by Red Pine
Kamalashila says, “These questions ask what fruit should the mind focus on, what method should be practiced to obtain the fruit, and what thoughts should be controlled in order that the seed will be pure. Here the fruit is praised first so that people will cultivate the seed.”
Hui-neng says, “Subhuti saw everyone incessantly busy like so much dust in the air, their minds in turmoil as if blown about by the wind, going from one thought to the next and never resting. And so he asked how they should control their minds in order to practice.”
Hsu-fa says, “Essentially Subhuti is saying, ‘We have set out to attain the bodhisattva mind, but we do not know how to travel the bodhisattva path.’”
Ting Fu-pao says, “According to Vasubandhu’s Bodhicitta Utpadana Shastra, ‘In order to cultivate good karma and seek enlightenment, bodhisattvas do not renounce the phenomenal world. And in order to cultivate compassion for all beings, they do not stand in the nuomenal world. In order to realize the marvelous wisdom of all buddhas, they do not renounce sansara [life and death]. And in order to liberate countless beings and save them from further rebirth, they do not stand in nirvana. Such persons are bodhisattvas who thus embark on the bodhisattva path.’ (12) But if bodhisattvas should stand in neither the phenomenal nor the noumenal, in neither sansara nor nirvana, where should they stand. Hence, Subhuti’s question.”
Tao-ch’uan says, “When you’re happy, I’m not / when you’re sad, I’m not / a crane thinks of flying north or south / a swallow thinks of its old nest / autumn moon and spring flower thoughts never end / you only need to know yourself right now.”
Textual note: All Chinese translations interpret sthatavya (stand) by chu (dwell). Kumarajiva does not include kathan pratipattavyan (how should they walk), nor does the Khotanese. The other Chinese translations that include it render it as hsiu-hsing (practice). When used in reference to a path, however, pratipad means “walk.” Note, too, the similarity between the Sanskrit pratipad and the Greek peripate (walk), which was also an integral part of the manner in which Aristotle and his followers went about seeking the truth. In place of kathan cittan pragrahitavyan (how should they control their thoughts/mind), Paramartha has yun-ho fa-ch’i p’u-sa-hsin (how should they give birth to the thought of enlightenment). In the same phrase, Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, and Dharmagupta interpret pragraha (control) as chiang-fu (subdue), while Hsuan-tsang and Yi-ching read it as she-fu (bring under control). Müller gives “restrain,” while Conze has “control.” Edgerton, however, suggests “exercises.”
The Buddha told the venerable Subhuti, “Well said,
Subhuti. Well said. So it is, Subhuti. It is as you say.
The Tathagata blesses bodhisattvas with the best of
blessings and entrusts bodhisattvas with the greatest
of trusts.
The Buddha never stops teaching. When asked, he teaches through words. Otherwise, he relies on his example. Confucius once said, “Do you disciples think I conceal something? I conceal nothing. I have no practice I do not share with you. This is my way.” (Lunyu: 7.23)
Asanga says, “Surely the best of blessings is his body and its properties. And this greatest of trusts is shared by all, mature or not.” (1) Vasubandhu comments, “The ‘best of blessings’ is directed at those bodhisattvas who are already mature, while the ‘greatest of trusts’ is directed at those who are not yet mature. Still, the ‘greatest of trusts’ is shared by those who are already prapta (mature) in the Mahayana and who are thus encouraged not to let go as well as by those who are aprapta (not yet mature) and who are now encouraged to turn toward the Mahayana.”
Hui-neng says, “The Buddha praises Subhuti, for he has penetrated the Buddha’s mind and fathomed his thoughts.”
Chiang Wei-nung says, “The first ‘well said’ is in praise of Subhuti’s ability to ask what no one else was able to ask. The second ‘well said’ is in praise of his ability to ask for the sake of others rather than himself. For the assembly does not fathom such blessings or instructions. Only Subhuti is able to point out their existence. Thus, the Buddha agrees that it is as Subhuti says, that the Tathagata’s greatest blessing and instruction consists of his everyday acts of wearing his robe and carrying his bowl and not only of his discourses.”
You should therefore truly listen, Subhuti, and
consider this well. I shall tell you how those who
set forth on the bodhisattva path should stand,
how they should walk, and how they should control
their thoughts.”
The Buddha always answers the questions asked of him, but his answers invariably transcend the limitations of the questions. Hence, he asks Subhuti to listen with care.
Li Wen-hui says, “To truly listen means to understand. The Buddha wants Subhuti to understand that the sensation of sound is not real and that he should not chase words.”
Huang-po says, “Most people allow their mind to be obstructed by the world and then try to escape from the world. They don’t realize that their mind obstructs the world. If they could only let their minds be empty, the world would be empty. Don’t misuse the mind. If you want to be free of the world, you should forget the mind. Once you forget the mind, the world becomes empty. And when the world becomes empty, the mind disappears. If you don’t forget the mind and only get rid of the world, you only succeed in becoming more confused. Thus, it is said, ‘all things are only mind.’ But the mind cannot be found. When you can’t find a thing, you have reached the final goal. Why bother running around looking for liberation? This is how you should control the mind. Once you see your own nature, you won’t have any deluded thoughts. Once you have no deluded thoughts, you have controlled your mind.”
T’ai-neng says, “A fool’s mind is active and dark. A sage’s mind is still and bright. It is also said, ‘When an ordinary person’s mind is pure, it becomes the land of buddhas. When an ordinary person’s mind is confused, it becomes the realm of demons.’”
Tao-ch’uan says, “Multiple limbs and demon faces / impervious to clubs and knives / we leave the world millions of times / but never the palace of the King of Nothing.” [Note: the King of Nothing is the Buddha.]
Textual note: Kumarajiva has shan-nan-tzu shan-nu-jen (noble son or daughter) in place of “those who,” which is implied by the verb sanprastha ([those who]set forth). Kumarajiva follows this with fa a-nou-to-lo san-mao san-p’u-t’i-hsin (give birth to the thought of unexcelled, perfect enlightenment), while to this Bodhiruci and Paramartha again add hsing p’u-sa-sheng (and travel on the bodhisattva vehicle). As he does earlier, Kumarajiva omits kathan pratipattavyan (how they should walk).
The venerable Subhuti answered, “May it be so,
Bhagavan,” and gave his full attention.
Chiang Wei-nung says, “Listening here is connected with ‘thus have I heard’ at the beginning of the sutra. If Subhuti did not wish to listen to this, Ananda would not have heard it. There are three kinds of listening. First, we listen to the words. Second, we listen to the meaning. Third, we listen to the truth. As we listen to these words about controlling the mind, we must grasp the truth and forget the words and their meaning. By turning our attention within, we can then rediscover our own nature. For we all possess this perfectly still nature. But it is obstructed by ignorance and delusions that rise and fall without cease. Thus, students should concentrate on turning their hearing within. And they should keep listening until they realize that the Buddha, all beings, and the mind are not three different things.”
The Avatamsaka Sutra says, “Like thinking of cool water when you’re thirsty, like thinking of fine food when you’re hungry, like thinking of a magic pill when you’re sick, or like a hive of bees that depends on honey, we, too, are like this, hoping to taste the sweet dew of the Dharma.” (26)
Textual note: While pratyashraushit (give one’s full attention) is present in all Sanskrit editions—as well as the Khotanese—Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, Dharmagupta, Hsuan-tsang, and Yi-ching have Sub
huti saying yuan-lo yu-wen (with joy we long to hear). Paramartha does not include the phrase.
Chapter Three: The Buddha said to him, “Subhuti, those who would now set forth on the bodhisattva path should thus give birth to this thought: ‘However many beings there are in whatever realms of being might exist, whether they are born from an egg or born from a womb, born from the water or born from the air, whether they have form or no form, whether they have perception or no perception or neither perception nor no perception, in whatever conceivable realm of being one might conceive of beings, in the realm of complete nirvana I shall liberate them all. And though I thus liberate countless beings, not a single being is liberated.’
“And why not? Subhuti, a bodhisattva who creates the perception of a being cannot be called a ‘bodhisattva.’ And why not? Subhuti, no one can be called a bodhisattva who creates the perception of a self or who creates the perception of a being, a life, or a soul.”
CHAPTER THREE
THIS THEN IS WHAT BODHISATTVAS DO, which is also what buddhas do. They give the gift of liberation, which some accept, while others don’t. Their resolution, however, is to liberate all beings. Hence, bodhisattvas are patient in this practice, which is not limited by time or space or by perceptions of the mind. Here, the Buddha summarizes how bodhisattvas stand, walk, and control their thoughts, which they do by giving birth to a thought so completely altruistic it includes neither self nor other. Subhuti expected something different. Although he asked on behalf of those who would travel the bodhisattva path, his questions were those we might expect of a shravaka of the Lesser Path interested in moral discipline and meditation. But instead of telling us how to conduct our lives and our practice or how to control our thoughts, the Buddha tells us to give birth to a thought. The Buddha’s approach is homeopathic. He uses a thought to put an end to all thoughts. But to effect such a cure not just any thought will do. Only a thought directed towards the liberation of all beings will work. Thus, bodhisattvas turn their thoughts into offerings.
Chao-ming titles this: “The True Teaching of the Great Path.”
Hui-neng says, “This teaching is neither true nor false. This path is neither great nor small. Salvation and liberation depend on abilities. Choose among the different doctrines and hold up one for veneration. Thus follows a chapter on the true teaching of the Great Path.”
The Buddha said to him, “Subhuti, those who
would now set forth on the bodhisattva path should
thus give birth to this thought:
The bodhisattva path is the path of active, rather than passive, practice. Rather than advising us to suppress our thoughts, the Buddha preempts them. He advises bodhisattvas not to wait for thoughts to arise but to give birth to a thought that puts all other thoughts to flight, a thought like the morning sun that chases the myriad stars from the sky. The language used here suggests that this thought has been gestating within us for many lifetimes and it is now time to bring it forth, to give it life. Thus, this is the most important event in a bodhisattva’s career and what makes a bodhisattva a bodhisattva.
According to the Nirvana Sutra, “The mind that sets forth and the one that arrives are not different. But of the two, the former is beset by difficulties.” (38)
In the Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-five Thousand Lines, Subhuti asks the same question, and the Buddha answers, “Toward all beings maintain unbiased thoughts and speak unbiased words. Toward all beings give birth to thoughts and words of kindness instead of anger, compassion instead of harm, joy instead of jealousy, equanimity instead of prejudice, humility instead of arrogance, sincerity instead of deceit, compromise instead of stubbornness, assistance instead of avoidance, liberation instead of obstruction, kinship instead of animosity.” (48)
Tao-ch’uan says, “The Buddha answers, ‘To control your thoughts focus on the Mahayana.’”
Seng-chao says, “In the question, ‘control’ was mentioned last. Why then is it dealt with first? To ‘stand’ is more profound and to ‘control’ more superficial. Thus, although the more profound question is placed first, since control is more superficial and easier to practice, it is answered first. Questions and answers have a purpose and are not meaningless.”
Textual note: In place of this, Kumarajiva has chu-p’u-sa mo-ho-sa ying ju-shih chiang-fu ch’i-hsin (bodhisattvas should thus control their thoughts). Bodhiruci has chu-p’u-sa sheng ju-shih-hsin (bodhisattvas thus beget the thought), and Paramartha has juo shan-nan-tzu shan-nu-jen fa p’u-t’i-hsin, hsing p’u-sa-sheng, ying ju-shih fa hsin (if a noble son or daughter sets their mind on enlightenment and travels on the bodhisattva vehicle, they should thus beget the thought).
‘However many beings there are in whatever realms
of being might exist,
The bodhisattva’s journey does not end until all beings are liberated. But if this is to work, the category sattva (being) must be expanded to include all beings. The Buddha realizes that those who would travel the bodhisattva path have no way of knowing the full range of beings they have vowed to liberate. Hence, he lists the following categories to provide some useful parameters for such great resolve. These categories, however, are merely provisional and not meant to establish any real differences among the beings they characterize. Meanwhile, no matter how great their number, no matter how diverse they might be, the bodhi-sattva (bodhi-being) resolves to liberate them all.
Tzu-hsuan says, “The bodhisattva path is the greatest of all paths. If even one being is not liberated, it cannot be called great. Hence, this sutra includes all beings.”
Wang Jih-hsiu says, “A being is anything that lives, from the devas in the sky to the smallest insects. And though they are numberless and limitless, they are all included in the following nine categories.”
The Maha Prajnaparamita Shastra says, “Those who are created by the combination of the skandhas [form, sensation, perception, volition, and cognition] are called beings.”
Textual note: Kumarajiva, Paramartha, and Yi-ching have suo-yu yich’ieh chung-sheng-chih-lei (however many kinds of beings exist).
whether they are born from an egg or born from a
womb, born from the water or born from the air,
whether they have form or no form, whether they
have perception or no perception or neither
perception nor no perception,
In categorizing the myriad beings that result from ignorance and the operation of karma, the Buddha (and he was following traditional conceptions of his day) divides them according to their mode of birth as well as their possession or lack of any form or perception. In terms of birth, first are those who come from eggs. These range from great winged birds to lice. Next are those who are born from the womb. These include creatures as big as elephants and as small as mice. Next are those who are born from the water. These range from fishes and turtles to the tiniest pond creatures. And last are those who are born from the air. Ting Fu-pao says, “Those who are born from the air depend on nothing. The only thing they require for their birth is the force of karma. They include the devas of the various heavens and the sinners of the myriad hells as well as the beings at the beginning of every kalpa.” To this category also belong bodhisattvas.
Not only do these four means of birth remind us how life begins, they also remind us how ignorance and delusion begin, and they can also be seen as having a special relationship with the four perceptions mentioned at the end of this chapter. Viewed from this perspective, our self is born from an egg, our being from a womb, our life from water, and our soul from air. The four modes of birth are also related to the four stages of liberation discussed in Chapter Nine, which begin with the srota-apanna, who breaks out of the egg of the ego, and end with the arhan, whose soul is no longer subject to rebirth. Tsung-mi says, “The beginning of life is called birth. When it first begins, it is by one of these four means. But it is ignorance that is reborn. Thus, the Medicine Buddha Sutra says, ‘Break through the shell of ignorance.’”
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There is some difference of opinion among commentators as to the relationship of these four modes of birth to the categories of form and perception that follow. Some commentators think that all nine categories represent a single sequence in what Buddhists call the Three Realms, with the first four categories of birth belonging to the Realm of Desire and the two categories of form and the three categories of perception representing a progressive ascension through the meditative states of the realms of Form and Formlessness. Chiang Wei-nung, for example, says, “When Buddhist sutras divide beings into the Six States of Existence, it is to show their position on the wheel of rebirth. When they divide beings into the Three Realms, it is to show their position on the hierarchy of attainment as well as their dependence on desire and form. Here the Three Realms are not mentioned per se but are meant. And the Realm of Formlessness is given prominence because of its special characteristics.”