Chapter Title

oṣadhī-parivartaḥ 

oṣadhī—A term for any herb, or any medicine. 

From Vedic avaṣa+√dhī 

avaṣa—comfort, balm, refreshment 

√dhī—to bear 

Hence, “Bearer of Comfort” 

The moon is called oṣadhīśa, or Lord of Herbs.

Overall Teaching

The Buddha teaches all equally, without discrimination, but according to the conditions of the beings in question, the form of the teaching changes.

Summary

• 1. The Buddha affirms the truth of the parable of Kāśyapa and the others. (95) 

  2. The Buddha uses the parable of rain clouds moistening “small, medium, and large roots, stems, branches, and leaves of all the grasses trees shrubs and herbs.” (95) 

  3. Explaining the meaning, the Thus Come One also is like the cloud, proclaiming the Doctrine to all beings without discrimination with the sound of his voice. (95-6) 

  4. All beings hear this teaching, and without knowing it, practice it in various forms. 

  5. Beings do not know whether they are of small, middling, or great capacity, but the teaching is still of one aspect in the end. (97) 

The Sanskrit version includes these extra parables: 

• 1. The teachings of the Buddha are likened to vessels made by a potter: some are made the proper shape for containing sugar, ghee, or milk. 

  2. The diversity in beings is like the contents of the pots. The teachings are the clay used to make them: it is one type of clay, but shaped differently for different contents. 

  3. A blind man only knows about the sun and moon, handsome and ugly, stars and planets because of rumour. However, one day he is given sight by a doctor. Now he can see these distinctions and declares that now he can know everything. Others remind him that he still cannot know what is outside the room he is in, he cannot know the intentions in beings minds, telling him “Good man, thou takest darkness for light, and takest light for darkness.” He asks the seers how he can go beyond his ignorance and arrogance, and they say he should practice meditation in the wilderness. He does so, and having shaken of worldly desires and acquired higher knowledge, he realises his former ignorance, just as formerly he realised his former blindness. 

  4. Likewise, the creatures of the world are blind, and like the doctor, the Buddha restores some of their vision. However, after recovering some sight, the man is likened to the disciples or solitary Buddhas who don’t see the One Vehicle, thinking they penetrated to Nirvana and have no more to learn. However, the Bodhisattvas, who are likened to the seers, represent the One Vehicle to Buddhahood, which the Buddha then teaches beings when the conditions are right, leading them to perfect awakening. 

Analysis

This chapter is more straightforward than others are, but Tao-sheng has some interesting comments that I will just point out. When it is said that “The spreading cloud hangs so low, / As if it could be touched.” (98) Tao-sheng comments that this is how “though the transformation body (nirmāṇa-kāya) [the Buddha] gets in touch with beings, so that he may appear approachable step by step.” (Kim, 459) Again, this is reminiscent of the Skilful Means Sūtra, but at this point, for those who have not encountered the notion, it may be worthwhile going into the notion of the three bodies of the Buddha. 

The Buddha is said to have three kinds of bodies, which fit into two categories and which span “the two truths.” The two categories are form-body (rūpakāya) and Dharma-body (Dharmakāya). Sometimes the term Dharma-body refers to the body of doctrines or teachings of the Buddha, i.e. the tripiṭaka, but this should be distinguished from the three-body doctrine. 

The form body is made up of two kinds of bodies: 

1. Transformation-body (nirmāṇa-kāya) 

This is when the Buddha-principle manifests on earth in order to teach whatever is necessary to help beings. They manifest the “twelve great deeds” and then pass into nirvana. When we say, “the Buddha was born as a human,” this is the kind of Buddha we mean. However, this is only “Buddha” from the perspective of conventional truth of pure-impure, high-low, samsara-nirvana. 

This body also manifests as heavenly beings, Bodhisattvas, objects, animals, or other phenomena in the world in our daily experiences. As it is often said, Buddhas can be found in all the motes of dust in the universe. It is called “transformation” because it is a creation, composition, or an illusory appearance of the Buddha as a skilful means. 

2. Enjoyment-body (sambhoga-kāya) 

 This is also a form body, and as such exists in forms that can be described and experienced in physical terms. Why is it called enjoyment-body? The term sambhoga is from the root sam+√bhuj. √bhuj means enjoy, but also to consume, use, be rewarded, or profit. This is because such a form is the result of the accumulation of positive conditions and potential over aeons of practice and realisation. An enjoyment-body, as such, is typically the product of an awakened beings vows. These are most well known as “buddha lands” or “pure lands.” These can also manifest transformation-bodies. High level bodhisattvas may also have enjoyment-body forms. However, these are also only “buddhas” from the perspective of conventional truth. 

The Dharma-body is also made up of two kinds of bodies, one is conventional and one is ultimate. That is to say, one can be described in positive terms and the other can only be described in negative terms. This means that one can be understood conventionally, whereas the other can only be realised. 

1. Wisdom Body 

This is the omniscient mindstream of the Buddha, which can be described as such. 

2. Intrinsic Body 

This is the unconditioned and indescribable, self-existent (svayambhu) quality of the Buddha, and this is the aspect of the Buddha that is not on the level of “conventional truth,” but on the level of “ultimate truth.” It is, as such, describable as being the quality of the mindstream of Buddhahood that is absent from mental obstructions and absent from any conditions or phenomena that may be described as possessing inherent existence (svabhāva). 

Hence, going back to the analogy of the cloud, the cloud that hangs down so that it can be touched is expressing how the quality of Buddhahood in the transformation-body form can be interacted with and touched. 

As regards the trees, there are small and larger trees. Tao-sheng explains that the smaller trees are likened to bodhisattvas who are still on the path. They are below the seventh stage of the bodhisattvas, whereas those who are above the seventh stage are likened to the great trees. Great trees over hang and provide shade and overhang, thus the Great Vehicle is called such because it encompasses the others, not because of haughty pride or arrogance. (Kim, 459)