As Nafis requested, I am translating blog posts by One Though Traveller (一念行者) , who John Tan and I found to be a deeply insightful blogger. This is part one, to be followed by more translations in future.
His blog's link: https://blog.sina.com.cn/u/1531782134
Footnotes are made by ChatGPT (using the o1 model) and do not come from the blog.
English
Translation (Paragraph 1):
Experience and Cognition (2023-12-14 00:23:05)
Tags: Buddhism, Yinianxingzhe
Category: “Stories on the Path of Practice”
Question: May I ask which of the three barriers in Chan
[Zen] Buddhism is broken by the realization of non-discriminating wisdom [無分别智]? “Seeing dependent arising means
seeing dharma.” Does “dharma” here also refer to nirvāṇa?
Original Text (Paragraph 1):
“体验与认知
(2023-12-14 00:23:05)
标签： 佛学 一念行者 分类： 《修行路上的故事》
问：请问证得无分别智是破了禅宗三关中的哪一关？见缘起则见法，这里的法也叫涅槃吗？”
English Translation (Paragraph 2):
Non-discriminating wisdom is simply non-discriminating wisdom; it has nothing
to do with Chan. “Chan” is a story, whereas non-discriminating wisdom is your
perception—it is your fundamental essence.
Original Text (Paragraph 2):
“无分别智就是无分别智，它和禅宗没有关系。“禅宗”是个故事，而无分别智是你的感知，是你的本体。”
English Translation (Paragraph 3):
Chan, Pure Land, and Esoteric Buddhism—do not be carried away by these concepts
and stories. Take root in your fundamental essence, take root in your
experience, and understand our seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing, as well
as the nature of awareness in our seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing.
Original Text (Paragraph 3):
“禅宗、净土宗、密宗，别被这些概念和故事带走。扎根于你的本体，扎根于你的体验，了解我们的见闻觉知和见闻觉知之性。”
English Translation (Paragraph 4):
Go and experience non-discriminating wisdom, rather than thinking about Chan.
In experiencing non-discriminating wisdom, you are rooted here; in thinking
about Chan, you follow the mind. Take note of this.
Original Text (Paragraph 4):
“去体会无分别智，而不是去思考禅宗。去体会无分别智，你根植在这里；去思考禅宗，你跟着头脑走了。注意到这一点。”
English Translation (Paragraph 5):
“Seeing dependent arising means seeing dharma” means that once you truly
understand the phenomena of dependent arising, you understand the emptiness of
dharma and the fundamental nature of dharma—namely, that it has no fundamental
essence. This is a level of cognitive realization.
Original Text (Paragraph 5):
“‘见缘起则见法’的意思是，你真正了解了缘起现象，就了解了法的空性，法的本质——没有本质。这是一种认知境界。”
English Translation (Paragraph 6):
Nirvāṇa, on the other
hand, is a state of experience. Nirvāṇa
is our very self. Our pure, bright mind that neither arises nor ceases is
exactly nirvāṇa. It is
free from concepts, free from stories, and even free from both knower and
known.
Original Text (Paragraph 6):
“而涅槃，是一种体验境界。涅槃是我们自己。我们清净光明不生灭心即是涅槃。它远离概念，远离故事，乃至远离一切能认知和所认知。”
English Translation (Paragraph 7):
In a certain sense, nirvāṇa
is precisely non-discriminating wisdom; nirvāṇa
is the wisdom and wisdom-body that transcends discrimination. Both nirvāṇa and non-discriminating
wisdom are realms of direct experience. The emptiness of dependent arising is a
realm of cognition. Meanwhile, concepts like “Chan” or “Esoteric Buddhism” are
merely stories. In the ultimate truth, there are no various schools of
Buddhism—there is only the one who experiences and his or her experience and
cognition. Understand this.
Original Text (Paragraph 7):
“从某种意义上说，涅槃即是无分别智，涅槃是超越分别的智慧与智体。涅槃和无分别智都是体会境界，缘起性空是认知境界，而诸如‘禅宗’、‘密宗’这样的观念只是故事。真实相中没有各种宗派，只有体验者和他的体验与认知。来了解这点。”
English Translation (Paragraph 8):
(This blog entry was written via mobile phone [mobile access sina.cn])
Seeing (2022-07-03 04:03:21)
When you look at the fish in the water,
Have you seen the water?
/
When you look at a painting on paper,
Have you seen the paper?
/
Gazing at a bird in the sky,
Have you seen the sky?
/
When you look at a swaying wildflower before you,
Have you seen the act of seeing?
/
The numinous light of the mind pervades all dharmas,
Have you seen the numinous light of the mind?
/
Do not let the mind die at a single point;
Let it revive in its entire world.
/
Flee the five turbidities,
And suddenly find yourself in the pure, bright, wondrously clear realm of the
fundamental nature.
Original Text (Paragraph 8):
“此博文通过手机撰写(手机访问sina.cn) 看见 (2022-07-03 04:03:21)
看水里的鱼时，
你看见水了吗？
/
看纸上的一幅画时，
你看见纸了吗？
/
瞭望天空的飞鸟，
你看见天空了吗？
/
看面前一枝摇曳的野花时，
你看见看了吗？
/
心光遍布诸法，
你看见心光了吗？
/
莫让心死于一个点上，
让它复活于它的全世界。
/
逃离五浊，
赫然于自性的净明妙湛之中。”
English Translation (Paragraph 9):
(This blog entry was written via mobile phone [mobile access sina.cn])
There Is a Way of Living Called “Opposite” (2022-06-30
20:04:43)
A splendid performance has just begun, and your performance is superb. We have
not seen enough yet.
The stage is there; going up to live is called performing.
Speak out whatever the mind produces, be it right or wrong. If you were a
skylark, I would understand your singing. If you were a crabapple flower, I
would understand your faint fragrance. Everything is language; everything is
the Buddha’s words. When a Buddha meets another Buddha, it is merely a matter
of the heart.
We have long since met, long since known each other—we are
merely starting backward. Ordinary people go from cause to effect, while we go
from effect to cause. Ordinary people’s life begins with youth and ends with
old age; ours is the opposite, starting in old age and ending in childhood.
Cultivating practice is experiencing a life opposite that of
ordinary people. We walk in the opposite direction from them, bringing to life
the reflection in the mirror. They walk into the mirror, while we walk out of
the mirror. They strive to see the real as illusory, while we try to see the
illusory as real.
An ordinary person’s life yearns to go from failure to
success, while our joy in observation lies in going from success to failure. If
you fail, then your life is a success; if you succeed, then your life is a
failure.
There is a wondrously joyful way of living in which you
observe how your life fails. Starting from the fruit, you play in the world of
causes.
There is a way of living called “opposite.” In all things,
see them in reverse; walk the road in reverse. Everything is reversed; the more
reversed it is, the more real it becomes, and the more vivid it becomes.
A reversed life is a new experience—a new world of the mind,
a new life. The mind is the field of practice, and the head is the one who
lives in it. Let it fully enjoy itself.
Original Text (Paragraph 9):
“此博文通过手机撰写(手机访问sina.cn) 有一种生活叫相反 (2022-06-30 20:04:43)
好戏才刚刚开始，你演得精彩绝伦，还没看够。
舞台在那里，登上去生活，谓之表演。心出什么话就吐槽什么话，管他人非人话。如果你是一只云雀，你的鸣叫我懂。如果你是一株海棠，你的暗香我懂。一切都是语言，一切都是佛语。佛与佛逢，不过是心事。
早已相逢，早已认识，我们只不过是倒着开始。凡人从因到果，我们从果至因。凡人的生活从年轻开始，带老年结束；我们生活的相反，从老年开始，到孩童结束。
修行是体验一种与凡夫相反的生活。和他们向相反的方向走，将镜子里的像活出来。他们向镜子里走去，我们从镜子里走来。他们努力将实看虚，我们试图将虚看实。
凡人的生活渴望是从失败到成功，我们的观摩乐趣是从成功到失败。如果你失败了，你的人生就成功了；如果你成功了，你的人生就失败了。
有一种妙乐的生活是，观看你的生活是如何失败的。从果出发，到因的世界玩耍。
有一种生活，叫相反。凡事倒着看，凡路倒着行。一切相反，越相反越真实，越相反越鲜活。
倒着的生活是一种新的体验，头脑的新世界，新生活。心是道场，头脑是生活者，让它尽兴吧。”
[Continued from previous message]
English Translation (Paragraph 10):
(This blog entry was written via mobile phone [mobile access
sina.cn])
Directly Realize Buddhahood, Just Use This Mind (2022-06-30
20:04:11)
Q: The Great Master Neng said: “The fundamental
nature of bodhi is originally pure; only use this mind, and you will directly
realize buddhahood.” Why look at extra words?
If you are on a road and you have reached its end—you have
arrived home—then what would you do next? Once you are in your own home, you
relax, you are at ease, you can do anything you want, as long as it doesn’t
disturb others.
The Sixth Patriarch Dajian Huineng said, “The fundamental
nature of bodhi is originally pure; only use this mind, and you will directly
realize buddhahood.” I say, “Directly realize buddhahood—just use this mind;
the fundamental nature of bodhi is originally pure.” My meaning is that if you
have arrived home, if you have witnessed the fundamental essence of the mind,
then you can freely use this mind. The substance of this mind is pure in
itself. No matter how you pollute it, you cannot truly taint it. Just like the
Lotus Flower Fairy bathing—no matter how much water flows over her body, it
cannot wet her.
Because the nature of the mind is untainted, why should the
mind not look at extra words? Once you know the fundamental nature of the mind
and then exercise it, you can actually make your awareness of the mind’s
fundamental nature shine forth more fully. It is the same principle as “the
mountains become more secluded as the birds sing, and osmanthus flowers fall
silently in a tranquil courtyard.”
“Directly realize buddhahood—just use this mind.” Once you
see your own fundamental mind and realize your own fundamental nature, I
encourage you to apply this mind deliberately—“Directly realize buddhahood—just
use this mind.”
When you have crossed the Five Skandhas mountain and waded
across the river of the Eight Consciousnesses, my advice to you is: “Directly
realize buddhahood—just use this mind,” “Directly realize buddhahood—just use
this mind,” “Directly realize buddhahood—just use this mind”…
Original Text (Paragraph 10):
“此博文通过手机撰写(手机访问sina.cn) 直了成佛，但用此心 (2022-06-30 20:04:11)
Q：能大师说了：“菩提自性，本自清净，但用此心，直了成佛。”为什么去看多余的字呢？
如果一条路，你走到头了，你到家了，接下来你会做些什么呢？——在自己的家里，放松，自在，想干什么就干什么，只要不忧扰到别人。
六祖大师说，菩提自性，本来清净，但用此心，直了成佛。我说，直了成佛，但用此心；菩提自性，本来清净。我的意思是说，如果你到家了，你见证了心之本体，就随便使用这颗心吧，这颗心自体清净，任你怎么染着它，也不能真正污染它。就像荷花仙子洗澡一样，任有多少水流经它的身体，也不能湿了它。
心性无染，心为什么不能去看多余的文字呢？了知心之本性而去用心，恰能更加彰显和夯实对心之本性的觉知。像鸟鸣山更幽，人闲桂花落的道理一样。
直了成佛，但用此心。当你见自本心，悟自本性，我是鼓励你有意识的应用这颗心的——直了成佛，但用此心。
当你翻过五蕴山，涉过八识河，我给你的嘱咐是：“直了成佛，但用此心”，“直了成佛，但用此心”，“直了成佛，但用此心”……”
English Translation (Paragraph 11):
(This blog entry was written via mobile phone [mobile access
sina.cn])
One Mind (2022-06-27 20:57:43)
Because you have eyes,
You see forms.
If you had no eyes,
Where would forms be?
~
Because you have ears,
You hear sounds.
If you had no hearing,
Where would sound be?
~
Because you have six faculties,
You thus have six consciousnesses.
Because you have six consciousnesses,
You thus have six sense objects.
~
What we call the world,
Is nothing but the six sense objects.
Apart from the sense objects,
Where is any world to be found?
~
What we call the world,
Is nothing but the six consciousnesses.
Apart from consciousness,
Where could there be a world?
~
All dharmas are only mind.
Whatever is not only mind,
Is fundamentally so by nature.
All that is so by nature,
To whom shall it be entrusted in sincerity?
~
If you see the fundamental nature,
Then you know the Tathāgata.
If you see the fundamental nature,
Then that is called the Tathāgata.
~
The form realm and the formless realm,
Are realms of one mind.
If there were not this one mind,
Where would all seeing occur?
~
All that is seen,
Is fundamentally the Tathāgata Store.
Whatever is not the Tathāgata Store,
Where would it be?
~
The Tathāgata Store and ālaya consciousness,
Are two names for one essence.
If one understands the Tathāgata Store,
Then one does not acknowledge ālaya.
~
When the mind abides in the Tathāgata Store,
The mind perishes in all existence as ālaya.
It is like the sky and the great sea:
The clear, open sky is the Tathāgata Store,
And beneath the ocean is ālaya.
~
The subconscious is ālaya,
Transcending consciousness is the Tathāgata Store.
You know consciousness and the subconscious,
But do you know the transcending consciousness?
~
If one understands the one mind,
Then the great matter is finished.
Whoever can know the one mind,
That person is a great being.
~
A great being is a buddha.
A buddha is simply one who knows the one mind.
May you know the one mind,
And bring delusion to an end, becoming equal in name to the
Buddha.
Original Text (Paragraph 11):
“此博文通过手机撰写(手机访问sina.cn) 一心 (2022-06-27 20:57:43)
因为有眼，
所以你看见有色。
若你无眼，
色在何处？
～
因为有耳，
所以你听见有声。
若你无闻，
声在何所？
～
因为有六根，
所以有六识。
因为有六识，
所以有六尘。
～
所谓世界，
不过六尘。
离尘之外，
世界何所？
～
所谓世界，
不过六识。
离识之外，
何所世界？
～
诸法唯心。
不唯心者，
即是本来。
诸之本来，
谁诚以待？
～
若见本来，
即知如来。
若见本来，
即谓如来。
～
色界无色界，
一心之境界。
若无此一心，
诸见在何处？
～
一切所见，
本如来藏。
非如来藏者，
彼在何处？
～
如来藏和阿赖耶，
一体之别名。
若明如来藏，
不明阿赖耶。
～
心在诸上如来藏，
心没诸有阿赖耶。
如天空与大海，
晴空虚明如来藏，
大海之下阿赖耶。
～
潜意识即阿赖耶，
超意识即如来藏。
君知意识、潜意识，
知超意识乎？
～
若了一心，
诸大事毕。
能知一心，
即是大士。
～
大士者，佛。
佛者，知一心者而已。
愿君知一心，
绝惑齐名佛。”
English Translation (Paragraph 12):
(This blog entry was written via mobile phone [mobile access
sina.cn])
Three Frogs (2022-06-26 03:30:57)
There were three frogs in a well.
One frog heard that far away there was a great sea, vast in
its swells, stretching endlessly like a blue expanse, richly endowed with
resources beyond imagination. It very much longed to go there.
It shared its dream with the other two frogs.
One of them could not have cared less, being content with
its present situation, not envying either poetry or distant places.
The third frog was filled with fear of the unknown. Although
dissatisfied with its present reality, it had not thought to leap out of the
well and wander elsewhere.
One day, a great rain was coming, and the water level in the
well rose to just beneath the mouth of the well.
All three frogs suddenly leapt out of the well.
The first frog felt it was a great opportunity and decided
to seize it, heading off toward the great sea.
So it urged the other two frogs to embark on this new world
together with it.
The second frog could still not have cared less—fine with
going, fine with not going—but under the persuasion of the first frog, it got
ready to leave.
The third frog, although it feared the unknown, was
influenced and encouraged by the first frog’s coaxing and the second frog’s
pulling and tugging, and so it went along.
The three frogs arrived at the sea and ventured into a new
world.
The first frog was clever and diligent, knew the ways of the
world, and had quite high emotional intelligence. In just a few years, it
became successful.
The second frog was neither clever nor very worldly, but it
was honest, earnest, and hardworking, so its life was also decent.
As for the third frog, it followed the thinking of the first
frog and acted in the style of the second frog, and its life also turned out
fine.
A few years later, the three frogs got together.
One of them felt homesick, remembering the world at the
bottom of the well where they once lived, and proposed that they see if anyone
was interested in going back.
The first frog, by that time a frog of material wealth, was
indifferent to whether it returned or not. Having roamed the world for so many
years, it had gained a deep understanding of life: it felt that there was no
real difference between the bottom of the well and the great sea; the bottom of
the well was just a smaller sea, while the great sea was just a bigger bottom
of the well. It mattered little whether it went back or not. Wherever you look
up, it’s always the same sky. Thus, in the end, it remained by the sea.
Over these years of traveling and personal development, the
second frog, while not materially wealthy, had become extremely rich in spirit.
It roamed the sea, experiencing everything, and it agreed with the first frog’s
understanding, but it still decided to return to the bottom of the well. It sat
calmly at the bottom of the well like a venerable Buddha, quietly cultivating
its spirit; the once-vast waves of the Eastern Sea were now just a dreamlike
scene in the depths of its heart.
The third frog, although not wealthy in the sea, felt that
the well-bottom life in the past was too poor, too backward, and too
narrow—simply no way to live there again. It looked down on the frogs in the
well where they had once lived, and it adamantly chose to remain at the sea.
My dear one, if you were a frog exploring a faraway world,
which frog would you be? Which one would you choose to be?
Original Text (Paragraph 12):
“此博文通过手机撰写(手机访问sina.cn) 三只蛙 (2022-06-26 03:30:57)
某井有三只蛙。
一只蛙听说远方有一大海，波澜壮阔，一碧万顷，物产丰富，远超想象，十分渴望到那里去。
它把它的梦想说于另两只蛙。
其中一只蛙觉得无所谓，它满足于现状，并不羡慕诗和远方。
第三只蛙对未知充满恐惧，虽不满意于现实，但也未想跃出井口，游历他方。
一日天将大雨，井水上浮，离井口咫尺。
三只蛙，一跃冲到井外。
第一只蛙觉得这是个好机会，决定抓住，前往大海。
于是它鼓动另两只蛙与它一起闯荡新世界。
第二只蛙觉得无所谓，去也行，不去也行，但在第一只蛙的诱导下还是要准备去了。
第三只蛙虽然对未知充满恐惧，但在第一只蛙的引诱、怂恿，以及第二只蛙的拉拉扯扯中，还是去了。
三只蛙来到大海，闯荡新世界。
第一只蛙聪明殷勤，懂得人情世故，情商较高，不几年就发达了。
第二只蛙虽不聪明，也不太会人情世故，但为人诚恳，踏实肯干，生活也说的过去。
第三只蛙，思想跟第一只蛙走，行为随第二只蛙行，生活也不赖。
数年后三只蛙聚在一起。
其中一只蛙生起思乡情，想起它们曾经生活的井底世界，倡议大家看看有没有回去的想法。
第一只蛙已是蛙中物质富人，对回不回去无所谓。由经这么多年游历和闯荡世界，它的人生体悟是，它觉得井底和大海没有本质的区别，井底也是一个大海，大海只不过是一个更大的井底，回去不回去无所谓，不管在哪里向上看，观的都是一样的天。因此它最后留在了大海。
由经这么多年的游历和成长，第二只蛙虽未成物质上的富人，但绝对已是精神上的富豪。它游遍大海，经历所有，它认同第一只蛙的认识见地，但还是决定回到井底。安坐井底如尊佛，细燃精神慢慢过；曾经东海万倾波，只是心底一梦色。
第三只蛙在大海里虽不是多富有者，但觉得过去曾经生活的井底太贫穷，太落后，也太狭隘了，简直没法再回到那样的世界生活。它瞧不起从前井底世界里的那些蛙。它坚决留在大海。
亲爱的，假如你是闯荡他方世界的蛙，你是哪只蛙呢？你想选择做哪一只？”
[Continued in next message]
[Continued from previous message]
English Translation (Paragraph 13)
(This blog entry was written via mobile phone [mobile access
sina.cn])
Please Respond to Your Life: “Xi Shi in the Eyes of a Lover”
(2022-06-20 18:32:08)
“Q: Observing myself, I see many areas in which I
fall short—for example, in my work and in finances, my practice doesn’t seem
very good, and things aren’t ideal. I do hope you can give me some pointers.”
You currently have a way of life in front of you, and you
have a way of life that you imagine. The actual life you have isn’t keeping
pace with the one in your imagination, so your mind abandons the life that’s
right before your eyes and turns toward the imagined life. As a result, your
worries arise, your dissatisfaction arises, and the seeds of all your suffering
begin…
Have you noticed how this thought arose? I’m only asking you
to notice it. Sometimes simply noticing how a thought arises is enough to free
us from its powerful push.
In our lives, we have expectations, and expectations often
involve the mind disregarding what is in front of it, or not fully seeing it,
and instead following what is imagined. To me, expectations are a kind of
lostness: they make us like sleepwalkers, completely ignoring present
circumstances while chasing scenes in a dream. Expectation is a person living
in a dualistic state. If your mind abides in the state of “one,” there is
neither good nor bad, yes or no, should or should not, and we can thus avoid much
suffering.
I’m not telling you that you cannot have expectations; I’m
simply trying to help you see how expectations arise or happen. Consciously
recognized expectations become something entirely different.
Work or money are conditions that function according to
dependent arising in secular life. If you want to bring about changes in your
worldly life, your job, or your finances, you must skillfully work with
conditions, discovering all the various causes and circumstances, and then
letting them “come together.” That’s how things get done. The process of
discovering those causes and conditions and letting them “come together,” as
well as the motivation that drives it, ultimately comes from your mental faculties
and your mind’s power—and all of that depends on the karmic momentum you have
created in the past and the purity and awareness of your mind right now.
All these outward manifestations have their roots in our
mind. Everything is the sprouting, flowering, and fruiting of our mind.
Understanding the mind, knowing the mind, purifying the mind, and following the
mind—these are our latent tasks and our ultimate pursuit. Enter the depths of
your mind, understand its state, truly see what it really wants, recognize its
karmic forces, and be aware of both its fundamental essence and its contents.
Our mind is often in a dream, one imaginary realm after
another. When we haven’t awakened, we often want what we lack. Once we awaken,
we want only what we already have—what we already have is what we want, whether
it be poverty, illness, or any other situation.
A sage is content with his present condition, no matter what
it may be. Whether poor or wealthy, begging on the streets or enjoying a hearty
meal at home, laboring busily or hurrying along the road… everything is just as
it is. The sage gazes silently upon reality with an affectionate look, like
lovers gazing at each other, and within that there is joy, happiness, and a
longing to embrace.
For many people, reality is like their wife: they are either
dissatisfied with her or indifferent to her. But for one who truly awakens to
his own life, reality becomes his lover: they stand face-to-face, gazing at
each other with affection, then passionately embrace—regardless of whether that
reality, that woman, is beautiful or ugly, good or bad; everything becomes
beautiful, because in a lover’s eyes, his beloved is Xi Shi.
(Translator’s note: Xi Shi [西施] is a legendary beauty in
ancient China.)
Can you regard your life as though “in the eyes of a lover,
the beloved is Xi Shi”? That kind of life—even if it’s a dream—is a sweet
dream. If our lives inevitably must be dreams, may we, through our awareness of
karmic forces and our fundamental nature, have a beautiful dream—a world within
the Buddha’s mind. An excellent mentor’s goal in life is not to bring about
change, but to bring about recognition. I wish you well.
One Thought Wanderer places palms together in respect.
Original Text (Paragraph 13)
“此博文通过手机撰写(手机访问sina.cn) 请对你的生活：情人眼里出西施 (2022-06-20 18:32:08)
Q：观察我自己，很多方面都做不到，比如在工作、金钱方面我感觉自己修的不好，都不理想，还望您有所指点。
你眼前有一种生活，你想象中有一种生活，你眼前的生活跟不上你想象中的，你的心舍眼前的生活，从想象中的生活，于是产生了你的苦恼，产生了你的不满意，产生了你种种受苦开始的因子……
你注意到你的这个想法是如何产生的了吗？我只是让你注意到。有时我们仅仅注意到一个想法是如何产生的，就能免于那个想法的强大推动作用。
我们生活中有期望，而期望常常是头脑不看或未看见眼前的，而毫无思考的跟从想象中的。对我而言，期望是一种迷失，它使我们像一种梦游状态，完全无视眼前事物，而追随梦中境界。期望是一个人活在二元状态的表现，假如你的心在“一”的状态，就没有好或不好、是或不是、应该或不应该等这样的状况，这样我们就能免于许多受苦。
我不是说你不能有期望，我只是想让你了解期望产生或发生的过程。有意识的期望，期望将完全变得的不同。
工作或金钱是一个因缘法，世俗生活是一个因缘法，如果你想在你的世俗生活，工作或金钱上有所改变，就得玩转因缘法，多发现那些因，多发现那些缘，然后让他们“集”，事情就能达成，这些因和缘的发现，以及让它们“集”的过程和动力，背后是你的心智和心力——而这个取决于你过去造就的业，及你现在对心的清净和觉察。
这些外在的事的表象，根子在我们的心，一切是我们心的生根发芽，开花结果。认识心，了解心，净化心，跟随心，是我们潜在的和最终要做的事。潜入你的心，了解它的状态，了解它真正要的是什么，看见它的业，对它本体以及内容进行觉察。
我们的心常常在梦中，在一个个虚构的境界中。在我们没有醒过来之前，我们想要的常常是我们没有的；当我们醒过来，我们想要的就是我们已有的——我们已有的就是我们想要的，不管那是清贫、疾病或任何状况。
圣人满足于他现有的状况，不管那是什么。贫穷或富有，在街上乞讨或在家中享受一顿美餐，努力工作或在匆匆的路途中……所有的一切正是它本来的样子，他与现实默默相望，含情脉脉，就像情人和情人的对望，那里面是喜悦、快乐和相拥的渴望。
对许多人而言，现实是他的太太，他对她要么不满意，要么就熟视无睹。而对于一个从自己的生活中清醒过来的人而言，现实变成了他的情人，他与它对面而立，含情相望，然后火热的拥抱在了一起——不管那现实，那女人，是美是丑，是好是坏，一切都变得美好，因为情人眼里出西施。
你能对你的生活情人眼里出西施吗？那样的生活，即使是梦，也是一场美梦。如果我们的生命不得不做梦的话，希望由经你对自心业力和自性的了解，做一场美梦。佛陀脑袋里的图像，佛陀脑袋里的场景。善知识生命的目标不在于改变，在于认知。祝福你。
一念行者合十。”
[Continued in next message]
[Continued from previous message]
English Translation (Paragraph 14)
(This blog entry was written via mobile phone [mobile access
sina.cn])
The Śūraṅgama
Sūtra: The Sunflower Manual of the Pure Land School (2022-06-20 17:08:18)
“Q: If a person has only one week of life remaining,
what would you advise them to do? You’ve never recommended the Pure Land
approach—is that because you have discovered that most people who practice
recitation or mindfulness of the Buddha to seek rebirth in the Pure Land are
still unable to maintain mastery during the intermediate state, inevitably
falling back into the cycle of saṃsāra?”
No matter whether a person has only seven days left or
seventy years left, they should find, enter, and abide in their own pure
self-nature—and personally experience the wondrous virtue of their pure nirvāṇa.
In my understanding, the pure self-nature and the wondrous
virtue of nirvāṇa are the
true Pure Land; to recall, to think of, and to care about it is precisely to
recite or be mindful of the Buddha and seek rebirth in the Pure Land. When you
dwell in such a Pure Land, you are no longer in the cycle of rebirth. To employ
this kind of mental orientation is the true recitation of the Buddha’s name,
the true rebirth in the true Pure Land.
To me, “being reborn in the Pure Land” means: “Go—go to your
pure self-nature; go—appear in your wondrous nirvāṇa virtue; go—abide in your state of great Śūraṅgama Samādhi; go—be together
with your wondrous, serene, all-encompassing immovable buddha.”
It’s not that I don’t recommend the Pure Land approach. I’ve
been discussing it all along, pointing it out, trying to guide people to see
it, pay attention to it, and enter it. The Pure Land I speak of is a state of
life that is free from storylines; perhaps the Pure Land you imagine is some
kind of narrative-based Pure Land. No—Pure Land is not a story. This
self-natured, pure state free from stories is what I call the Pure Land.
Abiding in that state of purity means freedom from the
sufferings of cyclical existence. It’s not that I don’t recommend the Pure Land
approach; I advocate that you remain there at all times. In one’s own Pure Land
state, even the intermediate body is just a body of stories; a body of stories
is the intermediate body. For me, the intermediate body is simply the “self” in
dreams, the “body” or “identity” held onto in dreams. Anyone who has not
awakened from the dream is in the intermediate-body stage. Whosoever has a mind
entangled in mental discrimination, unconscious of the pure self-nature,
wanders in the intermediate state. Intermediate state means “a dream.” Saṃsāra means the performing of
one story after another, one dream after another.
O good spiritual friends, read the Śūraṅgama Sūtra. It is the Buddha’s
finger pointing to the Pure Land, guiding you to the true Pure Land. In my
view, the Śūraṅgama Sūtra
is the treasure manual of the Pure Land School because what it speaks of and
directs you toward is the genuinely Pure Land realm—the innermost reality of
your being, your self-natured domain, your inner buddha-land to which you must
return.
Worldly life comes to an end, the saintly life begins: you
go from here to there—this is what I call being reborn in the Pure Land. Put
differently, recognize that the you that was made up is now seen to be
fictional, and so the real you is born. You go to a state of wakefulness, move
to the Pure Land within—into the wondrous virtue of your pure nirvāṇa. All of this can be
discovered and experienced in the present moment—it’s not some illusory
post-mortem realm.
O good spiritual friends, come to understand these Buddhist
teachings on Pure Land, the intermediate state, and saṃsāra; understand their true meaning, and enter a
different mode of being. If you have no awakened teacher to guide you in
reality, rely on the Śūraṅgama
Sūtra’s words as your teacher, and discover the true Pure Land. If you desire
to study the Pure Land approach, come to understand: the Śūraṅgama Sūtra is the “Sunflower
Manual” of the Pure Land School.
Original Text (Paragraph 14)
“楞严经：净土宗的葵花宝典
(2022-06-20 17:08:18)
Q：如果一个人只剩下一个星期的寿命，您会建议ta做什么呢。您从不推荐净土法门，是因为发现念佛求生净土的人，绝大部分人中阴时无法做主照样堕入轮回吗？
不管一个人只剩下七天的寿命，还是七十年的寿命，TA都应该找到、进入和处在自己的清净自性之中——受用自己的清净涅槃妙德。
对我而言，清净自性，涅槃妙德就是真净土，对它的忆念、想起和关怀，就是念佛求净土。处在这样的净土里，就不在轮回里。这样的用心作意，是真念佛，往生真净土。
往生净土的概念，对我的意思是：去，到你的清净自性去；去，出现在你的涅槃妙德之中；去，住在你的楞严大定里；去，和你的妙湛总持不动尊在一起……
我并非不推荐净土法门，我一直在说它，在指它，在试图引导人们看见它，关注它，进入它。我说的净土是一个生命无故事的状态，也许你认为的净土是某种故事性的净土。不，净土不是某种故事性的，没有故事的自性清净状态就是我说的净土。
在这样的清净状态之中，免受轮回之苦。我非不推荐净土法门，我倡导你最好一直处在那里。在自我的净土状态，中阴身都是故事之身，故事之身就是中阴身。对我来说，中阴身就是梦中之我，梦中之身。凡在梦中认为有我有身的，都是处在中阴身阶段。陷入识心分别，不觉清净自性的人，他的心皆在中阴里游荡。中阴者，梦也。轮回者，一个故事接着一个故事的上演，一段梦境接着一段梦境的梦见。
善知识：梦中，就是中阴；梦中所认为的我，所持的身体或身份，就是中阴身。只要一个人还没从梦中醒来，他就是中阴身阶段。陷入识心分别，不觉清净自性的人，他的心皆在中阴里游荡。中阴者，梦也。轮回者，一个故事接着一个故事的上演，一段梦境接着一段梦境的梦见。
善知识，读读楞严经，它是指向净土的佛指，它所导归你的是真净土。对我而言，楞严经是净土宗的宝典，因为它所说的、所导向的，是真正的净土境界——一个人的本然，一个人的自性状态，你里面的圣地，等待你回归的佛土。
俗命终，圣命起，往于此，生于彼，是我所谓的往生净土。换种说法是：认识到虚构的你，真正的你便诞生了，到清醒的状态中去，迁居到你内里的净土——你的清净涅槃妙德之中。这些都是当下可发现，可体验的，非某种死后的妄想状态。
善知识，来了解净土、中阴、轮回等这样的佛教说法，了解它们的真正所指，进入一个不一样的生命状态。如果现实里你没有明师指导，依楞严经为导师语，识归真正的净土。如果你想学习净土宗，来了解，楞严经是净土宗的葵花宝典。”
Footnotes/Annotations (if any)
(None)
[Continued in next message]
[Continued from previous message]
English Translation (Paragraph 15)
(Composed via mobile phone [mobile access sina.cn])
Natural Knowing, Requiring No Deliberate Effort (2022-06-15
19:27:37)
“Q: This practice of using the mind of awareness to
sense external objects—for instance, seeing a cup and then feeling “I am that
cup,” seeing a tree and feeling “I am that tree,” attempting to experience the
sensations of the perceived object—seems like a personal mental fabrication in
the sphere of personal consciousness, doesn’t it? Another form of illusion or
delusional thought, right? Or am I misunderstanding? How should we actually
implement this practice? Is there any mistaken path we should be aware of?”
This is a certain way of training the mind to speak from the
perspective of the Earth, or of a rock, a tree, or all kinds of things—one is,
in effect, taking the standpoint of myriad things in the world. Its purpose is
to shatter the mind’s rigid cognition, remove the limitations caused by
self-view [身見] and by
seeing oneself (and humans) as the center of all things, and broaden the scope
of our surface mind’s cognitive realm, thereby developing its infinite wisdom.
Before one has purified one’s own mind and come to know the
fundamental nature [本性] of
one’s mind, it may seem like an “effortful” process, a “fabrication,” a
piling-up of mental constructs. But after you have realized your primordial
gnosis [本覺], after
you have cleared your mind to emptiness, it becomes a completely natural
“allowing all things to enter and think” approach. It’s not an effortful
“trying to think” or a deliberate storyline “attached” to some object. Quite
the opposite: you want to empty your mind, remove your own stories, and with
this story-free mind embrace that object, so that a new story about it may
enter…
It is a way to let your conscious mind rest, allowing your
subconscious to run. It is also a way for the mind to “go back.” Over the
course of evolution, the mind has passed through inorganic matter, organic
matter, microbes, plants, animals… All these stages are imprinted in the genes
of the last species. That imprint becomes your family subconscious, your
species subconscious, the collective human subconscious, the universal
subconscious of all beings, the universe’s subconscious. Once you have awakened
your primordial gnosis [本覺]
and emptied yourself of the “human mind,” this sort of practice—though still
involving conceptual thought—merely represents the universal mind traveling
back, rediscovering and looking again at its infinite capacity, its vast
boundlessness, its profundity and abundance, its hidden richness… its unempty
Tathāgata Store.
The real beginning of such a practice—of truly “adopting the
perspective of another”—happens only after your mind has become “emptied” so
that you have directly realized your fundamental essence of mind. Only then can
it proceed naturally and effortlessly. Before that, yes, it remains a kind of
fabrication in your individual consciousness, a delusional notion. If you wish
to understand telepathy, once your mind has emptied, once you hold a mind of
emptiness and clarity, it spontaneously manifests. There is no sense of
“effort” or “fabrication,” and it is far from illusory. All of it is wondrous
functioning.
O good spiritual friends, if you do not yet know how to do
this, do not force yourself to “do it.” Instead, work on purifying your mind,
on discovering your fundamental nature, on coming to know your mind. When the
time is ripe, you will naturally know, and there is no need for deliberate
striving.
Namo Amitābha Buddha,
One Thought Wanderer, palms joined in respect.
Original Text (Paragraph 15)
“自然了知，不须刻意
(2022-06-15 19:27:37)
Q：用觉知心去感知外物的修法，比如看到杯子我就那个杯子，看到树感觉我就是树，去体会被感知物的感受。我认为这也是在个人意识层面里面的造作呀，也是属于个人的妄念吧？还是我理解的不对，这个修法应怎么去实践，有没有什么歧途需要注意的？
这是一种心练习以地球的身份，以岩石的身份，以树木的身份……以万事万物的身份说话的方式。它的目的是，打破心的僵化认知，去除以“我”、以“人类”为中心的我执带来的认知局限，拓展表面心的认知领域，开发它的无限智慧。
在你没净空自己的心之前，没有了解本心之时，它似乎是一种“努力”，一种“造作”，一种意识层面的妄念缔造与叠加；但在你了知了自己本觉，净空了自己本心之时，它是一种“自然而然”，一种自然而然的“允许万物进来并思想”的有趣方式。它不是一种努力的“想”，不是努力的创造一种故事“附加”于某个事物，恰相反，它要清空你的心，要去除你的故事，以没有故事的心包含那事物，然后让那事物带着它新的故事进来……
它是一种让你的意识休息，让你的潜意识运作的方式。它是一种让心“往回走的方式”，物种演化经历了无机物、有机物、微生物、植物、动物……种种阶段的记忆都烙入了最后端物种的基因里，那变成了你的家族潜意识、种族潜意识、人类集体潜意识、万物潜意识、宇宙潜意识。当你了知了自己的本觉，净空了自己的“人类心”，有念头的作这种练习，只不过是宇宙之心往回走，来了解和再看一眼它的无限性，它的广大无边，它的深不可测，它的富有，它的深藏……它那不空如来藏！
这种练习的真正开始，是在你的心化为“净空”之后，也就是见性明心之时，才可以真正自然而然的、毫不费力的进行的。在此之前，那的确像一种个人意识层面的造作，一种个人妄念。如果你想了解他心通，当你的心清空之后，当你持有一颗空净的心时，它自然而然的就会了，就知晓了。丝毫没“努力”或“造作”的意思，更非妄念，皆是妙用。
善知识，这个方法或练习，在你不会的时候不要努力的“去会”，在净化你的心，在发现本性，在认识本心的道路上用功夫，时候到了，自然了知，不须刻意。
南无阿弥陀佛，一念行者合十。”
Brief Explanation of Key Concepts
1. 本覺
(běn jué) / Primordial Gnosis: Refers to the innate, ever-present awareness
that is not fabricated by thought or conceptual mind.
2. 他心通
(tā xīn tōng) / Telepathy: In this context, it indicates the natural
ability to directly “know another’s mind” once conceptual barriers drop and one
perceives from a space of emptiness.
3. 如来藏
(rúlái zàng) / Tathāgata Store: A Mahāyāna Buddhist term referring to the
fundamental nature of awareness or “buddha-nature” present in every being; the
inexhaustible source of wisdom and compassion.
Bibliographic Reference / Acknowledgments
• Author: Yinianxingzhe (一念行者)
• Title/Collection: “Stories on the Path of Practice” (“《修行路上的故事》”)
[Continued in next message]
[Continued from previous message]
English Translation (Paragraph 16)
(Composed via mobile phone [mobile access sina.cn])
Untitled (2022-06-15 01:04:43)
All sentient beings chase after appearances,
All buddhas call us to integrate with awareness/awakening.
If the mind does not chase appearances,
Then turning one’s back on appearances, one faces awareness/awakening.
This principle is called learning from the Buddha,
Also known as doing the Buddha’s work.
If the practitioner can do this,
Then one directly understands Miparā.*
Original Text (Paragraph 16)
“无题
(2022-06-15 01:04:43)
众生名逐尘，诸佛谓合觉。
若心不逐尘，背尘而向觉。
斯义为学佛，亦名做佛事。
行者若如是，即会蜜波罗。”
Footnotes/Annotations (if any):
• Translator’s Note: The term “蜜波罗” (mì bō luó) here is somewhat
obscure. It could be a phonetic rendering of a Sanskrit term, potentially
“pāramitā” or part of another phrase. Because it is not a common
transliteration, it is left as “Miparā” with an asterisk.
English Translation (Paragraph 17)
(Composed via mobile phone [mobile access sina.cn])
“Twelve Characters” (2022-06-15 01:03:41)
What is enlightenment? Realize only your own mind.
What is practice? Separate from all defilement.
What is buddhahood? Abide in non-discrimination.
In everyday life, if you can tangibly experience that all
your seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing—whenever you open your eyes, meet
conditions, tilt your ears to listen, touch, smell, and taste, or give rise to
a mind that sees forms—are all simply the activities of your own consciousness,
emanations of your own consciousness, formed by your own consciousness, without
exception, and if you can constantly experience and remain aware of this at all
times, then, in my view, that is enlightenment.
What is practice? It is knowing that all your seeing,
hearing, awareness, and knowing are activities and accomplishments of your own
consciousness. Your own mind ceases to disturb itself, ceases to rescue itself,
ceases to correct itself; you leave behind all that messy, tangled confusion,
or remain within that confusion yet keep a state of pure non-doing. This
journey or process is practice.
So then what does it mean to achieve buddhahood? You
recognize that all your seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing are your own
consciousness, formed by your own mental discrimination. You know that such
discrimination, that formation, is unreal, like a dream, like an illusion. Once
truly seen through, you become tranquil and clear, abiding in a mind that
transcends all discrimination, that cannot discriminate, that has no
discrimination at all. That is, in my view, buddhahood. With one’s fundamental mind
encountering illusory realms and freed from the past mind’s defilements, that
is the appearance of buddhahood.
But if there is vexation in the present thought—letting the
mind cling to vexation—then one is lost and becomes ensnared in
discriminations, no longer abiding in the buddha-position. If you had vexation
in the previous moment, but in the next moment you recognize and relinquish it,
dwelling in clear, pure awareness, continually observing all discriminations,
then that is immediate awakening to buddhahood. In a single thought, you leap
across to the other shore, dwell in the Tathāgata’s abode, and ascend to the
buddhas’ seat.
O good spiritual friends, enlightenment, practice, and
attaining buddhahood are not so abstruse or mysterious; all concern the realm
of your own mind. The ocean of mind is itself delusion; perceiving the true
reality of this ocean of mind is awakening. Exiting the ocean of mind is
buddhahood.
To be freed is to cease struggling in the great ocean. To
roam at ease within the ocean’s waves, rising and falling joyously to benefit
others, is to liberate beings. Dwelling on a pure shore, seeing illusory water
that cannot wet one’s clothes, illusory fire that cannot burn one’s body,
illusory waves that cannot surge upon oneself, illusory breakers that cannot
strike one’s boat—this is the buddha sitting on the other shore, the buddha
stepping out of the world; it is a person awakened from the great dream.
O good spiritual friends, enlightenment, practice, and
buddhahood are nothing else. Remember these twelve characters: “Realize only
your own mind. Separate from all defilement. Abide in non-discrimination.” This
is also the experience by which the Rāvaṇa
King in the Laṅkāvatāra
Sūtra attained enlightenment, practiced, and accomplished buddhahood.
Understand these twelve characters, savor these twelve characters, and fulfill
them.
What is enlightenment? Realize only your own mind.
What is practice? Separate from all defilement.
What is buddhahood? Abide in non-discrimination.
Namo Amitābha Buddha,
One Thought Wanderer, palms joined in respect.
Original Text (Paragraph 17)
“十二个字
(2022-06-15 01:03:41)
何谓开悟？证唯自心。
何谓修行？离诸杂染。
何谓成佛？居无分别。
于日常生活中，如果你能现前切实体会到，你的见闻觉知，举目遇缘，侧耳倾听，触嗅品尝，起心见像，皆是自己的意识活动，皆是自己的意识化身，皆是自己意识之所成，无有例外。若能处处有此证，时时知所以，在我来说，这就是开悟了。
什么是修行呢？知道你的一切见闻觉知都是自己的意识活动，意识成就。你自心不再扰动自心，自心不再救度自心，自心不再矫正自心，你离开那一切乱七八糟，或你处在那些乱七八糟之中，而保持清净无为，这个历程或过程就是修行。
那什么算成佛呢？你知道你的一切见闻觉知都是自己的意识，都是自己的意识分别所成，你知道那分别，那成就不真实，如梦，如幻，由经看清，由经寂静，由经澄澈，你处在那个超分别，不分别，无可分别的心境上，在我看来，这就是成佛了。以本来心，对诸幻境，离过去心之杂染，这是成佛的样貌。
但有烦恼，着于烦恼，即是迷失，进于分别，离于佛位。若前念有烦恼，后念知而离，处于清净觉，恒观诸分别，这是立地成佛，一念跨过彼岸，处如来室，登诸佛座。
诸善知识，开悟成佛，不玄奥也不神秘，都是自心境界。心海即迷，见心海之实相即悟，出心海即佛。
不在大海中挣扎即解脱；自在遨游于大海，在波涛欢涌之中以利他为手段为目的为事业即是度有情；处清净岸，见幻水不染衣，幻火不烧体，幻波不涌身，幻浪不打舟，即是佛坐彼岸，佛出世间，即是人从大梦中醒来。
善知识，开悟、修行、成佛无他，记住这十二个字即可，“证唯自心，离诸杂染，居无分别”，这也是楞伽经中楞伽王开悟修行成佛的体会。了解此十二个字，谙味这十二个字，达成这十二个字。
何谓开悟？证唯自心。
何谓修行？离诸杂染。
何谓成佛？居无分别。
南无阿弥陀佛，一念行者合十。”
Brief Explanation / Key Concepts
1. Rāvaṇa
King in the Laṅkāvatāra
Sūtra: Mentioned in the Laṅkāvatāra
Sūtra, sometimes rendered as the “Rāvaṇa
King of Laṅkā,” who
receives teachings from the Buddha.
2. Laṅkāvatāra
Sūtra: A key text in Mahāyāna Buddhism, central to the Chan/Zen tradition,
emphasizing the primacy of mind and the direct realization of
consciousness-only.
3. “Realize only your own mind, separate from all
defilement, abide in non-discrimination”: A concise formula encapsulating
the path of awakening, practice, and accomplishment.
[Continued in next message]
[Continued from previous message]
English Translation (Paragraph 18)
(Composed via mobile phone [mobile access sina.cn])
“By Existing in the Very Act of Illumination” (2022-05-31
15:42:02)
Q: When riding in a car with the windows closed, I
feel like there is no air, and it’s suffocating. Up to now I’ve been afraid to
fly. If the driver promises me that we can open the window halfway through the
trip, then I don’t feel suffocated. But if they don’t agree, I feel there’s no
air in an air-conditioned vehicle and feel suffocated. Could you offer some
explanation or guidance?
Human beings are like dashcams, recording everything they’ve
seen and heard since birth. Some of this is found in your conscious mind, some
is secretly operating in your depths.
When you’re in a car with the windows shut—or if someone
doesn’t let you open them—and you feel suffocated, while if they do let you,
you don’t feel that way… or when you imagine taking a flight—this all has its
sources. Your “dashcam” has recorded certain events. Your conscious mind may
not recall, but your subconscious does, and it’s secretly reacting to something
you don’t know about, though it does. The activities in the subconscious are
like the growth of hair or cell divisions: you don’t notice them, but they’re
happening.
How to solve this? If you go to a psychologist, they might
do psychoanalysis or hypnotic regression therapy. If you go to a Buddha, he
might simply tell you: “You don’t need to do anything—just allow your
subconscious to be. If you’re afraid of flying, then don’t fly. If riding in a
car with closed windows makes you uncomfortable and it can be avoided, avoid
it; if you can’t avoid it, endure it; if you can’t endure it, run away; if you
can’t run, then suffer through it—suffer until it’s gone, for it’s impermanent.
Suffer until it’s forgotten, get used to it. Suffer until it’s better, adapt to
it.”
Your consciousness is not you; your subconscious is also not
you. You are something beyond these. Put differently, your first five
consciousnesses are not you, the sixth consciousness is not you, the seventh
consciousness is not you, nor is the eighth consciousness. And if there is a
consciousness we might call “you,” it is the ninth consciousness—a pure
consciousness, that present awareness, the one that is not discriminating.
Become that consciousness, and from its vantage point observe the previous eight
consciousnesses.
Separate from your first eight consciousnesses, and in the
ninth consciousness see and comprehend them. This is what I call practice.
Practice is practicing, with the ninth consciousness, a non-reactive
observation. To abide unmoved by their movements, unmoved by their dancing—this
is successful practice, akin to a mirror that remains still even when the
images in it dance and shift. Of course, this doesn’t rule out the possibility
that the mirror itself might be moved from here to there by someone else.
You are a divine mirror, a precious mirror; experience that
you are Mirror Divinity, that you are Precious Mirror. Then you will open
another dimension of your life—a more lucid, more vivid dimension of living.
Mirror Divinity, do not leap into the mirror images and identify with them.
Precious Mirror, never forget your own precious reflective nature. You can
reflect all phenomena yet are not what is reflected. Abide in illumination,
existing in and through “illumination” itself.
One Thought Wanderer, palms joined.
Original Text (Paragraph 18)
“以“照见”本身而存在 (2022-05-31 15:42:02)
Q：坐车时若是不开窗户，我就觉得没有空气憋的够呛，至今不敢坐飞机。假如司机答应我半路上能开窗户我就不憋的慌，但若是不答应，我就感觉空调车没有空气憋够呛，能解答点化下么？
人本身就是个行车记录仪，它记录了你从出生到现在的所有路上见闻的一切。只是有的出现在你的显意识，有的在海底秘密运作。
你坐车时不开窗或别人不答应你开窗，你就憋的慌，答应就没事；或你想象坐飞机会怎样。这些都是有渊源的。你的行车记录仪记录过一些事件，你的显意识不记得，你的潜意识记得，它在秘密发生反应着什么，你不知道，但它知道。潜意识里的运作，就像你的甲生发长，细泡更叠一样，你不觉知而已。
如何解决这个问题呢？如果你去心理学家，也许他们会给你精神分析，或催眠回溯治疗。但如果你去找一位佛陀，他也许只告诉你，什么也不用做，尊重你的潜意识而已。怕坐飞机就不坐。坐车不开窗就难受，能避免的就避免，不能避免的就忍受，忍受不了的就逃走，逃走不掉就苦着。苦着苦着就没了，无常而已。苦着苦着就忘了，习惯而已。苦着苦着就好了，适应而已。
你的意识不是你，你的潜意识也不是你，你是这之外的什么。换句话说，你的前五识不是你，第六识不是你，第七识不是你，第八识也不是，如果有一个意识可能说是你，那是第九识——那个纯净的意识，那个现事识，那个不分别识。成为那个识，以第九识观前八识。
和你的前八识分离，以第九识的身份观察和理解它们。能做这些，我称为修行。修行修行，以第九识，作不作为的行。能安住在对自己前八识的不作为里，即是有力的修行。不随其动而动，不随其舞而舞，即是修行的成功。就像镜子不随其里面的镜像而舞而动一般。但不排除镜子本身被人挪到这儿或挪到那儿。
你是一面神镜，一面宝境，体会你是镜神，你是镜宝。体会到这，打开你生命的另一个层面。一种更加清醒，更加鲜活的生命面向。镜神莫跳进镜子里认同镜像，被诸虚境搅昏。镜宝莫忘却自己是宝境，能照一切物而非其所照。来，安住在照见里，以“照见”本身而存在。
一念行者合十。”
Brief Explanation / Key Concepts
1. The Ninth Consciousness: A concept in some Chinese
Buddhist traditions, referring to a level of consciousness beyond the eighth
consciousness (ālaya), sometimes called “amala consciousness” (the pure,
undefiled consciousness).
2. “Abiding in Illumination”: The central idea here
is that the mind, in its pure reflective awareness, simply illuminates
phenomena without being moved by them—like a mirror that reflects images but is
not affected by them.
[Continued in next message]
[Continued from previous message]
English Translation (Paragraph 19)
(Composed via mobile phone [mobile access sina.cn])
“So-called World” (2022-05-30 22:05:02)
“Q: Concerning the eye consciousness, is it correct
to say that the world I see only exists in front of my eyes, and that once it
leaves my line of sight, there is no world? If I close my eyes and only see
darkness, there isn’t another world outside that darkness; rather, the darkness
is my entire world. Is that understanding correct?”
The world is your story. Whatever your story is, so is your
world, and not the other way around. When your eyes are open, you have one
world, which is one story; when your eyes are shut, you have another world,
which is another story. The world is the story, the story is the world. Both
appear in the same mind. Do you understand that mind? That mind transcends
stories, is neither a story nor not a story. Live in that mind.
That mind is a vast city with six gates—what we call the
eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Each gate looks out upon different
scenery. Yet it’s all scenery of the same “city,” a kind of illusion, because
this mind itself is the Great Illusion King. It is called the Great Illusion
King because in its own world, everything is illusory, shifting and unstable
like a flash of lightning or a drop of dew. Everything that “exists” is like
non-existence; everything that “does not exist” is not absolute non-existence
either. Everything within it is like a dream—real in the sense that it appears,
but it’s not truly real. There is no state of “no dream.”
Perhaps you want to ask, “Since the world is the mind, and
the mind is the world, is there a world apart from the mind?” A “world apart
from the mind” lies beyond your scope of inquiry—it is inconceivable,
inexpressible. Furthermore, that so-called “apart from the mind” is still just
another projection of the mind, another sort of conceptual construct. There is
no realm truly apart from the mind, nor is there any mind truly apart from
phenomena. Mind and phenomena are neither two nor one; it can’t be spoken of,
it can’t be conceptualized.
Where discrimination arises, we have a “world of
discrimination.” Where there is non-discrimination, we have a “world of
non-discrimination.” The world of discrimination is the ordinary person’s
world, one of illusion, dreamlike shadows. It’s mind-created and depends on
consciousness. The world of non-discrimination is displayed in wisdom—yet that
too is a manifestation in the mind. Gaining insight into the world of
non-discrimination shows us the illusory nature of the world of discrimination.
But note: That doesn’t mean the non-discriminating world is “ultimate reality,”
for that too remains a manifestation of mind—another illusion, though a subtler
one. One illusion reveals another illusion to be illusory. Just as, to remove a
thorn, you use another thorn. Afterward, both thorns are thorns; neither is
“true”—both are illusions.
Hence “transforming consciousness into wisdom.” Ordinary
consciousness produces illusions. Wisdom also brings illusions—but illusions
that can liberate us from illusions. One illusion can dismantle another. If we
recognize both illusions, we find that the latter, while it frees us from the
former, remains an illusion itself.
O good spiritual friends, the nature of the world is mental
consciousness. “Apart from mind, there is no realm; apart from realm, there is
no mind.” Both mind and phenomena cannot be captured in words. As the Daodejing
says, “The dao that can be spoken of is not the constant dao.”
This “so-called world” is merely a reflection of mind, a
manifestation of karmic conditions. Everything you see in the world—without
exception—arises from your mind, from your karma. Come, through this world, to
see its source—your mind and its karma. The world has no fixed appearance.
Because minds differ, the worlds they perceive differ as well.
The Diamond Sūtra says: “So-called ‘world’ is not
world, and that is why it is called world.” Experience and understand this
statement; actualize this statement; bear witness to this statement.
Namo Amitābha Buddha,
One Thought Wanderer places palms together.
Original Text (Paragraph 19)
“所谓世界
(2022-05-30 22:05:02)
问：对眼识来讲，是不是我所看到的世界只在眼前，离开视线外没有世界。闭上眼睛世界只有黑暗，不是黑暗外还有一个世界，是黑暗就是我的全世界。这样理解正确吗？
世界是你的故事，你的故事是什么，世界就是什么，而不是相反。睁开眼睛，你有一个世界，那是一个故事；闭起眼，你有另一个故事，那是一个世界。世界即故事，故事即世界，它发生在相同的心上，你了解那颗心吗？那颗心超越故事非故事，超越世界非世界，活在那颗心上。
那颗心是一座城，有六道门，所谓眼耳鼻舌身意。从不同的门里窥见不同的风景，然而那都是同一座城里的风景，一种幻景，因为这颗心本身就是大幻王。说它是大幻王，是因为在它的世界，一切都是虚构的，流变且不稳定，如电亦如露。一切有就好像没有，一切没有又不是绝对什么都没有。它的一切像梦，有，但不真，不是无梦。
也许你想问，世界就是心，心就是世界，有没有一个离开心的绝对世界呢？离开心的那个在你的探讨范围之外，不可思，不可议。且“离开心的”那个仍是你心的想象，是另一类想象而已。离心无境，离境无心，心与境，不二不一，不可说，不可说。
有分别而成的世界，有不分别的世界，不分别的世界更接近真实的世界。分别而成的世界，是凡夫的世界，是虚构的世界，是梦幻泡影的世界。分别而成的世界是识所成，不分别的世界为智所显。了解不分别的世界，可以让你认识分别的世界之分别，之虚幻，之虚构，之不真实，之唯识所成。
分别的世界是心意识的世界，不分别的世界是离心意识的所见。后者能让你认识到前者的虚构性，前者是梦幻泡影性，前者的不实性。但并非后者的世界就是真实的世界，那仍是心境的世界，只不过它不是分别识所成，而是不分别智所映。它的显现的意义在于，让你认识的前者是幻，前者是幻，它亦是幻。后者出现的意义能够让你以幻除幻。就像你肉中有刺，取另一根刺拨前一根刺，后一根刺能把前一根刺拨出，但后一根仍是刺。不要把它当针（真），它仍不是针——真。
所谓转识成智，识之下的是幻，智之所见下的亦是幻，不过后幻能让你识出前幻之幻。只是前幻有无穷，后幻（后面的幻）无无穷。无无穷之幻，亦是幻，不过它是最后的幻，或称最初的幻而已。
善知识，世界的本质是心意识，离心意识的世界，不可思，不可议。若你思议，你思议的不是它本身。所谓道可道，非常道。
所谓世界，不过是心的反映，是业的世界。你在这世界看到的一切，无不是你的心，无不是你的业。来，籍由你的世界来认识它的源头——你的心，它的业。世界是无定相的，因为心不同，你所见的世界将不同。
金刚经说，所谓世界，即非世界，是名世界。来，体证这句话，感悟这句话，证实这句话。”
Brief Explanation / Key Concepts
1. “离心无境，离境无心”:
A well-known maxim meaning “apart from mind, there is no realm; apart from
realm, there is no mind.”
2. Distinguishing the “World of Discrimination” and the
“World of Non-Discrimination”: The text emphasizes that both are still
appearances in mind, but understanding the latter can help one see the
illusion-like nature of the former.
3. “Turning Consciousness into Wisdom” (zhuǎn shì chéng zhì, 转识成智)**: A major theme in Yogācāra and
Mahāyāna Buddhism describing the transformation of ordinary, dualistic
consciousnesses into liberating wisdom.
[Continued in next message]
(If there is more text, I will continue the translation
following these instructions.)
Posts
