The Seal of Dharma

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Śrāvastī in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park, together with a great monastic assembly of five thousand monks and many bodhisattva great beings. By the power of the Blessed One, Venerable Śāriputra rose from his seat, draped his shawl over one shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. Joining his palms, he bowed to the Blessed One and asked, “Blessed One, when we speak of ‘going forth,’ Blessed One, to what extent is a monk who has gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya [F.78.b] fully ordained after taking the noble and supramundane ordination?”

“Śāriputra,” the Blessed One replied, “a monk who has gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya is fully ordained after taking the noble and supramundane ordination to the extent that he does not transcend the qualities of ordinary beings and does not attain the uncontaminated qualities. Those who go forth in this way are genuinely going forth, whereas those who do not go forth in this way are incorrectly going forth. Śāriputra, such monks are worthy of receiving donations that are offered faithfully. They are also worthy of receiving clothing, food, bedding, seats, medicines, and healing substances.

“Śāriputra, monks who do not abandon exertion will also not abandon form. They will also not abandon feeling, perception, formation, or consciousness. That is why a monk who has gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya is fully ordained after taking the noble and supramundane ordination. Those who go forth in this way are genuinely going forth, whereas those who do not go forth in this way are incorrectly going forth. Śāriputra, such monks are worthy of receiving donations that are offered faithfully. They are also worthy of receiving clothing, food, bedding, seats, medicines, and healing substances.”

At that point Venerable Subhūti inquired of Venerable Śāriputra, “Venerable Śāriputra, what did the Blessed One have in mind when he said, ‘Śāriputra, a monk who has gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya is fully ordained after taking the noble and supramundane ordination to the extent that he does not transcend the qualities of ordinary beings and does not attain the uncontaminated qualities. [F.79.a] Those who go forth in this way are genuinely going forth, whereas those who do not go forth in this way are incorrectly going forth. Śāriputra, such monks are worthy of receiving donations that are offered faithfully. They are also worthy of receiving clothing, food, bedding, seats, medicines, and healing substances’?”

“Venerable Subhūti,” Śāriputra replied, “the qualities of ordinary beings are illusory and cannot be transcended. Venerable Subhūti, the qualities of ordinary beings are neither created nor easily transcended. Venerable Subhūti, the realm of sentient beings is not apprehended within, it is not apprehended without, and it is also not apprehended anywhere else. The nature of the realm of sentient beings and the nature of all qualities of ordinary beings are not easily transcended.

“Venerable Subhūti, the Blessed One has said, ‘A monk who has gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya is fully ordained after taking the noble and supramundane ordination to the extent that he does not transcend the qualities of ordinary beings and does not attain the uncontaminated qualities. Those who go forth in this way are genuinely going forth, whereas those who do not go forth in this way are incorrectly going forth. Śāriputra, such monks are worthy of receiving donations that are offered faithfully. They are also worthy of receiving clothing, food, bedding, seats, medicines, and healing substances.’

“Venerable Subhūti, regarding that statement, how could something that has no basis or foundation possibly be attained? Venerable Subhūti, [F.79.b] if the uncontaminated qualities were possible to attain, then the state of the worthy ones would arise based on apprehension. The nature of the thus-gone ones, the worthy ones, the perfect buddhas, is without basis.

“Venerable Subhūti, this is what the Blessed One had in mind when he said, ‘A monk who has gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya is fully ordained after taking the noble and supramundane ordination to the extent that he does not transcend the qualities of ordinary beings and does not attain the uncontaminated qualities. Those who go forth in this way are genuinely going forth, whereas those who do not go forth in this way are incorrectly going forth. Śāriputra, such monks are worthy of receiving donations that are offered faithfully. They are also worthy of receiving clothing, food, bedding, seats, medicines, and healing substances.’ ”

Venerable Subhūti asked, “Venerable Śāriputra, what did the Blessed One have in mind when he said, ‘Monks who do not abandon exertion will also not abandon form. They will also not abandon feelings, perceptions, formations, or consciousness. That is why a monk who has gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya is fully ordained after taking the noble and supramundane ordination. Those who go forth in this way are genuinely going forth, whereas those who do not go forth in this way are incorrectly going forth. Śāriputra, such monks are worthy of receiving donations that are offered faithfully. They are also worthy of receiving clothing, food, bedding, seats, medicines, and healing substances’?”

Śāriputra replied, “Venerable Subhūti, the Blessed One [F.80.a] had the nature of reality in mind when he said, ‘Monks who do not abandon exertion will also not abandon form. They will also not abandon feelings, perceptions, formations, or consciousness.’

“Venerable Subhūti, the realm of phenomena is not apprehended internally, it is not apprehended externally, and it is also not apprehended anywhere else. What is imputed as ‘internal’ is without anything to impute and is an imputation of what is unborn. In view of that, the realm of phenomena is sameness because the realm of sentient beings is sameness, and the realm of sentient beings is sameness because the realm of phenomena is sameness. Therefore, the realm of sentient beings and the realm of phenomena are indivisible and undivided. That which is indivisible and undivided is also without anything to remove2 or add. That which is without anything to add or remove3 is not something to transcend or attain.

“Venerable Subhūti, the Blessed One had this in mind when he said, ‘Monks who do not abandon exertion will also not abandon form. They will also not abandon feelings, perceptions, formations, or consciousness. That is why a monk who has gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya is fully ordained after taking the noble and supramundane ordination. Those who go forth in this way are genuinely going forth, whereas those who do not go forth in this way are incorrectly going forth. Śāriputra, such monks are worthy of receiving donations that are offered faithfully. They are also worthy of receiving clothing, food, bedding, seats, medicines, and healing substances.’

“Monks who have no qualms do not raise qualms. Monks who lack verbal expression and have transcended verbal expression are unable to make presentations based on deliberations. [F.80.b] For such monks there is no coming, going, standing, sitting, and lying down. Monks who are not skilled logicians delight in examination. Monks who are skilled logicians delight in nonexamination. Venerable Subhūti, that is what the Blessed One had in mind when he said, ‘That is why a monk who has gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya is fully ordained after taking the noble and supramundane ordination. Those who go forth in this way are genuinely going forth, whereas those who do not go forth in this way are incorrectly going forth. Śāriputra, such monks are worthy of receiving donations that are offered faithfully. They are also worthy of receiving clothing, food, bedding, seats, medicines, and healing substances.’ ”

At that time, the Blessed One expressed his approval to Venerable Śāriputra: “Excellent, Śāriputra, excellent! The way that you have presented this is exactly what I intended and taught. This is what going forth means according to the well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya. Śāriputra, one who wishes to challenge proud beings using this seal should explain this seal in their presence. Śāriputra, one who truly understands it can use this seal to challenge multitudes of proud beings.”

When this Dharma teaching was taught, the minds of seven hundred monks were freed from contaminants without further appropriation. However, one hundred monks who had reached their final existence4 did not adopt, understand, or appreciate this Dharma teaching, so they rose from their seats and left. Five monks even rejected the teaching and turned their backs on it, so they fell into the great hells in their current embodiments.

“Śāriputra,” the Blessed One said, “I have taught this Dharma knowing well that, unfortunately, the entire world will find it disagreeable. [F.81.a] I knew this but taught it anyway, as there is nothing disagreeable about it at all. To give an analogy, Śāriputra, a person may fall asleep and dream that I am teaching the Dharma to you in front of a crowd of people. That person might object to this, saying, ‘That Dharma is disagreeable to the entire world!’ But what do you think, Śāriputra? In that case would those people who disagree with this Dharma truly exist?”

Śāriputra replied, “No, Blessed One, they would not.”

The Blessed One said, “Śāriputra, likewise, even though I also admit that this Dharma is disagreeable to the entire world, I teach it this way because that very world itself is not seen correctly. As the world does not exist, the Dharma is incalculable. Even the designation of the world is also nonexistent. Śāriputra, the expression disagreeable to the entire world refers to the fact that phenomena are unadulterated and unmixed.

Śāriputra asked, “Blessed One, what does the word unadulterated mean?”

The Blessed One replied, “Śāriputra, unadulterated refers to the fact that phenomena have the same taste. They are neither exclusively the same nor exclusively different. Śāriputra, unadulterated is a synonym for emptiness.”

Śāriputra asked, “Blessed One, what does the word emptiness mean?”

The Blessed One replied, “Śāriputra, emptiness means absence of designation. That which is beyond designation is not amenable to designation. That which is not amenable to designation is neither mundane nor supramundane. Śāriputra, that which is neither mundane nor supramundane is called emptiness.”

When the Blessed One had said this, Venerable Śāriputra, the entire assembly of monks, the bodhisattva great beings, and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas [F.81.b] rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.