Commentary on the Diamond Sutra: Adorning the Pure Land, Ten

Did the Tathāgata actually obtain any 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 of 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 regard to the Buddha's dharma there was truly nothing obtained.

When our teacher Śākyamuni Buddha was with the ancient Buddha Dīpaṃkara, he realized the stage of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva and received the prediction of future buddhahood. He clearly realized the stage of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva, so of course he obtained the dharma of the eighth bhūmi, and he was clearly given the prediction—both were things obtained. So why is it said that nothing was obtained? Because although these things exist in the phenomenal realm, in the actual ground of principle there is no such thing. The phenomenal realm is empty, conjured up by the vajra prajñā mind—existing, yet not existing. Within the Tathāgata's mind there is likewise not a single dharma, without any clinging thought; he does not consider that he truly obtained dharma or truly received the prediction. If the Tathāgata had taken these as real, there would be dharma in his mind, and he would not have realized the emptiness and illusoriness of the dharma attained; he would not be an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva and would not be qualified to receive the prediction. It was precisely because the Tathāgata had the realization of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva, with a mind empty, unconditioned, and without any thing, that the ancient Buddha Dīpaṃkara bestowed the prediction of buddhahood.

Ordinary people can never think this through no matter how they ponder it: the Tathāgata obtained such a great dharma yet said he obtained nothing; such a great matter as receiving the prediction of buddhahood, yet he did not take it seriously, without the slightest obstruction or thought about it. What kind of mind is this? If an ordinary person encountered such a thing, he would long since have been ecstatic, tremendously excited, and rushing about to tell everyone. Of course, this is the acquisitive mentality of ordinary people who have not realized the true reality, which is why such ordinary people do not obtain the dharma, let alone receive the prediction. The Buddha's mind is transparent and his eyes are bright; he would not casually bestow predictions upon people.

When the bodhisattva Śākyamuni met the ancient Buddha Dīpaṃkara, he had just entered the eighth bhūmi. Before that, life after life, the bodhisattva Śākyamuni encountered various buddhas, serving as king, wheel-turning sage king, and lord of the heavens, making offerings to the Buddha with the four requisites of food and drink, clothing, bedding, and medicine, without ever 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 path, because at that time the bodhisattva's cultivation 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, not yet reaching 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 immovable ground of the unconditioned, with a mind that did nothing and obtained nothing, that Dīpaṃkara Buddha gave the bodhisattva Śākyamuni the prediction: when he would accomplish the buddha path, what his buddha land would be like, how many disciples he would have, how long his lifespan would be, and how long the Buddha's dharma would remain in the world.

The Buddha bestows predictions upon bodhisattvas mostly when they 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 kalpas of their attainment of buddhahood are fixed and will no longer change, so bestowing a prediction upon a bodhisattva at this time will not go wrong. The cultivation realms of bodhisattvas from the first to the seventh bhūmi are non-retrogression of practice—that is, their practice of cultivating and delivering sentient beings does not regress; no matter what, they will continue to cultivate and deliver beings, but sometimes when encountering adverse conditions they may still have retrogression in their thoughts. The duration of such retrogression varies: some last a day or two, some a few hours, some a few minutes, some just a single instant.

Because of this retrogression in thought, the speed of cultivation is not fixed, and predictions inevitably carry temporal deviations; moreover, it may cause the bodhisattva to give rise to a lax mind. Before attaining the first bhūmi through seeing one's true mind and enlightenment, there is non-retrogression of stage—the fruit of cultivation and realization does not regress—but there can still be retrogression in conduct and thought. 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 stages of the seventh abode of seeing one's true mind, the ten practices, and the ten dedications do not regress.

Why, when the bodhisattva Śākyamuni was at the immovable eighth bhūmi, did he truly obtain nothing with regard to 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 possessing the three knowledges and six superknowledges. The self-grasping of persons was long ago completely severed, and a large portion of the self-grasping of dharmas has also been eliminated; his wisdom of patience regarding the non-arising of dharmas is also very deep and sharp. He has realized both the emptiness of self and the emptiness of dharmas; in his mind there is no notion of "I have cultivated a dharma, realized a dharma, obtained a dharma," and at the same time he does not consider that there is any dharma to be cultivated, realized, or obtained—his inner mind is a purely unconditioned state. Because he is unconditioned and his mind is empty, without needing to apply intentional effort he can manifest everything that sentient beings need, and can even manifest a trichiliocosm, a single buddha land. A mind that obtains nothing has an immensely vast capacity, and therefore has extremely many functions; whereas an acquisitive mind has a narrow capacity, and the mind's functions are limited and cannot be fully brought forth.

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 the great perfect mirror wisdom (ādarśajñāna). Sentient beings who have affinities with the Buddha will be reborn there, and those sentient beings' tathāgatagarbhas are also manifesting that buddha land. The land manifested by the Buddha is summoned forth and conjured through the Buddha's three incalculable eons of cultivation. Throughout the 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 were all stored in his own tathāgatagarbha; after accomplishing the buddha path, the Buddha's undefiled consciousness can transmit the seeds of the wholesome dharmas he cultivated outward, creating the pure land of a buddha, and thus a trichiliocosm is established.