49 / 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination

[Shokai]

2 Quaint gate.jpg
一百八法明門
IPPYAKUHACHI-HOMYOMON
One Hundred and Eight Gates of Dharma-Illumination

[49] Equality of all elements is a gate of Dharma-illumination; for it obviates all rules for
harmonious association.

In Buddhism, the "equality of all elements" refers to the fundamental, non-dual, and interconnected nature of all phenomena, often described as a "sameness" that transcends superficial differences. This concept applies to both the "elements" of the physical body and environment (earth, water, fire, wind, space) and the "elements" of existence (dharmas). In Mahayana Buddhism, particularly in the Prajnaparamita and Zen traditions, "equality of all dharmas" signifies that all phenomena (mental and physical) are fundamentally empty of a separate, permanent self or intrinsic nature. If all things are, at their essence, equal and empty of separate self-existence, then discrimination is based on illusion.
The equality of all elements in Buddhism moves beyond social or physical comparisons to an ontological understanding that all things share the same nature—empty of self, interconnected, and fundamentally equal in their potential.

Please explain if this creates any glitches in your Practice. And, How does that make you feel?


合掌,生開
gassho, Shokai
stlah
仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai
"Open to life in a benevolent way"

[Ryūdō-Liúdào]

This gate reminds me that all things are already perfect just as they are. The equality of all elements becomes easy to see when we zoom out: a volcano erupts, ash blankets the valley, storms trigger mudslides, and everything is overturned... only to create fertile land. Just like in a garden, when we dig deep and turn the soil, what looks destructive becomes the very condition for new life.

For me, this doesn’t create a glitch so much as a steadying effect. It helps me stay open to the bigger picture instead of getting stuck in negatives or comparisons. The more I remember that events are just events, and that all things rise and fall out of their own opposites, the more content I feel. There’s a quiet peace in knowing that life is far larger than me, and that much of what I once worried about doesn’t need fixing at all.

From that place, a simple joy appears, like seeing with a child’s eyes: fresh, just this moment, just as it is.

Gasshō,
流道-Ryūdō-Liúdào
Satlah

[HagiaSunyata]

This gate reminds me in a way of some Scripture which I have just meditated on. To observe and see how all things are in order, interconnected with each other, how everything in the heavens and the earth are perfectly set in appointed motion. Everything works together.

In reading this gate, it is soothing. To understand that from first to last, from rising to setting, all is steadfast in this "sameness".

Gassho,
Lorenzo
Satlah

[Tenryu]

Sometimes this gate shows up as a kind of flattening. Situations that usually trigger comparison or positioning lose their sharp edges. I still notice differences, but they don’t demand a response.

In practice, that can feel strange. There’s no clear instruction to follow, no role to play. When I don’t fill that gap, things tend to arrange themselves. It feels open, a bit exposed, and unexpectedly calm.

Gasshō,
Tenryū
s@lah

[Tairin]

Thank you Shokai

I don’t sense any glitches, I understand this equality intellectually. Where I may fall down is putting it into practice throughout the day. Inequality can come into the form of preferences and we all have them.


Tairin
sat today and lah

[Choujou]

It is not so much a glitch as it is an inconsistency… I understand and know that the interconnected nature of reality is truth, and yet, sometimes I still act as if all things are separate. I make distinctions, choices, preferences… while all is interconnected and all one thing, yet, at the same time, separate and individual expressions of emptiness in our forms. For me, what this gate refers to is to not needlessly make distinctions in the mind other than what is right here in front of us right now. Even then, to recognize that the distinctions and differences are illusion, and at the core, all is Buddha. When we view all things through the eyes of a Buddha, we act with compassion and kindness to all without any distinction or choice affecting that unconditional love. Like the sun, the love of Buddha shines equally to all.
This makes me feel connected, even when I feel far away…

Gassho,
Choujou

sat/lah today

[dorgan]

It would be easy to seize upon “equality” teachings to bypass difficult emotional or ethical work—"All is equal, so my feeling of dislike is as enlightened as my compassion." This would represent spiritual bypassing, using non-dual philosophy to avoid confronting the actual discriminating consciousness that continues to operate. The gate becomes an obstacle if it is used to justify remaining mired in reactive patterns while claiming philosophical sophistication. To think not-thinking is not something that can be rationally understood, but something we sit with and carry with us in our daily mindfulness practices. Being Buddha-nature does not mean a wee practitioner like myself should jump up and down and yell, “Yahoo, I’m Buddha!” It means I must attend to my practice as so wisely laid out by my Sangha with diligence, honesty, consistency and respectful effort, and sit with the logical contradictions of true non-dualism until they dissolve all opposition within me. Little steps. Little awakenings.

gassho, david
stlah

[Chikyou]

This is one of my favorite concepts in all of Buddhism. It is both the solution to many causes of suffering and a stunning visual that I find a delight to contemplate.

I don’t think it creates a glitch in my practice. In a (neither big nor small) way, it IS my practice.

Gassho,
SatLah,
Chikyō

[Seikan]

If all things are empty of self and inherently impermanent, then what is there to make any one thing more important, more valuable, more worthy than any other? Yet, to see all things in this way required much practice and effort (at least for the majority of us). Therein lies the glitch . . . While we seek to view the world from that perspective of a Buddha (i.e., the absolute), our conditioned existence typically keeps us mired in the realm of distinction (i.e., the relative) where we judge things as being better or worse than others.

Yet, I suspect that this distinction is somewhat misleading. I'm willing to bet that from the perspective of a Buddha the world is equally same, different, both, neither, all and none of the above. What does that mean? I have no idea really, but I'm curious to find out.

Gassho,
Seikan
stlah

[Tensei]

I find that remembering the to the truth equality of all elements can feel a bit like missing a step on the stairs, or splashing your face with cold water, especially when dealing with aversion. A bit shocking, but an ultimately reorienting process.

Gassho,
Tensei
satlah