Most people think that they know what their minds are. However, the truth is that they don’t, and that is the cause of all suffering they undergo. All things and events that our lives consist of are just images created by the mind and are not real, that is, they are just the functions of the mind.
When we are aware of this fact, we can enjoy our lives just as if we were watching a movie. This is why ancient masters would say that we should not be fooled by the play of the mind by clarifying the mind, which means realising what the mind is.
Zen master Huangbo asked his teacher, Baizhang, “How can we explain the teaching that has been handed down?” Baizhang remained seated in silence. Huangbo said, “If so, what will people in the future receive?”
Baizhang said, “They will say that you are a true person.” He then returned to the abbot’s room.
Student: “Why did Baizhang remain seated in silence?”
Master: “He demonstrated how to explain in person.”
“For this reason, Subhuti, all Bodhisattvas should have a mind that is pure and clear like this, and should not have a mind that dwells on forms; they should not have a mind that dwells on sound, scent, flavour and touch, or Dharma.”
Commentary:
A pure mind is not one that thinks only of holy, good, or clean things. Rather, it is a mind that is not deceived by words or forms, seeing everything as it truly is. It is a non-dwelling mind and a non-choosing mind. A Bodhisattva is not separate from the Buddha; a Bodhisattva is the very function of the Buddha. We are all essentially Bodhisattvas, but because we cling to forms, we are deluded by illusions and call ourselves sentient beings. To be a Bodhisattva, one must give rise to this pure mind.
To give rise to a pure mind means to see form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects as empty. It means seeing and hearing everything as the function of Buddha-nature. As the Avatamsaka Sutra says, “Sentient beings cannot see the Buddha because they do not see reality as it is; they are shaken by appearances,” we wander looking for the Pure Land while standing right in the middle of it.
The Sutra also says, “If one sees the Buddha and has no attachment in the heart, this person knows the Buddha and can see the true-Self.” For one with a pure mind, all discrimination falls away. They know there is no Buddha outside of themselves. Even if they see a physical Buddha, they regard it as a mental image and do not cling to it; only then do they see the true, formless Buddha.
There is a saying: A pure practitioner does not enter Nirvana. This is because a pure practitioner sees that they are not two with Nirvana. They are already Nirvana itself, so there is no other Nirvana to enter.
Monk: “How can I enter Nirvana?”
Master: “Go to a place where not a single blade of grass grows.”
Monk: “How do I get there?”
Master: “If you move even a single step, you are already in a field of grass.”
A pure mind knows that
Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and thought
Are all the functions of Buddha-nature.
If the mind is pure,
One will surely see the Tathagata within the form.
Koan:
The famous poet Bai Juyi asked Master Jogwa, “What is the great meaning of the Buddhadharma?”
The Master replied, “Commit no evil; do all that is good.”
Bai Juyi scoffed, “Even a three-year-old child could say that!”
Master Jogwa replied, “A three-year-old child may be able to say it, but even an eighty-year-old man finds it difficult to practise.”
Question 1: Why did the Master mean by such a simple answer?
Question 2: What is the meaning of the second reply?
North, south, east and west are essential notions in our lives to such an extent that we cannot do without them. However, how did they come into existence? Did the universe divide itself and declare the four directions? In fact, the universe itself is the universe not because it thinks that it is the universe but because we named it as such.
All things we know have their names, and by the names we can distinguish them from each other. But none of them produced their own names on their own independently. All the names were created by our imagination, which is the way a thing comes into existence. In other words, all the world is the fruit of imagination.
When Sukdu visited Master Hangsa, Hangsa asked him, “Where are you from?” Sukdu said, “I am from Jogae.” Hangsa, raising a cup, said, “Is there a thing like this in Jogae?” Sukdu answered, “Not only does it not exist in Jogae, but it doesn’t exist in India.” Hangsa said, “Have you been to India?” Sukdu responded, “If I had been there, it would exist.” Hangsa said, “That is not yet it. Speak again.” Sukdu said, “You must not leave it all to me. You, too, should say half a word.” Hangsa said, “I don’t mind speaking to you, but I fear that in the future there will be no one who understands.”
Student: “What did Hangsa mean by ‘I don’t mind speaking to you, but I fear that in the future there will be no one who understands’?”
Master: “Do you understand what Hangsa said?”
Student: “He refused to say because he feared that there would be no one who understood in the future.”
Master: “I can understand why he refused to say when I see you.”
Commentary:
Don’t turn a deaf ear to the ceaseless dharma talk that the Buddha delivers.
“Subhuti, what do you think? Do Bodhisattvas adorn the Buddha-land?” “No, World Honoured One, because adorning the Buddha-land is not adornment, but it is just called adornment.”
Commentary:
We often think of the Buddha Land (Pure Land) as a place where Buddha resides, separate from the Buddha himself or from this mundane world. However, the Buddha-Land is simply another name for Emptiness, the true-Self, or Oneness. As the Heart Sutra says, it is neither stained nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing. It is a state of perfection that remains untainted by defilements and cannot be made any purer by nirvana. It requires no further adornment because it is already complete. Just as everything is Buddha, every place is the Buddha-Land; there is no place that is not.
In the Vimalakirti Sutra, when Sariputra wondered why the land seemed impure, Buddha said, “Sariputra, it is the fault of sentient beings that they cannot see the majestic purity of the Buddha land; it is not the fault of the Buddha. My land is pure, but you simply do not see it.” We are living in the Buddha Land right now, but we are deceived by forms and words, mistaking it for a world of suffering, birth, old age, sickness, and death. To view this perfect, untouchable land as dirty is what it means to defile the Buddha Land. This is why, when a monk asked how to adorn the Buddha Land, his master replied, “Don’t think of adorning it; just don’t defile it.”
True adornment means seeing things as they truly are. It is realising that illusions and enlightenment are not two, and that Buddha and sentient beings are not two. This very world we live in is the Buddha Land. If you can see things clearly, wherever you are is the Pure Land. If you are deceived by appearances, the Pure Land appears as a world of defilement. Thus, adorning the Buddha-Land is not actually adorning it; it is merely called adornment. The true adornment of the Buddha-Land is realising that your own home and workplace are the Pure Land itself.
Disciple: “How do I adorn the Buddha Land?”
Master: “Do not even lift a finger.”
Disciple: “Why?”
Master: “To adorn it is to defile it.”
Disciple: “Then just how pure and perfect is it?”
Master: “The words ‘pure’ and ‘perfect’ are themselves stains upon it.”
Forget about adorning the Buddha-Land.
If you were to clean your own house,
Where would you begin?
To the one who knows the answer to this,
I shall permit the adornment of the Buddha-Land.
Koan:
Master Joshu preached to the assembly: A gold Buddha cannot pass through a furnace; a wooden Buddha cannot pass through fire; a mud Buddha cannot pass through water. The True Buddha sits within the house.
Question: What is the “True Buddha” sitting inside the house?
That is the characteristic of a dream. During your dream everything is as vivid as reality, so you don’t realise that you are dreaming. This is why we are troubled with nightmares.
Who would have such a hard time if we knew that nightmares are just dreams? Only when you awaken from dreaming can you realise that you were dreaming and that your dream was not as vivid as reality.
When Sukdu visited Master Hangsa, Hangsa asked him, “Where are you from?” Sukdu said, “I am from Jogae.” Hangsa, raising a cup, said, “Is there a thing like this in Jogae?” Sukdu answered, “Not only does it not exist in Jogae, but it doesn’t exist in India.” Hangsa said, “Have you been to India?” Sukdu responded, “If I had been there, it would exist.” Hangsa said, “That is not yet it. Speak again.” Sukdu said, “You must not leave it all to me. You, too, should say half a word.” Hangsa said, “I don’t mind speaking to you, but I fear that in the future there will be no one who understands.”
Student: “What did Sukdu mean by ‘If I had been there, it would exist’?”
Master: “If you move your fingertip, a country will flourish.”
Commentary:
The Buddha never comes and goes because there is nothing to go to and come from.
The Buddha said to Subhuti, “What do you think—did I, the Realised One gain any kind of Dharma when I, the Realised One was with the Dipankara Buddha in the past?” “No, World Honoured One. You, the Realised One really did not gain any Dharma from the Dipankara Buddha.”
Commentary:
The purpose of Buddha’s teaching is to realise that the essence of all things is Emptiness. As stated in Section 8-3, “What is called the Buddha dharma is not the Buddha dharma; it is merely named the Buddha dharma.” All things appear different only because of the names we conveniently assign to them. In essence, everything is one. This oneness is called ‘Non-duality’ ‘the true-Self’ ‘Emptiness’ or ‘the Buddha’. We must realise that we are all essentially one Buddha.
Sakyamuni Buddha and Dipankara Buddha are not separate entities; they are merely different names for the same single true-Self. This cannot be divided, given, received, or stolen. This is why Subhuti said that Sakyamuni Buddha did not actually obtain any Dharma from Dipankara Buddha.
What, then, is the meaning of the Buddha transmitting the Dharma to Mahakasyapa?
When Buddha held up a flower, Mahakasyapa alone smiled. Buddha said, “I possess the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye… I now entrust it to Mahakasyapa.” By lifting the flower, Buddha was showing the true-Self: My act of moving like this is the function of the true-Self. Kasyapa responded by smiling: My smile is also the function of Buddha-nature. Buddha’s words were expedient means to confirm Kasyapa’s realisation and to show the assembly that his very speech was also the function of true-Self. He did not give something to Kasyapa; he revealed the inherent nature through their interaction.
After Buddha’s passing, Ananda asked Kasyapa, “Did the World-Honoured One transmit anything else to you besides the golden robe?”
Kasyapa called out, “Ananda!”
Ananda replied, “Yes!”
Kasyapa said, “Knock down the flagpole at the gate.”
Through this, Ananda realised that true-Self is something everyone possesses—it cannot be handed over or taken away.
Before enlightenment, there is a Buddha to see, but after enlightenment, one realises they are one with the Buddha. As the ancient masters said, “Now that I finally meet you, I see you are not you,” they realised that the Buddha they sought was themselves.
Disciple: “What did the Buddha want to show people?”
Master: “What you and I are showing to each other right now.”
The Buddha transmits to Kasyapa
Dharma that was never obtained
What is the Dharma not obtained,
And what is the Dharma transmitted?
The blame belongs to the Buddha,
But the calamity belongs to sentient beings.
Koan:
When Bodhisattva Vasubandhu descended from Maitreya’s Palace, Bodhisattva Asanga asked, “The Sutras say that 400 years in the human world is but one day and night in Maitreya’s Palace, and that Maitreya Buddha enables 50 billion heavenly beings to realise the true-Self at once. I wonder, what kind of Dharma does Maitreya preach?”
Vasubandhu replied, “He preaches only this one Dharma. It is just that his Brahma-voice is so clear and beautiful that people love to hear it.”
Question: What is this one Dharma mentioned by Vasubandhu?
Because we are not really aware that there is nothing to know and nothing to attain. It is true that many people who know these words still struggle to attain, or know something. Why? It’s because they have not ascertained in person that everything is empty.
To know the taste of an exotic fruit through reading literature about it is one thing, and trying it once in person is another. The purpose of practice is to experience the fact personally.
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