현각 스님의 금강경 강의 3

[운초(雲草)]

[현각스님]살아있는 금강경-제03강

Ⅲ.

Good afternoon. everybody welcome to back to the Seoul International Zen Center of Whagesa temple. we gonna continue with second talks on the Diamond Sutra. we did last week five chapters. and a very great monk Thích Nhất Hạnh. maybe a lot of you heard of Thích Nhất Hạnh, monk Thích Nhất Hạnh, he said ah! after you have read the first five chapters of the Diamond Sutra, read them again. so we gonna quickly for the first five chapters. because that's the heart of the Diamond Sutra. everything else is just a kind of review.

so first chapter,

(Section I. The convocation of the assembly.)

Thus have I heard. upon a time buddha sojourned in anathapindika's park by shravasti with a great company of bhikshus, even twelve hundred and fifty(1,250). One day, at the time for breaking fast, the world-honoured one enrobed, and carrying his bowl made his way into the great city of shravasti to beg for his food. In the midst of the city, he begged from door to door according to rule. this done, he returned to his retreat and took his meal. When he had finished he put away his robe and begging bowl, washed his feet, arranged his seat, and sat down.

Diamond Sutra is finished. completely done. the Buddha had shown everyday life. moment to moment mind. following his situation. that's it. actually the whole Diamond Sutra comes out of that one act. Buddha does it everyday life. without any thinking, without any trace, without any checking himself, or checking the situation, or checking anything around him. he just does it. and then the monks see that, and all impressive, how can we do that? Subhuti as specially.

(Section Ⅱ．Subhuti makes a request)

Now in the midst of the assembly was the venerable Subhuti. Forthwith he arose, uncovered his right shoulder, knelt upon his right knee, and, respectfully raising his hands with palms joined, addressed buddha thus : world-honoured one, it is most precious How mindful the tathagata is of all the bodhisattvas, protecting and instructing them so well!

world-honoured one, if good men and good women seek the consummation of incomparable enlightenment, by what criteria should they abide and how should they control their thoughts?

the Buddha said : very good, subhuti! just as you say, the tathagatha is ever-mindful of all the bodhisattvas, protecting and instructing them well. Now listen and take my words to heart: I will declare to you by what criteria good men and good women seeking the consummation of incomparable enlightenment should abide, and how they should control their thoughts.

Said subhuti: pray, do, world-honoured one. With joyful anticipation we long to hear.

so first chapter they saw him, living is everyday life. but they didn't get it. how do we do that? how do we do that everyday? in the car, in your office, on the street how do we keep that mind? that was just the chapter was asking. He saying how should we act like you? just acted. It's all. it is not difficult.

(Section III. The real teaching of the great way)

Buddha said: subhuti, all the bodhisattva-heroes should discipline their thoughts as follows: All living creatures of whatever class, born from eggs, from wombs, from moisture, or by transformation, whether with form or without form, whether in a state of thinking or exempt from thought-necessity, or wholly beyond all thought realms-all these are caused by me to attain unbounded liberation nirvana. yet when vast, uncountable, immeasurable numbers of beings have thus been liberated, verily no being has been liberated. (no sensing being liberated.) Why is this, Subhuti? it is because no bodhisattva who is a real bodhisattva cherishes the idea of an ego-entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality.

so very interesting. Subhuti, he's like this hinayana(小乘) buddhism, It's like this hinayana type. how should we control our mind? how should we control our thought? how should be good men and good women? he is still realm of a skies. how should we practice? so that we get enlightenment. still this kind of hinayana mind. and buddha's very interesting. very softly he hit him, he hit Subhuti. and he says as "all bodhisattvas should discipline their thoughts as follows." not just us all living beings. so the buddha already hit Subhuti. says not just us this narrow view, about you and your fellow monks and nuns. how should you guys practice? rather how save all beings? how should calls all beings to get enlightenment? and actually when you calls to get enlightenment, actually no being has been got enlightenment. that's because when you get enlightenment, you return to your original nature. so there is no liberation. you are already liberated. everyone is already complete. everyone is already perfect. our original nature can not be liberated. actually it's already liberated. that's like ‘how do we make this space? more space like. how do we, this space is not space, this space is not. how do add more space to this space?’ that's like saying ‘how do we save sensing beings?’ liberating　liberating sensing beings is like saying making space more empty. you can't make this space. more empty, it's empty. there's nothing more empty, then empty. so when you say to liberating sensing beings, that's a mistake actually. but we have to talk. so we say sensing beings are numberless we vow to say them all. 衆生無邊誓願度, sensing beings are numberless, we vow to say them all. but it's a mistake. it's a mistake.

so all he's talking about this great bodhisattva way. all beings return to the nature. so we can say like the water. liberate sensing beings like water. we can say like the water. pure water, pure water, then many dirty things going. then many things go in dirty. many, you know, garbage and dust and charcoal(숯), maybe some cinder goes in and sand goes in and bad things goes in and hairs go in, and the water's very dirty. we says the water's very dirty. then the water's dirty, but even though you say the water's dirty, it is still the same pure water. the H2O is not dirty or clean. ye, the drinking water to your thinking is dirty. but you give it to a cat, cat can drink it. that's all. it saying with this. so verily no being has been liberated. very simple. so all practice is not going from A to B. it's not going from here to there. you don't go somewhere in your practice. already you are arrived. but you just don't know it. that's all. so when you realize it, ah! you didn't go anywhere. you're already there. you realize that being here is it. that's all. that's the third chapter. It's not difficult. ye? very simple.

(Section IV. Even the most beneficent practices are relative)

Furthermore, Subhuti, in the practice of charity a bodhisattva should be detached. That is to say, he should practise charity without regard to appearances; without regard to sound, odour, touch, flavour or any quality. subhuti, thus should the bodhisattva practise charity without attachment. Wherefore? in such a case his merit is incalculable. Subhuti, what do you think? can you measure all the space extending eastward?

No, world-honoured one, I cannot.

Then can you, Subhuti, measure all the space extending southward, westward, northward, or in any other direction, including nadir and zenith?

No, world-honoured one, I cannot.

Well, Subhuti, equally incalculable, equally immeasurable is the merit of the bodhisattva who practises charity without any attachment to appearances. subhuti, bodhisattvas should (supposedly) persevere one-pointedly in this instruction.

so the point is charity is empty. charity is empty. any kind of charity, any kind of 布施, we said us any kind of giving is empty. so the merit that you get is also empty. but we expect some approval, some reward, some good feeling, some liberty, some relief, when we give something. and actually most of people disappoint when they give something and they feel they didn't get something back. right? so he saying the giving is empty. true giving means the giving is empty.

(Section v. Understanding the ultimate principle of reality)

Subhuti, what do you think? Is the tathagata to be recognized by some material characteristic? No, world-honoured one; the tathagata cannot be recognized by any material characteristic. wherefore? because the tathagata has said that material characteristics are not, in fact, material characteristics.

Buddha said: Subhuti, wheresoever are material characteristics there is delusion; but who so perceives that all characteristics are in fact no-characteristics, perceives the tathagata.

Chapter v. "Subhuti, what do you think? Is the tathagata to be recognized by some material characteristic?" that time people expect the buddha to look like something. or pure or real buddha or real saint. you look like something. same thing in Christianity. If you are same, you know, behind your head you have this circle of your head of your checking you have this look like that. but Buddhism really hits that idea. that the buddha look like something. It hits that idea. that's why we have all this buddhas here. many hundreds of buddha is here. so many hundreds of buddha. Buddhism means, even that image, that's not true Buddha. so we use hundreds of buddhas there, all of the same. that means, you know, most religion is one God, one God, one God. but in Buddhism we use thousands of buddhas. that means there's nothing. this is not buddha. everything is buddha. millions of buddhas, billions of buddhas, trillions of buddhas. If this trillions of, trillions of buddhas is this trillions of buddhas, what's not buddha? so it's like Buddhism takes this idea of one Buddha, one God. One, you know, 不二思想, because of you've one God. you must have one Satan and enemy. If you have one good, you have to have its opposite. but If you are millions of buddhas all over the place. there is nothing, there is not buddha. everything is buddha. that's 不二, not two.

so "Subhuti, what do you think? Is the tathagata to be recognized by some material characteristic?" "Is the tathagata some material characteristic?" I once heard some, once when I came to Korea, when I was very young monk, one, one, one Korean monk said to me "oh! western people can not really get enlightenment completely like Asian people." and I said "why?" and he said, oh! very sorry, said "you should look very buddha statue. buddha statue's eyes like this, western people's eyes like this. so you cannot become enlightened like a buddha complete, you close but not completely." and I said "oh! thank you for your teaching." so that's a mistake. buddha is not some form of a buddha. buddha is the sound of bird, hearing that pan, smelling the somewhat air, feeling the sweet between your tastes. that's buddha. that, the thing's that. that's buddha. the thing that hears that child voice outside. the something that hears that, that feels that, smells that, tastes that, that's buddha. the something has no form. that's buddha. it's not a form. it's not a shape. so that's what has that pointing to. so what's difficult about Diamond sutra so far? so the Diamond sutra completely hits that idea. it hits the idea. the buddha is this, wow, wow, that kind of thing. wow, that's why they have this, some religions they have this statue, when the statue is crying, maybe had this Cheon-la province, I don't know. “this, this statue was crying, we must go there. that's the true mother of something.” bang bang! Buddism hits that. ok? very simple. so very interesting point.

Section VI. Rare is true faith

Subhuti said to Buddha: World-honoured one, will there always be men who will truly believe after coming to hear these teachings?

Buddha answered: Subhuti, do not utter such words!(do not say such a thing!) At the end of the last five-hundred-year period following the passing of the tathagata, there will be self-controlled men, rooted in merit, coming to hear these teachings, who will be inspired with belief. But you should realize that such men have not strenghtened their root of merit under just one buddha, or two buddhas, or three, or four, or five buddhas, but under countless buddhas; and their merit is of every kind. such men, coming to hear these teachings, will have an immediate uprising of pure faith, Subhuti; and the tathagata will recognize them. yes, he will clearly perceive all these of pure heart, and the magnitude of their moral excellences. Wherefore? it is because such men will not fall back to cherishing the idea of an ego-entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality. they will neither fall back to cherishing the idea of things as having intrinsic qualities, nor even of things as devoid of intrinsic qualities. Wherefore? because if such men allowed their minds to grasp and hold on to anything they would be cherishing the idea of an ego-entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality; and if they grasped and held on to the notion of things as having intrinsic qualities they would be cherishing the idea of an ego-entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality. likewise, if they grasped and held on to the notion of things as devoid of intrinsic qualities they would be cherishing the idea of an ego-entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality. so you should not be attached to things as being possessed of, or devoid of, intrinsic qualities. This is the reason why the tathagata always teaches this saying: my teaching of the good law is to be likened unto a raft. the buddha-teaching must be discarded, relinquished; how much more so misteaching!

６ 正信希有分

須菩堤 白佛言 世尊, 頗有衆生 得聞如是 言說章句 生實信不. 佛告須菩堤 莫作是說 如來滅後 後五百歲 有持戒修福者 於此 章句 能生信心 以此爲實 當知是人 不於 一佛二佛三四五佛 而種善根 已於無量 千萬佛所 種諸善根 聞是章句 乃至一念 生淨信者.須菩堤,如來 悉知悉見 是諸 衆生 無復 我相 人相 衆生相 壽者相 無法相 亦無非法相. 何以故. 是諸衆生 若心取相 卽爲著我人 衆生壽者, 何以故 若取法相 卽著我人衆生壽者, 若取非法相 卽著我人衆生壽者. 是故 不應取法 不應 取非法. 以是義故 如來常設 汝等比丘, 知我說法 如筏喩者 法尙應捨 何況非法.

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so, actually until chapter five(v) all of the Buddha's spoken teaching is done. He is done speaking actually. but Subhuti doesn't seem to get it. it's very interesting thing happening here. it's a relationship between a teacher and his student. it's very beautiful relate. it's very beautiful teaching. it's very beautiful relationship. it's very beautiful exchange. buddha is trying to teach. Subhuti sometimes gets it, but really doesn't. so he answer, he asks him again. "teacher, I kind of get it. but will other people get it later? will other people understand this? at the end of the period of the dharma?" so people often wonder this 末法, this Dharma ending age. we talk about the Dharma ending age. In every culture, in China and India, and in every culture, we know the things pass through a period of enthusiasm, great effort, then kind of going down, and then passing into disinterest. ye? anyone of who is marry knows what I mean. in the beginning some great attraction, vast interest, then love, then maybe you then make mistake you get married, then there's a kind of going along, then tower rating, then kind of fighting, and then nowadays maybe something else, very quick cold, go to court.

so people believe that spirituality with also a period of spirituality. that the spirituality. that the great interest in the dharma. obvious buddha is there. people will looking at us the western people now in Korea. “ah! teacher monk Sungsan is very interested in the dharma. (after his death) now maybe not so, not interested. maybe soon they will not interested in Korea, now then maybe they will, everyone will be leave, and grow their hair, and become office workers.” everyone was kind of expecting this.

I hear the taking back five to one odds(1/5, 20%). so everyone expect that. this is not unusual. people in the buddha time saw that. after one thousand years will be last interest in practicing meditation. so Subhuti asks will people have faiths, will they understand teaching now and then, that means it difficult for me. Subhuti, that means he is meeting, he even doesn't completely understand it. it’s likes ‘someone who just gets married.’ and says 'honey! Will love me in 20 years.' you know, marriage, you know, just like the buddha, best time, it like 大願 of the marriage, you know, greatest time was when you met the great teacher, when you met the buddha. and 大願 of his understanding, Subhuti says yes but buddha will love me 20 years. that's means he has doubt. right? some lovers says that to they have little bit they doubt. If Subhuti completely understood this, if he was no doubt about his inside, he wouldn't ask this, but it's little bit he gets it intellectually but he's holding back. very interesting.

so the buddha is very clear with him. the buddha, bang! hit him. he said ‘Subhuti ! don't ask me such a stupid question. don't ask such a stupid thing. that reveals your doubt.’ but anyway he goes on he talks and he turns in a good things. just like a teacher and as a master monk Sungsan, someone ask him a good question and bad question. bang! he would hit them. very strong, bang! but then he would answer the question. same thing at the buddha. the buddha says ‘faith, this is sure faith, this is sure faith in the dharma doesn't just happen by accident. faith in the dharma doesn't happen by accident. it has root.’ it's like when you pull an apple off apple tree. pull an apple off, and you say ah! this just appeared today, you know this happened because of long process. so also if you have faith in the buddha, if you have faith in the teaching. It means it came about because long faith under many teachers, under many buddhas.

I remember when I first encounter buddha's teaching. the first time I ever saw of buddha, a picture of the buddha. I'll still very, ah! I think I was high school and ah, it just short image but I, someone had a picture of the buddha in there room. there's another thing in Germany then that I saw. but I saw this picture, when I walk this picture pass, and look that again, and something, something grabbed me. something really grabbed me. something interested me. this person just sitting there, like right cross. just, (-- silence --), and It really, and It really, and it's deeply in my mind. but I was only high school, and I was interested in rock 'n' roll, and having a good time, and of course study, study, study, and when do I get into good college, how do I get this, and how many friends do I have, and which friend like me, which friend don't like me. and how many friends do I have, and, and, how many friends do I have, and do I have a friends? and, and my friends cool and up, do I have the cool friends?

so that's karma. so seed when inside, something I recognize I just, I just, um! um!, and then saw this, and really when inside, but something is pull, ye, ok then back into my karma. but something is recognizing some kind of something, something familiar. so then after that then I went, it's into this book. I visited Germany. I went Germany, I visited someone, they invited me a group of thirty in Freiburg, and then we go into there room, and had this big picture, big picture, big picture of buddha, big picture and before we sat down, took in sense, they lighted it. you know, I'm ready, I gone, I really struck, but I am ready the talk, I still hear some music but still looking at this picture but I'm habit mind, It's just happening, It's just flowing, and this guy (-- silence; burn incense. --) then he did three vows, you know, and then something when deeper. later I found out this picture was 石窟庵, 石窟庵 buddha, it's big. I think it got it some like 美術展示會 or something. it's big. we very really inside, we really saw that. it's like a very deep, deep, deep recognition, it's a recognition, it's a recognition. it's like seeing a old picture, of a relative, of someone you knew before, and what you saw what, you didn't know exactly who is this, but you recognize something, something old, something ancient, something deeply, deeply, deeply familiar. so the buddha talks about that here in the diamond sutra.

"there will be self-controlled men, rooted in merit, coming to hear these teachings, who will be inspired with belief. But you should realize that such men have not strenghtened their root of merit under just one buddha."

because of just it means not just understand one book. they didn't have some karma with buddhism because of just one dharma talk that they heard. maybe because they accidently turned on Buddhist T.V. for ten minutes, then they like the Buddhism, It doesn't happen that way, the buddha said. I mean also when you meet someone that you have close karma with. it's not one time that you met them. it's very deep, deep, deep, deep meeting. just like the apple you eat. didn't come today, it comes for a long, long, long, long process made this apple that put in your mouth. it's not just something that came together right now. other your experience is right now. it's part of a long, long, long process. so the buddha saying you should see your buddhist faith like that. very simple.

so "you should realize that such men have not strenghtened their root of merit under just one buddha, or two buddhas, or three, or four, or five buddhas, but under countless buddhas; and their merit is of every kind. such men, coming to hear these teachings, will have an immediate uprising of pure faith"

"an immediate uprising of pure faith". so I remember, the first time I read the diamond sutra. It was kind of by, almost by accident I wasn't planning to. I had the diamond sutra. I knew I should read the diamond sutra. and I like the title of diamond sutra. that's a kind of cool. you know this rapper guy all like diamond. everyone likes diamond. to diamond sutra, that sound of diamond sutra is pretty deep. so I get the diamond sutra book, that sound like the, that sound like the most high class jewel. you can have, when I opened it up, read it I didn't understand it. but something really hit me. I knew it was talking different than everything else. it was pointing deeper than I ever realize. it's like nothing, it's not intellectual. it's almost anti-intellectual. so I realize ah!, something, this is amazing, and each line I read more it opened up, more it opened up, more it opened up. so that was not the first time read the diamond sutra.

Just like every time you hear Beethoven. the first time you heard it, hu! ‘da da da dan, da da da dan, ~ ~ da da dan.’ everyone hears that and they do not just hear the music for the first time. It's a state, it's a condition, It's a question. that you have heard over and over again in your mind. so why Beethoven is great. not because makes nice music. ‘da da da da da da da ~ ~ .’ not that. It means he goes wop! wop! and you feel, hey! I feel like that. I feel like that before I heard this. now one I hear it. I know what that sounds like. that's me. in his music he drew the sound of my mind, wow! so amazing. how he did that? huh! that's all. same thing so when monk Sungsan said "who are you? only don't know." I wonder, "ye, I don't know." that wasn't the first time I only don't know. that wasn't the first time Mr Lee, monk Guanhaeng, or monk Bohaeng, or Kyoun HeunSu, or Kim GuiZa, that's not the first time this people only don't know. when they heard them. oh! ye, that's right. I feel that. when my father die, ye, I had that experience before. that's what the buddha talking about.

so when you hear this teaching, your faith in this teaching didn't start right there. It's because before, before, before, before you had that experience. ye, he says under countless buddhas. but it doesn't mean this gold statues. it mean the buddha of your own experiences. that's all. so very interesting. so when Zen master monk Sungsan went, bang! wow! I don't talk about this. I don't know exactly what that is. but that's amazing. so I told you when I was young guy, I used to, I told story once or twice before mean my friend, really bad guys, still bad, still bad, bad guys. but very bad that time. so we still go into store all the time. that time store have the supermarket, huge supermarket like a football field. and there's a <muse act>. we say music, but it's a <muse act> in the background. ‘dan, dan, da, da, dan, ~~~~~~.’ but nobody is listening to, you know, everyone shopping, you know, like this Costco, Mr. Kims, big store this music on very lightly but nobody is listening, little bit we hear but it is not for listening. then there ‘ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ~~~.’ then they say "by kimchi, ah! $99, today only." then ‘ding, ding, ding, ding, ding,~~~~~’ so my friends and I used to going to this store. and then we say that "wow! look at everybody they all are sleep." so we used to walk around. I told the story. ye, maybe you heard the story before. we still walk around, very bad, and we used to people, you know, little babes picking up food, ‘mommy! give me this.’ fighting and stop, and there we'll be go, tah! and we'll be watch people go. ‘da, da, da, da, da, ~~~~~~.’ they didn't know this. that someone just shouted, it's a big joke to us. we will be just laugh it, ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! nobody saw, nobody heard, that somebody screamed, ‘tah!’ and we do it. and we'll be standing there picking up standing there, ‘tah!’ and we looking around. and other guys will be around five or six under the store, you know, also in the summer time the store air condition, we'll be playing the baseball all day and then we're sweet on, we went the store, walk around, just, you know, bored, you know, suburb what we gonna do. and we'll walk around, we know this, nobody heard us make that sound. and it's funny, it's sting in the world. It was most subversive thing we can do. until that point was like writing bad word we'll like write for letter word plays, you know, run away. then watch people, you know, you know, in the snow you write it, um! um! um! in the snow on the car window. then you run away you watch. and the people oh! they hide their children's eyes. that was funny for few years. but then that new level that was like the Hinayana level. ye, we makes this impure thing, then we watch people shock. then I like, really I didn't realize we did this thing. tah! but nobody heard it. try it sometime, try it, going to a parking lot or something,　Haeunda, try it Haeunda beach, very good, I'm sure. just do it, nobody want know this. they look over and after seconds then the go back to. then someone really heard this, they go ah! ~~, but their thinking doesn't stop.

so the first time same as monk Sungsan like this go, bang! and I want, "wow! that's something. that's something." I don't know exactly, but I've been there. that's what this means. so when he says under buddhas, one buddhas, two buddhas, three buddhas. It means, buddha means experience. so monk Sungsan says "who are you? don't know! keep that mind!" when he go, some people connect with that teaching. some people don't. some people, "come on, not interesting, I maybe try this cross. pu! no problem, bye bye!" but some people hear that one word. and they go, "ye! don't know! that's somehow interesting! I don't know!" very interesting. so that's it pointing to. that means you have karma with this teaching. and you have long time karma with this teaching. and you practice, practice, practice, you meet this teaching again. very simple. so it's not very difficult thing. all right?

[무량심]

현각 스님의 금강경 제3강 잘 듣겠습니다. 감사합니다.

[연지]

운초님,수고하십니다.고맙습니다.