27  No Severance and No Annihilation

This is chapter twenty-seven—No Severance and No Annihilation. What a title! This title and its corresponding passage are the hardest to explain in the Vajra Sutra.

At first, the Vajra Sutra focuses on emptiness—no phenomena of self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan. As I previously elaborated, non-phenomena is likened to the Moon, where nothing exists—all emptiness! No debate over meat or vegetarianism, good or bad. Nothing! We know there are no human beings on the Moon, so “I” do not exist there, “others” do not exist either, and there are no “sentient beings.” As a result, it does not matter whether someone has a short or long lifespan, how much time has passed, or how big a space is. In sum, there are no phenomena of self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan.

Let’s say Grandmaster is selling the land of the Moon. Do you want to buy some? [The audience replies yes.] Would you really? It’s very expensive! I could divide a huge piece for you and put it under your name so you can reside there after you die. I would officiate it and give you a guarantee. What would I use the money for? For gas. [laughs] You earn some money, but what good is money on the Moon? Can you spend it there? What is the point if you can’t spend it? Money on the Moon is meaningless, and so is its land. Nowadays, any piece of land or property costs money on Earth, but on the Moon? Although there is so much land there, it is all meaningless. There is no concept of money on the Moon.

This is what we call severance or cutting off. The Vajra Sutra first teaches about severance, and now it teaches “no” severance—No Severance and No Annihilation—meaning that not everything is nonexistent. This is the most difficult concept to explain.

After the Buddha said that the thirty-two marks of perfection and eighty secondary marks of proper conduct do not necessarily indicate that one is a tathagata, the Buddha proceeded to tell Subhuti never to assume that the Tathagata attains anuttara samyaksambodhi because he lacks any phenomena. In other words, the absence of the thirty-two marks of perfection and eighty secondary marks of proper conduct does not indicate that one has the mind of anuttara samyaksambodhi. The Buddha emphasized this point to Subhuti.

“Subhuti, do not ever think that the Tathagata attains anuttara samyaksambodhi due to the absence of the marks of perfection or any phenomena.

“Subhuti, do not regard anuttara samyaksambodhi as severance and annihilation of all phenomena; do not think in this way!”

Giving rise to the mind of anuttara samyaksambodhi or generating bodhicitta does not mean one severs and annihilates everything. One should not think that buddhadharma is all about severance and annihilation or that buddhadharma is nothing.

“…the one with the mind of anuttara samyaksambodhi does not sever or annihilate any phenomena.”

To reiterate, the one generating the mind of anuttara samyaksambodhi does not assert that buddhadharma is the severance and the annihilation of all phenomena.

That’s it! What do you think about my explanation? Is it satisfying? Extremely! Because you don’t understand. [laughs] What is Sakyamuni Buddha talking about? Did he not teach emptiness? Did he not teach us to detach ourselves from any phenomena—that self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan do not exist? And that everything should be severed and annihilated? How come the Buddha now says “not” to sever and annihilate everything? What does the Buddha mean, that one does not annihilate all phenomena when one generates bodhicitta?

How do you explain this? Does anyone want to give it a try? [The ambassador raises his hand.] Oh, it’s you again. Okay, go ahead. [He gives a lengthy explanation.] Look at how a lay practitioner can give such a dharma talk while all the ordained masters, monks, and nuns remain silent! Perhaps for you, silence is golden. Ordinarily, the ones teaching the buddhadharma are the monastic people, with laypeople being the listeners. Now the roles have been reversed; how awkward! What a shame that you don’t study hard and don’t say anything. Have you eaten at all? It seems like you only sleep, eat, and play.

When I lived in seclusion [from 2000 to 2006], I was ruthlessly defamed on the internet. Marici Bodhisattva made a bet with me, saying, “None of your monastic disciples will rise to defend you!” I thought, “Surely someone will stand up for their guru, as that defamation was all nonsense.” I told myself that if a monk or nun stood for justice, they deserved an acarya empowerment. To my disappointment, of over 600 monks and nuns, not a single one stood up for their guru. Only lay practitioners bravely defended me. What an embarrassment! I can see that the ambassador is serious about his Buddhist studies and practice. You spoke well.

Madyamaka—the Middle Way—originates from this passage, as Nagarjuna comprehends this principle. He extrapolates that there is both existence and emptiness. If we say there is an existence, there is! For example, all of us sitting here do exist. Having said that, these are all illusionary—mere illusions—and therefore, existence equates to nonexistence. Thus, we say it is empty!

Nevertheless, knowing that everything is inherently empty does not mean that you should sever and annihilate everything; otherwise, you will fall into nihilism by going to an extreme. In a nihilistic view, one does not care about anything; one does not do anything and thus does not cultivate spiritually anymore.

I recall a heated debate with my father about existence when I was just starting my Buddhist studies. He was very adamant that beyond death, nothing existed. He exclaimed, “What spirit? What soul? Heaven? Hell? Pureland? I can’t see any of them, so they don’t exist!” I insisted they exist, that heaven, hell, and the spirit are real. But he retorted, “No! They don’t exist! So there’s nothing to worry about.” This argument took place on Lunar New Year’s Eve. We were arguing back and forth to the point where he became so enraged that he slammed the table and blurted out, “Forget it! I’m not eating anymore. I’m going to Kaohsiung to hang out with my friends!” In response, I exclaimed, “Fine! I’m going to see my classmates in Kaohsiung too.” Then my mom complained, “What? If you two are heading to Kaohsiung, then what about me? Where will I go?”

We debated existence versus nonexistence. My father was very adamant and extreme about emptiness, declaring, “If it exists, prove it. Did you say souls exist? Show them to me. If you can prove it to me, I’ll consider it.” In retrospect, what I said was not right, either, because all existences are merely illusions.

We need to understand this: Existence or phenomena—although a mere illusion—is there for us to transcend. [By recognizing that it is an illusion,] we use this illusion to liberate ourselves from it.

“There exists something amid nothingness!” Therefore, complete severance and annihilation are incorrect because buddhanature inherently exists within us.
We should not talk about cutting off or obliterating since buddhanature still exists. It will naturally manifest upon purification. Buddhanature is our very own, and we purify, liberate, and deliver ourselves—no one else can. Buddhadharma is just a method to purify and liberate ourselves to reveal our buddhanature. Once buddhanature appears, this is an attainment.

So in giving rise to bodhicitta, you cannot say that you will sever and annihilate everything; otherwise, what use is bodhicitta? Why would anyone want to generate bodhicitta if there are no sentient beings to deliver? If there is no self, no others, no sentient beings, and no lifespan, what is the point of generating bodhicitta?

The key is that you must generate bodhicitta and give rise to the mind of anuttara samyaksambodhi because they are necessary for purification to take place. Only through purification can one manifest buddhanature (empty-nature) and merge with it. This is the way to attain fruition.

Just a moment ago, the ambassador spoke quite well about “not counting.” Whether you are teaching dharma, helping sentient beings, writing articles, or painting, keeping track is unnecessary because it’s meaningless. Just continue doing it, no matter what. It’s the same with generating bodhicitta. When you help others, you don’t keep it in mind, and you don’t ask why or what will happen next. You generate bodhicitta and just do it without dwelling on it. This is the teaching of the Vajra Sutra.

Nagarjuna’s madyamaka originated from this principle, where the development stage pertains to existence and the perfection stage relates to nothingness; both are equally important and in dual-execution.¹It means neither is rejected and neither is in extreme.

We must rely on the development stage before reaching the perfection stage. Otherwise, how can one reach the emptiness of the perfection stage without first addressing the existence in the development stage? If you jump straight to emptiness, you ignore the development stage, which means you cut off buddhadharma, dharma teachings, listening, practicing, and cultivating dharma. This severance and annihilation will result in nihilism, as proclaimed by my father, who believed that nothing exists after death.

Thus, it’s a balance of the two: It’s not exactly existence, nor is it completely empty. It’s not somewhere in between, either. Rather, both existence and emptiness are utilized—they are in dual-execution.

The Heart Sutra states that form is emptiness and emptiness is form; form is none other than emptiness, and emptiness is none other than form. It’s stated very clearly. Form refers to existence—all kinds of forms and phenomena in the saha world. Yet, intrinsically, they are empty in nature. Within emptiness, there is also existence.²In this case, the existence is the bodhicitta.

You must generate bodhicitta so you can purify everything in order to enter emptiness and attain fruition—although we don’t say that it is fruition. Generating bodhicitta is to reveal your buddhanature. This is the teaching of Sakyamuni Buddha.

No Severance and No Annihilation

You should not sever and annihilate; otherwise, you will fall into nihilism. The most important thing is to purify yourself, no matter what. You must eradicate all impurities; buddhanature will emerge naturally once complete purity is achieved. This is the key essence of buddhadharma, of this passage in the Vajra Sutra, and of Nagarjuna’s middle way, or madyamaka. The key is the dual-execution of both form and emptiness, of both existence and nonexistence, and of the development stage and perfection stage.

I want to add to my explanation of the thirty-two marks of perfection yesterday, as I received some insights from the deities afterward. The Buddha mentions there are four kinds of cakravartins—supreme kings who turn the dharma wheel—and they are the gold, silver, bronze, and iron cakravartins, each bearing thirty-two marks of perfection. The gold cakravartins have appeared numerous times in the past, turning the wheel and ruling the world. Grandmaster has been one of these cakravartins in past lives.

Ksitigarbha turns the wheel of the Earth, Avalokitesvara the wheel of compassion, and Manjusri the wheel of wisdom. Along with Maha Cundi, they are all cakravartins. In the Shambala Kingdom, the first king was Manjusri, and the second was the White Lotus King, both of whom were cakravartins. Paranirmitavasavartin (a heavenly king of the realm of desire), Mahabrahma, and Mahesvara (a heavenly king of the realm of form) are all cakravartins with thirty-two marks of perfection. Buddhas and bodhisattvas who turn the dharma wheel exist, and there are many more cakravartins in the purelands and buddhaverses, all endowed with the thirty-two marks of perfection. This supplements my talk last night.

I have turned the dharma wheel and naturally reached attainment after purifying myself. In such a case, there will be no cause for birth and no cause for death, which is nirvana, siddhi—the state of no birth and no death.

Om mani padme hum.