Commentary: Venerable Master Hsuan Hua (宣化)
Chinese translation: Tang Dynasty by the Tripitaka Master Shramana Shikshananda of Khotan
Vietnamese translation: Bhikshu Thích Minh Định
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Chapter 10 – Bodhisattva’s Questions
What is a Bodhisattva? The full term is Bodhi-sattva, but since it is abbreviated, only the two words “Bodhisattva” are used. Bodhi means awakening. Sattva means sentient being; together, they mean one who awakens sentient beings, awakening all sentient beings. It can also be understood as “an awakened sentient being,” meaning one who is awakened among all sentient beings. In short, a Bodhisattva awakens themself and awakens others, aspiring to perfect the practice of awakening in the future and thereby attain Buddhahood.
Bodhisattva is also translated as “a sentient being with a great aspiration for the Way,” meaning that among sentient beings there are people with a great aspiration for the Way—a great spiritual resolve. What does it mean to have a great aspiration for the Way? It means not fearing any hardship or suffering, giving everything one has, and doing everything to benefit sentient beings rather than oneself. That is why it is said that Bodhisattvas know only how to benefit others, not themselves. Because their aspiration for the Way is great, they attain a great fruition. If their aspiration for the Way is not great, then naturally the fruition they attain will not be great either. Bodhisattvas are also called Great Virtuous Ones, Great Hermits, Great Recluses, Great Lay Practitioners, and so on. In short, anyone who benefits sentient beings may be called a Bodhisattva.
Long ago, when Shakyamuni Buddha was practicing the Bodhisattva path, he did not hesitate to give up his body or life to teach all sentient beings and benefit them. In one of his lifetimes, the Buddha gave up his body to save a hungry tiger. One day, so much snow fell that the tiger could not find any food. It was so hungry that it could no longer bear it, so it led its cubs out to look for food, but still found none. At that time, the Buddha, while practicing the Bodhisattva way, saw the situation and was moved with compassion. He vowed to offer his body as food for the tiger, willingly sacrificing himself to make an offering to the hungry tiger. Such a spirit is truly magnificent! In another lifetime, the Buddha once cut flesh from his body and gave it to a hawk. One day, while the Buddha (then practicing the Bodhisattva path) was sitting in meditation beneath a tree, a dove suddenly flew over and begged him for protection. A fierce hawk was chasing it from behind, wanting to catch it. So the Buddha protected the bird and took pity on the dove.
—At that moment, the falcon said to the Buddha, “You are a spiritual practitioner, yet you are not impartial. It is my food, and you protect its life, while letting me starve to death?” The Bodhisattva thought, “The Buddha’s teaching is impartial toward all sentient beings and has no discriminating mind.” Therefore, out of compassion, he said, “I can cut flesh from my body as an offering to you.” The hawk said, “All right! That’s only fair.” So the Bodhisattva used a knife to cut flesh from his own thigh and give it to the hawk. But the hawk was insatiably greedy: one piece of flesh was not enough to satisfy it. Even after all the flesh had been cut from the Bodhisattva’s body, the hawk still was not satisfied. Without further hesitation, it flew up into the sky and revealed itself as the god Indra. It turned out that Indra had come to test the extent of the Bodhisattva’s spiritual cultivation.
To save a pigeon, the Buddha cut flesh from his own body and willingly offered it to the hawk. This is practicing the Bodhisattva path. Because he practiced the Bodhisattva path with genuine sincerity, the flesh grew back as it was before. The Bodhisattva path is not easy to practice, but even though it is difficult, we must practice it. If we do not practice it, how can we become Bodhisattvas? To become a Buddha, one must practice the Bodhisattva path.
Shakyamuni Buddha once sacrificed his own body to save a starving tiger and cut flesh from himself to feed an eagle. We are disciples of the Buddha, so we should examine ourselves: could we do the same? And should we reflect on whether we have compassion for sentient beings? Buddhism takes compassion as its root and skillful means as its gateway. Some people say, “I can do it.” You have to actually do it for it to count; you cannot merely say it without putting it into practice—that is lying. Hence the saying: “Speaking well and beautifully, but not putting it into practice, is not the Way.” Only by putting it into practice is it the Way.
Everyone! We should learn from the Buddha’s spirit of sacrifice. For the benefit of all sentient beings, we must be willing to give in charity even our country, wife and children, or our head, eyes, marrow and brain. As long as sentient beings need something, we must be ready to give it, treating everyone equally, whether near or far.
What is “asking” (inquiring)? It means asking about the Dharma and raising questions or challenges; it is also the “question” in “problem.” If a Bodhisattva is unclear about a principle of the Dharma, they should respectfully ask another Bodhisattva for clarification. Or, even if they already understand the principle, they may deliberately raise questions or challenges. This is not seeking trouble or afflictions, but studying or debating, so that Bodhisattvas who do not understand may also grasp the true principle.
As in this section of the Sutra, Bodhisattva Manjushri had attained unobstructed understanding of all dharmas. One could say there was nothing he did not know and nothing he did not understand. Yet he still had to ask questions. Why? Because he was asking on behalf of all sentient beings. He asked Bodhisattva Awakening Head, “If the nature of mind is ultimately one, why are there all kinds of distinctions?” He also asked Bodhisattva Wealth Head, “Since sentient beings are empty, why does the Buddha manifest in a body to teach and subdue them?” He asked Bodhisattva Jewel Head, “Since all sentient beings are without self and without anything belonging to a self, why do they experience suffering and happiness?” He asked Bodhisattva Virtue Head, “If the Buddha awakens to a single Dharma, why does he speak of many kinds of Dharma?” He asked Bodhisattva Eye Head, “If the Buddha cultivates the field of merit equally, why do sentient beings obtain different karmic results?” He asked Bodhisattva Diligence Head, “The Buddha teaches a single Dharma, and sentient beings hear it at the same time. Why do some leave the three realms, while others cannot?” He again asked Bodhisattva Dharma-Virtue: “The Buddha once said that anyone who upholds the true Dharma can sever afflictions and dispel ignorance. Why, then, are there people who uphold the true Dharma yet do not sever or dispel them?” He also asked Bodhisattva Wisdom-Virtue: “In the Buddha’s teachings, wisdom is supreme. Why, then, does he also praise the six perfections and the four immeasurable states of mind?” He also asked Bodhisattva Worthy-Virtue: “The Buddhas use the teaching of the One Vehicle to transcend the three realms. Why, then, do all Buddha realms and everything within them have so many differences?” Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī asked the nine great Bodhisattvas the nine questions above.
Bodhisattvas no longer engage in frivolous discourse or ask meaningless questions. If a Bodhisattva asks, “Do we eat rice in order to live, or do we live in order to eat rice?” then that Bodhisattva is not a true Bodhisattva. Think about it: ultimately, do we eat rice in order to live, or do we live in order to eat? This question should be examined carefully. Once you understand it thoroughly, you will understand the meaning of human life.
What is “minh”? It means clarity. Clarity is needed to answer the questions being asked. Only with clarity can one answer; without clarity, one cannot answer. Hence the saying: “Know what you know as what you know; know what you do not know as what you do not know.” To say you know when you do not know is to lie.
Knowing but saying you do not know is also lying. That is why the word “understand” is used rather than the word “answer”; the key lies here. We study the Buddhadharma—that is, we study the Dharma-door of not telling lies. Only when we understand this principle clearly should we answer the question. If we do not understand it clearly, we should not answer the question. This is the duty of one who cultivates the Way.
This chapter is the tenth chapter of the Sutra, so it is called “The Tenth Chapter: The Bodhisattvas Ask About the Meaning.” This chapter is very important. Those who study the Buddhadharma should pay special attention and listen to the lecture with a quiet mind. This is an opportunity to develop wisdom. Everyone should rein in the monkey mind, the horse-like thoughts, and be sure to gain benefit from the Dharma. Why have we not attained the Way? Because we are lazy and do not cultivate the Buddhadharma, or because we do not practice earnestly. Therefore, we fail to achieve anything and waste our time, gaining nothing in the end. Everyone has come to listen to the Flower Garland Sutra despite being busy; this is because we planted good roots in past lives, which has given us this opportunity today.
I hope everyone will encourage their good relatives and friends to come to Gold Mountain Monastery to hear the Avatamsaka Sutra; in this way, they will gain inconceivable merit. Listening to the Sutra benefits both body and mind. It can be said to bring a hundred benefits and no harm at all—ten thousand times better than enjoying improper music. If you use the time you normally spend watching television to recite the Buddha’s name, the benefits are indescribable. For example, when death approaches, if your mind is prepared, it will not be scattered or panicked. You will recite the Buddha’s name single-mindedly and peacefully be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, born from a lotus, free from all suffering and enjoying every kind of happiness. This is the ultimate refuge for everyone. Anyone who is fond of watching television or enjoys dancing should turn back at once and set out on the path of Bodhi and enlightenment! You must know that a human life is hard to obtain, and the Buddha’s Dharma is hard to hear. Today there is a place of practice where the Dharma is being taught; do not miss this opportunity, or you will regret it later, when it is too late. Therefore, there is a saying: “Don’t wait until you’re old to learn the Way.” Abandoned graves are teeming with young people.
At that time, Bodhisattva Manjushri asked Bodhisattva Jue Shou, saying: “Son of the Buddha, the nature of mind is one. How is it that we see all kinds of differences? For example: going to good or evil destinies; the faculties being complete or deficient; being born in the same or different ways; being handsome or ugly; and suffering and happiness being unequal. Karma does not know mind, and mind does not know karma. Experience does not know its result, and the result does not know experience. Mind does not know experience, and experience does not know mind. Cause does not know condition, and condition does not know cause. Wisdom does not know its object, and the object does not know wisdom.”
Commentary: When the Chapter of Bright Enlightenment had been completed, Bodhisattva Manjushri then turned to Bodhisattva Jue Shou and requested the Dharma, asking: “Child of the Buddha! If mind and nature are said to be one, why are there all kinds of different karmic retributions? If one turns toward the good path, one should abide in the good path. If one turns toward the evil path, one should abide in the evil path. Why, then, do some turn toward the good path and others toward the evil realms? What principle is this? Please enlighten us. I listen with reverence and rapt attention.
“Why are people’s faculties sometimes complete and sometimes deficient? At birth, some have faculties that are alike, while others have faculties that are unlike. What principle is this? If they are one, why are some people beautiful in appearance and others ugly? Why do some suffer while others enjoy happiness? Why do suffering and happiness differ? Karmic experience does not know what the mind is; how is it that the mind does not know karma? Why do neither know the other? Experience does not know when retribution will arrive, and retribution does not know when experience will arise. The mind does not know experience, and experience does not know the mind. Cause does not know condition, and condition does not know cause. Wisdom does not know the realm, and the realm does not know wisdom. What is the reason for this? Please explain it clearly and in detail, so that all sentient beings may understand this principle.”
At that time, Bodhisattva Jueshou answered in verse, saying:
Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Jue Shou used verses to answer the questions that Bodhisattva Manjushri had asked.
Because you now ask this meaning
For the awakening of the deluded multitude
I answer according to its nature
You should listen attentively
Commentary: Bodhisattva Jueshou said, “You are asking about these principles now, not because you do not understand them, but on behalf of all sentient beings obscured by ignorance. You wish to help all sentient beings understand the principles of all dharmas, awaken to them, and stop doing things in a deluded and inverted way. Now I will answer your questions in accordance with the principles of the Dharma. I hope you will listen attentively. Since you are requesting the Dharma on behalf of sentient beings, please concentrate your mind and spirit especially and listen to the principles I will explain.”
All dharmas have no function
Nor do they possess an inherent nature
Therefore, all of those
Each does not know the other
Commentary: The dharmas themselves (form dharmas, mind dharmas, mental-factor dharmas, dharmas dissociated from mind, and unconditioned dharmas) have no function. Why? Because dharmas are empty and have no real substance; therefore, it is said that dharmas have no function. Since dharmas have no function, why did the Buddha have to teach the Dharma? Hence, there is the saying:
“The Buddha speaks of all dharmas
in response to the arising of all minds.
If there were no minds at all,
why speak of all dharmas?”
The reason the Buddha teaches the Dharma is that sentient beings have all kinds of faults and habitual tendencies, so he uses the Dharma to counteract them. Once those habitual faults are gone, the Dharma is no longer needed. The Dharma is a method: when there is a fault, a method is used to remedy it.
This method does not truly exist; it is merely a false, illusory assumption. For example, when someone is sick, they must call a doctor to take their pulse and prescribe medicine. Only by taking the medicine can the illness be cured. Once the illness is cured, the medicine is no longer needed. The fundamental nature of the Dharma and of medicine follows the same principle. When you are sick, take medicine; when you are not sick, you should not take medicine indiscriminately. So it is right to let go of the medicine. The Diamond Sutra says: Even the Dharma must be relinquished, how much more so what is not the Dharma.
Once all dharmas have been put to use, no true essence remains, for they are empty, having neither substance nor function. Therefore, all dharmas do not know one another.
Form dharmas do not know mind dharmas, and mind dharmas likewise do not know form dharmas. Mental-factor dharmas do not know dharmas dissociated from mind, and dharmas dissociated from mind do not know mental-factor dharmas. All dharmas, in their very nature, have no faculty of cognition, because they are empty and still; they are nothing more than names. Therefore, dharmas do not know one another
Like the waters in a river,
The currents race swiftly onward;
Each knows not the other
All dharmas are likewise.
Commentary: Bodhisattva Jueshou then gives many examples to clarify this principle. Although the true nature of all phenomena is empty and still, it can be explained through earth, water, fire, and wind—the four great elements.
- Take water as an example: because water flows and acts, this and that do not know one another.
- Take fire as an example: because fire acts, arising and ceasing, this and that do not know one another.
- Take wind as an example: because wind moves, this and that do not know one another.
- Take earth as an example: because earth has the function of sustaining, this and that do not know one another.
Use these four things to illustrate the principle of the true aspect of all dharmas.
Flowing water: Its flowing is used to illustrate the true aspect of all dharmas, which has ten principles. These ten principles do not know one another, yet despite not knowing one another, they together constitute the principle of flowing.
**First principle:** In the *Commentary and Subcommentary on the Flower Adornment Sutra* by National Master Qingliang, it says: “The flow in front does not flow by itself; it flows because the flow behind pushes and propels it. That is, the flow in front has no inherent nature, and therefore does not know what is behind it. The flow in front does not know that it is flowing; rather, it is pushed by the water behind and driven along, and so it moves. Because the flow in front has no inherent nature of its own, it does not know that it is being driven along and made to flow by the water behind.”
**Second principle:** The *Commentary and Subcommentary* says: “Although the flow behind pushes the flow in front, it does not reach the flow in front, so they likewise do not know one another. Although the water flowing behind pushes the water flowing in front, it does not reach the flow in front. Although the flow in front has no inherent nature or substance of its own, it still flows by itself. Since the flow behind does not reach the flow in front, the flows in front and behind do not know one another.”
**Third principle:** The *Commentary and Subcommentary* says: “Neither the flow in front nor the flow behind flows by itself. The flow behind flows because it is led by the flow in front. That is, the flow behind has no inherent nature, and therefore does not know the flow in front. The flow behind does not flow toward the front on its own; rather, it flows because it is led by the flow in front. Therefore, the flow behind also has no inherent nature, and does not know that it is being led to flow by the flow in front.”
**Fourth principle:** The *Commentary and Subcommentary* says: “Although the flow in front leads the flow behind, it does not go to the rear, so they likewise do not know one another. Although the flow in front leads the flow behind, it flows on its own and does not go to the flow behind. Therefore, the flows in front and behind do not know one another.”
**Fifth principle:** The *Commentary and Subcommentary* says: “The one that pushes and the one that is led are not two, and therefore they do not know one another. The flow behind pushes the flow in front; the flow in front leads the flow behind. Although they are two, they are not two, and therefore they do not know one another.”
**Sixth principle:** The *Commentary and Subcommentary* says: “The one that leads and the one that is pushed are not two, and therefore they do not know one another. The flow in front, which leads, and the flow behind, which is pushed, are not two; one cannot distinguish this from that. From the standpoint of appearances, there is a flow in front and a flow behind; in reality, there is not even one. Therefore, they do not know one another.”
**Seventh principle:** The *Commentary and Subcommentary* says: “The one that pushes and the one that is pushed are not two, and therefore they do not know one another. The flow behind is the one that pushes; the flow in front is the one that is pushed. The one that pushes and the one that is pushed are not two. There is neither one that pushes nor one that is pushed, and therefore they do not know one another.”
**Eighth principle:** The *Commentary and Subcommentary* says: “The one that leads and the one that is led are also not two, and therefore they do not know one another. The flow in front is the one that leads; the flow behind is the one that is led. The one that leads and the one that is led are also not two, and therefore they do not know one another.”
**Ninth principle:** The *Commentary and Subcommentary* says: “Neither the one that pushes nor the one that leads exists, and therefore they do not know one another. The flow behind is the one that pushes the flow in front; the flow in front is the one that leads the flow behind. But they do not both exist. If there is one that pushes, then there is no one that leads; if there is one that leads, then there is no one that pushes. Therefore, they do not know one another.”
**Tenth principle:** The *Commentary and Subcommentary* says: “Neither the one that is pushed nor the one that is led exists, and therefore they do not know one another. The flow in front is the one pushed by the flow behind; the flow behind is the one led by the flow in front. Yet neither is fully present, nor is either wholly existent, and therefore they do not know one another.”
The ten principles above are presented to make clear that flowing water is fundamentally empty, with no distinction between the flow in front and the flow behind. Yet we ordinary people, with our deluded views and understanding, seek to make distinctions where there are none, wanting to discern these principles. The true nature of all dharmas is originally empty and still, with not a single thing. Therefore, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng said:
Originally, there is not a single thing;
Where could dust alight?
The true aspect of all dharmas is like the water in a river, flowing one after another. Each wave pursues the one before it; the preceding wave in turn pursues the wave before that. The wave in front leads the one behind, and that wave leads the one after it. Like competitors, they rush along together and destroy one another. Yet the waves before and after do not know one another. The fundamental nature of the true aspect of all dharmas follows this same principle.
Fire is like that too, wind is like that too, and earth is like that too. The four great elements sometimes help one another and sometimes oppose one another. Use them skillfully, and the four elements help one another; use them unskillfully, and they counteract one another.
Our body is formed from the four great elements: earth, water, fire, and wind. Tears, urine, blood, sweat, and so on belong to water. Warmth belongs to fire. Breath belongs to wind. Skin, flesh, sinews, and bones belong to earth. When the four elements are in harmony, the body is healthy. When they are out of harmony, the body becomes ill. At birth, the four elements combine; at death, they disperse. When the four elements combine, they form a human body; when they disperse, it becomes nothing: earth returns to earth, water returns to water, fire returns to fire, and wind returns to wind—each to its own place. Then skin, flesh, sinews, and bones return to earth; blood, pus, sweat, tears, and so on join with water and become one with it; bodily heat joins with fire and becomes one with it; and breath joins with wind and becomes one with it.
There are also the four great elements in empty space. During the day, the sun shines on the great earth, generating heat and forming hot air. This is the fire element, extending throughout empty space and the entire Dharma realm. At night, the moon shines on the great earth, generating cold and forming dew. This is the water element, extending throughout empty space and pervading the Dharma realm. High-pressure air flows into and presses against low-pressure air, thereby forming wind. There are also many particles of dust in empty space; dust particles are earth. Therefore, empty space also contains the four great elements of earth, water, wind, and fire. These four great elements work together for you. If you live to be sixty, they lend themselves to you for sixty years. If you live to be one hundred, they lend themselves to you for one hundred years. When you die, they return to where they came from.
Do human beings have a true original nature? Yes: it is Buddha-nature, that is, suchness. Human beings are the most spiritually endowed of all beings. We borrow the false to cultivate the true, using this false, foul-smelling skin bag made up of the four great elements to cultivate freedom. The great awakening of the Tathagata and Buddha-nature are inherently present. Therefore, in our words and actions, we should not be egotistical or put the ego first, thinking that we are number one or the greatest, nor should we cling to fame and profit. These are all illusory! Only the original, inherent wisdom and luminous clarity are truly real and unfalse.
Two thousand six hundred years ago, Shakyamuni Buddha discovered the innate wisdom of our true nature. Now, as we study the Buddha Dharma and investigate the innate true goodness and Buddha-nature of our true nature, we are already Buddhas by nature. But because delusion arose from the true, we became confused, and so to this day we remain sentient beings.
There is flowing in dependence on water, just as delusive thoughts continue in dependence on the true. That is, the true and the false follow one another without ceasing: delusion arises from the true; call it true, and there is still a little falsehood in it; call it false, and there is still a little truth in it.
The arising and ceasing of a flame is like the arising and ceasing of the true and the deluded. That is, the true and the deluded arise and then cease. When delusion arises, delusion manifests; when delusion ceases, the true manifests again. This is delusion arising from the true.
Just as movement occurs through the wind, deluded activity arises in dependence on the true; this is ignorance. Hence the saying: “With one thought of non-enlightenment, the three subtle aspects arise”—they arise from ignorance. This is delusion arising from the true.
The earth element has the capacity to support; it is like the deluded being upheld by the true. The deluded remains within the true, just like the palm and the back of the hand. The palm is not separate from the back of the hand, nor is the back separate from the palm. That is why it is said that afflictions are enlightenment—this is the very same principle. Afflictions are not separate from enlightenment, and enlightenment is not separate from afflictions; they are one, just as water is ice and ice is water. Ice melts into water, and water freezes into ice. When there are afflictions, water has become ice; when there are no afflictions, the ice melts back into water—that is, afflictions transform into enlightenment. To return to the source is to return to our inherent nature. Do not let the water freeze into ice.
All dharmas are originally empty. Since they are empty, why did the Buddha have to teach the Dharma? It is because sentient beings have all kinds of discriminating thoughts. The Dharma was taught in its entirety to counteract all discriminating thoughts. Sentient beings originally have no discriminating thoughts; their inherent nature is originally suchness, unmoving, lucid and ever-bright. But because they are turned by their circumstances, they give rise to existence from emptiness, and so many discriminating thoughts arise. Bodhisattvas use all kinds of reasoning to describe all dharmas, but those reasonings are also illusory. Their sole purpose is to help sentient beings understand that all conditioned dharmas are illusory, like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows, like dew and lightning. Contemplate them in this way.
Also like a great mass of fire,
Fierce flames arise all at once,
Here and there, they do not know one another,
All dharmas are likewise.
Commentary: Bodhisattva Manjushri asked, “The nature of mind is one, so why do all kinds of karmic results appear?” Bodhisattva Jue Shou used various examples to illustrate all dharmas, saying that the nature of mind is like flowing water. Flowing water gives rise to many natural phenomena, yet they do not know one another. This principle had still not been fully explained, so he again brought up the fire element among the four great elements to clarify it.
Just as great fires come together and give rise to fierce flames, which burn after the flames before them, yet do not know one another, so too, the Buddha says, are all phenomena and the mind-nature of sentient beings: none know one another.
Again, like a long wind rising,
Stirring all things,
Each here and there knows not the other,
All dharmas are likewise,
Commentary: Again, it is like a strong wind: the wind in front leads the wind behind, and the wind behind pushes the wind in front. This principle is like flowing water. Sometimes wind arises, but there is no place it comes from; sometimes the wind stops, but there is no place it goes to. Sometimes the wind blows and moves things. The wind cannot be seen, so how do we know there is wind? By seeing grass, flowers, and trees moving, we know there is wind; this is movement.
Winds do not know one another: the wind in front does not know the wind behind, and the wind behind does not know that there is wind in front. Because wind has no inherent self-nature, the fundamental nature of all phenomena is likewise.
Long ago, the king was blessed with good fortune, the people were happy, and the rains and winds came in due season, bringing peace to the country and security to its people. At that time, there were five days of wind and one day of rain. The wind blew gently, not so hard that it made the trees rustle; the rain fell lightly, not eroding the soil or causing landslides. All the weather patterns followed their natural course. “Timely winds and timely rains”: when cool breezes were needed, cool breezes blew; when warm breezes were needed, warm breezes blew. When rain was needed, it rained; when snow was needed, it snowed—but there were absolutely no violent winds or torrential rains. This is what it means for the rains and winds to come in due season. Because the rain and wind were in harmony, the crops yielded a good harvest, and the people had enough to eat and warm clothes to wear. They lived in peace and contentment, everyone dwelling happily without worry. At that time, the country was peaceful and the people lived in comfort; this is what it means for the country to be at peace and its people to be secure.
The climate in ancient times was like this, unlike today’s climate, which is abnormal and out of balance. Sometimes there is no wind when there ought to be wind, and wind when there ought not to be any. At times, storms blow down houses and topple trees, causing severe disasters. Or, when it ought to rain, there is no rain; when it ought not to rain, it does. Sometimes the rain pours down as if water were being emptied out, flooding the fields and turning them into lakes, leaving people with no homes to live in. Why is it like this? Because people’s minds are no longer as they were in the past: greed, anger, and delusion have become too strong. They are selfish, seeking their own advantage and giving no thought to others, and so they must bear this kind of collective karmic retribution.
Just as the many earth realms,
They depend on one another in turn for support;
Each is unaware of the others.
All phenomena are likewise.
Commentary: Again, just as the entire great earth (the globe) rests upon space through successive supports. Therefore:
“The earth rests on water,
Water rests on wind,
Wind rests on space,
Space rests on nothing.” If the Earth did not move, it would be destroyed. Why? Because the wind could not hold it in place, and the Earth would leave its orbit. It is only by moving that the Earth generates the force that holds it in place and enables it to exist. The Earth and other Earths (each solar system has one Earth, and there are countless solar systems in the Milky Way) all move through space, each unaware of the others. The fundamental nature of all phenomena is the same.
Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body;
mind and all the sense faculties—
through these they continually transmigrate,
yet none can turn them.
Commentary: Our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, heart, and mind—the six faculties—are often turned by external circumstances. Why? Because of emotional attachments. If you sever all emotional attachments, you will not be swept along in birth and death or troubled by afflictions. And there is no one who acts as a master, controlling your six faculties and making them revolve in birth and death; rather, it is your own emotional attachments that keep them revolving. They are all unaware of one another; it is you yourself who transmigrates through the six realms of rebirth.
The nature of dharmas is originally unborn,
It manifests, and thus there is birth,
Within this, there is no one who manifests,
Nor is there anything manifested
Commentary: Dharma-nature is the true nature of all dharmas, and true nature is emptiness. Because it is empty, it is not born anywhere. Though it is not born anywhere, it can manifest and appear to arise, giving rise to those dharmas; this is arising without arising. Dharma-nature is originally true emptiness, yet it manifests as arising. This is wondrous existence, though it is not truly real. Although it is said that dharma-nature is originally empty, wondrous existence arises within true emptiness. This arising is not ultimate or complete, and is not permanent and indestructible.
Dharma-nature is originally unborn, yet appears as though born. This is not because there is a sovereign, nor because I cause it to arise or appear. What is the condition for this? Its source lies in the dharma that appears; there is no entity, no agent that manifests, and no object manifested. It is false from the outset, with no truly existent realm.
We take the illusory realm, which is unreal, to be real, not knowing that it is impermanent. Thus we cling to illusory existence and forget original true emptiness, taking illusory existence to be the real substance. If we break our attachment to illusory existence, we accord with the wondrous principle of original true emptiness.
Bhikkhu Assaji (one of the first five monks) came to the city of Sravasti to beg for alms. As he walked, his eyes did not wander; his bearing was dignified and solemn. On the road, Venerable Shariputra and Venerable Maudgalyayana met him. They had never seen anyone with a bearing as dignified and solemn as Bhikkhu Assaji’s, and were greatly astonished. In their hearts, they felt reverence for him. So they went up to Bhikkhu Assaji, joined their palms, and asked, “Virtuous friend! May I ask where you learned such a dignified bearing and solemn demeanor? We greatly admire you!” Bhikkhu Assaji then said:
All phenomena arise from conditions;
All phenomena cease through conditions.
Our Buddha, the Great Śramaṇa,
Always speaks words such as these.
That is to say, all dharmas arise from conditions and cease when their conditions cease. Because what arises dependently has no nature of its own, no inherent substance. My teacher is the Great Śramaṇa; he often says this to teach us to practice in accordance with the Dharma.
At that time, the Venerable Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana (the two who had studied under non-Buddhist teachers) heard this and attained awakening. Hence the saying: Listening to one Dharma talk is worth more than ten years of reading books.
The two of them went to pay homage to the Buddha and request that he expound the Dharma, hoping he would enlighten them so they could abandon wrong views and return to the right path. They brought two hundred disciples with them to take refuge in the Buddha and enter monastic life, becoming his disciples. Later, they became foremost in wisdom and foremost in supernatural powers, and both attained Arhatship. These are the principles: all dharmas arise from causes and conditions, and what arises dependently has no inherent nature.
Buddhism has only been introduced to the West relatively recently. All those who have renounced the household life should learn from Bhikkhu Mã Thắng, whose dignified and solemn bearing leaves a good impression on Westerners. Their words, gestures, and actions must all accord with proper decorum.
Whether a bhikshu or a bhikshuni, whenever you go outside, you must be careful and not act carelessly or compromise your dignity. The manas consciousness is the seventh consciousness. It takes the intent of the sixth consciousness and transmits it to the eighth consciousness. It is like a post office, relaying information back and forth. It is also the defiled root, because it is associated with the four fundamental afflictions: self-delusion, self-view, self-conceit, and self-love. Self-delusion is ignorance: being foolish about the mark of self and confused, unaware of the principle of no-self. Self-view is clinging to a self: in what is not the self, one falsely regards its nature as the self. Self-conceit is arrogance and pride: relying on the self one clings to, it makes the mind feel superior. Self-love is craving for the self: toward the self one clings to, it gives rise to deep attachment. It is also called the manas consciousness, translated as “thought and deliberation.” It continually deliberates on self-delusion, self-view, self-conceit, and self-love, without the slightest interruption. This is the fundamental deluded consciousness of all sentient beings.
The eighth consciousness is the Alaya consciousness, translated as “storehouse,” because it stores all wholesome and unwholesome seeds (the spiritual consciousness). All the actions and deeds of the seventh consciousness are stored in the storehouse of the eighth consciousness. If they are good seeds, they will bring wholesome karmic results in the future. If they are evil seeds, they will bring unwholesome karmic results in the future. In short, when deluded, it is the Alaya consciousness; when awakened, it is the Great Treasury of Bright Light.
However, the six sense faculties, in relation to the six sense objects, give rise to the six consciousnesses, yet they have no intrinsic nature and no real substance. Because sentient beings have discriminating minds, all kinds of consciousness arise. If there were no discriminating mind, there would be true emptiness, with no real substance to be found. Just as all mountains, rivers, and the great earth are originally still and silent, it is only because we have discriminating minds and minds of attachment that these realms appear.
Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body
Mind and all the sense faculties
All is empty, without intrinsic nature
It comes into being through the deluded mind’s discrimination
As one observes in accordance with reality
All things are without inherent nature
The Dharma Eye is inconceivable
This seeing is not deluded.
Commentary: If one contemplates all phenomena and all dharmas in accordance with principle, none of them has any inherent nature or substance. If one uses the Dharma Eye to contemplate them, they are all inconceivable realms. When one uses the Dharma Eye to contemplate all principles and phenomena, nothing one sees is deluded. But if one uses the eyes of an ordinary person to contemplate all principles and phenomena, everything one sees is deluded. Only when one has opened the Five Eyes and attained unobstructed spiritual powers is one’s seeing no longer deluded, but a seeing of things as they truly are.
If real or not real
If false or not false
The world and the world beyond
There are only false verbal expressions
Commentary: In the treatise of Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, it says:
“Whatever arises from causes and conditions,
I say is emptiness.
It is also a provisional designation;
This is also the meaning of the Middle Way.”
This verse says that all phenomena arising from causes and conditions have no inherent nature and no real substance; therefore, I say they are quiescent. They have only conventional names. Being neither a mere combination nor something formed by combination is the Middle Way. The meaning of the Middle Way is to lean neither toward emptiness nor toward existence, and to fall into neither extreme; this is the Middle Way. There is also another way of expressing it: neither clinging to annihilation nor clinging to permanence is the Middle Way. If one clings to annihilation, one leans toward emptiness. If one clings to permanence, one leans toward existence. To be attached to neither of the two extremes is the Middle Way.
In truth, it exists; in delusion, it does not. One may say that it exists, that it does not exist, that it both exists and does not exist, or that it neither exists nor does not exist. The Madhyamaka Treatise says:
“All dharmas are true,
All dharmas are not true;
Both true and not true,
Neither true nor not true
These are names for the Buddha’s teachings.”
The worldly dharmas and the supramundane dharmas are all merely provisional names. There is only talk of Dharma, but no true, actual fundamental substance. Whatever can be spoken is not ultimate truth. Ultimate truth cannot be spoken; there are no words that can express it, nor any writing that can describe it. Therefore, it is said that only provisional words are spoken.
This verse recapitulates in general what was stated in the preceding verse. This passage from the sutra uses the four great elements—earth, water, wind, and fire—as metaphors for the dharmas. Within each element are various analogies that reveal the true nature of the dharmas. Here, only water is used to clarify the principle of the true nature of the dharmas. Because water has a corresponding principle, it is presented as an analogy for the self-nature of suchness, which is also the true mind. Ten examples are now given: – The intrinsic nature of water is transparent. From above, one can see the bottom of the water. This is an example of the pure nature of the true mind, whose light shines everywhere.
– Water and mud mix together, becoming turbid and unclear. This is an analogy for the pure true mind, which is unstained yet becomes stained, losing its pure radiance.
– Although the water is turbid, its inherently pure nature is not lost; it still exists. This is an analogy for the pure true mind: although defiled, it is not lost; its purity still exists.
– When the mud settles to the bottom of the water, the water’s inherently pure nature becomes manifest again. This is analogous to a person’s true mind: when delusion is cleared away, one’s nature manifests. That is, when the delusions of views and thoughts, the dust-and-sand delusions, and ignorance are completely eradicated, one’s own nature (the true mind) then appears.
– When water encounters cold, it turns into ice and takes on the nature of hardness. This is analogous to the nature of the Tathāgatagarbha (the true mind) and ignorance combining with one another, giving rise to the eight consciousnesses and their activities.
I often say: “If you take a bowl of water and splash it on someone’s head, it won’t injure them, and they won’t feel any pain. But if you freeze a bowl of water into ice and strike someone on the head with it, at best it will split their head open and make it bleed; at worst, it will endanger their life and may even kill them. The same thing can have different effects.” — Although ice has the property of hardness, it does not lose its nature of softness. This is an analogy for our true mind: although it adapts to conditions, it remains unchanged. In other words, true principle also manifests in phenomena.
— Although water turns into ice, it melts back into water when exposed to heat. This is an analogy for the eight consciousnesses of human beings: although they are highly tenacious and difficult to transform into the four wisdoms, if one can transform the eight consciousnesses through cultivation of the Way, they will become pure and restore the nature of the Tathāgata-garbha.
Water, moved by the wind, forms waves, but the waves cannot change water’s original tranquil nature. This is an analogy for our Tathāgatagarbha nature: stirred by the wind of ignorance, it gives rise to waves of arising and ceasing.
The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch says this: The Sixth Patriarch was at Fa Xing Temple, and one day he heard two monks debating the question, “The wind moves, the banner moves.” — A monk said, “The wind moves; it is not the banner that moves.” A certain monk said, “The banner moves; it is not the wind that moves.” “Why? If there were no wind, the banner would not move. If there were no banner, how could the movement of the wind be shown?” For this reason, the two people argued without stopping. At that time, the Sixth Patriarch, who was there, said, “It is neither the wind moving nor the banner moving; it is your minds that are moving. That is to say, the waves in your minds are moving.” The wind blows and the waves move, but the still nature of the water does not move. The true nature of water has neither arising nor ceasing, and no waves. Therefore it is said: “It is not the wind that moves, nor the water that moves; your minds are moving.” This is a mind that is agitated; if the mind is still, there are no waves either.
Water follows the lay of the land, rising and falling according to its high and low points. The flow in front leads the flow behind, and thus it appears to flow; yet the intrinsic nature of water is unmoving. This is analogous to a person’s true mind: it flows according to conditions, but its intrinsic nature remains unmoving.
– Water in a container changes according to the shape of the container. If the container is square, it takes a square shape; if the container is round, it takes a round shape. But the nature of water itself does not change. This is analogous to the suchness that is the self-nature of human beings: it pervades all conditioned phenomena, yet its self-nature remains unmoved.
Water is used here as an analogy for suchness and one’s own nature. The pure true mind and the original face and luminous mind are all examples of this. Fire, wind, and earth also have various examples, but for the sake of time we will speak only about water; you can study the others on your own.
At that time, the Bodhisattva Manjushri asked the Bodhisattva Wealth Treasury, saying, “Child of the Buddha, all sentient beings are not sentient beings. How does the Tathagata, according to their time, lifespan, body, conduct, understanding, discourse, inclinations, skillful means, dispositions, and observations, manifest his body among such sentient beings in order to teach, transform, and discipline them?”
Commentary: After Bodhisattva Jueshou had finished speaking the verse, Bodhisattva Manjushri requested the Dharma from Bodhisattva Caishou, asking: “Disciple of the Buddha! All sentient beings are originally not sentient beings; that is, they are empty. Why, then, must the Buddha still liberate sentient beings? If the Buddha sees sentient beings as not empty, his wisdom is insufficient, and this amounts to slandering the Buddha. If the Buddha sees sentient beings as empty, yet still liberates no sentient beings, is that not contradictory? Please explain this in detail.” How are the ten matters explained? The Tathāgata teaches sentient beings according to their faculties and dispositions, teaching them all, whether they are mature or immature. If sentient beings have not planted roots of goodness, the Buddha causes them to plant roots of goodness, for only by planting roots of goodness does the bodhi sprout arise. For those in whom the bodhi sprout has already arisen, he causes their roots of goodness to grow. When their roots of goodness have grown, he causes them to mature. When their roots of goodness have matured, he causes them to attain liberation.
The Buddha observes the capacities of beings before teaching. That is, when the time comes to teach them, the Buddha goes to teach them; when the time has not yet come, the Buddha waits. In short, when their capacities have ripened, the Buddha will certainly come to teach them. So, since sentient beings are empty, why does the Buddha come to teach them?
Sentient beings have different lifespans, some long and some short. When beings are taught by the Buddha only once they have a long lifespan, the Buddha comes to teach them while their lifespan is long; when beings are taught by the Buddha only once they have a short lifespan, the Buddha teaches them while their lifespan is short. So, since sentient beings are empty, why does the Buddha teach them?
Sentient beings come in all kinds, with all kinds of different bodies. For example, humans have human bodies, animals have animal bodies, and sentient beings have many different kinds of bodies. The Buddha teaches them in accordance with the kind of body they have. Laozi said:
“The reason I have great trouble, is that I have a body.
If I had no body, what trouble would I have?”
A great affliction is a great worry and distress; it is also illness. Why do we suffer the affliction of worry? Because we have a body. Once we have a body, we develop a selfish mind. We worry about everything for the sake of this body: we look for a place to live for it, clothes for it, and food and drink for it. Food, clothing, and shelter—these three things must all be provided; not one can be lacking. If they are not all provided, we feel worried and distressed. Because we have this body, we have great affliction. If we did not have this body, there would be no self. Once we reach the state of having no self, what would there be left for us to worry about?
Killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and drinking in this world all arise because of this body. If we see through this body and, rather than acting for its sake, eradicate greed, cut off anger, and extinguish delusion, then there will be no worries or afflictions. If we are not selfish, our body will not accumulate bad karma either. When we cultivate the Way, we borrow the false to cultivate the true: we use this temporary, illusory body to cultivate the Dharma body and wisdom-life, thereby attaining Buddhahood. If we do not borrow the false to cultivate the true, we cannot attain Buddhahood. Therefore, the Buddha teaches and transforms sentient beings according to their time, lifespan, and bodies. Sentient beings are originally empty—so why teach and transform them? What principle is this? There was once a sixty-year-old man, a seventy-year-old man, and an eighty-year-old man who often gathered to investigate the matter of their own bodies. One day, they discussed the question of life and death. People come into the world in confusion and leave it in confusion. Born, then dying; dying, then being born—each person should state their opinion.
The sixty-year-old man said, “Everyone’s here for this year’s feast; who knows who’ll be missing next year?” At that time, the seventy-year-old man said, “Tonight, when I take off my shoes and socks, I don’t know whether I’ll be putting them on again tomorrow morning.” The eighty-year-old man said, “When this breath goes out, who knows whether another breath will come back?” Therefore, it is said: “Birth and death are a great matter; impermanence comes swiftly. Before you grow old, you must quickly apply yourself to cultivating the Way. Putting an end to birth and death is what matters. Those three old men were extraordinary in their efforts to cultivate the Way: they diligently recited the Buddha’s name, diligently practiced meditation, and cultivated the Way with vigor. To put an end to birth and death, they ate only one meal a day and had no deluded thoughts. As a result, all three old men attained liberation from birth and death. The ancients had a saying:” “Don’t wait until you’re old to practice the Way.” Desolate graves are full of young men.
If you wait until old age to think about cultivating the Way and transcending birth and death, it will already be too late. Look at the people outside the cemetery; they are all young. Therefore, there is a saying: “On the road to the Yellow Springs, there is no distinction between old and young.” That means: “The road to the underworld makes no distinction between young and old.” People can die at any time, at any moment. The verse with which Bodhisattva Samantabhadra admonished the assembly says:
The day has passed,
Our lives have diminished,
Like fish without water—
What joy can there be?
O great assembly!
Strive diligently,
As if putting out a fire on your head.
Remember impermanence;
Do not be heedless!
As each day passes, our lifespan diminishes a little. It is like the water in a river gradually drying up; the fish in it will be in danger of losing their lives. What joy can there be in that? Everyone, pay attention. You must always strive diligently and never be lax. Just as one must urgently put out a fire burning on one’s head and keep oneself safe, so too must one urgently cultivate the Way. Always remember impermanence, for you never know when it will come. So do not be heedless; be careful at every moment. When you attain freedom over birth and death, you will be able to control birth and death: if you wish to live, you live; if you wish to die, you die (this does not mean suicide). If you can firmly attain this, then you will have no illness at all. You must pay special attention to this point. Do not be swept along by birth and death.
Depending on the faculties of sentient beings, what Dharma should they practice? What Dharma does the Buddha use to teach them? For example, if sentient beings can be liberated through the Dharma-gate of the Six Perfections, the Buddha teaches them to cultivate the Six Perfections. The Six Perfections are giving, upholding precepts, patience, vigor, meditation, and wisdom. Giving overcomes stinginess and greed; upholding precepts overcomes killing; patience overcomes anger; vigor overcomes laziness; meditation overcomes distraction; and wisdom overcomes ignorance. That is why they are called the Six Perfections: they take one from this shore of birth and death, across the river of afflictions, to the other shore of Nirvana. If sentient beings can be liberated through the Dharma-gate of the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha then teaches them to cultivate the Four Noble Truths: suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path. He enables them to recognize suffering, eradicate its origin, aspire to cessation, and cultivate the path. If they practice in accordance with the Dharma, they may attain the fruits of the path. If sentient beings can be liberated through the Dharma-gate of the Twelve Causes and Conditions, the Buddha then teaches them to cultivate the Twelve Causes and Conditions: ignorance, formations, consciousness, name-consciousness, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, clinging, becoming, birth, aging, and death. These twelve links arise in dependence on one another. Once ignorance ceases, the other links have no basis on which to depend, and birth and death consequently come to an end. By cultivating in accordance with this Dharma, they will attain the fruit of the path. The Buddha observes the capacities of beings and teaches them a Dharma-gate for cultivation. This is adapting to their practices.
The Buddha expounds the Dharma in a single voice, and beings of different kinds each understand it clearly. Because sentient beings have different levels of wisdom, each kind understands the principles of the Buddha’s Dharma to a greater or lesser depth. The Buddha expounds the Dharma for beings in the six realms so that they may understand it clearly. This is adapting to their understanding.
Sentient beings come in many kinds, and their faculties also differ. Not to mention the many kinds of beings that fly, swim, move, or grow, or are born from eggs, wombs, moisture, or transformation—just among human beings, languages and written scripts, and the many different spoken tongues, are entirely different. The Buddha expounds the Dharma in whatever language sentient beings understand. This is adapting to their language.
All sentient beings have their own hopes. The Buddha accommodates their preferences and expounds the Dharma that brings them joy. Therefore, there is a saying:
“To lead them into the Buddha’s wisdom,
first hook them with desire.” In order to lead sentient beings into the Buddha’s wisdom, one first uses the Dharma they favor to guide them; only then will it be effective. By practicing in accordance with the Dharma in this way, they will attain the fruit of the Path. This is adapting to their preferences.
The Buddha teaches and transforms sentient beings by using all kinds of expedient Dharma-doors. If he does not understand the minds and intentions of sentient beings, he will not speak the Dharma in accordance with expedient means, and there will be no good results. This is following expedient means.
All sentient beings have their own thoughts. The Buddha must accord with the thoughts of sentient beings in order to teach and transform them; otherwise, he will waste many words without succeeding and achieve very little! Therefore, there is the saying, “Speak the Dharma for the person”: see what a person is thinking, and speak that Dharma. This is the Buddha’s guiding principle for teaching and transforming sentient beings. This is following their thoughts.
The Buddha not only accords with the thoughts of sentient beings in order to teach and transform them, but also accords with their observations in making observations. The Buddha contemplates the causes and conditions of sentient beings: What method should be used to teach and transform them? He then enables sentient beings to receive the Buddha-Dharma.
Earlier it was said that sentient beings are not sentient beings. Then why must the Buddha use all kinds of methods to teach and transform them, and to subdue them? What is the principle behind this? Ultimately, does the Buddha see sentient beings as existent or as nonexistent?
Then Bodhisattva Wealth Chief replied in verse, saying:
Commentary: At that time, the Great Bodhisattva Wealth Chief used verses to answer the questions asked by Bodhisattva Manjushri.
Sentient beings cling to all phenomena and do not understand the principle that all phenomena are impermanent, suffering, empty, and without self. Thus, they mistake defiled suffering for happiness. Fame and profit are minor matters, yet everyone is infatuated with them: if they are not seeking fame, they are seeking profit, and most people seek both. Although birth and death are matters of great importance, no one prepares in advance; when the time of death comes, they depart in confusion. Hence, there is a saying: “Fame and gain are small matters; everyone likes them.
Life and death are great matters; no one pays them any heed.” Therefore, they transmigrate through the six realms, being born and then dying, dying and then being born, birth after birth and death after death, death after death and birth after birth, birth and death without end; hence they are called sentient beings.
Sentient beings are born through the provisional coming together of many conditions, and are also formed through countless births. Because they are born so many times, they are called “sentient beings.” Where there are sentient beings, there are also countless deaths. The more births there are, the more deaths there are, so they may also be called “the many dead.” A single sentient being cannot know how many times it undergoes birth and death in the cycle of rebirth. So why does the cycle of birth and death not cease? Because craving and desire have not been ended. Craving and desire are the root of birth and death; where there is craving and desire, there is rebirth. Where there is rebirth, there is birth and death, no different from being caught in a dream. Hence, there is a saying:
The living dream a dream,
The dead dream a dream.
In the dream, the body is rich and noble;
Awake from the dream, it is utterly poor.
Always lying in a dream,
Unaware of the yellow-millet dream.
If one does not awaken within the dream,
What a wasted dream.
While people are alive, they are dreaming; when they die, only then is the dream finished. In their dreams, they may be promoted and make a fortune, have beautiful wives and lovely concubines, pass the imperial examinations, or become prime minister, enjoying endless honor, wealth, and luxury. But when they awaken, they are still poor, without a single coin to their name, wandering here and there. The seven treasures are right there in the dream; everything is good, and whatever they want, they have. Yet when they awaken, they have nothing at all; they are still alone, with nothing. Every day, they dream the Yellow Millet Dream. What is the Yellow Millet Dream? It is to pass the highest imperial examination in a dream, become a high official, have a house full of children and grandchildren, and enjoy wealth and honor—all for several decades. When they awaken, the innkeeper who was cooking millet rice for them has not even finished cooking it! If they do not awaken from the dream, what a wasted dream of spring.
This is the bliss of quiescent extinction,
The realm of the learned.
I proclaim it for you;
Now you should listen and receive it.
Commentary: This Dharma is one of quiescence, which people delight in and cherish. What is quiescence? It is the essence of quiescence, apart from all characteristics. Being free of afflictions is quiescence; completely ending suffering and calamities is stillness. This is also Nirvana.
Extensive learning means learning broadly and hearing much. Delve deeply into the treasury of the sutras and increase the wisdom gained through hearing. Skillfully contemplate the true nature of all phenomena; this is the wisdom of reflection. After reflecting, one then practices; this is the wisdom of practice. Skillfully applying the three wisdoms of hearing, reflection, and practice is the realm of extensive learning.
Venerable Ananda was foremost in learning. He remembered clearly all the scriptures spoken by the Buddha because his memory was exceptional: once something entered his ears, he remembered it and never forgot it, like a tape recorder.
Bodhisattva Wealth Leader said to Bodhisattva Manjushri, “I will now expound for you the Dharma of how the Buddhas save sentient beings. You are the representative who has asked about the Dharma, so please listen attentively and receive this Dharma.”
Analytically contemplate the inner body
Who among these is the self?
If one can understand it in this way
One realizes whether the self exists or not.
Commentary: We are too attached. Attached to what? Attached to the “I.” This “I” is taller than Mount Sumeru and bigger than the four seas. This “I” argues over who wins and loses, contends for fame and profit, compares heroes and discusses great men. For the sake of this “I,” we provide it with food and drink, entertainment, and every kind of enjoyment. Every day we are its slaves, yet we do not know how to see through it or let it go. And so, every day, we are not free.
Bodhisattva Wealth-Holder said: “You must carefully examine both inside and outside the body; you cannot find it. From head to toe, every part has its own name. The head is called the head, the five sense organs are called the five sense organs, the limbs are called the limbs, and the feet are called the feet. You cannot find the ‘I’ outside the body. The five viscera and six bowels inside the body also each have their own names. The five viscera are the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys; the six bowels are the stomach, gallbladder, triple burner, bladder, large intestine, and small intestine. In these, too, you cannot find the ‘I.’ So, ultimately, who is the ‘I’? Since you cannot find the ‘I,’ why still cling to the ‘I’? You must understand clearly that there is no ‘I’ inside, and no ‘I’ outside. Therefore, there is a saying:”
Within, there is neither body nor mind; outside, there is no world.
Or:
Within, contemplate the mind: the mind is no mind.
Without, contemplate form: form is no form.
From afar, contemplate things: things are no things.
All three are empty; all one sees is emptiness. The body is inherently empty. If the body is empty, why still cling to it? What kind of suffering is it to become deluded because of it? If you think this way, you will clearly understand that ultimately there is no “I.” If there is an “I,” then who am I? Who is the “I”? Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing dynasty wrote this verse: “Before I was born, who was I? When I was born, who was I? When I grew up and became a person, that was me; when my eyes close and all grows dim, who is it?” Reflect deeply on this principle. Since you cannot find an “I,” why devote yourself to helping the “I”? In your mind, you cling to things: This is mine; that is mine. You cannot even bear it when someone insults you, and if someone hits you, you can bear it even less. Driven by this false “I,” you become utterly deluded. That is why the Buddha said, “These sentient beings are truly pitiful!”
This body is provisionally established
Its dwelling place has no location
Clearly understand that this body is illusory
Within it, there is nothing to cling to
Commentary: The bodies of all sentient beings are formed from the temporary conjunction of the four great elements: earth, water, wind, and fire. If we seek their true place of existence, we cannot find anywhere that they exist. If we carefully examine and understand that this body appears through the conjunction of the four great elements, we will not become attached to it. Not clinging to the body or to the self in this way enables us to break the attachment to self. Once the attachment to self is broken, attachment to phenomena is very easy to break. If attachment to self is not broken, attachment to phenomena is not easy to break. I hope everyone will pay attention to this point. As people who study the Buddhadharma, we must first see through this body as empty, or see through it as illusory. Then we will not become attached, and at that point we will be liberated and free.
Skillfully observing the body
All are clearly seen
Knowing all dharmas are illusory
No discriminating thoughts arise.
Commentary: Carefully contemplate the bodies of sentient beings. What should be contemplated? Ultimately, what is the self? What is not the self? Ultimately, is it real or false? If it is the self, why can I not control it? When the eyes grow dim, I cannot tell them not to; when the ears become deaf, I cannot tell them not to; when the teeth fall out, I cannot tell them not to; when the skin wrinkles, I cannot tell it not to wrinkle. Therefore, I cannot control it. One must contemplate both within and outside the body in order to realize that all phenomena are illusory. The Diamond Sutra says:
“All conditioned phenomena
Are like dreams, illusions, foam, and bubbles;
Like dew, and like lightning.
Contemplate them in this way.”
That’s how it is. So don’t cling, and no discriminating thoughts will arise.
Who causes the lifespan to arise?
And who causes it to perish?
Like a whirling wheel of fire,
Its beginning and end cannot be known.
Commentary: Who brings the human lifespan into being, and who is its master of destruction? This life is like a whirling circle of fire; one cannot find its beginning or end. Because it keeps revolving without stopping, which comes first and which comes later? There is no way to know. Since there is neither a beginning nor an end, what comes before and after is unclear. This is what we mean by our lifespan: when we arrive, we do not know how we came; when we depart, we do not know how we go. We arrive in confusion and depart in confusion. The matter of birth and death is not clear to us in the least.
The wise can observe
All existence is impermanent
All dharmas are empty and without self
Forever apart from all characteristics.
Commentary: How does one attain wisdom? First, one must uphold the precepts, then cultivate concentration. From concentration, one attains true wisdom. Only with wisdom can the mind become pure. Therefore, there is a saying:
A clear mind—the moon appears in the water;
A pure intention—the sky is cloudless.
A calm heart— a hundred troubles disperse;
A steadfast intention—all things are auspicious.
Our true nature is inherently pure, like water. If mud and dirt keep stirring up the water without stopping, the water will become polluted and murky. We human beings are murky and impure because the pure true mind and ignorance have joined together as one. Thus, they combine to form the false mind. At this point, if we uphold the precepts and have no discriminating mind—that is, if we do not give rise to false thoughts—and refrain from all evil (having no selfish thoughts) while doing all good (being completely selfless), then it is like water and mud mixed together: if they are not stirred up, the water will naturally settle little by little. If we want it to settle, we must cultivate samadhi. The power of samadhi will enable the murky water to become clear and pure again; purity is wisdom. In short, take a basin of muddy water (ignorance) and put white alum (cultivation) into it; the water will gradually settle and become clear (wisdom). At that time, do not stir it up (with false thoughts), or the mud that has settled at the bottom (ignorance) will be stirred up again, and the water will become murky (ignorance).
A person with wisdom has a complete Dharma-Selecting Eye. They can clearly distinguish right Dharma from wrong Dharma, wholesome Dharma from unwholesome Dharma. Originally, there is no discriminating mind, but this is discrimination by the Dharma-Selecting Eye, not discrimination through a deluded mind. In short, it is discrimination through wisdom. This is like clear water: you can see all the way down through it. When observing things, it is like looking into a basin of muddy water that has not yet settled and cleared; no matter how you distinguish things, they will not be clear. Once the water has settled and cleared, wisdom can discern right from wrong, and things will become clear. Without wisdom, but with discrimination, this is merely a kind of deluded discrimination between true and false. This discriminating mind cannot help you see things clearly. If you are off by just a little, you will be mistaken. Thus, there is a saying: “A deviation of a hair’s breadth leads a thousand miles astray.” The wise contemplate all conditioned phenomena as impermanent. The Diamond Sutra says:
All appearances are illusory.
If you see that appearances are not appearances,
then you see the Tathagata.
All dharmas are empty and devoid of self. If one is apart from all conditioned phenomena that have form and characteristics, then there will be no attachment.
All karmic retributions arise according to karma,
Like a dream, they are not real,
Moment by moment, they are constantly destroyed,
The same is true before and after,
Commentary: While we are in this world, we become deluded, create karma, and undergo retribution. Delusion arises from ignorance, giving rise to doubt. Once born, we go on to create all kinds of karma. Because we create all kinds of karma, we must endure all kinds of retribution. This is an unchanging law. When we can break through delusion, our true mind will manifest; only then will karmic retribution cease. Thus it is said that all retributions arise according to karma: every consequence arises from the karma sentient beings create. In short, whatever karma one creates, that is the retribution one receives. Hence, there is this saying:
“Sow good karma, reap good results.
Sow evil karma, reap evil results.”
This principle is not wrong by so much as a hair’s breadth. However, the various karmic retributions arise according to karma, yet are like a dream and do not truly exist. Our bodies are only illusorily existent; how much less real, then, are other things? Do not cling to the body; it is not a good thing. You look after it, protect it, and cherish it; you fear it will be cold, fear it will be hot, fear it will be hungry, and fear it will be thirsty. From morning till night, you stay busy and distracted over this stinking skin-bag. In the end, when the time comes, it runs off ahead of you, paying you no heed.
This body and all karma exist moment by moment, undergoing arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing; moment by moment, there is formation, abiding, destruction, and emptiness. It is always like this, without pause. Karmic retribution is like waves: one wave leads to the next, and the next in turn pushes the one before it. When one wave subsides, the next rises; this is how it goes, one after another.
The dharmas perceived by the world,
Are made subject to the mind alone,
According to their understanding, they grasp various characteristics;
Deluded, they are not as they truly are.
Commentary: In the world, the way all phenomena are perceived is entirely governed by the mind. Hence the saying, “Everything is created by the mind.” If there were no mind, there would be no phenomena. This comes from following the mind’s deluded thoughts, clinging to and grasping all appearances, and failing to clearly recognize one’s own true mind: one’s self-nature, suchness, unmoving, clear and ever-luminous. To follow discriminating deluded thoughts and grasp at appearances is to be inverted; it is an unreal teaching. The self-nature is originally neither arising nor ceasing, neither defiled nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing. How, then, could there be attachment to appearances?
All that the world speaks of
Is entirely discrimination.
Never has a single dharma
Entered into the nature of dharmas.
Commentary: Every country in the world has its own language. Each is a conditioned dharma marked by distinctions, not an unconditioned dharma free of distinctions. Within this dharma, there is not a single dharma that can enter its own true dharma-nature; that is, there is not a single dharma that has the nature of dharma.
The power of the perceiver and the perceived,
Various dharmas arise,
They swiftly perish, never pausing,
Every moment is just so,
Commentary: Following deluded thoughts and pursuing states is the active conditioning factor. The states being pursued are the object of that conditioning. The active aspect initiates and has a certain capacity; the passive aspect is acted upon and also has a certain capacity. Here, all kinds of phenomena arise. Yet the power of the active and passive conditioning factors gives rise to phenomena that quickly perish. Hence the saying: “Thought after thought passes; thought after thought never ceases.” Because they never cease, they are impermanent—all are phenomena that arise and cease without pause.
We sentient beings have deluded thoughts and attachments. We generate afflictions where there are none, and create matters where there are none. This is turning our backs on enlightenment and becoming caught up in the dust and toil of the world. Turning our backs on enlightenment means having no wisdom; becoming caught up in the dust and toil is ignorance. Once ignorance arises, we cling to all illusory states within conditioned phenomena, taking them to be truly existent.
The verse mentioned above, generally speaking, has three kinds of nature:
- The nature of pervasive conceptualization and attachment.
- The dependent-arising nature.
- The perfected-real nature.
What is the nature of pervasive conceptualization and attachment? It is the nature of conceptualizing everywhere and clinging to everything as truly existent. What is the dependent-arising nature? It is the arising of thoughts and mental activity in dependence on causes and conditions. To realize true emptiness by turning upward is the perfected-real nature; to give rise to discrimination by turning downward is the nature of pervasive conceptualization and attachment. What is the perfected-real nature? It is the complete fulfillment of the true, numinous nature.
For example, while walking along a road in the dark of night, you see a long black rope lying on the road and become suspicious: “It might be a snake! Snakes are poisonous; a bite can kill someone.” And so fear arises. Later, on looking at it closely, you see clearly that it is a rope. Then you cut the rope into pieces. Each piece arises through causes and conditions and ceases through causes and conditions; it has no intrinsic nature, and is therefore empty.
In short, the nature of imagined construction consists in imputing a real self and real dharmas to all phenomena, like mistaking a rope for a snake. This is the function of the nature of imagined construction. Arising in dependence on the coming together of various conditions, like seeing a rope in each of its separate strands, is the function of the nature of dependent arising. When the mind is perfectly clear and luminous and is not grasped by deluded consciousness, it leaves behind the natures of dependent arising and imagined construction, attains the patience with the non-arising of dharmas, and realizes only true emptiness, perfectly and truly fulfilled—like each strand being empty. This is the function of the nature of perfect fulfillment.
We all have deluded attachments, taking the false for the real and suffering for joy; we cannot see anything clearly. Because we do not see clearly, we become more and more deeply deluded. This is precisely the state of abandoning enlightenment and merging with the dust of the world.
If you let go of the dust, you will accord with awakening. Letting go of the defiled mind attached to worldly phenomena is precisely the purity of one’s own nature. If you do not relinquish the defiled mind, your inherent, true wisdom cannot manifest.
Some people are very intelligent and have a strong memory. Why? Because in their previous lives they had fewer deluded thoughts, so they are intelligent in this life. The fewer deluded thoughts they have in this life, the more intelligent they will certainly be in the next life compared with this one. If they have many deluded thoughts in this life, they will exhaust all the wisdom and intelligence they gained in their previous life, and become even more foolish in the next life. If one cannot make use of one’s wisdom, one gives rise to upside-down deluded thoughts; if one knows how to use one’s wisdom, one has even fewer deluded thoughts. In short, intelligent people have somewhat fewer deluded thoughts in their minds, while foolish people have somewhat more. Why? Because their mental faculties differ, so they see things differently.
Delusions mean having a discriminating mind and a mind that clings to things. People with wisdom have very few delusions. They see things clearly and awaken to them, thereby leaving the world; they know without needing to entertain delusions, and so they can transcend the Three Realms. Foolish and ignorant people have many delusions. They are confused by what they see and sink into the cycle of rebirth; whatever they encounter, they become confused by it. They cannot distinguish truth from falsehood or right from wrong, and so they fall into the three evil paths.
People with wisdom can accomplish things; people without wisdom have things happen to them. People with wisdom can transform their circumstances; people without wisdom are transformed by their circumstances. That is the key.
Therefore, when listening to sutras and hearing the Dharma, you must not put another head on top of your own. It is originally very easy to understand, but if you keep wandering off to one side to think about it, what was originally clear becomes unclear. The more you seek, the farther away you get; you become ever more distant from your own nature. Why is this? Because you lack the eye for discerning the Dharma. If you have the eye for discerning the Dharma, then whatever Dharma comes, you welcome and understand it without expending the slightest effort.
Edit When we study the Buddhadharma, we must primarily delve deeply into the treasury of the sutras in order to attain wisdom as vast as the ocean; we should not expend our efforts on the surface. It is like ants eating a melon: if they keep eating only the rind, they waste their efforts and gain nothing. They must find a way to bore into the melon to savor its sweetness. The same is true when we study the Buddhadharma: we must delve deeply into the scriptures to experience its wondrous flavor.
At that time, Bodhisattva Manjushri asked Bodhisattva Bao Shou, saying: “Son of the Buddha, all sentient beings equally possess the four great elements and are without a self or anything belonging to a self. How, then, are there those who experience suffering or happiness; are handsome or ugly; are good inwardly or outwardly; have short or long lifespans; or receive retribution in this life or in a future life? Yet within the Dharma realm, there is neither beauty nor ugliness.”
Commentary: After Bodhisattva Wealth Hand had finished speaking the verse, Bodhisattva Manjushri then turned to Bodhisattva Jewel Hand to request the Dharma, and asked: “Buddha-son! The bodies of all sentient beings are equal, formed from the four great elements of earth, water, wind, and fire. Within these four elements there is no self, nor anything that belongs to a self. Since there is no self and nothing that belongs to me, who is undergoing the retribution of suffering, and who is enjoying happiness? I do not understand this matter clearly. Please explain it fully.” Again, someone asked: “Certainly there is no self, nothing that belongs to me, no one who suffers, and no one who enjoys happiness. Then why are there beautiful features and ugly features? Why are some good in their hearts, and others good in outward appearance? Why are some short-lived and others long-lived? Why does one sometimes create karma in this life and receive its retribution in this life, and sometimes create karma in this life and suffer its retribution in a future life? Why are there so many different realms like this? If that is so, then in the Dharma Realm there is fundamentally nothing good, nor anything that is not good. Where, then, do suffering and happiness arise from? This is truly a difficult question to understand.” In the work *Contemplation of Cause and Effect in Three Lifetimes* (composed by Chan Master Fo Yin during the Song dynasty), it says:
What is the cause of wealth and honor in this life?
In a former life, one gave money to make Buddha statues.
What is the cause of poverty in this life?
In a former life, one did not help the poor.
What is the cause of being beautiful in this life?
In a past life, one offered incense and lamps to the Buddha.
What is the cause of being ugly in this life?
In a past life, one kept one’s body impure before the Buddha.
Therefore, it can be seen that whether people live long or short lives, are rich or poor, noble or lowly, good or bad, or encounter ease or adversity, all are determined by what they created in a previous life. Hence the saying:
If you did not cultivate in a past life, you suffer in this life.
If you do not cultivate in this life, you will suffer in the next.
What should we cultivate? We cultivate merit and virtue, blessings and wisdom. When we have cultivated abundant merit and virtue, blessings and wisdom will naturally be complete. In the past, the Buddha cultivated blessings and wisdom for three asamkhyeya kalpas and planted the marks of excellence for a hundred kalpas. Because of this merit and virtue, in this life he was endowed with the thirty-two auspicious marks and dignified appearance, and with great wisdom surpassing others. All of this came from cultivating merit and virtue.
At that time, Bodhisattva Jewel Hand replied in verse, saying: At that time, the Bodhisattva Jewel Hand replied in verse, saying: Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Jewel Hand heard Bodhisattva Manjushri’s question and then answered in verse: Why do sentient beings suffer? Are there sentient beings who enjoy happiness? Are there some who suffer little and others who suffer much? Are there people who receive karmic retribution in this life? Are there some who receive karmic retribution in a future life? All kinds of questions.
According to the karma of their deeds,
Thus the karmic result arises,
There is no agent,
This is what the Buddhas teach,
Commentary: Sentient beings must undergo the karmic consequences corresponding to the karma they create. Laozi said:
“Misfortune and fortune have no gate; people bring them upon themselves.
The consequences of good and evil follow like a shadow follows the body.”
Misfortune has no door, and blessing has no door; in other words, look at what karma you create, and you will bear the corresponding karmic result. If you do good deeds, you will reap good results; if you do evil deeds, you will reap evil results. It is like a shadow following the body, never parting from it. For example, if you create the karma of killing, in the future you will suffer the result of being killed by others; if you create the karma of stealing or sexual misconduct, in the future you will suffer the result of having things stolen from you or being subjected to sexual misconduct by others; if you create the karma of lying or drinking alcohol, in the future you will suffer the result of being lied to by others or becoming immersed in drunkenness. So whatever karma you create, you will bear its corresponding result, without the slightest error. That is how karmic results come about.
It is not that someone is directing you to create karma; you create it yourself. Because delusion arises, you create karma. Once you have created karmic obstructions, you must undergo the consequences. This is an invariable principle; there is absolutely no chance of escaping the consequences. This is a natural law. Nor is there anyone who comes to judge you or help you; you alone bear the responsibility. In other words, “You do it, you bear it.” The Old Testament of the Bible says: God made Adam out of mud, then had him tend the Garden of Eden. Later, He felt that Adam was too lonely and had no one to befriend and confide in, so He used Adam’s bones and sinews to create a woman named Eve. The two were very close and tended the garden together. One day, a snake came and said to Eve, “The fruit of Eden can beautify your appearance.” Curious, Eve ate the fruit of good and evil (the Eden fruit). Originally, God had forbidden them to eat it, but they did not listen and ate it anyway. Doesn’t this prove that God still wasn’t able to exercise control? If God could control things, then when He told them not to eat the fruit, they should not have eaten it. But they did eat it—so this was God’s fault. Why did He create the fruit of good and evil on the tree? Wasn’t that preparing it for people to eat? This is not reasonable.
In karma, there is no creator and no one who controls it. No one tells you to act in a certain way, nor does anyone tell you not to; rather, you yourself follow the karma you have created and experience its consequences. This is the principle taught by the Buddhas.
Just like a pure, bright mirror,
According to the objects before it,
It manifests forms, each different,
The nature of karma is likewise.
Commentary: It is like a clean, bright mirror: whoever comes before it, that person’s image appears, and the images that appear are all different. Hence the saying, “When a Buddha comes, a Buddha appears; when a demon comes, a demon appears”—this is very clear. The nature of karma is also like a bright mirror: whatever karma one creates, one receives the corresponding karmic result. The karma each sentient being creates, and the results they experience, are also different.
Also like seeds in a field,
Each one knows nothing of the others,
Naturally, they can come forth,
The nature of karma is likewise,
Commentary: Just as fields contain all kinds of different seeds—wheat and so on—even the sprouts that emerge are different. Every kind of grain has many varieties. When those seeds are sown in fields, they do not know one another at all. Yet although they do not know one another, they naturally sprout. Seeds sown in fields grow by virtue of all kinds of causes and conditions. The nature of karma is the same. The wholesome karma, unwholesome karma, or indeterminate karma that has been created all accords with the principle of grains. Therefore, it says:
“Plant rice and you get rice
Plant wheat and you get wheat
Plant melons and you get melons
Plant beans and you get beans.”
Whatever you plant is what you get, without fail.
Like a skilled illusionist,
At that crossroads,
Displaying forms of every kind,
So too is the nature of karma.
Commentary: Again, he is like a magician, able to conjure up all kinds of appearances. He can turn something into nothing and nothing into something, transforming endlessly. There is and there is not; there is, there is not; there is not, there is. With a thousand transformations and ten thousand changes, he leaves onlookers not knowing what is going on. For example, hens usually lay eggs, but he can conjure up eggs without a hen. Normally, chicks hatch from eggs, but he can produce chicks without incubating eggs. It is truly wondrous beyond words.
That illusionist, performing his tricks at a busy crossroads, can swallow a knife into his belly and spit fire into the air. He performs with such ease that people are amazed. He manifests all kinds of forms. The nature of our karma is just like that.
Like a mechanical wooden person,
It can produce all kinds of sounds.
That is no-self, not-self;
The nature of karma is likewise.
Commentary: It is like making a wooden automaton that can automatically produce all kinds of speech. It is also like radios and televisions nowadays: although there are no real people inside, someone is speaking and singing. This automaton has no thoughts and no faculty of discrimination. It does not think, “I am a wooden automaton” or “I am not a wooden automaton.” There is neither a self nor a non-self. The wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate karma we create is all governed by this same principle. If we understand this principle clearly, we should not cling to the existence of a self.
Just as the many kinds of birds
Are born from eggs,
Their songs are all different;
So too is the nature of karma.
Commentary: Just as there are tens of millions of kinds of birds, the songs of each kind are different, and so are their forms. Yet all birds are born from eggs. Their songs are all different, each with its own distinct song. The karma people create is likewise: no two people are alike. Some have a little more wholesome karma, some a little more unwholesome karma, and some have equal amounts of wholesome and unwholesome karma. The retribution they experience in the future also differs.
For example, within the womb
all the faculties are fully formed
the body’s form has no place of origin
the nature of karma is likewise
Commentary: For example, how exactly does a fetus grow in its mother’s womb? Even the mother herself does not know; the fetus grows without anyone being aware of it. To understand the principles of gestation, one can study the Dharma gate of the Twelve Nidānas. What are the Twelve Nidānas? They are:
- Ignorance.
- Formations.
- Consciousness.
- Name and form.
- The six sense bases.
- Contact.
- Feeling.
- Craving.
- Clinging.
- Becoming.
- Birth.
- Aging and death.
The twelve links of dependent origination, when explained according to the mode of arising, are as follows: ignorance conditions formations; formations condition consciousness; consciousness conditions name and form; name and form condition the six sense bases; the six sense bases condition contact; contact conditions feeling; feeling conditions craving; craving conditions clinging; clinging conditions becoming; becoming conditions birth; and birth conditions aging and death. In this way, one cycles through birth and death. When explained according to the gate of cessation, they are as follows: when ignorance ceases, formations cease; when formations cease, consciousness ceases; when consciousness ceases, name and form cease; when name and form cease, the six sense bases cease; when the six sense bases cease, contact ceases; when contact ceases, feeling ceases; when feeling ceases, craving ceases; when craving ceases, clinging ceases; when clinging ceases, becoming ceases; when becoming ceases, birth ceases; and when birth ceases, aging and death cease. In this way, one escapes the three realms, no longer suffers in the cycle of rebirth, and attains the bliss of Nirvana. The twelve links of dependent origination are briefly explained as follows:
Ignorance: That is, not understanding; it also means being confused. Ignorance is the root of foolishness. Why are people foolish? Because ignorance gives rise to craving (love). They drift in the sea of desire and follow the current of birth and death. Take men and women who fall in love with each other: why does such a feeling of love arise? Because there are thoughts of desire. Why are there thoughts of desire? Because ignorance is at work. This ignorance is obscured by deluded views. Therefore, when men and women see each other, they are bewitched by romantic love. When a man and woman love each other, someone may ask him, “Why do you love her?” Or, if asked in the opposite case, the answer may be, “I don’t know.” Not knowing is ignorance. It is merely a different name; in fact, it is ignorance.
Volitional formations: That is, behavior. What kind of behavior? Behavior between men and women. Sexual intercourse between men and women is the root of birth and death. If there were no sexual activity, the sea of desire would dry up and the current of birth and death would also cease. All sentient beings feel that sexual activity is the greatest pleasure in human life, so they cannot see through it or let it go. With all sentient beings thinking this way, they cannot escape the cycle of rebirth in the six realms, but keep going round and round in it.
Consciousness: That is, the intermediate state being; it is also the spirit-consciousness. When a man and a woman have sexual intercourse, a very faint light appears. Even if an intermediate state being is thousands upon thousands of miles away, if it has a karmic connection with the parents, it will see the light and come to be conceived. This consciousness is the seed of birth. It is formed when the father’s semen and the mother’s blood combine, becoming an embryo. The first seven days are called the “coagulated-fluid stage” (semen and blood mixed into one substance). In the second week it changes into soft flesh and becomes an embryo. It is like the white of a chicken egg: it is the embryo of the chick, and only with it can a chick be hatched. The father’s semen and the mother’s blood are wondrous existence. Within wondrous existence there is also true emptiness. True emptiness is consciousness. Before an embryo is formed, there is the intermediate state being; once an embryo is formed, there is consciousness.
Name and form: In the fourth week, it gradually becomes a round, firm mass of flesh, called name and form. “Name” refers to the four aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness among the five aggregates; “form” is the form aggregate among the five. Thus, the human body is made up of the five aggregates. At this time, the fetus has a nervous system and a physiological system, but has not yet taken shape; its limbs have not separated, its sense organs have not yet developed, and it is only a firm mass of flesh.
The six sense bases: Once there is name and form, there are the six sense bases. At this time, while the fetus is in its mother’s womb, the six faculties—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—develop without anyone being aware of it. But no one knows on which day each faculty develops. This is mysterious and wondrous, and there is no way to know.
Contact: That is, sensation. After the fetus has spent two hundred and eighty days in its mother’s womb, its six faculties are complete and begin to function, and it then enters the human world. When the six faculties come into contact with the six sense objects, the six consciousnesses begin to function: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling, and knowing—the six kinds of faculties. From the time a child leaves the womb until the age of three, it has only perception and cannot yet distinguish pleasure from pain; it does not develop feelings of love or aversion.
Feeling: Once there is contact, there is experience. From the age of four onward, children develop the seven emotions and six desires, and they have hopes and schemes concerning food, toys, and so on. When they encounter favorable circumstances, they feel happy; when they encounter adverse circumstances, they feel pain. At that time, feelings of love and aversion begin to function.
Craving: Once there is feeling, craving arises. This stage refers to around the ages of sixteen or seventeen. One becomes attached to money, material things, and physical beauty, and all kinds of desires arise; one clings and will not let go. It is like men and women who love each other and touch one another. When they use their hands to touch each other’s bodies, they feel great pleasure. This is because, while in the womb, they acquired this habitual tendency. Thus, after being born, love arises from thought.
Clinging: Once there is love, one wants to possess the loved one as one’s own. Why hold on? Because one wants to possess the other and have them belong to oneself. Thus, a selfish mind arises. Why do people have selfish minds that benefit themselves? Because there is clinging, they create karma through body, speech, and mind. In order to achieve their aims, they stop at nothing and use every scheme to take things for themselves; yet they cannot even sleep peacefully.
Once there is clinging, there is becoming. Hence the thoughts arise: “This is me; that is me. This is mine; this is what I love.” For example, someone may like cars and go buy a new one. Someone may covet a fine house and go buy a luxurious one. Craving leads to clinging, and clinging gives rise to selfishness. Broadly speaking, money, material things, and men and women all come into one’s possession through clinging. Becoming is the cause for creating karma; in the future, one is destined to receive the suffering of karmic retribution.
Birth: Once there are seeds of good and evil (the eighth consciousness, the ālaya consciousness), when the conditions mature, one goes to be reborn. It is like a man and woman who marry and then have children: birth and death, death and birth, endlessly, without end. This is because the seed of birth will produce birth when it encounters the opportunity.
Aging and death: Once there is birth, there are aging and death. This is the principle of the twelve links of dependent origination: because there is ignorance, the causes and conditions connecting the three lives arise and revolve in an unending cycle.
The embryo is formed through the twelve links of dependent origination, and so the six faculties—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—are fully developed. A person may have a beautiful appearance or an unattractive one; this is due to the karmic force one has brought upon oneself. Where do physical characteristics come from? If one says they come from the father’s semen and the mother’s blood, the father’s semen and the mother’s blood have no physical characteristics, and those characteristics only appear later. Will one undergo the suffering of painful retribution or the happiness of pleasant retribution? Or will one receive retribution in this life, or in a future life? The nature of karma is likewise, as is the principle of the fetus.
Again, as in hell,
All kinds of suffering,
They all arise from no source,
The nature of karma is likewise
Commentary: Likewise, when sentient beings create all kinds of evil karma, they must suffer evil retribution and fall into all the hells. There are many kinds of hells, but because of time constraints, we cannot explain them all in detail. Now we will briefly discuss four hells as a cautionary reminder.
**The Hell of the Knife Mountain:** Everywhere in this hell, sharp knives point upward. The wardens toss the sinners onto the knife points, which pierce their bodies. The condemned bleed to death, but when the Qiao Wind blows, they come back to life and are punished again, over and over. Those in the world who do not follow the proper path but instead follow evil ways and accumulate many evil deeds will, after death, fall into the Hell of the Knife Mountain, suffer there, and walk on sharp knives.
**The Hell of Boiling Oil:** In this hell there is a large cauldron of boiling oil, bubbling fiercely. Sinners who fall into it are boiled and fried. This is the punishment awaiting those who, while in the world, commit such crimes as killing their father or mother, killing a monastic, disrupting the Sangha’s communal life, destroying Buddha images, or committing the five heinous offenses, and so on.
**The Hell of Tongue-Cutting:** The sinners’ tongues are pulled out and cut off, leaving them mute. This is the punishment awaiting those who, while in the world, are always talking about others’ faults, slandering others, damaging their reputations, sowing discord, or fabricating stories to speak ill of others.
**The Hell of Embracing the Red-Hot Copper Pillar:** In this hell there is a round copper pillar, with a blazing fire burning inside it. Those in the world whose minds are overwhelmed by lust and who engage in immoral, corrupting acts—whether men or women—must come to this hell to suffer after death. Deluded by ignorance and delusions of view, while in the world men desire women and women desire men. After death, when they arrive in this hell and see the red-hot pillar, they mistake it for the woman or man they love, go mad with desire, and rush to embrace it. As a result, their bodies are burned black, and they then collapse and die in agony. Before long, the Qiao Wind blows them back to life. They open their eyes, see again the person they desire, and rush to embrace them, only to be burned once more. This continues until their karmic obstructions have been burned away. Thus we can see that lust belongs to fire; hence the saying, “The fire of desire burns the body.” As we cultivate the Way, the first step is to see through the barrier of sexual desire between men and women.
Why must people undergo the torture of embracing a copper pillar? It is to teach them to awaken: men and women loving one another is like being consumed by fire. This makes beings with strong lust feel fear, so that afterward they dare not give rise to lustful thoughts. Thus, everything in the world is expounding the Dharma. Those who understand transcend the Three Realms; those who do not understand sink into the Six Paths. The Buddha-Dharma has wholesome methods to save people, and it also has unwholesome methods to save people. When we explain the sutras and expound the Dharma now, we are using wholesome means to save beings: we help those who have not fallen into hell to avoid falling into hell. For beings who have already fallen into hell, we teach them to awaken amid their great suffering. This is using unwholesome means to save beings. If wholesome means do not work, then unwholesome means must be used.
When we practice the Way, we must begin early. Do not wait until we have fallen into hell before thinking of cultivation; by then, it will be too late. For at that point we will be even more ignorant and foolish, and it will be even harder to bring forth the bodhi mind. The more suffering we endure, the heavier our ignorance becomes, and the stronger our anger grows, making awakening all the more difficult.
The various sufferings in hell do not come from anywhere else, nor do they go anywhere else. Where do they come from? They arise because the evil karma created in the past has ripened, and so in the present we must undergo retribution in hell. This comes from the effects of karma. Once our karmic offenses have been repaid, if we turn back and bring forth the bodhi mind, we will no longer suffer in that way. Hence the saying: “The sea of suffering is vast; turn back, and there is the shore.” The same is true of wholesome karma, unwholesome karma, and karma that is neither wholesome nor unwholesome.
Just as a Wheel-Turning King
who attains the supreme seven treasures
the place of coming cannot be apprehended
the nature of karma is likewise.
Commentary: What is a Wheel-Turning Sage King? When he ascends the throne, seven treasures fall from the sky, among them the wheel treasure. The precious wheel can subdue the four directions. Therefore, he is called a Wheel-Turning King. Why is he called a Wheel-Turning Sage King? Because he has great power and great supernatural abilities, and can govern one world of four continents—bringing the four great continents together, which is called one world of four continents.
The four great continents are the Eastern Victory Body Continent, the Southern Jambudvipa Continent, the Western Cattle-Offering Continent, and the Northern Uttarakuru Continent. Wheel-Turning Kings are divided into Gold Wheel-Turning Kings, Silver Wheel-Turning Kings, Copper Wheel-Turning Kings, and Iron Wheel-Turning Kings. A Gold Wheel-Turning King rules over four continents, a Silver Wheel-Turning King over three, a Copper Wheel-Turning King over two, and an Iron Wheel-Turning King over one. That is, we are in the Southern Jambudvipa Continent. The Iron Wheel-Turning King has inferior supernatural powers and cannot reach the other three continents, whereas the other three Wheel-Turning Kings can come to the Southern Jambudvipa Continent to observe.
Again, like a Wheel-Turning King, he attains the seven supreme treasures. Where do these seven treasures come from? Since we do not know where they come from, we say that their source cannot be found. I know! In the past, they cultivated all kinds of roots of goodness and performed all kinds of wholesome deeds, and so they became Wheel-Turning Kings and came to possess such blessings. The karma we create is likewise of three kinds: wholesome karma, unwholesome karma, and neutral karma. If we created wholesome karma in the past, we experience much happiness in return. If we created unwholesome karma, we experience much suffering.
What are the seven treasures of a Wheel-Turning Monarch? They are:
- The precious wheel.
- The precious jewel.
- The various treasures.
- The precious horse.
- The precious military commander.
- The precious treasurer.
- The precious woman.
Only a Wheel-Turning King possesses these seven treasures, because in the past they cultivated all kinds of wholesome karma and experienced its results. The seven treasures are introduced as follows.
**The precious wheel:** The precious wheel is made of four different materials: gold, silver, copper, and iron. The word “wheel” originally means a great vehicle, whose speed is many times faster than that of today’s rockets. The Wheel-Turning King leads his subjects onto the precious wheel, and in a single day travels throughout all four great continents.
**The precious divine jewel:** This is the wish-fulfilling jewel, shaped with eight sides and emitting light at night. This jewel fulfills one’s wishes. In short, whatever one wants, one receives. This jewel is the heart of the Great Golden-Winged Bird (the Garuḍa). When a dragon possesses this jewel, it is called a dragon jewel; when a person possesses it, it is called a luminous pearl.
**The precious white elephant:** This great white elephant has supernatural powers, like the great white elephant with six tusks ridden by Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. The six tusks represent the Six Perfections. Its supernatural powers are vast and boundless, inconceivable. White elephants are rare among humans, and so they are very precious. Hence the saying: “Rare things are precious.”
**The precious horse:** This horse is like a dragon. It too has supernatural powers and can transform itself. It is a horse from the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, and so it is precious—not an ordinary horse without spiritual qualities.
**The precious general:** In times of peace, the Wheel-Turning King does not send out troops or train an army. When the need arises, troops appear, and however many are needed, that many are available.
**The precious treasury spirit:** This is an earth spirit who oversees treasures. He knows where every kind of treasure is hidden, and when it is needed, he points to the ground and it appears.
**The precious woman:** This is a beautiful woman skilled in singing and dancing. She not only sings well but dances skillfully, and is exceedingly beautiful.
The Golden Wheel-Turning King not only possesses these seven treasures, but also has five hundred consorts and begets a thousand princes. He governs his country with favorable winds and timely rains, and the nation is prosperous and the people live in peace. All the people observe the Five Precepts and cultivate the Ten Wholesome Deeds. The Five Precepts are: not to kill, not to steal, not to engage in sexual misconduct, not to lie, and not to drink alcohol. The Ten Wholesome Deeds consist of purifying the three karmic actions of body, speech, and mind. The bodily actions refrain from the three evils of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. Speech refrains from the four evils of lying, embellishing speech, divisive speech, and abusive speech. The actions of the mind refrain from the three evils of greed, anger, and delusion. Everyone gives rise to the bodhi mind, and all attain the way.
Just as all the worlds
Are consumed by a great fire,
That fire comes from nowhere;
So too is the nature of karma.
Commentary: In every world, whenever the kalpa of abiding and destruction occurs, there is one minor calamity. Whenever the kalpa of destruction occurs, there is one major calamity. Minor calamities are famine, epidemics, and warfare. Major calamities are fire, water, and wind.
In the present world, the average human lifespan is over sixty years. When the human lifespan is down to thirty years, people will have nothing but distorted, deluded views and will be steeped in all ten evils. As a result, drought will bring no rain, the grains will not grow, and people will eat tree bark and grass roots. Bones will litter the fields; countless people will starve to death. This will last for seven years.
When the human lifespan is down to twenty years, most people will be unrighteous, selfish, and self-serving. As a result, an epidemic will break out. The air will be polluted and germs will run rampant. People will fall ill from breathing the air, and those who become sick will die, with no way to treat them. The doctors of that time will be like clay Bodhisattvas crossing the sea: unable even to save themselves, they could die at any moment. This contagious disease will last for seven months, and fewer and fewer people will remain.
When the human lifespan is down to ten years, everyone will be unfilial toward their parents and disrespectful toward their teachers and elders. People will kill one another, and no one will even recognize their own close relatives. Because of karmic forces, even the grass and trees will turn into blades; anyone they touch will die. Living beings will slaughter one another, and the world will become a storm of madness. This will last for seven days. Those who remain will number no more than one in ten thousand.
Why do accidents like that happen? Because people’s minds are no longer as they once were, their thoughts have become complicated, and they commit much evil karma, they suffer karmic retribution.
Because science has advanced. I often tell you all that warfare in very ancient times was earth warfare. People fought with their hands and feet: if you struck me with your palm, I would kick you, so it was a contest of strength. The stronger person won, and the weaker one lost. Later, people with wisdom devised ways to win, and began fighting with wood, using wooden weapons, which were more convenient than hands and feet. In terms of the Five Elements, this is “Wood overcomes Earth”: wood defeats earth. After wooden weapons were invented, wars broke out continually, and more people died. Before long, scientists began researching weapons for killing people. What method could they use to defeat wood? After much research, they invented iron weapons—knives and axes—or swords made of bronze, which could cut through trees. Weapons advanced rapidly at that time. This was the era of “Metal overcomes Wood,” when metal defeated wood. People in ancient times were all proficient in the eighteen classes of weapons; hence: “spears, sabers, swords, halberds, axes, forks, battle-axes, yue-axes, spears, shields, bows and arrows.” People of that time all had swords and sabers. Many were clever, but used deceit and trickery to fool their opponents. Those who were deceived could not bear it, and so people here and there fought one another, and swords clashed in battle. The clever used schemes, while the foolish relied on force; in the end, there were losers and casualties on both sides, making society unsafe.
After roughly more than two thousand years, scientists again began researching how to make swords and sabers useless. They did their utmost to investigate and invented guns. A gun could kill someone from several miles away. Since guns are made using gunpowder, this was fire warfare, or “Fire overcomes Metal”: fire defeats metal. Later, science advanced even further, and airplanes, heavy artillery, and armored tanks were invented. Weapons for killing people became more and more powerful. Scientists then reflected that the explosive power of bombs was too small and killed too few people. After repeated research, they invented the atomic bomb, whose power was greater than that of conventional bombs. A single atomic bomb could wipe out an entire city and kill a hundred thousand people. Because atomic powder is fluid by nature, this is water warfare, or “Water overcomes Fire”: water defeats fire. With scattered minds and crazed, scientists continue researching terrifying weapons to destroy humanity, such as laser beams and death rays, and so on. Inventions keep coming. If, unfortunately, a third world war were to break out, humanity would then perish together; heaven and earth would be overturned, the planet destroyed, and the end of the world would truly have arrived—something unimaginable.
All people living in this world are born through karmic causes and conditions; they come here to repay debts from the past. If you understand this principle, you should begin cultivating yourself as soon as possible so that you can transcend the Three Realms and no longer suffer the Three Calamities and Eight Difficulties.
All worlds have the four intermediate kalpas of formation, abiding, destruction, and emptiness. During the kalpa of destruction, great fires spontaneously blaze and burn up all the mountains, rivers, and earth. Where does this fire come from? Broadly speaking, it comes from the karmic retribution of sentient beings. More narrowly speaking, we do not know where it comes from. The karmic obstructions we create and the principle by which fire burns are exactly alike, without the slightest difference. The wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate natures are all the same in this respect; therefore, the karmic results of sentient beings are entirely different.
At that time, Bodhisattva Manjushri asked Bodhisattva Virtue Chief, saying, “Son of the Buddha! What the Tathāgata has realized is only one Dharma. How, then, does he speak of immeasurable Dharmas, manifest immeasurable lands, transform immeasurable beings, expound immeasurable sounds, reveal immeasurable bodies, know immeasurable minds, display immeasurable spiritual powers, universally shake immeasurable worlds, reveal immeasurable excellent adornments, and manifest boundless and various realms? Yet within the nature of Dharma, all these differentiating characteristics are unattainable.”
Commentary: After Bodhisattva Bao Thu finished speaking this verse, Bodhisattva Manjushri then asked Bodhisattva Duc Thu about the Dharma: “Buddha-son! When the Tathagata attained enlightenment, the Dharma realized was just one Dharma. Why, then, when the Tathagata expounds the Dharma, does he not speak of just one Dharma, but of immeasurable Dharmas? When teaching sentient beings, why does he manifest immeasurable Buddha lands and teach immeasurable sentient beings? When preaching, why does he use immeasurable sounds and manifest immeasurable Buddha bodies? The Buddha knows and sees every thought of sentient beings, and manifests immeasurable supernatural powers. He also causes immeasurable worlds to quake, manifests immeasurable supremely adorned bodhimandas, and reveals immeasurable realms. Yet within the nature of the Dharma, such distinct characteristics are all unattainable. Since the nature of the Dharma is empty, why are all these different characteristics present? What is the cause of these ten questions? Please, with compassion, explain them clearly so that all sentient beings may fully understand the true meaning of the Dharma.”
At that time, Bodhisattva Virtue Leader replied in verse, saying:
Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Virtue Chief used verses to answer the questions posed by Bodhisattva Manjushri.
The meanings asked about by the Buddha’s disciples
Profound and difficult to understand
Only the wise can know this
They always delight in the Buddha’s virtues
Commentary: Bodhisattva Virtue Chief said, “Buddha’s son! The principle you ask about is exceedingly profound and not easy to understand. Only those endowed with wisdom can clearly understand this principle and continually delight in the merits and virtues of the Buddha’s cultivation.”
For example, the nature of earth is one
Sentient beings each dwell in different places
Earth has no thought of oneness or difference
The Dharma of all Buddhas is thus
Commentary: The Dharma realized by the Buddha and the Dharma expounded by the Buddha are one and the same. Yet it manifests in myriad ways, with differences in some respects. For example, the nature of the earth is one and has no differences, but all the sentient beings on it are different. The earth does not think, “Where is this being? Where is that being?” The earth has neither a single thought nor many thoughts. The Dharma of all Buddhas is the same way: there are no differences, but sentient beings discriminate, and so they create many problems. This is the answer to the question about immeasurable realms.
Likewise, the nature of fire is one,
Able to burn all things.
Flames make no distinctions;
The Dharma of all Buddhas is thus.
Commentary: It is just like fire: it has a single nature. Fire will burn everything in its path. The fire flame does not distinguish which things it will burn. The Dharma attained by all the Buddhas and the Dharma spoken by all the Buddhas are likewise. This answers the question about the immeasurable Dharmas.
Just as the great ocean is one,
Waves vary in ten thousand ways;
Water has no distinctions of kind;
The Dharma of all Buddhas is thus.
Commentary: It is just like seawater: it has a single nature. Although there are tens of thousands of surging waves, with waves behind following those in front and all kinds of different waves, the nature of the water is the same, with no difference at all. The Dharma attained by all the Buddhas and the Dharma spoken by all the Buddhas are likewise. This answers the question about the immeasurable Dharmas.
Likewise, the nature of wind is one
It can blow upon all things
The wind has no thought of distinction
So is the Dharma of all Buddhas.
Commentary: Just like the wind, its fundamental nature is one. Although its fundamental nature is one, it can blow all things, each with its own force. A gentle wind blows flowers, grasses, and trees; a strong wind blows the universe and all things. The wind’s nature makes no distinctions, saying, “This is a large thing, that is a small thing,” or “That one is a little more, this one a little less.” The wind itself does not think this way. There is neither one nor many; neither oneness nor multiplicity is established. The Dharma realized by the Buddhas and the Dharma spoken by the Buddhas follow this same principle; there is no difference. This is the answer to the question about immeasurable worlds.
Also like the thunder of a great cloud,
It rains universally upon all the earth,
Raindrops fall without distinction;
The Dharma of all Buddhas is thus.
Commentary: It is just like a great thundercloud. Clouds billow through the sky, rain pours down in torrents, and thunder and lightning crash and flash, before rain falls upon the entire great earth. The rainwater moistens everything without distinction, because its nature is one. A great tree with large roots absorbs a little of the rainwater; flowers and grasses with small roots absorb a little less. All things receive the moisture that is theirs to receive—not because the rain is different. The Buddhas’ Dharma likewise teaches and transforms sentient beings in this way, so that all sentient beings obtain the benefit of the Dharma that they are meant to obtain. This principle is just like the rain. This answers the question about immeasurable sounds.
Just as the element earth is one,
Yet gives rise to many kinds of sprouts;
It is not the earth that differs
Such is the Dharma of all Buddhas.
Commentary: Just as the nature of the earth is one, yet it gives rise to many kinds of plants, flowers, grasses, trees, grains, and so on, this is not because the earth makes distinctions, but because the plants themselves are different. The Dharma of the Buddhas follows this same principle. This is the answer to the question of immeasurable adornments.
Like the sun, free of clouds,
Shining everywhere in the ten directions,
Its radiance has no different nature
The Dharma of all Buddhas is thus.
Commentary: Just as on a fine day, with not a cloud in the sky, sunlight shines throughout the worlds in the ten directions, so too do all Buddhas teach and transform sentient beings through the Dharma. Although the light shines everywhere, its inherent nature is no different. This is the answer to the question of the immeasurable mind.
Also like the moon in the sky,
There is no one in the world who does not see it,
The moon does not travel to those places,
The Dharma of all Buddhas is thus,
Commentary: Just as the moon is in the sky and all sentient beings in the world can see it, the moon does not come before them so that they may see it. Rather, the moon remains in the sky, neither coming nor going. The Dharma of all Buddhas follows the same principle. This answers the question about boundless spiritual powers.
Just as the Great Brahma King
Manifests throughout the Three Thousand Worlds,
His body without any difference
So is the Dharma of all Buddhas.
Commentary: For example, the manifested body of Great Brahma fills the three-thousand great thousand worlds, and all gods and humans can see it. Yet his body has no emanated bodies and makes no distinctions. The Dharma of all Buddhas is likewise without distinction. This is the answer to the question of immeasurable bodies.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī asked Bodhisattva Mushou, saying: “O child of the Buddha! The Tathāgata’s field of merit is equal and without distinction. How is it, then, that we see the results of sentient beings’ giving differ—namely, in their various colors, various forms, various families, various faculties, various kinds of wealth, various rulers, various retinues, various official ranks, various merits, and various wisdom? Yet the Buddha regards them with an equal mind, without differing thoughts.”
Commentary: After Bodhisattva Virtue Chief had finished speaking the verse, Bodhisattva Manjushri turned to Bodhisattva Eye Chief and requested the Dharma, asking, “Buddha-son! The field of merit cultivated by the Tathagata is impartial, without distinction. Why, then, do sentient beings who give receive different karmic results? What is the principle behind this? Please explain it clearly.” “Every kind of sentient being has all sorts of different appearances, all sorts of different forms, all sorts of different householders, all sorts of different faculties, all sorts of different treasures, all sorts of different owners, all sorts of different retinues, all sorts of different official positions, all sorts of different merits, and all sorts of different wisdom. Yet the Buddha regards all sentient beings equally, without any dualistic thoughts. We ask you to compassionately explain these ten matters to us.” A field of merit: In ancient times, when the Buddha was cultivating the path, he cultivated merit and wisdom. When his merit was perfected, it was like a field. When sentient beings practice giving in the presence of the Three Jewels, they are sowing seeds in a field of merit. Therefore, the Three Jewels are the field of merit for sentient beings. The Three Jewels are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Among them, the Buddha is foremost, and can enable sentient beings to sow merit. The Sangha are the Buddha’s disciples and may be called the Sangha field of merit. Sentient beings who wish to perform meritorious deeds must draw near to and make offerings to the Three Jewels in order to obtain blessings and merit. But they must give universally, without a discriminating mind. Hence, there is a saying:
“Though a clay dragon cannot bring rain,
When praying for rain, one must pray to the clay dragon.
Though ordinary monks cannot bestow blessings,
To sow merit, one must sow it among ordinary monks.”
Use mud to fashion a dragon. A mud dragon cannot make rain, but when praying for rain, one must first go before the mud dragon and pray. If you sincerely beseech it before the mud dragon, the true dragon will be moved to bring forth clouds and send down rain.
(In the spring of 1977, the United States had suffered a prolonged drought with no rain. The water sources had dried up, and water use was being restricted. With compassion, Venerable Master Hsuan Hua encouraged his disciples to go to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco to hold a Dharma assembly to pray for rain. At that time, lay practitioners joined of their own accord, and the merit was complete. By noon the following day, clouds suddenly appeared in the sky and poured down sweet dew, ending the water shortage. This response astonished everyone. Scientists and astronomers from all over were delighted as they watched, considering it inconceivable. Therefore: “Wholehearted sincerity can melt even iron and stone.” Monastics who have not attained the fruit are still ordinary Sangha; only those who have attained the fruit of holiness are Noble Sangha. Ordinary Sangha cannot bestow blessings on sentient beings, but when sentient beings seek blessings, they must seek them before ordinary Sangha. When you come to seek blessings before ordinary Sangha, the Noble Sangha also knows and will bestow blessings before the pure Sangha, the field of merit. Only then will there be merit, and you will receive blessings as karmic rewards.
What is a pure Sangha, a field of merit? It means not being greedy for wealth, not craving sensual pleasures, not lusting after fame, and not seeking profit. Having none of these defiled thoughts is what makes the Sangha a pure field of merit. It even means not holding money—never touching it with one’s hands. Any member of the Sangha who handles money cannot be called pure. Why? Because money is the dirtiest thing in the world. There are tens of thousands of germs on a banknote. If you are constantly attached to money, you are not pure. In short, being pure means not needing money; if you need money, you are not pure. To put it another way, it does not necessarily mean never holding money in your hands; it means not being greedy for or attached to money. That is what makes the Sangha a pure field of merit. Only when you are pure can you be a field of merit in which sentient beings plant seeds of merit.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mục Thủ replied in verse:
Commentary: At that time, Bodhisattva Mục Thủ answered the questions asked by Bodhisattva Manjushri in verse.
Just as the great earth is one,
And sprouts grow according to their seeds,
The earth has neither foe nor friend toward them;
So too is the Buddha, the field of merit.
Commentary: For example, the earth is one and makes no distinctions. Depending on the seeds sown, different sprouts all grow from it. The earth does not say, “I dislike you, so I won’t let you sprout,” nor does it say, “I welcome you; I’ll let you sprout and grow luxuriantly.” The earth makes no distinction between those it resents and those it loves; it treats all alike. The Buddha is likewise a field of merit in which sentient beings sow. Whatever the faculties and dispositions of sentient beings, such are the sprouts that grow.
Again, like water of one taste
People’s vessels differ
The Buddha’s field of merit is likewise
For the minds of sentient beings differ
Commentary: Again, it is like water, which has a single flavor. Because containers may be square or round, distinctions arise. When water is poured into a square container, it is square; when poured into a round container, it is round. It is not that the water itself is divided; the containers are different. The Buddha’s field of merit is likewise. Sentient beings obtain the field of merit appropriate to their own merits. When sentient beings seek blessings, their minds have different aspirations, and therefore their karmic rewards also differ.
Also like a skilled illusionist,
Able to make the multitude rejoice,
The Buddha, the field of merit, is likewise,
Causing sentient beings to delight in reverence,
Commentary: Just like a magician who conjures up countless wondrous and bizarre forms, delighting the spectators and filling them with joy and wonder, the Buddha’s field of merit, where sentient beings can sow [seeds of merit], likewise inspires reverence and joy in their hearts, so that they diligently cultivate the Buddha-Dharma and strive to learn.
Just as there is a wise and capable king
Who can make the great assembly rejoice
So too is the Buddha, the field of merit
Bringing peace and happiness to all
Commentary: Just as a talented and wise king rules his country in peace, with no war, and therefore “weapons are put away in storehouses and horses are released to the fields and mountains,” so that all the people rejoice, a king who follows the Way benefits all his people. The Buddha’s field of merit for sentient beings is likewise, bringing peace and happiness to them all.
Just as a pure, bright mirror
Manifests forms according to color
So too is the Buddha, the field of merit,
According to the mind, one reaps various results
Commentary: Just as a clear, spotless mirror reflects whatever forms appear before it, so too does the Buddha’s field of merit yield all kinds of results according to the minds of sentient beings. Thus, “As the cause, so the result”: whatever cause one plants, that is the result one receives. One experiences karmic consequences according to the mind with which one creates karma. This is the eternal, unchanging law of cause and effect.
Like Agada medicine
Able to cure all poisons
The Buddha, the field of merit, is likewise
Extinguishing all afflictions and woes.
Commentary: Like the medicine A-yết-đà (translated as “universal removal”), which can remove all the poisons of affliction everywhere. Whatever the poison, it can cure it. The Buddha’s field of merit is likewise: it can eliminate the three poisons—greed, anger, and ignorance—and dispel the poison of afflictions.
Also like when the sun rises,
It shines upon the world,
The Buddha, a field of merit, is likewise;
It dispels all darkness.
Commentary: Again, just as when the sun rises and shines throughout the world, all beings benefit from its light, which causes all things to grow, so too the Buddha’s field of merit dispels sentient beings’ ignorance and transforms afflictions into Bodhi. Therefore, the power of the Buddha’s field of merit is very great.
Also like the pure full moon,
It shines everywhere upon the Great Earth,
The Buddha, the field of merit, is likewise;
Equally in every place
Commentary: Again, like the bright full moon, it shines over the entire earth. It has no discriminating mind and does not choose which places are clean or dirty, but shines everywhere. The Buddha’s field of merit is the same: it shines upon the minds of sentient beings. When sentient beings plant merit equally before the Buddha, they receive equal blessings.
Just as the Vairambha wind
Shakes throughout the great earth
So too is the Buddha’s field of merit
Stirring sentient beings in the three realms of existence
Commentary: Like the power of the Vairambha wind, it is swift and fierce, a thousand myriad times more powerful than storm winds. It can shake the great earth. The Buddha’s field of merit is likewise: it enables beings in the three realms to cultivate merit and can shake all beings in the three realms.
However, although the Vairambha wind has the power to move mountains and fill the sea, it cannot blow away a person’s merit. When the Buddha was still alive, a donor offered a hundred liters of oil to burn lamps before the Buddha, but the oil lamp burned erratically and sometimes went out by itself. One day, a beggar took all the money he had and bought one liter of oil to offer to the Buddha. The monk in charge of the lamps used that oil to light a lamp, and it kept burning day and night without going out, no matter how hard anyone blew on it. The monk found this strange. The Venerable Maudgalyayana, foremost in supernatural powers, personally tried to blow out the lamp, but could not. So he used the Vairambha wind to blow on it. Although the oil lamp was small, the more the wind blew, the brighter it burned. The Venerable Maudgalyayana was astonished and asked the Buddha what the cause of this was. The Buddha said, “The donor was once a wealthy man. He brought a hundred liters of oil to offer, but regarded it as no more than a single coin. The beggar offered one liter of oil that he had bought with the savings of his entire life. That is why it kept burning without going out. His merit was immeasurable, so even the Vairambha wind could not extinguish it.” When we perform meritorious deeds, we must do so with a sincere heart, without a mind of grasping, in order to gain great merit. If we have expectations, our merit will be small. Therefore, when a wealthy person performs meritorious deeds, they are not necessarily genuine merit. Performing meritorious deeds when one has no money—that is genuine merit. For example, if someone has many assets and makes an offering of several million đồng, it is like a single hair on a cow. If someone who has no money—a poor person—offers all the wages they earn each day through their labor, that is truly performing a meritorious deed. If someone performs meritorious deeds for fame or gain, that brings only the blessings of the human and heavenly realms, not ultimate merit. If one seeks nothing in return and makes offerings to the fullest extent of one’s ability, that is immeasurable merit.
For example, when a great fire arises,
It can burn all things
The Buddha’s field of merit is likewise
It burns all conditioned phenomena
Commentary: Just as a great fire rises up and burns all material things with form and appearance, so too the Buddha’s field of merit burns away all conditioned phenomena.
At that time, Manjushri Bodhisattva asked Diligent Chief Bodhisattva, “O son of the Buddha, the Buddha’s teaching is one, and sentient beings can see it. Why, then, do they not immediately sever all the bonds of affliction and attain liberation? Yet the aggregates of form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness; the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm; ignorance and craving—all are without distinction. This, then, is the Buddha’s teaching. For sentient beings, does it bring benefit, or does it bring no benefit?”
Commentary: After Bodhisattva Eye Chief had finished speaking the verse, Bodhisattva Manjushri then turned to Bodhisattva Diligence Chief to request the Dharma, asking: “Buddha-son! The Buddha teaches only one Dharma. All sentient beings who see the Buddha and hear the Dharma are alike. Why do some sentient beings, upon hearing the Dharma, immediately sever all their afflictions? Why do some sentient beings hear the Dharma but cannot immediately sever all their afflictions? What are the causes and conditions for this?
“If all the bonds of affliction are severed, one will be liberated from afflictions, be free of attachment and desire, and no longer be bound by the five aggregates or by the various dharmas. Yet there are the aggregate of form, the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of perception, the aggregate of formations, and the aggregate of consciousness. There are also the three realms—the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm—as well as ignorance, craving, and greed. Sentient beings in the three realms are all alike, without distinction. And the Buddha’s teaching is one. Why is it that, among all the sentient beings taught, those who benefit can immediately sever ignorance and craving and escape the three realms? Yet some sentient beings hear the Buddha teach the Dharma in the same way. Why do they not gain benefit or escape the three realms? What is the principle behind this? I ask you, out of compassion, to explain this principle.”
At that time, Bodhisattva Firm Hand replied in verse:
Commentary: At that time, the Great Bodhisattva Cần Thủ used a verse to answer the questions posed by Bodhisattva Manjushri.
Buddhist disciples, listen carefully;
I now answer truthfully,
Some attain liberation swiftly,
Some find it difficult to escape
Commentary: Bodhisattva Cần Thủ said, “Son of the Buddha, please pay close attention and listen carefully. Now, in response to your question, I will answer truthfully. Some sentient beings hear the Dharma taught by the Buddha and quickly attain liberation. What is the reason for this? In the past, they planted roots of goodness, and those roots of goodness grew and perhaps ripened. Therefore, when they hear the Buddha teach the Dharma, they soon attain liberation. This achievement is possible because they planted abundant roots of goodness. Other sentient beings did not plant roots of goodness in the past and only now begin to consider planting them. Although they hear the Buddha teach the Dharma, they still cannot immediately sever all the bonds of affliction, cannot easily escape the three realms, and cannot immediately attain liberation.”
If you wish to seek the eradication
Of countless transgressions and evils,
You should, within the Buddha-Dharma,
Be courageous and ever diligent.
Commentary: Suppose there are sentient beings who hope to quickly eliminate ignorance and afflictions, deluded craving, and all immeasurable and boundless karmic sins and evil deeds. They should be courageous and diligent in the Buddhadharma—not diligent just once, but diligent constantly. Hence the saying: “At the six periods of the day, always and constantly diligent.” Diligence of the body means not engaging in killing, stealing, or sexual misconduct. Diligence of the mind means having no thoughts of greed, anger, or delusion. In short, diligence of the body means diligently cultivating morality, concentration, and wisdom; diligence of the mind means eliminating greed, anger, and delusion. That is, one must advance courageously and diligently, and not lazily retreat. In this way, one will cut off all ignorance and craving and attain liberation.
The root of sentient beings’ afflictions lies in greed, anger, and delusion. When these three poisons come into play, they lead to bodily acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, and verbal misdeeds such as lying, and so on. Not killing is the precept against anger; any thought of killing arises from anger. Not stealing is the precept against greed; any thought of stealing arises from greed. Refraining from sexual misconduct is the precept against delusion; any lustful thought arises from ignorance.
Once we understand the function of the precepts, we must cultivate the practice of concentration. What is concentration? It means not giving rise to thoughts or mental activity, and having no delusions. Begin in daily life: in the four major postures—walking, standing, sitting, and lying down—always be careful not to be greedy or attached. Then the mind will naturally become still, like water without a ripple. After that, practice meditation and seated meditation, recite sutras, and bow to the Buddha; body and mind will become pure. At that point, when not a single thought arises and not a speck of dust defiles the mind, wisdom will naturally manifest. This is wisdom.
Our pure true mind is like a mirror, only obscured by worldly dust (ignorance), losing its radiance and becoming unable to reflect objects. The effort we make (in spiritual practice) is to wipe the dust from the mirror; then its light will naturally appear and illuminate all things. Thus, Great Master Shenxiu said:
“Always keep wiping it clean;
Don’t let it get covered in dust.”
For example, a tiny fire,
Wet wood quickly makes it go out,
In the Buddha’s teaching,
The indolent are likewise
It is like trying to burn wet wood with a small flame: the flame will soon go out. Why? Because the moisture in the wet wood overpowers the nature of fire; the flame has no strength to burn it, and so it goes out. In Buddhism, if you are lax and do not practice, it is just like the principle of a small flame trying to burn wet wood—nothing will be accomplished. The small flame represents a lack of diligence in practice, and the wet wood represents deeply rooted karmic obstacles. If you practice only a little, how can you eliminate heavy karma? How can you give rise to the fire of wisdom? How can you completely end ignorance and craving? Because you do not really want to put an end to them, you make no effort to practice. If you strive forward courageously and are absolutely never lax, then all afflictions will be completely eliminated.
A small fire cannot burn wet wood, but it can burn dry wood very easily. This means that our ignorance and craving are completely consumed by the great fire of wisdom. Anyone who is lazy and does not practice is like wet wood that a small fire cannot burn.
Like drilling a fire-drill to seek fire,
Before it appears, one stops again and again,
And the fire dies as soon as one stops.
So it is with the indolent.
Commentary: It is like making fire by drilling into wood with a stone: after a long time, fire will be produced. But if you drill for a while, stop to rest just when the fire is about to catch, then drill for a while and rest again, the fire will die out, never to arise. Studying the Buddhist Dharma follows the same principle: if you are diligent for a while, then slack off for a while, alternating between diligence and slackness without persevering to the end, you cannot achieve anything.
A practitioner who perseveres with ever greater diligence will, at some final moment, attain enlightenment. Unfortunately, at some final moment, a practitioner may feel too tired, stop and rest for a while, thinking it will not be too late to resume practicing diligently tomorrow. Who knows? With that one thought, they may lose the opportunity to open the Five Eyes and Six Supernatural Powers. Hence the saying:
“Everything is a test.
Let’s see how you do.
For now, there is no understanding.
Practice again from the beginning.”
That is the principle: If you want to drill wood to make fire but stop to rest before the fire appears, you cannot hope to get fire. If you want to obtain fire, you must keep drilling. But if you stop to rest when the fire is about to appear, you lose the opportunity and have to start drilling all over again.
Like someone holding a sun-jewel
If he does not use an object to catch its rays
Fire can never be obtained
The indolent person is likewise.
Commentary: It is like someone holding a sun crystal in their hand. A sun crystal is a convex lens (a magnifying glass) that gathers sunlight and concentrates it into a point of heat. If you direct that point of heat onto something flammable, it will produce fire. If you have only the convex lens and sunlight, but nothing flammable, then no matter how long you focus the light, no fire will be produced. Therefore, it is said that without a tinder (the point of heat), fire cannot be obtained.
The sun crystal represents the Buddhadharma, and the flammable material represents diligence. If someone who studies the Buddhadharma is lax and lazy and does not practice diligently, they cannot attain accomplishment. In short, as long as afflictions are not ended, wisdom will not manifest. Why do we have to cultivate the Way? It is to end afflictions and seek wisdom. Once we have wisdom, we will no longer create karma or undergo karmic retribution.
For example, when the blazing sun shines,
Children shut their eyes.
How strange that they do not see!
The indolent are likewise.
Commentary: It is like the blazing sun shining everywhere across the great earth. Yet children close their eyes and say, “I can’t see the red sun.” When they close their eyes, how can they see the sun? Some sentient beings know of the Buddha-Dharma but are unwilling to practice it; they are just like this. They are truly pitiful! The sun represents the Buddha-Dharma, ignorant children represent foolish sentient beings, and closing the eyes represents laziness. The sun shines everywhere across the great earth; there is no place it does not reach. Yet because they close their eyes, they do not see the sun. In Buddhism, understanding the principles of the Buddha-Dharma but not practicing in accordance with the Dharma is like closing one’s eyes and not seeing the sun—the principle is the same.
Like a person without hands or feet,
wishing to use a blade of grass as an arrow
to shoot and shatter the whole earth
so too is the slothful person.
Commentary: It is like someone with neither hands nor feet who nevertheless imagines using wild grass as arrows to shoot and destroy the earth. Is that delusion like a fool’s dream-talk? How could it possibly become reality? It is something that cannot be done. The indolent person who does not practice is the same—how could they ever attain accomplishment? Having no hands or feet means not cultivating the practice, yet wanting to use arrows of wisdom to shoot down all ignorance—is that not the delusion of a fool? Without hands and feet, how can one draw a bow and shoot arrows? How can one move forward or backward? Day after day, one is lazy; day after day, one gives free rein to heedlessness. The monkey mind and horse-like thoughts cannot be brought under control. Without the power of precepts, the power of concentration, or the power of wisdom, how can one awaken?
As if using the tip of a single hair
To draw the water of the great sea,
Wishing to dry it all up
So are the indolent.
Commentary: It is like trying to drain all the seawater and make it dry with the tip of a hair. Unless one has supernatural powers, there is no point in discussing it; otherwise, it simply cannot be done. This refers to gaining a little understanding of the Buddhadharma and then thinking one can obtain great benefits. Isn’t this wishful thinking? If you are lax all day and do not cultivate, how can you eradicate ignorance, afflictions, attachments, delusions, craving, and confusion? You keep thinking of finding an easy way, putting in little effort and gaining much. You should know that in this world, nothing is gained without effort; hence the saying: “Cultivate one part, then harvest one part.” Cakes cannot simply fall from the sky; such a thing is impossible. A lazy person who does not practice diligently is like a fool trying to remove all the water from the ocean with the tip of a hair.
Again, as the fire of the kalpa arises,
Wishing to extinguish it with a little water,
In the Buddha’s teaching
The indolent are likewise.
Commentary: It is like when the kalpa fire rises, and all the land is burned, becoming one great furnace. There is no way to extinguish the kalpa fire with a single drop of water. Likewise, if one follows Buddhism but does not practice, it is like trying to extinguish the kalpa fire with a little water—there is no way to do it. If a cartload of firewood is burning, could the fire be put out with just one cup of water? The indolent, who do not strive diligently, are like this.
During the kalpa of destruction, a great calamity of fire occurs once. This fire not only destroys the Earth but also burns up the heavens of the First Dhyana—that is, the Brahma Assembly Heaven, the Brahma’s Ministers Heaven, and the Great Brahma Heaven in the Form Realm. That is why it is called the Fire Kalpa.
Why does such a Fire Kalpa occur? When the time of the kalpa of destruction arrives, people’s minds become extremely wicked and their karmic obstructions exceedingly heavy. The Dragon Kings grow angry and send no rain; the earth becomes scorching hot, and grasses and trees no longer grow. At that time, seven suns appear in the sky and shine down upon the earth all at once. The oceans also dry up, and a great fire breaks out. Once it begins to burn, it burns all the way up to the Brahma Heaven.
When the twenty minor kalpas of fire have passed, the Empty Kalpa begins. The entire earth is empty, with nothing left. When the twenty minor kalpas of emptiness have passed, the Formation Kalpa begins, and the Earth gradually takes shape. After twenty minor kalpas have passed, the heavenly beings from the Radiance-Sound Heaven again travel to the Earth. At that time, the nectar on Earth is very sweet. The heavenly beings drink too much and become intoxicated; they lose their supernatural power of flight and can no longer return to heaven. So they remain in the human world and become the ancestors of humankind. This is the beginning of the Abiding Kalpa.
Like a person gazing at empty space,
sitting still without moving,
yet saying it flies everywhere
the lazy person is the same.
It is like someone who, upon seeing emptiness, sits there perfectly still, without moving, and then says, “I can ride the clouds and mist through the sky; there are footprints of mine everywhere in empty space.” This principle does not apply to anyone other than Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Empty space represents the Buddhadharma, and sitting still represents laziness. If you encounter the Buddhadharma but do not practice it, you will attain no level of spiritual attainment at all. Someone who does not practice may still say, “I have attained the fourth fruition of Arhatship,” or, “I have attained the tenth stage of a Bodhisattva.” This is putting a false label on oneself and consoling oneself—in other words, deceiving both oneself and others.
It is like in the time of King Ashoka, when there was a bhikkhu named Mahadeva who had not attained any fruit himself, yet deceived his disciples by telling them that he had. This is sitting still without moving while falsely claiming to fly everywhere; it is having accomplished nothing.
The examples above are very important. When we study the Buddhadharma, we need to recite and reflect on it silently as a warning and reminder, to awaken ourselves. We must not be careless; at every moment, we must practice earnestly and not become lax. In studying the Buddhadharma, we must strive without ceasing and put it into practice. We must understand clearly that a great tree grows day by day, Rome was built day by day, and the Buddhadharma is mastered through practice day by day. Hence the saying: “Where there is a will, there is a way. Practice for one minute, and you gain one minute of merit. When your merit is complete, you will naturally attain fulfillment.” Hence the saying:
An iron block, ground into a needle;
With effort, success comes naturally.
At that time, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī asked the Bodhisattva Dharma-Keeper, saying: “Child of the Buddha, as the Buddha has said, if sentient beings receive and uphold the true Dharma, they will surely be able to eliminate all afflictions. Why, then, are there those who receive and uphold the true Dharma yet do not eliminate them? They are swayed by the power of greed, hatred, and delusion; pride, concealment, wrath, resentment, jealousy, stinginess, deceit, and flattery—none of these are separate from the mind. If they are able to receive and uphold the Dharma, why do various afflictions still arise within the workings of the mind?”
Commentary: After Bodhisattva Cần Thủ had finished speaking this verse, Bodhisattva Manjushri then turned to Bodhisattva Pháp Thủ to request the Dharma and asked, “Buddha’s son! The Buddha once said that if sentient beings receive the Dharma in their minds, uphold it in their bodies, and practice in accordance with it, they will completely eradicate all afflictions. Why, then, are there sentient beings who receive and uphold the right Dharma, yet whose afflictions are not eradicated and whose ignorance cannot be destroyed? What is the principle behind this? I hope you will explain it.” Some people practice the Way and uphold the true Dharma, yet their greed has not ceased, their anger has not ceased, and their delusion has not ceased either. Not only have these not ceased, but they also pursue them, pursue arrogance and conceit, and pursue afflictions that conceal their faults. When they have done wrong, they dare not admit it or repent, for fear that others will find out. In this way, they conceal their karmic offenses, which will never be eradicated.
They also pursue the affliction of wrath. An unsettled mind is anger; anger at its extreme becomes resentment; resentment at its extreme becomes hatred; hatred at its extreme becomes vexation; and vexation at its extreme erupts. The fire of ignorance bursts forth and burns away reason. When emotions take charge, one becomes furious and creates harmful consequences, thereby losing one’s spiritual attainment.
They also pursue jealousy—that is, resenting what others have and mocking those who have nothing. Among those who study together, work together, practice together, and cultivate together, there is jealousy toward one another. Those with a competitive, victory-seeking mindset all want to be better than others and to triumph over them; otherwise, demonic thoughts wreak havoc and give rise to jealousy.
They also pursue stinginess and refuse to give. That is, they do not give alms and have no compassion. Not only do they feel no sympathy for others’ suffering, they even say unkind things about them.
They also pursue deceit—that is, making something out of nothing and not speaking truthfully. Or they stir up discord and slander others’ reputations. Those who create negative karma through speech will fall into the hell where tongues are cut out in the future.
They also pursue sycophancy—that is, flattering others. This is the conduct of petty people. Those who practice the true Dharma should not behave in such ways. But they are turned around by these forces. What is the reason for this? No sentient being can uphold the true Dharma without the mind. Why, then, do they not only fail to put an end to afflictions, but instead give rise to so many more? I truly do not understand this principle. Please explain it clearly: what, ultimately, is the reason?
At that time, Bodhisattva Dharma-Holder replied in verse, saying:
Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Dharma Chief used a verse to answer the questions Bodhisattva Manjushri had asked.
Buddhist disciple, listen attentively;
The meaning of what you ask is the truth;
It is not merely through extensive learning
That one can enter the Tathagata’s Dharma.
Commentary: Bodhisattva Dharma Chief said: “Buddhist disciple! Please listen attentively. I will use my true mind to answer the principles you have asked about. The true and precious meaning lies not in quantity, but in essence.” However, even if one often recites the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Shurangama Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, and so on, if one does not practice according to the Dharma, it is of no benefit. It is like talking about many delicious dishes without eating any—the result is that one remains hungry. It is like someone who works at a bank, counting money every day, yet does not have a single cent of their own. Studying the Buddhadharma does not mean relying on extensive learning in order to enter the Tathagata’s Dharma-gate. Devadatta and Bhikshu Sunakshatra, for example, were both wise and well versed in the teachings. Yet, on the contrary, they slandered the Buddhadharma. As a result, while still alive, both fell into hell—that is, while still alive, they were swallowed up beneath the earth.
Like a person swept away by water,
Fearing drowning, yet dying of thirst,
Not practicing the Dharma,
Much learning is likewise
Commentary: It is like someone drifting in a vast body of water who becomes afraid, fearing that the water will drown him. Though his mouth is very thirsty, he does not dare drink the water; he would rather die of thirst than drink it. If sentient beings merely receive and uphold, study, and understand the Buddha’s teachings, but do not practice them, they will gain no benefit. The same principle applies to extensive learning: broad and extensive learning may amount only to superficial theorizing, not genuine practice or the fundamental methods of cultivation. Hence there is a saying:
“A mile of talk is no match for a mile of action.”
It is like studying swimming techniques while lying in bed, understanding them thoroughly and clearly, but then getting into the water and flailing your arms and legs. At best, you swallow a bellyful of water; at worst, your life is in danger. This clearly shows how theory and practical experience can be 108,000 miles apart.
The Buddha-Dharma is a great ocean. Sentient beings drift in its waters—that is, they study the Buddha-Dharma. Fearing that the great waters will drown them is ignorance. Not wishing to abandon afflictions is like not daring to drink the water. Hence it is said: if one does not practice the Dharma, extensive learning is the same.
Like one who lays out a sumptuous feast,
Yet is hungry and does not eat;
One who does not practice the Dharma
Though learned, is just the same.
Commentary: It is like someone laying out a banquet with very delicious food, yet when we are hungry, we do not eat any of the delicious, nourishing food. In the same way, some people do not truly practice the Buddhadharma. They only study the written words of Prajna, studying them again and again until they know many principles. But if they are unwilling to practice, what benefit is there? It is the same with being widely read. In short, one may speak beautifully and skillfully, but if one does not practice, it is not the Way.
Just as a person skilled in medicine
Cannot cure their own illness,
One who does not practice the Dharma
Is likewise, though learned.
Commentary: It is like having a good physician who is skilled at taking the pulse and preparing medicines, and who prescribes according to the illness. Once the medicine is taken, the illness is cured. He has the power to bring the dead back to life; no matter how difficult or complicated the ailment, he can work wonders, restore health, and save the people. Yet when he himself falls ill, he is helpless and cannot treat himself. He has no remedy, is completely flustered, and does not know what medicine to take to recover. Why? Because his mind is no longer clear—just as a sharp, keen knife cannot cut its own handle. In Buddhism, pursuing extensive learning without being willing to practice is like the principle of a good physician who cannot cure his own illness.
Like someone counting another’s jewels,
while owning not even half a coin;
one who does not practice the Dharma—
even extensive learning is like that.
It is like someone who spends every day counting other people’s wealth and treasures and managing their money, yet has not a single coin of their own—not even half a coin. In the Buddhadharma, if one only learns the principles in the sutras but refuses to practice in accordance with the Dharma, and cannot put an end to desire and eliminate attachment, then in reality it is of no use. Being learned is like counting treasures; in the end, one remains poor. The Buddha teaches living beings so that they will practice the proper Dharma. If they truly practice, they will certainly gain benefit. But if they do not practice, they will certainly gain no benefit. Therefore, putting it into practice is the Way.
Just as one born in a king’s palace,
Yet suffering hunger and cold;
Not practicing the Dharma,
Even great learning is like this.
Commentary: It is like someone born into the king’s household, who could become crown prince, possess wealth spanning the four seas, and wield power over all under Heaven. Yet within the royal palace, they suffer hunger and thirst, and endure the cold. Does that make any sense? Of course, if they were born into a wealthy family, why would they suffer hunger and cold? That is impossible.
Likewise, in the Buddha’s teaching, if one does not practice, but only knows the doctrines—knowing a great deal and knowing them broadly—without earnestly putting them into practice, it is of no use. When studying the Buddha’s teaching, knowing a little and practicing a little is what brings great benefit. Hence the saying:
“Unite knowledge and action.” It is like a lame person and a blind person. The lame person can see but cannot walk. The blind person cannot see but can walk. If the two join forces and help each other, they can reach their goal. In studying the Buddhadharma, faith, understanding, practice, and realization are all important, just as a vehicle needs four wheels to reach the other shore. If even one of the four wheels is missing, it cannot go anywhere; it will stop halfway and be unable to move forward. Thus, “it is abandoned halfway,” and all the effort made before then is wasted. To have extensive learning without putting it into practice is like being born into a king’s household yet suffering hunger and cold.
Like a deaf person playing music
Others hear it, but he himself does not.
Not practicing the Dharma
Much learning is likewise.
Like a deaf person performing music for others to enjoy: they hear it as beautiful and pleasing to the ear, while he himself cannot hear it and does not know whether he is playing well or badly. Music is like the Buddhadharma: some people know that the Buddhadharma is good, yet they themselves do not know whether they are practicing or not. When a deaf person plays music, he does not know whether he is following the score or whether the notes are in tune. Likewise, someone who eagerly seeks extensive knowledge of the Buddhadharma but does not emphasize practice is no different from a deaf person performing music.
Like the blind drawing images,
They see others, but not themselves;
They do not practice the Dharma;
Those learned in much learning are likewise.
Commentary: It is like a blind person (one deeply shrouded in ignorance) who paints many images but cannot see them himself, creating them only for others to admire. To hear the Buddha’s teachings and understand them clearly, yet refuse to practice and instead crave extensive learning and wide-ranging knowledge, is likewise like a blind person painting images—truly pitiable.
Like the captain of a ship at sea,
who dies in the ocean,
one who does not practice the Dharma
though learned, is likewise.
Commentary: Like a sailor who lives day after day, month after month on the sea, making the sea his home, skilled at steering and experienced in sailing. Above, he knows astronomy and uses the position of the Big Dipper to find his bearings in the dark of night on the open sea. Below, he knows the geography of the sea: from the movement and color of the water, he can clearly tell where there are reefs and where there are whirlpools. Yet he dies at sea. Why? Because his skills have not reached perfection, so he is vulnerable to a maritime disaster that can cost him his life.
A Buddhist practitioner who only talks about Zen, or talks without practicing; who only seeks extensive learning but is unwilling to practice, is like that sailor who dies at sea. He cannot resolve birth and death and attain liberation from them.
As at a crossroads,
one speaks at length of many good things,
yet within oneself has no true virtue.
Not practicing is just the same.
Commentary: It is like someone standing at a crossroads, giving speeches to teach people to do many good deeds, urging people everywhere to give alms, and leading them to cultivate blessings and wisdom. They speak very well; everything they say accords with the Way, and every point seems reasonable. Yet they themselves lack virtue and moral conduct, and so lose their ability to lead and inspire others.
We who cultivate the Way can make our teaching effective only if we have genuine virtue and moral conduct. Where does genuine virtue come from? It comes from benefiting ourselves and benefiting others. In short, we must benefit and help others. This is compassionately proclaiming and transforming on Heaven’s behalf, and sincerely saving the country and its people. Every gesture and action must benefit sentient beings; only then can our own genuine virtue be fully developed.
It is the same with the Buddhadharma: if we only speak about it without practicing it, then although we may be good at exhorting others outwardly, we ourselves have no genuine virtue within—and that is of no use.
The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom says: “One who is widely learned, discerning, wise, and eloquent speaks the various teachings skillfully and turns people’s minds, yet does not act rightly in accordance with the Dharma. Such a person is like clouds and thunder without rain. One who is learned, widely read, and wise, but speaks slowly and crudely, without skill, cannot reveal the treasury of the Dharma jewels—like clouds without thunder or rain. One who is not widely learned and has no wisdom cannot teach the Dharma or practice well. Such a poor Dharma teacher has no shame, like one without clouds, thunder, or rain.”The Sa Bà Treatise says:
The learned know the Dharma;
The learned can leave sin behind;
The learned relinquish what is meaningless;
The learned attain Nirvana.
Being learned is a virtue. Venerable Ananda was foremost in learning. Lifetime after lifetime, he cultivated the Dharma practice of extensive learning, and so his memory was exceptionally strong. While the Buddha was alive, whatever sutras He expounded, once they passed through Ananda’s ears, not a single word was lost. But Ananda did not know how to cultivate, and so he had no power of concentration. One day, while Ananda was out begging for alms, he came to the door of Matangi’s house. She used a Brahma spell to bewitch him and led him into her room; he came close to breaking the precepts. At the very last moment, Bodhisattva Manjushri arrived, acting on the Buddha’s command. Using the power of the Shurangama Mantra, he brought Ananda back to his senses and rescued him from the woman’s entrapment. This proves that extensive learning is not the ultimate Dharma; at times, it cannot withstand a test.
At that time, the Bodhisattva Manjushri asked the Bodhisattva Wisdom Chief: “Child of the Buddha, in the Buddha-Dharma, wisdom is foremost. Why does the Tathagata sometimes praise giving to sentient beings, sometimes praise upholding the precepts, sometimes praise patience, sometimes praise diligence, sometimes praise meditation, sometimes praise wisdom, and sometimes praise loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity? Yet in the end, no one attains liberation and realizes unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment by means of only one dharma.”
Commentary: After Bodhisattva Dharma Leader had spoken the verse, Bodhisattva Manjushri turned to Bodhisattva Wisdom Leader to request instruction and asked, “Buddha’s disciple! In the Buddha’s teachings, wisdom is the foremost Dharma door. Why does the Buddha sometimes praise the Dharma door of the six perfections, and at other times praise the Dharma door of the four immeasurable minds? What is the principle behind this? Please, out of compassion, explain it to us.” Perhaps, for the sake of sentient beings, He praises the Dharma door of giving. There are three kinds of giving: Giving of wealth: This is further divided into inner wealth and outer wealth. Inner wealth consists of one’s body, mind, nature, and life; one’s head, eyes, marrow, and brain—these are possessions within the body. Outer wealth consists of gold, silver, jewels, land, wife, and children—these are possessions outside the body.
Giving of the Dharma: This means expounding sutras and teaching the Dharma for sentient beings, teaching and transforming all sentient beings so that they may leave suffering, attain happiness, and put an end to birth and death.
Giving fearlessness: This means that when sentient beings encounter calamities, have their lives threatened, or are mentally oppressed and very afraid, one then uses every means to counsel and comfort them, teaching them not to give rise to fear.
Or one may praise the Dharma practice of upholding precepts for sentient beings. Upholding precepts means observing the rules; it also means preventing evil and guarding against wrongdoing. The three thousand dignified deportments and eighty thousand subtle practices are all encompassed by the precepts. Precepts mean not doing any evil and doing all good. Whatever benefits sentient beings should be carried through from beginning to end and brought to completion; absolutely do not begin like a tiger and end like a snake, abandoning it halfway. As for things that do not benefit sentient beings, one absolutely should not do them. Otherwise, harming others to benefit oneself is not the practice of the Bodhisattva Path. Most people nowadays are selfish and seek their own benefit, which leads to disharmony in families and instability in society. People cannot live peacefully with one another, and everyone harbors bad intentions. To achieve their aims, they stop at nothing, thereby creating an unstable world and causing wars to break out. If everyone were to observe:
Do not kill.
Do not steal.
Do not engage in sexual misconduct.
Do not lie.
Do not drink alcohol.
With these five basic precepts, the world will certainly be at peace. There are also the Eight Precepts for lay practitioners and the Ten Precepts for novice monks.
Or because sentient beings praise the practice of patience, patience has three kinds: Patience toward living beings: This means patiently enduring people who slander or harm you, forgiving them and showing them forbearance. Hence the sayings, “Repay enmity with virtue” and “Treat one another with sincerity.” In this way, you will naturally move them to change, and you will live in harmony with one another.
Patience with phenomena: This means patiently enduring nature’s wind and rain, heat and cold, or hunger and thirst …
The patience that realizes the non-arising of phenomena: This means that the mind is settled and free of deluded thoughts; one sees neither the arising of even a single phenomenon nor the ceasing of even a single phenomenon, and abides patiently in the mind. The non-arising of phenomena is the principle of true suchness; patience is wisdom.
Or, for the sake of sentient beings, one praises the Dharma-door of diligence. Diligence has two kinds: Diligence of the body means diligently cultivating precepts, concentration, and wisdom, and not committing killing, stealing, or sexual misconduct.
Diligence of the mind means eliminating greed, anger, and delusion, and not giving rise to or creating karma that brings retribution. In short, diligence means not being idle. Studying the Buddhadharma is like rowing a boat upstream: if you do not move forward, you fall back. If you fail to practice for even one day, your cultivation of the Path will regress. Therefore, you must be diligent by day and by night, constantly diligent during all six periods of the day. This is a requirement for those who cultivate the Path.
Or because sentient beings praise the Dharma door of meditation and concentration. “Chan” is Sanskrit, fully rendered as “dhyana.” “Ding” is Chinese, fully rendered as “right concentration.” This term combines Sanskrit and Chinese. What is meditation and concentration? It is quiet reflection. “Quiet” means still and serene; “reflection” means contemplation. It means stopping all the deluded thoughts of consciousness, whereupon the mind becomes pure. When one reaches the state in which not a single thought arises and not a single thought ceases, wisdom is liberated—that is, one awakens. Therefore:
“When delusive thoughts do not arise, that is meditation;
sitting and seeing one’s true nature is concentration.”
This is an explanation of meditation. Sit in meditation until the fire reaches its proper degree, and you will realize the mind and see your nature—that is, discover your own true mind and see your own true nature. The true mind is the pure mind; the true nature is Buddha-nature.
Or because sentient beings praise the Prajna Dharma-door. Prajna is translated as wisdom. In ancient times, there were five rules for leaving terms untranslated when translating sutras, namely:
- Esoteric.
Revered.
Multiple meanings.
Following the ancient practice.
Absent in this land.
Prajñā has three:
- Prajna in Words: Using words to explain clearly the principles of the true mark of Prajna and contemplative Prajna.
- Contemplative Prajna: Once there are scriptures expressed in words, one must contemplate and reflect on them in order to understand their true meaning.
- True-Mark Prajna: Once one understands the truth, one knows the principles of the true nature of all dharmas. Prajna breaks through appearances and understands that the nature of all dharmas is inherently empty; therefore, cultivating all merits and virtues brings them to perfection.
One may also praise the four immeasurable states of mind: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. What is loving-kindness? It means bringing happiness to all sentient beings. What is compassion? It means relieving the suffering of all sentient beings. What is joy? It means that when one sees someone doing good, or sees someone happy, one feels joy oneself. What is equanimity? It means letting go of feelings of love and aversion, treating those one resents and those one loves equally, and treating enemies and loved ones alike.
To practice the Bodhisattva path, one must first use the four methods of embracing: giving, affectionate speech, beneficial conduct, and cooperation. Then, having cultivated the four immeasurable states of mind, one can carry out work that benefits others. For those who study the Buddhadharma, this is a fundamental practice that must be carried out in earnest. Otherwise, one turns one’s back on the teachings of the Buddhadharma and lacks the spirit of sacrificing the small self to fulfill the great Self.
However, earlier the Buddha praised the six perfections and the four immeasurable states of mind. Yet, with so many Dharma-gates, sentient beings have never been able to escape the Three Realms, gain liberation from birth and death, and attain unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment by relying on any one Dharma. What are the reasons for this? I beg you to explain compassionately.
At that time, Bodhisattva Wisdom Hand replied in verse, saying:
Commentary: At that time, the Great Bodhisattva Wisdom Leader used verses to answer the questions Bodhisattva Manjushri had asked.
O son of the Buddha, exceedingly rare,
You can know the minds of sentient beings.
In accordance with the meaning of the question asked,
Listen attentively as I speak now.
Commentary: Bodhisattva Wisdom Leader said, “Disciple of the Buddha! You are exceedingly rare. You possess great wisdom and are foremost among the great Bodhisattvas. You have asked about the Dharma on behalf of sentient beings, for you skillfully know the thoughts of all sentient beings. Now, based on the questions you have asked, I will explain their meaning. Please listen attentively.”
The Masters of the past,
present, and future
have taught no single Dharma
by which one may attain the Way.
The Buddhas of the past, present, and future, the Great Guides of the Three Ages, do not teach only one Dharma-door, but teach 84,000 Dharma-doors. No Buddha teaches only one Dharma-door and thereby enables sentient beings to attain the fruit of unsurpassed, right, and perfect enlightenment.
The Buddha knows the minds of sentient beings,
Their natures and capacities are all different,
According to how each can be liberated,
Thus he teaches the Dharma
Commentary: There is a saying:
“However many kinds of minds sentient beings have,
the Tathagata knows and sees them all.”
Therefore, the Buddha knows the minds of sentient beings. Sentient beings all have different capacities and dispositions. Some rejoice in this Dharma-gate, while others rejoice in that one. The Buddha knows the minds of sentient beings completely: whatever form is appropriate for delivering a particular person, he manifests that form to teach the Dharma, enabling them to be delivered. The Dharma the Buddha teaches consists of teachings given according to the capacities and dispositions of sentient beings. Thus, he “prescribes medicine according to the illness”—that is, he teaches the Dharma according to the person.
The miser praises generosity;
The precept-breaker praises morality;
The anger-prone praises patience;
The lazy praise diligence.
Commentary: If we encounter sentient beings who are greedy and unwilling to give, we explain to them the merits of generosity and praise its benefits. At first glance, giving means directly giving to others; in truth, it is indirectly giving to ourselves. Thus, “First comes the spring breeze; later comes the autumn rain.” Confucian scholars say, “If you help others, others will help you.” This is the principle of cause and effect. Then, we should set an example ourselves, giving generously to help the poor and suffering and bring them joy. Gradually, we will be able to inspire and transform them, so that they develop compassion and empathize with the hardships and suffering of sentient beings.
If you encounter sentient beings who do not observe the precepts, then praise the importance of the precepts to them. Thus:
“A thing without tools—
how can it be made square or round?
A person without rules and standards
cannot become a sage or a worthy one.”
First of all, I must observe the precepts and not be careless in the slightest. If I do this, over time it will move people and help them understand that keeping the precepts is conduct a Buddhist should embody.
If you encounter sentient beings with intense anger, praise the importance of the Dharma practice of patience. If everyone practiced patience, there would be no wars in the world. The ancients said:
“Patience brings peace;
Contentment brings joy.”
This is speaking from experience: help them cultivate patience in their thinking and understand that accepting a loss is a philosophy for gaining an advantage. Change their behavior, and counsel them gradually. Otherwise, it will have the opposite effect, and cleverness will turn into clumsiness. People consumed by anger have an abnormal state of mind. When something does not go their way, they blame Heaven and other people, and hate their opponent to the bone, hoping they will die a violent death and not leave a whole corpse. They may even wish that the person’s plane would explode, scattering their flesh and blood everywhere, leaving them dead with nowhere to be buried. Only then, they think, will the hatred in their hearts be appeased. Such people all have distorted minds, so we must find a way to change their thinking. There is only one way: explain to them the principle of cause and effect and retribution.
If you encounter sentient beings who are lazy and unwilling to practice, do not directly criticize them as lazy; otherwise, they will get angry and react in the opposite way, becoming even less willing to bow to the Buddha, recite sutras, meditate, or hold mantras. So if they do not want to do the work, take the initiative and help them do it. As the saying goes, “Near vermilion, one turns red; near ink, one turns black.” Over time, they will be moved and will no longer be lazy. The practitioners at Jinshan Monastery all rise early and retire late, devoting themselves to practice. They eat one meal a day and sleep sitting up at night. Why practice such asceticism? It is to attain great wisdom and understand that worldly dharmas are conditioned, impermanent, suffering, empty, and without self; and to understand that supramundane Dharma is unconditioned, permanent, blissful, self, and pure. Only then can one end birth and death and leave the Three Realms. Afterward, praise the Dharma-gate of diligence as very important, emphasizing that diligence is the key to enlightenment.
A scattered mind praises meditation
Foolishness praises wisdom
Unkindness praises compassion
Anger and harm praise great compassion.
Commentary: If you encounter sentient beings whose minds are scattered, you should teach them about meditation. The best method is to subdue their deluded thoughts; this will make their minds as clear as water, and their wisdom will manifest. The essential thing is to put it into practice with the body—only then can you experience the wondrous effects of meditation. The meditation path is not something to talk about; it is a path to practice. Hence the saying, “Like someone drinking water, only they know whether it is hot or cold.” Talking without doing is of no benefit. Once you have helped them discipline their minds, then praise the wondrous effects of meditation; in the past, many Patriarchs attained enlightenment through meditation.
If you encounter foolish beings, never tell them that they have no wisdom. You should encourage them to study the Buddhadharma, read more sutras, recite mantras, and chant the Buddha’s name; in time, they will attain wisdom. Be tactful when guiding them. You cannot bluntly say, “You’re so foolish! Why don’t you study the Buddhadharma?” If you speak that way, nothing will come of it: they will take offense and won’t study diligently. First, praise wisdom as the foremost Dharma practice. Whatever Dharma practice one follows, if one lacks wisdom, there is nothing to speak of; one fundamentally cannot attain realization.
If you encounter sentient beings who lack compassion, use a loving heart to teach and guide them, so that they act with compassion toward sentient beings, empathize with those suffering calamities, and give alms to the poor and needy. Tell them that helping others is the root of peace and happiness, and the greatest source of joy in the world. Thus, “Doing good is the greatest joy.” This happiness is incomparable. Do not be too selfish; this way of thinking is unacceptable.
If you encounter sentient beings who take pleasure in giving rise to anger and hatred, or who delight in killing and taking life, then praise to them the importance of great compassion. Anyone who cultivates the Way must have great compassion; otherwise, no matter how far they progress in their cultivation, they will absolutely achieve nothing. Why? Because they lack virtue. Use virtue to influence and transform others, and treat them with sincerity—these are the prerequisites for beginning to cultivate the Way. I often say:
“Truly acknowledge your own faults.
Do not speak of others’ faults.
Others’ faults are your own faults.
This is called the great compassion of one body.”
This is an explanation of great compassion. Once they give rise to great compassion, they treat all living beings with kindness and peace, and have no intention of killing any living being. All sentient animals cherish life and fear death; this may also be called their natural disposition. Even ants cherish life, let alone cows, oxen, goats, chickens, dogs, and cats. If you kill them in this life, then in the next life they will kill you; grievances are repaid with grievances, and this will never end. If everyone had great compassion and refrained from killing, the world would be at peace, with no wars. Why is there war? Because killing is so rampant. The ancient sages said, “If you want the world to be free of the calamity of war, then living beings must not eat meat.” Therefore, the first of the Five Precepts is not to kill. Only by refraining from killing can one have compassion.
In grief and distress, praise joy
With a crooked mind, praise equanimity
Practice in this order
Gradually perfect all the Buddha’s teachings.
Commentary: When you encounter sentient beings who are sorrowful and worried, praise the Dharma practice of joy and happiness. When adversity comes, you must accept it as though it were favorable; you must think everything through and let go of everything. Then naturally, there will be nothing to worry about.
Long ago, there was a person who worried every day, often thinking to himself: “Who knows when the sky will collapse? Who knows when the earth will cave in? What will I do in the future?” This is:
“There are no troubles in the world to begin with; People simply worry, always worrying too far ahead.”
People nowadays have nothing to worry about, yet they still fret over when their daughters will graduate from university, when they will pass their exams to become doctors, when they will get married, and when they will have children. When you meet people like this, tell them:
“Since ancient times, the immortals have had no other way:
They give rise only to joy, never to sorrow.”
Only when one is joyful and happy will a hundred illnesses fail to arise. Modern medicine now advocates laughing three times a day as a medicine that keeps the body healthy. The ancients said:
“Gentle breezes and a bright moon; plants and trees flourish.
Fierce winds and driving rain; birds and beasts are forlorn.” Therefore, it is said:
“Heaven and earth cannot be without harmonious energy for even a moment;
the human heart cannot be without a joyful spirit for even an instant.”
Take a look: when you step into the temple, you see Bodhisattva Maitreya smiling at you with his mouth open, filling you with joy and cheerfulness and making you forget all your troubles.
If you encounter sentient beings with crooked, dishonest minds, then praise to them the virtue of letting go. Let go of the crooked mind and transform it into an upright mind; therefore, “an upright mind is the place of enlightenment.” People with crooked minds have all sorts of tricks and schemes whatever they encounter, plotting to harm others and specializing in killing without spilling blood.
As mentioned earlier, with regard to the Dharma gates of the Six Perfections and loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, one must practice each in turn according to the teachings. In this way, one will gradually develop all the Buddha-dharmas.
Just as one first lays the foundation,
then afterward constructs the palace,
Giving and precepts are likewise,
they are the root of all the Bodhisattva’s practices,
Commentary: Just as when building a house, you must first lay a solid foundation. If the foundation is not firm, the house will not last long; this is only natural. The walls must also be sturdy, or they may easily lean and collapse. Once the foundation has been laid well, the rooms can be built very securely. If you build a house in the desert without a foundation, you can imagine what will happen: it will not withstand the wind and rain, and before long it will collapse.
Those who cultivate the Way must use giving and upholding the precepts as the foundation of their practice. Without giving and upholding the precepts as a foundation, their spiritual practice will not succeed. Therefore, Bodhisattvas make giving and upholding the precepts the roots of practicing the Bodhisattva path. Only then can they fulfill their spiritual practice.
Just as a fortress is built
To protect all the people,
So too patience and diligence
Protect the Bodhisattvas.
Commentary: For example, when building a city’s fortifications, one must build an outer wall around the city, so that the two protect each other. Hence the saying: “The inner city is three li around, and the outer wall seven li.” Why build city walls and fortifications? To keep the lives and property of the people safe and protect them from invading enemies. Patience and diligence are likewise meant to protect Bodhisattvas who have just aroused the aspiration for enlightenment, so that they are not overcome by the enemy of ignorance or invaded by the demon of laziness. If they practice patience well, they will defeat the enemy of ignorance. If they practice diligence well, they will defeat the king of laziness and indolence.
Just as a mighty king
Is looked up to by the whole realm,
So too are concentration and wisdom
What the Bodhisattva relies upon.
Commentary: Imagine a king with great power who governs his entire realm. The country enjoys favorable weather and peace, its people live in security, with enough food and warm clothing, and are able to live and work in peace. Thus, people deeply admire and revere a virtuous king. Cultivating meditation and wisdom is the same. The two perfections of concentration and wisdom are the primary Dharma; the other practices are supporting practices. Therefore, Bodhisattvas who follow the Bodhisattva path must rely on the Dharma-gate of concentration and wisdom in their practice. With concentration and wisdom, they will certainly attain Buddhahood.
Likewise, like a Wheel-Turning King,
Able to bring joy to all,
The Four Immeasurables are likewise,
Bringing joy to the Bodhisattvas.
Commentary: Just like a Wheel-Turning Sage King, who grants every kind of pleasure to all the people, giving them whatever they lack, how is this possible? It is because he possesses a wish-fulfilling jewel. This wish-fulfilling jewel is one of the seven treasures. Where does this precious jewel come from? It falls directly from the sky.
In the past, when the Wheel-Turning Sage King was still cultivating in the human realm, he cultivated blessings and wisdom. Because his blessings and wisdom were complete, in this life he possessed all thirty-two marks and every kind of adornment. If he had not become a Wheel-Turning Sage King, he would have become a Buddha and Patriarch. The Buddha Shakyamuni gave up the position of Wheel-Turning Sage King, entered the Snow Mountains to cultivate, and then attained the unsurpassed, right and equal enlightenment of Buddhahood.
When a Wheel-Turning Sage King is anointed to the throne (that is, when he succeeds to the kingship and is anointed with water from the four seas in a formal ceremony), the seven treasures naturally fall from the sky as celebratory gifts. The wish-fulfilling jewel is one of these seven treasures. Another account says that it is the heart of the great golden-winged bird. When the great golden-winged bird dies, its flesh and bones all disintegrate, but its heart remains intact and shines brilliantly. If a dragon obtains and safeguards this jewel, it can dispel a thousand years of darkness. When a Wheel-Turning Sage King obtains it, it is called a wish-fulfilling jewel and can save all beings from every calamity.
Everyone has this jewel; it is the wondrous, luminous jewel of the mind. It is just that people do not know how to use it.
The four immeasurable states of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity are likewise able to bestow every kind of bliss upon a Bodhisattva. Anyone who is enlightened and still wishes to help others is a Bodhisattva. Someone who is not enlightened but helps others is practicing the Bodhisattva path, but is not yet a Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva can go three thousand days without eating; whoever can do that is a Bodhisattva. To become a Bodhisattva, one must undergo trials before one is qualified; one cannot become a Bodhisattva just any old way. It is not the case that, simply by receiving the Bodhisattva precepts, one becomes a Bodhisattva. This is merely the first step, the beginning of setting out on the Bodhisattva path.
At that time, Bodhisattva Manjushri asked Bodhisattva Worthy Leader: “Buddha-son, all the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, attain liberation through a single path. Why, then, do we now see that the various things in all Buddha-lands differ in many ways—namely, the worlds, the realms of sentient beings, the teaching of the Dharma and the taming of beings, the length of life, radiance, supernatural powers, assemblies, modes of teaching, and the duration of the Dharma? Yet no one attains supreme, perfect enlightenment without being endowed with all the Buddha-dharmas.”
Commentary: After Bodhisattva Wisdom Leader had finished speaking the verse, Bodhisattva Manjushri then turned to Bodhisattva Worthy Leader and asked him to teach the Dharma, saying: “Buddha-son! All the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, throughout the three periods of time and the ten directions attain liberation from the Three Realms through the Dharma of the One Vehicle (the Buddha Vehicle). Why, then, do we now see that all Buddha-lands and all their circumstances are different? What is the principle behind this? Please, out of compassion, explain it to us.” There are all kinds of differences among worlds. Some are polluted, like the Saha World, and are in an evil age of the five turbidities. Others are pure, like the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Buddha-lands may be large or small. The mountains, rivers, land, houses, and rooms that serve as their basis, as well as their dependent and received karmic rewards, are also unlike one another. Some are round, and some are square. Some worlds have gold for their ground, while in some lands the ground is made of earth and stone. Some worlds are formed from lotus flowers, while others are formed from lapis lazuli. The adornments of each Buddha’s place of practice vary in all kinds of ways. Some worlds are pure, while others are filthy. In some worlds a Buddha appears, while in others no Buddha appears. Some worlds are in a kalpa of abiding; some have an extremely long duration. Some worlds are in a kalpa of transformation, with all kinds of differences.
Within the realm of sentient beings, there are all kinds of sentient beings, each different from the others. The Buddha teaches the Dharma to discipline sentient beings in many different ways as well. The Buddha’s lifespan may be long or short. For example, after the Buddha Moon-Faced attained Buddhahood, he entered Nirvana within a single day and night. The Buddha Tu Phiến Đa attained Buddhahood in the morning and entered Nirvana that evening. The Buddha Brahma Sound lived for ten billion years. The Buddha Amitabha has a lifespan of infinite, boundless Asamkhya kalpas. The Buddhas’ radiance differs, as do their supernatural powers, their assemblies, the ways they expound the teachings, and how long the Dharma remains in the world. Each has its own distinct characteristics. Yet no Buddha attains unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment without being fully endowed with all the Buddha-dharmas of the six perfections and the myriad practices.
Everyone! Do you know the purpose of the Six Perfections? Giving overcomes stinginess; upholding precepts overcomes violations; patience overcomes anger; diligence overcomes laziness; meditation overcomes distraction; and wisdom overcomes ignorance. You should understand that once you have wisdom, ignorance is immediately dispelled.
When we study the Buddha Dharma, we are learning wisdom. Wisdom means right understanding and right views; ignorance means wrong understanding and wrong views. The Buddha Dharma is right understanding and right views, while non-Buddhist teachings are wrong understanding and wrong views. A good spiritual friend has right understanding and right views; a bad spiritual friend has wrong understanding and wrong views. Anyone who teaches you to accept a disadvantage is a good spiritual friend; anyone who teaches you to take advantage of others is a bad spiritual friend. I hope everyone will draw close to good spiritual friends and keep away from bad ones.
Then Bodhisattva Worthy Leader replied in verse:
Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Xianshou used a verse to answer the questions asked by Bodhisattva Manjushri:
Manjushri, the Dharma is always thus
The Dharma King has only one Dharma
All unobstructed beings
One path leads out of birth and death
Commentary: Bodhisattva Worthy Chief said, “Great Bodhisattva Manjushri, the Buddha-Dharma is always thus. The Dharma King (the Buddha) uses the One Vehicle Dharma to attain Buddhahood. All worthy and holy beings (Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Bodhisattvas) are unobstructed; they all use the One Vehicle Dharma to understand birth and escape death, and to transcend the cycle of rebirth in the Three Realms.”
The bodies of all Buddhas
Are only one Dharma body
One mind, one wisdom,
Powers and fearlessness are likewise.
Commentary: The physical forms of all Buddhas of the ten directions and three times, though immeasurable in number, have but one Dharma body. Therefore:
“The Buddhas of the ten directions and three times
All share one Dharma body.”
A single Dharma body extends to the ends of empty space and pervades the entire Dharma realm. Although the Dharma body of each Buddha fills the entire Dharma realm, they do not obstruct one another. The minds of the Buddhas are alike, and their wisdom is alike; therefore, “Buddha after Buddha, the Way is the same.” The Buddhas’ ten powers and four fearlessnesses are likewise all the same, with no differences whatsoever.
The Ten Powers are:
- The power of knowing what is possible and impossible.
- The power of knowing the karmic results of the three lifetimes.
- The power of knowing the various meditations, liberations, and samādhis.
- The power of knowing the superior and inferior faculties.
- The power of knowing the various dispositions.
- The power of knowing the various realms.
- The power of knowing the paths leading to all destinations.
- The power of the unobstructed heavenly eye.
- The power of knowing the universe and what is free of outflows.
- The power of permanently eradicating habitual tendencies.
The Four Fearlessnesses:
- Fearlessness regarding omniscience.
- Fearlessness regarding the exhaustion of the taints.
- Fearlessness in declaring what obstructs the path.
- Fearlessness in declaring the path that ends suffering.
As in the original aspiration toward Bodhi
All minds of dedication
Attain such Buddha-lands
Assemblies and Dharma teachings.
Commentary: Just as the Buddha, while at the causal ground, aroused the Bodhi mind and aspired toward Bodhi, so too, when practicing the Bodhisattva path, he dedicated all his merits to sentient beings throughout the Dharma Realm. Whatever Bodhi aspiration one makes, that is the land one will attain in the future. All the Buddhas of the past also aroused the Bodhi mind, then made all kinds of vows and dedicated them to sentient beings. For example, Amitabha Buddha made forty-eight great vows, vowing that his world would have none of the various kinds of suffering, but only the various kinds of bliss. He vowed that sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions would all be reborn in his land. It was by making vows at the causal ground that he attained such a Dharma assembly for expounding the Dharma.
All the lands of the Buddhas
Their adornments are wholly perfect
According to the different practices of sentient beings
Thus, what is seen differs
Commentary: All the Buddha lands are exceedingly majestic, perfect, and radiant. Because sentient beings practice different Dharma methods, the realms they see are not the same. The Buddha’s original realm has no distinctions; it is because sentient beings’ minds differ that what they see also differs.
Buddha-fields and Buddha-bodies
Assemblies and spoken teachings
Such Buddha-Dharmas
Sentient beings cannot see.
Commentary: Sentient beings see the lands of the Buddhas as different realms, but the essential nature of all Buddha lands is the same. Sentient beings are completely unable to see the Buddha’s Dharma body; that is, they cannot comprehend the Dharma assemblies, all the words spoken, or the many different kinds of Buddhadharma.
When the mind has become pure,
All vows are fulfilled;
One who clearly understands in this way
Can then behold this.
Commentary: Unless the minds of sentient beings have become pure, free of false thoughts and afflictions; unless, at the causal stage, they have made all kinds of vows and practiced all kinds of Dharma methods, bringing them all to complete perfection, they cannot attain great wisdom that penetrates without obstruction. Only those whose minds are pure and whose vows are complete can clearly understand the Buddha’s lands and realms, the teaching of the Dharma to transform sentient beings, and all the words of samādhi; only then can they see the Buddha.
In accordance with the inclinations of sentient beings’ minds,
And through the power of karmic results,
They see distinctions such as these
This is due to the Buddha’s majestic spiritual power.
Commentary: The Buddha observes all causes and conditions in order to teach sentient beings. According to what sentient beings desire, he expounds the Dharma that brings them joy. Hence the saying:
“To lead them into the Buddha’s wisdom,
First draw them with the hook of desire.”
To enable people to attain the Buddha’s wisdom, one must first teach and guide sentient beings by accommodating the wishes in their minds, gradually leading them to delve deeply into the Treasury of the Sutras and attain wisdom as vast as the ocean. Although one adapts to the inclinations of sentient beings, one must also observe the power of their karma and its corresponding retributions: whatever faculties they have, that is the Dharma one teaches them. Hence: “Teach the Dharma according to the person.” Sentient beings differ and see different realms; this is due to the Buddha’s great spiritual power.
Buddha-fields make no distinctions
Neither hatred nor love
They only follow the minds of sentient beings
Thus are seen to differ.
Commentary: The lands of all Buddhas throughout the ten directions and the three times are originally without distinction. In the lands of the Buddhas, there is no mind of hatred or aversion, nor any mind of attachment or love. They appear distinctive only in accordance with the minds of sentient beings. This is because sentient beings’ karmic results differ, and so what they see also differs.
Thus, in the world,
What is seen differs in various ways;
This is not the fault
Of the Tathagatas, the Great Sages.
Commentary: Because of all the various causes and conditions mentioned above, sentient beings in all worlds perceive things differently. This is not a fault of the Tathagatas and Great Immortals (Buddhas), nor do they deliberately seek to delude sentient beings; rather, the karmic forces of sentient beings differ, and so their perceptions differ.
In all the worlds
Those who should receive guidance
Always see the Hero Among Men
The Dharma of all Buddhas is thus.
Commentary: In all worlds, all sentient beings who are worthy of being taught and transformed by the Buddha often see the Hero Among Men (the Buddha). The Buddha is the Great Hero, of great strength and great compassion; therefore, the Buddha hall (the main shrine hall) is called the “Great Hero Hall.” The Dharma of all Buddhas is like this.
At that time, the bodhisattvas said to Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī: “Son of the Buddha, each of us has already spoken of what we understand. We only pray, Noble One, that with your wondrous eloquence you will expound and proclaim all the realms of the Tathāgata. What is the Buddha’s realm? What are the causes of the Buddha’s realm? What is the extent of the Buddha’s realm? What is the entry into the Buddha’s realm? What is the wisdom of the Buddha’s realm? What is the Dharma of the Buddha’s realm? What is the teaching of the Buddha’s realm? What is the knowledge of the Buddha’s realm? What is the realization of the Buddha’s realm? What is the manifestation of the Buddha’s realm? What is the vastness of the Buddha’s realm…”
Commentary: After Bodhisattva Worthy Leader had recited the verse, the nine great Bodhisattvas all turned to Bodhisattva Manjushri and asked: “Son of the Buddha! We have finished explaining the principles we understand. We hope you will use the four unobstructed eloquences—the unobstructed eloquence of words, the unobstructed eloquence of phenomena, the unobstructed eloquence of meaning, and the unobstructed eloquence of joyful exposition—to explain in detail to all of us every aspect of the Tathagata’s realm. What is the realm of the Buddha? How can one attain the Buddha’s realm?” In this Sutra it says:
“If anyone wishes to know the realm of the Buddha,
let them purify and clarify their mind like empty space.”
When your thoughts are pure, with no more greed, anger, or delusion, no more wild-mindedness or untamed nature, no more arrogance or conceit, no more jealousy or obstructions, and all kinds of afflictions and deluded thoughts are completely purified, then you will be like empty space. At that point, you will clearly understand what the realm of the Buddha is.
The nine great Bodhisattvas—Awakening Hand, Wealth Hand, Jewel Hand, Virtue Hand, Eye Hand, Diligence Hand, Dharma Hand, Wisdom Hand, and Worthy Hand—together addressed Bodhisattva Manjushri and posed ten questions:
What realm is the basis for cultivating the Buddha’s realm? What causes must one cultivate in order to realize the Buddha’s realm?
What realm is the realm of liberating sentient beings? What methods can be used to enable all sentient beings to be liberated?
What realm enables one to enter the Buddha’s realm?
What Dharma-door should one cultivate? What realm should one cultivate in order to attain the Buddha’s wisdom?
What realm is the realm in which the Buddha explains the method for becoming a Buddha? What Dharma-door is the expedient Dharma-door for becoming a Buddha? We who cultivate the Way must know this wondrous Dharma.
What realm is the realm in which the Buddha expounds the wondrous Dharma? What words and written language does the Buddha use to teach the Dharma?
What realm is the realm of knowing the Buddha’s realm?
What realm is the Buddha’s realm of realization? What Dharma must one cultivate in order to realize the Buddha’s realm?
What realm is the realm in which the Buddha appears? In what realm does the Buddha manifest?
What realm is the Buddha’s vast realm? What is the Buddha’s vast realm like?
The ten questions above all need to be clearly understood. First, we must thoroughly understand these realms; afterward, we can follow these methods to cultivate the Buddha’s realm. These questions were asked by nine great Bodhisattvas who aroused compassion and took pity on ignorant sentient beings who do not know how to cultivate. They therefore asked Manjushri Bodhisattva on behalf of sentient beings. This question-and-answer outline captures the essential points. We must listen with complete concentration and not disappoint the great Bodhisattvas’ heartfelt compassion.
At that time, Bodhisattva Manjushri replied in verse:
Commentary: Earlier, the nine great Bodhisattvas used verses to answer the questions asked by Bodhisattva Manjushri. Now Bodhisattva Manjushri uses verses to answer the questions asked by the nine great Bodhisattvas.
The Tathagata’s realm is profound
Its measure equals empty space
All sentient beings enter
Yet in truth, there is nowhere to enter.
Commentary: An explanation of the two words “Thus Come One”: The Diamond Sutra says:
“The Thus Come One comes from nowhere,
Nor does he go anywhere;
Therefore, he is called the Thus Come One.” Another explanation is: “Following the Way as it truly is, one comes to attain perfect enlightenment.” “Thus” means suchness, unmoving. “Come” means the Dharma of clear and constant illumination. The realm of the Tathagata is profound beyond comparison in its depth, and vast beyond comparison in its breadth. It encompasses all of space and the entire Dharma-realm, embracing the myriad phenomena—nothing is excluded. Every realm whatsoever is the Tathagata’s realm. That is why it is called profound and vast: it is a realm of perfect interfusion without obstruction.
The realm of the Tathagata extends to the limits of the three periods of time, spans the ten directions, and is equal in measure to empty space. All sentient beings are within the Tathagata’s realm; none are outside it. Since there is no coming or going, it is said that in truth there is nowhere to enter. In reality, not a single sentient being has ever left the Tathagata’s realm; from the very beginning, all have been within empty space. This is the answer concerning the vastness of the realm.
The Tathagata’s profound realm,
All wondrous, supreme causes,
For countless kalpas, constantly expounded,
Still cannot be fully expressed
Commentary: The causes of the Buddha’s realm are inconceivable and exceptionally wondrous and supreme. Because these causes are wondrous and supreme, the realm of the Tathāgata is continually expounded throughout countless kalpas. Yet however long one expounds these wondrous, supreme causes, they cannot easily be fully explained. This is the answer concerning the causes of the realm.
According to their minds and wisdom
Guiding and urging, benefiting all
Liberating sentient beings in this way
Is the realm of the Buddhas.
Commentary: In accordance with the minds of all sentient beings—whether they have wisdom or lack wisdom, whether they are wise or foolish—the Buddhas use all kinds of methods to guide them, causing them to turn toward the Buddha Way and gain benefit. To save all kinds of sentient beings, different methods must be used to teach and transform them. As explained earlier, all kinds of principles and skillful means are used to save different sentient beings. This is the realm of all Buddhas throughout the ten directions and the three times. This answers the question about the realm of saving beings.
All sentient beings have Buddha-nature, and they also have ignorance. The heavier their ignorance, the less wisdom they have; the lighter their ignorance, the more wisdom they have. Sentient beings with little wisdom have many afflictions; those with much wisdom have few afflictions. Wisdom and afflictions are opposites. Because sentient beings are of many kinds and have different thoughts, their wisdom also differs.
All the lands of the world,
One may enter them all at will;
The body of wisdom has no form,
And they are unable to see it.
Commentary: In all the worlds and all the Buddha-lands throughout the entire world system, no matter which world it is, the Buddhas enter that world in accordance with the minds of sentient beings. The Buddhas enter by means of wisdom; the wisdom-body has no form or appearance, so ordinary beings cannot see the Buddha. Ultimately, how do they enter the world? And how do they leave the world? Those who do not possess the five eyes and six supernatural powers cannot know. This is the answer concerning entry into the realm.
The Buddhas’ wisdom is sovereign
Unhindered throughout the three times
Such is the realm of wisdom
Equal, like empty space.
Commentary: The wisdom of all Buddhas consists of the Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom, the Wisdom of Equality of Nature, the Wondrous Observing Wisdom, and the Wisdom of Accomplishing What Is to Be Done. The four wisdoms of all Buddhas are free and unobstructed. The past, present, and future—the three times—are all without obstruction. Using this wisdom to teach and transform sentient beings equally, like space, which has no form or marks yet pervades everywhere, is the answer concerning the realm of wisdom.
The Dharma realm, the realm of sentient beings
Ultimately, without distinction
All are fully and clearly known
This is the Tathagata’s realm.
Commentary: The Dharma realm is principle, while the realm of sentient beings is phenomena. Since phenomena arise in dependence on principle, true principle is itself phenomena, so they are not different; nevertheless, one must understand that they are distinct realms. This cannot be known by using the discriminating mind to make distinctions, because this is the realm of the Buddhas. Thus, ordinary beings have no way to fathom it, no way to measure it, and no way to know it at all. The realm of the Buddhas is like the Great Perfect Mirror: pure and luminous, unstained by even a speck of dust, reflecting the true aspects of all phenomena. When things come, it responds; when they go, it is still. That is to say, when a realm comes, its appearance manifests; when it goes, nothing remains at all. One cannot use the discriminating mind to make distinctions—this is true wisdom. In short, true wisdom makes no distinctions. This is the answer concerning the realm of phenomena.
Throughout all the worlds,
all sounds that exist,
Buddha-wisdom understands them all,
yet makes no distinctions.
Commentary: In all worlds, the Buddha can at any time clearly understand every sound made by sentient beings through his wisdom. Yet although he understands them, he does not do so with a discriminating mind. In this sutra, the “Worthy Leader” chapter says: “He can cause all the sounds heard by people throughout the three realms to be the sounds of the Tathagata.” This is an answer concerning the realm.
It is not through discriminating consciousness that this realm can be discerned, nor can it be known through the mind’s thoughts and conjectures. The original nature of wisdom is pure. The Buddha uses this pure, original wisdom to reveal the true Dharma-nature of sentient beings: to remove their delusions and obstructions, reveal their truth, and enable them to awaken to the true essence of the Dharma and attain the pure wisdom of their own nature. This is the answer to how this realm is known.
Not something consciousness can know,
Nor within the realm of mind;
Its nature is originally pure,
Revealed to all sentient beings.
Neither karma nor affliction
No thing, no place of abiding
No illumination, no place of practice
Equally traversing the world
Commentary: The nature of karma is inherently empty, so it is said that there is no karma. Afflictions likewise have no inherent nature, so it is said that there are no afflictions. Hence it is said: “There is no thing and no place to abide.” The Sixth Patriarch Huineng said:
“Originally, there is not a single thing;
where could dust cling?”
It neither illuminates nor has any place where it acts. The Buddha’s wisdom functions equally throughout all worlds. This is the answer concerning realization of the Dharma realm.
The minds of all sentient beings
Permeate the three times.
In a single thought, the Tathāgata
Clearly comprehends them all.
Commentary: The minds of all sentient beings are universally encompassed within the wisdom of the Buddhas of the three times. In a single thought, the Tathāgata, without employing a discriminating mind, clearly knows every thought of every sentient being. It is like a mirror reflecting objects, bright and pure. The “Chapter on the Manifestation” in this sutra says, “Bodhi manifests throughout all mental activities.” This is the principle being explained. This answers the question of the manifestation of the realm.
At that time, by the Buddha’s spiritual power, all the distinctions among the sentient beings in this Saha world—the distinctions of Dharma, karma, worlds, bodies, faculties, rebirth, the fruits of keeping precepts, the fruits of breaking precepts, and the fruits of lands—were clearly manifested.
Commentary: After Bodhisattva Manjushri answered in verse the questions posed by the nine great Bodhisattvas, at that time, in this Saha World, all kinds of beings, all the different dharmas, the different karmic rewards they received, the different dependent retributions they experienced, the different proper retributions they obtained, all their different faculties and dispositions, and the births they experienced were all different. Beings who upheld the five precepts and practiced the ten wholesome deeds obtained different karmic fruits. Beings who broke the five precepts and practiced the ten unwholesome deeds also obtained different karmic fruits. The karmic fruits of the lands were different as well. All of the realms mentioned above were clearly manifested through the Buddha’s great awesome spiritual power.
What are spiritual powers? “Spiritual” is the innate nature, the natural nature. “Powers” is the nature of wisdom, the wisdom nature. This nature knows without knowing, can do what cannot be done, sees without seeing, and hears without hearing. The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—the six faculties—function together; this is spiritual power. Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling, and knowing—the six natures—function together; this is spiritual power.
Likewise, in the eastern direction, throughout the Dharma Realm and the realm of space, in all worlds numbering hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas—numberless, immeasurable, boundless, incomparable, uncountable, indescribable, inconceivable, immeasurable, and ineffable—all distinctions in the dharmas of sentient beings, and even distinctions in the fruits of lands, are clearly manifested through the Buddha’s spiritual power. The south, west, and north, the four intermediate directions, above and below, are likewise.
Commentary: Just as in the east there are hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas, beyond reckoning and beyond calculation. How many are there? They cannot be calculated. How many are there? They cannot be counted, cannot be pondered or measured, and cannot be spoken of. How many are there in the east? They are as numerous as the empty reaches of space, pervading the entire Dharma Realm. In all worlds, all the dharmas practiced by sentient beings differ, and even their karmic results, whether defiled or pure, differ; all are made clearly manifest through the Buddha’s wondrous spiritual powers. Not only is this so in the east; it is so as well in the south, west, north, northeast, southeast, southwest, northwest, above, and below. In all these nine directions, they are likewise made manifest.
END OF CHAPTER 10