The Surangama Sutra

by Hsuan Hua

  [6] “Their outward appearance is like a Buddha’s outward appearance, and their minds share the attributes of the Buddha’s mind. This stage is called ‘The Abode of the Right State of Mind.’

  [7] “Mentally and physically resembling the Buddha, they grow day by day. This stage is called ‘The Abode of Irreversible Development.’

  [8] “Their ability to have their bodies appear in ten forms — each form endowed with spiritually efficacious attributes — comes to fullness at the same time. This stage is called ‘The Abode of Childlike Purity.’

  [9] “Once they are fully formed, they come forth from the womb as the Buddha’s children. This stage is called ‘The Abode of the Dharma-Prince.’

  [10] “Having grown to adulthood, they are like a crown prince who has come of age. To him the king entrusts the affairs of state, and he is anointed as the Kśatriya lord’s royal heir. This stage is called ‘The Abode of Anointment.’

  D. Ten Practices33

  [1] “Ānanda, these good people, having become children of the Buddha, are fully endowed with the immeasurable and wondrous virtues of the Thus-Come Ones. They respond to the needs of all beings throughout the ten directions. They are at the stage called ‘The Practice of Happiness.’34

  The first of the Bodhisattva’s perfections is the practice of giving, of which there are three kinds:

  the giving of wealth,

  the giving of Dharma,

  the giving of fearlessness.

  Besides these three kinds of giving, there are also two aspects to giving that apply to the Practice of Happiness:

  Giving makes us happy;

  Our gifts make others happy....

  You should enjoy giving. It’s not that you decide to give only under duress; it’s not that on the one hand you want to give, but on the other hand you don’t want to. It’s not that you are hesitant, thinking, “I’d like to make a gift, but parting with my money is as painful as cutting off a piece of my flesh!” On the other hand, you know that if you do not practice giving, you will not generate any merit. So it’s a real dilemma....There may be some merit in making gifts even if it is because one feels constrained to do so, but that certainly is not the Practice of Happiness described here.

  As to the second aspect of giving, your gifts should make other beings happy. When you practice giving, you should not act like someone tossing crumbs to a beggar. It shouldn’t be that they have to come crawling to your door crying, “Dear uncle, dear auntie, can’t you spare a little?” and you open the door a crack, throw out a dime or a quarter, and shout, “Take it and go away!” That can’t be called giving. There’s no merit in that kind of behavior.... People with any self-respect would not accept something that is offered in that way. They’d rather go hungry.

  Also, you should be careful not to give in such a way that you expect gratitude in response. If you make people feel they must thank you, then you aren’t giving in a way that makes people happy. (VII, 45–6)

  [2] “They become skillful in doing good deeds for all beings. This stage is called ‘The Practice of Beneficial Deeds.’

  This practice corresponds to perfection in following precepts. It is called the “Practice of Beneficial Deeds” because it includes teaching others to follow precepts and thus rescuing them. If everyone were to follow the precepts, the entire world would benefit. (VII, 46)

  [3] “In the process of awakening themselves and awakening others, they become skillful in not opposing and not resisting. This stage is called ‘The Practice of Freedom from Resentment.’

  Here the Bodhisattvas reach the point of not putting forth any resistance. This method of nonresistance refers to patience, the third perfection in the Bodhisattva’s practice. When something pleasant happens, one is happy; when something unpleasant happens, one is still happy. One doesn’t oppose the opinions of others. That requires patience. In all circumstances, one forebears... and doesn’t get angry. (VII, 48)

  [4] “Unto the farthest reaches of the future, they undergo rebirth freely and equally among the various kinds of beings in the three periods of time throughout the ten directions. This stage is called ‘The Practice of Inexhaustibility.’

  Undergoing rebirth among the various kinds of beings... represents the perfection of vigor. (VII, 49)

  [5] “For them the various ways of practice merge into a single practice, and in these practices they are beyond error. This stage is called ‘The Practice of Departing from Ignorance and Delusion.’35

  This level of practice corresponds to perfection in meditation in stillness, a practice which aids those who are scattered and easily confused. (VII, 49)

  [6] “Within what is identical, many different attributes appear, and these good people perceive the identity that exists among all these different attributes. This stage is called ‘The Practice of Skill with Regard to What Manifests.’

  “What is identical” is the general principle. What is different are the specific instances. At the noumenal level, there is identity; at the level of phenomena, there are differences. The noumenal is interfused without hindrance in the phenomenal, and the phenomenal is interfused without hindrance in the noumenal. Further, phenomena are interfused without hindrance in phenomena; both phenomena and noumena are mutually interfused. Within identity, difference appears, and within difference, identity is found....This is the perfection of wisdom. (VII, 49–50)

  [7] “In the same way, these good people perceive that all the worlds in the ten directions appear in each and every mote of dust throughout space in the ten directions without any mutual interference. This stage is called ‘The Practice of Nonattachment.’

  Not only does difference appear within identity and identity within difference, but within the few the many can appear, and within the many the few are evident. Within the small the great can appear; within the great the small are evident.... Within every mote of dust, worlds appear; every world can fit within a mote of dust. But the world does not shrink, nor does the mote of dust expand.... The Bodhisattva at the stage of the Practice of Nonattachment experiences this. This is the seventh perfection, skill-in-means. (VII, 50–1)

  [8] “They look upon each of these states of mind as the foremost among the perfections. This stage is called ‘The Practice That Is Worthy of Veneration.’

  This practice is brought to perfection by the power of vows,... the eighth perfection. (VII, 51)

  [9] “When these good people perceive that all is perfectly interfused in this way, they are able to conform perfectly to the rules and regulations of all the Buddhas throughout all ten directions. This stage is called ‘The Practice of Skill in the Dharma.’

  This stage corresponds to the Bodhisattva’s perfection of powers. (VII, 52)

  [10] “Each and every one of these practices, in its fundamental nature, is pure and without outflows, such that all are a single unconditioned truth. This stage is called ‘The Practice of Truth.’

  This stage corresponds to perfection in the knowledge of expedients. (VII, 52)

  E. Ten Dedications

  [1] “Ānanda, now that these good people have gained full spiritual powers and have gained proficiency in doing the work of the Buddhas, they are entirely pure and true, and they are far from all hindrance and misfortune. They will now be able to rescue beings, and yet they have relinquished all attachment to their rescuing of beings. In rescuing them, they turn from the mental state that is apart from conditions towards the path that leads to nirvana. This is the stage called ‘Dedicating36 the Rescue of Beings while Remaining Unattached.’

  The myriad practices they cultivate are mere flowers in the air. The places for awakening where they sit are like the moon’s reflection in water. The work of subduing the demonic armies is nothing more than a reflection in a mirror. They do the Buddhas’ work while in the midst of a dream. That represents their nonattachment. Everything is an illusion;... nothing really exists. So don’t be attached to anything. See through it all; let it go, and you can gain mastery o
ver yourself....

  The Diamond Sūtra has a similar explanation. The Buddha Śākyamūni says there that one should rescue all beings, and yet when all beings have thus been rescued, no beings will actually have been rescued. The meaning, again, is that you must not be attached. You must not think, “I did this, I did that.”... It was your responsibility to do it in the first place, so why would you need to let anyone know it had been done?... Conversely, some people say, “I didn’t steal anything or kill anyone, so why aren’t things better for me?” This implies that it was their destiny to steal and kill but that they refrained from doing so and therefore should be rewarded! This is a mistaken point of view. (VII, 53–4)

  [2] “They abandon what should be abandoned and leave behind what should be left behind. This stage is called ‘Dedicating What One Has Not Abandoned.’

  “What should be abandoned” are our karmic obstacles, ignorance, and afflictions. “What should be left behind” are our faults.... What should not be abandoned are our good roots in the Dharma and our fundamental enlightened nature. (VII, 55–6)

  [3] “Their inherent enlightenment, deep and clear, is equivalent to the enlightenment of the Buddhas. This stage is called ‘Dedicating One’s Identity with All Buddhas.’

  [4] “When the essential truth is fully revealed, these good people stand on the same ground as the Buddhas. This stage is called ‘Dedicating One’s Ability to Reach All Places.’

  [5] “Having entered worlds and having become identical with the Thus-Come Ones, they now experience both of these as merged together without a hindrance. This stage is called ‘Dedicating One’s Inexhaustible Treasury of Merit.’

  [6] “These good people have the same grounding in reality as the Buddhas have, and so at every stage along the path, they generate pure intentions. By means of these pure intentions, they radiate light, and they do not stray from the path to nirvana. This stage is called ‘Dedicating One’s Roots of Goodness That Are Grounded in the Same Reality as the Buddhas.’

  [7] “Since their roots of goodness have now been grounded in reality, they each make this contemplation: ‘All beings in the ten directions have the same fundamental nature that I have, and now that my nature is fully realized, I know that no being is excluded from it.’ This stage is called ‘Dedicating the Contemplation of One’s Identity with All Beings.’

  Buddhas and Bodhisattvas see themselves and all beings as having the same nature. They are one with all beings. Therefore, for them to save beings is not really to save other beings but to save themselves.... To say that all beings have the same fundamental nature as oneself is to speak of beings who exist outside oneself. But we can also speak of internal beings, because there are boundlessly many beings within the body of each of us. Science... verifies that our bodies contain innumerable microscopic organisms. If you open your Buddha-eye and look into people’s bodies, you will see an uncountable number of tiny forms of life, even to the point that when you exhale, you send a lot of beings out with your breath.... When you become enlightened and develop some skill, you become one with all the beings inside you and outside you. (VII, 59–60)

  [8] “While experiencing oneness with all phenomena, they are nevertheless apart from the attributes of phenomena. Further, they are without attachment either to oneness with phenomena or to separateness from them. This stage is called ‘Dedicating the Suchness of Reality within All Phenomena.’

  [9] “When they have truly reached the suchness of reality, they meet no obstacles anywhere throughout the ten directions. This stage is called ‘Dedicating on Behalf of Liberation from All Bonds.’

  10] “When they have fully realized the virtue of their true nature, all limits to the Dharma-Realm are eradicated. This stage is called ‘Dedicating the Boundlessness of the Dharma-Realm.’

  F. Four Additional Practices

  “Ānanda, when in each of these forty-one stages these good people have completely purified their minds, they next master four wondrous and perfect additional practices.

  [1] “First, they are on the brink of being able to model their minds on the Buddha’s enlightenment. They are like a piece of wood smoldering when it is drilled. This is called ‘The Stage of Heating Up.’

  The analogy is of wood which is drilled to obtain fire; this stage of the Bodhisattva is compared to the point just before the wood ignites.... The igniting of the wood being drilled is like enlightenment. Here the wood is right on the point of bursting into flame. (VII, 63)

  [2] “Next, in that their minds are about to complete the journey that the Buddhas have made, they are as if on the point of no longer being bound by the earth. They are like a person standing on a mountain summit, with his body in the air and hardly any solid ground beneath his feet. This is called ‘The Stage of Standing at the Peak.’

  [3] “Their minds and the minds of the Buddhas had been separate, but now they have become one. They gain true understanding of the Middle Way. They are like someone who endures something that cannot be repressed and yet cannot be expressed. This is called ‘The Stage of Patience.’

  [4] “When all delineations have melted away, these good people no longer distinguish between confusion and enlightenment and the Middle Way. This is called ‘The Stage of Preeminence in the World.’

  At the level of the Tenth Dedication, all measurements in the Dharma-Realm ceased to be. Here, all delineations are gone.... When there are no such designations as the Middle Way or as confusion and enlightenment, and when perfection is total and the light is brilliant, the situation is like a zero. There’s nothing that can be said about zero, since it means the absence of everything. And yet everything outside the zero is contained within it. The zero is the mother of all things, yet... there isn’t anything there.... Still, the mountains, the rivers, the vegetation, and all the other myriad phenomena in the entire world come forth from it. Since this state is like zero, there can be no designation for enlightenment or for confusion, or for the Middle Way. There’s no name for this state, but we have to call it something, so we force the issue and call it the “Stage of Preeminence in the World.” It is foremost in the world because there is no second. (VII, 65)

  G. Ten Grounds37

  [1] “Ānanda, these good people have fully understood the Great Enlightenment, and their awakening is much the same as the Thus-Come Ones’. They have fathomed the state of the Buddha’s mind. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Happiness.’

  [2] “The different natures become identical, and that identity itself disappears. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Freedom from Defilement.’

  On the first of the Ten Grounds there was still happiness, and so an identity also existed. Although there were no designations, there was still an identity. Differences merged into identity and became one; that is, although the phenomena and the noumenon were united, the noumenon continued. Here at the second ground, identity disappears. This ground is called “Freedom from Defilement” because at this ground the Bodhisattva leaves ignorance behind; yet it is not completely ended, and a slight bit of attachment remains. (VII, 67)

  [3] “At the point of ultimate purity, bright light appears. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Shining Light.’

  [4] “At the point of ultimate luminosity, there is full awakening. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Wisdom Blazing Forth.’

  [5] “All the previous grounds of identity and difference are now surpassed. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Being Hard to Surpass.’

  [6] “The pure nature of the unconditioned suchness of reality now becomes clearly manifest. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Manifestation.’

  [7] “They reach the very boundaries of the suchness of reality. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Traveling Far.’

  The suchness of reality has no limit and no farthest point, so how can it have boundaries? The text is merely descriptive here,... an attempt to describe what is basically beyond comprehension. (VII, 70)

  [8] “Everything is the true mind, the su
chness of reality. This stage is called ‘The Ground of No Movement.’

  [9] “They now skillfully reveal the functioning of the suchness of reality. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Using Wisdom Skillfully.’ At this point, Ānanda, these Bodhisattvas’ practices and merit have already been perfected. Therefore this ground may also be called ‘The Stage at Which Practice is Perfected.’

  At the eighth ground, the suchness of reality and the mind became one; this is the Ground of No Movement. But to simply be unmoving, never to move, would be useless. Therefore, within the suchness of reality, one’s functions manifest. That is... these Bodhisattvas always respond to circumstances, yet they do not move; not moving, they nevertheless always respond to circumstances. Since such functioning must be connected with wisdom, it is called “Using Wisdom Skillfully.” (VII, 71)

  [10] “The wondrous cloud of compassion covers the sea of nirvana with its shade. This stage is called ‘The Ground of the Dharma-Cloud.’

  H. Two Final Stages

  “When Thus-Come Ones reverse their direction38 and the Bodhisat-tvas advance towards them along the path of practice, they meet at the threshold of the Buddha’s enlightenment. This stage is called the ‘Equivalent Enlightenment.’ Thus, Ānanda, they have progressed from the stage of Arid Wisdom to the stage of Equivalent Enlightenment. Their ground of awakening is the wisdom that results from the drying up of ignorance within the Vajra-mind.

  The enlightenment of the Buddhas and the enlightenment of the Bodhisattvas merge at this point. It is therefore called “Equivalent Enlightenment.” These Bodhisattvas are equal to Buddhas. But theirs is still not the Wondrous Awakening, still not entirely the same as the Buddhas’ enlightenment, because at this stage, Bodhisattvas still have one bit of ignorance left.... Once they break through that, they will be Buddhas. (VII, 74)