Once a monk asked a master what the true-Self is. The mastered answered, “I will answer your question if you pull a person out of a hundred-foot well without using any ropes, or ladders.” The monk didn’t know what to say.
Student: “How is it possible to get the person out of a well without using anything at all?”
Master: “You can do it if you understand the master’s answer.”
Student: “He didn’t answer yet.”
Master: “I heard it.”
Commentary:
Mistaking an answer for a question is due to discarding the true-Self and following illusions.
“Subhuti, if I were to fully expound the merit attained by good men and good women who accept and hold and read and recite this Sutra in the final age, people who hear it would become mentally disturbed and would not believe.” “Subhuti, you should know that the principle of this Sutra is inconceivable, and its reward is also inconceivable.”
Commentary:
None but one who can see and hear everything as it is, that is, only people who are enlightened, can comprehend the Buddha’s words. People who are mentally disturbed, those who cannot see and hear things as they are, and who are deluded by words, cannot understand the Buddha’s words.
The principle of this Sutra is to realise that everything is empty and that we ourselves are none other than the true-Self. The reward of this Sutra is to realise that we are the Buddha. In short, only people who attain enlightenment can make sense of the reward of this Sutra since the principle of this Sutra is the same as the reward of this Sutra.
This is why those who are disturbed and distracted when seeing, or hearing this Sutra, would not believe the merit that the Buddha says would be attained by good men and good women who accept and hold and read and recite this Sutra in the final age.
Student: “What is the principle of this Sutra that is inconceivable?”
A. There is a saying that a good thought is not as good as no thought. The Buddha means the state free from all discriminations, illusions. In that state even a thought, good and holy, or bad and mundane, is an illusion which defiles the state because it makes the Buddha that is Oneness into many that means illusions.
The thought of the Buddha, for instance, breaks Oneness into two; the Buddha and the rest that is not the Buddha. The moment Oneness breaks into two, the Buddha turns into illusions. This is why even the idea of the Buddha is wrong.
Zen master Nanquan, once visited a village. For this occasion, the village headsman had made arrangements to welcome him beforehand. Nanquan said, “Usually my coming and going is not known about by others, how is it that you knew of my coming and prepared for it like this?” The headsman said, “Last night the deity of this land told us that you were coming.” Nanquan said, “Nanquan has not practised hard enough and was seen by a spirit.” His attendant said, “You are a master of great knowledge. Why is it that you were noticed by a spirit?” Nanquan said, “Offer a bowl of rice to the land deity.”
Student: “What did the master mean when he told his attendant to offer a bowl of rice to the land deity?”
Master: “I hope that you are not with a land deity.”
“Subhuti, I remember how in the past, over incalculable eons in the presence of Dipankara Buddha, I got to meet eight hundred and four thousand myriad zillions of Buddhas; I supported and served every one of them, not missing a single opportunity. If, however, there is someone in the final age who can accept and hold and read and recite this Sutra, the merit obtained thereby are such that the merit of my support of those Buddhas do not amount to a hundredth part, to a trillionth part, indeed to any numerical or figurative part of it.”
Commentary:
This part explains how important it is to accept and hold and read and recite this Sutra. What should be kept in mind is that only when we accept and hold, and read and recite this Sutra in the right way as the Buddha told us to can we enjoy the merit mentioned by the Buddha.
The merit of seeing the true-Self in each word at this moment is a trillion times larger than that of the Buddha’s supporting eight hundred and four thousand myriad zillions of Buddhas because then, we can realise that we are the Buddha and that not only the eight hundred and four thousand myriad zillions of Buddhas but also all the Buddhas are one with us.
As stated previously, the purpose of Buddhism is not to support, or worship the Buddhas but to realise that we are the Buddha. Supporting many Buddhas is no more than an expedient, not the final goal. This is why the merit of accepting and holding and reading and reciting this Sutra is much greater than that of supporting eight hundred and four thousand myriad zillions of Buddhas.
Student: “Why isn’t the merit of serving so many Buddhas as much as that of accepting and holding and reading and reciting this Sutra?”
Master: “Because seeing many Buddhas is not seeing them but the illusions of them until you become the Buddha.”
Master Joshu asked a monastic, “Have you ever read the Lotus Sutra?” The monastic said, “Yes, I have.” The master said, “How do you comprehend the words ‘A Buddhist garment is a borrowed name, and a meditation room deceives people’?” When the monastic was on the point of offering a bow, the master asked the monastic, “Are you wearing a Buddhist garment?” The monastic answered, “Yes, I am.” The master said, “Don’t deceive me.” The monastic said, “How can I avoid deceiving you?” The master said, “Don’t accept my words.”
Student: “Why couldn’t the monastic answer Joshu’s questions although he had read the Lotus Sutra?”
Master: “Because he didn’t read the Sutra but merely the letters on the paper.”
“Furthermore, Subhuti, even if good men and good women accept and hold and read and recite this sutra, if they are slighted by others, those people should have fallen into miserable ways because of their misdeeds in former times; but because of being slighted by others in the present, the misdeeds of former times are thereby erased, and they will attain unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment.”
Commentary:
In the preceding parts, a lot was mentioned regarding what this Sutra is and how to hold and recite it, and how this Sutra signifies the true-Self. Everything, including ourselves, is this Sutra, and every sound is a four-line verse.
However, interpreting the Sutra literally, if someone, now deluded by words and forms, thinks of this Sutra as a physical Sutra that is written, or printed, keeps and reads it, he will also be able to escape from all illusions and attain enlightenment later, even if he struggles with suffering now.
To conclude, it’s up to you who are reading this Sutra whether you enjoy the merit of holding this Sutra at this moment, or later. As mentioned in the beginning, each word is a gate to the Pure land, or the function of the true-Self. If you can see the true-Self in each word now, you are already in the Pure land. If you can’t, you will be there, sooner or later, according to how hard you try.
Student: “According to the preceding parts, the merit of accepting and holding and reading and reciting this Sutra is so immense as to be beyond description. How can being slighted happen to those who keep and read this Sutra?”
Master: “The best medicine works as well as it should when a patient takes it as he is told to.”
A. Nirvana is another name of Emptiness that means the state free from illusions. This is also referred to as Oneness because everything, myself included, belongs to it. In the state, I am one with Nirvana: I am Nirvana and Nirvana is me. That is why Nirvana is not where to stay. Staying in Nirvana implies that there are two; one who stays and a place to stay. This goes counter to the fact that Nirvana is Oneness.
Zen Fools 