Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Eight)
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Original Chinese From https://book.bfnn.org/article/0383.htm

English Translation:

The Ganges Mahamudra (Lecture Eight) 

By Master Yuanyin

Lecture Eight

“Let the mind be like a river, resting naturally in spontaneous movement; do not establish or reject its rising and falling, and you will obtain the intrinsic characteristics of the Dharmakāya.”

When we engage in practice, we must let the mind be like a river, following the bends and turns. We must dwell nowhere subjectively, following conditions spontaneously in all things, without self-view and without stagnation or obstruction. At all times, like flowing water, it flows away peacefully and at ease; practice must be done like this. We ordinary beings have heavy selfishness and manifold delusive thoughts; we want everything to conform to our own intentions. "I want it this way," and it must be this way to be good; otherwise, annoyance arises in the mind. Therefore, karmic obstructions are deep and heavy, and one cannot see the Dao. Now that we are working hard to practice the Dao, we must change this delusive habit of dwelling and attachment; we must be able to follow conditions and adapt to things—bending when it bends, turning when it turns—and not stubbornly hold to our own views. For example, in our work, if we are promoted, we are promoted; if we are demoted, we are demoted; it does not matter either way. We must not be happy because of a promotion or annoyed because of a demotion. Because everything is for the service of the people, not for oneself, one must be able to go up or down. We have learned Buddhism and know that all sounds, forms, goods, and profits are like flowers in the sky or the moon in the water; they are unseekable and unobtainable. The mind is constantly empty and quiescent, without annoyance, so any problem is easy to discuss, and any matter can be shouldered unselfishly, working courageously and moving forward. If everyone acted like this, sacrificing themselves for others, society would be peaceful, the people would prosper, and the country would be rich and powerful. Therefore, learning Buddhism is of great benefit to the morals of the world and the hearts of the people; it truly should be vigorously advocated.

When we do things, we do not care whether it is a success or a failure; we simply do our utmost. We do not rejoice in success nor get annoyed by failure; we summarize the experience, correct mistakes, and continue to work with persistent efforts. If one can be open and magnanimous in thought, without crookedness or selfishness, immovable and unshakeable, one naturally realizes the original face of the Dharmakāya. Similarly, do not generate the thought that "the radiance of mind is covered by dark clouds" just because a thought arises. Nor should you generate the thought of "elimination" when delusive thoughts subside. Because as soon as the thought of "leaving" or "exiting" arises, it is adding delusion upon delusion; it is still a form of attachment and is not liberation. Mahamudra speaks of functioning through non-action [wuwei], being unstained by anything, following conditions spontaneously, and being like this at all times; this implies a higher level of practice and is more difficult to do. If one cannot do this for the time being, one must perform other practices, which will be discussed later.

Therefore, we must be like this at all times: when a thought comes, pay it no heed, do not suppress it, and do not run after it. Spontaneously following conditions, responding to the myriad potentials without dwelling—this is the intrinsic characteristic of our Dharmakāya. Our own Dharma-nature is originally like this; it can give rise to marvelous functions according to the potential, and is not dead and immobile sitting there. Its response is extremely fast, faster than the speed of light. The reason ordinary beings react slowly is because they have many delusive thoughts; it is like the sun being covered by dark clouds—the radiance cannot be released, so the function becomes small. Developing supernatural powers is simply the mind's function being fully displayed after delusive thoughts are completely extinguished. All sentient beings possess Buddha-nature, and Buddha-nature originally possesses infinite supernatural powers and marvelous functions. As long as we can be "mindless" [wuxin] like flowing water, letting things be natural—as the saying goes, "The falling flowers have intent, the flowing water has no mind"—and be naturally vibrant like this at all times, we can restore the intrinsic characteristic of the Dharmakāya and display great supernatural powers. The intrinsic characteristic of the Dharmakāya is not that not a single thought arises, sitting there stiffly knowing nothing. It is lively and vivid, giving rise to function according to conditions, with boundless marvelous functions. So-called "no-thought" does not mean that "not a single thought arising" is called no-thought; rather, thoughts arising without dwelling is called no-thought. Emptiness is presence; presence is emptiness!

Speaking of emptiness and presence, this has a very great relationship to learning Buddhism; only after completely clarifying the relationship between emptiness and presence can one progress rapidly. People who engage in practice always say that everything is empty and one should not attach to presence. Yet ordinary beings attach to presence in everything they do; emptiness and presence seem to be irreconcilable opposites. This is because everyone has a different understanding of "emptiness" and "presence." When ordinary beings speak of emptiness, it means nothing exists at all. When the Buddhadharma speaks of emptiness, it only means there is no [fixed] essence, not that there are no illusory appearances. Therefore, it says "form is strictly emptiness," not that one speaks of emptiness apart from illusory appearances. The emptiness we speak of is different from the emptiness of total non-existence of ordinary beings; it is the emptiness of not dwelling in illusory appearances, the emptiness of "emptiness is presence, presence is emptiness, emptiness and presence are not two." Therefore, no-thought is not that not a single thought arises, but that when thoughts arise, one does not follow or dwell; one must understand this principle thoroughly. The True Emptiness of Buddha-nature is not that it does not manifest, because when function arises, it must manifest. If it were empty without appearances, it would not be the Self-nature. Because if there is Mind, there must be appearances; Mind is appearance, appearance is Mind, for Mind and appearance are not two. I said last time that there must be reflections in a mirror; without reflections, it does not constitute a mirror. Therefore, Buddha-nature can certainly manifest forms and appearances; without forms and appearances, it cannot be called Buddha-nature, because without marvelous function, Buddha-nature would turn into dead emptiness or insensate emptiness. But Buddha-nature is not insensate emptiness; it is numinous, bright, and vast, capable of giving rise to all marvelous functions and manifesting all kinds of forms and appearances, so it is said: "The myriad forms are perfect within the Mind."

Speaking of this, let me tell you a story. In Zhenjiang, there is a Jinshan Temple, and in the temple, there is a mountain-guarding Dharma treasure. The Dharma treasure is Su Dongpo's jade belt; the jade belt is made of square pieces of jade strung together with gold thread. How did this jade belt stay at Jinshan Temple? It turns out that Su Dongpo and the abbot of Jinshan Temple, Chan Master Foyin, were good friends. Su Dongpo composed poetry and lyrics very well and was also a Buddhist practitioner; he was conceited that his practice had reached the stage of being "unmoved by the Eight Winds." Chan Master Foyin wanted to test the depth of his practice, so he deliberately belittled him, saying: "Su Dongpo's poetry is truly not worth a dog's fart." When Su Dongpo heard this, he could not help but feel great anger in his heart; he launched a punitive expedition, crossing the river in a rage to demand an explanation from Chan Master Foyin. Chan Master Foyin laughed and said: "What a fine 'unmoved by the Eight Winds'; one fart has blown you across the river." This is a joke.

Once, Su Dongpo came to Jinshan Temple to visit Chan Master Foyin. The Chan Master was leading the assembly in sitting meditation in the Chan hall at that time; it was precisely the time of "stopping stillness," and idlers were not allowed to enter. Su Dongpo knew this rule, so he sat in the reception room waiting for Chan Master Foyin to come out. After this stick of incense was finished, another stick was added, so he came out very late. Su Dongpo waited for a long time and felt very anxious in his heart. When the incense finished and the stillness was opened, Chan Master Foyin came out: "Oh my! Great Scholar Su, please sit, please sit." Su Dongpo said: "Heh! You still ask me to sit! I want to sit on the head of you bald donkey!" They were good friends and were joking, calling the Chan Master a "bald donkey." The Chan Master heard this and said: "Oh, you want to sit on the head of this old monk? Good, good, good. I have a question to ask you. If you can answer it, this old monk's head will serve as your seat; if you cannot answer, you must unfasten the jade belt on your body and give it to us as a mountain-guarding treasure." Su Dongpo laughed heartily: "Whatever question you ask, I can give ten answers to one question; my marvelous interpretations are many, and my explanations are broad." Chan Master Foyin said: "Good, I ask you: The Four Elements are originally empty, and the Five Aggregates are non-existent; where do you sit?" The meaning was, you want to sit on my head, but my body is made of the Four Elements and Five Aggregates, which are empty and possess nothing; how do you sit? Su Dongpo thought: The Four Elements are empty, the Five Aggregates are originally not there, everything is gone; then I fall into emptiness—where do I sit? I cannot sit in empty space... He thought and thought, walked back and forth three times, and could not answer for a moment. Chan Master Foyin took the opportunity to call the young novice: "Come here! Unfasten his jade belt; he cannot answer." Thus, Su Dongpo's jade belt remained at Jinshan Temple as the mountain-guarding treasure. This is the public case [gongan] of "empty yet present, present yet empty." Actually, this question is not hard to answer, because emptiness is not insensate emptiness, and presence is not solid presence; emptiness does not obstruct presence, and presence does not obstruct emptiness. Emptiness is presence; presence is emptiness; Mind is appearance; appearance is Mind. Therefore, one might well have answered him: "True Emptiness does not obstruct Marvelous Presence; I sit right on the head of your illusory appearance!" Or just sit on a chair and say: "I sit like this!" Or raise a finger and say: "I sit right here!" Or even raise a finger and ask him: "Where do you sit?" These answers can be picked up freely; there is truly no need to use the brain.

Someone asked a lecture master of the Diamond Sūtra: "If there is no characteristic of a person and no characteristic of a self, then who speaks and who listens?" This question seems very difficult; if there is no person and no self, then there is no speaking and no hearing—can one still lecture on sūtras and listen to sūtras here? Actually, the Diamond Sūtra is about breaking appearances to see Nature; it does not belong to insensate emptiness. Although factual appearances are absent, Buddha-nature is not absent. You can answer him: "It only says there are no characteristics, not that there is no person." Our Buddha-nature is Marvelous Presence which is not presence, and True Emptiness which is not empty. If everyone clarifies the principles of emptiness and presence, and presence and emptiness, and further maintains it continuously and closely at all times, not dwelling in appearances and not falling into emptiness, one can perfectly realize the Great Way. Otherwise, as soon as we encounter boundary-circumstances, we get stuck and are not at ease; when will we ever end this?

There are many such public cases in the Chan School. In the time of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, a Prime Minister invited the elders of all schools and sects to hold an Unrestricted Assembly [Pañcavārṣika]. This meant there was no covering up at all; each stated their own view, directly and joyfully presenting their Fundamental Nature to perfectly realize the Great Way. A lecture master of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra said: "According to our Teaching School, becoming a Buddha requires three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas. Yet the Chan School says one can become a Buddha with one blow or one shout; this completely fails to accord with the Buddha's teaching. Now may I ask the great Chan worthies present: If your single shout can penetrate the Five Teachings spoken of by the Huayan School, I acknowledge that you can become a Buddha with one blow or one shout. If it cannot penetrate the Five Teachings, then it is the speech of demons. Will one of you please come out and explain?" The Huayan School divides the Buddha's Dharma into Five Teachings: The Hīnayāna Teaching, the Elementary Mahāyāna Teaching, the Final Mahāyāna Teaching, the Sudden Mahāyāna Teaching, and the Round [Perfect] Mahāyāna Teaching; the doctrines go from shallow to deep, and the practice method proceeds step by step. Among the eminent masters of the Chan School attending the meeting at that time was Patriarch Yuanwu Keqin, who was over eighty years old; he was the master of Chan Master Dahui Zonggao. He looked with his eyes at the Little Chan Master Jingyin Cheng, who was in his forties. Chan Master Jingyin Cheng understood the intention, stood up, and said to the Huayan lecture master: "This question of yours is not hard to answer; it is not worth the great Patriarchs present explaining it to you. Let me, a small elder, explain it to you. Let us first define the doctrines of the Five Teachings: The Hīnayāna Teaching attaches to presence—there is a Way to complete, Nirvana to realize, and birth-and-death to end. The Elementary Mahāyāna Teaching speaks of emptiness. The Final Mahāyāna Teaching speaks of neither emptiness nor presence—it is neither empty nor present. The Sudden Mahāyāna Teaching speaks of immediate emptiness and immediate presence. The Round Mahāyāna Teaching speaks of non-empty yet not present, non-present yet not empty, perfectly fused without obstruction. Is this the meaning?" The Huayan lecture master said: "Correct!" Chan Master Jingyin Cheng gave a loud shout and asked the assembly: "Did you hear that?" The assembly said: "We heard it!" Cheng said: "Hearing it means there is presence! It has penetrated the Hīnayāna." Emperor Huizong was sitting in the assembly wearing dark clothes and a small hat; he instructed the Prime Minister not to speak out, to let him listen carefully to how it was explained. After a while, the sound dissipated, and Cheng asked again: "Do you listen now—is there still sound?" The assembly said: "It is gone!" Cheng said: "Gone implies emptiness. It has penetrated the Elementary Teaching." He said further: "Now it is gone, but just now it was present—this is non-empty; just now it was present, but now it is gone—this is non-present. Is this not neither emptiness nor presence? It has penetrated the Final Teaching. Furthermore, if there were not the presence just now, what emptiness could be spoken of now? If there were not the emptiness now, what presence could be spoken of just now? When speaking of presence, emptiness is in presence; when speaking of emptiness, presence is in emptiness. Is this not immediate emptiness and immediate presence? It has penetrated the Sudden Teaching. And the Round Mahāyāna Teaching? Although I shout, I do not engage in the function of a shout; despite shouting, I have not shouted; at all times and places, I do not attach to appearances. Eating rice, one has not bitten a single grain; wearing clothes, one has not hung a single thread. Although work is very busy, it is just as if one has not worked. This is the essential meaning of 'Give rise to the mind without dwelling anywhere' in the Diamond Sūtra. When speaking of presence, not a single mote is established; when speaking of emptiness, it pervades the sandy worlds. Dwelling neither in emptiness nor presence, perfectly fused without obstruction—this is the Highest Vehicle, the Round Mahāyāna Teaching, the highest realm spoken of in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra: the Dharma-realm where phenomenon and phenomenon are unobstructed. This is also the essence of the Chan School." After hearing this, the great assembly was compelled to admire and praise him, and Emperor Huizong nodded incessantly. The Buddhadharma is truly the most exalted religion and the best philosophy of life. If we can accept and uphold it with faith, what annoyances of success, failure, gain, or loss could we have? The Ganges Mahamudra speaks of the Buddhadharma of the Highest Vehicle; since we are fortunate enough to have heard this Dharma, we should practice according to the teaching, constantly making the mind like a river, operating spontaneously without dwelling anywhere, in order to realize the intrinsic characteristics of the Dharmakāya.

“When the mind arises, know it as the function of wisdom; looking-perception and all times are like this. Therefore, whether releasing into non-practice or diligently accumulating practice, the Dharma-nature neither increases nor decreases.”

When a thought arises in the mind, one should know that this is the function of wisdom, the marvelous function of the Dharma-nature. Not only is it like this during looking-perception [observation], it is like this at all times. Therefore, when releasing into non-practice, the Dharma-nature does not decrease; when diligently accumulating practice, the Dharma-nature does not increase. The Dharma-nature itself is without increase or decrease.

Many of us who learn Buddhism and engage in practice often suppress thoughts so they do not arise, thinking that sitting for ten days or half a month, or even ten or eight years without a single thought arising, is good practice. Little do they know that practicing dead samādhi like this does not yield true benefit and one cannot exit the Three Realms; it is merely suppression for a time. Once stirred, delusive thoughts arise even more than before. Even if not stirred, what is the use of sitting there deadly? Prolonged dead samādhi turns one into earth, wood, metal, or stone. True practice requires liveliness and vividness, training upon matters and circumstances, knowing that the place where mental thoughts arise is the marvelous function of the Fundamental Nature. By not attaching to appearances, wisdom increases daily. In our practice, we want to become living Buddhas, not dead Buddhas; we want to generate all kinds of marvelous functions to bring benefit and joy to sentient beings; only this has value. It is not sitting there deadly and immobile; would that not make one a clay Bodhisattva?

As mentioned before, after seeing the Fundamental Nature, one must diligently eliminate habit energies upon matters and circumstances. Looking-perception is the best method to eliminate habit energies. Looking-perception is precisely the marvelous function of Buddha-nature! Not only is looking-perception a marvelous function, everything is a marvelous function at all times. For example, touring mountains and rivers, visiting relatives and friends, watching plays, and dancing are all marvelous functions. It is not that you cannot watch a play, but do not be watched by the play—do not be turned by the plot of the play. While watching, if you frequently give rise to joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness following the joys and sorrows in the play, and after watching, you still cannot forget it and take it to heart, with your brain always turning along with the plot of the play—thinking this person is so good, that person is so bad... This is called being watched by the play; how will this do? Watching a play can also be used to train the mind, to see if this mind can be turned. If one can achieve being "like a wooden figure looking at flowers and birds," that is good practice. But this does not mean one does not know the good guys and bad guys in the play, or does not know the plot. If one knew nothing, would that not make one a pool of dead water? It is not not knowing, but not making discriminations of accepting or rejecting, and not being moved by the plot of the play. Seeing without seeing, not seeing yet seeing, dwelling nowhere in the slightest. "Human affairs are just a play"; we cannot let go of this or that, but actually, they are all as illusory as a play! Once the breath fails to come, this play is over; what are you attached to it for?

In our practice, if we work diligently and earnestly, the Dharmakāya does not increase by a fraction; if we are lax, the Dharmakāya does not decrease by a fraction. In other words, if we become Buddhas, the Dharmakāya does not increase by a fraction; if we act as sentient beings, it does not decrease by a fraction; if we ascend to heaven, it does not increase by a fraction; if we descend to hell, it does not decrease by a fraction. It has no birth, death, coming, or going; it remains unchanged throughout ten thousand antiquities. A "Living Buddha" in America named Lu Shengyan said this: "In practice, the Buddha-nature (Heavenly Mind) ascends to heaven, and the bad evil mind descends to the earth." One ascends and one descends; one True Mind is split into two—that is truly terrible! Some Dharma masters, when lecturing on sūtras, say: "If we do bad deeds, the deluded mind that does bad deeds goes to hell; the True Mind ascends to heaven." This also splits the True and the Deluded into two minds. They do not know that the True Mind (Buddha-nature) and the deluded mind are originally one essence [ti]; the deluded mind is the True Mind, and the True Mind is the deluded mind. For example, water (metaphor for True Mind) gives rise to waves (metaphor for deluded mind); the waves are water, and the water is waves—how can there be two? Someone asked: "If there are not two, why do people speak of three hun souls and seven po souls? Do three hun souls and seven po souls not make ten?" If it were really like that, wouldn't one person turn into ten? No! The so-called "hun" belongs to Yang; it is the bright, unselfish righteous energy. The "po" belongs to Yin; it is the dark, filthy evil thought. Three hun and seven po means that a person has few bright components—only three parts—while the dark things that cannot see people are many—having seven parts. It is not splitting a person into ten things. If we drive out all seven parts of the dark evil mind, turn them all around, and completely transform them into radiance, we achieve the Dao. Just as Patriarch Lu Chunyang was called "Pure Yang" because the "po" was all transformed, and darkness was transformed into radiance, thus achieving the Dao of Immortality. Therefore, True Mind and deluded mind are not two things. If you go down to hell, the True Mind also follows you down to hell, but its radiance does not decrease, nor is it defiled, nor does it suffer. It is like a pearl wrapped in mud; the pearl's radiance does not decrease. If you ascend to heaven, it is not happy, nor does its radiance increase. Our Self-nature is at all times neither defiled nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing, neither coming nor going, neither moving nor shaking, neither born nor extinguished.

“As for the Self-nature of greed, anger, annoyance, and feelings of suffering and joy, etc., know that they are all fundamentally so [fa'er]; then you obtain the marvelous function of the Dharmakāya.”

The reason we have feelings of greed, anger, annoyance, suffering, joy, and so on, is all due to the natural marvelous function of the Dharmakāya. If there were no Dharmakāya, these feelings could not arise. However, having these shifting changes of emotion—sometimes joyful, sometimes worried and annoyed—is all due to the Three Poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance acting up. Encountering unsatisfactory things brings annoyance; seeking but not obtaining brings anger; not satisfying one's own wishes brings sorrow and resentment; satisfying one's own desires brings delight and joy. These feelings are all empty and without self-nature; they are delusive thoughts arising in response to circumstances. As the saying goes, "The ten thousand dharmas are originally idle; only people disturb themselves." This is all due to fundamental ignorance. Speaking of ignorance, practitioners are all afraid of it; this is the thing that harms people and causes us to reincarnate in the Six Realms! If it were not for this, we would have become Buddhas long ago! But do not be afraid; ignorance is not truly existent; it is merely a delusive thought, an illusory shadow. As long as we awaken, we break through it. Because it is not a substantially existent thing, it cannot be smashed by any physical object. Just realize that greed, anger, ignorance, conceit, and doubt are all delusive feelings arising from sticking the mind to circumstances; they are all ignorant delusive thoughts. They are originally fundamentally so [fa'er] and are empty and possess nothing. Fa'er means "originally so, not intentionally created." Once we understand this marvelous principle, all suffering, joy, and annoyance are transformed and released upon a single awakening. Just as the Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment says: "Knowing it is an illusion, one immediately separates from it without using expedient means; separating from illusion is awakening, and there are no gradual stages." We usually speak of "deep and heavy karmic obstructions"; what is a karmic obstruction? Karmic obstruction is your attachment to appearances. If you do not attach to appearances, there is no annoyance at all; from where could karmic obstructions come? All feelings of suffering and feelings of joy are like us dreaming in sleep; within the dream state, nightmares and sweet dreams are vivid, but as soon as you wake up, there is nothing. Therefore, if we can awaken abruptly, put everything down, and not attach to appearances, we obtain the marvelous function of the Dharmakāya. The marvelous function of the Dharmakāya is not difficult; it only requires us to be sober at all times and not dwell in appearances at all times.

Someone said: "Oh my! Investigating Chan and learning Esotericism is very hard; it is easier to recite the Buddha's name and seek birth in the West!" Actually, he is mistaken; Buddha-recitation, Chan investigation, and learning Esotericism are all the same; there is no distinction of difficulty or ease, only the selection of a Dharma method suitable for oneself according to each person's root-nature. Buddha-recitation uses the Buddha's name to sweep away the accumulated filth on one's own mind-ground, using the method of holding the name to make oneself sober up. Master Lianchi said that Mindfulness of Buddha is "every sound awakening the Host." It means reciting the Holy Name sincerely sound by sound to awaken one's own Fundamental Nature, not to dwell in appearances, not to stick to circumstances, thereby personally seeing Buddha-nature and being able to be born in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss at the end of one's life. Chan investigation is the same; one attends to the huatou [head of speech] at all times, watching where delusive thoughts come from. As soon as a thought arises, ask it: Where do you come from? Give it a head-on blow. This delusive thought originally does not exist; it is an illusory shadow; once struck, it is gone. This is the same as Buddha-recitation; both are for exhausting delusive thoughts to personally realize the Original. But some say it is different; they say Buddha-recitation has Amitābha Buddha, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva, and the Bodhisattvas of the Lotus Pool Assembly to receive and guide one, to be born in the West and transversely transcend the Three Realms, whereas Chan investigation cannot. Actually, they are also mistaken; reception and transverse transcendence exist, but reception and transverse transcendence do not mean dragging you there. Chan Master Yongming Yanshou said very clearly: The Buddha is like the moon in the sky, and the mind is like a basin of water. Only when the mind is pure can the reflection of the moon appear. If the mind is impure—if it is filthy water—although the moon is in the sky (although the Buddha releases light to shine on you, yet you cannot see it), it cannot appear; then you cannot be born in the West. Master Hanshan said that Buddha-recitation must be done effectively; one must cut off the root of love to have hope of birth in the West. The root of love is the love and affection of the delusive movement of ignorance; this is the root of birth and death. If it is not cut off, the mind is like filthy water, and the reflection of the moon cannot appear in filthy water. It is not that the Buddha does not come to receive you or does not release light to shine on you; it is just that you yourself cannot see it, just like a blind person cannot see the sun. Furthermore, when a Chan practitioner works hard and the mind-ground becomes empty and pure, that is the Pure Land. Because Mind is the Land, and the Land is Mind. The Buddha said: "If one wishes to purify his Land, he must first purify his mind; as the mind is pure, the Buddha Land is pure." When the mind is pure, the Buddha Land is pure; at this time, if you make a vow to be born in the West, you will definitely be received by Amitābha Buddha's compassion and go to be born there. Amitābha Buddha is not like us ordinary beings; ordinary beings have feelings of love and hate: "You have formed good ties with me, so I will receive you; you have not formed ties with me, so I will ignore you." Buddhas and Bodhisattvas practice Great Kindness without conditions; they do not have such inferior views. "If you have not formed ties with me, I will instead form ties with you and compassionately receive you." In terms of the Esoteric School, Amitābha Buddha does not care whether you recite the Buddha's name or practice other Dharma methods; when your life ends, he releases light to shine on you and receives you to be born in the West. Moreover, not only for practitioners, but even for non-practitioners and evildoers, he shines and receives. It is just that these evildoers have deep and heavy karmic obstructions and cannot see the Buddha's light, or upon seeing the intense Buddha's light, they are frightened and flee, lacking the blessedness to be born in the West. The Amitābha Sūtra says: "One cannot be born in that Land with few good roots, blessings, and causal connections." Good roots, blessings, and causal connections—none of the three can be missing. To be born in the West, one must be complete in good roots, blessings, and causal connections; it is not that one can go just by carelessly reciting "Amitābha" a couple of times.

Bodhisattvas, we must truly work hard; only by completely quieting the deluded mind can we achieve the Dao! Mahamudra speaks of the Dharma method of the Mind-ground. The One True Dharma-realm—the Flower Ornament [Avataṃsaka] World—is the Mahamudra. The Western Land of Ultimate Bliss is right within this Mahamudra, not outside the Mahamudra. The "Land where Sages and Commoners Dwell Together" of the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss is on the thirteenth layer of this Mahamudra; the "Land of Real Reward and Adornment" is the twentieth layer of the Flower Ornament World. Our Sahā World is also the thirteenth layer, parallel to the "Land where Sages and Commoners Dwell Together" of the West. The Buddha said: "From here to the West, passing ten trillion Buddha-lands, there is a world named Ultimate Bliss." This means that from here, going towards the West, is the "Land where Sages and Commoners Dwell Together" of the World of Ultimate Bliss. As long as we believe deeply without doubt, do all good deeds, and make vows dedicating merit to rebirth, we can all go; the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will not refuse. It is not that one cannot go without reciting the Holy Name of Amitābha. Someone said: "I recite the Buddha's name very little; I fear I cannot go." This statement is incorrect! Whether one is born in the West or not does not depend on how much you recite; this is not a business transaction. It depends on the quality of your recitation, whether your mind-ground is sincere, and whether your heart is pure. If your heart is truly pure, one thought at the end of life can also result in birth in the West. If we can reflect that all forms, sounds, scents, tastes, touches, and dharmas are flowers in the sky and moons in the water, unseekable and unobtainable, letting go of one and letting go of all, and reciting "Amitābha" once with purity and no defilement, this one thought of pure mind can correspond with the Buddha, and one will be born in the West. One does not need ten thoughts, a hundred thoughts, or ten million thoughts; it just depends on whether you can be single-minded without confusion and have clear Right Mindfulness at the end of life. At the end of life, to have the mind not inverted, the consciousness not scattered, and Right Mindfulness clear—this is the Kung Fu [skill] of deeply attaining the Samādhi of Buddha Recitation! To be able to reach this stage depends on accumulating it by diligently sweeping away delusive habits right now. Therefore, when working hard now, one must sincerely let go, let go, and let go again, making the mind pure and undefiled; only then can one hold the winning ticket in the future and be born in the West. This is also the marvelous function of the Dharmakāya! We fuse the Chan School, Pure Land School, and Esoteric School into one furnace because they are originally one essence. Do not divide into Esoteric School, Chan School, or Pure Land School; originally, it is one Buddha School!

“If one does not arrive at spontaneous natural operation, one will certainly be scattered by delusive thoughts and fall into the state of an ordinary fool. Therefore, one should constantly not depart from the Great Natural Rest of non-practice.”

Our actions and conduct at all times and in all places are the marvelous function of the True Mind; all form-appearances are one's own transformation body. We should naturally accord with various causes and conditions to deal with tasks, doing our utmost to create blessings for the masses; this is called "spontaneous natural operation." If one does not understand or thoroughly comprehend the principle of "spontaneous natural operation," one will inevitably stick the mind to circumstances, greedily and insatiably fulfilling one's own desires causing delusive thoughts to fly in confusion, thus burying a fine Living Buddha into an ordinary man or foolish woman. Our practice is originally for seeing Nature and realizing the Dao, attaching to nothing. If one wants to develop supernatural powers, wants to obtain something, or asks Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to bless one with promotion and wealth, that runs counter to learning Buddhism. Now, as long as we operate spontaneously without dwelling at every moment, not adding knowing to any delusive imaginary realm, yet not being like wood or stone, responding to potentials and following conditions with clear clarity—this is Buddha-work. We said before: do not identify with this physical body as the self, but take empty quiescence as the Essence; do not identify with delusive thoughts, but take Numinous Awareness [Ling Zhi] as the Mind. Practicing with the Mind-ground Dharma method is like cooking rice with rice grains; it will definitely become rice. What if one does not practice like this? It is like cooking rice with sand; no matter how much effort is spent, it will not cook into rice. Once we understand that this pure, unstained, and clearly distinct Mind of Numinous Awareness is the Buddha, we no longer attach to appearances, but serve the masses naturally and spontaneously, training upon matters and circumstances to eliminate delusive habits completely and perfectly realize Buddhahood. Conversely, delusive thoughts will inevitably fly in confusion, and one will fall into being an ordinary fool, unable to end birth and death. These ordinary beings of ours have been used to attaching to appearances for many lifetimes and kalpas; it cannot be changed all at once. Not only do we pick and choose in food and daily life, but we also pick and choose ceaselessly in practice methods. This one says: "The Pure Land School is good and reliable; the Chan School is dangerous and unreliable." That one says: "The Esoteric School is good." Another says: "The Esoteric School is also not good; the Esoteric School is heavy with demonic energy." Oh my, this is good, that is bad... these are all blind men touching an elephant, making vain discriminations and speaking nonsense. They do not know that the Dharma spoken by the Buddha is equal, equal, and again equal; it is just speaking different Dharma methods in response to each person's different root capacity; this is called "giving medicine according to the disease." Like us eating food: if you like sweet, take sweet food; if you like sour, take sour food. If the person who loves sour says sweet food is bad, and the person who loves sweet says sour food is bad; if the Buddha-recitation practitioner says the Chan School is dangerous (actually the Chan School is not dangerous), and the Chan practitioner says the Esoteric School has demonic energy (actually the Esoteric School has no demonic energy)—this is all emphasizing one's own preferences and making vain discriminations. Not only does one bring annoyance upon oneself, but virtually incurs the sin of slandering the Dharma. You practice whichever School you like; do not say other Schools are bad; any School is the same. If you say Chan investigation is hard, practicing other Schools is also not easy; if you say Buddha-recitation is easy, practicing other Schools is also not hard.

Layman Pang said: "Hard, hard, hard, spreading ten loads of sesame oil on a tree." This speaks of how, for a beginner practitioner who does not understand the knack of practice, it is very hard, very hard—like "a catfish climbing a slippery pole." The fish scales on the fish are sticky and slippery; to climb that oily and slippery bamboo pole—how easy is that to talk about! But once pointed out, it turns out that this which can speak, walk, cry, and laugh is our Self-nature; it releases light from our face-gates all day long without the slightest concealment. It does not need seeking or praying for; simply letting go of everything is it. Just as the saying goes: "Wearing out iron shoes in search of it, finding no place; obtained without wasting any effort at all." So Laywoman Pang followed his voice and said: "Easy, easy, easy, the intention of the West is on the tips of the hundred grasses." Not hard, not hard; investigating Chan and awakening to the Dao is very easy. The tips of the hundred grasses means on the tip of any matter or thing; the meaning of "on the tip" is to look apart from appearance, do not look attaching downwards to appearance. The function that can see objects apart from appearance is the marvelous function of the Self-nature! Is this not very easy? Therefore, in our practice, do not divide into schools and sects, saying this is hard and that is easy; just clearly recognize at all times this True Mind which is apart from appearance yet clearly distinct. Do not identify with the reflection; the reflection cannot be grasped. At this time, although the Principle is understood, the habit energies of dwelling in appearances from many lifetimes and kalpas still come to invade. Chan Master Guifeng said: "Delusive attachments from many lives have become nature through habit; joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness flow in a subtle stream. Although the Truth is suddenly reached, these feelings are difficult to remove abruptly. One must constantly be aware and examine, reducing and reducing again." Therefore, we must be aware and examine at all times; as soon as a thought arises, immediately awaken and eliminate it. If the momentum of the delusive thought is strong and cannot be transformed for a moment, then recite the Buddha's name or hold a mantra to transform it. The Buddha's name and mantras are wisdom swords; used to sever the delusive mind and sentimental thoughts of attaching to appearances, they have infinite power. As long as we hold and recite sincerely, we will definitely receive the empowerment of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; therefore, realizing the Dao has no difficulty. Similarly, to be born in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, any School can result in rebirth as long as one makes a vow. We often say that the scope of Mindfulness of Buddha is very broad; it is not that reciting a sentence of "Amitābha" is the only Mindfulness of Buddha. Reciting sūtras is also Mindfulness of Buddha; doing good deeds without attaching to appearances is also Mindfulness of Buddha; being brightly aware in awakening is also Mindfulness of Buddha. Why? Because Buddha means Awakening; if you are not deluded at any time and dedicate merit to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, is this not Mindfulness of Buddha? The Pure Land School says that to be born in the High Grade of the High Level, one must "read and recite the Mahāyāna." Why read and recite the Mahāyāna? It is to tell you to understand the Principle! It tells you to understand where phenomena like birth and death come from, and how to end birth and death. Only by understanding these principles, exhausting the delusive mind, and dwelling nowhere can one be born in the High Grade of the High Level. If you dwell on appearances, clinging to them deadly, thinking that this world is bad and you want to go to the West to enjoy blessings there, this is broken. Even if you can go, it will only be the Low Grade of the Low Level. Because your mind is not empty and pure, you can only be born in the Land where Sages and Commoners Dwell Together, and cannot be born in the Land of Expedient Means with Remainder or the Land of Real Reward and Adornment.

What is Chan? The fundamental, at-ease Pure Mind is it, which the Chan School calls "The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, the Marvelous Mind of Nirvana." Is this Marvelous Mind of Nirvana not the Pure Land? Is it not also the secret treasury of the Esoteric School? Therefore, Chan, Pure Land, and Esoteric appear to be three Schools, but they are actually one essence. The Esoteric School has many methods for rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, such as Phowa practice, the Great Amitābha Practice, the Consciousness Transference Practice, etc., which are all for rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Reciting Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva also results in birth in the West, because Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva is in the West; he also releases light to shine on you and receives you to be born in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. The reason there are Nine Grades of rebirth lies in the distinction between attaching to appearances and not attaching to appearances! If you understand that Mind is the Land, and the Land is Mind, that birth is non-birth, and non-birth is birth, dwelling in appearances not in the slightest, then within non-birth there is no obstruction to rebirth. Such rebirth is a marvelous function! Non-birth is not dying there immobile; living endlessly is non-birth, and non-birth is living endlessly—only this attains the marvelous truth of non-birth.

“Therefore, one should constantly not depart from the Great Natural Rest of non-practice.”

The so-called non-practice means "the practice of non-practice is true practice." Mahamudra is the esoteric dharma of the Highest Vehicle; it does not require you to recite mantras, form mudras, or practice any specific method; everything being spontaneous and natural, with absolutely no dwelling, is it. This kind of practice is the Great Natural Rest. It is the same after enlightenment in the Chan School: practicing without practice, needing no antidotes. Dharma methods of antidotes are delusion-removing methods practiced specifically for each person's habit energies. For example, people with heavy lust specifically practice the Impurity Contemplation or White Skeleton Contemplation; people who love to talk specifically practice silence, etc.; these are expedient methods to cease delusion and return to the Truth. Mahamudra does not apply antidotes like this; it tells us that all form-appearances are the manifestation of Self-nature, the marvelous function of the True Mind. Dwelling nowhere at all times is the Great Practice of practicing without practice. For a person practicing Mindfulness of Buddha, as soon as a thought arises, one awakens and it is empty; this is Mindfulness of Buddha—it is not that one must recite a sentence of "Amitābha" to count as Mindfulness of Buddha. But practice must accord with one's own root capacity; one cannot be stuck to one style. There are several different ways to practice Mindfulness of Buddha: awakening as soon as a thought arises is Real Mark Mindfulness of Buddha [Reality Mindfulness]; contemplating that oneself is Amitābha Buddha is Contemplation Mindfulness of Buddha; contemplating the Buddha's marks and goodness is Image Contemplation Mindfulness of Buddha; never leaving the phrase "Amitābha" at any time is Name-Holding Mindfulness of Buddha. In our work, we must select a method suitable for our own habits to practice in order to receive twice the result with half the effort. If you cannot achieve "awakening as soon as a thought arises and it becomes empty," then recite the Name Buddha. If silent recitation does not work and thoughts still move, then recite "Amitābha..." out loud; one must always sever your delusive thoughts and transform them into no-thought for it to work. It is all Buddha-recitation, but there is a great difference in power and function between understanding this principle and not understanding this principle. Mindfulness of Buddha without understanding the principle attaches to appearances at all times, clinging to the Amitābha Buddha in the West. Mindfulness of Buddha with understanding of the principle knows that Mindfulness of Buddha is borrowing the Holy Name of Amitābha Buddha to sweep clear the filth in our hearts, to turn around our annoyance and ignorance of attaching to appearances, in order to realize the pure Buddha-nature that is the same as Amitābha Buddha. Because the methods of work are different, the grade of rebirth in the West in the future will also differ accordingly. This practice of not attaching to appearances is the "Great Natural Rest of non-practice"; resting without dwelling is called Natural Rest.

A Chan Master's teaching spoke thus: "Do not stay where there is a Buddha; run quickly past where there is no Buddha." Where there is a Buddha, you must not stay; where there is no Buddha, walk past quickly. This means that one can neither attach to presence nor incline toward emptiness; neither the two sides of presence and emptiness are established, nor is there a middle—that is the meaning of the Middle Way, which is the "Empty, Provisional, and Middle," the Three Contemplations in One Mind of the Tiantai School. Therefore, appearances are not non-existent, but are illusory manifestations giving rise to functions. If True Nature could not manifest illusory appearances and give rise to functions, it would be a pool of dead water; what value would Buddha-nature have? Our engagement in practice is for the sake of eliminating the delusive habit of attaching to illusory appearances, not to sit there deadly and immobile. If one can awaken and not dwell in appearances at all times, nor attach to the Dharma in practice, one walks on the right road and enters the "Great Natural Rest of non-practice."

“No matter when, only by recognizing the Direct Pointing to the View, everything is completely included.”

No matter what time or what place, only by recognizing the Fundamental Nature shown by the "Direct Pointing to the View" as the Right View, does one truly comprehend that this mind of ours is the One True Dharma-realm. The One True Dharma-realm completely includes everything; the myriad forms are all included within it. Any form-appearance is a marvelous function manifested by one's own mind, so do not attach to appearances. Whether the circumstances are good or bad, whether it accords with my mind or goes against my wishes, do not care about it; then one sees Nature at every moment. The Platform Sūtra says: "A person who sees Nature must see it right at the words; if it is like this, one can see it even when wielding a blade in battle." Going into battle to fight, having views of birth and death in the mind—this will not do. It does not matter if I am killed by someone; "Bringing the head to meet the white blade is like cutting the spring breeze," haha! If it is cut off, let it be cut off; cutting off this shell, our True Mind is neither increased nor decreased, neither born nor extinguished; it is still dignified and cannot be cut off. This is the strategy of a person who sees Nature.

In the past, when Chan Master Yuangu of Mount Song was sitting in meditation, he saw an emperor leading many attendants standing before him with awe-inspiring presence. Seeing that the Chan Master did not stand up to welcome him, the emperor was very unhappy in his heart and asked the Chan Master: "Do you recognize me?" The Chan Master said: "I view Buddhas and sentient beings as equal; can I look at you with a different eye?" The emperor said: "I am the Mountain God of Yue; I hold the great power of life and death. I can make people live and can make people die; how can you look at me with ordinary eyes?" The Chan Master laughed and said: "I am originally unborn; can you make an unborn person die?" "In my view, the body and empty space are not two, and I and you are not two; can you damage empty space and yourself?" "Even if you can, my True Mind is unborn and undying. What you can damage is only my physical body; you cannot damage my True Mind!" "You have not yet realized this True Mind; how can you say you make me live or make me die?" That Mountain God was stunned by his words: "Hey, I have never heard these words; is there still an undying True Mind?" The Chan Master continued to teach: "For example, you are now a great god, but you were also a human before!" "Only because you were upright and honest as a person, strictly impartial, and did many good deeds, have you now become a great god holding the authority of life and death." "However, who is acting as the Mountain God? The shell of when you were a human is gone; it is the mental faculty acting as the Mountain God." "That mental faculty of yours is different from our Buddha-nature; it differs by just that little bit. What thing does it differ by?" "Because 'ignorance' is present, Buddha-nature becomes the mental faculty; if ignorance is completely removed, the mental faculty is restored to Buddha-nature." "Even if 'ignorance' is still there, Buddha-nature does not decrease by a fraction, because it is without increase or decrease." "Who is acting as the Mountain God right now? It is precisely this unborn and undying Buddha-nature, yet you do not know it at all!" After being taught by the Chan Master, the Mountain God felt as if waking from a dream; he immediately took Chan Master Yuangu as his teacher and took refuge in the Gate of Buddha.

Furthermore, what spirits are those that rely on grass and attach to trees to manifest spiritual power? Those are ghosts! When they were alive, they were insatiably greedy and created sins to fall into hell; after their term in hell was full and they exited prison, because the habit of greed remained, they attached to grass and trees upon encountering them, and these grass and trees became magically potent. This is actually a greedy ghost causing trouble, not any god/spirit. A god/spirit is a great ghost king; his supernatural powers are greater than other ghosts, but all are attached to appearances. Therefore, no matter when, we only take recognizing the True Mind indicated by the "Direct Pointing to the View" as essential; the mind's capacity is like empty space, and the myriad forms are all included within our Mind-nature without exception. We want to restore our original ability, so we must start from now, letting go of everything, recognizing this Buddha-nature at all times, and not dwelling in appearances. Only when there is dwelling, recite the Buddha's name quickly, hold a mantra quickly; it is best to awaken immediately and have it be empty. If one practices with an understanding of this principle, whether practicing Pure Land, Chan, or Esotericism, it is easy to achieve success rapidly; if one practices without understanding this principle, it is difficult to achieve the Right Fruit.

“Do not apply individual taming and antidotes to the rising and falling of each delusive thought.”

Here it says that to tame and apply antidotes to delusive thoughts, one must not start upon the rising and falling of each delusive thought, but must work on the total root of the arising of delusive thoughts. The delusive thoughts of ordinary beings are many! Some are terribly fond of sex, some are terribly greedy for wealth, some are terribly fond of fame; each person's delusive thought habits are different. If one treats them individually one by one, using delusion to cure delusion, the delusion becomes even more severe. If one starts at the place where the delusive mind moves, then once finished, all is finished, and one sits steadily at home. The Teaching School also has antidote methods; for example, the "Perfection of Generosity" in the "Six Perfections and Ten Thousand Practices" is the essential method to cure our small-mindedness and stinginess. Also, for example, the Five Precepts of "killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxicants" are the Dharma methods to cure the wriggling of our delusive minds. The two hundred and some Bhikṣu precepts are nothing more than warning the mind not to move; therefore, the greatest precept is the Mind Precept. Once the mind moves, it is a violation of the precept; it is not that one counts as violating the precept only after the thing is done. In the past, a disciple asked his master: "Master, what is breaking the precept?" The master said: "When the woman next door washes her face and wipes her face, and you hear the sound of her hairpin and bracelets, that is breaking the precept." Why is hearing these sounds breaking the precept? Because when you hear the sound, you attach to the appearance; hairpins and bracelets are women's ornaments; if you attach to the appearance of a woman, you generate other thoughts.

Mahamudra practices from the root and does not speak of curing various delusive thoughts one by one. After seeing the Fundamental Nature, attend to it at all times, do not let this mind stick to circumstances, and illuminate it as empty at all times. Using the True Mind to gather and hold everything, the myriad forms and the forest of phenomena are all things within the Marvelous Bright True Mind. Mind is the root; if the mind does not move when encountering any boundary, and one pays no heed to anything, then what difficulty is there in achieving success in this life? If one practices on the branches, treating delusive thoughts individually one by one, that would be unbearably tedious; that would truly be too hard, too hard! Not speaking of antidotes is the practice method of Mahamudra. If there are those among you for whom it is not suitable, you may also practice antidote methods, such as: if lust is heavy, practice Impurity Contemplation or White Skeleton Contemplation, etc., choosing different practice methods according to each person's situation.

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