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The Heart Sutra
"THUS HE OVERCAME ALL ILLS AND SUFFERING"
He
perceived that all five skandhas are void, thereby transcending all
suffering. Of suffering there are two kinds: 1. The suffering of birth
and death of allotment, 2. The suffering of birth and death of mortal
changes. All ills and defilements mean suffering. According to the
interpretation of the teachings, when it is fully understood that all
five skandhas are empty five fundamental conditions of passions and
delusion are severed and two kinds of birth and death are over. What
are the five fundamental conditions of passions and delusions? They
are: 1) wrong view, very common in the Triloka (three realms); 2)
clinging, or attachment in the realm of desire; 3) clinging or
attachment in the realm of form; 4) clinging or attachment in the
formless realm (mundane); 5) the state of un-enlightenment or ignorance
in the Triloka, held to be the source of all the distress -generating
delusions. The five fundamental conditions of passions and delusions
depend on the five skandhas for their existence and when the skandhas
are found to be empty the five fundamental conditions of passions and
delusion vanish. Everyone is equipped with five skandhas, and those
uninstructed in BuddhaDharma cannot eradicate the five fundamental
conditions of passions and delusions because they are unaware that
these are originated by, and dwell in the mind. Such being the case,
sentient beings have no other choice but to endure suffering in the
present and turn in the cyclic pattern of existence until they
recognize the cause of their suffering and enter the path to
enlightenment.
What
are the wrong views common in the Triloka? To see the object; to be
confused by the object and to give rise to greed as the result of that
confusion is the root of defilement. Let us suppose that someone who
meets some wealthy, influential, high--ranking official and from that
is given to envy, greed and jealousy. It is of no use, he/she cannot
obtain what he/she wants. Greed becomes entrenched in the mind and as
such is very difficult to extirpate. Defilements of this kind are most
common. Those unexpectedly promoted and prosperous, those in humble
circumstances or those destitute, those who enjoy long life and those
who die young, even the smart and the dull ones, all are in that
situation because of cause and effect. Good causes in previous life
will produce good effects in the present. Good causes in the present
will produce favorable effects in the future. The law of cause and
effect is all-pervasive, excluding nothing and no one. The practice of
this Dharma and the understanding of obstinate void sever eighty-eight
wrong views in the three realms and lead to the attainment of the first
fruit of the path, i.e., Stream Winner.
What
is meant by attachment in the realm of desire? To recognize greed as
objectionable and to relinquish it is expedient and noble: Not to see
the object, not to give rise to clinging and not to be moved by outside
things leads to great liberation. Poverty, wealth, success and failure
can all be endured. The next rebirth will be in the heavenly realm of
desire and when his/her blessings run out in that realm, he/she will be
reborn a human. That cycle will be repeated four times and then the
second fruit and the path will be attained, that of Once Returner. One
more rebirth is required to attain the third fruit (Non Returner),
which means the end of all delusion in the realm of desire. With the
cessation of all desires at all levels in all three realms, the fourth
path and fruit is attained, i.e. that of the Arhat, or saint. In the
realm of desire, six layers are generated by the worldlings' giving in
to the attractions of the senses.
Attachment
in the realm of form: Those who freed themselves from wrong views and
clinging, but still hold on to the analysis of the theory of voidness
will be reborn in the realm of form (rupa loka), which includes
eighteen layers of heaven. These are divided into four dhyanas
according to the depth of absorption: Each dhyana dissolves nine kinds
of illusory thought, which means that thirty-six illusory thoughts are
brought to a halt by the four dhyanas. If the one reborn in the realm
of form still has a form-body, it would not be that of a woman: Those
reborn in that realm have the form-body of a man. It is also called the
Brahma sphere because the beings there have renounced sense desires and
delight in meditation and dhyanic bliss. For that reason we speak of
attachment in the realm of form. The beings in that realm have all
necessities of existence attended to without any effort. The realm of
form is beyond the reach of ordinary people with mundane concerns.
The
nourishment in these realms is of four kinds: Solid nourishment,
especially of the palatable variety; fragrant nourishment; the
nourishment of delight in dhyana; the nourishment of delight in Dharma.
The first kind, or the solid nourishment, is the same as what people
eat every day: It is the manner of humans in the six realms of desires.
The second kind, the fragrant nourishment, sustains devas
(heaven-dwellers) and ghosts. The nourishment of delight in dhyana and
Dharma is for those in formless realm.
Attachment
in the formless realm: When wrong view with its concomitant grasping no
longer contaminates the realm of desire and the realm of form, rebirth
in the formless realm follows. That sphere is free from form (body);
there is only the knowing consciousness and, therefore, we speak of
clinging to the formless realm. Denizens of that realm are no longer
preoccupied with matter or material. The Dhyanas and the Dharma are
their repast and their bliss.
The
formless realm is divided into attainment in meditation on the void;
attainment in meditation on consciousness; attainment in meditation on
nothingness; and attainment leading to a state of neither perception
nor non-perception. Consider for a moment the difference between Dharma
talk offered by an Arhat, as compared with that given by someone of
lower attainment. The attachment to formless realm still manifests.
Vast
differences are noticeable when the two traditions, namely the
Theravada and the Mahayana, are viewed in juxtaposition. Why? Because
meditation according to the Theravada does not single out wisdom, yet
the five fundamental conditions of passions and delusions require the
practice of both activity and principle and equate meditation with
wisdom; it is not comparable to the realm of form and the formless
realm. Even the third stage of liberation according to Theravada, i.e.
the Non Returner, does not imply liberation from the three realms.
The
state of ignorance in the Triloka: Ignorance and delusory views still
predominate, as countless as the atoms in the universe, although beings
in that realm have relinquished some part of both. Their understanding
as to action and principle is far from clear and therefore they cannot
stop the conversion of their thoughts into the cycle of birth and
death, although they were released from the four states or conditions
found in mortality. The Arahat who completed the fourth and the highest
stage, attaining the fruit and the path is, likewise, liberated from
these four. Worldlings cannot escape the two kinds of birth and death
no matter how long their earthly existence might last. Reborn in the
formless realm, they still have birth and death, even after eighty-four
thousand kalpas. That is a very long time.
One
particular sutra teaches that a very, very long time ago, people lived
eighty-four thousand years, but the life span gradually decreased,
shortened by greed, hatred and delusion, and the process continues at a
steadily accelerated pace. Thoughts of the past or future tend to make
people uneasy or jittery. According to the T'ien T'ai method of
counting kalpas, the life span of eighty-four thousand years is taken
as the basis; it is reduced by one year a century till the life span
has reached ten years, at which point the counting is reversed and
years are added, one at a time, up to eighty-four thousand. Such full
cycle is called small kalpa. Twenty of those produce one middle kalpa
and four middle kalpas are called the great kalpa. Several different
systems of calculating the kalpa exist, depending on the cosmology used
as the point of departure. The heavenly existence in the realm of form
is eighty-four thousand great kalpas long, yet these beings must die in
the end if they do not understand the Buddha's teaching and do not
practice accordingly. They may be reborn in any circumstances and may
suffer a great deal, depending on whether their causes were good or
evil; it is quite reliable.
The
preceding explanation dealt with the five fundamental conditions of
passions and delusions. We understand presently that neither the
heaven-dwellers, nor the worldlings can escape the suffering in the
wheel of birth and death unless they terminate the five fundamental
conditions of passions and delusions. There is, however, more happiness
in heaven than in the world. To end the two kinds of birth and death
and the five fundamental conditions of passions and delusions one must
make the great vow to attain enlightenment; to be able to do that one
must study and practice Buddhadharma. The passage we just concluded was
related to the two kinds of birth and death and the five fundamental
conditions of passions and illusions as dependent on the five skandhas,
namely form, feelings, perceptions, volitions and consciousness. At the
time of his attainment of the radiant wisdom, the Bodhisattva
Avalokitesvara conquered all ills and suffering by means of
apprehending beyond any doubt that all five skandhas are devoid of
independent existence.
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