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Wondrous Dharma
Activities at the International Translation Institute, Burlingame, CA are free to the public:
Sixth Patriarchs Sutra lecture Fridays 7:45pm to 8:45pm Repentance ceremony Saturdays 1pm to 2pm Chan meditation Saturdays 2pm to 3pm Buddhism for beginners Saturdays 3pm to 4pm
Wondrous Dharma is the newsletter on the dharma events at the premise of the International Translation Institute, 1777 Murchison Drive, Burlingame, CA 94010 Telephone (650) 692-5912 E-mail: wondrousdharma@gmail.com; www.wondrousdharma.org
Individual Highlights:
Interpreting the Vajra Sutra with the 6 Patriarchs Sutra..2 Meditation simplified lesson 28..3 Buddhism made easy Lesson 28....3 Patiently cease the mad mind......4 Holding the Mantra part 13....4
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Yet space in the universe exists only in the minds of the confused as the Buddha said, But their thinking is deluded and they have a confused view of the truth, so they stubbornly cling to emotional attachments. Recently, science confirms that As a result, space appears, and as they become more and more the subatomic particles gave confused, worlds come into the atoms its mass. The lowest unit of form is an atom; beingYou should know that the subatomic particles would space is created within the mind.If you discover your true be emptiness. The Buddha said, In its most subtle aspect, reality by returning to the source, space throughout the the primary element earth ten directions will disappear. appears as particles (atoms) Another interpretation of form that are so fine that they can is emptiness is that form is the hardly be distinguished from perceptible particles of atoms space itself. If these minute and sub atoms whereas particles were divided into emptiness is the space. The seven parts, they would then ultimate interpretation is that be as small as perceived form is the entire universe objects can be (that is being empty in nature because subatomic particles) Therefore, form is emptiness it came from true emptiness as form (atoms) is a collection whilst confusion exists. of subatomic particles because Chan Master (CM) Bhadra said: the Buddha continues to say, Form does not differ from If they were divided further emptiness; emptiness does not nothing would be left but differ from form. Whatever is space. The division of seven form, that is emptiness; parts is taken as a metaphor whatever is emptiness that is
Wondrous Dharma
Vajra Sutra extracts
S 4 Subhuti, the blessings and virtues of a Bodhisattva who does not rely on appearances when giving are just as inconceivable and immeasurable. Subhuti, a Bodhisattva should rely only on the teachings.
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Interpreting the Vajra Sutra with the Sixth Patriarchs Sutra (part 3)
Elaboration in the Sixth Patriarchs Sutra
The Master said, There actually was no merit and virtue. Do not doubt the words of a sage. Emperor Wu of Liangs mind was wrong; he did not know the right Dharma. Building temples and giving sanction to the Sangha, practicing giving and arranging vegetarian feasts is called seeking blessings. Do not mistake blessings for merit and virtue. Merit and virtue are in the Dharma body, not in the cultivation of blessings. Then how do we give such that our giving becomes merit and virtue? The Master further said, Seeing your own nature is merit and equanimity is virtue. To be unobstructed in every thought, constantly seeing the true, real, wonderful function of your own original nature is called merit and virtue. Inner humility is merit and the outer practice of reverence is virtue. Your self-nature establishing the ten thousand dharmas is merit and the mind-substance separate from thoughts is virtueIf you seek the merit and virtue of the Dharrma body, simply act according to these principles, for this is true merit and virtue. The act of giving is carried out with humility, impartially and reverentially and the mind no longer having any thought of a giver, a recipient and the gift. Giving per se is not cultivation; giving becomes cultivation depending upon the state of the mind of the giver. The aforementioned reminds us that cultivation hinges on the state of our minds. The Fifth Patriarch knew of Hui Nengs enlightenment to his original nature and said to him, Studying the Dharma without recognizing the original mind is of no benefit. If one recognizes ones original mind and sees ones original nature, then one is called a great hero, a teacher of gods and humans, a Buddha. What then is the original mind? The original mind is empty as the following verse says: Originally Bodhi has no tree, The bright mirror has no stand. Originally there is not a single thing: Where can the dust alight? Then, what are the world and the myriad phenomena that we know of? It came from the original mind that is empty and clear as the Great Master said: How unexpected! The self nature can produce the ten thousand dharmas meaning that the myriad phenomena come from the original mind. The reason why we see all appearances as no appearances is because Nothing can be established outside the mind, for the original mind produces the ten thousand dharmas. Therefore the Sutra says, The mind produced, all dharmas are produced; the mind extinguished, all dharmas are extinguished. The verse in the Vajra Sutra is telling is to wake up from confusion that ultimately everything is empty and false as the Great Master explained: You should know that deluded people mistook the union of five heaps for their own bodies and discriminated dharmas as external to themselves. The loved life, dreaded death and drifted from thought to thought, not knowing that this illusory dream is empty and false.
S 5 All appearances are empty and false. If one sees all appearances as no appearances, then one sees the Thus Come One.
Wondrous Dharma
Meditation simplified lesson 28
The method of investigating into a meditation topic Who is mindful of the Buddha? Part 2 Investigation into the meditation topic is to find out, to search for, or to look for the true self who is mindful of the Buddha. The practitioner begins by silently reflecting on the entire topic Who is mindful of the Buddha? for no more than five times and then refocusing the search into the single word Who?In his mind, the practitioner is asking himself who is it who is mindful of the Buddha with the focus on attention on the single word Who? It does not involve repeating the word Who? but rather dragging out the word who? into Whooooo? throughout the entire duration of the practice or sit. In the meantime, the mind is searching, searching and searching for this true self. The practitioner has no idea as to what and where this true self is but continues to investigate. Though a practitioner may have an idea of the true self through studying, this does not count. What matters is that he investigates into the topic until his mind is focused and calm to such an extent that he experiences the realization of his true self. On the other hand, it does not involve speculating into what the true self might be. Speculating whether the true self is green or yellow or oblong or shapeless is merely engaging in false thinking. Rather the intent of the investigation into a meditation topic is to put down the habit of false thinking by focusing the attention into the search for the true self. The search is not focused on any part of the body or mind or location because the practitioner is reminded of the principle of the mind that dwells nowhere When the practitioner investigates the meditation topic in his mind, it will be better if the practitioner also turns the light of attention of his hearing to the drawn out word of Whooooo? In doing so, the practitioner will not be distracted by any external sounds. Both the sense faculties of the mind and the ear are now being tied down so that the faculties are no longer engaged in pursuit of thought and sounds respectively. The mind that is not engaged in thought is the original mind. The ear that is not engaged in sounds is the original hearing nature; the Buddha-nature that is ever present rather than sounds that comes into being and ceases to be.
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Investigate into, search for, find out, look for the true self
Wondrous Dharma
Part of the contemplative narratives in the Great Compassion Repentance reads, From time without beginning, I have not known that all dharmas are in their fundamental nature empty and still and I have committed all manner of evil on a wide scale. Knowing now that all dharmas are empty and still, for the sake of Bodhi (awakening) and for the sake of living beings, I completely cut off every evil and cultivate all good on a wide scale. Therefore the basis why we create the karma that causes us to revolve in the cycle of birth and death is because we dont realize everything in its true nature is empty and still. Having a mistaken view that everything exists and in motion, we make distinctions of liking and disliking and the resultant speech and action becomes the karma for our birth and rebirth in the six destinies. everything is consciousness and that the myriad phenomena arose from the mind that is empty and unmoving. When the cultivator is able to convince himself that everything is empty and unmoving, he will be able to gain patience with the state of mind in which people and dharmas are seen to be empty. The basis for being patient is that everything in this world is just the mind when the Buddha said, The Thus Come One has often explained that all phenomena that come into being are nothing more than manifestation of the mind. All the things that are subject to the principle of cause and effect from the largest world to the smallest mote of dust come into being because of the mind.
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From time without beginning, I have not known that all dharmas are in their fundamental nature empty and still and I have committed all manner of evil on a wide scale.
When the cultivator is able to convince himself that everything is empty and unmoving, he will be able to gain patience with the state of mind in which people and dharmas are seen to be empty.
The basis for being patient is also because everything is just consciousness when the Buddha said, But if you insist From a cultivation perspective, that which makes distinctions it is imperative that the and is aware of them, which cultivator convinced himself knows and understands them about the reality that is indeed the mind, then that
Emptiness is pulverized, the mad mind ceased. Confusion ends, the distinction-making mind stops. No form, no emptiness, no mind absolute nothingness