Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
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.
The Buddha said to Ananda, “All sentient beings have, since time without beginning, been caught in various delusions and distortions, planting the seeds of karma, like a cluster of three-sectioned Aksha fruit. As such, cultivators fail to attain supreme bodhi—or else [only] attain the state of sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, or become heterodox practitioners, [only reach] the heavens, or even become demon kings or their retinues. It is due to their lack of understanding of the two fundamental roots, leading them to cultivate in error. It is like trying to cook sand to make a fine meal—no matter how long you try, even for countless eons, you will never succeed.”
The delusions, distortions, and inverted thinking within human minds arises from their ignorance due to lack of wisdom. This ignorance leads to the creation of endless karma. As a result, they experience the suffering of their karmic retributions. These threefold phenomena is symbolized by the Aksha fruit, which has three sections.
Many spiritual cultivators do not follow the right cultivation methods. Due to practicing blindly, the best they can reach is the level of sravakas or pratyekabuddhas—the fruition of the Lesser Vehicle. Some become the teachers of the heretical paths, or if they have created good merits become heavenly beings, or the demon/mara kings or their followers.
During the Buddha’s time, there were six masters who became heretics because their concepts are deviant—and cultivations were deviant—such as believing that upon death there is only nothingness [nihilism]; that one could become a buddha without any spiritual cultivation or by merely being natural.
The Mara or demon king—called Mahesvara or Boxun—resides in Paranirmitavasavartin, the highest sixth heaven in the Desire Realm. All the heavenly beings in that heaven are his retinue. To become maras, one must also cultivate spiritually; mara also has dharma power and so do the heavenly beings [although they practice blindly].
However, they do not obtain supreme bodhi because they do not understand the two kinds of fundamental roots.
“What are the two kinds of fundamental roots?
Ananda, first: the root of birth and death from beginningless time is the clinging mind that you and all sentient beings take to be your true nature.
Second: the originally pure nature of bodhi and nirvana is your inherent, luminous awareness—the source of all conditioned phenomena and what is left behind when they cease. Because sentient beings abandon this original clarity, they walk around all day long yet fail to realize it, falling vainly into various realms.”
First, the root of birth, death, and transmigration. Why do you have such a root? Because you regard the mind that arises with causes and conditions to be true, and fail to recognize the Marvelous and Luminous True Mind.
In Yogacara, the clinging mind consists of the six consciousnesses of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind, the seventh—the root of mind, and the eighth—alaya, which is half clinging and half pure. The ninth consciousness is utterly pure. The clinging mind includes what your eyes see, what your ears hear, what your nose smells, what your tongue tastes, what your body touches, what the mind thinks and so on. Alaya still consists of both purity and defilement. Only at the immaculate ninth consciousness would it be called the inherent luminous purity. That is bodhi, nirvana, extinction!
Second is the root of ultimate attainment—the Marvelous and Luminous True Mind (otherwise known as the ninth consciousness/bodhi/nirvana) is the purest true nature. You comprehend the marvelous and radiant true mind, cultivate the right dharma, and attain enlightenment or “Dao” which is equivalent to bodhi, nirvana/extinction.
The right fruition is bodhi—anuttara samyaksambodhi or the unexcelled right realization and right equality. It is the true bodhicitta. Nirvana is extinction. In the Lesser Vehicle, there are nirvana with remainders and nirvana without remainders. In the Greater Vehicle, there is nirvana without use.
Inherently, all beings embody this marvelous and luminous true mind, or buddhanature. However, because they became deluded due to the clinging mind, and use the clinging mind to cultivate spiritually and act upon everything, they continue to cycle through the six rebirth realms.