Part 8-1
“Subhuti, what do you think—if someone gives seven kinds of treasures in charity that are sufficient to fill a billion-world universe, would this person gain many blessings?” Subhuti said, “Very many, World Honoured One. Why? These blessings are not of the nature of blessing; therefore, the Realised One says the blessings are many.” The Buddha said, “If anyone accepts and holds even a single four-line verse from this Sutra, and tells it to others, the blessing exceeds the aforementioned.”
Commentary:
To accept, uphold, and expound a four-line verse from this Sutra does not mean merely handing over a Sutra printed on paper or silk, or carved on wood or stone, nor does it mean memorising its characters and telling others. If one reads the Sutra merely following the words, it is said to become the discourse of a demon.
The Avatamsaka Sutra states, “Appearing before us in every place, the Buddha expounds the wondrous Dharma through various skilful means, bringing benefit to all sentient beings.” In the same way, when we see the Buddha who is always with us, when we become one with the Buddha, and when everything we see appears as the Buddha and when everything we hear sounds as the Dharma talk, then, as the Lotus Sutra says, ‘The moment one realises the true-Self, any word—whether from books we read, political discourse, wealth, or one’s profession—becomes the Dharma talk.’ We must understand that everything we see and hear is the Buddha and his Dharma, and that all our actions and sounds are none other than the Dharma talk of the four-line verse.
When this is realised, wherever we go, we ourselves are the Sutra, and our every word is the Buddha’s Dharma talk. This is what it means to constantly carry the Sutra and to expound the four-line verse to others.
To achieve this, when reading the Sutra, one must never be deceived by the words but must discern the true-Self that the words point to. Therefore, Subhuti’s saying, ‘These blessings are not of the nature of blessing; therefore, the Realised One says the blessings are many’ means that true blessing is seeing the true-Self. The Buddha’s intention when speaking the word ‘blessing’ was not the literal word itself, but a term to reveal the Buddha-nature. If accepted as the secular notion of blessing according to the words, it would be described by a limiting term like ‘many’. But if a four-line verse is accepted as the Buddha intended and transmitted to others, that blessing is infinite, transcending the description of ‘many’ ‘few’ ‘much’ or little’.
Here is a good example regarding blessing.
This is an anecdote about Bodhidharma, who came to China and met Emperor Wu of Liang, known as the ‘Emperor of the Buddhist Dharma.’
Emperor Wu: “I have built a thousand monasteries, erected a thousand pagodas, and provided offerings to over twenty thousand monks. How great is the blessing I have accumulated?”
Bodhidharma: “None.”
Patriarch Bodhidharma directly showed the true blessing, but Emperor Wu failed to recognise it. He later regretted it and composed the following poem. One must understand the meaning of Bodhidharma’s answer, “None” in order to transmit a four-line verse:
Alas! I saw him with my eyes yet failed to recognise him,
I met him yet failed to serve him.
We stood face to face yet I did not see him,
Both then and now, I am filled with resentment and regret.
Disciple: “What is a four-line verse?”
Master: “It cannot be written down.”
Disciple: “I don’t know.”
Master: “You have already said it.”
The Seven Treasures filling the three-thousand-great-thousand world,
And the four-line verse—
Only when there is no hair’s breadth of difference between them
Can one enjoy the Buddha’s blessing.
Koan:
A monk asked National Teacher Huizhong, “What is the mind of the ancient Buddha?”
Huizhong replied, “Walls, broken tiles, and pebbles.”
Question:
What is the meaning of National Teacher Huizhong’s answer to the monk’s question?
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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