Shurangama Sutra, Volume Five: The Twenty-Five Sages' Dharma Gates of Perfect Penetration - Cūḍapanthaka

Original text: Cūḍapanthaka rose from his seat, prostrated at the Buddha's feet, and addressed the Buddha, saying: "I lack proficiency in reciting and retaining [the teachings]; I possess little capacity for learning. When I first encountered the Buddha, heard the Dharma, and renounced household life, I tried to memorize a single gāthā of the Tathāgata. For a hundred days, I would remember the first part but forget the latter, or remember the latter but forget the first. The Buddha, taking pity on my stupidity, instructed me to settle in one place and regulate the incoming and outgoing breath. At that time, I contemplated the breath, investigating its subtlety exhaustively until it ceased, [experiencing] arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing, and the momentary nature of all formations. My mind suddenly became clear, attaining great non-obstruction, and ultimately, the exhaustion of outflows, becoming an Arhat. Abiding at the Buddha’s seat, I was confirmed as one beyond training. The Buddha inquired about perfect penetration; according to my realization, turning back to contemplate the breath and tracing it to emptiness is foremost."

Explanation: Cūḍapanthaka rose from his seat, prostrated at the Buddha's feet, and addressed the Buddha: "I cannot recite and retain the sutras and gāthās well; my memory is poor. When I first encountered the Buddha, heard him expound the Dharma, I followed him in renouncing household life to cultivate the path. Trying to memorize a single gāthā, over a hundred days, I would remember the preceding part but forget the subsequent part, or remember the subsequent part but forget the preceding part. The Buddha, pitying my foolishness, instructed me to settle in one place and specifically regulate the outgoing and incoming breath."

"I then began to contemplate the breath. The more I contemplated it, the subtler the breath became, until gradually it ceased entirely, and I entered the four dhyānas. After emerging from samādhi, I further observed the arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing of the breath, as well as the momentary arising and ceasing of all bodily formations and all formations of the aggregate of volitional formations. My mind suddenly became clear and illumined, realizing the emptiness of all formations and the emptiness of the five aggregates. My mind was no longer obstructed by the world of the five aggregates, and thus, with the exhaustion of afflictions, I became a fourth-stage Arhat. Abiding at the Buddha’s seat, I was confirmed by the Buddha as one beyond training. When the Buddha asked about the method of perfect penetration, according to my realization — turning back to contemplate my breath, gradually penetrating deeper, suddenly entering emptiness, realizing the emptiness of all formations — this is my foremost method."

Cūḍapanthaka was rather dull in comprehending the principles of Dharma, lacking retentive power. Knowing his disposition, the Buddha taught him the method of contemplating the breath. The path to realization did not start from theory but from actual bodily practice. By contemplating the breath, his mind gradually settled on the breath; his samādhi deepened, his mind grew subtler, and his breath also became subtler. When it became subtle to a certain degree, it ceased. Thereupon, Cūḍapanthaka observed the phenomena of the breath's arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing. Gradually, through observing the formations, he perceived the arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing of the five-aggregate body's functioning, realized the emptiness of the dharmas of the five aggregates and formations, and attained Arhatship. Therefore, genuine practice requires earnest personal cultivation; one must settle the mind in one place to give rise to the wisdom of contemplative observation. With equal balance of samādhi and prajñā, one can realize samādhi, attain the pure Dharma eye, and transcend birth and death to achieve liberation. Those lacking strength in contemplative observation should cultivate samādhi more diligently; those whose practice lacks efficacy should carefully examine the reasons and appropriately adjust the direction and method of their practice. Only by delving deeply into one method can one attain accomplishment.

Genuine cultivation is fundamentally not something accomplished through cleverness; it requires down-to-earth effort, step-by-step with footprints. Without the determination to cultivate samādhi, everything is but a castle in the air.