Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
In this excerpt, the Buddha explains that the sensory awareness of the body through touch or contact is also illusory; it is fleeting and it is not buddhanature or the wondrous luminous true mind. The main point of the Surangama Sutra is to explain that the buddhanature/wondrous luminous true mind is non-arising and non-ceasing; it is unspeakable.
“Ananda, suppose a cold hand touches a warm hand. If the cold is stronger, the warm hand feels cold; if the heat is stronger, the cold hand feels warm. In this way, through the contact of union, the distinction of separation is revealed. When conditions come together, contact arises because of the strain. Both the body and the strain are manifestations of bodhi appearing as the state of strain.
Because of the false dusts of separation and union, sensation arises in between them. It absorbs these dust-like appearances, and this is called the faculty of touch.
Yet apart from separation, union, opposition, and compliance, this touch has no real substance of its own. Thus, Ananda, you should know that this touch does not come from separation or union, nor does it exist because of opposition or compliance, nor does it arise from the body, nor is it born from emptiness.
Why is this so? If it came from union, then separation should vanish—how then could separation be perceived? Opposition and compliance are the same. If it arose from the body, then there should be no states of separation, union, opposition, or compliance, which means that the body’s awareness has no inherent nature of its own. If it came from emptiness, then emptiness itself would be aware, and what connection would that have with your sense faculty?
Therefore, you should understand that the entrance of the body is ultimately false. It is neither produced by dependent-arising nor self-arising.”
Through touch—contact and separation—one perceives tactile awareness. The Buddha gave an example of hands touching where one either feels warmth or coolness, and when there is no hand to hold, you feel empty. When one is beaten, like Grandmaster was in elementary school, one feels the pain. When people are in contact with each other they start to have mutual feelings. Yet all these are illusory, neither dependent-arising nor self-arising.
All six sense entries are illusory; they are devoid of any inherent nature and arise from deluded thoughts. Like the eyes with seeing nature, the ears with hearing nature, the nose with smelling nature, the tongue with tasting nature, the body too has tactile or touch nature. Yet they arise and cease, unlike buddhanature, which in the Surangama Sutra is also called self-nature or the wondrous luminous true mind.
During homa, Grandmaster takes the peacock feathers implement and uses it to purify the self-nature. The first sweep purifies, the second purifies self-nature, and the third purifies all self-nature(s). With three sweeps, the buddhanature of all sentient beings is purified.
Grandmaster regards all sentient beings as himself, yet he feels an especially strong bond with his disciples. When he watches the news and sees wars, earthquakes, or other disasters, he feels compassion and helps those affected by chanting the buddha’s name to liberate them.
He still remembers the Zhen Ming chapter, which was located in a house surrounded by a garbage dump. At the Taiwan temple, Grandmaster noticed them and that they always wore their temple uniforms. It’s been many years, so when they just arrived in Seattle, they couldn’t control their tears and made Grandmaster want to cry too. He is full of affection.
A human body is composed of the four elements—earth (flesh, bones, internal organs), water (fluids), fire (temperature), and wind (breathing or qi)—together with buddhanature. Originating from a sperm and an egg, it is merely a “house” of worms, filled with all kinds of good and bad bacteria. When the bad bacteria outweigh the good, one becomes sick; when the good prevail, one remains healthy. Both we and our bodies arise from a single thought of ignorance.
In the Fourfold Mindfulness, the Buddha teaches us to view the body as impure. The body itself is illusory. Only when there is contact, does sensory nature exist. Without it, it does not exist.