Further to his earlier teaching “are we living beings, are we not“, the Buddha reminds Subhuti again in this chapter, “don’t think that I have liberated any being, for if you think so, i will be fallen into the limitation of a self, others, beings, and immortals“.

As devoted students of healing and enlightenment, don’t we all want to liberate suffering through various forms of healing and charity?  Is suffering real, and the liberation of it through various means of healing to be done then?  Yes, indeed the suffering and healing are both real.  Otherwise the Buddha would not have taught on earth for 40+ years!   The reason why the Buddha told us that no beings have been liberated by him is that, he knows that when we live our lives and heal sufferings, we easily fall into the temptation of the labels “healers” who heal “others”.  This labeling and claiming credits are to be avoid, not the healing work itself.  For if we get sucked into these labels,  we would be hijacked and sidetracked by our own ego on the road to true healing and enlightenment.

What then, could be a proper way to live our life and do our healing work?  Refer to our earlier discussion: “how does Bodhisattva do charity?“.

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化无所化分第二十五

TRANSFORMING WITHOUT THERE BEING ANYONE TRANSFORMED, TWENTY-FIVE

须菩提！于意云何？
汝等勿谓如来作是念：我当度众生。
“Subhuti, what do you think?
“You should not say the Tathagata has this thought (in His mind): ‘I should liberate living beings.’”

须菩提！莫作是念。何以故？
实无有众生如来度者，若有众生如来度者，如来则有我人众生寿者。
须菩提！如来说：“有我者，则非有我，而凡夫之人以为有我。
须菩提！凡夫者，如来说则非凡夫。
“Subhuti, you should not think so. Why?
“Because there are really no living beings whom the Tathagata can liberate. If there were, the Tathagata would hold (the concept of) an ego, a personality, a being and a life.”
“Subhuti, (when) the Tathagata speaks of an ego, there is in reality no ego, although common men think so.
“Subhuti, the Tathagata says common men are not, but are (expediently) called, common men.

How much will you contribute to support yourself?  How much more would you contribute to support your family?  How much more will you contribute for your community, country and the world?   If we contribute 10 dollars, we can buy someone a meal; if we contribute 10 million dollars,   we can perhaps build a school; if we contribute 10 billion dollars, maybe we can establish a fund which feeds an organization or a small country.  What if we contribute the wealth of the entire world, in all potential worlds and  universes?  We would imagine that a lot could be done, which leads to infinite merit… Yet, according to the all knowing Buddha (who possesses 5 eyes which penetrate all truths in this universe), the merit of contribute all wealth of all universes, is not even comparable to the merit of studying, following, practicing, and sharing this Sutra.  Do you know why?  Do you believe?

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福智无比分第二十四

BLESSINGS AND WISDOM BEYOND COMPARE, TWENTY-FOUR

须菩提！若三千大千世界中所有诸须弥山王，如是等七宝聚，有人持用布施；若人以此《般若波罗蜜经》，乃至四句偈等，受持读诵、为他人说，于前福德百分不及一，百千万亿分，乃至算数譬喻所不能及。
“Subhuti, if (on the one hand) a man, in his practice of charity (dana) gives away the seven treasures piled up in a heap as great as all the Mounts Sumeru in the Universe put together, and (on the other hand) another man receives, holds (in mind) reads and recites even a four-line stanza of this Prajna-paramita Sutra, and expounds it to others, the merit resulting from the former’s dana will not be worth one-hundredth, one-thousandth, one-ten-thousandth and one-hundred thousandth part of that obtained by the latter, as no conceivable comparison can be made between the two.”

In a typical learning process, we receive some information, digest it intellectually or follow it experimentally, then it become part of us as an integrated part of our life.  Very often, we consider it a gain after we learn something.  However, in this sutra, after telling us that there is really no Dharma to teach, and that there is no Buddha who had taught any Dharma, the Buddha shared in this chapter that in his realization, there is really no Dharma to gain…  Why is it so?

Furthermore, in our earlier discussion, we also recalled that the Buddha said that everything is teaching to enlightenment.  So in the end, is there a Buddha who shared the state of enlightenment and pathway towards it? … If there is really nothing being shared and no one who can really gain from these teachings, how can we as spiritual students received and integrate these information into our lives?

A possible way to resolve the above paradoxes is shared in our earlier post: how does bodhisattva do charity.  If we can apply the same approach we use to do charity in learning, then we can proceed safely without deepening our confusion to/from the temporary self.

* * *

无法可得分第二十二

NO DHARMA CAN BE OBTAINED, TWENTY-TWO

须菩提白佛言：世尊！佛得阿耨多罗三藐三菩提，为无所得耶？
Subhuti said to the Buddha: “World Honored One, does your (own) attainment of Supreme Enlightenment (Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi) mean that you have not gained anything whatsoever?”

如是，如是。须菩提！
我于阿耨多罗三藐三菩提乃至无有少法可得，是名阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。
The Buddha replied: “Just so, Subhuti, just so, I have not gained even the least Dharma from Supreme enlightenment, and this is called Supreme Enlightenment.”

After learning the highly profound yet seemingly paradoxical teachings from the Buddha, Subhuti couldn’t help but ask the Buddha, based on our limited wisdom, can we as living beings develop faith to accept and follow these teachings?

The Buddha, possessing the perfect 5 eyes which penetrate all truths, see that there is the potential of falling into the attachment of the notion of ” living beings”, responded to Subhuti: in reality, there is no such thing as living beings and non living beings.  They are merely called as such.

Do you understand why the Buddha said so?  Aren’t we living beings? or…  are we not?

* * *

尔时，慧命须菩提白佛言：世尊！颇有众生，于未来世，闻说是法，生信心不？
Then the wise Subhuti said to the Buddha: “World Honoured One, will there be in future ages living beings who will believe this Dharma when they hear it?”

佛言：须菩提！彼非众生，非不众生。何以故？
须菩提！众生众生者，如来说非众生，是名众生。
The Buddha said: “Subhuti, the living beings (you just mentioned) are neither living nor not living beings. Why?
Because, Subhuti, the Tathagata says these living beings are not (really), but they are (expediently), called living beings.”

In chapter 8 of this Sutra, the Buddha said blessings of sharing this Sutra far surpass that of any worldly offerings.   Is it really so?  Can we acquire this great merit or huge blessings for sharing the wisdom of this Sutra?  The Buddha continues in this chapter: if the real merit can be described, it is not the real merit.  Based on the discussion we have so far, do you understand why? Is there merit?  Is there no merit?

* * *

法界通化分第十九

UNDERSTANDING AND TRANSFORMING THE DHARMA REALM, NINETEEN

须菩提！于意云何？若有人满三千大千世界七宝以用布施，是人以是因缘，得福多不？
“Subhuti, what do you think? If someone filled the universe with the seven treasures and gave all away in his practice of dana, would this (good) cause enable the giver to gain a great merit?”

如是，世尊！此人以是因缘，得福甚多。
“Yes, World Honoured One, because of this (good) cause the giver would gain a great merit.”

须菩提，若福德有实，如来不说得福德多；以福德无故，如来说得福德多。
“’Subhuti, if the merit was real, the Tathagata would not say it was great. He says so because there is no merit.”