I
love this Sutra. It shows the Buddha in a whole different light. A lady, Gangottara, starts to question the
Buddha and he has to defend his enlightenment.
You can tell that the people relaying this
story were a little confused. They kept trying to put him up on a pedestal but
they never quite succeeded.
In the dialog the Buddha seems quite normal
and accessible. It seems as though anyone could wake up. In fact every time the
Buddha’s teachings seem a little intellectual, Gangottara complains.
To get a sense of what a magically produced
being is, it is like in a dream. The reality of the dream is your mind. Here
this would be called the “Buddha Mind”. The characters and their interplay in
the dream are like a magic show with no reality of its own.
Once you see the nature of your mind, you
will see the similarities between the “waking state” and the dream. Samsara is
a name for the world, which is in constant motion. The stillness that supports
this motion is the nature of your Mind. To know if this is true of not look at
your mind and see.
Now we will let the Buddha and Gangottara
explain this:
The
Sutra of Flawless Purity
Thus
have I heard. Once the Buddha was dwelling in the garden of Anathapindada in the Jeta Grove near Sravasti. At that time, a laywoman named Gangottara
came from her dwelling in Sravasti to see the Buddha. She prostrated herself
with her head at the Buddha's feet, withdrew to one side, and sat down. The
World-Honored One asked Gangottara. "Where do you come from?"
The
laywoman asked the Buddha. "World-Honored One, if someone were to ask a
magically produced being where he came from, how should the question be
answered?"
The
World-Honored One told her. “A magically produced being neither comes nor goes,
neither is born nor perishes: how can one speak of a place from which he
comes?”
Then
the laywoman asked. “Is it not true that all things are illusory, like magic?”
The
Buddha said. “Yes, indeed. What you say is true.”
Gangottara
asked. “It all things are illusory, like magic, why did you ask me where I came
from”
The
World-Honored One told her. “A magically produced being does not go to the
miserable planes of existence, nor to heaven; nor does he attain nirvana. Gangottara,
is that also true of you?”
The
laywoman replied. “As I see it, if my own body were different from a magically
produced one, then I could speak of going to the good or miserable planes of
existence, or of attaining nirvana. I see no difference, though, between my body
and a magically produced one. So how can. I speak or going to the good or
miserable planes, or of: attaining nirvana?”
“Furthermore,
World-Honored One, nirvana's very nature is such that it is not reborn in the
good or miserable planes, nor does it experience parinirvana. I perceive that
the same is true of my own nature.”
The
Buddha asked. “Do you not seek the state of nirvana?”
Gangottara
asked in turn. "If this question were put to one who had never come into
being, how should it be answered?
The
Buddha replied. “That which has never come into being is nirvana.”
Gangottara
asked. “Are not all things identical with nirvana?”
The
Buddha replied. "So they are, so they are.”
“World-Honored
One, Are all things are identical with nirvana, why did you ask me. 'Do You not
seek the state of nirvana?"
"Furthermore,
World-Honored One, if a magically produced being asked another magically
produced being, 'Do you not seek the state of nirvana?' what would the answer
be?”
The
World-Honored One told her. “A magically produced being has no mental
attachments [and thus seeks nothing].”
Gangottara
inquired. “Does the Tathagata’s very question stem from some mental
attachment?”
The
World-Honored One told her. “I raised the question because there are in this
assembly good men and good women who can be brought to maturity. I am free of
mental attachments. Why? Because the Tathagata knows that even the names of
things are inapprehensible, let alone the things themselves or those who seek
nirvana.”
Gangottara
said. “If so, why all the accumulation of good roots for the attainment of
enlightenment?”
[The
Buddha replied,] "Neither Bodhisattvas nor their good roots can be
apprehended, because in the Bodhisattvas’ minds there is no discriminative
thought as to whether they are accumulating good roots or not."
Gangottara
asked. “What do you mean by 'no discriminative thought'?”
The
World-Honored One answered. “The absence of discriminative thought cannot be
understood or grasped by means of thinking. Why? Because in the state [of no
discriminative thought], even the mind is inapprehensible, let alone the mental
functions. This state, in which the mind is inapprehensible, is called
inconceivable. It cannot be grasped or realized: it is neither pure nor impure.
Why so? Because, as the Tathagata always teaches, "All things are as empty
and unimpeded as space.”
Gangottara
inquired. “If all things are like empty space, why does the World-Honored One
speak of form, feeling, conception, impulse, and consciousness; the [eighteen]
elements: the [twelve] entrances: the twelve links of dependent origination;
the defiled and the undefiled; the pure and the impure: samsara and nirvana?”
The
Buddha told Gangottara. “When I speak of a ‘self.' for example, although I
express the concept by a word, actually the nature of a 'self is inapprehensible.
I speak of form, but in reality the nature of form is also inapprehensible, and
so it is with the other [dharmas], up to nirvana. Just as we cannot find water
in mirages, so we cannot find a nature in form, and so it is with the others,
up to nirvana.
“Gangottara,
only a person who cultivates pure conduct in accordance with the Dharma, perceiving
that nothing can be apprehended, deserves to be called a real cultivator of
pure conduct. Since the arrogant say that they have apprehended something, they
cannot be said to be firmly established in genuine pure conduct. Such arrogant
people will be terrified and doubtful when they hear this profound Dharma. They
will be unable to liberate themselves from birth, old age, sickness, death,
worry, sorrow, suffering, and distress.”
“Gangottara,
after my parinirvana, there will be some people able to spread this profound
Dharma, which can stop the rounds of samsara. However, some fools, because of
their evil views, will hate those Dharma-masters, and will contrive to harm
them. Such fools will fall to the hells for that.”
Gangottara
asked. “You speak of ‘this profound Dharma which can stop the rounds of
samsara.' What do you mean by 'stop the rounds of samsara'?"
The
World-Honored One replied. “To stop the rounds of samsara is [to penetrate]
reality, the realm of the inconceivable. Such a Dharma cannot be damaged or
destroyed. Hence, it is called the Dharma that can stop the rounds of samsara.”
Then
the World-Honored One smiled graciously and emitted from his forehead blue,
yellow, red, white, and crystalline lights. The lights illuminated all the
numerous lands, reaching as high as the Brahma Heaven, then returned and
entered the top of the Buddha's head.
Seeing
this, the Venerable Ananda thought to himself, “The Tathagata, the Worthy One,
the Supremely Enlightened One, does not smile without a reason.” He rose from
his seat, uncovered his right shoulder, knelt on his right knee, and joined his
palms toward the Buddha, inquiring. “Why did the Buddha smile?”
The
Buddha replied. “I recall that, in the past, a thousand Tathagatas also taught
this Dharma here, and each of those assemblies was also led by a lay woman
named Gangottara. After hearing this Dharma preached, the laywoman and all the
assembly left the household life they entered the nirvana without residue.”
Ananda
asked the Buddha. “What name should be given to this sutra and how should we
accept and uphold it?”
The
Buddha said. “This sutra is called 'Flawless Purity.' and you should accept and
uphold it by that name.”
From
The Sutra on Flawless Purity
“A
Treasury of Mahayana Sutras”
Garma
C, C, Chang, General Editor
Translated
form the Chinese
Copyright©
1983 The Pennsylvania State University
I
hope that you enjoyed this sutra. If it raised some questions in your mind
please do not hesitate to ask. Ask and you shall gain your freedom.
Next
The Snake and the Rope. To see what this means stay tuned. And if you enjoy
this blog don’t forget to tell your friends. For more information go to. www.light-up-your-life.com
Best
Wishes,
Michael