Intro to the Buddha Vehicle Lineage

The following is the introductory material from: 《唯一佛乘之净土的呼唤》，佛乘宗第三代法传人李善单居士著 － the Call of the Pure Land of the only Buddha Vehicle, by Li Shan Dan, the 3rd Patriarch of the Buddha Vehicle Lineage. I haven’t seen anything online that makes any sense about this lineage. Their English site is primitive at best, and into glitz.

佛乘宗法要序 Essentials of the Buddha Vehicle Lineage

佛乘宗第二代祖师 缘道菩萨 By the Second Patriarch of the Buddha Vehicle Lineage, Yuan Dao Bodhisattva

佛乘宗为顿入大自在实相理体，圆证一心，即生肉身成佛之圆顿法门，由祖师上妙下空禅师与传人宗师缘道所立，尊 大自在王佛为本们第一代组师。

The Buddha Vehicle Lineage is a Total Sudden (顿)* Dharma Gate of rushing into the body of principles of the real marks of Great Self-Existence, comprehensively certified in one mind, which is just that the born meat body becomes the Buddha, according to what has been established by the lineage patriarch Meditation Master Miao Kong and his lineage successor Master Yuan Dao, honoring Great Self-Existant King Buddha** as the first patiriarch of this lineage.

*(顿)Dun. This is an archaic root, which was used by Yuan Dao, but never by the current 3rd Patriarch, Li Shan Dan. I had to go back to Matthews’ Dictionary, which was published in 1937, and which basically records a pre-modern-era idiom, to get a sense of it. It’s a paradox, having one foot on each side of the Sudden_Enlightenment/Gradual_Enlightenment doctrinal split. Dun is a measure word, basically meaning “the whole clump all at one time,” such as we say “one fell swoop” or alternately, “one swell foop.” What’s implied is Enlightment that is both sudden and complete, and which is ALWAYS the result of long and painstaking preparation. When it seems to come without preparation, it’s because the preparation was done in previous births. Shucks, Kimosabe, put that sawed-off shotgun away right now. We killed all the heretics already. Next problem, please.

**This statement makes Great Self-Existant King Buddha the same person as Miao Kong, since they are both called the First Patriarch. This is essentially a brand-new meditation Buddha, like what makes up most of the Tibetan Vajrayana, and after this, I’m abbreviating this to “Independence Buddha.” I believe that Thomas Jefferson Bodhisattva Mahasattva belonged to this Buddha.

大自在王佛为众生佛性之本元，诸佛法身之总理体，统物理界精神界之一如、法界万有皆由之变易生化而然：其身心体、相、智、得、理、事、能、用、时、空之十大一如，与法界同一理量；盖心物非二，空有一如，物质不灭故能量不灭，精神亦一不灭：心物交感，质能互变，因缘果报变易生化之理时；一法之生乃法性之一大缘起，姑因赅果海三界安立，果澈因源三界平等。本门之法，合之为一佛心，非语言文字之可诠述。

Independance Buddha is the source of the Buddha Nature of sentient beings, the aggregate of the Dharma Bodies of all the Buddhas, gathering together the same suchness of the physical and spiritual worlds, and all the transformed biochemistry the Dharma Realm like this: the Ten Greats — Form(i), Marks(ii), Wisdom(iii), Attainment(iv), Principle(v), Affairs(vi), Capacity(vii), Utility(viii), Time(ix) and Space(x) of his body-mind are of one suchness, and are equivalent to the meaning of the Dharma Realm; this covers that mind and matter are not separate, that emptiness and being are of one essence, that because matter cannot be destroyed, therefore energy cannot be destroyed, and spirit also cannot be destroyed: mind and matter are in rapport, energy and matter mutually transform; causes, conditions, and results transform biochemical principles and timing; the arising of a dharma is the beginning of a great condition in the dharma nature, old causes prepare the sea of results which establish the three worlds, pure results are the source of peace in the three worlds. This lineage’s dharma is unified in the Buddha’s mind, and it cannot be explicated with speech or written words.

方便分之，则心理有八大加行，集佛教大小乘各宗义理之精华，为凡位菩萨至佛果之理路；生里九段行功，为能治百病肉身成佛之妙行。众生之体、相、智、得、理、事、能、用、时、空之十大，与大自在王佛之大，本为同一理量，为无明惑业所障故，致未能显用；有缘之人如以相应真心唸 大自在王佛一声圣号，其功得等於以无量劫之时间唸法界无量佛之圣号相等，故一心相应即能顿消无量劫自身所造之罪业。 际此末法时期，魔强道衰，我 祖师为应此一时节因缘， 故明定以佛教世间化，佛学科学化，佛法生活化，佛制现代化四大原则，将佛法与中华文化及现代伦理、民主、科学之理事相融合，以方便弘法利生。修行用功，重在信心坚定、理事圆融、精进不懈、解行相应，如能与 祖师大自在王佛第一唸相应，则当下戒定慧具足，贪瞋痴三毒永净，美日廿四时中，行住坐卧皆安住自性大自在佛位中，究竟解脱。一切无明业章，自会随缘不变，不变随缘而得大自在，依之修行，定可福慧圆满，圆证佛果，而作人天之师。 心净，则众生业净，众生业净，当下合十法界为一大自在王佛唯心机乐净土，常寂光中自他不二；空有一如，常乐我净，一为无量，无量为一， 一多圆融，佛轮常转，是以万法圆通，万德庄严， 此是菩萨行处住处。

To analyze it expediently, then in the core principles there are eight preparatory practices, which concentrate the best features of the doctrines of all the Mahayana and Hinayana lineages, as the logic by which bodhisattvas in general can reach the fruition of Buddhahood. As life principles, there are nine graded stages of activities, so as to be able to regulate the marvelous activity of the meat body of a hundred ailments attaining Buddhaood. The Ten Greats of Form, Marks, Wisdom, Attainment, Principle, Affairs, Capacity, Utility, Time and Space of sentient beings are of equal arrangement with those of Independence Buddha, but they are obstructed by the influence of karma, so that they cannot rise to usefulness, and thus if those with conditions, and responding with sincerity, chant Independence Buddha’s sacred name, their merit will be equal to that of chanting the names of all the innumerable Buddhas in the Dharma Realm for innumerable kalpas of time, because responding with one heart can abolish evil karma committed over innumerable kalpas. At the limit of this Dharma Ending Age, when demons are strong and the Way is weak, my lineage patriarch responding to the times to fix causes and conditions, proclaimed the four principles of bringing Buddhism into alignment with the world, science, life, and the modern era; to unite Buddhadharma with the principles, phenomena and characteristics of Chinese culture and the ethics, democracy, and science of the modern world. In putting out effort to practice, the emphasis is on solid faith, the melding together of principles with activities, diligent effort without slacking, activity corresponding to understanding, such that if you can respond to Independence Buddha from the first call of his name, then after that Precepts, Samadhi, and Wisdom will be sufficient, the three poisons of greed, anger and stupidity will be forever purified, and in every 24-hour period, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, one always peacefully abides in the Independence Buddha station of one’s Self Nature， until finally liberation. ((Um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um! Slidin’ on down with the Blissful Lord. Some of this language is even identical to Honen Bosatsu. This is just good ‘ole Pure Land Buddhism gussied up into something that Taiwanese yuppies can at least pretend to be interested in. Lay more, um, exquisitely designed Buddhadharma on me right now, “uniquely good plum-boi” (aka Li Shan Dan (李善单）, aka (huh?) “Sun-Don Li.” –xp)) All delusions and karmic obstructions can follow conditions without changing. Not changing while following conditions, one attains Great Self-existence. ((Because by giving attention to the Lord’s Name, you can get off your karmic obstructions, and Just. Stop. Creating. New. Karma. This. Instant. That’s all it takes. Just that, and no more. More always turns into more suffering. Therein lies the key, it’s in knowing what NOT to do, i.e, don’t invent new Dharma, like “Humanistic Buddhism.” That’s craziness. Just stop where you are. –xp)) Depending on this to practice, one’s wisdom and merit certainly become full and complete. One fully certifies to the fruition of Buddhahood, and becomes the Master of men and heavenly beings. The heart being pure, sentient beings are pure. Sentient beings being pure, from then onwards, the ten Dharma Realms become the mind-only Pure Land of ultimate happiness of Independence Buddha, in the constant still radience self and others are not separate, emptiness and being are of one suchness, I am pure in constant bliss, one is for the sake of the innumerable, and the innumerable is for the sake of one, the one is united with the many, the Dharma Wheel constantly turns, and that penetrates with ten thousand dharmas in every direction, ten thousand virtues are awsome, and this is the Dharmakshetra and the home of the Bodhisattvas.

佛乘宗门规 Lineage Rules of the Buddha Vehicle Lineage

第一条： 尊师重道 护持五宝 圆修十度 誓证佛果

第二条： 慈悲平等 普度众生 诸恶莫作 众善奉行

第三条： 自立活命 奉献公益 群己和协 无我为人

第四条： 尊行门规 光大本们 如有故违 众同弃之

The first article: Honor the teacher and stress the Way. Protect and support the five treasures ((I believe that the five treasures are the usual three plus the teacher and yourself. -xp)) Omnidirectionally practice the ten degrees. Vow to certify to the fruition of Buddhahood.

The second article: Be compassionate equally to all. Universally cross over all beings. Cease committing all evil. Offer up a multitude of beneficence with sincerity and reverence.

The third article: Independently establish your life destiny. Consecrate yourself to the public good. Practice harmony between yourself and others. Be selfless for the sake of others.

The fourth article: Nobly carry out the lineage rules. Propagate your sect. If you have old violations, discard them all together.

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This contains enough to intuit the View of this school. I am not going to try to define all this technical terminology, because I think that that would be essentially beyond my purpose here. However, unlike other material that I have translated, I will return to this draft at intervals and attempt to perfect it with whatever new insight I have obtained in the meantime, in the process of translating a number of Li Shan Dan’s stories. This guy is a bona fide Vajra Master, and a world-class raconteur, and he does routinely talk Vajra-shop all the way through some of his stories.

I think it will not necessarily be obvious to many, even Chinese, why I regard this as dead pure orthodox Dharma. If so, well, all I can say to you is please practice more Buddhadharma. I guarantee you, I am nothing if not a Dharma wonk, and this is just as orthodox as orthodox can be orthodox. Li Shan Dan is eccentric, true. But his Dharma was done to him by experts, and it is 100% dead pure orthodox Mahayana Buddhadharma. And yes, you can do that in a lineage that started in Yunnan in the ’50’s, and is only on its 3rd Patriarch.

These are the aspects of this View that I value:

1. It diverges from the Pure Land tradition only in details.
2. It is Vajrayana Buddhism that is not lumbered with Tibetan kleshas.
3. Its founding Buddha is consistent with American core values.
4. It is embedded in a Taiwanese culture which is probably closer to the American mainstream than anything else in East Asia, and it speaks to the degree of individuation, intelligence, affluence, and spiritual decadence that you typically find in the American mainstream. Under these conditions, the language difference is a detail.
5. It is a showcase piece of real-time and word-class Dharma Wonktitude by experts.
6. Like American Buddhism, it is afflicted by a “New Age” appearance. This means it is our natural ally in heading towards both the Chinese and American mainstreams. I believe that its leadership is destined to figure this out and act on it in the forseeable future.
7. Its present Patriarch, the 3rd, although flippant, reactive, and contemptuous towards the West, is basically funny as hell. Take us to your leader, Taiwanese, ve haff der veys vat und kdeal mit der him.

Namu Amida Butsu
Xing Ping