T.N.G. SIGNS OF THE TIMES - N.M. December 4, 2002 (#114)
Greetings from Russell's Remnant: www.oocities.org/dkone_us
The Great Prajnaparmita Sutra – The Heart Sutra
Prajnaparamita Sutras are the Transcendental Wisdom Sutras.
Those who are thoroughly devoted to Prajnaparamita will not die suddenly or unexpectedly, neither from poison nor any kind of weapon, nor from fire, water or other natural elements, nor from violence of any kind from any quarter. Adepts repeat her mantra - These seed sounds contain the entirety of Perfect Wisdom: om gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha – gone, gone, gone beyond, gone beyond even the beyond into full enlightenment, so be it.
Only by the compassion of the Buddha can one reach the other shore of joy across the sea of pain. So even if you were to try to repay the Buddha with one's own life, it would still be less than 1/10,000th of the debt to the Buddha. One must thank the Buddha and the Patriarchs for boundless grace by cultivating one's own mind.
Prajnaparamita: prajna (transcendent knowledge) parmita ("gone to the other shore" - the essential activities of a bodhisattva or enlightened being.) Prajna is the eyes and the other five parmitas are the limbs of bodhisattva activity. The parmitas are not based on ego-clinging; therefore, they transcend the entanglements of karma. Prajna is regarded as the sword that cuts the bondage of ego.
Parmita literally means "gone to the other shore." Parmita are the essential activities of a bodhisattva, or enlightened being. The six parmitas are generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, and knowledge (prajna). The parmitas are called "transcendent actions" because they are non-dual, not based on ego-clinging. Therefore, they transcend the entanglements of karma.
If any arrogantly self-appointed powers, human or demonic, try to harm a person who constantly brings to mind and heart this Perfection of Wisdom – whether by reading the holy scripture silently, chanting its text melodiously or repeating it in condensed mantra form – these negative forces will certainly not succeed.
When tyrants and other powerful and dangerous human or subtle beings approach the adepts of Perfect Wisdom with violent or other harmful intentions, they will instead spontaneously decide to greet the lovers of Prajnaparamita in a polite or even friendly and sympathetic manner. This occurs because the Perfection of Wisdom radiates intense friendliness and joyful sympathy toward all conscious beings, automatically generating a similar response.
If persons deeply devoted to and therefore instinctively aligned with Prajnaparamita are lost in a wilderness infested by poisonous serpents, no harm will befall them. Neither human beings nor wandering spirits can injure them in any way.
The concluding words of the Heart Sutra – Therefore utter this mantra of Highest Wisdom thus – Gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi, svaha. (Gone, gone, gone beyond, wholly gone beyond! Enlightenment! Svaha!) Note: uttering means living.
Recite the heart calming mantra: gate (gone); gate (gone); paragate (gone across); parasam gate (completely gone across); bodhi (the enlightened state); svaha (it is accomplished, I recognize this truth in myself). Intend that your heart and mind grow calm and peaceful and that you are fully connected with your own unity with the Divine Mind.
Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen states in the Thirty-seven Bodhisattva Practices, root verse thirty – The Prajnaparamita Sutra, also called The Perfection of Wisdom Sutra says, “Without wisdom, the other five perfections cannot bring one to complete awakening. Hence, develop the method-endowed wisdom that is devoid of the inner spheres’ concepts. Such is the bodhisattvas’ practice.”
Chogyam Trungpa points out in Training the Mind: If there is not the mindfulness and awareness practice of the paramita of meditation, then we have no way of protecting ourselves from attacks, and we have no facilities to teach others. The sixth point of mind training is prajnaparmita. Prajna is regarded as the sword that cuts the bondage of ego. By first becoming able to sacrifice yourself, you are able to overcome obstacles. Give up altogether our long memory of antagonism.
Tibetan Buddhists believe the Prajnaparmita Sutra to be the most infallible text to arouse them from the illusion of samsara (round of births and deaths). It is regarded as the holy mother that feeds the bodhisattva with the amrita (nectar) of prajna and guides him to the other shore. It is the “utmost great perfection” which gives full enlightenment after he has successfully completed the other five paramitas – charity, morality, patience and forbearance, energy, and concentration.
The Great Queen Prajnaparmita is above all an experience that cannot be accessed through intellectual understanding, artifice, or intention alone. She is called the Mother of all the Buddhas of the Three Times (past, present, and future).
The complete text of the Large Sutra of Prajnaparmita was destroyed by Muslims incendiaries along with millions of Buddhist and Hindu manuscripts.
This Heart Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom is the mantra of great knowledge, the highest mantra, the unequaled mantra, the mantra that allays all suffering.
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(Note: The above statements were taken from several different Buddhist and Feng Shui books and articles.)
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