The Esoteric Significance of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra
Chapter Five: Volume Five — The Perfect Penetration Dharma Gates Realized by the Twenty-Five Sages (3)
Twenty-Three: The Practice Method of Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha
Original text: 虚空藏菩萨。即从座起。顶礼佛足。而白佛言。我与如来。定光佛所。得无边身。尔时手执。四大宝珠。照明十方。微尘佛刹。化成虚空。
Explanation: Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha begins by introducing his own practice method: he attained the boundless body at the place of Dīpaṃkara Buddha. The meaning of "boundless body" is that Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's body is vast without limit; however vast empty space is, that is how vast Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body is. Therefore Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body is called the boundless body; it can both contain empty space and embrace the worlds of the ten directions, which is why he is named Ākāśagarbha (Womb of Space). Although Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's body is as vast and boundless as empty space, it is still a material body; since a material body exists, it has the functions and effects of a material body; and since it is called a material body, it has hands, which is why it is said that Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha can hold the four great precious jewels in his hands.
These four great precious jewels can illuminate the Buddha-lands as numerous as fine dust motes throughout the ten directions. One Buddha-land is one Buddha's world; the ten directions refer to the worlds of the ten directions. The ten directions represent east, west, south, north, southeast, southwest, northeast, northwest, plus above and below, making ten directions in total. "Fine dust motes" indicates an extremely, extremely large number. There are countless dust motes in empty space; one dust mote represents one Buddha-land, one Buddha's world. The dust motes in the worlds of the ten directions are even more countless. Even the dust motes within one cubic meter cannot be counted, let alone the dust motes of the worlds of the ten directions. Such Buddha-lands are beyond counting in number, and the Buddha-worlds are likewise immeasurable, boundless, and limitless. This shows how vast and unobstructed Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's spiritual power is. Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha holds the four great precious jewels, and these jewels can illuminate the Buddha-lands of the ten directions; all the boundless Buddha-worlds can be illuminated.
Then they are transformed into empty space. What is transformed into empty space? All the dust-mote Buddha-lands of the ten directions are transformed into empty space — this is the spiritual power employed by Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha. Why can all the dust-mote Buddha-lands of the ten directions be transformed into empty space? Because the Buddha-lands of the ten directions are also illusory and unreal; although they exist on the phenomenal level, in essence they do not exist — they are empty, illusory. Therefore, when Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha shines the four great precious jewels upon the Buddha-worlds of the ten directions, the Buddha-worlds of the ten directions are instantly transformed into empty space. There is also a special meaning here: Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's four great precious jewels represent his great wisdom. When the bodhisattva observes the Buddha-worlds of the ten directions with great wisdom, he clearly understands that the Buddha-worlds of the ten directions are all unreal, conjured forth by the tathāgatagarbha through conditions, and are also empty.
Original text: 又于自心。现大圆镜。内放十种。微妙宝光。流灌十方。尽虚空际。
Explanation: After the Buddha-worlds of the ten directions were transformed into empty space, Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha then manifested a great perfect mirror within his own mind. What mind does this "own mind" refer to? Regardless of what He manifests, where does the manifested phenomenon come from? It all comes from the bodhisattva's tathāgatagarbha. Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha is a tenth-bhūmi bodhisattva; a tenth-bhūmi bodhisattva has not yet become a Buddha, and before becoming a Buddha, his tathāgatagarbha cannot be called the undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna); at this stage it can be called the ripening consciousness (vīpākavijñāna). The tathāgatagarbha of bodhisattvas at the eighth bhūmi and above is all called the ripening consciousness, and can also be called the tathāgatagarbha.
From Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's tathāgatagarbha mind, a great perfect mirror was manifested. This great perfect mirror was produced through transformation by spiritual power. Within the great perfect mirror, ten kinds of extremely subtle and supremely wondrous precious lights were emitted, and these ten kinds of precious lights shone from the ten directions into the worlds of the ten directions. The ten directions represent all locations in empty space; everywhere the precious lights were connected, with no place lacking the illumination of precious light. The empty space of the worlds of the ten directions is boundless and limitless, and the precious lights emitted from the great perfect mirror manifested in the mind simultaneously illuminated the empty space of the ten directions; wherever there was empty space, there was the flowing infusion of precious light.
Original text: 诸幢王刹。来入镜内。涉入我身。身同虚空。不相妨碍。身能善入。微尘国土。广作佛事。得大随顺。
Explanation: Furthermore, the precious lights also illuminated the banner-king lands (chuang-wang-cha), that is, the Buddha-worlds of the ten directions, and all the Buddha-worlds likewise appeared within the great perfect mirror manifested in Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's mind — this is the vast spiritual power of a tenth-bhūmi bodhisattva, the result of boundless spiritual power. Because the great perfect mirror was manifested by Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's mind, the banner-king lands of the ten directions also came into Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's body. Why? Because Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's body is boundlessly vast, reaching to the very limits of empty space; however large empty space is, that is how large Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body is. The banner-king lands all came into the great perfect mirror; the great perfect mirror was manifested by his mind and is thus within Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body, within empty space, and within the empty-space limits of the worlds of the ten directions.
At this time, Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's body was like empty space. Empty space can contain the worlds of the ten directions, can contain the universe's material environment (the vessel-world), and can contain all material forms; empty space and material forms do not obstruct each other. All material forms can come into empty space, can be stored in empty space, and can be established in empty space. Since Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's body is like empty space, the banner-king lands of the ten directions, having come into the great perfect mirror, have thereby entered within Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body. Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body is like empty space and does not obstruct the banner-king lands of the worlds of the ten directions; there is no obstruction, because Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body is also like empty space.
Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha introduces himself, saying: "My body can well enter the dust-mote lands." Since all the dust-mote lands of the ten directions have come into Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body, then Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body can enter into the dust-mote lands of the ten directions. That is to say, the dust-mote lands of the ten directions and Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body interpenetrate without obstruction, merging into one another without hindrance. Such is the wondrous subtlety of the bodhisattva's spiritual power. In this way he can widely perform Buddha-deeds, broadly benefit sentient beings, and greatly carry out the Buddha-work within the dream. Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha can accord with the conditions of sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions and broadly deliver immeasurable sentient beings. The spiritual power of a tenth-bhūmi bodhisattva is beyond our imagination. Why does he have such great spiritual power? Because he possesses extremely deep and wondrous wisdom, as well as extremely profound states of meditative concentration; from these, immeasurable and boundless powers of supernatural penetration can arise.
Original text: 此大神力。由我谛观。四大无依。妄想生灭。
Explanation: Why does Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha have such great spiritual power? Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha himself introduces: "This great spiritual power arises from my careful contemplation that the four great elements have nothing to rest upon, arising and ceasing through delusive thinking." Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha used deep, wondrous wisdom to carefully observe and engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), giving rise to a mind of wisdom within meditative concentration. Contemplation within concentration is called careful contemplation (谛观); only with the paired operation of śamatha and vipaśyanā, the equal cultivation of samādhi and prajñā, is there careful contemplation. Bodhisattvas of the seventh bhūmi and above are in concentration in every thought-moment, with no time when they are not in concentration. The result of this careful contemplation confirmed that the material body composed of the four great elements has nothing to rest on and nowhere to abide, that no substantial material body or material form exists. From this deep, wondrous wisdom, immeasurable and vast supernatural powers arose, and he obtained boundless and vast spiritual power.
This boundless spiritual power was accomplished jointly by concentration and wisdom. Therefore, the content of Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's careful contemplation was that the four great elements have nothing to rest upon. The four great elements are the four greats formed by the four great seeds of earth, water, fire, and wind. The tathāgatagarbha then uses these four great elements to extensively create form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas, and to extensively create the universe's material environment. The universe's material environment is created by the four great elements, and the material bodies of all sentient beings are constituted by the four great elements. In the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the Buddha expounded that the four great elements are fundamentally the tathāgatagarbha nature; in essence they are also the tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, all dharmas constituted by the four great elements have nothing to rest on and nowhere to abide; they are all illusory transformations, with no substantial material form existing.
Material forms are generated by the four great elements of the tathāgatagarbha, and the four great elements themselves have nothing to depend on; they arise from the delusive thinking of sentient beings. Because of sentient beings' delusive thinking, the tathāgatagarbha relies on it and accordingly transforms and creates the material world composed of the four great elements. This delusive thinking is the perception (想) of the seven consciousnesses-mind, the deliberation of the seven consciousnesses-mind, the attention (作意) of the seven consciousnesses-mind — the attention, contact, feeling, perception, and deliberation of the seven consciousnesses-mind. Thereupon the tathāgatagarbha uses the four great elements to generate the worlds of the ten directions. The worlds of the ten directions are formed by the four great elements; the tathāgatagarbha, relying on the delusive mind, relying on the seven consciousnesses-mind, produced the dust-mote lands of the ten directions.
Original text: 虚空无二。佛国本同。于同发明。得无生忍。佛问圆通。我以观察。虚空无边。入三摩地。妙力圆明。斯为第一。
Explanation: The empty space of the ten directions and the Buddha-worlds of the ten directions are not two and not different; both are empty, both are illusory, false appearances; both are the tathāgatagarbha nature of the fundamental mind, both are the seed-functions within the tathāgatagarbha's substance itself, and are not two from the tathāgatagarbha. Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha realized that the worlds and lands of the ten directions, as well as empty space, are all not two from the tathāgatagarbha, all empty; thereupon Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha gave rise to the profound patience with the non-arising of dharmas (anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti) and obtained deeper, more wondrous wisdom.
By means of this deep, wondrous wisdom, Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha then brought forth even more profound meditative concentration, entering the samādhi in which concentration and wisdom are perfectly fused and equally maintained, and thereby possessed the spiritual power described above. Then he could employ his spiritual power to enter empty space with his body, become identical with empty space, merge into the worlds of the ten directions, and deliver sentient beings in accordance with conditions. Since the worlds of the ten directions, empty space, and the four great elements all have nothing to depend on, empty space can contain the material forms composed of the four great elements and the dust-mote worlds of the ten directions, and at the same time the dust-mote worlds of the ten directions can all be transformed into empty space.
Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's own space-body is composed of the four great elements; the four great elements and empty space are not two — both are the tathāgatagarbha nature, both manifested by the tathāgatagarbha — so Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body can be as vast and boundless as empty space. Empty space and the Buddha-lands are fundamentally the same; the Buddha-lands are also material worlds composed of the four great elements, and like empty space, are all manifested by the tathāgatagarbha; in essence they are all the tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, the material four great elements of the Buddha-lands can also be transformed into empty space. Empty space is also the tathāgatagarbha nature; the material four great elements are also the tathāgatagarbha nature; the dust-mote worlds of the Buddha-lands of the ten directions are also the tathāgatagarbha nature. Since they are all the tathāgatagarbha nature, they can be mutually unobstructed; all being empty, there is no obstruction.
The worlds of the ten directions can be transformed into empty space, and empty space can contain the worlds of the ten directions; the material body of the boundless-body bodhisattva can also be transformed into empty space and can also contain the dust-mote Buddha-lands of the worlds of the ten directions — this is the great spiritual power of perfectly luminous concentration and wisdom. This great spiritual power was accomplished jointly by Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's equal cultivation of concentration and wisdom; immeasurable and boundless supernatural powers are all accomplished jointly by concentration and wisdom, jointly by śamatha and vipaśyanā. Lacking either one, they cannot be accomplished.
Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha, through "realizing within the sameness" (于同发明) — this "sameness" represents non-duality. Non-dual with what? Non-dual with the tathāgatagarbha. Whether the material forms of the four great elements, or empty space, or the Buddha-worlds of the ten directions — all are non-dual with the tathāgatagarbha; their essence is the same. Because their essence is the same, all being empty, the bodhisattva gave rise to great wisdom. "Realizing within the sameness" — so-called realization means attaining, discovering, understanding, and obtaining this great wisdom; "luminosity" (明) is wisdom. He realized that the four great elements have nothing to rest upon, that they are all projected by delusive thinking, all subject to arising and ceasing.
Empty space is not two; the Buddha-lands are fundamentally the same — realizing this point, that all are the essence of the tathāgatagarbha, all the emptiness (śūnyatā) of the tathāgatagarbha, their essence all being empty, they are therefore mutually unobstructed. Thus Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha attained the profound patience with the non-arising of dharmas, and from attaining this great wisdom of the patience with non-arising, he had great spiritual power. His great spiritual power is incomparably great: Buddha-lands as numerous as dust motes can merge into his material body; the Buddha-lands of the ten directions can all be transformed into empty space; his material body, empty space, the Buddha-lands of the ten directions, and the material forms of the universe's material environment are mutually unobstructed, without hindrance, perfectly interpenetrating.
Original text: 佛问圆通，我以观察虚空无边，入三摩地，妙力圆明，斯为第一。
Explanation: Because he had already observed that empty space is boundlessly and limitlessly vast, in the course of observation he entered samādhi — this is concentration arising from wisdom, and then supernatural powers arising in turn. Empty space has no boundary. Why does it have no boundary? If it had a boundary, it would be a material form. The essence of empty space is also the tathāgatagarbha nature; the essence of material forms and of the worlds of the ten directions is also the tathāgatagarbha nature; their essence is empty, is the tathāgatagarbha nature.
When the bodhisattva contemplated this principle, he entered samādhi. Samādhi is the realm where concentration and wisdom are perfectly fused, indicating that the bodhisattva entered the profound state of meditative concentration from a state of wisdom, and thereby obtained vast spiritual power and boundless wisdom — "wondrous power perfectly luminous, this is the foremost." "Wondrous power" refers to Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's subtle spiritual power, perfectly brought forth, perfectly obtaining the wondrous power of perfect penetration.
Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha observed that empty space is not two and the Buddha-lands are fundamentally the same — this was his foremost method. His practice method involved one, concentration, and two, wisdom; śamatha and vipaśyanā of the same substance, observing that all dharmas are the tathāgatagarbha nature, not two from the tathāgatagarbha; therefore all dharmas are empty. Since all dharmas are empty, they are mutually unobstructed, without hindrance, able to perfectly interpenetrate and contain one another. His body can contain empty space, being the same as empty space, and can also let empty space contain the worlds of the ten directions; his body can also contain the worlds of the ten directions, and he can also go to the worlds of the ten directions, according with sentient beings, according with the Buddha-lands, widely performing Buddha-deeds. This is the practice method of Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha.
Twenty-Four: The Boundless Body of Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha
Because Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha realized that material forms, the material body, and empty space are all non-dual — non-dual with what? All are non-dual with the tathāgatagarbha — empty space is also empty, material forms are also empty, and thus the material bodies of sentient beings and the material bodies of bodhisattvas are also empty. After he realized this point, he gave rise to the great wisdom of the patience with non-arising, brought forth profound meditative concentration, and initiated vast supernatural powers; his material body became unobstructed with empty space, unobstructed with the Buddha-lands of the worlds of the ten directions, and material forms became unobstructed with one another.
Why are material forms unobstructed with one another? Because all material forms are empty, all conjured forth by the tathāgatagarbha, with no substantial material form existing. When meditative concentration and wisdom both arise, one can mentally empty the material forms, whereupon the great supernatural powers manifest. For example, a bodhisattva with supernatural powers, when initiating those powers, can pass through walls; the extremely towering Mount Sumeru, he can traverse in the blink of an eye. Mount Sumeru, such hard material, such hard jewels — his material body can easily pass through. Why can he pass through? Because Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha has realized that Mount Sumeru and all such material forms are empty, and the bodhisattva's material body is also empty; between emptiness and emptiness there is no obstruction, no hindrance. Therefore Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha can merge into empty space, and the Buddha-lands of the worlds of the ten directions can also merge into Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body. Of course, all of this depends on extremely profound meditative concentration and the initiation of great supernatural powers to be achieved; without meditative concentration, nothing can be accomplished.
Then the material bodies of sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions can of course also merge into Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body. Although the material bodies can mutually merge, each sentient being indeed has his own tathāgatagarbha; each has his own tathāgatagarbha, and these cannot be mixed together or used interchangeably; it is only that there is no hindrance between the material bodies, no obstruction. This is not entirely the same as the relationship between sentient beings and the bacteria on their bodies: bacteria are attached to a person's body and are obstructed relative to the person's material body; they are not superimposed upon one another. But between Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body and the material bodies of other sentient beings, there is no obstruction; they are superimposed upon one another without mutual hindrance. Likewise, Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's material body and the material forms of the Buddha-lands of the worlds of the ten directions have no obstruction.
There is another example that can illustrate that for one who has realized profound emptiness (śūnyatā), all material forms are unobstructed to oneself, and one can also use spiritual power to make material forms equally unobstructed to others. Before Śākyamuni Buddha was born into the Sahā world, when he entered his mother's womb, because the Buddha's spiritual power was incomparably immense, while in Lady Māyā's womb he could freely go to the Buddha-lands of the ten directions, and could freely invite the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten directions to gather in Lady Māyā's womb. The bodhisattvas of the worlds of the ten directions, as well as the Dharma-protecting deities of the worlds of the ten directions, all came to gather in Lady Māyā's womb. Thus Lady Māyā's womb and the material bodies of the other Buddhas and bodhisattvas were mutually unobstructed — such is the spiritual power of Śākyamuni Buddha and the Buddhas and bodhisattvas.
If we firmly cling to our own material body as real, as real material form, then this material body has hindrance and obstruction — obstructed relative to other material forms and to the worlds of the ten directions — and then we cannot pass through material forms, cannot penetrate material forms, and material forms cannot merge with our material body without obstruction. This is because our minds have obstruction. When our minds give rise to wisdom, regarding material forms as illusory and our own material bodies as also illusory — in fact non-existent, with no substantial material form, all empty, illusory, unreal — then, together with the realization of meditative concentration, we can alter material forms, penetrate material forms, and even be superimposed upon material forms without obstruction.
When we empty material forms, our own material body and other material forms no longer have barriers or obstructions. When we empty the material body and wish to go to another space, walls of material form and high mountains will no longer be obstructions to us, because material forms such as walls are also empty. When one cultivates to the point of mentally emptying one's own material body, no longer knowing the material body to exist, the material body is as if non-existent, and one can pass through mountains and across waters without any obstruction. When the four dhyānas and eight samāpattis arise, one can empty the material body; the five supernatural penetrations manifest, the six supernatural penetrations manifest, the material body and other material forms have no obstruction, and one can pass through walls. These examples prove that all material forms are not real; through cultivating concentration and wisdom, one can empty these material forms, and one will then no longer be constrained by one's own material forms or external material forms; body and mind will be extremely at ease, and ultimately one can, like Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha, merge into one substance with the worlds of the ten directions.
二十五、如何理解虚空藏菩萨像虚空一样的无边身
（一）问：既然虚空藏菩萨证得了物质色法、色身和虚空都不二，可以任意十方世界遨游，那么他分辨众生的差异，分辨色法的差异，这种能力是如何的呢？是不是神通现起和了别众生色身差异不可能同时存在？
Answer: Although Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's body is as vast as empty space and unobstructed with empty space, what he realized is, after all, a space-body; although it has no form, it still belongs to a material body. Then he simultaneously has eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind; he can have eye-consciousness seeing forms — he has both the flesh eye and the divine eye, and at the same time also uses the Dharma eye. His several kinds of eyes are all supremely excellent, surpassing those of ordinary people, seeing more truly and discriminating more clearly.
Because he has realized the Dharma eye, his great wisdom far surpasses the wisdom of ordinary beings. Ordinary beings can discriminate ordinary material forms; Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha can all the more possess superlative discriminating ability regarding material forms. He has great supernatural powers and at the same time can discern the differences among sentient beings; he can see both the essence and the surface appearances, without losing the shallow ability that ordinary beings have.
（二）问：虚空藏菩萨所证得的色身、色法的“空”，能否作如下理解：其一是指色身色法是如来藏幻化的，与如来藏不一不二，此空可以理解为如来藏；其二色身色法的“空”就是愣严经中所说的“目眚，瞩灯光中所现圆影”，是虚幻的，如梦中物一样？
Answer: The "emptiness" here, first, refers to the empty-nature mind, the tathāgatagarbha: all dharmas are conjured forth by the tathāgatagarbha and are extremely insubstantial, like the mountains, rivers, and the great earth conjured by a magician. The second meaning refers to the absence of substance, like empty space; like the round shadow appearing in the lamplight, which fundamentally does not exist. Therefore, material objects can overlap with one another and mutually contain each other; the material body can pass through walls and is unobstructed with material forms.
It can also be understood from another aspect: material forms are constituted by the subtle particles of the four great elements, and the subtle particles of the four great elements are conjured forth moment by moment through arising and ceasing from the four great seeds. Then material forms are momentarily arising-and-ceasing conjurations — where is there any real material form? Because there is no real material form, material objects can overlap, mutually encompass, and mutually contain one another.
Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha's boundless body should be understood in this way: the material bodies of humans and animals are substantial flesh bodies, and therefore their functions are greatly hindered, and they have no supernatural powers. The sentient beings of the ghost and spirit realms, however, do not have flesh bodies; their material bodies are subtle material forms, so they are less hindered by their material bodies and have minor supernatural powers. The material bodies of devas are even more subtle, and therefore their supernatural powers are somewhat greater than those of ghosts and spirits.
Then, because great bodhisattvas' meditative concentration, wisdom, and merit are extremely vast and supreme, their material bodies are even more subtle than those of devas, and their powers of supernatural penetration are even mightier. The more subtle the material body, the less substantial it is, the more ethereal, the smaller the hindrance, and the vaster the virtue and capability. The material bodies of devas are relatively ethereal and their merit relatively great, so their material bodies are somewhat vaster. Then the material bodies of bodhisattvas with profound meditative concentration and wisdom, and with great supernatural powers, are vaster and more ethereal than those of devas, and can better contain other material forms.
From this we can know what the direction of our cultivation is: we must empty the mind and also empty the body, empty all material forms, not craving or clinging to the material body and material forms, not taking any form as truly existent. In this way the mind becomes vast, and the material body also becomes vast; when the mind can contain all dharmas, the material body can also contain all material forms.
Twenty-Six: The Perfect Penetration Method of Bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta
Original text: 大势至法王子。与其同伦。五十二菩萨。即从座起。顶礼佛足。而白佛言。我忆往昔。恒河沙劫。有佛出世。名无量光。十二如来。相继一劫。其最后佛名。超日月光。彼佛教我。念佛三昧。譬如有人。一专为忆。一人专忘。如是二人。若逢不逢。或见非见。二人相忆。二忆念深。如是乃至。从生至生。同于形影。不相乖异。
Explanation: Dharma Prince Mahāsthāmaprāpta and the fifty-two great bodhisattvas of his kind immediately rose from their seats, bowed at the Buddha's feet, and said to the Buddha: "I recall that in the past, as many eons ago as there are sands of the Ganges, a Buddha appeared in the world named Immeasurable Light (Amitābha). Twelve Tathāgatas succeeded one another within one eon, and the last Buddha was named Light Surpassing the Sun and Moon. That Buddha taught me the recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi (buddhānusmṛti-samādhi). The specific principle and method of cultivating the recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi is as follows: suppose there are two people who are not together; one person wholeheartedly thinks of the other, while the other person does not think of him in his mind and only wants to escape. In that case, these two people may meet or may not meet, may see each other or may not see each other. But if both people think of each other, and their mutual mindfulness is deep, they will certainly meet and be together. Because of such mutual longing, from this life to future lives, the two will be inseparable like form and shadow, no longer parting. Cultivating the recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi is just like this recollection of the Buddha — only thus can it be accomplished."
Original text: 十方如来。怜念众生。如母忆子。若子逃逝。虽忆何为。子若忆母。如母忆时。母子历生。不相违远。若众生心。忆佛念佛。现前当来。必定见佛。去佛不远。不假方便。自得心开。如染香人。身有香气。此则名曰。香光庄严。我本因地。以念佛心。入无生忍。今于此界。摄念佛人。归于净土。佛问圆通。我无选择。都摄六根。净念相继。得三摩地。斯为第一。
Explanation: The Tathāgatas of the ten directions compassionately remember and watch over sentient beings, just as a mother longs for her child. If the child flees from the mother and does not wish to see her, then no matter how much the mother longs for the child, it is of no use; they still cannot meet. If sentient beings' minds can think of the Buddha and be mindful of the Buddha, then in the present and in the future they will certainly see the Buddha and will not be far from the Buddha; without resorting to other expedient methods, their minds will naturally open and they will see the Buddha, realize the patience with non-arising, and accomplish the recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi. It is like a person who works in dyeing with incense, whose body always carries a fragrance — this is called the adornment of fragrance and light.
"I originally, before becoming a bodhisattva, attained the patience with non-arising by means of the mind of recollecting the Buddha, became enlightened, and became a bodhisattva. Now in this Sahā world, I gather in and receive those who recollect the Buddha, bringing them back to the pure land. The Buddha asks about my perfect penetration method: I have no other choice; it is by using the method of recollecting the Buddha to gather in and collect all six faculties, focusing the mind's mindfulness on the Buddha, with only one pure thought of thinking of the Buddha continuously lingering in the mind. In this way one enters samādhi and accomplishes the recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi. I take this practice method as the foremost perfect penetration method."
The Buddha recollected here symbolizes sentient beings' own self-nature pure mind, their own original Buddha, which has been lost due to ignorance for beginningless eons. Now, in order to no longer wander through birth and death, one must retrieve the lost original mind-Buddha, relying on the guiding lamp of the self-nature Buddha to cross the ocean of suffering of birth and death. Therefore, sentient beings must constantly think of the original mind-Buddha and be mindful of the original mind-Buddha in order to see Him, and from then on no longer be lost, unable to find the road home. And the original mind-Buddha has never left sentient beings; He has always been watching over sentient beings — it is only that sentient beings themselves do not know. If one can be mindful of the original mind-Buddha, then under the guidance of the Buddha's light, with a single thought of turning the mind around, one will suddenly discover that the original mind-Buddha has always been by one's side, accompanying oneself. From then on, the mind's flowers bloom, the mind possesses the precious jewel, and one obtains great benefit.
Twenty-Seven: Looking at the results of the cultivation of the twenty-five sages, we know that the manas can completely substitute for the first six consciousnesses. This is a fact of the cultivation of the sages; they are not necessarily bodhisattvas — arhats can achieve it. The prerequisite is to be endowed with meditative concentration and endowed with the power of samādhi.
The World-Honored One repeatedly emphasizes in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra that the six faculties are fundamentally one faculty, divided into six due to ignorance and delusive thinking. After attaining the Way, the six dissolve and even the one vanishes — all are the functions of fundamental enlightenment. Among the Buddhist sutras, it is still the Śūraṅgama Sūtra that explains most deeply and thoroughly; the World-Honored One everywhere guides us to see the mind and see the nature, to recognize the essence of all dharmas, and to find the road home.
Memorizing the Buddhist sutras is far, far better than memorizing the bodhisattvas' śāstras; after all, the sutras are more reliable than the śāstras and will not mislead people — except for the limitations of the translators' realization and level, and errors introduced during successive transmission. And the wisdom of bodhisattvas is far inferior to the Buddha's wisdom; what they say all has discrepancies, none being completely correct. Even being eighty or ninety percent correct is precious and rare.
Twenty-Eight: Looking at the cultivation of the twenty-five sages in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the practitioners of the past were very pragmatic in their cultivation; the theory they studied was not very much. As soon as they had slightly steeped themselves in some theory, they immediately went into meditative concentration for actual contemplative practice. Their cultivation was primarily meditative concentration and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā); cultivating concentration and investigating occupied more than eighty percent of their practice. Their cultivation was very solid, so they could quickly realize the principle, obtain samādhi, and achieve accomplishment quickly. In ancient times, the climate of practice was that many realized the principle and few merely spoke of it.
People today are just the opposite: they devote over ninety percent of their energy to studying theoretical knowledge, with strong abilities in recitation and repetition, but lack the ability to cultivate independently. They do not like to cultivate concentration; their minds are so scattered and confused that they cannot develop meditative concentration. Their contemplative practice relies only on the mind consciousness's emotional conjectures and intellectual interpretations. They believe that knowing much means having the Way, that knowing a similar answer means having realized it, utterly unaware of what the consequences of being a mere "disciple of the school of intellectual understanding" or "speaking of food without being filled" are. Then they write books and establish doctrines, widely gathering disciples, not considering in the least whether they will mislead the young and lead sentient beings astray. This is the result of the restless minds and shallow thinking of sentient beings in the final age. Looking around, one sees only rhetoricians who talk about the principle, and hardly ever sees practitioners who have realized it. The less endowed sentient beings are with merit, the more severe these phenomena become. Speaking too much about these matters invites hatred and curses. Wanting to restore the old ways and follow the cultivation footsteps of the ancients is extremely, extremely difficult; hardly anyone can recognize that Buddhism faces a great crisis, or how severe the bad phenomena are.
