Tao's Culture Monthly No. 45 October 1, 2002

Buddha Nature VS Human Nature (1)

By Master Henry Chang
Translated and edited by P.C. Chen and Ken Howell

"Buddha Nature and Human Nature" is a very complicated topic. Some people say that everyone has the Buddha nature, and some say that only some people has the Buddha nature. As for the human nature, some say that human nature is malicious, and some say that human nature is benevolent. It is hard to reach a general conclusion. What I am trying to do here is to give an overview and summary on this issue based on various religious literatures.

In the Buddhist dictionary, the “Buddha Nature” refers to the potential or capability of being enlightened, and all human beings possess the “Buddha Nature? It is this very nature that leads a human being into Buddhahood. Figuratively speaking, in Buddhism, the difference between a human and a Buddha is that a human is in a sleeping state and a Buddha in a completely aware state. For a human, the awakening from its trance is the moment of enlightenment. Therefore, an awakened human is no different from a Buddha. (To be continued)

Tao's Culture Monthly No. 45 October 1, 2002

Buddha Nature VS Human Nature (2)

By Master Henry Chang
Translated and edited by P.C. Chen and Ken Howell

It is this very moment of enlightenment that distinguishes the state of sleep from the state of awareness. Even though it sounds very simple, being asleep and being aware have a heaven and earth difference: a sleeping human has never come to life; an aware human lives fully;, therefore it is indeed a life and death problem for all beings.

Buddha comes to this world to solve this life and death problem. However, you might ask why people who believe in Buddhism die at the end, and for that matter why does Buddha himself die? How can we understand this? Has Buddha solved our problem of life-and-death? The answer is that Buddha has indeed solved it. The life-and-death here is not the life-and-death of our physical bodies that people usually think about. What Buddha solves is the life-and-death problem of our spiritual selves. Physical bodies are merely temporary forms in this world. Therefore, the life-and-death of physical bodies is meaningless. What really matters is the life-and death of eternal spirits or the “True Self”.

For example, suppose that here we have a cup made out of clay. We call it a cup. In the eyes of Buddha, it is still clay. What Buddha sees is the original nature of the cup, which is clay, not the physical form or function of the cup. Since Buddha’s focus is on the original nature, it does not matter if the clay is made into cups, bowels, or plates. Even when these cups, bowels, and plates are broken, they all are still clay. Through the eyes of Buddha, nothing has changed: clay is still clay. If we extend this example to human bodies, we will find that the life-and-death of physical bodies does not change the nature of spiritual bodies or of the True-Self. There is no more the True-Self in a noble person, and there is no less the True-Self in an ordinary person. That is exactly what the Heart Sutra described: All dharmas are marked with emptiness; they are not produced nor stopped, not defiled nor immaculate, not deficient nor complete.

The Buddha Nature consists of two parts. One can be realized by awakening to it, and is called “Awakening Buddha Nature”. The other part can only be acquired through practice, and is called “Acquired Buddha Nature”. The Buddha Nature that all sentient beings can awake to is referred to Awakening Buddha Nature, the first part of Buddha Nature. The Awakening Buddha Nature has no birth and death, and all sentient beings possess it. Therefore, every one of us has the Awakening Buddha Nature. This part of Buddha Nature refers to the common rational judgment or standard. We all have the experience of being agreeable or disagreeable with other’s opinions or comments. It means that we have a standard within ourselves and we can make a judgment based on that. (To be continued)

Tao's Culture Monthly No. 47 December 1, 2002

Buddha Nature VS Human Nature (3)

By Master Henry Chang
Translated and edited by P.C. Chen and Ken Howell

The Buddha Nature that everyone has and does not come through learning, is only first part of the Buddha Nature. As to the second part of Buddha Nature, it can only be realized by practice, and therefore, not every sentient being has it.

The cultivation of the following four wisdoms can lead to attaining Acquired Buddha Nature(成佛性): Great Reflecting Wisdom(大圓境智), Wisdom of the Equality in Nature(平等性智), Subtle Observing Wisdom(妙觀察智), and Wisdom of Fulfillment of Deeds.(成所作智) These four wisdoms come from the transformation of eight consciousnesses(八識): eye(眼), ear(耳), nose(鼻), tongue(舌), body(身), mind(意), manas consciousness(末那識), and storage (alayavijana) consciousness(阿賴耶識). (Note: The basic nature of manas consciousness is that of thought, and is not consciously controllable. It is said to be a mind of a realm that gives rise to contradiction of conscious decisions, and to incessant self-love.) The wisdom transformed from storage consciousness is the Great Reflecting Wisdom; wisdom transformed from manas consciousness is Wisdom of the Equality in Nature; wisdom transformed from mind consciousness is Subtle Observing Wisdom; wisdom transformed from eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body is Wisdom of Fulfillment of Deeds. Only when the eight consciousnesses being transformed into the four wisdoms, does a person start to realize Acquired Buddha Nature, which is the necessary condition to enter Buddhahood. Therefore, we say that the eight consciousnesses or the four wisdoms are seeds to become a Buddha.

Some animals and all plants lack these eight consciousnesses. Some human beings also lack these eight consciousnesses, and it is impossible for them to become Buddha. On the other hand, many human worries and problems also derive from the existence of the eight senses/consciousness. So the eight consciousnesses make people suffer, and also help them to achieve Buddhahood. This two-edged knife is exactly what the sentence Worries are Bodhi (煩惱即菩提) means. (Note: Bodhi is a Sanskrit term; it means wisdom or awakening)

From the above discussions, we know that all people have the first kind of Buddha Nature, but only some people possess the second kind of Buddha Nature. However, through evolution over many life times, every being still has the opportunity to have both. For example a blind person lacks the vision consciousness in this life, and if he/she cultivates himself/herself properly, in next life he/she can become a normal person who has all eight consciousnesses. If this person can keep on the right track for many lives, eventually this person can develop the four wisdoms from 8 consciousnesses. To encourage people, Buddhist literature therefore says that all sentient beings possess Buddha Nature and can become Buddha. (To be continued)