The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p52Although Bodhisattvas take numberless beings to extinction, there are actually no living beings taken across. That is the manifestation of the perfect substance and the great function of prajña. The substance of real mark prajña is without the slightest inequality. As is said later in the sutra, “This dharma is level and equal with no high or low.” The function of contemplative prajña originally is without a mark; as the text later says, “Those who have relinquished all marks are called Buddhas.”
If a Bodhisattva crosses living beings over and yet attaches to a self who takes them across, the four marks are not yet empty, and the false mind is not yet subdued. Such a person turns his back on prajña and becomes involved in the four marks that unite to form a self. The mark of self is the root of all marks. If one can turn the illusion of self around, then he can take living beings across to nirvana. He can separate himself from the four marks, subdue his mind, and thereby become a true Bodhisattva.
Category Archives: Hsuan Hua
Vajra Sutra: How Rare
“How rare, World Honored One, is the Tathagata who remembers and protects all Bodhisattvas and causes them to be well-endowed.”
The rare occurrence Subhūti refers to is the appearance of a Buddha, a World Honored One. Śākyamuni Buddha had arranged his seat and sat down without saying a word. Was Subhūti making something out of nothing, making waves where there was no wind, setting up wrong where there had not even been a right, placing a head on top of a head, adding a mark to a mark; was he just looking for trouble? If the Buddha had spoken a principle or made a sign it might have made sense to respond, “How rare, World Honored One,” but all Śākyamuni Buddha had done was arranged his seat and sat down.
This passage merits very special attention, for the main point of the Vajra Sutra is right here. By the time Śākyamuni Buddha had arranged his seat and sat down, he had already finished teaching dharma. That is why Subhūti uttered his words of praise. For Śākyamuni Buddha had taught the prajña of real mark, which is apart from the mark of the spoken word, apart from the mark of the written word, apart from the mark of the conditioned mind, apart from each and every mark. Only sages who had certified to the fruit understood; common people were not up to it. Realizing that, Subhūti hoped Śākyamuni Buddha would speak a provisional teaching, an expedient dharma of literary prajña, for the sake of living beings. That is why he prefaced his request for dharma by saying, “How rare is the World Honored One.” Truly rare is the Tathagata. Rarely is there a World Honored One. The real mark prajña is a protection and an endowment for all Bodhisattvas. The dharma is extremely wonderful.
The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p36-37
Vajra Sutra: The Buddha’s Performance
The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p32Then he arranged his seat and sat down
When the begging was finished, the food eaten, his robe and bowl stored, and his feet cleansed, after this basic routine had been attended to, the Buddha then arranged his seat and sat down. This does not mean that he piled pillows beneath and pillows behind, pillows all around and then eased himself onto a plush couch like some people do. It means he made a gesture or two, straightened a mat, tidied the seat a bit, and then sat down.
Real mark prajña was expressed in the Buddha’s performance of the daily routine. That is not to say the emphasis was placed on the performance itself, to announce, “I cultivate!” Rather, if one understands dharma, everything is cultivation. That is not true of one who affects the manner of an experienced cultivator declaring, “Look at me, I just sit here thus,” whereas the next minute finds him fidgeting, squirming, and talking a mile a minute. People who cultivate the Way seldom talk. Do not talk too much. If you do you will hinder other people’s cultivation as well as your own. In a place where the sangha lives one cannot hear the sound of a single voice. If conversation is necessary it is carried on in very low tones so as not to disturb others. People who wish to use effort in cultivation of the Way should study the Buddha and in every movement, every gesture, avoid obstructing others.
The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra
In reading Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s 14-volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra – I’m currently on the fourth volume, which covers Chapter 3, A Parable – I have come across several references to the Vajra Sutra.
For example, in discussing the term Tathāgata, Hsuan Hua says:
What is meant by Tathāgata? The Vajra Sūtra says:
The Tathāgata does not come from anywhere,
nor does he go anywhere.
That is why he is called the Tathāgata.
Or in discussing Chapter 2 he says:
Since nothing can be grasped, why does the text say “to attain the Buddha’s Path”? The so-called “Buddha’s Path” is not attained from the outside. As it says in the Vajra Sūtra, when the Tathagata received the Dharma of anuttara samyaksaṃbodhi from the Buddha Dīpaṃkara, Burning Lamp, he in fact received nothing.
Being unfamiliar with the sutra, I went back to the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s website and picked up a copy of “The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, A General Explanation.”
I took a break from Hsuan Hua’s commentary on the Lotus Sutra to read his commentary on the Vajra Sutra.
This is very esoteric stuff, the sort of stuff one would expect a Chinese Chan master to explore. Consider this discussion of “true prajña” – true direct insight or true wisdom:
The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p156Once Subhūti was sitting in a cave cultivating and a god came scattering flowers.
“Who has come to scatter flowers?” asked Subhūti.
“The god Sakra,” came the reply. “Sakra has come to scatter flowers.”
“Why have you come here to scatter flowers?” asked Subhūti.
Sakra said, “Because the Venerable One speaks prajña well, I have come to make offerings.”
Subhūti said, “I have not said one word. How can you say I speak prajña?”
Sakra replied, “The Venerable One has not spoken and I have not heard a thing. Nothing spoken and nothing heard: that is true prajña.”
You think it over. Nothing spoken and nothing heard is true prajña. Have you heard prajña? If not, that is true prajña.
In considering what to make of this, I was reminded of similar statements made in the Threefold Lotus Sutra.
In the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings Bodhisattva Fully Composed addresses the Buddha:
“World-honored One! For more than forty years, ever since achieving enlightenment, the Tathāgata, for the benefit of living beings, has continuously discoursed on the principle of the four modes of all phenomena, the meaning of suffering, and the meaning of emptiness; on ever changingness, nonexistence of self, non-greatness, non-smallness, non-origination, and non-cessation; on the formlessness of all things; and on the natures and aspects of phenomena being intrinsically empty and tranquil—neither coming nor going, neither appearing nor disappearing.
Or in Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra, when the Buddha explains:
All that I say is true, not false, because I see the triple world as it is. I see that the triple world is the world in which the living beings have neither birth nor death, that is to say, do not appear or disappear, that it is the world in which I do not appear or from which l do not disappear, that it is not real or unreal, and that it is not as it seems or as it does not seem. I do not see the triple world in the same way as [the living beings of] the triple world do. I see all this clearly and infallibly.
The Vajra Sutra is concerned with “marks” or characteristics and how to avoid clinging to them. There are four marks: the mark of self, the mark of others, the mark of living beings and the mark of life.
Hsuan Hua explains in his commentary:
The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p111Because Subhūti had cultivated good roots for limitless kalpas, it was not difficult for him to believe. He realized, however, that anyone in the Dharma Ending Age, at the time when people are Strong in Fighting, who could believe, understand, receive, and hold the sūtra, would be a foremost individual and very rare. And why? Such people will have no mark of self, meaning they have no greed. No mark of others, meaning they have no anger. No mark of living beings, meaning they are not stupid. No mark of a life, meaning they have no desire. They have no greed, anger, stupidity, or desire, these four kinds of attachments. The four marks are without a mark. No mark is real mark. Real mark is no mark. And why? Because real mark is also distinct from all which has no marks. If you can obtain real mark, that is obtaining the principle substance of the self-nature of all Buddhas. Those who have relinquished all marks are called Buddhas. Therefore you too can certainly become a Buddha.
Over the next several days I’m going to post excerpts from Hsuan Hua’s commentary on the Vajra Sutra.
Higan: Beating of the Great Dharma Drum
Today is the final day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
The today we consider the Perfection of Wisdom. For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, pv2, p275Maitreya Bodhisattva said to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, “Moreover, I see Bodhisattvas / Of profound wisdom and solid resolve, / Capable of questioning the Buddhas, / Then upholding all they hear.” These Bodhisattvas were exceptionally wise and steadfast in their resolve. When they had doubts, they sought clarification from the Buddhas. They asked about the Dharma, and having received their answers, they put what they had heard into practice, upholding and cultivating in accord with the Dharma.
Maitreya went on, saying, “I also see Buddhas’ disciples, / Accomplished in wisdom and samādhi, / Teaching Dharma to the multitudes / Through countless analogies.” These sons of the Dharma King, who were replete with the power of samādhi and wisdom, used an uncountable number of parables and principles to expound the Buddhadharma for the sake of living beings. They delight in explaining the Dharma / As they teach Bodhisattvas. / Vanquishing all the hordes of Māra, / They beat the Dharma drum. The more they taught, the more enthusiastic they became about teaching; this is known as unobstructed eloquence. The Dharma they taught was extremely profound, subtle, and wonderful. Not only did it transform Bodhisattvas, it overcame the demon king’s troops. Their teaching of the Dharma was like the beating of the great Dharma drum. These three stanzas concern the pāramitā of prajña.
Higan: Absorbed in Profound Samadhi
Today is the sixth day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
The today we consider the Perfection of Meditation. For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, pv2, p272-274The Pāramitā of Samādhi
I see those renouncing desire
Dwelling in solitude,
Immersing themselves in profound samādhi,
And attaining the five spiritual powers.
I also see Bodhisattvas
Settled in dhyāna, with palms joined,
Praising the Dharma Kings
In thousands upon thousands of verses.Maitreya Bodhisattva saw them absorbed in profound samadhi and developing the five spiritual powers. The five spiritual powers are the heavenly eye, the heavenly ear, the knowledge of others’ thoughts, the knowledge of past lives, and the ability to travel anywhere at will. They had not attained the spiritual power of freedom from all outflows because only [fourth-stage] Arhats and Bodhisattvas of equivalent awakening and wondrous awakening can attain freedom from all outflows. Because these were Bodhisattvas of new resolve, they had attained only five of the six spiritual powers.
Where do these five spiritual powers come from? They come from the cultivation of samādhi, from the recitation of sūtras, and from upholding mantras. If you can meditate single-mindedly every day, you can attain them. You can also attain them by reciting sūtras. For example, Great Master Zhiyi continuously recited the Dharma Flower Sūtra until he awakened. When he reached the line “This is true vigor. This is called a true Dharma offering” in the chapter “The Account of Bodhisattva Medicine King’s Past Lives,” he entered the Dharma Flower samādhi and experienced a supreme state. He saw that the Dharma assembly at Vulture Peak had not yet dispersed and that Śākyamuni Buddha was still there teaching the Dharma. So you can also become awakened by reciting sūtras. However, you must recite with a sincere mind. Don’t recite on the one hand but have deluded thoughts on the other hand, thinking, “So-and-so has a lot of money. I’ve got to think of a way to get some money out of him for my own use.” You will not become awakened by reciting sūtras this way, because you are not being mindful of the sūtras if you are thinking about money. In addition, you can also single-mindedly recite mantras to become awakened.
Higan: These Heroic Cultivators
Today is the fifth day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
The today we consider the Perfection of Energy. For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, pv2, p171-172The Pāramitā of Vigor
These four lines praise the pāramitā of vigor. Maitreya said, “I also see Bodhisattvas / Advancing with heroic vigor, / Going far into the mountains / To contemplate the Buddha’s Path.” How vigorous are they? They study the Buddhadharma, foregoing meals and sleep. They are not like some people who go without eating but make up for it by sleeping more, thinking, “I haven’t eaten, so I can’t cultivate. I’ll sleep a little more instead.” When others are not sleeping, they are asleep. That is not heroic vigor. Those with heroic vigor will go without eating because they forget about food altogether. They do not deliberately refrain from eating to show others that they are cultivating. They simply forget about eating and sleeping; they forget about everything. What do they think of? They focus only on their cultivation and study of the Buddhadharma. These heroic cultivators often cultivate in remote mountains and valleys, investigating the principles of the Dharma there.
Higan: The Practice of Bodhisattvas
Today is the Spring Equinox, the middle of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, pv2, p260-261Maitreya Bodhisattva said, “I see in other lands / Bodhisattvas as many as Ganges’ sands, / Through various causes and conditions, / Seeking and cultivating the Buddha’s Path.” In our quest for the Buddha’s Path, we must do deeds that generate merit and virtue, and we must seek wisdom. Do not think you can attain Buddhahood easily. Look! These Bodhisattvas, numbering as many as the grains of sand in the Ganges, cultivated through various causes and conditions. What is meant by “various causes and conditions”? It means that these Bodhisattvas did many good deeds through which they accrued merit and virtue, cultivated many kinds of blessings and wisdom, and studied all the various Buddhadharmas. They did not seek the Buddha’s Path through just one kind of cause and condition.
Higan: The Patience of Bodhisattvas
Today is the third day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
The today we consider the Perfection of Patience. For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, pv2, p270The following four lines of verse talk about the practice of patience. Sometimes I see Bodhisattvas / Becoming bhikṣus, / Living alone in quietude / And delighting in reciting sūtras. These monastics live alone in forests, valleys, or caves, where they may encounter malicious people or ferocious beasts. What does this have to do with patience? If spiteful people insult them or physically abuse them, the Bodhisattvas must endure it; if ferocious beasts bite them, they must also endure it and not be scared. They delight in reciting sūtras. According to the Vajra Sūtra, the merit gained from reciting the Vajra Sūtra is inconceivable.
Higan: The Acts of Kings
Today is the second day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
Today we consider the Perfection of Discipline. For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, pv2, p268-270Maitreya continued, “Mañjuśrī, Bodhisattva Wonderful Virtue, I also see kings, not just one but many of them, traveling to Buddhalands.” Why did they go there? They wanted to visit the Buddhas for the sake of asking about the unsurpassed Path. Upon their request, the Buddhas taught them that everything in this world is unsatisfactory, empty, impermanent, and without intrinsic essence.
The poem “Moon over West River” says,
Wealth and honor are like a dream before dawn;
Success and fame are like a floating cloud;
Blood relations too are unreal,
For affection can turn into hatred.Wealth and honor are as insubstantial as a dream at daybreak. Success and fame are like clouds drifting across the sky; they do not last. The current family relationships—the ties that bind father and son, elder and younger brothers, husband and wife—are also transitory. You may love someone and be very close to them, but as time goes by, love can turn into animosity.
Maitreya Bodhisattva continued, “They forsake their lands of pleasure, / Their palaces, ministers, and concubines, / Then shave their beards and hair / And clothe themselves in Dharma robes.” Having heard this teaching from the Buddhas, the kings, without further thought, gave away their lands and belongings, including their palaces made of treasures, their towers and pavilions made of agarwood and sandalwood, and their ministers and concubines. Why did they give them away? They gave them away so that they could become novices. As novices, they put on monastic robes. Their five-piece robes were called Dharma robes. …
Earlier verses talked about giving. The previous section describing kings entering monastic life represents the quest for the precepts. The kings arriving at the Buddhalands and requesting the precepts has to do with the pāramitā of precepts.