Overall Teaching
In this chapter, the Buddha teaches that all dharmas lack inherent existence, manifesting through dependent origination. By viewing them as illusory, bodhisattvas develop profound patience, remaining free from defilement. It emphasises the harmonisation of ultimate truth with relative truth in our cultivation, where ethical conduct and compassion must be balanced with wisdom and realisation.
Summary
Bodhisattva mahāsattvas should abide in profound patience at dharmas.
They should view all dharmas as illusions, dreams, wild horses, echoes, reflections of light and shadow, the moon reflected in water, and the nature of empty space.
This true view leads to profound patience, where bodhisattvas are not defiled, angered, or deluded by dharmas. They see no defiler, no angerer, no deluder, nor any actions or karma related to these states.
Bodhisattvas in this state see nothing and attain nothing, remaining free from defilement, anger, and delusion. Being without defilement, anger, delusion, and inverted mind, they are in samādhi and attain various virtues and attributes:
Spiritual Accomplishments and Virtues:
Free from frivolous debate
Reached the far shore, peace, fearlessness, and coolness
Keeping precepts, wise, intelligent, meritorious
Shrewdly wise, upholder, modest, faithful, ascetic in virtue
Unattached to female forms, worthy of offerings
Exhausted outflows, free from afflictions, mentally and wisdom-liberated
Physical and Mental Liberation:
Extractor of poison arrows, remover of thorns, crosser of pits and trenches
Without fever, without dust, exhausted all bonds of existence
Well liberated in mind, reached autonomy of all minds
Subdued, laid down the burden, attained personal benefit
Titles and Recognitions:
Śramaṇa, brāhmaṇa, bathed, crossed over, clear-sighted
Buddha's son, Śākyamuni's son, bhikṣu without entanglements
Good person, superior person, great person
Lion among people, great nāga among people, bull among people
Well-tamed person, vigorous person, bearing person, diligent person, formidable person
Symbolic and Metaphorical Attributes:
A person like a flower, lotus person, pundarīka person, taming person
Moon person, sun person, acting person, foremost among bipeds
End of all knowledge, the best among the learned
Perfected noble-conduct, reached the ultimate in what is to be done
Untainted by all evil
The Buddha then recapitulates the teaching in verse form:
On the nature of all Dharmas:
Impermanence and Emptiness:
When the kalpa ends, the world becomes empty, similar to the impermanence of all dharmas.
Dharmas are like the sudden appearance of clouds in an empty sky, without a visible origin.
After the Tathāgata's nirvāṇa, thinking to see the Buddha's form shows the same transience as before.
Like water bubbles and rain on water, dharmas arise and disperse quickly.
Dharmas are like mirages in the spring sun and wet plantain trees with no substance inside or out.
Illusion and Insignificance:
Illusions create various forms (men, women, animals) that are not real.
Dreams, like a girl giving birth in a dream or a man indulging in lust in a dream, show desires are ultimately unfulfilled and empty.
Dharmas are reflections, like the moon in a pond or a face in a mirror, and cannot be grasped.
Mirages, echoes in valleys, and drunken perceptions of a spinning earth highlight the deceptive nature of dharmas.
Influence and Reality:
Teachings spread across countries influence actions without the physical presence of the words (that is, emerging from the mouth of the person who originated them).
Good and evil actions arise from teachings, showing the indirect influence of dharmas.
On Realisation and Practice:
Dependent Origination and Non-duality:
Dependent origination has no inherent being or non-being.
Differentiating between being and non-being leads to unending suffering.
Wisdom lies in avoiding the extremes of existence and non-existence and abiding in the middle way.
Non-attachment and Non-action:
Observing one's body and seeing it as non-body leads to understanding non-action.
Discriminating using the faculties (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind) makes the noble path useless.
Recognising the emptiness of faculties is essential for desiring nirvāṇa and cultivating the noble path.
Foundations of Mindfulness and Arrogance:
Explaining the four foundations of mindfulness, fools may become arrogant in bodily awareness.
True bodily awareness leads to non-arrogance and freedom from all arrogance.
Explaining the four dhyānas, fools may claim attainment, but true wisdom cuts off arrogance.
Arrogance and Suffering:
Arrogance is the root of all suffering, as taught by all guides.
With arrogance, suffering increases; without it, suffering ceases.
Understanding the Noble Truths:
After hearing an explanation of the four noble truths, fools claim to see the truth, but true seeing is non-arrogance.
Extensive reading of sūtras and clinging to hearing without practice leads to laxity in precepts and hell's suffering.
Relying solely on keeping precepts without learning leads to exhausted rewards and renewed suffering.
Practising Samadhi and the Self:
Practising worldly samadhi without abandoning the thought of self leads to recurring faults, like the udraka plant.
Cultivating non-self brings joy and is the cause of the bliss of nirvāṇa, unaffected by worldly dharmas.
Restraint and Liberation:
Without precepts, one cannot escape ageing, sickness, and death, similar to being killed by thieves when unable to run.
Confusion that destroys restraint hinders one's ability to leave the world.
Afflictions, like a strong bandit with a blade, harm sentient beings' good roots.
Understanding the Skandhas:
Many misunderstand the skandhas and react with anger when questioned about their selfhood.
Knowing the skandhas are non-self leads to a calm mind, even when hearing slander, realising emptiness and avoiding anger.
Healing and Following Teachings:
Like a person suffering from long-term illness seeking a doctor, one must act upon the good teachings received.
Obtaining good teachings but not practising them prevents healing, and it’s the practitioner's fault, not the teachings.
Leaving the household life and reading the teachings without practising them accordingly cannot lead to liberation.
Wisdom versus Foolishness:
The wise do not compete with or return to the foolish, knowing their nature and habits.
The wise do not share secrets with fools, understanding their lack of resolve.
Fools unite with fools, while the wise unite with the wise.
Characteristics of Foolishness:
Fools are angered without cause, dislike Dharma talks, and do not believe in cause and effect.
They are spiritually impoverished, attached to possessions, close to evil friends, and destroy their precepts.
They live inappropriately, constantly look for others' faults, and cover their own flaws.
Conduct and Food:
Fools crave food, lack moderation, and do not reciprocate when receiving food.
They are harmed by food like an elephant eating a muddy lotus.
The wise eat without greed, their faculties tranquil and in accordance with the Dharma.
Compassion and Solitude:
The wise comfort the foolish with compassion, not attachment.
The wise benefit the foolish, but if they, in return, cause decline, that is what leads the wise to dwell alone like a deer.
Cultivating Bodhi:
The wise dwell in compassion, kindness, and joy, abandoning all existences.
They cultivate samadhi, realizing bodhi, removing worries and fears, and arousing compassion towards those suffering from old age and death.
Understanding Dharma:
Knowing the Buddha's Dharma means understanding beyond verbal expressions of the noble truths.
Hearing this Dharma leads to liberation from the attachment to the love of food.
Commentary
Thrangu Rinpoche's commentary suggests that this chapter focuses on emptiness, presenting it not as a nihilistic void but as the absence of a fixed identity in all phenomena. All experiences are likened to dreams, illusions, echoes, or rainbows, illustrating that while things are ultimately empty, they manifest through dependent origination. The chapter emphasizes the coexistence of ultimate emptiness and relative existence, asserting the importance of virtuous actions and the consequences of negative deeds. Virtue and vice produce corresponding results, and one must abandon negative emotions and gather merit despite the emptiness of inherent identity.
In a Q&A, he emphasises:
Dependent Origination: Dependent origination means phenomena arise in dependence on each other, lacking intrinsic existence. For example, "long" depends on the concept of "short," and vice versa.
Past Lives of the Buddha: The Buddha had actual past lives, which are not merely symbolic. In regard to rebirth, consciousness arises from previous moments of consciousness, indicating past and future lives.
Buddha-Nature: Buddha-nature is unchanging because it is empty of material substance, not like physical emptiness, but possessing the ability to perceive (luminosity realised upon seeing the emptiness of self/skandhas).
Bodhisattva Motivation: Practicing Dharma should aim to benefit all sentient beings, cultivating supreme enlightenment for their sake.
As some of my own comments include how this chapter addresses the pitfalls of arrogance and misconceptions, particularly in understanding profound teachings such as the four noble truths and the skandhas (aggregates). True wisdom, as described, involves recognising the emptiness of the self and phenomena, leading to non-arrogance and a calm, discerning mind. This wisdom is contrasted with the superficial understanding that can lead to pride and laxity in practice. By deeply internalising the emptiness of the skandhas and other dharmas, practitioners can avoid anger and defilement, maintaining steady progress on the path to enlightenment.
Bodhisattvas are encouraged to cultivate compassion and practice for the benefit of all sentient beings. This altruistic motivation is essential for developing the resolve to attain enlightenment for the sake of others. The wise use their understanding to guide and comfort others without attachment, knowing when to offer help and when to maintain solitude to avoid decline. This balance ensures that their practice remains pure and effective, ultimately leading to the realisation of bodhi.
Some practical applications:
For contemporary practitioners, the teachings of this chapter offer practical guidance in daily life and spiritual practice:
View Phenomena as Illusory: Regularly reflect on the dream-like nature of experiences to reduce attachment and aversion.
Cultivate Patience: Develop profound patience by understanding the emptiness of defilements and disturbances, maintaining equanimity.
Ethical Conduct: Recognise the relative importance of virtuous actions and their consequences, striving to purify negative karma and accumulate merit.
Avoid Arrogance: Approach teachings humbly, aiming for genuine understanding and application rather than superficial knowledge.
Compassionate Action: Act with compassion towards all beings, balancing engagement with the wisdom of when to withdraw for self-preservation and deeper practice.
Embrace Emptiness and Dependent Origination: Integrate the dual view of emptiness and dependent origination into daily mindfulness and meditation practices.
By embodying these teachings, practitioners can progress towards the ultimate goal of bodhi while benefiting themselves and all sentient beings along the way.
Discussion
How can we cultivate the practice of the relative and ultimate truth in our daily lives?
How should we, as lay people, approach the matter of compassionate action and solitary cultivation as suggested in this chapter?
What are ways to incorporate dependent origination into our cultivation?