The Profound Meaning of Consciousness-only in the Diamond Sutra (IX)

The first Zen (Chan) koan in the Buddhist history of our Saha world was personally demonstrated by the World-Honored One. At the assembly on Vulture Peak, after the devas had offered flowers, the World-Honored One held up that flower and smiled without speaking amid the great assembly of humans and devas, plainly revealing His own true suchness mind (tathatā-citta) to everyone. Yet none among the assembly of humans and devas knew what the World-Honored One was up to, while Mahākāśyapa understood at once—with the eye of wisdom he contemplated and perceived the World-Honored One's true suchness mind, and at the same time clearly knew his own tathāgatagarbha mind, realizing what was inside the World-Honored One's gourd, and so he broke into a smile. The World-Honored One knew that Mahākāśyapa had awakened to the bodhisattva dharma and become an arhat-bodhisattva, and thereupon proclaimed: "I have the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa, the true reality that is without mark, established without written words, transmitted outside the teachings; I entrust it to Mahākāśyapa." Thus Kāśyapa became the First Patriarch of the Zen school.

What is the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa? Nirvāṇa means neither arising nor ceasing; the wondrous mind means that within this mind of emptiness (śūnyatā) there is not a single dharma—possessing nothing, yet it can manifest the myriad dharmas, with not one dharma failing to appear. It does not contain even a speck of dust the size of a mote, yet it can bring forth the universe and empty space—this is truly wondrous, and therefore it is called the wondrous mind. True reality refers to the vajra prajñā mind being a truly existent, genuine principle and essence that never ceases. Being without mark means that this mind has no marks whatsoever: it has no form mark, so He cannot be seen; no sound mark, so He cannot be heard; no scent mark, so He cannot be smelled; no taste mark, so He cannot be tasted; no touch mark, so He cannot be touched; no dharma mark, so He cannot be discriminated. The Heart Sutra says He has no five aggregates, no six sense faculties, six sense objects, or six consciousnesses, no Four Noble Truths or twelve links of dependent origination (from ignorance to aging-and-death), no...—in short, not a single dharma, yet the myriad dharmas all arise and exist in dependence upon Him.