Patriarch's Teachings: Direct Interpretation

Chapter 7: Explanations of Passages and Paragraphs from Buddhist Sūtras (Part Three)

Eighteen, Original text of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra: 大慧。云何斯陀含相。谓顿照色相妄想。生相见相不生。善见禅趣相故。顿来此世。尽苦际。得涅槃。是故名斯陀含。大慧。云何阿那含。谓过去未来现在色相。性非性。生见过患。使妄想不生故。及结断。故名阿那含。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Mahāmati, what is the appearance of the sakṛdāgāmin of the second fruit? When the sakṛdāgāmin comes into contact with people, he can instantly see through the appearance of his own and others' physical bodies, and has no false thoughts about the physical body, knowing that it is unborn, that there is no real birth, and that its marks are suffering, empty, impermanent, and non-self. He knows as soon as he sees the marks, without needing the mind consciousness to deliberate. The manas already knows this at the first fruit, and when cultivation reaches the second fruit, the knowing is deeper and more thorough. The sakṛdāgāmin is skilled at observing the appearance and orientation of meditative concentration; at the end of life he goes to the heavens, and then directly returns from the heavens to the human world, in order to exhaust the limit of suffering and attain nirvāṇa. Therefore he is called a sakṛdāgāmin.

Mahāmati, what is the appearance of the anāgāmin of the third fruit? The anāgāmin knows the physical body marks of past, future, and present, that their nature is without self-nature, and can see the faults and defects of birth, knowing the fault of falsely taking the physical body as self and belonging to self; he has no false thoughts about the marks of the physical body, and with the power of the first dhyāna, he has severed the manifest afflictions of all greed and hatred; therefore he is called the anāgāmin of the third fruit.

Original text: 大慧。阿罗汉者。谓诸禅三昧解脱力。明烦恼苦。妄想非性。故名阿罗汉。大慧白佛言。世尊。世尊说三种阿罗汉。此说何等阿罗汉。世尊。为得寂静一乘道。为菩萨摩诃萨方便示现阿罗汉。为佛化化。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Mahāmati, what is an arhat? An arhat is one who has attained the four dhyānas, the eight samādhis, and meditative concentration (samādhi), and by the liberating power of samādhi, clearly understands the suffering of all worldly afflictions, and therefore has severed all the afflictions of the one-thought ignorance, knowing that the false thoughts of one's own mind have no real nature; therefore the mind is free from all false thoughts and false thoughts do not arise—such a one is called an arhat. Mahāmati said to the Buddha: World-Honored One, you have spoken of three kinds of arhats; which kind of arhat is being spoken of here? World-Honored One, is it the arhat who has attained the quietude of the one vehicle path, the arhat deliberately manifested by bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as an expedient means, or the arhat manifested by the Buddha's transformation?

Original text: 佛告大慧。得寂静一乘道声闻。非余。余者。行菩萨行。及佛化化。巧方便。本愿故。于大众示现受生。为庄严佛眷属故。大慧。于妄想处。种种说法。谓得果得禅。禅者入禅。悉远离故。示现得自心现量。得果相。说名得果。

Explanation: The Buddha told Mahāmati: What I am now speaking of are the śrāvakas who have attained the quietude of the one vehicle path—they, in order to attain liberation quickly, diligently cultivate the four dhyānas and eight samādhis, and by the power of meditative concentration attain liberation and enter nirvāṇa without remainder. It is not speaking of the other two kinds of arhats: the arhats who practice bodhisattva conduct and the arhats manifested by the Buddha's transformation. These are skillful expedient manifestations of arhat conduct; by the power of the fundamental vows of bodhisattvas and Buddhas, they manifest taking birth among the assembly in the identity of an arhat, also in order to adorn the Buddha's retinue.

Mahāmati, the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, at the places where sentient beings have false thoughts, teach the Dharma in various ways, saying that such practice can attain the fruit of the arhat, that such practice can attain the four dhyānas and eight samādhis, and that by cultivating meditative concentration one can enter samādhi. These too are all unreal false thoughts, illusory and unborn marks, and should all be abandoned (in order to enter into the real). The Buddhas and bodhisattvas manifest the opening of great wisdom, the emergence of the realm of immediate manifestation from one's own mind (sva-citta-pratyakṣa), and manifest attaining the appearances of the first through fourth fruits, giving it a name and calling it "attaining the fruit"; in reality there is no fruit and no person who attains the fruit—it is all false thought. (Only that which is unborn and unceasing in one's own mind is not false thought.)

Nineteen: The Five Dharmas, Three Natures, Seven Self-natures, Seven Ultimate Meanings, and Two Dharmas of Non-self in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra

(1) The five dharmas are: mark (lakṣaṇa), name (nāma), discrimination (vikalpa), correct wisdom (samyag-jñāna), and suchness (tathatā).

Mark means all the dharma-marks produced by the tathāgatagarbha, including marks of material form, marks of mental dharmas, and dharma-marks that are neither form nor mind. Material form is the six sense objects composed of the four great elements; form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma each have their definite appearances, which can be recognized and known by the six consciousnesses. Mental dharmas are the seven consciousness minds and the mental factors (caittas), which also have definite appearances, with operational characteristics that can be recognized and known by the mind consciousness. Dharmas that are neither form nor mind, such as the twenty-four non-associated formations (asaṃskṛta-viprayukta-saṃskāra), are a kind of false appearance jointly manifested by the eight consciousnesses, the mental factors, and material form; being neither form nor mind, they also have definite operational characteristics and can be discerned by the mind consciousness.

These marks also include the four marks: the mark of self (the marks of the five aggregates and eighteen realms), the mark of person, the mark of sentient being, and the mark of life span; the marks of meditative states, the marks of sleep, the marks of unconsciousness, the marks of death, the marks of the antarābhava, the marks of entering the womb, dwelling in the womb, emerging from the womb, growing, changing, and decaying; the marks of the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm; the marks of the worlds of the ten directions, the worlds of the lotus treasury, and the ocean of worlds. These marks can be known and discerned by the mind consciousness; there are also some marks that can be known by the manas but not necessarily by the mind consciousness; there are also marks that can be known by the five sense consciousnesses, and also marks that cannot yet be known by the seven consciousnesses.

Name means names and designations that correspond to the marks. In order to conveniently distinguish various marks, address various marks, and communicate about various marks, corresponding names are established for the various marks. One mark may have one name or multiple names; names are established from different angles, according to different uses; different groups of people with different languages establish different names, and different eras also establish different names; sometimes one name also represents one or multiple marks. All these marks are false appearances manifested by the tathāgatagarbha in dependence on various conditions—how much more so the names established based on these false marks, which are even more illusory and unreal.

For example, based on the marks of the five aggregates, the physical body is named the aggregate of form; the feeling appearances of the six consciousnesses are named the aggregate of feeling; the grasping appearances of the six consciousnesses are named the aggregate of perception; the operational characteristics of the six consciousnesses are named the aggregate of volitional formations; and the knowing appearances of the six consciousnesses are named the aggregate of consciousness. Based on the marks of the eighteen realms, they are respectively named the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and manas; the sense objects of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma; and the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind consciousnesses—thus the names of the eighteen realms are established. The five aggregates are inherently false and illusory; the names of the five aggregates are falsity upon falsity—why grasp at them unceasingly, mentally clinging and calculating in every thought? The eighteen realms are also inherently false and illusory, and the names of the eighteen realms are even more illusory—why cling to them endlessly, tying the ropes and bonds of birth and death?

Among the five dharmas of mark, name, discrimination, correct wisdom, and suchness, discrimination refers to the knowing nature of the consciousness minds: the five sense consciousnesses discern the five sense objects, and the mind consciousness and the seventh consciousness discern the mental sense objects. Correct wisdom is correct and true wisdom, correct views and understanding, which exists in dependence on the self-nature of true suchness (tathatā); it is the prajñā wisdom that arises after realizing the self-nature of true suchness, and therefore is called correct wisdom. Suchness is the self-nature of true suchness, the true and such-like nature of the eighth consciousness.

(2) The three natures: the dependent nature (paratantra-svabhāva), the imputed nature (parikalpita-svabhāva), and the perfectly accomplished nature (pariniṣpanna-svabhāva). The dependent nature refers to the nature of the six consciousness minds; the six consciousnesses arise in dependence on the eighth consciousness, the manas, the six sense objects, the five sense faculties, and karmic conditions, and cease when the conditions disperse—they have no self-nature, being false and unreal.

The imputed nature refers to the manas, the seventh consciousness (manas-kliṣṭa-vijñāna), which, based on the eighth consciousness, universally deliberates and grasps at all dharmas as real, grasping them as self and belonging to self; the seven consciousnesses are all like a mirage, illusory and unreal.

The perfectly accomplished nature refers to the eighth consciousness, which can perfectly accomplish all dharmas in dependence on conditions and karmic seeds, and truthfully actualize the karmic causes and effects of sentient beings.

(3) The seven self-natures: the self-nature of aggregation, the self-nature of nature, the self-nature of mark, the self-nature of the great elements, the self-nature of cause, the self-nature of condition, and the self-nature of accomplishment.

The self-nature of aggregation is the nature of the eighth consciousness to accumulate and store all the karmic actions performed by sentient beings as karmic seeds; when conditions ripen, it can truthfully actualize the nature of the karmic retribution of sentient beings' wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral (avyākṛta) karma.

The self-nature of nature refers to all the intrinsic natures possessed by the eighth consciousness, such as the nature of producing seeds, the nature of collecting karmic seeds, the nature of actualizing karmic retribution, the nature of vipāka that causes sentient beings to receive retribution at different times, in different places, and in different forms of existence, the nature of purity and tranquility (praśama), the nature of lacking the awareness of seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing, the middle-way nature of the eight negations and infinite negations, the nature of perfectly accomplishing all dharmas, the nature of becoming a Buddha, the nature of being real and such-like, and so on.

The self-nature of mark refers to the nature of the eighth consciousness to produce all worldly dharma-marks; it can produce marks of material form, can also produce marks of mental dharmas, and can also manifest dharma-marks that are neither form nor mind.

The self-nature of the great elements refers to the nature of the eighth consciousness to produce all dharmas of the world and beyond the world in dependence on the seven great element seeds or the six great element seeds. Among these, in dependence on the seeds of the four great elements together with the seed of the great element of space, it produces the material forms of the threefold great chiliocosm; in dependence on the seed of the great element of consciousness, it can produce the mental dharmas of the five-aggregate world; and in dependence on the seven great element seeds, it can also manifest the mental factors and dharmas that are neither form nor mind.

The self-nature of cause refers to the eighth consciousness being the cause of all myriad dharmas of the world and beyond the world; all myriad dharmas exist and manifest in dependence on the eighth consciousness. Whether wholesome dharmas, unwholesome dharmas, or dharmas that are neither wholesome nor unwholesome, all exist in dependence on the eighth consciousness; all causes and effects are actualized in dependence on the eighth consciousness; all worldly dharmas arise in dependence on the eighth consciousness; all Buddha-dharmas exist in dependence on the eighth consciousness. In short, the eighth consciousness is the cause of all myriad dharmas.

The self-nature of condition refers to the ability of the eighth consciousness to produce all dharmas and then to continuously operate by being conjoined with all dharmas; all dharmas are the direct object condition (ālambana-pratyaya) of the eighth consciousness; all dharmas cannot be separated from the eighth consciousness, and the eighth consciousness is not separate from all dharmas; the two forever depend on each other, like bundled reeds.

The self-nature of accomplishment refers to the perfectly accomplished nature (pariniṣpanna-svabhāva) of the eighth consciousness; He can perfectly accomplish all myriad worldly dharmas in dependence on various conditions without the slightest error; all dharmas are established and produced in dependence on the eighth consciousness.

(4) The seven ultimate meanings: the realm of mind, the realm of wisdom, the realm of knowledge, the realm of view, the realm transcending the two views, the realm transcending the stage of the sons of the Buddha, and the realm reached by the Tathāgata himself.

The realm of mind refers to the mental activities of the eighth consciousness. This requires seeing the mind and realizing enlightenment, and only after obtaining prajñā wisdom can one come to know the various mental realms in which the eighth consciousness operates, and can one realize and directly observe the mental activities and various operational characteristics of the eighth consciousness. Before seeing the mind, one can only imagine and speculate; one cannot realize it empirically, nor truly know it.

The realm of wisdom refers to the wisdom realm of non-discrimination in which the eighth consciousness, while operating within the five-aggregate world, is unaware and unknowing of the realms of the five aggregates and six sense objects, while at the same time possessing the wisdom realm of being able to discern the karmic seeds of sentient beings and the mental activities of the seven consciousnesses, as well as the wisdom realm of being able to discern the manifest states of the faculties, the body, the vessel world, and the world. This wisdom realm of the eighth consciousness can only be gradually discerned by those who have realized enlightenment. After seeing the mind, the enlightened person must not only have the general-characteristic wisdom of prajñā, but must also have the specific-characteristic wisdom of prajñā, in order to contemplate the discriminating and non-discriminating natures of the eighth consciousness as it operates in coordination with the five-aggregate body, to know the wisdom realm of the eighth consciousness, to know the operation of the eighth consciousness in coordination with the seven consciousnesses, to know that the eighth consciousness can enter the womb and relinquish the body together with the manas, manifest the myriad dharmas in coordination with the manas, and discern the myriad dharmas in coordination with the manas—these various wisdom realms.

The realm of knowledge refers to the great wisdom realm of the eighth consciousness as it operates within the threefold world; it can produce the five-aggregate bodies of sentient beings in accordance with karmic seeds, transform and fashion the five-aggregate worlds of the threefold world using the six great element seeds, and manifest all dharma-marks within the dharma realm using the seven great element seeds. After the enlightened bodhisattva is endowed with the specific-characteristic wisdom of prajñā, he can gradually observe the many dharma-natures and dharma-marks of the eighth consciousness, knowing that all worldly dharma-marks are the self-nature of the great elements of the eighth consciousness, all manifested by the eighth consciousness using the six great element seeds, all the result of the operation of the eighth consciousness's seven great element seeds; no dharma can go beyond the eighth consciousness. Due to this wonderful observation, one gradually attains the profound wonderful observational wisdom (pratyavekṣaṇā-jñāna).

The realm of view refers to the emptiness (śūnyatā) realm of the two non-selves—person-non-self and dharma-non-self—possessed by the eighth consciousness. After the bodhisattva sees the mind and sees the nature, obtaining the wisdom of non-arising dharma patience (anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti), he can also, based on the emptiness realm of the two non-selves of the eighth consciousness, realize the person-non-self of the five aggregates and eighteen realms, empirically realize the falsity of the physical body and the mind of seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing, exhaust the afflictions of self-grasping and the habitual tendencies of afflictions, and have the ability to attain nirvāṇa without remainder; at the same time he also realizes the non-self of all dharmas, knowing that all dharmas of the threefold world exist through the combination of the eighth consciousness with various karmic conditions, have no self-nature and no substantiality, and are all illusory and unreal; and the eighth consciousness also has no self-grasping views, is not self-aware of itself, and is also of a non-self nature. The bodhisattva thereby realizes that all dharmas truly have no self, exhausts the dharma-self view that dharmas have real existence, and from then on enters the three samādhis of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, the mind attaining great tranquility, gradually entering the stage of the eighth bhūmi bodhisattva, able to enter nirvāṇa without remainder at any time yet not entering it.

The realm transcending the two views refers to the eighth consciousness transcending birth-and-death and nirvāṇa—neither in birth-and-death nor in nirvāṇa; both birth-and-death and nirvāṇa are natures of the eighth consciousness. When the bodhisattva's wisdom of non-arising dharma patience is cultivated to the eighth bhūmi, his wisdom transcends the two views of the existence and non-existence of all dharmas, transcends the two views of birth-and-death and nirvāṇa, and empirically realizes that all dharmas are flowers in the sky, with truly nothing attained; therefore he does not abide in birth-and-death nor abide in nirvāṇa without remainder, cultivating in every thought to benefit and bring joy to sentient beings, gradually tending toward the Buddha-land's non-abiding nirvāṇa (apratiṣṭhita-nirvāṇa).

The realm transcending the stage of the sons of the Buddha: the eighth bhūmi bodhisattva continues cultivation to the fruit of the equal-enlightenment bodhisattva (samatā-samukha), transcending the stage of the sons of the Buddha, occupying the position of supplementing the Buddha, awaiting the ripening of the conditions of time and circumstance, to succeed to the Buddha's position, propagating the Dharma and benefiting sentient beings without ever ceasing.

The realm reached by the Tathāgata himself: all eight consciousnesses of the Tathāgata Buddhas have been completely transformed into wisdom, with the great mirror-like wisdom (ādarśa-jñāna) manifesting before them; they have perfectly cultivated and realized all dharmas, knowing and understanding every dharma of the world and beyond the world; they have not only ended segmented birth-and-death (pariccheda-maraṇa) but also severed transformational birth-and-death (parināma-maraṇa); birth-and-death is exhausted and ignorance has been completely extinguished; merit and wisdom are perfectly and completely endowed, unmatched by anyone, worthy of being the honored one of the threefold world; from then on, apart from endlessly benefiting and bringing joy to sentient beings, there is nothing else to do.

(5) The two dharmas of non-self: person-non-self and dharma-non-self.

Person-non-self means that the five aggregates and eighteen realms have no self and nothing belonging to self. The five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness are arising-and-ceasing, illusory, and unreal; they are not real, have no self-nature, and have no autonomy; therefore they are not self and have no self-nature. The eighteen realms of six faculties, six objects, and six consciousnesses are arising-and-ceasing, illusory, and unreal; they are not real, have no self-nature, and cannot be autonomous; therefore they are not self and have no self-nature. The twelve sense bases of six faculties and six objects are arising-and-ceasing, illusory, and unreal; they are not real, have no self-nature, and cannot be autonomous; therefore they are not self and have no self-nature.

Dharma-non-self means that all dharmas existing in the worldly and supramundane realms, including material form and mental dharmas, dharmas that are neither form nor mind, real dharmas and false dharmas—all dharmas manifested by the eighth consciousness—are without self.

Twenty: The Mahāyāna Ghanavyūha Sūtra

Original text: 善男子。色无觉知。无有思虑。生已必灭。同于草木瓦石之类。微尘集成。如水聚沫。受以二法。和合而生。犹如浮泡瓶衣等。想亦二和合。因缘所生。如热时焰。譬如盛热地气蒸涌。照以日光如水波浪。诸鸟兽等。为渴所逼。远而见之。生真水解。想亦如是。无有体性。虚妄不实。

Explanation: This passage of sūtra text explains the unreality and illusory nature of the five aggregates. The Buddha said: Good sons, the aggregate of form is like grass, trees, tiles, and stones, composed of the minute particles of the four great elements, like foam gathered from water; it has no function of awareness or deliberation of its own. The aggregate of feeling arises from the combination of two dharmas; when the consciousness mind is added to the physical body, the aggregate of feeling exists, like the foam in the great ocean, arising and ceasing swiftly; like a clay jar made from mud or clothes made from cloth, it does not exist originally, and even when it exists it is not real. The aggregate of perception also exists through the combination of two dharmas; when the consciousness mind is added to the physical body, the function of perception exists, like the mirage of a summer day, illusory and unreal. For example, in the scorching summer, the hot vapors of the earth evaporate and surge into the sky, and under the shining sunlight, the water vapor is like waves of water. Birds and beasts, tormented by thirst, see it from afar and believe it to be real water. The aggregate of perception is like this: it has no true self-substance, being illusory and unreal. When sentient beings crave the physical body and the six sense objects, they falsely see the existence of the realms of the five desires and six sense objects.

Original text: 分别智者。如有性见。各别体相。名字可得。定者审观。犹如兔角石女儿等。但有假名。初无实义。如梦中色。唯想妄见。寤即非有。无明梦中。见男女等。种种之色。成于正觉。即无所见。

Explanation: A person with discriminating wisdom knows that these phenomena have no real substance to be obtained; they are entirely illusory and transformed, merely names, utterly unobtainable. Upon careful observation, one will discover that these dharmas are like a rabbit's horns or the son of a barren woman—they simply do not exist; there are only false names without real meaning. All dharmas of the world are merely false names, having no actual meaning in themselves; like forms seen in a dream, only because of the false thoughts of the manas is there form to be seen and the ability to see form, yet upon waking there is nothing at all. Because of ignorance, sentient beings dwell in the dream of ignorance, falsely seeing the various forms of men and women and so on, which are in fact the same as what is seen in a dream. The Buddha has completely awakened from the great dream of ignorance, realizing that all dharmas are like flowers in the sky—not a single dharma exists; all are false appearances manifested by one's own mind of true suchness (tathatā); in essence they are nothing but one's own mind of true suchness, and there are no dharmas at all.

The aggregate of perception temporarily exists in dependence on various conditions, giving rise to the function of false discrimination, and thus there arise the grasping consciousness mind and the grasped realms of the six sense objects. If one can know the true reality within this, all these false seeing natures and the marks that are seen will no longer exist; one will no longer falsely grasp at these false consciousness minds and illusory sense objects, and both the grasping and the grasped will completely cease. Therefore the five aggregates have no real substance, no real functional operations, and no self-nature; they are all like illusions.

Original text: 譬如芭蕉。皮叶既除。中无有实。行亦如是。离于身境即无体性。识如幻事虚伪不实。譬如幻师。若幻师弟子。以草木等物。幻作于人。及诸象马。种种形体。具足庄严。愚幻贪求。非明智者。识亦如是。依余而住。而异分别。谓能所取。二种而生。若自了知。即皆转灭。是故无体。同于幻事。

For example, when a plantain tree is peeled, once the bark and leaves have all been removed, in the end there is nothing inside. The aggregate of volitional formations is also like this: apart from the body faculty and other such realms, it has no self-substance. The aggregate of consciousness is like a magical illusion, false and unreal. For example, a magician or a magician's disciple, using grass, trees, and other objects, conjures up human figures as well as various elephants and horses, with all kinds of forms, fully adorned. Foolish people then falsely give rise to craving and desire for these illusions, while the wise know they are all illusions and do not give rise to such craving.

The aggregate of consciousness is likewise without self-substance; it abides in dependence on other dharmas, temporarily existing through the arising of causes and conditions, and then gives rise to the function of false discrimination, and thus the two dharmas of the grasping consciousness mind and the grasped realms of the six sense objects appear. If one can know the true reality within this, then all these false seeing natures and the marks that are seen will cease and no longer exist; there will no longer be the grasping consciousness mind and illusory sense objects, and both the grasping and the grasped will completely cease. Therefore the five aggregates have no real substance and no real functional operations, no self-substance; they are all like illusions.