The Surangama Sutra is vast and boundless; it is seen by His Holiness in his samadhi as the countless stars—bright and radiant—illuminating the whole universe.

As the Buddha’s heart-son, one must uphold and transmit buddhadharma so it can continue to flourish in the saha world to deliver sentient beings.

The Buddha is endowed with inconceivable transcendent power. His voice, likened to the song of kalavinka birds of Sukhavati, induces the mindfulness of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Taoist teachings state that to follow the natural flow is to be human, while reversing it makes one an immortal. Taoist practices involve refining essence into energy, energy into spirit, and spirit into emptiness.

Ananda was drawn to monastic life by the Buddha’s sublime thirty-two hallmarks, unattainable by ordinary beings born from desire. They are unaware that they, too, embody inherent purity and innate luminosity. This inherent buddhanature is the true reality.

The Buddha asked Ananda about what he thought he saw through a philosophical dialog of logic. He did not refer to the physicality or biological function of these sense organs or faculties, but delved deeper beyond the surface into the realm of consciousness.

“Everything is created by the mind,” is a famous saying in Buddhism. Yogacara emphasizes that all things manifest from the Alaya (Storehouse) consciousness, thus Yogacara means Consciousness-Only.

Where is the mind, really? Is it inside the body? Or outside the body? The Buddha uses analogies to explain.

In this chapter of the Surangama Sutra, the Buddha attempted to bring Ananda to an understanding of the mind—where the mind really is. It is not easy to determine where the mind is located whereas it is easier to say that eyes are on the body.

In this excerpt, Ananda said that the mind is located somewhere within the eyes so that it can only see the outside but not inside the body. This, too, was rejected by the Buddha.

In this part of the dialogue, Ananda indicated that there is a twofold awareness of the mind—one which can perceive inside and one which can perceive outside. He said that it is because the internals of the body is dark that one cannot see anything. But one can see the outside because it is bright.

Is there only one mind? Or many minds? If there is only one mind, there are many cases where the mind is not functional, such as the inability to know what is inside the body. If there are many minds, then it is like many Anandas inside one body. Therefore, both are incorrect.

In this excerpt, Ananda and Sakyamuni Buddha continue discussing where the mind is. Hearing that the Buddha and Manjusri discussed the mind being neither inside nor outside the body, Ananda proposed that it must be in the middle. The Buddha rejects this notion as well.

This is Ananda’s last presumption on where the mind is; he suggested that the mind exists when there is no attachment.

Ananda, foremost in hearing the Buddha’s teaching but lacking real practice, beseeched the Buddha to teach the methods to enter true samadhi and be liberated from defilements.

All sentient beings possess the Marvelous and Luminous True Mind—buddhanature. However, deluded by their own clinging mind, they perpetually cycle in the transmigration in samsara.

No matter how one describes the mind or tries to pinpoint it, one will miss the point. The Buddha shows the true nature—buddhanature—which is pure, permanent, and indescribable. It is unlike anything we can see, hear, smell, taste, touch, or even think about.

Ananda believed that anytime he used his mind—whether to serve the buddhas, learn the dharma, or even slander it, that is his mind. It was rebuffed by the Buddha.

All phenomena arise from the consciousness; everything comes into existence because of the mind. Seeing, hearing, feeling, or knowing are not the true mind. The true mind exists independent of all sensory cognitions or consciousnesses.

Spiritual cultivation is a path that each person must take on their own. We cannot depend on the Buddha or anyone else to do it for us. No matter how much one has learned, if it is not put into practice, then it is of no use.

What is enlightenment? Here are several analogies; because only through analogies will one gain enlightenment.

What is the wondrous radiant true mind? It is when the mind is completely still. But as soon as the Buddha showed his luminous fist, Ananda’s mind moved. Therefore, all he saw was the luminous fist, and he missed the point on enlightenment that the Buddha was trying to teach.