Wang Rixiu's comments

“Tatha means ‘suchness.’ Gata means ‘to appear.’ Tatha is the basic essence of our true nature. Gata is the appearance of our true nature. Thus, tathagata refers to both the essence and appearance of a buddha, which is why it is used throughout this sutra.”

Wang Jih-hsiu says, “To practice charity means to transform others through teaching. But if someone practices charity while attached to a teaching, then those they instruct become attached to the teaching and have no means of seeing their true nature. Such a person enters the darkness and sees nothing. If, however, someone instructs others without being attached to a teaching, those they instruct are thereby enlightened and are able to see their true nature. Such a person is like someone with eyes who can see all the forms illuminated by light.”

Wang Jih-hsiu says, “The Tathagata knows the thoughts of all these beings because their thoughts are delusions that arise from their true nature. Once they give birth to these delusions, the Buddha sees them because they have form. Because they have form, they can be known. If they were as still as space, they couldn’t be known. This, then, is the power to know the thoughts of others” [which, along with the divine eye, is one of the six supernatural powers acquired in the course of spiritual practice].

Wang Jih-hsiu says, “Tatha means ‘suchness.’ Gata means ‘to appear.’ Tatha is the basic essence of our true nature. Gata is the appearance of our true nature. Thus, tathagata refers to both the essence and appearance of a buddha, which is why it is used throughout this sutra.”

Wang Jih-hsiu says, “In every world system, there is a buddha who establishes the teaching. Shakyamuni established the teaching in this world. In the world to the east, Akshobya Buddha established the teaching. Thus, every world system is also called a buddha realm. Bodhisattvas transform the buddha realm in which they live by performing various acts of kindness in order to transform that world. When Amita Buddha was a bodhisattva, he performed countless acts of kindness and as a result of such good karma was able to transform his world into one whose ground was made of gold [note: the sutras say aquamarine] and whose trees and towers and pavilions were made of the seven jewels. This is to transform. But to say that a bodhisattva transforms or purifies a buddha land is not exactly the truth. For to transform a buddha land is not to transform it. This is what is meant by transforming it.”

Wang Jih-hsiu says, “The Buddha often says that material offerings have limits, while dharma offerings are inexhaustible, that material offerings don’t transcend the Realm of Desire, while dharma offerings transcend all realms. Thus, it is no wonder that the merit that comes from dharma offerings surpasses the former by an incalculable amount.”

Wang Jih-hsiu says, “Although the Buddha appeared in a physical body with thirty-two attributes, when he entered Nirvana, they all disappeared. Thus, by means of these we cannot see the real Buddha. Whether it’s something as small as a speck of dust or as big as a world or as extraordinary as a buddha’s physical body, they all are empty illusions. They are simply names.”

Wang Jih-hsiu says, “Not to give birth to a thought attached to a dharma means that the dharma of a buddha is basically fabricated to suit the capabilities of beings. If people become attached to it, they become mired in the dharma and have no way of seeing their true nature.”

Wang Jih-hsiu says, “A person cannot possibly have as many self-existences as there are grains of sand in the Ganges to give away during the three periods of the day. This is only an expedient metaphor for what is beyond the limits of comparison.”

Wang Jih-hsiu says, “The Buddha tells Subhuti that foolish people are not really foolish people but are merely called foolish people. This is a case of bringing up a point only to negate it. But if he is going to negate it, why should he bring it up? If he didn’t bring it up, there would be no means of understanding the truth. It would be like trying to cross a river without using a raft. And if he didn’t negate it, people might cling to his teaching. This would be like reaching the far shore and not disembarking but staying on the raft. This is why he has to bring it up and why he has to negate it as well.”