正見名出世。邪見名世間。邪正盡打卻。菩提性宛然。此頌是頓教。亦名大法船。迷聞經累劫。悟則剎那間。

Right view is transcendental, deviant view is worldly.  Deviant and right completely destroyed, the Bodhi nature appears spontaneously.  This ode is the sudden teaching, also called the great dharma boat.  When confused, bear through ages; when enlightened, awaken in an instant.

The right view is to get rid of all the delusion. The deviant view is to devote to all worldly things. In cultivating Buddhism, all right views and deviant views have to be removed so nothing exists in the thoughts. At that moment, your Bodhi nature shall show itself. This verse is the sudden teaching, also called the great dharma boat. The boat will take us to the pure land. All sentient beings still not awakened, will not achieve enlightenment even if they study the sutras until the books fall apart. However, when they are instructed by way of the awakened teachers, enlightenment can be achieved momentarily.

We need to comprehend this world. What is happiness? What is sorrow? They are intermingled and intertwined. All of the fortune, beauty, fame are mundane. They do not last forever. In Six Patriarch’s eyes, they are deviant views, because they belong to this world. To exercise right views is to not cling to these things. Beauty is not forever. Fame is not forever. We need to transcend this world. Depart from this world. Go to the better place – the pure land.

Then, Six Patriarch said, get rid the notions of right views and deviant views. Get rid of both of them. Now, most people cannot figure this out. Why destroy all right and deviant views? It’s because the supreme truth is within. Awakening is within this verse. You obviously should not develop deviant views. But you should not think about right views either. And only at that instant, your Buddha nature is revealed. This is exactly why Six Patriarch often said, not to ponder the good, not to ponder the evil; because, at that exact moment, your Buddha nature shows itself right there!

Let’s not worry about how the world changes. We only concentrate on going to the Maha Twin Lotus Pond, to the Western Pure Land. This is a right view. But to eclipse this, don’t even mind the heavens or this world. Just lead your life according to the natural course. Continue to go with the flow. Whatever you encounter is good. Then your state of mind is constantly in the existence of the Prajna, in the light of wisdom. What is attaining Buddhahood? What is Buddha nature? In Buddha nature, there is no differentiation. Not to distinguish is one trait of Buddha nature. It doesn’t choose. It is unoccupied. It is care free. When your Buddha nature reveals itself, no matter you are in the human realm, in the pure land, even in the three miserable realms, you are always a buddha.

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欲擬化他人，自須有方便 。勿令彼有疑，即是自性現。佛法在世間，不離世間覺。離世覓菩提，恰如求兔角。

To liberate others, calls for expedient means. Let them have no doubt, makes self nature show. Buddha dharma lives in this world, enlightenment inseparable from the mundane. Depart this world to seek Bodhi, is foraging for rabbit horns.

You should be skilled in using expedient means to transform people. Only when people are completely free of all doubts, their buddha nature will emerge. Buddha dharma and enlightenment are integral to this world, as human realm is the only place that can facilitate cultivation. To search the Bodhi path outside this world is like hunting for rabbit horns.

Sr. Reverend Bi-Tzeng said that buddha nature is invisible and formless and can’t be spoken directly; therefore, whatever has been rendered is seen as convenient ways to manifest the buddha nature. Everything in this world stands for convenient existence. Through these expedient means, the buddha nature reveals. Without them, the buddha nature will not show. This is the gist of the Six Patriach’s passage.

Shakyamuni Buddha ultimately attained the buddhahood after five hundred rebirths in this world, as told in the Jataka Sutra. During those past lives, he also used expedient means to transform sentient beings. Buddha finally reached enlightenment in his last life. Buddha said that we shouldn’t search for Bodhi separate from the human realm, a place consisted of half happiness and half suffering, thereby giving inspiration for spiritual cultivation and enlightenment. The heaven realm offers too much happiness, while the three miserable realms give nothing but torment. The thought of cultivation would not enter the mind in either place.

We need to care less about all the papers we pursue in life – from a diploma, to a professional certificate, to a marriage license. And interestingly, we all end up with the same piece of paper – the death certificate. We can only lead a meaning life if we can skillfully utilize appropriate ways to cultivate and realize our self nature. Sr. Reverend Bi-Tzeng said when you have spiritual response with your personal deity, your body, speech, and mind epitomize your personal deity’s buddha body, buddha dharma, and buddha nature respectively.

People may say to you, “Why does your guru always tell jokes during his dharma talks?” You know, the jokes I tell are exactly expedient means. If I don’t plug a joke here and there, the sermon would be bland as water, as Acharya De-Huei put it earlier.

As both Acharyas De-Huei and Sr. Reverend Bi-Tzeng pointed out, it is essential to have pure faith in your lineage guru. As he has attained spiritual response and corroborated his buddha nature, you should develop the same strengths he has, and accept and obey guru’s dharma teachings. Acharya De-Huei said, the ideal enlightenment is the “Flawless Perfection in Awareness and Deed” – the compliance of your mind and conduct according to your buddha nature. As a cultivator, you can reach this stage when your practice and conduct match your theory of enlightenment.

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若見他人非，自非卻是左；他非我不非，我非自有過。但自卻非心，打除煩惱破；憎愛不關心，長伸兩腳臥。

If I find another’s flaw, condemning him is my fault. His wrongdoings I do not fault, doing so is my flaw. Eliminate the mind of forming opinions, to quash all the stress. Not concerned with dislikes and likes, I lie down with my legs stretched out.

Do not look for and be bothered by the flaws of sentient beings. If you have any shortcoming, you should correct it. Have no hate and love to be free from stress and worries. Do not engage in or spread hearsay. Be far away from any gossip. Then you would sleep peacefully. Your emotions may affect you physically. Medication would not help you when you have stress. Stress can affect you for days. You may even develop insomnia.

Nothing really belongs to us. Having enough money to spend is good enough. I do not feel that money is really important. Love is also false. You would be separated in the end. Everything will change. When you watch TV, read newspaper and magazines, all are gossip. But I personally am not disturbed by it, whether it is written as a compliment or defamation. Do not do things when you know they are wrong. Our hearts are equal. Do not tell people they have done wrong. Try to understand and forgive them. Let them correct their wrongs on their own. We do not scold them. People will remember when you have helped them before.

Health is very important. Disaster relief and charity are good deeds. We cannot just do nothing to help them. You must believe in Buddhism as it helps all sentient beings. We must use our wisdom to differentiate between right and wrong.

You want to be a Bodhisattva; you must put sentient beings before yourself because they are more important. You are able to cultivate at any moment and place. Remember, birth, separation and death come quickly.

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