The Sutra of Compassion
By Lama Shree Narayan Singh
Namo Guru!
Thus have I heard! Once the Blessed One was residing at Vulture's Peak in Rajagriha together with Bodhisattvas, Arhats and other beings, both seen and unseen, infinite in number. Bodhisattva Mahasattva Avalokiteshwara was immersed in the Samadhi of Boundless Compassion. Then, through the inspiration of the Tathagata, Shariputra, while traversing fearlessly through the six realms became aware of the inter relatedness of all phenomena -- sentient beings and the worlds they experienced. Thus moved to boundless compassion, Shariputra asked the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Avalokiteshwara -- 'How should sons and daughters of this noble family, disciples of the Enlightened One, practise compassion?' Bodhisattva Mahasattva Avalokiteshwara moved by the sufferings experienced in the Six Realms said, "Oh Shariputra, appropriate is your question and I will elucidate upon it!'
'All beings are deeply related with each other. They have each been each other's parents through countless lives as also each other's children. Thus they share a common and unshaken bond each with the other. Moreover, in this their current existence, each is deeply connected with each other in this way. Whatever grain of wheat and rice which is eaten by any person, each grain is connected with countless beings who have been responsible for its cultivation, harvesting and distribution through which process the faithful have offered to the Sangha. Similar is the case with the earth we tread upon, the sun and moon, the forests, streams and rivers which provide sustenance, the robes we wear, the Sangharamas offered to the Tathagata and his disciples for rest, for the Enlightened One to teach, and the practise and study of the Dharma of his disciples!
'Similarly, when one being suffers, it becomes the suffering of all. The happiness of any one, becomes the joy of all! None can exist in isolation from the other!
'Contemplating in this way, sons and daughters of noble family, develop the motivation to benefit each other and extend it to cover all beings. Thus too, they develop a respect for the world and its ecological systems which support their very existence in different ways. Thus they aspire to take all beings, with whom they are related, across samsara, the ocean of suffering to the blissful abiding in the state of voidness through the employment of skillful means, as vast as the expanse of the universe. Simultaneously, they aspire to respect and protect mother earth which provides them food, shelter and the very basis for their practice of compassion. Thus they are inspired to utilise all their faculties and facilities available solely for the common weal!
'Motivated thus, sons and daughters of noble family, develop self-arising ethics so that they may live in accordance with and express themselves egolessly for the benefit of both the animate and inanimate, with the realisation that each is an integral part of phenomenal manifestations. This ethics is not an imposition from the Enlightened One; rather it arises of its own accord from the correct motivation which propels such sons and daughters of noble family to the practise of virtue and the rejection of deeds of the body, speech and mind which would harm themselves as also others.
'In this way sons and daughters of noble family express their gratitude to the entire world of phenomena, for all the goodness they have received from it. Sons and daughters of noble family, thus courageously live the span of their lives, with a free heart, deeply happy at each and every opportunity which arises in the fulfillment of their aspiration. Contemplating and living in this way, their lives become free from depressions and doubts and the veils and obscurations which govern their existence become less and less, leading to the further practice of gratitude.
'Thus sons and daughters of noble family grow exponentially in compassion and egolessness which they effortlessly manifest as an expression of their true nature -- the very heart of enlightenment. In this way, their lives become replete with meaning even as they adopt diverse ways to benefit phenomenal manifestations in all realms both seen and unseen.
'Dedicating themselves in such ways, sons and daughters of noble family, go beyond the processes of samsara and nirvana, and abide continuously in the state of transcendence where birth and death are no more and all experiences, good and bad, happy and sad, are experienced as the imprint of a bird in the sky in the uncontrived and boundless space of the Dharmadhatu! They are thus freed from fears, doubts, sufferings and all conditionings which restrict the full expression of uncontrived awareness! It is in this flawless state that sons and daughters of noble family abide!'
Then the Blessed One, commended the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Avalokiteshwara saying, 'Thus it is! Thus it is, Oh son of Noble Family!' And all those who heard him rejoiced with a grateful heart.
