Story of Chinese Zen. Nan Huai-Chin
Читать онлайн книгу.
not experience any further becoming," and then calmly pass away into extinction.
This simple introduction provides a general glimpse into what Hinayana Buddhism is like. First, by way of study and reflection directed toward theoretical understanding, its application starts with the practice of behavioral discipline according to absolute virtues, and arrives at seeking realization of meditation concentration and attainment of liberation. Its final goal recognizes the possibility of escaping from the sphere of birth and death in this world, and permanently abiding in a spiritual state of absolute quiescence and purity.
In reality, is this spiritual state of purity and quiescence the ultimate attainment of the life of the universe? Is it really possible thereby to be liberated from the cycle of birth and death? From the point of view of Mahayana Buddhism, these are very serious problems.
At the same time, the states of dhyana, as Shakyamuni also said, are a kind of common phenomenon; that is, they are not the monopoly of Buddhism. As long as they deeply understand the principles and diligently cultivate realization, ordinary worldly people and those of other religions and philosophies can all attain similar states of concentration, but none of them are the ultimate complete teaching. They are concerned only with detachment from the world, seeking their own comfort, to resolve the function of discrete portions of the flow of life. They suppose themselves already to have been liberated from birth and death and to be dwelling in the state of extinction and purity, but they have just fallen into a state of partial emptiness, on a par with self-centered hermits, escapists who flee the world. They are practitioners of a kind of thoroughly individualistic freedom. Later the Chinese Zen school called them "board bearers" or "those who only understand themselves." The expression "board bearer" refers to someone who walks along carrying a board across his shoulder and is able to see only on one side.
CHAPTER 5
Mahayana Thought
Chinese Buddhism has always included and practiced both Mahayana and Hinayana together, and integrated the exoteric and esoteric teachings harmoniously. Even if it views the Hinayana from the Mahayana point of view as not being the ultimate Buddha Dharma at all, nevertheless learning the Mahayana still requires the three Hinayana studies of discipline, meditation, and insight as a foundation. Not only that; if we speak in terms of vehicles or ways, Chinese Buddhism has stages equivalent to five vehicles.
The first is the human vehicle. The study of Buddhism first must begin with being human. Everything that demands careful attention in terms of human social virtues must be accomplished to arrive at doing good and getting rid of evil, thus to abide in the state of perfect goodness. By way of sublimation through the human vehicle, it is then possible to arrive at the more advanced practice of the second vehicle, which is the celestial vehicle; the celestial human is born from perfect goodness in being human.
Third is the sravaka vehicle of the Hinayana, which consists of Hinayana practitioners who detach from the world and learn to cultivate practical application of the four truths of suffering, accumulation, extinction, and the path. Beyond this is the fourth vehicle, that of pratyeka-buddhas. These are Hinayana practitioners who observe the conglomeration and dissolution of the conditions of the world. When they can observe through meditation accomplishment the arising of conditions and the perishing of conditions, in accord with the principle of the twelve causal conditions, they can abandon the world to stand alone transcendentally beyond things.
The fifth vehicle is finally the path of the bodhisattvas of the Mahayana. "Bodhisattva" is a Sanskrit word composed of the roots bodhi (enlightenment) and sattva (sentient being). It includes the meanings of self-help and helping others, as well as the meanings of self-enlightenment, enlightenment of others, and complete fulfillment of awareness and action proper to the fruit of Buddhahood. When the term is expressed through direct Chinese translation of the meaning, "bodhisattva" is rendered as "enlightened being," or "great being," or "awakened being." In modern terms, a bodhisattva is a sympathetic illuminate possessed of a kindness and compassion devoted to saving the world. Later Chinese literature contains the expression, "nonmundanity is the skeleton of immortality; sympathy is the heart of Buddhahood." This is really an appropriate picture, beautifully expressed.
The Mahayana bodhisattva path also has three kinds of courses. The first course is to initially seek one's own benefit, such as beginning with Hinayana transmun-dane practice, before setting out to save others. In this course, only after one's own salvation is complete does one devote oneself fully to helping others. The second course is first seeking to help others before seeking to liberate oneself. The third is to pursue the course of trying to simultaneously help oneself and others as well.
In sum, the conduct of the Mahayana involves being physically in the world while mentally beyond the world; it is founded on helping society and saving sentient beings, and can be regarded as sacrificing one's own self for the salvation of the world and humanity. The Mahayana view of all sentient beings is to regard them as all of the same body as oneself, thus producing the power of vows of kindness and compassion. The Mahayana kindness and compassion in helping beings are unconditional and make no demands; they are absolutely altruistic attitudes that are produced by oneself and awakened by oneself. Summing up these two ideas, they are called "empathie kindness and unconditional compassion."
The Mahayana system of thought fully extends the Hinayana teachings of discipline, concentration, insight, liberation, and liberated knowledge and insight, to form the stages known as the six ways of transcendence (six paramitas) or the ten ways of transcendence.
The first of the so-called six ways of transcendence is giving. Mahayana thought starts here because all sentient beings create suffering as a result of egotistic and selfish craving. In the Mahayana, all that belongs and pertains to the ego is used to make charitable gifts to satisfy the desires of sentient beings, so as to influence and transform their stinginess and greed.
Giving is divided into three types. The first type is the giving of externals: here, making gifts of material goods, physical life, and so on, is called material giving while making gifts of knowledge, learning, and wisdom is called giving of teaching. The second type is internal giving, which is to make one's own inner mind relinquish all greedy and covetous attitudes. The third type is giving of fearlessness, which means to give all sentient beings peace, security, freedom from fear, spiritual support, and assurance.
The second way of transcendence is discipline, beginning with not killing, not stealing, not abusing sexuality, and not telling lies, and extending to the motivations that arouse the mind, all of which are to be regulated by discipline. The Mahayana rules of discipline are not just rules of conduct and appearance; in reality, they are mental precepts intended to govern the mind completely. For example, if the motive for doing good is to gain a reputation, this is considered in violation of the Mahayana bodhisattva precepts. The subtlety of application is truly such that it cannot be exhausted in a few words.
The third way of transcendence is tolerance. To explain the overall essentials simply according to the Mahayana, two expressions can be used to sum up the "Tolerate what others cannot tolerate, carry out what others cannot carry out." The whole thing starts out from the intention to save the world with kindness and compassion, yet it is necessary to reach the point at which one does not have any idea of tolerance in the inner mind; only then does it count as tolerance.
The fourth way of transcendence is diligence. This means diligently arousing a constant determination, at all times and in all places, to exert effort to seek realization. Therefore, diligence is a companion of the foregoing giving, discipline, and tolerance, as well as of the subsequent meditation and wisdom. Whatever the way of transcendence one is working on, unflagging diligence is necessary. It is a matter of actively doing good, not passively waiting for goodness.
The fifth way of transcendence is meditation concentration. This includes the contents of the four meditations, eight concentrations, and nine successive stages of concentration, fully extending them to where one is in a state of meditation concentration at all times and in all places, in movement and stillness, inside and outside. Even if one ascends to heaven and experiences bliss there, or descends into