Outline of the Footnotes 1. Short biographies of the translators of extant Chinese versions of The Heart Sūtra

a. Kumārajīva (鳩摩羅什) b. Xuánzàng (玄奘) c. Yìjìng (義淨) d. Dharmacandra (法月) e. Amoghavajra (不空) f. Prajñā (般若) g. Prajñācakra (智慧輪 or 般若斫迦) h. Fǎchéng (法成) i. Danāpalā (施護)

2. The Sūtras on the Deliverance of Transcendental Discernment (Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtras, 般若波羅蜜經) 3. Short biographies of the interpreters of The Heart Sūtra found in the Taishō Canon

a. Kuījī (窺基) b. Yuáncè (圓測) c. Fǎzáng (法藏) d. Shīhuì (師會) e. Zōnglè (宗泐) f. Chikō (智光) g. Kūkai (空海) h. Saisen (濟暹) i. Kakuban (覺鍐)

4. The different schools of Buddhism from India and East Asia a. Indian Buddhism - ‘the three turns of the wheel’ (tri dharma cakra pravartana, 三轉法輪)

1. The first schools of Buddhism (Sarvāstivāda, 一切有部, etc.) 2. The School on the Dialectical Principle of the Middle Way (Madhyamaka, 中觀宗) 3. The School on Engaged Meditation (Yogācāra, 瑜伽行)

b. East Asian Buddhism: 1. Chinese versions of earlier Indian Buddhist schools 2. The Lotus School (C. Tiāntāi Zōng or J. Tendai Shū, 天台宗) 3. The Garland School (C. Huáyán Zōng or Kegon Shū, 華嚴宗) 4. The Esoteric or Mantra School (C. Mìjiào Zōng or Shingon Shū, 密教宗 or 眞言宗) 5. The Meditation School (C. Chán Zōng or J. Zen Shū, 禪宗) 6. The Pure Land School (C. Jìngtǔ Zōng or J. Jōdo Shū, 淨土宗) 7. The Nichiren School (J. Nichiren Shū, 日蓮宗)

5. The five projections of purpose (skandha, 蘊), the twelve-fold alignment of subject & object (āyatana, 處) & the eighteen-fold sphere of sentient existence (dhātu, 界)

6. Affliction (āsrava, 有漏) and emotional disturbances (kleśa, 煩惱) 7. The forty steps on the bodhisattva path

A. The ten-fold abode of mindfulness on the bodhisattva’s purpose (daśa dharma upasthāna, 十菩薩法住) B. The ten distinguished merit producing practices (daśa viśeṣa adhigama, 十勝行) that deliver sentient beings

from the stream of life & death to the other shore (daśa pāramitā, 十波羅蜜多) C. The ten-fold dedication of merit (daśa pariṇāmana, 十迴向), offering it all up to a higher purpose D. The ten levels of grounding (daśa bhūmi, 十地) in the transcendental nature of life’s purpose:

8. The different bodhisattvas a. The Bodhisattva ‘Bestowing Sublimity of Discernment’ (Manjuśrī, 文殊師利 or 妙德) b. The Bodhisattva ‘Bestowing the Mercy of Loving Kindness’ (Maitreya, 彌勒 or 慈氏) c. The Bodhisattva ‘Beholding the Cries of This World’ (Avalokiteśvara, 觀自在 or 觀世音) d. The Bodhisattva ‘Wholly Blessed in Grace’ (Samantabhadra, 普賢) e. The Bodhisattva ‘Of Transcendental Discernment’ (Prajñā 般若),

9. The three-fold nature of the Buddha’s spiritual life (tri kāya, 三身) 10. Śāriputra (舍利弗)

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11. The virtual nature of consciousness (vijñapti, 表 or 施設) 12. Vulture’s Peak (Gṛdhrakūṭa, 耆闍崛山 or 耆闍崛山) 13. The three turns of the wheel in the teachings about life’s purpose (tri dharma cakra pravartana, 三轉法輪) 14. The three-fold training (trīṇi śikṣāṇi, 三學) and the eight steps on the noble path (aṣṭa ārya mārga, 八聖道) 15. The devil (māra, 魔) 16. The embryonic nature of enlightenment (tathāgata garbha, 如來藏) 17. Variations between different versions of the sūtra 18. On whether this sūtra is apocryphal 19. The tetralemma (catuṣ koṭika, 四句) 20. The baskets (piṭaka, 藏) of teachings 21. Mount Sumeru (須彌山) 22. The fragmentation of life and death into separate parts (pariccheda saṃsāra, 分段生死) vs.

its inconceivable manifestation (acintya pariṇāma saṃsāra, 不思議變易生死) 23. The Four Fruits (catvāri phalāni, 四果) of the noble path

a. The stream-enterer (srotāpanna, 須陀洹 or 入流) b. The once-returner (sakṛdāgāmin, 斯陀含 or 一來) c. The never-returner (anāgāmin, 阿那含 or 不還) d. The truly worthy being (arhat, 阿羅漢 or 應供)

24. Meditation on nothingness (ākiṃcanya, 無所有) 25. The magic city (Ṛddhi Nagara, 化城) 26. The different kinds of suffering (duḥkha, 苦) 27. The three-fold sphere of sentient existence (trayo dhātavah, 三界) 28. The science of the voice (śabda vidyā, 聲明) and its use in ritual prayer and meditation 29. The seven methodologies (七宗) 30. Unicorns, sheep & bulls 31. The six powers of spiritual penetration (ṣaḍ abhijnāḥ, 六通) 32. The five lineages, or tracks 33. Indra’s net, a golden lion, a house and its rafters and the relationship between water and its waves 34. The Great Discourses on the Science of Voiced Sound (Śabda Śāstra or Śabda Vidyā, 聲論 or 聲明) 35. Atikūṭa (阿地瞿多 or 無極高) 36. The eight negations (八不) 37. The difference between dhāraṇīs (陀羅尼) and mantras (眞言) 38. All the scriptures being found in a single utterance such as ‘A’ or ‘OṂ’ 39. The adopted consciousness (ādāna vijñāna, 阿陀那識) 40. Bleached bones, mottled corpses 41. The thunderbolt, or diamond (vajra, 金剛) & the lotus (padma, 蓮花) 42. Vairocana (毘盧舍那) 43. Śrāvastī (舍衛國) 44. Any excess (ati) 45. The realization of enlightenment in this very life (即身成佛) 46. The early Tantric masters

a. Nāgārjuna (龍猛) b. Nāgabodhi (龍智) c. Śubhākarasiṃha (善無畏) d. Vajrabodhi (金剛智) e. Yīxíng (一行) f. Amoghavajra (廣智不空) g. Huìguǒ (恵果)

47. The ten kinds of unwholesome actions (daśa akuśala karma,十惡), the five most consequential acts of evil and the ninety-five different ways of cultivating the path that are really external to the principle of attaining its true resolve.

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The Footnotes 1. Short biographies of the translators of the Heart Sūtra found in the Taishō Canon:

a. Kumārajīva (鳩摩羅什, 344-413): In addition to being one of the most prolific translators of Buddhist scriptures in Chinese, Kumārajīva is generally considered the most eloquent and, in cases where there is more than one version of a scripture, his are almost invariably the ones preferred for reading, recitation and study (The Heart Sūtra is considered a rare exception, but even the core of its text was translated by him). The beauty of his translations probably did more to draw people to Buddhism in China than the work of any other person. Born to a royal family in the small kingdom of Kucha (modern Qiūcí, 龜茲) in what is now Xīnjiāng province, he was later captured as war booty, first by a Chinese warlord and later by the emperor Yao Xing (姚興) of the Later Qín Dynasty (後秦), who brought him to the capital at Cháng’ān (modern Xī’ān) in 401. Here he spent the rest of his life doing his translation work at the request of the emperor. Prominent among his over fifty extant translations are: * The Lotus Sūtra (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra, 妙法蓮華經) * The Diamond Sūtra (Vajracchedikā Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtra, 金剛般若波羅蜜經) * The Shorter Amitābha Sūtra (Sukhāvatī Vyūha Sūtra, 佛說阿彌陀經) * On the Teachings of the Layman ’Of Spotless Reputation’ (Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra, 維摩詰所說經) * Two versions of the Longer Version of Sūtra on the Deliverance of Transcendental Discernment

(Mahā Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtra) * In 8,000 lines (Aṣṭa Sāhasrikā Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtra, 小品般若波羅蜜經) * In 25,000 lines (Pañca Viṃśati Sāhasrikā Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtra, 摩訶般若波羅蜜多經)

* Nāgārjuna’s discourses establishing the Dialectical School (Madhyamaka) in India: * The Great Discourse on the Deliverance of Transcendental Discernment (Mahā Prajñā Pāramitā

Upadeśa, 大智度論) * The Discourse on the Dialectical Principle of the Middle Way (Mūla Madhyamaka Kārikā, 中論) * The Discourse on the Twelve Gateways (Dvādaśa Dvāra Śāstra, 十二門論)

* Discourse in One Hundred Stanzas (Śataka Śāstra, 百論) by Āryadeva (提婆) This school was known in China as the Three Discourses School (Sānlùn Zōng, 三論宗) based on the last

three discourses cited above (two by Nāgārjuna and one by his disciple Āryadeva), and Kumārajīva has been traditionally recognized as the founder of that school in China.

b. Xuánzàng (玄奘, 602-664) was the most prolific translator of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. A monk, scholar, traveler and translator, he remains one of the most compelling and influential figures in Chinese history. Not satisfied with the Chinese renderings of the scriptures, in 629 he embarked on a perilous journey, crossing what is now known as the Silk Road and spending sixteen years traveling throughout the Indian subcontinent, visiting many lands, collecting scriptures and studying under the great teachers of the time. In 636 he arrived at Nālandā, the most renowned Indian monastery complex of the age. Here he spent several years studying Sanskrit, formal logic and Yogācāra Buddhism under its teachers and becoming one of the most honored students in its illustrious history. Today there is a museum in Nālandā dedicated to his memory. After completing his studies at Nālandā, Xuánzàng traveled all over the Indian sub-continent, a journey involving thousands of miles. He returned to the Chinese capital of Cháng’ān (長安, modern Xi’ān, 西安) in 645 with 657 Sanskrit texts and many works of art & sacred relics. Greeted with great honors, he began a monumental project to translate the scriptures and discourses he brought back with him. This drew collaborators from all over East Asia to assist him. He devoted the rest of his life to this work until his death in 664. The team retained and supervised by Xuánzàng translating 77 scriptures in 1,335 volumes, over 10% of the entire East Asian canon (closer to 20% at the time), including definitive translations of many of the most important works in the Buddhist canon. His style was technically very precise, offering great clarity of meaning to ideas often left ambiguous by earlier translators. However, they tended to be scrupulously literal and, generally speaking, were not endowed with the literary beauty of such translators as Kumārajīva, whose works have been more sought after for recitation and inspiration. His translations are too numerous to cite here but, in addition to the definitive version of The Heart Sūtra, worth noting are: * The Long Version of the Sūtra on the Deliverance of Transcendental Discernment (Śata Sāhasrikā Prajñā

Pāramitā Sūtra, 大般若波羅蜜多經) in 100,000 lines, the largest scripture in the Buddhist canon by far. * The Great Compendium on Spiritual Science (Abhidharma Mahā Vibhāṣa Śāstra, 阿毘達磨大毘婆沙論) * Vasubandhu’s Commentary About the Collection of Verses on the Spiritual Science (Abhidharma Kośa

Bhāṣyam, 阿毘達磨俱舍論), * Definitive versions of scriptures from the School on Engaged Meditation (Yogācāra):

* The Sūtra on Understanding the Deep Mystery (Saṃdhi Nirmocana Sūtra, 解深密經)

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* The Sūtra on Grounding in the Levels of Enlightenment (Buddha Bhūmi Sūtra, 佛地經) and the Commentary on it (佛地經論)

* The Discourse of the Masters on the Levels of Grounding in the Practice of Engaged Meditation (Yogācāra Bhūmi Śāstra, 瑜伽師地論)

* Vasubandhu’s Twenty Verses & Thirty Verses on the Virtual Nature of Consciousness (Vimśatikā Vijñapti Mātratā, 唯識二十論 & Triṃśikā Vijñapti Mātratā, 唯識三十論頌)

* The Discourse on Realizing There is Only the Virtual Nature of Consciousness, (Vijñapti Matratā Siddhi, 成唯識論)

* Asaṅga’s Summary of the Greater Vehicle Doctrine (Mahāyāna Saṃgraha, 攝大乘論) and the commentaries on it

* Vasubandhu’s Discourse on Distinguishing Between the Mean & the Extremes (Madhyānta Vibhāga Kārikā, 辯中邊論)

Xuánzàng’s disciples Kuījī (窺基, 632–682) & Yuáncè (Korean name Wŏnch'ŭk, 圓測, 613–696) founded the Yogācāra School in East Asia based on the teachings he brought from the Nālandā Monastery. In addition to his translation of Buddhist texts, at the emperor’s request Xuánzàng composed ‘The Great Táng Dynasty Account on the Western Regions’ (大唐西域記), a record of his travels. It was the most detailed description of central Asia and the Indian subcontinent produced in the medieval period and for centuries served as the primary source of Chinese knowledge about India and Serindia, the lands that have become known as the Silk Road. It is still the richest source of information about this region during this period and has provided valuable information for archaeological discoveries in modern times. It was also the inspiration for the late sixteenth century (Míng Dynasty) novel ‘Journey to the West’ (西遊記), attributed to Wú Chéng'ēn (吳承恩). One of the classical novels of Chinese literature, it has been translated into various languages and made into movies and television series in recent times. In the novel, Xuánzàng is a reincarnation of the Golden Cicada

(金蟬子) reappearing after a 17-year absence. He is assisted on his journey by three guardians. One of them, the monkey, is a popular icon in modern Chinese culture as well as Japanese manga and anime.

c. Yìjìng (義淨, 635-713) was a monk renowned for his travels to India, his residence at the Great Monastery of Nālandā and his stay in the Buddhist kingdom of Śrī Vijaya on the island of Sumatra. He took the maritime route from Guǎngzhōu to Sumatra and India. He returned to China in 695 after 25 years and translated many Buddhist scriptures, including a version of The Heart Sūtra that is virtually the same as Xuánzàng’s but with a short coda encouraging its recitation. This version is not included in the Taishō canon.

c. Dharmacandra (法月, 653-743) was said to have come from Magadha, the place in India where the Buddha taught the scriptures on the deliverance of transcendental discernment (Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtras). After spending time in Kucha, the home of Kumārajīva, he came to the Chinese capital of Cháng’ān where he translated scriptures and was considered a master of healing and alchemy. He is the first known to translate The Heart Sūtra into Chinese using the traditional Indian format including an introduction and conclusion.

d. Amoghavajra (不空, 705–774): See footnote 46f e. Prajñā (般若, 734-c. 810) was from Kapiśa (罽賓國) in Gandhāra (near what is now Kabul in Afghanistan).

After training at the great Indian monastery at Nālandā (那爛陀寺), he traveled to the Chinese capital of Cháng’ān. In addition to other scriptures, he made a translation of the last chapter of The Sūtra on the Great Garland of Universal Enlightenment (Mahā Vaipulya Buddha Avataṃsaka Sūtra, 大方廣佛華嚴經), ‘On Entering Into the Inconceivable Sphere That is the Arena of Life’s Purpose’ (Gaṇḍa Vyūha, 入法界). It is also said that he helped devise a Siddham script for Sanskrit letters and, while living in Cháng’ān, helped teach Sanskrit to the Japanese pilgrim Kūkai during his stay from 804 to 806.

f. Prajñācakra (智慧輪 or 般若斫迦, died c. 870) was a Tantric master who came to Cháng’ān from the west and specialized in teaching Sanskrit and esoteric invocations (dhāraṇīs, 陀羅尼). He resided at the Great Temple for the Promotion of Virtue (Dàxīngshàn Sì, 大興善寺) in Cháng’ān and, around 855, was a teacher of the prominent Japanese Tendai monk Enchin (圓珍, 814–891).

g. Fǎchéng (法成, died c. 865) was an eminent Tibetan monk (Tibetan name Gö Chödrup or Mgos Chos grub) who taught in Gānzhōu (甘州, later called Zhāngyè, 張掖) and Shāzhōu, (沙州, later called Dūnhuáng, 敦煌), when they were part of the Tibetan Empire. When the Chinese took back control of the area in 848, Fǎchéng remained to continue his work. It is said he translated Chinese scriptures into Tibetan and Tibetan scriptures into Chinese, and that his translation of the Heart Sūtra was from a Tibetan version.

h. Danāpalā (施護, died c. 1017) was a Tantric master from Udyāna, now the Swat District of Pakistan. Upon arriving in China, he led a bureau that translated over a hundred Buddhist scriptures at the request of the Sòng Dynasty emperor Tàizōng (太宗). This included the seminal Tantric work, Summary of the Principles of All the Enlightened Beings That Have Descended Into This World (Sarva Tathāgata Tattva Saṃgraha, 佛說一切如來真實攝大乘現證三昧大教王經), the only time it was translated into Chinese in its entirety.

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2. The Scriptures on the Deliverance of Transcendental Discernment (Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtras, 般若波羅蜜經) are a genre of Buddhist scriptures that first arose around the beginning of the common era and marked the beginning of the greater vehicle (Mahāyāna, 大乘) school of Buddhism. By legend they were said to have been taught by the historical Buddha to his closest disciples but, because the world was not yet ready for them, were hidden until Nāgārjuna (龍樹) discovered them in an underwater cave guarded by dragons (nāgas, 龍). They are said to have originally been composed as a correction to the excesses of earlier schools of Buddhism that stressed the real existential nature of purposes (dharmaḥ, 諸法) as opposed to the empty nature of self-centered existence (ātman, 我), serving especially as an antidote to the views of the predominant School on the Real Existence of All Purposes (Sarvāstivāda, 一切有部). The cardinal doctrines of the scriptures on the deliverance of transcendental discernment included penetration of the nature of emptiness (śūnyatā, 空) through the dialectical principle of the middle way (madhyamā pratipad, 行中道) and the ideal of ‘the being awakened to life’s greater purpose’ (bodhisattva, 菩薩) who practices spiritual deliverance (pāramitā, 波羅蜜) over the ideal of ‘the worthy being (arhat, 阿羅漢)’ who has attained complete freedom from affliction (nirvāṇa, 涅槃). It is generally believed the ‘long versions’ of the scriptures on the deliverance of transcendental discernment are among the oldest, and the shorter ones are in many cases distillations or the older ones (in some cases found within them), with the 8,000 line version probably having the oldest content. Among the Longer Versions there are the following redactions: * In 8,000 lines (Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, 小品般若波羅蜜經), translated by Kumārajīva * In 25,000 lines (Pañcaviṃśati Sāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, 摩訶般若波羅蜜多經), also by Kumārajīva * In 100,000 lines (Śatasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, 大般若波羅蜜多經) translated by Xuánzàng

3. Short biographies of the interpreters of The Heart Sūtra found in the Taishō Canon:

a. Kuījī (窺基, 632–682) was one of Xuánzàng’s leading disciples and the founder of the Yogācāra school in China based on his teachings. Kuījī worked closely with Xuánzàng on the seminal Discourse on Realizing There is Only the Virtual Nature of Consciousness (Vijñapti Matratā Siddhi, 成唯識論) and wrote several commentaries on it, including ‘Notes on the Discourse’ (成唯識論述記) and ‘Essentials of the Discourse in the Palm of One’s Hand’ (成唯識論掌中樞要), which became foundations of this school. He also wrote commentaries on other Yogācāra works as well as many Buddhist scriptures from a Yogācāra perspective including The Heart Sūtra, The Lotus Sūtra, The Shorter Sūtra of the Buddha of Infinite Life, The Diamond Sūtra, The Sūtra on the Teachings of the Layman ‘Of Spotless Reputation’ (Vimalakīrti) and others.

b. Yuáncè (圓測, 613–696) was a leading disciple of Xuánzàng. From Korea (Korean name Wonch’uk), he wrote the first commentary on The Heart Sūtra, emphasizing that it did not just include Madhyamaka teachings but those of the Yogācāra school as well. He would have great influence on Tibetan Buddhism through his commentary on the key Yogācāra Sūtra ‘On Understanding the Deep Mystery (Saṃdhi Nirmocana Sūtra, 解深密經), which lays out ‘the three turns in the wheel’ of the Buddha’s teachings as they evolved in India.

c. Fǎzáng (法藏, 643–712) grew up in the capital city of Cháng’ān but his family was from Sogdiana (康居國), around what is now Samarkand. He is said to have worked on Xuánzàng’s translation team as a young monk but then became a follower of Zhìyǎn (智儼), considered the second founder of the school based on The Garland (Avataṃsaka) Sūtra, (C. Huáyán Zōng 華嚴宗). Settling in the Zhōngnán Mountains (終南山) south of the capital, Fǎzáng became one of the most influential monks in China, establishing an especially close relationship with the Empress Wǔ Zétiān (武則天). This relationship led to his school becoming one of the most predominant in China, particularly after Wǔ Zétiān reached the peak of her power on the throne in 690. In addition to his commentary on The Heart Sūtra (translated in this work), Fǎzáng wrote a number of influential commentaries on the Garland Sūtra & its principles. Some of his illustrations of these principles are especially enduring, including his ‘Dialogue on a House and its Rafters’ found at the end of volume four of his ‘Passages on the Different Distinctions of Meaning in the Universal Vehicle’ (華嚴一乘教義分齊章) and his ‘Essay on a Golden Lion’ (金師子章), said to be based on a lecture he gave to the Empress Wǔ Zétiān at her request. These illustrations are said to explain the sūtra’s deep principles in ways that a layperson can understand. English translations of them are found in Appendices N & O.

d. Shīhuì (師會, 1102-1166) was a master of the school based on the Garland (Avataṃsaka) Sūtra, (C. Huáyán Zōng 華嚴宗) during the Song Dynasty who wrote several commentaries on that school’s principles.

e. Zōnglè (宗泐, 1318-1391) was a Meditation (Chán, 禪) master who, wrote commentaries on The Heart Sūtra, The Diamond Sūtra and the Sūtra on the Buddha’s Descent into Śrī Laṅka (Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, 楞伽經).

f. Chikō (智光, 709-781) was master of the Japanese Dialectical (Madhyamaka) School (Sanron Shū, 三論宗) based at in Horyu-ji Monastery in Nara. He wrote the first Japanese commentaries on The Heart Sūtra and the Longer Pure Land Sutra as well as a commentary on The Sūtra on the Teachings of Vimalakīrti.

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g. Kūkai (空海, 774–835) was the founder of the Mantra School (Shingon Shū, 眞言宗), the Japanese version of the Chinese Esoteric School (Mìjiào Zōng, 密教宗). Born to an aristocratic family and given an education in Confucian philosophy, Kūkai turned to Buddhism in his early twenties after his family came on hard times. In 804, probably because of his fluency in Chinese, Kūkai took part in a government-sponsored expedition to China to learn more about Buddhist Tantric teachings and practices, which were already very influential there. Traveling to the capital city of Cháng’ān, he was granted a residence at the Monastery of the Western Light (Xīmíng Sì, 西明寺) where he studied Chinese Buddhism and had an opportunity to learn Sanskrit from the Gandhāran monk Prajñā (般若, 734–c.810) who, in addition to being one of the translators of The Heart Sūtra, had been educated at the famed Indian Monastery at Nālandā. In 805 Kūkai met the Tantric Master Huìguǒ (惠果, 746–805, ) who initiated him into the esoteric Buddhism traditions at the Blue Dragon Monastery (Qīnglóng Sì, 青龍寺). After Huìguǒ’s death, Kūkai returned to Japan in 806, having studied Buddhism, Tantric rituals, Sanskrit, Siddhaṃ script, calligraphy and poetry, all with recognized masters. In 816, the Emperor Saga accepted Kūkai's request to establish a mountain retreat at Mount Kōya, where the Mantra School eventually became one of the leading schools in the Heian Period (平安時代, 794 to 1185). Kūkai is not only remembered for his contributions as a teacher and scholar of Buddhism, but also for his innovations in the fields of education, linguistics, poetry, calligraphy, art, sculpture, music and architecture. In fact, he is said to have invented the two phonetic alphabets (hiragana & katakana) still used in Japan in conjunction with Chinese characters (kanji, 漢字). He was one of the cultural giants in Japanese history.

h. Saisen (濟暹, 1025–1115) was a prominent monk of the Mantra School who wrote a number of commentaries elaborating on Kūkai’s works, including his Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra. He also endeavored to integrate Shingon and Pure Land teachings and practices.

i. Kakuban (覺鍐, 1095–1143) furthered this effort to integrate Pure land teachings into the Shingon School. In addition to writing several works on the esoteric aspects of Pure Land worship, he wrote a number of commentaries elaborating on Kūkai’s works, including his Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra. At 36, he assumed leadership of the order and tried to initiate reforms but resigned after facing opposition from fellow monks. Kakuban’s innovations ultimately led some of his followers to establish of a new branch of that school that became known as the Reformed Mantra School (Shingi Shingon Shū, 新義真言宗) and exists to this day.

4. Different schools of Buddhism:

A. Indian Buddhism: is said to have evolved through ‘the three turns of the wheel’. 1. The early schools of Buddhism are largely beyond the scope of this work, but an early schism divided the

followers of the Buddha into a more liberal School of the Majority (Mahā Saṃghika, 大眾部) and a more conservative School of the Elders (Sthaviravāda, 上座宗), originally over issues regarding strictness in the observance of moral rules. The more liberal wing had greater appeal to lay followers and developed ideas that eventually led to the greater vehicle school (Mahāyāna, 大乘) while the School of the Elders was more oriented towards monastic life and developed many of the teachings about the spiritual science (Abhidharma, 阿毘達) that were the fruits of their meditation practice and would characterize early Buddhism. The School of the Elders eventually branched out into many schools but it was the School on the Real Existence of All Purposes (Sarvāstivāda, 有部 or 薩婆多) that would constitute the furthest development in this direction, considering the self-centered existence (ātman, 我) to be the cause of all suffering and empty of any reality while only purposes (dharmaḥ, 諸法) themselves discovered through introspective meditation had such an existential nature (svabhāva, 自性 or 體). Although the exact number of purposes varied from school to school, the same basic infrastructure was found in all of them. In the School on the Real Existence of All Purposes they included 75 kinds: 1. Conditional purposes

a. Form, particularly the sensory and mental faculties and their objects (11 kinds) b. Consciousness projected as vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell & thought (1 kind)

and the mental states directly associated with them 1. Motive forces in all mental states

a. Emotional feeling (1 kind) b. Mental association (1 kind) c. Other motive forces found in all mental states (8 kinds)

2. Virtuous motive forces (10 kinds) 3. Unwholesome motive forces (18 kinds) 4. Uncategorized motive forces, those not defined by the first three (8 kinds)

c. Motive forces not directly associated with the mind (14 kinds) 2. Unconditional purposes; empty space, the transcendental nature & nirvāṇa (3 kinds)

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2. The School on the Dialectical Principle of the Middle Way (Madhyamaka, 中觀宗) was a major departure from previous Buddhist schools, marking the onset of the Greater Vehicle (Mahāyāna, 大乘) teachings that go beyond the pursuit of freedom from affliction on an individual basis that can lead to attachment to virtues attained or discernments of purpose discovered during meditation. All beliefs (dṛṣṭi, 見) contain a measure of truth and a measure of illusion. At first, they can seem completely true, especially when backed by desire and emotion. After honest reflection they are contextualized as only being a partial explanation of reality. Ultimately there is realization that they are just distortions of this reality, revealing but a sliver of truth. In penetrating the dialectical principle that opens the door to life’s transcendental nature (bhūta tathatā, 眞如) there is an ever-greater sense of its purpose to deliver freedom from affliction to all sentient beings. This school was founded by Nāgārjuna (龍樹, c. 150-250) and based on the scriptures about the Deliverance of Transcendental Discernment (Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtras, 般若波羅蜜多經). These teachings about the dialectical principle and the nature of emptiness stressed realization of this transcendental nature, or ‘nature of purpose’ (dharmatā, 法性), through turning away from that which is narrow and shallow and facing that which is broad and deep. This entailed getting beyond the relatively selfish goal of attaining one’s own freedom from affliction and instead vowing to deliver all sentient beings everywhere before attaining final enlightenment for oneself. This is the orientation of the bodhisattva, one awakening to an ever-higher sense of purpose. Where earlier teachings emphasized the real existential nature of the purposes discovered through introspective meditation, it was revealed that these are really only hypothetical constructs imagined by the mind and without any real existential nature of their own. Instead of being real, they were said to be endowed with the nature of emptiness (śūnyatā, 空), that is, they are without any real existential nature which gives them an independent existence. They only arise dependent on each other in the transcendental matrix of causes and conditions that constitutes the spiritual realm, or transcendental sphere of purpose (dharma dhātu, 法界). However, this idea of emptiness is itself also said to be empty of any existential nature. It too does not have an existence on its own, nor is there any transcendental reality that exists apart from the phenomenal realities of identity and purpose. Identities and purposes are said to only be a hypothetical reality (saṃvṛti satya, 世俗諦) that helps one live in the conventional world. The ultimate reality (paramārtha satya, 眞諦) is said to be empty of any such real, existential nature. Nāgārjuna followed this logic to its ultimate conclusion, explaining that all the conditions that directly cause the arising of consciousness are endowed with this nature of emptiness. If purposes do not really exist by themselves and only arise dependent on one another, how can such non-existing purposes cause ‘others’ to come into being? And if nothing has its own existential nature (svabhāvatā, 自性), how can there be anything with an ‘other’ nature (parabhāva, 他性), something dependent for its existence on the arising of an ‘other’, if it too is without its own existential nature? Furthermore, if purposes have neither their own-nature nor an other-nature, how can they really be said to have either existence (bhāva, 有) or non-existence (abhāva, 無)? * Conventionally, we perceive the objects we are aware of. However, their reality as separate objects

is only experiential, not an ontological reality that independently exists outside the mind. * The ultimate reality is transcendental, a dialectic beyond the hypothetical constructs of self and

other, existence and non-existence, distinctions only produced by speculations of the imagination. Through this dialectical principle, one may penetrate beyond the extremes that prevent comprehension

of this transcendental nature. These extremes include: * Views about identity or purpose being real or eternal (śāśvata dṛṣṭi, 常見), holding that they have an

existential nature; This includes those put forward by theists who believe in birth of the existence of an eternal soul (with a moral purpose and destiny) and materialists who believe only in the real existence of matter, atoms or the like (without such a purpose and destiny). Clinging to beliefs in these things (identities and purposes) inevitably results in disillusionment and suffering.

* The nihilistic view that identity and purpose end forever upon death (uccheda dṛṣṭi, 斷見), holding that ultimately there is no nature of purpose and therefore ultimately it is not necessary to be responsible for one's actions.

The dialectical principle of the mean mediates between an eternal nature of existentialism and the nihilism of nothingness. In explaining the transcendental nature of life’s purpose, this dialectical school necessarily used language to reveal the limits of the discursive mind. However, ultimate reality cannot really be depicted by words or mental constructs. This creates a tension, because words and mental constructs are needed to communicate any teachings about this transcendental reality to the mind. This dynamic tension of the dialectic between that which can be expressed and that which is beyond expression must ever be kept in mind in comprehending the dialectical principle of the middle way, a logical tightrope spanning the limits between the distinctions of the discursive mind (vikalpa, 分別)

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and transcendental discernment (prajñā, 般若 or 慧) of life’s purpose. Although this dialectical school was largely a reaction to earlier developments of the spiritual science and regarded purposes as just mental constructs with a hypothetical reality for use in the conventional world, it also delved deeply into the spiritual science and its examination of the various kinds of purposes of the mind as the means to attain introspection and freedom from affliction. It is just that its comprehension of them is more refined due to its explanation of their transcendental nature and freedom from the extremes of duality found in views of existentialism and nihilism. In terms of practice: * Previous schools of Buddhism employed meditation on the four truths as the primary means to

comprehend the noble path and so attain freedom from affliction as students of life’s purpose learning about it through the words of others or through a self-reflection that is beyond words.

* The dialectical school employed practice of six kinds of spiritual deliverance led by the deliverance of transcendental discernment of purpose (prajñā pāramitā, 般若波羅蜜多). Deliverance here was a reference to not just reaching the other shore of spiritual freedom (nirvāṇa, 涅槃) from the afflictions found on this shore of the life and death struggle (saṃsāra, 生死), but also serving as the captain of a ferry, ever returning to this world to help carry fellow sentient beings to the other shore of spiritual freedom rather than just selfishly seeking emancipation for oneself.

3. The School on Engaged Meditation (Yogācāra) initially developed as a correction to the nihilistic extreme

of there being no existential nature that was a result of an improper understanding about the nature of emptiness as taught by the Dialectical School (Madhyamaka, 中觀宗). In this school, although identity and purpose are both just hypothetical constructs, there still remains the real existential nature found within consciousness itself, even though consciousness itself (vijñāna, 識) only has a virtual nature. Being only found within, it is ever arising and perishing in each moment and the choices being made in the here and now. It is also called ‘the condition that directly causes the arising of consciousness’ (hetu pratyaya, 因緣). Through the reciprocal and mutually dependent relationship between seeds of memory rising up from the well of the subconscious mind and their conditioning (‘perfuming’) by the actions of the conscious mind, there is this real, existential nature of life and death. Everything else is just empty speculation. Although it is really without any identity or purpose, this existential nature is the springboard for all the projections of identity and purpose that are imagined. These speculations are only hypothetical, based on the value they have for sentient existence and the use to which they are put. However, through an ever-deeper transcendental knowledge (jñāna, 智) of this existential nature, there is grounding in the ever-higher sense of purpose through which bodhisattvas engage in the work of bringing meaningful benefits and the bliss of contentment to sentient beings. Here: 1. Meaningful benefits refers to bodhi, awakening to this higher sense of purpose. 2. The bliss of contentment refers to nirvāṇa, freedom from affliction.

This grounding in the transcendental nature of life’s purpose entails a knowledge of the virtual nature of the inner mind in the existential sphere of life and death with an ever-deeper and broader sense of its purpose as the means to actions here and now that will lead to its accomplishment. This doctrine was taught in the fully developed scriptures on the greater track of spiritual awakening and by the founding teachers of the School on the Practice of Engaged Meditation such as Asaṅga, Vasubandhu and others.

Where earlier schools believed that form, motive forces not directly associated with the mind and unconditional purposes were external to the mind, the School on Engaged Meditation posited that these were all part of the virtual nature of consciousness and so their understanding of the infrastructure of the mind and its purposes was radically different. They delineated a sphere of 100 purposes as follows: 1. Consciousness, in eight projections, five sensory and three mental (8 kinds)

a. Conditional purposes 1. Form, particularly the sensory and mental faculties and their objects (11 kinds) 2. Motive forces directly associated with the mind

a. Motive forces found in all mental states 1. Emotional feeling (1 kind) 2. Mental association (1 kind) 3. Other motive forces found in all mental states (3 kinds)

b. Motive forces that distinguish specific objects (5 kinds) c. Virtuous motive forces (11 kinds) d. Unwholesome motive forces (26 kinds) e. Motive forces associated with the mind not defined by the first four (4 kinds)

3. Motive forces not directly associated with the mind (24 kinds) b. Unconditional purposes; empty space, the transcendental nature, etc. (6 kinds)

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Other innovations of the School on Engaged Meditation included: a. The eight projections of consciousness (aṣṭābhir vijñānaiḥ, 八識): Earlier forms of Buddhism only

posited the existence of six projections of consciousness (vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch and thought) but the Yogācāra teachings further unpacked the sixth, consciousness of thought (mano vijñāna, 意識) based on alignment of the thinking mind (manas, 意) with purposes (dharma, 法), into three projections of consciousness, resulting in there being eight projections in all: 1.-5. The five sensory kinds of consciousness (pañca vijñāna, 五識), vision, hearing, touch, taste and

smell, are directed outward, the same as before. These five are only occasionally active. 6. The consciousness distinguishing imagined objects (mano vijñāna, 意識), projected outwards,

is often active, producing the various distinctions made among sensory and mental perceptions. 7. The deliberation and calculation of self-interest (manas, 末那) among these objects is projected

inwards. It is almost always active, with its identity of ‘self’ defined as the subconscious store of memory.

8. The subconscious store of memory (ālaya vijñāna, 藏識) is the deepest level of consciousness. From birth it is adopted (ādāna, 阿陀那) as the identity of the self and inseparable from the body and its survival instinct. Because of this, it is always active as long as one is still alive. It contains the ‘seeds’ (bījaḥ, 諸種子) of habitual forces (vāsanā, 熏習) that are of two kinds:

a. Seeds that are primordial and pre-exist by nature (anādi bījaḥ, 本有種子) b. Seeds ever arising anew on being conditioned or ‘perfumed’ (prārambha bīja, 始起種子) (by ‘nurture’)

These seeds condition future behavior through their interaction with the other seven evolving projections (pravṛtti vijñāna, 轉識). This interaction between the subconscious and conscious aspects of the mind is the timeless condition of direct and immediate causality (here & now) in the arising of consciousness (hetu pratyaya, 因緣).

b. The habitual forces (vāsanā, 熏習) arising from the subconscious as a result these seeds are of three kinds (also see footnote 11 for the eleven kinds of virtual consciousness (vijñapti, 表) they project): 1. Those arising through verbalizing mental images/constructs (abhilāpa vāsanā, 名言熏習) 2. Those arising through beliefs about identity or ‘self’ (ātma dṛṣṭi vāsanā, 我見熏習) 3. Those arising through links of continuous existence (bhavāṅga vāsanā, 有支習氣) over time

c. The apparent continuity of existence of time as duration is simulated by three kinds of conditions: 1. Conditions in the present that are similar to those immediately connected with the past

(samanantara pratyaya, 等無間緣) 2. Conditions objectively before consciousness in the present (ālambana pratyaya, 所緣緣):

This differs from the direct cause (here & now) in that there is a duality of subject & object. 3. Conditions in the present that will prevail in the future (adhipati pratyaya, 增上緣)

d. The virtual nature of consciousness (vijñapti, 表 or 施設) is the simulation of reality that is a result of the projections of identity and purpose produced by this nature of consciousness (see footnote 11). Believing in the reality of imagined projections of self-centered existence is the cause of affliction.

e. The three-fold existential nature of consciousness (tri svabhāvatā, 三自性) is the manifestation of identity and purpose created by this virtual nature of consciousness. It is in three parts: 1. Clinging to entirely imagined speculations (parikalpita svabhāvatā, 遍計所執自性) corresponds

with the mind that distinguishes objects (mano vijñāna, 意識). 2. Depending on the arising of another condition (paratantra svabhāvatā, 依他起性) corresponds with

the mind that deliberates and calculates self-interest (manas, 末那). 3. Perfectly comprehending transcendental reality (pariniṣpanna svabhāvatā, 圓成實性) corresponds

with the subconscious store of memory (ālaya vijñāna, 藏識). f. The absence of a three-fold existential nature (tri vidhā niḥsvabhāvatā, 三無自性) in identity & purpose;

This is realizing the empty (‘only virtual’) nature of identity and purpose in three parts: 1. Their defining characteristic (lakṣaṇa, 相) is unreal; By definition, clinging to imagined speculation

(parikalpita, 遍計所執) is attachment to illusions (viparyāsa, 顛倒) that are not real. 2. Their arising and perishing (utpatti, 生) is unreal; That which is impermanent and depends on

the arising of an ‘other’ is without a real existential nature of its own. This is a reference to the absence of an existential nature in anything that arises and then perishes.

3. Their ultimate meaning (paramārtha, 勝義) is unreal; Perfect comprehension of transcendental reality (pariniṣpanna, 圓成自) is without any existential nature (paramārtha niḥsvabhāvatā, 勝義無性) that can be separately distinguished from all things.

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g. The embryonic nature of enlightenment (tathāgata garbha, 藏) is the capacity for a knowledge of the transcendental nature that is freed from affliction, beyond attachments to the closed loop of self- centered existence and endowed with a higher sense of purpose. It is ripened in the womb (pure land) of its environment, opening up the door to the stages of the noble path (see footnote 16).

h. The ten levels of grounding in the transcendental nature (daśa bhūmi, 十地) are where the obstacles of cognitive dissonance (jñeya āvaraṇa, 所知障) on the noble path are eliminated (see footnote 7D).

i. The restoration of the spiritual foundation (āśraya parāvṛtti, 轉依) of consciousness (vijñāna, 識) transforms its eight projections into four kinds of transcendental knowledge (catvāri jñānāni, 四智): a. Knowledge of the perfect mirror of life’s greater purpose (mahā ādarśa jñāna, 大圓鏡智). b. Knowledge of it with the nature of equanimity (samatā jñāna, 平等性智) c . Its observation with subtly compassionate discernment (pratyavekṣana jñāna, 妙観察智) d. Knowledge of its accomplishment (kṛtyānuṣṭhāna jñāna, 成所作智)

j. Realization that there is only the virtual nature of consciousness (vijñapti mātratā siddhi, 成唯識) & the five-fold grounding of enlightenment (pañca buddha bhūmi, 五佛地) - This is grounding in #1-4 the four transcendental kinds of knowledge described above & #5 the existential nature of the sphere of life’s purpose (dharma dhātu svabhāva, 法界體性), in which are found the transcendental vows of the Buddha’s spiritual life.

k. The threefold spiritual life (trikāya, 三身) of the Buddha transcends life & death in this world through: a. The transcendental vows of the Buddha’s spiritual life (dharma kāya, 法身) b. The grace of the Buddha’s spiritual life that descends into this world to bless those who accept it

through faith and employ it through practice (sambhoga kāya, 報身 or 受用身) c. The apparent manifestations of the Buddha’s spiritual life that spiritually transform sentient beings

through thoughts, words and deeds (nirmāṇa kāya, 變化身)

B. East Asian Buddhism: 1. The different Indian Schools of Buddhism at first were gradually absorbed and established in China.

a. The early schools of Indian Buddhism were quickly subsumed by the greater vehicle teachings. b. The Dialectical School (Madhyamaka) was largely established in the early fifth century based on

Kumārajīva’s translation of its definitive discourses by Nāgārjuna and his disciple Āryadeva, and was known as the School on the Three Discourses (三論宗).

c. The School on Engaged Meditation (Yogācāra) became established in different waves: 1. First, The School on Vasubandhu’s Commentary on the Sūtra About the Levels of Grounding in the

Transcendental Nature of Purpose (Dì Lùn Zōng, 地論宗) was established the early sixth century based on the translations of this commentary by Bodhiruci and Ratnamati. This school then became divided into northern and southern schools, based on disagreements on the distinctions between the subconscious store of memory and the embryonic nature of enlightenment.

2. Secondly, The School on Asaṅga’s Summary of the Greater Vehicle Doctrine (攝論宗) was established in the late sixth century by Paramārtha based on his translation of this ‘Summary’ (Mahāyāna Saṃgraha, 攝大乘論). In it, Paramārtha tried to resolve the questions about the embryonic nature of enlightenment by suggesting that it was distinct from the subconscious store of memory as a ninth projection of ‘pure consciousness’ (amala vijñāna, 阿摩羅識)

3. Finally, The School on There Only Being the Virtual Nature of Consciousness (唯識宗) was established in the late seventh century by Xuánzàng’s followers based on his discourse on this subject. This became the final word on the Yogācāra doctrine per se in East Asia.

2. The distinctively East Asian schools of Buddhism developed from the end of the sixth through the eighth century, first as a synthesis of the Dialectic School, The Engaged Meditation School, indigenous Chinese thought (Taoism & Confucianism) and later the importation of Indian ritual (Tantric) practices. a. The Lotus School (Tiāntāi Zōng, 天台宗) was the first truly indigenous Chinese school of Buddhism.

It developed primarily from the works of Zhìyǐ (智顗, 538–597) who integrated the Madhyamaka teachings with those of the Yogācāra School of Paramārtha into the ‘perfect doctrine’ (圓教) in his ‘Greatness of Introspection With Stillness of Mind’ (Móhē Zhǐguān, 摩訶止観) based on The Lotus Sūtra (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra, 妙法蓮華經). Although it is beyond the scope of this work to describe the breadth of its teachings, its core practice included: 1. The three-fold observation of the single mind (一心三觀 or 一心三智) 2. Its application in ‘the three thousand aspects of life’s purpose in a single moment’ (一念三千) 3. Its application through ‘the natural grace of the Buddha’s three-fold spiritual life’ (無作三身)

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1. The three-fold observation of a single mind (一心三觀 or 一心三智): This is cultivating the practice of introspective meditation with stillness of mind (śamatha vipaśyanā, 止觀) until the three truths are perfectly blended (三諦圓融), with the nature of emptiness (śūnyatā, 空), the temporary existence of mental constructs (prajñapti, 假) & the dialectical principle of the mean (madhyama pratipad, 中行) all becoming inseparable from one another. This three-as-one transcendental principle (tathatā, 理) is then applied in all the phenomena (vastu, 事) found in the sphere of life’s purpose (dharma dhātu, 法界) through the principle of their mutual possession (anyonya aśritatva, 性具 or 互具), a further development of the arising of mutually dependent conditions (pratītya samutpāda 緣起).

2. Its application as the three thousand (or billion) aspects of life’s purpose in a single moment of thought (一念三千): This describes how all the phenomena in the transcendental nature of life’s purpose are beheld through the three-fold observation of a single mind. a. The ten-fold spiritual realm is the transcendental moral universe invested with a hierarchy of

purposes, including all the spiritual destinies found in sentient existence: a. The six paths of lower destinies are caused by affliction. In accord with the three-as-one principle, the first three are endowed with evil and the second three with virtues.

1. The sufferings of hell (naraka gati, 地獄趣) are attachments to unpleasant feelings motivated by the hatred found in aversions and disgust. 2. The brutality of beasts (tiragyoni gati, 畜生趣) are attachments to feelings of selfish indifference motivated by the delusions in ignorance of a purpose beyond one’s own. 3. The demons of hunger (preta gati, 餓鬼趣) are attachments to pleasant feelings motivated by the greed found in cravings and appetites. 4. The competition among egos (asura gati, 阿修羅趣) manages unpleasant feelings through the motivations of pride and jealousy. 5. The social interaction among humans (manuṣya gati, 人趣) manages feelings of selfish indifference through reasonable doubt (about both pride & belief in a higher being). 6. The contentment of heaven (deva gati, 天趣) manages pleasant feelings through belief in a higher being.

b. The next three destinies are caused by attaining freedom from affliction and awakening to a higher sense of purpose. These are the three vehicles found in the third chapter of The Lotus Sūtra illustrating the three-as-one principle in terms of attaining enlightenment.

7. Students of the noble path (śrāvakas, 聲聞) are followers who seek the bliss of freedom from affliction through the words of others about the nature of life’s true purpose. 8. Self-enlightened beings (pratyeka buddhas, 縁覺) are those who realize the bliss of freedom from affliction through self-reflection, neither following nor leading others. 9. Spiritually awakened sentient beings (bodhisattvas, 菩薩) are leaders who are motivated by vows of compassion and a higher sense of purpose to deliver meaningful benefits and the bliss of freedom from affliction to sentient beings.

c. In perfectly blending the first nine (as three) with the one transcendental nature of life’s purpose and the ultimate spiritual freedom, there is fulfillment of the work of the Buddha.

10. Perfectly enlightened beings (Buddhas, 佛) completely fulfill these vows. Awakened to the ultimate nature of life’s purpose, they create a land (environment) in which all sentient beings attain meaningful benefits and the bliss of spiritual freedom.

b. The ten aspects of the transcendental nature (十如是) found in these ten realms include: 1. Their outer characteristics (lakṣaṇa, 相) 2. Their inner moral natures (prakṛti, 性) 3. Their existential natures (svabhāva, 體) 4. Their spiritual powers (bala, 力) 5. Their forces with karmic influence (kṛta, 作) as they impact the enviroment 6. Their direct causality (hetu, 因) which is immediately here and now 7. Their sustaining conditions (pratyaya, 緣) 8. Their immediate effects (phala, 果) here and now 9. Their final reward, or ultimate consequences (vipāka, 報) 10. Their ultimate consistency from beginning to end (本末究竟等) In terms of the three-as-one principle of mutually dependent conditions, the first triad (1-3) represents the existential nature, the second triad (4-6) is the causal aspect and the third (7-9) constitutes the effect. The last (10) represents perfect integration of these three triads as one.

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Through the principle of their mutual possession (anyonya aśritatva, 互具): * The ten spiritual realms are found within one another (10 x 10 = 100) * Each of these also possesses all ten existential aspects (10 x 10 x 10 = 1000) * These three all simultaneously occur on 3 levels; the individual level (as projections of one’s own purpose), the collective level (of society) & the global level (the land, or environment). * These three levels can also be understood as forming a billion-fold realm, as in 10003.

These are all found in a single timeless moment (eka kṣaṇa, 一念) of the transcendental nature of life’s purpose. This means that, in a single moment of devoted remembrance, they are all inseparably integrated together as one and found within one another and every sentient being.

3. Its application as the three-fold spiritual life of the Buddha that does not need to be produced (無作三身). The grace found in this transcendental nature of enlightenment enters into sentient beings

beyond intentional acts of will power. The Lotus Sūtra is contextualized as being (along with the Nirvāṇa Sūtra) associated with the end of the Buddha’s life in this world and, accordingly, the second half (particularly the sixteenth chapter) explains the descent of the three-fold

spiritual life of the Buddha that transcends life and death in this world (its complement, the arising of the embryonic nature of this enlightenment (tathāgata garbha, 如來藏) from within spiritually awakened sentient beings (bodhisattvas, 菩薩), is addressed in chapter fifteen). In his Words & Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra (妙法蓮華經文句), Zhìyǐ explains the seamless integration of this three-fold spiritual life in terms of the principle of the three-fold observation of a single mind. These ‘three-as-one’ (mutually dependent) aspects are:

a. The transcendental vows of the Buddha’s spiritual life (dharma kāya, 法身) b. The grace of the Buddha’s spiritual life (sambhoga kāya, 報身 or 受用身) that descends into this world to bless those who accept it through faith and employ it through practice c. The apparent manifestations of the Buddha’s spiritual life (nirmāṇa kāya, 變化身) that spiritually transform sentient beings through thoughts, words and deeds

b. The Garland School (Huáyán Zōng 華嚴宗) was built on the principles of mutual inclusion laid out by Zhìyǐ, which are also found in The Sūtra on the Great Garland of Universal Enlightenment (Mahā Vaipulya Buddha Avataṃsaka Sūtra, 大方廣佛華嚴經). While the Lotus Sūtra is set at the close of the Buddha’s life in this world, The Garland Sūtra is set at the moment of enlightenment, when he first awakened to the mutually dependent nature in the arising of the conditions of life’s purpose. This sūtra goes into exhaustive detail on the construction of the countless different stages of the bodhisattva practice and how they are all integrated into a seamless whole through the Buddha’s grace that is endowed with the nature of emptiness. Throughout the sūtra there is a seemingly endless description of how they all interpenetrate, contain and involve each other, usually framed in sets of tens. Ten was deemed a perfect number because it expressed the many different mutually dependent aspects of a single principle while facilitating the remembrance of these aspects by the counting of them on one’s fingers (as in the global adoption of the base ten numbering system). The principles of this school were first laid out by Dùshùn (557–640, 杜順) but were especially developed by the third founder of the school, Fǎzáng (法藏, 643–712), whose commentary of The Heart Sūtra is included in the present work. The mutually dependent arising of conditions of enlightenment (tathāgata gotra saṃbhava, 如來藏性起) between the transcendental nature (tathatā, 理) of grace descending into this world and the phenomenal reality (vastu, 事) rising up from the subconscious mind (ālaya vijñāna, 阿賴耶識) was also called the seamless interpenetration of transcendental discernment and compassion, the nature of emptiness and the constructs of sentient existence. This interplay in the transcendental sphere of life’s purpose (dharma dhātu, 法界) was understood to all occur in a single timeless moment of thought and be endowed with four aspects: * Its phenomena (事法界) were likened to waves. * Its transcendent dialectical principle (理法界) was likened to water. * The seamless mutual interdependence of transcendental principle and phenomenal aspects

(理事無礙法界) was likened to the perfect mutual interpenetration & identity of water & waves. * The seamless mutual interdependence between its various phenomenal aspects (事事無礙法界)

was likened to the interdependence and identity of all phenomena in Indra’s net, in which all of the jewels connecting its strings are perfectly reflected and included within one another.

These interpenetrating conditions of life’s true purpose are said to have six aspects of mutual dependence and there were said to be ten profound doors into meditation on them. See appendices M, N, O & P for celebrated illustrations of these teachings that were made by Dùshùn and Fǎzáng.

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c. The Esoteric or Mantra School (C. Mìjiào Zōng, 密教宗 or J. Shingon Shū, 真言宗) was the last form of Buddhism to arrive from India. Unlike the Lotus and Garland Schools, it cannot truly be said that it was indigenous to China. Rather, it combined the richly colorful theatricality of Hindu ritual practices with the teachings of earlier forms of greater vehicle Buddhism. At heart, this school emphasized the cultivation of practices over ‘doctrines’, the metaphysical and epistemological understandings of earlier schools. Although the roots of these ritual practices in Buddhism are at least as old as the greater vehicle teachings themselves and the use of invocations began to appear among the earliest schools of Buddhism (e.g. the Dharmaguptaka Schhol, 法藏部;), the systematic employment of mnemonic (mindfulness-inducing) devices such as invocations (mantras, 眞言 & dhāranīs, 陀羅尼), visualized spiritual maps (maṇḍalas, 曼荼羅), iconic objects of worship (adhidevas, 本尊) and gesticulations (mudrās, 手印) with ritual implements (bhāṇḍa, 具) did not really come into its own until the latter part of the seventh century and especially the eighth and ninth centuries. These practices were designed to more quickly and powerfully arouse faith and meditative resolve (samādhi, 三昧) on the bodhisattva path, penetrating the subconscious mind through prayer and employing the power of suggestion through visions (darśana, 見) and the subliminal nature of sound (śruta vāsanā, 聞熏習).

Three other schools of East Asian Buddhism are worthy of note here. They are designed to emphasize faith over knowledge, practice over metaphysical or epistemological understandings of doctrines, simplicity of practice over elaborate rituals and the spiritual needs of the laity and ordinary sentient beings over the realizations of monastics and elites. e. The Meditation School (Chán Zōng, 禪宗) emphasized the practice of meditation over doctrinal

understandings, claiming to be a spiritual transmission of sudden awakening outside of the scriptures that does not rely upon words. There are different methodologies within this school, and most in fact adopt the teachings from other schools in accordance with their interests.

d. The Pure Land School (Jìngtǔ Zōng, 淨土宗) emphasized attaining meditative resolve through faith and prayer, and turning one’s life over to the higher power of grace descending from transcendental vows of the Buddha’s spiritual life through calling on the Buddha by name.

f. The Nichiren School (Nichiren Shū, 日蓮宗) emphasized the attainment of meditative resolve through faith and prayer, and turning one’s life over to the other, higher power of grace that descends from the words of the Lotus Sūtra, particularly from acceptance and employment of the words of its title.

The most prevalent form of Buddhism in modern times tends to be an amalgam of practice that draws from these latter schools based on faith and meditation, however they still turn to the doctrinal schools for deeper understanding of Buddhist principles. After all, they all are ultimately just different aspects of the same teaching about awakening to the true nature of life’s purpose.

5. The five projections of purpose (skandha, 蘊), the twelve-fold alignment of subject & object (āyatana, 處) &

the eighteen-fold sphere of sentient existence (dhātu, 界) is a primary object of introspective meditation on the conditional purposes (saṃskṛta dharma, 有為法) of sentient existence, the infrastructure of the mind here & now. a. The five projections of purpose (pañca dharma skandha, 五法蘊) seem to continuously emanate from a

single life, simulating the illusion of a permanently separate self-centered existence. The Sanskrit ‘skandha’ refers to a point from which there is the projection of several branches from a single point, such as: * Where the neck branches into the shoulders, torso & limbs (hence ‘skandha’ may mean ‘shoulders’). * The point of a tree’s trunk where different branches split off * The divisions of a general’s army that are deployed Earlier Chinese translators (notably Kumārajīva) used the character 陰 (yīn, as in Taoist idea of yīn & yáng) which literally refers to shadows or penumbras. Xuánzàng used the character 蘊 (yùn) which literally refers to those things which are gathered together and aggregated into one (or, conversely, split from one into many). These five projections of purpose originate in the duality found between named (identified) objects distinguished in the mind (nāma, 名) & the objective reality of form (rūpa, 色) as a whole. They consist of: #1 The projections of form (rūpa skandha, 色蘊): This includes physical matter, but it particularly refers to

the sensory faculties of physical body, the objects of sense and the alignments between them. #2 The projections of consciousness (vijñāna skandha, 識蘊) and their three associated mental states:

#3 Projections of emotional feelings (vedanā skandha, 受蘊) #4 Projections of mental associations (samjñā skandha, 想蘊) #5 Projections of other motive forces (saṃskāra skandha, 行蘊), prejudices and predispositions

It may be useful to elaborate here on the meaning of the term ‘motive forces’ (saṃskāra, 行), a term closely related in meaning and etymology to ‘conditional purposes’ (saṃskṛta dharma, 有為法).

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a. In its broadest sense, the term ‘motive force’ is virtually identical to ‘conditional purpose’, as mind and matter (consciousness and form) are certainly motivating forces. However, in distinguishing between them, motive forces are that which energize mind and matter, bringing them to life.

b. In narrowing the term somewhat, ‘motive force’ more specifically refers to those conditional purposes that energize consciousness. Some of these are said to be directly associated with the mind (samprayukta saṃskāra, 相應行) while others are only indirectly associated with it (viprayukta saṃskāra, 不相應行). Those directly associated with the mind (citta, 心) are also called its ‘mental states’ (caitta, 心所), which include its emotional feelings (vedanā, 受), its mental associations (samjñā, 想) as well as its underlying moods, attitudes, prejudices and predispositions.

c. In terms of the five projections of purpose, ‘motive forces’ is further narrowed to refer to all mental states other than emotional feelings and mental associations to emphasize the prevailing nature of these two, which are found in all mental states (sarvatraga saṃskāra, 遍行).

b. The eighteen-fold sphere of sentient existence (aṣṭadaśa dhātunāni, 十八界) consists of the six projections of consciousness (ṣaḍ vijñāna, 六識) that are based on the twelve-fold alignment between subject & object (dvādaśa āyatanāni, 十二處), that is, between the six mental and sensory faculties (ṣaḍ indriya, 六根) and their six objects (ṣaḍ viṣaya, 六根境): a. #1 Vision (cakṣuḥ vijñāna, 眼識) is based on alignment of #2 the eyes (cakṣuḥ indriya, 眼根) with

#3 visible form (rūpa, 色). b. #4 Hearing (śrotra vijñāna, 耳識) is based on alignment of #5 the ears (śrotra indriya, 耳根) with

#6 audible sounds (śabda, 音). c. #7 Taste (jihvā vijñāna, 舌識) is based on the alignment of #8 the tongue (jihvā indriya, 舌根) with

#9 flavors (rasa, 味). d. #10 Smell (ghrāṇa vijñāna, 鼻識) is based on the alignment of #11 the nose (ghrāṇa indriya, 鼻根) with

#12 odors (gandha, 香). e. #13 Touch (kāya vijñāna, 身識) is based on alignment of #14 the peripheral nervous system of the body

(kāya indriya, 身根) with #15 physical contacts (spraṣṭavya, 觸). f. #16 Thought (mano vijñāna, 意識) is based on the alignment of #17 the thinking mind (manas, 意) with #18 purposes (dharma, 法) - that is, its mental objects or objectives

While the first five sensory kinds of consciousness (pañcā vijñāna, 五識) run along the projections of physical form (rūpa skandha, 色蘊), the consciousness that distinguishes imagined objects (mano vijñāna, 意識) runs along the projections of consciousness and its mental states (vijñāna skandha, 識蘊). Sometimes these coincide and sometimes they differ. See footnote 93 for the five projections of purpose found in the unafflicted mind.

6. Affliction (āsrava, 有漏) and emotional disturbances (kleśa, 煩惱): Broadly speaking, affliction and emotional disturbances are synonymous. However, technically a distinction can be made between these terms. The following explanation is largely gleaned from Vasubandhu’s Commentary About the Collection of Verses on the Spiritual Science (Abhidharma Kośa Bhāṣyam, 倶舍論): * Affliction (āsrava, 有漏) refers the process by which emotional disturbances arise while emotional

disturbances (kleśa, 煩惱) refer to the different characteristic functions of affliction. * Affliction refers to the arising or ‘leakage’ of seeds from the subconscious to the conscious mind while

emotional disturbances are the explicit manifestations of these afflictions in the conscious mind. With cognitive development, one learns to deal with the world around one, with all of its conflicts between what is identified as self-interest, competing interests and greater purposes beyond both. The suffering from these conflicts causes emotional impacts (vedanīya karma, 受業), psychic traumas from past experiences that result in mental and emotional battle scars. These subconscious scars lead to the prejudices and predispositions that serve as survival mechanisms of defense against future anticipated conflicts. a. Affliction (āsrava, 有漏) is a reference to the dynamic process by which seeds of latent emotional disturbances

sprout, grow and ripen into conscious manifestations. According to Vasubandhu’s Commentary About the Collection of Verses on the Spiritual Science, this ripening process of consciousness (vipāka vijñāna, 異熟識) from latency to disturbance (from subconscious seeds to conscious manifestations) occurs in different steps: 1. Latency (anuśaya, 隨眠): Latent prejudices and predispositions are subtle and difficult to recognize.

These psychic scars are like seeds embedded in the subconscious memory, not yet nourished by objects in the environment and the conscious purposes they will become associated with.

2. Leakage (āsrava, 有漏): When these latent seeds are induced by the objects or objective purposes of the conscious mind, they sprout and grow, leaking through that in which they are contained, like water leaking through a cracked vessel or air escaping from a balloon. Leakage is the literal meaning of the

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Sanskrit term āsrava (有漏) and leakage of the spiritual vessel is the very nature of affliction. At first this affliction may be slight, but upon indulging in its poisonous influence, it results in an intoxication, a temporarily ecstatic feeling of release and satisfaction. With repeated stimulation, one becomes inured to its influence and builds up a tolerance for it. The crack in the vessel ulcerates and begins to bleed like a wound. As such cracks or faults open up in the healthy state of serene illumination (bhavāgra, 有頂) there is a continuous leakage or outflow towards objects to satisfy these urges. Only with effort is one able to overcome this flow. It is like trying to steer a boat against an opposing current.

3. Flooding (ogha, 暴流): As this poisonous force is further stimulated it suddenly becomes a gush or a torrent, a violent current that floods the entire zone of consciousness, including the objects in it and the whole atmosphere around them. All wholesome tendencies that would oppose this current are carried away, drowning in the flood of emotional feelings, mental associations and other motive forces.

4. Sticking (yoga, 軛 or 扼): There are habitual forces found in this poisonous outflow that have a sticky, adhesive nature. Its tentacles adhere to objects, becoming yoked or harnessed to them.

5. Knotting (grantha, 繋): Upon adhering to objects these threads of attachment form knots that intertwine with each other. Fastening onto the objects securely, escape becomes ever more difficult.

6. Attachment (upādāna, 取): The force of attachment then becomes locked on tight to the objects, anchored to them with an obstinance, clinging to them without letting go and resisting every effort to become free from them. This attachment is the immediate cause for the continuous rebirth (jāti, 生) of emotional disturbances in the conscious mind.

b. Emotional Disturbance refers to the different kinds of neuroses or psychological disorders that constitute maladjustments improperly resolving the conflict between self-interest and one’s environment and so the definition of one’s identity. These disturbances serve as obstacles that prevent the resolve of meditation. 1. Emotional disturbances can be latent (anuśaya, 隨眠) or active (kleśa, 煩惱): As latent seeds of attachment,

emotional disturbances are prejudices and predispositions existing in a repressed state of sleep in the subconscious memory. They are partially revealed in dreams, where they are not masked by external sensory perceptions. When one is awake, these seeds of affliction are stirred by objects in the environment (ālambana, 所縁), becoming conscious mental and emotional disturbances. These painful attachments are impulses that lead to actions with consequences (karmas, 業) and can cause the further trauma of emotional impacts (vedanīya karma, 受業) in a vicious cycle.

2. Active Emotional Disturbances (kleśa, 煩惱) are the conscious manifestations of these prejudicial views and predispositions of motive in one’s behavior (samudācāra, 現行), one’s thoughts, words and deeds. While the latent seeds are found in the subconscious store of memory (ālaya vijñāna, 阿賴耶識), their active states are found in the seven evolving manifestations of consciousness (pravṛtti vijñāna, 轉識): #1-#5 the five sensory kinds of consciousness (pañcā vijñāna, 五識), #7 the distinguishing of imagined objects (mano vijñāna, 意識) and the deliberation and calculation of self-interest (manas, 末那). The Sanskrit term kleśa literally means ‘pain’ or ‘distress’ - this is because the latent disturbances in the subconscious mind are only subject to feelings of indifference while the active disturbances in the conscious mind are subject to feelings of sorrow (daurmanasya, 憂) and suffering (duḥkha, 苦).

3. Enumeration of the Primary Emotional Disturbances (kleśa, 煩惱) is identical with that of their latent seeds (anuśaya, 隨眠). They are really the same phenomena, only being the latent (subconscious) and active (conscious) aspects of each other. There are different groupings, that of six and that of ten: The enumeration of six kinds includes: 1. The greed (lobha, 貪) found in cravings and appetites (rāga, 貪欲), 2. The hatred (dveṣa, 瞋) found in aversions and disgust (pratigha, 瞋恚), 3. The delusion (moha, 癡) found in the stupidity of selfish indifference (mūḍha, 愚), 4. Pride (māna, 慢), 5. Doubt (vicikitsā, 疑) and 6. Flawed beliefs (dṛg or kudṛṣṭi, 惡見). The enumeration of ten kinds is the same, except that flawed beliefs are divided into five parts: 6. False beliefs about the reality of one’s self-centered existence (satkāya dṛṣṭi, 有身見 or 薩迦耶見) 7. False beliefs attached to either of the extremes of duality (antagrāha dṛṣṭi, 邊執見) 8 False beliefs about the transcendental nature of life’s purpose (mithyā dṛṣṭi, 邪見) 9. Exaggerating the importance of beliefs, confusing subjective beliefs with objective reality (dṛṣṭi

paramārśa, 見取見) 10. Superstitious beliefs, exaggerating the importance of formalized moral rules and ritual practices,

confusing the means & ends of the noble path (śīla vrata paramārśa, 戒禁取見)

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3. The Development of Complexes - Secondary Emotional Disturbances (upakleśa, 隨煩惱). These different kinds of emotional disturbances can also be combined with each other, compounding their different qualities and forming a confluence of secondary disturbances. They are usually enumerated as twenty: #1 Anger (krodha, 忿) #2 Resentment (upanāha, 恨) #3 Concealment, inwardly through a state of denial or outwardly through hypocrisy (mrakṣa, 覆) #4 Hostility (pradāsa, 惱) #5 Jealousy (īrṣya, 嫉) #6 Stinginess (mātsarya, 慳) #7 Deceit (śāṭhya, 誑) #8 Dishonesty (māyā, 諂) #9 Cruelty (vihiṃsā, 害) #10 Arrogance (mada, 憍) #11 Lack of shame (ahrīkya, 無慚) #12 Lack of humility (anapatrāpya, 無愧) #13 The restlessness of worry (auddhatya, 掉舉) #14 Apathy (styāna, 惛沈) #15 Lack of faith (aśraddhā, 無信) in a transcendent moral purpose #16 Negligence (kausīdya, 懈怠) #17 The idleness found in lack of self-restraint (pramāda, 放逸) #18 Forgetfulness (muṣitasmṛtitā, 失念) #19 Distraction (vikṣepa, 散亂) #20 Lack of self-awareness (asamprajanya, 不正知)

4. Emotional disturbances can then develop into further complexes, such as: a. Entanglements (pari avasthāna, 纒縳), in which the various threads of these primary and secondary

disturbances become habitual flows (vāsanā, 習氣) that perpetuate themselves and become intertwined; In creating a web of evil wrapping itself around oneself and others, the immoral environment becomes even more difficult to unravel as others in the environment become involved.

b. Defilements (kleśa mala, 煩惱垢) in which the entire environment exudes a filth (mala, 垢), a foulness that permeates the atmosphere, ever perpetuating its own continuity.

7. The forty steps on the bodhisattva path are described in The Sūtra on the Ten Levels of Grounding (Daśa

Bhūmika Sūtra, 十地經), The Scripture on the Garland of Universal Enlightenment (Mahā Vaipulya Buddha Avataṃsaka Sūtra, 大方廣佛華嚴經), The Scripture on the Necklace of the Bodhisattvas’ Primary Practice (Bodhisattva Maula Prayoga Sūtra, 菩薩瓔珞本業經) and others. There are said to be four sets of ten stages: The second chapter of The Sūtra on the Lotus Blossom of Sublime Purpose (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra, 妙法蓮華經) summarizes these forty steps in the transcendental nature of the bodhisattva path as follows: “Opening it up (in the mind’s eye), ------—----------------------- through the ten-fold abode of mindful introspection

Revealing it (through one’s own life), -----------—-------------- through the ten distinguished practices of virtue Awakening it (through another), --------------------------------- through the ten-fold dedication of one’s life Entering into it (completely, beyond self and other).”——-- through the ten levels of its grounding

Opening it up in the mind’s eye: The first thirty steps in three categories constitute what are called the three

blessed (merit-producing) practices (traya bhadrā carya, 三賢): A. The Ten-fold Abode of Mindfulness on the Bodhisattva’s Purpose (daśa bodhisattva dharma upasthāna, 十菩薩法住): These ten levels of introspective meditation (vipaśyanā, 觀心) reveal the gradual awakening of the embryonic nature of enlightenment within (tathāgata garbha, 如來藏). They include: 1. The Very First Inspiration of the Awakened Mind (prathama bodhi citta utpādika, 初發心住 or

波藍耆兜波): This very first step is the inspiration of the Buddha’s original vow, the seed that is pure of affliction and ever needs to be refreshed and nurtured until it is continuous without interruption.

2. Preparing the Ground (ādhibhūmika, 治地住 or 阿闍浮): With the inner mind clear and pure like beryl, it reveals refined gold on the outside. Preparing the ground gets its name from its refinement of the initial inspiration. a. The Ground (bhūmi, 地) is the womb, the spiritual environment where the seed of inspiration is

implanted that becomes the embryo of enlightenment (tathāgata garbha, 如來藏).

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b. Preparing the Ground refers to bodhisattvas’ love of humanity, their regard for sentient beings as if they were members of their own families. In preparing the ground, bodhisattvas are able to continuously cultivate relationships with others through the four infinite states of mind - loving kindness for others (maitrī, 慈), compassion for their suffering (karuṇa, 悲), sympathetic joy for their happiness (muditā, 喜) and impartiality of mind (upekṣā, 捨).

3. Coupling, or Engagement (yogācāra, 修行住 or 渝阿闍): With inspiration of the mind and preparation of the ground, bodhisattvas can travel in any of the ten directions, penetrating obstacles and overcoming interruptions. This is cultivating the mental resolve of meditation (samādhi, 定) in order to attain discernment (prajñā, 慧) into the purpose for all things. With development of the roots of virtue (kuśala mūla, 善根), bodhisattvas penetrate the objective reality of life in this world with both discernment of purpose and compassion.

4. Conception, or Germination of the Precious Life (janmaja, 生貴住 or 闍摩期): Through their resolve, bodhisattvas are born into the lineage (gotra, 種性) of a Buddha’s house, or family (kula, 家), as seeds of its true purpose. With their practice becoming the same as that of a Buddha, they receive a measure of a Buddha’s life force (prāṇa, 氣). In seeking out their true father and mother, they deeply penetrate the power of faith. This is a reference to learning about the noble purpose of life through studying the scriptures, which are on the life and personal example of a Buddha in this world as well as the doctrines and principles that explain the true meaning of the Buddha’s spiritual life. This is the fertilization of this spiritual life, bringing the transcendental noble path into the temporal world of the past, present and future through the impartiality (upekṣā, 捨) associated with its timeless nature of purpose beyond this world. From the scriptures bodhisattvas realize that the path of all enlightened beings is the same and it is the same now as it has always been.

5. Endowment with the Preliminary Skills (pūrva yoga saṃpanna, 方便具足住 or 波渝三般): The abodes of coupling and conception (cultivation and realization) are where bodhisattvas sow the roots of countless virtuous spiritual capacities so that their own benefits benefit others. With fertilization of the spiritual life in this world there is its gestation as an embryo of enlightenment (tathāgata garbha, 如來藏) in the womb of its environment. This refers to the bodhisattvas’ moral provisioning with the skills needed to adapt to the conditions at hand. Faith entails acceptance and embrace of a provisional means to realize a greater purpose. Because the mind is weak and easily distracted by objects in the sphere of desire, it needs a single object on which it can continuously focus its attention that will ever re-awaken and renew its faith through remembrance (smṛti, 念). Upon awakening faith and the other spiritual capacities, bodhisattvas skillfully transcend these provisional skills and reveal the greater purpose beyond them. This includes both the use and the transcendence of the nature of emptiness (śūnyatā, 空性), the employment of mental constructs (prajñapti, 假有) and the dialectical principle of the middle way (madhyamā pratipad, 行中道).

6. Endowment with Conviction (adhyāśaya saṃpanna, 正心住 or 阿耆三般): With their practice in ascendancy, bodhisattvas are fully engaged in the deliverance of transcendental discernment (prajñā pāramitā, 般若波羅蜜) so that their sense of purpose is without attachments to superficial appearances or circumstances. This is a reference to sustained gestation of the embryonic nature of enlightenment through an enduring observation (kṣānti, 忍) of the bodhisattva practice.

7. No Turning Back (avinivartanīyā, 不退住 or 阿惟越致): Having realized the three means of spiritual emancipation (trīni vimokṣa mukhāni, 三解脫門), meditations on the ultimate nature of emptiness (śūnyatā mukha, 空門), the transcendence of mental images (nirnimitta mukha, 無相門) and the transcendence of any longing or striving (apranihita mukha, 無願門), their bodies and minds remain composed in a deep meditation (samāhita, 勝定) that grows stronger every day. This is the irreversible nature of spiritual gestation. Called ‘the irreversible turning of the wheel’ (avaivartika, 不退轉), it is the irrepressible cultivation of a strong and firm state of mind that overcomes all obstacles and hesitations, never retreating in the face of adversity. With impartiality of mind (upekṣā, 捨), these bodhisattvas are singly focused on their ultimate purpose and cannot be stopped by anything.

8. The Birth of a Child of Destiny (kumāra bhūta, 童真住 or 鳩摩羅浮童男): Never turning back from the first inspiration of the mind to the end of this gestational process, their minds never raise false views and the devils of temptation are never able to break their spiritual awakening. Upon reaching this abode, the signs of a Buddha’s spiritual life are all suddenly possessed perfectly at the same time. This is the end result of the gestational process of this spiritual life, resulting in its full rebirth before sentient beings in this world. Being endowed with an irreversible and irrepressible purpose, the actions (karmas, 諸業) (thoughts, words & deeds) of bodhisattvas have a spiritual influence that is enduring and transformative in their environment.

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9. The Crown Prince (yauva rājya, 法王子住 or 渝羅闍): On the abodes of bodhisattvas that have been reborn into this world: a. From the first abode (the very first inspiration of the mind) to the fourth (the conception or

germination of the precious (spiritual) life) there is ‘entry into the noble womb’. b. From the fifth abode (perfectly possessing the provisional ways and means) to the eighth

(birth of the child of destiny) there is ‘nurturing the embryo in the noble womb’. c. The ninth abode is called ‘the crown prince’ because it is based on arising from the womb and

being perfectly endowed with the (thirty-two) signs of a Buddha in this world Upon being reborn into this world before sentient beings, bodhisattvas do the work of the Buddhas

who brought them into it. Being a prince of the noblest purpose, one does the work of the king and sees after the king’s business. In getting past all the obstacles of this world, bodhisattvas realize their ultimate purpose, which is the work of a Buddha. One is revealed to be an heir to this purpose who will inherit full responsibility for it in time. This is receiving a prophecy of enlightenment (vyākaraṇa, 受記), the point when the ultimate purpose for a bodhisattva’s life is fully revealed.

10. The Anointment (abhiṣeka prāpta, 灌頂住 or 阿惟顏): This is the abode of taking the Buddha’s place. Before the bodhisattvas were just children of the Buddha. Now, on taking responsibility for continuing the Buddha’s work, they are consecrated with water from the vessel of the Buddha’s transcendental knowledge of purpose, just as a crown prince of the warrior caste (kṣatriya, 剎帝利) receives the anointment of authority to be a leader of their world. Upon reaching the abode of the anointment, the bodhisattva is endowed with three special responsibilities: a. The deliverance of sentient beings: This is being able to take on the cultivation and realization of the

ten powers (daśa balāni, 十力) of spiritual knowledge (jñāna, 智) that are able to deliver all sentient beings from suffering.

b. Attaining the very deepest entry into the transcendental sphere of life’s purpose: All sentient beings up to bodhisattvas at the ninth abode of the crown prince are unable to fathom this sphere.

c. Broadly training other sentient beings in the ten powers of spiritual knowledge: This is being endowed with a thorough understanding about the transcendental nature of life’s purpose.

Upon assuming the highest authority, one accepts responsibility for fulfilling the most noble purpose associated with this rank. This is acceptance of the anointing, the consecration as a king. In becoming the one ultimately responsible for carrying out life’s greater purpose, there is the fulfillment of one’s prophecy, one’s commission as a Buddha. This ultimate leadership responsibility is called the true purpose for the appearance in this world of the Buddha’s (three-fold) spiritual life.

B. Revealing it through one’s life: The ten distinguished practices of virtue (daśa viśeṣa adhigama, 十勝行)

that deliver sentient beings from the stream of life & death to the other shore (daśa pāramitā, 十波羅蜜多) of spiritual freedom: While the abodes are the places where bodhisattvas dwell in visions that are meditations about their own purpose, the distinguished practices are the actual cultivation that result in the gradual attainment & accumulation of spiritual merit and the discernment and knowledge of purpose. 1. The deliverance of generosity (dāna pāramitā, 施波羅蜜多): The nature of generosity is an absence of

any greed (alobha, 無貪) arising in one’s thoughts, words and deeds. There are three kinds: a. Bestowing material wealth b. Bestowing fearlessness c. Bestowing a sense of purpose

2. The deliverance of moral commitment (śīla pāramitā, 戒波羅蜜多): The nature of moral commitment is remaining ever dedicated to the acceptance of training in the mission of the bodhisattvas, with all one’s thoughts, words and deeds arising from this commitment. There are three kinds: a. Commitment to rules of personal conduct b. Commitment to virtuous purposes c. Commitment to benefiting all sentient beings

3. The deliverance of enduring observation (kṣānti pāramitā, 忍波羅蜜多): The nature of enduring observation is a diligence of effort (vīrya, 精進) in seeking transcendental discernment (prajñā, 慧) with an absence of any hatred (adveṣa, 無瞋) in one’s thoughts, words & deeds. There are three kinds: a. Calmly abiding anger and injury b. Calmly accepting feelings of suffering c. Calmly reflecting on life’s greater purpose

4. The deliverance of diligent effort (vīrya pāramitā, 精進波羅蜜多): The nature of diligence is an attentiveness (prayatna, 勤) arising in one’s thoughts, words and deeds. There are three kinds:

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a. Diligence in producing greatness of resolve b. Diligence in acquiring virtues c. Diligence in providing meaningful benefits and the bliss of contentment to all sentient beings

5. The deliverance of meditation with stillness of mind (dhyāna pāramitā, 禪波羅蜜多): The nature of meditation with stillness of mind is forever maintaining a penetration of resolve (samāpatti, 等持) with impartiality of mind (upekṣā, 捨). There are three kinds: a. Securely abiding in stillness of mind b. Invoking spiritual powers c. Accomplishing great works

The last five all have the nature of examining life’s purpose (dharma pravicaya, 擇法). Asaṅga’s Summary of the Greater Vehicle Doctrine (Mahāyāna Saṃgraha, 攝大乘論) says the primary transcendental knowledge (mūla jñāna, 根本智) is discernment of purpose (prajñā, 般若) while the different kinds of knowledge attained subsequently (tat pṛṣṭha labdha jñāna, 如後得智) consist of the last four kinds of distinguished conduct - skillfulness in ways and means, vows of dedication, spiritual power and spiritual knowledge. 6. The deliverance of transcendental discernment (prajñā pāramitā, 般若波羅蜜多) is of three kinds:

a. Discerning the empty nature of life in this world, beyond any speculations about its distinctions b. Discerning the empty nature of life’s transcendental purpose, beyond any such speculations c. Discerning the empty nature of any difference between life in this world and the transcendental

nature of its purpose that is beyond any speculations 7. The deliverance of skillfulness in ways and means (upāya pāramitā, 方便波羅蜜多) is of two kinds:

a. The skillfulness that turns hearts towards a greater sense of life’s purpose b. The skillfulness that delivers sentient beings from suffering

8. The deliverance of vows of dedication (praṇidhāna pāramitā, 願波羅蜜多) is of two kinds: a. Dedication to spiritual awakening (bodhi, 菩提) to the transcendental nature of life’s purpose b. Dedication to providing meaningful benefits and the bliss of contentment to all sentient beings

9. The deliverance of spiritual powers (bala pāramitā, 力波羅蜜多) is of two kinds: a. The power to seek out the transcendental nature of life’s purpose b. The power to cultivate it in practice

10. The deliverance of transcendental knowledge (jñāna pāramitā, 智羅蜜多) is of two kinds: a. The knowledge that finds contentment in accepting and employing the grace of the spiritual life b. The knowledge that brings this purpose to maturity in all sentient beings

C. Awakening it in others: The ten-fold dedication of merit (daśa pariṇāmana, 十迴向) refers to the nature of devotion, of turning from an orientation based on the attainment of merit for oneself to that of offering it all up to others, giving it all back. It is the bodhisattvas’ dedication and offering up of their lives and the merit they have earned to a purpose greater than themselves through a vow of dedication to the enlightenment of all sentient beings. This commitment was said to be made long ago from the Buddha in the past and is ever being renewed in the present. It entails dedicating and offering up all of one’s spiritual treasure and one’s very life to cultivation of the noble path and deferring the ultimate contentment of spiritual freedom (nirvāṇa, 涅槃) until all fellow sentient beings have been delivered to this other shore, beyond the stream of life and death (saṃsāra srota, 生死流). The following enumeration of the ten-fold dedication of merit is the third set of ten stages on the bodhisattva path, as described in The Sūtra on the Ten Levels of Grounding, The Sūtra on the Garland of Universal Enlightenment, The Sūtra on the Necklace of the Bodhisattvas’ Original Practice and others. They are: 1. A dedication to save & protect sentient beings regardless of the circumstances (救護衆生離衆生相廻向):

They are dedicated to rescuing and protecting all sentient beings with equanimity of mind, regardless of their appearance, how they are perceived and whether or not they are friendly or hostile.

2. A dedication that is indestructible (不壊一切廻向): Having acquired faith in the Three Treasures through a moral commitment that is indestructible, bodhisattvas are dedicated to making sentient beings attain the benefits that arise from planting the roots of virtue. Through the unfolding of the dialectical principle of the middle way, this dedication to the original vow of enlightenment is indestructible.

3. A dedication that serves all enlightened beings equally (等一切諸仏廻向): Bodhisattvas are equally dedicated to serving all the enlightened beings (Buddhas, 諸佛) in the ten directions (space) and the past, present & future (time), with neither (sectarian) attachment to any individual identity nor any detachment from the transcendental nature of life’s purpose.

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4. A dedication that reaches all places everywhere (至一切處廻向): Through the power of their dedication to offer up the benefits they have attained from cultivating the roots of virtuous spiritual capacities, bodhisattvas reach into all places everywhere, from all the timeless places where the Three Treasures are found to all the different places in this temporal world where sentient beings dwell.

5. A dedication that is an inexhaustible treasury of merits and virtues (無盡功徳蔵廻向): Bodhisattvas accept and rejoice in the fact that there is a never-ending supply of these roots of spiritual capacity and they are dedicated to making them all do the Buddha’s work.

6. A dedication firmly planting roots of virtuous spiritual capacity with equanimity (隨順平等善根迴向): Bodhisattvas are equally dedicated to the planting of all the different roots of virtuous spiritual capacity so that they may all be able to strengthen the cultivation of sentient beings through the power of grace from a Buddha’s spiritual life.

7. A dedication that serves all sentient beings with equanimity of mind (等随順一切衆生廻向): In being dedicated to serving all sentient beings equally, bodhisattvas are able to increase the roots of virtue found in all of them.

8. A dedication that has the transcendental character of the noble path (真如相廻向): With dedication to the transcendental nature and character of the noble path, bodhisattvas follow the dialectical principle of the middle way in planting these roots of virtue.

9. A dedication that is without any attachments to emancipation (無縛無著解脱廻向): Bodhisattvas do not cling to any purpose or have attachments to the attainment of emancipation for themselves. By being skillfully and effectively dedicated to the transcendental nature of life’s purpose, they are in accordance with the practice as exemplified by the Bodhisattva Wholly Blessed In Grace (Samantabhadra, 普賢菩薩), endowed with all of the virtues in this practice (of engaged meditation).

10. A dedication that enters into the infinite sphere of life’s transcendental purpose (入法界無量廻向): With dedication to the transcendental sphere of life’s purpose (dharma dhātu, 法界) that is infinite like empty space, bodhisattvas cultivate and learn of all of its roots of virtuous spiritual capacity that are countless and continue on forever without end.

Having completed these first thirty steps, there are the ten levels of grounding in the Bodhisattva’s purpose: D. Entering into it entirely, beyond oneself and others - The Ten Levels of Grounding (daśa bhūmi, 十地) in

the transcendental nature of life’s purpose: While the first thirty stages emphasize transforming sentient beings on the individual level, the ten levels of grounding emphasize the collective level of enlightenment. Through their mindfulness of purpose (dharma smṛti upasthāna, 法念住), their deliverance (pāramitā, 度) of sentient beings and dedication of their lives and livelihoods to a greater purpose (pariṇāmana, 迴向), bodhisattvas realize an enduring nature of purpose that transcends their lives in this world. This is the grounding of the spiritual life in its field of blessings (its environment), beyond any distinctions of self and other, space and time. In this blending of actions (svakarma phala, 正報) and the environment they depend on (parakarma phala, 依報), these blessings endure in the society and the land itself after they leave this world, having entered into a state of grace that still guides it. These ten levels of grounding are: 1. Grounding in its ultimate joyfulness (pramuditā bhūmi, 極喜地) is a vision of the noble path and

its selfless nature as well as realization of the empty nature of identity and purpose through the deliverance of generosity (dāna pāramitā, 施波羅蜜多), a transcendental knowledge that is endowed with equanimity of mind (samatā jñāna, 平等性智). Because it is able to equally benefit both oneself and others, it is said to produce greatness of joy.

2. Grounding in its stainlessness (vimalā bhūmi, 離垢地)is being endowed with the deliverance of a moral commitment (śīla pāramitā, 戒波羅蜜多) that is pure of any affliction. Through this there is complete elimination of any stain of emotional disturbance arising from violation of this commitment.

3. Grounding in its luminous radiance (prabhākarī bhūmi, 發光地) is attainment of its distinguished resolve of meditation (samādhi viśeṣa , 勝定) through the deliverance of enduring observation (kṣānti pāramitā, 忍波羅蜜多). Because there is the retaining of a continuous remembrance of the nature of life’s greater purpose through prayer (vows, resolves and requests for guidance) and retention of a Buddha’s words about it (mahā dharma dhāraṇī, 大法總持), there is the ability to inspire its boundless subtle light, the luminescence of discernment (prajñā, 慧).

4. Grounding in its blazing discernment (arciṣmatī bhūmi, 焰慧地) is abiding in its cultivation through the thirty-seven facets of awakened purpose (bodhipakṣa dharma, 菩提分法). Through the deliverance of diligent effort (vīrya pāramitā, 精進波羅蜜多). This blazing discernment burns away the firewood of

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emotional disturbances (kleśās, 煩惱). 5. Grounding in the realization of it that is most difficult (sudurjayā bhūmi, 極難勝地) is a transcendental

knowledge of both the ultimate and the conventional reality of life’s purpose (paramārtha jñāna & samvṛti jñāna, 真俗兩智) and the contradictory ways they appear in the mind (ākāra, 行相) attained through the deliverance of meditation with stillness of mind (dhyāna pāramitā, 禪波羅蜜多). Because of the ability to combine them and make them correspond, there is a realization of the nature of purpose that is most difficult to attain.

6. Grounding in its presence before one (abhimukhī bhūmi, 現前地) is the transcendental knowledge that faces the conditions of consciousness arising before one (pratītya samutpāda jñāna, 緣起智) through transcendental discernment (prajñā pāramitā, 般若波羅蜜多). Because it brings about a most distinguished discernment of life’s purpose (prajñā viśeṣa, 最勝般若) that is beyond any speculations (nirvikalpa, 無分別), it is said to be a presence before one (abhimukhī, 現前).

7. Grounding in it that is far-reaching (dūraṃgamā bhūmi, 遠行地) is reaching beyond mental objects or objectives that are imagined (nirnimitta, 無相) through the deliverance of skillfulness in ways and means (upāya pāramitā, 方便波羅蜜多). Because it maintains the highest motivation for the full functionality of virtue (ābhoga, 功用), there is a transcendence of this world as well as the realizations of the saints on the lesser track who only seek freedom from affliction on the individual level.

8. Grounding in it that is unshakeable (acalā bhūmi, 不動地) is transcendental knowledge of the nature of life’s purpose that is beyond any speculations about its distinctions (nirvikalpa jñāna, 無分別智) being continuously effortless and spontaneous, yet still involving all its imagined mental objectives and all of its diligence of effort. This is realized through the deliverance of vows of dedication (praṇidhāna pāramitā, 願波羅蜜多). Because of this, no emotional disturbances (kleśa, 煩惱) are able to shake it.

9. Grounding in its sublimely compassionate understanding (sādhumatī bhūmi, 善慧地) is realizing the most subtly compassionate discernment of this transcendental nature of life’s greater purpose through the deliverance of spiritual powers (bala pāramitā, 力波羅蜜多), in particular the power of the four kinds of interpretation (catasraḥ pratisaṃvidaḥ, 四無礙解). Through them, there is the ability to skillfully teach of life’s greater purpose to all sentient beings everywhere.

10. Grounding in the cloud of its purpose (dharma meghā bhūmi, 法雲地) is a reference to the great cloud of life’s purpose realized through deliverance of the transcendental knowledge of purpose (jñāna pāramitā, 智). Because it harbors the waters of all virtues, it covers all of the unrefined natures (of the two obstacles) rising up, just as the sky covers the ground. In raining down the rain of life’s transcendental purpose, there is the fulfillment of the Buddha’s spiritual life.

8. The different bodhisattvas: There are countless bodhisattvas cited in the Buddhist scriptures, personifying

the ideals of the beings awakened to the transcendental nature of life’s purpose, accepting and employing the grace of the Buddha’s spiritual life and letting it work through theirs to do the Buddha’s work. This entails fulfilling the Buddha’s vows to deliver sentient beings from affliction to spiritual freedom. Where arhats may be likened to saints who have overcome the afflicted nature of sentient existence to live a holy life, bodhisattvas may be likened to angels, supernatural beings blessed with the grace of the Buddha that have descended into this world, doing the Buddha’s work in protecting and guiding sentient beings. While anyone who puts their faith in the grace of the Buddha’s spiritual life is considered to be on the bodhisattva path, the ‘great bodhisattvas’ (mahāsattvas, 摩訶薩) are said to be those who have reached the eighth level of grounding in the Buddha’s purpose that is unshakeable (acalā bhūmi, 不動地). There are four such great bodhisattvas cited in the commentaries on the sutra translated here. a. The Bodhisattva ‘Bestowing Sublimity of Discernment’ (Manjuśrī, 文殊師利 or 妙德) is said to personify the

deliverance of transcendental discernment and is customarily the protagonist in the Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtras and emblematic of the Dialectical School (Madhyamaka) and its emphasis on the nature of emptiness and the middle way principle. In the Lotus and Garland Sūtras, Manjuśrī appears at the beginning (delivering discernment of purpose) while Samantabhadra appears at the end (fulfilling the vows).

b. The Bodhisattva ‘Bestowing the Mercy of Loving Kindness’ (Maitreya, 彌勒 or 慈氏) personalizes the deliverance of generosity and love of humanity (maitrī, 慈) that bring meaningful benefits (hitārtham, 利) to all sentient beings and is emblematic of the School of Engaged Meditation (Yogācāra) and its emphasis on consciousness only having a virtual nature (vijñapti matratā, 唯識). This bodhisattva is said to be in the Brahmanic ‘heaven of rebirth in grace’ (tuṣita devaloka, 兜率天) and be the next Buddha to descend into this world. In the complete dedication to fulfilling the Buddha’s transcendental vows, there are said to be two complementary aspects, and an analogy is made between Pure Land and Brahmanic beliefs about this:

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1. Going forth into the Pure Land (gata pariṇāmanaṃ, 往相迴向) by ‘one that has gone, or ascended from this world’ (tathagata, 如去) is analogous with the heaven of sublime surrender to mortality (suyāma devaloka, 須夜摩天), the heaven of submission to judgment, repentance and atonement. This can be said to be analogous with the severing of attachments through realizing the nature of emptiness as personified by Manjuśrī, who wields the sword that severs all attachments.

2. Returning from the Pure Land (pratyāgata pariṇāmanaṃ, 還相迴向) by ‘one that has come or descended (or in this case, will come or descend) into this world’ (tathāgata, 如來), is analogous with the heaven of rebirth in grace (tuṣita devaloka, 兜率天), the heaven of forgiveness, redemption and rejuvenation. This can be said to be analogous to the reengagement with this world with a realization of its virtual nature to bring the benefits of joy and happiness to its inhabitants, as personified by Maitreya.

Here, ‘going or ascending’ refers to the knowledge or discernment that transcends this world while ‘coming or descending’ refers to the grace of mercy and compassion that returns to deliver sentient beings.

c. The Bodhisattva ‘Beholding the Cries of This World’ (Avalokiteśvara, 觀自在 or 觀世音) personifies the heart of compassion (karuṇā, 悲) that perfectly hears the prayers of all suffering sentient beings who call on the bodhisattva’s name, appearing to them in a form that will best reach them, answering their prayers and so bringing them the bliss of contentment (sukha, 樂) that frees them from their afflictions. This bodhisattva is said to be emblematic of the Lotus School (Tiāntāi Zōng, 天台宗) with its emphasis on the compassion that reaches all sentient beings through resolving all the different teachings and practices through the devoted resolve of a single mind. A Buddha is often depicted on the bodhisattva’s crown, symbolizing the Buddha’s grace looking down from above. This bodhisattva was often depicted as a man in India but more often as a woman by those in China and East Asia, reflecting their sense of the grace of compassion. The bodhisattva’s ability to assume any form (vikurvaṇatā 變現) in accord with the different capacities and dispositions of sentient beings is consistent with these different perceptions. Through this bodhisattva, the sound of the human voice in prayer (the ‘cries for help’) is the means for sentient beings to penetrate and reach the state of grace. The bodhisattva’s powers of spiritual penetration (abhijñāḥ, 神通), particularly those of the divine ear, are such that prayers (requests for help) can be heard within all the sounds uttered by sentient beings.

d. The Bodhisattva ‘Wholly Blessed in Grace’ (Samantabhadra, 普賢) personalizes this fulfillment of the Buddha’s vows through acceptance (faith) and employment (practice) of the Buddha’s grace and accomplishment of all the different but mutually dependent and interpenetrating stages of the bodhisattva path, exemplifying the teachings of the Garland School (Huáyán Zōng, 華嚴宗). Samantabhadra is said to ride on a white elephant with six tusks, representing the bodhisattva who shoulders the great load of delivering all sentient beings in this world, perfectly endowed with all six kinds of spiritual penetration (ṣaḍ abhijñāḥ, 六神通). Samantabhadra appears at the conclusion of the Lotus and Garland Sūtras, representing fulfillment of the bodhisattva practice.

e. The Bodhisattva ‘Of Transcendental Discernment’ (Prajñā, 般若) mentioned in Kūkai’s commentary is said to be the blessed mother of enlightenment (Bhagavatī, 聖佛母), personalizing the matrix of words and meanings that constitutes the womb gestating the embryo of enlightenment (tathāgata garbha, 如來藏). In this role, Prajñā is also likened to Sarasvatī (辯才天女), the goddess of eloquence in the Vedas upon whom Brahma (the author of the universe) conferred the invention of language for the human race, reducing the voice of god (brahma ghoṣa, 梵音) into the human voice (vāk, 聲). In terms of the Heart Sūtra:

* Prajñā personifies transcendental discernment through words and their meanings * Manjuśrī (not explicitly mentioned) personifies the deliverance of transcendental discernment. * Avalokiteśvara personifies the compassionate heart that delivers transcendental discernment.

9. The three-fold nature of the Buddha’s spiritual life (tri kāya, 三身) that transcends death is is also called the enlightened being that has descended into this world’ (tathāgata, 如來), explaining the transmission of the Buddha’s purpose (Dharma, 法) to the community of faith (Saṃgha, 僧). There are three inseparable aspects to this spiritual life: a. The existential nature of this spiritual life (dharma kāya, 法身 or svabhāvika kāya, 自性身) is found in the

Buddha’s original transcendental vows (pūrva praṇidhāna, 本願). b. The grace of this spiritual life (sambhoga kāya, 報身) is the transcendental knowledge and vision that

descends into this world as a result of the acceptance and employment (praty upabhoga, 受用) of these vows by awakened sentient beings (bodhisattvas, 菩薩) through faith and a practice in which they dedicate and turn their lives over to fulfilling these transcendental vows.

c. The apparent manifestations of this spiritual life (nirmāṇa kāya, 化身) are the thoughts, words and deeds with a transformative influence in the minds of sentient beings. This including the use of mnemonic devices

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(prayers, images, etc.) through which they accept, embrace & retain this grace of the Buddha’s spiritual life. 10. Śāriputra (舍利弗) and Mahā Maudgalyāyana (摩訶目乾連), were the chief disciples of the historical Buddha

Śākyamuni. While Mahā Maudgalyāyana was known for his powers of spiritual penetration (abhijñāḥ, 通)31 that reached down to all sentient beings (even those in the hells), Śāriputra was known for his transcendental knowledge and discernment of life’s purpose (jñāna prajñā, 智慧). As such, Śāriputra was emblematic of the study of the spiritual science (abhidharma, 阿毘達磨) that became important for monastics in early Buddhism. Because literal understanding of these teachings had a tendency to lead to doubts about the transcendental nature of life’s purpose, Śāriputra became a foil in the early greater vehicle scriptures on the deliverance of transcendental discernment (Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtras, 般若波羅蜜多經). Śāriputra and Mahā Maudgalyāyana were originally followers of the skeptic philosopher Sañjaya Vairaṭīputra, who taught using the tetralemma19 as a device to refute different beliefs and so show how all belief-systems are ultimately flawed. As a trained skeptic, Śāriputra was able to examine all purposes with doubt and perfect objectivity, but he also recognized the nihilism that accompanied this doubt. It is said that he made a pact with his close colleague Mahā Maudgalyāyana that if one ever found a spiritual teacher with the perfect belief-system he would tell the other. When the Buddha’s disciple Aśvajit entered the city of Rājagṛha to guide people towards their spiritual transformation, Śāriputra witnessed his grace, refinement and majestic deportment and then asked him about his master and what he taught to be the true nature of life’s purpose. Aśvajit then famously replied: “All purposes arise from mutually dependent conditions.

The one that has descended into this world teaches of their cause And their transcendence. Such is the teaching of the great ascetic (Śākyamuni)

“ye dharma hetu prabhava, teṣāṃ hetuṃ tathāgato hy avadat; teṣāṃ ca yo nirodha, evaṃ vādi mahā śrāmanaḥ.” ( 諸法從縁生。諸法從縁滅。我佛釋迦師。長作如是説) Having heard this, Śāriputra realized the first fruit of the noble path (as a stream-enterer) and both he and Mahā Maudgalyāyana parted ways with Sañjaya along with two hundred fifty of their followers.

11. The virtual nature of consciousness (vijñapti, 表 or 施設) is the simulation of reality that is a result of the projections of identity and purpose produced by the very nature of consciousness defining sentient existence. Believing in the reality of the imagined projections of self-centered existence is the cause of affliction. According to the Yogācāra School, through the transformation of its spiritual foundation (āśraya parāvṛtti, 轉依), this consciousness (vijñāna, 意識) is transformed into transcendental knowledge (jñāna, 智) and there is realization that consciousness only has a virtual nature (vijñapti mātratā siddhi, 成唯識). Asaṅga’s Summary of the Greater Vehicle Doctrine (Mahāyāna Saṃgraha, 攝大乘論) describes eleven ways consciousness is virtually framed (ekadaśa vijñapti, 十一識) which all depend on the arising of an ‘other’ (paratantra, 依他起). a. The first nine arise through habitual forces verbalizing mental images (abhilāpa vāsanā, 名言熏習):

1. Framing by the body (deha vijñapti, 身有表): the shaping of consciousness by the five sense faculties (pañca indriya, 五根)

2. Framing by bodily ownership (dehi vijñapti, 身者有表) through calculating self-interest (manas, 末那) 3. Framing by the existential nature of experience (bhoktṛ vijñapti, 受者有表) through mental capacity

(mano indriya, 意根) 4. Framing by that which experiences (tad upabhoktṛ vijñapti, 彼能受有表): the consciousness of thought,

hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell (ṣaḍ vijñāna dhātu, 六識界有表) 5. Framing by that experienced (tad upabhukta vijñapti, 彼所受有表): mental objects, audible sounds,

visual forms, physical contacts, flavors & scents (ṣaḍ bāhya dhātu, 六塵界有表) 6. Framing by time (kāla vijñapti, 時有表) into a past, present and future 7. Framing by place (deśa vijñapti, 處有表): relative size and location 8. Framing by quantity (saṃkhya vijñapti, 數有表) 9. Framing by words & speech (vyavahāra vijñapti, 言説有表)

b. The tenth arises through habitual forces of beliefs clinging to identity (ātma dṛṣṭi vāsanā, 我見熏習). 10. Framing by distinction of self & other (sva para viśeṣa vijñapti, 自他差別有表)

c. The eleventh arises through habitual forces found in the links of existential continuity that are inherent to afflicted sentient existence (bhavāṅga vāsanā, 有支習氣). 11. Framing by distinction of good & evil, karma & retribution, death & rebirth (sugati durgati cyuty

upapatti vijñapti, 善趣惡趣死生趣有表), the sense of moral and existential purpose.

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12. Vulture’s Peak (Gṛdhrakūṭa, 耆闍崛山 or 耆闍崛山) was a retreat for the Buddha and his disciples by Rājagṛha, (王舍城, now Rajgir), the capital of Maghada where the Buddha Śākyamuni often resided and is said to have made many of his most important teachings, including those on the deliverance of transcendental discernment (Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtras, 般若波羅蜜多經). Although the peak of the mountain is said to resemble a vulture’s head, it is likely the mountain also had a charnel ground that would have attracted vultures.

13. The teacher of the sūtra: In The Heart Sūtra, Śāriputra asks the Bodhisattva ‘Master of Beholding the Cries of

this World’ (Avalokiteśvara, 觀自在菩薩) for the teaching and is answered by the Bodhisattva through the grace of the Buddha who is in a deep meditation. In Kumārajīva’s translation of the Longer Version of the Sūtra on the Deliverance of Transcendental Discernment (Mahā Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtra, 摩訶般若波羅蜜多經) from which The Heart Sūtra is derived, Śāriputra asks the Buddha directly and was answered directly by the Buddha

14. The three-fold training (trīṇi śikṣāṇi, 三學) and the eight steps on the noble path (aṣṭa ārya mārga, 八聖道): a. The three steps of moral commitment (śīla, 戒):

1. Proper conduct (samyak karmānta, 正業) 2. Proper speech (samyag vāc, 正語) 3. Proper livelihood (samyag ājīva, 正命)

b. The three steps of mental resolve (samādhi, 定): 4. Proper exertion (samyag vyāyāma, 正精進) 5. Proper mindfulness, or continuous remembrance (samyak smṛti, 正念), 6. Proper resolve (samyak samādhi, 正定)

c. The two steps of transcendental discernment (prajñā, 慧): 7. Proper vision (samyag dṛṣṭi, 正見) 8. Proper deliberation (samyak saṃkalpa, 正思惟)

15. Devils (māra, 魔) are the external forces that prevent enlightenment through their powers of distraction and

playing on ignorance, fear and temptation. Four kinds are often cited: a. The devil of emotional disturbances (kleśa māra, 煩惱魔): The mental objects of greed, hate, stupidity, doubt,

pride and false belief that distract one from resolve and singleness of mind b. The devil in the projections of one’s own purpose (skandha māra, 陰魔): The trap of believing in the reality of

one’s self-centered existence that prevents awakening to the transcendental nature c. The devil of mortality (mṛdyu māra, 死魔): The fearsome spectre of death and one’s own mortality d. The prince of the sixth heaven (devaputra māra, 第六天魔王子): Objects of temptation, the allure of attaining

ecstasy, glory and power over other sentient beings 16. The embryonic nature of enlightenment (tathāgata garbha, 如來藏): Prior to development of the Yogācāra

School, another prevailing current of greater vehicle thought addressed nihilistic misunderstandings about the teachings of the Dialectical School (Madhyamaka) regarding the empty nature of identity and purpose and the absence of any real, existential nature in them. In response to this, some early greater vehicle scriptures posited the idea of ‘an embryonic nature of the Buddha’, a potentiality or ‘seed nature’ of enlightenment found in every sentient being that becomes veiled due to afflictions that intrude on it. This ‘Buddha-nature’ is unfathomable to the unawakened and only fully recognized by enlightened beings. It needs no cultivation, only unveiling, as it is already present and perfect within every sentient being. Just as the processor of a computer may work properly but give flawed results as a result of improper programming or false data input, so the subconscious store of memory (ālaya vijñāna, 藏識) that serves as a womb for this embryonic nature may be obscured if there are false attachments to identities and purposes that are inconsistent with the dialectical principle of the transcendental nature. The Sūtra on the Descent into Śrī Laṅka (Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, 楞伽經) describes this embryonic nature as a pure illumination, a state of grace that endows consciousness with the nature of emptiness. This primordial consciousness is said to be originally pure but wears the garments of the five projections of purpose, the twelve-fold alignment of subject and object and the eighteen-fold sphere of consciousness with all of their evolving manifestations (pravṛtti vijñāna, 轉識) - vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch and the distinction of objects with the calculations of self-interest. These evolving manifestations are likened to garments that are subject to being sullied by the greed, hatred, delusion, pride, doubt and false beliefs found in clinging to the afflicted calculations of self-interest (kliṣṭa manas, 染心). The nature of emptiness found in the embryonic nature is also likened to still water while the evolving manifestations of consciousness are likened to waves that can obscure the perfect mirror-like reflection that is revealed in this still water.

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17. Variations between different versions of The Heart Sūtra: The invocation of The Heart Sūtra or variations on it are found in a number of sūtras, including volume two of The Sūtra on the Great Universal Invocation Beyond Any Mental Associations (Mahā Vaipula Asaṃjñika Dhāraṇī Sūtra, 大方等無想經), also called The Sūtra of the Bodhisattva Great Cloud of the Inner Secret (Mahā Megha (Garbha) Sūtra, 大雲密藏經). This is said to have been translated by Dharmakṣema (曇無讖) c. 420 and is found in Taishō 387. Although 40 years younger than Kumārajīva (344–413), Dharmakṣema (385–433) similarly learned Chinese in Kucha and Dūnhuáng and, like him, was brought to China to translate Buddhist scriptures (seven years after Kumārajīva died in 420). Other examples of this invocation being found in the sūtras include: * The Sūtra on the Invocation that is the Supreme Beacon from the East (or Past) (Pūrva Agra Pradīpa Dhāraṇī

Sūtra, 東方最勝燈王陀羅尼經) translated by Jñānagupta (闍那崛多) c. 590, and found in Taishō 1353 * The Sūtra on the Collection of Invocations (Dhāraṇī Samuccaya Sūtra, 陀羅尼集經), translated by Atikūṭa

(阿地瞿多) c. 650, found in Taishō 901 The core text of Xuánzàng’s version of The Heart Sūtra is almost verbatim from the one attributed to Kumārajīva and a passage found in his translation of The Longer Version of the Sūtra on the Deliverance of Transcendental Discernment (Mahā Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtra, 摩訶般若波羅蜜多經) (see Appendix A). Xuánzàng changed some Chinese characters to ones customarily used in his translations and made a few other editorial alterations: a. For the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the version of The Heart Sūtra attributed to Kumārajīva used ‘Beholding the

Cries of This World (觀世音菩薩) while Xuánzàng used ‘The Lord, or Master That Beholds’ (觀自在菩薩): 1. In ‘Beholding the Cries of this World’ (觀世音), ‘ava’ refers to looking down from above, ‘lokita’ refers to

this world (loka) and ‘svara’ refers to the sound of the human voice. This was sometime shortened as ‘Beholding the Cries’ (觀音), with ‘ava’ referring to looking down from above, with ‘lokita’ referring to beholding and ‘svara’ referring to the sound of the human voice.

3. Xuánzàng’s translation as ‘The Lord, or Master That Beholds’ (觀自在) was probably more accurate in a literal sense, with ‘ava’ referring to looking down from above, ‘lokita’ referring to beholding’ and ‘īśvara’ referring to the lord or master over the sphere of desire.

Although Xuánzàng’s translation is likely the most strictly accurate rendition in terms of the original Sanskrit name, the earlier version has endured as it captures the importance of the sound of the human voice in prayer (the ‘cries for help’) as the means for reaching the grace of the bodhisattva. The bodhisattva’s powers of spiritual penetration (abhijñāḥ, 神通), particularly those of the divine ear, are such that prayers (requests for help) can be heard in all the sounds uttered by sentient beings.

b. For Śāriputra, Kumārajīva used 舍利弗, which was a full transliteration of the Sanskrit sounding, while Xuánzàng used 舍利子, which retains the first two characters 舍利 transliterating the Sanskrit ‘Śāri’ (literally his mother’s name, which refers to a kind of bird) and then using the character 子, the Chinese for ‘son, or ‘son of’, instead of 弗, the transliteration for ‘putra’ (which is Sanskrit for ‘son of’).

c. For ‘the projections of purpose’ (skandha), Kumārajīva used ‘shadows or penumbras’ (陰, yīn, as in the Taoist ‘yīn & yáng’) while Xuánzàng preferred ‘projections’ (蘊, yùn, referring to those things gathered together and aggregated into one (or, conversely, split from one into many). See footnote 5 for more on this term.

d. The line ‘With there being the (timelessness of the) empty nature of purpose, there is no past, no present and no future.’ (是空法，非過去、非未來、非現在) is only found in the version of The Heart Sūtra attributed to Kumārajīva.

e. Xuanzang eliminated a few uses of the word ‘and’ or ‘also’ (亦) that he apparently felt were redundant. f. The term ‘etc.’ or ‘and others’ (等) is inserted in the first sentence of the sūtra right after the words ‘the five

projections of purpose’ by Xuánzàng’s disciples Kuījī and Yuáncè in their commentaries on the text. g. There are minor variations in the opening lines of the core teaching between the different versions:

Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation of The Long Sūtra and Xuánzàng’s version of The Heart Sūtra both give: “Form is inseparable from emptiness and emptiness is inseparable from form. With there being form, so there is emptiness. With there being emptiness, so there is form.” 色不異空、空不異色，色即是空、空即是色，

Kumārajīva’s translation of Nāgārjuna’s commentary on the Long Sūtra (大智度論) & the version of The Heart Sūtra attributed to Kumārajīva both give: “There is no form separable from emptiness and there is no emptiness separable from form. With there being form, so there is emptiness. With there being emptiness, so there is form.” 非色異空，非空異色，色即是空，空即是色， Extant Sanskrit versions of the Long Sūtra give: “Form is inseparable with emptiness and emptiness is inseparable from form, Form is identical with emptiness and emptiness is identical with form.” “anyad rūpaṃ anyā śūnyatā, nānya śūnyatānyad rūpaṃ; rūpaṃ eva śūnyatā, śūnyatāiva rūpaṃ”

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Sanskrit versions of The Heart Sūtra give: “Form is identical with emptiness and emptiness is identical with form. Form is inseparable from emptiness and emptiness is inseparable from form. With there being form, so there is emptiness. With there being emptiness, so there is form.” “rūpaṃ śūnyatāṃ, śūnyatānyad rūpaṃ, rūpan na pṛthak śūnyatā, śūnyatāya na pṛthak rūpaṃ yad rūpaṃ sā śūnyatā, ya śūnyatā tad rūpaṃ.”

Consequently: 1. Xuánzàng’s version seems to derive from Kumārajīva’s translation of The Long Sūtra while the version

attributed to Kumārajīva’s seems to derive from his translation of Nāgārjuna’s commentary on it, which is slightly different but essentially identical in meaning.

1. The different expressions “Form is identical with emptiness and emptiness is identical with form” and “With there being form, so there is emptiness, with there being emptiness, so there is form.” are essentially identical, and so the later Sanskrit versions, having both, are somewhat redundant.

2. The Sanskrit terms ‘na anya’ (in The Long Sūtra) and ‘na pṛthak’ (in The Heart Sūtra) both mean ‘inseparable’ or ‘not different’, and so essentially have the same meaning.

h. On the mantra, the Chinese characters used to transliterate the Sanskrit are different in almost all versions.

18. Some modern scholarship (in particular see Jan Nattier’s ‘The Heart Sūtra: A Chinese Apocryphal Text?’ published in 1992) has suggested that this Heart Sūtra is apocryphal, produced in China by adding the introduction referencing the Bodhisattva ‘Master of Beholding the Cries of this World’ and the concluding invocation of the mantra to Kumārajīva’s core teaching. Further, it is suggested that such an apocryphal version was then introduced to India from China and reverse translated into Sanskrit. If this sūtra was reverse translated into Sanskrit by Xuánzàng or others, then all Sanskrit and Tibetan versions would likely find their origin from this source. Nattier’s ground-breaking work makes compelling arguments but they are not all dispositive (See Kazuaki Tanahashi’s ‘The Heart Sūtra’ guide for a critique of Nattier’s thesis). It is not within the scope of this work to discuss the merits of these arguments. There was a valid reason why the sūtras were anonymously authored and traditionally attributed to the Buddha’s most faithful disciple Ānanda, despite the risk of some unfaithful forgeries attempting to become part of the canon as accepted scripture. This is not to say that sūtras were never altered, reconfigured, spun off as separate texts and combined with others to clarify the teachings of Buddhism or to adapt to cultural differences and understandings over time, especially as they were translated into new languages. These things in fact often occurred. Even some of the earliest schools of Buddhism taught that there was really but one sūtra or utterance of the Buddha that was then divided up into different forms by others to adapt to those with different capacities for it at different times (see footnote 38). It is fair to say that the Buddhist community as a whole has had a strong history of vigilance in rooting out weeds that have tried to corrupt the purity of its canon of scripture, and that The Heart Sūtra in particular has been accepted as reflecting a faithful remembrance of the Buddha’s intent (said to be Ānanda’s role). There is a distinction between parsing the literal words and comprehending their greater meaning and purpose. While there is certainly value in critically scrutinizing Buddhist scriptures in an effort to objectively discover their historical origins and their evolution, a critical look at modern scholarship exposes the fault line between the deconstructive approach of contemporary academic research and the approach of the faithful who look to Buddhism as a means to attain spiritual deliverance, freedom from the afflicted nature of our mortal existence and a greater sense of life’s purpose. Although both modern academics and the faithful are human with their own interests and agendas: * The deconstructive approach of postmodern academia tends to view Buddhism as an exquisite corpse,

picking at its bones while performing a postmortem on it and analyzing its parts as external objects. * The faithful tend to see Buddhism as a living organism with a purpose directly relevant to their own lives,

with its transcendental grace revealed through introspection, repentance and spiritual restoration (rebirth). This may explain the difficulties faced by the deconstructive approach of postmodern academia in translating Buddhism’s most fundamental term (Dharma, 法), variously calling it ‘law’, ‘phenomena’, ‘factor’, ‘element’, ‘teaching’, etc. (all basically materialistic terms) and often hesitating to translate it at all. The ancients had no such problem in translating this term, understanding that the ‘teachings’ were about the nature of the Buddha’s true purpose, that is, the purpose of life. The postmodern approach is also reflected in the materialistic tendency of secularists to limit the practice of meditation to the experience of physical, emotional and other relatively external factors of secondary importance, without delving into the innermost realm of mindfulness - one’s true intent, the deeper purposes of the heart and the transcendental nature of life’s purpose. The Heart Sūtra shows the way.

19. The tetralemma (catuṣ koṭika, 四句) is a logical device that is used to present all points of view in a duality

(dilemma) and so reveal the limits of discursive thought. This device was used before Buddhism by the skeptic philosopher Sañjaya Vairaṭīputra and frequently in the Dialectical School of Nāgārjuna and his followers. As an example in the argument about the existence or non-existence of identity or purpose, it can be said that

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#1 They exist #2 They don’t exist #3 They both exist & don’t exist #4 They neither exist nor are without existence. A case can be made for all these positions but only through understanding the transcendental nature of identity (the soul) or purpose does one get beyond the limitations imposed by attachment to any of these views.

20. The baskets (piṭaka, 藏) of teachings: Term used in Buddhism to describe the various categories of its teachings;

Traditionally the scrolls of the scriptures and discourses would be sorted in different baskets according to their type. Most commonly it is a reference to ‘the three baskets’ (tripiṭaka, 三藏) which are those on: a. The scriptures (sūtra piṭaka, 經藏) that contain the words of the Buddha b. The monastic code (vinaya piṭaka 律藏) which contains the rules of conduct for the monastic community c. The spiritual science (śāstra or abhidharma pitaka, 論藏) which defined terms and explained the different

characteristics of the mind’s purposes ‘The five baskets’ are the lesser & greater track teachings (śrāvaka piṭaka, 聲聞藏 & bodhisattva piṭaka 菩薩藏), the basket of teachings about transcendental discernment (prājñā piṭaka 般若藏), the basket of invocations (dhāraṇī piṭaka, 禁呪藏) and the basket of miscellaneous teachings (saṃyukta piṭaka 雜藏).

21. Mount Sumeru (須彌山), comparable to Mount Olympus, is the abode of heaven in the Brahmanic religion, a great mountain shaped like a four-sided pyramid. The Divine Lord Almighty (Śakra Devānām Indra, 帝釋) sits at the peak and axis of this mountain in his abode called ‘Sublime Vision’ (Sudarśana, 善見), wielding a thunderbolt (vajra, 伐折羅) and ruling over the other thirty-two gods of the natural order (see footnote 27). The gods, residing on this great mountain of heaven, serve as lords over the sphere of desire (kāma dhātu, 欲界). Stupas, pagodas and other architectural structures in Asia are designed to depict it.

22. The fragmentation of life and death vs. its inconceivable transformation: Due to our afflicted nature as

sentient beings, we see the world as fragmented into countless competing forces that arise and then perish. Consequently, there are two ways of perceiving this world we live in, the existential reality of life & death: * Its fragmentation into parts (pariccheda saṃsāra, 分段生死) as analyzed by the discursive mind. * Its inconceivable transformation (acintya pariṇāma saṃsāra, 不思議變易生死). This is further in two parts:

a. The spiritual life produced in the bodhisattva’s mind through meditation (mano maya kāya, 意成身) b. The transformative influence from the grace of the Buddha’s spiritual life (nirmāṇa kāya, 變化身)

Fragmentation & the inconceivable transformation reflect the difference between the consciousness (vijñāna, 識) of sentient existence, a virtual simulation that is imagined (vikalpa, 分別), and the transcendental knowledge (jnāña, 智) of life’s purpose beyond it. The prefic ‘vi’ in Sanskrit is a reference to ‘separation into parts’.

23. The Four Fruits (catvāri phalāni, 四果) of the noble path are the different levels of spiritual attainment acquired

by those on the lesser track of seeking freedom from affliction on the individual level. These four fruits include: A. Stream-Enterers (srotāpanna, 須陀洹 or 入流) have awakened to the four truths about the nature of life’s

purpose in terms of their beliefs and principles, that is, on an intuitive level that is beyond any doubts, and so have attained a proper vision of the noble path (darśana mārga, 見道) that is noble & selfless.

B. Once-Returners (sakṛdāgāmin, 斯陀含 or 一來) have attained spiritual merit on an innate level through proper cultivation of purely wholesome and virtuous motives on the noble path (bhāvanā mārga, 修道)

C. Never-Returners (anāgāmin, 阿那含 or 不還) are totally selfless, letting go of all selfish motives in cultivation of the noble path and offering up all the merit they have earned & their very lives for its supreme purpose.

D. Truly Worthy Beings (arhats, 阿羅漢) offer up their very lives for this greater purpose but still remain in this world to fulfill their destinies as living examples of the noble path, and so are said to be worthy of offerings (and the veneration) of others.

24. Meditation on nothingness (ākiṃcanya, 無所有) is the third of the four meditations on the existential principles

in the sphere beyond form (arūpa dhātu, 無色界). See footnote 27C for more on these four levels of meditation. A prerequisite for meditation on nothingness is having already experienced existence so that there is something to contrast it with, just as our perception of death is conditioned by our experience of life.

25. The magic city (Ṛddhi Nagara, 化城): This is a reference to a parable from chapter seven of The Lotus Sūtra:

A group of travelers (on the noble path) in search of a treasure trove (enlightenment) are in a fearful region (life & death). Tired and afraid, many want to go back, retreat in the face of adversity. Their leader (the Buddha) understands their desires and fears and creates a magic city as a way-station on the path where they can rest and be refreshed. This is a metaphor for the illusory existence of emptiness that is devoid of any self-centered

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existence, taking refuge in a nirvāṇa as just transcendence, an escape rather than the freedom to fulfill one’s true purpose. Once they have rested in this place of imagined security, feeling refreshed, composed and reassured, the leader makes the mirage of the magic city disappear, leading them straight to the treasure trove at the end of the journey, the transcendental knowledge and virtues realized through the grace of the Buddha’s spiritual life.

26. The three kinds of suffering:

1. Pain, the intensity of unpleasant feelings (duḥkha duḥkhatā, 苦苦). 2. The grief and loss that is due to impermanence and the perishing of all things (vipariṇāma duḥkhatā, 壊苦) 3. The arising of motive forces that are beyond one’s control (saṃskāra duḥkhatā, 行苦) The eight kinds of suffering: #1 Birth, #2 old age, #3 sickness, #4 death, #5 separation from that which one desires, #6 facing that which one

hates, #7 not attaining what one desires & #8 affliction (āsrava, 漏), clinging to the projections of one’s purpose (upādāna skandha, 取蘊)

The different steps of spiritual transformation are also called ‘all kinds of suffering’: These are the difficulties on the noble path that cause one to struggle while striving to overcome the obstacles cause by past karma

27. The three-fold sphere of sentient existence (trayo dhātavah, 三界) is the object of introspective meditation:

A. The sphere of desire (kāma dhātu, 欲界) is the arena of sentient existence with attachment to this world. This is in six parts from hell to heaven, afflicted the with six primary kinds of emotional disturbance. 1. The sufferings of hell (naraka gati, 地獄趣) are attachments to unpleasant feelings motivated by the hatred (dveṣa, 瞋) found in aversions and disgust (pratigha, 瞋恚) 2. The brutality of beasts (tiragyoni gati, 畜生趣) is attachment to feelings of selfish indifference that are

motivated by the delusions (moha, 癡) found in the stupidity of selfish indifference (mūḍha, 愚) 3. The demons of hunger (preta gati, 餓鬼趣) are attachments to pleasant feelings motivated by the greed

(lobha, 貪) found in cravings and appetites (rāga, 貪欲) 4. The competition among egos (asura gati, 阿修羅趣) manages unpleasant feelings motivated by pride

(māna, 慢) and jealousy (īrṣya, 嫉). 5. The social interaction among humans (manuṣya gati, 人趣) manages feelings of selfish indifference

through reasonable doubt (vicikitsā, 疑) about both pride & belief in a higher being. There are four classes said to be found on the four continents of humanity: a. The holy class (brahmins, 婆羅門) in the Western Land of Sacrificial Rites (Apara Godānīya, 西牛貨) b. The ruling class (kśatriyas 刹帝利) in the Eastern Land of Conquerors (Pūrva Videha, 東毘提訶) c. The business class (vaiśyas 吠舎) in the Northern Land of Plenty (Uttara Kuru, 北倶盧) d. The servant class (śūdras 首陀羅). in the Southern Jungle or ‘Wilderness’ (Jambū Dvīpa, 南閻浮提):

6. The contentment of heaven (deva gati, 天趣) manages pleasant feelings through beliefs (dṛṣṭi, 見) in a higher being. Here there are the six heavens in the sphere of desire, the abodes of the gods: a. The Heaven of the Four Divine Kings (catur mahā devarājā, 四天王) protecting humanity from evil:

1. The All-Seeing Eye (Virūpakṣa, 廣目天王) is the guardian of intelligence and moral vigilance in the west, supporting the holy (professing) class of moral & intellectual leaders (brahmans 婆羅門).

2. The Protector of the Nation (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, 持国天王) is the guardian of power and influence in the east, supporting the ruling class of military and political leaders (kśatriyas 刹帝利).

3. The Lord of Fame (Vaiśravaṇa, 毘沙門天王 or 多聞天王), or Lord of Riches (Kubera, 倶吠羅), is the guardian of wealth and reputation in the north, supporting the business class (vaiśyas 吠舎).

4. The Lord of Growth or Sprouter of Grain (Virūḍhaka Devarājā, 増長天王) is the guardian of survival (longevity) and fertility and in the south, supporting the servant class (śūdras 首陀羅).

b. The Heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods (Trāyastriṃśa, 忉利天) who rule over the natural world and the different phases in the cycle of life: creation, stability and destruction 01. The Divine Lord Almighty (Śakra Devānām Indra 帝釋) rules over the other 32 gods atop

Mt. Sumeru (須彌山), its peak and axis, wielding the thunderbolt (vajra, 伐折羅), producing the storms, nourishing the earth, upholding cosmic order and vanquishing evil.

02. The Lord of Creatures (Prajāpati 波闍波提) is divine providence, agent of creation & progeny 03.-14. The Twelve Governing Principles (Ādityas, 阿底提) are the agents of harmony & stability

The Major Principles of this World: 03. The Sacred Bond of Friendship (Mitra, 密特羅); upholding the contracts between people 04. Honor (Āryaman, 阿梨耶曼); loyalty and devotion

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05. Equity (Bhāga, 薄伽); the give and take of one’s fair share The Minor Principles of this World: 06. The Builder (Tvaṣṭṛ, 陀濕多); industry 07. The Nourisher (Pūṣan, 普善); agriculture 08. Justice For All (Visvavat, 毘舎瓦); the law The Major Principles Beyond This World: 09. The Enveloper (Varuṇa, 婆樓那); fate, the relationship between man and the gods 10. The Deserving (Dakṣa, 達刹); ritual efficacy, the making of the perfect sacrificial offering 11. The Inheritance (Aṃśa, 唵沙); the bliss of freedom, the share offered up by the gods The Minor Principles Beyond This World: 12. The Vitalizer (Savitṛ, 娑維特); inspiration through invoking the sacred words of the gods 13. The Empowerer (Śakra, 釋迦羅); valor, courage 14. The Pervader (Viṣṇu, 毘紐); wisdom, transcendental knowledge

15.-25. The Eleven Gales (Rudras, 魯達羅), the catalysts of change, destruction & renewal, including: The Five Motor Organs (karmendriya, 作根) and their five vortexes of psycho-somatic energy (cakras, 輪), stirring the body:

15. The Fearless (Aghora 無畏), ruling the organs of speech that inspire the mind and remove fear, centered at the throat & cervix (viśuddhi cakra, 清浄輪) 16. The Enjoyer of Nature (Īśāna 伊舎那), ruling the hands, organs of contact & manipulation that are in touch with nature, centered at the heart & thorax (anāhata cakra, 無恨輪) 17. The Longing Deity Coming From the Left (Vāma Deva 左天), organs of locomotion ruling the feet and led by the eyes, giving direction to aim and ambition, centered in the gut and lumbar (maṇipūra cakra, 摩尼城輪) 18. The Suddenly Aroused (Sadyojāta 頓生), ruling the organs of procreation and the soma elixir that is offered up, centered at the genitals & sacrum (svādhiṣṭhāna cakra, 自加持輪) 19. The Fundament (Tat Puruṣa 依主), ruling the organ of elimination and the nature that has been enjoyed, centered at the anus & coccyx (mūlādhāra cakra 根持輪) The Five Layers of Illusion (māyā kośa, 摩耶倶舎) stirring the mind but shrouding the soul: 20. The Conqueror of Death (Mṛtyum Jaya 死勝), personifying the layer of bliss from freedom (ananda māyā kośa 歡喜摩耶倶舎) and the sacrifice of all desire and self-interest for a higher purpose. This divine level is the last layer of illusion separated after death 21. That Worshiped on the Right (Dakṣiṇā Mūrti, 右像), personifying the layer of consciousness (vijñāna māyā kośa, 識摩耶倶舎), the human level of knowing one’s own mind. Here, That Worshiped on the Right is the target, the object to be known, while the Longing Deity Coming From the Left (Vāma-Deva, 左天) is the archer, the subjective knower. 22. The Lord of Desire (Kāmeśvara 欲主), personifying the psychic layer (mano māyā kośa, 意生摩耶倶舎), the animal level of instinct driven by motives of appetite and self-interest. 23. The Shepherd (Paśupati 獸主) personifying the vital layer (prāṇa māyā kośa, 氣摩耶倶舎), the breath, pulse, metabolism & physiological systems of the body at the vegetative level. 24. The Lord of the Elements (Bhūteśvara 大主), personifying the nutritional layer (anna māyā kośa, 食摩耶倶舎): Food (anna, 食) is the fodder of the body while speech (vac, 聲) is the fodder of the mind. This mineral level is caused by food, maintained by food and finally ends up as food; This is the first layer of illusion separated after death. The One Stirring Destiny 25. The Soul (Ātman, 我), led by its true purpose

26.-33. The Eight Spheres (Vasus, 八婆藪) are where the gods dwell: Matter - The Sphere of Form 26. Earth (Pṛthivī, 地); Mother earth, the nourisher; the body and its sustenance; The source of abundance, in which dwells: 27. Fire (Agni, 火); The fire within, emitting heat and radiance; It is the mouth and stomach of the gods that devours, digests and consumes the earth. 28. Water (Antārikṣa, 水); The oceans and atmospheres, the matrix of forces that flows between heaven and earth, in which dwells: 29. Wind (Vāyu, 風); The breath of the gods, impelling forces that destroy and renew the currents of vital energy

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The Light of Day in the Sphere Beyond Form: 30. The Sky (Dyaus, 天), father of the sun, moon and stars, fertilizing mother earth with rain, in which dwells: 31. The Sun (Sūrya, 日), the source of light, warmth and life The Darkness of Night in the Sphere Beyond Form: 32. The Planets & Constellations (Nakṣatra, 明星), the realm beyond this world where the

universe was born, in which dwells: 33. The Moon (Candra, 月), the magnet for the soma elixir ruling over the instinctive forces of tides, plants, animals, sexual energy and the cyclical ebb and flow of death and rebirth

The last four of the six heavens in the sphere of desire rise above it and provide deliverance from it: c. The Heaven of Sublime Surrender to Mortality (Suyāma Devaloka, 須夜摩天), where there is

submission to judgment, repentance and atonement d. The Heaven of Rebirth in Grace (Tuṣita Devaloka 兜率天), where there is forgiveness, redemption

and rejuvenation e. The Heaven of Mastery Over Pleasant Spiritual Transformations (Sunirmita Devaloka 樂變天),

where there is complete mastery over the sphere of desire in one’s own life f. The Heaven of Mastery Over the Spiritual Transformation of Others (Paranirmita Vaśavartin

Devaloka, 他化自在天), where there is complete mastery over all lives in the sphere of desire.

The two higher spheres of sentient existence are where there is meditation on its subtle aspects. B. The sphere of form (rūpa dhātu, 色界) is the objective reality of sentient existence, the conditional sphere

that is subject to meditation upon transcending the sphere of desire. There are said to be two components: 1. Physical forms offer resistance to other forms, each occupying their own space (sa pratigha rūpa, 有對色)

in the environment and composed of divisible atoms (paramāṇu, 極微). This includes: a. The elements (antara bhūta, 內大) of physical form (rūpa, 色) and their qualities (guṇa, 德):

1. Earth (pṛthivī, 地); solidity, density 2. Water (apaḥ, 水); fluidity, liquidity 3. Wind (vāyu, 風); motion, turbulence 4. Fire (agni, 火); the radiance of heat and light

b. The five sense faculties, the forms that produce consciousness c. The five objects of sense they behold

2. Mental forms do not offer resistance to other forms or occupy their own space (apratigha rūpa, 無對色) in the environment. These ‘thought forms’ are not composed of divisible atoms. There are two kinds: a. Thought forms that are expressed or communicated (vijñapti rūpa, 表色), which can be:

1. Those expressed through the physical body (kāya vijñapti, 身表): deeds 2. Those expressed through the voice (vāg vijñapti, 言表): words

b. Thought forms that are not expressed or communicated (avijñapti rūpa, 無表色): innermost thoughts, intentions unexpressed through words and deeds.

The Sanskrit word rūpa literally means physical form, but it also implies the beauty of visible form that can be seen, as once the afflictions found in the sphere of desire are transcended, there is the sublime splendor revealed in the objective reality of its forms, experienced through the meditations on its sphere. There are said to be four levels of meditation on this sphere of form that are progressively more free from the sphere of desire, with the fourth becoming completely free of such affliction. Because the afflictions in these levels of meditation are more subtle and rarefied, they are called heavens of meditation. There are the eighteen heavens in the objective reality of sentient existence that is its sphere of form: These eighteen heavens are found in the four levels of meditation on this sphere of form: 1. The first level of meditation (prathama dhyānam, 初靜慮) in the sphere of form is the seeking of

transcendental meaning and purpose through prayer and reflection. The initial approach to meditation (anāgamya samādhi, 未至定) is called the first inspiration of the mind (prathama cittōtpāda, 初發心), rising above its imprisonment in the sphere of desire and entering into the higher spheres of sentient existence, the spheres of its form (objective reality) & existential principles that are beyond form. Customarily, it begins with ‘hitting bottom’, a disgust with the sufferings in the lower sphere and a vow of intensified motive to be delivered from them. This first awakening of faith involves the evocation of empowered words and mental images (verbalized thought). The first level meditation itself involves a cultivated practice of introspection (vipaśyanā 觀心), the seeking (vitarka, 尋) & discovery (vicāra, 伺) of purpose through mental verbalization (the association of mental images and words). When the mind is weak it cannot overcome the obstacles preventing the needed resolve. It is like tugging on something heavier than one can handle. Empowered words are like a lever that can lighten the load. This first level produces joy & contentment through a release

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from attachments (vivekajaṃ prīti sukham, 離生喜樂地). In overcoming obstacles, seeking (vitarka, 尋) counteracts apathy (styāna, 惛) & fatigue (middha, 眠) while discovery (vicāra, 伺) counteracts doubt (vicikitsā 疑) & hesitation (saṃśaya 無決斷).

In terms of the four-fold cultivation of the roots of virtue (catus kuśala mūla, 四善根) this level of meditation corresponds with warming up the heart through the power of prayer (uṣmagata, 煖).

In terms of the thirty-seven facets of spiritual awakening (saptatriṃśad bodhi pakṣya dharmāḥ, 三十七道品) it corresponds with the four moral exertions (catvāri samyak prahāṇāni, 四正勤), the creation of a wholesome spiritual environment through moral commitment (śīla, 戒). They are: 1. Resolve, producing virtue not yet arisen 2. Cultivation, further developing existing virtue 3. Diligence, eliminating existing evil 4. Vigilance, preventing evil not yet arisen

In the Brahmanic system this first level of meditation contains the first three of the eighteen heavens of meditation in the sphere of form (aṣṭādaśa dhyāna loka, 十八禪天). These first three are called The Heaven of Faith in God (brahma devaloka, 梵天). Through prayer & reflection one reveals that which is holy and divine through invoking sacred words. Here one distinguishes between the sounds of words, one’s knowledge of them and their true meaning in one’s life. There are three levels of this heaven: #1 Followers of God (brahma pāriṣadya, 梵衆天): Spiritual followers, celestial choirs of the word #2 Ministers of God (brahma purohita, 梵重甫天): Spiritual leaders, guiding others via the word #3 The Greatness of God (mahā brahman, 大梵天): The holy spirit, author or creator of the word itself

2. The second level of meditation (dvitīya dhyānam, 二靜慮) in the sphere of form is the illumination of transcendental meaning and purpose that is the answer to prayer & reflection. The approach (sāmantaka, 近分定) to the second level of meditation is called the intermediate meditation (dhyāna antara, 中間禪) because it is positioned between the end of the first level and the onset of the second. It begins by going beyond the seeking (avitarka, 無尋) that results in attachment to sensory objects such as words and images and is completed by getting beyond the discovery (avicāra, 無尋) through words and cognitive thought that results in attachment to false beliefs about mental objects. This transcendence of the coarser aspects of faith goes through three phases, or levels: 1. There is attachment to both seeking and discovery (savitarkā savicarā bhūmi, 有尋有伺) 2. Seeking is transcended but not attachment to discovery (avitarka savicarā bhūmi, 無尋唯伺地.) 3. Seeking and discovery are both transcended (avitarka avicārā bhūmi, 無尋無伺地)

The second level of meditation itself involves a cultivated practice of introspection (vipaśyanā 觀心) that produces joy (prīti, 喜) & the bliss of contentment (sukha, 樂) and counteracts the obstacles of disinterest (vyāpāda, 厭) & antipathy (pratigha 瞋恚).

In terms of the four-fold cultivation of the roots of virtue it corresponds with the peak experiences (mūrdhāna, 頂) that are answers to prayer.

In terms of the thirty-seven facets of spiritual awakening, this constitutes the four magical feet of psychic power (catvāra ṛddhipādāḥ, 四如意足), the stoking of the psychic fire within. These are: 1. Concentration of aspiration (chanda, 欲). 2. Concentration of effort (vīrya, 勤) 3. Observing the true meaning and purpose of words (mimāṃsā, 觀), 4. Observing the nature of the inner mind (citta, 心) (that arises from the subconscious)

In the Brahmanic system this is called The Heaven of Light & Sound (ābhāsvara devaloka, 定生喜樂地). This heaven in turn also has three levels: #4 A Measure of Light (paritta ābha, 少光天): The first illumination of transcendental meaning #5 Measureless Light (apramana ābha, 無量光天): Illumination of this meaning in all things #6 Light & Sound (ābhāsvara, 光音天): Perfect fusion of meaning & sound, illumination & joy

3. The third level of meditation (tṛtīyaṃ dhyānam, 第三靜慮) in the sphere of form is a sublime bliss free from attachment, even to the joys (niṣprītika sukha maṇḍa, 離喜妙樂地) found in the second level. The approach (sāmantaka, 近分定) to the third level of meditation entails a resolve to get past attachment to feelings of joy (rapture) and establish continuous mindfulness (smṛti, 念), an uninterrupted remembrance of the transcendental nature of meaning and purpose. Attachment to the emotional waves of feelings from joy (prīti, 喜) cause interruptions in the continuity of this remembrance. As one gets beyond these waves there are ever more subtle and refined vibrations of awareness. Upon entering into a meditation on the boundless nature of consciousness (vijñāna ananta āyatana, 識無邊處) that goes beyond any subjectivity, one prepares for entry into the third level of meditation.

The third level of meditation itself involves a feeling (vedanā 受) of calm (śamatha 止) that is endowed

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with a continuous remembrance, discernment of purpose and an impartiality of mind that is free from subjective attachments. This bliss of contentment manifests itself as a beatitude (śubha, 浄), a state of grace counteracting the obstacles of regret (kaukṛtya 惡念) and restlessness of worry (auddhatya 掉舉).

In terms of the four-fold cultivation of the roots of virtue it corresponds with an enduring observation (kṣānti, 忍) of the nature of life’s purpose.

In terms of the thirty-seven facets of spiritual awakening it corresponds with the arising of the five spiritual capacities (pañca indriyanāṇi, 五根): 1. Faith in life’s transcendental moral purpose (śraddhā, 信), 2. Diligence of effort in sustaining this faith (vīrya, 精進) 3. Mindfulness, continuous remembrance (smṛti, 念) 4. Mental resolve (samādhi, 定) & 5. Transcendental discernment of this purpose (prajñā, 慧)

In the Brahmanic system this is The Heaven of Pure Beatitude (śubha devaloka, 定生喜樂地) on three levels: #7 A Measure of Beatitude (paritta śubha, 少浄天): Joy becomes refined into the bliss of contentment #8 Measureless Beatitude (apramana śubha, 無量浄天): This bliss of contentment is found in all things #9 Beatitude Everywhere (śubha kṛtsna, 徧浄天): The perfection of contentment

4. The fourth & final level of meditation (caturtha dhyānam, 第四靜慮) in the sphere of form is the perfection of mental resolve (samyak samādhi, 正定) and continuous mindfulness (samyak smṛti, 正念) with equanimity (upekṣā, 捨). It is only realized by those who are truly noble of purpose. The approach (sāmantaka, 近分定) to the fourth level of meditation entails a resolve to get beyond all feelings of contentment and suffering through a meditation on the nature of nothingness in the well of the subconscious mind beyond space & time (ākiṃcanya āyatana, 無所有無邊處). There are no more seeds of motive force arising from the subconscious to produce manifestations in the conscious mind.

The fourth level of meditation itself involves a mental resolve (samādhi, 定) with perfect singleness of mind (ekāgratā, 一心) as well as a remembrance and impartiality that is completely pure of any affliction (upekṣā smṛti pariśuddhi, 捨念淸淨地). This results in a perfect discernment of the transcendental nature of purpose (prajñā, 慧) counteracting any further desire for pleasure (kāmacchanda 樂欲). This state is said to be beyond any feelings of suffering or contentment (aduḥkha asukha 非苦非樂).

In terms of the four-fold cultivation of the roots of virtue it corresponds with realization of a greater purpose for life in this world (laukika agra dharma, 世第一法).

In terms of the thirty-seven facets of spiritual awakening it corresponds with the powers of the five moral capacities (pañca bālani, 五力) to overcome spiritual obstacles: 1. Faith overcoming doubt (vicikitsā, 疑) 2. Diligence of effort overcoming apathy (styāna, 惛眠) 3. Continuous remembrance overcoming forgetfulness (musīta smṛtitā, 失念) 4. Resolve overcoming distraction (vikṣepa, 散亂) & 5. Discernment overcoming delusion (moha, 癡)

In the Brahmanic system this fourth level of meditation consists of nine heavens that occur in three stages. The first three heavens here mark attainment of complete freedom from the sphere of desire: #10 Beyond the Clouds (anabhraka, 無雲天) marks the final transcendence of any further coloring from

subject-object duality. #11 Rebirth into Blessings (puṇya prasava, 福生天) marks complete entry into the sphere beyond desire. #12 Ever Greater Fruits (bṛhat phala, 廣果天) marks the manifold effects of this union The fourth heaven here is transformational

#13 Beyond mental associations, suspension of the mind distinguishing objects (asaṃjñi sattvaḥ, 無想天): This thirteenth heaven signals a full penetration of resolve (samāpatti, 正受) in which mental associations (saṃjñā, 想) are no longer made between different objects and the mind is perfectly still. There is a dramatic shift in one’s nervous system, accompanied by a pleasant sense of numbness and heaviness that begins at the crown of the head and envelopes one’s whole being. Beyond this, there is only The Pure Abode of Heaven (śuddhāvāsika devaloka, 浄居天) that is pure of any affliction (anāsrava, 有漏).

The last five heavens are The Five-Fold Pure Abode of Heaven (pañca śuddhāvāsika devaloka, 五浄居天), said to only be attained by those noble and selfless beings who will never again return to the sphere of desire (anāgāmin, 不還 or 阿那含), having penetrated the peak existential experience (bhavāgra, 有頂), the boundlessness of the dialectical principle that is beyond perception or non-perception (naiva saṃjñā anāsaṃjñā āyatana, 非想非非想無邊處). This is complete penetration of the transcendental nature of

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life’s purpose. Those that attain it do not do so just because they are reborn into the sphere of form in sentient existence from the sphere of desire but rather because they have moved to a higher level of destiny (gati, 趣) on the stream (srota, 流) of the noble path. Entry into this highest heaven is therefore an effect, not a cause. In this pure abode, the mind is like a mirror where associations are no longer made between different objects. Here, the cognitive qualities of perception centered at the middle of the brow are overwhelmed by consciousness of the transcendental nature of purpose centered at the crown of the head. Radiating this purity of purpose that is without affliction (anāsrava, 無漏), the heaven above all (akaniṣṭha devaloka, 究竟天) in the sphere of form illuminates all the heavens below it as if they were a body of water that is pure, still and clear, like a mirror casting a perfect reflection of all above and below its surface. In reaching down to all the heavens below, it absorbs them all, including the very lowest level of heaven in the sphere of form, where prayer and reflection follows the words of others (brahma pāriṣadya devaloka, 梵衆天). This pure abode has five inseparable aspects: #14 Without Turbulence (avṛha, 無煩天), beyond any stirring of emotion; On stilling the convection of

feelings, objects of the mind do not come or go, and suffering & contentment are both transcended. #15 Without Heat (atapa, 無熱天), beyond any stirring of desire; When there is no stirring of thought,

the fires of desire remain extinguished and there is no longer any heat of distress. #16 Sublime Presence (sudṛśa, 善現天), the stillness of trance; With purity of sensation, there is the

perfect union of mental resolve and discernment of purpose #17 Sublime Vision (sudarśana, 善見天), the clarity of trance; This purity of consciousness is a sublime

vision illuminating the transcendental meaning of all that is before one. It is said to be the palace of the almighty lord over the sphere of desire (Śakra Devānām Indra, 帝釋).

#18 That Above All (akaniṣṭha, 究竟天), the purity of purpose at the very peak of Mount Sumeru, the perfect blending of the sphere of form & the sphere of existential principles beyond form. From the crown of the head, its purity of purpose radiates on all that is below. It is said to be the very throne of the almighty lord over the sphere of desire (Śakra Devānām Indra, 帝釋).

C. The sphere of existential principles beyond form (arūpa dhātu, 無色界) is the unconditional sphere subject

to meditation upon transcending the spheres of desire and form. Where the sphere of form can be likened to the hardware of consciousness, the sphere beyond form is its software, the binary (electrical, electronic) forces consisting only of ones and zeros, +’s and -’s, being and nothingness. There are said to be four progressively deeper levels of meditation that penetrate this sphere beyond form. There are four heavens of meditation in the sphere of existential principles beyond form: #1 At the first level there is meditation on the boundless nature of empty space (ākāśa ananta āyatana, 空無邊處) that transcends any object of form, the outer manifestations of the conscious mind.

#2 At the second level there is meditation on the boundless nature of consciousness (vijñāna ananta āyatana, 識無邊處) that transcends any inner subjective knower.

These first two constitute the dual components of being, the existential nature, and the duality between the objective sphere of that imagined & the subjective sphere of imaginer. #3 At the third level there is meditation on the nature of nothingness (ākiṃcanya āyatana, 無所有無邊處)

that transcends the existential nature of space (form) & time (consciousness). Here one lets go of any attachment to life in this world. See footnote 24 for more on this.

#4 The fourth level is the peak existential experience (bhavāgra, 有頂), a state of serene illumination emanating from the ultimate dialectical principle of the middle way that is beyond origination and transcendence, beyond being and nothingness and beyond perception and non-perception (naiva saṃjñā anāsaṃjñā āyatana, 非想非非想無邊處).

28. The science of the voice (śabda vidyā, 聲明) and its use in ritual prayer and recitation:

The science of applying the sound of the voice in prayer (mantra, 眞言) and scripture recitation (svādhyāya, 讀誦) is as old as religion itself. It became highly developed in the Tantric practices of Buddhism and Hinduism. On Continuous Invocation (japa, 數呪): The science of mantra invocation became emphasized in the later forms of Tantric Buddhism known variously as The School of Invocations (Mantra Yāna, 眞言宗), The Esoteric Doctrine (Saṃdhāya Bhāṣita, 密教 or 密宗) and The Adamantine Vehicle (Vajra Yāna, 金剛乘). The explanation here addresses the science behind the techniques of mantra practice. It comes partly from ‘A Scripture on Repetitive Prayer’ (Japa Sūtram), a Hindu Tantric text by Pratyāgātānanda Saraswati etal.

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The Sphere of Form (rūpa dhātu, 色界) To understand the science of prayer and meditation in the Vedic, Vedantic and Brahmanic religion that preceded Buddhism, it is useful to understand the nature of the higher sphere (brahma loka, 梵天) where voiced sound (of form) and meaning (beyond form) are found. In getting beyond the sphere of desire (kāma dhatu, 欲) there is entry into what is known as the pure ‘sphere of form’. Here, the six faculties of sensory perception arise untainted by the distractions of selfish desire. The eyes see visible forms (rūpa, 色), the ears hear audible sounds (śabda, 音), the body feels physical contacts (spraṣṭavya, 觸) and the mind perceives objects or objective purposes (dharmaḥ, 諸法) without any such distortions. This is the pure objective reality of sentient existence, or form. (odors and flavors are primarily perceived in the sphere of desire, sensed to satisfy hunger and other carnal purposes, often said to be transcended in this higher sphere). This ‘sphere of form’ is not just regarded as a lifeless substance or static entity. Rather it is a causal matrix, a field of vibrational forces forever flowing and very much alive. This current of creation has different levels through which its life force is revealed. 1. Form as a Static Entity (ākṛti rūpa, 形色) refers to the inertia (tamas, 答摩) of form, with its appearance being

seemingly frozen or fixed into temporary shapes or conditions. 2. Form as Function (kriya rūpa, 作色) refers to the motion (rajas, 刺闍) of form that is ever interacting with and

impacting the environment around it. 3. Form as Power (śakti rūpa, 力色) refers to the essence (sattva, 薩埵) of form, its force as a dynamo that is ever

generating power from within itself, radiating in every direction. The Heaven of the Creator, the author of the divine word (brahma devaloka, 梵天), is the first of the four levels in this sphere of form. This is the heaven of divine prayer, sometimes distinguished as three different heavens: #1 Followers of the Creator (brahma pāriṣadya, 梵衆天): Spiritual followers, the celestial choirs of the word #2 Ministers of the Creator (brahma purohita, 梵重甫天): Spiritual leaders, guiding others via the word #3 The Greatness of the Creator (mahā brahmā, 大梵天): The holy spirit, author or creator of the word itself;

Here there is the ‘universe’ in its literal sense as ‘the oneness of sound (verse)’. The three higher levels in this sphere of form, those of transcendental meditation, are addressed in footnote 27. The holy spirit as the author of the divine word:

In the Vedas, Brahma (梵天) is the creator and author of the word, while his consort Sarasvatī (辯才天女) is the goddess of eloquence upon whose tongue was conferred the invention of language for the human race. In Buddhism, this goddess becomes the Blessed Mother of the Buddha (Bhagavatī, 聖佛母), the womb or matrix of sound and meaning that nurtures enlightenment. Human beings (as the embryos of enlightenment) are able to rise above other creatures through the ability to harness the power of the voice through words. Through the association of articulated sounds with specific meanings and purposes there is development of the cognitive faculty, resulting in a quantum leap in the expansion of consciousness. Words are images of thought, creating the inner voice and the dream world of the imagination. Through creating a duality between named (identified) objects distinguished in the mind and the pure objective reality of form (nāma rūpa, 名色), there is cognition, the causal stress that leads to knowledge and vision. Through the fusion of sound and light, one finds one’s true voice and motive force is transformed into consciousness of meaning and purpose. * Through the beholding of words there is vision. * Through the retention and memory of words there is knowledge. With knowledge and vision there is the identification of dualities and the beginning of history with its dialectics of truth and falsehood, good and evil, self and other, etc. Language endows humans with the communication skills that facilitate memory, social interaction and the ability to interact with their creator through prayer and reflection. By finding their voice, human beings are able to inherit the tools of magic from the gods. Becoming like the gods, they are blessed with the tree of knowledge in the garden of paradise (the pure sphere of form). However, using this knowledge for selfish ends rather than those of the creator is eating the fruit of this tree, leading to separation from the creator and entry into hell (suffering). Properly approaching it requires an awareness of the essential nature of faith and sacrifice, fire and offering, breath and the sound of the voice in prayer. The creator and the author of the divine word (brahmā, 梵天) is only sensible and knowable through transcending the sphere of self-centered desire inherent in sentient existence, penetrating the spheres of objective reality (form) and its existential principles endowed with the nature of emptiness (beyond form), revealing the transcendental sphere of life’s purpose. In revealing the soul (ātman, 我), the identity through which the Creator reveals itself, the word is akin to the Greek logos, the inseparable union of matter & spirit, objective reality & existential principle, breath (pneuma) & purpose (theos). As it says in the Gospel of John: “In the beginning there was the word, the word was with God, and the word was God.” “En arkhêi ên ho lógos, kaì ho lógos ên pròs tòn theón, kaì theòs ên ho lógos.”

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The nature of sound (śabda, 音) found in this divine word is said to have different levels: 1. The sound of the Creator (śabda brahmā, 梵音) is the original causal urge of the universe (ādi kāraṇa, 本因). 2. The sound of the silence (apāra śabda, 無極音) is the great suspense, the well of infinite sound (sphoṭa, 開). 3. The ultimate vibration of sound (pāra śabda, 極音) is the greatness of expression that includes all other

sounds (syllables) within it (praṇava, 本發音, or oṃkāra, 唵字). 4. The primordial (seed) vibrations of sound (śabda tanmātra, 音唯) are those heard by the ultimately perfect ear

(pāramarthika karṇa, 勝義耳); here there are the essential meanings of Sanskrit syllables (see Appendix Q). 5. The subliminal vibrations of sound (sūkṣma śabda, 細音) are those heard by the divine ear of meditation

(divya karṇa, 天耳), including the divine prayer formulas (mantra, 咒 & dhāraṇī, 陀羅尼) in the scriptures. 6. The gross manifestations of sound (sthūla śabda, 麤音) are heard by untrained ears (bhautika karṇa, 肉耳). The sound of the divine human voice (vāk, 聲) is endowed with two different but complementary qualities: 1. The Direct Voice (pāṭha, 梵唄) is the live, transcendental reality of sound, comparable to the very illumination

(bhāna, 光明) of the sun itself (bhānu, 日). It is the essential nature of prayer, a direct expression of life’s purpose through its creator (mahā brahmā, 大梵). This direct voice is the spontaneous and luminous joy of being and becoming that transcends articulated speech.

2. The Indirect Voice (bhāsa, 語言) is the echo of sound, comparable to the shimmering visions (bhāsana, 照耀) on the waters (of consciousness) perceived as a result of the sun’s illumination. It is only a reflection of the direct voice, produced through the speculations of the imagination (vikalpa, 分別). Distinguishing the direct voice into parts, phases and aspects, it constitutes the shadows and reflections of appearances detached from the heart-sign (hṛllekhā, 心印) revealed through the thread of one’s true purpose (sutra ātman, 經我).

* With the direct voice there is the essential nature of sound beyond the different syllables (akṣara, 字), the enduring reality of its secret principle (rahasya, 祕密) that is unrevealed.

* With the indirect voice there are all the different syllables (phonemes) for words (nāma, 句) and phrasings (pada, 名), the morphemes that are the ever-changing aspects of sound being manifested and revealed.

The foundation (adhiṣṭhana, 依處) of direct sound is revealed in the timeless, transcendental reality of being (sat, 有), consciousness (cit, 心) and the joy (ānanda, 喜) that comes from spiritual freedom. To tap into this, one abides in deep meditation with complete stillness of mind while at the same time invoking the coiled or ’serpentine’ neural capacity (potentiality) of the body (kuṇḍalinī śakti, 昆達里尼力) through the voice, paying the homage due it through signs or gestures of heartfelt feeling (hṛllekhā, 心印). Through the continuous cultivation of practice there is progress from the attachments to mere appearances that are found in the echoes of the indirect voice to the freedom of the direct voice in which there is the perfect fullness of sound. The direct voice is just as it is, not self-conscious and trying to overthink or speculate about itself. The deliberations of the mind lead to these speculations, with its different expressions only being the echoes made by the indirect voice, reflections of the direct voice. Philosophy tries to create a bridge (setu, 橋) between the indirect sound of reflection and the direct sound that is the very source of spiritual illumination. The true purpose of the wisdom (vidyā, 明) of the ancient bards (purāṇa kavi, 古詩人) is to lead us towards a realization of the direct voice. There are four levels from the primordial sound of the direct voice to its most indirect, external expression: 1. The transcendental nature of the voice (parā vāk, 本體聲) is the primordial sound, the thunderous voice of the

silence. This ultimate vibration is the timeless nature of sound that transcends all others, being both a point (bindu, 點) of deep stillness that is infinitesimal and a roar (nāda, 吼) that is infinitely broad and deep.

2. The illumination of the voice (paśyantī vāk, 光聲) refers to the radiation of sound, a vision that creates a climate of light opposed to the darkness of ignorance, a splendor extending everywhere equally in all directions.

3. The protean medium of the voice in prayer (madhyamā vāk, 中聲) is the kinetic application of sound, the fluid vessel of its expression, adapting the illumination of meaning into countless different forms. Emotional feelings, mental associations and motive forces interact and break up the ice of crystallized sound through the dialectical process of mediation that frees up the elements of attachment and discord.

4. The articulation of the voice (vaikharī vāk, 形式聲) refers to its most explicit expression, the gross manifestation of words that only involves its literal sounds and meanings. It is the disintegration of voiced sound, its freezing and crystallization into solid forms that have not been digested.

These are called the four faces of the creator (brahmā catur mukha, 四面梵), the author of the voice, with the four faces of the great illuminator (mahā vairocana caturṣu pārśveṣu 四面毘盧遮那) being analogous respectively with the four transcendental kinds of knowledge: #1 the perfect mirror of life’s greater purpose, #2 its nature of equanimity, #3 its observation with sublimely compassionate discernment & #4 its perfect accomplishment.

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These four levels of the voice in terms of their source and manifestation: 1. The transcendental nature of the voice (parā vāk, 本體聲) is the original causal stress (spandana, 動搖), the

source of all vibration. 2. The protean medium of the voice in prayer (madhyamā vāk, 中聲) is the axis of the wheel around which the

vibrations from this causal stress revolve, whether becoming involved in attachments or evolving from them. a. The articulation of the voice (vaikharī vāk, 形式聲) is the involving aspect of vibration, creating different

partial, segmented and asymmetrical forms that are outwardly expressed, including all of its letters, words & phrasings. Illusion is ever retreating and defending itself, weaving its cobwebs of attachment.

b. The revelation of the voice (paśyantī vāk, 光聲) is the evolving aspect of vibration. With the voice unfolding it reveals symmetry, turning the voice into the light of transcendent meaning in three aspects: 1. Sound (śabda, 音) refers to the waves of vibration perceived by the divine ear (divya karṇa, 天耳). 2. Significance (artha, 義) refers to the objective meanings underlying sounds, specific combinations of

vital energy (breath) and matrices of vibration (letters, words, etc.) as specific objects or objectives. 3. Apperception (pratyaya, 緣) refers to the subjective perception of meanings and sounds caused by

predispositions of motive and belief harbored in the subconscious memory (vijñāna, 識).

Realizing the four levels of the voice as a sequential progression: 1. In order to reach from indirect sound to direct sound through the recitation of a prayer-formula (mantra, 呪),

one begins with the proper articulation of its literal words (vaikharī vāk, 形式聲) . 2. Having mastered its proper articulation, one becomes ever more attuned to the vitality of its rhythmic flow

through the protean, fluid medium of expressing the voice in prayer (madhyamā vāk, 中聲). 3. Having already attained a spontaneous harmony of expression, there is an illumination of the words’ meaning

(paśyantī vāk, 光聲) that is continuously retained in the mind, radiating a brilliance that extends equally in all directions and reveals itself in all things.

4. Finally there is the ultimate nature of the voice (parā vāk, 本體聲), the primordial sound beyond space and time. The healing process of prayer harnesses the sound of the direct voice through three main constituents: 1. Faith (śraddhā, 信) is hearing with a desire to know, with the attention of the mind being drawn to the words.

With interest in the work being undertaken, faith is ever gaining strength, a diligence of effort (vīrya, 精進) directed towards the resolve of certainty that is only fully attained through transcendental knowledge (jñāna, 智). Through faith one is ultimately able to overcome all the obstacles of doubt and hesitation.

2 . Invocation (vidyā, 明) is the summoned object of faith, the mnemonic device awakening the transcendental nature of life’s purpose. This is a reference to the different formulas of words designed through the arts and science of the ancient seers (ṛṣi, 仙), the time-honored techniques of expression created by poets (kavi, 詩人) of the creator’s holy spirit (mahā brahman, 大梵). There are three kinds: a. Mantra (呪) is a general reference to the sublime sounds of the voice that are both requests and their

answers, vows and their fulfillment. They are the charged words in prayers, scripture & ritual liturgies. b. Japa (數呪) refers to a rhythmic, repeated focusing on specially chosen divine words reflecting the

resolve found in the transcendental nature of life’s purpose. By retaining them, sublime sounds of prayer are kept in mind subliminally and lead to a realization of the primordial sound.

c. Bīja Mantra (種子呪) refers to ‘seed’ or primordial sounds (śabda tanmātra, 音唯種) that stimulate the sympathetic (heating) & para-sympathetic (cooling) centers of the autonomic (emotive) nervous system. Invoking these seed formulas is like playing an octave on a violin that stirs the strings on other violins. If one properly tunes the voice and taps into this primordial sound (praṇava, 本音) that directly causes the arousing of consciousness, one can ultimately read the entire record of the space-time continuum (ākāśa, 虛空) harbored within the subconscious memory through the divine ear (divya karṇa, 天耳 ).

3. Seated Approach (upaniṣad, 優波尼沙土) is a reference to the flow of meditation (dhyāna, 禪) in which consciousness moves towards the object of faith with stillness of mind. As the current from the heart (hṛdaya, 心 or 干栗馱) approaches its creator, there is a penetration of the secret mystery (rahasya, 祕密), the transcendental nature of life’s purpose, with a perfect resolve of meditation (samādhi, 定).

One must find a quiet place to practice continuous invocation. If the mind is distracted there will be little to no benefit. One must find a proper balance between the invocation that is directed outward and the meditation that is directed inward, ever maintaining equanimity of mind between them. One maintains an erect posture and regulates the breath with a harmonic and spontaneous balance between inhalation and exhalation. When one’s feelings are balanced, one avoids the obstacles preventing meditation. One does not become discouraged when emotional disturbances arise with seemingly ever greater vehemence and one does not get too curious or impatient about attaining the final result. This final result is not very perceptible to the outer eye and the

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conscious mind because so much of it is happening subconsciously. Upon becoming aware of the end goal of continuous invocation, there is the sound that arises from the great silence. This climax (meru, 山頂) should not be over-reached, as there is a limit which cannot be transgressed and ultimately one will need to let go of it entirely in any case. A meal is spoiled when it is overcooked. Ultimately one does not leave this continuous invocation. Rather it leaves of its own accord. The vital energy of breath & voice work together to arouse consciousness: * The vital energy of breath (prāṇa, 氣) is the storehouse of power, with the fire (agni, 火) of intensified motive

force being its transforming principle. This is the divine nature of breath, pulse and neural energy, the elemental force behind the stress of voice, the ocean of power that is concentrated in an individual life.

* The voice (vāk, 聲) evolves this vital energy into its different forms. It is the causal stress (spandana, 動搖), the fixing of vital energy to different set matrices of vibrations (letters, syllables, words, etc.). Vital energy enters into these set forms or patterns, flows of power in which the seeds (bīja, 種子) of sound are invoked. As they are aroused, this energy becomes involved in articulated words, its power being applied to specific functions. Just as the body needs a source of nourishment (anna, 食) from which to absorb vital energy so it can live and grow, consciousness needs a voice so it can be aroused and awakened. Voice creates a fundamental stress of vibration that churns the waters of consciousness, stirring its waves of emotion.

The stress of vital energy dwells at a nucleus or center (nābhi, 那鞞) of consciousness, evolving in four steps: 1. The vital energy of breath intensifies and becomes compressed into starting points (bindu, 點), first being

stored as latent seeds of potentiality (bījaḥ, 諸種子), stress points within the subconscious memory. 2. Upon being aroused, these seeds are drawn out by their environment and become actualized as explosions of

infinite expansion (nāda, 吼). They burst open in the conscious mind as the stress of impulses & motivations. 3. Branching out into different phases and aspects (kalā, 時分) defined between these two positions of patency and

potency, there is the stress of conflict and interplay between the conscious and subconscious mind. 4. Through the rhythmic flow in a process of mediation (ardha mātrā, 畔界), the governing principle of harmony

resolves these different phases and aspects back to the undifferentiated ground of vital energy. Ultimately, there is a resolution of this stress between these conscious and subconscious aspects of the mind that are mutually dependent.

The ground of vital energy (prāṇa, 氣) defines itself through the stress of voice (vāk, 聲) in four aspects: 1. Vision (īkṣaṇam, 見 or 伊刹尼) is the act of orienting or positioning oneself into a set form or pattern.

Although the essential nature of vital energy is spontaneity, vision it is not just a blind or brute force. Rather it is a sunshine that is ever revealing and refining the forms and patterns of causal stress that otherwise would be static or lifeless. Form is the cave from which this sunshine is hidden. With vital energy entering into it, there is the unfolding lotus of creation.

2. Desire (kāma, 欲) is the creative instinct for survival and procreation, the urge to proliferate and organize its forms. With spontaneity, vital energy combines intention with the power of its impulses or motive forces to enjoy that which is pleasing and desired. The joy of bliss (ānanda, 喜) is the point of intensity (bindu, 點) that is freed from the stress of attachment to the ever-expanding space/time continuum (nada, 吼).

3. Heat (tapas, 熱) is the concentration of motive force on this single point of intensity (bindu, 點) over time, creating ever greater potential for its expansion (nada, 吼). Intentional design (saṅkalpa, 思) is a continuous application of this motive force over time. With the voice going through phases of ever-repeated cycles of concentration and expansion, it is like a bellows feeding a fire (agni, 火), with motive force being stoked. This involves not only a straight line of intensified motivation towards an objective but all kinds of symmetrical phases (kalā, 時分) adapting to the environmental conditions at hand.

4. Voice (vāk, 聲) is the technique of implementation for stoking this heat of motivation. Through words it ever evolves, mediating the conflicts between meaning and apprehension, penetrating ever more subtle levels of subject-object duality. This mediation (ardha mātrā, 畔界) is a negotiating bridge (setu, 橋) forever resolving differences. Voice is the matrix formula by which the vital energy of the breath works out this process.

So far, we have largely explained voice in terms of its different metaphysical elements. However, it must conform with our daily life experience to be relevant. There are three doors to the inner sanctuary where one is able to discover the secret of continuous invocation: a. Knowledge is possession of the keys. b. Vision is finding the right key for the door that is before one. c. Practice is using the right key and so attaining entry.

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Continuous invocation begins with proper articulation and ultimately leads to perfect attunement with the principle of rhythm and harmony. With the development of faith and the use of an effective technique, there is penetration of this principle. The creator (brahmā, 梵天) or procreator (prajāpati, 波闍波提) of the divine song reveals the voice through an axis (a garland, necklace or rosary) of syllables or letters (akṣamālā, 字摩羅) and the two wings of the swan (haṃsaḥ, 鵝), the breath of life that is its carrier. This creator has four faces: 1. Amplitude is the footprint (pāda, 足) of place (deśa, 處), the loudness or silence. 2. Rhythm is the measure (mātrā, 量) of time (kāla, 時), the beat or meter. 3. Pitch is arrival at the ultimate limits (kāṣṭhā, 究竟) of harmony, reaching the low, middle & high notes. 4. Melody is the evolution of notes, letters, syllables and words in different phases that unfolds the content. Through balancing the intelligence of reason and the dynamism of motive force with artistic harmony, the master of procreation avoids the two extremes found in the wings of breath: * Too much enjoyment of the honey (madhu, 蜜) cripples the wing of intensity found in inhalation & retention. * Too much work of the honeybees (kaiṭaba, 蜜蜂) cripples the wing of freedom found in exhalation & release. Through the lawless nature of spontaneity there is the bliss of freedom and not just the rigid, mechanical determinism of a lawfully ordered process. * Through a string of syllables (akṣamālā, 字摩羅) there are the charged, animated words of prayer (mantra, 呪),

the stresses of motive force arising from deep inside. This is the intrinsic sound (svābhāvika śabda, 音自性) that is in fact a threefold union of sound, meaning and apprehension.

* Through a vessel or gourd containing the waters (kamaṇḍalu, 瓶) there is the structure or methodology that supports and guides these motive forces, cooling them down and organizing them into a coherent plan (yantra, 圖). This is the map or pattern revealing the path, the thread of the soul (sutra ātman, 經我).

* Through the wings of the swan (haṃsaḥ, 鵝) that is the breath of life there is the carrier that weaves the different threads of the ritual performance (tantra, 儀軌).

Through a process of mediation, power evolves from the interaction of these three. In the continuous invocation of prayer, one begins with a heartfelt articulation of one’s purpose and becomes attuned to the primordial sounds in the divine experience and the one unifying sound of consciousness (oṃkāra, 唵字) found in all expression. Brahmā is said to hold the scripture (Vedas, 韋陀), a string of beads (mālā, 摩羅) that constitute the charged words of prayer, a ladle (sruk, 長柄勺) of clarified butter (ghee, 蘇油) used to stoke the fire and a gourd (kamaṇḍalu, 瓶 or ālābū, 葫蘆) of water used to cool it off. * The Rising Pitch (udaya, 生) is the utterance of the primordial sound at the very beginning of a prayer

formula. It is ascending, resonating with a measure of the fire (agni mātrā, 火量) of motive force until it merges with the great roar of sound.

* The Falling Pitch (vilaya, 滅) is the utterance of the primordial sound (oṃkāra, 唵字) at the end of a prayer formula. It mellows out gradually with a measure of the nectar (soma mātrā, 蘇摩量) that is the bliss of contentment until it merges with the infinite silence.

The pattern of continuous invocation has the following steps of progress: * It starts as an expanding voice (nāda, 吼), arising from the gut (nābhi, 那鞞). * This evolves into the different phases (kalā, 時分) of letters, syllables and words through the mouth. * These different phases are then re-absorbed as the rising voice (nāda, 吼) is heard and retained in the mind. * The point (bindu, 點) is gradually set as a perfect point of potency that is at once empty and full, infinite and

infinitesimal. This is the offering (soma, 蘇摩). And so the various letters, syllables and words are the different phases of the power diagram, patterns that begin with the primordial sound, disintegrate into multiplicity and finally are re-integrated into a harmonic unity. A harmonic balance needs to be maintained between two primary factors: 1. The Measure of Fire (agni mātrā, 火量) warms up the stimulating or sympathetic channel of the autonomic

nervous system (rasanā or piṅgalā nadī, 右脈) through continuous invocation and leads to transformation (pariṇāma, 轉變). Here there is the expansion of sound (nāda, 吼) initially arising from the gut. Sounds with a predominance of fire are characterized by the elongation of vowels.

2. The Measure of Nectar (soma mātrā, 蘇摩量) is the cooling or calming found in parasympathetic channel of the autonomic nervous system (lalanā or iḍā nadī, 左脈) through the stillness of mind found in meditation (dhyāna, 靜慮). This nectar is a sap or juice that leads to soothing and contentment. Here there is contraction into a point (bindu, 點) of bliss in the brain. This is also characterized by a shortening of vowel sounds.

These two keep trying to overpower one another in phases (kalā, 時分) until they reach a creative harmony.

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The primordial sounds as seed letters (bīja akṣara, 種字): The voice (vāk, 聲) is differentiated into strings of letters & syllables, forming necklaces (mālā, 瓔珞) or garlands (avataṃsa, 華嚴) of expression. The matrix (mātṛka, 本母 or 摩呾理迦) of sounds from the voice is an organized system of stress (spandana, 動搖) that is formed into letters (varṇa, 文) & syllables (akṣara, 字), with each being invested with a core meaning which can be understood on different levels (see Appendix Q for more on this). It is beyond the scope of this work to go into these here, but on the level of the bodhisattva’s purpose, the following syllables are said to represent the bodhisattvas that play a role in The Heart Sūtra: * DHIḤ is said to be the seed syllable for the Bodhisattva Prajñā, the mother bestowing the sublime nature of

the voice that gestates, gives birth to and nourishes transcendental discernment. * MAṂ is said to be the seed syllable for the Bodhisattva Manjuśrī as the deliverer of this transcendental

discernment from one person to another, endowing sentient beings with spiritual strength. * SAT said to be the seed syllable for the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara as the heart of compassion, bestowing the

essential nature of meaning and purpose so that can be understood by ordinary sentient beings.

29. The seven methodologies (七宗) in Japan according to Kūkai in his time were: a. The two lesser tracks

1. Those for students of life’s purpose (shōmon, 聲聞) 2. Those for self-enlightened beings (engaku, 縁覺)

b. The five schools of the greater track: 3. The Madhyamaka School (Sanron Shū, 三論宗) 4. The Yogācāra School (Hossō Shū, 法相) 5. The School based on The Garland Sūtra (Kegon Shū, 華嚴宗),) 6. The School based on The Lotus Sūtra (Tendai Shū, 天台宗) 7. The Esoteric, or Mantra School (Shingon Shū, 眞言宗)

In Kūkai’s time the Pure Land and Meditation Schools had not fully emerged as independent entities in Japan. 30. Sheep (or goats), deer (or unicorns) & bulls: This is a reference to the parable of the burning house (ādīptāgāra, 火宅) from chapter three of the Lotus Sūtra, 妙法蓮華經) ‘On The Parable’ (Upama Parivartaḥ, 譬喻品): Children (sentient beings) are playing in a old, rotting house that is on fire (in the mortal realm of life & death, that is, sentient existence) that inevitably leads to the suffering of affliction (and death). Their father (the Buddha) entices them to leave the house, promising them three carts that they can enjoy just outside the door of the house. These are the three vehicles that enable them to escape this affliction. Once the door is penetrated, the children discover there is really just one great cart, the one universal vehicle that enables them to enter in to the grace from the transcendental nature of life’s purpose. The three vehicles involved in overcoming afflictions are: a. Students of the noble path (śrāvakas, 聲聞), those learning to overcome affliction by following the words of

others have carts that are said to be pulled by sheep or goats (aja ratha, 羊車), like flocks that are herded. b. Self-enlightened beings (pratyeka buddhas, 辟支佛) overcome afflictions though their own self-reflection

that is beyond words but have not yet awakened to a higher sense of purpose. As they neither lead nor follow, they have carts that are said to be pulled by deer (mṛga ratha 鹿車, 鹿車) who follow their own path. Sometimes they are referred to as unicorns or rhinoceroses (khaḍga viṣāṇa, 麟角).

c. Those awakening sentient beings to life’s greater purpose (bodhisattvas, 菩薩) lead others. Their carts are said to be pulled by bulls (go ratha, 牛車), those who are capable of shouldering a greater load.

31. The six powers of spiritual penetration (ṣaḍ abhijnāḥ, 六通):

1. The divine eye (divya cakṣus, 天眼通) of meditation penetrates the subtle illuminations of cause and effect (karma and retribution), visions in the sphere of form

2. The divine ear (divya śrotra, 天耳通) penetrates subtle sounds, expressions of purpose or intent heard in the audible sphere of form

3. The knowledge that penetrates the thoughts and intentions of others (paracitta jñāna, 他心通) 4. The knowledge that penetrates the past lives of others (pūrva nivāsānu smṛti jñāna, 宿命通) 5. The magic feet that can travel anywhere in the spiritual realm, instantly at will (ṛddhi sākṣāt kriyā, 神足通) 6. The knowledge that destroys all afflictions (āsrava kṣaya jñāna, 漏盡通)

32. The five lineages, or tracks: This can have two different understandings.

a. It can be a reference to the five lineages (pañca gotrāni, 五種性) of non-afflicted knowledge as understood by the Yogācāra school:

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1. The lineage to become a student of life’s purpose (śrāvaka yāna abhi gotra, 聲聞乘定性) 2. The lineage to become a self-enlightened being (pratyekabuddha yāna abhi gotra, 獨覺乘定性) 3. The lineage of grace from one who has descended into this world as a Buddha

(tathāgata yāna abhi gotra, 如來乘定性) 4. A lineage not fixed to any one of these three (aniyata gotra, 不定種性) 5. Being without any of the above lineages (agotra, 無性)

b. It can also refer more generally to the five tracks (pañca yānāni, 五乘) capable of awakening to this transcendental knowledge: 1. Human beings (manuṣya, 人) 2. Divine beings in the heavens of meditation (devas, 天) 3. Students learning about life’s purpose (śrāvakas, 聲聞) from the words of others 4. Self-enlightened beings (pratyeka buddhas, 縁覺) 5. Those awakening sentient beings (bodhisattvas, 菩薩) to the transcendental nature of life’s purpose

33. Indra’s net (因陀羅網 or 帝釋網), a golden lion, a house and its rafters and the relationship between water

and its waves were metaphors employed by the teachers of the Garland School (Huáyán Zōng, 華嚴宗) to explain the seamless blending and mutual interpenetration between the transcendental nature and all of the practices and realizations found along the bodhisattva path. This includes the relationships between: * The nature of emptiness (śūnyatā, 空) and the arising of mutually dependent conditions (pratitya samutpada, 緣起) * Transcendental principle (bhūta tathatā, 理) and the phenomena of sentient existence (vastu, 事): * The embryonic nature of enlightenment (tathāgata garbha, 如來藏) and the subconscious store of memory

(ālaya vijñāna, 藏識) that serves as its womb with the seven evolving manifestations of consciousness (pravṛtti vijñāna, 轉識) - vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch, the distinction of objects & the calculation of self-interest.

* The metaphor of the house and its rafters illustrates the six aspects of mutual dependence that are found in the arising of conditions of sentient existence that are endowed with the nature of emptiness.

* The metaphor of a water and its waves illustrates the seamless interpenetration between the dialectical principle found in the grace of the Buddha’s spiritual life and the phenomena found in the mutually dependent conditions of sentient existence.

* The metaphor of the golden lion was said to have been used by Fǎzáng to explain all of these principles to the Empress Wǔ Zétiān (武則天).

* The metaphor of the Indra’s net illustrates the seamless interpenetration of these different phenomena in the light of the Buddha’s grace. Indra is the Divine Lord Almighty (Śakra Devānām Indra 帝釋) who rules over the gods of the natural world in the sphere of desire (kāma dhātu, 欲界) atop Mt. Sumeru (須彌山), its peak and axis, wielding the thunderbolt (vajra, 伐折羅), producing the storms, nourishing the earth, upholding cosmic order and vanquishing evil (see footnotes 21 and 27).

See appendices M through P for translations of these metaphors as explained by the masters of this school. 34. The Great Discourses on the Science of Voiced Sound (Śabda Śāstra or Śabda Vidyā, 聲論 or 聲明) refers to

the literature on the root meanings of individual Sanskrit letters and syllables and their integration to form its vocabulary and grammar (vyākaraṇa, 和伽羅 or 毘伽羅) as well as its philology, etymology, syntax, etc. There are various authors but Pāṇini is deemed definitive and often referred to as the father of linguistics. His ‘Eight Meditations’ (Aṣṭādhyāyī) and Patañjali ’s ‘Great Commentary’ on it (Mahābhāṣya) are considered authoritative.

35. Atikūṭa (阿地瞿多 or 無極高, active in China c. 650) was an early Tantric master who translated The Sūtra on

the Collection of Invocations (Dhāraṇī Samuccaya Sūtra, 陀羅尼集經) in twelve volumes that compiled the many different Buddhist prayer-formulas in use. It included the formula used in The Heart Sūtra.

36. The eight negations (八不): Nāgārjuna’s explanation of the transcendental nature of the dialectical principle of

the middle way (madhyamā pratipad, 中道) through what it isn’t, found in the introductory stanza of verse that begins his Discourse on the Dialectical Principle of the Middle Way (Mūla Madhyamaka Kārikā, 中論): “Beyond arising (into existence) and perishing (into non-existence),

Beyond (the permanence of) eternity and (the impermanence of) transience, Beyond (the sameness of) unity and (the differences of) diversity, and Beyond coming (into the future) and going (into the past)

anirodham anutpādam, anucchedam aśāśvataṃ | 不生亦不滅　　不常亦不斷 anekārtham anānārtham, anāgamam anirgamaṃ || 不一亦不異　　不來亦不出

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37. Dhāraṇīs and mantras: Broadly speaking, there is no difference between the mnemonic (memory inducing) devices (dhāraṇīs, 陀羅尼) used to maintain mindfulness of the Buddha’s purpose and the esoteric invocations of Tantric Buddhism (mantras, 眞言 ). Both involve the acceptance and employment of words in the secret language (saṃdhā bhāṣa, 祕密語) of the Buddha to summon resolve (samādhi, 三昧) and transcendental discernment (prajñā, 般若 ), with the grace of the Buddha’s spiritual life working through one’s own life to attain freedom from affliction and realize its transcendental purpose. However, in distinguishing differences between them: 1. Dhāraṇīs are such invocations that appear in earlier scriptures encapsulating Buddhist teachings and

serving as mnemonic devices. Even the very early Dharmaguptaka School (法藏部) included a ‘Basket of Invocations’ (dhāraṇī piṭaka, 陀羅尼) among its canon of scriptures.

2. Mantras appeared later (with the advent of Tantric scriptures in the seventh and eighth centuries) and elaborated on these invocations. They are more formally associated with ritual practices that include a weaving of resolves (from the mind), incantations (from the mouth) and deeds (from the body) as well as the use of gestures (mūdras, 手印) and ritual implements (bhāṇḍa , 器 or 具), entry into transcendental spheres of grace or ‘deities’ (maṇḍalas, 曼荼羅 & adhidevas, 本尊) and initiation ceremonies (ābhiṣeka, 灌頂) from spiritual preceptors (gurus, 師).

38. All the scriptures being found in a single utterance such as ‘A’ or ‘OṂ’: From the earliest times it was taught

that there was really but one sūtra or utterance of the Buddha that was then divided into different forms by others to adapt to those with different capacities at different times. This was a cardinal doctrine even in the very early ‘School on a Single Utterance’ (Ekavyavahārika, 一說部), one the earliest schools of Buddhism, and was found in later Tantric meditations on the single syllables of ’A’ or ‘OṂ’ including all the sounds of the Buddha.

39. The adopted consciousness (ādāna vijñāna, 阿陀那識) is another name for the subconscious store of memory (ālaya vijñāna, 藏識). A life that is born into this world is ‘adopted’ as an identity that stays with this store of memory to the very end of its life. It takes on and retains (ādāna, 執持) the seeds of its memory and sustains them so that they are not lost or destroyed.

40. Bleached bones, mottled corpses: This is a reference to the nine kinds of thought (nava saṃjñā, 九想) that arise

through meditation on a corpse in order to comprehend the uncleanliness of sentient existence and so curb attachments to physical desires; Monks would undergo this meditation upon visiting charnel grounds. These nine included meditation on corpses that were: 1. Blue and mottled (vinīlaka saṃjña, 青瘀想) 2. Putrified and decayed (vipūyaka saṃjña, 膿爛想) 3. Worm eaten (vipadumaka saṃjña, 蟲噉想) 4. Swollen (vyādhmātaka saṃjña, 膨脹想) 5. Red-stained with blood (vilohitaka saṃjña, 血塗想) 6. Devoured by animals (vikhāditaka saṃjña, 壞爛想) 7. Dismembered (viksiptaka saṃjña, 敗壞想) 8. Burnt (vidagdhaka saṃjña, 燒想) 9. Reduced to bones (asthi saṃjña, 骨想)

41. The thunderbolt, or diamond (vajra, 金剛) & the lotus (padma, 蓮花) represent respectively resolve and

compassion, the embryonic nature of enlightenment and the subconscious store of memory, the ultimate principle and the phenomenal reality on the ground.

42. Vairocana (毘盧舍那): ‘The Great Illuminator’, often translated into Chinese as ‘The Greatness of the Sun’ (大日),

the Buddha personifying the existential nature of the spiritual realm, the transcendental sphere of life’s purpose (dharma dhātu svabhāva, 法界體性), pervaded by the unconditional vow that is endowed with the ultimate nature of emptiness. This Buddha appears in the Garland (Avataṃsaka) Sūtra as well as the later Tantric scriptures and became especially prevalent in China and beyond, beginning in the eight century.

43. Śrāvastī (舍衛國) was the capital city of Kośala (憍薩羅國), one of the sixteen kingdoms in India at the time of

the Buddha Śākyamuni. It was one of the places he frequented, especially during the rainy season retreats. Many of his famous teachings occurred here as well as a couple of his miracles.

44. Any excess (ati): The Sanskrit suffix ‘ati’ here refers to attachment to any projections of life’s purpose. Through

the nature of emptiness there are no attachments to them and they are just as they are, without any ‘excess’. 45. Attaining enlightenment in this very life (即身成佛): Attaining the super-human capacities of the bodhisattvas

was said to entail three countless rounds of lifetimes in cultivation on the noble path (bhāvanā mārga, 修道). a. During the first round of countless lifetimes (prathame asaṃkhyeya kalpa, 初無數劫), bodhisattvas equip

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themselves with two kinds of provisions (sambhāra, 資糧) employed in incremental emancipation (mokṣa bhāgiya, 順解脫分) from the obstacles of emotional disturbance (kleśa āvaraṇa, 煩惱障) until this emancipation becomes perfectly fulfilled. These two kinds of provisions are: 1. The earning of merit (puṇya guṇa, 福德) 2. Knowledge and discernment (jñāna prajñā, 智慧) of the transcendental nature of life’s purpose

These included training in the ten levels of introspection on the bodhisattva’s purpose, the ten distinguished practices of spiritual deliverance & the ten levels of dedication in turning one’s life over (see footnotes 7A-C).

b. During the second round of countless lifetimes (dvitīya asaṃkhyeya kalpa, 第二無數劫) there is entry into the bodhisattva’s first seven levels of grounding in the transcendental nature of life’s purpose (bhūmi, 地). (See footnote 7D ). During this time, there is a severing of the innate obstacles of cognitive dissonance, going through each level in three phases: 1. Entering into and abiding in cultivation (sthiti, 住) at a certain level of grounding (by first suddenly

severing the cognitive obstacles that are just speculations about distinctions) 2. Fulfilling its realization (pūrna, 滿) (by gradually severing innate cognitive obstacles) 3. Being grounded in this level in the transcendental nature of purpose (bhūmi, 地)

c. The third round of countless lifetimes (tṛtīyaṃ asaṃkhyeya kalpa, 第三無數劫) lasts from attainment of the eighth level of grounding in the transcendental nature that is unshakeable (acalā bhūmi, 不動地) through the tenth (grounding in the cloud of life’s purpose - dharma meghā bhūmi, 法雲地) until there is the sudden moment of adamantine resolve (vajra upamā samādhi, 金剛喻定) and a realization of the fruit of perfect enlightenment (buddha phala, 佛果) that goes on forever into the future without end.

Through employment of the skillful means employed in the ‘secret’ teaching, it was said that all of this could be accomplished in a single lifetime. Kūkai explained that there were three levels of understanding this mystery: a. Attaining enlightenment in this very life through its endowment in principle (理具成佛): All sentient beings,

whether ordinary or noble, are endowed with the (embryonic) nature of enlightenment and its nature of cause and effect (karma and retribution) and so have the capacity to realize enlightenment in this very life.

b. Attaining enlightenment in this very life through accepting and retaining the aid of the Buddha (加持成佛): Through acceptance and employment of the grace of the Buddha’s spiritual life and letting it work through one’s own life, there is being blessed by this grace (adhiṣṭhāna, 加持). This involves the three-fold mystery of unafflicted thought, word and deed that arises through an object of worship (adhideva, 本尊) as it quickly ascends through each of the ten levels of grounding in the transcendental nature of life’s purpose.

c. Attaining enlightenment in this very life through its very revelation (顯得成佛): This is attaining the ultimately perfect fruit of enlightenment. With perfect correspondence between the inner cause and the outer conditions, the ocean of grace from the maṇḍala (曼荼羅) is assembled and revealed before one.

46. Early Tantric masters in the lineages of transmission for propagation of Tantric Buddhism in East Asia include:

a. Nāgārjuna (龍猛, c. mid seventh century) is usually first cited. Although this is often said to refer to the renowned founder of the Dialectical (Madhyamaka) School (see footnote 4A2), who probably lived in the second century CE (well before the establishment of Tantric Buddhism), parts of the lore about this master (Maha Siddha) Nāgārjuna have him teaching about Tantric Buddhism at Nālandā, which was not really established as a Buddhist monastery until the Gupta Dynasty in the fifth century. Consequently, it is likely that this is reference to a later teacher by the same name, about whom little else is known. Nevertheless, later Tantric Buddhism in Japan and Tibet continued to refer to these two as being one and the same.

b. Nāgabodhi (龍智, c. late seventh century) was said to be a great master (Mahā Siddha) from southern India who studied Tantric Buddhism under (presumably the latter) Nāgārjuna. Legend has it that he practiced for twelve years, but an large red horn grew of the top of his skull. When Nāgārjuna awakened him to the transcendental nature of emptiness, the horn disappeared and he attained liberation. Nāgabodhi remained in India but he is said to have helped train Vajrabodhi and met his disciple Amoghavajra.

c. Śubhākarasiṃha (善無畏, 637–735) was the first of the great Tantric masters to come to China. Said to be originally from Magadha and of royal blood, he later studied at Nālandā under the Tantric master Dharmagupta (達摩掬多), who encouraged him to transmit the teachings to China. Upon arriving at the capital Cháng’ān in 716 CE (already eighty years old), Śubhākarasiṃha translated the Scripture on the Great Illuminator (Mahā Vairocana Sūtra or Mahā Vairocana Abhisaṃbodhi Tantra (大毘盧遮那成佛神變加持經), the primary Tantric scripture on the tradition connected with the maṇḍala of the Womb of Compassion (garbha dhātu, 胎蔵界). He became well known for his spiritual powers and was a favorite of the Emperor Xuánzōng (玄宗, 685- 762). Nineteen works are attributed to him in the Taishō canon and he was largely responsible for first bringing Tantric Buddhism to China. Yi Xing (一行) served as his chief disciple, helping him with his translations into Chinese.

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d. Vajrabodhi (金剛智, 671–741) was the second of three Tantric missionaries to arrive during this period in China (in 720, four years after Śubhākarasiṃha). From southern India, he studied Buddhist logic under the renowned Dharmakīrti and Tantric practice under Śāntijñāna and Nāgabodhi at the Nālandā Monastery. He also traveled to Śrī Laṅka and Śrī Vijaya (a Buddhist kingdom in Sumatra), where he studied Tantric Buddhism under a different lineage than that taught at Nālandā. He arrived in China via the maritime route from Śrī Vijaya, also settling in at the capital city of Cháng’ān. Here he translated the Scripture on the Diamond Crown (Vajra Śekhara Sūtra, 金剛頂瑜伽中略出念誦經), the first part of the Summary of the Principles of All the Enlightened Beings That Have Descended Into This World (Sarva Tathāgata Tattva Saṃgraha, 佛說一切如來真實攝大乘現證三昧大教王經) and the primary Tantric scripture on the tradition connected with the maṇḍala of the adamantine realm of transcendental wisdom (vajra dhātu, 金剛界). There are twenty-four scriptures attributed to him in the Taishō canon. His chief disciple Amoghavajra accompanied him from India and Śrī Vijaya and carried on his work.

e. Yīxíng (一行, 683–727) was the chief disciple of Śubhākarasiṃha in China and assisted him in his translation of Tantric sciptures in Chinese, including his seminal Mahāvairocana Sūtra (he also wrote an influential commentaty on it). He was also renowned in his own right as an astronomer, mathematician, inventor, mechanical engineer and inventor of ingenious astronomical clocks.

f. Amoghavajra (不空, 705–774) was born in Samarkand to a family of Sogdian origin (Sogdiana covered parts of what now are called Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan). He came to China at age ten and was ordained in 719, becoming a disciple of Vajrabodhi. When foreign monks were expelled from China in 741, he went on a pilgrimage to India, Śrī Laṅka, Śrī Vijaya and Indochina, studying and gathering scriptures. During this journey, it is said he met Nāgabodhi, Vajrabodhi's master, and trained in Tantric Buddhist ritual practices. He returned to China in 746 with many scriptures and went on to translate many of them (181 are attributed to him in the Taishō canon). Amoghavajra was instrumental in merging the two maṇḍala practices laid out in the Mahā Vairocana and Vajra Śekhara Sūtras. He was captured during the Ān Lùshān (安禄山) Rebellion (755-763) but was freed by loyalists in 757. He became very influential at court, initiating the emperor Emperor Sùzōng (肅宗) as a ‘Universal Emperor’ (cakravartin, 輪王). In 765 he offered a new translation of the Sūtra on the Humane King Protecting the Nation With Transcendental Discernment (仁王護國般若波羅蜜多經), advocating for the role of Buddhism as the guardian of the nation (rāṣṭrapāla buddha śāsana, 護國佛教), a partnering with the nation’s leaders towards a mutually beneficial relationship between church and state for the common good. This cemented the connection with the court through elaborate ritual practices designed to help guide the nation and avert disasters and resulted in Amoghavajra gaining great influence. He also helped establish the renowned Monastery of the Gold Pavilion (Jīngé Sì, 金閣寺) on the Mountain of the Five Pedestals (Wǔtái Shān, 五臺山) to promote the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī as the protector of China.

g. Huìguǒ (恵果, 746-805) was ordained in 766 and later established residence as a prominent monk at the renowned Monastery of the Western Light (Xīmíng Sì, 西明寺) in the capital city of Chang’an, a site which had hosted many of the bright lights of Buddhism during the Táng Dynasty such as Xuánzàng (玄奘), Wŏnch'ŭk (圓測), Yijing (義淨) and Śubhākarasiṃha (善無畏). The Indian monk Prajñā (般若), one of the translators of The Heart Sūtra (see footnote 1d), was also there during his stay. Huìguǒ began his study of Buddhism under a senior disciple of Amoghavajra and eventually became his direct disciple. He extensively trained in the two maṇḍala practice before being fully initiated by Amoghavajra. Later (c. 805) Huìguǒ would transmit the two maṇḍala practice to Kūkai (while Prajñā trained him in Sanskrit). While the influence of Tantric traditions largely diminished in China after the persecution of Buddhism (and other religions considered foreign) in 845 by Emperor Wǔzōng (武宗), the lineage survived in Japan as the Shingon school. For more on the biography of Kūkai (空海, 774–835), see footnote 3g.

47. The ten kinds of unwholesome actions (daśa akuśala karma,十惡):

a. Three from deeds of the body: #1 killing, #2 stealing, #3 sexual immorality b. Four from words of the mouth: #4 false speech #5 a double tongue, #6 hateful speech, #7 dissembling speech c. Three from thoughts of the mind: #8 greedy desire, #9 hatred and anger, #10 flawed beliefs The five most consequential acts of evil (panca ānantaryaḥ, 五逆), leading to the hell of incessant suffering (avīci naraka, 無間地獄): #1 Killing one’s father, #2 Killing one’s mother, #3 Killing a truly worthy being (arhat) #4 Shedding the blood of a Buddha & #5 Creating a schism within the community of faith (Saṅgha) The ninety-five different ways of cultivating the path that are really external to the principle of attaining its

true resolve (samādhi, 定). There are different lists. This refers to spiritual cultivation by non-Buddhists (Tīrthikas, 外道), those who have false beliefs about the real existence of an abstract, external reality apart from their minds, focused on externals rather than introspective meditation and the reality of their true intent.

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