Praises at the Summit of Mount Sumeru

Chapter Fourteen

 

 

III. The Bodhisattvas speak verses in praise.

B. All Wisdom Bodhisattva of the South

Sutra:

Then All Wisdom Bodhisattva, relying on the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, universally contemplated the ten directions and spoke in verse.  

Commentary:

This introductory sentence was added by the compiler of the sutra. Then after Dharma Wisdom Bodhisattva had finished speaking his verses, All Wisdom Bodhisattva, relying on the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, not on his own power, universally contemplated the ten directions. Aided by the Buddha’s power, he was able to contemplate the causes and conditions of sentient beings in the ten directions, and thereby know what methods need to be used to teach them. And so he spoke in verse to express the Buddha’s meaning. 

Sutra:

Suppose for hundreds of thousands of eons,
One always sees the Thus Come One,
But does not rely upon the genuine truth
In contemplating the World Savior.  

Commentary:

Suppose, hypothetically, that for hundreds of thousands of eons, such a long period of time, one always sees the Thus Come One, / But does not rely upon the genuine truth / In contemplating the World Savior. The “genuine truth” refers to ultimate truth, which is devoid of phenomenal characteristics. One cannot observe the Buddha in light of the truth which is devoid of characteristics.

Sutra:

Such a person grasps at appearances
And expands the net of ignorance and delusion.
Trapped and bound in the jail of birth and death,
Blind and unclear, he cannot see the Buddha.

Commentary:

Such a person grasps at appearances. Although he sees the Buddha, he becomes attached to the Buddha’s Thirty-two Hallmarks and Eighty Subsidiary Characteristics and thinks those are the Buddha’s true identity. He cannot see them as empty. He cannot be apart from appearances, which would be the genuine truth; instead he grasps at them and expands the net of ignorance and delusion.

When we listen to the sutra lectures, it shouldn’t be that the more we listen, the more confused we become. We have to break through our attachments. We should not be attached to existence or emptiness; that would be to fall into one of the two extremes. Those attached to existence grasp at appearances. Those attached to emptiness fall into dull emptiness. Not clinging to emptiness or existence is the Middle Way. If we were to cling to either extreme, we would just become more deluded. The net of ignorance and delusion is an analogy: the more confused and foolish you become, the more tightly you are trapped in the net.  

Trapped and bound in the jail of birth and death, you undergo endless rounds of birth and death, death and rebirth. Birth and death tie you up like a rope so you can never escape the six paths of rebirth. The ties that bind you are your emotions and love. If you succumb to emotions and love, then you are tied up. Emotions and love are the root of birth and death, the jail of birth and death.

Blind and unclear, he cannot see the Buddha. Becoming dull and foolish, like an animal that doesn’t understand principle, a person like this only knows how to be jealous and selfish. Such a person’s mind capacity is tinier than a mote of dust; it cannot be as vast as the Dharma Realm. Even if he sees the Buddha, it’s the same as not seeing him, because he doesn’t understand the Dharma. He doesn’t know how to contemplate the genuine truth, but merely clings to appearances. He marvels at the Buddha’s Thirty-two Hallmarks and Eighty Characteristics, but this is completely wrong.

People who truly study the Buddhadharma should be detached from appearances. Being detached from appearances is bodhi. If you’re attached to appearances, then you’ll grow more foolish every day, and you’ll fall lower day by day until you’re not far from the hells. If your wisdom increases day by day, so you become intelligent and wise, then just that is seeing the Buddha. If you aren’t wise, then you see ghosts. The more we study Buddhism, the smarter we should become. It shouldn’t be that the more we study, the more foolish we get.

Sutra:

Contemplate all dharmas
As being devoid of an inherent nature.
The same is true of their arising and cessation.
False names are merely used to describe them.  

Commentary:

This section discusses the Three Contemplations of the Tiantai School:

1. the contemplation of emptiness

2. the contemplation of falseness

3. the contemplation of the middle

There is a verse that explains these Three Contemplations very clearly:

Dharmas arise from causes and conditions.
I say they are empty.
They are merely identified by false names.
And that is said to be the meaning of the Middle Way.

All dharmas arise from a conflux of conditions. But a conflux of conditions has no nature of its own; it is entirely empty. That is the contemplation of emptiness. The names of dharmas are all false, devoid of actuality. This is the contemplation of falseness. If you can deeply fathom that emptiness and existence are non-dual, then that is the meaning of the Middle Way.

The three contemplations were originally one—the contemplation of the middle. But first you must realize the emptiness of dharmas, then further contemplate them as false, and finally understand the ultimate meaning of the Middle Way—the contemplation of the middle.

Contemplate all dharmas / As being devoid of an inherent nature. As the Bhikshu Asvajit told Sariputra:

All dharmas are born from conditions;
All dharmas cease through conditions.
The Buddha, the great sramana, always speaks in this way.

The same is true of their arising and cessation, which are also empty. They arise and then cease, and then arise again. False names are merely used to describe them. They have no real substance.

Sutra:

All dharmas do not come into being;
All dharmas do not cease to exist.
If one can understand in this way,
Then the Buddhas always appear before one.  

Commentary:

All dharmas do not come into being; / All dharmas do not cease to exist. If you contemplate all dharmas as being devoid of the characteristics of coming into being and ceasing to be, you will awaken to Patience with the Nonarising of Dharmas and be able to bear this state in your mind. At that time, you want to speak, but cannot say a word. You want to think but cannot think of anything. Isn’t it wonderful? So someone once asked me, “If I study Buddhism and leave the home-life, then won’t I be without a self?” Not unless you’re like the novice monk during the Buddha’s time who was invited to a layman’s house to accept a meal, but ran off after lunch because he didn’t have any Dharma to speak.

The layman became enlightened when he saw the novice was gone, and when he pursued him to the monastery to thank him, the terrified novice became enlightened as well. You’re not at that level yet. You do a little work and think, “Who is working?” You’re still caught up in ordinary thinking and views; how could you be without a self? Your state is that of a common person.

If one can understand that all dharmas neither come into being nor cease to be in this way, / Then the Buddhas always appear before one. The Buddhas are always right in front of you. But if you haven’t attained this kind of wisdom, then even though the Buddhas are in front of you, you cannot see them. This is known as “being face to face with Guanyin Bodhisattva and not recognizing her.” If you don’t recognize Guanyin Bodhisattva, how much less would you recognize the Buddha.

Sutra:

Dharmas are basically empty and still in nature;
They cannot be grasped or seen.
The emptiness of the nature is just the Buddha:
It cannot be thought about or considered.

Commentary:

Dharmas are basically empty and still in nature. The nature of dharmas is unmoving, neither arising nor ceasing to be. They cannot be grasped or seen. You cannot take hold of them or catch sight of them. You look, but don’t see them; listen, but don’t hear them; smell, but don’t detect any scent.

The emptiness of the nature is just the Buddha. If you reach the state of seeing the still and tranquil nature of all dharmas, then everything, even the nature, is empty. Just that is the appearance of the true Buddha. It cannot be thought about or considered. If you use your clever intelligence to think about it, it becomes truth in the secondary sense. Ultimate truth cannot be conceived of or measured.

Sutra:

If one knows that all dharmas
Are like this in their nature,
Such a person will not be
Defiled by afflictions.

Commentary:

If one knows that all dharmas / Are like this in their nature, that they fundamentally neither come into being nor cease to exist, such a person will not be / Defiled by afflictions and ignorance. What are afflictions and ignorance? They are thoughts of desire. He won’t have any desire. He knows all dharmas are originally unborn and undying, so afflictions turn into bodhi. Then defilements disappear, leaving only purity. That is the pure original source, the wonderful nature of True Suchness. It is the basic substance of all dharmas.

Sutra:

When ordinary people see all dharmas,
They are merely turned by appearances.
Never fathoming that dharmas are devoid of appearances,
They do not see the Buddha.  

Commentary:

When ordinary people, who are bound to this earth, see all dharmas, they see them as existing. Those of the Two Vehicles see them as empty. Bodhisattvas see them as the substantive principle of the Middle Way. And so, ordinary people see only conditioned dharmas and are merely turned by appearances. They become attached to the appearances of things. Those of the Two Vehicles see the emptiness of dharmas, but haven’t seen the Middle Way. Bodhisattvas cultivate the dharma door of the ultimate meaning of the Middle Way. They neither lean toward emptiness, nor do they fall into existence.  

Never fathoming that dharmas are without appearances, ordinary people do not understand that all dharmas are apart from appearances. They do not see the Buddha. They attach to conditioned dharmas, attach to appearances, and so they cannot see the innocent Buddha of their inherent nature.

Sutra:

Muni has transcended the three periods of time.
With the hallmarks fully perfected,
He dwells in non-dwelling
And pervades all places without moving.

Commentary:

Muni means “Able to be Humane” and refers to our original teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha. He has transcended the three periods of time--the past, present, and future. With the thirty-two hallmarks and eighty subsidiary characteristics fully perfected, / He dwells in non-dwelling. The Buddha abides in the state of non-dwelling. He is nowhere, and yet everywhere. He is not attached to dwelling in any particular location. To the ends of space and throughout the Dharma Realm, it’s all the Buddha’s Dharma body. And he pervades all places without moving. Not moving from one place, he can be everywhere. Yet although he is present in all places, he has not left his original location. Thus, one is all, and all are one. One is many, and many are one. Hence, although he goes throughout the Dharma Realm responding to all potentials, his original substance does not move.

Sutra:

I have contemplated all dharmas
And am clear about them all.
As I now behold the Thus Come One,
I have absolutely no doubts.

Commentary:

All Wisdom Bodhisattva says: I have contemplated the causes and conditions of all dharmas. / And whether it is the contemplation of emptiness, the contemplation of falseness, or the contemplation of the middle, I am clear about them all. I have thoroughly understood the basic substance of all dharmas. As I now behold the Thus Come One,I have absolutely no doubts. Now that I have met our Original Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha, I have no doubt about anything. After All Wisdom Bodhisattva encountered Shakyamuni Buddha, he gained even great wisdom, and so he has no more doubts regarding any dharmas.

We who believe in Buddhism should not have doubts regarding the Buddha, the Dharma, or the Sangha. As the saying goes,

Cultivators of the spiritual Path,
Take care not to have doubts.
If doubts arise in your mind,
You’re sure to take the wrong road.

If you entertain doubts, you’ll go astray and become very lost on the road ahead. If you doubt the Dharma, you will become stupid. If you doubt the Buddha or the Sangha, that will also make you stupid. Doubting the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha plants the seeds of delusion.

Now All Wisdom Bodhisattva has gained total wisdom and has put all doubts to rest.

Sutra:

Dharma Wisdom has already spoken
Of the Thus Come One’s true nature.
From him I have understood
How inconceivable bodhi is!

Commentary:

Dharma Wisdom Bodhisattva has already spoken of the wonderful principle of all Buddhas actual appearance being no appearance—of the Thus Come One’s true nature. From him from Dharma Wisdom Bodhisattva’s verses, I, meaning All Wisdom Bodhisattva, have understood / How inconceivable bodhi is! I have understood the wonderful principle of enlightenment, which cannot be conceived of in the mind or expressed in words.

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