Asanga and Maitreya Buddha

Anyway, the great Indian pandit Asanga, so Asanga did retreat for twelve years to achieve Maitreya Buddha, to be able to see Maitreya Buddha, but didn’t see Maitreya Buddha in the hermitage during the retreat,

even after doing twelve years didn’t see there. And then, only, so he left the retreat three times. So didn’t see Maitreya Buddha, so I think tried for three years, didn’t see anything, didn’t see Maitreya Buddha then left. He left and then I don’t remember the category,

what’s first, I’m not sure anyway, so one time, so he left the hermitage so then on the way down he saw one time one person was cutting a rock with a thread, with a thread cutting the rock, so thread over the rock like this, and then it made a mark on the rock, the rock was worn out.

So then he saw this, Oh, this person is, even the thread can cut the rock, so why not I can achieve Maitreya Buddha? Then that inspired him, then he went back to the, he returned back to the hermitage, to do, to continue retreat, to achieve Maitreya Buddha.

Then another three years, I think, he did, something like that, then, continued with retreat but nothing happened.

Then he left, he came down and then he saw water dripping on the rock, each drop of water, water is very soft, liquid, but each time, there’s nothing hard, it’s not like iron or, there’s nothing hard, but each time,

drop by drop, hitting on the rock, it made a hole in the rock. So he saw this, Oh, why not I can achieve Maitreya Buddha?

So that inspired him and again went back to do retreat, to do another retreat on Maitreya, to do retreat to achieve Maitreya Buddha.

Then, tried another, tried three years and then nothing happened. Then he left.

Then again he saw, I think it’s an eagle or something, so come out and fly, go back in the nest, go inside in the rock then come out, each time, I think, eagle, it might be eagle,

I’m not sure, so each time go inside, flying out, so wing touches the rock, the wing is soft, touches the rock, so the rock is worn out. 

So he saw this, so by seeing that then again inspired him, so, Oh, even the wing is soft feather can make the rock worn out, so why not I can achieve, why can’t I achieve Maitreya Buddha? So he went back in.

So like this he did twelve years.

Then nothing happened even after twelve years, doing retreat, nothing happened in the hermitage, didn’t see Maitreya Buddha.

So in the road he saw a wounded dog, a dog which has the lower part of the body full of wound and filled with the maggots.

So then by seeing this dog he felt unbearable compassion, so then he sacrificed his life, he cut his flesh from the, what do you call? What do you call this one?

[[[Student]]: Thigh.]

Thigh. Sorry. Cut the thigh. Thigh is bottom one?

[Students: Calf.]

Calf, not cow? What? Calf? The calf.

So, cut off flesh from there, spread out there and then, so that the worms have food to eat, because they will die, so he closed the eyes, then went to pick up the maggots with the tip of the tongue, not by finger, didn’t want to do, it cause danger, they’re very fragile.

So when he went to pick up the worms, by closing the eyes, his tip of the tongue, with the tip of the tongue to pick up the worms, but he couldn’t feel, touching. So he opened the eyes, then he saw, there’s no dog there, it’s Maitreya Buddha. So, it’s Maitreya Buddha, like that.

Then, he, I think, he grabbed, because he has been trying to see Maitreya Buddha for so many years, so he grabbed the Maitreya Buddha.

So he, I guess, Asanga so a little complained. Why, why I didn’t see you before? So because he tried twelve years doing retreat in the hermitage.

So, yeah, so then Maitreya Buddha said, Yes, I was there, I was there always with you.

And he proved, Maitreya Buddha proved that he was there in the hermitage always with him and he said, because in the hermitage you spit, so then the Maitreya Buddha showed marks where Asanga spit.

So he was there all the time. So that is another, this story has two aspects. So there, because the karmic obscurations, the defilements, there’s defilements which block the mind, which obscures the mind to see Maitreya Buddha.

Maitreya Buddha is always there, but there’s obscuration, [pause] or you can say mental pollution, obscuration, that obscures the mind to see Maitreya Buddha. So that was unable to be purified during the retreat.

Unable to purify, so therefore could not see,

Maitreya Buddha’s always there but could not see. Only in the road after he generated unbelievable compassion and sacrificed his life to this wounded dog, so to this sentient being, so only then, only by that then that karmic obscuration that which blocks to see Maitreya Buddha,

obscures to see Maitreya Buddha, purified.

Only that time purified. Then now, now you don’t see a dog, now you see Maitreya Buddha.

So here you can see, before, connected to this subject what I was talking about, buddha’s activities, way of guiding sentient beings, guiding us sentient beings, so there in the cave unable to see anything.

Then in the road, then because there’s only karma to see in form of a dog, Asanga has the karma only to, that time to see only in the form of dog, but there’s no karma to see actually in the aspect of buddha, so therefore manifested as a dog.

Manifested as a dog, wounded, manifested wounded, filled with maggots.

So that’s a manifestation. So that’s the only karma what Asanga had that time, even had done twelve years retreat in the hermitage. So after unbelievable compassion generated, sacrificed his life to a sentient being, wounded dog, so then that heavy karmic obscuration purified. It’s gone.

So now, then, because he can see Maitreya Buddha in the aspect of buddha, then can see aspect of buddha, then now manifest in the aspect of buddha.

It’s not that, it’s not that from Maitreya Buddha’s side, it’s not that didn’t have compassion, doesn’t want to show, doesn’t want to see Asanga.

Doesn’t want to see, doesn’t want to meet Asanga, doesn’t want to show in buddha aspect, in the aspect of buddha, doesn’t want to show. It’s not that.

Giving, causing a problem or difficulty to Asanga, so Maitreya Buddha doesn’t want to show him to Asanga, so to cause a problem, to make difficult for Asanga, it’s not like that.

So that Maitreya’s side there’s compassion, there is, buddha, how much we love ourself, how much you love yourself, one love oneself, I mean, one love oneself the most, than most, than among the numberless sentient beings, among the numberless human beings,

you love yourself most. And among the numberless animals, you love yourself most.

Among the numberless hell beings, you love yourself the most.

And among the numberless hungry ghosts, then devas, worldly gods, the devas, suras, asuras, so among all those beings, among all the sentient beings you love yourself, so most, but here you love yourself most,

you cherish yourself most. So that’s generally most of us, that’s the kind of attitude or the situation of the mind, character of the mind or the attitude.

But if you compare to Buddha, how much Buddha cherish or love to you, it’s a hundred thousand times much more than how much you love to yourself. Even though one love oneself most among all the numberless buddhas,

bodhisattvas, all the rest of the sentient beings, one love oneself the most, cherish the most. But if we compare the enlightened being, who completed all the understanding, who has achieved omniscience, and who completed compassion towards us numberless living beings, without discrimination,

to each and every single being, including oneself, having developed compassion, completed the compassion, nothing more to develop, completed and to you, Buddha’s compassion to you is completed, nothing more to develop, as well as to all living beings.

As well as perfect power to reveal, to understand each and every single sentient being’s, each and every single human being, each and every single animal, all the different types, can see, can read each and every single sentient being, without exception,

without leaving out even one, so can directly see, can read everyone’s at the same time, not, 

for us cannot see, for us even difficult to see other’s level of mind or, always what we think, what appears to us, what we think,

not necessarily correct, there’s always that we make mistakes. What appears to us, reality and what appears to us, there are many mistakes. What appears to us so much of the time is not according to the reality.

Reality is something else.

So buddha’s holy mind can see, can read, directly can read the numberless living beings their minds, can read at the same time.

Even we are able to read but not all together, not all at the same time, one by one, but we cannot read two people’s minds together, even one is able to see, can read, but not together. Even we have clairvoyance, not omniscient mind but some foreseeing knowledge, even we have some clairvoyance but to be able to read other’s mind but not all together, not two people’s minds can’t see together, one by one.

So anyway, so at the same time can see everyone’s level of intelligence and characteristics, all these details, karma and everything, power able to see, able to read.

And then able to reveal every single method, whatever is needed, whatever it fits to them exactly, many methods even at the same time and different times, as the karma changes, as the level of intelligence and the level of mind develops then you reveal different methods,

to that even one sentient being. So this perfect power having developed.

So buddha, compared to buddha, how much buddha cherish you, cherish each of us, it’s a hundred thousand times much more than how much you love yourself, you cherish yourself or love yourself. Buddha loves you or cherishes you a hundred thousand times much more.

So, yeah, then the perfect power to reveal the methods. So here, so therefore, Maitreya Buddha cherish Asanga a hundred thousand times much more cherish, love. So it’s not that being miserly to show aspect of buddha, doesn’t want to show to Asanga.

So anyway, so therefore, it’s not that didn’t want to show but cannot, Asanga’s side before didn’t have karma to see.

Only later then in the road able to see dog, in the form of a dog, so manifested as a dog. Afterwards, after that karmic obscuration that’s gone then able to see Buddha, then manifest in Buddha.

This is just an example, so how Buddha, here in the Guru Puja, chö nam rang zhin…thrin lä chän, so exactly according to the various sentient beings who are object to be subdued, their attitude and their mind, so manifest any form, it appear any form.

Then, having, khyen tsei thrin lä chän, so having perfect understanding, the compassion, then having the action to work for sentient beings, skillful means. So then khyen tsei thrin lä chän; chän means having all these qualities, kyab gön dam pa khor chä sheg su söl, please be here, please descend here, please be here.

So now here, then Asanga asked Maitreya Buddha, why didn’t I see you before? Grabbed Maitreya Buddha’s shoulder and then, Why didn’t I see you before?

The Maitreya Buddha, [pause] no before that there’s another story that, so to prove, so now Asanga can see Maitreya Buddha, Asanga’s seeing Maitreya Buddha in the aspect of Buddha.

Then to prove that, more to Asanga that Maitreya Buddha was there with him before, so then to show the people, so Asanga carried Maitreya Buddha on his shoulder and went in the city, went in the town, not New York City or not Brisbane.

Anyway, went in the town, by carrying Maitreya Buddha he went in the town to show everybody, Oh, here’s Maitreya Buddha. So he told everybody, Come to look, here there’s Maitreya Buddha. He carried in the town and tell everybody.

But they could not see Maitreya Buddha. They could not see anything.

So one, only one old mother saw carrying a dog. Only one old mother saw Asanga was carrying a dog, that carrying maybe a Lhasa Apso.

I’m joking! That I’m joking , I’m not sure Lhasa Apso or not. Anyway, one old mother, in this town nobody see anything, only one mother saw, who has a little bit better karma, little bit more pure so see Asanga was carrying a dog, saying, Maitreya Buddha, please come to see Maitreya Buddha. So nobody could see.

Even the dog they cannot see, even the form of dog, what the mother see, most people cannot see. To prove more to Asanga that Maitreya Buddha was with him during those twelve years in the hermitage, to show, but Asanga could not see, to prove that.

So anyway, then Asanga, then Maitreya Buddha asked him, after Asanga made some complaint, Why I didn’t see you for twelve years? So then Maitreya Buddha asked, What do you want from me?

So then Asanga requested for teachings, I want teachings. Then Maitreya Buddha took Asanga in Tushita pure land.

So there is two types of Tushita. One is deva realm Tushita and then the other one is like the monastery isolated from the town or from city, from village, little bit distance.

So both, then there’s Tushita pure land, the Maitreya Buddha’s pure land. 

So then one morning, that might be according to the life span, I think, difference of human beings and devas, Tushita. So one morning in Tushita pure land, so Maitreya Buddha gave teachings, so the five, Jam chö de nga, the five divisions of teachings of the Maitreya Buddha, this Abhisamaya-alamkarika,

Do Degyen, those, then one morning of Tushita, according to the time of Tushita pure land, one morning, so Asanga, which for human beings that’s fifty years. For human beings fifty years but in Tushita it’s one morning, the Maitreya Buddha’s Tushita pure land.

Then Asanga brought down, the teachings that he received from Maitreya Buddha, directly from his holy mouth, then he, after he came down in this world, then he wrote five commentaries called chö de nga, five commentaries on that.