TREELAF PODCAST: VIMALAKIRTI SUTRA SERIES

[Bion]

Treeleaf Podcast: Vimalakirti Sutra Series

NEW TREELEAF PODCAST EPISODE AVAILABLE


The March 2022 Zazenkai talk episode, continuing the series about the Vimalakirti Sutra, is now available
HERE

This time, we will look at a very strange, seemingly two-faced passage from Chapter 8 of the Vimalakirti Sutra ... but is that what it really means? Hmmmm ...

~~~~~~~~~~~

Vimalakirti replied, "Manjusri, when the bodhisattva follows the wrong way, he follows the way to attain the qualities of the Buddha."

... "Even should he enact the five deadly sins, he feels no malice, violence, or hate. Even should he go into the hells, he remains free of all taint of passions. Even should he go into the states of the animals, he remains free of darkness and ignorance. ...

"He may follow the ways of desire, yet he stays free of attachment to the enjoyments of desire. He may follow the ways of hatred, yet he feels no anger to any living being.

[JUNDO: Alternative translation by Watson - "He shows greed and desire in his actions, yet is removed from the stains of attachment. He shows anger in his actions, yet has no anger or aversion toward living beings."]

"He may follow the ways of avarice, yet he gives away all internal and external things without regard even for his own life. He may follow the ways of immorality, yet, seeing the horror of even the slightest transgressions, he lives by the ascetic practices and austerities. He may follow the ways of wickedness and anger, yet he remains utterly free of malice and lives by love. He may follow the ways of laziness, yet his efforts are uninterrupted as he strives in the cultivation of roots of virtue. He may follow the ways of sensuous distraction, yet, naturally concentrated, his contemplation is not dissipated. ...

" ... He may follow the ways of the poor, yet he holds in his hand a jewel of inexhaustible wealth. He may follow the ways of cripples, yet he is beautiful and well adorned with the auspicious signs and marks. He may follow the ways of those of lowly birth, yet, through his accumulation of the stores of merit and wisdom, he is born in the family of the Tathagatas. He may follow the ways of the weak, the ugly, and the wretched, yet he is beautiful to look upon, and his body is like that of Narayana [Vishnu]."

[JUNDO: Alternative translation by Watson - "He seems to be among the poor and destitute, yet he has jeweled hands capable of bestowing inexhaustible benefits. He seems to be crippled and deformed, yet possesses auspicious features, adorning himself wonderfully with them. He seems to be humble and lowly, yet is born into the seed and lineage of the Buddha, fully endowed with blessings. He seems to be among the puny and emaciated, the ugly and vile, yet acquires the body of a Narayana, a delight for all beings to see."]

"He may manifest to living beings the ways of the sick and the unhappy, yet he has entirely conquered and transcended the fear of death.

"He may follow the ways of the rich, yet he is without acquisitiveness and often reflects upon the notion of impermanence.

He may show himself engaged in dancing with harem girls, yet he cleaves to solitude, having crossed the swamp of desire.

... "Manjusri, thus does the bodhisattva follow the wrong ways, thereby following the way to the qualities of the Buddha."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sat Today lah

[Bion]

Treeleaf Podcast: Vimalakirti Sutra Series

NEW TREELEAF PODCAST EPISODE AVAILABLE

The May 2022 Zazenkai talk episode, continuing the series about the Vimalakirti Sutra, is now available
HERE

We continue will the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra, cherished by Zen folks.

Here, at Gate 9, we again find many very excellent responses by a bunch of very wise Bodhisattvas (after all, they are big time Bodhisattvas, so not amateurs! ) Does the lay person Vimalakirti truly "best" them at the end? Here are some good examples of what the Bodhisattvas said:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At that time Vimalakirti said to the various bodhisattvas, "Sirs, how does the bodhisattva go about entering the doorway of nondualism? Let each one explain as he understands it."

One of the bodhisattvas in the assembly, whose name was Dharma Freedom, spoke these words: "Sirs, birth and extinction form a dualism. But since all dharmas are not born to begin with, they must now be without extinction. By grasping and learning to accept this truth of birthlessness, one may enter the gate of nondualism."

The bodhisattva Virtue Guardian said, "'I' and 'mine' form a dualism. Because there is an 'I', there is also a 'mine.' But if there is no 'I,' there will be no 'mine.' In this way one enters the gate of nondualism." ...

The bodhisattva Universal Guardian said, "'I' and 'not-I' form a dualism. But when one cannot grasp even 'I,' how can one grasp 'not-I'? One who has seen into the true nature of 'I' will no longer give rise to these two concepts, and in this way enter the gate of nondualism." ...

The bodhisattva Virtue Peak said, "Defilement and purity form a dualism. But if one sees into the true nature of defilement, it is without the marks of purity but leads into the extinction of all marks. In this way one enters the gate of nondualism." ...

The bodhisattva Good Constellation said, "The stirring of the mind and thought-these two form a dualism. But if the mind is not stirred, then there will be. no thought. And if there is no thought, there will be no discrimination. The one who has thoroughly mastered this may in this way enter the gate of nondualism." ...

The bodhisattva Pushyal said, "Good and not good form a dualism. But if one does not call up either good or not good but enters into the realm of the formless and truly masters it, in this way one may enter the gate of nondualism."

The bodhisattva Lion said, "Blame and blessing form a dualism. But if one penetrates the true nature of blame, it is no different from blessing. When one can dispose of forms with this diamondlike wisdom, neither bound nor liberated, one may in this way enter the gate of nondualism." ...

The bodhisattva Lion Will said, "Presence of outflows of passion and absence of such outflows constitute a dualism. But if one can grasp the fact that all dharmas are equal, then one will not give rise to the concept of outflows or no outflows. One will not be attached to form nor dwell in formlessness either. In this way one may enter the gate of nondualism." ...

The bodhisattva Good Will said, "The realm of birth and death and that of nirvana form a dualism. But if one sees the true nature of birth and death, one sees that there is no birth or death, no binding, no unbinding, no birth, no extinction. One who understands in this way may thereby enter the gate of nondualism." ...

The bodhisattva Lightning God said, "Enlightenment and ignorance form a dualism. But the true nature of ignorance is none other than enlightenment. And enlightenment cannot be seized, but is apart from all enumerations. One dwells in the center, in the equality without dualism, and in this way enters the gate of nondualism." ...

The bodhisattva Joyful Seeing said, "Form and the emptiness of form constitute a dualism. But form is none other than emptiness; emptiness does not represent the extinction of form. Form is itself empty by nature. ...

The bodhisattva Merit Field said, "To speak of meritorious deeds, blameful deeds, and deeds that call forth no retribution is dualistic. The true nature of all three kinds of deeds is empty. And if it is empty, then there are no meritorious deeds, no blameful deeds, and no deeds that call forth no retribution. One who does not rouse any thought of distinctions with regard to these three types of deeds may thereby enter the gate of nondualism." ...

The bodhisattva Virtue Storehouse said, "To suppose that there is some form or object that one can acquire is dualistic. But if one realizes that there is nothing to be acquired, then there will be no grasping and no rejecting. And when there is no grasping and no rejecting, one may in this way enter the gate of nondualism." ...

The bodhisattva Treasure Sign said, "To yearn for nirvana and not delight in the world constitutes a dualism. But if one does not yearn for nirvana and does not loathe the world, there will be no dualism. Why? If there is binding, there will be un-binding. But if there is no binding to begin with, who will seek to be unbound? And where there is no binding and unbinding, there will be no yearning and no loathing, and in this way one may enter the gate of nondualism."

The bodhisattva Jewel Crowned King said, "The correct way and the erroneous way constitute a dualism. But one who dwells in the correct way does not make distinctions, saying 'This is erroneous!' or 'This is correct!' By removing oneself from both, one may thereby enter the gate of nondualism."

...

Then Manjushri said to Vimalakirti, "Each of us has given an explanation. Now, sir, it is your turn to speak. How does the bodhisattva enter the gate of nondualism?"

At that time Vimalakirti remained silent and did not speak a word.

Manjushri sighed and said, "Excellent, excellent! Not a word, not a syllable-this truly is to enter the gate of nondualism!"

When this chapter on Entering the Gate of Nondualism was preached, five thousand bodhisattvas in the assembly were all able to enter the gate of nondualism and to learn to accept the truth of birthlessness.

http://lirs.ru/lib/sutra/The_Vimalak...tson,1997.html

🙏🏼 Sat Today lah

[Bion]

Treeleaf Podcast: Vimalakirti Sutra Series

NEW TREELEAF PODCAST EPISODE AVAILABLE

The June 2022 Zazenkai talk episode, ending the series about the Vimalakirti Sutra, is now available
HERE

We end our series of talks on the Vimalakirti Sutra with the following visit to Buddha, from (mostly) Chapter 12:

~~~~~~~

Vimalakirti, employing his supernatural powers, proceeded to pick up the whole great assembly, along with their lion seats, place them in the palm of his right hand, and journey with them to the place where the Buddha was. After arriving there and depositing them on the ground, he bowed his head at the feet of the Buddha, circled to the right, performing seven circumambulations of the Buddha and, pressing his palms together with a single mind, stood to one side.

...

Thereupon, the Buddha said to the Licchavi Vimalakirti, "Noble son, when you would see the Tathagata, how do you view him?"

Thus addressed, the Licchavi Vimalakirti said to the Buddha, "Lord, when I would see the Tathagata, I view him by not seeing any Tathagata. Why? I see him as not born from the past, not passing on to the future, and not abiding in the present time. Why? He is the essence which is the reality of matter, but he is not matter. He is the essence which is the reality of sensation, but he is not sensation. He is the essence which is the reality of intellect, but he is not intellect. He is the essence which is the reality of volition, yet he is not volition. He is the essence which is the reality of consciousness, yet he is not consciousness. ... Transcending the scope of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, he is not produced in the six sense-media. He is not involved in the three worlds, is free of the three defilements, is associated with the triple liberation ... has truly attained the unattainable.

"The Tathagata ... is not produced from causes, nor does he depend on conditions. He is not without any characteristic, nor has he any characteristic. He has no single nature nor any diversity of natures. He is not a conception, not a mental construction, nor is he a nonconception. He is neither the other shore, nor this shore, nor that between. He is neither here, nor there, nor anywhere else. He is neither this nor that. He cannot be discovered by consciousness, nor is he inherent in consciousness. He is neither darkness nor light. He is neither name nor sign. He is neither weak nor strong. He lives in no country or direction. He is neither good nor evil. He is neither compounded nor uncompounded. He cannot be explained as having any meaning whatsoever.

"The Tathagata is neither generosity nor avarice, neither morality nor immorality, neither tolerance nor malice, neither effort nor sloth, neither concentration nor distraction, neither wisdom nor foolishness. He is inexpressible. He is neither truth nor falsehood; neither escape from the world nor failure to escape from the world; neither cause of involvement in the world nor not a cause of involvement in the world ... He surpasses all measure. He does not go, does not stay, does not pass beyond. He is neither seen, heard, distinguished, nor known. ... Equal toward all things, he does not discriminate between them. He is without reproach, without excess ... He is without activity, without birth, without occurrence, without origin, without production, and without nonproduction. He is without fear ... without sorrow, without joy, and without strain. No verbal teaching can express him.

"Such is the body of the Tathagata and thus should he be seen. Who sees thus, truly sees.

~~~~

At that time Shariputra asked Vimalakirti, "Where did you die before you were reborn here?"

Vimalakirti said, "In the Law that you learned, is there any such thing as dying or being born?"

Shariputra replied, "No, there is no dying or being born."

Vimalakirti: Likewise, reverend Sariputra, as all things neither die nor are reborn, why do you ask, "Where did you die to reincarnate here?" Reverend Sariputra, if one were to ask a man or woman created by a magician where he or she had died to reincarnate there, what do you think he or she would answer?

Sariputra: Noble sir, a magical creation does not die, nor is it reborn.

Vimalakirti: Reverend Sariputra, did not the Tathagata declare that all things have the nature of a magical creation?

Sariputra: Yes, noble sir, that is indeed so.

Vimalakirti: Reverend Sariputra, "death" is an end of performance, and "rebirth" is the continuation of performance. Shariputra, dyíng is in its nature simply the destruction of something that is empty and fraudulent, and being born is in its nature the continuation of something that is empty and fraudulent. But the bodhisattva, though he dies, does not wipe out his good roots, and though he is born, he does not prolong those things that are evil.

🙏🏼 Sat Today

[Naiko]

Thank you, Bion! I have greatly enjoyed studying this sutra and I know I will want listen to these talks again. It’s very helpful to have them easily accessible.
Gassho,
Naiko
st lah