Sūtra:
At that time within the assembly, a Bodhisattva Mahāsattva named One Who Rescues and Liberates arose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt with his right knee on the ground, leaned forward with his palms joined together, and said to the Buddha, "Greatly virtuous World Honored One! During the Dharma Image Age, there will be living beings afflicted with various diseases, emaciated from chronic illnesses, unable to eat or drink, their throats parched and their lips dry. Such a being sees darkness gathering all around him as the signs of death appear. While lying in bed, surrounded by his weeping parents, relatives, and friends, he sees the messengers of Yama leading his spirit before that king of justice. Every sentient being has spirits that stay with him throughout his life. They record his every deed, both good and evil, to present to Yam a, the king of justice. At that time, King Yama interrogates this person in order to tally his karma and mete out judgment according to his good and evil deeds.
“At that time, if the sick person’s relatives and friends, on his behalf, can take refuge with the World Honored One, Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata, and request members of the Saṅgha to recite this Sūtra, to light seven layers of lamps, and to hang up the five-colored banners for prolonging life, then it is possible for his sprit to return. As if in a dream, the person will see everything very clearly himself.”
Commentary:
The preceding passage said that even if one were to speak for endless eons, one could hardly finish describing the conduct, vows, and skillful means of Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata. At that time within the assembly, a Bodhisattva Mahāsattva, a great Bodhisattva among the Bodhisattvas, named One Who Rescues and Liberates arose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, and knelt with his right knee on the ground, showing respect in body and mind. He leaned forward with his palms joined together in single-minded submission and said to the Buddha, "Greatly virtuous World Honored One!"
"During the Dharma Image Age... When the Proper Dharma Age comes to an end, the world is in the Dharma Image Age. During the Proper Dharma Age, people are strong in samādhi and many attain Arhatship. In the Dharma Image Age, people concentrate on making Buddha images and building temples. There will be living beings afflicted with various diseases. Beset by all kinds of illnesses, they are never at ease. Emaciated from chronic illness, unable to eat or drink, their throats parched and their lips dry. They are in extreme misery, reduced to skin and bones, yet are unable to take either food or drink. Their throats and lips are terribly parched, but they cannot even swallow water.
Such a being sees darkness gathering all around him as the signs of death appear. He sees no light at all. It is extremely dark and frightening, and he has the constant foreboding that death is at hand. While lying on the bed, surrounded by his weeping parents, close relatives, and friends and good advisors, all of whom are crying piteously, he sees the messengers of King Yama leading his spirit before that king of justice.
Every sentient being has spirits that stay with him throughout his life. They record his every deed, both good and evil, to present to Yam a, the king of justice. At that time, the souls of other people who are acquainted with the dying one are also summoned by King Yama. Then the dying one sees everything that he did in his life appear before him. At that time, King Yama interrogates this person, putting him on trial in order to tally his karma, the offenses that he created, and mete out judgment according to the severity of his good and evil deeds.
"At that time, if the sick person's parents, close relatives and friends, on his behalf, can create merit and virtue... If they very earnestly take refuge with the World Honored One, Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata, and request members of the Saṅgha, virtuous left- home people who hold the precepts and cultivate, to recite Medicine Master Sūtra this Sūtra, the Sūtra of the Merit and Virtue of the Past Vows of Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata, or to light seven layers of lamps-with seven lamps in each layer, a total of forty-nine lamps-and to hang up the five-colored spiritual banners for prolonging life for his sake, then, it is possible for his spirit to return. If such a Dharma assembly is held, his soul will be able to return. As if in a dream, the person will see everything very clearly himself. He himself sees this kind of state and remembers it.
Sūtra:
"If his spirit returns after seven, twenty-one, thirty-five, or forty-nine days, he will feel as if awakened from a dream and will remember the retributions that he underwent for his good and bad karma. Having personally witnessed the retributions of his own karma, he will never again do any evil, even if his very life is endangered. Therefore, good men and women of pure faith should accept and uphold the name of Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata and, according to their capability, worship and make offerings to him."
Commentary:
If his spirit returns after seven, twenty-one, thirty-five, or forty-nine days... His friends and relatives recite the Sūtra or bow in repentance, hoping to recall his soul from King Yama's realm. After one, three, five, or seven weeks of reciting or repenting, his soul may come back. It's not for sure how long it will take. When the person's soul returns, he will feel as if awakened from a dream and will remember the retributions that he underwent for his good and bad karma. He will remember everything that he experienced. He will remember the good and bad karma that he created, as well as the retributions that they resulted in.
Having personally witnessed the retributions of his own karma, he will never again do any evil, even if his very life is endangered. He has personally seen that every time he creates offenses in delusion, he has to undergo the retribution. Therefore, even if his life is at stake, he will never again commit any offense, great or small. He will not create any more bad karma in the future.
Therefore, good men and women of pure faith, and all living beings in general, should accept and uphold the name of Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata, reciting his name, and according to their capability, to the utmost of their strength and ability, worship and make offerings to him.
Sūtra:
At that time, Ānanda asked the Bodhisattva Who Rescues and Liberates, "Good man, how should we worship and make offerings to the World Honored One, Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata? And how should we make the banners and lamps that prolong life?"
The Bodhisattva Who Rescues and Liberates said, "Greatly Virtuous One, if there is a sick person who wishes to be freed from sickness and suffering, for his sake one should accept and uphold the eight precepts for seven days and seven nights, and make offerings to the Bhikṣu Saṅgha of as many items of food, drink, and other necessities as are in his power to give.
"During the six periods of the day and night one should worship, practice the Way, and make offerings to the World Honored One, Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata. Read and recite this Sūtra forty-nine times, light forty-nine lamps, and make seven images of that Tathāgata. In front of each image place seven lamps, each as large as a cartwheel. These lamps must be kept burning continuously for forty-nine days. Hang up five-colored banners that are forty-nine spans long. Liberate a variety of living creatures, as many as forty-nine species. Then the sick one will be able to surmount the danger and will not suffer an untimely death or be held by evil ghosts."
Commentary:
At that time, Ānanda was still a bit unclear, so he further asked the Bodhisattva Who Rescues and Liberates, "Good man, how should we worship and make offerings to the World Honored One, Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata? And how should we make the banners and lamps that prolong life? What are these lamps and banners that prolong life? What is meant by seven layers of lamps? How are the lamps to be placed and lit? How should the life-prolonging banners be made so that they can prolong life?"
The Bodhisattva Who Rescues and Liberates said to Ānanda, "Greatly Virtuous One, in the future, if there is a sick person in the Saha world who wishes to leave behind and be freed from all his sickness and suffering, for his sake one should accept and uphold the eight precepts for seven days and seven nights.
And one should make offerings to the Bhikṣu Saṅgha of as many items of food, drink, and other necessities as are in his power to give. You should make offerings in accord with your own capacity. During the six periods of the day and night, one should bow in worship to Medicine Master Buddha, and practice the Way by reciting the Sūtra of the Merit and Virtue of the Past Vows of Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata, bowing the Medicine Master Repentance, and so forth. And with utmost sincerity, one should make offerings to the World Honored One, Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata, to the extent of one's ability. Read and recite this Sūtra forty-nine times, light forty-nine lamps, and make seven images of that Tathāgata.
In front of each image place an offering of seven lamps, each as large as a cartwheel. Since there are seven images, forty-nine lamps are required. How big are they? Cartwheels can be large or small, so the size is not fixed. The most important thing is to be sincere. These forty-nine lamps must be kept burning continuously for forty-nine days. None of the lamps should be allowed to go out. One should frequently add oil to the lamps to make sure that they stay lit.
Hang up five-colored banners that are forty-nine spans long. Make the banners from material of five different colors. Liberate a variety of living creatures, from as many as forty-nine species. The banners should depict an assortment of creatures, such as the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. Many species of beings, not just one, are to be depicted and also liberated. There should be forty-nine species, or even more than that number. The animals themselves and the dangers that they suffer should be depicted on the banners.
Then the sick one will be able to surmount the danger and will not suffer an untimely death or be held by evil ghosts. His life will no longer be in danger. He will not be held by enemies, resentful ghosts, ghosts that capture "substitute victims," or other sorts of evil ghosts. Nor will he suffer an untimely death caused by drowning, being burned in a fire, a car collision, a plane crash, a train derailment, a shipwreck, and so forth.
Does anyone have opinions or questions about the principles of the Sūtra? Do you have any insights into the Sūtra's meaning? We should all bring out our opinions and questions for discussion.
The principles that we study in Buddhism are neither your principles, nor my principles, nor the Buddha's principles. They are the principles of logic and wisdom that everyone should follow. Buddhism is not like certain religions that use faulty reasoning to keep people ignorant and uninformed so that they will accept the tenets of the religion without questioning them.
Buddhism comes from a kind of collective wisdom. What accords with wisdom is the truth, while what does not cannot be practiced. The principles that we are investigating are not imposed from upon high with the purpose of keeping us ignorant and uninformed. Therefore, everyone has the right to speak. Using our wisdom, we should determine which doctrines are correct and which are not. We need to have Dharma-Selecting Vision so that we can judge for ourselves, not just follow the opinions of others. We must develop our own wisdom. Each person should open his "mine of wisdom" and discover his own genuine wisdom.
The wisdom of each Buddha is the same. Also, every Sūtra discusses the same basic principles. This Sūtra says that we can recite the Sūtra and help a sick person get well. If we recite for the sake of a deceased person, that person's soul obtains a small portion of the merit and virtue, while we who recite obtain a much larger portion. The soul of the deceased is able to obtain merit and virtue because this Sūtra was spoken by the Buddha and therefore has inconceivable power, which is so great that even science cannot fathom it.
What merit and virtue does the person reciting this Sūtra obtain and what are the benefits? There are great benefits. Reciting this Sūtra opens your mind and breaks your attachments. The breaking of attachments in itself is boundless merit and virtue. Attachments cause you to become deluded, create offenses, and undergo retribution. As soon as you break through your attachments, all offenses are wiped out. Thus, the Buddha spoke this Sūtra as well as all the other teachings in order to destroy attachments. Even the tiniest trace of attachment makes it difficult to attain liberation. But if you break through that tiny trace, you will attain liberation and gain limitless merit and virtue.
You may encourage your friends and relatives to take refuge with Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata; however, you may not transmit the Three Refuges to them yourself, because you are not a member of the Saṅgha. To learn from the Buddha, one should study and take refuge with the Dharma. To study the Dharma, one should take refuge with the Saṅgha. The Sūtra states very clearly that you must request a member of the Saṅgha to perform the ceremonies, including that of taking refuge with Medicine Master Buddha. When you take refuge, you have to be sincere. Don't think of it as something very ordinary. It's not like eating or getting dressed-ordinary matters that you do casually all the time. If you want to study the Dharma, you have to be respectful. The Dharma is transmitted by the Saṅgha. When the Buddha entered Nirvana, he left the Dharma in the world, entrusting it to the Saṅgha. Therefore, if you want to take refuge with Medicine Master Vaiḍūrya Light Tathāgata, you must formally, with the utmost sincerity, request a Saṅgha member to perform the ceremony. It can't be casual or offhand. It's not as simple as saying, "Oh, I can take refuge by myself." When you go to school, you have to take the classes before you can graduate and receive a diploma. If you study on your own at home, then you cannot receive a diploma from the school.
Disciple: The Sūtra said, "Liberate a variety of living creatures, as many as forty-nine species." Does this refer to creatures that people eat?
Venerable Master: Is there any species of living beings that is not subject to human consumption? Are cats not eaten by humans? These days, many people eat the flesh of cats. Are rats not eaten by humans? There are also many people who eat rats. You say ants aren't eaten by humans? Now people eat canned ants! Tell me, what kind of living being is not eaten by humans?
Disciple: I'm very happy to read that the merit of this Sūtra can bring back the soul of a person who has already lost consciousness and gone before King Yama. Within Christianity and other religions there are also documented cases in which the soul leaves the body and then returns with very clear recall of everything that happened. They "explain" such phenomena as miracles of God. They say that people who don't believe in God will definitely go to hell. They maintain that the faithful will go to heaven even if they sin, whereas the faithless will go to hell even if they do good. This totally illogical argument has confused many people. I'm really glad to read this Sūtra, because it offers a very logical explanation and doesn't try to pull the wool over our eyes.
Venerable Master: Your view is correct. Buddhism encourages people to ask questions and resolve their doubts. It's not a despotic religion that brushes away people's questions, saying, "This is God's will, or this is the Buddha's will. You can't ask about it." That's nonsense. The Buddha himself encouraged people to ask questions. People shouldn't live their entire lives in confusion. Students of Buddhism should become more intelligent and knowledgeable every day. Don't be superstitious; don't believe everything you hear. If you don't develop Dharma-Selecting Vision-the genuine wisdom to distinguish between the Dharma and what is not the Dharma-you will have studied the Dharma in vain. The more you study Buddhism, the more you should understand. Recognize the truth and open up your "mine of wisdom."
