Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (201)

The Purpose of the World-Honored One's Teaching of the Dharma

The Dharma the Buddha previously taught to King Śuddhodana was all dharma gates of liberation, using all kinds of illusory marks and dream states to awaken King Śuddhodana to liberate himself from the five desires and the six sense objects. We already know that all dharmas are like dreams and illusions, that people are also as if within a dream, not truly existent, and that the body is illusory—but this has not yet been truly realized. To realize it, one must cultivate meditative concentration (dhyāna), engage deeply in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), and after realization, one can gradually attain liberation. The purpose of the World-Honored One's teaching of the Dharma is to lead sentient beings to enter the gate of liberation. All 84,000 dharma gates taught by the Buddha are dharma gates of liberation; by entering through one dharma gate, all dharma gates can be penetrated, and every dharma can lead to liberation. The Buddha descended into the world precisely to deliver sentient beings, liberating them from the suffering of birth and death, to lead sentient beings to enter the Buddha's knowledge and vision, and to ultimately attain buddhahood. Lesser liberation is eradicating the grasping at a self of the person to become an arhat; great liberation is eradicating the grasping at a self of dharmas to accomplish the buddha fruit of great sovereign ease—this is the most ultimate liberation.