Four Layers of Flowers

Yutang Lin

Ordinary view, born of attachments, regards flowers as substantial.
Comprehended Blank Essence, one sees flowers as mere illusions.
Employing flowers to make offerings to Buddha, duality harmonized.
Seeing flowers as flowers are, thus all conceptualizations transcended.

Comments:

Ordinarily, seeing flowers one would naturally grasp them as having substantial existence. Through studying and reflecting on Blank Essence, one sees flowers as illusive appearance. If one grasps to their illusive nature, then no application would be possible. Hence, substantial existence and Blank Essence are harmonized, and duality diminished, in assigning the name "flower" to them or employing flowers to make offerings to Buddhas, and consequently all sorts of salvation activities are carried out. As to the ultimate, it needs to be pure, in absence of verbalism and conceptualization transcended, seeing flowers just as flowers are, without entanglements of any and all distinctions born of dualistic attitudes. Such ultimate state can only be attained gradually through long-term practices; there is no shortcut to the real fruits.

Written in Chinese on November 29, 2006
Translated on December 3, 2006
El Cerrito, California

---

[Home][Back to list][Back to Chinese versions][Related Works: Four Levels of Speechlessness、Four Layers of Tara's Merits]