Unfortunately, many nowadays followers
are confused by wrong views and deny the existence of individuated Buddhas by
misinterpreting ultimate reality or Dharmakaya of Dharma nature as some kind of nihilistic emptiness in which nothing exists. They think that when one attains
Enlightenment he goes into some kind of extinction when in fact, at that moment
only illusions and blind passions disappear and go extinct, thus allowing for true
reality to be revealed. Simply stated, it is like waking up from a dream and realizing
we are not the person in the dream and that the reality to which we were awakened
to (Buddha nature/ultimate Dharmakaya) is the true reality with real qualities unlike the false appearances of the dream.
Buddhas
do not exist in the way we exist, that is, conditioned samsaric beings with
illusions, blind passions, attachments and a distorted view of reality, but
this does NOT mean they do not actually exist! Their existence is grounded in the
true reality of Buddha nature which upon being discovered we refer to as
Dharmakaya of Dharma nature (ultimate Dharmakaya).
We
cannot say that our dream like samsaric existence is true and real while the
Buddhas realm of existence is just a myth, symbol or metaphor! It is idiotic to
state such a thing!
Being
now awake to the true reality, a Buddha has access to all the inherent
qualities of this natural state of wakefulness which include a clear mind,
clear thinking and knowing, the capacity to act unrestricted[1],
etc. The dream person had only a relative existence and appeared under certain
causes and conditions as every dream is formed under the influence of various
thoughts and actions, while the awakened person or Buddha has true existence
because He has access to the reality as it is with all its inherent qualities. Thus,
instead of being a nihilistic emptiness, the state of awakening is actually
full of real life and unlimited capacities. Nobody who wakes up from a night
dream thinks that he is now extinct while the dream was the true reality. In
the same way, one who becomes a Buddha and awakens to the reality of Buddha
nature does not turn into a literary metaphor, symbol or fictional character,
nor does He think He is now extinct, but realizes that this is the true Reality
and the true mode of living.
Many
nowadays Buddhists do not understand the meaning of avoiding the extremes of
nihilism and eternalism or of existence and non-existence, so let me explain it
in very simple words. To say that everything exists, including a samsaric self (ego)
and an eternal creator god is the extreme of eternalism, while to say that
nothing exists is the extreme of nihilism. However, by saying in relation to
samsaric beings and their environment that they exist only in a relative way
because they depend on causes and conditions and are constantly changing, I
avoided the extreme of both nihilism (non-existence) and the extreme of eternalism.
Because samsaric beings and their environment exist only at a relative level we
do not say that they exist eternally and without change (eternalism), but we
also do not say they do not exist at all (nihilism) like they do not appear. Samsaric
phenomena are like a dream – its “real” when we dream it, but actually from the
point of view of the awakened state of mind they do not truly exist in an
absolute sense. In the same way, when we
speak about Buddhas we do not say they exist like us, unenlightened beings
caught in samsara, so we do not fall in the extreme of eternalism (existence),
but we also do not say they do not exist
at all which means we do not fall in the extreme of non-existence and
nihilism. Buddhas do not exist like us,
but they also exist as Enlightened Beings awakened to the true reality of
Buddha nature. However, when deluded scholars explain them as myths, symbols,
metaphors or fictional characters they actually reduce them to non-existence, because
it is like saying that they exist only as expressions of the imagination of unenlightened
beings, something like a benevolent Santa Claus.
As you have seen at chapter five, I like to compare this Buddha nature with the
open space of a beautiful park where one roams freely and does whatever he wants,
and the state of samsaric beings with that of prisoners living in a smelly
narrow cell. Prison life is fixed, extremely limited and filled with suffering
while life in the open space of nature is a happy one, unconditioned and free.
As our limited minds are incapable to understand that which is beyond
conceptual thinking and this book is intended for ordinary people without any
pretension of the high spiritual insight of the esoteric schools, I think it’s
very useful to use this image of the open space of a beautiful park versus the
narrow prison cell to explain the characteristics of Buddha nature and those of
samsaric existence. People who lived many years in a smelly and narrow prison
cell might not think to the beautiful natural park outside their world with
fresh air, birds chirping, clean water and lack of stress, but this does not
mean that park doesn’t exist. In the same way, samsaric beings might tend to deny
the existence of Buddhas with their natural enlightened qualities or the
extraordinary and other worldly descriptions of the Pure Lands but this does
not mean that their attitude has anything in common with the true teaching.
The
fact that the entire canon of sutras is filled with active Buddhas and their
miraculous actions for guiding and saving sentient beings should make us reflect
that although beyond our understanding, they are very much alive and real. The
world of Buddhas and their activities is so extraordinarily presented in the
sutras not because they are mythical but because their reality is truly
extraordinary and beyond the karmic confines of our samsaric existence. Those descriptions
point to a totally different reality and way of living.
If
you live in an ugly prison cell and you hear about somebody visiting a
spectacular waterfall or walking through a high mountain with big trees and
chirping birds, fresh air and invigorating smells you might find it too
fantastic to believe. However, your narrow cell is not the true reality. It’s
the same with the reality of the Buddhas which is the true Reality. As beings
who lived their entire lives in the narrow cells of our limited bodies that survive
on food and water, grow old and sick, etc, we find it hard to believe that some
guys can actually have as many bodies or forms they like, go wherever they want
in seconds without leaving the place where they stay at present, hear
everyone’s thoughts, know everyone’s previous lives and anything they want to
know, etc. However, this is the Reality of those who dwell in their Buddha
nature and are called Buddhas. We should
not deny their existence because we have never experienced this.
Many
Masters urged us to not fall in the extreme view of nihilistic emptiness that
denies the extraordinary qualities of the ultimate reality, the existence of
the Enlightened Ones who dwell in it, or the Pure Lands which are the
expression in transcendental forms of the same reality manifested for the sake
of saving sentient beings.
In
The Meaning of Faith and Nembutsu I showed that the only people who self-exclude from the salvation offered by Amida Buddha in His Primal Vow are those who slander the right Dharma. As Master T’an-luan explained, to slander the
right Dharma means “saying there is no
Buddha”[2]
and quoting a sutra he stated that such people cannot be born in the Pure Land
of Amida and attain Enlightenment, but go directly to the lowest hell.
Also,
Master Padmasambhava said:
“The sign of having gone astray is to start
making statements such as ‘There are no Buddhas above! There are no sentient beings bellow! Everything is emptiness since it
doesn’t exist!
The shortcoming
of this way of straying is the conceptual thought, ‘everything is emptiness!’.
Such an attitude makes you abandon all forms of spiritual activity such as
devotion and pure perception, refuge and bodhicitta, loving kindness and
compassion, and so forth. Instead you become involved in mundane pursuits. With
regard to evil, this attitude makes you wantonly engage in unvirtuous actions. Someone who acts in this way of perverting
what is true will have no other place to go than Vajra Hell.
Having perverted
the truth of what is virtuous, the effect of such demented practice is to take
rebirth as someone holding the extreme view of nihilism. Having perverted the
truth of cause and effect, you flounder through the ocean of suffering.
Tsogyal, there are many who claim to realize emptiness, but very few realize
the ultimate natural state.”[3]
Very
few can actually dwell in the natural state of ultimate reality and see things
with the innate wisdom of Buddha nature, which is why many practitioners who
play smart with ideas of emptiness while they are still unenlightened and not
free from the bondage of samsara fall into the nihilistic views. Such a view is
dangerous for all aspects related with the Buddhist Path as the deluded person
who is influenced by it not only that he denies the existence of Buddhas, but
also does not understand rebirth, the law of cause and effect and may even
neglect morality and the teachings on good behavior. Everything can go wrong for
the one with a nihilistic view of emptiness. This is exactly why Shakyamuni said
in the Sutra on the Supreme Refuge:
“ ‘Even if all
sentient beings gave rise to the view of ego, as big as mount Sumeru, I would
not be horrified. The reason is that although they have not yet attained
emancipation, they do not at any time reject the law of causality and
retributions for their acts. If someone
gave rise to the view of voidness, as small as a poppy-seed, I would not
tolerate this. What is the reason? Because such a view goes against the law
of causality and those who hold it are most likely to fall into an evil realm.
Wherever they are born, they will undoubtedly disobey my teaching.”[4]
to be continued
[2] Master T’an-luan Commentary on Vasubandhu’s Discourse on the
Pure Land (Ojoronchu), The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin
Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.145
[3] Advice from the Lotus-Born, translated from the Tibetan by Erik Pema
Kunsang, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1994, p. 45.
[4] Passage quoted by Master Tao-ch’o in Collection of Passages on the Land of
Peace and Bliss - AN LE CHI , translated by
Zuio Hisao Inagaki, Horai Association International, Singapore, 2015, p.40
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