Huangbo's EDoMT: rebirth and the six realms of being

Here are some quotes from the zen text <Essential Dharma of Mind Transmission> that mention rebirth and the six realms.

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From Section 10i-f:

諸行無常是生滅法。勢力盡箭還墜。招得來生不如意。爭似無為實相門。一超直入如來地。

All sankharas annica. This is the dharma of origination and cessation. When the force of the momentum ends, the arrow falls back down in return, resulting in an unfavourable birth in the next life. How can this be compared to the gate of non-causal reality, which upon passing through, allows one to enter directly into the Tathagata-land?

'All sankharas annica' is one of three marks of dharma in Buddhism. It means 'all conditioned phenomena/formations are impermanent'.

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From Section 12i-b:

努力努力。此門中千人萬人。只得三箇五箇。若不將為事。受殃有日在。故云。著力今生須了卻。誰能累劫受餘殃。

Work hard, work hard. Of the thousand and ten thousand people in this [zen] school, only three or five attain. If this matter is not regarded seriously, the day of calamitous suffering awaits. Therefore it is said: Put strength in settling it within this lifetime, for who can undergo the extraneous calamities throughout consecutive kalpas?

'Kalpa', also known as aeon, is the period of time spanning the formation of a world/universe through to its destruction.

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From Section 1xi:

造惡造善皆是著相。著相造惡枉受輪迴。著相造善枉受勞苦。

Making evil [deeds] and making good [deeds] are all attachment to characteristics. Making evil in attachment to characteristics, one needlessly experiences the cycle of samsara. Making good in attachment to characteristics, one needlessly experiences the suffering of laborious toil.

'Cycle of samsara' here is translated from the chinese term 輪迴 (lun hui), which specifically refers to the continuous cycle of rebirth.

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From Section 2ii:

凡夫不趣道。唯恣六情乃行六道。

Mundane people, not oriented to the [Buddha's] way, know only to indulge the six passions, thus they go through the six-ways.

'Six-ways' refer to the six samsara ways of existence: hellish-being (naraka), hungry ghost (preta), animal (tiryag), human (manusya), demi-god (asura) and heavenly-being (deva).

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From Section 3ii:

言闡提者。信不具也。一切六道眾生乃至二乘不信有佛果。皆謂之斷善根闡提。

What's typically said of icchantika, is that of one who lacks faith/trust. All sentient beings in the six-ways, even those in the two vehicles, should they not have faith in the presence of the Buddha-fruit, are all called icchantikas with good roots severed.

Submitted May 23, 2019 at 05:13AM by chintokkong http://bit.ly/2JzojUI