The Enlightenment Sutra[1]
Translated
from Lokottama's Chinese version
by Dr. Tetcheng Liao
Foreword (by Bhikkhu
Upaya)
In so far as the Buddha's disciple, they should read day and night
piously and earnestly the following eight precepts leading the followers of Mahayana
Buddhism[2] to attain the state of enlightenment:
FIRST ENLIGHTENMENT
Impermanence[3]
characterizes everything in the universe. Both dangerous and frail is the whole
earth, subject to disintegration. The human body analyzed into four chief elements,[4]
inhere in sorrow and emptiness. The combination of the five elements of life impulse
[5] possesses no real ego. It is a law that all conditioned things arise and disappear.
All is found to be in a state of change and decay. There is no control at all
over the body and worldly objects. Consequently, the mind is the root of evil,
while the attachment to worldly objects, the refuge of crimes or sins. Observing
all phenomena from this angle, we shall bit by bit free ourselves from the suffering
of birth and death.[6]
SECOND ENLIGHTENMENT
Excessive desire begets
suffering. The suffering of birth and death as well as the leading of a weary
life are all caused by greed.[7] Few desires along with no craving make our mind
and body comfortable.
THIRD ENLIGHTENMENT
The insatiable ambitions
seek only for acquisition, thus increasing sins. Those who practice the Bodhisattvaship
will never do such things. They should bear contentment in mind, and endure poverty
in following the Buddha's doctrine.[8] They are looking for nothing but wisdom.
FOURTH ENLIGHTENMENT
Laziness degrades a man. One should always go
ahead with all one's energy to acquire wisdom. Only by this means, one will destroy
all evil of worries[9] and overcome the four devils[10] and put them under one's
control, in order to get out of the prison from the five aggregates of life impulses
and the suffering world.
FIFTH ENLIGHTENMENT
Ignorance[11] constitutes
the suffering of birth and death. Followers of the Bodhisattvaship must remember
to store up knowledge by learning or listening, in order to develop their wisdom
and prepare their eloquence for the spread of Buddhist scriptures to all beings,
conferring on them the great happiness.
SIXTH ENLIGHTENMENT
The poor
often foster hatred that keeps up everywhere bad term with others. In practicing
charity,[12] followers of the Bodhisattvaship should treat friend and foe alike,
with the same degree of love, without malice whatsoever nor repugnant feeling
towards the wicked persons.[13]
SEVENTH ENLIGHTENMENT
The five passions
fall into sins and woe though laymen should not taint with worldly pleasures,[14]
yet they have always to think of the three kinds of robes[15] and tiled bowls[16]
as well as other instruments used by monks or bhikkus. In case of the desire manifested
by laymen to be bhikkhus, they must scrupulously observe the Buddhist scriptures
and keep themselves pure from evil. Thus their perfect life may be known for a
long time and far and wide. Besides, they will impart a deep compassion with every
creature that suffers.
EIGHTH ENLIGHTENMENT
The wheel of birth and
death are like the flame burning in the house. There are innumerable sufferings.[17]
First we have to dedicate ourselves to the service of mankind, then to suffer
for their sake and finally to let them attain Nibbana,[18] the ultimate state
of supreme bliss.
These eight precepts are the way leading to the enlightenment
for Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and followers of the Mahayana school. When one pursues
the Buddhist scriptures with energy and perseverance, one can grow, for his own
sake, in compassion and wisdom at the same time. Hence, one can get to the other
side of the shore by taking the Buddha's ferryboat. Out of compassion, one may
come down again and revolve, as one likes, in the wheel of birth and death with
one aim and object -- the liberation of all beings.
These eight precepts give
us the general idea to grasp the suffering of birth and death and abandon the
five passions in order to cultivate our mind in attaining the Buddhist sainthood.
Should
the Buddha's disciple read unremittingly the eight precepts mentioned above, they
could get rid of countless sins so as to acquire transcendental wisdom and would
soon achieve enlightenment. Consequently, they would be exempt from the suffering
of rebirth and could stay always in the state of happiness.[19]
Annotation
1
This sutra or scripture has been dedicated to laymen by our Master Gotama
Buddha before his attainment of Nirvana. As a matter of fact, it is a resume of
his fundamental doctrine preached during his life-time. So it may be considered
as his last will. It has the same character as the Sutra of Forty-two Sections
and the Testament Sutra which the Buddha has particularly consecrated to monks.
The
written form of the Enlightenment Sutra differs some-what from that of other sutras.
Usually in other sutras, we may find such wordings as 'Thus have I heard"
used at the very beginning and "All were very happy and retired with pleasure"
at the end. But all these expressions are not found in this sutra.
Annotation
2
In China, all Buddhist texts are divided into two groups of "Maha"
and "Hina." The Enlightenment Sutra belongs to the Mahayana School of
Buddhism which means the greater or the northern vehicle, performed by China.,
Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, Mongolia, Japan, Korea, while the southern Buddhism
is "Hina" which means the small or the southern vehicle, practiced by
Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia.
The historical records of Fa-Hsien and
Hsuan-Chuang, two famous Chinese monks, reported in their books of travel to India
from 392 to 414 A.D. and from 629 to 645 A.D. respectively, that there existed
two kinds of doctrines called Maha and Hina, and that there were temples where
monks were learning either or both of them. However different the tenets of various
sects may be, we can easily discover the beliefs common to all of them, if we
profess true Buddhism. These beliefs are:
1. Body is impure;
2. Sensation
and feeling are painful;
3. Mind is impermanent;
4. Things as being dependent
and without a nature of their own;
5. Ever-rotating cycle of birth and death;
6. Cause-effect law;
7. Nirvana, the ultimate state of happiness.
Now,
let us look into the differences between Mahayana School and that of Hinayana.
(1)
Arahatship is the highest ideal to be attained by Buddhists. Mahayanists do not
strive for Arahatship, they want to become, if not Buddhas, at least Bodhisattvas.
(2) An Arhat wants to save himself in a hurry, but a Bodhisattva who has the
patience to wait, always tries to seek wisdom so as to bring salvation to all
beings in this miserable world.
(3) In Theravada, there are no prayers, no
rites and ceremonies. In Mahayana, those rites exist. The former considers prayers,
rites and ceremonies a great obstacle to perfection, while the latter strives
to attain the Bodhisattvaship by dependence upon the Buddha's power.
Annotation
3
There is all movability in the universe from. the tiny electron to the most
colossal sun. All is motion from form to form, like the bubbles on a river, sparkling,
bursting, and being borne away. There is nothing constant in the universe. Constancy
is an illusion. Many things appear constant because our lives are too short to
witness the changes taking place, or because the changes are too subtle for undeveloped
intelligence.
This is true in the material world as well as in the psychic
life. In the spiritual life, there is an ever changing consciousness never the
same for two consecutive moments. This can be ascertained experimentally in the
various exercises of meditation. When we try, according to certain rules of meditation
to stop the stream of our thoughts and obtain an absolute stillness, we shall
notice how the day's impressions and old reminiscences disturb and prevent concentration.
This
is equally true even in our very lives; the change from the womb to childhood,
from childhood to manhood and thence to old age, death and decay.
The doctrine
of impermanence shows us how to control our selfish cravings and passions. Thus,
we shall destroy the chains of fear and anxiety, grief and despair. It is of vital
importance to enjoy bodily and mental bliss.
Annotation 4
The four chief
elements are earth or body, water or liquid, fire or heat, wind or air.
The
body elements are of 20 kinds, namely; (I) hair of the head (2) hair of the body
(3) nails (4) teeth (5) skin (6) flesh (7) tendons (8) bones (9) marrow (10) kidneys
(11) heart (12) liver (13) pleura (14) spleen (15) lungs (16) lower intestine
(17) upper intestine (18) stomach (19) feces (20) brain.
The water element
is of 12 kinds: (1) bile (2) phlegm (3) blood (4) pus (5) sweat (6) fat (7) tears
(8) grease (9) saliva (to) snot (11) synovial fluid (12) urine.
The fire element
means heat which is greater when digestion is going on.
The air element which
we breath, is always going in and out.
All these chief elements constitute
the human bodies. If the four elements are in harmony, we are strong enough to
walk and to work. Otherwise, we are sick. When the four elements separate and
leave our bodies, then we die. Therefore all these four elements in our bodies,
are painful and empty. This is just like a dream of the various illusions shown
by magicians, comparable to the shadows of men under lighted lamps, or the images
of men in a big glass, or like bubbles of water. We have no control over our bodies.
It is in a state of flux.
Annotation 5
Man is a combination of five factors
which come from craving rooted in ignorance. The five factors are body, feeling,
perception, tendencies and consciousness. It is nothing but a mixing of five aggregates.
Nowhere an eternal self is to be found in the physical organism. As a house is
nothing but a joint name given to the tiles of the roof and its different parts,
the beam, clay, wall, door, window and so on, when taken together. But when these
different parts of the house are separated, nothing but an abstract house remains.
While
the mind is infiltrated by selfish ideas, we can only have distorted views of
things; we think of my body, your body, whereas they do not really belong to you
or me at all. They belong to the Universe. It is this idea of personal possessions
or attachment which is at the root of all illusion and suffering, and while it
occupies our minds, we can never hope to see things is they really are.
There
is no real I or mine. It is like a flame produced by a combination of gases. For
what is a flame but a phenomenon by rapid oxidation. If we are to live a perfect
life, we should break the prejudice of the selfish petty ego which creates a barrier
between ourselves and others.
Impermanence, unreality of ego, suffering and
emptiness are the essential features of Buddhism.
Annotation 6
Why should
rebirth not be desirable? Because it is the entrance gate of all forms of suffering,
namely; old-age.. disease, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair.
Birth is preceded by death, and death is preceded by birth. Death, according to
Buddhism, is the cessation of the psycho-physical life of any one individual existence.
But it is not the complete annihilation of a being. So the mental force remains
undisturbed by the disintegration of the physical body, and passing away of the
present consciousness leads to the arising of a fresh one in another birth. Just
as an electric light is the outward manifestation of invisible energy. The bulb
may break, and the light may be extinguished, but the current remains and the
light may he reproduced in another bulb. Here the bulb may he compared to parental
cell and the electric energy to the mental force. (This illustration is extracted
from the publication of "Buddhism" by R.V. Narada.)
What happens
when a man dies? The dying man's craving force remains just as electricity persists
as a force. Whether it is mental force or physical force, a force is always a
force. The craving force is the most potent force in the universe and that force
at the time of death must follow the law of the conservation of energy, like all
other forces. According to physics, a force once liberated will always go on as
a force until it meets an opposite and equal force to neutralize. The same thing
applies to the craving force. It is only when a human being by means of morality,
concentration, and insight can develop an equal and an opposite non craving force
to neutralize his craving force, then and then alone will there be no rebirth
for him. (This explanation was given by Rev. Lokanatha in a talk at the Rangoon
University, 1951.)
Another example given by Jinananda, Nayaka Thera, in his
article entitled "The doctrine of reason" and published in the "Buddhist
world, Ceylon, 14 April 1954, said:
"The process of Rebirth may be compared
to the Succession of one wave form in the ocean by another, where, though the
substance of one does not pass into the other, yet is wholly dependent on the
nature of the former, each wave form represent-ing a life as we commonly term
it."
Annotation 7
The Buddha emphatically recommended the abstinence
from greed, because greed is the curse of the age. Abstention from greed is awareness
of the fact that both worldly pleasures (such as wealth, possessions, reputation,
overindulgence in food and sleep) and worldly objects (such as experienced by
the perception of form, sound, odor, taste or touch) are all unreal, transitory
and impure. So it means to have no craving for any of them.
Greed which blinds
the eyes arises through thinking that the body is lovely. When we realize that
the body is excrementitious, greed dies forever.
Annotation 8
What is the
Buddha's doctrine? In a nutshell, it consists of the four noble Truths which lead
to weed out craving and ignorance, to overcome rebirth, old-age, disease, death,
sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair, to make an end of this whole mass
of misery and to attain the Eternal Peace, liberation and salvation from the round
of existences.
Our great Master surveyed the world and found only suffering.
He analyzed the cause of suffering and has given us a prescription for eliminating
the root cause of suffering by following the Eight steps or Eightfold Path.
Then,
what is the Eightfold Path? It consists of:--
(1) Right Knowledge. It can be
distinguished in three degrees:
(a) General right knowledge. It consists of
compassion, loving-kindness, and equality, the cause-effect law by which we can
determine our own future by our own deeds, and there is a doctrine of Rebirth.
(b) Right Knowledge in the Buddhist sense. It consists of;
(1) the understanding
of what merit is and the root of merit, what demerit is and the root of demerit.
(2) the combination of five factors of form, feeling, perception, tendencies
and consciousness as impermanent, miserable and not self;
(3) the law of conditional
arising and cessation of all phenomena;
(4) the suffering and its cause, the
cessation of the suffering and the Eightfold Path that leads to the cessation
of suffering.
(c) Sublime Right knowledge. That is wisdom or penetration which
can be obtained by meditation.
(2) Right Thoughts. That is to give up all thoughts
of greed, hatred and ignorance, for these lead us to increase sorrow, lamentation,
pain, grief and despair.
(3) Right speech -- That is to say, abstaining from
lying, talebearing, harsh language and vain talk.
(4) Right action -- That
is abstinence from killing, stealing, misconduct in speech and sex relationship
and also abstinence from drinking intoxicating beverage.
(5) Right occupation
or livelihood -- That means (a) not to be a butcher, hunter, fisherman, soldier,
executioner, fortune--teller and astrologer (b) not to fabric and sell arms, poison
and intoxicating drinks. In other words, we must take up a right occupation so
that we will not cause suffering to any living being and earn a livelihood by
right and honest means.
(6) Right Effort -- This is fourfold, namely;
(a)
overcoming evil and demeritorious states of mind that have already arisen, as
though one strove to destroy a poisonous snake;
(b) avoiding the arising of
evil and demeritorious states of mind that have not yet arisen, as though one
strove to prevent the epidemic disease;
(c) maintaining meritorious states
of mind that have already arisen, as though one sprayed one's fruit trees.
(d)
Developing meritorious states of mind that have not yet arisen, as though one
sowed good seeds.
(7)Right attentiveness -- There is fourfold, namely,
(a)
contemplation of body as impure,
(b) contemplation of sensation as sorrowful,
(c) contemplation of various states of mind as impermanent,
(d) contemplation
of phenomena as not self.
(8) Right concentration -- The one and only object
of concentration of mind is stillness which leads to clear, deep, true vision.
Confucius has pointed out, in the "Great learning" that "contemplation
can be attained when we concentrate. Stillness comes after the concentration of
the mind. To that stillness, there may be a tranquil repose. In that repose, we
can consider things thoughtfully. Success will certainly he attained when we consider
things thoughtfully."
That is all the fundamental parts of the whole Buddha's
doctrine.
Annotation 9
There are six fundamental evils of worries, ten
minor ones, two major ones and eight chief ones. Altogether there are twenty six
subsidiary evils of worries. Let us now first enumerate the six fundamental evils,
such as: lust, hatred, ignorance, pride, doubt and erroneous views. They are fundamental
ones, because they are as the roots of trees.
Secondly, ten minor evils of
worries are: 1) anger, 2) enmity 3) vexation 4) hypocrisy 5) dishonesty 6) deceit
7) arrogance 8) harmfulness 9) envy 10) selfishness. They are called the minor
ones, because they always take place individually or separately and are obvious
and flagrant.
Thirdly, two major evils of worries are: a) shamelessness b)
impudence. They are called major ones, because they have greater influence than
the minor ones mentioned above.
Fourthly, eight chief evils of worries are
(1)lack of faith (2)idleness (3)carelessness (4)indolence (5)recklessness (6)forgetfulness
(7)wrong judgement (8)confusion. They are called chief ones, because they are
not only the sources of demerit, but also a state of mind which is neither meritorious
nor demeritorious.
Annotation 10
The four devils are: 1) devil from the
five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, tendencies and consciousness 2)
devil of death 3) devil of suffering 4) devil of the Samsara world, or the round
of existences.
Annotation 11
Pondering on the origin of birth and death,
our great Master Gotama Buddha recognized that ignorance was the root of all evil.
Consequently, He particularly insisted upon those who practice the Bodhisattvaship
that they should endeavor to acquire sufficient knowledge and eloquence before
being able to lead the sentient beings to the Path of liberation and confer upon
them the great happiness.
Annotation 12
The act of charity is renunciation
and by charity, we destroy greed. Greed cannot be quenched. The more we grasp,
the more we want to grasp. A miller with one mill tries to have two, and one with
two strive for four and the process goes on without an end. The same applies to
owners of mine, forests and oil-wells. They strive for more possessions since
greed can never be satisfied. But there is satisfaction in performing the opposite
experiment--renunciation. If greed is extinguished, we enjoy the peace of mind.
One thing here we should remember is that when we practice alms-giving, we should
not make any discrimination between friends and foes. By magnanimity, we should
treat them on equal footing.
There are three kinds of charity; namely,
(1)
alms-giving -- Alms-giving is again divided into two types:
(a) the offerings
of limb or life to confer benefit on others.
(b) the offerings of belongings
such as money, clothing food, lodging, etc.
(2) The offerings of knowledge.
Knowledge is again divided into two types;
(a) Worldly knowledge such as to
teach people to read, to write, to sew, to repair bridges and roads, etc.
(b)
Inconceivable and inexplicable knowledge to this world, such as to preach the
Buddha's doctrine, in order to guide all sentient beings to do meritorious deeds
as well as to avoid harmful deeds.
(3) The offerings of help and assistance
with great sacrifice and without fear, such as to relieve people who are persecuted
by enemies, tortured by war, robbed by robbers, chased by fierce animals, drowning
by flood or burning by fire etc.
Annotation 13
At the Buddha's time, there
were other religious leaders in India which were most embarrassed when many of
their disciples left them and entered the Order of the Buddha. They tried to kill
him with the help of the Buddha's cousin Devadatta. In this connection, we admire
the magnanimity of the Buddha towards the animosity of Devadatta and the hostilities
of the other sects. In fact, the loving kindness He radiated to those enemies
and to His favorite disciple Ananda was the same profound intensity, not one bit
too much or too less.
Annotation 14
The five passions embrace excessive
desire for wealth, women, reputation and over-indulgence in food and sleep. It
is the passion which blinds the eyes. It is also the passion which leads us to
go astray. Therefore, all evil is engendered by passion. When the eyes are opened,
the absence of lust makes us see things as they really are. As a matter of fact,
worldly pleasures are the bait, and the result is pain.
Annotation 15
Robes
wearing, according to circumstances, by Buddhist monks, are of three kinds, namely;
(a)
Overcoat with 9 stripes wearing only for great occasions.
(b) Clothes with
7 stripes wearing for monks meetings or classes.
(c) Clothes with 5 stripes
wearing for daily works.
Annotation 16
In older time monks did not prepare
themselves meals. They went around with their tiled howls, begging alms for their
meals. This custom is still maintained in the Southeast Asian Nations. Why have
laymen to think of three kinds of robes, tiled bowls and instruments used by Monks?
The reason is quite simple. Mentally, they have to think how the monks observe
the Buddhist doctrine and follow them strictly in order to he always on the alert
not to commit sins.
Annotation 17
Our great Master Gotama Buddha surveyed
the world and found only suffering. He analyzed the eight great sufferings, as
follows:
(a) The suffering of birth.-- A child cries bitterly when it is born,
because it cannot stand the cold air. It feels worst of all when the nurse washes
its tender body with hot water.
(b) The suffering of old age such as grey
hair, bad eyesight,
dull ears, tooth decay, weakness of the limbs, and various
kinds of suffering come one after another.
(c) The suffering of sickness --
Our bodies are formed of solid, liquid, heat and air. If the four elements are
quite balanced, then we are strong enough to do everything. On the contrary, we
are getting sick for some time or for years.
(d) The suffering of death. --
No matter how careful we protect ourselves from being hungry, cold, hot or ill,
we cannot escape the inevitable state of death. The suffer-ing, at the point of
death, is like a crab which is thrown into a burning pan.
(e) The suffering
of separation from beloved ones. -- Everybody loves the natural happiness, when
husbands and wives, parents and children are assembled together joy-fully. Unfortunately,
when unexpected things happen, we are forced to separate. Worst still when a sick
person cannot be cured by any doctor or medicine, he has to die.
(f) The suffering
of craving. -- The suffering which hurts us greatly can easily be seen, when we
are unsuccessful in our expectations of money, reputation, benefit, children,
clothing, food or lodging.
(g) The suffering of being in the company of our
enemies. -- It is very sad to meet our enemies who have harmed us, or have put
us to shame unreasonably. It is unspeakable suffering both physically and mentally
when children are disobedient, brothers and sisters are unfriendly, husbands and
wives are disagreeable, mothers-in-law, daughters-in law and sisters-in-law are
quarrelsome.
(h) The suffering from the five aggregates of form, feeling,
perception) tendencies and consciousness. -- When the light of our wisdom is obscured
or enveloped by a combination of these five factors, we feel as if a fire is raging
furiously in our hearts.
Annotation 18
Nibbana, in Pali or Nirvana, in
Sanskrit, has different significations:
(a) It may mean the extinction of the
fires of greed, hatred and illusion and other elements of depravity and defilement.
(b) It may imply that the extinction of rebirth, thus suppressing all suffering.
(c) It may be interpreted as the attainment of an absolute realm of permanence,
easiness, true self and purity.
(d) It may also signify abstention from covering
the fire of lust with more fagots in order to let it burn out by itself.
(e)
It may also be regarded as a state of supreme bliss of Enlightenment, beyond the
conception of the intellect.
Annotation 19
This is the conclusion of the
eight precepts. It emphasizes, by putting them into practice, one can get the
benefit of Enlightenment. Only reading by heart is just like a parrot that imitates
a man's speaking, without knowing the real meaning.
When a man is sick, he
has to go to see a doctor. For curing the disease, he has to take medicine, according
to the prescription given by the doctor. Only by taking medicine, can the sick
he healed. It is the same way for the practice of Buddhism. It is said by the
ancients: "Without biting cold, how can one get fragrant plum blossoms."
Buddhism Study and Practice Group (http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/)