Sentient Beings Save Buddhas

Rinpoche discoursed on 9^th May, 1993
Rinpoche repeated it at the Vajrayana Association(France) in July, 1993
Uploaded to the Website on 15^th September, 2014 (after about twenty-one years)

Introduction
1.	Due to the causes of cognitive distortions and delusions, sentient beings can neither be able to aware nor understand that their own minds are Buddhas. If one has known that one’s own mind is Buddha, one must not and will not try to seek for Buddha beyond one’s own mind.
2.	One who searches for Buddha with one’s own mind does not understand what Buddha is at all. Those who look for Buddha out of their own minds do not recognize that their own minds are already Buddhas. It is exactly what Patriarchs have said, “Practitioner likes to mount another head over one’s own one (It means that it is repeating and redundant).”
3.	In Bodhidharma’s 《Bloodstream Sermon血脈論》(remark: Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century. He was credited as the transmitter of Zen Buddhism to China and was regarded as the founder of Zen Buddhism in China), it says, “Buddhas don’t save Buddhas, … , Buddhas don’t chant Sutras. Buddhas don’t uphold Precepts and Buddhas don’t violate Precepts either. Buddhas don’t cultivate good deeds and Buddhas don’t cultivate evil deeds either. Buddhas are neither diligent nor indolent. … , a Buddha isn’t a Buddha; don’t interpret Him as a Buddha.” For Buddhas don’t save any Buddhas, do not misunderstand it as Buddha Sakyamuni does not save Buddha Amitabha or Buddha Amitabha does not save Buddha Medicine. Its original meaning is that our own nature is essentially a Buddha in which we possess wisdom, blessings and goodness as well as meritorious virtue. Hence, Buddhas do not save sentient beings (Self-Nature Buddha), Buddhas solely make you comply your own mind completely and become Buddhas. This is the reason why Buddhas don’t save any Buddhas and neither do They save any sentient beings. There are no sentient beings for Buddhas to save because all sentient beings save themselves.
	Since one is fulfilled with a complete enlightenment (i.e. self-nature/inherent nature), one is invisible as well as intangible and does not cultivate or work anymore. In that case, why does one need to chant any Sutras? As one’s own nature is clean, pure and flawless , it is already a perfect precept and thus there are no more precepts to uphold. Having no discrimination in an impartial mind, where comes the differentiation of good and evil? With satisfactory and myriad virtue achieved in one’s own nature, one is free from what is known as diligence or indolence too.
	Why is it that a Buddha isn’t a Buddha? According to【Diamond Sutra金剛經】, “The Tathagata has neither whence to come nor whither to go, therefore, He is called the Tathagata” Though the Void has a name, it does not have any form. How can it be regarded as real? The same is applied to Buddhas and hence it is said that a Buddha isn’t a Buddha. Now that Buddhas are invisible and intangible, They cannot be regarded as real. In spite of being invisible and intangible, Buddhas are not annihilated. Buddhas’ wisdom can reach everywhere and be aware of everything without being abided in anything but it is still not a state of real. As a result, a Buddha isn’t a Buddha; don’t interpret Him as a Buddha.
4.	It is ‘sentient beings’ who save Buddhas. Why is it like this?
Orthodoxy
—	In Bodhidharma’s《Wake-up Sermon悟性論》, it says, “Sentient beings save Buddhas because affliction creates enlightenment. Buddhas save sentient beings because enlightenment negates affliction. It can’t help but have affliction; it also can’t help but have enlightenment. If it weren’t the presence of affliction, there would be nothing to create enlightenment. If it weren’t the presence of enlightenment, there would be nothing to negate affliction. When one is deluded, it is Buddhas that save sentient beings. When one is enlightened, it is sentient beings that save Buddhas. Why is it like this? Buddhas don’t become Buddhas on their own; They are all saved by sentient beings.”
—	The meaning of “Buddhas don’t become Buddhas on their own; They are all saved by sentient beings” is that: Buddhas and sentient beings complement each other. Hence, there would not be any Buddhas if there were no sentient beings. Buddhas are the ones with pure minds while sentient beings are those with afflicted minds. When one is free from affliction, one is then pure. The naming of Buddhas is caused by (the presence of) sentient beings whereas the naming of sentient beings is caused by Buddhas. In other words, when sentient beings extinguish affliction and achieve enlightenment, they attain Buddhahood. If there were no sentient beings, attaining Buddhahood would not be possible. This is the reason why Buddhas don’t become Buddhas on their own.
—	Buddhas regard ‘ignorance’ as their father and ‘craving’ as their mother (ignorance and craving both represent sentient beings). Ignorance is the cause of everything and when it aggregates craving, it becomes the cause of rebirth. If sentient beings can eliminate the affliction of ignorance like the three poisons namely heterodox views/evil views, craving and anger etc. as well as being able to free from being contaminated or defiled by the five desires (wealth, sex, food and drink, fame and sleep) and the six gunas (sight, sound, smell, taste touch and thought), also, if one’s mind can be preserved without following the changes in one’s mental projections in circumstances, minds are easily swayed to make one’s present mindfulness very clean and pure, this is exactly the presence of Buddha’s mind and one is the same as the Buddha.
—	Sentient beings are ignorant. Sentient beings crave. Ignorance and craving are like one’s left and right palms which are of no big difference. Ignorance and craving are the aliases of sentient beings. Both of them create affliction that make one’s mind circulate endlessly among the three poisons of greed, hatred and delusion. This causes sentient beings degenerate in (cycles of) life and death without the capability of leaving eternally. Ignorance is like a pit while craving is similar to a cavity and thus it is said in Buddhism, “Fill up the pit of ignorance and level the cavity of craving.” Ignorance and craving are just like one’s left and right palms which depend on and are never depart from each other. Though bearing different names and forms, both of them are stick to the same body and mind.
—	When one is deluded, one is on this shore; when one is enlightened, one is on the other shore. In fact, there is no distinction between this shore and the other shore. The Tathagata is neither on this shore nor on the other shore. He doesn’t stay in midstream either. When one is deluded, one is a sentient being; when one is enlightened, one is the Buddha. This shore refers to ordinary people while the other shore refers to the Buddhas. The Tathagata possesses Tathata (true suchness) and imperturbable nature. As He can fully understand His perception, He is totally unaffected by objects of external realm. Having thoroughly mastered the fundamental unity of the Universe (the World is viewed as empty), there is actually nothing to come. Everything comes truthfully from the reality. Hence, there is neither this shore as ‘tatha (meaning: the ultimate reality or reality as-it-is)’ nor the other shore as ‘agata (meaning: come or arrive)’. (A Tathagata) doesn’t stay in midstream in which ‘mid’ is in a position that is neither in the front nor the rear while ‘stream’ means a continuous flow without breaking off. As a result, there is nothing as staying on this shore or remaining on the other shore either. Midstream here refers to Hinayana because people of Hinayana are neither in the stage of ordinary persons nor in the stage of perfect enlightenment of Bodhi.
—	Once one realizes that one’s mind is empty without any form, one is detached from delusion and enlightenment. As one is away from delusion and enlightenment, there is naturally no such thing as this shore or the other shore. If one can thoroughly understand the meaning of doctrines, one has no doubt in understanding that mind is empty with no form(心 空 相 幻 而 不 疑). Therefore, one does not attach to empty-minded(則心空不執)and can remain unsullied to form of external objects in any circumstances(不染見於相). Instantly, one departs not only from delusion, but also enlightenment. Since one departs from both delusion and enlightenment, there is no the other shore. When there is no the other, there is certainly no this (shore).

Note:

Textual description and interpretation can only describe the surface as well as the most superficial meanings of Sutras. The annotations and main ideas mentioned above are incapable of bringing readers into thorough grasping and understanding of the implication of Sutras. Nor can they (make readers) experience the more profound, subtle as well as mysterious doctrines. It is hoped that readers should consult their own Gurus as a final and they can practise, comprehend as well as experience ‘Buddhas save sentient beings when they are deluded ; sentient beings save Buddhas when they are enlightened.’ by themselves.

Postscript (SA):

Twenty-two years ago, when Rinpoche discoursed the key-learning of this ‘Non-Form Tantric Buddhism(無相密宗)(remark: Practitioner should not grasp to form or non-form)’, most of the disciples including me were like the deaf hearing thunder due to the fact that our karma was so much that we could not manage to open our minds and see our own nature; It was just like when the Buddha had spoken The Avatamsaka Sutra for nine times, His head disciples were unable to understand the doctrines He had expounded. In these latter days, I was lucky enough to have the affinity for reading 【The Avatamsaka Sutra華嚴經】respectfully and recalled the situation in those years. Rinpoche is constantly using his supreme wisdom, infinite compassion as well as incomparable patience to guide all the disciples to the state of Enlightenment. I hereby sincerely pray for all of us who are still bound tightly by ignorance and craving and look forward to seeing us all achieve Enlightenment soon so that we will not disappoint our Rinpoche who has always devoted himself to instruct us selflessly.