Category Archives: Hsuan Hua

Hsuan Hua, Blog

Five Schools of One Buddhism

This year I’m going to be immersed in Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s fourteen volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra. In addition, I’m currently using the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s translation of the Lotus Sutra in my daily practice. The sutra itself is volume 15 of the commentary. In addition, I’m reading a number of other books published by the Buddhist Text Translation Society.

Why? I want to read everything about the Lotus Sutra. In the past I’ve discussed Dogen’s view of the Lotus Sutra and Thich Nhat Hanh’s interpretation of the Lotus Sutra. Hsuan Hau makes a third Chan master with something to say about the Lotus Sutra. So there’s nothing unusual in all of this.

As for my reading outside the Lotus Sutra – I recently re-read the Vimalakīrti Sūtra – that too comes from the Lotus Sutra, specifically Chapter 2.

“Śāriputra! I also expound various teachings to all living beings only for the purpose of revealing the One Buddha-Vehicle. There is no other vehicle, not a second or a third. Śāriputra! All the present Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters also do the same.

As Nichiren explains, all of the streams of the Buddha’s teaching flow into the ocean of the Lotus Sutra:

All the sūtras entering the ocean of the Lotus Sūtra take up the one flavor of Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō because of the wonderful merit of the ocean of the Lotus Sūtra. There is no reason why they have to be referred to by other names such as Nembutsu, Ritsu, Shingon, or Zen.”

Shoshū Mondō-shō, Questions and Answers Regarding Other Schools, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 165 (2022)

Yes, Nichiren was adamant about rejecting the practices of  Nembutsu, Ritsu, Shingon and Zen, but I’d argue that that doesn’t preclude Nichiren followers from studying all of these streams.

Since I’m  reading Hsuan Hua’s commentary, I want to acknowledge where he is coming from in his view of the Lotus Sutra.

Buddhism: A Brief Introduction includes a useful interview between Hsuan Hua and Karl Ray, which originally appeared in the Shambala Review under the title “Back to the Source.”

Karl Ray: (KR)

The first question I would like to ask is based on an article in which you suggest that Buddhists forget sectarian lines. Can you suggest practical steps that Buddhist organizations can take to bring this about?

Master: (M)

Before the Buddha came into the world there was no Buddhism. After the Buddha appeared, Buddhism came into being, but there was not as yet any division into sects or schools. Sectarianism is a limited view, a view of small scope, and cannot represent Buddhism in its entirety. The complete substance of Buddhism, the totality, admits no such divisions. When you divide the totality of Buddhism into sects and schools, you merely split it into fragments. In order to understand Buddhism in its totality, one must eliminate views of sects and schools and return to original Buddhism. One must return to the root and go back to the source.

KR: That brings me to a question about the different teachings taught here at Gold Mountain Monastery. I understand that you teach five different schools, including the Ch’an School, the Teaching School, the Vinaya School, the Secret School, and the Pure Land School. Can they all be taught like this together? Do they all belong to the original corpus of Buddhist teachings?

M: The Five Schools were created by Buddhist disciples who had nothing to do and wanted to find something with which to occupy their time. The Five Schools all issued from Buddhism. Since they came forth from Buddhism, they can return to Buddhism as well. Although the Five Schools serve different purposes, their ultimate destination is the same. It is said,

There is only one road back to the source, But there are many expedient ways to reach it.

Although there are five different schools, they are still included within one “Buddhism”. If you want to understand the totality of Buddhism, you need not divide it up into schools or sects. Originally there were no such divisions. Why make trouble when there is none? Why be divisive and cause people to have even more false thoughts than they already have?

People think that the Five Schools are something really special and wonderful. In fact, they have never departed from Buddhism itself. It is just like the government of a country. The government is made up of different departments. There is a Department of Health, a Department of Economics, a State Department, a Department of the Interior, and so forth. People may not realize that all these different departments are under a single government. All they recognize is the department, and they don’t recognize the government as a whole. Their outlook is narrow. Now, we wish to move from the branches back to the roots. In the analogy, the roots are the government and the branches are the various departments. People should not abandon the roots and cling to the branches. If you only see the individual departments and fail to recognize the government, you will never be able to understand the problems faced by the country as a whole. You will have no idea what they are all about.

KR: Then one should feel free to pursue any or all of the teachings?

M: Of course. Religion cannot be allowed to tie one up.

KR: And if one chooses to follow only one certain school, can one reach the goal that all of them aim for?

M: All roads lead to Rome. All roads come to San Francisco. All roads will take you to New York. You may ask, ‘Can I get to New York by this road?’ but you would do better to ask yourself, ‘Will I walk that road or not?’

Buddhism: A Brief Introduction, p83-84

Another interesting glimpse into the thinking of Hsuan Hua comes from the Forward to the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association‘s translation of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra.

The Venerable Hsuan Hua’s Vision

Buddhism in the modern Western world isn’t even at the kindergarten level. But what Master Hua could see at the grand scale was that three things were necessary for Buddhism to come into the West. Not just Buddhism in the West, either. To ensure the future of humanity, there were three essential things: translation, education, and maintaining the monastic tradition. Basically, Master Hua could see that humanity would have to start all over again, from a seed; it might preserve some of what we have now, but it would more or less have to start over.

The first essential element in starting over is to maintain the monastic tradition as a choice. It has to be available as a choice. People only really have two modes of living: at-home and left-home. If you live at home, you have to engage with the conditional at some level; you have to participate in some kind of strategic construct-working for a living or whatever-that will take up some amount of time. As a monastic, that’s taken care of. In exchange, you take on the responsibility of maintaining the Dharma in one way or another. As a layperson, you can stay away from spouses and pets as much as you like, but you still have to pay for your apartment and so on; you have to get involved with the conditional, and you can throw in a little meditation here and there. As a monastic, you avoid that, but you have to be a Bodhisattva. That’s the trade-off. Master Hua was very clear: when it comes down to it, it’s one or the other. Maintaining the monastic tradition is vital, as a practical issue, not a just a metaphysical one. On the one hand, people need to have this choice available to them; on the other, someone needs to maintain the Dharma.

The other two elements–education and translation–are intertwined. Whatever framework of reality is operating within a culture at a given time, it comes primarily through the educational construct. So having a thriving system, from elementary up through post-graduate studies, is indispensable to a healthy future. Translation acts a kind of liaison in that process; it can influence the educational construct and help to create an alternative to the one we have now. We’ve barely even scratched the surface of translating the Dharma into English. As more texts become available, people will be faced with a lot of different things. The Buddha was very flexible. He taught to all kinds of conditions. As more of the Dharma is brought into English, plenty of opportunities will open up for people to look at things in a new way.

Master Hua wanted to see hundreds of people working together on translation. He wanted to bring people together from all over the world. Like a Borobudur of translation. The problem is our imagination. We think so small. We don’t really consider just how big a project this could be, and how many people could work on it together. Master Hua wanted to bring everyone together. If our translation work could be like this, it could really be what he envisioned as an essential part of ensuring a better future for all of us.

Doug Powers
Vice President for Finance and Administration,
Professor, Dharma Realm Buddhist University

September 27, 2020

Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, Blog

Reading Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s Commentary on the Lotus Sutra

btts_commentary_2001-300w
2001 Edition of Volume 1
btts_lotus_sutra_commentary_2020-300w
2020 edition Volume 1
btts_lotus_sutra_commentary_2020_v2-300w
2020 edition Volume 2

I read the first volume of the 2001 edition of Chinese Master Hsuan Hua‘s commentary of the Lotus Sutra, which the Buddhist Text Translations Society gives away free (you pay for shipping). I wanted to know if it would be worthwhile to pay $159.95 for the full 14-volume set of the 2020 edition.

I did not read beyond that first volume of the 2001 edition before I purchased the new edition. But in reading the 2020 edition, I noticed several changes.

To begin, I noticed that the 2001 cover reads:

The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra

and the new cover  drops Flower and says

The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sūtra

Another interesting piece of cover trivia. The first volume of both editions adds after the title,

A Simple Explanation by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua.

But on subsequent volumes that “simple explanation” becomes

with Commentary by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua

Dropping the “Flower” and changing “A Simple Explanation” to a  “Commentary” I suspect is a byproduct of the revision being a part of the curriculum of the graduate certificate program in Buddhist translation offered by Dharma Realm Buddhist University‘s International Institute for the Translation of Buddhist Texts.

I was personally disappointed in some of the changes that I noticed. “A Simple Explanation” I feel better represents Venerable Master Hsuan Hua’s 25-month-long daily Dharma talks.

There were other changes beyond the adding of diacritical marks that I felt were part of an effort to give the “simple explanation” a more academic “commentary” feel.

Take for example Hsuan Hua’s list of 10 auspicious signs that occurred at Mañjuśrī’s birth. In the 2001 edition, the seventh sign said, “Horses gave birth to unicorns.” In the new edition, this becomes: “Horses gave birth to qilins.” Encyclopedia Britannica defines Qilin in Chinese mythology as “the unicorn whose rare appearance often coincides with the imminent birth or death of a sage or illustrious ruler.” Yes, Qilin has a more academic seriousness, but Unicorns are much more fun and readily understandable for Western readers.

I also noticed that some errors were introduced in the revision process.

The new edition includes a Foreword by Ron Epstein, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Dharma Realm Buddhist University. Professor Epstein misspells Nichiren as Nichirin.

More puzzling was a change in assignments for the Four Heavenly Kings.

On pages 260-261 of the first volume of the 2001 edition, we learn about the Four Great Heavenly Kings, who protect the four sides of Mount Sumeru.

The East is governed by Dhritarashtra
The South is governed by Virudhaka
The West is governed by Virupaksha
The North is governed by Vaishravana

On page 149 of the second volume of the 2020 edition, we are told:

The East is governed by Dhṛtarāṣṭra
The South is governed by Virūḍhaka
The West is governed by Vaiśravaṇa
The North is governed by Virūpāksa

West and North have been transposed. Vaiśravaṇa, Bishamon in Japanese, is guardian of the North. He is represented in the upper left corner of Nichiren’s Mandala Gohonzon. He is also one of the Seven Happy Gods of Japan (hence my personal interest). Each volume of the commentary comes with a Glossary. That glossary also includes Vaiśravaṇa governing the West instead of the North.

I contacted the Buddhist Text Translation Society at their published contact address [email protected]. I wanted to be sure that Hsuan Hua didn’t have some other arrangement of Guardian Kings. I was told, “You’re right we had mistakenly transposed the guardians of the West and North.”

Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, Blog

The Law of Cause and Effect’s Strict Retribution

After Master Hsuan Hua’s description of why the Richman in Chapter 4, Faith and Understanding, took on the appearance of someone who was “frightened,” Hsuan Hua offered a lesson about the strict retribution everyone receives, even a Buddha. As explained in a footnote at this point:

After the Buddha had realized Buddhahood, he went through three karmic retributions as a result of his past karma from previous lifetimes:

  1. The Buddha’s foot was pierced through by a golden spear, which was actually a piece of wood chip;
  2. the Buddha ate horse feed for three months; and
  3. the Buddha suffered from a headache for three days.

The narratives that follow describe the last two of these retributions.
Re. T04 No. 197 Foshuo xinqihengjing 佛說興起行經 and To4 No. 196 Zhong benqi jing 中本起經.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v5, p79-80

A long, long time ago, when the Buddha was still in the formative stage of his practice, there was a famine in the country where he lived. Since there was nothing else to eat, people started eating fish from the sea. A very large fish was caught and brought up on shore. Śākyamuni Buddha, then just a child, hit it with a stick over the head three times. Therefore, although he had become a Buddha, he still suffered headaches as retribution.

Another time, while cultivating in a former life, he saw a bhikṣu going on alms rounds and said, “That bhikṣu is only fit to eat horse feed! Why do those people give him such delicious things to eat?” Because he made that one comment, when he became a Buddha, the following event took place: The Buddha went to another country for the summer meditation retreat. The king had said that he would make offerings to him, but when the Buddha got there, the king reneged. “Just give these bhikṣus horse feed!” he said. So for three months, the Sangha ate only horse feed.

Even though the Buddha has awe-inspiring virtue, he still manifested undergoing retributions such as these.

This story involves the principle of cause and effect as described in the following couplet:

Plant a good cause, reap a good result.
Plant a bad cause, reap a bad result.

The causes you planted in your former lives determine the results you now undergo.

Another story is about King Virūḍhaka’s extermination of the Śākyan clan.

In the past, Sakyamuni Buddha hit a large fish three times, and over five hundred people ate its flesh. Thus, after he became a Buddha, he had headaches as retribution, and King Virūḍhaka exterminated the Śākyan clan.

King Virūḍhaka was a king in India at that time, who wanted to kill everyone in the Śākyan clan. The Śākyans clan was composed of those very people who had, in the past, eaten the fish that Sakyamuni Buddha had hit on the head; and King Virūḍhaka was formerly that fish. Since they had eaten his flesh, he wanted to drink their blood and was determined to kill them all. Although the Buddha possessed all spiritual transformations with endless, wondrous applications, he could not save his kinsfolk.

Mahāmaudgalyāyana, however, could not bear this, and he tried to use his spiritual powers to save them. Why didn’t the Buddha save them? The Buddha knew that this occurrence was a destined retribution determined by the law of cause and effect. Maudgalyāyana did not know the involved cause and effect because, as an Arhat, he could only see the past causes and effects as far back as 80,000 great eons. Everything that happened prior to 80,000 great eons was beyond his knowledge.

Since he didn’t know the circumstances, he thought, “My teacher’s kinsfolk are going to be killed by the king. I must employ my spiritual powers and save them.”

Mahāmaudgalyāyana was foremost in spiritual powers among the Buddha’s disciples, so he recited a mantra that put five hundred members of the Śākyan clan into his alms bowl. Then he sent the bowl up into empty space. “There is no way King Virūḍhaka can kill them now,” he thought. When King Virūḍhaka had finished exterminating the Śākyan clan, Maudgalyāyana brought the bowl down again. Much to his dismay, he found only blood in place of the five hundred Śākyans. None of them survived.

Maudgalyāyana asked the Buddha, “Even with my spiritual powers, why couldn’t I rescue the Śākyan clan?” The Buddha replied, “There was no way to avoid the retribution of this particular case of cause and effect. If it could have been avoided, I would have saved my kinsfolk myself instead of waiting for you to save them.”

This example demonstrates that the law of cause and effect is difficult to escape. Bad karma you created in former lives will come back to you as retribution in this present life; retribution is inevitable.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v5, p79-82
Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, LS45, LS32, Blog

Master Hsuan Hua’s interpretation of the Parable of the Rich Man and His Poor Son

Back in March, I reviewed the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s translation of the Lotus Sutra, which I had used as part of my daily practice of reading aloud a portion of the sutra during morning and evening services.

In my review I cited a number of typos I’d noticed, but I paid particular attention to one word I felt was used in error.

A more significant error appears in Chapter 4, Faith and Understanding, when the rich man wants to get close to his son, who has been convinced to come work for him. On page 107 it reads:

“Later, on another day, the elder looked through a window and saw his son at a distance. His son was feeble, emaciated, haggard, and soiled with dung, dirt, and filth. The elder removed his jeweled necklace, his soft, fine upper garments, and his ornaments, and put on a coarse, torn, and grease-stained robe. Smearing himself with dirt and holding a dung shovel in his right hand, he looked frightened.”

The word should be frightful or frightening, not frightened. In Senchu Murano’s translation we’re told:

He looked fearful. He [came to the workers and] said, ‘Work hard! Do not be lazy!’

The BTK English Tripiṭaka translation (PDF), the Rissho Kosei-kai modern translation and Leon Hurvitz’s translation (PDF) all agree that the rich man, dressed in work clothes, looked frightful or commanding.

It is important to keep in mind that the sutra text is volume 15 of Master Hsuan Hua’s 14-volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra. At the time I wrote my review I had not read Hsuan Hua’s commentary. Needless to say, I was surprised by what I found when I finally read Hsuan Hua’s explanation of this portion of the Parable of the Rich Man and his Poor Son.

SUTRA

“The elder removed his jeweled necklace, his soft, fine upper garments, and his ornaments, and put on a coarse, torn, and grease-stained robe. Smearing himself with dirt and holding a dung shovel in his right hand, he looked frightened.”

COMMENTARY

The elder removed his jeweled necklace. “Jeweled necklace” refers to the Buddha’s various Dharmas, including precepts, samādhi, wisdom, and dhārāṇi. “Removed his jeweled necklace” means to hide the awe-inspiring, virtuous, and majestic appearance of the Tathagata’s ten-thousand-foot-tall Nişyanda Buddha body.

His soft, fine upper garments is a metaphor for the Buddha’s great, adorned body and his oceanic subsidiary characteristics. The Buddha’s physical attributes are as limitless as the sea. The Buddha also has countless bodies, and each of his bodies is replete with the thirty-two hallmarks and the eighty subsidiary characteristics and with awe-inspiring virtue and adornments. Now he has hidden these bodies. Why? Those of the Two Vehicles do not recognize these honored, exquisite bodies; in other words, those of the Two Vehicles do not recognize their father, the Buddha. The Buddha is actually their father, but they do not dare to believe it because the Buddha is so wealthy and they are so terribly poor. If the Buddha tried to take them across with his reward and transformation bodies, they would become frightened. Why? Those of the Lesser Vehicle have never seen such honorable and noble bodies with oceanic hallmarks.

That is why the Buddha removed his jeweled necklace, his soft, fine upper garments, and his ornaments, and put on a coarse, torn, and grease-stained robe. What is meant by “coarse”? The Buddha hid his ten-thousand-foot-tall Nişyanda Buddha body and manifested the six-foot-tall body of an old bhikṣu, which looked more or less the same as that of an ordinary person. “Torn” refers to the Lesser Vehicle’s patience toward living beings and patience toward all phenomena. “Grease-stained robe” represents conditional phenomena and outflows that are filthy and impure.

Having afflictions is analogous to smearing himself with dirt. The afflictions are like dirt that smears the body. And holding a dung shovel in his right hand. Why did he hold the dung shovel in his right hand? “Right hand” represents the use of expedient Dharma-doors to teach those of the Two Vehicles. What does “dung shovel” represent? “Dung shovel” refers to the Dharma-door that dispels delusions arising from incorrect views and delusions arising from incorrect thoughts. The Buddha used this Dharma to cut off delusions arising from incorrect views, delusions arising from incorrect thoughts, and delusions of ignorance, thereby becoming a Buddha. He uses this kind of Dharma to teach those of the Two Vehicles, enabling them to follow this method to cut off their own delusions and realize Buddhahood. Because he realized Buddhahood by means of this method, he also teaches this method to living beings. This is called “holding a dung shovel.”

He looked frightened. He appears in the guise of a practitioner of the Two Vehicles, seeming to fear birth and death. The Bodhisattvas are in the cycle of birth and death yet are not subject to birth and death. They are afraid neither of suffering nor of birth and death. Those of the Two Vehicles are afraid of birth and death as well as impermanence and suffering. Thus, the Buddha manifests as if he were afraid of birth and death, impermanence, and suffering. Therefore, the sūtra line says “he looked frightened.”

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v5, p79-82

Next: The Law of Cause and Effect’s Strict Retribution

Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master

‘Not Being Afraid To Renounce One’s Life For Half A Verse’

This story is from Master Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Medicine Master Sūtra.

All things are impermanent,
Coming into being and ceasing to be.
When coming into being and ceasing to be both stop,
There is blissful quiescence.

In the past, Śākyamuni Buddha offered up his life for half of this four-line verse. How did it happen? When he was cultivating in a past life, he met a being from the Heaven of Pure Dwelling who manifested as a rākṣasa ghost to test the his sincerity. The rākṣasa ghost walked by the old cultivator chanting to himself, “All things are impermanent, coming into being and ceasing to be.”

The cultivator thought, “What’s he singing? Oh, it’s a verse” Then he asked the ghost, “Hey, what did you just say?”

“I said, ‘All things are impermanent, coming into being and ceasing to be.”” Replied the ghost.

“Aren’t there two more lines to your verse?”

“Yes,” said the ghost.

“Please tell me what they are.”

“I’m starving, I don’t have any energy,” said the ghost. “If you give me something to eat, I’ll tell you.”

“Okay,” said the cultivator. “I’ll offer you whatever you want, and then you can tell me those two lines.”

The rākṣasa ghost said, “I need to eat the flesh and drink the blood of a living human being. Can you give up your own flesh and blood?”

The cultivator thought, “Well, if I get to hear the Dharma, then my death will be worth it. But if I don’t get to hear those two lines of verse, I’ll never be able to put everything down.” And so the cultivator replied, “Fine, tell me the rest of the verse, and then I’ll let you eat me.”

“Okay,” said the ghost. “The last two lines are: ‘When coming into being and ceasing to be both stop, there is blissful quiescence.’ Everything in the world is impermanent, coming into being and ceasing to be. The attainment of what neither comes into being nor ceases to be is true and eternal happiness. Okay, now I’m going to eat you.”

“Hold on!” said the cultivator. “Don’t eat me yet.”

“What? Are you going back on your promise?”

“No, no. I’m not going back on my promise. I just want to carve this verse on a tree, so it will remain in the world. When people see it, they will bring forth the Bodhi mind and eventually attain the Path.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” the rākṣasa ghost said. “Go ahead and carve it.”

The cultivator scraped off the outer bark of a tree with a knife and carved the verse onto the tree. Meanwhile, the rākṣasa began wailing, “Please hurry! I’m famished!”

After the cultivator quickly finished carving, the rākṣasa said, “I’m not going to be polite anymore. I must eat your flesh and drink your blood.”

“Hold on,” said the cultivator. “Please wait a bit longer.”

“What? You’ve taken so long already. What else do you want to do?” complained the ghost.

The cultivator said, “The words on the tree will eventually be worn away by the elements. I want to chisel this verse in stone so that it will last forever. Please be patient for a little while longer as I do this.”

“Oh, all right,” said the rākṣasa.

When the cultivator finished chiseling, the rākṣasa said, “Now I can eat you!”

“Fine,” said the cultivator, as he closed his eyes and waited to be eaten.

Suddenly a voice in space said, “Bravo! You are a true cultivator who is able to sacrifice himself for the Dharma. You will certainly become a Buddha.” When the cultivator opened his eyes, the rākṣasa ghost was gone and a god from the Heaven of Pure Dwelling appeared before him.

That is known as “not being afraid to renounce one’s life for half a verse.” Could we be that sincere in our study of Buddhism? Could we renounce our lives for half a verse or for a sūtra?

Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master Sutra commentary, p181-183
Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master

Good Deeds and Heinous Acts

This quote is from Master Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Medicine Master Sūtra.

The ten good deeds
The three deeds involving the karma of the body are:

    1. Not killing, which means not taking the life of any creature;
    2. Not stealing, which means not taking what has not been given to one;
    3. Not engaging in sexual misconduct, which means not having improper sexual relations with any man or woman.

The four deeds involving the karma of the mouth are:

    1. Not lying, which means always speaking truthfully;
    2. Not speaking harshly, which means not berating or speaking rudely to others;
    3. Not speaking duplicitously, which means not speaking of others’ faults or sowing seeds of dissension;
    4. Not speaking frivolously, which means avoiding obscenities, off-color jokes, and idle chatter.

The three deeds involving the karma of the mind are:

    1. Not being greedy,
    2. Not being hateful,
    3. Not being deluded.

The opposites of these ten good deeds are the ten evil deeds.

Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master Sutra commentary, p110-111

Five Heinous Acts

    1. Killing one’s father
    2. Killing one’s mother
    3. Killing one’s teacher (ācārya)
    4. Destroying the harmony of the Sangha
    5. Shedding the Buddha’s blood

Now that you know that killing your teacher is a heinous act, I’m sure none of you will dare to murder me. Sometimes the third heinous act is listed as killing an Arhat–the Arhat is just one’s teacher. If the members of the Sangha had been dwelling peacefully and happily in the monastery, but you go there and break them up, then you are “destroying the harmony of the Sangha.” “Shedding the Buddha’s blood” includes destroying statues and images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. If you break a statue of the Buddha, and it wasn’t an accident, you are also shedding the Buddha’s blood. If you didn’t mean to break it, then it doesn’t count as a heinous act, so don’t panic and think you’re going to fall into the hells.

Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master Sutra commentary, p159-160
Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master

The Nature of Suffering

This quote is from Master Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Medicine Master Sūtra.

Life is filled with suffering. There are the Three Sufferings, the Eight Sufferings, and the limitless sufferings. Mentally and physically oppressed by all these sufferings, living beings never find any peace, happiness, or comfort. These oppressive sufferings dominate their lives.

The Three Sufferings:

  1. The suffering due to contact with unpleasant conditions.
  2. The suffering due to the loss of pleasurable conditions.
  3. The suffering due to inexorable change.

The “suffering due to contact with unpleasant conditions” means that in the midst of suffering, there is still more suffering. One has neither food, clothes, nor shelter. That’s suffering piled on top of suffering, suffering that never comes to an end.

If one does not undergo the “suffering due to contact with unpleasant conditions” that comes with poverty, one may undergo the “suffering due to the loss of pleasurable conditions” experienced by rich people when they lose all their wealth in a sudden and unexpected disaster, such as robbery, fire, or flood.

“I’m neither poor nor rich, so these two sufferings don’t apply to me,” you say.

However, you cannot escape the “suffering due to inexorable change.” From youth until the prime of life, and then on into old age and death, your thoughts flow in an unending succession. That’s known as the suffering due to inexorable change. The life process itself entails suffering.

There are also the Eight Sufferings:

  1. The suffering of birth
  2. The suffering of old age
  3. The suffering of sickness
  4. The suffering of death
  5. The suffering of being apart from those you love
  6. The suffering of being together with those you hate
  7. The suffering of not obtaining what you seek
  8. The suffering of the raging blaze of the five skandhas

Birth is a very uncomfortable experience. You feel as if you were being squeezed between two mountains. You feel as much pain as a live turtle whose shell is ripped off. After a painful birth, you gradually get old. Old age is also suffering. One by one, your organs start failing, and even simple tasks become very difficult. The pain of sickness is even harder to bear. You may moan and cry, but no one can suffer in your stead.

Such suffering is very democratic: everyone from the king down to the lowliest beggar must bear it. Even the emperor, who owns the empire and is worshipped by all-even after his death-suffers just like anyone else when he gets sick. Of course, if you don’t get sick, then it’s not a problem. If you do, then sickness treats you the same as anyone else; it’s not polite at all.

Ordinary people have deep emotional attachments. They hope their loved ones will live and their enemies will die. When two people fall in love, they forget about everything else. Like besotted fools, they are always stuck to each other, as if with Crazy Glue, and nothing can pull them apart. …

There is also the suffering of being together with those one hates. “I really detest that person,” you think. “The mere sight of him upsets me.” You wish to get away from him, but strangely enough, he follows you wherever you go and always makes a point of greeting you and working with you. You detest him, but he always hangs around you. You can’t escape him. That’s the suffering of being with those whom one hates.

Then there’s the suffering of not obtaining what you seek. When you fail to obtain what you seek, you may become so afflicted that you can’t sleep at night and you lose your appetite. You feel restless and ill at ease. That’s the suffering of not obtaining what you seek.

The worst suffering Is that of the raging blaze of the five skandhas. The five skandhas are form, feeling, thinking, formations, and consciousness. No one can leave them behind. They are so powerful that they have suffocated us and smothered our Buddha-nature. However, once we understand them, we’ll see that there’s no real substance to them. They are just like clouds drifting by. Once we “illuminate the five skandhas and see that they are all empty,” as the line from the Heart Sūtra says, then we know that “originally there was not a single thing; where can the dust alight?” (a verse from the Sixth Patriarch’s Sūtra)

Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master Sutra commentary, p174-179
Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master

Your Ignorant Temper

This quote is from Master Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Medicine Master Sūtra.

Fundamentally, our tempers do not come from the food we eat, nor from heaven or earth, nor from the weather. They come from our own ignorance. Ignorance comes from selfishness, as do afflictions, indirectly. We have so much anger and affliction simply because we are afraid to suffer a loss. Not wanting to take a loss, we get mad and fight. If we did not fight, were not greedy, did not seek anything, were not selfish, and did not want to benefit ourselves, we would have no anger.

Among the Bodhisattvas, Guanyin Bodhisattva (Avalokiteśvara, Kannon) has great compassion, and if you recite his name, he will relieve your suffering and pain. He has great affinities with all beings. If you wish to strengthen your ties with Guanyin Bodhisattva, recite his name more often and let your light blend with his.

Earth Store Bodhisattva (Kṣitigarbha, Jizo) has great vows. He cannot bear to see any living being in suffering. If we recite his name, he will help us to quickly attain Buddhahood with his awe-inspiring spiritual power. Did these two Bodhisattvas place advertisements in the sūtras to promote themselves? No. The Buddha, who always speaks the truth, personally praised them and told us about their great compassion and great vows.

Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master Sutra commentary, p100-101
Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master

When We Make Offerings to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

This quote is from Master Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Medicine Master Sūtra.

When we make offerings to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, we should not think that they are as greedy as we are, always hoping someone will invite them for tea or a vegetarian meal. We offer fine incense, fresh flowers, and so forth to show our sincerity, but that doesn’t mean the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas enjoy these things. They aren’t delighted if we burn incense for them, and they don’t get upset if we don’t. They don’t need any of the worldly things that people offer to them. We make such offerings only because we have no other way of showing our sincerity.

When we make offerings, we should not be like those superstitious people who light big handfuls of joss sticks in front of the Buddha. When they burn so much incense, the Buddha, who had been peacefully shining his protective light on living beings, disappears in a cloud of smoke and can’t even open his eyes. That causes him to stop shining his light and protecting people. Of course this is just my foolish conjecture about the Buddha’s state, but my point is, there’s no need to offer great big handfuls of incense to the Buddha. It would be like covering a hundred-foot-long table with food and expecting one person to eat it all.

We should light no more than three sticks of incense as an offering to the Buddha, with perhaps one more stick for the Dharma-protecting spirits, making four sticks in all. Usually, one stick of incense is enough. If you are sincere, the Bodhisattvas will protect you even if you don’t offer incense. The Buddhas will be happy as long as you are mindful of the Three Jewels and you recite the sūtras. You don’t need to light incense to make them happy.

Ordinary people dislike criticism and are fond of praise, but Buddhas are not so petty. Our common minds cannot fathom the wisdom of sages. Don’t think Buddhas are as greedy as people. Don’t be like the superstitious folk who worship in the temples, thinking, “The more money we give and the more incense we burn, the better.” They are very sure that their attitude is correct, but they can’t explain why. Now wouldn’t you say that they are muddled? Buddhists should listen to truth and wisdom and not be superstitious.

Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master Sutra commentary, p124-126
Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master

‘Thieves Among the Virtuous’

This quote is from Master Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Medicine Master Sūtra.

By giving, one reaps blessings. Those who were stingy in past lives are poor now, while those who were generous are now rich. It is said, “You must first give in order to get something in return. If you don’t give, you won’t get anything.” We must be clear about cause and effect. If you make even a tiny mistake in cause and effect, the consequences may be terrible. When we come to the temple to bow to the Buddhas, we should try to benefit others, not try to gain something for ourselves. We should be willing to take a loss. People who come to the temple to steal food, money, or other things will certainly fall into the three lower paths.

Be sure to tell your relatives and friends that, no matter what temple they go to, they shouldn’t go there hoping to obtain responses or bargains, or to steal things. If they do, they are creating great offenses. If you fail to tell them, then you have a share in their offenses. You should clearly explain the law of cause and effect to them, so they won’t make mistakes.

The sūtras tell us to give to others, not to constantly be seeking offerings from others. Buddhists should benefit others. Otherwise, we will only be “thieves among the virtuous.” If we constantly exploit situations and pull strings with the Dharma-protectors, we are simply creating offenses and trying to destroy Buddhism.

Hearing my advice, I hope you will wake up and quickly take stock of yourself. If you have faults, change them right away; and if you don’t, then try even harder to be a good Buddhist. Don’t be a phony Buddhist who tries to take advantage of Buddhism. Don’t be tempted to do business within Buddhism, for it will surely lead you to the hells.

Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master Sutra commentary, p92-93
Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master

Why Do Sūtra’s Begin, ‘Thus Have I Heard’?

This explanation is from Master Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Medicine Master Sūtra.

When the Buddha was about to enter Nirvāṇa, Ānanda was so overcome with grief that he could only cry. Although Ananda was a third-stage Arhat, he was still emotional. He couldn’t bear to think that the Buddha was going to enter Nirvana, so he wept piteously, forgetting about everything else.

Then another bhikṣu (Venerable Aniruddha) reminded him, “You’re in charge of remembering the Dharma spoken by the Buddha. The Buddha is about to enter Nirvāṇa, so you’d better think things over clearly. There are some important matters you should ask the Buddha about before he enters Nirvāṇa. All you know how to do is cry! What will become of us in the future?”

Hearing the Venerable One’s words, Ānanda collected his wits and said, “Yes, you’re right, but I’ve been crying so hard I can’t think straight. What should we ask the Buddha?”

The Venerable One said, “First of all, when we compile the sūtras in the future, how should they begin?”

Ananda replied, “Right! That’s very important.”

“Second, when the Buddha is in the world, we take the Buddha as our teacher. After the Buddha enters Nirvāṇa, whom should we take as our teacher?”

Ānanda said, “Yes, that’s also an important question.”

“Third, when the Buddha is in the world, all the bhikṣus dwell with the Buddha. After the Buddha enters Nirvāṇa, with whom should we dwell?”

“That’s certainly a good question.” Said Ānanda.

“Fourth, when the Buddha is in the world, he can subdue the evil-natured bhikṣus. After the Buddha enters Nirvana, who should discipline them?”

“These four questions are all extremely important,” said Ananda. “Now I will go and ask the Buddha.”

Then he went before the Buddha, knelt, placed his palms together, and said, “World-Honored One, since you are about to enter Nirvāṇa, there are some important questions I would like to ask. I hope the Buddha will compassionately answer them.”

The Buddha replied, “What are your questions? You may ask them now.”

“Buddha, you have spoken the Dharma for forty-nine years and expounded the sūtras in over three hundred assemblies,” said Ananda, “In the future, when we compile the sūtras, how should they begin?”

The Buddha told Ānanda, “Our sūtras are different from the scriptures of other religions, which begin by speaking of either existence or non-existence. You should begin the Buddhist sūtras with the four words, ‘Thus I have heard’ which means, ‘I, Ānanda, personally heard this Dharma, which is thus; it is not hearsay.”

Ananda said, “Okay, I will use the four words, “Thus I have heard.’ My second question is, when the Buddha is in the world, we bhikṣus take the Buddha as our teacher. Whom should we take as our teacher after the Buddha enters Nirvāṇa?”

The Buddha said, “After I enter Nirvāṇa, you bhikṣus should take the precepts as your teacher. The Pratimokṣa is your great teacher. If you uphold the precepts, it will be the same as when I am In the world. You should avoid all evil and practice all good deeds.” …

“Now I’ll ask the third question,” continued Ānanda. “When the Buddha is in the world, we dwell with the Buddha. We always live and study with the Buddha. After the Buddha enters Nirvāṇa, with whom should the bhikṣus dwell?”

The Buddha answered, “After I enter Nirvāṇa, all the bhikṣus should dwell in the Four Applications of Mindfulness.”

The Four Applications of Mindfulness

  1. Contemplating the body as impure.
  2. Contemplating feelings as suffering.
  3. Contemplating thoughts as impermanent.
  4. Contemplating dharmas as being without self.

The first application of mindfulness is to contemplate the body as impure. “But,” you say, “I take a bath and keep my body clean every day, and I put on makeup and jewelry to make it beautiful.” You may adorn your body with expensive jewelry and designer clothes, but it’s just like decorating a toilet; no matter how beautiful the toilet looks, it will still stink. …

Second, contemplate feelings as suffering. Feelings refer to sensations. No matter how enjoyable the sensation is, it is basically suffering. Happiness is the cause of suffering.

Third, contemplate thoughts as impermanent. Thoughts arise in continuous succession, one after another; they don’t last.

Fourth, contemplate dharmas as being without self. All dharmas (phenomena) are free of the notion of “me and mine.”

These are the Four Applications of Mindfulness. …

“Here is my fourth question,” said Ānanda. “When the Buddha is in the world, the Buddha can subdue the recalcitrant bhikṣus. After the Buddha enters Nirvāṇa, how should we deal with them?”

The Buddha said, “When you encounter a recalcitrant bhikṣu, just ignore him – don’t talk to him.” To ignore him is a passive way of expelling him. If no one pays attention to him or argues with him, he will soon grow bored of making trouble. If you pay attention to him or try to fight with him, he will think that he is getting somewhere. But if you ignore him, he won’t be able to do anything.  …

Recalcitrant bhikṣus are perverse and unreasonable. The more you argue with them, the more they enjoy it. That’s why the Buddha instructed us to ignore them.

The Three Doubts of the Assembly

When Ananda first ascended the Dharma seat – the seat where the Buddha spoke the Dharma – to begin the compilation of sūtras, there were many auspicious portents. For instance, Ananda became endowed with the thirty-two features and eighty subtle characteristics of a Buddha. Seeing those portents, the members of the assembly immediately had three kinds of doubts:

  1. They thought that Ananda was their teacher, Śākyamuni Buddha, who had come back to life.
  2. They thought that Ananda was a Buddha from another world. “Is this a Buddha who has come from another world to speak the Dharma in the Sahā world? Otherwise, why would he look like that?”
  3. They thought Ānanda himself had become a Buddha.

The entire assembly was startled and at a loss, but once Ānanda said, “Thus I have heard,” their three doubts were dispelled. He was in effect stating, “This is the Dharma that I, Ānanda, personally heard Śākyamuni Buddha speak.”

Even the Arhats had three doubts when they saw Ānanda leading the compilation of the sūtras. As we listen to this sūtra, we may have a thousand or even ten thousand doubts. “Is this sūtra true? Did the Buddha really say this? What proof is there?” Our human brain starts plugging away, generating millions of doubts. So, you see, studying the Buddha-dharma is not that easy. Why haven’t we had any attainment? Too many doubts, that’s why!

A cultivator should take care not to doubt.
Once you doubt, you go astray

Hsuan Hua, Medicine Master Sutra commentary, p32-39