Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (I)

The Origin of the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamasūtra)

The six elements refer to the six great elements of earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness; "distinctions" means that each of the six elements has its own boundaries, and their functions differ to a certain extent. The Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son mainly tells the story of how Śākyamuni Buddha delivered his father, King Śuddhodana. When Śākyamuni Buddha first attained the Way, he wished to deliver his father King Śuddhodana, so he sent someone to persuade the king to come see him. When King Śuddhodana saw Śākyamuni Buddha, he witnessed the World-Honored One bestowing predictions of future buddhahood upon countless humans and devas, and was deeply moved. The Buddha then took the opportunity to urge King Śuddhodana to diligently cultivate the Buddha-dharma and not to be attached to the throne or to the five desires and six sense objects of the mundane world. Using the various states experienced in dreams as metaphors, the Buddha expounded the illusory nature of all dharmas, thereby exhorting King Śuddhodana and helping him understand that the five desires and six sense objects are as unreal and illusory as a dream. After King Śuddhodana understood these principles, he no longer craved the five desires and six sense objects, turned his mind to studying the Buddha-dharma, and at the end of his life was able to be reborn in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī). That King Śuddhodana could occupy the throne yet remain unattached to the five desires and six sense objects was extremely rare—all was the result of the Buddha's skillful means of deliverance.