Part 14-3
“World Honoured One, it is not difficult for me to hear this Sutra, believe in it, understand it, and accept and hold it now.”
Commentary:
We must understand what Subhuti meant when he said, “It is not difficult to hear, believe, understand, accept, and uphold a sutra such as this.” As mentioned many times, ‘this Sutra’ refers not to letters printed on paper or silk, nor to characters carved on wood or stone, but to the true-Self (Emptiness) itself.
As the Avatamsaka Sutra says, “Wherever one goes, the Buddha appears before them, preaching the wondrous Dharma through various expedient means to benefit all sentient beings”, when we can see the Buddha who is always with us and become one with the Buddha, everything we see appears as the Buddha and everything we hear is heard as a Dharma talk. The Lotus Sutra tells us that whatever we read or speak of—whether it be books, political discourse, wealth, or occupations—it all becomes a Dharma talk. When every action we take and every sound we make becomes a Dharma talk, we ourselves become the Sutra itself wherever we are. Since our words become the Buddha’s words, it is not difficult to carry the Sutra with us at all times.
Venerable Prajnadhara, the 27th Patriarch and teacher of Bodhidharma, once attended a ceremony hosted by the King of East India. When the King asked, “Everyone else is reciting the Sutras; why are you the only one not reciting them?” the Patriarch replied: “When I breathe out, I do not involve myself with various karmas; when I breathe in, I do not dwell in the realms of the five aggregates (skandhas). In this way, I am constantly reciting hundreds of billions of volumes of sutras.” This is a perfect example of what it truly means to receive, uphold, and recite the Sutra.
When we see all things as they truly are, everything we see and hear appears as the Sutra. Every blade of grass becomes the Sutra. Even if we do not try to uphold it, the Sutra follows us; we are always with it, and it cannot be separated from us for even a moment. However, mistaking letters for the Sutra while failing to see the true Sutra before our eyes is to be deluded as if in a dream. If one tries to recite the Sutra in this literal way, it becomes a demon’s talk. No matter how long you carry, read, or copy it, you will never see the true Sutra. Thus it is said: “If the Sutra follows the person, even what is not the Sutra becomes the Sutra; if the person follows the Sutra, the Sutra becomes a demon’s talk.”
That is why ancient masters would say: “For one who does not know what the Sutra is, upholding it is harder than lifting a great mountain; for one who clearly knows the Sutra, it is easier than lifting a feather.”
Thus, knowing that I myself am the Sutra (the Buddha) is what it means to uphold the sutra. Seeing everything as the Buddha and hearing every sound as the Buddha’s Dharma talk is what it means to read the Sutra. Acting and speaking with the realisation that all our deeds and sounds are the functioning of the Buddha is what it means to preach the four-line Verse and give a Dharma talk to others.
Disciple: “Why is it so difficult to obtain, hear, believe, know, and uphold this Sutra?”
Master: “While you are waving it about like that, how can you say it is difficult to uphold?”
The sutra covers your eyes,
So you cannot see this Sutra;
Only when you discard all Sutras
Will you see this Sutra.
Koan:
A monk asked Master Yunmen, “What is the entirety of the Buddha’s lifelong teachings?”
Yunmen replied: “Answering with a single word.”
Question: What is the meaning of Yunmen’s reply, “Answering with a single word”?
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Zen Fools 