Huineng on the three bodies and the four wisdoms

I've repeatedly done posts on the three bodies, and the four wisdoms (you know by now, the five wisdom buddha's...), so it was apropos to do one with Huineng's take.

A Bhikshu chih-tung, had read the Lankavatara-sutra a thousand times but did not understand the meaning of the trikaya (three bodies) and the four prajnas. The Patriarch explained,

the pure dharmakaya is your [essential] nature; the perfect sambhogakaya is your wisdom; and the myriad nirmanakayas are your actions[...]

He then provided a stanza, as he does,

The three bodies are inherent in our essence of mind,

By development of which the four prajnas are manifested.

Thus, without shutting your eyes and ears to keep away from the external world

You may reach buddhahood directly.

Now that I have made this plain to you

Believe it firmly, and you will be free from delusions forever.

Follow not those who seek enlightenment from without;

These people talk about bodhi all the time [but they never find it].

Chih-tung then asks for more information on the four prajnas. The patriarch replied,

If you understand the three bodies, you should understand the four prajnas as well; so your question is unnecessary. If you deal with the four prajnas apart from the three bodies, there will be prajnas without bodies, in which case they would not be prajnas.:

Huineng had another stanza to offer,

The mirrorlike wisdom is pure by nature.

The equality wisdom frees the mind from impediments.

The all-discerning wisdom sees things intuitively without going through the process of reasoning.

The all-performing wisdom has the same characteristics as the mirror-like wisdom.

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Note:

The Five Tathagatas (or Wisdom Buddhas, or Dhyani Buddhas) match these prajnas.

The aforementioned 'mirrorlike wisdom' is Akshobhya, whose name means "mirrorlike wisdom", and is the wisdom of reflection.

The aforementioned 'equality wisdom' is Ratnasambhava whose name means "jewel-born".

The aforementioned 'all-discerning wisdom' is Amida or Amitabha, whose name means infinite light/life, and often is "he who possesses light without bound, he whose splendor is infinite".

The aforementioned 'all-performing wisdom' is Amoghasiddhi, whose name means "He Whose Accomplishment Is Not In Vain".

These four wisdom buddhas are attributed to the four directions and the four elements of form, Water, Air, Fire and Earth respectively, which then unlock the "three bodies" who are encapsulated within the fifth wisdom buddha, Vairocana, who represents sunyata/cosmic space emptiness.

Submitted February 11, 2019 at 06:05AM by Dillon123 http://bit.ly/2Gyzg6O