Posted as a response to a thread in Dharma Overground. https://www.dharmaoverground.org/discussion/-/message_boards/message/33490124

1. The Kālakārāma-sutta and Agencylessness in the Pāli Canon

a. Overview of the Kālakārāma-sutta

• Source:
  Aṅguttara-nikāya (Connected Discourses), specifically A.N. 4.24.
• Context:
  The Kālakārāma-sutta addresses misconceptions about agency, perception, and the self. It emphasizes the absence of a permanent agent behind sensory experiences and cognitive processes, aligning with the core Buddhist doctrine of anattā (non-self).

b. Original Pāli Passage and Translation

Original Passage:

"Iti kho bhikkhave Tathāgato daṭṭhā [diṭṭhā in Burmese MSS] daṭṭhabbaṁ diṭṭhaṁ na maññati adiṭṭhāṁ na maññati daṭṭhabbaṁ na maññati daṭṭhāraṁ na maññati, sutvā sotabbaṁ sutaṁ na maññati asutaṁ na maññati sotabbaṁ na maññati sotāraṁ na maññati, mutvā motabbaṁ mutam [sic] na maññati amutaṁ na maññati mottabaṁ [sic] na maññati motāraṁ na maññati, viññātvā viññātabbaṁ viññātaṁ na maññati aviññātaṁ na maññati viññātabbaṁ na maññati viññātāraṁ na maññati."

Translation:

"Thus, O monks, the Tathāgata, having seen whatever is to be seen, does not conceive of what is seen; he does not conceive of what has not been seen; he does not conceive of that which must yet be seen; he does not conceive of anyone who sees. Having heard whatever is to be heard, he does not conceive of what is heard; he does not conceive of what has not been heard; he does not conceive of that which must yet be heard; he does not conceive of anyone who hears. Having felt whatever is to be felt, he does not conceive of what is felt; he does not conceive of what has not been felt; he does not conceive of that which must yet be felt; he does not conceive of anyone who feels. Having understood whatever is to be understood, he does not conceive of what is understood; he does not conceive of what has not been understood; he does not conceive of that which must yet be understood; he does not conceive of anyone who understands."

c. Key Pāli Terms in the Passage

The Kālakārāma-sutta systematically negates the conception of various agents involved in sensory and cognitive processes. The specific Pāli terms used for "anyone who feels," "anyone who hears," etc., are as follows:

English Phrase	Pāli Term	Breakdown	Translation
Anyone who sees	daṭṭhāraṁ	daṭṭha- (seen) + -āraṁ (agent suffix)	"one who sees"
Anyone who hears	sotāraṁ	sota- (heard) + -āraṁ (agent suffix)	"one who hears"
Anyone who feels	motāraṁ	mota- (felt) + -āraṁ (agent suffix)	"one who feels"
Anyone who understands	viññātāraṁ	viññāta- (understood) + -āraṁ (agent suffix)	"one who understands"

Understanding the Suffix "-āraṁ"

• Function:
  The suffix -āraṁ in Pāli denotes an agent or doer related to the root verb. When attached to the root of a verb, it transforms the word to signify "one who performs" the action.

Detailed Breakdown of Terms

1. daṭṭhāraṁ (one who sees)
   • daṭṭha-: Seen
   • -āraṁ: Agent/doer suffix
   • Meaning: "one who sees"
2. sotāraṁ (one who hears)
   • sota-: Heard
   • -āraṁ: Agent/doer suffix
   • Meaning: "one who hears"
3. motāraṁ (one who feels)
   • mota-: Felt
   • -āraṁ: Agent/doer suffix
   • Meaning: "one who feels"
4. viññātāraṁ (one who understands)
   • viññāta-: Understood
   • -āraṁ: Agent/doer suffix
   • Meaning: "one who understands"

d. Interpretation and Implications

• No Conception of the Perceiver:
  The Tathāgata (the Buddha) does not attribute sensory experiences or understanding to a permanent seer or agent. This aligns with the doctrine of anattā, emphasizing that what we perceive arises from interdependent conditions without a fixed self.
• No Agent Behind Perception:
  By denying the conception of an independent seer, the sutta underscores that perception and consciousness are processes devoid of a permanent agent.
• Avoidance of Duality:
  The sutta discourages dualistic thinking where a distinct "I" is separated from actions and perceptions, fostering a non-dual understanding of experience.

e. Integration with Broader Buddhist Concepts

• Dependent Origination (Pratītya-samutpāda):
  All phenomena arise dependent on conditions and cease when those conditions cease. This interdependent nature negates the need for a permanent agent behind actions.
• Five Aggregates (Khandhas):
  The self is analyzed into five aggregates: form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. None of these aggregates constitute a permanent self.

f. Practical Implications in Buddhist Practicei. Mindfulness and Insight (Vipassanā)

• Observation of Processes:
  Through mindfulness, practitioners observe how thoughts, sensations, and actions arise and cease without a permanent agent. This direct observation fosters insights into the impermanent and non-self nature of phenomena.
• Dissolution of Attachment:
  Recognizing the absence of a permanent self leads to the reduction of attachments and aversions, which are the root causes of suffering (dukkha).

ii. Reduction of Suffering (Dukkha)

• Understanding Impermanence:
  Grasping anattā helps practitioners understand the transient nature of experiences, thereby reducing the clinging that leads to suffering.
• Path to Liberation (Nibbāna):
  By eliminating the illusion of a permanent self, one moves closer to nibbāna, the cessation of suffering.

g. Conclusion of Kālakārāma-sutta

Analysis

The Kālakārāma-sutta serves as a profound illustration of the anattā doctrine by negating the conception of a permanent agent behind sensory and cognitive processes. By employing specific Pāli terms—daṭṭhāraṁ, sotāraṁ, motāraṁ, and viññātāraṁ—the sutta emphasizes that actions and perceptions arise dependently without a fixed self, aligning with the core Buddhist teachings on non-self and dependent origination.

2. Conceptual Attachment of Agent to Action
a. Phrase Analysis

Phrase:
"yaṁ maññati taṁ mantar"
Breakdown:

• yaṁ: "that which"
• maññati: "he thinks" or "he believes"
• taṁ: "that"
• mantar: "thinker"

Translation:
"He considers that to be the thinker."

Source:
This analysis is derived from Michael Everson's paper, "Some Remarks on Conceptualization and Transcendent Experience in the Theravāda Tradition," available at Evertype.

b. InterpretationThis phrase metaphorically represents how individuals conceptually attach a self or agent to their actions and thoughts. By considering an action as performed by a "thinker," one reinforces the illusion of a permanent self (attā), which contradicts the Buddhist understanding of anattā (non-self).

Everson elaborates:

"It is the conceptual attachment of agent to action (yaṁ maññati taṁ mantar), resulting from the initial separation of agent from action, which the Buddha attacks in the Kālakārāma-sutta"

This identification with the act of thinking exemplifies the common human tendency to attribute actions and experiences to a stable, enduring self, thereby perpetuating attachments and aversions that lead to suffering.

3. Nagarjuna and Madhyamaka

Philosophy: Agency and Agencylessness

a. Introduction to Nagarjuna and Madhyamaka

• Who is Nagarjuna?
  Nagarjuna (circa 150–250 CE) is one of the most influential Buddhist philosophers, renowned for founding the Madhyamaka (Middle Way) school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. His seminal work, the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way), systematically deconstructs inherent existence and emphasizes the concept of śūnyatā (emptiness).
• What is Madhyamaka?
  Madhyamaka is a philosophical approach that navigates between the extremes of eternalism (belief in an eternal self) and nihilism (denial of all existence). It posits that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence (svabhāva) and arise dependently (pratītya-samutpāda).

b. Core Concepts: Agency and Agencylessness in Madhyamakai. Agency in Buddhist Philosophy

• Definition:
  Agency refers to the capacity of individuals (agents) to act, make choices, and initiate actions.
• In Earlier Teachings:
  Particularly in Theravāda Buddhism, agency is discussed in terms of kāraka (doer) and karma (action).

ii. Agencylessness (Anākāra)

• Definition:
  Agencylessness refers to the absence of a permanent, independent agent behind actions and processes.
• Alignment with Śūnyatā:
  In Madhyamaka, agencylessness aligns with śūnyatā, emphasizing that actions arise dependently without an inherent doer.

c. Specific Terms Used in Madhyamaka

Sanskrit Term	Pāli Equivalent	Translation	Role in Agency/Agencylessness
Kartā	Kāraka	Agent/Doer	Represents the conventional notion of an agent, deconstructed in Madhyamaka.
Śūnyatā	Suññatā	Emptiness	Emphasizes the lack of inherent existence, including agency.
Pratītya-samutpāda	Pratītya-samutpāda	Dependent Origination	Explains the interdependent arising of actions without a permanent agent.
Anātman	Anattā	Non-Self	Denies a permanent self, supporting the concept of agencylessness.

i. Kartā (कर्ता) – The Agent/Doer

• Meaning:
  "Agent" or "doer" responsible for actions.
• Usage in Madhyamaka:
  Nagarjuna employs kartā to discuss the conventional notion of an agent but ultimately denies its inherent existence.

ii. Śūnyatā (शून्यता) – Emptiness

• Meaning:
  "Emptiness" signifies the absence of inherent existence in all phenomena.
• Role in Agencylessness:
  Śūnyatā underpins the Madhyamaka assertion that there is no permanent agent behind actions; instead, actions arise dependently.

iii. Pratītya-samutpāda (प्रत्ययसमुत्पाद) – Dependent Origination

• Meaning:
  "Dependent origination" describes the interdependent nature of all phenomena.
• Implications for Agency:
  Actions and experiences arise through a web of conditions without necessitating a permanent agent.

iv. Anātman (अनात्मन्) – Non-Self

• Meaning:
  "Non-self" denotes the absence of an enduring, unchanging self.
• Relation to Agencylessness:
  Anātman complements śūnyatā by denying a permanent self that acts as an agent.

d. Madhyamaka's Approach to Agency and Agencylessness

i. Deconstruction of Inherent Agency

• Nagarjuna's Argument:
  The notion of an inherent agent (kartā) is a conceptual construct without true existence.
• Emphasis on Dependent Processes:
  Madhyamaka emphasizes that actions are processes arising from dependent conditions, not orchestrated by a permanent "doer."

ii. Emphasis on Relational Agency

• Relational and Context-Dependent:
  Instead of positing a permanent doer, Madhyamaka views agency as relational and context-dependent.
• No Need for a Singular Agent:
  Actions result from interdependent factors, eliminating the necessity for a singular, enduring agent.

iii. The Middle Way: Avoiding Dualism

• Navigating Between Extremes:
  Madhyamaka rejects both eternalism (a permanent self as the agent) and nihilism (denial of any functional agency).
• Dependent and Empty Nature:
  It posits that while agency is conventionally acknowledged, it lacks inherent existence and is devoid of a permanent self.

e. Interpretation of Agencylessness in Madhyamaka

• No Inherent Agent:
  Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka philosophy systematically deconstructs the inherent existence of agents, asserting that what we consider as an "agent" is merely a convenient label for interdependent processes.
• Dependent Origination:
  Actions and phenomena arise dependently, without an inherent doer, aligning with the broader Buddhist teachings on anattā (non-self).

f. Practical Implications in Madhyamaka

i. Emptiness (Śūnyatā)

• Understanding Emptiness:
  Recognizing the emptiness of all phenomena, including the notion of agency, helps transcend dualistic perceptions and attachments.

ii. Middle Way Philosophy

• Avoiding Extremes:
  Madhyamaka's Middle Way approach avoids the extremes of eternalism and nihilism, promoting a balanced understanding of reality as empty yet functionally interdependent.

g. Conclusion of Madhyamaka Analysis

Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka philosophy offers a profound examination of agency and agencylessness, fundamentally challenging the notion of a permanent agent behind actions. By employing terms like kartā (agent) and emphasizing śūnyatā (emptiness) and pratītya-samutpāda (dependent origination), Madhyamaka articulates a vision of reality where actions arise dependently without an inherent doer. This perspective aligns with the broader Buddhist teachings on anattā (non-self), fostering a deeper understanding that leads to the reduction of suffering and the pursuit of nibbāna (liberation).

4. Comparative Insights and Integration

While the Kālakārāma-sutta and Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka philosophy emerge from different textual traditions (Theravāda and Mahayāna, respectively), they converge on the critical Buddhist doctrines of anattā (non-self) and pratītya-samutpāda (dependent origination). Both traditions emphasize the absence of a permanent self or agent behind actions, albeit through distinct terminologies and philosophical frameworks.

a. Shared Foundations

• Anattā (Non-Self):
  Central to both the Pāli Canon and Madhyamaka, it denies the existence of a permanent, unchanging self.
• Dependent Origination (Pratītya-samutpāda):
  Both traditions uphold the principle that all phenomena arise dependently, negating the need for an inherent agent.

b. Distinct Philosophical Approaches

• Terminological Differences:
  The Pāli Canon employs Pāli terms like kāraka and suññatā, while Madhyamaka uses Sanskrit terms like kartā and śūnyatā.
• Philosophical Depth and Scope:
  Madhyamaka delves deeper into the philosophical implications of śūnyatā, extending the concept to all phenomena, including relational aspects like agency. In contrast, the Pāli Canon maintains a practical approach, focusing on doctrinal teachings to guide practitioners toward liberation.

c. Practical Applications

Both traditions utilize these doctrines to guide practitioners in their path toward nibbāna (liberation):

• Theravāda (Pāli Canon):
  Emphasizes mindfulness and insight practices to realize anattā, thereby reducing attachments and suffering.
• Madhyamaka (Nagarjuna):
  Encourages a profound philosophical understanding of śūnyatā to transcend dualistic perceptions and realize the emptiness of all phenomena, including agency.

5. Summary of Key Terms Related to Agency and Agencylessness

a. Kālakārāma-sutta (Pāli Canon)

Pāli Term	Translation	Role in Concept of Agent/No-Agent
daṭṭhāraṁ	One who sees	Represents the perceiver; the sutta negates the conception of a permanent seer.
sotāraṁ	One who hears	Represents the hearer; the sutta negates the conception of a permanent hearer.
motāraṁ	One who feels	Represents the feeler; the sutta negates the conception of a permanent feeler.
viññātāraṁ	One who understands	Represents the understander; the sutta negates the conception of a permanent understander.

b. Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka Philosophy

Sanskrit Term	Pāli Equivalent	Translation	Role in Agency/Agencylessness
Kartā	Kāraka	Agent/Doer	Represents the conventional notion of an agent, deconstructed in Madhyamaka.
Śūnyatā	Suññatā	Emptiness	Emphasizes the lack of inherent existence, including agency.
Pratītya-samutpāda	Pratītya-samutpāda	Dependent Origination	Explains the interdependent arising of actions without a permanent agent.
Anātman	Anattā	Non-Self	Denies a permanent self, supporting the concept of agencylessness.

6. Conclusion

Understanding the Buddhist concepts of agency and agencylessness is pivotal for comprehending the path to liberation (nibbāna). Both the Kālakārāma-sutta of the Pāli Canon and Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka philosophy articulate the absence of a permanent self or agent behind actions and experiences, albeit through different terminologies and philosophical lenses.

• Kālakārāma-sutta (Theravāda/Pāli Canon):
  Utilizes specific Pāli terms—daṭṭhāraṁ, sotāraṁ, motāraṁ, and viññātāraṁ—to negate the conception of permanent agents in sensory and cognitive processes, reinforcing the anattā doctrine.
• Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka (Mahayāna/Sanskrit):
  Employs Sanskrit terms—kartā, śūnyatā, pratītya-samutpāda, and anātman—to delve deeper into the emptiness (śūnyatā) of all phenomena, including agency, thereby offering a more philosophically expansive exploration of agencylessness.

By integrating insights from both traditions, practitioners can cultivate a profound understanding of the impermanent, interdependent, and non-self nature of existence, paving the way for the reduction of suffering and the attainment of true liberation.

7. References

1. Everson, Michael. Some Remarks on Conceptualization and Transcendent Experience in the Theravāda Tradition, with Two Notes on Translation. 1988. Available at: Evertype
2. Aṅguttara-nikāya. 1888. Aṅguttara-nikāya. Vol. 2. Edited by Richard Morris. London: Henry Frowde for the Pali Text Society. 6 vols. (1885-1910).
3. Majjhima-nikāya. 1888. Majjhima-nikāya. Vol. 1. Edited by V. Trenckner. London: Henry Frowde for the Pali Text Society. 4 vols. (1888-1925).
4. Nagarjuna. Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way).
5. Rhys Davids, T. W., and William Stede, eds. 1979. The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary. London: Pali Text Society. [Reprint of 1925 ed.]
6. Ñāṇananda. 1974. The Magic of the Mind: An Exposition of the Kālakārāma-sutta. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society.

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https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2014/07/some-remarks-on-conceptualization-and_14.html

Some Remarks on Conceptualization and Transcendent Experience
Soh
Also see: No Self, No Doer, Conditionality

Thusness commented: "It is a good article... ...In the article there is no obsession or singling out clarity as independent and existing by itself. "Being" here is understood within/from the context of anatta, process, verb, no locus and without agent. His term of "being" is not to single out from the ever dynamics of appearance but rather understood from the standpoint of non-action. Would be better if there is integration of total exertion (dependent origination) into it; makes the article more complete."

http://www.evertype.com/misc/vitakka.html

[img alt="[Evertype]" height="33" width="34"]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vqsHHOvotPiFQxBDgQ_BgJFSZhTsLeBH3778AWZpbhLtCpWTS7Ez1vwS5i8kRqVk_dP5sEgBqEWtMLhicyFnV4JTZU_g6NgFHMBeMs3ztCmJE=s0-d  Some remarks on conceptualization and transcendent experience Home

Some remarks on conceptualization and transcendent experience in the Theravāda tradition, with two notes on translationMichael EversonThis paper, written originally in 1988, was an excursion into theology -- or perhaps “noetology”. It was an attempt at commentary proper, rather than at disinterested analysis. It is a basic tenet of Buddhism that suffering arises from false notions of self. Individuals perceive themselves as separate entities, autonomous yet dependent on their world, experiencing change and continuity. The uniqueness of each moment of existence is distorted by the filter of a self which categorizes and interprets those moments, judging them good or bad and fighting a useless battle to keep the good and shun the bad. The nexus for the introduction of false notions of self into experience is the point at which experience is conceptualized. Enlightened consciousness results when these false notions are no longer imposed upon the perceptual process. It cannot be said that the Buddhist description of conceptualization is without its difficulties. Indeed, a Buddhist description ofanything is much entangled in relationships: just as any event in the world depends on a nigh infinite series of causes, and engenders a nigh infinite series of effects, so does a light shone on any facet of Buddhist epistemology shine and reflect off of each other facet. It is difficult to pluck one string of the sitar without causing the sympathetic strings into resonance as well. Still, conceptualization, and its relation to conditioned and enlightened consciousness, is central to Buddhism -- both to its taxonomy of the problem of existence and to its soteriology. An investigation of that relation will suggest a reëvaluation of notions of action and being. Buddhism might be described as a kind of cure to the disease of dukkha, of ‘suffering’ or ‘unsatisfactoriness’. Existence (bhava) is an ongoing process of becoming, manifest in its constituents (aṅga). The natural (or ideal) condition for the mind is a calm flow (bhavaṅga-sota), through which (around which, in which) the constituents of becoming interact harmoniously in an “experiential stream” of what is as it is. Nyanatiloka remarks that bhavṣaṅga-sota is explained in the Abhidhamma commentaries as the foundation or condition (kaṁraṇa) of existence (bhava), as the sine qua non of life, having the nature of a process, lit. a flux or stream (sota). [Nyanatiloka 1980:38] Conceptualization impedes the harmonious flow of bhavaṅga-sota. It is a process for ordering stimuli to consciousness, convenient for interaction with the world, but, apparently, not essential once the world has been investigated. Bondage to concepts is considered to be an inevitable consequence of the process of conceptualization because of the fiction of the self, and that bondage to concepts leads to expectation and denial, the causes of dukkha. A review of the process leading up to conceptualization will be helpful here. The immediate precursors to conceptualization have been classified as a purely impersonal, causal process. In the Madhupiṇḍika-sutta, the venerable Kaccaṁna sums up his understanding of the Buddha’s teaching: Manañ-c’ āvuso paṭicca dhamme ca uppajjati manoviññāṇaṁ, tiṇṇaṁ saṅgati phasso, phassapaccayā vedanā, yaṁ vedeti taṁ sañjānāti, yaṁ sañjānāti taṁ vitakketi, yaṁ vitakketi taṁ papañceti, yaṁ papañceti tatonidānaṁ purisaṁ papañcasaññāsaṅkhā samu-dācaranti atītānāgatapaccuppanesu manoviññeyyesu dhammesu. [Majjhima-nikāya 18 (Madhupiṇḍika-sutta) (1888: I:112)] ‘And, brothers, the mind and mental objects are the cause for the arising of mental consciousness. The meeting of the three is sense contact; feelings are the result of that contact; what one feels one perceives; what one perceives one reasons about; what one reasons about one differentiates; what one differentiates is the origin of the sign of perceptions and obstructions which assail a man with regard to mental objects to be comprehended by the mind, in the past, the future, and the present.’ Interaction between one of the sense-bases (the five senses and the mind) and an object gives rise to the attentive faculty of consciousness, that is, of awareness of objects. The meeting of the three is contact (phassa); from this contact arises sensation or feeling (vedanā). The living being with functioning sense organs must interact with objects, become conscious of them through contact, and feel or sense them. When the ego intrudes and makes the connection “I experience this object”, the process loses its impersonality, and becomes first a kind of deliberate and conscious, then a subconscious and automatic activity, conditioned by karmic predisposition. Kaccāna’s description points to this shift from impersonal to personal in his movement from a simple ablative construction to the inflected personal verb: “Phassapaccayā vedanā, yaṁ vedeti taṁ sañjānāti” ‘From the condition of contact [arises] feeling; what one feels, one perceives’. Suddenly it is an individual person (puggala) who experiences sensation; and when he does, he perceives, knows, or recognizes (compare sañjānāti with Latin cōgnōscit). A person has arisen here out of nonperson: attā out ofanattā. That ego, once established with its faculties of memory and volition, will evaluate its sensations in terms of itself; it will judge, and desire. That ego is a confluence of material and mental processes, and, apart from them, has no real existence. Conceptualization arises from perception. “Yaṁ sañjānāti taṁ vitakketi” ‘What one perceives, one reflects on’. This is indicative of the insidious nature of the ego to take the original subjective experience and “objectivize” it. Though each object, contact, and sensation be unique, the ego takes them only in relation to itself and its past, present, and future experience and needs. The concepts (vitakkā) which arise through perception tend toward proliferation, for the ego becomes attached to them. Conceptions become preconceptions, and the whole scheme is filled with error. The Buddha was concerned about the detrimental nature of attachment to speculative views of existence and of the Transcendent. The problem is not whether or not the views themselves have validity, for it is clear that they do, depending on, and with respect to, the particular point of view. “The fact that existence is a relative concept is often overlooked by the worldling.” [Ñāṇananda 1974:20] It is axiomatic that the frog knows what the tadpole cannot; but the question here is whether or not the tadpole’s point of view is wise, and the Buddhist approach would be to say that no point of view is worthwhile unless it is a view which encompasses reality as it is. That view is impersonal. From the Sutta-nipāta: “Mūlaṁ papañcasaṁkhāyā” ti Bhagavā “‘mantā asmī ’ti sabbam uparundhe, yā kāci taṇhā ajjhattaṁ, tāsaṁ vinayā sadā sato sikkhe.” [916 (1913:179)] ‘“He should”, said the Lord, “break up the root of these signs of obstruction,[1] the notion ‘I am the thinker’. Whatever his subjective desires, he trains himself to give them up, always mindful in his discipline.”’ It should be noted that both E. M. Hare [Sutta-nipāta 1944:134] and Hammalava Saddhatissa [Sutta-nipāta 1985:107] have mistranslated mantā asmi as ‘all the thoughts “I am”’ and ‘all thought of “I am”’ respectively. A better reading would have mantā <mantar ‘thinker’ (< Sanskrit *mantṛ) and take the deictic ’ti as setting off the phrase mantā asmi as translated above. (Cf. Neumann’s translation “Ich bin’s, der denkt”, ‘I am the one who thinks’. [Sutta-nipāta 1911:299]) The Commentary to the Sutta-nipāta, however, explains this phrase by mantāya: ...tassā [papañcāya] avijjādayo kilesā mūlaṁ, taṁ papañcasaṁkhāya mūlaṁ ‘asmī’ ti pavattamānañ ca sabbaṁ mantāyauparundhe, yā kāci ajjhattaṁ taṇhā uppajjeyyuṁ, tāsam vinayāya sadā sato sikkhe upaṭṭhitasati hutvā sikkheyyā ti. [Paramatthajotikā II.iv.14 (1917:II:562)] {My emphasis.} ‘...from this [obstruction] comes the root, the impurities which begin with ignorance: this root of the signs of obstruction is ‘I am’, which results in pride, and he should break up all [this] by wisdom, whatever the subjective desires that should arise, for/of these he trains himself to give up, ever mindful, he should discipline himself, being one whose attention is firm.’ Here the dative mantāya would also prove difficult for Hare and Saddhatissa’s readings, where we should expect *manā asmi (formanāya asmi) ‘of the thought “I am”, since we have mano ‘thought’ opposed to mantā ‘wisdom’, as I think the Commentary has it, or even manta (< Sanskrit mantra) ‘charm, doctrine, Holy Scripture’. [Cf. Childers 1875:238-39, and Rhys Davids & Stede 1979:520-22] In any case, I find the present suggested reading more in keeping with the spirit and the sense of the intent of the text, and with the goals of the tradition generally.[2] It is the conceptual attachment of agent to action (yaṁ maññati taṁ mantar), resulting from the initial separation of agent from action, which the Buddha attacks in the Kālakārāma-sutta, not whether or not there exists a thinker at all. It is true that identification with (or even the ‘real’ existence of) the personal ego is denied elsewhere by the Buddha: ...sutavato ariyasāvakassa avijjā pahīyati vijjā uppajjati. Tassa avijjāvirāgā vijjuppādā “Asmī” ti pi ’ssa na hoti, “Ayam aham asmī” ti pi ’ssa na hoti, “Bhavissanti, na bhavissanti, rūpī, arūpī, saññī, asaññī, n’eva saññī nāsaññī bhavissan”  ti pi ’ssa na hoti. [Saṁyutta-nikāya XXII.47.6-7 (Atthadīpa-vagga) (1890:III:46-47)] {My punctuation.} ‘...for the noble learned disciple, ignorance is abandoned and knowledge arises. From this cleansing of ignorance and coming into existence of knowledge, his “I am” is no more, his “This I exists” is no more, his “I will be, I will not be, I will have form, I will not have form, I will be conscious, I will be unconscious, I will be neither conscious nor unconscious” is no more.’ Yet there is no suggestion that a universal (albeit Vedāntist) ontological interpretation of aham asmi ‘I am’ would be rejected, though such a rejection could be inferred, I think, in the readings of Hare and Saddhatissa. J. G. Jennings has remarked that “[t]he an-attadoctrine so strongly emphasized by [Gotama] declares the transience of individuality, yet insists upon an ultimate or fundamental unity”. [1974:571] While the Pāli commentarial tradition would doubtless reject a Vedāntist claim of an essential unity to Reality, I see no reason to think that a radically non-attached, Liberated notion of “I am” is instrinsically inconsistent with Buddhist teachings. Pure being is neither conceived nor attached, It just Is, and if there is for “me” only “being”, then, it seems, “I am”.[3] The conceptual attachment of agent to action results from an initial (erroneous) separation of agent from action. The source of the delusion standing in the way of Liberation (papañcasaṁkhā) is the personal notion “I am a thinker” (mantā asmi). Mindfulness is the method by which one learns the process of letting go (vinaya); that process begins with the elimination of attachment to the things perceived (pleasure, pain, desire, dislike) and culminates in the elimination of attachment to the identification with the notion that there is in fact a perceiver apart from the perception. This process of detachment from ego is admittedly difficult to describe, and it may be fruitless to attempt to do so. What may be more fruitful is to investigate the effects precipitated by that process. By and large, they derive from a fundamental revision of the process leading up to conceptualization, and from the removal of the causes leading to conceptual proliferation and egoistic “ownership” of experience. The Sutta-nipātadescribes the one who has managed this: “Sa sabbadhammesu visenibhūto, yaṁ kiñci diṭṭhaṁ va sutaṁ mutaṁ vā, sa pannabhāro muni vippayutto na kappiyo nūparato na patthiyo” ti Bhagavā ti.  [914 (1913:178)] ‘“He who has discarded all theories about anything seen or heard or conceived is a monk who is enlightened and liberated; there is no rule, no abstention, no desire for himself”, said the Lord.’ He is ‘disarmed’ (visenibhūta) with respect to all views based on what has been seen, heard, or conceived; he is liberated, has laid down his burden (pannabhāro, having, perhaps, “enlightened” his load!), and is without desire. There is no self to be concerned for. What is the character of the impersonal viewpoint? In the Kālakārāma-sutta, transcendent experience is characterized quite comprehensively: Iti kho bhikkhave Tathāgato daṭṭhā [diṭṭhā  in Burmese MSS] daṭṭhabbaṁ diṭṭhaṁ na maññati adiṭṭhaṁ na maññati daṭṭhabbaṁ na maññati daṭṭhāraṁ na maññati, sutvā sotabbaṁ sutaṁ na maññati asutaṁ na maññati sotabbaṁ na maññati sotāraṁ na maññati, mutvā motabbaṁ mutam [sic] na maññati amutaṁ na maññati mottabaṁ [sic] na maññati motāraṁ na maññati, viññātvā viññātabbaṁ viññātaṁ na maññati aviññātaṁ na maññati viññātabbaṁ na maññati viññātāraṁ na maññati. [Aṅguttara-nikāya 4:24 (Kālakārāma-sutta) (1888: II:25)] ‘Thus, O monks, the Tathāgata, having seen whatever is to be seen, does not conceive of what is seen; he does not conceive of what has not been seen; he does not conceive of that which must yet be seen; he does not conceive of anyone who sees. Having heard whatever is to be heard, he does not conceive of what is heard; he does not conceive of what has not been heard; he does not conceive of that which must yet be heard; he does not conceive of anyone who hears. Having felt whatever is to be felt, he does not conceive of what is felt; he does not conceive of what has not been felt; he does not conceive of that which must yet be felt; he does not conceive of anyone who feels. Having understood whatever is to be understood, he does not conceive of what is understood; he does not conceive of what has not been understood; he does not conceive of that which must yet be understood; he does not conceive of anyone who understands.’ Bhikkhu Ñāṇananda’s translation of this passage proves problematic. [1974:9-11] For the sake of brevity and simplicity, I will make a neutral reconstruction of this passage using just the verb karoti ‘to do’ as an example, since it is first the construction which is in question. “Iti kho bhikkhave katvā kātabbaṁ kataṁ na maññati akataṁ na maññati kātabbaṁ na maññati kattaraṁ na maññati.”Ñāṇananda would translate this so: “A Tathāgata does not conceive of a thing to be done as apart from doing; he does not conceive of ‘an undone’; he does not conceive of a ‘thing-worth-doing’, he does not conceive about a doer.” This “thing to be done apart from doing” is offered by Ñāṇananda as an alternative to the sense given in Buddhaghosa’s Commentary to the Aṅguttara-nikāya, which, according to Ñāṇananda, takes the words ‘[katvā kātabbaṁ]’ in the text to mean ‘having [done], should be [done]’, and explains the following words ‘[kataṁ] na maññati’ as a separate phrase meaning that the Tathāgata does not entertain any cravings, conceits, or views, thinking: ‘I am [doing] that which has been [done] by the people’. It applies the same mode of explanation throughout. [1974:10 n.1] (Buddhaghosa’s original reads Daṭṭhā daṭṭhabban  ti disvā daṭṭhabbaṁ. Diṭṭhaṁ na maññatī ti taṁ diṭṭhaṁ rūpāyatanaṁ ahaṁ mahājanena diṭṭham eva passāmī ti taṇhāmānadiṭṭhīhi na maññati. [IV.iii.4 (1936: III:39)] ‘Daṭṭhā daṭṭhabbaṁ means “having seen what is to be seen”. Diṭṭhaṁ na maññati means “I see the thing seen which is even seen by the people”; one does not conceive {of it} by desires or conceits or opinions’ [i.e., he does not conceptualize about it].) Ñāṇananda prefers to treat the formally ambiguous daṭṭhā/diṭṭhā as ablative of the past participle (so katā from kata) “giving the sense: ‘as apart from [doing]’; and, ‘[kātabbaṁ kataṁ]’ taken together, would mean ‘a [do-able] thing’.” He suggests that the absolutive forms sutvā, mutvā, and viññātvā are “probably a re-correction following the commentarial explanation”, and that the ablatives suttā, mutā, and viññātā evince the most correct reading. [Ñāṇananda 1974:10 n.1] I am not certain that his revision is necessary. F. L. Woodward’s translation seems to follow Buddhaghosa with respect to the verbs suṇāti, maññati, and vijānāti: “[Doing] what is to be [done], he has no conceit of what has been [done] or not [done] or is to be [done], he has no conceit of the [doer]”; but he readsdaṭṭhā as the nomen agentis: “[A] Tathāgata is a seer of what is seen, but he has no conceit of what is seen”. [1933:27] Following Buddhaghosa, I would suggest that “Tathāgato katvā kātabbaṁ kataṁ na maññati” etc. should read ‘Having done what is to be done, the Tathāgata does not conceive of what is done; he does not conceive of the undone; he does not conceive of that which must yet be done; he does not conceive of a doer’. ‘Conceive’ (maññati) here means ‘to make a concept of’. Important too is the translation here of kātabbaṁ. There is really no reason to suggest that Buddhaghosa would have the gerundive be taken in an obligatory sense ‘should be done’, or the valued (read judged!) sense of ‘a thing-worth-doing’, as Ñāṇananda has taken it. [1974:10-11, 10 n.1] The context does not require that the form be understood as a participium necessitatis, but only as a future passive participle. According to Manfred Mayrhofer, the meaning of the future passive participle “ist die des ‘in Zukunft getan werden müssenden’”, ‘is that of “that which must yet be done”’. [1951:174] Ñāṇananda’s obligatory “should” is unnecessary, for the deed which “is to be done” comes about through the exigencies of causality. That the Tathāgata is beyond causality is not taken into consideration by the forms of Pāli grammar, but he is nonetheless certainly free from obligation and evaluation. The deeds of most individuals are causally effected, and the point of the text is that once a deed is done, the Tathāgata is no longer concerned with it, or with the deed undone, or the deed yet to do, or the doer. He is concerned only with the doing, and only in the moment in which it is done. It is fairly easy to see that Ñāṇananda’s “thing to be done as apart from doing” is an attempt at just such an understanding, though I think the textual revision of absolutive to ablative is unnecessary. What is there, then? Just seeing, hearing, feeling, or understanding. There is no agent, no patient, no recipient, no locus: only the verb, the process, or rather, the proceeding. To be enlightened is not to be or to do any thing: it is only being, or doing. This is admittedly circular, and it is proverbial to any student of mysticism--and certainly recognized by the Buddhist tradition itself--that little can besaid which can give any real sense of what goes on in transformed consciousness. Buddhism offers nonetheless its own kind of description, always tending toward the practical, toward the causes which will bring about the Liberation itself: that is, toward the empiric. The path to Liberation is twofold: moving away from deluded action, and moving toward wise action. It is all the more significant for its corollary that the entire process [of cause and effect] could be made to cease progressively by applying the proper means. Negatively put, the spiritual endeavor to end all suffering, is a process of ‘starving’ the conditions of their respective ‘nutriments’ (āhārā), as indicated by the latter half of the formula of Dependent Arising. However, there are enough instances in the Pāli Canon to show that it is quite legitimate to conceive this receding process too, positively as a progress in terms of wholesome mental states. [Ñāṇananda 1974:46-47] The eradication of conceptualization and the cultivation of a dispassionate, impersonal observation is the key to Liberation. “Ever-becoming and ever-ceasing-to-be are endless action.... Ceaseless action is the Universe.” [Merrell-Wolff 1973:247] Since the being embodied must be a part of such action, his hope must be to loose himself from the bounds of causal action: he must seek Liberation. Perhaps it is not so ironic that in order to do so, he must realize that there is nothing but action; for then he is, so says the Buddha, free.Notes[1] I prefer here the reading of papañca as ‘obstruction’ or ‘hinderance’ to the commonly met with ‘obsession’. Here I follow Rhys Davies’ suggestion that papañca is at least semantically related to *papadya ‘what is in front of the feet’, where he compares Latinimpedimentum (though Sanskrit prapadya should give Pāli papajja). [Rhys Davies 1979:412] An obsession is an obstruction, but not all obstructions are obsessions. Cf. also above, in the passage taken from the Madhupiṇḍika-sutta, where papañceti is taken in its sense as derived from Sanskrit prapañcayati ‘to describe at length’, from prapañca ‘diversity’. Back to text. [2] Robert Buswell has pointed out to me that Bhikkhu Ñāṇananda has arrived at the same conclusion. [Ñāṇananda 1971:31] Back to text. [3] Without really trying to second-guess the Tathāgata, the argument here is simply that he might recognize a distinction in the semantics of aham asmi with respect to his own description of the Enlightenment, and that of the Vedāntists. (He would almost certainly reject the use of such metaphor for paedagogical purposes, however.) Jennings is right to point out that the Vedāntist schools and their concepts of, for example, māyā, contributed to the Buddha’s own teachings. [Jennings 1974:cix-cx] Certainly, it can be said that useful comparison can be made between the Buddhist and Vedāntist traditions if such semantic differences are reconciled. Fundamental unities are realized in the Buddhist tradition at least insofar as the alienation of attāand anattā are concerned (Cf. the remarks on bhavaṅga-sota above.). Back to text.ReferencesAṅguttara-nikāya. 1888. Aṅguttara-nikāya. Vol. 2. Edited by Richard Morris. London: Henry Frowde for the Pali Text Society. 6 vols. (1885-1910). Aṅguttara-nikāya. 1933. The book of the Gradual Sayings. Vol. 2: The book of the Fours. Translated by F.L. Woodward. London: Oxford University Press for the Pali Text Society. Buddhaghosa. 1936. Manorathapūraṇī: commentary on the Aṅguttara-nikāya. Vol. 3. Edited by Hermann Kopp. London: Oxford University Press for the Pali Text Society. 5 vols. (1924-1956). Childers, Robert Cæsar. 1875. A dictionary of the Pali language. London: Trübner & Co. Jennings, J. G. 1974. The Vedāntic Buddhism of the Buddha: a collection of historical texts translated [and edited] from the original Pāli. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. [Reprint of 1947 ed.] Majjhima-nikāya.. 1888. Majjhima-nikāya. Vol. 1. Edited by V. Trenckner. London: Henry Frowde for the Pali Text Society. 4 vols. (1888-1925). Mayrhofer, Manfred. 1951. Handbuch des Pāli, mit Texten und Glossar: eine Einführung in das sprachwissenschaftliche Studium des Mittelindischen. 1. Teil: Grammatik. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag. Merrell-Wolff, Franklin. 1973 The philosophy of consciousness-without-an-object: reflections on the nature of transcendental consciousness. New York: Julian Press. Ñāṇananda. 1971. Concept and reality in early Buddhist thought. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. Ñāṇananda. 1974. The magic of the mind: an exposition of the Kālakārāma-sutta. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. Nyanatiloka. 1980. Buddhist dictionary: manual of Buddhist terms and doctrines. 4th edition, revised by Nyanaponika. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. Paramatthajotikā. 1917. Sutta-nipāta commentary: being Paramatthajotikā II. Vol. 2. Edited by Helmer Smith. London: Humphrey Milford for the Pali Text Society. 3 vols. (1916-1917). Rhys Davies, T. W., and William Stede, eds. 1979. The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English dictionary. London: Pali Text Society. [Reprint of 1925 ed.] Saṁyutta-nikāya. 1890. Saṁyutta-nikāya. Edited by Leon Feer. London: Henry Frowde for the Pali Text Society. 3 vols. (1888-1890). Sutta-nipāta. 1911. Die Reden Gotamo Buddhos aus der Sammlung der Bruchstücke Suttanipāto des Pāli-Kanons. Translated by Karl Eugen Neumann. München: R. Piper & Co. Sutta-nipāta. 1913. Sutta-nipāta. Edited by Dines Andersen and Helmer Smith. London: Henry Frowde for the Pali Text Society. Sutta-nipāta. 1944. Woven cadences of early Buddhists. Translated by E. M. Hare. London: Humphrey Milford for the Pali Text Society. Sutta-nipāta. 1985. The Sutta-nipāta. Translated by Hammalava Saddhatissa. London: Curzon Press.

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Great Resource of Buddha's Teachings
Soh
Also see:

The Meaning of Nirvana
The Deathless in Buddhadharma?
What is Nirvana?



Update: The site has been taken down. But a copy of it is available on Box.com or Scribd here: https://app.box.com/s/nxby5606lbaei9oudiz6xsyrdasacqph / https://www.scribd.com/document/274168728/Measureless-Mind


When I discovered the site Measureless Mind, I thought, wow, what a great resource of Buddha's teachings! It is a very valuable resource for all practitioners. Very well formatted, well presented, all-rounded, well commented resource of Buddha's original teachings in the Pali canon by Geoff (online nick: jnana in dharmawheel, or nana in dhammawheel). Like Loppon Namdrol/Malcolm who I often quoted from, Geoff (whose practice background is more of Mahamudra and Theravada) is also a very knowledgeable Buddhist scholar-practitioner and I often read his posts with much interest.

I sent Thusness two of the many articles (I spent time to read the entire website from beginning to end and highly recommend others to do so) and Thusness also commented, "Both the articles are very well written. Put in the blog." and "that site is a great resource."

http://measurelessmind.ca/anattasanna.html
The Recognition of Selflessness (Anattasaññā)

Look at the world and see its emptiness Mogharāja, always mindful,
Eliminating the view of self, one goes beyond death.
One who views the world this way is not seen by the king of death.

— Sutta Nipāta 5.15, Mogharājamāṇavapucchā

The contemplation of selflessness is given in AN 10.60 Girimānanda Sutta:

Now what, Ānanda, is the recognition of selflessness? Here, Ānanda, a monk, gone to the wilderness, to the root of a tree, or to an empty place, discriminates thus: ‘The eye is not-self, forms are not-self; the ear is not-self, sounds are not-self; the nose is not-self, odors are not-self; the tongue is not-self, flavors are not-self; the body is not-self, tactual objects are not-self; the mind is not-self, phenomena are not-self.’ Thus he abides contemplating selflessness with regard to the six internal and external sensory spheres. This, Ānanda, is called the recognition of selflessness.

In practice, we need to be able to recognize this absence of self in our immediate experience: When seeing, there is the coming together of visible form, the eye, and visual consciousness. When hearing, there is the coming together of sound, the ear, and auditory consciousness. When touching, there is the coming together of tactual sensation, the body, and tactile consciousness. When thinking, there is the thought, the mind, and mental consciousness. These processes arise simply through ‘contact.’ When a sense faculty and a sensory object make contact, the corresponding sensory consciousness arises. This entire process occurs through specific conditionality (idappaccayatā). There is no independent, fully autonomous agent or self controlling any of this.
An independent, autonomous self would, by definition, be:

1. permanent
2. satisfactory
3. not prone to dis-ease
4. fully self-determining (be in complete autonomous control of itself)

Thus, what is being negated is a permanent, satisfactory self which is not prone to old age, sickness, and death. As SN 22.59 Pañcavaggiya Sutta (abridged) states:

Monks, form, feeling, recognition, fabrications, and consciousness are not-self. Were form, feeling, recognition, fabrications, or consciousness self, then this form, feeling, recognition, fabrications, and consciousness would not lead to dis-ease.

This criterion of dis-ease is the context for the following statement that:

None can have it of form, feeling, recognition, fabrications, or consciousness: ‘Let my form, feeling, recognition, fabrications, or consciousness be thus, let my form, feeling, recognition, fabrications, or consciousness be not thus.’

By engaging in sustained, dedicated contemplation we find only impermanent processes, conditionally arisen, and not fully self-determining. First we clearly see that all conditioned phenomena of body and mind are impermanent. Next we come to see that whatever is impermanent is unsatisfactory in that it can provide no lasting happiness. Then we realize that all impermanent, unsatisfactory phenomena of body and mind are not-self — they can’t be the basis for a self, which by definition would be permanent and (one would hope) satisfactory. This relationship between the recognition of impermanence, the recognition of unsatisfactoriness, and the recognition of selflessness is illustrated in the following diagram.

With the recognition of selflessness there is an emptying out of both the “subject” and “object” aspects of experience. We come to understand that “I-making” and “mine-making” with regard to the mind and body as well as all external representations is deluded. When the recognition of selflessness is fully developed there is no longer any reification of substantial referents to be experienced in relation to subjective grasping. Whatever is seen is merely the seen (diṭṭhamatta). Whatever is heard or sensed is merely the heard (sutamatta) and merely the sensed (mutamatta). Whatever is known is merely the known (viññātamatta). This is explained in Ud 1.10 Bāhiya Sutta:

‘The seen will be merely the seen, the heard will be merely the heard, the sensed will be merely the sensed, the known will be merely the known.’ This is how you should train, Bāhiya.

When, Bāhiya, for you the seen will be merely the seen, the heard will be merely the heard, the sensed will be merely the sensed, the known will be merely the known, then Bāhiya, you will not be that. When, Bāhiya, you are not that, then Bāhiya, you will not be there. When, Bāhiya, you are not there, then Bāhiya, you will be neither here nor beyond nor between-the-two. Just this is the end of unsatisfactoriness.

When there is no self to be found one’s experience becomes very simple, direct, and uncluttered. When seeing, there is the coming together of visible form, the eye, and visual consciousness, that’s all. There is no separate “seer.” The seer is entirely dependent upon the seen. There can be no seer independent of the seen. There is no separate, independent subject or self.
This is also the case for the sensory object. The “seen” is entirely dependent upon the eye faculty and visual consciousness. There can be no object seen independent of the eye faculty and cognition. This is the case for all possible sensory objects. There is no separate, independent sensory object.
The same holds true for sensory consciousness as well. “Seeing” is entirely dependent upon the eye and visible form. There can be no seeing independent of the eye and cognition. This is the case for all possible sensory cognitions. There is no separate, independent sensory consciousness.
It’s important to understand this experientially. Let’s take the straightforward empirical experience of you looking at this screen right now as an example. Conventionally speaking, you could describe the experience as “I see the computer screen.” Another way of describing this is that there’s a “seer” who “sees” the “seen.” But look at the screen: are there really three independent and separate parts to your experience? Or are “seer,” “sees,” and “seen,” just three conceptual labels applied to this experience in which the three parts are entirely interdependent?
The “seer,” “seen,” and “seeing” are all empty and insubstantial. The eye faculty, visible form, and visual consciousness are all interdependent aspects of the same experience. You can’t peel one away and still have a sensory experience — there is no separation. AN 4.24 Kāḷakārāma Sutta:

Thus, monks, the Tathāgata does not conceive an [object] seen when seeing what is to be seen. He does not conceive an unseen. He does not conceive a to-be-seen. He does not conceive a seer.

He does not conceive an [object] heard when hearing what is to be heard. He does not conceive an unheard. He does not conceive a to-be-heard. He does not conceive a hearer.

He does not conceive an [object] sensed when sensing what is to be sensed. He does not conceive an unsensed. He does not conceive a to-be-sensed. He does not conceive a senser.

He does not conceive an [object] known when knowing what is to be known. He does not conceive an unknown. He does not conceive a to-be-known. He does not conceive a knower.

Sensory consciousness can’t be isolated as separate and independent. Nor can any of these other interdependent phenomena. Even the designations that we apply to these various phenomena are entirely conventional, dependent designations. But this doesn’t mean that we should now interpret our experience as being some sort of cosmic oneness or unity consciousness or whatever one may want to call it. That's just another empty, dependent label isn’t it? The whole point of this analysis is to see the emptiness of all referents, and thereby stop constructing and defining a “self.”
The purpose of correctly engaging in the contemplation of selflessness is stated in AN 7.49 Dutiyasaññā Sutta:

‘The recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, monks, when developed and cultivated, is of great fruit and benefit; it merges with the death-free, has the death-free as its end.’ Thus it was said. In reference to what was it said?

Monks, when a monk’s mind frequently remains acquainted with the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, his mind is rid of “I-making” and “mine-making” with regard to this conscious body and externally with regard to all representations, and has transcended conceit, is at peace, and is well liberated.

If, monks, when a monk’s mind frequently remains acquainted with the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, his mind is not rid of “I-making” and “mine-making” with regard to this conscious body and externally with regard to all representations, and has not transcended conceit, is not at peace, and is not well liberated, then he should know, ‘I have not developed the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, there is no stepwise distinction in me, I have not obtained the strength of development.’ In that way he is fully aware there. But if, monks, when a monk’s mind frequently remains acquainted with the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, his mind is rid of “I-making” and “mine-making” with regard to this conscious body and externally with regard to all representations, and has transcended conceit, is at peace, and is well liberated, then he should know, ‘I have developed the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, there is stepwise distinction in me, I have obtained the strength of development.’ In that way he is fully aware there.

‘The recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, monks, when developed and cultivated, is of great fruit and benefit; it merges with the death-free, has the death-free as its end.’ Thus it was said. And in reference to this it was said.

Here we get to the heart of the matter, which is one of the most subtle aspects of the Buddhadhamma. Simply stated: when ignorance ceases, belief in self simultaneously ceases. And when there is no self to be found, then there is no self to die or take birth. This right here is “death-free.” And it is precisely this that the Buddha is declaring when he says to Mogharāja:

Look at the world and see its emptiness Mogharāja, always mindful,
Eliminating the view of self, one goes beyond death.
One who views the world this way is not seen by the king of death.

When one completely abandons the underlying tendencies which give rise to mistaken apprehensions of a self — any and all notions of “I am” — then there is no self to die. This stilling of the “currents of conceiving” over one’s imagined self, and the resulting peace that is empty of birth, aging, and death, is straightforwardly presented in MN 140 Dhātuvibhaṅga Sutta:

‘He has been stilled where the currents of conceiving do not flow. And when the currents of conceiving do not flow, he is said to be a sage at peace.’ Thus was it said. With reference to what was it said?

Monk, “I am” is a conceiving. “I am this” is a conceiving. “I shall be” is a conceiving. “I shall not be” ... “I shall be possessed of form” ... “I shall be formless” ... “I shall be percipient” ... “I shall be non-percipient” ... “I shall be neither-percipient-nor-non-percipient” is a conceiving. Conceiving is a disease, conceiving is a cancer, conceiving is an arrow. By going beyond all conceiving, monk, he is said to be a sage at peace.

Furthermore, a sage at peace is not born, does not age, does not die. He is unagitated, and is free from longing. He has nothing whereby he would be born. Not being born, how could he age? Not aging, how could he die? Not dying, how could he be agitated? Not being agitated, for what will he long?

So it was in reference to this that it was said, ‘He has been stilled where the currents of conceiving do not flow. And when the currents of conceiving do not flow, he is said to be a sage at peace.’

Truly, “a sage at peace is not born, does not age, does not die.” In this way, when ignorance ceases, the entire complex of conditioned arising bound up with dissatisfaction also ceases. When all traces of “I-making” and “mine-making” are abandoned through the fully integrated threefold training of ethical conduct, meditation, and discernment, just this is dispassion (virāga). Just this is cessation (nirodha). Just this is extinguishment (nibbāna). Just this is without outflows (anāsava). Just this is not-born (ajāta), not-become (abhūta), not-made (akata), not-fabricated (asaṅkhata), endless (ananta), indestructible (apalokita), and yes, death-free (amata). It is freedom (mutti).

The Recognition of Selflessness and the Seven Factors of Awakening (Satta Bojjhaṅgā)Sustained, dedicated practice of the recognition of selflessness will gradually create the optimal conditions for the arising of all seven factors of awakening. SN 46.73 Anatta Sutta (abridged):

Here monks, a monk develops the awakening factor of mindfulness accompanied by the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of dhamma-investigation accompanied by the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of energy accompanied by the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of joy accompanied by the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of tranquility accompanied by the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of meditative composure accompanied by the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of equanimity accompanied by the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go.

It is in this way that the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory is developed and cultivated so that it is of great fruit and benefit. It is in this way that the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory is developed and cultivated so that one of two fruits is to be expected: either final gnosis in this very life or, if there is a residue of clinging, the state of nonreturning. It is in this way that the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory is developed and cultivated so that it leads to great good. It is in this way that the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory is developed and cultivated so that it leads to great security from bondage. It is in this way that the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory is developed and cultivated so that it leads to a great sense of urgency. It is in this way that the recognition of selflessness in what is unsatisfactory is developed and cultivated so that it leads to dwelling in great comfort.

http://measurelessmind.ca/nirodhasanna.html

The Recognition of Cessation (Nirodhasaññā)

For whom there is neither a far shore,
Nor a near shore, nor both,
Who is free from distress, without ties,
Him I call a brāhmaṇa.

— Dhammapada 385

When the recognition of dispassion is fully developed and realized, and with no self to be found, nothing to be identified with, one realizes the gnosis and vision of liberation (vimuttiñāṇadassana). This is non-referential inner peace (ajjhattasanti). This is the full recognition of cessation. AN 10.60 Girimānanda Sutta:

Now what, Ānanda, is the recognition of cessation? Here, Ānanda, a monk, gone to the wilderness, to the root of a tree, or to an empty place, discriminates thus: ‘This is peace, this is excellent, that is: the calming of all fabrications, the release of all acquisitions, the elimination of craving, cessation, nibbāna.’ This, Ānanda, is called the recognition of cessation.

This is the complete absence of agitation (calita natthi). Ud 8.4 Nibbāna Sutta:

There being no agitation, there is tranquility. There being tranquility, there is no inclination. There being no inclination, there is no coming or going. There being no coming or going, there is no passing away or arising. There being no passing away or arising, there is neither a here nor a beyond nor a between-the-two. Just this is the end of unsatisfactoriness.

This is the calming of all specific fabrication and volitional intention. MN 140 Dhātuvibhaṅga Sutta:

One does not form any specific fabrication or volitional intention towards either existence or non-existence. Not forming any specific fabrication or volitional intention towards either existence or non-existence, he does not cling to anything in this world. Not clinging, he is not excited. Unexcited, he personally attains complete nibbāna. He discerns that, ‘Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, done is what had to be done, there is nothing further here.’

This is the freedom of absence which is revealed through the complete recognition of selflessness. Ud 1.10 Bāhiya Sutta:

‘The seen will be merely the seen, the heard will be merely the heard, the sensed will be merely the sensed, the known will be merely the known.’ This is how you should train, Bāhiya.

When, Bāhiya, for you the seen will be merely the seen, the heard will be merely the heard, the sensed will be merely the sensed, the known will be merely the known, then Bāhiya, you will not be that. When, Bāhiya, you are not that, then Bāhiya, you will not be there. When, Bāhiya, you are not there, then Bāhiya, you will be neither here nor beyond nor between-the-two. Just this is the end of unsatisfactoriness.

This is noble liberation which is the elimination of craving and clinging. MN 106 Āneñjasappāya Sutta:

This is death-free, namely, the liberation of mind through not clinging.

This is the effortless clarity of consciousness which is non-abiding and not established (appatiṭṭha viññāṇa). SN 22.53 Upaya Sutta:

When that consciousness is not established, not increasing, not concocting, it is liberated. Being liberated, it is steady. Being steady, it is content. Being content, he is not excited. Unexcited, he personally attains complete nibbāna. He discerns that, ‘Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, done is what had to be done, there is nothing further here.’

There is no more seeking of any kind. There is no more personal agenda. There is no identifying with any phenomena or turning anything into a fixed reference point. There is no “here” nor “beyond” nor “between-the-two.”
The awakened mind is measureless (appamāṇacetasa), free from any sort of measuring (pamāṇa). In evocative terms, an awakened one is deep (gambhīra), boundless (appameyya), and fathomless (duppariyogāḷha). Utterly free from any reference to specifically fabricated consciousness (viññāṇasaṅkhayavimutta). “Gone” (atthaṅgata), the measureless mind is untraceable (ananuvejja) even here and now. It doesn’t abide in the head, or in the body, or anywhere else for that matter. It doesn’t have size or shape. It’s not an object or a subject.
Just as the sky is formless and non-illustrative, the measureless mind is non-illustrative and non-indicative (anidassana). This effortless clarity is unmediated by any specific fabrication or volitional intention. It is unaffected knowing: The seen is merely the seen (diṭṭhamatta). The heard is merely the heard (sutamatta). The sensed is merely the sensed (mutamatta). The known is merely the known (viññātamatta). But there is no you there. Of course, this liberating gnosis and vision can’t adequately be pointed out or indicated by words alone. It is to be individually experienced (paccatta veditabba).

The Recognition of Cessation and the Seven Factors of Awakening (Satta Bojjhaṅgā)Sustained, dedicated practice of the recognition of cessation will gradually create the optimal conditions for the arising of all seven factors of awakening. SN 46.76 Nirodha Sutta (abridged):

Here monks, a monk develops the awakening factor of mindfulness accompanied by the recognition of cessation, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of dhamma-investigation accompanied by the recognition of cessation, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of energy accompanied by the recognition of cessation, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of joy accompanied by the recognition of cessation, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of tranquility accompanied by the recognition of cessation, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of meditative composure accompanied by the recognition of cessation, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of equanimity accompanied by the recognition of cessation, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go.

It is in this way that the recognition of cessation is developed and cultivated so that it is of great fruit and benefit. It is in this way that the recognition of cessation is developed and cultivated so that one of two fruits is to be expected: either final gnosis in this very life or, if there is a residue of clinging, the state of nonreturning. It is in this way that the recognition of cessation is developed and cultivated so that it leads to great good. It is in this way that the recognition of cessation is developed and cultivated so that it leads to great security from bondage. It is in this way that the recognition of cessation is developed and cultivated so that it leads to a great sense of urgency. It is in this way that the recognition of cessation is developed and cultivated so that it leads to dwelling in great comfort.

Labels: Anatta, Buddha, Dropping, Theravada | 

English Translation:

Record of the Teachings of Venerable Master Xuyun

Notes by Jiang Zhonghe

Compiled by Cai Rixin

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Original Text:

虚云和尚开示录

蒋中和笔记

蔡日新整理

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Footnotes/Annotations:

• 虚云和尚: Venerable Master Xuyun (1839–1959), a highly respected Chan (Zen) Buddhist master in modern Chinese Buddhism.
• 开示录: Record of Dharma Talks or Teachings.

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Entry for the 22nd Day

English Translation:

On the 22nd day, the Master gave an instruction, saying: "Cultivating the Way is not difficult. As long as one can let go of all attachments, sever both self and dharmas, empty the four marks, and proceed plainly and earnestly, one can attain it." He then gave the example of a certain monk's conduct: this person was deaf, illiterate, appeared extremely troubled, and was liberated by the Master.

Original Text:

二十二日，师开示云：‘修道不难，但能放下万缘，人法双绝，四相皆空，平平实实做去即得。’并举某僧行相为例，其人耳聋，目不识丁，貌极苦恼，由师度脱者。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 放下万缘: Let go of all worldly attachments.
• 人法双绝: Sever both attachment to self (person) and dharmas (phenomena).
• 四相皆空: The four marks are all empty—self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan.
• 平平实实: Plainly and earnestly; straightforwardly.
• 度脱: Liberated; guided to enlightenment.

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Entry for the 23rd Day

English Translation:

On the 23rd day, the Master instructed that whether one possesses the Way or not, a person with clear eyes can discern it at a glance. He gave examples of someone commenting on a certain county magistrate and a certain monk, and evaluating the integrity of a certain elder as evidence.

Original Text:

二十三日，师开示谓有道无道，明眼人一看便知。并举某某评某邑令、某僧，评某长老之骨为证。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 有道无道: Having the Way (enlightenment) or not.
• 明眼人: One with clear eyes; a person of insight or wisdom.
• 某邑令: A certain county magistrate.
• 评某长老之骨: Evaluating the character or integrity (literally "bones") of a certain elder.

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Entry for the 24th Day

English Translation:

On the 24th day, the Master summoned the four assemblies in the monastery and delivered a discourse, roughly stating: "The current situation is becoming increasingly urgent. Life and death are predetermined by fate. If it's not destined to be a calamity, you cannot encounter it; if it is destined, you cannot avoid it. Therefore, everyone need not be fearful or anxious. You can settle your minds here and courageously cultivate the Way. I have several matters to announce to the assembly, and I hope you will deeply believe and earnestly practice them.

1. Starting from tonight, every day after the morning and noon meals and during the evening incense period, gather together in the Ancestral Hall to chant 'Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva' for one incense stick's duration, three times a day, universally praying for the dispelling of calamities for all sentient beings on earth.

2. Store away important luggage, and male and female lay practitioners residing here should all dress like monks and nuns.

3. If, by any chance, enemies, bandits, or thieves come here, everyone should carry on as usual, without panic or fear, treat them peacefully, and do not contend with them. If they want things or food, let them take them; there's no need to dispute."

After listening, everyone calmed their minds and dwelt peacefully. From the evening of the 28th onward, all monks and laypeople in the monastery gathered in the Ancestral Hall to chant 'Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva'. Up to the 30th day, the Master gave instructions three times.

The first time, he explained the origin of holding the ceremony of chanting Avalokiteśvara to pray for disaster relief and saving the people, and the original deeds and spiritual responses of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, largely based on the Śūraṅgama Sūtra.

The second time, he spoke about the miraculous events related to Avalokiteśvara's spiritual responses.

The third time, he explained the method of chanting Avalokiteśvara:

• First, utmost sincerity for the benefit of others.
• Second, alignment of mind and speech.
• Third, turning the hearing inward to contemplate the nature of the mind.

Original Text:

二十四日，师召寺中四众训话，略谓‘时局日益紧急，生死自有命定，躲脱不是祸，是祸躲不脱，大家毋庸惶惧忧虑，可安心在此，勇猛办道。兹有数事告示大众，望深信而笃行之。一者从今晚起，每日早午斋后及晚香时，齐在祖殿同念观世音菩萨一枝香，一日三次，普为大地众生消弭劫难。二者重要行李收藏起来，寄居男女居士皆装成僧尼模样。三者敌人或匪或盗，万一来此，大家照常安居，毋庸惊恐，和平相待，勿与计较。彼若要东西或粮食，任其拿去，不必与争。’大家听已，皆静心安居。自廿八夕起，全寺僧俗在祖殿齐念观世音菩萨。至三十日，师开示凡三次。第一次讲说举行念观音祈求息灾救民缘起，及观音菩萨本迹与灵感，大略根据《楞严经》。第二次说观音灵感事迹。第三次说念观音之方法：一、至诚利众；二、心口相应；三、反闻念性。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 四众: The four assemblies—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen.
• 躲脱不是祸，是祸躲不脱: If it's not destined to be a calamity, you cannot encounter it; if it is destined, you cannot avoid it.
• 祖殿: Ancestral Hall—a hall dedicated to past patriarchs or important figures in the monastery.
• 观世音菩萨: Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, also known as Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
• 一枝香: The duration it takes for one incense stick to burn.
• 《楞严经》: Śūraṅgama Sūtra, an important Mahayana Buddhist scripture.
• 反闻念性: Turning the hearing inward to contemplate the nature of the mind—a practice taught in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra.

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Entry for the 2nd of July

English Translation:

On the 2nd of July, the Master instructed: "Layman Fu (Fu Dashi) said: 'There is a thing existing before heaven and earth; it is formless and fundamentally silent. It can be the master of all phenomena, and does not wither through the four seasons.' This 'thing' is the true suchness of all dharmas, inherently possessed by all sentient beings. In ordinary beings, it does not perish; in sages, it does not increase. As it is said, mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three are without difference. If sentient beings can let go of discriminating consciousness and manifest the true nature, then they will see their nature and become Buddha. For those of sharp faculties and keen wisdom, upon hearing they immediately awaken; awakening and realizing at once, without needing to engage in practices. Speaking of cultivation is all because there is no alternative."

Original Text:

七月二日，师开示云：‘傅大士曰：“有物先天地，无形本寂寥；能为万象主，不逐四时凋。”此物即诸法实相，一切含生所同具，在凡不灭，在圣不增，所谓心佛众生，三无差别。众生若能放下识情，显了真性，即是见性成佛。上根利器之人，一闻即悟，即悟即证，不假修为，说修行都是不得已也。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 傅大士: Layman Fu (497–569 CE), a famous Buddhist lay practitioner in China, known for his profound insights.
• 有物先天地，无形本寂寥；能为万象主，不逐四时凋: A verse describing the fundamental essence that exists before heaven and earth.
• 诸法实相: The true suchness or ultimate reality of all dharmas.
• 识情: Discriminating consciousness and emotional attachments.
• 见性成佛: Seeing one's true nature and becoming a Buddha.
• 上根利器: Those of superior faculties and sharp capacities.
• 不假修为: Without needing to engage in practices; no contrived effort.

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Entry for the 3rd of July

English Translation:

On the 3rd day, after the assembly urgently chanted Avalokiteśvara, the Master instructed: "The enemy's not retreating and the nation's calamities not ceasing are indeed due to the collective karma of the masses, but also because we usually lack moral virtue and, when facing events, our sincerity is insufficient. Everyone must earnestly practice repentance and cultivate complete sincerity."

Original Text:

三日，大众急念观音后，师开示云：‘敌人之不退，国难之不消，固由众业所感，亦由吾人平日缺乏道德，临事不够诚心，大家须力行忏悔，具足诚心。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 敌人之不退，国难之不消: Referring to wartime situations; the enemy not retreating, national calamities not subsiding.
• 众业: Collective karma of sentient beings.
• 忏悔: Repentance; confession of faults.
• 具足诚心: Cultivate complete sincerity.

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Entry for the 5th of July

English Translation:

On the 5th day, the Master instructed: "Do Buddhas and Bodhisattvas need people to chant their names? It's only because sentient beings have heavy obstacles that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas point out various Dharma gates. Chanting the holy names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is merely to enable sentient beings to clear away delusive thoughts and thoroughly see their original nature. As it is said, 'When a pure pearl is cast into turbid water, the turbid water becomes clear; when the Buddha's name is cast into a deluded mind, the deluded mind becomes pure.' If one can focus all six senses on a single holy name of a Bodhisattva, with pure mindfulness continuously, then at that very moment, one is no different from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas."

Original Text:

五日，师开示云：‘佛菩萨岂要人念？只缘众生障重，佛菩萨指示种种法门。念佛菩萨圣号，不过令众生澄清妄念，彻见本来耳。所谓清珠投于浊水，浊水不得不清；佛号投于妄心，妄心不得不净。盖人如果以一菩萨之圣号，都摄六根，净念相继，则当下自与佛菩萨无异。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 都摄六根: Gathering in all six senses—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
• 净念相继: Pure mindfulness without interruption.
• 清珠投于浊水: An analogy—casting a pure pearl into turbid water, the water becomes clear.
• 妄心: Deluded mind; mind of illusions.

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Entry for the 6th of July

English Translation:

On the 6th day, the Master instructed on the principle that mind itself is Buddha, letting go of everything, one immediately becomes Buddha, and that the ordinary mind is the Way. One must be able to directly undertake this and be skillful in nurturing the essence of the Way, and so on—principles of the sudden teaching.

Original Text:

六日，师开示心即是佛，放下一切，立地成佛，平常心是道，要能直下承当，及善于保养道体等等圆顿道理。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 心即是佛: Mind itself is Buddha.
• 立地成佛: Immediately become Buddha on the spot.
• 平常心是道: The ordinary mind is the Way—a teaching from Chan Buddhism.
• 圆顿: Sudden and complete teaching; immediate enlightenment.

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Entry for the 7th of July

English Translation:

On the 7th day, the Master instructed: "In cultivation, one must let go of everything to enter the Way; otherwise, it is labor in vain without benefit. You should know that sentient beings' original wondrous luminous mind is inherently no different from the Buddhas'. Only because, since beginningless time, it has been entangled by myriad delusive thoughts and defilements, it cannot manifest. Therefore, they sink in the sea of suffering, wander through birth and death, unable to escape. The Buddhas, out of compassion, have no choice but to reveal various methods of practice, all for the purpose of enabling sentient beings to attain liberation. So, when we speak of letting go of everything, what should we let go of? The six inner faculties (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind), the six external objects (forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, dharmas), and the six consciousnesses in between—all these eighteen realms must be let go of. Furthermore, fame and profit, affection and love, praise and blame, gain and loss, even all possessions and life itself must be let go of. In short, body, mind, and the world—all must be let go of, because these are like dreams and illusions, like lightning and bubbles, nothing to be attached to. Clinging to them becomes the cause of obstructing the Way. Therefore, we must let them all go, even the thought of letting go must not remain. Letting go of everything at once, once and for all, eternally into the future, letting go completely and cleanly—when this original wondrous luminous mind manifests, it is no different from the Buddhas'."

After speaking, he gave examples to prove this.

Original Text:

七日，师开示云：‘修行须放下一切方能入道，否则徒劳无益。要知众生本妙明心，原与诸佛无异，只因无始以来为妄想尘劳百般缠绕，不能显现，所以沉沦苦海，流浪生死，不能出离。诸佛悯之，不得已开示种种修行法门，无非令众生解脱。所谓放下一切，是放下甚么呢？内六根、外六尘、中六识，这一十八界都要放下，其他名利、恩爱、毁誉、得失，乃至一切财物、性命都要放下。总之，身心世界都要放下，因为这些都是如梦如幻、如电如泡，无可留恋，执之即成障道因缘。故统要放下，连此放下之念亦无，一放下一切放下，一时放下、永久放下、尽未来际都放下，如此放下干净了、长永了，本妙明心显现，即与诸佛无异。’说毕，并举例以证明之。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 内六根: The six internal faculties—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
• 外六尘: The six external objects—forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, and dharmas.
• 中六识: The six consciousnesses arising from the interaction of faculties and objects.
• 十八界: The eighteen realms—combination of the six faculties, six objects, and six consciousnesses.
• 妄想尘劳: Delusive thoughts and defilements.
• 本妙明心: Original wondrous luminous mind; true nature.

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Entry for the 8th of July

English Translation:

On the 8th day, the Master instructed: "If you understand the great intention of the Tathāgata, then you need only to nurture it; anytime and anywhere, there is nothing that is not the Way. If you do not understand the great intention of the Tathāgata, then you are practicing blindly, and at any time and place, there is the danger of falling into pits and traps." He then gave examples such as the immortal with deer's feet resenting heaven causing drought, and the case of breaking precepts through drinking and lust, to serve as evidence.

Original Text:

八日，师开示云：‘若明白了如来大意，则只要保养，随时随处，无不是道。若不明白如来大意，则是懵懵修行，随时随处皆有堕坑落堑之虞。’并举鹿足仙人恨天致旱及饮酒贪色犯戒公案为证。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 如来大意: The great intention of the Tathāgata (the Buddha).
• 鹿足仙人: The immortal with deer's feet—a figure in Buddhist stories.
• 公案: Koan; a story or case used for meditation and teaching in Chan Buddhism.
• 犯戒: Breaking precepts.

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Entry for the 9th of July

English Translation:

On the 9th day, the Master instructed that in cultivation, one must be selfless and use this body and mind to serve the countless worlds. He gave examples such as Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha and a certain Bodhisattva who was working on the Yunnan-Burma Road in the high mountains.

Original Text:

九日，师开示修行必须无我，以此身心奉尘刹。并举持地菩萨及修滇缅路高山上之某菩萨为例。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 无我: Selflessness; the doctrine of no-self in Buddhism.
• 尘刹: Dust-like worlds; innumerable Buddha-lands.
• 持地菩萨: Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, known for his vow to help beings in hell realms.
• 滇缅路: Yunnan-Burma Road, an important supply route during WWII.
• 某菩萨: A certain Bodhisattva; referring metaphorically to a compassionate person engaged in altruistic work.

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Entry for the 10th of July

English Translation:

On the 10th day, the Master instructed: "The ancients said that in cultivation there are three insufficiencies: insufficient food, insufficient clothing, and insufficient sleep.

• Insufficient food means eating only enough to stave off hunger; overeating is not advisable, and one should not seek delicious flavors.
• Insufficient clothing means wearing clothes sufficient to keep warm; one should wear robes made from discarded cloth (robes of humility), and should not covet fine garments.
• Insufficient sleep means resting just enough to alleviate fatigue; excessive sleep is not advisable.

Because prolonged sleep increases ignorance, too many clothes increase worries, and overeating hinders diligent practice."

Original Text:

十日，师开示云：‘古人曰：修行有三不足，不足食，不足衣，不足睡。不足食，取止饥不宜过饱，更不能求美味；衣取御寒，宜服粪扫衣，更不能贪求美备；睡取调倦，不宜久睡。盖久眠长愚痴，多衣增挂虑，过饱不便用功。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 粪扫衣: Robes made from discarded or soiled cloth; symbolizing humility and detachment from materialism.
• 用功: To exert effort in practice; diligent cultivation.

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Entry for the 11th of July

English Translation:

On the 11th day, the Master instructed: "In cultivation, one must discern the true from the false, the correct from the deviant. Otherwise, a tiny error can lead to a great deviation; not only will your efforts be in vain, but you may also err in cause and effect.

In the past, some people achieved the state of sitting and passing away (sitting in meditation and dying) or leaving behind relics (sarira), yet were still regarded by those with true insight as heretics or demons. How much more so for those who do not understand the Buddha's teachings, who practice blindly and run contrary to the Way?

Therefore, in ancient times, practitioners always relied on good spiritual friends (teachers). Any realization they had had to be verified by great spiritual teachers before it could be considered the correct path."

Original Text:

十一日，师开示云：‘修行须别真伪邪正，不然差之毫厘，失之千里，不惟徒劳无益，且错因果。昔常有人做到坐脱立亡地步，或金骨子成堆，犹被正眼人目为邪魔外道。何况不明如来宗趣，盲修瞎练，背道而驰者乎？所以古人修行必依止善知识，有所发明必经大善知识印可，方为正道。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 坐脱立亡: The ability to pass away while sitting or standing; a sign of advanced practice.
• 金骨子成堆: Piles of golden relics (sarira) left after cremation.
• 正眼人: People with correct vision; those who have true insight.
• 邪魔外道: Heretics and demons; those who deviate from the correct path.
• 善知识: Good spiritual friends; enlightened teachers or mentors.
• 印可: To verify or certify a realization.

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Entry for the 12th of July

English Translation:

On the 12th day, the Master instructed: "The ancients said: 'Cultivation is easy; eliminating habits is difficult. If habitual tendencies are not removed, all efforts are in vain.'

Why do we cultivate? Ultimately, it is to escape birth and death. But habitual tendencies bind us. If we do not completely eliminate our habitual faults, escaping birth and death will be extremely difficult. Even someone like Chan Master Yuanzé, who practiced diligently, could not avoid falling into the womb (rebirth).

Nowadays, people make no plans to eliminate their habitual faults at all. How can they expect to achieve liberation from birth and death?"

Original Text:

十二日，师开示云：‘古人曰：修行容易，习气难，习气不除总是闲。吾人修行，究竟所为何事？原不过出离生死。但习气是吾人羁绊，若习气毛病未除得尽，生死必然难逃。即如圆泽禅师那样用功，仍不免落入胞胎。今人习气毛病，毫不打算扫除，那里有了生脱死之分呢？’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 习气: Habitual tendencies; ingrained habits and faults accumulated over time.
• 圆泽禅师: Chan Master Yuanzé, a historical monk known for his diligent practice yet still subject to rebirth.
• 胞胎: The womb; symbolizing rebirth in samsara.

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Entry for the 13th of July

English Translation:

On the 13th day, the Master instructed the assembly: "Pay attention to monastic etiquette. When ascending the hall, join your palms at chest level, with the five fingers together, the centers of the palms touching without any gap in between. This symbolizes transforming the ten evil deeds into the ten virtuous deeds.

Stand with your feet forming an '八' (the Chinese character for 'eight') shape, body upright. Eyes look at the nose, nose points to the heart. Do not open your eyes wide; do not glance left or right.

Such monastic etiquette is very important and is crucial for eliminating habitual tendencies."

Original Text:

十三日，师开示大众：‘要注意僧仪，上殿合掌当胸，五指并拢，两掌心贴拢，中间不可离开，此为转十恶为十善之义。二足成八字形，身体正直，眼观鼻、鼻观心，两眼不得张大，不得左顾右盼。此等僧仪很是重要，且为除习气之重要事件。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 合掌当胸: Joining palms at the chest—a gesture of respect.
• 转十恶为十善: Transforming the ten evil deeds into the ten virtuous deeds.
• 眼观鼻、鼻观心: Eyes look at the nose, nose points to the heart—a meditation posture to maintain focus.

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Entry for the 15th of July

English Translation:

On the 15th day, the Master instructed: "People in the world who do not understand the Buddhadharma often attract bad results from good causes. For example, various spirit-writing altars (planchette writing) in different places often falsely use the names of Buddhas and patriarchs to give advice to the world. Among these, there are often cases where the order of importance is reversed, or cause and effect are misunderstood, resulting in false speech that deceives people or slanders the Buddha and Dharma. This is deeply alarming."

Original Text:

十五日，师开示云：‘世间不明佛法之人，往往以善因而招恶果。如各地乩坛常假托佛祖语言劝世，但其中常有颠倒本末、错误因果，致成妄语欺人，或谤佛谤法者，深可惧也。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 乩坛: Spirit-writing altars; places where planchette writing is practiced, believed to convey messages from spirits.
• 妄语: False speech; one of the ten non-virtuous deeds.
• 谤佛谤法: Slandering the Buddha and the Dharma; considered a serious offense in Buddhism.

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Entry for the 16th of July

English Translation:

On the 16th day, the Master instructed: "We have been chanting the holy name of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva for a long time, yet the nation's calamities and people's disasters have not been eliminated. One reason is due to the fixed karma of sentient beings, which is difficult to alter. Another reason is that our minds are not sincerely unified, so the effect is minimal. I hope everyone from now on will be utterly sincere and wholeheartedly mindful of Avalokiteśvara."

Original Text:

十六日，师开示云：‘吾人念观音圣号，久而国难民灾不能消除。一由众生定业所感，难以移易；一由吾人心未至诚统一，效力不大。望大家从此要至诚恳切，并念念观自在。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 定业: Fixed karma; karmic results that are inevitable and difficult to change.
• 至诚: Utmost sincerity.
• 念念观自在: In every thought, contemplate Avalokiteśvara; being continuously mindful of the Bodhisattva.

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Entry for the 17th of July

English Translation:

On the 17th day, the Master instructed: "The true mind is an invaluable treasure. Wise or foolish, ordinary or sage, heaven or hell, impure land or pure land—all are created by it. Buddhas and patriarchs teach people to manifest the true mind and realize the Buddha of one's own nature. If one can completely cut off all habitual tendencies, the true mind naturally manifests, and one realizes the self-nature Buddha."

Original Text:

十七日，师开示云：‘真心为无价之宝，贤愚凡圣、天堂地狱、秽土净土，皆由他造作。佛祖教人显了真心，证自性佛。人能将种种习气断尽，则真心自显，自佛即证。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 真心: True mind; the original pure mind.
• 自性佛: The Buddha of one's own nature; realizing one's inherent Buddhahood.
• 贤愚凡圣: Wise and foolish, ordinary and sage—all beings.

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Entry for the 23rd of July

English Translation:

On the 23rd day, the Master instructed: "From the time the Buddha Shakyamuni appeared in the world, there was the Proper Dharma for one thousand years, the Semblance Dharma for one thousand years, and after the Semblance Dharma comes the Degenerate Dharma for ten thousand years.

During the Proper Dharma period, those who heard the Dharma and realized the Way were everywhere. In the Semblance Dharma period, there were still some who heard the Dharma and realized the Way. Now, in the Degenerate Dharma period, people's capacities are inferior, minds are cunning and shallow. Not to mention the masses, even monks who have left home are nominal in name but lacking in reality, and they do not know what it means to leave home. Fundamentally, there is no discussion of cultivation, and there is not even a single person who has heard of realizing the Way. With the Buddhadharma reaching this point, how can it not decline? Truly worthy of lamentation."

Original Text:

二十三日，师开示云：‘从释迦佛应世起，正法千年，像法千年，像法后为末法一万年。正法时期，闻法悟道者遍处皆是；像法时期，闻法悟道者亦有所在；而今末法时期，人根陋劣，心术浇薄，漫说众人，即出家僧人，亦是有名无实，并且不知出家为何事，根本上谈不到修行，证道者更无一闻矣。佛法至此，那得不衰！真堪痛哭。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 正法: Proper Dharma; the time when the true teachings are upheld.
• 像法: Semblance Dharma; when forms remain but true practice declines.
• 末法: Degenerate Dharma; the final period when teachings decline significantly.
• 人根陋劣: People's capacities are inferior.
• 心术浇薄: Minds are cunning and shallow.

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Entry for the 25th of July

English Translation:

On the 25th day, the Master instructed: "You all hope for my instruction, but in fact, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and patriarchs are constantly instructing you. Every day, the various mantras and vows recited in the halls, the sounds of bells, drums, chimes, and wooden fish—all are the most refined and precious words and sounds of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and patriarchs. If you can hear with your ears, recite with your mouth, contemplate with your mind, and practice earnestly, becoming a Buddha is more than possible. Why need more words? If you speak but do not practice, speaking is also of no benefit."

Original Text:

二十五日，师开示云：‘诸人望我开示，其实佛菩萨及祖师对诸人时时在开示也。每日殿堂课诵各种咒愿，及钟鼓磬锤等，无一非佛菩萨祖师至精至贵之语声。诸人若能耳闻、口诵、心惟、行笃，成佛有余，岂待多说？说若不行，说亦无益。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 钟鼓磬锤: Bells, drums, chimes, and wooden fish—a reference to the instruments used in Buddhist ceremonies.
• 耳闻、口诵、心惟、行笃: Hear with ears, recite with mouth, contemplate with mind, practice earnestly.

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Entry for the 26th of July

English Translation:

On the 26th day, the Master instructed: "Everyone has delusive thoughts, but when delusive thoughts arise, I myself am aware of them. Knowing but not following—that is called non-continuation. If they do not continue, then I am not turned by delusions. Even if delusive thoughts arise and cease, they are merely like floating clouds casting a shadow on the vast sky, but the vast sky remains unchanged.

The Buddha said that all dharmas are taught to counteract delusive thoughts. If there are no delusive thoughts, then the dharmas are not needed. However, ordinary people have been drifting in birth and death, deeply habituated since beginningless kalpas. If they do not rely on the Buddhadharma for cultivation, there is no way to escape birth and death.

But once you practice a certain Dharma, you must practice it diligently throughout this life. Do not change from one thing to another, wasting your efforts in vain."

He also said: "In this life, being able to become a monk is due to the cultivation of good roots in the past; otherwise, you would not be able to leave home and become a monk. Monks are not made up of poor people; if they were, why don't beggars become monks? Monks are not made up of rich and noble people; if they were, why haven't we seen rich and noble people become monks?

Some lay practitioners can let go of wealth and fame, can maintain lifelong vegetarianism, can meditate, can bow to Buddhas and recite sutras, and can understand and explain the Buddhadharma. But when asked to become a monk, they are unwilling. This shows that becoming a monk is not easy. Even a troubled monk has his past cultivation. However, since you have become a monk, you must not waste it; do not return empty-handed from the treasure mountain."

Original Text:

二十六日，师开示云：‘妄念人人皆有，然妄念起时，我自知之。知而不随，是谓不相续，不相续则我不为妄转；纵有妄念起灭，亦不过如浮云之点太虚，而太虚固不变也。佛说一切法皆为对治妄念，妄念若无，则法不必用。然凡夫流浪生死，无始劫来习染已深，若不假佛法修治，则生死无由解脱。但习那一法就要尽此一生习去，不可朝三暮四，徒费心力。’又曰：‘今生能做和尚，皆是过去培有善根，否则必不得出家做和尚也。和尚不是穷苦人做的，若是穷苦人做的，何以乞丐不做和尚？和尚不是富贵人做的，若是富贵人做的，何以未见富贵人去做和尚？有的居士于富贵功名也能放下，也能吃长素，也能打坐，也能礼佛诵经，对佛法也能懂能讲，但要他做和尚则不肯也。足见做和尚不容易，那怕就是一个苦恼和尚，都有他前生的栽培。不过，既已做了和尚，就不可虚过，到宝山空手而回。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 妄念: Delusive thoughts.
• 不相续: Non-continuation; not allowing delusive thoughts to continue.
• 太虚: The vast sky; metaphor for the unchanging true nature.
• 宝山空手而回: Returning empty-handed from the treasure mountain; metaphor for wasting an opportunity.

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Entry for the 27th of July

English Translation:

On the 27th day, the Master instructed: "The ancients said, 'People do not live beyond a hundred years, yet always harbor worries of a thousand years.' They are greedy for fame and profit, busy all their lives—for themselves and for their descendants. But when the great deadline arrives on the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month (metaphor for death), it all turns out to be empty. After turning around (in rebirth), few regain human form; many fall into the three evil paths. Therefore, we who today have donned the kāṣāya (monastic robes) are truly due to past cultivation. We should awaken sharply and strive diligently, not letting this opportunity pass lightly. We must, in this very life, liberate ourselves from birth and death to eliminate endless future suffering. Otherwise, if under the kāṣāya we lose the human body, then the past cultivation and the hardships of this life will all be wasted—wouldn't that be a pity!"

He also said: "Once enlightened, karmic obstacles are originally empty; if unenlightened, past debts still need to be repaid. Emperor Liang Wu of the past life was a woodcutter who used his bamboo hat to cover a Buddha statue from the rain and offered fresh flowers to the Buddha, thereby receiving the reward of becoming an emperor. However, because he forced a monkey to death, he suffered a rebellion by Hou Jing and died. Even though there were Bodhisattvas like Venerable Zhi Gong (Ji Gong) protecting him, they could not alter his fixed karma. Although sin and merit are created by the mind and are originally empty when realized, practitioners must seek liberation."

Original Text:

二十七日，师开示云：‘古人说：人寿不满百，常怀千岁忧。贪名贪利，终身忙碌，为己、为子孙，一到腊月三十大限到来，总是一场空。转过身来，得人身者少，堕三途者多。故吾人今日披得袈裟，实由前生栽培，即当猛省努力，不可轻易放过，必于此生了脱生死，以除永久尔后重苦。否则，袈裟下一失人身，则过去之栽培、今生之劳苦，皆成白费，岂不惜哉！’又曰：‘了则业障本来空，未了还须偿宿债。梁武帝前身为樵夫，以取笠为佛像遮雨，又以鲜花供佛，遂感得做皇帝之报。惟以逼死一猴，致遭侯景之叛而死。虽有菩萨化身如志公等拥护之，亦不能解其定业。虽然罪福惟心所造，了则本来空，故修行人不可不求了脱也。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 袈裟: The kāṣāya, monastic robe symbolizing renunciation.
• 腊月三十: The thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month; metaphor for the end of life.
• 三途: The three evil paths—hell, hungry ghosts, and animals.
• 梁武帝: Emperor Wu of Liang (464–549 CE), a devout Buddhist emperor.
• 志公: Venerable Zhi Gong (Ji Gong), a legendary monk believed to be a manifestation of a Bodhisattva.
• 定业: Fixed karma; karma that must be experienced.

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Entry for the 29th of July

English Translation:

On the 29th day, the Master instructed: "In cultivation, one must recognize the mind. The ancients said: 'If one recognizes the mind, there is not an inch of land in the entire earth.' You should know that becoming a sage or remaining an ordinary person, becoming a Buddha or a sentient being—all lies in this mind. If this mind is not understood, cultivation is of no benefit.

Where should we seek this mind? Just let go of all external conditions, do not think of good or evil, when not a single thought arises, the true mind appears before you. If this mind appears in a moment, it can appear at all times, forever present, not polluted by defilements—then you are the Buddha inherently realized."

Original Text:

二十九日，师开示云：‘修行必须识得心。古人云：人若识得心，大地无寸土。要知为圣为凡，成佛做众生，皆是此心。此心不明，修行无益。此心向何处找寻？但能放下万缘，善恶都莫思，一念不生，即真心现前，此心一时现前，时时现前，永远现前，不为尘劳污染，即我是现成之佛。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 识得心: Recognize or realize the mind.
• 大地无寸土: There is not an inch of land in the entire earth; a metaphor for the boundless nature of mind.
• 万缘: All external conditions or attachments.
• 一念不生: Not a single thought arises; a state of pure mind.

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Entry for the 31st of July

English Translation:

On the 31st day, the Master instructed on the profound and marvelous principle that mind itself is Buddha and that by letting go, one immediately becomes Buddha. He also gave the example of Chan Master Feibo's miraculous powers and inconceivable spiritual functions.

Original Text:

三十一日，师开示心即是佛，放下即成之理，至圆至妙。并举飞钵禅师神通妙用，不可思议。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 心即是佛: Mind itself is Buddha.
• 飞钵禅师: Chan Master Feibo, known for his miraculous powers.
• 神通妙用: Miraculous functions and spiritual powers; manifestations of advanced realization.

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Entry for the 1st of August

English Translation:

On the 1st of August, the Master instructed that when giving teachings, one must have recipients who listen and accept the Dharma; if the timing is not appropriate, then one should not teach, as teaching would be of no benefit.

Original Text:

八月一日，师开示谓说法者必因有听法受法者而说，若机不相应则不说，说亦无益也。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 机不相应: When the opportunity or conditions are not suitable; when the audience is not receptive.
• 说法: Teaching the Dharma.

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Entry for the 2nd of August

English Translation:

On the 2nd day, the Master instructed: "The Three Realms are unsafe, like a burning house. Liberating oneself from birth and death is truly important. Without great repentance, vigorous diligence, engraving it on one's bones and heart, it is not easy to attain liberation." He extensively cited examples of those who, after practicing bitterly in past lives as monastics, were reborn and, due to enjoying blessings, fell into lower realms, serving as evidence that startled the listeners.

Original Text:

二日，师开示：三界不安，犹如火宅，了生脱死，实为重要。非大加忏悔，勇猛精进，刻骨铭心，不容易得到了脱。并广引前生出家苦修、来生得福招堕者为证，闻者悚然。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 三界: The Three Realms—Desire Realm, Form Realm, Formless Realm.
• 火宅: Burning house; metaphor for the impermanence and suffering of the world.
• 了生脱死: Liberate from birth and death; attain enlightenment.
• 刻骨铭心: Engrave it on bones and heart; to deeply internalize.

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Entry for the 3rd of August

English Translation:

On the 3rd day, the Master instructed: "The Ten Dharma Realms are all created by the mind. The Four Holy (Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Pratyekabuddhas, Śrāvakas) and the Six Ordinary Realms are all self-created and self-experienced. Great practitioners only wish to achieve Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi (Unsurpassed Perfect Enlightenment) and do not seek anything else." He further elaborated on the principles and phenomena of the cycles within the Three Realms and Six Paths, the sufferings and joys, ascents and descents, and their karmic causes and effects.

Original Text:

三日，师开示云：‘十法界唯心所造，四圣六凡皆是自作自受，大修行人惟愿成就阿耨多罗三藐三菩提，余皆不取也。’又详述三界六道轮回事理，苦乐升降因果。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 十法界: Ten Dharma Realms—four holy realms and six ordinary realms.
• 阿耨多罗三藐三菩提: Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi; Unsurpassed Perfect Enlightenment.
• 三界六道: Three Realms and Six Paths; the realms of existence and modes of rebirth.

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Entry for the 7th of August

English Translation:

On the 7th day, which was the nineteenth day of the sixth lunar month, the Master instructed: "Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva became a Buddha eons ago. Now, the nineteenth days of the second, sixth, and ninth lunar months are said to be his birthday, enlightenment day, and nirvana day, respectively. This originates from the 'Record of Fragrant Mountain' and refers to the manifestations of Avalokiteśvara."

Original Text:

七日，是日为旧历六月十九日。师开示云：‘观音菩萨于长劫前已成佛，现在二月十九日、六月十九日、九月十九日是诞辰、成道、涅槃等日，乃出自香山记，盖观音化身也。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 旧历六月十九日: Nineteenth day of the sixth lunar month in the traditional lunar calendar.
• 香山记: 'Record of Fragrant Mountain'; a text related to Avalokiteśvara.
• 观音菩萨: Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva.
• 涅槃: Nirvana; the ultimate liberation.

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Entry for the 10th of August

English Translation:

On the 10th day, the Master instructed: "If ordinary feelings are not exhausted and habitual tendencies are not eliminated, one ultimately cannot become a Buddha. If the root of life is not severed and delusive thoughts still arise, truly birth and death cannot be ended. Therefore, in cultivation, unless one applies real effort to completely overthrow ordinary feelings, habitual tendencies, and the root of life, it will not work." He gave examples from the past lives and various ascetic practices of Buddha Shakyamuni as illustrations.

Original Text:

十日，师开示云：‘凡情不尽，习气不除，终不能成佛。命根未断，妄念仍起，生死真不得了。故修行非用实在功夫，将凡情习气及命根彻底掀翻不成。’并举释迦佛往劫及因中种种苦行为例。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 凡情: Ordinary feelings; attachments and emotions of ordinary beings.
• 命根: Root of life; attachment to existence.
• 释迦佛: Buddha Shakyamuni.
• 苦行: Ascetic practices.

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Entry for the 12th of August

English Translation:

On the 12th day, the Master addressed the assembly: He passionately discussed the urgency of the matter of birth and death and the swift approach of impermanence. He emphasized that once the human body is lost, it is difficult to regain it even after myriad kalpas. "If this life does not transcend this body, then in which life will you transcend this body?" His words were earnest and intense, causing the listeners to be startled.

Original Text:

十二日，师示众：痛论生死事大，无常迅速，一失人身，万劫难复，此身不向今生度，更向何生度此身之旨。言之痛切，闻者悚然。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 生死事大: Birth and death are great matters; the urgency of liberation.
• 无常迅速: Impermanence is swift.
• 万劫难复: Difficult to regain even after tens of thousands of kalpas.
• 悚然: Startled; deeply moved.

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Entry for the 14th of August

English Translation:

On the 14th day, the Master instructed the assembly: "It is clearly understood that all is empty, yet people in the world do not awaken, confused and deluded. Truly worthy of pity and compassion."

Original Text:

十四日，师示众：‘说一切皆空，理甚明白，世人不悟，迷惑颠倒，真可怜悯。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 一切皆空: All is empty; the concept of emptiness in Buddhism.
• 迷惑颠倒: Confused and inverted; not seeing reality as it is.

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Entry for the 16th of August

English Translation:

On the 16th day, the Master instructed: "Learning the Buddha's teaching is both easy and difficult. Understanding from verbal teachings, this principle is very easy—the so-called sudden enlightenment upon hearing. If one practices correctly, directly seeing one's original face is not difficult. But to attain real benefit, not being swayed by any circumstances, being master of oneself at all times and places, achieving liberation and freedom, being able to do so even in sudden changes and upheavals—that requires cutting off all ignorance and afflictions, sweeping away habitual faults over a long period of time. It is difficult to thoroughly realize this through tempering in actual situations.

Moreover, to cut off ignorance and afflictions and eliminate habitual faults and shortcomings, there is nothing better than strictly observing the precepts. When the precepts are pure, ignorance, afflictions, habitual faults, and shortcomings naturally disappear. If one does not observe the precepts, even if one attains something in practice, it is still the work of heavenly demons and outsiders."

Original Text:

十六日，师开示云：‘学佛一法，亦易亦难。从言教上解悟，此理甚为容易，所谓言下顿悟。如用功得当，即亲见到自己本来面目，亦不为难。但要得到真实受用，不为一切境界所转，随时随地自己作得主张，能够解脱自在，造次颠沛都能如是，那就非年久月深、无明烦恼断尽、习气毛病扫清不可。由事上磨练，确实证悟，此则为难也。又断无明烦恼，除习气毛病，莫若严持戒律；戒律清净，无明烦恼习气毛病自除。若不持戒律，纵修习有成，亦是天魔外道。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 本来面目: Original face; one's true nature.
• 无明烦恼: Ignorance and afflictions.
• 天魔外道: Heavenly demons and outsiders; those who deviate from the true path.

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Entry for the 17th of August

English Translation:

On the 17th day, the Master instructed: "There are three essentials for those who seek the Way:

1. First, have good eyesight to discern the correct from the deviant.
2. Second, have good hearing to distinguish the pure from the impure.
3. Third, have a big stomach to encompass everything.

With these three essentials, a seeker can truly benefit from their quest. Otherwise, without one's own mastery, being swayed by others, there is no one who does not fall into traps."

He also mentioned that the 'Preface to the Record of the Lamp of the Mind' records a dream and that the entire book only speaks of this 'I', which is inappropriate.

Original Text:

十七日，师开示云：‘参学者有三要：一者要有好眼目，能辨邪正；二者要有好耳，能分清浊；三者要有大肚，能包容一切。具此三要，参学者方能得实益。否则自己无主，为他所转，未有不上当者。’又谓《心灯录序》记梦事及全书皆只言此‘我’，不妥。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 参学者: Those who seek the Way; practitioners.
• 心灯录: 'Record of the Lamp of the Mind'; a Buddhist text.
• 大肚: Big stomach; metaphor for great tolerance.

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Entry for the 19th of August

English Translation:

On the 19th day, the Master instructed: "Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three are without difference. Our original nature is Buddha. Why then do Buddhas have infinite wisdom, infinite miraculous powers, infinite light, while we do not? It is because we ourselves do not believe in ourselves, belittling ourselves, thus opening the knowledge and views of sentient beings.

Ignorance and afflictions, greed, anger, delusion, love, arrogance, deceit, jealousy, and various delusions cover our self-Buddha, preventing it from manifesting. Therefore, the Buddha established precepts to have disciples abide by them, thereby eliminating all habitual faults and shortcomings. When habitual faults and shortcomings are eliminated, the Buddha-nature appears, and naturally one becomes a Buddha."

Original Text:

十九日，师开示云：‘心佛众生，三无差别。吾人本来是佛，何以佛有无量智慧、无量神通、无量光明，而吾人无之？良由吾人自己不信自己，把自己作贱，所以开的众生知见。无明烦恼、贪嗔痴爱、贡高我慢、欺诳嫉妒，种种迷愚，将自佛盖覆，不得现成。因此，佛制戒律，就是要佛弟子遵守，藉此除却一切习气毛病。习气毛病一除，佛性现前，自然成佛。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 心佛众生，三无差别: Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three are without difference.
• 众生知见: The knowledge and views of sentient beings; deluded perceptions.
• 佛性: Buddha-nature; inherent potential for enlightenment.

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Entry for the 22nd of August

English Translation:

On the 22nd day, the Master instructed on the principle and phenomena of "Letting go of the eighteen realms, the single true suchness alone remains," explaining it in great detail.

On this day, Zhonghe, after dispersing the incense, went to the abbot's room to pay respects and stated his four fundamental great vows:

1. To eliminate sins and karmic obstacles accumulated over infinite kalpas.
2. To realize the three bodies (Dharmakāya, Sambhogakāya, Nirmāṇakāya) pervading the Dharma Realm.
3. To purify all worlds in the ten directions.
4. To universally liberate all sentient beings.

He also expressed his aspirations in this life: to build a new Ningyuan, build a new Hunan, build a new China, and establish a new world.

The Master approved of the four fundamental vows but said that the aspirations in this life were unattainable. He explained the complexities of human minds, the difficulty of transforming sentient beings, and the various situations throughout history of rise and fall, success and failure, and how good causes can lead to bad results. He intended for Zhonghe to quickly liberate himself from birth and death and urgently seek to transcend the Three Realms. If he indeed had the vow to return (in future lives), it would not be too late.

Original Text:

二十二日，师开示‘放下十八界，独头一真如’之理事，至为详晰。是日，中和于散香后，至方丈顶礼，陈述四根本大愿：一者消灭无量劫罪孽，二者证遍法界三身，三者严净十方世界，四者普度一切众生。四此生志愿——建设新宁远，建设新湖南，建设新中国，建立新世界。师对于根本四愿赞成；对于此生志愿，谓做不到。并说明人心复杂、众生难调，及自古以来兴败成亡、以善因而招恶果，种种情形，意欲中和速了生死，急求出离三界，果有愿再来不迟。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 十八界: The eighteen realms—six sense faculties, six sense objects, six consciousnesses.
• 独头一真如: The single true suchness alone remains.
• 三身: The three bodies of a Buddha—Dharmakāya (Truth Body), Sambhogakāya (Enjoyment Body), Nirmāṇakāya (Emanation Body).
• 十方世界: Worlds in the ten directions; the entire universe.
• 三界: The Three Realms—Desire, Form, Formless realms.

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Entry for the 23rd of August

English Translation:

On the 23rd day, at dawn, he made offerings of incense and prostrations before all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, bidding farewell to Elder Master Xuyun and the assembly. When leaving the mountain gate, the Master admonished: "If you do not go to Chongqing, and have nothing to do at home, you can come again." I agreed.

Venerable Wisdom recounted miraculous events about Elder Master Xuyun, saying: "One day, layman Dai Jitao led many men, women, old and young to pay respects to the Master at Nanhua Temple. The Master used a small kettle to pour water around three times without it running out, and distributed a pile of melon seeds to everyone without exhausting them. When the assembly departed, he used a candle in the strong wind to illuminate them from the abbot's room to the mountain gate without the flame extinguishing. All were amazed."

He also said: "In a certain wealthy household, there was a strange person, and they did not dare to live there. They soon invited the Master to reside there, and thereafter, there were no more anomalies. When he first came to Yunmen, he encountered a fox kneeling; the Master gave it the Three Refuges, and it left."

Original Text:

二十三日，晨起于诸佛菩萨前荐香礼拜，礼辞虚老和尚及大众。出山门时，师嘱云：‘若不赴渝，在家无事，可再来。’余应诺。智慧和尚述虚老和尚异事，云：‘一日，戴季陶居士率男女老幼多人礼和尚于南华寺，和尚以一小壶水轮酌三周未尽，以一叠瓜子遍散诸人不竭。及大众辞出，以烛于大风中照大众，由方丈室出山门，火不熄灭。众皆心异之。’又云：‘某巨室有怪异人，不敢居，旋迎和尚居住，自此无复变异。初来云门时，遇狐跪伏，和尚为授三皈依，乃去。’

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 戴季陶: Dai Jitao (1891–1949), a Chinese politician and scholar.
• 三皈依: The Three Refuges—taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
• 云门: Yunmen, a famous monastery associated with Chan Buddhism.

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Postscript

English Translation:

Editor’s Note

Venerable Master Xuyun was a rare eminent monk in modern times, and his virtuous conduct has long been transmitted among both monastics and laypeople. The notes recorded by Jiang Zhonghe, a layman from Ningyuan, Hunan, cover just one summer from May 22nd to August 23rd, 1944 (Republic of China Year 33), yet they can be read repeatedly without weariness, as if personally receiving the teachings of Elder Master Xuyun.

Moreover, the life events of Elder Master Xuyun are numerous, and after his nirvana, no one timely compiled them (due to the policies at that time not allowing such work). Therefore, the collected sayings and chronological biography of the Elder Master may still have omissions. To address this, I have carefully punctuated and compiled this segment of Elder Master Xuyun's events recorded by layman Jiang Zhonghe of Ningyuan, and have published it as new material for researchers of the Elder Master.

In the process of editing, I strictly adhered to the format and style of the original notes. In places that required explanation, I inserted brief annotations.

As for the biographical details of layman Jiang Zhonghe, I have not yet had the opportunity to verify them. After Jiang's notes, they were preserved by layman Qiu Yi. In 1992, after layman Qiu passed away, these notes came into my possession. When transcribing them now, I do not forget the merits of the predecessors. Especially during the Cultural Revolution, which was more destructive than Qin Shihuang's burning of books, layman Qiu risked his life to preserve them, and his spirit is worthy of being honored by future generations.

In Jiang's notes, the years are recorded using the Republic era (Republic of China Year 33 is 1944), while the months and days are recorded using the Western calendar. Upon investigation, the content of these notes covers the period from May 22nd, 1944 (the first day of the intercalary fourth lunar month) to August 23rd, 1944 (the fifth day of the seventh lunar month). Since the recorded events were personally experienced and witnessed by layman Jiang, their documentary value is extremely precious.

Original Text:

【整理后记】

虚云法师是近代不可多得的高僧，他老人家的道范久传缁素。湖南宁远蒋中和居士之所记，仅是民国三十三年五月廿二日至八月廿三日一夏，即可令人久读不厌，如同亲承虚老法炙。又因虚老一生事略颇多，而他老寂后无人及时整理（当时之政策亦不容作此等事），故今所辑之虚老语录及年谱，仍恐有疏略之处。为此，谨将宁远蒋中和居士所记虚老的这段事略加以标点，整理付梓，以供虚老研究者一新材料。在整理中，严格依原笔记之格式体例，个别地方需要说明，则略插夹注。

蒋中和居士事略一时未及查确，蒋氏此笔记后为邱毅居士所保存。一九九二年，邱居士生西，此笔记则落入吾手中，今誊录之时，不昧前贤功德。尤其是文革劫火有甚秦嬴，邱居士能冒生命危险保存，其精神颇可旌于后世也。

蒋居士之笔记在记年上用的民国（民国三十三年即1944年），而在记月记日上又是用的西历。今略查实，此笔记所记内容为1944年5月22日（即农历闰四月初一日）至8月23日（农历七月初五日）这段时间的，因所记事迹皆蒋居士所身经目验，故其文献价值弥足珍贵。

Footnotes/Annotations:

• 缁素: Monastics and laypeople.
• 民国三十三年: The 33rd year of the Republic of China, 1944.
• 寂后: After passing into nirvana.
• 付梓: To publish (literally, "to hand over to the printing blocks").
• 文革: The Cultural Revolution in China (1966–1976).
• 秦嬴: Qin Shihuang, the First Emperor of Qin, known for burning books and burying scholars.
• 生西: Passed away; literally "born in the West," implying rebirth in the Pure Land.

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Bibliographic References:

• Venerable Master Xuyun's teachings and life events are well-documented in various Buddhist texts and biographies.
• The Śūraṅgama Sūtra is a key Mahayana Buddhist scripture referenced in the text.

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