20  Abandoning All Forms and Phenomena

Today I will expound on chapter twenty—Abandoning All Forms and Phenomena. This excerpt is very short, so I will cover it all. When we discuss the Buddha (Tathagata), we should not discuss his forms or phenomena. What we want to see is not the forms, appearances, or phenomena of the Tathagata.

We know that a tathagata is endowed with thirty-two major marks of perfection and eighty minor marks as his physical characteristics. Although a tathagata is endowed with these characteristics, he should not be determined through his physical forms. What forms are we talking about here? In this context, forms refer to transformations, although its Chinese word “se” can also refer to forms, looks, and appearances, as well as sensual pleasures. So what transformations are we talking about?

For instance, the Monkey King is capable of seventy-two transformations, and the god Erlang¹The god Erlang, or Erlangshen, is a nephew of the Jade Emperor. He goes by the name of Yang Jian and comes from Dujiangyan in Sichuan, China. can undergo seventy-three transformations. As I recall, when the Monkey King was chased by Erlang, he transformed himself into a temple, except his tail he could not alter, so a flagpole stuck out next to the temple. Erlang couldn’t see the Monkey King, but seeing the flagpole, he knew it must be his tail! Regardless of how the Monkey King transformed, his tail was still exposed. The Monkey King lost in the duel even though he could do seventy-two transformations because the god Erlang could do seventy-three. Between the two, the Monkey King always lost.

Here, forms refer to transformations. It is not appropriate to make assumptions! For example, just because someone flies in the sky, it doesn’t mean they are a buddha! That’d be wrong to assume that birds and airplanes are buddhas! I was flying and circling in the air a few days ago. I can fly wherever I want, but you can’t determine that I’m a buddha just because I can fly. No, you can’t!

You can’t determine that one is a buddha through appearances and transformations. Even if one can become invisible and transform like the Monkey King, you can’t say they must be a buddha. It doesn’t matter how incredible one’s transformations are; you can’t use them to determine if one is a buddha. The “forms” mentioned in this chapter refer to transformations [including supernatural powers].

The Tathagata is, of course, endowed with thirty-two marks of perfection in his physical appearance. One of them is elongated ears that are so long they touch the shoulders. The eyes of the buddhas gaze downward with loving-kindness and compassion; they are usually shaped like the eyes of a phoenix, embraced by beautiful brows, whereas the eyes of a vajra protector are large and wide open. You can’t say someone is a vajra protector just because they have glaring eyes. Similarly, not all who have kind phoenix eyes are buddhas.

It’s true that the physical appearance of a buddha is perfect and magnificent. The thirty-two marks of perfection are amazing, like the usnisa—a protuberance on the top of the crown. While standing upright, the arms extend past the knees. Can anyone do that? You can certainly do so while sitting but not while standing. Another mark is a very long and broad tongue that can cover the whole face, signifying honesty and truthfulness in speech, as written in the Amitabha Sutra. As incredible as it may be for someone to have the thirty-two marks of perfection, it does not signify that he is a buddha. Please do not think this is so! A cakravartin—an ideal universal ruler—is also endowed with thirty-two marks of perfection. In a later chapter, the Vajra Sutra will also mention this.

Thus in this chapter—Abandoning All Forms and Phenomena—the Buddha reminds us not to rely on any forms and appearances, including their transformations, to determine whether a being is a buddha or tathagata. Anyone capable of transformations is not necessarily a buddha—nor is anyone endowed with all kinds of marvelous physical characteristics, including the thirty-two major marks of perfection and eighty minor marks.

Do you know Devadatta? He looked very similar to Sakyamuni Buddha. The Buddha had thirty-two major marks of perfection, and Devadatta had thirty—so he also looked magnificent. Yet he attempted to overthrow the Buddha. He proclaimed to the growing sangha community that Sakyamuni Buddha was old and sickly, suggesting that he would be more appropriate to lead the sangha. He became impatient that the Buddha was still in charge despite his old age and poor health, so he forced Sakyamuni Buddha to retire and retreat. Devadatta did this [to a buddha who was his teacher and benefactor] even though he had thirty marks of perfection. Therefore, we cannot define a buddha through appearances, nor can we rely on their powers of transformation to determine whether someone is a buddha.

Regarding transformations, Pindola was remarkable in his ability to transform. At that time, people knew that arhats had supernatural powers, so someone climbed up high and hung a bag on a tree. They then enticed the arhats to show off their power and said that whoever could take the bag could have it. Pindola instantly exhibited his supernatural power; he jumped with ease, flew like a bird to the top of the tree, and took down the bag. Unfortunately, because Pindola displayed his supernatural power casually, Sakyamuni Buddha reprimanded and punished him, forcing him to stay permanently in the saha world as one of the arhats who lives in samsara.

Many buddhas and bodhisattvas have supernatural powers. Let me show you. This vajra bell is quite easy to pick up. Now let me place my hand on top of this vajra bell and energize it. It’s not so easy to pick up now; it feels like there is a suction holding the bell down. It can slide sideways, but it’s harder to pick up. Of course, if you exert force, you can still pick it up. But if you try to pick it up like before, you can feel some power there. That’s all for the magic show [laughs]. I just pressed on it lightly and gave it a little bit of energy, and already, it’s stuck to the table.

I once performed something like this during dinner at the Lin Garden Restaurant in Taichung. We were all waiting around the dinner table for the dishes to be served. I took an empty bowl, flipped it over, and pressed on it. Then I asked people to pick it up. They couldn’t and said the bowl seemed to be stuck to the table. Normally it’s easy to pick up a bowl, but after I added some spiritual energy, the bowl was stuck as if it were a suction cup. Similarly, if I give a plate some energy, you can use it as an ouija board for divination.

This is not magic; this is the realm of the spiritual, which is also qi—the subtle vital energy. However, having this ability does not necessarily indicate that I am a buddha. A buddha cannot be determined by this kind of power or by their appearance. Just because someone looks like a buddha does not mean they are a buddha. This is detachment from forms and phenomena, which is the essence of chapter twenty—Abandoning All Forms and Phenomena.

“Subhuti, what do you think? Can the Buddha be perceived through his physical appearances?”

“No, World-Honored One! The Tathagata cannot be perceived through his physical appearances. Why? The Tathagata says, ‘Having physical forms is equivalent to not having physical forms; it is merely called having physical forms.’” 

Sakyamuni Buddha does have a physical body, but his physical appearance is ever-changing and goes through transformations. A buddha, of course, has the power to transform. However, those who can transform are not necessarily buddhas. A buddha also has supernatural powers; however, not all those with supernatural powers are buddhas. Now you understand.

Ghosts are spirits with small powers, and those with greater power become gods. They also have some supernatural powers and the ability to transform. Shimu and I have seen many ghosts. They can transform and appear to be the most beautiful or the most horrifying. They might first appear as a charming young lady and then suddenly transform into a disheveled-haired ghost with a long hanging tongue, oozing blood from all orifices. Ghosts can even transform to look like a perfect buddha—Mara can appear very magnificent, and Devadatta looked dignified with his thirty marks of perfection. But we should not perceive them to be buddhas based on those phenomena. This is what is meant by abandoning forms.

“Subhuti, what do you think? Can the Tathagata be perceived through any kind of phenomena?” 

“No, World-Honored One! The Tathagata cannot be perceived through any kind of phenomena. Why? The Tathagata says, ‘Having all kinds of phenomena is the same as not having any phenomena; it is merely called having all kinds of phenomena.’” 

The Tathagata indeed possesses thirty-two marks of perfection, but conversely, those who possess thirty-two marks of perfection are not necessarily the Tathagata. Thus we cannot perceive the Tathagata through any appearances or phenomena. Then how should we perceive the Tathagata? Since we cannot perceive the Tathagata through forms, transformations, appearances, or any phenomena, and not even the thirty-two marks of perfection, then how do we see the Tathagata?

In Tantric Buddhism, we say that we must first manifest our own buddhanature. Once we do, what we see will be buddhas. We have a term called “true understanding of the mind and seeing the buddhanature.” The only and truest way to see is to see our own buddhanature. Otherwise, all forms and phenomena are meaningless if we do not see our own real and true buddhanature. The so-called “seeing” is to see our own bright buddhanature.

To see our buddhanature, we must first eliminate our karma of the body, speech, and mind. Tantric dharma practices are performed to purify the body, speech, and mind. When you are completely purified, you will realize the empty-nature and subsequently merge with the empty-nature. Only in this way are you able to see the buddhanature. That is all for today.

Om mani padme hum.