The Śūraṅgama Sūtra (大佛頂如來密因修證了義諸菩薩萬行首楞嚴經)

The Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Volume 4

Translation by Śramaṇa Paramiti of Tang Dynasty India

At that time, Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra rose from his seat in the assembly, bared his right shoulder, placed his right knee on the ground, joined his palms respectfully, and addressed the Buddha, saying:

“O World-Honored One of great majesty and virtue! You have skillfully expounded for sentient beings the supreme truth of the Tathāgata. The World-Honored One has often praised me as foremost among those who teach the Dharma. Yet now, hearing the Tathāgata’s subtle and wondrous Dharma-sound, I feel like a deaf person trying to hear a mosquito’s buzz from a hundred paces away—unable even to see it, much less hear it clearly. Although the Buddha has proclaimed this teaching to dispel my doubts, I still do not fully grasp its ultimate meaning, free from uncertainty.

O World-Honored One! Those like Ānanda, though they have attained insight, have not yet eradicated their habitual defilements. And those among us in this assembly who have reached the state beyond outflows—though we have exhausted all leaks—upon hearing the Tathāgata’s Dharma-sound, still find ourselves entangled in doubt and perplexity.

O World-Honored One! If all the sense faculties, sense objects, aggregates, sense-spheres, and elements of the world are the Tathāgata-garland, inherently pure and serene, how is it that mountains, rivers, the great earth, and all conditioned phenomena suddenly arise, evolving in sequence, flowing and changing, ending and beginning again?

Moreover, the Tathāgata has said that the natures of earth, water, fire, and wind are perfectly interfused, pervading the entire Dharma-realm, serene and eternally abiding. O World-Honored One! If the nature of earth pervades everywhere, how can water be accommodated? If the nature of water pervades everywhere, fire cannot arise. How then can it be explained that the natures of water and fire both pervade empty space without destroying one another?

O World-Honored One! The nature of earth is obstructive, while the nature of space is empty and permeable. How can both equally pervade the entire Dharma-realm? I do not understand where the meaning of this lies. I only pray that the Tathāgata, flowing with great compassion, will dispel the clouds of confusion for me and for this great assembly!”

Having spoken these words, he prostrated himself with five limbs touching the ground, earnestly longing for the Tathāgata’s unsurpassingly compassionate instruction.

At that time, the World-Honored One addressed Purna and all the fully accomplished, beyond-learning arhats in the assembly:

“Today, the Tathagata will proclaim for this assembly the true supreme meaning within the supreme meaning, so that all in this gathering—the fixed-nature voice-hearers, and all those arhats who have not yet realized the emptiness of self and phenomena but have turned their minds toward the Great Vehicle—may all attain the ground of the One Vehicle, the place of perfect stillness, the true hermitage of right practice. Listen now attentively, and I shall explain it to you.”

Purna and the others, revering the Buddha’s voice, silently prepared to receive the teaching.

The Buddha said: "Purna, you ask, 'If the nature is originally pure and perfect, how do mountains, rivers, and the great earth suddenly arise?' Have you not often heard the Tathagata explain that the nature of enlightenment is wondrously luminous, and the original enlightenment is luminously wondrous?"

Purna replied, "Indeed, World-Honored One. I have often heard you teach this truth."

The Buddha asked, "When you speak of 'enlightened awareness,' is it that awareness itself is inherently clear and thus called 'enlightenment'? Or is it that a fundamental enlightenment lacks clarity, and so it is called 'enlightened awareness'?"

Fulou said, "If this clarity is not what we call awakening, then there is nothing to be clear about."

The Buddha said: "If there is no object to illuminate, then there is no act of illuminating awareness. To have an object is not true awareness; to have no object is not true illumination. This 'lack of illumination' is not the clear, luminous nature of awareness. The essential nature of awareness is inherently luminous, but a false notion arises, taking this luminosity to be an act of illuminating something. True awareness is not something that needs to illuminate an object. Yet, because of this notion of 'illumination,' an object is established. Once this false object is established, your false perceiving faculty is born. From a state where there is neither sameness nor difference, a blazing distinction abruptly appears. Distinguishing itself from what it has made different, it then establishes a concept of 'sameness' in contrast. The interplay of this sameness and difference gives rise to further distinctions, and from this, a state of 'neither sameness nor difference' is also set up.

In this way, disturbances arise through mutual opposition, and from prolonged agitation, defilements are produced, creating a turbid confusion within. From this, the wearisome dust of afflictions is stirred up. The active aspect of this confusion forms the world of phenomena; the quiescent aspect becomes empty space. Emptiness is taken as 'sameness,' and the world is taken as 'difference.' Within that which has neither sameness nor difference, conditioned phenomena truly arise.

The interaction between the luminous awareness and the obscurity of space creates a stirring motion, hence the wind element arises, upholding the world. From emptiness, motion is born; from solidifying illumination, obstructions are established. That which becomes metal and jewels is the solidification of luminous awareness, hence the earth element arises, maintaining the lands. Solidified awareness forms the jewels; stirring illumination produces the wind. The friction between wind and metal generates the fire element, which has a transformative nature. The moisture from luminous jewels, heated by the rising flames, produces the water element, encompassing all realms.

Fire ascends, water descends; their interaction establishes solidity. The moist coalesces into vast oceans; the dry forms continents and islands. For this reason, within the great seas, flames often arise; upon the continents, rivers constantly flow. Where water's force is weaker than fire's, it congeals into high mountains. Therefore, when mountain rocks are struck, they spark fire; when melted, they become liquid. Where earth's force is weaker than water's, it is drawn up into plants and trees. Therefore, when forests burn, they become earth; when compressed, they yield water. These intertwined false activities give rise to one another, each in turn becoming the seed for the next. Due to these causes and conditions, the world perpetuates itself."

Furthermore, Purna, understand that the root of delusion is nothing other than the error of the luminous awareness itself! Once this deluded state is established, the principle of awareness cannot transcend it. Because of this condition, hearing does not go beyond sound, and seeing does not go beyond form. Forms, scents, flavors, and touches—these six delusions are accomplished, and from this, seeing, perceiving, hearing, and knowing become divided and separate.

Those sharing similar karma become entangled; union and separation give rise to transformations. When light is seen and forms manifest, the perception of light gives rise to mental formations. Different views produce aversion, while shared mental formations produce affection. This flowing affection becomes the seed; the harbored mental formation becomes the womb. Through intercourse and generation, beings with similar karma are drawn together. Thus, due to causes and conditions, the kalala and arbuda stages of embryonic development, and so forth, come into being. Whether born from womb, egg, moisture, or transformation, each occurs according to its corresponding conditions.

Beings from eggs are born primarily from mental formations. Beings from wombs arise due to affection. Beings from moisture are produced through union. Beings through transformation respond to separation. Affection, mental formations, union, and separation continuously interchange and transform. All beings, according to the karma they have created, are driven to float or sink. It is because of these causes and conditions that the continuum of living beings persists.

Purna! When thought and craving intertwine, and craving cannot be released, then in this world, parents and children give birth to one another in an unbroken chain. All this takes desire and greed as its root.

When craving and greed nourish each other, and greed cannot be stopped, then the beings of this world—born from eggs, from transformation, from moisture, or from wombs—devour one another according to their strength. All this takes the greed for killing as its root.

When humans eat sheep, the sheep, after death, may be reborn as humans, and the humans, after death, as sheep. So it is, up through the ten kinds of living beings—dying and being born, they devour one another across lifetimes. Evil karma arises together with this, continuing endlessly into the future. All this takes the greed for stealing as its root.

"You owe me your life; I repay you my debt." Because of such causes and conditions, for hundreds of thousands of eons, they remain constantly within birth and death.

"You cherish my mind; I adore your beauty." Because of such causes and conditions, for hundreds of thousands of eons, they remain constantly bound and entangled.

It is solely killing, stealing, and lust that form the root. Because of these causes and conditions, karmic results succeed one another without end.

Purna! These three kinds of distorted continuity are all, in reality, manifestations of the aware and luminous knowing nature. Because of this knowing, appearances arise; they are born from mistaken perception.

The mountains, rivers, and great earth, all conditioned phenomena, change and flow in sequence. Because of this delusion, they end only to begin again.

Fulou asked: "If this wondrous awareness, originally perfect and luminous, is neither increased nor decreased compared to the Buddha's mind, then how did mountains, rivers, and the great earth—all these conditioned phenomena—suddenly arise without apparent cause? And now that the Buddha has attained the wondrous, empty, luminous awareness, when will conditioned habits and outflows like mountains, rivers, and the great earth arise again?"

The Buddha said to Purna, "Suppose a confused person in a village mistakes south for north. Is this confusion born from confusion itself, or does it arise from clarity?"

Fulou said, "Such a deluded person does not arise from delusion nor from enlightenment. Why? Delusion has no root—how could it arise from delusion? Enlightenment does not give birth to delusion—how could it arise from enlightenment?"

The Buddha said, "When a person is lost, if someone who knows the way points it out and makes them realize it, what do you think, Purna? Once they have realized it, would that person still be lost in that village?"

"No, World-Honored One, it is not.

"Purna, the Tathagatas of the ten directions are also like this. This delusion has no root; its nature is ultimately empty. There was never any delusion in the first place; it merely seemed as if there were a deluded awareness. When one awakens, delusion ceases—the awakened state does not give rise to delusion. It is like a person with eye disease seeing flowers in the sky: once the eye disease is cured, the flowers vanish into emptiness. Suppose a foolish person, in that very space where the flowers disappeared, waits for the flowers to reappear. What do you think—is such a person foolish or wise?"

Fulou asked, "The sky was originally empty of flowers; it is only through deluded perception that they appear and disappear. To see the flowers vanish and then call the sky empty is already a distortion. To command the sky to produce flowers again would be sheer madness. How then can one call such a deluded person either foolish or wise?"

The Buddha said, "Since you already understand this, why do you ask, 'When the wondrous, enlightened awareness of all Buddhas is empty and clear, how could mountains, rivers, and the great earth ever arise again?'

It is like gold ore mixed with pure gold. Once the gold is refined to purity, it can never become mixed with impurities again. It is like wood that has been burned to ashes—it cannot become wood again. The enlightenment and nirvana of all Buddhas are also like this."

Purna, you also asked: "The natures of earth, water, fire, and wind are inherently perfect and interpenetrating, pervading the entire realm of phenomena. Yet I doubt that the properties of water and fire do not cancel each other out. Furthermore, I question how space and the great earth can both pervade the realm of phenomena without conflicting with each other."

Purna, consider space itself. Its essence is not any particular appearance, yet it does not reject the manifestation of all appearances. Why is this? Purna, in that vast emptiness: when the sun shines, there is brightness; when clouds gather, there is darkness; when the wind stirs, there is movement; when the sky clears, there is purity; when vapor condenses, there is murkiness; when dust accumulates, there is haze; when water settles, there is reflection.

What do you think? Are these various conditioned appearances produced by those things, or do they belong to space itself? If they are produced by those things, Purna, then when the sun shines and it is bright, the entire world in the ten directions shares the sun's color. Why then do you see a round sun in the sky? If the brightness belongs to space itself, then space should illuminate itself. Why does it not shine forth in the middle of the night or when clouds and fog obscure it?

You should understand that this brightness is neither from the sun nor from space, yet it is not separate from the sun or space. The appearances themselves are fundamentally illusory; there is nothing substantial to point to. It is like expecting flowers in the sky to bear fruit in the sky—how can one question them about canceling each other out? Contemplate the nature, which is fundamentally true: it is solely the wondrous, enlightened brightness. This wondrous, enlightened mind is originally not water or fire; why then do you ask about them not being compatible?

The true, wondrous, enlightened brightness is also like this. Based on the clarity of space, the appearance of space manifests. Based on the distinct natures of earth, water, fire, and wind, each manifests individually. If they all manifest based on their natures, then they all appear simultaneously.

How do they all appear? Purna, it is like the sun's reflection appearing in a body of water. If two people look at the sun in the water, and each walks away—one east, one west—each will see a sun going with them. One east, one west, with no fixed original. You should not then raise the difficulty: 'Since this sun is one, how can it go in separate directions? And since there appear to be two suns, how can they be one reflection?' These are twisting, empty illusions with nothing to rely upon.

Purna! You perceive form and emptiness as contending and overcoming each other within the Tathagata-garbha, and the Tathagata-garbha accordingly manifests as form and emptiness, pervading the entire realm of phenomena. Therefore, within it, winds stir, the sky clears, the sun shines, and clouds darken. Sentient beings, confused and obscured, turn away from enlightenment and merge with defilements, thus giving rise to worldly toil and the appearance of a world.

I, with wondrous awareness that neither ceases nor arises, unite with the Tathagata-garbha, and the Tathagata-garbha is nothing but this perfect, illuminating awareness, shining universally upon the realm of phenomena. Therefore, within it, one becomes the immeasurable, the immeasurable becomes one; the small manifests within the great, the great manifests within the small. The unmoving site of enlightenment pervades all realms of the ten directions; the body contains the boundless space of the ten directions; within the tip of a single hair, lands of jeweled kings appear; sitting within a minute particle, the great Dharma wheel is turned. Extinguishing defilements and merging with enlightenment, the true, wondrous, illuminating nature of Suchness is revealed.

Yet the originally wondrous, perfect mind of the Tathagata-garbha is not mind, not emptiness; not earth, not water, not wind, not fire; not eye, not ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind; not form, not sound, scent, taste, touch, or mental objects; not the realm of eye-consciousness, and so on up to not the realm of mind-consciousness; not enlightenment, not ignorance, not the ending of enlightenment or ignorance; and so on up to not old age, not death, not the ending of old age and death; not suffering, not its cause, not its cessation, not the path; not wisdom, not attainment; not giving, not discipline, not vigor, not patience, not meditation, not wisdom, not the perfections; and so on up to not the Tathagata, not the Arhat, not the Perfect Enlightenment; not the great Nirvana, not permanence, not bliss, not self, not purity—because it negates all worldly and transcendental dharmas.

At the same time, the originally illuminating, wondrous mind of the Tathagata-garbha is mind, is emptiness; is earth, is water, is wind, is fire; is eye, is ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; is form, is sound, scent, taste, touch, mental objects; is the realm of eye-consciousness, and so on up to is the realm of mind-consciousness; is enlightenment, is ignorance, is the ending of enlightenment and ignorance; and so on up to is old age, is death, is the ending of old age and death; is suffering, is its cause, is its cessation, is the path; is wisdom, is attainment; is giving, is discipline, is vigor, is patience, is meditation, is wisdom, is the perfections; and so on up to is the Tathagata, is the Arhat, is the Perfect Enlightenment; is the great Nirvana, is permanence, is bliss, is self, is purity—because it affirms all worldly and transcendental dharmas.

Thus, the wondrous, illuminating, fundamental mind of the Tathagata-garbha is free from both affirmation and negation. It is both "is" and "is not."

How can the sentient beings of the three realms within this world, and the transcendental Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas, use their limited, conceptual minds to measure the unsurpassed Bodhi of the Tathagata! How can they use worldly language to enter the Buddha's knowledge and vision!

It is like the qin, se, konghou, or pipa: though they possess wonderful tones, without a skilled finger, they ultimately cannot sound. You and all sentient beings are also like this. The jeweled, enlightened true mind is complete and perfect in each of you. When I press a finger, the ocean-mirror shines forth its light. But the moment you briefly stir a thought, worldly toil arises first. This is because you do not diligently seek the unsurpassed way of enlightenment, but cling to the lesser vehicle, being satisfied with a small attainment.

Fulou-na said, "I share with the Tathagata the same precious, enlightened, perfectly bright, true, wondrous, and pure mind—complete and without distinction. Yet in the past, I was entangled in beginningless delusion, long drifting in the cycle of birth and death. Now, though I have attained the noble vehicle, I have not yet reached ultimate fulfillment. The World-Honored One, however, has completely extinguished all delusions and abides alone in the wondrous, true, and everlasting reality. I venture to ask the Tathagata: Why is it that all living beings give rise to delusion, obscuring their own wondrous brightness and sinking into this state of drowning?"

The Buddha said to Purna, "Although you have resolved your doubts, some lingering confusion remains. Let me ask you using an ordinary event from the world right before us. Have you not heard of Yajnadatta in the city of Shravasti? One morning, he suddenly looked into a mirror. He loved the head he saw in the mirror—the clear eyebrows and eyes—but then grew angry at his own head, because he could not see his own face and eyes. He thought he must be a demon or a ghost, and without reason, he ran wildly about. What do you think? Why did this man suddenly start running around madly?"

Fulou replied, "It is simply that person's mind is disturbed—there is no other cause."

The Buddha said: "This wondrous, luminous, perfect awareness—originally perfect and luminous in its wonder—since it is called delusion, how can it have a cause? If it had a cause, how could it be called delusion? All delusory thoughts arise from one another, piling confusion upon confusion through countless ages. Even when a Buddha points this out, they still cannot turn back. Such is the cause of confusion—it exists because of confusion itself. Recognize that confusion has no cause, and delusion has nothing to rest upon. Since it never truly arose, what is there to extinguish?

Those who attain enlightenment are like someone awake speaking of things in a dream. No matter how clear the mind, what cause or condition could be used to grasp objects from a dream? How much more so when there is no cause, and nothing ever existed to begin with. Take Yajnadatta in the city: was there any reason for him to become terrified of his own head and run about madly? When his madness suddenly ceased, his head was not obtained from outside. Even before the madness ended, what had he actually lost?

Purna, the nature of delusion is like this—on what basis does it exist? If you simply do not follow the discriminating thoughts about the three continuities—the world, karmic results, and living beings—then these three conditions are cut off, and the three causes do not arise. Then, the mad nature of Yajnadatta in your own mind will cease of itself. When it ceases, that is enlightenment. The superior, pure, luminous mind is originally present throughout the realm of reality; it is not obtained from anyone else. Why then toil with arduous and forced practice?"

It is like a person who has a wish-fulfilling pearl tied inside his own robe, but is unaware of it. Poor and destitute, he wanders to other lands, begging for food and rushing about. Though he is truly impoverished, the pearl has never been lost. Then suddenly a wise person points out the pearl to him. All his wishes are fulfilled, and he attains great wealth. Only then does he realize that this divine pearl was never something obtained from outside.

Then, in the midst of the assembly, Ananda bowed at the Buddha’s feet, rose, and said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One, you have just taught that if the three conditions of killing, stealing, and lust are cut off, the three causes do not arise. Then the mad nature within the mind subsides by itself, and this subsiding is enlightenment—it is not obtained from anyone else. This clearly shows the principle of conditioned arising, bright and evident. Why then does the Tathagata suddenly dismiss conditioned arising?

It was through understanding conditioned arising that my mind achieved awakening. World-Honored One, this meaning does not apply only to young learners like us, the voice-hearers. Here in this assembly, Mahamaudgalyayana, Shariputra, and Subhuti, after hearing the Buddha speak of conditioned arising when they were elderly brahmins, resolved their minds, awakened, and attained the state beyond leakage. Now if you say enlightenment does not come from conditioned arising, then would not the doctrine of spontaneity taught by the six masters such as Maskarin Goshaliputra in Rajagriha become the supreme truth? I beg your great compassion to resolve this confusion for us!”

The Buddha said to Ananda, "Take the example of Yajnadatta in the city. If the causes and conditions for his madness were eliminated, his natural, non-mad state would spontaneously emerge. The theories of 'causes and conditions' and 'spontaneous nature' are exhausted at this point.

Ananda, if Yajnadatta's head was fundamentally natural and inherently so—if there is no 'naturalness' apart from itself—then for what cause and reason did he become terrified of his head and run about madly? If his natural head went mad due to causes and conditions, then why didn't his natural head get lost due to causes and conditions? His original head was never lost; his madness and terror arose falsely. Since there was never any change in the head itself, what need was there to rely on causes and conditions?

If madness was his fundamental nature, and he inherently possessed madness and terror, then before he went mad, where was this madness hidden? If non-madness was his fundamental nature, and his head was originally free from delusion, then why did he run about madly?

If one awakens to the original head and recognizes the madness of running about, then both 'causes and conditions' and 'spontaneous nature' are mere idle speculation. Therefore, I say, 'When the three subtle continuities are severed, that is the Bodhi-mind.' When the Bodhi-mind arises, the mind of arising and ceasing ceases. This, however, still involves 'arising and ceasing.' When both cessation and arising are utterly exhausted, that is the effortless Way.

If there were such a thing as 'spontaneous nature,' then it would be clear that a spontaneously arising mind arises, and the mind of arising and ceasing ceases. This too involves arising and ceasing. That which has no arising and ceasing is called 'spontaneous nature.'

It is like in the world, where various characteristics blend to form a single entity; this is called a 'composite nature.' That which is not composite is called the 'fundamental nature.' The fundamental nature is not a 'nature,' and the composite is not a true 'combination.' Both 'combination' and 'nature' are transcended; 'transcending' and 'combining' are both negated. Only this statement can be called the dharma free from idle speculation.

Bodhi and Nirvana are still far off. Without your diligent cultivation and realization over countless eons, even if you memorize and uphold the pure, wondrous principles of the twelve divisions of the sutras spoken by the Tathagatas of the ten directions—as numerous as the sands of the Ganges—it will only increase idle speculation. Although you speak of 'causes and conditions' and 'spontaneous nature' with decisive clarity, and people in the world praise you as foremost in learning, this accumulation of learning over eons, this habituation through much hearing, could not save you from the difficulty with Matangi. Why did you need to wait for my Buddha's Summit Spiritual Mantra, for Matangi's lustful fire to suddenly cease, enabling her to attain the stage of Anagamin, to become a forest of vigor in my Dharma, for the river of love to dry up, and only then for you to be liberated?

Therefore, Ananda, even if you memorize and uphold the Tathagata's secret, wondrous, and majestic teachings for countless eons, it is not as good as cultivating the undefiled practice for a single day, far removed from the two sufferings of worldly hatred and desire. Just as Matangi, formerly a woman of lust, had her desire and love eradicated by the power of the spiritual mantra and is now known in the Dharma as the Bhikkhuni Nature; as she, together with Rahula's mother, Yashodhara, awakened to past causes, knowing that throughout lifetimes suffering came from greed and love, and through a single moment of cultivating undefiled goodness, some may escape bondage or receive predictions of Buddhahood. Why do you deceive yourself, still lingering in mere seeing and hearing?"

Ananda and the great assembly, upon hearing the Buddha's instruction, saw their doubts and confusion melt away. They awakened to the true reality of mind, experiencing a lightness and ease in body and spirit unlike anything before. Overwhelmed with emotion, they bowed again in tears, touching their heads to the Buddha's feet. Then, kneeling with palms together, Ananda addressed the Buddha:

"O Unsurpassed, Greatly Compassionate, Pure and Precious King! You have skillfully opened our minds! Using all manner of causes, conditions, and expedient means, you have encouraged and guided us, leading those sunk in darkness out of the sea of suffering. World-Honored One! Although I have now received this Dharma teaching and understand that the wondrous, enlightened, luminous mind of the Tathagata-store pervades the ten directions, containing and nurturing the Tathagata's lands throughout the ten directions—those pure, precious, and majestic realms of the King of Wonderful Enlightenment—you have also reproached mere learning as being of no avail, not equal to actual practice.

I am now like a traveler, a wanderer, who is suddenly granted a magnificent mansion by a heavenly king. Though I have received this great abode, I still need a door to enter it. I only pray that the Tathagata, not forsaking his great compassion, will show me and all the confused ones in this assembly how to relinquish the lesser vehicle, and fully attain the Tathagata's final Nirvana without residue—the original path of the enlightened mind! Please instruct those of us who are still learning: from where do we begin to subdue our long-accustomed clinging thoughts, attain the Dharanis, and enter the Buddha's knowledge and vision?"

Having spoken these words, he prostrated himself fully on the ground. The entire assembly, with one mind, waited respectfully for the Buddha's compassionate instruction.

At that time, the World-Honored One, out of compassion for the assembly—for those Pratyekabuddhas and Śrāvakas who had not yet fully mastered the Bodhi-mind, and for the sake of future beings in the Dharma-ending age after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa who would resolve to awaken the Bodhi-mind—revealed the wondrous path of supreme practice. He declared to Ānanda and the great assembly: “If you are determined to arouse the Bodhi-mind and wish to enter the Tathāgata’s sublime samādhi without growing weary or discouraged, you must first understand two fundamental principles for the initial awakening of the mind.”

What are the two essential principles for the beginner's mind?

Ananda! Regarding the supreme truth: if you wish to leave behind the vehicle of the voice-hearer and cultivate the bodhisattva path, entering the Buddha’s knowledge and vision, you must carefully examine whether the initial motivation in the causal ground and the enlightenment in the resultant ground are the same or different.

Ananda! If in the causal ground you take a mind of arising and ceasing as the fundamental basis for cultivation, yet seek the Buddha’s vehicle of non-arising and non-ceasing, there is no such possibility.

For this reason, you should illuminate all conditioned phenomena in the world of vessels—everything that is made—and see that they all change and perish. Ananda, look at all conditioned things in the world: which of them does not decay? Yet you never hear of empty space rotting or crumbling. Why? Because space is not something made; therefore, from beginning to end, it does not decay or perish.

Now, within your body, the solid aspect is earth, moisture is water, warmth is fire, and movement is wind. Because of these four entanglements, your originally clear, perfect, wondrously enlightened mind is divided into seeing, hearing, feeling, and knowing. From beginning to end, these form five layers of turbidity.

What is meant by turbidity? Ananda, it is like clear water, pure and clean by nature. Take dust, ashes, or sand—their nature is obstructive. These two substances are inherently different; their natures do not mingle. But if someone takes that dust and throws it into the clear water, the dust loses its obstructive quality, the water loses its clarity, and the appearance becomes murky. This is called turbidity.

Your fivefold turbidity is also like this.

Ananda, you see that space pervades the ten directions. There is no distinction between space and seeing. Space has no substance, and seeing has no perception. Their interweaving forms a delusion—this is the first layer, called the Kalpa Turbidity.

Your body is presently formed by the four elements as its substance. Seeing, hearing, feeling, and knowing are obstructed and hindered. Water, fire, wind, and earth swirl and give rise to perception and knowing. Their interweaving forms a delusion—this is the second layer, called the View Turbidity.

Furthermore, in your mind, memories, recognition, learning, and habitual tendencies give rise to perceptions and views, accommodating the appearance of the six sense-objects. Apart from these objects, there is no form; apart from perception, there is no nature. Their interweaving forms a delusion—this is the third layer, called the Affliction Turbidity.

Moreover, from morning to night, your arising and ceasing never stops. Your perceptions and views constantly desire to remain in the world, while your karmic activity continually shifts through different realms. Their interweaving forms a delusion—this is the fourth layer, called the Being Turbidity.

Your seeing and hearing originally have no different nature, but the multitude of sense-objects create separation and barriers, giving rise to differences without apparent cause. In their nature, they are mutually aware; in their function, they oppose each other. Sameness and difference lose their standard. Their interweaving forms a delusion—this is the fifth layer, called the Lifespan Turbidity.

Ananda, you now wish to align your seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing with the Tathagata’s permanence, bliss, self, and purity. First, you must discern the root of birth and death, and rely on the perfect, clear nature that neither arises nor ceases. Use this clarity to reverse the false arising and ceasing, subdue them and return to the original awareness. Attain the original bright awareness, the nature free from birth and death—this becomes the mind of the causal ground. Then, you will perfect the cultivation and realization of the fruition ground.

It is like clarifying muddy water stored in a clean vessel: keep it still and undisturbed, and the sand and silt will settle by themselves, leaving clear water visible. This is called the initial subduing of transient defilements and afflictions. Removing the mud, leaving pure water, is called the eternal severance of fundamental ignorance. When the bright essence becomes utterly pure, all manifestations no longer give rise to afflictions, and all accord with the wondrous virtue of nirvana’s purity.

"Second, if you are determined to arouse the mind of enlightenment, to generate great courage in the vehicle of the bodhisattva, and to decisively abandon all conditioned phenomena, you must carefully examine the root of afflictions. Since beginningless time, what initiates karma and nourishes rebirth? Who creates it, and who experiences it? Ananda, if you cultivate enlightenment without carefully observing the root of afflictions, you will not know where the false roots and sense-objects become inverted. If you do not even know the location, how can you subdue them and attain the state of a Tathagata? Ananda, consider someone in the world who unties knots: if they do not see the knot, how can they know how to undo it? You have never heard of space being torn apart by anyone. Why? Because space has no form; there is no knot to tie or untie. Now, your present eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—these six are like thieves’ accomplices, robbing you of your family treasure. Because of this, since beginningless time, beings in the world of sentient beings have been bound by entanglements and cannot transcend the world of material existence."

Ananda, what is meant by the 'world of sentient beings'? 'World' refers to the flow of time, and 'realm' refers to spatial directions. You should now understand that east, west, south, north, southeast, southwest, northeast, northwest, above, and below are the realms, while past, future, and present are the world. There are ten directions and three temporal flows. All sentient beings are woven together by deluded perceptions, and within their bodies, there is constant change and interaction with the world. Although the nature of these realms can be clearly defined in ten directions, people in the world generally only speak of east, west, south, and north. Above and below have no fixed positions, and there is no definite center. The four cardinal directions are clearly recognized and interact with time. Combining the three temporal flows with the four directions, they intertwine to form twelve aspects. These flow and transform through three layers: one, ten, hundred, and thousand. Summing up from beginning to end, within the six sense faculties, each possesses twelve hundred merits.

Ananda, now consider the relative merits of these faculties. Take the eye: it sees what is before it but not what is behind. It perceives the brightness ahead but not the darkness behind. It can observe left and right to some extent, but its overall capacity is incomplete. Of its potential, only two-thirds are functional, while one-third lacks capability. Thus, you should know that the eye possesses only eight hundred merits.

Now consider the ear: it hears in all directions without omission. Whether near or far, in motion or stillness, its awareness knows no boundaries. Thus, you should know that the ear faculty is complete with twelve hundred merits.

Consider the nose: it smells both the incoming and outgoing breath, yet it fails in the intermediate moment when breath is neither in nor out. Examining the nose, one finds it lacking one-third of its full capacity. Thus, you should know that the nose possesses only eight hundred merits.

Consider the tongue: it proclaims and articulates all worldly and transcendental wisdom. Though speech has its limits, the principles it conveys are boundless. Thus, you should know that the tongue faculty is complete with twelve hundred merits.

Consider the body: it perceives sensations of comfort and discomfort, but only upon contact. When separated from objects, it cannot know them. It discerns one aspect when apart, and two when joined, yet it lacks one-third of its full capacity. Thus, you should know that the body possesses only eight hundred merits.

Consider the mind: it silently contains all phenomena of the ten directions and the three times, both worldly and transcendental. Nothing—whether sage or ordinary being—is beyond its embrace, reaching to the very limits of existence. Thus, you should know that the mind faculty is complete with twelve hundred merits.

"Ananda, you now wish to reverse the flow of worldly desires that leads to birth and death, tracing it back to its root of non-arising and non-ceasing. You should examine these six sense faculties: which are joined, which are separate? Which are deep, which are shallow? Which are perfectly penetrating, which are incomplete? If you can realize the root of perfect penetration here, you can reverse that beginningless, interwoven stream of karmic delusion and follow the path of perfect penetration. Compared to an incomplete root, this will advance you a thousandfold in a single day.

I have now fully revealed the inherent virtuous functions of these six pure and luminous faculties, their nature and scope as described. Consider them carefully and choose which one you can enter. I will then explain further to help you progress. All Buddhas of the ten directions have cultivated each of the eighteen realms, and all attained complete, unsurpassed enlightenment. Among them, there is no superiority or inferiority. However, your capacity is still limited, unable to fully master the wisdom of perfect freedom within them. Therefore, I explain this to you, so that you may deeply enter through a single gateway. Enter one without delusion, and all six sense faculties will become pure at once."

Ananda asked the Buddha, “World-Honored One, how does turning against the current and entering through a single gateway enable all six sense faculties to become pure at once?”

The Buddha said to Ananda, "You have now attained the fruit of Stream-Entry, having cut off the delusions of the worldly views of beings in the three realms that are eliminated through insight. Yet you still do not know the beginningless, empty habits accumulated since time without beginning within the roots. Those habits must be eliminated through cultivation. How much more so the distinctions and categories of arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing within them? Now, observe your present six sense-roots: are they one or six?"

"Ananda, if they were truly one, why can the ear not see? Why can the eye not hear? Why does the head not walk? Why do the feet not speak? If these six faculties are indeed six distinct ones, as I now expound this subtle and wondrous teaching to you, which of your six faculties receives it?"

Ananda replied, "I hear with my ears."

The Buddha said, "Your ear hears on its own—what does that have to do with your body or mouth? Your mouth asks the question, and your body rises in reverence. Therefore, you should understand: it is not that there is ultimately one sense faculty, nor that there are ultimately six. Ultimately, your sense faculties are not originally one, nor originally six. Ananda! You should realize that these sense faculties are neither one nor six. Due to beginningless delusion and habitual turning, within the perfect clarity, the notions of 'one' and 'six' arise. You, a Stream-enterer, have managed to subdue the six, but you have not yet eliminated the notion of 'one.'

It is like empty space containing various vessels. Because the vessels have different shapes, we speak of different 'spaces.' But if we remove the vessels and look at the space itself, we say the space is one. How could that great empty space be said to be the same or different for you? How much less can we label it as 'one' or 'not one'?

In the same way, your six sense faculties that experience the world are like this. Due to the contrasting appearances of light and dark, within the wondrous perfection, clarity becomes attached and gives rise to seeing. The essence of seeing reflects forms, and clinging to forms creates the eye faculty. This faculty's basis is called the pure four great elements, and from this the eye organ is named—like a grape cluster. The physical organ, composed of four elements, flows out and chases after forms.

Due to the interplay of movement and stillness, within the wondrous perfection, clarity becomes attached and gives rise to hearing. The essence of hearing reflects sounds, and gathering sounds creates the ear faculty. This faculty's basis is called the pure four great elements, and from this the ear organ is named—like a freshly curled leaf. The physical organ, composed of four elements, flows out and chases after sounds.

Due to the stimulation of openness and blockage, within the wondrous perfection, clarity becomes attached and gives rise to smelling. The essence of smelling reflects scents, and taking in scents creates the nose faculty. This faculty's basis is called the pure four great elements, and from this the nose organ is named—like two hanging claws. The physical organ, composed of four elements, flows out and chases after scents.

Due to the interaction of blandness and flavor, within the wondrous perfection, clarity becomes attached and gives rise to tasting. The essence of tasting reflects tastes, and twisting tastes creates the tongue faculty. This faculty's basis is called the pure four great elements, and from this the tongue organ is named—like a crescent moon. The physical organ, composed of four elements, flows out and chases after tastes.

Due to the friction of contact and separation, within the wondrous perfection, clarity becomes attached and gives rise to tactile awareness. The essence of awareness reflects touch, and grasping touch creates the body faculty. This faculty's basis is called the pure four great elements, and from this the body organ is named—like a waist-drum's surface. The physical organ, composed of four elements, flows out and chases after touch.

Due to the continuous arising and ceasing of thoughts, within the wondrous perfection, clarity becomes attached and gives rise to knowing. The essence of knowing reflects mental objects, and apprehending objects creates the mind faculty. This faculty's basis is called the pure four great elements, and from this the faculty of intellect is named—like sight in a dark room. The mental organ, composed of four elements, flows out and chases after mental objects."

"Ananda! These six sense faculties are like this: from that fundamental awareness, a secondary 'knowing awareness' arises. Losing the essence of true clarity, they become attached to illusions and emit a false light.

Therefore, for you now: - Without darkness or brightness, there is no faculty of sight. - Without movement or stillness, there is no faculty of hearing. - Without openness or blockage, the faculty of smell does not arise. - Without change or blandness, the faculty of taste has nothing to produce. - Without separation or contact, the faculty of touch fundamentally does not exist. - Without cessation or arising, where would the faculty of knowing be anchored?

You need only not follow after the twelve conditioned characteristics: movement and stillness, contact and separation, blandness and change, openness and blockage, arising and cessation, darkness and brightness.

If you detach from any one sense faculty—releasing its attachment, turning the awareness inward until it settles—it will return to its original true nature. The fundamental luminous nature will shine forth. When this luminous nature manifests, the attachments of the other five faculties will also be completely released. Your knowing will no longer arise from external objects.

This awareness does not depend on the sense faculties, yet it manifests through them. Thus, the six sense faculties can function interchangeably."

Ananda, do you not know that in this assembly, Aniruddha, though blind, can see; the Naga King Upananda, though deaf, can hear; the goddess of the Ganges has no nose yet smells; the venerable Gavampati has a different tongue yet tastes; the god of emptiness, Sunyata, though without a body, perceives touch—all temporarily manifest in the Tathagata's light, their forms originally without substance. And those in the cessation samadhi, like Mahakasyapa in this assembly, have long extinguished the faculty of mind, yet perfectly understand without relying on thought. Ananda, when your faculties are fully purified, an inner radiance will shine forth. Then, all floating dust-like phenomena and the changing appearances of the material world will melt away like ice in hot water, transforming instantly into supreme awareness.

Ananda, consider how ordinary people see with their eyes. If they suddenly close them, darkness appears. The six faculties grow dim, and head and feet seem indistinguishable. Yet if a person gropes around their body with their hands, though they cannot see, they can still distinguish head from feet. The awareness remains the same. Seeing depends on light; in darkness there is no sight. But when awareness arises spontaneously, no darkness can obscure it. Once the faculties and sense-objects are dissolved, how could awareness not become perfectly wondrous?

Ananda addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One! As you have taught, 'When the awakening mind in the causal stage seeks to abide eternally, it must correspond to the names and attributes of the fruition stage.' World-Honored One! In the fruition stage, there are seven designations: Bodhi, Nirvana, True Suchness, Buddha-nature, Amala Consciousness, Empty Tathāgatagarbha, and the Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom. Though their names differ, they are all pure, perfect, solid, and immutable in essence—like a vajra king, enduring and indestructible. But if this seeing and hearing are devoid of darkness and brightness, movement and stillness, openness and obstruction, and ultimately have no substance—just as the thinking mind, apart from its objects, is fundamentally nonexistent—then how can we take this ultimately ceasing and perishing as the cause for practice, hoping to attain the seven eternal abiding fruits of the Tathāgata? World-Honored One! If, apart from brightness and darkness, seeing is ultimately empty, and if, without objects, the nature of thought itself ceases, then upon thorough and subtle examination, there is fundamentally no 'I-mind' nor any mental functions belonging to it. Who, then, shall establish the cause for seeking unsurpassed enlightenment? Previously, the Tathāgata spoke of a lucid, essential, perfect, and eternal nature. If this contradicts your sincere words, it would ultimately become mere empty talk. How then can the Tathāgata be one who speaks truth? I pray only for your great compassion to dispel my confusion and doubt!"

The Buddha said to Ananda, "You have studied widely, yet you have not yet exhausted all defilements. In your mind, you only understand the causes of delusion, but when true delusion arises before you, you still cannot recognize it. I fear your sincere heart is not yet fully convinced. Now, I will use ordinary worldly matters to dispel your doubts."

Then the Tathagata instructed Rahula to strike the bell once and asked Ananda, "Do you hear that now?"

Ananda and the assembly all replied, "We have heard thus."

The bell's sound faded into silence, and the Buddha asked again, "Do you hear it now?"

Ananda and the assembly all said, "We have not heard it."

"Thereupon Rahula struck the bell once more, and the Buddha asked again, 'Do you hear it now?'"

Ananda and the assembly replied, "We have all heard it."

The Buddha asked Ananda, "How do you perceive hearing? How do you perceive not hearing?"

Ananda and the assembly said to the Buddha, "When the bell is struck, we hear it. But after the strike, when the sound fades, both the striking and the sensation disappear. That is what we call 'not hearing.'"

The Tathagata then instructed Rahula to strike the bell and asked Ananda, "Do you hear a sound now?"

Ananda and the assembly all said, "There is a sound."

When the subtle sounds faded away, the Buddha asked again: "Do you still perceive sound now?"

"Ananda, do you hear any sound?" everyone replied, "No sound."

After a while, Rahu came again and struck the bell. The Buddha asked him again, "Is there sound now?"

Ananda and the assembly all said, "There is a sound."

The Buddha asked Ananda, "What do you mean by 'sound'? And what do you mean by 'no sound'?"

The Buddha said to Ananda and the great assembly, "Why are you now speaking in such a confused and contradictory manner?"

Then the assembly and Ananda asked the Buddha together, "Why do you call us misleading and confused?"