Commentary:
When the perfection of wisdom (prajñāpāramitā) is expounded, it is akin to the lion’s roar. Having heard the profound teaching of wisdom, many were frightened of the Buddha’s ultimate teaching which seems like a logical paradox. The ultimate Truth is usually expounded in terms of logical paradoxes, such as neither arising nor ceasing, neither identity or difference, neither eternalism nor annihilationism, coming nor going and so forth. The identity of the opposites is a logical paradox from conventional point of view. Paradoxically, the identity of opposites is the absolute Truth.
In the sense of ultimacy, the identity of the opposites mirrors the eternal Truth of Unity or Non-duality. Such expression the identity of the opposites of the ultimate Truth frightens those who could not discern the profound message of the Buddha. Even learned intellectuals shy away because they can not apprehend the essence of the teaching which cannot be comprehended intellectually or conceptually because it not within logical domain of epistemology. The profound message of the identity of the opposites can only be discerned intuitively by dwelling in the inner Heart. The inner Heart is the pure, infinite consciousness of an Enlightened Being or Gnostic.
Only the karmically highly-witted men will listen silently and rejoice at the profound teaching of the Buddha because they can apprehend it intuitively through logical paradoxes. Those who comprehend the profound teaching of the identity of opposites, rejoice profusely at the Truth expounded. Such wise or discerning listeners of Dharma, who could penetrate insightfully into the Truth from the discernment of the identity of the opposites are said to have attained the state called the non-arising of Dharma endurance. In other words, the profound teaching of the Buddha not only does not create fear in them or frighten them but also gives rise to dharma joy in them. Dharma eyes are said to have arisen in them.
Perfection of wisdom, which is empty of inherent existence, is too abstruse to be comprehended by ordinary worldlings. The usual logical thinking is confined only to substantial view of ontology in which concrete existents or discrete entities are evident. However, perennial philosophy and process philosophy have vindicated that no autonomous permanent self-contained existent or phenomenon exists. Therefore, the conventional logical or conceptual thinking of arising and ceasing, pure and impure or increasing and decreasing deludes the ordinary worldlings. It veils the ultimate Truth of neither arising nor ceasing, neither impure nor impure or neither increasing nor decreasing (Heart Sutra: iha Śāriputra sarva-dharmāḥ śūnyatālakṣaṇā anutpannā aniruddhā amalā avimalā anūnā aparipūrṇ̣āḥ). The Heart Sūtra illustrates the Truth of Emptiness through the expressions of logical paradoxes. Many readers or learners of Heart Sūtra which is the most celebrated Sūtra among all Mahāyāna Sūtras and miss the profound message of the Exalted One.
The Heart Sūtra is, in fact, the heart of the entire Buddhist Canonical Texts. Every portion of its content is soteriologically significant. Whoever intuitively discerns any portion of the Heart Sūtra is saved and released from vexation or suffering. The Buddhist expression of ‘Cessation of Suffering’ (dukkhanirodha) is synonymous with Monotheist expression of ‘Salvation’. Both communicate the communal Truth of the complete annihilation of self-centric ego (ahaṃkāra-nirodha; attā-nirodha).
The Platform Sūtra of Sixth Patriarch compares the abstruse perfection of wisdom to the metaphor of heavy rain and likens an ordinary worldling to the metaphor of a small grass. When there is a heavy downpour of rain, the small grass is excessively choked with heavy rains and flooded over. The Sūtra also compares a karmically highly-witted listerner of Dharma to be like the metaphor of a large tree. When there is a heavy downpour of rains, the tree absorbs the water like a sponge and grows larger, greener and stronger.
Chan Tradition advocates the instantaneous teaching and instantaneous enlightenment or gnosis for those karmically highly-witted practioners. Therefore, Chan teaching is a superior Dharma meant for the karmically highly- witted individuals. Karmically highly witted individuals are those who have sharp karmic roots and affinities with Dharma learnt well in the previous lives. Any practioner or yogi who has been well instructed and trained by an adept spiritual master in the present life or by any celebrated Buddhist professor or scholar can be transformed into a high achiever in the present life.
Accordingly to Buddhist philosophy, no fool or under-achiever is forever a fool or an under-achiever. If a fool or an under-achiever is willing to learn and self-improve, he or she will become a high-achiever the near future. Human capacity or potential for gnosis can be built up by improving the contigent conditions which are impermanent and mutable. Buddhist wisdom of Insubstanbtiality (Anattā) or Emptiness (Śūnyatā) and Dependent Co-arising (Pratītyasamutpāda) give all human beings the equal opportunity to self-improve and elevate themselves. The spiritual elevation can be effected through manipulating the contigent conditions to produce the necessary conditioned phenomenon – high spiritual achievement. We can be conditioned to either to succeed or to fail. It is contigent upon our wisdom in manipulating the contigent conditions.
For instance, deficient contigent conditions can be improved; flawed ones can be replaced, efficient and effective ones can be invigorated and so forth.
Religion is actually meant for moral improvement and capacity enhancement to release innate human supremacy with sanity and humility. Permit me to share with you the communal Truth of Wisdom: The first class human capital is produced from the interpenetration between religious or philosophical wisdom and knowledge economy. The elites of the corporate world or in the world of entrepreneurs are those highly witted intelligentsia or savants who are adept at philosophical wisdom and knowledge economy. They have high scores in both IQ and EQ. IQ is related to secular knowledge. EQ is related to religious or spiritual knowledge of ethics and wisdom. The corporate leaders or entrepreneurs may not learn wisdom and ethics from religion. Most of them acquire them from participation in personal development or self-motivation programmes available in the market.
Those brilliant human elites are not only millionaires or billionaires but they are also philanthropists at the same time. In our modern world, they are the golden geese which reproduce the golden eggs. They are the intimate friends or saviors of the economically impoverished of the third world countries and also the of the victims of major catastrophes, such as heavy rain storms, snow storms, wild-forest fires, earthquakes and other massive natural disasters.
