Dirty Window: A Reflection on the Uttaratantra-śāstra
During the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters, a
group of Rangjung Yeshe’s students had the good fortune to meet every day,
during one and a half hours, to study the Uttaratantra-śāstra by Arya
Maitreya[1] with
Khenpo Karma Gyurme (also known as Tokpa Tulku). Approaching canonical Buddhist
texts under the guidance of the ordained sangha is
definitely one of the highlights of studying at RYI. Below, I wish to share a
reflection on the subject of Buddhahood as ultimately uncreated, which is one
of the core teachings explained in the Uttaratantra-śāstra. The idea of
Buddhahood as uncreated means that enlightenment is unconditioned, it is not a
state produced by the path; and, accordingly, the path is not the cause of
enlightenment. Such statement, however, seems to contradict the interpretation
of a spiritual path leading to the state of awakening. In other words, can a
path that has a conditioned, progressive nature and its supposed
outcome (Buddhahood) that is unconditioned be reconciled? In answering this
question, Maitreya explains that, even though ultimately Buddhahood is not the
result of the path, the paradox is that the path is indispensable for
Buddhahood to manifest. Said differently, the path does not produce Buddhahood
(Buddhahood is not newly created) yet the path is crucial for Buddhahood to be
recognized. Through this writing, it is my intent to reflect on how the
path works and why it is necessary for the purpose of eliminating our
confusion.
Affirming Buddhahood as uncreated signifies that
Buddhahood is not engendered by causes and conditions and is therefore free
from the three aspects of beginning, middle and end – what actually define
compounded phenomena.[2] If
the path created Buddhahood, Buddhahood would have the qualities of coming into
existence, abiding, and then being destroyed. This would entail that the state
of awakening would have a changing nature; one could be a Buddha in the morning
and may not be in the afternoon any more.[3] Since Buddhahood is of a
nature that is free of these properties, Buddhahood is not something newly
created from scratch; meaning, the ultimate Buddha is beyond the extreme of
creation.
Given that Buddhahood is not a creation, it follows
that between sentient beings and Buddhas there is a continuation of something
that never changes. In fact, in the Hevajra Tantra it is said, “sentient
beings are simply buddhas… hindered by adventitious stains. After these are
removed, there is [no uncertainty that sentient beings are] simply
Buddhas."[4]
Correspondingly, the Dharmadhātu-stotra
states, "when covered by the net of defilements, it is called sentient
being; the very same thing is called Buddha when freed from
defilements.”[5]
These passages indicate that the only distinction between sentient beings and
Buddhas is the presence or absence of defilements that can be removed.
Awakening is not a future, foreign production; instead, it is something already
present that is waiting to be recognized.
Dzongsar
Khyentse Rinpoche, in his commentary to the Uttaratantra-śāstra,
explains the relationship between the path and enlightenment through the
analogy of cleaning a dirty window.[6] The
aim of the path is like longing for a clean glass. The desired result implies
the need to eliminate something – dirt – though, in reality, the glass itself
was never dirty. Even though we might say, “we are cleaning the window,” in
fact, the amount of dirt determines ‘cleanliness’; glass itself is devoid of
‘cleanliness’ or ‘dirtiness.’ In the process of becoming clean – getting rid of
dirt – the glass itself remains the same as before. The path, much like the act
of washing, does not produce the glass, but produces cleanliness (being devoid
of dirt) thereby, illuminating the natural state of the glass bare. The path is
what actually shows us (sentient beings) that there is a reality beyond the
dirt; the path does not cause the reality beyond.
Through the
path, we loosen the habitual tendency to rectify appearances; for example,
mistaking the dirt for the clear glass. The Buddha established a direct
relationship between confusion (not knowing the essential truth that lies
beyond appearances; the clear window), and rectifying the relative truth
(confusing appearance or the dirt, in our example, as the essence). This
confusion and rectification lead to the experience of suffering. On a practical
level, when caught up in the drama of life, it is helpful to repeat to oneself
“the affliction (the dirt) feels real, but it is not true.” Though the path or
the act of cleaning does not produce Buddhahood as we discussed above, this
de-identification of our affliction or dirt as our nature helps us to clearly
see that the dirt on the glass is fleeting, too worthless to be attached, and
only a stain to overcome. In order to take this de-identification to heart and
gain familiarization, we need a path.
Additionally,
the path is indispensable because it develops trust. Since Buddhahood is
inconceivable for our current state, trust in our primordially pure nature is
what keeps us motivated to continue and, thus, not get discouraged that
Buddhahood is unreachable. Specifically, the path can illuminate to us 1) that
there is a way to free our minds from conceptual grasping, in other words, that
the dirt is removable, 2) that confusion and suffering can permanently cease,
3) that our essence is that of a Buddha, and 4) that there are beings who have
actualized Buddhahood by following the path taught by the Buddha. All these
knowledge fuels our trust in practice and attainment. Returning to our analogy,
trust motivates us that even the dirtiest window can indeed be cleaned,
propelling us to take action in buying all kinds of equipment to wash out the
temporary dirt. The path cannot generate Buddhahood, but it generates trust
that puts the teachings into practice. Awakening could occur in our next moment
of consciousness, or happen after incalculable eons. But simply having trust in
the possibility to experience a level of non-conceptual truth and to end
suffering by eliminating confusion is inspiring enough to appreciate the
significance of the path and to engage in it.
The fact
that Buddhahood has neither birth, nor dwelling, nor cessation, signifies that
we cannot talk of achieving Buddhahood as if it were a time-related matter. In
other words, there is no path causing Buddhahood. Nevertheless, there is no
reaching of Buddhahood without a path. The path is indispensable because it
gives us the familiarity in the idea that, just like the dirt is not a
permanent characteristic of the glass, defilements are temporal, removable
obscurations. Furthermore, the path strengthens trust in our natural state of
purity, leading us to take concrete actions and efforts into cultivating
ourselves not to create this purity, but to see the nature of ourselves for
what it truly is. Seeing that the path and Buddhahood is not in the causal
relationship, while fully acknowledging the constructive role of the path,
allows us to see that grasping to the path is a foolish thing to do. The path
is necessary for the emergence of enlightenment yet is something that we will
have to abandon, just like a boat needs to be abandoned when one reaches the
other shore.
~ Cecilia Pla
~ Cecilia Pla
Bibliography
Arya Maitreya. Buddha-Nature: Mahāyāna Uttaratantra Sastra.
Commentary by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. Canada: Khyentse Foundation,
2007.
Arya Maitreya. Buddha-Nature: Mahāyāna Uttaratantra Shastra.
Commentary by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö
Tayé. The Unassailable Lion’s Roar. Explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche.
Translated by Rosemarie Fuchs. New York: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.
Duckworth, Douglas. Mipam on Buddha-Nature: The Ground of the Nyingma
Tradition. New York: State University of New York Press, 2008.
Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Gö Lotsāwa’s Mahāmudrā
Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008.
[1] Arya Maitreya. Buddha-Nature:
Mahāyāna Uttaratantra Shastra. Commentary by Jamgön
Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé. The Unassailable Lion’s Roar. Explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche.
Translated by Rosemarie Fuchs. (New York: Snow Lion Publications, 2000) 103.
[2] Ibid., 104.
[3] For further reading on the absurd consequences that follow from
considering the Buddha as an impermanent entity newly formed by causes and
conditions see, Douglas Duckworth. Mipam on Buddha-Nature: The Ground of the
Nyingma Tradition. (New York: State University of New York Press, 2008)
155.
[4] Klaus-Dieter
Mathes.
A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Gö Lotsāwa’s
Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga. (Boston:
Wisdom Publications, 2008) 85-86.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Arya Maitreya. Buddha-Nature:
Mahāyāna Uttaratantra Sastra. Commentary by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse
Rinpoche. (Canada: Khyentse Foundation, 2007) 3.
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