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1 The Sixth Patriarch’s Sutra 7:30pm Pacific time, USA September 12, 2014 lecture © as outlined by a Buddhist monk at 1777 Murchison Drive, Burlingame,

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Presentation on theme: "1 The Sixth Patriarch’s Sutra 7:30pm Pacific time, USA September 12, 2014 lecture © as outlined by a Buddhist monk at 1777 Murchison Drive, Burlingame,"— Presentation transcript:

1 1 The Sixth Patriarch’s Sutra 7:30pm Pacific time, USA September 12, 2014 lecture © as outlined by a Buddhist monk at 1777 Murchison Drive, Burlingame, California 94010, open to public (phone 650-6925912) (Listen ‘live’ or recorded audio explanations at www.wondrousdharma.org) Faith is the mother of merit and virtue Expedients and the mind Sudden & gradual [Subscribe to the free Dharma News at www.wondrousdharma.org]

2 2 Verse for opening a sutra Na Mwo Fundamental Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha (3x) Homage to the Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra (3x) The unsurpassed, deep, profound, subtle, wonderful Dharma, In a hundred thousand million eons, is difficult to encounter, Now that I’ve come to receive and hold it, within my sight and hearing, I vow to fathom the Thus Come One’s true and actual meaning. Exhortation to uphold the Dharma: 2 “At that time, the World Honored One arose serenely from samadhi and told Shariputra, “The wisdom of all the Buddhas is extremely profound and unlimited. The gateway to this wisdom is difficult to understand and difficult to enter. It cannot be known by any of the Sound Hearers or Pratyeka Buddhas. What is the reason? The Buddhas have, in the past, drawn near to countless hundreds of thousands of tens of thousands of millions of Buddhas, exhaustively practicing the unlimited dharmas of the Way of those Buddhas. They are forging ahead with courage and vigor and their names are known everywhere.”( The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra)

3 Reflection – Faith is the mother of merit and virtue Monday September 15, 2014 is the birthday of Buddha Burning Lamp; happy birthday Buddha Burning Lamp! Buddha Burning Lamp became a Buddha long before Prince Siddharta became Buddha Shakyamuni, yet all the teachings of the Buddhas begin with the Avatamsaka Sutra, and point towards and end with this wondrous mind of the Dharma Realm. Here is a verse from the Avatamsaka Sutra to encourage Buddhist disciples to go forward: Among the conducts of all worlds, … 3

4 Reflection – Faith is the mother of merit and virtue Among the conducts of all worlds, This faith alone is the one most rare and precious wish-fulfilling pearl. Profoundly we believe: trusting the Buddhas and the Buddhas’ Dharma, Treading the Bodhi-path forever followed by all true disciples. 4

5 Reflection – Faith is the mother of merit and virtue And to the great enlightenment our thoughts are joyfully inclined. The Bodhisattvas with this deep mind of faith produce the Bodhi mind! What is this wondrous mind of the Dharma Realm? Tune in to the next posting. 5

6 Q&A Question: I am rereading the Sixth Patriarch Sutra. On p. 53. the 5th Patriarch has his disciplines bow before the verse created by Shen Hsiu, then later tells him he has not since his original nature. Why would 5th Patriarch have the disciples bow to it if it was flawed? Answer: Bhikshu Shen Hsiu verse: The body is a Bodhi tree The mind like a bright mirror stand. Time and again brush it clean, And let no dust alight. 6

7 Q&A The (5 th ) Patriarch already knew that Shen Hsiu had not yet entered the gate and seen his own nature… … “There is no need to paint….The Diamond Sutra says, “Whatever has marks is empty and false.” “Instead leave this verse for people to recite and uphold. Those who cultivate in accordance with this verse will not fall into the evil destinies and will attain great benefit.” He then ordered the disciples to light incense and bow before it, and to recite it, thus enabling them to see their own nature. 7

8 Q&A The reason for the 5 th Patriarch teaching people to revere the ‘gradual teaching’ verse is because it is an expedient practice with respect to self disciplining of the mind as their understanding has not reached the stage of maturity of understanding the sudden teaching of seeing the self nature verse such as … Originally Bodhi has no tree, The bright mirror has no stand. Originally there is not a single thing: Where can the dust alight? Though ‘there is not a single thing’ yet if we discriminate against the gradual teaching, that itself is to create ‘a thing’. 8

9 Q&A Yet for those who truly understands seeing the self nature, they can and do practice the gradual teaching verse except that their practice now qualify for prajna paramita because in their minds … … they practice without any thought of practicing, … … they practice without any thought of attaining. That is when a beginner practices the 6 paramitas or the 8 noble paths, they do so with the notion of practicing, and attaining something. But now they understand this verse in the Heart Sutra… 9

10 Q&A “There is no suffering, no accumulating, no extinction, no way and no understanding and no attaining. Because nothing is attained the Bodhisattva through reliance on prajna paramita is unimpeded in his mind. Because there is no impediment, he is not afraid, and he leaves distorted dream thinking far behind.” The question is a similar in the case of 6 th Patriarch reprimanding the Bhikshu Fa Ta: “Confusion or enlightenment are in you. Loss or gain comes from yourself… 10

11 Q&A “If your mouth recites and your mind does not practice, the Sutra ‘turns’ you. When the mind is confused, the Dharma Flower turns it. The enlightened mind will turn the Dharma Flower. Reciting the Sutra so long without understanding Has made you an enemy with its meaning. Without a thought your recitation is right. With thought your recitation is wrong. 11

12 Q&A With no ‘with’ and no ‘without’ You may ride forever in the White Ox Cart.” Without a thought of attaching to the practice in the Shen Hsiu’s verse, your practice is right. With thought that you are practicing, then your practice is wrong. With no ‘with’ and no ‘without’; without making any discrimination against Shen Hsiu’s verse and the 6 th Patriarch’s verse and without any thought of attainment, You may ride forever in the White Ox Cart. 12

13 Q&A Then you move from practicing the 6 paramitas as a phenomenon in the beginning … … to practicing the 6 paramitas that accords with prajna paramita. 13

14 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: The Master said, “If I said that I had a dharma to give to others, I would be lying to you. I merely use expedients to untie bonds and falsely call that samadhi. Your master’s explanation of morality, concentration, and wisdom is truly inconceivably good but my conception of morality, concentration, and wisdom is different from his.” Comments: Is there something to give when our Buddha nature itself is complete and perfect? 14

15 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: The Master said, “If I said that I had a dharma to give to others, I would be lying to you. I merely use expedients to untie bonds and falsely call that samadhi. Your master’s explanation of morality, concentration, and wisdom is truly inconceivably good but my conception of morality, concentration, and wisdom is different from his.” Comments: The source of our confusion is attachments to self and dharmas; the Great Master uses skilful expedients to untie our bonds. When there is no self, there is stillness of mind (samadhi) 15

16 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: Chih Ch’eng said, “There can only be one kind of morality, concentration, and wisdom. How can there be a difference?” Comments: A louse living on a person’s head would think that the whole world is just the head; Chih Cheng has met a good knowing advisor but not has yet to meet a bright knowing advisor. 16

17 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: The Master said, “Your master’s morality, concentration, and wisdom guide those of the Great Vehicle, whereas my morality, concentration, and wisdom guide those of the Supreme Vehicle. Enlightenment is not the same as understanding; seeing may take place slowly or quickly. Comments: The Great Vehicle is about purifying the mind where there is dualities of purity and defilement; the Supreme Vehicle is to dwell in your original mind which is non dual and ultimately empty. Why? The original mind manifests the original Buddha nature. 17

18 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL All living beings discriminate falsely: ‘It is this’ or ‘It is that’, ‘It is advantageous’ or ‘It is disadvantageous’; They entertain evil thoughts, make various evil karmas and transmigrate within the six destinies; And they suffer all manner of miseries and cannot escape from there during infinite kotis of eons. (Sutra of Limitless Principles) 18

19 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: “Listen to my explanation. Is it the same as Shen Hsiu’s? The Dharma which I speak does not depart from the self-nature, for to depart from the self-nature in explaining the Dharma is to speak of marks and continually confuse the self-nature. You should know that the functions of the ten thousand dharmas all arise from the self-nature and that this is the true morality, concentration, and wisdom. Comments: The mind manifests our nature; a thought of a Bodhisattva manifests the Bodhisattva nature as … The enlightened nature of the true mind that understands is such that its understanding is perfect and complete. (Shurangama Sutra) 19

20 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL If people wish to fully understand, All Buddhas of the three periods of time, They should contemplate the nature of the Dharma realm, Everything is made from the mind alone. (Avatamsaka Sutra) 20

21 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: “Listen to my explanation. Is it the same as Shen Hsiu’s? The Dharma which I speak does not depart from the self-nature, for to depart from the self-nature in explaining the Dharma is to speak of marks and continually confuse the self-nature. You should know that the functions of the ten thousand dharmas all arise from the self-nature and that this is the true morality, concentration, and wisdom. Comments: Bodhisattva, if he wants to learn and master the principle of Limitless Principles, should observe that all dharmas were originally, will be, and are themselves empty in nature and form; they are neither great or small, neither appearing nor disappearing, neither fixed or movable and neither advancing nor retreating; and they are non-dualistic, just emptiness. (Sutra of Limitless Principles) 21

22 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: “Listen to my verse: Mind-ground without wrong: Self-nature morality. Mind-ground without delusion: Self-nature wisdom. Mind-ground without confusion: Self-nature concentration Comments: If people wish to fully understand, All Buddhas of the three periods of time, They should contemplate the nature of the Dharma realm, Everything is made from the mind alone. (Avatamsaka Sutra) 22

23 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: “Listen to my verse: Mind-ground without wrong: Self-nature morality. Mind-ground without delusion: Self-nature wisdom. Mind-ground without confusion: Self-nature concentration Comments: Put down the false mind and the true is already perfect and complete.. “Why don’t you wake up? The three carts are false, because they are preliminary. The one vehicle is real because it is the immediate present. You are merely taught to go from the false and return to the real. Once you have returned to reality, the real is also nameless. 23

24 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: “Listen to my verse: Neither increasing nor decreasing: You are vajra. Body comes, body goes: The original samadhi Comments: Neither increasing nor decreasing is the unmoving thusness; what moves is the false mind. Come and go freely without impediments in mind because you see everything as empty and unmoving. 24

25 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: “Listen to my verse: Neither increasing nor decreasing: You are vajra. Body comes, body goes: The original samadhi Comments: Neither increasing nor decreasing is the unmoving thusness; what moves is the false mind. Come and go freely without impediments in mind because you see everything as empty and unmoving. 25

26 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: “Hearing this verse, Chih Ch’eng regretted his former mistakes, and he expressed his gratitude by saying this verse: These five heaps are a body of illusion. And what is illusion, ultimately? Comments: The physical body is illusory; what is illusion is not real, it is false as it has no nature of its own and is impermanent. 26

27 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: “Hearing this verse, Chih Ch’eng regretted his former mistakes, and he expressed his gratitude by saying this verse: …If you tend toward True suchness The Dharma is not yet pure. Comments: Confusion about the original perfect understanding (wisdom) results in delusion, but this delusion has no essential nature of its own; it is based on nothing… 27

28 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL …One may wish to return to what is real, but to wish for the real is already a falsifiction. The true nature of the suchness of reality is not a reality that one can seek to return to. … … If one were to try to return to it, one would merely experience something that does not have the attribute of reality. (Shurangama Sutra) 28

29 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: The Master approved, and he said further to Chih Ch’eng, “Your Master’s morality, concentration, and wisdom exhort those of lesser faculties and lesser wisdom, while my morality, concentration, and wisdom exhort those of great faculties and great wisdom. Commentary: The teaching of the Buddha is given according to the dispositions and potentials of each individual. The Buddha himself in the one Buddha Vehicle, discriminate and spoke of three. The Great Master’s teaching is the final teaching of the Dharma Flower. 29

30 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: If you are enlightened to your self-nature, you do not set up in your mind the notion of Bodhi or of Nirvana or of the liberation of knowledge and vision. Commentary: The self-nature referred here is the original self nature that is like empty space; … … a thought is a dharma, a thing, and it is not the original mind. 30

31 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: When not a single dharma is established in the mind, then the ten thousand dharmas can be established there. To understand this principle is to achieve the Buddha’s body which is also called Bodhi, Nirvana, and the liberation of knowledge and vision as well. Commentary: “How unexpected! The self-nature can produce the then thousand dharmas.” 31

32 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: Those who see their own nature can establish dharmas in their minds or not establish them as they choose. They come and go freely, without impediments or obstacles. Commentary: Recognizing that everything is empty and returning to the original mind does not mean that we don’t give rise to wise thoughts when a situation calls for. When we are able to see our original nature, then our minds will not have any attachment to views, nor will it be swayed by views and appearances of other people and the environment. Wise thoughts are thoughts that accord with the conditions yet do not depart from the teachings of the Buddha. 32

33 Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL Sutra: They function correctly and speak appropriately, seeing all transformation bodies as integral with the self-nature. That is precisely the way they obtain independence, spiritual powers, and the samadhi of playfulness. This is what is called seeing the nature.” Commentary: Those who has seen their original nature, will see that external objects like other people are just part of the original mind; the perceiver and the perceived are not two… … having emptied people and emptied dharmas. And because of this liberation, are able to have spiritual powers and display the samadhi of playfulness. 33

34 34 Dedication of merit May every living beings, Our minds as one and radiant with light Share the fruits of peace, with hearts of goodness luminous and bright. If people hear and see, how hands and hearts can find in giving unity May their minds awake, to great compassion, wisdom and to joy. May kindness find reward; may all who sorrow leave their grief and pain; May this boundless light break the darkness of their endless night. Because our hearts are one, this world of pain turns into paradise; May all become compassionate and wise (2x)

35 Dedication of merit I vow that merit made from this deed will become, Adornments for the Pure Land of Bu-ddhas. Repaying the four kinds of kindness above, And aiding those in three paths below. May all who see and hear of this deed Bring forth the resolve to reborn In the Land of Ultimate Bliss. 35


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