vajra (diamond) sutra february 25, 2011 lecture

8/7/2019 Vajra (Diamond) Sutra February 25, 2011 Lecture

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The Vajra (Diamond) SutraFebruary 25 lecture

as outlined by a Buddhist monk(Listen live or recorded audio explanations atwww.wondrousdharma.org)

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gor an e a ra u raQ&A Able to distinguish pink elephant butunmoving in the primary sense

S 26 The Dharma Body is not 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 : What is the role of vigor pertaining to the Vajra PrajnaParamita Sutra? Does it end when one realizes bodhi or

awakening?

Answer: Because of the difficulty to subdue the mind, the only path to

really subdue the mind is through vigor.

Once awakened to the principle, one continues to be vigorous.

A Buddha is by nature vigorous.

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Q&A

Shakyamuni Buddha and Venerable Ananda bothbrought forth the bodhi resolve at the time of Buddha

Emptiness King.

e a yamun u a as a rea y ecome a u abecause he was diligent and vigorous in his practice.

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Q&A Great Master Sixth Patriarch was awakened to the principle

that basically there was nothing at all, so how could there bedefilement?

Great Master 5th Patriarch: Is the rice ready?

, .waiting only for the sieve.

The explanation by Venerable Master Hsuan Hua is The rice

has long been ready. It is now waiting to be sieved.

Here the sieve represents getting rid of the filth.

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Q&A Chapter 4 of the Lotus Sutra tells of the poor son who spent

twenty years of getting rid the filth of the delusion of views and

the delusion of thoughts.

Later on the 5th Patriarch says, Start on your journey now and

go south as fast as possible. Do not speak too soon, for theBuddhadharma arises from difficulty.

The Great Master 6th

Patriarch lived among hunters for 15years teaching Dharma to them as appropriate.

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Q&A

The period subsequent is similar to the awakening of a

Chan Master Huitai Yuanjing when he read from the

Verse of Perfect Enlightenment One must hit the ballquickly by the swift waters

be vigorous if he were to succeed getting rid of the dungand filth.

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Q&A

Question: I have no problem in becoming a vegetarian. But I cannotavoid thinking of Pink elephant when someone mentionsPink elephant. Is it the case of shallow samadhi power

(mental absorption) just as in the case of a meditator who hearsa truck passing by but at the same time he does not notice theclock ticking?

Answer:

There are 2 aspects to this matter samadhi concentration andwise contemplation.

Being able to be vegetarian but not being able to avoid pinkelephant is because of the varying attachments in the karmicconsciousness.

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Q&A

Not being able to listen to the ticking of the clock yet cannotavoid the sound of the truck reflects the intensity of mentalconcentration in relation to the degree of distraction.

Though one may listen to the sound of the truck, yet if onetakes the sound as a sound; this itself is wise contemplation.

The same applies to hearing pink elephant; though one mayhear yet treat the sound as sound is wise contemplation.

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Q&A

A sound is a sound without forming any opinion; it wouldmean treating the sound as empty and the stillnessarising is concentration.

The Vajra Sutra says, all appearances are empty andfalse and a sound of a word is one such appearances.

The Vajra Sutra says produce a thought withoutrelying on anything would mean treating the soundwithout forming an opinion or retaining it in mind.

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Q&A

Thinking of pink elephant on hearing pink elephant isthe subtle attachment to distinguish it so.

Though we are fully able to discriminate pink elephantyet we remain unmoving in the primary sense by notfollowing up or retaining it.

Thinking of pink elephant but forming an opinion of it isto treat the sound of words as something real andexisting; pink elephant has moved you.

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Q&A

Contemplating that all thoughts are not thoughts, we thereforedont give rise to a thought to turn the sound of words into an

annoyance; this is being unmoved.

This qualifies as wise contemplation; not rejecting the sound

anything in mind.

This is the meaning of simply taking the sound as sound.

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Q&A

Yet if one could contemplate that the sound, be it pure orimpure, good natured or evil natured, pleasing or frightening

that all sounds are of one appearances that they are all

fundamentally or inherently not existent, then one has alreadyabide in Reality.

o ng wou en move one ecause one un ers an sReality that everything is fundamentally not real but a

projections or appearances of the mind.

And so there is no reaction or response to the sound.

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Next weeks Q&A

Background to Question:

I am in conflict regarding acceptance and trust of the universe.

I am currently unhappy with my current life and there is little tono option for me to change it right now.

I have always tried to believe that the universe will take care ofme so long as I am true to myself and have faith, yet I cantseem to catch a break.

It has definitely made me doubt my faith.

Question: Is there a balance between letting life take its course

and taking life in to your own hands? 14


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S 26 The Dharma body is not appearances

Sutra: Subhuti, what do you think, is it possible tocontemplate the Thus Come One in his Thirty-two

Physical Appearances?Comments:

In s 5 the Buddha had said that all appearances are empty,

we can contemplate the 32 appearances of a Buddha.

The question was raised because earlier on the Buddha had

taught that the reward for practicing of blessings and wisdomfor 100 eons will result in one having the 32 physicalappearances.

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Sutra: Subhuti said, So it is. So it is. It is possible tocontemplate the Thus Come One in his Thirty-twoPhysical Appearances.

Comments:

Is it the case that Subhuti who is foremost in emptiness

does not know that all a earances are em t and

false?

No, it is just the Buddha and Subhuti is playing a role to

bring out any doubts that may linger in the minds of thepeople in the assembly and in the future.

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Sutra: The Buddha said, Subhuti, if one could contemplatethe Thus Come One in his Thirty-two PhysicalAppearances, then a Wheel Turning Sage King would be

the Thus Come One.Comments:

The Thirty-two Physical Appearances are just the reward ofav ng cu va e ess ngs an w s om or eons.

And so it is not surprising that the Wheel Turning Sage Kingalso has these appearances.

The Buddha when he was just born was predicted tobecome either a Buddha if he chooses to practice thespiritual path or become a Wheel Turning Sage King.

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Sutra: Subhuti addressed the Buddha, World HonoredOne as I understand what the Buddha has said, oneshould not contemplate the Thus Come One in his

Thirty-two Physical Appearances.Comments:

Why shouldnt we see the Buddha in his Thirty-two

Physical Appearances? It is because the appearance is just the Transformation

body and not the true Dharma Body.

The Transformation body dwells in this false world ofexistence and therefore it is not permanent.

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Question: The Appearance of Reality is withoutappearance. (s 14). What do you mean by without

appearance and how do we apply in our daily life?

Comments:

The Buddhas life span knows no birth or death. Thus it

eons: eternal in the Pure Land of Eternal Stillness andLight, not produced and not extinguished

The Buddha-nature is light; but that refers to the

wonderful light of basic enlightenment. Basicenlightenment is the natural inherent enlightenment of us

all, and it is also the Buddhas light. And it is from thislight that the beings are transformed.(VM Hsuan Hua)

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Eternal stillness and not produced and not extinguishedis expressed in the Vajra Sutra s 29 The Thus Come

One does not come from anywhere nor does he goanywhere. Therefore he is called the Thus ComeOne.

And s 32 of the Vajra Sutra teaches how to be withoutappearance: By not grasping at appearance andbeing in unmoving thusness.

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Venerable Master Hsuan Hua explains, Everything is

produced from the self nature and within the mind whichis thus, thus unmoving true reality is to be found. Seenin this way this state is the original nature exactly; it isthe hi hest enli htenment.

Great Master Sixth Patriarch explains it as:

Fully able to discriminate among appearances,

But unmoving in the primary sense The very act of viewing in this way

Itself is the function of true Reality.

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Sutra: At that time, the World Honored One spoke a versesaying:

One who looks for me in forms,

Seeks me in sounds, Practices a deviant path

And will never see the Thus Come One.

Comments: The Buddha here is reassuring that one who sees appearances

are not practicing the Way.

Any other way of looking at appearances as empty and false is

certainly not the teaching of the Buddha.

Though the Buddha has emphatically swept away all

appearances, it does not mean annihilation because every

living being has the Buddha nature which is eternal. 22


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S 27 Not destroyed nor annihilated

Sutra: Subhuti, you might have thought, It was notbecause he perfected his Physical Appearances thatthe Thus Come One attained

anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Subhuti, do not think, Itwas not because he perfected his PhysicalAppearances that the Thus Come One attained

. .

Comments:

The Buddha here is cautioning that we might think that

when the Buddha swept away all appearances in s 26,

we might misunderstand it to be annihilations. This is notthe case.

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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 february 25, 2011 lecture

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