Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
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 said to Ananda, “You and I share the same breath, our bond as close as that of family.”
The Buddha told Ananda that they came from the same ancestors. Ananda was the Buddha’s paternal cousin and he was one of the eight princes who renounced the mundane world to follow the Buddha.
“When you first resolved to follow the path, what extraordinary aspect of my teachings did you see that made you suddenly renounce the deep sentiments and affections of the world?”
The Buddha asked Ananda what made him willingly abandon wealth, privileges, sensual pleasures, fame, love and affections of the world?
Ananda replied to the Buddha, “I saw the Tathagata’s thirty-two hallmarks, supremely exquisite and unparalleled. Your body is radiant and translucent, like lapis lazuli.”
Ananda explained that when he saw the Tathagata’s thirty-two hallmarks, he also wished to have the same and wondered how to obtain them. Some of these include: flat soles, a thousand-spoked wheel on the soles, hands that reach below the knees when standing upright, a fleshy protuberance on the crown, a long and broad tongue that can cover the face, ear lobes that touch the shoulders or hang below lip level, and a radiant and luminous body. Sakyamuni Buddha’s body is resplendent, like golden lapis lazuli. That’s why Buddhist statues are called “golden bodies.”
“I often reflect that such marks cannot arise from desire and love. Why is this so? Because the energy of desire is coarse and impure, foul and repulsive, mingled with pus and blood. It cannot give rise to such a supreme, pure, wondrous, and radiant gathering of golden light.”
These marks are so sublime and rare, whereas the vital energy (qi) of mankind is impure, mixed with foul odors, blood, and pus. Humans are born due to the desires of their parents. However, such a profound, pure, splendid body of purple golden light cannot possibly arise from worldly desires.
“That is why I longed to follow you and renounced worldly life.”
Ananda saw and admired these marvelous marks and yearned for them. So he chose to follow the Buddha and become ordained.
The Buddha said, “Excellent, Ananda! You all must understand that all sentient beings, since time without beginning, have been bound by the cycle of birth and death—all because they do not recognize the ever-abiding true mind, and the inherently pure and luminous nature.”
The “ever-abiding true mind and the inherently pure and luminous nature” refers to the buddhanature—it is the luminous body of pure true mind.
“They rely on deluded thoughts, and because these thoughts are not the truth, they give rise to the cycle of samsara.”
Anything other than the pure luminous true mind is an improper wandering thought that gives rise to samsara. Humans cannot liberate themselves from the rebirth cycle because they have not recognized this truth; they have not witnessed their own radiant nature (buddhanature). Instead, they remain bound by illusions, such as desires for wealth, sex, food, fame, and sleep. The only truth is the inherently pure and luminous nature.
“Now that you seek to study the unsurpassed bodhi and to truly awaken your intrinsic nature, you must answer my questions with a straightforward and sincere mind.”
“Bodhi” refers to enlightenment, awakening, and/or liberation.
“All tathagatas of the ten directions follow this single path. It is through a direct mind that they transcend birth and death. Because their minds and words are straight, from the very beginning to the final stage, there is never any deviation or distortion in their path.”
“Straight mind” is the key practice of all the tathagatas, from the very beginning to the end. They never deviate or go astray from the path. They all have the same understanding of the true mind. This enables them to transcend birth and death.
Chinese YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L12OrIAgc1M