City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

[Galen]

I had the opportunity to visit the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB) in 2004 for the 10,000 Buddhas Bowing Repentance retreat in 2004. It was a liberating experience. On top of what was written and explained above by other members, I am most impressed with the 10,000 Buddha's Hall which was previously a gymnasium. The 1,000 arms and 1000 eyes Avalokiteshvara statue is most impressive and that hall is surrounded by 10,000 buddha statues known to be hand made by Master Hsuan Hua himself and his disciples.

A day in the retreat which I went through:
5am - morning recitation and prayers
630am - breakfast
8am - start of retreat (bowing while praising the buddhas)
845am - break
9am - retreat resume
945am - break
10am - retreat resume
1045am - break
11am - food offering and prayers
1145am - Lunch
2pm - retreat resume
245pm - break
3pm - retreat resume
345pm - break
4pm - retreat resume
5pm - end of retreat for the day
6pm - dinner
730pm - dharma talk
10pm - rest


It is a two weeks retreat to recite all 10,000 Buddhas and prostration. Each day it would be about 500 prostrations being done in the prayer hall. It is a purification process. I remember the first day I started the retreat, I had massive headaches each time I bow down. But as the days progresses, the headaches were lessened.

It was my first experience living amongst Sangha members and that way of life is simple and nice. There were hundreds of people doing the retreat with us from all over the world. And it is a yearly retreat.

I also had the opportunity to visit the other centres established by Master Hsuan Hua in Berkley University, San Jose, San Franscisco and Sacremento. It is amazing that Master Hsuan Hua has established many centres around the world. Rejoice that Buddhism is growing.

[Ensapa]

Anyway, Master Hsuan Hua is actually a Zen teacher. He is also a lineage holder for the Chinese schools of Buddhism.

6th patriarch (this is what the Chinese call their lineage masters) Hui Neng --> Hsu Yun --> Hsuan Hua

the centerpiece teaching of Master Hsuan Hua is the Shuragama Sutra - a sutra that that resembles the lamrim in many ways. He emphasized on that teaching very much all the way until he passed on. What is extremely interesting is that the mantra version of this sutra is known as Sitapatra Dharani, which is Dukkar herself.

Doctrinal orientation
The ??ra?gama S?tra contains teachings from Yog?c?ra, Tath?gatagarbha, and Esoteric Buddhism.[3][8] It makes use of Buddhist Logic, with its methods of syllogism and the fourfold negation (Skt. catu?ko?i), first popularized by N?g?rjuna.[9]

[edit]Main themes
Some of the main themes of the ??ra?gama S?tra are the worthlessness of the Dharma when unaccompanied by sam?dhi power, and the importance of moral precepts as a foundation for the Buddhist practice. Also stressed is the theme of how one effectively combats delusions that may arise during meditation.[3]
Ron Epstein and David Rounds have suggested that the major themes of the ??ra?gama S?tra reflect the strains upon Indian Buddhism during the time of its creation.[11] They cite the resurgence of tribal influences, and the crumbling social supports for monastic Buddhist institutions. This era also saw the emergence of Hindu tantrism and the beginnings of Esoteric Buddhism and the siddha traditions.[11] They propose that moral challenges and general confusion about Buddhism are said to have then given rise to the themes of the ??ra?gama S?tra, such as clear understanding of principles, moral discipline, essential Buddhist cosmology, development of sam?dhi, and how to avoid falling into various delusions in meditation.
[edit]??ra?gama Sam?dhi

The ??ra?gama S?tra teaches about the ??ra?gama Sam?dhi, which is associated with complete enlightenment and Buddhahood. This sam?dhi is also featured extensively in the ??ra?gama Sam?dhi S?tra, another Mahayana text. It is equally praised in the Mah?y?na Mah?parinirv??a S?tra, where it is explained by the Buddha that this sam?dhi is the essence of the nature of the Buddha and is indeed the "mother of all Buddhas."[12] The Buddha also comments that the ??ra?gama Sam?dhi additionally goes under several other names, specifically Prajñ?p?ramit? ("Perfection of Wisdom"), the Vajra Sam?dhi ("Diamond Samadhi"), the Si?han?da Sam?dhi ("Lion's Roar Sam?dhi"), and the Buddhasvabhava ("Buddha-nature").[12]
[edit]White Parasol Crown Dh?ra??

In addition to the s?tra's contents, the Sanskrit ritual speech contained in it is known in Chinese as the Léngyán Zhòu (), or Shurangama Mantra. It is well-known and popularly chanted in East Asian Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the dh?ra?? is known as the "Sit?tapatra U????a Dh?ra??" (Ch. ?). This is sometimes simplified in English to "White Canopy Dh?ra??" or "White Parasol Dh?ra??." In Tibetan traditions, the English is instead sometimes rendered as the "White Umbrella Mantra." The dh?ra?? is extant in three other translations found in the Chinese Buddhist canon [j], and is also preserved in Sanskrit and Tibetan.
According to Venerable Hsuan Hua, the dharani contains five major divisions, which "control the vast demon armies of the five directions":[13]
In the East is the Vajra Division, hosted by Ak?obhya Buddha;
In the south, the Jewel-creating Division, hosted by Ratnasa?bhava Buddha;
In the center, the Buddha Division, hosted by Vairocana Buddha;
In the West, the Lotus Division, hosted by Amit?bha Buddha;
In the North, the Karma Division, hosted by Amoghasiddhi Buddha. These five divisions .