SUTRA SPOKEN BY THE SIXTH PATRIARCH
ON THE HIGH SEAT OF "THE TREASURE OF THE LAW"
Translated by A.F.Price and Wong
Mou-Lam
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Chapter IX
Royal Patronage
An edict dated the 15th day of the first Moon of the first year of Shen
Lung, issued by the Empress Dowager Tse T'ien and the Emperor Chung Tsung ran as follows:
"Since we invited Grand Masters Hui An and Shen Hsiu to stay in the palace to receive
our offerings, we have studied the 'Buddha Vehicle' under them whenever we could find time
after attending to our imperial duties. Out of sheer modesty, these two Masters
recommended that we should seek the advice of Dhyana Master Hui Neng of the South, who has
esoterically inherited the Dharma and the robe of the Fifth Patriarch as well as the
'Heart Seal' of Lord Buddha. "We hereby send Hsueh Chien as the courier of this Edict
to invite His Holiness to come, and trust His Holiness will graciously favor us with an
early visit to the capital." On the ground of illness, the Patriarch sent a reply to
decline the royal invitation and asked to be allowed to spend his remaining years 'in the
forest'. "Dhyana experts in the capital," said Hsueh Chien (when interviewing
the Patriarch), "unanimously advise people to meditate in the sitting position to
attain Samadhi. They say that this is the only way to realize the Norm (Tao), and that it
is impossible for anyone to obtain liberation without going through meditation exercises.
May I know your way of teaching, Sir?" "The Norm is to be realized by the
mind," replied the Patriarch, "and does not depend on the sitting position. The
Diamond Sutra says that it is wrong for anyone to assert that the Tathagata comes or goes,
sits or reclines. Why? Because the Tathagata's 'Dhyana of Purity' implies neither coming
from anywhere nor going to anywhere, neither becoming nor causing to be. All Dharmas are
calm and void, and such is the Tathagata's 'Seat of Purity'. Strictly speaking, there is
even no such thing as 'attainment'; why then should we bother ourselves about the sitting
position?" "Upon my return," said Hsueh Chien, "Their Majesties will
certainly ask me to make a report. Will you, Sir, kindly give me some essential hints on
your teaching, so that I can make them known not only to Their Majesties, but also to all
Buddhist scholars in the capital? As the flame of one lamp may kindle hundreds or
thousands of others, so the ignorant will be enlightened (by your teaching), and light
will produce light without end." "The Norm implies neither light nor
darkness," replied the Patriarch. "Light and darkness signify the idea of
alternation. (It is not correct to say) that light will produce light without end, because
there is an end, since light and darkness are a pair of opposites. The Vimalakirti Nirdesa
Sutra says, 'The Norm has no comparison, since it is not a relative term'."
"Light signifies wisdom," argued Hsueh Chien, "and darkness signifies klesa
(defilement). If a treader of the Path does not break up klesa with the force of wisdom,
how is he going to free himself from the 'wheel of birth and death', which is
beginningless?" "Klesa is Bodhi," rejoined the Patriarch. "The two are
the same and not different. To break up klesa with wisdom is the teaching of the Sravaka
(Arhat) School and the Pratyeka Buddha School, the followers of which are of the 'Goat
Vehicle' and 'Deer Vehicle' standard respectively. To those of superior mental
dispositions such teaching would be of no use at all." "What then, is the
teaching of the Mahayana School?" asked Hsueh Chien. "From the point of view of
ordinary men," replied the Patriarch, "enlightenment and ignorance are two
separate things. Wise men who realize thoroughly the Essence of Mind know that they are of
the same nature. This same nature or non-dual nature is what is called the 'real nature',
which neither decreases in the case of ordinary men and ignorant persons, nor increases in
the case of the enlightened sage; which is not disturbed in a state of annoyance, nor calm
in a state of Samadhi. It is neither eternal nor non-eternal; it neither goes nor comes;
it is not to be found in the exterior, nor in the interior, nor in the space between the
two. It is above existence and non-existence; its nature and its phenomena are always in a
state of 'Thusness'; it is permanent and immutable. Such is the Norm." Hsueh Chien
asked, "You say that it is above existence and non-existence. How then do you
differentiate it from the teaching of the heretics who teach the same thing?"
"In the teaching of the heretics," replied the Patriarch, "'non-existence'
means the end of 'existence', while 'existence' is used in contrast with 'non-existence'.
What they mean by 'non-existence' is not actually annihilation and what they call
'existence' does not really exist. What I mean by 'above existence and non-existence' is
this; intrinsically it exists not, and at the present moment it will not be annihilated.
Such is the difference between my teaching and that of the heretics. "If you wish to
know the essential points of my teaching, you should free yourself from all thoughts, good
ones as well as bad; then your mind will be in a state of purity, calm and serene all the
time, and its usefulness as manifold as the grains of sand in the Ganges." The
preaching of the Patriarch suddenly awoke Hsueh Chien to full enlightenment. He made
obeisance and bid the Patriarch adieu. Upon his return to the palace, he reported what the
Patriarch had said to Their Majesties. In that same year, on the third day of the ninth
Moon, an edict was issued commending the Patriarch in the following terms: "On the
ground of old age and poor health, the Patriarch declined our invitation to come to the
capital. Devoting his life to the practice of Buddhism for our benefit, he is indeed the
'field of merit' of the nation. Like Vimalakirti, he widely spreads the Mahayana teaching,
transmits the doctrine of the Dhyana School, and expounds the system of 'Non-dual' Law.
"Through the medium of Hsueh Chien, to whom the Patriarch has imparted the
'Buddha-knowledge', we are fortunate enough to have a chance to understand for ourselves
the teaching of the Supreme Vehicle. This must be due to our accumulated merits and our
'root of goodness' planted in past lives; otherwise, we should not be the contemporaries
of His Holiness. "In appreciation of the graciousness of the Patriarch, we present to
him herewith a Mo Na robe (a valuable Buddhist robe made in Korea) and a crystal bowl. The
Prefect of Shao Chou is hereby ordered to renovate his monastery and to convert his old
residence into a temple which is to be named 'Kuo En' (State Munificence)."
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The Treasure of Law Sutra |
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Update: 01-12-2001
