Fourteen—Extinction Upon Abandoning Phenomena 

Subhuti understood its profundity upon hearing this sutra and was moved to tears. He said to the Buddha, “World-honored One, it is rare indeed for the Buddha to speak on such a profound sutra. I have never heard of such a sutra ever since I attained my wisdom eyes. 

“World-honored One, if someone generates pure faith upon hearing this sutra, they will give rise to real phenomena. This person will obtain the rarest of merits. 

“World-honored One, the real phenomena are non-phenomena. Therefore, the Tathagata named it real phenomena. 

“World-honored One, it is easy for me to believe, comprehend, accept, and uphold this sutra immediately upon hearing it. However, in the ensuing five hundred years, it would be most rare for sentient beings to hear, believe, understand, accept, and uphold the sutra. Why? Because [it is extremely rare for] a person not to have any view of self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan. The phenomena of self is non-phenomena, and so are the phenomena of others, the phenomena of sentient beings, and the phenomena of lifespan; they are all non-phenomena. Why? [Only] those who abandon all phenomena are called buddhas.” 

The Buddha told Subhuti, “Just so, just so, Subhuti! If there is a person who is not shocked, frightened nor fearful upon hearing this sutra, it is extremely rare indeed! Why? Subhuti, the Tathagata said that the first and foremost paramita is not the first and foremost paramita; it is [merely] named the first and foremost paramita. 

Subhuti, the Tathagata said that endurance paramita is not endurance paramita; it is [merely] named endurance paramita. Why? Subhuti, in the past, when King Kalinga dismembered my body, I was [in the state of] non-phenomena of self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan. Why? Because if I had the notion of self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan during the dismembering of my limbs, I would have felt hatred. 

“Subhuti! Also, think of the sages who have practiced endurance for the past five hundred lifetimes, wherein each lifetime, they have no phenomena of self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan. 

“Therefore, Subhuti, a bodhisattva should abandon all phenomena, generate the mind of anuttara samyaksambodhi, and give rise to the mind which does not dwell on sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, or anything at all. Even if the mind dwells on something, it is regarded as non-dwelling. 

“Therefore, the Buddha said that a bodhisattva should not dwell on form when he performs the acts of giving. Subhuti! A bodhisattva should perform the acts of giving to benefit all sentient beings. The Tathagata said, ‘All phenomena are non-phenomena. Also, all sentient beings are not sentient beings.’ Subhuti, the Tathagata speaks truthfully, realistically, accordingly, credibly, and absolutely. 

“Subhuti, all the dharma [anything] obtained by the Tathagata are neither real nor false. Subhuti, if a bodhisattva dwells on anything while performing acts of giving, it is as if he is in the dark; he will not see anything. If a bodhisattva does not dwell on anything when performing acts of giving, he is not blinded and will be able to see all sorts of forms as if the sun is shining. 

“Subhuti! In future lives, should there be good men and good women who can accept and uphold, read or recite this sutra, they will be known and seen by the Tathagata through his wisdom, and they will attain vast and boundless merits.” 

Now we will continue on the Vajra Sutra. Therefore, Subhuti, a bodhisattva should abandon all phenomena, generate the mind of anuttara samyaksambodhi, and give rise to the mind which does not dwell on sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, or anything at all. Even if the mind dwells on something, it is regarded as non-dwelling. Therefore, the Buddha said that a bodhisattva should not dwell on form when he performs the acts of giving. Subhuti! A bodhisattva should perform the acts of giving to benefit all sentient beings. The Tathagata said, ‘All phenomena are non-phenomena. Also, all sentient beings are not sentient beings.’ 

Okay, let me tell you a little bit about the general meaning of this. Let me take myself as an example. Next year, I will be seventy-eight. At this age, I should be retired, enjoying myself at home, yet I am still seated on this dharma throne. [Grandmaster speaks in English:] Seventy-seven, seventy-eight [should have] retired. So old. Every day, go to mountain, take a walk. In the lake, you fish. [In Chinese, Grandmaster says:] Of course, while chanting the deliverance mantra. [Speaks in English:] You fish in the lake. You fish. Go to mountain. Every day is just happy. See the mountain, see the water, see the trees. Seattle’s air is clean. So good, so nice, so happy. How come [Grandmaster is still] in a temple, talk [about] buddhism, talk buddhadharma? How come? To say it nicely, it is to deliver sentient beings. I still have the heart and the mind to salvage sentient beings. [applause] 

Frankly speaking, I have two embodiments: One is formless and omnipresent. It cannot be examined.^[1] What do I mean by “cannot be examined”? It is unmoved [constant].^[2] That is my dharmakaya. My original dharma body is unmoved, and cannot be examined. It is very carefree, totally unhindered in any spontaneous activities^[3] and blissful. In the High King Sutra, it is written “permanence, bliss, identity, and purity,”^[4] where “permanence” means everlasting, “bliss” means blissful in unhindered spontaneous activities, “identity” [or “I”] means the true self, and “purity” means extinction. “Permanence, bliss, identity, and purity” refers to the true self, the dharmakaya, the buddhanature. Only this “self” is real! 

The true self is permanent, blissful in all spontaneous activities, and utterly serene [extinct]. 

The other embodiment is the Sheng-Yen Lu that is now seated on the dharma throne speaking on the buddhadharma. This “self” is the false self. The true self is the one spoken in the Vajra Sutra. A bodhisattva should abandon all phenomena. All phenomena are formless. [He] generate[s] the mind of anuttara samyaksambodhi, which is buddhanature. He has buddhanature, and he does not give rise to the mind that dwells on forms. He cannot be examined [nor determined]. He does not give rise to the mind that dwells on sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, or anything at all. He does not dwell on anything. What does it mean? He is omnipresent yet he does not abide anywhere. You think that he resides in a pureland, such as Sukhavati or the Lapis Lazuli Light Realm? No! When I had a vision of Padmakumara, it was just radiance of light. He has no form. He does not abide in anything nor has any form. 

The Buddha said, “Even if the mind dwells on something, it is regarded as non-dwelling. Therefore, the Buddha said that a bodhisattva should not dwell on form when he performs the acts of giving.” Let me tell you, as a bodhisattva, you do not do anything for any reason at all. Like today, if I say that I am delivering sentient beings, the words “delivering sentient beings” are just mere words. Even this “I” is just a false self. There is no such thing as “I.” All of you here, including me, are false “selves.” [Since there is no “I,”] how can there be [the action] of delivering sentient beings? Simply said, it is the false “I” that is delivering the false “you.” 

I am currently giving dharma teachings, which can also be considered as an act of giving. Why do we perform the act of giving? A bodhisattva should perform the acts of giving to benefit all sentient beings. This is what we should be doing anyway. I said [in English], how come? Retired, how come in a temple, talk buddhadharma? How come? It is to give, but without dwelling on the act of giving, which essentially means there is no giving at all. I give for no specific reason and similarly, I teach dharma without any intent [expectations] whatsoever. That is how it is. Is this clear? 

The Tathagata said, ‘All phenomena are non-phenomena. Also, all sentient beings are not sentient beings.’ As I have previously asked, how could there be any phenomena on the moon? There is not even a single human being there. What is buddhadharma? Since there are no humans, how could there be buddhadharma? On the moon, does good exist? No. Does bad exist? No, there is no such thing as bad either. Is there a difference between animal and plant products on the moon? No. How could any of these exist on the moon? What is there on the moon? Nothing.  

That is the real phenomena, the true reality! The enlightened one will know that enlightenment is also a false reality. There is no such thing as enlightenment. It is merely a name, like Sheng-Yen Lu too is merely a name. 

This is the real phenomena or the true reality, as spoken by Sakyamuni Buddha. He also said that all sentient beings are not sentient beings. Sentient beings are false beings. Why are they false? Because [they will] be game over! Everything is just a game, and all games will be over [eventually]. Don’t you believe that [many of] your games are over? 

When I was in kindergarten, there was a girl seated next to me who put powder on my face every day. Her name is Yan-Yu Lin, and she was my girlfriend. I already had a girlfriend when I was in kindergarten. [chuckles] I liked her because she smelled good. One day, when we were in kindergarten, she invited me to her home. Upon seeing me, her mother said, “Oh, your boyfriend is here!” [chuckles] That was just a dream. Let me tell you, wasn’t your kindergarten just like a dream? Is it still present in your life now? No! How about Yan-Yu Lin? I don’t know where she is now. Wasn’t that just like a dream then? Even if I want to, how could I find her? Everything that happened in kindergarten was just a dream. 

Jin-Xiong Huang was my best friend in elementary school. Every time I played hooky or ran away from home, I stayed at his place. His dad had an autoparts businesses called Yong Dai Hang and Yong Mao Hang on Kaohsiung’s biggest avenue. At the time, very few people owned cars, so auto parts shops were few. His dad earned lots of money and the family was very rich. We were still very good friends until I was in college. But when I went back to Taiwan, he had passed away from a heart attack. He was already “game over.” My best friend in elementary school was a dream! The dream has passed. 

My best friend in high school, Zheng-He Zhuang, was the director general of the Kaohsiung Mountaineering Association. He died on Mount Alishan. “One, two, three, you go to Taiwan. In Taiwan, there is Mount Alishan” [a verse from a song]. Mount Alishan is very famous, so much so that people from Mainland China would know that there is a Mount Alishan in Taiwan. We often sang that song when we were kids. You see, when the director general of the mountaineering association climbed the mountain, he lost his way and ended up dying there. That was my best friend Zheng-He Zhuang. He had been the deputy editor of The Youth Magazine of Kaohsiung Vocational School. I was also a deputy editor but also the editor-in-chief because I personally edited the magazine. Both of us were listed side by side as the deputy editors while Hong Xue was the chief editor. That was also a dream that has passed. Game over. Those were all dreams, you see. 

Isn’t this pandemic a dream too? The pandemic is also a dream. One by one, dreams pass. In the future, I will also disappear; however, I will still have a true form that is permanent and blissful, which is the true self, and in extinction [or complete purity]. So, there are these two aspects of a human life. This is the true reality or the real phenomena, as mentioned by Sakyamuni Buddha in the Vajra Sutra. 

Nowadays, many elderly people suffer sicknesses. For instance, after Master Xing-Zhi Li passed away, she [her spirit] came and told me, “Aiyah! I did not know how nice it is to be dead! When I was alive, I had so much difficulty walking. I had pain all over, on my knees, my head, my throat, my whole body. It was so miserable! My joints and bones were constantly in such pain that I could barely walk. I had to stoop when I walked. But after I died, I felt so carefree, like a butterfly leisurely flying back and forth.” After death, there is no pain whatsoever. How can there be any pain? It was just a dream! Her husband, daughters were all merely a dream [to her]. She told me upon her visit from the pureland, “Tell everybody how good death can be.” When she was alive, the illnesses and sufferings that she bore in her old age were agonizing. But that was also a mere dream! The true reality is as such!

The Vajra Sutra is the ultimate sutra to abandon the mundane world. It tells you what the true reality is. [True reality states that there is no phenomena whatsoever, and only when there is no phenomena whatsoever would it be referred to as real phenomena.] 

Do not believe that you are happy now simply because you have money or wealth, looks, youth, beauty, status, power, and such. Those are transient dreams! Nothing lasts forever, everything is temporary, they are all a momentary dream. This is just how it is. That is why all sentient beings are not sentient beings. It is not just me, but all of you too! I am a false self, and you likewise are a false person. 

All sentient beings are not sentient beings. All phenomena are non-phenomena. That’s right. I was once young and good-looking. Let me tell you, if I were to show you my self-portrait that I have in my wallet of when I was young and good-looking, I would dare say that I was better looking than those singers, movie actors, Korean stars, and those young teenagers. [applause] When I was young, I was really cool. When I flipped my hair, many girls would go hysterical, and even faint. [chuckles] I had lots of girlfriends. Only Shimu did not know. [chuckles] I was quite dashing. I have shown you the photo of when I was young, right? I still have it in my wallet. Compared to those young Korean celebrities, the younger me was just as good-looking if not better. 

That is why the Tathagata said that all phenomena are non-phenomena. Of course! Everything will pass and everything will disappear. That is why he said to give rise to the mind which does not dwell on sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, or anything at all. Because sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and everything is momentary. Whatever you see, whatever situation that you encounter, whatever realm you are in, they are all transient. They only exist for a very short period of time and will eventually pass. So, The Tathagata said, ‘All phenomena are non-phenomena. Also, all sentient beings are not sentient beings.’ Let me tell you, what is spoken in the Vajra Sutra is true. 

[4]  常樂我淨 

Next discourse on the Vajra Sutra: Discourse 47, 2 January 2022 - Chapter Fourteen—Extinction Upon Abandoning Phenomena (continued)

Previous discourse on the Vajra Sutra: Discourse 45, 26 December 2021 - Chapter Fourteen—Extinction Upon Abandoning Phenomena (continued) 

Index of links to all discourse on the Vajra Sutra: https://en.tbsn.org/guidem/detail/2265/ 

Back to the main index page of all dharma discourse: https://en.tbsn.org/guidem/index  

Full webcast of 2022.01.01 Medicine Buddha Group Practice (Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple, Redmond, USA) and dharma discourse with English interpretation: https://youtu.be/s8Nf9yhLVmY