Ananda regrets excessive learning and requests samadhi

B2 Text proper.
C1 A complete explanation of the wonderful samadhi for accomplishing Buddhahood.
D1 Ananda requests samadhi.
E1 He regrets excessive learning and requests samadhi.

Sutra:

Ananda saw the Buddha, bowed, and wept sorrowfully, regretting that from time without beginning he had been preoccupied with erudition and had not yet perfected his strength in the Way. He respectfully and repeatedly requested an explanation of the very first expedients of the wonderful shamatha, samapatti, and dhyana, by means of which the Tathagatas of the ten directions had realized Bodhi.

Commentary:

Manjushri Bodhisattva had used the Shurangama Mantra to rescue Ananda, and after a time on the road, during which a gentle breeze probably sprang up, brushing softly against their faces and bringing Ananda awake from his dream, they reached the Jeta Grove.

Ananda saw the Buddha, bowed, and wept sorrowfully. His grief was extreme. Sorrow welled up from deep within him and he wept silently, out of remorse. The finest word in this section of text is the word regretting, because it indicates that Ananda had awakened. If he hadn’t been regretful, then upon returning to the Jeta Grove he still would not have been able to be honest about what had happened. He would have returned to where the Buddha was and acted as if nothing had happened. He would have put on a front. The very best thing about Ananda was that he didn’t put on a front. He came back, faced the Buddha and bowed, without any pretences, because he knew he had to correct his errors and change his ways. He wanted the Buddha to teach him new paths. Because of this, he was able later to realize enlightenment.

From time without beginning means not just this time in this present life, but many lives, many eons past, from the time Ananda very first became a person. No one could say when that was, so it is referred to as time without beginning.

He had been preoccupied with erudition. Life after life, time after time he had concentrated on his studies, so that he had developed “great learning and strong memory”; but he had neglected to develop, had not yet perfected his strength in the Way, that is his samadhi-power. His samadhi-power was very meager, extremely immature. Fortunately, Shakyamuni Buddha had rescued him, so he placed himself on the ground in obeisance, paying deference with his body and mind. He respectfully and repeatedly bowed over and over again, without being the least bit lazy about it.

He requested of Shakyamuni Buddha that the Buddha explain the principle by which the Tathagatas of the ten directions had realized Bodhi. He didn’t ask the Tathagatas, the Tathagatas of the ten directions to speak; you should not misread the text at this point. If Ananda was asking the Buddhas of the ten directions to speak, what was Shakyamuni Buddha doing there? He was Shakyamuni Buddha’s disciple; would he have ignored what was right before him and gone seeking instead for some distant Buddhas of the ten directions? No; the text means that he turned to Shakyamuni Buddha and asked him to explain what doctrine the Tathagatas of the ten directions had relied on to become enlightened. Ananda didn’t know what skill he ought to develop in order to realize Buddhahood; but he had heard of three kinds of samadhi - shamatha, samapatti, and dhyana; so he brought them up and referred to them each as wonderful, in order to emphasize them.

As soon as Shakyamuni Buddha heard his request, he knew Ananda was an outsider: that he didn’t know about the samadhi for realizing Buddhahood. And what is the samadhi for the realization of Buddhahood? It is the Shurangama Samadhi. It was just because Ananda didn’t understand the Shurangama dharma-door that he proceeded to bring up a lot of arguments, as the text describes below.

The very first expedients. Ananda wanted to know about expedient dharma-doors for the beginner, the easiest way to start cultivating, the simplest methods of practice.

Some people have immediately become prejudiced. “Ananda concentrated on erudition and almost ended up by falling,” they say. “Obviously it is useless to study a lot. I’m going to cultivate samadhi exclusively, and not study at all.” This one-sided view is not in accord with the Middle Way. The principle of being in accord with the Middle Way is to be neither too far to the left or too far to the right, or too far in front or too far behind. Ananda was also prejudiced because he concentrated on learning and neglected samadhi. But if you concentrate exclusively on samadhi and neglect learning, your wisdom won’t develop. You must study to gain understanding, and you must also practice to gain samadhi, and then the two will be integrated. At the Buddhist lecture hall we both investigate sutras and meditate. By putting aside everything else and not letting your mind wander to the north, south, east, and west, you can concentrate your whole attention on the Buddhadharma. Don’t waste valuable time. Don’t just chatter on at random or do things which are of no benefit. You can’t make squares and circles if you don’t have a compass, and in the same way, you have to follow the rules in your daily practice. In the Chan hall, when the wooden fish is hit three times it is a signal to stop and be still. During that period no one should talk. Those who do may receive a beating from Wei Tuo Bodhisattva’s jeweled pestle.

”He hasn’t hit me yet,” you say.

He hasn’t gotten angry yet. But when he does, things get serious fast. So everyone should take care to genuinely follow the rules. When the rules are followed, there can be successful accomplishments. Don’t be so casual.

The people in this assembly are basically very well-behaved, but just in case some may have forgotten the importance of the rules I am mentioning them once again. During the period set aside for study of the Shurangama Sutra, all should single-mindedly apply themselves to the study of the sutra and to their meditation. If you do, I can guarantee there will be a response and you will have some accomplishment. If you do not become greatly enlightened, you will certainly gain a little enlightenment. You won’t miss out on the merit and virtue. If you are sincere and single-minded during this period of study and practice, you will certainly gain some advantages. I am not cheating you. However, if you don’t follow the rules you’ll be like the Mongolian who goes to the opera and misses out altogether. You’ve come from far away for no other reason than to study the dharma, and that makes me very happy - so much so, that no matter how hard I have to work I don’t fear the suffering. During the dharma assembly I am determined to research and explain the sutra, do everything in my power to bring the sutra out in the open for you. It is my hope that all of you will obtain the advantages to be gained from the Buddhadharma. However, although I say this, whether you listen or not is still up to you. If you chose not to listen, there is nothing I can do, because I am not you and you are not me.

You can also say that you are me and I am you. How? We are connected to one another in that we breathe the same air. Thought of in this way, everyone becomes one identical substance, and so you shouldn’t obstruct me and I shouldn’t obstruct you. Everyone investigates the Buddhadharma together and becomes enlightened together. If there is one who has not yet become enlightened, then I will not have fulfilled my responsibility.

Pay no attention to whether the Buddhadharma seems deep or shallow. You should resolve: “If I understand, I will investigate further, and if I don’t understand, I want to investigate even more.” Understanding a little is a lot better than not understanding anything at all. You should say to yourself: “If I understand one word of the sutra the dharma master is lecturing, that’s one word which I never understood before, and that makes it worthwhile; I’ve obtained advantage.” The value of that single word is inexpressibly great.

Why was Ananda unable to resist the mantra “formerly of the Brahma Heaven,” since he had after all reached the first stage of arhatship? It was because in the past, in cultivating samadhi, he had used his conscious mind. The conscious mind is subject to production and extinction and is not ultimate. A samadhi which is developed by using the thought-processes of the conscious mind, such as the “stop and contemplate” method of the Tian Tai teaching, involves the eighth consciousness. It does not address the nature which is neither produced nor extinguished. If one bases one’s work on the nature which is neither produced nor extinguished, one can cultivate a samadhi which is neither produced nor extinguished. That is a genuine samadhi, one that cannot be moved by outside forces.

But Ananda used only his conscious mind in whatever he did. For instance, when he listened to sutras, he used his mind to remember the principles the Buddha spoke. But the conscious mind which remembered the principles cannot lead to the fundamental solution. So when Ananda encountered a demonic state, he failed to recognize it.

It is essential for people who cultivate the Way to be able to recognize their environment. If you can recognize states when they arise, you won’t be influenced by them. They won’t move you. Samadhi-power can be victorious over any state whether it be good, bad, agreeable, or disagreeable. In the midst of them all, you can remain “thus, thus, unmoving, completely and eternally bright.” That is genuine samadhi-power.

If happy situations make you happy and sad events make you sad, you’re being influenced by states. If you keep jumping from joy to anger, to sorrow, to happiness, you’re being influenced by states. Not to be influenced by external states is to be like a mirror: when something appears it is reflected, when it passes there is stillness. The basic substance of the mirror is always bright. It cannot be defiled. To have samadhi-power and not to move is to have genuine wisdom, thorough understanding. It is very important to understand this.

”Shamatha” is a Sanskrit word which is interpreted to mean “still and pure.” However, it is a stillness and purity which is forced. One attains a kind of samadhi by deliberately forcing the mind to have samadhi-power and not to strike up false thinking. It is not the ultimate samadhi. It is merely a kind of expedient device cultivated by those of the small vehicle. At the very beginning of his teaching, Shakyamuni Buddha taught this method to those of the two vehicles.

”Samapatti,” also Sanskrit, is interpreted to mean “contemplation and illumination” of such dharmas as the twelve links of conditioned causation and the four truths.

”Dhyana,” also Sanskrit, is interpreted to mean “thought-cultivation” or “still consideration.” One uses the mind to trace the coming and going of thoughts, in much the same way as in the cultivation of “stopping and contemplating.” The Tian Tai school lists three stoppings which relate to the three contemplations: empty, false, and the middle. That teaching is basically a good one, but it is nothing compared to the Shurangama Samadhi. Dhyana can be ultimate or non-ultimate. Those of the small vehicle cultivate using the conscious mind; they make discriminations using the conscious mind. Since the conscious mind is subject to production and extinction, its use will not lead to the genuine solid samadhi of the Buddha.

”What should we cultivate?” you wonder.

The Shurangama Samadhi.

”How do we cultivate the Shurangama Samadhi?”

The sutra text will gradually make that clear. If you attend to the explanation of the sutra and understand it, you will know how to achieve the Shurangama Samadhi. You won’t be left in a daze. At present you don’t know where to begin and are like someone standing in a dense forest on the side of a mountain while trying to see what the face of the mountain looks like. As the poet Su Dong Po put it:

I can’t tell what Lu mountain really looks like
Because I myself am standing on the mountain.

If he had walked away from it, though, he could have seen. Now we are within the Shurangama Samadhi; you are boring your way into the Shurangama Samadhi and if you continue to progress you will gradually come to see it clearly. Then you will know you have obtained a real gem. You’ll be able to climb the jeweled mountain, grab two big fistfuls of gold, fill your arms with the gems and go back down the mountain. Even if you continually take from it, the supply will never be exhausted. It will be an endless supply, more than you could ever use in a lifetime. In the future you will be able to achieve the Shurangama enlightenment and then go on to teach and transform living beings.

 

Sutra:

At that time Bodhisattvas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, great Arhats, pratyekas, and others from the ten directions, were also present. Pleased at the opportunity to listen, they withdrew silently to their seats to receive the sagely instruction.

Commentary::

That time is when Ananda asked Shakyamuni Buddha to explain how the Tathagatas of the ten directions had realized Bodhi, that is, right enlightenment. It has already been mentioned that Bodhisattvas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges were present, so this refers to yet more Bodhisattvas. The Ganges River is miles wide and its sands are as fine as flour, like fine motes of dust. During a storm, the sands and stones fly about, as dangerous as desert dust-storms. Now, how many grains of such fine sand would you estimate there to be in a river some 15 miles wide? Could you figure it? Probably even the best mathematician would be unable to come up with a number. Since the Ganges’ sands are unreckonable, they are used to represent a non-existent number, a number beyond all calculations.

A Bodhisattva, an “enlightened being,” is also called “a living being with a great Way-mind.” No matter how badly people may act towards him, he doesn’t hold it against them. He absolutely never becomes irritated, never loses his temper. His Way-mind is firm and vast. A Bodhisattva is also called a “dedicated lord,” since he has already resolved to be a Bodhisattva.

The ten directions. The Amitabha Sutra speaks of the Buddhas of the six directions, but it does not mention the ten directions. The six are north, east, south, and west, up, and down. The additional four are northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest. I say, though, that basically there isn’t even one direction. The earth is round, so what directions can there be? But the Buddhist sutras speak of ten directions, and besides, the “round” I speak of is not yet an established fact; so don’t rely on what I say. As I see it, the world is transformed from a single source; everything is within the great light treasury, the Tathagata store, where there is no north, south, east, west, or the four intermediate points, or up or down. That is the way I see it, but perhaps it is not right.

There were, not little arhats, but great Arhats, whose Way was great. It does not mean that they were physically big, that they were particularly tall. It means that their dharma-nature was great, the power of their dharma was great, their cultivation of virtue was great.

Arhat has three meanings:

1. Worthy of offerings.

They were worthy of the offerings of gods and people. In the causal ground a bhikshu “begs for his food” and as a result, as an arhat, he is “worthy of offerings.”

2. Killer of thieves.

The Buddha taught people not to kill. Isn’t killing a violation of precepts? No, not in this case, because the thieves referred to are not external thieves, but the thieves within you.

“What are the thieves within us?” you wonder.

There are the thieves of ignorance, the thieves of affliction, and the six thieves - the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Unbeknownst to you, they rob you. You don’t realize it, but when your eyes look at things, your essential energies were originally full, but once you start looking at a lot of things the thieves which are your eyes steal your valuable treasures. When you listen things all the time, then your hearing-nature disperses and your vital energies are stolen away. You shouldn’t say, “My eyes are my best friend and my ears always help me out, my nose smells things and my tongue distinguishes tastes - they are all very helpful.”

No. These six thieves steal your unsurpassed true treasures. They plunder the wealth of your household without your even realizing it. You’ve got a thief for a neighbor but don’t even realize it; you say, “Don’t blame him for stealing my things!” This is a very, very important point I am making. Don’t be mistaken and think I am just joking. If you hadn’t lost these things, you would have realized Buddhahood long ago. Look into it, think it over. You feel you haven’t lost anything? Well, I know that the things you have lost are priceless treasures no money could buy. You’ve lost them and you still think everything is just fine. “My eyes can see so far - clearer than anyone else’s,” you say and think that this is good. But the more clearly you see the more essential energy is lost.

At this point you say, “Dharma master, one of your lectures is more than enough. You haven’t said anything that has the least bit of principle to it.”

Since you haven’t yet understood what I say, of course you are going to think it lacks principle. Wait until you understand and then you will know that what I say is genuine principle.

3. Not born.

Not born, arhats are also not extinguished; they are not subject to production and extinction. They have attained the patience of the non-production of dharmas. They do not have to undergo birth and death again. That is, they have “done what had to be done and do not undergo any further existence.” They will not fall into the three realms, although they haven’t attained anuttarasamyaksambodhi, the unsurpassed proper and equal right enlightenment.

In the Sutra in Forty-two Sections the Buddha said,

”Be careful not to believe your own mind: your mind cannot be believed. Once you have attained arhatship, then you can believe your own mind”

”Why can’t one believe one’s own mind?” you ask.

Because your mind is false thinking, and if you believe false thinking you will do false things; if you do false things, you must undergo a false birth and death. If you don’t believe the false thoughts, if you don’t trust your own mind, then you can avoid the false birth and death.

”When can one believe one’s own mind?”

When you attain the fourth stage of arhatship you can believe your own mind. Until then you shouldn’t choose to listen to yourself instead of to the advice of a good and wise advisor. The right thing to do is to listen to the instructions of a good and wise one.

Pratyekas, pratyekabuddhas - those enlightened to conditions and solitarily enlightened ones - and others were also present. Pleased at the opportunity to listen, they withdrew silently to their seats to receive the sagely instructions. There were many, many more beings as well, not just one or two, who all wanted to hear the sound of the dharma the Buddha was speaking, the wonderful sagely instructions, the doctrines of the holy ones. They really liked to listen, and they sat silently to one side to hear the Buddha speak.

Other Mahayana Concepts:

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Discover the significance of concepts within the article: ‘Ananda regrets excessive learning and requests samadhi’. Further sources in the context of Mahayana might help you critically compare this page with similair documents:

Bodhi, Bodhisattva, Buddhadharma, Pratyekabuddha, Ten Directions, Gentle breeze, Middle Way, Buddhas of the ten directions, Cultivation of virtue, Jeta Grove, The way, Great arhat, Three kinds of samadhi, Strong memory, Cultivating wisdom, Shurangama Sutra, Samadhi power, Buddha explanation, Truthful understanding.

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Self-awareness.