The Pearl of Wisdom

The Pearl of Wisdom
Ven. Jian Hu

Bodhidharma was the 28th Zen Patriarch in India and the first Zen Patriarch that came to China. Before he became a monk, he was a prince, the youngest of three brothers. His father was a king in southern India and was a very devoted Buddhist. One day, the king invited the 27th Zen Patriarch, Prajnatara, to the palace and offered him a very large, precious jewel. Prajnatara accepted the jewel but took this opportunity to test the kings' three princes.

He asked them, "Your father has given me this very precious jewel. It's the biggest I have ever seen. Is there anything in the world more precious than this jewel?" The eldest prince said, "Master, this is the most valuable thing in our palace. My father has given you the best thing he has. I don't think there is anything more valuable than this. Only a person of your sanctity and enlightenment is worthy of such a precious gift." The second prince answered in essentially the same way.

But the third prince, Bodhidharma, said, "Master, this jewel is very precious indeed. But this is not the most precious thing in the world because this jewel does not know that it is a jewel." What does it take to know that this is a jewel? What knows this is a jewel is your mind. What gives the jewel its value? We do, don't we? Does the jewel have any value in itself? Does a diamond have any value in itself? To a bird, is a diamond worth anything? It's less useful than a little worm. The bird would rather have a little worm than a diamond. To scientists, a diamond is just compressed carbon.

So who gives the diamond or jewel its value? Our desires. We all like it, we all want it, and therefore it is valuable. It's like the property in the Bay Area, which is very expensive because everyone wants to live here; otherwise, it's worth nothing, like some desert areas in California or Nevada. So we, our mind, create the value. So what's more valuable than any possession, more valuable than any material thing, more valuable than the most expensive jewel? It's your mind, isn't it? The jewel does not know that it's a jewel. It takes the mind to know that. Do you have a mind? Do you have perception? Do you have cognition and thinking? You already have the most valuable thing in the world, don't you? What are you doing with it? If you use it well, then you would be the happiest person in the world. If you don't use it well, you would be the most miserable person in the world.

So we already posses the most valuable thing in the world. It doesn't come from anyone. You don't have to work for it. It cannot be stolen from you. Anything you own can be stolen and taken away from you. This mind can't be taken away from you . Have confidence in yourself. But you need to know how to use it. You have to uncover its power, its value.


Excerpt from "Heart Sutra" Lecture by Ven. Jian Hu on April 28, 2002.

To Define Is To Limit. In our lives we make definitions such as "two plus two is four," "this clear liquid is water." These are concepts, abstractions, not reality. Reality is so immediate, so "here," yet it is so far away from us because we are always conceptualizing and analyzing, dividing the world into categories, and giving them names. Each time you name something, you are artificially constraining a part of reality.

For example, you can define "water," but when it becomes ice, you have to give it another name. So, when you think of "water", you don't perceive the whole reality of water. Water, steam, and ice are all a part of one reality. We also learned that water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen (H 2O), so hydrogen and oxygen are also a part of the reality of water. It's not that we should not define things or analyze them. But we should see that, while names and concepts are useful devices to help us understand the world and to help us communicate, they can also restrict our perception of reality.

Take the example of a diamond. We think of it as something beautiful and precious; we associate certain qualities with it. However, to a bird, a diamond is useless. An insect or a small tree branch is more valuable than the diamond. These different perspectives are also a part of the reality of "diamond." When we look at things in only one particular way, we limit ourselves; we become narrow minded. We get into conflicts because each person sees things from a different perspective.

We may say that in Buddhism, misunderstanding, or ignorance of reality, is the original sin. It is what makes us suffer. That is why wisdom is most important in Buddhism. As we practice and understand the teachings of the Buddha, we begin to see reality as it is, the whole reality, without bias.