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The Great Calm Observation, Volume 1, Part 2, Page 4
Already believing in this teaching, it is necessary to recognize the three kinds of literature on it:
Although there are these three kinds of literature, one does not cling to the words, as this will do harm.
The Great
Discourse says:
"Depending upon whether
or not they see with Prajna, all are either bound or liberated by means of words."
The
words of the texts also illustrate this fact.
Skeptics speak of the serene and extinguished aspect of all things being impossible to declare by means of words.
The
Great Nirvana Sutra says:
"It
is impossible to explain how that which is born is born13 and it is
impossible to explain how that which is without birth is not born14."
Whether
being general or specific, it is beyond the way of words or language. One is
unable to teach that which is not taught.
Sariputra15
said:
"I
have heard that there are no words to teach of liberation. Therefore, I do not
know what to say."
Vimalakirti16
said:
"Those
that teach this do not explain it or indicate it. Those that inquire into
this do not hear it or attain it."
There is no one that can explain
it, and its reality is inexpressible, and yet we speak of it being conveyed to people.
Actually, the skeptics here only quote one side, and do not see the second:
The
Great Nirvana Sutra says:
"There
are causality and conditions and so it is also possible to teach of it."
The
Lotus Sutra says:
"Countless
ways and means and various kinds of reasoning to teach living beings."
The
Lotus Sutra also says:
"With
the power of ways and means the five bhiksus17 were taught."
Whether
being general or specific, all was possible to teach.
The
Great Nirvana Sutra says:
"Those
with eyes teach of the color of milk to the blind."
This
indicates that the absolute truth is possible to teach of.
The
Sutra on the Prajna of the Heavenly King says:
"That which is ‘all-embracing’18
is beyond words, and yet words reveal that which is ‘all-embracing’."
This indicates that it is possible to teach of it in terms
of mundane truth.
And the One That Has Come19 depended upon these two truths20 to teach of the Dharma.
Vimalakirti
said:
"Being
detached from the nature of words is liberated understanding and teaching
without teaching."
This
is teaching, and yet not teaching
The
Great Nirvana Sutra says:
"When
one recognizes that the One That Has Come is always not teaching in words, one
has heard much."
This indicates not teaching, and yet teaching.
The
Sutra on Beneficial Thoughts says:
"The
Buddha and his disciples are always practicing two things - teaching and silence."
The
Lotus Sutra says:
"Whether
coming, going, seated, or standing, the Buddha always declared the Wonderful Dharma like
the pouring of a great rain."
The
Lotus Sutra also says;
"If
one wishes the path of enlightenment, one should always follow those that have heard
much of it. Good acquaintances will cause one to be led and influenced, and
enable one to see the Buddha."
The
Great Nirvana Sutra says:
"In
the midst of the sky there were clouds and thunder, and on the tip of the
elephant’s tusk a flower was born."
At
what point does one simply stop teaching?
If one just wrangles between teaching and silence, one will not understand the intention of this teaching, and one will just get further and further away from the principle. Apart from the teaching there is no principle. Apart from the principle, there is no teaching. There is teaching without teaching. Not teaching is teaching. They are not different.
With great compassion, the Buddha had pity on those that had not heard the Teaching. For example, when the moon was concealed by a heavy mountain, a round fan was used to indicate it’s presence. When the winds ceased to blow in the sky, trees were shaken to represent it’s existence.
Now the peoples' minds are dull. It is difficult for them to awaken in the darkness. Their eyes depend upon forms entering into them for them to see. Temporary words make it easier for them to understand. But when people are confined to words, there is harm. It is necessary to recognize that, with or without words, one reaches the meaning of all words. Upon being neither with nor without words, one is able to attain all understandings in all words.
Therefore there are these three kinds of texts used to reach the single door of Reality21.
Footnotes:
1. Sequential Doors of Meditation: (C. T’zu Ti Ch’an Men) Meditation manual written by Chih-I
2. Fa-Shen at the Temple of Great Adornment (C. Ta-Chuang-Yen-Ssu). Meditation manual written in 571 CE and then edited by Kuang Ting
3. The Six Wonderful Doors: (C. Liu Miao Fa Men) Meditation manual written by Chih-I
4. The twelve meditations: #1. The Four Basic Meditations in the Realm of Form #5 - #8 The Four Meditations in the Realm Without Form #9 - #12: The Four Limitless States of Mind: Kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy & Equanimity
5. The Nine Ruminations (on Death & Decay) This is a reference to the meditations on impurity and the Nine Ruminations on Death & Decay. In order to observe impurity, monks visited cemeteries and charnel grounds (where the dead were burned and left to decompose) in order to give them an appreciation of impermanence and the impurity of the body - the Nine Ruminations on Death & Decay.: The dead body’s: #1 swelling, #2 having a blue and mottled color, #3 breaking apart, #4 bloody mess, #5 discharging & rotting flesh, #6 being devoured by birds and beasts, #7 dismemberment, #8 white bones stripped clean, #9 ashes and returning to dust
6. The Eight Emancipations:
See the meditations
of form & formlessness
A. Observing an object & becoming free of cognitive thought (from the end
of the
first to the end of the second basic meditation of form)
B. Observing an object &
becoming
free of affective states of mind (from the end of the second to the end of the
third basic meditation
of form)
C. Abiding in a pure state of mind (the fourth
basic meditation of form)
D. The boundlessness of emptiness
E. The boundlessness
of consciousness
F. The boundlessness of nothingness
G. The boundlessness
of that which is neither with nor without thought
H. The extinction of sensory
perception and thought (Nirodha Samapatti)
7. Observation, polishing, perfuming, and cultivation: The four techniques used in meditation, described in The Six Wonderful Doors (C. Liu Miao Fa Men), a meditation manual written by Chih-I
8. The Twelvefold Wheel of Causality and Conditions: The cause or origination of suffering – the ignorant desire of the self, in a cycle of twelve links
9. The six perfections: #1 Generosity #2 Morality #3 Endurance #4 Diligence #5 Mental Concentration (Meditation) #6 Spiritual Insight – The virtues of the Bodhisattva
10. President of the Department of State, Mao-Hsi: Important court figure at Chin-Ling (now Nan-Jing) who was a friend of Chih-I’s father
11. The Wise One: Chih-I
12. The Monastery of the Jade Spring (Yu-Chuan-Ssu) in the Province of Thorns (Ching-Chou): Where this work was lectured by Chih-I
13. That which is born is born: That which exists becomes existent (from non-existence)
14. That which is without birth is not born: That which does not exist becomes non-existent (from existence)
15. Sariputra: Close historical disciple of Sakyamuni who was known for his learning
16. Vimalakirti (Spotless Reputation): Bodhisattva of the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra
17. Five Bhiksus: The five monks who were Sakyamuni’s first five disciples #1 Ajnata Kaundinya #2 Asvajit #3 Bhadrika #4 Dasabala Kasyapa #5 Mahanama Kulika
18. That which is ‘all-embracing’: (S. Dharani) ‘That which is focused on’, ‘the all embracing’; The dharani is a prayer-spell that is recited over and over. It is the Great Secret Essence, the all-embracing incantation that intercepts evil, embraces good and includes all teachings, meanings, and practices. It represents the secret essence of the Middle Way and the True Spiritual Aspect of Reality.
19. The One That Has
Come: (S. Tathagata) The One that comes down
to this world from the realm of the absolute spiritual reality to enlighten
living beings (and then reenters Nirvana, returning back to that absolute
reality).
20. The Two Truths: The absolute (which is beyond words) and the mundane (which can be expressed in words)
21. At this point the Introduction by Kuan-Ting ends, and the lectures by Chih-I (but recorded by Kuan-Ting) begin.
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