Day Three of the Kagyu
Monlam began with the arrival of His Holiness Karmapa at the
Stupa to bestow the Sojong Vows. With the Indian sky beginning
to lighten in the east, vaguely silhouetting the delicate leaves
of the sacred Bodhi Tree, His Holiness took his seat beneath the
tree facing the assembly.
Surrounded by lamas,
monks, nuns and laypeople, he began by offering some words of
explanation of the purpose and benefits of taking the 24-hour
Sojong Vows.
He spoke of the general
benefits, which he subsumed into three points.
1.
The benefit of time:
In the Samadhiraja Sutra
it states that compared to those who pay respect to the Buddha
by making offerings, it is superior to hold the Precepts for a
single day and night. Particularly in degenerate times when the
teachings of the Buddha are weak, it is more beneficial to hold
even a single Precept for one day.
2.
The benefit of place:
Compared to practice in
a Pure Realm, it is more beneficial to hold the discipline in an
impure Realm for even a finger-snap of time.
3.
The benefit of the essence, which is
divided into seven points:
· One
cannot be harmed by humans or non-humans. If someone has the
discipline, they cannot be harmed even if they have a negative
state of mind.
· All
gods and humans will make offerings, and all the devas will be
one’s protector and support.
· The
precepts are easy to hold. Mahayana Precepts only last for one
day and night, so even for householders, there is nothing that
one cannot abstain from for just 24 hours. As for monastics,
they already have the Mahayana Precepts included in their
monastic vows, and so should just be very careful and diligent
in keeping the Eight Precepts.
· One
will attain happy states of being in the short term, and will
attain liberation in the long term.
· Any
virtue that one performs will be stronger. Compared with a bowl
of oil for offering the size of Mt. Meru, even one drop of one’s
virtue will be stronger.
· Whatever
aspirations one has will be accomplished.
· One
will have the benefit of being born with a good body, as a deva
or a human in the retinue of Maitreya Buddha in the future.
His Holiness then
explained that one needs to have a clear idea of one’s
motivation. Here in Bodh Gaya, there are many sponsors who have
the opportunity to make offerings to the Sangha. At that time,
their offerings will not be wasted if the monastic Sangha have a
pure motivation for practice, put in effort and hold the
Precepts to their best ability. The meaning of diligence is that
one gets excited and happy about one’s practice, and about being
disciplined.
By the time His Holiness
finished chanting the Amoga Sila mantra in his resonant
Sanskrit, the first rays of sunlight were touching the bodhi
leaves, making them appear to be made of gold filigree, floating
against a pale sky. A chorus of birds sang in the great tree and
the gathering began to chant the first of the morning prayers of
the Twenty-Branch Monlam. Clouds of delightful fragrant incense
wafted among the assembly, squirrels began playing among the
branches, and teapot-bearing monks appeared filling the teabowls
with steaming hot tea which would soon break the fast of the
participants.
His Holiness completed his talk by offering Christmas greetings
which He admitted were a day late! He said that many friends had
come to Bodh Gaya from far away countries, and so he wanted to
wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and that
all friends and relatives be happy and more peaceful in this new
year than in the past. He exhorted the participants to make
effort that this wish should be actualized.
