Praises at the Summit of Mount Sumeru

Chapter Fourteen

 

 

III. The Bodhisattvas speak verses in praise.

C. Superior Wisdom Bodhisattva of the West

Sutra:

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

Commentary:

Then after All Wisdom Bodhisattva had spoken his verses, Superior Wisdom Bodhisattva prepared to speak. Dharma Wisdom Bodhisattva was from the east, All Wisdom Bodhisattva was from the south, and Superior Wisdom Bodhisattva was from the west. Relying on the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, he universally contemplated the causes and conditions of sentient beings throughout the ten directions and spoke in verse. He used verses to praise the Buddha’s merit and virtue.

Sutra:

The Thus Come One’s great wisdom
Is rare and peerless.
All the beings in the world
May reflect on it, yet fail to reach it.  

Commentary:

The Thus Come One’s great wisdom. The Buddha’s wisdom is perfect and full, and so are his blessings. He is complete in both blessings and wisdom. Thus we take refuge in the Buddha, the Doubly Complete Honored One. The Buddha’s wisdom is rare and peerless. No sentient being’s wisdom can compare with the Buddha’s. All the beings in the world and the heavens, may reflect on it, yet fail to reach it. The measure of their minds is not large enough to fathom the Buddha’s state.

Sutra:

Ordinary beings perceive things through false thoughts,
Grasp at marks, and fail to accord with principle.
The Buddha renounces every mark,
Yet ordinary beings fail to understand this.

Commentary:

Ordinary beings perceive things through false thoughts. They use false thinking to regard the Buddha’s state. They grasp at marks, and so they fail to accord with theBuddha’s wonderful principle. / The Buddha renounces every conditioned mark. The Buddha is without marks, yet nothing is left unmarked. Yet ordinary beings fail to understand this. Ordinary beings cannot fathom or know this state of the Buddha.

Sutra:

Confused, deluded fools
Grasp in vain at the five skandhas.
They fail to understand the true nature.
Such people do not see the Buddha.  

Commentary:

Confused, deluded fools are muddled sentient beings. They are muddled because they lack wisdom and knowledge. They are shrouded in ignorance, so they cannot escape. Thus they mistake what is false to be true and grasp in vain at the five skandhas—form, feeling, thinking, formations, and consciousness. These five skandhas or aggregates cover up our true wisdom, so that it cannot reveal itself. We become deluded fools who think the five skandhas are real and thereby become confused by them. The five skandhas are ceaselessly coming into being. The preceding five skandhas give rise to the intermediate five skandhas, which in turn give rise to the succeeding five skandhas. It’s like seeds producing sprouts. The preceding five skandhas can produce the sprouts of the intermediate and succeeding five skandhas, but the sprouts are not the same as the original seed.

They fail to understand the true nature of the Buddha, which is devoid of marks.There are three causes of the Buddha nature:

1. The ultimate cause of the Buddha nature

2. The conditional cause of the Buddha nature

3. The proper cause of the Buddha nature

Here the sutra is speaking of the ultimate cause of the Buddha nature, which is to clearly fathom the Buddha nature. Conditional cause refers to a particular cause and condition called Buddha nature. Proper cause refers to the inherent Buddha nature and to the Middle Way. Such people do not see the Buddha. Since they are continually attached to marks, confused and ignorant people do not understand the ultimate cause of the Buddha nature, the true Buddha nature. They don’t understand what the Buddha is all about, nor do they themselves see the Buddha.

Sutra:

One should know all dharmas lack
Any intrinsic nature whatsoever.
One who understands the nature of dharmas thus
Shall immediately behold Nishyanda.

Commentary:

One should know all dharmas. “All dharmas” includes form dharmas, mind dharmas, dharmas interactive with the mind, non-interactive dharmas, and unconditioned dharmas. You should completely understand all these dharmas and know they lack any intrinsic nature whatsoever. They are originally empty in nature.

One who understands the nature of dharmas thus and is not attached to dharmas shall immediately, right at that moment, behold the Dharma body of Nishyanda Buddha. One understands the Buddha’s state. In the preceding verse on the five skandhas, one seeks inwardly and grasps at appearances, and so one cannot see the Buddha. Now this verse is telling us to see appearances as empty. If we empty all appearances, sweep away all dharmas, and leave all marks behind. Departing from the characteristics of speech, the characteristics of thought, and the characteristics of language, one reaches the Buddha’s true state, which is apart from all characteristics while in the midst of all dharmas.

Sutra:

By virtue of five skandhas come before,
Successive skandhas follow and arise.
One who understands their nature sees
The Buddhas’ inconceivability.

Commentary:

By virtue of five skandhas come before, there will be a succession from previous to subsequent. Although the five skandhas—form, feeling, thinking, formations, and consciousness—cover the inherent nature, they are unreal, like the clouds which cover the sun but have no real substance. Thus the Heart Sutra says, “When the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara was coursing in the profound perfection of wisdom (prajna-paramita), he saw that the five skandhas are all empty and crossed beyond all suffering and difficulty.” Since the five skandhas are empty, the sutra also says, “Form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form. So, too, are feeling, thinking, formations, and consciousness.”

The preceding five skandhas produce the intermediate five skandhas, which in turn produce the succeeding five skandhas. Although this process continues without stopping, the preceding five never reach the intermediate five skandhas, and the intermediate skandhas never reach the succeeding skandhas. Just as waves arise one after another and yet the ones in front do not overlap or clash with the ones in back, the preceding, intermediate, and succeeding skandhas arise in succession yet do not perceive one another. It is also the principle of how a seed can produce a sprout, and yet the seed is no longer present when the sprout is there.

Therefore, because of the preceding five skandhas, successive skandhas follow and arise. However, when the succeeding skandhas arise the preceding ones no longer exist. 

One who understands their nature sees/ The Buddhas’ inconceivability. If one can understand the Dharma that the five skandhas are empty, then one can constantly see the Buddhas and realize the Buddhas’ inconceivable state.

Sutra:

Just as a jewel in the dark
Cannot be seen without a lamp,
If no one speaks the Buddhadharma,
None perceives the wisdom that exists.

Commentary:

There is an analogy illustrating the inconceivability of the Buddhadharma: just as a jewel in the dark / Cannot be seen without a lamp. Suppose there are all kinds of jewels--the seven precious treasures—in a dark room. If you don’t have a lamp or a light, then you won’t be able to see them. The “jewel in the dark” represents the Dharma jewel of our Buddha nature, which is concealed by ignorance. The lamp represents wisdom. If you have wisdom, then you can understand the true jewel of your own nature. Without wisdom, you fail to recognize the light of your own nature, that Dharma jewel, which is as a precious pearl sewn in your clothing. You wouldn’t recognize it unless someone told you about it. Since ignorance obscures the light of your inherent Buddha nature, so you are as if in a dark room, you have no wisdom or understanding.

What if no one speaks the Buddhadharma. The Buddhadharma needs to be explained by a wise teacher, so people can understand. If there’s no wise teacher to lecture the Dharma, then no matter how great your wisdom is, you still will not understand it. None perceives the wisdom that exists. In other words, although you have wisdom, you still need someone to light the lamp. If the lamp is not lit, then it’s useless. When a wise teacher teaches you and lights up your wisdom lamp, then you will understand the Buddhadharma.

There are four propositions to explain the meaning of the “jewel in the dark.”

1. If one has eyes but no lamp, one cannot see it. Even though one has sight, one cannot see the jewel in the dark room without light.

2. If one has a lamp but no eyes, one cannot see it. If the person is blind, then even if there is light, he cannot see the jewel. Ignorant fools with heavy karmic obstacles cannot light up their wisdom lamps. This represents Sages of the Two Vehicles who are as deaf-mutes. They “have eyes, but cannot see Nishyanda Buddha; have ears, but cannot hear the perfect, sudden teaching.” Such dull Arhats can be compared to blind people, for they do not see their inherent wisdom.

3. If one has neither eyes nor a lamp, one cannot see it. Without eyes and without a lamp, one cannot see the Dharma jewel of one’s own nature.

4. If one has eyes and a lamp, one can see it. One can see the Dharma jewel of the inherent nature. That is to say, one needs the lamp of wisdom and also a Good and Wise Advisor to point out the way. One needs both a lamp and eyes in order to see the Dharma-jewel.

None perceives the wisdom that exists. Each one of us has this Dharma jewel of the inherent nature—the Buddha nature—but we don’t realize that our inherent Buddha nature is the same as the Buddha’s. We seem to have lost it, but it’s still there. It’s just that we don’t know how to utilize it.

Sutra:

Or as a film that blinds the eyes
Keeps unseen the pure, wondrous form,
So, too, a mind that is unclear
Cannot discern the Dharma of all Buddhas.

Commentary:

Or as a film that blinds the eyes can cause one to see flowers—dancing images--in space and to have double vision. This ailment with the eyes keeps unseen the Buddha’s pure, wondrous form body.

So, too, with a mind that is unclear.If the mind gives rise to the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion, or to defiled, jealous, obstructive, selfish or self-benefiting thoughts, then it becomes impure and cannot discern the Dharma of all Buddhas. If you have such thoughts, you will not be able to understand the wonderful Dharma of all Buddhas. Since your mind is defiled, it does not see the Buddha’s pure, wonderful form body.

Sutra:

Just as those who are blind
Cannot see the bright pure sun,
So, too, the ones bereft of wisdom in their minds
Will never see the Buddhas.

Commentary:

Superior Wisdom Bodhisattva continues to give yet another analogy: It is just as those who are blind cannot see the bright pure sun. Although the sun is so bright, theblind, those born blind, cannot behold it. So, too, the ones bereft of wisdom in their minds / Will never see the Buddhas. If their inherent wisdom can’t manifest, they can’t see the Dharma body of all Buddhas. To see the pure Dharma body of all Buddhas, one must have great wisdom.

Sutra:

If one dispels the film upon the eyes
And casts off form and thinking,
And sees no dharma whatsoever,
Then one may see the Thus Come One.

Commentary:

If one dispels the film upon the eyes, that is to cast away the film on the mind—greed, anger, delusion, pride, and doubt—and all ignorance and afflictions; if one can cast off form dharmas and thinking among the five skandhas, seeing the five skandhas as all empty; and sees no dharma whatsoever, emptying all dharmas of form, feeling, thinking, formations, and consciousness, so that one is not covered by the five skandhas any longer, Then one may see the Thus Come One. One can see the basic substance of the Dharma body of the Thus Come One.

Sutra:

All Wisdom was first to speak about
All Buddhas’ Dharma of enlightenment.
From him I heard the teaching
And gained the chance to see Nishyanda.

Commentary:

See how courteous and humble the Bodhisattvas are to each other. All Wisdom Bodhisattva heard Dharma Wisdom Bodhisattva speak the Dharma, and he understood many principles of Buddhadharma. Therefore he spoke a verse in honor of Dharma Wisdom Bodhisattva. Now Superior Wisdom Bodhisattva will say that he has learned a lot of Buddhadharma from All Wisdom Bodhisattva. He says, “All Wisdom Bodhisattva spoke of the principle of the three contemplations of emptiness, falseness, and the middle, and I learned a lot from that.

All Wisdom was first to speak / All Buddhas’ Dharma of enlightenment. He spoke of the Dharma of bodhi of all Buddhas of the past, present, and future. From him I heard the teaching / And gained the chance to see Nishyanda. After I heard this kind of wonderful Dharma, I gained great understanding and got to see the pure Dharma body of Nishyanda Buddha.” He didn’t say, “Look at me; I’m much better than All Wisdom Bodhisattva. My verse is better than his, too.”

The Bodhisattvas aren’t arrogant or conceited. When we study the Buddhadharma, we should truly understand the minds of the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas. We should learn from what they say and how they act. We should learn to be as humble as the Bodhisattvas and to benefit sentient beings. That is the original character of a person who studies the Buddhadharma.

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