Subhuti asked the Buddha, “World-Honored One, if sentient beings hear words and phrases of this teaching, will they truly believe in it?”
The Buddha told Subhuti, “Do not speak this way. There will be precept-holding people who are blessed during the five hundred years after the Tathagata’s parinirvana. They will have faith in this truth and regard it as reality.
“Know that these people have planted good seeds not only with one buddha, two buddhas, or three, four, five buddhas, but countless buddhas. They will immediately give rise to pure faith when they hear these statements. Even if only for a moment, they will be seen and known by the Tathagata.
“Subhuti, they will obtain immeasurable blessings. Why? Because they do not hold onto any phenomena of self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan.
“There should be no view of dharma and no view of non-dharma. Why? Because if sentient beings hold onto any view, they are grasping at self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan.
“If they hold the view of dharma, they are attached to self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan. If they hold the view of non-dharma, then all the same, they are also attached to self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan. Why? Because one should not uphold dharma, and one should not uphold non-dharma either.
“The Tathagata often speaks the following profundity: ‘Bhiksus and all of you, know that my dharma teaching is like a raft. Even the dharma should be abandoned, much less the non-dharma.’”
What is right faith?
When one can perceive all appearances as non-appearance,
one is said to have right faith.
It is rare indeed to find such a person.
September 18, 2021
We are now discussing chapter six—Right Faith Is Extremely Rare. The title is very good. It means that it is extremely rare for a person to have right faith or correct belief.
What is right faith? The Vajra Sutra states that it is very rare. Many Buddhist sects nowadays state that their Buddhism has the right faith [here we call them Right Faith Buddhism, but they also call themselves Orthodox Buddhism]. They say that Grandmaster Lu was a Christian with Jesus as his guru. He [referring to Sheng-Yen Lu] is also a Taoist, and Golden Mother is his yidam. Amitabha Buddha, too, is his yidam. So does he believe in Amitabha Buddha, Golden Mother, or Jesus? Sheng-Yen Lu’s Buddhism does not have the right faith.
But what is right faith? What is the true meaning of right faith as mentioned in the Vajra Sutra? Let me tell you. It is written in the previous chapter that only when one perceives all appearances as non-appearance can one see the Tathagata. All appearances that you see are not real, and because [you understand that] they are not real, you see the Tathagata. This is right faith.
What is the so-called Right Faith Buddhism? Right faith, as in this title, is very difficult to understand. Therefore, I will elaborate on it for you. People do not understand what right faith is when they say, “Jesus is his guru, Golden Mother is his main deity, and Amitabha Buddha is also his yidam. So his Buddhism is not Right Faith Buddhism.”
Right faith means perceiving appearances as non-appearance. All appearances are illusory and false, and thus they are not [real] appearances. By understanding that appearances are non-appearance, one can see the Tathagata and the Way (Tao or Dao). Hence, right faith is perceiving all appearances as non-appearance. It is very, very rare for anyone to understand this concept and to know that this is right faith. People in this world do not have right faith because they are attached to appearances, forms, and phenomena.
Look at the young single men these days. All of them want to marry beautiful wives. Is there anyone who wants to marry an ugly one? Ugly women cannot find marriage partners. They all want beautiful wives because they are still attached to appearances. Nevertheless, whether they are ugly or beautiful, they are all non-appearance. They are merely aggregates of the earth, water, fire, and wind elements. The planet in its entirety is comprised of the earth, water, fire, and wind elements. Cars, houses, everything are aggregates.
Once you realize that all appearances comprise the four elements and will disappear once they disintegrate, you will no longer be attached to appearances. If you detach yourself from appearance and phenomena, you have right faith. Conversely, if you are still attached to appearances, you are just an ordinary, mundane person. It’s that simple. Perceiving appearances as non-appearance is right faith.
In this world, is there anybody without attachments? People are attached to money and wealth. What do they believe in? Money! They are also attached to looks, beauties, beautiful things, brand names, and more. They insist on wearing brand-name products, including their masks. Even walking sticks and wheelchairs must be from well-known brands. This is an attachment to appearance.
People are also attached to power and status. Status? Look at all the fights! What are the USA and China fighting for? They are fighting to be the superpower, the leader of the world. It is like the fights in martial arts contests in the kungfu novels. “Who is the boss?” “I am!” Countries are also fighting for the sake of a name. People slight an unprosperous tiny country. People only respect big, powerful countries. They are all fighting for power, especially now that China is rising. They are fighting for a mere name; this is an attachment to name.
True Buddha School now has a new position called elder (ayushmat). True Buddha School is growing and getting older. “How come I am not an elder, but you are?! What are you anyway?!” Elder is just a title. The monks and nuns are fighting to become masters, the masters are fighting to be elders, and the elders are fighting to become successors. Everybody is contending, yet it is just for the sake of a name! People are attached to those things. It has been spoken about in the previous chapter, right?
“Only when one perceives all appearances as non-appearance does one see the Tathagata.”
View appearances as non-appearance so you can see the Tathagata! Everything is unreal, empty, and illusory. Nothing is real. If you practice diligently, buddhanature will appear, and you will see the Tathagata. When you are no longer attached to any phenomena, this is called perceiving all appearances as non-appearance to see the Tathagata.
Indeed, right faith is extremely rare. Only very few people can comprehend that all appearances are non-appearance. Today I explained only the title, which is more than enough for you to contemplate. What is right faith? Go ponder and savor [my explanation].
Don’t be like those Buddhists who say they have right faith and yet are still attached to appearances! What kind of right faith is that?! Even having a viewpoint about having the right faith is an attachment. Silly! Those needing to claim that they are Buddhists with the right faith are indeed still attached to the term “Buddhists with the right faith.” Very silly indeed!
Om mani padme hum.
Only when you have good roots
can you encounter a buddha.
Understanding
that the true reality is devoid of phenomena
is equivalent to
planting good seeds
with a myriad of buddhas.
September 19, 2021
The latter passage of chapter six is exceptionally profound. Do not underestimate it! To have a view, to grasp, or to hold onto phenomena is certainly wrong, but holding onto non-phenomena is also wrong. What does this mean? When you chant the Vajra Sutra, you should also understand its true meaning. If you understand this profundity, you are remarkable! I shall explain this part in detail in a little while.
For now, let me recap the first part of this chapter.
Subhuti asked the Buddha, “World-Honored One, if sentient beings hear words and phrases of this teaching, will they truly believe in it?”
Subhuti asked Sakyamuni Buddha whether sentient beings will truly believe his words. Will they generate real faith—right faith?
The Buddha told Subhuti, “Do not speak this way. There will be precept-holding people who are blessed during the five hundred years after the Tathagata’s parinirvana. They will have faith in this truth and regard it as reality.”
Precept-holding people can generate faith in Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings and regard them as the truth. They have right faith.
“Know that these people have planted good seeds not only with one buddha, two buddhas, or three, four, five buddhas, but countless buddhas.”
Only when you have good roots can you encounter a buddha. Understanding that the true reality is devoid of any phenomena and having right faith is equivalent to planting good seeds with a myriad of buddhas. Your good roots must be very deep and strong to meet countless buddhas.
“They will immediately give rise to pure faith when they hear these statements.”
Pure faith means a completely immaculate faith.
“Even if only for a moment, they will be seen and known by the Tathagata.”
The Buddha will see and know anyone who comprehends that real-phenomena are non-phenomena.
“…they will obtain immeasurable blessings. Why? Because they do not hold onto any phenomena of self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan.”
These sentient beings have immeasurable blessings because they hold no notion of self, no notion of others, no notion of beings of the saha world, and no notion of time.
“There should be no view of dharma and no view of non-dharma. Why? Because if sentient beings hold onto any view, they are grasping at self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan.
“If they hold the view of dharma, they are attached to self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan. If they hold the view of non-dharma, then all the same, they are also attached to self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan. Why? Because one should not uphold dharma, and one should not uphold non-dharma either.”
This is the most profound part! Here, the word “hold”1取 means to take, to hold, to grab, to grasp. is very crucial.
“If they hold the view of dharma…”
What is dharma? In this case, dharma refers to the mountains, rivers, the great earth—everything really. If you think that everything exists, you hold the view of dharma. If you do not think that it exists, you hold the view of non-dharma. In both cases, you grasp at self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan, and thus you are still attached to phenomena. The point here is in the word “hold.” When you hold, then you exist. Otherwise, who is holding when the “self” does not exist? Why should you not hold the view of self? Because self does not exist.2No-self is a realm where one has no more notion of “self” or “I.”
I explained the other day that Sheng-Yen Lu is [fundamentally] nonexistent. I showed you a photograph; is that Sheng-Yen Lu? No, that was me in the past! You ask if this one is Sheng-Yen Lu. [Grandmaster points to himself.] No, he will be in the past too! So which one is Sheng-Yen Lu? Will he be the one in the Twin Lotus Realm Columbarium? No, those will be his ashes or perhaps relics or sarira. None of them are Sheng-Yen Lu! So, who is Sheng-Yen Lu? He has no inherent existence. Where is Sheng-Yen Lu? Is the person speaking dharma now Sheng-Yen Lu? No!
For instance, we are doing homa again tomorrow, right here. I will not come since my schedule is already too full. Don’t exhaust this old man. Even if I come, it is not certain that all of you will be here. Some might think, “We just had homa on Sunday. Why would we want another homa the next day?” In any case, nothing will stay the same as everything is everchanging.
Which thought is really your thought? It keeps changing. One moment you think a person is good, and then you think he is a SOB, just like that. Today you praise her and tomorrow you blame her. Do you know that thoughts are everchanging? Let’s say you really love a girl, but all of a sudden she hates you. This is bad because when she doesn’t love you anymore, you’d want her dead. This kind of thought is frightening. Do you love her? Yes, very much! The person you love most can become the one you hate the most, or vice versa. When you don’t love someone anymore, you will see for yourself what can happen. It’s very scary!
It’s easy to get involved in romantic love, but breaking up takes some mastery. It’s not easy at all! If you don’t handle it well—for instance, you want to break up, but she is still attached to you—then she will want you dead. It’s quite dangerous. Do you think romantic love is sweet? No, it’s a source of suffering and can create lots of misery. You might not have known before, but now you know.
“Because if sentient beings hold onto any view, they are grasping at self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan.
“If they hold the view of dharma, they are attached to self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan. If they hold the view of non-dharma, then all the same, they are also attached to self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan. Why? Because one should not uphold dharma, and one should not uphold non-dharma either.”
Let us discuss the following statement first.
“…one should not uphold dharma, and one should not uphold non-dharma either.”
This is the highest spiritual realm. According to the Buddha, you should not uphold love and should not uphold hatred. You should not uphold the good or the bad.
There is a saying in Zen Buddhism spoken by the Sixth Patriarch, “Do not think of the good or the bad.” That’s the moment [of enlightenment]! The Sixth Patriarch, Huineng, was very wise. He did not go to school and was illiterate. It’s hard to believe that he could understand such a profound concept!
Not thinking about good or bad is also the meaning of the Vajra Sutra. It is extremely profound and unspeakable. This realm cannot be put into words or described with any language: you should not uphold dharma, and you should not uphold non-dharma. You should not think about the good, and you should not think about the bad.
The word “hold” is important, because once you hold, it indicates that you have the notion of self or “I.” When there is no “I,” who is holding?
This is a very high attainment. If you do not think about good or bad, then you do not create any karma. On the other hand, if you create good karma, you will rise to the heavens, but it is considered a small fruition. If you create bad karma, you will fall into the three lower realms to suffer the retributions. Hence, you should do good without being mindful of it being good.
Jesus, my guru, says, “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” I think Jesus must have read the Vajra Sutra! He comprehends it! The good deeds done by the right hand should not be known by the left hand. He is not attached to goodness or badness. In fact, he is not attached to anything. He is attached to neither phenomena nor non-phenomena of all things.
Only this will allow the attainment of buddhahood. This is the key importance in the discourse today. Let me tell you, nothing attained, nothing spoken means just this!
Here is a joke. A lion saw a mad dog and walked around him. The lion cub said, “Dad, you dare to fight with tigers and leopards, yet you are avoiding a mad dog. What a shame!” The father lion replied, “Is defeating a mad dog something to be proud of?” The cub shook his head. “Then is it unlucky to be bitten by a mad dog?” questioned the father lion. The cub nodded. The father lion added, “Why bother provoking a mad dog?”
Not everyone is worthy of being your opponent. Do not argue with those who are unworthy. Smile slightly, stay away, and don’t get bitten. You must understand this because nowadays many people fight with mad dogs.
Hence in Buddhism we often say, “Just ignore it.” Ignore it! No interference! Irrelevant! The matter is still there, but it does not interfere with me. Just ignore it!
One day I will die. Once I die, True Buddha School no longer concerns me. Will True Buddha School continue? That’s not my business. What if True Buddha School ceases to exist? None of my business, as it does not interfere with me. Even “I” don’t concern me, so why should True Buddha School concern me? Think about it. What relationship does Sheng-Yen Lu have with True Buddha School? None.
True Buddha School is just a name, and Sheng-Yen Lu is just a name. All are mere names, and they are really nothing. There has never been anything to start with, and they will be gone in the future. It is as it should be! Nothing matters. That’s why I am always at peace and at ease because such thoughts do not cross my mind.
Many reporters and interviewers ask me, “What is your plan? What will you do in the future? What kind of developments will True Buddha School have? How many books will you write? How many paintings will you paint? What are you planning to achieve?” I just shake my head, saying, “Nothing. I don’t care.” All are irrelevant. This is all I can say about the analogy.
Om mani padme hum.
The Vajra Sutra is about non-phenomena—
it means you should not “hold” anything.
Sakyamuni Buddha says
all things should be forsaken;
even buddhadharma, too, should be forsaken.
So, what is dharma?
And what is non-dharma?
September 25, 2021
Today we will expound on the same chapter again.
“…one should not uphold dharma, and one should not uphold non-dharma either.”
Let me reiterate: one should hold neither the notion of dharma nor the notion of non-dharma. “Hold” is the key point. As soon as you “hold,” it establishes a notion, a view, or a phenomenon. You should not hold the notion of non-dharma. Although non-dharma is non-phenomena, it will become phenomena as soon as you “hold” it.
The Vajra Sutra reveals the reality of non-phenomena. It means you should not hold onto anything. When you truly embrace this meaning, you will understand what the Tathagata often says:
“The Tathagata often speaks the following profundity: ‘Bhiksus and all of you, know that my dharma teaching is like a raft. Even the dharma should be abandoned, much less the non-dharma.’”
This is a key point! Spiritual cultivation is like riding on a ferry. Deliverance is a ferry that is crossing to the other shore. When the boat arrives and you get off the boat, do you still hold onto this boat? What use is the boat to you when you have arrived at the other shore? Holding onto the boat indicates there still is the phenomena of “holding.”
Sakyamuni Buddha teaches, “In spiritual cultivation, grasp onto one point. Once you attain its fruition, that point should be forsaken or abandoned.” If you have arrived at the other shore, what use is dharma? We cultivate spiritually in this lifetime and will eventually go to the pureland. When you are in the pureland, do you still practice the dharma that brought you there? There is no need as you are already in the pureland! You can discard the dharma that brought you there. Dharma is like a raft. You rode the raft and reached the other shore, so why would you still need the raft? Right? You will never need to go back, because once you get to the pureland, it is non-returning. You no longer need the dharma that brought you there. As such dharma has no more use! Much less non-dharma!
What is non-dharma? The non-dharma being mentioned here refers to everything that does not bring you to the shore of liberation or rebirth in the four sagely realms. Even the dharma that brought you a rebirth in the pureland must be abandoned, let alone the non-dharma!
Fengshui, fortune-telling (no matter how accurate it is), or eradicating calamities for yourself or others do not result in a rebirth in the pureland. Mastery of numerology and astrology cannot give you a rebirth in the pureland. Can you be reborn through fengshui? No, that is impossible! Purple Star Astrology; the study of destiny and all sorts of divination, including calculations using date and time of birth; facial features and physiognomy are not instrumental for rebirth in the pureland. These are employed merely as worldly conveniences. Anything that does not allow for rebirth in the pureland are considered non-dharma. Sakyamuni Buddha emphasizes that they are not the true buddhadharma!
The right dharma is such that when you die, the Pureland Trinity (Amitabha Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva) appear right in front of you, hand you a lotus throne, and guide you to the pureland. Only this is the right dharma of the Pureland Sect.
As a tantric practitioner, we must train our body to emit light, and with that clear-light radiance and lucidity,3Clear-light radiance (prabhasvara) refers to the “bright and lucid radiance” as a result of purity, the opening of the channels and cakras within our body, and being in the state of no-thought. we go directly to the pureland. We transform into rainbow light and merge with the ocean of light. This is the method of practice in Tantrayana, where the child light merges with the mother light. Only these are considered the right dharma.
Other things such as the Five Arts of Chinese Metaphysics (alchemy, medicine, destiny, divination, and physiognomy), divinations of the King Wen and Eight Trigrams, the meaning of the upper and lower trigrams, reading and calculating one’s future destiny, and the like—all of which I also know—will not get you to the pureland. These are all non-dharma.
You might know how to do Purple Star Astrology; you may understand fengshui and its mountain and water (convex and concave landform), enclave and its geomancy, dragon meridian and gathering energy, auspicious directions, and so forth. Yet this has no effect on your rebirth in the pureland. These things only allow your offspring to do well in life, to become a king or leader, to be blessed with great fortune, or to have fame and name. These things are valuable in the saha world but not in the pureland. They are all non-dharma.
Even the wealth practices in tantric spiritual cultivation are merely convenience dharmas. You practice the dharma of Yellow Jambhala and obtain a spiritual response from him so you can go to Jambhala or the Four Heavenly Kings. Yet those are just convenience dharmas. When you are in the realm of the Four Heavenly Kings, you still must cultivate spiritually. Even if you go to the heavens, you still need to continue cultivating.
Learning Buddhism is not learning fengshui or reading facial features. I also know that in face reading, the eyebrows signify siblings; the eyes, wisdom; the ears, lifespan; the chin, servants and followers; the tip of the nose, wealth; the mouth, luck; and the tails of the eyes, romances. [Grandmaster points to the various parts of his face.] This is the Hall of Affection, the Hall of Siblings, the Hall of Wisdom, the Hall of Wealth, the Hall of Followers, the Hall of Luck, and the Hall of Romances.
Let’s pull down the earlobes to become longer so that they become long-life ears. The ears of all buddhas and bodhisattvas are very long. Their ears touch the shoulders like this [Grandmaster jokingly tries to get his ears to touch his shoulders]. These are all non-dharma since they are not the right dharma to lead us to rise to the pureland. It does not matter how good your medical skills are, how well you practice medicine, how great of a doctor you are, or how you have helped so many people—these things are only a foundation to help you rise to heaven.
Don’t think that fortune-telling and astrology are buddhadharma. The ability to predict the weather, to call on the winds and the rains—do you think that is buddhadharma? You may be able to command all the celestial commanders by chanting, “Commanding the celestial gods or generals and troops to execute the order immediately,” but that is not buddhadharma. Grandmaster can chant this too, “I command the celestial generals and soldiers to execute the order immediately.” Based on the god-on-duty for the current hour—zi chou yin mao chen si wu wei shen you xu hai [the twelve two-hour system is named after the Chinese zodiac]—you touch the corresponding part of the finger and chant the mantra. The god in charge of the day and hour will descend to listen to your command, “I command you to do this. Listen and execute.” They will follow your command.
You may think that providing great help to many poor people and receiving tremendous blessings will let you go to the pureland. The fact is you will only go to heaven instead of the pureland. Can any of the above bring you to the pureland? No. At most, they can help you go to the heavens and enjoy the heavenly blessings. This is the difference between Buddhism and other religions.
If you help many people but do not have the affinity to practice the right dharma—or worse, you do not practice Buddhism—then you can only go to heaven instead of the buddhaverses. Having that said, you can rely on the non-dharma to deliver sentient beings and guide them onto the right path. Now you understand the difference between dharma and non-dharma.
As Buddhists, we should not be ignorant. We should be knowledgeable and be able to discern and differentiate, especially when expounding on the Vajra Sutra. Otherwise, when you are confused, you will also confuse other people. You might think you can tell fortunes, do divinations, or do this and that [psychic power]; perhaps you can foretell everything, but those things are useless. You still cannot go to the pureland. Those are not buddhadharma. Do you think you have supernatural power? Who knows if the power you have is from connections with divine power? Perhaps you are just relying on all kinds of hideous spirits. Some psychic power relies on ghosts, and what a mess! Only if it allows you to go to the pureland will it be the right dharma. The rest is just deviant. Supernatural power, too, is heresy.
Of course, supernatural and transcendent power appears naturally alongside an attainment. But this is not something to pursue! If you are obsessed with these powers, then you will be doomed! It will be impossible for you to go to the pureland.
The right dharma is the dharma that leads to the pureland or buddhaverse. Otherwise, all those practices belong to the deviant path, according to Sakyamuni Buddha.
I must clearly explain what Sakyamuni Buddha means in this excerpt: what dharma is and what non-dharma is. Sakyamuni Buddha says that all things other than buddhadharma should be forsaken, moreover, the buddhadharma itself should be forsaken too. When you have an attainment and reach the pureland, why do you still need the dharma that brought you there? There is no longer a need. Do you understand? I hope I have explained it clearly.
I would like to emphasize this passage from chapter six—Right Faith Is Extremely Rare.
“‘Bhiksus and all of you, know that my dharma teaching is like a raft. Even the dharma should be abandoned, much less the non-dharma.’”
Om mani padme hum.
