Buddha, Truth and Brotherhood; An Epitome of Many Buddhist Scriptures 

In the summer of this year there was held, under the auspices of the Federation of All Young Buddhist Associations of Japan, the Second General Conference of the Pan-Pacific Young Buddhist Associations, which was honored by the presence of a large number of youthful adherents to the religion, as well as distinguished prelates and laymen, gathered together from a wide variety of countries and climes. While presenting the spectacle of an international assembly so far without precedent in the history of the Buddhist religion religion of our country, the present Conference has offered the most indisputable and convincing evidence of its being the means of strengthening the bond of mutual effort between the adherents of the Buddhist religion and affording an immense contribution to the peace of the World and the welfare of mankind as expressed in the lofty ideals of the Holy Lord Buddha. It is in order to perpetuate the memory of the present Conference that we have issued this English translation of the "New Translation of the Sacred Buddhist Scriptures." This work has been compiled and issued with a view to providing the younger English-speaking generation of the entire world with a suitable version of the sacred Buddhist Scriptures which are, in very truth, the spiritual nourishment of their daily life. As the most appropriate to our purpose, we have selected the original version of the popular edition of the "New Translation of the Sacred Buddhist Scriptures" compiled by the Buddhist Association of Nagoya City, this latter work being a synthesis of the most all-embracing Buddhist Scriptures, and containing the quintessence of their precious teachings, is in common use among all the Buddhist sects. Moreover, since a group of the most eminent Buddhist scholars in Japan collaborated in its compilation, it is, beyond all doubt, a model version of the Scriptures which can be used with all confidence by the adherents of the various sects of Buddhism in Japan. As regards the present English translation, it is the product of the joint efforts of a number of Japanese Buddhist scholars of the highest order, while special mention should be made of the unsparing efforts of Mr. Dwight Goddard, an American, who devoted a stay of several months in this country to the bringing of the work to perfection and completion. It is our pleasant duty to pay a tribute of gratitude and respect from the bottom of our hearts to the pure and lofty devotion, as well as to the unst inted efforts, of this last-named gentleman. In conclusion we must not forget to acknowledge our indebtedness to the many unrevealed, yet nonetheless precious, sacrifices and the economic assistance received from a large circle of co-religionists, to which this book owes its appearance.

The Federation of All Young Buddhist Associations of Japan 

July, the 2500th year of Our Lord Buddha (1934 CE)

PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION  go to Top

There are various reasons that made it desirable to issue an American Edition. It is substantially identical with the edition printed in Japan with the exception of the omission of the Appendix and some of the ancient fables that were not particularly Buddhistic. In the edition printed in Japan the title of the book was THE TEACHING OF BUDDHA, THE BUDDHIST BIBLE. For the American edition it seemed best to change it. As the little verse on page 141 seemed obscure in such a condensed form, it was decided to amplify it somewhat. There were a few other changes but none of any importance. No one engaged in this memorial work has received any money recompense; all made the task a labor of love for Buddha's sake.

DWIGHT GODDARD
November 1st, 1934 60
Las Enchinas Road,
Santa Barbara, Calif.

CONTENTS  go to Top

BUDDHA

CHAPTER ONE - SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA
I. The Life of the World-Honored One II. The Teaching of The Buddha

CHAPTER TWO - THE ETERNAL AND GLORIFIED BUDDHA
I. His Compassion and Vows II. Buddha's Relief and His Method of Relief III. The Eternal and Glorified Buddha

CHAPTER THREE - THE FORM OF BUDDHA AND HIS VIRTUES
I. Buddha's Three Bodies II. The Appearance of Buddha III. Buddha's Virtue

TRUTH

CHAPTER ONE - CAUSATION
I. The Four Noble Truths II. Causation III. The Chain of Causation

CHAPTER TWO - THE THEORY OF MIND-ONLY AND ACTUALITY
I. Uncertainty and Egolessness II. The Fact of Mind-Only III. Ideas-Only IV. Actuality V. The Middle Way

CHAPTER THREE - BUDDHA-NATURE
I. The Human Mind and the True Mind II. The Mind of Buddha III. Buddha-Nature and Egolessness

CHAPTER FOUR - EVIL DESIRES
I. Worldly Passions II. The Nature of Man III. The Life of Man IV. Aspects of Human Life

CHAPTER FIVE - THE RELIEF OFFERED BY BUDDHA
I. The Relief of Buddha II. Buddha's Land of Purity

CHAPTER SIX - THE WAY OF PURIFICATION
I. Purification of Mind II. The Way of Behavior III. Teaching by Ancient Fables

CHAPTER SEVEN - THE WAY OF PRACTICAL ATTAINMENT
I. Search for Truth II. The Way of Practice III. The Way of Faith IV. The Way of Concentration V. Sacred Aphorisms

BROTHERHOOD

CHAPTER ONE - DUTIES OF THE BROTHERHOOD
I. Homeless Brothers II. Lay Members

CHAPTER TWO - PRACTICAL GUIDE TO TRUE LIVING
I. In Home and Family Life II. In the Life of Women III. In Service

CHAPTER THREE - BUILDING A BUDDHA-LAND
I. The Harmony of the Brotherhood II. Buddha's Pure Land III. Those Who Have Received Glory in Buddha's Land

CHAPTER ONE - SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA  go to Top

I. THE LIFE OF THE WORLD-HONORED ONE

1. The Shakya clansmen dwelt along the river Rohini that flowed among the southern foothills of the Himalayas. Their King Suddhodana Gautama had transferred his capitol to Kapila and there had built a great castle and had ruled wisely, winning the joyful acclaim of his people. The Queen's name was Maya. She was the daughter of the King's uncle who was also a king of the neighboring division of the same Shakya clan. For twenty years they had no children, then, after dreaming a strange dream of an elephant entering her side, Queen Maya became pregnant. The King and the people looked forward with joyful expectancy to the birth of a royal child. According to their custom the Queen returned to her own home for the birth, and while on the way, in the beautiful spring sunshine, she rested in the flower garden of Lumbini Park. All about her were Asoka blossoms and in delight she reached out her right arm to pluck a branch and the Prince was born. All expressed their heartfelt delight and extolled the glory of the Queen and her princely child; even Heaven and Earth manifested their joy. This memorable day was the eighth day of April. The joy of the King was extreme as he named the child: Siddhartha, which means, "Every wish fulfilled." 

2. In the palace of the King, however, delight was quickly followed by sorrow, for after a few days lovely Queen Maya suddenly passed away. Fortunately her younger sister, Prajapati became the child's foster mother and brought it up with loving care. A hermit, who lived in the mountains not far away, noticing a glory about the castle and interpreting it as a good omen, came down to the palace and was shown the child. He predicted: "This prince, if he remains in the palace after his youth, will become a great King to rule the Four Seas. But if he forsakes the household life to embrace a religious life, he will become a Buddha and the world's Savior." At first the King was pleased because of the prophecy, but later became troubled at the thought of the possibility of his only son leaving the palace to become a homeless recluse. At the age of seven the Prince began his lessons in literature and the military arts, but his thoughts more naturally ran to other things. One spring day he went out of the castle with his father and they were watching a farmer at his plowing; he noticed a bird flying down to the ground and carrying away a little worm which had been thrown out of the ground by the farmer's plough. He who had lost his mother so soon after his birth, was deeply affected by the tragedy of these two little creatures. He sat down in the shade of a tree and thought about it, whispering to himself: "Alas! Do all living creatures kill each other?" This spiritual wound was deepened day after day as he grew up; like a little scar on a young tree, the sufferings of human life were more and more deeply carved into his mind. The King was increasingly worried as he recalled the hermit's prophecy and tried in every possible way to cheer the Prince and to turn his thoughts in other directions. At the age of nineteen, the King arranged the marriage of the Prince to the Princess Yasodhara, who was the daughter of Suprabuddha, Lord of Koliya castle and a brother of the late Queen Maya. 

3. For ten years the Prince was immersed in a round of music, dancing and pleasure, in the different pavilions of Spring, Autumn and Winter, but ever his thoughts reverted to the problem of suffering as he pensively tried to understand the true meaning of human life. "Luxuries of the palace, healthy bodies, rejoicing youth! what do they mean to me?" he meditated. "Some day we may be sick, we shall become aged, from death we can not eventually escape. Pride of youth, pride of health, pride of existence, all thoughtful people must cast them aside." "A man struggling for existence will naturally look for help. There are two ways of looking for help, a right way and a wrong way. To look the wrong way means that, while he recognizes that sickness, old age and death are unavoidable, he looks for help among the same class of empty, transitory things. To look the right way means that he recognizes the true nature of sickness, old age and death, and looks for life in that which transcends all human suffering. In this palace life of pleasure I seem to be looking for help in the wrong way." 

4. Thus the mental struggle went on in the mind of the Prince until his twenty-ninth year when his only child, Rahula, was born. This seemed to bring things to a climax and he decided to leave his palace home and seek the solution of his mental unrest in the homeless life of a mendicant. This plan he carried out one night, by leaving the castle with only his personal servant, Channa, and his favorite horse, the snow-white Kanthaka, and even these he left behind him when he had crossed the river at the b ounds of his Father's kingdom. But his mental troubles were not at an end and many doubts beset him. "Perhaps it would be better for me to return to the castle and seek some other solution; then the whole world will be mine." But he resisted these doubts by realizing that nothing worldly could satisfy him. So he shaved his head, carried a begging bowl in his hand, and turned his mendicant steps to the south. The Prince first visited the hermit Bhagava and watched his ascetic practices; then he went successively to Arada Kalama and Udraka Ramaputra to learn their methods of attainment, but after practicing them for a time became convinced that they would not lead him to enlightenment. Finally he went to the Magadha country and practiced asceticism in the forest of Uruvilva on the banks of the Nairanjana river where it flows by the Gaya Castle. 

5. The methods of his practice were unbelievably intense. He spurred himself on with the thought that "no ascetic in the past, none in the present, and none in the future, ever have or ever will practice more earnestly that I do." Still, the Prince could not get what he sought. After six years in the forest he gave up the practice of asceticism. He bathed in the river and accepted a bowl of food from the hand of Sujata, a maid who lived in the neighboring village. The five companions who had lived with the Prince for the six years of his ascetic practices looked on with amazement that he could receive food from the hand of a maiden; they thought him degraded thereby and left him. The Prince, thus, was left alone. He was still feeble but at the risk of his life he attempted a final meditation, saying to himself, "Blood may become exhausted, flesh may decay, bones may fall apart, but I will never leave this place until I find the way to enlightenment." It was an intense and incomparable struggle! His mind was desperate, was filled with confusing thoughts, dark shadows overhung his spirit, he was beset with all the lures of evil. But carefully and patiently he examined them one by one and rejected them all. It, indeed, was a hard struggle, that made his blood run thin, his flesh creep, and his bones crack. But when the morning star appeared in the eastern sky, the struggle was over and the Prince's mind was as clear and bright as the day-break. He had found the path to enlightenment at last. It was December the 8th, when he was thirty-five years of age that the Prince became Buddha. 

6. From this time on the Prince was known by different names; some spoke of him as Buddha, the Perfectly Enlightened One; some spoke of him as Shakyamuni, the Sage of the Shakya clan; and still others spoke of him affectionately as the Blessed One. He went first to Mrigadava in Varanasi where the five mendicants who had lived with him during the six years of his ascetic life were staying. At first they shunned him, but after he had talked with them, they believed in him and became his first followers. Then he went to Rajagriha castle and won over King Bimbisara who had always been his friend. From there he went about the country living on alms and persuading men to accept his way of life, and men responded to him as thirsty men seek water and hungry men seek food. Two great teachers, Sariputra and Maudgalyayana, and their two thousand disciples came to him. At first the Buddha's Father, King Suddhodana, suffering inwardly from his son's retirement, held aloof, but afterward became his faithful disciple; and Maha-Prajapati, the Buddha's step-mother, and the Princess Yasodhara, his wife, and all the members of the Shakya clan, believed in him and followed him. And multitudes of others became his devoted and faithful followers. 

7. For forty-five years the Buddha went about the country preaching and persuading men to follow his way of life, but at last, at Vaisali on the way from Rajagriha to Sravasti, he became ill and predicted that after three months he would enter Nirvana. Still he journeyed on until he reached Pava where he was made critically ill by food offered by Cunda, a blacksmith. Then by easy stages in spite of great pain and weakness, he reached the forest on the border of Kuninagara castle. Lying between two large sala trees, he continued his teachings to his favorite disciples until the last moment. Thus passed into the unknown the greatest of the world's teachers and the kindest of men. 

8. Under the oversight of Ananda, the Buddha's favorite disciple, the body was cremated by his friends in Kusinagara castle. Seven of the neighboring rulers under the lead of King Ajatasatru demanded that the ashes be divided among them. The King of the Kunsinagara castle at first refused and the dispute even threatened to end in war, but by the advice of a wise man named Dona, the crises passed and the ashes were divided and buried under eight great monuments. Even the embers of the fire and the earthen jar that had held the ashes were divided and given to two others to be likewise honored.

II. THE FINAL TEACHING OF THE BUDDHA  go to Top

1. In his final words to his disciples under the sala trees, the Buddha uttered these words: "Make my teaching your light! Rely upon it; do not depend upon any other teaching. Make of yourself a light. Rely upon yourself; do not depend upon anyone else." "Consider your body; think of its impurity; how can you indulge its cravings as you see that both its pain and delight are alike causes of suffering? Consider your soul; think of its transiency; how can you fall into delusion about it and cherish pride and selfishness, knowing that they must all end in inevitable suffereing? Consider all substances; can you find among them any enduring 'self'? Are they not all aggregates that sooner or later will break apart and be scattered? Do not be confused by the universality of suffering, but follow my teaching and you will be rid of pain. Do this and you will indeed be my discples." 

2. "My disciples. The teachings that I have given you are never to be forgotten nor abandoned. They are to be treasured, they are to be thought about, they are to be practiced! If you follow these teachings you will always be happy." "The point of the teachings is to control your own mind. Restrain your mind from greed, so shall you keep your body right, your mind pure, your words faithful. Always thinking of the transiency of your life, you will be able to desist from greed and anger and will be able to keep clear from all evil. "If you find your mind entangled in greed and tempted, you must suppress the greed and control the entangled mind; be the master of your own mind. A man's mind may make of him a Buddha, or it may make of him a beast. Being misled by error one becomes a demon; being enlightened one becomes a Buddha. Therefore keep your mind under control and do not let it deviate from the Noble Path." 

3. "Under my teachings, brothers should respect each other and refrain from disputes; they should not repel each other like water and oil, but should mingle together like milk and water. Study together, learn together, practice the teachings together. Do not waste your mind and time in idleness and bickering. Enjoy the blossoms of enlightenment in their season and harvest the fruit of benevolence. "The teachings which I have given you, I gained by following the path myself. You should follow the teachings and conform to their spirit on every occasion. If you neglect them it means that you have never really met me. It means that you are far from me even though you are actually with me, but if you accept and practice my teachings then you are very near to me, even though you are far away." 

4. "My disciples. The end is approaching, our parting is near, but do not lament. Life is ever changing; none escape the dissolution of the body. Now I am to manifest the Dharma by my own death, the body falling apart like a decayed cart. Do not vainly lament, but wonder at the rule of transiency and learn from it the emptiness of human life. Do not cherish the unworthy desire that the changeable might become unchanging. The demon of worldly desire is always seeking chances to deceive the mind. If a viper lives in your room, if you wish to have a peaceful sleep, you must chase it out. You must break the bonds of worldly passions and get rid of them as you would a viper." 

5. "My disciples. The last moment has come, but do not forget that death is but the vanishing of a body. The body was born from parents and was nourished by food, so sickness and death is unavoidable. But the true Buddha is not a human body: it is Enlightenment. A human body must vanish, but the wisdom of Enlightenment will exist forever in the truths of the Dharma, and in the practice of the Dharma. He who sees my body only, is not the one who truly sees me. He who accepts my teachings, is the one who truly sees me. After my death, Truth shall be your teacher. Follow Truth and you will be true to me. "During the last forty-five years of my life I have kept back nothing from my teaching. There is no secret teaching, no hidden meaning, everything has been taught openly and clearly. "My dear disciples; this is the end. In a moment I shall be passing into Nirvana."

CHAPTER TWO - THE ETERNAL AND GLORIFIED BUDDHA  go to Top

I. HIS COMPASSION AND VOWS

1. The spirit of Buddha is a great compassion and love to save all people by any and all means. It is the spirit of a mother toward her child nourishing and protecting it; it is the spirit that prompts it it to be ill with the sickness of people, to suffer with their suffering. "Your suffering is my suffering and your happiness is my happiness," said Buddha, and he does not forget that spirit for a single moment, for it is the self-nature of Buddhahood to be compassionate. A mother realizes her motherhood by loving her child; then the child reacting to its mothers's love feels safe and at ease. The Buddha's spirit of compassion is stimulating according to the need of a man; man's faith is the reaction to this spirit, and it leads him to enlightenment. Yet the people do not understand this spirit of Buddha and go on suffering from the illusions and desires that spring from their ignorance; they suffer from the karma accumulated by worldly passions, and wander about among the mountains of delusion with a heavy burden of pain. 

2. Do no think that the compassion of the earthly Buddha is only for the present life; that was only a manifestation of the timeless compassion of the eternal Buddha that has been operative since mankind first went astray from ignorance. The eternal Buddha ever appears before people in most friendly forms and brings to them the wisest methods of relief. Shakyamuni Buddha was born a Prince among his Shakya kinsmen, he left the comforts of his home to practice asceticism, then by Dhyana he realized enlightenment, he preached it among his kinsmen and finally manifested an earthly death. Yet this was nothing but one of Buddha's manifestations of compassion. The task of Buddhahood is as everlasting as human life is everlasting; and as the depth of ignorance is bottomless, so Buddha's compassion is boundless. When Buddha decided to break from the worldly life, he made four great vows: To save all people; to renounce all worldly desires; to learn all the teachings; and to attain perfect enlightenment. These vows were not original with him, they were but a manifestation of the love and compassion that is fundamental in the self-nature of Buddhahood. 

3. Buddha first trained himself to be kind to all animate life and to avoid the sin of killing any living creature, and then he wished for all people that they might have the blessedness of a long life. The Buddha trained himself to avoid the sin of stealing, and then he wished for all people that they might have everything they wanted. Buddha trained himself to avoid impure thoughts, and then with its virtuous deed he wished for all people that they might know the blessedness of a pure spirit and not suffer from unsatisfied desires. Buddha, aiming at his ideal, trained himself to keep free from all deception, and then by its virtuous deed he wishes for all people that they might know the tranquility of mind that follows speaking the truth. He trained himself to avoid all duplicity, and then wished for all people that they might know the joy of fellowship among those who follow his teachings. He trained himself to avoid abusing others, and then he wished for everybody that they might have the peaceful mind that follows living at peace with others. He kept himself free from idle talk, and then wished for everybody that they might know the blessedness of understanding sympathy. The Buddha, aiming at his ideal, trained himself to keep free from greed, and then by its virtuous deed he wished for all people that they might know the peacefulness that goes with freedom from all greed. He trained himself to avoid anger, and then he wished for all people that they might love one another. He trained himself to understand the true significance of things and not to be stupid, and then he wished for all people that they might understand Karma and not disregard it. Thus Buddha's compassion embraces all people and his never lessening desire is for their happiness. He loves people as parents love their children and he wishes for them the highest blessedness, namely, that they might be able to pass beyond this ocea n of life and death.

II. BUDDHA'S RELIEF AND HIS METHOD OF RELIEF  go to Top

1. It is very difficult for the words of the Buddha spoken on the hither bank of Enlightenment to reach the people struggling in the sea of delusion, so Buddha crosses the sea himself and applies his method of relief. "Now I will tell you a fable," Buddha said. "Once there lived a wealthy man whose house was on fire. The rich man found that the children absorbed in play, had not noticed the fire but remained inside. "The father called to them: 'Run children; come out of the house; hurry!' "But the children did not heed him, so the anxious father shouted again: 'Children; I have some wonderful toys here, come out of the house and get them!' Heeding his cry this time, the children escaped from the burning house." This world is a burning house, but the people unaware that the house is on fire, are in danger of being burned to death. So Buddha in compassion devises ways of saving them. 

2. Buddha said: "I will tell you another parable. Once upon a time the only son of a wealthy man left his home and fell into extreme poverty. The father moving away from the old home, they lost track of each other. The father did everything he could to find the son but in vain. In the course of time the son, now reduced to wretchedness, wandered near where the father was living. The father recognized his son and sent his servants to bring the wanderer home, but the son was suspicious and feared a trick and would not go with them. Then the father sent his servants again and told them to offer his son money to become a servant in the rich man's house. The son accepted this offer and returned with the servants to the father's house and became a servant. The father gradually advanced him until he had charge of all the father's property and treasures, but still the son did not recognize his own father. "The father was pleased with his son's faithfulness, and as the end of his life drew near, he called together his relatives and friends and said to them: Friends, this is my only son, the son I have been seeking for many years. From now on, all my property and treasures belong to him." The son was surprised at his father's confession and said: "Not only have I found my father but all this property and treasures are mine." Buddha's compassion embraces all people with the love of a father for an only son. In that love he conceives the wisest methods to lead, teach and enrich them with all his treasures. 

3. Just as rain falls on all vegetation, so Buddha's compassion extends equally to all people; but just as different plants receive particular benefits from the same rain, so people of different nature and circumstances are blessed by different methods. 

4. Parents love all their children, but their love is expressed with particular tenderness toward a sick child. Buddha's compassion is equal toward all people, but it is expressed with especial care toward those who have a heavier load of evil and suffering to bear because of their ignorance. The sun rises in the eastern sky and clears away the darkness of the world without any prejudice toward any substance or any favoritism. So Buddha's compassion encompasses all people to encourage them in the right and to guide them against evil; thus he clears away the darkness of ignorance and leads the people to enlightenment. In their ignorance and bondage the worldly desire they often act like crazy people, Buddha out of compassion for them acts like a crazy man, too. They are helpless without Buddha's compassion; they should receive his methods of relief with the teachableness of children.

III. THE ETERNAL AND GLORIFIED BUDDHA  go to Top

1. Common people believe that Buddha was born a prince and learned the path of enlightenment as a mendicant, but in fact, there had been a long, long preparation, for Buddha has always existed in a beginningless world. As Eternal Buddha he has known all people and applied all methods of relief. Though the teaching varies from age to age, its aim is always the same: to lead all people to rid themselves of delusions. There is no falsity in the Eternal Dharma, for Buddha knows the world and all things as they truly are, and Buddha teaches all people. Indeed it is very difficult to understand the world as it truly is, for it is not real though it seems so and it is not false though it seems so. Ignorant people can not know the truth concerning the world. Buddha alone truly and fully understands it and he never says that it is real or false, or good or evil, as it exists in itself. He simply points out the world as it is. But what Buddha does teach is this: that all people should cultivate roots of virtue according to the nature, the deed and the belief of people. This Dharma surpasses all affirmation and all negation as to the world in itself. 

2. Buddha teaches not only in words, he demonstrates by his life. He demonstates that life is endless, and then to teach people who are greedy for eternal life, he uses the method of birth and death, to awaken their attention. "While a physician was away from his home his children tasted of a poison. When the physician returned, he noticed their sickness and prepared an antidote. Some of the children who were not seriously poisoned accepted the medicine and were cured, but others were so seriously affected that they refused to take the medicine, preferring the poison to the cure. The physician, prompted by his father-love for his children, decided on an extreme method to get them to take the cure. He said to the children: I must go away on a distant journey. I am old and may pass away any day. If I am with you I can care for you, but if I should pass away, you will become worse and worse. If you hear of my death, I implore you to take the antidote and be cured of this subtle poisoning. Then he went away on the long journey. "After a time, he sent a messenger to his children to inform them of his death. The children receiving the message were deeply affected by the thought of their father's death and that they would no longer have the benefit of his thoughtful care. They recalled his parting request of them and because of their sorrow and feeling of helplessness, they took the medicine and recovered." People may condemn the deception of this father-physician, but Buddha is like that father: he, too, employs the fiction of life and death to persuade people, who are immersed in the bondage of desire, to take this the only means to break the bondage. And the Eternal Buddha is very wise and kind-hearted, and has lived a very long time.

CHAPTER THREE - THE FORM OF BUDDHA AND HIS VIRTUES  go to Top

I. BUDDHA'S THREE BODIES

1. Do not seek to know Buddha by his form and attributes; for neither the form nor attributes are the real Buddha. The true Buddha is Enlightenment itself. Therefore aspiration to realize Enlightenment is the true way to know Buddha. If anyone after seeing an excellent image of Buddha thinks that he knows Buddha, it is a mistake of dull eyes, for the true Buddha can not be embodied in form or seen by human eyes. Neither can one know Buddha by a faultless description of his attributes. It has never been found possible to describe his attributes in human words. Though we speak of his form, the Eternal Buddha has no form, but he can manifest himself in any form. Though we describe his attributes, yet the Eternal Buddha has no attributes, but he can manifest himself in any and all attributes. So if any one sees distinctly the form of Buddha, or visions his attributes clearly, and yet does not become attached to the form or to the attributes, he has the capacity to see and know Buddha. 

2. Buddha's body is Enlightenment itself. Being formless and substanceless it always has been and always will be. It is not a physical body that has had a beginning and must be nourished by food. It is an ethereal body whose substance is Wisdom. Buddha has no fear, no disease; he is eternally changeless. Therefore Buddha will never disappear as long as the path of Enlightenment exists. Enlightenment appears as a light of Wisdom on the path that awakens people into a newness of life and causes them to be reborn into the likeness of Buddhahood. Those who are thus quickened become the children of Buddha; they keep his Dharma, honor his teachings and pass them on to posterity. Nothing can be more miraculous nor more natural than the power of Buddha. 

3. Buddhahood has three aspects. There is an aspect of Essence which is all-inclusive, universal and inconceivable; there is an aspect of Potentiality which is boundless but unmanifest; and there is an aspect of Manifestation which is both activity and changeless Peace. As Essence it is the substance of the Dharma; that is, it is the substance of Truth as it is in itself. As Potentiality it is the Dharma considered as the Truth Principle, potent but unmanifest; it is the glorified Compensation Body of Buddhahood. As Manifestation it is Buddhahood manifesting itself in the temporal bodies of Shakyamuni Buddha and other earthly Buddhas. As the aspect of Essence, Buddha has no figure nor color, and since he has no form nor color, Buddha comes from nowhere and there is nowhere for him to go. Like the blue sky he overarches everything, and since he is all things he lacks nothing. He exists not because people think that he does or as they think, neither does he disappear because people forget him. He is under no particular compulsion to appear when people are happy and comfortable, neither is it necessary for him to disappear when people are inattentive and idle. Buddha transcends every conceivable trend of human thought; Buddha's body fills every corner of the universe; it reaches everywhere, it exists forever, regardless of whether people believe in him or doubt his existence. 

4. The aspect of Potentiality signifies that in the nature of Buddha there is the merging of both Compassion and Wisdom into one imageless spirit, that is capable of both manifesting this imageless spirit under the symbols of birth and death, ignorance and enlightenment, and then under the symbols of making vows and undergoing training he leads all people and saves them. Thus compassion is the Essence of the Dharma and in its spirit Buddha uses all manner of skillful devices to emancipate as many people as are ready for emancipation. Like a fire that once kindled never dies away until the fuel is consumed, so the Compassion of Buddha never fails until all world passion is consumed away. Just as a wind blows away the dust, so the compassion of Buddha blows away the dust of human suffering. The aspect of Manifestation signifies that in order to complete the relief of Buddha, the Buddha appeared in flesh in the world, and showed the people the aspect of birth, renunciation and obtaining of the Enlightenment, according to their natures and capacities. Buddha teaches the Dharma and then applies all manner of skillful means to lead them. There is birth and ignorance and discrimination and suffering and death, but with them go awakening faith, knowledge and enlightenment. 

5. The form of Buddha is the image of the Dharma, but as the nature of people varies, Buddha's form appears differently. Although the form of Buddha varies according to the different desires, tasks and faculties of people, Buddha is concerned only with the truth of the Dharma. Though Buddha has different aspects, his spirit and purpose is one, and that one purpose is to save all people. Though in all circumstances Buddha is manifest in his purity, yet the manifestation is not Buddha because Buddha is not form. Buddhahood fills everything, making enlightenment his body and as enlightenment he appears before all those who have capacity to realize Truth.

II. THE APPEARANCE OF BUDDHA  go to Top

1. It is seldom that a Buddha appears in the world. When a Buddha does appear, he establishes Enlightenment, introduces the Dharma, cuts the net of suspicion, removes the lure of desire at its root, plugs the fountain of evil; and unhindered by anything, walks where he will over all the world. There is no greater merit than to recognize a Buddha and pay reverence to him and learn from him. Buddha appears in the world because he can not desert suffering people; his only purpose is to spread the Dharma a nd to bless all people with the Truth. It is very difficult to introduce the Dharma into a world filled with injustice and false standards, a world that is vainly struggling with insatiable desires and discomforts. Buddha is facing these difficulties because of his great love and compassion. 

2. Buddha is a friend of every one in the world. If Buddha finds a man suffering under a heavy burden of worldly passions, he has sympathy for the man and shares the burden with him. If he meets a man suffering from delusions, he will clear away the man's illusions by the pure light of his wisdom. Like a calf which enjoys living with its mother, those who have heard the Buddha's teachings are afterward unwilling to leave him because his teachings bring them happiness. 

3. When the moon disappears, people say that the moon has gone; and when the moon reappears, they say that the moon has come. But, in fact, the moon never goes nor comes, but shines changelessly in the sky. Buddha is exactly like the moon: he neither appears nor disappears; he only seems to do so, out of love for the people that he may teach them. At one phase of the moon's appearance, people speak of it as the full-moon; and at another phase, they call it a crescent, but the moon itself is always perfectly round, never waxing nor waning. Buddha is precisely like the moon. In the eyes of people Buddha may seem to change in appearance, but in truth, Buddha changes not. The moon appeares everywhere, over a crowded city, a sleepy village, a mountain, a river! it is seen in the depths of a pond, in a jug of water, in a drop of dew on a leaf. If a man walks hundreds of miles the moon goes with him. The moon does not change, but to people it seems to change. Buddha is like the moon in following the people of this world in all their changing circumstances, but in his Essence he changes not. It is because of the compassion and wisdom of Buddha that he employs the device of causes and conditions to lead them to faith in his unchangeableness. 

4. The fact that Buddha appears and disappears can be explained by causality: Namely, when conditions are propitious, Buddha appears; when conditions are unpropitious, Buddha seems to disappear from the world. But whether Buddha appears or disappears, Buddhahood always remains the same. Knowing this principle the wise will keep to the path to Enlightenment and Perfect Wisdom, undisturbed by the apparent changes in the image of Buddha and in the conditions of the world and in the fluctuations of human th ought. It has been explained that Buddha is not body but is Enlightenment. Body may be thought of as a recepticle; then, if this recepticle is filled with Enlightenment, it may be called Buddha. But, if anyone falls into the belief that Buddha is a body external to themselves and laments his disappearance, he will be unable to realize the real Buddha. In reality, all things are empty and all aspects of appearing and disappearing, of comings and goings, of differentiations of this and that, of good and evil. All things are perfect emptiness and perfect homogeneity. It is because of the combination of a principle cause, of other contributing causes, and of all other conditions, that delusion as to the form of Buddha and as to his attributes, arise and disappear. But the true form of Buddha never appears nor disappears.

III. BUDDHA'S VIRTUE   go to Top

1. Buddha receives the respect of the world because of five virtues: Superior conduct; superior point of view; perfect wisdom; superior preaching ability; and the power to lead people to the practice of his teaching. Buddha has also eight other virtues: He bestows blessings and happiness upon people; the practice of his teachings bring immediate benefit in this world; he rightly adjudicates between good and bad, right and wrong; by teaching the right way he leads people to enlightenment; he leads all people by an equal way; in Buddha there is no boasting; he willingly completes his spiritual practices and by doing so fulfills the vows of his compassionate heart. By the practice of meditation, Buddha preserves a calm and peaceful spirit radiant with mercy, compassion and happiness. He deals equitably with all people, clearing away their defilment of mind and bestowing happiness in perfect singleness of spirit. 

2. Buddha is both father and mother to the people of the world. For many months after a child is born the father and mother have to speak with it in childish words, then they gradually teach him better words. Like earthly parents, Buddha first cares for people and then leaves them to care for themselves; he first brings things to pass according to their desires and then he brings them to a peaceful and safe shelter. What Buddha preaches in his language, people receive and assimilate in their own language as if it was specially intended for them. Buddha's horizon surpasses human thought; it can not be made clear by words or examples, it can only be hinted at in pa rables. A little brook is mudied by the trampling of horses and cows and is disturbed by the movement of fish and turtles, but a great river flows on pure and undisturbed by such trifles. Buddha is like a great river. The fish and turtles of the teachings swim about in its depths and push against its current but in vain; Buddha's Dharma flows on pure and undisturbed. 

3. Buddha's Wisdom being perfect keeps away from the extremes of prejudice and preserves moderation beyond all words to describe. Being all-wise he knows the thoughts and feelings of people and appreciates all their circumstances. As the stars of the heavens are reflected in a calm sea, so people's thoughts, feelings and circumstances are reflected in the depths of Buddha's Wisdom. This is why Buddha is called, The Perfectly Enlightened One. Buddha's Wisdom refreshes the arid minds of people, enlightens them and its effects, its appearings and disappearings. Indeed, apart from Buddha's Wisdom, what aspects of the world can be understood at all? 

4. Buddha does not always appear as a Buddha. Sometimes he appears as an incarnation of evil, sometimes as a woman, a god, a king, a statesman; sometimes he appears in a brothel or in a gambling house, and in an epidemic he appears as a physician bringing healing; but always he is preaching and manifesting the Dharma, for the emancipation of the world. In a war he preaches forbearance and mercy for the sufferings of the people; for those who are content with things as they are, he preaches transiency and uncertainty; for those who are proud and egotistic, he preaches humility and self-sacrifice; for those who are entangled in the web of worldly pleasures, he reveals the misery of the world. The task of Buddha is to manifest in all affairs and on all occasions the pure essence of Dharmakaya; so Buddha's mercy and compassion flow out from the same Dharmakaya in endless lives and boundless light bringing salvation. The world is like a burning house that is forever being destroyed and forever being rebuilt. People being confused by the darkness of ignorance lose their minds in anger, displeasure, jealousy, prejudice and worldly passion. They are like babies needing a mother; everyone is de pendent upon Buddha's mercy. 

5. Buddha is a father to all the world; all human beings are children of Buddha; Buddha is the most saintly of saints. The world is afire with decrepitude and death; there is suffering everywhere, but people being engrossed in the vain search for worldly pleasure are not wise enough to fully realize it. Buddha saw that his place of pleasure was really a burning house, so he fled from it and found refuge and peace in the quiet forest. There, in its solitude and silence, a great heart of compassion came to him and he learned to say: "This world of change and suffering is my world; these ignorant, heedless people are my children; I am the only one who can save them from their delusion and misery." As Buddha is the great king of Dharma, he can preach to all people as he wishes; so Buddha appears in the world to bless the people, and to save them from suffering he preaches Dharma, but the ears of people are dulled by greed and they are heedless. But those who li sten to his teachings are free from the delusions and the miseries of life. "People can not be saved by relying on their own wisdom," he said, "they must enter into my Dharma through faith." Therefore, one should listen to Buddha's Dharm a and put it into practice.

TRUTH   go to Top

CHAPTER ONE - CAUSATION

I. THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS

1. The world is full of suffering. Birth is suffering, decrepitude is suffering, so are sickness and death, suffering. To face a man of hatred is suffering, to be separated from a beloved one is suffering, or to be vainly struggling to satisfy one's needs. In fact, life that is not free from desire and passion is always involved with suffering. This is called the Truth of Suffering. The cause of human suffering is undoubtedly found in the thirsts of the physical organism and in the illusions of worldly passion. If these thirsts and illusions are traced to their source, they are found to be rooted in the intense desires of physical instincts. Thus desire, having a strong will-to-live as its basis, goes after what is sensed as being desirable. Sometimes desire even turns toward death. This is called the Truth of the Cause of Suffering. If desire which lies at the root of all human passion can be removed, then passion will die out and all human suffering will be ended. This is called the Truth of the Ending of Suffering. In order to enter into a condition where there is no desire and no suffering, one must follow a certain Path. The stages of this Noble Path are: Right Ideas, Right Resolution, Right Behavior, Right Vocation, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration. This is called the Truth of the Noble Path to the Ending of Desire. People should keep these Truths clearly in mind, for the world is filled with suffering and if anyone wishes to escape from suffering they must cut the ties of worldly passion which is the sole cause of suffering. The way of life which is free from all worldly passion and suffering can only be known by enlightenment, and enlightenment can only be gained by the discipline of the Noble Path.

2. All those who are seeking enlightenment, must understand these Four Noble Truths. Without this understanding, they will wander about for a long time in the bewildering maze of life's illusions. Those who understand the Four Noble Truths are called: "The people who have acquired the eyes of enlightenment." Therefore, people who wish to follow the Buddha's teachings should concentrate their minds on these Four Noble Truths and seek to make their meaning clear. In all ages, a saint, if he is a true saint, is one who understands them and teaches them to others. When the Four Noble Truths are clearly understood, then the Noble Path will lead them away from greed; and if they are free from greed they will not quarrel with the world, they will not act indecently, nor kill, nor steal, nor cheat, nor abuse, nor flatter, nor envy, nor lose their temper, nor forget the transiency of life; nor will they err in equity.

3. Following the Noble Path is like entering a dark room with a light in the hand; the darkness will all be cleared away, and the room will be filled with light. People who understand the meaning of the Noble Truths and have learned to follow the Noble Path are in possession of a light of wisdom that will clear away the darkness of ignorance. Buddha leads the people, by only following the Four Noble Truths. Those who understand it properly will gain enlightenment; they will be able to guide and support others in this bewildering world, and they will be worthy of trust. When the Four Noble Truths are clearly understood, the sources of all worldly passion are dried up. Advancing from these Four Noble Truths, the disciples of Buddha will attain all other precious truths, will gain the wisdom and piety to understand all meanings, and will become able to preach the Dharma to all the people of all the world.

II. CAUSATION  go to Top

1. There are causes for all human suffering, and there is a way by which they may be ended, because everything in the world is the result of a vast concurrence of causes and conditions, and everything disappears as these causes and conditions change and pass away. Rain falls, wind blows, plants bloom, leaves mature and are blown away; these phenomena are all interrelated with causes and conditions, are brought about by them, and disappear as the causes and conditions change. A child is born by the conditions of parentage; its body is nourished by food, its spirit is nurtured by teaching and experience. Therefore, both flesh and spirit are related to conditions and are changed as conditions change. A net is made up by a series of ties, so everything in this world is connected by a series of ties. If any one thinks that a mesh of a net is an independent, isolated thing, he is mistaken. It is called a net because it is made up of a series of connected meshes, and each mesh has its place and responsibilities in relation to other meshes.

2. Blossoms bloom because of a series of conditions that lead up to blooming; leaves are blown away because a series of conditions lead up to it. Blossoms do not bloom unconditioned, nor does a leaf fall of itself. So everything has its appearing and passing away; nothing remains unchanged.

III. THE CHAIN OF CAUSATION  go to Top

1. What, then is the source of human grief, lamentation, pain and agony? Is it not to be found in the fact that people are generally ignorant and willful? They cling obstinately to a life of wealth, honor, comfort, pleasure, excitement and egoism, ignorant of the fact that it is from the desire for these very things that human suffering starts. From its beginning, the world has been filled with a succession of calamities, besides there are the unavoidable facts of illness, decrepitude and death. But if one considers all the facts carefully, he must be convinced that at the base of all suffering lies the principle of ignorance and desire. If ignorance and desire can be removed, human suffering will come to an end. The principle of ignorance is manifested in the obscurities and false imaginations that fill the human mind. These obscurities and false imaginations rise from the fact that people ignore the emptiness and transitoriness of life and are ignorant of the right reason for the succession of things. From these obscurities and false imaginations there spring impure desires for things that are in fact unobtainable, but for which they restlessly and blindly search. Because of these false imaginations and impure desires, people imagine discriminations where, among things themselves, there are no discriminations. Among the acts of human behavior, inherently, there are no discriminations of right and wrong, but people because of ignorance imagine they are distinctions and discriminate them as right and wrong, all because of the obscurities of false imaginations and impure desires. Because of their ignorance, people are always thinking wrong thoughts and always losing the right view point, and then, by clinging to their supposed ego-personality, they take wrong action and as a result grasp and become attached to a whole body of delusion. But, in fact, there is no such thing as ego-personality, except as it is imagined by the mind in an effort to synthesize its sensual and instinctive desires. Making their karma the field of an ego-personality, using the activities of the mind as seed, beclouding the mind by ignorance, fertilizing it with the rain of impure desires, irrigating it by the willfulness of an ego-personality, they add the conception of evil, and bear about this incarnation of delusion.

2. Ultimately this body of delusion is an activity of their own mind and, therefore, it is their own mind which causes the delusion of grief, lamentation, pain and agony. This whole world of delusion is nothing but the shadow caused by this mind, and for the same reason, the whole world of enlightenment also appears from this same mind. 3. In this world there are three wrong view points, if one clings to these view points, then everything in the world must be denied. First, some people maintain the idea that all human experience is based on destiny; second, some hold that everything is created by God and controlled by his will; third, some say that everything happens by chance. If all has been decided by destiny, both good deeds and evil deeds are destiny, weal and woe are destiny, and nothing exists outside destiny, then all human plans and effort for improvement and progress would be in vain and humanity would be without hope. The same is true of the other conceptions, for, if everything in the last resort is in the hands of God or of blind chance, what hope has humanity except in submission? It is no wonder that people holding these conceptions lose hope and relax their effort to act wisely and avoid evil. No, these three conceptions and viewpoints are all wrong: everything is a succession of appearances whose source is the concurrence of causes and conditions, and these causes and conditions can, in a measure be modified and controlled.

CHAPTER TWO - THE THEORY OF MIND-ONLY AND ACTUALITY   go to Top

I. UNCERTAINTY AND EGOLESSNESS

1. Though both body and mind appear because of cooperating cause, it does not follow that there is an ego-personality. As the body of flesh is an aggregate of elements, it is, therefore, impermanent. If the body was an ego-personality, it could do this and that as it determined. A king has the power to praise or punish as he wishes, but a person becomes ill against his intent and desire, he comes to old age unwillingly, and his fortune and his wishes often have little to do with each other. Neither is the mind the ego-personality. The human mind is also an aggregate of causalities and relations. It is in constant change. If the mind was an ego-personality it could do this and that as it determined, but the mind often flies from what it knows is right and chases after evil unwillingly. Nothing seems to happen exactly as the ego desires.

2. If the body is asked whether there is constancy or uncertainty, it would be obliged to answer, uncertainty. If the uncertainty is asked whether it is to be happiness or suffering, it will generally have to answer suffering. But if a man believes that such certainty, so changeable and replete with suffering, is the possession of an ego-personality, he makes a serious mistake. The human mind is also uncertainty and suffering, it has nothing to be called an ego-personality. Therefore, both body and mind which make up an individual life, and the eternal world which seems to surround him, are far removed from both the conceptions of an ego and from "my possession." It is simply the mind clouded over by impure desires, and thus impervious to wisdom, that obstinately persists in thinking of "myself" and "my possession." Since both body and its surroundings are created by cooperating causes, they are continually changing and never can come to an end. The human mind in its never-ending change is like the moving water of a river, is like the burning flame of a candle, is like an ape, forever jumping about, never ceasing for a moment. A wise man, seeing this, should break away from any attachment to the body or mind, if he is ever to attain enlightenment.

3. There are five facts which no one is able to accomplish: first, to cease getting aged when he is actually getting aged; second, to cease being sick when he is actually sick; third, to cease dying when he is actually dying; fourth, to deny dissolution when there is actual dissolution; fifth, to deny extinction when it is already extinction. All people in the world sooner or later run into these facts and most people suffer in consequence of them, but those who have acquired Buddha's teaching do not suffer because they understand that they are unavoidable facts. Then there are four truths that can not be changed and are unavoidable also: first, all sentient life rises from ignorance; second, the consequence of all impure desire is endless change, uncertainty and suffering; third, the existing facts are also change, uncertainty and suffering; fourth, there is nothing that can be called an "ego", and there is no idea of "mine" in all the world. These facts, that everything is empty and passing and egoless, have no connection with the fact of Buddha's appearing or not appearing. These facts and truths are incontrovertable; the Buddha knows this and therefore preaches the Dharma to all people.

II. THE FACT OF MIND-ONLY   go to Top

1. Both delusion and enlightenment originate within the mind, and every fact arises from the activities of mind, just as different things appear from the sleeve of a magician. The activities of the mind have no limit and form the surroundings of life. An impure mind surrounds itself with impure things and a pure mind surrounds itself with pure surroundings, hence surroundings have no more limits than have the activities of the mind. When an artist draws a picture the details are filled in from his own mind and a single picture is capable of an infinite variety of details, so the human mind fills in the surroundings of its life, there is nothing in the world that is not mind-created, and just as the human mind creates, so Buddha creates and all other beings act as Buddha acts, so in the great task of creation the human mind, Buddha and all other beings are alike active.

2. But the mind that creates its surroundings is never free from their shadow; it remembers and fears and laments, not only the past but the present and future because they have arisen out of ignorance and greed. It is out of ignorance and greed that the world of delusion starts and all the vast complex of coordinating causes and conditions exist within the mind and nowhere else. Both life and death arise from mind and exist within the mind and hence when the mind that concerns itself with life and deat h passes, the world of life and death passes with it. An unenlightened and bewildered life rises out of a mind that is bewildered by its own creation of a world of delusion. As they learn that there is no world of delusion outside of the mind, the bewildered mind becomes clear and as they cease to create impure surroundings they attain enlightenment. Thus the world of life and death is created by mind, is in bondage to mind, is ruled by mind; and the mind is master of every situation. As the wheels follow the ox that draws the cart, so suffering follows the mind that surrounds itself with impure thoughts and worldly passions.

3. But if a man speaks and acts by a good mind, happiness follows him as a man's shadow. Those who act in evil, selfish ways suffer not only from the natural consequences of the acts, but are followed by the thought, "I have done wrong", and the memory of the act is stored in karma to work out its inevitable retribution in following lives. But those who act from good motives are made happy by the thought, "I have done a good act" and are made happier by the thought that the good act will bring continuin g happiness in endless lives to follow. If a mind is impure it will cause the feet to stumble on a rough and difficult road with many a fall and much pain; but if the mind is pure the path will be smooth and the journey peaceful. If one is to enjoy a smooth and peaceful path he must cultivate his Buddha-mind, breaking the net of selfish impure thoughts and evil desires.

III. IDEAS ONLY  go to Top

1. Everything originates within the mind. Just as a magician cleverly makes whatever his wishes to appear, so this world of delusion originates within the mind. People look upon it and observe it appearing and disappearing and they believe it to be real and call it life and death. That is, everything is mind-made and has no significance apart from mind. As people come to understand this fact, they are able to remove all delusions and there is an end of all mental disturbance forever. The human mind may be thought of as functioning on three different levels of cognition. On its lowest level it is a discriminating mind; on this level it has the ability to see, hear, taste, smell, touch, to combine these sense concepts, to discriminate them, and to consider their relations. On a higher level it is an intellectual mind where it has the ability to make the inward adjustments that are necessary to harmonize the reactions of the discriminating mind and to relate them to each other and to the whole ego conception. On its highest level it is Universal Mind. As Universal Mind it is pure, tranquil, unconditioned, in its true essential nature, but because of its relation to the lower minds it becomes the storage for their reations and is d efiled by them.

2. The human mind discriminates itself from the things that appear to be outside without realizing that it has first created these very things within its own mind. This has been going on since beginningless time and the delusion has become firmly fixed within the mind, and even adheres to the things themselves. Because of this discrimination between the self and the not-self the mind has come to consider itself as an ego-personality and has become attached to it as being something different and more enduring than the things of the world. Thus, the people of the world grow up in ignorance of the fact that discrimination and thinking of ego-personality are nothing but activities of universal mind. Universal Mind, while remaining pure and tranquil and unconditioned in its self-nature, is the source of all mental processes and is, thus, the foundation for the other two minds and retains within itself all their experiences. The Mind, therefore, like a waterfall, never ceases its activity. Just as a peaceful ocean suddenly becomes a tumult of waves because of some passing tempest, so the ocean of Mind becomes stirred by tempests of delusion and winds of karma. And just as the ocean again becomes peaceful when the tempest passes, so the Ocean of Mind resumes its natural calm when the winds of karma and delusion are stilled.

3. The body and its surroundings are all alike manifestations of the one mind, but as observed by human eyes they appear to be different and they are classified as "observer" and as "things observed." But as nothing in the world exists apart from mind, there can be no essential difference between subject and object. The ego-self and the idea of possession have no true existence. There is only the age-old habits of erroneous thinking that leads people to perceive and to discriminate various aspects of the world where, in reality there are none. All objects, all words, all facts in the world, this body, this treasure, this dwelling, are all appearances that have arisen because of the activities of delusions that are inherent within their own mental processes. If people can change their view-points, can break up these age-old habits of thinking, can rid their minds of the desires and infatuations of egoism, then the wisdom of true enlightenment is possible. If they can bring themselves to understand that everything is only manifestations of their own minds, if they can only keep their minds free from being confused by appearances and deceived by images, then it is possible to gain true enlightenment. The enlightenment preached by Buddha is the true enlightenment. It comes and can only come when the mind is pure of all defilement and clear from all perverting ideas concerning the self and its surroundings.

4. Thus the world of delusion and the world of enlightenment are from the same mind. The effort to keep the mind clear from discriminating ideas so that it can rightly understand the true nature of enlightenment, is the path to enlightenment. For those who are following this path to enlightenment, every circumstance is right and every dwelling place is in Buddha's Land of Purity. In reality all Buddha-lands are designed to be a blessing to people, because people's minds and Buddha-lands are all of the same nature. It is like a house built upon a good foundation. Wherever people live, that is Buddha's Pure Land. But the Land of Buddha must be built upon by pure minds. The pure mind must at the same time be a deep mind, if it is to follow successfully the path to enlightenment. It must be the soul of compassion and charity, it must observe the precepts, it must be tranquil and peaceful, it must be the soul of wisdom, as well as the soul of compassion, the soul that is earnest to use wise and kindly means and methods to bring all people to enlightenment.

5. If people wish to make a Buddha-land of this world, they must first cleanse their own minds. If minds are pure, surroundings will be pure. If surroundings are clean and minds are pure, this world will be a house for Buddha. Then, someone will ask, why is this world so crowded with impurities? A blind man can not see the sun nor moon, but that is no reason why he should deny the existence of the sun and moon. When people have impure minds they are blind to the true nature of things; they can not see the purity that is all about them in this world. In those who have a pure and transparent mind there will be an eye of wisdom with which they will be able to recognize, even in this world, Buddha's Land of Purity.

IV. ACTUALITY  go to Top

1. Since everything in this world is caused by the concurrence of causes and conditions, there can be no foundamental distinction between things. The apparent distinctions exist because of people's absurd and deluding thoughts and desires. In the sky there is no distinction of east and west; people create the distinction out of their own minds and then believe it be true. Mathematical numbers from one to infinity are each complete numbers, but each in itself carries no distinction of quantity; people make the distinctions for their own convenience so as to be able to indicate varying amounts. In the universal process of becoming, inherently there are no distinctions between the process of life and the process of destruction; people make a distinction and call the one birth and the other death. In action there is no distinction between right and wrong, but people make a distinction for their own silly convenience. Buddha keeps away from these distinctions and looks upon the world as upon a fleecy passing cloud. To Buddha every definite thing is illusion, something that the mind constructs; he knows that whatever the mind can grasp and throw away are vanity; thus he avoids the pitfalls of images and discriminative thought.

2. People grasp after things for their own imagined convenience and comfort; they grasp after wealth and treasure and honors; they cling desperately to life; they make arbitrary distictions between good and bad, right and wrong, and then vehemently affirm and deny them. For people life is a succession of graspings and attachments, and then, because of it, they must assume the illusions of pain and suffering. Once there was a man on a long journey who came to a river. He said to himself; this side of the river is very difficult and dangerous, the other side seems easier and safer, but how shall I get across? So he builds himself a raft out of branches and reeds and safely crosses the river. Then he thinks to himself, this raft has been very useful to me in crossing the river; I will not abandon it to rot on the bank, but will carry it along with me; and thus he voluntarily assumes an unnecessary burden. Can this man be called a wise man? This parable teaches that a good thing when it becomes an unnecessary burden should be thrown away; how much more a bad thing. A jar does not exist just because it is easily broken, but knowing that the substance of a jar is not real, one should not become attached to it, but if one gets rid of the attachment, he can still use the jar, not to do so would be an instance of throwing away something that, although not perfect, is still useful. We can speak of the horns of a hare, of the child of a barren woman, but they never exist. To grasp after and to become attached to things which have names but lack substance, is foolish. Buddha made it the rule of his life to avoid useless and unnecessary discussions.

3. It has been said that things do not come and do not go, neither do they appear nor disappear, therefore, it is wise not to become attached to things not to lose things. There are things that do not appear and do not disappear, but they are different from that which is un-born and not subject to destruction. Buddha keeps away from both the affirmation of existence and the denial of existence; he preaches: It is both non-existence and not non-existence; it neither gives birth to life, nor does it destroy life. That is, everything being a concordance and succession of causes and conditions, a thing in itself does not exist, so it can be said it is non-existent. At the same time, because it has a relative connection with causes and conditions, it can be said that it is not non-existent. To adhere to a thing because of its form is the source of delusion. If the form is not grasped and adhered to, this false imagination and absurd delusion will not occur. Enlightenment is the wisdom to see this truth and to avoid that foolish delusion. The world, indeed, is like a dream and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage! Like the apparent distances in a picture, things have no reality in themselves; they are like passing clouds.

4. To believe that things created by an incalculable series of causes can last forever, is a serious mistake; but it is just as great a mistake to believe that things completely disappear. These categories of everlasting life and everlasting death, and affirmation and denial of them, do not apply to the essential nature of things, but only to their appearances as they are observed by human eyes. Because of human desire, people become related and attached to these appearances, but in their essential nature things are free from all relations and attachments. Since everything is created by a series of causes and conditions, the appearance of things is constantly changing; that is, there is no constancy about them as there should be about authentic substances. It is because of this constant change of appearance that we liken things to a mirage and a dream. But, in spite of this constant change in appearance, things, in their essential nature, are constant and changeless. To illustrate: A river to a man seems like a river, but to a hungry demon a river may seem to be like fire or ice. Therefore, to speak to a man about a river existing or not existing would have some sense, but to this fabulous being, such words would have no meaning. In like manner it can be said of everything: "Things are like illusions, they both exist and do not exist." Further, it is a mistake to distinguish this passing life from a changeless life of truth. It can not be said, that apart from this world of change and appearance, there is another world of constancy and truth. This changing, passing life is the life of truth; there is but one authentic life. But ignorant people of this world, assuming that this is a real world, proceed to act upon that absurd assumption. But as this world is only an illusion, their acts being based upon error, only lead them into harm and suffering. But a wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it was real, so he escapes the suffering.

V. THE MIDDLE WAY  go to Top

1. To those who choose the path that leads to Enlightenment, there are two extremes that should be carefully avoided: first, there is the extreme of indulgence to the desires of the body, the whims of the mind and the pride of life, that come naturally to those who cherish the notion that this world is a real world and this life an end in itself. Second, there is the opposite extreme that comes naturally to those who cherish the notion that a world of truth is the only reality; to them it comes easy to renounce this life and to go to an extreme of ascetic discipline and to torture one's body and mind unreasonable. The Noble Path that lies between these two extremes and leads to enlightenment and wisdom and peace of mind may be called the Life of Golden Mean. This Nob le Path of the middle way, to which Buddha referrred in the Four Noble Truths as leading to the extinction of desire and therefore to the ending of suffering, consists of eight stages: Right Ideas, Right Resolution, Right Speech, Right Behavior, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Dhyana, or Concentration. As has been said, all things appear or disappear by reasons of an endless series of causes. Ignorant people see life as either existence, or non-existence, but wise men see beyond both existence and non-existence to something that includes them both; this is an observation of the Middle Way. Suppose a log is floating in a river. If the log does not become grounded on either bank, or does not sink, or is not taken out by a man, or does not decay, ultimately it will reach the sea. Life is like this log caught in the current of a great river. If a person does not become attached to a life of self-indulgence, nor renouncing life become attached to a life of self-torture; if a person does not become proud of his virtue nor of his evil acts; if in his search for enlightenment he does not become conteptuous of delusion nor fear it; such a person is following the Middle Way by a Noble Path.

2. The important thing in following the path of enlightenment, is to avoid being caught and entangled in any extreme; that is, to always follow a middle course. Knowing that things neither exist nor do not exist, remembering the dream-like nature of everything, reminding himself that even his supposed ego-personality has no substance of its own, one should avoid being caught by any desire for comfort, happiness, or success; or pride of personality, or praise for his good deeds, or caught and entangled by anything else. But if one is to avoid being caught in the current of his desires, he must learn in the very beginning not to grasp after things lest he become habituated to them and become attached to them. He must not become attached to existence nor to non-existence, to anything inside or outside, neither to good things nor to bad things, neither to right nor wrong. If he becomes attached to things, just at that moment, all at once, the life of illusion begins. The one who follows the Noble Path to Enlightenment will not cherish regrets neither will he cherish anticipations, but with equitable and peaceful mind will meet what comes.

3. Enlightenment has no definite form or nature by which it can manifest itself, so in enlightenment itself, there is nothing to be enlightened. Enlightenment exists solely because of delusion and ignorance, if they disappear so will enlightenment. And the opposite is true also; delusion and ignorance exist because of enlightenment; when enlightenment ceases, ignorance and delusion will cease also. Therefore, be on guard against thinking of enlightenment as a "thing" to be grasped after, lest it, too, becomes an obstruction. When the mind that was in darkness becomes enlightened, it passes away, and with its passing, the thing which we call enlightenment passes also. As long as people desire enlightenment and grasp after it, it means that delusion is still with them; therefore they who are following the way to enlightenment must not grasp after it, and if they gain enlightenment they must not become attached to it. When people attain enlightenment but still continue to cherish the notion of enlightenment, it means that enlightenment itself has become an obstructing delusion; therefore, people should follow the path to enlightenment until in their thoughts worldly passions and enlightenment become one thing.

4. This conception of universal oneness - that brings in their essential nature have no distinguishing marks - is called "sunyata." Sunyata means the un-born, having no self-nature, no duality. It is because things in themselves have no form nor characteristics that we can speak of them as neither being born nor being destroyed. There is nothing about the essential nature of things that can be described in terms of discrimination; that is why things are called sunyata. As has been pointed out, all things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relations to everything else. Wherever there is light there is shadow; wherever there is length, there is shortness; wherever, therefore, we assert self-substance, we must admit sunyata. As the self-nature of things can not exist alone, there must be emptiness. By the same reasoning, enlightenment can not exist apart from ignorance, nor ignorance apart from enlightenment. If things do not differ in their essense of nature, how can there be duality?

5. People habitually think of themselves as being connected with birth and death, but in reality there are no such conseptions. When people are able to realize this truth, they have realized the truths of non-duality and sunyata. It is because people cherish the idea of an ego-personality that they cling to the idea of possession, but since there is no such thing as an "ego," there can be no such thing as possession. As people are able to realize this truth, they will be able to realize the truth of no self-nature. People cherish the distinction of purity and impurity, but in the nature of things there is no such distinction except as it rises from their false and absurd imaginations. In like manner people make a distinction between good and evil, but there is no good and no evil existing separately. People who are immersed in a world of social relations will make such a distinction, but those who are following the path to enlightenment should recognize no such duality, and it should lead them neither to praise the good and condemn the evil, nor to despise the good and condone the evil. People naturally fear calamity and long for good fortune, but if the distinction is carefully studied, calamity often turns out to be fortune and good fortune to be calamitous. The wise man learns to me et the changing circumstances of life with an equitable spirit, being neither elated by success nor depressed by failure. Thus one realized the truth of non-duality. Therefore, all these words that express relations of duality - such as, existence and non-existence, worldly-passions and true-knowledge, purity and impurity, good and evil - all of these terms of contrast in one's thinking, as they lead only to confusion and delusion, should sedulously be avoided. As people keep free from such terms and from the emotions engendered by them, by so much do they realize sunyata's universal emptiness.

6. Just as the pure and fragrant lotus grows out of the mud of a swamp rather than out of the clean loam of an upland field, so from the muck of worldly passsions springs the pure enlightenment of Buddhahood. The absurd views of other schools and the delusions of worldly passions are, truly, the seed of Buddhahood. If a diver is to secure his treasure of pearl he must descend into the sea, braving all its dangers of jagged coral and vicious sharks, so one must face the perils of worldly passion if he is to secure the precious pearl of enlightenment. He must first know suffering and loneliness before he will appreciate sympathy and compassion. One must first be lost among the mountainous crags of egoism and selfishness, before there will awaken in him the desire to find a path that will lead him to enlightenment. There is a legend of a hermit of old who had such a desire to find the true path that he climbed a mountain of swords and threw himself into the fire and endured them because of his hope. He who is willing to risk the perils of the path will find a cool breeze blowing on the sword-bristling mountains of selfishness and among the fires of hatred and, in the end, will come to realize that the selfishness and worldly passions against which he has struggled and suffered are enlightenment itself.

7. If people adhere to one of two things, though it may appear to be good and right, there is antagonism of thought and, therefore, there is delusion. It is a mistake for people to seek a thing supposed to be good and right, and to flee from another supposed to be bad and evil. If people insist that all things are empty and transitory, it is just as great a mistake as it would be to insist that all things are real and do not change. If people assert that everything is suffering, it is error; if they assert that everything is happiness, that is error, too. If a person becomes attached to his ego-personality, it is a mistake, it cannot save him from dissatisfaction and suffering; therefore the teaching of Buddha brings unity where before there has been opposing duality. If one believes there is no ego, it is also a mistake and it would be useless for him to practice the way of truth. Buddha teaches the Middle Way where duality merges into oneness; it is a Noble Path that leads to contentment and peace.

CHAPTER THREE - BUDDHA NATURE  go to Top

I. THE HUMAN MIND AND THE TRUE MIND

1. The world is like a lotus pond filled with many different kinds of plants; there are blossoms of many different tints; some white, some pink, some blue, some red, some yellow; some grow under water, some spread their leaves on the water, and some raise their leaves above the water. Among men there are many more differences. There are differneces of sex, but as for that there is no essential difference of nature, for women, with proper training, may attain enlightenment precisely as men. Among humans there are many kinds and degrees of mentality: some are wise, some are foolish, some are good-natured, some are bad tempered, some are easily led, some are difficult to lead, some possess pure minds and some have minds that are defiled; but these differences are negligible when it comes to the attainment of enlightenment. To be a trainer of elephants, one must possess five qualities: he must have good health, he must have confidence, he must have diligence, he must have sincerity of purpose, and he must have wisdom. To follow Buddha's Noble Path to enlightenment, one must have the same five good qualities. If one has these qualities, whether he be man or woman, it is possible to gain enlightenment; it need not take long to learn the Buddha's teaching, one may begin in the morning and be enlightened by evening, for all humans possess a nature that has affinity for enlightenment.

2. In the practice of the way to enlightenment, people see the Buddha with their own eyes and believe in Buddha with their own minds. The eyes that see Buddha and the mind that believes Buddha are the same eyes and the same mind that, until that day, had wandered in the world of suffering. If a king is beset by bandits, before he attacks them, he must find out where their camp is. So when one is beset by worldly passions, he should first find out their seat. If one is in a house when he opens his eyes he will first notice the interior of the room and only later will he see the view outside the window. In like manner we cannot conceive the eye noticing external things before there is coordination of the eye with the things within the house. If there is a mind within the body, it ought first to know the things of the body, but generally people are interested in external things and seem to know and care little for the things within the body. If the mind was located outside the body, how could it keep in contact with the needs of the body? But, in fact, the body feels what the mind knows, and the mind knows what the body feels. Therefore it can not be said that the human mind is outside or independent of the body. Then, where does the mi nd exist?

3. From the beginning, people, being conditioned by their karma, have wandered about in ignorance, being deluded by two fundamental things. First, they believed that the discriminating mind, which lies at the root of this life of birth and death, was their real nature; and, second, they did not know that, hidden behind the discriminating mind, they possessed a pure mind of enlightenment that was their true nature. When a man closes his fist and raises his arm, the eye sees it and the mind discriminates it, but the mind that discriminates it is not the true mind. The discriminating mind is only a mind for the discrimination of imagined differences that greed and other moods relating to the self have created. The discriminating mind is subject to causes and conditions, it is empty of any self-substance, it is constantly changing. But since people believe that this mind is their real mind, the delusion enters into the causes and conditions that produce suffering. The man opens his hand and the mind perceives it; but what is it that first moves? Is it the mind? or is it the hand? Or is it neither? No, if the hand moves, the mind moves; as the mind moves, the hand moves. But the moving mind is only a superficial appearance of mind; it is not true and fundamental mind.

4. Fundamentally everyone has a pure, clean mind, but it is usually covered over by the defilement and dust of worldly desires which have arisen from his circumstances. These world desires are not of the essence of his nature; they are something added, like intruders or guests in a home. The moon is often hidden by clouds, but its purity remains untarnished. Therefore, people must not be deluded into thinking that these worldly desires, whether they be guest or defilement, are their own true mind. They must continually mind themselves of the fact by continually awakening within themselves the pure and unchanging fundamental mind of enlightenment. As it is, being caught by changing worldly desires and being deluded by their own perverted ideas, they wander about in a world