Mr. Altig’s Overview of the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sutra

[Theme music: “Sovereign Quarter” fades in]

Host: “Welcome back, dear listeners, to another episode of ‘Journey to Enlightenment: Discovering the Lotus Sutra.’ We continue with Chapter One of the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra, immersing ourselves deeper in the profound teachings of the Buddha.

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Host: “We pick up where we left off last time, in the presence of the Bodhisattva Great Adornment, leading a multitude of bodhisattva-mahasattvas. They all kneel, palms together, speaking with a unified voice, singing praises to the Buddha.”

Host: “Their words reveal the essence of the Buddha: the greatly enlightened one, unblemished and detached, the instructor of both the heavenly and earthly realms. Their hymn echoes across the universe, leaving a fragrance of virtues and evoking an image of a mind, calm and steadfast.”

Narrator [reading text]: “Great indeed is the greatly enlightened, great sacred leader…His mental and discriminative consciousness is extinguished, and thus his mind is tranquil.”

Host: “The assembly delves deeper, describing the Buddha’s form, a radiant physical existence that transcends our conventional understanding of reality. Yet, it is emphasized that the form is neither a presence nor an absence. His physical attributes, thirty-two marks of a great man and eighty kinds of beautiful features, are the symbols of his perfect enlightenment.”

Narrator [reading text]: “The manifestation of his body, sixteen feet high, is glittering purple gold…Yet in reality, his form neither has nor has not attributes. It transcends what the eyes see as the attributes of all existence.”

Host: “The assembly continues to honor the Buddha, taking refuge in his wisdom, his form of Dharma, his voice, his teachings, and his wondrous nature. They revel in the pure, boundless, and inconceivable Dharma Wheel turned by the Tathagata.”

Narrator [reading text]: “All of us together bow our heads and take refuge in…The Wheel of the Dharma that always rolls at the appropriate time.”

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Host: “In this grand chorus of reverence, we also hear about the Buddha’s tireless journey to enlightenment, as he practiced virtue and self-sacrifice, remaining unyielding even in the face of adversity, never falling into anger or resentment.”

Narrator [reading text]: “The World-Honored One, since innumerable kalpas in the past… All of us together again bow our heads and take refuge in The one whose efforts have accomplished such difficult things.”

Host: “With this, we conclude this part of the chapter, leaving us with a profound sense of admiration for the Buddha’s perseverance and dedication on his journey to enlightenment.

Host: “Please join us for our next episode, as we delve further into the Lotus Sutra. Until then, keep journeying and keep discovering.

[Theme music: “Sovereign Quarter” fades in]

Host: “This has been ‘Journey to Enlightenment: Discovering the Lotus Sutra.’ Stay enlightened!”

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Host: “Goodbye and take care!”

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“Sovereign Quarter” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/