Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
Find the root of our afflictions; know that they are fundamentally empty. Then they will gradually lessen, and we attain the wondrous luminous true mind.
“Ananda! When you cultivate bodhi mind, if you do not carefully contemplate the root of afflictions, you will not be able to know where the illusory sense roots and sense objects are inverted. If you do not even know where this inversion lies, how can you subdue it and attain the Tathagata’s position?
“Ananda! Observe people in the world who untie knots—if they do not see where the knot is, how can they know how to untie it? You have never heard of empty space being torn apart. Why is this so? Because space has no form or appearance, there is neither knot nor untying.
“Thus, before you now, the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, together with the body and mind—these six become accomplices of thieves, plundering the treasures of your own home. Because of this, since beginningless time, beings have been bound and entangled, and therefore cannot transcend the material world.
Delusions, false thoughts, objects of the six senses, the six sensory organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind), and the six consciousness are all inverted. What one sees, hears, smells, tastes, touches, and knows comes and goes and isn’t truly real. This gives rise to delusion, false thoughts, and affliction.
By knowing where these afflictions originate, purify oneself to subdue and eliminate them, and attain anuttara samyaksambodhi—buddhahood, the fruition of Sakyamuni Buddha.
Many people have knots in their hearts, and one must know where they are in order to untie them. How does one get rid of afflictions and delusions if one doesn’t know their roots?
The sky has no form nor substance. Lightning, thunder, rain, clouds all arise and cease amid space. However, the sky itself is mere emptiness and remains unchanged. It cannot be torn apart because it has no form or appearance.
Empty space cannot be knotted, so there is nothing to untie. This teaches us that if one cultivates emptiness— unconditioned dharma—there are fundamentally no knots and no afflictions. There is no need to untangle anything, as the wondrous luminous true mind is already there.
The six sensory organs are like thieves “stealing” the wondrous luminous true mind. Thus, all sentient beings go through the rebirth cycle in the saha world, bound by their own karma and unable to transcend the world of form.
In truth, we are deceived by the six roots, six dusts, and six consciousnesses. We perceive everything in this world of form as real, but it is inherently empty. All phenomena arise and cease, subject to birth and death. Only extinction in nirvana has no birth nor death. Only the empty space is non-arising and non-ceasing. All worlds with form arise and cease. So, the buddha teaches us to pursue [the state of] no birth and no death, using our courageous mind to find the root of afflictions, remove them, and transform into [the state of] non-arising and non-ceasing.
As afflictions lessen and finally cease, one attains fruition—the wondrous luminous true mind. Otherwise, the eighteen sense-fields will totally obscure the wondrous luminous true mind, stealing the treasure right out of our own home.
However, if one is completely without desire, living would be meaningless. When Golden Mother saw Grandmaster falling into this melancholy world where he was uninterested in everything, she told him to do what he enjoys so he can continue living. Even in the absence of interest, find interest anyway! Perhaps delighting in bringing joy to others, reducing others’ suffering, and giving equally.
Although there are things that one may find unpleasant and unacceptable, one should understand that this is how sentient beings are and let things be. Each person must find their own happiness—something they find meaningful and joyful.