The Lankavatara Sutra
Page 8
Because Mahamati was aware of the thoughts of the other bodhisattvas about how to distinguish the essential teaching of buddha knowledge and because he was supported by the manifest power of the tathagatas, he asked the Buddha, “Would the Bhagavan please explain how to understand the essential teaching of buddha knowledge on the basis of which the 108 statements are to be distinguished, and on the basis of which tathagatas, arhats, and fully enlightened ones explain how to distinguish the individual and shared characteristics of the imagined reality into which bodhisattvas enter. For by explaining how to distinguish imagined reality, we will be able to understand the absence of a self among beings and dharmas wherever we look. And by ridding ourselves of such projections and by illuminating the various stages, we will transcend the bliss of the meditations of shravakas, pratyeka-buddhas, and followers of other paths, and we will see the inconceivable realms cultivated by tathagatas. And we will finally let go of the five dharmas and the modes of reality and adorn ourselves instead with the knowledge of a tathagata’s dharma body, leave behind illusory realms,179 and ascend to the Tushita and Akanishtha heavens of every buddhaland,180 where we will obtain the ever-present body of a tathagata.”181
XII182
The Bhagavan told Mahamati, “There are followers of some paths attached to the projection of nothingness who imagine the nonexistence of rabbit horns when what causes them ends183 and that, as with the nonexistence of rabbit horns, the same is true of everything else. And there are followers of other paths, Mahamati, who distinguish each and every thing in terms of elements, tendencies, particles, substances, or shapes and, having seen that there are no such things as rabbit horns, become attached to the conception that ox horns exist.184
“Mahamati, because they are given to such dualistic extremes, they don’t understand what is nothing but mind and nourish, instead, the projection of realms of their own conception. But such things as their body, their possessions, and the world around them are nothing but projections of sensation. Mahamati, this is true of the existence of all things. They transcend existence and nonexistence. You should not imagine such things.
“Mahamati, since they transcend existence and nonexistence, someone who thinks rabbit horns don’t exist suffers from a misconception. They should not think that rabbit horns don’t exist, because such a view would be relative. And if they were to analyze whatever does exist into the finest particles, they would not find anything there. Mahamati, because it would be outside the realm of buddha knowledge, you should not imagine that ox horns exist.”
Mahamati then asked the Buddha, “Bhagavan, if someone imagines something as not existing, is it because they see it as not arising that they subsequently reason since their observation doesn’t result in its discrimination, it doesn’t exist?”
The Buddha replied, “Not so, Mahamati. It isn’t because their observation doesn’t result in its discrimination that they say something doesn’t exist. And why not? It is because discriminations arise in dependence on something. They arise in dependence on horns. And because a discrimination arises in dependence on horns, they are said to be its cause. Hence, it is not because observation doesn’t result in their discrimination that they say horns do not exist, rather it is because they are neither separate nor not separate.
“Mahamati, if the discrimination is separate from the horns, its occurrence is not dependent on the horns. And if it isn’t separate, it is dependent on them. But no matter how minutely you analyze and examine them, you cannot find anything there. Also, because it isn’t separate from the horns, it doesn’t exist by itself. But if neither exists by itself, on what basis do we say it doesn’t exist? Mahamati, if it185 doesn’t exist, then the horns don’t exist. But you should not think that rabbits do not have horns on the basis of observation. Mahamati, it is because there is no direct cause that arguments in favor of existence or nonexistence cannot be proved.
“Mahamati, there are followers of other paths who are attached to such things as form and space as having shape and location. Although they aren’t able to distinguish space, they say space exists apart from form, and they thus give rise to the projection of their separation. Mahamati, space is form. It is part of the material elements. And form is space, Mahamati. But in order to establish the existence of which supports and which is supported, they separate space and form. Although their individual characteristics differ, Mahamati, where the four material elements are present, they neither occupy space, nor do they exist without space.
“Likewise, Mahamati, oxen are observed with horns and rabbits without horns. But, Mahamati, if you were to grind ox horns into the finest particles and didn’t stop analyzing those particles for even a moment, could you say they did not exist based on what you saw? Anything else you might examine would be the same.”
The Bhagavan then told Mahamati Bodhisattva, “You should avoid projections that view rabbit horns or ox horns, space or form as separate. You and the other bodhisattvas should reflect on projections as perceptions of your own mind. And in whatever lands you might find yourselves, teach bodhisattvas about the perceptions of their own minds.”
XIII186
The Bhagavan then repeated the meaning of this in verse:
1. “There is no form inside the mind187 / form is nourished by the mind / body, possessions, the world, and beings / from repository consciousness all appear
2. The mind, will, and consciousness / the five dharmas and modes of reality / the purification of two kinds of no-self / these are taught by those who teach
3. Long and short, is and isn’t / from each in turn the other arises / because one isn’t, the other is / because one is, the other isn’t
4. Analyzing something into dust / doesn’t yield the idea of its form / but saying it is nothing but mind / doesn’t please deluded people
5. This isn’t a realm for philosophers / nor is it for shravakas / the teaching of those who would save the world / is the realm of self-realization.”
XIV188
In order to purify189 the stream of perceptions of his own mind, Mahamati Bodhisattva once more asked the Buddha, “Bhagavan, how is the stream of perceptions of beings’ minds purified? By degrees or all at once?”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “By degrees and not all at once. Like the gooseberry, 190 which ripens by degrees and not all at once, thus do tathagatas purify the stream of perceptions of beings’ minds by degrees and not all at once. Or like a potter, who makes vessels by degrees and not all at once, thus do tathagatas purify the stream of perceptions of beings’ minds by degrees and not all at once. Or like the earth, which gives birth to living things by degrees and not all at once, thus do tathagatas purify the stream of perceptions of beings’ minds by degrees and not all at once. Or like when people become proficient in such arts as music or writing or painting by degrees and not all at once, thus do tathagatas purify the stream of perceptions of beings’ minds by degrees and not all at once.191
“Or just as a clear mirror reflects formless192 images all at once, tathagatas likewise purify the stream of perceptions of beings’ minds by displaying pure, formless, undifferentiated realms all at once. Or just as the sun and moon illuminate images all at once, tathagatas likewise reveal the supreme realm of inconceivable wisdom all at once to those who have freed themselves of the habit-energy and misconceptions that are perceptions of their own minds. Or just as repository consciousness distinguishes such different perceptions of one’s mind as the realms of the body, its possessions, and the world around it all at once, nishyanda buddhas193 likewise bring beings to maturity in whatever realm they dwell all at once and lead practitioners to reside in Akanishtha Heaven.194 Or just as the nishyanda buddhas created by the dharmata buddha radiate light, the personal realization of buddha knowledge likewise illuminates and dispels erroneous views and projections regarding the existence or nonexistence of dharmas and their characteristics.195
XV196
“Mahamati, the dharmata-nishyanda buddha197 teaches
that the individual and shared characteristics of every dharma are due to the habit-energy of the perceptions of the mind and to the continued attachment to an imagined reality198 that is no more real than an illusion—and one that cannot be grasped.
“Moreover, Mahamati, an imagined reality arises from attachment to a dependent reality. Mahamati, it is like when a magician uses materials such as plants and wood and tiles and stone to create an illusion and conjures the appearance of different creatures, which then gives rise to different projections, but projections that are not real.199 In the same manner, Mahamati, it is based on a dependent reality that the myriad projections of an imagined reality arise—the myriad projections of appearances that are the habit-energy of attachment to projections. Mahamati, this is how the appearances of an imagined reality arise. Mahamati, this is what the nishyanda buddha teaches.
“Mahamati, what the dharmata buddha does is establish and create that realm which transcends self-existent appearances of the mind and on which the personal realization of buddha knowledge depends.200
“Mahamati, the nirmita-nirmana buddha201 teaches charity, morality, forbearance, zeal, meditation, and wisdom of the mind, detachment from the skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas, liberation from the projection, contemplation, and establishment of appearances of consciousness, and transcendence of the views of followers of other paths and the views of formlessness.
“Also, Mahamati, the dharmata buddha is free from objective support.202 Freedom from objective support and from the operation of sensation is not a realm known to ignorant people, shravakas, pratyeka-buddhas, or followers of other paths attached to a self but is the ultimate, unique realm established by the personal realization of buddha knowledge. Therefore, Mahamati, you should devote yourself to cultivating the personal realization of this ultimate, unique realm of buddha knowledge and put an end to views that are perceptions of the mind.
XVI203
“Moreover, Mahamati, there are two differences that characterize the shravaka path: the differences in their attainment of the personal realization of buddha knowledge and in their attachment to the existence of an imagined reality.
“And what is different about a shravaka’s attainment of the personal realization of buddha knowledge? This refers to attaining stillness of mind in regard to the realms of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and the absence of a self, in regard to the truths concerning the cessation and transcendence of desire,204 and in regard to the end of anything indestructible among the individual or shared characteristics of the skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas. And with stillness of mind come the liberation of dhyana, the final fruit of samadhi, and the deliverance of samapatti. But while enjoying the bliss from the personal realization of buddha knowledge, shravakas are not yet free of habit-energy or imperceptible transformation deaths.205 This is how a shravaka’s attainment of the personal realization of buddha knowledge differs.
“Mahamati, the bliss from the personal realization of buddha knowledge attained by bodhisattvas differs in that they avoid the bliss of annihilation and the bliss of samapatti, which they do not experience because of their compassion for others and their original vows. Mahamati, this is how the bliss attained by shravakas from the personal realization of buddha knowledge differs. And this difference in the bliss from the personal realization of buddha knowledge is not something bodhisattvas should cultivate.
“Mahamati, what is meant by the attachment of shravakas to the existence of an imagined reality? This refers to knowing that the individual and shared characteristics of blue and yellow and red and white and of solidity and moisture and warmth and movement of the material elements arise without a creator, as previous sages have declared, but upon seeing them, giving rise to projections of their self-existence.206 This is what is meant by the attachment of shravakas to the existence of an imagined reality. This is something bodhisattvas should understand and put an end to by getting rid of views concerning a self among dharmas along with those concerning a self among persons, as they proceed to establish themselves in the sequence of stages.“207
XVII208
At that time, Mahamati Bodhisattva asked the Buddha, “Bhagavan, the Tathagata teaches that what is eternal and inconceivable209 is the realm of ultimate truth, the realm of buddha knowledge one realizes oneself. Bhagavan, do other schools not teach that what is eternal and inconceivable is a cause?”210
The Buddha told Mahamati, “The cause of other schools does not qualify as eternal and inconceivable. And why not? Because what other schools claim is eternal and inconceivable is not the result of its own causal attribute. If what is eternal and inconceivable is not the result of its own causal attribute, on what basis does it appear as eternal and inconceivable? Furthermore, Mahamati, if what is inconceivable were the result of its own causal attribute, it would be eternal. But because it would be due to the causal attribute of a creator, it would not qualify as eternal and inconceivable.
“Mahamati, the reason my ultimate truth is eternal and inconceivable is because ultimate truth is the result of a causal attribute that transcends existence and nonexistence. Because the attainment of personal realization is its attribute, it has an attribute. And because the knowledge of ultimate truth is its cause, it has a cause. And because it is beyond existence and nonexistence, it resembles what is not created: space, nirvana, and complete cessation. This is why it is eternal. Hence, Mahamati, it is not the same as the doctrines about what is eternal and inconceivable of other schools. Thus, Mahamati, this eternal and inconceivable is attained by the personal realization of the knowledge of the tathagatas. Therefore, the eternal and inconceivable attained by the personal realization of buddha knowledge is what you should cultivate.
“Moreover, Mahamati, the eternal and inconceivable of members of other schools is impermanent because it is caused by something else and because it lacks the power to create its own causal attribute. Also, Mahamati, members of other schools consider their eternal and inconceivable as eternal despite having witnessed the impermanence of the existence and nonexistence of what is created.
“Mahamati, despite having witnessed the impermanence of the existence and nonexistence of what is created, I could use the same method to claim that the realm of buddha knowledge realized by oneself is eternal and free from causes. Mahamati, if the eternal and inconceivable of other schools were the result of a causal attribute and that causal attribute did not itself exist, it would be the same as horns on a rabbit. Their eternal and inconceivable would be merely words and imagination. This is the problem among members of other schools. And how so? Because what is merely words and imagination is the same as rabbit horns, for which a causal attribute does not exist.
“Mahamati, what I speak of as eternal and inconceivable is eternal because it is based on the attribute of personal realization and because it transcends the existence and nonexistence of what is created. It is not in consideration of the impermanence of external nonexistence that it is eternal. Mahamati, if what is eternal and inconceivable were eternal in consideration of the impermanence of external nonexistence, there would be no way to know the eternal and inconceivable’s own causal attribute. As this distracts people from the attainment of the personal realization of the realm of buddha knowledge, it is not worth talking about.211
XVIII212
“Furthermore, Mahamati, shravakas who are afraid of the suffering that comes from their projection of samsara seek nirvana unaware that the difference between samsara and nirvana, as well as their projection of everything else, does not exist.213 They conceive of nirvana as the cessation of all future sensory realms, not the transformation of repository consciousness through the personal realization of buddha knowledge. Thus, ignorant people speak of three paths214 and not of the projection-free realm that is nothing but mind.215 Mahamati, they therefore do not know the realm of the mind perceived by tathagatas of the past, the present, and the future. Instead, they are attached to the perception of a realm outside the mind and keep turning
the wheel of samsara.
XIX216
“Furthermore, Mahamati, nothing arises. This is what the tathagatas of the past, the present, and the future teach. And how so? Because existence and nonexistence are perceptions of one’s own mind, the existence or nonexistence of which does not arise. Mahamati, nothing that exists arises. Everything is like horns on a rabbit or a horse, the mistaken projections of an imagined reality by ignorant beings. Therefore, Mahamati, nothing that exists arises. The non-arising that characterizes all that exists, this is the personal realization of the realm of buddha knowledge, not the dualistic realm of projections of the ignorant.217 The existence that characterizes such things as your body, your possessions, and the world around you, Mahamati, is the interplay of the grasping and the grasped of repository consciousness.218 Trapped by their dualistic views of origination, duration, and cessation and their wish for things to arise, the ignorant give rise to projections of existence and nonexistence, not the wise. Mahamati, you should reflect on this in your practice.