Miscellaneous Discourses on the Dharma (Part II)
Chapter 3: On Cultivating the Severing of Afflictions
I. Without Severing Afflictions, One Cannot Realize Bodhi
When the Buddha had just attained the Way beneath the Bodhi tree, he said: “奇哉！奇哉！大地众生皆有如来智慧德相，只因烦恼妄想而不能证得。”佛在大方广如来藏经中说：“佛见众生。如来藏已。欲令开敷。为说经法。除灭烦恼。显现佛性。”“但彼众生。烦恼覆故。如来出世。广为说法。除灭尘劳。净一切智。”“我以佛眼。如实观之。以善方便。随应说法。灭除烦恼。开佛知见。普为世间。施作佛事。”
“我以佛眼。观诸众生。烦恼糠糩。覆蔽如来。无量知见。故以方便。如应说法。令除烦恼。净一切智。于诸世间。为最正觉。”“我见众生。种种烦恼。长夜流转。生死无量。如来妙藏。在其身内。俨然清净。如我无异。是故佛为。众生说法。断除烦恼。净如来智。转复化导。一切世间。”“如来观察。一切众生。佛藏在身。众相具足。如是观已。广为显说。彼诸众生。得息清凉。以金刚慧。捶破烦恼。开净佛身。如出金像。”
What the Buddha said above shows that sentient beings, due to the obscuration of afflictions, cannot see their own pure treasury of the Tathāgata — the tathāgatagarbha. They need to sever afflictions and eliminate the obstructions before the tathāgatagarbha can manifest and reveal itself, and only when sentient beings' wisdom-eye is purified can they realize the intrinsically pure tathāgatagarbha. From this it is evident that if, in studying Buddhism and cultivating practice, we cannot subdue and sever the coarse and heavy obstructions of affliction, and the mind does not attain purity, we cannot realize the tathāgatagarbha, nor can we eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi). If there were no afflictions and the mind were clear as water, sentient beings would see only the tathāgatagarbha-nature of the world and the one true dharmadhātu; they would not perceive worldly marks, nor take worldly marks to be truly the mark of self and the marks of what belongs to self. There would be no grasping at self and no grasping at dharmas; sentient beings would be liberated by nature, buddhas by nature, and there would be no need to study Buddhism or cultivate practice.
The depth of eradicating the view of self has an inevitable relationship with the degree to which afflictions are severed; likewise, the level of wisdom of seeing the mind has an inevitable relationship with the level of severing afflictions. The more and the deeper the afflictions are severed, the deeper the wisdom of eradicating the view of self and seeing the mind, and the higher the fruit attained. If sentient beings who study Buddhism only pursue theoretical knowledge and ignore their own afflictions, allowing afflictions to manifest without seeking to eliminate them, they cannot attain the seeing of the Path of either the Great or the Small Vehicle, and can only continue to be ordinary beings bound by all fetters, transmigrating through birth and death without cease. Therefore, as for those so-called people who have attained fruition or seen the mind, if their afflictions are still very heavy, without doubt they have not attained fruition or seen the mind — they merely bear a false name, and are not worth the public's study and emulation.
II. The Purpose of Studying Buddhism Is to Exhaustively Sever Ignorance and Afflictions
The ultimate purpose of studying the Buddha-dharma is to exhaustively sever ignorance and afflictions. When afflictions are exhausted, one is beyond training (aśaikṣa), and there is no further need to study the Buddha-dharma. In the Small Vehicle, those beyond training are the great arhats of the fourth fruit and the solitary realizers (pratyekabuddhas); in the Great Vehicle, the one beyond training is the World-Honored Buddha. The Small Vehicle's being beyond training only means that one has exhaustively severed the ignorance of a single thought with respect to liberation from birth and death in the three realms, and is thus beyond training; one has not yet exhaustively severed all ignorance and afflictions, so one is still in training. The Great Vehicle requires not only exhausting the ignorance of a single thought, but also completely severing the beginningless ignorance before one is beyond training. As long as there is ignorance, one is in training; without ignorance, there is nothing left to learn — everything is understood, everything is realized, and one's studies are complete.
The Small Vehicle venerable arhat of the fourth fruit, Cūḍāpanthaka, due to karmic obstructions from past lives, although he attained the fourth fruit of arhatship, could not expound the Dharma. Yet although he could not expound the Dharma, the ignorance of a single thought was exhaustively severed and afflictions were exhaustively severed, so he could transcend the three realms and attain liberation; he was a noble one beyond training, no longer needing to study the principle of liberation through the Four Noble Truths. But the Great Vehicle's World-Honored Buddha beyond training, having severed all ignorance, can expound all the Buddha-dharmas the moment He opens His mouth. Bodhisattvas can all expound the Dharma too, because bodhisattvas do not separate from sentient beings; being together with sentient beings, they must inevitably expound the Dharma. Because expounding the Dharma gathers immense merit, bodhisattvas are more skilled at expounding the Dharma than arhats and have more merit; even bodhisattvas who have just begun studying Buddhism, even if they do not understand the Buddha-dharma, must expound the Dharma, even if what they say is neither fish nor fowl and they themselves do not know what they are talking about.
Once the purpose of studying Buddhism and the Dharma is clear, then in studying Buddhism we should not flaunt our knowledge of the Buddha-dharma everywhere. Acquiring and mastering knowledge is not the goal; it is a means for severing afflictions. Once afflictions are severed, all knowledge becomes useless, except for teaching the Dharma to deliver sentient beings. Therefore, in the process of studying Buddhism, observing one's own ignorance and afflictions, subduing afflictions, and severing afflictions is extremely important, while Buddhist scholarly knowledge becomes relatively less important. We must not put the cart before the horse, ignoring our own afflictions while running everywhere to acquire knowledge. Even if one learns five cartloads of knowledge, once one creates a single unwholesome karma out of affliction — the heavy case landing in the Avīci hell, the lighter case in the animal realm — can Buddhist scholarly knowledge save oneself? Carrying a rich store of knowledge to the three evil destinies, would there still be the opportunity or the mood to show off?
III. Arrogance Is the Greatest Obstruction to the Path
On the road of studying Buddhism one will always encounter many ditches and bumps that for a time cannot be crossed — none of that matters. As long as one persists and keeps striving, one can eventually cross the ditch of views. As long as one does not believe that everything one understands is correct, keeps the mind humble, engages in much contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), thinks carefully, and frequently repents of karmic obstructions, one's cultivation of the Path can advance. What is to be feared is arrogance. Arrogance is the greatest obstruction to the Path, and when one does not even know that one has arrogance, that is trouble.
When one's jealousy arises, turn the light around and shine it back, analyzing and observing: why am I jealous? When arrogance arises, turn the light around and shine it back: why did such arrogance arise? After finding the cause, one must use the principles one has learned to persuade and guide oneself, subduing jealousy and arrogance. Before attaining fruition and the first dhyāna concentration, one can only subdue afflictions such as jealousy and arrogance, not sever them. Ordinary people generally become jealous because others have stolen their limelight, their "self" has not stood out, and they have not obtained the benefits they hoped for. Only when there is a self and others in the mind can there be mutual comparison, not wishing anyone to be stronger than oneself or better than oneself.
Because of jealousy, every group has its endless conflicts and gossip, mutual squeezing and suppression, mutual struggle for power and resources; strife is unavoidable. In a community of the Three Jewels, if this jealousy is not subdued, it easily leads to splitting the saṅgha; and if it causes a split in the saṅgha, that is a sin of the Avīci hell.
As for these matters of affliction, only after attaining fruition, when the first dhyāna concentration appears and one becomes a noble one of the third fruit, can subtle afflictions be severed — first severing greed and lust, then severing hatred and resentment; at the fourth fruit, grasping at self and arrogance of self are severed. Those of the first and second fruits only subdue afflictions: coarse and heavy afflictions do not manifest, but subtle afflictions occasionally still appear. At the stage of an ordinary person before eradicating the view of self, one can only suppress afflictions, and sometimes even suppression fails. Those who have dhyāna concentration at the level of the first dhyāna or above can also suppress and subdue afflictions, but cannot sever them. Although the fourth-fruit arhat's afflictions have been severed, habitual tendencies occasionally still manifest; sometimes they cannot be controlled, and sometimes one is not even aware of them and needs others to point them out.
IV. How to Subdue the Mind of Hatred
Heavy hatred and resentment may be innate — one is simply born that way — or may be shaped by later environmental conditioning, such as heavy hatred caused by poor physical health, or caused by psychological and emotional factors like things not going one's way. When heavy hatred is caused purely by acquired factors, one must adjust the physical body and one's psychological and emotional states; once these obstructions disappear, hatred naturally becomes lighter. For innate hatred, when dealing with people, situations, and problems, one should take care to consider things from the other party's standpoint, look at problems from the other's perspective as much as possible, try hard to understand the other, try to find justifications for the other, swap scenarios, and put oneself in the other's place — then one will understand and forgive the other. Consider more how hard it is for others, feel more compassion for others, and hatred will naturally lessen and lighten.
Whenever hatred arises, carefully observe the causes and reasons for one's own hatred, analyze the reasons within, find where the problem lies; if one discovers that one has unreasonable attention (manaskāra) and ideas, one must subdue and overcome them. If one discovers that one's self-nature is heavy, one should contemplate the principle that the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) are without self, subdue the self-nature, and the mind of hatred will diminish. If one is being too critical of the other person or the environment, one should see the emptiness of the people and affairs one encounters. Whenever the habitual tendency of hatred manifests, the mind should know that this is an afflictive habitual tendency, that it is contrary to the Dharma, and that it carries the retribution of hatred; over time, hatred will surely lessen and decrease.
V. Afflictions Are the Greatest Obstruction to the Arising of Meditative Concentration
For people whose afflictive obstructions (kleśāvaraṇa) are slight and whose physical constitution is good, the qi channels run smoothly, the flow of qi is easily activated, and body and mind are tranquil and joyful, from which meditative concentration arises. People with many afflictions do not easily experience joy and the tranquility of body and mind; their qi channels are not smooth, the flow of qi cannot be activated, meditative concentration does not easily appear — even concentration of the desire realm does not easily arise, and concentration of the form realm is even more difficult.
Those whose practice has not yet gotten on track should examine and introspect upon the afflictions in their own minds, and subdue and overcome them as much as possible. Afflictions manifest in every aspect of daily life, such as: a small capacity of mind, a narrow heart, stubbornness and clinging rigidly to one's views, shallow insight, foolishness, arguing without reason and giving no quarter even when in the right, fondness for fighting and contention, delighting in disputes over trivial household matters, fondness for comparison and competition, scheming, spreading rumors and stirring up trouble, false speech, divisive speech, and harsh speech, heavy verbal karma and a mind full of gossip, seeking the limelight, showing off the self, craving power, fame, and profit, heavy greed, chasing after wealth and possessions, heavy hatred and resentment, refusing to let go of anger and vexation, endless lamentation, and so on. Sentient beings' afflictions are truly countless; but no matter what, if one wishes to leave suffering, one must strive to subdue and sever every kind of affliction — only then is there hope for cultivating the Path.
VI. How Can Distress Be Reduced?
After severing afflictions, the mind becomes tranquil, without so many afflictions and distresses. After eradicating the view of self and attaining the first dhyāna concentration, greed and hatred are severed; together with the three fetters severed at the first fruit — the view of self, the view of clinging to precepts and observances, and doubt — the five lower fetters are severed, and one becomes somewhat at ease, though not as at ease as at the fourth fruit, where arrogance of self and grasping at self are severed and one is almost entirely unburdened.
A bodhisattva who has attained tranquility and ease is also called a bodhisattva of the third fruit. Having passed the three checkpoints of the Chan school, such a one is qualified to enter the first bhūmi; before the seventh bhūmi, all are third-fruit persons, not taking the fruit of the fourth-fruit arhat, retaining a trace of affliction in order to remain in the three realms. An eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva has severed all afflictions completely, exhausted grasping at self, and eliminated most of the grasping at dharmas. When a third-fruit bodhisattva comes again to the human world, afflictions are very slight; although they can be conditioned by the environment and may create some unwholesome karma, that karma is also very slight. After studying Buddhism, it is eliminated as soon as one repents, or eliminated upon understanding the principle, without even needing repentance, because there is no root affliction in the mind.
Noble ones of the third fruit and above are almost unwilling to mingle with the crowd; they spend more time alone, being together with sentient beings only when delivering beings and teaching the Dharma. The great bodhisattvas of the past all first cultivated themselves in solitude, and only then came out to teach the Dharma and deliver sentient beings; if they felt their meditative power was insufficient — clearly much wisdom but little concentration — they would again cultivate in solitude to advance their practice of the Path, and afterward return among sentient beings to teach the Dharma. In this way, a period of self-cultivation alternates with a period of delivering sentient beings; they are not always together with sentient beings. If one were always with sentient beings, meditative power would regress, one's practice would be dragged back somewhat by sentient beings, and one's power of the Path would be insufficient.
VII. How Are Afflictions Subdued and Severed?
When an affliction arises in one's mind, upon noticing it one recalls the Dharma principles one has learned — all people, things, and phenomena are empty — feels one should not have given rise to this affliction, and so snuffs it out, becoming as if one had never had the affliction at all. Is this the state of having severed afflictions? Not at all. This is the state of "awakening the moment a thought arises, and the thought vanishing upon awakening." But before the awakening, the thought has after all already arisen and appeared, and cannot be treated as never having occurred.
Once a thought has emerged, there is affliction; where there is affliction, it is not the state of severed affliction. No matter what happens afterward, the affliction has after all appeared, which proves that the manas has afflictions and that they have also manifested. Although the mind consciousness awakens only afterward, the manas innately has afflictions and is non-awakened. And the manas's afflictions cannot always be discovered and managed by relying on the mind consciousness, because: first, the consciousness may be too late to stop the affliction, so afflictive karmic formations form and karmic seeds are left behind; second, the consciousness cannot operate together with the manas at every moment and place, nor can it always be clear and awake — it also has moments of weakness, confusion, and disappearance — and then there is no way to discover and manage the manas's afflictions.
Snuffing out afflictions the moment they arise is what must be done at the earliest stage of practice. After meditative concentration is attained, one gradually transitions to fewer thoughts, afflictions naturally not arising, gradually subduing and suppressing afflictions. Forcibly snuffing out thoughts to subdue afflictions is very difficult; in fact, in the end, whether subduing or severing afflictions, one need not apply such counteractive measures — once meditative concentration appears, afflictions naturally cease to arise. In concentration, afflictions naturally and gradually become fewer and lighter, then are subdued, and finally are naturally severed within concentration. Those with meditative concentration can understand this principle. For those whose concentration has arisen and become firm — think: have you ever specially counteracted your afflictions? Do they not simply cease to appear within concentration? Those without concentration, lacking sufficient meditative power, have no choice but to hold inner dialogues, with the consciousness reasoning with the manas. For those with concentration, the manas naturally follows the teaching and is naturally conditioned.
For example, "when qi is full, one does not think of food" — is not wanting to eat the result of counteractive measures, or a naturally occurring result? Forcibly not eating or eating less is very difficult and distressing, but when one cultivates concentration until the qi in the body is full and the stomach is always filled with qi, one naturally does not feel hunger. "When essence is full, one does not think of lust" — is this the result of counteractive measures, or a naturally occurring result? This too is that when one cultivates concentration until the essence in the body is full, thoughts of lust naturally cease; forcible restraint is very difficult. "When spirit is full, one does not think of sleep" — is this the result of counteractive measures, or a naturally occurring result? Likewise, when one cultivates concentration until the spirit is full, there is no need for sleep to restore one's vitality; one naturally is not sleepy — forcibly not sleeping would be unbearable for the body. The subduing and severing of other afflictions is similar to this.
Only laypeople in the practice — those not yet through the gate — use theory to counteract and suppress afflictions; having suppressed them for a while, they claim to have severed afflictions, or attained fruition, or seen the mind, when in fact they have not yet entered the gate of practice. The merit of meditative concentration is precisely to subdue and sever afflictions. Without concentration, however complete the theory, there is nothing to be done about afflictions — each thing is subdued by something else, and concentration subdues afflictions. Once afflictions are subdued, karmic obstructions and the obstructions to seeing the Path are subdued; only without obstructions can one see the Path. Therefore, without severing afflictions, realizing bodhi is impossible.
Practice is a process of the self's gradual dissolution. As long as the direction of practice is correct and the method appropriate, and one diligently applies effort to the Path, the self will dissolve bit by bit, and of course the afflictions related to the self will also dissolve bit by bit along with it — before one knows it, the afflictions are gone. After practicing for a while, looking back, one discovers that one has changed. Where is there any principle of using theory to counteract afflictions, of afflictions poking their heads out only to be pushed back in?
VIII. Only by Subduing Coarse and Heavy Greed and Attachment Can There Be Meditative Concentration and the Eradication of the View of Self
Fondness for all kinds of entertainment, including music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and various arts, all falls within the category of greed and attachment. No matter how elegant, noble, exalted, or wonderful these may be in worldly eyes, how pleasing to the eye and heart, they run contrary to the Path; they all belong to worldly existence, and are therefore all things of saṃsāra — clinging to them, one cannot escape transmigration. And when the mind has greed and attachment, it corresponds to the ghost destiny; at death one will go to the ghost destiny to receive retribution. The scope of greed is extremely broad — greed is present almost everywhere; whatever one likes and cares about, grasps and clings to, belongs to greed and attachment.
Therefore, whether or not one studies Buddhism, as long as one's wholesome karma is insufficient to be born in the heavens or as a human, because of one's various greed and attachments one almost always first goes to the ghost destiny to receive retribution, then goes to the animal destiny to receive retribution; only when the evil-destiny karma is temporarily exhausted and some merit remains does one return to the human world. Craving the dharmas of the desire realm, one does not leave the desire realm; craving the dharmas of the human world, one is not born in the heavens, and may not even be born among humans.
The desire for food and drink is the coarsest and easiest affliction to subdue in the human world; it is the first checkpoint of practice. If one cannot even pass this checkpoint, other greeds are even harder to subdue. Ordinary people's thousand faults and ten thousand wrongs are manifested in the bit-by-bit greed of daily life — greedy everywhere, grasping everywhere; living with the utmost fastidiousness. Fastidious about what? Fastidious about everything, unwilling to let any dharma be emptied, pursuing the best of everything. Take eating alone — the varieties are endless, and the fastidiousness is extreme. But retribution often runs contrary to what is sought: gluttony leads to rebirth as a hungry ghost; arrogance makes the physical body short and small, and so on.
Sexual desire between men and women is the heaviest greed in the human world. If it can be subdued, the first dhyāna concentration can be cultivated; and by severing lust between the sexes, in future lives one can be born in the first-dhyāna heaven. If the greed for food, clothing, housing, use, and travel in the human world can be subdued, one can cultivate preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi), thereby subduing human-world afflictions, and after death be born in a desire-realm heaven. Those who cannot cultivate meditative concentration should examine the various greeds within their minds. Enjoying high-rise buildings, fine clothes, and exquisite food in the human world comes at a price: once the blessings are used up, one can no longer survive in the human world and has no choice but to suffer in the three evil destinies. Therefore, those who love to enjoy wealth, glory, and splendor should awaken and plan early, see through the unreality of worldly splendor, and not crave vanity.
Why does meditative concentration always correspond to the heavenly destinies, so that at death one can be born in the heavens? Beings in the heavens all have corresponding wholesome karma; their minds are wholesome, and their afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion are slight. The desire-realm heavens are mainly summoned by wholesome karma — they are the retribution of wholesome karma, with a bit of the retribution of concentration. The form-realm and formless-realm heavens are mainly the retribution of concentration; without corresponding concentration, one cannot be born in the form or formless heavens. Therefore concentration can certainly subdue and sever afflictions. Both eradicating the view of self and seeing the mind and seeing its nature require at least preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi), and both require subduing the coarse and heavy afflictions of the desire realm. Fame, profit, and offerings; wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep — all are afflictions of the desire realm. A person with such serious afflictions cannot have meditative concentration, cannot eradicate the view of self, cannot see the mind and see its nature, and even less can enter the bhūmis.
If someone claims to have eradicated the view of self and seen the mind and seen its nature, yet remains just like an ordinary person with obvious afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, then it is not true eradication of the view of self, not true seeing of the mind and its nature. Worldly people do not understand matters of cultivation and realization, and tend to overestimate their own and others' practice, with many misunderstandings; because of the view of self, they never misunderstand in the direction of the lower, only in the direction of the higher. In the past, some people told me they had eradicated the view of self and seen the mind, asking me to examine and certify them; they then went on and on about how there is no self and how all is empty. But such theories are everywhere and easily obtained. Can I, upon hearing such descriptions, necessarily judge whether something has truly been realized? Of course not. Better to see with one's own eyes than to hear with one's ears.
In fact, to judge whether a person has severed something or realized something, the most important thing is not what they say but what they do — action is the most truthful. So the simplest method of judgment is to examine their words and observe their conduct: observe the person's bodily, verbal, and mental actions, their attitude toward food, clothing, housing, use, and travel, their attitude toward people, things, and affairs — these are where the coarsest afflictions lie, the first things to be changed in the course of practice. The slightly subtler afflictions are one's attitude toward mind and consciousness, a person's ideas and views; these too must undergo some change; otherwise nothing has been severed and nothing realized. Since one has realized that the five aggregates are without self, has realized emptiness — clearly knowing it is empty and without self — how could one continue to grasp at and cling to coarse and heavy dharmas without letting go and changing? Testing a person this way is the most direct, simplest, and most effective; how many people can withstand such a test?
IX. Afflictions Deplete Merit
Knowing that every word and deed, wholesome or unwholesome, carries karmic retribution, one should be careful and prudent in speech and action, watchful in word and deed, not caring only about oneself while disregarding others. In ordinary dealings with people, restrain greed, hatred, arrogance, and jealousy as much as possible; do not scheme against people, do not use cunning to squeeze out this one or that one; think more of others, think more of the various communities one belongs to, think of the greater good; keep a kind and honest heart. In this way, first, one can eliminate afflictive obstructions (kleśāvaraṇa) and karmic obstructions; second, one can increase merit. If the mind is not pure and one creates defiled karma, much merit will be consumed; when merit is insufficient, nothing one does succeeds — whether worldly affairs or matters of cultivation, without the support of merit, nothing is accomplished.
Toward those whose merit is greater than one's own, whose wisdom and concentration are deeper than one's own, whose observance of precepts is better than one's own, and whose abilities in every respect surpass one's own, be sincerely convinced, and at the very least respectful; do not give rise to jealousy. If one's words and deeds clash with theirs, considerable merit will be consumed, and in the end one is the one who loses. Toward those who are inferior to or weaker than oneself, give rise to compassion, offer much help, support, and care; do not give rise to arrogance or a mind to bully, and in this way one's merit and compassion will increase.
X. How to Sever Sexual Desire Through Contemplative Practice
Before attaining fruition, sexual desire can only be subdued and suppressed, not severed. Subduing sexual desire relies, first, on the power of meditative concentration: with concentration, body and mind are tranquil and joyful, the mind is full, thoughts are few; if one cultivates until essence and qi are completely full, one no longer thinks of lust. Second, through reasoning in accordance with the Dharma about the various birth-and-death faults of sexual desire and its impurity, thoughts of lust can be lightened. Third, by shifting attention, devoting one's energy to the most meaningful things and leaving oneself no idle time, desire fades. Fourth, by staying away from impure environments and places and creating a pure place of practice. Fifth, by reciting the Śūraṅgama mantra daily, relying on the blessing power of the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and dharma-protecting deities to subdue sexual desire.
XI. What Is Liberation of the Mind?
Liberation of the mind is the mind being free from the bondage of afflictions; without afflictions there is no suffering; without suffering, the mind is liberated. Suffering divides into bodily suffering and mental suffering; bodily suffering does not count as suffering — mental suffering is true suffering. As long as the mind does not suffer, there is liberation. Likewise, when the body has suffering, if one does not take the bodily suffering seriously, the mind does not suffer and is liberated; if one feels the bodily suffering is truly painful, the mind suffers and there is no liberation. If one willingly endures bodily suffering, considering it insignificant, or as having some meaning and thus something that must be endured, then the mind does not suffer and may even feel joy. If one is forced to endure bodily suffering, not willingly, then the mind also suffers. Suffering or not suffering lies in the mind, not the body; it lies in the mind's understanding of suffering — if the mind cares, there is suffering; if it does not care, there is no suffering. Being without suffering in the face of suffering is liberation of the mind; suffering over suffering is bondage of the mind.
An arhat daily goes on alms rounds begging from house to house without feeling suffering, while an ordinary person complains just from cooking a meal. Pūrṇa, failing to obtain alms and receiving cow dung instead, did not feel suffering — his mind was liberated. A rich man daily eats mountain delicacies and seafood, yet his mind is not joyful, his bondage of afflictions severe. Since suffering and joy differ from person to person, suffering and joy have no fixed dharma; since there is no fixed dharma, they are false, impermanent, empty — thus suffering and joy are without self.
XII. The Three Uncontaminated Studies of Precepts, Concentration, and Wisdom Are the Sharp Weapon for Severing Afflictions
"Outflows" (āsrava) refer to the outflow afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, and the various outflows of ignorance; what leaks away is wholesome dharmas, wholesome aspirations, wholesome minds, and wholesome roots. A wholesome mind can escape the suffering of saṃsāra; a wholesome mind can accomplish the Buddha-Way. When wholesome dharmas leak away, what remains is evil and unwholesome dharmas, and the suffering of birth-and-death transmigration cannot be severed. Therefore one must, through practice, attain the mind's state of being without outflows and remove ignorance. There are three main channels for realizing the mind's freedom from outflows: the three uncontaminated studies of precepts, concentration, and wisdom — making the mind free of outflows through keeping precepts, through cultivating concentration, and through cultivating wisdom.
Why can keeping precepts make the mind free of outflows? Because if one can keep the precepts, the mind will not transgress the precepts, cannot do evil, cannot create the contaminated karmic activities of greed, hatred, and delusion. Over time, once it becomes habitual, the mind naturally no longer wishes to create unwholesome karma; afflictions are subdued, wholesome dharmas increase, and the four right efforts (samyak-prahāṇa) are cultivated. With long-term keeping of precepts, the mind is effectively gathered in, no longer scrambling everywhere after objects, and meditative concentration appears.
Why can meditative concentration make the mind free of outflows? Because the mind in concentration does nothing, does not chase after objects or scatter, does not create the defiled karma of greed, hatred, and delusion, and thereby subdues afflictions. After emerging from concentration, due to momentum, the meditative power can be maintained to a certain degree; one does not delight in chasing objects, the mind is at peace and does not recklessly fabricate, and one can still subdue afflictions. If preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) is complete, one can sever the five grades of desire-realm afflictions and become one oriented toward the first fruit, having in this very life the conditions to realize the first fruit.
The non-Buddhist ascetics' four dhyānas and eight attainments have even stronger meditative power: they can subdue not only the nine grades of desire-realm afflictive delusions, but also the nine grades of form-realm afflictive delusions, and even the nine grades of formless-realm afflictive delusions. But such subduing is not the same as severing and exhausting, because they still lack the wisdom that the five aggregates are without self. If they encounter the principle of the Four Noble Truths, relying on their profound power of concentration, with but a slight moment of collected contemplation they can realize the Path and exhaustively sever afflictions, body and mind dropping away. When they attain the fourth fruit of arhatship, their hair and beard fall away naturally and the kasāya robe drapes itself upon them, signifying the exhaustion of afflictions — they are naturally monastics.
Before the third fruit, because afflictions still remain, hair and beard cannot fall away by themselves nor the kasāya drape itself, and one cannot naturally become a monastic. Therefore, if a layperson wishes to become a monastic without receiving the bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī precepts, they must exhaustively sever afflictions, so that hair and beard fall away naturally and the kasāya drapes itself, with no one performing the tonsure. As long as a layperson has even a trace of affliction, they are a layperson; if they insist on calling themselves a monastic, that is forcibly stealing the identity of the monastic jewel of renunciation, confusing monastics and laity — an extremely grave offense.
Why can wisdom make the mind free of outflows? The wisdom that realizes the principle of selflessness in the Four Noble Truths and the truths of the Great Vehicle can break ignorance. When there is no self in the mind, one will no longer act for the self; not acting for the self means selflessness, and selflessness is goodness; goodness can break afflictions, and the mind is free of outflows. Where there is self, there is offense; where there is self, there is affliction; where there is self, wholesome dharmas leak away. This wisdom free of outflows is true wisdom founded on precepts and concentration; wisdom without precepts and concentration is "dry wisdom," without practical value. When precepts, concentration, and wisdom are unified together, they exhaustively sever all afflictions, and wholesome dharmas never again leak away. When wholesome dharmas are complete and perfect, one becomes a Buddha.
