The Sixth Patriarchs Sutra

7:30pm Pacific time

January 11, 2013 lecture

as outlined by a Buddhist monk
at 1777 Murchison Drive, Burlingame, California 94010, open to public (phone 650-6925912) (Listen live or recorded audio explanations at www.wondrousdharma.org)

Q&A Its not the cat nor the mouse; its your mind. Chapter 6 Repentance and reform the 3 refuges of our own nature
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Verse for opening a sutra Na Mwo Fundamental Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha (3x) Homage to the Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra (3x) The unsurpassed, deep, profound, subtle, wonderful Dharma, In a hundred thousand million eons, is difficult to encounter, Now that Ive come to receive and hold it, within my sight and hearing, I vow to fathom the Thus Come Ones true and actual meaning.
Exhortation to uphold the Dharma: 2/440

I brilliantly illumine the world. Revered by countless multitudes, I speak the seal of the Real Appearance. Shariputra, you should know that in the past I took a vow wishing to lead the multitudes to be identical with me. (The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra)
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Q&A
Question: The previous lecture talks about harming animals is to

harm ourselves. What about insects?

Answer:

...to those who scald, burn, behead, cut or otherwise harm animals, he speaks of repayment in kind. (Sutra of
Past Vows of Bodhisattva Earth Store)

For example, if we use boiling water or fire to get rid of ants or an insect nest, or slice or club animals to death, we will be repaid in kind (Venerable Master Hsuan Hua)
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Q&A
Question: I have been reciting the Sutra of the Past Vows of

Bodhisattva Earth Store for the past two anniversary days of the departure of my father. When do I stop doing so, how long do I need to do, like he may have been reborn?
Answer:

If one makes offerings to these pravarana Sangha, ones present father and mother, parents of seven generations, a well as the six kinds of relatives, will escape the three paths of sufferings. (the Buddha Speaks the Ullambana Sutra)

You continue as long as you wish yet understand that filial conduct is a virtue to be encouraged.

Q&A

The Sutra also teaches us to dedicate merit and virtue to the Dharma Realm because you and your deceased parents and all your parents since time without beginning is also part of the Dharma Realm

If they can dedicate that merit to the Dharma Realm, their blessings will be incomparable. (Sutra of Past Vows of Bodhisattva
Earth Store)

One is all, all is one. (Great Master 6th Patriarch)

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Q&A
Moreover, Earth Store, in the future, good men or good women may plant good roots in the Buddhadharma by giving, making offerings, repairing temples or monasteries, binding sutras, or doing good deeds that are as small as one strand of hair, one mote of dust, a grain of sand, or a drop of water.

Merely by transferring the merit from that deed to the Dharma realm, those peoples meritorious virtues will be such that they will receive supremely wonderful bliss for one hundred thousand lives.
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Q&A
If they dedicate it only to their own family or relatives, or to their own personal benefit, they will receive as a result only three lives of bliss. Thus putting aside the myriad reward.

Earth Store, such are the conditions of giving.(Sutra of Past

Vows of Bodhisattva Earth Store)

Q&A
Question: When I see a cat walking pass a dead mouse, why cant

I think that its a naughty cat?

Answer:

The act of seeing is simply to see.

The distinction you make are made by your distinction making mind, the clever mind.

The mind has moved to form an opinion that the cat is naughty; this is the very reason why we carry on being born 8 and reborn.

Q&A
After having speculated and form an opinion that the cat is naughty, you insist that it is nothing wrong because you are attached to your opinion and emotion has arisen to the point you insist there is nothing wrong.

The mind therefore has moved from awareness, to defiled thinking and then into emotion when in fact .

in the first place our visual awareness is like the second moon; the second moon is not the real moon; it comes about when you confusedly put pressure on the eyeball.
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Q&A
The Buddha told Ananda, As you see me now, the fundamental luminous essence of visual awareness is not the wondrous, essential mind (true mind); nevertheless, it can be compared to a second moon rather than to a reflection of a moon. Why are we able to see the cat and mouse? Because there is light and darkness. When it is totally dark, do we still see? Yes, we do see or we are aware of total darkness, though not the cat and mouse.
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Q&A
Our visual awareness does not make distinction between light and darkness, space or form of cat and mouse.

We are able to see the cat and mouse because there is interaction between light and darkness that distinguishes the form of a cat and mouse.

When you move away, you arent aware of the cat and mouse; and your visual awareness follow you and now you see your Toyota car.
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Q&A
The cat and mouse is not part of you, so is the Toyota; but your visual awareness is part of you because it follows you.

But if we still insist that the cat is naughty, then you are being attached to this thought that is not really part of you.

Then your mind keeps on thinking how to deal with the naughty cat

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Q&A
Nevertheless, since beings have allowed their attention to be drawn to sights and sound and have allowed themselves to be carried along in their stream of thoughts, as it has been since time without beginning, they have not yet awakened and do not yet understand the purity and wondrousness, and the permanence of their own essential nature.

Just remember, whatever we see in this world is just the second moon that comes into being because we ignorantly press our eyeball; the second moon is not the real moon
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Q&A
Awareness or consciousness is part of the five skandhas; we know that the skandha body itself is not real.

You should see the cat and the dead mouse as just fundamentally empty like the second moon; Bodhisttva Guanyin illuminated the five skandhas and saw that they are all empty.

That is why seeing is simply seeing.

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Q&A

Dont retain anything you are aware in your mind; more so, dont think of naughty cat or innocent cat.

Thats why the Great Master 6th Patriarch says, Do not think of good, do not think of evil.

Basically, there isnt anything at all in the first place.

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Q&A
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua:

Why dont people become enlightened?

It is because they let themselves be distracted by illusory objects of perception.

They are under influence of their perception of objects (cat and dead mouse).

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Q&A

You can go against the current and decline to follow the twelve conditioned attributes of light and darkness (cat and mouse), sound and silence, openness and blockage, flavor and blandness, contact and separation, and coming into being and ceasing to be (naughty cat).

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Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

Sutra:

Good Knowing Advisors, now that you have taken refuge with the Triple Jewel, you should listen carefully while I explain to you the three bodies of a single substance, the self-nature of the Buddha, so that you may see the three bodies and become completely enlightened to your own self-nature. Repeat after me,
Comments

The 3 bodies of a Buddha is the Dharma body, the reward body and the transformation body.
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Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

Sutra:

I take refuge with the clear, pure Dharma-body of the Buddha within my own body.
Comments

The Dharma body within us is the unmoving thusness.

The myriad dharmas appear when the mind moves.

The Dharma body is our nature, the Buddha-nature.

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Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

The worldly persons nature is basically clear and pure, and everything are produced from it.

The thought of evil produces evil actions and the thought of good produces good actions.

Thus all dharmas exist within the self nature. If people wish to understand the nature of the Dharma Realm, everything is made by the mind alone.
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Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

Sutra:

I take refuge with the hundred thousand myriad Transformation-bodies of the Buddha within my own body.
Comments

The Transformation body is our conduct. The Transformation body is sometimes called the smaller Reward Body because the conduct comes from wisdom; the Reward Body is the greater wisdom body. Wisdom gives rise to wise conduct; wisdom is represented by Manjusri and conduct is represented by Universal Worthy. 21

Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

Sutra:

I take refuge with the complete and full Reward body of the Buddha within my own body.
Comments

The full Reward body is the representation of wisdom nature.

The non dual nature is the real nature. Undefiled by either good or evil, it is the perfect, full Reward body of the Buddha.
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Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

Sutra:

Good Knowing Advisors, the form-body is an inn; it cannot be returned to.

Comments

Do not take refuge with your physical body by being a slave to your body

because the physical body is just our possession like an inn but not our true permanent body/self.
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Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

Sutra:

The three bodies of the Buddha exist within the self-nature of worldly people, but because they are confused, they do not see the nature within them and so seek the three bodies of the Tathagata outside themselves. They do not see that the three bodies of the Buddha are within their own bodies.
Comments

Before you understand this principle, you need a good knowing one to help guide you across by pointing to your own nature.

After you understand, you take your own nature across.

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Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

Ultimately you have to take yourself across;

you have to walk the path because Buddhas merely show the Path.

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Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

Sutra:

Listen to what I say, for it can cause you to see the three bodies of your own self-nature within your own body. The three bodies of the Buddha arise from your own self-nature and are not obtained from outside.
Comments

The precious pearl is within us; turn your light of attention inwards. Recognize your original mind and you will see your Buddhanature.
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Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

Our original mind is pure without anything at all; in confusion everything comes from it.

Our original mind is wise without attachment to good or evil.

Our original mind is in samadhi; the unmoving thusness that unites with Reality.

Recognize the original mind and you will see the original nature.

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Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

Sutra:

What is the clear, pure Dharma-body Buddha? The worldly persons nature is basically clear and pure, and the ten thousand dharmas are produced from it. The thought of evil produces evil actions and the thought of good produces good actions. Thus all dharmas exist within the self-nature.
Comments

The actual appearance of Reality is without appearance; there isnt anything at all. If people wish to understand the nature of the Dharma Realm, everything is made by the mind alone. 28

Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

Basically the Buddha nature within us is without any attributes, (true emptiness)

but from within it because of confusion, everything both good and evil manifest within it (wonderful existence) and

it is explained in the Ten Suchness applicable to each of the 10 Dharma Realms .

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Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

As to that foremost, rare, and hard to understand Dharma accomplished by the Buddha, only the Buddhas and the Buddha can exhaust the Real Appearance of all dharmas; that is to say, with regard to all dharmas: the suchness of the appearance, the suchness of the nature, the suchness of the substance, the suchness of the power, the suchness of the function, the suchness of the causes, the suchness of the conditions, the suchness of the effects, the suchness of the retributionss and the suchness of the ultimate equality from beginning to end.(The Dharma Flower Sutra
Chapter 2 Expedient Device)

The Great Master Sixth Patriarch gives the analogy of the clouds in the sky to depict the suchness of people

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Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

Sutra:

This is like the sky which is always clear, and the sun and moon which are always bright, so that if they are obscured by floating clouds it is bright above the clouds and dark below them. But if the wind suddenly blows and scatters the clouds, there is brightness above and below, and the myriad forms appear. The worldly persons nature constantly drifts like those clouds in the sky.
Comments

The worldly person sometimes manifest his good nature and sometimes manifest his evil nature. When we do more good, we ascend; the inverse applies equally.
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Chapter 6 Repentance and reform

Sutra:

Good Knowing Advisors, intelligence is like the sun and wisdom is like the moon. Intelligence and wisdom are constantly bright, but if you are attached to external states, the floating clouds of false thought cover the self-nature so that it cannot shine.
Comments

The pure mind is like the moon in water; The quiet mind like a cloudless sky; True blessings: the mind stopped, thoughts cut off; True fields of blessing: all desires ended.
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Dedication of merit
May every living beings, Our minds as one and radiant with light Share the fruits of peace, with hearts of goodness luminous and bright. If people hear and see, how hands and hearts can find in giving unity May their minds awake, to great compassion, wisdom and to joy. May kindness find reward; may all who sorrow leave their grief and pain; May this boundless light break the darkness of their endless night. Because our hearts are one, this world of pain turns into paradise; 33 May all become compassionate and wise (2x)

Dedication of merit
I vow that merit made from this deed will become, Adornments for the Pure Land of Bu-ddhas. Repaying the four kinds of kindness above, And aiding those in three paths below. May all who see and hear of this deed Bring forth the resolve to reborn In the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

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