Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
Gavampati attained arhatship by contemplating taste and turning awareness back to its source. He contemplated back and forth until eventually he realized emptiness and entered samadhi. Through focused contemplation, even an ordinary experience such as eating can become a means to realization. When afflictions cease and the mind becomes still, one can enter samadhi, and buddhanature naturally manifests.
Gavampati then rose from his seat, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, and said to the Buddha:
“I had created negative karma through my speech. In a past kalpa, I ridiculed a monk, and life after life I was born with the habit of chewing like a cow. The Tathagata taught me the dharma method of the One Flavor Pure and Clear Mind-Ground. I extinguished the discriminating mind and entered samadhi.
“I contemplated the awareness of taste and realized that it was neither the body nor an external object. In an instant, I transcended all worldly outflows. Inwardly, I was liberated from body and mind; outwardly, I let go of the world. I became free from the three realms of existence, like a bird escaping from its cage. Defilements and worldly dust vanished, my dharma eye became pure and clear, and I attained arhatship. The Tathagata personally affirmed that I had attained the state beyond learning.
“The Buddha asks about perfect penetration. According to my realization, returning taste and turning the awareness back to its source is the supreme means.”
Gavampati once mocked an elderly monk whose toothless mouth moved like a cow’s as he ate. Because of this negative karma of speech, Gavampati repeatedly experienced the habit of chewing like a cow. A cow’s stomach has four compartments, and it regurgitates its food to chew it again. Grandmaster compared this to acid reflux.
The Buddha taught Gavampati to contemplate taste. Food may taste delicious when first eaten, yet when it returns to the mouth from the stomach, it tastes sour and unpleasant. How does something delightful become repulsive? Does taste belong to the body or to the external object?
Grandmaster also pointed out that food preferences differ according to familiarity and custom. A dish that one person finds delicious may be something another person refuses to eat. He recalled how Shimu offered a Taiwanese banquet to in-laws visiting from America, but they were unfamiliar with the dishes and ate only rice with soy sauce. Later, they readily ate familiar fast food.
Through sustained contemplation, Gavampati realized that the awareness of taste was neither the body nor an external object. Realizing emptiness, he entered samadhi.
His liberation was both inward and outward: he let go of attachment to body and mind and was no longer bound by the external world. Like a bird escaping its cage, he became free of the three realms. His afflictions ceased, his dharma eye became pure and clear, and he attained arhatship.
Grandmaster emphasized that many everyday experiences can become dharma gates. What matters is to contemplate deeply and remain focused until realization arises. As afflictions subside, body and mind become free. When thoughts cease, one can enter samadhi; inner light can appear, and buddhanature can naturally manifest.
Grandmaster also reminded the temple kitchens to investigate reports of stomach discomfort after meals, including food freshness, washing, cooking, and the cleanliness of utensils. He stressed oral hygiene as basic consideration for others, describing the care he takes to clean his teeth thoroughly after eating.
The central teaching is to turn awareness back to its source. By contemplating taste deeply, Gavampati moved beyond changing sensations and attained liberation.