Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
In this discourse, the Buddha covers the second sense faculty—the ears. They too are illusory and are neither dependent-arising nor self-arising. Grandmaster Lu gave examples of how the hearing of the wondrous luminous true mind differs from the ordinary hearing.
“Ananda, suppose someone presses both fingers tightly into their ears. Because of the strain on the ear faculty, a sound arises within the head. Both the ear and the strain are manifestations of bodhi, appearing as the state of strain.
Due to the false dusts of movement and stillness, hearing arises between them. It absorbs these dust-like appearances, and this is called the faculty of hearing.
Yet apart from movement and stillness, this hearing has no real substance of its own. Therefore, Ananda, you should know that this hearing does not come from movement or stillness, nor does it arise from the ear faculty, nor is it born from emptiness.
Why is this so? If it came from stillness, then it should disappear with movement, and there would be no hearing of movement. If it came from movement, then it should disappear with stillness, and there would be no awareness of stillness. If it arose from the ear faculty, then there would be no experience of either movement or stillness, meaning that the faculty of hearing has no inherent nature of its own.
If it came from emptiness, then once hearing became established, emptiness would no longer be emptiness. And if emptiness could hear by itself, what connection would that have with your sense faculty?
Therefore, you should understand that the sense entry of the ear is ultimately false. It is neither produced by dependent-arising nor by self-arising.”
The Buddha used various analogies to explain that the sense faculties, such as the eyes and ears, have limited ability in their seeing and hearing, whereas the wondrous luminous true mind is limitless. Although the ears can hear, what they hear is illusory. It arises neither from causes and conditions nor on its own.
We hear due to stillness and movement. When we cover our ears tightly, we can hear our own heartbeat or the blood circulating. Hearing sound is due to movement. In complete silence, where there are no thoughts whatsoever, nothing is heard. The ears are endowed with a hearing nature, but it is limited and illusory, perceiving only phenomena. The wondrous luminous true mind, by contrast, is free from the two dusts of movement and stillness, ultimately without form or substance.
For instance, many have heard the famous song Star (originally Subaru) composed and performed by Japanese singer Shinji Tanimura. When he sang it at the Shanghai World Expo, many people were deeply moved. This is because of the hearing faculty. True hearing, however, comes not from emptiness, movement, stillness, or the ears. True hearing is that of the wondrous luminous true mind, which is independent of the ear faculty.
That Japanese song was once played for Grandmaster all night. He did not know its title or fame. He heard it very clearly, yet not through the physical ears. Nor did not come from emptiness, for if it had, others in the house would have heard it too. It was only Grandmaster who heard it.
He was also told to remember the words “Lula Mutha,” and to title his 308th book The Eternal Star. Initially it was Eternal Starlight, but it was changed to Eternal Star. After asking Master Lian Chuan to check, she found “Lula Mutha” means “unity.” These words did not come from emptiness; they simply manifested in his mind, vividly and distinctly.
Similarly, when Grandmaster was awakened by Golden Mother and told that he was Padmakumara, his seeing and hearing of the heavenly realms did not occur through the physical eyes or ears. He was lying on his bed, and it was like a dream—yet it was not a dream.
Dharma Sister Pan Zhi Lin can sense the presence of Grandmaster’s dharma body. It is not through her eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind—all of which are illusory. She senses and knows it naturally, though it does not arise naturally, nor from causes and conditions, nor from the brain. Grandmaster’s dharma body is often with her. She knows, but those around her may not. This is a spiritual response.
Just like tinnitus, a condition in which one hears sounds though there is no external source. The sound does not come from the ears, the brain, or emptiness. You can hear it, but others cannot.
Many mystical experiences are like this—divine resonance. They do not arise from nothing, from oneself, or from the body, and are neither seen by the eyes nor heard by the ears.