Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
The Buddha uses sandalwood incense to illustrate the nose faculty. Fragrance does not arise from the incense, the nose, or space. Both scent and smelling are illusory, without self-nature, neither dependent-arising nor self-arising.
“Ananda, you now smell the sandalwood in this censer. If even one zhu [0.65 gram] of this incense is burned, the whole city of Sravasti within forty li [Chinese miles] will smell it at the same time. What do you think—does this fragrance arise from the sandalwood itself, from your nose, or from space?
“Ananda, if this fragrance arises from your nose and is said to be produced by the nose, then it ought to issue from the nose. But the nose is not sandalwood—how could the odor of sandalwood be in the nose? When you say you smell a scent, it should enter the nose; if instead it comes out of the nose, calling that ‘smelling’ makes no sense.
“If it arises from space, since the nature of space is constant, the scent should be ever-present. Why then burn dry wood in a censer? If it arises from the wood, the fragrant substance becomes smoke when burned; if the nose truly perceives it, it should be bathed in that smoke. Yet before the smoke has risen far into the air, how is it that those within forty li already smell it?
“Therefore, know that fragrance, the nose, and the act of smelling have no fixed bases, and smelling and scent are both false and illusory. They are produced neither by dependent-arising nor self-arising.”
Sakyamuni Buddha uses the scent of burning incense as an analogy. The scent itself has no self-nature; it does not have the ability to control itself. As sandalwood incense burns, everyone nearby can smell it. The Buddha said the scent could fill the whole city within 40 li [Chinese miles] though that is likely an exaggeration. If we lit incense here [at the temple], could all of Redmond City smell it? Perhaps the neighbors might, but certainly not the entire city. Buddha said the scent has no self-nature as it’s not meant for anyone in particular, yet anyone near it can smell it.
The fragrance does not originate from the nose, nor does it arise from the empty space. The empty space itself has no scent, nor does the nose itself emit it. Only when sandalwood is burned does the fragrance arise; otherwise, there is none. Thus, sandalwood and the nose both lack self-nature. The void is originally the void; it does not emit fragrance, and fragrance does not come from it. The void has no self-nature.
The sense of smell and the nose faculty have no self-nature. If your sense of smell had self-nature, then only you could smell it and no one else. You cannot control it; your nose cannot; the scent itself cannot; and neither can the empty space.
The nose simply smells whatever scent is present. Both the nose and the smell are illusory, not arising on their own or from each other.
Grandmaster recalled riding a bicycle with a girl during summer vacation in high school. She sat sideways on the front bar, and he could smell the scent of her hair, but not anyone else. But away from her, he could not smell it; nor could he if she had sat behind him, where his nose was not close enough.
Therefore, the nose faculty and the smell is neither dependent-arising nor self-arising.