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
“Nguôn suối nhiệm mầu”
written by Lay Buddhist
Student Tam Lac 1/10/04
Written especially for my students Troy, Shah and Lisa
[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..
[1] 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?”
[1] 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.
[1] 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.
[1] 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!
[1] 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.
[1] 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..
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