vajra (diamond) sutra april 29, 2011 lecture

8/7/2019 Vajra (Diamond) Sutra April 29, 2011 lecture

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The Vajra (Diamond) SutraApril 29 lectureas outlined by a Buddhist monk(Listen live or recorded audio explanations at

www.wondrousdharma.org)

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ow e moun a ns come a ou camefrom images projected by our confused mind.

S 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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Q&A

Question: How did the mountains come about? Mountains areimages from our confused mind

Answer:

The relevance of this question to the study of prajna wisdom is

a. It will help us understand all dharmas are devoid of self s 28

b. It will explain the unity of appearances in s 30.

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Q&A

Knowing the emptiness in the origin of mountains, we

would in our daily life:1. Perceive conditioned dharmas (everything) as

appearances caused by false thinking (to avoid setting

2. Contemplate conditioned dharmas (everything) as emptyby not grasping and being unmoved by them. S 32

3. The false universe comes into being out of true

emptiness because of disturbance in the minds; hence

the importance to quiet or cease the mad false thinkingmind.

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Q&A4. Understanding the origin of the four elements the disturbance

in the minds creates the elements of wind and firm attachmentcreate element of earth. From wind and earth, creates theelement of fire and the three elements creates the element of

water.

As such to return home to our ori inal nature, we reverse it b :

Not being attached (the cause of earth element)

Unmoving (the cause of wind element)

The two essentially are the conclusion of the Vajra Sutra in s32.

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Q&A

Let us consider the two elements of fire and water and later on explain theirorigin

As fire flares up and water descends, their interactionbrings about solidity. From the primary element water, theocean comes into being while the continents and islandscome into being from the primary element earth.

Thus fire sometimes emerges from the oceans and riversand streams flow across the lands.

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Q&A

Mountains form where the primary element fire is strongerthan the primary element water, thus rocks gives of sparkswhen struck and melts when heated.

Vegetation grows where the primary element water isstronger than the primary element earth; thus the trees and

when they are compressed.

The foregoing explains the origin of continents, mountains and grasses and

trees (earth elements) and seas (water element) How does fire and waterarise? How does the other elements wind comes about?

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Q&A

Before explaining how the 4 elements comes about, the source

of all the arisal of the world is caused by

Further, Purna, you should know that beings deludedunderstandin is due sim l to the error of addin an

understanding to inherent enlightenment.

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Q&A

Nothing need be added to true enlightenment but once anunderstanding is added nevertheless, that understanding

must understand something.

Once the category of something understood (object or the

creation of karma) is mistakenly established in the mind, thecategory that which understands (the sense faculty or theappearance of turning). is mistakenly established as well.

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Q&A

These distorted interactions together produce the seedsthat become the causes for the perpetuation of the world ofperceived objects. (the mountains, the rivers and the great earth)

After the falseness of something understood (an object) isestablished (creation of karma), that which understands or the

become attached to the object. So it is that the ear-faculty isaware only of sounds, and the eye-faculty is confined to visibleobjects.

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Q&A

Once a light of understanding is added to enlightenment,the darkness of the element space appears; and theinteraction of these two complements generates a

disturbance in the mind. That disturbance is the becomesthe disk of wind, that is the primary element wind and thisdisk then supports the world of perceived objects

From the foregoing attachments there arise a firmattachment to that understanding, and this firm attachmentis categorized as solidity. This solidity is the disk vajra,

which is the essence of the primary element earth.

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Q&A

The wind and earth rub together; then there is the light of

fire which is changeable by nature.

Moisture arises from the shining of the disk of vajra.

vapor is the element water.

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Q&A

The four elements pervades the universe at various

degrees depending upon the coming together of karmicconsciousness (ripening of karma).

For example,

damp,

rockets get heated in outer space,

when rocks are hit together, they generate sparks of fire.

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Q&A

Here is how Manjusri Bodhisattva in the Shurangama

assembly describes in verses: Clear is the oceanic nature of enlightenment;

Flawlessly clear it is, and wondrous at its origin.

ut rom w t n t at un amenta m n t at un erstan s, Objects appear and with creation of these objects then

The fundamental understanding disappears.

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Q&A

When from confusion and delusion, empty space

appears; And all worlds come into being clinging to that space;

Due to delusion, clarity will turn to solid land;

ue to a se awareness e ngs t en come ort as we .

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Q&A

And thus does space arise within the great enlightenment,

Appearing like a solitary bubble on the sea, And thus do beings with outflows and the worlds uncountable

Arise within that empty space and when space disappears

And when the bubble bursts could the three realms notvanish also?

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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 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.19


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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 that 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, thatwould 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.23


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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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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, mountains and rivers take it forwhat it is as an illusion and not be attached toappearances.

This is exactly the teaching principle of the next section

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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 29, 2011 lecture

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