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The Brahma Net Sutra: The Fruit of the Monastic Life
May the day and night be peaceful, each moment filled with happiness thanks to the protective power of the Three Jewels embracing all beings in the four realms and three worlds, sitting upon the lotus throne, gently and fully manifesting the stages of the Bodhisattva path; the clear light of the Tathagata like the full moon, the sun radiating the halo of wisdom, embracing all species with loving-kindness and joy. The Spring Retreat at Upper Hamlet, Phap Van Temple, on May 9, 2002, began with the Brahmajala Sutta, the first sutra in the Digha Nikaya – the precious net that gathers in all views. In the Chinese canon, it is called the Fan Wang Sutra (T21 Taisho No. 21), corresponding to the first sutra of the Dirgha Agama, helping us to understand the structure and classification of the sutras.
The Brahmajala Sutta emphasizes that the World-Honored One casts the “net of wisdom,” gathering all sixty-two worldly views, transcending all attachments to eternalism, annihilationism, finitude, infinitude, existence, non-causality; four kinds of eternalist views, four kinds of both eternalist and annihilationist views, four kinds of finite views, four kinds of infinite views, two kinds of subtle views, two kinds of non-causal views, and sixteen views concerning the future after death. The teacher uses the image of clouds becoming rain, and a candle burning until the wax is gone and then extinguished, to illustrate the continuation of dependent co-arising: not clinging to either eternalism or annihilationism, but seeing impermanence and non-self, living peacefully without creating suffering for oneself and others.