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The Sixth Patriarch’s Sutra7:30pm Pacific time, USA

September 25, 2015 lecture©

as outlined by a Buddhist monkat 1777 Murchison Drive, Burlingame, California 94010, open to public

(phone 650-6925912)(Listen ‘live’ or recorded audio explanations at

www.wondrousdharma.org)

Confucian valuesSudden & gradual

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Verse for opening a sutra• Na Mwo Fundamental Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha (3x)• Homage to the Flower Adornment Sutra (3X)• Homage to the Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra (3x)• The unsurpassed, deep, profound, subtle, wonderful Dharma,• In a hundred thousand million eons, is difficult to encounter,• Now that I’ve come to receive and hold it, within my sight and hearing,• I vow to fathom the Thus Come One’s true and actual meaning.

Exhortation to uphold the Ten Grounds:At that time, the World Honored One was in the royal palace in the Heaven of the Conmfort from

Others’ Transformations, in the Hall of the Treasuries of Mani Jewels, together with a gathering of Great Bodhisattvas. All these Bodhisattvas, who were irreversible from anuttarasamyaksambodhi, had assembled from the worlds of the other directions. They dwell in the states of wisdom in which all Bodhisattvas dwell, had entered the place of wisdom which all Thus Come Ones enter, and diligently practiced without rest. They were well able to manifest all kinds of spiritual penetrations, and all that they did to teach, transform, tame and subdue living beings was done at the right time. In order to accomplish all Bodhisattvas’ great vows, in all worlds, in all kalpas, in all lands, they diligently cultivated all practices, without slacking even momentarily. (The Flower Adornment Sutra)

Confucian values, forerunner to the Buddha’s teachings

• Confucius is a transformation of a Bodhisattva who laid the foundation of human values and propriety before the arrival of the Buddha’s Dharma. September 28th is his birthday; happy birthday. Here are some teachings of Confucius as spoken by the Venerable Hsuan Hua:

• “The word propriety is defined by a homonym in Chinese which means ‘to set up’ or ‘to stand’. Therefore Confucius said, “If a man has no propriety he has nothing to stand on.”

• It is also said of one’s parents, “Serving them with propriety while they are alive, burying them with propriety after death, making sacrifices on their behalf with propriety is filial piety.”

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Confucian values, forerunner to the Buddha’s teachings

• Confucius disciple, Tse Hsia, asked about filial piety. The Master replied, “It consists of not getting angry.”

• When Tse Yu asked about filial piety, the Master replied, “What people nowadays call filial piety is simply feeding the parents. But they can feed dogs and horses as well. If there is no respect involved, how do we differ from them?”

• Yen Yuan asked about humaneness and the Master replied, “It consists of subduing the self and returning to propriety.”

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Confucian values, forerunner to the Buddha’s teachings

• The disciple asked what was meant by subduing the self and returning to propriety and the Master replied, “Look at nothing improper, listen to nothing improper, say nothing improper, and do nothing improper.”

• In Confucianism, it says, “If I’ve seen it born, I can’t bear to see it die. If I’ve heard its sound, I can’t bear to eat its meat.” …

• This is compassion and humanitarianism. So the gentleman who practices compassion and humanitarianism stays far away from the slaughterhouse.

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Confucian values, forerunner to the Buddha’s teachings

• In the Confucian Analects, we read, “Zilu asked about how to serve ghosts and spirits.

• The Master said, “Until you know how to serve people, how can you serve ghosts?”

• Zilu then said, “I venture to ask about the dead,” and the Master replied, “Until you know about the living, how can you know about the dead.”

• Zilu said, “I realize I’m rather bold, but may I ask about how one dies? What is the flavor of death? What is it like?” Actually Zilu was trying to make trouble. Confucius hadn’t died yet, why asks him about death? 6

Confucian values, forerunner to the Buddha’s teachings

• No doubt Confucius was rather old and certainly afraid of death and so he said, “If you don’t know how to live, how can you know how to die?”

• This proves that Confucius did not want to die either. He still retained a ‘mark of a lifespan.’ And so he lived to be over seventy.

• What is meant by his answer was, “However you were born, that is how you will die.”

• Then you ask “How are we born?”

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Confucian values, forerunner to the Buddha’s teachings

• Now we get down to the basic problem and everyone should pay close attention.

• People are born because of emotion and sexual desire and they die because of emotion and sexual desire.

• If you have no emotion and sexual desire, then you do not undergo birth or death.

• Therefore the problem of birth and death arises because of thoughts of sexual desire.

• If you sever thoughts of sexual desire you will then end birth and death. 8

Confucian values, forerunner to the Buddha’s teachings

• However Zilu didn’t understand the problem and Confucius didn’t bring it up; he just skirted the issue saying, “If you don’t know how to live, how can you know how to die?”

• But I will now tell all of you now that birth and death is a very important problem.

• The Buddha appeared in the world simply because of the problem of living beings’ birth and death.”

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Stop and reflect, question arising

• Venerable Master Hsuan Hua said, “This (Om Mani Padme Hum) is the most wonderful of mantras…

• …The mantra’s power is very great. For example, if you recite it in the mountains, after five hundred years have passed all the living creatures on the mountain will become Bodhisattvas. Its merit and virtue is that great…”

• Someone asked, “How far can the mantra reach?”

1. If you use your false intellectual mind, it is as far as your nose. If you use your sincere, true mind, it is as far as you can think.

2. Don’t think of results, just use your sincere mind. 10

Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL

Sutra: “In the self-nature, in self-enlightenment, in sudden enlightenment, and in sudden cultivation there are no degrees. Therefore, not a single dharma is established. All dharmas are still and extinct. How can there be stages?”

Commentary:

•The original self-nature of living beings is no less than the original self-nature of the Buddha.

•The original self-nature of the Buddha, is no more than the original self-nature of living beings.

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Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL

Sutra: “In the self-nature, in self-enlightenment, in sudden enlightenment, and in sudden cultivation there are no degrees. Therefore, not a single dharma is established. All dharmas are still and extinct. How can there be stages?”

Commentary:

•In sudden cultivation, there is no such principle that this practice is superior to that, and that is not as good as those practices and so on; why?

•It is because all dharmas are empty; when dharmas are empty is there any ranking or preferences?

•When you are enlightened to your self nature, it is no different than others who are also enlightened to his self nature.

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Chapter 8 SUDDEN AND GRADUAL

Sutra: Chih Ch’eng made obeisance and attended on the Master day and night without laziness. He was a native of T’ai Ho in Chi Chou.

Commentary:

•Chih Cheng finally recognized that the Great Master is a bright eyed advisor who can and has caused him to be separate from suffering, liberate from attachment and lead him to be free of outflows, that is

•… realistically attain nirvanic bliss in this very life.

•These are the reasons why Chih Chang attended to the Great Master. 13

Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

Sutra: Bhikshu Chih Ch’e, a native of Chiang Hsi, had the family name Chang and the personal name Hsing Ch’ang. As a youth he was an itinerant warrior. When the schools split into the Northern and Southern, although the two leaders had lost the notion of self and other, the disciples stirred up love and hate.

Commentary:

•The source of contention comes from the disciples, mainly from the disciples of Bhikshu Shen Hsiu who took advantage of the Great Master being illiterate and doing menial work, rather than Shen Hsiu who held office and is the Dharma speaker.

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Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

Sutra: The disciples of the Northern School secretly set up Shen Hsiu as the Sixth Patriarch. Fearing that the country would hear of the transmission of the robe, they hired Hsing Ch’ang to assassinate the Master. Commentary:

•When your are envious of others who has surpassed you, you do deluded acts.

•The rivalry was so intense that Hsing Chang was hired to assassinate the Great Master.

•When contention starts, it begins with one, then two and if not arrested, every other people will add fuel to the fire. 15

Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

Sutra: But the Master had the power of knowing the thoughts of others. He knew of this matter in advance and set ten ounces of gold on his chair. That night Hsing Ch’ang entered his room intending to kill him. The Master just stretched out his neck. Hsing Ch’ang swung the blade three times but could not harm him.

Commentary:

•The Great Master can read minds and he knew in advance of the plot to assassinate him.

•And the Great Master also has knowledge of past lives and that is why the Great Master knew he did not owe Hsin Chang a life but he did owe him wealth.

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Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

Sutra: But the Master had the power of knowing the thoughts of others. He knew of this matter in advance and set ten ounces of gold on his chair. That night Hsing Ch’ang entered his room intending to kill him. The Master just stretched out his neck. Hsing Ch’ang swung the blade three times but could not harm him.

Commentary:

•Why can’t the sword harm the Great Master?

•It is because the Great Master’s mind is proper; proper energy cannot be dissipated by deviant energy. How do we know?

•It is as stated, the Great Master’s mind wasn’t moved by the threat.

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Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

• Sutra: The Master said,•  A straight sword is not bent.• A bent sword is not straight.• I merely owe you gold.• I do not owe you life.

Commentary:

• The straight sword refers to the proper mind; the straight mind is the Way.

• A bent sword is deviant dharma; the deviant cannot harm the proper whose mind is empty with any poison.

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Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

• Sutra: The Master said,•  A straight sword is not bent.• A bent sword is not straight.• I merely owe you gold.• I do not owe you life.

Commentary:

• The Great Master has already ended birth and death, and the Great Master will enter nirvana as he wishes.

• The time then wasn’t correct to depart from the flesh body; the Great Master just wanted to settle a debt of money he owed in previous lives.

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Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

• Sutra: Hsing Ch’ang fell to the ground in fright. After a while he came to and begged for mercy, repenting of his error and vowing to leave home. The Master gave him the gold and said, “Go! I fear that my followers will come to take revenge. Change your appearance and return another day and I will accept you.”

Commentary:

• The Great Master knew about the possibility of being assassinated but the Great Master let it be because the Great Master wanted to settle debts and took the opportunity to teach his assassin.

• The Great Master knew that Hsing Chang is deluded and wanting to teach and transform him at another occasion.

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Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

Sutra: Hsing Ch’ang received his orders and disappeared into the night. Later he left home under another Bhikshu, received the complete precepts and was vigorous in practice. One day, remembering the Master’s words, he made the long journey to have an audience. The Master said, “I have thought of you for a long time. What took you so long?”

Commentary:

•Hsing Chang remembers the words of the Great Master, and like all wise person, we draw close to a clear and bright advisor.

•They met again; this affirms that when conditions are not right because of causes planted, nothing will proceed, but when conditions are appropriate, those events will happen.

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Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

Sutra: He replied, “The High Master once favored me by pardoning my crime. Although I have left home and although I practice austerities, I shall never be able to repay his kindness. May I try to repay you by transmitting the Dharma and taking living beings across?

Commentary:

•Repaying kindness is a quality of all people to be respected and followed.

•The highest repayment is to be a vehicle for the promotion of the Dharma.

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Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

Sutra: “Your disciple often studies the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, but he has not yet understood the principles of permanence and impermanence. I beg the High Master to be compassionate and explain them for me.

Commentary:

•To speak the Dharma, one must specialize in at least one Sutra text.

•And you need to study until you fathom your preferred Sutras and then share with others your insights on the purport of the Buddha speaking and the meaning therein.

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Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

Sutra: “The Master said, “Impermanence is just the Buddha nature and permanence is just the mind discriminating good and evil dharmas.”• “High Master, your explanation contradicts the Sutra text!” Hsing Ch’ang replied.

 Commentary:

•Impermanence is the Buddha-nature or should it be permanence is the Buddha-nature.

•Permanence is the discriminating mind; should it not be impermanence?

•Why did the Sixth Patriarch say so? 24

Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

Sutra: Hsing Ch’ang replied, “The Sutra says that the Buddha nature is permanent and the High Master has just said that it is impermanent; it says that good and evil dharmas, reaching even to the Bodhi Mind, are impermanent and the High Master has just said that they are permanent. This contradiction has merely intensified your student’s doubt and delusion.”

 Commentary:

•Hsing Chang is innocently straightforward; by being so, Hsing Chang is now asking a question on Dharma and help us to understand more.

•Who is correct: Great Master or Hsing Chang? And why?25

Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

Sutra: The Master said, “Formerly, I heard Bhikshuni Wu Chin Tsang recite the Nirvana Sutra. When I commented on it, there was not one word or principle which did not accord with the Sutra text. My explanation to you now is not different.”

Commentary:

•Bhikshuni: If you cannot read, how can you understand the meaning?

•Sixth Patriarch: The subtle meaning of all Buddhas is not based on language.

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Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

Sutra: Hsing Ch’ang replied, “Your student’s capacity for understanding is superficial. Will the High Master please explain further?”

The Master said, “Don’t you understand? If the Buddha nature were permanent, what use would there be in speaking of good and evil dharmas? To the end of an eon not one person would produce the Bodhi Mind. Therefore I explain it as impermanent…Commentary:

•When there is attachment to permanence, you speak of impermanence.

•When there is attachment to impermanence, you speak of permanence.

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Chapter 8 Bhikshu Chih Ch’e

Sutra: The Master said, “Don’t you understand? If the Buddha nature were permanent, what use would there be in speaking of good and evil dharmas? To the end of an eon not one person would produce the Bodhi Mind. Therefore I explain it as impermanent. That is exactly what the Buddha explained as the meaning of true permanence.”Commentary:

•When there is neither permanent nor impermanent, what would it be?

•That is your Buddha-nature, also called true permanence.

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Dedication of merit• May every living beings, • Our minds as one and radiant with light• Share the fruits of peace, with hearts of goodness

luminous and bright.• If people hear and see, how hands and hearts can find in

giving unity• May their minds awake, to great compassion, wisdom

and to joy. • May kindness find reward; may all who sorrow leave their

grief and pain;• May this boundless light break the darkness of their

endless night.• Because our hearts are one, this world of pain turns into

paradise;• May all become compassionate and wise (2x)

Dedication of merit

• I vow that merit made from this deed will become,• Adornments for the Pure Land of Bu-ddhas.• Repaying the four kinds of kindness above,• And aiding those in three paths below.• May all who see and hear of this deed • Bring forth the resolve to reborn • In the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

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