Platform Sutra of Sixth Pratriarch六祖壇經: Chapter 2: Perfection of Wisdom般若品二
Wong Weng Hon
- 何名般若? 此是西國語; 唐言到彼岸, 解義離生滅.
What is Prajñā? This is the language of the west; linguistically expressed in Chinese as ‘Reaching the other shore’ meaning the cessation of arising and perishing.
What is the Perfection of Wisdom? Prajñā (般若) is the classical language of India situated to the west of imperial China . The language is Sanskrit utilized to compile the Mahāyāna Sūtras. The Mahāyāna Sūtras were either unearthed in India or Central Asia along the famous Silk Route from Central Asia to China. The Chinese Sūtra translators render the term as ‘Wisdom’ . Wisdom is the knowledge of traversing from this shore other shore. It is the knowledge of spiritual liberation. It connotes the transmutation from delusion (迷) to enlightenment (悟) or from saṃsāra (生死) to Nirvāṇa (涅盤).Succinctly put, it connotes emancipation or salvation.
This shore is the conditioned mental station of arising and perishing. It is the conventional worldview of a sentient being(眾生).The other shore is the consummated unconditioned mental station of neither arising nor perishing (不生不滅). It is perfect ultimate worldview of an Enlightened One or a Perfect Man . The other shore is liberative state of Nirvāṇa. A sentient being is deluded by the knowledge of conventional truth (saṃvṛti satya世俗諦). An Enlightened One is a Gnostic who discerns that the conventional reality conceals the ultimate Reality(勝義諦). The conventional reality is the multiplicity of forms (萬物); the ultimate Reality is Unity of dynamic process becoming(一真法界) . An Enlightened One or Gnostic discerns the distinction between appearance and Reality. The conventional reality is appearance of the multiplicity. The Reality is the ultimate Truth of the Unity. The dependently co-arisen Unity of existence is Buddha or Tathāgata. Whoever discerns Unity discerns the Truth of Emptiness. Emptiness is the unity of dynamic process becoming.
- 著境生滅起, 如水有波, 即名為此岸.
Attachment to the external environment, like waves churned up by the water. It is designated as this shore.
Attachment (執著) to the environmental stimuli is like churning up the waves by the water of the Ocean. It metaphorically mirrors that attachment is aroused to engender illusory self-centric ego (我執). Consequently, his or her carnal or false self (假我) creates volitional actions designated as karmas (業) both wholesome and unwholesome. Karmas create the phenomenal world because of the corruptions or cankers of the defiled mind.
A karma maker is entangled in the karmic bondage and lives an endless life of birth and death or transmigration. He or she is rewarded and retributed according to the karmas committed life after life. He or she is conditioned to lead the life of a sentient being because karma is imperishable. A sentient being is unliberated owing to his or her ignorance (無明) of the distinction between conventional truth and ultimate truth and their interrelationship. He or she transmigrates in the six realms of samsaric existence (六道輪回), namely, the realm of devas, the realm of human beings, the realms of asuras, the realm of hungry ghosts, the realm of animals and the realm of hell beings broadly divided into three worlds (三界) of Desire (欲), Form (色) and Formless (無色).
- 離境無生滅, 如水常通流, 即名為彼岸,
Non-attachment is neither arising nor perishing, like unobstructed flow of the water . It is designated as the other shore.
However, if a person has developed the Perfection of Wisdom (般若波羅蜜多) realizing the ultimate Truth of Emptiness of the five aggregates of form, feelings, perceptions, volitions and consciousness. Discerning intuitively the ontological Reality of dependent co-arisen Unity (一真) or Non-duality (不二), he or she abandons attachment to the environmental stimuli. Owing to his or her power of right mindfulness(正念) and equanimity (不取不舍), his or her mind is unconditioned and unperturbed by the environmental stimuli, favourable or adverse. Consequently, he or she is liberated from suffering. Reaching the other shore connotes the ending of suffering . He or she is liberated (解脫) from karmic bonage. His or her wisdom and virtue are consummated as he or she has annihilated the self-centric ego in his or her cosmic Self (Dharmadhātu).
- 故號波羅蜜.
Therefore, it is called Pāramitā .
‘Pāramitā’ connotes traversing from this shore to other shore(此岸彼岸). It connotes emancipation It is transcendence from karmic bondage. The cessation of suffering is metaphorically depicted by the supreme masters as crossing from this shore of saṃsāra (生死) to the other shore of Nirvāṇa (涅盤). The false self(假我) is transmuted into the cosmic Self (真我). The cosmic Self is the True Self. The True Self is the Buddha Mind (佛心). One dies before one dies. It is the transformation from the ordinary, finite, and defiled consciousness to the pure, infinite, and transcendental consciousness. One is born of Buddha with a Truth Body (Dharmakāya法身).
Dharmakāya is parallel to Christian concept of Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is manifested when one dies before one dies. Holy Spirit is the state of being biorn of Go. Dharmakārya is also manifested when one dies before one dies. Dharmakāya is manifested Buddha-nature (佛性) unveiled by the perfection of wisdom. Wisdom is arisen from having discerned the Truth of Emptiness (‘Sūnyatā空) or Non-duality (Advaya不二) veiled by the multiplicity of forms . Emptiness or Non-duality is cosmic Unity. Cosmic Unity is the Unity in the multiplicity. Cosmic Unity is cosmic Self. Cosmic self is the Buddha-mind. The Buddha-mind is the non-dwelling or non-clinging mind of pure consciousness. |
