Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
The realm of the buddhas and the supreme perfect enlightenment cannot be fathomed by the followers of the Lesser Vehicle, let alone by ordinary beings in samsara.
The Buddha first teaches negation—explaining that nothing is the tathagata-garbha or the wondrous luminous true mind, because it is beyond description and conception. He then teaches affirmation—that everything is the manifestation and transformation of the tathagata-garbha and wondrous luminous true mind. Thus, everything both “is” and “is not,” which is why it is said that form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. The entire dharma realm is pervaded by it.
“Yet, it is the tathagata-garbha—the originally luminous, wondrous mind.
“It is mind and emptiness; it is earth and water; it is wind and fire. It is eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. It is form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and everything. It is the realm of eye-consciousness, and so on, up to the realm of mind-consciousness. It is luminosity and ignorance; and also the ending of luminosity and ignorance. It is all the way to aging and death, as well as the ending of aging and death. It is suffering, accumulation, cessation, and the path. It is wisdom and attainment. It is dana, sila, virya, ksanti, dhyana, prajna, and paramita.
“And thus, all the way, it is tathagata, arhat, samyaksambodhi. It is great nirvana. It is permanence, bliss, true self, and purity. Because all of these are both worldly and transcendent.
“It is the tathagata-garbha—the wondrous luminous true mind in its original source—apart from ‘is’ and apart from ‘is not,’ yet also ‘is’ and ‘is not.’
“How could sentient beings of the three realms of existence in the world, as well as those beyond the world—the sravakas and pratyekabuddhas—use the mind of what is known to measure the Tathagata’s unsurpassed bodhi, or use worldly language to enter the Buddha’s knowledge and vision?
“It is like zithers, harps, and pipas: although they possess wondrous sounds, without skillful fingers the music can never be brought forth. You and all sentient beings are just the same.
“The precious awakened true mind is, in each and every one, perfectly complete.
“When I press my finger, my ocean of seals emits light; yet the moment you stir a single thought, the toils of dust arise first. This is because you do not diligently seek the unsurpassed way of enlightenment, clinging instead to the small vehicle and being content with meager attainment.
Negation and affirmation are concepts explained by the Buddha. First, the Buddha teaches negation—explaining that nothing is the tathagata-garbha or the wondrous luminous true mind, because it is beyond description and conception. Then comes affirmation—that everything is the manifestation and transformation of the tathagata-garbha and wondrous luminous true mind. Thus, everything “is” and also “is not.” This is encapsulated in the statement “form is emptiness, and emptiness is form.” The entire dharma realm is pervaded by it.
Grandmaster was asked if an AI robot could be considered human. No, it cannot. Yet, it can look and act like a human, providing help and even emotional support. In this sense, one can make use of it as if it were a real person. This analogy helps illustrate affirmation after negation.
The Buddha gives the analogy of a musical instrument. Although it contains wondrous sound, without skilled fingers it produces nothing. Everyone possesses such an instrument (the wondrous luminous true mind), but what is produced depends on how it is used. If it is not played, nothing manifests, and it remains simply the wondrous luminous true mind.
Sakyamuni Buddha can emit great light using his heart-mind. Ordinary beings, however, use their heart-mind to become entangled with defilements and immersed in mundane pursuits such as work, money, family, and emotional attachments. The realm of the buddhas and the supreme perfect enlightenment cannot be fathomed by the followers of the Lesser Vehicle, let alone by samsaric beings. Although sravakas/arhats and pratyekabuddhas attain enlightenment and self-liberation, they do not progress further to liberate sentient beings and thus do not advance to bodhisattvahood of the Greater Vehicle.
Cultivation, simply put, is to reduce desires and be content. One lives each day in peace and ease, praying, practicing dharma, and sleeping peacefully. Cultivation is not merely sitting in meditation, chanting, or practicing from morning to night. Rather, it is reducing external entanglements, doing meaningful deeds and accumulating merits. Over time, one may be recognized by the deities as having entered sagehood, or be delivered to a pureland.
Buddhism ultimately teaches the cessation of all evil, the cultivation of all good, and the purification of the mind. This is the most essential point—not the pursuit of supernatural powers, channeling spirits, and the like.