Master Zhenlin’s Commentary on Lingmei’s Sutra-lecturing Trip to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non- Thought

Master Zhenlin’s Commentary on Lingmei’s Sutra-lecturing Trip to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non- Thought

Lingmei was quite happy after she roamed through the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought. It is highest Heaven in the Three Realms. The living beings dwelling in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought know well that they are the host of the Three Realms. Wherever it is illuminated by light, they exist as living beings. Or rather, they exist by means of light. After Lingmei had posted the article detailing her trip, I told you to try your best to set your mind at peace when reading this article. Actually, when your cultivation reaches a certain level, your mind is set at peace naturally. By then, a response will be evoked between you and people from the the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought. You feel it when they are inspired or excited. That is why the other day I jokingly said to you to get tissue paper ready just in case you need to wipe off tear. After all, the Heavenly King of the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought is the very host of the Three Realms. He takes all the living beings dwelling in the Three Realms as his own kids. However, there is still a particle of ignorance that they are not able to break through so that living beings of the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought cannot gain release from the Three Realms. While it takes a long time for we humans to cultivate, so do the living beings up in the Heaven. Anyone who makes it to break through ignorance in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought and put it down shall gain release immediately from the cycle of rebirth in the Three Realms and detached from the five elements.
While Lingwei did roam through it, the words and verses were not spoken by her. It begins with four thought-provoking verses.
Text:
“Everyone is fond of immortals. All want to cultivate to gain spiritual penetration. Going down the wrong path only misleading. It is important to reflect within, and propagate the Dharma with the mind.”
Commentary:
“Everyone is fond of immortals. All want to cultivate to gain spiritual penetration. Going down the wrong path only misleading.” We humans want to see immortals, and become immortals, thinking that by then we shall be able to do everything we want with the spiritual penetration endowed. It is not for no reason that you do not have spiritual penetration. Once you gain it, you shall realize that it, too, works in accordance with the Law. It is misleading if you cultivate only for the purpose of gaining spiritual penetration.
“It is important to reflect within, and propagate the Dharma with the mind. “This is to say, when we really reflect and turn the light within, we will be able to propagate the right Dharma with the mind. It is what the Great Vehicle is about.
Everything is made by the mind. This is a doctrine of the Buddha Dharma. Everything evolves from the mind, and is manifestation of the false thoughts. Therefore, it is important for us to reflect within and contemplate the mind. Lingying was quite true when she said just now that we have to be at peace first before we get the chance to turn the light and reflect within. Who am I? Where do I come from? Where shall I go? When we know the answers for them, we get enlightened and see the true nature. So, you don’t have to keep thinking how many things you can do after you gain spiritual penetration. In fact, those who possess it do not necessarily use it.
Everywhere false manifestations are found in the world, including our body. Often we here people arguing that we cultivators of the Buddha Dharma tend to be malnourished as we stay vegetarian. Is it really the case? What about the cow? It takes grass only, but remains strong and well-fed! They challenge the vegetarian lifestyle because they discriminate. Lingmei also had this weakness. The other day when I told her that she need to visit the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, she asked, “Why, Master, why do I feel the less up to it, the higher-level the Heaven I go to?” It was so because her cultivation was not advanced enough. When the conditions changed, it turned easy. So, Lingmei went on to say:
Text:
Sitting in stillness, my mind is at a relaxed stated. Master reminds me that I am but an ordinary person, but I have a special mission to fulfill.
Commentary:
When you are able to cast aside the burdens in your mind, you feel yourself just a common being. You feel relaxed when not burdened.
Text:
As if in a trance, I was sitting on a lotus. With a flash of thought, I arrived at the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought.
Commentary:
She went to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought.


Text:
I found it different from the Brahman Heaven. I could see nothing. Hence, I asked Master for a bestowal of power. Having said so, I saw numerous dots, bright, but not offending to the eyes. I asked several times, “Heavenly King, may I meet you?” Upon saying that, I felt a beam of white light flashing before me. So, still, it was but a ray of white light. A voice said, “May you, Venerable Master, grant us your teachings?” I replied, “I am Lingmei. At the behest of my Master, I come to you to lecture the Sutra of Longevity. All the Heavenly Beings shall gain benefits from it.” The Heavenly King was filled with joy when he heard it and said, “It is such a rare opportunity. One can hardly meet it in a thousand years!” Instantly, as he was saying it, numerous heavenly beings arrived.
Commentary:
She found the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought different from the Brahman Heaven. She saw nothing. Was it because it was dark? No, it wasn’t. She just did not see any objects. She then asked Master for a special bestowal of power. Soon after that, she saw numerous dots, bright, but not offending to the eyes. She asked, “Heavenly King, May I meet you?” Upon saying that, she felt a ray of white light flashing before her. So, still, it was but a ray of white light. It was formless. Soon she heard a voice saying, “May you, Venerable Master, grant us your teachings?”
She answered, “I am Lingmei. At the behest of my Master, I come to you to lecture the Sutra of Longevity. All the Heavenly Beings shall gain benefits from it.”
The Heavenly King was filled with joy when he heard it and said, “It is such a rare opportunity. One can hardly meet it in a thousand years!” Yes, as the King put it, it is indeed something that happens only every a few thousand years. Upon saying that, numerous heavenly beings arrived. This is unlike in other heavens where the kings had to summon them.
Text:
I saw in the air bright dots flashing, so many of them that it was actually incalculable. The heavenly beings, too, are of different levels. I felt their existence up on the top. It is flashing on an off at the middle level,with intermittent gleams. It was quite bright at the lowest level.
Commentary:
Then she saw in the air bright dots flashing flickering, so many of them that it was actually incalculable. She soon noticed that heavenly beings, too, are of different levels. The higher the level, the less of form. She described it quite plainly. “I felt their existence up on the top”—which means it is formless, but there is existence of life; “It is flashing on an off, with intermittent gleams”—the lights were hardly visible. They seemed to be there but seemed not either. “It was quite bright at the lowest level”—they exist in the form of light. This is what Lingmei witnessed during her trip there. One would not have described it so well, including how the living beings are and how they exist, unless having personally been there.
Text:
Thinking of the mission for which I was there at the Heaven, I said, “How can I not act in compliance with the instructions of Master? With my level of skills and strength, I can hardly convey the merits and virtues of the Sutra. I am doing it now with the bestowal of power by Master, you will gain benefits from it as long as you listen to it attentively.
Commentary:
Thinking of the mission for which she was there at the Heaven, Lingmei said, “How can I not act in compliance with the instructions of Master? With my level of skills and strength, I can hardly convey the merits and virtues of the Sutra.” She was referring to the Sutra of Longevity.
“I am doing it now with the bestowal of power by Master, you will gain benefits from it as long as one listens to it attentively.” This is superb! I told Lingmei before her first trip that she need not worry about it at all. She would be able to lecture it naturally and fluently once she is in such a state.
Whichever state one is, there are always verses that suit one the best from the Sutra of Longevity, as have been proved by Lingmei’s several trips recently.
As living beings in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought still has the last particle of ignorance to break through, Lingmei realized the Twelve Conditioned Links of Causation fit them the best.
Text:
I lectured to them the passage about the Twelve Conditioned Links of Causation from the Sutra of Longevity:
“If there is no false thought because of delusion, then from where will activities and karmic deeds arise?
If there is no activity and Karmic deeds, from where will there be the entering of womb by consciousness?

When there is no consciousness to enter the womb, what then will give rise to a foetus, the form of a body?

When there is no feeling, there is no love.

Without love, attachment to possession will not arise.
When there is no attachment to possession, there are no more karmic causes for future birth.
When there is no karmic cause for the future birth, there is no more birth in the future.
Without birth, there is also no old age and death. And the worries, sorrows, sufferings and Extinction of the Twelve Conditioned Links of Causation. “

Commentary:
I talked on these verses when I was lecturing the Sutra of Longevity. Anyway, we do not need to give detailed explanations before the heavenly beings.
Text:
When I was reciting the passage, I saw innumerable rays of light flickering in the air. Many of them got enlightened. Not until then did I realize why it was flashing on an off non-stop as I was lecturing the sutra. I felt that they were offering me with the treasures they had, including their mind and spiritual penetration.
Commentary:
If they get the point, innumerable rays of light will be flickering in the air. Lingmei wrote about it with just one sentence. After all, many of them got enlightened when they heard the Twelve Conditioned Links of Causation, and gained release from the Three Realms and five elements. That is to say, they had been taken across, or ferried over. Do no think that being taken across is needed only by those in the Hell. Rather, it is to ferry the beings over to the other shore, or to another state. When Lingmen recited the verses, many of the heavenly beings got enlightened and therefore ascended to a new state. When she was lecturing the sutra, many of the beings made offerings to her. As is written here, “It was flashing on an off non-stop as I was lecturing the sutra. I felt that they were offering me with the treasures they had, including their mind and spiritual penetration.” See, let is just how sincere they were!
How meritorious it is to make offerings depends on how sincere we are. The more sincerity we show, the more merits and virtues we amass. Many people among us seem to, however, make offerings with what they do not need. How sincere is that and how many merits and virtues can be accrued by doing so? Making offerings evokes responses only if we show utmost sincerity. Heavenly beings are not like humans. They offer the best of their treasures, even their mind and spiritual penetration. The mind of the living beings in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought consists of the very small trace of consciousness they have. Their spiritual penetration is very superb, though.
Text:
Without hesitation, I transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and master. By then, I found myself changing in size and became larger endlessly. It was unlike when in other heavens. I felt myself in one with the empty space. Though I could not see myself, I was omnipresent.
Commentary:
Lingmei knew well what to do after the previous trips. Without hesitation, she transferred them all to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Master. As she did so, she found herself changing in size and became very large. Or, as she wrote it, “it was unlike when in other heavens.” There at the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, she found her body size immeasurably big, without any limit. She felt herself integrated with the empty space. This is to tell us that our body could pervade the whole universe and yet we cannot see it. Nevertheless, you have yet to make it. You can still see your physical body easily. When in the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, the body has such a manifestation as Lingmei has described. She realized what such a state was like and how it was to be in the emptiness.
Text:

I found the heavenly beings are just that sincere!
Commentary:
At that time, she was integrated as one with them. They evoke responses from each other. She was keenly aware just how sincere the heavenly beings were.
Text:
Before I left, the Heavenly King saw me off, and said respectfully, “So long ago it was when we last heard Dharma talks. How much we repent when we hear it again. The obsession to spiritual penetration obstructs us from gaining release from the Three Realms. Put down the obsession, and we’d be out of the five elements immediately! Be it in the heaven or earth, the Sutra is transmitted by Masters. Filled with joy the living beings are in the Three Realms. It is likely that the Three Realms shall be linked. Getting harmonized and united is not an illusion. All the living beings in the Three Realms are my love, except the mind is not open yet. With the merits and virtues of the Sutra, change can be very fast. How great is it!
Commentary:
Let’s see what the Heavenly King said to her when she was about to leave: “So long ago it was when we last heard Dharma talks. How much we repent when we hear it again. The obsession to spiritual penetration obstructs us from gaining release from the Three Realms.”
Why did he say “So long ago it was when we last heard Dharma talks”? The living beings there have very long lifespan, 160,000 kalpas. That is how long they live. They did hear Shakyamuni Buddha talked the Dharma before, but it was very very long time ago.
The Dharma sound had long disappeared. When they heard it again, they started to repent and reform. With their obsession to spiritual penetration, they are not able to get out of the Three Realms. No matter how superb the penetration is, it is all empty. Once they put down the obsession, they gain release immediately from the five elements. The five elements are gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. In the Buddha Dharma, we usually talk of only four elements, namely, earth, water, fire, and wind. Anyway, they are quite the same. When the heavenly beings heard of it and got the point, cast away the greed and obsession to spiritual power, they immediately get released.
“Be it in the heaven or earth, the Sutra is transmitted by Masters. Filled with joy the living beings are in the Three Realms, as likely it is likely that the Three Realms shall be linked. Getting harmonized and united is not an illusion. All the living beings in the Three Realms are my love, except the mind is not open yet. With the merits and virtues of the Sutra, change can be very fast. How great is it!”
Written here is the prediction of what is going to happen. A heavenly secret, so to speak.
“The Three Realms shall get united and be in harmony.” How to make it? The Buddha Dharma is the only way out. Only the Buddha Dharma can get the Three Realms harmonized into one. Whoever can speaks the Buddha Dharma can do it and he is certainly great! She revealed a heavenly secret here: it is likely that the Three Realms shall be linked. Getting harmonized and united is not an illusion. I think you all can understand the verses.
Text:
I felt the time and space changed after he had finished saying it. Perhaps it contains a heavenly secret. I am not supposed to write about it. I was back in less than a second.
Commentary:
Lingmei realized it was such a heavenly secret and therefore she talked of it no more.
Text:
After I was back, I heard a voice speaking to me, “It is a rewarding trip. The precious sutra is now being spread in the Three Realms. If you can make the sutra known by more, your merits and virtues will be greater than the brightness of the sun and the moon. As the raging waves wash away the sand, the gold is panned.”
Commentary:
After she returned from the trip, a voice said to her, “It is a rewarding trip. The precious sutra is now being spread in the Three Realms. If you can make the sutra known by more, your merits and virtues will be greater than the brightness of the sun and the moon. As the raging waves wash away the sand, the gold is panned.” It was spoken to her by Shakyamuni Buddha.
Lingmei had a talk with me before this trip. She said she wanted very much to see Shakyamuni Buddha. After she returned from the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, Shakyanmuni Buddha said to her, “It is a rewarding trip.” It is rewarding because the precious sutra is now being spread in the Three Realms. The living beings are reading it now! Lingmei went to Mount. Sumeru, and was welcome by the eager audience. The King Yama from the Hell also invited her there. The lower the Realm, the more eager they are. If we can make the sutra known by more, our merits and virtues will be greater than the brightness of the sun and the moon. They are immeasurable. By then, “As the raging waves wash away the sand, the gold is panned”. This means you make it.
Text:
All of a sudden, I understand Master’s intention in sending me for the trip! Master has given a lot of thoughts to it! Not only are humans beings fond of the spiritual penetration, so are heavenly beings. Because of such fondness, they are not able to gain release from the Three Realms. As Master often says, “spiritual penetrations are but a piece of cake for the Buddha Dharma. It is not why we cultivate it. We cultivate it to find our true-self. The true-self is omnipotent. It is not produced, nor will it go extinct.”
Commentary:
Lingmei then went on to write: “All of a sudden, I understand Master’s intention in sending me for the trip!” Certainly Master has given a lot of thoughts to it! I am hoping that through these manifestations more get transformed. Hopefully more can be transformed and enlightened by the words of the immortals. After all, humans tend to admire immortals instead of ordinary people. Well, they do show interest to people who look the same like them, with a head, with a face, and a physical body. They see nothing special.
Not only are human beings fond of the spiritual penetration, so are heavenly beings. Because of such fondness, they are not able to gain release from the Three Realms. After all, as I often tell you, spiritual penetrations are but a piece of cake for the Buddha Dharma. It is not why we cultivate it. We cultivate it to find our true-self. The true self is omnipotent. It is not produced, nor will it go extinct. What on earth is the true self? It is without the self. It is formless, unmarked, tasteless, and without any smell. It can do everything and yet nothing. So, nothing can be spoken here.
Text:
As I was thinking over it, the voice spoke to me again, “People of the common sort are bound by the common mind from playing the spiritual penetration. Refrain from emulating each other out of jealousy or vanity. It is difficult to overcome the obstacle from the mind. Try to let it go, and stay in accord with conditions. Follow your master in propagating the Dharma, be it in the spring, summer, autumn, or winter. While the body dwells on it, the mind does not. Cultivating in the secular world leads to the Buddhahood. The Buddhalands are not far away but right in your mind. All is like a dream by the day you make it.”
Commentary:
Again, when she was contemplating it, the voice reached her again. It was yet another message from Shakyamuni Buddha. Before she went to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non-Thought, we had a talk and asked whether Shakyamuni Buddha would meet with Lingmei after she fulfilled the task. Regarding this question, Shakyamuni Budda said, directly, that there was no need for Lingmei to meet Him, and gave the following instructional talk, “People of the common sort are bound by the common mind from playing the spiritual penetration.” This is so because common people are obstructed by the seven emotions and six desires, and deeply rooted in greed, hatred, and ignorance. Shakyamuni Buddha does not ask us to be free from them completely. He asks to have them as few as possible.
The other day Lingmie asked me this question, “Master, what if I cannot uphold the precepts completely after taking refuge?” Shakyamuni Buddha asked us to have selfish desires as few as possible. We can try casting them away bit by bit.
It is because that our mind is too burdened by worldly ways that our spiritual penetration does not manifest. He later also warned us against emulating each other out of jealousy or vanity. I have reminded you of this time and again. As you cultivate further, the spiritual penetration will manifest bit by bit. You should refrain from such a negative mentality. Face your mind squarely.
“It is difficult to overcome the obstacle from the mind.” So, it is our mind that is obstructing us. How to overcome it? It is by our consciousness. Guard against the thoughts. Gradually, and bit by bit, we won’t give rise to any. By then, our body and mind shall be purified, and the Buddalands in the ten directions will naturally be illuminated, and we shall have limitless spiritual penetration. Nevertheless, we need to take good care of the mind. Try to let it go, and stay in accord with conditions. Once we can make it, great! We shall realize that there is no distinction between we co-cultivators, the Buddhas, and the Bodhisattvas. They are all united and in harmony.
“Follow your master in propagating the Dharma, be it in the spring, summer, autumn, or winter.” This is to tell us that we need to endure hardship. The four seasons are analogous to joy and bitterness in life. We may feel joyful in the spring, hot and stuffy in the summer, and uncomfortable in the winter. We inevitably encounter challenges as we propagate the Dharma.
Shakyamuni Buddha then said, “While the body dwells on it, the mind does not.” Not to have our mind turned by the states in the world though we live here. We should remain unmoved by the states. Don’t make it as if we were not a human, by eating only one meal a day, or do not sleep. Why bother with it? Do it as we should as a human, eat when we should eat, drink when we should drink, and go to the toilet when we should go! I have been asked by many whether I take only one meal a day. Says who? I eat three meals a day. I am no different from ordinary people. However, deep inside, we should not be. We should know how to empty the mind, and how to give up. When we know how to do it, we make it.
If we find it hard to give up, that means the desire for fame, profit, and selfishness still exist in our mind. I told you the story of the old man from the frontier who lost his horse. How could one have known that it would not be fortuitous? It is not necessarily a loss when we give up something. I used to work for a large company and held the position as head of the Youth League, a rather senior position. The salary was good, and I got well recognized working for such a large company. Nevertheless, I still chose to resign. I had to rely on myself from then on. The good thing is that when we do give up, we get mature. After all, there is no road that has no turning, as long as our mind is firm enough. This is the same when I was building my own business. It was impossible that there was no difficulty at all.
If we pay attention, we’d notice that those successful businessmen and politicians, when inquired of the key to success, focused talking of the trial and challenges they had gone through. They have long put aside the joy of success but keep in mind clearly the bitter trials. So, we don’t need to be afraid of trials. Just remember not to be turned by the states.

Shakyamuni Buddha then said, “Cultivating in the secular world leads to the Buddhahood!” This is meant to remind us that cultivating in the Saha World can be more accomplishing than if in the Buddhalands. It is more rewarding.
“The Buddhalands are not far away but right in your mind”. The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, the Akshobhya Buddhaland, Fragrant-Rice Buddhaland, etc, are right in our mind, hidden in it, and therefore not far-away. They are as big as our mind is. This is the first aspect of the verse. Shakyamuni Buddha also means to tell Lingmei and all of us that there is no need to meet Him, because the Saha World is right in our mind. Besides, we are missionaries for Him to fulfill the task of propagating the Buddha Dharma. How are we going to account for it if meet Him without finishing the task? So He won’t meet us before we complete the task. Still, He comforts us by saying that “All is like a dream by the day you make it.”
He gave us the message here: once we complete the mission, we shall turn back to his side, and listen to him talk the Dharma. We shall still have the mark that is our due. Our merits and virtues will not drop by the least bit, but will increase. Shakyamuni Buddha is encouraging us here, and of course it is the truth. He is unlike some people who lie and still think it is ok to lie.
The next passage is what Lingmei learnt from the trip.
Text:
See, everything, every piece of teaching, and every experience is to remind us that we need to cultivate the mind! We won’t be blinded by the small bit of selfish interest as long as we hold on tight to proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness, regardless of the time and location.
Commentary:
By saying proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness, it means we need to apply the eyes to contemplate the Dharma, ears to listen, nose to smell, tongue to talk, body to experience, and consciousness to feel. If we can make it everyday, we shall gradually enter the state of proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness. No interest can keep us blinded, no matter how tiny it is. What is the form that we see with eyes? It is the myriad manifestations in the world. As long as we have proper knowledge, proper view, and proper consciousness, the tongue will be speaking the Dharma and the body in Samandhi whenever and wherever we are.
Text:
Put it down, stay in accord with conditions, and there will be no impediment in our mind. Many things will be accomplished before you know it. Amitabha-Buddha! Let us cultivate to make progress together!
Commentary:
“Put it down”. We feel liberated and free once we put it down. Being liberated and free is found by staying in accord with conditions. It is easier said than done to stay in accord with conditions. When faced with a challenge, work to address it, without thinking of what the outcome will be. This is what it means to stay in accord with conditions. Most people, however, cannot make it. They keep bothering themselves by thinking “am I doing it right?”, or “Is it the best solution”. There is no need to bother ourself with such questions since they have not yet happened. If we can make it to stay in accord with conditions, our mind will be unfettered and unobstructed. There will be no impediment in our mind. If our mind is impeded, many things will be accomplished before we know it.
Nevertheless, it seems Lingmei has yet to put it down once back to the real life. : )
We need to keep cultivating and reflect within. It will be superb if one day you don’t give rise to any thoughts. By then, we shall be able to fly and roam around without asking Master for a special bestowal of power.
Lingmei said she wanted to meet Shakyamuni Buddha the other day but was turned down on the ground that the conditions were not ripe. In fact, if we can make it to let it go, stay in accord with conditions, with an impeded mind, we can see Him anytime we want. Not only Shakyamuni Buddha, but also the disciples following Him wherever He goes, as well as the Great Bodhisattvas around Him such as Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.
We now come to the end of the lecture on Lingmei’s trip to the Heaven of Neither-Thought-Nor-Non- Thought

May the merit and virtue accrued from this work,
Adorn the Buddha’s Pure Lands,
Repaying the four kinds of kindness above,
And aiding those suffering in the paths below.
May those who see and hear of this,
All bring forth the resolve for Bodhi,
And when this retribution body is over,
Be born together in Ultimate Bliss.
Amitabha-Buddha! May we all be filled with the joy of the Dharma!