2/24/2008

Dragon King Sutra

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Dragon King Sutra

The dragon people, or Nagas, appear in many stories throughout the Buddhist canon. The Buddha preached a very brief sutra to them, in which he says that theirs is a rebirth of extraordinary beauty. The Naga princess, who has no name but whose story is famously told in the Lotus Sutra, demonstrates the ease with which a wise being can transform from shape to shape. Her story has been interpreted in more than one way over the years.

Another woman of the Naga realms appears in the Sutra of Sagara, the Naga King, also called the Ocean Dragon King Sutra. (The sutras are deeply interrelated, and so are their characters. King Sagara is the father of the nameless princess.) Another dragon woman, known by the name Silk Brocade and other titles, meets the Buddha in this sutra when he travels to the dragon's kingdom beneath the sea.

 © Sallie Tisdale
Women of the Way



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Dragon King Mantra



Averting All Hindrances Mantra
Translated from Chinese by Dr. Yutang Lin


Fearless, fear-free .. Pacify all fears ..
Give fearlessness .. Transcend through awakening


Nothing to disturb .. Pacify all disturbances ..
Nothing to argue .. Refrain from disputing ..
No anger hovered .. Nothing to die for


Pure awe-inspiring .. Awe-inspiring tracks ..
Great awe-inspiring .. Eternal tranquillity

Approach compassion .. Remove flaws ..
Reveal truths .. Neither fall short nor over

The common meaning .. The auspicious meaning ..
Nectar statements .. Seeing the essentials


To guide and control .. With open mind ..
The sequence of activities .. Never reach end

Brightness un-born .. Born of purity ..
Fresh, clean and light-shinning statements

Equality in accordance with equal mind ..
Reach the unsurpassable

Silas set up by Buddha are pure ..
No transgression .. No disobeying

Conquer devil's arena .. Victorious over other paths .
Shinning the clarity of Dharma

Convert through giving teachings ..
Open up Dharma treasures


Comment:

This awe-inspiring mantra was bestowed by Sakyamuni Buddha as recorded in Section 20 of the Buddha Expounding on the Ocean Dragon King Sutra (Fo Shuo Hai Long Wang Jing).
The original mantra is continuous without breaking into sections. In order to facilitate understanding and memorization, I have rendered the text into 10 consecutive lines.
© Yutang Lin, August 1, 2003

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Ocean Dragon King Sutra: Ratnavati

Ratnavati is named as a mythical ancestor, because her story is told only in a sutra. In the Ocean Dragon King Sutra, she is described as a girl living at the time of Shakyamuni. She argued with Makakashyo, Shakyamuni's first Dharma heir and our second ancestor.

Makakashyo told Ratnavati, "You cannot attain enlightenment, because you are female. Women cannot attain full enlightenment."

Ratnavati answered, "If one has a pure mind and body, if one's heart is firmly set on enlightenment, then full Buddhahood is already in your grasp. There is no real difference between men and women. If women cannot attain full enlightenment, then neither can men. Enlightenment has nothing to do with this thing of being male or being female."

It is said that Makakashyo answered, "If you put it like that, you must be right."

Shakyamuni Buddha then predicted Ratnavati's full enlightenment, without stipulating that she would first have to become a man.
http://www.dharma-rain.org/StillPoint/archives/SPjan_feb00.shtml



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spring surprize -
the Dragon King shows me
his secrets




.Ryuu-oo 竜王 Ryu-O - The Dragon King .

Dragon Art Gallery

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2 comments:

Gabi Greve said...

a late Ming period Buddhist sutra database from the University of Tokyo Libraray,
万暦版大蔵経(嘉興蔵)画像データベース:
http://www.lib.u-tokyo.ac.jp/koho/news/news/soto_15_04_08.html

Gabi Greve said...

Sutras introduction

Sutras お経 o-kyoo 
Buddhist scriptures
Sūtra; buddhistische Schrift

http://darumamuseumgallery.blogspot.jp/2009/08/sutras.html