The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment -- How to Sever Ignorance?

Talk presented by Venerable Chang Hwa
Report written by Chang Jie 02/28/2010

    On February 28, 2010, at CMC Ven. Chang-hwa gave a talk entitled, "How to Sever Ignorance," the first of a series of talks on the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment with commentary by Master Sheng Yen.

    According to Venerable, Shifu spent more than ten years explaining this sutra because of its importance in the Chan school. This relatively short sutra is unusual because of its breadth, covering Buddhist principles, methods of practice, and the enlightenment of the Buddha. Another unique feature of the sutra is its statement that all sentient beings having intrinsically accomplished Buddhahood, which is mentioned only in one other sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra. The Avatamsaka Sutra is the first sutra after the Buddha's enlightenment and describes the enlightened state of the Buddha or an awakened person.

    The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment is closely identified with the Huayan School. Master Zongmi, the fifth patriarch of the Huayen School, is credited as writing the best commentary on this sutra. Master Zongmi's emphasis of this sutra is attributed to a deep experience he had while chanting the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment, where he was brought to tears. When he approached his teacher, Master Chengguan, who was also the teacher to the Emperor at that time, he was told to propagate this sutra because of his close karmic affinity to it. The doctrines of the Huayan school are incorporated in this commentary on the sutra.

    In the preface of the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment, Shifu describes this short sutra as beautifully written and poem-like. The sutra uses at least 23 analogies to explain various concepts and practices. In his commentary, Shifu uses even more stories and analogies based on his personal experience and personal practice in daily life to explain the sutra, making the book not only about Buddhist concepts, but very practical as well.

    The sutra is divided into 12 chapters, each chapter covering a specific topic based on questions asked by twelve bodhisattvas. The topic of Venerable's first talk is on the first chapter, which is also the first bodhisattva Manjusri's question on how to sever ignorance.

    In every setting where the Buddha gives a teaching, there is a place, an audience and a reason for giving the teachings. The setting of this sutra is very unusual in that it does not take place in any physical setting but is in Samadhi. In the beginning of the sutra, the Buddha enters into great Samadhi, which is not an ordinary kind of Samadhi but a very deep level of Samadhi, "a Buddha-level of Samadhi," and uses his superpower to manifest what you can see when you are in the state of Buddhahood. There are 12,000 great bodhisattvas in the audience, not ordinary bodhisattvas, but very high-level bodhisattvas, who enter into Samadhi as well. This is a very special occasion where the Buddha and all the great bodhisattvas enter into Samadhi and see what the Buddha can see because of the superpowers of the Buddha.

    Because this state is so wondrous and special, all the bodhisattvas know that something unusual is happening. Manjusri, who is foremost in wisdom, immediately knows what is happening and what kind of state this is. He rises and asks the Buddha how we should practice so that we can achieve this level of attainment. His question can be divided into two parts-what is the Tathagatha's dharma practice of the causal ground, which is original-arising and pure, and how can we go directly to this level without going astray?

    The Buddha had attained a stage where the body and mind are in a state of pure extinction and perfect in all directions. It's in accord with everything without duality, which means no discrimination, no subject and object, no good and bad, no you and me. Once we have subject and object, we discriminate. So, Manjusri's question is essentially, how do we get to the state of non-duality.

    Venerable gave the analogy of the human body, which is comprised of different parts-- brains, eyes, stomach, and lungs. Though we have different kinds of organs, we do not discriminate and say, I like my stomach more than my lungs, or since my stomach always get me into trouble, I hate my stomach. Rather, we take care of the stomach even more when it is sick. Non-duality means that everything is in a state of oneness, so there is no discrimination. Each part may have a different function but all are part of the same oneness.

    Venerable explained the "dharma practice of causal ground which is pure and original arising" by first explaining "dharma practice." Shifu taught various methods, such as counting the breath, chanting the Buddha's name, and even relaxation. When we use the method, we find that the body is tense. So we tell ourselves, relax, and when we give rise to vexations, we chant the Buddha's name. When we have difficulties in our lives that we cannot resolve, we prostrate to Guanyin bodhisattva so that perhaps someone can show up and help us. Sometimes, we think, perhaps we may enjoy better health when we meditate, so we use our method to resolve our daily problems. These types of practices all have purpose. When things happen, then you use your practice to resolve your problems.

    When the dharma practice is passive, problems arise, and in response, we use the method to resolve the problems. This attitude is similar to the Buddhist principle of causes and consequences. When things happen, we think these are consequences as a result of past actions that we have to accept. For example, we may think that because in a past life, I did something wrong, in this life, my husband doesn't love me, my boss gives me a hard time, I have cancer. All this is because I did something bad in the past and now I am experiencing the consequences. So I use the method, I chant, prostrate to the Buddha, and make offerings and donations so that I can alleviate my karma, and won’t suffer much.

    In the "dharma practice of causal ground," one has the attitude of seeing everything, every obstacle or difficulty in our lives as a cause to practice so that we can uplift our character, change our habits and improve our karma. With this kind of attitude, we use all conditions as conditions to practice. We won't perceive things as the consequence for past negative actions; rather, we have the attitude of perceiving everything as a cause to practice, so that we may become a better person, even as a cause to attain Buddhahood.

What is the "original arising and pure dharma practice of causal ground?" The Buddhist principle of causes and conditions states that we can change our karma and habits, and transform ourselves from ordinary people to Buddhas. All phenomena, everything that exists, everything we can perceive, are called "conditional arising." Here, "original arising" does not mean "conditional arising"-"original arising" means it's already there, that it's pure.

    To summarize, "dharma practice" means practice with a purpose. We may want to get rid of vexations or difficulties in our lives, so we use practice to try to get rid of it. The "dharma practice of causal ground" is when we use everything to change ourselves so that we can attain Buddhahood. We still have something we want to pursue. We want Buddhahood, to become a better person, and have a better life. Now, the "original arising pure dharma practice of causal ground" is pure; there is nothing there, because it's already there. The Buddha says that all Buddhas and Tathagatas use this dharma practice of "original arising dharma practice of the causal ground", which is original arising and pure, so that they have may attain complete enlightenment, sever all ignorance and attain Buddhahood.

    This answers the first part of Manjusri's question on how to attain Buddhahood, which is to use our intrinsic complete enlightenment to sever all ignorance. If we intrinsically have Buddha nature, are already enlightened, and have so-called perfect enlightenment, why can't we see it? Why do we still generate vexations? Why are we still counting our breath? Why do we still chant the Buddha’s name? This leads us to the second part of the Buddha’s answer.

    In the sutra, the Buddha says we are like disoriented people and have many erroneous views. Like disoriented people, we don't know where we are going. The Buddha explains ignorance in two parts. The first is that, we think that this body is real, whereas, in fact, the body is a result of conditional arising. But because we do not see the body as a result of conditions but think it's real, we generate many vexations and want to protect the body and forever own the body. When we have cancer and are facing death, we become scared because we don't know what is happening, don't want to lose this body and die.

    The second is, because we have this body, the six organs-- eyes, ears, nose and tongue, body and mind, we see the outside environment, which is called "the six dusts," and generate the six consciousnesses. We think the discrimination we make in our minds is our true mind, and we think what we perceive and interpret are real. That is why we have fights with people, because we insist that what we think is real.

    The Buddha gave two analogies for this type of ignorance. It is just like "the flowers in the sky" and "the second moon on the lake". Like a person who has an eye disease, you see something in the sky that nobody else sees. It does not exist, but because of your disease, you see something, and wherever you turn your eyes, it is there.

    Because the moon is in the sky, the lake appears to have a moon as well. If somebody tries to scoop the moon from the lake, they will never get it. When the wind blows and creates ripples in the lake, the moon seems to bend as well. It is just like our mind, which generate vexations. We generate all kinds of vexations-- we want more, or we don't like what we have. We think this ignorance is real and permanent, and we cannot let go. The Buddha says we should know that ignorance is not real and we should use our intrinsic complete enlightenment to sever ignorance so that we may know what is real and let go of what is not real.

    The sutra describes ignorance and enlightenment like this—it is as if we are in a dream. In the dream, we exist and things happen, but nothing is real. When we wake up from the dream, we won't care about what happened in the dream. When we attain Buddhahood, we know that everything that happens is just illusions.

    Because the Buddha understands that ordinary people may think that, since everything is an illusion, they may become nihilistic, the Buddha said to let go of existence and non-existence. Neither existence nor non-existence is true intrinsic Buddha nature. Ordinary people attach to existence as "I" or "the self." Intrinsic Buddha nature has nothing to do with existence or non-existence. You have to let go of duality because duality is not our Buddha nature. However, you still have to behave in accordance with the rules of this world. Causes and consequences still exist and apply, so you cannot do bad things. You have to follow the rules in this world. That is the manifestation of Buddha nature. There is no duality; however, you have to behave like a normal person.

    In the foreword of this book, Thich Nhat Hanh compares practitioners to tourists standing between Boston and New York. If we want to go to Boston, we have to turn North towards Boston. If we have erroneous views, we may turn east, which will prevent us from reaching Boston. If we get rid of wrong views and turn towards the right direction, we will eventually reach Buddhahood. However, if we turn toward the wrong direction, does that mean that Boston disappears? You cannot see it, but Boston is still there. Similarly, the Buddha teaches that no matter which direction you turn, Buddha nature is already there. Even though we cannot see it, Buddha nature is already there, complete and intrinsically there.

    Manjusri's second question is, how do we, bodhisattvas, after generating the bodhi mind so that we may attain Buddhahood, stay on the right track and avoid falling into erroneous views. The Buddha explains that when we generate vexations, we should tell ourselves that this is because we attach to our body and mind. We think that they are permanent and that they exist. When these vexations arise, we should become aware of them and let them go. We should tell ourselves that they are illusions and let go.

    Once, somebody asked the Dalai Lama if he generated vexations. The Dalai Lama answered yes, but only for a second! Because we have brains, consciousnesses, habits, and karma, it is normal that we generate vexations, but we must try to use the method and keep our vexations short. If you hate your husband for ten years, through practice, you might be able to shorten it to one month, one night, and eventually, one second, like the Dalai Lama. In the end, maybe we will never generate vexations, because of constant practice. One day, we may think that all our vexations are illusions, so why bother holding onto them or even generating them.

    While we are not able to see our intrinsic Buddha nature and complete enlightenment to sever ignorance, when things happen, we can tell ourselves that it is because of our attachment to our body and mind, that's why we have vexations, and let it go. As we keep practicing, the vexations will eventually get shorter and shorter, and one day, we will get to Boston, until Boston and I become one.

    The Buddha also pointed out that, as practitioners, when we try to reach Buddhahood, we should not think that we have something to attain. Shifu told a story of a very hungry wolf who had not eaten for a long time. He starts to generate illusions and suddenly sees a big ham in front of him. Because he is so hungry, he grabs the ham and eats it all, only to realize that he had eaten his leg! Shifu used this story to explain that if we practitioners think that through practice, we can gain something external to us, we are just like the wolf. Though we try to gain something outside of ourselves, in fact, whatever we gain is already in us, because we are intrinsically accomplished and whatever we have is in our Buddha nature. Sometimes, when we meditate, we may have feelings of joy. Our body and mind lead us to experience something unusual and special. Shifu always told us to let these feelings go, that they illusions, that all feelings and perception are illusion. It's like when we go to Boston, we may stop at McDonald's and other restaurants, but they are only stages in journey, and not Boston. They will pass, so we should not attach to them as real or something we have gained from outside ourselves because it’s already in us.

    We also have to avoid the other extreme of nihilistic views, thinking that nothing exists, that we don't have to practice since we already have Buddha nature. Recently, there was an earthquake in Chile. We shouldn't think, there are so many people in this world, things will pass, don't worry, no need to take action. If you go to the other extreme, you won't want to practice anymore, won't care anymore, and become indifferent to whatever happens to you. Those who generate bodhi mind, who want to turn from wrong views, enter the Buddha path, and attain Buddhahood, must keep in mind that, first, there is nothing to gain from outside. Don't think that things exist that you can pursue or gain when you practice. Don't think that nothing exists, so you don't need to practice.

    Despite the Buddha's clear explanations, at the end of chapter one, most of the great bodhisattvas were not yet enlightened. So, eleven questions follow. Since we are not all enlightened yet, we have to keep letting go. How many levels do we have to let go? Since, the Buddha said body and mind are illusory, how can we use the illusory body and the illusory mind to practice and to see our real Buddha nature? How can we let go? That will be the next topic of Venerable Chang-hwa's talk.