Platform Sūtra of 6th Patriarch六祖壇經
Wong Weng Hon
- 摩訶般若波羅蜜, 最尊最上最第一.
Mahāprajñāpāramita is the most respectable, the unsurpassed and the highest.
Mahāprajñāpāramitā (摩訶般若波羅蜜多) is the great liberative Wisdom (解脫慧). The wisdom is developed from the discernment of the Emptiness (‘Sūnyatā空) of the five aggregates(五蘊) as this is not I; this is not mine ; this does not belong to me. The five aggregates are form(色), feelings(受) , perceptions(想), volitions (行) and consciousness (識). Discernment of the Emptiness of the five aggregates are consonant with the intuitive apprehension of the Truth of Insubstantiality, Selflessness or Egolessness (Anattā).
The form is empty (‘sūnya) of inherent existence or self-identity (svabhāva自性); the feelings are also empty of inherent existence or self-identity, the perceptions are empty of inherent existence or self-identity; the volitions are empty of inherent existence or self-identity; the consciousness is empty of inherent existence or self-identity. The five aggregates refer to eighteen elements (dhātus). They comprise six sense faculties, six sense objects and six sense consciousness.
The five aggregates or the eighteen elements are the intrinsic integration of human personality with the external environment. Man and environment are inseparable and they are one and not two. Religion teaches to see the Unity between Man and the environment. Seeing this ultimate Unity of existence between Man and environment obliterates the self-centric ego. Obliteration of self-centric of ego liberates Man from suffering (dukkha).
The eighteen elements encompass self (我) and others(法) in which Man and his environment are integrated into the unity of existence. Ontologically put, Unity of Existence is Emptiness. Man and environment dependently co-create the world perceived mentally by Man. When it is declared that the five aggregates is empty (空), it follows that the eighteen elements(十八界) are also empty. Succinctly put, Man is empty and the world is also empty.
When it said that the world of multiplicity is empty, it does not mean that there is nothing existing in the world. It connotes that the ultimate Reality is that the multiplicity of forms or myriad things or beings perceived exists in the Unity (一/一真法界) of the multiplicity (一切/諸法). The multiplicity is merely appearance which is illusory and unreal. Only Unity of Existence (一真法界) is real. The sole purpose of discerning the Emptiness of the world or Unity of Existence is to eliminate the wrong view of all illusive and unreal discrete entities.
The world never exists in terms of discrete entities. They have been erroneously perceived by the ignorant worldlings to exist autonomously. The only ultimate Reality in the world is the Process Reality of dynamic process becoming (sanātana dharma一真法界) in which clusters of contigent conditions integrate with clusters of contigent conditions to give rise to the dynamic creative advance of the world. The dynamic creation is the Process Thought of perennial philosophy. Process Thought is the right view of Emptiness. Right view of Emptiness is Insubstantiality or Selflessness or Egolessness (Anattā無我). Insubstantiality is the universal Unity of Existence.
The great Wisdom of liberation (解脫智) unveils the ultimate Truth of process Reality of dynamic becoming in which the Unity is in the many and the many is in the Unity. Process Reality is the perennial or process wisdom of perceiving signlessness, marklessness or characteristiclessness (無相) of all phenomena. Every phenomenon is empty or formless because every phenomenon is always being integrated with other connected phenomena forming an interwoven web of interconnected relationship (dharmadhātu-pratītyasamutpāda). Having perceived formlessness (Emptiness) of the world, one is totally liberated from the direction and empowerment of self-centric ego (我執).
Whoever has obliterated self-centric ego intuitively perceives the dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality. Whoever perceives Unity or Non-duality perceives the Essence of the Buddha. The perennial wisdom of discerning the process Reality of Unity or Non-duality is the perfection of wisdom. The perfection of wisdom is the mother of all Buddhas. Such Truth unveiling wisdom is therefore the most respectable , unsurpassed and the highest (至高無上) knowledge of ultimacy.
- 無住無往亦無來, 三世諸佛從中出.
Non-dwelling, neither going nor coming, all Buddhas of tri-temporal existence are produced from it.
Non-dwelling is non-grasping upon the five aggregates or the eighteen elements as the discrete entities. Since the process Reality of dynamic becoming is the Unity of Existence which is neither arising or ceasing (不生不滅), it is neither beginning nor ending (無始無終), and it is ultimately depicted as neither going nor coming (不去不來). In other words, the process Reality of the Emptiness of the world transcends the illusive concept of time and space. In other words, the ultimate Reality of the world is that there is neither past moment, nor the present moment nor the future moment (三心不可得). The tri-temporal moments or periods of time are integrated into a dynamic universal Unity. In the ultimate reality of Process Reality of the unity of existence of interconnected relationship, space and time are not evident because dynamic Process Reality is neither arising nor ceasing, neither existence nor non-existence, neither identity nor difference and neither appearance nor disappearance. Having intuitively discerned the Unity Existence of Process Reality, one has graduated from religious study. The highest knowledge of ultimate Reality has been learned. There is nothing more to be learned.
Dynamic Process becoming of Emptiness is durationless and spaceless (超越時空) just like the incessant flow of a stream. It is timeless and spaceless. It is durationless. It is empty of signs, marks or characteristics .It is the first and the last. All Buddhas in the past, present and future are produced from discerning the Emptiness of the world – the incessant flow of Unity which is selflessness, Egolessness or Insubstantiality (Anattā). Anattā is process Reality of the One in all and all in the One (一即一切;一切即一).
- 當用大智慧, 打破五蘊, 煩惱, 塵勞.
Ought to utilize great Wisdom to penetrate into the five aggregates, to eliminate vexation and suffering caused by sense objects .
We ought to utilize the great Wisdom of Emptiness or Process wisdom to penetrate into the insubstantiality (Anattā) of the five aggregates or eighteen elements. Insubstantiality is the Unity of Existence of everything. Having intuitively penetrated into the Insubstantiality (Emptiness) of the five aggregates or eighteen elements (that is the empirical world), there is a complete cessation of suffering (苦滅) caused by attachment (取) or aversion (舍) conditioned by the six senses. Attachment and aversion are eliminated by the right view of Unity of Existence in which discriminative individuations have vanished.
At this critical point, it is important not misinterpret that the human senses are the roots of human suffering (苦) or vexation (煩惱) if substantial ontology is upheld. It is only the grasping or clinging upon the senses that suffering is arisen. Knowledge of Emptiness or perfection of wisdom (般若波羅蜜多) annihilates self-centric ego and grasping upon the senses as I or Mine. In other words, when we manage the human senses with wisdom and non-grasping empty of I or Mine , we enjoy utilizing the senses without being inflicted with suffering or vexation. This is essence of liberation. This is the transcendental wisdom of living in the world and yet it is beyond the world. It is living in the mundane world with supermundane wisdom (出世間智). It is metaphorically compared to a lotus flower which penetrates the muddy bed, the muddy water and springs forth and above the sullied water and remains unsullied (如連花出於污泥而不染).
- 如此修行, 定成佛道, 變三毒為戒定慧.
If it is thus cultivated , the Path of Buddha can be actualized transforming the three poisons into morality, concentration and wisdom.
If one lives in Insubstantiality or Emptiness , one will live in the spirit, principle, truth and life of a Buddha – the life of an Enlightened One. The three poisons of life, namely greed (貪) , hatred (嗔) and delusion (癡) are transformed by self-enlightenment or gnosis into morality (戒), concentration (定) and wisdom (慧). Morality is Buddhist ethics ; concentration is Buddhist meditation on tranquility and insight or the exercise of right mindfulness. Wisdom is the knowledge of three universal characteristics (三法印) of Impermanence (Anicca無常), Suffering (Dukkha苦) and Insubstantiality (Anattā無我) of conditioned phenomena in terms of Dependent Origination or Co-arising (Pațiccasamuppāda緣起正法). Intuitively apprehending the Law of Dependent Co-arising, the knowledge of Four Noble Truths of Suffering, Cause, Cessation and Path is consummated.
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