THE

SUTRA OF HUI-NENG
GRAND MASTER OF ZEN
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With Hui-neng's Commentary

on the Diamond Sutra
Translated by Thomas Cleary
Hui-neng ( 617-713 ) is perhaps the most respected and beloved figure
in Zen Buddhism. An illiterate woodcutter wh o attained enlighten-
m ent in a flash, he became the renowned Sixth Patriarch of Ch' an,
or Chinese Zen. He is the supteme exemp lar of the fact that neither
education nor social background has any bearing on the experience
of enlightenment. Hui-neng's teachings are characterized by their
striking immediacy and by the ir concern with direct insight into
the essential nature of awareness.
The Sutra of Hui-neng is here accompanied by Hui-neng's own
commentary on the Diamond Sutra- in its first published English
translation.

THOMA S CLEARY holds a doctorate in Eas t Asian languages and

civilizations from Harvard University. He is translator of many Zen
texts , as well as other classics fro m Sanskrit, Japanese, Chinese, and
Arabic.

© [998 Shambh alrt Publications, l nc. Printed in U.S.A.

Cover art: The Sixth Patriarch Cutting Bamboo ( detai l), by Liang K'a i. Tokyo Na tiona l Museum, Tokyo, Japa n.
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THE SUTRA OF
HUI-NENG
GRAND M AS T E R OF Z EN

IVitb H lIi - nt'ng's COWlIIClltIl1·Y Oil the

DIAMOND SUTRA

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''' \li-neng.638-713
jLiU-tliU-12-shlh (a 1)30 t' an mingo English] 8. E\IERGF"CE INTO LIFE THROl:G II
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 Introduction

Hui-neng (638-7 13) is :l cenrra l figure of Zen Buddhist tradition.

The last of the early Grand Masters or founding teachers of Zen,
Hui-ncng is popularly considered the founder of the so-cal1ed
Southern School ofZcn. I-Iui-nellg characterized his teaching as the
teaching of immediacy, based 011 direct insight into the essential
nature of aW:1 rcncss. As a testimony o f his e minent place in Zen
tradition, the record of Hui-neng's life and lectu res is the onl y such
document to be dignified with the title of SIItm, or "scriptu re," the
word traditionally reserved, in Buddhist litcrarure, for the teachin gs
of a buddha .
Hui-ncng lived during the Tang dynasry (6 19---()O6). which is
often considered the apogee of Chinese culture. The development
of Chinese Buddhism was particularly marked during this era, as·
sisted by imperi al patronage. Translators from india, Khotan, Sog·
diana, Tocharia , Kucha, and other lands continued the enormous
work of rendering the Buddhist canons into C hinese, whi le great
masters of emerging Chinese schools pursued the full articulation
of pragmatic syntheses of the teachings.
Hui-neng is traditionally said to have been an illiterate woodcut·
rer from a frontier area. He attained enlightenment as a young man
of no account, the story goes, and inherited the rank of Grand Mas·
ter of Zen. Subsequently he was obliged to flee the persecution of
jealous elitistS, and he disappeared into the mountains. Hui·neng
reemerged in middle age as the bst of the Zen founders, finally
populari zing the teaching among all classes of people. Although he
himself was unlettered and expounded Buddhism in the simplest of
terms, I-Iui .neng's students and disciples included Confucian sehol·
ars as well as eminent monks, even a Buddhist canon master from
india.
J
 1'bc Sutrtl of J-IUi -IIClIg
The career of Ilui-neng h:1(1 ;In incalculable effect on the disscmi-
n:1001\ of Zen in China. According to the biography of Hui-ncng
recorded in traditional Zen sources, there were thirty-three people
known as formal successors of the Grand Master, who rnught Zen
openly. There were an unrecorded number of others who atrnined
the teaching, the biography adds, who concealed their names and
hid their tracks. The names of ten of these hidden masters have
been found, although nothing else is known of them. Besides these
forty-three known successors of I-Iui-neng, Grand Master of Zen, it
is also said that countless people "awa kened to the \-Vay and tran-
scended the o rdinary" under the impact of his teaching.
Two versions of Ilui -neng's sutra, c:llled the Altar Slltm, are
readily av;.i bble today. A manuscript of an older, briefer version
attributed to Hui -ncng's disciple Fa-hai was discovered among the
many works unearthed at Tun-huang. A more detailed version com-
piled in 129 [ was based on a number of texts. It is on this fuller
version that the present translation is based.
The compiler of tllis version of the sutra, a monk named Tsung-
pao, notes in an after-vord to his edition,
The teachings that the Sinh Grand Master used to expound were
all the complete all-at-once message of the Great Vehicle; that is
why this is called a nttrn. The words are everyday. but its g'llidance
is far-reaching; the expression is easy. the meaning is clear. Every-
one who rcads it gets somethi ng from it. Master Ming-chiao
praised it by saying, "Those whose narural potential is sharp will
get the dcep, those whose natural potemial is dull will get the
shallow." I low true these words arc!
\ Vhcn I first cllIcred the \Va}', I was inspired by this sutnl. Sub·
sequcntly I 5:.1W three different texts of varying quality. The wood-
blocks were already worn out, so I made a comparison of the texts,
correcting errors and filling in abbre\'iations, also adding the sto-
ries of disciples' questions, in hopes that those who wish to learn
may get the message.
1
Personal History
Realization of the Teaching and
Inberitance of the Robe
Wbl'1l thr Grt'nt J\!flsm· (Omr to fbI' Fo,-est ofJrd1/'is Mon(lstery,
GOt'tn/o'· f.flei ofSbno Provillcr went illto fbI' 1II0fflltaiJis witb some
governmem officers to request tbe fH(lster to c()me O/lt illto tbe city
(lIId prelfcb for tbe people Iff tbe lemlre bltll of tbe Grem Brtfl)1lm
IV[ollnsrery.
f.flben tbe A/flsrt'r tool· rbl' c/Jlfir, tbe gove,-I/or, over thirty offi-
cinls, over tbirty COlljifri(fII scholtirs, tIIlfl mol'/' tbnl1 0111' tbollslflltl
1II0nks, I1II11S, alld l(fypeoplc (tl/ hown/ tit 011ft' IlIId nsh·" to betfr tbe
f'SSl'1uials of tbe fNfcbil1g.
The Grror i\!nstcr snitl to tbr. C1¥)'U'd,
Good friends. bodh i is inherentl}' pure; just use this mind, and
you will directly rC:lli7.e buddha hood.
Good friends, for now listen to the course of e"ents through
which I realized the teaching.
M}' father was oril,rinally from Fan-rang, but he was banished to
Ling-nan, where he bec:une a peasant in Hsin ["New") Province.
Unforrunately for me, Illy futher also died early. 'Vith my widowed
mother I moved to Nan-h:li, where wc suffered from poverty as I
sold firewood for a living.
One day a customer purchased some kindling and had me deliver
it to his shop. The customer received the wood, and I left the shop
with Ill}' money. Outside, I saw a tra\·eler reciting a scriprure. On
hearing the words of the scriprure, Illy mind opened up and I under-
stood.
I asked the traveler whal scripru rc he was reciting. He said it was
the Diamond Sufm. I then asked him where he had gonen this scri p-
rure from. He said, " I got it from the Eastern Meditation Monastery
in i-Iuang·mci Prefecrure in Ch'i Province, where Great l\laster
Hung-jen, the Fifth Grand ,\'laster [ofCh'an Buddhism] , is teaching
;
 The 5",1'11 of fI"i-IIClIg Pen01/(t! HiS/My
over ~ thous:md smdents. 1 went there and listened to thjs scriprure " , ' I r ,·ust seek fields of blessings all day long, and do not
that the Great 1\IaSter alwars recommends to both clergy and lay no us ou 0
se 1. •• t out of the ocean of miser)' of birth and death.
folk, saying that jf they keep the Diamond SlifTll, they will see their see" ro ge
"I f rour 0\' I1 ",n,'
,...
" is con fu sed., how can bl"essmO"<: sa\'e 'you., L et
.0- .
own essential nature and directly realize buddh:Jhood." "f' look into ,"our own Wisdom, grasp the mSlghtful nature
Hearing this explamltion, I felt a preexisting affinity. [ was given each 0 }OU . .. h If •
of your own b."tSle m\lld , and compose a verse to s ow me. }OU
ten ounces of si lver by a customer to enable me to provide food and
have uneIer stood the great meaning, I .will bequeath to you the robe
clothing for my mother, letting me go ri ght to HU:lIlg-mei to call
on the Fifth Grand Master. all d f IlC tea clt,"ng, ·lIld
' make
, )'OU"the.Sixth
, Grand. Master.
. I
" I tiS
" ur..
g-"l , so do not tarry. rhmkmg abom . It IS .no use-peop, e
After having gonen my mother settled, I left right away and essential narure should see It the moment It s men-
w h0 h3\"C SCC" . . ,
reached Huang-mei within thirty-odd days. There I paid respects tioned. Sonu.:one like this could see it even 111 a battle Ime of whlrl-
to the Fifth Grand 1\I:lSter.
ing swor<Is. " . , '
The Grand Alaster :Jsked, "\¥here are you from, and what do you After the followers had recei\'ed these directions, they Withdrew
want?"
and s3id to each other, "The bUllch of us don't have to clear our
I replied, "I am a peasant from Hsin Province in Ling-nan. I have minds and concentrate on composing verses to show the teacher.
come from far away to pay my respects to YOll o nly because I seek ,Vh:1t would be the use? Shen-llsiu the senior is presently tile men-
to be a buddha, nothing else. " tor- hc will surely get it. If the likes of us presumed to compose
The Grand Ma ster sa id , "You are :J southerner, and an aborigine; verses, we 'd IIC wastmg " menta I energy, "
how can you be a buddha?" Othcr pcople hearing this all set their minds to rest, s3}'ing, "\,Ve
1 said, "People may be southerners o r northerners, but the bud- will rely on \Iaster Shen-hsiu after this; why bother to compose a
dha-nature originally has no south or north. As an aborigine, my ,·erse? "
social status is nor the same as yours, but what difference is there in Shen-hsiu reflected, "The reason the others won' t present "crses
our buddha-nature?" is that I alll their mentor. I must compose a \'erse to present to the
The Grand Master wanted to talk with me more, but he saw that tcacher-if I do not present a "erse, how will the teacher know the
his followers were all around, so he had me do chores with the dcpth or sh31lowncss of the insight and understanding with in my
workers. mind? If Illy intention in presenting a verse is to seek the teaching,
I said to him, "My own mind always produces wisdom. Nor being then it is good; if it is to seek the r:mk of Grand Master, that is
alienated from one's own essential nature is itself a field of blessings. bad- it would be the same as the ordinary mentality. How would it
\oVhat work would rou have me do?" be different from usurping the rank of a S:lge? If I do not present a
The Grand Master said, "This aborigine is very sharp! Don't say '·ersc, I' ll nc,'cr get the teaching, This is "cry difficult, very diffi-
any more. Go work in the mill." cult. "
So I retired to a back building, where a worker had me splitting In from of the Fifth Grand Alaster's auditorium W3S a hallway
firewood and pounding rice. I spent over eight months at this, when three rooms long, where they were going to have an artist paint a
the Grand Master saw me one day and said, " I think your insight is mUr:l1 of lhe projection of the ulllkllvlllllrn-m,.rn and dle succession
reliable, but I was afraid b3d people would harm you, so I didn't talk of the live Grand Masters of C h':IIl. After Shen-hsiu had composed
to you. Do you realize this?" his \cr'ie, <;e\'era l times he got as far as the from of the auditorium
1 said, "1 do know four intention. That is why I didn't dare wa lk intending to present it, but each time he felt faint and broke out in
in front of the auditorium, lest one be careless." 3 sweat. Unable to bring himself to present his verse, over a period
One day the Grand J\ laster ca lled all his disciples to him and said, of four da\'<; he made t hirteen unsuccessful attempts.
" I tell rou, for people in this world the matter of birth and death is Finally Shell-hsiu thought, " It would be better if I wrote the verse
6
7

TJu SlIlFa of Hlli -lIl'11g
in the. ha llway, where the teache r can see it. If the teacher SllyS it is
~ood, I will res~ectfully come forth and deelare it [Q be my composi-
tion. Ifhe says It won't do, I have been wasting years in the moull-
tains accepting respect from others-what further path would I
practice?" T ha t night, in the middle of the night, letting no one
know, he took a lamp and wrote his verse on the wall of the somh
hallway, preseming his insight.
The verse said,
The body is the tree of enlightenment,
The mind is like a dear mirror-stand.
Polish it diligently time and again,
Not letting it gather dust.
Having written this, Shen-hsiu went back to his room, totally unde-
tected by anyone.
Shen-hsiu ,lisa thought, "lfthe Grand Master is pleased when he
sees ~nr verse tOmol.T~w, then I I.lave. affinity with the teaching. Ifhe
S:lys. It IS unwar.thy, It IS my own IllUSIOn-the b:lrriers of my existing
habits are mamfold, and I :lm not fit to get the teaching. The mind
of a sage is hard to f:ltham."
As he thought in his room, he was uneasy whether he snt up or
l:ly down. This continued until dawn.
Now the Grand Nbster already knew that Shen-hsiu had not yet
entered the £'Ire ,md did nOt see his own essen tial namre. In the
morning he called the artist Lu Kung-feng to make the lllurni on
the wall of the south hallway.
Suddenly seeing the \'erse, the Grand Master '" told the artist not
to proceed with the mural, thanking him for his trouble. "Scripture
says that all forms are illusory," he said. '~' ust le,l\'e this \'e rse for
pe~ple ~o recit~. If they :Ict in accord with this verse, they will avoid
falllllg mto eVil ways; there is great benefit in :tcting according to
thi s verse."
He instructed the disciples to light incense, pay respect to the
verse, and learn the \'erse so they cou ld see essential nature. The
disciples recited the verse, and all celebrated it admiringly.
In the middle of the night, the Grand Master asked Shen-hsiu to
his quarters and sa id, "\·Vas it you who composed the \·erse:"
Shen-hsiu s:lid, " { did compose the verse, but I do not presume
to seek the rank of Grand Ahster. 1 hope fo r your compassion, to
see whether 1 h:tve any wisdom or not."
8 9
P e1·S01wJ H iS/OJ)'
The Grand Master said, " Your composition of this verse indicates
you h:\Ve not yet seen your fundamental nature. You have on ly ar-
rived outside the gate; you have not }'C[ entered inside. If you seek
unsurpassed enli ghtenment with :In understanding like this, you will
never be able to attain it. Unsurpassed enlightenment requires that
you be able to recognize your own bnsic mind at a word, :lnd see
your own ori gin:ll nature, unborn and undying. \.vhen you see your-
sel f at all times, moment to moment, with no lingering over any-
thing at all, as one is real ,Ill :Ire real- myriad objects are themselves
suchncss as is. Consciousness of suchncss :lS is is real truth; if you
see in this way, this is the inherent naUlre of unsurp:lssed enlight-
emnent.
"Go aW:ly for now and reflect for a day or two. Then compose
another verse. If I see b}, you r verse that you have succeeded in
enterin g the gate, I will entrust the robe and the teachiJlg to you ."
Shcn-hsiu bowed and left. \.vhen severa l more days had passed,
:lnd he sti ll had not managed to produce a verse, he felt faint at heart
and uneasy in spirit and thought. He was as if in a dream. He was
uneasy and uncomfortabl e whether he was w:llking arowld or sitting
down.
Two days later, a boy passing by the mill was chanting that verse.
As soon as J hea rd it. I rea lized this verse did not yet reveal the
fu ndamental essence. Although I had not received instruction, I :ll-
re:ldy knew the main idea, so T asked the boy, "VVhat verse is that
you're chanting?"
T he boy said, "You aborigine! Don't you know that the Grand
Master sa id for people in this world the matter of birth and death is
serious-if they wa nt to get tr:lnsmission of the robe and the tcach-
ing, he had the disciples compose verses. If anyone has realized the
great me:lning, he will transmit the robe and the teaching :lnd make
him the Sixth Gra nd Master. The sen ior monk Shen-hsiu wrote this
form less verse on the wall of the south hallway; the Grand Nlaster
had everyone memorize it, saying thar if one puts this verse into
practice one will avoid falling inra evil ways, and if one puts this
verse into practice one will ga in great benefit."
I said, "1 have been here pounding rice for ove r eight months,
and have never been ra the auditorium . Please rake me to where the
verse is, so I can pay my respects."
\Vhen the boy had led me to the verse to pay respects, I sa id, " ]
 Tb(' Sflf1"ll of /-{lIi-llwg
am ilJiterate; please read it for me." At th::ar time the lieutena nt mili-
ta~ inspector of C hiang Province was there, a man named Chang
Cluh-}'lmg; he read the verse aloud. After I'd heard it, I said I had a
verse too, and asked the lieutenanr inspector to write it for me.
The lieutenant inspector said, "J-Iow extraordinary that you too
would compose a verse!"
I. said to the lieutenant inspector, " If you want to learn supreme
enlIghtenment, don't slight beginners. A person of the lowliest rank
may have the very highest knowledge, while a person of the highest
r,lIlk ~ay lack practical wisdom. If you slight people, you will have
done Incalculable wrong."
. The lieutenant inspector said, "Recite your verse, and I will write
It for you.lf you attain the teaching, you should liberate me. Don't
fo rget these words."
My verse went this w,lY:
Enlightcnment originally has no trce,
And a clear mirror is not a stand.
Originally there's not a single thing-
\¥here can dust be attracted?
After th is verse had been written down, the whole com munity
was amazed, :lIld everyone wondered. They said to each other
"How odd! You can't tell about people by their appearance! Hm:
cou ld we have employed him, a living bodhis:mva, as a servanr for
so long?"
Seeing the surprise and wonder of the crowd, \he Grand Master
feared someone migh t do me harm, so he ertlsed the verse wi th his
shoe and said, "This is still not yet perception of essence."
Everyone thought it was so, but the next day the Grand Master
surreptitiously came to the mill, where he saw me pound ing rice, a
sto~e at my waist. He said, "People who seek the \Nay forget their
bodIes for the sake of the teaching; will he be like this?" Then he
asked me, "Is the rice ready yet?"
[ replied, "The rice has been ready for a long time, but it still
wants sifting."
The Grand Master knocked the mortar duee times with his ca ne.
h~lInediately underst;mding the Gmnd Master's metlning, I went to
hiS rOOI11 at dle third watch [in the middle of the night]. Using his
vesonent as a screen so no one cou ld see us, he explained the Dill-
Penonlll HiJ'fory
moud SlItm to me. VVhen he came to the poim where it says, "You
should activate the mind without dwelling on anything," at these
words I had the overwhelming realization that all things arc not
apart frolll inherent nature.
I then said to the Grand Master, "\.vho would have expected that
inherent nature is originally intrinsically pure? vVho would have
expected that inherent nature is originally unb~rn a.n~1 undying?
Who would have expected that inherent nature IS ongmally com~
plete in itself? ' Vho would h;lve expected that inher~nt nature is
originally immovable? '-\"'0 would have expected that mherent na~
tu re can produce myriad things?"
Knowing I had realized original narure, the Grand Master said to
me, " tf one docs nOt discern the original mind, it is of no benefit to
study the teaching. If you discern }'our own original mind and see
your own original essential l1t1ture, you are whtlt they call a gre;lt
ma n, a teacher ofhulll:IllS and angels, a buddha."
I received the teaching in the middle of the night, un beknownst
to anyone. He then handed on the doctrine ofimmeditlcy, as well as
the bowl and robe, saying, "You are the sixth~generation Grand
Master. Be conscientious and spirirually liberate beiJlgs everywhere,
popularizing the teaching so that it will not die out in the future.
Listen to my verse:
"Those with sense plant seeds;
The fru its grow from the ground.
Since there is no seed witllOut sense,
There is no nature, no life."
The Grand Nlaster also said, " ' '''hen the great teacher Bodh id-
hanna first came to this land a long time ago, people did not yet
believe in him, so he handed on th is robe as an embodiment of
faith, and it has been inherited through the generations. As for the
teaching, it is trtlnsmitted mind to mind, enabling all to awaken
tllemselves and understand themselves.
"Since olden times, the buddh:1s have only communicated the
original reality; the te~lchers h:wc intim:1tely imparted the original
mind. The robe is a bone of contention; let it stop with you :md nOt
be passed all. If yOli were to pass on this robe, your life would be ill
danger. You must go away immediately, for I fC:1r people may harm
you "
"
 Tlu Sll(1"I1 of IIlIi-mllg
J ~ske<l, "'Vhere should I go?"
The Grand Nlaster said, "StOp when rOll meet Huai; hibernate
when you encounter I-lui."
:~ k.ing the robe and bowl in the midd le of the nigh t, I said, " I am
orlgmally a southerner, unfami liar with the moumain roads here.
How can I get Out to the mou th of the river?"
T he Fifdl G rand Master said, "Don't worry. I'll take vou there
myself." The Grand Master than rook me right to N ine River Sta-
tion, where he had me get Onto a boat. The Fifth Grand Master
hi mself took up the oars and rowed.
I asked the Gr:1nd j\lasrer to sit down and let me row but he said
" lr is appropriate that I ferry you across." • ,
I said, " "''hen people are at a loss, the guide ferries them over'
when o ne is en lightened, one ferries oneself over," , not yet seen into my own face. Now that I have received your in-
,The Grand N1:!ste r sa id, "So it is. It is so. Hereafter Budd hism
w~JJ become very po puhlr through YOll. T hree ye:lrs after you go, I
"",II depart fro~n this world. Now you shou ld go; 1113ke your way to
the South . It IS better not to speak our too quickly; it is hard to
promote Buddhism."
After I had bade farewell and left the Grnnd A'laster, I set our
southward. \.\Iithin two months I reached Mount Ta Yu.
(After the Fifth Grand Master rerurned, he did not lecture for
several days. The community was perplexed. They asked if he were
unwell o r indisposed. He repli ed th,lt it was not that he was ill , but
that t~e teachi ng had already gone South. Wh en they asked to
whom I t had been transmi tted, he replied, "T he capable one gOt it."
T he community then knew who it was [beca use "capable" is the
meaning of the lIellg in the name Hui-nengJ.)
Severa l hundred people came after me, wanting to take the robe
and bowl away. O ne monk, named Hui-ming, formerl}' a four-stu
g~neral and a rough-and-re:ldy type of man, joined in the pursuit
With extreme enthusiasm. He chased me down before anyone else.
I toss~d t~e .robe and bowl OntO:1 rock and sa id, "Th is robe repre-
sents faith; IS It ,lppropriate to struggle ove r it?" Then I hid in the
brush.
H ui-ming went over to the robe ,lOd bowl and tried to pick them
up, but he cou ld not move them. Then he ca lled to me " \Vork11lan
I ,ve come lor
C"
the teaching, not for the robe!"
' ,
Persol1al HhfO,.y
I then came out and sat on a boulder. Hui-ming bowed and said,
" Please explain the teaching to me, \ Vorkman."
I said, "Since you have come for the teaching, you should shut
out all objects lind not conceive a single thought; then I will expound
the teach in g fo r you."
l-Iui-mi ng was si lent for a long while. I said, "\¥hen you do not
think of good and do not think of bad, what is your original face?"
At these words, Hui-m..ing was greatly enlightened. Then he
asked, "ls there any funher secret idea besides the secret idea juSt
now secretly spoken?"
I said, "\Vhat I have told you is no secret. If }'ou reflect inwardly,
the secret is in you."
Hui-ming said, "Although I was at H uang-mei, in reality I had
struction, I am like a Illan who takes a drin k of water and knows
for himself whether it is cold or warm. Now YOlL arc my teacher,
\Vorknlan."
I said, "If you are thus, you and I are both students of Huang-
mei. Maintain it carefully on your own."
Hui-ming also asked, "\\'here should I go after this?"
I s.1id, "If you come to Yuan, then StOP; jf you come to Meng,
then st"JY."
Hui-ming bowed and took lea\'e. (\Vhen I-Iui-ming got to the
foot of the mountain, he said to the crowd of pursuers, " I have just
climbed to the heights, but after all there was no trace of him . \,Vc
had better look elsewhere." T he pursuc rs all bel ieved him. H ui-
ming later changed his name to "ElO-ming, to avoid assuming the
same first character as the Master Hui-neng.)
Later I came to Ts'ao-ch'i, but I was again pursued by bad men,
and took refuge among a group of hunters in the Ssu-ming Range.
I spent fifteen years among them, occasionally expounding the
teaching to the hunters when suitable OPl>orrunities arose.
The hunters used to have me watch over the nets, but whene\'er
I'd see living creatures, I would let them:!ll go. At mealtimes I would
pm vegetables in the pot where the Illeat was being cooked. If any-
one asked me about it, I'd reply that I just ate the vegetables beside
the meat.
One day 1 thought that the time had come to disseminate the
teaching, and 1 shouldn't stay in hiding fore\·er. So I finally left and
,3
 Tile SlItrn of /-llIi-nmg Personnl History

went to the Templ e of the Nature of Reality in Kuang PrO\'incc.
There 1 fo und thc doctrinal master Yin-tsung lccntring on the Nir-
Vflnn-sutl'll.
At the time there was :l wind blowing, and the penn:mts were
Rapping. One monk said, "The wind is moving." Anothe r said,
"The pennants are moving." They argued on :md on , so I came
forward and said, "It is not the wind moving, it is nOt the pennants
moving; it is your minds moving."
Everyone was startled. Yin-tsung ilwired me up to the fronr seat
and questioned me closely about dle inner meaning. I-Ie S3W that
my speech was simple :md my reasoning was accurate; and that th is
did not comc from writings.
Yin- tsung said , " \·Vorkm:m, you ~lre certainly not an ordin3ry
man. For a long time I've heard that the robe and teaching of
Huang-mei came South. Might that not be you, vVorkman?"
I said, " l dare not presume."
Now Yin-tsung bowed, and asked me to show the community the
~,obe a,~d bowl that had been handed on to me. Yin-tsung also asked,
How tS the legacy of I-Iu:mg-mei demonstrated and transmitted?"
I said, "T~e re is no demonstration or transmission; it is only a
matte r of seemg nature, not a matter of meditation or li beration."
Yin-tsung asked, "Why is it not a matter of meditation and libera-
tion?"
I said, " Because these twO things ~lre not Buddhism; Buddhism is
a nondualistic teaching. "
Yin-Tsung asked, "What is the nondualis& teachino- of Bud-
dhism?" I:>
realize their essential nanlre is not two. The nondllal nature is rhe
buddha-nature.' "
Hearing this explanation, Yin-tsung was overjoycd. Joining his
palms, he said, "My lcctures on the scripture are like gr:.l\"cI; yom'
discoursc on meaning is like pure gold."
Now he shaved my head for me and wished to regard me as his
teacher. So [ fi nally opened up the East Mountain School under the
en lightenment tree.
I attai ned the teaching on East Mountain , enduring expreme
hardship ~md pain, my life hanging by a thread. Now that I have
gotten co participate in this assem bly along with the governor and
his officers, monks, nuns, and Iaypeople, it is all people of eons of
affinity: and it is because of having supported budd has in past lives,
planting roots of goodness together, that you have gotten to hear
the foregoing account of attainment of the truth of the teaching of
immediacy.
The teaching of immediacy was transmitted by past sages; it is
not my own personal wisdom. Those who wish to hear the teaching
of the sages of yore should each dear your own mind. After you
have heard it, each of yO\l get rid of doubt by yourself, and you will
be no diffcrent from the sages of formcr generations.
Hnvi1lg beard tbe tenrbillg, tbe wbole nssembly joyf"lly bo-dJcd alld
withdrew.

I said, "You lecrure on the Nironl/fI-slln·fl. which explains buddha-

narure. This is the nondualistic teaching of Buddhism. For example,
dle bod hisattva King of Noble Qualities says to Buddha, 'V/ill viola-
tion of the four serious prohibitions, commission of the five pe rverse
sins, or being hopelessly incorrigible, Cut off the roots of goodness
and essential narure of buddha hood?'
"Buddha said, ' Roots of goodness are twofold: one permanent,
one imperm:ment. Essential buddha-nanlre is neither penllanent
nor impermanent, so it is nOt cut off; dlat is called nondualitv.
" 'Oneness is good, dualism is not good. The essential b~ddha­
nature is neither good nor not good; this is called nondualirv.
" 'Ordinary people see the body ~lI1d dle world as two; ilic wise

'4
 2 is vast as space, without bounds. It has no squarcn ess or r0l1l1dness,
Prajna
Tbe llfXt day' Govemo1' tVri 1'eqllf!stl'{f 1IIore il1strl/(fiol1. Tilt' ,\ flirter
took the ebo;1" fll1d mid to ,be IIssemb~y.
Everyone clear your minds and mentally I[l\'oke 1IIfl/J"-pmjll(lpnm-
mita.
Tbell be 11'1'111 011 to Sflj',
Good friends, peopl e of the world originally have the knowledge
of bodhi and prajna within them, but they cannot realize it them-
selves because of the wandering of the conditioned mind; that is
why they need a teacher to poim it Ollt and !,ruide them to perception
of essential nature.
You should know th:n the buddha-nnure is fu ndamentally no dif-
ferent in ignonlllt people and wise people. It is juSt because of differ-
ence in confusion and enlightenment that there is ignorance and
wisdom.
I will now explain to yOll the principle of unh'crsal tr:lIlscendent
insight, so each of yOll may :main knowledge and wisdom. Focus
your mind and listen clearly; I will explain for vou.
Good friends, people o f the world who ch'ant "Pra jna" all day
long without knowing the prajn:l in their own essential namre are
as if talking ,lbout food without being filled. If they only talk about
emptiness, they won't attain perception of essential nature even in
myriad eons-ultimately it is of no benefit.
Good friends, lIIa/)a-p1'lljllflp(lI'fllllitfl is a Sanskrit word, rendered
here as "great insight h:wing arrived at the other shore." This must
be applied mentally; it is not in verbal repetition. Verbal repetition
without mental application is illusory and evanescent. \ Vhen it is
both spoken of and mentally applied, then mind and speech cor-
respond.
The original essential nature is buddha. There is no buddha apart
from essentia l nature.
\-\That does 1Jlflba mean? lVlab" means great. The extent of mind
,6
no I:trgeness or sm.l lIness; it h:1s no blueness, yellowness, redness, or
whiteness. It h:ls no up or down, no long or short. It has no anger
and no joy, no ri ght and no wrong, no good and no bad. It has no
head or t.li l.
The I:tnds of all buddhas are all the same as space. The subtle
nature of people in the world is originally empty, wit.h nothing that
ca n be grasped. The true cmptiness of ou r inh ere nt nature is also
like this.
Good friend s, don't cling to emptiness when you hear me speak
of emptiness. Above all, do not stick to emptiness. If you sit qui etly
with an empty mind, you arc fixated on indifferent voi dness.
Good friends, the emptiness of physical space contains tile colors
and form s of myriad things, the SUIl, moon, and stars, the Illoun-
tains, rivers, and land, tile spri ngs and va lley streams, tile gnlsses,
trees, and forests, b;1(1 people and good people, bad things ::md good
things, heaven and hell, the oceans and tile mountains-a ll are
within space. The emptiness of the essential nature of people in the
world is also like this.
Good friends, our inherent nature contains all things-t.his is
greatness . All things are in your essential nature. If you see every-
one's bad and good but do not grasp or reject any of it, and do not
become affected by it, your mind is like space-this is called great-
ness, hence the term 1I1t1!Ja.
Good friends, deluded people expound verbally, wise people prac-
tice mentally. There are also deluded people who sit qui etly with
empty minds, not thinking of anything whatsoever, ~llld claim this is
greatness. T hi s sort of person is not worth talking to, because t heirs
is a wrong view.
Good friend s, the extent of mind is so vast it pervades dle cosmos .
"'Then it is used so th,lt it functions adaptively with comprehensive
clarity. it knows everything. Every tiling ;s one, the one is every-
thing. Going and com ing freely, t hc substance of mind without
blockage- this is prajna.
Good friends, all prajna in sight cOl11es from Ollr own essential
nature; it does not enter from outside. Don't misuse your thought
and call that the inherent function of intrinsic essential nature.
\"'hen one is real, all is real. The extent of mind is toO vast to
travel a narrow path. Don 't jUSl talk ahout em ptin ess all day without
,7
 "FbI' 5fl1rll of Hffi -flt!Jff{
cultivating its application in the mind. That wou ld be like a com-
muner claiming kings hip for himse lf, without ever being able to
attain it. Such people are not my disciples.
Good friends, what is prajna ? P,."jl/fl is translated into C hinese as
insight o r wisdom. \\'hen you are not foolish moment to moment,
wherever )'ou may be, at an)' time, always acting insightfully and
wisely, this is the application of prajna. A moment of foil)" :md
pmjna is cut off; a moment of wisdom and pmjna arises.
People of the world are ignorant rmd deluded; they do nOt see
prajna. They talk about pmjna, bur in their minds they remain igno-
rant. They always clai m to cu ltivate prajna, but while they talk on
and on :!bout emptiness, they do not know true emptiness.
Pmjn:! has no form; the hea rt of wisdom is it. If you understand
it in this way, this is called the knowledge of prajna.
\\fhat does pnrnlllifli me:m? Thi s is a Western word , which means
"arrived at the other shore" in Ch incsc. rf you understan d the
meaning, you detach from binh and death. If )'ou fixate on objects,
birth and death occur, as when water has waves- this is called "this
shore." \\'hen you detach fro m objects, there is no birth o r death,
as when water Rows sllloothir-this is called "the other shore," so
it is referred to as pamm;",.
Good friends, people who are lost may reiterate this \'erbally, but
evcn as they are reiterating it there is error and untruth in thcm. If
thc)' practice it in every moment of thought, this is called true na-
[Ure. ~Io realize dlis rea lity is the reality of pr.~na ; to culti vate this
practice is the practice o f prajna. If you do not culth':tte it, rou arc
ordi nary mortals; the moment you put it into practice, rou your-
seh'es are equal to buddh:!s.
Good fri ends, ordinary mortals are themselves buddhas, affli ction
is itsel f enli ghtenment. Deluded dle moment before, you were an
ordinary monal; enlightcned the moment aftcr, you :lre a buddha.
Fixation on objeclS the moment before was affiictioll; detachment
from objects the moment after is enlightenment.
Good fricnds, 11fff/JlI-pmjlflfpm·ffmitlf is mOst honorable, supreme,
foremost. It has no dwelling, no going, and no coming. The bud -
dha s of past, prcsent, :lOd future emerge from within it. You should
use gre;ll wi sdom to bre:lk through the aftli cti ons and mundan e toils
of the fi\'e clusters. If you cultiv;ue practice in this W;ly, }'Otl will
,R
Pm)Uff
surely ;!train the way of huddh :IS, transmuting the three po ison s into
discipline, L'O I1CCntraunn , :lIld in~ight.
Good friends, this teaching of mine produces 84,000 insights
from nnc prajna. \ Vh),? Because people of the world ha\'e 84,000
passions. lfthc), had no passion!!i, wisdom would alwa}'S be manifest,
not apart from onc's own eS'iCntia l nature. Those \\ ho realize this
teaching are free of tho ughl, recollection, and clinging; they do not
create deceptive fal schoods. Emplo} ing thei r own essen tial nature
of being as is, sec ing with insight, they neither gTasp nor reject any-
thing at all. This is the way to sec essential Il:iture and realize bud-
dhahood .
Good friends, if you want to enter the mOSt profound re:.t1m of
reality and prajna samadhi, you sho uld cu ltl\'ate the practice of
prajna and recite the Diamond Pl"tfjff(1 SU f1"ff j then you'll attain per-
ccption of csscl1[ial nature . You should realize that thc merit of this
Slltra is illl1lle:"lsul"ablc, boundlessj it is clcarl)' extolled in the sutra,
but no one C;1Il explain it completely.
This teaching is the hi ghest vehicle, expounded fo r people of
b'Teat insight and superior filculties. \ Vhen people of lesser faculties
and litde insight hear it, the)' conce ive disbelief. \vhy? When it
rains all over a continent, human habirntions :"Ire flooded; but when
it rains ovcr the ocean, that neithe r increases nor decreases the
ocean water. Similarl y, when people of the Gre:1t Veh id e o r people
of the Supreme Vehicle hear lhc D;amoflt/ Sflfrn expounded , their
minds open up to underst:lOding. Thus they know their own essen-
tial nature inherently has the illsight of prajna. They arc continually
observant, lIsing their own insightj therefore they do not depend o n
writings.
Rainwater does not come from heavcn, but it is produced by the
agencies of moisture, causing all li vi ng beinb'5, all grasses and trees,
all animate :1nd inanimate heings, to he refreshed; th e hundred riv-
ers :md myriad strea ms enle r the occ;m, merging into onc body.
The insight of prajna in the o ri b'; nal nature of living beings is also
like thi s.
Good frie nds, when people of sma ll faculties hear this teaching of
immcdi3c)" they arc like gr3~~e~ ami trees with naturally small roots
that collapse in he;l\'y rains and c:mnOi b'TOW. So it is with people of
slllall faculties: they ol";gin:llIy havc the wi~dul1l of pr:ljna, no differ-
ent from pcnple of great wi~dtl11l -w h)' don't they awaken 011 [h eir
 Till! Surra of i-/fli -l1l!l1g
own . when they hear the teaching? It is because the barriers of their
Elise vicws arc heavy :md the roots of their passions are deep. They
are like huge douds cO\'ering the slIn; if the wind doesn't blow, the
sun-;hi ne won't appear.
The wisdom of prajna is neither gre'lt nor small: these di fferenccs
are due to the differences in the delusion and enlightenment of the
minds of all living bein,!,rs. 'rhose with deluded minds and extcrnalist
views cultivate pr:lctices to seek buddhahood without having
re.llizcd their own essenti:11 n3ture; they :lrc the oncs with small
faculties.
If you open to understanding of the teaching of immediacy, YOll
do nor cultiv.ltc practice gr:lsping externals; you simply .Ictiv.lte ac-
eur.He perception at all times in your own mind, so afflictions and
passions can never influence you. This is perception of essentia l
nature.
Good friends, when you do not dwell on the inward or the out-
ward, coming :lIld going freely, you :lre able to elimin:1te the cling-
ing mentality and penetr;lte without obstnlction. If you can pur this
into pr3ctice, there's basic:1lly nO difference from the Prnjllll-slItrn.
Good friends, all sutras and other writings, including the twelve-
part canon of the great and small vehicles, were a1lset down because
of people. They could only be set up based on the narure of intelli-
gence. If there were no people in the world, myriad teachings would
nOt origin311y e:-.isr of themscl\'es. So we know that myriad teachings
origin:1tc from people; all scriprures and books 6xist because of wh3t
people have said.
Because there ;Ire ignorant and wisc people among humanity, the
ignor:lnt become the lesser people, the wise become the great; the
ignorant question the wise, the wise explain things for the ignorant.
"''hen the ignor.mt suddenly understand and their minds open up,
thcl) they arc no diffe rent from the wise.
Good friends, ,IS long as they arc not enlightened, budd has are
human bein,!,'S; the moment they :Ire en lightened, human bein6rs arc
buddhas. So we know th:lt:lll truths :lre in our own minds. Why not
immedi;Itely see the original mlrurc of true being ;IS is from within
your own mind? Th e sutra on ethics for bodhi s:ltn'as sa~ts that our
origin:ll nature is fundamenr.llly inherently pure. If you know your
own mind .1Ilt! see its essenti31 nature, you will all amlin huddha-
Prnjllfl
hood . The Pure N(IIIII! SlItm says, "At that moment you regain the
origimll mind, cle:lr :md open."
Good friends, I aW:lkened immediately on hearing the words of
Master Ilung-jen , suddenly see ing the original nature of being ;IS is.
Therefore I ;\111 popuhlrizing this teaching to el1[lble those who
'>mdy the \N:lY to awaken enlightenment :It once.
Each of you, observe your mind yourself; sec your original nanlre
you rself. If you do not realize it on your own, you must seek a
teacher who understands the Supreme Vehicle, to show you the
right way. Such a teacher has :I great cause, namely to guide others
to perception of essential nature. Because all good qua lities can be
activa ted by a real teacher, even though the twelve·part canons of
the buddhas of past, present, and furure are originally inherent in
human narure, if people cannot understand on their own, they need
to find teachers to point the way so they can see.
Those who realize on their own do not need to seek outside. If
you insist absolutely that a teacher is necessary in order to attain
liberation , that is not right. Why? Because there is a teacher within
one's own mind that understands spontaneously. If you create false-
hood, confusion, erroneous thought and delusion, then even if a
tC3cher gives you instruction, it cannot help you.
If you :Ictivate the insight of genuine prajna, in an instant errone-
ous thoughts all vanish. If you know }'our own nature, with one
realiz;ltion you immediately re:lch buddh:dIOOd.
Good friend s, insight sees through inside and out, clearly pene·
trating, discerning your own origin al mind. If you know your origi-
nal mind, you an! fun dament:llly liberated. If you :ltt:lin liberation,
this is prajna sam.1dhi, which is freedom from thought.
\ Vhat is freedom from though t? If you see all things without the
mind being affected or att:lehed, this is freedom from thought. Its
function perv3des everywhere, without being :ltt3chcd anywhere.
Just purify the basic mind, having the six eonSc10usnesses go our the
~ix senses into the six fields of dat.l without any defi lement or mix-
up, coming and going freely, comprehensively functioning without
stagnation: this is prajna-s:Hllfldhi, freedom and liberation. This is
c.llled the pmctice of freedom from thought. If you do not think at
all, you will cause thoughts to be stopped emirely. This is dogmatic
boncl:igc; this is called a bi'lsed \'icw.
Good friends, those who renlizc the stare of freedom from
 The S/lrra of /-III;-lIeug
thought penetrate all things. Those who re:lli7.c the state o f freedom
from thought see the realms of the buddh:Js. Those who rea lize the
state of freedom from thought :J rrive :Jt the rank of buddhahood.
Good friends, those who attain my teachings in later generations
will \'ow to accept and uphold this doctrine of immedi:JCY among
those with the same insight and the same practice, because it is like
attendance on Buddha; those who never rel,.,-ess all their lives will
surely enter the ranks of sages.
$0 you should transm it what has been handed on silently since
time immemorial; don't conceal the gen uine teaching. If people do
nor share the same insight :"lIld the s:une practice, but are within a
different norm, don't t ransmit it to them, for it will be harmfu l to
them. Perhaps ignorant people who do not understand may repudi-
ate this teaching, cutting off the seed namre of buddhahooo fo r a
hundred cons, or a thousand lifetimes.
Good friends, I h:lVe :1 hym n on the formless, which each o f you
should memorize. 'vVhether you are householders or renuncia nts,
JUSt practice in accord with it. [f )'OU do not practice pe rsonally but
only memorize my words, that is of no bene fi t. Listen to my hymn:
COllllllunication by speech and commu nic:Jtion by mind
Are like the sun in the sL-y,
Only transm itting the te:Jching of seei ng essential naNre,
Emerging in the world to destroy false doctrines.
Thc truth has neither immediacy nor gradualness,
Hur delusion and enlighrermlent h::ave slO\~ess ::and speediness.
This method of seeing essential narure
Ignorant pt.'nple cannot comprehend.
Explall::auon m:JY be of myriad kinds;
If they :Jccord with truth, they are ultimately one.
In the d::ark abode of affliction,
\\'e always should produce the sun of wisdom.
\Vhen falsehood comes, thcre 3re afflictions;
\Vhcll truth comes, afA ictions 3re elimi nated.
\ Vhcn Ileither falsehood nor truth arc cmployed,
Purity reaches rcmainderlessness.
Enl ightenment is our original inherent narure:
Excite the mind, and there is confusion.
Be pure of mind in the midst of illusion;
Just he true, and there are no barriers.
Prnjllli
If people of the world practice this \Vay,
Nothing will prcsent an obstacle.
Alw::a}'s see rour own mistakes by yourself
And yOll will be fit for the \ V::ay.
All ki nds h:I\'e their own pJths,
\Vhich do not interfere with e::ach other:
If you lea\'e your pa dl to seek another way,
To the end of )'our d::ays you'll never see the \Vay.
P:Jssi ng a whole lifetime in ups ::and downs,
\Vherever you arc you'll still be tormented in yourself.
If rou wanr to ::acruali)' see thc true Vhy,
Acting rightly is the way,
If your eyes have no mi ndfu lness of the \Vay,
You go in the d::ark, not seeing the way.
People who really pmctice the \-V::ay
Do not see the f;lUits of the world;
If )'OU sce the errors of others,
Your own error ::abcts them.
rf others err but rOll do nor,
Your own error's still faulty.
J ust get rid of your own wrong-mindedness,
Elimin::ate the affiiction:
With hatred and love not ::affccting the mind,
Stretch out your legs and sleep.
If rou WJm to rry to [(:"Jch othcr people,
You need to h:J"e expedient methods yourself:
The moment you get thcm to bre::ak through the doubts they h::ave,
Thereupon their own essential n::arure manifests.
Buddhism is in d,C world;
It is not re:lli7.ed ap::art frOIll the world.
Seeking enlightenment IIp::art from the world
Is like looking for ham s all a hare.
True seeing is c::a lled transcendence;
F::a lse seeing is worldliness:
Set aside both right and wrong,
And the nanlre of enlightenment is clear.
T his hymn is of d,C doctrine of immediacy,
Also called thc sh ip of the great leachi ng.
If you listcn confused, it takes eons on end;
\Vhen you're enlightened, it takes but all instant.
 Tbe Surra of Nui - lIf'11g
The 1\ {"$fer IIlso sllid,
3
Now that 1 have cxpl:i ined this doctrine of immediacy:tt the Tem-
ple of Crc:lt Br:lhma, I pray that all beings of thc unh'erse will scc
Questions
essentia l nature and attain buddha hood :It these words.
At tbllt ,imi' Governor Wei, tbe officiI/is, rbe clerics, and tbe laity
1111 blld illsigbtfiilllnderstanding lifter bearil1g ,be Mflster spellk. As Dill' dl'J Govel.,lo/· Wei held {I banquet for tbt· Mastel'. Afie'I' the
olle rbey bou'ed alld lauded bim: "£xce/lelll.' f·Vho wOflld bave ex- bal1qllet, ,be govl'I'lIor flsked tbt Iv/ IISW' to givt' 1/ I('Ctf/re. Alollg with
puttd tbere U:OII/d be II buddha appearillg ill the U701-/d soutb of the the officials, gcnhy, alld rommollUS, he buU'td IIgftill iL'it/; a Sn101fS
Rollgr.''' expressioll ltIul aslml,
I have heard your tcaching, and it is tnlly inconcciv:lble. Tow I
have a few doubts, which I wish you wou ld be so comp:lssio nare as
to resolve for me.
The ilifftstel'sllid,
If you h:lve :my doubts, then ask, and I will explain for you.
GO"l.'ernol' ~Vei ad.'ed,
Isn't wh:lt you re:lch the basic message of Great Master Bodhid-
hanna?
The Mllstn- replied
It is.
Govcrnor ~Vci SllirI,

I have heard thnt when l30dhidharmn first tried to teach Emperor

"Vu of Li ang, the em peror asked, "All my life I h:lVe bee n building
temples, onbining monks, giving alms nnd charitable mea ls: what
\'i rtue have I achieved?" Bodh.idham13 said, " In reality, no virtue is
achieved." I do not understand the principle of this; please explain
to me.
The 1\ {IISW' slfitl,
There really is no virme achieved; do not doubt the words of the
ancient sage. Empcror \oVu's mind was wrong and he did not recog-
nize true tcaching. Building temples, ordaini ng monks, givi ng alms
and ch:lrit:lble mC:lls, is called seeking blessings. I31cssi ngs them-
selves cannot be considered virtuc achicvcd. Virtue is in the embodi-
ment of qualities, not in cultivating blcssinb"S'

'4 '5
 T/Jl' SIII1-(I ollllli-lIwg
Tbc MflSfl'I' (liso m id,
Se..:ing esscntia l nature is achievcment, equanimity is virtue_ Not
stahtflating moment to moment, always seeing the real true subtl e
fu nctions of the origi nal nature, is called achievement and virtue_
Im\ard humility is achie\-ement, outward courtesy is virtue. Estab-
li ~hi n g myriad truth .. in ),our own nature is achievement; tile mind
being essentially detached from thoughts is virtue. Not departing
from one's own essenti31 nature is achie\'ement; acting adaptively
without being affected is \·jrtue. If you seek the body of qualities of
ach ie\'ement and \-irtue, just act on this. That is real achie\'emellt
and virtue.
People who cultivate achievement and virtue do not slight anyone
in their hearts, al ways acting with respect for all. If youlliways slight
people in your hea rt and arc constantly egotistic, then you have no
achievement yourself. \.Vhen you r nature is fa lse and not genuine,
then you have no virtue yourself, beca use of egotistic self-agh'Tan-
dizcmellt and habitually slighting everyone.
Good fri ends, continuity moment to moment is achievement, bal-
ance and directness of mental activity is virnle. Refining your own
nature is achievement; refining your own person is vimle.
Good friends, achie\'ement and virtue must be seen within your
own nature; they arc not to be sought through almsgiving and dona-
tions. That is why blessings and vimles arc different. Emperor Wu
did not know the true principle- it was not our spiritua l ancestor
who was mistaken.
Tbe gO'lYen/or also asktd,
I often see cleq)ry and laity im'oking Amitabha Buddha in hopes
of rebirth in the [Pure Land of thel \-Vest. Please expla in th is to 111e.
Can we attain rebirth there? Please resolve this doubt for me.
The Masur JIlin,
Listen d early, Go\'ernor, and I will explain it to you. When tile
\ Vorld Honored One was in the ciry of Sr;wasti, he spoke of the
""estern Pure L111d as a teaching devi ce. Scri ptu re is clellr that "it
is not far from here," but tre:ltises S;ly it is "108,000 miles :m'ay."
This number refers to the ten evils and eight wrongs in one's per-
son. This S:l)'S it is far away. Sayi ng it is far away is for people of
lesser facu lties. Sayi ng it IS near is for people of hetter fa cul ties.
,6
QuestlOl/s
People may be of these two kinds, but the tru th is 110t. Delusion
lind enlightenrnenr diffe r; perception may he slow or quick. Deluded
people invoke Buddha seeking rehirth elsewhere; enlightened peo-
ple purify their own minds. That is \\ hy Buddha said, "The lands of
the buddhas arc pure according to the purity of their minds."
Even though you are a m:ln of the East, rou arc illll}Cccable as
long as you purify your mind . Even l}Cople of the \ Vest are faulty if
thei r minds arc not pure. \ Vhen people of the East do wrong, they
im'oke Buddha , seeking rebirth in the \Vest; when people of the
\·Vest do wrong, in what land do they seek rebirth by invoking
Buddha ?
Ordina ry ignorant people, not reali zing their own essentia l na·
ture, do not recognize the Pure Land within the body; so they pray
for the East and pray for the \ Vest. For enlightened people, it's the
same wherever they are. That is why Buddha sa id , " \ Vherever they
are, they are always af case."
Governor, as long as there is nothing in your mind that is nOt
good, the \Nest is not' fal' from here. If you harbor states of mind
th at arc not good, even if you ill\'oke Buddh a, rebirth can hardly be
atta ined.
Now I urge you, good friends, to first get rid of the ten evils; th::Jt
is the equivalent of tra veli ng ten myriad miles. Then get rid of the
eight wrOIlbT5; that is the equivalent of crossing eight thousand mil es.
See essential nature in e\-ery mOlllent', al ways acting with impartia l
directncss, and you \\ ill arri ve in a finger-snap and see Amjrabha
Buddha.
Go\'ernor, if you JUSt practice the ten \.jrtues, what further need
do you have to pray for rebirth? If you do not stop the men tality of
the ten evils, what buddha would eomc welcome you? If you rea lize
the birthless realit), of illlmedi:lcy, vision of the \Vest is instanta·
neous; if )'ou invoke Budd ha seeking rebirth without enlightenment,
the road is long-how can you get there?
I will move the \Vest in an instant, so you can see it right before
our eyes. Does everyone Wlllll to see it?
Tbe o'olnl bOUiNI fllld sflid,
If it is to be seen here, why !>hould we pray for rebirth any more?
Let the Alaster be SO com passiona te a.. to C:1U ..e the \VCST to appe:lr
for all fO see.
,;
 Tb" SlItrn of NlIi-lIw g
Tbe }\{,wo· sflid,
The physica l hody of a human being is ;1 city. The eyes, e,lrs,
nose, and ton true arc f,'1Ircs. There arc five outer gates and one inner
gate, th e g:lte of the consciousness. Mind is the ground, narure is
th e ruh!r. The ruler lives on the ground of the mind. As long- as
essential ml[llre is there, the ruler is therc; when Il:lture is gone, the
ruler is nOl there. When essential nature is there, body and Illind
exist; when essential nature is gone, the body decomposes.
Buddh,lhood is actua lized within essential nature; do not seek it
outside the body. If your own narure is confused, you are an ordi-
nary person; if you r own nature is awakened, you arc a buddha.
Kindness ami compassion are Avalokitesvar.l, joyfulness and dis-
passion are Nbh,ISthamaprapt:l; competence and purity art! ShaJ.."ya-
Illuni , impartiality :md directness ,Ire Al1lirabha. Egoism toward
others is the pobr mountain, greed is the w,lter of the oceans, afflic-
tions ;lfe the w,lVes, viciousness ,llld malevolence arc violent drag-
ons, Ell se hoods and illusions arc ghosts and spirits, worldly passions
are fi sh and turtles, cr,lving ,lI1d wrath arc hells, follies are animals.
Good friends, always practice the ten virtues, and heaven will be
there. Get rid of egoism toward others, and the polar mountain will
topple. Eliminate greed, and the ocean waters will dry up. If afAic-
lions arc not there, the waves die Out. vYhen viciousness and malev-
olence are eliminated, fi sh and nlrtles arc gone. On the ground of
your own mind , the buddha of awareness radi,ltes abundant light,
outwardly illuminating the six gates, pure enough to penetrate the
heavens. vVhen your own essential nature is inwardly illumin,ned,
the three poisons arc eliminated; punishments like the hells v,mi sh
all at once, so inside :md out arc dear through and through, no
different from the \ Vest. rf you do not do this practice, how can you
get the re?
'·Irarillg tbis explflllfllioll, tbe great (1S!/'1J1bly dearly saw essmti,,1
IIf11are. All 0/tbe1ll b071'('d (fnd pmis('r/ irs (X(('I/clI(e, d)(l1/ting,
May all li vi ng beings in the lUliverse who hea r this real ize undcr-
st<lnclin g at once.
Tbl' f\ l(fstt:r said,
Good friends, if you want to put thi s into practice, you can do it
;H home-it dncsn 't depend on being in a monastery. Being able to
"
QIII'stiOI/S
practice ,It home is like someone of the East whose mind is good;
heing in ;1 monastery but not practicing is like someone of the \ Vest
whose mind is bad.
As long :IS your mind is pure, this is the \ Vest in your own nature.
Governor IVei then asked,
How ca n we practice it at home? Ple:lsc give us instructions.
Tbe Alaster sflid,
I will recite a formless hymn; as lo ng as you practice in accord
with it, you will always be with me. If you do not practice in accord
with it, wha t benefit on the ''''ay is shaving your head and being
ordained?
Tile h)'1llll:
'''h en the mind is even, why both er to keep precepts?
\ Vhen action is straightforward , what's the need to practice
meditation?
I f you're grateful, you take care of your parenrs respectful I}';
If you' re dutiful, above and below are mentally s)1npathetic.
If vou'rc deferential, high and low harmonize amicably;
Ir ;'ou're tolera nt, myriad e\~ ls cause no disrurbance.
If you can drill wood and produce fire,
You wi ll produce red lotuses from the mind .
J·larsh words are clearly good medicin e;
If it offends the ear, it's surely faithful speech.
Reform your errors, and you'll develop wisdom;
Attaining the \ Vay does not come from donating money.
Enlightenment is on ly to be soug-ht in the mind;
'Vhy bother seeking mysteries ourside?
Hearing my cxplanation, practice on this hasis,
And th e \ Vest is right before your cycs .
The Masta (u/dn/,
Good friends, everyone should put this hymn into pr,\ctice: see
your cssential nature, and attain buddha hood directly. Timc docs
not wait for you.
 Tbe of I-Illi-lIeJ1 g
SlitTII

Let everyone disperse 110w. 1 :1111 returning to Ts'ao-ch'i-if any-

4
one h;IS doubts, eome ask me.
At tbat lime tbe governor, tbe officials, 1111(/ fbe good 1IIell IIlId Stabilization and Insight
pio/fS womCII ill tbe trssrmbly IIIf lI(fnilled IlIIdersrrmdillg, accepted it
jailbjidly, IIlld pllt it illfo practice.
Good friends, this teaching of mine is based on stabilization and
insight. Do not make the mistake of considering stabilization and
insight to be separate. Stabilizlltion ;md insight are one entity, not
two. Stabilization is the substance of insight, insight is the function
of stabili zation. When it is i(Seif insight, stabilization is in insight;
when it is itself stabilization, insight is in stabil ization. If you know
what this means, that is balanced learning of stabilization ;md in -
sight.
Srudents of the \Nay, do not say there is a difference between
stabilization coming first :md then producing insight, and insight
coming first and thcn producing stabilization. Those who entertain
this view are dua listic in their doctrine.
If you talk good Dllk but arc not good at heart, you have stabiliza-
tion and insight in vain ; stilbilization :lnd insight are not bal:lnced.
If your heart and your ta lk are both good, and inside :lnd outside
are as one, then stabilization and insight are balanced.
Self-enlightenment :md -cultivation are not to be found in argu-
ment. If you argue about precedence, then YOLI ;Ire the same :1 S de-
luded people. If you do not put a stop to con tention, you are
increasing egoism and have not detached from the fOllr images (of a
self, a personality, a being, a!1d a lifel·
Good fri ends, what arc st.l bilization ,md insight like? They are
like a lamp and i(S light. If therc is a bll1p, there is light; without a
lam p, there is da rkness. The bmp is the body of the light, the light
is the function of the l:lmp. The names may be two, but in essence
tht!y are hilsically one and the sa me. The phenomena of st,lbilization
and insight arc also like this.
Tbe A'laster mid to tbe assembly,
Good friends, absorption in onc practice llleans always acting
with a unified, direct mind in all situations, no matter what )'ou are
doing. The Pure Name Sutrrt says, "The direct mind is the site of
enl ightenment; the direct mind is the Pure Land." Don't merely
30 ,'
 Tbt: SIIII"II of 1-llIi-"t:1I1{
talk ahout direcUles~ \\hile your mind acts de\ioulily; don't merely
talk about absorption in o ne practice without a :.tm iglnforward
mind. Ju~t act with:l direct mind and have no clinging :machmen l5t
to :In)'thing.
Deluded people stick to the appea rances of thinE,rs: the), cling to
the idea of absorption in one practice as on ly meaning constand),
sitting unmoving, not letting the mind be aroused at r,mdom. They
identify this with absorption in one practice, but those who make
this interpretation are equ h'a lent [0 inanimate o bjects. This is a con-
dition that obstructs the \Vav.
Good friends, the \Vay should be Huid , free-Hawing. Why then
do rou stagnate? When the mind does not dwell on things, then the
\Var is fluid. If the mind dwells on things, th:1I is C:JlIed self. binding.
If rOll say constant sitting is right, that is contradicted by the fact
that Shariputra was scolded by Vimalakirti for sitting (Iuietly in the
forest.
Good friends, there arc also people who teach sittin g, gazing into
the mind , lind visu:ll izing purity, withou t movi ng or getting up, pos-
iting mcrit from this. Confused people do not understand, so they
E,FT3b onto this and bc<:ol11e delusional. There are man)' like this;
they teach each other this way, so we knO\\ It is a big mistake.
Tilt: ,\llme,. snid,o ,bt: nssrmbly,
Good friends, the true teach ing ori!,';nal1r is neither Midden nor
gradual; it is human telllperaments that Illay be quick or slow. Peo·
pie who :lre lost culth'":lte grad uall}'. while peol:rie who arc awakened
att-Jin suddenly. \ Vhen you know you r own oriE,'; nal mind and sec
your O\\n ori!,';nal n:lrurc. then there is no difference. That is wh}
the temporJry tenns $lit/tim and grntlflnl are SCt up.
Good friends. since time immemorial this school of ours has first
cst:lhlished freedom from thought;ls the source, freedom from form
as t he suhsta nce, and freedom from lixatio n a~ the basis.
Freedom from form means detachment from forms in the midst
of form ... Freedom from thought means h:ll'ing no thought in the
midst of thoughts. As for freedom from fi~ation , while the ha . . ic
narure o f humanity is in the midst of the world, with good and
bad, heauty and ugliness. enmity and filmiliarity, words and speech,
offense and attack, deception and contention, one considers it all
empty and does not thi nk o f retaliation, not thinking ahom th e ob·
J'
Stllhili=lIfioll lUltllnsight
jects in the surroundin b"S' If thought afte r thought, previulls, pres-
ent, and suhseq uenr thoughts. go on continuing uninterrupted, this
is cJlled bondage. \Vhen thoughl after thought does not dwell o n
lhi nE,"S, then there is no bondage. Thus freedom from fixation is
basic.
Good friends, outwardly being detached from all forms and ap-
pearances is called freedo m frolll fonn. If rou t."a n he detached from
fonus and appearance~, then the substance of thin!,"S is pure. Thus
freedom from form is the substance.
Good friends, when the mind is not influenced b), objects, this is
t"a lled freedo m from thought. One is alwa),s detached from o bjects
in one's own thoughts, and onc does not arouse the mind over ob·
jects. If you JUSt do not think of anything at all, and get rid of all
thoughts entirely, once all thoughts end you die and comc back to
life someplace else. This is a bi g mist'Jke j those who study the \ Vay
should th ink about it.
If you do not know the intention of the tC:lching, r Oll go wrong
vourself, :1I1d can :ll so lIli .. lead others. Your self-delusion is not visi-
ble to )'ou. You even mi ~reJ>rescnt Buddhist scripture. That is why
we establish freed om from thought as the source.
Good friends, how do we establish freedom from thought as the
source? Deluded people who on ly talk about ~eeing essential nature
ha\'e thoughts about ohjects, then create f:l lse views based on these
thoughts; all worldly troubles and erro neous ide~s t-ome from this.
Ln our own essential nature, there is basically nut a single thing
that can be b'T':lsped. If you E,rralip anything supposed I}' bad or good,
th is is a worldly trouble, a false view. Therefore this teaching estab-
lishes freedom from thought as the sou rce.
Good friends, what docs hfreedol11 from" nullify, what docs
" thollght" think of? " Freedom frum " means freedom from d u~\lisll1,
a mind without all sorL'i of worldly troubles. "Thought" means
thought of the original nature of rea lity as liuch. Reality ali such is
the substa nce of thought, thought is the function of reality as such.
The inS(Tinsic nature of reality a.. such produce!. thought. It is not
the eyes, cars, nose, or LOngue that ca n think; rea lity as ... uch has :m
essentialnarure whereby it produces thought. If t here were no ere..
or cars and no form or sound in rea lity ali such, it wflu ld decompose
at o nce.
Good friends, th e e ......entia l n:llure of re;llit} :1' "lIch produces
 Tbe SlItnl of HII;-l1el1g
5
th~:)Ught.
Though the six senses have perception and cognition, the
real essential nanlre is not affected by myriad objects; it is alw:1ys
independent. Thereforc scriprure spctlks of being able to distinguish Sitting Meditation
the characteristics of :111 things while rcmaining unmoved in ulti-
matc tnlth.

Tbt' N/aster said to tbt, flssembly,

Sitting meditation in this school b,lsically does not fixate on mind,
:md it docs not fixatc on purity. Also it is not immobility. Tf you
speak of fixating on mind, mind is basically deceptive; it is because
of knowing the mind is like an illusion that there is no fixtltion. If
you spc:"Ik of fixating on purity, people's essential narure is originally
pure; it is by false thoughts that they cover reality as such-just have
no false ideas, and csscntial narure is pure of itsclf. If you arouse the
mind to fixate on purity, you create the delusion of purity.
Delusion has no location; fixation is delusion. Purity has no form;
if you define a pure form as meditation, the act of entertaining th is
\'iew will obstruct your own origina l narure, and rou will be subject
to bondage by purity.
Good fr iends, if you :"Ire going to cultivate immovability, when
you see people, sim ply do not see people's right and wrong, good
and bad, faults and problems; then your own esscntialnarure is un-
moved.
Good friends, deluded people may achieve physical immobility
, an d yet the moment they open thcir mouth s th ey are tallcing about
others' right and wrong, strengths and weaknesses, good and bad.
They nlrn away from the path. If you cling to mind or cling to
purity, this obstructs the way.
Good friends, what docs the term sitting 1lIediUltiotl mean? In this
teaching there is no obstacle and no obstruction: when mind and
thought :"Ire not aroused over any good or bad objects or situations
in the external world, dlis is called sitting. \-Vhen you see the immu-
tability of your own essential narure inwardly, this is called medi-
tation.
Good friends, what docs the term 'f llt'{liflltioll cOflct'ntmtioll mean?
Being detached from e.'nerna l appearances is called meditation;
being free from inward disrurbancc is called concentration. If you
are fixated on appearances external1}', your mind is disturbed within;
35
J4
 Tbl! Sflt1"ll of Hlli-lI fllg
if you are dct:lchcd from appC:lr:lIlceS outside, then the mind is not
di"scurbed.
The original essential nature is inherently pure ;lnd spontaneously
concentrated; it is just because of thinking about objects when
seeing objects dl3t onc becomes disturbed. If you sec 311 objects
without your mind becoming disturbed, this is true concentmtion.
Good friends, being det3ched from appellmllces outside is medi-
t:ltion, not beIng disturbed inside is concentration. Meditation out-
side with concentmtion inside is ca lled meditation concentmtion. A
scripture on precepts for bodhiS;lttvas says, "Our origin:ll nature is
inherently pure." Good friends, see for yourself tile purity of o rigi-
nal essential nature in c\'ery moment of thought, cultivating your-
self, practicing yourself, attaining buddha hood yourself.
6
Repentance
At tb(lt timr, seeing tbl! gfllt1Y al1d prllsllllhy of tbr rrgiolls o[
Killing, Sbao, ((lid tbe [ollr fjll1ll1rrs g(ltbrl'cd 011 Ibr 1IIOl/11(IIill 10
/im~1I 10 tbe te(/(iJillg, tbe GI"I'II( Masta look the bigb sellt (llId mid
to tbe o'Oil'd,
\ Ve1come, good friends. This thing must come from yOllr own
essential nature. At all times, moment to moment, purify your own
mind. Cultivate yourself, work on your own, see your own reality
bod)., see the buddha in your own mind, liberate yourself, regulate
yoursclf--only then will you attain realization.
You have not come here for no reason. Since you ha\'c come from
far away to gather here as one, all of you have affinity together. Now
let each of you kneel: first I will transmit the perfumes of the five-
part reality body in our own essential nature; then I will pass on
formless repentance.
Tbr nWJ,t! km'rled, alit/ ,be Alflster s(IM,
First is the perfume of morality: when there is no error in one's
own mind, no evil , no envy or jealousy, no greed or hatred, no rob-
bery or injury, this is called {he perfume of morality.
Second is the perfume of stability: seeing the good and bad char-
aClcristics of objects without disturbance in one's own mind is callcd
lhe perfume of stability.
Third is the perfume of wisdom. \ Vhen one's own mind has no
obstruction, and always observes one's own nature with insight, one
docs not do an},thing bad. Even when one does good, the mind does
not cling to it. Respectful of elders while considerate of the young,
one is sympathetic and compassionate to the orph:med and the im-
poverished . This is' called the perfume of wisdom.
Fourth is the perfume of liberation. ""hen one's own mind docs
not fixate on objects, does not think of good, does not think of bad,
is free and unobstructed, that is called the perfume of libemtion.
Fifth is the perfume of liberated knowledge and vision . Once
31
 Tbe StOrti of HIl;-lleng
on~'s own mind is not fix:lted on anything, good or bad, it will not
do to sink into vacuity :md keep to quiescence; one should study
broadly and learn a lot, recognize one's own original mind lind mas-
ter the principles of the buddhas, hamlOnize enligh tenment to deal
with I>cople, free from egotistic personality, unchanging right up to
the attainment of the true nature of enlightenment. This is called
the perfume of liber:lted vision and knowledge.
Good friends, these perfumes are inner effects within each indi-
vidua l-do not seek them externally. Now J will transmit form less
repentance to you, to :mnihilate the si ns of past. present, and future ,
enabling you to att.1in purity of thought. word, and deed.
Good friends, let each of you repeat after me, in unison:
" From the precedi ng moment of thought, the present moment of
thought, and the following moment of thought. from moment of
thought to momenr of thought 1 will not be affected by folly or
delusion; I repent of all previous folly and delusion, and other fau lts
due to them, and pr;ly th:lt they disappear ,Ill at once and never
occur agam.
" From the preceding moment of thought, the present moment of
thought, and the following moment of thought, from moment of
thought to moment of thought 1 will not be affected by :lny conceit
or deceit. I repent of all pre ...·ious misdeeds associ:lteci with malig-
nant conceit and deceit, and pray that they dis:lppe,lr ,III at once,
never to occur again.
"From t he preceding moment of thought, the present moment of
thought, and the following moment of though't, moment of thought
to moment of thought I will not be affectcd by jealousy and envy. 1
repent of all previous misdeeds associated with malignant jealousy
:md envy, and pray that they disappear at once and never occur
:lgain."
Good friends. the foregoing constitutes formless repentance.
\Vhy is it c3lled repent:lIlce? Repenmnce means repenting of former
errors, previous b3d 3ctions, f3ults like stupidity, delusion, conceit,
deceit, je310usy, and envy, repenting of them ,Ill so they don't ever
recur. That is being penitent. Repentance further mea ns regretting
later rnist:lkes, from now on aW3re of bnd beluviors and faults like
stupidity :l1ld delusion, conceit and deceit, jenlollsy :lnd elwy, and
stopping them forever, not acting them out any more. This is c.llled
repentance.
R epCllftlllCC
Ordinary people who arc ignorant and confused only know to
repent of their former errors and do not know to repent of future
faults. Because they do not repent of future faults, their past errors
do not disappear, and later faults also 3rise. [f the former errors do
not disappear and later faults also arise, how could this be called
repentance?
Good friends, once you h3ve repented , I will make the four uni-
versa l vows for you. E..1ch of you should be Clreful to listen accu-
rately.
"The beings in my own mind arc infinite; I vow to liberate them.
"The afflictions in my own mind are infinite; 1 vow to end them.
"The teachings in my own nature are inexhaustible; [ vow to
smdy them.
"The buddha hood in my own nature is supreme; 1 vow to attain
it."
Good friends, doesn't everyone say, " Beings are infinite; I vow to
liberate them"? Speaking this W:ly doesn't mean 1 am going to do
the liberating. Good friends, the beinf,TS in the mind ;lre delusion,
deception, immomlity, jealollsy, malice-states of mind like this are
all beings. Each of you must liberate yourselves through your own
essential namre; that is called true liberation.
What is meant by liberating yourself through your own essential
nature? That means the beings in false views, afflictions, and igno-
rance are liber.lted by accurate insight. Once you ha\'e accurate in-
sight, you get the wisdom of prajna to break through the beings in
fo lly and delusion, so each one is self- liber.l ted. When fa lsehood
occurs, truth liberates; when delusion occurs, enlightenment liber-
ates. "Vhen folly occurs, wisdom liberates; when evil occurs, good
liberates. Liberation like this is called true liberation.
vVhat is more, "Afflictions are infinite; I vow to end them" means
using the prajna wisdom in your own essential nature to get rid of
false ideas. And "Te:lchings are inexh austible; I vow to smdy them"
requires you to see your own essential nature and always act on right
principle; this is called true learning.
}\i; for " 1 \'Ow to attain supreme buddhahood," once you are able
to humble your mind and pnlcrice straigh tforwardness at all times,
YOll always produ ce pnljru, beyond delusion and awakening; setting
aside both reality nnc! falsehood, you see buddha-nature. Then you
39
 Tbe SfilrII of 1-lfli-IIC11g
:l.tt~il~ buddh~hood at:l word. Alw:lYs thinking of pnlctical :lpplic:l-
tlon IS the prmciple of the power of vowing.
Good friends, having m:lde the four unh'ers:ll I' OWS, now I will
tmnsmit to you the precepts of the formless three refuges.
~ood friends, we mke refuge in the most honor:lble of two-legged
beltl!,'S, the aw,lkened one. \Ve take refuge in the honorable one
correctly detached frOIll desire. \ \'e take refuge in the pure honor-
abl e one in the midst of the crowd. From this day forth we call
,l\~ :lken~ng our teacher, relying no more on demonic cults, always
\\'Itnessmg ourselves through the Three Treasures in our own essen-
tial nature.
Good friends, I urge you to mke refuge in the Three Trc;lsures in
your own essential naturc. "Buddha" is awareness, "Dharma" is
truth, "Sangha" is purity.
\ Vhen your own mind takes refuge in awareness, error and confu-
sion do not occur. One who has few desires, is content, and able to
be aloof from materialism and sensl1:1lity, is c'll1ed the mOSt honor-
able of two-legged beings.
\·Vhen your own mind rakes refuge in trudl, you h:we no false
views frm." mOl.llem of thought to moment of tho~ght. Becltlse you
h~ve .no tals~ VIews, you have no personal selfish pride, craving, or
cltngmg. ThiS is called the honorable one detached from desire.
\Vhen your own mind takes refuge in purity, your own essential
n~t~lr~ is nOt :lffected by all mundane toils and objects of desire.
1 hIS IS called the honorable one in the midst of the crowd.
This is taking refuge in oneself. Ordinal), p~ople who do not un-
d~rstand this take the Three Refuge Precepts from morning to
Illght. If you say you t<lke refuge in Buddha , where is Buddha? If
yOli do not see buddha, where can you take refuge? The words
would then be f;llsehood .
.Good. people, let e.ach of you examine yourself. Do nOt use your
~l1lnd mIstakenly. Scrtpture clearly says to take refuge in lhe buddh:l
In oneself, not to take refuge in another buddha. If you do not resort
to your own inherent buddha, you ha\·e nothing to rel~' on.
Now that you are self- realized , each of you should take refuge in
the Three Treasures in your own mind. Inwardly tame the nature
of mind, outwardly respect other people: this is called self-refuge.
Good friends, once you have taken refuge in the Three Treasures
in yourself, let each of you focus your mind, and I will expbin to
you the buddha of our own Bal1lre as threl;! I;!mbodiments of one
40
Repenfflnce
substance, to enable you to sec the three embodiments and dearly
realize your own essential nature by yourself.
Let everyone follow me in s;lying:
"I take refuge in the Buddha as the pure body of reality in my
ow n physical body.
"I take refuge ill the Buddha as the fulfilled body of reward in my
own ph~'siC"JI body.
" I t:lke refuge in the Buddha as thmlsands of hundreds of hun-
dreds of millions of projected bodies in my own physical body."
Good friends, the physic;tl body is <I house; it ca nnot be ca lled ;1
resort or a refuge. The aforementioned Buddha in three embodi-
ments is in our own essenti;ll nature; everyone in the world h:ls it,
but because of confusion in their own minds they do not see their
inner nature, and so they seek a three-bodied Talha!,"<lt;l externally,
not seeing that the~' have buddha in three embodiments within their
own bodies.
You have heard an expbmltion that will enable you to see, in your
own body, that in your own essential nature is a buddha with three
embodiments. This buddha with three embodiments comes from
your own essenti:ll nanlre, and is not attained from outside.
V\'hat is the buddha ;IS the pure body of reality? The essential
nature of human beings is originally pure. All things come from
essential nature; when you think about all evil things, it produces
bad behaviors; when you think about :,11 good things, it produces
good behaviors. Thus all things are in your own essential nature. It
is like the sky, which is always clear, and the sun, which is ;llways
shining: when they arc covered by drifting clouds, there is light
:lbovc but d;lrkness below. Suddenly a wind blows all',ly the clouds,
so above and below are both light; then myri:ld forms are visible.
The nature of worldly people is always drifting, like dIe douds in
the sky. Good friends, wisdom is like the sun, insight is like the
moon: knowledge and insight Me always light, but" when you fixate
on objects outside, you.get ),our own essential na[ure covered by the
drifting clouds of errant thoughts, so you cannot have light and
clarity. If you meet a spirinlal benefactor and hear trtll>, :lllthenric
teaching, rou get rid of confusion so that inside and out arc thor-
oughly dear, and myriad th ings appear within your aII'll essential
l1:lture. This is how it is with people who sec essenrialn:1ture. This
is ca lled the buddha as dle pure body of reality.
4'
 Tbe SIIII"II ()l "lli-III:I/g
Good friends, your 0 \\ n mind taking rcfuge in your own esscntial
narure is taking refuge in the real Buddha . Self- refuge mcans getting
rid of bad States of mind in you r own nature -jealou sy, Aanery
,
selfishn ess, decepti\'cnes!>, disrega rd for o th ers, disrespect for others,
false \'iews, conceit , and any bad behavi or that might rnke place
at
any time. Always seei ng your own faults and not discussi ng others'
good or bad is self-ref uge. One should always be hum hie in mind
and be respcc tfultow ard c\·eryo ne. This is master y of seei ng essen-
tial nature, witho m any more obstruc tion . This is self-re fuge.
What is the fulfilled body of reward ? Just as one lamp can obli ter-
ate a thousa nd years' da rkness, one insight can :m nihilllte ten thou-
sa nd years' ignoran ce. Don't think about what has already passed,
and don't keep thinkin g aboU[ what is yet to come. Perfectly clear
momen t to momen t, see origina l narure yourself. Thoug h good and
bad differ, the origina l nature is nOt dual. The nondua l nature
is
called the tme narure. \Vhen your own nature produc es a s ingle
though t of good, it can :lchie\'e the ending of countle ss C\;!s, all
the
W3y to unsurp assed enligln enmen t. See ing yourse lf in e\'cry mo-
mCnt of though t, not losing basic mindfu lness, is called the embod
i-
ment of rewa rd.
\Vhat is the embod iment of dlousa nds of hundre ds of hundre ds
of million s of project ions? If you don't think of mY"iad things, your
nature is basically like space. A single momen t of though t is called
a
project ion. If you think of bad thi ngs, you produc e hell. If you think
of good thmf,rs, you produc e heaven. Viciou sness produc es dragon
s O\·cr.
and snakes; com passion produc es bodhis:m\'3s. \ Visdolll produc
es
higher sCHes, fo lly produc es lower sta tes. The project ions of our
narure are very many; confus ed people are unable to be alert
to
the m, and so create evil though t after dlOugn t, consta ntly going
in
bad ways. If they would turn a single tho ught to good, wisdom
wou ld thercup on be born; [his is ca lled the Buddha as cmbod iment
of project ion of our n:lrurc.
Good friends, the body of reality is originally there. Sponta ne-
ously seeing your own narure in every momen t of though t is
the
buddh:l as the embod iment of reward . Thinki ng from the emOOd
i-
mCIlt of reward is the embod iment of projectio n.
Sclf-re a lil.ation and self-cu lth':ltion of the virtues of one's own
nature is [rue refuge. Skin and nesh are the materia l bod),; the mate-
rial body is a house, and cannot he cl Ucd a rc ..ort or refuge. Just
Rt'pCll tllflre
realiz.e die three embod iments in your ow n narure, and you will
know the buddha in your own narure.
I have a fonnlcs s hrrnn: if )'Ou can memor ize it, the impact of the
words can C:lUSC your accu1ll ubted cons of confusions and errors
to
dissoh-c aW!1y all at once.
Confused people culth.u c blessings, nOt the Way;
They si mply S3Y blessings are themselves the \.vay.
The blessings of charity and alms may be boundless,
\Vhile in the mind the th ree poisons arc crc:Hcd :111 along.
If you try to culti\·:lte blessing (0 anni~il;j[~ sins, . . .
Thoug h you gain blessings in the comll\g life, the Sill IS soli
there.
JUSt get rid of conditi ons of sin ~'i~in your l11ind-
That is ca lled true repenta nce wlthm your own nature.
Sudden ly realizing the true repent:lIlcc o f the G reat Vehicle,
Gctting rid of blscho od, acting on truth, you're then
impeccable.
In studying the \\'ay, alW2Ys observe you r own nature,
And vou'll be of a kind with all the buddhas.
My s'piritual ancestors only transmitted this teachi ng of
irruncdiacv,
\Vishing all "to be one in secing nature.
If you want to seck the reality body in the future, .
Dctach from the appearances of things, and clcan the 1Il1lle! .
Strive to sec for yourself; don't waste time- . . ,
\Vhcn the following moment is c.."Ut off, a whole lifetime s
If you undcrstand the Grell t Vehicle, you'll sec essentia l
nature:
Rc\'crcntiy and respectfully, seck with :111 your heart.
Th~ Aftlstt'Y snitl,
Good friends, everyo nc should mcmori7.e this, culti\'a tc y~ur be-
havior in accord with it, and sec cssent i:ll I\anlre under the Impact
of the words. Then even If you are a thousa nd miles away from me,
it is as though you arc always with me. If you do nOl awaken at these
words, then YOll are a thousa nd miles aW:ly e"en when we arc face
to face-w hy bother to come so far?
' lake ca rc; go well.
Evn)'o,,~ ill tbe f1T1v.u1 bran/lb r wubillg «ml OPClI('(/ liP'" 1/1/(1('/'-
stflfldiug. Jo.YJ/lfJy tbry pm it I1Ito prnrtJu.
4\
 Kl!y Events
7 and hiding at Huai and Hui,. the 1~1ast.e~ wound up in these twO
]lll1g
regions sometimes active, sometlmes In hldmg. .
Key Events The 'monk Fa -hai was a man of Ch'u-chiang in Shao Provmce.
\\ nen he first called on the Grand Master, he asked, " Plcase teach
Ille how mind itsclfis buddha. " . .
The ,\l:lster said, U\ Vhen preceding tho ught IS not co~cel\'ed, th~t
When he h:ld gotten the tc:tching from I-Iu:mg-mei, the Master i~ mind itself; when succecding thought is 110t. exti ~lb"Ulshed. that IS
went b:lCk to T S'lIQ H Oll Village in Shao Province, where no one heing buddha. Determining ::til appearances IS n.llll.d; detachment
knew him. A cermin Confucian geml cm:m, Liu Chih~luch, treated fro lll all appcar::l.nces is buddh:1. If I werc to expl~1I1 til ~II, I woulc~
him courteously and was very considerate to him. nC,'er finish, e\'en if I spoke until the end of tlme. Listen to Ill)
Chih-Iueh had :l mother-in-bw who had become :l nun by the ,"erse:
name of V,ru-chin-tsang, or Inexhaustible Treasury; she constand~' "',\lind itself' is called insight;
recited rhe Grt'fIf SlIt1"fl of N irulIIUI. After listening for a while, the Being buddha is stabilization. . .
Master knew the subde meaning and beg:m to explain it to her. When st:lbility and insight are equally n13lntmned,
Scro ll in hand , the nun then asked :thout :l ch~lracter. The M;lster Consciousness is at peace.
sa id, "\ don't know characters; please ask about meaning. " Understanding this teaching
The nun said, "If you don' t even know the cha r:-.ctcrs, how C:ln Depends on )'our habitual character:
you understand the meaning?" Its function is basicall)' birth less-
The Master said, "The su btle principles of the buddhlls have Twin cultivlltion is correct'. "
nothing to do with written letters." Fa.hai was grcatly enlightened at these words. He eulogized in
Startled, the nun found him unusua l. She told all the old worthies
in the \'iIlage, "This is a man who has the \-\I'ay; we should invite \'crse,
him to accept our support." "The mind itself is originally buddha :
A certain Ts'ao Shu-liang, who was a great-great-brrandson of the Not reali1.ing, we hinder oursekes.
Martial Lord of Wei [Ts'ao Ts'aol. eagerly came to behold the Mas- I know the bases of stabili ty and insight;
ter and pay him respects, as did the 10<..111 people.- Cultivating both , I detach from all things."
Now the ancient monastery of Pao-lin or Jewel Forest, which h:ld The monk Fa-ta was a man from Hung PrO\·ince. li e had left
been abandoned after being raud in the wars at the end of the Sui home at the age of sc\'cn, and constantly recited the LolliS SII~rn.
dynasry 1589- 6 17], was rebui lt on itS old foum]ations, and the Ahls- \ Vhen he camc, he bowed to the 1\ lastcr without his head touchlllg
ter was invited [Q live there. All at once it beC.llllC a religious center.
the ground. .
The Nlaster had lived th ere for nine months and somc days whcn The Master chidcd h.im, "If you bow without reachmg the
he was driven Ollt by a faction of ill-wishers llgain. The I\lasrer hid
in lhe mountain in front of th e mon:Jstery, but they set fire to the g rollnd how does th:lt compa re to not bowing at all? You must hayc
, o n ),our nund.
something . , Vhat have rou Iearned'"
.
woods and underbrush.
H e said, " Thave recited thc Loms SlItrn as many as three thous:lIld
The Master escal>cd b)1 squeezing in alllong rocks and concealing
himself there. There are stilJ marks on the rocks from the Alaster's times already." .
The j\1aster said, " If you recite it ten thollsand time." ~n~ get the
knees as he sat there, as well as die pattern of the fabric of his clodl -
meaning of the sutra without considering this to be supen~nty, then
ing. Thus they have come to be known as dIe " rocks of csc.l pe."
you ;lrc a fe llow tr=welcr with me. At present yOli arc conceited about
Remembering thc Fifth Gr:lIld Master's instruc.: tions aboul st'Op-
H
 Til e 511trn oj'l-Iui-lIrng
tJ:!is forma l practice, totally unaware of your error. Listen to Illy
ve rse:
" Bowin g is originally to brea k the banner of pride:
'''Thy should one's head nor rcach the ground?
\"'hen you have ego, faults then occu r:
Forget your ach ievement', and blessings :Ire peerless."
The Master also said, " ' ·Vhat is your name?"
Fa- ra replied, " Fa -ta IArriv:l1 at Truth]."
The Master said, "Your name is Fa-t:l, but when have you ever
arrived at truth [flI-jnl?" Then he uttered :mother verse:
"You arc now named Arrival at Trmh,
And diligent'ly recite wi thout cease.
If you recite in \'ain, you JUSt follow sounds;
One who clarifics mind is ca llcd bodhisam·a .
Bec:luse you havc affinity now,
I now explain for you :
J ust trust in buddha without words,
And lotuses will bloom from rom mouth."
After listening to thi s \'erse, Fa- ta apolo!,ri zed and said, " J-Iereafter
I will be modest :lnd respectful toward all. I have been reciting the
L0111S SlIf1"fl without having understood the meaning of the seriprure,
and have always had doubts in my mind. Your wisdom is so great, 1
wish you would brieny explain the principles in the surra. "
The Master said , " Fa-ta , the teaching is quite masterful , but your
mind has not attained mastery. There is origina lly nothing doubtful
in the scriprure; your mind doubts on its own. You recite this sutra ;
what do you consider its basis? "
Fa-ta said, " I am du ll and slow; all ,Il ong I have JU St recited the
words litera!!y. How wou ld I know the basic import?"
The Master said, " I am illiterate. Recite the su rra for tne, :lnd T
will explain it fo r you."
Fa-ta then recited the sutra out loud, until he came to the cha pter
of meta phors, when the master said, "Stop. This surra is based on
emergence in the world for a cause; though it presents Emny kinds
of metaphors, nonc go beyond this.
" H'h;\t is the cause? The sutra says, 'The buddhas, the \ Vorld
Honored Ones, o nly ,Ippear in the world for one great cause.' Thc
one great calise is the knowledge and vision of budd hahood. People
Key EVellts
of the world , lost in externa ls, get fixated on appearances; lost in-
wa rdly, thcy get fixated on emptiness. If you can be detached froll1
appea rances while in the midst of appe,lranccs, and be detached
from emptiness wllil e in thc midst of emptin ess, thcn you will not
be lost inward ly or ounvardly. If you realize this truth, you r mind
opens up in an instant; this is ca lled opening up the knowledge and
vision of buddhahood.
" Buddha hood is equivalent to awakeness. It is divided into four
aspects. Th ere is opening up awake knowlcdge and vision, showing
awake knowledge and vision, rea lizing awake know ledge and vision,
and entering into awake knowledge and vision. If you hear the open-
ing and the showing, and are :lble to realize and to enter, then [he
original real nature of awake knowledge and vision aCnJ:llly becomes
manifest.
" Be careful not to misconstrue the intent of the sutra , supposing
that when it spea ks of 'openin g, showing, realizing, and entering' it
is referring to the knowledge :md vision of budd has of which peopl e
like us have no share. If you illtcrpret this way, you arc slandering
the surra and reviling the buddh:ls.
"Since Buddha was already enli ghtcned, he already had knowl-
edge and vision; why would there be any morc need to open thcm
up? You should believe now th;n the knowlcdge and vision of bud-
dhas are just your own mind. There is no other buddha besides .
" It was because all peoplc had covered up their own light, greed-
ily craved material objects, were inwardly disturbed by external con-
ditions, and accepted compulsiveness, that they rousted the ,Vorld
Honored One Out of meditation to exhort thcm, with variolls in-
tense speeches, to rest :lnd not seek extermll1y, so they could bc
the same as Buddha. That is why the sutra spea ks of opening the
knowledge and vision of buddha hood.
" I also urge all peopl e to always open the knowledge ,md visio n
of budd hahood in thei r own minds, but worldly people ,Ire pcr-
verred in mind; foolish and deludcd , they commit crimes. Their talk
may be good but their hearts are bad. G rcedy, irritable, cnvious,
obsequi ous. deviolls, conceited , unjust, and destructive, they open
the knowledge and vision of ordi nary people for themselves .
" Tf you ca n rectify your mind, it wi ll always produce wisdom.
O bserve you r own mind , SlOp evil, and do good: this is opening the
knowl edge and vision of buddha hood for yourse lf.
 Till' SltlrtI of 1-llIi-lIl'lIg
" You should open the knowledge and vision of buddha hood mo-
ment to mOlllent; don't open the knowledge :md vision of ordinary
people. Opening up the knowledge and \'ision of buddh,!hood is
transcending the world; opening up the knowledge and vision of
ordinary people is being mundane.
"If you juSt laboriously keep reciting and consider that an accom-
plishment, how is that different from a yak admiring its rail? "
Fa-ta said, "Does that mean I shouldn't bother to recite the smra,
as long as I can understand the meaning?"
The Alaster said, "\\'hat's wrong with the sutra? 1-10\\ can it ob-
struCt your mindfulness? It is just that delusion and enlightenment
are in the individual; loss and gain depend on oneself. If you recite
it .mel also :lct on it mentally, then you are reading the sutra; if )'ou
recite it but don't practice it mentally, then ),Oll are being read hy
the sutra .
" Listen to my verse:
"\Vhen the mind is deluded, the Lotus of Truth reads it;
\Vhen the mind is enlightened, it reads the Lotlls of Trlllb.
I f you recite the scripture a long time without
understanding,
You become :m enemy to its meaning.
1110ught without thought is corrcct;
Thought with thought hecomes false.
\Vhen with and without arc both out of the question,
You always ride the white ox-dra\\ n \·ehicle.·'
. Dis..1ppeared at one sr:ltemen t ofTs'ao-ch'i:
I lea ring this \'erse, unawares Fa -t:l wept. Under the impact of the
words he was gre:ltly enlightened. li e fOld the master, "All these
years I have really never read the Lotlls o[Trilfb. but have been re,lel
by the Lotlls O[Tnlfh." Then he added, "The sutra says. 'Even if the
gre:lt disciples and the bodhis:ut\':ls all exhaust their thinking in 11
collective effort to figure it out, they cannot fathom the knowledge
of the Buddha .' Now if you gel ordinary people to just understand
their own minds and call that the knowledge and vision of buddh:l-
hood, unless one has su perior faculties one could hardly a\'oid dou bt
and repudiation. Also, the sutra speaks of three vehicles, drawn by a
goat," deer, and:l white ox: how arc they differentiated? Please gin!
some more explanation."
The Master said, "The imcnr of the sutra is clear; it's just th:1I
Key livelli!
you are tl.lrning aW:ly from it in confusion. The people on the three
vchicles cannOt fathom the knowledge of Buddha bcc:llIse ule prob-
lem is in trying to figure it au l. Even if they use all their thinking
collectively to figure it Out, that adds an even gre:l[er distance.
"Buddha originall), articulated this principle for ordinary people.
not for buddhas. An)' \\ ho refuse to belie,·e lila}' le,we. but they still
won't rea.li7.c they are already sitting in the white ox-drawn \·ehicle
ret still looking for the three vehicles o utside the door.
" Indeed, the scripture clearly [ells you, 'There is only one vehicle
of buddha hood , no other vehicle, no rwo or three .... The countless
expedients, various stories, metaphors, and expressions, these teach-
ings are all for the s:!ke of the one vehicle of buddha hood. ' \ Vhy do
you not realize u,a t the three vehicles are provisional, being for the
past, while the one vehicle is rC:11, being for the present? I am only
teaching you to leave the provision;"!l and return to the real. After
you renJrtI to the real, the real has no name either.
"You should know that all the v;llu:lbles and:lll the we;llth belong
to you, and their usc depends on you. Don 't conceive the ide:! of
the father anymore, or the idea of the son, or the idea of the use:
this is called holding the Loftis ofTi-tffh Sutra. Age to age the scrip-
ture never leaves your hands; day and night you're never not ilwok-
ing it."
Edjfied, Fa-ta W:lS overjo),ed. \Vith a verse he eulogized,
"Three thousand recit:ltions of the sutra
\Vithout understandi ng the transmundanc mcssage.
How c..m lifetimcs of madness be stopped?
The goat, deer, and ox arc expedient setups;
Beginning, middle, and end arc skillfully c:l:poundcd.
\Vho lale\\ tll:ll inside the burning housc
Has been the monarch of the teachinb'li all along?"
The AI:lster sa id, "1 1 ~re:lfter you C:ln appropri.ncly be called a
surra-reciting monk."
Henceforth Fa-t":l att:!ined the m),stic message, ;"Ind also continued
to recite Ule slltra.
Th e monk Chih-t'lmg W;lS :1 m:lll of An-feng in ShOll Province.
First he read the l.lml'llvtlftll"tl-sl/fl"fl Illorc th:m:l thuusand times, }'ct
 Tbc SlIlm of Hlli-IIClIg
he did not underst:md the three embodiments :md four knowledges.
Pa yi ng respects to the Master, he sought an explanation of their
meanings.
The Alaster said, "As for the three embodiments, the pure em-
bodiment of reality is your essential nature; the fulfilled embodi-
ment of reward is }'our knowledge; the thousand hundred hundred
million-fold embodiment of projections is }'our acth'iry. If you speak
of three embodiments apart from original nanlre, th is is called em-
bodiment without knowledge; if you realize the three embod iments
have no independent nature, you will clarify enlightenment with
four knowledges. Listen to my verse:
"Our own nature contains the three embodiments;
\\'hen brought to light, they become the four knowledges.
\Vithou l departing from objects of sense,
You rise tr:lIlscendcnt to rhe stage of buddha hood.
Now I h:l\'e explained for you:
Trust with certainr~', :md you'll never gel confused.
Do not cll1ul:ne those who seek frantically,
\ Vho spend :111 day talking about enlightenment."
Chih-t'ung spoke up again, saying, "A lay I hear about the mean-
ings of the four knowlcdges:"
The Alaster said, "Once you've comprehended the three embodi-
ments, you understand Ule four knowledges- why do you sti ll ask
about them? If you talk about the four knowledges apart from lhe
three embodiments, this is called knowledge withollt embodiment.
This is having knowledge that tums out to be
no knowledbTC at all."
Then he uttered another verse;
"The knowledge like a mirror is puriry of nature,
The knowledge of essential quality is mind without sickness;
The subtle observing knowledge sees without effon,
The knowledge of practicalities is the same as the mirror.
Five and eight, six and se"en, transform in effect and cause;
If you justllSe names and words, tllere's no reality:
If you do not keep feciinbos on the transformation,
You'll flourish and be ever in the dragon stabi lity."
Chih-t'ung suddenly rea lized essential nal1.lr.ll knowledge and
presented a verse:
"The three embodiments are basically Ill)' own bei ng-,
50
KI'Y Even,s
The four know ledges arc d:lrity of the original mind;
Embodiments and Imowledgcs merged without resistance,
They respond ro people, freely adapting in fonn.
Deliberate pmcticcs arc all random actions;
Keeping steady is not true spirim:lliry.
\Vith the subtle meaning clarified by the teacher,
Finally gone arc messy nam~."
The monk Chih-ch'ang was a man from Kuci~ch'i in I lsin Prov-
ince. lI e had left hOllle in childhood and was intent on seeking per-
ception of essential nature. One day he visited and paid respects.
The Master asked him, "\\'here ha\'e you come from, and what arc
\·ou seeking?"
. He replied, "I recently went ro "''hite Park Mountrlin in I-lung
Province, where I paid respects to Alaster Ta-t'ung and was taught
the principle of realizing buddhahood hy seeing essential nature. I
h:1\'e not yef resolved my doublS, so I h ~lve COllle all this way to pay
respects and humbly hope thal the Nlaster will be so compassiona te
as to b"uidc me."
The Master sa id , "What did he have to say? Try to quote him."
Chih-ch'ang said, " I was there for three months without having
receh'ed any instnlction. Being eager for the teaching, one night I
went to the ahboe's room and :l~kcd, '\ \'hat is the original namre of
my mind?' la-t'ung then said, 'Do you see space?' I replied, 'Yes.'
l Ie sa id , '00 you see space has any appearance?' I rcplied, 'Space
has no form-what appearance docs it ha\c?' He said, 'Your original
nature is like space; there is nothing that can be seen-this is called
trut! seeing; there is nothing that can be known-this is called true
knowing. It has no blue or ycllQ\\, long or short. JUSt see the purity
of the original source, dle complete illumination of the substrlnce of
awakcness: this is c:llled realizing buddhahood by seeing essential
nature. It is also called the knowledge and vision of the realized
nncs.' Although J heard thi s explanation, I'ill sti ll not sure. Pl ease
te.lch me." .
The Ma:.rer said, "Th:!t teacher's explanation still maintains
seeing :lIld Imowing; rhat'., why rou haven't full}' understoo<1. Now
I'll teach you :1 \ erse;
"Not seeing anYlhing Tn :linl~lin~ Ulheeing;
It's much like floating doud~ hlm:king the face of the sun.
 'FbI' SlItTII of Hlli - lIl'lIg
Nut knowing :Inything keeps unknowing;
It's like the vast sky producing lighUling.
\-"hen this knowing and seeing suddenly arise,
You misapprehend [hem; what understanding have you of
expedient.~?
You shou ld realize your own error instantly;
Your own spiriruallight will always be manifest."
\Vhen he h:HI heard the verse, Chih-ch';mg's mind W:1S opened.
Then he uttered a verse, s:lying,
"Poinrlessly producing knowledge ,lIld views,
[ sought enlightenment att:lched to forms.
\ "hen feclinb'S rctain a single thought of realization,
Il ow C,\11 OIlC tnmscencl pn;violls illusions?
Our OWIl n'llllre is the actual source of awakening;
Following perception, one vai nly shi fts in the flow.
I-Inc! I not entered the Gr:md Master's r00111,
I would have headed two ways, at a loss."
One day Chih.ch'ang :lskcd the Nlaster, "The Buddha expounded
the teachings of three \'ehicles, yet also spoke of the highest vehicle.
I still don 't underst:md; please instruct me."
The M:lster said, "Observc your own original mind; don't cling
to ute appearances of external thi ngs. There arc no four verucles in
trmh, but human minds h,I\'e differences of level. Seeing, hearing,
I"c:lding, and reciting ;}rt.: the sm:tli vehide; understanding the teach-
ing and solving the mC:lnings is the middling vehicle; cultiv:lting
conduct in accord with th e teaching is the grea t vehicle. Penetrating
the t ruths, encompassing all realities, undefiled by everything, de-
tathed from the :Ippeanmces of :111 things, nor grasping anything at
:111, is called the supreme vchicle. Vt:bir/I' Illeans going; it is not a
m:ltter of verb:ll argument. You should practice on you r own; don't
:lsk me. At 1111 times your own essential n'lnJre is as is of itself."
Chih-eh'ang howed in t!1,l1lks and :mended the Master for the
rest of his life.
Thc monk Chih-tao W:IS a man from Nan-h:li in Kuang Province.
Asking for help, he said, "Eyer since IC;Jving hume I have heen re;ld-
ing Ule Ninlflllti-S//!1"{/. It h:ls been more than ten ycars, bur I still
h:lvl;' nOt understood the gre~H mellTling. Pl ease instruelll1c."
Key EV!'Ilfs
The t\ hster s:lid, " On which point arc you unclear?"
li e said, " 'AJI event..;; arc impermanent; they are things that arise
:md perish . vVhen :Irising and perishing have died out, quiescent
extinction is bliss.' I am perplexed about this."
The Master sa id, " How are you perplexed?"
H e said, "All living beings h:lve twO bodies, known as the physical
body and the reality body. The physical body is impermanent; it has
birth and ir has death. Th e reality boely is permanent; it has no
knowledge and no consciousness. \Vhen thc surra says, "V/hen aris-
ing and perishing have died out, quiescent extinction is bliss,' I won-
der which body is quiescent and extinct, and which body experiences
bliss.
"If it is the material body, when the material body dies out, the
gross elements disintegrate; th is is completely miserable , and misery
Lilllllot be c:llied bliss. If the reality body is quiescent and extincr, it
i~ the S:l me as grasses and trces, tile and stone-who is to experience
bliss?
"Furthermore, the Ilamre of things is the substance of birth and
dea th, while the five clusters arc the function of birth and de:lth: one
~ubstance has five functions. Birth and death are eternal: birth is
initiation of functions from substance, death is withdr:lw:l1 of fune·
tions back into the substancc. If allowed to be born ag:li n, then the
category of 'sentient beings' will never be ended or die our: if not
allowed to he born agnin, they wind up extinct forever, same as
inanim:ltc objects. Thus all thillbl"S are stopped by nirvana-since
nne docs not CWIl get to live, how can there be bliss?"
The Nb ster said, "You arc a Buddhist- how can )'OU discuss the
teaching of t he supreme "chicle in terms of heretical, perverted
\'iews of nihilism and eternal ism? According to what you say, there
is a sep,lr:ltc reality hody outside the physical body; you seek quies-
CCIll extinction ap.lrt from lifc and dcath. Also, you suppose U1C cter-
nal bliss of nirvan.l is a physical experience-this is attachment to
life and death, obsession with worldly pleasure.
"You should know that Buddha took pity and pointcd out the true
hI iss of nirvana bec;lllse all confused pcople t:lke the combination of
the live clusters to be the form of their own being, discriminate all
phenomena as the form of external matter, like life and dislike death,
sh ift and Aow f!"Om thought to thought, do not know the unreality
of dreams and illusions, vainly get caught up in \<icio us ci rcles, think
53

TIn' SlItrtl of Hui -lleng
~f eternally blissful nirvan,l ,IS painful, and spend their days ill frantic
seeking.
"There is no sign of origination in an instant, and t here is no sign
of p:lssing aW:ly in :\11 inst:lIlt: with no more birth and death to be
extinguished, (Iuiescent exti nction thus manifests. As it is manifest_
ing, furthermore, there is no quantification or objectification of
manifestation, so it is called eternal and blissful. Th is bli ss has no
subject that experiences it, yet there is none who does not experi_
ence it.
" I low can there be the term 'five functio ns of one subst,mce'?
Indeed , how can you go on to say nirvana stops everything, so noth-
ing ever occurs? This is slandering Buddha and revi li ng the
teaching.
"Listen to my verse:
"G reat nirvana, unexcelled,
Is complete illumination, always silently shini ng:
Ordinary fools call it de,lth,
Heretics call it annih ilation;
People who seck the 1'''0 Vehicles
Give it the name Ilonconstructioll.
All belong w intellecnLal c:liculations,
The root of the sixty-two views.
If yOll arbitrarily set up unreal names,
\Vhat constinLtes real true meaning?
Only people beyond measure
Comprehend without grasping or rejection:
By knowing the phenomena or the five- clusters,
And the self within the clusters,
They outwardly ma nifest a multimde of physical form s;
Each and every voice
Is e(llIal, like dreams or illusions:
They do not conceive ideas of ordinary or holy,
And do not m'lke :1Il understanding of nirvana;
The two extremes and th ree times cut off,
The)' alwa}'s respond with the fun ctions of the senses,
Yet do nO[ conceive the notion of function.
They distinguish all thin gs
\Vithout concciving discriminatory ideas.
The aeonic fire bums the ocean floors ,
The wind knocks the mountains together;
The true, eternal, quiescent, and blissful
Key Events
C haracteristics of lIirvana are like this.
I :1111 now forcing an explanation
To get you to give up false views:
Don't interpret me literally,
And I'll admit }'OU kllOw a little bi t."
He,lring t hi s verse, Chih-tao was greatly enlightened. Overjoyed , he
polid respects and withdrew.
Ch':lIl Nlaster Hsing-ssu was born to the Liu clan in A.n-ch'eng
in Ch'i province. Hearing that the teaching activity at Ts'ao·ch'i
\\' ;1S nourishing, he went there directly to visit and pay respects.
E\'cntually he asked, "What should one do so as not to fall into
r,lnks ,md gr3des?"
The M:lster said, "What have you done?"
I-Ie replied, " I don' t even work on the holy truths."
The l\hstcr said, "If you don't even work on the holy t ruths, what
ranks or grades arc there?"
The 1\ \aster deeply respected him as a \'cssel of the teaching, and
had I-I~ing-ssu lead the congregation .
One d,IY the Master said to him , "You will dispense the teaching
O\'er ;\ "hole region, not letting it die out." Once I-Ising-ssu had
attained the teaching, he rerurned to Ch'i Province, to Mount
Ch'ing-yuan, where he spread the te~l ching, continuing its influ·
ence. (Ile was posthumously entitled Ch'an Master of U ni versal
Salvation.)
Ch'an Nb stcr H uai-jang was an offspring of the Tu dan of Chin
Province. l-le first ca ll ed on Nationa l Teacher An at t\llount Sung.
\n 'ient him to Ts'ao-ch'i to seck enlightenment. When he got
then:, he paid respects. The Nlastcr said, " " 'he re h:\Ve you come
from?" .
lie said, "Mount Sung."
The M3ster said, "\·Vhat thing has come thus?"
lie said, "To speak of it as a thing is to miss it."
The Master said, "Can it he cultivated and realized?"
lie s:lid, "It's not that there is no cultiv,ltion and realization, but
it won't do to be obsessed."
The Master said, "This nonohsession is just what all buddhas
keep in mind. You arc thus, and 1 roo am thus. In India, Prajnatara
55
 Tbl' Slffrtl o/I-llfi-II/'11g
predicted that a colt would emerge from )'our company and tralllple
e\·cryone in the world to death. The fulfillment is in your mind. You
ought not be quick to preach."
Huai-jan g understood clearly, and ultimately spent fifteen years
attending the Master, attaining the profundities of mysticism day by
day. Later he went to Nan-yueh, where he populariz.ed Ch'an. (li e
was posthumously entitled Ch'an Master of Great Insight.)
Ch'ao i\laster Hsuan-chiao of Yung-chia was an offspring of the
Tai clan of Wen Province. He had smdied scriptures and treatises
when he was young, and he was well versed in the T'ien-t'ai teach-
ing of stopping and seeing. He discovered the ground of mind :lS he
read the Vi1llfllflki11i-S'/Itm. He happened to meet the /\tascer's disci-
ple Hsuan-ts'c, who visited him and cng-Jgcd him in intense discus-
sion. The words he spoke spontaneously agreed with the b.,-:md
m:1SterS of Ch'an, and Hsuan-ts'e said, "\rVho is the teacher frolll
whom you got the teaching?"
I-Ic said, " I heard the scripmrcs :Jnd treatises, e:lch frolll a p;1rticu-
lar teacher; latcr I realized the source of buddhahood from the
Vimrtlnkirti-stltrtl. As yet there has bcen no one to corroborate it."
Iisuan-ts'c said, "'Before the prehistoric buddhas,' )'ou\·e gotten;
but self-enli ghtenment without a teacher 'after the prehistoric bud-
dhas' is all naturalistic devhltion."
He sa id, " Please be my wimcss."
Iisuan-ts'c said, "My word carries no weight. In Ts'ao-ch'i there
is the brreat teacher who is the Sixth Gra;'d J\lastcr. Those \\ho
gather in drows from the four quarters are alt recipients of the
teaching. If you go there, I'll go with you."
I-Isuan-chiao finally came along with I-I SU:lIl ~LS'e to c;lll on thc
Master. Circling the J\ laster three times, he shook his ringed sta ff
and stood therc.
The j\lastcr said, "A Sl"f11l1lmfl cmbodies three thous:md dignified
manners and eight myriad refinements of bch:l\'ior: where do you
comc from, grc;n worthy, to be so conceited?"
I-Isuan-chiao said, "Life and de:1th is a grave matter; imperma-
nence is swift."
The Nlaster said, " \ Vhy do you not realize there is no birth and
comprehend there is no speed?"
,.
Key EVCllfS
lie said, " Realization iLSelf has no birth; comprehension basica lly
h :IS no speed."
The Alaster said, "That is so, that is so."
:--Jow Hsuan-chiao fin:llly paid respects to the Master fomlaUy,
\\ltl1 every courtesy, and then took his Icave a moment later. The
\Iaster said, "Isn't this too speedy, after :III?"
Ilc said, " Fundamenta lly I am not in movement myself-how
could there be speed?"
The ,\I aster said, "\ Vho is aware of not being in movement?"
I Ie said, "You are producing discrimination yourself."
The Master said, "You have ccrt:li nly gotten the intene of non-
conception! "
lie said, " Ifeherc is no conception, how C.1n there be :lny intent?"
The j\laster said, "If there is no intent, who will discrimin:lte?"
lie s;lid, " Discrimination itself is not an intent."
The Master said, "Good! Stay here:lt least one night."
In those d:lys he was called the Ove rni ght Enlightened One.
Later hc wrote ;l song on realization of the Way, which became
popuhl r. (He was posthumously entitled Gre:lt Master of the Fonn~
b~ , and in his time he was called Chcn-chiao, Truly Awakened.)
The Ch'an devotee Chih-huang firs[ studied wicll the Fifth Grand
\ laster. Thinbng he had :llready :Ittaincd true experience, he lived
III a hermitage and sat for twenty years. \Vhen the Master's disci ple
I hu'1n-ts'e came to Ilopei in the <.'Ourse of his tr3\lels, he heard
Chih-huang. Going to his hemlit:lge. he asked, "What are you
dning here~"
Chih-huang said, "Entering stabili ;-",1tion."
I Isuan-ts'e sa id , " You say you arc elltering stabili zation: are you
entering it mindfull y or mindlessly? If yOll :Ire entering mindlcssly,
~hell all illanim;Jte [hinb'S should attain stabilization; if you arc enter-
1I1g mindfully, then all semient and conscious beings must attain
~ta Ililization."
Chih-hu:mg s:lid, " \·Vhc1l I ;\111 e1ltering stabili zation I do not see
the e.,istence of mindfulness or mindlessness."
11~U:ln-ts'e sa id , " I f }'OLL do not see the existence of mindfulness
or mindlessness, then this i') conStanr stability: how can there be exit
and entry? if there is e'(il and Cntry, it is not greal stability."
 TJu SlItrJI of JItti-Jlmg
Chih-hu:mg had no reply. After a long si lence he asked, "\\'hosc
successor arc you?"
Hsuan-ts'c said, ",\1y te:lcher is the Sinh Grand Master at T s':lo-
ch'i. "
Chih-hu:mg said, " \\'hat docs the Sixth Grand Alaster make out
to be l1ledit'3ti\'e stabili7.ation?"
Hsu:l11-tS'e said, " \·\'hat my teacher spe:lks of is subtle tranquility,
perfectly ltcrene, with substance ~md function conforming to being
as is. The five clusters arc fundamentally emptYi the six fields of
scnse data are not existent. There is essenti:llly no dwelling in medi -
tation; it is apart from dwelling in meditative sti llness. There is es-
sentially no conception in meditation; it is apart from conceiving
ideas of medit'Jtion. The mind is like space, yet without any notion
of space."
Having heard this cxphmation, Chi h-huang went directly to call
on the Master. The Master asked him where he had come from, and
Chih-huang related the foregoin g evenlS in full. The Alaster said,
"Tru ly it is as )'ou wcre told: jusllcr your mind he like space, without
clinging to a mental image of space, functioning rcsponsi\'cly with-
out obstruction, unminding in acrion and repose. Feelings of ordi-
nary and holy forgotten, subject and object bOlh submerbTCd, natllre
:lnd form arc as iSi at no time are you unstable."
At mi'l Chih-huang was b'Teatly enlightened. The scnse of attain-
ment he'd had for twenty years di sa ppeared without a shadow or all
echo. Th:1l night, the gentry and common folk of Ilopci heard a
voice in the sky saying, "Mcdit.1tion t\laste~ Chih-huang has at-
tained enlightenment this day."
Chih-huang later respectfully took leave and renlmed to lIopci,
where he taught monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen.
One monk asked the )\1aster, " \Vho gets the message of I luang-
mei?"
The ,\!aste r said, "Someone who understands Buddhism."
The J\lonk said, "Do you get it?"
The Ma<;ter sa id, ") don't understand Buddhi"III."
One day the 1\1aster w,lIlted to wash the rohe that had been
handed do" n to him, hUi there was no good spring, so he Went a
few mile ... hehind lh e monastery, \\ here he sa\\ lhe mountain forest
,8
Kty El..,tllts
llense and 1lL'(Uriam, with an auspicious atmrn.phere over it. The
.\laster stuck his staff into the ground, ami a spring welled forth ,
accumulating into a pond. Then the Master knelt and washed the
robe.
SuddenlY:1 monk showed up on the rocks. li e bowed and s3id, "I
31ll F:mg-pien, a Illan of \\'estem Shu. Yestcrday I saw the Great
.\ laster Bodhidharma in South India. lie told mc, 'Go quickly to
Chin:l; the treasury of the eye of true teaching :md the vcsonent I
inherited from Maha-Kas)'apa have been transmitted through si~
~nenltions to Ts'ao-ch'i in Shao PrO\·ince. Go and sec him.' I h:l\'c
~ome a long way; plcasc show me the rohe you inherited."
The Master sho"ed it to him, then asked, "What work do )'ou
do?"
Fang-pien said, "I an{~n cxpert sculptor."
The J\lbstcr said, "Try to make :m image of me."
Fang-pien was at a loss, but after several da ys his sculpture was
done, a lifelike image about seven inches tall, with extremely fine
detail. \-Vhen he showed it to the Master, the A·laster bughed and
"aid, "You understand thc nature of image making, but not the na-
ture of buddha hood." Then the Master reached out, patted Fang-
pien on the head, and said, "A1ways be a field of blessings for hu-
manki nd and the spirits."
A monk quoted a verse of Ch'an Master \ Vo-Iun:
"Wo-lun has a skill ,
Cutting off a hundred thoughts.
\\'hen mind is not aroused in face of objects,
Enlightenment grows day by da}'."
When the Master heard this, he sa id , "This verse docs not yet clar-
ify the b'l"ound of mind. If )'ou put it into practice, that will add to
rour bondage." Accordingly, he taught a \'cr<;c that said,
"l lui -ncng has no skill,
Docs not cut off :I hundred thoughts.
In fucc of obicct.", mind is aroused again and again;
How C:lll enlightcnmcnt grow?"
59
 8 11II1IIt'tlillfc flml GnuJlIfll
Immediate and Gradual
At the tim e, the Grand M:lster was living at Jewel Forest MOI1:ls-
tcry in T s'ao-ch'i , while G reat Master Shen- hsiu was :lt J ade Spring
Mon:lStc ry in H sing-nan. Both schools Aou rished in their time, and
everybody called th em J-1 ui-ncng of the South and Shcn- hsiu of the
North. Thus there was a division into two schools, immediate and
gradu:ll, of th e South and Nonh, and people did not know the fun-
(bmcnta l :lim.
The Master said to t he crowd, "The teaching is originally of one
so urce, but people may be 'so uthern ' or 'northern .' The teaching is
of one kind, but perception may be slow or fast.
" \.\fha r :lre called immedi ate and gnHlual? The truth has no im-
mediacy or gradual ness, bur people may be sharp or dull ; hence the
terms immediate and gradual."
Nevertheless, the followers of Shen-hsiu often criticized the
Grand Master of the Southern School for being ill iterate, question-
ing his merits. Shen- hsiu sai d, " H e has attained the wisdom tha t has
no teacher, and has profoundly realized the highest vehicle; I am
not his eq ua l. Furthermore, my teacher, who was the Fi fth Grand
l\llaster, personally h:mded on the robe and teach in g to him- how
could th at have been for no reason? I regret th at I ca nnot make the
long journey to go associate with him , but v.linly receive the fa vor
of th e nation. You people should no t linger here; go to T s'ao-ch'i
to seek resol ution."
One day She n-hsiu instructed his disci ple Chih-ch'eng, "You are
bright and \'ery knowledgeable; you ought to go to Ts'ao-ch' i for
me, lO listen to the teadli ng. Pay attention and remember wh:aeve r
you hear; th en come b:lck and tell me about it."
Following instrllctions, Chih-ch 'eng went to T s'ao-ch' i; there he
joined in the sntdies of t he congreg:ltion without saying where he
had come from.
At that time, th e Gnllld Master :l!1 noum.:ed to the crowd, "Now
there is someone stealing the teaching concealed in th is congre-
bration."
60
Chih-ch 'eng then ca mc forth , pai d rcspects, ,md told t he whole
stOly. The Master said, " If you have comc from .J;ldc Spring, yO ll
1llust be a spy."
li e said , "Not so,"
The J\ laster s:lid, " l low can you not be?"
l ie said, " Before 1 said so, 1 waSj now that I've said it, I'm not,"
T he M aster asked, " H ow docs yOllr teacher instruct peopl e?"
He sa id, " I-Ie always instructs people to stop the mind and con~
temphn e quietude, sitting constantly without lying down ," . .
The Master said, "Stopping the mind and contemplaong qUI-
etude is pathological; it is not C h'an. Sitting all the time constri cts
the body-how docs it help toward truth? Listen to my verse:
" During life it will sit, not lie;
After de:lth it will lie, not sit:
A set of stinking bones-
How c:m it establish success?"
Chi h-ch'eng bowed again and s:lid, " I studied t he Way with Great
.\laster S hen~h s ill for ni ne years wit hout realizing enlightenment;
now, hearing a single talk fr~m you, I immediately attained the orig·
inal mind. For me the matter of life and dea th is seri ous; ple,lse be
so kind .IS to teach me 1110rc,"
The Master said , " I've hea rd you r teacher instructs people in the
principles of discipline, stabilization, and wisdom; please td l me
how t hey are pr,lcticed,"
Chih-eh'eng, said, "Grc;lt Ma ster Shen-hsiu sa)'s that ' nOt doing
am' evi l' is discipli ne, 'doing good ' is wisdolll, and ' puri fying the
mi'nd' is stabiliz:ltion, T hat's how he tcaches, \,\!Jlat doctrine do yOll
lC:lch?"
The Master said, " If I said I had a doctrine to teach people, 1
would be fooling you. I just untie bonds accord in g to sitll:ltions.
That is provision;llly labeled s(/JIl(l(lbi, The so rt of discipli ne, st:lbili-
zation, and wisdom your teacher speaks of ,Ire truly wonderful, but
discipline, stabiliz.nion, and wisdom as I see them arc different,"
Chih-ch'eng s:lid, " Discipline, stabilization, and wisdom should
on l" he of one kind; how can there be :111)' differcnt?"
rr'he ,\laster 5.1 id , " Your teacher's disci pl ine, stabilization, and
wisdom are for people of the Great Vehicle; my discipline, smbili1.a-
tion, and wisdom arc for people of the Supreme Vehicle, Under-
6,

standinh'S are no t the sa me, perce ptions may ue slower or swifter.
Listen to what I say and see if it is the sa me as what he says o r nor.
" \-\fhat I teach is not :tpart from our own essential nanlre. Teach-
ing apan from nature is c,llled talk abo ut forms; one's own essenti:ll
Tl:lUlre is always confused. vVe should rea lize rh:lt the functions of
:t il things come from our own essential nature. This is the true prin-
ciple of discipline, stabilization, and wi sdom.
"Listen to my verse:
"The mind ground without error is inherent n:ttural
disci pline.
The mind ground without folly is inherent natural wisdom.
The mind ground without confusion is inherent natural
stability.
Neither growing nor diminishin g-the inherently
indestructible:
Though the hody come and go, therc 's fUlld:lI11ental
samad hi. "
H earing this, C hih-ch'cng apologiz.cd. Thcn he presented a verse
saymg,
"The fi ve clusters are an illusory bod)'-
How can illusion be ultimate?
Yet when I t1Jrn around to he:ld for true sucimcss,
The rnetllocl nlrns Out to be impure."
Th e Nhlster agrced with this, then went on to say to Chih-ch'e ng,
"Your tellchcr's disci pline, stabili zl'Ition, and w~~dol11 encourage peo-
ple of lesser b~l s i c intelligcnce, wh erel'ls my discipline, stabili zation ,
and wisdom encourage pcople of greatcr basic intelligence. If you
realize your own inhcrcnt essential nature, you do not set up ' bod hi '
o r ' ni rvana,' or liberation or knowledge: there is nothing to attai n.
Only then arc you ;lblc to set up myriad re:lchinf,'S.
"If r ou understand what this means, it is also ca lled embod iment
of buddha hood, and it is also c:tlled badhi and nirvana, ~1I1d libera-
ti on and knowledge. Peopl e who see essentil'll nature can set these
up or not set th em up; thcy are free to come or go, without stagna-
tion or inhibition. 'rhey act accordin g to need and respond as spo-
ken to. Their personal projections, seen everywhere, ;lre not apl'lrt
from th eir own nature; th us they att;lin the sa m;ldhi of sport in free
spiritual powers. Th is is called seeing essential nature. "
Imm.ediate IIIIt! Ol'lllil/tli
Ch ih-ch'cng then addressed the Master ;lg<lin: " \Vhat is the
meaning of not setting up anythi ng?"
The Nbstcr said , " vVith no error, no foll y, and no confusion in
one's inherent nature, prajna is observing, moment to moment,
thought ;lfter though t, always detached from the :lppe:lr;H1CeS of
thi ngs, independent and free, complete ll1~l s ter of :ldaptlltion-what
is there to set up? Your own nature is self-re:llized, immedi atel y
rea lized :md immedi ately cultivated, without any gr;ldu;11 process.
That is why there is no setting up :lnything; all thinf,"S arc nir.:lnic-
W hat steps arc t here:'"
Chih-ch'cng paid o beisance, and \'o luntecred to be an attendant.
Day or night, he never slacked off.
The monk Chih-ch'e was a man from Chiang-hsi. His original
surname was Ch:lng, and his given name W:1 S H sing-shang.ln youth
he had been a wandering swordsman.
After the Southern and Northern schools were divided in their
teach in g mcthods, even though the masters of the schools were no n-
partisa n, followers of theirs became competi tive and pa rtial. At that
time, the followers of the N orthern School set up Maste r Shen-hsiu
on their own as the Sixth Grand Nlaste r, and were jealous of the f:lct
that the Gnmd M;lster [Huj-heng} was known throughout the land
to have inherited the robe. They hired I Ising-sha ng to assassinate
the Maste r.
Knowing of thi s before hand by tel epathy, the Master placed tcn
ounces of gold by his seat. Tha t ni ghr I-Ising-shan g entered thl!
Grand Master's room to lcill him. The !vlaste r stretched out his neck
to the sword. I Ising-shang slashed three times, but failed to make
:lny wou nd lit ,Ill.
The Nlaster said, "A straigh t sword is not crooked, a crooked
sword is not straight. I only owe )'ou some mane}'; I don 't o we you
my life. "
'Hsing-sh:lng W:lS so.st:trtled he collapsed. It was a long time be-
fore he revived, and when he did he begged for mercy and repenred
of his wrong. Then he wanted to le:lve the world and become a
monk. Th e Master gave him the gold and s,l id , " Go away for now,
lest the disciples do you harm . Comc b;lck somed:1}' in ;1 di ffe rent
gui se, and I'll t:1ke you in ."
l-lsi ng-shang did as instructed and Aed durin g the nighL Later he
6J
 T/)e S"fm oj" Il lIi-IIC11K
bC~"lllc a monk, di<;ciplined :lnd energetic. One day, rememhering
\\ h:H rhc ,\ la'ter had <,;Iid, he made a long journey hack to sce him.
The ,\ia He r ..tlid, " I've heen thinking ahout you for a long time.
\ Vhat {Qok you ~o long?"
lie said, " Previou.<,ly YOIl forga\·e my crime; now though I am tl
monk and practice inte n ~e l y, after all I cannot repay your favor.
H ow could I think of tr:l!lsmittin g the tcaching ilnd libertlting pco-
pic? I frequently read the Nirvolltl-SIIfrtl, bue I still don't underst.l!ld
the meanings of pcrmancnce and impermancnce. Please be so kind
as to b';ve me a hrief e~pbnation."
Th~ Alaster said, " H'hat is impermanent is the buddha-natu re;
what IS permanent is the discriminatory mind with all sorts of good
and bad sttnes."
Iising-shtlll g said, " What you say is grcatly at odds with the text
of thc sutra."
T he Ivlastcr ~:li d, " I tr:lnsmit the se:ll of the buddha-mind· how
dare I differ with scripturc?" , It is not bequeathed by the master,
I-Ising-shang said, "Th e surra says the buddha-nature is perl11;l-
Ilent; bur you say it is impermanent. Good and b:1(1 states, e\'en the
aspiration for enlightenment, are all impenn:ment, yCt you sa}' they
are perma nent. These are contrad ictions, confusing me evcn more."
The j\laster sa id, " In the past I heard the Nh7.'lIl1tl-Sllh·tl recited
by the nun \ Vu -c h in-t~ang, ;lnd thcn cXl>oundcd it to her. E\·err
word, e\'cl"}' principle, W:l!t in ;lccord Ilith the sutr:l. \ Vhat I havc said
to you is no d ifferent."
Ii sing-shtlng stlid , " M y knowledge is sh;l[[mQt111d unenlightened.
Please edify me in det:lil."
The ,\ laster .. aid, "Don't you reali7.e? If the huddh:l-narure \\ ere
permanent, then 1\ hat good or bad statcs wou ld there be to speak
of? l~here would nCI·er cl-er be anyone :lspiring to en lightenment.
T htlt IS \1 h}, I sa)' it is impermanent; this is precisely the path of true
permanence slxlken of by the Buddha.
"Furthermorc, if all thi ngs were impermanent, then c\·crything
would have iL<; ow n n:lrure, subject [(J hirth and death, while true
erern;11 essence would Ilot be universal. Therefore I sa\' thin"~ tin:
permanent; this is precisely the meaning of illlperm:ln~nce s~)kcn
of b~, the Buddha.
"Bec;luse onlin:H)' people and culti .. t, ding to ftllse permanence,
while people of the 1\\"0 Vehicles think of the permanent as imper-
6.
/1Il1lletii(lt l' (lII d CnU/III1/
manent, altogether making eight inversions, therefore in the com-
plete teaching of the Nin.'lIlll1-SIIN·1I Buddha refu tes their biased
\,-jeWS and openly explains true permanence, true bliss, true self, and
trUe purity. You are now relyi ng on the word and turning aw;ty from
the meaning, misu nderstanding Buddha's perfect, sublime, ll nal
smtement :lS if it meant nihilistic impcrm:mcnce tll1d tixed stagna nt
1I11per1llanence. Even if )'OU read the surr:1 a thotls;l1ld times, what
would be the usc?"
Suddenly J-I sing-shang was greatly cnlightened. !-Ie uttered a
I'erse saying,
" Buddha s:l id there is penl1anence
Be<.OIuse of the memality clinging to impermanence.
Those who do not know e.~pedie n t technique
Arc like picking up pebhl es in a springtime pond.
Now the buddha-nanLrc has appcared
\Vithollt my expending ;Iny effort:
And neither have 1 obt:lined anything."
The Master s:lid, " You have IlCnetrtlted. You shou ld be named
Chih-ch'e Ilment on Penetration]."
C hih-ch'e bowed in thanks.
There waS:l youth named Shen-h ui from the Kao dan of Hsiang-
yang; thirteen ye:lrs old, he C:lllle from Jade Spring to call on the
M:lstcr.
The Master said, " Friend , you've COIllC a long way, a hard jour-
ncr; have you brought the basis along? If you ha\e the basis, you
should know the host. Try to express it."
Shen-hui said , "Nondwelling is the hasis, seeing is the host."
The -'laster said, " H ow is it appropri:ltc for you, a nO\'icc, to
speak glibly?"
Shcn-hui then tlskcd, ~' \ Vhen you sit Tllcdittlting, do rou sec or do
r OLL not see? "
The t\!laste r hit him three rimes with his staff and :lskcd, " \ Vhcn
I hit you, ;Ire YOll pai ned or not?"
I Ie replied, " Both pained ;md nor p;lined."
The M;lstcr said , "And I hoth see tmd dn not !>ee."
Shen-hui asked, " \\'hat is it to both see and not sec:"
 Tbr SIl f1"ll of Hlli-lImg 11II1IIet/iitte (Iud G,·lItltlnl

The Maste r s:lid, "My vision is such thar I always see the excesses thoughts of good :md thoughts of bad. What has no mime thal c:m
and errors of m)' own mind, while I do nOt see the right and wrong name it is termed intrinsic nature; the nature that is without duality
or good and bad of other people. Thus I both sec and do not sec. is C"Jlled the true nature. It is on the basis of true naturc that all the
"You say )'OU are both pained and not pained-what about that? methods of teaching are established; under the impact of the words,
If you arc not p:lined, you :Ire the sa me as wood or stonc; if you are vou should immediately see for yourself."
pained, you are the s:lme as an ordinary man, so you get anb'TY and . Hearing this talk, all those people paid respect and asked to serve
resentful. him as their teacher.
"The seeing or nOt seeing you spoke of just now are two ex-
tremes; being pained and not being pained are birth and death. You
don't even see your own essentia l nature, yet you da re to play with
l>eople."
Shen-hui bowed and apologized.
The Master also said, " If your mind is confused and you do nOt
sec, you ask a teacher to seek the path. If your mind is enlightened,
then you sec your own essential nature, and you cultivate practice
based on the tcaching. You arc confused yourself and do not see
your own mind, yet )'ou come asking me if I see or not. I know my
seei ng for myself-how could it substi tute for your confusion? If
you can see yourself, that could not replace my confusion either."
Shen-hui bowed again, more than a hundred times, seeking par-
don fo r his error. He worked for the Master diligently, never leaving
his side.
O ne day the Master said to the congregation, " I have something
with no head, no tail , no name, no label, no back, no front: do you
recognize it?"
Shen-hui came forth and said, "This is the 'original source of all
huddhas, my buddha-nature."
The Master said, " I JUSt told you it has no name or label; t11en you
immediately call it the oribrina l source, the buddha-nature. Later on,
when you have a bunch of thatch covering your head, you will still
just be a follower of intellectual understanding. "
After the death of the Grand Master, Shen-hu i went to the capita l
and popularized the Ts'ao-ch'i teaching of inllnedi:u..1" I-Ie wrote
No res Revtfllillg fbe SOllrer, which was very popular in t11is time. (1"his
was Ch'an Master l-I o-lS'e.)

The l\!laSter saw that critics from various sects, all with ill will,
had gathered at his assemblies in great numbers. Pitying them, he
lold them , " People who study the Way should eliminate ;111
66 6,
 9 C:llIse it IS defined in relative terms. The Pf/rI' Nome Sf/fro says,
The Imperial SZt17111ZOnS
On New YC;lr's Day of 705. £Empress I Tse-t'ien and !Emperorj
Chung-tsung summoned the Master, in these terms: " \<\fe invited
the two teachers An ,mel H siu to court, where we provided su pport,
regularly studying the One Vehicle in OUf spare time. Those two
teachers deferred, saying, 'There is a Ch';ln Master I-Iui-neng in the
Somh, who was secretly given Great Master (-rung-jell's robe and
tCOlchings and tr:msmits the sc;'!] of the buddha-mind. I-Ie should be
invited so questions can be submitted to him.'''
Now the courtier Pi Chien was sent to deliver the imperi al sum-
mons invited the M:lster, asking for the j\tlaster to be so cornp:lssion-
atc as to hasten to the capital city.
The Master fonmlty declined on the grounds of illness, desiring
to spend the rest of his days in the forests.
Pi Chien s:Jid, "The Ch'an worthies ;It the capital city all said that
if we want to attain understanding of the \ ,V:JY, it is necessary to sit
in meditation :md cultivate concentration; no one has ever attained
liberation but for meditation concentration. i-low about the doc-
trine you expound?"
The Master said, "The \ V:JY is realized by the mind-how could
it be in sitti ng? A sutra says, 'If you S,1Y the' Buddha is sifting or
reclining, you are traveling a fa lse p,nh. \Vhy? Because he neither
comes from anywhere nor goes anywhere.' Freedom from birth and
death is the pure mcditation of the Buddha ; the emptiness of all
things is thc pure se,lt of the Buddha. Ultimate ly there is no re:l liza-
tion, mlLch less sitting."
Pi Chien said, "\.vhen I rerurn to the capital, their majesties will
surely question me. Please be so kind as to indicate to Ille the essen-
tials of mind, that I Ill;!.y transmit it to their majesties, and to the
studentS of the Way in the capital city, so it will be like one hun p
lighting a thousand !:imps, so all in the dark are illumined , light
upon light withom end."
The Master said, "The \.vay has no light or dark. Light .md dark
means alternation. Light upon light without end is sti ll finite, be-
68
'Truth has no com parison, because there is no relativity in it.' "
Pi Chien said, "Light symbolizes wisdom, darkness symbolizes
affl iction. If people who cultivate the \.va~' do not use wisdom to
see through afniction, how can they escape beginningless birth and
de;lm?"
The Master said, "AfAiction itSelf is enlightenment: there is no
duality, no difference. If )'ou use wisdom to see through affliction,
this is the understanding of the Two Vehicles, for potentialities like
the goat and the deer. Those of superior wisdom and great faculties
arc not like th is at a1!."
Pi Chien asked, "What is the undetstanding of the Great Ve-
hicle?"
The Nlaster said, "En lighlellment and ignorance are seen byordi-
nary people as twO, while the wisc realize their essential nanlre has
no dual ity. Th e essential nature without duality is the true nature.
True n~lnlre is not diminished in the ordinarr and ignorant, nor is it
increased in the wise :md the holy; it is not deranged in afAit:tion,
and it is not quiescent inllleditation concentration. It does not come
to an end, nor does it endure forever; it docs not come or go, and it
is not in the middle or the inside o r outSide. Unborn and unper-
ishing, nature ;md ch:lraneriSlics as such, permanent ;lI1d unchang-
mg-th is is called the Way. "
Pi Chien said, "How is your t:llk of being unborn and unperishing
differem from outsiders'?"
The Alaster said, "The unborn and un perishing of which outsid-
ers speak is using annihilation to stop birth, using birth to show
annihilation. Annihilation is still not .mnihilated, and birth is said co
be unborn.
"The unborn and unperishing of which I speak is original imrin-
sit: birthlcssness and present nOllallnihilation. Therefore it is differ-
ent from outsiders' doctrines.
" If yOll want to know the essence of mind, just do not think about
any good or bad at all. Then you will spontancously gain access to
lhe pure subst,lncc of 1I1ind, cal11l and ;llw;\ys tranquil, with subtle
functions berond number."
Recci\'ing this instruction, Pi Chien was greatly awakened. Re-
spectfully taking lc.lve, he rt.:rurned to the imperial palace, where he
reported the t\ bster's \\'01'(15.
 Tbe SlItrtl of J-l lli-lIl'IIg
That }'ear, on the third day of the ninth mon th, there was an
imperial rescript encouraging the Master in these terms: "The Mas-
ter has declined due to old age and ill ness. Cultivating the \-'lay for
us is a field of blessings for the nation. The Master is like Vimala -
kirti, using a pretext of illness in VaiS3 1i to expound the Great Vehi-
cle, communicate the mind of the buddh:1s, 311(1 discourse on
nondual relliity.
" Pi Chien has tnmsmitted the Nlaster's teaching on the knowl-
edge and \'ision of budd has: it is our fortune, through the accumu-
lated good deeds of our ancestors, and havi ng planted roots of
glXldness in the paSt, th;n we encou nter the Master's emergence in
the worl d, and immediately reali ze the highest vehicle. \-'le are
grateful to receive the Master's kindness, and will appreciate it no
end."
The Master W;lS also presented with a fine vestment and a crystal
bowl, and th e governor of Shao Provin ce was ordered to refurbish
the rnon3Stery. The Master's old abode was entitl ed Temple ofNa-
tional G r;nitude.
One day the Master called his discipl es Fa-hai, C hih-ch'eng, Fa-
ta , Shen- hu i, C hih-ch'a ng, C hih -t'ung, C hih -ch'e, C hih-tao, Fa-
ch 'en, and Fa-ju; he said, " You are not like the other people. After I
pass away, you will each become the teacher of a region. I will now
tell you how to expou nd the teaching without losing the basic
sou rce.
"First you should brin g up three c1assificatiops of things, actively
using thirty-s ix oppositions, on both sides-appearing and disap-
pearing, mergin g and detaching. Ll expl aining everything, do not
depart from intrinsic nature. If people ask you questions, everything
said is twofold; everyone grasps relative things. Coming and going
are relative; ulti mately dua lity all disappears, with nowhere else
to go.
"The three classifications of things are thc dusters, elements, and
media. T he dusters are the five dusters- matter, sensation, percep-
tion , conditioning, and consciousness. Th e media are the t\vel"e
sense media: the six extern;] I f-ields of form, sound, scent, flavor,
feeling, and phenomcna ; plus the six internal organs of the eyes,
ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Th e elemcnts arc the eighteen
clemen ts-the six fie lds of sense, the six organs of sense, and the six
consciollsncsses of sense.
70
Tile imperial SWllm/olls
"Our essential nature c m contain all things: this is called the star-
<l"C consciousness. If l'oU conceive thought, th is is the activ,ltion
a~ . h
c~nsciousness. I t produces the si,'\ consciousnesses, WhlC go out
through thc six organs and perceive thc six fields of sense; thus t?e
eighteen elements all are activated from Ollr nantre. If y~ur e~sentlal
nature is perverted, it produces eighteen-fold pen·erslOn: If rour
essential nature is right, it produces eighteen-fold right.. lt )'OU us.e
it bad lv, this is the function of ordinary beings; if }'OU use It well, thiS
is the fu nction of buddh:ls. \"'here does the function come from ? It
comes from ou r essential natu re.
" tn the external world of rela tive objects there are five pairs of
opposites: s"1' and ea rth , sun and moon,. light and ~ark, yin and
yang, water and fire. These are the five pai rs of Opposites.
"Tn characte ri stics or phenomena and bnb"ll:lge Ulere :lre twelvc
p,lirs of opposites: words and thi ngs, bein g ;Hld nonbeing, physical
,md nonphysic;l l, perceptible and illlperceptible, contaminated and
uncontaminated, matte r and emptiness, 1Il0tion ;llld stillness, purity
,md pollution, ordinary and hol}l, clergy and I:1Y, old and young,
!!;rea t and sl1lall. These are the twelve pair of opposites.
~ "Our essential naUtre produces functions in nineteen pairs of
opposites: strengths and weaknesses, perversion and rec.ti.tude,. ig-
norance and insight, folly and wisdom , disorder and Stablh~t, kind-
ness and viciOllsness, morality and wrongdoing, hon esty and
crookedness, truth and fal sehood , bias and fairness, afflicti on and
enlighten ment, permanence and impermanence, com passion :lnd
malevolence, delight and anger, generosity and sti nginess, progress
and regression, origi nation and destruction, the reality body and the
physical body, the projection body and the reward body. These arc
lhe nineteen pairs of opposites." . . .
The /\1aster said, " If you know how to apply Ulese thu·ty-sl.,\ p:l1rs,
th is is the \ Vay, pen 'ading all the teachings of the scripnltcs. Exiting
:lnd entering, merging and detaching, on both sides, inherent nature
acti\'cly nll1clions.
" \ Vhcn YOLI talk with peopl e, outwardly be unattached to appear-
ances while in the midst of appearances; inwardly be unattached to
emptiness while in the midst of emptiness. I f you totally fixate on
appearances, then you increase fa lse views; if YOll totally d ing La
emptiness, then YOli incrc,lsc ignorance.
"Some peopl e who cling to em ptiness repud iate the scriptures,
7'
 Tbt' Silfm of 1I11;-Ifelfg
simply saying they don't need writings. If they say they don't need
writin/:,"S, then people shou ldn't speak either, because speech has the
characteristics of writing. They also sim ply say they do nor establish
writi ngs, but these words 'do not establish' are also written. Seeing
what others teach, they slander them, saying they are atmched to
writings.
"You all should know thac self-delusion is one thing, while slan-
dering the scriptures another--don't slander the scripl1lres; the ob-
stacles caused b}, this error are countless.
"People who cling to external appearances, construe them as
truths, and seek reality in them, and people who set up big re ligiolls
establishment<; and talk about the problems of being and non being,
will nor manage to see essential nature e\·en in eons; they can only
cu ltiv:ne practice in accord with the teachings.
"But do not thi nk of nothing at all, for that inhibits your enligh t-
ened nature.
" If they listen to pre:lching but do not practice, people contrarily
prod uce wrong thoughtS. Just truthfully practice the giving of teach-
ing wi thout fiX;ltion o n appea rances.
" Ifr ou understand, speak o n this basis, function on this basis, act
on this hasis, work on th is basis-then rou will not Jose the origi n:tI
source.
" If people question )'OU about principles, if they ask about being,
reply with nonbeing; if they ask ahom nonbeing. reply with being.
If they ask :lhout the ordinary, reply with the hoi)'; if they ask about
the holy, repl y with the ordi na ry,: the twO pa ths nre relative to each
other, prod ucing the pri nciple of the middle way. As with one ques-
tion and one answer, do the same for other questions, and ~·ou won't
lose the principle.
"If someone ,lsks yOli what is called d,lrkness, reply that light is
the C,llIse, da rkness the condition: when light disappears, there is
darkness. Darkness is re\'ealcd b}, light, light is revcaled by darkness.
Their comi ng :lnd going are relative, creating the meaning of the
middle way. Other questions are all like this.
"Later on, when you are transmitting the teaching, pass it on in
this way; do not lose the essence of the source."
In the seventh month of the rear 712, the Alaster had some diSci-
ples go to the 1emple of National Gratitude in I isin Prm·ince and
7'
Tbe Imperil" SII1If1If01fS
bui ld a srupa. Although he {Old them ro hasten the construction, by
Slimmer of the next year it had not yet been completed.
On the fi rst day of the seventh mOlllh of 713, the Master brathcred
his followers and said, " I wa ll[ to depart from the world next month:
if \ ' OU have any doubtS, you'll have to ask me about them soon, so I
C:l~ break down you r doubts for rOll and put an end to your confu-
sion. After I go, there will be no one to teach you:" .
El-hai and the others wept when they heard tilLS; Shen-hU! alone
was psychologiC!l lly unmoved and did nOt cry. . .
The Master said , "Young Shen- hui has managed to maintain
equan imity toward good and bad, \In moved by slander or praise,. not
conceivi ng sadness or happiness. The rest of YO ll have not :J[~alTled
this-what path have you been culth'ating all these years III the
mountai ns? \¥ho are you troubled about now, crying so sadly?
"If you are wo rried I don't know where I'm going, I in tu~tively
know where I'm going. If I didn 't know where I was gOing, I
wouldn't have in fonned you ahead of time. Your weeping is bec~use
Jail don't know where I'm goi ng. If you ~ ew where. I was gomg,
YOll wouldn't be ~ryi n g. T he narure of reahty has no birth or death,
no comi ng o r gomg.
"Sit there, all of you, and I will recite to you a hymn called I I YI~n
on T rue and False Action and Stillness. Memorize th is hymn, for Its
intent is the sa me as mine. Practice on this basis, and you won't lose
the essence of the source."
The monks prostrated themselves :lIl d requested the M aster to
tell them the hym n. The hym n went as fo llows:
Everything has no re:lliry;
\·Ve do not see real ity thereby.
If you 'sec' reali ty,
That is a view, not rea lity at al l.
If Vall Cln yourself embody rea lity,
D~tached from falsehood, mind itselfs rea lity.
If your own mind docs not derach from falsehood,
There's no reality-where is rea l?
Animate beings are mobi le,
Inanima le th ings are immobile:
If you cultivate a practice of nm moving.
That's the same as in;lnimate immobility.
7J
 Tbe Sflfrn oj Hfli-JlCIIg
}f you seek true immovability,
rhere's immobility in action.
Not moving is unmoving-
V,rithout sentience, there's no seed of buddhahood.
Be a.ble. to distingu!sh characteristics skillfully
\V}lIle unmovable III ultimate truth:
As long as you see in this way,
It's the function of reality as is.
I an nounce to all who study the Way:
\Alork diligently-you need to focus attention.
Do not cling to knowledge from birth and (Ieath
In the context of the Great Vehicle.
! ~ you attain accord at the impact of the words,
I hen I'll talk about buddhahood with you:
If you are not re,lllv in accord
I' ll salute you to m~ke you ha~py.
The school basically has no argument:
If yo~ a~gue, you lose the sense of the Way.
By cl1l1glllg to perverse argument:nive doctrines
Your own essential nature enters birth and dead;.
At that time the followers, having heard the hymn, all bowed;
they understood what the Master meant, and each of them concen-
trated o n practicing according to the teaching, not daring to dispute
any further. ~
Then they realized the Grand Master wou ld not be remaining in
the ;"orld for long. Elder Fa -hai respectfully inquired, "After your
pa~:lIlg, to who~ ar.: the robe and teaching to be imparted?"
I he Master sa id, The lectures J have given at the Great Brahma
Monastery have now been excerpted for circulation, ca lled the Surra
of th ~ Al tar of ~he Treasure of the Teaching. You all preserve it and
P:lSS It o n. To hberate peopl e, just follow this teaching; this is ca lled
orthodoxy.
" I now expbin the te:lching, and do not imp:lrt the robe. Th:1t is
hec:l use your roots of faith are pure and mature, cert~lin, without
d~~lbt, cap:lble?~ the great task. So, according to th e meaning of a
velsc. of our spIritual ancestor Bodhidharma on transmission , th e
robe IS not to be handed on. The verse says,
H 75
Tbe I1l1pe1'illl Sm/Hllom
" I originally came to this land
To transmit the reaching LO save deluded sen tient beings.
One flower will open into five petals,
Form ing:J fruit that will ri pcn n:1rurally."
Tbe Grnl1d 1\lnffcr It/SO slIid,
Good friend s, let each of you cle:lr your mind to listen to my
teaching. Lf you want to accomplish all-knowledge, you must attain
absorption in oneness and absorption in unified activity.
If you do nOt dwell on appe:lrances wherever you are, and you do
not conceive aversion or :lttraction to those appearances, and nei-
ther grasp nor reject, and do not think of thiOb'S like gain, success,
or failure, but are peaceful, serene, em pty and Auid, tranquil and
calm, th is is called :lbsorptioll in oneness.
If your unadulterated, undivided, straightforward mind does not
move from tlle site of enli ghtenment wherever you are, whatever
you are doing, with reality constituting the Pure Land, this is called
absorption in unified activity.
If people ha ve these twO absorptions, it is like the earth having
seeds, which it stores and nurtures, and matures the fruits. So it is
with oneness and unified activity: my teaching now is like seasonal
raiJl moistening the gre:lt earth everywhere; your buddha-natures
are like seeds, which wil l all grow when thoroughly moistened thus.
Those who get my message will certain ly attain enlightenment;
those who follow my practice will de/illitely realize the sublime
result.
Listen to my verse:
The mind ground cont.lins the seeds:
\Vith univcrs.11 rain, all of them sprout.
""hen you've sudden ly realized the blossoming heart,
The fruit of enlightenment will naturally mature.
Hnving line/wI rb i's vcrSI', fbe lV/fISM' slIid,
The te:lching has no dualism, neither does the mind; the "Vay is
pure, without :lIly signs. You should be careful not to contemplate
stillness and empty your minds. The mind is o riginally clean, with
nothing to grasp or reject. Each of you work on your own, going
along as best you can according ro cirClIlllstances.
 T h e S lItm of Hil i-mug Tile Imperial SII1111110llS

At tbtlt poim the ,/is(iplrs IWdled tllld witb,lre-dl. chanda Buddha, Kanakamuni Buddha, Kasyapa Buddha, and Shak-
\,aJTI uni Buddha-these were the Seven Bu~d.has. .
On the eighth day of the seventh momh, the Grand Master sa id . "From Shal9'amuni Buddha, the tnlllsllllSSlOn went through.
to his disciples, " I want to go back to !-lsin Province; prepare a boat
and oa r right away." I. VEsr.a,ULE ,\IAIIA-KASVAPA
L VESUABLE ASA~DA
The whole congregation was saddened and tried vcry adamantly
to get him to stay. 3. V ESUABLE SANAVASA
..{. VESERABLE UPAGUPT"
T he Grand M aster said, "Even the buddhas who appeared in the 5. VE~' UABLE DIlRT""'''
world manifestly passed away-whatever comes mUSt go. This prin- 6. , ' £SEII"ILE ,'II CC Il"Ii:A
cipl e is always so. T his physical body of mine certa in ly has :t place 7. VESEIABLE VASU\IITII"
to return ." 8. VENEIIABLE B U OOIIAN"NOI
People said, "After you leave, Maste r, migh t you come b:lck?" 9. Vf.SF.RA RLI( PVNVAMITIIA
T he Master said, " \¥hen leaves fa ll, they retu rn to the rOOt. 10. V£N£R"'II. I( PAMSVA
\¥hen I cOllie I'll ha ve no mOllth." II. VElIlERAULI'. PUNYAYASAS

T hey also :Isked, "To whom is the treas ury of the eye of the true I!. I\1AHASATTV" ASVAG II OSA
teaching imparted?" 13. V ENERAB I. F. KAPI.\lAl.A

T he Maste r said, "Those who have the \Vay get it; those who Ll. A I AHASATT\' A NAGAR)USA

have no mind comprehend it." 15. VE!'URABLE KASAOI: VA

16.
,,.
VESERABLE RAIIULATA
They also asked, " Will there be any trouble later?"
V(S(RABLE SANGIIANASOI
T he M aster said, " Five or six years after my death, someone will ,8. V': SI: RABL£ J A , . ASA'·A
come to take my head. Listen to my prediction: 19. " r~t: RAIILI( K U MARATA

"T.1king care of parents on the head, !o. VENERAHLEJA"ATA

Eating must be done in the mouth. ! I. "EN IlIlA HU VAH.' BA'DIIU

Coming upon the trouble of fu llness, !! .

T he willows become officials." ~ !3. VE"EIIABI. J' 11 ""I. f.'A

!4. "ESU.A BI.E Sl""A

The Master also said, "Seventy years after I leave, two bodhisatt- VENERABLE V"USITA
vas will come from the East. O ne will be :I renullciant, the other a VI: SERABLE P UN "A", ' I' RA

householder. Actively teaching in the same age, they will establish "['.lrRAULf. PRA)NATARA

my school, orga nizing sanctuaries and ena bling spiritual heirs to VENERABLE BOD,,")! IAR" \
fl ourish." !9. GRAND ]' I ASTU 1 1 1..'1-,, '1(
30. GRAND I\ I AS I"EII SI: 'G -T S'AN
They asked, "S ince the buddhas and Grand M asters appeared in
3 I. GRAND j\lASTEIl TAO-II Sl"
respo nse to necessity, how many generations has the transmission
3!. GR\NO ,\IA STI.R I l uSG-) E'
been handed on? Please tell us."
T he Master said, "T he past budd has who answe red the need of " I. l-!ui-neng, ,11ll the Thirty-third Grand Master. The Gr;md
the world have already been innumerable-they ca nnot be counted. ,\Iasters throughout hi~lory have each had an en?owm~nt: herea~ter
Now we consider the Seven Buddhas to be the first: in the past Aeon rou shou ld communicate it through the generations WIthOUt Icttmg
of Adomment, there was Vipasyin Budd ha, Sikh in Budd ha, and .,t go wrong. " .
Visvabhu Buddha; in the present Aeon of Virtue, there was Krakuc- On the third day of the eighth month of 7'3. after a vegetarian
77
 Tbe Sllfrtl of IIl1i-IIf!IJg
meal at the Temple of National Gra titude, the Grea t )\\aslcr said to
the congregmioll of disciples, "Each of rO ll remain sirting in your
place; I am leaving rou."
Fa -hai said, "Master, what teaching:ire rou leaving l'O enable con-
fused people of later generations to see the buddha-narure?"
The Alaster said, "Let all of you list!!n dearly. If confused people
of later generations get to know ordinary beings, then this is bud-
dha- nature. If they do not know o rdin ary beings, they will hardly
find buddh:H1ature even if they seek fo r ten thousand cons. I now
tell rou, when you know the o rdina r), beings in your own mind, you
sec the buddha-nature in rour own mind . If you want to see buddha,
JUSt know ordinary beings. It is JUSt because of the ordin:H1' beings
that rou lose sight of buddha ; it is not buddha that loses sight of
ordinary beings.
" If you r own nature is enlighte ned, ordinary being is huddha-
hood; if your own n:lture is confused, buddh:lhood is ordinary being.
If you r own nature is impartial, ordinary being is buddhahood; if
)'our own nature is pen'erse, buddhahood is ordina'1' being. If your
minds are biased and crooked, then buddha hood is submerged in
ordin:lry being; a single moment of fairness and honesty, and ordi-
nary being becomes buddha hood.
"Our minds inherently have buddha in them; your own inner
buddha is the real buddha. If there were no buddha-mind, where
wou ld we look for the real buddha? Your own mind is buddha. Do
nor doubt any morc. T here is nothi ng external that c;m establish
an)'thing-it is all the original mind concei\'ing all sorts of things.
That is why scriprure says, '\.vhen the mind is aroused, all sorts of
phenomena arise; when the mind is quiescent, :l11 sorts of phenom-
ena pass aW;IY.'
"Now I ;Iln going to leave a h)'mn as a farewell to rou, called
the Hymn to the Real Buddha of Inner Nature. If people of later
generations know the meaning of this hymn, the}' will spontane-
ously see the original mind and spont:lncously attain buddha hood.
The hymn goes,
" Intri nsic narure as it really is-that's the real buddha.
False views and the three poisons arc the chief demons.
\\'hen there's delusion, demons are in the house;
\Vhen therc's accur;lte seeing, buddha's in the living room.
,8
T he Imperial SlIlIIlIIOIIS
\Vhen fa lse ,·iews and the th ree poisons occur in one's
narure,
These are demon chiefs com ing to dwell in the house.
Accurate seei ng nanlrally clears the triply poisoned mind;
Demons rurn to buddha , real , nothing artificial.
Reality body, reward body, and projection bodies-
The three embodimentS :lre originally onc body:
If rou can see them yourself within esscntial nature,
This is the cause of realizing the enlightellIllent of the
buddhas.
O rigi nally pure narure is born from the projection bod)';
O riginally pure nature is always immanent in the projection
body,
Narure induces the projection body to go the right way
To future complete fulfillment, reality without end.
Debauched nature is at root thc basis of pure nanlre;
Eliminate debauchery, and this is the body of pure nature.
Let each in your own nature dct;lch from the fi,'c desires;
The instant you see nature, this is reality.
If you encounter the teaching of immediacy in th is lifetime,
And suddenly realize your own nature, you'll see the \Vorld
Iionorcd O ne.
If you want to cultivate practices seeking 10 become a
buddha,
\Vho knows where you will try to seck re:lliry?
If )'OU ca n see reality fo r yourself in the mind,
I lavi ng real ity is the basis of atta ini ng buddhahood.
If you seek buddha hood external ly without seeing your own
nature,
\-\'hatevcr your intentions, you're still an ignoramus.
The tCl'lching of imlllediacy has now been left
To Save the pcople of the world-but it IllUSt be pr:lcticed
oneself.
1 announce to future students of the \ \'3)':
If you do not see th is, you arc far, F.lr 3Wa)', "
After the 1\ laster had recited the hvmn, he sa id , "You all should
stay we ll. After I pass aW;IY, do not ~nrertain worldl}' feelings and
mourn, accept people's condolences, or p lll 011 robes of mourning.
If you do, you :l re nOt my disciples, and this is nor true religion.
"J ust know your own o riginal mind and see your own original
narure; there is neither Illotion nor stillness, neither birth nor de,ltll ,
;9
 The Sllfril oj" /-II/;-J/wg Tbe 11llpC1·;1I1 Summons
n~ith e r going nor coming, neither yes nor no, neither sta},jng nor for thirty-seven years. His religiolls successors numbered forty.
going. three people, while those who awakened to the \Vay and tran-
" In case you ;lre confused and do not understand my meaning, scended the ordinary were countless.
now 1 will instruct you again to en:lble you to see essential nature. The robe of faith inherited from Bodhidharma, the vestment and
If you practice in accord with this after my passing, it will be like crystal bowl given by Emperor C hung-tsung, the likeness made by
when I was alive; but if you \>lolate my teaching, even if I were in the scu lptor F:mg-pien, as well as his implements, were placed for
the \\'orld it would be no use. " eternity at the Precious Forest sanctuary. Thc A/tilT Slth·1I was pre-
Then he uttered another \'erse, saying, served and transmitted to show the message of the school, causing
"Unmoving, not cultivating goodness, Buddhism to Aourish for dle universal benefit of all living beings.
Ebullient, not doing e"il,
Serene, detached from the senses,
Clear, mind without fixation. "
After the Master had recited this verse, he sat up until the mid·
night hour, wben he suddenly said to his disciples, "I'm going!"
Thcn he passed awa}' at once.
At that mom ent, :111 unusual scent filled the room. A wbite rain-
bow touched tbe earth, and the trees of the forest turned wbite. The
birds and beasts cried sadly.
In the elt:venth month, the official of three provinces-Ku:mg,
Shao, :lnd Hsin-as well as the disciples, both monks and laypeople,
vied to host the J\ laster's body, and no onc could decide where it
should go. Finally they lit incense :md prayed that the incense smoke
would point to where the Master was to be laid to rest.
Now the fragrant smoke went straight toward Ts'ao·ch'i, so on
the thirteenth da}' of the eleventh month the c:lsket and the robe
and bowl he had inherited were moved back there. In the seventh
moneh of the next year, the body was remo\'ed from the c;lskct, and
the disciple Fang-pien pbstered it with fragr:lIlt paste. The people
of the school remembered the Master's prediction that his head
would be taken , so the Master's neck was securely protected with
sheet iron and lacquered cloth; then it was pur in the Stup:!. SlI(l·
denlya white light appeared from within the stu pa, shining str;\ight
lip to the sky; it did not disappear for three days.
The authorities of Shao Province reported this to the cmperor,
and wcre commissioned to set up :1 memorial t:lblet summarizing
the Nl:lster's spiritwillife.
The master lived for se\'enry-si.x years. He inherited the robe at
the age of twenty-four, was ordained at age thirty-nine, :lIld taught
80 8,
Hui-neng's Commentary
on the
DIAMOND SUTRA
 Preface
by l-lUI-NENG
Sixt" Gra/ld Maste,. oj2m

The 1)inlllOlld SlItrtl has no form as it.o; source, no abiding as its

suhst;mcc, subtle heing as its function. Ever since Bodhidhafm:l
ClHllC from the \,Vest, to communicate the intent of th is sutra he got

peop le to I'calize nOUlllcnon ;lncl sec essential n:lture.

It W:lS just because people of the worl d do not sec their own essen-
tial n;lt\lrc that the fe,lching of seeing essential nature was estab-
lished . If people of the world clearly sec the original body of reality
,I'. i~, then it is nO[ ncccss:lry to establish a teaching.
This sutr.l is rC:ld :lIld recited h}, countless numhers of people,
I;lUdcd :md eulogized by infinite numbers of people: o\'er eight hun-
dred people had composed commentaries and cxpb n;Hory notes, the
rC;lsoning they expound each heing :lccnrding to wha t they see. Yet
though l'>Crception .. lIlay not be the same, truth has no second .
Those II ho have earlier developed higher facu lti es will immcdi-
,ncly under..t:lI1d on hC;lring once. Those who do not already have
lI1'>ight may re:ld and recite many times without understanding what
Buddha me:lTH: that i.. tile reason for interpreting thc meaning of the
..age, to reIllQI'C <;tmlcllts' douhts. If ),Oll gel the essential message of
thi~ sutra heyond ;1 douhl, you do not need c.~pbnation.
The good things c:\:pounded h}, the Realized Ones since time im-
memorial arc expounded for the Jlul'po..e (If eliminating ordin::lry
people's h;ld ::Iltil'lIde~. SUIT:lS ::Ire sayings of s;lges, which teach peo-
ple who lislen to lhem to tr;lI1scend the profane ;1Ilt! realize the sa-
cred, f01'(.!\'c l· slollping confu"iIHl.
This one-.;crol1 ~utra originally c>.: i s l~ in the essential nature of all
h\'ing being... Pcople "ho do not <,cc it thelll'tChes JUSt read and
Hj
 C()Wmelltll1:Y 0/1 the DIAMONO SUTKA
rc.circ written lette rs. If you realize your origina l mind, you will
re:llizc for the first time that this sutr:l is not in wrinen letters. If
you C:ln cle:lrly underst:lnd your own essenti:llll;Jtu re, only then wi ll
you re;\l1y helieve that " all the Buddhas emerge from dlis surra."
i\'ow I fe:lr th:1t people of the world will see Buddh:1 outside their
own bodies, or pursue the sutra extern:llly, without discovering the
inner mind, without holding the inner slltr:l. Therefore I have com-
posed this "secrets of the surra" to get smdeTHs to hold the surra of
the inner mind :Inti clearly see the pure buddha-mind themselves,
beyond number, impossible to eoncei\'e.
If students of later times h,we doubts on reading the scripture,
when they see this interpret,ltion their doubts will melt away, and
then they won't need the secrets ,my more. \Vhat I hope is that
students will all sec the gold within the are, and use the fire of
wisdom to refine it out. \Vhen the dross is gone, the gold relllliins.
Our originlll teacher Shakyamuni Buddha spoke the Diamond
Slftrtf in Sravasti. As Subhuti raised questions, the Buddha very com-
passion:llely exphlined for him . Subhuti attained enlightenment on
hearing the teaching, and :lskcd Buddha to give the teaching a na me
according to which later peoplc could absorb and hold it. Therefore
the slitra says, "The Buddha told Subhuti, 'Thi s sutra is n:lmed Dia~
momJ Pl"Iljllllpn1"llJllitn. and you should uphold it by this name.' "
The "diamond pr,ljn:lp.lramita" spoken of by the Reali7..ed One
t3kcs its name from a mctaphor for the truth. \-Vhat does it mean?
Diamond is extremcly sharp by nature and can break through all
sorts of things. But though diamond is extremely hard, horn ca n
break it. Diamond sta nds for buddha-nature, horn stands for afA ic-
tions. I-lard as diamond is, hom can break it; stable though the bud-
dha -nature is, afnictions can derange it.
E\'en though afnictions Imy be intractable, prajn3 knowledge can
destroy them; even though horn may bc h:ud, fine steel can break
it. Those who realize this principle dearly see essential nature. The
Ni,1JIIIW-mtm says, "Those who see buddha-mltUl'c arc not called
ordin:lry people; those who do not sec buddh:Hl,lturc ,Ire called or-
dinary people."
The IIlct,lphor of the diamond expounded by the Realized One is
for the sake of people in the world without stabiliry of nanLre: they
may recite the scripture, bur illumination does not develop. If they
wou ld practice inwardly as well ;IS recite outwardly, they would be
86
COlll1lll'lIfm'V 011 tbe DI" .\IONO SUTRA
ellually i~ltlmined. If .they <Ire not firm within, stabi lity and insight
3re losl; If they practice mentally as well as recite verbally, sta bility
.\!ld insight will be equal. This is c;tlled the ullimate end.
Gold is in the mount,lin, hut thc mountai n does not know it is
precious, and the treasure docs nor know this is a mountain either.
\ \ 'by? Bccause they ;Ire inanimate. Iluman beings arc animate, and
:I\';lil themse lves of the lise of the treasure. If they find a metal
worker to mine the mOllnt3in, take the are and smelt 'it, evenmally it
beco n.l e~ pll.re gold, to be used at will to escape the pains of poverty.
. So It IS With the huddha-namre in the physical body. The body is
hke the world, persona l self is like the mountain, afAictions are like
dle are, buddha-nature is like the gold, wisdom is like the master
craftsman, intensity of diligence is like digging. In the world of the
ho~}~ is the motll1t:lin of personal self, in the mountain of personal
self IS the are of afAietion; in the o re of affliction is the jewel of
buddha-nature. Within the jewel of buddha-nature is the master
craftsma n of wisdom.
\ Ve e~llploy the master craftsman of wisdom to dri ll through the
111ounta111 of the personal self :lnd discover the are of afAictions,
~melt it in the firc of awakening, and see our own adamantine bud-
dha-nature, perfectly luminous and clear. Therefore the diamond is
used as 11 met<lphor, and hence the n3me.
if you only understand but do not :Ict on it, there is the name
\\ithour substance. if }'ou understand the meaning and put it into
!lractice, name and substance arc both then.'. If you don't culth'<lte
It, you are an ordinary mort:ll; if you do cultivate it, you are the
same :IS a sage. Therefore it is called dbmond. .
\\'h:lt does pmjllli mean? Prtljlltl is a S;mskrit word, rendered into
Chinese as " insightful wisdom." Insight is not brlving rise to i!!llo-
:,lIlt attitudes, wisdom is ha\'ing the appropriate expedients. In~ght
I S tbl:. su~st'lr1cc. of wisdom, wisdom is the function of insight. If
~~erc IS \~'lsdom l.n substance, function is insightful and not ibrnorant;
~t there IS no WIsdom in subst<lllce, function is ignorant, without
Insight. It is JUSt to get rid of ignorance, folly, ,md being unenlight-
ened that we cu ltivate insightful wisdom.
. \Vh,lt does plII"llIlIirll mean? It is rendered into Chinese by "reach-
Ing the other shore." Reachin g the other shore means detachment
from birth and death. Just bec~luse people of the world 1,lck stability
of nature, they find appearances of birth lind death in all things, Aow
8,
 CammCl/fal)' 011 ,be DIA.\IOS0 SUTNA
in thc W:lVCS of v:lrious courses of existcnce, and have nor arrived :It
tI;c brround of re:llity as is: ,Ill of this is "this shore." It is necessary
to h:lve great insightful wisdom, completc in respect to all lhinb'S,
dct.lched from :Ippcarances of birth and death-this is "reaching the
OIher shore ."
It is also sa id that when the mind is confused, it is "this shore."
\Nhcn the mind is enl ightened, it is "the other shore." vVhen thc
mind is distorted, it is " this shore. " v'lhen the mind is sound, it is
" the other shore." If you speak of it and carry it alit mentally, then
your own reality body is imbued with pammita. If you spea k of it
but do not carry it Out mentally, then there is no pu'lInita.
What does SIItra mean? It means a course; it is a road to the fu l ~
fillment of buddhahood. Whenever people want to get on this road,
they should inward ly cultivate the appl ication of pmjna in o rder to
rt!ad the ultimate end . If you can only recite it and do not act in
accord menta ll y, then there is no sutra, no course. If you see truth-
fully and fKt truthfu lly, then there is a stltra in your own mind.
Therefore the Realized One entitled this sutra the Dia"l/fOlld Pmj-
wlpll1"flmiw Sun·ll.
1 Tbe Cause and Renson of tbe
Teaching Asse1llbly
The Prime Minister Zhang Vl ujin, dle 19yman, sa id, " If not fo r
dle teaching, there is no way to talk about cmptiness; if nOt for
insight, there is no way to expound the teaching. The profusion of
myriad thinbrs is c;llled the cause, the responsive sensitivity of one
mind is called the reason. Thus the surra begins with a section on
the cause and reason of the teaching assembly."
Thus I h,we heard:
Ananda claims that he has he,lrcl such :1 reaching from the Bud-
elha, to makc it clear he is not speaking on his own; thilt is why he
SilYS, "Thus I have heard."
Also, " I" is nature, n:lture is "1." All actions, inrcmal and cxu:rn:l l,
COIllC from nature. Since it hears evcrything, it is s,lid th,lt " I have
heard."
88
C01ll'l1leJJffl1:Y 011 ,bl' DIAMOND SU TRA
Atone time Buddha was in the countryside ofSmvasti,
;u [he Grove of Jeta donated by Sudatta ,
"At one timc " means the meeting of teacher and learners, the
time when all arc together. " Buddh,I" is the one who is teaching;
"was in" is to show thc location.
Thc countryside of Sravasti was in the country of King Prasenajit
[Kosala was the country, Sravasti a cityl. Jeta was the crown prince;
the &rrove was a gift of Prince Jcta. The grove o riginally belonged to
the b.,...lIldee Sud'ltta. fActuall y it was bought from Jeta by Sudatta
:md give n to Buddha.]
"Budd ha " is a Sanskrit word, rendcred in Chi nese as Awakened.
Awaken ing has two meanings. One is outwa rd awakening, secing
mc emptiness of all thi nb'S. The other is inward seeking knowing
the emptiness and si lence of the mind, not being inAuenced byob-
jects of the six se nses. Out"w,lrdly not seeking others' faults, inwardly
not being confused by falsehood and error, it is therefore call ed
awakeni ng. When awakened, yOll are buddha.
together with a crowd of J ,250 great mendicants.
"'v'lith" mcans that the Buddha was with the mendicants at the
formless site of enlightelllm!nt. T hey werc "great" mendicants be-
cause they were brrea t arhats. T he Sanskrit word bbikslm for mendi-
cant is rendered in Chinese as "able to overcomc the six robbers."
Twelve hundred fifty is the number of mendicants; "together" refers
to their common presence in the spiritual assembly of equanimity.
At that rime the World Honored One put on an outer
robe at mealtime, tOok a bowl, and went into the city of
Sra\'3sti and begged for food in the city. .
"At that time" it was la te morning, almost mea ltime. He put on
an outer robe and took a bowl to show an educational example . To
say "he begged for food" represents the Rcal ized One's ability to
humble his mind toward ;111 people.
After begging from house to house, he rcturned to his
o riginal place . After eatillg his mcal, he put away the robe
and the bowl. 'vVashing his fect, hc spread Olit a mat and
sat.
Begging from house to housc implies that he did not choose be-
tween [he poor and the rich, tC;lchi ng egalitari:lnism. "After beg-
89
 COUl'lllelltrl1) 011 tbe DIAMO ND $U "rIU,
gi ng" IllC;IIl S th;lt he begged from no more th:ln seven houses. Once
h£! had been to seven houses, he would nOl go lO any more.
It says he "returned to his original place" because the Buddha's
intent was to regulate the mendicants, such that they would not go
readily to bypeople's houses, except when they were invited.
In "washing his feet," the Realized O ne demonstrated identifica-
tion with the ordina ry man. Yet in the teaching of the Great Vehicle,
cleaning the hands and feet alone is not considered clean liness, since
cleaning the hands and feet is not comparable to cleaning the mind.
If the mind is clea n for a moment, then the dirt of sin is removed .
2 Sub/mti Initiates Questio1li1lg
Activating insight from emptiness, question and answe r illumi-
nate e.lch other. Therefore the sutra follows with a section on Sub-
huti initi"ting questioning.
At that time the elder Subhuti was in the crowd. He
rose frolll his seat, uncovered his right shoulder, knelt on
his right knee, joined his palm s in respect, and sa id to the
Buddha, " It is wonderful , vVorid Honored One, how well
the Realized One minds the bodhisarrv"s, how well he
instructs the bodhisattvas."
The " Realized One" is ori ginalnarure that comes from rca li l)' as
is. "Minding" means protecting the bodh isattvas with the teaching
of prajnaparamita. "Instructing" means the ~ealized One hands on
the teaching of prajnaparamita to Subhuti and the other grcat bo-
dhisauvas. "Nlinding" means getting learners to mind their own
bodies and minds with prajna wisdom, not allowing arbitrary occu r-
rence of hatred and Im'e, or infection by e,\;te rllal objects of the six
senses, fulling into the bitter sea of birth and death.
\¥hen every thought in your own mind is always true, and falsc-
hood is nOt allowed , the Reali zed One in .your own nanlre skj]]fully
minds itself.
As for skjllfuJ instruction, when th e preceding thought is pure,
then the succeedin g thought is pure: when there is no interruption,
ultim,'tcly this Icads co liberation. The Realized One carefully in-
structed people, including those in his congregation, th;lt they
shou ld always pmctice thIS: therefore it is said th;lr he instructs well.
90
COlll UH'lI ftn :y Oil ,be DIAMOND SUT R A
"Budhisattva" is a S;lllskri t word, rendered in Chinese as peoplc
\I ith the spirit of thc \.Vay, :lnd also awakened conscious beinb~. The
~pirit of d,e \.Vay me:lllS always hehaving respectfully, univers;ll1y
respecti ng and loving ;111 cre:ltures, widlOut disd:lin- this is th e rea-
:.011 by which someone is c.dled a bodh isattva.
"\ \'orld Honored One, when good men and good
women set their hearts on supreme perfect enlighten-
ment, how should they live? How should they conquer
their minds?"
"Good man" means an even mind, and also a correcdy stabilized
mind. It ca n perfect all good qualities and is unobstructed wherever
it goes. "Good woman" means a truly insightful mind. From a truly
insightful mind :l1l good qualities can be produced, whether deliber-
:ltC or spontaneous.
Subhu ti :lsks how all people who h:lve set their hearts on supreme
perfect cnlightenment should live, and how they should conquer
their minds. Subhuti sees all ordinary people are continuously rest-
less, like whirling dust; mental agitation arises [jke a whirlwind, con-
tinuing thought :lner thought, without a break. The question is how
to conque r the mind to practice cultivation.
The Buddha sa id , "Good, Subhuti! As you say, the Re-
alized One minds the bodhisattvas well, and instructs the
bodh isattvas well. Listen dearly now; I will explain to
you.
" \Vhen good men and good women set their hearts
on su preme perfcct en lighten ment, they should livc and
conquer their minds th us."
"Yes indeed, \Norld Honored One. We would like to
hear about it. "
3 The Tn,e SOUl'ce of the G,'eat Vehicle
The so urce is beyond true and false, the veh.icle has no great or
small; but te:lchin g and liberation arc ca rried out according to the
differences in people's facultie s. To set aside different doctrines and
Single Out the worthy, the sutra fo[lows up with a section on the true
Source of the G reat Vehicle.
9'
 Commelltary 011 'he DIAMOND SUTII A
The Buddha said to Suhhuti, "The bodhisattva Illaha·
sanvas should conquer th ei r minds thus:"
\ Vhen the preceding tho ught is pure and the succeedi ng thought
is pure, this is called being a bodhisattva. Vlhen one docs no t rc·
!,'TCSS, thought after thought, and one's mind is always pure even in
the midst of worldly toils, thi s is called :I mahasattva.
Also, teaching and Liberating people with kindness, compassion,
joyfulness, and equanimi ty, and all sortS of appropriate ski lls, is
called bei ng a bodhisattVa. Those who are nor mentally 6xated on
either the tcacher or on those taught are called mahasattva.
Respecting all living beings is where you conq uer your own mind.
Reality does not change, suchness docs not differ: when the mind
docs nOt change or differ jn any sint~ltion , that is called reality as
such.
Al so, not being artificial outwardly is called reality, not bei ng V;IC-
lI OUS inwardly is called suchness. When there is no digression
tho ught to thought, that is called conquering the mind.
"N I kinds of living beings-be they born from eggs,
born from wombs, born from moisntre. o r born from
transmutation, be they material , immaterial, thinking or
nomhinking. or neither thinking nor nomhinking-I
ha\'e them all emer !lin'ana without rcmaindcr .. ."
" Born from cg,!,os" means confusion, " bo rn from wombs" mcans
habinm tion, " born from moisn lre" means deviation, "born frolll
transforma tion" means opinionation. Confusion is the reason for
creating all sorts of karm:l, habituatio n is the reason for constant
repetitious routines; a deviant mind is unstable, and opi nio natio n
tends toward o bsession.
\ Vhen rou excite the mind about cultivati ng the mind, with arbi-
trary views of right and wrong, inwardly you do nOt realize the
formless truth. This is called being matcrial.
\·Vhen you keep to simplicity in your inner mind and do not prac-
tice respect and charity, if you JUSt say the simple mind is buddha
and do nOt cultivate virtue and knowledge, thilt is ca lled being im-
Illateria l.
If you do not comprehend the middle way, but see and hear al,d
think and ponder, fixated on the externa ls of doctrine. talking about
9'
C011lmfl1tll7} 011 th e DL A\LOND SUTIIA
the conduct of Buddha without applying jt in your own mind , that
is called having thinking.
Confused people who sit in meditation fanatically trying to get
rid of illusion and do not learn kindness, comp;lssion, joyfulness,
equani mity, wisdom, :md expedient skills, and so are like wood or
stone, without any function, are called non thinking.
~ot clinging to the concept of duality is call ed " neither think-
ing," while still consciously secking noumenon is ca lled "nor non-
thinking."
Afflictions differ in myriad wa),s; all of them defile the mind.
Physical fo rms are countless; all are ca lled living beings. The Real-
ized One teaches :III with great compassion, enabling all to enter
remainderless nirvana.
" ... :md thus liberate them through extinction."
The Rea lized O ne points out th:lt each living bein g in the uni-
\'erse has the su blime hC ~lrt of nirvana, causing them to realize it
themselves and enter relll,linderless nin':lna. "Remainderl ess"
means that there arc no habit fo rces or affli ctions; "nirva na" means
complete purity. This is attained only b)' extinbruishing all habit
energies, causing them ne\'er to occur. "Liberation" means crossing
owr the ocean of birth and death.
Buddha's mind is impartial, wishing to enter into complete pure
remainderless nirvana and cross the ocean of birth and death along
with all living beings, sharing the sa me realization of all buddhas.
There :lre people who underst;lIld and practice yet entertain a sense
of attainment, producing ;l sel f-image, which is ca lled the reli!,rious
ego. Only when you gel rid of the reli brious ego is it called liberntion
through extinction.
"Thus I liberate innumerable, countless, infinite beings
thro ugh extinction, while in reality th ere arc no beings
atta ining libemtion through extinctio n."
"Thus" refers to the foregoing teaching; liberati on through ex-
tinction is great release. Grear release means affli ctions, habit ener-
gies, and all karmic obstructions are completel y extinct, with no
remainder. This is called great liberation .
Innumerable, countless, infinite bein!,>"S originally have their own
individual affli ctions of all kinds, greedy and angry bad brma: if this
93
 Counlleurtf1J 011 tbe D I A .\\o:-lO SUTRA
is. not removed, th ey can ne\'cr attain releasc. Th ereforc Buddha
sa id , "Thus I liberate in numerable, countless, inhnitc bci nb'S
through extinction."
\¥hen all confused pcople have rea lized their own essentia l na-
ture, fo r the first time they will know Buddha does not entertain a
self-image, and possesses no knowledge of his own-whe n did he
ever liberate beings?
It is just because ordinary people do not see their own original
mind that the)' do not know what the Buddh;} meant- they ding
obsessively to the external appearances of things and do not arrive
at the uncreated inner truth.
Those who are not free of egotisti c personality are ca lled "be-
ings." If you detach from this illness, in reality there are no "beings"
to attain liberation through extinction. Therefore it is sa id, "\\Then
there is no errant mind, you manifest enli ghtenment; samsara :lnd
nirvana are originall y equal."'vVhat liberation thl·ough extinction is
the re?
"Why? Subhuti, if bodhisattvas have images of self, im-
ages of person, images of a being, images of a liver of life,
they are not bodhisam'as."
The buddha-nature of ordinary beings has no difference, but they
do not enter remainderless nirvana because they have four images.
If they have the four images, they are ordinary beings; without
them, they are buddhas. \\Then confused, buddhas are ord inary be-
ings; when enl ightened, ordinary beings arc buddhas.
\¥hen confused people slight everyone on account of having
wealth, education, and social status, that is called sc lf-image.
Evcn if they practice benevolence, duty, courtesy, intelligence,
and faith, if they are conceited about it and do not practice universal
respect, saying, in effect, " I know how to practice benevolence,
duty, courtesy, in telligence, and fa ith, so I don 't need to respect
YOll," th is is called an image of person.
Claiming good things for oneself and passing bad things off ontO
others is called an image of a being.
Discri min ation among things, grasping and rejecting, is ca lled an
image of a liver of life.
These are called the four images of ordinary people.
Religious practiti oners also have four images . \;Vhen there are
94
CoU/mellffl1) 0 1/ fb e DIAMOND $UTRA
bject and object in the mind and one slights beings, this is called
:~lf-image. Presuming upon observa nce of precepts and .s lig?t~ng
those who break precepts is called an image of person. Dlsdamlng
[he miseries of the three mires and wishing to be born in the heavens
. an image of a being. Di ligent practice of good deeds out of love
gfor long life, witham forgetting attachments, is an image a f a \'Iver
of life. Those who have these four images are ordinary beings; those
witham these four images are buddhas.
4 Subtle P'-fletice without Dwelling
\Vhen you act in accord with the source, you do not dwell on
appeara n~es. T here fore the scripture continues with a section on
subtle practice without dwellin g.
"Furthermore, Subhuti , bodhisattvas should not dwell
on anything as they practice ch;lrity. Tha t m7a.ns prac~c­
ing charity without dwelling on forms, practicing. chanty
wi thout dwelling on sounds, scents, Aavors, feelings, or
phenomena."
When ordinary people practice chari ty, they are just seeking per-
sonal dignity, or enjoyment of pleasure: that is why they plUl~ge
back into the three mires when thei r rewards are used up. 1 he
\\ 'orld Honored One is very kind , teaching the pr.lctice offormless
charity, nO[ seeking personal dignity or pleasure; he just has us in-
wa rdly destroy the attitude of sti nginess whi le outwardly helping
all beings. Harmonizing thus is called practicing charity without
dwell ing on form.
"Subhuti, bodhisattvas should practice charity like this,
not dwelling on appearances."
To practice cha rity in accord with a formless mind like this means
there is no sense of being charitable, no idea of a gift, and no notion
of a recipient. This is called practicing charity without dwelling on
appearallces.
""VVhy? Because if bodhisattvas practice charity without
dwelling on appearances, thc blessings are inconceiv-
able."
 C01ll1JJC1Ifnry on fhe DI A\IONO SVTkA
Bodhisattvas practice charity without seeking any thing_
the blessings they gain are immeasurable as the space of the ten
directions.
ACl"Ording to one explanation, the practice of charity is universa l
dispersal. If rou Cln inwardly disperse all false thoughts, habit ene r-
gies, and afflictions in the mind, the four images are gone, and noth-
ing is stored up-this is true giving.
Also, to further expbin giving, this depends on nor dwelling on
objectS of the senses, and not having contaminated discriminations.
One should juSt rerurn to purity and realize all phenomena are
empty. If you do not underst.md this, you only increase karm a.
Therefore we must inwa rdly get rid of greed while Outw:lrdly prac-
ticing generosity. \-Vhen inside and outside correspond, the bless-
ings obtained are infinite.
If you see people doing wrong but do not view their faults, your
own narure not creating discriminatory thoughts, this is called de-
tachment from appe:lrances. If you cultivate practice in accord with
the teaching, and there are no subject and object in the mind, th is is
a good state. If a practitioner has subject and object in mind, this is
not l'll lled a good state. As long as the sense of su bject and object is
not extinguished, one will never atta in liberation.
If you always apply prajna wisdom momem to moment, the bless-
inb'S are infinite. If you practice this way, you win the re\·erence and
suppOrt of all people and spirits-these are called blessinb'S. If you
always practice charity without dwelling on appearances, universa lly
respecting all beings, the merit and vi rrue have no bounds and can-
nor be measured.
"Su bhuti, what do you think-is the space to the east
me:lsurable in thought?"
"No, \Vorld Honored One."
"Subhuti, is the space to the south, or the west, or the
north, or the fou r intermedi:lre directions, or the 7.enith,
or the nadir, measurable in thought? "
"No, World Honored One."
"Subhuti , the blessing of bodhisattvas' practice of
charity without dwelling on appearances is also like
th is-it can not be measured in thought-"
Buddha says space has no boundaries and cannot be measured.
The bles!>ings realized by bodhisattvas' charity without dwelling on
appearances are also like space in being incalculable and boundless.
C07JI1llellftll"Y on 'hi' DIAMONO SVTRA
Nothing in the world is greater than space, no narure is greater
than buddha-narure. Vvhy? \Vhatever has sha pe and form cannot be
called grea t; space has no shape or form, so it can be called great.
All naNres have limitations, so they cannot be called great; buddha-
naNre has no limitations, so it is Cl lled gre:lt.
In space there is no east, west, south, or north: if you see cast,
west, south, and north, d1is is also dwel ling on appearances, and so
\"Oll do not attain liberation. Buddha-nature fundamenta ll)' has no
~clf, person, being, or liver of life: if these images are evident, this is
~l nature of ordin;lry beings, not to be called buddha-namre. It is
:llso what is referred to as charity dwe llin g on appearances.
\ "hile in the context of the deluded mind it is said there are east,
west, north, and south, in the context of abstract truth, how can they
exist? So-called east ilnd west are not real-how could south and
north be different?
Our own narure is ori b'; nally o pen, peaceful, and unified, not dis-
crim inating anything; therefore the Realized One deeply praises not
conceiving discriminatory thoughts.
"Subhuti, bodhisattvas shou ld JUSt Ih'e as they are
taught. "
Just accord with the foregoing teaching, abiding in fonnless char-
ity, and you arc a bodhisattva.
5 Refit Seeil1g il1 Acco,-d w itb T,."tb
\Vhen c\·ery :lCt is in accord with thusness, this is called real
seeing. Therefore the sutra continucs with a section on real seein g
in accord with truth.
"Subhmi, wha t do you think-is it possible to see the
Realized Onc in terms of physical ch:lracteristics?"
"No, \Norld Honored One; it is not possible to see the
Re,llized One in tenns of physic:II chanlcteristics."
The physical body has form, the reality body is formless. The
physical hody is com posed of gross elemenls, born of:l f:lther and ;I
mother, visible to the physical eye. The realiry body has no discrete
shape, no color, no appearance wh:w'iOcver; invisihle to the physic-JI
ere, it can be seen hy the eye of \\ i~d()m.
.,
 COlllllltlllnry 011 the DI ,U IOSD S!;TU.
Ordinary people onl), see the physically embodied Realized One,
not the Realized One embodying reality. The embodiment of the
reality body is equal to space; that is wh), Buddha asks ubhuri
whether it is possible to see the Realized One in temlS of physical
appearance.
Subhuti knows that ord inary people see only the physically em-
bodied Reali zed One, not the Realized One embodying reality;
therefore he replies that it is not possible to see the Rea lized One in
terms of physical characteristics.
U\ Vh)'? Because physical characteristics expl3ined b)'
the Realized One arc not physical characteristics."
The physical body consisLS of characteristics, the reality body is
essence. All good and bad comes from the physical bod),. not from
the reality body. If the physical body docs evil, the reality body is
not regenerated in good States; if the physical body docs good, the
reality body docs not fall into bad states.
Ordinary people. only seeing the physical body and not the reality
body, C:lIlnOt practice charity without dwelling on appearances, can-
not practice iml)3niai behavior in all situ:nions, and cannot unin!r-
sally respect all beings.
Those '" ho see the reality body can practice charity without
dwclling on appearant-es, t';ln unh'ersa ll)' respect all beings, and can
culti\'3te the practice of prajnaparamira, perfct1:ion of wisdom: then
they tru ly bclic\'c that all bcings han! thc samc onc tnle esscnce,
fundamentally pure :Uld unpollutcd, with couQtlcss functions.
The Buddha said to Subhuti, "All appear<lnce~ <Ire illu-
sorYi if you see that appearances arc not characteristics,
then you see the Rea li zed One."
The Realized Onc wants to re,'eal the reality hody, so he says all
appearances are illusory. If you see that all appearances are illusory
and unreal, then you see the fonnless truth of the Realized One.
6 Tbe RfI ,-ity of True Fflitb
Seeing and believing, the root of goodness is deep and fiml.
Therefore the sutra follo~s up with a section on the rarity of true
faith.
9'
Commt'JI,m) 011 'he DIAMOND SUTRA
Subhuti said to the Buddha, " \Vorld Iionored One,
will anyone who geLS to hear this exposition develop gen-
uine faith?"
Subhuti is asking, "This teaching is very deep, hard to belie\'e,
hard to understand; the intelligence and insight of ordinary people
of the final age arc slight and inferior-how can they believe in it?"
The Buddha's reply follows.
Buddha told Subhuti, "Don't talk thllt way. In thc last
fi,'e hundred }'ears after cite death of the Realized One,
there will be those who keep the precepl:S and do good
deeds who will be capable of conceiving belief in this ex-
position, considering it to be true. You should know that
those people will ha\'e planted roots of goodness, not
with one, tWO, three, four, or five buddhas, but with in-
f-inite thousands of myriads of buddhas. They will con-
ceive pure belief on hearing this exposition for e\'en a
moment."
In the laSt five hundred years after my passing, if there are any
people who can keep the fonnless precepts of the Great Vehicle, not
ml3takenlr grasp appearances and not act out compulsh'e routines,
\\ hose minds are always emp()' and quiet and 110t bound by appear-
.mccs, then this is the mind dwelling nowhere; this mind c:m belie\'e
in the Reali7.ed One's profound teaching. What these people say is
true :md trustworthy. \\'hy? These pt!ople ha\'c plamed roots of
goodness, not mcrely for one, twO, three, four, or five eons, but for
infinite thousands of myri:lds of millions of eon~.
for this reason the Rcalized One sa),s, " In thc last five hundred
years after my death, if [here arc those who can cultivate their con-
duct dctached from appearances, )'Oll should know these people
ha\'c planted rooLS of goodness, not merely with onc, two, three,
four, or five budd has." \\That does planting roots of goodness mean?
It may brieAy be set forth as follows:
It means wholeheartedly supporting the buddhas and following
thei r teachings, while always being respectful and obedient to 00-
dhisattvas, spiritual friends, teachers, parents, old folks, experienced
wonhies, and venerable elders. This is called planting roots of good-
ness.
To develop an attitude of mercy and compassion toward all beings
9.
 C01Jl1Jl1!1ltru), 011 tbe DIAMOND SUTII"
suffering because of craving, nOt conceiving disdain for them, giving
them what they need according to one's ability-this is called plant-
ing roots of goodness.
To be gentle :lIld tolerant with all bad types, treating them affably
and not provoking them, causing them to develop a sense of joy,
and stop being stubbornly perverse-this is ca lled planting roots of
goodness.
Not killing or harming living beings, not cheating nnd not despis.
ing them , not defaming and not disgmcing them, not riding or beat.
ing them, not eating their flesh, always acting to their benefit-this
is called planting roots of goodness.
As for belief, this means believing that prajnap3ramita can elimi.
nate all afAictions; believing that prajnaparamita can perfect all
transmund:lIlc virtues; believing that prajnaparamita can produce all
buddhas; believing that the buddha-nature in your own body is orig.
inally pure, without defilement, equal to the buddha-nature of the
budd has; believing that :111 types of beings are originally formless;
believing th:a all beings can attain buddhahood-tllis is called pure
belief.
"Subhuti, the Realized One knows and sees all those
beings attain ing infinite blessings this way. vVhy? These
~eings have no more image of self, image of person,
Image of being, or image of a liver of life. They have no
image of truth, and no image of nun truth either."
After the death of the Reali zed One, if people develop the con-
sciousness of prajnaparamita and practice the application of prajna-
paramita, cultivating enlightened understanding and attaining the
profound meaning of the buddhas, they are all known to the bud-
dhas. If people hear the teaching of the higher vehicle and accept
and keep it wholehearted I)" then they are able to practice the form-
less, nonobsessivc application of prajnaparamita, utterly without the
four images of sel f, person, being, and liver of life.
No se lf me:lI1S no matter, sensa tion, conception, conditioning, or
consciousness. No person means understanding the gross elements
are not substa nti;ll and ultimately disintegrate. No being means no
mind being horn and dying. No liver of life means our bodies are
originally nonexistent-how can there he:l liver of life?
Once the fOllr im;lges are gone, the ohjecti\e eye is thorough I),
<00
C01H1JI ell tnry 011 the O. " .\IONo SUTIIA
clear, not attached to existence or nonexistence, detached from both
extremes: the Realized One of your own mind realizes itself and
awakens itself, forever detaching from mundane toils and errant
thoughts, naturally attaining blessings without bound.
To say th :lt thcre is no image of truth means being det:lched froill
labels and bcyond appearances, not trapped in words. To say that
there is no image of nontruth either means it cannot be said there
is no trllth to pra.jnapafllmit;l. If you say there is no truth to prajna-
paramit:t, tllis is repudiating the teaching.
"Why? If these beings' minds grasped at appearances.
they would be attached to self, person, being, and liver of
life. If they graspcd at an image of truth, they would be
attached to self, person, being, and liver of life. Why? If
they grasped at an image of nan truth, they would be
attached to self, person, being, and liver of life.
"Therefore you should not grasp at truth, and should
not grasp at untruth. In this sense the Realizcd One al-
WilYS says yOll mendicants know the truth [teach is like a
raft; even the truth is to be relinquished, let alone non·
truth."
"Truth" means the truth of prajnaparamita, perfection of wisdom;
"untruth" mcans teachings for rebirth in heaven. The truth of praj-
n;lparamita can enable all beings to cross the ocean of birth and
dea th; once they have crossed over, they should not dwell on it,
much less get obsessed with teachin b'S for rebirth in heaven.
7 No Attni171J/C11t nud No P,"ellcbillg
Realization without attainment is ca ll ed true reali7A'ltion; teaching
without preaching is ca lled true teaching. Therefore the surra fol-
lows up with a section on no attainment and no preaching.
"Subhuti, what do you think-has the Realized One
attained unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment?
Has the Realized One any doctrine to preach?"
SlIbhuti sa id , "A~ I undersmnd the principles ex-
pounded by the Realized One, there is no fixed state
ca lled unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment, and
' 0'
 Commentary Oil the DI A:' I OND SUTRA
there is no fixed doctrine for the Reali zed One to
preach."
The " unexcelled" is not attained from outside-as long as there
arc no subject and object in the mind, this is it. Medicine is pre~
scribed according to the illness, teaching is gh'en accord ing to situa-
tional applicability-how could there be any fixed doctrine?
In the unexcelled true teaching of the Realized One, the mind
fundamentally has no attainment, and yet it is not said not [Q attain.
[t is juSt because peoplc's pcrceptions are not the same that the
Realized One adapts to thcir faculties with various expedient meth-
ods to induce thcm to detach from their obsessions. He points out
that the wandering minds of all ordinary beings flu cruate unce:ls-
ingly, acting in pursuit of objects. Of the momentary arising of the
preceding thought, thc succeeding thought should be awa re: since
the awareness docs not abide, the view does nor remll in either. Thllt
being so, how could there be II fixed doctrine for the RC:lli zcd One
to expound?
In the term llnexcelled, the prefix 1111- means th ere arc no err:lnt
thoughts in the mind; "excelled" means therc is no conccit in thc
mind. "Complete" means the mind is always in a state of correct
stabili z.1tion and accurate insight. "Perfect enlightenmcnt" Illeans
the mind is always empty and silent. If the ordinary mentality is set
aside even for a moment, you see the buddha-nature.
" Why? Thc doctrines taught b), tht: Realized One arc
not to be graspcd, lind not to be preached; thc)' arc nei -
ther truths nor untruths." ~ Why? These blessings are not of the nature of blessing;
Lest people get fixated on the \'erbal expressions used by the Real-
ized One, fuil to realize the fonnl ess truth , and mistakenly create
interpretations, Buddha says they are not to be grasped. How could
there be any fixity in explanations given by the Rea lized One ac-
cording to potential and capacity to edify all sorts of people?
Students who do not understand the Reali zcd One's deep rne;m-
ing but just recite the teachings expounded by the Realized Onc
without realizing the original mind never attain buddha hood. That
is why the sutra says the doctrines are not to be preached.
Verbal repetition without mental application is not truth; verbal
repetition with mental appli cation, realizing nothing is obtained, is
not untruth.
' 0'
C01ll1ll 1!1If"ry 011 tbe DI A:' IO N I) SU TU
" Vlh:1f is the reason ? All sai nts :lnd sllges exist through
uncrc:llcd truth, yet they hll ve differences."
The understandings of the mentalities of the three vehicles are
not the S:l Ill C; their perceptions have differences in depth. That is
\\h)' it says they ha,'C diffcrences.
The uncre:ued truth expounded by Buddha is nondwelling. Non-
<I\\'elling is fonnless, formlessness has no origi n; what has no
originlltion has no destruction. Clea r, free , empty, and silent, per-
ception and action equa lly en lightened, mirrorlike awareness unob-
structed- this is truly the liberated buddha-narure.
Buddha is awakening, awakening is observant awareness, obser-
"ant awareness is insightful wisdom, insightful wisdom is prajnapar-
amlta.
8 E1Ite1"gence into Life th,"ough the Truth
If there is no attainment and no pre;lching, there is fear of sinlcing
imo voidness. All the budd has emerge from this sutra, so it follows
up with a section on emergence into life through the truth.
"Subhuti, what do you think-if someone filled a bil-
lion-world universe with precious substances and used
this to give in charity, would this person gai n many bless-
ings?"
Subhuti sa id, " Very many, ""arid Honored One.
therefore the Rea lized One says the blessings are many."
Although the blessings of giving away a universe of treasures in
charity Illay be Illany, thcre is no benefit in respect to essential na-
tu re. To cultiv:nc conduct in llccord with maha-pr.ljnaparamita,
gre:1[ perfection of wisdom, causing your own esse ntial narure nOt
to fall into any existences, is what is ca lled the nature of blessing. If
you have subject and object in mind, then it is not of the narure of
blessi ng; when consciousness of subject and object vanishes, this is
called the nature of blessi ng.
" If anyone :lccepts and hol ds the equivale nt of even a
four- lin e verse from th is sutra , and tells it to others, the
bl essing in that exceeds the llforementioned. "
' OJ
 Commel/tory 01/ the DIAMOND SUTRA
The overall meanings in the whole canon are all in four-line
verses. How do we know this is so? By the eulogies in the sutras.
The "four-line verse" is maha-prajnaparamita. Mahapr::Jjna is the
mother of all buddhas; the buddhas of past, present, and future aU
put this sutra into practice in order to rea lize buddhahood. T he
Pmjllfl Hem1 S1th'O says, "The buddhas of past, present, and future
rea lize unexcelled complete perfect en lightenment by prajna-
paramita."
Learning frolll a teacher is called "accepting," understanding the
meaning and putting it into practice is ca lled "holding." Under-
smnding for oneself and acting on it oneself is self-help; explaining
to people is helping others. The merit in this is so great it has no
bounds.
"\-Vhy? Subhuti, all the buddhas, and the state of unex-
celled complete perfect en lightenment of the Budd ha,
come from this sutra."
"This sutr:l" does not refer to thjs pa rticular text: the essentia l
point is to reveal the buddha-nature, bringing function forth fro m
substance, for subtle benefit without end. Prajna is wisdom. T he
practical efficacy of insight is expedient means, the function of wis-
dom is cerminty. Insight and wisdom characterize the mind that is
aware at;tll times. All the buddhas, and the state of unexcelled com-
plete perfect en lightenment of the buddhas, come from th is aware-
ness; so it is said they come from this surra .
"Subhuti, what is called Buddhism is not Buddhism."
All verbal and literary expressions are like labels, like pointin g
fingers. Labels and pointers mean shadows and echoes. You obtain a
commodity by its label, and you see the moon by way of the pointing
finger-the moon is not the finger, the label is not the thing itSelf.
JUSt get the teaching by way of the sutra-the sutra is not the teach-
ing. The sutra literature is visible to the physical eye, but the teach-
ing is visi ble to the eye of insigh t. Without the eye of insight, you
JUSt see the literature, not the teaching. If you do not see the teach-
ing, you do not understand what Buddha meant. If YOll do not un-
derstand what Buddha meant, then reciting sutras won't produce
buddha hood.
C011J1J1elIftn:y 011 th e D I AMOND SUTRi\
9 Oneness witbou.t Forms
Even though there are four states of realization, their forms are
originally nondua!. Therefore the sutra follows up with a section on
oneness without forms.
"Subhuti, what do you think-can a stream-enterer
think, 'I have attained the fruition of stream-entering'?"
Subhuti said, "No, World Honored One. "
Stream-enterers go against the stream of birth and death; unaf-
fected by objectS of the si.'( senses, they are whol ly devoted to culti-
\'ation of uncontaminated pr:lctices. Getting coarse afflictions not to
occur, they certainly do nOt take on inhuman personalities like ma-
niacs, beastS, or monsters. This is called the fruitio n of stream-
enteri ng.
If you understand fo rmless truth, you have no sense of attaini ng
fru ition. If there is the slightest consciousness of attaining fruitio n,
then it is not called stream-enteri ng. T hat is why Subhuti says,
"No."
" \·Vhy? A streftl ll-emercr is ca ll ed one who enters the
Stream, yet does not enter anything. One does not enter
foml, sound , seem, fla vor, feeling, or phenomena- this
is called a stream-enterer."
The "stream " Illeans the stream of sagehood. Stream-enterers de-
tach from coarse affliction, and thereby gain entry into the stream
of sagehood without having entered into anything, without having
any consciousness of attaining fruition. Stream-entering is the first
fruition of practice.
"Subhuti, what do you think-can a once-returner en-
tertain the thought, 'I have attained the fruition of once-
returning'?"
Subhuti said, "No, World H onored One. ·Why?
A once-returner is called one who goes and comes
back once, but really has no going or coming-this is
called once-returning."
Once-returners have cast off the bonds of the world; they arc
called once-returners because their ties to the world are over. The
expression going and coming back means being regenerated from a
'05

COU,.,lfClftfl1J 01( fbI' DIAMOND SUTRA
celestial state into :1 human state, heing regenerated from a hum<ln
st'lte into <I celestial state, then finally leaving birth :111£1 death, all
worldly karma ended. This is called the fruition of once-returning.
As for the once-returning of the Great Vehicle, when the eyes
behold objects, the mind has one arousal and quiescence; there is
no second arousal and quiescence. Therefore it is called going and
returning once. E\'en if the preceding thought initiates confusion,
in the succeeding thought it StOps; even if the preceding thought has
attachment, the succeeding thought is detached. Therefore there is
really no going or coming back.
"Subhuti, what do you think-can a nonreturner en-
tertain the thought, '1 have attained the fruition of nonre-
turn'?"
Subhuti said, "No, World Honored One. A nonre-
turner is called one who does not come back, yet in real-
ity there is no coming, and that is the reason fo r the name
nonreturner."
Nonreturning is also called leaving desire. Those who have left
desire do not see any desirable objects outside, and do nOt have any
desirousness to act upon inside. They certainly do not take on life
in the realm of desire, so they are referred to as not coming back;
yet in reality there is no coming, so they are also ca ll ed nonreturn-
ers. Since the habit of desirousness is forever ended, they definitely
do not come back and undergo rebirth; therefore they are ca lled
nonretumers.
"Subhuti , what do you think-can a'sa in t entertain the
thought, '1 have attained sa inthood'?"
Subhuti said, "No, "Vorld Honored One."
"Vheil <Ill conraminations are ended and there arc no further af-
Aictions, one is called an arhat or saint. Saints do not contend with
anyone, their afAictions eternally ended; if they enten.lined the no-
tion of having attained fruition, this would be contentious.
"VVhy? There is no state called sainthood. World I-Ion-
ored One, if saints were to entertain the notion, ' I have
attained sainthood,' that would be fixation all self, per-
son, being, and a liver of life."
The Sanskrit word fl/·bat for "saint" means no contention. They
have no afAictions to cut off, no greed or anger to divorce. Essential
>06
C01ll'melll(l1) 011 !be DI,\,\10ND SUTIIA
nature has neither obstreperuusness nor docility; mind and objects
;Ire both empty, inside and outside arc ,ll ways silent. If one had a
!lotion of having attained fruition, one would be the same as an
ordinary mortal. So Subhuri says, "No."
"World Honored One, you s.IY I h:lVe attained absorp-
tion in noncontention bener than anyone else, and I am
the saint most detached from desire. I do nOt entertain
the thought that I am a saint detached from desire."
\ Vhat is absorption in noncontention? It means the mind of saints
h3s no arousal and quiescence, going and coming: there is only the
constant shining of basic aW3reness-therefore it is said to be ab-
sorbed in noncolltention.
The Sansl...Tit word for absorption, slI1l1adbi, means accurate recep-
tion, and accurate perception. Detachment from the ninety-six
kinds of false view is called correct perception.
In sp;lce there is sti ll contention between li ght :lIld {brk; in human
nature there is contention hetween falsehood and truth. if every
thought is always truc, and there is no f,llse consciousness, eve n for
a moment of thought. this is absorption in noncontention. One who
culth'ates this absorption is the best of human beings; if there is any
contentiousness of attaining fruition, then it is not ca lled absorption
in noncomention .
"\ Vadd Honored Onc, if I were to entertain the thought
that I have attained sainthood, then the \'\'orld Honored
One would not say Subhuti likes to frequent the wilder-
ness. It is because Subhuti really frequents nothing that
it is said Subhuti likes to frequent the wi lderness."
"vVilderness" means noncontentious behavior. Noncontention is
pure conduct. Pure conduct is for removal of consciousness of at-
tainment. If you rct:lin consciousness of attainment, this is conten-
tiousness. Contcntiousness is not the path of purity. Nways h;lVing
no sense of attainment is noncontentious conduct.
J a Adomillg a p,,,., Land
The emergence of the pure mind is the pure hmd. The forms of
adornment arc not adornment. Thercfore the sutra follows up with
a section on adorning a pure land.
 Cowmclltll1"Y 011 ,hI' DI AMOND SUTIIA
The Buddha s;lid to Su bhuti , " \Nhat do you think-
when the Realized One was with Dipankara Buddha in
the P:1St, did he gain anything in the way of truth?"
"No, \.vorld H onored One. The Realized O ne rea lly
did not gain anything in the way of truth from Dipankar.l
Buddha."
The Buddha posed this q uestion lest Subhuti have any conscious-
ness of attainment, in order to dispel this doubt. Subhuti knew that
truth is nor some thing to be gained. so he said to Buddha, "No."
Dip:mkara Buddha was the teacher who bt;)ve Sh:lkY:lInuni Buddha
direction, so Buddha asked Subhuti , " \Vas there anything for me to
gain from a teacher?"
Subhuti considered the truth to need pointin g out by a b>1.dde, but
I"c,llly not:lIl object of attainment. J ust realize the origina l puri ty of
your own nature, the oribrlnal freedom from mundane toils, so it is
c:1lm :md natural- then you will spontaneously realize buddhahood.
It shOllld be known th,lt the \A!orld Honored One actually did nOt
gain anything of truth from Dipankar:l Buddha. It is like the shi ning
of sunlight; it is boundless, yet cannot be grasped.
"Subhuti , what do you think--do bodhisattvas adorn
buddha-lands?"
"No, World Honored One. \Vhy? Adorning buddha-
lands is not adornment-this is ClUed 3dornment."
There are three kinds of adornment, concrete and ahstr:lct. First
is :ldornment of the buddha-land of the wOI'Jd; this means building
sanctuaries, copying sutras, practicing charity, and giving alms. Sec-
ond is :ldornment of the buddh,l-Iand of sight, which means 3cting
with respect tow;lrd all people in sight. Third is adornment of th e
mental buddha-bnd. \¥hen the mind is pure, the buddha -land is
pure. This means always working with the buddha-mind in every
momcnt of thought.
" Therefore, Subhuti, bodhisattva l11ahas;ltrv,ls should
gcncr:lte <1 pure mind thus: they shoul d not activate the
mind dwelling on form; they should not ;Ictiv,ltc the
mind dwel lin g on sou nd, scent, flavor, feeling, or phe-
nomena. They should :lctivatC the mind without dwel lin g
on anything."
,o8
C01ll1ll1'1I1111) 01/ rhl' DIA .\10ND SU'I"II,\
Practitioners should not di~cuss others' right or wrong, or chim
their own :lbility :md undcrst:l1lding while slighting those who have
not studied-this is not a pure mind.
\\'hen your intrinsic nature :11\\'a)'s produces insightful wisdom,
\'ou :lCt with ;In imparti,ll , kind , and compassion:lte mind , :lnd re-
~pcct all people, this is the purc Illind of a practitioner.
If you do not purify ),our own mind, but get obsessed with a pure
~r:ltc, your mind dwells on something-thi s is attachment to an
image of a phenomenon.
If you fixate on form s when you see forms. and activate your mind
dwelling on form, then you 3re a deluded person. If you are de-
tached from forms even as you see forms, and activate mind without
dwel ling on forms , then you arc an enlightened person.
\ Vhen you activate the mind dwelling on forms, it is like clouds
cm'cring the sky; when yOll activate the mind without dwelling on
forms, it is like the sky without douds, sun and moon always
shini ng.
Activating the mind dwelling on form is errant thought; activating
the mind without dwelling on form is true wisdom. V\Then errant
lhoughts arise, there is d:lrkness; when true wisdom shines, there is
light. In the light, afflictions do not occur; in the dark, objects of
the six senses insistently ari se.
"Subhmi , suppose a Illan had a body as big as the polar
mountain. Do you think this body would be large?"
Subhuti said. "Very large, \ Vorld Honored One. "'Thy?
The incorporeal spoken of by the Buddha is called a brge
body."
E\'en if the physical body is large. if the eap:lcity of the imler Illind
is sllla ll, it is not called :l large body. \ Vhcn the capacity of the inner
mind is vast as SIl:lCe. then it is e,ll1ed a large body. Even if the
physical body is :lS hig ;IS th e pobr mountain, th:lt docs not m:lkc it
la rge .
11 Tile SlIpe,-io,-ity of U,w-eated Blessillgs
Created blessings ;Ire limited; uncre:1tcd hlessings are incomp:lra-
bly superior. Therefore the smr:l follows up with a section on the
supe riority of uncreatcd blessings.
1 01)
 Commelltary 011 tbl' DIAMOND SUTRA
"S ubhuti, suppose there were as many Ganges Rivers
as there are grains of sand in the bed of the G;mges River:
wou ld the gr;]ins of sand in all those Ganges Ri vers be
many?"
Subhuti sa id , "Very many, World Honored One. The
rivers themsclves would be countless, fet alone their
sands. "
"S ubhuo, I am telling you the truth. If a good man
or good woman filled as many billion-world universes as
gTains of sa nd in that many Ganges Rivers with precious
subs[,lIlces, and used ;tll that to gi\'e in charity, would
there be much blessing gained?"
Subhuri said, "Very much, \Vorld Honored One."
The Buddha said to 5ubhuti, " If a good man or:l good
woman accepts and holds even the equiv:llem of a four-
line verse of this surra, and rells it to others, the blessing
in thi s exceeds the aforementioned blessing."
If you give precious things in ch;lriry, you will be rewarded with
worldly wealth and St:ltus, but if you expound the scriptures of the
Great Vehicle ,mel cause the hearers to dc\'elop gTeat wisdom, you
attain the supreme \Vay. So you shou ld know that the blessing of
accepting and holding surpasses the blessing of the aforementioned
precious su bstances.
12 H07lo1"illg True Te(lc/;i7lg
This SUtr;1 is revered and supported by celestial beings wherever
it may be. Therefore it follows up with a section on honoring true
teaching.
"Furthermore, Subhuti, wherever thi s sutra is ex-
pounded , even the equivalent of a four-line \'e rse, this
pl:lce is worthy of the offerings of all bein brs, hum,m , an -
gelic, or titanic, as if it were a shrine of Buddha,"
\,Vherever it Ill:1y be, if someone expounds this sutr:l, :ll w:tys pr;lc-
ticing freedom from thought, mind without consciollsness of :1[[:1 in -
ment, not speaking in terms of consciousness of subject and object,
if able to det:lch fro111 all states of mind, :llwa}'s remaining unposses-
C01lJuHm t llry 011 tbe D I AMON D SUTRA
sive, then there is the total -body relic of the Realized One in this
\'erv body. Therefore it says, "as if it were a shrine of Buddha."
Lf this sutra is expounded with a non possessive attitude, it will
Illove all types of beings ro come listen to it. If one's mind is not
pure, :lIld one just expounds this sut!";l for hunc and profit, at death
onc wi ll fall into the three mires-what henefit is there in that? If
this sutTIl is expounded with ~l pure mind, causing hearers ro be
rid of confusion, realize the original buddha-nature, and always ~lCt
genuinely, this wi ll move celestial beinbrs to bring offerings to the
person holding the scriprurc.
" How much the more if anyone can accept, hold, read,
and recite the whole thing: Subhuti, you should kJlOW
that this person achieves the highest, r,lrest state. \Vh er-
ever this surra lllay be, this person, like a reverent disci-
ple, considers Buddha to be there."
\~rh en your own mind ca ll recite this slltm, your own mind under-
stands the meanings of tlle sutra, your own mind embodies the
formless principle of having no fix;ltion, and you always practice
the conduct of Buddha whe rever you are, with unbroken attention
moment to moment, then your own mind is buddha.
13 Accepting lind H olding tbe
Teflcbi11g ACC1t1"flteiy
The ultimate 'Na}' has no name, but is named as an expedient;
practitioners accept and hold it by this nallle. Therefore the Slltr.1
follows lip with a section on ~Iccepting and holding the teaching
accurately.
Then Suhhuti Silid to the Buddha, " \"'orld Honored
One, what is this sutnl to be nallled? How should we
uphold it?"
The Buddha cold SlIbhuti, "Th is surra is named Dia-
mond Pnlj'll:Jp;lnllllic;/j you should uphold it by this name.
\Nhy? Su bh uti, the prajnaparamita explained by the Bud-
dha is not prajnaparamitil."
The Buddha expounded prajn"Jpar:lInita , perfection of wisdom, to
get learners to usc insight to dC<lr .tway the arous:!1 and quiescence
,"
 Comml'IIfIlI:V 011 ,be Dl \\IOSI) SUTR"
of the igntlr:lI11 mind. \ Vhcn arousal :md quiescence arc gone, une
arri\e'i at the Other Shore. If there is any sense of ;lttainmclll. one
docs nOI reach the Othcr Shore. \Vhen there is nOlhing in mind to
:main. this i.. the Other Shore.
"\ Vh:H do vou think, Subhuti-doe!> the Re;llil.cd One
have a docrri;lc to preach?"
Suhhuti said to the Buddha, "\\ 'orld Iionored One,
the Realized One has no doctrine."
Buddha asks Suhhuti, "\ Vhen the Realized One teaches, is there
any attainment in mind?" Subhuti knows there is no attainment in
mind when the Realized One teaches, so he says there is no doc-
trme.
Buddha's imcntion is to get worldly people to detach from the
sense of :lttain ing something-that is why he expounds the teaching
of pnljn:lparalllita to C,llIse all people hearing it to be inspired toward
enlightenment, realize the uncreated truth, and fulfill the unexcelled
path.
"Subhuti, what do you think-are there man" atolllS
in a hill ion-world unh'erse?" .
Subhuti said, "Very many, \ "arid Honored One."
"Subhuti, those atoms the Realized One says arc nOt
atoms. they are f..-alled atoms. The Realized One says dl:1t
the universe is not the universe, it is called the universe."
The Realil..ed One says the false thoughts in .thc natures of li\-ing
bein.!,.'S arc numerous as the :ltOI11S in a hill ion-world univer..c. All
li"in g beings have their buddha-n:lntre obscured hy (he ceaseless
appc;lr:InCC and disapl>car:mce of atoms or f;llse thou~ht..., :lnd do not
att:lin liherty. If you can tru ly ;md correctly pr,lctice the unfix:lled,
formless practice of pr:l jnaparamita in e\'ery moment of thought,
you rC;llize the mundanc toils of false thoughts :lrc none other (h;1I1
the pure natm'e of reality.
Since f:llse thoughts lIrC noncxistenl, the~' arc nOt atoms. lhey arc
ca lled atoms. \ Vhcn you underst:md reality is fa lsehood, you unt/er-
st,mel th:n f.1[.,ehood is rcality-realit:y :md fulsch()ud hoth di~;lppe;\r,
:lnd lhere is nothing else. Thererore it says they arc called :ltmm.
\ \fhen there arc no mundane toils in the mind, then this i.. a huddha-
universe; if there arc mundane toils in the mind, this is a uni'-ep,e or
I I!
C01ll'lIIeli/(II:Y 011 Ibe Dt"MnSIl SU1 KA
urdinary beinbrs. ndcrst;mding that false thoughts are empty and
null, he therefore says thc unl\'erse i!> not the uni,'ersc.
\ \ 'hen you wimcss the reality body of the Realized One, you see
all \\Orlds and function responsIVely wilhom fi:{ed convention. This
is called the uni,·erse.
"Subhuti , what do you lhink---can the Realized One
he seen by way of the dlirty-two marks?"
"No, \ Vorld Ilanored One, the Buddh;l cannot be
seen by way of the thirty-two m:trks. \vhy? The thirty-
twO marks explained by the Realized One are not marks,
they ,Ire called t he thirty-two marks."
The thirty-two marks arc thi n y-two pure practices. The thirty-
t\-IfOpure practices ;Ire cultivation or th e six paramiras in the five
sense organs and cultiv;1tion of formlessness and non fabrication in
the ment:ll sense org'ln. These are called the th irty-two pure pr:1C-
rices. If you alw;lYs carry out th ese thirty-two pure practices, then
vou can fulfill buddhahood; if you do not C:lrry out the thirty-two
pure practices, you will ne\'cr become a buddh;l. If you are merely
fascinated by the Rea lized One's thirty-two marks and do not culti-
"ate the practices of the thirty-two marks yourself, you can never
see the Realized One.
HSubhut1, suppose dlcre are brood men and good
women who b';vC countless Ih'e3 in charity. 1'(0\\ suppose
there are people who :lu:ept and hold the equivalent of
even :I four-line verse of this !>Ulra and e!\pbin it to oth-
ers; their blessirlb"S would he much more."
Nothing in the world is valued as much :IS life, but for the sake of
truth hodhisattvas give their lives to :111 beinb'S through infinite eons.
Yet though the hlessinb'S therein are mally, they still do not com p;lre
to the blessings of accepting ami holding four lines or this sutra .
Even if rou give up your hody for many cons, if you do not under-
"(.md emptiness :mel your errant states or mind arc nut elimin;lled,
you arc lifter ;111 an ordinary heing. 11m if you hold the sutra for ;1
:.ingle moment of thought, selr and person immediately end; once
false ideas ;Irc gone, you rc:liize huddhahood under the impact or
the words. $0 we know that man)' euns uf relim]ui .. hing the body do
not comp;lfe to the hlessinb..... in hu]t\ing rour lines rrom the surra.
'"
 C01ll1llell fm1 011 tbe DI ,BIOND SU 'I RA
14 A bsolut e Peace beyoud F017J1S
l lea rin g the sutra :mel und erst,lIlding the meaning, you aW:lken to
the Imnifcst:niun of rC:l lity :l lone. Therefore the sutn! follows up
with a section on absolute peace be}'ond forms.
Then Subhu ti , hearing the exposi tion of this sutrn,
profoundly understood the im l>ort. v"eeping, he sa id to
the Buddh:l, " It is wonderfu l, World l lonored One, how
the Buddha exVounels such :In extremel y profound scrip-
ture. 'vVh:lt with all the insight I h:lVC &'TIined sin ce lon g
ago, I have never gotten to hear such ,) sutra.
" \Vorld Iionored One, if there arc any people who get
to hear this sutra and have pure faith, this gives risc to
the manifestation of truth. One should know that such
peopl e accom plish the most wonderful virrues."
\ Vhen your own nature is not ignoram, that is called the eye of
insight. \Vhen you hear the teaching and understand it on you r own,
thar is (,,,lied the eye of the teaching.
Suhhuti was an arhat, a saint, foremost in understandi ng among
the five hundred disciples. He had already sen'ed many buddhas-
how coulp he not h:lVe heilrd such a profound teachi ng? I low cou ld
he say he first heard it from ShaJ.."yalTluni Buddha?
Then again, maybe \\ hat Subhuti had attained in the paSt was the
insight of hearers, and on l), now has he understood the Buddha's
intention, and so has finall y gotten to hear such a profound SUlra.
lI e \\ ceps because he laments not having understood before.
Il earing the surra with clear attention is called purity. From the
embodiment of purity flows the profound teaching of pmjnapara-
mita. We should know this is sure to accomplish the virtues of the
buddhas.
1<\ Vorld IIonored One, this l1lanifesmtion of truth is
not" form: therefore the Rea li zed One says it is ca lled
the manifestation of truth."
Even if you practice pure conduct, if you see dclilemellt and pu-
ri ty as two characteristics, whatever stri kes your feelings is all de-
filement, so this is not a pure mind . As long as there IS any
attainment in mind, this is not manifestation of truth.
"4
C01lnm:lIfll1Y 011 f be OlAMON!) SU 'rI!\
U\ Vorld Honored One, that I have now gotten 10 hear
such a sutra, believe in it, underst.1ncl it, and accept and
hold it, is nOt to be considered difficult. If, in a future
age, in the final five hundred years, th ere arc people who
get to hea r this surra, believe in it, understand it, and
accept and hold it, these people will be most rare, \ Vhy?
These people will h;\\'e no image of self, no image of
person, no image of a being, no image of a liver of life.
\ Vhy? The image of self is not a characteristic; the image
of person , the image of a being, and the image of a liver
of life arc not characteristics. Why? Bein g detached from
all images, they arc ca lled budd has."
Subhuti deepl}' understands the Buddha's intent. He sees for him-
self that once karma is exhausted and defilement is removed, the ere
of insight is thoroughly clear-to believe, underst:md, accept, and
hold then poses no difficulty.
\ Vhen the \Norld Honored One was in the world teaching, there
were sti ll countless people who could not believe, understand, ac-
cept, and hold-why only talk about the fina l five hundred years?
H'hen Buddha was in the world, even though there were people
of mediocre and lesser faculties, as well as disbelievers "nd doubters,
when they wen t to question the Buddha , Buddha would talk LO th em
according to wlut WjS approp riate for them, so none would fail to
understand. In the final fi ve hundred }'ears after [he Buddha 's de-
mise, the ending of the [caching was gradually being reached.
With the enlightened one long gone, only verbal teachings sur·
\;\'ed; if people had doubts, there was nowhere to ask questions.
Ignorant ;md confused, they held onto their attachments; not realiz.-
ing the lIncreated. they sea rched frnmically, obsessed wim forms,
revolving in all son s of stat es. By thi s time, those who respectfully
bclie\'e with a pure mind when they get to hear the profound SUlra ,
and realize the uncreated noumenon, would be extremely rare. That
is why Subhuti says they are going to be most rare.
Theil agTIin, in the final five hundred years after Buddha 's dem ise,
if there :lre people who ca ll believe, understand, accept, and hold
thc extl'c lllely profound sutr:1S of prajnaparamim, we know these
people have no images of self, person, being, or lher of li fe. Ahsence
of these four ill1:lgcs is called manifesta tion of truth; th is is the bud-
dha-mind, so Subhuti says that being det:lched from all images. the}'
arc called buddhas.
,,-,
 COUllll!'lIffll:V 011 fbe DIAMUNI) SUTIIA
Buddha srtid to Subhuti, " It is so. It is so. If, moreover,
thcre arc people who, on getting to hear this sutm, are
not shocked, nOt frightened, and not intimidated, know
that these people will be extremely rare.
" \ \ ny? Subhuti, the first perfcction the Realized One
eXl>ounds is not the first perfection; this is called the first
perfection. "
If the 1110lllh says it bUl the mind does not act on it, thar is not it,
If the mouth says it {llul the mind acts on it, that is it. If there are
subject and object in mind, th3t is nor it, If there are no subject and
object in mind, thar is it.
"Subhuri, the perfection of patience under insult the
Realized One says is not perfection of patience under in-
SUIL"
If you sec an insulting siturt ti on getting:lt your fee li ngs, thrtt is
not it. If you do not sec:I deme,ming situ:nion getting ilt your fee l-
ings, that is it. If you see :lny im;lge of personrtl St:ltus, ,mel so are
susceptible to injury by others, that is nor it. If you do not see any
image of personal st:ltus to be susceptible to injury by others, that is
right.
" \ Vhy? Subhuti, it is like when I was dismembered by
King Kali long ago. At that time I had no image of self,
no image of person, no image of being, :md no image of
a liver of life. \ Vhy? As I was being dismembered in the
past, if I had had an image of self, an illl!lge of person, an
image of being, and an image of a li\'cr of life, I wou ld
h:we becomc angry and hateful."
\ \'hen the Realized One was in the first st:lge during his develop-
mcntal ph:lse, he was a wi?...1rd of forbearance. I Ie was dismembered
by King K:lli , but had no thought of vexation (If the pain. If he h:ld
:1 sense of p;linful vexation, he would have heen :Ingcred.
King I<:IIi is :1 Sanskrit n:II11C that means imllloral, evil tyr..lIlt.
"Subhuti, I :1 150 remember th:lt in the pao;t I was a wiz-
:ml offorbear;lI1ce for five hundred gcncf:ltions, :Ind dur-
ing all that time I h:ld no image of se lf, no image of
person, no image of being, no image of:l li"er of life."
During his developmental ph:lse, the Rea li l.cd One cultivated
perfection of forbcar:lnce for O"C hundred generarions, getting the
,,6
C01llW!'lIffI1Y 011 fiJI' DIA:>'IONO 5UTHA
(OUf images not to occur. The Rea lized One's spont:lneous mention
of his p:lSt is to get all people who cuh:ivatc their beha\'ior to accom-
plish rhe practice of pcrfection of forbearance.
Those who practice [)Crfection of forbearance do not see anyone's
f.tullS, regarding enemy and friend as equal, none being right and
nonc being wrong. \ Vhen injured by others, they accept it gladly,
e,cn being more respectful. Those who behave in this way C3n ac-
complish perfection of forbearance.
"Therefore, Subhuti, bodhisattyas shou ld aspire to en-
lightenment detached from all images. They should not
Jcth'ate the mind dwelling on fonn, the)" shou ld nOt acti-
\'3tC the mind dwelling on sound, scent, Oavor, feeling,
or phenomena. They should :lcti\"ate the mind that docs
not dwell on anything."
"The~' should not activate the mind dwelling on fOl"m" is the
inclic:lto r of the wholc; the distinctions of so und, scent, etc., :Ire a
li~l of the names. People give rise to feelings of hatred :lnd love for
these objects of the six senses, and because of this sllbjecti\,iry they
accumu late countless knots of h:lhits that CO\'er up their buddha-
narure. Evcn if they labor al various pmctices, as long as ther ha\'e
not gotten rid of the defilement in [heir minds, there is no wa)' the~'
can be liberated. \\'hen rO il look into the root basis, it is all due to
hX;lting the mind on form.
If you can consranlly pmctice prajnaparamita momcnt to mo-
ment, figuring all thinb'"S arc empt)' and not conceiving clinging :Jt-
tJchmcllts, rou constantl), progress on ~'our own momcnt to
moment, singlemindedly keeping \\:ltch, not allowing any heedless-
nes~ or C3relessness. The ?III-r j\illll~ SlIrra says, " \\'hen seeking all-
knowledge beyond, it is ne\'cr not the time to seek." The major
Prujllfl Slffrtl says, "Bodhisattva nl;lhasath<lS work diligently dar :lnd
Il1gl11, :llwars :Ibiding in attention corresponding to perfection of
insiglll, never giving up, even for a while."
" If the mind dwells :m},,\he re, this is an abode."
If the mind dwells in ninana, this is nOl the abode ofboclhisatt\'as.
dwelling;n nir"ana, not dwelling 011 phcnomena, not dwelling
....... ot
;m)"wherc al all-fbis is the ahode of hodhis:ltt\'3s.
"This j ... \\ hv Buddha s.I\·S the minds of bodhisatt...as
should not d\\ell on lIlalter'as ther givc charity. Suhhuci,
"7
 COlllllll'lIfary 011 tb~ 01 ,"'10:-10 SUTRA
bodhisattvas should give in this w;ly so as to benefit all
beings."
~, Bodhisamras do nor practice chariey in hopes of personal pleasure.
I hey only practice ch;lrity to inwardly destroy sti nginess while Ollt-
wardly benefiting all beings.
"Thc Rea lized One, com ing from thusness, says that
all appcarances arc not characteristics, and that all beings
:Ire not beings."
1 "T~usness" Ill.cans nonbinh, "coming" means non perishing.
Nonblrth means Images such as self and person do nOt occur' non-
perishing m~ans awa r~ne~s does nOt die Out. In a I:ner pass'age it
says the Realized One IS said to come from thusness because of COIll-
ing from nowhere and going nowhere.
The Realized One says that appearances of sclf, person, and so on
ultImately can be destroyed and are IlOt substantial realities. "All
beings" is nothing but a provisional term: if you detach from the
errant mind, then there are no graspable «beings"-so it says they
"are not beinb'"S."
. "Subhuti, the Rea li zed One is one who speaks gcnu-
mely, one who speaks truly, onc who speaks as is, one
who spcaks without deception, one who speaks withou t
contradiction ."
One who speaks genuinely says all beings, 1II1imate and inanimate,
ha~'e a. buddha-narure. One who s]>eaks truly sars beings who do
evd WIll su rely experience painful consequences while those who
cultivate good ways will surely have pleasant c~nsequences. One
who speaks without deception S.'IYS the re;llity of perfect insight pro-
duces the buddhas of past, present, and future, certain ly, of a truth.
One who spe:lks without contradi ction , the RC:llized One teaches
e1.ementary ~ood, intennediate good, and final good. The intent of
hIS message I S extreme ly subtle; no fa natics or cultists can surpass or
break down the words of Buddha.
"Subhuti, the truth rcalized by the Realized One has
neither realiry nor unreality."
Th~re is n~ reality in the sense that the esscnce of things is empty
:lI1d sl lcnt, WIth no appC:lr:Ir1Ce th:lt can be apprehended. And yet
".
Cowmentary 011 tbe DIAMOSD 5t;TRA
there ;lrc countless inhercnt potencies within it, wh ich arc not hid-
df.:ll II hen put to use; and so it sa)"s there is no unrealiry either.
You rnay want to say it i:. real, yet no defining characteristics can
be foundj you may want to sa}' it is unrcal, yet it functions without
interruptio n. Therefore it cannot be s:l id not to e;(ist, yet callnot be
5alll to exist. It can be nOlhing, yet is not nothing; no words or
met;lphors ca n reach it-does this Ilot describe true wisdom alone?
There is no way to reach this without cultivating conduct de-
tached from forms and appc:mmces.
"Subhuti, if bodhisattvas practice giving in charity
Ilith their minds dwelling on things, they are like people
who have gone into d:lrkness and so see nothing."
If the mind has any .lbiding attachment to thin!-"S, then one does
not re:llize the cssentia l emptiness of giver, receiver, ;md gift. One
is like a blind man in the dark; norhing is clear. When the F1ov:er
OI'll({lIIt'11t Surra says that thc listeners in th e Re:llized One's audi-
ellte~ II ere as if blind and deaf, it is because they were dwelling on
thc appea rances of things.
" If bodhisatl:l':ls pr.:actice giving charity with their
minds not dwelling on things, the)' arc like people with
sight in the sunlight, seeing :111 sons of shapes and
colors. "
If bodhlsal'tvas always practice the nonattached formless practicc
of prajnaparamita, they are like people with sight in broad day-
light-wha t would thcy not scc?
"Subhuti , in fumre ages, if there are good mcn and
good women who :lrc able to accept and hold this sutra,
rC:ld and recite it, the Re;ll i7..ed One \\ ill know and see all
of thesc people by mCans of enlightened wisdom; all of
them will develop infinitc, boundless virtues."
_"In future :lgcs" means the last fil'c hundred rears afrer the ex-
[mellon of the Rea lized One, times of ]>Dllution and evil, when f:llsc
doctrillcs will arise in profusion and true tC;lching Will bc hard to
Clrry om. Tn thosc times, if therc are good men and good women
who Come in contact with this sutr:l, rtcell-c it from te:lchcrs, read
anti recite it mindfully, pcrsc\'cre withollt forgelting, cultivate prat-
titc ;Icc(jnling- to the meaning, :111<1 rC;llize the knO\\ ledgc and I'lsion
 COmmt'lJtll1J 011 fbe 011' \101"0 S U TRA
of buddhas, thcn they can accomplish unexcelled enlightenment. By
this the budd has of the J>3st, present, 3nd future know them all.
15 The Vi1'w es of H o/di7l g tbe Snt"n
Accepting and holding, reading and reciting, sel f-help and help_
ing others-the vi rnl es are boundl ess, and can not be measured.
Thercfore the sutm follows up with :1 section on the virtues of hold-
ing the sutra.
"Subhuti , suppose there are good men and good
women who in the morning gi\'e in charity as many bod-
ies as there are brrains of sand in the Ganges Rh'er, then
in the afternoon again give in ch:lrity as m;lIly bodies as
there are grains of s:lIld in the Ga nges River, ;md then in
the evening also give in ch:lrity as many bod ies :lS there
:ll'\! grains of s:l nd in the Ganges Ri ver, ;md go 0 11 giving
bodies in ch:lritv this wav for countless hundreds of thou-
sa nds of myri:lds of millions of eons. No\\ suppose there
are people who hear this surra, belie\'e in it, and do not
o ppose it. The blessings of these latter people surpass
those of the fo rmer; how much the more so if they cop)'
the surra, accept and hold it, read and recite it, and ex-
phlin it to others!
Buddha says that in the time of the ending of the teaching, if you
get to hea r this surr:!, and you believe in it ;1Il() do nOt oppose it, and
the four images do not occur, then this is the knowledge and vision
of buddhas. The \'irnles of such people Ell' 'iurpass the virtues of
givi ng up the bod), for many eons. The blessinb"S in hearing the sUU'a
fo r even :l moment are still many; how much the more if you ca n
copy it, accept and hold it, and explain il to others. People who
ca n do this will certainly accomplish unexce lled complete pcrfect
enli ghtenment.
This is why all sons of exped ients are used to expound this cx-
tremely profound scri pture, causing detachment from all appear-
ances and attainment of unexcelled suprClllC perfect en lightenment.
The blessings realized :Ire boundless.
Giving up the body for Illany eons means rou have not under-
stood the funci:lmenta l emptiness of all thing\; YOll h;lve subject and
" 0
COlll1J1enttlry 011 the DI AMOND SUTR ,\
object in mind, and have not gonen beyond .rhe view of living be-
inl!S. If YO ll can awaken to the \Vay on hea rmg the Sutra, s~ lf and
e-rson end at once, and rou rea lize buddhahood under the Impact
Pf the words. The contaminated blessings of giving up the body
~ctuaJJy ca nnot compare to the uncontaminated wisdom of hol~ing
the surra . Therefore even if you gather treasures from the ten dlre~­
dons and give up the body in the past, prcsen t, and future, that IS
not comparable to holding a four -line verse of the sutra.
" In sum, Subhuo, this sutra has inconceivable, immca-
surable, boundless virtues:"
Pcople who hold the SUtTa have ~o e~o 0 .1' poss~~ions in mind.
BeC3use thcy have no ego or possessIons In nund, thlS!S thc buddh~­
mind. The virtues of the buddha-mind are boundless. T herefore It
is sa id that thesc \·irnlCs cannot he measured.
"the Re:llizcd One expounds it for those who set Out 0 11
the G reat Vehicle; he expounds it for those who set Out
on t he 5 uprernc \ 'eh'ICIe. ..
The Great Vehicle is a matter of \'ast knowledge and wisdom,
skillfully able to establish all teachings. The Supre,:"c Vehicle ,.s a
matter of not seeing defiled things to reject, nOt seerng pure thmgs
to seek not seeing living beings to liberate, nOt seeing nirvana to
realize,' nor entertainin g the idea of liberatin g li ving beings, not ell-
tertai ning the idea of not libenltin g living bei ngs: this .is ca lled the
Supreme Vehicle, and it is also c:llled all-knowledge. It IS als~ call.ed
acceptance of nonorigination, and it is also ca lled great prilJna, 111-
sight or wisdom.
" If there are people who ca n accept and hold, read .and
recite, and explain extensivcly to people, the Rea lrzed
One knows all these people and sees all these pcople;
every one of them achi eves immeasu rable, incalcu.lable,
boundless inconceivable virtues. Such pcople are rn ef-
fect be:lril~g th e unexcelled complete perfect enlighten-
1l1Clll of the Realized One."
If there are pcople who determine to seek the unexcel led enlight-
enment of Buddhas, when they hear this fo rmless, unconm\·ed. ex-
tremely profound teaching, they will believe and understand it.
accept and hold it, and cxplain it to others to ena ble them [Q under-
I! I
 C01ll1ll1!IItilry olllbe DI\\IOSO SUTIIA
Stand it deeply and nOt repudi:ltc it. Only when one has attained
great power of forbearance, grcat power of wisdom, and !,'Teat IXlWer
of expedient mcans can one spread this SUlra.
\Vhen people of superior faculties he;lr this scripture, thcy attain
profound understanding of the Buddha's intent and hold the Sutra
in their own minds. \\fhen their perception of essential nature is
consummate, then they start working for the benefit of others. Able
to explain to others, they enable snldents to realize the fom1 1ess
truth for themselves, see the Realized One in their fundamental na-
ture, and fulfillun e,\:ce lled enlightenment.
The virtues attained by those who expound the teaching are
boundless, immeasurable. Hearing the SUtr3, undersronding the
meaning, cultivating practice according to the teaching, also being
;lbl<: to explain extensively for other people, ena bling them to under-
stand and cultivate formless, unattached practice-by being able to
carry out these actions, they arc imbued with the light of great wis-
dom and get out of mundane toi ls. But even though they get Out of
lIlund:me toils, they do not entert:.lin the thought of getting out of
mundane toils; thus they attain unexcelled complete perfect enlight-
enment. Therefore the)' are said to bear the Realized One. We
should know that I>cople who hold the scripture are n:nu rally im-
bued with measureless, houndless, inconceiv:!ble virtues.
"\iVhy? Subhuti, those who t:lke plcasure in lesser
teachings are attached to the idea of self, the idea of per-
son, the ide:! of a being, and the idea of a liver of life; so
they cannot listen receptively to this surra, read or recite
it, or cxplain it to others."
"Those who take pleasure in lesser teachings" refers ro the listen-
ers of the Two Vehicles. They are pleased with lesser results and do
not aspire to the grea t; therefore they cannot accept or hold, read
or recite, or explain lO others the profound tcaching of the Realiz.ed
One.
"Subhuti, where\'er this sutra may be, in whatever
place it Imy I>c, it should be provided support by all be-
ings, celestial, human, and titanic. You should know that
this place is a stupa, which all should honor, bow to, and
circumambulate, and strew with Oowcrs and scents."
If one recites prajna \'crbally and practices pmjna mentally, wher-
ever one may be, in wh;lte\'Cr pl:lce, one always practices uncon-
I! l
Commelllll'-y 011 ,br ))IA\IONO SUTRA
[rh'cd, formless practice. \ Vhcrever this person is, it is as if there
were a monument of Buddha there, moving all celestial and human
beings to bring offerings of support and cOllrteollsly honor the per-
son ;IS no different from Buddha. If one can accept and hold the
sutra, within dlis person's mind there is inherently a World lion-
ored One. That is why it is said to be like a shrine of Buddha. You
should know that the blessings realiz.ed are infinite.
16 Th e Cnp{/city to Clem" Awny
Kn1'1l1ic Obstn/,ctiol1S
The resulting consequences of sinful actions as numerous as
,.,'Tains of sand in the Ganges River are eliminated in a single mo-
;nent of thought.
" Furthennore, Subhuri, if good men and good women
accept and hold and read and recite this sutra, if they. arc
sligh ted by others, those people .shou.ld have ~allen mto
miserable ways because of theIr Illisdeeds III former
times; but because of being slighted by others in the pres-
ent the misdeeds of former times arc thereby erased, and
thc~ will attain unexcelled complete perfect en lighten-
ment."
Buddha says that people who hold the sutra should have the
honor and support of all celestials and humans, yet because of the
existence of obstructions by grave actions of earlier life, even if they
currently manage to accept and hold the extremel)' profound scrip-
ture of the buddh:ls, nevertheless they arc always slighted by others
and do nOt get people's honor and support. But because they accept
and hold the scripnlre themselves, they do not conceive of images
of person or self, and always act respectfully, whether to enemy or
friend, without any ve.,'(ation or bitterness in mind, innocent of all}'
calculalion, always practicing I'rajnapar:nnila moment ro moment,
witholll backsliding. Because they are able to pnlctice in this W:1Y,
they are :lble to dissolve the barriers caused by evi l deeds frolll infi-
nite eons past up to the present life.
Also, speaking in terms of principle, "fanner times" means the
confused mind of the preceding thought, while "the present" mcans
the awake mind of thc succeeding thought. Because the :lwakc mind
 COllllllelltll1) 011 tbe D U, .\ 10ND SUTIIA
of the succeeding thought slights the confused mind of the preced_
ing thought, the confusion cannot rem ain. Th\!refore it S:lys th:lt the
misdeeds of former times are thereby erased. Once confused
thoughts h:1V\! disappeared, misdeeds do not happen, so o ne atta ins
en lightenment.
"Subhuti, I remember how in the P;lSt, over incalcula-
ble eons in the presence of Dipanbra Buddha , I gOt to
meet eight hund red four th ous;l nd myriad z.illions of
buddhas; f supported and se rved e\'ery o ne of them, nOt
missing a single opportunity. If, however, there is some-
one in the final age who can accept and hold ;1I1d re:1d
and reci te this sutra, the virtues reali z.ed thereby are such
th:lt the virtues of my support of th ose budd h'as do not
amount to a hundredth IX1rt, to a trillionth p:lrt, indeed
to any num erica l or figura tive part. "
The various blessings of supporting cou ntl ess bud dh;lS, giving
away treasures fillin g the universe, o r giving up bodies as nu merous
as atoms, ca nnot reach holding th e sutra and reali zin g th e uncre;lted
truth in an instant of thought, stoppi ng the expecta nt mind, depart-
ing from the deluded cogn ition and perception of ordinary people,
and thus arrivi ng at paramita , the Other Shore, forever leaving the
three mires, realizing nirvana without remainder.
"Subhuti , if I were to fully expound the vi rtues realized
by good men and good women who accept and hold and
read and recite this surra in the final 1ige, people who
heard it would become mentally disturbed and would nor
believe."
Buddha sa id that the people living in the age of the ending of the
teaching wou ld be slight in \'irrue and heavi ly defi led, their jealous-
ies eve r deepening, their f:l lse vi\!ws proli fe rating. At this time, if
there 11 re good Ill en and good women who accept and hold and read
and recire this sutra , fulfillin g the teaching witham any sense of
anainm ent, constantl y practicing kindness, compassion, joyfulness,
and equ:lnimity, humble and gentle, th ey wi ll ultimately fulfi llunex-
cell ed en lightenment. There may be peopl e who do not know the
Reali zed One's true teaching is eterna l :md unpe rishi ng; they will
surely become fri ghtened :md will nOt believe when they hear that
in the final fi \'e hundred years after tlle Realized One's dl.!3th, people
C01ll 7ll ClltIl 1)' 011 tbe D I AMOND SUTII"
will atta in unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment if they ca n
accomplish a formless mind and carry out forml ess practice.
"Subhuti, YO ll shou ld know that the principle of this
sutra is inconceiva ble, and its reward is also inconceiv-
able."
The principle of this sutra is unlixated formless practice. The ex-
pression "inconceivable" praises the ca pacity of unflxated fornlless
pnlctice to fulfill unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment.
17 Ultimate Selflessness
The re is originally no self- how could there be a person? In order
to liberate people, the self is provisionally defined. Therefore the
surra fo ll ows up with a section on ultimate selfl essness.
At th:lt poim Subhuti sa id to the Buddha, " \ 'Vorld
Honored One, when good men and good women awaken
the inspiration for unexcelled complete perfect enlight-
enment, how should they live? I-low should they conquer
their minds?"
The Buddha told Subhuti, "Good men and good
women who have awakened the inspiration for unex-
celled complete perfect enl igllt(:nment sho uld develop an
attitude like this: ' I shou ld liberate all li ving beings
through extinction. After havi ng liberated all living be-
ings through extinction , there is nOt a single livi ng being
who has actua lly been liberated through extinction.' "
Subhuci asks the Budd ha, " I.n the fi nal five hundred years after
the demise of the Rea lizcd One, if therc are people who aspire to
unexcel led complete perfect en ligh tenmen t, what principle should
they live bv, and how shoul d they conq uer their minds?" Buddha
sa\'~ that they shou ld be determined to liber:lte all li vi ng beings.
H~ving libcr;ted ~lll living beings so tha t they have rea lized buddha-
hood, they are not to entertain the notion tllat they have liber:lted
c\·en one living being. \Vh )'? In order to get rid of the sense of
subject and object, ro get rid of the notion that there are living
beings, and also to get rid of the notion of themselves seeing.
1 ~ 5
 CommeJlffny Oil fbe DIAMOND So rllA
"\ Vhn is me reason? Subhuti, if bodhisattvas h~\'e an
image of a self. an image of a person, an image of a being,
or an image of a li\'er of life, then they arc not bodhi-
sattvas."
If bodhisauvas ha\'e the nmion that there are living beings to be
liberated, this is an image of self. If they have the sense that they
ca n liberate living beinbtS, this is an image of person. If they think
nin'ana can be sought, this is an image of a being. If they have the
notion of the existcnce of !lin'an;'! to be rcalized, this is an image of a
liver of life. Those who ha\'e these four images are not bodhisattvas.
"\Vhat is the reason? Subhuti, in reality there is no
state of awakening the inspiration for unexcelled com-
plete perfect enlightenment."
The existence of a state refers to the four phenomena of self,
person, and so on. Unless you get rid of these four phenomena , you
will nc\'er reali'l.C enlightenment. If you say " I am inspired to seck
enlightenm ent," this is also self, person, and so on, which are at the
root of afflictions.
"Subhmi, what do vou think-when the Realized One
was with Dipankara Buddh3, was there 3n)' state of at-
taining unexcelled com plete perfect enlightenment?"
"No, \ Vorld Honored One. As I understand the mean-
ing of wh3t the Buddha S;I),S, when the Buddha was with
Dipankara Buddha there W::IS no s(ate~ of attaining unex-
cell ed complete perfect enlightenment."
The Buddha s,lid, "Th at is so. Th:n is so. Subhuti, in
re::llity there is no state in which the Realized One at-
tained unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment.
"Subhuti, if there were a state in which the Realized
One attained unexcelled complete perfect enlighten-
ment, then Dipanbra would not have given me the pre-
diction, ' In a future age you will be a buddha named
ShaL.),:1muni.'
"Bec:lUse there was in reality no state in which I at-
tained uncxcelled complete perfect enlightenment,
therefore Dip;mbra Buddh:l ga\'e me the prediction, say-
ing, 'In a future age rou will be a huddh:1 named Shakya-
muni.' \ Vh}'? Because the realization of the Realized One
is the meaning of the such ness of all t.hin~tS. "
I ~ r.
COlll1ll f!lIlfll:r 0111hl' DIA\ION[) SUTII\
Buddha says there really is no self, person, being. or li\'er of life;
ani)' thus did he recei\'e the prediction of enlightenment. If I had
jny notion of being inspired to enlightenment, he sa),s, then Di-
pankar:t Buddh:l would not have given me the prediction. Because I
rC311y did not attain anything, Dip:lnkar:l Buddh:l therefore gave me
the prediction. This seclion establishes the meaning of selflessness.
As for the sllchness of :111 things, u:lllthings" means form, sound,
scent, fl:1vor, feeling, and phenomell:l. To be ;Iblc to distin~l'Llish
these objects of the six scnses while rermining fuml;lJllCllrall}, e llm ,
not being influenced b)' them or fiXtllCd on them, never altered,
unmoving as sp:tce, completely penetrating with thorough clarity,
ever-present through all time-this is called the meaning of the
suchness of all things.
The Bodbisllftvfl's Nul.:lllce SlIfm says, "Being unmoved by sl:tndcr
or praise is the practice of the Realized Ones." The Surra 011 EI1,.,Y
infO tbe Spbere ofBllddbas StlYS, "Being unaffected by desires, respect-
ful obeisance reg3rds nothing."
" If anyone says that the Realized ne has att;lined WI-
excel led complete perfect enlightenment, Subhuti, really
there is no such thing as the Buddha atrnining unexcelled
com plete perfect enlightenment. Subhuti, in lhe unex-
celled com plete perfect enlightenment attai ned b}, the
Realized One, there is neither rC31ity nor unreality."
Buddha says that he actua lly has no notion of 3ttaining anything,
yet realizes enligh tenment. It is because the notion of att3ining
something docs not occur that he realized en lightenment.
Outside of this mind, there is no enlightenment to be realized:
therefore he sa)'s there is no reality. The sense of attainment is nil,
all-knowledge is inherent, myriad practices are all fulfilled, and in-
{:alculable potential functions without lack, so he 5;1)'5 there is no
unreality.
"Thcrefore the Realized One says (hat all things arc
Buddha's leachinbtS. Subhuti, 'all things' are not ;111
things; therefore the)' are called 'allthinbrs.' "
Ment.llIy frec from grasping and rejecting anything, and also free
froll1 subjcct and object, he dearly defines ;111 things yct his mind i-,;
always empty and silent; therefore he kllo\\'~ lllllhillbtS arc Buddha's
teachings.
I 17

Lest the deluded greedily cling to :Ill things ;\S Buddha's teach~
inbrs, in order to eliminate this disease he sa)'s that ":til things" are
not all things. There is no subject or object in his mind, which is
silent yet ever aware; stability and insight are equally oper:ttive, sub~
Stance and function are one-therefore "they are called:tll things."
"For example, Subhuri, it is like a person whose body
is large."
Subhuti said, " World Honored One, the Re:tlized One
s:tys that a person whose body is large is not large bodied,
but is called large bodied."
The Realized One says that a person whose body is large is not
brge bodied in order to show that the re;iliry body of all living be-
ings is nOt two and has no limit. Thi s is c:1lled large hodied. The
rcality body hmd,lmentallr has no location, so it is said to be nOt
l<lrge bodied. Also, cven if the physical body is brge, if ant.: hils no
wisdom within, then one is not large bodied. Evcn if the physical
body is sma ll, if one has wisdom within, then one C<ln bc called l<lrge
bodied. Even if one has wisdom, if one cannot :ICt in accord with it,
then one is not large bodied. If one practices in ;lccord with the
teaching <lnd awakens to the unsurp<lssed knowledge :md vision of
the buddh:1s, the mind has no limitations of subject :1ncl object; this
is c:1 lled l<lrge bodied.
"Subhuri , bodhisattvas are <llso like this. If they say, ' I
am going to liberate coundess livill¥ beings,' then they
are not to be called bodhisattvas."
Ifbodhisattvas say, "Other people's <lfAictions are removed by my
tC:1ching," then this is religious ego. If they S<l)" "I h<l"e liberated
living beinb'S," then this is possessi,'eness. Even if they libemte be-
ings, if they lm'e subject and object in mind, ,me! the sense of self
and other is not removed, thev cannot be called bodhis;lttV;ls. If
they fully expound <lll sorts or' expedient methods, educating and
liberating living beings, without any subj ect or object in mind, then
they are bodhisattvas.
"Vv'hy? Subhuti, in reality there is no such thillg :IS a
'bodhiS<lttva.' Therefore Buddha says th<lt ;111 things h:tve
no self, no person, no being, <lnd no li,'er of life.
"Subhuti, if bodhis:lt1:Y:ls say, " am going to ,ldom a
COllJJIIClltll1J 011 tbc ])1 \.\IOND SUTlIi\
buddha-13nd,' they <lre not to be called bodhis;1tlvas.
\ Vhy? The Realized One S;lrS th<lt adorning buddha-
lands is Ilot adornment, it is c;llled adornment."
If bodhisatn'as S<lY, " I C<ln construct a world ," then they arc not
bodhis<ltn':ls. Evcn ir they conStruct a world, if dley ha,"e subject and
object in mind, they arc not bodhisattvas. If the), fully construct a
world without a sensc or subject or object occurring, they are called
bodhisam'as. The Sun"1 a/Supremely Subtle Stllbili-.:.ntioll says, "E\'en
if people C<ln construct pure silver s:tTlctua ries filling the universe,
that is not as good as st<lbilizing the mind in rnedimtion for one
moment of thought." If there ;lre subject and object in mind, then
it is not stabiliz<ltion in meditation. If subject and object do not
occur, this is c;ll1ed smbiliz~llion in rnedit;ltion. Stabiliz<ltion in med-
it:llion is the pure mind.
"Subhuti, if bodhisaltv,ls realize selflessness, the Re<ll-
ized One S<lys they afe true bodhisatn'"s ."
\ Vhen you are not obstructed by the characteristics of things, that
is c<llled realization. Not enrerr<l ining the notion of understanding
things is called sel Oessness. Selflessness is what the Realiz.ed One
calls true bodhis:tttvahood. Those who practice according to their
ability can also be called bodhis<ltn':ls, but dley are not yet actually
true bodh isattvas.
\ Vhen understa nding and application are perfectly fulfilled, and
all scnse of subject and o bject is ended, only then can it be s<lid that
one is <l true bodhisatn';l.
18 1711Pfl1"lifll View of 01lwess
One eye includes five eyes. one particle of sand includes the grains
of sand in the Ganges; one world includes many worlds, one mind
includes a plurality of minds. Therefore the sut..., follows up with a
section on imparti;11 view of oneness.
"Subhuti, what do you think-does the Re:llizeel One
have the ph)'sic~ll eye?"
"Yes, \Vorlel Honored One; the Realized One has the
physical eye."
12 9

C01llmelltllry 011 ,be DIA\1 0NO SU 'III"
"Subhuti , what do you think--<Iocs the Realized One
h:.we the celestial eve?"
" Yes, \Vorld Ho'nored One; the Reali zed One has the
celestial eye."
"Subhuti, wh:n do you think--<Ioes the Re:llized One
h:lve the wisdom eye?"
"Yes, World Honored One; the Re:'llized One has the
wisdom eye."
"Subhuti , what do you think-does the Re::Jlized One
have the reality eye? "
"Yes, \Vorld Honored One; the Rea li zed One has the
reality eye."
" Subhuri , what do you think---does the Realized One
have the enlightened ere?"
"Yes, \"'orld Honored One; the Realized One has the
enlightened eye."
All people h:lVe five eyes, but they ca nnot see by themselves be·
C:luse they are covered by confusion. Therefore the Buddh:l teaches
that when we get rid of confusion, the five eyes open up clearly.
By putting the teaching of pnljnaparamita into practice moment to
moment, we first get rid of the confused ment'Jliry; this is called the
first, physical eye. \Vhen we see that all living beings have buddha·
nature and we develop a compassionate ani tude, this is ca lled the
second, celestia l eye. \¥hen folly docs not occur, this is called the
third, wisdom eye. ""hen the mentality of fixation on phenomena is
eliminated , this is called the fourth, re:llity eye. Vv'hen subtle confu·
sions arc perm:lIlently ended and complete clarity illumines every-
where, this is called the fifth , enlightened eye.
Also, seeing that there is the reality body within the physical body
is called the celestial eye. Seeing that all living beings have the es-
sence of prajna in them is called the wis<lol1l eye. Seeing nature with
penetrating clarity, subject and object forevcr eliminated, all the
teachings of Buddha originally inherent, is called the reality eye.
Seeing prajnaparamita can produce all tcachin!,'S of past, present,
and future is callcd th e enlightened eye.
" Subhuti , what do you think---does the Buddha say the
grains of sa nd in the Ganges Rh'er arc sand?"
" Yes, World Ii onored One. The Realized One 5.1 YS
they arc sand."
, )0
COIII'llll!lIffiTy ()II fbI! DI A MOND SUTIIA
"Subhuti, what do you think- if there were as m:my
Ganges Rivers as there are grains of sand in the Ganges
River, would buddha-worlds as numerous as grains of
sand in that many Ganges Rivers be m:,my?"
" Very many, \Vorld Honored Onc."
The Ganges Rivcr is ncar the sanctuary in theJeta G rove. \"'hen
the Re:'llized One t:ltIght, he used this river for examples. The Bud·
dha likens cadi gr;lin of sand in the river to :1 world, and asks if they
arc ma ny. Subhuti rcplies th:n they arc very many. The Buddha cites
this many lands in order to illustr:lte how each of the living beings
therein has so Illany mental states.
The Buddha told Subhuti , "The many mental states of
the many beings in that many lands arc all known to the
Re:llized One. \-\fhat is the reason? The Realized Onc
says that those minds arc not mind, they arc ca lled
mind. "
E:lch of the beings in those many worlds has numerous different
states of mind. Many as these states of mind may be, they arc all
referred to as deluded mind. Recognizing that deluded mind is nOt
mind is ('"a lled mind. This mind is the tnlC mind, the constant mind ,
the enlightened mind, the mind of transcendental insight, the mind
of puriry, enlightenment, and nin'"::Jna.
" \ Vhat is the reason? Subhllli, the past mind cannot be
grasped , the present mind cannot he grasped, lind the
future mind cannot be gr:lsped."
The past mind cannot be grasped in that the deluded mind in the
preceding thought h:1S al ready passed in a fla sh, and there is no·
\\ here to pursue it or look for it. The present mind cannOt be
grasped in that the truc mind has no fOnll , so how can it be seen?
The future mind ca nnot be grasped in that there is originally noth-
Ing that ca n be grasped; when habit energies have been exhausted,
they do not occur :lg·ain. Reali z.ing that past, present, and future
mind canllOt he grasped is called being;1 buddha.
19 The Teaching PeI'vl/dil1g
the Cosmos of Rel/lities
The entire cosmos of realities is pervaded by one teaching; the
field ofhlcssinb'" of precious SUbSl:lllCCS ca nnot compare to four lines
' 3'
 CommCllffll), olllbl' DJi\\JOND SUTKA
. of the sutra. Therefore it follows up with .1 secti on on the leaching
pen"lding the casillas of realities.
"Subhuti, what do you think-if someone were to fill
the uni\'crse with precious substa nces to usc for giving in
ch:lri ty, would this person brain Iluny blessings because
of this?"
"Yes, \ Vorld l-ionord One. This person would gain
vcry 111;II1Y blessings because of this."
"Subhmi, if blessings had su bstance, the Rea lized One
wou ld not say that many blessings ;Ire gained. Because
blessings are nonexistelll, therefore the Realized One
s:lys many blessings are g:lined."
The blessings of precious substances cannot fulfill the enlighten-
ment of buddha hood, so they 'Ire sa id to be nonexistent. Bec:l use
thqr have no limit of quantity or number, hlessings :Ire said to be
man y, but if you can transcend, then yOll do not say they :Ire 111:lny.
20 Detacbment ji"om Fonlls fl17d Appefl1"ftllCeS
'rVith the three embodiments complete, .111 their Chllr:Jcteri stics
are completely realized. Since person and phenomen:1 ;1re both for-
gotten, this is not perfection. Therefore the slltra follows up with a
section on detachment from forms and appcamnces.
"Subhuti, what do you think---Clll the Buddha he seen
by his perfect physicall)()(ly?"
"No, \.Vorld Honored One. The Realized One is not
to be seen by his perfect physical body. ' Vhy? The Real-
ized One S;lyS the perfect physical body is not a perfect
physical body, it is called a perfect physical body."
The Buddh:l 's concern is that people may not see the reality hody
and only sec the thirty-two [lurks, the eighty refinemcnts, and the
vio let-go ld luster, and consider these tn be the true body of the
Reali zed One. In order to gCt rid of this confusion, he :Isks SlIbhuti
whether or not the Buddha can be seen hy his perfect physical hody.
The thirty-two JTlarks arc not the perfect ph~ls ic:11 body; inwardly
fulfi!ling the thiny-two pure practices is wh:n is called th e perfect
physical body. The pure pr;1ctices :lre the si...: perfections; cultivating
the six perfections in the lil'c sense org:ms .md culriv;lting both Ha-
13 !
COm1lf1'II1II1:V 01/ Ibl' DI ,\.\IOND SUTRA
hiliz;1tion ;lIld insight in the mind organ is c illed the perfect physicil
ho{ly. If you JUSt admire the thirty-two 1ll:lrks of the Realized One
,IIHI do not c.lrry out Ihe thirty-two pure practices inwardly, then
Ihi~ is not the perfect physic:II hody. If you do not care about the
Realized One's physical body but can yourself maint:.lin pure con-
ducr, this can still be called the perfect physical body.
"Subhuti, what do ,'ou think-can the Realized One
be seen by the full cOIl~plemenr of distingu ishing marks?"
"No, ''''orld Honored One. The Re.l lized One is not
to be seen b}' the fuJI compleme nt of distinguishing
marks. Why? T he Realized One says that the full com-
plement of distin~,'uishing marks is not the full comple-
ment, it is called the fuJI complement of distinguishing
m.lrks." .
The ~Iathagata, or Realized One, is the formless body of reality.
It C;\I1110t be seen by the physical eye; it can only be seen by the
wisdom eye. \Vhen the wisdom eye is not yet fully clear, and one
conceives im.lges of self, person, :Inc! so on, and views the thirty-two
di~tinb'Uishing marks as the Re:llized One, then that is nor called
complete.
\\nen the wisdom eye is thorouglr de:lr, and images of self, per-
~on, and so o n do not occur, the light of true knowledge shines
contin uously. This is e:llled the full com plement of distinguishing
ll1:1rb. Those who ;Ire still infected with the three poisons yet say
they ~ee the true body of the Realized One ca nnot be right; e\'en if
they can see something, it i~ only :1 projected body, not the true
formless body of reality.
21 Not P'"etlcbillg II Doctrine
"Ellki ng about emptiness all (by docs nOt say:l single word. If you
~ay he has a doctrine, yuu arc slandering the Realized One. There-
fore the surr:l follows up with:1 section on not preaching a doctrine .
"Subhuti, do nOI S:ly that lhe Re:liized One entertai ns
this thought: 'I shou ld preach some doctrine.' Do not
enteruin this thought. \ Vhy? [I' ;lIly say the Realized One
pre;lChes any doctrine, they ;lre si:lndering the Buddha,
hecluse they c:llmot understand wh;lt I say. Suhhuti, the
1.1.1
 COUlmellttl11 011 tbe DI A'\IOND $UTRA
cxpl:'ln:'ltion of the teaching is th:'lt there is no doctrine to
preach-that is called teaching."
\ Vhen ordinary people preach, they have a se nse of accompl i s h ~
ment. Therefore the Buddha te lls Subhuti that when the Realized
One teaches, he has no sense of :'Iccomplishmcnt. Ordinary people
pn!:'Ich with a sense of being able to understa nd. The Reali zed One's
speech and silence :'Ire both spontaneous; the words he uners are like
echoes responding to sounds, occurring namrally without deliberate
intent, not the same as the o rdinary man preaching with a Au ctuat~
ing mind. If any s:'ly that the Realized One preaches with fluctua tion
in his mind , they arc slandering Buddha. The SlIfnt of Vi11l1llnki71i
S:lyS, " Re;ll tcachi ng involves no preaching, no giving orders; li s te n~
ing to the te:lching involves no hearing and no grasping. " You rea l-
ize that myri :'ld things are empty, and all names :'Ind words are
temporary setups; r.:onstructed within inherent emptiness, :'I II the
vcrbnl expositions explain that all realities arc sign less and unfab ri~
ca ted, thus guid ing deluded people in such n W,ly as to get them
to sec their o ri ginal nature and cultivate and rea lize unsurpassed
enlightenm ent.
At thar point Subhmi, whose life was wisdom, said to
the Buddha , " \Vorld Honored One, if li\'ing beings hea r
this teach in g in the future , will the" believe in it or not? "
The Buddha told Subhuti, " They are not living beings,
but not not living beings. Why? Subhuti, the Reali zed
One says li\'ing beings are not living beinJ:,tS, they arc
called living beings." .
22 The,.e Is Nothing to Attf/in
There is acru'lily nothing at all in unsurp:lssed true knowledge;
trllth hilS nothing to attain, but is c\'ident everywhere. Th us the
su tr;l follow s lip with :l section o n the nonexistence of anythi ng to
be attnin ed.
SlIbhuti said to the Buddha , " vVorld Honored One,
when the Buddh:l artained unexcelled com plete perfect
enlightenment, is it that there W.1S nothing atta ined?"
Th e Buddha said, "That is so. That is so. Subhuti,
there was nothing whatsoever for me to attain in unex-
'34
COllllllClI tlllY 01/ ,be D I AMOND SUT R A
celled compl ete perfect enl ightenment. This is called un -
excel led complete perfect en lightenment."
Subhuti sa~'s th,lt when the sense of atta inment is ended, then th is
is enlightenment. Buddh:l says th;\( this is so: " I really have no St!nse
of set:king fo r enlightenment, and no sense of :lttai,;ment. Be<..'ause
it is like this, it can be called unexcelled complete perfec t enligh t-
enlllcnt."
23 p","ify illg the Mind
find Doing Good
One reality sustains the mind, but feeli ngs produce high nnd low.
Purify your mind and cultivate your conduct, and there is no end to
goodness. Th erefore the Sutnl foll ows up with a section on puri tying
the rnind and doing good.
" Fu rthermore, Subhu ti, thi s reali ty is unbinsed; it has
no high or low. This is ca lled unexcell ed complete per~
fect enli ghtenment. Those who practi ce all good ways
without a self, without a person, without a being, H,;d
without a liver of life will reali ze unexcelled com plete
perfect enli ghtenment.
The reality of en lightenment is sa id to be unbiased, without high
or low, hecallse all bcinb'S from the buddh :ls above to insects below
have all knowledge within them, since enl ightenment is nondua l.
Ju.St practice all good ways detached from the fou r images, and you
\\"111 attain enlightenment.
If you do not def:lch from the four images, th en even if you culti-
\·ate all good ways, tha t will increase th e sense o r sel f and person, so
thert: is no way to realize the liberated mind. If you practice all good
ways without the four im ages, then liberation is possible .
Practicing all good ways IllC;lI1S not bt:!ing obsessed by anything,
not being disnlrbcd by objects, not being greedy for tr:lIlscel~dental
~t:ltes, always applying exped ient rne:111S in:111 situations, adapting to
~coplc, to get them to rejoice :lnd have f.lith , expounding true tench-
~ng to them to enabl e them to l'cali ze enlightenmen t. Only when it
1S like thi s is it to be ca lled pr.lctica l appli cation; thus it is called
practicing all good ways.
135
 COIlI1I1t'lIltlt) 0 11 tile DI A\toSD SUTIIA
"Subhuti , so-called '£,00<1 ways' the Reali1_ed One sap.
arc not g',)(xl \\;lyS, they are ca lled guod ways."
\.vhen you cultivate :111 good ways in hopes of rewards, then they
are not good ways. \\,hen you carry OUl the myriad practices of the
six perfections without hoping for rewards. these arc called good
ways.
24 Blessillgs (/'lid Wisdom
without Compm-,
Even if you give away jewels like mountains, mountains are not
infinite. An individual of stature with subtle wisdom-tbis is a jewel
mountain . Therefore the sutra follows up with a section on blessings
and wisdom without compare.
"Subhuti, if someone took he:-. ps of jewels as big as the
pohlr mou ntains in a billion worlds and gave them away
in charity, the blessings would not compare to a hun-
dredth part, a hundredth trillionth p.m, or indeed any
calculable or imabrinable part of the blessings of accept-
ing, holding, rC:lding, reciting, and explaining to others
even so much :IS :I four-line \'erse of this sutra on the
perfection of wi sdom."
The blcssinbtS re:l1i1.cd by glV1I1g away mountains of jewels in
charity arc measureless ;lI1d boundless, bur :lfter :Ill the h:lsis is con-
taminated, so there is no way of liberation. Even though :I four-line
verse on the perfection of gre:lt wisdom llI:1y be little, if you put it
into practice you can :lttain buddha hood; therefore we know that
the blessings of holding the scripture arc incomp:lrable becduse it
can l.-.tusc people to re3lize enlightenment.
Ten cbi17g witham Tencbi'll g A17yolle
Setting up methods of teaching is inevit,lhly :111 exped ient; in
terms of the essential . there is re;llIy nowh ere to ahide. Therefore
the sutra follows lip with a section on tcaching without teachi ng
anyone.
'3·
.. \ Vhat do rou think, Subhuti? You should not say that
the Reali1.cd One emenllins this thought: ' I should liber-
ate beinbrs.' Subhuti , do not think this. "Vhy? There
really arc no beinbtS the Rcalized One liberates. If there
wcre beinbtS the Realized One liberates, then the Reali zed
One would have self, person, being, and liver of life."
Su bhllti irn:lgines that the Realized One has :1 se nse of liberming
beings; in order to dismiss this slLspicion of Subh llti , the Buddha
tells him nOI to entertain this thought. Att beings arc originally
themselves budd has; if you say the Re:llizcd One liberates beings so
the)' become buddhas, then this is a false statement. Being :I fdlse
st"J[elllent, that would be referring to self, person, being, and liver
of life. This is for the purpose of dismissing the sense of "me" ;md
"mine." Even though all beinbtS have buddha· nature, if not for the
leaching of the buddhas, they would have no way to realize it; how
cou ld they cultiv:l te the practices that would enable them to fulfill
buddhahood?
"Subhmi , the Realized O ne says th,lt h;lving sel f is not
having :.clf, yet ord ina ry people think they have self. Su b-
huti, the Re;llized One says ordinary people are not ordi-
nary people, they are called ordinary people."
The self that the Realized One says exists in the inherently pure
.,elf of eternity, bliss, sel fhood , and purity, not the same as the
greedy, angry, ignorant, false , unreal self of ordinary people. There-
fo re he says that ordinary people think they have self. Those who
h,1\'e self and person :Ire ordinary people, those to whom sel f and
person do nor occur :"Ire not ordin:lry people. Those whose minds
have Auctu;ltion arc ordinary people, whcrc:ls those whose minds
have no fluctuation arc nor ordinary people. Those who do not rcal-
ize the perfection of wisdom are ordinary people; if they realize the
perfection of wisdom, then they 3re not ordinary people. Those who
ha\'e subject and object in mind are ordinary people, whereas those
who h:l\"c no su bject or ohject in mind arc not ordinary people.
26 Tbe Embotiimcm of Rea/it), Is Not
Extenlfll Appen1"flllces
Seeing by way of form and see king by way of sOllnd is traveling
;1 false ]>;1(h. ll ere subtle communion rcn.:.lis [rlle ete rni ty alone.
'37
 COlll1llt.'lIltn:y 011 IllI: D1I\ .\ IO NO S U TKA
T herefore the MItra follows up with a section on the embod iment of
reality not being cxternal appe;lrances.
"Suhhuti, \\ hat do you think-can you vie\\ the Real-
ized One in terms of the thirty-t\vo marks?"
Subhuti said, "That's the way it is-we view the Real-
i7.ed One in terms of the [him-two marks."
The Buddha said, "If you 'view the Realized One in
terms of the thirty-t\\·o marks, then a la w-giving sage
ruler would be;1 Rea lized One."
Subhuti said to the Buddha, "''''orld Honored One, as
I understand the meaning of what the Buddha says, we
should not view the Realized One in terms of the thirty-
two marks."
The World Iionored One poses this question out of f,rreat kind-
ness, lest Subhuti 's disease of clinging to appearances Imy not be
elimin :ned. Subhuti does not yet know the Buddha's intention, so
he says that's the way it is. This is already confusion, to which he
adds more confusion by saying that we view the Reali7.ed One in
terms of thirty-two marks. H e has become cvcn further removed
from reality, so the Realized One tells him, in order to eliminate his
confusion, that if we could view the Rea lized One in terms of ulirry-
two marks, then a law-briving sage ruler would be ;J Realized One.
Even though a law-giving sage ruler may have the thirty-two
marks of greames!>, how could he be the same as the Realized One?
The World Iionored One uses this expression to get rid of Sub-
huti's disease of c1inbring to appearances and to cause his understand-
ing to penetrate deeply. 'When questioned, Subhuti's confusion melts
awa}' all at once, so he says, "As I understand the meaning of what
the Buddha says, one should not view the Real ized One in terllls of
thirty-two marks. " Subhuti is a h>Tcat saint, his undersmnding is very
deep, :md he has skill in means-he does not create :l path of delu-
sion, bur wants ule ''''orld Honored One to get rid of subtle confu-
sion to ena hle people of later generations to sec without error.
At thal point the World Honored One said in verse,
"Anyone who sees me in form,
Or who seeks me through sound,
Is traveling a fa lse path
And cannot sec the Realized One."
, )8
COlll1l1l!lI'"ry 1m tbe ])LAMOND SUTKA
Form me.lOS appearances, seeing means reCOh'llition. "Nie" refers
to the inherenuy pure, ullcreatcd, formlcss, real cternal essence
\\'ithin the bodies of all beings; this cannOt be fulfilled by loudly
chanting invocations of Buddha. Mindfulness must be accurate
mindfulness, with distinct clarity, before one can reali7..e enlightened
understanding. If }'O U seek this through form or sound, it cannot
be seen. Thus we know that if we look upon Buddha in terms of
appearances, or seek the teaching in sounds, the mind fluctuate... and
does not understand the Re:lli zed One.
27 No Annihililtion 0'" Extinction
Mani fest yet formless, empty yet not void, const.1lH throughout
:111 time-who says annihi lation or extinction? Therefore the sutra
follows up with a section on neither annihilation nor extinction.
" Subhuti , if you entert:lin U1C thought that the Re:ll -
ized One does Ilot attain unexcelled complete perfect en-
lightenment on aCf..'o unt of perfect manifestation, you
should not think this way. Subhuti, if you entertain the
thought that those who aspire to unexcelled complete
perfect enlightenment speak of all things as being annihi-
lated, you should nOt think this way. \Vh),? Those who
aspire to unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment do
not speak of things as being annihilated."
Hearing that the real body is beyond appearances, Subhuti then
Imagines that one attains enlightt:nmellt without cultivating thc
thirty-t\\·o pure practices. Buddha tells Suhhuti not to S,1Y the Real-
ized One attains en lightenment without cultivating the thirty-t\vo
pure practices. If you say that unexce lled en lightenment is att:lined
withou t cultivating the thirty-two pure practices, thi s is anni hilating
the lineage of budd has; it is not true at all.
28 Not Accepting, Not Beiug Gnedy
A great mind is patient and nilturally free from greed; worldly
blessin~,'s are so vcry many- how could they be tlken on? Therefore
the sutra follows up with a section on nOl accepting and nOt being
greedy.
'.\9
 Com1!lf!utmy all tilt: DI AMOND SUTRA
"Subhuti, suppose a bodhisatn'a took as many jewels
as would till worlds as numerous as the sand gr;lins in the
Ganges Ri,"cr and gave them in charity. Now su ppose
someone else knew the selAessness of all thinb'S and at-
tained tolerance; this bodhisatrv.l would surpass the
blessings attained by the former bodhi sattVa.
"Why? Subhuri, it is because bodhisattvas do nOt ac-
cept blessinh"S' Subhuti , the blessinh"S produced by bod hi-
sa rt"as are not supposed to be objects of bITeed and
attachment; therefore it is said they do not accept bless-
ings."
Comprehending;11l things withom;1 sense of su bject and object
is c'llled tolcr;Jnce. The blessings attained by such a person surpass
the aforementioned blessings of the jewels. The blessings produced
by hodhisattVas are not for themselves; their intention is to benefit
all heings. Therefore it is said they do not accept blessings.
29 Serenity of Conduct
Going :md comi ng, sitting and reclining, are all in accord with
lhusnesss. Therefore the sllrra follows up with a section on serenity
of conduct.
"Su bhllti , if anyone says the Realized One comes or
goes. sits or reclines, this person does not understand the
principle I expound. \.yhy? The Realized One comes
from nowhere and goes nowhere; that is'why he is called
the Reali7.ed One."
The Realized One does not come, yet it is not that he docs not
come; docs nor go, yet it is not that he does not go; is not sitting,
yet it is not th;lt he does not sit; is not reclining, yet it is not th,lt he
docs not recline. 'Within these four postures-walking, standing,
sitting, :mel reclining-if one always remains empty :lI1d serene, then
this is a re;llized one.
30 Tbe P";1lciple of tbe Compouud
\Vhen the believing mind is continuous, this is atoms; when these
jewels of faith fill :til over, this is called a world. The "world " ;md
COJlIIIII'lItfl'I )' 011 tbe Dl ".\IOND SUTR)'
the "<ltoms" arc one compound, being th us by natural law. There-
fore rhe surr:J follo\\s up with <l section on the principle of th e com-
pound.
"Subhmi, if a good man or a good woman pulverized
the billion-world universe into atoms, do you think there
would be many of these atollls?"
Subhuri said, "Very many, \.yorld Honored One.
\ Vhy? If these atoms were really existent, then the Bud-
dha would not say they were a mass of atoms. \Nhy? The
Buddha says a mass of atoms is not a mass of atoms, it is
c.llled a mass of atoms."
Buddha spoke of the billion-world unl\'erse to symbolize the
number of particles in the Il<ltures of all beings, which are like the
atoms in a billion-world universe. The particles of false thought in
the natures of all beings are not atoms. If they hear dIe sutra and
realize the way, awakened insight constantly sh ines, heading for en-
lightenment, not stopping thought after thought, always remaining
pure: such pure elements are called a mass of atoms.
"\Vorld Honored One, the bill ion-world universe spo-
ken of by the Realized One is not a universe, it is called
a universe."
A billion is a thousand to the third power: speaking in terms of the
inner pattern , dlis means that f,ITecd, anger, and folly each contain a
thousa nd false thoughts. The mind is the root of good and evil; it
c<m be vulgar and it C;ln he sagacious. Its movement and still ness are
unfathollublc , and it is boundlessly vast, so it is called a universe.
" \Vhat is the reason? If the universe reallv existed, it
would be :1 compound; but the Realized On~ says that ;1
compound is not a compound, it is ci11led a compound ."
For perfect clarity of mind, nothing comp;l res to the two elements
of compassi on ;md wisdom; enlightenmcnt is att:lined by way of
these two elements. 'T'hose who speak of a compou nd do so because
they have :l sense of ;ltt;linment; thus it is not;l com pound. When
there is no sense of att'linmcnt. this is called ;1 compound . This
"compou nd " means t<llking ;llwut real ity withou t destroying tempo-
rarv names.
 Conmll:utfl1J all tb e DI A MOND SUTH.A
"S ubhuti , the compound is inexpressible, but ordinary
people greedily cleave to their aft·airs."
Enlightenment, the realization of buddha hood, is fulfilled by
means of two elements, compassion and wisdom: these cannot be
fully explained; their subtlety is inexpressible. O rd inary people
greedity cleave to literary work and do not practice compassion and
wisdom. If you seek unsu rpassed en lightenment witham practicing
compassion and wisdom, how can you att;l in it~
31 Views D o Not OceIH"
The four vi ews are all wrong; this is called four perceptions.
Therefore the sutra follows up with a section on views not occur-
rlllg.
"Subhuti, if someone says that the Buddha expounds
the notion of self, the notion of person, the notion of a
being, or the notion of a li ver of life, do you think this
person understands the principles I expound?"
" \Norl d Honored One, thi s person docs not under-
stand the principles expounded by the Reali zed One.
'vVhy? The \Vorld Honored one says that the notion of
self, the notion of person, the notion of a being, and the
notion of ;1 liver of life are not a notion of self, a notion
of person, a notion of a being, or a notion of a Ii\'cr of
lifc, thc}' are called the notion of self, the notion of per-
son, the notion of a being, .md the notion of a liver of
life."
The " 'arid Honored One expounded this slltra to get :111 beinh"S
to realize prajn:l wisdom themselves :lnd culti\rate the realization of
enlightenment themselves. Ordinary people do not understand the
Buddha 's intention, and therefore think the Rea lized One speaks of
notions such as self and person. They do not know that the Rea lized
One expounds the teaching of extremely profound , formless, uncon-
trived perfect insight.
The notions of self, person , and so on as explained by the Realized
One arc not the same as the ordinary person's noti ons of self, per-
son, :lIld so on. The Realized One says that all beings have buddha-
nature; thi s is the notion of the true self. H e says all bei n!,'"S have
COUI1I1Cllt(f1]' (HI tb e DI AMOND SUTRA
uncontaminated knowledge, basicall~r inherent in their essential na-
tun~; this is the notion of person. I-Ie says all beinf,'"S are ori ginally
Ilarurally free from afflictions; thi s is the notion of being. He says
all beings' essenti:ll nature is fundamenta lly unborn and unper-
ishing; this is the notion of liver of life.
"Subhuti , those who aspire to unexcelled complete
perfect en lightenment should know, see, and believe and
understand all truths in this W:lY, not conceiving of an
appearance of truth. Subhuti, the Realized One says that
the supposed ':lppea r:mce of truth ' is not characteristic of
truth; this is called the characteristic of truth. "
Those who aspire to enlightenment should see :III beings as hav-
ing bllddh~l-Il:lture, should see all beings as inherently endowed with
ullcont:lmin:lted ;lll-knowledge, should believe all beings are origi-
nally without afflictions, should believe th,lt the intrinsic nature of
all beings is fundamentally without birth 0 1· death. Even though they
put all knowledge :lnd insight into practice and expediently deal
with people and help them, they do not entertain a sense of subject
and object. If you talk :lbout formle ss truth yet have a sense of sub-
ject and object, then thi s is not char:lcteristic of truth. If you talk
about formles s truth, mentally pr3ctice formless practice, and ha\'e
no sense of subject and object, this is called the characteristic of
truth.
32 Tbe Rewm"d and the E1Jtflllfltioll
A,"e Not tbe Real
Once the mind is inspired , blessinb"S are realized accordingly; em-
bodying the rewards, the emanations influence others-this is ine\'i-
table. \Nhen the real Buddha is known everywhere, then the work
is done. Therefore the sutra follows up with a section on the reward
and the emanation not being the reality.
"Subhuti, suppose someone filled infinite incalculable
numbers of worlds with precious substances and used
these to give in chllrity. Now suppose a good man or a
good woman who has awakened the inspiration for en-
li ghtenment holds this sotra, even so much as the equiva-
'43
 ComWI'lItll1Y 011 tbe DIII.\10NIl SUT!!II
lent Of:1 four-line \'erse, accepts ,md holds it, reads and
recites it, and expounds it for mhers, the blessing in th is
will exceed tht.: former.
" Il ow does one expound it for others? Not grasping
forms, not budging from thusness as such."
Even though the blessings of precious substances may be many,
they do not compare to the blessings of people aw,lkening the inspi-
ration for en lightenment, accepting and holding four lines of this
sutra, and expounding it for others. These blessings surpass the for.
mer hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of times, beyond
any comparison.
Explaining truths skillfully and expediently, taking people's facul.
tie.s into. cansi.deration :lnd adapting to their ca pacities, adjusting
sUitably III vanous ways-this is called expoundi ng for others. The
people who listen to the teaching are of various different appear.
ances; one shou ld not have a discriminatory attitude. JuSt m~I Ster an
em pty, sil ent mind in accord with suchness, without any sense of
gaining anything, without any sense of winning or losing, without
:my sense of hope or expectation, without excitement or oblivion-
this is called not budging from thusness as such.
"\\I'hy? All created thinbTS are like dreams, illusions,
bubbles, shadows; like dew, and like lighm ing. They
shou ld be viewed in this way."
The dre:ullS arc bodies astray, the illusions are wandering
thoughts, the bubbles arc afflictions, the shacfows arc the b;lrriers
created by past actions. These arc called created things. As for un·
created truth, it is reality, apart from labels and appeamnces.
After Buddha had spoken th is slltra, dle cider Subhuti,
,IS well :lS monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen, :mgels, hl!.
mans, and tit,lnS from all worlds, having he:1rd what the
Buddha said, all rejoiced greatly; they believed it, ac.
cepted it, worked at it, and put it into practice.
'H
Notes on the
SUTRA OF HUI - NENG
CHAPTER ONE. PERSON,\!. I-J ]STORY
PInus
Shao Province, where !-Iui·ncng's lecture is taking place, w:)s in wh:)t
is now Guangdong (C:11lton) Provine!:: in the far south of China, :)s WllS
!-Isin Province, where J-!ui·neng was horn, :)nd Nan-hlli, where he grcw
up. HsilJ mellns " new," and this :)rCll was, frolll the perspective of the
expanding Chinese em pire, ('] newly developing region. This is impor·
tallt bllckground to understand the imagery of racial and cultural bias
that is to figure in the development of I-Iui·neng's story.
Ling·n:m was the name of a Tao or Circu it, a larger administrative
unit, encompassing what arc now the provi nces of Guangxi (Kuang·hsi)
and Guangdong (Kuang·tung), the deep south of continenta l China.
While G uangdong is now densely popullltcd by Han Chinese, Gu:mgxi
has such a large aboriginal population that it is politically designated an
autonomous region, named after the majority Zhuang people.
Fan-ya ng, where Hui . neng said his father was from, was a place in
modern H opei (Hebei), north of the Yellow Rivcr. The fa(;t of his ban·
ishment suggests thllt l-Iui ·neng's father had been in the civil service.
j\lany men of good repute suffered banishment in the course of Chinese
history, including some outsr.mding Confucian SChol ars and great Bud·
dhist masters, so there is no reason to suppose that J-Iui·neng's futller
was a bad rn'\n. Tyranny and partisan politics were part of everyday life
in gigantic bureaucracies like that of imperi'll Chill,]; indeed, one of the
main point." of the story of l-!ui·ncng's apprenticeship ami the (;ontcst
for the robe of succession is to illustrate how such patterns also infect
religious establishments.
Huang-mei, where J"lung·jt.:n lhe Fifth Grand Master of Ch':ln was
teaching, was in modern Hupd (ll uhei), ill the center of China proper,
along the Yang.t'"l.u River.
Mtttillg tbt Fijib Gmlltl Mflstrr ofCh 'nil
-' lung-ien (601:-675) is supposed to ha\e based his ['-"aching on the
f)lfImollJ S,um, one of the most condensed work... in the scriprural cor-
pus known collectively as the Pmjllll/HmultlTl/ or Perfection of \Visdo m
teachi ngs. A brief work c-alled Trrflrisr Oil tbr SliP"'''''' I'rhidt is :ltt'ributed
to Il ung-!enj an Engl ~s h translation may be found in my Mil/ding Milld:
A CO/lrst mll(/!I( M "hlflIlOfi (Shambhala Publications, 1995).
Ilui -neng's sudden awakeni ng on hellri ng a passage of the f)iflmollli
SI/Im is one of the core stories of Zen tradition, representing the action
of Buddha's word on an innocent mind. One of the \'ery greatest works
ofZcn art, by the obscure I Jth-cenrury artist C hih-weng, depicts I-Iui-
ncng on this OCC::lsion, still a woodcutter, in a sene of profound bemuse-
melll after his une.'(pected awakening.
. \\'hen Hung-jen referred to I-Iui-neng as:m "aborigine," the expres-
SIon used is " Ilunting Liao." The Liao were a non-Chinese (i.e.,
nor~ - l l an) people livi ng in !Iupei. Since Ilupei w:\s already settled by
agrIc~lrure-celllered I Ian culrure, as an ea rlier minority hunting people
the Ll30 w~re u~doubtedly m ~ unt:lin dwellers. T he Zen monastery at
~ lu.a n g-I~lel was III the moumams of J lupei, so it is not impossible that
Its mh:lbuants were to some degree acquainted with Liao tribals_
Later on, when Ilui-neng had to take refuge from pe~cution , he
went into the moum<lins and lived with hunters for fifteen ye:ars. This
\\'.ould suggest that hc did in fact have such a background in his personal
hlstory_
Nevertheless, there is no evidence that I Jui -neng's father married a
Liao woman of Ilul>ci, and Ilung-jen may ha\'e been using the name of
the local aborigin:11 minority as a genel1ll terlll for aborigincs_ It is
h:mll.y thinbble th ~t Il ui-neng's rother wou ld not have already been
married and had children by the tiflle he had b(-,coll1e a civil servant_
After ha\'ing been banishcd south , howc\'cr, alone in exile in a frontier
area, he fIlay have had a liaison with a 10<:'.11native_ This would account
for Ilui-neng ha\'ing a distinctive physico.11 appearance in the eyt!S of
J Ian pt.'Ople of northern China.
. It must be re~liz~ that the culrural and racial sten.:otypes and bigot-
rI ~ portrayed III th iS Story are part of a deliberate serup. ult-jmately
desi,bTJ\ed to illustratc the unh'crs.llity of lhe buddha-nature vis-a-vis the
relatively limited and superficial conditioned person:llity_
Tbt COllfm l.I..'itb Sbl'll-bsill
Shen·hsiu, the sen ior disciple of the Fifth Grand /\laster, was origi -
nallya Confucian scholar. The principa l aim offormal Confuci:1Il stud-
ies at that lime \\as to win degrees in civil ~n'ice exa minations, which
would qualify the holder for gO\'cmmCIlI offices.
,.6
In the story of II lIi-neng, the whole sccnario of the IlOttic competi-
tion for the succession to the rank of Grand Master ofCh'an is a spoof
on the habit of carrying worldly customs over into Buddhjsm. Shen-
hsiu's inner struggle is depicted in great detail in this \ersion of thc
[ext, illustra ting thc depth of the conflict 1)C(Wccn ambition and InLlh
that plab'lled institlltionalized systcms of intell ecrual and religious ed u-
cation.
In terIllS of Huddhist te:lching, the ju.'<laposition of the scholarl}'
meditation devotee :md the free innocent illustrates the principle that
buddha- n:uure :a nd enlightenmem are not externally acquired but in-
wardly discoverd, This point is strongly emphasized in the Diamond
SlItrll on wh ich Ilung-jen is said to ha\'e based his teaching, and in his
own Trtll tiIt Oil tbt SlIprttllt Iltbirlt, he says that inhcrent mind is the
basic teacher,
The site of the poetic COntest also has symbolic meaning. The poems
are written on a wallullOn which there was to be painted a mural de-
picting the projection of the Lnlll",vntflm-S/lfm and the succession of
the five Grand AI:asters or patriarchs ofCh'an. According to C h'an lore,
the fou nder of Ch'an in C hina considered the Ch inese Buddhists of his
time to be literalists and fo rma lists; so he used the {..IlIIkllllllf(lrtI -!l/fl"tl_;\
text of the Buddhist llijllflllO-Vfldfl or school of consciousness, to break
through these biases_
A LanL:a\'3t:lra school developed from the circle of the Second Grand
j\ laster ofCh':m and conti nued to specialize in this way for a few gener-
ations, but the Ch'an mai nstream employed whatever texts proved use-
ful from time to time, generally drawing not only from the \-aSl body
of Buddh ist sutras, but :Ilso occasionally fTom T.'1oist and Confuci:1I1
classics_
In the story of Ilui-neng, the final aba ndonment of the Lankavatara
Ch'an master's lIIural in fin'or of the verse of Shen-hsiu iUustr:Jting
practk-almethod lIlay be one of the signals of the end of the patriarchal
era and lhe popularization of Ch'a n. Ilui-neng's ovm Story emphasizes
that he is the 1m of the Grand J\lasrers, the te:aching having become
fully established in China by the end of his career_
in the fina l judbrment of lhe contest, it may seem contradictory that
the Fifth Grand Alaster approves the \'erse of his eminent disciple ret
grants the ultimate reL-ognition to the illiternte workman_ Ch'an Alaster
Pai-chang said , "To say [hat it is possihle to attain buddhahood by culti-
vation, that there is practice and there is rcalil..ation . , . is Huddha 's
teaching, but these are words of incomplete doctrine... . To say thal
one cannot attain buddha hood by culti\"Jtion, that there is no practice
and no realization __ . is also Buddha's teaching. but these are words of

complete doctrine." Both these types of teaching are found throughout
CIi':m Buddhist lore; the question of when they apply is addressed in
the dictum, " H you want to know the meaning of buddha-nature, ob-
serve timing and conditions."
Inberiulllu of fbi' -n'IlCbillg
Hui -ncng's insight was recognized by the Fifth Grand Master of
Ch'an at their first meeting; then it was confirmed in his secret victory
in the poetic comest of the disciples. O nl), after that did the Grand
!\Iaster expound the Dilflllolld SIIO'1f to I-Iui-neng, who had originally
been inspired by that sutra and had come to the Ch':l11 master for that
reason.
The Dilllllom/ 5110'11 became popular among Ch'an followers, as well
as other Buddhists, and some devotees took to reciti ng it as a regu lar
ritual. According to a commentary on this surra attributed to oral trans-
mission from llu i-neng, "This one-scrolJ surra originally exists in the
essential nature of all living beings. People who do not see it themselves
just read and recite written letters. If you realize you r original mind,
you will realize for the first time that this sutra is not in wrinen letters.
If you ca n clearly understlnd your own essential nature, only then will
rou really believe that "all the Buddhas emerge from this sutra.' "
Persecution
The pursuit of Ilui -neng by jealous riV3ls funher ilIuStr:ues the
theme of worldliness cmried o\'er into supposedly religious or spirirual
circles. As a former general, the monk Hui-ming is the perfect figure
to represent aggressive ambition. His inability to lift the robe and bowl,
symbolic of the leaching, shows that it is c,lpacity that counts here,
not desire. The scen,lrio of the sudden chnnge of attitude and ulti mate
awakening of I lui-ming through crucial redirection of attention as
guided by Ilui-neng \\,:IS later used as II Zen leaching Story to orient
consciousness. The tenll origillal flier thereby became a com mon watch-
word of Zen.
Hui-neng's renewed persecution shows that his message was not wel-
comed by entrenched interests. -nle First lind Second Grand M.lIsters
of Ch'an were also persecuted by jealous clerics who wanted to retain
their authority. The First Grand Master was poisoned six times, ulti-
mately fatally; the Second Gra nd Masler was condemned [Q death as a
result of an iTltrib"lle and finally executed.
Emt:rgence ill tbe fVo,./d
The story of the public emergence of Ilui -neng as the Sixth Grand
J\ laster through his dialob"lle with the monks arguing about the Rag and
14 8
Notl's 011 fb e Su' IIA Of II V !- N F.NG
the wind is another of the episodes in this sutra ofren singled out fo r
special attention in Zen stud),. An interesting interpretation of this
story attributed to lhe medieval Japanese Zen ,\laster Keizan ca n be
fou nd in the cha prer on Ilui-neng in Trll1u1IIisrio1l Of Light, an import::mt
Japanese koan collection (North Poi nt Press/Farrar, Straus, and Gir-
oux, '990; Weatherhill, 199Z).
C UAPTER Two. P RA)NA
BOl/bi, Prajl/II, and PI/mlllilli
BOilbi, Pl'llj"'I, and plmnlliflJ are Sanskrit Buddhist technical terms thar
are rendered variously in Chinese; each has at least three versions, in-
cluding at least tw O Chinese translations plus at least one transliteration
of the Sanskrit sound into Chinese. In each case, the various Ch inese
renditions of the technical terms arc used inrerchangeably in native
Chi nese Buddhist lore such as that of the Cll'lln schools. One or an-
other version may be selected or preferred in a given case, however. in
order to take advantage of some choice of characters or peculiarity of
expression that may scn'e to high li ght :1 particular point. Mechanic:11
regularity of the exrernal sha pe of technica l terminology is therefore
nor characteristic of Chinese Buddhist literanlre.
80dbi
Bodb, means enlightened knowledge or wisdom. It comes from the
same root as bllddbll, which Illca ns one who has realized wisdom. Bod-
hidha m13, the name traditionally associated with the founding of Ch'a n
in Chi na, is actu;llly a patronymic meaning "teaching of wisdom," sym-
bolizing' the inner esscnce of Zen.
110t/hi is the rllllin root of the word bOl'hiSllttVlI. a tcrm also cOIIHllonly
seen in tr;ll1sliteration, and also used by Il ui -neng in his lecmres, mean-
ing a being whose essencc or nature is wisdom. The bodhisa ttva is the
hero of the J\ lahayana "G rcat Vehide" of Buddhism, worki ng for uni-
\'ersa lliberatiOIl and enl ightenment.
P1'IIj11l1
P1'Iljllll means insight or wisdoll1. Accord ing to the SlIlIdhillim'Ofllllll-
ffltrn,there are three kinds of insigh t: insight into worldly truth, insight
into ul timate truth, and insight into benefiting sentient beings. In 111:111)'
cases, Ch'an and Zen rcachinb'S em phasize insight into ultimate truth.
The classicil master Paj-chang s:lid, "JUSt as insects can alight any...:here
except on the flame... of a fi re, the minds of sentient beings can relate to
anything but wisdom."
I-Iui-neng also uses the tr.lTlsliter.lted expression P1'Iljl1l1-SIlI1l11dlJl. 511-
'49
 NOlt's 011 Ibe SVTIIA OF II VI-N f.NC.
111m/hi means concentration or absorption, and in Ch'an lore is some-
times used ro mean :mainmcnt,
Pnrll1J1itn
Plmnlli1ll has been tr:mslated into Chinese as "crossing over" and
"reaching the other shore." Pnrttlfl comes from the root pr, "bri nging
:Icross," and means the further shore, the other side, the ultimate extent
or end. The second P;lrt of the word, i1ll, is technically a past participle
of the verb "to go," tituS meaning "gone." It ca n also mean, according
to conventional Sanskrit usage, "going." insofar :IS the route and goal
are established. Thus, from hoth of its Sanskrit clements, the tenn pam-
11Ii1ll has meanings of the process of transcendence as well as the realiza-
tion of transcendence. The twO principal Chinese translations of the
tenn reflect these twO layers of meaning. According ro classical Bud-
dhist tradition, the bodhisattva who arrives o n the "other side" does
not remain there, but conti nues to travel back and forth from "this
shore" to "the other shore," delivering others from bondage to free-
dom, ultimately not st:lying here, there, or in between.
1n his commentary on the Dillmolld SlIh·lI, Hu i-neng says,
\Vhat docs pm)1Ifl mean? Pra)1/1i is a Sa nskrit word, rendered into
Chinese as "insightful wisdom." Insight is not giving rise to igno-
rant attirudes. wisdom is having the appropriate expedients. In -
sight is the substance of wisdom. wisdom is the function of
insight. If there is wisdom in substa nce, function is insightful and
not ignorant; if there is no wisdom in subsrnnce, function is in-
sightful and not ignorant; if there is no wisdom in substance,
function is ignorant, without insight. It' is JUSt to get rid of igno-
rance, folly, and being unenligh tened that we cultivate insightful
wisdom.
\Vhat does p"rtlmilll mean? It is rendered into Chinese by
"reachi ng the other shore," Reaching the other shore means de-
tachment from birth and death. Just because people of the world
lack sc,bility of nature, they find appearJnccs of birth and death
in all things, flow in the waves of \'arious courses of existence, and
have not arrived at the grou nd of reality as is: all of that is "th is
shore." It is necessary to have great insightful wisdom, complete
in rCS1>cct to all thinbl"S, det.1ched frOI1l appearances of birth and
death-this is "reachi ng the other shore."
It is also s:lid that when the mind is confused, it is "this shore."
\Vhen the mind is en lightened , it is "the othcr shore." \\fhen the
mind is distorted. it is "this shore." \Vhen the mind is sound, it is
"the other shore." If you speak of it and Clrry it o ut ment3l1y,
15°
NOleS 011 tlu SUTRII OF IItJl-sr.sc.
{hen your own reality body is imbued with par.lmit~l. If you speak
of it hut do not carry it om mentally, then there is no parami ta.
Tbe Dinmolld Prn)1Ulplll"llmitn SlItra
There arc numerous sutras, or Buddhist scriptures, belonging to the
pntjllllplmmliffl class. The Dillmolld SUlTtI is onc of the most condensed
and most popular of these texts, common ly recited by all sorts of peo-
ple. "I"he commentary on this sutr.l attributed to II ui-neng himself says,
The "diamond prajnapar:unita" spoken of by the Realized One
t:lkes its n:Hlle from a mctaphor fo r thc truth, \Vhat does it mean?
Diamond is extrcmcl}' sharp by nature and can break through all
sorts of things. But though diamond is extremely hard, hom can
break it. Diamond stands for buddha-nature, hom stands for af-
flictions. I lard as diamond is, horn can break it; stable though the
buddha-narure is, afflictions can derange it.
Evcn though affliCtions may be intractable, prJjna knowledge
can destro), them; even though horn may be hard, fine steel can
hreak it. Those who re:llize this principle clearl)' see essential n:l-
rure. T he N irl'lll1fl-slltm says, "Those who see buddha*narure arc
not called ordinary people; those ..... ho do not see buddha-nature
are called o rdinary people."
The metaphor of the diamond expounded by the Realized One
is for the sake of people in the world without stability of narure;
they lIl:ly recite the scriprure. but illumination docs not develop.
If the)' would practice inwardly as well as recite outwardly, they
would be equally illumined. Ir they arc nOt firm within, stability
and insight arc lost; if thcy practice mentally as well as recite ver-
bally, stability and insight will be c(lual. This is called the ultimate
end.
Tbt Part ,vnmt SlItrll
The Plln Nlllllt Slln7l, feanrring the householding buddha named
\·imalakirti, is another Buddhist scriprure that W:lS very popular among
practitioners of Ch'an and is oftcn quoted in lhe sa)'i ngs and writings
of Ch'an masters. One of the centra l functions of lhe [caching in this
Sutra is to dissolve dogmatic attachments to form:11 doctrines and prac-
tices.
CUAPTER 3. QUESTIONS
BOi/bitlbllrmll
Hoclhi(lh:lrnl~1 came 10 China :Iround the end of the 5th centu ry or
the beginning of the 6th century. l ie is tr:ulitionally considered the
'5 '
 Notes 011 tbe SUTRA OF 1101 ·:-;E:>.0
founder of Ch'an in China. The story of the encou nter between Bod·
hidharnla and Emperor \\'u of the southern Chmese domain of Liang
is recounted in the first chapter of the classic collection known as The
Bltu CIW RuonJ (Shambhala Publications, 1977, 199!). The gre:1t 14th.
cenrury Japanese master Muso explains the underlying principle in
some detail in his Drrt/1II COIlVtrstlt;OIlS (Shambhala Publications, 1996):
Virtue without wisdom is said to be an enemy for three lifetimes.
\Vhen time is passed in ignor.mcc, doing only contaminated
good, virrue in hopes of reward, it is therefore not possible to
clarify the true brround of mind. This is the enemy of the first
lifetime.
As a result of contaminated "irrue, pleasurable states e\·ennlally
de,'elop. Still in the realm of emotion, they occasion a deepening
of mundane art:lchments. These attachments become influences
toward greedy and possessive behavior. This is the enemy of the
second lifetime.
\ Vhen the pleasurable States arc wo..., out, while the force of
ignorance has Ilot been diminished but rather increased by h'lbit·
ual attachment lO the rewards of virtue, the fall from the state of
elevation of feeling produces negative reactions. This is the
enemy of the third lifetime.
Purr Lnml BfflltJbinll
Pure Land Buddhism has long been the most popular type of Bud·
dhism throughout East Asia. Though Ch'an/Zen and Pure Land Bud·
dhism outwardly seem (Iuite different, they hn\·c becn ;llllalgamated
from time to lime by prnctitioncrs of both types of SdlOOI, ,md twO of
the patri:lrchs or Gnlild M:lsters of the p~ ..elu tT:ldition of Pure L;md
Buddhism in China were also recogni zcd C h'nn 1ll,ISlers.
Pure Land pnlcticc is centered on in\'oc:nion (If the namc of Ami·
tabha, the Buddh:l of Infinite Light, to purify the mind and e.\:perience
spirirual rebinh in Amitabha's Pure Land in the \\'est. The West is the
direction of the selli ng sun, which symbolizes the cc<isation of mundane
thoughts.
J ust like so·ca lled fund,\mentalists in other religions, followers of
Buddhism lapsed frolll time to time into lileflllistic and dognlnric \'iews
of scriptur:ll te,\chinbrs. I lui·neng's rcsurrection of the inner mean ing
of the PUI'e L:lI1d symbolism is repe,llcd over and ovcr again in Ch',uI
and Zen lore through the ages. In his Drf!(1111 CQIlt'crSllliQIIS, Zen ,\laslcr
I\luso explains,
Among m,lSlers of the \·arious schools of Buddhism, including
Zen Buddhism, ha,·e been those who encourage the Pure Land
15 l
Notes 011 tbe SUTRA 0.· II U I ·NENG
Buddhist pr.1cticc of chanting the name of the Buddha of Infinite
Light. Some types of Pure Land Buddhist teaching and pr.1ctice
are elementary and incomplete, but this is a matter of perspt.--cti\ e.
The Nir;Jlllln·rutm says, "Coarse words and line speech all end up
in ultimate truth." The LolliS Sf/tm says, "Productive labor and
business do not contr.1vene the character of reality." \Nh en you
have aW:lkened to the principle of the C re:lt Vchicle, thcn rtll t,llk
in the world, all activity, is the Great Vehicle of Perfect Me~ning;
so recitation of a Buddha name could hardly be called a lesser
"ehicle.
The masters who set up Pure Land Buddhism understood the
profound principle of the Great Vehicle in their own minds, yet
temporarily distinguished the Pure Land from the defiled land in
order to guide ignorant people, drawing a distinction between
self.power and Other-power. They were not ignorant themselves;
these tC:lchings are compassionate expedients of enlightening be-
ings. Among believers in Pure L:lnd Buddhi sm, however, there
arc those who invoke the Buddh:l 's na me with the notion that
there is a Pure Land OUtSide this defiled land. This cannOt be
called the C rea t Vehicle of Perfect Meaning.
Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamapraprn arc names of supernal bodhi.
sattvas trnditionally associated with Amitabha Buddha. ShaL:yal11uni is
one ofthe names of Gautama Buddha. Ilui.neng's symbolic interprern·
tion of these names is typical of classical Ch'an and Zen teachings. St!·
pernal bod hisattvas are often called "gods" or "goddesses" in \"'estern
writings on Eastern :lrt and religion, bUl this is incorrect and mislead-
ing, as ca n be seen from the teachings of thc lIl:lsters themselves.
Cf I APTf.R 4. STABI L IZATION AND I NSIGIIT
StllbiJiUlliOll fintl buigbt
The Sanskrit tenn snmndbi, often rendered as "concentrntion" or
"absorption," was commonly translated into Chinese by a character
that suggests stabilization or stability. In his essay The Coopmttiol1 of
Conc(lJtTfltiolllllllll11.figbt, the great Ch'an M,lster Yung-ming Yen·shou
wrotC, "In Ch'an and the Teachings there are twO methods, IIlOSt hon·
ored of the myriad practices of thc ten perfections. At first they are
called stopping :l nd seeing, to help new learners; later they become
concentration and wisdom, rootS of enligl1lenlllern. These arc only Olle
reality, which seems to have two parts. In the silcnce of the essence of
reality is stopping 0)' comprehending truth; when silent yet ever ,\ware,
subtle seeing is there" (The Five HOllsts o[ZI'II. Shal11bhala Publicltions,
1997)·
15)

Sbnnplltra nllli Vi1llnlnkim
In the Purt Nflmt St/lTfI, Buddha's disciple Sharipucni relates how the
enlightened layman Vimalakirri once c:ame upon him sitting quietly in
the forest and chided him for superficiality, saying,
J ley, Shariputni, it is not necessarily si tting th:lt constitutes quiet
sitting. Quiet si tting means not manifesting body or mind in the
rea lms of desire, form, and form lessness-tbis is quiet sitting!
Demonstrating dignified behavior witho ut rising from absorption
in extinction-this is quiet sitting. Appearing to e ngage in the
occupations of o rdinary people without abandoning the principles
of the Path-this is quiet si tting. The mind not dwelling o n the
inward, yel not being outside either-this is quiet sitting. Culti-
\';lti ng thc thirty-seven c lements of the Path without bei ng moved
by any views-this is quiet sitting. Entering nirvana without e nd-
ing affiictions- this is quiet sitti ng.
The g reat lIlaster Lin-chi said, "There :Ire blind baldies who, after
they have eaten their fill. sit in meditation, arresting thoughts leaking
out to prevent them from arising, shunning clamor and seeking quiet.
This is a deviated fonn of Zen" (2m Essttlrt: Tbt Sdttut of Frttdum.
Shambhala Publications, 1989).
Sllddm nlld Crmltutl
Hu i-ncng's disciple Shen-hui said. " Listening to the teaching is the
gradual within the sudden; underst:mding the teaching is the sudden
within the grndua1. C ul tivating Pr.lcticc is the grad ual within the sud-
den; realiz.ing the I'csull is the sudden within the gradual.'·
C II APTER 5. SITTING Nhol'rATloN
The brreat 14th-century C hinese master Kao-feng So1id, '' It is essen-
tial in Zen study thal you do not cling to a sitting cushion for practice.
Lf you sink into oblivion ordistr.1ctioll, or plunge into ease and tr.1nquil-
ity, totally unawares, nm only will you waste time, you wi ll not be able
to digest the offerings of donors. When the light of your eyes ralls to
the ground one day, in the end what will you rely o n?" (Ttnrbil1gs of
Zm, Shambha la Publications, 1997).
The great 14th-cenrury J apanese master i\'luso sa id, "People meditat-
ing o n the fundamental carry out their ordinary tasks and activities in
thc midst of meditation. :md carry out meditation in the midst of ordi-
nary tasks and activities. There is no disparity betwcen mcditation and
activity. It is for those as yet inc:apablc of this, those weak in fOCUS ing
their intent on thc \\'1IY, that specialmcdit:ltion periods were ~l up.
No ttI on tbe SUTRA o~ II U I -NI':NIl
The practice of meditating four times a day in Zen com m~iti es began
in this manner during the 11th century" (Drtll~" CO"~~,tlon$~. .
The great ' 3th-cenrury Korcan ~la.ster Ch l~ul saId, . Vl}1I1e sc~~­
{Ures and treatises mostly speak of sltbng praCbcc, that IS because It IS
easy to accomplish that way; they also include walking, standing, and
so o n, because a gradua l development ta.k~'S place: ... ~~ four pos-
tures-sitting, standing, walking, l"lnd reclllu ng-wll,1 work.
Chi nul also said "Eyen sitting c:lnnOt stop the mmd; how c:l1l walk-
ing, standing, and 'so on, access the Way? If your practical application
reaches wholc maturity, even if a tho usand sages came fonh )'OU would
not be st:utled, and lI. thousand monsters couldn't rurn your head; then
how could you be unable to do the work while ""':lIking, st:mding, or
si tting?" (Ktmsbo: Tb~ l-Itan o/Zm, Shambhala Publications, 1997)'
"me great Iith-cenrury Chinese master T~-hu.i sai.d, " If )'ou hal'c
been pnicticing quiet meditation but you r mmd IS so li nOt calm and
frce when in the midst of activity. th is mcans you havcn 't becn empow-
ered by your quiet meditation. Jf you have ~ccn pra~ticing q~i c~de just
to gCt rid of agit:uion, then when )'ou are 10 the midst of agitatIOn, ~le
a~,'irntio n will disrurb your mind JUSt as if )'OU had nel'cr done any qUiet
mcditation" (UII Eat1/ct!).
Buddha said, "Squatting motionless will not puri~ a mortal who has
not gotten oycr doubt and desire." Buddha also said, "Not me~el}' ~
rules of conduct and religious observances, no r by much learmng CI-
ther, nor C;\'en by att:ainment of concentration, nor by s ~ eeping alone,
do I reach the happiness of freedom" (Dbllmmnpatin: Saymgs 0/ Buddba.
Bantam Books, 1995).
C IIAPTER 6. REPE NTANCE
Tbt Fivt Pl'lfimm
Morality, st3bility, wisdom, liberation, and liberated knowledge and
\'ision, here symboli7.cd by perfumes, constirute wh:n is mown as t~e
five-part reality body. An " incarnatio n" of a buddha means embodi-
ment of these five realities. This teaching is found in the ullklrvatnrfl-
nitTa one of the Buddhistscriprures commonly cited in Ch'an teaching.
Re~ntancc prnctice is depicted in more detail in the meditation lor.e.of
T'ien-t'ai Buddhism, with which Ch'an and Zen had Strong affinlOes
(sec Stopping fllld Suillg: /I Compn:IJrl1sivt Count ill 8111Jdbist Mtrlitllliou.
Shambhala Publications, 1997, pp. 6 1 -~).
Tht Fou,. UllivtrSnl VO'WJ
The Illctaphysics and I1lcdirntions of the four universal vows are also
described in Stoppillg a"d Sui"g, pp. 18-19.
, SS
 Notes 011 the SUTRA OF H UI-NENG
The Tb,·ee Embodiments
The three embodiments, or bodies, of a buddha (or Tathagata, an-
other epithet of a buddha) are defined in various ways in Buddhist liter-
;lture. The eminent Ch'an Master Pai-chang said,
The body of reality in its true aspect is called the Illuminator
Buddha as the pure dear reality body; it is also called the empty
reality-body buddha. [t is also called the great perfect mirror
knowledge, and it is called the eighth consciousness. It is also
called the source of nature, and it is also called the empty source.
It is called the Buddha dwelling in the land that is neither pure
nor defiled. It is also called the lion in its den. It is also called
adamantine applied knowledge. It is also c:lHed the spotless alt:lr,
and it is also called the primary void. It is also called the hidden
essence. The Thi rd Grand Master said, "It is useless to work at
concentration on stillness without knowing the hidden essence."
Second, the reward-body buddha is the Buddha under the tree
of enlightenment. This is also called the illusory transformation
buddha, and it is called the beatified buddha. This is called the
Luminous Buddha as the completely fulfilled body of reward. It
is also called the knowledge of the essential equaliry of things, and
it is also called the seventh consciousness. It is also cal!ed the
Buddha as result in accord with cause. It is equal in all the fifty-
two stages of meditation, equal in saint and self-enlightened ones,
equal in all bodhisattvas, and is equally subject to such pains as
birth and death, but is not equally subject to the misery of sentient
beings' binding habits.
Third is the projection-body Buddha. Now-in the midst of all
things, existent and nonexistent, when there is utterly no influ-
ence of longing, and no indifference either, detached from the
four propositions [of being, nonbeing, neither, or both], such
words and intelligence as there may be is called Shab:yamuni Bud-
dha with a thousand hundred hundred thousand projection bod-
ies. It is also called the great miraculous projection, and it is called
sporting in spiritua l powers. It is also called subtle analytic obser-
vational knowledge, and it is called the sixth consciousness.
CHAPTER 7. KEY E VENTS
Tbe G,-eat Sun'a ofNirvmUl
The Ni11Jttlla-SIIn'n, more properly titled !vltt!Jflpm'illi11Jnlln-j'un'n,
"The Scripture of the Great Ultimate Demise," is the Mahayana Bud-
dhist analogue of the I-linayana Nibbtllin-mtfn. It is represented as the
Notes 011 tbe SUTR,\ OF HUI-NENG
fi nal teaching of Sha\..l'amun i, Gautama Buddha , JUSt before passing
away into final nirvana, or parin in'ana. The quintessential teaching of
the Nj,1J/lI/([-!iIIh'n is that the buddha-nature, the essence of enlighten-
ment, is eternal and inherent in all sentient beings. This is congenial to
Ch 'an Buddhism, and certain aphorisms, allusions, and images from the
N il1JtIIltl-Slm-tt are commonly found throughout Ch'an and Zen lore.
Ts 'llo Ts'llo
This is a very famous name in Chinese history. Ts'ao Ts'ao (Cao
Cao) was a very powerful warlord of the 3rd century C.I\. He is men-
tioned here in connection with the visit of one of his descendants to
Hui-neng to illustrate how people of distinguished family background
would respect an illiterate peasant with spiritual realization. This illus-
mn es the transcendence of ultimate truth over conventional truth. At
this point in the story, moreover, Hui-neng is still not publicly known
as a Ch'an master, let alone the Sixth Grand Master; so his recognition
hy the Confucian gentleman and the great-grear-grandson of T5'ao
Ts'ao also illustrates the possibiliry of recognizing ultimate truth from
within conventional truth.
Once l-Iui-neng was publicly recognized, that public recognition
would become conventional truth, and those who recognized that rec-
ognition would not necessarily be recognizing the reality ofHui-neng's
spirimaliry. To have Hui-neng recognized by laypeople while chal-
lenged by monastics illustrates the contrast between intrinsic sense and
cu ltivated ignorance. Professional Buddhists whosc learning and prac-
tices wcre a source of self-importance were slower to understand I-Iui-
neng than were laypeople without religious pretensions. Some proud
:Hld obsessive monks did, nevertheless, realize liberation through I-Iui-
neng's guidance, according to the traditional stories of his interactions,
as fo und in this chapter of his slltra as well as classical Ch'an source-
books.
Tbr Lotlls SlitTII
T he Saddbflrlllflptllltirn-ikll-SlItrtl, or Scripture of the Lotus of the
Truth, is considered the crown jewel of Buddhism by the T'ian-T'ai
school, and is often quoted in Ch'an lore. According to the Lotus SUh'n,
nirvana as extinction or quiescence is merely an expedient illusion, and
the rea l goal is the knowledge and vision of buddhahood.
T he Latus 5utrtl extols the Ekayana or One Vehicle, symbolized by
the "white ox-drawn vehicle," representing the way to supreme en-
ligln enment. In one of the most famous parables of the sutra , a man
fi nds that his house is on fire with his children inside. Th e children do
not respond to hi s calls to come Out, because they are engrossed in
157
 Notes 011 tbe SUTRA OF H UI-NEN(;
playing with their toys. The father then devises an cxpcdiem to lure
thcm Out, promising the children even better playthings 011 thc outside.
Knowing their various temperaments and inclinations, the father of-
fers three things-a goat cart, a deer cart, and an ox cart. Drawn out of
the burning house by these promises, the children are men given an
even better ca rt, yoked to a great white ox. The other, lesser cartS were
just mentioned to entice the children out; once out, they arc all given
the best. This symbol izes the supersession of the provisional prepara-
tory teachings by the real teachings.
The Four K7J(lWledges
The four knowledges, or four cognitions, are four modes of cogni-
tion held to characterize the complete mentation of an awakened mind,
according to Buddhist psycholob'Y" as outlined in the 1...I/"kffUllwrn-
S/ltrn-mirrorlike awareness, realization of universal equalit}' of essen-
tial nature, precise observation of differentiation of characteristics, and
practical wisdom in action. These are also associated with the so-called
three bodies or embodiments of buddhahood or enlightenment: the
body of truth or reality, the body of reward or enjoyment, :md the body
of projection or emanation.
The distinb'Uished 18th-century Japanese Zen Master I-Iakuin wrote,
"''hen the discriminatory mentality is suddenly shattered and the
essence of enlightenment suddenly appears, the filling of the uni-
verse with its boundless light is called the universal mirror cogni-
tion, the pure body of reality. This is the transmuted storage
consciousness.
Realizing all these things in the six field.$ of sense-seeing,
hea ring, discernment, and knowledge---are your own enlightened
nature is called cognition of equality, the fulfilled body of perfect
enjoyment.
Discerning the principles of things by the light of true knowl-
edge is called subtle observing cognition. This is the body of per-
fect enjoyment, and also includes the emanation body.
Activity and stillness, even coughing, spitting, and swinging the
,Inns as you walk, all doings in harmony with the nature of reality
arc called practical cognition. This is called the spherc of freedom
o f the emanation body" (Kmsbo: Tbr !-fenn 0fZell).
Dragon Stability
Dragon stability is a technical term for stabi lization so profound that
it is not destabilized by activity in the world. Thl: im;lge comes froill
the idea that a dragon is physically an animal yet mem:llly dwells in :1Il
15 8
No tes 011 tbe SUTR A OF HUI-NENG
elevated state. Thus it is used to represent the Mahayana Buddhist ideal
of cranscending the world while in the very midst of the world.
Tile Two Vehicles
This tenn refers to the so-called lesser vehicles of "hearers" (uaunka)
and " individual illuminates" (pl"llt)'ekn-bmJdba), which cu lm.inate in per-
sonal nirvana. In Ch':m terminology, there is a negative implication of
escapism associated with this term. The classical Ch'an J'vhlster Pai-
chang said. "Mendicants of the Two Vehicles have put an end to the
diseases of greed and aversion, removing them compll:tely. They dwell
in the absence of greed and consider that correct. This is the formless
realm. This is obstructing the light of Buddha , thi s is shedding the
blood of Buddha. "
The Sixty- Two Vin1.'S
This is a standard reference to the whole range of non-Buddhist phi-
losophies, based on the reputed existence of sixty-two different schools
ofthought in Buddha's time. In the Ch'an perspective, dogmatic adher-
ence to any view-as if the view were itself reality-is inherently cul-
rish, non-Buddhistic, and heretical.
Five Clusters
This is a standard Buddhist term for the mortal coil. The five clusters
are matter, sensation , perception, coordin:ltion, and consciousness.
T'wo &:11'e111rs fmd Tbree Times
The two extremes are annihilation and eternity, the three times arc
past, present, and furure; cutting these off means liberating the mind
from fi.'(ation on these discriminations as absolute points of reference.
Before tbe Prehistoric BllddlJlls: After fbe Prebistoric Buddhas
These are Ch'an terms: before the prebistoric Bmftlblfs refcrs to nondis-
cursive knowledge; tlfter tbe prtbistoric Bllddblfs refers to discursive
knowledge. These also correspond to what are referred to as the heart
of nirvana and the knowledge of diffcrentiation. [n Taoist terms, the
former is called the science of essence; the latter is called the science of
life.
Prajll11tn1"ll predicud film If (olt 1J)oltld t!l1I1'1-ge
Prajnatara was conside red the TweJltv-sevcnth Grand NIaster the
prcdecessor of Bodhidharma, who intr~duced Ch'an to China. 'The
" co I"·
t IS held to allude to the emel"gcncc of the exceptional masrer
Ma- tzu , one of Huai-jang's disciples, who would popularize Ch'an to
an unprecedented degree, with more than a hundred successors.
 Notes 011 tbe SUTRA Of II UI-:":[NG
JT'!11Jfl1111
A ""111(11111 is someone who is engaged in self-mastery. The word
comes fro lll a verba l root referring to effort, exertion, overcoming, con-
quering, and subduing. Hui-neng appeared to demand courtesy from
monks, not from seif-iml>onance, nor from reverence for rank or con-
vention, but on account of the practical function of humility and cour-
tesy in the process of self-mastery.
C " APTER 8. 1""\lEDIATE AND GRADUAL
Northt171 fllld SOlllbem schools
From an absolute point of view, there is no confict between immedi-
ate and gr.ldual enlightenment. f rom a relative point of view, there may
or may not be such a conflict. \<\'hether or not there is a conflict may
depend, furthermore, on whether the relative I>oint of vicw is relative
to the needs o f the individual or to the indoctri nation of the individual.
\Vhile I-Iui-neng's teach ing may emphasize immediacy and oppose at-
tach ment to rigid fo nml islll, nevertheless he explicitly recognizes the
legitim~tc applications of both immediate and gradual approaches, and
distin!:,'1J ishcs the types of mcntalities to which they are sui led.
\<\'hat is repudi:ued in this story of confl ict between the Northern
and Southern schools is not one possible method of Zen or another, but
the infections of contentiousness and sectarian bigQ['1" The masters
themselves arc depicted as h:1\1ng no truck with the contro\·ersy; it is
the self-important followers who are emotionally overwrough t. Divided
along doctrinaire lincs, the confused followers have forgotten tha t ef-
fective practicality is the essence of the maner, not do!,'matic forma lity.
\"'hile Ilui-neng does not repudiate the gradua l methods of the
Northern school entirely, he does place the immediate way on a higher
level. Furthermore, Ilu i-neng does repud iate an exaggeration associ-
ated with the Northern school and la ter imported imo the Southern
school in spi te of Il ui-neng's warninbTS. Excessh'e and introversional
inhibition of menul and physical activity are coumerinciicated as not
merely ineffective but e\'en harmfuL This particular type of obsessional
behavior can be seen to recur from time to time, typically associated
·with certain historical conditions. This SOrt of degenerate Buddhism
has genera lly been connected with both individual and collective PS)'-
chologieal :lIld social ills, to the extent that it has often provoked reaC-
tive intellectual and cultural opposition to Buddhism itself, as if the
aberration were the reality. This unfortunate fact is probably one rea-
son for the careful preservation of Hui-ncng's teachings.
It is noteworthy that after recording a series of enlightening encoun-
rers between Il ui-neng and challengers of various kinds, this chapter
ends on a note of general resolution of sectarian controversy, not only
within Ch'an Buddhism, but among "various sects," apparently refer-
ring to the broad range of Buddhist schools active in me time of Hui-
neng and his contempora ries.
CHAPTER 9. THE I MPERIAl, SUM.\ION S
Empress WlI Tse~ t' i en W~l S the widow of Kao-tsung, lhe third elll-
peror of the T ang dynasty. Two of her sons succeeded to the imperial
throne, but she displaced them both and personally took the helm of
the empire for twenty-one years, found ing a new Chou dynasty. She
was a great patron of learning, cu lture, and religion, especially Bud-
dhism. She died later on in 705. Emperor Chung-tsung was \.Vu Tse-
t'ien's son, who was ea rlier displaced by his mother, and resumed the
throne in 705.
The " two teachers An and Hsiu " invited to the imperial court were
Shen-hsiu, some of whose followers claimed he was the Sixth Grand
Master, and the revered National Teacher I-lui-an, who died in 709 at
the age o f 1 28. Both Shen-hsiu and I-lui -a n had been disciples of the
Fifth Grand Master Hung-jell .
Hui-neng's refusal to accept imperial patronage is considered part of
his teaching. While some Buddhist masters did accept ro),al and impe-
rial patronage to prOtect and spread the teaching, there is also a tradi-
tion of independence in Ch'an Buddhism. The reasoning is that elite
patronage could attract people to Buddhist orders from me wrong mo-
tivcs.
The Lineage ofGnmd Mnners
The lineage given in the older version of I-Iu i-neng's smra differs
from this onc in severa l pl aces, particularly as rega rds the latest of the
Indian Grand Masters. The T' i~n-t'ai lincage of Buddhist Grand Mas-
ters agrees substanti:llJ}, with the Ch'an versions, except that it ends
with Sinha. The T'ien-t'ai lineage also mentions Madhyantika, who
was another successor to Ananda and is inserted between Ananda and
Sanavasa in the older version of the SlItrn ofHlli-"mg.
,6,