Praises at the Summit of Mount Sumeru

Chapter Fourteen

 

 

III. The Bodhisattvas speak verses in praise.

D. Meritorious Wisdom Bodhisattva of the North

Sutra:

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

Commentary:

Then, after Superior Wisdom Bodhisattva of the west had spoken his verse, it was the turn of Meritorious Wisdom Bodhisattva of the north to speak.This Bodhisattva cultivated all kinds of meritorious deeds in his past practice of the Bodhisattva Path. He performed the smallest meritorious deeds, and also the largest ones. Merit and virtue is accumulated from many little deeds, just as a mountain is formed of many particles of dust. Although the dust motes are small, a lot of them can make a mountain. Although good deeds might be slight, they can accumulate into a great deal of merit. The ancients said,

Do not overlook a good deed, thinking it is too small.

Doing good deeds creates merit and virtue. People who only care about immediate advantages don’t think about creating merit over the long run. Since they are impatient for results, it’s not easy for them to create merit and virtue. Merit and virtue comes from helping others, doing beneficial things for others. If you always do this, then even though the particular deeds are minor, after a long time the merit accumulates and becomes full.

Merit and virtue comes from holding precepts. If you hold precepts, you have merit and virtue. If you don’t hold precepts, you don’t have any. Why is this? If you hold precepts, then you refrain from all evil deeds and practice all good deeds. Refraining from evil deeds, you won’t have any offenses. Doing good deeds, you gain merit and virtue. If we want to help others, we should abstain from evil and practice wholesome acts. This is what Meritorious Wisdom Bodhisattva did. He benefited people in everything he did, practicing the Bodhisattva Path in life after life, hence his name, Meritorious Wisdom. Because his merit and virtue were complete, his wisdom was also full. If your merit and virtue are not complete, then your wisdom will not be full either. 

Relying on the Buddha’s inconceivable, awesomespiritual power, Meritorious Wisdom Bodhisattva universally contemplated the depth of sentient beings’ faculties throughout the ten directions and spoke in verse.

Sutra:

Dharmas have no true reality,
But we mistakenly attach to marks as real.
And thus all ordinary people
Spin about within the jail of birth and death.

Commentary:

To destroy the attachment to dharmas, one has to use the contemplation of emptiness. Then one should use the contemplation of falseness and the contemplation of the Middle Way to contemplate them. All dharmas refer to the hundred dharmas, which include 11 form dharmas, 8 mind dharmas, 51 dharmas interactive with the mind, 24 non-interactive dharmas, and 6 unconditioned dharmas. All dharmas are empty and still, without any real substance. Dharmas have no true reality. If you try to find something real in unreal dharmas, that is just like trying to find fur on a turtle or a horn on a hare. But we mistakenly attach to marks as real. When we attempt to use false thought to grasp reality, it is like putting a head on top of a head or adding a foot onto the foot we already have—it is unnecessary. But these are the confused things that ordinary people do. They look for reality within what is unreal.

And thus all ordinary people, including you and me, spin about within the jail of birth and death. Because they take what is unreal to be real, they undergo endless rounds of birth and death. They are like dust motes floating through the air, suddenly in the heavens, suddenly on earth, drifting to and fro with no real place to stay. They bob up and down forever in the six paths of rebirth. There’s no end to it and the experience is painful.

Sutra:

Those of petty wisdomdifferentiate in vain
The Dharma that’s expressed in words.
They thus become obstructed
And do not understand their minds.

Commentary:

Those of petty wisdomdifferentiate in vain / The Dharma that’s expressed in words. Meritorious Wisdom Bodhisattva is saying, “Anything that is spoken does not have true meaning.” Those of petty wisdom are the Two Vehicles, who have not yet destroyed the attachment to dharmas. They have realized the emptiness of people, but not the emptiness of dharmas. Therefore, they are still attached to the words and phrases of Dharma that is spoken, the marks of Dharma. They use their small wisdom to discriminate all dharmas. They thus become obstructed / And do not understand their minds. They give rise to all sorts of impediments and fail to understand that the Dharma which is spoken does not depart from the mind.

The Buddhas expounded all of the Dharma
In response to the minds of sentient beings.
If there were no minds,
What use would all that Dharma be?

So, the Dharma is not apart from the mind. One who seeks the Dharma outside the mind belongs to an “outside way,” an externalist path.

The mind, Buddhas, and sentient beings: These three are not different. If we understand our own mind, then we won’t discriminate and become attached to dharmas.

Sutra:

They fail to understand their minds.
How can they know the proper Path?
It’s from such muddled wisdom
That unwholesome views proliferate.

Commentary:

They don’t understand that all dharmas are made from the mind alone.
When the mind comes into being, various dharmas come into being.
When the mind ceases to be, various dharmas cease to be.

They fail to understand their minds. / How can they know the proper Path? How can they know the path of proper knowledge and views, which does not seek outside the mind? Cultivators of the Two Vehicles, with their petty wisdom, engage in discriminations, which produces obstructions and makes them confused. Being confused, they cannot clearly recognize right and wrong. It’s from such muddled wisdom / That unwholesome views proliferate. They have worldly wisdom and argumentative skill. They will make up reasons where there are none, twisting the truth around. They are deeply attached to themselves and cannot break through their ego. Their discriminations cause their karmic obstructions to grow, and those obstructions cause their evil views and ignorance to increase. Hence “unwholesome views proliferate.”

Sutra:

Since they fail to see the emptiness of dharmas,
They always feel the pain of birth and death.
Such people are not yet able to use
The pure and clear Dharma Eye.

Commentary:

The emptiness of people means there is no attachment to self. The emptiness of dharmas means there is no attachment to dharmas. The attachments to self and dharmas are not easy to break through. In general, most ordinary people have the attachment to self. They think, “I’m number one. I’m better than everyone else.” All day long they toil hard for the sake of the “self,” yet they don’t feel it’s hardship.

In fact, every part of the body has its own name, but none of it is the “self.” Because they can’t see it’s empty, they say there’s a “self.” Once there’s the mark of self, the mark of people, the mark of sentient beings, and the mark of life spans come to exist. Because they can’t perceive the emptiness of self, they also can’t perceive the emptiness of people, sentient beings, and lifespans.

These four marks persist in their past thoughts, present thoughts and will continue in their future thoughts. So they constantly engage in false thoughts and discriminations. Before they obtain something, they constantly think about how they can get it. Once they’ve got it, they’re afraid to lose it. If they don’t have this false thought, they will have that false thought. It’s as if they use a rope to tie themselves up so that they can’t attain liberation. Therefore the attachment to self is not easy to break through. Once they break through the attachment to self, they won’t have the view of self and the mark of self. But they still have the attachment to dharmas, so they produce all kinds of attachments and discriminations with regard to dharmas. Since they fail to see the emptiness of dharmas, they cannot awaken to the principle: 

Originally there’s not a thing.
Where can the dust alight?
They remained attached to conditioned dharmas.

They always feel the pain of birth and death. Anyone who is attached to conditioned dharmas cannot transcend the Triple Realm. Each undergoes endless rounds of birth and death in the six paths, being named Smith in one life and Jones in the next. Faces and names change from one life to the next during incessant rounds of suffering through endless births and deaths.  

Such people are not yet able to use / The pure and clear Dharma Eye. These kinds of people can’t see all dharmas as empty because they haven’t attained the pure Dharma Eye. If they attain the pure Dharma Eye, they will thoroughly understand all dharmas. They will “enter the Sutra Treasury and have wisdom like the sea.” They will see that all dharmas neither come into being nor cease to be. “All dharmas have always been and always will be tranquil and still.” If they attain the pure Dharma Eye, they will understand that all dharmas are empty.

Sutra:

In ages past I suffered much woe,
Because I didn’t see the Buddha.
So I must purify the Dharma Eye
To view what I should view.

Commentary:

Meritorious Wisdom Bodhisattva spoke on behalf of sentient beings, saying: In ages past I suffered much woe, / Because I didn’t see the Buddha. For limitless eons, I have been born and have died, over and over. As it’s said,

Leaving the horse’s belly,
I go into a donkey’s womb.
How many times have I passed through King Yama’s court?
After passing by Lord Sakra’s palace,
I’m back in King Yama’s cauldron.

“In the past I didn’t know how to cultivate,” said the Bodhisattva, “so I revolved back and forth in the six paths. Why did I suffer so? I hadn’t seen the Buddha. If I had seen the Buddha, my suffering would have ended.” That’s one way to explain it.

Or maybe the Bodhisattva is saying: “Why didn’t I see the Buddha? Because I have a self. I’m too attached to the view of self and the mark of self, so I can’t see the Buddha in front of my face. The saying goes, ‘Don’t fail to recognize Guan Yin Bodhisattva when she’s right in front of you!’ Well, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are right in front of me, but I don’t recognize them. Since I haven’t broken through the mark of self, I can’t see the Buddha. Even if I see him, I don’t recognize him.” 

So I must purify the Dharma Eye. I should cultivate to realize the pure Dharma Eye, to view what I should view, to be able to see the Buddha. Why can’t we attain the pure Dharma Eye? It’s because we have too much false thinking and it covers our pure Dharma Eye so we can’t see that all dharmas are empty.

Sutra:

If a person sees the Buddha
With a mind that does not grasp,
This person then can see
The Dharma that the Buddha knows.

Commentary:

People are all curious by nature. They like to see strange things and remember them. Actually, something may be quite ordinary, but if we’ve never seen it before, then it is novel and strange to us. The deeds that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do to teach and transform sentient beings in the world are much more amazing that most of the things we consider strange—they are truly unbelievable things. But sentient beings are such that as soon as they see something different, their thinking changes. But if you are a person with samadhi power, then you remain thus and unmoving whether you encounter good states or bad ones. If you can be thus and unmoving, then you have clear and constant understanding. Then you will dwell in the same house as all Buddhas. You will ascend to the Thus Come One’s throne, enter the Thus Come One’s room, and wear the Thus Come One’s robe. You will be of the same substance as the Buddha.

If a person sees the Buddha / With a mind that does not grasp. Although one sees the Buddha, one is not attached to appearances. One remains thus and unmoving. The Vajra Sutra says,

If one sees me in form,
Or seeks me in sound,
Such a person practices a wrong path
And cannot see the Thus Come One.

Being attached to marks means being influenced by new and exotic things. For example, being overjoyed at seeing the Buddha is grasping at appearances. That derives from our curiosity. If we can control our curiosity, then we can see as if not seeing, and hear as if not hearing.

The eyes see forms, but inside there is nothing.
The ears hear sounds, but the mind does not know.
That is samadhi power.

This person who is thus and unmoving and is not influenced by new and exotic things then can see / The Dharma that the Buddha knows. Knowing the Dharma that the Buddha knows is to have “clear and constant understanding.” That means one’s original samadhi and wisdom manifest. If one can be like this, then one is constantly in the Thus Come One’s room, seated on the Thus Come One’s throne, and wearing the Thus Come One’s robe. If you can be like this, then you are always together with the Buddhas. Otherwise, you are always with the ghosts. If you wish to be with the Buddhas, then you have to be “thus and unmoving, with clear and constant understanding.” If you want to be with the ghosts, then be “thus and constantly moving, without clear understanding.” If you cannot understand even though you wish to, then you are with the ghosts.

When Dharma Masters explained the sutras in China, what they said was equivalent to an imperial decree: no one could criticize it. I am Chinese, but my mind belongs to the whole world. If I make mistakes in my lecture, I will accept any criticism you offer. Gold Mountain Monastery is not run in a dictatorial manner; things are done democratically. So “everything’s OK.” If you wish to ascend to the heavens, you can go to the heavens. If you want to go to a Buddhaland, you can do that. If you prefer to be a hungry ghost or fall into the hells, go ahead. You can do whatever you want.  

Sutra:

One who sees the Buddhas’ actual Dharma,
Is named One of Great Wisdom.
Such a person has pure eyes
And is able to observe the world.

Commentary:

One who sees the Buddhas’ actual Dharma,is named One of Great Wisdom. “One of great wisdom” is one who deeply enters the Sutra Treasury and has wisdom like the sea. His wisdom is as boundless as the vast ocean. Such a person has pure eyes / And is able to observe the world. He has attained the pure Dharma Eye. He is able to contemplate and understand the causes and effects and the conditioned causes throughout worlds in the ten directions.

All people are inherently endowed with Three Bodies, Four Wisdoms, Five Eyes, and Six Spiritual Penetrations. The Three Bodies are

1. the retribution or reward body

2. the transformation bodies

3. the Dharma body

The Dharma body pervades all places. Although we common people haven’t lost our Dharma body, it does not manifest because it is obstructed and covered by ignorance. We sentient beings aren’t able to utilize transformation bodies. We only make use of our retribution body. We do have a Dharma body and transformation bodies, but we don’t know how to use them. The Dharma body is pure and all-pervasive. There are myriads of transformation bodies. The retribution body is the body we have right now, with which we undergo our retributions. The Buddha’s reward body is perfect. If we have great wisdom, we can perceive the Buddha’s Dharma body, reward body, and transformation bodies.

Every one of us also possesses the Four Wisdoms.

1. great perfect mirror wisdom. This kind of wisdom is like a big, round mirror.

2. equal wisdom. All Buddhas and all sentient beings have this kind of equal wisdom. This kind of wisdom is not more in the Buddhas or less in sentient beings. But because we sentient beings are covered with ignorance, we have not realized equal wisdom.

3. wonderful contemplative wisdom. One has this kind of wisdom when one attains the Five Eyes.

4. wisdom of accomplishment. One has finished what had to be done, and need not undergo further existence. With this wisdom, one can accomplish whatever one sets out to do.

That is an abbreviated explanation of the Three Bodies and Four Wisdoms.

Externalists talk about the Third Eye and find it unusual. They do not seem to know about the Five Eyes. I will tell you frankly that one must have cultivation and skill in order to be certified as having opened the Five Eyes. If you do not verify them, then they are as if not there. All of us have the Five Eyes, but because we do not cultivate and do not know how to use them, they do not open. Among the Five Eyes, the Buddha eye is located in the center of the forehead ( 囟腦門 xin nao men “passage at the top of the brain”). On either side of it are the wisdom eye and the Dharma eye. Don’t ask which one is on which side. You’ll know for yourself when you open them.

The Dharma eye contemplates all Dharmas. The wisdom eye is replete with all wisdom and can see far away. Then on the outside of those are the flesh eye on one side and the heavenly eye on the other. The flesh eye does not refer to the two ordinary eyes we have; there is another eye called the “flesh eye.” It can see people, ghosts, spirits, and all material things. The heavenly eye can see everything the gods are doing. The wisdom eye possesses great wisdom. The Dharma eye is such that if you want to read the Flower Adornment Sutra, all you have to do is open the Dharma eye, and you can read all 81 rolls of it in one second. That’s faster than a computer and more marvelous than television! The Dharma eye perceives that everywhere throughout space and the Dharma realm, there is infinite and boundless Buddhadharma. Once you open the Dharma eye, you still read Sutras, but it’s completely different from using your ordinary physical eyes to read them.

The Buddhas possess the Five Eyes in full capacity. But it’s not easy for people to open them. Even ghosts have the Five Eyes, so they can see very far. “Then people aren’t even up to ghosts,” you say. Of course not. Ghosts have spiritual penetrations and can do as they please. They have powerful abilities, much more than those of humans. When people want to go somewhere, they have to buy a plane ticket, a train ticket, or a bus ticket. Ghosts don’t have to go through all that trouble. In a single instant, they can travel millions of miles.

This person has the pure Dharma eye and is able to observe the world. He can understand all the causes and effect and conditions behind worldly matters.

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