Saw this interesting explanation on the above verse on the Eight Winds article here. This is a story of how one of my favourite Chinese poets, Su Dongpo was upset by his friend's reaction to his poem. This story reminds me that we should be calm and not react impulsively.
Felt very tired after work. No time to translate. But found a good website from here and here with good introduction and translation.
Su Dongpo was a Song Dynasty poet and government official in Guazhou. Though the Yangzi River separated Guazhou from Jinshan Temple, Su Dongpo crossed it regularly to converse with the temple’s abbot, Chan Master Foyin, about Chan and the Way. One day, when Su Dongpo felt that his cultivation had reached full maturity, he composed the following poem and dispatched his young attendant to deliver it to Master Foyin for his approval: Bowing, Heaven within Heaven, I am the light that illuminates the boundless universe. The eight winds cannot move me, who am seated mindfully upon the purple golden lotus.
Upon reading it, the master dashed off a one-word comment for the young attendant to carry back. As soon as Su Dongpo read “fart” an uncontrollable anger began to rise. So he embarked for the other shore to debate the master. As his boat approached Jinshan Temple, Master Foyin was already waiting. Su Dongpo said, “We are the closest of Dharma friends. My poem, my cultivation — if you don’t praise it, that’s fine. But how could you insult me?” Acting as if nothing had happened, the Chan master asked, “How did I insult you?” When Su Dongpo showed him his comment, the master roared with laughter, saying, “Didn’t you say ‘the eight winds cannot move me?’ So how come a fart has blown you across the river?”
Cultivation is achieved, not by talk, but by action.
The “Eight Winds” in the poem referred to praise, ridicule, honor, disgrace, gain, loss, pleasure and misery - interpersonal forces of the material world that drove and influenced the hearts of men.
Before Buddha entered parinirvana,Buddha reminded the monks and laypeople to practise the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to the end of suffering. Most importantly to observe the precepts. He reminded them not to believe everything they read or listen , even if they were from the Buddha. Buddha advised us to use our knowledge and wisdom to think and investigate. Only if it investigated to be true by our experience and investigation, then we accept the teaching even if it supposedly said by the Buddha.
A monk asked what he should do if he meet the Buddha in his spiritual path. Buddha reminded him not to deviate from the right path even he met his relative. I think Buddha was trying to remind him not to be deluded by form illusions as other beings could manifest in any forms and deluded the practitioner but to remember Buddha's teaching on the Noble Eightfold path which leads to the end of suffering. The Noble Eightfold path in essence covers Precepts, Meditation and Wisdom (戒定慧）.
The Four Noble Truth
1) Suffering exists in everyone's life. ( aging, sickness, death, unpleasant sensation due to 5 aggregates. )
2) The causes of suffering are greed, anger and ignorance.
3) Nirvana, the extinction of suffering is achievable
4) The end of suffering is by following the Noble Eightfold path
The Noble Eightfold Path are as follows.
1. Right View
2. Right Thought
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood-
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration
Recently I read the book, The Boy Who Saw Truth which is based on a Victorian boy's diary. The humorous boy had the ability to see people's aura and also spirits. Initially he didn't know what the different aura colour meant but slowly he realised the meaning. In his past life, he was an advanced soul thus he had this ability to communicate with the spirits including his past life teacher who was part of the Elderly Brothers. I find it interesting as it reminds me of Buddha's teaching about craving and desires which are fetters that bind one to earth and to avoid evil so as to incur no debts to be paid off in future incantation as there is karma or Cause and effect. You can read an excerpt of this book below. That is why Buddha taught the Noble Truth and the Noble Eightfold path for 45 years which lead to end of suffering from samsara rebirth.
I like to share this book, Messages from the Masters by Dr Brian Weiss, a Jewish American who served as a chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical Centre in Miami Beach, Florida. Initially he didn't believe in reincarnation until he met a patient, Catherine who inexplicably recalled her many past-life memories.
Some people could recall their past lives through past-life regression, near-death experiences (for example Duane here) or deep meditation.
In the book, he shared about karma and lessons. Karma is not just Buddhism concept. It is the universal law of the universe taught by great spiritual teachers like Buddha on karma and rebirth and Jesus Christ who taught, "You reap what you sow". You can read more on Karma and Lessons and the Golden Rule as shown below.
I hope all world leaders can read this book so that there be no war. We are all spiritual beings on human journey to develop our spirituality and hopefully graduate from this earth school. If we could treat all fellow human beings as family, there will be no war. If your relatives were in the building, would you still drop the bomb on the building? Only love, understanding and empathy can resolve conflict and differences in opinions. Technology should not be used to hurt people.
A friend asked me why I chose to follow Buddha's Teaching. As more people from the western countries recalled their past lives from past life regression and near death experiences, they verified what I read from the Buddhism books that there is a reason to the cause to your current life. It connected the dots to all the knowledge I acquired since young. Thus now I believe in karma and rebirth and there is a path to extinguish suffering. Don't just believe, you can go investigate and check whether it is true. These are the books on reincarnation here.
I felt happy when I finally understand some verses from the Heart sutra and Diamond sutra after some personal experiences and shared the previous post on Five Skandhashere with five of my Buddhist friends. I also have many Christian friends and relatives but don't think it's appropriate to share with them. I received only one feedback from a wise friend and I am grateful that she shared her perspective. Another of my friend who is following Theravada path (traditional) said that he will refrain from commenting on Mahayana sutras as he follows Theravada teaching. To me I read both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism sutras if they focus on the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold path which leads to cessation of samsara.
All living beings are made of the five skandhas of form, feeling sensation, perception, volition and consciousness （色受想行识）which accumulate to form the body and they are known as the five aggregates of clinging. The five aggregates arise through causes and conditions, therefore they are illusory and not permanent. I asked my friend if she is okay with me sharing her post here and she agreed. I am grateful to my wise and kind friend H.
The following in blue is my friend's sharing and purple my reflection.
H: "To me, the most important is to recognise that you are feeling hot, or cold, and the choice you make after that. That choice is made based on your wisdom, your understanding of the fire and the ice's nature. So if it is too hot or too cold, you distant yourself, but you don't blame yourself for feeling hot or cold. We human are energetic linked to each other, and no matter how much you practice, you will still be affected at energetic level. Just like when you stand near fire, you can't help feeling hot. When you stand near ice, you can't help feeling cold."
S: True. For the physical sensation, we can easily move away from the source of discomfort. The most important thing is to observe our feeling and react appropriately. After rereading the Heart Sutra and Diamond sutra, I'm no longer clinging to others' words or action for long after seeing the aggregates empty of self. For example, someone recently made a funny face at me. Instead of being angry, I find it funny when I saw the distorted funny face as an amalgamation of particles moving and twisting. One you see the person as impermanent form made up of five aggregates, you don't cling to anger. We have the freedom to choose our reaction. I just move away from people I'm uncomfortable with.
H: "Slowly with practice and observe your own reactions to external event, you will be less affected by it. Every emotional reaction is telling you that there is something within you that is still disturbing. So nowadays, when I get affected by external people, I look within myself and try to understand what disturbs me from inside. If I cannot find out, I will pray to Buddha for guidance. Fortunately, his guidance is very simple, wise and visual. I can't understand and appreciate the contemporary Buddhist teachings which appears very complicated haha."
S: Now I am more mindful of why I feel certain way and react in calm way. Perceiving the five skandhas as empty, I don't feel so upset as all existence is impermanent and is made up of the five aggregates. To be honest, I also find some Mahayana sutra complex so I just focus on the shortest sutra, Heart Sutra and some verses from Diamond sutra. However this requires daily practice of meditating and reading the sutras to remind oneself to be mindful.
H: "To me, if there is a goal, there is desire and attachment. Isn't Buddhist teaching about non-attachment and free of desire?"
S: Yes that is why Buddha said that his teaching is like the raft. Once you have crossed the shore, you don't have to carry the raft with you.
H: "I don't quite subscribe to this " right" concept, rather, I am more towards the Zen philosophy " Everything happens is the right things that need to happen". So I no longer differentiate between right and wrong. Even darkness has its meaning and reason for existence, so are the wrongs."
S: When I read the above, image of Yin Yang symbol appeared in my mind. There is no right or wrong situation but there is right action. Generally most people do agree that it is right not to take other people's thing as that is stealing. In Yin Yang symbol, it implies duality. There is a small circle or difference from the main white half. half. Ultimately, we must be mindful of our action. We don't do things to others that we don't like. There is karma, cause and effect, the universal law of the universe.
Recently I realised that my practice was not perfect. I was shocked that I was still upset by others' action. The greatest test to your practice is when you encountered someone who had hurt you and you cling to what the person said or behaved. When my colleague was talking about ignoring people's insult, I had a sudden realisation on what I have been reading and writing. I actually wrote about the Heart Sutra five skandhas (form, feeling, perception, volition/action, consciousness (色受想行识) and Diamond Sutra but had not been as diligent in reading it recently. I went back to read again and can now better understand my earlier translation after experiencing vexation. The five skandhas continually provide occasions for craving and clinging. Skandhas also refer to the aggregates of clinging to form, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. All living beings are made of the five skandhas of form, feeling sensation, perception, volition and consciousness （色受想行识）which accumulate to form the body and they are known as the five aggregates of clinging. The five aggregates arise through causes and conditions, therefore they are illusory and not permanent.
I would like to add on to my experience and thoughts on both sutras. The following sutras are taken from my earlier posts and I want to integrate both contents to show the impact of skandhas. After understanding the Heart sutra and the essence of Buddha's teaching, now I am more present. You have to be mindful. To appreciate the present moment and not waste the precious Now being upset due to external conditions.
Even though the Heart Sutra is the shortest sutra with 260 Chinese characters (translated by Master Xuanzang during Tang Dynasty), it contain the essence of Buddha's teaching. You can watch the video where Master Sheng Yen explained the Heart Sutra in terms of time below.
Our self in terms of space is made of the 18 realms (six sense organs(eyes, nose), six sense objects (forms, sounds..), and six types of consciousness that of vision, hearing, olfaction(smell) , taste, touch and mind-consciousness. (十八界）The 18 realms represent the way the mind perceives and divides the world and prevent us from seeing the true nature of thing(unity and equality of thing).
For example, if you see someone pointing thumb down, you feel upset as from your perception (due to general consensus or culture), it is a sign of insult of being no good. However this image of thumb down is just a form. It has no real meaning. What if this thumb down sign is actually good in other culture? Will you still be angry? The reason why you have this unpleasant feeling is from mental formation due to several factors like culture, conditioning by your environment.
无眼界, 乃至无意识界。 No seeing, no seeing consciousness discernment. What if you can't see, then you don't feel offended if the person points his thumb down. ( I learnt this from dsl youtube).
It is like words, they are manifestation of sound. You can just ignore unhelpful words like insult then it has no effect on him. You can choose to ignore. However, if it is genuine advice, then listen to it. Wow, understanding this, I learnt not to be so affected. Initially you might have unpleasant feeling, but after understanding the nature of skandha which is empty of self, I don't feel that upset.
In terms of time, it involves the 12 links of dependent arising which explains the process of rebirth cycle. They are ignorance ⇾intentional action ⇾ consciousness ⇾ mind and form ⇾six senses ⇾ contact⇾ feeling ⇾craving⇾ grasping⇾ being⇾ birth⇾ old age and death. The 18 realms are combinational and changing in terms of space and that there isn't an unchanging and eternal self to them.
As I read and contemplate the Heart Sutra, I have a better understanding of what Buddha meant by non-self. There is no permanent self but one consciousness changes with the change of five aggregates. Your identity is not the same in many past lives with different genders, races and religions. This reminds me of an account from someone who went through Near-Death Experience here. This NDERF website is created by Jeffrey Long, a medical doctor and Jody Long, a retired attorney from USA. I like to read from atheists as they have no preconceived notion of after death. The following account is from an atheist. I believe that if you do good in this life, you will be able to go to better realms like human or heaven regardless of your religion. There have been great saints and bodhisattva showing what is unconditional love like Mother Teresa and Master Sheng Yen.
"Instantaneously, I was no longer in the lengthy, dark tunnel.
Alternatively, I was in a bright, warm, and pure world. I was completely
relieved, no more agonies, but instead replaced with eternal peace and bliss.
My spirit asked one question after another, regarding the true colors of the
universe and about life and death. Wherever my conscious went, he unfolded the
answers before my eyes. This world was made up of particles. When microparticles
accumulated, it formed a world with thousands of collective representations,
meaning specific images. For example, as to many people the tree in front of a
house is only a tree, while in this realm it is a stacked heap of tree-shaped
molecules that are drifting and cycling forever. I did see the piles of
molecules, flowing and surrounding this phenomenal world. While my physical
body still lay in bed while given an IV drip, my conscious was free at will to
watch trees outside the clinic.
Am I a particle, too? 'Yes, human body is built
with innumerable particles. They circulate, metabolize, exchange, and etc. as
being all part of the movements. As for you (my spirit to be exact), you are
part of the molecules who are recycling among them. Therefore, particles
cluster, mobile, recycle, flow to somewhere, and then assemble to another
physique. So, this phenomenon keeps recurring, there is no life or death. It is
infinite and the essence of the world. Commonly known as death which is
actually a continuation on to the next phase of life. At this state you are in
now. Your mind (soul) is existing and thinking obviously, but you are separated
from the physical world without communication. It is like a glass-door
partition between you and the world; you can see everything of the physical
world, however people on the other side can't feel your existence.'
Being unable to communicate the situation you
are in, and your loved ones have no means to understand it. Thus, I know, as
for death, since people you loved don't understand what death truly is so they
feel sorrow for the decreased. At this moment, I became worried if my parents
know I had died, then they will be very miserable. In addition to my child who
is too young to be independent. All these worries are flashing in my mind.
As our flesh is like a TV set, our consciousness
is like TV programs. Is it perhaps when a TV set is aged to break down then all
signals become vanished? Human's body is an aggregation of particulate matter
that becomes a carrier. Whether the carrier is a particulate matter or in a
form of energy, it never disappears. At this moment, I was in a confused
situation where my conscious and flesh were detached but still in a connected
state. I felt there are several different dimensions coexisted. While my
conscious stayed in another realm, I was telepathizing with prophets and the
wise whom revealed the true colors of the universe to me. At the same time, I
was keen to everything in this dimension, clearly knowing things were around
me. Owing to the fast velocity around here, sounds were transmitted to ears in
a slow and time-delay fashion."
Reading the above made me understand the concept of emptiness of self.
The five skandas or aggregates (五蕴分别是色蕴 Form、受蕴 Feeling/Sensation、想蕴 Conception/thinking、行蕴 Volition/action、识蕴 Consciousnessactually reflect space and time and space as an integral unity.
The ignorance from life to life brings about volition 行 and consciousness识 lifetime after lifetime and therefore there is consciousness识 going through rebirths one life after another. After consciousness enters the womb, " name and form 色". begins and thus another life is started. That's why if you still have craving for sensual pleasures, high probability you go back to human realm. Now I understand why Buddha emphasized on Precepts, Meditation and Wisdom（戒定慧）.If you are no longer clinging to anger, sadness, craving to sensual pleasures, you can stop samsara, rebirth if you follow the Noble Eightfold path (Right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration) .
So craving conditions grasping which then condition existence 有。In the process of craving and grasping, we create karma 业.and then existence follows on from that. Existence of causes for the future. The force that forms the cause for the future will than be in existence. With its existence, new consciousness will form. And this consciousness will enter the womb for the next life. Your mind is powerful. If you are thinking of eating this delicious fried noodle, it will direct your body to the place to buy. If in your last moment, you are still craving for human realm sensual pleasure, where do you think your next rebirth will be ?
Craving and grasping foster our attachment, and therefore forms the karmic force that will bring us to our next life in the circle of birth, aging, and death.
From the Diamond Sutra
Venerable Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarchof Chan (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713) was said to attain awakening when he heard a verse from the Diamond Sutra 应无所住而生其心. Without abiding anything, give rise to the pure mind.
I think attaching or clinging to anything is better word. Everyone has pure mind but due to greed, hatred and delusion, it is clouded with dust like unhelpful thoughts (eg being angry with someone words or actions). Just let go and don't cling to unhelpful thoughts.
When the Fifth Patriarch of Chan Venerable Hong Ren explained to him the Diamond sutra. Venerable Hui Neng was "suddenly and completely enlightened, and he understood that all things exist in self-nature.
应无所住而生其心，Without abiding /clinging to anything, give rise to the pure mind
云何应住，云何降伏其心 When does the cloud abide, how does the cloud calm the mind
佛说应无所住而生其心 Buddha said without abiding in forms, arises the mind
即是说心即是佛,佛即是心 Meaning Pure Mind is Buddha and Buddha is Pure Mind. Buddha also means awakened.
他做了一首偈子Venerable Huineng came up with the following stanza when he understood the verse.
何其自性本自清净！What is self-nature, it is intrinsically pure
何其自性本不生灭！What is self-nature, it is neither born nor extinguish
何其自性本自具足！What is self-nature, it is self-sufficient
何其自性能生万法！What is self-nature, it can produces immeasurable dharma/ideas
From the Diamond Sutra
Subhuti, all great bodhisattvas should give rise to purity of mind in this way: they should not give rise to a mind that abides in form; they should not give rise to a mind that abides in sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharmas. They should give rise to a mind that does not abide in anything.
When we contemplate the following verses from the Diamond Sutra, your mind should not be affected by forms which are transient, dependent on causes and conditions.
一切有为法，如梦幻泡影，如露亦如电，应作如是观
“All conditioned phenomena
Are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows, Like dew and lightning.
One should contemplate them in this way. “
All phenomena appear in the world is a combination of causes and conditions that is temporary by nature. It will pass. There is no permanent nature to form which is subjected to change due to causes and conditions, thus it is illusory. Thus in life why be sad over something that is illusory. Just let it go.
A lot of suffering comes from the mind which is influenced by forms like sight, hearing, touch, taste or perception. When someone criticised us, we get upset, when someone own something we don’t have, we want it. We are always influenced by the three poison, greed, anger and delusion.
From the book, Miracles Happen: The Transformational Healing by Dr Brian Weiss, “ Chinese philosopher Hui-neng (6thpatriarch of Chan Buddhism/Zen) wrote, “When we are free from attachment to all outer objects, the mind will be in peace. Our essence of mind is intrinsically pure, and the reason why we are perturbed is because we allow ourselves to be carried by the circumstances we are in. He who is able to keep his mind unperturbed (calm), irrespective of circumstances has attained enlightenment. “
A woman who went through a near-death experience shared,” I realized that life is like a dream”. She wrote, “ When you are born, you wake up into mortality in this physical body. When your physical body dies, you return to immortality.”
I realised what is 无我 no-self as our true mind changes identity in various body forms in our many reincarnations. Thus there is no permanent self-identity. Do not cling to anger and just let go.
I found this really informative channel on Buddha's teaching. The youtuber dsl is able to explain with his own experience in investigating and experiencing Buddha's teaching.
In the video, from 14:25, Buddha told the three men that yesterday she had stolen their valuables, now she is still stealing away their present moment. Would she also be upset with them at the present moment? Instead of carrying the burden of the past and always trying to change the unpredictable future, they are losing the present moment. Buddha advised them to be present at the moment so that they can discover themselves, to be aware of what is causing their suffering.
Recently when I went to the popular Kuan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple at Waterloo street, I saw a group of monks standing outside the temple. Real monks don't solicit for money. Please read the following by the Palelai temple on Theravada practice.
