The Delusional Series
Compiled according to the teachings of the Master
Author: Fafu
The Delusional Series: Part 10 –23 Inner Journey 8
The sound comes and goes, while the True Nature of Hearing never does:
Sacred Verses from the Fourth Chapter of the Surangama Sutra：
Therefore, one should not say that the faculty of hearing is without nature. For instance, consider a person in deep sleep, unconscious on a bed and pillow. If someone in the household pounds grain during this time, the sleeper, in a dream, might hear the sound of pounding and mistake it for something else, such as the beating of a drum or the striking of a bell. Even in the dream, the sleeper might wonder why a bell would sound like wood or stone. Upon waking, the person would immediately realize that the sound was indeed the pounding of grain. They would then tell their family, “While I was dreaming, I mistook this sound of pounding for the sound of a drum.”
Ananda, in one’s dream, does one remember the subtle movements of opening and closing? Although the body is asleep, the faculty of hearing remains active. Even if your form disintegrates and your life light fades, how can this faculty of hearing be extinguished?
(Both arising and ceasing are merely appearances of karma and illusion; that which is neither arising nor ceasing is true.)
Since all beings, from beginningless time, have been chasing after colors and sounds, following the flow of thoughts, they have never awakened to the pure and wonderful nature that is always present. Instead of abiding in this constant nature, they chase after the arising and ceasing of phenomena. Thus, they are born again and again, entangled in the cycle of defilement.
If one abandons the arising and ceasing of phenomena and abides in the true nature, the constant light will manifest and the root, object, consciousness, and mind will dissolve instantaneously. This is called the sudden realization of the principle, where realization and dissolution occur simultaneously. Why is this so? In Buddhism, the principle and phenomena are one and the same. Cultivating the principle is to abide in one’s true nature. Through this realization and abiding in the true nature, the karmic afflictions and habits accumulated since beginningless time, both substantial and circumstantial, will be instantly dissolved. At the moment of true dissolution, one attains great liberation.
Since mental formations are like dust and afflictions are like stains, and both are abandoned, your Dharma eye, through which you perceive all things with the true nature, will become instantly clear. How can this not be the supreme awareness?
