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Glossary letter A
Glossary letter B
Glossary letter C
Glossary letter D
Glossary letter E
Glossary letter F
Glossary letter G
Glossary letter H
Glossary letter I
Glossary letter J
Glossary letter K
Glossary letter L
Glossary letter M
Glossary letter N
Glossary letter O
Glossary letter P
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Glossary letter R
Glossary letter S
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Glossary letter S1
Glossary letter T1
Glossary letter W
Glossary letter X
Glossary letter Y
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Heart Sutra 1
Heart Sutra 2
Heart Sutra 3
Heart Sutra 4
Heart Sutra 5
Heart Sutra 6
Heart Sutra 7
Heart Sutra 8
Heart Sutra 9
Heart Sutra Tibetan
Diamond Sutra 1
Diamond Sutra 2
Faith in Mind
Ksitigarbha Sutra 1
Ksitigarbha Sutra 2
Ksitigarbha Sutra 3
Ksitigarbha Sutra 4
Ksitigarbha Sutra 5
Ksitigarbha Sutra 6
Ksitigarbha Sutra 7
Ksitigarbha Sutra 8
Ksitigarbha Sutra 9
Ksitigarbha Sutra 10
Ksitigarbha Sutra 11
Ksitigarbha Sutra 12
Ksitigarbha Sutra 13
Pali English Glossary
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| "NO IGNORANCE AND ALSO NO ENDING OF IGNORANCE, UNTIL WE COME TO NO OLD AGE AND DEATH AND NO ENDING OF OLD AGE AND DEATH." This part of the Sutra refers to the formula of the Twelve Links in the Chain of Existence: These are in the sphere of the five skandhas. As we have seen, the five skandhas were found empty; consequently the twelve links are also void. Pratyeka-buddha or the saint of the middle vehicle who practices the Dharma of the Twelve Links and who attained enlightenment by that means was liberated from his/her allotment of birth and death, but has not reached the realm of buddhahood. The Buddha taught the Prajna Paramita Sutra to bring people closer to the attainment of buddhahood by means of a deep understanding of all dharmas as manifestations of Reality and Emptiness. Someone endowed with superior wisdom and the highest potential, who understands that all Dharmas are void can attain buddhahood immediately. The attainment of Pratyeka-buddha is the outcome of his practice based on the Dharma of the Twelve Links in the Chain of Existence, or causes and conditions. Causes and conditions act as support for the twelve links, which confuses people further. Ignorance conditions karmic action, action conditions consciousness, consciousness conditions name and form, name and form condition the six sense doors (sense organs), the six sense organs condition contact, contact conditions sensation, sensation conditions craving, craving conditions grasping, grasping conditions becoming, becoming conditions birth, birth conditions old age and death, sorrow, pain, grief, lamentation, despair and anguish. The Twelve Links of Existence in combination with causes and conditions illustrate how confusion contributes to human suffering. Let me explain: Ignorance in the context of the Buddha's teaching means either not knowing or knowing incorrectly; the term is interchangeable with confusion. Assumptions based on ignorance support or condition unskilful actions. Action rooted in confusion reinforces the bias generated by ignorance. Consciousness is the prime agent in the selection of conditions for rebirth: If there is confusion present during the intermediate existence between death and rebirth, proper conditions for the next existence will not be recognized. In this respect it is the consciousness that conditions name and form. Name and form at the beginning of a new existence are simply the sperm of the father, combined with the ovum and blood of the mother; the form already exists, but the name part has yet to develop. The eighteen realms that will eventually come into existence will be conditioned from the very beginning by name and form. The six organs develop on the basis of corporeality and of the natures of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and knowing, with a discriminatory bias already built in. The six senses develop on the bases of the six organs: The six organs, being the sense doors, condition contact. Contact takes place when a sense organ produces sense data in response to stimulation. In the case of a newly born, the earliest experience is tactile: There is an abrupt change of environment in terms of temperature and texture, causing intense discomfort in the newborn baby, making it cry. The contact conditions sensation. As the range of stimuli widens, diversity of contact increases; the material sense-organs develop accordingly, each becoming progressively specialized and its own realm more and more specific. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind develop preferences and aversions, giving rise to greed and anger. Therefore it is said that sensation conditions craving. Craving is sometimes interpreted as thirst. Initially, it is the thirst for the continuation of one's existence, construed as independent. That notion is the anchor for the impulse to grasp. Grasping leads inevitably to clinging which brings new becoming in its wake. Becoming may be described as setting the stage for new birth. It is the unavoidable outcome of grasping. Birth is conditioned by becoming. It introduces a new round in the cyclic pattern of existence; because there is birth, old age and death automatically follow. Old age and death require care and produce pain, grief and anguish. Most humans, when approaching death, are ravaged by grief and anxiety. They hold on to their thirst for existence entrenched through lifelong habits; their suffering and their fear are similar to what a tortoise experiences when its shell is removed. Death and dying are frequently accompanied by manifestations of grief. Birth, death, and all the suffering in between arise because of ignorance and supportive conditions, and the ordinary people have no choice but to continue the cycle of rebirths in the six realms. Pratyeka-buddha understands the source of defilement and of birth and death. Upon hearing the Dharma of the Twelve Links in the Chain of Existence he/she will generate the mind of Tao and practice to end his or her own suffering. He/she will attain the path and fruit of the middle vehicle thereby ending the allotment of birth and death. To free oneself from confusion or ignorance is requisite for right or correct practice. When ignorance is eliminated, all delusory activity ceases. There is no more fuel to feed delusion and thus consciousness is extinguished, meaning there is no more birth, no more death. With the six sense organs extinguished there is no more contact. In the absence of contact and sensation, there is no longer any greed or hatred, no craving and therefore no grasping (no karmic activity); without grasping there can be no becoming, which means that all future rebirths are extinguished. Without birth there is no aging and death and that is the end of pain, grief, lamentation and anguish. The Buddha taught the Prajna Paramita Dharma to awaken practitioners to the teaching of the Void and to make them receptive to it. The Chinese term Wu (none) implies putting an end to grasping; to understand the essential Void of all existence is to understand the True Mind. To see one's Self Nature enables swift attainment of buddhahood, because when ignorance is recognized as void, there is nothing left to break off. Therefore the sutra says "also no ending of ignorance." Because, originally, there is no such thing as old age and death (they are the product of the conceptual mind), the sutra says "until we come to no old age and death and to no ending of old age and death." "ALSO THERE IS NO TRUTH OF SUFFERING, OF THE CAUSE OF SUFFERING, OF THE CESSATION OF SUFFERING, NOR OF THE PATH." This sentence deals with the Void as the ground of the Four Noble Truths. What are they? Suffering, Cause of Suffering, Cessation of Suffering and The Path. The teaching transcends the mundane and provides access to sainthood. A saint from the Theravada tradition attains the path and the fruit on the basis of his/her practice of The Four Noble Truths. The Mahayana attainment is in the realm of the supramundane. The suffering spoken of is the suffering in this world. Its causes are, likewise, of this world, the path is operative in this world and Nirvana or cessation of suffering is our exit from this world. The path provides the right causes for the Tao and the practice is aimed toward enlightenment. The first of the Noble Truths is presented in three aspects: 1. As ordinary suffering. In this aspect it includes all forms of physical and mental pain and ache. 2. The outcome of the impermanent nature of life. All the fleeting pleasures are illusory and temporary and subject to change. 3. The five aggregates or the conditioned states. Matter, feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness, the last being based on the first four, are constantly changing, hence impermanent, and what is impermanent is, inevitably, suffering. The six realms of existence comprise three good or happy ones, and three unhappy or evil ones. The first three are the realm of heavenly beings, the realm of humans and the realm of asuras (titans). The latter three consist of the realm of hell, the realm of hungry ghosts, and the realm of animals. The form sphere and the formless sphere both provide much longer life continuity than this world. and more happiness as well, but they are still subject to birth, death and suffering consequent of action. The sphere of desire in the human realm provides equal parts of happiness and suffering, while the asuras, though enjoying blessings, are without morality and their good fortune will eventually end. The inhabitants of the three happy realms made good causes in their former lives, and depending on how they benefit others, they will receive rewards accordingly in this world. There is no need to explain the three unhappy realms. All we need to say is that there is a great deal of suffering there. The suffering of those inhabiting unhappy realms is the present effect of causes from their previous lives. All suffering is produced by the mind. One reaps as one sows. What is the cause of suffering? The second of the Noble Truths posits the cause or the origin of suffering as craving or thirst which produces re-existence and re-becoming, accompanied by passionate clinging. Numerous causes come together, and we know that our present suffering is the effect of previous causes. Likewise, our present behavior is the foundation for future effects. What effect has the supramundane on the cessation of suffering? The third of the Noble Truths follows logically from the first two. If craving is removed or transcended there will be no more suffering. Cessation means calmness and extinction, or Nirvana: It is inviting, attractive and comprehensible to the wise. The one who understands the source of suffering thoroughly knows that it is generated by one's own self; yearning for Nirvana, he/she resolves to practice and attain the path and the fruit, i.e., Nirvana. What is the cause of the Noble Truth of the Path? Having analyzed the meaning of life, the Buddha demonstrated to his disciples how to deal effectively with suffering. The fourth Noble Truth makes the teaching a complete whole. Those who focus their desire on attaining the supramundane Nirvana can break off the causes of suffering and practice toward enlightenment. The practitioner of the teaching of the Four Noble Truths should reach understanding of the cause of suffering and direct his/her efforts toward the dissolution of the cause of suffering, resolve to attain Nirvana and from then on practice wholeheartedly. Following his enlightenment the Buddha taught the Avatamsaka, but some hearers had difficulty understanding it, and therefore he applied expedient means to accommodate them. His teaching of the Four Noble Truths was threefold: 1. By means of contemplation of the manifestations of suffering, 2. By exhortation, 3. Using his own attainment as an example and as encouragement. 1. Contemplation of the manifestations of suffering. There are several kinds of suffering people are forced to endure in order to survive and to get the basic necessities of life; The ordinary form of suffering includes birth, old age, sickness, death, parting from what we love, meeting what we hate, unattained aims and all the ills of the five skandhas. Where does the suffering come from? It is generated by one's own self. The cause of suffering is a cluster of six root defilements: Greed, hatred, ignorance, pride, doubt and heterodox views. The lesser defilements are diversified varieties of the six root defilements. The twenty secondary afflictions are belligerence, resentment, spite, concealment, deceit, dissimulation, haughtiness, harmfulness, jealousy, miserliness, non-shame, non--embarrassment, non-faith, laziness, non-conscientiousness, lethargy, excitement, forgetfulness, non-introspection, and distraction; the six root defilements and the twenty secondary afflictions together cause all the suffering in the world. Cessation of suffering can be attained; it is possible to end the cycle (allotment) of birth and death, put aside the four conditions of mortality and attain the appealing, joyful Nirvana. To follow the Theravada practice means, however, not to halt the mortal changes of the round of births, and to have some obstruction regarding Emptiness. Those who resolved to practice and attain because of their ardent wish to reach Nirvana should observe the thirty-seven conditions leading to Bodhi. The three studies or three pillars of practice - discipline, meditation and wisdom - represent the thirty-seven conditions in condensed form. The practice of discipline removes the obstacle of greed, meditation reduces delusion and the two combined foster wisdom. Without diligent practice the Buddha's follower does not get very far on his journey. 2. By exhortation: Using the expressions and the tone of a concerned teacher or a parent the Buddha would, at times, urge his followers: "You should understand how people are forced to endure their predicament…" or "the cessation of suffering can be attained, you ought to make the effort, you should practice…" and so on. 3. Using his own attainment as an example and as encouragement: "The problem of suffering can be resolved; look, I did it and so can you." "The causes of suffering are cumulative. The sooner you eliminate or transcend them, the quicker you will be free once and for all; I freed myself and now I don't have to worry any more" and such like. At the time the Buddha set the wheel in motion by teaching the Four Noble Truths, the hearers (Sravakas) attained sainthood (Arhatship). After years of teaching, the Buddha taught the Dharma of Emptiness (Sunyata) to promote the understanding of the supramundane Void of True Existence. We have seen the emptiness of the five skandhas, and at present we perceive the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths to be void as well. There is no suffering, no cause of suffering, no cessation of suffering and no path. They are only the reflection in the mirror; without reflection there is not the ability to reflect. The reflection is not separate from that which reflects it; the reflective surface and the reflection are one. To understand this means to be close to enlightenment. "THERE IS NO WISDOM AND THERE IS NO ATTAINMENT WHATSOEVER" This part of the sutra concerns the teaching of the six paramitas, or the bodhisattva practice as explained in the Tripitaka. Allowing one's actions to be guided by one or all of the paramitas, one will surely attain the path and the fruit. For each of the previously mentioned six fundamental defilements there is one of the six paramitas or perfections of virtue, to be applied as a specific antidote. Charity eliminates greed, discipline cures laziness, patience overcomes hatred, determination overcomes laxity, meditation cools the mind making it receptive to wisdom and wisdom dispels ignorance. The Mahayana doctrine of action and principle differs from the Theravada as to the intent. In addition to one's actions that should follow the paramitas one is expected, according to the Mahayana understanding of the bodhisattva path, endeavor to liberate all sentient beings by leading them toward an upward path while seeking his/her own enlightenment upward. If one has not cut off grasping completely, one's wisdom becomes colonized by consciousness, turning into an obstacle rather than being a virtue. According to the Buddha, "there is no wisdom and there is no attainment whatsoever". It means that the paramitas and the bodhisattva action as promulgated by the Tripitaka are not entities to be grasped, conceptualized, manipulated or used. But this is the perspective of the Mahayana, Dharma; the teaching of Emptiness is evident neither in the practice nor the wisdom, and not in Buddhahood for that matter, as taught by the Theravadins. The Dharma of Emptiness is characterized by the concept of Emptiness as the substance of all dharmas. Then the six paramitas and the bodhisattva action are the reflection in the mirror, since they are all amenable to change and therefore empty of self. The already introduced Chinese term Wu, meaning non, un-, or none, expresses the true nature of the mirror, or its capacity to receive and relinquish all that goes on in front of it without holding on to any part of it. If the paramitas are practiced with the understanding that they are rooted in Emptiness, the great enlightenment can be attained. Non-wisdom is the true wisdom, non-attainment is the true attainment. This is what it means to practice deeply the Prajna Paramita; the five fundamental conditions of passions and delusions stop, and the two kinds of birth and death are finished forever. In addition to the paramitas of bodhisattva action there is another set of six paramitas of principle as part of teachings of the intermediate school (Tung Jiao). Action and Principle are not separated in the teaching of the differentiated school (Bie Jiao), but in the original or genuine school (Yuan Jiao) the six paramitas are practiced as non-action; the practice leads to perfect wisdom and to the supreme Bodhi. By Master Tan Hsu |
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