Once upon a time,
A true peace lover wandered around the many worlds
in search of eternal happiness.
She walked over the face of the earth,
The suns, the moons and the clouds.
At last She found:
That it was all the while
Hidden in Her very heart.
Then She sat down
And was about to enjoy the new found Bliss.
But suddenly She looked down:
And saw countless beings were still
groveling in darkness,
For they were searching for happiness without,
Just like Her before, erring over millions of ages.
Her tears were then rolling down…
One drop,
two drops …
and many more …
Each drop became a shining Jewel
and soon the firmament was studded with glittering tears
which are the stars today;
They are too shy in the day
and too restless in the night
to go to sleep.
For all peace seekers,
The stars are there to light the Way
And to remind them of the Compassion of a holy Sage.
(Supreme Master Ching Hai, “Silent Tears” poetry book)
“I will appear as a Buddha to teach them the Dharma to liberate them.”
From the Surangama Sutra, a Buddhist Scripture
“World Honoured One, as I (followed and) made offerings to the Tathagata Avalokitevara, He taught me to use my illusory hearing and sublimate it to realize the Diamond (Vajra) Samadhi which gave me the same power of mercy of all Buddhas and enabled me to transform myself into thirty-two bodily forms for the purpose of visiting all countries in samsara (to convert and liberate living beings).
“World Honoured One, if there are Bodhisattvas who practise Samadhi to attain the transcendental, when there is a chance for them to realize absolute Wisdom, I will appear as a Buddha to teach them the Dharma to liberate them.
“If there are solitary students seeking (only) self-enlightenment, who practise the stillness of Nirvana, when there is a chance for them to realize it, I will appear as a teacher of self-enlightenment to teach them the Dharma to liberate them.
“If there are students of the Four Noble Truths who, after realizing the unreality of suffering and its accumulation, tread the Path leading to the extinction of passions, when there is a chance for them to achieve this, I will appear as a hearer (sravaka) to teach them the Dharma to liberate them……..”
— Surangama Sutra — Shurangama Sutra — 大佛頂首楞嚴經 (Leng Yen Ching), Scripture of Esoteric Buddhism