Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Eight)
Soh

Also See:

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.

Labels: 0 comments | | edit post
Ganges Mahāmudrā By Elder Yuan Yin (Lecture Seven)
Soh

Also See:

From https://book.bfnn.org/article/0383.htm

Ganges Mahamudra (Lecture 7)
By Master Yuan Yin

Last time, we discussed that when doing the work (kungfu), one must "neither seize nor release." One should neither suppress delusive thoughts, preventing them from arising, thereby becoming like soil, wood, metal, or stone; nor should one indulge delusive thoughts, letting them arise blindly, thereby wandering in birth and death. Now, we continue the lecture:

"Separating from delusive thoughts is the nature of one's own mind abiding in the Unconditioned; this is wisdom luminosity."

If we can separate from delusive thoughts—not only during meditation sessions but also separating from delusive thoughts in all moments of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down—this is the nature of one's own mind abiding in the Unconditioned; this is the manifestation of the original face. Not grasping at appearances in any time or place, and the mind not dwelling on a single reflection—this is called the Unconditioned. It does not mean doing nothing; though there are matters to handle, one goes ahead and does them. All day long eating rice, yet never biting a single grain of rice; all day long wearing clothes, yet never hanging a single thread—this is called the mind of non-dwelling. The mind of non-dwelling is our natural fundamental nature. However, when one first sees the fundamental nature, there are no supernormal powers or marvelous functions; this is called the Plain Dharmakāya. It is just like buying a piece of plain cloth that has no pattern or color. The mind that can abide in the Unconditioned is the Plain Dharmakāya; it is wisdom luminosity. Some people say that this Plain Dharmakāya lacks supernormal powers and marvelous functions, and its luminosity is not great. This is because you still have a dwelling place; you are attached to "abiding in the Unconditioned" and are not truly non-dwelling. This is the delusive emotion covering your fundamental nature! After removing delusive emotion, and with thought after thought not grasping at appearances, wisdom luminosity can then manifest. You must not stir the mind or move thoughts to seek it, because it is originally luminous. For example, a precious pearl has light, but if there is a layer of mud on the pearl covering it, the light cannot appear. After the mud is removed, the luminosity naturally radiates forth; is there any need to seek a luminosity again? Therefore, do not have anything to seek; simply eliminate delusive thoughts, and wisdom luminosity will naturally manifest.

"If one practices taking 'conditioned action' as the Way, one will certainly not realize the fundamental origin."

Conversely, if we practice with conditioned intent, and the mind has somewhere to dwell, there is something blocking it, and it will be difficult to accomplish the Way. "Conditioned" means having something to seek. Taking "having something to seek" as the "Way" is the delusive mind; it is having an attachment. This is a hundred and eight thousand miles away from the True Mind that is empty, spiritual, and non-dwelling; in this way, one absolutely cannot clearly realize the original face. Not understanding the True Mind and not recognizing the original—that is blind practice and aimless training. Wishing to accomplish the Way like this is just like "cooking sand to make rice"; there is no basis for it. For example, people practicing the Pure Land path pray to Amita Buddha of the West: "You come and pull me! You come and pull me!" This is practicing with a conditioned mind; it is very difficult to correspond with Amita Buddha. Because one does not know what the Mind is, or what the Buddha is, and separates Mind and Buddha into two sides—having pursuit, having expectation, and having attachment—the mind is not pure, and one absolutely cannot be born in the Western Pure Land. Nowadays, many people learning Buddhism want to get rich, especially lay Buddhists among compatriots in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese. When they come to learn the Dharma, they all ask: "Is there any method to let me make a fortune in business?" They learn Buddhism not to resolve birth and death, but to get rich. Learners in the mainland mostly want to develop supernormal powers. These are all practicing via the conditioned. A person practicing like this "will certainly not realize the fundamental origin"; he absolutely cannot attain enlightenment or witness the original face. This is because the use of mind is incorrect; he is still grasping at appearances and has something to seek. It is only good if the mind is washed empty and pure; wanting nothing, grasping at nothing, and practicing via the Unconditioned—only then does one correspond with the fundamental Truth. Once there is seeking, one runs counter to the Way and cannot realize the Way. If you say you only want supernormal powers, that is even more incorrect. If you want supernormal powers, the Demon King will take the opportunity to cause trouble; he will transform into a Buddha to confuse you. You will take him for a real Buddha, your heart will bloom with wild joy, and the demon will take the opportunity to enter your mind, causing you to become demonic, and even a Buddha cannot save you. Therefore, those who practice taking the "conditioned" as the "Way" absolutely "cannot realize the fundamental origin," absolutely will not attain enlightenment, absolutely will not recognize the root, absolutely will not know what the root or Buddha-nature is, and absolutely cannot accomplish the Way! With attachment, how can one accomplish the Way? Becoming demonic, on the other hand, is quite likely!

Therefore, in our practice, we must recognize the root and have nothing to pursue. We must know that we are originally Buddhas; just eliminating our delusive emotions is enough, do not go seeking anything. Once there is seeking, one is about to become demonic. Demons have supernormal powers; they know when your mind moves, and they come. Therefore, once the mind-demon moves, the external demon comes. What is the mind-demon? Having a dwelling place is the mind-demon. Once the mind grasps at appearances, the external demon takes the opportunity to enter; if the mind does not grasp at appearances and the mind does not move, the external demon has no door to enter. If a demon comes, I pay no attention; "Whatever appearances there are, are all illusory." If a Buddha comes, slay the Buddha; if a demon comes, slay the demon; everything is unobtainable—how can he get in? Do not fear demons; demons are manifestations of the mind. If your mind does not play the demon, no matter how high the external demon's magical power is, he cannot enter.

In our study of Buddhism and practice, the causal ground must be correct; we must first clarify this issue: our vivid, clear, constantly knowing True Mind is the Buddha; apart from this, there is no Buddha. A thousand Buddhas or ten thousand Buddhas are originally one essence, originally one with our vivid, constantly knowing True Mind; even if Buddha forms appear before us, we pay no attention. Knowing that all appearances are false and everything is unobtainable, and that this marvelous bright True Mind of ours is the true Buddha, then you will not enter into the demonic, and you can accomplish the Great Way. Otherwise, if the mind is not pure and has dwelling or seeking, one will certainly attract demons, enter into the demonic, and become a demon, having not the slightest connection with the Way. Therefore, Mahamudra emphasizes that a practitioner who takes "conditioned action" as the "Way" certainly cannot realize the fundamental nature and cannot accomplish the Great Way.

"This is the co-emergent wisdom of the original locus of one's own mind. However, although the beginner desires to naturally abide in the stability of the fundamental origin, that which they abide in does not go beyond the power of craving attachment to bliss, clarity, and non-thought."

This wisdom luminosity that is separated from [conceptual] knowing is not obtained from outside; it is the inherent function of one's own mind. However, even if a beginner really wants to make the mind naturally abide in the pure fundamental origin, they cannot do it. Because they do not understand the original face and still fall into practicing with conditioned intent, the place where they abide has not transcended these kungfu [states] of bliss, luminosity, and non-thought (which is emptiness). Do these kungfu [states] exist? They do. For example, bliss: when you do the work and reach the realm of bliss of the Third Dhyana, all the happiness in the world cannot compare to it; however, do not greedily dwell in it. Although it exists, it must be treated as if it were nothing; do not crave or attach to it. If you greedily dwell in bliss, luminosity, and non-thought, it is ruined; especially if you greedily dwell in non-thought, that is even worse, because this non-thought is dead. Sitting there immobile, without a single thought—you then turn into soil, wood, metal, or stone, and have crushed your own mind to death. Craving attachment to bliss brings the demon of joy; craving attachment to luminosity brings the demon of light; craving attachment to non-thought brings the demon of emptiness. Yet the luminosity of our fundamental nature is Great Luminosity; although its luminosity shines brightly in the ten directions without obstruction, it does not say of itself that it is luminosity, nor does it dwell in the appearance of luminosity. If you dwell in the appearance of luminosity, you are covered by the appearance of luminosity, and the boundless miraculous function of your marvelous Essence is covered up; therefore, one cannot dwell in luminosity. Consequently, when we sit in meditation, we are not allowed to see light or see Buddhas; having light to see is still not right. It is not that you are not even allowed to see, but rather you are not allowed to greedily dwell in it; having seen it, it must be as if you had not seen it. Why? Because the light emitted at the very beginning is a weak light; if your mind moves even slightly, the luminosity disappears. If luminosity comes and you pay no attention and do not move, the luminosity will grow greater and greater; the moment you pay attention and your mind moves, the luminosity is covered up. So, if you practice carrying a different agenda, looking at it from the good side, you are merely dwelling in bliss, luminosity, and non-thought; looking at it from the bad side, you are going to become possessed by demons, because you have something to seek, and the demon takes the opportunity to enter. Therefore, do not practice carrying a different agenda!

"One should cast off the craving attachment to such states of power, and suddenly settle; only then will the naked, thoroughly penetrating fundamental essence of self-nature appear."

When we do the work, we should cast away the aforementioned states of power such as bliss, luminosity, and non-thought. Why? Because these are merely reflections of the initial state of concentration (samādhi); the naked fundamental essence of self-nature has not yet appeared; it is merely having a few reflection-states more than a beginner. Kungfu [spiritual work/power] is not enlightenment! For example, Master Gaofeng's teacher asked him: "In the midst of the bustling day, can you still be the master?" A practitioner must be the master within all environments of daily activity, not being dragged along by environments and not following environments; only then does one have a small portion of power of concentration, and only then is there a slight correspondence with the fundamental essence. So, his teacher asked him: in daily activity, can you see through all environments—not being joyful when there is joy, not being entertained when there is fun, not being sad when there is sorrow, not suffering when there is pain, not being empty/pure when there is emptiness/purity—and not be disturbed by environments? Can you be the master? Master Gaofeng said: "I can be the master." The teacher asked again: "Can you be the master in sleep and dreams?" When asleep and dreaming, knowing it is a dream state and not wavering; fearing nothing that comes—not fearing if a tiger comes, for it is false; not fearing if an enemy comes, for it is false; not wanting it even if one makes a great fortune, for everything is false—this is being the master within sleep and dreams. Being the master in sleep and dreams requires power ten times greater than during the day. Because when we are awake it is only delusion, but when asleep it is a comatose delusion. Within the comatose delusion, if you can still clearly and crisply know that this is an illusory realm or a dream realm, and the mind does not waver, this power is very great. For us humans to be the master at the moment of death, we need to be able to be the master in the dream state, because the moment of death is a great coma, while sleep and dreams are a small coma; if one cannot be the master in a small coma, then one will be even less able to be the master during the great coma. Master Gaofeng's kungfu was good and his ability was great; he replied: "I can be the master."

Master Gaofeng answered "I can be the master" twice. It was indeed good kungfu, serving as a model and example for us later students doing the work. We study Buddhism and practice the Way precisely to be the master at the shore of birth and death, and not to sink into the sea of suffering dragged down by karmic hindrances. To achieve this point, we all must first practice being the master in daily use, not being turned by favorable or adverse environmental conditions, not being moved by delusive emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness; not rejoicing in the favorable and not worrying in the adverse, regarding everything as like sky-flowers or illusory reflections, unobtainable, not sticking and not dwelling; only then can one be the master in sleep and dreams. If even this point cannot be achieved, what is there to say about resolving birth and death? Because the root of birth and death is unceasing delusive thoughts climbing in conditions with the environment!

There was a laywoman in Ningbo who, while sitting in meditation and applying effort, was suddenly informed by someone that her son had fallen into the water; she sat there without moving a muscle. Someone scolded her saying: "How can you be so heartless? Your own flesh and blood falls into the water, and you actually don't go to save him?" She remained unmoved and continued applying effort as before. Her power of concentration was good, but not saving the dying is not good; it is rather cruel. What is the correct way to act? One still must save the person, but the mind must not move; having saved him is equal to not having saved him—it does not mean sitting there completely immobile. However, having said that, kungfu like hers is considered quite good; if it were us, our square-inch [heart/mind] would have long been in chaos. There was a person whose home caught fire; the hostess remembered her child was still in the house, and with a mind in panic and confusion, she rushed into the house, grabbed something on the bed, and came out to look: Oh my! Mistaken; she had hugged a pillow out. She immediately fainted, and the child burned to death. You see, this is the result of the square-inch [mind] being in chaos!

Therefore, whether or not you waver amidst environments is a great test; this is also kungfu. Master Gaofeng could be the master and remain unwavering in daily use regardless of what happened—his kungfu was quite good; being the master in sleep and dreams, his kungfu was even more extraordinary. Seeing that his kungfu was indeed quite good, his teacher wanted to examine his nature of realization, so he asked him further: "When there are no dreams and no thoughts, where is the Master [Protagonist]?" Gaofeng was stunned: when there are neither dreams nor thoughts, where is the Master? He thought left and right but ultimately could not answer; his teacher told him to go and investigate (can). (Master Yuan Yin said: "Everyone, try to answer on behalf of Master Gaofeng: without dreams and without thoughts, at what place is the Master?" The assembly remained silent. The Master said: "How about I try to answer for everyone?" He immediately shouted loudly: "Di-di!") Master Gaofeng investigated again, and later he attained enlightenment. After attaining enlightenment, Master Gaofeng entered a 'death retreat' [strict solitary retreat] at Lion's Cliff on Mount Tianmu. So, kungfu is kungfu, and the nature of realization is the nature of realization! If, when we do the work, we can cast away the power-states of bliss, luminosity, and non-thought, etc., and practice until subject and object are both forgotten, the senses and dusts [sense-objects] fall away, and the preceding and succeeding [moments] are cut off—then with a "Pa" sound, suddenly there is an explosion; inwardly body and mind, outwardly the world, and even empty space shatter all at once, turning into nothingness, suddenly settling immovably. At this time, although there is nothing at all and it is settled immovably, it is not like wood or stone; rather, it is spiritually knowing and vivid—our "naked, thoroughly penetrating fundamental essence of self-nature" manifests.

Therefore, no matter what school we practice, we must practice until subject and object are both forgotten, and mind and dharmas are both extinguished; then with a "Pa—" sound, "The great earth sinks, empty space shatters," and the fundamental essence of self-nature, which has nothing at all yet is vividly distinct, can manifest! For example, in the Buddha Recitation method, using one Buddha name "Amita Buddha...", one gathers in the six senses, seizing all of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind; when one recites to the point of true return to oneness, with no mind to be mindful of and no thought to be thought, then reciting is gone, and the Buddha is also gone—"Pa—", instantly one personally sees the true Buddha and is born into the Buddha-land. We people who learn the Mind-Centered Method are also like this; using one Buddha-Heart Mantra "Om Bo La Bo La...", holding the six senses, the mind thinking and the ear listening, the consciousness not galloping outward; when the causes and conditions of the time arrive—"Pa—"—the subject that recites and the object recited suddenly fall away, and the thoroughly penetrating, non-dwelling fundamental self-nature manifests clearly, crisply, plainly, and distinctly. Kungfu must be done; otherwise, there is no way to open up the original and see one's own nature; merely empty talk of theory is drawing a cake to satisfy hunger—it is of no use. We must be the master in daily use; if you cannot handle it as soon as you encounter matters, and cannot be the master, that is "medicinal-water mercury"—it flies away as soon as it meets fire—and it cannot withstand birth and death. Doing the work, opening up the original, the dream wakes up, and one knows that everything is a dream realm—what mind is there to move? All gratitude and grudges, rights and wrongs, all perish; so it is called "simultaneously eliminating [karma] upon enlightenment." All matters are dream realms; without enlightenment, one grasps them as truly existing; once awakened, it is like hot water melting ice—all karmic hindrances are emptied. This is what is commonly called "When realized, karmic hindrances are originally empty"! So it is said that kungfu must be done; if not done, how can the causes and conditions of the time of enlightenment come? How can one open up the original?

Someone asked me: how long does it take to do the work? This depends on whether your kungfu is dense/continuous or not; if it is intermittent, that will not do. If we perform the kungfu densely—sitting in meditation today, sitting in meditation tomorrow, continuing without stopping; and after getting down from the seat, always remembering to contemplate, not running after environments—in no more than three to five years of effort, you will thoroughly see the original nature. Why is it said that we must cultivate one thousand sessions for the Mind-Centered Method? It means that practicing earnestly for three years of effort is enough. If you do not apply effort densely, practicing and stopping, stopping and practicing, "fishing for three days and drying the nets for two," then needless to say three to five years is not enough, even thirty to fifty years will not do.

Another person asked: what happens after sitting for one thousand sessions? Regarding this question, it has been explained many times; I will repeat it once more here. One thousand sessions means that this Mind-Centered Method relies on the power of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas for empowerment; the method is supreme, and if one practices earnestly and realistically for three years, one will definitely be able to open up the original and personally see self-nature. If one practices in a sloppy, intermittent way, "one day hot and ten days cold," do not speak of one thousand sessions being unable to see the fundamental nature; even three or five thousand sessions cannot see the nature.

There are also people who ask: after one thousand sessions, do we stop practicing the method? We explained last time: even if you are of superior roots and have sudden enlightenment, the habits of many lifetimes and kalpas cannot be completely eliminated in a single day; one still must contemplate constantly, training within the circumstances of matters, decreasing and again decreasing, until the habits are completely eliminated! Doing the work after enlightenment is "cultivation of non-cultivation," which is true cultivation; it is not not practicing, but rather not attaching to sitting in meditation and falling into realms of bliss, becoming a hindrance of Dharma-attachment. Conversely, if your power of concentration is insufficient and you still waver when seeing environments, then you still must process [practice] sitting meditation to strengthen the power of concentration, so that you can pass through the heavy barriers. If the power of concentration is adequate, one only needs to be strictly aware at all times, not expending the slightest effort, very relaxed and saving strength; it is not that one still has to practice this method, accumulate those merits... being busy with the appearances of Dharma until one is overwhelmed. Whether you are enlightened or not, doing the work upon the appearances of Dharma is a waste of energy, looking for trouble for oneself, and is of no use. Therefore, in doing the work, the more energy-saving the better, the more relaxed the better; the more effort exerted, the worse it is.

"Urgently call the character 'Pei', and suddenly cut off the stream of delusive thinking."

When a delusive thought moves, urgently call "Pei"; this is the Mahamudra key to cutting off delusive thoughts. People reciting the Buddha's name do not need this method; they just need to bring up the Buddha-mindfulness—reciting "Amita Buddha" once is enough. For other practitioners, when a delusive thought moves, urgently call "Pei" and immediately become strictly aware, and the source-stream of delusive thinking—"Pa"—cuts off instantly. For example, if we think of getting rich, just go "Pei"—what riches? Daydreaming! In this way, the delusive thought is cut off. If the force of the delusive thought is strong, i.e., the greed is heavy, and "Pei" does not cut it off, then one must hold the mantra and borrow the Buddha's power to eliminate it.

"Rest the mental factors of the crude delusive mind and abide in stability; then separating from the state of climbing in conditions with all dharmas, self-nature becomes clear and thorough—the red/nakedly manifest wisdom of separating from mind—present and abiding in suchness."

Eliminating the mental factors of the crude delusive mind (regarding our Mind King and mental factors, there are eight great Mind Kings and fifty-one mental factors. Among them, the worst mental factors are the five omnipresent mental factors: contact, attention, feeling, perception, and volition. "Attention" is the mental faculty [manas]; its stirring force is powerful and has never ceased; do not think it stops when sleeping; it is propagating dream realms and still has not stopped; only in the final Vajrasattva Samādhi can it be settled down), means resting the crude delusion of the mind arising in response to objects; only then can one peacefully abide in the state of concentration without moving. If practice can reach the point of the mind not arising in response to objects, one has considerable power. We humans give rise to delusive mind in response to objects at every moment, and constantly climb in conditions, thinking from this to that, and from that to this, without cessation. If the mind that climbs in conditions can stop, one can peacefully enter concentration; separating from all delusive thinking and states of false climbing in conditions, our self-nature manifests clearly, thoroughly, and nakedly without omission (i.e., manifests brightly); thereby opening up the Prajñā Great Wisdom that is separated from arising, ceasing, existence, and non-existence, is empty, spiritual, and non-dwelling, and is immovable as suchness. This means the first step of our practice kungfu must be to eliminate the crude delusion of the mind arising in response to objects; further, leaving behind the states of climbing in conditions, with the mind not moving randomly, our original self-nature manifests clearly, crisply, and nakedly; that is, the Great Wisdom of Luminosity that is separated from the delusive thinking mind and is immovable as suchness also manifests.

Therefore, the Buddha Dharma is wonderful; it teaches us to recognize the truth and not run after false appearances. If we are confused by false appearances, then there is the Sixfold Transmigration; separating from false appearances, once you recognize the True Mind, you transcend; you can attain great supernormal powers and obtain great utility.

Therefore, if we truly want to be born in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, it is not by carelessly reciting the Buddha's name a couple of times or reciting two lines of scripture that we can be born there; we must use the wisdom sword of Amita Buddha to cut off our feelings of delusion and attachment to the false appearance of this Saha world before we can be born in the West. So it is said "Pure thought is flight," which is the initial concentration we speak of in daily life; it is doing the kungfu to the point where even if a real Buddha came, there is only the recitation: Amita Buddha, Amita Buddha... nothing else exists; only this thought is Buddha, my entire thought is Buddha, Buddha is my entire thought, the entire Buddha is thought, the entire thought is Buddha—then you will definitely be born in the West. What if you are not like this? Reciting Amita Buddha a few times with or without thought, while the mind thinks of this matter and that matter—that will not do. Someone asked: Why is it necessary to recite sutras when practicing the Buddha Recitation method? Reciting sutras is to make you recognize the truth. The Buddhist sutras say that to attain the High Grade of High Birth, one must recite Mahayana sutras. Why? Reciting Mahayana sutras enables one to understand the Principle. Understanding that everything is originally Buddha, and sentient beings are Buddhas; it is only that we are confused and attached to appearances, and have forgotten self-nature. We should not be confused and dwell in appearances, and should not crave merit; merit is our own mind; the own-mind is the mother of great merit, and the accomplishment of great merit is becoming a Buddha. Our transmigrating in the Six Realms or going to rebirth in the Western Pure Land is caused by the mind. The root of the myriad virtues is the mind; all myriad virtues issue from the mind; "Nothing does not flow from this Dharma-realm, nothing does not return to this Dharma-realm." Therefore, the mind is the root; it is the root of all dharmas! Usually, I tell everyone to recite Mahayana sutras precisely so we can understand this truth. The Pure Land Dharma spoken of here is the Mahayana Pure Land Dharma, which breathes through the same nostril as the principles of the Zen School. The Pure Land School is the Mahayana Buddha Dharma that gathers in all three capacities [high, medium, low]; it not only saves people of medium and low capacity, but people of all three capacities are gathered within; all are the same one mind; Pure Land is Mind, Mind is Pure Land. The Amitabha Sutra says "From here to the West, passing ten trillion Buddha-lands, there is a world named Ultimate Bliss"; the ten trillion Buddha-lands are the ten degrees and ten thousand practices—that is using "Giving, Precepts, Patience, Diligence, Meditation, Wisdom, Method, Vow, Power, Knowledge" to cultivate the mind until it is empty and open up Great Wisdom. When the mind is empty, one crosses over the ten trillion Buddha-lands and arrives in the West. So it is said the West is not far away; it is right in front of you. To say it simply: if your mind has nowhere to dwell and everything is empty, your mind is Buddha, Buddha is your mind; here is the West, the West is here, and you are born in the West right in the present. Do not wait until after death; being born in the West while alive is truly being born in the West; if one cannot be born in the West while alive, I fear it will be difficult to be born in the West when dead.

"Penetrate the separation from the extremes of arising, ceasing, existence, and non-existence; transcend the realm of linguistic and mental discrimination, and naturally abide in the wisdom-nature realm separated from words and thoughts. This refers to the Wisdom of the Embodied Nature of the Dharmakaya, Yoga, and the Principle of the View."

This means we must understand clearly and plainly that relative views such as arising and ceasing, existence and non-existence, etc., are false; and we must separate from these extreme views, transcending the relative realms discriminated by language and the mental faculty; then, one naturally abides in the original self-nature of Great Wisdom that shines brightly, where there is no language to be spoken and no thought to be moved.

"Penetrate" means to understand clearly and thoroughly penetrate. Separating from the extremes of arising, ceasing, existence, and non-existence means leaving behind the various extreme views of arising and ceasing, existence and non-existence. Understandings such as arising/ceasing and existence/non-existence are all relative delusive knowings and delusive views; they are illusory and unreal like a mirage, and do not accord with the meaning of the Middle Way, hence they are extreme views. Yet we live buried in relative delusive realms at all times and places, discriminating good and bad, discriminating right and wrong, discriminating long and short, never having departed from the extremes of arising, ceasing, existence, and non-existence. For instance, thinking that the human body exists while alive, and becomes nothing after death—this is an extreme view. If one can recognize that everything that exists relatively is a false reflection and does not pursue or take it, then, at the place where the delusive mind rests, one can penetrate the originally existing Absolute True Mind. The True Mind is the Buddha-nature; it is neither existence nor non-existence, neither long nor short, neither arising nor ceasing, neither good nor bad, neither beautiful nor ugly... it is none of these; language cannot describe it, thinking cannot infer it, and fundamentally no discrimination exists. This is "transcend the realm of linguistic and mental discrimination."

The realm of linguistic and mental discrimination is the realm discriminated by language and consciousness; it means that when we speak, the brain/mental faculty moves incessantly, so relative views of right/wrong, good/bad, and long/short arise blazingly. For example, some people talk while reciting Buddha: "Amita Buddha, my daughter-in-law is so bad; Amita Buddha, my daughter is so good." This is the realm of linguistic and mental discrimination; how can this work? If this could lead to birth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, then there would be many people born in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. We must sever delusive emotions and extreme views, dwelling in nothing, reciting Amita Buddha, Amita Buddha... wholeheartedly; the entire thought is Buddha, Buddha is my mind, my mind is Buddha; Mind and Buddha interact and merge into one piece—only then can one go to rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Therefore, we must transcend the realm of linguistic and mental discrimination, understand that these realms are all false and unobtainable, and not walk along with them, not turn with them, letting go and letting go again of everything. Just like the Brahmin who held mandara flowers in both hands to offer to the Buddha; the Buddha instructed him saying: "Let go." The Brahmin let go of the flowers in one hand. The Buddha said again: "Let go." The Brahmin let go of the flowers in the other hand. The Buddha said again: "Let go." Hearing this, the Brahmin was baffled and hurriedly asked the Buddha: "I have let go of the flowers in both hands and have nothing; what else should I let go of?" The Buddha said: "I am telling you to let go of the external six dusts, the middle six consciousnesses, and the internal six sense-organs—let go of everything." That is letting go of inside, middle, and outside completely, with everything being unobtainable; after hearing this, the Brahmin awakened. So, one must transcend the realm of linguistic and mental discrimination, letting go and letting go again, letting go of everything completely, and naturally abide in the wisdom-nature realm separated from words and thoughts.

Separating from words and thoughts means transcending language and thinking. The wisdom-nature realm separated from words and thoughts is the Great Wisdom inherent in self-nature that transcends language and thinking. If you transcend the realm of linguistic and mental discrimination, you will naturally abide in this Great Wisdom, with infinite utility.

To achieve being natural at all times and moments, without carrying a single bit of functional [effortful] practice, is very difficult; we all have functional practice! From the First Bhūmi to the Seventh Bhūmi Bodhisattvas, there is still functional practice; only from the Eighth Bhūmi to the Tenth Bhūmi is there non-functional practice. It is not easy for us ordinary beings to reach non-functional practice all at once; therefore, we must go up step by step from functional practice to non-functional practice.

What is functional practice? It is constantly awarely illuminating, watching over oneself, and taking care of oneself. As soon as a thought moves, immediately warn oneself: "Hey, do not move, I see you." If you are not aware, you will not see it illuminating, and you will not even know you have run a hundred and eight thousand miles following the thought! Therefore, our constant having awareness and having illumination is functional practice; when illumination becomes familiar later on, one does not need to be aware; it illuminates naturally, it naturally does not waver; remaining illuminating while quiescent, and remaining quiescent while illuminating—that is non-functional practice. Finally, when neither quiescence nor illumination is obtainable, that is truly arriving home. We can only move from functional practice to non-functional practice by doing the work like this constantly; one cannot reach the sky in a single step.

How is this kungfu done? Be aware at all times, and abide in the Great Wisdom of bright illumination where there is no language to be spoken and no thought to be moved—just as the Chan School says: "The path of language is cut off, the place of mental action is extinguished." When our mind does not move, it naturally illuminates brightly, and the reaction is exceptionally fast. If your mind has movement, has dwelling, or has affliction, the reaction is very slow. Because you have been dragged away by the environment, and the mind's luminosity is covered by the environment, it cannot illuminate brightly; therefore, the reaction is slow. If you can achieve abiding at all times in the wisdom-nature realm separated from words and thoughts, where speaking is unobtainable, thinking is unobtainable, and everything is unobtainable, you will naturally be clearly distinct, and then all supernormal powers and marvelous functions will come. If you do not do this, thinking you want supernormal powers? They are unobtainable; you cannot get them. Ordinary beings are calculating, discriminating, and worrying about gain and loss at every moment, so they do not attain peace and ease. Our practice to accomplish the Way is precisely to separate from delusive thinking, remove attachment, and restore the luminosity of the fundamental nature, thereby giving rise to Great Potential and Great Function. Our Buddha-nature is like the sun, with immeasurable luminosity, but because it is covered by delusive thinking and discrimination, it cannot radiate Great Luminosity or give rise to Great Spiritual Function. If the dark clouds are dispelled, the sun radiates Great Luminosity; separating from delusive thinking and attachment, various supernormal powers and marvelous functions are obtained naturally without seeking. The Mahāvairocana Sūtra says: "If the Bodhisattva abides in this cultivation and learning, before long diligent effort, he will attain the Samādhi that Removes All Hindrances/Coverings. If he attains this, he dwells equally with all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, will develop the Five Supernormal Powers, and acquire immeasurable languages, sounds, and Dhāraṇīs."

"Bodhisattva abides in this"—abides in what place? "Abides in the wisdom-nature realm separated from words and thoughts"; in this kind of realm, studying with further diligence to remove old habits, one will soon develop all five powers and have unobstructed eloquence. The Five Powers are the Heavenly Eye, Heavenly Ear, Knowledge of Others' Minds, Knowledge of Past Lives, and Spirit Foot [Teleportation/Levitation]. The Buddha has Six Powers; beyond the Five Powers, there is the Power of the Extinction of Outflows, which means all leaking places such as delusive thinking, attachment, discrimination, and affliction are completely pure and exhausted. That is the "wisdom-nature realm separated from words and thoughts"! Our practice is to first attain the Power of the Extinction of Outflows, and naturally abide in the wisdom-nature realm separated from words and thoughts; this is also called "Wisdom of the Embodied Nature of the Dharmakaya," also called "Yoga," and also called "The Principle of the View." The Dharmakaya is signless, yet signless and without non-signs; in the Buddha it does not increase, and in sentient beings it does not decrease. The Wisdom of the Embodied Nature of the Dharmakaya is the Great Wisdom that transcends all relativity and transcends all worldly wisdom. "Yoga" means correspondence. Corresponding with what? Corresponding with the Dharmakaya Buddha. Which is "The Principle of the View"!

Understanding clearly and crisply that relative views such as arising/ceasing and existence/non-existence are all false, leaving behind these extreme views, and transcending the relative realms discriminated by language and the mental faculty, one naturally abides in the self-nature of Great Wisdom that has no language to be spoken, no thought to be moved, is naturally brightly illuminating, and originally self-sufficient; this refers to the Wisdom of the Embodied Nature of the Dharmakaya. Practicing the Way and realizing the Truth involves Five Great Wisdoms: Great Round Mirror Wisdom, Equality Wisdom, Marvelous Observing Wisdom, Accomplishing-What-Is-Done Wisdom, and Wisdom of the Essential Nature of the Dharma-realm. The Wisdom of the Essential Nature of the Dharma-realm is called Wisdom of the Embodied Nature of the Dharmakaya in the Ganges Mahamudra. The Wisdom of the Embodied Nature of the Dharmakaya is the overall Seed Wisdom; it transforms the Eighth Consciousness into the Great Round Mirror Wisdom. The Great Round Mirror Wisdom is perfected last; the Sixth Patriarch said: "Six and Seven transform in the cause; Five and Eight transform on the fruit." This means when practicing the Way, one first starts the transformation from the Sixth and Seventh Consciousnesses, because the force of the Sixth Consciousness is the strongest, distinguishing and squirming at all times and places. If the delusive thinking of the Sixth Consciousness does not move, and no news of delusive thinking is transmitted to the Seventh Consciousness, the Seventh Consciousness transforms. The Seventh Consciousness is the transmitting consciousness; it receives the news sent by the Sixth Consciousness and then delivers it into the Eighth Consciousness. When the Sixth and Seventh Consciousnesses are transformed into Marvelous Observing Wisdom and Equality Wisdom during the cultivation of the cause, then the Eighth Consciousness and the front Five Consciousnesses subsequently transform into Great Round Mirror Wisdom and Accomplishing-What-Is-Done Wisdom because there are no delusive seeds to store and no interference from the Sixth Consciousness. Therefore, regarding removing habits and practicing in the realm of matters, transforming consciousness still starts from transforming the Sixth Consciousness; the Eighth Consciousness must be transformed later; it is impossible to transform the Eighth Consciousness into Great Round Mirror Wisdom all at once. If we do the work on the Sixth Consciousness at all times, delusive thoughts will not move and we will not turn with the environment. Mindfulness of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha is transmitting holy seeds and pure seeds to the Seventh Consciousness; the Seventh Consciousness then transmits them to the Eighth Consciousness, thereby transforming defiled seeds into pure seeds to be born in the West and resolve birth and death. So it is said that among the eight consciousnesses, the Seventh Consciousness constantly examines, thinks, and attaches to the appearance of a self—"I am right and he is wrong"—with extreme conceit and arrogance, always taking "I" as the master, with everything belonging to "me," and insatiable greed; therefore, the Seventh Consciousness is the worst. Consequently, practicing the Dharma and holding retreats is to knock down the Seventh Consciousness. Actually, all sentient beings are equal and one; where is there a self? But people's self-grasping is blazing; they all regard others as one level lower, thinking others are no good and only "I" am the best; so there is inequality in human relationships. Therefore, once the Seventh Consciousness transforms, there is no self/other or right/wrong or gain/loss; everything is the same, and all dharmas are equal and without difference.

Although we are learning Buddha Dharma now, when the Seventh Consciousness has not yet transformed, we inevitably fall into inequality. For example, people practicing the Pure Land School say the Pure Land School is the best of the best and other methods are no good; people learning Zen say Zen is the highest and the rest are not good; people learning the Esoteric School say the Esoteric School is the most perfect and the rest are not so good. Alas! Affirming oneself and negating others is all due to not having truly and authentically realized Equality Wisdom, and the mind being unequal. Actually, all Dharma methods are the same; they are all tools and means, not the goal; our goal is to become a Buddha. You succeed using this means, I succeed using that means; you and I both succeed—isn't it the same? Therefore it is said: "Convenient means are many gates, returning to the source there are not two." All Dharmas are the same, so it is said: "This Dharma is equal, having no high or low." The reason for inequality is the Seventh Consciousness playing tricks. So, once our Seventh Consciousness transforms, it becomes equal. All right and wrong, self and others are equal; all dualities are equal. Equality, equality, everything is equal, and one realizes the Great Way thoroughly. Transforming the Sixth Consciousness into Marvelous Observing Wisdom: it changes from delusive thinking, discrimination, and making right/wrong and gain/loss into the wisdom of observing all things perfectly and marvelously, and handling them correctly. For example, how to do this matter best, how to arrange that person reasonably, how to transform a bad person to turn bad into good and turn ordinary into sage, etc. Marvelous Observing Wisdom is clear, crisp, immovable, and unwavering; direct perception (pratyakṣa) and yet inferential perception (anumāna), inferential perception and yet direct perception. Direct perception is manifesting form according to its measure without adding discrimination; inferential perception is having to compare whether it is good or bad, long or short, right or wrong. Upon realizing this wisdom, although one clearly distinguishes right/wrong and gain/loss, there is no love/hate or seizing/discarding; although one handles all matters equally, it is not that one does not know right/wrong or long/short; so it is Great Wisdom functioning. Transforming the front Five Consciousnesses into Accomplishing-What-Is-Done Wisdom: the eye seeing forms, ear listening to sounds, nose smelling scents, tongue tasting flavors, and body experiencing environments is the function of Accomplishing-What-Is-Done Wisdom.

The reason we can think, work, create, and invent (that is to say the Four Great Wisdoms mentioned above) all relies on the function of the Wisdom of the Essential Nature of the Dharma-realm. The Wisdom of the Essential Nature of the Dharma-realm is called Wisdom of the Embodied Nature of the Dharmakaya in Mahamudra; it is the Root Wisdom. "Yoga View Principle": View is View/Understanding; Yoga is correspondence, which is the Dharma of Mind Correspondence. Mahamudra tells you to correspond at all times: the ordinary being corresponds with the Buddha, one's own mind corresponds with empty space—the so-called sealing space, sealing water, and sealing mud. Corresponding at every moment is Yoga. Yoga View Principle refers to the View/Understanding that corresponds with the original self-nature at all times.

"If one practices without recognizing this, it is not separating from the function of mind and the view of the conditioned; one is suspended apart from the Self-Nature Great Perfection Way, and cannot obtain the wheel of non-cultivation luminosity."

If one does not recognize one's own Marvelous Mind, does not have correct View/Understanding, and does not know to practice starting from the Buddha-nature, but grasps at appearances and seeks outwardly, then one has not separated from the function of the delusive mind. That is the wrong view of the conditioned. That is completely unrelated to the "Self-Nature Great Perfection Way," and one cannot obtain the "wheel of non-cultivation luminosity." Self-Nature Great Perfection means the Buddha-nature is originally self-sufficient and originally perfect; it does not exist due to grasping, nor is it born from practice. The wheel of non-cultivation luminosity means the Buddha-nature is originally immeasurably luminous, illuminating the lands of the ten directions, fully possessing all marvelous functions, and able to give rise to thousands of changes. The luminosity wheel is not produced by practice, but is inherent in one's own mind. So it is said: "The Way does not belong to practice; it belongs to realization." Realizing the Way means waking up to, understanding, and engaging into the True Mind, restoring the original. It is precisely when practicing the Dharma, at the place where a thought is cut off—with a "Ga-li" sound—one realizes the fundamental truth. After realization, is practice needed? Practice is needed! Because the two attachments of self and dharmas from beginningless time are still there, and one cannot yet develop Great Spiritual Function; one must eliminate these two attachments completely before one can thoroughly realize the fundamental source. Then, how to practice? This depends on the heaviness of each person's habitual defilements, and different methods are used, but the best is the practice of non-practice, using the method of contemplation. The method of Mahamudra is: when a delusive thought arises, go "Pei" and shout/cut off the delusive thought, thereby protecting the True Mind. But we can also use other methods, such as reciting Buddha or holding mantras. When a delusive thought arises, recite Amita Buddha or hold a mantra phrase, not following the delusive thought, and transforming the delusive thought; this can similarly protect the True Mind. Or even, when a delusive thought arises, become strictly aware, and everything transforms into emptiness, and the delusive thought rests. Therefore, to obtain the "wheel of non-cultivation luminosity," one must clearly witness this Marvelous Bright True Mind before it is possible. If one does not understand what the True Mind is, one cannot obtain it.

"If one has not obtained verification in the Principle of the View, then although one practices, there is no realm of preservation/protection; therefore, taking the verification of the Principle of the View is the primary essential."

The Principle of the View is Right Knowledge and Right View; that is, under the perfusion of Right Knowledge and View, one recognizes the fundamental nature. If you do not yet recognize the fundamental nature, then "although one practices, there is no realm of preservation." Even if you practice diligently and earnestly, you cannot obtain the "wheel of non-cultivation luminosity"; because you do not have a "realm of preservation"—you do not know what to preserve! That is to say, you are still unsure about the Right Knowledge and Right View explained above, do not recognize the fundamental nature, your heels are not standing firm, and you are still in doubt—then what are you preserving? For example, if we have a small child, we must take care of him carefully, protect him, not let him go hungry, not let him freeze, not let him fall; care for him with utmost attention and raise him to adulthood. If you fundamentally do not have a small child, then who are you protecting?

Preservation (Bao-Ren) is two stages of kungfu: first Preserving (Bao), then Assigning/Trusting (Ren). Just like with a small child, first one must protect him; when the child grows up, one lets him be (Ren), letting him be autonomous and independent, doing things himself, working himself, and one need not manage him anymore. Preservation (Bao-Ren) looks like only two characters, but when doing the kungfu, one has to walk quite a stretch of road! To do the kungfu of preservation, one must first see the fundamental nature; without seeing the fundamental nature, what is there to preserve? So what is the fundamental nature? Much has been said above; it is the nature that can see and can hear right now—recognize it, do not doubt, and protect it well. How to protect it? "Not seeing nothing, not hearing nothing," but "Vividly aware of it, not attaching to seeing and hearing." In daily life, it is not that one does not look at things, nor that one does not hear sounds, but that one does not discriminate good/bad or beautiful/ugly, and does not give rise to minds of love/hate or seizing/discarding. Go ahead and look, go ahead and listen, but there is nothing in the mind—"Empty and non-dwelling"; this is "Preserving." After preserving to maturity, one does not need to preserve; put it down, one can go to all places, one can do any matter, yet dwelling nowhere in the slightest; this arrives at the state of "unobstructed in matter after matter" and "functioning freely and unfettered." Regarding "unobstructed in matter after matter," Chan Master Zhenjing Kewen has a verse saying: "Unobstructed in matter after matter, freely as one wishes; hand holding a pig's head, mouth reciting pure precepts; chased out of the brothel, wine debt not yet returned; at the crossroad, untying the cloth sack." Holding a pig's head in hand, gnawing on pig's head meat while reciting precepts: Do not kill, do not steal, do not engage in sexual misconduct... I am eating vegetarian food; I just came out of the brothel, Hahahaha! Chased out means being driven out. Brothel is the house of prostitutes. Money spent in the brothel, driven out by the madam. Drinking wine and owing debt; the tavern comes to ask for wine money, too poor to repay. Just this sloppy, just this down-and-out, thereby unfettered and free, without worry or anxiety. Someone might ask: Hand holding a pig's head, mouth reciting pure precepts... not eating vegetarian, isn't that breaking precepts? Not so! He has never eaten meat; he is eating vegetarian. Why? His mind is empty, he does not grasp at appearances; he has never felt that meat is tasty and eaten more, or that vegetables are bad and eaten less. Having no mind of love/hate or seizing/discarding is eating vegetarian. Conversely, some people, although they eat vegetarian, attach to the flavor: this dish tastes good, delicious; that dish tastes bad, awful! Being very picky is equivalent to not eating vegetarian. If our mind is truly empty and pure, having eaten is equal to not having eaten; even holding a pig's head does not matter.

However, having said that, if you have not realized this stage, and you just let yourself go like this, then "Entering hell is like an arrow shot!" Your mind is not truly empty and pure, so "Karma" sticks to you, entangles you, and will not let you pass. To cite such a koan: Once there was a Chan Master who loved to eat beef; he said: "Eating is just not eating!" Was his mind empty and pure? No! It was just talk from the mouth; the mind could not be empty, so karmic hindrances stuck to him and wanted him to pay the debt. When this Chan Master breathed his last, he entered a cow's womb and became a cow to pay the debt. One day, a farmer led the cow out and met Chan Master Baozhi. Master Baozhi looked: Oh! Isn't this Chan Master So-and-so? Didn't you say "Eating is just not eating"? You shouldn't be a cow; how did you become a cow to pay debts? The cow's face streamed with tears, and—Bang! Bang! Bang!—it crashed itself to death. Therefore, without reaching the stage of true emptiness and purity, talking nonsense and boasting will lead to hell. We are determined to realize the Great Way; we speak according to the stage we have realized; we must not act recklessly! To realize the stage of "unobstructed in matter after matter," one must first achieve pure View, clearly see the True Mind, and then further eliminate delusive habits and enter into the Unconditioned. Practicing while grasping at appearances or practicing via the conditioned—neither can realize "unobstructed in matter after matter." Nowadays, some people whose minds are not empty and pure vainly seek supernormal powers—ruined! Not only can they not become Buddhas, but they are likely to become demons! You want supernormal powers, so the demon manifests supernormal powers in your mind, transforming into a Buddha-appearance for you to see; you think it is a real Buddha and happily guard it, so the demon dwells in your mind. The Demon King wants to expand his influence, letting you teach the Dharma and receive a group of demon-sons and demon-grandsons. This is all due to grasping at appearances; therefore, we cannot grasp at appearances, and cannot practice via the conditioned.

"Therefore, taking the verification of the Principle of the View is the primary essential."

This is the weightiest sentence. The Principle of the View is clearly seeing the fundamental nature. Ganges Mahamudra places the Principle of the View in the primary position; the "Five Ranks of Lord and Minister" of the Caodong School also highlight this point. The Linji School has "Three Mysteries and Three Essentials"; the first essential in the "Mystery within the Sentence" is recognizing one's own Mind and seeing one's own Nature, highlighting this point just the same.

"Later, one can verify the wisdom that self-abides; this is abiding in one's own fundamental nature, not sought from others, nor is it non-existent in the past and existing now." (This is the First Essential)

First, one must witness the fundamental nature, and only then can the "wisdom that self-abides" be revealed. After realizing, preserve the fundamental nature without losing it, apply effort diligently and bitterly, and sweep away delusive habits. If one can be like still water in any favorable or adverse environment, without the slightest deviation, then various supernormal powers and marvelous functions will be obtained naturally without seeking. "Abiding in one's own fundamental nature" means it is inherent in one's own mind and issues naturally from the fundamental mind. "Not sought from others" means it is not obtained by practicing some method, nor is it bestowed upon us by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, nor is it manifested by some ghost or spirit possessing the body. "Nor is it non-existent in the past and existing now" means it is not that it didn't exist before and only exists now, but that it existed originally. Someone asked: "You say it existed originally, so why don't I have it now?" You haven't cleared away your delusive thoughts and delusive habits yet! First, you must recognize the Buddha-nature, and clearly realize that this nature which can see and can hear is the fundamental nature. Then protect it at all times; do not grasp at appearances, do not run with the environment. When protection is fully mature and the mind is truly empty and pure, supernormal powers will naturally manifest.

If it is not "abiding in one's own fundamental mind" and developed by oneself, it is all irrelevant; once the breath does not come, there are no functions at all, and one does not even know where one is going. Having done bad deeds, one still has to go to hell; it is very dangerous! We have several so-called "people with supernormal powers" in Shanghai; when approaching death, the spirits possessing them left them, and at that time not only did they have no supernormal powers, but the physical body was in great pain, and spiritually they felt even more guilt, suffering deep condemnation of conscience, only crying out "Pain! Suffering!" and falling into the three lower realms. We who practice the True Dharma must take this as a warning!

Labels: 0 comments | | edit post