by Red Pine
Sheng-yi says, “And why not? Because they have no perception of a self, they aren’t subject to life and death. And they have no perception of a being that is subject to the myriad passions and tribulations. And they have no perception of a life that might be long or short. And they have no perception of another human rebirth composed however briefly of the four elements.”
Hui-neng says, “If someone can believe and understand this profound Prajnaparamita Sutra, such a person has no perception of a self, a being, a life, or a rebirth. To be free of these four perceptions is called a perception of the truth. This is the buddha mind. Thus, it is said that those who are free of all perceptions are called buddhas.”
Tao-ch’uan says, “This mind bends to no one. This face shows no shame. Listen to my song: ‘Old bamboo sends forth shoots / flowers bloom on ancient limbs / rain drives a traveler on / wind blows a boat to port / bamboo can’t keep water out / the peaks can’t hold down clouds.’”
Textual note: Instead of khalu punar (moreover), Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, Hsuan-tsang, and Yi-ching begin this section with ho-yi-ku (and why). The list of beliefs varies among translators as noted previously. The sentence na api tesham kacit sanjna na asanjna pravartate (they shall neither create a perception nor no perception) is missing in all Chinese translations as well as in the Gilgit Sanskrit edition and the Tibetan. It is, however, present in all Chinese editions, except that of Kumarajiva, where it occurs earlier in Chapter Six. Also, the Gilgit edition does not include the rhetorical question and answer that follow the above statement.
This having been said, the Buddha told the venerable
Subhuti, “So it is, Subhuti. So it is. Those beings shall
be most remarkably blessed, Subhuti, who are not
alarmed, not frightened, and not distressed by what
is said in this sutra. And how so? Subhuti, what the
Tathagata proclaims as the best of perfections is,
in truth, no perfection. Moreover, Subhuti, what the
Tathagata proclaims as the best of perfections is also
proclaimed by countless buddhas and bhagavans.
Thus is it called the ‘best of perfections.’
The Buddha does not praise Subhuti’s last statements, only his first, as he expands on Subhuti’s explanation of why beings in the future will be able to believe and practice this teaching. Instead of stressing freedom from perceptions, as Subhuti does, the Buddha stresses freedom from fear, the absence of the psychological or emotional trauma from believing a doctrine that turns out to be devoid of any doctrine and that the Buddha calls the best of doctrines. Everyone relies on some sort of teaching. But the best of teachings taught by all buddhas deprives those who would follow it of any teaching at all. At the same time, the Buddha’s statement exposes the relative value of all teachings, including his own. This teaching first strips away the self of ordinary people. It then strips away the dharmas of beginning practitioners. Finally, it strips away the emptiness of arhans. Each of these is a terrifying experience. How can we not have a self? How can there not be dharmas to cultivate? What is left if emptiness is empty? Can such a teaching be taught by anyone other than a buddha? Or practiced by anyone other than a bodhisattva?
The Heart Sutra says, “Because there are no obstructions, there is no fear.”
Vasubandhu says, “If great bodhisattvas engage in painful practices, does this not lead to painful rewards? And why doesn’t it? The following verses are intended to eliminate this difficulty.”
Asanga says, “The strength to endure ascetic ways, to regard such ways as good, such merit has no measure. Thus is it called ‘best.’ (26) Vasubandhu comments, “Even if one engages in an ascetic practice that proves painful, because it is practiced with forbearance, it is called ‘best.’”
Yin-shun says, “Because beings are confused by their everyday concocted views, when they hear about ultimate emptiness, they can’t help feel alarmed and frightened. Disciples of other religions are afraid it will upset their supreme deity. Philosophers are afraid it will destroy their materialistic or nonmaterialistic conceptions. And students of Buddhism are afraid that if the wheel of rebirth stops they will have no place to stand. Thus the Maha Prajnaparamita Shastra says, ‘When the five hundred sects hear about ultimate emptiness, it’s like a knife in their hearts.’”
Seng-chao says, “On hearing about prajna, those who follow the Mahayana do not tremble and hence are not alarmed. On thinking about prajna, those who follow the Mahayana believe and do not doubt and hence are not frightened. On cultivating prajna, those who follow the Mahayana practice according to the teaching and do not criticize it and hence are not distressed.”
Ch’en Hsiung says, “Because they aren’t alarmed, they have no doubts. Because they aren’t frightened, they have no fears. Because they aren’t distressed, they don’t retreat.”
Hui-neng says, “Shravakas have long been attached to the perception of dharmas and cling to explanations about what is created. They don’t understand that all dharmas are basically empty and that all words are temporary expedients. Suddenly, they hear this profound sutra teaching that all forms do not exist and that buddhahood is instantaneous. Naturally, they are alarmed and frightened. Only those bodhisattvas with deep roots can hear this truth and gladly accept it without becoming distressed. Such people are remarkable indeed.”
Fu Hsi says, “Those able to give birth to such a thought should understand the dialectic: nirvana has no form, and enlightenment has no cause; there is no path or person who walks it; self and dharmas are both renounced. If you want to reach the realm of the truth, you need to find the source.”
The Lotus Sutra says, “We only use expedient names to lead beings to enter the gate and see their own nature. This is called the supreme perfection. Thus, you should know that expedient names are like yellow leaves that stand for gold. They stop children from crying. When followers of the Two Vehicles (shravakas and pratyekas) hear such a name, they think it is real and cling to it in their practice. Those who want to leave sansara do not yet realize there is no sansara to leave.” (quoted by Hung-lien)
Tao-ch’uan says, “It all has to do with yourself. My song goes: ‘A hair swallows the ocean / a seed contains Mount Sumeru / the whole wheel of the jasper sky / and all the light in every direction / those who stand on their own land / see no north, south, east or west.’”
Textual note: The Stein edition and the Khotanese translation summarize this section considerably. Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, and Yi-ching do not include evam ukte (this having been said). Paramartha inflates paramaashcarya (remarkable) into tse yu wu-shang-chih-fa er kung hsiang-ying (in accord with the highest and most remarkable truth), which he also does earlier in this chapter. After parama-paramita iyam subhute tathagaten bhashita yad uta aparamita (what the Tathagata proclaims is the best of perfections is no perfection)—the negative part of which is not present in the Gilgit edition—Kumarajiva has shih ming ti-yi po-lo-mi (thus is it called the “best of perfections”). Hsuan-tsang moves this to the end of the paragraph but has po-juo po-lo-mi-to (perfection of wisdom) for parama-paramita (best of perfections). Neither the Gilgit edition nor Yi-ching has aparamita (no perfection). Kumarajiva does not include the penultimate sentence: yam ca subhute tathagatah parama-paramitan bhashate tam aparamana api buddha bhagavanto bhashante (moreover, Subhuti, what the Tathagata proclaims as the best of perfections is also proclaimed by countless buddhas and bhagavans).
“So, too, Subhuti, is the Tathagata’s perfection of forbearance no perfection.
The Buddha is concerned that Subhuti’s understanding of this teaching begins and ends with prajna. But prajna does not exist in isolation and cannot be practiced without practicing the other perfections. In this sutra, the Buddha focuses on three of the Six Perfections, namely, those that counteract the Three Poisons: the perfection of charity, which counteracts the poison of desire, the perfection of wisdom, which destroys the poison of delusion, and the perfection of f
orbearance, which eliminates the poison of anger. Although this sutra only mentions these three by name, each is closely related to the other perfections: charity with morality, forbearance with vigor, and wisdom with meditation. Thus, by focusing on these three, the sutra provides instruction in all six. The reason the Buddha mentions forbearance here is that without it bodhisattvas will not be able to endure what is the most traumatic teaching they will ever experience or know.
Yin-shun says, “There are three kinds of forbearance: forbearing the suffering of human affairs is called ‘existential forbearance’; forbearing the physical and mental suffering from illness and exhaustion as well as the suffering from wind and rain, heat and cold is called ‘material forbearance’; and forbearing the birthless nature of all dharmas is called ‘forbearance of birthlessness.’ The forbearance of birthlessness is the practice of prajna wisdom.”
Textual note: Neither Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, nor Yi-ching includes api tu khalu punar (so, too). At the end of this section, Hsuan-tsang has shih-ku ju-lai shuo-ming jen-ju po-lo-mi-to (thus does the Tathagata speak of the perfection of forbearance).
And how so? Subhuti, when King Kali cut off my
limbs, my ears and nose, and my flesh, at that moment
I had no perception of a self, a being, a life, or a soul.
I had neither a perception nor no perception.
King Kali once went hunting accompanied by his harem of concubines. After pausing to eat lunch, the king lay down and took a nap, while the women wandered into the forest to gather flowers. Eventually, they came upon the place where the ascetic Kshanti was sitting in meditation. They were so overcome by his serenity, they laid their flowers before him as an offering. Kshanti then proceeded to talk to them about things they had never heard and about which they were eager to learn more. On waking, the king went looking for his concubines, and when he saw them sitting before an ascetic, he flew into a rage. When Kshanti tried to explain that he was teaching them about forbearance, the King decided to test Kshanti and proceeded to cut off his hands, then his feet, and finally his ears and nose. When the king saw that Kshanti remained unmoved, he realized the cruelty of what he had done and asked Kshanti’s forgiveness. Kshanti said he was not angry and there was no need to ask for forgiveness. The king asked Kshanti to prove that he wasn’t angry. Kshanti said, “If there is no anger in my heart, may my body be restored to its original condition.” And as a result of the merit Kshanti had accumulated over many lifetimes, his body was instantly restored. He then told the king, “You have just used the sword of delusion to cut off the parts of my body. When I attain buddhahood, I shall use the sword of wisdom to cut off your passions.” (Nirvana Sutra: 31) Kshanti was a previous incarnation of Shakyamuni, and King Kali was reborn as Kaundinya, the Buddha’s first disciple.
The word kali in Sanskrit means “strife,” as in the expression kali-yuga (age of strife), which is, according to Hindu mythology, the final age in this present kalpa. Kali is also the son of Krodha, whose name means “anger.” The name is also given to the wife of Shiva, the Hindu personification of destruction. Hence, the choice here is intended to emphasize the forbearance of what upsets us the most: losing what we love and meeting what we hate. The word kshanti, meanwhile, means “forbearance” and is also the name of the third of the Six Perfections.
Textual note: I have gone along with the suggestion by Edgerton and others and read kali-rajan (King Kali) for the text’s kalinga-rajan (King of Kalinga). Kumarajiva does not include pratyanga mansani (my ears and nose, and my flesh) or the final na api me kacit sanjna va asanjna va babhuva (I had neither a perception nor no perception). This last sentence is also absent in the Gilgit edition.
And why not? At that moment, Subhuti, if I had
had the perception of a self, at that moment I would
have also had the perception of anger. Or if I had
had the perception of a being, the perception of
a life, or the perception of a soul, at that moment
I would have had the perception of anger.
The Buddha now explains why it is essential to be free of perceptions. Perceptions turn the wheel. The poison of delusion gives birth to the poisons of desire and anger, which in turn give birth to further delusions. It is delusion that blocks our path to buddhahood. And yet freedom from perceptions is still not the defining attribute of buddhas or bodhisattvas. If it were, rocks would be fully-enlightened ones.
Asanga says, “No suffering is found where thoughts of self or anger don’t exist. Where there’s joy and mercy, practice bears no bitter fruit.” (27) Vasubandhu comments, “Not only is there no suffering, joy and compassion appear instead. When the sutra says, ‘I neither had a perception nor no perception,’ what is meant by ‘nor no perception’ is a perception connected to compassion.”
Seng-chao says, “The king here is the mind, which uses the sword of wisdom to cut through the body of delusion and passion.” Seng-chao was Kumarajiva’s most prominent disciple and the author of the first Chinese commentary to this sutra. Later, as he himself awaited the executioner’s blade, he wrote this final gatha: “The fivefold body doesn’t exist / the four elements all are empty / my head waits below a bright blade / suddenly a gust of spring wind blows.”
Yuan-wu says, “All those who would teach others should interact with kindness and compassion, softness and compromise, and dwell in equanimity and concord. If others treat you with evil words or looks or with unjust behavior or with insults and slander, you need only step back and reflect. In time, even demons vanish. Once you cross swords and respond with words of ill, when will it ever end?”
Cold Mountain says, “Anger is a fire in the mind / it can destroy a forest of merit / if you travel the bodhisattva path / forbearance keeps anger away.” (The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain: 89)
Tao-ch’uan says, “The wise don’t curse fools. My song goes: ‘Like cutting through water / like blowing it away / light comes and darkness goes / what is it that doesn’t matter / King Kali / King Kali / who knows the distant mist and waves / has a different strategy.’”
Textual note: Neither Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, Paramartha, nor Yi-ching includes the initial vyapada-sanjna me tasmin samaye abhavishyat (at that moment I would have had a perception of anger). Most of the first sentence and all of the second sentence are missing in the Gilgit edition. Schopen renders what remains: “Nor, moreover, could there have been a conception of injury for me at that time.”
And how so? Subhuti, I recall the five hundred
lifetimes I was the mendicant Kshanti, and during
that time I had no perception of a self. Nor did
I have the perception of a being, the perception
of a life, or the perception of a soul.
Therefore, Subhuti, fearless bodhisattvas should
get rid of all perceptions in giving birth to the
thought of unexcelled, perfect enlightenment.
They should not give birth to a thought attached
to a sight, nor should they give birth to a thought
attached to a sound, a smell, a taste, a touch, or
a dharma. They should not give birth to a thought
attached to a dharma, nor should they give birth to
a thought attached to no dharma. They should not
give birth to a thought attached to anything.
And why not? Every attachment is no attachment.
Thus, the Tathagata says that bodhisattvas should
give gifts without being attached. They should give
gifts without being attached to a sight, a sound,
a smell, a taste, a touch, or a dharma.
Will power alone cannot succeed in suppressing the poison of anger much less the perceptions of self or being that give birth to anger. Nor can an understanding of the doctrine of emptiness help. Such an ability is only possible through the cultivation of the perfections of wisdom, forbearance, and charity (and their counterparts of morality, vi
gor, and meditation). Again, the Buddha is reminding Subhuti that freedom from perception is not the goal but the means. The goal is liberation of all beings. Only by resolving to liberate all beings can bodhisattvas truly free themselves of the perception of being. And only when they are free of the perception of being can bodhisattvas liberate beings. Around this seeming contradiction turns this teaching.
Asanga says, “Produce the thought, don’t let it go, and hold it ever fast: the virtue of forbearance, expedience of the mind.” (28) Vasubandhu comments, “If someone doesn’t eliminate the perception of a self, when they encounter suffering in their practice, they might consider giving up the thought of enlightenment. Thus, they should let go of all perceptions. Further, if someone does not give birth to the thought of enlightenment, they will experience this fault and give birth to anger.”
Asanga says, “Right practice helps other beings. See this as the cause. But look beyond appearances of beings and of objects.” (29) Vasubandhu comments, “How does one give birth to the practice of helping beings and at the same time eliminate the attachment to helping beings? Only “right practice” (pratipatti) can serve as the cause of helping beings. One helps beings without clinging to any appearance of beings.”
Sheng-yi says, “Perhaps someone might wonder how an ascetic meditating in the forest can suddenly see through the concepts of self, being, life, and soul. The Bhagavan replies that before the time of King Kali he had spent five hundred lifetimes as the mendicant Kshanti and had realized the forbearance of birthlessness. Thus, for him such concepts did not exist.”