PRAJNÀPÀRAMITÀ


PRAJNÀPÀRAMITÀ

Prajnàpàramità is the Sutra translated by Hsuan Tsang (in the Tang Dynasty _ China) from Sanskrit into Chinese. In Sanskrit it is originally Prajnàpàramità, which, in Vietnam, has the term “Heart Sutra” added to it, meaning the center of Sutras. Prajnà is exactly translated as Wisdom, the Samàya memory that sees the whole past_present_future of the ten directions of the three periods.
In sutras, Patriarchs say, “Avalokitesvara Bodhisatva practices deeply Prajnàpàramità”, which means the sutra is not meant for sattvas. However, now everyone only applies the complete enlightenment of the theory, and deems that he/she has finished all. This is because we do not know that only after gaining the position of Bodhisatva does Avalokitesvara contemplate and discover that the five skandhas are totally nothingness, which helps him overcome all sufferings and bounds. Therefore, we have to go back the time to the beginning to see what he cultivated?!
“Avalokitesvara Bodhisatva conducts profoundly Prajnàpàramità in multiple periods, contemplating and seeing that the five skandhas are completely nothingness, thus overcoming sarva sufferings and chains. Sàriputra, Form is equal to Nothingness, Nothingness is equal to Form.”
“Practicing” means the idea of arising a thought of meditation in The Supreme Truth that is Wisdom. “Multiple periods” means a lot of periods, over a long period of time, constantly thinking, so it creates a power field, and He suddenly breaks through in own-citta and sees all that are contemplated and seen in multiple periods. “Contemplation” is to shine over and clearly analyze, “Seeing” is to realize. “The five skandhas are nothingness”: the five skandhas – form_feeling_perception_action_consciousness are all nothingness. They are a group created by condition, so they are totally unreal. “Sarva”: Unique means numberless, limitless, uniform in the own-nature of Nothingness, so called Unique. Unique is non-form, do not think “unique” as “one”.
Sàriputra is unparalleled in Wisdom, but he still needs Avalokitesvara Bodhisatva to through-transmit this through-knowledge just Enlightened about. Thus, we infer further to see that: Avalokitesvara Bodhisatva must be at a certain degree and Sàriputra must be at a certain degree to be eligible to study Prajnà. Therefore, it is necessary to trace back the time to the beginning of cultivation: Not a single Bodhisatva can go straight to Prajnàpàramità without going through Smrti-upasthàna (The four places of thought) and the Eighteen Unadded. Once a person contemplates Prajnàpàramità: first are his five skandhas, second is he himself, third is the contemplation of the theory of Prajnàpàramità, and the language which is the calculated object producing the contemplated meaning. Therefore, a Bodhisatva who contemplates Prajnàpàramità without going through these phases will hold the achievement of this theory. This can be compared with the construction of a multi-storey building, which requires the building of an extremely strong base in the very beginning.
Anyone cultivating and studying the doctrine of Buddhism knows about the four elements, the six faculties of senses, the six scenes of senses, and the six consciousnesses. However, we forget to link from these to move up to Prajnàpàramità. Instead, we usually directly enter Prajnàpàramità. That makes our six consciousnesses on one side and Prajnà on another side. Even if we do study it, we only increase the understanding of this faculty of mind, whereas Prajnà is still Prajnà, because we have not been able to integrate due to lack of the initial basic phase.
Prajnàpàramità is concerned with the world of Liberation and Enlightenment, and the world of Nirvana and that of life-death. “Form is equal to Nothingness, Nothingness is equal to Form, Form is not different from Nothingness, Nothingness is not different from Form; The same is true of Feeling, perception, action and consciousness”. Therefore, Nirvana is the place of life-death, life-death is the place of Nirvana. Form is equal to Nothingness: that Nothingness is of Form, so that Nothingness is not the Nothingness of termination. Feeling, perception, action, consciousness: their Form is equal to Nothingness, their Nothingness is equal to Form. Therefore, one who is completely enlightened about the truth, when facing all things and phenomena, can decide whether they are Nothingness or Form.
“Form is equal to Nothingness, Nothingness is equal to Form”. Therefore, all happenings of this planet and the appearance of this planet are Form, which is equal to Nothingness, Nothingness is equal to Form. Hence, the appearance of this world is Form, but its true nature is True-Nothingness, and True-Nothingness is Nirvana. Hence, Nirvana is equal to life-death, life-death is equal to Nirvana.
In this whole world, the appearance of sorrow is Form, the absence of sorrow is Nothingness, Nothingness and Form cannot be separated. Therefore, make a link to wisdom and consciousness; wisdom is equal to consciousness, consciousness is equal to wisdom, wisdom and consciousness simultaneously arise. Thus, when living in the simultaneous arising of between life-death and Nirvana, ego-nature is equal to Buddha-Nature. In other words, from no-beginning, Enlightenment-Nature and karmàvarana (karma hindrance) are simultaneously born, which is Prajnàpàramità. Thanks to this understanding, this world has nothing to fear or hold onto.
“Sàriputra, really Dharmas are formless, not-born, not-dead, not-increasing, not-decreasing, not-impure, not-pure”. Exactly dharmas do not have form, they are formless so their form is the form of nothingness, so do not look at this phenomenal form. Therefore, Buddhist doctrine only accepts what is true, existing changelessly and permanently, which is True-Nothingness. True-Nothingness does not have form so it is not-born, not-dead, not-increasing, not-decreasing, not-impure, not-pure. That Nothingness does not have form, and that form is exactly Nothingness; It is impossible to separate these two entities, and if they were able to be separated, it would be wrong and would mean falling into two-sided view. Those enlightened consider everything in this life normal like that, without holding or letting go. However, if we regard this world to be existent or non-existent, we fall into two-sided view. In fact, form and non-form are at the same place and thus inseparable.
These two entities are not separated and are both like-illusion. Up to this point, there is absolutely no word. It is at the place of absolutely no word that it is not-impure, not-pure, not-one, not-two, not-coming, not-going. Up to this point is the description of True-Nothingness, which is the Nirvana realm. The Nirvana realm and the life-death realm in our own-Citta are only one. Again, Form is equal to Nothingness, Nothingness is equal to Form, life-death is equal to Nirvana, sorrow is equal to Bodhi, ego-nature is equal to Buddha-Nature, sattva-affair is equal to Buddha-affair not one and also not different, all based naturally at the place of Original-Enlightenment.
Based on that complete enlightenment, to consolidate a layer further, this world is existent because of condition, and is non-existent also because of condition. With that added layer of condition, this world is due to condition so it is unreal, going through that illusion layer is non-birth, non-birth is the same as Bhùtatathatà unchanged and permanent. This world is only like that.
A billion Planets like this planet are a Galaxy, a billion Galaxies are a Universe; in this immense Universe, all Galaxies and Solar Systems are Form. Each Planet is a Buddha’s Land, with innumerable scenes-realms-karma-species living on this Planet. Beyond this Universe are other Universes as many as the sand of the river Ganges, with numberless Galaxies integrated into the Avatamsaka realm: one is all, all is one, and are all Form. The whole Avatamsaka realm is a like-real realm, whose Own-Nature is unchanged and permanent. That understanding enables profound, immense Wisdom and contemplation. Form is equal to Nothingness, Nothingness is equal to Form. When already uniting that Form is equal to Nothingness and Nothingness is equal to Form, completely combining like that, we start to see Nature-Arising and Condition-Arising. An arising thought is ubiquitous all over the dharma dhatu. An ignorant thought makes our whole citta dharma dhatu dark. An enlightened thought makes our own-citta dharma dhatu into complete purity. This world is like-illusion, forever like that, so no one dies and no one is born either, so there are no four forms of transmigration: birth, aging, illness, death flowing from one life to another. Once birth is present, it has already changed to aging, aging changes to illness, illness changes to death and then continues to birth again. If we are not completely enlightened about the theory of Prajnà, how can we go beyond this world?
Be completely enlightened right about our five-skandhas, all of the eyes seeing, the ears hearing, the nose smelling, the mouth tasting, the body touching are all Form. Form is equal to Nothingness, Nothingness is equal to No-Nature. Therefore, it is impossible to separate life-death and Nirvana into two systems, so do not wish to leave life-death to enter Nirvana, with that subtle impression it is hard to gain achievements. Do not wish to be far away from sorrow to acquire purity, since purity and sorrow will be completely solved once Enlightenment is attained. Wisdom and consciousness simultaneously arise. When grasping this, Bodhisatvas enter the world. Because when entering the world, between the real-nature of the existent world and that of True-Nothingness are at the same place. However, the phenomena of illusion show up, if merging themselves into those phenomena, people will be infected with the world. Therefore, when completely enlightened about the truth, Bodhisatvas enter this life-death world because Bodhisatvas’ love for sattvas never ends.
Buddhist doctrine breaks the holding of the ego and the wrong holding of view, but does not break dharma, because there is no dharma of “existence” or dharma of “non-existence”. Prajnà words describe the truth, and the essence of words is the meaning. When the ultimate meaning is understood, that meaning does not exist; that is Prajnà form, and the impression of the understanding left is also Prajnà form. From that to the eradication of Prajnà form is that in 49 years Buddha did not say a word.
Therefore, the ultimate end of Prajnàpàramità is the Wisdom of seeing exactly Like real without this side and the other side, so Prajnà is the Middle Way. The completion of Wisdom is great purity, the base of Prajnàpàramità that people are cultivating when they reach the ultimate point is purity that is unchanged and permanent.
Esoteric Dharma VajraPani Lineage
VajraPani Group – “Sun” : Nhat Huong
Translator: Nhat Ngan