Dhyana in the Buddhist Literature
by Truong Thi Thuy La | 2011 | 66,163 words
This page relates ‘(b): The Twenty-seven Indian Patriarchs’ of the study on Dhyana (‘meditation’ or ‘concentration’), according to Buddhism. Dhyana or Jhana represents a state of deep meditative absorption which is achieved by focusing the mind on a single object. Meditation practices constitute the very core of the Buddhist approach to life, having as its ultimate aim Enlightenment (the state of Nirvana).
3.3 (b): The Twenty-seven Indian Patriarchs
[Full title: 3.3: The Transmission of Enlightenment in India (b): The Twenty-seven Indian Patriarchs]
There are the twenty-seven transmission Gāthās in Indian Patriarchs.
1) The First Indian Patriarch Mahākāśyapa
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the First Patriarch Mahākāśyapa:
The Dharma's fundamental Dharma has no Dharma,
The Dharma of no-Dharma is Dharma too.
Now that the Dharma of no-Dharma is transmitted,
Has there ever been a Dharma?
2) The Second Indian Patriarch Ānanda
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Second Patriarch Ānanda:
The fundamental Dharma of all Dharmas [1]
Is beyond the Dharmas that are false and real. [2]
Why in the one Dharma should
There be Dharma and Not-Dharma? [3]
The mind is immaterial and is fundamentally devoid of good and evil. It is the self-nature in its absolute condition. The undivided selfnature can manifest itself only after all dualisms have been integrated into one undivided whole.
3) The Third Indian Patriarch Śāṇakavāsa
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Third Patriarch Śāṇakavāsa:
At first there was a Dharma to transmit, [4]
Transmitted it became that of No-Dharma. [5]
Each man should realize the nature of his self, [6]
And then there is not (even) a No-Dharma. [7]
Dharma seems to exist because of its opposite, ‘no Dhanna,’ both being a dualism having no reality. Transmission is just an expedient term used on the occasion, but in fact there is no Dharma which can be transmitted. After the transmission, there should exist neither Dharma (existence) nor ‘no Dharma’ (non-existence).
Every man should realize his own self and then not only should. Dharma, or existence, be cast away, but also its opposite, ‘no Dharma,’ or non-existence, should not be clung to, so that his true Self can be maintained in its transcendental state.
4) The Fourth Indian Patriarch Upagupta
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the fourth Patriarch Upagupta:
Dharma and Mind have no (reality)
For there is neither Mind nor Dharma. [8]
When this Mind-dharma is expounded,
This Dharma is not the Dharma of the Mind.[9]
The absolute reality is inconceivable and inexpressible, and this deep Mind-Dharma is beyond the twin conception of subject and object.
When Mind and Dharma are not clung to, both subject and object cease to exist. That which is expediently called Mind-dharma will be in its absolute condition and will tally with the inconceivable.
5) The Fifth Indian Patriarch Dhṛtaka
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Fifth Patriarch Dhṛtaka:
Mind is the primal mind[10]
Which is devoid of Dharma. [11]
If Dharma and primal mind exist,
Both mind and primal Dharma will be false. [12]
Mind is essentially all-pervading and does not contain even an atom of that which is called Dharma. If there be idea of Dharma, such a Dharma will simply be a sense-datum and not the true Dharma of the primal mind.
Realization of this primal mind can only be achieved after the false idea of subject and object has vanished. In the Diamond Sūtra, this erroneous conception of ego and thing is referred to as the most subtle dualism which should be eliminated before one can attain complete enlightenment. (See Han-Shan’s ‘Diamond Cutter of Doubts’ in Series One.)
6) The Sixth Indian Patriarch Miccaka
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Sixth Patriarch Miccaka:
When the Dharnia of primal mind is really understood,
Neither Dharma nor Not-dharma can remain. [13]
(After) enlightenment it is the same as it was (before),
For there is neither mind nor Dharma. [14]
When one is awakened to the absolute, one’s mind will be likened to unchanging space which is free from feelings and passions and will intuitively tally with the Dharmatā, or Dharma nature.
Ch’an master Wei Hsin of Ch’ing Yuan mountain said to his disciples: ‘Thirty years ago, before I underwent the training, I saw mountains as mountains and rivers as rivers. After I had called on enlightened persons, I managed to enter (Ch’an) and saw mountains were not mountains and rivers were not rivers. Now that I have stopped (my false thinking), I see mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers, as before.’ This means: first, separateness of mind from externals;second, confusion between mind and externals, and third, intermerging of mind and externals, or enlightenment.
7) The Seventh Indian Patriarch Vasumitra
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Seventh Patriarch Vasumitra:
There is neither mind nor realization, [15]
While that which can be realized is not pjiarma. [16]
Only when mind is seen to be unreal
Can the Dharma of all minds be truly understood? [17]
This gāthā reveals the identity of apparent contraries in the Dharma nature in which sense-organs and sense-data are in the absolute condition and wherein neither mind nor Dharma is discoverable.
Only people like the 5,000 disciples who, in their Hīnayāna superiority thought they had gained all wisdom and refused to hear the Lotus sūtra, boasted of their acquisition of Dharma. Such a Dharma which could be expressed in words was not the real Dharma.
Mind and Dharma are just One which is beyond subject and object which split our undivided self-nature.
8) The Eighth Indian Patriarch Buddhanandi
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Eighth Patriarch Buddhanandi:
Mind and the vault of space are just the same, [18]
The Dharma, spanning space, is now expounded. [19]
When space is realized as such,
There is no Dharma, whether false or real. [20]
Space is immaterial and free from all dualisms. Likewise, when mind is realized, it is also beyond all relativities.
Huang Po said: ‘When sun rises, its light pervades all the continents but space is not light, and at sunset, darkness pervades all the continents but space is not dark. Light and darkness alternate with each other but the nature of space throughout is unchanged. Mind, Buddha and living beings are also like space. If a man conceives of Buddha as being pure, clean and enjoying liberation and living beings as being unclean, obscure and suffering from birth and death, he will pass as many aeons as there are sand grains in a river without attaining enlightenment because of his clinging to forms, aspects and characteristics (lakṣaṇa). There is only this One Mind; apart from it not even a mote of dust can be found, and this mind is Buddha.’ (See ‘Essentials of Huang Po’s Doctrine of Transmission of Mind, Part I’–Huang Po Ch’uan Hsin Fa Yao).
9) The Ninth Indian Patriarch Buddhamitra
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Ninth Patriarch Buddhamitra:
Space and Dharma of the Mind
Have naught within nor aught without.
If space is truly understood,
The principle of Suchness[21] will be learnt.
Space is immaterial and boundless. Likewise, Mind-dharma is also immaterial and boundless. He, who thoroughly understands immaterial and boundless space, will apprehend the ruling principles of Bhūtatathatā.
This is the outright elimination of separateness resulting in the instantaneous realization of the immaterial and boundless Dharmakāya.
Hence the attainment of Bhūtatathatā.
10) The Tenth Indian Patriarch Pārśva
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Tenth Patriarch Pārśva:
Truth in essence has no name, [22]
Yet now because of name it can be known.[23]
Whoever can receive the Dharma truth
Will know that it is neither truth not lies. [24]
Fundamentally mind is truth and any name given to it is false, for the self-mind essentially being not false, what is the use of seeking the real? It is, therefore, clear that since both truth and untruth are undiscoverable, there exists neither truth nor untruth, both being only two extremes devoid of real nature.
11) The Eleventh Indian Patriarch Puṇyayaśas
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Eleventh Patriarch Puṇyayaśas:
The real body is reality existing by itself, [25]
Because of it we can expound the fundamental law. [26]
The apprehension of the Dharma of reality
Is beyond all change and changelessness. [27]
The Dharma of the real is beyond words and expressions; even its substance is undiscoverable. How can it be regarded as in motion or motionless? The truth cannot be detected by the deluded mind and can only be realized intuitively.
12) The Twelfth Indian Patriarch Aśvaghoṣa
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Twelfth Patriarch Aśvaghoṣa:
Delusion and enlightenment are concealing and revealing,[28]
(Like) light and darkness they depend upon each other.[29]
This Dharma that I now transmit
Is neither one nor two.[30]
The substance of self-nature is permanently real and is beyond both concealment and revelation. When the mind is stirred by a thought, it becomes entangled with producing causes and strays from its real nature. When it is enlightened, all internals and externals merge perfectly into one another and it becomes all-embracing. Although there are concealment and revelation, these are like light and darkness which cannot be separated.
Now I transmit to you this Dharma of concealment and revelation which is neither one Dharma exclusive of concealment and revelation nor the dual Dharma of both concealment and revelation. The true nature is unchanging and delusion and enlightenment are but illusions. If there be neither delusion nor enlightenment, where are unity and duality?
The Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra says: ‘It has no measure, is beyond all measures and cannot be counted.’
13) The Thirteenth Indian Patriarch Kapimala
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Thirteenth Patriarch Kapirmala:
Concealing and revealing are themselves the Dharma, [31]
In essence light and darkness are non-dual. [32]
The Dharma of enlightenment that I now transmit
Cannot be grasped nor can it be abandoned. [33]
This gāthā wipes out not only all dualism, but also all notions of space and time, thus clearing away all obstructions to the attainment of Buddhahood.
14) The Fourteenth Indian Patriarch Nāgārjuna
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Fourteenth Patriarch Nāgārjuna:
The Dharma which conceals not nor reveals
Expounds the region of reality.[34]
To realize this Dharma
Is neither ignorant nor wise. [35]
The Buddha Dharma deals with the immaterial and it is very difficult to understand its purport. Therefore, expedient words and phrases are used to enable students to apprehend it without any further doubt about their self-nature.
15) The Fifteenth Indian Patriarch Kāṇadeva
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Fifteenth Patriarch Kāṇadeva:
To explain the Dharma of concealing and revealing
The principle of liberation is now taught.[36]
No mind is realized according to this Dharma
And so there is no (cause for) anger or for joy. [37]
The mind of a liberated man is likened to empty space, free from gain and loss as well as anger and joy. That is from all contraries which previously held him in bondage.
16) The Sixteenth Indian Patriarch Rāhulata
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Sixteenth Patriarch Rāhulata:
To you who now receive the Dharma
Is taught the principle of liberation. [38]
The Dharma does not realize anything,
For ‘tis beyond the end and never had beginning. [39]
Since the transmission from one Patriarch to another, not a single Dharma has been handed down to anyone. The Dharma consists only in untying bonds so that the unenlightened can become independent and comfortable.
The last two lines of the gāthā wipe out both space and time.
17) The Seventeenth Indian Patriarch Saṅghānandi
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Seventeenth Patriarch Saṅghānandi:
The Dharma does not realize a thing, [40]
Nor can it be grasped or thrown away.[41]
It is beyond what ‘is’ and what ‘is not’;
Within is nothing, nor is aught without. [42]
The true Dharma is but the self-nature which is beyond all that can be conceived and is free from all contraries such as grasping and rejecting, existence and non-existence, within and without. The stirring of a single thought will cause a deviation from it and the best way to realize it to lay down the load of thoughts with which body and mind are burdened and intuitively be at one with the Dharma or mind.
18) The Eighteenth Indian Patriarch Gayaśāta
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Eighteenth Patriarch Gayaśāta:
The ground of mind was never once created,
This primal ground results from a concurrent cause. [43]
Both cause and seed do not each other hinder, [44]
While flower and fruit do not obstruct each other. [45]
The self-nature cannot enlighten itself and requires both primary and concurrent causes to become enlightened. Since time without beginning, your mind has always been self-possessed and has always been unborn. As I now expound this Mind-dharma to you, your seed of Buddhahood avails itself of these primary and concurrent causes to sprout and your flower of wisdom blooms and clearly perceives everything without obstruction. You should know that within your mind-ground, both concurrent cause and seed do not obstruct each other. Neither do your wisdom and Buddhahood hinder each other.
Since the true mind is fundamentally in perfect harmony with all differences, instantaneous enlightenment clears away all obstructions caused by apparent contraries.
19) The Nineteenth Indian Patriarch Kumārata
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Nineteenth Patriarch Kumārata:
The self-existing seed and ground of mind
Produce the sprout through a concurrent cause.[46]
Concurrent cause and sprout do not each other hinder, [47]
For that which is produced is not producible.[48]
Your enlightenment does not occur of itself and can become an actuality only because of a concurrent cause. Fundamentally you possess the seed of wisdom and the pure mind, and I now expound the Dharma to you. Because of this Dharma which is a concurrent cause, your seed sprouts and you acquire wisdom in its radiant brightness which wisdom is unimpeded in any way by this cause. Therefore, this intervening cause also does not really exist, for it has no real nature of its own and is only an empty name. When you realize your self-nature, it is immaterial and absolute; how can there arise within it a foreign cause?
20) The Twentieth Indian Patriarch Jayata
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Twentieth Patriarch Jayata:
Self nature in its essence never was created,[49]
Or so we teach to those who seek (the truth) [50]
Since Dharma does not lead to any gain, [51]
Why think one or another way about it. [52]
This Dharma is expediently taught only to reveal the fundamental self-nature which has never been created and will never end, for it is absolute and is beyond all contraries including decisive and indecisive thoughts about it.
21) The Twenty-first Indian Patriarch Vasubandhu
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Twenty-first-Patriarch Vasubandhu:
Instant union with the uncreate
Is how to realize the Dharma nature? [53]
Those who are able to experience this
Understand the oneness of relative and absolute. [54]
The Dharma cannot be conceived by means of sense-organs and sense-data. As I am now expounding it to you, if your mind is disentangled from both sense-organs and sense-data, and if you can, upon hearing it, realize intuitive union with that which is beyond creation and annihilation, you will realize the unimpeded nature underlying all things.
If you can do this, you will thoroughly apprehend the unimpeded interaction of noumenon and phenomenon which are of the same fundamental nature.
22) The Twenty-second Indian Patriarch Manorhita
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Twenty-second Patriarch Manorhita:
Bubbles and illusions are the omnipresent;
Why cannot this be understood? [55]
The omnipresent Dharma in this world of change
Is not the present now and was not in the past. [56]
The self-nature can only be realized by wiping out all feeling and discrimination so as to disentangle it from both body and mind (or space) and from past and present (or time).
23) The Twenty-third Indian Patriarch Hakdena
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Twenty-third Patriarch Hakdena:
The mind follows externals in its changing, [57]
While the real is dormant, hidden by these changes,[58]
Yet through them one can find the nature of the self [59]
Which is beyond all joy and sorrow. [60]
This gāthā teaches the best way to discover one’s self-nature which cannot be sought outside the phenomenal. He who can remain indifferent to all appearances reflected in the mind and look into that which reflects them, is bound to discover his self-mind and realize his self-nature. This self-nature is immaterial and is beyond both subject and object that is all relativities, including joy and sorrow.
24) The Twenty-fourth Indian Patriarch Āryasiṃha
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Twenty-fourth Patriarch Āryasiṃha:
(Only) when the nature of the mind is realized. [61]
Can one say that it cannot be conceived. [62]
Nothing, clearly, can be realized [63]
For if it be, there’s no awareness of it. [64]
This gāthā was frequently quoted by Huaig Po in his ‘Transmission of Mind’ (Huang Po Ch’uan Hsin Fa Yao).
25) The Twenty-fifth Indian Patriarch Basiasita
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Twenty-fifth Patriarch Basiasita:
When speaking of awareness,
One finds it is but mind.[65]
Since mind is but awareness, [66]
Dharma is found by him who is aware. [67]
Although expediencies used to expound the Dharma are many, there is only return to the One Reality which is the still but living Bhūtatathatā or the Absolute, from which one will stray as soon as the mind is stirred by a single thought.
26) The Twenty-sixth Indian Patriarch Puṇyamitra
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Twenty-sixth patriarch Puiyamitra:
The saint speaks of awareness
Beyond both right and wrong. [68]
I have realized the true (self-) nature
Beyond all truth and that which lies behind. [69]
The Supreme Reality which is absolute and beyond all relativities, cannot be transmitted but can only be intuitively realized.
The Mantra (incantation) of the Heart Sūtra, ‘Gate gate pāragate prārasaṃgate Bodhi Svāhā’ (‘Wisdom which has gone, gone, gone to the other shore, gone beyond the other shore—svāhā’) illustrates the Dharma which is beyond this shore or delusion and the other shore or enlightenment.
27) The Twenty-seventh Indian Patriarch Prajñātāra
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Twenty-seventh Patriarch Prajñātāra:
The true nature (of the self) lies in the ground of mind,
It has neither head nor tail. [70]
It manifests to meet the needs of living beings, [71]
For want of better words we call it wisdom. [72]
The mental ground fundamentally is pure and clean and has inherent in it the radiant Buddha nature which is boundless and inconceivable. It has neither form nor name, but in response to the needs of living beings, it manifests itself to guide them out of the ocean of sufferings. Since no one knew it, the Buddha expediently called it wisdom.
28) The Twenty-eighth Indian Patriarch Bodhidharma
Gāthā chanted when transmitting the Dharma to the Twenty-eighth Patriarch Bodhidharma:
The mind-ground is the bed in which all seeds are sown; [73]
Things as they really are can be deduced from their appearances.[74]
When fruit is ripe enlightenment is won; [75]
When flower blooms the universe is seen. [76]
The wise man deduces the real from the seeming, the basic nature of which is real, and thus understands the unimpeded interaction of noumenon and phenomenon.
Footnotes and references:
[2]:
The pure mind is fundamentally the absolute, free from either real or false Dharma.
[3]:
To an enlightened person, how can there exist real and false Dharmas in that which is fundamentally the one Dharma, or the indivisible absolute?
[4]:
Before the transmission, I said I had a Dharma to transmit to you.
[5]:
Now that the Dharma has been transmitted, there is in reality no Dharma at all.
[6]:
In order correctly to interpret the above two lines, one should strive to realize one’s self-mind.
[7]:
After realizing one’s self-mind, one will understand that even the ‘no Dharma’ is nonexistent.
[8]:
Absolute reality is neither Dharma nor Mind for in it, there exists neither Mind nor Dharma which are empty names having no real nature.
[9]:
At the time of the expedient teaching of the Mind-Dharma, this Dharma itself should not be conceived as Mind-Dharma.
[10]:
Mind is the primal mind which is the uncreate in its absolute condition; it is undiscoverable but cannot be cast away.
[11]:
Primal mind is like space in its extensiveness; it is completely transparent and pervasively shining. Therefore, it does not possess a single Dharma or any foreign matter.
[12]:
If there be Dharma (object) that can be acquired and Mind (subject) that can acquire it, this primal mind will be neither the real mind of all Buddhas nor the primal Dharma, for Mind and Dharma are not separate things.
[13]:
The true Dharma is beyond existence and non-existence and when all contraries have been eliminated, one will thoroughly understand the Dharma of primal mind, and will realize the purity and cleanness of everything. One will thus leap over both the existing Dharma, or the transcendental and its opposite, the non-existent Dharma, or the worldly.
[14]:
After enlightenment, one adapts oneself to circumstances just as one did before, for enlightenment and unenlightenment are only two empty names.
[15]:
The self-nature fundamentally is complete in itself; within it, there is neither mind nor gain derived from realization of mind.
[16]:
The Dharma of reality is inexpressible and unattainable.
[17]:
Only when mind is perceived as not real, can the true Mind-Dharma be apprehended for mind and Dharma are not two separate things.
[18]:
Mind is pure and clean and is boundless as space.
[19]:
I now expound to you this Dharma which is as extensive as space.
[20]:
If the mind can be perceived to be boundless like space, there will be no trace of either Dharma which is equal, or Dharma which is not equal, to space.
[21]:
[22]:
Truth is the true principle, the principle of truth and the absolute apart from phenomena. Truth is inexpressible, and the first sentence of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, ‘The Tao which can be expressed in words is not the eternal Tao’ is somewhat similar to the first line of this gāthā. But the Taoist ‘Tao’ refers to the supramundance and the ‘Truth’ of the Buddhist Supreme Vehicle is beyond both the mundane and supramundane.
[23]:
Truth can only be revealed to deluded men by the expedient use of names, which should, however, never be clung to.
[24]:
He who is really qualified to receive the truth will realize that it is inconceivable and is neither truth nor untruth.
[25]:
The real body or true substance is reality that is so of itself.
[26]:
Because there is this self-existing reality, the fundamental law (or ruling principle, intrinsicality, and universal basis) is expounded to reveal it.
[27]:
He who is awakened to that which is called Dharma of the real, acquires complete knowledge of the absolute which is simultaneously still and shining (i.e. in its state of SamādhiPrajñā) and is beyond change and changelessness.
[28]:
The self-nature is concealed when it is deluded and revealed when it is enlightened.
[29]:
Concealment and revelation are like light and darkness which owe their existence only to their mutual dependence.
[30]:
This Dharma of concealing and revealing which advocates the transmutation of delusion into enlightenment is now transmitted to you, but the truth is neither unity nor diversity, for it is one undivided truth or Buddha truth.
[31]:
The true self-nature is unchanging, and in spite of its concealment or delusion and its revelation or enlightenment, the fundamental Dharma is beyond all dualities.
[32]:
Light and darkness owe their existence only to their mutual dependence, but the underlying law is absolute for it is non-dual.
[33]:
This non-dual Dharma of self-enlightenment which I now transmit to you cannot be grasped for it does not belong to the present, or be abandoned for it does not belong to the past.
[34]:
The self-nature is eternal and fundamentally is neither concealed nor revealed. He who is deluded does not recognize it and thinks it is concealed, and when he is awakened to it, he feels that it reveals itself to him. Likewise the Dharma deals with neither concealment nor revelation. I now expound this Dharma to you so that you can reach the realm of reality, or the absolute truth.
[35]:
You are now awakened to this Dharma of neither concealment nor revelation and perceive your eternal nature. After your enlightenment, you do not feel that you were ignorant before or are enlightened now.
[36]:
This Dharma is not vainly transmitted and in order to make it plain so that people can thoroughly realize the mind and get beyond the concealed and the revealed (i.e. the changing) for their attainment of the unchanging, I now expound the law of liberation.
[37]:
You must regard this Dharma as beyond gain and loss in order to be released from the idea of realizing the mind. Then comfortable independence from anger and joy can be realized.
[38]:
In transmitting the Dharma to you, I speak of true emancipation.
[39]:
In this emancipation, there is no gain whatever for there is not even a mote of dust that can be acquired;also there is no such thing as the past, present, or future for there is neither beginning nor end.
[40]:
The self-nature essentially is complete in itself and does not require cultivation.
[41]:
Within the self-nature, there is nothing that can be realized and there exists nothing that can be either grasped or rejected.
[42]:
This Dharma is beyond existence and non-existence; if so, how can there internal sense. Organs and external sense-data?
[43]:
Mind-ground is a Buddhist term meaning the mind or mental ground from which all things sprang. Mind-ground fundamentally is uncreated and is the primary cause which comes into being because of my expounding of Dharma which is concurrent cause.
[44]:
Neither concurrent cause nor seed hinder each other.
[45]:
Neither do flowers (or wisdom) and fruit (or Buddhahood), obstruct each other, for if there be obstruction, no enlightenment is possible.
[46]:
The seed of Buddhahood and mental ground can unite to produce a sprout of enlightenment only because of a concurrent cause which is my expounding of this Dharma.
[47]:
This concurrent cause and this sprout, or your enlightenment, do not obstruct each other.
[48]:
At the time of your enlightenment, you will perceive that nothing has actually been produced.
[49]:
The self–nature is eternal and is free from creation and destruction.
[50]:
I now expediently teach it to you so that you will no longer entertain any doubt about your own self.
[51]:
This Dharma of the uncreated can neither be spoken of nor listened to, for there is no gain of anything in respect of it.
[52]:
This Dharma is beyond decisiveness and indecisiveness for as soon as there arised a conception of dualism, the latter will split the undivided self-nature into subject and object.
[53]:
Complete intuitive unison with that which is not born and does not die is nothing but the realization of the Dharma nature. Dharma nature (Dharmatā in Sanskrit) is the nature underlying all things, the immaterial or the realm beyond thought.
[54]:
He who can experience this will thoroughly apprehend the oneness of appearance and reality.
[55]:
Sense-organs and sense-data are likened to a bubble and an illusion. The Buddha nature is immaterial and enters all things including sense-organs, sense-data, bubble and illusion, without hindrance. Therefore, the unhindered and omnipresent self-nature is everywhere in this nirvāṇa state. Why cannot students of the truth be awakened to this?
[56]:
He who wishes to penetrate this all pervasive Dharma should release himself from all limitations caused by differentiation, for this Dharma is neither present nor past, but is an above all dual conception.
[57]:
The self-mind is like a bright mirror reflecting all images in their endless succession.
[58]:
The real is dormant, hidden by these appearances.
[59]:
He who can look with indifference into the origin of these endless reflections will finally discover his self-nature.
[60]:
The self-nature is pure and immaterial and has no place for dualisms, including joy and sorrow, which arise and fall but have no real nature of their own.
[61]:
[62]:
The mind-nature can only be known as inconceivable when it is realized.
[63]:
The mind-nature is unattainable but one can get an intuitive glimpse of it, for if there be attainment, it will be split into a subject, which attains it and an object, that is the mind-nature realized. This explains the true meaning of the Ch’an term ‘mental sealing’ or ‘mental impression’.
[64]:
Even when one realizes one’s mind-nature, one is not ware of it, for if there be awareness, it will also be split into subject and object. This self-awareness was incomplete and was the primal cause of our sufferings in the six worlds of existence, caused only by our delusion, as described in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra. This is why Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva had to disentangle himself from this incomplete self-awareness before leaping over the mundane and supramundane in his realization of Complete Enlightenment. (See Master Hsu Yun’s ‘Daily Lectures at Two Ch’an Weeks’ in Series One.)
[65]:
When I expound the Dharma to you and speak of your awareness of it, this awareness is nothing but your mind which is as extensive as, and is identical with the Dharmadhātu, which is the underlying spiritual reality and the absolute from which all proceeds.
[66]:
This mind which is identical with the Dhamadhatu, is nothing but your awareness of the Dharma.
[67]:
This awareness is that which realizes this Dharma and attain Complete Enlightenment.
[68]:
When I expound the Dharma to you and speak of your awareness of it, this awareness is absolute and beyond both the mundane and supramundane, or all contraries.
[69]:
Therefore, the self–nature which I realize is beyond both truth and principles, and is the inconceivable.
[70]:
The true nature is the fundamental nature of each individual or his Buddha nature. It is buried in the mental ground and is as extensive as empty space, having neither beginning nor end.
[71]:
It manifests itself in response to the needs of all living beings to bring them to the other shore of eternity.
[72]:
This true nature is expediently called wisdom, which is boundless.
[73]:
The Mind-Dharma is now expounded so that you can plant the seed of enlightenment.
[74]:
You can deduce the fundamental from the phenomenal, for the nature of the phenomenal is real. Thus you will attain enlightenment.
[75]:
When one gathers the ripened fruit of self-cultivation, one’s enlightenment will also be complete. This is the underlying principle.
[76]:
When the flower blooms, that is when wisdom manifests; it pervades all visible worlds without being contaminated by them. This is external activity.