The Profound Meaning of Vijñapti-mātratā in the Diamond Sutra (XI)

Once, when the World-Honored One had just taken his seat on the Dharma throne, Bodhisattva Manjushri approached, took the wooden gavel, struck the lectern once, and declared: "The World-Honored One's Dharma talk is concluded." As soon as he said this, the World-Honored One descended from his seat. The teaching was truly complete; the profound Dharma of Tathagatagarbha had been transmitted. In fact, the moment the World-Honored One entered the lecture hall and pushed open the door, the teaching was already finished. He could have simply turned around and exited the hall, leaving the disciples utterly astonished. Master Fu Dashi during Emperor Wu of Liang's reign and Chan masters of the Tang Dynasty also performed similar acts, but ordinary people could not penetrate the meaning hidden within. Only Bodhisattvas with profound good roots could comprehend it.

The Second Patriarch of Chan Buddhism was Ananda. After the World-Honored One's parinirvana, Ananda asked Mahakasyapa: "Apart from the golden-hemmed kasaya, what else did the World-Honored One transmit to you?" He was asking about Tathagatagarbha. Mahakasyapa then called out: "Ananda!" – "This is what was transmitted!" But Ananda did not understand. He casually responded, "Yes!" After answering, he should have understood, but still he did not. Mahakasyapa, helpless, then added: "Go and lower the flagpole in front of the gate." Hearing this, Ananda thought, "I ask about the secret meaning, and you tell me to lower the flagpole?" Then, in a flash of insight, he understood – "So it's like this!" He experienced great awakening and thus became the Second Patriarch of Chan. From then on, the Twenty-Eight Patriarchs in the West (India) transmitted the Dharma generation after generation, down to the Sixth Patriarch in the Great Tang (China), and until the end of the Ming Dynasty. After that, those who awakened to it became extremely rare, only a very few individuals. But even now, they still exist, for the Buddha would never abandon the sentient beings of this world.

This first section of the Diamond Sutra is itself a Chan koan. The World-Honored One transmitted the Dharma without uttering a word, but it is extremely difficult to grasp; only those of the highest capacity can comprehend it. The ultimate aim of all Chan practice is Tathagatagarbha. In all the ten directions, regardless of which Buddha-land, it is the realization of this Mind – where it is, how it functions, how it gives rise to all dharmas, how it produces the five aggregates and the eighteen realms. Anything else deviates from the true path. Merely understanding the theory intellectually, without knowing the essence of Tathagatagarbha, without observing its operational principles, does not constitute genuine realization. At best, it is intellectual understanding, which cannot transcend life and death.