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Concentrate and Work Hard in Cultivation!2013-01-10
Spoken by Dharma Master Heng Yun
All Dharma Masters and Dharma friends: there are only three days of the Chan Session left. I would like to take this opportunity to say a few words as a mutual support in cultivation. I heard that during the Amitabha Session a couple of weeks ago, there were many enthusiastic participants and the atmosphere was wonderful. But during the Chan Session, there weren’t as many people. This is probably because people are afraid of the inevitable pain that goes hand in hand with sitting in Chan. However, enlightenment can be attained through this pain. That is what I would like to talk about today.
The Shurangama Sutra elucidates all principles and reveals all secrets between heaven and earth, and analyzes true and false minds. In the sutra, the Buddha told us the true characteristics of the world, and showed us the steps in the process of cultivation.
One of the sections in the Shurangama Sutra is “The Perfect Penetration Chapter of the Twenty-five Sages,” in which twenty-five sages speak of the ways they attained enlightenment by concentrating their cultivation on one of the six faculties, six defilements, six consciousnesses, or seven elements. The six faculties are the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. One of the sages that is spoken about most often is Guan Yin Bodhisattva and his Dharma Door of attaining perfect penetration through cultivation of the ear faculty. Today we will not be talking about Guan Yin Bodhisattva, but instead will be discussing the Venerable Pilindavatsa, who attained enlightenment and realized the fruition of an Arhat through cultivation of the body.
The name “Pilindavatsa” means “left-over habits.” Why was he called “left-over habits?” Here is a story that explains his name. When Arhats cross a river, the god or goddess of that river has to stop the flow of the water so that they can safely wade across. Whenever the Venerable Pilindavatsa was about to cross a certain river, he would call to the river goddess: “Little servant, stop the flow!” In other words, he was telling the goddess of this river: “Little servant, quickly stop the flow of the river so that I can cross.” After this occurred quite a few times, the river goddess became angry at his name-calling. But because Pilindavatsa was an Arhat, she couldn’t do anything to him. However, she did complain to the Buddha.
The Buddha told the Venerable Pilindavatsa to apologize to the river goddess. But he said: “I’m sorry, little servant.” Everyone thought that this was very funny, because he was calling her the very name she hated. The Buddha said: “This river goddess had served as a servant to Pilindavatsa for five hundred lifetimes in the past. Therefore, even though he had attained the fruition of an Arhat, he still has these left-over habits from his previous lives.”
If we attend Chan sessions often, then we develop wholesome habits. If we are afraid of pain and suffering and put off participating in Chan sessions by giving ourselves a lot of breaks, we are putting off attaining Buddhahood as well. The opportunities for us to cultivate in the future will also become rare.
Before he was an Arhat, the Venerable Pilindavatsa was an extremely diligent Bhikshu. When he went out to ask for alms, instead of thinking about food, he was always mindful of the Buddha’s teachings. He would ponder on various subjects such as impermanence, suffering, and emptiness. One day, when he was walking, he was so focused on his contemplation that he didn’t look where he was going, and stepped on a poisonous thorn. The thorn injured his foot so severely that his whole body was engulfed in pain. But through the pain, he thought to himself: “This pain should be an illusory sensation; my true mind should not have this feeling because it is inherently pure.” He continued: “This illusory sensation feels the pain, but the true nature should not be affected. Why is it that I have two kinds of perceptions in a single body?” These were the questions he investigated.
He directed his mind to search for this true nature that did not feel pain, instead of pursuing the false sensation that responded to pain. After twenty-one days, he attained enlightenment and experienced the pure and everlasting true nature which does not feel pain. Thus, he attained the state of an Arhat. From the Venerable Pilindavatsa’s example, we can see that even pain can help us become enlightened. Therefore, we should not be afraid of pain, for when we are able to endure extreme pain, we will have reached a higher level. There is a saying that says: “At the place where the mountains and rivers seem to dissolve and the path seems to end, where the trees are lavish and the flowers have bloomed, you will find a new village.” (Note: In other words, “Every cloud has a silver lining.”)
Our bodies come into being through the grasping of defilement. The Venerable Pilindavatsa concentrated his cultivation on the faculty of the body and the defilement of bodily sensation. He extinguished both of them, and so was able to see his true nature.
The principle that the faculties are formed from defilement means that our bodies come into being due to dust and defilement, which comes from an external source; kleshas (Sanskrit for “dust”) are the reason behind our existence in the world. In Chinese, the word “dust” represents both defilement and illusion. The six faculties are formed when the true mind combines with external dust. This is the main idea of the Shurangama Sutra.
Let us take the eye faculty as an example. A thought of ignorance gives rise to first traces of light and darkness within the true mind. They trigger changes which eventually cause the evolution of the eye faculty. The eye faculty includes not only the apparent faculties (the first five faculties of the eyes, ears, nose, and etc. that are physically visible), but also the faculty that surpasses all others (the mind). The ear faculty arises from the two illusory phenomena of sound and silence; the nose faculty arises from the illusory phenomena of openness and blockage; the tongue faculty arises from the illusory attributes of flavor and its absence; and the body faculty arises from the illusory phenomena of contact and separation that produces tactile awareness. The cognitive faculty relies on the two aspects of coming into being and perishing, in which our thoughts come into being and perish without interruption. The six faculties each have their own duties.
In the true nature, which is perfect, there was no need for the sense of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and etc. to rely on the six faculties to manifest. However, because of a single thought of ignorance, the faculties are formed due to dust and defilement of external sources, and are each assigned different responsibilities. This principle is expressed in the Shurangama Sutra: “Initially, there was only a single dazzling point, but it split into six conditions present in combination.” They are like six brothers who have their separate jobs, but still work together. For example, when you eat, your eyes perceive food, but you must use your tongue to taste it to know of its flavor. It would be impossible to taste it with your hand, because the senses have already separated into six components. But despite separation, the six faculties still cooperate with each other. Ordinary people are like this. When the true nature was divided into the respective faculties, their capabilities decrease and the faculties have limitations.
Let us first put that aside and talk about how to return to the original source which is perfect and brilliantly bright. A great amount of effort is required to reach this goal. Our bodies are built like that, and nothing can be done about it. Therefore, when we investigate Chan, we are trying to break through both faculty and defilement, so that we will finally see our true nature.
We can liken this process to smelting gold. When gold ore is found, it must be smelted to become pure. Therefore, the Venerable Master often compared investigating Chan and sitting in meditation to smelting gold in a furnace. The process of smelting is long and hard, like the pain of meditation that is difficult to bear. However, these hardships can all be endured.
In cultivation, to focus one’s efforts on the faculties and cause revolutionary changes in the body and mind is called the “concentration of the faculties.” This is one of the main principles in the Shurangama Sutra. You are not supposed to use your superficial mind to cultivate. Suppressing the superficial mind within is not the ultimate way. So what is this concentration of the faculties? Let us take Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s Dharma Door of attaining perfect penetration through cultivation of the ear, which is achieved through untying the knots of movement and cessation of movement. The ear faculty comes into being through the two kleshas of movement and stillness; therefore, these two knots must be untied in that order. When this occurs, your body and mind will undergo major changes.
Our attending the Chan session can be described as “on a set date, overcoming all obstacles to seek fruition.” This means that throughout this week, we let go of everything and focus only on meditation. Why do we do so? Here is an example. In the past, trains ran on coal. If there was enough coal burning, the train would run very smoothly; in contrast, if you only lit the coal and did not fan the flames, the fire would go out. Likewise, during the Chan session, we should not leave after sitting for just one or two hours. We should do our best to come to every session, so that the “coal” inside ourselves will burn brightly.
The Venerable Master often told us stories about cultivation. One such story was about the Taoist cultivator Wang Chongyang, who had a lot of disciples. One cold winter day, he took his disciples outdoors, and they decided to make a fire to keep warm. When Wang Chongyang saw the fire, he became very angry and used a bucket of water to put out the fire. His disciples could only meditate out in the cold. After they started meditating, their bodies warmed up, and the frigid temperature ceased to affect them.
I suggest that we keep the use of the heater down to a minimum. Only use it when absolutely necessary, and do not leave it on. When the heater is directly facing the body, it is searing and makes meditation very uncomfortable. The heat from the thermostat is external. I hope that everyone will light the fire within and not rely on the fire without. I also ask of the laypeople not to wear clothes that will make rustling noises during next year’s Chan session. The rustling sounds are very loud and can distract those who are still sitting.
Now I would like to introduce the Venerable Sundarananda, another of the sages in the Perfect Penetration Chapter. When he left the home life, he upheld his precepts very well; however, his mind was always scattered. The Buddha taught him to contemplate the whiteness visible at the tip of the nose. The very tip of the nose is visible when looking down at it; he was to concentrate on the inhalation and exhalation of the breath through the nose to gather in his mind. After the Venerable Sundarananda contemplated in such a manner for three weeks, he saw that the smokiness of the breath in his nostrils was gradually refined until it became white. His mind and body were transformed into light that shone upon worlds throughout all ten directions. Thus, he attained enlightenment and achieved fruition.
The Venerable Sundarananda became enlightened by concentrating on the consciousness of the nose. I don’t know if everyone has been listening attentively to the Venerable Master’s lectures through the course of the Chan session, but if you do, you will find that even one or two sentences of his lectures can prove to be very useful, for he does not simply read from the text. He incorporates his own experiences into his lectures to teach us.
I once heard the Venerable Master talk about how to begin cultivation. He said that it is very difficult to encounter a good teacher. He did not say that he was a good teacher himself, but told us that before we find one, we ought to meditate in the following manner: “The eyes contemplate the nose; the nose contemplates the mouth; and the mouth asks the mind.”
The Venerable Sundarananda contemplated the whiteness visible at the tip of the nose. This is analogous to the principle of “The eyes contemplating the nose” that was previously mentioned. Why do we contemplate the nose? Other than serving to gather in the mind, it is also related to the flow of blood and qi throughout the body. If you meditate like this often, the flow of blood and qi throughout your body will become one. Every person has the Buddha nature. If you have the resilience and patience to cultivate attentively, you will definitely achieve accomplishment in the future. However, you must keep it up. Just now, the Venerable Master said that in a Chan session, if you immediately run out during break and start idly chattering with others, your mind will become scattered and your efforts will have been in vain.
As for investigating Chan, I believe that patience and endurance are the most important. During your first few years of meditation, you might be very impatient for the break and constantly check your watch to see what time it is. But after a while, you might not even want to get up at all, but continue meditating instead. This is a process that does not occur overnight. It requires sincerity, resolve, and resilience. What does it feel like? Only you will know, for “When drinking water, only you know its temperature.” “Just as you are the only person who becomes full when you eat, you are the only person who can liberate yourself from birth and death.”
I suggest everyone to study the Shurangama Sutra regularly, because it contains many key principles of investigating Chan. The truth of the world can be found in it too. When the Venerable Master was still with us, anyone who left the home life was required to memorize the Shurangama Sutra. Although I have not memorized it entirely, the benefits I received have lasted throughout my entire lifetime and are greatly useful. So if you have time, you should read and memorize the Shurangama Sutra. Not only will it calm your mind, but you will also come to understand its principles, and your wisdom will gradually come forth.
We should not cultivate for our own sake alone. The Venerable Master was able to benefit countless people because of his high achievements in cultivation. We should take him as our role model. If we can cultivate vigorously and become his transformation bodies, we will be able to help many more people in the world.
