..续本文上一页y people who realize their Buddha nature and become a Buddha, and then tame immeasurable sentient beings in incalculable Buddha fields. There are many of them; therefore, we shouldn”t deny this.
There is another view saying that the word “Buddha” in Sanskrit means enlightenment. Since this enlightenment refers to the fruition above the first ground of the bodhisattva, thus the Pratyekabuddha is also called a “intermediate buddha.”
In fact, neither does Chinese Buddhism have a clear explanation of this question. For example, when we talk about “revealing the nature of mind and seeing the nature of reality” in Zen, does it mean the complete enlightenment of buddhahood or the enlightenment of a bodhisattva
If it is the realization of a bodhisattva, then which ground of a bodhisattva: the first, second, or tenth ground
Is it possible that it is before the first ground of the bodhisattva
If so, without attaining even the first ground, on which path is he or she: the path of accumulation or the path of joining
No clear explanation regarding this can be found in Chinese Buddhism either.
(10) Question: I remember when I read the Surangama Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha asks King Prasenajit a question: The four great elements are always in the cycle of formation, abiding, destruction, and being empty. They are created, abide, and then cease. What is the thing that is unborn and unceasing
The answer is: Buddha nature. Then when I studied the Vijñapti-mātratā-siddhi Sutra, it says that everything, including the eight consciousnesses, arises from the dependent nature (paratantra). We shouldn”t grasp on the eight consciousnesses because everything vanishes without trace in ultimate reality. The only thing that truly exists is the appearance that arises due to emptiness. In this regard, I believe that it is just like the Diamond Sutra says: “As a star, a visual aberration, a lamp, an illusion, dew, a bubble, a dream, lightning, and a cloud—view all compounded phenomena like that.” That is to say, ultimately, only Tathātā, the opposite of the false appearance, exists.
This is how I understand Tathātā or suchness, literally, though I haven”t gained experiential understanding of it. I very much hope that lama can shed light on this for me. I know that the eighth ground bodhisattva has already reached the irreversible stage, and you have already reached this level. I therefore hope you can compassionately enlighten me and guide me so that I can likewise gain the irreversible stage in my practice.
Answer: Nowadays, many people feel that it is such a privileged and great thing when others treat them as a tulku. Since I arrived at Fudan today, not only have I been identified as a sage, I have also been identified as an eighth ground bodhisattva. However, this remark is truly an exaggeration, and more than I can handle, ha ha!
Whether it is the Surangama Sutra or the Vijñapti-mātratā-siddhi Sutra, also those treatises like The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana, they all say that the pure dependent nature is actually the definitive meaning of the ālaya vijñāna, and this ālaya vijñāna in question actually refers to tathagatagarbha. Of course, if we try to figure out this level of tathagatagarbha with our dualistic mind, thinking it is a kind of energy or matter, this is definitely like a blind man trying to size up an elephant—taking a part for the whole.
When Buddha posits that all things and events are emptiness, does that mean everything doesn”t exist
It is not so; the clear light nature does exist. Ultimately, the subtle relationship between the clear light and emptiness is still something inconceivable; this ultimate state, which is transcendental, is to what the definitive meaning of tathagatagarbha refers.
This…
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