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Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra
With
the commentary of
Tripitaka Master Hua
The Sino-American
Buddhist Association
The Buddhist Text Translation Society
San Francisco
1977
Translated from Chinese by
The Buddhist Text Translation Society
Primary Translation: Bhikshuni Heng Yin
Reviewed By: Bhikshuni Hen Ch'ih
Edited By: Upasaka Kuo Chuo Rounds
Certified By: The Venerable Master Hua
Copyright © 1977 by the Sino-American Buddhist Assn., Buddhist Text Translation
Society
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or transmit it in any form or by any means mechanical or electronic, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Printed in the United States of America
First Edition
(Hong Kong) 1971
Second Edition (USA) 1977
For information address:
Sino-American
Buddhist Association
Gold Mountain Monastery
1731 15the Street
San Francisco, California 94103
USA
(415) 621-5202
(415) 861-9672
ISBN 0-917512-19-7
Table of Contents
Tripitaka Master Hua's Inroduction.........................................................Vii.
Editor's Introduction...............................................................................Ix.
Translator's Introduction.........................................................................xi.
Reviewer's Preface................................................................................xiii.
Foreword...............................................................................................1.
Introduction............................................................................................3.
Chapter I. Action and intention..........................................................39.
Chapter II. Prajna...............................................................................89.
Chapter III. Doubts and Questions......................................................129.
Chapter IV. Concentration and Wisdom...............................................157.
Chapter V. Sitting in Ch'an................................................................167.
Chapter VI. Repentance and Reform....................................................171.
Chapter VII. Opportunities and Conditions............................................201.
Chapter VIII. Sudden and Gradual.........................................................251.
Chapter IX. Proclamations...................................................................275.
Chapter X. Final Instructions...............................................................281.
General Index........................................................................................319.
Index: People And Places.......................................................................331.
Appendix: A Bright Star in a Troubled World:
The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas.........................................337.
The Dharma Realm Buddhist University...................................340.
Buddhist Text Translation Society............................................................343.
Acknowledgements:
Layout and cover: Bhikshuni Heng-ch'ih, Shramanerika Heng-chai.
Typing: Up. Kuo Chih.
Proofreaders and Editorial Assistance: Bhikshuni Heng-hsien, Shramanerikas
Heng-cheih & Heng Ming.
Masters Photo: Up. Kuo Ying Brevoort.
Index: Bhikshuni Heng-ch'ih.
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
The Sixth Patriarch's
Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra is the fundamental text of Ch'an Buddhism. It relates
the life and teachings of Master Hui Neng, The Great Master the Sixth Patriarch,
as set down by one of his disciples. During the seventh and eighth centuries
under the T'ang Dynasty, Master Hui Neng taught the doctrines of no thought
and sudden elightenment, which, as expounded in this text, continue to be the
heart of Ch'an wherever it is practiced. As such, these are the only teachings
of a chines high monk which are regarded by Buddhists as a Sutra, that is, as
a sacred text equal to those compiled by the earlier South Asian masters.
Interest in Buddhism in general and in Ch'an particular is now swiftly growing
in the West, especially in America. Translations and re-translations of many
of the central Buddhist texts have been appearing in consequence. A good deal
of confusion has been an unfortunate by-product. Because Ch'an is so foreign
to traditional Western thought, the renderings of Ch'an teachings into a Western
language requires, even in the most literal translation, the virtual invention
of a new vocabulary of concepts; and each new translation has tended to present
a distinctly different rendition of the central Buddhist ideas. To elucidate
them, commentaries are often added by the translators.
But all of these translations and commentaries have been written by scholars
who are not Buddhists. While that kind of non-membership is hardly important
to a translator of ordinary philosophical writings, it becomes a severe stumbling-block
for the translator of Ch'an teachings. For Ch'an is not a system of thought
at all, but a special kind of moral and psychological work, aimed at a particular
personal transformation which the Buddhists call enlightenment. Only one who
through difficult practice has undergone that transformation can hope to teach
Ch'an authoritatively and translate and comment on the sayings of the other
masters without having to resort to guesswork about what the sayings mean.
Fortunately for the students of the Way, an effort to establish an authoritative
Buddhist canon in English has been now taken by Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua and
his American disciples.
Master Hua stands in the direct line of orthodox Buddhist leadership as it has
been handed down from the time of Shakyamuni Buddha.
The present translation of The Sixth Patriarch's Sutra, here present in its
second edition, was the first work of Master Hua to appear in America ( the
first edition appeared in 1971 ). The translation itself was carried out under
the Master's supervision by the Buddhist Text Translation Society, composed
of the Master's disciples, who scholars both of Chinese and Buddhism. With his
Western readers in mind, the Master has provided a running commentary to the
Sutra text. The commentary was first spoken in a series of lectures in 1969.
The Master's sure and witty manner of making the most difficult concepts plain,
already well known to the Buddhists on both sides of the Pacific, has been rendered
in English by his disciples with an eye to retaining the lively spoken style
of the original.
In his commentary, Master Hua's method is to read a few lines from the Sutra
text and then expound upon their meaning or expand the doctorines in question,
often by reference to contemporary American problems. This style of exposition
follows the tradition of lecturing Sutras that has existed in China for many
centuries. Until the appearance of this volume in it's first edition, there
had been in the West little or no record or even description of the verbal teachings
of Buddhism. The present volume serves as a rare example of Buddhism in action,
as it has survived intact through the centuries.
Upasaka Kuo
Chou Rounds
Buddhist Text Translation Society
San Francisco, 1977.
Biography of The Venerable Master
Discovering and perfecting the method to extricate living beings from the most
fundamental problem of human existence--that of birth and death--has been the
primary focus of the venerable Master Hsuan Hua's life.
On the sixteenth day of the third lunar month in 1908, his mother saw Amitaba
Buddha emitting a light which illumined the entire world, when she awoke from
this dream she gave birth to the Venerable Master. A rare fragrance lingered
in the room following her dream and throughout the birth.
The master's awareness of death came at eleven years old when he saw a lifeless
infant. The realization that death and birth followed upon on another without
cease and both bring suffering, pain and sorrow, awakened a profound sense of
compassion and prompted his immediate resolution to leave home life and learn
to bring an end to the cycle of birth and death. He honored his mother's wishes
that he remained at home to serve his parents until their deaths, however.
The following year on Kuan Yin Bodhisattva's birthday, he dreamed that an old
woman wearing a patchwork robe and a string of beads appeared to guide him through
a wilderness in which he was lost. she radiated compassion as she led him over
the road which was gutted with deep and dangerous holes. He knew that if he
had tried to traverse the road alone it would have been difficult if not impossible
to reach safety, but as she guided him, the road became smooth and safe and
he could see clearly in all directions. Ahead was his home. Glancing back on
the dangerous road, he saw many people following him--old and young, men and
women, sangha and scholars. "Who are these people?" he asked, "Where
did they come from and where are they going?"
"They have affinities with you," she said, "and they also want
to go home. You must show them the Way so that you may all arrive at nirvana.
I have important work to do elsewhere, and so I shall leave you now, but soon
we shall meet again."
The Master asked her name and where she lived. "You will find out when
you arrive home," she said. "There's no need to ask so many questions."
Suddenly she whirled around and disappeared. The Master led the people safely
home and woke from his dream feeling extremely happy.
During that same year he began bowing to his parents three times each, in the
morning and evening--twelve bows a day. Then he thought "The world is bigger
than just my father and mother," then he began to bow to the heavens, the
earth, to the Emperor, and to his teachers as well. He also bowed to his master,
even though he had not yet met him. The Master new that without the aid of a
good knowing advisor, it is impossible to cultivate, and he felt he would meet
his master soon. He also bowed to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Pratyeka Buddhas,
and Arhats, and to all the good people in the world to thank them for all the
good deed they had done; he bowed on behalf of the people they helped.
"Evil people are to be pitied," he thought, and he bowed for them,
asking that their karmis offenses might be lessened and that they might learn
to repent and reform. When doing this, he thought of himself as the very worst
offender. each day he thought of new people to bow for and soon he was bowing
837 times in the morning and 837 times in the evening, which took about three
hours a day in all.
The Master didn't let others see him bow. He rose at four in the morning, washed
his face, went outside, lit a sick of incense, and bowed, regardless of the
weather. If there was snow on the ground, he would just bow in the snow. In
the evening, long after everyone was asleep, he went outside and bowed again.
He practiced this way every day for six years. During these years his filial
devotion became known far and wide and he was referred to as "Filial Son
Pai." Nor did his filial devotion end at the death of his parents. On the
day his mother was buried, he remained behind after the ceremonies were completed
to begin a three-year vigil beside her grave. Shortly after, he left his mother's
grave long enough to go to Three Conditions Temple;e at P'ing Fang Station south
of Harbin to receive the shramanera precepts from Great Master Ch'an Chih. He
then returned to his mother's grave and built a five by eight hut out of five
inch sorghum stalks which kept out the wind and rain but actually set up a little
distinction between inside and outside. He commenced to observe the custom of
filial piety for watching over his mother's grave for a period of three years.
Clothed only in a rag robe, he endured the bitter Manchurian snow and blazing
summer sun. He only ate one meal a day, when there was food, and he simply did
not eat if food was not offered to him. He never lay down to sleep.
At the side of the grave, the Master read many sutras. When he first read the
Lotus Sutra, he jumped for joy. He knelt and recited it for seven days and seven
nights, forgetting to sleep, forgetting to eat, until eventually blood flowed
from his eyes and his vision dimmed. Then he read the Shurangama Sutra, thoroughly
investigating the Great Samadhi and quietly cultivating it: the three stoppings,
the three contemplations, neither moving nor still. The master relates of this
experience:
"I began to obtain single-minded profound stillness, and penetrate the
noumenal state. When i read the Avatamsaka, the enlightenment became boundless
in its scope, indescribable in its magnificence, unsurpassed in its loftiness,
and ineffable in its clarity. National Master Ch'ing Liang said,
Opening and disclosing
the mysterious and subtle,
Understanding and expanding the mind
and its states,
Exhausting the principle
while fathoming its nature,
Penetrating the result
which includes the cause,
Deep and wide,
and interfused,
Vast and great
and totally complete.
"It is
certainly so! It is certainly so! At that time I could not put down the text,
and bowed to and recited the Great Sutra as if it were clothing from which one
must not part or food which one could not do without for even a day. And i vowed
to myself to see to its vast circulation."
When his filial duties were completed, the master went into seclusion in Amitaba
Cave in the mountains east of his home town. There he delved deeply into dhyana
meditation practiced rigorous asceticism, eating only pine nut and drinking
only spring water. The area abound with wild beasts, but they never disturbed
the master. In fact wolves and bears behaved like house pets, tigers stopped
to listen to his teachings, and wild birds gathered to hear the wonderful Dharma.
After his stay in the mountains, the Master returned to Three Conditions Monastery
where he helped the Venerable Master Ch'ang-chih and the Venerable Master Ch'ang-jen
to greatly expand the monastery, while simultaneously devoting his time to the
propagation of the Dharma.
For more than three decades in Manchuria, the Master adhered strictly to ascetic
cultivation, diligently practiced dhyana meditation, and worked tirelessly for
the expansion and propagation of the Dharma. During those years, he visited
many of the local monasteries, attended extensive meditation and recitation
sessions, and walk ed many miles to listen to lectures on the Sutras, in addition
to lecturing on the Sutras himself. he also visited various non-Buddhist establishments
and obtained a thorough grounding in the range of their specific beliefs.
In 1946 the master made a major pilgrimage which took him to P'u T'o Mountain
to receive the complete precepts in 1947. Then in 1948, after three thousand
miles of travel, the Master went to Nan-hua Monastery and bowed before the Venerable
master Hsu-yun, the 44th Patriarch of Shakyamuni Buddha. At that first meeting
the Venerable Master Hsu-yun, who was then 109 years old, recognized the master
to be a vessel worthy of the Dharma and capable of its propagation. he sealed
and certified the master's spiritual skill and transmitted to him the wonderful
mind-to-mind seal of all Buddhas. Thus the Master became the 45th generation
in a line descending from Shakyamuni Buddha, the nineteenth generation in china
for Bodhidharma, and the ninth generation of the Wei-yang lineage. of their
meeting the Master has written:
The Noble Yun saw me and said, "Thus it is."
I saw the Noble Yun and verified, "thus it is."
The Noble Yun and I, both Thus,
Universally vow that all beings will also be Thus."
The mind-to-mind
transmission is preformed apart from the appearance of the spoken word, apart
from the mark of the written word, apart from the characteristic of the conditioned
mind--apart from all such differences. Only sages who have genuine realization
understand it; ordinary people have no idea what is happening. It is a mutual
recognition of the embodiment of the principle of true suchness.
Nearly eight years later, in may of 1956, the Venerable Master yun sent to the
Master a document entitled "The Treasury of the Orthodox Dharma Eye: The
Source of Buddhas and Patriarchs." The document bears the seals of Yun-chu
Monastery and of the Venerable Master Yun. It serves as tangible and public
certification of the transmission of the mind-to-mind seal from the Venerable
Yun to the Master, which took place during their initial meeting in 1948.
In 1950 the Master resigned his post at Nan Hua Monastery as the Director of
the Nan Hua Institute for the Study of the Vinaya, and journeyed to Hong Kong
where he lived in a mountainside cave in the Mew Territories. he stayed in the
cave until a large influx of Sangha members fleeing the mainland required his
help in establishing new monasteries and temples throughout Hong Kong. he personally
established two temples and a lecture hall and helped to bring about the construction
of many others. He dwelt in Hong Kong for twelve years, during which many people
were influenced by his arduous cultivation and awesome manner to take refuge
with the Triple Jewel, cultivating the Dharma-door of recitation of the Buddha's
name, and to support the propagation of the Buddhadharma.
In 1962 the Master carried the Buddha's Dharma banner farther west to the shores
of America where he took up residence in San Francisco, sat in meditation, and
waited for past causes to ripen and bear their fruit. In the beginning of the
year in 1968 the Master declared the flower of Buddhism would bloom that year
in America with five petals; in the summer of that year the Master conducted
the Shurangama Sutra dharma assembly which lasted 96 days--five of the people
who attended the session left the home-life and became bhikshus and bhikshunis
under the Master's guidance. Since that time more than twenty people have left
the home life under his guidance.
In 1968 the Master has delivered complete commentaries on The Heart Sutra, The
Diamond Sutra, The Sixth Patriarch's Sutra, The Amitaba Sutra, The Sutra of
the Past Vows of Earth Store Bodhisattva, The Great Compassion Heart Dharani
Sutra, The Dharma Flower Sutra, The Sutra in Forty-two Sections, The Shramanera
Vinaya and others. In June of 1971 the Master commenced a Dharma Assembly on
the king of sutras, the Avatamasaka. With such tireless vigor the Master has
firmly planted the roots of Dharma in western soil so that it can become self
perpetuating. he has spent many hours every day explaining the teachings and
their applications to cultivation, steeping his disciples in the nectar of Dharma
that they might carry on the Buddha's teachings.
The miraculous events that have taken place in the Master's life are far too
numerous to relate in this brief sketch. This is but a brief outline of how
the master has worked with selfless devotion to lay the foundation of the Buddha's
teachings on western soil.
Tripitaka Master Hua's Introduction
All of the
Sutras are guides to use in cultivating the way. They may be spoken by the Buddhas,
the Bodhisattvas, the Patriarchs, and also by Arhats, transformation beings,
and gods. Although they all serve the same purpose, the doctrines within them
differ.
The Sutras spoken by the Buddha were translated from their Indian languages
into Chinese, and thus worked their way into Chinese society. In China, then,
all the Sutras were translations, with the sole exception of this present work
The Sixth Patriarch's Sutra, which was spoken by the great Chinese master the
Sixth Patriarch. The Great Master was originally an illiterate peasant. When
he heard the sentence of The Vajra (Diamond) Sutra which said, "One should
produce that thought which is nowhere supported, " he experienced an awakening
and went to Huang Mei to draw near to the Fifth patriarch, the Great Master
Hung Jen. The Fifth patriarch transmitted to him the wonderful Dharma, "using
the mind to seal the mind." which has been handed down in unbroken Patriarchal
succession. The Sixth Patriarch inherited this mind-seal Dharma-door and proceeded
to carry out the wisdom-life of the Buddha in his speaking of The Sixth Patriarch's
Sutra.
Now, it has been translated into English and the mind-seal Dharma-door of the
Buddha has there by been transmitted in perpetuity to the West. It is hoped
that Westerners will now read, recite, and study it, and all become Buddhas,
Bodhisattvas, and/or Patriarchs. This the main objective of this translation.
may all who see and hear it quickly accomplish the Buddha Way.
Wherever the Sutra is transmitted, the Orthodox Dharma may be found right in
that place, causing living beings quickly to accomplish Buddhahood; such is
the importance of this new translation. The Sutra is indeed a treasure trove;
it is the true body of the Buddha, the compassionate father and mother of all
living beings. It can give rise to limitless Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Patriarchs!
May all in the West who now read this Sutra realize Bodhi and accomplish the
Buddha Way!
The Sutras contain the precious wisdom of the Buddha. There are some, let us
call them "garbage-eating" scholars who claim that The Shurangama
Sutra was not spoken by the Buddha. This is most certainly not the case, and
I have made the following vow: If the Shurangama Sutra is false, I will fall
into the uninterrupted hells forever.
Ch'ang Pai-shan Seng
San Francisco
August 1977
Translator's Introduction
This is the second edition of the first commentary to The Sixth's Patriarch's
Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra ever to express the essence of the
Sixth Patriarch's heart. Since the time the Great Master spoke this Sutra, no
other commentary has revealed his basic principles, the Dharma of his heart.
Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua's commentary unfolds the heart Dharma, the mind-seal,
before the reader.
If you wish to understand the wonderful meaning of this Sutra, you should study
this commentary, for within it are set forth the limitless, inexhaustible, profound
principles of Buddhadharma. Among Western and Eastern peoples it is the flower
of wisdom, the real fruit of Bodhi.
Furthermore, this translation has been prepared by the Buddhist Text translation
Society of the Sino-American Buddhist Association. Each of its members, Bhikshus,
Bhikshunis, Upasakas, Upasikas, many of whom hold Master's and Doctor's degrees,
have read the manuscript with care over a period of several years to insure
its accuracy.
Essentially, the mind-seal cannot be spoken or expressed in writing, but in
his commentary the Master has done just that, using analogies and expedient
devices to cause people to understand what they have never understood before.
Tripitaka Master Hua was born in northern China, and after his mother's death
he practiced filial piety by sitting beside her grave for a period of three
years. he built a small grass hut to keep out the wind and rain, and sat there
in meditation. if food was brought to him he ate; if no food was brought, he
did not.
The Master later travelled south to Canton, where he was appointed by venerable
master Hsu Yun to serve as head of the Vinaya Academy at Nan Hua Monastery,
the temple of the Sixth Patriarch. He later received in transmission the Dharma
of Master Hsu Yun and became his Dharma successor.
Since arriving in America, the Master has turned the Great Dharma Wheel, lecturing
on such Sutras as The Shurangama Sutra, The Lotus Sutra. the Earth Store Bodhisattva
Sutra, the Vajra Sutra, and the Heart Sutra, and others. He teaches an ever-growing
number of American disciples many of whom have left home to become Bhikshus
and Bhikshunis.
In San Francisco, the Master has founded Gold Mountain Monastery where he is
lecturing on The Avatamsaka Sutra. He also founded the International Institute
for the Translation of Buddhist texts. He also made the solemn vow that wherever
he goes the Orthodox Dharma will prevail and the Dharma-ending Age shall not
set in. Most recently the Master established the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas,
near Talmage, California. a vast complex of 237 acres and 60 buildings, to serve
as the center of World Buddhism. The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas now holds
Dharma Realm Buddhist University, of which the Master is President, and soon
to be established are many programs to benefit living beings in many ways.
The Master firmly upholds the Orthodox Dharma, for the Dharma he teaches from
direct and authoritative transmission, and he works unceasingly for the Buddha,
the Dharma, and the Sangha. This lively commentary constitutes the first authentic
transmission to the West of the mind-seal of all Buddhas which has passed in
unbroken patriarchal succession from Shakyamuni Buddha to present day. We present
this volume as the foundation for the flourishing of Buddhadharma in the West.
Bhikshuni Heng Yin
Buddhist Text Translation Society
Co-chairperson, Primary Translation
Committee, International Institute for
the Translation of Buddhist Texts
San Francisco
August, 1977
Reviewer's Preface
When the fifth
Patriarch transmitted the Dharma to the Sixth Patriarch he said to him, "Do
not speak too soon, for the Buddhadharma arises from difficulty."
Centuries later in Northern China, Tripitaka master Hsuan Hua, then known as
Filial Son Pai, was practicing filial piety. He cultivated and meditated for
three years beside his mother's grave. His only protection from the northern
winds and rains was a five foot square hut made from the stalks of sorghum bound
together in an A-frame which left both ends exposed to the elements.
One time when cultivating there a miracle happened. Filial Son Pai saw the Great
Master the Sixth Patriarch come to his hut. he entered through one of the openings
and talked to the filial son just like an ordinary person. Filial Son Pai thought
that he was real, forgetting at that time that the Great Master had entered
Nirvana over a thousand years ago. The Sixth patriarch said to the Filial Son:
"In the future you can go to America.
You will meet this person and that person...
Five schools will divide into ten,
to teach and transform living beings.
Ten will become a hundred,
a hundred will become a thousand,
and so forth to endless, endless numbers,
in abundance, abundance, abundance,
endless abundance--
numbers incalculable as grains of sand
in the River Ganges. This Marks of the true
beginning
of the Proper Dharma in the West."
After they had talked, when the great master moved to leave, the filial son
rose to escort him. They walked together a few steps and suddenly the Sixth
Patriarch was gone. it was then that the Filial Son Pai realized, "Oh!
The Sixth Patriarch entered Nirvana hundreds of years ago, but nonetheless,
I met him today!"
Several decades after this miracle, following years of difficulty and hard cultivation,
in a cold and tiny temple in Chinatown, Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua began transmitting
the Dharma of the mind-seal of all Patriarchs. he continues to do so every day.
Those who recognize him listen to it, consider it, and cultivate it.
In this commentary on The Sixth Patriarch's Sutra the master says, "...you
will succeed only if you do not fear suffering. The Buddhadharma arises from
difficulty, the more difficult, the better. So now you must endure suffering.
This is difficult, but you can do it, for it is the opening of your wisdom."
Bhikshuni Heng
Ch'ih
Buddhist Text Translation Society
Co-chairperson
Primary Translation Committee
International Institute for the
translation of Buddhist Texts
San Francisco
August, 1977
FOREWORD
The Sixth Patriarch's
Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra has been explained in America before, but i do not
know how well it has been done. Some lecturers simply read the text aloud, and,
since each Sutra has its own special interpretation, merely reading it aloud
does not reveal the meaning.
The Buddhadharma flourished in China, but only the teachings of the Sixth Patriarch,
the illiterate Patriarch, were made into a Sutra. it was recorded by the Master's
disciple Fa Hai.1 Although his transcription may not mirror the patriarch's
exact words, the meanings expressed are correct.
I hope that every one will study the Buddhadharma with his true mind, and not
hold the opinion that it is very easy. it is only by regarding the buddhadharma
as extremely important that you will be able to comprehend the principles which
i explain.
Introduction
The Sixth Patriarch's
Dharma Jewel Platform is the specific title of this Sutra, and the word Sutra
is a general term for all discourses given by the Buddha. In order to clarify
their content, Sutra titles are classified into seven types, according to their
reference to person, dharma, and analogy, as follows:
A. Three Single: Three of the same types of titles refer to only one of those
categories of person, dharma, or analogy, and so they are called the three single."
For example:
1. The Buddha Speaks of Amitaba Sutra is a title established solely by reference
by person; both the Buddha and Amitaba are persons, for only a person can cultivate
and realize Buddhahood. The Buddha is a person,people
are just Buddhas. In Chinese, when we write the word Buddha ( ), the
symbol for "person"( ) stands on the left-side.
2. The Mahaparinirvana Sutra is a title established by reference to the Dharma,
"nirvana." Nirvana is a Sanskirt word which in Chinese is composed
of two characters " -nieh p'an" which may be explained as "not
produced and not destroyed."
3. The Brahma Net Sutra is a title established by reference to analogy. In this
Sutra the Buddha the precepts. if you keep these precepts, you will give forth
light, like the great net in the heaven of the Brahma King. But if you carelessly
break the precepts, you commit the grave offense of "knowing and yet deliberately
violating the dharma." Your light then flows into the three evil paths:
the hell beings, animals, and hungry ghosts, where there is not the slightest
trace of merciful treatment.
B. Three Double: Titles established by reference to person and dharma, person
and analogy, or dharma and analogy are called the "three double."
For example:
4. The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra is a title established by reference
to dharma and analogy since the Wonderful Dharma is analogous to the Lotus Flower.
5. The Lion Roar of the Thus Come One Sutra is a title established by reference
to person and analogy. Thus Come One is the first of ten honorific titles given
to every Buddha and therefore represents a person. The Lion Roar is analogous
to him speaking the Dharma.
6. The Sutra of the Questions of Manjushri is a title established by reference
to a person, the Bodhisattva manjushri of great wisdom, and the Dharma he requested,
Prajna.
C. Complete in One: The seventh classification contains references to person,
dharma, and analogy.
7. The Great Universal Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra (Avatamsaka Sutra) refers
to the buddha as a person, Great and Universal as a dharma, and Flower Adornment
as an analogy.
The Sixth patriarch's Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra is a chinese, not an Indian
Sutra, and its title is not classified according to the seven topics mentioned
above. This sutra is classified according to person, dharma, and place. The
Sixth patriarch is a person, the Dharma jewel is a dharma, and the Platform
is a place.
I will now explain the specific title of this Sutra.
The Sixth Patriarch. master Hui Neng of nan hua Temple, who spoke the Sutra
at the beginning of the eighth century A.D., was the Sixth Chinese Patriarch.
he lived six generations after bodhidharma, who brought the Mahayana teaching
to China from India and who become the First Chinese Patriarch. Bodhidharma
was also the twenty-eighth Indian Patriarch, and so from the time of Shakyamuni
buddha, the Great Master Hui Neng is counted as the Thirty-Third generational
Patriarch.
Dharma. Dharma is a method. It is like a rule, a model, or a pattern. if one
cultivates according to this method, that is practicing "Dharma."
Platform. The platform is the place this Sutra was spoken. This Dharma Seat
may rise above the ground by three, five or nine feet, but never more than ten
feet. In front of it sits a small table which holds Sutras. Dharma Masters speak
Dharma, administer the Three Refuges,1 and transmit precepts from the Dharma
Seat, which Dharma protectors, good spirits, and numerous diamond-treasury Bodhisattvas.2
take turns protecting.
Sutra. The Sixth Patriarch's Dharma Jewel platform is the specific name of the
Sutra, and the word "Sutra" is its general name. "Sutra"
is a Sanskrit word which means "a tally." Above, it tallys with the
true principle of all Buddhas, and below, with the opportunities for teaching
living beings. Above, it tallies with true suchness, the miraculous principle
of all Buddhas, and below, it tallies with the living beings who need the teaching.
Thus, a Sutra tallies with both the principle and the opportunity.
The word Sutra has four additional meanings:
1. String together. The principles of the bodhidharma are linked together by
the Sutra just like beads are linked together on a string.
2. Attracting. Creating opportunities for teaching living beings, a Sutra attracts
living beings just like a magnet attracts iron fillings. All living beings who
wish to study the Buddhadharma will be drawn to the principles in the Sutras,
like iron fillings to a magnet.
3. Permanent. From antiquity to the present, a Sutra does not change. Not one
word can be deleted; not one meaning can be added. Not increasing or decreasing,
a Sutra is permanent, unchanging.
4. Method. A Sutra is a method respected by living beings of three periods of
time. In the past, living beings relied on this method to cultivate and attain
Buddhahood. In the present, living beings depend on it to move from the position
of foolish common people to that of Buddhahood. In the future, living beings
will also cultivate according to this method. A Sutra is a method, then, venerated
throughout the three periods of time.
The word Sutra has many more meanings. For example, a Sutra is like a bubbling
spring; principles flow from it like bubbling water up out of the earth. It
is also like carpenter's chalk-line, which makes a perfectly clear, straight
guide. But if you understand the first four meanings, you understand the basic
meanings.
To explain a Sutra correctly, one must first outline it according to the Five
Profound Meanings of the T'ien T'ai School:
1. Explaining the name. According to the seven kinds of Sutra titles explained
previously, this Sutra is established by reference to person, Dharma, analogy,
and place.
2. Discriminating the Substance. This Sutra takes the Real Mark1 as its substance.
The Real Mark is without a mark, and yet there is nothing which is not marked
by it.
3. Clarifying the Principle. The principle of this Sutra is the realization
of Buddhahood. if you cultivate according to this Sutra, you can realize the
Buddha position
4. Discussing the Function. This Sutras function is to lead you to understand
the mind and see your own nature. if you understand the mind, you have no worries.
if you see your own nature, you have no cares. No longer do you quit worrying
about one problem only to begin worrying about another and, when that one is
solved, find yet another one to take its place. If you understand the mind and
see your own nature, then everything is easy.
5. Determining the teaching mark. This Sutra is like sweet dew, the heavenly
elixir of immortality. Drink it once and you will never die. The Sutra is also
like ghee, a clarified butter with the most miraculous and the most subtle of
tastes. Ghee is also used to describe the Sutras spoken by Shakyamuni Buddha
during the Dharma Flower and Lotus-Nirvana periods of his teaching.1
THE FIVE PREVIOUS CHINESE PATRIARCHS
It wasn't easy
being the Sixth Patriarch. Many wished to kill him and his disciples as well.
For this reason, after the Great master obtained the Dharma, he went into hiding,
dwelling among hunters for sixteen years. Even after establishing his Dharma
platform at Nan Hua Temple, followers of other religions tried to kill him,
and so the Great Master hid inside a big rock. He sat there in meditation, and
although they set the mountain on fire, he was untouched by the flames. The
rock could still be seen when i was at Nan Hua Temple.
Who wanted to kill him? In general it wasn't you and it wasn't me. On the other
hand if you consider the insane things we have done in our past lives, it might
well have been you or it could have been me. But in this life it wasn't you
or me so there is no need to worry about breaking precepts in this case.
As I told you, the Great Master is counted as the Sixth Patriarch from the First
Patriarch, Bodhidharma, who was the Twenty-eighth Indian Patriarch. "Bodhi"
means enlightenment and "Dharma" means law. When Bodhidharma set sail
from India, fulfilling Shakyamuni Buddha's prediction that Mahayana1 teaching
would be transmitted to China during the time of the Twenty-eighth Patriarch,
the Buddhadharma already existed in China, yet it was if it was not there at
all. Although there were men who studied, there were few who lectured or recited
the sutras and repentance ceremonies were seldom practiced. Cultivation was
superficial. Scholars debated and argued, but none of them truly understood.
The principles in the Sutras must be cultivated, but at that time in China they
were not cultivated because everyone feared suffering. Now, in America, it is
just the same. People sit in meditation. However as soon as there legs begin
to ache, they wince and fidget and then gently unbend them. People are just
people and nobody likes to have aching leg
While still in India, Patriarch Bodhidharma sent two of his disciples, Fo T'o
and Yeh She, to China to transmit the sudden enlightenment Dharma door. But
no one, not even Chinese Bhikshus1 would speak to them. So they went to Lu Mountain
where they met the Great Master Yuan Kung, who lectured on mindfulness of the
Buddha.
Master Yuan asked, "What Dharma do you transmit that causes people to pay
you so little respect?"
Fo T'o and Yen She could not speak Chinese, so they used sign language instead.
raising their arms in the air, they said, "Watch! The hand makes a fist
and the fist makes a hand. Is this not quick?"
Master Yuan replied, "Quick indeed."
"Bodhi (enlightenment) and affliction," they said, "are just
that quick." At that moment, Dharma Master Yuan became enlightened, realizing
that originally Bodhi and affliction are not different, for bodhi is affliction
and affliction is Bodhi. he made offerings to Fo T'o and Yeh She, and shortly
thereafter, the two Indian Bhikshus died on the same day, in the same place.
Their graves may still be seen at Lu Mountain.
Patriarch Bodhidharma saw that the roots of Mahayana, the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma,
were ripe in China. Fearing neither the distance nor the hardship of travel,
he took the dharma there. The Chinese called him "barbarian" because
he talked in a way no one understood. When the children looked up at the bearded
Bodhidharma, they ran away in terror. Adults feared that he was a kidnapper
and so told their children to stay away from him.
Patriarch Bodhidharma went to Nan Ching where he listen to Dharma Master Shen
Kuang explain the sutras. When Shen Kuang spoke, the heavens rained fragrant
blossoms and a gold-petalled lotus rose from the earth for him to sit upon.
However, only those with good roots, who had opened the five eyes2 and the six
spiritual penetrations were able to see that. Now! Isn't that wonderful?
After listening to the Sutra, Bodhidharma asked, "Dharma Master, what are
you doing?"
"I am explaining Sutras," Shen Kuang replied.
"Why are you explaining Sutras?"
"I am teaching people to end birth and death."
"Oh?" said Bodhidharma, "exactly how do you do that? In this
Sutra which you explain, the words are black and the paper is white. How does
this teach people to end birth and death?"
Dharma master
Shen Kuang had nothing to say. How did he teach people to end birth and death?
He fumed in silence. Then, even though heavenly maidens rained down flowers
and the earth gave forth golden lotuses, Dharma master Shen Kuang. This is what
I mean when I say that the Buddhadharma existed in China but it was if it were
not there at all.
When angry, Dharma master Shen Kuang used his heavy iron beads to level opposition.
In response to Bodhidharma's question, he reddened with anger and raged like
a tidal wave smashing a mountain. As he whipped out his beads, he snapped, "You
are slandering the Dharma!" and cracked Bodhidharma across the mouth, knocking
loose two teeth. Bodhidharma neither moved nor spoke. He hadn't expected such
a vicious reply.
There is a legend about the teeth of holy men. You must not ask about the principle,
however, because it is too inconceivable. The legend says that if a sage's teeth
fall to the ground, it won't rain for three years. Patriarch Bodhidharma thought,
"If it doesn't rain for three years, people will starve! I have come to
China to save living beings, not to kill them!" So Bodhidharma did not
let his teeth fall to the ground. Instead, he swallowed them and disappeared
down the road. Although he had been beaten and reviled, Bodhidharma could not
go to the government and file suit against Dharma Master Shen Kuang. Those who
have left home have to be patient. How much more must a patriarch forbear.
Bodhidharma then met a parrot imprisoned in a wicker cage. This bird was much
more intelligent than the Dharma Master Shen Kuang. Recognizing Bodhidharma
as the First Patriarch, the bird said.
Mind from the West.
Mind from the West.
Teach me a way
To escape from this cage.
Although Bodhidharma had received no response from people, this parrot recognized him. Hearing the birds plea for help, Bodhidharma whispered a secret expedient teaching to teach his bird how to end suffering. He said,
To escape the cage,
To escape the cage,
Put out both legs,
Close both eyes.
This is the way
To escape from the cage!
The parrot listened
attentively and said, "All right! I understand," and stuck out his
legs, closed his eyes, and waited.
When the bird's owner came home from work, he always played with his parrot.
But this time when he looked in the cage he was shocked. The owner was on the
verge of tears. he couldn't have been more upset if his son had died. He pulled
opened the cage door and scooped up the bird, which lay still and quiet in his
hand. The body had not yet chilled. The owner looked with disbelief at the little
body. He peaked at it from left and right...it didn't even quiver. Slowly he
open his hand...PHLLRTTPHLRTTPHLRTT! The bird broke loose from his hand and
flew away!
Now, like the parrot, we are in a cage. How do you escape? You may say, "T
am really free. if I want to eat, I eat; if I want to drink, I drink. I do not
have to follow rules. I can do anything."
Don't think you are quite so clever. This is not freedom, it is just confusion.
To be free, you must be free of birth and death, and then, if you wish to fly
into space you can fly into space, and if you wish to drop into the earth, you
can drop into the earth. If you can do this, you are truly independent. Like
the parrot, you are free.
As I explain The Sixth Patriarch's Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra, I do not lecture
well. This is not polite talk; it's true. Some lecture well, yet do not dare
explain. After I have lectured, you of true eloquence may follow. When you opened
your wisdom, you will understand.
In his anger, Dharma Master Shen Kuang knocked out two of Bodhidharma's teeth.
he thought he had won a great victory because the Barbarian put forth no opposition.
But not long after, the Ghost of Impermanence, wearing a high hat, paid a call
on Dharma Master Shen Kuang:
"Your life ends today," said the ghost. "King Yama, the king
of the dead, has sent me to escort you."
Master Shen Kuang said, "What? why must I die? When I speak the Dharma,
flowers fall from the heavens and the earth bubbles forth golden lotuses, yet
I still have not ended birth and death? Tell me, is there a person in this world
who has ended birth and death?"
"There is," came the reply.
"Who?" asked Shen Kuang. "Tell me, and I'll follow him to study
the Way."
"he is the black-faced Bhikshu whose teeth you knocked out. King yama bows
to him everyday."
"Please, Old Ghost, speak to king yama on my behalf. I want to follow that
Bhikshu. I am determined to end birth and death. Can't you allow me some more
time?"
"All right," said the ghost. "Since you are sincere, King Yama
will wait."
Dharma Master Shen Kuang was delighted. he was so quick to rush after Bodhidharma,
that he forgot to thank the Ghost of Impermanence; in fact, he even forgot to
put on his shoes. He ran until he met the parrot whom Bodhidharma had freed,
and suddenly he understood, "Originally it is just this way! I need only
act dead. I need only be a living dead person!"
Bodhidharma walked on, ignoring the barefoot Dharma Master following behind.
Arriving at Bear's Ear Mountain in Loyang, the Patriarch sat down to meditate
facing a wall. For nine years, Patriarch Bodhidharma sat meditating and Dharma
Master Shen Kuang knelt beside him, seeking the Dharma.
Earlier, when I spoke this public record, an eleven year old child asked me,
"During the nine years he knelt, did he eat or not?" I replied, "How
could anyone kneel for nine years without eating and still live? When the Patriarch
meditated, Shen Kuang knelt, and when the patriarch ate, Shen Kuang ate."
But this is not recorded in the books. While the Patriarch was sitting, many
people came to bow to him and were receive as his disciples.
One day a great snow fell, and it rose in drifts as high as Shen Kuang's waist,
and yet he continued to kneel. Finally Patriarch Bodhidharma asked him, "Why
are you kneeling here in such deep snow?"
"I want to end birth and death," replied Shen kuang. "When I
was lecturing Sutras I was unsuccessful. Please, Patriarch, transmit this dharma
to me."
"What do you see falling from the sky?" asked Bodhidharma.
"Snow," said Shen Kuang.
"What color is it?" asked Bodhidharma.
"It's white of course."
"When red snow falls from the sky," said Bodhidharma, "I will
transmit the Dharma to you. You knocked out two of my teeth, and I have been
most compassionate in not taking revenge. Do you really expect me to give you
the Dharma?" This was the test that the Patriarch Bodhidharna gave to Master
Shen Kuang.
How did Shen kuang complete this test? Cultivators of the Way carry a knife
to protect the substance of their precepts. A true cultivator would rather cut
off his head than break a precept.
Shen kuang drew his precept knife, and with one slice, cut off his arm and thus
passed his test. His blood flowed on the new fallen snow. He scooped up a bucket
full of crimson snow, dumped it before Bodhidharma, and said, "Patriarch
do you see? The snow is red!"
Bodhidharma said, "So it is, so it is." He had tested Shen Kuang's
sincerity, and now the Patriarch was extremely happy. "My coming to China
has not been in vain...I have met a person who dares to use a true mind to cultivate
the Way, even forsaking his arm in search of the Dharma."
The patriarch then spoke the Dharma door of "Using the mind to seal the
mind." 1 It points straight to the mind to see the nature and realize Buddhahood.
While hearing this dharma, Shen Kuang didn't think about the pain in his arm,
and before that he had thought only making the snow turn red. But now once again
produced discursive thought: "My arm really hurts!" he said. "My
mind is in pain. Please Patriarch, quiet my mind."
"Find your mind," said Bodhidharma. "Show it to me and I will
quiet it for you."
Dharma Master Shen Kuang searched for his mind he looked in the ten directions:
north, east, south, west, in the intermediate points, and up and down. he also
looked in the seven places that the Venerable Ananda looked when Shakyamuni
Buddha asked him the same question in the Shuragama Sutra.2 That is.
1. He looked inside his body;
2. he looked outside his body;
3. he looked for it hidden somewhere in his sense organs.
4. He looked where there was light;
5. He looked at the place where conditions come together.
6. He looked in the middle, between the organs and their objects;
7. And, finally he looked in the place of non-attachment, which is no place.
At last Shen Kuang said to Bodhidharma, "I can't find my mind! Great Master,
it is nowhere to be found."
"This is how well i have quieted your mind," said the Patriarch. At
these words, Shen Kuang understood the meaning of the Dharma transmission, the
wonderful, ineffable principle.
Ten thousand dharmas return to one;
Where does the one return?
Shen Kuang did not understand,
And ran after Bodhidharma;
Before him at Bear's Ear Mountain
Knelt nine years
Seeking Dharma to escape King Yama.
With the transmission
of the Dharma, Shen Kuang received the name "Hui K'o" which means
"Able Wisdom."
Master Hui K'o asked Bodhidharma, "In India, did you transmit the dharma
to your disciples? Did you also give the robe and the bowl as certification?"
"I transmitted the Dharma in India," replied Bodhidharma, "but
i did not use the robe and the bowl. Indian people are straight forward. When
they attain the fruit, they know they must be certified. If no one certifies
them, they do not say, 'I have attained the Way! I have given proof to Arhatship!
I am a Bodhisattva!' They do not speak like this."
"Chinese people, however, are different. many Chinese have the Great Vehicle
Root Nature,1 but there are also many people who lie. Having cultivated without
success, such people claim to have the way. Though they have not certified the
fruit, they claim to be certified sages. Therefore I transmit the robe and bowl
to prove that you have received the transmission. Guard them well and take care."
While the Patriarch was in China, he was poisoned six times. Dharma Master Bodhiiruci
and Vinaya Master Kuang T'ung were jealous of him. They prepared a vegetarian
meal which contained a invariably fatal drug, and offered it to the Patriarch.
Although he knew it was poisoned, he ate it. Then he vomited the food on to
a tray, and it was transformed into a pile of writhing snakes.
After this unsuccessful attempt, Bodhiruci tried again, using an even more potent
poison. Again, Bodhidharma ate the food. Then he sat atop a huge boulder and
spat out the poison. The boulder crumbled into a heap of dust. In four more
attempts, jealous people tried without success to poison the Patriarch.
One day, the Great Master Bodhidharma said to Hui K'o, 'I came to China because
I saw people with the Great Vehicle Root Nature. now i have transmitted the
Dharma and am ready to complete the stillness." After his death the Patriarch's
body was buried. there was nothing unusual about his funeral.
In Northern Wei (386-532 A.D.), however, an official called Sung Yun, met Bodhidharma
on the road to Chung Nan Mountain in Ts'un Ling. When they met Bodhidharma was
carrying one shoe in his hand. he said to Sung Yun, "The king of your country
died today. Return quickly! There is work to be done."
The official asked, "Great Master, where are you going?"
"Back to India," the Great Master replied.
"Venerable One, to whom did you transmit your dharma?"
"In China after forty years, it will be 'K'o.'"
Sung Yun returned to his country and reported the incident. "Recently,
in Ts'un Ling, I met the Patriarch Bodhidharma who told me that the king of
our country had died and instructed me to return back to the capital. When I
arrived I found it exactly as he had said. How did he know?"
His countrymen scoffed, "Bodhidharma is already dead. How could you have
met him on the road?" Then they rushed to the Patriarch's grave and found
it empty, with nothing inside but one shoe.
Where did Bodhidharma go? No one knows. Perhaps he came to America. Wherever
he wanders, no one can recognize him, because he can change and transform according
to his convenience. When he came to China he said he was one hundred and fifty
years old, and when he left he was still one hundred and fifty years old. No
historical references can be found.
When Bodhidharma was about to enter Nirvana he said, "I came to China and
transmitted my Dharma to three people. One received my marrow, one received
my bones, and one received my flesh." After the transmission, the patriarch
himself no longer had a body. Great Master Hui K'o received the marrow and Ch'an
Master Tao Yu received the bones.
Bhikshu Tsung Ch'ih would recite The Lotus Sutra from memory. After she died,
a green lotus flower grew from her mouth. She received Bodhidharma's flesh.
In the end, Bodhidharma had no body at all. So don't look for him in America;
you won't find him.
The Second Patriarch, Hui K'o of the Northern Ch'i (550-577 A.D.) whose family
name was Chi, was formerly Shen Kuang. When he was born, his parents saw Wei
T'ou Bodhisattva, the golden armored spiritual being, come to offer protection;
thereupon they named their son "Shen Kuang" which means "spiritual
light." Not only was the Patriarch intelligent, but he had an excellent
memory as well, and his skills and powers of discrimination were so remarkable
that he could read ten lines in the time it took an ordinary person to read
one. In a gathering of one hundred people, all talking at once, he could clearly
distinguish each conversation.
The Great Master, however, had great anger; he disagreed with everyone and was
ready to fight. When Shen Kuang explained Sutras, as I have told you, he uses
his iron beads to win his arguments. Later, after he knelt for nine years in
quest of the Dharma, it was his great anger which enabled him to cut off his
arm and feel no pain. It was also because of this anger that he later felt pain.
Unafflicted by anger, he would have felt no pain. pain is just an affliction
and affliction is the cause of pain.
The Second Patriarch was forty years old when he left Bodhidharma. having obtained
the Dharma, he went into hiding because Bodhiruci and Vinaya Master Kuang T'ung,
who had made six attempts on the life of Bodhidharma, also wished to kill his
disciples. So although Hui K'o had great anger, he nevertheless obeyed his teacher
and went into hiding for forty years. When he was eighty, he began to propagate
the Buddhadharma, teaching and transforming living beings.
Later, the disciples of Bodhiruci and Vinaya Master T'ung Kuang tried to kill
Master Hui K'o, who feigned insanity to lessen the jealousy of his rivals. But
he never ceased to save living beings who were ready to receive his teaching.
Because so many people continued to trust the Second Patriarch, Bodhiruci's
disciples were still jealous. They reported Hui K'o to the government, accusing
him of being a weird inhuman creature. "He confuses the people who follow
him," they charged; "he is not even human." The emperor ordered
the district magistrate to arrest him, and Hui K'o was locked up and questioned:
"Are you human or are you a freak?" asked the Magistrate.
"I'm a freak," replied master Hui K'o.
The magistrate knew that the Patriarch was saying this to avoid jealousy, so
he ordered him to tell the truth. "Speak clearly," he demanded, "what
are you?"
The Great Master replied, "I'm a freak."
Governments can't allow strange freaks to roam the earth, and so Hui K'o was
sentenced to die. Now, isn't that the way of the world?
The Patriarch wept when he told his disciples, "I must undergo retribution."
He was a courageous man, certainly not one who would cry out of fear of death.
he was sad that the Dharma had not been widely understood during his lifetime.
"The Buddhadharma will not flourish until the time of the fourth Patriarch,"
he announced, and then he faced the executioner.
"Come and kill me he said!" he said. The executioner raised his axe
and swung it towards the master's neck. What do you think happened?
You are probably thinking, "He was a patriarch with great spiritual power.
certainly the blade shattered and his neck was not even scratched." No.
The axe cut off his head, and it didn't grow back. However, instead of blood,
a milky white fluid flowed onto the chopping block.
You think, "Now really,this is just too far out." If you believe it
that is fine. if you don't believe it that is fine too; just forget it. However,
I will give you a simple explanation of why blood did not flow from the Patriarch's
neck: When a sage enters the white
yang1 realm his body becomes white because his body has completely transformed
into yang, leaving no trace of yin. "I don't believe it," you say.
Of course you don't. If you did, you would be just like the Second Patriarch.
When the executioner saw that the master did not bleed, he exclaimed, "Hey!
He really is a freak! I chopped off his head, but what came out was not blood,
but this milky white fluid. And his face looks exactly as it did when he was
alive!" The emperor knew that he had executed a saint, because he remembered
that the Twenty-fourth Indian Patriarch, Aryasimha, had also been beheaded and
had not bled, but a white milky fluid had poured forth, because he had been
without outflows. When one has no ignorance, one may attain to a state without
outflows and enter the white yang realm.
You think, "But you just said the Patriarch Hui K'o had great anger. How
could he have been without great ignorance?" You are certainly more clever
than I, for i did not think of this question. But now that you have brought
it up, I will answer it. His was not petty anger like yours and mine which explodes
like firecrackers, "Pop! Pop! Pop." His anger was wisdom and because
of it his body became yang. Great patience, great knowledge, great courage,
great wisdom: That's what his temper was made of.
Realizing that Hui K'o was a Bodhisattva in the flesh, the Emperor felt great
shame. "A Bodhisattva came to our country," he said, "and instead
of offering him protection, we kill him." Then the Emperor had all the
officials take refuge with this strange Bhikshu. Thus, even though the Second
Patriarch had already been executed, he still excepted these disciples.
The Third Patriarch, Seng Ts'an of the Sui Dynasty, was of unknown family and
origin. When he first came to visit the Second Patriarch, his body was covered
with repulsive sores like those of a leper.
"Where are you from?" asked the Second Patriarch. "What are you
doing here?"
"I have come here to take refuge with the High master and to study and
cultivate the Buddhadharma," answered Seng Ts'an.
"You have a loathsome disease and your body is filthy. How can you study
the Buddhadharma?"
Master hui K'o was clever, but Dhyana Master Seng Ts'an was even more clever.
"I am a sick man and you are a high master," he said, "but in
our true minds where is the difference?"
Thereupon, the Second patriarch transmitted the Dharma to Seng Ts'an saying,
"This robe and bowl have been passed on from Bodhidharma. They certify
that you have received the Dharma Seal. In order to protect it, you must go
into hiding, because bodhiruci's follower's will try to harm you. be very careful
and let no one know that you have received the transmission."
The Third Patriarch also feigned insanity while he taught living beings. During
the persecution of Buddhism by the Emperor Wu of the Norther Chou dynasty (reigned
from 561-577 A.D.), the Patriarch fled into the mountains. While he hid there,
the tigers, wolves, leopards, and other fierce animals all disappeared.
After transmitting the Dharma to the Fourth Patriarch, Thai Hsin, Master Seng
Ts'an invited a thousand Bhikshus to a great vegetarian feast. After they had
eaten, he said, "You think that to sit in a full lotus is the best way
to die. Watch! I'll demonstrate my independence over birth and death!"
The Master left the dining hall, followed by the thousand bhikshus. he halted
by the trunk of a tree, and after pausing for a moment, he leapt up and grabbed
a big branch. Then while swinging from the tree by one hand he entered Nirvana.
No one knew his name or his birthplace.
Someone is afraid and thinks, "The First Patriarch was poisoned, the Second
Patriarch was beheaded, the Third Patriarch died hanging from a tree. I certainly
do not want to be a patriarch. It's much too dangerous." With this attitude,
even if you wanted to be a patriarch you could not. As long as you fear death,
as long as you fear anything at all, you cannot even be a patriarch's disciple.
Patriarchs are not afraid of suffering. They are not afraid of life and they
are not afraid of death. making no distinctions between life and death, they
roam among people, teaching and transforming them. Like Fo T'o and Yeh She,
they know that affliction is just Bodhi and birth and death is Nirvana. So,
tell me now, who is not afraid of birth and death? if there is such a one, I
will make him a patriarch.
The Fourth Patriarch's name was Thai Hsin. While very young, Master Thai Hsin
left home under Master Seng Ts'an and for sixty years he sat in Dhyana concentration,
without lying down to rest. Although he seldom opened his eyes, he wasn't asleep.
He was working at cultivation. When he did open his eyes, everyone shook with
terror. Why? No one knew. Such was the magnitude of his awesome virtue.
Hearing of the master's great virtue, in the seventeenth year of the Chen Kuan
Reign of the T'ang dynasty (643 A.D.), the emperor sent a messenger to invite
him to the place to receive offerings. Unlike we common people, we would attempt
to wedge ourselves into the court without being asked, the Great Master, the
Fourth Patriarch, refused the invitation saying, "I am too old and the
journey would be tiring. eating on the road would be too difficult. I cannot
undergo such hardship."
When the messenger delivered the Patriarch's reply, the Emperor said, "Go
back and tell him that the Emperor says that no matter how old he is or how
difficult the journey, i have ordered him to come to the palace."
The messenger returned to the patriarch and said, "Master, regardless of
your health, you must come to the Emperor's court. We will carry you back if
necessary!" At that time, since there were no airplanes or cars, travel
was difficult.
"No, I cannot go," replied the Patriarch. "I am too old and ill.
take my head if you must, but my heart will not go."
The messenger thought, "There is nothing to do but to go back without him.
I cannot take his head to the Emperor. This Bhikshu is very strange; he is hardly
human."
The messenger then hurried back to the Emperor. "Your Excellency, you may
have the Master's head but his heart will not move!"
"Very well, go get his head," replied the Emperor. He put a knife
in a box and gave it to the messenger saying, "Slice off his head, but
under no circumstances should you harm this Bhikshu."
the messenger understood. he returned to the Fourth Patriarch. "Venerable
master, if you refuse to come, the Emperor has ordered me to cut off your head,"
he said.
Patriarch Thai Hsin said, "If in this life my head gets to see the Emperor,
that will be a great glory, you may remove my head now." The messenger
took out the knife and prepared to cut off his head. The Great Master closed
his eyes and waited calmly for about ten minutes. Maybe it was ten minutes,
maybe it was nine or eleven. Don't become attached. it is certainly not determined
exactly how long he waited. But nothing happened, and finally Master Thai Hsin
got angry, just like the Second Patriarch, and shouted, "Hey! Why don't
you slice off my head."
"The Emperor had no intention of harming you," the messenger quickly
replied. "He was just bluffing."
The Patriarch heard this and laughed aloud. Then he said, "Now you know
there is still a person in the world who does not fear death."
The family name of the Fourth Patriarch was Ssu Ma and his personal name was
Hsin. Ssu Ma was an honorable ancestral name. Both Emperor Ssu Ma of the Chin
dynasty and the historian and skilled writer Ssu Ma Ch'ien of the Han dynasty
had this name. When the Patriarch became a Bhikshu he took the new name Thai
Hsin. He lived seventy-two years, sixty of which were spent without lying down
even once to sleep. The Fourth Patriarch's realm of accomplishment was inconceivable.
While Thai Hsin was cultivating, a nearby city was besieged by bandits for more
than a hundred days, depriving its inhabitants of water and supplies. Seeing
the lives of the people in danger, Master Thai Hsin left his mountain retreat
to rescue the city dwellers. He taught them all to recite "Mahaprajna-paramita."
After they recited for a time, the bandits fled and water reappeared into the
wells. This is the response based on the Way which Master Thai Hsin evoked as
a result of his superior cultivation.
When the Forth Patriarch decided to build a temple, he looked with his Buddha
eye and saw Broken head Mountain surrounded by a purple cloud of energy. Observing
this auspicious sign, the master went there to dwell, changing its inauspicious
name, "Broken Head," to "Double Peak" Mountain.
The master used expedient dharmas to teach living beings how to discard their
bad habits. These stubborn living beings, however, often discard what was good
and continued doing evil. But the Master persisted and by using all kinds of
skill-in-means caused these stubborn living beings to realize their mistakes.
He propagated the Dharma for more than forty years, transforming living beings
greater in number than seedlings of rice, stalks of hemp, shoots of bamboo,
or blades of grass.
One day the Fourth Patriarch said to his disciple Dharma Master Yuan I, "You
should build me a Stupa. 1 I am going to leave."
in the second year of Yung Hui, of the T'ang dynasty (651 A.D.), on the twenty-fourth
day of the ninth lunar month, Patriarch Thai Hsin, who had never been ill, sat
down and entered Nirvana. His disciples locked his flesh body securely in the
stone stupa. A year later the iron locks fell away and the Stupa opened by itself.
Looking in, everybody saw the body of the Fourth Patriarch still sitting in
full lotus, appearing the same as he had alive. The Master's body had not decayed,
but the flesh had dried out. The Fifth Patriarch, Hung jen, wrapped the body
with lacquered cloth and gilded it. This "true body" still exists
today.
The Fifth Patriarch, Hung Jen, also lived during the T'ang dynasty. His family
name was Chou. He lived in Huang Mei County near Double Peak Mountain. When
he was seven, he went to the temple on the mountain to attend upon the Fourth
Patriarch. The Great Master Hung Jen cleaned the lamps and censer before the
buddha images; he swept the floor, carried water, split firewood, and worked
in the kitchen. At age thirteen he took ten novice precepts and studied under
the Fourth Patriarch for over sixty years.
the Fifth Patriarch was eight feet tall and had an extraordinary appearance.
When others treated him badly, he remained silent and unmoved. because he did
not rise to discrimination, he never spoke of "right" or "wrong",
and when fellow bhikshus bullied him, he never fought back. His calm, quiet
manner indicated that he realized a state of peace.
Even after working hard all day, the Master didn't rest. Instead of sleeping,
he sat in meditation, uniting bogy and mind in powerful samadhi.
Master Hung Jen lived in the woods of P'ing Mao Mountain slightly east of double
peak mountain, so his teaching is called the East Mountain Dharma Door. Once,
like his master the Fourth Patriarch, he saw a horde of bandits besieging a
nearby city. Their leader, a Mongol named K'e Ta Ha Na Lu, and his followers
had so tightly cut off the communications that even the birds couldn't fly in
or out. the Fifth patriarch went down P'ing Mao Mountain toward the city. When
the bandits saw him, they were terrified, for they saw not only the Patriarch,
but also a retinue of golden-armored vajra king bodhisattvas armed with jeweled
weapons, manifesting awesome virtue and brightness. The thieves retreated, the
siege broken.
How was the Great Master able to command these vajra king bodhisattvas? The
Fifth Patriarch had cultivated and recited the Shurangama Mantra. The Shurangama
sutra says that if you are constantly mindful of the shurangama Mantra, eighty-four
thousand vajra store Bodhisattvas will protect you from all danger.
In the fifth year of the Hsien Ch'ing reign of the T'ang dynasty (660 A.D.),
the Emperor invited Great Master Hung jen to the palace. The Master also declined.
Finally, the Emperor sent a variety of gifts, including rare medicinal herbs,
as an offering to the Great Master, the Fifth Patriarch.
In the Fifth year of the Hsien Ch'ing reign of the T'ang dynasty (674 A.D.),
the Fifth Patriarch said to his disciples, "Build me a Stupa. i am going
to leave." In the second month of the fourteenth day he asked, "Is
the Stupa ready?" Master Hsuan chi replied that it was. The Patriarch said,
"For many years I have taught living beings. I have taken across those
i must take across and have transmitted my Dharma to Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch.
Now in addition , you ten should become Dharma hosts, and establish Bodhimandas
to preserve and spread the teaching among living beings."
The ten he addressed were: Dharma Master Shen Hsiu, Chih Hsien, I Fang, Chih
Te, Shuan Chi, Lao An, Fa Ju, Hui Tsang, Hsuan yao, and also Upasaka Liu Chu
Pu, who had dealt with correspondence and accounting. The Fifth Patriarch sent
each of these ten people to a different place to teach and transform living
beings.
Shortly thereafter, he sat very still and his energy dispersed as he entered
Nirvana. During the seventy-four years of his life, the Fifth Patriarch Hung
jen had accepted many disciples, and he transmitted the Dharma to the Great
Master Hui Neng.
A General Introduction
Edited by Bhikshu Fa Hai of the T'ang Dynasty
What follows
is not the Sutra text, but an introduction to the Sutra which was written by
the Sixth Patriarch's disciple, Fa Hai. When the Sixth Patriarch taught Dharma,
Master Fa Hai followed him, recording all of the things that the Patriarch said.
Later he compiled and edited hid notes, calling them The Sixth Patriarch's Dharma
Jewel Platform Sutra. Had he not done this, we would have no way of studying
the Sixth Patriarch's Dharma. Therefore, we should certainly be grateful for
such compassion as his.
Dharma Master Fa Hai's lay name was Chang, and his common was Wen Yun. He was
a native of Ch'u Chiang, which is about ten miles from Nan Hua monastery. He
was a "room-entering disciple," that is, a disciple to whom the Master
had transmitted the Dharma. Though his introduction is not part of the Sutra
proper, I will explain it to you, because it narrates some important events
in the life of the Great Master.
Text:
The Great Master
was named Hui Neng. His father was of the Lu family and had the personal name
Hsing T'ao. His mother was of the Li family. The Master was born on the eighth
day of the second month of the year Wu Hsu, in the twelfth year of the Chen
Kuan Reign of the T'ang Dynasty (A.D. 638).
At the time, a beam of light ascended into space and a strange fragrance filled
the room. At dawn, two strange Bhikshus came to visit. They addressed the master's
father saying, "Last night a son was born to you and we have come to name
him. It can be Hui above and below, Neng."
The father said, "Why shall he be called Hui Neng?"
The Monk said, "'Hui" means he will bestow the Dharma upon living
beings. 'Neng' means he will be able to do the Buddha's work." Having said
this, they left. No one knows where they went.
The Master did not drink milk. At night, spirits appeared and poured sweet dew
over him.
Commentary:
The Great Master
refers to the Sixth Patriarch, Hui neng. The Master's merits and virtue was
great, he had great wisdom and compassion and so was a master of gods and humans.
When one is alive, one has a personal name. After one dies, that name is avoided.
Hence it is called a personal name, a name which is not spoken.
When the Great Master's mother gave birth to him, a fine beam of light arose,
like that which a buddha emits from his forehead. A strange, fragrant incense
which had never been smelled before filled the room.
At dawn, the heavens are half dark and half light. Chu Hsi in "The Song
of Household Affairs" wrote:
At dawn, get up;
sprinkle and sweep the hall.
The inside, the outside,
You must clean it all.
In China at
that time there was no linoleum. In the Morning, people sprinkled water on the
mud floors, waited a bit, and then swept there houses clean inside and out.
The two strange bhikshus were quite different from ordinary people. They were
like the Fourth Patriarch who, by merely opening his eyes, caused everyone to
tremble in fright. These two unusual Bhikshus came to name the Sixth Patriarch.
isn't this strange? Who has two Bhikshus to come to name him?
To say "above" and "below" when referring to a persons name,
is a most respectful form of address.
What the newly born Patriarch ate was sweet dew.
Text:
He grew up, and at the age of twenty-four he heard the Sutra1 and awoke to the Way. He went to Huang Mei to seek the seal of approval.
Commentary:
Some say that
the Sixth Patriarch was twenty-four, others say that he was twenty-two. As the
Chinese count he was twenty-four and as Westerners count, he was twenty-two.
Whether he was twenty-two or twenty-four is not really important.
When the Sixth Patriarch heard the layman recite the Diamond Sutra and reach
the line, "One should produce that thought which is nowhere supported,"
the Sixth Patriarch said, "Oh! Not supported anywhere!" he was immediately
enlightened.
A great many people had heard the Diamond Sutra, but none of them had become
enlightened. Now in the West perhaps someone will hear, "One should produce
that thought which is nowhere supported" and, understanding the principle,
become enlightened. That is what I hope. Whether or not it will actually happen
is another matter.
After becoming enlightened, he did not say, "Hah! I am enlightened."
He was not like some people today who do not understand even a hair's breadth
of the Buddhadharma, yet claim to be enlightened.
The ancients, even where they had become enlightened, did not recklessly say,
"I am enlightened!" Even less would people who had not become enlightened
claim to have done so. It is necessary to seek certification from a knowledgeable
advisor, a person who has already awakened. That is why the Sixth Patriarch
went to Huang Mei to seek the Fifth Patriarch's seal of certification.
Enlightened ancients did not attempt to certify themselves. Today, however,
there are those who have not become enlightened and yet say that they have.
Enlightenment and non-enlightenment are as different as heaven and earth.
Moreover, many naive young people take stupefying drugs and claim to have "gone
to the void." Confused demons, posing as good knowing advisors, certify
themselves saying, "Yes, you have attained emptiness. Come back. Come to
my place. I have buildings houses; I have a commune!"
The young people say, "That's not bad at all!" They take the demons
as their teachers. Ultimately these "bad knowing advisors" do mot
know themselves if they are true or false. You and i do not know either.
But now we should use the Sutras for certification. The Sutras do not say that
any foolish person has a commune in empty space. Even though rockets now go
to the moon, space settlements have not yet been built. So this kind of talk
simply does not get by.
Now we are exceedingly busy. In the morning, everyone gets up at four o'clock
to recite Sutras. We are busy building houses on the earth, not in heaven. Why?
We are people on earth and so our houses should be built on earth.
We are forging our bodies into indestructible vajra bodies. Our bodies are our
houses, but they sometimes go bad. Now, from morning to night we are busy constructing
them, cultivating them to be in the end like indestructible vajra bodies.
With an indestructible vajra body you can go wherever you wish. You can go to
empty space, up to the heavens, down into the earth, or to the dragon kings
palace. It is very simple and you do not need a passport or a schedule. You
are free to take off at you r own convenience. But first construct your indestructible
body. Then you can do it.
Text:
The Fifth Patriarch
measured his capacity and transmitted the robe and Dharma so that he inherited
the Patriarchate. The time was the first year of the reign period Lung Shuo,
cyclical year hsin Yu (A.D. 661)
He returned south and hid for sixteen years.
Commentary:
After the Sixth
Patriarch left Hung mei, he had no safe place to live. Because Shen Hsiu's disciples
and followers of non-Buddhist religions wished to harm him, the Great Master
went to live with hunters for sixteen years.
During this time no one knew that he was the Sixth Patriarch. He worked hard
practicing Dhyana meditation while watching over the animals and birds the hunters
had caught and secretly releasing ones which had been only slightly injured
and could still travel safely. He had much time to cultivate and perfect his
skill. For no one came to trouble him.
If you do not truly cultivate, everything is easy, but if you cultivate truly,
demon-obstacles arise from the four corners and the eight directions. Unexpected
circumstances prevail and things you never dreamed could happen.
In his sixteen years with the hunters, the Sixth Patriarch dwelt without disturbance,
living just as they did. That is genuine hiding. He did not seek fame or profit
and he did not try to take advantage of circumstances. he practiced genuine
cultivation.
Text:
On the eighth
day of the first month in the first year of reign period I Feng (A.D. 676),
the cyclical year Ping Tsu, he met Dharma Master Yin Tsung. Together they discussed
the profound and mysterious, and Yin Tsung became awakened to and united with
the master's doctrine.
Commentary:
They talked
back and forth, querying each other on principle. Who asked whom? Dharma master
Yin Tsung asked the Great Master, the Sixth Patriarch. The Great Master had
solved the dispute over whether the flag or the wing moved, by explaining that
it was the mind that moved, and Dharma master Yin Tsung had been astounded to
hear a layman speak in such a deep and wonderful way. He got down from his Dharma
seat and escorted the Sixth Patriarch to his room for a chat. "Where did
you come from and what is your name?" he asked. Dharma Master Yin Tsung
knew that this man was a room-entering disciple of the Fifth Patriarch, one
of whom the Fifth Patriarch had transmitted the Dharma. He immediately bowed
to the Great Master. They then investigated the profound and mysterious; they
talked about the wind and the flag. Until his talk with the Sixth Patriarch,
Dharma Master Yin Tsung had not correctly understood the principle of the Dhyana
School.
Text:
On the fifteenth day of that month, at a meeting of all the four assemblies, the Master's head was shaved. On the eighth day of the second month, all those of well-known virtue gathered together to administer the complete precepts. Vinaya Master Chih kuang of Hsi Chi was the Precept transmitter.
Commentary:
During the
week of the eighth to the fifteenth day of the first month, Dharma master Yin
tsung gathered four assemblies together: the Bhikshus, Bhikshunis, Upasakas,
and Upasikas. the purpose of the meeting was to shave the Master's head so that
he could leave home and become a Bhikshu.
people leave home for various reasons. Some find it difficult to obtain food
and clothing. They see that those who have left home are well provided for,
so they leave home so they can eat and be clothed. Others leave home because
they are old and have no children. They think, "I will leave home and take
a young disciple who will care for me as a son would." It is uncertain
whether people who leave home for those reasons can truly cultivate.
Some people leave home because they are bandits or runaways. They leave home
and cut off their hair so the government can't find them and cut off their heads!
Some leave home when small, but it is not certain whether they can cultivate.
Some people have "confused beliefs." Even so, they still believe,
and that is good. For instance, the parents of a sick child may say, "The
child may die of a disease. We should give him to a temple and he can become
a Bhikshu and we can visit him. that is better than letting him die!" So
out of confused belief, the parents give their children to the temple.
People of confused belief may not be necessarily bad, but people who "believe
in confused principles" are definitely not good. They have faith, but it
is misplaced. That is confusion within confusion and it is not good.
Some are "confused without belief." In their confusion they do not
believe anything. Finally there are the "believing and unconfused."
These people study the Buddhadharma with a faithful heart until they are no
longer confused.
Of these last four types of people who have left home, one cannot say that any
of them will be able to cultivate, nor can anyone say for sure that they cannot.
Perhaps only one or two percent can cultivate the Dharma. However, if you resolve
to attain enlightenment in order to end birth and death, you can surely cultivate
upon leaving home.
Again, there are those who no longer have a family and so leave their worldly
homes.
Some leave the home of the three realms: the realm of desire, the realm of form,
and the realm of formlessness. Once out of these three realms there are no desires,
no forms, and no formless consciousness. Because of their non-attachment, these
people see the three realms as empty, and so it is said that they have left
the home of the three realms.
Some leave the home of afflictions. It is essential to leave afflictions behind.
If you do not cut them off, you may leave home, but you cannot know the Way.
The Sixth Patriarch cannot be put in any of these categories, for he was a special
case. he had attained mastery, and so whether or not he left home made no difference.
Even when he appeared to be a layman, he practiced the profound conduct of a
Bodhisattva and he did not behave like a layman. in this way his act of leaving
home did not resemble that of others in the assembly.
The eighth day of the second month is the day when Shakyamuni Buddha left home.
On that day all the illustrious, virtuous and learned Dharma Masters gathered
from the ten directions. Chinese Dharma Masters and Indian Dharma Masters came
to administer the complete precepts to the Sixth Patriarch.
Dharma master Yin Tsung invited Dharma Master Chih Kuang of Hsi Ching to administer
the complete precepts to the Sixth patriarch. Hsi Ching is another name for
Ch'ang An.
The person who administers the precepts is called the Precept Transmitter. Precepts
have a substance and a mark and a dharma. If you wish a more detailed explanation,
even finer discriminations can be made.
I do not use Ting Fu Pao's commentary because it is often in error. In this
case it says that three people are required to administer the precepts, while
actually only one is necessary. At that time, Dharma Master Chih Kuang acted
as the transmitter.
Chih kuang was also a Vinaya Master, one who diligently studies the precepts
and thoroughly understands the rules. In walking, standing, sitting and lying
down, in each of these four great comportments, he must conduct himself in the
awesome manner not daring to deviate for the space of a single step. Every move
a Vinaya master makes should be in accord with the rules. Therefore the Shurangama
Sutra says, "Severe and pure in Vinaya, they are noble models for the Triple
World."
Text:
Vinaya Master Hui Ching of Su Chou was the Karmadana. Vinyana Master T'ung Ying of Ching Chou was the Teaching Transmitter. Vinyana master Ch'i To Lo of Central India recited the precepts. Tripitaka Master Mi To of India was the Precept Certifier.
Commentary:
Ting Fu Pao
writes that there should be four Karmadanas, yet the Sutra only mentions one.
He said that the one mentioned was the most famous of the four. Because he didn't
understand the precepts, his commentary was confused. There was only one Karmadana.
Karmadana is a Sanskrit word which means "to arrange events," or "to
explain rules." The Karmadana makes certain that everything is done in
accord with the Dharma, in accord with the rules established by Shakyamuni Buddha.
Anything not in accord with the Buddha's rules is unacceptable to the Karmadana.
When conferring with precepts, the Precept transmitter asks the Karmadana, "May
the precepts be transmitted to this person?" The question is asked three
times, and each time the Karmadana must reply, "Yes."
On the precept Platform, the Karmadana and the Teaching Transmitter sit immediately
to the left and right of the Precept transmitter. The remaining seven certifiers
sit on either side. That is the arraignment of the three masters and the seven
certifiers. They represent the Buddhas of the ten directions in speaking Dharma
and transmitting precepts. Therefore, when leaving home, receiving precepts
is especially important.
The Teaching Transmitter transmits the Sutras.
Ch'i To Lo, transliterated from the Sanskrit, means "flower of merit and
virtue."
Dharma Master Mi To understood the three divisions of the tripitaka, Sutras,
Sastras, and Vinaya, and so he is called a Tripitaka Master. He is closely associated
with the Chinese Vinaya because he translated the Dharmagupta Vinaya from the
Sanskrit into Chinese. All the precept spirits protected this intelligent master,
and there are many miraculous events connected with his life. Mi To means flourishing.
his name was Ta Mo Mi To, flourishing Dharma.
Text:
Construction of the precept platform had begun in the former Sung Dynasty by Tripitaka Master Gunabhadra. He erected a stone table which said, "In the future, a Bodhisattva in the flesh will receive the precepts in this very place."
Commentary:
The "former
Sung" was the Dynasty that preceded the Sui Dynasty, not the well known
Sung Dynasty of Sung T'ai Tsu.
Gunabhadra means "a worthy of merit and virtue." This master established
a precept platform and what is now called Kuang Hsiao Monastery. His engraving
foretold the coming of a Bodhisattva in the flesh: not a Bodhisattva who had
gone to Nirvana, but a living Bodhisattva.
Text:
Further, in the first year of the T'ien Chien reign of the Liang Dynasty (A.D. 502) Tripitaka Master Jnanabhaishajya came by sea from west India carrying a Bodhi-tree branch, which he planted beside the platform. He, too, made a prophecy, saying, "After one hundred and seventy years, a Bodhisattva in the flesh will proclaim the Supreme Vehicle beneath this tree. Taking measureless multitudes across, he will be a true transmitter of the Buddha's mind-seal, a Dharma Host."
Commentary:
Tripitaka master
Jnanabhaishajya, "wisdom medicine," predicted that a living Bodhisattva
would speak the Supreme Vehicle Dharma from beneath that Bodhi-tree teaching
the Dharma of a direct pointing to the mind to see the nature and realize Buddhahood.
As a true transmitter of the Buddha's mind-seal. this Bodhisattva would "use
the mind to seal the mind Shakyamuni Buddha held a flower in his fingers and
smiling subtly, transmitting the mind seal of all the Buddhas to the First-Patriarch,
Mahakashyapa. Transmitter of the mind-seal are patriarchs. A Dharma Host is
one who lectures Sutras and explains the Dharma.
Jnanabhaishjya brought a Bodhi-tree branch from India into China; not a whole
tree, just a cutting. Bodhitrees will grow almost anywhere. There are many such
trees in China today.
The Venerable Master Jnanabhaishajya's flesh body has not decayed. It is preserved
for veneration at Yueh Hua monastery about five miles from Nan Hua Monastery.
The caretaker there, who has left home, does not feed visitors, so if you wish
to visit, you must bring your own food. When I was living at Nan Hua Temple,
i went to see the Master Jnanabhaishajya's body and found it in excellent condition.
Text:
In keeping
with the former predictions, the Master arrived to have his hair cut and receive
his precepts. he instructed the four assemblies on the essentials of the exclusive
Dharma transmission.
Commentary:
The Sixth Patriarch had his head shaved and received the precepts. He then explained
the Dharma to the four assemblies, teaching them the exclusive Dharma transmission,
that is, the Dharma which has been passed down through every generation since
the time of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Text:
In the spring of the following year, the Master took leave of the assembly and returned to Pao Lin. Yin Tsung, together with more than a thousand black-robed monks and white-robed layfolk, accompanied him directly to Ts'ao Hsi.
Commentary:
The Sixth Patriarch
left and returned to Ts'ao Hsi.
The black-robed are those who have left home; at that time laypeople wore white
robes. They went directly to Ts'ao hsi with the Master. Some people say that
they have been to Ts'ao Hsi when they have not. They falsely claim to transmit
the Ts'ao Hsi Dharma and Dhyana source, the basis of meditation. The Dharma
ending age is just that: false Buddhists with phony credentials.
Text:
At that time Vinaya Master T'ung Ying of Ching Chou and several hundred students followed the Master and came to dwell there. When the Master arrived at Pao Lin, in Ts'ao Hsi, he saw the hall buildings were bleak and small, insufficient to contain the multitude. Wishing to enlarge them, he paid a visit to the villager, Ch'en Ya Hsien and said, "This Old Monk comes to the Almsgiver seeking a sitting cloths worth of ground. Is that possible?"
Commentary:
As soon as
he realized that the Great Master was the Sixth Patriarch, a transmitter of
the Buddha's mind-seal, Vinyana Master T'ung Ying led his disciples to Ts'ao
Hsi to study the Dharma under the Great Master.
When the Sixth Patriarch arrived at Ts'ao Hsi, he saw the building were to small.
Wishing to enlarge them, he paid a visit to the wealthy landowner Ch'en Ya Hsien.
In this passage, the Sixth Patriarch refers to himself as the "Old Monk."
When he was twenty-four , he went to see Huang Mei; then he hid for sixteen
years. At forty years of age, he called himself a "Old Monk," and
so I am entitled to do the same. The Master told Ch'en Ya Hsien that if he gave
alms, he could transcend birth and death.
Text:
Hsien asked, "How big is the High Master's sitting cloth?" The master took out his sitting cloth and showed it to ya Hsien, who thereupon agreed. But when the Patriarch unfolded and spread out his sitting cloth, it completely covered the four borders of Ts'ao Hsi. The Four Heavenly Kings appeared and sat as protectors in each of the four directions.
Commentary:
The Great Master
handed his sitting cloth to Ch'en Ya Hsien, who said, "If you only want
that large peace of land, fine."
But when he spread it out, the sitting cloth covered not only the area around
Nan Hua Monastery, but everything within ten miles of where they stood. The
Four Heavenly Kings 1 appeared and stood in each of he four directions.
Text:
it is true
to this occurrence that the mountain range bordering the monastery is called
"The Range of the Heavenly Kings."
Hsien said, "I know that the High master's Dharma power is vast and great.
However, the burial ground of my great-grandfather lies on this land. In the
future, if you build a stupa, I hope this area will remain undisturbed. As for
the rest, I wish to give it all to be a forever treasure place. This ground
has the flowing current of a living dragon and a white elephant. Level only
heaven; do not level earth."
Later, the monastery was constructed according to his words. The Master roamed
within these boundaries, and at places where the scenes of nature were fine
he stopped to rest.
Commentary:
The area belongs
to a living dragon; it has a flowing current and the mountain is like an elephant.
Here, one may build a "treasure place," a Bodhimanda.
"Level only heaven; do not level earth," that is, where the level
is high, the buildings may be made lower, and where the land is low, the buildings
may be made taller. But do not level earth, for if you do you will ruin the
fine conditions of wind and water and the land will lose its efficacious energies.
The Sixth Patriarch often stopped to rest where the landscapes were especially
beautiful.
Text:
Accordingly,
thirteen Aranyas were erected, among them the present Hua Kuo Hall. The site
of the Pao Lin Bidhimanda was decided upon long ago by Indian Tripitaka Master
Jnanabhaishajya, who, during his journey from Nan Hai, passed Ts'ao Hsi, where
he cupped up the water with his hands and found it to be delicious. Surprised,
he told his disciples. "This water is not different from that in India.
It source would surely be an excellent site on which to build a monastery.
He followed the water and looked in the four directions. The mountains and waters
encircled one another and the peaks were impressive, He signed and said, "This
is just like Jewelled Wood Mountain in India."
Commentary:
Why is the
area around Nan Hua Monastery called Pao Lin. Poa Lin means, "jewelled
wood." When the Venerable Master Jnanabhaishajya drank the water at Ts'ao
hsi its taste was identical to that of the water in a certain place in India.
He knew that the source of the spring was indeed an efficacious spot on which
to build temple. At dusk, he reached the site of Nan Hua Monastery. gazing up
at the mountain, he said, "This mountain looks just like Jewelled Wood
Mountain in India. We shall call 'Jewelled Wood Mountain Bodhimanda.'
Master Jnanabhaishajya was not alone; many of his disciples were travelling
with him. He said to them, "The source of this stream is certainly a good
site for building a temple." Monastic buildings are called Aranyas, a Sanskrit
word meaning, "silent place." They are pure, quiet places for cultivation.
The clear blue waters reflected the bright shining mountain peaks. The area
was particularly beautiful.
Text:
He said to
the villagers of Ts'ao Hou, "A pure dwelling may be built here. After one
hundred and seventy years, the Unsurpassed Dharma Jewel will teach here. Those
who attain the way in this place will be as numerous as the trees of this forest.
it should, therefore be called 'Pao Lin.'"
At that time Magistrate Hou Ching Chung of Shao Chou reported these words to
the Emperor who assented the conferred upon it the name 'Pao Lin Bodhimanda.'
The construction of the pure halls began in the third year of the T'ien Chien
reign if the Liang Dynasty (A.D. 504).
Commentary:
The village
was called Ts'ao Hou, "descendents of Ts'ao," because its inhabitants
were descendents of General Ts'ao Ts'ao of the Period of the Three Kingdoms.
One hundred and seventy years after master Jnanabhaishajya made his prediction,
the Sixth Patriarch received the precepts and taught living beings at Pao Lin.
The "Unsurpassed Dharma Jewel" refers to the Sixth Patriarch.
Sangha and laypeople who were to attain enlightenment at this place would be
as numerous as the trees in a forest. It was therefore to be called "Jewelled
Wood."
Text:
In front of the hall was a pond in which a dragon often swam, bumping and scraping the trees of the forest. One day he appeared, larger than ever, covering the area with a thick mist. The disciples were afraid, but the Patriarch scolded him, saying, "Hah! You can only make yourself appear in a large body, not in a small one. If you were a divine dragon, you could transform the great to the small and the small into the great.
Commentary:
The dragon
was so big that you could only see the dragon; you couldn't see the pond at
all. He danced on top of the water, splashing it everywhere in waves which were
ten feet, twenty feet, and even thirty feet high. He was showing off.
"Incredible!" said the disciples. "This dragon certainly intends
to harm us.
The Sixth Patriarch shouted at he dragon. He said, "If you really had spiritual
powers, you could transform nothing into something and something into nothing;
you could transform yourself or not be transformed, just as you wished, manifesting
the great within the small and the small within the great."
Text:
The dragon suddenly disappeared, but he returned an instant later in a small body, skipping about on the surface of the pond. The Master held out his bowl and teased him, saying, "You don't dare climb into the old Bhikshu's bowl." At that moment the dragon swam in front of the Master, who scooped him out of the water with his bowl. The dragon couldn't move. Holding the bowl, the Master returned to the hall and explained the Dharma to the dragon.
Commentary:
When the dragon
heard the Sixth Patriarch dare him to manifest a small body, he disappeared.
Strange? Think about it. Suddenly he wasn't there. Then, in the time it takes
to feel a hunger pang, a little dragon appeared, dancing on top of the water.
The Great Master said, "You have a little body now, but you wouldn't dare
get into my bowl, would you? You wouldn't dare. Dragon! I dare you to get into
my bowl!"
The dragon flew across the water and swam up before the Patriarch. The Patriarch
didn't wait for the dragon to jump up into his bowl, but reached right down
and scooped him out of the water.
In Manchuria, where I am from, there is a saying, "Before there were people
in Manchuria, you could scoop up the fish with a bucket and chickens fell into
the cooking pot." As for rabbits, you could just stay outside, swing a
stick, and knock over a few. This is what is meant by "scooped." Catching
the dragon was as easy as scooping for fish in manchuria.
Text:
The dragon then shed his skin and left. His bones. only seven inches long and complete with head, tail, horns, and claws were preserved in the temple. Later the master filled in the pond with earth and stones. Now, in that place, in front of the hall on the right side is an iron stupa.
Commentary:
Dharma Master Fa Hai's introduction says that the pond was on the left side of the hall, but it was actually the right. One commentator, Ting Fu Pao, had never been there and consequently did not realize that the direction of the pond should have been determined from the Patriarch's position when sitting in the hall, that is, on the right side.
I. ACTION AND INTENTION
Commentary:
In this first chapter of the Sutra, the Sixth Patriarch gives his disciples a biographical sketch of himself. "Action" refers to the Sixth Patriarch's activities and "intention" is that upon which he based his cultivation. "Action and Intention" refers tot the source--where it all began.
Sutra:
At one time
the Great Master arrived at Pao Lin. Magistrate Wei Chu of Shao Chou and other
officials climbed the mountain and invited the Master to come into the city
to the lecture hall of Ta Fan Temple to speak the Dharma to the assembly.
When the Master had taken his seat, the Magistrate and over thirty other officials,
more than thirty Confucian scholars and more than a thousand Bhikshus, Bhikshunis,
Taoists, and laypeople, all made obeisance at the same time, wishing to hear
the essentials of Dharma.
Commentary:
For every Sutra,
six requirements must be met. Commonly explained in the opening sentences, they
are: faith, hearing, time, host, place, and assembly. Only when the six are
fulfilled is the orthodox Dharma being spoken.
To conduct a Sutra session, there must be an assembly; Magistrate Wei Ch'u and
the gathering of disciples and followers fulfills this requirement.
Then there must be a place to speak the Dharma; Pao Lin Mountain fulfills this
requirement. A Dharma Master who thoroughly understands the Dharma must be present
as host; here it is the Great Master the Sixth Patriarch. "At one time"
suffices for the time requirement, and that "all made obeisance at the
same time" fulfills the faith requirement. They came "wishing to hear
the essentials of Dharma, " and that fulfills the requirements for hearing.
Wei Ch'u and the officials climbed Pao Lin Mountain which is about ten miles
from Shao Chou where Ta Fan Temple, now called Ta Chien Temple, is located.
I lived there for a while. This is the place where the Sixth Patriarch spoke
The Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra.
Sutra:
The Great Master said to the assembly, "Good Knowing Advisors, the self-nature of Bodhi id originally clear and pure. Simply use that mind, and you will straightaway accomplish Buddhahood. Good Knowing Advisors, Listen while I tell you about the actions and intentions by which Hui Neng obtained the Dharma."
Commentary:
The Great Master
spoke to the assembly, "You people with good roots and much wisdom. The
self nature of Bodhi is one's own originally enlightened clear and pure nature.
It cannot be produced or destroyed, defiled or purified, increased or decreased.
Use this mind. Don't use your false-thinking mind."
Using his own name, on the formal style, the Sixth Patriarch calls himself "Hui
Neng," saying, "Now I will tell you how Hui Neng obtained the Dharma.
Listen!"
Sutra:
"Hui Neng's stern father was originally from Fa Yang. He was banished to Hsin Chou in Ling Nan, where he became a commoner. Unfortunately, his father soon died, and his aging mother was left alone. They moved to Nan Hai, poor and in bitter straits, Hui Neng sold wood in the market place."
Commentary:
From his native
district of Fan Yang, Hui Neng father was sent to Ling Nan. Because his father
was more apt to discipline the children, he is respectfully called "stern."
The mother ordinarily offers loving kindness to her children, and so she is
spoken of as "compassionate."
Hui, , "kind," means that he was a kind and compassionate, bestowing
Dharma upon living beings. Neng, , "able," means that he was able
to do the Buddha's work. The Sixth Patriarch's family name was Lu.
Hui Neng's father was banished to Ling Nan, a frontier region during the T'ang
Dynasty inhabited by government exiles. The Sixth Patriarch's father, an official,
may have been convicted of an offense and thus banished to Ling Nan.
Hui Neng had an unfortunate and unlucky life. His father died when the Master
was between the ages of three and five years, leaving him alone with his widowed
mother. He and his mother moved to Nan Hai where they endured the hardships
of poverty. How did they survive? Master Hui Neng hiked into the mountains and
chopped wood, returned and sols it in the market place, using the money to buy
rice for his mother and himself.
Sutra:
Once a customer bought firewood and ordered it delivered to his shop. When the delivery was made, and Hui Neng had received the money, he went outside the gate, where he noticed a customer reciting a Sutra. Upon once hearing the words of this Sutra: "One should produce that thought which is nowhere supported," Hui Neng's mind immediately opened to enlightenment.
Commentary:
Because the
Sixth Patriarch's family was poor he received little formal schooling and could
not read. At that time in China one needed money to go to the school. But in
spite of his illiteracy, the Sixth Patriarch's position was extremely sharp;
as soon as he heard the line of the Sutra which said that one should have a
true mind which is nowhere attached, he immediately became enlightened. He understood
what he had never understood before.
Many will hear the sentence, "One should produce that thought which is
nowhere supported." Are there any who will open to enlightenment?
Someone exclaims, "Why, I have!"
I ask you, what is the enlightenment you have opened? What is the enlightenment
unopened? Ask yourself.
Sutra:
Thereupon he
asked the customer what Sutra he was reciting. The customer replied, "The
Diamond Sutra."
Then again he asked, "Where do you come from, and why do you recite this
Sutra?"
The customer said, "I come from T'ung Ch'an Monastery in Ch'i Chou, Huang
Mei Province. There the Fifth Patriarch, the Great Master Hung jen dwells, teaching
over one thousand disciples I went there to make obeisance and heard and received
this Sutra."
Commentary:
The Great Master
the Fifth Patriarch lived in Tung Ch'an Monastery with more than a thousand
disciples whom he taught and transformed. At that time in China the study of
the Dharma was so fervently pursued that it was not unusual to have a thousand
people on one mountain studying the Buddhadharma together.
Where in America are there a thousand Buddhists disciples studying the Dharma
together? Such a large country yet there is not such a place. It is possible,
however, that later there will be more than ten thousand people studying the
Buddhadharma, but this is not assured. We will have to watch my disciples and
see how hard they work.
Most Americans are intelligent, but there are some whose intelligence surpasses
himself. Everyday from morning to night they are caught up in taking confusing
drugs. By taking these drugs they attain small and different states of consciousness
which they cannot attain without drugs. These people try drugs again and again
until one day that they see it is useless. They think, "I've been taking
drugs for such a long time now and I still have not become enlightened."
When they realize this, they may turn towards the truth.
I teach you the Buddhadharma so in the future you can speak the Dharma to teach
and transform living beings. Do not be careless, but work well and without confusion
and then many will come to study.
You who are now studying this Sixth Patriarch's Sutra must know the origin of
your learning. When people ask, "Where did you study the Buddhadharma?"
you can reply, "We studied at the Buddhist Lecture Hall of the Sino-American
Buddhist Association." This is just what is meant by this passage of text.
Sutra:
"The Great
Master constantly exhorts the Sangha and laity only to uphold The Diamond Sutra.
Then, they may see their own nature and straightaway achieve Buddhahood."
Hui Neng heard this and desired to go and seek the Dharma, but he recalled that
his mother had no support.
From past lives there were karmic conditions which led another man to give Hui
Neng a pound of silver, so that he could provide food and clothing for his aging
mother. The man instructed him further to go to Huang Mei to call upon and bow
to the Fifth Patriarch.
Commentary: