THE DHARMA SEAL
SUTRA
TRANSLATED FROM
THE VIETNAMESE VERSION
Minh Tich
1998
NOTE: The Dharma Seal Sutra is a sutra belonging to
the Aỏgama period, and was translated into Chinese from the Sanskrit
original by Thi Ho, a monk living in the Sung Dynasty in
"Thus did I
hear:
One time Buddha
was in Sraụvasti with all the monks in the bhikshu community. One day he said
to them.: " There is a very wondrous dharma, are
you aware of it? Today I want to analyze and explain it to you. With your pure
and clear conscience, listen carefully, absorb thoroughly, keenly exercise your
effort to remember and practice."
The monks
answered: " How wonderful, Venerable Master of the Realm. Please teach us,
we would like to hear."
Buddha said:
"
The nature of Non-being
is beyond the distinction between existence and emptiness, beyond the realm of
illusions, has no manifestation of birth or death, and is beyond cognition. Why
is that so? Because the essence of Non-being has no place in space, no
manifestation, cannot be conceived of, has never come into being, human understanding
cannot grasp it, it is inexpressible. Because it is inexpressible, it
encompasses all dharmas, and dwells in the view that all things are equal,
there is no distinction whatsoever.
"That view is
the true and just view. Monks! Be aware that not only is the essence of
Non-being thus, but all dharmas are like that. This is called the Dharma Seal.
"Monks! This dharma seal is three doors leading to
liberation, is the basic teaching of all Buddhas, is the eye of the Buddhas, is
where the Buddhas come from and go to. So listen carefully, absorb thoroughly,
memorize it and meditate about it as it is.
"Monks! A person dedicated to the practice of
self-improvement should find a quiet place like a forest, sit at the foot of a
tree to practice meditation and look into the nature of being. He must see that
all manifestations are suffering, emptiness, impermanence, so that he can
liberate himself from clinging onto manifestations and return to dwell on the
view that all things are equal concerning the material world. In the same way
with sensations, thoughts, will, and consciousness, he should see that they are
all suffering, emptiness, and impermanence, so that he can liberate himself
from the false view about sensations, thoughts, will and conciousness, so that
he can reach an egalitarian view of them. Monks, all accumulations are
non-existent, they are all born from the practitioner's psyche. When his psyche stops
activating, the accumulations lose their effects. If he can view things this
way, he can reach true liberation. Once he has liberated himself, he will
liberate himself from all cognition and view. This method of meditation is
called NON-BEING, the first door to liberation.
"Furthermore,
if he dwells in complete concentration and meditates on objects, the
practitioner will see that all manifestations dissolve, and he will liberate
himself from the illusory nature of consciousness about form and color. The
other objects of sound, odor, taste, touch and thought will all dissolve also,
and the practitioner liberates himself from the illusory nature of
consciousness about sound, odor, taste, touch, and thought. This method is
called NO MANIFESTATION, the second door to liberation. Once he passes through
this door, his view of things becomes pure, and the practitioner can destroy
all the obstructions of greed, anger and ignorance. Once greed, anger and
ignorance are destroyed, the practitioner can dwell peacefully in the
egalitarian view. Having peacefully rested in this, he can leave behind the
view of HIMSELF and HIS OWN, thus stopping all false views. The false views
will not have the occasion and the basis to come into being.
Furthermore,
monks! Once he has liberated himself from the view about the self, he will see
that things do not exist outside of consciousness. Why is that so? Because all awareness comes from stance and circumstances. Consciousness as well as the circumstances causing consciousness to
activate are all impermanent, and since consciousness is impermanent,
one cannot get a hold of it. If the accumulation of consciousness is not like
any other phenomenon, is there anything that needs to be activated? This method
of thinking is called NO ACTIVATION,
the third door to liberation. Once passing through this door, one will see all
phenomena in their true nature, will not be bound by any other existential
phenomenon, and he will experience the non-being of all phenomena."
Buddha told the
assembled monks: "Thus is the wonder of the dharma seal. It is the three
doors to liberation. Monks, if you practice according to it, you will surely
reach a pure view."
Upon hearing this,
the monks showed
their happiness. They respectfully bowed to Buddha after receiving the sutra
for future practice according to his teachings.
***