Vajrayana Buddhism Association

Perfect Enlightenment 20: Buddha Teaches the Practice in Stages

Translator’s note: In this section, Buddha highlights the different positions “according with the nature of enlightenment” as a way to illustrate the practice in stages, where Buddha mentions the famous analogy of “finger pointing to the moon.” We take this opportunity to repost to Master Tam’s original introduction to the “Beyond Word” series, where the discussion makes a journey from dependent arising due to interdependence and relativity, to dependent arising due to mutual obstruction, and beyond.

Perfect Enlightenment 15: Buddha Teaches the Perfect Enlightenment Being Immovable

Commentary:

To answer (see previous column), Buddha began explaining why sentient beings still fall into saṃsāra while possessing perfect enlightenment. This is the key to answering Vajragarbha’s three questions.

Within saṃsāra all phenomena fall into relativity to establish themselves, and hence there are notions such as beginning and end, life and death, front and back, existence and non-existence, gathering and dispersing, arising and cessation, and so on.…

An Introduction to “Beyond Words” Series

Translator’s note: Master Tam wrote series of books called Beyond Words (離言叢書) between 2011 and 2021. During this time he published thirteen books of commentary to Buddhist sūtras and treatises using the teaching of Buddha-Within. These books include Saṃdhi-nirmocana-sūtra, The Lion’s Roar of Queen Śrīmālā, as well as Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment that we are currently serializing on this website.

Perfect Enlightenment 13: On Surpassing Illusion

Commentary:

From the earlier observation, a bodhisattva accomplishes the perfect enlightenment, attains its fruition. A bodhisattva’s attainment is no different from a buddha’s attainment, which is an attainment of complete awareness. The complete awareness is where the nature of awareness permeates all phenomena without conflict nor confusion.…