Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
In single-pointed samadhi, the wondrous luminous true mind manifests. When one’s heart emanates light, one understands everything. Everything other than the wondrous luminous true mind is a deluded view, and deluded views and thoughts create karma. Individual karma is created by oneself, while collective karma is generated by a group of people.
“What is meant by the deluded view shared collectively by beings? Ananda, in this Jambudvipa, apart from the great oceans, there are three thousand continents spread across the central flat lands.
Among them, the central continent spans east to west and contains about 2,300 major countries. As for the remaining small continents located in the surrounding seas, some contain two or three hundred countries, while others have just one or two, or up to thirty, forty, or fifty.”
“Ananda, suppose among them there is a small continent with only two countries. The people of one country experience the same negative karmic conditions, witnessing all kinds of inauspicious phenomena—such as seeing two suns, two moons, halos, eclipses with strange shapes like pendants, sudden streaking comets, or curving rainbow arcs—yet these are seen only in that country. No one in the other country sees or even hears of such things.”
Grandmaster gave several anecdotes to illustrate the wondrous luminous true mind:
When he visited South Korea, he paid homage to the huge Medicine Buddha statue in Gyeongju. Upon returning, he had a vision of the Medicine Buddha and his retinue, and instantly knew he would recover from his illness. And indeed, he did. It was neither self-arising nor dependent-arising. He had no intention of praying for anything; he simply paid homage wholeheartedly.
In single-pointed samadhi, the wondrous luminous true mind manifests. Grandmaster’s dharma bodies are such manifestations—they are everywhere and can be seen, heard, sensed, or perceived by many: in meditation, in dreams, or even with the naked eye.
Some disciples can sing, speak, or write in dakini or heavenly language, even if they don’t understand it. These abilities exist only to inspire faith in the True Buddha Tantric Dharma, which offers effective methods for liberation, reaching the buddhalands, or reaching attainment in this very body.
To be reborn in a buddhaland, one must have sufficient good roots. Therefore, one must always do good—giving wealth, giving dharma (such as guiding those who don’t know buddhadharma onto the path), and giving fearlessly (offering everything including time, life, and unconditional kindness equally and indiscriminately to all beings).
The mind, buddha, and sentient beings are equal—there is no difference; all possess buddhanature.
When one’s heart emanates light, one understands everything.
Grandmaster further explained the difference between individual and collective karma. Individual karma is created by oneself, while collective karma is generated by a group. Deluded views and thoughts give rise to karma. Everything apart from the wondrous luminous true mind is a deluded view.
Sakyamuni Buddha is truly extraordinary. Over 2,600 years ago, without access to modern information, knowledge, or technology, and without ever leaving India, he already knew that the saha world is made up of thousands of islands, large and small, each containing a number of countries. According to Buddhist cosmology, Mount Meru is at the center, surrounded by four major continents and eight minor ones, where the saha world resides, with golden mountains and fragrant seas in between.
Here is another example of collective karma: those born in Ethiopia share the same karmic conditions. Shimu’s caretaker, Abby, has a daughter who returned to her birthplace in Ethiopia. She cried upon seeing that people still live in grass huts, without running water or public bathrooms. Children run around naked and hungry. In such an undeveloped country, there is no modernity. By contrast, people in the United States enjoy every modern convenience and therefore share a different kind of collective karma.
Each country has distinct people and living conditions. Some are at war; others are not. Palestinians or Ukrainians, for example, endure war—families torn apart, homes destroyed, livelihoods ruined. Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are required to fight. It’s tragic.
Groups of people have different destinies. Even within the U.S., those living in different states experience different weather and daylight hours such as in Alaska. Where one lives is another example of shared karma.