| Summary: | 碩士 === 華梵大學 === 中國文學系碩士班 === 103 === Professor Yung-Hai Lai put forward the Platform Sutra as an important transitional period in the history of Chinese thought. He said, “Turn the traditional Buddha into the Buddha of the Mind”. Hence, the most distinctive feature of the Platform Sutra is to convert the mind of the Buddha into that of a human being. The Fifth Patriarch said, “It is pointless to study Buddhist precepts if one loses the original mind”. He turned the “mind’ in Indian Buddhism in conventional abstract terms, such as Tathata, Buddha nature, the nature of Buddhist precepts, and Buddha, into the concrete reality of the “human mind”, thereby diluted the absrracr aura of theology and strengthened the humanity of the mortal world. In other words, “The Buddha’s mind is my mind, the heart of purity.” By returning to the original mind, one becomes a Buddha. Hui Neng replaced the concrete reality of the human mind with the abstract and esoteric pure heart, pulling back traditional external seeking into seeking from within and stressing an insight into the Tao from the mind. Traditional Buddhism emphasizes turning liberation from the lokuttara into liberation from the lokiya, eliminating boundaries between one side and another, from relying on external liberation into self-liberation. In fact, the moment one acquires insight and presents Tathata, Buddha nature, or the original mind, one attains Buddhahood. Therefore, to become a Buddha, one instantly gains an insight and understands the self, emphasizing the calm mind that leads to the Tao and pointing out that one whose mind is calm needs no abstinence; one whose actions are righteous needs no meditation”. The way to study scripture is to master scriptures rather than being handled by them. That is, the Buddha’s’ philosophy involves reading between the lines. The focus is to, through Buddhist doctrine, gain an insight into one’s mind and seek liberation rather than reading the text word by word. The claim is to see the mind to become a Buddha, which must be achieved through one’s heartfelt practices. Thus, “The lost soul utters words; the wise follows the heart”. The true heart theory emphasizes self-realization and practice of the mind. The ultimate principle of the true heart theory covered in the Platform Sutra follows the mindset of “without a thought as the core, without appearance as the body, and without refuge as the origin”.
Hence, in the Platform Sutra, Hui Neng’s approach of cultivating the mind and traditional practices of Buddhist rules show great disparity. All the laws in the universe are manifestations of the mind. It is only by knowing the heart and seeing the mind can one thoroughly depart from the self, troublesome, and clambers in the mortal world; it is only by cultivating the mind can Buddha’s wisdom be explored and can one transcend life and death.
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