23.10.07

Song Of Freedom Breakdown, lines 21-23



The wish-fulfilling pearl is not recognized by beingsbut here it is
within the matrix of Reality as a continual presencing.


The functioning of the six senses are neither "is" nor "not,"and come
from luminosity neither formed nor formless.


Clarifying the five kinds of vision brings the five powers.


Line 21 The wish-fulfilling pearl is from the Lotus Sutra I think that the root of this is that everything you want is already here. I think this is pretty profound.

Line 22 The six senses: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, mind.
As said in the Heart Sutra : All senses are marked with emptiness they do not appear or disappear are not tainted or pure do not increase or decrease.

Sounds pretty mystical. But really I think both this line and the Heart sutra are saying things just are as they are (or arn’t) without subject or object.

Line 23 I think it helps to know what is being discussed here.

1.human eye - it is our flesh eye, an organ to see an object with limitation, for instance, in darkness, with obstruction.

2.devine eye - it can see in darkness and in distance, attainable by men in dhyana (concentration/meditation).

3.wisdom eye - the eye of Arhat and Two Vehicles i.e. the sound-hearers (Sravaka) and the Enlightened to Conditions (Praetyka-Buddha). It can see the false and empty nature of all phenomena.

4.dharma eye - the eye of Bodhisattva. It can see all the dharmas in the world and beyond the world.

5.buddha eye - the eye of Buddha or omniscience. It can see all that four previous eyes can see.

The five powers (or wisdoms)
Five Wisdoms 1.Wisdom of the Embodied Nature of Dharma Realm - derived from amala-vijanana, i.e. pure consciousness (or mind).
2.Wisdom of the Great Round Mirror - derived from alaya-vijanana, (8th consciousness) reflecting all things.
3.Wisdom in regard to all things equally and universally - derived from manovijanana (7th consciousness).
4.Wisdom of profound insight, or discrimination, for exposition and doubt - destruction - derived from the mind consciousness (6th consciousness).
5.Wisdom of perfecting the double work of self welfare and the welfare of others - derived from the five senses (1st to 5th consciousness).

So if you get to the heart of the five visions you will have the five powers. Seems pretty mater of fact here.


I welcome comments, but I may integrate them into the commentary.
I hope that my efforts are helpful in clearing my own delusion as well as that of others,Jordan

Acknowledgments

7 comments:

oxeye said...

thanks for doing all of this legwork for us jordan.. I didn't understand all of the references on my first reading.

SlowZen said...

Jeff,
Glad you appreciate it. I did not understand all of the references on the first go round either! Actually I am almost certain I am still missing a few. I do not yet own any sort of copy of the Garland sutra, and I understand it was an important text. So I think it likely that it is pertinent to a better (intellectual)understanding of the Song of Freedom. But it is Quite pricey too! But I just do the best I can with what is available.

Take care,
Jordan

Gregor said...

mmmmmm oyster yummmmm! Just need some Guinness to go with it.

Carol said...

Love the picture, Jordan! Where did you get it from?

Very intellectual!

Love,

Mum

SlowZen said...

Greg,
Hold the Guinness and put the oyster on some rice with some soy sauce and wasabi please.


Mom,
Found the picture on the web, I am an intellectual property violator!
Seriously though they did not have any notice up not to use their pictures so...

Love,
Jordan

Gregor said...

Jordon,

Your right sake goes much better with raw shellfish. . .

SlowZen said...

Hold the sake, rough experience... I'll take a cup of green tea instead.

Take care,
Jordan

Thanks for looking!