CHAPTER I: BRIGHT AFFIRMATION ABOUT TATHAGATA MEDITATION
1. WHAT IS NO MINDLESSNESS?
Mindlessness in the Meditation Sect means holding expected thoughts and waiting for the corresponding apparition of the Buddha, Saint, or Fairy[5] during one’s meditative sitting. Why is this false? Because expected thoughts are caused by the arising illusory thought and lead to the corresponding apparition. This corresponding apparition from the arising illusory thought is caused by 55 kinds of phantoms. It is not real; it is formed by insane, dreamy thoughts completely different from the morale of the essential nature of self-enlightenment. It is the same with the practitioner, who imagines being able to disembody, and this is a good condition for deceit’s phantom karma, which could drive him or her insane. By relying exclusively on meditation nature, the meditator becomes clearly examing and aware of nature.
CHAPTER I: Bright Affirmation About Tathagata Meditation
1. What Is No Mindlessness?
2. What Is No Arising Illusory Thought?
3. What Is Tathagata Utilization?
4. How Does the Not-Clinging Establish the Principle?
5. How Is the Enlightened Essence Established?
6. Why Is Buddha’s Preaching Called the
Precious Dharma?
[5] Miraculous angels.
2. WHAT IS NO ARISING ILLUSORY THOUGHT?
An arising thought often creates active illusory thoughts, and active illusory thoughts give rise to starting of mindlessness, a chain of events not unlike the wind acting on the water to create waves. The arising illusory thought creates wish and wish leads to ambition. Ambition often acts or performs the untruth, however. Untruth works in conformity with desire, and the greater the desire is, the more significant the illusory thoughts that are created. Therefore, if sitting meditation practitioners initiate illusory thought and continually follow it, their true minds become wildly confused. This is why the Patriarchs used tranquil mind to form the essence: they aimed at controlling the initially wild and confused illusory thought to return it to the true nature – essential nature. The essential nature is the source of self-enlightenment, whereas the practice of meditation aims at enlightenment. Therefore, meditative sitting should not have mindlessness or the arising illusory thought.
In the old days, the Patriarchs established the Meditation Sect carefully and thoroughly. While their minds were tranquil, they put themselves into the practitioners’ body-mind-essential nature and then had to come up using tranquil mind to establish the essence. That’s ultimately wonderful. Why? This is because the essential nature-body-mind of the practitioners is naturally endowed with the tranquil mind. On account of the arising illusory thought and mindlessness, the essential nature-body-mind is followed by that arising illusory thought and holds mindlessness, being unconsciously mistaken, maddened, and confused. This is why the Patriarchs chose tranquil mind as the practiced basic essence: in order for the practitioner to return to the original essential nature. The Patriarchs also used Buddhist intelligence as a complete lit torch. The enlightened people of the Buddha path and the faithful followers aim at guiding all faithful followers to reach liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving. On account of the purpose of Buddhism, individuals’ own vows and common wills—even though the enlightened ones have established the Meditation Sect, the Tranquility-for-Salvation Sect, or the Divine Land Sect—are all means of guiding faithful followers to reach the result of liberation through solving. Through the above will, vow, and purpose, the Patriarchs have established the sect, the principles, the essence, and the application: these are closely related and collaborative, guiding faithful practitioners to achieving the result of liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving.
Speaking of mindlessness, it is innumerable. One should therefore practice until mindfulness is achieved. What is the cause of mindlessness? Mindlessness arises from unconscious error. When one is in unconscious error, arising wild illusory thoughts are still forming. But when enlightenment is attained, thorough and bright affirmation follows, there is no more arising thought. One arising-thought ceases to exist and so there is no more illusory thought.
Therefore, the Buddha said,
When one is not enlightened, even though one is considered as mindfulness, one is still in mindlessness. On the other hand, when one has been enlightened, one is in mindfulness even though one is considered as mindlessness. Mindlessness and mindfulness are just associated with unconsciousness and enlightenment, respectively.
This Tathagata Meditation sutra is not outside of bringing liberation to the practitioner through knowing, seeing, and solving. It is explained in the present Period of Return and Dharma-Ending when people compete with reason and fact. It’s very strange and difficult to understand. Why? This is because meditation is not imparted from the root—the Patriarch is no longer transmitted by his or her predecessor. This is an obvious reason, a matter of course for criticizing in the period of unsettlement and difficulty believing. On the other hand, those who are disgusted with what proceeds in this present Period of Return initiate the mind into practicing and acting out the Tao Dharma. When their practice is accomplished and their actions have obtained results, they will recognize that every period is the same. In every period, Buddha’s nature is everlasting and true Dharma has already existed. Because our minds are unsettled, indifferent, unenthusiastic, and lacking in confidence, we wrongly divided time into three periods related to the True Dharma and Destructive Dharma, the Superior Return and Inferior Life.
When we generate the Bodhi mind to cultivate Dharma, it’s in real time with True Dharma. On the other hand, when we cultivate and act Dharma lazily and tardily, in which our mind and body are not one, then it’s in real time with lost Dharma. What is compiled and described in this Tathagata Meditation sutra today existed already a long time ago, as the Tathagata Meditation is immortal.
In view of Tathagata Meditation or the truth, one who knows how to practice self-reliability and self-enlightenment in the present, using virtuous deeds to create effortful deeds, relying on thousands and thousands of Dharmas to be aware of Dharmas, then in any period this person can realize the truth that is truly useful in the present, without desire for the past nor expectation for the future. As for the practice according to one’s usual expectations and unreal imagination, one’s practice is still in process, as long as usual expectations and unreal imagination is still nurtured. When these are disappointed, one’s practiced road is dispersed along with one’s fixed orientation. Buddha called usual expectations and unreal imagination “maddened confused illusory thoughts,” which are distant from the essential nature. Such practice will not lead to any destination, even if carried on for thousands and thousands of lifetimes. But a Tao practitioner who is aware of his or her ignorance and hindered karma and aims to dissolve them is the one who knows how to practice the Tao Dharma.
The practice of this Tathagata Meditation sutra is based on the true nature and essential nature, clearly realizing the meditation nature, leading to endless results. Tathagata Meditation is the subject that embraces all six doors of meditation. Therefore, it is also called the One-Essence Tathagata Meditation, completely including the Visible Teaching together with the Supreme Secret, the visible practices along with the secret practices, and the unique invisibleness and visibleness. Tathagata Meditation also has sect, principle, essence, and application. When practitioners read this Tathagata Meditation sutra, you need to consider the objective of this sect, principle, essence, and application. When you can realize this, your meditation practice will yield results. Otherwise, your practice will often go in the wrong direction. Practitioners! Should rely on the objective as a compass to direct your practice. This Tathagata Meditation sutra’s sect, principle, essence, and application are not much different from those established by the Patriarchs. The main difference is the establishment of the sect, which is formed by using mind to follow the Tathagata utilization, aiming at enlightenment, is as follows:
❖ Using the Tathagata Utilization to establish the SECT.
❖ Using the not-clinging to establish the PRINCIPLE.
❖ Using the enlightenment to establish the ESSENCE.
❖ Realizing the vow to establish the APPLICATION.
TATHAGATA MEDITATION
3. WHAT IS TATHAGATA UTILIZATION?
Speaking of Tathagata utilization, only a Bodhisattva, who rely on virtuous merits of the Tathagata to establish conduct and vow of penetration into Dharma precepts, recognizing-to-salvage thousands of Dharmas, fulfilling Prajñāpāramitā, can know Tathagata Utilization. If Tathagata Utilization needs to be described in words, it can be said as follows:
When thousands of Dharmas have achieved their form, it is called Dharma form. Examples of Dharma forms are Salvaged Nation, Pure Land, mountains, rivers, continents, lands, planes, and worlds, and all of these become the Three Thousand worlds. Dharma form in the aspect of form is Buddha’s Dharma body. Whereas Tathagata Utilization is the time when thousands of Dharmas are moving formlessly, are still in invisibleness but will become visibleness, are not achieved yet but will be achieved, are not combined yet but will be combined, are not enlightened yet but are practicing the Tao Dharma and will be enlightened, and are not acquired yet but will be acquired. Though Tathagata Utilization has no shape, the supra Bodhisattva is acutely aware that the procession of Tathagata is complete and is thus called the essence of Tathagata. Everything in the universe, from air, space, world, and the outside of the world to the Heaven’s lands, Buddha’s lands, and Fairy’s land, all belong to the one-essence of Tathagata. Therefore, speaking of Tathagata is generally speaking of everything, and one cannot point at any small group and say that this is Tathagata: “Tathagata is neither coming from somewhere nor going anywhere, and thus it’s called Tathagata,” it says in the Diamond Sutra. When practicing Tathagata Meditation, the practitioner should act the not-clinging in any field as the road leading to complete accomplishment.
In current and future generations, if a practitioner repeatedly says “I practice Tathagata Meditation” while practicing by focusing on a specified field, such as fixed thoughts, praying, or expectation of Nirvana through maddened confused unreal thoughts, he or she is not accurately practicing Tathagata Meditation. Indeed, he or she has been holding in one door among the six doors of the meditation subject. Why? This is because Tathagata Meditation consists of six subjects in the whole Tathagata Meditation, and this is a presentation of one-essence supremacy. The one-essence supreme Tathagata Meditation, and therefore the establishment of the sect, is the utilization of Tathagata—the Buddhayana’s practice and action, being clearly aware of the one-essence, and thus completely enlightened.
4. HOW DOES THE NOT-CLINGING ESTABLISH THE PRINCIPLE?
The establishment of the principle means the construction of the road that leads everywhere in the one-essence without clinging or attachment. The true Dharma without clinging is the Dharma of immortal truth. Therefore, practice without clinging and attachment aims to penetrate into Dharma precepts and awaken to Tathagata’s utilization of Tathagata Meditation.
Faithful Tao practitioners always want to practice correctly, in accordance with the morale of Buddha’s path. From Visible Teaching to Meditation Sect, this has the only determinate mind of practicing in the Dharma of immortal truth. Only by practicing the Dharma of immortal truth can one reach the invariably true immortality.
5. HOW IS THE ENLIGHTENED ESSENCE ESTABLISHED?
The establishment of the enlightened essence: the essence shows the self-capability of each practitioner directly. If a practitioner is sitting for meditation but his or her self-capability and essential nature are not enlightened nor intending to achieve enlightenment, the meditative sitting is either useless or will create more unconscious errors of illusory dreamy thoughts, making the practitioner worse off than an ordinary, unpracticed person. Practicing Dharma is aiming to be aware of one’s self-ignorance and then dissolving it. Without dissolving ignorance, one has never truly practiced a single day.
Therefore, Tathagata Meditation sitting builds the principle without clinging. A practitioner gradually progresses through Dharmas of self-capability of self-enlightenment, the essential nature of solving unconsciousness and attachment. The sect, the principles, the essence, and the application are interconnected and collaborate with each other. When a practitioner vows to help living beings, he or she truly carries out this promise by using his or her behavior, Buddhist intelligence, language, Tao conduct, the four Dharma integrations, and the six Pāramitā. All these actions turn out to be the means of Tao assisting the practitioner toward the enlightenment.
The sect, principles, essence, and application of Tathagata Meditation are the Dharma of perfect salvation. Practitioners, from the place of contemplative meditation to the place of action, must have the direction of your way as a compass so you can rely on it to achieve liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving. Otherwise, It would be difficult to complete the accomplishment.
COMPARISON TABLE
TATHAGATA MEDITATION
Using the Tathagata Utilization to establish the SECT.
Using the not-clinging to establish the PRINCIPLE.
Using the enlightenment to establish the ESSENCE.
Realizing the vow to establish the APPLICATION.
PATRIARCHS’ TRANSMITTED MEDITATION
Using no mindlessness to establish the SECT.
Using the not-arising illusory thought to establish the PRINCIPLE.
Using the tranquil mind to establish the ESSENCE.
Using the Buddhist intelligence to establish the APPLICATION.
Practitioners examine the above table comparing Tathagata Meditation with the Patriarchs’ transmitted meditation: the sect, the principle, the essence, and the application in both meditations have achieved the main objective, which is the means of Tao assisting, guiding the practitioners to obtaining the desired results in meditative sitting.
6. WHY IS BUDDHA’S PREACHING CALLED THE PRECIOUS DHARMA?
When Buddha gives a preaching, it aims at dissolving people’s doubts and attachments, breaking their erroneous habits, and bringing benefits to the present. When a Bodhisattva listens to this preaching and understands it, he or she fulfills it by following its teachings and obtains precious results. This is why Buddha’s preaching is called the Precious Dharma. When a Tao practitioner reads the Three Constitutions of Sutras[6] and receives its teachings, the practitioner practices and acts upon these lessons, obtaining the results, and thus he or she realizes that the precious Dharma is lively and flexible. On the other hand, if reading the sutra without absorbing it, how can one obtain the result in either one’s practice or action?
This Tathagata Meditation sutra teaches very clearly about the essential nature. Practicing meditation is aiming at awareness of meditation nature. The essential nature of meditation is not very different from the Dharma nature. It indulges every mindlessness and arising illusory thought of meditators. Therefore, from the One-Essence Meditative Sitting, it moves on to the six heretical subjects, which are called the six doors of the meditation subject. As we mentioned, the Meditation Sect’s six doors are formed by arising illusory thoughts. Now practitioners are sitting in meditation by not holding onto any field, recognizing-to-salvage everything to achieve Tathagata Meditation. By holding onto a specified field or immersing oneself in meditation without complete comprehension of the six sects, the practitioner gets lost in the Fairy Tao or the Deity Tao and is not completely liberated through solving.
[6] The Doctrine Constitution Sutras, Precept Constitution Sutras, and Commentary Constitution Sutras: a.k.a. Tripitaka in Sanskrit, Tam Tạng in Vietnamese.