This term we study sections from the Surangama Sutra, an immensely influential and important sutra in Mahayana Buddhism. Recently a complete, decent translation has become available by the BTTS. (I've waited twenty years for this!) The class is taught concurrently at Zen Center of Sunnyvale and Buddha Jewel Monastery.
In the first class we covered the following:
- Introduction
- The meaning of Surangama: indestructible; heroic progression
- Organization of the Surangama Sutra:
- Understanding the Way (見道分)
- Cultivating the Way (修道分)
- Realizing/Attaining the Way (證道分)
- Assistance on the Way (助道分)
- Understanding the Way (見道分)
- "Thus have I heard" (Ananda's role in the Tripitaka)
- Sutra Opening Gatha and respecting sutras
- How Surangama was brought to China by Paramiti and translated
- Story of Anathapindada and the Prince Jetri's Grove
- Three kinds of outflow (desire, existence, and ignorance)and the Three Realms of Existence (Realm of Desire, Realm of Form, and Realm of Formlessness)
- If everything is impermanent, how can there be an indestructible samadhi, the Suragama?
- What is the main purpose of the teaching in Part 1 of the Surangama ("Understanding the Way")?
- Why is Anathapindada willing to offer all his wealth just to build a monastery for the Buddha? Why is Paramiti willing to endure such physical pain to carry the sutra to China? How do we distinguish religious fanaticism from selfless bodhisattva devotion?
- Why is this world we live in called the "Realm of Desire"?
- What does the name "outflow" designate?
- Which outflows exist for each of these three realms?
Posts
Response to Question 1 by class member Doug:
ReplyDeleteBy logical reasoning, if everything is impermanent, and the Surangama is permanent, then the Surangama must not be thing.
Can the Mind be aware of non-things?
Is the Mind a non-thing?
Comment on Question 3 by classmate Doug:
ReplyDeleteHow do we distinguish religious fanaticism from selfless bodhisattva devotion?
Is it sufficient have an intention to help others, or must the intention be imbued with the wisdom to know that it will help others?
1. If everything is impermanent, how can there be an indestructible samadhi, the Suragama?
ReplyDeleteSuragama Samadhi is the Unsurpassed Samadhi, is the King of Samadhi, is the enlightened state of mind of all Buddhas, who can see reality as it is. A Buddha cannot lose this ability.
2. What is the main purpose of the teaching in Part 1 of the Surangama ("Understanding the Way")?
Seeing our true nature. For example, where is our mind, what is the real "self".
3. Why is Anathapindada willing to offer all his wealth just to build a monastery for the Buddha? Why is Paramiti willing to endure such physical pain to carry the sutra to China? How do we distinguish religious fanaticism from selfless bodhisattva devotion?
If you meet the Buddha, you'll do what Anathapindada did.
Because Paramiti is a Bodhisattva, he did what he did. A religious fanatic conceivably may even have great compassion. But a Bodhisattva always have great wisdom together with great compassion.
4. Why is this world we live in called the "Realm of Desire"?
Because the people in our world crave money, sex, power, pleasure, material things etc. that we cannot put a stop to.
5. What does the name "outflow" designate?
It is a Chinese Buddhist technical term meaning klesha, attachments, fetters, vexations, clinging, yokes, afflictions etc. They cause our virtue and good karma to "leak" out.
6. Which outflows exist for each of these three realms?
A) Outflow of Desire
B) Outflow of Existence
C) Outflow of Ignorance
Desire Realm A+B+C
Desire Realm B+C
Formless Realm C
(Arhat = Zero Outflow)
Bow in Respect
Kevin Cheung
1. If everything is impermanent, how can there be an indestructible samadhi, the Suragama?
ReplyDeleteAll conditioned phenomena are impermanent. They are subject to ceaseless changes as conditions come and go. The Suragama samadhi is a state of the mind that is totally free from attachments (無所住), unburdened by conditions, thus the stillness is immovable, incredibly powerful and "indestructible".
3. Both Anathapindada and Paramiti have brought forth the bodhicita resolve - to attain the Buddha Way and to liberate all sentient beings.
A religious fanatic is egoistic, often intolerant of others' beliefs and may even commit extreme acts that bring harms to self and others. A selfless bodhisattva embraces loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity. His or her actions aim at benefiting others.
In response to Doug's question (Is the Mind a non-thing?):
ReplyDeleteWhen the mind is deluded, it gives rise to thoughts that go through the cycle of arising, abiding, changing and ceasing - because our thoughts have births and deaths, all living beings and the universe go through cycles of births and deaths. In this sense, the deluded mind and things are not different.
When the mind is awakened (the bodhi mind), it is pervasive and infinite, neither arising nor ceasing. This mind transcends all things.
Q6. Referring to Kevin's answer:
ReplyDeleteDoesn't both the outflows of existence and ignorance (B+C) exist in the formless realm also?
Vicky
Some answers to comments:
ReplyDelete1. "Outflow" (漏) is not only a Chinese Buddhist term; it is a term from Indian Buddhism.
2. Formless Realm has both outflows of existence and ignorance, but it is not an attachment to a physical body.
3. Can the mind be aware of "non-things"? Every "thing" or "non-thing" is only meaningful because of the mind being aware of it.
4. Is the mind a "non-thing"? To say the mind is a thing is wrong; to say it is not a thing is also wrong. These are dualistic views.
I read in the Sutra that the 4 stages of Arhatship do not correspond to the 4 dhyana stages. But I am thinking that since it makes sense that going through the 4 dhyana stages can help lessen your desires, is this any indicator of one's attainment.
ReplyDeleteAlso, do the four abidances correspond with the stages of Arhatship? I remember ShiFu said the last three abidances refer to habits so I am thinking that an Arhat is someone who has seen the truth and gotten rid of all his bad habits.
Am I just seeing things in groups of 4 or are there some correlations?
Respectfully,
Scott