Phillip Medhurst

March 1st, 2011

The one who is supposed to reach the designated position will get into the position. Everything has its own conditions.

The one who is supposed to return to the prearranged position will return to the position. Everything has its own conditions.

The one who is supposed to conform to the right position will conform to the right position. Everything has its own conditions.

When the needed conditions arrive, everyone will take his or her own position.

When the needed conditions arrive, everyone will carry out his or her own duty.

When the needed conditions arrive, everyone will take charge of his or her own responsibility.

When the needed conditions arrive, everyone will show his or her own capability.

When the needed conditions arrive, everyone will take his or her own individual action.

When the needed conditions arrive, everyone will receive his or her own predestined friends.

When the needed conditions arrive, everyone will save his or her own predestined friends.

When the needed conditions arrive, everyone will ferry over his or her own predestined friends.

Of course, the needed conditions don’t depend on waiting.

Of course, the needed conditions don’t depend on request.

Of course, the needed conditions don’t depend on pleading.

Of course, the needed conditions don’t depend on imagining.

The secret key is the mind!

Osifu says: The mind method of the Esoteric Cultivation Method is to be righteous, kindhearted, sincere, pure and responding to the Buddha.

If you manage to do it, the needed conditions will arrive.

If you cannot manage to do it, the needed conditions will arrive nowhere.

If you can manage to do it at the present moment, the needed conditions will arrive right away.

So it is!

So it is the way that the dragon girl became a Buddha.

The eight-year-old dragon girl attained her flesh-body Buddhahood due to the virtues and merits of accepting and reciting the Lotus Sutra.

According to the records in the Lotus Sutra, Devadatta, the Dragon Girl, who was daughter of the Dragon King Sagara, was eight years old with a sharp wit. She could understand and was able to accept and recite all the profound secret store preached by all Buddhas. In the turn of a hand, she brought forth the resolve for Bodhi and reached the level of no regression.

Again she presented a precious jewel to the Buddha. With the virtues and merits as well as the power of her vow, she suddenly turned her female image into a man endowed with all practices of a Bodhisattva.

In an instant, she proceeded to the Southern Pure Land taking a seat on a jewelled lotus and attaining the ultimate enlightenment. With thirty-two features and eighty characteristics, Ratnasambhava expounded the wonderful dharma for humans and gods widely. The Bodhisattvas, hearers, dragons and others of the eight divisions of the heavenly deities，human, non-human beings in the Saha land descried that and paid reverent obeisance with great joy.

In the Lotus Sutra – Chapter Devadatta – there is a paragraph describing the story about the Dragon Girl attaining the flesh-body Buddhahood.

The Dragon King Sagara had a prestigious reputation among the four seas, and his youngest princess was very clever and sensible with a deep virtuous root. She did many unusual miracles when she was eight years old and all respectfully called her the Dragon Girl.

The very young-aged Dragon Girl, whose natural disposition was very different from that of other girls, was not interested in delicious candies or fun toys. Her favourite thing was to listen to the mysticism of the universe and the mysteries of life.

One day, Bodhisattva Manjusri, the embodiment of great wisdom, sitting on a big lotus of a thousand petals, appeared in the Dragon King Sagara’s palace. He expounded the profound dharma on behalf of the Buddha, and the eight-year-old Dragon Girl was deeply touched. She admired and missed the Lord Buddha and asked Bodhisattva Manjusri immediately to take her to the Vulture Peak to worship the Lord Buddha and listen to Buddha Dharma.

At the Vulture Peak, there were green pines and verdant cypresses, and Datura flowers emitted pleasant fragrance. All the great Bodhisattvas and great Arhats gathered at the Lotus assembly. The young Dragon Girl followed the Bodhisattva Manjusri, participating in the assembly.

The child Dragon Girl attained total retention of the Dharma.

After the Buddha finished expounding the one vehicle doctrine of the Lotus Sutra, one called Bodhisattva-Wisdom-Accumulated asked the Bodhisattva Manjusri: “My Lord Manjusri, I want to avere to you that the Lotus Sutra expounded by the Buddha is a profound, subtle and wonderful treasure among sutras and a rarity in the world. Will there be anyone who is able to attain Buddhahood quickly by earnestly and diligently practising in accordance with this sutra?”

The Bodhisattva Manjusri replied after a quick silence: “My Lord, as far as I know, the Dragon King Sagara’s daughter was only eight years old. She attained total retention of the Dharma after hearing the Buddha expound this sutra.”

After Bodhisattva-Wisdom-Accumulated heard the Bodhisattva Manjusri saying so, he was very surprised. As the Buddha’s first disciple, Bodhisattva Manjusri of the great wisdom did not praise the great Bodhisattvas and great Arhats but a little girl. According to the understanding of the Bodhisattva-Wisdom-Accumulated, an eight-year-old young girl could not attain the dharani no matter how clever she was.

Bodhisattva-Wisdom-Accumulated shook his head, as it was hard for him to believe that. The Bodhisattva Manjusri again replied: “My Lord, though the eight-year-old Dragon Girl is very young, her wisdom and sharp faculties are much more profound than any ordinary people’s. She comprehended the profound secret store preached by the Buddha and she could accept and recite the cultivation methods instructed by the Buddha. She has brought forth the resolve for the great Bodhi and truly reached the level of non-backsliding.”

The Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulated still said in an non-believing tone: “Bodhisattva Manjusri, I saw that before the Buddha Sakyamuni Tathagata attained the ultimate enlightenment, he had practised hard ascetic practices to accumulate virtues and merits for limitless aeons and never
relented. I don’t believe an eight-year-old girl can attain true enlightenment.”

Right after the words of the Bodhisattva-Wisdom-Accumulated had come to an end, the Dragon Girl suddenly appeared in front of him and venerated him mildly and solemnly.

For a Bodhisattva having attained the fruit of sanctity, he felt so embarrassed in front of such a little girl, disbelieving that the female body can attain the Unsurpassed Buddhahood promptly.

Seeing the Dragon Girl, the Bodhisattva-Wisdom-Accumulated was too embarrassed to say any more. However, the venerable Shariputra, who always underestimated women, said to the Dragon Girl in an ill-affected tone: “Our Bodhisattva Manjusri said that you would attain the Unsurpassed Way before long, which was difficult for us to believe.”

Manjusri commented: “It is not a matter of believing or disbelieving what he said, because it is just the fact.” The Dragon Girl was also reluctant to show weakness in front of Shariputra who always underestimated women.

“A female’s body, soiled and defiled with the Five Skandhas, is not a dharma-vessel; how could you attain the Unsurpassed Buddhism Way?” said Shariputra without restraint.

The Bodhisattva Manjusri felt that it was more than enough and explained: “My venerable Shariputra, you cannot say this. The female body and looks may be different from the male, but the Buddha Nature is equal. The Buddha said that not only women and men but all the sentient beings on the earth have Tathagata wisdom and virtue. Young men and women are the best symbols of the Bodhisattva’s compassionate resolve, enthusiasm, courage, enterprising spirit and sacrifice.”

The venerable Shariputra could accept anything according the situation, but for women, he always felt that a man was superior to a woman.

At that time, especially for an eight-year-old Dragon Girl, how could he believe she would attain the Buddhahood in no time at all? Although there was the explanation from the Bodhisattva Manjusri, Shariputra no longer spoke. Deep down he still had the concept of inequality between men and women.

Shariputra reminded himself that he was fooled by the celestial beauty in the meditation room of Vimalakirti. So he always thought that even if women had great practices, how could they attain the Buddhahood so quickly? – sitting on a Jewelled Lotus and attaining the Ultimate Enlightenment?

The Dragon Girl knew the presuppositions of Shariputra, and he thought that it would waste his breath to say too much in front of somebody who had a profound attachment to dharmas. One couldn’t deny the fact if the reality proved it.

At that time, the Dragon Girl took a very precious jewel with her, so she presented it with both hands to the Buddha. After the Buddha accepted it, she turned her head around and walked up to Bodhisattva-Wisdom-Accumulated and the venerable Shariputra, saying in a very polite tone: “I presented the precious jewel to the Buddha and the Buddha compassionately accepted it. Was that quick enough?”

“Very fast!” both Bodhisattva-Wisdom-Accumulated and the venerable Shariputra replied.

“Please employ your supernatural powers to observe that I shall attain Buddhahood even faster than that!”

Soon after the Dragon Girl’s statement, the members of the assembly saw the Dragon Girl instantly changing into a man, and, possessing all the practices of a Bodhisattva, immediately proceeding to the Southern Pure Land, taking a seat on a jewelled lotus, and attaining the Unsurpassed Ultimate Enlightenment – expounding unsurpassed, profound, wondrous dharmas for all the sentient beings in the ten directions.

There are many dragon girls. Why do we have to distinguish them? We comprehend the meaning implied in it but don’t engage in research into Buddhism.

The secret key is your mind.

Osifu says: A straightforward mind, a straight way; a crooked mind, a crooked way.

Osifu says: A righteous mind, a righteous way; an evil mind, an evil way.

Osifu says: A flat mind, a flat way; a vicious mind, a vicious way.

Osifu says: A pure mind, a pure way; a defiled mind, a defiled way.

Osifu says: A changed mind, a changed way. The mind with attachment goes down a dead end.

Osifu says: Where there’s the mind, there is the way. If the mind is beguiled by what is empty, the way disappears.

Osifu says: The secret key is your mind.

Osifu says: Attaining the Buddhahood depends on your mind.

Osifu says: The ascent depends on your mind.

Osifu says: The descent depends on your mind.

Osifu says: The purification depends on your mind.

Osifu says: The sublimation depends on your mind.

Osifu says: Everything depends on your mind.

https://osifu.bandcamp.com/album/messages-from-osifu

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