[f65] Cf. Dhammapada, v. 385. “He for whom there is neither this nor that side, nor both, him, the fearless and unshackled, I call indeed a Brahman.”
[f66] Sutta-nipāta, v, 720. Sanantā yanti kussobbhā, tunḥī yāti mahodadhi.
[f67] The Majjhima-Nikāya, 140, Dhātuvibhangasuttam. Asmīti bhikkhu maññitam etaṁ; Ayam aham asmīti maññitam etaṁ; Bhavissan ti maññitam etaṁ; Na bhavissan ti maññitam etaṁ; Rūpī bhavissan ti maññitam etaṁ; Arūpī bhavissan ti maññitam etaṁ; Saññī bhavissan ti maññitam etaṁ; Asaññi bhavissan ti maññitam etaṁ; Nevasaññi-nasaññi bhavissan ti maññitam etaṁ.
[f68] Majjhima Nikāya, 22.
[f69] Cf. Sutta-Nipāta, v. 21. “By me is made a well-constructed raft, so said Bhagavat, I have passed over to Nirvana, I have reached the further bank, having overcome the torrent of passions; there is no further use for a raft: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!”
[f70] I left here “dharmas” untranslated. For this untranslatable term, some have “righteousness,” some “morality,” and some “qualities.” This is as is well known a difficult term to translate. The Chinese translators have rendered it by fa,[3.3] everywhere, regardless of the context. In the present case, “dharma” may mean “good conduct, “prescribed rules of morality,” or even “any religious teaching considered productive of good results.” In the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra, Chapter 1, reference is also made to the transcending of both “adharma” and “dharma,” saying: “Dharmā eva prahātavyāḥ prāgevādharmāḥ.” And it is explained that this distinction comes from falsely asserting (vikalpagrahaṇam) the dualism of what is and what is not, while the one is the self-reflection of the other. You look into the mirror and finding an image thereon you take it for a reality, while the image is yourself and nobody else. The one who views the world thus, has the rightful view of it, ya evam pasyati sa samyakpasyati. Indeed, when he takes hold of ekāgra (one-pointedness or oneness of things), he realises the state of mind in which his inner wisdom reveals itself (svapratyātmāryajñānagocara) and which is called the Tathāgatagarbha. In this illustration “dharma” and “adharma” are synonyms of being (sat) and non-being (asat) or affirmation (asti) and negation (nāsti). Therefore, the abandoning of dharma and adharma (dharmādharmayoḥ prahāṇaṁ) means the getting rid of dualism in all its complexities and implications. Philosophically, this abandoning is to get identified with the Absolute, and morally to go beyond good and evil, right and wrong. Also compare Sutta-Nipāta, verse 886, where dualism is considered to be the outcome of false philosophical reasoning “Takkañ ca diṭṭhisu pakappayitvā, saccaṁ musā ti dvayadhammam āhu.”
[f71] Abridged from the Majjhima Nikāya, 22, p. 139. Cf. also the Samyutta Nikāya, XII., 70. p. 125.
[f72] For the Buddhist version of the story, see the Saddharma-puṇḍarīka Sūtra chapter 4, and the Vajrasamādhi Sūtra, chapter 4 (Chinese translation).
[f73] Samyutta XII., 65, Nagara; cf. also one of the Prajñā-pāramitā sūtras which is known as one preached by Mañjuśrī (Nanjo Catalogue, No. 21). In the Sutra we find that the Buddha, after mentioning the simile of a gem-digger, makes reference to a man who feels overwhelmed with delight when people talk pleasantly about the old towns and villages once visited by himself. The same sort of a delightful feeling is expressed by one who will listen to the discourse on Prajñāpāramitā and understand it; for he was in his past lives present at the assembly which was gathered about the Buddha delivering sermons on the same subject. That the understanding of the doctrine of Prajñāpāramitā is a form of memory is highly illuminating when considered in relation to the theory of Enlightenment as advanced here.
That the ushering of Enlightenment is accompanied with the feeling of return or remembrance is also unmistakably noted by the writer of the Kena-Upanishad (VI., 50):