Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
Only when one’s spiritual cultivation reaches a certain level can one see without eyes, hear without ears, smell without a nose, taste without a tongue, touch without a body, and know even when the mind-consciousness has been extinguished.
“Ananda! Do you not know that, in this assembly now, Aniruddha sees without eyes; the dragon Upananda hears without ears; the goddess of the Ganges smells fragrance without a nose; Gavampati knows taste with a different tongue; and the deity Sunitha feels touch without a body?
“In the Tathagata’s light, they are reflected and temporarily made visible. Since their essence is of an airy nature, they are fundamentally nonexistent.
“As for the sravakas who have attained the samadhi of cessation and gained quiescence, such as Mahakasyapa in this assembly, their mind-root has long been extinguished, yet with perfect luminosity they clearly know without relying on mental cognition.”
Aniruddha was one of Sakyamuni Buddha’s ten great disciples and was foremost in celestial sight. He used to doze off while the Buddha was teaching the dharma, so the Buddha warned him that if he continued in this way, he could be reborn as a clam, trapped inside its shell and sleeping every day.
After hearing this, Aniruddha vowed never to close his eyes or sleep again. Through such great diligence, he eventually lost his physical sight. Yet he attained celestial sight and could see throughout the ten dharma realms; nothing was beyond his vision.
This is “seeing without eyes.” Similarly, Grandmaster was able to see the Northern Lights without traveling to Alaska or anywhere else. The Venerable Elder Xu Yun, while meditating with his eyes closed, could see beyond his closed room and knew that his disciple was urinating in the garden outside. On another occasion, he wept on the dharma throne because he saw the Nanjing Massacre before it happened.
Grandmaster also knows many things that have yet to come, but he is not like an ordinary fortune-teller who openly predicts what will happen on certain dates. He does not speak carelessly. Sometimes, if he foresees a calamity, he may offer a subtle hint. However, if something is predestined, he may simply let it be, because it is not good to reveal heavenly secrets. Knowing too much can be troublesome, as one may be torn between revealing heavenly secrets and remaining silent.
Grandmaster came up with the concept and title “The Eternal Star” for one of his books after hearing a celestial song in the middle of the night—a song that no one was physically playing, yet kept replaying in his mind. Because of the final line of the song, “Subaru yo…,” he was told the words “lula mutha,” from which he developed the concept of union.
The sense of touch without a body is easier to explain. Grandmaster’s dharma body has no physical form, yet when it manifests, one can feel a sense of touch. It comes and goes like the wind, is countless like grains of rice in a rice bin, pervades the ten directions and travels freely anywhere.
It possesses great power and performs many miracles, such as removing blood clots, healing cerebral hemorrhages, and visiting and speaking with sick disciples. Many people have seen Grandmaster’s dharma body, and some are never apart from it. Even after Grandmaster passes into nirvana, his dharma bodies will remain. When we have important matters to ask of him, and he agrees to help, he will help.
Once our spiritual cultivation reaches a certain level, when our buddha light manifests, our own dharma body will also manifest. Even when we are not physically delivering sentient beings, we are still delivering sentient beings, because the dharma body will manifest to those with affinity.
Attaining the samadhi of cessation means having no more thoughts. Mahakasyapa, who was foremost in ascetic cultivation, reached this state. His light manifested, and he understood everything not through thoughts or mind consciousness.
This excerpt mentions that seeing without the eyes, hearing without the ears, smelling without the nose, tasting without the tongue, touching without the physical body, and extinguishing all mind consciousness are all attainable through spiritual cultivation. When inner light radiates brightly, one becomes omniscient and omnipresent.
Although Sakyamuni Buddha entered parinirvana 2,600 years ago, Grandmaster once had coffee with him. Initially, Sakyamuni Buddha bestowed upon Grandmaster the title “Great Light Self-Mastery Buddha,” before changing it to “Lotus Light Self-Mastery Buddha” at Grandmaster’s request. There are many wondrous happenings in this saha world, and many of them cannot be seen with the physical eyes. This is called inconceivability—it is beyond the imagination of most ordinary people.
Chinese YouTube