Miscellaneous Discussions on Buddhism (Part One)
The Realm of Complete Selflessness
If one can calm down and examine that so-called self within one's own mind, one will discover that no matter how cultivated one feels oneself to be, there is still a "self" everywhere in the mind; in doing every single thing, one still habitually first considers one's own gains and losses, proceeding from one's own personal interests, and only afterward can one consider the interests of others. Because one takes all dharmas as truly existent, one contends with all dharmas. Truly achieving selflessness is very difficult. The inertial habits accumulated over beginningless kalpas—even detecting them oneself is not easy, let alone subduing and eradicating them.
What is the ultimate purpose of studying Buddhism and cultivating practice over countless kalpas? It is precisely to attain complete selflessness. As long as one can refrain from taking any dharma as the self, as truly existent, and does not contend with any dharma, then we would no longer need to study Buddhism or cultivate practice, for we would already be beyond training (aśaikṣa) in both the Great and Small Vehicles.
How should one counteract the various forms of self in the mind? First, one must know what the so-called self refers to and how broad its scope is. First eradicate the narrowest view of self, then subdue the nature of self and eradicate self-grasping. After that, there is still the broad view of self—taking all dharmas of the threefold world as the self, as real. This must be gradually subdued and eradicated along the path of future cultivation. When it is all completely eradicated, from then on there will be true peace under heaven, with nothing left to trouble us—ultimate permanence, bliss, self, and purity. How delightful that would be!
As long as one takes any dharma as truly existent and contends with it, that is the nature of self. When one truly does not contend, the mind is quite peaceful, quite soft and pliant, quite tame, quite loving and kind, quite luminous—the mind is clear and bright, open-minded and magnanimous, radiantly brilliant. When can one fully accomplish this? "Not a single dharma to confront the mind"—easy to say, but extremely hard to do; it is simply that the habitual tendencies are too deep and thick, difficult to eradicate completely.
Not opposing any person, not contending with any matter, not being enemies with any dharma—the mind is open and upright, peaceful and harmonious, candid and honest, bright and luminous, radiant and clear, tranquil and still, empty and unencumbered, harmonious and at ease. This may well be the state of mind of complete selflessness. Only such a life has true value, true meaning, and is worth cherishing. Yet even the thought of cherishing it is gone—the mind neither values any dharma nor slights any dharma, almost equal to the realm of the tathāgatagarbha.
