The Surangama Sutra
Page 27
At this point in the Sutra, you should be particularly attentive. You should develop your skill by working on one of the six faculties. Any one of them will do: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind. The entrance to any of the six faculties is the Path. All are a part of the Matrix of the Thus-Come One. All you have to do is choose one faculty and put your mind to it in your practice, and you can return to the fundamental essence which is the Matrix of the Thus-Come One. (V, 16)
“Ānanda, I now ask you: can we untie the six knots in this cotton scarf[^f34] all at the same time?”
“No, World-Honored One. These knots were tied in sequence in the first place, so now they must be untied in sequence. Though the six knots are all in the same scarf, they were not tied all at the same time. Therefore, in freeing them, they cannot be untied all at the same time.”
The Buddha said, “The same may be said of freeing the knots of the six faculties. In the first stage of freeing a faculty, one understands that the self is empty. Once that emptiness is fully understood, one can become free of attachment to phenomena. Once one is free from attachment to phenomena, then both self and phenomena have been emptied and will no longer arise. This is the patience that the Bodhisattva develops by means of samādhi — the patience with the state in which no mental objects come into being.”
* * *
Skt. anupadhi-śeṣa nirvāṇa, Ch. wu yu niepan 無餘涅槃, literally “nirvana without remainder.” The phrase refers to the nirvana of a Buddha that follows the death of his physical body; it is the body that does not remain.↩
The Śūraṅgama Mantra.↩
Ch. yin di 因地.↩
Ch. guo di 果地.↩
The text here mentions the eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, etc., using informal language. Smelling and tasting are understood to be included.↩
All six consciousnesses are implied.↩
The external turbidities are aspects of the world and beings during the period of decline of an eon. The five are the turbidity of the eon; the turbidity of mistaken views among the beings of that time; the turbidity of afflictions among the beings; the turbidity of beings, who become defiled at that time; and the turbidity of lifespans, in that the average lifespan declines drastically at that time. The internal turbidities, on the other hand, correspond to the three subtle and six coarse attributes of delusion. The first turbidity corresponds to the first of the three subtle attributes (the coming into being of the self-verifying division of the eighth consciousness); the second turbidity corresponds to the second and third of the subtle attributes (the coming into being of the observing and the observed divisions of the eighth consciousness); the third turbidity corresponds to the first four of the coarse attributes of delusion; the fourth turbidity corresponds to the fifth coarse attribute; and the fifth turbidity corresponds to the sixth coarse attribute. For discussion of the six coarse attributes of delusion, see part 4.1 above.↩
This is the first of the two definitive principles mentioned just above.↩
That is, 800 of 1200, or two thirds. We see in three of four directions, but to our right and to our left we see only half as well as we see in front of us; forward vision counts as one, plus a half for each area of peripheral vision, for a total of two out of three (the third being the area behind us).↩
Nose, body, and tongue function upon contact with their objects; eyes, ears, and mind function while apart from their objects. Eye and ear are more easily employed than the others (Yuanying, 681).↩
Skt. srota-āpanna, “stream-enterer,” the first of the four Arhat stages, in which one “enters the stream” of sagehood.↩
That is, in the realms of desire, form, and formlessness.↩
That is, sinking in the sea of affliction and moving from one body to another through the process of death and rebirth.↩
The observing division of the eighth consciousness.↩
The observed division of the eighth consciousness. The same pattern is applied to the other faculties and their objects.↩
Skt. nirodha-samāpatti, Ch. mie jin ding 滅盡定, that is, cessation of the sixth consciousness (the mind-consciousness) and of the seventh consciousness (the individuating consciousness). Practitioners at this ninth level of samādhi have put an end to the aggregates of sense-perception and cognition.↩
Skt. amala-vijñāna, the eighth consciousness transformed into a pure consciousness.↩
Ānanda here alludes to the discussion of visual awareness in part 2.↩
This is another way of expressing the meaning of Ch. wen xing 聞性, earlier rendered as “the enlightened nature of hearing.”↩
Ānanda here refers to the Buddha’s statement at the beginning of part 5.2 above: “The second principle is that, if you are resolved to become fully awakened, you must courageously dedicate yourself to practice in accord with the Bodhisattva Vehicle. You must decisively let go of everything that has conditioned attributes.”↩
Skt. ādāna-vijñāna, is another name for ālāya-vijñāna, the storehouse-consciousness, (the eighth consciousness). It stores the seeds of past intentional actions until conditions have matured for their “sprouting” into awareness. Ādāna has the sense of “maintaining,” in that it is essential for the maintenance of embodied seeds and life.↩
Ch. san mo ti 三摩提 is probably a transliteration of samāpatti (contemplative insight), but possibly of samādhi.↩
That is, past the level of the Arhat.↩
The text has the Skt. Bhagavān.↩
The reference is to two forms of Buddhist Sanskrit verse. The gāthā, here rendered as “instructional verse,” was “a metrical narrative or hymn, with moral purport... a detached stanza, distinguished from geya [here rendered as ‘reiterative verse’], which repeated the ideas of preceding prose passages.” William Edward Soothill and Lewis Hodus, A Dictionary of Buddhist Terms (London: Kegan Paul, 1934), 225a. The verse spoken here by the Buddha contains elements of both forms — a “combination,” as the text says.↩
Skt. nivāsana.↩
Skt. saṁghāṭi, a garment that winds around the body, leaving the right shoulder bare.↩
The seven precious things are gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, mother-of-pearl, roseate pearls, and carnelian. The pearls found off the coasts of India and Sri Lanka were prized for their faint roseate hue. Carnelian is a reddish form of agate.↩
The practice of presenting a scarf to a teacher when seeking the teacher’s advice is still observed in some Buddhist traditions.↩
Skt. suyāma. The third in the hierarchy of six heavens in the realm of desire. See part 9.13a.↩
What follows here is a summary of teachings presented in part↩
See part 3.2a.↩
The three subtle and six coarse aspects of delusion are explained in part 4.1 above.↩
Twenty-Five Sages
Twenty-Five Sages Speak of Enlightenment
Having received this instruction from the Buddha, Ānanda and the others in the great assembly gained such wisdom and such a thorough and complete understanding that they now had no doubts about what the Buddha had said. Ānanda placed his palms together and bowed to the ground before the Buddha, and then said, “Today our bodies and minds have been filled with light, and we are delighted that our understanding is unimpeded. However, although we have now understood the meaning of ‘when the six are untied, the one will vanish,’ we do not yet know which one of the sense-faculties can lead us to break through to enlightenment.1
“World-Honored One, I have drifted from age to age, homeless and alone. How could I have known — how could I have imagined — that I would meet the Buddha as a member of his family? I am like an infant who has suddenly been reunited with its beloved mother. I have met the Buddha and have had the opportunity to become fully enlightened, and I have been given a hidden teaching. But if my basic mode of understanding nevertheless remains the same, then I might as well never have heard the Buddha’s teaching at all. I only hope that he will be gr
eatly compassionate towards us and will out of kindness bestow upon us a secret and awe-inspiring Dharma that will be the Thus-Come One’s ultimate instruction.” Having spoken these words, he bowed to the ground and then returned to his place in the assembly. He withdrew into the hidden recesses of his mind, hoping that he would receive from the Buddha a secret and private transmission.
Ānanda is asking the Buddha to bestow upon him the secret teaching, that is, the Śūraṅgama Samādhi. He wants the Buddha to transmit this teaching to him secretly, without anyone else present being aware of it.... The Buddha knows what is on Ānanda’s mind, but he does not respond directly to Ānanda’s request. Instead he asks the assembled sages to speak about how they broke through all obstructions and became enlightened. (V, 22)
Then the World-Honored One said to the assembly of great Bodhisattvas and great Arhats, who were free of outflows, “I now ask all of you Bodhisattvas and Arhats: having made a resolve to become enlightened, which one of the eighteen constituent elements did you make use of in order to break through to enlightenment? By what expedient did you enter samādhi?”2
[1]3 Ājñātakauṇḍinya and the other four monks then stood up and bowed at the Buddha’s feet.4 Ājñātakauṇḍnya said respectfully to the Buddha: “When we were in the Deer Park and the Pheasant Garden, we saw the Thus-Come One soon after he had become a Buddha, and upon hearing him speak, we understood the Four Noble Truths. The Buddha questioned us monks, and I was the first to truly understand. The Buddha thereupon verified my understanding and gave me the name Ājñāta.5 The wondrousness of sound, which had been hidden, was everywhere revealed to me. So it was that I became an Arhat by contemplating sound. The Buddha has asked us how we broke through to enlightenment. I believe that the contemplation of sound is the best method.”
It is said that the Pheasant Garden was a grove of trees where a flock of pheasants lived. The grove once caught fire, and the pheasants wetted down their wings with water and beat out the fire, so this spot was a very auspicious one. There was an unusually magical atmosphere about the place. The geomantic properties were excellent. People who undertake a spiritual practice should find places to live that are endowed with such an efficacious atmosphere, because it is easier to get enlightened there. (V, 24–5)
[2] Upaniṣad6 stood up, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, and said to him respectfully: “I also saw the Thus-Come One soon after he had become a Buddha. I learned to contemplate the attribute of impurity, and I developed a strong aversion to it. I came to understand that the nature of visible objects is that they arise from impurity. Whitened bones turn to dust, disperse into space, and vanish. I understood that neither space nor visible objects truly exist,7 and thus I needed no further instruction. The Thus-Come One verified my understanding and gave me the name Upaniṣad. Visible objects as I had perceived them no longer existed, but their wondrousness, which had been hidden, was everywhere revealed to me. So it was that I became an Arhat by contemplating visible objects. The Buddha has asked us how we broke through to enlightenment. I believe that the contemplation of visible objects is the best method.”
[3] The virgin youth Sublimity of Fragrance8 then stood up, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, and said to him respectfully: “I heard the Thus-Come One teach how to contemplate attentively all attributes subject to conditions. I then took my leave of the Buddha and retreated to a pure and peaceful dwelling. I observed that when monks lit sandalwood incense, its fragrance silently entered my nostrils. In my contemplation I realized that the source of the fragrance was neither wood, nor space, nor smoke, nor fire; it came from no place and went to no place. As a result of this contemplation, my distinction-making consciousness disappeared, and I gained freedom from outflows. The Thus-Come One verified my understanding and gave me the name Sublimity of Fragrance. Fragrance as I had perceived it vanished, but its wondrousness, which had been hidden, was everywhere revealed to me. So it was that I became an Arhat through contemplating the sublimity within fragrance. The Buddha has asked us how we broke through to enlightenment. I believe that rectifying the mind by means of fragrance is the best method.”
[4] King of Healing and Master of Healing,9 two princes in the Dharma, then stood up in the assembly together with five hundred gods from the Heavens of Brahma.10 King of Healing and Master of Healing said respectfully to the Buddha: “For countless eons, we have served the world as skillful physicians. We have tasted one hundred and eight thousand kinds of medicinal substances — herbs, woods, metals, and minerals — that are to be found in the Sāha world. We know how each of them tastes — whether bitter, sour, salty, bland, sweet, or hot — and we know their inherent characteristics, the various ways they may be combined, and the changes that they effect — whether they are cooling or warming, toxic or benign. We understand them all.
“While reverently serving the Buddha, we came to understand that the nature of flavors is that they are neither empty nor existent. We understood that flavors do not arise from the body nor from the mind,11 nor are they independent of the body and mind. Thus by discerning the differences among flavors, we became enlightened. The Buddha, the Thus-Come One, verified our understanding, and he named us two brothers the Bodhisattva King of Healing and the Bodhisattva Master of Healing. Now in this assembly we are princes in the Dharma. So it was that through flavors we realized enlightenment and understood, and we ascended to the Bodhisattva level. The Buddha has asked us how we broke through to enlightenment. We believe the contemplation of flavors to be the best method.”
[5] Bhadrapāla12 and his sixteen Bodhisattva companions stood up in the assembly and bowed at the Buddha’s feet. Bhadrapāla said respectfully to the Buddha: “In the past, when we heard the Buddha’s Awe-Inspiring Royal Voice speak about the Dharma, we followed him into the monastic life. When it was time to bathe, I followed the custom and entered the bathhouse. Suddenly, upon contact with the water, I understood that the water was neither washing away the dirt nor washing my body. In the midst of this I became tranquil as I understood that there was nothing there.
“I have never forgotten that event from that lifetime until this one, and now I have followed the Buddha Śākymuni into the monastic life and need no further instruction. The Buddha has named me Bhadrapāla. The wondrousness of tangible objects has been revealed to me, and I am now a child of the Buddha.13 The Buddha has asked us how we broke through to enlightenment. Having considered what I have attained, I believe that the contemplation of tangible objects is the best method.”
[6] Mahākāśyapa14: stood up with Bhikṣuṇī Purple-Golden Radiance and others, and they bowed at the Buddha’s feet. Mahākāśyapa said respectfully to the Buddha: “When the Buddha Sun, Moon, and Lamplight appeared in this world during a previous eon, I had the opportunity to follow him, to hear the Dharma, and to study and practice it. After that Buddha entered nirvana, I made offerings to his relics,15 and I lit lamps in order to perpetuate his radiance. I gilded an image of that Buddha so that it shone with a purple-golden radiance. From that time onwards, in life after life, my body has always been perfect and flawless and has shone with a purple-golden light. Bhikṣuṇī Purple-Golden Radiance and these others with me were my followers, and together we made a commitment to become enlightened.
“What I contemplated was the diminishing and perishing of the sixth kind of object — the objects of cognition. Simply by the practice of contemplating the emptiness and stillness of these mental objects, and thereby entering a samādhi of cessation, I am able, with both body and mind, to pass through a hundred thousand eons as if they lasted no longer than a snap of the fingers.16 So it was that I became an Arhat by contemplating the emptiness of objects of cognition. The World-Honored One has declared me foremost in the practice of beneficial asceticism.17 The wondrousness of objects of cognition was revealed to me, and I put an end to all outflows. The Buddha has asked us how we broke through to enlightenment. Considering what I have attained, I believe that the contemplation of the objects of cognition is
the best method.”
We should remember an important point: the relationship between Mahākāśyapa and Purple-Golden Radiance, his wife in life after life, has not been based on emotional desire. Rather they married in every life in order to practice together and do the Buddha’s work. (V, 40)
[7] Aniruddha18 then stood up, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, and said to him respectfully: “When I first entered the monastic life, I was too fond of sleep. The Thus-Come One admonished me, saying that I was no better than an animal. After the Buddha scolded me, I rebuked myself and wept. For seven days I did not sleep, and as a result I went blind in both eyes.
“The World-Honored One taught me a vajra samādhi of taking delight in illuminative vision. As a result, without using my eyes I could see everything in all ten directions with penetrating accuracy and clarity, just as one might see a piece of fruit in the palm of one’s hand. The Thus-Come One verified my understanding. So it was that I became an Arhat. The Buddha has asked us how we broke through to enlightenment. I believe that to turn the faculty of seeing around and trace it back to its source is the best method.”