The Sutra in Forty-two Sections Spoken by the Buddha (Section 17 to 26)

Lectures by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua,
Given at Gold Mountain Monastery,
San Francisco, California, in 1974

The Sutra in Forty-two Sections Spoken by the Buddha
Section 17 to 26

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Section 17
When Light Arrives, Darkness Departs

The Buddha said, those who see the Way are like someone holding a torch who enters a dark room, dispelling the darkness so that only light remains. When you study the Way and see the truth, ignorance vanishes and light remains forever."

The seventeenth section reveals that darkness has no independent existence. Since it doesn’t have any independent existence, once it vanishes, it is gone for good. Once you see the Way, then all ignorance will vanish.

The Buddha said, those who see the Way are like someone holding a torch who enters a dark room, dispelling the darkness so that only light remains. A person who sees the Way is like someone who takes up a torch and goes into a dark room, immediately banishing the darkness so that only the light remains. The darkness is gone because he holds a torch. The torch represents our wisdom. This means that if we have wisdom, we can break through ignorance, which is represented by the dark room. If we have wisdom, the dark room will become bright.

When you study the Way and see the truth, ignorance vanishes and light remains forever. Someone who studies the Way and can see the actual truth will immediately vanquish ignorance, and wisdom will remain forever.

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Section 18
Thoughts and So Forth Are Basically Empty

The Buddha said, Dharma is the mindfulness that is both mindfulness and non-mindfulness. It is the practice that is both practice and non-practice. It is words that are words and non-words, and cultivation that is cultivation and non-cultivation. Those who understand are near to it; those who are confused are far away, indeed. It is not accessible by the path of language. It is not hindered by physical objects. If you are off by a hairsbreadth, you will lose it in an instant. "

The eighteenth section explains the relationship between the existence and non-existence of mindfulness and cultivation.

The Buddha said, Dharma is the mindfulness that is both mindfulness and non-mindfulness. "The Buddha said, Dharma is not being mindful that you are mindful; and even the thought of that not being mindful is not there. Therefore my Dharma is called a mindfulness that is mindfulness, and yet not mindfulness. It is the practice that is both practice and non-practice. In my Dharma, practice also is he Way of effortlessness. In cultivating, you don want to have any attachments. It should be the same as not cultivating. Even the shadow of o cultivating should not remain.”

It is words that are words and non-words. Don’t be attached to words and language. Further, even your intention not to be attached to words and language should be done away with. And it is cultivation that is cultivation and non-cultivation. It is the Way of effortlessness, cultivating and yet not cultivating, certifying and yet not certifying. There isn’t any thought of cultivating the Way. That means that you don have any attachments; all attachments are seen as empty. Even the emptiness is emptied out.

Those who understand are near to it. To understand something means to be clear about it. If you understand this doctrine, you are near to the Way. Those who are confused are far away, indeed. But if you fail to understand and are confused about the principle, then you will be far from the Way. What is the Way ultimately like? It tell you: It is not accessible by the path of language. You want to speak about it, but you can represent it in words. You want to think about it, but you can formulate the thought. You simply cannot speak of its wonder. It is said that the path of words and language is cut off, and the place of the mind workings ceases to be. What the mind wants to think about is gone, and absolutely everything is empty. It is not hindered by physical objects. Physical matter is itself the basic substance of True Suchness. If you are able to realize this state, then you will see that the mountains, the rivers, the earth, and all the myriad things are just the basic substance of True Suchness, and you will not be hindered by physical objects. If you are off by a hairsbreadth, if you are off by just a fraction of an inch, just a tiny bit, in the way you cultivate, you will lose it in an instant. You immediately lose it and won be able to find it. You should break through your attachments, and then you will be able to attain this state.

The Sutra in Forty-two Sections Spoken by the Buddha (Section 13 to 16)

Lectures by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua,
Given at Gold Mountain Monastery,
San Francisco, California, in 1974

The Sutra in Forty-two Sections Spoken by the Buddha
Section 13 to 16

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Section 13
Questions about the Way and Past Lives

A Shramana asked the Buddha, what causes and conditions can I know my past lives and understand the ultimate Way? "

The Buddha said, purifying your mind and preserving your resolve, you can understand the ultimate Way. Just as when you polish a mirror, the dust vanishes and brightness remains, so too, if you cut off desire and do not seek, you then can know past lives. "

The thirteenth section helps people gain knowledge of past lives and an understanding of the Way. The Buddha tells us that if knowledge of past lives is our goal, we must understand the Way.

A Shramana asked, what causes and conditions can I know my past lives and understand the ultimate Way? "What causes and conditions, or what Dharma-doors, should I cultivate in order to obtain knowledge of past lives? How can I understand true principles? "

The Buddha said, purifying your mind and preserving your resolve, you can understand the ultimate Way. "The Buddha said, you should make your thoughts pure and guard your resolve. Firmly keep your resolve. Whatever vows you have made, you should uphold them. You can make vows and then forget them after only a few days. You can withdraw them after a short while. That not permissible. That not preserving your resolve. If you can purify your thoughts, if you can get rid of the darkness in your mind, the false thoughts, greed, hatred, and stupidity and if you can preserve your resolve, you will come naturally to understand the true Way, the highest Way." What is it like? Now I will give you an analogy.

Just as when you polish a mirror, the dust vanishes and bright-ness remains. It just like cleaning a mirror: when the dust is gone, the brightness of the mirror appears. This brightness refers to the penetration of past lives. So too, if you cut off desire and do not seek, you then can know past lives. If you can cut off your thoughts of desire and reach the level of not seeking for anything, then you can attain the penetration of knowing past lives. When people cultivate the Way, they certainly should not indulge in any scattered thinking or false thoughts. If you can do away with false and scattered thoughts, then no matter what Dharma-door you cultivate, you will quickly succeed with it. If you have false and scattered thoughts, as well as greed, hatred, and stupidity filling up your belly, then you certainly aren’t going to obtain a response, no matter what Dharma-door you cultivate. When we study and cultivate the Buddhadharma, we should first cut off desire and cast out love. You should sever thoughts of desire and reach the level of seeking nothing. If you seek for anything, just that seeking is suffering. No matter what you seek, if you cannot obtain it, you will experience the suffering of not getting what you want. Everyone should pay attention to this.

When we cultivate, what is it that we cultivate? We cultivate to get rid of false thoughts and thoughts of desire. That is real-skill. If you cleanse yourself of jealousy, obstructions, greed, hatred, and stupidity, then you can obtain the penetration of knowing past lives.

Thank God for her

Sunday Star, StarMag, Sunday 8 June 2008 Heart & Soul
By Maria Dass
Sometimes a simple act of charity is all that is needed to show love and humility.

I have a wonderful story to share about my mother-in-law. Yes, we actually have a great relationship. It was the day after my fifth brother-in-law's wedding. Being the youngest of three siblings and not exposed to wedding preparations and the after-party, I mostly helped out with the cleaning and food preparation.

It was a Sunday and the wedding had been the night before. All of my husband's siblings and their families had just had breakfast and were lazing around. In the kitchen, my eldest sister-in-law was busy counting the money collected from “ang-pows” collected during the wedding dinner.

The front gate was left ajar to welcome any relatives or friends who might drop by for a chat. Suddenly I saw a haggard man in his 30s walk into the porch looking every bit a beggar. I was overcome with fear and thought that he might want to kidnap or even hurt someone in the family just for money. My mind raced with all sorts of thoughts.

I told my husband who was chatting with his brothers about the man outside. My husband promptly got up and walked outside to tell the man to leave as there was nothing to give. I know his intention was to safeguard everyone at home and not to belittle the haggard stranger. The man walked away slowly with a sad frown on his face.

My mother-in-law who was busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen came out to the living room and walked towards the man. After talking to him for a while, she came into the house and looked for some money to give to the stranger as he wanted the money for food. After doing that, she asked him to wait and went back into the kitchen to prepare a hot drink.

I could see right away a glint of happiness on the stranger’s face as he waited patiently for his drink. After he finished, he walked away happier that when my husband asked him to leave. I could feel that he felt appreciated.

My mother-in-law came back into the house and said that she felt pity for the man and it was okay to give some money away when we had so much. Right then, I recollected a pastor saying that “God reveals himself in many ways”. Maybe it was Him in disguise, needing to see if there was charity and love in our home.

Well, all I can say is that with my mother-in-law, there will always be charity and love in abundance. I felt ashamed that I did not do anything more for the stranger. I learnt a lesson on giving and aim to do more for the less fortunate in my own way.

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