第53集 — 一切法本無高下

We know that there is originally no superiority and inferiority between all methods, but why is there inequality in all methods? As the annotation states, “The only reason is sentient beings are clouded by serious impurities and deep obstacles, so they are careless and have no wisdom. They may come across a king’s meal in times of famine, but they cannot enjoy it.” This metaphor is used to explain why we see inequality in all methods. It is because we are clouded by serious impurities or defilements. What have you been defiled by? You have been defiled by afflictions and obstructed by delusions, so you neither have wisdom nor effort of meditative concentration (定功). You are clouded by serious impurities and deep obstacles. Being careless is what we said ‘being impetuous.’ It is very difficult to learn Buddhism with this kind of mentality. The Buddha taught us to recite only one sutra. The purpose of reciting sutras is none other than cultivating meditative concentration. We are not someone of superior capacity, so we would not attain enlightenment by pounding rice and splitting wood every day. Great Master Hui Neng could attain Buddhahood by doing those jobs because he was superior to us in wisdom. The most convenient method for intellectuals (to become enlightened) is reciting the sutras. What is the purpose of sutra recitation? The purpose is to cultivate meditative concentration. You must never think of the meanings of each phrase and each paragraph in the sutra. If you do so, you will not succeed in attaining meditative concentration since you have discrimination and attachments. Your afflictions cannot be severed, so you will not attain samadhi. How should you recite the sutra then? From the first phrase, “Thus have I heard” till the last phrase, you should keep reciting the texts without paying regard to the meanings. You must never figure out the meanings of the sutra texts because the sutra itself has no meaning. You just have to ensure that you do not recite the words wrongly or miss any of them. By sincerely reciting the sutra every day, you will attain samadhi after reciting it for thousands of times. Why is that so? Because you have achieved the objective stated in the sutra title i.e., purity, impartiality and enlightenment. When your mind is pure, wisdom will appear. This wisdom is attained by the lesser-vehicle saints such as śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. With this wisdom, they are far more outstanding than ordinary people. If they attain an impartial mind (i.e., having no discrimination), their state will be raised to that of bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas’ mind is impartial, while the lesser-vehicle saints’ mind is pure. Both of them are considered to have attained samadhi. Enlightenment is what the ancients said, ‘By reading a book for a thousand times, one is bound to attain spontaneous enlightenment’ --- you will understand everything by yourself (without being taught by a teacher). Once you are enlightened, you will comprehend the entire sutra instead of comprehending just this phrase or this paragraph. For other sutras that you have never learned before, you will understand everything just by reading and listening to them. You will not know if you have not read and heard of them. However, once you see or hear it, you will know everything.