Dear Dharma friends, have you ever wondered why we remain adrift in samsara, unaware of our true nature? Today, with the wisdom of the Shurangama Sutra, we explore how we’ve ignored the unchanging spirit, mistaken illusions for truth, and how right view awakens our pure essence. Let’s embark on this journey of wisdom together!
Initial Awakening: Realizing the Spirit’s Constancy
Hearing the Buddha’s teachings, Ananda and the assembly felt profound peace, reflecting: “Since beginningless time, we’ve never awakened to what the spirit is, lost in illusory phantoms—only now do we understand.” They bowed, eager to learn what’s truly unchanging versus illusory, what’s subject to birth and death versus eternal.
Observing the River: The Unchanging Seeing
King Prasenajit asked: “Some say death ends all, calling it ‘nirvana.’ You speak of an unborn, undying spirit—how do I realize it?” The Buddha replied: “Will your body decay or endure like diamond?” The king said: “It’ll decay and vanish.” “How do you know before it’s gone?” asked the Buddha. “I see it changing moment by moment—youth fades, old age creeps in; from decade to day, it’s never still,” the king replied. The Buddha asked: “When did you first see the Ganges?” “At three,” said the king. “Compare your seeing at thirteen to three—did it change?” “No, even now at sixty-two, it’s the same,” he answered. The Buddha affirmed: “Exactly! Your body ages, but your seeing doesn’t. What changes is born and dies; what’s constant neither ages nor perishes.” The assembly rejoiced, grasping that the spirit endures beyond the body’s rise and fall.
Inversion: Mistaking the False for True
Ananda bowed: “If the spirit that sees and hears is unborn, why did you say I lost it, inverting the false for the true?” The Buddha lowered his arm, fingers down, asking: “Is my hand upright or inverted?” Ananda said: “People call it inverted.” “What’s upright then?” asked the Buddha. “Fingers up,” Ananda replied. The Buddha raised his hand: “Upright and inverted are just a shift in direction. I’m ‘All-Knowing,’ you’re ‘inverted’—where’s the inversion?” Ananda and the assembly were stumped. The Buddha explained: “Body, mind, and world arise from the spirit, yet you ignore it, chasing its fleeting manifestations as ‘you.’ The spirit, unborn and constant, is overlooked as deluded habits weave karma—clinging to illusions as real, you mistake this chaos for your mind. In truth, all—your body, thoughts, mountains, rivers—are images within the vast sea of the spirit. You fixate on a bubble, ignoring the ocean. How pitiable!”
Pointing to the Moon: Beyond Clinging
Ananda wept: “I hear of the spirit but use my clinging mind to listen—how do I grasp the true spirit?” The Buddha said: “If you cling to my words, you chase shadows, not the essence. I point at the moon—you should see the moon, not my finger. If your discerning mind were true, it’d discern without sound or form. Like a guest in an inn, it comes and goes; the host—the spirit—remains. Your clinging mind depends on phenomena; the spirit abides, unchanging.”
Eight Returns: The Spirit Endures
Ananda asked: “If my mind can be returned, why can’t the spirit?” The Buddha replied: “Your seeing me now is the spirit’s function. Light returns to the sun, darkness to the night, clarity to open space, dust to haze—phenomena return to their causes. But what sees them? Return it to light, and darkness vanishes; to dust, and clarity fades. Phenomena differ, yet your seeing persists, unchanged. What returns is ‘them’; what remains is you—the spirit, pure and constant, drowned in samsara by your confusion.”
Finger or Not: Spirit Beyond Duality
Ananda said: “I see the spirit endures, but why is it my true mind?” The Buddha explained: “With my power, you see vast realms; Aniruddha sees the earth like an apple; bodhisattvas see a thousand worlds; Buddhas see boundless realms. Yet ordinary sight is mere inches. Mountains, rivers, beings—these are phenomena, not you. Your seeing, ever-present and unchanged, is the spirit. Why ask me instead of realizing it?”
Scope of Seeing: Unaltered by Conditions
Ananda asked: “If the spirit is me, why does my seeing shrink from heavens to this room? Does it expand or contract?” The Buddha said: “The spirit sees all, but your karma shapes its scope—not expansion or contraction. In a square box, space is square; in a round one, it’s round. Is space fixed or fluid? Neither fits perfectly. Remove the box, and space is boundless. Walls don’t shrink or sever your seeing—peek through a hole, and it connects seamlessly. Your seeing’s range reflects your karma, not the spirit’s nature.”
Manjushri’s Insight: Beyond Is and Isn’t
Manjushri bowed: “We still don’t grasp the unborn spirit versus fleeting phenomena.” The Buddha said: “In samadhi, Buddhas see no ‘seeing,’ no ‘seen,’ no delusions—just manifestations of the spirit and karma. Is there another Manjushri? ‘Is’ or ‘isn’t’ misses it. Phenomena neither are nor aren’t the spirit—chasing ‘this’ or ‘not that’ is delusion, not the ever-present spirit.”
Conclusion: Seeing Through the Five Aggregates
The Buddha concluded: “Ananda, the five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, formations, consciousness—are illusions, dreamlike and fleeting, arising from the spirit. Seeing their falsity cuts samsara’s roots.” Dear friends, the spirit shines unchanging; the Ten Good Deeds steady us, discernment reveals truth, awakening the true mind. May we heed the Shurangama’s call, distinguish truth from delusion to awaken the true mind, and ignite the realization of its imperishable wonders. Blessings for this sacred encounter!
