[Buddha-l] A tribute to Ven. Sheng-yen

[Ben]

Dear Buddha-l denizens,

   Although  I'm  not a Buddhist anymore, I have a deep
respect  for  Ven.  Sheng-yen and I would like to share
with  you,  as  a  kind of tribute, part of my personal
communication with the master.


Ven. Sheng-yen's Teachings on Tathagatagarbha Zen and
                Vexations of Deep Sleep

                 Dharma Drum Mountain

                     July 04, 2006

An  unchanging "self" is a theistic belief. Buddhism is
an atheistic system of sunyata. Intrinsic enlightenment
appears  to  exist, but it is fundamentally empty. From
the  perspective of tathagatagarbha, wondrous existence
is  just  a  conventional  designation of sunyata. This
implies that "bliss" does not "truly exist", rather, it
means sunyata - liberation from vexations.
 
   The   Chinese  Chan  tradition  does  use  the  term
"intricsic    enlightenment"   quite   frequently.   My
understanding  is  that  kensho is seeing the nature of
emptiness.

   In  the  Chan tradition, cutting off the attachments
of    the   six   sense   faculties   and   six   sense
consciousnesses  IS  seeing  the  nature (kensho). Chan
doesn't  talk  about  seeing the nature through the six
consciousnesses.

                          ***

There  are  two  obscurations:  obscuration of view and
obscuration   of   vexations  (afflictions).  When  the
obscuration  of view is cut off, there is still a force
after   death   and   in   deep  sleep.  However,  when
obscuration  of  vexations is cut off, there is no more
force  after  death  or  in deep sleep. The wisdom that
arises  from  the elimination of either obscurations is
called  prajna,  but  the  depth  (level) is different.
Cutting off the obscuration of view is called awakening
to   the  Way/Path/Truth  (Wu  Dao),  cutting  off  the
obscuration   of  vexations  is  called  attaining  the
Way/Path/Truth  (Zheng  Dao).  In  the  Chan tradition,
seeing  the nature (kensho) is equivalent to cutting of
the obscuration of view.

-- 
Ben
Asturias, Spain