Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Four Methods of Contemplation Part 11 (四種觀行十一)
Infinite Dharma will spontaneously manifest. They attain great wisdom and realize all Dharma. They distinguish the nature and appearance of reality, existent or non-existent, long or short. It is clear and apparent to them. Sutra of Infinite Meanings.
We should all be very familiar with the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. As it says, “Infinite Dharma will spontaneously manifest,” so we will “attain great wisdom and realize all Dharma.” If we can attain great wisdom, realize all Dharma then “we can distinguish the nature of reality.” This understanding is illuminating. We can see everything. We have to understand how time passes, how the Earth is rotating. Dharma is found in the Aggregate of Action. The change from darkness to light is very subtle. Can we say that dark is light? Or light is dark? “Light” and “dark” are only labels. When the sky is dark, it is clearly dark. At that time, how do we convey the idea of darkness to others? In Taiwanese we say “am-an.” It is a different word in Japanese and yet another word in English.
A term is just a term, but does the term represent an appearance? “Am-an” means darkness, blackness. How can I explain that to others? We have to understand the nature of reality. In the natural environment, spring, summer, fall and winter appear over the course of a year. A month is a division of the year. If we go shorter, we have days. Then we have night and day. These are the natural aspects of the universe. Even shorter divisions are minutes and seconds. The nature of reality exists in all of that. This is similar to the human cycle of birth, aging, illness and death. It is a very natural cycle and will exist forever.
Human nature is a small aspect of the greater Nature. What kind of nature do we have? It is the pure, bright Wisdom-nature that is equal to Buddha’s. Yet it is obscured by ignorance, so our true nature is not really comprehensible to us. So we should practice Buddha’s teachings to “distinguish the nature and appearance of reality.” Whether existent or non-existent, long or short, “it is clear and apparent.” Does our inherent nature exist or not? What does the Buddha-nature look like? Is it long or short? We are not clear about these things.
Earlier we talked about understanding and contemplating the karmic law of cause and effect. We also talked about contemplating one’s body. We must look at very subtle causes and conditions to begin our analysis. Many causes elicit conditions. “Causes attract effects; conditions lead to retributions.” We have talked about this, so we should understand how to “distinguish the nature and appearance of reality existent or non-existent, long or short.” This is all about “nature.” But what is our true nature?” This brings us to the fourth contemplation. Haven’t I always told you that we have the True Causes of Awakening equal to the Buddha’s? That luminous wisdom is our true nature. What is this true nature?
We contemplate the Tathagata-body as “still and luminous without contrivance, free from the Four Verses and all wrongdoings, endowed with all virtues, clearly ever-abiding.”
Buddha-nature is ever-abiding. All sentient beings have Buddha-nature. No matter how many lifetimes you have lived, have you ever lost your Buddha-nature? No. It has existed since Beginningless Time. Have we lost it at some moment in this lifetime? No, we still have it. What about those people who are so ignorant and confused? Have they lost their Buddha-nature? No, it is still ever-abiding. We have to believe that our Buddha-nature is ever-abiding. The Tathagata’s nature is the Buddha-nature. The Tathagata-body is “still and luminous without contrivance.”
What does “without contrivance” mean? Being natural. Nature is non-contriving. You say, “It’s bright, I want to make it dark.” Before it is time, you cannot force it to become dark. So the laws of nature are without contrivance. Humans cannot force it to become dark during the day or to become light at night. That is not created by humans. It is a law of nature.
In other words, Buddha-nature is our intrinsic nature. So when we contemplate the Tathagata-body, we see that we also have the silence and luminosity of Nature within us. Being “still and luminous without contrivance” was originally part of our intrinsic nature. Our intrinsic nature is still and luminous; it is radiant. It is simply obscured by ignorance, like how it is dark on the part of the Earth that faces away from the Sun. When our tranquil and bright nature deviates from non-contrivance, it fails to manifest its silence and luminosity.
That is the state of ordinary beings. The Buddha-nature is ever-abiding and is forever silent and luminous without contrivance. We all have that Tathagata-body, which is silent, luminous and non-contriving. So we must be “free from the Four Verses.” What are they?
Free from the Four Verses:
It is not with form.
It is not without form.
It is not both with and without form.
It is not neither with nor without form.
If we do not practice diligently, we cannot understand this. If we do practice diligently wit Buddha’s Truths, then it becomes very simple. The Tathagata-body is the Dharma-body, which is the source of Dharma. What is the source of Dharma? The Tathagata-nature. Originally wisdom and Buddha-nature were one. With wisdom we can realize all Dharma. So let us look at it this way. We all have the Dharma-body and it has always been non-contriving and ever-abiding so we have always had this peaceful light. What is this Dharma-body? “It is not with form.”
If you ask, “You have always said it is natural, and that it was originally tranquil and bright. If this is true, what form does it take?” It does not have form. It is impossible to take it out and show you I can only compare it to day and night. How do we explain day and night? In the Buddha’s time, they lacked proper terminology to explain the orbit of the Sun and the Earth. Now that science is more advanced, we understand more things so we have more names for them. We can use this as an analogy. It was always this way, so I can tell you this now.
In Buddha’s time they said, “not with form;” now we say “not without form.” Yes, there is form. Why does the sky grow light or dark? The reality has always been the same. But in the past, how could such a “form” be explained? “It is not both with and without form.” I can use an analogy to explain why ether is day and night, light and dark, and analyze the reason behind it. But it is only when I have something tangible that I can use it as an example to teach. But we cannot take the Dharma-body out and show it to others; it is “not with form.” No, you cannot see it. You cannot show what cannot be seen. “It is not without form.” Clearly it exists. Otherwise why would the Sutra say something like “existent or non-existent, long or short.”
So we must strive to have a clearer understanding. So here it says, “It is not both with and without form.” It is not “with form” and it is also not “without form.” “It is neither with nor without form.” It is not non-existent. It is not “not without form; it is not formless.” If we try to explain it like this, with all these negations, who knows where that will lead! If we argue for existence, where does that lead? If we argue for non-existence, where does that lead? Truly, we are often told, “do not cling to forms.” The Buddha’s mind has attained that state “both with and without, neither with nor without.” Ordinary people exist in a state where we continue to cling to existence and non-existence, and relativities like long and short.
Many problems and afflictions arise from these attachments. But Buddha’s mind is bright and uncluttered, and free from forms, so He is not attached to them. He does not cling to “without” or to “with.” That is true light. So we can be free from the Four Verses. The Four Verses are “It is not with form. It is not without form. It is not both with and without form. It is not neither with nor without form.” These are the Four Verses. They are about what exists and what does not. Like “having a shadow” or “not having a shadow,” for example. Do you know what a shadow is? What is the difference between having one or not? It is just a shadow. We should try to understand all of this. In our daily living, we must be free from the Four Verses. Do not take issue over things like existence or non-existence, long or short, etc. So we must be free from the Four Verses. “Detached from the root, the branch will die.”
Then we will also be free of Root ignorance. We possess Root Ignorance at birth. We brought it with us from our past lives, due to the karmic law of cause and effect. Ignorant thoughts arose a long time ago. Since Beginningless Time, we have carried greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, doubt. This Root Ignorance is caused by entanglements and conflicts over right and wrong. They cause our Root Ignorance to continually be created over and over. Thus Root Ignorance keeps growing. Branch Ignorance is like the branches of a tree. The deeper the roots are, the bigger the trunk is and the more branches split off. That is Branch Ignorance.
So these little ignorant thoughts grow and grow. If we can be free from the Four Verses, we can be free of Root and Ignorance too. So it is said, “beyond doubt, endowed with all virtues.” If we do this, we are endowed with all virtues. It is as simple as that. Yet it is difficult to explain and even harder to understand. But if we can realize all Dharma, then infinite Dharma will manifest as if it was right in front of eyes. With wisdom comes realization. Then we can make clear discernments.
So this passage puts it simply. If we can be free from the Four Verses, we can eliminate ignorance.
If one can be free from the Four Verses, one will not be attached to forms or be concerned with whether something has form or not. Thus, one can eliminate ignorance.
If we can eliminate ignorance, then our pure nature will manifest. How do we return to that pure luminosity? We uncover our nature through the Six Paramitas and Four Immeasurables. Our nature has been obscured by the accumulation of layers of ignorance. How do we eliminate ignorance? With a lot of effort and training. We have to practice giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. To give is to let go Humans are all greedy.
So how do we eliminate greed? Through giving. We have to give. Not only do we give to create blessings, we must also follow the rules and uphold the precepts. We know that a lot of ignorance arises from the desire for and wealth. Do we give to seek fame or blessings? We want to create blessings, not obtain blessings. This is giving and letting go. We give away material goods to help the suffering. If we can give, what more do we need? Giving unconditionally is letting go of greed. We can eliminate thoughts of greed. After we eliminate greed, we must guard our minds.
Do not be greedy for fame or wealth. We must uphold precepts. We often talk about upholding precepts. We say that we must establish exemplary character. That comes from upholding precepts. Of course we must be patient. If we cannot be patient, how can we give? What would we give? If we cannot uphold precepts, what we see and hear will often give rise to anger and resentment. So not only must we uphold precepts, we must also be patient.
Even that is not enough. We must also constantly be diligent. We must be diligent not only to benefit others, but also to purify our hearts with precepts. Then, in all our relationships, people, matters and principles will be in harmony. We must practice diligently to develop our wisdom. Once we have unlocked our wisdom, we can be pure and tranquil with vows as vast as the universe. It is all interconnected. If we really want to manifest our Buddha-nature, we must practice the Six Paramitas and the Four Immeasurables of kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. The Buddha-nature manifests in this way.
So everyone, we must always “clearly distinguish” the nature and the form of Dharma because it is always in our daily lives. So we should always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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