Becoming a Buddha (Internal Version)¶

Core Definition¶

Becoming a buddha (chéng fó, 成佛) is the transformation of a life through full realization of original nature (jiàn xìng, 见性), dissolution of the self-structure, and transcendence of all appearance-grasping — arriving at the completeness of emptiness-nature (kōng xìng, 空性), unification with the Dao, and entry into the Elysium World. Lifechanyuan's entire teaching on buddhahood draws its wisdom from the Diamond Sūtra as the sole unsullied root-source, positions itself through the Three-Verse Coordinate system, and is organized around two foundational negatives: "Having a self, you cannot become a buddha; grasping at appearances, you cannot become a buddha."

"Buddha is nature; buddha has no mind. Where there is mind, there is suffering; to live in one's nature is to be in prajñā; when the light of nature is complete, it illumines the ten thousand realms." (Transcending Time and Space, Entering the Buddha-State)

I. The Diamond Sūtra: Wisdom's Himalaya¶

Source: "Preface to the Becoming-Buddha Chapters"

"The Diamond Sūtra is the Himalaya of wisdom. Once you have truly read the Diamond Sūtra, you can 'look down on all mountains,' soar above Penglai, and become a buddha."

"The Diamond Sūtra says: 'Subhūti, all buddhas and all the dharmas of their supreme, perfect, complete enlightenment (anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi) emerge from this sūtra.'"

"True Buddhist teaching has been lost in China; what remains is riddled with gaps and cannot be repaired from within. We must return to the source. Where is the source? The source is the Diamond Sūtra."

Xuefeng describes his own position relative to the two great figures of Chan Buddhism:

Shenxiu: "The body is the bodhi-tree / The heart is like a bright mirror-stand / Diligently polish it at all times / Let no dust alight."

Huineng: "Bodhi is fundamentally no tree / The bright mirror is likewise no stand / Originally there is not a single thing / So where can dust alight?"

Hundun Yuanchu (Xuefeng): "The heart holds the bodhi-tree / Spirit is the bright mirror-stand / Ten thousand things arise from transformation / Illumine the nature and transcend all dust."

"'Hundun Yuanchu' is my dharma name."

II. Three Marks of Becoming a Buddha¶

Source: "Illumine the Nature, Transcend the Mundane — Become a Buddha Right Now"

"The three marks of one who has become a buddha: first, seeing the Tathāgata; second, reaching the state of non-action; third, a heart with no fixed abode."

Seeing the Tathāgata — The Phenomenological Exercise:

"'Who am I? Is my house me? No — I exist without it. Are my clothes me? No. Are my teeth me? No. Is my hair me? No. Are my eyes me? No. Are my legs me? No. Is my heart me? No — organ transplants happen and I'm still me. Is my blood me? No… None of this is me, none of that is me. Who, then, am I? Oh — I am the Tathāgata!'"

"'All appearances are illusions. If you see that all appearances are non-appearances, you see the Tathāgata.' The Tathāgata has no particular form. Nothing with a specific form is the Tathāgata. Only one's original nature (zì xìng) is the Tathāgata. Recognizing original nature is seeing the Tathāgata. In the instant you see the Tathāgata, you have become a buddha."

Reaching Non-Action — The Life-Level Taxonomy:

"'All sages differ only in degrees of non-action (wú wéi).' The more deliberate one's action, the lower one's life-level; the more one abides in non-action, the higher. The unreflective person acts from instinct; the worldly from desire; the ordinary from emotion; the wise from reason; the celestial from spiritual sense. The more one approaches non-action, the closer one is to buddhahood."

"Original nature is inherently pure and complete; original nature is fully equipped, capable of giving rise to ten thousand things. The more you deliberately act, the further you are from original nature; the more you act deliberately, the harder it becomes to return to simplicity."

Heart With No Fixed Abode — Generating the Pure Heart:

"'Let the mind arise without dwelling in form; let the mind arise without dwelling in sound, smell, taste, touch, or mental objects. Let the mind arise without dwelling anywhere.' Without a pure heart, it is impossible to attain supreme, complete enlightenment; to attain the pure heart, the heart must be attached to nothing — utterly free of every tie. 'Thus-thus unmoving.'"

III. Having a Self, You Cannot Become a Buddha¶

Source: "Having a Self, You Cannot Become a Buddha"

"Diamond Sūtra: 'Subhūti, if a bodhisattva has a self-appearance, other-appearance, being-appearance, or lifespan-appearance, he is not a bodhisattva.' 'Leaving all appearances behind is called all the Buddhas.'"

"Buddha is not self; self is not buddha. Where there is self, there is no buddha; where there is buddha, there is no self. Having a self, you cannot become a buddha; to become a buddha you cannot have a self."

Every orientation of the "I" is an obstacle — its forms include: - Aspiration: "I want to become a buddha." / "I want to serve humanity." - Possession: "This is my religion." / "These are my children." / "This is my enemy." - Evaluation: "I believe this is correct." / "I believe he has gone astray." - Identity: "I am humble." / "I am great." / "I am at fault." / "I have status."

"No-self yet everywhere self — only in reaching no-self can you find the Tathāgata. Give up the self, and the true self appears; cling to the self, and ultimately there is no self."

IV. Grasping at Appearances, You Cannot Become a Buddha¶

Source: "Grasping at Appearances, You Cannot Become a Buddha"

"Diamond Sūtra: 'All appearances are illusions. If you see that all appearances are non-appearances, you see the Tathāgata.' 'Leaving all appearances behind is called all the Buddhas.'"

"'If someone seeks me through form, or seeks me through sound, that person is practicing the wrong path and cannot see the Tathāgata.'"

Six categories of appearance-grasping in traditional practice: 1. Building temples, casting statues, burning incense, wearing robes — grasping at color-appearances 2. Establishing doctrines, hierarchies, institutional structures — obstructing Buddhism's reach to the people 3. Precepts, rules, prescribed methods — grasping dharma-appearances 4. Sects, lineages, denominations — grasping identity-appearances 5. Claiming dietary or behavioral requirements — restricting thought 6. Expounding dharma while attached to its form — the teacher's trap

"The above is specifically for those seeking the supreme vehicle. What is said here is neither right nor wrong: if you think it's right, I have set a trap for you; if you think it's wrong, you have fallen into a trap. The dharma has no fixed gate; if you cling to any gate, there is no gate. If you reach the state of no-appearance, every gate opens, everything is a gate."

The Invisible Robe:

"Once a person has achieved something, gained reputation, earned the praise of others, acquired exceptional wisdom — they have put on a robe. Once they put on a robe, they tend to seal themselves inside the glory of that robe… removing the robe is what it takes to become a buddha."

V. Three Verses, Three Coordinates¶

Source: "Shenxiu, Huineng, and Hundun Yuanchu: Three Verses, Three Departures"

"The three verses stand at different angles; the worlds seen from each are different."

"Shenxiu approaches from the angle of cultivation — how to illuminate the mind and see the nature. Huineng points directly at original nature. Hundun Yuanchu connects the material world and the non-material world."

"Shenxiu is focused on the material world; Huineng on the non-material world; Hundun Yuanchu unites both."

"Cultivating by Shenxiu's method — the road is long. Cultivating by Huineng's method — it is easy to fall into nihilistic emptiness. Cultivating by Hundun Yuanchu's method — one can move toward the far shore as quickly as possible while still fully enjoying life."

"The greatest is Shenxiu, for he laid the foundation. The most sublime is Huineng, for he stood in the Elysium World. The most remarkable is Hundun Yuanchu, for he built a ladder between the foundation and the Elysium World."

VI. The Shortcut: Illuminating the Mind, Seeing the Nature¶

Source: "The Shortcut to Becoming a Buddha: Illuminating the Mind, Seeing the Nature"

What is "mind" (xīn, the mind that is illuminated)?

"The mind is not in any particular part of the body — not in the brain, not in the heart, not in the heel — but in the operating programs of the life's antimatter structure. It is the thoughts and cognitions that arise when eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and intellect react to the objective material and antimatter environment. It arises dependent on conditions; without conditions it does not arise."

What is "nature" (xìng, the nature that is seen)?

"This nature is the 'gate of all wonder' — it is the Tathāgata, the Hundun Yuanchu, the life's antimatter structure, the Buddha, the consciousness of the Greatest Creator, the original nature of the universe, the law and principle of the Dao, the operating principle of life."

"'Not illuminating the mind' — that is the mass of humanity. 'Illuminating the mind' — that is the sage. 'Not seeing the nature' — that is the unreflective, worldly, ordinary, and wise. 'Seeing the nature' — that is the celestial being, that is the buddha."

VII. Becoming a Buddha Has No Tricks¶

Source: "Becoming a Buddha Has No Tricks"

"There are tricks for theft; tricks for deception; tricks for overnight riches; tricks for corruption; tricks for the official world, the business world, the battlefield, the arena of romance, and the gambling hall. Only for climbing the peaks of science and for becoming a celestial being and a buddha — there are no tricks."

"Cultivation proceeds through each word and deed; refinement proceeds through each thought and intention. Day by day it grows; tree by tree it forms a forest; grain by grain it builds a pagoda; hair by hair it becomes a coat — when the effort is complete, it naturally succeeds. If one abandons the effort and schemes for a shortcut, that heart has already fallen into the demon's lair, that step has already turned to the wrong path."

VIII. Emptiness-Nature Is Ultimate Nirvāṇa¶

Source: "Emptiness-Nature Is Ultimate Nirvāṇa" (2023-08-03)

"Emptiness-nature is the Elysium World; entering the state of emptiness-nature is ultimate nirvāṇa; ultimate nirvāṇa means you have arrived at the Elysium World."

"Emptiness-nature = No-form = No-self = Ultimate nirvāṇa = Elysium World = Dao = Buddha = Heavenly Celestial"

"The Heart Sūtra is properly the Nature Sūtra (Xìng Jīng). 'Form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form' — this speaks of the nature-state, not the mind-state."

"'Buddha is nature, nature is buddha; mind does not exist — past mind cannot be obtained, present mind cannot be obtained, future mind cannot be obtained.'"

"When the self is completely gone, the heart expands boundlessly. The purpose of losing the self is to enter emptiness-nature; entering emptiness-nature allows the heart to expand; an expanded heart is the true scene of the Elysium World."

IX. Transcending Time and Space, Entering the Buddha-State¶

Source: "Transcending Time and Space, Entering the Buddha-State" (2014/3/2)

"Illuminate the mind and see the nature; seeing the nature, become a buddha. Buddha is nature; buddha has no mind. Where there is mind, there is suffering; to live in nature is prajñā; the light of nature complete, illumining the ten thousand realms. There is no past, no present, no future; what is before you now is the future; your present state is your future state. Do not worry about tomorrow, for the present is tomorrow. Do not worry about life and death, for life is death and death is life."

"Buddha-state (fó jìng, 佛境) is the Elysium World — no hierarchy, no right and wrong, no management, no oppression, no worry, no suffering. That is the kingdom of freedom. Buddha-state is emptiness, is the zero-state; through the three-element relationship of structure, consciousness, and energy, it can give rise to unlimited vitality; everywhere is the paradise beyond the world; at any time one can experience the wondrous bliss of the Elysium World — boundless beauty, limitless wonder."

Becoming a Celestial Being and a Buddha · Becoming a Celestial Being · Celestial Being · Heavenly Celestial · Buddha · Illuminate the Mind, See the Nature · Self-Nature (Buddha-Nature) · No-Self, No-Form · Wu Wei (Non-Action) · Mind Without Abiding · Mind Without Hindrance · Advanced Refinement · Advanced Cultivation · Awakening