When the Buddha was alive, sunken in depravity was I. After the Buddha entered parinirvana, here am I. Regretting my many karmic hindrances, I do not see the Tathagata's golden body.
Menurut Mahayana, citra Buddha haruslah dihormati. Hal ini terdapat dalam banyak sumber mahayana, dari Sutra, dari tulisan para guru, dan sumber lainnya. Maka sangatlah aneh ketika Izin BB berasal dari Majelis Mahayana. Untuk rujukan, saya akan melampirkan beberapa sumber Mahayana mengenai hal ini. Buat yg Theravada, silahkan bermeditasi dengan tenang dan tidak usah memberi komentar menurut aliran anda, karena sekali lagi, ini dari sumber Mahayana. Ok? Tujuan dari email ini adalah untuk pembersihan internal Mahayana atau yg mengaku umat Mahayana. Berikut sumbernya: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Secondly, Virtue Store, we should know that, Bodhisattvas (anyone who wish to acquire this Samadhi. Because of his great wishes and practices, he's called "Bodhisattva") should plant the great seed, because this seed sprouts buds of Samadhis, and grows up into fruit of Bodhi. The method of planting it is, to respectfully offer and sustain the present Buddhas or statues/images of Buddhas with multifarious beautiful flowers, vanillas, paste incenses, ground incenses, and various performances and music, and imagine as mentioned above: 'Universally in infinite worlds inside all hair-tips and all atoms of universes, for all majestic Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in all Buddha-congregations, I widely offer and sustain them absorbedly with correct mindfulness. Because the Dharma-nature of one Buddha I offer and sustain is the Dharma-nature of all Buddhas, thus if I am offering and sustaining one Tathagata, it's same as offering and sustaining all Tathagatas. By the sacrosanct powers of every those Buddhas, I can gather numbers of kalpas into one infinitesimal thought, then that's same as having offered and sustained the Tathagatas for so many kalpas.'" ................................................................. "When watching the statue, he should greatly respect and worship it as if the real body of Buddha is in front of him, watch it in detail, and do not treat it as a statue any longer. When he has seen that, he should respectfully circle clockwise around the Buddha, offer and sustain the Buddha with exquisite flowers, ground incenses, paste incenses, and various materials." Tathagata's Unimaginable State Sutra (The full title is:) Great, Upright and Broad Tathagata's Unimaginable State Sutra Or Maha-Vaipulya Tathagata's Unimaginable State Sutra (Dai Forng Gworng Yiu Loy Bud See Yee Ging Gai Ging) (Tripitaka No. 301) Translated during the Tang Dynasty by Kustana Tripitaka Master Siksananda (Translated into English by Silfong Tsun) (Special thanks to Padma Te Yuen for grammar correction) (Last revised: Jun/28/2007) http://www2.fodian.net/old/English/301.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seperti orang bijaksana menghormati citra Sang Sugata Walaupun terbuat dari kayu dan lainnya.... (Nagarjuna, Suhrllekha, Surat kepada seorang sahabat) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Some have marriages lasting and meaningful. Their happiness doesn't happen by chance. The cause this time is the hanging of canopies And streamers before the Buddhas' statues. http://www.purifymind.com/CauseEffectSutra.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sutra Ksitigarbha bab 6: Yang Arya Samantavistara, seandaikata terdapat putra-putri berbudi yang melukiskan gambar Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha atau membuat bodhirupangnya dari tanah liat, batu, akik atau dari emas, perak, tembaga, perunggu, besi, dan sebagainya, kemudian dihormati dengan mengadakan puja bhakti, maka si pemuja tersebut akan mendapat kesempatan lahir di Surga Trayastrimsa sebanyak seratus kali berturut-turut setelah ia meninggal dunia! Jika masa hidup di Surga sudah habis, ia masih dapat tumimbal lahir di dunia manusia sebagai seorang raja atau bangsawan yang sangat mulia dan ia takkan terjerumus ke dalam alam sengsara. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Brahmajala Sutra (Mahayana Version) 31. Rescuing Clerics Along with Sacred Objects After my passing, in the evil periods that will follow, there will be externalists, evil persons, thieves and robbers who steal and sell statues and paintings of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and [those to whom respect is due such as] their parents. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.nanhua.co.za/Reading/Master/Seeing%20the%20Buddha.htm Paying respect to holy images of the Buddha Regardless of whether a Buddha statue is made of stone, wood, or metal, regardless of whether a painting is done on cloth or paper, we still pay our respects to these holy images of the Buddha. Some of you may question: Why should we venerate these holy images of the Buddha? First of all, we have to admit that we, indeed, do pay our respects to holy images of the Buddha. We all pay respect to certain symbols or images. We respect our national flag; a flag is a piece of cloth. Why do we pay respect to a piece of cloth? This is because a national flag, though made out of cloth, is much more than just a piece of cloth. It is a symbol of our country and the pride we have for our country. Christians also pay respect to the crucifix. A crucifix is made of wood or metal. Does it mean that Christians should not pray in front of the crucifix? There is absolutely nothing wrong with paying respect to certain symbols or images as long as we understand the goodness which these symbols or images stand for. A piece of cloth can be tailored into a hat to be worn on the head. The same piece of cloth can also be made into a pair of slippers to wear on the feet. A piece of cloth by itself shows no differentiation, but we look at it differently once it takes on the shape of its final product. A piece of paper with our parents' picture on it, we would put in a safe place. The same piece of paper with a cartoon drawn on it could be tossed away at will, and we would not feel any remorse. A piece of metal that has been cast into a Buddha statue should be kept in a nice, clean place. The same piece of metal, if it had been cast into a toy figure, could be kicked or thrown around without any hesitation. A Buddha statue may be made of wood, stone, or metal, but in our hearts and minds, the statue stands for the fully enlightened Buddha. When we pay our respects to holy images of the Buddha, we are not paying respect to the wood, stone, or metal that these images are made out of; we are paying our respects to the Buddha. It is important that we know why we do certain things. When we pay respect to a Buddha statue, we should focus our minds on the Buddha and extinguish the fires of our delusions. We should be respectful and sincere. If we pay our respects to Buddha statues in this fashion, then any image of the Buddha can strengthen our faith and touch our hearts. There is a Chinese saying which goes like this: "When there is utmost sincerity and concentration, even stones or gold open up." Thus, if we are reverent whilst paying respect to statues of the Buddha, we will feel the presence of the Blessed One. Actually, Buddhism is a religion that values intention over formality and teaches us to be totally free of all images, holy or not. Let me tell you an interesting kung-an out of the Ch'an annals. Once the Ch'an master Tan-hsia Tien-jan took up residence at a particular monastery. That year there was a very severe winter, and the temperature was frigidly cold. To stay warm, Tien-jan went up to the altar, took a wooden Buddha statue, and was about to use it to keep the fire going. Another monk saw what he was doing and stopped him in his tracks. This monk yelled at Tien-jan, "How dare you use a Buddha statue to keep warm?" Tien-jan was not at all offended, and he replied, "I am not using it as a piece of firewood. I just want to see if I can get some Buddha relics." The monk barked back, "Nonsense! How can you get Buddha relics from a piece of wood?" "If this is a piece of wood, why don't we use it as firewood." Having said this, Tien-jan tossed the wooden statue onto the fire. Tien-jan was a true student of the Buddha, for he truly understood the essence of the teachings. He knew that mind, buddha, and sentient beings are one and the same. When we are not yet enlightened, we should respect holy images. When we are enlightened, we will know that the Buddha dwells within us and is not to be found outside of ourselves or in some holy images. Before Emperor Hsuan of the Tang dynasty became emperor, he was once a novice monk in a temple. One time he saw the Ch'an master Huang-bo Hsi-yun in the shrine hall, paying his respect to the Buddha. As he stood behind the Ch'an master, he recalled what he had often heard the Ch'an master say and unknowingly spoke out loud, "Don't get attached to the Buddha, don't get attached to the Dharma, don't get attached to the Sangha. What's the point of paying respect to the Buddha?" When the Ch'an master heard this, he turned around and slapped the student in the face saying, "Don't get attached to the Buddha, don't get attached to the Dharma, don't get attached to the Sangha. But, in your case, you should." Those who do not understand the meaning behind paying respect to holy images often find it ludicrous that we do so. They do not realize that by paying respect to the Buddha, we are communicating with the Buddha. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
