SEEING CHEN-YEN BUDDHISMaround the next generation ofdisciples.^50 Texts 1313 and 1318 are nearly identi-
cal with the first half of 1319. The story presented in these texts concerns the
plight of the ever hapless Ananda.
The story may be summarized as follows. Once, while the Buddha and the
great assembly of Bodhisattvas were convened during the annual rain retreat
Ananda was off by himself, meditating in his hut. During the third watch of the
night, apreta named "Burning Mouth" (Yen-k'ou) appeared to him. This fright-
ful apparition informed the shaken Ananda that his human life was ending; three
days hence he too would be reborn in the preta realm. Ananda inquired of
Burning Mouth if there was some way to avoid this fate. Burning Mouth replied
that if Ananda were to give one Maghada bushel of food and drink to each of the
one hundred thousand nayutas of pretas and other beings he would avoid this
calamity, have a long life, and Burning Mouth and other suffering beings would
be reborn in a heaven or in a pure land.
Ananda, weeping, took his plight to the Buddha, who told of a rite and a
dhiiral)l method he had been taught in a past life when he was a Brahmin living
in Avalokitesvara's pure land. It is called "The Method of the Dhiiral)l of the
Tathagata of Limitless Majestic Virtue and Self-Existent Brilliance." The
Buddha then describes the rite which includes offerings to the samgha.^51
Texts 1318 and 1319 then outline the ritual use of the dhiiral)l.^52 The Rites for
Distributing Food to the Burning Mouths from the Essentials of the Yoga-tantra
(1320) gives full ritual instructions for the rite, and it is this text which I will
outline below.^53 The rite may be divided into ten sections and an appendix:
Preliminaries, invitation, worship of worthies by the iiciirya. This includes
preparation of the site for the altar, the invitation of the Buddhas of the ten
directions, the visualization of the Ma.I:l<.lala for the rite, and the worship of
the divinities by the iiciirya.^54
2 The iiciirya generates himself as Kuan Tzu-tzai (Avalokitesvara). The adept
closes his eyes and visualizes in his own body a clear and pure lunar disk in
the heart. "Shining brightly on the disk is a Hrlb bija which transforms into
an eight-petaled lotus. On this lotus throne is Kuan-tzu-tzai .... The Bod-
hisattva thinks: 'each being has this flower of enlightenment. The pure
Dharmadhatu is without stain .... ' One then visualizes this eight-petaled
lotus gradually expanding to fill up limitless space and thinks, 'May this
flower of enlightenment illuminate the assembled ocean of Tathagathas.
One [thinks] desiring to complete the great offering, if my mind is steady
then limitless creatures will arouse compassion. Like this enlightenment
blossom's light all suffering beings are completely free [of stain], just as is
Kuan Yin.'" The flower vision now shrinks gradually into the adept's own
body. He makes the Kuan-tzu-tzai mudrii/adhi!fthiina at the four places: the
heart, shoulders, throat, and top of the head. At each place the mudrii
touches there appears a Hrlb. He then recites the Mantra: Om vajra dharma
hrlb, and his body becomes that ofKuan-tzu-tzai.^55