October 2000 Guide

---

Ordination

At the end of Ullumbana retreat on August 28, we ordained 4 upasakas as 8
vow attha silas, the first step of becoming monks. Victor Bumbalo became Br.
Sraddha Jñana Karuna; Tom McConnell became Br. Ksanti Vajra Karuna, Chester
Oswalt became Br. Sunya Vajra Karuna and Kathy Whyte became Sr. Abhaya
Hasana Karuna. In addition, Tom Ramsay, Rev. Abhaya Karuna, took full
ordination as a Zen Dharma teacher, with the name Rev. Thich Tam Vo Ngai.
David Hollen became an upasaka with the religious name Sangha Mitta. We
offer you all congratulations in your practice and hope that you become enlightened soon.

IBMC holds its 30th anniversary celebration

On July 12, IBMC turned 30 years old. Now, at last IBMC is celebrating its
30th annivesary on Saturday, October 23 at the dining hall of Hsi Lai Temple
in Hacienda Heights. We settled upon the temple after investigating several
restaurants and found that Hsi Lai served the best food.

The party will begin at 4:30 with a tour of the temple and a group
photograph. Dinner will begin at 6 pm, with entertainment and a program of
events. The event will cost only $30 and includes drinks, entertainment,
tax and gratuity. We will also give out door prizes to the lucky people
whose meal ticket numbers are selected. And, of course, we will have a large
cake to celebrate as well.

You can purchase your tickets at IBMC or from one of its members at least a
week before the event. Below is a simple map of how to get to Hsi Lai
temple..Any money left over after expenses will go into our renovation fund.

At the end of Ullumbana retreat on August 28, we ordained 4 upasakas as 8
vow attha silas, the first step of becoming monks. Victor Bumbalo became Br.
Sraddha Jñana Karuna; Tom McConnell became Br. Ksanti Vajra Karuna, Chester
Oswalt became Br. Sunya Vajra Karuna and Kathy Whyte became Sr. Abhaya
Hasana Karuna. In addition, Tom Ramsay, Rev. Abhaya Karuna, took full
ordination as a Zen Dharma teacher, with the name Rev. Thich Tam Vo Ngai.
David Hollen became an upasaka with the religious name Sangha Mitta. We
offer you all congratulations in your practice and hope that you become
enlightened soon. College of Buddhist Studies

Ven. Havanpola Shanti, the Acting President of the College of
Buddhist Studies, has announced the course lineup for the Fall Quarter 2000.
The fee for each class is $150 and classes began September 11. However, you
can still join in them.

Certificate Course in Buddhist Studies, Dr. Siri Warnisurya, Dr. Karuna Dharma,
Monday 6:30 pm, College Office
One year course in the history and Development of Buddhism developed for
those students who want a comprehensive understanding of Buddhism from the
beginning to the present. The first quarter is concerned with the background
of Buddhism in India, life of Sakyamuni Buddha, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold
Path, Causal Relations, Three Characteristics of being, Origin of Buddhism and its philosophy

Applied Buddhism, Rev. Kusala Rartna Karuna, Wednesday, 7 pm, Zendo
Buddhist approaches to every day life, using sila, the training precepts, as
a guide. Changing personal attitudes to promote internal balance and
harmony, understanding the nature of suffering, developing skills of
compassion, loving kindness, sympathetic joy and equanimity, all with an
increasing under-standing of self.

Basic Tenents of Buddhism, Dr. Siri Warnisuriya, Wednesday 6:30, college office
Exploring the basics of Buddhism: Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, karma,
rebirth, impermanence, suffering, no-self, the difference between Sangha and
Laity, the development of the Arahant and the Bodhisattva, etc. This class
is the foundation needed in order to understand the teaching of the Buddha.

History of Zen, Rev. Vajra Karuna, Thursday, 6:30 pm, Library
Histpry of Zen in Japan, its influences upon other schools of Buddhism in
Japan from the 12th century to the present. This class will not begin until
late October. Call Rev. Vajra at 323 461-5042 after October 18 in order to sign up.

Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra, Dr. Karuna Dharma, Tuesday 7:00, College Library
One of the most beloved sutras in Mahayana Buddhism, it incorporates both
humor and feminism in its exploration of the Path to Liberation and the
practical application of insight into the emptiness of existence.

Pali Chanting, Ven. Havanpola Shanti, tba; A beginning course in Pali
chanting, using the Pali suttas as its foundation; no prior knowledge of Pali is required.

Elementary Pali, Dr. Siri Warnisirya, tba; Individualized classes for
those interested in the ancient language of the canonical texts of early Buddhism.

Intermediate Sanskrit, Dr, Siri Warnisuriya, tba; Three quarter class,
emphasis upon reading and writing; development of vocabulary; selections
from literature, incuding Bhagavad Gita, Maha Bharata, Buddhist canonical literature



Layers of Meaning in the Heart Sutra, part 2, by Br. Jñana Karuna Vajra

A few Sundays ago I presented the first part of this talk on layers of
meaning in the Heart Sutra. At that time I provided an overview of the
Heart Sutra, with particular attention to its historical background, the
why, when and how of its coming to be. Possible meanings of the Sanskrit
title of the sutra were discussed along with the roles of Avalokitesvara and
Sariputra, the leading characters in the text. If you missed the previous
talk and are interested in these background aspects of the topic I can
provide you with a copy of the talk.

Today, then, brings part 2 of Layers of Meaning in the Heart Sutra‚ wherein
we will attempt a closer review of the body of the Heart Sutra. In reality,
a more apt title for today’s talk would be The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the
Heart Sutra. The complete idiot‚ reference is not to those of you listening
to me, but to me as the complete idiot‚ for so naively assuming that a work
so profound and subtle as the Heart Sutra, however short it might be, could
easily and coherently be examined in the course of a relatively brief Sunday
morning dharma talk. I have had to struggle mightily to study and get
together the modest amount of information I will present this morning.
Nonetheless, as we proceed, it would be helpful if you were to turn to page
five in the chant book for reference to it as we go along.

As we approach the text please keep in mind I made that the sutra is in the
form of a dialogue, though in our case the opening of the dialogue, or the
Prologue, is excluded from the shorter version presented in the chant book.
In the Prologue Sariputra has asked the question of Avalokitesvara, “How
does one train who wishes to practice the profound perfection of wisdom‚ or
the prajnaparamita?”

The perfection of wisdom to which Sariputra refers, as I noted in the
previous talk, is the Mahayana doctrine of emptiness, or sunyata, which was
developed and elaborated throughout the Prajnaparamita literature, of which
the Heart Sutra is a precise and poetic summarization. This doctrine
emphasizes the empti-ness and non-production of all phenomena in contrast to
their normally accepted substantiality.

Much of what follows here emphasizes the importance of the doctrine of
emptiness and presents different ways of approaching this concept, as it is
elaborated in the Heart Sutra.

Sunyata is the groundwork for understanding the Sutra

The doctrine of sunyata is first reflected in the brief answer to
Sariputra’s question, as provided in the opening lines, “Avaloki-tesvara
when practicing deeply the prajnaparamita clearly saw that all five skandhas
are empty and passed beyond all suffering”. In this brief passage
Avalokitesvara clearly recog-nizes and states a fundamental fact and in
doing so he lays the groundwork for the more elaborate reasoning that
follows in the rest of the sutra.

Skandhas are literally aggregates‚ or heaps‚ but can be more practically
translated as attributes or a system, of what is mistakenly seen to
constitute a self, person or personality. The five skandhas are: form,
feeling or sensation, perception, impulses or volition, and consciousness.
Their characteristics are birth, old age, death, duration, and change. In
other words, nothing abides; all is impermanent.

Why is the emptiness of the five skandhas important? Avalokitesvara’s
practice of the profound wisdom means his observation and contemplation of
emptiness. To see the emptiness of the five skandhas is to see into the
illusory nature of the self, the root and cause of selfishness. What we have
always looked upon as the individual, or person, in reality has no innate
substance, no soul, spirit, or self. Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of
Compassion, is here thus identified with the fact that compassion can only
flow when has one sees that true self is no self. This is wisdom or prajna.

That the five skandhas are not only empty but “passed beyond all suffering”
reflects the first noble truth of Buddhism: the basis of life is suffering.
Suffering is intrinsic to the five skandhas because although they are empty
of self-nature, although they are impermanent, we behave as if a self-nature
were inherent in them, and furthermore, as if this self-nature were
immortal. This is another way of saying that the five skandhas are without
essence, that is, without being (anicca) and so are impermanent, are without
self (anatman) and so without a permanent essence‚ and are the cause of
suffering (dukkha).

Let’s return to the text on page five. Note the name Sariputra, at the
beginning of the next stanza, and the stanza following it. This simply
indicates that the narrator, Avalokitesvara, is addressing his remarks to
Sariputra, the beloved disciple of the Buddha, who has been empowered by the
Buddha to receive and understand the wisdom being imparted by the
bodhisattva. Implied is the instruction to listen undistractedly and well.

Immediately following then is the startling and radically profound essential
statement of the Heart Sutra: “Form does not differ from emptiness:
Emptiness does not differ from form. Form then is emptiness. Emptiness then
is form.” Traditional Tibetan commentators on the Heart Sutra refer to these
lines as the fourfold profundity. However it is identified, this brief
passage is the most famous and, for some, the most problematic section of
the entire text. Our natural tendency to read things literally can only
increase our difficulty in attempting to understand these lines.

It is significant that the phrase begins with form‚ as it is the first of
the five skandhas. Form (rupa) should be understood in its widest context,
as anything that can be perceived, imagined, or known, encompassing all
color and shape, as well as sound, odor, taste, and tangible objects. It
also includes the five sense powers. One of the early Indian commentators on
the sutra suggests that form is mentioned first because it is the most
easily recognizable of the five aggregates and because, as the only physical
aggregate, it provides the material support for the other four. Form is like
a vessel; the other four aggregates are like the water contained in that
vessel. When the vessel is destroyed, the water is easily dispersed. In the
same way, when it is understood that form is empty, it is easy to understand
that the other four aggregates are also empty. Another way of phrasing it is
that the sutra focuses first on form, the support, before turning to the
remaining four aggregates, the supported.

Now we need to return to the other key term in these critical passages,
emptiness‚ (sunyata). Understanding form is relatively easy compared to
coming to grips with the notion of emptiness, particularly for Westerners,
as this notion is alien to our intellectual tradition.

Form is empty of inherent existence

I particularly value the following quotation from Donald Lopez’s The Heart
Sutra Explained as a helpful step in better coming to understand the
relationship of emptiness to form: “Like all phenomena, form is empty of
inherent existence. This empt-ness is not a quality that form gains in the
course of its existence, but is rather present from the moment of its
creation. Emptiness is the final nature of reality, does not exist apart
from the phenomena that it qualifies and is not be sought as something
separate. Furthermore, although emptiness is the mode of being of form,
emptiness does not negate the conventional appearance of form. Thus, form is
emptiness. Emptiness is, in this sense, dependent upon the form that it
qualifies.”

The general position expressed by the early Indian commentators on the Heart
Sutra is that form is emptiness in the sense that emptiness is the final
nature of form and that emptiness is form in that emptiness is not to be
discovered apart from form.

However, if one takes the statement “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form”,
completely literally, it is immediately apparent that there are serious
internal contradictions. One would not want to say that form, the object of
the eye consciousness, is the ultimate truth, emptiness. Nor would they want
to say that emptiness, the permanent and unchanging nature of reality, is
identical with the impermanent phenomenon and conventional truth, which is
form.

However, these internal contradictions are resolvable if we accept that form
and emptiness are mutually exclusive and contradictory in the sense that
nothing can be both form and emptiness, but that they are the same entity in
the sense that one cannot exist without the other. Form serves as the basis
of emptiness; without form there could be no emptiness. Empti-ness is the
final nature of form; if emptiness did not exist, there would be no single
reality in all phenomena. Put another way, as Lopez has it, form and
emptiness are mutually exclusive and different opposites of the negative but
the same entity, intimately related and occupying the same place. Albert
Low, in Zen and the Sutras, views this resolution as a form of spiritual
irony, much like a koan, where a leap is made from an initial viewpoint to
no viewpoint at all. As he puts it, “irony demands that we leap while
refusing to take the leap. This compels us to remain with the implacable
contradiction, where the strength of irony lies,” Yet a further key to
understanding emptiness is its character, which is its non-duality, in the
sense of being beyond enumeration and enumerator and is the state of having
abandoned “I” and “mine”.. It is free from object and subject.

Hopefully it is clear by now that the emptiness or nothingness of the Heart
Sutra is not that of a void or is otherwise contributory to nihilism, but is
instead the fundamental essence of all being.

All of the Skandhas are empty

Let us return again to the text, specifically to “Sensation, perception,
volition and consciousness are also like this.” These, of course, are the
remaining four skandhas, here referred to again to re-emphasize the basic
message. It holds to reason that if the aggregate of form is empty, then
there is no place for the four mental aggregates, as they are not different
from the ultimate, the sphere of reality, and they too must be empty. A
celebrated and supportive comparison of the five aggregates appears in the
Samyutta Nikaya, of the Pali canon:

”The form aggregate is like a ball of foam; it cannot withstand being held
and separated. The feeling aggregate is like a water bubble; because it is
momentary, it is impermanent. The aggre-gate of discrimination is like a
mirage because it is mistakenly apprehended by the thirst of attachment. The
aggregate of compositional factors is like the stalk of a lotus; when it is
destroyed it has no core. The aggregate of consciousness is like a dream; it
is mistakenly conceived. Therefore, the five aggregates are not a self, not
a person, not a sentient being, not a life, not a nourished being, not a
creature. The five aggregates are naturally empty of I and mine, unproduced,
unarisen, non-existent, the sphere of space, unconditioned, and naturally
passed beyond sorrow.”

Continuing with the sutra, the opening line of the third stanza notes that
“all dharmas are marked with emptiness”. Here the word dharma, notoriously
difficult to match with a proper English equivalent, most reasonably means
thing‚ or phenomenon. Yet again, the key notion of “Form is emptiness,
emptiness is form”, encompassing all things, is being reinforced with
differing words. Not only are all dharmas marked with emptiness, they are
“not born and not dying, not stained and not pure, not gaining and not
losing.” Here the implications of the aggregates or skandhas being empty are
drawn out. All phenomena in the universe are empty, including the processes
of birth or production and death or cessation. While these processes exist
conventionally neither is analytically findable, thus phenomena are not
ultimately produced or ceased. Since phenomena are intrinsically empty they
can neither be stained by samsara anymore than they can be qualified as
stainless, since neither condition is possible in a state of emptiness.
Likewise, other faults or attributes of goodness cannot be attributed to
them.

In these passages the sutra is pointing us beyond the familiar something and
nothing of our normal perception to emptiness, to beyond being and not being
to profound knowing, which is beyond words and thoughts.

In the remaining portion of the sutra, up to the final stanza introducing
the mantra, Avalokitesvara proclaims the negation of all phenomena in the
face of emptiness and how they relate to enlightenment. Not surprisingly,
this section too has layers of meaning that are not immediately apparent. On
one level, Avalokitesvara is negating the categories of phenomena formulated
in the Abhidharma, or the Third Basket, of Thera-vada Buddhism’s Tripitaka.
Sariputra, of course, was the greatest of the Abhidharma masters.

“Therefore, within emptiness there is no form, no sensation, perception,
volition, or consciousness.” Here again is another repetition of the basic
message, the emptiness of the five skandhas, which comprise the first of the
Abhidharma’s categor-ization of phenomena. The phrase beginning “no eye‚”
and continuing through “or dharmas‚” is the negation of the Abhidharma’s
twelve sources of consciousness, comprising the six senses and their six
objects. You will note the correlation between the six sense and their six
objects in the first two phrases: eye/form, ear/sound, nose/smell,
tongue/taste, body/touch, mind/dharmas. “No realm of sight til we come to no
realm of consciousness‚” is a telescoped account of the negation of the
Abhidharma’s eighteen constituents. These are but a compilation of the six
consciousnesses added to the twelve sources. Thus, the statement begins
with reference to the first, or eye, constituent (no realm of sight‚) and
implicitly includes all of the others by ending with the last, or mental
consciousness, constituent (no realm of consciousness.)

The next phrase, dealing with ignorance, old age and death, refers to the
twelve-fold dependent arising of samsara and its twelve-fold extinction or
the ancient Buddhist theory of depend-ent origination. The twelve-fold order
begins with ignorance (avidya), the principal sin‚ of Buddhism, and ends
with old age and death. Ignorance is the root from which the tree of self,
personality, and selfishness grows; cut this root and one is free.
Ignorance is much more than the root cause of dependent orig-nation, it too
is empty. Paradoxically, it is only by seeing the illusory nature of
ignorance than one can get beyond ignorance. This seeing, of course, is
again beyond normal words and thoughts.

No suffering, origination, extinction or path

“No suffering, origination, extinction or path” is a particularly difficult
element of the sutra to grasp, as it suggests negation of the Buddha’s Four
Noble Truths. However, the real message here is that the four truths are
also empty, in the most profound sense of the word. The sutra is pointing to
nirvana, with nirvana understood as the extinction of ignorance.

“No wisdom and no attainment with nothing to attain” affirms that seeing
into one’s true nature is the end of attainment, the end of wisdom, the end
of seeking. To quote one of the early Indian commentators, “If attainment
exists, it also is empty; if there is fruition, it will disintegrate.
Therefore, the Buddha nature abides equally in all sentient beings and is
not absent in the beginning or attained in the end.”

In considering the penultimate stanza, beginning “Because the Bodhisattva
follows. ..” I turn to a quotation from Lopez, where he notes that
Sariputra is instructed “that Bodhisattvas abide in and rely on this
perfection of wisdom, the lack of inherent existence of all phenomena from
form to Buddhahood. The benefit of such reliance is that by understanding
the meaning of emptiness one’s mind is freed from all obstruction and all
reasons for fear. Having passed beyond the mistaken concep-tion of self, the
Bodhisattva also passes beyond nirvana and arrives at Buddhahood. This
perfection of wisdom is the sole path traveled by all the Buddhas of the
past, present, and future.”

The key to this section is “no hindrance‚” implying that the Bodhisattva is
holding to nothing whatever, no self, no thing. One must work with the
prajnaparamita, not to mention koans, in this manner, starting from holding
to nothing whatever. Mucheasier said than done, of course!

I like the way that Albert Low relates all Buddhas of the three times to
each of us: “Each of us is Buddha; each of us has prajña as mother. Each of
us is already and always fully present. Nothing lies outside of us. Each of
us knows this. Our true nature is knowing. It is like a light that shines by
itself, and this light that shines by itself is faith. Each of us knows that
nothing lies outside of us, and this is prajña. The problem is that when it
is put like this we have the impression that something is known.

Mantras, literally meaning protections for the mind, are not normally found
in the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, so the presence of a concluding mantra
in the Heart Sutra is highly unusual. The presence of the mantra seems
stylistically out of place, breaking as it does the flow of Avalokitesvara’s
discourse. This suggests that the mantra may be a later interpolation or it
may indicate a transition from the longer Perfection of Wisdom sutras to the
shorter tantric Perfection of Wisdom sutras that came later.

Early Indian and later, Tibetan, commentators gave much attention to the
tantric implications of the mantra. One particular Tibetan commentator saw
the inclu-sion of an authentic mantra in the famous sutra as another example
of the Buddha’s skillful methods (upaya), subtly mixing the taste of tantra
into the sutra for those who currently are incapable of practicing the
tantric path and who would be intimidated by a more direct exposition of the
Vajrayana, the vehicle that all will eventually enter in order to become
enlightened. In any event, the introductory stanza to the mantra emphasizes
its great importance, equating it with the wisdom of all of the Buddhas.

With the possible exception of om mani padme hum, the Heart Sutra’s mantra
is the most famous and oft-recited of Buddhist mantras. For some of the
early commentators, it summarizes the entire sutra, setting forth the entire
path to Buddhahood in five words. Those five words, of course, are gate,
paragate, parasamgate, Bodhi and sva-ha.

The mantra of the Prajnaparamita has a certain rhythm, the rhythm of the
heartbeat: Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Sva-ha! Gate, Gate means
gone, gone. The first gate implies proceeding from the state of a worldly
being, involved in great desire, to the path of accumulation, the first of
the Bodhisattva paths. The second gate refers to moving from the first path
to the second, the path of preparation. Paragate, means gone beyond, to the
path of seeing, seeing emptiness directly for the first time and thus
destroying the seeds for future rebirths. Parasamgate means gone completely
beyond, beyond all form, feeling, thought, and choice; beyond birth and
death, wisdom and ignorance. Going beyond in this way brings us to Bodhi or
knowing, the light that shines by itself. Thus, Bodhi sva-ha means becomes
enlightened.

As the radiant and peerless mantra ends the Heart Sutra, so concludes
today’s dharma talk. May virtue and goodness increase!


October Events

Sunday Talks

10/1 Advocacy and Service in Buddhism
11am Rev. Kusala Ratna Karuna

10/8 Meaning of Friendship in Buddhism
11 am Rev. Ariya Prabuddhi

10/15 A Drop of Dew
11 am Ven. Dr. Karuna Dharma

10/22 How to Practice Zen in Daily Life
11 am Rev. Sakya Bodhi

10/29 Morning of Meditation and Chanting
11 am Br. Jñana Karuna

Classes at IBMC

Mon Certificate Course in Buddhist Studies
6:30 Dr. Warnisuriya, Dr. Karuna

7:00 Zen Meditation
Rev. Sakya Bodhi

Tue Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra
7:00 Dr. Karuna Dharma

Wed Basic Tenets of Buddhism
6:30 Dr. Siri Warnisuriya

7:00 Applied Buddhism
Rev. Kusala Ratna Karuna

Thurs History of Zen
begins late October, Rev.Vajra Karuna

Sat Zen Meditation
7:00 Rev. Sakya Bodhi

tba Pali Chanting
tba Elementary Pali
tba Intermediate Sanskrit

Special Events

10/1 108 Bows Ceremony
Rev. Thich Tam Tue

10/23 IBMC 30th anniversary celebration


IBMC web page is found at:
InternationalBuddhistMeditationCtr.org
You can email us at:
IBMC@InternationalBuddhistMeditationCtr.org
Rev. Karuna’s email address is:
Karunadh@earthlink.net
Karuna’s web page is:
www. home.earthlink.net/~karunadh.
Rev. Kusala’s email: Kusala@kusala.org
Rev. Kusala’s web page: www.kusala.org
Rev. Shanti’s email: Hshanti@earthlink.net
Rev. Prabuddhi: Prabuddhi@yahoo.com
Rev. Vajra’s email: Madmonk88@aol.com

Rev. Vajra Karuna is on vacation from September 30 through October 19. If
you are interested in his course, call him after October 20.