Awakening the Mind and Seeing Buddha-nature is the Dharma-Gate of Non-Duality

明心見性 不二法門

Grand Master Lu's Dharma Talk at the Saturday group cultivation, at Seattle Lei Zang Temple on November 8th, 2008

Translated by Monita Chan, Edited by Jason Yu, Proofread by Jim Blair

Release Date: September 27, 2009

Release version: Final

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Homage to Reverend Liaoming, His Eminence Sakya Zhengkong Rinpoche, His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa, and Vajra Master Thubten Dargye, and homage to the Three Jewels of the shrine mandala. Shimu, the presiding master, Vajra Master Lian-zai, fellow vajra masters, senior reverends, dharma assistants, fellow school members, fellow school members on the internet, I wish everybody auspiciousness!

Today we'll continue talking about “the Sixth Patriarch’s Platform Sutra.” When the Sixth Patriarch explained “It wasn’t the flag moving, nor the wind moving, but it was the mind of the practitioner moving,” everybody was astonished to hear that explanation. While the great monk Yinzong was teaching the Nirvana Sutra, he heard what the Sixth Patriarch had said and asked him to come forward to the seat of honor. The great monk Yinzong realized that this practitioner, the Sixth Patriarch, was talking directly about the mind that regular people can't see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor imagine with their brain. Hence, the great monk Yinzong continued asking the Sixth Patriarch about many of the profound essences contained within the Buddhist sutras. The Sixth Patriarch’s answers were short and simple, yet the great monk Yinzong felt that they were extremely strong in dharma flavor and profound in meaning.

Great monk Yinzong then asked, “I heard that the Sixth Patriarch had come to the south. I wonder if that's you? Is that you?” Huineng didn’t say, “It’s me.” He said, “You flatter me.” You flatter me means “I am the one.” Great monk Yinzong prostrated to the Sixth Patriarch as soon as he heard that the Six Patriarch was right in front of him, and invited him to show the Patriarch's robe, which was the most important lineage faith item, so that all the monks and the people who came to listen to the dharma could see it.

The answers that the Sixth Patriarch gave here were all simple and brief, but their meaning was very profound. In fact we don’t have to say a lot in answering questions. When Grand Master asks many people a question, they can simply answer with just one sentence. But they talk endlessly just like a piece of scrap cloth in the running water when stuck on a tree branch - it goes around and around without stopping. It's like an old lady's foot-binding cloth, which is long and also stinks. It is really unnecessary; the essential theory in the Buddhist sutras were covered in just a few sentences; genuine Buddha-nature is also like this.

Similarly, I spoke about the “ordinary mind” today.

Let me give an example: I met Yuxian when I was going to have dinner.

Somebody asked me “How was Yuxian's dancing last Sunday?”

I replied with one word: “Good!”

Another person asked me, “How was it good?”

I gave a simple reply, “Strange!”

“Is dancing strange good?”

I also provided a simple answer, “We felt happy to watch her exercise.”

It was a very simple answer. “Where is the good part?” It is “strange!” If you want to dance like her, forget about it! You would know if you had watched her dance on Sundays in the Villa, and certainly you cannot imagine it if you didn’t see it. We feel strange when watching it, but we also feel happy. Why? It is because nobody can dance the way she dances.

Yuxian told me today that she will never dance again, and I asked her, “Why not? Dancing is something that you use to express yourself naturally. You're the type of person that dances.”

Yuxian explained, “I'm concerned about hurting your eyes.”

I replied, “It won't. We watch from far away, so it won't hurt our eyes. Without your dancing, Sunday’s regular performance wouldn't be special. Therefore, your dancing is a natural performance and people are free to watch it. This is the way you dance, and if they don’t want to watch it, they can leave. This is your natural self, your ordinary self, and the people who watch it are the strange ones. Therefore, don't worry about it and continue dancing.”

After I entered into the temple’s cafeteria, the seats for the Masters’ table were all filled, except for one seat which belonged to Master De-hui. People said that Master De-hui should be notified. “The food tonight is pretty good, so he shouldn't miss it.”

I asked Masters Lian-ning and Lian-jie, “Why didn't Master De-hui come?”

Both of them simply replied with one word, “Busy!”

He (Master Lian-ning) replied, “He has been busy since noontime.”

“What is he busy with?”

“Busy with the internet.”

“So he's been busy ever since noon, and didn't even have time for dinner. Then why didn't he start working earlier in the morning? Don't wait until the afternoon to get started; indeed, start working on it in the morning when you arrive – then at least you would be able to have dinner at night.” Master Lian-ning and Master Lian-jie then said, “He likes eating beef noodles from other places.” People are natural, and so is he. He will come if he feels like eating, and he won't come if he doesn't. Grand Master comes to eat every meal, and that's because if I don't eat I will have nothing to eat. This is the way of the ordinary mind!

The Sixth Patriarch’s answers were short and brief. I remember that there was a student who asked a Zen Master “How does one awaken the mind and see Buddha-nature?” The Zen master replied with only one word, “urgency!” What is the meaning of urgency? It is “diligence,” which means to urgently and diligently practice to attain mastery of life and death. He asked again, “How do you obtain the genuine supreme truth?” The Zen Master replied, “Watch water.” What is the meaning of watching water? He then went to watch water. Lake Sammamish has water, you can see there are waves in the water, but there is no wave underneath the water. In both cases, they are still water. It doesn't mean that waves are not water, nor that because there are no waves underneath, that it isn't water underneath; both of them are water. This is the answer and the reply is very short and simple.

The Sixth Patriarch’s answer was very short and simple, but monk Yinzong felt unlimited dharma flavor when hearing it. Great monk Yinzong was a senior monk and he was older than the Sixth Patriarch, but he prostrated to the Sixth Patriarch. This is because the Sixth Patriarch was enlightened, and great monk Yinzong was taking the student’s manner by prostrating to him. In the past, great monk Guoxian was the one helping Grand Master to shave his head for renunciation, so it can be said that great monk Guoxian is the shaving master of Grand Master. However, he also prostrated to Grand Master; he was my shaving master and by taking refuge in me, he is also my student. Like great monk Yinzong was the shaving master of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, and simultaneously he was also a student of the Sixth Patriarch. Therefore, it is a matter of who was enlightened first.

The teachings of our master can be understood by most Buddhist students, but there are many exceptions. Several students of the True Buddha School used to prostrate to Grand Master. One day they suddenly said they had become enlightened and that after enlightenment they would not prostrate to Grand Master any more. They said, “I have been enlightened.” Thus, they didn't fulfill the student’s duty by prostrating to Grand Master every time when seeing him. This indicates that they still had not been enlightened.

You have to realize who had led you to enlightenment and led you into Buddhism, and who your master is. It would be a mistake if you thought you had attained a very high level and that this meant you wouldn't need to act as a disciple. You can see that when great monk Yinzong heard a few dharma words from Huineng, he prostrated to him immediately because he respected Huineng as being enlightened, and was being deferential. This is a principle that everyone needs to understand.

Great monk Yinzong asked the Sixth Patriarch, “How did the Fifth Patriarch Hongren teach you to 'see Buddha-nature'?” The Sixth Patriarch replied, “He just taught me to see Buddha-nature.” Great monk Yinzong asked again, “Why weren’t samadhi (deep meditation) and liberation discussed?” The Sixth Patriarch answered, “What is called 'seeing Buddha-nature' is simply seeing Buddha-nature, while samadhi and liberation are just methods, two different methods. Seeing Buddha-nature is seeing Buddha-nature while samadhi is just samadhi; they aren't the same. It is incorrect if you think that you will 'see Buddha-nature' because you can attain samadhi. You have to obtain the highest wisdom through the process of samadhi. After gaining the highest wisdom, then you can be enlightened and see Buddha-nature. Therefore samadhi is a method, and 'liberation through samadhi' is just a method. Seeing Buddha-nature is seeing Buddha-nature.” All of these are the Sixth Patriarch’s answers. These answers contain “the dharma gate of non-duality.”

What is the meaning of “the dharma gate of non-duality”? It is absolute and contains only one answer, without a second answer. Therefore, the “Heart of the Buddha sect” (another name for Zen Buddhism) can be called the “gate of non-duality.” The “gate of non-duality” means that there are no other things (thus the unity of all things), and that's the authentic answer. Thus, I teach everyone to contemplate (and seek enlightenment) by giving me an answer using a few words, which can be five words, seven words or eight words at the most. When you think of an answer and say it, then you'll understand. However, your answer has to include the Buddha Dharma of the whole universe; only then can that be called realization! Hence, in the Sixth Patriarch’s Platform Sutra it mentions that the Six Patriarch was uneducated, didn't know too many words, and he didn't even study many sutras. However, he could answer the mysterious in-depth meanings contained in all of the sutras by using only one sentence. Only a person with great wisdom can do that.

Just now we talked about how the Sixth Patriarch’s answers were very brief and contained strong dharma flavor, and his words had to be accurate. Concerning making mistakes while talking, there's a joke that goes like this:

There was a person who was looking for a job and went for an interview. He wasn't hired because he said something wrong.

Someone asked him, “What did you say wrong?”

The interview officer had asked him, “Can you manage this job perfectly without any difficulty?”

He replied, “I can handle this job perfectly, even with my eyes closed.” That means he had full confidence. However, that was a poor choice of words because he was interviewing for a night-time security job!

It is impossible for a night-time security guard to say, “I can close my eyes and handle my job perfectly.” The night watchman has to keep his eyes open. Therefore, from the perspective of the Buddha Dharma, an enlightened person won't say anything incorrectly. You'll always clearly understand what an enlightened person is, and will know it forever.

Just now Master Lian-zai mentioned, “Ordinary mind is the way.” This quote comes from the question that the great monk Zhaozhou (Joshu in Japanese) asked his master Nanquan (Nansen in Japanese), whose answer was “Ordinary mind is the Way.” It was initially mentioned by Zen master Mazu Daoyi. At that time there were two eminent Zen masters, the one in the north was Shitou Xiqian, and the one in the south was Mazu Daoyi. The meaning of “ordinary mind is the way” that Master Lian-zai just mentioned is very sophisticated and it authenticates Yuxian’s dancing. There is nothing wrong with Yuxian’s dancing because she carries an ordinary mind and only you feel strange about it. I hope that Yuxian can take it as ordinary dancing and exercising, and make the audience happy. You exercise and we feel happy watching it. It is beneficial to both parties and is also very normal. You shouldn't be concerned about how other people see you or what they think of you. This is what Master Lian-zai had just talked about, “it's not a big deal,” “I never even think about it,” and “that's how I am.” The energy in Yuxian’s body is pretty natural, and she isn't a person who uses trickery and isn't a bad person; she is acting like herself with an ordinary mind and is approaching the natural path. Therefore, don't let it bother you and say you will never dance again. If you really don't dance again, then your ordinary mind won't be expressed.

Master Lian-zai talked about “selflessness” and how the path is not something that belongs to one person; also not belonging to one person is “neutrality,” which means a state without good, bad, virtuous, or evil held as an attachment in the mind. Do you know what the ordinary mind is? It is “neutrality,” not worried about anything, and everything is naturally expressed, and nothing is artificial or contrived. Your every gesture, speech and action is done by following the natural path. I purposely indicated that there was another dancer who intentionally twisted the body too much, which wasn't natural. What is the natural way to do it? It should be the way you naturally dance. If you don't express movement in an artificial manner and every gesture is coming out naturally, then this is the ordinary mind. If you can function naturally in everyday life, the sensation of “marvelous function” and “freedom” will emerge. Don't let things bother you, and don't worry about other people's opinions.

It's the same with Grand Master. If I give those slanderous newspapers, magazines or other forms of media a second thought, then I might never come out and see the crowds again. Maybe I would never preach again, or maybe I wouldn't even want to live. There are lots of people like that! There was a Mr. Bai, an entrepreneur, who couldn't accept what the media reported about him, and he committed suicide by jumping from the Penghu Bridge (in Taiwan). We shouldn't give these things a second thought. We live our own lives; other sentient beings’ perception is theirs, and mine is freedom. I sleep well, eat well, and am living happily like a god. I don't pay any attention to other people’s perception, and I don't pay any attention to what they think.

When I returned to Seattle, a senior citizen from Chinatown came to see me and commented “Sheng-yen Lu is still living well, he still laughs happily and freely.” He said, “This is good.” Of course this is good! There's nothing wrong, and everything is good for me. Even if you pour something very dirty on me, I would still be very happy. Never mind, no worries, I won't give it a second thought. That's the best, everything is excellent and nothing is wrong.

Today our True Buddha School is “ordinary,” but there are “extraordinary” aspects within the ordinary, so we're different. Hence, Grand Master’s dharma talk seems ordinary, but there are extraordinary aspects in the midst of the ordinary. You have to identify its principle, and then you can become enlightened. You will think it's ordinary if you can't figure out its principle. Grand Master tells jokes and they sound very ordinary, but they have their hidden meanings!

For example, consider how we were talking about Master De-hui - that was ordinary and our answers were similar in that sense. There was a person who was always late, and he was asked “Why are you late today?” “I left the house late today.” “Why didn’t you leave the house a little bit earlier?” “It's because I had already left the house, and it would be even later if I had gone back in and came out again.” It sounds quite reasonable, and it is not completely without reason. He was asked, “Can you leave home a bit earlier tomorrow?” “Leaving late for work has become my habit; by the time I get ready I'm already late for work.” The supervisor really couldn't do much with him. He was also very ordinary because being late had become his habit. Master De-hui’s busy engagement has become his habit, and I just don't understand what he is busy working on. He often doesn't come for dinner, and I find it strange because I'll be very hungry if I skip a meal; however, he can skip several meals. This is also ordinary - it's ordinary for him, but it is different from what's ordinary for me. Even though it is different, it is still ordinary. There is laughter over on that side, and laughter is also ordinary.

Regarding human affairs, I feel we are trying to understand the meaning of “awakening the mind and seeing Buddha-nature.” I use the method of asking everybody to send in the realization that they have attained. Actually everybody has already done a great job. Their realization viewpoints are very high and filled with dharma flavor, and have transcended other ordinary people. What everybody wrote and sent in was excellent, and there were a few that even brought out the main point. It's just that I still haven't asked them “Why did you say that?” and one day I will ask them. If the answer is correct, then these people are very talented, eminent people and their status would be even higher than the President.

From the perspective of the Buddha Dharma, at their level they have transcended the suffering of life and death. The President may not be able to transcend life and death, nor mental anguish. The President’s status is the highest, but he is unable to overcome life and death, and unable to sever mental anguish. From the news we can see that the first big problem the new U.S. President-elect Obama has to face is the issue of resolving America's recession and financial turmoil. This is a very big problem. Therefore, he needs to use his wisdom to solve it. Does he have any mental anguish? Of course he does. It is a very happy and glorious thing to have won an election. It is really magnificent to become the President of a country, the highest office in the land, but he has to face his mental anguish immediately and resolve this big issue. It is not an issue at all to enlightened people, and not even an affliction. Hence, we are much more transcending.

It is important for us to “keep a good virtuous friend close” just like Reverend Lian-yi said. If you listen to your virtuous friend, you will be able to overcome life and death and sever mental anguish, and live happily and freely. You will also raise your integrity and morality, become less attached to things and, because of that, you shall eliminate all the burdens. Grand Master himself is a role model of “non-attachment,” and isn't concerned about things; therefore I can live happily everyday. Mental anguish occurs when you have attachments and as Reverend Lian-yi said, it could be stopped if you don't have any attachments. Certainly we have to learn gradually so that we can practice how to become non-attached to things, how to gain self-mastery, how to see through everything completely, and how to transcend everything.

Presidents have major stress and they are really agitated. I think that my homeland's President, Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan, also has lots of stress. According to the news, one time he was so angry that he banged the table. Similarly U.S. President-elect Obama also has his afflictions because he has to resolve his big problems. Unlike them, we have no stress and that's wonderful. Isn't that right? (everybody applauds). If you didn’t buy any stocks or invest in mutual funds, and if you still have a job, then you have nothing to worry about. It's fine if you have sufficient money for your expenses, but if you don't, then you'll have stress. Anyways, it doesn't matter if you have no money, because then you can come and eat at the temple (everybody applauds).

There was a person who received a phone call from the President, and it is unusual for the President, someone with a very high status, to call an ordinary person. People said “Incredible! The President may be inviting you to join his cabinet to be a secretary! It is strange that the President called you? What did he say to you?” That person said, “The President said 'I am Obama'.” Then he replied saying who he was. The President then said, “Oh! I have the wrong number” (Grand Master laughs). It's impossible for the President to call any one of us sitting here, and it's impossible for all the monks and nuns here to receive a phone call from the President because he holds the highest office in the land. If he called anyone, then it must be someone who would be invited to join his cabinet. He just won the election and needs to invite lots of people to help him in his cabinet to become a secretary, maybe the Secretary of State; he needs to form his cabinet. Just like that person who received the President’s phone call but eventually heard him say, “Wrong number.” Therefore, don’t be overly-excited if you receive a phone call from the President, because he must have called the wrong number. Again I welcome everybody to continue contemplating. Frankly speaking, it is not easy to figure out the answer, but there are several of our True Buddha students who have already hit the bulls-eye (everybody applauds). It is incredible! All the vajra masters, reverends and dharma assistants have done a good job.

Om Mani Padme Hum!

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