The Ten Directions Are the One True Dharma Realm

Zhu Qingshi said: Our world is like this large fish tank, with a goldfish swimming inside. Assume there are at least two cameras: one observing the fish tank from the side, and another observing it from behind. In another room, there are two monitors. Imagine a person entering the room with the monitors; he would see two fish inside the tank. These two fish appear different because one is viewed from behind the tail, and the other from the side. These two fish are peculiar—no matter what action one takes, the other immediately responds, and both do so simultaneously.

The monitors are equivalent to black boxes, and the person is analogous to the six consciousnesses. The six consciousnesses perceive the six dust-realms within the black box, just as the person sees the images on the monitors. The monitors are monitoring one fish in the fish tank of another room. Clearly, there is only one fish in the tank, so why do the monitors show two different fish? Because the two cameras capture the fish from different angles, resulting in distinct images that make it seem as if there are two fish. Thus, the monitors display two fish.

The monitors are equivalent to black boxes. Everything within the black box is an illusory false appearance resembling the external world, but it may not be entirely identical—there could be significant errors. The six consciousnesses are unaware of this and mistakenly believe they perceive the true appearance, leading to a grave misunderstanding. If ten cameras were placed in different positions in the room, they would capture ten fish. If a hundred cameras were placed, they would capture a hundred fish, and the monitors would display ten or a hundred different fish. When a sufficient number of cameras are used, these fish viewed from different angles combine to form one complete fish. This is the principle behind the Buddha’s instruction in the Shurangama Sutra to install octagonal mirrors when setting up the Shurangama mandala in the practice hall.

The ten-direction world is the One True Dharma Realm. Can we now comprehend what the One True Dharma Realm truly is? The Dharma precisely analyzes the false and delusory appearances of the secular world. When analyzed to the end, all is empty. That which cannot be emptied is the formless, appearanceless True Dharma Realm. Holography, dome-screen movies, and similar phenomena all illustrate that the world is illusory. Everything we encounter is illusory. Holography, dome-screen movies, and similar phenomena all illustrate that the world is illusory. Everything we encounter is illusory.

If anyone acknowledges that all phenomena are illusory, let us empty our minds completely. Standing in one place, allow others to berate us for seven days, and see whether the mind can truly remain empty?