Observations placeholder

The Ceasing of Notions [or the Treatise on the Transcendence of Cognition]

31.  Emmon asks ‘Is the Way only for sentient beings or are grasses and trees have it?'

Master Nyuri : ’The Way pervades eveything without exception'

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32.  Emmon asks ‘If the Way pervades everything, why then is killing against the precepts whereas the cutting of grasses or felling of trees is no offense ?'

Master Nyuri : 'To talk about offense and precepts is setting up subjective value judgments - hence, it is biased and not the True Way.  Because ordinary worldlings have no understanding of the Way, they take a self for granted and so killing becomes conscious intention; consequently the heart  gets bound and karma results, and one speaks of faults.
But grasses and trees have no such bias and so are inherently at one with the Way and since Truth is without a self, who kills them is free of intentional murder.
Hence arguments about offense or no offense are beside the point.
Those who are without a self; and so who are at one with the Way, regard their bodies as they would regard grasses and trees.  Even though pierced by a sword they are just like a tree in the woods.

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33.  Emmon asks ‘If from the beginning trees and grasses are in accord with the Way, why do the sutras refer only to men and not also to trees and grasses?'

Master Nyuri : ’But they do not refer to men only.
The enlightenment of trees and grasses is also mentioned.
One sutra says 'The smallest speck of dust contains all the dharmas' and again 'all the dharmas are Thusness and all sentient beings are also Thusness.  There are no two Thusnesses, nor are there any differences in Thusness'