The Lankavatara Sutra
Page 21
504 Referring to views that attribute the origin of the world to a creator or to some form of matter, rather than to projection.
505 This last verse summarizes the views attributed to other paths which are still tied, whether they admit it or not, to the duality of dependent and imagined reality.
506 Section LVI. The Buddha presents the teaching that became the hallmark of Zen, that nonexistent projections and the personal realization of buddha knowledge are one and the same. This is the teaching of one path, the path that points directly to the mind.
507 Gunabadhra adds an extra “as for the personal realization of buddha knowledge and the one path” at this point. Since no other edition follows suit, I’ve deleted it.
508 Buddhists consider Brahma the ruler of the three realms, Brahmans consider him the creator of the world.
509 Shravakas seek to enter nirvana in order to put an end to the endless cycle of life and death. Bodhisattvas vow not to enter nirvana but rather to seek enlightenment and to liberate all beings.
510 Shikshananda has “obstruction of knowledge.”
511 Gunabhadra has pu-li fen-duan-szu (not free of karmic deaths), which most commentators think is a mistake for pu-li pien-yi-szu (not free of transformation deaths), as elsewhere in this sutra shravakas are said to be capable of transcending the former but not the latter. Bodhiruchi and Shikshananda try to avoid the problem with “have not yet attained imperceptible transformation deaths,” which is supported by the Sanskrit. I’ve decided to stick with Gunabhadra’s translation, as karmic deaths are based on the habit-energy of karma, which has not yet been eliminated. Hence, to speak of transformation deaths would be premature.
512 Bodhiruchi has “one path.” Apparently a mistake.
513 This is my translation of wu-lou (Sanskrit anasrava), no outflow, no misery, free from impurity. Normally this is a positive term, but note the view expressed in verse 6, whereby one must transcend even affliction-free realms.
514 The normal definition of the three paths is one for shravakas, one for pratyeka-buddhas, and one for bodhisattvas. Here, the gods of the various pure heavens along with Brahma get their own path, while all Hinayana practitioners are lumped together, as are all followers of the Mayahana.
515 The normal referents of the three liberations are emptiness, formlessness, and intentionlessness. Here, the three paths are apparently meant. In any case, whether paths or liberations, none includes a self.
516 Passion and knowledge are the two obstructions.
517 After yu-hsi-fan-nao (remaining habit-energy passion), Gunabhadra’s translation has yu (foolish), which is apparently a copyist error for the graphically similar hsun (influence/force), which is what Bodhiruchi has. Thus, the meaning is that the influence of the habit-energy of the passions remains active, even though the passions themselves have been suppressed.
CHAPTER THREE:
MORE QUESTIONS1
LVII2
The Bhagavan then told Mahamati Bodhisattva, “I will now tell you the different characteristics common to the projection body. Listen carefully and ponder this well.”
Mahamati said, “Wonderful, Bhagavan. May we be so instructed.”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “There are three kinds of projection bodies. And what are the three kinds? They are the projection body that experiences the bliss of samadhi, the projection body that realizes the essential nature of dharmas, and the projection body whose natural state is motionless. Once practitioners reach the first stage, they will obtain these three bodies as they progress through the subsequent stages.
“Mahamati, what is the projection body that experiences the bliss of samadhi? When those at the third, fourth, and fifth stages experience the bliss of samadhi, their myriad thoughts become still. Though they dwell in the ocean of the mind, the waves of consciousness cease,3 and they realize that whatever they perceive is nothing but their own mind and does not exist by itself. This is what is meant by the projection body that experiences the bliss of samadhi.
“Mahamati, what is the projection body that realizes the essential nature of dharmas? When those at the eighth stage contemplate and understand that all dharmas are illusory and devoid of anything real, they experience a transformation of mind and body and attain the Samadhi of the Illusory. And while in this and other samadhis, they are adorned with the powers, masteries, and knowledge of limitless forms that unfold like flowers as fast as their thoughts. But like illusions or dreams or moonlight on the water or reflections in a mirror, they are not created of or by material elements, though they might seem to be. With their every limb thus adorned by all manner of attributes, they enter the buddha assemblies of every land, where they become versed in the nature of dharmas. This is what is meant by the projection body that realizes the essential nature of dharmas.4
“Mahamati, what is the projection body whose natural state is motionless? The realization that the characteristics of all the teachings of all the buddhas are based on the bliss of personal attainment, this is what is meant by the projection body whose natural state is motionless. Mahamati, the contemplation and understanding of the characteristics of these three bodies are something you should cultivate.”
The Buddha then repeated the meaning of this in verse:
1. “My path is not a great path / nor is it instruction or words / nor is it truth or liberation / nor is it a realm of nothingness
2. The path of the Mahayana / includes the power of samadhi / different projection bodies / adornments of self-mastery.”
LVII6
Mahamati Bodhisattva then asked the Buddha, “Bhagavan, the Bhagavan has said that a man or woman who commits the five avici deeds7 does not fall into Avici Hell.8 Bhagavan, how is it that a man or woman who commits the five avici deeds does not fall into Avici Hell?”9
The Buddha told Mahamati, “Listen carefully and ponder this well, and I will tell you.”
Mahamati said, “Wonderful, Bhagavan. May we be so instructed.”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “What are the five avici deeds? They are killing one’s father or one’s mother, killing an arhat, disrupting the sangha, and maliciously drawing the blood of a buddha.
“Mahamati, what is the mother of every being? It is desire and joy together with the thirst to be reborn, on which one depends as if on one’s mother. And ignorance is the father by means of which one is born into the village of the senses. Severing these two roots is what is meant by killing one’s mother and one’s father.10
“And when the passions that lie hidden, like plague-infected rats, are exterminated, this is what is meant by killing an arhat.11
“And what is meant by disrupting the sangha? When the assembly of different characteristics that form the skandhas is utterly destroyed, this is what is meant by disrupting the sangha.
“Mahamati, because the body of the seven forms of consciousness12 is unaware that external characteristics, be they individual or shared, are nothing but perceptions of one’s own mind, one uses the merciless purity of the three liberations 13 to behead the buddha of the seven forms of consciousness once and for all. This is what is meant by maliciously drawing the blood of a buddha. Mahamati, any man or woman who commits such deeds, namely, the five unrelenting deeds, are themselves called ‘unrelenting.’14
“Moreover, Mahamati, I will now tell you about the external avici deeds, so that once you and the other bodhisattvas have heard this, you will not be prone to foolishness in the future. And what are these avici deeds? They are the five avici deeds I first spoke of. Anyone who commits these cannot attain any of the three liberations. But aside from such avici deeds as these, there are also avici deeds manifested by spiritual power. This refers to the spiritual power of shravakas, the spiritual power of bodhisattvas, and the spiritual power of tathagatas, who use their powers of transformation to manifest avici deeds in order to encourage others who commit avici crimes to put an end to their transgressions.15
“However, those who keep committing avic
i deeds cannot avoid what is unrelenting. 16 Only if they become aware that these are nothing but perceptions of their own mind, and they abandon projections of a body and what belongs to a body and attachments to a self and what belongs to a self, or they eventually meet a good friend, can they escape their projections of continuity in another existence.”
The Buddha then repeated the meaning of this in verse:
1. “Desire is the mother / ignorance is the father / the buddha is consciousness of objective realms / passions are the arhats
2. And the skandhas are the sangha / who is unrelenting in their extermination / who commits these five avici deeds / doesn’t enter Avici Hell.”
LIX17
Mahamati once more asked the Buddha, “Bhagavan, please tell us about a buddha’s awareness. Bhagavan, what constitutes a buddha’s awareness?”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “It consists in realizing that there is no self in beings or things, in understanding the two obstructions,18 in transcending the two kinds of death,19 and in putting an end to the two kinds of affliction.20 This is what is meant by the awareness of a buddha. Those shravakas and pratyeka-buddhas capable of this are also called buddhas. This is the reason I teach one path.”21
The Buddha then repeated the meaning of this in verse:
1. “Knowing the two kinds of no-self / ending the two obstructions and afflictions / transcending forever the two kinds of death / such is the awareness of buddhas:”
LX22
Mahamati then asked the Buddha, “Bhagavan, why did the Bhagavan proclaim to the assembly, ‘I am all buddhas of the past’?23 Or why in recounting the hundreds of thousands of tales about his previous lives24 did he say, ‘I was once King Mandhatri,25 a six-tusked elephant, a parrot, Shakra,26 and Sunetra’?”27
The Buddha told Mahamati, “It was because of the four uniformities that the Tathagata, the Arhat, the Fully Enlightened One proclaimed to the assembly, ‘I was once Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Kashyapa Buddha.’28 And what are the four uniformities? They are the uniformity of syllables, the uniformity of voices, the uniformity of teachings, and the uniformity of bodies.29 These are the four uniformities. It was on the basis of these four uniformities that the Tathagata, the Arhat, the Fully Enlightened One made such a proclamation to the assembly.
“And what is meant by the uniformity of syllables?30 This means that whatever syllables are used in calling me a buddha, those syllables are also used in calling all tathagatas buddhas. The essential nature of the syllables doesn’t differ. This is what is meant by the uniformity of syllables.
“And what is meant by the uniformity of voices? This means that the sixty-four transcendent sounds31 that characterize my voice, those sixty-four transcendent sounds likewise characterize the voices of all tathagatas, arhats, and fully enlightened ones and are neither more nor fewer nor different than the transcendent sounds of the kalavinka.32
“And what is meant by the uniformity of bodies? This means that there are no differences among the dharma bodies or among the marks and attributes of the physical bodies of myself and other buddhas. It is only in order to instruct beings in different realms that we appear in different guises.33 This is what is meant by the uniformity of bodies.
“And what is meant by the uniformity of teachings? This refers to teachings regarding the thirty-seven elements of awareness attained by myself and other buddhas. 34 In short, we all speak the Dharma with unobstructed wisdom.35
“This is what is meant by the four uniformities. And this is why the Tathagata, the Arhat, the Fully Enlightened One made such a proclamation to the assembly.”
The Buddha then repeated the meaning of this in verse:
1. “Kashyapa and Krakucchanda / Kanakumuni was I as well / by means of these four uniformities / I teach all bodhisattvas.”
LXI36
Mahamati once more asked the Buddha: “The Bhagavan has said, ‘From the night I attained perfect enlightenment until the night I enter nirvana,37 between the two, I do not speak, nor have I spoken, nor will I speak a single word, for not speaking is how a buddha speaks.’ Bhagavan, why does the Tathagata, the Arhat, the Fully Enlightened One say ‘not speaking is how a buddha speaks’?”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “It is because of two truths that I make such a statement as this. And which two? They are the truth that depends on personal realization and the ever-present truth.38 These are the two truths. It is because of these two truths that I make such a statement.
“And what do I mean by the truth that depends on personal realization? Whatever other tathagatas realize, I also realize, nothing more, nothing less. But the ultimate realm of the truth that depends on personal realization is beyond explanations or distinctions and beyond dualistic terms.
“And what do I mean by the ever-present truth? This refers to the way of the ancient sages. The Dharma Realm39 is ever-present, like the nature of gold or silver. Whether a tathagata appears in the world or does not appear in the world, the Dharma Realm is ever-present. It is like a road that leads to a city. Imagine a man walking in the wilderness who sees this straight and level road leading toward an ancient city and follows it to that city, where he enjoys whatever he desires. Mahamati, what do you think? Did he make the road or that city’s delights?”
Mahamati answered, “No.”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “The ever-present Dharma Realm of myself and all buddhas of the past is also like this. This is the reason I say that from the night of my enlightenment until I enter nirvana, between the two, I do not speak, nor have I spoken, nor will I speak a single word.”
The Bhagavan then repeated the meaning of this in verse:
1. “From the night of my enlightenment / until the night of my nirvana / between these two events / I speak not a word
2. Based on the self-realized and ever-present truths / I therefore make this proclamation / all buddhas and myself / in nothing do we differ.”
LXII40
Mahamati once more asked the Buddha, “Bhagavan, please explain what characterizes the existence and nonexistence41 of things so that once I and the other bodhisattvas get free of the characteristics of existence and nonexistence, we might quickly attain unexcelled, complete enlightenment.”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “Listen carefully and ponder it well, and I will tell you.”
Mahamati replied, “Wonderful, Bhagavan. May we be so instructed.”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “There are two things people in this world depend on. They depend on existence and on nonexistence. And as they fall prey to existence and to nonexistence, they try to imagine escape where there is no escape.
“Mahamati, how do the people of this world depend on existence? They think the world arises from causes and conditions that exist and it does not do so in their absence. It arises from existence. It does not arise from nonexistence. Anyone who would claim that,42 Mahamati, says the world has no cause.43
“And how, Mahamati, does the world depend on what does not exist? Once people think of desire, anger, and delusion as existing, they imagine the nonexistence of desire, anger, and delusion, that by not perceiving their existence, Mahamati, the characteristics of their existence become still. Therefore, they think because they don’t perceive the existence of desire, anger, and delusion among tathagatas, shravakas, or pratyeka-buddhas, they exist then don’t exist.44
“Mahamati, which of these are nihilists?”45
Mahamati replied, “Bhagavan, those who perceive the existence of desire, anger, and delusion then don’t perceive it.”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “Well said. It is as you understand, Mahamati. Not only are they nihilists in regard to the existence and nonexistence of desire, anger, and delusion, they are also nihilists in regard to shravakas, pratyeka-buddhas, and tathagatas. And how so? Because afflictions cannot be seen internally or externally, and because their existence is different and not different.46 Mahamati, desire, anger, and delusion cannot be seen internally or externally because desire,
anger, and delusion have no substance and because there is nothing to see.
“It is not tathagatas, shravakas, or pratyeka-buddhas who are nihilists. The essential nature of tathagatas, shravakas, and pratyeka-buddhas is liberation because neither bondage nor the cause of bondage exist. Mahamati, if bondage existed, the cause of such bondage would be bondage. Mahamati, nihilists who speak like this are referring to what has no appearance.
“Mahamati, this is why I say it is better to believe in a self as big as Mount Sumeru than to give rise to the vain and empty view of nothingness. Mahamati, the vanity of nothingness is what characterizes nihilists. Falling prey to views and longings regarding individual or shared characteristics,47 they don’t realize these are nothing but the perceptions of their own minds. Meanwhile, they see external existence as impermanent, as disappearing from one moment to the next, and the continuity of the skandhas, the dhatus, and the ayatanas as passing away. And they imagine this is ‘what transcends speech and words.’ But this is what is meant by ‘nihilism.’”
The Buddha then repeated the meaning of this in verse:
1. “The extremes of existence and nonexistence / these are realms of the mind / who purifies these realms / stills their entire mind
2. When external realms are not perceived / their cessation does not mean nothingness / everything is real / as it is in the realm of sages
3. Things not existing then arising / or having arisen then ceasing / or existing or not due to causes / these have no place in my teaching