Category: zen

Part 13-6

“Subhuti, suppose good men and good women give as many lives as the grains of sand in the Ganges River in charity. If someone accepts and holds even a four-line verse of this Sutra and explains it to others, his blessings would be much more.”

Commentary:

The reason why the same message is repeated across various sections (parts 8-1, 11-2, 12) is that to truly receive, uphold, and explain even a single four-line verse to others signifies the ultimate goal of Buddhism, Enlightenment. It means reaching a state where you are no longer deceived by words and forms, where everything you see and hear—including your own voice—is perceived as the sermon of the True Buddha. Achieving such a state, you can realise that as many lives as the grains of sand in the Ganges River are also empty. 

To see all things as they are, one must first look at the scriptures themselves without being deceived by language. Ancient masters warned that if you understand the Sutras only through words, the scriptures become the speech of Mara, and you become an enemy of the Buddha. They compared linguistic interpretation to groping at a fence without ever entering the house. They urged, “Smash the fence!” and said, “Hanging onto a branch over a cliff is nothing special; only the one who lets go of the branch is a true person of stature.” These metaphors serve as stern rebukes to those who cling to the written letters.

We usually think of a “four-line verse” as a specific verse made of four phrases. However, in part 13-3, the Buddha says, “The Buddha has never taught any Dharma.” How do we reconcile this with the command to “uphold and teach the four-line verse”?

The statement ‘The Buddha has never taught any Dharma’ means that the core of his teaching does not reside in the words themselves. The true four-line verse is the wordless word—the message the Buddha pointed to through speech but could not capture in speech. This is also called the straight word. We must be able to hear and transmit this word beyond words, which is the Dharma (the true-Self). Ancient masters would say that words are merely the vessel that carries the Dharma, not the Dharma itself. To understand the teachings only through language is like licking and sucking the outside of a bowl without ever tasting the food inside.

According to the Buddha’s true teaching, a four-line verse is not a four-line verse, but is merely named so. Realising that even the blessings spoken of by the Buddha are not blessings but merely named so—that is the true blessing.

Disciple: “What is the four-line verse?”

Master: “There is no merit in preaching the four-line verse.”

Disciple: “Why do you deny the Buddha’s words that the merit of preaching it is great?”

Master: “You are still licking the bowl.”

The four-line verse:

A letter of pardon to escape the prison of illusions.

Dogs carry it in their mouths, and birds transmit it,

Yet those who truly receive it are rare.

Koan:

Suksang said during a sermon to the assembly, “You must know the one phrase that is transmitted separately outside the scriptures.”

A monk came forward and asked, “What is that one phrase transmitted outside the teachings?”

Suksang replied, “It is not a phrase.” Yunmen added, “Only when it is not a phrase is it truly a phrase.”

Question 1: What are the meanings of Suksang’s “It is not a phrase” and Yunmen’s “Only when it is not a phrase is it truly a phrase”?

Question 2: What is the phrase that is not a phrase?

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All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

These words may sound absurd and confusing, yet they are very critical advice that shows how we should accept the Sutras and dharma talks. Let’s take a simple saying ‘everything is empty’ for example. If we don’t understand these words, we can be said to be wrong as a Buddhist.

However, if we treasure and are attached to them, we are also wrong because it implies that we don’t understand them although we believe that we understand them. If we truly understand the words ‘everything is empty’, even these words should also be empty, and they shouldn’t be words anymore. So, if you cling to them with a belief that you understand them, you are wrong.

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All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

When a monk asked Master Majo, “What is nirvana?” Majo said, “Hurry up!” The monk asked, “What should I hurry up.” Majo answered, “Take a look at the water.”

Student: “Why did Majo say ‘Hurry up’?”

Master: “Because you lost time.”

Commentary:

Try to hurry up and you will be late.

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All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Part 13-5

“Subhuti, what do you think—can the Realised One be seen by way of the thirty-two marks?” “No, World Honoured One, the Realised One cannot be seen by way of the thirty-two marks. Why? The thirty-two marks explained by the Realised One are not marks, they are just called the thirty-two marks.”

Commentary:

As consistently mentioned, the core of the Buddha’s teaching is that everything seen and heard in this world is the Buddha. To realise this and reach the Pure Land, one must see and hear all things as they truly are without being deceived by forms, or names.

To specifically show his disciples how to see clearly without being deceived, the Buddha stated in parts 13-1 and 13-2 that even the Perfect Wisdom he taught is not Perfect Wisdom, but merely named so. In part 13-3, he went as far as saying he had never taught any Dharma. Here, he further warns not to be deceived even by the physical appearance of the Buddha. He refers to the thirty-two Marks (physical characteristics of a Buddha) mentioned in the Madhyama Agama, stating that the thirty-two Marks are not the thirty-two Marks; they are merely named the thirty-two Marks.

The True Buddha (Buddha-nature), which is the essence of both Sakyamuni Buddha and ourselves, has no beginning or end, and possesses no form or name. However, people are constantly deceived by appearances.

The Avatamsaka Sutra warns:

Those who are deluded and lack knowledge

take only the forms of the Four Elements and Five Aggregates.

Because they do not know the true-Self,

they fail to see the Buddha.

Even if one sees the Buddha constantly for hundreds of thousands of eons,

if they do not rely on the True Principle

and only look at Sakyamuni Buddha as the Buddha,

they are merely clinging to form.

They will only increase the net of foolish doubt

and remain imprisoned in the cycle of birth and death.

This means that if we mistake the physical body (composed of the four elements and five aggregates) of Sakyamuni Buddha for the True Buddha, we cannot escape birth and death. Just as the term Perfect Wisdom was an expedient means to reveal the true-Self, the thirty-two Marks were also not intended as literal descriptions, but as tools to reveal the formless true-Self.

As ancient masters said, “If words are not words, then every word is the true-Self.” To truly read the scriptures is to see every single letter and word as the functioning of the true-Self. When you can see the true-Self even within the phrase thirty-two Marks, you are reading this Sutra correctly.

Disciple: “What does the Buddha look like?”

Master: “He possesses the thirty-two Marks.”

Disciple: “The Buddha taught that the thirty-two Marks are not the thirty-two Marks but merely a name, warning us not to be deceived by words and forms. Why then do you say he has the thirty-two Marks?”

Master: “Because you are still being deceived by words and forms.”

If you know the thirty-two Marks are not the thirty-two Marks,

you will see the Buddha within those very marks.

This is because illusions themselves are enlightenment.

Koan:

Yabo said, “Having borrowed the grandmother’s clothes, one bows to the grandmother.”

Question: What is the meaning of Yabo’s statement?

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It means that everything is empty. In other words, not only whether a thing exists, or not but also its identity depends on our perspective. Let’s suppose we have a gorgeous long table here that can hold more than twenty people. We are faced with a problem now; a party is supposed to be held here this evening and a stage on which a guest singer will perform on is needed. After a brainstorming, we decide to use our long table as a stage by decorating it with a red carpet and some flowers.

In the evening it becomes a nice stage. Then, is this a table, or a stage. If we say it is a stage, where is the table we used for dining? When we use it as a table after the party, where is the stage? When we use it as a table, we cannot say that the table doesn’t exist.

When we use it as a stage, we cannot say that the table exists.

In essence, there is neither a table nor a stage. The object we use as a table, or a stage never declared its identity as a table, or a stage. It is a table when we think it is a table and it is a stage when we think it is a stage. This is why it is said that things neither exist nor non-exist.

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All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

One day Master Namchun said, “No Buddha of the three worlds knows it, but rather a cat, or white cow knows it.”

Student: “How is it when all the Buddhas of the three worlds don’t know, yet a cat, or a white cow knows instead?”

Master: “The former are not wise, and the latter is not foolish.”

Commentary:

There is neither wisdom nor ignorance in the Pure Land.

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All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Part 13-4

“Subhuti, what do you think—are there many particles of dust in a billion-world universe?”

Subhuti said, “Very many, World Honoured One.”

“Subhuti, all those particles of dust the Realised One says are not dust, they are just called dust. The universe that the Realised One says is not the universe, but it is just called the universe.”

Commentary:

The Avatamsaka Sutra states:

When ordinary people see all phenomena,

they are shaken by following only appearances.

Because they do not know that phenomena have no fixed form,

they fail to see the Buddha.

Knowing that sentient beings struggle to escape words and forms, the Buddha repeatedly emphasised in the Diamond Sutra that the Buddha Dharma, Adornment of Buddha lands, and Perfect Wisdom are not thosethings themselves, but merely names. Even in the Avatamsaka Sutra, when he describes countless worlds—such as the world of Exquisite Sound or Treasure-Adorned Light—he is emphasising once again: do not be deceived by the names and forms of these myriad worlds. Look and listen clearly to see the true-Self within them.

If we apply this to ourselves: the world we live in is not the world, but is merely named the world, the Earth is not the Earth, but is just named the Earth. We who live upon it are not humans, but are named humans. When I look at a flower, the flower is not a flower and I am not I. When both the flower and the I who sees it disappear, the distinction between us vanishes and we become one.

The Avatamsaka Sutra says:

The act of seeing, the object seen,

and even the one who sees—all must be erased.

Only then do you not destroy the True Dharma;

only such a person can know the Buddha.

This state—where the True Dharma of Emptiness is realised—is expressed as ‘In the heavens and on earth, I alone am the honoured one’. In this realm, everything is vivid, yet because the subject and object have become one non-dual, one can neither say they are seeing nor not seeing. This is what it means to see the True Dharma. To see in this way is to see Emptiness within Form and to see the Buddha in everything. This is called ‘Seeing lotus flowers everywhere’.

Disciple: “What is it like when the seen object and the seeing ‘I’ become one?”

Master: “If I were to answer, I would be committing the same error you are committing.”

Since a speck of dust is not a speck of dust,

the dust is not small.

Since the world is not the world,

the world is not large.

There is no difference between the two;

they enter and leave each other freely,

and their radiance covers the universe.

Koan:

A monk asked Yunmen, “What is it like when the tree withers and the leaves fall?”

Yunmen replied: “The whole body is revealed in the autumn wind.”

Question: What is it like when the whole body is revealed in the autumn wind?

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One. If you have come to the realisation that all things are one, you will not be faced with the problem you raise now.

The other. You should not think that the enlightened don’t discern what is right from what is wrong in their lives. Although they distinguish right from wrong, they are never attached to the distinctions they make, because they know that they are empty.

Try your best to attain what is right and discard what is wrong. Without doing so, your life would be impossible. But don’t be attached to your decision. 

What matters now is not your trying to attain what is right and discard what is wrong but your attachment to your distinctions. 

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All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

One day Master Namchun said, “No Buddha of the three worlds knows it, but rather a cat, or white cow knows it.”

Student: “How is it when all the Buddhas don’t know?”

Master: “They showed their modesty.”

Student: “How is it when a cat, or a white cow knows?”

Master: “It shows its honesty.”

Commentary:

Modesty and honesty are from the same root.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Part 13-3

“What do you think, Subhuti—is there any doctrine that the Realised One has preached?” Subhuti said to the Buddha, “World Honoured One, there is no doctrine that the Realised One has preached.”

Commentary:

The purpose of the Buddha’s preaching was to reveal the formless and nameless true-Self through the expedient means of words. Our purpose in reading the scriptures must align with this: to see the essence of our existence —the true-Self (Buddha-nature, Emptiness, Buddha).

However, sentient beings have a long-standing habit of clinging to words and forms. If the Buddha says, “All things are empty,” they cling to the phrase ‘all things are empty’. If he says, “Do not cling,” they cling to the command ‘do not cling’. Knowing this, in the preceding section (parts 13-1, 2), the Buddha warned his disciples not to be deceived by his expedient words, saying, “The Perfect Wisdom that the Buddha himself speaks of is not Perfect Wisdom; it is merely named Perfect Wisdom.” Following this, he spoke even more forcefully, stating that he has never taught any Dharma at all.

If we take the text literally and believe there is no Dharma taught, how should we view the Sutra we are reading now? If we simply accept ‘there is no Dharma taught’ as a factual statement, we are once again being deceived by words.

The Avatamsaka Sutra says, “By vainly discriminating the Dharma explained in words with meagre wisdom, obstacles arise, and one fails to know their own mind.” Ancient masters also said, “The words of the Buddha cannot be engraved on paper or stone.” In short, the Buddha spoke words that are not words to reveal the true-Self that cannot be captured in writing. If sentient beings try to understand this through discrimination based on shallow intellectual knowledge, they will ultimately fail to understand.

Bodhidharma once said, “If you know that words are not words, then speaking all day long is the Way. But for those who follow words, even a whole day of silence is not the Way.” This means that whether you are reading the Sutra, or living your daily life, you must see every word and phrase as the functioning of the true-Self. If you can see and hear this way, you will see the Buddha in every word and phrase of the Sutra. Furthermore, you will realise that everything you see and hear—including your own speech and every sound you create—is the functioning of the true-Self.

When this happens, you cannot help but see the true-Self at every moment, everywhere; you cannot avoid it even if you try.

Thus, Bodhidharma said:

When one knows, the Dharma follows the person.

When one does not know, the person follows the Dharma.

When the Dharma follows the person, even what is not Dharma becomes Dharma.

When the person follows the Dharma, even the Dharma becomes non-Dharma.

When the person follows the Dharma, all Dharma is false.

When the Dharma follows the person, all Dharma is true.

He further warned that reading the Sutras while only following the words without knowing this principle is useless by saying, “If you do not see your own true-Self, there is no benefit in chanting the Buddha’s name, reciting Sutras, performing rituals, or keeping the precepts.”

Disciple: “If there is no Dharma taught by the Buddha, what is the Buddha’s teaching?”

Master: “His teaching is not words.”

Disciple: “If it is not words, then what is it?”

Master: “It is not difficult to tell you, but I fear you will misinterpret it.”

Disciple: “Please tell me.”

Master: “His teaching is words.”

Koan:

A monk asked Master Joshu, “It is said that the Supreme Way is not difficult; it only avoids choosing. What is it not to choose?” Joshu: “In the heavens and on earth, I alone am the honoured one.” Monk: “That itself is still choosing.” Joshu: “You dimwit! Where is the choosing?”

Question 1: Why did Joshu say, “In the heavens and on earth, I alone am the honoured one,” in response to the monk’s question?

Question 2: Why did the monk respond to Joshu by saying, “That itself is still picking and choosing”?

Question 3: If you were in that monk’s position, how would you respond to Joshu’s remark, “You dimwit! Where is the choosing?”

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All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway