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The Great Calm Observation, Volume 1, Part 4, Page 7
The Sutra on the Precious Bridge says:
"There were Bhiksus1 that had not cultivated their practice, and in the great thousand fold spiritual realm2 there was not even a place left for them to spit, much less receive offerings of service from lay people.
Sixty of these Bhiksus cried in grief, and spoke to
the Buddha, saying:
"We who will
die soon are not able to receive lay people's offerings of service."
The Buddha said:
"You raise up
a mind of shame - very good, very good!"
One Bhiksu spoke to the Buddha,
saying:
"Who are the
Bhiksus that are able to receive the people's offerings of service?"
The Buddha said:
"When there are Bhiksus
cultivating the deeds of the Sangha, they will attain the benefits of the
Sangha. These people will be able to receive the people's offerings of service. The Four
Stages of Progress and the Four Fruits3 are the accounting of the
Sangha. The 37 facets of spiritual awakening4 are the deeds
of the Sangha's and
the Four Fruits are the benefits of the Sangha's.
The Bhiksu again spoke to the
Buddha, saying:
"And what are
they for those that inspire the mind of the Great Vehicle?"
The Buddha said:
"When
inspiring the mind of the Great Vehicle, they seek the Wisdom of All. They dos
not fall into counting the deeds cultivated or the benefits attained, and yet
they are able to receive the people's offerings of service."
The Bhiksu was surprised, and
asked:
"Why are
these people able to receive the people's offerings of service?"
The Buddha said:
"Even if
these people received clothing that would cover the whole earth and received
food that piled up like Mount Sumeru, they would still be able to reward the
kindness of their patrons. One must know that the ultimate fruit of the small
vehicle is not as much as the very first of the Great Vehicle."
And The Sutra on the Tathagata's Mystical Treasury says:
"When a
person:
1. Kills their father who is a
Pratyekabuddha
2. Steals the belongings of the
Three Treasures
3. Defiles their mother who is an
Arhat
4. Slanders the Buddha with lies
5. Divides the noble & virtuous
with a double tongue
6. Ridicules the noble with hateful
speech
7. Breaks or disorders seekers of
truth
8. Has enough anger to commit the
first of the five iniquities5
9.
Has greed enough to take things
from those that embrace the precepts
10. Has the stupidity of extreme
views
There will be the
evil that is the ten evils.
When this person is able to understand the teaching of The One That Has Come about causality and conditions; that there is no self, no personality, no society, and no lifespan in that which is without birth and extinction; and that in being without defilements or attachments6, the original nature of the mind is pure; And that when in all things, this person recognizes the original pure nature, understands it, recognizes it, believes in it and enters into it, I teach that this person will not face hell and all of the effects of the evil path.
How is this so? There will be no accumulation or aggregation in the origination of distress. All things will be without birth and they will not remain blended with causality. And yet they are born and they do arise. Having already arisen, they are extinguished. As the states of mind have already been born and extinguished, so all the binds and compulsions that have been born will also have been extinguished. Like this, one understands there is no place of transgression . There is no place that transgression exists or remains.
It is like a room that has been dark for a hundred years. When a shining lamp is put in the room, it is impossible for the darkness to speak of being the master of the room because it has remained here so long, and it can not refuse to leave. As soon as the lamp is lit, the darkness will be extinguished.”
Its meaning is also like this. This scripture perfectly indicates the Four Bodhi Minds7:
With the first Bodhi Mind already abolishing the heaviest of the ten evils, how could the second, third, or fourth do any less?
The practicer hears of these most wonderful merits and virtues, and must spontaneously rejoice at their good fortune. It is like coming from a dark place with the stench of the Airavana8, and then suddenly being in a brilliant light and having the fragrance of Sandal.
Question:
The discussion of the four
perspectives is generally about causality and conditions. Why is it only
specifically named in the first perspective9?
Answer:
It is named in the first perspective because it is
indicated in the very first line of the verse in The Discourse on the Mean10.
Furthermore, the phenomenal aspects of causality make it suitable to cite its
name in the first perspective. Causality and conditions are specified when we
speak of birth and extinction. Each of the latter three perspectives11
are generally and specifically about causality and conditions, but each of them
have their own individual names.
Footnotes:
1. Bhiksus: Monks
2. Thousand Fold Spiritual Realm: The Spiritual Realm of the mind, spanning from Hell to Enlightenment
3. The Four Stages of Progress (aspiring to) and The Four Fruits (having reached the goals of selflessness as an Arhat): #1 One who has entered into the stream (Srotapanna) opposing the four currents (Asravas) #2 One who will need to once more return to the stream (Sakradagami) #3 One who will never again return to the stream (Anagami) #4 One who is liberated from the stream (Arhat)
4. The 37 Refinements of the Path: The original system of practice that Sakyamuni originally prescribed to his disciples. It represents the core practice of the Two Vehicles.
5. The Five Iniquities: #1 Killing one’s father #2 Killing one’s mother #3 Killing an arhat #4 Harming the Buddha #5 Disrupting the Sangha
6. Defilements (Improper motives/intentions) Attachments (Improper views/opinions) - The Klesas/Emotional Distress
6. The First Bodhi Mind: Birth & Extinction The Second Bodhi Mind: Without Birth or Extinction The Third Bodhi Mind: Limitless The Fourth Bodhi Mind: Innate - See The Four Doctrines
7. The Airavana: The castor oil tree, which has a terrible smell – from The Mahaparinirvana Sutra
8. The First Observation: On Birth & Extinction
9. The first line of the verse in The Discourse on the Mean: “Causality and conditions produce all things”
10.The latter three examples: #2 Without birth or extinction #3 The limitless #4 The innate
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Since July 9, 2001