Prajna is the mother of all the Buddhas of the past, present, and future. It points directly to the original mind by piercing through all the various worldly afflictions and suffering such as the obstacles of language, knowledge, and ignorance. Prajna directly grasps the great wisdom of all the Buddhas and has a practical application in the present world. Prajna is truly life’s secret ingredient for success.

Prajna is holding right view and being truly enlightened. Prajna is knowing that all phenomena arise through causes and conditions, and that they exist only temporarily. Prajna is understanding the inherent emptiness of dependent origination, and knowing that true emptiness is only possible because of wondrous existence. Emptiness does not dwell in emptiness, and existence does not abide within existence. The mind “that does not abide in anything,” as mentioned in the Diamond Sutra, is the true mind with which all living beings are endowed. But prajna can only be bright and shining by experiencing it, observing it, and practicing it in daily life.

Earlier in my teaching career, I divided prajna into four levels, based on the spiritual level of the practitioner. They are:

1. Right View
2. Dependent Origination
3. Emptiness
4. Prajna of the Buddha

Right View is the prajna of human and celestial beings; it is holding an opinion based on principles that are neither off track nor incorrect. It is like taking a photograph that shows one’s own original face. Right view can come about from ordinary beings’ understanding of cause and effect. Most people are able to learn through experience the causes and conditions for the ills of the world, such as illness, afflictions, monetary loss, and so on. Understanding cause and effect and thereby being able to be free from suffering is the worldly understanding of cause and effect.

Dependent origination is the prajna of sravakas and pratyekabuddhas. Dependent origination can be summarized as the doctrine that effects arise from causes, facts are founded upon principles, and that existence is established through emptiness—it is a supramundane teaching able to be comprehended by sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and arhats. Such practitioners are able to ascertain that the five aggregates are empty, and so are free of mental hindrances. They have elevated their spirit to a higher level. They know all things and all affairs, and that there is nothing to do about them. They know that the sentient beings of the six realms of existence are all interconnected. They know that dependent origination is the true reality of the universe.

Emptiness is the prajna of bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas do not only realize supramundane teachings, but the worldly teachings as well. Moreover, bodhisattvas take the next step and apply the transcendent mind to the conditions of this world. There is a verse that describes the prajna of the bodhisattva:

A color here, a fragrance there,
are nothing but enlightenment’s path;
Now speaking, now remaining silent,
are all Chan in the end.

Use emptiness as one’s causes and conditions, and naturally you will know all phenomena.

The final level of the prajna of the Buddha is the state of non-duality between essence and phenomena attained after the prajna of one’s own nature has been realized. In this state there is no division between transcendent teachings and worldly teachings, and all views of the self, others, and the outside world are eliminated. Causes and conditions may come and go, or may not come and go; there is no abiding in form. All things are perfectly and naturally integrated.

We can explain these four levels by how one learns to play a musical instrument. Regardless of whether the instrument is a flute, a violin, or a piano, when first learning to play, you must start with reading music and fingering the strings or keys. Practice comes by grasping at each note and each melody, going over each note as indicated by the notation on the musical score. At this stage you must look at the score before you play, just as one with right view still relies on looking at the external world.

After practicing to a certain degree of fluency, the score has already become ingrained in your mind, and you no longer need to look at it to play. Although you do not look at the score any longer, the score still exists within the mind, just as one who knows dependent origination has merely fused the internal and the external.

Continued diligent practice allows you to no longer look at the score, nor consider it within your mind. At this point a piece of music can be played straight through without any conscious effort whatsoever with a performance that is seamless in all respects. There is no longer a score inside or outside the mind, though the “score” still remains as a cause; yet you still play according to the score, as you are unable to create your own music. This is just as one who knows emptiness has left behind the internal and external.

Once you have mastered and integrated tonal modes and music theory, you can ride along with the great changes of the universe. You can now freely and effortlessly create music wherever the mind wanders or the spirit soars. This untrammeled mind is prajna; neither forgotten nor unforgotten. This is prajna at its highest level, with nothing internal and nothing external.

Right view, dependent origination, emptiness, and prajna are all “unconditioned Dharmas.” There is a short Buddhist verse that explains what this means:

Three kinds of birds fly through the sky;
Their flight can be short or far;
But the sky itself is neither short nor far.
Three kinds of animals cross the river;
Their crossing can be deep or shallow;
But the water itself is neither deep nor shallow.

Consider the differences between a sparrow, pigeon, and eagle: some can fly for a short distance, and others for longer distances. Likewise if a rabbit, horse, and elephant were to cross a river, each would become submerged in the water differently because of their size. But the sky itself is neither short nor far, and the water is not shallow or deep. This analogy tells us that, while our realization of it may be shallow or deep, prajna itself is neither shallow nor deep. We should not become fixated upon what is shallow or deep. Do not fall into a nihilistic view.

The Diamond Sutra says that “all forms are illusory.” People who are new to Buddhism can begin with an understanding of conditioned existence to lead up to an understanding that all forms are illusory. For us to understand the unconditioned teachings, we must first look at phenomena.

People often become confused by the illusory things outside the mind. Even if they are clearly illusions, we take them to be real. Even if they are clearly temporary, we cling to them desperately. This is why our mind abides in “existence” and becomes attached to externalities.

Those who become attached to rank and position will, in the end, find that it is lonely at the top. Those who become attached to fame and fortune will find themselves willing to die for the sake of wealth, as long as there is enough money involved. While it is okay to have anything in the world, whatever it may be, we must not become consumed with desire for it, for having excessive craving for something burdens us with caring for it and sorrow when it is gone. This is why we should look at everything in the world through the wisdom of prajna.

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