Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
The knots mentioned in this excerpt are caused by the six roots. Although these six sense faculties are the cause of endless reincarnation, we must rely on them for spiritual attainment. Through cultivation and purification, we can untie the knots that bind us.
The Surangama Sutra from the Great Buddha Crown on the Tathagata’s Secret Cause for Cultivating and Validating the Ultimate Enlightening Reality and Myriad Practices of the Bodhisattvas, Chapter Five
Ananda said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One, although the Tathagata has explained the second gate of the ultimate meaning, I observe that when people in the world untie a knot, if they do not know where the knot began, I believe they can never untie it.
“World-Honored One, the learners and sravakas in this assembly, myself included, are just the same. Since beginningless time, we have arisen and ceased together with all ignorance. Although we have acquired the good roots of extensive learning and renounced the home life, we are still like those suffering from malaria every other day.
“We only pray that, in your great compassion, you will have pity on us who are drowning. Please explain today: What is the knot that binds our body and mind? From what does liberation arise? May you also enable future suffering beings to escape samsara and never again fall into the three lower realms.”
Having spoken these words, Ananda, together with the entire assembly, prostrated with their five limbs to the ground. With tears streaming down their faces and the utmost sincerity in their hearts, they awaited the Tathagata’s unsurpassed discourse.
There are two stages in Esoteric Buddhism: the development stage and the perfection stage. Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings can be understood through causes and conditions. These are the two gates of ultimate meaning.
Ignorance consists of delusion and wandering thoughts. From beginningless time, we have used our six roots and endlessly experienced birth and death within samsara.
There is a Chinese saying: “Mountains can be moved but one’s nature is hard to change.” This reflects how deeply ingrained our habitual tendencies are. Even when we understand the teachings, we often fail to change. After hearing the dharma today, we resolve to improve, but quickly forget and slip back into our old patterns, like an illness that keeps returning.
Although Sakyamuni Buddha taught the dharma, sutras, and convenient methods, few people truly put them into practice. Genuine practice requires perseverance. The practice of non-leaking is easy to explain but hard to accomplish. Among body, speech, and mind, purifying the mind is the most difficult because our habits are deeply rooted.
Tantric Buddhism emphasizes purity in body, speech and mind:
- Body karma easily arises through the senses—the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body.
- Speech karma includes profanity, slander, lying, swindling, boasting, sowing discord, drinking alcohol, and smoking.
- Mind karma is the hardest to control, as thoughts arise constantly.
An example is the Emperor Wu of Liang, a devout Buddhist. Despite many years of studying the dharma, a single moment of lust, triggered by the sight of a palace maid’s legs, led to his downfall. The child born from that union harbored resentment and refused to save his father during a fatal crisis.
Similarly, when someone comes to the temple dressed provocatively, even monks may abandon monastic life because of desire. Worldly life revolves around five desires: wealth, lust, fame, food, and sleep. These desires are the “knots” that bind us. If they are not fully transformed, liberation is impossible. Unless we understand how these knots have arisen since beginningless time, we will never be able to untie them. Although the six roots are the cause of reincarnation, they are also the very means by which we cultivate. Therefore, the path is not to reject them, but to purify and transform them. This is the essential teaching of the Surangama Sutra.