Eliminating Great False Speech

"You teach the people of the world to cultivate samadhi, and afterwards to further eliminate all major false speech. This is known as the fourth decisive, clear instruction on purity given by the Tathagata and the past World-Honored Ones."

The preceding teachings were not given solely by Shakyamuni Buddha; they encompass the Buddhas of the past, present, and future. It is said that in the cultivation of samadhi, one must first sever the mind of lust, then the minds of killing and stealing, and finally eliminate major false speech. This is the fourth decisive, unalterable, pure, and wise instruction of the present World-Honored One, the past World-Honored Ones, and even the future World-Honored Ones.

Failure to Eliminate Means Failure to Achieve

"Therefore, Ananda, if one does not eliminate major false speech, it is like carving human excrement into the shape of sandalwood and hoping to find its fragrance—there is no such possibility. I teach monks that the direct mind is the bodhimanda. In all actions within the four deportments, there should be no falsehood, so how can one falsely claim to have attained the Dharma of superior beings?"

First, the Buddha gives an analogy. If a person does not eliminate major false speech, even if they uphold the precepts purely and possess many meditative merits, but claims to be the reincarnation of a certain Bodhisattva, this is like carving dried human excrement into the shape of sandalwood. Because its fundamental substance is still dried excrement—it still contains numerous afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion—it merely takes on an outward appearance. To expect it to emit the fragrance of sandalwood is utterly impossible.

In other words, using such a deceitful mind as your causal ground while seeking the fragrance of Buddhahood is impossible; cause and effect simply do not align. Therefore, the Buddha taught the monk to rely on a direct mind. Strictly speaking, this "direct mind" means right mindfulness of true suchness. It means using the true nature of suchness as the fundamental substance of all cultivation. In the four deportments, amidst all movement, stillness, speech, and silence, there can be no deceitful contrivance. How, then, could one claim to have attained the Dharma of superior beings or to be a manifestation of a Buddha or Bodhisattva?

By doing so, you generate a crooked mindset. Relying on such an attitude to cultivate all virtuous dharmas will only render those dharmas crooked and contaminated by you.

"It is like a poor man falsely calling himself an emperor; he brings about his own execution and the destruction of his family. How much more so for the Dharma King—how can one falsely usurp this title?"

This presents the second analogy. Suppose a poor person claims to be an emperor; the outcome is singular: the extermination of his nine familial lineages. Falsely claiming to be a Dharma King naturally yields the same result—grave karmic offenses. How could the title of Dharma King be falsely usurped? Such is the second analogy.

Now, consider the third analogy.

"If the causal ground is untrue, the resulting fruit will be twisted and indirect. Seeking the Buddha's Bodhi in such a way is like a person trying to bite their own navel—how can they ever succeed?"

Relying on the deceitful mind of major false speech as your causal ground will lead to twists and turns in your resultant fruit. Seeking the Buddha's Bodhi with such a convoluted mind is like a person trying to bite something with their mouth—and what are they biting? Their own navel. How could they possibly succeed?

The meaning here is that through major false speech, you believe you have already become a Buddha or a Bodhisattva. This destroys your entire noble sense of shame and conscience. In the Bodhisattva path, all progress relies on this noble shame and the capacity for self-reflection. What do we do? We constantly use the principles of the Dharma as a mirror to reflect upon ourselves, continuously correcting and adjusting ourselves. But if you claim to be a manifestation of Manjushri Bodhisattva or Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, that implies you no longer need to improve. Once a person stops improving, they begin to regress, and serious problems arise. This is the reason why such a person permanently severs their good roots—they lack a sense of shame. Without a sense of shame, one's good roots are lost.

Success Through Elimination

"If monks maintain a mind as straight as a bowstring, entirely true and genuine, they will enter samadhi and forever be free from demonic obstructions. I certify that such a person will accomplish the Bodhisattva's supreme perception."

This passage praises the merits of an upright person. If a monk's mind can be as straight as a bowstring—completely authentic, genuinely relying on the unconditioned mind to cultivate, saying what they mean and doing what they say, entirely truthful—then by relying on this pure, unconditioned mind in their practice, they will definitely face no demonic interference. Because when inner demons do not arise, external demons cannot manifest. Such a person will certainly accomplish the Bodhisattva's supreme perception, which is the Bodhisattva's complete perfect penetration. Your mind must be upright, maintaining right mindfulness of true suchness. As Master Ouyi said: "A direct mind means right mindfulness of true suchness."

Distinguishing Orthodox from Heterodox

"What is spoken as I have taught is called the Buddha's word; what is spoken otherwise is the word of Papiyan (Mara)."

What I have spoken above is the Buddha's correct Dharma-eye treasury; contradicting these teachings constitutes heterodox views. This is why we often say the Shurangama Sutra is a demon-revealing mirror—because it lays out these four fundamental clear instructions on purity with absolute clarity. Furthermore, I feel that the Buddha's tone in speaking these words seems directed right at the Dharma-Ending Age, because such situations rarely occurred during the Proper Dharma Age or the Dharma-Image Age.

Master Jingjie's Commentary on the Shurangama Sutra