“Subhuti, never say that the Tathagata has the thought, ‘I have spoken the Dharma’. Do not have that thought. And why is this? If someone says that the Tathagata has spoken the Dharma, then that person is defaming the Buddha, and he does not understand what I have been saying. Subhuti, when a person speaks the Dharma no Dharma can be spoken, and thus it is called speaking the Dharma.”

The Buddha spoke the Dharma as conditions arose and did not cling to the notion of the Dharma. The way that Tathagata teaches is by manifesting as the one who speaks the Dharma. In every case he adapts his teachings in accordance with the spiritual capacity of the audience and manifests a physical form where there previously was no form, and manifests speech where there was once no speech. Saying that the Tathagata “speaks the Dharma” is a worldly notion; that is why Subhuti is told that someone who thinks that the Tathagata “has spoken the Dharma” is defaming the Buddha.

All that the Buddha says is said for the sake of unlocking the intrinsic nature of suchness that living beings inherently possess. The Buddha speaks as conditions arise to eliminate the delusions of living beings, liberating them in accordance with their spiritual capacities.

So what then is the Dharma? In the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha also says,” … my teachings should be understood to be like a raft.¹ If even the Dharma must be let go of, what about that which is not the Dharma?” We should get rid of the notion of “Dharma” and “non-Dharma” so that a thought like “the Buddha has spoken the Dharma” does not arise to abide in.

Once a certain Buddhist monk came to see Chan Master Dazhu Huihai and said, “I would like to ask a question. Can you answer it?”

Dazhu said, “The moon reflected in the deep pool can be pon-
dered as one wishes:’

The monk then asked, “What is the Buddha?”

Dazhu replied, “If it is not the Buddha across from the clear pool, then who?”

Everyone gathered there was confused when they heard this. Finally, the monk spoke up, “May I ask you, great master, what Dharma you teach to liberate people?”

Dazhu said, “I don’t have a single teaching that can liberate people.”
The monk said, “You Chan masters always speak of wonder and emptiness.”
Dazhu then offered a counter question, “What Dharma do you, virtuous one, speak to liberate people?”
The monk answered, “I teach the Diamond Sutra.”
Dazhu then asked, “Who speaks this sutra ?”

The Buddhist monk angrily retorted, “Now you’re just trying to make fun of me. Everyone knows it is a sutra spoken by the Buddha.”

Dazhu then proceeded to quote the sutra: “‘If someone says that the Tathagata has spoken the Dharma, then that person is defaming the Buddha, and he does not understand what I have been saying.’ yet if someone says that this sutra was not spoken by the Buddha, then that person has defamed the sutra. Please explain, virtuous one.”

The monk was completely stumped.

By saying that he did not have a single teaching that could liberate people, Chan Master Dazhu Huihai showed a deep understanding of the Buddha’s meaning in the Diamond Sutra. All the sutras of all the Buddhas do nothing more than wipe away the dust of delusion that obscures our ordinary mind, allowing us to see the intrinsic nature of prajna. The Buddha repeatedly enjoined those practitioners who aspire to unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment to empty themselves of any notion concerning living beings, the form of the Buddha, the form in which the Buddha speaks the Dharma, and other such notions. The Buddha wishes us to be free and undisturbed, and to return to the inherent mind.

In the Lotus Sutra it is said that Aksayamati Bodhisattva once asked the Buddha, “How did Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva come to this Saha World? How does he teach the Dharma for the sake of living beings? How does he apply the power of skillful means?”

The Buddha then answered, “Good man, if there are living beings in this land who should be liberated by someone in the form of a Buddha, then Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva will manifest in the form of a Buddha and teach the Dharma to them.”

When someone hears this part of the Buddha’s teaching, he may wonder: Avalokitesvara is a bodhisattva, which is defined as one who has not yet attained Buddhahood. How can a bodhisattva manifest in the form of a Buddha to teach living beings? Is that not masquerading as the Buddha?

Many people may have questions like this, but the answer is that, no, this is not the same as impersonating the Buddha. Avalokitesvara has actually already attained Buddhahood long, long ago, and was named Zhengfa Ming Tathagata (正法明如來), “Clearly Understanding the True Dharma.” However, after he attained Buddhahood he did not forget about living beings, and thus returned to the Saha World where beings live in torment. Here he conceals his Buddhahood and manifests in the form of a bodhisattva to give compassionate aid to living beings.

An arhat is one who dedicates a small amount of merit to many, while Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva dedicates great merit to a few. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva compassionately stepped back from assuming a Buddha’s form so that he could guide and liberate all those who suffer, so that they may realize the six paramitas and attain the tranquility of nirvana.

That being said, even though Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva has stepped back out of compassion, dedicates great merit to a few, and conceals his Buddhahood by appearing as a bodhisattva, he actually possesses all the practices, vows, and conduct of the Buddhas. This is how Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is able to manifest as a Buddha to teach the Dharma; it is not deception. Additionally, the bodhisattva manifests as a Buddha only for a given time when there is a person who can be liberated by the form of a Buddha. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva then manifests the form of a Buddha only for a period of time as a skillful means to instruct and guide living beings.

Since Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva has already attained Buddhahood, he is capable of billions upon billions of manifestations, which he uses to spread the Dharma and liberate living beings. No matter what kind of sentient beings, as long as they possess the capacity to understand, the bodhisattva will explain the Dharma to them so that they can transform their ignorance into enlightenment. This is what is meant by the expression “there is no standard Dharma:’ There is no standard Dharma, just as there is no standard physical appearance of the Buddha, and we should not become attached to either.

Enlightenment does not lie in being able to recite a thousand Buddhist verses and cannot be found by browsing through the Buddhist sutras. Enlightenment lies in how we use the mind in our daily lives and in every thought. We must not dismiss the minutia of life, for even boiling water to make tea or carrying rocks and firewood all contain the causes and conditions for attaining enlightenment. This is why the Diamond Sutra opens with a description of the Buddha’s simple monastic lifestyle. This shows that genuine cultivation is not a performance or a show, and we should never be concerned with making some pretentious or esoteric display, or trying to one-up each other. The Buddha maintained a simple daily routine and simple food and dress so that he could live free and at ease with a perfectly dignified manner. This allows those with only a tenuous commitment to practice to have faith that, if they put forth the proper effort, they too can be like the Buddha.

I have spent my entire life honoring the Buddha and learning from him, but I do not wish to become a Buddha or a Buddhist patriarch. I am generous and do good deeds, but I do not want to go to heaven. I recite Ami tab ha Buddha’s name, but I have no desire to gain rebirth in the Pure Land. My aim is not to transcend life and death, but rather to cultivate more resources for Buddhism. I wish to be reborn as an ordinary monk in the human world lifetime after lifetime.

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

---

Footnote:

1. This is a reference to a famous parable of the Buddha’s. The Dharma is like a raft in that, once it is used to cross the river of life and death, it should be left at the shore rather than carried on land. Ed.