The Secret Teachings from Buddha Actually Has No Secret At All

The Secret Teachings from Buddha Actually Has No Secret At All
Mar /18/ 2023 – Mar/ 19/ 2023

Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Dharma Rain Meditation Center.

We analyzed why the Esoteric Buddhism practice is so prevalent in China and understood that the so-called Esoteric Buddhism practice is not the secret teaching from Buddha. Some people might ask, then what it is? What is the secret teaching from Buddha Shakyamuni? In which Sutra? Who took the secret from Buddha and who is keeping those secrets?

Quite good questions, let us just start from here and talk about what is the secret Dharma and what is the secret teaching from Buddha Shakyamuni. First of all, we have to understand what the secret Dharma is. We say the antonym of “secret” is “explicitness”. Although this concept was proposed by Japanese Master Kūkai , we can still try to understand it by logic. “Explicitness” means something easy to understand or its nature is exposed or not difficult to find, when it extended to the Dharma, it means Buddha’s instructions which are obvious and can be easily learned and by words and language. While the meaning of the word “secret” means hidden, not easy to find out, extended to the Dharma, of course, it means Buddha’s speechless teaching which is hidden and not easy to understand. Please note that the “secret” here does not means secret exactly, because Buddha Shakyamuni never tried to hide things from us. As we talked last month a practitioner may attain the enlightenment and became Buddha by his great vows and prefect virtue, so we can imagine how mercy Buddha is, he became Buddha because he is our relative who knew how we suffer, he shows his mercy to every being, he treats every being; equally, he came to become our teaching host so eagerly. Is it possible for him to keep some secret from us and do not want us to attain the enlightenment? Or quietly teach some knowledge to someone without benefiting all beings? Obviously not, the reason that people feel “secret” is just different people have different roots and different understanding of Dharma.

I am thinking about a Zen story now. One day a young monk walked with his Master in the mountains, it was full moon day, the monk was a frown, and his Master asks him why, he said: “Master, I became your student, I followed you every day. From the beginning of morning chanting, we chant the same sutra and mantra, during the day time, I will follow you to the field to take care vegetables or read the same Buddhist scriptures with you, in the evening chanting, we do the same thing also, but you see how we are walking together, why do you feel so enjoy while I am so worried and did not find the truth of the Dharma?” Master smiled and looked at his student, he pointed the moon in the sky and asked, “Can you see the moon?” The monk replied: “I saw it.” Master said, “The Dharma is like the moon in the sky, and it did not hide anything from you.” The young suddenly understood. We can probably understand the theory easier by this Zen story. The Dharma never hide things from us, neither Buddha Shakyamuni. How much can we understand? It relies on our personal cultivation and understanding. As the bright moon in the sky, someone saw the moonlight on a rose, someone saw the moonlight under the wild crane crossing the Lake Ontario, some people saw the moon shining at sea, some saw the grass and trees on the Mountain, some people find the moon in the roadside otters.

Then what exactly is the Buddha’s speechless teaching?

After sitting under the bodhi tree for seven days, Buddha attained the enlightenment and said: Strange indeed! Strange indeed! Strange indeed! All living beings have the wisdom and virtue of the Thus Come One, yet because of their idle thoughts and attachments, they fail to realize it.” Buddha taught us that we all living beings have the wisdom and virtue, just like Buddha, why we cannot attain the enlightenment is because of our idle thoughts and attachments. How to attain the enlightenment? Get away from our idle thoughts and attachments; we will naturally see our self-nature as Buddha’s nature.

The truth that the Buddha has realized is: there is no difference between Buddha’s heart and all beings’ heart, they are the one. The heart is the Buddha, and the Buddha is the heart, which is, tell us that each person’s secret treasure is in our own heart, not from outside. It is our own nature, our Buddha-nature. Therefore, there is no secret in Buddhism practice; we often day cultivate Zen. Actually, there is no Zen that can be cultivated, because we are originally pure and omnipotent.

In this highest secret, the Buddha immediately explained to us when he attained enlightenment. The other things are just different Dharma Gate, not secret. Unfortunately, most people never notice it.

The first Dharma transmission of Zen in the history shows the same thing–Buddha passed the flower, and Maha Kappasa smiled, the Buddha said：I possess the true Dharma eye-treasury, the marvellous mind of Nirvana, the true form of the formless, the subtle Dharma gate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Maha Kassapa.” The flower sermon is a test, the golden lotus is a question, and the smile is the unique answer, this answer is heart to heart, not in the speech. But Sariputra was the wisdom No1, Maudgalyayana was the supernatural power No1, and Maha Kassapa was the austerity practices No1, why only Maha Kassapa understood? Because at that moment, they were the one, the Maha Kassapa and Buddha was the one, Maha Kassapa realized that our body our sensation might be different, but our essence is the same, our nature and Buddha’s nature is originally the same, no difference at all. In other words, their frequency of this moment, I mean Maha Kassapa and Buddha, are the same, Maha Kassapa is in resonance with the Buddha. Therefore, passing flower and smile, they were communicating with each other without any impede, and this sensation is not in the words or language; therefore, the Buddha also said this is “not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures”, it is interesting, isn’t it?

There are many examples, such as this one. For example, after we finish our daily chanting, we must read a Transferring Merit: “May, the merit of my practice, adorn Buddhas’ Pure Lands, requite the fourfold kindness from above, And relieve the suffering of the three life-paths below. Universally wishing sentient beings, Friends, foes, and karmic creditors, All to activate the bodhi mind, And all to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.” Many people think that it is the pure land cultivation, I adorn Buddhas and Bodhisattvas’ pure land by my virtues today and wish all beings will join me to reborn to the pure land. Actually, this understanding is not right. We use our diligence solemn and virtue to adorn our own pure land where we will eventually become Buddha and teaching host there, and the beings who we transfer our merit today will become reborn there to help us. When we comprehend the real meaning here, we get different motivation, right? No matter chanting or cultivating our virtue.

Like the Shurangama Sutra Perfect Penetration Chapter from the Shurangma Mantra: “Suppose there was a person who always remembers someone else, but then someone else he remembers has entirely forgotten about him. If two of such people were to meet, even if they were to see each other, it would be the same as not meeting or seeing each other.

 “If two people remember each other until they develop deep memories for one another, thuswise, up to life afterlife, they will be the same as a form and a shadow, and they will never be inimical or separated.

 “Out of pity for the sentient beings, the Tathagatas of the ten directions are tenderly mindful of them just like a mother remembering her child. If the child runs away, of what use is the mother’s concern? But if the child remembers his mother in the same way that the mother also remembers the child, then in life after life, the mother and the child will not be far apart or against their will.

 “If the sentient beings bear the Buddha in mind and are mindful of the Buddha, they will be certain to see the Buddha at present or in the future. “They will never be far from the Buddha, and without the aid of expedients, their minds will awaken by themselves. “Such as perfumed by the fragrance, a person carries incense on his body. Such is called an adornment of fragrant light. “On the causal ground, I used the Buddha-Mind to enter into the Dharmas Tolerance of the Non-birth. Now in this world, I gather in all those who are mindful of the Buddha and bring them back to the Pure Land. “The Buddha asks about perfect penetration. I would select none other than gathering in the six organs through continuous pure mindfulness to obtain Samadhi. This is the foremost method.”

Lots of people told me they understood that chanting and reciting Buddha’s name could attain the perfect penetration; however, they didn’t get the imaginary part of the sutra. Why “Out of pity for the sentient beings, the Tathagatas of the ten directions are tenderly mindful of them just like a mother remembering her child”? Why Buddha miss us like our own mothers? Because our destiny, because we are all self-contained, because we all come from the sea of Buddha’s natural light, so when we are reciting Buddha, we tend to have the same frequency as the Buddha, and Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can bless us easily at this time, we are also easy to sense them. This is the miracle and the secret of Reacting Buddha’s name Dharma gate.

We see that Buddha’s secret teaching is not an independent tribe or system in Buddhism. In the Zen stories, we see the footprint of it, in the Pure Land scripture we perceive the existence of it, Buddha’s secret teaching is a part of Zen, is a part of Pure land Dharma and Zen is the secret teaching of Buddha, pure land Dharma also, they are originally the same and the one. We divide it into three during the process of Buddhism cultivation because we look at them from different angles.

From Zen, from pure land Dharma, we learned that the Buddha compassionately taught us by different secret teachings. However, those secret teachings are no real secrets, just as the moon and the sun. It has been there forever and waiting for us to know them, to sense their light by our heart.

The secret teachings from Buddha actually have no secret at all.

 thank you for the listening!