Shurangama Sutra, Volume III: The Illusory Nature of the Wind Element

Original text: Ananda, the nature of wind has no inherent substance; its movement and stillness are impermanent. When you adjust your robe and enter the assembly, the corner of your sanghati touches others, and a slight breeze brushes against their faces. Is this wind emitted from the corner of the robe, produced from empty space, or generated from that person’s face? Ananda, if this wind were emitted from the corner of the robe, then you would be draped in wind. Your robe should flutter and lift away from your body. Yet now, as I expound the Dharma, my robe hangs down in this assembly. Look at my robe—where is the wind? It cannot be that there is a place within the robe that stores wind.

Explanation: Ananda, wind has no intrinsic nature; its motion and stillness are not permanent. After you often adjust your robe and enter the assembly, when the corner of your sanghati brushes against others, a slight breeze then blows upon their faces. Is this wind coming from the corner of the robe, from empty space, or generated from the other person’s face? Ananda, if this wind arises from the corner of the robe, then you would constantly be draped in wind during your daily activities. If wind existed within the robe, the garment should flutter and separate from your body. But now, as I am expounding the Dharma, my robe hangs down in this assembly without fluttering. Look at my robe—where is the wind? It cannot be that there is a hidden place for wind within the robe.

Original text: If it arises from empty space, why is there no breeze when your robe is still? The nature of space is permanent; wind should constantly arise. If so, when there is no wind, space should cease to exist. The cessation of wind can be observed, but what is the state of space when it ceases? If it has arising and cessation, it cannot be called space. If it is called space, how can wind emerge from it? If the wind arises from the face being brushed, it should also blow against you. When you adjust your own robe, why does the breeze blow in the opposite direction? Examine carefully: the robe adjustment is done by you, but the face belongs to that person. Empty space is tranquil and unmoving. From where does the wind stir and come here? The nature of wind and space are distinct; they neither harmonize nor unite. It cannot be that the nature of wind exists without any source.

Explanation: If wind arises from empty space, why is there no breeze when your robe is motionless? Since space is ever-present, wind should constantly arise. In that case, when there is no wind, space should cease to exist. The cessation of wind can be perceived, but what is the state of space when it ceases? If space had the characteristics of arising and cessation, all phenomena would cease to exist, and space could not be called space. If it is still called space, how can wind emerge from it? If wind arises from the face of the person being brushed, it should blow against you as well. You adjust your own robe—why does the wind blow in the opposite direction onto your own face? Scrutinize this carefully: you are the one adjusting the robe, but the face belongs to another person. Empty space is tranquil and unmoving. From where does the wind stir and come here? The nature of wind and the nature of space are not the same; they cannot unite. The nature of wind should not exist without any origin.

Original text: You still do not realize that within the Tathagatagarbha, the nature of wind is true emptiness, and the nature of emptiness is true wind. Both are fundamentally pure and pervade the Dharma realm, manifesting according to the measure of sentient beings’ minds. Ananda, when you alone slightly stir your robe, a slight breeze arises. Brushing everywhere throughout the Dharma realm, it fills all lands and pervades the entire world. How could it have a fixed direction? It manifests according to karma. The world, in ignorance, mistakenly attributes it to causes and conditions or to spontaneous nature. These are all products of the discriminating mind and its calculations. Whatever is spoken of thus has no real meaning.

Explanation: You still do not know that within the Tathagatagarbha, the nature of wind is true emptiness, and the nature of emptiness is true wind. Both are fundamentally pure, pervading the Dharma realm, and manifest according to the measure that sentient beings’ minds can perceive. Ananda, when you alone gently move your robe, a slight breeze arises. Brushing everywhere throughout the Dharma realm, the wind fills all lands and pervades the entire world without being confined to any direction or location; it merely manifests according to the karma of sentient beings. People in the world, out of ignorance, mistakenly believe it arises from causes and conditions or exists spontaneously. These are all fabrications of sentient beings’ deluded discriminating minds and their calculations. Whatever is spoken of in this way has no real meaning.