《雲笈七籤》Vol. 95

The Illusory Nature of Dharma

In the Miaolin Jing (Scripture of the Wondrous Forest), the Heavenly Worthy tells the Perfected Person Duming: “What is called peace and bliss all arises from the mind. The nature of the mind is originally empty and quiescent—why then is cultivation still necessary? Only when one knows that all things are empty can it be called peace and bliss.

“For example, a worried person’s spirit is confused, agitated, fretful, and depressed. Someone then performs illusions before him, setting out wooden men and women, oxen and horses, and performing various tricks. Looking at these illusions, the worried person seems to see the oxen and horses of ordinary life resting with one another, and all sorts of troubles are accordingly calmed; his mind and spirit then become settled.

“What I teach is also like this: living beings are troubled by illusory worries and afflictions and cannot attain peace and bliss, and so I teach them to cultivate various immeasurable and boundless merits and virtues, and cause living beings to be reborn in inconceivable pure lands. If they can understand that illusion is originally nonexistent, they will know that living beings’ lifting a foot, taking a step, and all their actions are themselves inconceivable.

“If they can understand the pure, at ease, unobstructed mind, then whatever they seek and wish for will be fulfilled as they desire. Those who cultivate goodness should be able to be reborn in the wondrous lands of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing). This is only using expedient means to stop living beings’ illusory thoughts; in reality, there is no permanently blissful realm of the Three Pure Ones that people can cling to or seek after.

“If one wishes quickly to reach the precious city of the Three Pure Ones and the pure land of eternal bliss, one should contemplate oneself with supreme Mahayana wisdom: from what dharma has my body arisen since immeasurable kalpas ago? Since one knows that it does not arise from some fixed cause, one will understand: precisely because there is no fixed, unchanging ‘self,’ my body is always in the pure land of eternal bliss of the Three Pure Ones.”

Dao-nature and Causes and Conditions

After bowing, Haikong Zhizang asked: “Heavenly Worthy, I am contemplating the causes of the generation and transformation of the myriad things. Why do all things each possess Dao-nature, and yet all arise from causes and conditions? Since they arise from causes and conditions, are they ultimately bound or unbound? Are they the five aggregates (the five constituents of the person and experience), or the six dusts (the objects contacted by eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind)?”

The Heavenly Worthy replied: “For example, when a living being is about to die, it is like the sun about to set. As the sun is about to set, the shadows on hills and mounds appear to move eastward; in reality, however, the sun is not setting in the west. The karmic retribution and fruition of living beings are also like this: when the five aggregates of this period cease, the five aggregates of another period arise.

“Again, for example, when a lamp is lit, darkness disappears; when the lamp is extinguished, darkness appears. And again, for example, clay and a bottle…”

When clay is kneaded together, after the clay has disappeared, in the end it can no longer be called “clay”; although a bottle is not clay itself, it does not come from anywhere else either—it is formed relying on causes and conditions such as clay. The arising and vanishing of the Five Aggregates (wuyin, the five constituents of sentient beings’ body and mind) is likewise. With afflictions, it is called bondage; without afflictions, it is called liberation. This is like the eyes: when open, they can see forms and colors; when closed, they see nothing. The bondage and liberation of afflictions are all changes of aggregation and dispersion, arising and ceasing; they have no other substance. The Five Aggregates of sentient beings are likewise: their original nature is pure and good.

The Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun) told the Most Excellent Youth (Zuisheng Tongzi): “You should know that all sentient beings in the six realms (liudao) and four modes of birth (sisheng: womb, egg, moisture, and transformation), when the consciousness-spirit (shishen, the sentient subject endowed with perception and mental activity) first arises at the inception of karmic nature, are all pure and good, without admixture, and are one body with the Dao (the Way). Acting in accordance with the Dao, whether walking, standing, rising, or lying down, speaking or remaining silent, eating or drinking, they all accord with the true principle.

“This is like fish born in water: from the beginning they are accustomed to rivers, lakes, and seas, and no one needs to teach them; it is also like jade being inherently white in substance, dai pigment inherently blue-black, fire inherently warm, and water inherently cold—none of these require acquired learning; such principles are simply so. The consciousness-spirit of sentient beings is the same: it is endowed by nature and originally corresponds to Dao-nature without difference.

“Then why do they create various evil causes and attract retributions such as hell, hungry ghosts, and animals? You should know that all this is brought about by the six sense faculties (liugen). Defiled by the six sense objects (liuchen, literally ‘six dusts’), the six faculties give rise to the six emotions and six defilements (liuqing, liuran); joined with the Four Great Elements (sidai) of body and mind, they can create various good and evil karmic causes. Once these karmic causes grow, they bring the various sufferings of the three evil paths (santu: hell, hungry ghosts, and animals) and can cut off all roots of goodness accumulated since beginningless (wushi) time.”

At that time, the Perfected One (Zhenren) voiced a doubt, bowed to the Heavenly Worthy, and said: “Since you say that the consciousness-spirit of all sentient beings is pure and good from the beginning, without admixture, and that their conduct must conform to norms and their movements to the true principle; that in advancing and retreating, bowing and raising the head, walking, standing, sitting, and lying down they never lose proper measure; and that every matter conforms to the root of the Dao without distinction—then why are what sentient beings see and hear, and their every action, defiled, so that they do coarse and filthy things?”

The Heavenly Worthy said: “Suppose there is a freezing ice hall, with beams, pillars, beds, mats, screens, and curtains all made of frozen ice. In such a place, where could fire come from? Where could heat come from? The consciousness-spirit of all sentient beings is likewise when it first arises: originally pure and good, and the influences it receives are all good—how then could it obtain various different retributions?

“Suppose again that incense compounded from various fragrant materials is placed in a single box: its fragrance spreads in all directions, and none of them would carry any foul or impure odor. When the consciousness-spirit first arises…”

The Dao is also as stated earlier: it is intrinsically pure and fragrant, and defilement cannot cling to it. It is also like the radiance of the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun), like the sun emitting light that illumines all, with no darkness within that light. The conscious spirit (shishen)—the human spiritual consciousness—was originally clear and bright as well; but why did it later become mixed with obscurity? I still have a doubt in my mind: the world should not produce endless evil within virtuous dharmas. I earnestly beg the Great Virtue (Dade) to explain this for me, so that everyone present may understand and remove doubt and obstruction.

At this time, the Heavenly Worthy replied calmly: “Perfected Person (Zhenren) Jueli, the profound question you have raised is truly inconceivable. You have drawn near immeasurable and boundless Perfected Ones, made offerings to immeasurable and boundless Heavenly Worthies, and attained great wisdom, understanding matters without obstruction; that is why you are able to ask such subtle and refined questions. I will now explain it to you truthfully; please listen attentively and do not grow weary.”

“Great Perfected Person Jueli, the Dharma of mind (xinfa) cannot be fully explained through analogy. Ice, frozen objects, lapis lazuli, and aromatics are all static things, stable and unchanging; therefore they themselves cannot produce anything else. To use such static things as analogies is not the same as the Dharma of mind. If one uses the sun as an analogy, the meaning is somewhat similar. Why? The sun is not forever bright and forever properly positioned; sometimes it is obscured, and sometimes it slants westward and sets. The Dharma of mind is likewise: it changes and is unsettled; driven by defilement and attachment, it is also pulled along by thoughts that crave profit and care only for oneself.”

Conditioned and Unconditioned Dharmas

At this time, the Heavenly Worthy said to Hai Kong Zhizang: “Do not harbor mistaken doubts, become attached to ‘existence’ or to outward appearances, and then seek the supreme Dao of ultimate truth by these means; can one attain it in this way? Those who cultivate the Dao should know that all conditioned dharmas (youwei fa)—things produced by causes and conditions—undergo arising and perishing, change, and will ultimately decay; nothing can remain forever.

“Why is this so? All phenomena in the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Realm of Formlessness) arise from the power of sentient beings’ thoughts. The thoughts of sentient beings ceaselessly arise and perish from moment to moment, and conditioned dharmas are likewise: no sooner have they arisen than they already possess the nature of perishing; when they appear to truly exist, they are in fact also manifesting the nature of emptiness. Because ‘existence’ cannot be permanent, it is called emptiness.

“The unconditioned dharmas (wuwei fa)—dharmas not produced by causes and conditions and not subject to arising and perishing—are indestructible and cannot be measured. If there is a resonant response, they manifest according to specific circumstances; if there is no response, they remain peacefully and eternally. From this one should know: whatever continues in dependence on conditioned dharmas has the nature of decay; because it has the nature of decay, it is called emptiness. That which does not continue in dependence on conditioned dharmas is without decay…”

Only by destroying old attachments can one be said to have truly realized something. You should reflect carefully and properly discern the fundamental source of all wondrous Dharma.

Observing the Marks of the “Four Great Elements”

The Youth of Supreme Perfection said: “Observe the forms of sentient beings, which are assembled from the Four Great Elements (earth, water, fire, and wind, the four constituents of the physical body): which of these ‘great elements’ is actually the self?

“They are like clouds in the sky, flames appearing in the heat, lightning, the moon’s reflection in water, illusions and transformations, images in a mirror, and echoes in the air. The same is true of perception, mental formations, and consciousness (the activities of mind-consciousness in Buddhist teaching). The marks of sentient beings’ minds are inconceivable and cannot be fully understood by practitioners of the Two Vehicles—the Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas.

“Great Compassion Heavenly Worthy, the marks of sentient beings are also like this: they neither come nor go, are neither existent nor nonexistent, and are neither inside nor outside. When they come, they have no fixed source; when they go, they have no fixed destination; yet they always transmigrate through birth and death. Since beginningless time, sentient beings have been defiled and attached to the ‘self’; therefore the roots of evil continually grow, and the afflictions they endure have no end.

“The marks of sentient beings are intricately interwoven, but Shen (spirit) is originally clear and luminous, without defilement. All dharmas originally arise from this. For this very reason, sentient beings’ good and evil karma is created only by the one mind; no other dharma creates it behind the scenes. Therefore sentient beings neither come nor go, are neither existent nor nonexistent, and are equal like empty space, without marks of discrimination. Great Compassion Heavenly Worthy, this is how I observe the marks of sentient beings.”

The Physical Body and Afflictions

Haikong Zhizang addressed the Heavenly Worthy: “Great Compassion Heavenly Worthy, why do ordinary people not see afflictions? Within affliction, is there a body? In past lives, did this body originally exist? In the future and in the present, does this body exist or not? If the body exists, is it the physical body (the body with form and substance), or is it not the physical body? Does the body belong to others, or does it not belong to others? Is it neither belonging to others nor not belonging to others?

“Is there life without a body, or a body without life? Do both body and life exist, or do neither exist? Are body and life both permanent, or both impermanent? Are they both permanent and impermanent, or neither permanent nor impermanent?”

At that time, the Heavenly Worthy calmly smiled and answered Haikong Zhizang: “Excellent, excellent, good man! Ordinary people both have a body and may be said to have no body; affliction also has its body. Why is this so? The so-called body of affliction is like a bag filled with pus and blood, obscuring the root-nature for attaining the Dao. Therefore sentient beings cannot awaken to the fact that within affliction there is the true Dao-nature.

“The true Dao-nature is not inside, not outside, and not in the middle; it cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said not to exist; it does not belong to the past…”

“It is not the present, nor is it the future; it is not form (material substance), nor is it mind; it is not self, nor is it other; it is not having life, nor is it lacking life; it is not having a body, nor is it lacking a body; it is not permanent, nor is it impermanent.”

At that time, Haikong bowed to the Heavenly Worthy and said: “You have just said that it is neither having a body nor lacking a body. Then how can afflictions obstruct Dao-nature (the root nature inherent in sentient beings by which they can attain the Dao)? From where does the body of Dao-nature actually arise: from father and mother, from minute dust, from illusion, from spontaneity, from empty space, from transformation—or from good, evil, animals, hell, or heaven?

“If Dao-nature is produced by father and mother, then are father and mother afflictions or not? If they are afflictions, how can they produce true Dao-nature? If they truly can produce true Dao-nature, then this Dao-nature should be permanent; but how could true Dao-nature arise from afflictions? If it arises from afflictions, the obstruction of afflictions might cause it to fall into hell; then the arising of Dao-nature should also fall into hell. If it does not fall into hell, how could Dao-nature arise from afflictions? If there are no afflictions, how could afflictions obstruct Dao-nature? Therefore, we entreat the compassionate Heavenly Worthy to pity sentient beings and explain this for us.”

Everyone present looked up to the Heavenly Worthy, longing to hear the teaching.

The Heavenly Worthy emitted a subtle voice and answered Haikong: “Good man, what is called Dao-nature is the nature of no-nature (a nature not settled in any fixed entity); it is neither the nature of existent dharmas nor the nature of non-existent dharmas. The arising of Dao-nature can be spoken of as existent and also as non-existent.

“Good man, what is called Dao-nature is not born from having a body, nor is it born from lacking a body; one cannot say that it is neither non-existent nor existent, nor can one say that it is neither existent nor non-existent; it can be said to be born from having a body, and it can also be said to be born from lacking a body.

“Good man, how could afflictions obstruct Dao-nature? What is called Dao-nature is said to arise from afflictions, and is also said not to arise from afflictions; it is both produced by afflictions and not only produced by afflictions. Since this is so, how could afflictions obstruct Dao-nature?

“Good man, this is like dark clouds covering sunlight: sunlight itself neither arises nor perishes, neither comes nor goes; it cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said not to exist. The arising of Dao-nature is likewise.

“Good man, the arising of Dao-nature is not produced by father and mother, and yet it can also be said to be produced by father and mother. Why? If it is said to be produced by father and mother, then after father and mother give birth to a child, that which is produced no longer exists; this is speaking of ‘arising’ from ‘non-arising.’ It is like a flower blooming and bearing fruit: when the flower is born the fruit is not there; when the fruit is born the flower is already gone. The arising of Dao-nature is likewise. Good man, how can Dao-nature be said to be produced by father and mother?”

“Is Dao-nature (daoxing, the inherent nature of attaining the Dao that all sentient beings possess) born from minute dust particles?” someone asks.

Dao-nature is not born from minute dust particles, nor is it born from illusion; it is not born from nature, nor from empty space; it is not born from change, nor from good causes; it is not born from evil causes, nor from the animal realm, nor from the hell realm, and still less from the heavens. Only because of various causes and conditions does the phenomenon of “arising without arising” appear: although there is arising, there is no fixed, unchanging entity; it is neither born from non-existent dharmas nor from existent dharmas. If one can understand this, one knows that the so-called mark of arising is in fact without true arising. To call it “nothing” is not absolute nothingness either; it is neither not-nothing nor existent—this is Dao-nature.

The arising of Dao-nature is arising without a fixed arising; what it produces is likewise so.

Good man, you earlier asked: “If Dao-nature is born from father and mother, are father and mother not then the root of afflictions?” Good man, now I will explain it for you: Dao-nature does indeed arise depending on father and mother. For example, a lotus grows from mud, but it can neither simply be said to be mud nor said to have no relation at all to mud. The arising of Dao-nature is likewise: it may be said to be related to father and mother, but it cannot be said to be some fixed entity produced by father and mother.

Again, for example, someone lodges in a house, but the house is not that person; the arising of Dao-nature is likewise. Again, for example, a parasitic tree grows depending on another tree, but it is not grown from that tree’s seed; the arising of Dao-nature is likewise: it arises within afflictions, but it is not afflictions themselves.

Dao-nature is like empty space; its form cannot be grasped. Therefore one should know that it is neither the source of afflictions nor simply to be classified as sentient beings or non-sentient beings.

Good man, if all sentient beings did not arise through the causes and conditions of father and mother, they would not understand causes and conditions; instead, they would deludedly create all kinds of evil karma and give rise to discriminating thoughts. Not believing in scriptures, not loving sentient beings, they leave the fate of birth and death to be arranged, without end. Because of these causes and conditions, they discriminate good and evil but cannot gather in the six sense faculties (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind); thus they give rise to various cravings and loves, and slander the One Vehicle (the single path to Buddhahood) and the treasure store of sea and emptiness (a metaphor for vast and profound wisdom). When they hear explanations, they act as though they have not heard; when they hear the teachings, they refuse to concentrate, and so various thoughts arise. Because of these causes and conditions, some contract leprosy, or become deaf and blind; some are reborn as cattle, horses, pigs, dogs, and other animals; some, though they obtain a human body, have incomplete six sense faculties; and even if their outward form is human, they lack feeling and wisdom.

The Raft Parable

The Scripture of the Sea of Emptiness and Treasure Store says: Once there was a king who had four tigers raised…

When opening the eyes, closing the eyes, lying down, rising, touching, and bathing, one should remember this sentence: “If you let a tiger become angry . . .”

The king said to the man, “According to the law, I ought to take your life.” Hearing the king’s command, the man was so frightened that his mind and spirit were unsettled; he did not know what to do, and thought of abandoning the tiger and running away. When the king heard that the man had already fled, he sent Shaogang, drawing his sword, to pursue him. The man turned and saw Shaogang, and at once quickened his pace. Shaogang harbored malicious intent, so he hid his sword and secretly sent someone to pretend to be close and friendly, saying to the man, “You may go back.” The man did not believe him and hid in an empty city.

After entering the city, he saw that the pure abodes everywhere—places where cultivators live and practice—were all empty and without people, so he sat down to rest. Suddenly he heard a voice from the air: “Alas, this city is empty and desolate, with no one living here. Tonight four hundred bandits will come. If you meet them, your life will be hard to preserve. How do you plan to escape?”

The man became even more afraid and left the empty city again. Ahead a river blocked the way; the current was swift, and there was no boat. Distressed, he gathered various grasses and woods and bound them into a raft. Then he thought, “If I stay here, I will surely be harmed by the fierce tiger; but if I cross the river on a raft, the raft is unreliable, and I may drown. Rather than drown in the water, I must absolutely not be harmed by that tiger.” So he pushed the raft of grasses and woods into the water, leaned on it, paddled with hands and feet, and went downstream. When he reached the other shore, he was safe and sound, and he rejoiced greatly.

On Illness

The Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun) told King Shanzhong: “What I call illness is affliction. Since affliction is empty, what is called illness is also empty; since the dharma of illness is empty, the dharma of the body is also empty. Why is this? Because the body formed by affliction is like an illusion and a dream. For this very reason, one should contemplate emptiness through emptiness.”

Shanzhong asked again: “Among the four great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, which great element actually constitutes the body?” The answer was: “The body formed by affliction is not produced only by the great element of earth, but it is also inseparable from the great element of earth; the same is true of water, fire, and wind. All sentient beings have a body of affliction because of the four great elements, and from this they experience illness. Therefore, those who truly cultivate the Dao also accord with this situation and regard it as illness.”

After hearing this exposition, Shanzhong immediately rose, paid his respects, and praised him, saying: “The One-Vehicle Ocean-of-Emptiness Wisdom Treasury is my great guiding teacher, for he has explained for us the principle of illness, the impermanence of all formations, and the selflessness of the body.” He did not say “ocean . . .”

To become weary of and detach from this body, one should say that the body is subject to suffering; one should not say that it is forever peaceful and blissful. Xuandu Zhujing (a title used in the text) taught the Three Vehicles (the Śrāvaka, Pratyekabuddha, and Bodhisattva vehicles), building a great bridge for sentient beings to help them cross the sea of birth and death. Lodging his body in an empty city, he manifested illness out of compassion for sentient beings, hoping they would recognize the suffering they have endured over billions of kalpas; he also encouraged them to practice benefit widely, cultivate merit and virtue, constantly keep sentient beings in mind, keep them from worry and affliction, help them diligently cultivate the Dao, and become a Great Physician King who heals the root of all sentient beings’ illnesses.

To comfort the sick, Hai Kong Zhizang said to King Shanzhong: “Do not doubt me: although I manifest illness, I say that illness is fundamentally without real substance. The illness I now manifest is produced by causes and conditions from former lives, aroused by false and inverted views and various afflictions, and has no real, unchanging entity; in the final analysis, it is merely called ‘illness.’ Why is this? Earth, water, fire, and wind—the four great elements (the four basic elements constituting the body)—come together, and this is provisionally named a body. The four great elements have no sovereign, and the body has no fixed self-nature to which one can cling. The illness I now manifest arises entirely from this body, so one should not cling to the body.

“King Shanzhong, since you already know the root of illness, you should eliminate the notion of ‘I’ and the notion of affliction, and you should also let go of attachment to all dharmas. Great King, you should think thus: the body is merely an aggregation of many factors; what is called my body is only a phenomenon of continuous arising and ceasing. These factors that constitute the body do not know one another: when arising, they do not say, ‘I arise and you cease’; when ceasing, they do not say, ‘I cease and you arise.’ I should regard sentient beings in the same way.

“Great King Shanzhong, you should know that this body, aggregated from dharmas, is also inverted and illusory; taking it as ‘my’ body is precisely the great peril. Therefore, you should become weary of and detach from this body. How can one leave it? By leaving the two attachments of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ (what belongs to me). Leaving these two attachments means no longer discriminating among inner and outer dharmas and regarding all equally.

“What counts as equality? Both I and sentient beings take purity as constant joy; neither inner nor outer has an independent ‘I,’ and I too am pure. Both dharmas are entirely empty. This ‘emptiness’—where is it empty? It is merely designated by name; precisely because it is only a name, it is said to be empty. These two dharmas both lack a fixed, unchanging self-nature. Having realized this equality, there is no other illness; only the ‘illness of emptiness’ remains—and the illness of emptiness is itself empty. Understanding that the illness of emptiness is also empty, one understands why I manifest illness.

“Although I now have illness, there is no real one who undergoes it. I say the body is impermanent in order to explain that the true aspect of all dharmas does not change with arising and ceasing, so that people may give rise to faith and understanding. Therefore, even with a body, one should universally keep sentient beings in mind, give rise to great compassion, proclaim the One Vehicle (the teaching that leads beings to the same buddha-path), tame one’s own body and mind, and also tame all sentient beings, removing all kinds of illness.”

Now I teach about illness in order to cut off the root of illness that is beings’ grasping and clinging to conditions. If all the faculties (the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and other senses) can be stilled, then there is no illness; this is the seed of good roots. Great King, if someone is sick and bedridden, you should think thus: all dharmas (all things) have no true “self”; my body is impermanent, empty in nature, and not a true “self.” Though my body is ill, I remain within birth-and-death to teach and liberate all beings without weariness; this is called skillful means (the clever method of teaching according to capacity).

You should also think: my body and illness are not separate; this illness is this body. Therefore one should give rise to compassion toward the body and also give rise to wisdom; this is skillful means. Even if the body is ill, the mind remains still, so do not fail to know how to apply skillful means.

Great King, if beings are sick and bedridden but do not contemplate in this way, do not tame their own minds, do not become weary of this body, and instead crave and cling to it, such people are foolish; you should know that they still cannot escape birth-and-death and hell. If someone is sick and bedridden and contemplates that all dharmas are empty and without a self, knowing that the illness of this body is merely a phenomenon within birth-and-death and that he himself is not bound by birth-and-death—because fundamentally there is no birth-and-death, there is also no “self” within birth-and-death, and I within birth-and-death am not defiled. Though in walking and standing he dwells in eternal bliss, he does not cling to eternal bliss; because he does not cling, he does not fall into the extreme of quietude. This is like the practice of emptiness vast as the great ocean. Cultivating in this way, he can forever escape the realm of birth-and-death and affliction: though he has this body, he does not rely on body or mind; though he dwells in the Three Realms (the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the formless realm), he does not destroy Dharma-nature (the originally true nature of all dharmas); though he cultivates the contemplation of emptiness, he does not cling to the notion of “emptiness.”

He further told the good-rooted elder: “Great King, though my body is ill, it is for the sake of beings that I lie sick in bed. Though I cultivate signlessness (not clinging to any sign or appearance), for beings I manifest being subject to conditioned activity; though I cultivate immovability, for beings I manifest signs of movement and give various teachings; though I cultivate the One Vehicle (the single path to Buddhahood) and the ocean-like treasury of the wisdom of emptiness, for beings I manifest everywhere transformation bodies as numerous as motes of dust; though I cultivate wisdom and turn the great Dharma wheel (proclaiming the great Dharma), for beings I reveal the light of the Great Dao in the dark room of ignorance, illuminating their afflictions and causing them to give rise to good minds and cultivate the practice of the One Vehicle.” When he had spoken these words, King Good Seed and more than eight thousand ministers all gave rise to good minds.

Two Afflictions in Seeking the Dao (the Way)

The Heavenly Worthy told Duming Zhenshi (the Perfected One Who Saves Lives): In cultivating the body and seeking the Dao, there are two kinds of illness: first, the illness of possessing evil; second, the illness of clinging to the view that there is a “body.” These two illnesses are grave illnesses in cultivating the Dao. Therefore, if beings wish to seek the Dao, they should use the supreme wisdom mind of Mahayana (the Great Vehicle) to contemplate their bodily form; once they understand that fundamentally there is no substantially existent body, the three karmas of body, speech, and mind naturally become pure, and they then cultivate the Six Perfections (Paramitas: giving, precepts, patience, effort, meditation, and wisdom).

The cultivation of the “Four Impartial Minds” (sideng xin)—four kinds of equal and compassionate intention—is a skillful means for according with sentient beings and guiding and drawing them in. It is like travelers blocked by a valley who wish to reach the other shore but have no way across, and so must rely on a boat to cross the danger. Once they have reached the other shore, the boat that was used to cross the river is no longer needed.

The same is true of the “Six Perfections” (liu du)—six practices that help cultivators cross the sea of suffering of birth and death—and of the four kinds of cultivation. Sentient beings are not yet able to realize the principle of “non-arising” (wusheng), that is, they do not yet understand that all dharmas are originally without arising or ceasing. Therefore they first rely on the Six Perfections to comfort and tame their minds; when they understand that body and mind are originally empty and arrive at the state of Dao, practices such as the Six Perfections are no longer needed. What is called “ferrying life” (duming) means precisely this.

The Celestial Worthy of Great Virtue (Dade Tianzun) said: “The essential meaning of this simile is subtle and profound. Sentient beings cultivate various practices in order to transcend the world; once they have been ferried across, they no longer need to continue cultivating. If all people had already become perfected and attained Dao, would there then be nothing left to practice? And if there were nothing to practice, would the mind of great compassion be lost? Why does the Great Dao still constantly practice the Four Great Vows (sihong shiyuan) on behalf of sentient beings, saving them from suffering?”

The Celestial Worthy answered Perfected Duming: “The Celestial Worthy, the Great Sage, relieves sentient beings and frees them from suffering without distinguishing self and other, without giving rise to love or hatred, and without any mind of success or failure, gain or loss. It is like a bridge that has no intention of ferrying people across: it does not pick and choose between the clean and the unclean, nor distinguish between people and livestock—people, oxen, horses, mules, and donkeys can all pass over it. In the same way, the Celestial Worthy, the Great Sage, universally saves sentient beings with a mind free of discrimination. Although he transforms sentient beings, there is no distinction of self and other, love and hate, success and failure, gain and loss. It is like the great ocean receiving the hundred rivers: it neither increases nor decreases because of them, nor does it discriminate between the foul and the clean, much less intentionally select among them.”

The Dream Simile and Unreality

The Celestial Worthy said to the Youth of Right View: “The Celestial Worthies of the Ten Directions—the Celestial Worthies of the worlds in all ten directions—appear in the world in order to cut off sentient beings’ false discriminations, and for this reason they proclaim this subtle and profound scripture. Thereby sentient beings each obtain pure wisdom, understand Dharma-nature (faxing)—the fundamental nature of all dharmas—and their minds are no longer obscured. They know that all dharmas are empty and originally without delusion. Since delusion is empty, the mind-nature becomes pure and peaceful; and thus they also understand that all the Celestial Worthies of the Ten Directions have no fixed mark of appearing or disappearing.

Therefore, when the Celestial Worthies of the Ten Directions appear in the world, they bring great benefit, enabling all sentient beings to obtain Right View and dwell in peace and happiness. It is like dreaming at night of a venomous snake opening its sharp fangs and pressing close beside one, as if about to devour oneself. The dreamer is terrified beyond measure, runs about in all directions, cries out loudly, and in panic and confusion falls down beside the bed. Then someone who is awake wakes him and says: ‘Oh! To think that you were so frightened by such a dream that you cried out…’”

The original text ends here unfinished; the final sentence has not yet been completed.

A person suddenly wakes from a dream, stretches his hands and feet, and only then realizes that what he just saw was merely a dream and not real. If a person’s mind is upright and settled, he can be calm and at ease. All sentient beings dwell within the great house of ignorance that is the Three Realms (the Desire Realm, Form Realm, and Formless Realm), and everything they do is likewise like a dream or illusion, without a real and unchanging self-nature. The Heavenly Worthy, the Great Sage, expounds this Mahayana subtle and wondrous scripture in order to awaken all sentient beings and lead them to obtain right views.

The Parable of Scattered Flowers

The Zhenzang Jing says: The Heavenly Worthy scattered Benwei flowers on Lingjie Mountain (a mountain of immortals in Daoist scriptures). The flowers drifted and spread, filling the entire dharma realm, yet they did not belong to any of the colors blue, white, red, or black, nor did they have distinctions of long or short, large or small, wide or narrow; they entered the most subtle and minute places, and yet transcended all form and color.

Within the flowers were naturally generated fruits. The fruits were perfect and pure, endowed with all flavors, yet not confined to any one flavor; endowed with all sounds, colors, fragrances, tactile sensations, dharmas (things and principles), and wisdom, yet not confined to any one sound, color, fragrance, tactile sensation, dharma, or wisdom. This fruit is called the “Sweet Spring of Complete Compassion” (Ju Ci Gan Quan). When one tastes the flavor of the spring, one naturally becomes satisfied and is no longer hungry or thirsty; one’s bearing becomes upright and beautiful, exceedingly rare. After reaching Lingjie Mountain, one is no longer subject to birth and extinction, dwells peacefully and permanently, and realizes the fruit of non-arising (the state beyond the cycle of birth and death).

At that time, among the assembly there was a youth named Shanda. He rose and addressed the Heavenly Worthy: “I do not understand: the natural fruits within the Benwei flowers spread throughout the dharma realm, reaching every mote of dust, and can cover and enter both great and small places. They can be red, white, blue, or black; they can have distinctions of long and short, large and small, wide and narrow; they can be seen and heard, can come and go, and can be heaven or earth. Such flowers and fruits are vast and all-pervading, everywhere forming the dharma realm, and are inconceivable.

“Since all sentient beings are nourished by the same flower, why do their individual causes and conditions differ, with different good and evil, and different karmic actions of birth and death, so that their experiences of suffering and enjoyment vary? Sentient beings pass back and forth, and their rebirths are also different: some are born in remote border regions, some in the central plains; some become slaves or maidservants, some become kings; some are poor and lowly, some rich and noble; some are lame, some have sound bodies; some are foolish, some wise; some are stingy and greedy, some delight in giving; some enjoy killing, some are compassionate; some commit the five heinous offenses, some are filial…”

Following causes and conditions, some sentient beings are born to suffer and some to enjoy pleasure; some are born deaf-mute or blind, some intelligent; some are born as birds, insects, or beasts, and some as fish or turtles. Karmic retribution (the fruition brought about by actions and their causes and conditions) differs in countless ways. Please, in your compassion, explain this to us in detail.

The Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun) told the youth Shanda (Shanda Tongzi): “All dharmas (all things and phenomena in the world) arise from the same source, yet manifest in various subtle transformations and different forms. Sentient beings are deluded and do not know it; within true reality (the actual state of things as they are) they falsely give rise to inverted views. Thus they suffer because of dharmas and encounter punishment; they themselves are unfilial and unkind, depart from loving compassion, abandon the root and pursue the branches, and remain benighted and ignorant, long dwelling in darkness without liberation. Out of compassion and pity, we save sentient beings in various ways and make clear the source of the principles of dharmas, so that people are no longer doubtful and can also understand karmic conditions.

“All dharmas are empty and quiescent, and ultimately without self. Consider: Does the growth of the myriad things in the east have a boundary? Does the radiance of light in the south have an end? In the west, do the decay and death of sentient beings change? In the darkness of the north, is there a place of exhaustion or passage? Do these sensations—form, sound, smell, taste, and touch—ultimately exist or not? Do these bonds of greed, hatred, and delusion ultimately exist or not? Can good and evil actions and their karmic fruits be changed through cultivation? These are all principles revealed by the Great Master. Yet, since all dharmas and karmic actions are unobtainable, why is there still difference in sentient beings’ suffering and pleasure?”

The Heavenly Worthy said: “All dharmas arise like illusions and cease like illusions; all dharmas cease like illusions and again arise like illusions. The various marks of arising and ceasing are illusory, and arising and ceasing themselves have no real nature; the various marks of coming and going are illusory, and fundamentally there is no real coming or going; such phenomena as greed and delusion, grasping and rejecting, affliction, affection, and difference are all illusory marks, and ultimately there is no fixed, real greed or delusion, grasping or rejecting, affliction, affection, or difference. The karmic conditions of sentient beings are likewise: uprightness, arising and ceasing, coming and going, greed and delusion, grasping and rejecting, affliction, affection, and difference are all illusory marks. Contemplated in this way, one can reach emptiness and quiescence and realize and enter the ultimate ground of the Dao (the realm of realizing the Great Dao).”

After Shanda heard this, he suddenly awakened.

On Seeds

The Heavenly Worthy told Yaoming Zhenren (the Perfected One Yaoming): “Earlier you asked: Take a seed, for example. If the seed is not destroyed, then from where do sprout, stem, branches, leaves, flowers, fruit, and so on arise? Now I ask you: Is it only when the seed is destroyed that sprout and fruit arise? If the seed is destroyed, then at the place of destruction there is no cause; for there to be a result without a cause is untenable. If the seed is destroyed when the sprout grows, then destruction cannot again have the function of growth; and to take destruction as the cause of growth is also untenable. From this one should know: seed, sprout, stem, branches, leaves, flowers, fruit…”

It is neither production nor destruction; neither cause nor effect; nor is it neither cause nor effect. The true situation of afflictions is likewise: they are neither before nor after; neither identical nor different, nor both identical and different.

Again he said to Yaoming: “You hold that only after the seed has perished does the sprout arise. Now I ask you: does the sprout arise at the time the seed perishes, before the seed has perished, or only after the seed has perished?

“If the sprout arises at the time the seed perishes, then perishing becomes production; but since it has already perished, it cannot produce again. If you say that arising is just perishing, then perishing is not true perishing. Once the seed has perished, how can it still produce a sprout?

“This is like when there is a covering over the body: the body does not thereby disappear; and when there is no covering, the body does not thereby appear. From this we know that once the seed has perished, the sprout will not arise; and to say that there is a sprout without a seed is also unreasonable. Therefore I say that production cannot occur at the time of perishing.

“If someone says that the sprout arises when the seed perishes, then arising and perishing would be one and the same. But just as the various organs of the body all belong to one body, one cannot say that because the head has perished the feet arise. Such a statement is unreasonable. From this we know that the sprout does not arise when the seed perishes; and that arising and perishing are one and the same is also unreasonable. Therefore I say that production cannot occur at the time of perishing.

“If you say that the sprout arises only after the seed has perished, then arising and cessation are separated from each other; how can they constitute a causal relationship? It is like a seed that has already first ceased: after cessation there is no sprout, so how can a sprout arise from a seed that has already been ruined? From this we know that the sprout does not arise after the seed has perished; and to say that the sprout arises only after the seed has perished is also unreasonable. Therefore I say that after the seed has perished, the sprout cannot arise either.

“Again he said to Yaoming: Are the perishing of the seed and the arising of the sprout one and the same thing, or are they different things? If arising and perishing are one and the same, the nature of perishing is opposed to arising—how can they be one and the same? Once it has perished, it does not arise; how can it still arise? If arising and perishing are two different things, then different things cannot be cause and effect for one another; and to say that it can produce an effect from this is also unreasonable. This is like space not being the cause of a rabbit’s horn: space cannot produce a rabbit’s horn. From this we know that saying the two are different also cannot stand. Then how, after all, does the sprout arise?

“Again he said to Yaoming: If the sprout arises before the seed has perished, then the condition of the seed has not yet changed; if the seed is unchanged while the sprout has already arisen, then there is an effect without a cause—that is, there is a sprout without a seed, which is unreasonable. For example, without a form there is no shadow; if the form has not yet appeared but the shadow appears first, one should know that this shadow is not produced by the form. Again, if hemp seeds have not yet been crushed, no oil comes out. From this we know that the sprout does not arise before the seed has perished. Then how can the sprout appear?

“Again he said to Yaoming: If the sprout arises only after the seed has perished, then that seed has already vanished; since it has already vanished, there is no cause. Arising after cessation…”

When teeth begin to grow, if one says they do not come from a seed, then while the seed has already been destroyed the teeth have already grown—this makes no sense. It is like the absence of milk meaning no curd is produced; if there is no milk yet there is curd, that would amount to saying curd is not produced from milk. From this one should know that after things decay and perish, they do not arise again from their original place. That being so, how can one still speak of arising? Carefully examining the appearance of “arising,” in the end no real, imperishable mark of arising can be found; therefore it is said to be “non-arising” (wusheng), that is, there is no truly self-existing arising.

True and False

In the Shengxuan Jing (Scripture of Ascending Mystery), Ziming asks: “If there is nothing at all, on what basis is it called ‘being’?”

Daoling answers: “Because it is ‘without any possession,’ it is called ‘being.’”

Ziming asks again: “What does ‘possession’ mean?”

Daoling answers: “Forms and sounds are all false.”

Ziming asks: “Why are they said to be false?”

Daoling answers: “Because they cannot remain for long.”

Ziming asks again: “What does it mean that they cannot remain for long?”

Daoling answers: “Because they change very quickly.”

Ziming says: “Even if they change quickly, one cannot say they are nothing at all. Since they have already changed, there must be something that has changed; how can it be called ‘non-being’?”

Daoling answers: “When I spoke earlier of change, I did not mean that everything is utterly nonexistent like empty space, but that all existing things are not truly permanent. Whatever is born must die; what exists must in the end cease to exist; what takes form must be destroyed; what flourishes must decline; the young and strong must grow old. What existed before has now disappeared. Cold and heat alternate, worldly affairs shift—all are indistinct and unsettled, without constancy.

“Parents, brothers, wife and children, family home, friends, and social ties; wealth and honor, strength and power, authority and pleasure—none last long; in an instant they scatter. Death brings eternal parting; aging and illness bring weakness; disputes, resentment, mental disturbance, and despondency follow. The various sorrows and afflictions brought by such things are all illusory; not one is real and unchanging.

“Only the worthy and Daoist practitioners understand that these are not real but false dharmas. Through reflection and discernment, they realize the true nature of things, maintain purity, quietude, and detachment, single-mindedly guard the One (the state of concentrated, unified focus in Daoist cultivation), and calm the spirit. They deeply understand that in the world there is nothing permanent and self-existing; even while living in worldly life, they can guard the Dao, recollect the true, calm the spirit, and practice Wuwei (non-action), grasp the arts of long life, ascend as immortals and deliver the world, and enter the Palace of Longevity. This is called ‘attainment of non-attainment’: although there is realization, one does not cling to what is attained.”

The scripture also says: “What is called ‘being’ is by nature always false; what is called ‘non-being’ is by nature always non-being. Although there are the two names ‘being’ and ‘non-being,’ when traced to their root they are one and the same: one reality with two names.”

The scripture also says: “The two names ‘being’ and ‘non-being’ arise from false things. When form appears, it is called ‘being’; when form disappears, it is called ‘non-being.’ Only through mutual dependence do such distinctions exist, but neither is truly unchanging.”

The Dharma of Emptiness

The Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun) said to the Perfected Person Biantong: “Emptiness originally cannot be explained in words; the ‘emptiness’ I now speak of is also empty. Empty space itself is empty, and my words are likewise empty. Therefore one should know that all things in the world are illusory and false, and originally have no permanent, truly real self-nature.”

I say that all things in the world do not fall into unreality. Why? Because unreality originally has no self-nature.

I also say that all things in the world do not fall into unreality. Why? Because the nature of unreality is emptiness.

When I speak of unreality, the very “unreality” I speak of is also empty. Therefore, my statement that all things in the world do not fall into unreality can be understood everywhere without obstruction.

The Perfected One Biantong asked: “Great Virtue Heavenly Worthy, you say that all things in the world are empty, and yet you also teach in accordance with the understanding of sentient beings. What benefit is there in doing so?”

The Heavenly Worthy replied: “This is to guide sentient beings so that they may transcend [confusion and suffering] and enter the gate of emptiness [the path of practice that realizes all dharmas are empty], eliminate all erroneous views, understand signlessness [not clinging to fixed forms], and comprehend non-creation [not clinging to deliberate construction]. In this way, all formations and constructions will ultimately return to quiescence and cease, and will no longer arise; since they no longer arise or cease, one can abide permanently and unmovingly. Therefore, I now, with a mind of great compassion, accord with sentient beings in the world and enable them to obtain this great benefit.”