Compendium of the Five Lamps

Upon being born, he pointed one finger to the heavens and one finger to the earth, walked seven steps in a circle, looked in the four directions, and said: "In the heavens above and on the earth below, I alone am honored." This is the traditional declaration of the Buddha at his birth, signaling his unique status in the cosmos.

One day, the World-Honored One World-Honored One: A common title for the Buddha, translating the Sanskrit 'Bhagavan' ascended his seat. The great assembly gathered and settled. Manjusri The Bodhisattva of Transcendent Wisdom struck the gavel original: 白椎 "white mallet" and said: "Carefully observe the law of the Dharma King; the law of the Dharma King is thus." The World-Honored One then descended from his seat. In Zen tradition, the Buddha's silence and immediate departure are considered the highest form of teaching.

Another day, the World-Honored One ascended his seat and sat in silence. Ananda The Buddha’s cousin and personal attendant, known for his perfect memory struck the gavel and said: "We pray that the World-Honored One will preach the Dharma." The World-Honored One said: "In this assembly, there are two monks who have violated the monastic discipline. Because of them, I will not preach the Dharma." Using his supernatural power of reading minds, Ananda observed the monks and subsequently sent them out. The World-Honored One remained silent. Ananda spoke again: "The two monks who violated the discipline have been sent out. Why does the World-Honored One still not preach?" The World-Honored One said: "I have vowed not to preach for those of the Two Vehicles The "Two Vehicles" (Shravakas and Pratyekabuddhas) refer to those seeking only personal liberation rather than the universal enlightenment of a Buddha." He then descended from his seat.

One day, the World-Honored One ascended his seat. When the assembly had gathered and settled, Mahakasyapa The Buddha's senior disciple, considered the first patriarch of Zen struck the gavel and said: "The World-Honored One has finished preaching the Dharma." The World-Honored One then descended from his seat.

The World-Honored One spent ninety days in the Trayastrimsha Heaven original: "忉利天"; the 'Heaven of the Thirty-Three,' a celestial realm on the peak of Mount Meru preaching the Dharma for his mother. When he prepared to leave the celestial realm and descend, the four types of followers and eight classes of supernatural beings The traditional "Fourfold Assembly" (monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen) and the "Eightfold Path" of protective deities all went into the sky to welcome him. The nun Uppalavanna original: "蓮花色"; her name literally means 'Blue Lotus Color' thought to herself: "I am a nun, and I must remain behind the senior monks. To see the Buddha’s physical body, it is better to use my supernatural powers." She transformed herself into a Universal Monarch Chakravartin: A legendary supreme ruler who rolls the wheel of justice across the world surrounded by a thousand sons to be the first to see the Buddha. Her wish was fulfilled. However, as soon as the World-Honored One saw her, he rebuked her, saying: "Nun Uppalavanna, how can you bypass the senior monks to see me? Although you see my physical body, you do not see my Dharma-body Dharmakaya: The formless, eternal essence of the Buddha's enlightenment. Subhuti, sitting in peaceful meditation within his cave, is the one who truly sees my Dharma-body."

In the past, because Manjusri had arrived at a gathering of many Buddhas—

—at that time, the various Buddhas each returned to their own lands. Only one woman remained, sitting near the Buddha, deep in Samadhi Samadhi: A state of intense, non-dual meditative concentration. Manjusri then asked the Buddha: "Why is this person allowed to sit so close to the Buddha when I am not?" The Buddha told Manjusri: "You should wake this woman and make her rise from her Samadhi, then you can ask her yourself." Manjusri circled the woman three times, snapped his fingers once, and even used his powers to transport her to the Brahma Heaven One of the highest heavens in Buddhist cosmology, but even after exhausting all his supernatural strength, he could not make her emerge from meditation. The World-Honored One said: "Even if there were a hundred thousand Manjusris, they could not bring this woman out of her focus. However, down past Buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of forty-two Ganges Rivers, there is a Bodhisattva named Wangming original: "罔明"; likely referring to Ajita or a form of Maitreya who can bring this woman out of her meditation." In an instant, the Great Being Wangming emerged from the earth and paid respects to the World-Honored One. The World-Honored One commanded Wangming to wake her. Wangming went before the woman and snapped his fingers once; the woman then immediately emerged from her meditation.

Once, King Prasenajit original: "波斯匿王"; a king of Kosala and prominent lay disciple asked: "In the Ultimate Truth, is there the Conventional Truth? The "Two Truths" doctrine: Ultimate (emptiness) and Conventional (everyday reality) If you say there is not, then wisdom should not be twofold. If you say there is, then wisdom should not be one. What is the meaning of this 'one' and 'two'?" The Buddha said: "Great King, in the past, during the time of the Dragon-Light Buddha, you once asked this same question. I now have nothing to say, and you now have nothing to hear. No saying and no hearing—this is called the 'one' meaning and the 'two' meanings."

One day, the World-Honored One saw Manjusri standing outside the gate and said: "Manjusri, Manjusri, why do you not enter the gate?" Manjusri replied: "I do not see a single thing existing outside the gate; why do you teach me to 'enter'?"

One day, while the World-Honored One was sitting, he saw two people carrying a pig past him. He asked: "What is that?" They replied: "The Buddha possesses all-encompassing wisdom, yet he does not even recognize a pig?" The World-Honored One replied: "One still has to ask the question."

Because the World-Honored One had... The text breaks off here at the end of the transcription segment