迈向生命的圆满（英文版）
耕云导师
ＧＥＮＧ ＹＵＮ
APPROACHING TO THE PERFECTION OF LIFE
Delivered on December 18, 1983 in Taipei
[I. The Mission of Life] [II.The Foundation of Being Upgraded - Sincerity, Respect, Belief & Practice]
[III. The Character & Conduct of the Liberated][IV.The Genuine Conduct of Ch'an ][V. To Achieve the Perfection of Life][VI.Conclusion ]
Why are we presenting the topic of "Approaching to the Perfection of Life"?
Firstly, we have to acknowledge the fact that too many people are not aware of their purposes in life. As a result, they are not only messing up the potential promise their lives hold and decaying away as mere vegetation, but also brewing excessive bitterness in life with their own mistakes. On this journey, there is no absence of darkness, bitterness or helplessness. Undoubtedly, there is no way for them to realize the purpose of birth as human beings, as well as how to survive in this world? Consequently, they have lost direction and purpose in life.
As Xiang-Yu saw the Pioneer Emperor of Qien Dynasty gloriously parading with hundreds and thousands of attendants around, he was green with envy and commented, “Anyone can replace him.” Identically, after having sung the lyrics - “Indulge yourself in drinking and singing! Who knows when life will end? As those morning dews, it will not stay long.”, Cao-Cao was defeated at Chr-Bi.
The majority of humans are prone to be utilitarian, and always devote themselves to pursue the immediate pleasures in life. However, how can material satisfaction fill up the void of one’s mind? People who wholeheartedly pursue the pleasure of life will in turn be in possession of greater emptiness. People who are chasing after excitement, likewise, have to deal with much more loneliness afterwards. As for people who are striving for the creation of life’s climax, don’t they realize that the lows and the highs are always corresponding to each other? Low tides immediately arrive when high tides have gone. Being trapped in this contrastive tangle, people can easily lose themselves and deviate from the mission of life.
What is the mission of life? Here is the precious message from the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment: Vajragarbha Bodhisattva asked the Buddha, “When will all the Tathagata Buddhas (Ru-Lai) return to be sentient beings?” The Buddha answered eloquently, “After gold has been refined from mineral to bullion, when will the bullion be returned to mineral?” As we know, though it is very difficult to refine bullion from mineral, it is almost impossible to return bullion back into mineral.
Therefore, we realize that the birth of man is such a sacred event, and the mission of life is even more so. Consequently, everyone needs to go through the processes of suffering, awakening, being nurtured and purified, he then can be relieved from the fantasy and vanishing of impermanency to grasp the truth and eternity of life. Only by constantly rectifying our own thoughts and behaviors (at least, to always have a clear conscience), can we maintain the An-Hsiang in our minds and the harmony of our souls. Furthermore, it can help us clear the shadowy blemishes within our lives, and allows our lives to radiate their original shine and fullness. That can be ultimately claimed as the true mission in life. If the darkness within our lives cannot be removed, we will be unable to attain the mentality of radiance, delight and An-Hsiang. We will inevitably become lost again, as the saying goes, “The sudden appearance of a gloomy state will quickly drag us to follow it.”
Consequently, the true mission of life is the practice of Ch’an. By rectifying one’s thoughts and behaviors, one’s original, free, and liberated state of life can be recovered. If one intends to do practice, firstly, one needs to apply his true reason to set up an objective and define its route. This is the most essential issue.
There are many variants of the Buddhism discipline. Therefore, it is inevitable for those superficial Buddhists, who have not viewed the true origin of the Dharma, to criticize others. However, as far as the Buddha-Dharma is concerned, simply as what the Buddha said, “It is like tasting honey, either sides or the center are equally sweet.” The Buddha also said, “The Buddha-Dharma is completely equal; therefore, it is free of superiority and inferiority.” However, why have so many branches diverged? We must realize that the Buddha does not belong to any particular branch. The wisdom and talent of people in the later time was so limited that they could only realize and spread one sutra. In the long run, practitioners who specialized in a certain sutra inevitably established their own branch of Buddhism. In fact, “There is only one origin, but expedient means leading back to the origin are many.” It does not matter which branch you follow; however, your focus and devotion are critical. In addition, you should not follow those who only possess empty titles and merely pursue fame and superficial benefits. It is very crucial that the leader of a branch must be a true master who can help you remove the stains of your mind to achieve the purification of your life. After having completed the process of purification, you will be able to prove the eternity of life and be free from the chaos, torture and helplessness of worries. Indeed, only by means of constantly rectifying one’s thoughts and behaviors, can one then live a life of golden means and attain the true completeness of life.
Throughout history, none of any individual has been able to find an environment to completely suit him and satisfy his personal needs. Even the Three Emperors and Five Kings, Qien and Han Emperors, they all lived with certain regrets. When Confucius traveled among countries to promote his concept of utopia, he was almost starved to death at Chen-Tsai. As for the Buddha, he was encountered with numerous traps and defamatory accusations masterminded by his cousin- Devadatta.
Jesus Christ, with a gracious heart, kept telling people how to give up selfishness, and live with a clear conscience. However, wherever he went, he was expelled and trapped. Eventually, he was even betrayed by his own disciple.
Though we, as ordinary people, live with some regrets, so do the saints. Their regrets arise from “failing to drag people to enter [the realm of truth].” Otherwise, all sentient beings could have been enlightened. Basically, the regrets of the saints emerge from their merciful minds, which are gentle and mild, and also free from the adherences to the self and the Dharma. On the contrary, our regrets are generally developed from our own selfish minds. There are emotions of self-destruction, sadness, love and hatred, all of which are derived from our self-desire and self-preservation. All these negative emotions block our original minds and shake our stands.
Having realized this, we should strive to fully develop the potential of life to pursue its perfection and win the ultimate victory; in other words, to verify and prove the eternity of life. This is absolutely not an illusion. We can realistically follow the true examples set by previous saints and sages. As the saying goes, “Idealistic models can be found in the past.” We also can learn from the valuable theories and sutras they personally instructed, and fully focus on researching them to gradually approach to the grand path of liberation.
II. The Foundation of Being Upgraded - Sincerity, Respect, Belief & Practice
After having fully recognized the mission of life and decide to attain the perfection in life, we firstly have to establish some basic foundations. In other words, there are certain prerequisites or requirements to satisfy. If one cannot persist in abiding by these basic prerequisites, he will be surely wasting his whole life and achieve nothing. The prerequisites are sincerity, respect, belief and practice.
1. Sincerity
Speaking of sincerity, everyone would think of it as something abstract. Indeed, the term is old and its definition is ambiguous. In fact, it is simply because we have never deeply thought about it. Sincerity is not only a special feature within the Chinese humanistic spirit, but also a symbol of the Chinese ethnic philosophy. Generally, the human thought can be divided into three categories: intellectualism, emotionalism and volitionalism.
Though emotionalism is highly poetic, it inevitably makes people stubborn and indulgent.
Intellectualism does not lack the spirit of pursuing the truth and its brilliant knowledge and theories; however, it unavoidably tends to be empty, distant and cold.
With regard to volitionalism, it easily turns people to be arbitrary and dominant. Nevertheless, only “sincerity”, which has been highlighted by the Chinese people, can exhibit the essence of the true spirit shown by both man and heaven.
When one’s true intelligence has reached the state of the utmost goodness, and one’s wholeheartedly true affection has also been immersed within it, the absolutely pure sincerity is then formed that clearly reflects one’s steadfast volition to permanently perfect one’s virtue. Only sincerity can avoid people being biased against the separation of intelligence, emotion and volition. Being sincere can make people firmly adhere to being good. In addition, it can also help people apply their true intelligence to identify the truth to reach the state of doubtlessness. After having reached the doubtless state, one can eliminate all doubts to be able to verify and attain the truth of the universe.
Therefore, the prerequisite of learning the Dharma is to remain steadfast in sincerity. Without sincerity, there is virtually nothing. If you are forced by temporary worries to learn the Dharma, and once your dilemma has gone and an abundance of joy and leisure are arriving, you immediately discard the Dharma. Your cause of learning the Dharma is actually all pretence. Because of the fake cause, its effect is surely to be fault. A hypocritical cause can only result in a destructive effect. Consequently, only being absolutely sincere can make one successful in one’s Dharma practice.
2. Respect
Respect does not mean to constantly kowtow or bow. Instead, it is a manner of seriousness, discipline, diligence and self-control. Some people are very careless, and do not research attentively. They learn little about the Dharma, and their enthusiasm for learning is also on and off likened to fishing for three days and taking the following two days off to dry the fishing nets. This attitude exactly interprets “no respect”. They do not treat the Dharma as their own lives, nor do they desperately learn the Dharma as if they are extinguishing the raging blaze on their heads. In terms of respect, it refers to strictness and discipline, and it is neither casual nor careless. Both having vegetarian diets and taking a bath can be claimed as a display of showing respect. When one’s attitude has reached the state where one’s body and mind are consistent and so are the internal mentality and the external conduct, one can then meet the requirements of respect.
3.Belief
In terms of belief, it can be categorized into true belief and superstition. Superstition arises from a utilitarian mind-frame emerging from one’s own desires, and it makes one adhering to illusions in lieu of the truth. Nevertheless, true belief is assured when one has reached the state of doubtlessness, and it is the genuine belief. If one is uncertain about one’s belief, it indicates that one lacks assurance. Lacking assurance makes one unlikely doing the right practice, and therefore, unable to achieve one’s mission of life. Consequently, one’s belief must be the true belief that results from one’s intelligent choice, and it must perseveringly guide one’s thoughts and behaviors to make one eventually successful.
4.Practice
The Dharma emphasizes the corresponding link between realization and practice. One should practice all the contents of the Dharma one has realized. If one only aims at realizing the Dharma but not practicing it, one’s realization without practice equals to no realization. Wang Yang-Ming advocated the integration of realization and practice to manifest that any form of evolution or development can only be shown by the realistic practice. If one only intends to realize but not practice, one’s realization is nothing but an empty theory. An empty theory cannot ferment and develop within one’s life, neither can it modify one’s temperament, let alone to merge and personify one’s life within the Dharma.
III. The Style & Conduct of the Liberated
After all, a true practitioner is fundamentally different from an ordinary person. At least he should be guided by the Confucianism to conduct; namely, to conduct what he should and not to conduct what he should not. Before being liberated, practitioners firstly need to establish their own styles and characters. It is likened to constructing a house; above all, the frame and structure of the house need to be completed. Then, what are the style and character for a liberated practitioner?
1.Not to Be Enslaved by One’s Body
The reason why people fail in practice or reverse their practice in the mid-way is due to the fact that their minds are enslaves by their bodies. As Lao-zi (老子) said, “I have a great affliction, which is my own body.” We always consider this statement as overly negative; in fact, it is not. Originally, a true practitioner is free, liberated, unselfish, and selfless. However, when the weather turns cold, he cannot help but put on more clothes. When it gets hot, he has to take them off. When he is hungry, he must eat. When his thyroid gland over-secretes, he becomes restless and unable to sleep. When his sexual hormones are flooding, he becomes uneasy and desires to court the opposite sex. All these are simple examples to show us why our bodies are our greatest afflictions. Let me ask you, while you are starving, can you still sit with An-Hsiang and preach about the Dharma? I believe you have to comfort your stomach first. When you have sat for a long time and your bladder is overly full, can you still sit quietly and meditate? To most people, all these are unavoidable.
Senior practitioners all know that fame, gain, food, sex and sleep are the five roots of hell. It is because they can cover the true mind; therefore, they are also called the Five Coverings. To most people, it covers their true suchness, prajna, true mind, or original face. Undoubtedly, underneath the covering is the darkness. If you cannot overcome the obstacle to eliminate the Five Coverings, your practice will be unlikely to reach its ideal state.
The Five Coverings are all derived from the Five Aggregates. Our self-consciousness is also formed because of mistaking the Five Aggregates for one’s true self.
Fame – once the false self-consciousness has been formed, one’s vanity subsequently arises to initialize the pursuit of fame, reputation and glory.
Gain – it is the eagerness of possession derived from one’s self-desire and also a mentality of gain and loss derived from one’s self-preservation.
Food – when one is hungry, he is not only craving for food, but also extremely critical about it.
Sex – to enjoy admiring beautiful women is mentally a natural response for ordinary people, thus it cannot be claimed as a sin or a crime. However, if you sneakily climb over the neighboring fence to harass a virgin, you undoubtedly misconduct and ruin your own morality. Numerous people have already possessed virtuous wives, but they cannot resist the thought of having affairs. To practitioners, all these are dark thoughts of Unknown Ignorance.
Sleep – it is sleeping, dreaming and dazing.
If one’s brain is entirely filled with fame, gain, food, sex and sleep, one’s mind will be blackened by these illusions of Unknown Ignorance to become darker and darker. The dust enshrouding one’s mind can be thickened through life after life until it has totally blocked the mind and does not allow even one single ray of one’s mental light to penetrate the darkness. Obviously, the “Unknown Ignorance” is overly thick and heavy, isn’t it? Therefore, if one wants to be liberated; basically, one needs to be able to monitor or control one’s body, but not vice versa.
In order to prevent the hyperactivity of the Five Aggregates leading to potential sin, ancient practitioners had only one meal a day. They also abstained from meat and seafood to become vegetarians. In order not to be spoiled by the comfortable environment and become complacent and unmotivated, they did not sleep at home, but merely meditated under trees. In addition, in order not to be trapped in entangling dreams, some even practiced by continuously walking without any sitting at all. Some other people chose to practice by the water or in the forest to cultivate the birth of their Dharma body. The diligent practice as such is meant to overcome the physical obstacles. They merely provide access to avoid being enslaved by one’s body; however, they cannot lead us to the final goal. Consequently, one needs to regularly moderate one’s diet, mind, body, and sleep to keep one’s life balanced.
Dr. Sun Yet-San said, “The human body is the container of its mind.” Indeed, the human body is simply a container of one’s mind. We should not allow a tool to manipulate its user; on the contrary, the user should be able to operate a tool. To achieve this, people need to have correct recognition and proper adjustment.
If practitioners do not drink alcohol, they will not psychopathically misconduct. If they do not ingest too much meat or seafood, they can avoid absorbing too much Ying-substance to nurture the growth of Unknown Ignorance. Why were ancient people vegetarians? It is because vegetables are products of photosynthesis, and they are Yang-natured substances. As for the flesh of animals’, especially their guts, as they do not have direct contact with sun-light, so they contain very high acidity and strong Ying-natured substances. The heavy Ying substance present within such food will accelerate the growth of our Unknown Ignorance. All these theories have been regularly mentioned by contemporary medical professionals. With regards to the methods of moderating one’s mind and body, we can find a great deal of precious inspiration from the decent speech and conduct of the ancient sages.
2. Not to be Restricted to any Matter
To attain a liberated mind, firstly, one must not be restricted to any matter. Many practitioners hide themselves deeply within mountains, and unwilling to have any contact with people. Indeed, in that situation, they can reach the states of “being absolutely tranquil without any thoughts or actions,” as well as “having a mind of heaven composure with a totally submissive and sound body.” However, when they enter metropolitan cities, they gradually become susceptible to the magnificent attractions and lose their minds. Obviously, their practice has not been successful yet. Ladies and gentlemen, since the ancient times, have you ever seen any Buddha or Bodhisattva, who dares not meet people? Our ancient ancestors said, “One can practice at any cross road,” which refers to being able to stay solitary even in the crowd of thousands and millions of people. When we see various temptations, we should simply react as what Zhuang-Zi (莊子) said, “Saints use their minds as mirrors.” No matter what reason, matter or object surfaces, one’s mind can clearly view it and then let it go as the coming and going of the spring dream leaving no trace behind. Being able to maintain a mind of no dwelling as such, one naturally will not be restricted to any matter. Therefore, why must one retreat in the deep mountains to practice?
The range of matter is very broad. If we dichotomize it, we can conclude that except one’s mind, all the rest is matter including man and things. In other words, if you can maintain your mind without being led, monitored, or bewildered by the illusions of the surrounding environment, you will be like what ancient folks described, “Even eight gusts of wind cannot move you at all”. Indeed, when one’s mind does not attach to any gain or loss, benefit or failure, defamation or reputation, and praise or teasing, one definitely will not be restricted to any matter. However, if you feel like losing gravity and flying in the air when hearing someone praise you, or feel the double gravity making your head too heavy to be lifted when hearing someone tease or defame you; obviously, you are restricted to matter.
As long as one can find peace in one’s mind, conduct with reason, and assure to always have a clear conscience, one should be able to persist in the fact that the meaning of living and the value of life are absolutely not built upon the subjective and superficial likes or dislikes of the few persons. If you can achieve this, others’ likes or dislikes, defamation or teasing, and applauses or praises, are no longer important at all. Otherwise, you will be driven by them and be exactly restricted to matter. Hence, to reach the state of liberation; above all, you must be able to stand firmly and not to be restricted to any matter.
3.Not to Be Restricted to Emotion
In terms of emotion, it may be positive or negative, strong or weak, and ordinary or extraordinary. Another name of the Buddha is “Capable of Being Benign”; and the basic meaning of Bodhisattva is an awakened conscious being.
Emotion is the source of morality shared by all humans. Emotion is even the primary resource for becoming a Buddha. Without emotion, no one can become a Buddha. Why is emotion the source of all morality? The emotion here refers to the positive and negative ones. Negative emotion includes hatred, combat and destruction; whereas, sacrifice, contribution and harmony are positive emotions. Even the tiniest insects or the lowest class of animals have their basic affection and mercy; otherwise, they cannot reproduce to form new generations.
Emotion is not a bad term. If humans do not have emotion, there will be no basis for morality, trust and coexistence. If we say someone is emotionless, we simply mean he or she is not a human being, and worse than a cold-blooded animal. It is because even a cold-blooded animal possesses more or less affection.
Can people be regarded as filial if they do not love their parents at all? Likewise, can parents be regarded as benignant if they do not love their children? People who do not love their countries, nor fulfill their patriotic obligations are not loyal. People who betray their friends are not righteous. People who do not care about their own reputation obviously have lost their credits. All the subjects relating to morality are germinated from one’s emotion to gradually grow and become stronger.
To extend one’s emotion to families, one can well maintain a family. To extend one’s emotion to one’s country, one can govern the country. If one can expand one’s emotion to all creatures, one is equivalent to “Capable of Being Benignant”, which equals to a Buddha. The emotion of a Buddha is the greatest mercy and compassion; therefore, “Capable of Being Benignant” is one of the names of a Buddha.
If one does not possess the passion arising from unselfishness and selflessness, and is always emotionless and depressed, one is definitely not qualified to learn the Dharma. In addition, one does not have the intelligence to learn it. Unconditional grand mercy and shared grand compassion are the emotion of a Buddha and a Bodhisattva. Their mercy extended towards all suffering humans is absolutely unconditional. Their mercy remains constant to all, and will not fluctuate or waver because of connections or potential benefits. Likewise, their shared compassion means that they know and share the suffering of those troubled people. This is the emotion of a Buddha and a Bodhisattva.
An authentic Ch’an practitioner should be full of passion. Though the passion is so strong, it is not generated for his own sake or benefits. As Han-Yu said, “Being generously caring and loving is so called amiability.” As long as we try our best to unlimitedly expand the realm of our emotion, we can complete the task of becoming saints.
Not being restricted to emotion essentially refers to not being limited by personal affection. Do not just keep your emotion inside your own pockets and being unwilling to share them. Those who restrict their emotion within a personal range and are reluctant to extend it onto others are truly selfish. Consequently, they are absolutely not qualified to learn the Dharma.
It seems what mentioned above has nothing to do with the Dharma. In fact, they are truly the foundation of the Dharma practice. Only those, who are most passionate, loving, merciful, and also can expand their love to all creatures without any personal concerns, are the best qualified candidates for practicing the Mahayana Dharma. As for those emotionless and depressive people, they cannot even make themselves useful because of their limited talents. How could it be possible for them to learn the Dharma? Therefore, the Buddha condemned those emotionless and narrow-minded saints of the Hinayana Dharma as burnt buds and faulty seeds. Undoubtedly, burnt buds can not shoot again, and obviously it is worthless to plant faulty seeds. However, if you are against the principle of evolution and persist in growing them, the quality of their growth will be degrading and decaying.
In general, we must forget our bodies, do not be disturbed by any external objects, and then, expand and extend our emotions to all creatures. These are the style and conduct the liberated should have.
IV. The Genuine Conduct of Ch'an
The success of the Ch’an practice virtually relies on the accurate and persevering implementation. Then, what is the genuine conduct of Ch’an?
1.To Search Thoroughly for the Origin of Reason
To bury oneself in endless theories from day to night is likened to continuously spinning silk into thread without stopping. The pursuit of reason is infinite and endless. Numerous people spent all their lifetimes researching sutras. Sympathetically, they were still in despair and felt helpless when they died.
I wrote a passage about “Extremes meet” in my publication of “Writings Inspired from Watching Waves.” Upon careful deliberation, you will find that not only does it apply to material objects, but also to reason. Searching for the very origin of reason to the state where reason has not appeared yet, nothing has ever happened, and none of any life has existed, it is the time to obtain the true message. If you neglect the state of no words and no languages, and try to search from the very beginning again, you virtually have missed it in your face. Why? All the philosophers in the world commonly acknowledge that the three measurements of assessing the truth are as follows:
Firstly, the truth must be original; therefore, it can only be discovered, but not created.
Secondly, the truth is universal, ordinary and unspecified. To pursue mystery or fantasy will eventually drive one crazy, which absolutely does not correspond to the truth.
Thirdly, the truth is undeniable and ever-present. Its existence will not be changed because of one’s belief or unbelief.
To measure it by applying these rules, one can realize that the truth is original. Originally, were there over forty thousand galaxies? Were there countless worlds of stars? Were there any solar system or Earth? Were there human beings? What is the truth? Isn’t it too obvious? If you do not recognize the truth, which originally exists, and persist in adhering to those man-made words and languages, you actually mistake the means as the purpose and abandon the essential to chase after the trifles. As there were too many untalented and improper practitioners; therefore, the Ch’an School, that emphasizes the transmission of Ch’an is beyond the doctrines of Buddhism, was developed.
In terms of pursuing reason, we have to search for its very origin. We can start by asking, “Where were humans from?” and “Where was the earth from?” You keep analyzing and being retrospective to the state where you seem to “reach a dead end in the midst of mountains and rivers.” However, in the meanwhile, you also seem to see “a village emerging from behind the dense forestry of willows and flowers.” This is exactly “Extremes meet.” Therefore, it should not be hard for you to discover what the truth is and what the statement of “The Dharma as original Dharma is non-Dharma” means. I would never disclose the following messages; otherwise, I will turn the truth to be common knowledge and block your opportunity to realize it. When you return to the original state and common phenomenon of life, you will no longer doubt the equality among sentient beings and between the sentient beings and the Buddha. Consequently, the search can only be completed when we have reached the very origin of reason. Then, we realize what ancient folks meant by “The bottom of the bucket fully falls.” Moreover, we can claim as what ancient folks said, “The grand task has been completed.”
In addition, people often say that a settled mind will make one attaining one’s reason. I think the statement is debatable. To those logical and superior intellectuals, the reason why they can settle their minds is because they have attained reason. How can one settle one’s mind without attaining reason? In fact, one’s mind can only be settled when one has realized that the very beginning is essentially the very end and vice versa, then undoubtedly and fully immerses oneself in it. This is the true subject and objective of the Ch’an practice. If you do not persevere in pursuing the goal and only listen to others’ verbal talks, you definitely will fail. It is because “That which is taken from outside cannot be counted as a family heirloom.” How can we truly benefit from others’ possession of the Dharma? As the saying goes, “without being chilled to the bone, how can a plum blossom exude a beautiful sweet fragrance?”
2.To Conduct Profoundly with Prajna to Eliminate Disturbances
To eliminate means to remove or to get rid of. It refers to one’s waking up from a spring dream and find the dream is completely untraceable. While we are working day and night, our brains keep interacting with things and images around. For example, one day you meet someone you saw before, you can recognize him or her immediately. Moreover, if you often hear a song which is broadly broadcasted; after a certain period of time, you can easily sing it without reading its notes. This recording habit is formed by the interaction between our ears and the sounds. The identical recording throughout one’s whole life will turn to be the database for one’s next life and be stored in one’s storehouse-consciousness. When one has been enlightened to be a Buddha, one’s storehouse-consciousness will be transferred to Tathagatagarbha. Tathagatagarbha provides all the data accumulated from one’s previous lives, and an enlightened one, a Buddha, can freely use them but never be disturbed again by one’s biased personalities in the past. If one was an executioner in one’s previous life, one would still be interested in looking at people’s necks, even though one does not do the same job now. This is the remaining influence of the recording nature.
A Buddha is a purified person. By means of introspection, he has already eliminated all his biased personality as well as the dust on his mind.
“Maha Prajnaparamita” is a term from the Buddhism Sutras, and can be directly translated as “the mighty wisdom can take you to the opposite shore”. As it is the mighty wisdom; therefore, it does not refer to any ordinary wit. Ordinary wits that come from our discriminating minds are actually called devil’s wits. The mighty wisdom is distant from any discrimination, and absolutely true and naive. As the saying goes, “Though being adults, they have never lost their childlike minds.” They are like those innocent and joyful children and their minds are pure and true, which we understand. However, in reality, Prajna is a kind of infinite wisdom, which is the origin of all wisdom and the basis of all reason. Without Maha Prajna, your discriminating mind will not even arise. Ladies and gentlemen, the statement deserves a great deal of deliberation. And that is the reason why worries are Bodhi. It is because one without one’s life is unlikely to be conscious. Consequently, Maha Prajna is the true essence, original state and common phenomenon of our lives.
In order to restore and maintain the mighty wisdom, we have to conduct profoundly with Prajna. The other interpretation of Prajna is the Samadhi, i.e. the stable mentality of Ch’an (禪定), which was defined by the Sixth Patriarch. Only the genuine Samadhi can accurately correspond to Prajna. It can be divided into three stages:
The first stage is to detach from adherences: By means of the Ch’an practice, reflecting on a certain topic, or the direct transmission of the true mind, one can be conscious of the mentality, enters the state of the Detachment Samadhi and becomes free from all the external interferences and adherences. In the past, one’s mind was fully occupied with endless thoughts. However, now, one’s mind is fully conscious, aware and awakened. It is not dazing or delusive. It does not think of anything, just be empty. When people are talking, you can hear them clearly and precisely. Your mind does nothing but listening, and the state of the mind equals to the state of the Detachment Samadhi. Once you attain and maintain this state of mind, even though you are walking in the crowded Western-Gate Mall (one of the most prominent shopping districts in Taipei), you feel like you are walking alone in the outback. Even though there are millions of people around you, you are only conscious of your own self. If you can deepen this mentality and keep maintaining it, it would be like what ancient sages said, “Though being fully dressed for a whole day, one does not even feel wearing a strand of silk on one’s body. Though having meals for a whole day, one does not feel chewing even one grain of rice.” Therefore, one surely does not care about what fabric, style, or fashion of one’s wearing, neither will one care about others’ praises or insults. In general, one does not have any discriminating mind, and this exactly tells how to conduct profoundly with Prajna.
When one can conduct profoundly with Prajna, everything will turn to be very simple. When serving an emperor, one is respectful, being a father, one loves one’s children, and being a son, one is filial to one’s parents. Indeed, nothing will be affected, and one can work as usual. If one possesses this mentality to lead an army to fight, one definitely will win the battle. As the saying goes, “Armed with a sword to fight with this sole mentality.” Who will doubt the fact that soldiers with such a mountain-like stable mentality surely can win the victory?
When people have reached the stage of the Detachment Samadhi, the happenings in the previous minute will disappear in the following minute as those untraceable spring dreams. Naturally they can live a carefree life and fully enjoy liberation and An-Hsiang. There is a term in the Sutras called the Genuine Perception, which has two definitions. One is the correct sensation. People living with the correct sensation live decently. Otherwise, their perception must be wrong, i.e. the evil sensation.
The other definition is “true benefit”. If one can not obtain true benefit from learning the Dharma, what one has learned is called dry wisdom. It equals to a dehydrated plant, such as a dry banana. After having lost all its moisture, it no longer tastes the same. Therefore, we must possess the Genuine Perception so that we can slightly taste the true flavor of the Dharma. If we ask what the flavor of the Dharma is, most people do not know. They can only give empty talks, but have never tasted the flavor of the Dharma. It is likened that people who are lying about their fullness have actually starved for two meals. People like such are not qualified to satisfy the criteria of sincerity, respect and belief.
In order to eliminate all matters and reasons to live harmoniously with people in the community and fulfill our obligations, and to prevent our Dharma minds from being drowned, twisted and restrained by those external forms, we can only conduct profoundly with Prajna.
Prajna is a mentality that detaches from the discriminating mind. In other words, it is the Detachment Samadhi of the non-dwelling mind. A legitimate practice can only be undergone on the basis of this Samadhi.
I often tell people that introspection and repentance must be undergone in the state of Samadhi. In fact, only in the state of the Detachment Samadhi, can you activate your introspection. Otherwise, you cannot figure out what to introspect about. Let me tell you that when I entered the state of the Detachment Samadhi to proceed with my introspection, I could clearly remember my crawling on the ground at the age of two, as well as the moment of my birth. If I could go one step further, it was very likely that I could have developed the superpower of reading people’s present and past lives.
If you have truly attained the authentic Detachment Samadhi and have attentively completed a thorough introspection with a sincere, respectful and faithful mind, it is very possibly that you can reveal your original face before birth immediately or in three or five days. As far as the revelation of one’s supernatural power is concerned, some can develop their divine eyes, whereas some others can develop their divine ears. However both are not true supernatural powers, as they may decay to lose. Only people who have possessed the power of reading people’s present and past lives can claim that their supernatural power is true and will never decay, because they have already realized their true selves.
The second stage of the Samadhi is to remove all adherences. By means of introspecting, you can remove all your adherences and clean your contaminated mind.
The third stage is the stage of No Adherence. To eliminate the adherences to both the self and the Dharma will lead you to the state of no adherence. It is the moment of the grand liberation, which equals to the state that ancient sages described, “The bottom of the bucket completely falls.” The mental contamination, the self and the Dharma all have gone. As the saying goes, “A talented housewife cannot cook a meal without rice.” Having arrived at this stage, the genetic basis of life, the original state of life, and the most preliminary, original and non-dual self will naturally emerge. This is the exact moment one has verified and assured the true eternity.
Therefore, if you do not conduct profoundly with Prajna, you cannot eliminate interferences. Then you will always be bothered by various matters and external factors, and make yourself uneasy and unable to maintain An-Hsiang. Hence, you must conduct profoundly with Prajna, and it can only be realized by one’s mind. If your karma is thick and heavy, you may never have the opportunity to listen to the authentic Dharma in this life. Only people with very light karma and amiable origin can possibly attain access to hear the authentic Dharma. I believe that they have already attained Prajna now. Why do I say so? It is because at this moment, they do not have any illusions in their minds. If you ask them: “What is going on?” They will answer: “Nothing.” If you ask them what they are thinking about? The answer is also “Nothing.” If you ask them whether they have fallen asleep, they will tell you they are full of energy. It shows us that their Mahaprajna has already been revealed.
If you can maintain this mentality, even though you are busy for a whole day, you feel like doing nothing. When you are in the crowd of millions of people, you feel like just being with yourself. Isn’t it free and joyful? It is the Buddha’s grand mercy, and the methodology of attaining peace and happiness. If we cannot make the restrained and buried Mahaprajna revealed, we will fail to obtain the true peace and happiness.
3. To Compromise with and Transcend the Reality to Accommodate Oneself to Various Conditions
Many Ch’an practitioners overcorrect, such as Ji-Guong, a living Buddha in fiction, he ate the flesh of dogs, drank alcohol, and even slept in pubs. It was because those practitioners in the Sung Dynasty commonly emphasized on sitting meditation throughout day and night without even lying down for a second. Obviously, the approach was too strict, dull and serious, and lack of a light and vivid sense. Consequently, Ji-Guong Buddha personally appeared to demonstrate the Dharma to show people that practice should not be limited to our mouths and bodies only. Genuine practice means to regularly maintain a bright and pure mentality and constantly remain one’s mind uncontaminated.
Ji-Guong was actually referred to Dao-Ji in the Serial Records of Pointing at the Moon. However, he was modified in the Biography of Ji-Guong. The authentic Biography of Ji-Guong was named “Anecdotes of the Drunken Enlightened”, which had only twenty to thirty thousand words. It was truly the ancient wood-carved version. In fact, his conduct was abnormal, unusual, and not worth following.
As for Han-Shan(寒山) and Shr-De(拾得), they could not represent the Ch’an either. Many Western people talked about the new Ch’an. After having read Han-Shan’s poems, they started advocating the new Ch’an by blindly denying all the general values of a society and completely attached to existentialism. They wore rags, kept long hair, bleached and patched their jeans, and had the hem of their pants frayed, which were actually also mimicked by quite a few people in Taiwan. To claim this kind of indecent conduct as the new Ch’an is truly a big joke.
Ch’an is very decent and sacred. The Bodhidharma, coming from the West, and the following Patriarchs all lived in the temples of the Vinaya School. The Vinaya School emphasizes on the practice of three thousand rules to maintain decent manners and eighty thousand types of delicate behaviors to follow. Indeed, there are specific rules for every movement of their hands and feet. Hence, the Ch’an is not casual, indecent, or light-hearted. Mentally, it transcends; whereas physically, it is realistic and practical. Consequently, Ch’an practitioners live within their responsibilities and obligations.
Let us look at the appearance of a Bodhisattva. We can find that they all look very decent and respectable, and are dressed up nicely with matching decorations. Why? People who do not respect themselves will surely not be respected by others. Similarly, if you respect yourself, others will naturally respect you as well. Bodhisattvas are not dressed up for satisfying their own vanity, but for harmonizing interpersonal relationships. Here is a passage we read in the Diamond Sutra: “When the Buddha is going to ask for alms, he will get dressed.” Does it mean that he usually does not wear anything except when having a meal? No, it does not mean that. He usually was in his everyday wear; however, he would change into an outing wear when he went to ask for alms.
Therefore, when practicing Ch’an, we should follow the realistic and practical conduct and style of the Buddha. We should act differently from those followers of the vicious and cult-like Ch’an. They left their hair messy and dirty, beards unshaved, and noses turned yellow because of being smoked by cigarettes, all these definitely do not match up with the image of an authentic Ch’an practitioner. On one hand, a Ch’an practitioner should realistically conduct and speak, so that he can properly behave to harmonize amongst people and earn their respects. On the other hand, his mentality should be transcendent, so that he can expand his wisdom and passion to integrate and blend into the realm of the Dharma. To an awakened being, his mind is enlightened and he has personally verified and assured the truth of the universe; therefore, his mind does not exist only for a certain period of time, nor limited within a certain space. In fact, his mind truly and generally exists, so that it is transcendent, and his conduct is decent. In this way, he can smoothly accommodate himself to the realistic world.
V.To Achieve the Perfection of Life
If one can achieve to reach the above-mentioned four stages without feeling any regrets or defects, I assure he will be able to attain the perfection of life. What is the perfection of life?
1.To Complete the Mission of Life
The mission of life is to rectify one’s thoughts and behaviors, and its main focus is to eliminate one’s Ignorance. Form, sensation, perception, mental formations and consciousness are all included in the range of Ignorance. Ignorance equates to gloominess, which can be generally divided into three types:
The first type is Unknown Ignorance. The process of breaking the Unknown Ignorance is likened to refining gold minerals. After having been burned and trained in the heated furnace, its impurities can be completely removed, so that one can accomplish one’s mission in life. Realistically, it can only be achieved by complete enlightenment and true practice.
The second type is called Human Ignorance, also known as Fundamental Ignorance. It is formed by human bodies, and the Manas-Consciousness (the 7th consciousness), that generates adherences, is its fundamental root. People often perceive the computer-like brain cells as their true selves and persist in possessing them, which is Fundamental Ignorance. We have been persistently mistaking the accumulation of the Five Aggregates and the reflection and shadows of the Six Dusts for our “selves” since we were born. Therefore, it is inevitable that the desires of possession, domination, leadership and self-preservation are produced from the selfish self, which instigates our worries regarding gain or loss, greed for longevity and fear of death. Human beings have distinguished themselves through the evolution of all nature’s creatures to embark on the journey of ultimate refinement within the species. While working towards an idealistic Utopia, we still retain the crude flaws of primitive animals, and that is the real origin of sin.
What attribute of the animal species survived the process of the evolution, and still exists within human beings today?
First of all is folly. There are many examples of it. Some people were indulged in playing Ma-Jiang and did not want to cook for their children. They simply gave their children money to walk across the street to buy buns for meals. While the children were across the street, they were carelessly run over by cars.
There was an old lady in her eighties, and her son finally gave her a grandson in his fifties. Naturally, she extremely loved her grandson. Her daughter-in-law asked her not to hold the baby and left everything to the nanny. However, she would not listen to her and persisted in chewing the biscuits to feed the baby. When the baby was at the age of two, he was having high fever for days on end. They sent him to the hospital and found his lungs already rotten. It was because the grandma had contracted tuberculosis, and infected her grandson. The baby was too young to resist the infection and was dead, leading to the end of this family’s offspring. The old lady started blaming her daughter-in-law for going out to work and neglected her grandson. Her daughter-in-law could only be tolerant of such blame; however the family’s nanny could not help telling the truth to the old lady,
“Granny, the doctor diagnosed your contraction of tuberculosis, and that infected your grandson to cause his death….”
As a result, the old lady was deeply ashamed and remorseful, and hanged herself shortly. Her daughter-in-law became insane later on. Who killed these three people? It was folly.
The second is cruelty. Wherever there was a fire, nobody would cry or panic. They just gathered to look on and said, “What a fire!” Fortunately, it was soon put out by fire fighters. However, some people were upset about the quick extinguishment, and complained about missing the climax of the scene. It is cruelty. When there is a car accident and it looks horrible; however, many people still enjoy watching it. It is cruelty.
The third is timidity. Fierce leopards dare not sleep on the flat ground, but sleep up in the trees. Some people are afraid of ghosts, whereas some others are afraid of losing face. Besides, some are worrying about being betrayed and losing their jobs. Therefore, they are mostly living with worries and fears. How pitiful they are!
Consequently, in order to have Human Ignorance revealed, we must eliminate our greed, hatred, and folly to overcome it. In fact, it is very simple to get rid of folly. You only have to extract your self-adherence, and cut off the root of life; naturally, your origin of goodness will be growing, and Bodhi will be increasing. Gradually, your wisdom is arising and your sympathy is expanding; then, the seed of Bodhi will start shooting, growing and flourishing in your mind.
The third type is Saint’s Ignorance. Do saints still possess Ignorance? Yes, they do; though their Ignorance is very mild. Otherwise, they would be super saints.
Why must human beings take three Asankhya kalpas (innumerable) of time to achieve their Buddhahood? It is because a Bodhisattva has to pass ten different stages to become a Buddha. From the first and the second stages on, all the way to the tenth; during the process, there are always wonderful states present in every stage. Therefore, it is inevitable that a Bodhisattva would more or less enjoy the great state for a certain period of time. Though the time of stay varies, it exactly shows a Bodhisattva’s subtle adherence to the Dharma. A Bodhisattva’s stay in the saint’s state in every stage results in the formation of Dwelling Ignorance, and that clearly interprets the statement of “The reason why all saints and sages are different is due to their practice of the methodology of inaction.” If a Bodhisattva does not arise any views to the Dharma, and also deviate from discrimination to be free from the self and the Dharma, he will be immediately enlightened to become a Buddha. The inheritance of the Ch’an School is the most superb methodology of perfect enlightenment so that it does not take innumerable kalpas of time to achieve, and also transcends all the levels. Every venerable practitioner within the School all commonly acknowledges “The Ch’an is the Buddha’s mind” – i.e. the essence, core, true spirit and true life of the Dharma, whereas Buddhism is the teaching personally lectured by the Buddha. If we only perceive its external appearance and overlook the mind, we are adhering to forms.
After having realized this, we know that people with limited virtue, wisdom, care or concern, absolutely cannot afford to practice the Ch’an.
2.To Win the Eternity of Life
Each person or even all the sentient beings have been drifting and sinking in the sea of life and death since the unknown beginning, and have not been awakened yet. Therefore, we still do not know where we were from and where we are leaving for after death. We have been restraining by karma throughout our lives, and can hardly make our own choices. It is really pitiful. The dust and impurity of our minds, which is formed by the gloomy thoughts in our minds, has buried the original true mind as well as the true and eternal life. If we want to remove it, we must go through the process of introspection and repentance to recover the buried original face and win the eternity of life. It is the most crucial and beneficial thing to do.
The Buddha personally claimed that “Once gold has been refined from mineral, it is absolutely impossible to be returned to mineral.” Likewise, after we have strived to achieve the grand awakening, we will never return to be mere sentient beings. Thus, it is really worthwhile for us to persevere in pursuing this goal. People who are determined to practice will definitely succeed. What is the eternity of life? It is what the Buddha mentioned in the Nirvana Sutra, “eternity, delight, self and purity.”
Eternity
- Permanent existence
Delight
- No worries, no disturbance, extremely carefree and An-Hsiang , and flawless
Self
- Self-awareness coexists with free self, and vice versa Dharma body is present everywhere in infinite emptiness
Purity
- Be distant from sin and dust, nothing but purity and brightness
Our practice of the Dharma needs to reach this state to be claimed as a perfect success. The state of “eternity, delight, self, and purity” equates to the true independence, where one can never find things opposite or dualistic. It is truly a personal verification of the methodology of non-dual. In addition, it is also truly equal, likened to the same taste of each drop of water in the ocean. In the state, one can personally verify all those terminologies mentioned in the sutras, and it is a land of permanent brightness, tranquility and An-Hsiang. In sum, it is exactly the authentic and absolute pure land.
Finally, I would like to make a brief conclusion. How to practice the Dharma in our everyday life? It is “To abstain from all evil deeds, to exhibit forms of all good conduct, to purify one’s thoughts, and all these principles form the doctrine of Buddhism.”
The statement of “To abstain from all evil deeds, and to exhibit forms of all good conduct,” refers to, “Do not do any evil deeds, regardless of their significance; neglecting any forms of good conduct because it is trivial is also undesirable.” The sutras mention about using various merits to make one’s Dharma body sacred. There are two forms of the Dharma body. One is the plain one, and the other is with merits. The plain Dharma body lacks the canopy of a sacred glory; therefore, it needs to accumulate as many merits as possible. Nevertheless, these merits can be earned only when a practitioner does them with the mentality of “Threefold Wheel of Essential Emptiness”, namely, the mind of non-dwelling. In general, one must abstain from all evil deeds. Do not under-estimate those trivial evil deeds, and think the contamination is insignificant. After they have all been accumulated, you will lose yourself and fail to see the truth.
“To purify one’s thoughts” means that one needs to regularly purify one’s own consciousness. To monitor one’s mind is the simplest and easiest methodology of the practice, which was constantly applied by all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Patriarchs in the past. In other words, you should be conscious of every thought arising from your mind. If it is a good one, you can go for it. Otherwise, stop it, and do not have any illusion of it. It is called an empty thought. When there is a bad thought arising, you have to condemn yourself for having it. You need to remind yourself that you are not such kind of person and should not have the thought. A Bodhisattva will not have the thought, and now you are practicing the conduct of a Bodhisattva; therefore, you should not have it.
The practice of a Bodhisattva is the practice at the causal stage that leads to Buddhahood. People who are developing their minds of Bodhi can all be called Bodhisattvas; however, there are two types of Bodhisattvas. One is still working on the causal basis, and the other has reached the advanced state. A few practitioners in our audience have reached the state of the advanced Bodhisattvas, which does not mean that they have the magic power to transform an object into seventy-two forms. It simply means that their efforts on practicing the Dharma have become fruitful. Besides, they can keep and maintain the state without being lost, which is claimed as attaining effects. If they can persevere in their practices, their ranking of the advancement will surely be upgraded. If one possesses the superb quality of the Dharma practice, one does not have to take three Asankhya Kalpas (innumerable) of time to complete one’s mission of life. One can definitely complete it within this lifetime.
If one’s mission of life is not the practice of the Dharma, whatever one pursues will eventually vanish. Consequently, every practitioner of the Dharma must implement these four statements - “To abstain from all evil deeds, to exhibit forms of all good conduct and to purify one’s thoughts; and all these principles form the doctrine of Buddhism.” Let us all be inspired by the statements.
