Chapter Two   The Reason for the Dharma Assembly, Section One

Original Text: Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha was in Śrāvastī, at the Jeta Grove in the Garden of the Benefactor of Orphans and the Solitary. He was together with a great assembly of twelve hundred and fifty bhikṣus.

Explanation: The Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (Diamond Sūtra) was recounted by Ānanda, who heard the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras spoken by the Buddha. It begins with "Thus have I heard" to indicate that Ānanda personally heard the Buddha expound it and is now relaying it. The Buddha possesses the thirty-two major marks. His cousin Nanda has thirty-one marks, and Ānanda’s appearance closely resembles the World-Honored One. When Ānanda compiled the scriptures, if he had not said "Thus have I heard," the assembly might have suspected that the World-Honored One had returned to preach personally or that Ānanda was speaking the Dharma himself. To avoid such misunderstandings, he used "Thus have I heard." The assembly then knew it was Ānanda relaying the Dharma spoken by the Buddha during his lifetime and would accept it without doubt. At the parinirvāṇa assembly of the World-Honored One, Ānanda asked the Buddha what should begin the compilation of the scriptures in the future. The World-Honored One said to use "Thus have I heard."

When the Buddha preached the sūtras, he only said "at one time" without specifying a particular time because the time in India differs from that in other countries, different celestial realms, and other planets; thus, the time is not specified. The location was the Jeta Grove in the Garden of the Benefactor of Orphans and the Solitary in Śrāvastī. The audience consisted of the Buddha’s constant retinue of one thousand two hundred and fifty-five great bhikṣus.

The so-called great bhikṣus, except for Ānanda, were all Arhats who had attained the fourth fruition. They practiced the Hīnayāna path of the Four Noble Truths (suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path) and the Middle Vehicle’s Twelve Links of Dependent Origination: Ignorance conditions (gives rise to) Volitional Formations (saṃskāra); Volitional Formations condition Consciousness (vijñāna); Consciousness conditions Name and Form (nāmarūpa, the fertilized egg and the four aggregates of sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness); Name and Form condition the Six Sense Bases (ṣaḍāyatana, the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind); the Six Sense Bases condition Contact (sparśa, the contact between the six sense organs and their objects); Contact conditions Feeling (vedanā, sensations of pleasure, pain, or neutrality); Feeling conditions Craving (tṛṣṇā); Craving conditions Grasping (upādāna, including sensual grasping, view grasping, and self-grasping); Grasping conditions Becoming (bhava, existence in the desire realm, form realm, or formless realm); Becoming conditions Birth (jāti); Birth conditions Aging and Death, Sorrow, Lamentation, Pain, Grief, and Despair. They practiced the Hīnayāna and Middle Vehicle teachings contained in the Four Āgamas and attained the fruitions from the first to the fourth, as well as the Pratyekabuddha fruition.

The first fruition (Sotāpanna) involves severing the view of self, recognizing the five aggregates (skandhas) and the eighteen elements (dhātus, the six sense bases, six sense objects, and six consciousnesses) as suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self. This severs the three fetters (saṃyojana) binding one: self-view, skeptical doubt, and adherence to rites and rituals. It eliminates the karmic retribution for the three evil destinies, preventing rebirth in the three lower realms. After seven more rebirths in the human and heavenly realms, one enters parinirvāṇa without residue. Progressing from the first fruition, when greed, hatred, and delusion become attenuated, one attains the second fruition (Sakṛdāgāmin). After one more rebirth in the human or heavenly realm, one enters parinirvāṇa without residue. Further cultivation leads to attaining the first dhyāna, eliminating greed and hatred, and attaining the third fruition (Anāgāmin). In the next life, one is reborn in the Śuddhāvāsa (Pure Abodes) heavens, attains the fourth fruition (Arhat), and enters parinirvāṇa without residue, or attains the fourth fruition during the antarābhava (intermediate state) and enters parinirvāṇa without residue. With deeper cultivation beyond the third fruition, one eliminates the conceit of self (the sense of "I am" or "I am useful," which are forms of māna) and severs subtle attachments to the three realms, including even attachment to meditative states and celestial bodies. When the view of self is completely severed, the seventh consciousness (manas) no longer clings to the five aggregates, eighteen elements, or the threefold world. At death, one extinguishes oneself entirely, with no further rebirth, leaving only the Tathāgatagarbha. This is called entering parinirvāṇa without residue, where all suffering is extinguished, and there is no more suffering to depend upon; this is called the cessation of suffering. Ānanda, however, did not attain the fourth fruition so that he could serve as the Buddha’s attendant, as the Buddha does not use Arhats of the fourth fruition as his personal attendants.

Original Text: At that time, when it was time for the meal, the World-Honored One put on his robe, took his bowl, and entered the great city of Śrāvastī to beg for food. In that city, he proceeded systematically from house to house begging. Having finished, he returned to his original place. After eating his meal, he put away his robe and bowl, washed his feet, spread out his mat, and sat down.

Explanation: At that time, near midday when it was time for the meal, the World-Honored One put on his saṅghāṭi robe, took his alms bowl, and entered the great city of Śrāvastī to beg for food. In Śrāvastī, he begged systematically from house to house. After finishing, he returned to his original dwelling place. After eating, he put away his robe and bowl, washed his feet, and sat down cross-legged.

These were the World-Honored One’s daily routines, performed every day, utterly mundane. Since he begged for alms, ate, and washed his feet daily, why were these acts written into the sūtra, specifically at the beginning? Why are they not described when other sūtras are preached? Moreover, this was during the assembly expounding the Great Prajñāpāramitā, and the Diamond Sūtra is the essence of the Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. The World-Honored One never spoke meaningless trivialities unless for special causes and conditions; even a smile did not appear lightly.

This narration of daily activities contains esoteric meaning, revealing a truth and demonstrating the true nature of all dharmas. Those of the sharpest faculties and highest wisdom need only read this far to comprehend the truth and reality, grasping the entire essence of the Diamond Sūtra and the six hundred volumes of the Great Prajñāpāramitā. Such a person then becomes a bodhisattva of true meaning. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra states that all dharmas are created by mind alone, meaning the mind of the Tathāgatagarbha. Are the World-Honored One’s daily activities part of all dharmas? Is the operation of the World-Honored One’s true suchness mind present there? The answer is affirmative. All dharmas arise from the union of the true and the false. Only the true mind accomplishes nothing; only the false mind cannot even exist. It must be the union of true and false that jointly manifests all dharmas. Therefore, within our impermanent, arising-and-ceasing, illusory phenomenal world, the prajñā true mind is always operating. For example, in our daily activities—eating, drinking, excretion, speech, laughter, walking, standing, sitting, lying down, etc.—the true mind, the Tathāgatagarbha, must simultaneously participate; otherwise, not a single dharma could be established.

The seventeen hundred kōans of the Chan (Zen) school all point to this truth. Thus, Chan masters skillfully set up devices, using various methods, hints, gestures, actions, laughter, scolding, raising or lowering the whisk, to guide students toward realization. For instance, Deshan’s stick (hitting back and forth), Linji’s shout (shouting loudly or softly)—all are acts of compassion. If someone came to me, I would kick them. When a student is kicked, if conditions are ripe, they may realize the vajra-prajñā mind. Yunmen had his foot crushed by his master with a door; after crying out in pain, he attained enlightenment. Such examples are too numerous to mention. Upon realization, one attains the patience with non-arising (anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti), and the wisdom of reality unfolds. One understands the emptiness of self, person, and sentient beings—that they are not truly born. The Tathāgatagarbha itself is also unborn. Accepting this principle is the patience with non-arising—though it is very hard to endure!

The first Chan kōan in the Buddhist history of our Sahā world was personally demonstrated by the World-Honored One. At the assembly on Vulture Peak, after the devas offered flowers, the World-Honored One held up a flower before the assembly of humans and devas and smiled without speaking, clearly revealing his own true suchness mind to all. Yet, no one in the assembly understood what the World-Honored One was conveying. Mahākāśyapa alone, upon seeing it, realized it. With his wisdom eye, he perceived the World-Honored One’s true suchness mind, understood what medicine was in the gourd, and broke into a faint smile. The World-Honored One, knowing Mahākāśyapa had realized the bodhisattva Dharma and become an Arhat-bodhisattva, declared to the assembly: "I possess the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa, the reality of signlessness, a special transmission outside the scriptures, not established upon words and letters. I entrust it to Mahākāśyapa." Thus, Kāśyapa became the first patriarch of the Chan school in the Sahā world.

What is the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa? Nirvāṇa is the state of the Tathāgatagarbha, which is unborn and unceasing. "Wondrous mind" means the subtle vajra mind. Though the vajra mind, the Tathāgatagarbha, is empty of mind—devoid of any dharma—it can manifest all dharmas. Though not even the size of a speck of dust, it can manifest the entire universe and empty space. This is profoundly wondrous, hence called the wondrous mind. Reality (实相) means the vajra-prajñā mind is a truly existent, authentic principle-body, eternally indestructible. Signlessness (无相) means this mind has no signs whatsoever: no form sign so it cannot be seen, no sound sign so it cannot be heard, no smell sign so it cannot be smelled, no taste sign so it cannot be tasted, no touch sign so it cannot be touched, no dharma sign so it cannot be conceptualized. The Heart Sūtra states it has no five aggregates, no six sense bases, six sense objects, or six consciousnesses, no Four Noble Truths, no Twelve Links of Dependent Origination (from ignorance to old age and death), no... In short, it has not a single dharma, yet all dharmas depend on it to arise and exist.

"A special transmission outside the scriptures" means the Chan method of realizing the mind and seeing the nature is beyond the Tripitaka and the twelve divisions of the scriptures. It transcends the signs of words and can be transmitted separately, enabling realization without relying on words and language. The World-Honored One did not utter a single word yet enabled Mahākāśyapa to realize the Way, whereas the scriptural teachings necessarily use words and language for instruction and guidance. In the Buddha-land of Fragrant Accumulation, the Buddha and bodhisattvas sat together for a meal. The Buddha smelled the fragrance of the food, and upon seeing this, the bodhisattvas realized the Way without any teaching being spoken. However, although Chan does not establish words, it does not mean it never uses them. Chan also employs words and language for guidance, and some have realized the Way through studying the scriptures.

Some say Mahākāśyapa saw the Buddha’s true suchness mind on the flower and realized the Way. But if the true suchness mind were on the flower, that flower would dance with joy and leap about—it would be a sentient being with emotions, capable of becoming a Buddha. In reality, it is not so. If the true suchness mind were on the flower, it would have nothing to do with the World-Honored One; the World-Honored One would not be a Buddha nor a sentient being, and could not hold the flower and smile. So where is the true mind, the Tathāgatagarbha? This is a secret, requiring personal effort in investigation. A ready-made answer is of no help for developing wisdom. Nevertheless, devices can still be skillfully set up to enable realization. During his lifetime, the World-Honored One created many such devices, enabling his disciples to realize the Way and transmit it to later generations.

Once, the World-Honored One led his disciples to a mound of earth and stopped. Then he bowed to the mound. This was the start of a performance. Ānanda, perhaps feigning ignorance, asked: "World-Honored One, why are you bowing to that mound of earth?" The World-Honored One pointed at the mound and said: "The Buddhas of the three times are all buried within that mound of earth." World-Honored One, what medicine are you selling in that gourd! Though we are future Buddhas, we have not yet become Buddhas—how can we be buried? Present Buddhas are teaching sentient beings in their respective Buddha-lands and are not buried! As for ancient Buddhas, they are not buried here either! But where is "here"? When one’s conditions for the bodhisattva’s six pāramitās are complete and causes and conditions ripen, one can investigate and uncover it.

Another time, the World-Honored One had just taken his seat on the Dharma throne. Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva walked over, struck the lectern with a ruler, and said: "The World-Honored One’s Dharma teaching is concluded." As soon as he finished speaking, the World-Honored One descended from his seat. The teaching of the Tathāgatagarbha Great Dharma was truly complete. In fact, it was complete the moment the World-Honored One entered the lecture hall and opened the door. He could have simply turned around and left the hall, leaving the disciples dumbfounded. Great Master Fu Dashi during Emperor Wu of Liang’s time, as well as Chan masters of the Tang dynasty, performed similar acts. Only those of profound karmic roots—bodhisattvas—could grasp the device within.

The second patriarch of the Chan school was Ānanda. After the World-Honored One’s parinirvāṇa, Ānanda asked Mahākāśyapa: "Besides passing the golden-hemmed saṅghāṭi robe to you, what else did the World-Honored One transmit?" He was asking about the Tathāgatagarbha. Kāśyapa called out: "Ānanda!" (This is what was transmitted!) Ānanda did not understand and casually responded: "Yes?" After answering, he should have understood, but he still did not. Kāśyapa, helpless, continued: "Go take down the flagpole in front of the gate." Hearing this, Ānanda thought: I asked about the secret meaning, and you tell me to take down the flagpole? Then it dawned on him—exactly so! He attained great enlightenment and thus became the second patriarch of the Chan school. From then on, the twenty-eight patriarchs of the Western Heaven (India) transmitted the Dharma generation after generation until the Sixth Patriarch in the Great Tang (China), continuing until the end of the Ming dynasty. Since then, those who realize it have been extremely rare, but they still exist today. The Buddha would not abandon the sentient beings of this world.

This first section of the Diamond Sūtra is itself a Chan kōan. The World-Honored One transmitted the Dharma without uttering a word. It is simply too difficult to comprehend; only those of the sharpest faculties can grasp it. The target of all Chan investigation is the Tathāgatagarbha. In all ten directions, regardless of the Buddha-land, it is this mind that is realized—where it is, how it operates, how it produces all dharmas, how it gives birth to the five aggregates and eighteen elements. Anything else deviates from the direction.