Issue 296

The Buddha said to Ananda, “You say it is the same, but that is not right. Why? If a person has no hand, his fist is gone forever. But one who is without eyes is not entirely devoid of sight. For what reason? Try consulting a blind man on the street: ‘What do you see?’ Any blind man will certainly answer, ‘Now I see only black in front of my eyes. Nothing else meets my gaze.’ The meaning is apparent: if he sees blackness in front of him, how could his seeing be considered ‘lost’?”

Here the Buddha criticizes Ananda, telling him his idea is incorrect. The Buddha said to Ananda, “You say it is the same, but that is not right”. You say the example is the same in both cases. No. Why? If a person has no hand, his fist is gone forever. If someone doesn’t have a hand, he doesn’t have a fist either. But one who is without eyes is not entirely devoid of sight. But with someone else who has no eyes it is not the case that he cannot see anything. He can still see. His seeing nature is not depleted.” People without eyes can see. Do you believe that? Disciple replied: “I believe!” Why is it that you believe? Did you write this sutra before? Is that what the sutra says?

“For what reason? Why do I say that? Try consulting a blind man on the street: ‘What do you see?’ Go out to the market and ask a blind man what he sees. Any blind man will certainly answer, ‘Now I see only black in front of my eyes. Nothing else meets my gaze. He’ll say that he doesn’t see anything but blackness.”

“The meaning is apparent: if you get the idea, if you take a look at what it means, if he sees blackness in front of him, how could his seeing be considered ‘lost’? If you see blackness before you, your ability to see is not lost; it neither increases nor decreases. A blind man sees darkness, not that there is no seeing. The seeing of darkness and light are both seeing. Seeing does exist! Although he is blind, his seeing is not depleted. But if you don’t have a hand, it is obvious that your fist will not exist. If you look for this fist again, you won’t be able to find it!

Ananda said, “The only thing blind people see in front of their eyes is blackness. How can that be seeing?”
The Buddha said to Ananda, “Is there any difference between the blackness seen by blind people, who do not have the use of their eyes, and the blackness seen by someone who has the use of his eyes when he is in a dark room?”
“So it is, World Honored One. Between the two kinds of blackness, that seen by the person in a dark room and that seen by the blind, there is no difference.”

Ananda reiterates the Buddha’s example: a blind person has no use of his eyes and so sees only darkness. But according to Ananda, this seeing of darkness is not really seeing. Ananda is saying that someone without the use of his eyes cannot see. “Why do you say the blind man sees?” he asks the Buddha.

The Buddha said to Ananda, “Is there any difference between the blackness seen by blind people, who do not have the use of their eyes, and the blackness seen by someone who has the use of his eyes when he is in a dark room?” Blind people have no eyes and see only blackness. Is the darkness that sighted people see when they are in a dark house any different from the darkness seen by blind people? If a blind person and a person who has sight are together in a dark room, are the two blacks they see distinguishable?

World Honored One’s question without thinking: “So it is. Yes, Buddha. Between the two kinds of blackness, that seen by the person in a dark room– by the sighted person – and that seen by the blind, there is no difference. The two kinds of blackness are the same.”

Ananda, if the person without the use of his eyes who sees only blackness were suddenly to regain his sight and see all kinds of forms, and you say it is his eyes which see, then when the person in a dark room who sees only blackness suddenly sees all kinds of forms because a lamp is lit, you should say it is the lamp which sees. If it is a case of the lamp seeing, it would be a lamp endowed with sight – which couldn’t be called a lamp. And if the lamp were to do the seeing, how would you be involved?

The Buddha said to Ananda, “Ananda, if the person without the use of his eyes who sees only blackness were suddenly to regain his sight and see all kinds of forms…you say that there is no difference between the two kinds of blackness. But what if the blind person in our example were suddenly to regain his sight so that his eyes could see everything in every direction? You say it is his eyes which see. This is your argument. But what about the case when the person in a dark room who sees only blackness suddenly sees all kinds of forms because a lamp is lit? The sighted person in a dark room also sees blackness, but once a lamp is lit, he too can see everything. Given your argument, you should say it is the lamp which sees.”

You know why it’s called ‘the lamp which sees’? You said that people who don’t have the use of their eyes cannot see, but if they regain their sight then they can see again. This is called ‘eyes which see’. However, for a person in a dark room, if there is no lamp he cannot see, but when a lamp is lit, he can see. By this analogy, one should say this is ‘the lamp which sees’ – not ‘you see’, and also not ‘eyes which see’. Is that right?” the Buddha asks.

If it is a case of the lamp seeing, it would be a lamp endowed with sight – which couldn’t be called a lamp. And if the lamp were to do the seeing, how would you be involved? If it really were the case that the lamp could see and do the looking, then it wouldn’t have anything to do with you.

That’s why you should know that while the lamp can reveal the forms, it is the eyes, not the lamp, that do the seeing. And while the eyes can reveal the forms, the seeing-nature comes from the mind, not the eyes.

Now this is pointing to the mind. There is the ‘Ten Manifestations of Seeing’. Before, there are people saying ‘Seven Inquiries of the Mind’. Others say ‘Three Inquiries of the Mind’, or ‘Two Inquiries of the Mind’, or ‘Three Inquiries of the Mind, Ten Discernments of Seeing’. Well, we don’t need to care about it so much now, what’s inquiring is Ananda’s mind, it’s not inquiring your mind or my mind. We just need to know the meaning of the text and that’s enough. The first of the ten shows the seeing-nature is the seeing of the mind, not of the eyes. This is to ascertain what we see is not the eyes that see but it’s the mind that sees. It’s your true mind that has the seeing-nature.

That’s why you should know that while the lamp can reveal the forms, it is the eyes, not the lamp, that do the seeing. The lamp allows the shapes to appear, but it is the eyes that see the shapes. By the same token, while the eyes can reveal the forms, the seeing-nature comes from the mind, not the eyes.The eyes can only reveal the forms, the seeing-nature that sees is your true mind, not that the eyes can see.

Although Ananda and everyone in the great assembly had heard what was said, their minds had not yet understood, and so they remained silent. Hoping to hear more of the gentle sounds of the Tathagata’s teaching, they put their palms together, purified their minds, and stood waiting for the Tathagata’s compassionate instruction.

Although Ananda and everyone in the great assembly had heard what was said, their minds had not yet understood, and so they remained silent. Ananda and everyone else there closed their mouths and didn’t say anything, because they hadn’t yet understood. Their minds had not yet opened and become enlightened. Why weren’t they talking? They were thinking, “Oh? My eyes can’t see things? Oh? My mind sees? You may say that isn’t true, but the Buddha has explained it this way. If you say it is true, why haven’t I ever understood it to be this way before?” That’s what they were thinking.

Hoping to hear more of the gentle sounds of the Tathagata’s teaching – they were thinking, “I hope the Buddha will have a compassionate heart and talk to me.” They put their palms together. I don’t know how to say 「合掌」in English. I’ll show you, just like this (The Venerable Master put his palms together). Putting the palms together is called 「合掌」.Why did they put their palms together? It represents their single-mindedness. They were of one mind, not two. When your hands are apart, it is said you have ten minds, and when your palms are together, it is said you have one mind, because when your palms go together, your mind comes together and becomes one. Purified their minds. Clear out your mind. Clear your heart. Don’t put too much garbage in your head. Take the garbage that is in there and get rid of it. And stood waiting for the Tathagata’s compassionate instruction. They stood waiting for the Buddha’s compassionate words to help them understand better, so they could become enlightened and not be so confused.

This is the first time I speak the dharma in English. Why do I speak English? It’s because I see that my disciple Bai Wentian is working too hard (doing translation). I want to help him out. I don’t know much English, I don’t speak English well; so you should listen with your good English, okay?