Heart Sutra and Buddhism : February 2024

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.

From Xue. You can read more here

"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 Consciousness actually 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 ?

18 realms (十八界）眼界（eye)、耳界 (ear)、鼻界 (nose)、舌界 (tongue)、身界 (form)、意界）(consciousness)，作为认识对象的六境（色界、声界、香界、味界、触界、法界）和由此生起的六识（眼识界、耳识界、鼻识界、舌识界、身识界、意识界.

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 (6^thpatriarch 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.

May all beings be well and happy.

Diamond Sutra Part 1 is here