Selections from The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment: Illusion and Desire, Part 1 of 2

The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment (Yuanjue jing 圓覺經) is a Buddhist scripture most likely composed in China during the start of the 8th century, with its origin deemed to be from the Chan and Huayan field of study and practice. A key factor for its popularity is its condensed format that focuses on the most important theoretical issues of the nature of enlightenment. There are 12 chapters and a short convocation in The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment. Today, we would like to present Chapter 4 from The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment where Lord Buddha advises Bodhisattva Vajragarbha and the faithful on how to get out of this illusionary world.

“‘Good man, in our world, the thoughts of beginning and ending, appearing and extinguishing, earliness and lateness, existence and non-existence, gathering and scattering, start and stop are continuous, go back and forth repeatedly and be taken or be abandoned variously. They are all (happening) in the cycle of birth-and-death. If people have not gotten out of the cycle of birth-and-death and talk about the complete Enlightenment, then the so-called complete Enlightenment will be changeable like the cycle of birth-and-death; it is impossible to avoid birth-and-death by these thoughts.”

“Good man, you should know, the emptiness does not temporarily exist and also does not temporarily non-exist. Not to mention that Buddha’s complete Enlightenment, which is in compliance with worldly thoughts, is the same as the equal Nature of emptiness.”

“Good man, in all the Buddhas’ wonderful complete enlightened minds, there are originally no Enlightenment and Nirvana, and also no ‘becoming Buddha’ or ‘not becoming Buddha,’ not to mention that ‘being in the cycle of birth-and-death’ or ‘not being in the cycle of birth-and-death.’ Good man, in the state that Sravakas attained, although the body, mind, and speech are all extinguished, the Sravakas will not be able to reach the Nirvana that they proved by themselves. Not to mention that people — by their mind, which is with false thoughts — calculate and guess Buddha’s complete Enlightenment. It is like someone who wants to burn down the Sumeru Mountain by the fire of a firefly’s light and he will finally fail to set the fire. If there is someone who gives rise to the view of the cycle of birth-and-death by the mind of the cycle of birth-and-death and wants to enter Buddha’s great sea of Nirvana, he finally will fail. Therefore, I said that all Bodhisattvas and the beings in the era that Buddhism is going to be extinguished should firstly cut off the source of the cycle of birth-and-death, which is there from long long ago to now.’”