The Immaculate White Lotus:
The Life of the Master from Oddiyana

Chapter One

How wonderful!
The hearts of Buddha Infinite Light and Buddha Shakyamuni
Emanated the second Buddha, Lotus-Born,
Who manifested this life for the benefit of his disciples.

In ignorance, sentient beings of the six kinds wander through the
wheel of life

And those of degenerate times partake of the five poisons without
restraint.

To guide such beings so thoroughly disinclined to spiritual life
You took birth in the sea at the tip of a lotus.
The marks and signs of physical perfection adorned your amazing
body of manifest enlightenment.

At your birth, dakinis of five classes, and spiritual heroes and heroines
Sang, danced, and scattered auspicious flowers;
Clouds of five-colored rainbows filled the skies.
Gods, nagas, and other beings were overjoyed and paid their respects
to you—
They bowed, prayed, and showered your body with praises.

When news of this reached the king of Oddiyana,
He went to extend an invitation to you, a young child,
And offered this praise to your manifestation of enlightenment:

“Enlightenment manifest, child of the buddhas of the three times,
You were born in the sea and now appear in Oddiyana.
Unsullied by any stain, born at the tip of a lotus,
Your radiant body is endowed with every quality of the marks and
signs of physical perfection.
To see you is meaningful, Lotus King—to you I offer praise.”

After singing this tribute, he led you to his palace
And installed you on a jeweled throne with silk brocade cushions.
He offered you many gifts, such as those pleasing to your eyes,
And set before you many delicious foods, such as the three white foods
and the three sweets.
Eight goddesses presented offerings to you;
They sang, danced, and provided entertainment;
And they proclaimed their infinite appreciation for your emanated
form.
You accepted Light-Bearing Goddess as your wife
And assumed dominion over the realm.
You repeatedly witnessed birth, aging, sickness, and death
And thus gradually abdicated your rule and left for India,
Where you became outstanding in the study of all the arts
and sciences.

This concludes Chapter One from The Immaculate White Lotus: The Life of the Master from Oddiyana: How He Came to this World and His Education in the Arts and Sciences.

Om Ah Houng Benza Guru Péma Siddhi Houng