Bodhidharma's Discourse on Pure Meditation

354 Bodhidharma'sDiscourse: Introduction

reflection meditation still carried on in the Ts'ao-TungCh'an (J. SOrO Zen) Buddhisr Tradition.

Two other terms occur in the dialogue which arerelated to Buddhist meditation but do not refer spe-cifically to 'pure meditation'. The first is ting (J. jo),a word having a wide range of everyday meaningsin chinese, but used in many Buddhist texts as atechnical term for 'concentration', as well as for thegeneral practice of meditation, based on its commonmeaning of 'settling' the mind or 'fixing' it on somesubject- The second is ch'an-ting (J. z.enja), which is acombination of the first Chinese character for trans-literating dhyana and the preceding character for .con-centration', signifying 'the concentration of the mindas associated with the Buddhist term dhyana,. In thepresent translation, the term ting is rendered as .medi-tation' and the highly technical, scholarry word ch'an-ting (which is introduced into the dialogue by Hui_k,o)is translated as 'meditative mindfulness'.

BODHIDHARMA'SDISCOURSE ON PURE MEDITATION.

Trans late d from the Tun-huang Ve rs ion.

Bodhidharma's disciple Hui_k,o (J. Eka) asked,"When people are committed to seeking the Bud_dha's Way, what methods of training should theyconsider?"

Bodhidharma replied, "since pure meditation*crnbraces all methods and practices, I cail it thecssential one."

Hui-k'o asked, ' ,How can one single methodcrnbrace all practices?"

Bodhidharma replied, "pure meditation is the

''.[ and source of all methods. All methods are

rirnply 'products of the mind't so, if you are able to

* See pp' 353-354 of the Translator's Introduction to thel'|rr'scnI text for the meaning of 'pure meditation, as used inI l ot lh icl harma' s dialogue.

r When the reader sees the term .Mind,, he shouldrt';rlrzc: that that which is referred to is not the psychological**rl(''*r'nding of 'mind' but That which ties ulyond, and* r'rrllcrl the Unborn, Undying, Unchanging, Untreated in!lrr' I ttlttrrtt scripture (chapter vIII, section iii) found inthi' l';rli c.non. when the term 'mind' appears, the reader

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356 Bodhidharma's Discourse on pure Meditation

thoroughly comprehend what your mind realry is,then all your various practices will be fully equipped(with what they need to be successful). As an analogy,consider a great tree: its branches, blossoms, and fruitall depend completely on its root. Even a severed treewill survive if its root is intact, whereas a fully growntree, once detached from its root, will die. If you trainin the way with a thorough comprehension of whatyour mind really is, then you will conserve your ef_forts as you easily succeed in realizing Buddhahood,but, if you try to train without thoroughly compre_hending what your mind really is, then you wilr squan-der your efforts to no avail. That is why you should beaware that all good and evil proceed from your ownmind, so that should your mind try to seek for some_thing outside and separate from .yourself

, you willmiss the point."

Hui-k'o asked, "Why do you describe pure medi_tation as thoroughly comprehending what my mindreally is?"

Bodhidharma replied, "when Bodhisattvas andMahasattvas put into practice the profound prajna-paramita,* then, since they know that the four elemenr.s

should understand that what is referred to is the normal.everyday mind which deals with everyday circumstanccs.sometimes believing that it is dealing with those circunr-stances in a spiritual way but not comprehending the dcpthof faith required to deal with such circumstances wh'lelyspiritually. tJKl

*The enlightened wisdom which ferries thcr'scrvcrand others to the Other Shore.

Bodhidharrna's Discourse on pure Meditation 357

and the five skandhas are empty of any substantialityand without any pennanent self, they crearly see thattheir own minds have two distinct conditions. what arethese two? The first is the mind immaculate, the sec-ond is the mind stained. The mind immaculate is, ofcourse, the True, Real Mind, which is beyond defile-ment; the mind stained is none other than the mindoperating from ignorance, defiled by its passions andcravings- These two conditions of mind have bothexisted naturally from the beginning. Even thougheverything is the product of combinations of tem-porary, ever-changing circumstances and nothing isindependently self-produced, even so, the Mind ofImmaculacy constantly takes joy in bringing aboutwhat will produce spiritually favorable effects, whilethe conditional body is continualry thinking up thingsto do which produce bad karma. If the True Reality,which is your Buddha Nature, awakes within Itselfand does not accept anything that will stain It, this iscalled 'being saintly'; accordingly, such a one is ablet. leave suffering far behind and testify to the joys ofnirvana. Staining, however, creates karma and pro_tluces all sorts of veils which cover and obscure yourlluddha Nature. Be aware that this is what 'beingrrundane' means; accordingly, such a one sinks downhcacllong, spinning in the three realms of desire, form,;rrrcl beyond form, and incurs all manner of sufferings.A'cl why so? Because he is screened from seeing his'l 'nrc, Real Body by his stained mind.

" l-he scripture on the Ten stages of Bodhisattva-Itrnul says, 'Within sentient beings there is the

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adamantine Buddha Nature, which is as the orb of thesun. Its bodily form is radiant and all-encompassing,vast, great, and unbounded, but when It is veiled bythe leaden clouds of the five skandhas, It is just as alamp placed within an urn: Its light is unable to beseen.' It also says in the Nirvana Scripture, .All

sentient beings have Buddha Nature, but because Itis cloaked by ignorance, they do not rcalize libera-tion. Buddha Nature is innately enlightened; however,Its own enlightenment enlightens others. when Itswisdom and compassion are fully illumined and Ithas parted from what has veiled It, this state is thencalled liberation.'

"Know, therefore, all that is good takes enlight_enment to be its root and relies on this Root ofenlightenment. consider It to manifest as the tree of allmeritorious spiritual qualities and then, by your rely_ing on It, the fruits of nirvana will fully ripen. It is inthis way that meditation can indeed be described as'thorough comprehension of what mind really is,."

Hui-k'o said, "You have just stated that all meri_torious spiritual qualities of the Buddha Nature, whichare of That Which Is, depend on enlightenment astheir root, but I wonder what could be the root for allthe evil done by the mind when blinded by ignorance?"

Bodhidharma replied, "Although the mind of igno_rance has eighty-four thousand passions and cravingswhich defile it, as well as evils as immeasurable anclunbounded as the sands of the Ganges, ultimately .lldepend on the three poisons and have them as thcirroot and source. These three poisons are greed, hatretJ.

Bodhidharma's Discourse on pure Meditation 35g

and delusion. These three fundamental poisonous im-pulses, of themselves, are able to encompass all evils.As an analogy, again consider a great tree: though ithas but one root, it produces branches and leaves whosenumber is unlimited. From within these three poison-ous roots, evil deeds are begotten whose number is pastcounting and whose nature is beyond any simile. Inthis way, as impulses within one's basic nature, theyfunction as three poisons, and when they manifestthrough your six sense faculties-which they surelywill-they are known as 'the six thieves'. These sixthieves are also known as our six forms of perceptualconsciousness, since they go in and out via the sensefaculties, greedily attaching themselves to any of themyriad realms and skillfully accomplishing their evilactions as they deny the True, Real Body; hence, thename 'the six thieves'. All sentient beings throw theirbodies and minds into confusion and disorder as aresult of the three poisons and through the employ_rnent of the six thieves, thus these beings sink downinto birth and death, spinning through the six path_ways of existence as they experience misery and woe.'l'lrese thieving poisons are a veritable river that ariseslirlm a small spring and flows on unceasingly untilits rushing torrent spreads everywhere indiscrimi-nltcly for thousands of miles. were someone to cut.l'l' the river at its source, its many currents wouldrrll cease to flow; were someone who seeks liberationI. rid himself of these three poisons as well as his('rrployment of the six thieves, he could rid himself of;rll sr,rf-fering."

Bodhidharma's Discourse on pure Meditation

Hui-k'o asked, "The three worlds of desire, form,and beyond form, as well as the six realms of exist-ence, are vast and without limit. How can I avoid thesuffering they bestow by just looking at my mind?"

Bodhidharma replied, "The karmic retributionassociated with the three worlds is actually producedby the Self-nature of the Immaculate Mind. were thereno mind to begin with, then there would be no threeworlds. The three worlds are none other than the threepoisons. Greed is the world of desire, hatred is theworld of form, and delusion is the world beyond form.It is because of these three impulses that we bind our-selves to the fulfillment of the karmic recompensefrom our evil deeds and ceaselessly spin about on thewheel of transmigration. Thus they are called the threeworlds. Also, the karma created from the three poisonsis either more or less grievous, so that the realms, asperceived, are not all alike but divide up and revert tothe six abodes of perception, which are therefore calledthe six realms."

Hui-k'o asked, "How do these more or less griev_ous conditions divide into the six?,'

Bodhidharma replied, "If a sentient being does notcomprehend the true cause of his karma, yet cultivateswhat is good while his mind is still in delusion. he willnot escape the three worlds but will give rise to thethree less grievous realms. what are these three? First:if someone thoroughly cultivates the ten virtues whilstvainly chasing after pleasures, he will not escape fromthe world of greed and will be reborn in the realmof the devas. Second: if he fully keeps to the Five

Bodhidharma's Discourse on Pure Meditation 361

Precepts so as not to kill, steal, covet, lie, or sell thewine of delusion whilst vainly giving rise to attach-ments and hatred, he will still not evade the worldof anger and will be reborn in the realm of humans.Third: if he deludedly clings to the phenomenal world,trusts in false views, and chases after good fortuneand blessings, he has not yet escaped from the worldof delusion and will be reborn as an asura. Such arethe three types called the three less grievous.

"What are the three more grievous ones? If some-one follows the three poisonous impulses in order topromote evil deeds, he will fall into the three moregrievous realms. First: if the deeds arising from hisgreed are serious, he will fall into the realm of thehungry ghosts. Second: if the deeds arising from hisanger are serious, he will fall into the realm of thehells. Third: if the deeds arising from his delusion areserious, he will fall into the realm of the animals. Inthis way the three more grievous ones, along withthe three less grievous ones, comprise the six realms.Understand, therefore, that all karmic suffering isproduced by one's own mind, but if one is able tokeep his thoughts from wandering off whilst abandon-ing the false and the wicked, the karma, which hasbeen sending him spinning through the three worldsand the six realms, will spontaneously dissipate. Thisability to eliminate one's sufferings is what is calledliberation."

Hui-k'o asked, "According to what the Buddhasaid, He passed through three vast asamkyeya aeonsof immeasurable effort and sufferine until He realized


Buddhahood, so why do you now teach that merelyridding oneself of the three poisons is what liberationsignifies?"

Bodhidharma replied, .,The words spoken by the

Buddha, namely, .the three vast asamkyeya aeons,,refer to the three poisonous impurses. tn chinese, theword 'asamkyeya' means 'unmeasurabre'. These threepoisonous impulses within each and every mind pos_sess evil thoughts as numerous as the sands of theGanges; each of these thoughts contains an aeon oftime and, as the sands of the Ganges, are all togetherunmeasurable- The three poisons becloud and screenthe Buddha Nature, which is of the Absolute, so, unlesswe do go beyond these countless evil thoughts of thethree poisons, how can we speak of 'havin"g realizedliberation'? Now when *" ui. able to free ourselvesfrom the three types of poisonous impulses_greed,hatred, and delusion-this then is called.crossing overthe three vast asamkyeya aeons,. Sentient beings inthese final days of the Teaching who are foolish, de_luded, and dull in their facurties do not understand theTathagata's non-literal use of the phrase .three

vastasamkyeya aeons" so they concrude that real izingBuddhahood will take them ages beyond reckoning.How could this fa' to raise aouuts and impedimentsin trainees so that they turn their backs on enlighten_ment?" c

Hui-k'o asked, "Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvashave realized, Buddhahood by keeping to the ThreePure Precepts and the Six paramitas; you would nowhave trainees onry persist in pure meditation without

Bodhidharma's Discourse on pure Meditation

training themselves in the precepts and other spiritualpractices, so how will they realizeBuddhahood?"

Bodhidharma replied, "It is the Three pure pre_cepts, combined, that control the three poisonous im-pulses. controlling the three poisonous impulses isimmeasurably good. It is by using the precepts, com-bined, that one is able to control the three poisonsand produce immeasurably good effects. They arecalled 'the Three Precepts, combined' because they arebrought together by the mind under all circumstances.'Paramita' is a sanskrit word which in chinese wespeak of as 'what reaches to the other shore'. This isbecause, when the Paramitas are put into operation, thesix sensory faculties are immaculate and unstained byworldly dusts (namely, forms, sounds, odors, tastes,tactile objects and mental objects). It is in this waythat they bring beings out from the river of defilingpassions to reach the shore of enlightenment and thusare called the Six Paramitas."

Hui-k'o asked, "According to what the Scripturessay, the Three Pure Precepts are our vow to cut off allevil, our vow to cultivate all good, and our vow to f"rryall sentient beings to the other Shore, but you now say,'control the three poisonous impulses.' How can thisnot be a deviation from, or perversion of, the meaningof the Scriptures?"

Bodhidharma replied, "The Scriptures which theBuddha gave voice to are true speech and certain to bewithout error. when Bodhisattvas in the past rigor-ously cultivated religious training in order to deal withthe three poisons, they made three vows for keeping

364 Bodhidharma's Discourse on Pure Meditation

to the Three Pure Precepts: in dealing with the poisonof greed they vowed to cut themselves off from all evilby always cultivating the Precepts; in dealing with thepoison of anger they vowed to cultivate all that is goodand thus they cultivated meditation; in dealing withthe poison of delusion they vowed to ferry all sentientbeings to the Other Shore and thus always cultivatedbenevolent discernment. Because they kept to the threetypes of pure Teaching-Precepts, meditation, andbenevolent discernment-they were able to go beyondthe evil deeds of the three poisons and thereby realizeBuddhahood. Because it is through our controllingof the three poisons that all evils dissolve and evapo-rate, we call this 'cutting ourselves free'. By skillfullykeeping to the Three Precepts, good becomes all; thisis called 'the cultivation of training for Buddhahood'.By training and skillfully cutting ourselves free, weperfect all our myriad practices and actions. Becauseself and others have benefited and all sentient beingseverywhere are aided, it is called 'ferrying others to theOther Shore'. Therefore, understand that the Preceptsand practices which you cultivate are not somethingexisting apart from your mind. If you yourself areimmaculate, then all sentient beings are immaculate,through and through. That is why the Scriptures say,'When the mind is tainted, then sentient beings aretainted; when the mind is pure, then sentient beingsare pure.' The Scriptures also say, 'If you wish to beable to purify the Buddha Lands, you must purify thatmind of yours; to the extent that your mind is pure, sothe Buddha Lands are pure.' If you are able to control


the three types of poisonous impulses, the Three Pure

Precepts will be naturally perfected-"

Hui-k'o asked, "As it says in the Scriptures, the

Six Paramitas are also referred to as the Six Practices,

namely, Giving (of Teaching and Wealth), Keeping to

the Precepts, Patient Forbearance, Zealous Endeavor,

Meditative Mindfulness, and, finally, Wise Understand-

ing and Discernment. You now say that the six sense

faculties, when immaculate, are the Six Paramitas. If

we harmonize the differences in the terms, what then

do the Six Paramitas signifY?"Bodhidharma replied, "If you wish to cultivate the

Six Practices, you should purify your six sense facul-

ties. If you wish to purify your six sense faculties, first

subdue the six thieves.* If you are able to relinquish

the eye thief and abandon the sphere of forms so that

your mind will not look about with a hard-hearted and

stingy attitude, we call this 'being giving'. If you are

able to restrain the ear thief from being occupied with

the dirt and defilement from what is heard and not

let it indulgently stray, we call this 'keeping to the

Precepts'. If you are able to abandon the nose thief

and treat all 'fragrances and stenches' as equal, freely

blending and tolerating them, we call this 'patient

forbearance'. If you are able to control the tongue thief

* The descriptions, which follow, of what the 'thieves'

occupy themselves with caffy both literal and figurative

meaning. With the nose thief, for instance, its concern over

'odors' would refer not only to physical odors but also to

what the discriminatory mind may 'sniff out'.


so that it does not covet 'the flavors of perversity', but,free of any tinge of being desultory or bored, you extoland expound the Teaching, we call this 'zealous en-deavor'. If you are able to subdue the body thief so thatyour mind remains profoundly unmoved amidst all itscontacts and cravings, we call this 'meditative mind-fulness'. If you are able to control the discriminatorythought thief and not yield to ignorance but alwayscultivate enlightened benevolence and take pleasurein meritorious spiritual qualities, we call this .wise

understanding and discernment'. If you are able toperpetually abandon the six thieves by continuallytraining to purify your six sense faculties, we call this'practicing the Six Paramitas'. Also, the paramitas areconveyances. By analogy, the Six paramitas are asferryboats which can transport sentient beings so thatthey reach the Other Shore; therefore, they are calledthe Six Rafts."

Hui-k'o said, "Scriptures say that when Shakya-muni the Tathagata was a Bodhisattva He drank threeladles and six spoonfuls of milk congee just beforeHe realized Buddhahood. That is, because of Hisdrinking of the milk beforehand, He afterwards at-tested to rhe fruits of Buddhahood. How is it thenthat someone can realize liberation by just doing puremeditation?"

Bodhidharma replied, "What you cite from Scrip-tures is true and neither vain nor meaningless. Ofnecessity, He had to drink of the milk before becom-ing Buddha. Whilst the Buddha did say rhar He con-sumed milk, milk is of two sorts: what the Buddha


was ingesting was not the impure worldly kind of milkbut the Milk of the Absolute's Immaculate Dharma.The three ladles are the Three Pure Precepts and thesix spoonfuls are the Six Paramitas. At the time of hisrealizing Buddhahood, he ingested just such Milk ofthe Dharma before attesting to the fruits of Buddha-hood. For someone to say that the Tathagata wasmerely drinking rank-smelling cow's milk sulliedby its mixture with the animal's worldly lusts andcravings is the very epitome of slanderous teaching!The Tathagata Himself is the undefiled Embodimentof the Dharma, as indestructible as a diamond, for-ever detached from all worldly suffering. What pos-sible need would He have for such impure milk tosatisfy what He hungered and thirsted for? As issaid in Scriptures, 'The Cow that gives the Milk ofDharma is not to be found on the high plateaus, noris It to be found in the marshy lowlands. It does notfeed on grains such as wheat, or on brewer's dregs,or on chaff, mash, or beans. It is not in the same herdwith bulls. Its body has the purplish hue of burnishedgold.' This 'Cow' is, of course, Vairochana Buddha.Because of the pity from His vast tenderness andgreat compassion, the Three Pure Precepts and the SixParamitas are thus within His immaculate Body. Hissubtle Milk of the Dharma nourishes all sentient be-ings who seek liberation, hence It is the immaculateMilk of the True Cow. Not only did the Tathagatadrink of This to realize Buddhahood, but if all sen-tient beings partake of It, they will all realtze fullyperfected enlightenment. "

Hui-k'o said, "The Scriptures teach that the Bud-dha said if.sentient beings do various sorts of meritori_ous and virtuous deeds, such as set up monasteries,cast images, burn incense, strew flowers, light ever_burning lamps, walk in the way by circumamburatingthe Buddha's stupa during the six iime periods of eachday, keep to the monastic diet, and make obeisances,all will perfect themserves in the Buddha,s way. Ifsimply looking at my mind completely encompassesthese practices, such acts must be to no purpose.,,

Bodhidharma replied, "what the Buddha voicedare immeasurabry skillful means. Because the dull_ness of facurties, narrow-mindedness, and degeneracyof sentient beings run extremely deep, He thereforemade provisional use of phenomena as metaphors forwhat goes beyond the phenomenar. If peopre rack aninner practice and merery seek outside themselveshoping to acquire good fortune, they will get nowherespiritually.

"The term 'monastery' derives from an IndianSanskrit word which translates as 'a place of immacu-lacy' ' If you perpetually rid yourself of the three poi-sons and continualry purify your six sense facultiesso that your body and mind are deeply clear and youare immaculate both within and without, this is ,con-structing the monastery,.

"'Casting images' refers to all sentient beings,in their search for Buddhahood, 'cultivating the prac-tices which lead to rearizingenrightenment,. How cananyone possibly say that it is the making of a mehlcasting which resembles the image of thJ rathagata?

%:-

Bodhidharma's Discourse on pure Meditation Bodhidharme's Discourse on pure Meditation

For this reason those who seek liberation take theirown selves for the furnace, take the Dharma for thefire, and take their wise understanding and discern-ment for the master founder; the Three pure preceptsand the six Paramitas are taken for their casting de-sign' They smelr body and mind with the BuddhaNature, which is of the Absolute, until all enterseverywhere into all the patterns created by the pre-cepts and the monastic regulations. They respect_fully practice as they have been taught until there isnot the least flaw or crack for 'leakage' and therebynaturally perfect the image of their True Face. whatis ultimately called their 'ever-abiding, subtle, andwondrous Body' is not something transient anddestructible. If people seek the way but do not under-stand how to cast a True Visage in this w&y, on whatgrounds will they assert that they have perfectedexcellent spiritual qualities?

"As to 'burning incense,, again, it is not a worldly,physical incense; rather it is the transcendent Incenseof the True Teaching which perfumes one,s foul_smelling evil deeds, thoroughly fumigating them untilthey vanish. This Incense of the True Teaching takesfive forms. The first is the Incense of the precepts,which is described as 'the capacity to bring all evilsto a halt by skillfully cultivaring what is good'. Thesecond is the Incense of Meditation, which is describedas 'unwavering trust in the Greater course so that theheart is beyond turning away and retreating'. The thirdis the'Incense of wise and Benevolent Discernment,which is described as 'being ever-observant of bodv

370 Bodhidharma's Dtscourse on pure Meditation

and mind, subjectively and objectively'. The fourth isthe Incense of Liberation, which is described as .the

skillful severing of all the bonds of ignorance'. Thefifth is the Incense of Liberated Awareness, which isdescribed as 'the luminosity of enrightenment which isnever impaired by the hindrances of ignorance'. suchare the Five Incenses to which worldly kinds do notcompare.

"In the days when the Buddha was in the world. Hehad His disciples set just such priceless Incenses burn-ing by means of the fire of their wise understandingand discernment as an offering to all the Buddhas inthe ten quarters. Since nowadays sentient beings whoare foolish and dull in their senses do not understandthe Tathagata's real meaning, they merely apply anexternal fire to light up the world with such materialincenses as sandalwood and frankincense, hoping forblessings and rewards. How can they possibly obtainthem this way?

"The meaning of 'scattering flowers' is similar;it refers to the 'flowers' of merit and virtue from yourexpounding of the True Teaching, which enrichesbeings as you propagate It for the benefit of all andbestow the majestic splendor from the Absolute'sNature everywhere. The 'Flower' of merit and virtueis what the Buddha extolled as Thar which is theultimate, the Ever-abiding which knows no seasonwhen It withers and falls. Further, if there are peoplewho strew such Flowers as these, they will receiveblessings beyond measure. If you say that the Tatha-gata had intended for sentient beings to understand


'scattering flowers' as 'beheading blossoms and injur-ing the vegetation', you miss His point. And why so?Because those who keep to the Pure Precepts do notassault and insult the myriad forms that comprise theGreat Earth, whilst those who mistakenly disregardThem incur great defilement. How much more now-adays, due to their contempt for monastic regulationsand the Precepts, do people injure and harm anythingand everything in their pursuit of blessings and re-wards; they crave gain and thereby wreak harm. Howcan they be this way?

"Also, the 'lamp' signifies the perfected enlighten-ment of the True Mind, which is the Original Nature,after one has awakened to It, since using the clearcomprehension from one's wise understanding anddiscernment is like a lamp. This is why all who seekliberation always take their bodies to be the Lamp'sbase, their minds to be the Lamp's fuel dish, and theirtrust and faith to be the wick, to which they add thePrecepts and practices as the oil; the clear penetrationfrom their wise understanding and discernment isanalogous to the Lamp's flame. As such a Lamp of theAbsolute's true enlightenment continually burns, Itslight shatters the darkness of ignorance and delusion.By means of this Teaching you can transform the waythings are perceived so as to open others to aware-ness; accordingly this is 'the One Lamp which setshundreds of thousands of lamps ablazing'. Due to theLamp's continual shining, Its brightness knows noend; due to Its being unending, the Lamp is describedas 'ever-burning'. In the past there was a Buddha


named Dipankara, 'He Who is a Blazing Lamp', thesignificance of which is the same as this.

"Sentient beings who are foolish and deluded andhave not encountered what the Tathagata taught aboutskillful means mostly practice what is false and mean-ingless and are attached to, and entangled in, thephenomenal; they end up lighting worldly oil lampsto illumine empty rooms and style this as .conforming

to what is taught'. This cannot possibly be correct,since the Buddha sent forth from between His eye-brows a hair-like beam of light which lit up eighteenthousand worlds; if the light from His body fully illu-mined all everywhere in the ten quarters, how canthe employment of such mundane lamps possibly bespiritually beneficial? When you examine the principleof this carefully, does it not prove to be so?

"Also, 'walking in the Way during the six timeperiods of each day' refers to constantly practicing theBuddha's Way within your six sense faculties at alltimes, which is what enlightenment is. Consequently,to cultivate all enlightened practices which bring thesix sense faculties under control so that the six sensefaculties are immaculate, and to do these practiceswithout ever abandoning them, is called .walking inthe Way during the six time periods of each day'.

"The 'stupa' is one's body. When someone con-tinually has his enlightened benevolent discernmentgo around patrolling his body and mind unceasingly,moment by moment, as he proceeds through the day,it is called 'circumambulating the stupa'. In the pasr,saintly monks walked the Way in this manner to


realize nirvana. When those who seek liberation do notmeet with this principle, how can they call what theydo 'walking the Way'? When I venture to look, I seethat my fellow sentient beings who are dull in theirsense faculties are not yet doing inner practices, but areclinging to external pursuits so that they circumambu-late stupas with their physical bodies, busily runningaround, day and night, vainly exhausting themselves,and without a single benefit to their True Nature. It isthe epitome of 'delusion versus enlightenment' andtruly pitiable!

"As to 'keeping to the monastic diet' you must,by all means, grasp its intent; otherwise, its principlewill become a vain and meaningless pursuit. A 'diet'is something which regulates; it refers to that whichputs body and mind in order so that they do not createrestlessness. 'To keep to' means 'to guard and protect'and refers to protecting and maintaining the Preceptsand your spiritual practices in accordance with theDharma for, of necessity, you must restrain the de-sires that arise from your six sense faculties, controlthe three poisons, and endeavor to purify your bodyand mind through enlightened observation. To under-stand the meaning in this way is what is meant by'dieting'.

"Also, in keeping to the monastic diet there arefive types of 'food'. First is 'the food that is rich inthe Dharma', which refers to joyfully offering up yourpractice whilst relying on the True Teachings of theTathagata. Second is 'the food of delight in medita-tion', which refers to conviction within and calmness


without, where body and mind are bright and content.Third is 'the food of mindfulness', which refers tobeing constantly mindful of the Buddhas, a state whereintent and speech are in accord. Fourth is 'the foodof resolve', which refers to constantly seeking to ful-fill your virtuous resolves whether walking, sitting,standing, or reclining. Fifth is 'the food of liberation',which refers to your mind always being immaculateand unstained by worldly defilements. These 'purefoods' are called 'the foods of a monastic diet'. Fur-thermore, if there are people who do not ingest fivesuch immaculate 'foods' and say they keep to amonastic diet, they have missed the point.

"What is spoken of as 'fasting' pertains to thefood from wicked deeds due to ignorance. If those whoare wont to cite Scripture break this fast, which refersto breaking the Precepts, how will they ever rcalizeblessings from that? Moreover, there are foolish anddeluded people who have not even encountered a prin-ciple such as this. Since their bodies and minds areunrestrained, the various evils they commit are all forthe sake of their cravings and desires, as they shame-lessly give full rein to their passions. They merely fastoutwardly whilst telling themselves that they are keep-ing to the monastic diet. How does this differ fromsomeone seeing a rotting corpse and saying that it haslife when it certainly does not?

"Also, 'making obeisances' (or, literally, 'bowingin veneration') means 'to act in accordance with theTeachings'. Of necessity you must be clear aboutthe Fundamental Substance within and. if vou find


yourself in pursuit of anything, give it up and turnyourself around; the Principle will never desertphenomena, since they possess the treasure houseof practice. Understanding a meaning such as this iscalled 'being in accord with the Dharma'. 'Bowing'means 'respecting'; 'veneration' refers to 'payingrespect to one's True Nature'. In subduing the dark-ness of ignorance, the shining forth of one's TrueNature is 'bowing in veneration'. Because we wouldpay reverence to the Teaching, we dare not causeinjury or damage; because we would subdue ourignorance, we do not let ourselves be indulgent andwayward. If someone is able to cut himself totallyfree from desiring evil, whilst continually maintain-ing mindfulness of what is good, it is always called'making an obeisance' even though we do not seeany physical signs of it. Whatever is made manifestis a physical sign; so, if you desire to help those ofworldly ways show humility in their hearts, youmust subdue what lies outside yourself by showingsome external sign of paying respect. When you putsuch gestures to use, you let them show, but whenyou lay them aside, you store them away so that whenyou again bring them outside they illumine what iswithin you; by this means outer and inner are inaccord. Furthermore, if you do not put the Teach-ing of this principle into practice, and merely attachyourself to physical and mental things, there will beunrestrained greed and delusion within you as youcontinually do evil deeds. If what people do is merelyexternal, it will be a meaningless display of physical


signs (of respect), which is not what is meant by'making an obeisance'. Such people have no shamebefore the saintly, and baldly deceive ordinary people;they will not escape sinking down to the lowest realmsof existence. How can they possibly perfect their spiri-tual qualities? Since nothing is to be gained by rhisbehavior, how will they seek for the Way?"

Hui-k'o asked, "The Buddha's Discourse on theBathhouse says that when the assembly of monks cleanand bathe themselves they receive spiritual blessingsbeyond measure. Since this relies on a physical actionto commence the perfecting of spiritual qualities, willI be in accord with this Teaching if I merely look atwhat my mind is doing?"

Bodhidharma replied, "The 'bathing' by the as-sembly of monks is not spoken of as some worldly,physical act. The World-honored One gave voice toHis Discourse on the Bathhouse at that time for thesake of His disciples, since he wanted to help themreceive and keep to His Teaching on cleansing them-selves. He therefore made expedient use of a worldlyact as a metaphor for expounding the Truth, by speak-ing of seven things. The first is clean water, the secondis a blazing fire, the third is cleansing powder, thefourth is a willow twig, the fifth is sifted ashes, thesixth is a medicinal unguent, and the seventh is anunder-robe. He mentioned these seven things as meta-phors for seven methods, since all sentient beings canrid themselves of the three poisons as well as the dirtand filth from their blind ignorance by means of theseseven methods, which are the splendors of cleansing


oneself. As for these seven methods, the first is thePure Precepts, with which we wash and cleanse bodyand mind, just as pure, clean water washes away dustand dirt. The second is called wise discernment, whichardently examines what is internal and external, justas a blazing fire readily heats up that water. The thirdis called good sense, which differentiates and removesour evils, just as cleansing powder can rid us of dirtand grease. The fourth is called the Truth, which cutsus free from false and vain talk, just as chewing ona willow twig can eliminate bad breath. The fifth iscalled right trust or true faith, which never has doubtsor fears, just as ashes rubbed on the body readilywards off lice and fleas. The sixth is called the gentle-ness whose strengths are great, just as a medicinalunguent penetrates to benefit the skin. The seventhis called compunction, by which we repent our evildeeds, just as an under-robe covers our unsightly form.Just like the seven methods above, the subtler mean-ings in this Discourse, which the Tathagata gave at thattime for the sake of those possessed of sharp facultiesfor the Greater Course, were not for ordinary peopleof little understanding and great coarseness, which iswhy our contemporaries are unable to grasp what isbeing taught here.

"This 'bathhouse' is none other than your ownbody. Therefore, set your wise understanding anddiscernment ablaze, heat up the water of the purePrecepts, and bathe the absolute Buddha Nature with-in yourself by accepting and keeping to the sevenmethods for polishing yourself to a true luster. At


the time of the Buddha, monks were astute and theirunderstanding sharp; all were aware of their saintlyintentions and applied them to their training and prac-tice so as to perfect their spiritual qualities and com-pletely ripen the fruits of sanctity. Nowadays sentientbeings who are foolish and deluded, their facultiesdull, do not fathom this matter for which we trainand employ worldly water to wash away whatever isclogging up their bodies, whilst telling themselvesthat they are abiding by Scripture. How can they sofail to understand?

"Furthermore, our absolute Buddha Nature is notthis mundane frame, with all its dust and dirt from ourdefiling passions, for, from the first, It has been beyondphysical characterization. How can anyone possiblycleanse what is an immaterial 'body' with ordinary,physical water? If what someone does fails to accordwith the Truth, how will he be able to realize It? Ifsomeone says that his body is immaculate, he shouldlook at that body very carefully. Was it not born dueto the impurities of greed and desire? It is so filled tooverflowing inside and out with foul-smelling filth andmuck that if you seek Immaculacy by washing thatbody, it will be just as scrubbing out a moat: its mudwill so exhaust you that you will have to desist. Trydoing it and you will clearly learn that external wash-ing is not what the Buddha was talking about."

Hui-k'o asked, "What the Scriptures say is thatif we are ever-mindful of the Buddha and recite Hisname with utmost sincerity of heart. we will realize

Bodhidharme's Discourse on Pure Meditation 379

rebirth in the Western Pure Land. Since this one gate-way is sure to lead us to reahzing Buddhahood, whyemploy pure meditation to seek for liberation?"

Bodhidharma replied, "This 'being mindful of theBuddha' requires rieht mindfulness; anything less thana full understanding of the meaning of this phrase willbe erroneous. With right mindfulness you are certain torealize rebirth in a Pure Land, but with erroneousmindfulness how will you reach there? 'Buddha'means 'being enlightened' and signifies 'the enlight-ened observation of body and mind which does not letevil arise'. 'Mindfulness' means 'bringing to mind andreflecting on'; it signifies 'firmly holding to the Pre-cepts and the practices whilst not forgetting zealousendeavor'. To come to the meaning of this completelyis called 'right mindfulness'. Therefore, understandthat mindfulness resides in the mind, it does not re-side in words. When someone uses a bamboo trap toget fish, once he has got the fish, he forgets all aboutthe trap; when someone uses words to express an idea,once we get the idea, we forget about the words. Whenyou actually recite the nembutsu (which means 'beingmindful of the Buddha') and say His name, you mustpractice the substance of 'being mindful of the Bud-dha'. If your mind lacks sincerity, your mouth willspeak empty and meaningless words, for vain are yourintentions and empty your endeavors. What benefitsare achieved by this?

"Moreover, if you do the reciting mindfully, thename itself and its meaning will be totally different.


It is with the mouth that we recite, it is with the mind

that we are mindful. Therefore, understand that mind-

fulness arises from your mind whilst the name itself

is a gate to enlightened practice. Recitation resides in

the mouth and is, accordingly, an aspect of sound.

Those who are attached to such external manifesta-

tions and appearances, as they seek for blessings, have

ultimately missed the point. This is why the Scriptures

say, 'The characteristics that the mundane possess are

all vain and meaningless.' They also say, 'If someone

perceives a self on the basis of some physical form, or

seeks for a personal ego on the basis of vocal sounds,

this person walks a false path and will not be able to

see the Tathagata.' Look carefully at what these quo-

tations are saying and you will know that the charac-

teristics of things are not That which is real and true.

What the Buddhas of the past cultivated as spiritual

qualities were not something They spoke of as being

external. They simply and rightly commented that the

mind is both the wellspring of all good and the lord and

master of myriad evils, that the constant joy and con-

tentment of nirvana is born from one's own mind, and

that transmigration in the three worlds also arises from

the mind. The mind is the gateway for appearing in,

leaving, and transcending the world. The mind is both

the barrier gate and the fetry dock to liberation. Why

would anyone who knows the entryway wory about

its being hard to realnze? What anxiety about arriving

would anyone have who is acquainted with the barrier

gate and the dock?


"It seems to me that nowadays those of shallowperception merely make efforts on the basis of howthings appear. Out of personal vanity they lavish theirwealth on piling up land and water with memorialofferings, having images cast, and stupas built; empty-headedly they employ workers to construct grandiosereligious structures and gaudily decorate them. Theydrain their minds, exhaust their strength, and misleadothers through their example, and without the leastcompunction ! How will they ever experience an awak-ening and see that their exertions are an attachmentto exertion? When I speak of That which is beyondwhat they see in front of them, they look blank, as ifinadaze. They merely hanker after the little affectionsof the moment and are unaware of the great sufferingsthat are on the verge of entering their lives. Vainly dothey make themselves sick by laboring in this type of'spiritual cultivation'. They turn their backs on whatis proper and keep returning to what is false, deceiv-ing themselves by saying that they will gain blessings.If, however, you can focus your mind so that youillumine what is within, the constant light of yourawareness and scrutiny will eradicate the three poisonsand forever make them melt away and disappear, sothat the six thieves will not invade you and createdisturbances. Your numberless spiritual qualities, allmanner of spiritual adornments, and untold Gates tothe Dharma will all be naturally perfected throughand through. Go beyond the mundane and attest toThat which is saintly. It is before your very eyes,


not off in the distance. Awakening is but an instantaway. Why stay troubled until your hair has turnedgray? Would that I had explained for you the subtlemysteries of the Gate to the Dharma in depth, ratherthan discussed the mind in barest outline, detailing butsuch a scant portion of the reason for which we train."

Bodhidharma's Discourse on Pure Meditation

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