Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
The water element exists even within space. Just like the wondrous luminous true mind—the tathagatha-garbha that contains everything, pervading all phenomena.
“Ananda! The nature of water is not fixed. It flows and ceases without constancy. Consider the Kapila sages, the Cakra sages, and Padma-Mahasattva in the city of Sravasti, all accomplished in illusion. They use the essence of the moon together with magical substances. These masters, during the bright lunar phase, hold moon-crystals to receive lunar water.
“Now tell me: does this water emerge from the crystal-pearl? Does it exist by itself in space? Or does it come from the moon?
“Ananda! If it came from the moon, it should cause water to flow from the pearl over great distances. Then all the forests and trees it passed over on its way should also flow with water. If they already flow, why rely on the moon-crystal to produce it? If they do not flow, then clearly the water does not descend from the moon.
“If it came from the crystal, then the crystal should constantly emit water. Why would it only happen at midnight during the bright lunar fortnight? If it arose from empty space, whose nature is boundless, then water should be everywhere, flooding all from humans to heavens. How then could realms of water, land, and air still exist?
“Look closely: the moon moves across the sky, the crystal is held in the hand, and the water basin is set out by a person. From where does the water actually come? The moon and crystal are far apart, neither merged nor combined. It cannot be that this watery essence appears without any source!
“You still have not realized that in the tathagata-garbha, the nature of water is true emptiness, and the nature of emptiness is true water. It is fundamentally pure, inherently present, and pervades the entire cosmos, responding to beings’ minds according to their capacity to perceive.
“Wherever a crystal is held, water appears there. When attachment fills the entire cosmos, phenomena arise throughout reality. Since they arise everywhere, how could they have a fixed origin? They manifest in accordance with karma. People in the world, ignorant and confused, mistake this for causality or spontaneous nature. These are nothing but discriminations and calculations of the conscious mind. Wherever there are words and explanations, none capture the true meaning.”
“Ananda! If it comes from the moon, since it can travel so far as to make water appear from the pearl, then all the trees along the way should also exude flowing water. If water already flows, why would it rely on the pearl cup to produce it? If no water flows, then clearly the water does not descend from the moon.
“If it emerges from the pearl, the pearl should always produce water. Why must one wait for midnight under the bright lunar phase? If it arises from space, since space is boundless, then water should be without limit. Humans and celestial beings alike should be submerged in a vast flood. How then could there still be land, water, and air where beings move about?
“Now observe carefully: the moon ascends in the sky, the pearl is held by the hand, and the basin for receiving water is arranged by a person. From what direction does the water flow to appear here? The moon and pearl are far apart, neither combined nor united; thus the essence of water should not arise by itself without cause.
“You still do not understand that within the tathagata-garbha, the nature of water is true emptiness, and the nature of emptiness is true water. Pure and originally so, it pervades the entire dharma-realm and responds according to the minds of sentient beings in the measure they can comprehend.
“If holding a pearl cup in one place can cause water to appear in another, then holding such pearl cups everywhere throughout the dharma-realm should cause water to arise everywhere throughout the world at once. Where then would this water be located?
“All of this manifests only according to karma. The worldly masses do not know this and mistakenly attribute it to causes and conditions or inherent nature. It is all just the discriminating calculations of the consciousness-mind. There are only speech and words—none of them have true meaning!”
Water, like fire, has no fixed place, does not abide anywhere, and has no fixed form.
In ancient India, some heretics would hold a crystal ball under bright moonlight to seek water. The Buddha uses this as an analogy to describe that water comes neither from the moon, crystal, nor from empty space.
Water exists in the air as shown by the dewdrops on leaves in early morning. The four elements are present even in empty space. Since form is emptiness and emptiness is form, water too is emptiness and emptiness is water. They are all manifestations of the wondrous luminous true mind—the tathagatha-garbha.