Selected Discourses on the Sutra of the Assembly of Fathers and Sons (62)

Original text: The Buddha said: O King, when the ear hears a neutral sound, it gives rise to a neutral perception. It is like a person in a dream hearing others uttering incoherent phrases devoid of meaning. What do you think? After this person awakens and recalls the sound heard in the dream, is it truly existent? The King said: No, it is not.

The Buddha said: O King, is this person who clings to the dream as real a wise one? The King said: No, World-Honored One. Why? In the dream, after all, there is no sound, let alone incoherent phrases devoid of meaning. It should be known that this person merely exhausts himself in vain, with nothing real at all.

Explanation: The Buddha said: O King, sentient beings hear the sound of upekkhā (equanimity) that is neither wholesome nor unwholesome, transcending dualities, and cling to it as real. It is like a person who, in a dream, hears others speaking meaningless, incoherent words. Upon awakening, he continuously recalls the words heard in the dream. What do you think? Is this matter truly existent? King Śuddhodana said: It is not truly existent, World-Honored One.

The Buddha said: O King, is this person who regards his own dream as truly existent a wise one? King Śuddhodana replied: This person is not wise, World-Honored One. Why? Because ultimately there is no sound in the dream, let alone incoherent words devoid of meaning. Truly, this person pointlessly exhausts his own mind, with no real substance at all.

Upekkhā (equanimity) is neither pleasant nor unpleasant, abiding in a state transcending dualities—neither grasping nor aversion, neither good nor bad, neither suffering nor pleasure. At this time, the mind is calm and undisturbed, without fluctuations. For example, when looking at a person, one feels no particular sensation—neither liking nor disliking—this is upekkhā. If a feeling of fondness arises, then one experiences pleasurable feeling (sukha-vedanā); if one feels aversion toward this person, that is a painful feeling (dukkha-vedanā), as the mind of hatred emerges. Thus, feelings are of three kinds: painful feeling (dukkha-vedanā), pleasurable feeling (sukha-vedanā), and neutral feeling (upekkhā-vedanā), which is neither painful nor pleasurable.

The "sound of upekkhā" refers to a sound that is neither wholesome nor unwholesome, abiding in a neutral state of neither good nor bad. This person, hearing others speak incoherent, meaningless words in a dream, though feeling indifferent, clings to them as real and constantly recalls them. Even clinging to this state of upekkhā as real, becoming attached to this equanimity, he fails to recognize that the sense-objects (six dusts) perceived in upekkhā are equally illusory and thus does not transcend the cycle of birth and death.

The term "incoherent phrases devoid of meaning" (不了义句) here differs in meaning from "provisional teachings" (不了义经) in Buddhist scriptures and is not the same concept. Buddhist scriptures are divided into definitive teachings (了义经) and provisional teachings (不了义经). Definitive teachings are true, expounding the ultimate reality, while provisional teachings expound non-ultimate doctrines. Definitive teachings elucidate the Mahāyāna scriptures on the supreme truth (第一义谛), the Tathāgatagarbha Dharma—this is called "definitive," the fundamental Dharma, the Dharma of true reality. Other scriptures that do not expound the Tathāgatagarbha Dharma are not definitive teachings. Scriptures that do not address our true mind, the Tathāgatagarbha, are provisional, not fundamental. Of course, definitive teachings may also contain provisional sentences, and provisional teachings certainly contain provisional sentences.