Issue 267

Lust is originally the cause for purity,
With lust eliminated, the pure Dharma-body emerges.
Purge the Five Desires from your self-nature,
Quickly see your wonderful nature of True Suchness.
Encountering Sudden Teaching in this life,
Instantly enlightened to self-nature, seeing the World-Honored Ones.
Wishing to cultivate and aspire to Buddhahood,
Not knowing where to seek the truth.
Seeing the genuine Buddha-nature within your self-nature,
Is the path to become a Buddha.
Not recognizing your self-nature and
seeking the Buddha externally,
Is the choice of greatly deluded ones.
I now leave you the Dharma-door of Sudden Teaching,
To save worldly people who must themselves cultivate.
I declare to you and to future students of the Way:
Not abiding by these views, precious time be wasted.

There is a kind of sexual desire in people, but fear not. The Shurangama Sutra mentioned of Ucchusma, the “Fire-Head Vajra” whose sexual desire was originally very intense. Later on in his cultivation, he applied rigid discipline and successfully transformed the fire of lust into the fire of wisdom, and he became a “Fire-Head Vajra.” Hence, Lust is originally the cause for purity. Harboring proper thoughts is the cause for a pure nature, whereas deviant thoughts an impure nature. Therefore, it is not cutting off lust but rather transforming it into purity. Lust is deviant knowledge and deviant views. Transform it into purity, which is proper knowledge and proper views. This is the right thing to do. Hence, Rid of lust, the pure Dharma-body emerges. That is the clear, pure, substance of the self-nature, the Dharma-body.

You should get rid of the Five Desires in your self-nature. The Five Desires are the desires for wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep. Some refer to them as forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangible objects, and objects of the mind. Stay away from the Five Desires. Do not give rise to any deviant views in your self-nature. At all times, harbor proper knowledge and proper views. Without the Five Desires, you will see your self-nature. Once you see your self-nature, you will quickly obtain your wonderful nature of true suchness.

Having encountered the Sudden Teaching of Dhyana School, you may become instantly enlightened and understand your original mind and see your original nature. At that moment, you will personally meet the World Honored Ones, the Buddhas of the ten directions. If you want to cultivate the Way and become a Buddha, you have to work on your self-nature. If instead you seek outside, you will never find the genuine Buddha.

If you can search for your genuine Buddha-nature in your self-nature, and you understand your mind and see your nature – your wonderful nature of True Suchness, then you are on the path to Buddhahood. If you do not practice introspection, but run outside to look for the Buddha, you are the most stupid person.

I have now passed on to you the Sudden Teaching of Dhyana School. Each must cultivate according to the Teaching on his own. Do not fail to cultivate! Students of the Way, if you do not think this way, you are wasting your time. You will not obtain the least benefit.

Having spoken the verse the Master continued, “All of you should take care. After my extinction, do not behave with worldly emotion. If you weep in sorrow, receive condolences, or wear mourning clothes, you are not my disciples and you are not abiding by the proper Dharma. Instead, you should recognize your own original mind and see your own original nature, which is neither moving nor still, neither produced nor extinguished, neither coming nor going, neither right nor wrong, and neither dwelling nor departing. Afraid that your confused minds may misunderstand what I meant, I will instruct you again so that you may see your nature. After my extinction, continue to cultivate accordingly, as if I were still present. Should you disregard my teaching, then even if I were to remain in the world, you would obtain no benefit.” He further spoke this verse:

Unmoving, unmoving –
not cultivating good deeds.
Elated, elated – not doing evil deeds.
Still, still – sever sights and sounds.
Vast, vast – the mind unattached.

The Master continued, “All of you should take heed. Do not strike up false thinking. Do not fail to let go. Do not fail to see through. By seeing through and letting go, you can be at-ease. After I entered Nirvana, do not behave like most common, worldly folks who display worldly feelings, i.e. shedding buckets of tears like torrential rain, enough to irrigate hundreds of acres of fields. You should neither accept condolences nor don mourning robes. Otherwise, you are not my disciple. If you are my disciple, you have to listen to my words. Otherwise, in addition to not being my disciple, you are also not abiding by the Buddhadharma. Hence, do not behave as such. Instead, you should work on recognizing your original mind and seeing your nature. Your inherent mind and self-nature are neither moving nor still, neither produced nor extinguished, neither coming nor going, neither right nor wrong, neither good nor bad, neither good nor bad, neither black nor white, neither long nor short, neither dwelling nor non-dwelling, and neither here nor there. Apply your effort in your self-nature. If you fail to recognize your mind and see your self-nature, then you have wasted precious time.”

“I am afraid that your minds are still confused and you do not understand the principle of what I have said. Therefore, I will repeat to you my instructions with the hope that you may recognize your mind and see your nature. After I entered Nirvana, you should follow this method in your cultivation. Abiding by my instructions, then it is just as I am around this world. However, if you disobey my teaching, then even if I were to remain in the world, you would obtain no benefit.”

He further spoke this verse:
Unmoving, unmoving. “Thus, thus unmoving; clear, clear, constantly bright.” It does not mean that you should not do what is good. It means that you should not be attached to the mark of doing good deeds. Do not be like that greedy Emperor Wu of Lyang who thought, “Look at all the merit I have amassed!”

Elated, elated means happy and cheerful, free and content from morning to night. Not doing evil deeds does not mean you can think, “I am not attached to doing evil, so it’s no problem.” You should absolutely refrain from doing anything evil. Killing, stealing, and licentiousness are evil deeds, especially licentiousness. As stated, “Of the ten-thousand evils, licentiousness is the worst. Do not thread that death road.” Licentiousness leads to the death road.

Still, still is a state of quietude, peace and calm. It is comfortable and blissful. Sever sights and sounds by not producing deviant thoughts at the gates of the six sense faculties. It is all right to have proper thoughts, but cut off all deviant sights and sounds. Hence, refrain from looking at or listening to anything that is not in accord with propriety.

Vast, vast – describes a boundless state in breadth and expanse. This mind’s magnanimity encompasses the whole universe, filling the entire heaven and earth. It is not attached to anything.

After speaking this verse, the Master sat upright until the third watch, when suddenly he said to his disciples, “I am going!” Instantaneously, he relocated. A rare fragrance filled the room. A white rainbow enjoined the earth. The trees in the forest turned white. The birds and the beasts cried out in sorrow.

The Master sat in full-lotus position until midnight. (When the Master is sitting in meditation, his disciples followed alongside.) At twelve o’clock, he said, “The time has come, I am leaving. See you all again!” Suddenly, his breathing stopped and he was motionless. He had entered Nirvana. “Relocated” means that he moved to a new dwelling. Who moved? The flesh-body Bodhisattva!

At this moment, a rare fragrance filled the dharma hall. A white rainbow appeared in the sky, its white rays enjoining the earth. The forest turned white because of the white rainbow shining its white rays on the forest trees. You could also say that the trees were in grief knowing that the Master has entered stillness, so they expressed their grief by donning white mourning robes. All the animals, whether winged fowls or land creatures, wailed. Grass and trees are originally insentient but at this moment became sentient, donning mourning robes. Birds and beasts are originally clueless, but now they manifest their spirituality and wept.