Issue 271

Ananda said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, all the ten kinds of living beings in the world alike maintain that the conscious mind dwells within the body; and as I regard the Tathagata’s blue lotus-flower eyes, they too are on the Buddha’s face. I now observe that these prominent organs, four kinds of defiling objects, are on my face, and so, too, my conscious mind actually is within my body.”

In this section of the text Ananda has not answered with a straightforward mind. He’s being evasive. When Ananda was asked by the Buddha, “Where is your mind? Where are your eyes?” he was at a loss and didn’t know what the best answer was. Still, he had to speak, so he sized up the situation.

Ananda said to the Buddha, “World Honored One.” I believe at this point Ananda was speaking in a very soft voice. Why? Because he wasn’t sure of himself. He didn’t know if he was right or not. He just guessed based on what he knew; he was hesitant, on the verge of speaking and yet not daring to do so.Think about it, the situation at that time must be that way!

All the ten kinds of living beings in the world. The ten kinds include those born from wombs, those born from eggs, those born from moisture, those born by transformation, those born having form, those born without form, those born with thought, those born without thought, those born not totally with thought, those born not totally without thought, and so forth as listed in the Vajra Sutra. Originally, there were twelve kinds of living beings. For now, we will briefly go over the ten kinds of living beings as they will be clearly explained later in the text.

“All ten kinds of living beings in the world are alike in that they maintain that the conscious mind dwells within the body.” The “conscious mind” is the mind subject to birth and death, the discriminating, calculating mind. Ananda doesn’t mention himself. He talks about the ten kinds of living beings. He didn’t talk about himself for fear he might somehow be different from other living beings. Therefore, he says, “All the ten kinds of living beings are like that, it’s not just I, Ananda, alone, who is that way.” There was a tone of quibbling as he implied, “After all, everyone knows that the mind is inside the body.”

“And as I regard the Tathagata’s blue lotus-flower eyes, they too are on the Buddha’s face. The Thus Come One’s eyes are so bright and wide that they resemble blue lotus flowers. Ananda says, “As I gazed upward and examine closely the Thus Come One’s blue lotus-flower eyes, they are on the Buddha’s face too.” Ananda was subtly implying, “Plain as can be, the eyes are on the face and the mind is in the body. Why do you still have to ask me?” But he didn’t dare openly say that.

Ananda said, “World Honored One, your blue lotus-flower eyes are on your face. I now observe that these prominent organs, four kinds of defiling objects, are on my face.” The “prominent organs” refer to the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue, all of which are located on the face. They are quite distinct and visible.

“And so, too, my conscious mind actually is within my body.” As I now think about it further, my discriminating conscious mind which can differentiate pleasant from unpleasant, good from bad, is actually in my body.” That is how Ananda answered the Buddha’s question.

The Buddha said to Ananda, “You are now sitting in the Tathagata’s lecture hall looking at the Jeta Grove. Where is it at present?”
“World Honored One, this great many-storied pure lecture hall is in the Garden of the Benefactor of the Solitary. At present, the Jeta Grove is in fact outside the hall.”

The Buddha said to Ananda: After having heard Ananda’s answer that his mind was in his body and his eyes were on his face, the Buddha initially did not make any direct reply. Instead, the Buddha asked Ananda, “You are now sitting in the Tathagata’s lecture hall looking at the Jeta Grove. As you look at Prince War Victor’s grove, where is it at present?” The Buddha didn’t give any indication whether the mind is indeed inside or outside. He just fired another challenging question back at Ananda in order to correct Ananda’s thought process.

Ananda answered the Buddha, “World Honored One, this great many-storied pure lecture hall is in the Garden of the Benefactor of the Solitary. The character「閣」means many-storied; it’s having a story added inside a story of a building. In Cantonese, it’s called「閣仔」. The Buddha’s large, pure and clean lecture hall is in the garden of the Elder Anathapindaka. At present the Jeta Grove is in fact outside the hall. The pure lecture hall, the place where we all are, is in the Garden. Prince Jeta’s grove is actually outside the hall.”

“Ananda, as you are now in the hall, what do you see first?”
“World Honored One, here in the hall I first see the Tathagata, next I see the great assembly, and from there, as I gaze outward, I see the grove and garden.”

Shakyamuni Buddha heard Ananda say his external organs – eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and the four defiling objects – forms, sounds, smells, tastes, are located on his face, while his conscious mind is in his body. Then the Buddha asked Ananda, “As you are now seated inside the lecture hall, where is the Jeta Grove?” Ananda replied, “This clean and pure lecture hall –this many-storied structure where we dwell, is in the garden of the Elder Anathapindaka. The prince’s Jeta Grove is outside of the lecture hall.”

Now the Buddha asked,“Ananda, as you are now in the hall, what do you see first?” Ananda has said his mind was in his body, and so the Buddha asked him what he saw first when he was in the hall.

“World Honored One, here in the hall I first see the Tathagata. Ananda replied, “Inside this lecture hall, the first I see is the Buddha, it’s You, World Honored One.”

“Next I see the great assembly. Next, I see the great Bodhisattvas and the great Arhats in the audience. And from there, as I gaze outward, I see the grove and garden. I see the Jeta Grove and the Garden of the Benefactor of Orphans and the Solitary.”

“Ananda, why it is you are able to see the grove and the garden as you look at them?”
“World Honored One, since the doors and windows of this great lecture hall have been open wide, I can be in the hall and see into the distance.”

The Buddha continued, “Ananda, why it is you are able to see the grove and the garden as you look at them? How can you see them? What’s the reason you are able to see them?” It seems like the Buddha is getting more unreasonable with each question he asked Ananda. Yet, within the Buddha’s words lies profound meaning. As we investigate more deeply, you will come to realize it.

“World Honored One, since the doors and windows of this great lecture hall have been open wide, I can be in the hall and see into the distance. From inside I can see the Jeta Grove and the Garden of the Benefactor of Orphans and the Solitary.”The character「戶」means door;「牖」means window;「開」means to open; 「豁」means suddenly everything is open up and accessible.

The Buddha said to Ananda, “It is as you say. When one is in the lecture hall and the doors and windows are open wide, one can see far into the garden and grove. Could there be someone in the hall who does not see the Tathagata and yet sees outside the hall?”
Ananda answered: “World Honored One! To be in the hall and not see the Tathagata, and yet see the grove and fountains is impossible!”

In this section of text, the Buddha sets up a question to ask Ananda. The Buddha said to Ananda, “It is as you say. When one is in the lecture hall and the doors and windows are open wide, one can see far into the garden and grove. You are absolutely right. You are inside now and yet you can see the Jeta Grove and the Garden of Anathapindaka. Could there be someone in the hall who does not see the Tathagata and yet sees outside the hall? Could there be a living being who doesn’t see the Thus Come One, but sees only the grove and garden outside the hall? Is this possible?” the Buddha asked.

Ananda answered, “World Honored One! To be in the hall and not see the Tathagata, and yet see the grove and fountains is impossible! If someone were inside,” Ananda says, “he certainly would be able to see the Buddha. There’s no way he could see what’s outside the hall and not see the Buddha, who’s inside the hall.” Ananda’s answer was very decisive.

“Ananda, you are like that too. “Your mind is capable of understanding everything thoroughly. Now if your present mind, which thoroughly understands everything, were in your body, then you should be aware first of what is inside your body. Can there be living beings who first see inside their bodies before they observe things outside?

“Ananda, you are like that too,” the Buddha replied. Ananda said it was impossible to be inside and not see the Buddha inside, and the Buddha proceeds to tell Ananda that Ananda himself is just like someone inside the hall who can’t see the Buddha and can only see outside the hall. The Buddha knew that Ananda had not yet understood, and that he still did not know what the basic substance of the true mind is like. He was still adroitly making use of his false-thinking mind, his conscious mind. So the Buddha continues his explanation:

“Your mind is capable of understanding everything thoroughly.” It is said that people are the most capable among a myriad of things, and that of all their attributes their minds are the most capable. However, your mind which is capable of understanding thoroughly refers only to the conscious mind. Now if your present mind, which thoroughly understands everything, were in your body, then you should be aware first of what is inside your body. The Buddha argues that if Ananda’s mind is really inside his body, as Ananda says, then he ought to be able to know first of all what the inside of his body is like, in the same way that someone inside the lecture hall is able to see the people inside. “But can there be living beings who first see inside their bodies before they observe things outside?” the Buddha asks.