White Universe

by Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua

Ice in the sky, snow on the ground.

Numberless tiny bugs die in the cold or sleep in hibernation.

In the midst of stillness you should contemplate,

and within movement you should investigate.

Dragons spar and tigers wrestle in continual playful sport;

Ghosts cry and spirits wail, their illusory transformations strange.

Ultimate truth transcends words;

Not thought about or talked about, you ought to advance with haste.

With great and small destroyed, with no inside or out,

It pervades every mote of dust and encompasses the Dharma Realm,

Complete, whole, and perfectly fused, interpenetrating without obstruction.

With two clenched fists, shatter the covering of empty space.

In one mouthful swallow the source of seas of Buddhalands.

With great compassion rescue all,

Sparing no blood or sweat, and never pause to rest!

- I want to tell you about the "Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra" [Om Mani Padme Hum] Recitation Session held at Gold Mountain Monastery in 1972...for seven days and seven nights...They were praying for world peace; they wanted to invisibly eradicate the calamities of the world...In 1974, it was predicted that there would be an earthquake in San Francisco.... After the seven-day session was over, their sincerity in reciting the mantra inspired me to compose the poem "White Universe" as a commemoration.... >> text

宇宙白

宣公上人作

冰天雪地，無數條細蟲，凍斃且蟄眠，

靜裏觀察，動中審諦，龍爭虎鬥常遊戲，鬼神哭嚎幻化奇，

真實義絕言，不思議，當進趨，

大小泯，內外非，微塵遍，法界周，

囫圇個圓融，互相無礙，

雙拳打破虛空蓋，一口吞盡剎海源，

Essays by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua:

Preface, Today, Yesterday & Tomorrow

excerpted from

Water-Mirror Reflections of Nature

水鏡回天錄

自序`昨日`今日`明日

Preface November 17, 1952
Contemplate the universe of a billion worlds: you will see that bad karma has welled up and filled it all. Nations ravage nations, creating world wars; families slay families, creating civil strife; men murder men, starting interpersonal wars; we kill ourselves, making war between the mind and the nature, and so forth, until space destroys space, and water destroys water, making wars between the realms of matter and the intangible. There are so many wars! How sorrowful, how painful!

Each of these limitless crises comes from the evil karma of killing. If we do not wake up soon and put a stop to the causes, conditions, methods, and karma of killing, then great disasters will surely be hard to avoid; we will never know peace and happiness.

It will not be hard to recognize our basic identity; our inherent wisdom will spontaneously appear. The wind and light of this primary land* has a unique and wonderfully delightful flavor that does not grow stale. If we wish to try its taste we must simply purify our minds.

With great heroism let us direct our thoughts towards the good; resolve to cultivate and realize the results of the Way; take others across and reach the other shore together; join the assembly of superior and good people who take delight in their meeting, and always be companions of Bodhisattvas who never retreat.

Like the moon reflected in water, like flowers in a mirror, such things are merely shadows cast without forms. It may just be a case of hoping against hope, of striving for the impossible, thus the book's title Water-Mirror Reflections of Nature. >> Commentary on the Preface...

*The wind and light of the original ground means simply that having returned home, we once again see the long forgotten vista from the original dwelling, the place where we belong and from which we have estranged ourselves so very long. The other shore is the standard explanation of the word "paramita", which may also be translated "perfection". It is the other side, Nirvana, which is opposed to this, our restless turning in birth and death. It is everything that this shore is not and yet, its bliss exists only in opposition to the suffering on this shore.

Today

What is the present time? It is a time of the imminent extinction of living beings. As we look around the Dharma Realm we see that countries battle each other, families contend with each other, individuals struggle against on another, on and on until great wars between world systems arise. An ancient author said,

War results from quarrels over land, the corpses fill the fields. War arises from conflicts over cities, and corpses fill the streets. The earth is made to eat the flesh of people. Such offenses are not redeemed by death.

I sincerely hope that the leaders of all nations will embody Nature's preference for life, establish good government and bestow humane justice; banish contention and do away with greed; ignore themselves and help others; benefit themselves by benefiting others; see the universe as one family, and regard all people as one person.

Emulate the thinking of the ancient worthy who said,

If anyone is killed, it is as if I killed him myself. If anyone has been cheated, it is as if I cheated him myself.

At all times, reflect inwardly and examine your conscience.

If you offend before heaven, you have no place to pray.

>>Commentary on Today...

Yesterday

If at the age of 50, one can know the errors of the previous 49 years, one resembles the Ideal Human who reforms his errors and improves himself. an author in ancient times said,

Aware of my failure to set right past faults,

I know I can rectify what is to come;

Astray, yet not too far from the path,

I have awaken to today's rights and yesterday's wrongs.

In Buddhism it is said,

For all bad karma I have done

With body, mouth and mind,

Based on beginningless greed, hared and ignorance,

I now repent and reform.

Buddhism also teaches that

Offenses arise from thoughts;

So through thoughts we reform.

When thoughts are forgotten,

Offenses are no more.

With thoughts forgotten and offenses wiped away,

We realize that both are empty--

This is called true repentance and reform.

I hope that all living beings of the dharma realm will read these words carefully, sample their flavor, and put them into actual practice. I hope that they will feel deep shame and a wish to change and to renew themselves. Confucius said,

To have faults and not change is indeed a fault.

For this reason, when you have faults, do not shrink from change. There is no greater good than this.

>>Commentary on Yesterday...

Tomorrow

Since we have been born in this age, we must resolve to be new and great people. Emperor Tang had a motto inscribed on his bathtub that said,

If you can renew yourself once,

Renew yourself day after day;

Become new again and again.

The Proclamation of Kang said,

Make a new people!

But one look at present-day weapons' technology shows that research in weaponry advances daily; lethal armaments are modernized each month. although we call this progress, it is nothing more than progressive cruelty. This branch of science takes human life as an experiment, as its toy. The men who create new destructive weapons use power as their right, to satisfy their selfish desires.

Why shouldn't we think instead of washing clean the body and mind; of brushing away accumulated dirt; of developing a sense of shame, and painstakingly changing our former wrongs to create a new life; of becoming awesome people full of the vitality of life; of doing beneficial deeds for the sake of all living beings in the Dharma Realm, of developing virtue on behalf of our fellow citizens of the myriad nations; and of acting as a model for all on earth?

With humanness and integrity, represent Nature in proclaiming truth and transforming kindred beings; with filial respect and a sense of responsibility for the welfare of every nation, instruct all people of