The World of Black Boxes
Chapter Nine: How to Break Free from the Shackles of the Black Box and Attain Liberation
I. The Supreme Truth Faculty (Black Box) Itself is Subject to Arising, Ceasing, and Change
To break free from the shackles of the black box and emerge into the great light, one must correctly perceive the illusory and unreal nature of the black box world. How is the black box illusory and unreal? Firstly, the black box is the brain's supreme truth faculty. It is generated by the tathāgatagarbha using the four great elements as seeds within the mother's womb. It is a dharma that arises from non-existence and will cease into non-existence in the future. Moreover, it undergoes various changes in between, gradually aging and developing pathologies. Therefore, it is an unreliable dharma, not to be depended upon or trusted.
Specifically, the eye supreme truth faculty is an unreliable dharma subject to arising, ceasing, and change. When pathology arises, one may become blind and unable to see forms, or encounter obstacles in seeing forms, seeing them unclearly or distortedly. When the four great elements of the eye supreme truth faculty decompose and cease, one will no longer be able to rely on it to see forms. The ear supreme truth faculty, nose supreme truth faculty, tongue supreme truth faculty, and body supreme truth faculty are likewise unreliable, subject to arising, ceasing, and change. When pathology arises, one cannot hear sounds, smell scents, taste flavors, or feel touches normally. When the four great elements decompose, all their functions cease entirely, and one can no longer rely on them to hear sounds, smell scents, taste flavors, or feel touches. Therefore, the wise cannot take the supreme truth faculty as 'I' or 'mine', and the mind does not cling by depending on the black box.
II. Realizing the Unreal and Selfless Nature of the Supreme Truth Faculty, Internal Six Dusts, and Six Consciousnesses
To break free from the shackles of the black box, one must recognize the illusory and unreal nature of the supreme truth faculty, the internal six dusts, and the six consciousnesses, and eradicate the view of self within the eighteen realms. Only then can one break free from the shackles of the black box and attain liberation sooner. Through observing the black box of the supreme truth faculty, observing the internal six dusts, and observing the functional roles of the six consciousnesses, one gradually realizes that the five supreme truth faculties are unreal, subject to arising, ceasing, and change. They are born later when conditions are sufficient; they cannot arise without causes and conditions. Therefore, they are illusory and unreal.
One realizes that the internal manifestation part, the six dusts, are unreal, subject to arising, ceasing, and change. They are composed of the seeds of the four great elements under certain conditions. When conditions are insufficient, the internal manifestation part, the six dusts, do not arise or manifest. One realizes that the six consciousnesses are illusory, unreal, subject to arising, ceasing, and change. They are born under certain conditions, composed of consciousness seeds, and their functions are illusory and unreal. When conditions are insufficient, or when the mental faculty (manas) does not make a choice, the six consciousnesses do not arise or operate. Therefore, it is said that the five supreme truth faculties, the internal six dusts, and the six consciousnesses are all unreal dharmas and are not the self. Thus, one eradicates the false view of taking the black box and all dharmas within it as the self or as real, thereby breaking free from the shackles of the black box and liberating the mind. Only then will there be vast and profound meritorious power and function in the future.
III. Realizing that the Six Dust Realms within the Black Box are Illusory and Unreal
All the realm appearances within the black box are manifested by the tathāgatagarbha using the seeds of the four great elements. They are like images in a mirror, having no actual function or effect; they merely display appearances. The appearances outside the mirror are the original appearances created by the tathāgatagarbha using the four great elements. The tathāgatagarbha extracts minute particles of the four great elements from the original appearances and transmits them along a path to the five gross sense faculties. Passing through many mediums along the way, the minute particles of the four great elements undergo changes. After passing through the five gross sense faculties, they are transmitted via the conduction nerves into the black box, becoming the internal manifestation part. While they may seem consistent with the original external appearances, they actually have certain differences. Even if there are no differences between internal and external, they are still illusory and unreal. Differences further demonstrate that the realm appearances within the black box are illusory, unreal, and untrue.
IV. Realizing that the Discriminative Nature of the Six Consciousnesses within the Black Box is Illusory
The internal six dusts transmitted into the black box via the five gross sense faculties come into contact with the five supreme truth faculties and the mental faculty (manas). When the mental faculty chooses to discern, the six consciousnesses arise to discern and process the six dust realms; otherwise, they do not arise. The internal manifestation part, the six dusts, discerned by the six consciousnesses, are like reflections in a mirror—not substantial dharmas. Thus, since beginningless time, the six consciousnesses have been engaging in unreal delusions towards illusory reflections, never having contacted the real dharmas outside the mirror. When a reflection appears in the mirror, the corresponding external realm outside has already passed and changed. The six consciousnesses' discernment is always half a beat late, and their processing is slow by a beat. How accurate and true, then, is the six consciousnesses' processing of the six dusts? It is like playing a game, indulging in it with great seriousness and enjoyment—truly laughable!
Moreover, the discriminative and discerning nature of the six consciousnesses themselves is essentially a pile of consciousness seeds accumulated together, directed by the mental faculty to discern this way and that, going wherever there is something to do, constrained by the supreme truth faculty, and deceived by the false reflections. Once the supreme truth faculty is obstructed and the six dusts cannot enter the black box, the six consciousnesses cannot arise. If the six dusts are distorted, what the six consciousnesses discern is a distorted appearance, yet they take it as real. How meaningful can it be to play within the illusory internal six dust realms that simulate the external environment?
V. Realizing that the Six Dust Reflections are Illusory and Unreal
When we look at reflections in a mirror, no matter what feelings or thoughts we have about this reflection, no matter how we wish to deal with it, it is ultimately just a reflection, not a real thing. Therefore, everything we see, hear, think, and touch are reflections in the mirror. Discernment is discerning those reflections in the mirror; it is discerning within the black box. This reflection is so beautiful, that reflection is so enchanting—one begins to grasp and cling. But no matter how much one grasps or clings, one never truly enjoys anything. They are all reflections, having no real effect.
It is like the reflection of a tree in a river—no matter how beautiful, it ultimately does not truly exist. The moon in the river may be full and bright, but when a monkey tries to grasp it, the moment it touches the water, the moon disappears because there is no real moon. Similarly, all the realms we contact: we seem to enjoy them, but in reality, we have not enjoyed anything; we are merely interacting with reflections. The feelings and touches of our body, what our eyes see, what our ears hear, what our mouth tastes, what our nose smells—all are reflections, not real. Yet, we cannot jump out; we cannot understand these matters. We grasp at these reflections as if they were real, seeming to enjoy them, seeming to obtain them, but in truth, we have obtained nothing, enjoyed nothing; it is all illusory.
VI. Realizing that All Dharmas are Selfless Leads to Liberation
The entire process of our Buddhist practice, from being an ordinary person to attaining Buddhahood, is to progressively realize that all dharmas are unreal, all are manifested by the tathāgatagarbha, all are empty and false, all are reflections, all are a dream. Ultimately, one realizes that all dharmas are selfless, all dharmas are unreal. At that time, we awaken completely from the dream, become Buddhas and Patriarchs, attain ultimate and complete liberation, and no longer need to practice. Therefore, the practice process is a continuous process of changing one's own cognition. The concept and thought of taking all dharmas as real must be gradually changed and eliminated. Recognizing that all these dharmas are unreal, one finally realizes they are indeed unreal. Then, the entire mental activity will change, becoming a mind without defilement, without ignorance, and the seven consciousness minds will completely transform consciousness into wisdom.
The process of practice and study is precisely this continuous process of attaining liberation and great freedom. Ordinary beings are not liberated, not free, precisely because they mistake the false for real, take these illusions and reflections as real, cling within them, create various karmic actions, and then become bound and hindered by these karmic actions. The mind is thus not liberated, not free, suffering within the black box through arising and ceasing, birth and death. Practice is to break through this ignorance, enabling us to no longer mistake the false for real, thus attaining liberation, freedom, and freedom from suffering. The principle is indeed this simple, yet the process of practice is extremely long because the clinging nature of our mental faculty is too strong, and the ignorance is too deep. It requires a very, very long time to gradually break through ignorance and gradually attain liberation.
VII. Only When Various Conditions are Fulfilled Can One Sever the View of Self and Attain Liberation
The theories and methods for severing the view of self are already very clear and evident. The principles—the falsity of the six faculties, the falsity of the six consciousnesses, the falsity of the six dusts, the falsity of all dharmas—are actually already quite clear. Why then are some people's current mental understanding still not very clear? It is because their merit (puṇya) or other conditions are not yet sufficient. Because merit is insufficient, meditative concentration (samādhi) is insufficient. Because meditative concentration is insufficient, contemplation is not deep or subtle enough; it remains relatively coarse and superficial. Because contemplation is coarse and superficial, the mental faculty does not understand these principles. If the mental faculty does not understand these principles, it does not accept them, cannot sever the view of self, and cannot change its own habits and inertia.
Therefore, learning Buddhism is not merely exerting effort theoretically. One also needs to extensively cultivate the provisions of merit, practice meditative concentration, and cultivate the dharmas within the Six Pāramitās such as forbearance (kṣānti), precept observance (śīla), and vigor (vīrya). The prerequisite for possessing these merits and other aspects of the Six Pāramitās is that we should have a mind detached from the mundane world, a mind aloof from the dust (of defilements). Internally, one should not be too intimate with these worldly dharmas, nor too close or too greedy for the six dusts.
Possessing a mind detached from the mundane world, detached from the desire realm's world, inherently constitutes merit. Because when the mind does not correspond to the human desire realm but corresponds to the desire realm heavens, merit increases. When the mind corresponds to the form realm, merit becomes even greater; the merit of form realm devas is greater than that of desire realm devas. If the mind also detaches from the form realm and corresponds to the formless realm, its merit becomes even greater. If one further detaches from the formless realm, that merit becomes immeasurably vast, meditative concentration can be successively aroused, corresponding to higher realms, the mind's capacity will gradually expand, and its merit will be truly inconceivable.
If one can arouse the great bodhicitta mind to achieve the Buddha Way and broadly benefit sentient beings, merit becomes even more vast. Therefore, the prerequisite for severing the view of self and realizing the fruition (of the Path) is necessarily having a mind of renunciation (nekkhamma). The mind does not delight in this world, does not cling to the mundane. Then, progress on the Path will be very rapid.
The principles of these dharmas are all laid out there. As long as we cultivate meditative concentration and contemplate deeply, we can realize them. The more meticulous and profound the contemplation, the better. The mind will increasingly accept it, and the mental faculty will become clear. The consciousness contemplates little by little, and the mental faculty simultaneously investigates, verifies, and confirms bit by bit. If contemplation is not deep, subtle, or thorough, but rather superficial and coarse, the mental faculty cannot understand these principles. It will still measure all dharmas according to its own inertia, choose all dharmas according to its own inertia, and the six consciousnesses will still create bodily, verbal, and mental actions according to the inertia of the mental faculty. Therefore, only by deeply, subtly contemplating and observing the correct principles of the Buddha Dharma can one truly sever the view of self, truly sever self-clinging, and thus attain liberation.
