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Also See:
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture One)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Two)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Three)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Four)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Five)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Six)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Seven)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Eight)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Nine)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Ten)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Eleven)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Twelve)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Thirteen)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Fourteen)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Fifteen)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Sixteen)
- Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Seventeen)
Chinese Original From https://book.bfnn.org/article/0383.htm
English Translation:
Ganges Mahāmudrā
By Elder Yuan Yin
Lecture 10
“This is the great practice of non-practice, the wisdom of equal pervasiveness abiding in itself. Like the yoga of a river, there is no hair's breadth of correction, yet also no moment of distraction.”
The practice method of Ganges Mahāmudrā is the “great practice of non-practice.” True practice has no image of practice. You look at him and it seems he is not practicing; in reality, he is practicing at all times; this is the great practice of non-practice. Because he is contemplating at all times, protecting his own spirit at all times.
Having no image of practice is called “non-practice”; everything is entirely unobtainable, even “emptiness, bliss, and clarity” are unobtainable, which is called “non-attainment”; oneself is originally Buddha, one only needs to extinguish delusive thinking and grasping, without needing to add anything more, as one is originally complete with all wondrous functions, which is called “non-realization.” This is the so-called “non-practice, non-attainment, non-realization.” As for non-practice, it is originally without arising or ceasing; as for non-attainment, it is originally empty and quiescent; as for non-realization, one is originally Buddha. This is the “wisdom of equal pervasiveness abiding in itself”! “Equal” means equality; “pervasiveness” means universality; that is, naturally and spontaneously abiding in the great wisdom that is level, equal, and pervading everything. Equal pervasiveness means that all times, all places, and all people are equal; there is no person higher and me lower, no me higher and person lower, and no my dharma is higher and your dharma is lower. People just like to dispute, each clinging to their own view, thinking that what they say is the truth while slandering others, standing on their own standpoint speaking of right and wrong, good and bad. To give an example: there is a type of automatic umbrella that is very convenient to use, but not durable; it breaks after not much use, and people call it a “short-lived umbrella.” In the eyes of consumers in our country, this kind of umbrella is bad. Because we like things to be durable. But in the eyes of foreigners, this kind of umbrella is very good! Because it is easy to use, the price is cheap, it is excellent quality at low cost, and it is just right to use for a while and then throw away. We are not accustomed to throwing things away, so we say this umbrella is bad; they are accustomed to throwing things away, so they say this umbrella is very good. Actually, an umbrella is just an umbrella; the umbrella itself has no good or bad; saying good or bad is all the delusive mind of people distinguishing; as it is said, “Ten thousand things are originally idle; foolish people disturb themselves.” If the “wisdom of equal pervasiveness abiding in itself” brightly manifests before you, and you do not give rise to a mind of distinguishing and grasping or rejecting, you can hear the “short-lived umbrella expounding the Dharma.”
We spoke earlier of “insentient objects expounding the Dharma”; how do insentient objects expound the Dharma? That you do not hear insentient objects expounding the Dharma is because ignorance has covered your True Mind, and your differentiating mind exists vividly; therefore, your nature of perception can only pervade your body. If I hit your head, the head hurts; if I hit your foot, the foot hurts. If I hit this chair, you have no perception. If you break through ignorance, remove the habit energy of “giving rise to mind in response to objects,” and sweep away the mind of distinguishing and grasping or rejecting, the nature of awareness will be able to pervade all things; the capacity of the mind will be like empty space, with nothing outside your mind; then you will span the ten directions and extend through the three times, knowing everything and understanding everything. The sun, moon, and stars, the boundless universe, the mountains, rivers, and great earth, flowers, birds, insects, and fish, all sentient and insentient beings are within your mind. Like the pearls of Indra's Net, light reflecting light, each reflection completing the other; he is within your mind, and you are also within his mind; within you there is me, and within me there is you. Pick up one, and it is the whole body. Just like a modern “laser holographic photograph”; any small part of it contains the information of the entire photograph. This is “equal pervasiveness.” If one desires to be like this, one must start the practice; how to practice? “Like the yoga of a river, there is no hair's breadth of correction, yet also no moment of distraction.”
Yoga means correspondence. Like the yoga of a river means corresponding just like a river. Look at that river water; if the riverbed curves, it flows curved; if the riverbed is straight, it flows straight. It corresponds with the environment everywhere; it is not that it can only go straight and cannot curve, nor is it that it can only curve and cannot go straight. Our True Mind is originally just like a river, corresponding with all states. Haven't we already said before: “Delusive thoughts and afflictions are all the wisdom appearance of the Dharmakaya's fundamental awakening.” The Dharmakaya is our True Mind, which is the Self-nature.
It has always been neither coming nor going, neither defiled nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing; it has never had a “hair's breadth of correction,” nor a “moment of distraction”; only this is the root of all things. When we work on our practice, starting from the root, we should also be like a river, corresponding with all states, without success or failure, gain or loss, without love or hate, grasping or rejecting. Whatever needs to be done, just do it; when doing it, be orderly and logical; after doing it, it is equal to not having done it, leaving no trace in the mind. Doing things this way, wisdom and skill arise in response to the situation; one is busy but not chaotic, managing many things but not jumbled, and efficiency is very high. If beforehand one has expectations or fears, carrying a mental burden, one will not be adept when doing the task. Furthermore, if afterwards one is complacent due to success, or dejected and angry due to failure— “The wind of joy blows down the Bodhi tree; the fire of anger burns up the forest of merit.” That has long since ceased to be “yoga.”
We must be like a river: if it curves, let it curve; if it is straight, let it be straight; if the wind comes and waves rise, it does not matter. Laughter and scolding are all the wondrous function of the Buddha-nature; losing one's temper once in a while does not matter either. Why? If you are too compliant with him, he will think you are weak and easily bullied, his desires will rise even higher, and he may harm many people at once; how can that be allowed? At this time, one needs a “Bodhisattva's heart and a Rakshasa's face,” getting angry to teach him a lesson, or even beating him, to make him turn back quickly; this is education! Therefore, we who learn Buddhism cannot always be soft and weak; when we see bad things, we should get angry if anger is needed. Is it truly getting angry? Getting angry is the external appearance, a means to educate people; it is not that one has lost control in the mind, nor that a mind of hatred has arisen.
In the past, there was a garden master (one who manages the vegetable garden and grows vegetables for the assembly to eat) under the seat of Zen Master Liangshan Yuanguan; he asked Liangshan: “What about when the house thief is hard to guard against?” The house thief is a metaphor for delusive thoughts; running after delusive thoughts obscures the luminosity of the Self-nature; it is equivalent to the “house thief” of delusive thoughts stealing the Dharma-wealth. When delusive thoughts come, what should be done? Liangshan said: “Recognizing it makes it not an enemy.” If you can see it and recognize that it is a delusive thought, and just not follow it, then it is not an injustice. If you run after it (clinging to it or suppressing it are both running after it), then you have practiced in vain; wouldn't that be an injustice! But the garden master was an enlightened person; he did not just let it go after speaking and listening like this; he wanted to “present it face to face,” hold the strategic pass, and not let the huatou pass by. After several questions and answers, he suddenly asked: “What about when suddenly a lake is overturned and mountains are toppled?” Suddenly a great temper erupts, like a mountain flash flood, washing down the mountains; what then? Zen Master Liangshan walked down from the Dharma seat, grabbed the garden master, and said: “Acharya, do not wet the corner of this old monk's kāsāya!” Not even a corner of the kāsāya can be made wet; this is a metaphor for the mind being unmoved. It means that even though you lose your temper, the mind must be held firm and cannot move a bit!
At this point, there is “no hair's breadth of correction, yet also no moment of distraction.” There is neither samādhi nor disturbance; both samādhi and disturbance are unobtainable; equality is one-suchness, one-suchness is equality. You say: I have entered samādhi here! Then you still have “samādhi” present; if there is “samādhi,” there must be disturbance, because “samādhi” is spoken of in relation to “disturbance”; if there is no disturbance, what samādhi is there to speak of! If speaking of true, there must be false; if speaking of good, there must be evil; if speaking of beautiful, there must be ugly; if there were no “false, evil, and ugly,” would there still be a need to speak of “truth, goodness, and beauty”? Our minds must be truly equal, having neither disturbance nor samādhi, neither correction nor distraction. The practice must reach this degree to be acceptable.
“The Verse says: Never cultivated, never separated, also not separating from the meaning of non-cultivation.”
This verse is divided into three parts: 1. Never cultivated; 2. Never separated; 3. Also not separating from the meaning of non-cultivation. “Never cultivated” is the great practice of non-practice just discussed, no hair's breadth of correction, yet also no moment of distraction. This does not mean not doing the practice; the practice still needs to be done, so it says “never separated”—one has also not departed from doing the practice, but one cannot dwell on doing the practice; doing it is the same as not doing it; this is “also not separating from the meaning of non-cultivation.” Although the practice is done, one does not give rise to a view of doing practice; doing is unobtainable, and separating is also unobtainable. Practice is like taking a boat across a river; when the boat is still in mid-stream, one cannot leave the boat; if one leaves the boat at this time, wouldn't one fall into the current (a metaphor for the stream of birth and death) and drown! When the boat reaches the opposite shore, one must leave the boat; if one does not leave the boat, how can one reach the shore of Nirvana which is without birth and death! When practice truly arrives home, one has neither cultivated nor separated; there is neither this shore nor the other shore; there are neither six realms to fall into, nor a Buddha Way to accomplish; there is neither birth and death to resolve, nor Nirvana to realize. “No birth and death to resolve” is the true resolution of birth and death; “no Nirvana to realize” is then called the true realization of Nirvana. This is not something that counts just by saying it; only by realization can it be known. Just as it is said, “Like a person drinking water, he knows for himself whether it is cold or warm.”
“In this Self-nature Great Perfection Fundamental Path, there are those who achieve like the ‘Swastika’ (understanding the perfect Dharma according to capacity), or suddenly obtain liberation, then it is the wondrous function of the all-Dharmakaya manifested by the Essence of Great Separation of Form and Mind, with no subject capable of practicing nor object to be practiced.”
In the Great Perfection (Dzogchen) Dharma, there are several kinds of practice methods; the most main ones are “Trekchö” and “Tögal.” “Trekchö” means cutting through; it is to cut off delusive thoughts, delusive mind, and delusive habits immediately. “Tögal” means direct crossing; it is to suddenly transcend the sea of suffering of birth and death. The sequence is to first practice “Trekchö,” and afterwards practice “Tögal.” One must first cut through, which means one must first see the Self-nature; seeing the Self-nature is seeing the root. The Ganges Mahāmudrā points out for us at every moment to see the Self-nature; therefore, Mahāmudrā is the forerunner of the Great Perfection, the root of the Great Perfection, and one can even say that Mahāmudrā is the Great Perfection; thus it is called the “Self-nature Great Perfection Fundamental Path.”
There is a “Swastika” (卍) on the Buddha's chest. “卍” is originally not read as “Wan.” Because it signifies the adornment of ten thousand virtues and purity without defilement, everyone reads it as “Wan.” The adornment of ten thousand virtues, purity without defilement, is “understanding the perfect Dharma according to capacity.” The character “卍” turns to the right as written. Some people say that if the “Swastika” on the chest turns right, it is a true Buddha, and if it turns left, it is a false Buddha; discriminating the truth and falsehood of Buddhas in this way. But the Demon King can also manifest the appearance of a Buddha; how will you distinguish then? Others say that if the “Swastika” on the Buddha's chest radiates light and makes people's minds cool and refreshing, it is a true Buddha; if it makes people's minds hot and vexed, it is a false Buddha. These are all making articles on appearances and have not spoken to the root. We say that the signless is the true Buddha; those with signs are all false Buddhas. Because “The Sambhogakāya and Nirmāṇakāya are not the true Buddha, nor are they the ones who expound the Dharma”! The Sambhogakāya manifests the appearance of luminosity; the Nirmāṇakāya manifests the appearance of a physical body. The Diamond Sutra says: “If one sees me by form, or seeks me by sound, this person walks a deviant path and cannot see the Tathāgata.” The Buddha's Nirmāṇakāya has thirty-two characteristics and eighty subsidiary marks, but that is a false body; if you identify with this false body, you cannot see the Tathāgata. The Dharmakāya is the true Buddha, and the Dharmakāya is without characteristics. The Sambhogakāya and Nirmāṇakāya both have signs, so neither is the true Buddha. If speaking from the ultimate, false is true, and true is false; the totally false is true, and the totally true is false. If there were no Dharmakāya, from where would the Sambhogakāya and Nirmāṇakāya manifest? Can the Sambhogakāya and Nirmāṇakāya manifest apart from the Dharmakāya? Just as waves cannot appear apart from water, and reflections cannot appear apart from a mirror, the Sambhogakāya and Nirmāṇakāya also cannot appear apart from the Dharmakāya. Where is the Dharmakāya? The Dharmakāya is the myriad phenomena before your eyes! If the myriad phenomena were apart from the Dharmakāya, they would have no way to manifest; we see the Nature through appearances; Nature is appearance, and appearance is Nature. Distinguishing true and distinguishing false is all the distinguishing of our own delusive minds; the Dharmakāya is without characteristics, yet nothing is not its appearance; the Dharmakāya is originally just so. “There are those who achieve like the ‘Swastika’” means achieving the adornment of ten thousand signs, purity without defilement, which is “understanding the perfect Dharma according to capacity”!
“Or suddenly obtain liberation.” Whether we recite the Buddha's name, investigate Chan, or practice Esoterism, we should be working on the practice at all times and places; we cannot be separated from it for a moment. It is so when walking, so when sitting, so when sleeping, so when eating, and so when doing things; after a long time, the practice matures, and upon touching a condition or meeting a circumstance— “Pa!”—it suddenly breaks off. The delusive habit of clinging to form appearances has been cultivated over many lives and kalpas; it is precisely because of it that there is the cycle of the six realms; it binds you like a rope so that your Buddha-nature cannot manifest. Now that you work hard on practice, it is to grind this rope until it breaks; grinding it thinner and thinner, thinner and thinner, until finally it is as thin as a hair, and “Pa!”—it breaks apart; this is called “suddenly obtaining liberation.” If you do not work hard on the practice, you will not be suddenly liberated. The instant of sudden liberation is not necessarily on the seat. I have told you all again and again, practicing the Mind-Center Dharma (Xin Zhong Xin) does not necessarily mean opening the Original upon the seat; it could be while walking, it could be while sleeping or dreaming, it could be while doing things; suddenly inside one does not see body and mind, outside one does not see the world, and “Pa!”—it opens up. But you must work on the practice densely and closely! If you do it today and stop tomorrow, fishing for three days and drying the nets for two, or work on the practice on the seat but let the wild horses loose off the seat, that will not do. Because you have not ground the rope of delusive thinking and grasping thin, it will not break. We should apply effort at all times, abiding in the “Great Perfection Fundamental Path”; when the practice matures, one will “suddenly obtain liberation.”
“Then it is the wondrous function of the all-Dharmakaya manifested by the Essence of Great Separation of Form and Mind.” Achieving like the “Swastika” or suddenly obtaining liberation is the wondrous function of the Dharmakāya, and this wondrous function is manifested by the Essence of Great Separation of Form and Mind. “Form” refers to the physical body, which is this shell of ours; “Mind” refers to the delusive mind of delusive thinking and grasping. Our minds always dwell on this shell, clinging to it as “me”; this is “body-view,” and body-view ranks first among the five kinds of “view-afflictions.” Affliction means confusion; therefore, this shell is the “shell of ignorance.” The Essence of Great Separation of Form and Mind means no longer clinging to this shell as oneself. Once the “shell of ignorance” is broken, the wondrous function of the Dharmakāya manifests.
Among us who learn Buddhism, there are quite a few who pursue supernatural powers. Seeking supernatural powers is the worst; once there is seeking, one cannot “understand the perfect Dharma according to capacity” and cannot “suddenly obtain liberation.” That is to say, seeking supernatural powers obstructs seeing the Nature. Seeing the Nature is the root; if the root is obtained, do not worry about the branches. You only need to abide in the fundamental Nature, working on the practice at every moment, reducing your delusive mind and delusive habits day by day, diminishing them again and again, diminishing them again and again... Pa! It breaks open, and the wondrous function of supernatural powers naturally manifests; this is not obtained by seeking. Supernatural powers obtained by seeking are useless; anything obtained by seeking is a conditioned dharma and cannot be relied upon. Some people claim to have supernatural powers and can foresee the future; actually, that is “dependent power”; he is relying on an “ear-report god.” What is an ear-report god? It is the “spirit ghost” we spoke of earlier! Because of heavy greed in past lives, it created great evil karma and fell into hell to suffer great suffering. After the suffering retribution was exhausted, it left hell; because the habit of greed remained, it was born again into the path of hungry ghosts, often attaching itself to human bodies to suck human vital essence and blood. If a person's mind is empty and non-abiding, it cannot attach; if a person pursues supernatural powers, he is exactly taken advantage of by it. Ghosts have “ghost powers”; if you are taken advantage of by him, he will tell you in your ear: some person will come tomorrow, some matter will happen, and the next day it is indeed so. If you mistakenly think you have supernatural powers, you have been deceived by it; actually, this has nothing to do with supernatural powers. You cannot listen to it, cannot pay attention to it, cannot rely on it. If you rely on it, you will be entangled by it and cannot accomplish the Way.
We cannot pursue supernatural powers; we must use effort densely and closely at all times and places, paying no attention to any state. Proceeding diligently like this for a long time, one will suddenly open the Original; subject and object will both be forgotten, sense organs and dusts will fall away, and one will be suddenly liberated. Sense organs and dusts falling away is the “Essence of Great Separation of Form and Mind”; subject and object both forgotten means there is no person capable of practice and no Dharma to be practiced. At this time, it is “no subject capable of practicing nor object to be practiced.” The Buddha-nature is originally perfect and complete with everything; its wondrous function is boundless, capable of manifesting the ten thousand existences. We only need to persist in working hard on the practice, and there will always be a day when we can suddenly break open, and the state of “no subject capable of practicing nor object to be practiced” will brightly manifest; at that time, all supernatural powers and wondrous functions will be obtained naturally without seeking. We must have a firm mind, persevere, keep the mind empty and non-abiding at all times, and return everything to the Self-nature in all matters; only then will we achieve perfect accomplishment.
“If not yet firm, one is a lower capacity gradual path ordinary person who gives rise to delusive thoughts and is turned by other forces. One must still abandon bustling, distracted places, and diligently practice to gather complete Dhyāna concentration. Otherwise, even if practicing for a long time, signs of the Way will not arise.”
Not yet firm means not having a firm mind and being unable to persevere. The practice method mentioned earlier—the great practice of non-practice—is spoken for those of higher capacity; their roots are very good, and they can listen to the teaching of Mahāmudrā and work hard on the upward practice; this is being able to obtain firmness. If one is not such a person and cannot persist in working hard, that is not yet firm. A person who is not yet firm is always lazy and procrastinating, always having excuses for not practicing: either recently the body is unwell, catching a cold or coughing, or today there are too many things to do and no time, or the environment is noisy, too bustling... In short, today is not possible, let's talk about it tomorrow. Just like this, “Tomorrow follows tomorrow, how many tomorrows are there?”—when will one be able to accomplish the practice! This kind of person is definitely one who “gives rise to delusive thoughts and is turned by other forces,” running after delusive thinking, moving along with states; then he is a “lower capacity gradual path ordinary person.” His root capacity is lower, suitable for walking the gradual practice path of three great Asankhya kalpas; in this life, he just plants some good roots, and it is not easy to accomplish the Way in this lifetime.
However, a person who is not yet firm is not without even a glimmer of hope for accomplishing the Way in this life. “One must still abandon bustling, distracted places, and diligently practice to gather complete Dhyāna concentration.” Inside not turning with delusive thoughts, outside not moving for states; one needs to have complete power of concentration; this kind of concentration power is called “gathering Dhyāna concentration.” One needs to abandon flourishing and bustling places, because such places will cause his mood to be confused. One needs to find a peaceful, clean place, and diligently practice Dhyāna meditation to obtain the necessary power of concentration. If he persists in using effort like this, there is still hope for successful practice in this life. Otherwise, “even if practicing for a long time, signs of the Way will not arise.” In a noisy market, because of a lack of concentration power, the mind turns with the environment, and if one is unwilling to leave the noisy market to go to a clean place to practice Dhyāna meditation, then, even if one practices a certain Dharma door for a long time, “signs of the Way” will not arise.
The “signs of the Way” spoken of here are the “emptiness, bliss, and clarity” we discussed earlier. Isn't it said that one must discard “emptiness, bliss, and clarity,” and urgently shout the syllable “Phat” to peel off the skin-shell of “emptiness, bliss, and clarity”? Yes. That is wanting you to directly verify the “Principle of the View”; you cannot cling to “emptiness, bliss, and clarity,” and even more so cannot think that obtaining “emptiness, bliss, and clarity” is accomplishing the Way. It does not say that “emptiness, bliss, and clarity” are bad; good is good, but a good thing is not as good as nothing. If one gives rise to a mind of seeking and abiding in “emptiness, bliss, and clarity,” one cannot thoroughly understand the “Self-nature Great Perfection Fundamental Path”; therefore, we do not speak of “emptiness, bliss, and clarity” in detail. But now, since we have mentioned the issue of “signs of the Way,” let us speak a little about the gradual methods:
Sitting in meditation to practice concentration involves these eight stages: coarse dwelling, fine dwelling, desire realm concentration, not-yet-arrived concentration, first Dhyāna, second Dhyāna, third Dhyāna, and fourth Dhyāna. The so-called “signs of the Way” are verifying which stage the practice has reached. For example, reciting the Buddha's name: if one can tie the mind to the Buddha's name without scattering, this is “coarse dwelling,” having only subdued the coarse delusions. Going a step further, the mind is pasted tight and unmoving, becoming one piece with the Buddha's name; outside the mind there is no Buddha, outside the Buddha there is no mind; this is “fine dwelling,” having further subdued the fine delusions. Going a step further, the mind becomes suddenly expansive and bright, and the body feels like a cloud or like a reflection soaring into the sky, feeling as if it has left the seat; this is “desire realm concentration.” The so-called “three realms” are the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm. Hells, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, and also six layers of heavens, all belong to the desire realm; going further up, the first Dhyāna, second Dhyāna, third Dhyāna, and fourth Dhyāna, these four layers of heavens belong to the form realm; going even further up belongs to the heavens of the empty realm (formless realm), divided into “limitless empty space, limitless consciousness, nothingness, and neither thought nor non-thought,” four layers.
Having arrived at “desire realm concentration,” if one continues to practice, if the body and world suddenly transform into emptiness, this is “not-yet-arrived concentration”; one has left the desire realm but has not yet arrived at the form realm, not yet arrived at the first Dhyāna. When the practice goes a step further, inside one does not see body and mind, outside one does not see the world, and one arrives at the first Dhyāna. The first Dhyāna possesses “eight touches and ten virtues.” The “eight touches” are “movement, itchiness, lightness, heaviness, cold, warmth, smoothness, and roughness.” One feels the body is gone, but these eight kinds of sensations are produced. The eight kinds of sensations do not necessarily appear at the same time, but it goes no further than these eight kinds. Movement involves moving until one feels floating and airy, surpassing worldly wild joy; itchiness involves itching until one feels joyful, surpassing worldly desire-pleasure... In short, the eight touches are all very comfortable and happy sensations. Leaving desire and generating joy, so the first Dhyāna is called the “ground of joy and bliss born of separation.” The “ten virtues” are “emptiness, clarity, concentration, wisdom, good mind, softness, joy, bliss, liberation, and correspondence”; “emptiness, bliss, and clarity” are already included within this. Concentration means not disordered, wisdom means not foolish, joy means not worried; there are also good mind, softness, liberation, and correspondence, which are all extremely good states, so they are called “ten virtues.” Only by discarding the sensations of the eight touches and ten virtues of the first Dhyāna can one enter the second Dhyāna. The second Dhyāna is called the “ground of joy and bliss born of concentration”; joy and bliss arise within concentration. Only by discarding the “joy” of the second Dhyāna can one enter the third Dhyāna. The third Dhyāna is called the “ground of wondrous bliss of leaving joy”; it produces subtle happiness that transcends joy. Only by discarding all sensations can one enter the fourth Dhyāna. The fourth Dhyāna is called the “ground of purity of casting off thought.” At this time, there is purity and equality, and all sensations such as “emptiness, bliss, and clarity” are gone.
What we practice is Mahāyāna Chan, the Sudden and Round Chan, not the gradual Chan described above; of course, we do not speak of these layers of kung-fu, but we have also not departed from them. No matter what state we encounter, we pay absolutely no attention to it, and these feelings pass before long. We take seeing the Nature as the principle, and do not care about these things. Not caring does not equal not existing; these processes still exist, it is just that they flash by and are gone. Ganges Mahāmudrā is Mahāyāna Buddhadharma; it regards “emptiness, bliss, and clarity” as a skin-shell, and one must peel off this skin-shell for the appearance of the Self-nature to manifest nakedly. If one is a lower capacity gradual path ordinary person, his mind is unsteady and always runs after states. A person fond of lust sees a young and beautiful girl and his mind runs after her; a person greedy for food sees delicious food before him and his mind becomes agitated and uneasy. He always lets the wild horses loose on and off the seat; let alone directly according with the “Principle of the View,” even “emptiness, bliss, and clarity” will not manifest. Therefore, for this kind of person, “even if practicing for a long time, signs of the Way will not arise.”
“Therefore, closing retreat to practice avoids the pollution of habit nature in conduct and rituals, and only then can the wisdom of the signs of the Way of the self-ground of fundamental concentration (i.e., the wisdom of verifying power of the Way) merge with post-attainment wisdom (or the wisdom obtained after leaving concentration).”
Leaving bustling and distracted places and finding a peaceful, clean place to close retreat and practice can avoid “conduct and rituals” being polluted by habit nature. “Conduct and rituals” are practice conduct and ritual rules. For example, when we practice the Mind-Center Dharma: forgetting to contemplate off the seat and having the mind turned by external objects pollutes the practice conduct; being unable to bring up the mantra on the seat and having the mind flow with delusive thoughts pollutes the ritual rules. The so-called “habit nature” is “habit becomes nature”; habits become natural. The greatest habit nature of ordinary people is giving rise to mind in response to objects and always clinging to signs. For example, a person who loves wealth sees an opportunity to get rich, his heart pounds wildly, and he cannot sleep well at night. Layman Pang said back then: “Much gold disturbs people's minds”; when money is plentiful, the mind is disturbed, so he sank his myriad family wealth into the bottom of the river. He only wanted to understand the Mind and see the Nature, and did not want gold, silver, and treasures that obstruct the practice of the Way. This is a true practitioner of the Way, leading to great accomplishment later. Are there still such people now? Of course, we cannot say there is not a single one, but indeed they are very few.
For a lower capacity gradual path ordinary person, conduct and rituals are easily polluted by habit nature; if he can close retreat and practice, “only then can the wisdom of the signs of the Way of the self-ground of fundamental concentration (i.e., the wisdom of verifying power of the Way) merge with post-attainment wisdom (or the wisdom obtained after leaving concentration).” The wisdom of the signs of the Way of the self-ground of fundamental concentration is Fundamental Wisdom. Fundamental Wisdom merging with Post-attainment Wisdom is the “meeting of Mother and Child Luminosities” spoken of earlier. This means that if a lower capacity gradual path ordinary person can close retreat and practice, he can also achieve accomplishment in this life. This passage adds parentheses after “wisdom of the signs of the Way of the self-ground of fundamental concentration” to annotate it: i.e., wisdom of verifying power of the Way. Verification means verifying; verifying what? A practitioner of the Way naturally verifies the power of the Way; this is the wisdom that verifies the power of the Way. What do you use to verify the power of the Way? Apart from the “numinous knowing that is unborn in a thought and clearly distinct,” what else is there! This is the “Nature” of understanding the Mind and seeing the Nature! This is Fundamental Wisdom. “Post-attainment Wisdom” also has an annotation: or wisdom obtained after leaving concentration. The “leaving” here has the meaning of “transcending”; transcending concentration and non-concentration. This is the wondrous function! Post-attainment Wisdom is the wondrous function.
“Closing retreat practice, although there is protection, relies on the practice of the Fundamental Samadhi Essence.”
Closing retreat requires someone to protect/support it. There are two kinds of retreat protectors: one is external protection, and one is internal protection. External protection is responsible for your daily life; you work on the practice inside the retreat room and cannot go out to buy vegetables, nor do you have time to cook, so someone must support you; this is external protection. Internal protection guides your practice, preventing you from entering demonic obstacles and pointing you to verify and complete the Great Way. Closing retreat practice, although there is someone to support it, mainly “relies on the practice of the Fundamental Samadhi Essence.” The Fundamental Samadhi Essence is the Self-nature. The Self-nature is originally unborn and undying, undefiled and impure, unincreasing and undecreasing; only because of beginningless kalpas of ignorance moving blindly and giving rise to mind in response to objects, one has sunk into the six realms. To untie the bell, the person who tied it is needed; one still must rely on oneself to practice diligently and break through ignorance; one cannot rely on others. If the person protecting the retreat could accomplish the Way on our behalf, then Shakyamuni Buddha and Amitabha Buddha would have long ago saved us all completely; where would there still be so many ordinary beings! Being born into the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is also not that easy; Amitabha Buddha cannot drag you there; he still requires you to recite the Buddha's name diligently and cut off the root of love before you can be born in the West. Great Master Yinguang said that being born in the West requires “The Sahā seal is broken, the Pure Land text is established.” If your root of love is not cut, greedily attached to gold, silver, and treasures, and yearning for wife and children, it is clear that the “Sahā seal” is not broken; then how can you be born in the West?
Therefore, even if closing retreat to practice, one cannot rely on the person protecting the retreat; one still relies on oneself to work hard on the practice, opening up the Fundamental Wisdom inherent in our own bodies, and then merging it with Post-attainment Wisdom, before one can accomplish the Way.
