The Zen Teaching of Instantaneous Awakening Home Page 2

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The Essential Gateway to Truth by Means of Instantaneous Awakening

[Being a translation of Ch’an Master Hui Hai’s own shastra, A Treatise on the Essential Gateway to Truth by Means of Instantaneous Awakening]

1. Humbly I prostrate myself before the Buddhas of the ten quarters’ and the excellent company of Bodhisattvas. In setting forth this treatise, I am apprehensive that I may fail correctly to interpret the sacred mind. If so, may I be given a chance for repentance and reform. However, if I do succeed in imparting the sacred truth, I dedicate the resultant merit to all living beings in the hope that each of them will attain Buddhahood in their next life.

Q: What method must we practice in order to attain deliverance?

A: It can be attained only through a sudden illumination.

Q: What is a sudden illumination?

A: ‘Sudden’ means ridding yourselves of deluded thoughts’ instantaneously. ‘Illumination’ means the realization that illumination is not something to be attained.

Q: From where do we start this practice?

A: You must start from the very root.

Q: And what is that?

A: Mind is the root.

Q: How can this be known?

A: The Lankavatara Sutra says: ‘When mental processes (hsin) arise, then do all dharmas (phenomena) spring forth; and when mental processes cease, then do all dharmas cease likewise.’ The Vimalakirti Sutra says:

‘Those desiring to attain the Pure Land’ must first purify their own minds, for the purification of mind is the purity of the Buddha Land. The Sutra (of the Doctrine Bequeathed by the Buddha) says: just by mind control, all things become possible to us.’ In another sutra it says: ‘Sages seek from mind, not from the Buddha; fools seek from the Buddha instead of seeking from mind. Wise men regulate their minds rather than their persons; fools regulate their persons rather than their minds.’ The Sutra of the Names of the Buddha states: ‘Evil springs forth from the mind, and by the mind is evil overcome.’ Thus, we may know that all good and evil proceed from our minds and that mind is therefore the root. If you desire deliverance, you must first know all about the root. Unless you can penetrate to this truth, all your efforts will be vain; for, while you are still seeking something from forms external to yourselves, you will never attain. The Dhyana paramita Sutra says:

‘For as long as you direct your search to the forms around you, you will not attain your goal even after aeon upon aeon; whereas, by contemplating your inner awareness, you can achieve Buddhahood in a single flash of thought.’

Q: By what means is the root-practice to be performed?

A: Only by sitting in meditation, for it is accomplished by Dhyana (Ch’an) and samádhi (ting). The Dhyana-paramita Sutra says: ‘Dhyana and samádhi are essential to the search for the sacred knowledge of the Buddhas; for, without these, the thoughts remain in tumult and the roots of goodness suffer damage.’

Q: Please describe Dhyana and samádhi.

A: When wrong thinking ceases, that is Dhyana; when you sit contemplating your original nature, that is samádhi, for indeed that original nature is your eternal mind. By samádhi, you withdraw your minds from their surroundings, thereby making them impervious to the eight winds, that is to say, impervious to gain and loss, calumny and eulogy, praise and blame, sorrow and joy. By concentrating in this way, even ordinary people may enter the state of Buddhahood. How can that be so? The Sutra of the bodhisattva-Precepts says: ‘All beings who observe the Buddha-precept thereby enter Buddhahood.’ Other names for this are ‘deliverance’, ‘gaining the further shore’, ‘transcending the six states of mortal being ‘overleaping the three worlds’,’ or becoming a mighty Bodhisattva, an omnipotent sage, a conqueror’!

3.Q: Whereon should the mind settle and dwell?

A: It should settle upon non-dwelling and there dwell.

Q: What is this non-dwelling?

A: It means not allowing the mind to dwell upon any-thing whatsoever.

Q: And what is the meaning of that?

A: Dwelling upon nothing means that the mind is not fixed upon good or evil, being or nonbeing, inside or outside, or somewhere between the two, void or non-void, concentration or distraction. This dwelling upon nothing is the state in which it should dwell; those who attain to it are said to have non-dwelling minds - in other words, they have Buddha-minds!

Q: What does mind resemble?

A: Mind has no color, such as green or yellow, red or white; it is not long or short; it does not vanish or appear; it is free from purity and impurity alike; and its duration is eternal. It is utter stillness. Such, then, is the form and shape of our original mind, which is also our original body - the Buddhakaya!

Q: By what means do this body or mind perceive? Can they perceive with the eyes, ears, nose, sense of touch and consciousness?

A: No, there are not several means of perception like that.

Q: Then, what sort of perception is involved, since it is unlike any of those already mentioned?

A: It is perception by means of your own nature (svabhava). How so? Because your own nature being essentially pure and utterly still, its immaterial and motionless ‘sub-stance’ is capable of this perception."’

Q: Yet, since that pure ‘substance’ cannot be found, where does such perception come from?

A: We may liken it to a bright mirror, which, though it contains no forms, can nevertheless ‘perceive’ all forms. Why? Just because it is free from mental activity. if you students of the Way had minds unstained," they would not give rise to falsehood and their attachment to the subjective ego and to objective externals would vanish; then purity would arise of itself and you would thereby be capable of such perception. The Dharmapada Sutra says: ‘To establish ourselves amid perfect void-ness in a single flash is excellent wisdom indeed!’

4.Q: According to the Vajra-body chapter of the Maha-parinirvana Sutra: ‘The (indestructible) diamond-body" is imperceptible, yet it clearly perceives; it is free from discerning and yet there is nothing which it does not comprehend.’ What does this mean?

A: It is imperceptible because its own nature is a formless’ substance’ which is intangible; hence it is called’ imperceptible’; and, since it is intangible, this ‘substance’ is observed to be profoundly still and neither vanishing nor appearing. Though not apart from our world, it cannot be influenced by the worldly stream; it is self-possessed and sovereign, which is the reason why it clearly perceives. It is free from discerning in that its own nature is formless and basically undifferentiated. Its comprehending every-thing means that the undifferentiated ‘substance’ is endowed with functions as countless as the sands of the Ganges; and, if all phenomena were to be discerned simultaneously, it would comprehend all of them without exception. In the Prajna Gatha it is written:

Prajna, unknowing, knows all,

Prajna, unseeing, sees all.

5.Q: There is a sutra, which says that not to perceive anything in terms of being, or nonbeing is true deliverance. What does it mean?

A: When we attain to purity of mind, that is something, which can be said to exist. When this happens, our remaining free from any thought of achievement is called ‘not perceiving anything as existent’; while reaching the state in which no thoughts arise or persist, yet without being conscious of their absence, is called ‘not perceiving anything as nonexistent’. So it is written: ‘Not to perceive anything in terms of being and nonbeing,’ etc. The Shurangama Sutra says: ‘Perceptions employed as a base for building up positive concepts are the origin of all ignorance (avidya);" perception that there is nothing to perceive - that is nirvana, also known as deliverance.’

6.Q: What is the meaning of ‘nothing to perceive’?

A: Being able to behold men, women and all the various sorts of appearances while remaining as free from love or aversion as if they were actually not seen at all - that is what is meant by ‘nothing to perceive’.

Q: That which occurs when we are confronted by all sorts of shapes and forms is called ‘perception’. Can we speak of perception taking place when nothing confronts us?

A: Yes.

Q: When something confronts us, it follows that we perceive it, but how can there be perception when we are confronted by nothing at all?

A: We are now talking of that perception which is independent of there being an object or not. How can that be? The nature of perception being eternal, we go on perceiving whether objects are present or not." Thereby we come to understand that, whereas objects naturally appear and disappear, the nature of perception does neither of those things; and it is the same with all your other senses.

Q: When we are looking at something, does the thing looked at exist objectively within the sphere of perception or not?

A: No, it does not.

Q: When we (look around and) do not see anything, is there an absence of something objective within the sphere of perception?

A: No, there is not.

7.Q: When there are sounds, hearing occurs. When there are no sounds, does hearing persist or not?

A: It does.

Q: When there are sounds it follows that we hear them, but how can hearing take place during the absence of sound?

A: We are now talking of that hearing which is independent of there being any sound or not. How can that be? The nature of hearing being eternal, we continue to hear whether sounds are present or not.

Q: if that is so, who or what is the hearer?



A: It is your own nature, which hears, and it is the inner cognizer who knows.

Q: As to the gateway of sudden illumination, what are its doctrine, its aim, its substance and its function?"

A: To refrain from thinking (nien) is its doctrine; not to allow wrong thoughts to arise is its aim; purity is its substance, and wisdom is its function.

Q: We have said that its doctrine is to refrain from thinking, but we have not yet examined the meaning of this term. What is it that we must refrain from thinking about?

A: It means that we must refrain from wrong thinking, but not from right thinking.

Q: What are wrong thinking and right thinking?

A: Thinking in terms of being and nonbeing is called ‘wrong thinking’, while not thinking in those terms is called, right thinking’. Similarly, thinking in terms of good and evil is wrong; not to think so is right thinking. The same applies to all the other categories of opposites - sorrow and joy, beginning and end, acceptance and rejection, dislikes and likes, aversion and love, all of which are called ‘wrong thinking’, while to abstain from thinking in those categories is called ‘right thinking’.

Q: Please define ‘right thinking’ (more positively).

A: It means thinking solely of bodhi (enlightenment).

Q: Is bodhi something tangible?

A: It is not.

Q: But how can we think solely of bodhi if it is intangible?

A: It is as though bodhi were a mere name applied to something, which, in fact, is intangible, something that never has been nor ever will be attained. Being intangible, it cannot be thought about, and it is just this not thinking about it, which is called ‘rightly thinking of bodhi as some-thing not to be thought about’- for this implies that your mind dwells upon nothing whatsoever. The term ‘not to be thought about’ is like the various kinds of not-thinking mentioned earlier, all of which are but names convenient for use in certain circumstances - all are of the one sub-stance in which no differences or diversities exist. Simply to be conscious of mind as resting upon nothing whatsoever is to be without thought; and whoever reaches this state is naturally delivered.

8.Q: What is the meaning of ‘to act as the Buddhas do’?

A: It means total abstention from action, which is also termed ‘right’ or ‘holy’ action. It is very similar to what we were talking about before, for it means not acting as if things really are or are not, and not acting from motives of aversion, love and all the rest. The Great Canon (Monastic Rules says: ‘The sages do not act like other beings; nor do other beings act like the sages.’

9.Q: What does right perception mean?

A: It means perceiving that there is nothing to perceive.

Q: And what does that mean?

A: it means beholding all sorts of forms, but without being stained by them, as no thoughts of love or aversion arise in the mind. Reaching this state is called ‘obtaining the Buddha-eye’, which really means just that and nothing else. Whereas, if the spectacle of various forms produces love or aversion in you, that is called ‘perceiving them as though they had objective existence’, which implies having the eye of an ordinary person, for indeed ordinary people have no other sort of eye. It is the same with all the other organs of perception.

10. Q: When you said that wisdom is the function, what did you mean by wisdom?

A: The knowledge that by realizing the void-ness of all opposites, deliverance is assured and that, without this realization, you will never gain deliverance. This is what we call ‘wisdom’ or ‘knowing wrong from right’. Another name for it is ‘knowing the function of the substance’ Concerning the unreality of opposites, it is the wisdom inherent in the ‘substance’ which makes it known that to realize their void-ness means liberation and that there can be no more doubt about it. This is what we mean by ‘function’. In speaking thus of the unreality of opposites, we refer to the nonexistence of relativities such as ‘is’ and ‘is not’, ‘good’ and ‘evil’, ‘love’ and ‘aversion’, and so on.

Q: By what means can the gateway of our school be entered?

A: By means of the Dana paramita.

Q: According to the Buddha, the Bodhisattva path comprises six paramitas. Why, then, have you mentioned only the one? Please explain why this one alone provides a sufficient means for us to enter.

A: Deluded people fail to understand that the other five all proceed from the Dana paramita and that by its practice all the others are fulfilled.

Q: Why is it called the Dana paramita?

A: ‘Dana’ means ‘relinquishment’.

Q: Relinquishment of what?

A: Relinquishment of the dualism of opposites.

Q: Which means?

A: It means total relinquishment of ideas as to the dual nature of good and bad, being and nonbeing, love and aversion, void and non-void, concentration and distraction, pure and impure. By giving all of them up, we attain to a state in which all opposites are seen as void. The real practice of the Dana paramita entails achieving this state without any thought of ‘now I see that opposites are void’, or’ now I have relinquished all of them’. We may also call it ‘the simultaneous cutting off of the myriad types of con-current causes’; for it is when these are cut off that the whole Dharma-nature becomes void; and this void-ness of the Dharma-nature means the non-dwelling of the mind upon anything whatsoever. Once that state is achieved, not a single form can be discerned. Why? Because our self-nature is immaterial and does not contain a single thing (foreign to itself). That which contains no single thing is true reality, the marvelous form of the Tathágata - it is said in the Diamond Sutra: ‘Those who relinquish all forms are called "Buddhas" (enlightened ones).’

Q: However, the Buddha did speak of six paramitas, so why do you now say they can all be fulfilled in that one? Please give your reason for this.

A: The Sutra of the Questions of Brahma says: ‘Jala-vidya, the elder, spoke unto Brahma and said, Bodhisattvas by relinquishing all defilement’s (klesha) may be said to have fulfilled the Dana paramita, also known as ‘total relinquishment’; being beguiled by nothing, they may be said to have fulfilled the síla paramita, also known as, observing the precepts’; being hurt by nothing, they may be said to have fulfilled the kshanti paramita, also known as ‘exercising forbearance’; clinging to nothing, they may be said to have fulfilled the virya paramita, also known as ‘exercising zeal’; dwelling on nothing, they may be said to have fulfilled the Dhyana paramita, also known as ‘practicing Dhyana and samádhi’; speaking lightly of nothing, they may be said to have fulfilled the prajña paramita, also known as ‘exercising wisdom’. Together, they are named ’the six methods’."’ Now I am going to speak about those six methods in a way which means precisely the same - the first entails relinquishment; the second, no arising (of perception, sensation, etc); the third, no thinking; the fourth, remaining apart from forms; the fifth, non-abiding (of the mind); and the sixth, no indulgence in light speech. We give different names to these six methods only for convenience in dealing with passing needs; for, when we come to the marvelous principle involved in them all, we find no differences at all. So you have only to understand that, by a single act of relinquishment, everything is relinquished; and that no arising means no arising of anything whatsoever. Those who have lost their way have no intuitive understanding of this; that is why they speak of the methods as though they differed from one another. Fools bogged down in a multiplicity of methods revolve endlessly from life span to life span. I exhort you students to practice the way of relinquishment and nothing else, for it brings to perfection not only the other five paramitas, but also myriads of dharmas (methods).

II. Q: What are the ‘three methods of training (to be performed) at the same level’ and what is meant by performing them on the same level?

A: They are discipline (vinaya), concentration (Dhyana) and wisdom (prajña)."

Q: Please explain them one by one.

A: Discipline involves stainless purity. Concentration involves the stilling of your minds so that you remain wholly unmoved by surrounding phenomena. Wisdom means that your stillness of mind is not disturbed by your giving any thought to that stillness, that your purity is unmarred by your entertaining any thought of purity and that, in the midst of all such pairs of opposites as good and evil, you are able to distinguish between them without being stained by them and, in this way, to reach the state of being perfectly at ease and free of all dependence. Furthermore, if you realize that discipline, concentration and wisdom are all alike in that their substance is intangible and that, hence, they are undivided and therefore one - that is what is meant by three methods of training performed at the same level.

12. Q: When the mind rests in a state of purity, will that not give rise to some attachment to purity?

A: If, on reaching the state of purity, you refrain from thinking ‘now my mind is resting in purity’, there will be no such attachment.

Q: When the mind rests in a state of void, will that not entail some attachment to void?

A: if you think of your mind as resting in a state of void, then there will be such an attachment.

Q: When the mind reaches this state of not dwelling upon anything, and continues in that state, will there not be some attachment to its not dwelling upon anything?

A: So long as your mind is fixed solely on void, there is nothing to which you can attach yourself. If you want to understand the non-dwelling mind very clearly, while you are actually sitting in meditation, you must be cognizant only of the mind and not permit yourself to make judgments - that is, you must avoid evaluations in terms of good, evil, or anything else. Whatever is past is past, so do not sit in judgment upon it; for, when minding about the past ceases of itself, it can be said that there is no longer any past. Whatever is in the future is not here yet, so do not direct your hopes and longings towards it; for, when minding about the future ceases of itself, it can be said that there is no future. Whatever is present is now at hand; just be conscious of your nonattachment to every-thing - nonattachment in the sense of not allowing any love or aversion for anything to enter your mind; for, when minding the present ceases of itself, we may say that there is no present. When there is no clinging to any of those three periods, they may be said not to exist. Should your mind wander away, do not follow it, whereupon your wandering mind will stop wandering of its own accord. Should your mind desire to linger somewhere, do not follow it and do not dwell there, whereupon your mind’s questing for a dwelling place will cease of its own accord. Thereby, you will come to possess a non-dwelling mind - a mind that remains in the state of non-dwelling. If you are fully aware in yourself of a non-dwelling mind, you will discover that there is just the fact of dwelling, with nothing to dwell upon or not to dwell upon. This full awareness in yourself of a mind dwelling upon nothing is known as having a clear perception of your own mind, or, in other words, as having a clear perception of your own nature. A mind, which dwells upon nothing, is the Buddha-mind, the mind of one already delivered, bodhi-mind, un-create mind; it is also called ‘realization that the nature of all appearances is unreal’. It is this, which the sutras call ‘patient realization of the un-create’. If you have not realized it yet, you must strive and strive, you must increase your exertions. Then, when your efforts are crowned with success, you will have attained to understanding from within yourself - an understanding stemming from a mind that abides nowhere, by which we mean a mind free from delusion and reality alike. A mind disturbed by love and aversion is deluded; a mind free from both of them is real; and a mind thus freed reaches the state in which opposites are seen as void, whereby freedom and deliverance are obtained.

13. Q: Are we to make this effort only when we are sitting in meditation, or also when we are walking about?

A: When I spoke just now of making an effort, I did not mean only when you are sitting in meditation; for, whether you are walking, standing, sitting, lying, or what-ever you are doing, you must uninterruptedly exert your-selves all the time. This is what we call ‘constantly abiding’ (in that state).

14. Q: The Vaipula Sutra says: ‘Of the five kinds of Dharmakaya, the first is the Dharmakaya of the Absolute; the second is the Dharmakaya of merit; the third is the Dharmakaya of the Dharma-nature; the Dharmakaya of infinite manifestations is the fourth; and the Dharmakaya of the void is the fifth.’ Which one is our own body? A: To comprehend that mind is imperishable is to possess the Dharmakaya of the Dharma-nature. To comprehend that all the myriad forms are contained in mind is to possess the Dharmakaya of merit. To comprehend that mind is not mind is to possess the Dharmakaya of the true nature of all. To teach living beings according to their individual capacities for conversion is to possess the Dharmakaya of infinite manifestation. To comprehend that mind is formless and intangible is to possess the Dharmakaya of the void. If you understand the meaning of all this, it implies that you know there is nothing to be achieved. Realizing that there is nothing tangible, nothing achievable - this is achieving the Dharmakaya of the Buddha-dharma." Anyone who supposes they can achieve it by getting hold of, or grasping at, something is full of self-conceit - an arrogant person with perverted views, a person of heterodox beliefs. The Vimalakirti Nirdesha Sutra says: ‘Shariputra enquired of a devakanya," "What is it you have won? What achievement has given you such powers of speech?" To which the devakanya replied, "It was my winning and achieving nothing which enabled me to reach this state. According to the Buddha-dharma, someone who wins and achieves things is a person full of self-conceit. "’

15. Q: The sutras speak not only of Samyak Sambodhi (full enlightenment), but also of a marvelous enlightenment lying even beyond that. Please explain these terms. A: Samyak-Sambodhi is the realization of the identity of form and void-ness. Marvelous enlightenment is the realization of the absence of opposites, or we can say that it means the state of neither enlightenment nor non-enlightenment.

Q: Do these two sorts of enlightenment really differ or not?

A: Their names are expediently used for the sake of temporary convenience, but in substance they are one, being neither dual nor different. This oneness and sameness characterize all phenomena of whatever kind.

16. Q: What is the meaning of a passage in the Diamond Sutra which states that ‘having absolutely nothing describable in words is called "preaching the Dharma"? A: Prajna (wisdom) is a substance of absolute purity, which contains no single thing on which to lay hold. This is the meaning of ‘nothing describable in words’. Yet that immaterial and motionless Prajna is capable of whatever functions are befitting - functions as numerous as the sands of the Ganges; so there is nothing at all which it does not comprehend; and this is what is implied by the words ‘preaching the Dharma’. Therefore is it written:

‘Having absolutely nothing describable in words is called "preaching the Dharma".’

Q: (The Diamond Sutra also says:) ‘If a virtuous man or woman holds to, studies and recites this sutra, and is despised by others, this person, who was bound to suffer an evil destiny in retribution for his or her past sins and whose karmic sins are now eradicated by the others’ contempt, will attain anuttarasamyaksambodhi.’ Please explain this.

A: Their case resembles that of those who, not having met an enlightened teacher, continue building up nothing but evil karma for themselves, so that their pure original mind obscured by the three poisons stemming from primordial ignorance, cannot show forth, which is the reason for our calling them despicable. Then, just because they are despised in this life, they grow determined to seek out the Way of the Buddhas without delay; and, thereby, their ignorance is conquered so that the three poisons cease to be generated, whereat their original mind shines forth brilliantly. The tumult of their thoughts is thenceforth stilled, for all the evil in them has been destroyed. It is their having been despicable which has led to the conquest of ignorance, the cessation of their mental tumult and - as a natural consequence of that - to their deliverance. Therefore is it written that bodhi is attainable at the very moment we make up our minds to achieve it - that is to say in this life and not in some other lives to come.

Q: It is also written that the Tathágata has five kinds of vision. What are they?

A: The perception that all appearances are pure (i.e. real) is called ‘earthly vision’. The perception that their substance is pure (real) is called ‘heavenly vision’. Ability to distinguish the minutest differences among the appearances constituting our environment, as well as the smallest gradations of good and evil, and yet to be so entirely unaffected by them that we remain perfectly at ease amidst all of them - that is called ‘the wisdom vision’. The perception that there is nothing to perceive is called ‘the dharma vision’. No perception, yet nothing unperceived, is called ‘the Buddha vision’.

Q: It is also written that there is a Great Vehicle (Mahayana) and a Supreme Vehicle. What are they?

A: The former is that of the Bodhisattvas; the latter is that of the Buddhas.

Q: By what means can they be attained?

A: The means for gaining the Bodhisattvas’ vehicle are those of the Mahayana. Attaining to it and thenceforth remaining so free from discursive thought that even the concept of ‘a means’ no longer exists for you - such utter tranquility" with nothing to be added to it, nothing to be taken away, is called ‘attainment of the Supreme Vehicle’, which is that of the Buddhas!

17. Q: The Maha parinirvana Sutra says: ‘Excess of Dhyana (ting) over wisdom (hui) provides no way out from primordial ignorance (avidya), while excess of wisdom over Dhyana leads to piling up false views; but, when Dhyana and wisdom function on the same level, that is what we call "deliverance" What does it all mean? A: ‘Wisdom’ means the ability to distinguish every sort of good and evil; ‘Dhyana’ means that, though making these distinctions, you remain wholly unaffected by love or aversion for them - such is the explanation of Dhyana and wisdom functioning on the same level.

18. Q: That sutra also says: ‘No words, nothing to say - this is called "Dhyana".’ But can we also speak of being in Dhyana while we are engaged in talking?

A: My definition of Dhyana just now referred to that perpetual Dhyana which is unaffected by speech or silence. Why? Since the nature of Dhyana functions even while we are engaged in speaking, or in making distinctions, our speech and those distinctions also pertain to Dhyana. Similarly, when we contemplate forms with our minds in a state of void-ness, the void-ness persists as much during the act of regarding those forms as when we are neither speaking nor engaged in any other kind of discursive activity. The same applies to our seeing, hearing, feeling and consciousness. How so? Because, as our own nature is void, it remains so in all situations; being void, it is free from attachment, and it is this detachment which makes possible the simultaneous functioning of Dhyana and wisdom on the same level. All Bodhisattvas employ this method of universalizing void-ness, which enables them to attain the final goal. Therefore is it written: When Dhyana and wisdom function on the same level, that is what we call "deliverance" Now I shall give you a further example in order to clarify this, so as to awaken your understanding and set your doubts at rest. Take the case of a bright mirror. When it is reflecting something, does its brightness waver? No, it does not. And when it is not reflecting some-thing, does its brightness waver, then? No. But why is this so? It is unwavering whether an object is present or not because it has the property of reflecting without any sensation being experienced. And so? Where no sensation is present there can be neither movement nor absence of movement. Or take the case of the sunlight. Do the sunbeams waver when they shine upon the earth? No. Or do they waver when they do not encounter the earth? No, they do not. Why? Because they are devoid of sensation. That they do not waver whether they encounter something or not is due to their property of shining without experiencing sensation. The quality of being able to reflect (or shine)" pertains to wisdom, while that of perfect steadiness pertains to Dhyana. It is the Bodhisattvas’ employment of this method of equalizing Dhyana and wisdom, which enables them to attain Sambodhi (supreme enlightenment). Therefore is it written: ‘When Dhyana and wisdom are on the same level, that is what we call "deliverance" However, when I spoke just now of absence of sensation, I meant freedom from ordinary sensations, not from holy sensation.

Q: How do they differ?

A: Ordinary sensations are those involving duality of feeling; holy sensation pertains to realization of the void-ness of opposites.

19. Q: The sutra says: ‘The path of words and speech is cut off; the mind’s activities cease.’ What does this mean?

A: Words and speech are to reveal the Dharma’s meaning; but, once that meaning is understood, speech is discarded. Meaning is immaterial; that which is immaterial is Tao (truth), and Tao is inexpressible. Hence ‘the path of words and speech is cut off.’ By ‘the mind’s activities cease’ is meant that, upon actual realization of the Dharma’s significance, no further contemplation is required. That which lies beyond our contemplation is the un-create. Being uncreated, the nature of all appearances is void. Because their nature is (seen to be) void, all their concurrent causes are eradicated, and that eradication involves the cessation of the mind’s activities.

20. Q: What is Suchness (Ju-ju, Bhutatathata)?

A: Suchness signifies immutability. Since mind is immutable, we term it Suchness. Hence it can be known that all the Buddhas of the past attained enlightenment by conducting themselves in accord with this immutability. With the Buddhas of the present it is likewise and so will it be with the Buddhas of the future. Since all practice, whether past, present, or future, culminates in the same attainment of enlightenment, it is called ‘the attainment of Suchness’. The Vimalakirti Nirdesha Sutra says:

‘Thus has it ever been with all the Buddhas; thus will it be with Maitreya and with every other sentient being as well. Why so? Because the Buddha-nature is eternally and uninterruptedly self-existent.



21. Q: Does the (teaching concerning the) identity of matter and the immaterial (void), and that of ordinary and holy, pertain to the doctrine of sudden illumination?

A: Yes.

Q: What do you mean by the identity of matter and void and of ordinary and holy?

A: When mind is stained by attachment, materiality is there; when it is free from stain, immateriality is there. Stained mind is ordinary and unstained mind is holy. The Absolute is self-existent, which implies the identity of the immaterial and matter; but, since the latter is not discover-able it is in fact immaterial. Here, we are using ‘immaterial’ with reference to the void nature of form, not to mean (the kind of) void-ness which would result from form’s annihilation." Similarly, we are using ‘material’ with reference to the nature of the immaterial, which exists of itself, not in the sense that the material can be matter (as ordinarily understood).

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