Subhuti said to the Buddha, “World-honored One, the Buddha attained anuttara samyaksambodhi, yet nothing was attained?”
“So it is, so it is, there is not even the slightest Dharma that can be attained in anuttara samyaksambodhi, and this is what is called anuttara samyaksambodhi.”

In the above passage Subhuti uses the phrase “nothing was attained” to say that the Dharma is not fixed, and in that sense cannot be attained. We all inherently possess the wondrous Dharma of prajna; it is not something that can be attained outside of the mind. We never lack it in the first place, so we cannot say that it is gained. One who believes that there is something to be attained still has attachments.

An ordinary person may believe that there is something to be gained or that the Dharma can be fully described in words, but each of these is a form of attachment and constitutes “abiding in something.” Then there are others who believe that the Dharma cannot be described, nor is there anything to gain; however, they do think the mind can be obtained. Both of these views lead to clinging and attachment, causing one to face both phenomenal hindrances, and principle hindrances. “Phenomenal hindrances” are the phenomena which hinder ordinary beings, while “principle hindrances” are the errors in understanding that hinder bodhisattvas. The realization that “nothing is attained” breaks through phenomenal and principle hindrances, and the understanding that the Dharma cannot be fully explained in words breaks through the hindrance of language. In this way, “non-attainment” is the only true attainment, and is what allows us to return to our intrinsic nature, which is inherently pure.

In the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha says, “That which is called the Buddhadharma is not the Buddhadharma.” In the Diamond Sutra the Buddha negates one teaching to establish another, and establishes one teaching to negate another. Whether he is constructing or negating, the Buddha does not want us to abide in any teaching, so that we can realize our intrinsic prajna nature.

One day, Chan Master Tianran suddenly told his disciples, “I miss the mountain forest. I wish to live there for my remaining years:’ The Chan master then put an end to his life of wandering and built a small hut on Mount Danxia in Nanyang County, China. Within three years, people began to come in droves to seek instruction from Chan Master Tianran, and his disciples grew to number three hundred. As a consequence, his simple hut expanded and became a temple complex.

Chan Master Tianran would often say to his disciples, “Safeguard well that thing of yours; for it cannot be spoken of. Can Chan really be explained? And how is this so-called Buddhahood to be realized? I have disliked hearing that word ‘Buddha’ my entire life. These days Buddhists scramble about and busy themselves with meditation and the search for enlightenment, yet they do not realize the treasure they possess. I can off er no path to cultivate here, nor Dharma to realize. Realize your mind, and there will be no worries or concerns. Fail to realize your mind and you will be deluded about your own intrinsic nature. Such is like the blind leading the blind, who altogether jump into a fiery pit.”

Chan Master Tianran was attempting to eliminate ordinary beings’ hindrance of believing that there is some correct realization that can be attained. He was also attempting to eliminate the principle hindrance of having fixed ideas and preconceived notions: when we think to ourselves that we understand enlightenment, or even that we have realized enlightenment, we can end up with very fixed ideas about everything. We may even start comparing our knowledge and practice with that of others, trying to see who comes out on top. This is when our practice can actually become an obstacle for us. That is why we should try to practice not to gain anything. However, prajna allows us to transcend the knowledge and wisdom that can act as obstructions. It is only by having a mind that does not abide in anything that all of wondrous existence is able to arise from emptiness.

When National Master Muso Soseki was a young man, he traveled a great distance to come to Kyoto to learn from Yishan, a Chinese Chan master who taught in Japan. One day, Muso went to see Yishan and formally asked for instruction in the Dharma by saying, “Your disciple is still unclear about the great matter.¹ Master, I beg you to teach me how to realize enlightenment.

Yishan replied, “In our tradition there is nothing to say, so how can a single word of instruction be given?”

Muso pleaded again and again, “Master, please teach me with your skillful means of compassion.”

Yishan answered in a much harsher tone, “I have no skillful means, and no compassion either!”

Having been rejected by Yishan so many times, Muso thought that he must not have a good karmic connection with Yishan. He resolved to leave Yishan’ s monastery and head to Man ju Temple in Kamakura to request the teachings from Chan Master Koho Kennichi. Koho Kennichi would beat and shout at him mercilessly, causing even more pain to Muso who was so firmly committed to seeking enlightenment. Brokenhearted, Muso vowed to Koho Kennichi, “Until your disciple has extinguished all delusion, I will not return to see you.”

Muso then went off by himself into the mountain forest where he practiced hard day and night, contemplating in quiet solitude.

One day Muso was sitting under a tree. A faint breeze was blowing softly and his mind was as still and quiet as a mirror. The day had drawn to midnight without him realizing it, and it was soon time for him to rest for the night. Just before he was about to go to bed, he reclined slightly to lean against a wall when, to his surprise, he fell over. It turned out there had never been a wall there against which he could lean, He had only thought there was. The moment he fell over, Muso unconsciously let out a laugh and suddenly attained enlightenment. He then spontaneously composed this verse:

Many years digging in the ground looking for the blue sky; Adding layer upon layer of things obstructing my heart. A common brick comes flying in the darkness one night, Casually breaking the bones of empty space.

There is no wall to lean on, even though some people may believe there to be. Some people are unwilling to cultivate their diamond-like mind, or see their intrinsic prajna nature. Some people believe that they can attain enlightenment and live a life of freedom by relying on others or following some sort of set formula. To believe this is blind faith, and to maintain it is superstition. National Master Muso Soseki attained enlightenment at the age of thirty-one, and the conditions that brought him to enlightenment stemmed from the kindness of the Chan masters who used their rough treatment of him as a skillful means. They did not want him to become attached to language nor to the notion of the Dharma, for the prajna mind lies directly within our own minds.

Source: Hsing Yun, Four Insights for Finding Fulfillment: A Practical Guide to the Buddha’s Diamond Sutra, Los Angeles: Buddha’s Light Publishing, 2012.

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Footnote:

1. A common Buddhist expression found in the Lotus Sutra to refer to the problem of life and death. Ed.