vajra (diamond) sutra april 22, 2011 lecture

8/7/2019 Vajra (Diamond) Sutra April 22, 2011 Lecture

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The Vajra (Diamond) SutraApril 22 lectureas outlined by a Buddhist monk(Listen live or recorded audio explanations at

www.wondrousdharma.org)

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e qu escence o s awesome emeanorS 30 The principle of a unity of appearances


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Verse for opening a sutra

Homage to the Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra and theVajra assembly of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (3x)

The unsurpassed, deep, profound, subtle, wonderfulDharma,

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In a hundred thousand million eons, is difficult toencounter, Now that Ive come to receive and hold it, within my

sight and hearing,

I vow to fathom the Thus Come Ones true andactual meaning.


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S 29 The quiescence of his awesome demeanor

Sutra: Subhuti, if someone says that it seems as if the ThusCome One comes and goes, sits or lies down, such aperson does not understand the meaning of my teaching.

Comments:

The Buddha does not come or go nor does he sits or lies downbecause his Dharma body Vairochana Buddha pervades

everywhere yet he is nowhere attached.

But didnt his transformation body Shakyamuni Buddha sat

beneath the bodhi tree and spoke in the Jeta Grove?

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The transformation body Shakyamuni Buddha is an illusion, atransformation of sorts just like a body in a dream manifested toteach living beings in this not empty world.

S 25 says, Subhuti, although the Thus Come One speaksof the existence of a self, there is really no self that exists

Hence this section 29 is the beginning of the section which Iclassify as empty and yet not empty wherein it seems as ifthe Thus Come One comes or goes, sits or lies down.

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Neither comes nor goes is analogous to neither empty nor

existent; this is the world apart from dualities.

Dualities or discrimination is the world we live in.

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Being apart from dualities is the concept of absolute.

But we know that wonderful existence comes from withintrue emptiness

n so ea y s s mp y one rue appearance or o a yof appearance mentioned in s 30 - this is RealAppearance prajna!

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S 29 The quiescence of his awesome demeanor We live in a world built upon discrimination or dualities which

seems real; the fallacy is that we perceive dualities as real but

yet it is not so because fundamentally there was nothing at all.

it seems as if the Thus Come One comes and goes, sits

or es own wou ere ore means a appears ere aredualities but it is not so.

S 29 onwards introduces the concept of empty and yet not

empty which essentially is nothing at all but appearances of themind whilst we are in this world.

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To illustrate transformation body, here is an extract ofthe Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra:

I (Shakyamuni Buddha) will also send transformed

bhikshus, bhikshunis, upasakas and upasikas tolisten to the Dharma being spoken.

Venerable Master Hsuan Hua explains transformed:

There are two ways to explain it. First perhaps theBuddha will appoint gods to transform themselves intopeople. Or perhaps right when the lecture is going on,

the people will show up in the audience and nobody

knows where they came from or where they went.

Some transformed people are born in the world just forattending your Dharma lecture when it comes. Others

appear on a temporary basis now and then. 8


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There are also millions of transfomation bodies of

Shakyamuni Buddha.

You can read them also in the Chapter on Vision of theJeweled Stupa of the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower

Sutra.

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The explanation in the Consciousness School pertaining totransformation body of a Buddha is:

The Buddha has turned around his five sense

consciousness of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting andtouching into Wisdom of Successful Performance.(WSP)

The Buddha uses his WSP to appear in his earthly bodyand other transformation bodies and to functionperceptually within that body.

He sees, hears, smells, tastes and touches without anyobstruction or distortions of feeling not only in theordinary range of perception but universally pervading

time and space.

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The Thus Come One neither comes nor goes, neither sits norlie down is illustrated in the experience of Great Master Zhi Zhewho saw that the Magic Mountain Dharma assembly was still inprogress. Shakyamuni Buddha was still present in the Vulture

Peak speaking the Dharma Flower Sutra.

Question: Arent Shakyamuni Buddha sitting and speaking and theVajra Sutra says, If someone says the Thus Come One has

spoken Dharma, he slanders the Buddha due to hisinability to understand what I teach (s 21)?

Answer:

It was again a transformation body speaking, an appearance of

the mind.

It is just like when enlightened, you take yourself across and

therefore the Buddha did not speak. 11


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When confused, the teacher takes you across. That is

the teacher is speaking when you are confused.

Ultimately and eventually you find that you are in the first

empty world and basically there was nothing at all(without appearance).

Time and space and all appearances in the final analysisis after all a creation of false thinking.

This is the Dharma of no Dharma. 12


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Sutra: Why? The Thus Come One does not come fromanywhere nor does he go anywhere. Therefore he iscalled the Thus Come One.

Comments:

The Buddha neither comes nor goes, sits or lies down

because he in stillness of ultimate Nirvana; theappearance o n rvana s w ou appearance.

Yet within the stillness, he teaches and transformsbeings both in the empty and not empty world to see

their Buddha nature which is

Permanence, bliss, true self and purity.

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The following passage in the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutraexpresses the state of a Buddha and leads us to s 30 whichintroduces the one appearance

The Thus Come One knows the Dharma of oneappearance, (this describes s 30 of the Vajra Sutra)

of one flavor, that is to say,

the appearance of liberation, the appearance of separation,

the appearance of extinction,

the appearance of ultimate Nirvana which is constantlystill and extinct and which in the end returns toemptiness. (this describes s 29 of the Vajra Sutra)

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The Thus Come One knows the Dharma of one appearance -

one appearance is the Real Appearance Prajna

of one flavor, that is to say, - theOne Vehiclecontainsexpedient teachings

the appearance of liberation, an expedient teaching

the appearance of separation an expedient teaching,

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the appearance of extinction the appearance of extinction isan expedient teaching where in fact the ultimate teaching in theBuddhadharma is simply nothing produced, nothing destroyed

the appearance of ultimate Nirvana which is constantly still and

extinct the Buddha neither comes nor goes, he is in stillness

because Buddhas have relinquished all appearances(s 14) and which in the end returns to emptiness. and they abide in

Reality which is the Appearance of Reality is withoutappearance.(s14)

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S 30 The principle of a unity of appearances

Sutra: Subhuti, suppose a good man or good womanwere to pulverize a threefold great thousand worldsystem into fine particles of dust. What do you think,would those fine particles of dust be many?

Comments:

The lar e comes from the atherin of the minute

particles of dust that borders on emptiness. If a particle of fine dust is cut into 7 sections, then it

becomes emptiness.

Form is emptiness. A gathering of emptiness would then become form.

Emptiness is form.

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Sutra: Subhuti said, Very many World Honored One.Why? If those fine particles of dust did exist, theBuddha would not have called them fine particles of

dust. Why is this? Fine particles of dust are not fineparticles of dust. Therefore they are called fineparticles of dust.

Comments: The fine particles of dust is similar to atoms which

borders on emptiness.

A fine particle of dust has no self nature.

Hence Fine particles of dust are not fine particles ofdust because they are empty without self nature.

Yet they are called fine particles of dust; it is just a name.18


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Sutra: World Honored One, what the Buddha spoke of athreefold great thousand world system is not a worldsystem. Therefore it is called a world system.

Comments:

The large world system is a gathering of the fine

articles of dust.

As the fine particles of dust has no self nature, the sameapplies to the world system.

Hence world system is not world system yet it is given a

name just to describe it only.

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Sutra: Why? If world systems actually existed, that wouldconstitute a unity of appearances. What the Thus ComeOne speaks of a unity of appearances is not a unity of

appearances. Therefore it is called a unity ofappearances.

Comments:

empty and a gathering of fine dust is also empty.

There is essentially no gathering of fine particles of dustbecause the many comes from the one which is empty.

In the emptiness of a gathering of empty fine dusts, there is noteven one fine dust. Why is this?

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It is because emptiness itself is an appearance and when youempty emptiness, you have nothing at all thereby

corresponds to Reality.

Thus there is no emptiness and no form

World systems actually dont exist because there is no form.

There is no appearance of world systems because there is

no emptiness because Reality is without appearance and

emptiness is an appearance.

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Sutra: Why? If world systems actually existed, that

would constitute a unity of appearances. What theThus Come One speaks of a unity of appearances isnot a unity of appearances. Therefore it is called aunit of a earances.

Comments:Here is another approach to explain:

A world system is a gathering of fine dust.

A fine dust is empty because when fine dust are split into7 parts, it becomes emptiness.

Yet this emptiness of a fine dust is a false emptiness

because it came from form which is an appearance.22


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Therefore we have to empty the false emptiness to arrive

at a state of no form and no emptiness

The state of no form and no emptiness corresponds toReality which is without appearance.

We know that a gathering of appearance is false whichexplains Thus Come One speaks of a unity ofappearances is not a unity of appearances

And so world system never existed.

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Though Reality corresponds to Thus Come Onespeaks of a unity of appearances is not a unity ofappearances,

.

long as we understand the nature of this appearance isfalse and take it for what it is as a name to describe it.

What do you mean by taking a a unity of appearancesfor what it is?....

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Appearances are appearances; a world system is a

world system, form is emptiness, emptiness is form dont be attached to it.

Therefore, s 30 concludes with the Buddha saying:

,

expressed, but common people become greedilyattached to such things.

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Sutra: Subhuti, a unity of appearances cannot beexpressed, but common people become greedilyattached to such things.

Comments:

No, when the Buddha teaches the above, we aresupposed to contemplate that all appearances such as

our body, our thoughts, the mountains, and rivers take itfor what it is as an illusion and not be attached toappearances.

This is exactly the teaching principle of the next section

31. 26


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Everything we see, know and hear are all appearancesand they are in truth empty and false.

All appearances are empty and false is Reality; thegenuine discernment of the principle of Thusness in s 5.

The foregoing explains the extract of one appearance or the One

Vehicle from the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra: TheThus Come One knows the Dharma of one appearance,

.. the appearance of ultimate Nirvana which isconstantly still and extinct and which in the end returnsto emptiness.

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Therefore the Buddha follows up with s 31 teaching us

that everything in this world are appearances andcautions us not to set up appearances.

given in section 32 the concluding part of the VajraSutra.

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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 heart of goodness

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

giving unity

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, ,

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

grief and pain;

May this boundless light break the darkness of theirendless night.

Because our hearts are one, this world of pain turns intoparadise;

May all become compassionate and wise (2x)

vajra (diamond) sutra april 22, 2011 lecture

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