Chapter 783: Six Grades
Here I would like to mention the concept of the Buddha land universe in Buddhism, which is the basic common sense of Buddhism. There are 3,000 worlds in the land of one Buddha, and 1 trillion four worlds. One solar system is a world, a thousand solar systems are a small world, a thousand small worlds are a middle world, and a thousand middle worlds are a big world. This number coincides with astronomy, which holds that there is an unknowable and uncountable solar system in the entire universe, and the Buddha proposed such a cosmology two or three thousand years ago.
"Diamond Sutra", in fact, Buddhism is based on the cause and effect of the third life, and after cultivating for a long time, I thought that I had passed away, but in fact, I still fell to the heaven of desire, and I may also come back in the human body. When the Buddha was alive, there were 96 kinds of outer paths, all of which were monastic.
Garuda is a golden-winged bird of the Great Peng, taking the dragon as food, and the Buddha has forbidden it not to eat the dragon again, so that in the temple, at noon, the food offered to the Buddha will be picked out, put into the plate and recite a mantra, and take it outside to offer Garuda. It's okay for you to think of these as myths, but one thing is true, our earth world, even celestial beings, all life will harm other lives in order to survive. From this point of view, they all base their own happiness on the suffering of others.
Kinnara is non-human, sometimes let you see and sometimes not let you see. The mandrills in the Yunnan-Guizhou-Guizhou Mountains of China are of this kind, the footprints left on the ground are heels forward, toes are backwards, they look as if they are walking backwards, they occasionally come into contact with humans, the men are very ugly, the women are very beautiful, they can sing and dance. Maharaja is the god of the great cockroach.
"All the bhikshus and bhikshunis, the upasai upas, all will sit." This is the disciples of the Buddha who participated in the puja in the human world, and the original meaning of a bhikshu is a beggar, begging for the Dharma to the Buddha, and begging for food for others. Monk is a master, the meaning of the teacher of heaven and earth, is a kind of honorific title, a temple can only be called a monk by the abbot, just like the Tibetan people call the living Buddha. Bhikshuni is a female monk, nun means female, and later the female nun of the monk is called aunt, so they are called nuns. It used to be an honorific title, but now it is derogatory to call a monk or a nun. Upasai is a male layman, and Upasai is a female layman, a person who learns Buddhism at home.
At that time, the Buddha and the immeasurable hundreds of thousands of people, respectfully surrounded, and said the Dharma. For example, the King of Mount Meru, who appeared in the sea", received the above introduction of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, celestial beings, and people who came to participate in this puja, and at this time, there were countless people who surrounded the Buddha very respectfully and listened to him. The scriptures describe the Buddha in a very clever way, describing the Buddha standing in the midst of an immeasurable crowd, like the highest Sumeru mountain towering in the middle of the sea, what a solemn and magnificent scene! Imagine a person whose morality and knowledge are admired by all people, and who is embraced by everyone wherever he goes, and it is not a scene of mythology. So-called celebrities may be able to do the same, but the crowd surrounding celebrities is driven by fanatical desires.
"Settle on the throne of the master of all treasures, and hide from all the people." The Buddha was worshipped by the masses to the throne set up for him and sat down peacefully. This seat is made of all treasures, and only the master who is enough to be a celestial master is qualified to sit on it, so it is called the master seat. The text here uses "shade" to describe the Buddha's ascending throne, and his majestic light is like a big tree, covering all the people who come.
When Biya left the city, there was an elder son, whose name was Baoji, and five hundred elders, all holding seven treasure covers, came to the Buddha's place, bowed their heads and feet, and each made offerings to the Buddha with their covers. "The city of Viyali was the famous capital of Central India at that time. It is said that the elder is a person who is old and virtuous, and has achieved academic and moral achievements, and the elder son is the child of the local highly educated family, and the elder son headed by him is named Baoji. The name Bao Ji appears several times in Buddhist scriptures in Indian culture, especially in the Great Treasure Ji Sutra, where he is the main body, and he raises many important questions for the Buddha to teach. India, like the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, was a place where the vassals were divided, with two or three hundred countries. The city of Vijali was a democratic and free country at that time, with moral self-government, and the status of Vimal was like a supreme chairman in the city. This time he did not show up, and Bao Ji led the descendants of the five hundred families to the puja, each holding a treasure cover studded with seven kinds of jewels, which was like an umbrella, which could provide shade on sunny days and rain on rainy days. When the emperors after the Qin and Han dynasties in China went out on patrol, there was a treasure cover behind them, which came from outside. They came to see the Buddha and bowed to the Buddha according to Indian customs. Bow to the Buddha with your head and feet, just like we worship the Buddha today, with your hands spread out upwards to catch the Buddha's feet, and your head down to the Buddha's feet, which is the highest courtesy. After the prayer, each person presents his or her own treasure cover to the Buddha and turns around to the right.