Venerable Master: This taperecorder [being used to record the Sutra lecture] is the worst thing there is. The tape makes all of you lazy. If the lecture weren’t being tape-recorded, then all of you would be taking your own notes. Now you’re not writing notes, so you don’t keep your attention on what’s being lectured, but just go to sleep. So wouldn’t you agree that the taperecorder is the worst thing? Because of it, your eyes are lazy, so are your hands, and your minds are even lazier.

Disciple: What if we take notes and listen to the tape?

Venerable Master: That’s good. But the way it is now, your minds get lazy and think, “It doesn’t matter if we sleep.”

Sutra :

The Emptiness-Ruling Spirit named Radiance Free from Filth obtained the liberation door of being able to make all living beings’ minds pure and free from all coverings.

Commentary:
The next Emptiness-Ruling Spirit is named Radiance Free from Filth. To be “free from” means not to have. Filth is dirt, and it is also coverings and impurity. This filth shrouds our mind and nature. It covers over the clear, bright substance of the purity of our nature so that it is not clear and bright. This is as when a mirror is coated with dust, the mirror cannot reflect images. If the dust is removed, then that function of the mirror is revealed. What is the function of the mirror? It’s able to reflect images. If there’s a layer of dust, the mirror won’t reflect anything. The radiance of our mind, our fundamental wisdom light, our inherent Prajna brightness, is like the mirror. But it has been covered over by bad habits, and so the radiance is not apparent. As to radiance free from filth, if you can separate from dirt, wipe away the dust—which means to be able to cut off your bad habits from many lives and many eons—then the light will appear. If you can be free from the filth of greed, filth of anger, and filth of stupidity, that is to be free from filth. Once you are free from filth, you will have radiance, and so the doctrine can be deduced from her name.

This Emptiness-Ruling Spirit is called Radiance Free from Filth—that is her name. However, this name is a false name. Why do we say it is false? It’s because she is an Emptiness-Ruling Spirit, and emptiness means there is nothing whatsoever. When one thing is empty, everything is empty. Yet within this absence of anything there is nonetheless a false name, the appellation Radiance Free from Filth. When there is fundamentally nothing whatsoever, then what filth can be left behind? And what radiance could appear? This is talking about how the inherent nature of each one of us is fundamentally pure. Basically it is neither defiled nor pure, and in speaking of radiance free from filth, the Emptiness-Ruling Spirit Radiance Free from Filth, the doctrine can be deduced from her name. That is, through her name one can understand this principle.

The Emptiness-Ruling Spirit under discussion understood one Dharma-door among the Buddha’s many doors of Dharma. She didn’t understand them all. Because she is a spirit, she was only able to comprehend that one portion. It’s similar to when we people drink water, we can only drink up to our capacity, and then we have to stop. Each individual just drinks the amount of liquid he or she is supposed to—we can’t take in more. There isn’t enough space in our bellies to contain it. As empty as this Emptiness-Ruling Spirit is, she is unable to penetrate and comprehend the totality of the Buddha’s Dharma, and so she just knows and understands this one state.

Which state is that? She obtained the liberation door, the kind of Dharma of being able to make all living beings’ minds pure and free from all coverings. “Free from” means all the many obscuring coverings are gone. I believe we discussed the Five Coverings during the Shurangama Sutra lectures, but I don’t know if all of you still remember them. Since you’re not supposed to have any coverings, and want to be free of them, you may have tossed them aside. But if there is anyone who has not discarded the coverings, in a little while you can tell us what those coverings are. Are they the covering of heaven, the covering of earth, the covering of people, or the covering of the self? Tell us what they are, and then talk about them. The purity here is achieved because the coverings are gone, and so the radiance of the mind can appear. When the mind’s radiance appears, it shines throughout the Dharma Realm, and so she is called Radiance Free from Filth. The Emptiness-Ruling Spirit by that name entered that door to liberation.

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Venerable Master: What are the coverings? Doesn’t anyone know? Are you all without coverings?

Heng Yin: Greed, anger, stupidity, and sleep.

Heng Shou: There is also agitation.

Heng Yin: Master, this was discussed in the Dharma Flower Sutra.

Venerable Master: Oh, then it was the Dharma Flower Sutra. What were they?

Heng Yin: I remember the English translation.

Venerable Master: What was the first one? We’ll discuss them one by one.

Heng Yin:

Single-mindedly casting out confusion removes
　the covering of greed.
Being apart from stupid followers removes
　the covering of anger.
Drawing near to those with wisdom removes
　the covering of stupidity.
Collecting one’s thoughts in mountain forests removes
　the covering of sleep.
Being apart from all frivolity removes
　the covering of agitation. [verse by Great Master Ou Yi]

Venerable Master: People are speaking English and I don’t understand. Translate into Chinese for me. I don’t know if what you are saying is correct or not. We can decide this tomorrow. Tell me tomorrow. Look this up and get it straight. Ask your teacher, the dictionary. Okay?

Disciples: Okay.

Venerable Master: Do you know what they are, Guo Pu?

Heng Hsien: I think I remember four of the five coverings which the Master iscussed during the Shurangama Sutra lectures.

Venerable Master: It doesn’t matter what Sutra it was. Wherever you heard it was where you heard it. I said the Shurangama Sutra, but it could have been the Dharma Flower Sutra or the Vajra Sutra. Wherever it was, I’ve discussed this before. And I may not remember clearly myself where I lectured it. Don’t believe what I say. You should believe yourselves and have faith in your dictionary.

Heng Hsien: Master, the first is lack of faith (=doubt). I don’t remember the second. the third is a form of sleepiness. The fourth is something like manic depression. The fifth is confusion. But I don’t know the exact Chinese terms for these. The fourth refers to constantly switching from extremes of depression and irritation to excitement and elation.

Venerable Master: What is the meaning of the term “covering” just by itself? We don’t need to talk about how many there are. What is meant by “covering”?

Heng Hsien: The Sanskrit for it is avarana. [Note: Actually avarana is the term for “obstruction,” and nivarana is the Sanskrit term used for the Five Coverings.]

Venerable Master: Avarana?

Heng Hsien: The covering covers over purity. It’s the way the Master explains it.

Venerable Master: She talked about the Sanskrit. What do those of you who were speaking English have to say? What is the meaning of “covering"? We don’t have to discuss all that much—just investigate the meaning of the one term “covering.” Once we understand that single concept of covering, then no matter how many coverings there are, we’ll be able to understand them all. First we’ll understand one covering. One covering is all coverings, and all coverings are one covering. Then we’ll see which one covers you, and which one covers me. Your covering may be different from mine.

Guo You: Master, I think “covering” is something like obstruction. However, a covering prevents you from seeing your own nature—like an umbrella. If your own nature has something over it, you are unable to see. That’s the meaning of “covering."

Venerable Master: So you can’t see ghosts?

Guo You: No, not that. Maybe a ghost would be a covering. And ignorance is a covering.

Venerable Master: The English for this is “cover,” right? Then it’s just this (the Venerable Master picks up the lid of the teacup on the table), isn’t it?

Disciples: Yes.

Venerable Master: Then there’s nothing to say. It’s just this! (The Venerable Master drops the lid loudly on the cup.) If you understand this, then you’ll understand that. And if you understand that, then you’ll understand this. Isn’t that correct?

Disciples: Yes.

Venerable Master: And yet it isn’t this. This is just an analogy. The light of our wisdom originally overflows heaven and earth, and shines throughout the Dharma Realm. But the problem is there is a black barrel which has no light at all inside, because it is covered by a lid, like this teacup now. There are a lot of errors in what I said to you while lecturing, so whoever knows what the right way is should tell me afterwards, because I don’t know whether I’ve spoken correctly or not. You are all Good-knowing Advisors. You can tell me tomorrow night. Tell me to my face, don’t talk behind my back. Okay?

To be continued