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BSPG News and Meeting (No. 190)
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Edited by Stony Brook Buddhism Study and Practice Group

News
We will meet at room 308 of the Student Activities Center from 7pm to 8:30pm on Thursday.

Meeting
Thursday, 8/1, 7pm to 8:30pm
Room 308, Student Activities Center
Please be on time!

Words from the Suttas/Sutras
"Here, bhikkhus, a certain person abides with his heart imbued with loving-kindness extending over one quarter, likewise the second quarter, likewise the third quarter, likewise the fourth quarter, and so above, below, around, and everywhere, and to all as to himself; he abides with his heart abundant, exalted, measureless in loving-kindness, without hostility or ill-will, extending over the all-encompassing world." -- Anguttara Nikaya IV.125, Puggala Sutta

Quote of the Week
"Some day, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, . . . we shall harness the energies of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire."--Teilhard De Chardin.

Book Review: Describing the Indescribable by Master Hsing-yun
by D.K.

The first few times that I had read the Diamond Sutra, I found it to be dull and boring. The simple and repetitive text was, at that time, not inspiring, and it seemed to be redundant. I wondered why so many Chan masters and Buddhist scholars referred to the sutra with such honor.  In the Sutra of the 6th Patriarch, it describes Hui-Neng as having a deep realization of the mind upon hearing someone speak a line from the Diamond Sutra. "What am I missing?" I thought.

Apparently, I had overlooked the deep meaning of the Buddha's words.  Disguised in their simplicity and cutting directness, the Buddha's teachings in this sutra reveal the completeness of the bodhisattva path and the goal of Buddhahood, in a way that leaves the discovery up to the experience of the individual.

Describing the Indescribable is an excellent illumination of this deep significance of the Buddha's teaching.  Translated by Tom Graham, this book is a treasure, a direct translation of the modern Buddhist master Hsing-Yun's commentary on the Diamond Sutra.

Master Hsing-Yun explains in his commentary, that the Buddha uses words and concepts to help us transcend our attachment to words and concepts.  We can employ our thinking mind to begin to discover the limitations of this thinking mind.  By looking deeply, we can discover that this thinking mind is actually only an illusion.  As an illusion, the mind is impermanent, always changing, and dependent on conditions of the body and environment.  Our suffering stems from attachment to the many discriminating thoughts that we have, which create an impression of a 'mind' which results in a feeling of a  permanent self.  This self is truly illusory, and is merely a continuing action of  attachment to these lakshana, or "the basic unit of delusion".  Lakshana are perceptions, thoughts, memories, ideas, imagination, etc.  We become bound by these lakshana and suffer greatly, all the while misperceiving the true nature of the mind.

"All lakshana are delusive.  If you can see that all lakshana are not lakshana, then you will see the Tathagata," said the Buddha to Subhuti, his elder disciple.

"Subhuti, the Tathagata says that all of that fine dust is not fine dust, and that is what is called fine dust."

The sutra follows this dialectic form throughout, as the Buddha affirms, negates, and again affirms the existence of all phenomena.  By doing so, the Buddha points at  ultimate reality.  Hsing-Yun explains that in the sutra, phenomena, or dharmas, mean everything that we perceive with the six senses—anything seen, heard, tasted, touched, smelled, or thought.  When we name an experience of these senses, it is a dharma.  The dialectic that the Buddha employs is a way of approaching phenomenal and ultimate reality by the "three truths".  The first truth is that phenomena exist, however only in relation to each other.  The second truth is that of the emptiness of phenomena.  Phenomena are empty of permanence, empty of self, always changing, always interacting.  The third truth is the synthesis of the first two.  The Buddha's statements have this basic form: "x is not x and so it is called x."  (page 94)

At first glance, this conceptual approach may seem stale.  However, putting this theory into practice with the mind is what matters most.  To illustrate this point, the Buddha says, "a bodhisattva should give rise to a mind that is not based on anything."  Master Hsing-Yun uses a commentary by a great teacher, P'u Wan to clarify this idea:

" 'not based on anything' refers to true emptiness, while 'give rise to a mind' refers to the wondrous variety of being… 'the combination of "not being based on anything" and "giving rise to a mind" means that ultimate truth and conventional reality are brought together and synthesized, thus becoming the supreme truth of the middle path.'"

Here we see how wonderfully straightforward the Buddha's message is, and how deep the meaning is.  This phrase and many other passages of the Diamond Sutra further elaborate the bodhisattva ideal, where one can fully function in the everyday world, helping others, yet remaining unattached and unruffled by the appearance and disappearance of phenomena.  Great fortune or calamity may occur, nevertheless, the bodhisattva continues to act with patience and generosity, to help others overcome suffering.

In Describing the Indescribable, Master Hsing-Yun -- in his own words, by quoting various masters, and by utilizing the messages of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra and others -- beautifully illustrates the meaning of the Diamond Sutra.  Thereby, he explains emptiness, no-self, nirvana, the three truths, and the fundamental base of consciousness that is the foundation of these concepts.  What is this fundamental mind of complete enlightenment?  To answer this question, we can "read, recite, chant, make offerings to, and put into practice" the teachings of this sutra.

Describing the Indescribable can be a valuable aid to guide us along the path to liberation, as is brings to life a dialogue that occurred 2,500 years ago.  These words continue to enlighten and inspire innumerable sentient beings in the practice of awakened living.

"And they should realize as they vow to save all sentient beings, that in truth there are no sentient beings to be saved."

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