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On the Mind III.
To Realize the
Mind VI.
Conclusion I.
To Know the Mind [back to the top] To an authentic and realistic practitioner,
when speaking of “the mind”; he would feel upset and sigh “Though I have
friends all over the world, how many can I actually count as soul mates?” Indeed, it is very hard to find soul
mates, and so is finding people who know the mind. Is it truly hard to know the mind? Yes, it is. Why? As it is too close, simple, and ordinary;
therefore, we are used to its existence and unable to be aware of it. Moreover, as the mind can often be too
ordinary to possess any content, people do not know how to talk about it. If you ask me, “What is the mind?” I would be embarrassed by my failure to
answer your question. All I can do
is to punch you in your chest with the hope that the shock will empty your
preconceptions like a bottomless bucket.
If this still does not help your perceptions of the mind, it is out of
my control. Though the saying goes: “In the true realm,
no defiling object can exist.” We
still think it is harmless “to say something about it when the timing and access
align.” As far as mundane
perceptions are concerned, the mind surely possesses “hundreds and thousands of
Samadhi and infinite superb meanings”. What is the mind? It is: The boundless sea of life – it floats and reveals
unlimited, boundless, and endless sentient beings. It is the attribute, essence, genetics,
shared form, original state, and eternal form of life. In fact, it exactly is the entity of
life. It is infinitely developing and innovating:
like “fish swimming and splashing joyfully in the boundless sea; birds flying
freely in the sky.” It is free and constantly
creating and developing. However, once
departing from the mind, we immediately lose vitality and the possibility of any
more development and innovation.
It is the entity of the Dharma, and the
origin of infinite merits. It is
the origin and summit of all matters and reason. It is the entity of existence and the
reality of the grand universe. The
mind reveals the versatility of all phenomena, and also makes the world of
differences. Though these facts are obvious, they are
not contained in the delusive mind formed by “six dusts generated from various
conditions and scenarios”. The mind
stated here does not refer to the second cause of “I think; therefore, I am”,
but the true reality of “I am aware; therefore, I am.” To reveal the mind in this way is truly
sinful. Nevertheless, in order to
find a few more people who know the mind, it is worth me “falling into the hell
like an archer’s shooting arrow”. II. To
Learn from the Mind [back to the top] What is “to learn from the mind”? It has the similar meaning to the
statement of “Saints learn from the nature”; namely, “to regard the mind as a
mentor”. With regard to this, master Pi-Huang interpreted this precisely:
“The Dharma is the mind and outside of the mind, there is no Dharma. And so is
the mind to the Dharma.” Moreover,
he stated: “All practitioners thought all the Buddha would transmit the Dharma
of mind, so there must be a certain dharma to attain and verify. As a result, they are focusing their
mind on searching for the dharma.
Unfortunately, they do not know the mind is the Dharma, and vice
versa. They should not try to find
some mind with their mind. In this
way, even after eons of time, they still could not attain anything. I would suggest them to just be mindless
at the moment, and that is the authentic Dharma.” Consequently, it makes us easily associated
with the statement of “Dharma, the authentic Dharma has no Dharma.” Meanwhile, it is not hard for us to
realize that the so-called “Mind School”, realistically, emphasizes on single-mindedness. “The Dharma of the mind” simply means to
learn from the mind. Therefore, the
fifth Patriarch, Master Ren, stated in [the Superb Dharma of Mahayana]: “If you
can realize the mind (your true mind) and keep it, you can reach the other
shore. For those who have lost their mind (cannot recognize their true mind),
they actually abandon their true mind so that they will fall into the Three
Realms of suffering. Therefore, we
realize that all the Buddha, of the past, the present, and the future, regard
their own mind as their original mentor.”
Consequently, the true meaning of the Dharma of mind is to learn from
the mind. Truly, the Dharma is the mind,
and vice versa. Hence, Dharma equates
non-Dharma; mind equates mindless mind.
It sounds easy; however, it is a long road to travel! III. To
Realize the Mind [back to the top] The most gifted practitioners learn “the
Dharma of non-Dharma” with their “mindless mind”; they do not even walk any
steps, and they are home already.
If this is not instantaneous realization, what else can it be? Some might ask: “If it is mindlessness
and non-Dharma, then what is there to instantly realize about?” In fact, ancient sages had already given
their answers a long time ago; namely, it is nothing but [realizing the “non-realization”]. It does not mean you are unable to
realize it, but you have nothing to realize about. Speaking of realization, people always feel
mysterious about it, and try to dig out some secrets or attain a grand overarching
theory. They think when they attain
the realization they will become omniscient and omnipotent like God. All these inverted views result from “the
intentional mind of taking”. True
realization is nothing but the awakening of life. You just realize the original mind
equates your true self. That’s all! You should agree that truth is original,
and can only be discovered, but not created. Once you discover it, you virtually “see
the attribute of life”, don’t you?
When a person discovers, sees, and affirms the original, true, and
eternal self, hasn’t he achieved the realization? With regard to the core of realization,
it is nothing but the “sole mind” where “one and others are not dual”, and “sentient
beings equate Buddha”. There is no
mystery at all. IV. To
Practice the Mind [back to the top] The mind is the sole truth of existence. Originally, it is the truest, kindest,
and most beautiful; therefore, it is truly unnecessary to “practice” it. Even though you are trying, you do not
know where to start. Nevertheless, for
people who have lost their “original mind” and “original face”, get used to
delusions instead of reality, falsehoods instead of truth. They apply “the conditioned affiliations
generated from the six dusts” to explore their delusions to think, view, and
act wrongly, making mistakes that bring themselves worries and sins that drag
them down to the Three Realms of suffering. Even after being awakened, they will struggle
to recover due to the heavy contamination from the past. Therefore, they must constantly reflect
on themselves and keep watching their mind in every second, so that they can gradually
discover and rectify their own thoughts and deeds to be able to “give away what
they originally do not have and reveal their original possessions.” When they return to their original state,
they are “Tathagata”, aren’t they? The process of this transformation tells
us what practice is about. We must know
that “man is simply the container of his mind”, so that his ideal conceptions lead
his life, and his recognition guides his deeds. Consequently, the focus of practice lies
in mind practice. Truly, “After being awakened, you need not
practice hard because you act differently with all the conditioned dharma.” Nevertheless, it only applies to those
who are endowed with grand intelligence, sincere faith and affirmation to achieve
that. It is because they always act
with their reason instead of sensation, and regard truth as their life. If they are still deeply associated with
their own weaknesses and unable to correspond their understanding to their
deeds, and keep making the same mistakes, they definitely need to persist with
a great deal of practice to rectify their false thoughts and deeds to “clean
their minds and remove those old possessions”. Only by practicing in this way, can they
finally achieve their “grand and perfect merits” and “bright liberation”. When they abandon the concrete practice,
it will be extremely hard for them to “maintain the mind”. As ancient sages said: “Even after
attaining the instantaneous realization that can be assimilated with
enlightened practitioners across different endowments, you still need some time
to gradually remove those contaminated thoughts and deeds accumulated from the
past.” In other words, it refers to
the practice “after one’s realization”.
In fact, “only after going through the chill of winter, do plum blossoms
flourish with sweet fragrances.” It
is unlikely to achieve something great without making any efforts in this
world, isn’t it? If our practice should focus on the mind,
then how can we practice the formless, timeless, untraceable, and unpredictable
mind? In fact, if you can truly understand
the meaning of “To practice equates not to practice, and vice versa”, you will
be able to find the key for mind practice.
As master Pi, Huang, addressed: “If practitioners would like to find the
key for practice, they had better keep their mind empty.” Obviously, even the word of “practice”
should not appear in their mind.
The main task lies in “forgetting”.
Therefore, master Huang stated again: “Ordinary people take scenes,
whereas, practitioners watch the mind. To forget both scenes and mind is the true
Dharma. Nevertheless, it is easy to
forget scenes, but not mind. Man
dare not forget the mind because they are afraid of losing the attachment. In fact, emptiness is not empty, because
it is the Dharma realm of the one reality.” “To forget the mind” refers to departing
from the differential mind. In other
words, it is to forget your ego to “let go of everything”. Only by doing so, can you “chop off the
roots of your life”, and “walk further from the top of the one-hundred-meter
long bamboo stick to have the grand world completely revealed.” Investigate it! If you are having difficulties removing
these old habits”, and have trouble corresponding to the Dharma, you can apply
the method of “watching the mind”, which is the most ancient, effective, and
superb form of access. Why do you
need to “watch the mind”? The mind
is formless; how do you watch it? With
regard to this, the first Patriarch, Master Bodhidharma,
stated: “Only the methodology of watching the mind can cover all Dharma, so it
is the most effective one.” He also
stated: “The mind is the base of all Dharma, and all Dharma originates from the
mind. If you can realize
(completely and undoubtedly) your mind, you will realize all Dharma. Moreover, the fifth Patriarch, Master Ren, also claimed, “If you can attentively watch and keep your
mind without bearing any illusion, the Dharma of Nirvana will naturally be
revealed.” The so-called “watching the mind”, as
stated in [Lankavatara Sutra], refers to “self-aware
observation”; in other words, “to observe your own awareness”. It is very simple. Whenever you are available, you just sit
down to watch your mind. The key is
first to remove all your worries, messy thoughts, and illusions, and firmly
focus on watching your mind. The
major task is to attentively stare at the original state of mind where not any
concept or intention occurs.
Whenever you have reached the state, you must wholeheartedly stay with
it. By practicing in this way; in
the long run, you can enter the state where you are “free and self-aware and
vice versa; always aware of yourself; and always being with your own self.” When you have attained the state, to
talk about being lost or enlightened is simply an idle theory. With regard to the way of sitting, you may
refer to “the Methodology of Stopping and Contemplation”. The only difference is you do not need to
focus on any particular spot.
Generally, you fulfill your ordinary obligations. When you have a break, you try to attend
to the initial spot where thoughts are arising. Make sure you do not miss any thought;
namely, do not allow yourself to have any unconscious thoughts. In the long run, you can completely
realize your mind. Maybe you will doubt: “Isn’t the Ch’an to
be investigated?” Why to give up “investigating
a topic”, and go for “watching the mind”?
We should know there are many accessible methods, and an appropriate
approach is very essential to Dharma practice. Nowadays, there are too many factors in
our environment that interfere with “investigating a topic”. Therefore, only people who possess great
blessings, wisdom, and are willing to make a great commitment to Dharma
practice will be eligible to practice the methodology. Otherwise, it will be very risky. Therefore, temporarily, I would not
suggest people to apply the approach. V. To
Transmit the Mind [back to the top] As the Dharma of mind of the Mind School
emphasizes on “making not even one defilement”; obviously, you cannot “find any
rule from a speech, nor search any mystery from a sentence.” Otherwise, it will be very easy to “find
a wrong navigating star”, and mistake an access for an aim, just like “mistaking
the pointing thumb for the moon”. How then, do we pass on the lineage of the
Dharma of mind? It can only rely on
“transmitting mind to mind”. It
sounds quite mysterious. In fact,
an authentic Ch’an master can always radiate his prajna,
which is the light of life, by displaying a radiating circumference like a “magnetic
field”. If practitioners are truly
sincere, respectful, and faithful, they can enter the “magnetic field” to be
integrated and assimilated so as to have the empty mentality of the “original
mind” revealed, and also can personally verify the calmness, wisdom, perfection
and clearness of the Dharma of mind.
When the master affirms: “That’s it!” or verifies and “directly points
it out” to claim: “Carefully maintain it”, the secret transmission of the most
superb Dharma has been completed.
The secret mentioned here surely should not be hard to comprehend. If people, who have been permanently
practicing hard and are of integrity, virtue and purity, encounter the superb
situation, they can simultaneously have their life awakened, “have the original
recovered”, and “see the nature to become a Buddha”. Only this occurrence can authentically interpret
the true meaning of “The transmission of Ch’an is beyond the doctrines of Buddhism;
needless to write it into words; directly corresponding to one’s mind; seeing
one’s nature to become a Buddha.” The pity is that “sentient beings are
scarcely blissful and hard to modify”.
Even after “going through hundreds and thousands of kalpas,
one may still not be able to meet an enlightened master and taste the
prescription of the Dharma.” Nevertheless, most practitioners do not cherish
what advantages they have attained and are unwilling to “maintain” the
mentality. After a blink of an eye,
they have returned to their original life style failing to let go of all their
old habits. Therefore, it is
compulsory to raise the threshold of selecting practitioners; otherwise, we may
have to take the blame for abusing the grand Dharma. This is the non-shared methodology of the
lineage of the Mind School. The
transmitter detaches from any language or form, but the receiver can feel the
transmission. It is absolutely
beyond the interpretation of any languages or words. VI. Conclusion [back to the top] The life of Dharma grows flourishing in the
mind field of people who are honest, bright, and impartial; and its full
accomplishment lies in the complete personification of the Dharma.
The saddest thing for sentient beings is
mistaking karmic consciousness, which is accumulated by karma, contaminated by six
defilements and functions like a “computer”, for their true and original
self. They completely have their true
mind, the Buddha nature, buried, so that their true self, which is originally
free, liberated, bright and complete, is lost. As a result, they are “embracing a
treasure going astray”, and floating on the karmic sea. During their lifetime, they cannot get
rid of the shackles of desire and the entanglement of worries. After their death, they need to drag
their soul, which is composed of various “karma”, to reincarnate among the Six
Realms. When will they be
liberated? Why don’t they just temporarily
leave their chores and determine to work hard on finding their true, eternal
and original self? Once they reach
the point, they can simultaneously break the bond, get out of the nightmare,
and return to the original, isn’t that great and splendid?
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