Chapter 1: Go out the family and prove the Dao-fruit

(Chapter 1) A Brief Talk about The Scripture of Forty-Two Chapters Said by Buddha

Co-translators in the time of Eastern Han Dynasty, China(A.D. 25 - 200) : Kasyapa Matanga and Zhu Falan (Who translated the said Scripture from Sanskrit into Chinese. )

Translator in modern time (A.D.2018: Tao Qing Hsu (Who translated the said Scripture from Chinese into English.)

Teacher and writer for explaining the said Scripture: Tao Qing Hsu

Chapter 1: Go out the family and prove the Dao-fruit

The Buddha said, “Those who farewell their family members, go out the family, recognize the heart, reach the root of inside, understand the law of no-doing, are called Sramana. Those who always go the 250 Precepts, are in the cleanness and purification while going and stopping, and do the practice of the Four-Noble-Truths Dao, become Arhats. Arhats are able to fly and change, have the lives of great eons, can dwell and move in the heaven and earth. The next is Anāgāmi. At the moment of death, their spirits ascend above the nineteenth heaven, where they prove the Arhats. The next is Sakridāgāmi, who gains the Arhat at once, after ascending to the heaven one time and return to the earth one time. The next is Srotāpanna, who proves Arhat, after seven deaths and seven being born. Cutting off the love and desire is like broken limbs which are unable to be used again.”

Sramana, Arhat, Anāgāmi, Sakridāgāmi and Srotāpanna are all Sanskrit. They are separately meant to the different degree related to practicing the Dao. Such names are all differentiated and given by people. To think of the different degree of the Doctor, Master and Bachelor, which names are also differentiated and given by people. I hope that such example would make you more understand that.

“Go out the family” which means that a man leaves his family to become a Buddhist monk. There are two kinds of going out of family. One is that the form of Buddhist monk seems to go out the family, but, his heart is still in the family. The other is that the form of Buddhist non-monk lives in the family, however, his heart is really going out the family, such is the true and going out the family. That is, no matter what the form is, that one’s heart has gone out from the family is truly going out the family.

Then, we might have questions. Why one’s heart wants to go out the family? Is there any meaning for? In the chapter twenty-three of this scripture, it is mentioned one of the reasons. The concept of this scripture is also suitable for women. That one’s heart goes out the family means to leave away the constraint, troubles and affliction occurred from the family, not to leave away the family members. The deep further meaning is to transform such constraint, troubles and affliction into wisdom to make us and others have a better life. 

In the ancient and modern time, when people would go out the family to become a monk or nun, they should have the permission from their parents first. That is for respecting the parents and thanking them to raise us. In the past time of China, it also must have the permission from the government and have to be registered in the government, which reason is to avoid the criminal person to evade the punishment from the law by the way of going out the family.  

“Recognize the heart, reach the root of inside, understand the law of no-doing” which means to recognize that there is no heart and no mind; all is occurred from our heart and mind. When we have the heart and mind, all is then occurred. When we remove our heart and mind, all is then eliminated. “All” means the phenomenon, situation, matter, object and things from our outside and inside. Some people who have heard the concept of no heart, no mind, and no conscious, are terrified, and unhappy to scold the Buddhism. Because in their thought and concept, how could it be possible that there is no heart, no mind and no conscious? They can’t understand it.

One day, Huike who was the second founder of Zen in China told the first founder Dharma,” Master, I feel that my heart doesn't be in peace. Please help me have my heart in peace.”

The first founder Dharma replied to him,” Give me your heart. I help you have the heart in peace.”

Huike thought for a while and then replied to the founder Dharma,” Master, I can’t find my heart.”

Then, the founder Dharma replied to him,” I have already helped you have your heart in peace.”

The root of inside is Emptiness. To reach the root of inside means to reach the Emptiness. The wondrous nature of inside is Emptiness. If we have such concept, we will understand the meaning of no-doing.

Most people who have heard the concept of no-doing in Buddhism are also terrified and unhappy, because they have a lot of negative thought and misunderstanding about it. Eventually, in some situation, no-doing is better than doing, do you have ever thought about that? No-doing is a state that is concern about the no-heart and Emptiness. In this state and moment, our physical and mental body will be in the state of peace, silence and health. That is Nirvana. The goal of practicing the Dao is Nirvana. It is not a short feeling. It should be a stable and continual state, which is the grand meditation. In such state, it will be the fundament, from which we can do and think in any positive ways so as to help and benefit us and others.

All of practicing the Dao aims to the state of Nirvana. There is a lot of different ways to practice the Dao. To recite or chant the name of Fo or Pusa, or to read the scripture of Buddhism, or to think of the meaning of the teaching of Buddha, and to seat to meditate, all of them are one of the ways. (Fo is Buddha; Pusa is Budhisattva. ) This part is to help and benefit ourselves. When our heart is clean, pure and peaceful, we thus have the strength to help and benefit others, which is the more deep learning.

“Recognize the heart, reach the root of inside, understand the law of no-doing” is the higher degree in practicing the Dao. The man who is in such state is called Sramana. Before aforesaid state, he might have ever done the following things.

“Those who always go the 250 Precepts, are in the state of cleanness and purification while going and stopping, and do the practice of the Four-Noble-Truths Dao, become Arhats.” It means that Buddhist monks have to obey the 250 Precepts. And no matter what they are going the good thing to benefit themselves and others, or stopping the evil things not to hurt themselves or others, they should be in the state of cleanness and purification in heart and mind.

We are not Buddhist monk, so we don’t have to obey the 250 Precepts. But, it inspires us. When we are doing the good things and are not doing the evil things, we should also keep the cleanness and purification in heart and mind. It means that we should remove the greedy, hatred, stupidity and infatuation, from heart and mind, because those things would defile our heart and mind, and let us have the negative thought. If those of them are removed, we will be in the brightness, have the peaceful mind, and the positive thought, to benefit us and others.      

“Do the practice of the Four-Noble-Truths Dao.” It means that putting the Dao of the four noble truths into the practice is one of the conditions to become Arhat. The four-noble truths are Suffering, Aggregating, Eliminating, and Dao, which are the causes and conditions to attain the Buddhahood. The Suffering is the cause. The Aggregating and Eliminating are the conditions. The Dao is the condition and result. “Dao” is transliterated from Chinese word. Its original meaning is path. And its meaning is extended to be practicing the truth.  

The first cause and condition to go into the path of Buddha is to perceive the suffering of our inside, such as any pain caused from our body, or any pressure caused from our life, or any mental illness caused from our greedy, hatred, stupidity and infatuation.

The second cause and condition to go into the path of Buddha is to perceive and find that the suffering of our inside is aggregated continually. Most people do not have such perceiving. Any suffering is easy to be forgotten by people. Once any suffering is remembered by them, what they have thought is that they are the persecuted person, all of their inside suffering is caused by others. So they want to revenge in order to eliminate their suffering. Such thought is violating the path of Buddha.

When we perceive and find the suffering of our inside is aggregated continually, we follow the path of Buddha to eliminate the suffering of our inside. It means that going into the path of Buddha is one way to eliminate our suffering of inside. Then, we might have questions, what is the path of Buddha? The definition of the path of Buddha is wide and endless. The point is in this Scripture. Secondly, the most point is in The Scripture of The Supreme-Wisdom Heart which you can find and read in my blog. It is difficult for the public to understand The Scripture of The Supreme-Wisdom Heart. In a word, the fundament of the path of Buddha is self-perceiving, self-control, self-liberating and self-discipline.

So, when we “walk” on the path of Buddha, it means that we put the truth or the Buddha-law taught by Buddha into the practice. We give it a name as “Dao” (or “Tao”).

“Arhats are able to fly and change, have the lives of great eons, can dwell and move in the heaven and earth.” It means the liberation and freedom about the personal life and action. It also means that the Arhat can decide its own length of life and can decide where to live, or where to be born, the heaven or the earth. Secondly, no matter where the Arhat goes or lives, the invisible guardians are always beside the Arhat to protect it, because the spirits and the ghosts in the heaven and earth would be moved by the virtue of Arhat and would vows to become the guardians to protect the Arhat. The Arhats include males and females. In some Scripture, the Bodhisatta is also called as Arhat, which owns immeasurable bliss due to the virtue of Arhat.

It is really beyond our knowledge and experience. But, it does not mean that such Arhat does not exist, because we cannot prove that such Arhat exists, and we also cannot prove that such Arhat does not exist. It is more like the personal transcendental-experience. When we become Arhat or when we meet Arhat, it is very personal transcendental-experience.

When one person has the aforesaid practicing experience, we give it a name as “Arhat”. “Arhat” is Sanskrit.  

“The next is Anāgāmi. At the moment of death, their spirits ascend above the nineteenth heaven, where they prove the Arhats.” It means that one person is at the moment of death, its spirit dwell in or above the nineteenth heaven and in where it proves the fruit of Arhat. Then, it is given a name as “Anāgāmi”, which is Sanskrit.

There are thirty-three heavens which are mentioned in Buddhism. They are more like the different dimensional-spaces, according to our understanding in the modern time.

“The next is Sakridāgāmi, who gains the Arhat at once, after ascending to the heaven one time and return to the earth one time.” It means that such person practices the Buddha-law and respectively reincarnates in heaven and earth one time. And then, it gains the fruit of Arhat. We give such person a name as” Sakridāgāmi”, which is Sanskrit.  

“The next is Srotāpanna, who proves Arhat, after seven deaths and seven being born.” It means that such person practices the Buddha-law and has to experience the reincarnation for seven times in heaven and earth. And then, it gains the fruit of Arhat. Such person is given a name as “Srotāpanna”, which is Sanskrit.

In Buddhism, there is such concept that there are immeasurable reincarnations for a spirit of one person, such as a spirit in a wheel, where includes the Six Paths, which are three belonging to good paths and three are belonging to evil paths. The three good paths are the paths of Bodhisattva, Ashura, and Human. The three evil paths are the paths of Ghost, Animal and Hell. That the spirit reincarnates in the Six Paths by turns is just like a wheel whirling continually, and never leaves the whirling wheel. Only when the spirit goes into the path of Buddha, there is the chance to leave the whirling wheel.   

    

“Cutting off the love and desire is like broken limbs which are unable to be used again.” The definition of the love and desire in here is narrower, which means that people romantically like someone or are sexually attracted. The love and desire would affect persons’ emotion and thought. Some people use their love and desire to control others. However, some people are thus controlled in mind. No matter which one, their heart and mind are not liberated and not free. Once their love and desire are not content, the irrational thought and behavior are thus occurred. No matter how they are, their heart and mind might be hurt. However, someone enjoys in such situation. The Buddha regards such persons as stupidity and infatuation, and such persons are thus in the state of no-brightness.

That cutting off the love and desire is like broken limbs means that one person should have the determination to practice the Dao. Do not let the love and desire become the obstacle in practicing the Dao.

But, the aforesaid is one of the Buddha-teachings. There is the deep and another Buddha-teaching. That is, it is not necessary to cut off the love and desire. Why? There are no love and desire fundamentally, when we completely comprehend the no-self and self-emptiness. Our love and desire are occurred and attracted from the outside situation. If we understand the Emptiness of outside and inside, where to find the love and desire to be cut off? But, such concept is hard to be understood by the Arhat, not to mention the ordinary people. It might be possible to be understood, when we make the deep meditation. If we do not have such wisdom, we are better to cut off the love and desire, when we have the determination to practice the Dao. In such situation, the love and desire is not real, because they are illusion. But, the ordinary people regard them as real.  

Supplementary note: Dao is transliterated from Chinese, meaning way and method, deeper meaning as a system of learning or religion. Dao is Tao, which is transliterated from Chinese. The original meaning of Dao is the way and path, and it is extended to be the truth of life that we can learn and practice in our lives.