His three hundred fourteenth vow says, “May I attain a true awakening in the future, and if there are sentient beings who have little wholesome roots but arouse enjoyment in these wholesome roots, may I let them leave the household and study the way in the buddha dharma in their future lifetime, and let them abide at ease in the ten pure precepts. Until this is achieved, I will not be fully awakened.”
Know that all the good men and good women who have left the household now have been helped by the power of the World-Honored One’s great vows in the past, have left the household, and received the precepts without hindrance. The Tathagata made these vows and caused them to leave the household. They clearly know that this is a great merit, most venerable and unsurpassable.
The Buddha said, “If you make offerings to those who follow my teaching, shave off their hair, and wear a patch of kashaya, but have not received the precepts, you will enter the castle of no fear. Because of that, I speak in this way.”
From this we know that if you make offerings to people who have shaved off their hair and wear a kashaya, but have not received the precepts, you may enter the castle of no fear.
He also said, “Even if they haven’t received the precepts, if you harm those who have left the household with me, shaved off their hair, and wear a piece of kashaya, you will harm the dharma body and the reward body of all buddhas in the past, present, and future, and so you will fill the three unwholesome paths.”
The Buddha also said:
If sentient beings leave the household for me, shave off their hair, and wear a kashaya, even if they have not received the precepts, they will all be marked with a sign of nirvana. If you harm those who have left the household for me but haven’t received the precepts; if you annoy, insult, or denounce them; if you beat, bind, cut them with a hand, a sword, or a stick, or take away their robes and bowls; or if you take away their tools for livelihood, you will harm the true reward bodies of all buddhas in the past, present, and future, and challenge the eyes of all humans and devas. Thus, you will conceal the seeds of authentic dharma among the three treasures, make all devas fall into hell, depriving them of receiving benefaction, and expand and fill the three unwholesome paths.
From this, know that those who shave their heads and wear ink-dyed robes, even if they have not received the precepts, are marked with a sign of unsurpassable, great nirvana. If you confuse them, you would harm the reward bodies of all buddhas of the past, present, and future. Your offense would be the same as murdering your parents. Thus, we know that the merit of leaving the household is being intimate with all buddhas of the past, present, and future.
The Buddha said, “You, home leavers, should not arouse an unwholesome mind. If you do, you are not home leavers. You, home leavers, your action and speech should be in accord with each other. If they aren’t, you are not home leavers. I abandoned my parents, siblings, family members, relatives, and teachers to leave the household and practice the way. Indeed, this is the time to assemble wholesome awakening. It is not the time to assemble unwholesome awakening. Wholesome awakening is to have a tender heart toward all sentient beings as if they were babies. Unwholesome awakening is not like this.”
Thus, the self nature of a home leaver is having a tender heart toward all sentient beings as if they were babies. This is not arouse an unwholesome mind. This is your action and speech should be in accord with each other. When you take the form of a home leaver, you have such virtue as this.
The Buddha said:
Now, Shariputra, if bodhisattvas, great beings, wish to attain unsurpassable, complete enlightenment on the day they leave the household, turn the dharma wheel on the same day, and have sentient beings of uncountable eons become free from dust and attain pure dharma eyes, have sentient beings of uncountable eons become free from attachment and attain liberation from desires, and have sentient beings of uncountable eons practice unremittingly in unsurpassable, complete enlightenment, the bodhisattvas, great beings, should study realizing wisdom beyond wisdom.
The study of realizing wisdom beyond wisdom spoken of here is transmitted from one ancestor to another. Unsurpassable, complete enlightenment matures on the very day of leaving the household. However, in practicing and realizing for uncountable eons and for innumerable eons, it is not bound by having limitations or beyond having limitations. Those who study should know this.
The Buddha said:
If, on the day they leave the household, bodhisattvas, great beings, arouse the thought of declining their royal heritage and wish to attain unsurpassable, complete enlightenment, they will immediately turn the dharma wheel. They will free uncountable sentient beings from dust and help them to attain pure dharma eyes. They will free uncountable sentient beings from attachment and with wisdom mind liberate them from desires. They will help uncountable sentient beings to attain unsurpassable, complete enlightenment and unremitting practice. If these bodhisattvas, great beings, arouse this thought, they should study realizing wisdom beyond wisdom.
This merit [of leaving the household] is expounded in this way by Shakyamuni Buddha, who was born in the palace as the bodhisattva of the final body, declined his royal heritage, attained enlightenment, turned the dharma wheel, and awakened sentient beings.
[The Sutra on the Buddha’s Deeds in His Former Lives says:]
Prince Siddhartha went to his chariot driver, Chanda, and took up a sword with its handle decorated with wish-granting jewels and seven treasures. He pulled the sharp blade from the sheath with his right hand and grabbed his snail-shaped blue lotus-colored hair with his left hand. He cut the hair off and threw it up in the air. Indra saw him do so, greatly rejoiced in Siddhartha’s rare aspiration, and caught the bundle of the prince’s hair with his heavenly robe, keeping it from dropping on the ground. Then, all the devas presented their supreme heavenly offerings.
This was when Shakyamuni Buddha was a crown prince. He climbed over a wall of the palace at midnight, went into the mountains the next day, and cut off his own hair. Then the Deva of Suddha Avasa Heaven came down, shaved his head, and made an offering of a kashaya to him. This is an auspicious event of the emergence of the Tathagata in this world. Such an occasion is normal for all buddhas, world-honored ones.
Not even one of the buddhas of the past, present, and future in the ten directions became a buddha as a householder. Because there were buddhas in the past, there is leaving the household and receiving the precepts. The attainment of the way by sentient beings invariably depends on their leaving the household and receiving the precepts. Because leaving the household and receiving the precepts is the definitive way of all buddhas, the merit is immeasurable.
Although, in the scriptures, there is a teaching about a layperson becoming a buddha, it is not an authentic transmission. Although there is a teaching of a woman becoming a buddha [by turning into a man], it is not an authentic transmission. What is authentically transmitted by buddha ancestors is leaving the household and becoming a buddha.
[The Jingde Record of Transmission of the Lamp says:]
Dhitika, the son of a wealthy man, went to see Venerable Upagupta, the Fourth Ancestor, and expressed his wish to leave the household.
Upagupta said, “Do you want to leave the household for the benefit of your body or mind?”
Dhitika said, “I want to leave the household, but not for my body or mind.” Upagupta said, “Who leaves the household if not for the benefit of body or mind?”
Dhitika said, “A home leaver does not have a self or self-possession. Because of having no self or self-possession, the mind is not born and does not perish. Not to have the mind that is born or perishes: this is an unchanging dharma. All buddhas practice this way. Neither their minds nor their bodies have marks.”
Upagupta said, “You are greatly enlightened and your mind has been illuminated. You should take refuge in the buddha, dharma, sangha and nurture the sacred seed [of buddhahood].”
Thus, Upagupta allowed Dhitika to leave the household and receiv
e the precepts.
Now, to encounter the dharma of all buddhas and leave the household is the supreme result. The dharma is not for the self or self-possession. It is not for body or mind. It is not that you leave the household for the benefit of body or mind. This is the meaning of leaving the household is not for body or mind. Because it is not for the self or self-possession, it is the dharma of all buddhas. This is the way of all buddhas. Because this is the way of all buddhas, it is not for the self or self-possession, and not for the body or mind.
There is nothing equal to this in the three realms. Thus, leaving the household is the supreme dharma. It is not sudden, not gradual, not permanent, not impermanent. It is not coming, not going, not abiding, not making. It is not wide, not narrow, not large, not small. It is not becoming, and not not-becoming. There are no ancestors transmitting buddha dharma person to person that have not left the household or have not received the precepts.
This is how Dhitika first met Venerable Upagupta and asked about leaving the household. In this way, Dhitika left the household, received the precepts, practiced with Upagupta, and finally became the Fifth Ancestor.
[The Jingde Record of Transmission of the Lamp says:]
Sanghanandi, the Seventeenth Ancestor, was a prince of King Ratnavyuha of Shrasvasti. He could speak soon after his birth and kept praising the Buddha’s teaching. At age seven he detested worldly pleasure and presented this verse to his parents:
Bow to my compassionate father.
Veneration to my blood mother.
I now wish to leave the household,
begging you to kindly accept my plea.
But his parents insistently discouraged him. So, the prince refused to eat. Finally, his parents allowed him to leave the household while staying in the palace. They named him Sanghanandi and asked monk Dhyanartha to be his teacher. For nineteen years Sanghanandi didn’t tire of his practice. He said to himself daily, “While living at home, how can I be a home leaver?”
One night he saw a heavenly light descending all of a sudden and illuminating a straight road. Without noticing, he walked slowly on the road for ten li. When he came to a grotto in front of a huge rock, he went inside and sat quietly. Knowing that his son had left, the King expelled Dhyanartha and searched all over the country, looking for the prince. But he could not find him. Ten years later, Sanghanandi attained dharma, had his enlightenment confirmed, became a wandering teacher, and got to the country of Madhya.
This is the first time that becoming a home leaver while being at home has been heard of. However, with the help of his wholesome action in the past, he found a straight way in the heavenly light. Then, he left his palace and got to the grotto. Indeed, it is an excellent precedent. One who detests worldly pleasure and is cautious about common dust is a sage. One who loves the five desires and does not reject them is an ordinary fool.
Emperors Dai and Su practiced intimately with monks but they still clung to their thrones and did not abandon them.
Layman Lu [Huineng] left his parents and became an ancestor. It is the merit of leaving the household. On the other hand, Layman Pang abandoned treasure but did not throw away the dust of the world. It should be regarded as extreme foolishness. You cannot compare Lu’s power of the way with Pang’s study of the ancient way. Those who are clear leave the household. Those who are ignorant stay in the household, which becomes the causes and conditions of dark [unwholesome] actions.
One day, Nanyue Huairang, said with admiration, “Home leaving is done to practice the way to become free from birth. There is nothing that excels this in the deva and human worlds.”
The way to become free from birth is the true dharma of the Tathagata. Thus, it is excellent in the deva and human worlds. In the deva worlds, there are six deva worlds in the desire realm, eighteen deva worlds in the form realm, and four types of worlds in the no-form realm. None of them excel the path of home leavers.
Panshan, Zen Master Baoji, said, “Virtuous practitioners of Zen, studying the way in our school is like the earth holding mountains without knowing how steep they are, or a stone containing a jewel without knowing how flawless it is. One who practices like this is called a home leaver.”
The true dharma of buddha ancestors is not necessarily concerned with knowing or not knowing. As leaving the household is the true dharma of buddha ancestors, its merit is clear.
Linji Yixuan of Zhen Region, said, “Home leavers should discern what is right in everyday views, buddha from demon, and what is genuine, false, ordinary, or sacred. Those who discern in this way are called true home leavers. Those who cannot distinguish a buddha from a demon are like those who leave one home only to enter another home. They are called sentient beings who create karma, and cannot be called true home leavers.”
What is right in everyday views spoken of here means identifying with cause and effect, and identifying with the three treasures. Discern buddha means to clearly reflect on the merit of the causes and effects of being a buddha. It is to clearly understand what is genuine and what is false, what is ordinary and what is sacred. If you don’t clarify the distinction between a demon and a buddha, you will relapse and destroy the study of the way. If you are aware of a demon’s affairs and do not follow them, your endeavor of the way is unremitting. This is called the dharma of true home leavers. There are many who groundlessly regard demons’ affairs as buddha dharma. This is a mistake of recent times. You students should quickly know demons’ affairs and clarify, practice, and realize buddhahood.
[The Maha Pari-nirvana Sutra says:]
When the Tathagata was entering pari-nirvana, Kashyapa Bodhisattva said to him, “World-Honored One, the Tathagata, you understand all the roots [potentials] of human beings. You must have known that Sunakshatra was going to cut off his wholesome roots. Then, why did you allow him to leave the household?”
The Buddha said:
Good disciple, in the past, after I left the household, my brother Nanda, my cousins Ananda and Devadatta, and my son Rahula all followed me, left the household, and practiced the way. If I had not allowed Sunakshatra to leave the household, he would have succeeded to his father’s throne. Using his authority, he would have destroyed buddha dharma. For this reason, I permitted him to leave the household and practice the way.
Good disciple, if Sunakshatra had not left the household, he would have lost his wholesome roots and would have received no benefit in the uncountable lifetimes. As he has left the household, even if he has lost his wholesome roots now, if he maintains the precepts, venerates and makes offerings to old, senior, and virtuous ones, and practices the first to fourth stages of meditation, these will be wholesome causes. Wholesome causes give rise to wholesome dharma. If wholesome dharma rises, the way is practiced. If the way is practiced, unsurpassable, complete enlightenment is attained. That is why I allowed Sunakshatra to leave the household.
Good disciple, if I hadn’t allowed Sunakshatra to leave the household and receive the precepts, people would not be able to call me the Tathagata who embodies the ten powers.
Good disciple, the Buddha observes the wholesome and unwholesome potential sentient beings carry with them. Although they have these two types of potential, some of them quickly cut off all wholesome roots and maintain unwholesome roots. Why so? Because such people do not associate with wholesome friends, do not listen to the true dharma, do not think of wholesome things, and do not act according to dharma. For this reason, they lose wholesome roots and maintain unwholesome roots.
From this, know that although the Tathagata, the World-Honored One, clearly knows that some sentient beings are going to lose their wholesome roots, he allows them to leave the household for the sake of giving them wholesome causes. This is great compassion. Losing wholesome roots is caused by not associating with wholesome friends, not listening to the true dharma, not thinking of wholesome things, and not acting according to dharma. Students nowadays should always associate with wholesome friends. Wholesome friends say that there are
buddhas and teach that there are crimes and beneficial activities. Those who do not deny cause and effect are wholesome friends and wholesome teachers. What is explained by these people is the true dharma. To think of this principle is wholesome thinking. To act in this way is wholesome action.
This being so, encourage sentient beings to leave the household and receive the precepts whether you are close to them or not. Do not reflect on their future relapsing or not. Do not worry about their practicing or not. This is indeed the true dharma of Shakyamuni Buddha.
The Buddha said to the monks, “Know that King Yama [King of Hell] said, ‘When can I be liberated from this suffering, attain a human body, leave the household, shave off my hair, wear the three dharma robes, and practice the way as a home leaver?’ Even King Yama makes his wish in this way. Then, why shouldn’t you? You already have attained human bodies and have become monks. This being so, monks, be mindful of the practice of the body, speech, and thought, and do not be negligent. Put an end to the five delusions and work on the five sense organs. Such monks can keep practicing the way.”
Treasury of the True Dharma Eye Page 94
