普禮真言
Universal Bow Mantra
唵。嚩日囉斛
Om. Vajra hūṃ.
(三讚。三禮。須精誠作觀。五體投地。教列七種禮。不可不知。一。我慢禮。謂依位次。以無恭敬。心馳外境。五輪不具。如碓上下。二。唱和禮謂麤正威儀。心無靜想。見人則身輕急禮。人去則身墮心疲。蓋心散而口唱也。三。身心恭敬禮。謂聞唱佛名。便念佛想。身心恭敬。精無厭怠。四。發智清淨禮。謂達佛境界。隨心現量。禮一佛則禮一切佛。禮一拜則禮法界。以佛法身融通故。五。徧入法界禮。謂自觀身心等法。從本以來。不離法界。佛我平等。今禮一佛。即徧禮法界諸佛。六。正觀禮。謂禮自佛。不緣他佛。何以故。一切眾生。各有佛性。平等正覺。七。實相平等禮。謂前有禮有觀。自他兩異。今此一禮。無自無他。凡聖一如。禮用不二。故文殊云。能禮所禮性空寂。前三約事。後四就理。大方廣寶篋經中。智燈聲聞問文殊言。云何禮佛。文殊言。若見法淨。名見佛淨。若身若心不低不昂。正直而住。不動不搖。其心寂靜。行寂靜行。是名禮佛。比丘不得通肩著袈裟禮佛。死墮鐵甲地獄。除坐禪受食。通肩不犯。比丘不得披禪衣禮佛。誦經。經行。及禮尊宿。塔殿前行。死變團魚龜黿之類。及不得覆頭。須露頂。違者結罪。唯除病時。大寒時。凡正信出家受戒者。切須慎之)。
<note>Three praises. Three bows. You must bow with sincere focus and visualization, with your whole body prostrate on the ground.
Tradition lists seven kinds of bowing, and you should not be unaware of them:
First, the bow of arrogance. This means bowing according to your position in line, with no respect in your heart, your mind racing after outer things, your five limbs not fully touching the ground — like a pestle pounding up and down.
Second, the bow of call-and-response. This means your outward manner is rough and barely proper, your mind has no still contemplation; when you see others, your body moves lightly and you bow hastily; when they leave, your body slumps and your mind grows weary. This is because the mind is scattered while the mouth merely sings along.
Third, the bow of body and mind in reverence. This means when you hear the Buddha's name chanted, you bring the Buddha to mind; body and mind are reverent, sincere, and free of weariness or slackness.
Fourth, the bow of wisdom and purity. This means understanding the Buddha's realm, and letting it appear according to your mind. Bowing to one Buddha is bowing to all Buddhas; one bow is a bow to the whole Dharma realm, because the Buddha's Dharma body is fused and interpenetrating with all things.
Fifth, the bow pervading the Dharma realm. This means contemplating your own body, mind, and all phenomena as from the very beginning never apart from the Dharma realm; Buddha and I are equal. Now, bowing to one Buddha is bowing everywhere to all Buddhas of the Dharma realm.
Sixth, the bow of correct contemplation. This means bowing to the Buddha within yourself, not relying on any external Buddha. Why? Because all living beings each have the Buddha-nature, equal and perfectly awakened.
Seventh, the bow of true reality's equality. This means the earlier kinds still had bowing and contemplation, self and other as two. But in this one bow there is no self and no other; ordinary and sage are one suchness; the act of bowing and its function are non-dual. Therefore Mañjuśrī said, "The one who bows and the one bowed to are both empty and still."
The first three concern practice; the last four concern principle.
In the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra, the hearer Wisdom Lamp asked Mañjuśrī, "How should one bow to the Buddha?" Mañjuśrī said, "If you see the purity of Dharma, that is called seeing the purity of Buddha. Whether body or mind, do not stoop and do not arch; stand upright and steady, unmoving and unshaken. With a still mind, practice the still practice — this is called bowing to the Buddha."
A monk must not bow to the Buddha with his robe worn over the shoulder. If he does, he will fall into the Iron Armor Hell after death. The exceptions are sitting in meditation and eating; wearing it over the shoulder then is not an offense.
A monk must not bow to the Buddha, recite sutras, do walking meditation, or bow to elders, stupas, or shrine halls while wearing his meditation robe. If he does, after death he will become a soft-shelled turtle, tortoise, or the like. He also must not cover his head; his head must be bare. Those who violate this incur an offense. The only exceptions are when sick or in extreme cold.
Anyone who has truly gone forth in faith and received the precepts must be careful about this.</note>