Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
“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.
In the Surangama Sutra, the Buddha was teaching Ananda by presenting questions and asking Ananda to answer frankly and directly. Through logic and philosophical discussion, the Buddha guided Ananda and the assembly to enlightenment.
Ananda replied to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! The ten classes of mundane beings in the world commonly believe that their conscious mind resides within their body.”
We shouldn’t be concerned too much with the details of the ten different classes of beings, but they include mundane beings born from eggs, wombs, moisture (e.g. mosquitoes), transformations (e.g. microorganism), and some born from thoughts, non-thoughts, neither thought nor non-thought, etc.
We are discussing the mind consciousness here, and according to Ananda, the consciousnesses of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind, root of mind, and alaya are within the body.
“Looking at you, Tathagata, I see that your deep blue lotus eyes are on your face.”
Sakyamuni Buddha’s eyes are very clear and deep like the great ocean, like the lotus blossoms; and Ananda saw them on the Buddha’s face.
“Now, as I observe these floating roots of the four dusts [referring to the four sense-organs: eyes, ears, nose, and tongue, corresponding to the sense-objects: forms, sounds, smells, and tastes], they are clearly on my face. Similarly, my conscious mind truly resides within my body.”
The sense organs and their corresponding sense faculties are commonly referred to as the Six Roots or Six Thieves, and the sense objects (what the sense organs perceive) are called the Six Dusts. In this case, Ananda mentioned only four of them that are on the face—eyes and sight, ears and sound, nose and smell, and tongue and taste. There was also the body and touch—such as handshakes, hugs, kisses. Thus, Ananda presumed that the mind and what it perceives must also be on the body.
The Buddha said to Ananda, “You are now seated in the Tathagata’s teaching hall, looking out at the Jeta Grove. Where are they?” Ananda replied, “World-Honored One, this great multi-storied pavilion, the quiet and peaceful teaching hall, is in the Garden of Anathapindika. Now, the Jeta Grove is actually outside the hall.”
“Ananda, what do you see first while inside this hall?”
“World-Honored One, while inside the hall, I first see the Tathagata, then I see the assembly. Only when I look outside do I see the grove and garden.”
“Ananda, when you look at the grove and garden, how is it that you are able to see them?”
Ananda replied, “World-Honored One, this great teaching hall has open windows and doors, so while inside the hall, I can see far into the distance.”
At the monastery, there were 72 teaching halls offered by Anathapindika to the Buddha.
The above passage discusses the eyes and the mind and what they perceive. Generally, what the eyes see will affect the mental formations generated by the mind. They seem to be in unity. When the Buddha asked where the eyes and the mind are located, it is very difficult to decipher because the Buddha did not limit them to the physical organs or the faculties. Instead, this is about the consciousness—eye consciousness and the mind consciousness. Yogacara focuses on Consciousness Only. .
This dialog was quite long-winded and not very direct or concise. It is philosophical and involves logic, so it is interesting too. But it is very verbose and difficult to explain.
[Note: The following excerpt was misplaced in this Chinese version of the sutra. It should belong to the earlier part of the sutra, where Ananda was beseeching the Buddha to reveal the profundities of buddhadharma. On the SurangamaSutra.org website, it will be placed correctly.]
At that time, the World Honored One, amidst the great assembly, extended his golden arm and touched Ananda’s crown. He addressed Ananda and the entire assembly: “There is a samadhi known as the Supreme Surangama King of the Great Buddha Crown, complete in all practices. It is the singular gateway through which all tathagatas of the ten directions transcend, entering the wondrous path of adornment. Now, listen attentively.”
Ananda bowed in reverence and humbly received the compassionate instruction.
One place where the Buddha taught was Grdhrakuṭa; it is called Vulture Peak because of the many vultures there. During his trip to India, Grandmaster also visited the teaching hall where Buddha gave discourses, and the caves where the disciples lived, practiced, and slept. Sariputra’s cave was very close to the cave of the White-Browed Pindola, whose statue is enshrined in the entrance of the cafeteria at the Seattle temple.
Back then, each person had his own cave. One night, while meditating, Ananda heard the terrifying shrieks of the vultures and he became frightened. The Buddha knew, so from a great distance extended his golden arm to Ananda’s cave to bless him on the head and indicate that he was right there with him. He told Ananda not to be afraid. This showed that Sakyamuni Buddha’s hand could extend very far.
In 2016, when Grandmaster was propagating dharma in Taiwan, he contracted cellulitis in one of his legs. If left untreated, the leg would need to be amputated; otherwise, if the infection spread upward, it could have cost him his life. To control it, Grandmaster was to be given the strongest antibiotic, Tigecid. Before receiving the treatment, Venerable Elder Xu Yun appeared in the sky and extended his golden arm from the clouds above all the way down to touch Grandmaster’s head and bless him. Soon afterward, the cellulitis was cured. Despite his condition, Grandmaster still traveled to the Taiwan Lei Tsang Temple to give dharma teachings, empowerments, and blessings on the head, remaining seated throughout because his leg was severely swollen and immobile. Cellulitis is indeed very difficult to cure.
The Buddha told Ananda that the Supreme Surangama King of the Great Buddha Crown is the samadhi of the buddhas—an extraordinary and unsurpassed samadhi, endowed with countless merits and encompassing all methods of cultivation. The marvels and magnificence of all the tathagatas are due to this. Therefore, this exposition is worthy of thoughtful attention.
Chinese YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMCqjCZD_8c