Category Archives: Hsuan Hua

Five Schools of One Buddhism

This year I’m going to be immersed in Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s fourteen volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra. In addition, I’m currently using the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s translation of the Lotus Sutra in my daily practice. The sutra itself is volume 15 of the commentary. In addition, I’m reading a number of other books published by the Buddhist Text Translation Society.

Why? I want to read everything about the Lotus Sutra. In the past I’ve discussed Dogen’s view of the Lotus Sutra and Thich Nhat Hanh’s interpretation of the Lotus Sutra. Hsuan Hau makes a third Chan master with something to say about the Lotus Sutra. So there’s nothing unusual in all of this.

As for my reading outside the Lotus Sutra – I recently re-read the Vimalakīrti Sūtra – that too comes from the Lotus Sutra, specifically Chapter 2.

“Śāriputra! I also expound various teachings to all living beings only for the purpose of revealing the One Buddha-Vehicle. There is no other vehicle, not a second or a third. Śāriputra! All the present Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters also do the same.

As Nichiren explains, all of the streams of the Buddha’s teaching flow into the ocean of the Lotus Sutra:

All the sūtras entering the ocean of the Lotus Sūtra take up the one flavor of Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō because of the wonderful merit of the ocean of the Lotus Sūtra. There is no reason why they have to be referred to by other names such as Nembutsu, Ritsu, Shingon, or Zen.”

Shoshū Mondō-shō, Questions and Answers Regarding Other Schools, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 165 (2022)

Yes, Nichiren was adamant about rejecting the practices of  Nembutsu, Ritsu, Shingon and Zen, but I’d argue that that doesn’t preclude Nichiren followers from studying all of these streams.

Since I’m  reading Hsuan Hua’s commentary, I want to acknowledge where he is coming from in his view of the Lotus Sutra.

Buddhism: A Brief Introduction includes a useful interview between Hsuan Hua and Karl Ray, which originally appeared in the Shambala Review under the title “Back to the Source.”

Karl Ray: (KR)

The first question I would like to ask is based on an article in which you suggest that Buddhists forget sectarian lines. Can you suggest practical steps that Buddhist organizations can take to bring this about?

Master: (M)

Before the Buddha came into the world there was no Buddhism. After the Buddha appeared, Buddhism came into being, but there was not as yet any division into sects or schools. Sectarianism is a limited view, a view of small scope, and cannot represent Buddhism in its entirety. The complete substance of Buddhism, the totality, admits no such divisions. When you divide the totality of Buddhism into sects and schools, you merely split it into fragments. In order to understand Buddhism in its totality, one must eliminate views of sects and schools and return to original Buddhism. One must return to the root and go back to the source.

KR: That brings me to a question about the different teachings taught here at Gold Mountain Monastery. I understand that you teach five different schools, including the Ch’an School, the Teaching School, the Vinaya School, the Secret School, and the Pure Land School. Can they all be taught like this together? Do they all belong to the original corpus of Buddhist teachings?

M: The Five Schools were created by Buddhist disciples who had nothing to do and wanted to find something with which to occupy their time. The Five Schools all issued from Buddhism. Since they came forth from Buddhism, they can return to Buddhism as well. Although the Five Schools serve different purposes, their ultimate destination is the same. It is said,

There is only one road back to the source, But there are many expedient ways to reach it.

Although there are five different schools, they are still included within one “Buddhism”. If you want to understand the totality of Buddhism, you need not divide it up into schools or sects. Originally there were no such divisions. Why make trouble when there is none? Why be divisive and cause people to have even more false thoughts than they already have?

People think that the Five Schools are something really special and wonderful. In fact, they have never departed from Buddhism itself. It is just like the government of a country. The government is made up of different departments. There is a Department of Health, a Department of Economics, a State Department, a Department of the Interior, and so forth. People may not realize that all these different departments are under a single government. All they recognize is the department, and they don’t recognize the government as a whole. Their outlook is narrow. Now, we wish to move from the branches back to the roots. In the analogy, the roots are the government and the branches are the various departments. People should not abandon the roots and cling to the branches. If you only see the individual departments and fail to recognize the government, you will never be able to understand the problems faced by the country as a whole. You will have no idea what they are all about.

KR: Then one should feel free to pursue any or all of the teachings?

M: Of course. Religion cannot be allowed to tie one up.

KR: And if one chooses to follow only one certain school, can one reach the goal that all of them aim for?

M: All roads lead to Rome. All roads come to San Francisco. All roads will take you to New York. You may ask, ‘Can I get to New York by this road?’ but you would do better to ask yourself, ‘Will I walk that road or not?’

Buddhism: A Brief Introduction, p83-84

Another interesting glimpse into the thinking of Hsuan Hua comes from the Forward to the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association‘s translation of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra.

The Venerable Hsuan Hua’s Vision

Buddhism in the modern Western world isn’t even at the kindergarten level. But what Master Hua could see at the grand scale was that three things were necessary for Buddhism to come into the West. Not just Buddhism in the West, either. To ensure the future of humanity, there were three essential things: translation, education, and maintaining the monastic tradition. Basically, Master Hua could see that humanity would have to start all over again, from a seed; it might preserve some of what we have now, but it would more or less have to start over.

The first essential element in starting over is to maintain the monastic tradition as a choice. It has to be available as a choice. People only really have two modes of living: at-home and left-home. If you live at home, you have to engage with the conditional at some level; you have to participate in some kind of strategic construct-working for a living or whatever-that will take up some amount of time. As a monastic, that’s taken care of. In exchange, you take on the responsibility of maintaining the Dharma in one way or another. As a layperson, you can stay away from spouses and pets as much as you like, but you still have to pay for your apartment and so on; you have to get involved with the conditional, and you can throw in a little meditation here and there. As a monastic, you avoid that, but you have to be a Bodhisattva. That’s the trade-off. Master Hua was very clear: when it comes down to it, it’s one or the other. Maintaining the monastic tradition is vital, as a practical issue, not a just a metaphysical one. On the one hand, people need to have this choice available to them; on the other, someone needs to maintain the Dharma.

The other two elements–education and translation–are intertwined. Whatever framework of reality is operating within a culture at a given time, it comes primarily through the educational construct. So having a thriving system, from elementary up through post-graduate studies, is indispensable to a healthy future. Translation acts a kind of liaison in that process; it can influence the educational construct and help to create an alternative to the one we have now. We’ve barely even scratched the surface of translating the Dharma into English. As more texts become available, people will be faced with a lot of different things. The Buddha was very flexible. He taught to all kinds of conditions. As more of the Dharma is brought into English, plenty of opportunities will open up for people to look at things in a new way.

Master Hua wanted to see hundreds of people working together on translation. He wanted to bring people together from all over the world. Like a Borobudur of translation. The problem is our imagination. We think so small. We don’t really consider just how big a project this could be, and how many people could work on it together. Master Hua wanted to bring everyone together. If our translation work could be like this, it could really be what he envisioned as an essential part of ensuring a better future for all of us.

Doug Powers
Vice President for Finance and Administration,
Professor, Dharma Realm Buddhist University

September 27, 2020

Medicine Master Sūtra

Below are quotes from Master Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on The Sutra of the Merit and Virtue of the Past Vows of Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya.


Available from the Buddhist Text Translation Society

Reciting the Name of Medicine Master Buddha
At the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, we recite the name of Medicine Master Buddha in the morning and dedicate the merit to the Dharma-protectors of the City, praying that they will be safe from disasters and will enjoy long life. At noon we recite “Namo Fundamental Teacher Śākyamuni Buddha” in order to repay the kindness of Śākyamuni Buddha, who taught the Dharma to us. In the evening we recite the name of Amitabha Buddha, vowing to be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, where the three lower paths do not exist. In the Sahā world, we are troubled and afflicted every day, but in the Land of Ultimate Bliss and the Vaiḍūrya Land, there is only happiness.

The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is a new monastery, and we recite the names of three different Buddhas in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. In this respect, we differ from monasteries in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, and other countries where they follow the Chinese Buddhist tradition and recite Amitabha Buddha’s name all the time. When monastics from other places visit the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, they think that we do everything wrong and do not understand the rules.

We do not claim that what we do at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is correct. However, when we rise in the morning, we should emulate the vows of Medicine Master Buddha Who Quells Disasters and Lengthens Life. This will give us the fresh, youthful energy of dawn; an invigorating vitality like that of trees reviving after a drought or a spring bubbling forth from the ground. When we rise at dawn, the fire of our life burns brightly and everything is auspicious. At noon, we should be grateful to Śākyamuni Buddha for all the Dharma and sūtras that he taught us. At night, our thoughts return to the Land of Ultimate Bliss, the final haven where we wish to be reborn.

Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master Sutra commentary, p84-85

Two Buddhas, East and West
Śākyamuni buddha came to the Sahā world in order to help living beings resolve the problem of birth and death. He was born into a royal family, but he renounced the wealth of the kingdom and left his home in order to pursue the Truth. After he attained Buddhahood beneath the Bodhi Tree, he contemplated the conditions of living beings in the Sahā world and discovered that we have the deepest affinities with two Buddhas – Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathagata in the East and Amitabha Tathāgata in the West. …

Although Akṣobhya (Medicine Master) Buddha is in the Vaiḍūrya Land and Amitabha Buddha is in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, both of these Buddhas teach and transform the living beings of the Sahā world. They have deep affinities with each and every one of us. Medicine Master Tathāgata is also known as “Medicine Master Buddha Who Quells Disasters and Lengthens Life;” Amitabha Tathāgata is known as both the “Buddha of Limitless Life” (Amitāyus) and the “Buddha of Limitless Light” (Amitābha).

If you are mindful of Medicine Master Buddha, he will bestow blessings and long life upon you and save you from disasters, illnesses, and offenses. He fulfills the wishes of all living beings. Amitabha Buddha enables beings to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. If you wish to be reborn in that land, simply recite Amitabha Buddha’s name. If you wish to be born in the Vaiḍūrya Land, then recite the name of Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathagata.

Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master Sutra commentary, p23-24

Magnetic Vows
Every Buddha and Bodhisattva, before achieving Buddhahood, makes infinitely many great vows to benefit and help living beings. When he becomes a Buddha, his vows come true, and, like a magnet, they attract living beings from the ten directions. If his vows are great, then the power of the magnet is great, and no matter how many living beings there are and how heavy their karmic obstacles are, his vows can draw them in. Living beings, despite their ignorance, can sense that he wishes to help them, and so they feel especially close to him. Deep down in their souls they intuitively sense this affinity. In the past, Medicine King Bodhisattva burned his body and gave up his life as an offering to the Buddhas. We, in contrast, can’t even bear to burn a finger, let alone our whole bodies.

Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master Sutra commentary, p60

Ordinary Origins of Great Vows
Medicine Master Buddha made this vow in his past lives when he was still cultivating as a bhikṣu; he was no different from you, me, and other living beings then. But because he made great vows, he was able to achieve Buddhahood very quickly. We still haven’t become Buddhas, because we are too selfish, greedy, and quarrelsome, and we don’t want to make great vows.

Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master Sutra commentary, p62

Next: Medicine Master’s 7th Great Vow

The Medicine of Buddhism

Medicine Buddha Carving Print by Ryusho Shonin
Medicine Buddha block print by Ryusho Shonin dated 25 March 2020

On March 25, 2020, Ryusho Jeffus Shonin sent a card to my wife and me. On the cover was a blue print of a linoleum block carving Ryusho had done of Medicine Buddha. This was at  the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. At this time, shelter-at-home mandates had been issued for both the state of New York, where Ryusho lived, and California, where we  lived.

I placed the Medicine Buddha card among my “decorations” (see this explanation) and put a generic Buddha incense burner in front of it to represent Medicine Buddha. Hung above this area of my “decorations” is a 16-inch long Medicine Buddha prayer flag garland that my son and his girlfriend brought home from one of their trips.

Each morning and evening I begin gongyo offering light from a burning incense stick to my “decorations” – Kannon and Jizo bodhisattvas, the Shichi Fuku Jin (Seven Happy Gods)  and the Funjin Sho Butsu (Śākyamuni’s replicas).   The Medicine Buddha card and statue and a Tibetan prayer box and flags represent the Buddhas in manifestation who appear in Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.

I bring this all up because I recently purchased and read the Medicine Master Sūtra with commentary by Master Hsuan Hua.  I’m going to place the book behind the card so that the statue, card and sutra create Medicine Buddha “decorations.”

Having this year discovered Hsuan Hua’s 14-volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra, I’ve been reviewing the other sutras that he’s left commentaries on. For me, as a Nichiren Buddhist – as someone who holds that the Lotus Sutra is the Buddha’s highest teaching – I consider these other sutras as the expedient teachings that all flow into the ocean of the Lotus Sutra.

While Medicine Buddha can bestow blessings and long life upon believers and save them from disasters, illnesses, and offenses, his powers pale in comparison to the benefits of offering devotion to the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.

In Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra, Śākyamuni says, “I am leaving this good medicine here. Take it! Do not be afraid that you will not be cured!”

In Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva, Śākyamuni says, “Just as a torch dispels darkness, this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma saves all living beings from all sufferings, from all diseases, and from all the bonds of birth and death.”

And later in Chapter 23, the Buddha tells Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva to use his supernatural powers to protect the Lotus Sūtra: “Why is that? It is because this sūtra is a good medicine for the diseases of the people of the Jambudvipa. The patient who hears this sūtra will be cured of his disease at once. He will not grow old or die.”

I welcome the addition of Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata to my practice, but for me it’s more like the guy who wears both  suspenders and a belt to hold up his pants.


Next: Medicine Master Sūtra

Vajra Sutra: The Equality of Emptiness and Existence

“How can you say emptiness is existence and existence is emptiness? That is too confused,” you may say.

Is it the principle that is confused, or is it you, or I? When you are confused you think that emptiness is emptiness and existence is existence. When the confusion is cleared, you know that emptiness and existence are equal. Do not attach to either annihilationism or eternalism. The equality and non-duality of emptiness and existence is called the Middle Way. Here true emptiness does not obstruct wonderful existence and wonderful existence does not obstruct true emptiness. True emptiness is wonderful existence; wonderful existence is true emptiness. When there is existence, then emptiness manifests; when there is emptiness, then existence is apparent. There is no emptiness, and there is no existence. They are not two. The non-duality of emptiness and existence is the equality of emptiness and existence.

The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p187-188

Vajra Sutra: No Sudden and No Gradual

When I was sixteen I wrote a matched couplet upon reading the Sixth Patriarch Sutra. Having lectured to the place where the text says “Dharma is not sudden or gradual, confusion and enlightenment are slow and quick.” I thought, “How can there still be a sudden and a gradual? What is sudden? What is gradual? Are sudden and gradual different? Are they two?” So I wrote the following:

Although sudden and gradual are different,
Upon completion they are one.
Why make divisions of North and South?

Sagely and common are parts of the one:
The basic nature is absolutely the same.
Do not discuss East and West.

“Although sudden and gradual are different, upon completion they are one.” Sudden refers to instantaneous realization of Buddhahood; gradual refers to slow cultivation to Buddhahood. Sudden and gradual are two distinct methods, but when one finishes the work, there is no sudden and no gradual in evidence. They no longer exist. …

When I read the Sixth Patriarch Sutra, I thought that the reference to Sudden and Gradual lacked equality, so I wrote the line, “Although sudden and gradual are different, upon completion they are one.” What is the origin of sudden? Although one suddenly attains enlightenment, one cultivates life after life for a long time within the Buddhadharma prior to that enlightenment. When one reaps the fruit of that long process of cultivation, that is called sudden. Gradual refers to the long process of cultivation, but the day the cultivation is complete, there is sudden enlightenment. For that reason I say there is no sudden or gradual. …

“Sagely and common are parts of the One.” Sagely refers to the Buddha; common refers to living beings. The world is divided into these two types, but “the basic nature is absolutely the same.” Buddhahood is the realization of the Buddha-nature. Living beings can also realize their Buddha-nature.

The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p184-186

Vajra Sutra: Five Aspects of Equality

The marks of the dharma are spoken of by the Tathagata as no marks of the dharma; therefore they are called the marks of the dharma. They are merely given a false name.

The Vajra Sūtra expresses prajña, the wonderful principle of true emptiness, and also expresses the dharma door of equality found within the wonderful principle of prajña. In general there are Five Aspects of Equality evident in the sūtra.

  1. The equality of living beings and Buddhas,
  2. The equality of emptiness and existence,
  3. The equality of all dharma,
  4. The equality of one and many,
  5. The equality of all views.

Most people do not understand equality dharma doors, so they put a head on top of a head, add marks to marks, and change what is basically equal to what is unequal.

The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p184

Vajra Sutra: The Merit of Small Deeds

If we travelled by rocket for a great length of time, we would only cover a short distance compared to the extent of three thousand great thousand world systems. Although those world systems are big, they are created from motes of fine dust. The largest things are created from the smallest. Although one mote of dust is small, many of them together become a great thousand world system. In the same way, the merit and virtue we do comes from small deeds. By doing many good deeds we become adorned with ten thousand virtues. You should not think you need not bother doing small good deeds or that you can get away with doing small bad ones. Many seemingly inconsequential good deeds will accumulate into great goodness. Although you may only do minor bad deeds, many will accumulate into great evil. In just the same way, a whole world comes from a collection of small dust motes.

The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p178-179

Vajra Sutra: Seeking The Middle Way

The deviant path of grasping at the sight or the sound of the Buddha leads one into the extreme of clinging to conditioned existence. When one is not in accord with the Middle Way, one cannot see the Tathagata. The Avataṃsaka Sutra says: “Response and transformations are not the true Buddha.” The thirty-two marks belong to the response and transformation bodies, and certainly not to the Buddha’s dharma body. One who holds to annihilationism views everything as doomed to extinction. One who holds to permanence views everything as eternal. Both views are biased and not the Middle Way. If one seeks the Tathagata’s dharma body by some path other than the Middle Way, it will be impossible to find it.

Once Mahāmaudgalyāyana wanted to see how far the Buddha’s voice carried, so he used his spiritual penetrations and went as far east as he could. He passed through thousands of ten thousands of millions of Buddhalands – 70,000 times farther than a rocket can go in space. But even when he had travelled that great distance, the Buddha’s voice was still as clear as if he were speaking dharma right into Mahāmaudgalyāyana’s ear. That is a case of searching for the Buddha in sound.

The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p168-169

Vajra Sutra: Seeking Without the Thought of Seeking

Let us look further into the five eyes. Are they produced from within or do they come from outside? The five eyes are not produced from within; nor do they come from outside; nor do they exist in the middle. Cultivate, use effort, and when your skill is sufficient you will have them naturally. Before sufficient skill is attained, no amount of seeking will cause them to function. Seeking is false thinking. Seeking without the thought of seeking brings a response.

In what way does one make an effort to open one’s eyes?

You need to be wise in managing affairs, and wise in cultivation. It is wise to recognize what is good and then courageously and vigorously work towards it. The characteristic of wisdom is to recognize and vow to cut off and cast out what is bad. Realizing something is good and yet not acting in accord with it is the characteristic of stupidity. It is stupid to recognize that something is bad business and still go ahead and become involved in it. If you are stupid, it is not easy to obtain the five eyes. In order to obtain them, everything you do must be done extremely clearly. You must be very precise and cannot be confused.

The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, pp149-150

Lotus Sutra Audiobook on YouTube

While reading Master Hsuan Hua’s 15-volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra, I have been periodically corresponding with the publisher, the Buddhist Text Translation Society, to clarify whether what I perceive are errors are in fact errors or simply different interpretations of Buddhism. Having mostly read texts based on Japanese perspective, I’ve found Hsuan Hua’s Chinese focus noticeable different at times. During one of these email exchanges, I was alerted to the fact that the Dharma Realm Buddhist University’s YouTube channel includes an audiobook of the 28 chapters of the Lotus Sutra. With the exception of chapters 8, 9 and 13, each chapter is introduced with a synopsis. This synopsis is combined for chapters 15 and 16 and chapters 17 to 19. The text is based on the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s translation of Kumarajiva’s Chinese version of the Lotus Sutra.


Chapter 1, Introduction



Chapter 2, Skillful Means



Chapter 3, A Parable



Chapter 4, Faith and Understanding



Chapter 5, Medicinal Herbs



Chapter 6, Conferring Predictions



Chapter 7, The Parable of the Conjured City



Chapter 8, Five Hundred Disciples Receive Predictions



Chapter 9, Predictions for Those in Need of Study and Those Beyond Study



Chapter 10, Dharma Teachers



Chapter 11, The Jeweled Stupa Appears



Chapter 12, Devadatta



Chapter 13, Encouragement to uphold



Chapter 14, Practices of Peace and Joy



Chapter 15, Emerging from the Earth



Chapter 16, The Tathāgata’s Life Span



Chapter 17, The Discourse on Merit and Virtue



Chapter 18, The Merit of a Joyful Response



Chapter 19, The Merit and Virtue of a Dharma Teacher



Chapter 20, Bodhisattva Never Slighting



Chapter 21, The Spiritual Powers of a Tathāgata



Chapter 22, Entrustment



Chapter 23, The Account of Bodhisattva Medicine King’s Past Lives



Chapter 24, Bodhisattva Wondrous Voice



Chapter 25, The Universal Door of Guan Yin Bodhisattva



Chapter 26, Dhārāṇi



Chapter 27, The Account of King Wonderful Adornment’s Past Lives



Chapter 28, Bodhisattva Samantabhadra’s Encouragement

Vajra Sutra: Planting Seeds

A Bodhisattva who commits himself to undertaking practices which are meritorious and virtuous should proceed without hesitation to do just that. Seeds planted in the field will in the future yield a harvest. There is no benefit in speculating on the size of the crop. Attention need only be paid to the planting and cultivation of the field. If care is taken and the conditions of earth, water, and wind are right, then the plants will grow. If the field is never planted, however, no yield at all can be expected. In just that way a Bodhisattva takes living beings across to the other shore without actually taking any living beings across. A Bodhisattva does not waste energy worrying about the outcome, he just does his work.

The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p146