[280] This chapter is divided into spontaneous Buddha activity which happen naturally without any
effort and unceasing buddha activity
which never stops. The
Buddhas always act spontaneously. The Buddhas know
the various temperaments of beings, the various dispositions
of beings, their dominant tendencies, and their aspirations.
Seeing their temperaments allows them to know
what means to use to educate them.
Some
people are helped best by showing them
an example of a certain type of
behavior. For example, if they see the peaceful and very controlled behavior of a Buddha, they will
have a great feeling of faith and this
will lead them to the dharma. But others
respond to miracles, so the Buddhas will show them miracles. Some just respond to teachings so
the Buddhas will just give teachings to
them. The Buddhas also know that
some beings are ready to work on higher levels and others are ready for total liberation, so
they place them on the
path that corresponds to their level of ability and aspiration.
The Buddhas know precisely the time and the place their activity is needed without any thought
and they act effortlessly at the correct
moment in a way which is perfectly
appropriate to the needs of beings.
[281] Buddha activity is unceasing. The qualities of the Buddhas are a sum of all the good qualities
of meditation and the various paths of the
Buddhas are like an ocean containing
many jewels. The Buddhas are also compared to
the sun. They have completed the two accumulations of virtue and insight and these are compared to
the sun because vegetables, grass, trees, and
everything needs sunlight
to grow. In the same way, with the perfect sunlight of the Buddhas’ accumulations all beings can
be brought to spiritual maturity. Finally,
the Buddhas are compared to space
because the Buddhas are without beginning, middle, or end; they are deep and vast because they
have achieved all the yanas.
These three examples show what makes them Buddhas. They can see the seed of Buddhahood in the
mind of all beings and they can see that
it makes no difference whether beings
are presently in a higher or a lower state of existence.
They also see there is no difference between someone
who is practicing the path or not; the seed is within
all beings without any distinction. This treasure is presently hidden by impurities, but they know
how to extract it from its covering. The clouds of
obscurations can be
removed by the Buddhas’ compassion which is similar to a wind blowing away all the clouds from the
sun. In more detail;
[282] Buddha activity is spontaneous because through their knowledge of variety, they do not need
to think, “For whom am I doing this?” or
“What way should I so this?” because
they automatically know for whom and by what means
they are going to act. Through the knowledge of how-it-is
they understand that everything is nonexistent, unborn,
and has no actual reality. So when they are acting, they do not hesitate wondering if everything
is real.
Knowing true emptiness, they know precisely how to act. In this way buddha activity is spontaneous
and devoid of any thought and at the same
time corresponds exactly to the
needs of the beings they are helping.
[285] There are six points which describe the unceasing activity of the Buddha: release or the
definite freedom from
sam sara; attaining freedom through the two accumulations;
the fruition of this freedom which is the achievement
of Buddhahood; that all beings can achieve this
fruition; the achievement of this fruition; that all beings have buddha nature, but they cannot
see it because it is veiled by the
obscurations; and finally the removal of these
obscurations. In more detail:
[286] The first point is that through buddha activity the Buddhas help all beings enter the path
helping release them from
samsara. Through buddha activity a being will reach the first bodhisattva level, then the second,
and so on until he
goes beyond samsara.
-Secondly,
freedom is attained by entering
the bodhisattva path and practicing the two accumulations
of virtue and insight.
-Thirdly,
the fruition of beings
established in the various bodhisattva levels is the state of a Buddha.
-Fourthly,
when beings try to progress through
the various bodhisattva levels, they encounter cognitive
and emotional obscurations and the subconscious imprints
left by karma.
-Fifthly,
all obscurations have been removed
when enlightenment is achieved.
-And
sixthly, the great compassion of the
Buddhas provides all the necessary conditions
for destroying these obscurations.
[287] These six points are illustrated by six similes.
The three freedoms achieved with the mastery of
the ten bodhisattva levels are illustrated by an example of the ocean.
The practice of the two accumulations are represented by an example of the sun. The achievement of
Buddhahood is represented by space and all
beings who can achieve this are
compared to a treasure. And the various obscurations are symbolized by clouds.
[288] The reasons for using these similes are as follows. The ten levels of the bodhisattva path are
symbolized by an ocean
because when beings enter the successive levels of the bodhisattva path, they are endowed with a
great number of qualities which are like precious
jewels. The state of a bodhisattva on
the tenth level is compared to a great
ocean because the ocean contains many fabulous jewels
which are compared to the qualities of meditation, the powers of perfect memoiy, intuitive
cognition, and the like
which a bodhisattva at this level possesses.
The two accumulations are symbolized by the sun because if there were no sun, there would be
no warmth and nothing would grow; so
the conditions for life would be
absent. In the same way, the two accumulations are like the sun in that they are the two vital
factors needed to attain
liberation.
Thirdly, enlightenment is compared to space because it has no beginning, center, or end so one
cannot say that space
is this or that because space has no solid existence. Buddhahood is sim ilar in that it is very ,
ast, very profound, and cannot be
described in any way.
The
possession of buddha nature is compared to a buried
treasure because a treasure can provide all one’s material
needs. But if it is covered with earth, it has only the potential to do so. However, if one uses
effort to take the treasure from the
ground, one can have everything one wishes
for. In the same way, buddha nature is within all beings
but it is covered with defilements. But if one removes
all the defilements with the effort of gathering the two accumulations, one can ultimately achieve
Buddha-hood.
[290] In the fifth example, the obscurations are compared to clouds. Clouds appear in the sky and will
sometimes veil the sun, but they are not an
intrinsic part of the sky or the sun.
They are only fleeting phenomena which can be removed.
When the clouds are covering the sun, one cannot
feel the sunshine; when the clouds are removed, the sun is perceived in its original purity. In
the same way, there are fleeting
impurities veiling our buddha nature, but these
can be removed because they are not an inherent part of our buddha essence.
The sixth comparison is between the great compassion of the Buddhas and a great wind. As long as
clouds cover the sun, it cannot shine. As
long as impurities are present, beings
cannot achieve liberation. They need the Buddha’s compassion
to remove the impurities that are veiling their true
nature; this compassion acts like a strong wind removing
all the impurities of beings.
[291] Buddha activity has an unceasing character because from the very beginning, the Buddhas comm
itted themselves to the goal of achieving
Buddhahood for the sake
of other beings. Secondly, the Buddhas saw the similarity
between themselves and other beings and understood
that if they managed to achieve Buddhahood, then
everyone else could also become a Buddha. A third reason
for this ceaselessness is that the number of beings is infinite and the Buddhas will never stop
acting to help them until samsara is
finished. So as long as there are beings
in samsara, buddha activity will continue.
[292] There are nine examples to explain how the spontaneous and ceaseless quality of buddha
activity applies to beings.
-The
first example of the spontaneous quality
is a fictional example of the god Indra who is the chief god of the 33 gods in Indian mythology.
-The
second example is of the drum of the gods which
illustrates how the
Buddha’s speech can manifest everywhere without any effort on the part of the Buddha. The drum of
the gods is in the heaven of the 33 gods
and is a true example of this place.
There is, of course, some fantasy in the way the example
is presented.
-The
third example is of clouds which do
not need any conscious effort to create rain and illustrates
how the mind of the Buddha works.
-The
fourth exam ple using the god Brahma illustrates all
the emanations of the Buddha.
-The
fifth example compares the Buddha’s
jnanas to sunshine because the sun radiates everywhere
and in the same way the Buddha’s jnana knows
everything perfectly clearly.
-Finally,
the last three examples illustrate the
mystery, the inconceivability of the Buddha’s
mind, speech, and body which work effortlessly to
help beings. The Buddha’s mind is illustrated by a wish- fulfilling gem.
-The
seventh example of the Buddha’s speech
is an echo illustrating the inconceivability of the dharma which can be heard everywhere by those
who are ready, but doesn’t need any conscious thought
by the Buddha to produce it.
-The
eighth example illustrates the inconceivability
of the physical manifestation of the Buddha
and uses the example of space which occurs everywhere,
at any time, and in any form as required by the
needs of beings. In more detail:
[293] The physical emanation of the Buddha is compared to an imaginary example of Indra. Imagine the
ground of the whole world becoming
lapis lazuli that is so clear that it
is like a mirror which reflects the heaven above where the god Brahma is surround by a multitude of
beautiful goddesses. Staying in his
palace called the “perfectly victorious”
he is enjoying many worldly delights. The lapis lazuli
is so clear that everything happening in heaven can be seen reflected on the ground. The effect
is that individuals feel that they would make prayers
and gather the virtue necessary so they
could enjoy such delights. This happens
without any action or intention of Indra, it is just the reflection which produces virtuous
activity.
[299] In the same way, bodhisattvas who are full of
faith, diligence, intelligence, and are engaged in
the practice of virtue
can see the sambhogakaya directly in contrast to ordinary
beings who don’t have the possibility of meeting the
supreme nirmanakaya, but know the Buddha’s teaching by his footprints left after he has gone. So
bodhisattvas who have faith and all these
good qualities can see the Buddha
with his 32 marks and all the beautiful signs. They will see the Buddhas walking, standing,
sitting, sleeping, and
proclaiming the teachings of peace. Sometimes they will see him in meditation without speaking
and sometimes they will see miracles. So
beings with the right virtue will see
the Buddha without the Buddha thinking, “I must do this.” This vision of the Buddha will inspire
them to achieve Buddhahood and they will be
enthusiastic in their devotion
and apply themselves in their conduct to become a
Buddha.
All the Buddha’s manifestations are completely without thought on his part; however, the beings of
the world can see and hear the Buddha
turning the wheel of dharma bringing
an infinite number of beings on the path to enlightenment.
When ordinary beings see the form of the Buddha
and hear his words, they do not realize that these are appearances in their mind. Even though
they don’t understand this, it is very
important becausc those less developed
have the seed of liberation in their mind. Then gradually
depending on their experiences, they will enter the
mahayana path and eventually see the inner Buddha, that is the dharmakaya, with the eyes of
jnana.
[306] Expanding this example, if all the frightening places such as cliffs and abysses were eliminated
and covered with lapis lazuli which was
completely free from impurities
making it a very fine mirror, one could see the various
paradises. But later on, little by little, the ground would gradually lose its polish and little by
little the reflection of paradise would
begin to disappear. But having seen
the reflection, beings would be inspired and many men
and women would continue to practice and make offerings
to enter into paradise.
[308] In the same way, when the Buddha appears in the pure lapis lazuli surface of the mind,
individuals are inspired
to reach the same level as the Buddha. Accordingly,
these songs of the victorious ones (the bodhisattvas)
will cultivate the bodhicitta so there will be a strong
wish and great joy to try to nurture all the qualities of understanding so that they can achieve
enlightenment.
[309] These reflections can change because when the ground is very pure, the lapis lazuli is like
a mirror, but when the ground is less
pure, the reflection disappears. In the
same way, when beings have great faith and devotion and many pure qualities, they can see the
Buddha; but when their mind are less
pure, they cannot see the Buddha anymore.
So Indra and the Buddhas are always present and their
appearance depends on the purity of the beings.
[310] In the second example, the drum of the gods is only a term for the spontaneous manifestation of
the sound of dharma. Because of the
previous virtue of the gods, the sound
of dharma can be heard spontaneously in some heavens.
One can hear the constant sound of the words “impermanence,”
“suffering,” “no-self,” and “peace” with- out
anyone being there to make the sounds.
[312] This example illustrates how the speech of the Buddha can manifest without any effort or
thought on his part. The Buddha’s teaching
can be heard anywhere by spiritually
developed individuals. Buddha’s speech, however, is far beyond the drum of the
gods because the sound of
the drum can’t be heard by nongods while the Buddha’s speech can.
[321] The third example compares the mind of the Buddha with clouds. In a country with a
monsoon, the clouds are constantly
producing huge quantities of rain during
the summer which, of course, allows the crops to grow.
In the same way, the mind and compassion of the Buddha
constantly produces the rain of dharma so that the crops of virtue of beings can flourish. This
rain is the rain of
the four noble truths: (1) If one is sick then, (2) one must find the cause of the sickness to be cured.
Next, (3) one must be willing to undergo
treatment for the illness and (4) one
must then take the medicine. In terms of the four truths:
(1) one must understand that there is suffering, (2) one must find the cause of this suffering
which is karma and the defilements. Next,
(3) when one has eliminated the causes
of the suffering, the suffering will stop. Finally, (4) the truth of the path is like a medicine
which liberates one from
suffering. So this is what is meant by saying that the Buddha pours the rains of the four truths on
beings.
[334] How
the Buddha emanate is
illustrated by a fictitious
fourth example of Brahma. Of the three dimensions
oj samsara: the desire, the form, and the formless
realm, Brahma resides in his
own heaven in the form
realm. He remains there continuously and has no thought
of manifesting anywhere else.
However, his emanation can be seen in all
the other godly heavens without
any deliberate intention on the part of Brahma. In the same
way, the Buddha appears in the sambhogakaya form
to individuals who are spiritually mature and to the less spiritually mature in the nirmanakaya
form while the Buddha himself resides in
the dharmakaya,
[336] Having had five visions, our present Buddha, the Sakyamuni Buddha, left Tusita heaven to enter
our world. His mother had a dream of a
six tusked elephant and he took
birth in the garden at Lumbini. He then spent many years at the palace of his father learning
many different skills and enjoying the
company of friends and consorts.
Disillusioned with samsara, he left the palace and for the next six years practiced great austerities.
Then he tackled all
the negative forces and defeated them and achieved Buddhahood under the bodhi tree. Having
reached enlightenment, he went to Varanasi and in the
deer park then turned the first
wheel of dharma. So while the Buddha was available to those who were
spiritually ready at
the time, the Buddha could be seen in the dharmakaya illustrating that the Buddha can manifest in
many ways and never leave the dharmakaya.
[337] The fifth example illustrates how the jnana of the Buddha functions using the example of the
sun. The sun without thinking can shine
simultaneously everywhere on the
earth. Different flowers react differently to sunlight; lotuses open and kumuta flowers close
automatically. In the
same way, the Buddhas radiate the light of dharma on the lotus flowers on the mind of beings and
some will open up and feel devotion and
practice the teachings while others
will react like the kumuta flowers and close up and continue to wander in samsara. When this
happens it is not the
fault of the Buddhas just as the sun cannot be blamed for the kumuta flowers closing.
When the Buddhas are turning the wheel of dharma, they do not have any particular thought or
objective in mind, for instance, they
don’t think, “I must establish the dharma
first in India so it will flourish in this place” and so on. Instead they teach the dharma whenever it
is needed and to whomever can benefit
from it Through the natural power
of buddha activity, the teachings take place and beings
receive them and work with them to reach liberation.
[340] The example of the sun is limited because the activity of the Buddha’s jnana goes much
further than the sun.
The sun can remove only ordinary darkness while the Buddha’s jnana can dispel the darkness of
ignorance and give exact knowledge of the
true nature of all phenomena.
[346] The sixth example illustrates the mystery of the Buddha’s mind. It is a mystery because it is
so incon- ceivable and subtle. It is
compared to a wish-fulfilling gem.
When there was a wish-fulfilling gem, persons received
whatever they wished for. Even though they may have
wanted many different things, their wishes were fulfilled
with no thought or intention of the gem.
In
the, same way, there are many beings who have
different aspirations, wishes, and
interests and the Buddhas give them
whatever teaching is relevant to their needs—if it leads to a higher existence. Some beings need
the hinayana teachings, some the mahayana
teachings, and some the vajrayana
teachings and all these teachings come without any
conscious thought of the Buddhas.
[350] The seventh example compares the mystery of the activity of the Buddha’s speech, which is
inconceivable and subtle, like an echo.
The sound of an echo is due to the cognitive
faculties of others, while the echo itself is devoid of any thought or intention. An echo does not
come from the inside or the outside.
In the same way, the Buddha’s speech
manifests according to an individual’s spiritual maturity,
while the sound of dharma itself is devoid of any thought
or effort. It abides neither inside nor outside the Buddha’s body.
[352] The eighth example compares the mystery of the Buddha’s form to space which is inconceivable
and subtle. Space doesn’t have any
substance, yet it provides the background for everything to happen. In the same
way, the body of the Buddha does not have any real
existence, but it is
there to help beings everywhere. Also the Buddha doesn’t
think, “I am going to be in this form and in this particular
place,” but whenever beings are ready, a form of the
Buddha will manifest to help them.
[354] The ninth example compares the great compassion of the Buddha to the earth. The earth without
any thought provides the basis for
everything to grow and once it has grown
it allows everything to continue to live. So the earth is the basis of life without any thought. In
the same way, the Buddhas have the full
and direct knowledge of the nature
of everything and spontaneously the qualities of body,
speech, and mind provide a ground for all the virtues and good qualities to develop and allow these
qualities to flourish on the earth.
The
Purpose of these Examples
[356] In ordinary life, when we want to achieve something, we have to put effort into it. So
when we hear about buddha activity we
might have doubts because it is hard
to conceive of effortless activity. These nine examples are given to remove these doubts about how
the Buddha’s activity is completely
effortless.
[357] These nine examples were taught in detail in the Ornament of the Light of Jnana sutra and
there are two reasons for studying them:
to remove any doubts about effortless
activity of the Buddha and, on a deeper level, to bring
the bodhisattva quickly to Buddhahood.
[360] These nine examples illustrate the manifestation of the body, speech, and all-pervasiveness of
the Buddha’s mind, the emanations of the
Buddha, the all-embracing qualities
of his jnana, the mysterious aspect of his body, speech,
and mind, and his compassion.
[363] In ordinary existence we know only of activity which is connected with physical or mental
effort. This contrasts with the Buddha
whose activity is effortless because
he is free from any thought to accomplish his activity.
This absence of thought is because the Buddha possesses
the jnana of how-it-is which allows him to understand
that all phenomena are void. He doesn’t not need
to think, “Now I will act in this way.” And with the jnana of variety, the Buddha can act
completely effortlessly and
spontaneously.
[365] In the examples, the physical manifestation of the Buddha is represented by a lapis lazuli
ground, the Buddha’s speech by the drum
of the gods, and the Buddha’s
mind by the clouds and so on.
[372] Someone may think, “Well, one example would have been sufficient, why present all nine
examples?” The reason is that buddha
activity is so subtle that it cannot be represented
by just one example. Examples have limitations and the limitations of each
example call for another example.
In the first example of the lapis lazuli
ground, the limitation of the example is
that Indra’s reflection is only a physical
reflection; but when the Buddha appears this reflection
is also accompanied by the sound of dharma giving
rise to another example of the sound of dharma.
The second example of the drum of the gods
illustrates the effortless
manifestation of the Buddha’s speech, but it doesn’t
go far enough because the drum is sometimes beneficial
and sometimes not depending on whether people take
heed to what is heard. All the words of the Buddha’s speech, however, help beings to reach
spiritual maturity all the
time.
[373] The third example of a rain cloud doesn’t go far enough because a rain cloud can bring
short-term benefit to beings,
but it cannot eliminate impurities. Buddha activity has the additional long-term benefit of
reducing the negativity of beings so a
fourth example of Brahma is needed.
Brahma can have a very positive influence on those
who are directly around him, but he cannot be compared
to the Buddha because he cannot remove the seed
of the negativity.
[374] In the fifth example the sun dispels darkness but
the sun can only dispel darkness during the day
and at night the darkness returns, while
Buddha activity can permanently
dispel the darkness of ignorance. This makes it
necessary for a sixth example to show the endless work of Buddha activity. In the seventh example
the wish-fulfilling
gem is solid, while the Buddha performs his activity
while being completely non-existent creating a need
for another example showing emptiness.
[375] The echo in the seventh example illustrates the
non-existent quality but an echo must have a person and a rock to reflect the sound for an echo, while
buddha activity is always
present without any other conditions. So in the eighth
example space is compared to buddha activity because
it is always there and is naturally changeless, but one cannot say space is the source of all the
good qualities that arise, while buddha
activity is the ground from which all
happiness and all good qualities of Buddhahood arisd. So one needs the ninth example of the earth.
[376] The last example compares buddha activity with the earth showing that buddha activity is the
ground from which all the qualities of
enlightenment arise. Buddha activity
is the ground from which the ultimate qualities of the Buddha, the levels of the bodhisattva,
the qualities of meditation,
and the immeasurable virtues of the Buddhas arise./.
