Also See:

• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture One)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Two)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Three)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Four)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Five)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Six)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Seven)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Eight)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Nine)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Ten)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Eleven)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Twelve)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Thirteen)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Fourteen)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Fifteen)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Sixteen)
• Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Seventeen)

From https://book.bfnn.org/article/0383.htm

The Ganges Mahamudra (Lecture Five)
By Elder Yuan Yin
Lecture Five

Our wondrously clear True Mind belongs neither to existence nor to non-existence. If you say it exists, there is no signless appearance to be seen, no sound to be heard. If you say it does not exist, then in speech and silence, in movement and stillness, in walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, there is nothing that is not it functioning. The ancients used the metaphors of "the taste of salt in the sea" and "the glue-like tackiness in paint"; though they cannot be seen by the eye, their essence is truly not absent. Sakyamuni Buddha told us that it is the great treasure house of True Emptiness and Marvelous Presence, and Marvelous Presence and True Emptiness. So-called True Emptiness is distinct from insensate emptiness and annihilationist emptiness; because of Marvelous Presence, it is empty yet not empty. So-called Marvelous Presence is distinct from delusory existence or solid existence; because of True Emptiness, it exists yet does not exist, and does not exist yet exists. Next, speaking from the perspective of appearance and function, it is also neither existence nor non-existence, neither non-existence nor non-non-existence. If you say it is non-existent, a multitude of forms and colors vividly appear before you, and its marvelous functions are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. If you say it exists, all appearances are born of causes and conditions and have no self-essence; the activities and functions that arise are just like the moon in the water or flowers in the sky, impossible to grasp. The *Heart Sūtra* states: "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form." This means form and emptiness are not two; it is neither existence nor non-existence. Because all phenomenal appearances are manifestations of the marvelous essence of True Emptiness, and the marvelous essence of True Emptiness cannot exist separately apart from form and appearances. For example, when water rises as waves, one cannot find water apart from the waves. In our practice, we must not grasp at form and appearances as solidly real and attach to them without letting go, nor can we deviate from form and appearances, abandoning existence to attach to emptiness. Therefore, whether sitting in meditation or acting in daily life off the cushion, one must neither grasp nor reject anything; only then does one accord with the principle of the Middle Way and walk upon the great path of True Emptiness and Marvelous Presence.

However, most of us still do not quite understand the principle of form and emptiness. Therefore, I will further expound on the meaning of form and emptiness above, and cite the recorded sayings of Chan Master Guifeng Zongmi to reiterate the importance of recognizing the True Mind. I also discussed the question of where a practitioner ultimately goes at the end of their life, to enable everyone to accord with the objective of Mahamudra, so that you do not take wrongful paths in practice but head straight for the great path of True Emptiness and Marvelous Presence.

Now let us return to the Ganges Mahamudra. Previously, we mentioned that Mahamudra is a practical Dharma door that directly points us to see the True Mind. Mahamudra is the One True Dharma-realm; it is our True Mind; it is the fundamental essence that is non-cultivation, non-fabrication, and non-distraction. But to enter the state of Mahamudra, one must initially undergo a period of arduous training. If you do not work at it, you will not be able to recognize that this numinous knowing, free from thoughts, is precisely one's own fundamental nature, and thus accomplish the great path. Why? The Mahamudra text states: However, coarse deluded thoughts that turn with circumstances obscure the original appearance of one's own mind.

What are coarse deluded thoughts that turn with circumstances? When we give rise to mind in response to objects and grasp at connections incessantly—seeing this and thinking of this, seeing that and thinking of that, unable to let go in the mind, thinking randomly and chaotically in topsy-turvy ways—this is called coarse delusion. Coarse delusion is like dark clouds obscuring the sun; it covers the luminous original appearance of our own mind, so it must be severed. If coarse delusions are not severed, the practice will not get on track. Why? If you are full of inverted deluded thoughts while on the cushion, thinking of this and that, and turn with circumstances when off the cushion, grasping incessantly, you simply cannot see the original appearance of your own mind; this is wandering in birth and death! How can the practice get on track, and how can one accomplish the great path?

Though it has been pointed out directly, one still cannot see; thus one must first cause coarse delusions to clarify. Therefore, the instruction says: Initially, let the mind settle openly and naturally, neither grasping nor letting go.

Where the True Mind is, and what the True Mind looks like, has already been directly pointed out many times. If, after direct pointing, we still cannot see it, it indicates that our deluded mind is very heavy, and we must do the work to sever coarse delusions.

Awakening to the Way and validating the Way happen in a sequence, and thus doing the work also has a sequence. How is it divided? When beginning to work, one must cut off the coarse delusions that turn with circumstances. What is coarse delusion? Seeing this and thinking of this, seeing that and thinking of that, giving rise to mind in response to objects, the deluded thinking of incessant grasping—this is called coarse delusion. In our practice, we disregard it; letting go of everything is the severing of coarse delusion. Once coarse delusions are severed, there are still fine delusions—these are some of the mental impulses in our brains. Everyone who has practiced knows that when we stop the coarse deluded thoughts, those fine mental impulses unknowingly leap out one after another; these that leap out are called fine delusions. In the Dharmalakṣaṇa (Yogācāra) school, this is called *manas* (intent/intellect). The five omnipresent mental factors spoken of by the Dharmalakṣaṇa school are possessed by everyone, by all sentient beings: contact, attention, feeling, perception, and volition; this is the most fundamental deluded mind. *Manas* is the mental faculty. It moves constantly, like a fish swimming in the depths; it moves very fast, and although on the surface one does not see it moving, it flows incessantly without pausing; this is the subtle, extremely subtle deluded thought. This extremely subtle deluded thought is also called the subtle current; it is the finest, a stillness that does not waver, like water flowing at high speed that looks as if it is not moving at all, but in fact, it moves extremely fast, invisible to the human eye; one must enter the Vajrasattva Samadhi to see it. Therefore, when coarse delusions are severed, there are still fine delusions, subtle delusions, and extremely subtle delusions, not to mention that when we first begin practice, we only manage to keep the body immobile. How can we see these extremely subtle deluded thoughts? We can only settle the mind and sit in meditation; only by first clarifying the coarse delusions can we see the subtle and extremely subtle deluded thoughts, and thereby cut them off to witness the original appearance of our own mind; therefore, one must first break through coarse delusions.

How does one do the work? The Mahamudra instructs us this way: "Initially, let the mind settle openly and naturally, neither grasping nor letting go." At the beginning of the practice, we must first let our mind be very open and natural; do not have abidance, do not have afflictions, do not be rigid, do not be constricted; be open and expansive, and let go. Confucianism says: "The noble man is open and expansive; the petty man is always fretting." The petty man harbors concerns about gain and loss, spinning circles in his mind. Worrying about gain and loss, he is therefore always fretting. The noble man does not worry about gain or loss; everything is indifferent to him, so he is open and expansive. We who practice the Dharma are great noble men, great heroes; we must be even more open and expansive, letting go of everything, settling openly without abidance. "Openly" means level and flat, perfectly straight without curvature; when the mind has no curvature, the straight mind is the training ground. "Naturally" (or expansive) means sweeping everything clean and empty, abiding nowhere; thus one is very open and at ease. Mahamudra tells us to do this first.

If we cannot do this, and there is grasping in the mind, turning constantly without stop, we must apply the Dharma to remedy it. How to remedy it? It is "neither grasping nor letting go." To grasp means to seize it, to hold it down; to let go means to indulge it. We should neither grasp it nor indulge it, but let it be natural. When we practice, if we grasp the thoughts too tightly, daring not move even a little, we slowly become dead. But we also cannot let thoughts arise at will, otherwise we fall into indulgence, which is also incorrect. When a thought comes, I disregard it; this is "neither grasping nor letting go."

In fact, our practice of all Dharmas is just training in the skill of "disregarding." It is not that thoughts do not come, or that they do not arise. Even though they come, even though they arise, if you disregard them, they will naturally dissolve. Whether reciting the Buddha's name, holding a mantra, or investigating Chan, one must neither grasp nor let go when thoughts come. Actually, thoughts cannot be grasped or suppressed; they will come, just as the ancients said: "Though the wind stops, the waves still surge." For those reciting the Buddha's name, when a thought comes, disregard it and bring up the Buddha's name; for those investigating Chan, when a thought comes, disregard it and bring up the *huatou*; for those practicing Esoteric Buddhism, when a thought comes, disregard it and bring up the mantra. Single-mindedly looking after the Buddha's name, single-mindedly looking after the *huatou*, single-mindedly looking after the mantra, the deluded thoughts will naturally be transformed. Regarding thoughts, it is not about preventing them from arising, nor is it letting them flow freely, but transforming them; this is alive, not dead. Last time I mentioned Chan Master Wolun's verse: "Wolun has a trick, able to cut off a hundred thoughts; facing objects the mind does not rise, and Bodhi grows day by day." That is suppressing thoughts from arising; it is dead; it will not do! One must neither grasp nor let go—only disregarding them will work.

When deluded thoughts come, it is admittedly not good, but if you suppress them to death, it is finished. Because deluded thoughts arise from the True Mind, just like waves raised by water; if you suppress the deluded thoughts to death, it is like eliminating the waves so that there is no water either, and the True Mind will no longer be alive. We know that the True Mind is lively and vivid, able to possess all things, able to generate all dharmas, and able to give rise to marvelous functions. If you truly suppress deluded thoughts to death, the True Mind becomes like earth, wood, metal, and stone, unable to give rise to marvelous functions.

Earth, wood, metal, and stone are one class among the twelve categories of living beings. Earth, wood, metal, and stone are insentient; at a glance, they seem unrelated to us humans, because we humans and all the gods, humans, asuras, hungry ghosts, animals, and hell-beings of the six realms of reincarnation are sentient—possessing sentient views and love. Humans are emotional animals, while earth, wood, metal, and stone are dull and insensible, dead and immobile; they seem to have nothing to do with us. Actually, this is not so; although these twelve categories of living beings differ in type, they are all manifestations of the one numinous true nature, the One True Dharma-realm, and share the same root and source as we humans; they are not a different species. Buddha-nature is originally real and not false, able to generate all dharmas, a spiritual root complete with all marvelous functions. But because we attach to external appearances and are wrapped in ignorance, abiding in objects, sticking to emotions, creating karma and receiving retribution, we have lost the True Mind, and thus the One Truth is divided into inner and outer parts. The inner truth is our own body and mind; the outer truth is the mountains, rivers, and great earth, the sun, moon, and stars, the grass, trees, and forests, and all such things outside, named "things external to the body." Actually, they are all ourselves! Because of ignorance, we take a small portion of earth, water, fire, and wind, bind it inside a flesh shell and call it "myself," while ignoring the greater part of earth, water, fire, and wind, considering it "things external to the body"; thus, the twelve categories of living beings came into existence. In fact, whether sentient or insentient, all share the same root; thus the sutra says: "The same perfect wisdom encompasses both the sentient and insentient." The insentient is also ourselves! "The same perfect wisdom" refers to the Buddha's wisdom, the All-Encompassing Wisdom (*sarvajñā*), which above can know the dharma-functions of all Buddhas (i.e., knowing all the Buddha-Dharmas of all Buddhas) and below can know the causal seeds of all sentient beings.

Nowadays, some people who do the work reach a small state where someone whispers in their ear, telling them what is about to happen, who is coming, and what they look like; this is the ear-report spirit telling you. However, some people think they have attained wisdom and supernatural powers, able to predict who will come or what will happen, and they become complacent: "Ah! How wonderful, I have foreknowledge." Actually, it is not good at all! Because this is a "transporting ghost" causing mischief; if you stick with him for a long time, you will be used by him and harmed by him. Where does this ghost come from? It is a person who, while alive, specialized in forming cliques for selfish gain, aiding evil and inciting litigation—that is, helping people do bad things, helping people fight lawsuits, murdering for money, etc.—and created hellish karma, thus falling into hell to suffer. After suffering in hell, he comes out, but his habit-energy from the past life of forming cliques and doing bad things still remains and is very heavy; so he attaches to a person as his body and tells the person some future events; therefore, he is called a transporting ghost, and is not a good thing.

When we do the work, do not think you have supernatural powers just because you hear someone telling you things in your ear; this is not a good thing, that is a ghost! The sutras speak of several kinds of ghosts; for example, those greedy for wealth, who loved banknotes and wanted gold while alive—the more the better—created evil due to greed and fell into hell. After suffering, their habit of greed remains; they want whatever they see, and when they encounter grass and trees, they feel they are very good and think they are themselves. Therefore, they attach to the grass and trees to manifest spirits and cause mischief. It is said that there was a Bodhi tree in Fuxing Park in Shanghai that was very "efficacious"; everyone swarmed there, begging and bowing, and all problems were solved; it was very effective. This is a strange ghost attaching to grass and trees causing mischief. There are also lecherous men and women; because lust is a fire of desire, they are burned by the fire of desire when they fall into hell. After finishing this suffering and coming out, because lust is light and thin, they encounter the wind and take form, relying on the wind as a body; these are *Ba* ghosts (drought demons), which are female demons. There are also those who rely on great mountains and great waters as bodies; what ghosts are these? They are called *Wangliang*, ghosts of wrong views. Because these people held incorrect views in their past lives, were arrogant and self-righteous, and when others had different opinions, they used conspiracies and tricks to frame them, so they fell into hell. After finishing the suffering and coming out, because of their arrogance, they rely on the essence of the sun and moon as their own bodies, grasping the light of the sun and moon, attaching to mountains and waters to manifest spirits, so everyone says this place is incredibly efficacious. Like some time ago, it was widely rumored that there was a "Water-Splashing Guanyin" in Hangzhou; it was a stone on Ziyang Mountain that usually looked like a smooth stone with nothing there, but when water was poured on it, the image of Guanyin appeared, and people called it Water-Splashing Guanyin. People told each other that this place was incredibly efficacious, and everyone came from all directions to ask for water to drink to cure a hundred diseases; actually, this is a ghost that takes the essence of the sun and moon as its own body.

It can be seen that all ghosts, spirits, and even earth, wood, metal, and stone are all ourselves! For this reason, it is said: "The same perfect wisdom encompasses both the sentient and insentient." Our Buddha-nature is originally the great *prajñā* essence that can know the causal seeds of all sentient beings and also know that the marvelous Dharmas of all Buddhas are perfect and complete.

Last time someone asked: It is plausible that sentient beings can perfect the seed wisdom, but how can the insentient do so? How can insentient bricks, tiles, wood, and stones perfect the seed wisdom? How can they become Buddhas? Today, I will speak on this again. Bricks, tiles, wood, and stones are all our own fundamental nature. Who discovered the bricks, tiles, wood, and stones? Was it not discovered by our numinous light shining upon them! Who is this numinous light? It is our Buddha-nature! Wherever the numinous light of our Buddha-nature shines, all sentient and insentient beings, mountains, rivers, the great earth, sun, moon, stars, men and women, old and young, birds and beasts, are all reflections of the Buddha-nature, all manifestations of the Buddha-nature. You are a Buddha, so everything your numinous light shines upon is Buddha! Like a country: I am the king, and there is nothing in the land that is not mine. By the same reasoning, you are a Buddha, and the light of your Buddha-nature shines brightly in the ten directions, pervading empty space and filling the Dharma-realm; there is nothing that is not illuminated by the numinous light of the Buddha-nature, so everything is Buddha; there is nothing that is not Buddha. However, if we do not practice well and do not know the flexible marvelous function, but suppress thoughts to death, we become earth, wood, metal, and stone. Once, two practitioners sat motionless by a large mountain; green grass grew on their heads and in their ears; they turned into wood and stone; this is the result of the practice of suppressing thoughts to death. Therefore, everything is ourselves, everything is our Buddha-nature; all the forms and appearances we see are Buddha. For this reason, stools, chairs, tables, platforms, etc., are all Buddha; there is nothing that is not Buddha. Thus it is said: "The lush yellow flowers are nothing but *prajñā*; the green bamboos are all the *dharmakāya*." Flowers and bamboo are both manifestations of Buddha-nature; they are all Buddha! This issue seems very difficult to understand, but once the principle is understood, it is not difficult. Below, I will discuss a koan to explore this issue.

In the past, Chan Master Dongshan Liangjie also could not understand this issue, so he went to ask Patriarch Weishan. He asked: "I recently heard that National Teacher Nanyang Huizhong had a teaching on 'inanimate objects expounding the Dharma'; I have not yet fathomed its subtlety." Weishan asked: "Do you remember it?" Dongshan replied: "I remember." Weishan said: "Try to recount it." Dongshan then recounted the matter.

A monk asked: "What is the mind of the ancient Buddhas?" The National Teacher answered: "Walls, tiles, and pebbles are." The monk asked: "Are walls, tiles, and pebbles not insentient?" (Walls, tiles, and pebbles are dull and insensible, without perception, while the Buddha is the Awakened One, omniscient and omnipotent. Since walls, tiles, and pebbles have no perception and are dull and insensible, how can they be the mind of the ancient Buddhas? According to what you say, walls, tiles, and pebbles would not be insentient? This is the monk's counter-question.) The National Teacher answered: "They are." (This sentence contains deep marvelous meaning. Because the same perfect wisdom encompasses both the sentient and insentient, due to discrimination, differences between sentient and insentient arise. If there is no discrimination, all sounds and forms, mountains, rivers, the great earth, and even food, drink, men, and women are complete within the mind-nature, and not a single dharma can be obtained; what sentient or insentient is there? Because there are dharmas to be obtained, one categorizes them, loves, hates, accepts, and rejects, causing afflictions to grow in thickets and revolving incessantly in samsara. As mentioned before, our body is formed by the temporary combination of the four great elements, just like the insentient. Only because the True Mind is wrapped by ignorance, turning into a deluded mind, bound inside this shell temporarily combined of the four great elements, grasping it as one's own body, do we have deluded knowing. Otherwise, isn't our body the same as walls, tiles, and pebbles? But this monk did not understand this principle, hence the following doubt.) The monk asked: "Do they also understand how to expound the Dharma?" (Because the Buddha expounds the Dharma to deliver sentient beings, and ancient Buddhas can expound the Dharma, if insentient objects are the mind of ancient Buddhas, they naturally should also be able to expound the Dharma. This monk, like us ordinary people, always falls into what is seen and heard in the dust of objects, without seeing the nature that can see and hear.) The National Teacher answered: "They expound constantly, expound blazing forth. Without interval." (Inanimate objects expounding the Dharma is not intermittent, speaking for a while and then not speaking; they speak at every moment, the sound of their teaching is very loud, like a fiercely burning fire, expounding the Dharma without ceasing. We often attach to what is seen and heard, not knowing that no-speech is the true speech. Hearing a sound is hearing; not hearing a sound is not hearing. Actually, not hearing a sound is also hearing! You hear that there is no sound! Therefore, no-speech is true speech; as it is said, "Great sound is rarefied sound," the greatest sound has no sound. To say there is sound to be heard is not true hearing, because you attach to what is heard. The hearing nature is not in having sound or no sound. Sound has arising and ceasing, so it is false; the nature has no interruption, so it is true.) The monk asked: "Why do I not hear it?" The National Teacher answered: "You yourself do not hear, but it does not hinder that which hears." (This is you yourself not hearing, because you are ignorant of the Buddha-nature and attach to having sound to be heard, not knowing that non-hearing is true hearing. Looking further, who is the one hearing the non-hearing? Who hears that there is no sound? You say you do not hear, but it is shining right at your ear gate; why do you not know? You hear a silence; have you not heard it? Is hearing a silence not precisely hearing? When hearing sound, you give rise to discrimination following the sound and run after the sound. But when this silence is without discrimination, it is precisely the time when your hearing nature manifests; thus it is true hearing. Your own not hearing cannot hinder that which can hear! This is the National Teacher scolding, pointing out, and reminding the monk. At this time when there is no sound to be heard and the hearing nature is precisely hearing, you say you do not hear; it is you yourself who are not sharp, who do not understand, but the hearing nature is still there clearly and distinctly!) The monk asked: "I wonder what sort of person gets to hear." (Throughout the great earth, there is not a single person who does not hear. Who does not hear? Who does not have the hearing nature? Provided one does not grasp at sounds, who is it that is not the hearing nature shining brightly? It is a pity one's own eye does not glance at the ground!) The National Teacher answered: "The sage gets to hear." (Sages such as Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and Pratyekabuddhas can hear; ordinary people cannot hear. The National Teacher's answer has a loophole, because everyone is originally a Buddha, the *dharmakāya* is signless, and sage and ordinary do not stand; what sage or non-sage is there? The National Teacher was pressed hard by this fellow, and used this sentence to temporarily cover his eyes, but was seen through by the monk, who asked further.) The monk asked: "Does the High Master hear or not?" (Can you yourself hear? Since the National Teacher said sages get to hear, this question forces the National Teacher into a position where it is hard to speak. If he says he hears, it is praising himself; if he says he does not hear, then the National Teacher is not a sage and not a teacher.) The National Teacher answered: "I do not hear." (He can only confess and plead guilty.) The monk asked: "Since the High Master does not hear, how do you know inanimate objects understand how to expound the Dharma?" (Good question, powerful; using the National Teacher's spear to strike the National Teacher, the National Teacher has nowhere to hide.) The National Teacher answered: "It is lucky I do not hear; if I heard, I would be equal to the sages, and you would not hear me expounding the Dharma." (Fortunately I do not hear; if I heard, I would be a sage, and you would not hear me expounding the Dharma. This question from the monk was inherently difficult to avoid, but the National Teacher is a Chan writer; he naturally has a place to turn around. "It is lucky I do not hear"—a clever deflection that turns danger into safety. However, wherever there is speech, there is no real meaning. Originally there is no Dharma to speak, and originally no person to hear the Dharma. If there is still Dharma to speak and people to hear Dharma, that is precisely grasping at the sign of a person and the sign of a self. So when the National Teacher said, "You would not hear me expounding the Dharma," he was also slandering himself.) The monk pressed: "In that case, sentient beings have no part in it." (If so, sentient beings cannot hear inanimate objects expounding the Dharma, and there is no hope for accomplishing the Way?) The National Teacher answered: "I speak for sentient beings, not for sages." (The National Teacher turned the conversation.) The monk asked: "What happens to sentient beings after they hear?" (The monk stared firmly at the National Teacher: What will happen to sentient beings after listening to you?) The National Teacher answered: "Then they are not sentient beings." (The National Teacher went with the flow to block the monk's sharp wit back; if sentient beings can hear inanimate objects expounding the Dharma and recognize this unborn and undying hearing nature, they transcend the ordinary and enter the sagehood, so he said they are not sentient beings. The *Diamond Sūtra* says: "As for sentient beings, sentient beings, the Tathāgata says they are not sentient beings, they are named sentient beings." Sentient beings? Where are there sentient beings? All sentient beings are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows; none are real. Sentient beings are sentient beings only because they do not awaken; if they awaken in the present moment, they are not sentient beings. However, not awakening within the dream state, they cannot but be sentient beings, so they are named sentient beings. So one must wake up from the dream quickly! Someone once said: You say everything does not exist? For example, if my ears are beaten deaf, and my ears cannot hear sound, but this "I" still exists! The phenomenon of my ears being deaf still exists and cannot be empty. He is attaching to appearances and sticking to mind without awakening! Wake up quickly! Do not dream anymore. For example, in a dream we are beaten or our heads are cut off, but once we wake up, we were not beaten or killed, and our heads are still fine. Your ears being beaten deaf is actually an illusory false appearance, just as unobtainable as being beaten or killed in a dream, so do not attach to the dream state; empty it quickly! Awaken quickly! After awakening, there is nothing at all! Like when Guan Gong's head was cut off by Lu Meng, he shouted in pain: "Give me back my head, give me back my head." When Great Master Zhiyi learned of this, he went to deliver him. The Master sat cross-legged blocking Guan Gong's path. Guan Gong saw this and thought: This monk has great guts to dare block my path; I'll teach him a lesson. So, *whoosh*—he whipped up a fierce wind, with flying sand and rolling stones hitting him in the face, but Great Master Zhiyi did not move a muscle. Guan Gong thought: You aren't afraid of fierce wind and flying sand, so I'll move a big mountain to scare you. So, a big mountain came crushing down covering the sky and earth, but Great Master Zhiyi still did not move a muscle. Now Guan Gong was impressed: This monk has true Kung Fu! He quickly went forward to bow. Great Master Zhiyi then expounded the Dharma to Guan Gong: "You are shouting here 'Give me back my head, give me back my head.' You had one head cut off and you want others to pay it back; how many human heads did you cut off in your life? Can you pay them back? Furthermore, although your head is gone, you are not lacking anything at all! Why? Because you only lost this illusory physical body, but your numinous knowing and True Mind are not lacking at all." We have said to take empty quiescence as the essence, do not identify with the physical body as the essence; empty space is my true body, the shell is not the true essence, only serving as a house. Take numinous knowing as the mind, do not identify with deluded thinking and deluded thoughts as the mind; deluded thoughts and deluded thinking are not real, they are things that grasp at appearances and climb on conditions in response to objects. The nature of numinous knowing is the perceptual nature that knows cold, heat, pain, and itch; it does not abide in appearances; this thing has no head or tail, no name or word. In the past, the Sixth Patriarch Great Master Huineng asked the assembly: "I have a thing, it has no head or tail, no name or word, no back or front; do you all recognize it?" Shenhui came out and said: "It is the original source of all Buddhas, Shenhui's Buddha-nature." The Sixth Patriarch said: "I told you it has no name or word, yet you call it original source and Buddha-nature; even if you go later to cover your head with thatch, you will only become a follower of the school of intellectual understanding." The nature of numinous knowing—the fundamental nature is signless and nameless; to call it a thing misses the mark. Shenhui adding a name to it was already a deluded thought. Therefore, we must not identify with deluded thoughts as the mind, but must recognize the nature of numinous knowing. Great Master Zhiyi was expounding this Dharma to Guan Gong: You feel a headache; that is the attachment of the deluded mind. Your shell is already broken and gone; what pain is there? Once the mind empties, you will emit great light, the Buddha-nature will be bright and clear; what pain or non-pain is there! Guan Gong realized and awakened after being pointed out by Zhiyi, and vowed to become a Dharma protector god for the Buddha-Dharma. Therefore, as long as sentient beings wake from the dream and recognize the unborn and undying fundamental nature, they transcend the ordinary and enter sagehood, and are no longer sentient beings. Thus, hearing National Teacher Nanyang Huizhong say that after sentient beings hear inanimate objects expounding the Dharma, they are no longer sentient beings.) The monk asked again: "Inanimate objects expounding the Dharma, on what scriptural authority is this based?" (Inanimate objects being able to expound the Dharma—I have never heard of it; is there a basis? Which sutra does it come from? You didn't make it up yourself, did you? This monk stuck to the National Teacher without letting go.) The National Teacher answered: "Obviously; if speech does not accord with the classics, it is not the talk of a noble man. Have you not seen the *Avataṃsaka Sūtra* say: 'Lands expound, sentient beings expound, everything in the three times expounds'?" (The National Teacher said what you say is of course correct; if inanimate objects expounding the Dharma had no basis and did not rely on the sutras, then it would have no meaning, nor would it be the words of a noble man. Then he cited the sutra: The *Avataṃsaka Sūtra* says: Lands expound, sentient beings expound, everything in the three times expounds. That is, all dust motes and all lands are expounding the Dharma; all sentient beings include everything; whether the sentient world or the insentient world, nothing is not expounding the Dharma; the Dharmas of the past, present, and future are all expounding the Dharma!) This was National Teacher Nanyang Huizhong's instruction to that monk; Chan Master Dongshan did not understand, so he recounted this koan to Patriarch Weishan.

After hearing it, Weishan said: "I have it here too, only it is rare to meet the right person." Such inanimate objects expounding the Dharma—I have it here too. One must meet a person of suitable capacity to interact and accord, so he said "rare to meet the right person." Dongshan Liangjie sincerely requested: "I have not understood; I beg the Master to instruct." Weishan raised his fly whisk and said: "Do you understand?" This is inanimate objects expounding the Dharma; can you comprehend it? Inanimate objects expounding the Dharma has no sound, but it is not that they do not expound the Dharma. Like flowers blooming and falling—this is inanimate objects expounding the Dharma. Flowers are insentient; when flowers bloom they are delicate and beautiful, but before long they wither and fall; what Dharma is this expounding? This expounds the Dharma of impermanence. The river water flows "swish, swish" past; the flowing water does not abide, it does not stop; it flows past like this today, and flows past like this tomorrow, never ceasing. This flowing water tells us: The false appearances of myriad things change, but the real essence has never changed. Su Dongpo understood the principle within this; he said: "It passes like this, yet it has never gone." Flowing water is insentient, but it is also expounding the Dharma. So inanimate objects are expounding the Dharma at all times; it is not that they do not expound, only that you yourself do not know. Therefore, Weishan raised the fly whisk; the meaning was asking: Who is the one raising the fly whisk? It is not necessarily opening the mouth to speak that is expounding the Dharma; this raising is expounding the Dharma.

However, Dongshan Liangjie still did not understand or comprehend, so he said: "I do not understand." Dongshan honestly admitted he did not understand and had not comprehended. Actually, this moment is the most intimate. Because if you understood and comprehended, it would be emotional views, and there would be a reason to be obtained. Conversely, when you do not understand, it is precisely the time when not a single thought arises; immediately turn the light around to reflect: What is this? You see the nature right then and there. It is a pity Dongshan always thought there was still a reason to be found; he misunderstood the meaning and missed the opportunity. Dongshan continued: "Please, High Master, explain." Weishan said: "The mouth born of my parents will never explain it to you." This flesh mouth born of parents can never speak it to you. Why? Because no matter how much you speak, you can never reach it. This is what language cannot reach and thinking cannot attain; that is, "The path of language is cut off, the place of mental activity is extinguished"; speaking of it misses the mark, knowing it is not it. Here Weishan hinted to Dongshan: No-speech is true speech, non-hearing is true hearing; this is inanimate objects expounding the Dharma. Regrettably, at this time Dongshan was still ignorant and did not understand. People often attach to the six dust realms of form, sound, scent, taste, touch, and dharmas that are relative to seeing, hearing, feeling, and knowing; that is, they attach to what is seen and heard. Then, what is not seen and not heard is considered "not it." Do they not know that this true nature which can see and hear, within the absence of what is seen and heard, has never been interrupted, has no traces of continuity, and is immovable as suchness? Thus the Buddha-nature is also called "Suchness" (*tathatā*). From this, one can see how thick and heavy people's habit of deluded attachment is!

In addition, Chan Master Weishan's "The mouth born of my parents will never explain it to you" has another layer of meaning: the work must be done by oneself, and the Buddha-nature must be realized by oneself. The ancients said: "What enters through the gate is not the family treasure." What is heard through the ears enters through the gate, because the six sense gates all face outward. The principles heard through the ears are not your own treasure. You must realize it yourself for it to be true. If I explain it to you, it will be of no benefit at all, and you will blame me in the future.

Speaking of this, I am reminded of Patriarch Xiangyan; he also encountered this problem. Patriarch Xiangyan and Patriarch Weishan were both disciples of Patriarch Baizhang. Patriarch Xiangyan was very familiar with the Buddhist sutras; if someone asked about the Dharma, he could often give ten answers to one question, and thought himself very extraordinary, praising himself in his heart: My wisdom is like the sea! But while Baizhang was alive, he did not attain realization in Chan. After Baizhang passed into perfect rest (*parinirvāṇa*), he had to go to his senior brother Weishan to investigate Chan. Weishan said to him: "Junior brother! I heard that when you were with our late teacher Baizhang, you asked one and answered ten, asked ten and answered a hundred." He hurriedly said: "I dare not, I dare not." Weishan said: "That is your cleverness and sharpness, intellectual understanding and consciousness-thinking; it is the root of birth and death. I now have a question for you; try to give me an answer." On the surface, he asked casually: "What question?" In his heart, he said: "Is there any question I cannot answer? Hmph!" Weishan said: "I do not ask you anything else; I only ask, what was your original face before your parents gave birth to you? Try to say a phrase." After hearing this, Patriarch Xiangyan's mind went blank. So he returned to his hut and looked through the sutras and treatises he had read in the past from beginning to end, looking for a phrase to answer, but in the end found nothing. He sighed to himself: "A painted cake cannot satisfy hunger." So he repeatedly begged Weishan to break it open for him. Weishan said: "If I explain it to you, you will curse me later. What I say belongs to me and ultimately has nothing to do with you. You had better go investigate it yourself!" Patriarch Xiangyan then burned all the texts he had read in the past, bid farewell to Weishan, and went to investigate on his own. He investigated morning and evening, investigating at all times while walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. One day while weeding in the field, his hoe hit a rock; he picked up the stone and threw it at random; it hit a bamboo, making a "crack" sound; suddenly he awakened and opened up to the original. So he went back to bathe and burn incense, bowing deeply towards Senior Brother Weishan from afar. He praised: "The High Master has great kindness, his grace exceeds that of parents. If you had broken it open for me back then, how could there be today's event?"

So it is said that the work must be done by oneself. Therefore, Patriarch Weishan said to Dongshan: "The mouth born of my parents will never explain it to you. If I tell you, it is useless; you must investigate it yourself!" Chan Master Dongshan Liangjie could not awaken; he felt the conditions did not match, so he asked again: "Is there anyone else who admired the Way at the same time as the Master?" Weishan then directed him to visit Chan Master Yunyan.

Dongshan bid farewell to Weishan and went straight to Yunyan's place; he recounted the previous koan about inanimate objects expounding the Dharma, and then asked Chan Master Yunyan: "Inanimate objects expound the Dharma; who gets to hear?" Chan Master Yunyan answered: "Inanimate objects get to hear." National Teacher Nanyang Huizhong said "Sages get to hear," but Chan Master Yunyan said inanimate objects get to hear. Actually, the pure mind emptying is the sage. Sage and ordinary are not established either; there is nothing at all; every single thing manifests the marvelous physical body, extends a broad long tongue, and spreads the Dharma sound. Blazing forth endlessly expounding, expounding infinitely and inexhaustibly; inanimate objects expound the Dharma like this. Then what is "Inanimate objects get to hear"? It means that when you obliterate and completely remove emotional views and do not attach to any sounds, forms, or dust objects, you will be able to hear inanimate objects expounding the Dharma and will be able to awaken to and see the fundamental nature.

We have said before that humans have two bad things: one is emotion (*qing*), the other is thought (*xiang*). If deluded emotion and love are cut off, that is good. Why? Because emotion is born of love, and love can generate water; the nature of water flows downward and cannot ascend to heaven, so it must be cut off. For example, when we encounter food we love, saliva is produced; if a loved one is leaving or going far away, tears cannot help but flow; if a loved one dies, we cry even more heartbreakingly; as for the love between men and women, it goes without saying. The nature of water is wetness; regardless of what water it is, it is wet, and it flows downward. Therefore, the character "emotion" in love sinks downward; if we want to be born in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, we must fly upward; if we sink downward, there is no hope. Thus, emotional views must be cut off completely. If love is not cut off completely, one cannot be born in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, so emotion is a bad thing. Thought (*xiang*) is comparatively a bit better; this thought is not random chaotic thinking; random chaotic thinking is still emotion. It is because we have emotion that we think randomly and chaotically. For example, if we love someone, we think of ways to get this person; if this person has a partner, we think of a way to cancel her partner and then get her. Look, those dramas and novels are all written this way; without this, they do not become dramas or novels. This is creating karma! Creating karma leads to receiving retribution. Random chaotic thinking is actually emotional love, which is still not acceptable.

Then, what is this thought about? It is the method of esoteric visualization practice; that is, thinking about how we can detach from this sentient realm and witness the original face, or thinking of the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, with the mind tethered to the West, working diligently to recite the Buddha's name—this is comparatively better. However, speaking of the ultimate place, thought and emotion are equally unacceptable. Why? Without emotion how can there be thought? Without thought how can there be emotion? Emotion and thought are not separated. The *Śūraṅgama Sūtra* says that if we truly practice esoteric visualization, the seventh consciousness can leave our physical form, or transform into the object visualized; this is called "pure thought flies," but it is still not true purity. True purity has not even thought. If there is still a Buddha to recite, that is not yet true purity; true purity has nothing whatsoever; that is the Pure Land of Constant Quiescent Light. However, when we recite the Buddha's name to seek birth in the West, we cannot demand too much; being born in the Land where Sages and Ordinary Beings Dwell Together is also acceptable. So if one recites the Buddha's name until emotion is cut off, pure thought will fly, and one can be reborn in the West; it is not difficult! When practicing, only focus thoughts on how good it is to be born in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, how luminous Amitabha Buddha is, and how he receives us; at the moment of passing and ascending, the holy realm of the West will naturally manifest, and one will see Amitabha Buddha, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva, and all Bodhisattvas coming to welcome, and we fly to be born in the West. Pure thought flying is the manifestation of the holy realm due to the maturation of the good roots of pure karma from reciting the Buddha's name. We currently speak of the Pure Land only as the West, but the *Śūraṅgama Sūtra* speaks of Pure Lands of the ten directions; one is reborn according to affinities, not solely in the Western Pure Land. From this, it can be known that to be born in the Pure Land, one must sever this love and deluded emotion completely.

Therefore, accomplished practitioners of the Way are all without emotional views; if you have emotion, it will not do. What is a Bodhisattva? This is the abbreviation of the Sanskrit *Bodhisattva*, translated into Chinese as "Awakening Sentient" (*Jue You Qing*); it means first awakening and breaking through all one's own emotional views, not attaching to any sound, form, or dust object, and clearly realizing the self-nature; only then can one help others awaken and break through the deluded dream, sweeping away deluded emotions, meaning emerging from the sea of suffering together. Thus Yunyan Chan Master said "Inanimate objects get to hear."

Dongshan pressed closely: "Does the High Master hear?" Dongshan was still ignorant up to this point. Yunyan answered: "If I heard, you would not hear me expounding the Dharma." Exactly the same as National Teacher Huizhong. If I could hear, I would not expound the Dharma to you. Why? First, if I heard, I would be equal to the sages; the *sambhogakāya* and *nirmāṇakāya* of the sages are not real, nor are they expounders of Dharma; the true *dharmakāya* of the sages has no speech and no hearing; if I heard, I would have accomplished the Way like the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; ordinary is unobtainable and sage is also unobtainable; abiding neither in ordinary nor sage, everything is non-existent; could you still hear me expounding the Dharma? Note! "Everything is non-existent" is not annihilationist emptiness. Rather, it is existing but not abiding; that is, speaking yet not speaking, not speaking yet speaking; it is not stubbornly clinging to not speaking, nor is it clinging to having something said. All actions are established as illusions; there is no Buddha either; even the word Buddha is a convenient false name! If there were still matters beyond the Buddhas, Buddha would not be Buddha! Therefore, we should not abide in appearances; true accomplishment of the Way is having not a single point. Second, if I heard, I would be the same as the insentient; the insentient take non-speaking as the correct speaking, not having spoken language; then how could you hear me expounding the Dharma today? Furthermore, if I heard, I would be attaching to sound dust, having abidance; if the view of Dharma is not removed, how can I be a teacher of men? So I do not hear. Non-hearing is true hearing! That is "no speech," no words to say. You must grasp the meaning beyond the words! You only understand the Dharma with language, the Dharma that can be spoken; what you hear me saying now are all things with speech, none are real. Now that I speak to you like this, it is for you to comprehend the meaning beyond the words, to intuit the meaning outside the speech, and thereby clearly see the true speech of no-speech, the true hearing of non-hearing! However, Dongshan still did not comprehend and asked again: "Why do I not hear?" He asked Yunyan: "I should hear inanimate objects expounding the Dharma; why do I not hear it?" He was still attaching to sound, form, and dust objects; what is the meaning of chasing like this? Why not reverse the hearing to hear the self-nature? It is shining right on your face! Is this not you hearing naturally, hearing without hearing?! People of the world are ignorant like this, too pitiable! At this moment, Yunyan also raised his fly whisk like Weishan. If Dongshan had grasped this opportunity and asked himself, "Who is the one seeing the raised fly whisk?!", exerted his energy right here, he would have awakened instantly. What a pity, missed again! Yunyan asked: "Do you hear yet?" Raising the fly whisk had no sound and no words, but the great sound is rarefied sound, true and precise, thunderous in the ears. Why? Because the sound of no-sound is the greatest sound; this is called great sound is rarefied sound.

We humans often attach to having sound to be heard, comprehending only where there is sound to be heard. But if you want to truly see the nature, you cannot attach to where there is sound to be heard. Because having sound and no sound is just the arising and ceasing of sound, whereas our hearing nature is emitting light before us at every moment; it has no intervals and no continuity. Therefore, the ancients said: "Peach blossoms bank the river after the wind and rain; where can the horse's hooves avoid the fallen red?" On both sides of a small path, peach trees are planted; after a storm of wind and rain, the small path is covered with peach blossom petals everywhere; when riding a horse past this place, how can the horse's hooves avoid the petals everywhere and not step on them? The meaning is that the Buddha-nature is functioning at all times and in all places; it is absent nowhere, present everywhere; can you avoid it? Therefore, do not discriminate based on having signs or no signs, having sound or no sound. When we do not see light, we see darkness; seeing darkness is still seeing. When we do not hear sound, we hear silence; hearing silence is still hearing. Is this not the proof that the seeing nature and hearing nature are unborn and undying?

Pity that Dongshan answered: "I do not hear." He attached to sound; because he didn't hear a sound, he said he didn't hear. This is like casting a flirtatious glance at a blind man; he missed it face-to-face; it is too pitiful! However, we should say, luckily he did not hear; if he had heard, and attached to appearances again, then "not hearing" is the true hearing. Yunyan said: "You do not even hear my expounding the Dharma; how much less inanimate objects expounding the Dharma?" I expound the Dharma to you like this—raising the fly whisk—although there is no sound, there is still movement; if you do not hear or comprehend even this, how much less the true speech and true movement of no-speech and no-movement? People of the world are all foolish like this, all attaching to the deluded karma of what is seen and heard in form and sound, never glancing back once to recognize this nature that can see, hear, speak, and move. This nature is the original True Buddha! They even mistakenly think that not hearing sound is non-hearing, and not seeing light, shadow, form, or appearance is non-seeing. Do they not know that this seeing nature and hearing nature are emitting light at the face-gate at every moment, never covered, never interrupted? Even when there is no sound to be heard and no appearance to be seen, it is still seeing, still hearing. Because hearing a silence is still hearing, and seeing a signless is still seeing; how can you say there is no seeing or hearing? Dongshan then asked again: "Inanimate objects expounding the Dharma, on what scriptural authority is this based?" It was the same as the monk asking the National Teacher in the previous koan. Chan Master Yunyan answered: "Have you not seen the *Amitābha Sūtra* say, 'Water, birds, trees, and forests all recite the Buddha and the Dharma'?" At this moment, Chan Master Dongshan Liangjie suddenly had an awakening; he finally entered the soundless from the sound; he finally comprehended and awakened. He blurted out a verse saying: Also very strange, also very strange, Inanimate objects expounding the Dharma is inconceivable. If you use ears to listen you will ultimately hardly comprehend; Only when hearing sound at the eye will you know. Truly wonderful, truly strange! Inanimate objects being able to expound the Dharma is truly marvelous beyond words, inconceivable, truly beyond imagination! Can inanimate objects expound the Dharma? Yes! If you use ears to listen, you cannot understand, because inanimate objects expounding the Dharma has no sound. You can only comprehend the mystery within by listening with your eyes. The eyes cannot hear sound, but no-sound is precisely the marvelous sound. From this it can be seen that Chan Master Dongshan comprehended "having sound" and from "having sound" realized "no-sound," but he had not yet realized that "no-sound is having sound, having sound is no-sound," so he was not yet thoroughly ultimate.

There are many more koans about awakening to the Way through sound. I will cite another example here: In the past, Chan Master Yuanwu Keqin served as an attendant under Chan Master Wuzu Fayan, investigating Chan with Fayan. One day, a scholar came to visit Wuzu Fayan; Wuzu Fayan said to the visitor: "If you ask about the self-nature and Dharmakaya, did you ever read 'Little Love Poems' in your youth? There are two lines in a poem very similar to it: 'She calls for Little Jade frequently though having no business; solely so that her lover recognizes her voice.'" The meaning is calling "Little Jade! Little Jade!" frequently. Little Jade is a maidservant; why does the young mistress call her? No business. Then why call? The purpose is to let her lover hear this calling voice and know she is here. That is, she intentionally sends a message to her lover, because he recognizes her voice; hearing the call, he knows she is here. This is borrowing poetry to speak of Chan. Borrowing this poem to ask back: Who is it that emits this calling voice? And who is it that hears it? Is all of this not the function of the self-nature? Is it not all the manifestation of the true nature? Chan Master Wuzu Fayan citing this little love poem contained deep meaning. Originally all forms and appearances, all sounds, have no meaning; they are all flowers in the sky and moon in the water, all unobtainable; this accords with the first line "though having no business." However, everything is the function of the self-nature, everything is the manifestation of the true nature; this accords with the second line "recognizes her voice." This aims to inspire us all to recognize our own original face. Yuanwu Keqin heard these words from the side and immediately had an awakening. He walked out of the Abbot's room; coincidentally at that moment, a big rooster crowed "Cock-a-doodle-doo" on the fence. Hearing this, Yuanwu Keqin suddenly triggered his spiritual potential, touching upon the word "voice" in "solely so that her lover recognizes her voice" said by Wuzu Fayan just now, and suddenly attained great awakening! Is this not sound? This is the manifestation of the self-nature; all reflections cannot be separated from the mirror; apart from the mirror, where are there reflections? Everything, absolutely everything, is the function of the true nature, the manifestation of the true nature.

Through the explanation of the few koans above, we should not misunderstand "hearing sound at the eye" as a special supernatural power. Many of us practitioners just like supernatural powers, often mistakenly thinking that ears being able to see words and eyes being able to hear sounds—the six senses functioning interchangeably—is the manifestation of supernatural powers, and only then can one hear inanimate objects expounding the Dharma. Little do they know that inanimate objects expounding the Dharma is speaking without speaking; it is not that there is a subtle sound that you can hear only when you do not use ears to listen and do not use eyes to see. Hearing sound at the eye is not a special supernatural power; Chan Master Dongshan's "Only when hearing sound at the eye will you know" tells us not to abide in the ear faculty, but to turn the light around to reflect and intuitively comprehend that this numinous, marvelous True Mind—which is unborn in a single thought and clearly distinct—is precisely It, at the place where there is no sound to be heard, where deluded thoughts do not arise, and where one is touched by the scene and emotion arises. Recognizing one's own original face and understanding that absolutely everything is the function of the True Mind, the manifestation of the True Mind, then we can understand "Inanimate is sentient, sentient is inanimate." Mountains, rivers, the great earth, sun, moon, stars, walls, tiles, and pebbles are just ourselves! Why? Are mountains, rivers, and the great earth not within empty space? Can they go outside of empty space? They cannot. Our True Mind is like empty space; as large as empty space is, so large is our True Mind. The True Mind pervades empty space and exhausts the Dharma-realm; the ten Dharma-realms are all within my mind; all things in empty space are within my mind; thus mountains, rivers, and the great earth are not outside my mind either. The *Zuo Zhuan* says: "Under the wide heaven, there is no land that is not the king's; to the borders of the land, there is no one who is not the king's subject." I am Buddha, they are also Buddha; all are Buddha! Therefore "Inanimate is sentient, sentient is inanimate"! Furthermore, the inanimate is earth, water, fire, and wind! For example, the earth is composed of the four great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind; the earth is rotating, with rotation on its axis and revolution around the sun; movement is wind. The earth has a crust; the crust is hard, which is the earth element. There is water on the surface and underground, which is the water element. The core part of the earth is scorching lava-like material, and volcanoes often erupt on the surface, which is the fire element. Earth, water, fire, and wind are all complete; the earth is synthesized from the four great seed-natures of earth, water, fire, and wind. "Seed-nature" means a seed that can give rise to things; thus the four great seed-natures can give rise to myriad things. Our Buddha-nature possesses the seven great components: earth, water, fire, wind, space, perception, and consciousness; thus it is called the seven great seed-natures. All things in the world are born of these seven great seed-natures; "The same perfect wisdom encompasses both the sentient and insentient." Therefore, the inanimate is the sentient, and the sentient is the inanimate; whether sentient or inanimate, they are all ourselves. Since they are all ourselves, what division of sentient and inanimate is there? Understanding this principle, one knows that tables are also Buddha, chairs are also Buddha, bricks are also Buddha, and tiles are also Buddha; there is nothing that is not Buddha. All sentient and insentient beings are Buddha!