Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
Ears and sound are both illusory and lack inherent existence. Sound does not move toward the ears, nor do the ears move toward sound. Yet they also arise from the wondrous luminous true mind due to a single deluded thought.
“Ananda! Listen further. In this Jeta Grove, when meals are prepared, drums are struck; when the assembly gathers, bells are rung. The sounds of the bell and drum arise one after another in succession. What do you think? Do these sounds come to the ears, or do the ears go to where the sounds are?”
“Ananda! If these sounds truly came to the ears, then it would be as if when I am in Sravasti begging alms—I would not be in Jeta Grove. If the sound must come to your ears, then only you, Ananda, would hear it—and not Maudgalyayana nor Kasyapa. How much less the one thousand two hundred and fifty monks, who all gather to eat their meal when they hear the bell?
“If, on the other hand, your ear went to the place of the sound, then when I return to Jeta Grove, I would no longer be in Sravasti. When you hear the sound of the drum, if your ears have already gone to where the drum is struck, then when the bell sounds, you should not be able to hear them both. How much less the sounds of elephants, horses, oxen, and sheep, and the many other noises?
“If there is neither coming nor going, then there should be no hearing either. Therefore, you should know that both hearing and sound have no true bases. Both the faculty of hearing and the sound are false, arising neither from dependent-arising nor self-arising.”
Both hearing and sound lack self-nature and are illusory. To illustrate this, the Buddha gave an example that when someone is in one place, they would not hear sounds from another place. When there is a sound at a location, it is heard by everyone present and is not exclusive to one person. It also depends on distance. So it is not the case that the ears go to the sound nor that the sound comes to the ears. It is not fixed. Therefore, both the ear faculty and the sound are false and illusory. Yet they also arise from the wondrous luminous true mind due to a single deluded thought.
Grandmaster mentioned he had a girlfriend in college who always complained that he spoke too slowly. He joked that it was his trademark, indicating his gentleness.