Lion Steps

Lion Steps.

“Oh, good men! The Tathagata, with the fangs and claws of the Right Enlightenment Wisdom, with the paws of the four unlimited minds, with the full body of the six paramitas, with manly courage of the ten powers, with the tail of the Great Loving-Kindness, and living in the pure grottos of the four Dhyanas, emits the lion's roar, and crushes the armies of Mara, revealing to all beings the ten powers, and opening up the place where the Buddha goes. He becomes a refuge to all those fleeing from distorted views, he consoles beings who fear the birth and death, he awakens beings who sleep in ignorance, he proclaims to those of distorted views, that what the six masters say is not the lion's roar, he crushes the arrogant mind of Puranakashyapa and others, it causes the two vehicles become repentant, he teaches all the Bodhisattvas of the fifth stage and enables them to acquire a mind of great power, he makes the four classes of the Sangha who abide in right views not to be afraid of the four classes of the Sangha who persist in distorted views. He steps forth from the grottoes of the holy actions, pure actions, and heavenly actions in order to crush the arrogance of all beings. He yawns so as to evoke the Wonderful Dharma. He looks towards the four directions in order to cause beings to gain the fourfold unhindered knowledge. His four legs stand firmly on the ground, so that beings can peacefully abide in shila-paramita. Thus, he utters a lion's roar. Utter the lion's roar means to make known that all beings possess the Buddha Nature, and that the Tathagata is Eternal, and Unchanging.”

Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 33, on the Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 1

lion steps.mp3