature and foundation, the later part has pieces aimed at overcoming the things that are holding us back, things that pull us back down into the same old ruts.

Repenting of the Ten Evil Actions (part 5 of 5)

While letting go of all wrong behaviors and deluded thoughts
if my mind becomes completely empty,
this can be called true repentance.

Repenting of the Ten Evil Actions (part 4 of 5)

Evil thoughts and actions do not just appear on their own.
They emerge according to the thoughts I give rise to.
Thus, when those thoughts disappear
bad karma also vanishes.

As with all of these, try to recite these a few times each day, whenever you have a chance to. It really does help dissolve the momentum and fixed ideas we get stuck in.

Repenting of the Ten Evil Actions (part 3 of 5)

With one thought,
evil karma accumulated over endless eons disappears,
leaving nothing behind,
like dry grass in a fire.

Repenting of the Ten Evil Actions (part 2 of 5)

I now deeply repent of having spoken ill of others and caused discord among people.
I now deeply repent of having spoken harshly.
I now deeply repent of having been overcome with desire and attachments.
I now deeply repent of having been angry.
I now deeply repent of having been ignorant and deluded.