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Saturday, July 18, 2020

On the idea of innate or primordial Enlightenment



Whenever I used the image of seeds planted into a good soil and growing into trees was just to explain the potential we have of becoming Buddhas. However, I have never used it in order to say that the Buddha nature we discover when we become Buddhas is something created by us and not already present with all its enlightened qualities beyond the many layers of illusions and blind passions. As I clearly specified in fascicle 2 of Amida Dharma, the potential I refer to is to awaken to the Buddha nature that is already present:

“Just like all seeds have the natural potential to become trees, all sentient beings have the natural potential to become Buddhas, that is, to awaken to their own Buddha nature. Beyond the various layers of our delusory personality, the Buddha nature is the true reality, uncreated and indestructible, the treasure hidden in every one of us. When it's discovered, the causes of suffering and repeated births and deaths are annihilated and the one who attained it becomes himself a savior and guide of all beings that are still caught in the slavery of samsara”.

So, our Buddha nature is primordially pure and primordially enlightened, having all the innate qualities I talked about in the last chapter. What we call attainment of perfect Enlightenment, Buddhahood or Nirvana actually means the discovery of this Buddha nature, like finding a shining jewel hidden in the mud. It does not at all means that before Enlightenment the Buddha nature did not exist and came into existence after, or it existed only as a seed, and now it exists as something different. In fact, the Buddha nature is eternal and has always existed no matter some discover it or not (attain or do not attain Buddhahood). This is similar with lighting up a room where there are treasures which were not seen before due to darkness. One cannot say that the treasures appeared when the light was turn on, as they existed before too, just they were hidden in the dark.
Shakyamuni Buddha said in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra:

“It is not the case that the inherent nature of Nirvana did not primordially exist but now exists.  Regardless of whether there are Buddhas or not, its intrinsic nature and attributes are permanently present. Because beings are enveloped by the afflictions (kleshas), they do not perceive it and they say that Nirvana does not exist. Bodhisattva-mahasattvas, who train their minds with morality, insight and meditative concentration, eradicate the afflictions and then come to perceive it. Hence, they know that Nirvana is permanently present by nature and is not something which did not exist primordially but now does exist. Therefore, they deem it to be permanent. For example, noble son, suppose there was a well containing the seven kinds of treasures in a dark room. People might know that they are there but are unable to see them, because of the darkness. Then a wise person, skilled in means, came bearing a large, bright lamp and illumined things so that everybody could see them. This person did not think to himself that originally there was no water or the seven kinds of treasure there but now there is. Nirvana too is like that: it is primordially existent and does not just come into existence in the present. Because of the obscuring darkness of the afflictions, beings do not see it. The Tathagata, endowed with all-knowing awareness (sarvajna-jnana) lights the lamp of insight with His skill in means (upaya-kausalya) and causes bodhisattvas to perceive the permanence, the bliss, the Self, and the purity of Nirvana. Therefore, the wise will not say that this Nirvana did not exist primordially but now exists. […]

“For example, noble son, suppose there is water endowed with the eight tastes below the ground but nobody is able to reach it. Then some wise person sets to work and digs down until he reaches it. Nirvana is like that. Or else, suppose there is a blind man who cannot see the sun or moon. A skilled doctor might cure him so that he becomes able to see them, though it is not the case that the sun and moon did not originally exist but now do. Nirvana is like that – it has existed primordially and not just come into being in the present.”

So, Nirvana, Dharmakaya, Buddhahood, etc, and Buddha nature are the same thing. They all refer to the discovery of the inherent Buddha nature, dwelling in it and never being blind to it again.
In the Queen Srimala Sutra it is said:

“The ‘extinction of suffering’ is known as the Dharmakaya of the World Honored One, which is beginningless, uncreated, unborn, undying, free from destruction, permanent unchanging, eternal, inherently pure, and separate from all the stores of defilement. The Dharmakaya is also not different from the inconceivable Buddha nature.  The Dharmakaya of the World Honored One is called the Buddha nature when it is obscured by the stores of defilement. […]“[2]

When one is not yet Enlightened we just say he has Buddha nature but he does not see it – “it is obscured by the stores of defilement”. When one attains Enlightenment we refer to His Buddha nature as Dharmakaya body of ultimate reality. So, actually Dharmakaya is the discovered Buddha nature that has always been there. The same we can say about Nirvana or Emancipation (Enlightenment). Shinran Shonin himself quoted Mahaparinirvana Sutra on this topic, in his Kyogyoshinsho:

“Emancipation is called the supreme that is unexcelled… The supreme that is unexcelled is none other than true Emancipation; true Emancipation is none other than Tathagata… If one has attained highest perfect Enlightenment, one is free of desire and free of doubt. To be free of desire and free of doubt is true Emancipation, true emancipation is Tathagata… Tathagata is Nirvana, Nirvana is the inexhaustible, the inexhaustible is Buddha-nature, Buddha-nature is unchanging, the unchanging is highest perfect Enlightenment.”[3]

“The Dharma-body (Dharmakaya) is eternity, bliss, Self, and purity. It is forever free of all birth, aging, sickness, and death, of not-white and not-black, not-long and not-short, not-this and not-that, not learning and not non-learning; hence, whether the Buddha appears in the world or does not appear in the world, He is constantly unmoving and without change (His Buddha nature never changes)[4]

To be “forever free” from birth, aging, sickness, death, etc, means to be eternal, that is, without beginning or end. Also, whether somebody becomes a Buddha or not (awakens or not to his Buddha nature) that Buddha nature never changes. By quoting these passages and many others it is clear that Shinran Shonin was very much aware of the doctrine of Tathagatagarbha and innate Enlightenment.
More than this, he also wanted to express the idea that Buddha nature itself, which is the non-ceasing and non-perishing element of all beings, is the very thing that makes possible the attainment of Enlightenment:

“All sentient beings are non-ceasing and non-perishing, and thus attain highest perfect Enlightenment.”[5]

The non-ceasing and non-perishing aspect of sentient beings is their Buddha nature and exactly because they have Buddha nature, they are able to attain perfect Enlightenment, that is, to reach a point when they can see the Buddha nature, as perfect Enlightenment is nothing else than turning the light on and see the treasure in the room that has always been there.

This teaching that because of Buddha nature we can aspire to and become Buddhas (beings who dwell in their Buddha nature) is very important. Everybody want to be happy and all beings search for a meaning in their lives. Thus, they intuitively know there is something stable that can be found beyond the everyday ups and downs, sorrows and difficulties. That something they always search and long for is actually the unconscious intuition of their Buddha nature but unfortunately, they do not know where to search and so they are looking for fulfillment in the wrong places.
Unlike false teachers and worldly ideologies, the Buddhas appear in the world to turn our minds in the right direction and offer us the right tools to dig into our layers of illusions and blind passions to discover our Buddha nature. The right tools are the various Dharma Gates and practices associated with them, so if we do not practice the Dharma we cannot find the Buddha nature, no matter it already exists with all its innate qualities.

I heard a lot of people nowadays wrongly assuming that because they have Buddha nature they are already Enlightened without the need to do anything. However, we are warned against such an attitude in many sutras and instructions of various Masters:

 “Or a person might say: ‘I have already attained unsurpassed Enlightenment! Why? Because
I have the Buddha nature. Any person possessing the Buddha nature has assuredly attained unsurpassed Enlightenment. Consequently, I attain Enlightenment.’ Then, one should know, such a person infringes the parajika (does a great sin/offence). Why so? There surely is the Buddha nature. But not yet having practiced the best expedient of the Way, the person has not yet seen it. Having not yet seen it, there can be no attaining of unsurpassed Enlightenment.”[6]

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche also said on this matter:

“Our basic nature is in no way different from that of a Buddha. It’s like pure space, which, whether it is obscured by clouds or is a cloudless and clear sky, remains the same in its basic, essential nature. But if you pretend that your nature is already enlightened and don’t progress along the path of removing the obscurations, then your enlightened nature doesn’t become realized. […][7]
If our nature wasn’t already enlightened, we couldn’t awaken to it no matter how hard we tried. Buddha nature cannot be fabricated. Our nature is primordially enlightened, but at present our ordinary body, speech and discursive thinking obscures it. The nature of our mind, Buddha nature, is like space itself, but it is space obscured by clouds. The whole point of Dharma practice is to remove the clouds and allow the actualization of what already is – the awakened state of mind, the Buddha nature.[8]

All the genuine Dharma Gates of Buddhist teaching talk about three main aspects:

1)      The Basis, 2) The Path and 3) the Fruit

The Basis is the hidden Buddha nature which is already perfectly Enlightened and filled with innumerable qualities. This Buddha nature resides in all beings but it is not yet manifesting due to being covered by many layers of illusions and blind passions.

The Path is composed of the various practices taught in many sutras and Dharma Gates with the intention of removing the illusions and blind passions that obscure our already present Buddha nature.

The Fruit is the Buddha nature that has had the illusions and blind passions that obscured it removed, thus allowing it to be seen and manifest itself. This fruit is called perfect Enlightenment, Buddhahood, Nirvana, Dharmakaya, etc

In the case of Pure Land Dharma Gate or Jodo Shinshu (Amida Dharma), the Path is to say the Nembutsu of Faith in Amida Buddha, aspiring to be born in His Pure Land after death where in such a perfectly enlightened environment our illusions and blind passions will naturally melt like ice meeting fire, thus revealing our innate Buddha nature. We will talk about this in one of the next chapters.


to be continued




[1] The idea of innate or primordial Enlightenment is also called Original Enlightenment.
[2] Queen Srimala Sutra, Chapter 8: The Dharmakaya, https://whatdobuddhistsbelieve.wordpress.com/teachings/queen-srimala-sutra
[3] Mahaparinirvana Sutra as quoted by Shinran Shonin in his Kyogyoshinsho, chapter V, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.181
[4] Mahaparinirvana Sutra as quoted by Shinran Shonin in his Kyogyoshinsho, chapter V, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.188. 
[5] Mahaparinirvana Sutra as quoted by Shinran Shonin in his Kyogyoshinsho, chapter V, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.189
[6] Mahaparinirvana Sutra, translated by Kosho Yamamoto from Dharmakshema’s Chinese version, edition printed by Dr Tony Page, 2004,verse 397,  p.65
[7] From the book As it is, translated by Erik Pema Kunsang, https://quotes.justdharma.com/pretending-enlightenment-tulku-urgyen-rinpoche/
[8] From the book As it is, translated by Erik Pema Kunsang https://quotes.justdharma.com/buddha-nature-cannot-be-fabricated-tulku-urgyen-rinpoche/

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