the sixth patriarch's sutra january 27, 2012 lecture

8/3/2019 The Sixth Patriarch's Sutra January 27, 2012 Lecture

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The Sixth Patriarchs SutraJanuary 27, 2012 lecture

as outlined by a Buddhist monk

at 1777 Murchison Drive, Burlingame, California 94010, free to public(phone 650-6925912)

(Listen live or recorded audio explanations at

www.wondrousdharma.org)

Q&A Mind is the myriad phenomena; myriadphenomena are the mind

Q&A the 84,000 Dharma practices

Chapter 2 Prajna the greatness ofMahaprajnaparamita

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www.wondrousdharma.org]


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Verse for opening a sutra

Na Mwo Fundamental Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha (3x)

Homage to the Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra (3x)

The unsurpassed, deep, profound, subtle, wonderfulDharma,

In a hundred thousand million eons, is difficult to

encounter, Now that Ive come to receive and hold it, within my sight

and hearing,

I vow to fathom the Thus Come Ones true and actual

meaning.Exhortation to uphold the Buddhadharma from the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra:

The Thus Come One knows the Dharma of one appearance, one flavor, that isto say, the mark of liberation, the mark of separation, the mark of extinction,

the mark of ultimate Nirvana which is constantly still and extinct and which inthe end returns to emptiness. (one appearance is the Reality of the mind and the


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Chapter 2 Prajna

Sutra: What is meant by Maha? Maha means great. Thecapacity of the mind is vast and great like empty space,

and has no boundaries. It is not square or round, great or

small. Neither is it blue, yellow, red or white. It is not above

or below, or long or short. It is without anger, without joy,

without right, without wrong, without good, without evil,

and it has no head or tail.

Comments: The vastness of Maha is such that it does not discriminate nor

exclude anything.

Everything is included; yet nothing is excluded the

inconceivable vastness of Maha.

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Chapter 2 Prajna

How is it possible to have such inconceivable qualities in Maha thateverything is included yet nothing is excluded ? It is because

Everything came from the original self nature (original mind)

and nothing else.

And everything will eventually return back to nothing or empty

and clear, the original self nature (original mind)

Prajna paramita is just that mind that is empty and clear at all

times; seeing everything for what they ultimately are in thateverything is empty of characteristics.

Mahaprajnaparamita is just the original self nature (original

mind) within every living beings! 4


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Chapter 2 Prajna

Sutra: All Buddha-lands are ultimately the same as emptyspace. The wonderful nature of worldly people is originally

empty, and there is not a single dharma which can be

obtained. The true emptiness of the self-nature is also like

this.

Comments:

The vastness of Mahaprajnaparamita lies in its unity in

appearance; the one appearance that ultimately is noappearance or there is not a single dharma that can be

obtained.

Planet earth is within the Saha world. The Saha world is the

Buddhaland created by Shakyamuni Buddha to teach us.

Our understanding of Prajna is multilayered. 5


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Chapter 2 Prajna

Initially form is emptiness, emptiness is form refers to the form

we see and the empty space of the false conscious minds.

Here the emptiness is the false emptiness in space manifestedby the mind in confusion. (conditioned existence)

When there is no more confusion, false emptiness doesn't existanymore or there is nothing at all, not even emptiness.(conditioned becomes unconditioned existence)

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Chapter 2 Prajna

Because the conditioned is fundamentally empty without

appearance, there is no difference between the conditioned andthe unconditioned.

Ultimately the unity of appearance of Ultimate Reality between

conditioned and unconditioned is true emptiness where there is

not a single dharma that can be obtained or

All dharma are empty in nature or all dharmas are empty ofcharacteristics.

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Chapter 2 Prajna

A verse to summarize the foregoing:

The self nature (mind) is like empty space It contains within itself both truth and falsehood

Enlighten yourself to the original substance (original self nature)

In one penetration penetrates all.

What is being ultimately penetrated?...

all dharmas are empty of charateristics. (Heart of

Prajnaparamita)

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Q&A

Mind is the myriad phenomena;

Myriad phenomena are the mind.

Question: What is the difference between the two?

Answer:

The proper knowledge of a Buddha is that the mind or the self

nature produces the myriad phenomena; not otherwise.

Because the self nature is empty and clear of appearances and

if we want to see and know the self nature, it is just the myriad

phenomena

Buddhadharma is the teaching that points to addressing the

mind; turning around from a confused mind to understandingthe original mind.

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Q&A

The Fifth Patriarch knew of Hui Nengs enlightenment to

his original nature and said to him,

Studying the Dharma without recognizing the original

mind is of no benefit.

If one recognizes ones own original mind and sees onesoriginal nature, then one is called a great hero, a teacher of

gods and humans, a Buddha.

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Q&A

Originally the mind is empty and clear; then confused

movement in mind produces the myriad phenomena.

The myriad phenomena are the manifestation of the mind.

Being a manifestation of the mind, the myriad phenomena is

ultimately empty of characteristics because they will revert toemptiness when the mind is no longer confused.

Therefore the myriad phenomena is not separate entity fromthe mind.

This is the knowledge of the universe or the knowledge of the

nature of the dharma realm. 11


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Q&A

The Buddha is One of proper knowledge and universal

knowledge.

Note the sequencing: proper knowledge is mentioned first becausethe Buddhadharma is the teaching of the Reality of the minds of

living beings (mind ground Dharma) to understand the knowledge

of the universe.

Hence, mind is the myriad phenomena; myriad phenomena are

the mind. 12


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Q&A

Science on the other hand is trying to understand the myriad

phenomena

Do you think science will be able to fathom the myriad

phenomena?...

No, because the myriad phenomena is endless as the confused

mind or the self nature keeps on generating new ones; these

mundane knowledge are the first of the 6 coarse appearancesthat eventually lead to attachment and creation of karma.

Now do you understand why the proper knowledge begins with

mind is the myriad phenomena. 13


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Q&A

And the myriad phenomena are the mind because the myriad

phenomena cannot standalone without the mind.

Hence Myriad phenomena are the mind is a knowledge of the

universe.

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Q&A

Mind is myriad phenomena; myriad phenomena are the mind

expresses true emptiness of the mind and wonderful existence

of myriad phenomena.

The mind and phenomena or the mind and the universe are not

separate and they do not obstruct each other; the trueemptiness of the mind in that it is not totally empty because it

gives rise to myriad phenomena.

The wonderful existence of the myriad phenomena is not really

existing because it is fundamentally empty as they came from

and will return to the original true mind which is empty and

clear. 15


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Chapter 2 Prajna




this.

Comments:

Our wonderful inherent self nature is empty of characteristics.

The wonderful nature of worldly people is originally empty tells

us that the prajna wisdom is inherent in the self nature of every

people.

Because people revolves in the six destinies, all the living

beings in the six destinies have the inherent prajna wisdom.16


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Chapter 2 Prajna




this.

Comments:

In the Heart of Prajaparamita Sutra contains the heart of

Mahaprajnaparamita.

The Heart of Prajna Paramita Sutra describes our self nature

as:

All dharmas are empty of characteristics. They are not

produced, not destroyed. Not defiled. Not pure. They neither

increase nor diminish.

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Q&A

Question: The Buddha says there are 84,000 Dharma practices.Can you tell me all of them?

Answer:

All the 84,000 Dharma practices is just prajna wisdom.

That is, all the Dharma practices leads us to the emptiness of

prajna wisdom which is inherent in every living being.

In the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra it says that there

is only one Buddha Vehicle, not two or three.

The reason is all are expedients and ultimately it leads us to the

real appearance of emptiness of all dharmas - the essence of

Mahaprajnaparamita. 18


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Chapter 2 Prajna

Sutra: Good Knowing Advisors, do not listen to myexplanation of emptiness and then become attached to

emptiness. The most important thing is to avoid becoming

attached to emptiness. If you sit still with an empty mind,

you will become attached to undifferentiated emptiness.

Comments:

Not to become attached to the emptiness, we have to emptythis emptiness.

Ultimately it neither existence nor emptiness; but the principle

of the Middle Way of true emptiness where

you dont cling to emptiness and

You dont reject existence

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Chapter 2 Prajna

The practical interpretation of true emptiness is

Not clinging to emptiness is prajna wisdom

Not rejecting existence is great compassion.

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Chapter 2 Prajna

Sutra: Good Knowing Advisors, do not listen to myexplanation of emptiness and then become attached to

emptiness. The most important thing is to avoid becoming

attached to emptiness. If you sit still with an empty mind,

you will become attached to undifferentiated emptiness.

Comments:

If you sit still with an empty mind, you are no different than ablock of wood

where you have not fathomed the principle of true emptiness

in prajna wisdom

And when you do uncross your leg, you become confused

amidst the society.

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Chapter 2 Prajna

Sutra: Good Knowing Advisors, the emptiness of theuniverse is able to contain the forms and shapes of the ten

thousand things: the sun, moon, and stars; the mountains,

rivers, and the great earth; the fountains, springs, streams,

torrents, grasses, trees, thickets, and forests; good and

bad people, good and bad dharmas, the heavens and the

hells, all the great seas, Sumeru and all mountainsall are

contained within emptiness. The emptiness of the nature ofworldly men is also like this.

Comments:

The emptiness of the nature is our inherent self nature or

Buddhanature.

Those who have resolved their minds on

anuttarasamyaksambodhi do not affirm the destruction of the

appearances of all dharmas. (Vajra Sutra) 22


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Chapter 2 Prajna

Sutra: Good Knowing Advisors, the ability of ones ownnature to contain the ten thousand dharmas is what is

meant by great. The myriad dharmas are within the nature

of all people.

Comments:

The greatness of Maha is that everything is included inside andnothing is excluded.

Because nothing is excluded, the false world of existence

should not be excluded

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Chapter 2 Prajna

Sutra: Good Knowing Advisors, the ability of ones ownnature to contain the ten thousand dharmas is what is

meant by great. The myriad dharmas are within the nature

of all people.

Comments:

Excluding the world of existence is to discriminate the false yet

the false came from the true and it will return back to the trueeventually.

How unexpected! The self nature produces the myriaddharmas.

The dharma of anuttarasamyaksambodhi is the awakening to

the teaching of being level and equal, without high or low.24


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Chapter 2 Prajna

Sutra: If you regard all people, the bad as well as thegood, without grasping or rejecting, without producing a

defiling attachment, your mind will be like empty space.

Therefore it is said to be great, Maha.

Comments:

Dont discriminate the false and the true

The original self nature is non dual because everything comesfrom the self nature.

The dharma of anuttarasamyaksambodhi is the awakening tothe teaching of being level and equal, without high or low.

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Chapter 2 Prajna

Sutra: Good Knowing Advisors, the mouth of theconfused person speaks, but the mind of the wise person

practices. There are deluded men who sit still with empty

minds, vainly thinking of nothing and declaring that to be

something great. One should not speak with these people

because of their deviant views.

Comments:

Being delusional about what ultimately is the objective of

practicing sitting meditation.

The Great Master is breaking the attachment to sitting still with

an empty mind and remind that the objective of sitting

meditation is ultimately to activate the inherent prajna wisdom.

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Chapter 2 Prajna

Sutra: Good Knowing Advisors, the capacity of the mind

is vast and great, encompassing the Dharma realm.

Comments:

Buddhadharma is about opening up our minds that the entire

dharma realm to the ends of empty space is just our minds.

For example, when we do transference of merit and virtue, we

transfer it to the entire dharma realm to the ends of empty

space and not merely planet earth.

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Dedication of merit

May every living beings,

Our minds as one and radiant with light

Share the fruits of peace, with hearts of goodness

luminous and bright. If people hear and see, how hands and hearts can find in

giving unity

May their minds awake, to great compassion, wisdom

and to joy. May kindness find reward; may all who sorrow leave their

grief and pain;

May this boundless light break the darkness of theirendless night.

Because our hearts are one, this world of pain turns intoparadise;

May all become compassionate and wise (2x)


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Dedication of merit

I vow that merit made from this deed will become,

Adornments for the Pure Land of Bu-ddhas. Repaying the four kinds of kindness above,

And aiding those in three paths below.

May all who see and hear of this deed Bring forth the resolve to reborn

In the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

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the sixth patriarch's sutra january 27, 2012 lecture

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