Bodhisattvas Asks for Clarification

Chapter Ten

 

 

SUTRA:

Disciple of the Buddha, listen well
To the true meaning of that which you ask.
But not merely by means of much learning,
May one enter the Thus Come One’s Dharma. 

As a person floating on water,
Who, for fear of drowning, dies of thirst,
So is one who does not practice the Dharma,
But only amasses much learning. 

As one who prepares a lavish feast,
Is hungry himself and yet does not eat,
So is one who does not practice the Dharma,
But only amasses much learning. 

COMMENTARY:

Manjushri Bodhisattva has just finished asking Dharma Leader Bodhisattva a question, and now Dharma Leader Bodhisattva is answering him in verse: Disciple of the Buddha, listen well, listen closely, pay attention to what I have to say. Really, truly listen to the true meaning of that which you ask. I will actually, truly, and with a straightforward mind answer the questions regarding true principle that you ask. And what is the principle being referred to?

Not merely by means of much learning, / May one enter the Thus Come Ones’ Dharma. In studying the Buddhadharma, it is not the case that the more one studies, the better. Nor is it that the more one receives and upholds the better. Someone may say, “I can recite the Dharma Flower Sutra, Shurangama Sutra, and the Flower Adornment Sutra—in fact, the entire Twelve Types of Sutra Text and Three Treasuries of the Buddhist Canon—from memory, without looking at a book.” But have you cultivated the Buddhadharma? No. To have knowledge without putting what you know into practice is like talking about delicious food, while going hungry. And so the text says: Not merely by means of much learning, / May one enter the Thus Come One’s Dharma. It is not merely by reading more, reciting more that one can enter the dharma doors of the Thus Come Ones. That is not the case. What is the case then? I will now make some analogies to enable you to understand.

As a person floating on water, perhaps in a river or a stream, who, for fear of drowning, does not drink any water and dies of thirst. His death is not caused by drowning—sinking under water, but rather by not drinking any water no matter how thirsty he is, out of the fear of drowning. So is one who does not practice the Dharma, / But only amasses much learning. You merely recite and study the Proper Dharma that the Buddha spoke, hoping to understand it, but do not actually put it into practice. No matter how much you know, it is of no use. This is analogous to being so afraid of drowning that you would rather die of thirst than drink any water. The Dharma that the Buddha spoke is like water. You are floating in Buddha’s Dharma, learning and investigating it. However, you are afraid that it might influence you, for you are not yet willing to give up your afflictions and ignorance. That unwillingness is like the fear of drowning. Although you do not drown to death, you die of thirst because you dare not drink the water. Failing to cultivate the Dharma and merely being learned is also this way. You have not severed your afflictions yet.

As one who prepares a lavish feast—a banquet of the finest delicacies—and after it is all prepared, what does he do? He himself does not eat. He is hungry himself, and yet does not eat: The feast is especially fine, the food being both tasty and nutritious. But one who prepares it himself does not eat. It does not occur to him to eat. Even though he is hungry, he does not partake of the fine feast. So is one who does not practice the Dharma, / But only amasses much learning. In regard to the Buddhadharma, if you fail to truly and actually cultivate, but only investigate, applying effort at literary prajna, then although you may gain much understanding of principle, you would be like one who does not eat, even though there is a lot of good food available. Then if you go hungry, it is your own fault. To be learned but failing to cultivate is like being at a lavish banquet but refusing to eat. The principle is the same in both cases.

SUTRA:

As one who is skilled at dispensing medicine,
But is unable to cure his own illness,
So is one who does not practice the Dharma,
But only amasses much learning. 

As one who counts others’ riches,
But himself owns not half a cent,
So is one who does not practice the Dharma,
But only amasses much learning. 

COMMENTARY:

As one who is skilled at dispensing medicine, / But is unable to cure his own illness: This is a further analogy, that of a very good doctor. This doctor is skilled at dispensing the most effective prescriptions for curing all the various illnesses. And yet the doctor is unable to cure himself. When he gets sick, he is frantic and his brains become so addled, that he is incapable of administering medicine to himself to cure his own illness. He is just like a knife with a sharp blade, which is unable to turn back on itself to cut its own handle. So is one who does not practice the Dharma, / But only amasses much learning. With respect to the Buddhadharma, if you are greedy to gain much knowledge and understanding, but fail to put what you learn into practice, you are like the doctor in this analogy who is skilled at curing other people but unable to cure himself. These are two similar problems.

Like one who counts others’ riches. This next analogy is of someone who assesses gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, mother of pearl, red pearls, and carnelian—the seven treasures. He counts millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions, and tens of billions of dollars—reaching inestimable wealth—every day. He counts others’ money, but himself owns not half a cent: None of the valuables that he counts belong to him. He does not have even half a penny of his own.

Within the Dharma, one with no practice,/ But only much learning, is also that way. To only know how to study the Buddhadharma and to think you know everything, but not know how to cultivate is like a penniless person who counts other people’s money all day. Highly educated people, who are knowledgeable and good thinkers, but who do not cultivate, are like the person in this analogy. A lazy person, however, cannot become learned. In order to learn, one must read the sutras every day and apply effort at studying. Only then can one be knowledgeable.

This passage of text does not mean that learned people are lazy, but refers to people who just fail to cultivate. For example, it refers to when you do not cultivate to rid yourself of your bad habits, such as jealousy. When people criticize you, you cannot forget it, because the measure of your mind is as small as a sesame seed. If someone criticizes you, you can’t take it, and your anger explodes more powerfully than an atomic bomb. On the other hand, if someone says something good about you, you are absolutely delighted. This reveals that you have not put an end to desire and emotional love. You are unable to smash through your ignorance; you are unable to cast out greed and hatred. You may understand all the principles explained in the sutras, but you haven’t the slightest ability to put them into practice.

You may speak well,
You may speak wonderfully,
But if you cannot practice it,
It is not the Way.

To actually be able to practice is the Way.

SUTRA:

As someone born in a king’s palace
Nonetheless suffers from hunger and cold,
So is one who does not practice the Dharma,
But only amasses much learning. 

COMMENTARY:

This metaphor refers to someone born in a king’s palace. The Buddha teaches all sentient beings to cultivate the Proper Dharma. Anyone who cultivates will definitely be able to gain benefit from it. Anyone who does not cultivate, on the other hand, will gain no benefit at all. Here, a person is born in a king’s palace; he is a prince, whose blessings are as bounteous as the four seas. One day he will be the Son of Heaven, the Emperor.

Nonetheless, there in the king’s palace, he suffers from hunger and bitter cold. Is this a likely situation? Since he was born into wealth and honor, how can it be that he has to undergo starvation and freezing? Such a situation would normally not happen. It would see unreasonable and yet, so, too, is one who does not practice the Dharma,/ But only amasses much learning. To merely know all the technical terms and understand the principles of the Buddhadharma, but not actually put it into practice—to fail to cultivate your own person—is to fix this metaphor. No matter how extensive your knowledge, and how vast an amount of information you can remember, it is still not much use. It is just like being born in a king’s palace and having to endure starvation and freezing cold. And so in studying the Buddhadharma, with each little bit of understanding we gain, we should put that little bit into practice. This is extremely important. We must cultivate, because without practice, it is of no benefit.

SUTRA

As a deaf musician
Delights others with what he cannot hear
So is one who does not practice the Dharma,
But only amasses much learning. 

COMMENTARY:

In our investigation of the sutras, we should know whether the example being used is an actual occurrence or a hypothetical situation. These metaphors and analogies are all just hypothetical situations. Basically, such situations do not occur. In this particular metaphor, a deaf person would normally be unable to make music. Even if he did make music, he would not know whether the music he played sounded good or bad. It is not to say that he could not possibly make good music under any conditions; even though he cannot hear, it is possible he might accidentally produce some pleasant-sounding music. It is not for sure. On the other hand, the music he plays might sound awful. In either case, the import of the metaphor is that there is no way for him to know, because he cannot hear the music himself. As it is said:

They had eyes but could not see Vairocana;
They had ears but could not hear the Perfect Sudden Teaching.

Having ears and yet not being able to hear is just being deaf. In this metaphor, music represents the Buddhadharma. The deaf person knows that music in general is a fine thing. But he does not know whether the music he himself makes sounds good or not. This person represents someone who knows that the Buddhadharma is fine, but as to whether he cultivates well or not—whether or not he cultivates at all—basically he ought know for himself. However, in this case, he merely advertises the Buddhadharma, announcing how it is good in this way and good in that way. He talks about all the good points of the Buddhadharma, but does not really know for himself ultimately whether it is good or not, because he does not cultivate.

The text says that a deaf musician, / Delights others with what he cannot hear. This person plays many different kinds of music. He plays music for others, but as to whether or not his playing accords with the rules of musical aesthetics or not, he has no way of knowing for himself. However, since the people listening do not understand about music, they think the music they are hearing is delightful. They do not understand what they are listening to, but they think the music sounds fine, and so they are really delighted. Whether the music is ultimately good or not, the deaf musician does not know. Not only that, but all the people listening to the music have no idea that the musician is deaf. They do not know.

So is one who does not practice the Dharma, / But only amasses much learning. Someone within the Buddhadharma who does not cultivate is just like this deaf musician. If you only voraciously pursue knowledge, and do not emphasize cultivation, you are like the deaf musician. The principle equally applies.

All the situations described here are analogies; they are bringing up a principle, not referring to real events. It is well you now know that someone within the Dharma who does not cultivate is just like a deaf musician. But do not concern yourself with whether the music he played was good or not, because it simply is not a real event that you can trace. There is no point in wondering “Could it be that the musician is able to hear with his hands the music as he plays it? Could it be that the person has achieved the interpenetration of the six sense faculties? Could it be that they have the intelligence of Shi Kuang [a master musician during the time of Confucius], the skill of Gong Shuzi [Lu Ban, a master carpenter], or the discernment of Li Lou [a scholar-disciple of Mencius]?” Their states were inconceivable.

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