Dragon Flower Scripture
"The Dragon Flower Scripture is one of the
most important (sectarian) scriptures of the seventeenth century, from which later
writings derived vocabularly and mythological themes. The belief system of this and
similar books is centered on the Eternal Venerable Mother (Wu-sheng Lao-mu) and Her
children Fu-hsi and Nü-kua, whose union produces the human race. At first human beings
lived in paradisal condition, but then they gradually fell from grace, so that now all but
a few are "scattered and lost". This "fall" is conceived of spatially
as well: the original and true home of men and women is the Eternal Mother's paradise in
the west (Mesopotamia! HMS), but now they live in the "eastern land", the
"red dust" world of samsara, ensnared in avarice and lust, forgetful of their
true nature. The Venerable Mother in Her compassion weeps for Her children and sends down
gods and bodhisattvas (Maitreya, HMS) to rescue them".
David K.Jordan & Daniel L.Overmyer
"The Flying Phoenix", 1986 Caves Books
One day the Venerable Patriarch Kung
Ch'ang was quietly sitting on his meditation bed and entered samadhi. Manifesting his
"emptiness body", he went to the Tushita Palace of the Native Place, where he
had an audience with the Venerable Mother. The Venerable Mother asked Kung Ch'ang,
"In the lower world there are omens of coming natural disasters. Are you familiar
with them?"
Kung Ch'ang replied that he was not. The
Venerable Mother said, "In the chia-tzu year of the lower yuan period, disasters will
arrive; in the hsin-chi year there will be famine, drought, and floods. The people of
Shantung will starve to death while they eat each other; husbands and wives will not look
after each other, and fathers and sons will be divided. When they move to northern Chih-li
they will again meet with famine and die." Kung Ch'ang asked the Venerable Mother,
"When will it become easier to live?" The Mother replied, in the yen-wu year
things will be a little better, but again calamities will occur, mountains will shake, the
earth will move, the Yellow River will overflow, and people will drown. There will be a
plague of grasshoppers, a dark rain will fall continuously, houses will collapse, and
there will be no place to dwell. These disasters of the last age, formed by bad karma
accumulated for 500 years (...), are deserved and brought by people on themselves, so
there is no way of escape. In the kuei-wei year there will be an epidemic.
Kung Ch'ang asked, "What should one
do to be saved from these disasters?" The Mother said, "For people who sincerely
believe, there will be no calamities; for those who cultivate the Way, there will be no
difficulties".
Dragon Flower Scripture,
section "The People of the Last Age" (Mo-chieh chung sheng). PS. Obviously, this
text has to be taken symbolically. It expresses a spiritual Truth.
Dragon Flower Assembly
"The Buddha of the past, Dipamkara,
the historic Buddha Sakyamuni the younger and Maitreya the eldest, all three sons of the
same Eternal Mother, all three working at the Dharma and each successful in their own Way
are gathered to discuss the succession. Who is most suitable to rule the world and to save
the people, that is the question. All three decide to go into meditation, each with a
golden staff in the hand. He, to whose staff will first sprout the dragon flower, will be
sent to the world. Who will have his flowering later has to wait. Against the rules
Sakyamuni opens his eye already after one day, seeing that Maitreya's staff is decorated
with the dragon flower with the ten thousand golden light rays. He sneakily steals the
flower putting her on his own staff. Immediately the flower feels unhappy, is sagging and
looses her light and radiation. Two days later Maitreya's heavenly eye opens and sees that
his brother has stolen the dragon flower. Thus He spoke to Sakyamuni: "today the
entire world has been given to you, but how can you be a refuge to the people? Because of
this theft nothing will ever reach its perfection. Under your rule of 3000 years the
people will be tossed about between wealth and poverty, happiness en suffering, needs and
discord. There will be conflicts between states, crime and unrest. The people will be
misled by the king of the devils. There will be big disasters, like the eight big problems
and the last big catastrophe of the earth. Everything because of your deceit
Sakyamuni". Shortly after the Eternal Mother, Kuan Yin and several other Buddha's
meet on the Holy Mountain. They are moved by the suffering of the people on earth.
Although the 3000 years are not yet completed, Maitreya is requested to move forward from
his "Western forest" in order to save the people".
"Ku Fo tang-lai hsia-sheng Mi-le ch'u-hsi" (Cause of Suffering and the
Arrival of Maitreya Buddha from the West to the World)
"...the Buddha Maitreya comes to take
charge of religion, he has put aside his immortal clothing and descended to the secular
world. When Sakyamuni Buddha saw him his mind was scorched (hsin chiao-tsao)...Now the
time has come, the red flower withers, and the white flower blooms; only now does
Sakyamuni withdraw from his position, and Maitreya laughs out loud. The great kalpa has
arrived, and Maitreya has ascended to the throne (teng liao chi). He kept his hair, and
changed his clothing. He put on the gauze hat and round-collared robe (of an
official),...and appeared in the world (ch'u-shih). Who in the world knows this? Maitreya
Buddha is in charge of the world (chang ch'ien-k'un)..."
"Li-chih pao-chüan"
(The precious book on establishing a new world)
"The Buddha Maitreya took
leave of the Venerable Mother and descended to the Han land of nine divisions. City gods
and locality gods received his carriage, bowed, and said, "We hope the Buddha in his
compassion will save all sentient beings". The Buddha replied, "In obedience to
the Venerable Mother's edict I have descended to the world to save all people. You should
each with sincerity aid the task of universal salvation, (so as to) together attain the
Buddha Way and sit on the heart of the lotus....I have now descended into the world only
so that people on the great earth realize enlightenment and not reject the Venerable
Mother's saving intentions."
"Ta-sheng Mi-le hua-tu
pao chüan" (The precious book of salvation brought by Maitreya)
Maitreya, true Maitreya,
With a myriad transformation bodies,
In the last age you instruct all beings
The confused and blind cannot recognize you.
"San-tsu hsing-chiao
yin-yü pao chüan" (The religious activities of the three patriarchs and their
causes and connections)
"Now I have heard that the
Precious Scroll of the Most Holy Saviour Maitreya (Ta sheng Mi-le fo hua-tu pao chüan)
appeared in the twenty second year of the Ming Wan-li reign period (1594). It is a work
produced by imperial authority which has been (widely) circulated. Our Buddha (Wo
fo-Maitreya?) mercifully took forty-eight vows to save all people (huang-t'ai. lit.
"imperial children")...Because all living beings were confused and lost in the
red dust (world), had fallen and knew not how to return to their origin, our (Lord) Buddha
established an expedient means (for entering) the dharma gate, (thereby) to save men and
women everywhere, enabling them to take refuge in the way of long life and recovering
completeness, to return home to see the Mother and sit together with her on the Lotus
Tower".
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