Miscellaneous Discourses on the Dharma (Part II)
Chapter 9: On Practice (2)
Fourteen: The Misconceptions of Mahāyāna Practitioners
Some people who practice the Mahāyāna Dharma do not pay attention to foundational practice, do not value the foundational liberation path of the Āgama sūtras, and completely sever the Mahāyāna from the Hīnayāna, believing that this is this and that is that, with little connection between them, so that the phenomenon of splitting up the Buddha-Dharma is very serious. It is like students of middle school courses who consider themselves superior and disdain elementary school courses, not knowing that without finishing the elementary curriculum one cannot graduate and advance to middle school; without an elementary foundation, one cannot keep up with or do well in middle school courses, and cannot graduate from middle school either.
These Mahāyāna students despise the practical methods of cultivation such as the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment and the eightfold path, regarding them all as Hīnayāna dharmas practiced by Hīnayāna people, considering them dispensable, and so they skip over them and go straight to practicing the tathāgatagarbha Dharma. Because they lack precepts and meditative concentration, after studying for ten or twenty years or even longer, their body and mind have not transformed in the slightest, and they have gained no real benefit, yet like jaded "Buddhism veterans" they talk on and on fluently—their learning is high enough to take first place in the imperial examination. However, the theory they have learned is like a castle in the air: the theory is up in the sky while the person crawls on the ground; the two do not connect. In that case, how can one follow the principle and enter the Path? The result of aiming too high is that no dharma can be cultivated successfully, wasting time in vain; at death, because they have no cultivation and no realization, they drift along with the winds of karma, unable to control themselves.
We should all calm down and think rationally: should Mahāyāna students not be endowed with the seven factors of enlightenment? Without the factor of investigation of dharmas, one is like a blind person feeling an elephant. Without the factor of joy, it shows that what has been learned has not entered the mind; if it does not enter the mind, the mind does not give rise to joy; if the mind has no joy, the body is not at ease; if the body is not at ease, the mind is not concentrated; if the mind is not concentrated, it is not empty—what wisdom is there to speak of? Should Mahāyāna students not cultivate the four right efforts? If evil is not severed, goodness not increased, and the mind not transformed, one remains a karmically obstructed ordinary being bound by fetters. Without having severed even a single grade of afflictions, how can one advance toward the direction of the first fruit or even the first fruit itself? Without the first fruit, how can there be Mahāyāna seeing of the mind?
Do Mahāyāna students not cultivate the eightfold path? Without right view, what path is being cultivated? Without right thinking, how can one investigate Chan? Without right speech, how can one guard the mind and keep the five precepts? Without right effort, one will run counter to the Path; without right mindfulness, how can the mind be rectified? If the mind is not rectified, how can one enter the Path? Without right meditative concentration, how can there be right wisdom? Only when both body and mind are upright can one enter the correct path. Therefore it is said that a person who does not cultivate the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment has not yet entered the gate of practice, and counts as neither a Mahāyāna nor a Hīnayāna practitioner. Nowadays it is very, very difficult to meet a genuine cultivator of the Path in the world; people's minds are restless, they like to take shortcuts and pursue short-term benefits—this is due to sentient beings' shallow faculties from past lives and deficient merit, compounded by the incitement of those who transmit the Dharma, creating this situation. If it is not reformed, Buddhism will be able to produce no talent.
Fifteen: Misconceptions in Practice
In studying Buddhism and cultivating practice, one can unknowingly fall into misconceptions. Some people fall into the misconception of thinking: since everything is empty and illusory, it doesn't matter what one has; since feeling is empty, then just feel it; since suffering is empty, then just suffer; since afflictions are empty, then just be afflicted; since birth and death are empty, then let there be birth and death; since saṃsāra is empty, then let there be saṃsāra.
Others fall into another misconception, thinking: since the matter of cultivating merit is empty, why should I still cultivate merit and practice generosity? Since meditative concentration is empty, why should I still cultivate meditative concentration? Since the bodhisattva path is empty, why should I still cultivate the six perfections? Since becoming a Buddha is empty, why should I pursue buddhahood? Everything is empty anyway; cultivating or not cultivating is the same. Some people, having studied the tathāgatagarbha Dharma, enter yet another misconception, thinking: the tathāgatagarbha has never kept precepts, so why should I keep precepts? The tathāgatagarbha has never cultivated meditative concentration, so why should I cultivate meditative concentration? The tathāgatagarbha has never cultivated merit, so why should I cultivate merit? The tathāgatagarbha has never transmigrated in saṃsāra, so why should I fear saṃsāra? The tathāgatagarbha is already a Buddha, so why should I still want to become a Buddha?
Yet these people never say: the tathāgatagarbha has never had greed and desire, so why should I have greed and desire? The tathāgatagarbha has never had afflictions, so why should I have afflictions? The tathāgatagarbha has never killed, stolen, committed sexual misconduct, lied, or consumed intoxicants, so why should I do these things? The tathāgatagarbha has never had ignorance, so why should I still have ignorance? Since you believe in emptiness, then empty out all dharmas—if your salary is docked half a month's pay, don't fuss about it. Why have a selective emptiness? Emptying out responsibility while not emptying out benefits and greed—what kind of emptiness is that?
Sixteen: No Dharma Belongs to Me
All dharmas in the world may be used by me, yet not one of them belongs to me, because I am not the owner of all these dharmas; all dharmas were not born from me or transformed out by me, and I cannot master all dharmas. Ownership is not with me; I only have the right of use. Therefore, toward all dharmas in the world one should hold an attitude of according with conditions: if usable, use them temporarily; if not usable, do not force it. In any case, I possess nothing and will always possess nothing. As long as they are useful, that suffices—why bitterly pursue dharmas that do not belong to oneself? Only when one does not seek, only when the mind is empty, does great merit manifest, and excellent worldly things come in an unending stream—but they are only for my use, and still do not belong to me.
Seventeen: How to Move Toward Liberation
To take all dharmas as real and existent is to be bound by all dharmas, and then there is birth and death, and no liberation. Therefore one should at all times and places contemplate the impermanence and emptiness of all dharmas—their arising, ceasing, and change. The deeper and finer the contemplation of dharmas, the more one will feel that the arising and passing of dharmas involves no coming and no going—coming from nowhere and going nowhere, without any master, empty. In this way the wisdom of liberation will grow ever deeper, yet there is also no liberator. On one hand, one creates conditioned worldly and supramundane dharmas; on the other hand, one experiences the emptiness and unconditionedness of those conditioned dharmas. The mind neither abandons the existent nor attaches to emptiness—both empty and existent, neither empty nor existent, neither existent nor non-existent, neither empty nor non-empty, not falling into annihilationism or eternalism, or into identity or difference, progressively accomplishing the Buddha path. Only when the mind is empty and dharmas are empty can one gradually leap out of the abyss of worldly afflictions. While the mind is empty yet not abandoning the existent, one can gradually tend toward the great way of the Buddha-Dharma and walk toward the endpoint of liberation.
As long as the mind corresponds with emptiness, one is already on the road to liberation. The more the mind can see dharmas as empty, the closer to the endpoint; the more dharmas are emptied, the more liberated; the deeper the degree of emptiness, the more liberated. Utterly empty, thoroughly empty, completely empty—one has reached the endpoint, ultimate nirvāṇa. Self is empty and dharmas are empty; sooner or later all must be emptied. Better to empty early and realize accomplishment early; do not cling to existence and grasp at dharmas, and do not indulge yourself. Afflictions must be discarded sooner or later—discard them early and be liberated early; discard them late and suffer more.
Eighteen: The Power of Logical Thinking Can Generate the Power of Wisdom
What is wisdom? Wisdom is the ability to discover problems, recognize problems, and solve problems. Having the capacity for rigorous logical thinking enables one to solve problems completely, without loopholes—that is wisdom. What is logic? Logic is the method of thinking, the sequence of thinking, the angle of thinking, the depth of thinking, the levels of thinking. Through such thinking, one can find the point of entry and focus for a problem, penetrate step by step, grasp the root of the problem, reach the core of the problem directly, and solve it comprehensively and thoroughly, with nothing omitted—that is the power of wisdom.
Using logical thinking well can generate inexhaustible wisdom and solve endless problems. If you have not mastered logical thinking, you should carefully observe every short essay I write, or my remarks in the group, paying attention to my way, method, and angle of thinking about each problem, noticing how I expound issues layer by layer, expose the essence of problems, and the logical relationships between sentences and paragraphs.
Clarifying the sequence of solving problems, like unwinding silk from a cocoon, makes wisdom grow very rapidly—this is what carries logical character. For example, take the question of deliverance and transference that we discussed together some days ago: observe my sequence of thinking and the whole process of solving the problem, and you will know that my line of thought is very clear and methodical, finally arriving at a reasonable conclusion. In fact, during the process of expounding the problem, I did not yet know what the final conclusion would be; I simply unfolded the problem step by step in due order, and if the process had no missteps, the conclusion at the end is correct. The initial point of entry, focus, and sequence being correct is crucial; in this way one can reach the root of the problem directly and grasp the fundamental issue. This is the power of logical thinking. Possessing this ability, wisdom is generated; thinking about problems by this method, any problem can be solved in accordance with principle and Dharma.
Nineteen: After Awakening, Nothing Troubles the World
Someone recalled: "I once had a dream just before dawn, in which I lost two very important parcels, surrounded by chaotic strangers, and I felt these two parcels would be very hard to recover. At that moment my mind was not panicked; instead I was calm, clear, and rational, as if knowing I was dreaming, and decided to wake up quickly. So with an effort of mind, I opened my eyes and woke up, my mind very clear, and I lay there peacefully for a while. Recalling the dream just now, I knew that in the dream I had lost parcels, but there was no such thing at all—I had not lost anything. This dream was very vivid; I still remember it clearly. In everyone's dreams, although anything can happen, once you wake up, nothing has happened at all. It is evident that when one is awake and dreamless, the mind is truly at ease, without hindrance or burden."
Comment: This person's dream was short and easy to wake from, but the great dream of birth and death is very, very long and not easy to wake from. In the dream, people are usually bewildered, indulging in greed, hatred, and delusion, with karmic actions unceasing, all believing that all people, affairs, things, and principles are real. Only after awakening to the Way do they discover that it was all a dream; in fact nothing has happened at all—how wonderful to be able to wake up. But how can one awaken as quickly as possible? One needs a clear mind within the dream, knowing it is a dream, not clinging to the dream-scape, having the aspiration to awaken, having meditative power, wisdom, good roots, and merit. Although still unable to get out of the dream for the time being, one must perform many wholesome and pure karmic deeds and not create evil karma, because evil karma heavily obscures the mind-ground, making the mind muddled and unable to discern that the present is a dream-scape; then one will not generate the aspiration to escape the illusory dream.
In the great dream of birth and death, all dharmas are illusory manifestations; they appear real but are in essence false. When the mind is not clear, one takes the false as real and creates all kinds of karmic actions, especially evil deeds, resulting in lingering in the dream, unable to wake. For people within the dream, it is absolutely necessary to do some wholesome and pure deeds—especially pure deeds, which can make the mind clear, see through the essence of the dream-scape, avoid deluded attachment, and strengthen the power of the vow to escape. With sufficient meditative power and deep wisdom, one will awaken quickly, living in a peaceful and prosperous age, with a pure mind and few desires, light as clouds and gentle as breeze, with nothing to do, entirely at leisure. So do not make trouble when there is none, leaving body and mind never at rest, with heavy greed, hatred, delusion, afflictions, and evil karma. In the world there is nothing worth clinging to, nothing one cannot let go of, nothing to be hindered by; the matters in the mind are all matters within a dream—clinging is useless. Wealth, sensuality, fame, food, and sleep—none can be grasped in hand. The world is nothing but a dream; many people busy themselves joyfully for fame and profit—truly not worth it.
Twenty: The Benefits of Memorizing the Śūraṅgama Mantra
The more critical the point of practice, the more māras come to interfere; the more sublime the place, the more māras come to interfere; the higher the level of practice, the greater the interference—whereas in trivial practice, no māra comes to interfere. Therefore, the more critical the dharma being practiced, the deeper the practice, the more careful and cautious one must be. Especially if someone likes supernatural powers, māras will give you supernatural powers, and then you will be controlled by māras, unable to escape their grasp. The Śūraṅgama Mantra is a protective talisman; you must recite it often, and ideally be able to recite it from memory at any time—then māras can do nothing to you. If all Buddhist practitioners could recite and memorize the Śūraṅgama Mantra, the māra king would withdraw from the Sahā world, the Buddha-Dharma would continue, and the Śūraṅgama Sūtra would not be destroyed.
The Śūraṅgama Mantra has blessing power; within the mantra are the names of all the buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, arhats, and dharma-protecting deities. It is equal to recollecting the Buddha, or perhaps even more effective than recollecting the Buddha alone, because the dharma-protecting deities provide concrete protection and enforcement. Specifically, it manifests in blessing the mantra-reciter's practice of precepts, concentration, and wisdom, blocking part of one's karmic obstructions and eliminating part of them; great, irresistible karmic obstructions do not easily come upon one, making practice smooth. Unknowingly, the precepts become pure, meditative concentration improves, wisdom grows, and the mind becomes pure. The more focused the recitation, the greater the efficacy; the more sincere the mind, the greater the efficacy. If one cannot focus, reciting the mantra while walking, standing, sitting, lying down, and doing things, with the mind somewhat distracted and unable to unify—yet as long as the mind is sincere, the blessing power is still great. Even reciting the mantra with a scattered mind has blessing power; as long as the mantra is recited in mind or mouth, one receives protection.
If your practice is not going smoothly and your mind is scattered and unable to concentrate, you should systematically recite the Śūraṅgama Mantra from memory every day while walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. At the very beginning of everyone's study of Buddhism, one should recite a certain quantity of the Śūraṅgama Mantra, and only stop when practice becomes as smooth as pushing a boat with the current. This relies on the blessing power of the buddhas, bodhisattvas, the four noble ones, and dharma-protecting deities; only then will one's own mental power arise, and with self-power and other-power combined can practice get on the right track. Blessing power can promote change in one's mental nature; when the mental nature changes, afflictive obstructions are eliminated. There are also obstructions from seeds of past karmic actions: great karmic obstructions are blocked by the dharma-protecting deities; small karmic obstructions, one may as well undergo some karmic retribution oneself—it should be undergone anyway and cannot be avoided. Great karmic obstructions can be undergone later when one is able to bear them; by then one will feel it doesn't matter, or the great obstructions will have become less great in the future. The emptier the mind, the greater the capacity to bear karmic retribution—one will accept it calmly, take responsibility, and repay karmic debts as a matter of course.
Twenty-one: How to Quickly Memorize the Śūraṅgama Mantra
The blessing effect of the Śūraṅgama Mantra is very great: it can increase merit, enable perfect observance of precepts without violation, make the mind focused and free of stray thoughts, engender diligence in practicing the Buddha-Dharma, make the resolve for the Path firm, provide the eye of dharma-selection, and keep māra interference at a distance. For specifics, read Volume Seven of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, where the World-Honored One expounds the various benefits of upholding the Śūraṅgama Mantra. Therefore, when Buddhist practitioners first begin studying Buddhism, it is very necessary to be able to recite and memorize the Śūraṅgama Mantra every day. Under the blessing of the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and dharma-protecting deities, one can be spared much interference and adverse conditions, transforming the worldly mind into a mind for the Path, with rapid progress in practice.
How can one quickly memorize the Śūraṅgama Mantra? It depends on one's memory. If, when reciting the Śūraṅgama Mantra, you can be single-mindedly focused, with no stray thoughts, with all your attention on the Śūraṅgama Mantra, then by the time you have read it until familiar, you will nearly be able to recite it from memory. If, while reciting the mantra, thoughts are many and the mind cannot be unified, attention will scatter and the mantra will not be remembered—no matter how long you read, it will be hard to memorize. To avoid mixing in stray thoughts, you may choose rapid reading or recitation, completing it in one breath. But this has a drawback: it easily harms the vital energy. For a short time there is no effect, but over a long time there will be. If you can truly recite with focus, you can memorize it in a short time. To concentrate attention, you may choose tapping a wooden fish as an auxiliary method; without a wooden fish, you can tap the table with your hand—the beat should be even and rhythmic. Once interest is aroused, attention will concentrate; enjoying the recitation, you will quickly reach the level of reciting from memory.
Twenty-two: Changing Human Nature Means Changing Habitual Tendencies
Someone says: to understand human nature, watch more of the animal world; once you understand the animal world, you understand part of human nature. Does this statement have merit? Why?
The six realms ordered from low to high are: hell, the ghost realm, the animal realm, the human realm, the heavenly realm, and the asura realm. Among these, asura beings are distributed throughout the above five realms and can be counted within the five realms. In sentient beings' transmigration, the animal realm is adjacent to the human realm, with similar habitual tendencies. After transmigrating from the animal realm to the human realm, human nature is close to and similar to animal nature. As long as one has not eradicated the view of self, one will return to the animal realm, fully endowed with animal nature. These words are hard to hear. Last time when discussing afflictions and touching on the animal realm, no one was willing to respond—I knew everyone was avoiding this issue. But avoiding it cannot solve the problem; only facing the problem can one understand the principle and thereby solve it.
Habitual tendencies are embodied in the manas. When a being transitions from animal to human, the mind consciousness changes, but the manas does not change; deep down one remains like an animal or a ghost-type being. Then in future transmigration one will still revolve through the three evil realms, fully endowed with the nature of beings of the three evil realms.
Therefore no one should care too much about the small blessings of being human—fame, profit, power, status, ethnicity. Once one falls into the three evil realms, one is nothing, inferior even to ordinary people. So having encountered the Buddha-Dharma, one should focus on cultivating the manas and transforming the manas. Once the manas changes, the attributes of one's mental nature change, becoming distinct from beings of the three evil realms, and the karmic retribution will be different.
To change yourself, you must understand yourself; to understand yourself, you must not only observe yourself and your own kind, but also observe the animal realm and the ghost realm, because they are similar and roughly alike. Once you understand them all, you fully understand yourself; and only by understanding yourself can you find a way to change yourself.
Twenty-three: Scattered Learning Is Not Right Effort
Our study of Buddhism and cultivation of practice is meant to solve the actual, fundamental problem of birth and death, not to learn theory. Grasping enough theoretical knowledge for practical use is sufficient—do not dig deeper into it. Apply your mind where it matters. As long as the wisdom of the manas is developed, dharmas previously not understood will all become clear, and knowledge previously unknown will all become clear. Then when your own wisdom is summarized and passed on, it becomes the theoretical knowledge others need—of immeasurable benefit to both others and oneself.
After Cūḍapanthaka attained the fourth fruit of arhatship, he still could not expound the Dharma—he was clumsy of speech, but he had accomplished everything; he had the wisdom of liberation but not the wisdom of arising, unable to express it, and his knowledge was also insufficient. Even so, this did not obstruct his being a noble one, possessing the wisdom to liberate himself from birth and death in the three realms. The apple had been eaten and was in his belly—this was real and tangible. How many times stronger is he than those glib talkers who can write a hundred books yet are ordinary beings replete with the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion?
Many people do not understand studying Buddhism and cultivating practice; every day they relish collecting knowledge everywhere, diligently gathering whatever is useful or useless, picking up mere sesame seeds, then forgetting some after collecting. They do not develop the inexhaustible treasure trove and do not know to take the golden key in hand. They appear to work hard, but it is actually wrong effort—the more diligent, the farther from the Path.
Some people just love studying the patterns in a kaleidoscope: before finishing studying the first pattern, they switch to the second; through ten thousand pattern changes, chasing each design, they end up with dazzled eyes and still understand nothing. The unwise simply do not know to study how to manufacture the kaleidoscope—once you have the kaleidoscope, how delightful to master all patterns and figures at will! Knowledge in the world is immeasurable, developing explosively—what can you gain by chasing it daily? Give rise to the great bodhi resolve and strive to become a knowledge repository yourself, with all knowledge flowing forth ceaselessly from your own mind, so that sentient beings can all draw knowledge and nourishment from this repository of yours—how beautiful a thing that would be!
Why is it that some people, after practicing for only a short time, attain deep meditative concentration, good contemplative wisdom, and unbroken meditative absorption, while others practice for decades without concentration appearing and with weak wisdom? Like a foolish dog chasing thrown clods, they pay attention to and are interested in everything outside, circulating daily through the major platforms, learning every kind of knowledge, and to this day have achieved nothing. Often, the more accomplished-less a person is, the more confident they are—on what basis the confidence?
If you opened up some people's back-of-the-head, you would find a pile of tangled thread ends, disordered and chaotic; their thinking has no logic—one sentence doesn't match the next—and they go out and chaotically study things that lack logic, so the tangles in their brains only multiply. A person's routes and modes of thinking are subject to perfuming: whoever you learn from, you will acquire that person's thinking characteristics. When lacking discernment, studying randomly, one's own wisdom is already weak, and then being perfumed with chaotic modes of thought, one's own thinking can even less go in a straight line—speech winds around and around, never reaching the root or the point. With an incorrect route of thinking, can one realize the fruits and see the mind?
Those who cultivate well, absorbed in concentration and contemplative practice—not to mention not studying or looking at chaotic external things, they don't even have the mind to listen to me, their teacher, speak. While I speak on this side, their minds are engaged in contemplative practice—after all, doing the work is what matters, and the great matter of birth and death is what matters. Meanwhile, those who cultivate for decades without results are busy every day chaotically absorbing all sorts of disordered knowledge, busy with great relish—what exactly is there to relish? Their brains are hopelessly clogged, without a single clear thread.
Twenty-four: Does Keeping Precepts Count as Practice?
Person A says: The ultimate aim of practice is to break the attachment to self, and further to break attachment to dharmas. Breaking attachment to self and dharmas requires prajñā wisdom. To accomplish prajñā wisdom, one must have the supporting condition of dhyāna; without the support of dhyāna, the mind will be scattered, and even if one has been perfumed with prajñā wisdom, one cannot apply its force—so meditative attainment is needed. And the foundation of dhyāna lies in the precepts: only through keeping precepts can one block and refrain from unwholesome karma, keeping the three karmas of body, speech, and mind pure. Then one has the strength to use prajñā wisdom to break the inner greed, hatred, delusion, attachment to self, and so on.
Person A's meaning is that keeping precepts aids meditative concentration, maintains a pure mind, and avoids creating evil karma; under the power of concentration, one cuts off the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion and breaks attachment to self and dharmas—such precept-keeping counts as practice. But I feel that precept-keeping that merely avoids creating evil karma is still not enough. Although from the perspective of one newly setting out to study Buddhism this is already very good, one has still not entered the stage of practice, and therefore it does not yet count as practice.
"Cultivation" means rectifying one's thoughts, views, and bodily, verbal, and mental actions; "practice" means putting into action, concrete operation, engaging in wholesome dharmas and wholesome karma—merely not doing evil is not enough. Sentient beings' bodily, verbal, and mental actions are replete with the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, replete with ignorance; these ignorance-afflictions need to be counteracted with wholesome dharmas. When good comes, evil goes; where there is goodness there is merit. Merit, first, aids keeping precepts; second, aids the arising of meditative concentration and subduing afflictions; third, aids the arising of wisdom, changing mistaken views, purifying bodily, verbal, and mental actions, transforming both body-mind and world. Merely keeping precepts and not doing evil cannot perfect wholesome dharmas and cannot yield great merit, and therefore does not yet count as practice.
Person B says: Keeping the Hīnayāna precepts is not truly practicing the Buddha path—at most it is a safeguard for practice; keeping the bodhisattva precepts is practice. Practicing the Buddha path is like a ship sailing on the sea of suffering: the ship's direction and route are of first importance. The practice route map expounded by the World-Honored One is of first importance; the dharma-ship is second. Why does merely keeping the Hīnayāna precepts not count as practicing the Buddha path? For example, one only protects one's own little boat from hitting reefs and leaking, drifting alone on the sea of suffering—unable to benefit oneself, unable to benefit others. How can this count as practice benefiting both self and others?
Person B's view is that merely keeping the Hīnayāna precepts does not yet count as practice; only keeping the Mahāyāna precepts counts as practice. But as long as the aspiration is pure, both Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna are practice—only their respective goals differ: the Hīnayāna gets off midway, while the Mahāyāna gets off at the terminal station. Whether keeping precepts counts as practice depends on what kind of mental action one keeps them with, and what result the precept-keeping points toward. If one keeps precepts for human and heavenly blessings, then having gained human-heavenly blessings one either creates evil karma or, when the merit is exhausted, falls again—such precept-keeping can still lead to downfall, and so is not practice. Followers of non-Buddhist paths also keep precepts; many of them absolutely never violate the five precepts and their minds are pure, yet in the end they remain non-Buddhists, not walking the Buddha path—such precept-keeping also does not count as practice.
The goal of Hīnayāna practice is to sever the view of self and cultivate selflessness, changing the notion that the five aggregates are the self, and gaining liberation from the bondage of the five aggregates. If one can keep precepts with a selfless, unselfish mind, one can sever the view of self and tend toward liberation, attaining the realization of nirvāṇa—such precept-keeping belongs to practice. Conversely, keeping precepts with a mind of self, not performing selfless deeds, calculating "I" everywhere—such precept-keeping is not practice, does not gain the fruit-virtue of selflessness, and after gaining the merit of precepts one will still fall. The Mahāyāna, with a selfless mind, performs deeds benefiting others and gives rise to the great bodhi resolve—such precept-keeping is the foundation of cultivation and realization, can change mental nature, increase concentration and wisdom, and lead to seeing the mind and realizing enlightenment, and so counts as practice.
Twenty-five: Does Diligent Study of the Dharma Count as Practice?
The Diamond Sutra says: 法尚应舍，何况非法。 The Dharma is the pure wondrous principles of the three baskets and twelve divisions—belonging to the realm of theory and knowledge. After these theoretical knowledges have been realized and the corresponding ignorance broken through, they are no longer useful and should be discarded; if retained in the mind, they only obstruct consciousness, preventing the mind from being empty and unobstructed, merely adding the bondage of dharmas. For example, when medicine has cured an illness, the medicine should be discarded; otherwise clinging to the medicine itself becomes a disease. The "non-Dharma" opposed to Dharma is ignorance—the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion. The scope of ignorance is extremely broad: all mistaken, unreasonable views that lead to unending birth and death are ignorance. These non-Dharmas must all the more be discarded. Our entire process of studying Buddhism and cultivating practice is the process of continuously breaking through ignorance, until ignorance is extinguished and one reaches the other shore, no longer needing to practice, and even the Dharma principles are emptied completely.
Thus the relationship between Dharma and non-Dharma is clear: the two are medicine and disease, the relationship of antidote and that which is antidoted. Dharma is used to counteract non-Dharma; when non-Dharma has been counteracted, the Dharma must also be discarded. Then the mind is empty, pure, and characterized by permanence, bliss, self, and purity. Since Dharma is used to counteract ignorance, it is a tool and method of practice, while the object of practice is ignorance-afflictions, not the Dharma itself. Dharma is principle; ignorance-afflictions are phenomena. Phenomena are embodied in bodily, verbal, and mental actions, which are also phenomena, divided into wholesome, unwholesome, and neither-wholesome-nor-unwholesome. When evil is extinguished, the mind becomes purely wholesome and pure. So using principle to break through phenomena and bring phenomena to completeness—perfecting all kinds of actions and characteristics—is the initial and final aim and purport of practice.
In the end, the Dharma in the mind must certainly be eliminated—but should phenomenal actions also be eliminated? The phenomenal actions of ignorance-afflictions must certainly be eliminated. After ignorance-afflictions are eliminated, bodily, verbal, and mental actions become thoroughly pure, without defilement—thus all kinds of phenomenal actions are perfected and the unsurpassed Buddha path is accomplished. But the buddhas, having accomplished the Way, do not enter nirvāṇa without remainder; in the nirvāṇa of non-abiding, perfected and pure phenomenal actions constantly manifest. Because the buddhas, in their causal stages, made vows to extensively deliver immeasurable sentient beings, after becoming buddhas they must perfectly fulfill the various pure great vows made in their causal stages. Therefore phenomenal actions cannot be cut off or extinguished, until sentient beings are all delivered.
Thus it is clear: only with wisdom, able to harmonize principle and phenomena and perfect all kinds of phenomenal actions, is one a true practitioner. What one can take pride in and display to others should be the pure bodily, verbal, and mental actions free of ignorance—not what dharma one has studied or how much dharma one has studied. Therefore methods and tools need not be displayed to others; results are important. Only by showing results can one inspire, teach, and guide people onto the buddha-path of breaking through ignorance. It is like a healthy person: just show others a healthy body—there is no need to advertise everywhere that one has a cancer-curing drug or a leukemia-curing drug; being disease-free is what is worthy of pride. Using Dharma to counteract non-Dharma, fulfilling its proper function, eliminating ignorance, removing the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, extinguishing the two attachments of self and dharma—this is the fundamental point. If it does not function, even recollecting the Buddha is non-Dharma; if it does function, even the non-Dharma of non-Buddhist paths is Dharma.
Now some people keep theory as theory and phenomena as phenomena, with no connection between the two—then what exactly is being cultivated in practice? Many people think studying Buddhism means learning theoretical knowledge, knowing more Buddhist teachings, yet they do not know what knowing the Buddha-Dharma is for, nor what the goal and direction of practice are. If studying Buddhism is only for mastering theoretical knowledge, then even if one is learned enough to fill five carts and becomes a doctor of Buddhology, one remains an ignorant sentient being, unable to attain even a hair's breadth of liberation. Theoretical knowledge cannot make sentient beings become buddhas; clinging to principle while abandoning phenomena instead becomes attachment to dharmas—bound by dharmas, birth and death only increase. Such study of Dharma is foolish conduct and does not count as practice. Theory serves phenomena; when phenomena are perfected, theory is no longer useful and should be discarded. How could a wise person cling all day to theory while ignoring phenomena—inverting root and branch?
People attain liberation through phenomena, not through theory. Some people are truly inverted: they hold theory high while greatly creating evil karma, thinking that with theory in hand the goal is achieved and phenomenal actions can be ignored. But in reality, what is useful is phenomena; what needs to be perfected is phenomena; only when phenomena are perfected is one a Buddha. It is in order to harmonize and perfect phenomena that one studies theory, using theory to guide, change, and perfect phenomenal actions. If not for this, then burying oneself in the three baskets and twelve divisions, diligently seeking—what for? Studying for the sake of studying—is that not useless effort? Those who, having studied some dharma, look down on all beings—how foolish and inverted they are! If what is studied cannot lighten greed, hatred, and delusion but instead increases ignorance, better not to study at all; studying and studying only becomes a scourge, making sentient beings misunderstand the Buddha-Dharma and Buddhism—that is creating great evil karma. To sum up: studying Dharma that cannot harmonize phenomenal actions, however diligent, does not count as practice.
Twenty-six: What Is Wrong Effort?
Wrong effort is the opposite of right effort: the direction of striving is incorrect, and when the direction is incorrect, the harder one strives, the farther from the goal. The direction of right effort is realizing selflessness, realizing emptiness—ever more selfless, ever more empty, until thorough ultimate completion—cultivating the three uncontaminated studies of precepts, concentration, and wisdom centered on this goal. But the person of wrong effort has a flourishing sense of self, attached to existence and non-emptiness; whatever they cultivate is for the worldly benefit of that so-called self, attached to worldly existence, harboring hopes and pursuits for fame, gain, and offerings, running counter to the Path. In that case, although they sit in meditation, recite sūtras, recollect the Buddha day and night without rest, study the Dharma and even spread it, all is self-centered and centered on personal benefit—as long as oneself and one's own associates benefit, whether others fare well or not doesn't matter, and they may even harm others' interests. Such practice: the more diligent, the farther from the path of selflessness, the farther from emptiness, the farther from the real aspect of the dharma-realm—and in the end one easily cultivates oneself into a māra.
Diligence without pure great vows and correct vows, while not counting as wrong effort, is also not right effort. All practice takes vows as its guide; without vows nothing is accomplished, and with vows, half the effort yields double the result. Vows are like an accelerator, like stair-steps in a deep pit, like a tow-rope in the mud; vows can break free from the entanglement of karmic power and reach the other shore of nirvāṇa directly. Small vows are for oneself; great vows are for sentient beings; wrong vows are for false existence; correct vows are for true emptiness and purity. When great and correct vows cannot be brought forth, practice is still shallow; once good roots and merit have accumulated deeply, vows arise naturally, and with vows, all is accomplished.
Twenty-seven: An Exhortation to Practice
When the New Year arrives, the countryside slaughters pigs and sheep. At the last feeding, the pigs eat still so cheerfully, not in the least aware that this is the final meal of their lives. Having eaten a lifetime while doing nothing, they grow fat only to lose their lives—the more ignorant the animal, the less awakened. Humans are the same: all of humanity's disasters are laid out before their eyes, plainly visible, with no concealment whatsoever—lean on a mountain and it collapses; lean on water and it flows away; lean on people and they run—nothing can be relied upon. Yet when disasters arise on all sides, people still have the heart to travel and sightsee, viewing mountains, waters, and snow—playing when they can play, enjoying when they can enjoy—just like pigs enjoying their last supper. Wherein lies the difference between humans and pigs?
Do not think a lifetime is long—that is an illusion; in the eyes of heavenly beings it is merely a few minutes or days. Do not think yourself still young—on the road to the Yellow Springs there are no old or young; white-haired people sending off black-haired ones happens constantly. Do not think you are fine; among those struck by great calamities, many are very self-confident people, all leaving tears of regret only when lying in bed unable to move—but by then it is too late.
Having encountered the Buddha-Dharma, yet still not awakening, still unwilling to strive in practice to change the sorrowful fate of birth and death—what medicine can save such people? When I say "who," that person should know; if they still do not know, they are simply as stupid as a pig. Knowing and still not changing—what kind words are left to say?
Twenty-eight: Actual Practice Is More Difficult Than Mere Study of Theory
In the internet age, with an explosion of theory, learning knowledge has become easy, with almost no difficulty. The difficulty lies in actual practice. First, there are not many practical examples and experiences to draw on; second, there are no people who have actually practiced and realized to provide guidance; third, one must break through layer upon layer of obstructions, doing it oneself—no one can substitute; fourth, sentient beings' faculties are generally not very good, and the barrier of karmic obstructions is hard to pass, making it impossible to get a handle on putting practice into effect.
Here we focus primarily on actual practice, not on preliminary theoretical knowledge; we do not play at verbal gymnastics, nor go around debating for victory. Once one enters the stage of actual practice and has the foundation and knack of practice, even if one realizes nothing in this life, it is not easy to fall into the three evil realms; in future lives, upon encountering the Buddha-Dharma again, one will automatically enter the state of actual practice, and progress will be swift. I hope everyone cherishes this opportunity, no longer chasing worldly matters of no benefit, and still less pursuing worldly pleasures—there is nothing in the world worth rejoicing over. I hope everyone will be more attentive and raise the content of wisdom in your cognition.
Twenty-nine: In Practice, Is It the Objective Realm That Is Emptied, or Oneself?
What dharmas does the objective realm include? The objective realm is the sense-objects (guṇa): all form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas relative to my conscious mind, including all dharmas of people, affairs, things, and principles, including one's own and others' bodies of the five aggregates. When faculties and objects contact, consciousness arises; where there is consciousness there is discrimination, and thoughts arise. So in practice, is it the objective realm that is emptied or the self? The self is emptied first; when the self is emptied, the objective realm is emptied—not that when the realm is emptied the self is emptied.
If the objective realm does not exist, the self does not exist; if the objective realm exists, the self exists. What kind of practice is this called? If this too is called practice, then non-Buddhist practitioners who cultivate the four dhyānas and eight concentrations empty the appearance of the objective realm while retaining only the self—have they severed the view of self? Who can out-empty the non-Buddhists? One who cultivates the objective realm is, in fact, one who is turned by the objective realm—and one turned by the objective realm is an ordinary being. When the self is emptied, are there still sense-objects? The sense-objects are emptied along with it. If you are not empty, all objective realms arise; if your mind is empty, all objective realms turn to nothing.
Thirty: Nothing More Than This
移山填海，伟大工程，挥沙运石，众志成城；
高楼大厦，宏伟壮观，安居乐业，人生荣华。
天上看之，如蚁造穴，群蚁合力，搬沙运土；
穴成群居，安蛋孵卵，天灾毁之，移穴再造。
你之伟大，我也不差，历劫如此，循环往复；
碌碌一生，终归寂灭，回首一望，无尽苍穹。
众情执之，浑然不觉，迷之争之，不过尘沙；
身生身灭，尘幻埃亡，唯一不化，不如一土。
