Sun, 04 Apr 2010
Non-Attainment Attained
Here's a quote from the Ratnakuta Sutra that I stumbled upon Friday that I thought was relevant to this part of the Heart Sutra. It's taken from "A Garland of Jewels," translated by Yeshe Gyamtso.
The elder Subhuti asked those bhikshus, "Venerable ones, what have you attained and realized that you now adorn the youthful Manjushri with your shawls?"
They replied, "Noble Subhuti, we have attained and realized nothing. That is why we adorn Manjushri with our shawls. Noble Subhuti, when we had the idea of attainment we arose and left this assembly. When we no longer had the idea of attainment, we returned. Attainment is deception and vanity. Attainment and realization do not exist."
Subhuti asked them, "Who tamed you?"
They replied, "We were tamed by the absence of attainment, origination, distraction, and even placement."
To use an analogy I've used before, a science fiction story has a detective looking for the dealer who is selling a dangerous new drug. Users who take the drug develop a split personality. The detective finds the dealer and it's himself! Similarly, the enlightened mind we are searching for is nothing but our ordinary mind, we merely do not recognize it for what it is.
