BODHISATTVA MANJUSHRI’S QUESTIONS
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Scriptural Text: Thus have I heard: At one time Bhagavan entered the samadhi proper absorption called the Treasury of Great Spiritual Powers and Great Luminosity, upheld and adorned by the radiance of all Tathagatas. This is the originally pure ground of awakening of all sentient beings: body and mind quiescent and extinguished, equal at the fundamental source, perfectly complete throughout the ten directions, harmonizing with non-duality. Within the non-dual realm, all pure lands appear.
Commentary: This is unusual. In other sutras we often see an opening such as: “Thus have I heard. One day the Buddha was in Anathapindika’s Grove…” or “at the Bamboo Grove Monastery,” etc. Those are Ananda’s recitations of the sutra treasury, so “I have heard” refers to what Ananda heard, and “thus” refers to what the Buddha taught. Then the text clearly states place and country. But this sutra says: “One day the Buddha entered the samadhi of the Treasury of Great Spiritual Powers and Great Luminosity…”
That samadhi does not belong to Shakyamuni Buddha alone; all Buddhas abide in it, and it is also the pure awakening-ground of all sentient beings. This passage indicates the realm of Perfect Enlightenment of all Buddhas. That realm is not something the Buddhas newly obtained after practice; rather, it is fully revealed when the defilements of affliction are refined away. Ordinary beings also inherently possess this realm, but because they do not know how to refine away defilements, those obscurations cover it and they do not see it.
According to sutras and treatises, this realm has different names: in some places it is called Perfect Enlightenment, in others Fundamental Wisdom. This sutra does not specify an external location where the Buddha preached; it says the Buddha teaches within the still, pure essence of Perfect Enlightenment itself. The nature of Perfect Enlightenment encompasses all beings and all Buddhas; both Buddhas and beings abide in it, and the Buddha himself abides in it while speaking Dharma. “Accord with non-duality” means accord with what is not two. Since there is no longer clinging to this side and that side, being and non-being, birth and extinction, it is called non-dual. Precisely within that non-dual realm are the pure lands of all Buddhas, with nothing apart from it. Perfect Enlightenment-nature is the non-dual realm, and from this non-dual realm, pure lands appear according to conditions. Those pure lands are the purity of one’s own mind. Thus, the Buddha speaks Dharma in the samadhi of Perfect Enlightenment, and those hearing the Dharma are also in that samadhi. Then who are the listeners in this assembly?
Scriptural Text: Together with one hundred thousand great bodhisattva-mahasattvas, whose names were: Manjushri, Samantabhadra, Universal Eyes, Vajra Treasury, Maitreya, Pure Wisdom, Majestic Virtue and Freedom, Eloquence Sound, Purifier of Karmic Obstructions, Universal Awakening, Perfect Enlightenment, and Worthy Good Leader, and others as leaders. Along with their retinues, all entered samadhi and dwelt together in the Tathagata’s equal Dharma assembly.
Commentary: “Perfect Enlightenment” points to the “originally pure mind.” Therefore, to speak and hear of the pure realm, one cannot do so while abiding in deluded mind. So the Buddha entered proper samadhi to teach this Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, and the bodhisattvas also had to enter proper samadhi to hear and understand it. Buddhists reading this sutra must first settle the mind and focus deeply to understand.
The main point here is that Buddha and bodhisattvas enter proper samadhi to speak and hear the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment.
The Buddha teaches in the samadhi of Perfect Enlightenment; the bodhisattvas who come to hear are also in that same samadhi and in the Tathagata’s equal assembly. How does the Buddha speak while in samadhi? How do bodhisattvas hear while in samadhi? For example, if we sit in meditation now, can we speak and hear Dharma as usual? If we are occupied with concentration, how do we speak and hear? So how is this sutra’s speaking-and-hearing in samadhi different from ours?
If this is not carefully clarified, doubt will arise: why are Buddha and bodhisattvas speaking and hearing while in samadhi? This samadhi is not like our fixed sitting with downward gaze and single-pointed focus to prevent distraction. It is the samadhi of freedom attained by entering one’s own pure nature: the eyes still see, ears still hear, one still contacts people and circumstances, yet the mind does not run after them. This is called samadhi of self-nature, samadhi within activity, not merely bodily stillness. For bodhisattvas, especially in Chan spirit, the Tathagata in walking, standing, sitting, lying down, speaking, and silence always abides in the pure Dharma-body, namely the proper samadhi of the unborn and undying, responding to conditions. It is not that one is in samadhi only when sitting and not while walking; if walking were outside samadhi, that would not be Buddhahood.
Therefore it is said: the Buddha enters samadhi and teaches; bodhisattvas enter samadhi and hear and inquire. This is no different from the Sixth Patriarch’s definition in the Platform Sutra: “Outwardly not clinging to appearances is Chan; inwardly not being disturbed is samadhi.” This is also called self-nature Perfect Enlightenment. Abiding in it is meditative concentration. Thus the sutra says Buddha enters samadhi to teach and bodhisattvas enter samadhi to hear. Because they abide in the equal, pure, unmoving essence of mind, the sutra states: they dwell together in the Tathagata’s equal Dharma assembly.
This section is the fulfillment of the assembly condition, and it differs from many other sutras: the Buddha speaks with bodhisattvas who have no worldly historical biographies. Their capacities are mature, showing this sutra is a sudden Mahayana teaching that directly points to the mind-nature of beings as Buddha.
Scriptural Text: Then Bodhisattva Manjushri, in the midst of the great assembly, rose from his seat, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, circumambulated three times to the right, knelt with palms joined, and said to the Buddha: Great Compassionate World-Honored One, we pray that for this Dharma assembly You teach the pure causal ground practices by which the Tathagata originally arose, and teach how bodhisattvas in Mahayana arouse pure mind and stay far from all illnesses, enabling future sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age who seek Mahayana not to fall into wrong views. Having spoken thus, he prostrated fully to the ground and repeated this request three times.
Commentary: The main meaning is that Manjushri asks two things:
1. How did the Buddha cultivate to become Buddha?
2. Once bodhisattvas arouse bodhi-mind, how can delusive thoughts cease from arising?
The first question resembles Ananda’s question in the Shurangama Sutra: “Please teach me the method by which all Buddhas attained the Way and realized fruition.”
The second resembles Subhuti’s question in the Diamond Sutra: “How should one abide in true mind, and how should one subdue deluded mind?” (How should one abide, and how should one subdue that mind?)
We should know that most bodhisattvas in this assembly are not historical figures from this world. First, Manjushri stands forth to ask. Manjushri (Manjusri) is Sanskrit; in Chinese it is rendered Wonderful Auspiciousness. Manjushri symbolizes fundamental wisdom. This sutra takes fundamental wisdom as its standard. He asks about the Tathagata’s pure causal ground of practice: from what original cause does one advance in cultivation to the Tathagata’s purity? Put simply: by cultivating what causes did the Buddha purify body and mind and perfect wisdom? He asks the Buddha to teach this to them and to Mahayana bodhisattvas, so that when they arouse pure mind they can leave all illnesses and help later beings seeking Mahayana not fall into wrong views.
Manjushri thus raises two crucial questions for our practice: how to cultivate to become Buddha, and how to eliminate illnesses that obstruct the path. These are foundational. If we practice without understanding them, regression is easy. First, if we do not know how the Buddha cultivated to become Buddha, how can we rely on that path? Second, while practicing, if obstacles arise, how do we pass through them and progress? Without clarity on these two points, obstacles on the path are endless. Manjushri seeks to uncover these causes so we grasp the essentials of practice; therefore he bows and asks.
Out of compassion, wishing future beings to benefit, he earnestly bows and requests three times. Then the Buddha consents to answer.
Scriptural Text: At that time the World-Honored One told Bodhisattva Manjushri: Excellent, excellent! Good man, you are able to ask on behalf of bodhisattvas about the Tathagata’s causal ground practices, and for all beings in the Dharma-ending age who seek Mahayana, so they may abide correctly and not fall into wrong views. Now listen carefully; I shall explain for you. Then Bodhisattva Manjushri, joyfully accepting the teaching, together with the great assembly, remained silent and listened.
Good man, the unsurpassed Dharma King has a great dharani gate called Perfect Enlightenment, from which flow all purity, true suchness, bodhi, nirvana, and paramita teachings for bodhisattvas. All Tathagatas at their original causal ground relied on perfect illumination of the pure marks of awakening, forever severed ignorance, and only then accomplished Buddhahood.
Commentary: The Buddha first praises, then exhorts careful listening, because Perfect Enlightenment is a pure realm. One must steady mind and spirit to hear; it cannot be understood with the arising-and-ceasing mind and scattered thoughts.
Manjushri asked what cause of cultivation all Buddhas used. The Buddha answers: all Buddhas rely on Perfect Enlightenment to illuminate and break ignorance and thus become Buddhas. True Suchness, Bodhi, Nirvana, Prajna Paramita, and so on all flow from this Perfect Enlightenment. Therefore, to realize Perfect Enlightenment, one must first clearly understand ignorance and eliminate it.
Because Manjushri raised two critical questions leading to Buddhahood, the Buddha praised him. “Unsurpassed Dharma King” refers to Buddha. Regarding the sufferings of beings, the Buddha uses many skillful means and teachings to cure delusion and end suffering, so he is likened to a supreme Dharma king. Dharani is Sanskrit; in Chinese it is translated as total retention, meaning encompassing all. Here the Buddha says there is a Dharma gate containing all Dharma gates, named Perfect Enlightenment. Vien means complete; Giac means awakening, brightness, knowing. From this nature of Perfect Enlightenment flow all pure dharmas: True Suchness, Bodhi, Nirvana, Paramita, to teach bodhisattvas. Thus, terms we often hear, like True Suchness, Bodhi, and Nirvana, all flow from Perfect Enlightenment-nature. Therefore it is total retention, including everything, and is called the original causal ground of all Buddhas. All Buddhas rely on it to cut off ignorance and realize Buddhahood.
From this general answer, what key point is shown? The Buddha says: all Buddhas rely on the pure mark of awakening, constantly illuminating, to break ignorance and become Buddhas.
Do you see this differs from the Patriarchs? It does not. The Patriarchs also say: “Rely on Buddha-nature, on your own inherent pure nature, and cultivate from there to become Buddha.” So the basis taught here is to recognize one’s own nature of Perfect Enlightenment. After recognizing it, take it as one’s stable ground and, relying on it, activate illuminating awareness. That illumination breaks ignorance.
Why, when speaking of Perfect Enlightenment, does the Buddha analyze ignorance first instead of explaining Perfect Enlightenment first? Because if Perfect Enlightenment is discussed without ignorance, people do not understand. Ignorance obscures awakened nature. If one wants awakened nature to be fully manifest, one must first eliminate ignorance. Therefore one must understand what ignorance is in order to remove it. When ignorance is removed, awakened nature appears.
Scriptural Text: What is ignorance? Good man, all sentient beings from beginningless time have had manifold inversions. Like a person lost in confusion who mistakes direction and location, they falsely take the four elements as their own bodily form and the conditioned shadow-images of the six sense objects as their own mind-form, like diseased eyes seeing flowers in space and a second moon.
Commentary: Here the Buddha points out ignorance clearly. Ignorance is inverted false thoughts that obscure Perfect Enlightenment-nature (the originally pure mind). From ignorance there appear body and world, then beings cling to true self and true dharmas, creating countless karmas; layered delusion covers Perfect Enlightenment. Therefore through many lifetimes they revolve in birth and death, sinking in the sea of suffering.
It is like drowsiness (analogy for ignorance) arising and dimming wakefulness (analogy for Perfect Enlightenment); then dream scenes appear with persons and objects (world and beings), and one cries, laughs, rejoices, gets angry, taking each as real, bound in attachment, moving from one dream to another without waking. This illustrates layered ignorance obscuring Perfect Enlightenment (true mind).
According to Buddha, ignorance means beings from beginningless time are obscured by many inversions and cannot see Perfect Enlightenment. What is inversion? It is reversed seeing. In the world, saying what is absent exists and what exists is absent is reversed speech. It means reality is like this, but we insist it is otherwise. We are presently in inverted seeing, taking the false as real. To clarify, Buddha gives the example of a confused person misplacing the four directions. What does this mean? Suppose someone gets lost in a forest, wants to go home, but forgets direction. Home is south, but he goes north, mistaking north for south.
How long until he reaches home by heading north? Certainly the more he walks, the farther from home. If north is mistaken for south, east and west are also mistaken. Thus Buddha says: once one thing is mistaken, all others are mistaken. In the universe of countless phenomena, if a few key phenomena are mistaken, myriad phenomena are mistaken.
What do we mistake? Buddha teaches:
First, mistaking the four-element body as oneself. This body is composed of earth, water, fire, and wind, yet we take it as our real self. That is ignorance. Has anyone here ended ignorance?
Since we take this body as real, we live in ignorance without knowing.
Second, mistaking mind that follows the shadow-images of six objects as one’s true mind. Thus if body and mind are mistaken, everything is mistaken, just as one mistaken direction leads to all directions mistaken.
Examine carefully: do you take mind that chases six-object shadows as your mind? Everyone says, “I think this, I think that.” Then what is your mind? Most answer: the thinking faculty is my mind. All thoughts of right/wrong, clever/foolish, gain/loss are my mind. But why do thoughts arise? If you had never seen a lion before, could you think of one? Without any image, how could you think? Only after seeing or hearing do thoughts arise. Thoughts about form come after eye-contact with forms; after contact, form-shadows fall into consciousness, later arise, and consciousness follows those shadows in thought. Ear-contact with sound is similar: soothing or harsh sound-shadows fall into consciousness and later become thoughts. So with smell, taste, and touch. Therefore our thoughts follow six-object shadows fallen into consciousness; when they arise, we rely on them and discriminate, calling that “my mind.” Taking this shadow-following process as real mind is inversion. Four elements are provisional combination, yet we call them self; six-object shadows are provisional, yet we call them mind. What is not self we call self. How deluded and pitiable.
All of us are living in ignorance and covered by it. Failing Buddhahood in practice is here. If we accept ignorance as ourselves, how can we become Buddha? Buddha means awakened, luminous; so the primary condition for Buddhahood is clearing ignorance completely. Once ignorance is understood, it can be broken and Buddhahood becomes possible.
The Buddha gives another example for clarity: a person with diseased eyes sees flowers in space and a second moon. When eyes are healthy, no flowers appear in empty space. With eye disease, one looks at the midday sky and sees floating specks everywhere. At night one may see two moons. This mistaken seeing is due to eye disease, not because space truly has flowers or two moons. Likewise, the four-element body is unreal yet mistaken as real; mind following six-object shadows is unreal yet mistaken as true mind. Once body-mind are mistaken, all else follows in error. This misrecognition comes from ignorance; when ignorance ends, misrecognition ends.
Scriptural Text: Good man, space truly has no flowers, but the diseased person falsely grasps them. Because of this false grasping, not only does he become confused about the nature of space, he also gets deluded about where real flowers arise. From this falsehood comes the revolving of birth and death; therefore it is called ignorance.
Commentary: In the prior passage the Buddha used flowers in space and second moon to show that ignorance causes mistaken grasping of body and mind as self. Now he gives another angle: once body-mind are mistaken, everything else is mistaken too. The flower-in-space analogy is repeated so we clearly see flowers are unreal, appearing due to diseased eyes.
How should we think when seeing such flowers? How are flowers removed? Not by removing space, nor by picking each flower out of space, but by curing the eye disease. What does diseased eye represent? False grasping that body and mind are real. Because of this grasping, one sees all worldly dharmas as real, though all are like flowers in space.
Once body-mind are wrongly taken as real, true suchness is forgotten. Thus the text says we are confused about the nature of space. Then we also assume flowers truly arise and truly cease, and if truly arising and ceasing, must have a true place of arising. What is nonexistent is imagined existent, while what truly exists is forgotten. Once body-mind are mistaken as real, all dharmas are seen as real. This is the root of ignorance, the root of samsaric birth and death. When body-mind are no longer mistaken, worldly dharmas are no longer mistaken either.
The Buddha says: space truly has no flowers; the diseased person falsely grasps. Through false grasping one not only mistakes space’s own nature, but also mistakes the place of flower-arising as real.
Mistakenly seeing flowers in space, one also mistakes a real source of those flowers. Flowers represent body; source of flower-arising represents environment. Mistaking body as real then mistaking environment as real is ignorance, and thus one revolves in birth and death. Because body is mistaken as real, when this body is lost one urgently seeks another. If one knew it as provisional, there would be no such clinging.
In the past, Chan masters, when tired and ready, bid farewell and peacefully sat in lotus to pass away without fear or regret. We now take body as real, so when pain comes and death is mentioned, fear appears. With craving life and fearing death, how could one avoid samsaric flow?
Therefore Buddhist cultivation is turning back to oneself. Discover truth right in this person, and truth around will also appear. If one direction is not mistaken, the others are not mistaken. Discover directly that body is unreal and deluded thought is unreal; then all else is likewise seen as unreal. This is removal of ignorance and manifestation of all-pervading truth, the complete nature of Perfect Enlightenment. Once ignorance and the basis of practice are known, practice becomes easier.
This passage again points to ignorance: inverted false thoughts obscure Perfect Enlightenment (the pure original mind). From ignorance, body and world seem to appear; beings then cling to self and dharmas as real, create innumerable karma, and layered delusion obscures Perfect Enlightenment, leading to endless samsara and suffering.
Like drowsiness clouding wakefulness, then dreams with people and things appear. One cries and laughs, rejoices and angers, taking all as real, bound in ongoing attachment from one dream to another, never knowing when to wake. This is the analogy of layered ignorance veiling Perfect Enlightenment (true mind).
Scriptural Text: Good man, this ignorance has no real substance. It is like a person in a dream: while dreaming, it is not absent; once awakened, nothing can be obtained. Like flowers in empty space, one cannot say there is a definite place where they cease. Why? Because there was no place where they were born. All sentient beings, within the unborn, falsely see arising and ceasing. Therefore this is called cyclical birth and death.
Commentary: Here the Buddha teaches: all beings are always in the pure, unborn, undying nature of Perfect Enlightenment, yet through self-delusion (ignorance) they falsely see birth and death, thus for endless kalpas they remain bound, drifting in samsara, truly pitiable.
But ignorance is illusory and has no true entity; once awakened, it naturally ends. Like darkness, which has no true substance: when light arrives, darkness disappears. If ignorance were truly substantial like mountains and rivers, it would not be easy to eliminate.
The Buddha again compares ignorance to dreams: not a real thing; when one wakes, dream scenes vanish. Ignorance is also like diseased eyes seeing flowers in space; once the eye is healed, flowers disappear.
This passage clarifies further: hearing “ignorance,” we may mistakenly take ignorance as real, so Buddha immediately says ignorance has no fixed substance. If it had fixed substance, we could not remove it. Like a person dreaming: while dreaming, scenes are present; when awake, they are clearly absent.
Flowers disappearing in space cannot be said to have a definite place of extinction. Diseased eyes see flowers; when eyes heal, flowers are absent. So flowers never truly arose, and there is no true place of cessation. Likewise ignorance has no real substance. If it were real, none could break it.
Because it is unreal, Buddha compares it to dream scenes.
When one wakes, dream people and dream environments are gone. Likewise, in delusion we see body and mind as real and create many karmas. In awakening we see body and mind as provisional. Delusion and awakening are not far apart. Ignorance is root of samsara; if that root is unreal, is samsara real?
If not real, why are we now revolving? Since we are revolving, how can we believe it is unreal? Who recognizes life as dream and illusion? This point must be confirmed clearly for practice.
Buddha has taught that everyone has Perfect Enlightenment-nature. In the Buddha, ignorance is entirely cut off, so Perfect Enlightenment is fully complete: this is Buddhahood. In us, ignorance remains uncut, so we are ordinary beings, driven by ignorance into samsara.
How know samsara is unreal? Simply know this present living is dreamlike; then samsara is unreal. In delusion, ignorance is master and birth-death its companion. Ignorance is root, birth-death the trunk, joy/sorrow/affliction the branches and leaves. If root is unreal, trunk unreal, branches unreal. So likes-dislikes and sorrow-joy are unreal. Yet who accepts this? We keep sinking in ignorance without release. Thorough understanding reveals Buddha’s words lead directly to complete awakening. Because we have not awakened, Buddha’s words seem difficult. Buddhist practice is transforming delusion into awakening; delusion and awakening are a shift in seeing.
If one uses prajna wisdom in discernment, all actions are practice. If one uses deluded imagination, all actions are delusion. In studying Perfect Enlightenment, this definition of ignorance is the clearest: taking the four-element body as oneself and taking mind that follows six-object shadows as oneself. That is ignorance. Extremely simple.
The Buddha has explained in detail. If we truly recognize it, no further mistake. In Perfect Enlightenment-nature, even if we “do not want to return,” we are still there. But if ignorance is unclear, wishing to return to Perfect Enlightenment is difficult.
“All beings, within the unborn, falsely see arising and ceasing; therefore they revolve in birth and death.” Why? Because awakened nature does not arise or die, but beings fail to recognize it and instead take this body and this mind as real, then are led into samsara. Originally there is no birth; due to confusion, there is drifting. Whether one drifts or not depends on beings themselves, since beings are the active agent.
Scriptural Text: Good man, when the Tathagata cultivated Perfect Enlightenment at the causal ground, knowing these are flowers in space, there was no cycle of rebirth and no body-mind receiving birth and death. It is not that through making it so, there is no rebirth; originally by nature there is none. That knowing-awareness is like empty space. Knowing empty space means the flower-marks are empty. Yet one also cannot say there is no knowing-awakening nature. Both being and non-being are relinquished. This is called accordance with pure awakening.
Commentary: This passage teaches five stages in cultivating by Perfect Enlightenment:
1. First stage: contemplate all dharmas as illusory, like flowers in space, so greed, anger, and delusion do not arise. When the three poisons do not arise, body-speech-mind create no karma. Without karma, there is neither realm of rebirth nor one reborn.
2. Second stage: not only object known is empty; the knowing mind is also like space.
3. Third stage: even the knowing of that knowing mind as space is emptied.
4. Fourth stage: lest one fall into nihilism, Buddha adds: it is not that there is no knowing.
5. Fifth stage: one must leave both clinging to “is” and clinging to “is not” to enter Perfect Enlightenment.
The Buddha explains clearly: in causal-ground cultivation of Perfect Enlightenment, knowing dharmas are illusory like flowers in space, one is free from birth-death cycle.
If this point is understood, one sees the profundity of practice. Some ask: “How can this body be seen as empty? We walk, stand, eat, speak, function. How can it be empty and like flowers in space?”
Use wisdom to examine carefully and body’s unreality is seen. It borrows four outer elements to sustain four inner elements. Inner and outer support each other for temporary existence. If outer four elements stop supplying inner ones even briefly, body disintegrates. A body that persists only by borrowed support cannot be called real.
Take water element: when thirsty, we drink hot tea. Later sweat appears. Where does sweat come from? From that tea just consumed. A moment ago it was tea; now we call it “my sweat.” Then am “I” tea? If I were tea, why before drinking was it outside and not called “me”?
The other three elements are similar. When outer four elements supplement inner four, balance is called health; imbalance is called illness. Illness is just elemental imbalance. This analysis shows four elements are not “I.” Yet we cling to them. If anyone touches this elemental mass, we cannot bear it. Overvaluing body, we create karma and continue in samsara.
Mind is similar. Mind is merely following six-object shadows, yet we cling to it as real. “I think, I speak; if contradicted, I get angry.” Why? “My thought is truth.” But examine closely: those thoughts were not present at birth; they are acquired habits. How can they be real?
Because we cling to mind as real, whatever habits we accumulate we call correct, and whatever differs we call wrong.
Example: vegetarians may feel irritated seeing practitioners who eat meat, thinking cultivation should be vegetarian. Others who eat meat may question why cultivation requires vegetarianism. Each side is conditioned differently and each treats its conditioning as right, so they cannot accept each other and meet without harmony.
In short, clinging to body and mind as real self is a chronic disease causing suffering. If we carry this view into practice, liberation will never be attained.
Therefore first step in cultivation is breaking ignorance. Only then can one hope to transcend birth and death. Some say, “I live kindly and fulfill social duties; why practice?” This may suffice for future human rebirth with merit. But for liberation from samsara, it is insufficient.
To be freed from birth and death, one must break the root ignorance. In the twelve links, ignorance is first. If ignorance ceases, formations cease, and so on.
The Buddha also says: “There is no body-mind that undergoes birth and death.” Because human body-mind are false and unreal, there is no truly existing body-mind bearing samsaric birth and death. It is not that we destroy them into nonexistence; their original nature is empty.
Why? In this birth-death body itself we can see it is unreal, a dependent, illusory combination. Its self-nature is empty. Birth is illusory birth, so “never truly born.” Death is illusory death, so “never truly died.” Thus there is no real body-mind to undergo birth and death.
Scriptural Text: Why is this? Because space-nature is constant and unmoving; in the Tathagata-garbha there is no arising and ceasing, and no arising-and-ceasing knowing and seeing. Like the nature of the Dharma-realm, ultimately perfect and complete, pervading the ten directions. This is called the causal-ground Dharma practice. Through this, bodhisattvas in Mahayana arouse pure mind. Beings in the Dharma-ending age who cultivate accordingly will not fall into wrong views.
Commentary: Tathagata Treasury is Tathagata-nature containing all dharmas. It is also called Perfect Enlightenment, also called Dharma-realm nature (the nature of all dharmas). It is complete throughout the ten directions, without birth or death, and without arising-and-ceasing cognition, like space: constant and unmoving.
The Buddha teaches: this is where the Tathagata practices. Bodhisattvas also arouse pure Mahayana resolve from here. Later beings must also rely on this for practice to avoid deviation.
Manjushri asked two questions:
1. The Tathagata’s causal-ground cultivation.
2. For bodhisattvas who arouse bodhi-mind in Mahayana, how to remove delusions.
Here the Buddha has answered both.
The Buddha compares knowing-awareness to space. Knowing space means knowing flower-marks are originally empty, yet one cannot say there is no knowing-awareness. That is, knowing-awareness or Perfect Enlightenment-nature is likened to space; flowers are ignorance. When flowers vanish, space does not vanish. So awareness is like space.
Knowing flowers’ empty nature does not mean awareness is absent. In space, arising/ceasing flowers are unreal, but space does not perish. Likewise, using wisdom to know this four-element body and these delusive thoughts as unreal, when unreality disappears, awareness itself does not disappear. Therefore one cannot say knowing-awareness nature is absent. Saying “is” or “is not” are two sides. Leaving both is called accordance with Perfect Enlightenment-nature.
Why? Because awakened nature is unmoving. Space symbolizes awakened nature; flowers symbolize ignorance. Flowers end, space remains. Likewise, when ignorance ends, awakened nature remains. Therefore space-nature is constant and unmoving, never truly born, never truly extinguished.
Similarly, in Tathagata Treasury there is no arising/ceasing; we see arising/ceasing only due to delusion. That treasury is like Dharma-realm nature, ultimately complete throughout ten directions.
In summary, Buddha wants us to see clearly: when we know four-element body is unreal and mind following six-object shadows is unreal, and no longer cling to either, that is accordance with awakened nature. When clinging to unreality drops, awakened nature appears, just as when flowers in space disappear, space remains unmoving. Likewise, when awakened nature is no longer covered by ignorance, it manifests and pervades ten directions.
Many mistakenly think that if body and thought are unreal and let go, then nothing remains. In fact, when those two unreal things are released, the true appears. This is the Buddha’s causal-ground practice; bodhisattvas and later beings must also practice this way to avoid illness.
This is the root of cultivation. If we do not practice from this root and sever ignorance’s deep roots accumulated over countless lifetimes, the more we practice, the more illness arises.
For example, we establish a schedule of four daily meditation sessions. But under current social conditions we may need to farm to obtain food, so we cannot rigidly keep that schedule and may reduce one or two sessions. Then we think effort is insufficient and become distressed. That distress is illness.
Or we maintain six daily sessions and see others do two, then look down on them as inferior. Clinging to outer form creates comparison. If practicing according to Perfect Enlightenment, what “superior” or “inferior” exists? Body unreal, mind unreal, so who is above whom? Constantly contemplating this, ego wears away and illness does not arise.
Suppose I say mantra-recitation yields immeasurable merit. You become eager and recite intensely. One day you see brilliant light filling the sky and feel satisfied, believing your practice very advanced. Then you ask a friend, “Any result from your practice lately?” They answer, “No visions.” You become proud and assume they do not practice. At that moment subtle ego has arisen unnoticed. Thus the more one practices, the more one gets sick.
Recently many practitioners have been diligent, seeing inner lights in meditation, yet suddenly are dragged back into worldly entanglement and commit worse actions than lay followers. This happens because they have not penetrated the ultimate principle of practice and cling to appearances; arrogance grows and severe illness appears unnoticed.
We should know methods taught by Buddha are skillful, provisional medicines to cure our illusory ignorance. Therefore guidance on the path is crucial. With skillful guidance, practice advances; without it, practice worsens illness.
I often say worldly people naturally cling to self, but practitioners if uncareful fall into first-rank self-clinging illness. As a novice, ego is small. Becoming a teacher, ego grows with status unnoticed. Even without status, long years of practice can enlarge ego.
Suppose someone has practiced twenty or thirty years but has weak doctrinal understanding and unstable method. A junior asks a question and the answer falters, yet if the junior speaks awkwardly, the elder rebukes: “You late-born have no respect. I have practiced decades; am I not worthy to be your teacher?” This is major ego-clinging disease.
Breaking ego is very hard because we refuse to examine this unreal body and unreal mind. So the more we practice, the larger ego may become. If we follow Buddha’s teaching, we must remove ignorance to progress in the path.
In this chapter Manjushri asked two questions; Buddha’s answers above are enough for lifelong practice. The Buddha’s teaching is extremely clear, precise, and practical.
Scriptural Text: Then the World-Honored One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke verses:
Manjushri, you should know,
All Tathagatas,
From the original causal ground,
All rely on wisdom-awakening.
Penetrating ignorance,
Knowing it like flowers in space,
They can then escape cyclic flow,
Also like a person in a dream:
Upon awakening, unobtainable,
The awakened are like empty space,
Equal, unmoving, unshaken,
Original awakening pervades ten-direction worlds.
Then one attains Buddhahood.
All illusions have no place of birth or extinction.
Even accomplishment of the Way is nothing to obtain,
Because original nature is perfectly complete.
Bodhisattvas within this
Can arouse bodhi-mind.
Beings in the Dharma-ending age,
Practicing this, avoid wrong views.