The Profound Meaning of Vijnapti-mātratā in the Diamond Sutra (VIII)

At that time, the World-Honored One, at mealtime, put on his robe, took up his alms bowl, and entered the great city of Shravasti to beg for food. Within the city, he begged in sequential order. 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 seat, and sat down.

The events that follow contain esoteric meanings, and they are of the utmost secrecy—something all Mahayana practitioners long to know. Yet, if one truly knew, it would no longer be secret. What comes next is: the World-Honored One, at mealtime, put on his robe, took up his alms bowl, entered the great city of Shravasti to beg for food, begged in sequential order, returned to his original place, ate his meal, put away his robe and bowl, washed his feet, spread out his seat, and sat down. What is the purpose of describing this? Why go into such verbose and tedious detail about the World-Honored One’s daily routines—something as mundane as this, repeated day after day? Since he went out begging for alms, ate, and washed his feet every single day, why record it in the sutra, and why place it right at the beginning? When expounding other sutras, such details are not mentioned. Why, then, is it described specifically in the Diamond Sutra, especially during the Dharma assembly where the Great Prajnaparamita was being taught? The Diamond Sutra is the essence of the Great Prajnaparamita Sutra, and the World-Honored One never spoke of meaningless trivialities unless under special circumstances. Even a smile from him was rare.

Here lies a profound mystery, revealing a truth that illuminates the true reality of all phenomena. Those with the sharpest faculties and keenest wisdom need only read up to this point to awaken to the truth and the true reality. The entire purpose of the Diamond Sutra and the six hundred volumes of the Great Prajnaparamita Sutra would then become clear to them, and such a person would become a true Bodhisattva of genuine meaning. The Avatamsaka Sutra teaches that all phenomena are created by the mind alone—specifically, by the Tathagatagarbha mind. Are the daily routines of the World-Honored One not part of all phenomena? Is the functioning of his true suchness mind not present there? The answer is yes. All phenomena arise from the union of the true and the false. The true mind alone cannot accomplish anything, nor can the false mind alone establish anything. It must be the union of the true and the false that manifests all phenomena. Thus, within our impermanent, arising-and-ceasing, illusory realm of appearances, the true mind of prajna is necessarily at work.

For example, in our daily activities—eating, drinking, excretion, speech, laughter, walking, standing, sitting, lying down, and so on—the true mind, the Tathagatagarbha, must simultaneously participate. Otherwise, not a single phenomenon could be established. The seventeen hundred koans of the Chan tradition point precisely to this truth. Thus, Chan masters employ various means—glances, gestures, laughter, scolding, raising and lowering the whisk—to guide practitioners toward awakening. Take, for instance, Deshan’s stick (hitting back and forth), Linji’s shout (roaring loudly or softly)—all are acts of compassion. If someone came to me, I would kick them. When a practitioner is kicked, if their conditions are ripe, they may discover the diamond-like prajna mind. Yunmen, for example, had his foot crushed by his master with a door. After letting out a great shout, he attained enlightenment. Such examples are too numerous to mention. Upon awakening, one attains the patience with non-arising, and the wisdom of true reality unfolds. One realizes the emptiness of self, others, and sentient beings—that nothing is truly born. The Tathagatagarbha itself does not arise. To accept this principle is to attain the patience with non-arising—though it is truly hard to endure!