Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
Aniruddha could see everything without relying on his physical eyes, and so can Grandmaster, because they can enter samadhi. To enter samadhi, the mind must be completely focused. Through this practice, the wondrous luminous true mind eventually manifests. A spiritual cultivator must train the mind to remain focused, avoid extremes, observe the precepts, and avoid a chaotic life and a scattered, distracted mind. A disciplined life is essential for spiritual cultivation.
Aniruddha then rose from his seat, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, and said to the Buddha:
“When I first became a monk, I was always fond of sleeping. The Tathagata scolded me, calling me a creature of the animal realm. Hearing the Buddha’s scolding, I wept and reproached myself. For seven days I did not sleep, and lost my eyesight.
“The World-Honored One then taught me the Vajra Samadhi of Delighting in Seeing and Illuminating. Without relying on my eyes, I could see lucidly throughout the ten directions. The essential truth is completely clear and penetrating, like looking at a fruit in my palm. The Tathagata affirmed that I had attained arhatship.
“The Buddha asks about perfect penetration. According to my realization, turning the seeing back to its source is the supreme means.”
Aniruddha was foremost among the Buddha’s disciples in the celestial eye. Grandmaster explained that he often fell asleep during Sakyamuni Buddha’s dharma teachings. The Buddha reprimanded him, saying that he would be reborn as a clam, enclosed within its shell. Deeply ashamed, Aniruddha kept his eyes open for seven days and nights until he lost his eyesight.
This was an extreme that should be avoided. We should sleep when it is time to sleep and rise when it is time to rise. A regular daily routine supports disciplined cultivation. Both ascetic practice and enjoyable cultivation must remain within proper bounds.
Samadhi means that the heart and mind remain focused, undistracted, and free from laxity. Drowsiness is not samadhi, nor is excessive tension. When the mind is not scattered, our conduct, too, becomes orderly. When the mind is scattered and distracted, cultivation cannot bear fruit.
Grandmaster emphasized that monastics must observe their precepts and maintain discipline. He said that he never smoked and stopped drinking after becoming a monk. Singing or dancing may be permissible when the mind remains focused, but obsession and distraction interfere with cultivation. Practitioners must understand what supports a focused mind and what causes it to scatter.
After Aniruddha lost his eyesight, the Buddha taught him the vajra samadhi of delighting in seeing and illuminating. Through this practice, he could perceive the dharma realms in the ten directions without using his physical eyes. Everything was as clear as a fruit in his palm. His wondrous luminous true mind had manifested, allowing him to see beyond ordinary eyesight. The Buddha confirmed his attainment of arhatship.
Grandmaster explained that outward appearances do not always reveal a practitioner’s inner state. During the ceremony, his head sometimes lowered and rose, which might have looked like drowsiness. Yet he said that he was seeing buddhas and bodhisattvas and communicating with them.
He also recounted telling Master Lian Ha who planned to travel to Alaska to see the northern lights, that he could see them while lying in bed with his eyes closed. He used this example to illustrate perception beyond the physical eyes.
Several disciples have seen Grandmaster’s dharma body accompanying them, including on flights home. One young female disciple said that she had first seen his dharma body at nineteen. An elderly woman described his dharma body as exceptionally tall, especially at Rainbow Temple. Grandmaster explained that all the dharma bodies differ.
Both women and men can see his dharma bodies. Peter Lin saw Grandmaster beside his hospital bed even though Grandmaster had not physically visited him. Grandmaster said that Peter followed him when he passed away.
In another account, Grandmaster described seeing Demi appear as a golden bird at the time of her passing. When he asked who she was, she replied that she was his child, then revealed her identity. He said that he guided her to Sukhavati, Amitabha’s pureland.
These accounts illustrated Grandmaster’s explanation that the wondrous luminous true mind can perceive beyond ordinary physical limitations.
Aniruddha attained perfect penetration by turning the seeing back to its source. Grandmaster stressed that the essential point is to cultivate a completely focused heart and mind. Whether monastic or lay practitioner, a person whose mind remains scattered and undisciplined cannot attain realization merely by living in a spiritual community.
Cultivate a consistently focused, undistracted mind, free from afflictions, hindrances, and attachments. Through samadhi, practitioners can attain fruition and freedom from leakage in body and mind.