[115] A very tiny seed in a fruit has the power to be an
enormous
tree.
Khenchen-Thrangu-Rinpoche-Asanga-Uttara-Tantra
The dharmakaya or stainless dharma- dhatu is nondual because within it is the sameness of samsara and nirvana and all these qualities are pacified because there are no conceptual differences.
The fourth quality is indestructibility because it is not created by defilements or karma.
It is present from the beginning, has not been created, and therefore is indestructible.
In more detail:
[80] Buddha nature is unalterable because it has no birth because it has no beginning, it has no death because it has no end, it is free from sickness because it doesn't change from good to bad, and it is free from old age because it is indestructible.
When Buddhahood is achieved, there is no change in the physical body; there is also no change in the subtle body. In Buddhahood there is no body. The word kaya literally means "body. " In the nirmanakaya it looks as if the individual is taking birth and has a real body, but in the true sense it has an appearance of physical form. The dharmakaya is beyond the four extremes and eight fabrications so it has nothing to do with a body in the ordinary sense.
[81] Buddhahood is free from birth because it is permanent, it has no death because it is eternal. There is no death in the ordinary sense, but there is also the absence of even very subtle changes. This is why the Buddha can protect all beings and help all beings until the end of samsara.
[82] Buddhahood is not harmed by sickness because it has peace which overcomes the duality of samsara and
? nirvana. Since this dualistic division has ended, there is no suffering or sickness even from the fine karmic imprints that lead to a very subtle suffering. Buddhahood has no old age or degradation of the stream of existence. The Buddhas have no old age or degradation even in a subtle way from the untainted factors because Buddhahood is immutable. [83] In summary, uncreated space refers to the
emptiness aspect, while buddha nature refers to the clarity aspect. The name "buddha nature" shows it can bring forth all the qualities of the Buddha. So uncreated space has the attributes of permanence, eternity, peace, and immutability. Each refers to a different quality: the absence of birth to permanence; the absence of death to eternity; the absence of sickness to nonduality; and the absence of old age to immutability. So these qualities are unalterable.
[84] In the normal world good qualities wear out, but the qualities of Buddhahood are permanent because the body, speech, and mind of the Buddha are inexhaustible and changeless and therefore permanent. Vast numbers of beings on this earth are beset with negative karma causing an almost inexhaustible amount of impurities. For buddha activity to help purify these beings for as long as samsara lasts requires that these qualities be eternal. It also has the nature of a refuge because it is there to help beings. The third quality is nonduality. Because in Buddhahood everything isn't divided into good and bad, it is beyond this and therefore in a state of peace. The last is the quality
of indestructibility because it never vanishes because the qualities of Buddhahood are not fabricated.
At the impure level of ordinary beings the aggregates and the four elements change while buddha nature is changeless as described in the example of space. In the
? mixed phase buddha essence remained changeless even though bodhisattvas work to help all beings. In the phase of total purity the buddha essence is changeless even though the Buddhas help all beings. So buddha essence is changeless.
10. Inseparability o f the Qualities
Buddha nature is given four different names: the dharmakaya, tathagata, highest truth, and supreme nirvana. It is called the "dharmakaya" because it is the true nature of all things. It is called the "tathagata" because it is the ultimate fruition of seeing what is there. It is called the truth of the realized ones or the "highest truth" because the realized ones see phenomena as-it-is. It is called the "ultimately true nirvana" because it is beyond the suffering of samsara.
The inseparability of the four qualities is similar to the sun and the sunshine because one cannot have one without the other. The dharmakaya, the tathagata, the highest truth, and the supreme nirvana are inseparable at the stage of ordinary beings, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. When Buddhahood is achieved, there is no other nirvana beyond that and no other truths. In more detail:
[85] Untainted space is divided into the four aspects of the dharmakaya, the tathagata, the highest truth, and ultimate nirvana. The dharmakaya is the sum of all the
qualities of the Buddha (the ten powers, four fearless- nesses, etc. ) and these are inseparable. The term "tatha- gata" is used to show that from the beginning of time the buddha causal ground has been within all beings. The term "highest truth" shows that the true nature is always present
? and contains no falsehoods. The term "nirvana" means beyond suffering because this nature is free from all impurities so there is no pain or suffering.
[87] In the fruition of Buddhahood all the aspects of knowledge are the Buddha. All the aspects of knowledge means achieving knowledge of how-it-is and the know- ledge of variety and also totally removing of all impurities and karmic imprints. The i timate achievement is
represented with Buddhahood being complete knowledge and nirvana being complete purity. Buddhahood and nirvana are not separate, however, in the ultimate sense. [88] Liberation is the direct realization of phenomena by seeing it as-they-are. Liberation has the characteristics of being inseparable, numberless, unthinkable, and stainless. All these qualities are complete in the dharmakaya.
The first example illustrates that when some of the parts are missing, the whole cannot exist. The second example shows the inseparability of different parts of a whole.
[89] Imagine some artists, each skilled in painting just one part of the body so that one artist can draw, for example, the eyes; another can draw just the arms, another
just the hair, etc. Now a king gathers these artists together and gives them a canvas and asks them to do his portrait. In the middle of the painting, one of the artists leaves the country so that the portrait can't be completed.
[92] Similarly, Buddhahood is similar to the completed picture with each artist representing the different qualities necessary to achieve Buddhahood. If all the qualities of the six paramitas are present, then all the conditions for reaching Buddhahood are there and voidness can be apprehended directly. The voidness with all the aspects is
? like the fully completed portrait of the king. The voidness is not emptiness, but the great fullness of these qualities with the quality of clarity in which all these aspects of knowledge can flourish. For this voidness to be realized all the qualities of the paramitas have to be present just as all the artists have to be present to complete the portrait.
[93] The inseparability of the qualities of prajna, jnana, and freedom is illustrated by the sun. The Tibetan word for "prajna" is sherab and this literally means "better knowledge" so prajna means the understanding without distortion both of the nominal and phenomenal aspect of things. Jnana (Tib. yeshe) is very clear cognition and is used for the cognition of the essential or nominal aspect of things. One doesn't use jnana for gaining knowledge about a river or a mountain, but reserves this for knowledge about the true nature of things. These two qualities are present as seeds in ordinary beings and are fully manifest at Buddhahood. When the impurities at the stage of ordinary beings are removed, the third quality of perfect freedom emerges. Prajna, jnana, and freedom from impurities are compared to sunlight, sun rays, and the orb of the sun and are luminous, radiant, and pure respectively. [94] Nirvana is not possible without the jnana of the Buddha. The example states that without sunlight and the sun's rays the sun cannot be seen. So the qualities of the Buddha are inseparable.
? Table 2
A Summary of the Ten Qualities of Buddha Nature
/. The nature o f buddha nature is inherently pure like:
a. a jewel b. the sky c. water
(has power) (is changeless) (compassion)
2. Thefour causes that allow b idha nature to manifest:
a. aspiration b. prajfiS
c. samSdhi
d. compassion
(to overcome dislike of dharma) (to overcome belief in self)
(to overcome fear of samsara) (to overcome selfishness)
3. Once there isfruition ofbuddha nature which is beyond samsUra and nirvana, one has the qualities of:
a. true purity
b. true identity
c. true happiness
d. true permanence(counteracts belief in self)
a. dharmakaya
b. two-fold jnana c. compassion
(vastness of ocean) (jewcls *n the ocean) (wetness of ocean)
Example of the butter lamp at fruition
a. clear cognition b. stainless jnana c. clarity
(light of the lamp) (heat of the lamp) (color of the lamp)
(counteract impurities due to karma) (counteract suffering in life) (counter impermanence of skandhas)
4. Thefunction or influence ofbuddha nature is:
a. One develops a weariness of samsara
b. One can then see the benefits of nirvana
5. The endowments o f buddha nature are:
Example of the ocean on the path
6. The approach o f beings to buddha nature is:
a. ordinary beings use the incorrect approach
? b. bodhisattvas go in the right direction
c. Buddhas are unerring and non-conceptually right 7. The phases o f buddha nature are:
a. impure b. mixed c. pure
(in ordinary beings) (in the bodhisattvas) (in the tathagatas)
8. The all-pervasiveness o f buddha nature is:
In example of space:
a. pervades all but unaffected by it
b. all arises and disintegrates in it with no effect
c. it is never consumed by fires of birth, old age, etc.
9. Buddha nature is unalterable because it has:
In the example of ordinary beings:
a. earth
b. water
c. air
d. space
In the example of the bodhisattvas:
(the aggregates, elements, and senses) (karma and the defilements) (incorrect understanding)
(clarity)
a. beyond birth
b. beyond ageing
c. beyond sickness
d. beyond death
In the example of the Buddhas:
a. permanent (the Buddhas are changeless) b. eternal (there is inexhaustible negative karma) c. nondual (inseparability of samsara and nirvana) d. indestructible (Buddhahood is not fabricated)
10. The qualities are inseparable because:
a. dharmakaya
b. tathagata
c. highest truth
d. supreme nirvana (beyond suffering)
(quality of permanence) (quality of immutability) (quality of nonduality) (quality of being eternal)
(true nature of all things) (ultimate fruition) (knowledge of how-it-is)
? CHAPTER 7 BUDDHA NATURE II:
The Nine Examples
One may still have doubts about how buddha nature is changeless, but does not manifest because of impurities. To illustrate this nine examples of buddha essence and the impurities are given.
Examples o f Buddha Nature
When the Buddha gave teachings, he didn't simply declare the truth, but he gave reasons for what he was saying. The reasons for his teachings were sometimes very apparent and at other times very obscure. The obvious teachings were the ones grasped by the senses. There are, however, teachings which cannot be grasped with sensory faculties because they were about things very far away, or very remote in time, or about karma. A particular karma will prevent one from living certain types of lives. Since one
cannot understand these more hidden meanings directly, one has to understand them through inference. For instance, if we say there's a fire behind that hill because we can see smoke, people believe it even though they can't see the actual fire because smoke is a valid sign of a fire. For a sign to be significant it must have universal applicability i. e. , whenever there is a fire, there must be smoke. The sign must also be valid, if we say there's a fire because I see a
? tree, it is an invalid sign. So a sign for showing the presence of something that is hidden must have universal
applicability and be a valid sign. The presence of buddha essence is illustrated with signs using nine examples. Then this reasoning is applied to buddha nature itself.
[96] The nine examples of beautiful things covered up by impurities are listed along with the nine impurities followed by a list of the pure things covered up. These will be elaborated below. The method for presenting each example is the same: first a verse gives the example, then a verse gives its meaning, and finally a verse presents the parallel between the example and buddha nature.
[99] Imagine an ugly, withered lotus covering a beautiful buddha statue. Someone with clairvoyance could see the statue and think that this was not a good place for such a beautiful statue and would break open the lotus shell and remove the statue. Similarly, buddha nature is in the mind of all beings, even those in the worst hell, but it is obscured by the defilements of the three poisons. The Buddhas with divine vision and great compassion see this buddha essence and help beings out of the shell of defilements. Individuals with buddha nature need to reach Buddhahood so they do not continue to suffer in samsara: therefore they need the Buddhas with their vision and their teachings to receive the tools to make this buddha nature manifest.
[102] Imagine some tasty honey which is surrounded by swarming bees. If an experienced person knows how to separate the honey from the bees, then people can enjoy the honey. This means the Buddhas with the omniscient eyes of twofold knowledge can see the buddha nature in all beings which is like the honey. The bees circling the honey
? can be removed because they aren't part of the honey. In the same way, the impurities of beings aren't part of their buddha nature and therefore can be removed allowing buddha nature to manifest. In this example, the man who knows about honey is like the Buddhas who are skilled in
removing obscurations, which are the bees.
[105] Imagine a grain of rice enclosed in its husk. Kernels of rice, buckwheat, and barley cannot be used as food when they are unhusked. Similarly, as long as buddha nature called "the lord of all qualities" is not liberated from the shell of impurities, it cannot give the taste of the joy of
dharma to beings.
[108] Imagine an individual going on a joumey and on his way he loses some pure gold which falls into some rubbish. It remains unchanged for hundreds of years being quite useless. Then a god with clairvoyance sees the large lump of gold in the rubbish and tells someone where to find it so it can be put to proper use.
[110] Similarly, the Buddhas can see the pure buddha
nature of beings which has fallen into the filth of defilements and has been lying there for thousands of years. Even though it is there, it has not been polluted by the defilements. If there were no rubbish there is the first place, there would be no need to have the clairvoyant person come along. Also if there had been no gold for the clairvoyant person to point out, it would have been pointless as well. Similarly, if buddha nature were not obscured by defilements, there would be no need for the Buddhas to enter this world and teach about buddha nature.
Also if beings didn't have buddha nature from the very beginning, there would be no need for the Buddhas to give teachings because it would be impossible for individuals to
? attain Buddhahood. This is why the Buddhas give teachings and point out our obscurations. They do this by producing the rain of dharma which has the ability to gradually wash away the impurities which we have accumulated.
Gold is very useful, but if it is covered by rubbish it is useless. This is why this clairvoyant person tells someone where it is and tells him to remove the rubbish and use the gold. In the same way, the Buddhas tell us about the rubbish of our instability. They see beings who have the wish-fulfilling gem in their hands, wasting it. Beings are suffering, but they have the tool to eliminate the suffering and this is why the Buddhas teach the dharma. Beings remain stuck in problems and difficulties and don't have the power to realize their own goal. They might think there is nothing they can do, but they have the knowledge of how-it-is and variety, so they have everything necessary to remove the defilements. The Buddha told them that if they practice, they can reach enlightenment.
[112] Imagine a man so poor that he doesn't have any food or clothes, living in a house built over a great treasure. If the man doesn't know about the treasure, he will continue to suffer in poverty because the treasure cannot say, "Look, I am here. " Similarly, all beings have the great treasure of buddha nature in their minds and this treasure has always been there. They do not see the buddha essence in their mind so they endure all the sufferings of samsara. The treasure can't tell the man "I am here" even though it is very close by. Similarly, all beings have the precious treasure of the dharmakaya locked in their mind, but continue to suffer. Therefore the great sages, the Buddhas, come into our world to help beings find this treasure.
?
[115] A very tiny seed in a fruit has the power to be an enormous tree. One cannot see the tree in the seed, but if one adds all the right conditions for growth such as water, sunlight, soil, etc. to the seed, a mighty tree will develop. Similarly, buddha essence exists in all beings but is encased in the peel of ignorance which generates our emotional and cognitive obscurations. If one practises virtue, it will generate the favorable conditions for this seed of buddha nature to grow. Through the accumulation
of knowledge and virtue, the seed will develop into the "king of victors" or Buddhahood. The parallel is that just as a tree with the proper conditions grows from a seed enclosed by the skin of a fruit into a tree, buddha essence is enclosed in the skin of defilements and with proper conditions will manifest into Buddhahood.
[118] Imagine a very valuable buddha statue wrapped in tattered rags and abandoned by the side of the road. A passerby would not notice it, but if a god came along, he could see the statue. Similarly, the Buddhas with their jnana can see that buddha nature of beings is wrapped in the tattered rags of the defilements. They see this in persons and even in animals. As a god can see a statue with divine vision, the Buddhas can see buddha nature lying on the road of samsara inside the rags of defilements. They tell beings to remove the tattered rags so the buddha nature can manifest in its complete purity.
[121] Imagine a destitute ugly woman with no place to stay who ends up in a pauper's hostel. Also imagine that she is pregnant and holds in her womb the future king. She continues to suffer because she doesn't know anything about it. Similarly, beings hold the precious buddha essence but do not know anything about it or get any
? benefit from it. As the woman in the hostel has a king in. her womb so beings are bom in the six realms of samsara; some as humans, some as animals, some as hungry ghosts, etc. All have to suffer--animals suffer from enslavement, spirits have to suffer from thirst and hunger, humans have to suffer from birth, sickness, old age, and death. All are like the poor woman living in misery.
[123] The poor woman with a great ruler in her womb is dressed in dirty clothes. Because she doesn't know that she bears a king, she remains in poverty and is very unhappy. In the same way, beings have a protector inside their mind, but are unaware of this so they have no peace of mind and are overpowered by defilements; thus they remain in samsara and undergo all kinds of suffering.
[124] Imagine a very pure statue covered with a crust of clay. Someone who knew about this could remove the clay and reveal the gold statue. In the same way, the clear light nature of the mind is inside us, but covered with impurities. These impurities are not permanent and can be removed like the clay crust covering the beautiful statue. Someone knowing that the clay is covering the statue can remove the clay gradually to reveal the gold statue. In the same way, the omniscient bodhisattvas know with their jnana that buddha essence is inside beings and through teaching the dharma they can gradually remove all the impurities covering the pure mind.
[127] These nine examples show that all beings have buddha essence, but it doesn't manifest because it is covered by impurities. The Buddhas can see the buddha essence and therefore they teach the dharma on how to remove the impurities. Because of buddha nature, one can reach Buddhahood with purification.
? In summary, there were nine examples of the impurities. If one had a white shell, for example, one can't separate the whiteness from the roundness of the shell. But buddha nature is completely separate from the impurities so these impurities can be separated when buddha nature manifests.
[130] Each of the nine examples corresponds to one of the defilements and a level of the path. To summarize:
1. In the example of the lotus, the shell corresponds to attachment found in ordinary beings.
2. In the example of the bee swarm, the bees correspond to aggression found in ordinary beings.
3. In the example of withered rice, the husk corresponds to ignorance found in ordinary beings.
4. In the example of gold in rubbish, the filth corresponds to attachment, aggression, and ignorance in a very active state found in ordinary beings.
5. In the example of buried treasure, the soil corresponds to the latent karmic traces of attachment, aggression, and ignorance left behind in arhats.
6. In the example of fruit, the skin corresponds to fabricated obscurations worked on by those on the path of insight by bodhisattvas on the mahayana path.
7. In the example of the statue in rags, the rags correspond to the innate obscurations worked on by those on the path of cultivation by bodhisattvas on the mah5y5na path.
8. In the example of the pregnant woman, her womb represents the impurities of the bodhisattva in the first to seventh bodhisattva levels.
9. In the example of the statue in clay, the clay represents the impurities of the bodhisattva in the eighth to tenth bodhisattva levels. In more detail:
? [134] A lotus is a beautiful flower which grows out of mud. When one sees a lotus blooming, it is very beautiful and one is happy seeing it. Later when it withers, one's pleasure disappears. In a similar way, desire comes out of the mind of samsara and when something desirable or attractive first presents itself, it might bring pleasure, but with time it loses its appeal and becomes suffering.
[135] Bees are very attached to their honey; when the honey is touched they become very angry or irritated and give pain to others by stinging them. So when the bees are hurt, they hurt others. In the same way, when one is angry, one is very irritable and one hurts others with harsh words or actions.
[136] Grains such as rice are covered with a husk which obscures the grain inside. In the same way, ignorance keeps one from seeing the true nature of phenomena. It is a thick covering like a shell or husk which prevents one from seeing what is there.
[137] Filth or rubbish covering gold is very unpleasant and disagreeable. In the same way when attachment, aggression, and ignorance are very strong, they are very repulsive and also increase one's attachment to pleasures. [138] The soil covers the treasure so that one does not know a treasure is there. In the same way, very fine mental imprints caused by ignorance are present in the mind. This is the innate ignorance present since the beginning of time samsara which covers up the true nature of the mind so one cannot recognize its true nature.
[139] When one is on the path to enlightenment as an ordinary being, one is on the path of accumulation and the path of junction. One practices because one has a goal of practice, but little direct realization. After a while one gets
? a direct insight into the nature of phenomena and becomes a bodhisattva who sees "the rope as a rope" and all mis- conceptions are relinquished. This is the path of cultivation of insight which is compared to a shoot growing from the skin of a fruit When one has reached this path of insight,
jnana starts to manifest.
[140] On the path of insight, the obscurations are eliminated but we don't automatically reach Buddhahood. We have been in samsara for such a long time that we have acquired very strong mental habits. The gross mis- conceptions have been removed, but the innate ignorance from the very beginning still remains as a trace. After we have the insight, we need to cultivate this insight until it becomes very firm. This path of cultivation is called the
path of the realized ones. It is the time when the core of the belief of self (called the "multitude of fears" because it causes great fear) is removed. This is compared to tattered rags which are so rotten they are quite easy to remove. In the same way, these mental impurities are quite soft, subtle, and easy to remove.
[141] The eighth example corresponds to the impurities in the first seven bodhisattva levels. These are compared to a baby in the womb. The baby must wait there nine months and with each day it knows it is closer to being bom. Similarly, a bodhisattva at each stage is growing more complete as impurities are removed with jnana maturing more and more.
[142] The ninth example relates to the very fine impurities of the last three bodhisattva levels which have to be eliminated. These are compared to traces of clay covering a statue. These great beings, the bodhisattvas on the tenth level, remove these slight impurities through
? vajra-like samadhi. This is compared to a vajra because it is very powerful and solid; it can destroy everything else and not be destroyed itself.
[144] There is a purity aspect of each of the nine examples. Buddha nature is the union of three natures: dharmakaya, the suchness, and causal ground. The dharma- kaya refers to the clarity aspect, the suchness to voidness, and the causal ground to the aspect of full manifestation. If one has a shell that is white and round, one can say that from the color aspect it is white, from the shape aspect it is round; however, the whiteness and roundness are inseparable. In the same way the clarity, voidness, and the causal ground which are the ability to manifest as Buddhahood are also inseparable. Of the nine examples there are three examples for the dharmakaya, one example for the suchness, and five for the causal ground.
[145] The first three examples relate to the dharmakaya. The dharmakaya can be divided into the actual dharmakaya and the relative dharmakaya which is also called dharmakaya, but is not really the dharmakaya. The true dharmakaya is the stainless dharmadhatu, the actual buddha nature, which is by nature luminosity and in the domain of self-cognisant jnSna. Relative dharmakaya is called the "teaching dharmakaya" which are the scriptures that teach the meaning of the dharmakaya. These scriptures have a deep aspect related to the dharmakaya and a vast aspect related to the various mentalities of beings.
[146] The first example is of the true dharmakaya which cannot be fathomed so it is represented by the Buddha in a withering lotus. 5
^Thrangu Rinpoche believes that in this case it is the Buddha himself, not a statue of the Buddha.
? [147] The second example of honey represents the teaching dharmakaya because the taste of honey is very subtle, as are the teachings of the dharmakaya. Honey is always very sweet and all kinds of honey have this same sweet taste. In comparison, all the various phenomena of the dharmakaya have one taste or a similar nature. The third example of grain in husks, the millions of grains represent the great variety of teachings. The deep aspect of the teaching is represented by the honey, the vast aspect is
represented by the grains in the husk.
[148] The fourth example of gold illustrates the
changeless character of the suchness. Suchness is not completely pure and not changed by suffering or defilements. It is perfectly pure and therefore is compared to gold which has the same qualities.
[149] The last five examples refer to causal ground. The causal ground is compared to a treasure because a treasure can lie beneath the ground for hundreds of years and remain unchanged. The causal ground is compared to a fruit because when a fruit is still a fruit one cannot see the tree, but the fruit contains the potential of a tree. The example of a treasure describes the innate aspect of the causal ground and the example of the fruit describes how the proper practice of virtue can manifest into Buddhahood. These two aspects of the causal ground
develop into the three kayas of the Buddha. The dharmakaya is the outcome of the innate aspect and the form kayas are the outcome of the practice of virtue.
[151] The essence kaya, svabhavikakaya or dharmakaya, is compared to an example of a buddha statue made of precious substances. The innate aspect of causal ground ft
compared to a treasure of jewels because it is there
? naturally. The sambhogakaya is compared to a great king or cakravatin because the sambhogakaya is endowed with the great power of dharma. The nirmanakSya is illustrated by a golden statue because it is a representation of the Buddha.
[153] As an ordinary person one cannot understand Buddha essence directly and therefore needs the help of faith to understand it. The buddha nature has been there from the very beginning and was never created by anyone. It is the spontaneously present jnana. An ordinary person cannot see this directly because his buddha nature is covered by impurities. He or she may be able to gain some indirect understanding of it by inference, but even this is hard to understand because it is in the domain of the inconceivable. For example, the sun sheds its brilliant rays all the time; as far as the sun is concerned, it never is obscured by anything. But a blind person will never see this sunshine. In the same way, the spontaneously present
jfiana has been there from the very beginning but it is hidden from ordinary beings who do not have the clear eyes of prajna to see through the thick darkness of ignorance. They must rely on faith in order ;o understand this buddha nature.
Buddha essence has two kinds of purity: it is naturally pure, and is pure from incidental impurities. It has always had these qualities, but when one doesn't see this fully one makes mistakes, goes astray, and wanders in samsara. [155] Buddha nature is void and not void in a way. The buddha essence is devoid of any passing impurity because these are not an intrinsic part of it. On the other hand, the buddha essence is not devoid of the supreme qualities because the qualities are an inseparable part of the actual nature of the buddha essence.
? Importance o f Buddha Nature
The fourth major division in this chapter on buddha nature explains why it is necessary to teach about the presence of the buddha nature and what benefits one can expect from understanding this teaching.
To review, the Buddha turned the wheel of dharma three times. The second turning demonstrated the voidness of all phenomena. In these teachings the Buddha said there is no form, sound, taste, smell, etc. with everything being devoid of any actual nature. Everything is void beyond the four extremes of existence and nonexistence and beyond the eight mental fabrications. Everything is the dharmadhatu devoid of any actual nature of its own. In the third turning, Buddha stated all beings had buddha nature and he described the nature of the buddha nature in detail. Ordinary beings might think that there is a contradiction between teachings of the second turning in which the Buddha said there wasn't anything and in the third turning
in which he said there was.
[156] In the text it states that the Buddha taught phenomena are devoid of actual nature; they are like a cloud, a dream, or an illusion. This was explained in many sutras in the long, middle, and short form of the
PrajnQpUrartiitU sutra. The Buddha in this teaching stated that anything knowable is devoid of any actual nature; that is, it is always void and always has been void. In the third turning the Buddha said that all beings have Buddha essence which appears to contradict the second turning teachings.
[157] The answer to this contraction is that if we do not understand the presence of Buddha nature in all beings, we
? will make five mistakes in reasoning. The first mistake is faintheartedness; we will become discouraged about the possibility of attaining Buddhahood. We will think the Buddhas of the past have managed to attain Buddhahood, but they were individuals quite different from ourself, so Buddhahood is totally out of reach. If we think this way, we may not even Degin to work for liberation. The second mistake is we don't know that other beings have buddha nature and we might feel contempt for persons who have a lesser understanding than our own and believe they have no chance of achieving Buddhahood. The third mistake is to have misconceptions of the true nature of things and believe appearances are real. Fourth, if we don't understand that all beings have buddha nature and therefore have the possibility of reaching Buddhahood, we
might think that beings are simply empty and void and we might therefore ridicule their true nature. If we do not
understand all beings are alike because they all possess buddha nature, we may make the fifth mistake of thinking more highly of ourself than others. We therefore spend more time looking for happiness for ourself and less in helping others. To prevent these five mistakes the Buddha gave three teachings.
[158] The ultimate nature of everything is devoid of anything composite. In this true nature there is no such thing as form, sound, sight, etc. because it is beyond both existence and non-existence, the four extremes, and the eight conceptual fabrications. In the ultimate sense everything is voidness, but in the relative sense everything manifests because of the defilements, karma, and the fruition of karma.
? [159] These three causes of manifestation are compared to clouds, a dream, and an illusion respectively. In the second turning, all relative manifestation are described as an illusion but in the ultimate sense all phenomena are void. The defilements of attachment, aggression, ignorance, and belief in a self are compared to clouds which cover buddha essence. These defilements give rise to our good and bad actions (karma) which are tainted by the presence of defilements. These actions are compared to the experiences we have in dreams. Although sounds, forms, feelings, and so on appear to us as real in a dream, they have no reality in themselves. This is the same for everything we experience. As a result of defilements and karma there is the maturation of the five aggregates. A great magician with different tricks can conjure up different illusions. These illusions are produced by the magician, but they do not have any actual independent reality. In the same way, all aggregates and manifestations of existence are conjured up by the defilements and karma and are like an illusion with no independent reality. The second turning made clear that on the ultimate level everything is void, but on the relative level everything manifests to us like clouds or dreams or illusions.
[160] The purpose of this teaching was to eliminate five misconceptions which arise from not knowing about buddha nature. The first mistake is discouragement or faintheartedness which is a form of self-contempt. It appears when one thinks one is unable to do somethi/ig because one is not good enough to do it. We think, "I cannot get rid of the defilements; I cannot achieve Buddhahood and help beings and practice dharma" ajad
lack the confidence to practice. In general, when someone
? doesn't have enough confidence in worldly affairs, they cannot accomplish what they have to do. This is also true of the dharma; if we don't have enough courage, we aren't able to generate the state of mind conducive to enlightenment. A bodhisattva must have compassion and understanding. Without self-confidence, the bodhisattva won't be able to practice along these lines.
[162] If we are able to generate some bodhicitta, then others who don't have this motivation appear inferior. So to think, "I'm much better than others because they don't have strong motivation" and to develop strong pride and look down on others is the second mistake because everyone has buddha nature.
[163] The third mistake is to lack the right kind of under- standing and to believe phenomenal appearances to be real. We cling to this misconception, because we do not understand that all phenomenal appearances are empty. [164] The faults and defects in beings are only transient and fabrications. Actually, within individuals all the qualities are pure and present. If we don't understand this, we will speak ill of the true nature which is the fourth fault. [165] The fifth mistake of not knowing that all beings
possess buddha nature and to value oneself over all beings.
[80] Buddha nature is unalterable because it has no birth because it has no beginning, it has no death because it has no end, it is free from sickness because it doesn't change from good to bad, and it is free from old age because it is indestructible.
When Buddhahood is achieved, there is no change in the physical body; there is also no change in the subtle body. In Buddhahood there is no body. The word kaya literally means "body. " In the nirmanakaya it looks as if the individual is taking birth and has a real body, but in the true sense it has an appearance of physical form. The dharmakaya is beyond the four extremes and eight fabrications so it has nothing to do with a body in the ordinary sense.
[81] Buddhahood is free from birth because it is permanent, it has no death because it is eternal. There is no death in the ordinary sense, but there is also the absence of even very subtle changes. This is why the Buddha can protect all beings and help all beings until the end of samsara.
[82] Buddhahood is not harmed by sickness because it has peace which overcomes the duality of samsara and
? nirvana. Since this dualistic division has ended, there is no suffering or sickness even from the fine karmic imprints that lead to a very subtle suffering. Buddhahood has no old age or degradation of the stream of existence. The Buddhas have no old age or degradation even in a subtle way from the untainted factors because Buddhahood is immutable. [83] In summary, uncreated space refers to the
emptiness aspect, while buddha nature refers to the clarity aspect. The name "buddha nature" shows it can bring forth all the qualities of the Buddha. So uncreated space has the attributes of permanence, eternity, peace, and immutability. Each refers to a different quality: the absence of birth to permanence; the absence of death to eternity; the absence of sickness to nonduality; and the absence of old age to immutability. So these qualities are unalterable.
[84] In the normal world good qualities wear out, but the qualities of Buddhahood are permanent because the body, speech, and mind of the Buddha are inexhaustible and changeless and therefore permanent. Vast numbers of beings on this earth are beset with negative karma causing an almost inexhaustible amount of impurities. For buddha activity to help purify these beings for as long as samsara lasts requires that these qualities be eternal. It also has the nature of a refuge because it is there to help beings. The third quality is nonduality. Because in Buddhahood everything isn't divided into good and bad, it is beyond this and therefore in a state of peace. The last is the quality
of indestructibility because it never vanishes because the qualities of Buddhahood are not fabricated.
At the impure level of ordinary beings the aggregates and the four elements change while buddha nature is changeless as described in the example of space. In the
? mixed phase buddha essence remained changeless even though bodhisattvas work to help all beings. In the phase of total purity the buddha essence is changeless even though the Buddhas help all beings. So buddha essence is changeless.
10. Inseparability o f the Qualities
Buddha nature is given four different names: the dharmakaya, tathagata, highest truth, and supreme nirvana. It is called the "dharmakaya" because it is the true nature of all things. It is called the "tathagata" because it is the ultimate fruition of seeing what is there. It is called the truth of the realized ones or the "highest truth" because the realized ones see phenomena as-it-is. It is called the "ultimately true nirvana" because it is beyond the suffering of samsara.
The inseparability of the four qualities is similar to the sun and the sunshine because one cannot have one without the other. The dharmakaya, the tathagata, the highest truth, and the supreme nirvana are inseparable at the stage of ordinary beings, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. When Buddhahood is achieved, there is no other nirvana beyond that and no other truths. In more detail:
[85] Untainted space is divided into the four aspects of the dharmakaya, the tathagata, the highest truth, and ultimate nirvana. The dharmakaya is the sum of all the
qualities of the Buddha (the ten powers, four fearless- nesses, etc. ) and these are inseparable. The term "tatha- gata" is used to show that from the beginning of time the buddha causal ground has been within all beings. The term "highest truth" shows that the true nature is always present
? and contains no falsehoods. The term "nirvana" means beyond suffering because this nature is free from all impurities so there is no pain or suffering.
[87] In the fruition of Buddhahood all the aspects of knowledge are the Buddha. All the aspects of knowledge means achieving knowledge of how-it-is and the know- ledge of variety and also totally removing of all impurities and karmic imprints. The i timate achievement is
represented with Buddhahood being complete knowledge and nirvana being complete purity. Buddhahood and nirvana are not separate, however, in the ultimate sense. [88] Liberation is the direct realization of phenomena by seeing it as-they-are. Liberation has the characteristics of being inseparable, numberless, unthinkable, and stainless. All these qualities are complete in the dharmakaya.
The first example illustrates that when some of the parts are missing, the whole cannot exist. The second example shows the inseparability of different parts of a whole.
[89] Imagine some artists, each skilled in painting just one part of the body so that one artist can draw, for example, the eyes; another can draw just the arms, another
just the hair, etc. Now a king gathers these artists together and gives them a canvas and asks them to do his portrait. In the middle of the painting, one of the artists leaves the country so that the portrait can't be completed.
[92] Similarly, Buddhahood is similar to the completed picture with each artist representing the different qualities necessary to achieve Buddhahood. If all the qualities of the six paramitas are present, then all the conditions for reaching Buddhahood are there and voidness can be apprehended directly. The voidness with all the aspects is
? like the fully completed portrait of the king. The voidness is not emptiness, but the great fullness of these qualities with the quality of clarity in which all these aspects of knowledge can flourish. For this voidness to be realized all the qualities of the paramitas have to be present just as all the artists have to be present to complete the portrait.
[93] The inseparability of the qualities of prajna, jnana, and freedom is illustrated by the sun. The Tibetan word for "prajna" is sherab and this literally means "better knowledge" so prajna means the understanding without distortion both of the nominal and phenomenal aspect of things. Jnana (Tib. yeshe) is very clear cognition and is used for the cognition of the essential or nominal aspect of things. One doesn't use jnana for gaining knowledge about a river or a mountain, but reserves this for knowledge about the true nature of things. These two qualities are present as seeds in ordinary beings and are fully manifest at Buddhahood. When the impurities at the stage of ordinary beings are removed, the third quality of perfect freedom emerges. Prajna, jnana, and freedom from impurities are compared to sunlight, sun rays, and the orb of the sun and are luminous, radiant, and pure respectively. [94] Nirvana is not possible without the jnana of the Buddha. The example states that without sunlight and the sun's rays the sun cannot be seen. So the qualities of the Buddha are inseparable.
? Table 2
A Summary of the Ten Qualities of Buddha Nature
/. The nature o f buddha nature is inherently pure like:
a. a jewel b. the sky c. water
(has power) (is changeless) (compassion)
2. Thefour causes that allow b idha nature to manifest:
a. aspiration b. prajfiS
c. samSdhi
d. compassion
(to overcome dislike of dharma) (to overcome belief in self)
(to overcome fear of samsara) (to overcome selfishness)
3. Once there isfruition ofbuddha nature which is beyond samsUra and nirvana, one has the qualities of:
a. true purity
b. true identity
c. true happiness
d. true permanence(counteracts belief in self)
a. dharmakaya
b. two-fold jnana c. compassion
(vastness of ocean) (jewcls *n the ocean) (wetness of ocean)
Example of the butter lamp at fruition
a. clear cognition b. stainless jnana c. clarity
(light of the lamp) (heat of the lamp) (color of the lamp)
(counteract impurities due to karma) (counteract suffering in life) (counter impermanence of skandhas)
4. Thefunction or influence ofbuddha nature is:
a. One develops a weariness of samsara
b. One can then see the benefits of nirvana
5. The endowments o f buddha nature are:
Example of the ocean on the path
6. The approach o f beings to buddha nature is:
a. ordinary beings use the incorrect approach
? b. bodhisattvas go in the right direction
c. Buddhas are unerring and non-conceptually right 7. The phases o f buddha nature are:
a. impure b. mixed c. pure
(in ordinary beings) (in the bodhisattvas) (in the tathagatas)
8. The all-pervasiveness o f buddha nature is:
In example of space:
a. pervades all but unaffected by it
b. all arises and disintegrates in it with no effect
c. it is never consumed by fires of birth, old age, etc.
9. Buddha nature is unalterable because it has:
In the example of ordinary beings:
a. earth
b. water
c. air
d. space
In the example of the bodhisattvas:
(the aggregates, elements, and senses) (karma and the defilements) (incorrect understanding)
(clarity)
a. beyond birth
b. beyond ageing
c. beyond sickness
d. beyond death
In the example of the Buddhas:
a. permanent (the Buddhas are changeless) b. eternal (there is inexhaustible negative karma) c. nondual (inseparability of samsara and nirvana) d. indestructible (Buddhahood is not fabricated)
10. The qualities are inseparable because:
a. dharmakaya
b. tathagata
c. highest truth
d. supreme nirvana (beyond suffering)
(quality of permanence) (quality of immutability) (quality of nonduality) (quality of being eternal)
(true nature of all things) (ultimate fruition) (knowledge of how-it-is)
? CHAPTER 7 BUDDHA NATURE II:
The Nine Examples
One may still have doubts about how buddha nature is changeless, but does not manifest because of impurities. To illustrate this nine examples of buddha essence and the impurities are given.
Examples o f Buddha Nature
When the Buddha gave teachings, he didn't simply declare the truth, but he gave reasons for what he was saying. The reasons for his teachings were sometimes very apparent and at other times very obscure. The obvious teachings were the ones grasped by the senses. There are, however, teachings which cannot be grasped with sensory faculties because they were about things very far away, or very remote in time, or about karma. A particular karma will prevent one from living certain types of lives. Since one
cannot understand these more hidden meanings directly, one has to understand them through inference. For instance, if we say there's a fire behind that hill because we can see smoke, people believe it even though they can't see the actual fire because smoke is a valid sign of a fire. For a sign to be significant it must have universal applicability i. e. , whenever there is a fire, there must be smoke. The sign must also be valid, if we say there's a fire because I see a
? tree, it is an invalid sign. So a sign for showing the presence of something that is hidden must have universal
applicability and be a valid sign. The presence of buddha essence is illustrated with signs using nine examples. Then this reasoning is applied to buddha nature itself.
[96] The nine examples of beautiful things covered up by impurities are listed along with the nine impurities followed by a list of the pure things covered up. These will be elaborated below. The method for presenting each example is the same: first a verse gives the example, then a verse gives its meaning, and finally a verse presents the parallel between the example and buddha nature.
[99] Imagine an ugly, withered lotus covering a beautiful buddha statue. Someone with clairvoyance could see the statue and think that this was not a good place for such a beautiful statue and would break open the lotus shell and remove the statue. Similarly, buddha nature is in the mind of all beings, even those in the worst hell, but it is obscured by the defilements of the three poisons. The Buddhas with divine vision and great compassion see this buddha essence and help beings out of the shell of defilements. Individuals with buddha nature need to reach Buddhahood so they do not continue to suffer in samsara: therefore they need the Buddhas with their vision and their teachings to receive the tools to make this buddha nature manifest.
[102] Imagine some tasty honey which is surrounded by swarming bees. If an experienced person knows how to separate the honey from the bees, then people can enjoy the honey. This means the Buddhas with the omniscient eyes of twofold knowledge can see the buddha nature in all beings which is like the honey. The bees circling the honey
? can be removed because they aren't part of the honey. In the same way, the impurities of beings aren't part of their buddha nature and therefore can be removed allowing buddha nature to manifest. In this example, the man who knows about honey is like the Buddhas who are skilled in
removing obscurations, which are the bees.
[105] Imagine a grain of rice enclosed in its husk. Kernels of rice, buckwheat, and barley cannot be used as food when they are unhusked. Similarly, as long as buddha nature called "the lord of all qualities" is not liberated from the shell of impurities, it cannot give the taste of the joy of
dharma to beings.
[108] Imagine an individual going on a joumey and on his way he loses some pure gold which falls into some rubbish. It remains unchanged for hundreds of years being quite useless. Then a god with clairvoyance sees the large lump of gold in the rubbish and tells someone where to find it so it can be put to proper use.
[110] Similarly, the Buddhas can see the pure buddha
nature of beings which has fallen into the filth of defilements and has been lying there for thousands of years. Even though it is there, it has not been polluted by the defilements. If there were no rubbish there is the first place, there would be no need to have the clairvoyant person come along. Also if there had been no gold for the clairvoyant person to point out, it would have been pointless as well. Similarly, if buddha nature were not obscured by defilements, there would be no need for the Buddhas to enter this world and teach about buddha nature.
Also if beings didn't have buddha nature from the very beginning, there would be no need for the Buddhas to give teachings because it would be impossible for individuals to
? attain Buddhahood. This is why the Buddhas give teachings and point out our obscurations. They do this by producing the rain of dharma which has the ability to gradually wash away the impurities which we have accumulated.
Gold is very useful, but if it is covered by rubbish it is useless. This is why this clairvoyant person tells someone where it is and tells him to remove the rubbish and use the gold. In the same way, the Buddhas tell us about the rubbish of our instability. They see beings who have the wish-fulfilling gem in their hands, wasting it. Beings are suffering, but they have the tool to eliminate the suffering and this is why the Buddhas teach the dharma. Beings remain stuck in problems and difficulties and don't have the power to realize their own goal. They might think there is nothing they can do, but they have the knowledge of how-it-is and variety, so they have everything necessary to remove the defilements. The Buddha told them that if they practice, they can reach enlightenment.
[112] Imagine a man so poor that he doesn't have any food or clothes, living in a house built over a great treasure. If the man doesn't know about the treasure, he will continue to suffer in poverty because the treasure cannot say, "Look, I am here. " Similarly, all beings have the great treasure of buddha nature in their minds and this treasure has always been there. They do not see the buddha essence in their mind so they endure all the sufferings of samsara. The treasure can't tell the man "I am here" even though it is very close by. Similarly, all beings have the precious treasure of the dharmakaya locked in their mind, but continue to suffer. Therefore the great sages, the Buddhas, come into our world to help beings find this treasure.
?
[115] A very tiny seed in a fruit has the power to be an enormous tree. One cannot see the tree in the seed, but if one adds all the right conditions for growth such as water, sunlight, soil, etc. to the seed, a mighty tree will develop. Similarly, buddha essence exists in all beings but is encased in the peel of ignorance which generates our emotional and cognitive obscurations. If one practises virtue, it will generate the favorable conditions for this seed of buddha nature to grow. Through the accumulation
of knowledge and virtue, the seed will develop into the "king of victors" or Buddhahood. The parallel is that just as a tree with the proper conditions grows from a seed enclosed by the skin of a fruit into a tree, buddha essence is enclosed in the skin of defilements and with proper conditions will manifest into Buddhahood.
[118] Imagine a very valuable buddha statue wrapped in tattered rags and abandoned by the side of the road. A passerby would not notice it, but if a god came along, he could see the statue. Similarly, the Buddhas with their jnana can see that buddha nature of beings is wrapped in the tattered rags of the defilements. They see this in persons and even in animals. As a god can see a statue with divine vision, the Buddhas can see buddha nature lying on the road of samsara inside the rags of defilements. They tell beings to remove the tattered rags so the buddha nature can manifest in its complete purity.
[121] Imagine a destitute ugly woman with no place to stay who ends up in a pauper's hostel. Also imagine that she is pregnant and holds in her womb the future king. She continues to suffer because she doesn't know anything about it. Similarly, beings hold the precious buddha essence but do not know anything about it or get any
? benefit from it. As the woman in the hostel has a king in. her womb so beings are bom in the six realms of samsara; some as humans, some as animals, some as hungry ghosts, etc. All have to suffer--animals suffer from enslavement, spirits have to suffer from thirst and hunger, humans have to suffer from birth, sickness, old age, and death. All are like the poor woman living in misery.
[123] The poor woman with a great ruler in her womb is dressed in dirty clothes. Because she doesn't know that she bears a king, she remains in poverty and is very unhappy. In the same way, beings have a protector inside their mind, but are unaware of this so they have no peace of mind and are overpowered by defilements; thus they remain in samsara and undergo all kinds of suffering.
[124] Imagine a very pure statue covered with a crust of clay. Someone who knew about this could remove the clay and reveal the gold statue. In the same way, the clear light nature of the mind is inside us, but covered with impurities. These impurities are not permanent and can be removed like the clay crust covering the beautiful statue. Someone knowing that the clay is covering the statue can remove the clay gradually to reveal the gold statue. In the same way, the omniscient bodhisattvas know with their jnana that buddha essence is inside beings and through teaching the dharma they can gradually remove all the impurities covering the pure mind.
[127] These nine examples show that all beings have buddha essence, but it doesn't manifest because it is covered by impurities. The Buddhas can see the buddha essence and therefore they teach the dharma on how to remove the impurities. Because of buddha nature, one can reach Buddhahood with purification.
? In summary, there were nine examples of the impurities. If one had a white shell, for example, one can't separate the whiteness from the roundness of the shell. But buddha nature is completely separate from the impurities so these impurities can be separated when buddha nature manifests.
[130] Each of the nine examples corresponds to one of the defilements and a level of the path. To summarize:
1. In the example of the lotus, the shell corresponds to attachment found in ordinary beings.
2. In the example of the bee swarm, the bees correspond to aggression found in ordinary beings.
3. In the example of withered rice, the husk corresponds to ignorance found in ordinary beings.
4. In the example of gold in rubbish, the filth corresponds to attachment, aggression, and ignorance in a very active state found in ordinary beings.
5. In the example of buried treasure, the soil corresponds to the latent karmic traces of attachment, aggression, and ignorance left behind in arhats.
6. In the example of fruit, the skin corresponds to fabricated obscurations worked on by those on the path of insight by bodhisattvas on the mahayana path.
7. In the example of the statue in rags, the rags correspond to the innate obscurations worked on by those on the path of cultivation by bodhisattvas on the mah5y5na path.
8. In the example of the pregnant woman, her womb represents the impurities of the bodhisattva in the first to seventh bodhisattva levels.
9. In the example of the statue in clay, the clay represents the impurities of the bodhisattva in the eighth to tenth bodhisattva levels. In more detail:
? [134] A lotus is a beautiful flower which grows out of mud. When one sees a lotus blooming, it is very beautiful and one is happy seeing it. Later when it withers, one's pleasure disappears. In a similar way, desire comes out of the mind of samsara and when something desirable or attractive first presents itself, it might bring pleasure, but with time it loses its appeal and becomes suffering.
[135] Bees are very attached to their honey; when the honey is touched they become very angry or irritated and give pain to others by stinging them. So when the bees are hurt, they hurt others. In the same way, when one is angry, one is very irritable and one hurts others with harsh words or actions.
[136] Grains such as rice are covered with a husk which obscures the grain inside. In the same way, ignorance keeps one from seeing the true nature of phenomena. It is a thick covering like a shell or husk which prevents one from seeing what is there.
[137] Filth or rubbish covering gold is very unpleasant and disagreeable. In the same way when attachment, aggression, and ignorance are very strong, they are very repulsive and also increase one's attachment to pleasures. [138] The soil covers the treasure so that one does not know a treasure is there. In the same way, very fine mental imprints caused by ignorance are present in the mind. This is the innate ignorance present since the beginning of time samsara which covers up the true nature of the mind so one cannot recognize its true nature.
[139] When one is on the path to enlightenment as an ordinary being, one is on the path of accumulation and the path of junction. One practices because one has a goal of practice, but little direct realization. After a while one gets
? a direct insight into the nature of phenomena and becomes a bodhisattva who sees "the rope as a rope" and all mis- conceptions are relinquished. This is the path of cultivation of insight which is compared to a shoot growing from the skin of a fruit When one has reached this path of insight,
jnana starts to manifest.
[140] On the path of insight, the obscurations are eliminated but we don't automatically reach Buddhahood. We have been in samsara for such a long time that we have acquired very strong mental habits. The gross mis- conceptions have been removed, but the innate ignorance from the very beginning still remains as a trace. After we have the insight, we need to cultivate this insight until it becomes very firm. This path of cultivation is called the
path of the realized ones. It is the time when the core of the belief of self (called the "multitude of fears" because it causes great fear) is removed. This is compared to tattered rags which are so rotten they are quite easy to remove. In the same way, these mental impurities are quite soft, subtle, and easy to remove.
[141] The eighth example corresponds to the impurities in the first seven bodhisattva levels. These are compared to a baby in the womb. The baby must wait there nine months and with each day it knows it is closer to being bom. Similarly, a bodhisattva at each stage is growing more complete as impurities are removed with jnana maturing more and more.
[142] The ninth example relates to the very fine impurities of the last three bodhisattva levels which have to be eliminated. These are compared to traces of clay covering a statue. These great beings, the bodhisattvas on the tenth level, remove these slight impurities through
? vajra-like samadhi. This is compared to a vajra because it is very powerful and solid; it can destroy everything else and not be destroyed itself.
[144] There is a purity aspect of each of the nine examples. Buddha nature is the union of three natures: dharmakaya, the suchness, and causal ground. The dharma- kaya refers to the clarity aspect, the suchness to voidness, and the causal ground to the aspect of full manifestation. If one has a shell that is white and round, one can say that from the color aspect it is white, from the shape aspect it is round; however, the whiteness and roundness are inseparable. In the same way the clarity, voidness, and the causal ground which are the ability to manifest as Buddhahood are also inseparable. Of the nine examples there are three examples for the dharmakaya, one example for the suchness, and five for the causal ground.
[145] The first three examples relate to the dharmakaya. The dharmakaya can be divided into the actual dharmakaya and the relative dharmakaya which is also called dharmakaya, but is not really the dharmakaya. The true dharmakaya is the stainless dharmadhatu, the actual buddha nature, which is by nature luminosity and in the domain of self-cognisant jnSna. Relative dharmakaya is called the "teaching dharmakaya" which are the scriptures that teach the meaning of the dharmakaya. These scriptures have a deep aspect related to the dharmakaya and a vast aspect related to the various mentalities of beings.
[146] The first example is of the true dharmakaya which cannot be fathomed so it is represented by the Buddha in a withering lotus. 5
^Thrangu Rinpoche believes that in this case it is the Buddha himself, not a statue of the Buddha.
? [147] The second example of honey represents the teaching dharmakaya because the taste of honey is very subtle, as are the teachings of the dharmakaya. Honey is always very sweet and all kinds of honey have this same sweet taste. In comparison, all the various phenomena of the dharmakaya have one taste or a similar nature. The third example of grain in husks, the millions of grains represent the great variety of teachings. The deep aspect of the teaching is represented by the honey, the vast aspect is
represented by the grains in the husk.
[148] The fourth example of gold illustrates the
changeless character of the suchness. Suchness is not completely pure and not changed by suffering or defilements. It is perfectly pure and therefore is compared to gold which has the same qualities.
[149] The last five examples refer to causal ground. The causal ground is compared to a treasure because a treasure can lie beneath the ground for hundreds of years and remain unchanged. The causal ground is compared to a fruit because when a fruit is still a fruit one cannot see the tree, but the fruit contains the potential of a tree. The example of a treasure describes the innate aspect of the causal ground and the example of the fruit describes how the proper practice of virtue can manifest into Buddhahood. These two aspects of the causal ground
develop into the three kayas of the Buddha. The dharmakaya is the outcome of the innate aspect and the form kayas are the outcome of the practice of virtue.
[151] The essence kaya, svabhavikakaya or dharmakaya, is compared to an example of a buddha statue made of precious substances. The innate aspect of causal ground ft
compared to a treasure of jewels because it is there
? naturally. The sambhogakaya is compared to a great king or cakravatin because the sambhogakaya is endowed with the great power of dharma. The nirmanakSya is illustrated by a golden statue because it is a representation of the Buddha.
[153] As an ordinary person one cannot understand Buddha essence directly and therefore needs the help of faith to understand it. The buddha nature has been there from the very beginning and was never created by anyone. It is the spontaneously present jnana. An ordinary person cannot see this directly because his buddha nature is covered by impurities. He or she may be able to gain some indirect understanding of it by inference, but even this is hard to understand because it is in the domain of the inconceivable. For example, the sun sheds its brilliant rays all the time; as far as the sun is concerned, it never is obscured by anything. But a blind person will never see this sunshine. In the same way, the spontaneously present
jfiana has been there from the very beginning but it is hidden from ordinary beings who do not have the clear eyes of prajna to see through the thick darkness of ignorance. They must rely on faith in order ;o understand this buddha nature.
Buddha essence has two kinds of purity: it is naturally pure, and is pure from incidental impurities. It has always had these qualities, but when one doesn't see this fully one makes mistakes, goes astray, and wanders in samsara. [155] Buddha nature is void and not void in a way. The buddha essence is devoid of any passing impurity because these are not an intrinsic part of it. On the other hand, the buddha essence is not devoid of the supreme qualities because the qualities are an inseparable part of the actual nature of the buddha essence.
? Importance o f Buddha Nature
The fourth major division in this chapter on buddha nature explains why it is necessary to teach about the presence of the buddha nature and what benefits one can expect from understanding this teaching.
To review, the Buddha turned the wheel of dharma three times. The second turning demonstrated the voidness of all phenomena. In these teachings the Buddha said there is no form, sound, taste, smell, etc. with everything being devoid of any actual nature. Everything is void beyond the four extremes of existence and nonexistence and beyond the eight mental fabrications. Everything is the dharmadhatu devoid of any actual nature of its own. In the third turning, Buddha stated all beings had buddha nature and he described the nature of the buddha nature in detail. Ordinary beings might think that there is a contradiction between teachings of the second turning in which the Buddha said there wasn't anything and in the third turning
in which he said there was.
[156] In the text it states that the Buddha taught phenomena are devoid of actual nature; they are like a cloud, a dream, or an illusion. This was explained in many sutras in the long, middle, and short form of the
PrajnQpUrartiitU sutra. The Buddha in this teaching stated that anything knowable is devoid of any actual nature; that is, it is always void and always has been void. In the third turning the Buddha said that all beings have Buddha essence which appears to contradict the second turning teachings.
[157] The answer to this contraction is that if we do not understand the presence of Buddha nature in all beings, we
? will make five mistakes in reasoning. The first mistake is faintheartedness; we will become discouraged about the possibility of attaining Buddhahood. We will think the Buddhas of the past have managed to attain Buddhahood, but they were individuals quite different from ourself, so Buddhahood is totally out of reach. If we think this way, we may not even Degin to work for liberation. The second mistake is we don't know that other beings have buddha nature and we might feel contempt for persons who have a lesser understanding than our own and believe they have no chance of achieving Buddhahood. The third mistake is to have misconceptions of the true nature of things and believe appearances are real. Fourth, if we don't understand that all beings have buddha nature and therefore have the possibility of reaching Buddhahood, we
might think that beings are simply empty and void and we might therefore ridicule their true nature. If we do not
understand all beings are alike because they all possess buddha nature, we may make the fifth mistake of thinking more highly of ourself than others. We therefore spend more time looking for happiness for ourself and less in helping others. To prevent these five mistakes the Buddha gave three teachings.
[158] The ultimate nature of everything is devoid of anything composite. In this true nature there is no such thing as form, sound, sight, etc. because it is beyond both existence and non-existence, the four extremes, and the eight conceptual fabrications. In the ultimate sense everything is voidness, but in the relative sense everything manifests because of the defilements, karma, and the fruition of karma.
? [159] These three causes of manifestation are compared to clouds, a dream, and an illusion respectively. In the second turning, all relative manifestation are described as an illusion but in the ultimate sense all phenomena are void. The defilements of attachment, aggression, ignorance, and belief in a self are compared to clouds which cover buddha essence. These defilements give rise to our good and bad actions (karma) which are tainted by the presence of defilements. These actions are compared to the experiences we have in dreams. Although sounds, forms, feelings, and so on appear to us as real in a dream, they have no reality in themselves. This is the same for everything we experience. As a result of defilements and karma there is the maturation of the five aggregates. A great magician with different tricks can conjure up different illusions. These illusions are produced by the magician, but they do not have any actual independent reality. In the same way, all aggregates and manifestations of existence are conjured up by the defilements and karma and are like an illusion with no independent reality. The second turning made clear that on the ultimate level everything is void, but on the relative level everything manifests to us like clouds or dreams or illusions.
[160] The purpose of this teaching was to eliminate five misconceptions which arise from not knowing about buddha nature. The first mistake is discouragement or faintheartedness which is a form of self-contempt. It appears when one thinks one is unable to do somethi/ig because one is not good enough to do it. We think, "I cannot get rid of the defilements; I cannot achieve Buddhahood and help beings and practice dharma" ajad
lack the confidence to practice. In general, when someone
? doesn't have enough confidence in worldly affairs, they cannot accomplish what they have to do. This is also true of the dharma; if we don't have enough courage, we aren't able to generate the state of mind conducive to enlightenment. A bodhisattva must have compassion and understanding. Without self-confidence, the bodhisattva won't be able to practice along these lines.
[162] If we are able to generate some bodhicitta, then others who don't have this motivation appear inferior. So to think, "I'm much better than others because they don't have strong motivation" and to develop strong pride and look down on others is the second mistake because everyone has buddha nature.
[163] The third mistake is to lack the right kind of under- standing and to believe phenomenal appearances to be real. We cling to this misconception, because we do not understand that all phenomenal appearances are empty. [164] The faults and defects in beings are only transient and fabrications. Actually, within individuals all the qualities are pure and present. If we don't understand this, we will speak ill of the true nature which is the fourth fault. [165] The fifth mistake of not knowing that all beings
possess buddha nature and to value oneself over all beings.
