The Profound Meaning of the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sutra from the Consciousness-Only Perspective (Second Edition)
Chapter Five Wondrous Practice Without Abiding, Four
This chapter explains how bodhisattvas practice generosity (dāna) and thereby obtain the most abundant and most supreme merit. A bodhisattva's giving to sentient beings is wondrous practice, yielding immeasurable merit, yet the mind does not abide within it. The fundamental hallmark of a bodhisattva is giving to benefit and bring joy to sentient beings; cultivating the Mahāyāna bodhisattva path is primarily based on giving. Bodhisattvas have the four means of embracing (catvāri-saṃgraha-vastūni): giving, kind words, benefit and joy, and working together — using these four methods to embrace sentient beings and then to deliver them. If one only cares about one's own liberation from birth and death, that is a self-liberator, not a bodhisattva. Being a bodhisattva cannot be only for oneself; one also works for sentient beings to leave suffering and attain bliss, and for the Buddhadharma to be transmitted forever. The practice of giving serves two purposes: first, to personally accumulate merit as provisions for advancing along the path; second, to embrace sentient beings — giving to sentient beings creates affinities with them, so they become willing to heed the bodhisattva's teaching and follow along to learn.
The first of the bodhisattva's six pāramitās is giving, which is divided into three kinds: giving of wealth, giving of fearlessness, and giving of Dharma. The Bodhisattva Upāsaka Precepts Sūtra says that giving to animals yields a hundredfold retribution; giving to ordinary people, including evil people and precept-breakers, yields a thousandfold retribution; giving to precept-holders yields a ten-thousandfold retribution; giving to those free of desire, including non-Buddhists who have attained the first dhyāna, yields a millionfold retribution, because attaining the first dhyāna severs the desire-mind, and at death one will be reborn in the form realm — this is virtue, and one with virtue is worthy of offerings. Giving to those at or above the stage of stream-enterer candidate and srotāpanna — śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas — yields immeasurable retribution, and the difference between immeasurable and immeasurable is very great.
The causes, conditions, and karmic retribution of giving are realized through the tathāgatagarbha. The entire process of the act of giving is held and recorded by the tathāgatagarbha; when causes and conditions mature, the tathāgatagarbha outputs this karmic seed, and sentient beings receive the blessings. Generally speaking, this retribution is received in later lives, called ripened karma (vipāka-karma), but if the karma is very great, it can ripen in present-life conditions, and then the flowering retribution (puṣpa-phala) is received in this life. The karma created by sentient beings never disappears without cause; wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral (avyākṛta) karma are all stored and output by the tathāgatagarbha, never confused, never lost. Generally speaking, once the retribution of wholesome and unwholesome karma has been received, the karmic seed disappears; evil karma one has created can also be eliminated through repentance of transgressions. After attaining realization of the fruits or seeing the mind and seeing one's nature, the karma leading to the three evil destinies can be eliminated, so one will not fall into the three evil destinies in later lives. Whichever karma is stronger, that retribution is received first. Practitioners should always ensure their wholesome karma outweighs their unwholesome karma, so the unwholesome karma does not receive retribution for the time being; after a very long time, the karmic seed withers. For example, sentient beings who have committed the five rebellious acts but are reborn in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī) at the lowest of the low grade (adhamādhamavarga) spend twelve great kalpas within the lotus flower, with no opportunity to create karma; the karmic seeds slowly wither, and once the mind is purified, they emerge from the lotus flower.
Giving of fearlessness includes saving the lives of sentient beings, relieving their hardships and perils, and removing psychological obstacles; it can yield the retributions of health and longevity, peace and happiness, smooth success in all matters, and wealth and honor. Sometimes giving of wealth contains giving of fearlessness, and giving of fearlessness contains giving of wealth. Giving of Dharma yields retribution in both merit and wisdom, and also the retribution of giving of fearlessness. Expounding sutras and teaching the Dharma on behalf of the Buddha is direct giving of Dharma; printing sutra books, protecting the Saṅgha jewel in propagating the Dharma, and so forth, is indirect giving of Dharma. But the best is to have cultivated realization, gained the eye of the Path, and opened the wisdom of the Great and Small Vehicles, so that one will not misstate the fundamental Buddhadharma, will not mislead sentient beings in the wrong direction of practice, and even less will sever sentient beings' Dharma-body wisdom-life; only then should one personally expound the sutras and teach the Dharma to guide sentient beings — this is the best. Sentient beings who support Dharma masters in propagating the Dharma must also possess the eye of Dharma-selection, which is one of the seven factors of enlightenment, the ability to discern right from wrong in the Dharma; otherwise, if the fundamental Buddhadharma is propagated or assisted in propagation incorrectly, the retribution is also very heavy.
When sentient beings have not opened the eye of the Path, they often take the wrong as right and the right as wrong, confused and inverted, or only recognize famous teachers, not knowing there is a great difference between famous teachers and enlightened teachers — having the Way does not necessarily mean having fame, and having fame does not necessarily mean having the Way. Only by distinguishing famous teachers from enlightened teachers can one rely on the Dharma and not on persons. Propagating the true Dharma carries great merit, but if it is propagated incorrectly, the erroneous seeds planted in sentient beings' minds will sprout bad sprouts and bear bad fruit life after life, and even when a good teacher comes it is hard to correct, because sentient beings are dominated by first impressions. Moreover, the true Buddhadharma is hard for sentient beings to resonate with, differing from the habitual things and principles that sentient beings generally recognize, so they will develop rejection, and their minds are hard to turn around — propagating the Dharma must not be done carelessly.
Original text:复次。须菩提。菩萨于法。应无所住行于布施。所谓不住色布施。不住声香味触法布施。须菩提。菩萨应如是布施。不住于相。
Explanation: Furthermore, Subhūti, a bodhisattva, with regard to the Dharma, should practice giving without abiding anywhere; that is, giving without abiding in form, giving without abiding in sound, smell, taste, touch, or mental objects. Subhūti, a bodhisattva should give in this way, with the mind not abiding in any mark.
This passage is the World-Honored One instructing the bodhisattvas that when practicing giving, they should not abide in the six sense objects of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects; giving is not for seeking the conditioned blessings of the three realms, not for seeking the pleasures of the five desires of wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep, not seeking sentient beings' gratitude or repayment, not for ascending to heaven to enjoy blessings — the bodhisattva's mind should abide nowhere, like the tathāgatagarbha. When the tathāgatagarbha gives, it abides in no dharma whatsoever. The six faculties and six sense objects are what He provides to us; the six consciousnesses are what He manifests for us, enabling us to have the five aggregates and live in the world. If not for Him, we could hardly do anything at all. It is He who gives us lifespan, warmth, and the conscious mind; if He left the body, we would die on the spot — lifespan gone, the body cold and stiff, breathing, heartbeat, and pulse ceasing instantly, and the blood no longer flowing.
He is our life-faculty, a great giver, yet He seeks nothing from us — He does not even need a word of praise; singing His praises, He does not listen, let alone feel joy. Because He has no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind, no form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or mental object, no eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, or mind consciousness, He has no joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness, no views, discriminations, or delusions. In contrast, it is our deluded mind — the seven consciousnesses — that has self-view, self-conceit, self-attachment, and self-arrogance, deluded discriminations, the view of grasping views and the view of holding precepts and observances, and the sixty-two views and other wrong views (mithyā-dṛṣṭi). Having views is wrong — that is the deluded mind; having no views is right — that is the true mind. Therefore, in giving, bodhisattvas should learn from the tathāgatagarbha and not abide in any mark whatsoever.
Original text:何以故。若菩萨不住相布施。其福德不可思量。
Explanation: Why should a bodhisattva give without abiding in marks? If a bodhisattva gives without abiding in marks, the merit obtained is beyond measure.
When giving while abiding in marks, the mind is limited by the marks, the mind's capacity is small, and the merit is finite; if the mind does not transcend the marks of the six sense objects, one cannot attain liberation, much less become a Buddha. The mind that gives is the deluded mind of the seven consciousnesses, mainly the six consciousnesses and the seventh consciousness; the one who decides to give is the manas, the seventh consciousness, also called the mokṣa-consciousness (manas-vijñāna). He deliberates (manasikāra) on whether to give, what to give, how much, and to whom, and then He makes the decision as the master. The analysis, reasoning, judgment, and observation before giving are done by the mind consciousness, which reports the results to the manas and persuades Him; after the manas deliberates, sometimes He acts accordingly, sometimes not. That is why we sometimes feel we should do this and not that, yet in actual practice we do the opposite, and we ourselves feel helpless — it is because the manas does not necessarily follow the mind consciousness's guidance.
After studying Buddhism, one feels eating meat is bad and one should be vegetarian, yet upon seeing meat one wants to eat it and cannot control oneself, because the manas always acts according to His own habits and is not easily changed. One clearly agrees to donate a hundred yuan, yet when actually taking out the money one hesitates — at the time of agreeing, it was the mind consciousness that, after analysis, felt it should be done; at the time of taking out the money, the manas is the master, and the manas, heavily attached to self, is unwilling to give outwardly. Only through long-term cultivation, guidance, and persuasion by the mind consciousness can a transformation possibly occur. Therefore, when the manas changes, everything changes, and the karmic retribution becomes different. When a bodhisattva gives without abiding in marks, the merit is immeasurable and boundless. The tathāgatagarbha's merit is too great to be spoken of: the universe and empty space belong to Him, the trichiliocosm belongs to Him, the worlds of the lotus treasury belong to Him, the ocean of worlds belongs to Him, the Buddhas' thirty-two major marks and eighty minor marks belong to Him — no dharma does not belong to Him — yet He needs nothing at all; His merit is immeasurably and boundlessly great.
Why is it said that when a bodhisattva gives without abiding in marks, the merit is beyond measure?
The "marks" here refer to the marks of sense realms — the six sense-object realms of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects. When a bodhisattva gives, he does not abide in the marks of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects, nor does he grasp at them; removing these marks, he gives with the three wheels empty (tri-maṇḍala-śūnya). He does not discriminate the recipient's gender or age, status or wealth, power or position, nor their appearance, nor whether they are enemy or kin — he gives equally to all. He also does not calculate or ponder what benefits the giving might bring him from those people, does not hope for the return of sense-realm marks such as form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects, or wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep, and even less considers the value of the items given; as long as there is someone in need, he gives unconditionally, without calculation or discrimination.
One who can abandon all marks, not grasp at any mark, and give with the three wheels empty has a vast mind; one whose mind is empty is no longer an ordinary person — that is a great-minded bodhisattva in the true sense, possessing profound wisdom of the emptiness of marks, a person of great merit. After great giving, wisdom and merit advance another level; the blessings of wisdom of emptiness are not limited by quantity, and the merit obtained is immeasurable and boundless, inconceivable. As great as the mind's capacity is, so great is the merit obtained; merit is directly proportional to the mind's capacity, the two complementing each other. But one who gives while grasping at marks has the mind obstructed and constrained by the marks; the mind's capacity is small, and the merit obtained is small — how can a small vessel hold many or large things? Blessings follow the vessel: a great vessel brings great blessings, a small vessel brings small blessings — this is inevitable. Therefore, when a bodhisattva gives without abiding in marks, the vessel of his capacity is great, his mind like empty space, and the merit obtained is like empty space — immeasurable and boundless, beyond measure.
Original text:须菩提。于意如何。东方虚空可思量否。不也。世尊。须菩提。南西北方。四维上下虚空可思量否。不也。世尊。须菩提。菩萨不住相布施。福德也复如是。不可思量。须菩提。菩萨但应如所教住。
Explanation: The World-Honored One asked: Subhūti, what do you think? Can the empty space of the east be measured? Subhūti replied: It cannot be measured, World-Honored One. The World-Honored One asked again: Subhūti, can the empty space of the south, west, and north, and of the four intermediate directions, above and below, be measured? Subhūti said: It cannot be measured, World-Honored One. The World-Honored One said: Subhūti, a bodhisattva's giving without abiding in marks — the merit is likewise beyond measure. Subhūti, a bodhisattva should simply abide as taught.
Taking any point in empty space as the center and expanding outward, there are ten directions; each direction is endless, without boundary, without shore, inconceivably vast — no one can reach its edge. If empty space had a boundary line, what would be on the other side of it? Saying "nothing" — that is empty space; saying "something" — it is all within empty space. Empty space is not a truly existent dharma; it is a provisional dharma. Relative to form, a place without matter is empty space; where there is matter, it is not empty space. Matter and empty space are opposing dharmas — where this exists, that does not; one could also say they mutually exist: empty space can contain material form, and within material form there are also spaces and gaps.
For example, place a box in a location — that location originally had nothing, it was empty; once the box is placed there, it is no longer empty. Where did the original emptiness go? Where did an extra emptiness come from? When people dig a well in the ground and remove earth, digging out a cubic foot of soil, a cubic foot of empty space appears in that spot — where did this emptiness come from? It has no place of origin. Fill the earth back into its original place, and the emptiness is gone — where did it go? It has no place to go. In fact, empty space comes from the tathāgatagarbha and afterwards ceases back into the tathāgatagarbha.
Empty space has no boundaries, so worlds in the ten directions can all be established within empty space. Every Buddha, upon attaining buddhahood, establishes a Buddha-land within empty space — one trichiliocosm; when all sentient beings become Buddhas, they establish countless worlds within empty space, and all can be contained. Can such empty space be measured? Who could measure it? Why is the merit of a bodhisattva's giving without abiding in marks beyond measure? Because not abiding in marks, the mind has no attachments, and one attains liberation, ending birth and death and leaving the three realms. But the bodhisattva does not leave the three realms and does not enter Nirvāṇa without remainder; life after life, within the three realms, He benefits self and benefits others, until attaining buddhahood.
Can the merit of a Buddha be measured? Speaking only of the merit of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva: in a single thought-moment, without applying attention or preparatory effort, he can manifest a trichiliocosm — countless jewels, countless mountains of fish, rice, and meat, delivering countless sentient beings. Holding the sentient beings of this earth in his hand, he sends them to other planets without the beings knowing; the bodhisattva opens his mouth and swallows the four great oceans, and the beings within the seas are unaware; the bodhisattva says he will manifest a Buddha and does so, with countless transformation bodies widely delivering those with affinity. How much greater, then, is the merit of a Buddha — even more vast and boundless. The merit of giving without abiding in marks is just like this, incomparably vast. We must enlarge our mind's capacity again and again, and must never constrain ourselves with a small mind and small capacity. Bodhisattvas should abide in this way — abiding in non-abiding, not grasping at any dharma; once there is any abiding, one cannot become a Buddha. Bodhisattvas should follow the World-Honored One's teaching in this way, practicing giving just so.
