On the Zen thought of the "Altar Sutra" on the understanding of Prajna and Buddha nature

　On the Zen thought of the "Altar Sutra" on the understanding of Prajna and Buddha nature

Dai Chuanjiang

Buddha-nature and prajna are two important concepts that run through the entire Altar Sutra, and Huineng explains them interconnectedly. The Buddha nature is in harmony with the middle way, the Buddha nature is not two, the mind is not two, the mind is not two; Prajna's non-existence and non-non-existence also lie in the manifestation of Buddha-nature, and the fact that Prajna and Buddha-nature complement each other is the theoretical basis for the theory of enlightenment and liberation in the Altar Sutra.

The Tanjing is the only Buddhist classic written by Chinese monks and called a scripture, which is not only the logical conclusion of the sinicization of Buddhism, but also the theoretical summary of Chinese Buddhism. The Sinicization of Buddhism progressed from Theravada Zen to Wei and Jin Prajna and then to the Buddha Nature Theory of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the Theory of Buddha Nature and Buddha Nature became the two major theoretical pillars of Chinese Buddhism. Prajna and Buddha nature in Indian Buddhism are generally classified into the empty sect and the Buddha nature, both of which have strong independence in theory, but the introduction of Buddhism into China is multi-headed, the number of classics and propagation, in the process of the sinicization of Buddhism, although each school or sect has its own emphasis on Buddhist thought, but the integration of emptiness and the integration of Prajna and Buddha nature have become an important trend in Chinese Buddhism, and the establishment of Huineng Zen is the final completion of this trend. Huineng Zen interprets Buddha nature with the middle way view of non-existence and non-existence, and combines the reality of non-appearance with the nature of the mind. The Buddha nature is not two, the mind is not two, and the mind is not two; Prajna is the non-dual wisdom of being and non-being, non-being and non-being, therefore, prajna and Buddha-nature are also the same, and their body is integrated into the present mind and becomes an important basis and value orientation for enlightenment and Buddhahood.

1. The historical origin of Prajna and Buddha-nature

Madhyamaka Prajna should be attributed to the Madhyamaka school founded by Nagarjuna and Deva, which exerted the idea of dependent arising emptiness in Prajna classics, destroyed all evil views with the eight non-existences, and unified emptiness and false existence with the two truths of the Prajna Sutra, and developed it into a middle way view of non-existence and non-existence. The rise of the Buddha-nature theory itself is a reaction against the idea of emptiness in the emptiness of the Dharma of the Void Sect, and the disadvantage of the emptiness of the Dharma is that everything is empty, and even the Buddha and the Dharma must be emptied, which is also a threat to Buddhism itself, and its weak middle way reality can hardly make up for the negative impact of emptiness. Although it was quickly replaced by Consciousness because of its strong Indian theosophobia, the widespread dissemination of Buddha-nature thought made Buddha-nature and Prajna as the two basic theories of Buddhism as a whole. The theory of Buddha-nature developed from the study of Prajna, and the exposition of Buddha-nature must be inherited from the study of Prajna. The Nirvana Sutra says:

The Buddha-nature is called the first righteous emptiness, and the first righteous emptiness is called wisdom. The wise man sees emptiness and non-emptiness, permanence and impermanence, suffering without suffering, self and selflessness. All life and death of those who are empty, and those who are not empty are called great nirvana, and even those who have no self are life and death, and those who are selfless are called great nirvana. See everything empty, not see not empty, not the middle way. Even those who see nothing and do not see me are not in the middle way. The middle path is called Buddha-nature.

Here the middle way is Buddha-nature, which has the origin of Prajna. Although Mahayana Prajna advocates the emptiness of all dharmas, it also uses the four sentences of non-existence, absolute non-existence, formlessness, and forgetfulness as reality in the interpretation of non-existence and non-existence, thus providing an opportunity for the path to nirvana. In the "Treatise on Great Wisdom", it is said that among all views, emptiness is the first; Of all the dharmas, nirvana is the first.

The above-mentioned relationship between Prajna and Buddha-nature can only be regarded as an unconscious connection between the upper and lower levels in the development of academic thought, and in the Buddhist classic "Ranga Sutra", which was enshrined by the later Zen pioneer Ranga Master, Prajna and Buddha-nature obviously have a tendency to converge. The Sutra of Ranga has a tendency to combine the Nyorai and the Arya Consciousness into one, and the sutra holds that the Nyorai Zang (Buddha nature) is pure in nature, but it is smoked by the evil habits of beginningless hypocrisy and tainted by the dust of the object, so that it becomes the Arya consciousness that gives rise to all the dharmas and has all the causes of good and bad things, and the practice consists in using the wisdom of Prajna to break the attachment to words and the dharmas and make the Nyorai Tibetan self-nature pure. Although the convergence of Prajna and Buddha-nature here is manifested in its function, it provides an important theoretical source for the deep integration of Prajna and Buddha-nature in the Altar Sutra.

The true establishment of Madhyamaka Prajna in Chinese Buddhism began with Rosh. In addition to translating the Mahayana Prajna scriptures and expounding the Madhyamaka teachings, Rosh also translated many Buddha-nature-Nyorai Tibetan texts, and his disciples had their own strengths, but their teachings also tended to intersect. In his exposition of the Madhyamaka thought of non-existence and non-existence, Seng Zhao has already shown the hints of the reality of the Middle Way. Zhu Daosheng is known as the saint of Nirvana in Middle-earth, but he originally learned Prajna from Rosh, and he has won the essence of Prajna learning. The body is the Buddha, the Dharma is the Buddha nature, the Dharma is the Buddha, the reason is the Buddha, the reason is the Buddha, the reason is the Buddha, the reason is the Buddha, and the meaning of the Buddha and the Buddha nature is much in common with the meaning of Prajna. The Chinese Buddhist sects established successively in the Sui and Tang dynasties had two schools of thought with the attitude of the Six Classics and the Commentary. Although the Three Treatises are unique to Madhyamaka Prajna, they also take the Middle Way as the reality; The nature of the Tiantai sect is originally the product of the Buddha-nature of the Madhyamaka Society; Huayan Sect advocates the theory of the origin of the Dharma realm, but also attaches importance to the Ten Profound Views. From the Five Patriarchs of Dongtu to the Shenxiu Northern Sect, the Zen thought of the Zen thought will be more and more powerful through the situation of Prajna and Buddha nature, among which the Farong Niutou Zen of the Jiangnan Prajna Three Treatises has the greatest influence on Huineng Zen. Before Huineng, although Prajna and Buddha-nature were mutually recognizable, they belonged to the realm of cognition and the realm of mind, and the establishment of Huineng Zen made Prajna and Buddha-nature truly merge.

2. The Prajna thought of the body and the extreme

Huineng Zen Buddhism changed the tradition of the Ranga Sutra and the Diamond Sutra, which shows a kind of emptiness, illusion, and all appearances, all aspects are illusory, and also advocates the practice of detachment from the mind without dwelling, without thought, and sweeping away the attachment. The Prajna thought in the Tantra has many inheritances of this, including the concept of emptiness and the idea of the Middle Way, which in turn extends to the two truths, the three non-views, and the three disciplines and thirty-six pairs of Zen teachings. The most important feature of Huineng's Prajna thought is that it leads to the enlightenment of Buddha-nature from the epiphany of Prajna.

First of all, the Tanjing inherits the traditional Prajna idea of emptiness. In the second edition of Prajna, it says:

All the Buddhas and the earth are the same as the void. There is no way to obtain the essence of the world's subtlety, and the vacuum of self-nature is the same. The mountains of Sumeru are always in the air. The emptiness of human nature is the same.

The emptiness here is both Dharma emptiness (the land of all Buddhas, all the same as emptiness) and self-emptiness (the emptiness of human nature); It is both phase emptiness and body emptiness (self-nature vacuum), but the "Altar Sutra" does not stop at body emptiness, but inherits the middle way thought of Prajna and uses the middle way to release emptiness. In the second edition of Prajna, it says:

Good knowledge, don't hear me say that emptiness is emptiness. The first is not emptiness, if the mind is hollow and meditate, that is, there is no emptiness.

"Serendipity Seventh" says:

The world is obsessed with appearances on the outside, and emptiness on the inside. If you can be separated from each other and empty from the void, then you will not be confused inside and outside.

In other words, the wisdom of the middle way, which is separated from emptiness and separation from phase, is in line with the true spirit of prajna. This kind of middle way thought, which is that there is nothing and non-existence and non-existence, is embodied in the three non-existences, the two truths, and the three disciplines and 36 pairs of Zen teachings in the "Altar Sutra".

The three non-thoughts are no thoughts, no appearances, and no dwellings.

"Ding Hui Pin Fourth" says:

Those who have no thoughts are thoughtless and have no thoughts. In the realm, the heart is not stained, and there is no thought. Those who have no phase will be separated from each other. Outside from all phases, it is called non-phase. If it can be separated from the phase, the Dharma body is pure. This is based on the absence of phase. The inhabitant is the nature of man. In the Dharma, there is no desire to go, that is, there is no restraint. This is based on invincibility.

The essence of the idea of three noes is that it is neither detached nor attached to the Dharma, that is, there is none; We must see the emptiness of the dharmas, but we must not cling to emptiness, non-existence and non-existence, so that we can attain the reality of prajna. Non-dwelling and non-aspect is an important concept in the Diamond Sutra, and on this basis, Huineng developed the concept of non-mindfulness and associated it with Buddha-nature. In "Dinghui Pin Fourth", it is also said:

There is no duality, there is no heart of dust, and the mind of the reader is true as nature. It is true that it is self-thought, and it can be read without eyes, ears, nose and tongue. Truth is the body of thought.

Prajna enters non-mindlessness from non-dwelling and thus connects with the true nature of self-nature, because the true nature is the thought of non-thought.

The two truths refer to the two truths and the mundane truths. According to the Madhyamaka theory, we must not be attached to the worldly laws, we must recognize the emptiness of the laws, and we must not deny the illusion of the laws, but cultivate the truth through falsehood, and seek the truth without departing from the false. The "Tanjing" advocates not establishing words, pointing directly to the hearts of the people, and opposing people's attachment to Buddhist scriptures. In the second book of Prajna, it is said that all the sutras and all the texts, the large and small multiplications, and the twelve sutras, are all placed by people. Because of wisdom, it can be established. If there is no world, all the ten thousand laws do not exist in themselves. However, Huineng is opposed to the complete rejection of the classics. In "Serendipity Seventh", it is said: If the whole book looks like a long and evil opinion. If it is completely empty, it will be ignorant for a long time, and those who hold on to the void will slander the scriptures and speak bluntly without words. That is, clouds do not use words, and people do not conform to language. This language alone is the face of words. The cloud straight road does not stand words, that is, this does not stand words, but also words. When he saw what a man said, he slandered him and wrote his words. Thou shalt know that thou shalt delud oneself and slander the Buddhist scriptures. Don't blaspheme. There are many obstacles. The correct way is to follow the classics, but not to be attached to the classics, to go deep into the original meaning of the classics, and to reflect on one's own mind. The so-called fascination with the Fahua turns, and the mind turns to the Fahua. The concept of practice of not departing from the world in the "Altar Sutra" also reflects this idea. Born without leaving the world, entering the dust without staining the dust, and achieving in the rolling red dust. The three branches refer to the three aspects of yin, realm, and entry, which is the division of the objective world and the spiritual world borrowed by Huineng Zen Zen from the study of consciousness. Yin is also translated as aggregate, that is, the color yin, the yin received, the yin thought of, the yin of the line, and the five yin of the yin; The realm refers to the eighteen realms, including the six dusts, the six gates, and the six senses; 入也translated as place, refers to the six roots and the six realms. The ten thousand laws of the world can be divided into three sections, and there are thirty-six pairs of them. There are 12 pairs of linguistic laws, 5 pairs of external ruthlessness, and 19 pairs of self-nature, for a total of 36 pairs. For example, heaven and earth are opposed, the sun and the moon are opposed, there is and there is no pair, colored and colorless pairs, evil and righteousness are opposed, and foolishness and favor are opposed. [vii] Huineng's division of the duality of the world's ten thousand laws is actually to allow people to transcend the worldly dualistic thinking, and help people to leave both sides when they haunt and leave, so as to achieve the elimination of the two laws and the state of direct nature. This is the application of Huineng's non-existent and non-non-middle way view to specific Zen teachings.

The Taoist view of Huineng Zen requires that you be separated from both sides and in the middle way, and you can be separated from each other and separated from the mind, so that you can get your own nature from the absence of phase and non-dwelling to the absence of thought. If the prajna takes the present nature as the extreme, but the relationship between the non-appearance, the non-dwelling and the non-thinking is not a gradual relationship, but the relationship between the body (non-thought, truth-like) and the use (non-appearance, non-dwelling), that is, the body is used, and the mind is non-formal, then at the same time there is sufficient non-dwelling and non-thought; If the mind is thoughtless and its own nature is revealed, then it has no appearance and no dwelling at the same time, and its inner basis lies in its unique Buddha-nature theory.

3. The Buddha-nature theory of non-existence and non-existence

The "Altar Sutra" advocates the equality of Buddha nature (all living beings have Buddha nature) and the purity of Buddha nature, but this is also the mainstream thought of Chinese Buddha nature after Zhu Daosheng. Huineng's revolutionary nature lies in pulling the abstract and ontological Buddha nature towards the self-nature of human beings, and the self-nature lies in the present single-mindedness of the reality of all beings. The Zen method of Huineng Nanzong has become a representative of Chinese Buddhism because it conforms to the theory of mind and the feelings of joining the WTO in traditional Chinese culture. However, the revolutionary nature of Huineng Zen should also lie in its interpretation of Buddha-nature in the middle way view of non-existence and non-existence, and the integration of Prajna and Buddha-nature as the present mind, and using this as the theoretical pillar of his theory of enlightenment and liberation.

First of all, Buddha-nature is non-dual. "The First in the Line" says:

The Venerable Master talked about the Nirvana Sutra, and it was clear that Buddha nature is the only way to do Buddhism. Buddha nature is very impermanent, and there are many accidents, and it is called non-dual. One is good, the other is bad. Buddha nature is neither good nor bad, and it is the same name. The aggregate and the world, the ordinary man sees the two, and the wise man achieves the same nature. The nature of non-duality is Buddha-nature.

That is, Buddha-nature is the non-dual nature of non-good and non-evil, very non-impermanent, and this principle is the Madhyamaka path. The Tiantai Sage Master also tried to integrate the Middle Way into the Buddha nature theory with the theory of sexual materiality. "Guanyin Xuanyi" says:

Expound and judge the cultivation is good, but the nature is good. The Buddha broke off and cultivated all evil. But sex is evil.

That is, a person who has attained Buddhahood has fully manifested the good factors in his nature, but the evil factors have not been eliminated and are still latent in himself. However, this conclusion is inconsistent with the meaning of Indian Buddhist Buddha-nature as reality and Buddha-nature, and is not entirely consistent with Madhyamaka thought. Huineng's theory of the non-dual Buddha-nature brings Prajna and Buddha-nature to a theoretical level of fine harmony. There is no contradiction between the non-duality of Buddha-nature and the purity of Buddha-nature, they are interpretations of Buddha-nature from different levels.

Secondly, the heart is not the same. Buddha-nature falls on self-nature, and self-nature lies in the present mind. Although the self-nature is originally pure, it is different from the delusion, and the delusion of the self-nature lies in the purity and pollution of the mind of reality. Self-nature and self-mind are inseparable from one, and one is inseparable from two. "The Third Question" says:

The heart is the earth, and sex is the king. The king dwells in the heart, the sex is in the king, and the sex goes to the king. Sex exists in the body and mind, and sex goes to the body and is bad.

Sex is the essence of the mind, the mind without sex is not the mind, and the mind without sex does not exist. Sex and the mind is a relationship between one body and many phases, one reality and many relationships, one heart is self-nature, one heart is self-consciousness, so the epiphany lies in the present mind.

Again, the heart is the same. Cultivation lies in cultivating the mind, and cultivating the mind lies in cultivating the mind of non-duality, and the non-dual mind is to be separated from each other, to be separated from the void, not to fall into the two ends, and to have the fullness of the two. The two ends of the spectrum are first manifested emotionally as transcending likes and dislikes, greed, flattery, etc., and it is common to feel guilty about oneself, not seeing the likes and dislikes of others, that is, seeing and not seeing. In the "Altar Sutra", it is recorded that Huineng once raised his staff to hit the god three times and asked whether it was painful or not, and the god would answer that it was both painful and not painful. Huineng believes that if there is no pain, it is the same wood and stone, and pain is the same as ordinary people. It is good that God will answer the Dharma, but the key is that he answers with theoretical understanding, not from his own understanding. This theory of the mind is also present in the dialogue between Huineng's disciple Shence and the Zen practitioner Zhihuang. Xuan Ce believes that if there is no intention to settle down, all ruthless grass, wood, tiles and stones should be merged; If the mind is settled, all the flow of emotions and knowledge should also be settled; If you don't see the mind of being and not having it, it is constant. The meditation of Huineng is wonderful, the body is like this, there is no entry and exit, the heart is like the void, and there is no amount of emptiness.

"Altar Sutra" to the non-dual to control the Buddha nature, self-nature and self-mind, if the self-mind is everywhere, always the same, the self-heart is the self-nature, the self-heart is the Buddha nature, the self-mind is the wisdom of the middle view, the so-called one thought of all beings is the Buddha, one thought of the Buddha is all beings.

Fourth, the theory of enlightenment and liberation that merges Prajna and Buddha-nature in one mind

Huineng integrates the theory of Buddha nature with the middle way view of non-existence and non-non-existence, Buddha nature is the non-dual nature, Prajna is the wisdom of non-duality, and the non-duality is the internal basis for integrating the two. The realization of the ultimate value of Buddhism lies in the realization of the present one-minded enlightenment of prajna and the manifestation of Buddha-nature, but what is the relationship between prajna and Buddha-nature in the epiphany of this mind? In the theory of Buddha nature, Huineng advocates that the mind is the Buddha and the Buddha nature is equal. In the second book of Prajna, it is said:

The wisdom of Bodhi Prajna is inherent in the world. All wisdom is born from its own nature, not from the outside, and it is called true nature.

Buddha nature and prajna are both inherent in human beings and exist in human nature, but Prajna and Buddha nature are not different from each other, they exist in their own nature, they are originally one, that is, human nature, but different interpretations of self-nature. "The First in the Line" says:

The supreme bodhi must be able to speak and know from the original mind, see from the nature, be unborn and imperishable, in all times, think and see itself, there is no stagnation in all laws, one truth and all truths, all realms are free, and the mind is true. If this is the case, then it is the nature of the supreme bodhi.

Whether the practice starts with the cultivation of the mind or the realization of Prajna, both are mutually beneficial. If you look at it from an individual mind, when your heart is full of troubles and your nature is tainted, you can look at the people and things you are facing with Prajna as an epistemology, and when you can really see it, then you can truly appreciate the wisdom of Prajna, and your mind at this time must be pure.

The above-mentioned way of thinking can also be seen from the concept of fixed wisdom in the "Altar Sutra". "Ding Hui Pin" says:

My method is based on wisdom. First, don't be confused, say goodbye. Dinghui body is the same. That is, it is the wisdom body, that is, the wisdom is the use. That is, the time of wisdom is fixed in wisdom, that is, the time of wisdom is fixed.

Hui Neng here made a different from the traditional exposition of Dinghui, Dinghui is the relationship between body and use, the achievement of wisdom is the natural stability of the mind, when the mind is stable, there must be wisdom, the two help each other, the body is the same. The relationship between Prajna and Buddha-nature is the same principle, and when the attainment of Prajna is realized, the self-nature will suddenly appear, and the sudden appearance of the self-nature will be the self-possession of the Prajna. There are two poems of Huineng in the Dunhuang "Altar Sutra", one of which is:

Bodhi has no tree, the mirror is not a platform, the Buddha nature is always pure, where there is dust. In the later editions of the "Altar Sutra" of Dunhuang, the Buddha's nature is always pure and changed to the original nothing. Later generations have controversed over this, and some people believe that it has tampered with the Buddha-nature theory with the idea of prajna and has lost the original meaning of Huineng. In fact, from the perspective of Huineng's idea of integrating Prajna and Buddha-nature, the change does not deviate from the original meaning of Huineng, but the emphasis is slightly different. Purity lies in the state of existence of Buddha-nature, and nothing lies in the way of existence of Buddha-nature, but after the change, it is more in line with Huineng's idea of enlightenment and Buddha-nature.

If Prajna and the Buddha-nature body are the same as the present mind of all beings, then the practice lies in cultivating the present mind. This present single-mindedness has no appearance, no dwelling, and no thought in understanding; There is no good or evil in the body, neither there is nor nothing; There is no joy or sorrow in the emotion, although there is a phase and a separation, go straight to the source, and become a Buddha with an epiphany. Huineng's theory of epiphany emphasizes epiphany Bodhi and seeing one's nature, but Huineng also advocates enlightenment. Of course, meditation does not mean that it is achieved in one practice, and in fact, there is no one, including the Buddha, who does not need to practice gradually. Originally, Orthodox Christianity, there is no pause, human nature is self-reliant, charming and gradually cultivated, and people are enlightened. The meditation here refers to the practice before enlightenment, which directly refers to the present mind, and the present mind directly refers to the wisdom of Prajna Madhyamaka, and directly refers to the pure nature of no good and no evil, and the method and result are highly unified, but whether they can be unified is a gradual cultivation process. The theory of liberation, in which Prajna and Buddha-nature are one, has become an important feature of Chinese Buddhism, both in terms of theoretical and practical significance.