Platform Sūtra of 6th Patriarch 六祖壇經 Part 4
Wong Weng Hon
- 菩提般若之智, 世人本自有之. 只緣心迷, 不能自悟. 須假大善知識, 示導見性. 當知愚人智人, 佛性本無差別; 只緣迷悟不同, 所以有愚有智.
The wisdom of enlightenment exists intrinsically in every worldly human being. Owing to the deluded minded, the ordinary worldling is not self-awakened to it. A supreme master is required to guide and unveil the original Nature of Man. We ought to be aware that there is no whatever distinction between the fool and the wise in terms of the original Buddha-nature. The fool and the wise come into existence because of the distinction between delusion and enlightenment.
Purport:
Śākyamuni Buddha expounds that every sentient being is endowed with the perfection of wisdom (prajñāpāramitā;般若波羅蜜多). Owing to ignorance (無明) of the true Nature of human personality and the empirical world , a sentient being (衆生) is not self–awakened(覺悟) to his o her innate supreme wisdom(自性般若). A sentient being or worldling requires a supreme master to instruct and guide him or her to discover his or her innate supreme Nature through the intuitive discernment of the Scriptures or the authentic Word of Tathāgata. In actuality, there is no distinction between the fool (low achiever) and the wise (high achiever). The fool is a spiritually low achiever because he or she is not awakened to his or her own innate Buddha-nature(佛性). The wise is spiritually a high achiever. He is self-awakened to his or her own Buddha-nature. The fool is ignorant of the Truth of Insubstantiality (Anattā;無我) or Emptiness (Śūnyatā; 空) and Dependent Co-arising(Pratī̄tyasamutpāda) whilst the wise is self-awakened to the aforementioned Truth of the oneness of the world or cosmos.
- 世人終日口念般若, 不識自性般若, 猶如說食不飽 ! 口但說空, 萬劫不得見性, 終無有益.
The worldly people often speak of wisdom but they have not realized that their original Nature (見性) is Wisdom (Prajñā). It is akin to the mere talks of food without filling their bellies. If Emptiness(Śūnyatā) is orally discussed, even after aeons of time, the original Nature can not be intuitively discerned. There would be no benefit derived from it.
Purport:
Mere discursive or intellectual talks on Wisdom will not develop the innate Wisdom of Man. If we continually discuss food and do not consume it, we can not alleviate hunger. The theory ought to be put into practice to vindicate its pragmatic value. Even if we discuss the doctrine of Emptiness for a long, long time, we can not intuitively penetrate into our Original Nature which is the Buddha-nature or the womb of Tathāgata (Tathāgata-garbha). Without the intuitive apprehension of the Buddha-nature, Dharma can not pragmatically be applied in our practical daily lives. Dharma is discerned to effect moral improvement and to develop the perfection of Wisdom (Prajñāpāramitā).The ultimate objective of Dharma discernment is to annihilate the illusive self-centric ego in order to liberate one from vexation or suffering.
- 摩呵般若波蜜是梵語. 此言大智慧到彼岸. 此須心行, 不在口念; 口念心不行, 如幻如化, 如露如電. 口念心行, 則心口相應.
The great perfection of wisdom is derived from a Sanskrit word. This expression connotes the going from this shore to the other shore beyond through great wisdom. It requires mental cultivation and not mere sūtra recitation. Sūtra discussion without mental cultivation is just like an illusion of mist or lightning. When there are both theory and practice, what are discussed orally are put into practice.
Purport:
The Sanskrit word for ‘Great perfection of wisdom’ is ‘Mahāprajñāpāramitā’. ‘Mahā’ means ‘Great’(大). ‘Prajñā’ means ‘Wisdom’(智慧). Pāramitā (波羅蜜多) means ‘Crossing from this shore (此岸) to the other shore (彼岸) and beyond’. Succinctly put, it denotes ‘Emancipation’ (Mokṣa). Liberation is attained through the development of the Perfection of Wisdom’ which bridges this shore and the other shore.It is liberating wisdom. It is the transmutation from the state of illusion (迷) to the state of enlightenment (悟); from suffering (苦) to the ending of suffering (滅苦); from saṃsāra (生死) to nirvāṇa (涅盤); from conceptualization (戲淪) to intuitive (自覺) comprehension; from the ordinary, defiled, finite mind to the inner Heart of pure, infinite consciousness. Mere sūtra recitation without integrating the theory with the practice in daily life will not yield any fruit or result. Oral recitation followed by mental cultivation or meditation is right practice. Transfer of knowledge into moral conduct or virtue is the right practice.
To be continued
Auto-commnentary:
The Platform Sūtra of Sixth Patriarch is an excellent road map for a genuine Chan or Zen practioner to tread on the Buddha-path of Six Pāramitā. A fundamental theoretical knowledge of Perfection of Wisdom which is the essence of Chan or Zen is an essential foundation before undertaking a serious practice in Chan or Zen. Of course, while one is meditating, the Sūtra should be forgotten totally. After meditation, the Sūtra can serve as a guide to understand the state and the progress of one’s practice. Most importantly, it should serve as a barometer to determine the station of one’s level of one’s mindfulness and self-awareness. Review yourself thus: Have I realized the state of No-mind, Signlessness or Non-dwelling or Non-grasping highlighted in the Sūtra ? Have I experienced the state of non-dwelling and producing the mind state ? The Sūtra should be read to vindicate one’s level of enlightenment attainment. |
