Day 5 The Inexplicability of Enlightenment | The Sword of Wisdom

Surely this is the true vehicle.
One who disagrees is swayed by emotion.

Going directly to the root is the seal of the Buddha: No point searching for branches or plucking leaves.When Yung-chia speaks of the root, he is referring to the totality of experience. The branches and leaves represent the individual phenomena. Everything in the universe is in total harmony. There is no conflict or contradiction among different phenomena; each thing is in accordance with everything else. However, there is no way this can be described with symbols or language. Actually, nothing can truly be explained, neither the innumerable experiences of ordinary existence nor the totality of Buddhahood. Any experience, whether it be an ordinary experience, a shallow enlightenment, or a profound enlightenment, cannot be fully described in words. It is because people share a common humanity that they can explain their experiences and understand one another. If, however, we were to encounter a being who had no knowledge of human existence, it would be impossible to describe any human experience to it.

If you experience genuine enlightenment, there is nothing to be said. There is no discrimination. To say anything, you must compare this to that; you must explain one thing in terms of another; you must speak from your point of view or another person’s point of view. When you say something is low, it is only because you are above it. But, when there is no discrimination, and everything is in harmony and undifferentiated, there is nothing to say.

A great Ch’an master named Han Shan lived during the latter part of the Ming Dynasty. Master Han Shan recorded a dream in which he went to a public bath. He saw a beautiful woman beckoning him to join her in a pool. In his dream, Han Shan thought, “I’m a monk. I can’t take a bath with a woman!” The woman persisted, and finally she came after him. At that moment, Han Shan realized the person was really a man whose features were so beautiful that he looked like a woman. The man then poured water over Han Shan’s head, whereupon a cool feeling pervaded his body. The cool feeling stayed with him long after he woke up.

In assessing his dream, Han Shan understood that in the human world people distinguish between male and female. But in the Pure Land there is no such distinction. Fundamentally, there is no male or female. Calling the person in Han Shan’s dream a man or woman is discrimination, a mental act of dividing the world into categories. Similarly, there are no distinctions in the realm of genuine enlightenment.

Unfortunately, most people are not at the level of nondiscrimination, so it is necessary to say something, even if it is not an accurate explanation. To truly grasp Buddhadharma, no words need be spoken, no instructions need be given.

Why, then, do I talk so much? Because people cannot comprehend non-discrimination. I must try to explain Buddhadharma, no matter how feeble the attempt may be. I must address the self-attachment of sentient beings. Buddha did not have to say anything, yet for the sake of sentient beings, he preached Buddhadharma for forty-nine years.

You cannot discover your Buddha-nature through words, logic or intellect. You must grasp it directly, at which point you will see what a Buddha would see. If you saw your original nature, you would not be able to describe or analyze it.

On this retreat, some of you have described your experiences to me during personal interviews. If you were to relate these experiences to outsiders, especially people who do not meditate, you would probably find that they do not believe you, or that they cannot relate to your experiences. There is no way they can feel and see what you feel and see. Your experiences, whether shallow or profound, are uniquely yours. The deepest, most thorough enlightenment experiences are beyond explanation. I encourage you to discover your true nature directly. I cannot describe such an experience. Still, I am sure you are curious. You would like to hear stories about enlightenment experiences. Silently, you are asking, “What is it like? How does it feel?”

In Taiwan, an old monk was lecturing on the Avatamsaka Sutra. In the sutra there is a concept called the “flower-adornment world.” When the old monk tried to describe this world, he opened his mouth, but no words came out except for expressions like “Oh! . . .” and “Ahh! . . . .” His audience could make no sense of what he was trying to say. The sutra says that in each flower on this world there are one thousand lotuses, and on each lotus sits a Buddha preaching the Dharma in the ten directions. This description does not tell us much, and in fact, the monk’s explanation was better than the sutra’s.

The mani pearl is unknown to people;
You can find it in the Tathagata-garbha.
The functions of the six senses are both empty and not empty.

One perfect light with form yet formless.The mani pearl is a wonderful gem that contains infinite power. For this reason, it is also called the wish-fulfilling gem. With such a gem, you can give people whatever they want or need. The owner of the mani pearl becomes the greatest almsgiver. Ordinarily, people are burdened by too much karma and vexation to gain such a treasure, so for them the mani pearl refers to the mystical pearl of the heavenly realm. In this stanza, however, it refers to the original nature that is within every one of us, but which remains hidden to most of us.

The Lotus Sutra tells a story about the son of wealthy parents. When he was young, he was separated from his family, and for years he roamed the land as a beggar. Unknown to him, there was an extremely valuable pearl sewn into a secret pocket of his robe. One day someone told him, “Indeed, you have a priceless pearl with you. If you can find it, you will be rich.”

The meaning of this fable is clear. Originally and forever, we possess the treasure of Buddha-nature, but somehow we have lost track of it. Now you have heard the Dharma, and you know Buddha-nature exists. All you must do is search until you find it. When you do, you will be delivered from ignorance and vexation. It is called “seeing one’s self-nature.” If you succeed in uncovering self-nature completely, such that discrimination never returns, then you will have attained Buddhahood.

The mani pearl symbolizes the fulfillment of all your wishes. With it comes supernormal powers. You can see everything, hear everything, be everywhere. You can look into the past or future. Most people would like to possess these powers, or at least know more about them. What most people do not realize is that, as potential Buddhas, we already possess these supernormal powers in latent form.

Yesterday, someone told me that at times he wished I could give him empowerment so that he could solve his problems. Often, when people feel that they lack ability or strength, they look to others for help. But other people cannot resolve your fundamental problems; if it were possible, it would be contrary to the law of karma ─ the law of cause and effect. If you rely on others, the help you receive will be of little use. You must rely on yourself. Eventually, when you are enlightened, you will perceive no distinction between yourself and others, between one thing and another. Everything will be in harmony.

Great practitioners like Milarepa and Han Shan (Cold Mountain) were so poor they could not even afford clothes. Actually, however, they were the richest of people, because everything in the universe belonged to them. In comparison, the richest king was a pauper. For people like Milarepa and Han Shan, every place is their home; every person is their disciple; anything can be their clothing. Han Shan said, “The mountains are my pillow, the clouds my blanket, the land my bed, the ocean my bath.”

Enlightened beings do have supernormal powers, but they are not the minor powers that enthrall ordinary people. These minor powers are only tricks, befitting little ghosts. During the T’ang Dynasty, a yogi with supernormal powers went to a city in China, where he was well received. At that time, there was a monk named Hui-ch’ung, who was the king’s Ch’an master. Someone said to him, “Master, you’re through. A yogi with great power wants to have a competition with you.”

Master Hui-ch’ung replied, “I don’t have any powers, but I don’t mind competing.”

Many people gathered to watch the great event. The yogi asked Hui-ch’ung to challenge him with a question, so Hui-ch’ung asked, “Where is my mind right now?”

The yogi answered, “You have the honorable position as Ch’an master to the king, so why have you wandered to the province of Ssu-ch’uan to watch the boat race?

Master Hui-ch’ung said, “Very good. Can you see where I am now?”

“Strangely enough, ” the yogi replied, “you are now in another province, watching people doing monkey tricks.”

These exchanges proved that the yogi could see into peoples’ minds, because he knew what Hui-ch’ung was thinking. Hui-ch’ung asked a third time, “Where am I now?”

The yogi concentrated for a long time, but he could not find where Hui-ch’ung’s mind was. Master Hui-ch’ung then rebuked the yogi. “Your powers are worthy of a little ghost.

You can see into a mind when it is moving, but when the mind is still, you are lost. As to where I am, that is simple. Since my body is here, of course my mind is also here.”

From the Ch’an perspective, what are considered supernormal powers are, in fact, little tricks. Ch’an speaks of the great supernormal powers. When birds fly through the air and men walk the earth, they leave behind traces of their passage which last for thousands of millions of eons. As we move through our lives, we leave shadows of ourselves behind us. People with great supernormal powers can follow these shadows backward, as if they were watching a film in reverse, and trace them through innumerable past lives. This is an example of a great supernormal power.

In the last line of verse, the phrase “one perfect light” refers to Buddha-nature, which is the same as the Dharma body. The Dharma body is not separate from the physical body. However, you cannot say that the Dharma body is the physical body and nothing more. When you experience enlightenment, you are one with the Dharma body, yet you are still in your physical body. When you experience the Dharma body, you transcend the boundaries of your limited, physical body. While the enlightenment experience lasts ─ and it may be as quick as a flash ─ you will see no distinction between inside and outside. There will be no attachment to self, and no vexation. But this is not an accurate description. If you really want to know, you will have to find the mani pearl and experience it yourself.

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