by Red Pine
Tao-ch’uan says, “The seed from practicing charity without attachment is profound. The fruit from seeing the Tathagata without attributes is likewise profound.”
Textual note: Kumarajiva does not include the Buddha’s repetition of Subhuti’s question and for gunavantas shilavantas prajnavantas (capable, virtuous, and wise) has ch’ih-chieh hsiu-fu (keep the precepts and cultivate blessings). Kumarajiva also does not include bodhisattva mahasattva (fearless bodhisattvas) in the Buddha’s reply. Neither Paramartha, Dharmagupta, Hsuan-tsang, nor Yi-ching includes the final imeshu evanrupeshu sutranta-padeshu bhashyamaneshu bhuta-sanjna utpadayishyanti (who give birth to a perception of the truth of the words of a sutra such as that spoken here).
“Indeed, Subhuti, such fearless bodhisattvas will have
honored not just one buddha, and they will have
planted auspicious roots before not just one buddha.
Surely, Subhuti, such fearless bodhisattvas will have
honored countless hundreds and thousands of buddhas,
and they will have planted auspicious roots before
countless hundreds and thousands of buddhas.
Belief and understanding come from merit just as a fruit comes from a tree, which comes from a fruit, which comes from a tree. Belief and understanding do not fall from space but require careful cultivation of dharma seeds collected from countless buddhas over countless lifetimes. Shakyamuni, too, honored hundreds and thousands of buddhas in the course of his development as a bodhisattva. By honoring those who teach the Dharma, bodhisattvas eliminate inauspicious roots and add to their auspicious roots. The roots determine the nature and quality of the fruit. Roots include our abilities and habits of behavior, speech, and thought. Auspicious roots give birth to belief and understanding. Inauspicious roots give birth to disbelief and delusion. Thus, to believe and understand such a profound teaching as this, beings cannot plant just any seed, but a seed that puts forth the deepest of roots. And only bodhisattvas are capable of planting and cultivating such a seed. Subhuti asks about beings. The Buddha answers about bodhisattvas. Only bodhisattvas possess a body capable of bearing the weight of this teaching during the dharma-ending age. For having resolved to liberate all beings, bodhisattvas are not bound by time or space, but appear in all times and places, wherever there are beings in need of liberation. Thus, the lineage of bodhisattvas and buddhas is endless. This is the nature of their infinite body of merit.
In the Perfection of Wisdom in Seven Hundred Lines, the Buddha tells Manjushri, “If someone hears this dharma and is not startled and is not frightened, that person has planted auspicious roots not only before thousands of buddhas but has planted such roots before hundreds of thousands of millions of buddhas for an inconceivable length of time. Therefore they cannot be startled or frightened by the profundity of the perfection of wisdom.”
Hui-neng says, “Planting auspicious roots means honoring buddhas wholeheartedly and following their teachings, respecting and venerating bodhisattvas and teachers, masters and parents, elders and worthies and carrying out their instructions according to their wishes; being compassionate toward all impoverished and suffering beings, remaining free of disdain, and providing them with whatever they seek that is within one’s power. This is what is meant by ‘planting auspicious roots.’ Practicing accommodation and forbearance toward all evil beings and welcoming them with gladness and without opposing them so that they in turn become joyful and abandon their barren hearts: this is called planting auspicious roots. Not killing the six kinds of beings, or swindling or belittling them, or defaming or insulting them, or abusing or striking them, not eating their meat and always helping them: this is called planting ‘auspicious roots.’”
Wang Jih-hsiu says, “Planting auspicious roots means saying the name of a buddha with complete sincerity, whether holding up a stick of incense, or making a bow, or presenting an offering. All of these are called planting auspicious roots.”
Tao-ch’uan says, “Plant licorice for its sweetness. Plant yellow cork for its bitterness. The fruit you get depends on the seed.” [huang-lien (yellow cork) is the bitterest but one of the most effective of Chinese herbs]
Textual note: In the first line, Kumarajiva does not include paryupasita (honor), and at the end of the first sentence, Kumarajiva and Bodhiruci continue with er-fo, san, ssu, wu-fo (two, three, four, and five buddhas).
In the words of a sutra such as that spoken here,
they are sure to gain perfect clarity of mind.
The Tathagata knows them, Subhuti, by means
of his buddha knowledge. And the Tathagata sees
them, Subhuti, by means of his buddha vision.
The Tathagata is aware of them, Subhuti.
For they all produce and receive a measureless,
infinite body of merit.
The teaching of this sutra is so difficult to accept that those who hear it for the first time are likely to reject it. Only those who have set forth on the bodhisattva path are capable of such prasada (clarity), which is described here as ekacitta (of one mind). The same verb, pratilabh (gain), appears again in Chapter Twenty-eight near the end of the bodhisattva path, where bodhisattvas kshantim pratilabhate (gain an acceptance) of the selfless, birthless nature of all dharmas. The same word is also used elsewhere to describe the Buddha’s attainment of Enlightenment. Here, bodhisattvas are not yet capable of bearing or fully realizing the truth of such an insight, but they are capable of perceiving it. By means of such understanding, bodhisattvas receive the same body every buddha receives. And thus the Buddha knows and sees them. The Buddha says he “buddhas” (is aware of) them. For they share the same body.
In the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, the Buddha tells Subhuti, “A bodhisattva who practices this perfection of wisdom for a day or who aspires to do so for even a single moment is known to the tathagatas. How much more so those who cultivate such thoughts every day. What future awaits those thus known to the tathagatas? Their future is that of buddhahood and no further rebirth in lesser realms but only in the heavens and always in the presence of tathagatas.” (28)
Asanga says, “Because they kept the precepts and planted auspicious roots in past lives, their virtues and abilities matured before those buddhas.” (8) Asanga comments first on the virtue and capability of bodhisattvas who grasp this teaching.
Hui-neng says, “Those who believe believe the prajna-paramita can eliminate all troubles. They believe the prajna-paramita can achieve all transcendent virtues. They believe the prajna-paramita can give birth to all buddhas. They believe the buddha nature within their own bodies is essentially pure and spotless and no different from the nature shared by all buddhas. They believe the beings in the six states of existence essentially have no attributes. They believe all beings can become buddhas. This is what is meant by belief.”
Fu Hsi says, “When the roots of belief produce a thought, all buddhas become aware of it. When you cultivate a seed today, you harvest a fruit in the future.”
Seng-chao says, “To see a buddha and hear the dharma, your accumulation of merit must have taken place for a long time, only then can you believe.”
Chiang Wei-nung says, “The period between buddhas is extremely long, in fact countless kalpas. Obviously, someone who has planted auspicious roots before so many buddhas has cultivated prajna for a long time.”
Tao-ch’uan says, “A golden buddha can’t survive the furnace. A wooden buddha can’t survive the fire. And a clay buddha can’t survive the water. Listen to my song: ‘Three buddha statues and none of them is real / I see a boy then I meet a man / once people believe in their own jewels / birds will sing and flowers bloom in spring.’”
Textual note: Most Chinese translators interpret ekacitta prasadam api pratilapsyante (to gain perfect clarity of mind) as Kumarajiva does: naichih yi-nien sheng ching-hsin-che (to give birth to a single thought of pure faith). Müller has “will obtain one and the same faith,” and Conze has “will
find even one single thought of serene faith.” Hsuan-tsang and Yi-ching link the first sentence with the last sentence in the previous section: “because they have honored countless buddhas . . . upon hearing the words of this sutra, they will give birth to a thought of pure faith.” Neither Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, Paramartha, nor Yi-ching includes the phrases buddha-jnanena (by means of his buddha knowledge), buddha-cakshusha (by means of his buddha vision), or buddhas te subhute tathagatena (the Tathagata is aware of them, Subhuti).
“And how so? Because, Subhuti, these fearless
bodhisattvas do not create the perception of a self.
Nor do they create the perception of a being, a life,
or a soul. Nor, Subhuti, do these fearless bodhisattvas
create the perception of a dharma, much less
the perception of no dharma. Subhuti, they do not
create a perception nor no perception.
The reason their minds are clear is because they are free of perceptions. But while bodhisattvas are able to free themselves of these most basic of perceptions, the Buddha is concerned that in so doing they might become attached to the perception of their freedom from such perceptions, for Subhuti has just displayed this sort of attachment in his answer concerning the Buddha’s body.
According to Conze, belief in the reality of the first four perceptions (self, being, life, and soul) was common among members of other religious sects in ancient India, and belief in the reality of the last four (dharma, no dharma, perception, no perception) was common among members of the more idealistic and nihilistic sects of Buddhism. Bodhisattvas, meanwhile, produce and obtain an infinite body of merit because they are free of all such perceptions.
Asanga says, “Perceptions of a soul and dharma are extinguished. Thus do the wise dispatch all eight perceptions.” (9) Asanga now comments on the third of the three qualities (capable, virtuous, and wise) that make such belief possible. The eight perceptions are the four that include self, being, life, and soul and the four that concern the existence or non-existence of dharmas and perceptions. The next verse lists the first four of these, and the following verse lists the second four.
Asanga says, “Something that exists apart or something that lives on, something that concludes at death or something that’s reborn. The perception of a self is thus fourfold.” (10) The progression here is the same as that in the sutra: atman (self), sattva (being), jiva (life), pudgala (soul).
Asanga says, “Since none of them exist, non-existence does, nor can true existence be explained, except through words. The perception of a dharma is thus fourfold.” (11) Here, the progression and wording differ slightly from the sutra: no dharma, dharma, no perception, perception. Also, in place of asanjna (no perception) and sanjna (perception), Asanga has na-abhilapya (inexplicable) and abhilapya (explicable). Explaining Asanga’s logic here, Vasubandhu comments, “Because subjective and objective dharmas do not exist, the perception of a dharma does not arise. But if there is no perception of a dharma, the dharma that does not exist has no self-nature. Thus, its empty nature exists. And therefore, it is not no perception of a dharma. But why are only those possessed of wisdom discussed and not those possessed of morality and ability?”
Asanga says, “By the power of belief, they think this is true. They don’t grasp the sounds but what is truly said.” (12) Vasubandhu comments, “This is why he puts the wise last, for they alone can hear this sutra and gain perfect clarity of mind. And because they are possessed of wisdom, they grasp what isn’t said, which is the perception of its truth. Thus, they neither grasp dharmas nor no-dharmas.” To this, Kamalashila adds, “According to the highest truth, dharmas do not actually appear. Thus, there can be no perception of a dharma. And because they do not appear, they do not disappear. Thus, there can be no perception of no dharma. This tells us to realize that dharmas have no self-nature.”
Asanga says, “Not for their achievements but for their vows and wisdom do the buddhas know them. Those who seek high honors thus are here ignored.” (13)
Seng-chao says, “The non-existence of perceptions of dharmas makes it clear that dharmas do not exist and thus eliminates our attachment to existence. The non-existence of perceptions of no dharmas makes it clear that dharmas do not not exist and thus eliminates our attachment to non-existence.”
Tao-ch’uan says, “Perfect space is neither long nor short. Listen to my song: ‘Perception of a dharma, perception of no dharma / hands open then they close / floating clouds reveal blue sky / for a thousand miles Heaven looks the same.’”
Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Those of us on the path of Buddhist practice, because we have been practicing looking deeply, might have fewer erroneous views and our perceptions might be closer to being complete and true, but they are still perceptions.”
Textual note: For the different versions of the list of perceptions among Chinese translators, see my note at the end of Chapter Three. As elsewhere, Kumarajiva and Bodhiruci have hsiang (appearance) in place of hsiang (perception). Kumarajiva does not include the final sentence.
“And why not? Because, Subhuti, if these fearless
bodhisattvas created the perception of a dharma,
they would be attached to a self, a being, a life,
and a soul. Likewise, if they created the perception
of no dharma, they would be attached to a self,
a being, a life, and a soul.
Dharmas, too, can obstruct us, and not only dharmas but no dharmas as well. Here, the Buddha urges bodhisattvas to take the Middle Path between idealism (belief in dharmas) and nihilism (belief in no dharmas). Our belief in the reality of things is at the root of every problem. In the spatial dimension, we are attached to self and being. In the temporal dimension, we are attached to life and rebirth. In the conceptual dimension, we are attached to dharmas and no dharmas. If we can just get free of dharmas, as well as the absence or denial of dharmas, such perceptions as self or being become so much chaff in the wind. And only if we can get free of these, can we liberate others as well as ourselves.
Seng-chao says, “If they cling to form, to sound, to smell, or to other appearances of fundamental dharmas, they will also give birth to a self and so on.”
T’ai-neng says, “The presence of thought and absence of awareness is the world of mortals. The presence of thought and presence of awareness is the world of worthies. The absence of thought and presence of awareness is the world of sages. The wise can know something completely. But when it comes to talking about it, it’s hard to express.”
Huang-po says, “Buddhas and beings share one and the same mind. Otherwise they don’t differ. This mind has never had any form or characteristics. It has never been created. It has never been destroyed. Thus, it is right here. If you think about it, you miss it. It’s like the sky. It has no borders. Only this one mind is the buddha. Buddhas and beings aren’t different. However, beings are attached to seeking perceptions outside of themselves. But the more they seek, the more they get lost. They send a buddha to find a buddha. They use the mind to chase the mind. They can exhaust themselves for kalpas, but they’ll never succeed. They don’t realize that when they put an end to thoughts and reasoning, the buddha will appear before them. This mind is the buddha. The buddha is an ordinary being. When it’s an ordinary being, this mind doesn’t contract. When it’s a buddha, it doesn’t expand. When it meets conditions, it acts. When conditions end, it stops. It doesn’t need to be pinned down or realized. It is already perfect. If you aren’t willing to believe that this is the buddha, even if you cultivate for countless kalpas, you will never reach the Way. To cling to the perception of a dharma means that a dharma exists outside the mind. Hence, you are attached to perceptions. Whether you do evil or do good, you are attached to perceptions. When you do evil while attached to perceptions, you waste your rebirth. When you do good while attached to perceptions, you waste your hardships. Neither can compare with recognizing your own mind right now. Outside this mind, there are no dh
armas. This mind is the dharma. Outside this dharma, there is no mind. You can use the mind to eliminate the mind, but the mind still exists. And to cling to the perception of no dharmas means to allow perceptions of attachment and non-attachment, good and bad, mortal and sage to continue to exist.”
Conze says, “The reasoning here, though subtle, is quite intelligible: No separate dharma can possibly be perceived without a subjective act of perception taking place. ‘Perception’ comes from per-cap, and capio means ‘to take hold of, seize, grasp.’ But to seize on anything, either a dharma or a no-dharma, automatically involves an act of preference bound up with self-interest, self-assertion, and self-aggrandizement, and therefore unbecoming to the selfless.”
Textual note: As in the previous section, Kumarajiva and Bodhiruci have hsiang (appearance) for hsiang (perception). Paramartha does not include the final sentence.
“And why not? Because surely, Subhuti, fearless
bodhisattvas do not cling to a dharma, much less
to no dharma. This is the meaning behind the
Tathagata’s saying ‘A dharma teaching is like a raft.
If you should let go of dharmas, how much more