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| Hinayana Sravakas (source of photo here) |
All beings have Buddha nature which is the
Basis and also the Fruit (the finalization) of the Path. However, even among
those who are disciples of the Buddha not all have the same aspiration. Thus,
not everyone obtains the fruit of discovering their Buddha nature.
In the Queen Srimala Sutra it is said:
In the Queen Srimala Sutra it is said:
“O’ Bhagavan,
the wisdom of the Buddha Nature is the World Honored One’s wisdom of Sunyata (Emptiness). The Buddha Nature is not something that has been seen or realized
by any Arhat, or Pratyekabuddha. There are two types of Emptiness wisdom
concerning the Buddha Nature which are as follows: 1) The Buddha nature is
empty from, separate from, independent from and different from all the stores
of defilement. 2) The Buddha nature is not-empty from, is not separate
from, not independent from and not different from the inconceivable Buddha
Attributes which are more numerous than the sands of the river Ganges. […]
All the [sravaka]
disciples and Pratyekabuddhas are stuck in the domain of the four inverse views
because of their incorrect knowledge of emptiness. This is why none of the Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas
have ever seen or attained the Buddha Nature. Only the Buddha’s have
experienced the extinction of all suffering and destroyed all the stores of
defilement. They alone have practiced all the paths which lead to the
extinction of suffering.”[1]
In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra it is said:
“The wise
perceive emptiness and non-emptiness, the permanent and the impermanent,
suffering and bliss, Self and non-Self. The empty is the totality of samsara and the non-empty is Great
Nirvana, non-Self is samsara, and the Self is Great
Nirvana. To perceive the emptiness of everything and not to perceive
non-emptiness is not termed the Middle Way, to perceive the non-Self of
everything, and not to perceive the Self is not termed the Middle Way. The
Middle Way is termed the Buddha-dhatu (Buddha nature/Buddha essence). For this
reason, the Buddha-dhatu is eternal and unchanging. Because beings are
enveloped in ignorance, they are unable to perceive it. Sravakas and
Pratyekabuddhas perceive the emptiness of everything, but do not
perceive the non-emptiness, they
perceive the absence of self [i.e. non-Self] in all things, but do not perceive
the Self. For this reason, they do not attain the ultimate
emptiness. Because they do not attain the supreme emptiness, they do not
walk the Middle Way. Because they lack the Middle Way, they do not perceive the
Buddha-dhatu.”
An Arhat is the
saint and the culmination of the Hinayana Buddhist teaching. He has overcome
the outward manifestation of the afflictive emotions but has not completely
uprooted their psychic imprint. He is free from samsara but has no attained
perfect Enlightenment. For this reason we say he did not discover the Buddha
nature.
A Hinayana Sravaka (Hinayana Hearer) is the Buddhist disciple who fears samsara and wishes to
achieve Nirvana but has little compassion. It is said:
“One who is afraid upon seeing the suffering of
samsara
And yearns to achieve Nirvana
But has little interest in benefiting sentient beings
–
These are the three marks of the Hearer family.”[2]
These should NOT be confused with the sravakas mentioned in the The Larger Sutra which refer to people who might have been Hinayana sravakas in a previous existence before being born in the Pure Land and who are now faithful enlightened disciples of Amida Buddha and hear the teaching directly from Him.
A
Pratyekabuddha (Solitary Realizer) is one who has the above three marks and in
addition is arrogant, keep his master’s identity secret and prefer to stay in
solitary places. It is said:
“Fear at the
thought of samsara, yearning for Nirvana,
Little
compassion, arrogance,
Secretive about
their teachers, and enjoying solitude
A wise one
should understand that these are the marks of the Solitary Realizer family.”[3]
The
Sravakayana (Sravaka vehicle) and Pratyekabuddhayana are the two vehicles
(yana) of the Hinayana, while the Bodhisattvayana is the Mahayana which aims at
attaining Nirvana for all beings.
According
to the above sutras the Arhats, Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas of the Hinayana do
not attain Buddhahood and so they do not discover their Buddha nature because
they have an “incorrect knowledge of
emptiness”, that is, they can’t accept the difference as explained in this
book between other emptiness or
non-empty-emptiness (“supreme emptiness”)
of Buddha nature, and self emptiness
or empty-emptiness of samsaric phenomena which simply means that Buddha nature is only empty of illusions, blind passions, and any samsaric phenomena (empty of other things that are not Buddha nature – other emptiness), but NOT empty of itself and its own innate qualities (“attributes”), as Queen Srimala said:
“The Buddha
nature is empty from, separate from, independent from and different from all
the stores of defilement. The Buddha nature is not-empty from, is not separate
from, not independent from and not different from the inconceivable Buddha
Attributes which are more numerous than the sands of the river Ganges”.
On
the other hand, the samsaric phenomena are empty of themselves because they are
depending on causes and conditions and always changing. Many people nowadays,
followers of Mahayana in name only call themselves Madhyamikas or Middle Way disciples
but have a wrong view on emptiness in the sense that they think everything is
self-empty, including the great Nirvana and Buddha nature. However, as Mahaparinirvana Sutra said “the empty is the totality of
samsara and the non-empty is Great Nirvana”. Hinayana Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas
perceive the emptiness of everything that relatively exists in samsara and know
the non-self aspect of all samsaric phenomena, but they don’t perceive the
non-emptiness of Nirvana and the true Self of Buddha nature. Only those who become
Buddhas and start using its myriad innate qualities to help all beings see and know
Buddha nature. We ourselves, followers of the Primal Vow, will become Buddhas in
the moment we are born in the Pure Land of Amida and see Buddha nature.
Many
so-called Mahayana practitioners talk all day long about emptiness and oneness
but don’t accept that Buddha nature and Buddhas dwelling in it are NOT self-empty
but only empty of illusions, blind passions and attachments. They are nothing more
than pitiful atheists and materialists who follow the wrong view of nihilistic emptiness and who will never see Buddha nature.
Please
stay away from them!
[1] Queen Srimala and her Lion’s
Roar Sutra, chapter 9, verse 97, translated by Tsultrim Gyurme,
https://whatdobuddhistsbelieve.wordpress.com/teachings/queen-srimala-sutra
[2] The Jewel Ornament of
Liberation – The Wish-fulfiling Gem of the Noble Teachings, Gampopa,
translated into English by Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche, Snow Lion
Publications, Ithaka, New York, 1998, p.51
[3] The Jewel Ornament of
Liberation – The Wish-fulfiling Gem of the Noble Teachings, Gampopa,
translated into English by Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche, Snow Lion
Publications, Ithaka, New York, 1998, p.51
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