Part 7-1
The Buddha asked Subhuti, “Subhuti, what do you think—has the Realised One attained unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment? Has the Realised One preached any Dharma?” Subhuti said. “As I understand the principles expounded by you, the Realised One, there is no fixed Dharma called unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment, and there is no fixed Dharma worth mentioning that the Realised One preached.”
Commentary:
The essence of the Buddha’s teaching, Buddhism, as mentioned repeatedly, is to realise that everything is empty. When everything is empty, there is nothing, including the Buddha himself who gave this discourse, that is not empty. The statement that everything without exception is empty means that emptiness is another name for the Buddha, and everything is the true-Self.
For example, to say ‘the mountain is empty and the flying bird is empty’ means the mountain is the true-Self, the bird is the true-Self, and the bird’s flying is the function of the true-Self, Buddha-nature. Though the mountain and the bird appear separate, their essence is one as the true-Self. Just as the universe has various diverse forms but those diverse forms are one cosmic appearance, all forms appear different but that they are precisely the form of emptiness.
As it says in the Avatamsaka Sutra:
“Seeing the Buddha in various forms,
yet finding him nowhere when he is present,
Searching in the ten directions,
yet failing to meet him,
Is because one is deceived by forms and words,
And thus fails to recognise the true appearance.”
This means that everything we see, hear, and feel is the Buddha, and though we are constantly seeing and hearing the Buddha, we fail to find him because we are deceived by forms and words. This is why the ancient masters said that before enlightenment, there is the Dharma to learn, enlightenment to gain, and a Buddha to see, but after enlightenment, everything—including oneself—is empty, and thus there is no Dharma to learn, no enlightenment to gain, and no Buddha to see.
Therefore, the ancient masters said, ‘No ten thousand things are the same as each other, and no ten thousand things are different from each other. That the ten thousand things are different is known to everyone, but that the ten thousand things are the same is difficult for even a sage to know.’ This means that we are all immersed in the dream-like world of form that we have created, and we are ignorant of our essential, eternal, and perfect true-Self, Emptiness. Everyone knows that all things, including humans, have a beginning and an end, and that they are subject to birth and death, but it is difficult for us to know that we are eternal beings. Shakyamuni Buddha was the first to realise this, and the purpose of Buddhism is to realise this.
The saying that the Buddha attained complete perfect enlightenment means that although, when viewed as form, he attained this great, complete enlightenment, from the perspective of emptiness upon realising it, he realised that everything—including himself—is empty. Thus, although it is conventionally said that he attained complete perfect enlightenment, there is in reality no separate thing to be called complete perfect enlightenment that was attained. Likewise, the saying that ‘the Buddha has expounded the Dharma’ means that although, when viewed as form, the Buddha expounded a vast amount of Dharma that became the Tripitaka, essentially, the Buddha himself is empty, and his discourses are merely the function of emptiness, the true-Self.
This is why Subhuti realised and stated that there is no fixed Dharma that can be definitively named complete perfect enlightenment, nor is there any fixed Dharma that the Buddha can be said to have expounded.
The core point here is that the conversation between Shakyamuni Buddha and Subhuti itself should be seen not as a dialogue between two individuals, but as the function of the true-Self, Buddha-nature. If the Buddha’s discourses are not Dharma but the function of Buddha-nature, then when reading the Diamond Sutra, every single word should be regarded as the function of Buddha-nature.
Disciple: “If the Buddha did not expound the Dharma, then what are the Buddhist scriptures we read?”
Master: “Do not distort the words the Buddha did not speak into the words of the Buddha.”
Disciple: “The Diamond Sutra says the Buddha did not expound any Dharma.”
Master: “If all the Dharma the Buddha expounded is empty, and thus there is no Dharma to be said to have been expounded, then the saying ‘there is no Dharma expounded’ is also not Dharma expounded by the Buddha. Why do you insist that this statement is the Dharma expounded by the Buddha?”
Disciple: “Then how should I view the Sutras?”
Master: “The Buddha’s Sutras have no pages and no words.”
Complete perfect enlightenment,
Seeking it hard, you cannot see it.
Constantly uttering it with the mouth all the time,
You say it does not exist.
Koan:
Emperor Wu of Liang invited Patriarch Fu Dashi to lecture on the Diamond Sutra. Fu Dashi ascended the lecture platform, struck the table holding the s(S)utra stand once, and immediately stepped down from his seat.
The emperor was astonished. Venerable Zhigong then asked, “Does Your Majesty understand this?” The emperor replied, “I do not understand.” Venerable Zhigong said, “Patriarch Fu Dashi has finished his lecture on the Diamond Sutra.”
Question 1:
Why did Patriarch Fu Dashi, after ascending the platform to expound the Diamond Sutra, strike the table once and immediately step down from his seat?
Question 2:
What is the meaning of Venerable Zhigong’s remark, “Patriarch Fu Dashi has finished his lecture on the Diamond Sutra.”?
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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