Commentary on the Diamond Sutra: The Adornment of the Pure Land, Chapter 10

Did the Tathāgata actually obtain the Dharma from Dīpaṃkara Buddha?

Original text:佛告须菩提。于意云何。如来昔在然灯佛所。于法有所得不。不也。世尊。如来在然灯佛所。于法实无所得。

Explanation: The Buddha told Subhūti: What do you think about this question? In the past, when the Tathāgata was with Dīpaṃkara Buddha, did he obtain anything in terms of the cultivation and realization of the Buddha's Dharma? Subhūti replied: The Tathāgata did not obtain any dharma, World-Honored One. When the Tathāgata was with Dīpaṃkara Buddha, with respect to the Buddha's Dharma there was truly nothing obtained.

Our teacher Śākyamuni Buddha, at the ancient Buddha Dīpaṃkara, realized the stage of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva and received the prediction of future buddhahood. He clearly realized the eighth bhūmi as a bodhisattva, and of course he obtained the dharma of the eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva; he was also clearly given the prediction—both were things obtained. So why is it said that nothing was obtained? Because these things exist in the phenomenal realm, but in the ground of actual principle such things do not exist. The phenomenal realm is empty, conjured up by the vajra prajñā mind—existing, yet not existing. On the Tathāgata's mind there is likewise not a single dharma, without any clinging thought; he does not consider that he truly obtained the dharma or truly received the prediction. If the Tathāgata had taken these as real, then there would be dharma in his mind, and he would not have realized the emptiness and illusoriness of the dharma; he would not be an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva and would not be qualified to receive the prediction. Because the Tathāgata possessed the realization of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva, with a mind empty, unconditioned, and without any thing, the ancient Buddha Dīpaṃkara then bestowed the prediction of future buddhahood.

Ordinary beings, no matter how they think about it, cannot figure it out: the Tathāgata obtained such a great dharma, yet said he obtained nothing; being given the prediction of buddhahood, such a momentous event, yet he did not take it seriously, without a trace of obstruction or rumination—what kind of mind is this? If an ordinary person encountered such an event, they would long since have been overjoyed, thrilled to the extreme, and rushing about to tell everyone. Of course, this is the acquisitive mentality of ordinary beings who have not realized ultimate reality, and that is precisely why such ordinary people cannot obtain the dharma, let alone receive the prediction. The Buddha's mind is transparent and clear, his eyes are bright, and he would not casually bestow predictions on people.

When the bodhisattva Śākyamuni met the ancient Buddha Dīpaṃkara, he had just entered the eighth bhūmi. Before that, the bodhisattva Śākyamuni, life after life, encountered various buddhas, serving as a king, a wheel-turning sage king, or a lord of the heavens, making offerings to the Buddha with the four requisites of food and drink, clothing, bedding, and medicine, without interruption, even offering his own body to the Buddha. But not a single buddha gave the bodhisattva Śākyamuni a prediction of when he would accomplish the Buddha-way, because at that time the bodhisattva's cultivation and realization of the Buddha's Dharma was still in the realm of conditioned practice; he cultivated, realized, and made offerings to each World-Honored One with an acquisitive mind, and had not yet reached the unconditioned state of nothing obtained and nothing sought. It was not until he met the ancient Buddha Dīpaṃkara, when the bodhisattva Śākyamuni entered the eighth bhūmi, the unconditioned immovable ground, with a mind that did nothing and obtained nothing, that Dīpaṃkara Buddha gave the bodhisattva Śākyamuni the prediction: when he would accomplish the Buddha-way, what his buddha-land would be like, how many disciples he would have, what his lifespan would be, and how long his dharma would remain in the world.

The Buddha's predictions to bodhisattvas are mostly given after the bodhisattvas have already entered the eighth bhūmi. Eighth-bhūmi bodhisattvas have reached non-retrogression of mindfulness in their cultivation of the Buddha's Dharma, and the cultivation speed of all eighth-bhūmi bodhisattvas is roughly the same; the eons of their attainment of buddhahood are fixed and will not change again, so giving predictions to bodhisattvas at this time will not go wrong. The cultivation realm of bodhisattvas from the first to the seventh bhūmi is non-retrogression of practice—that is, their conduct in cultivation and delivering sentient beings does not regress; no matter what, they will cultivate and deliver sentient beings, but sometimes when encountering adverse conditions they may still have retrogression in their mental thoughts. The duration of such retrogression varies—some a day or two, some a few hours, some a few minutes, some a single instant.

Because of this retrogression in mental thoughts, the speed of cultivation is not fixed, and predictions inevitably carry temporal deviations; moreover, it can give rise to laxity in the bodhisattva. Before attaining the first bhūmi through seeing the mind and enlightenment, there is non-retrogression of position—the fruit of cultivation and realization does not regress—but there can still be retrogression in conduct and mental thoughts. Sometimes one is obstructed by worldly dharmas, busy with worldly affairs, or obstructed by adverse conditions, or obstructed by illness, and thus unable to cultivate. But whether one cultivates or not, the positions of the seventh abode of seeing the mind, the ten practices, and the dedications of merit do not regress.

Why, when the bodhisattva Śākyamuni was at the eighth bhūmi, the immovable ground, was there truly nothing obtained with respect to the dharma? An eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva has not only severed afflictions but also severed the habitual tendencies of afflictions. His enjoyment of the merit of liberation also surpasses that of the great arhats endowed with the three knowledges and six superknowledges. The grasping at a self with regard to persons was long since completely severed, and a large portion of the grasping at a self with regard to dharmas has also been eliminated; the wisdom of the patience with the non-arising of dharmas is also very deep and sharp, doubly realizing the emptiness of persons and the emptiness of dharmas. In his mind there is no thought of "I have cultivated a dharma, realized a dharma, obtained a dharma," and at the same time he does not consider that there are dharmas to be cultivated, realized, or obtained; his inner mind is a purely unconditioned state. Because he is unconditioned and his mind is empty, without applying attention or preparatory effort he can manifest everything that sentient beings need, and can even conjure up a trichiliocosm, a buddha-land. A mind with nothing obtained has an extremely vast capacity, and therefore it has extremely many functions; whereas an acquisitive mind has a narrow capacity, and the mind's functions are limited and cannot be fully brought into play.

Why do bodhisattvas not adorn the buddha-lands? Let us first look at how a buddha-land is formed: it is produced and manifested by the Buddha's undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna) and its great mirror-like wisdom (ādarśa-jñāna). Sentient beings who have affinities with the Buddha will be reborn there, and the sentient beings' tathāgatagarbhas are also manifesting that buddha-land. The land manifested by the Buddha is summoned forth and manifested through the Buddha's cultivation over three incalculable eons. Throughout those three incalculable eons, the bodhisattva made great pure vows, cultivated the myriad practices of the six pāramitās and the ten pāramitās, practicing what is difficult to practice and enduring what is difficult to endure. The seeds of the wholesome dharmas he cultivated are all stored in his own tathāgatagarbha. After accomplishing the Buddha-way, the Buddha's undefiled consciousness can transmit the seeds of the wholesome dharmas he cultivated, fashioning the pure land of a buddha, and thus a trichiliocosm is established.