Clinging to the Buddha
“Followers of the Way, if you wish to see this
Dharma clearly, do not let yourselves be deceived. Whether
you turn to the outside or to the inside, whatever you
encounter, kill it. If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha;
if you meet the patriarchs, kill the patriarchs; if you meet
Arhats, kill Arhats; if you meet your parents, kill your
parents; if you meet your relatives, kill your relatives;
then for the first time you will see clearly. And if you do
not depend on things, there is deliverance, there is
freedom!” (Zen Teaching of Rinzai, pp. 43-44)
This outrageous statement was made in the 9th century by the
Chinese Buddhist teacher Lin-chi. The purpose of this statement
was not to encourage homicide, or even worse, parricide or
buddhacide. Lin-chi was challenging the complacency and fixations
of his disciples. He was challenging them to get past their
daydreams of enlightenment and their dependence on custom,
ceremony and traditional piety so that they could see the Dharma
directly for themselves.
It is a strange irony of Buddhism that the Buddha himself is at
once the most illuminating and the most obscuring figure there is
when it comes to seeing the Dharma. The example of Ananda just
before and just after the parinirvana, or passing away, of
Shakyamuni Buddha provides a case in point. In the last few
months of the Buddha’s life, he and Ananda were travelling
together. Three times the Buddha hinted to Ananda that he could
use his spiritual powers to extend his life for an age. This is
sometimes intepreted to mean that he could live for the maximum
lifespan of a human life, roughly 100 years, or that he actually
meant he could live for an entire kalpa, the length of time it
would take to wear away a mountain by brushing it with a silk
cloth every hundred years. In any case, each time Ananda failed
to pick up on what the Buddha was suggesting and did not request
that he extend his lifespan. A little later, the Buddha announced
that he would soon pass away. Startled by this, Ananda begs the
Buddha to remain, but it is too late. The Buddha tells Ananda
that the time to ask had already passed and he had already
determined the time of his death. There would be no turning back.
In any case, the Buddha reminds Ananda, all things must pass
away, including the buddha. So not only does Ananda take the
Buddha for granted, but when it comes time to acknowledge that
even the Buddha must die (whether after 80 years, or a hundred,
or a kalpa) he does not want to accept it and clings to the
Buddha.
After the Buddha’s parinirvana, Mahakashyapa
prepares to convene the first council wherein the teaching (Dharma)
and the monastic rule (Vinaya) would be recited. Ananda
is to recite the sutras, but he alone of those who are to attend
has not attained enlightenment. Ananda has heard all of the
teachings, but never felt the urgency to deeply reflect on their
meaning and practice them himself. His close relationship to the
Buddha as the Buddha’s attendant and the preserver of the
teachings has actually hindered rather than helped him. On the
night before the council is to begin, Ananda finally feels a
sense of urgency and even shame because he has not yet attained
liberation. He spends the night sitting upright in meditation,
desperately striving for enlightenment. But in the end, even this
desperate grasping for the goal of enlightenment turns out to be
futile. Instead of awakening he finally decides to let go of his
willful efforts and fall to sleep just before dawn. Before his
head hits the pillow he attains the liberation he sought.
Finally, free of the Buddha, free of complacency, free of his
need to prove himself to the others, free even of willful
striving for liberation, he awakens.
Shakyamuni Buddha taught that those who truly see him, see the
Dharma; and those who see the Dharma see him as he really is. The
real Buddha is not a person to be clung to, but the Dharma
itself. It is for this reason that the Buddha appears to pass
away. He does this so that we can see past the superficial
appearance of the Buddha, put the Dharma into practice, and then
directly see for ourselves the rare and precious Wonderful Dharma
which is the true presence of the Eternal Buddha. In the Lotus
Sutra the Buddha explains why he must appear to leave us:
“Good men! The duration of my life, which I obtained
by the practice of the Way of Bodhisattvas, has not yet
expired. It is twice as long as the length of time as
previously stated. Although I shall never enter Nirvana, I
say to men of little virtue, ‘I shall pass away’ I
teach them with this expedient. Why is that? It is because,
if they see me for a long time, they will not plant the roots
of good, but become poor and base, and cling to the five
desires so much that they will be caught in the net of wrong
views. If they think that I am always here, and do not think
that I shall pass away, they will become too arrogant and
lazy to realize the difficulty of seeing me, and they will
not respect me. Therefore I say to them expediently,
‘Bhiksus, know this! It is difficult to see a Buddha who
appears in this world.’ Why is that? It is because some
men of little virtue cannot see me even during many hundreds
of thousands of billions of kalpas while the others can.
Therefore, I say to them, ‘Bhiksus! It is difficult to
see a Tathagata.’ Those who hear this and know that it
is difficult to see me, will adore me, admire me, and plant
the roots of good. Therefore, I say to them, ‘I shall
pass away,’ although I shall not. (Lotus Sutra,
pp. 243-244)
The Buddha has not gone, but we must not cling to him if we
are to see him. Only by upholding the Dharma ourselves will we
see the real Buddha.
Relevant Passages
‘Ananda, whoever has developed the four roads to
power...could undoubtably live out the age or the remainder
of one. The Tathagata has developed these powers, and he
could, Ananda, undoubtedly live for an age or the remainder
of one.’
But the Venerable Ananda, failing to grasp this broad
hint, this clear sign, did not beg the Lord: ‘Lord, may
the Blessed Lord stay for an age, may the Well-Farer stay for
an age for the benefit and happiness of the multitude, out of
compassion for the world, for the benefit and happiness of
gods and humans’, so much was his mind possessed by
Mara.
(Mahaparinibbana Sutta 16, 3.3 - 3.4)
‘So now, today, Ananda, at the Capala Shrine, the
Tathgata has mindfully and in full awareness renounced the
life-principle.’
At this the Venerable Andana said: ‘Lord, may the
Blessed Lord stay for an age, may the Well-Farer stay for an
age for the benefit and happiness of the multitude, out of
compassions for the world, for the benefit and happiness of
gods and humans!’
‘Enough, Ananda! Do not beg the Tathagata, it is not
the right time for that! Ananda, have I not told you before:
All those things that are dear and pleasant to us must suffer
change, seperation and alteration? So how could this be
possible? What is born, become, compounded, is liable to
decay - that it should not decay is impossible. And that has
been renounced, given up, rejected, abandoned, forsaken: The
Tathagata has said once and for all: “The
Tathagata’s final passing will not long be
delayed.”' (Mahaparinibbana Sutta 16, 3.37 -
3.48 Abridged)
Meanwhile, the time came when the venerable Ananda
thought: “The meeting is tomorrow. It is not seemly for
me to go to the meeting place as a mere learner.” He
spent much of the night in contemplation of the body. When
the night was near dawn, he thought “I shall lie
down”; but he kept mindful of the body. Before his head
touched the pillow and after his feet left the ground, his
heart was in this interval liberated from taints through not
clinging. So the venerable Ananda went to the assembly as an
Arhat. (Vinaya Cullavagga 11: 1-10)
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