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The Universal Door Sutra – The Sutra on the Power of Avalokiteshvara
The Universal Door Chapter, also known as the Sutra on the Power of Avalokiteshvara, is the 25th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, translated by Master Kumarajiva in the early 5th century. The term Universal Door means a gate that opens everywhere, like toutes directions on a signpost; Avalokiteśvara in Sanskrit is translated as Quan Thế Âm (here also referred to as Quán Tự Tại), meaning the Bodhisattva who listens to the cries of the world. They manifest in all forms—male, female, monastic, layperson—to respond skillfully and rescue beings according to conditions, and their vow is “to respond skillfully in all directions.”
In the verse section of the sutra, the listener receives Avalokiteshvara’s vow through important gathas:
- hearing the name, seeing the image with mindfulness, one is liberated from suffering in the three realms
- invoking the power of Avalokiteshvara transforms a pit of fire into a lotus pond, ocean storms cannot drown, swords, prisons, enemies… all dissolve
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five contemplations (quán) and five kinds of sounds help with deep looking and continuous, doubtless mindfulness:
- True contemplation – looking deeply into reality
- Pure contemplation – recognizing clarity and purity
- Vast and great wisdom contemplation – skillful means according to conditions
- Compassionate contemplation – a heart of compassion as boundless as thunder
- Loving-kindness contemplation – a gentle, loving heart like clouds offering cool shade
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wondrous sound, Avalokiteshvara sound, Brahma sound, Sound of the Rising Tide, sound surpassing the world – five marvelous, noble, majestic sounds, transcending worldly noise, to be contemplated and remembered often.
Finally, “eyes of compassion looking at the world” (gazing at all beings with loving eyes) is the essence of Avalokiteshvara: an ocean of boundless merit that causes practitioners always to join our palms in reverence and take refuge.
