Compilation of Daily Discourses
Chapter Two: On Afflictions and Karmic Obstructions
1. How Are Afflictions Subdued and Eradicated?
When an affliction arises in one's own mind, upon noticing it one recalls the dharma teachings one has learned—that all people, matters, and things are empty—and feels one should not have given rise to this affliction, and so one pinches out the affliction, becoming as if no affliction had just arisen. Is this the state of eradicating afflictions? Not at all; this is the state of "awakening the moment a thought arises, and the thought vanishes upon being awakened to." Yet before the awakening, the thought has after all already arisen and appeared, and cannot be treated as never having appeared.
Once a thought has come out, there is an affliction; with an affliction present, it is not the state of eradicating afflictions. 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 later, the manas has afflictions innately and is non-awakened. And the manas's afflictions cannot always rely on the mind consciousness to be discovered and managed, because first, the mind consciousness may be too late to stop the affliction, thus forming afflictive karmic actions and leaving karmic seeds; second, the mind consciousness cannot operate together with the manas at all times and places, nor can it always be clear and awake—it also has moments of being weak, muddled, and absent, in which case there is no way to discover and manage the manas's afflictions.
Pinching off afflictions as soon as they arise is what should be done in the earliest stage of practice. After meditative concentration arises, one will gradually transition to having fewer thoughts and naturally not giving rise to afflictions, gradually subduing and suppressing afflictions. Forcibly pinching off thoughts to subdue afflictions is very difficult; in fact, in the end, whether subduing or eradicating afflictions, one need not counteract them this way—once meditative concentration appears, afflictions naturally do not arise. In meditative concentration, afflictions naturally gradually lessen and lighten, then are subdued, and finally are naturally eradicated within meditative concentration. Those who have meditative concentration can understand this principle. For those whose meditative concentration has arisen and become firm—think about it: have you ever specially counteracted your afflictions? Do they not naturally cease to appear within meditative concentration? Those without meditative concentration, lacking the power of concentration, have no choice but to hold inner dialogues, with the mind consciousness reasoning with the manas. For those with meditative concentration, the manas naturally follows the teaching and naturally receives the perfuming.
For example, when the qi is full one does not think of food—is not wanting to eat the result of counteraction or the result of natural occurrence? Forcibly not eating or eating less is difficult and distressing, but when one cultivates concentration until the qi in the body is full, the stomach is always filled with qi, and one naturally does not feel hunger. When essence is full one does not think of lust—is this the result of counteraction or of natural occurrence? This too is that when one has cultivated 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 counteraction or of natural occurrence? Likewise, when one has cultivated concentration until the spirit is full, sleep is no longer needed to restore the spirit-qi; one is naturally not sleepy, whereas forcibly not sleeping the body cannot endure. The subduing and eradication of other afflictions is similar to this.
Outsiders to practice only use theory to counteract and suppress afflictions in the stage before entering the gate. Having suppressed them for a while, they claim they have eradicated 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 eradicate afflictions. Without meditative concentration, however perfect the theory, one can do nothing about afflictions—each thing subdues another; meditative concentration subdues afflictions. Having subdued afflictions, one subdues karmic obstructions and the obstructions to seeing the Path; only without obstructions can one see the Path. Therefore, without eradicating afflictions, it is impossible to attain bodhi.
Practice is a process of self-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, and before one knows it the afflictions are gone. After practicing for a while, looking back, one discovers one has changed. Where is there any principle of using theory to counteract afflictions, of afflictions poking their heads out and then being pushed back?
2. Only by Subduing Coarse and Heavy Greed and Attachment Can There Be Meditative Concentration and the Eradication of the View of Self
Liking various entertainment activities, including music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and various arts, all belongs to the category of greed and attachment. No matter how refined, noble, exalted, or wonderful these are considered in worldly views, how pleasing to the eye and heart, they run contrary to the Path, all belong to worldly existence, and therefore all belong to the affairs of saṃsāra; clinging to them, one cannot escape saṃsāra. And when the mind has greed and attachment, it corresponds to the ghost path, and at the end of life one will go to the ghost path to receive retribution. The scope of greed is extremely broad—almost everywhere there is greed; 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 heaven or as a human, because of one's various greed and attachments, one will almost always first go to the ghost path to receive retribution, then go to the animal path to receive retribution; when the evil-path karma is temporarily exhausted and some merit remains, one will return to the human world. Those greedy for the dharmas of the desire realm do not leave the desire realm; those greedy for the dharmas of the human world will not be born in the heavens, and may not even be born among humans.
The desire for food and drink is the shallowest and easiest-to-subdue affliction in the human world; it is the first gate of practice. If one cannot even pass this gate, other greeds are even harder to subdue. The myriad faults and wrongs of ordinary beings are manifested in the bit-by-bit greed of daily life—greedy everywhere, grasping everywhere. Living, they are fastidious about everything. Fastidious about what? Fastidious about everything, unwilling to let any dharma be emptied, pursuing the best of everything. Just this one matter of eating—what a variety of ways, and so much fastidiousness. 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.
Human sexual desire is the heaviest greed. If it can be subdued, one can cultivate the first-dhyāna concentration, and by eradicating sexual desire, in a later life one can be born in the first-dhyāna heaven. If the greed for eating, clothing, dwelling, using, and traveling in the human world can be subdued, one can cultivate preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi), thereby subduing human-world afflictions, and after death can be born in the desire-realm heavens. Those who cannot cultivate meditative concentration should examine the various greeds within their own minds. Enjoying the pleasures of high buildings, fine clothes, and exquisite food in the human world comes at a price; when 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 paths. Therefore, those who enjoy wealth, honor, glory, and splendor should awaken early and plan ahead, seeing through the unreality of worldly glory and not yearning for vanity.
Why does meditative concentration all correspond to the heavenly path, enabling rebirth in heaven at the end of life? Beings of the heavenly path 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, being the retribution of wholesome karma, with a little retribution of meditative concentration. The form-realm and formless-realm heavens are mainly the retribution of meditative concentration; without corresponding meditative concentration, one cannot be born in the form-realm or formless-realm heavens. Therefore meditative concentration can certainly subdue and eradicate afflictions. Both the eradication of the view of self and seeing the mind and seeing the nature require at least preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi), and both require subduing the coarse and heavy afflictions of the desire realm. Fame and offerings, wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep—all are afflictions within the desire realm. People with such serious afflictions cannot have meditative concentration, cannot eradicate the view of self, cannot see the mind and see the nature, much less attain the bhūmis.
If someone claims that after eradicating the view of self and seeing the mind and seeing the nature, they are still like ordinary people 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 seeing of the nature. Worldly people do not understand matters of practice and realization, and tend to overestimate their own and others' cultivation, with many misunderstandings. Because of the view of self, they misunderstand only in the direction of the high, never in the direction of the low. Previously some people told me they had eradicated the view of self and seen the mind, asking me to test and verify them, and so they repeatedly explained how there is no self and how all is empty. But such theories are everywhere and easily obtained. Can I, upon hearing these descriptions, necessarily judge whether they have truly realized anything? Of course not. Better to see with one's own eyes than to hear with one's ears.
In fact, judging whether a person has eradicated or realized something depends mainly not on what they say but on 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 eating, clothing, dwelling, using, and traveling, their attitude toward material form. This is where the coarsest afflictions lie, and what must first be changed in the process of practice. Slightly subtler afflictions are the attitude toward mind and consciousness, a person's thoughts and views; these too must change, otherwise nothing has been eradicated and nothing realized. Since one has realized that the five aggregates are without self, realized emptiness, and clearly knows it is empty and nothing, how could one continue to grasp and cling to coarse and shallow 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?
3. What Bodily, Verbal, and Mental Actions Accord with the Path?
Diligent practitioners in daily life will introspect their own minds. When observing their state of mind while eating, they notice they have greed for food, and so they slow down their eating. In fact, wolfing down food when hungry is not necessarily greed; savoring slowly with careful chewing may be even more greed. Greed for the object of taste is one kind of greed. Greed for food and drink includes greed for their form, smell, taste, and touch. As long as one is not greedy for form, smell, taste, and touch, but eats only to relieve hunger, it is not a greedy mind; therefore one can eat without greed, and even eat quickly without greed.
How to distinguish a greedy mind from a non-greedy mind? In the past, a lay disciple asked Chan Master Dazhu Huihai: "Master, how does your eating and sleeping differ from ordinary people's eating and sleeping?" Chan Master Huihai said: "Ordinary people, when eating, do not properly eat—a hundred kinds of seeking; when sleeping, do not properly sleep—a thousand kinds of calculating. I simply do not have so many ideas; I just eat and sleep." Having no ideas about eating does not mean thinking of nothing while eating and eating with full attention, but rather having no extra demands regarding food and drink, not being picky, having no greedy mind.
What do ordinary beings seek in their hundred kinds of seeking regarding eating? Broadly speaking, nothing more than form, smell, taste, and touch, and the nourishing of the physical body for its maintenance; the detailed requirements are numerous. To summarize, it is greed, all the result of the view of self and view of body at work. A person who has attained the Path, when eating, does not care whether it is spoiled rice or leftovers; as long as one can eat one's fill, not be hungry, and not affect cultivation of the Path, that suffices—there are no other requirements. What do ordinary beings calculate in their thousand kinds of calculating when sleeping? Broadly speaking, nothing more than calculating the six sense objects of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma; in detail, it is calculating about the house, bed, bedding, and so on—essentially all manifestations of the view of body and view of self.
Whether a person has cultivation can be seen clearly from daily trivial matters; every detail can reveal whether there is the view of self. For those whose view of self is not eradicated, the demands of the physical body are many; to maintain the body's demands, extremely much greedy mind and greedy conduct will manifest, which they themselves will not notice. Unconsciously, greedy conduct will always arise—that is the manas's greed, habitual. Because of habit, it is considered normal and proper; if someone is not like oneself, not greedy or picky about anything, they are considered abnormal—this is called inversion. As for one's daily conduct, which accords with the Path and which does not, one must be good at observing and distinguishing, constantly correcting oneself, in order to realize the Path as early as possible.
Bodily actions and verbal actions are both governed by the mind. If the mind is the greedy, clinging mind of an ordinary being, bodily and verbal actions will unconsciously manifest the mind's greed. Some ordinary people without cultivation always want to show that they have cultivation, so they pretend to have it, but they do not know what behavior counts as having cultivation and what counts as not. Even pretending, they cannot keep it up for long; crucially, they do not even know how to pretend, so they expose their uncultivated behavior from time to time—outsiders cannot distinguish it.
In fact, for ordinary beings, from waking in the morning and opening their eyes, to beginning the day's activities, to sleeping at night, even in dreams, throughout the day there is almost no bodily, verbal, or mental action that is correct and accords with the Path. Is this an exaggeration? No. If the mind does not correspond to the Path, bodily and verbal actions do not correspond to the Path; at all times and places there are only actions of ignorance and affliction.
If one can know what mental conduct corresponds to the Path, one will know what bodily and verbal actions have conduct of the Path and which do not. Thus one can roughly judge whether a person has seen the Path and attained fruition, whether they have conduct of the Path, and at what level their cultivation is. Once one's eyes are brightened, one will no longer be deceived and cheated, no longer be "harvested like leeks."
4. Changing Human Nature Means Changing Habitual Tendencies
Some say that to understand human nature, one should watch the animal world more; once one understands the animal world, one understands part of human nature. Does this statement make sense? Why?
The six paths ranked from low to high are: hell, ghost path, animal path, human path, heavenly path, and asura path. Among them, asura beings are distributed throughout the above five paths and can be counted within the five paths. In beings' saṃsāra, the animal path is adjacent to the human path, with similar habitual tendencies. After transmigrating from the animal path to the human path, human nature is close and similar to animal nature. As long as one has not eradicated the view of self, one will return to the animal path, fully endowed with animal nature. These words are hard to hear. Last time when the topic of afflictions touched on the animal path, no one was willing to respond—I knew everyone avoided 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 it is still the same as animals or ghost beings, so in future lives of saṃsāra it will still transmigrate into the three evil paths, fully endowed with the nature of beings of the three evil paths.
Therefore, no one should care too much about this bit of blessing from being human—fame, profit, power, status, race. Once one goes to the three evil paths, one is nothing, not even as good as ordinary people. Therefore, having encountered the Buddhadharma, one should focus on cultivating the manas and changing the manas. Once the manas changes, the mental nature and attributes change, becoming distinct from beings of the three evil paths, and the retribution will be different.
To change oneself, one must understand oneself. To understand oneself, one must not only observe oneself and one's own kind, but also observe the animal kind and the ghost kind, because they are similar and roughly alike. Having understood them all, one fully understands oneself; and only by understanding oneself can one have the means to change oneself.
5. Why Does One Feel Attacked?
Question: When explaining correct Buddhist principles in some group chats, if attacked by so-called Buddhist learners without correct knowledge and correct view, one feels discomfort all over the body, as if bitten by a venomous snake, feeling that the other person is full of negative energy, worse than ordinary people who do not study Buddhism. Why do these feelings arise?
Answer: At such times, first, one should reflect on whether one's words were untimely; or whether the wording was inappropriate, lacking skillful means; or whether one harbored arrogance and looked down on the other; or whether one's own capacity for faith and acceptance was insufficient, and so on. Second, one should consider: being attacked and opposed is a normal phenomenon. Because beings have ignorance, their cognitions differ, so each holds to their own views, and even obstinate partiality appears. Third, one should observe beings' psychology more, understand beings more, and learn methods and skills of communication, and so on. When encountering problems, first looking for others' causes cannot solve the problem; only finding one's own causes can one correct oneself, thereby making the other party trust and accept one's goodwill.
If one's views are not accepted and one believes oneself attacked, giving rise to the above feelings, this shows one's self-grasping is very heavy, not allowing the slightest rejection or disapproval from others, caring too much about others' attitudes toward oneself. From the description of the above words, one can see that self-arrogance is rather serious; the self in the mind is flourishing, unconsciously belittling and despising others, and therefore those feelings that should not exist appear. If one has correct view and correct principle, one should keep the mind empty and follow conditions, speak with restraint and skill, take lightly the other's attitude and reaction, not care about others' evaluations, be without any obstruction regarding all outcomes, and remain humble and gentle throughout. In that case, one's mind and magnetic field will imperceptibly embrace and influence the other, one's views will be more easily accepted, and at the very least there will be no verbal clash. That is why I say that when encountering problems, one should first examine oneself.
In dialogue with others, if one first assumes oneself to be right and in possession of the true Dharma, then one places the other on the side of the wrong, considering them without correct knowledge and correct view. With such opposition of right and wrong, disputes of self and other inevitably arise, because no one is willing to be on the side of the wrong. If one considers oneself right, that implies others are wrong; others of course are unwilling, and conflict arises. Contradictions are often intensified in this way. A person's tone of speech often reveals their attitude and stance; when the other perceives it, they feel aversion, emotions arise, language becomes improper, and conflict appears.
In all my years of teaching the Dharma, I have never said that what I teach is the true Dharma, or that I represent the true Dharma—such words have never appeared in my dharma teachings; you can check the books to see. Therefore I never create opposition with people. Even if someone does not accept the Dharma I teach, it is not because of me myself but due to other non-self reasons; the problem is not with me. A person with wisdom, in speech and action, will not put others on the opposite side of themselves and will not make enemies for themselves. Only those with severe self-grasping constantly make enemies, even regarding everyone as their imagined enemy; doing so, of course, one has enemies everywhere. And for a person with enemies everywhere, how far can they go? Can their undertakings go smoothly?
6. Ceasing Disputes
Ordinary beings have the suffering of saṃsāra through the six paths because they have unwholesome karma, unwholesome minds, and afflictive mental factors. After eradicating the view of self, there is no more suffering of the three evil paths because the unwholesome karma and unwholesome minds of the three evil paths have been eliminated, and a portion of afflictive mental factors extinguished. So whether eradicating the view of self requires eradicating afflictions is an obvious question, no longer worth debating. Then whether eradicating the view of self requires meditative concentration, with preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) fully possessed—this too is an obvious question, no longer worth debating, for without meditative concentration, how can afflictions be eradicated?
Now a large portion of the disputes, due to various internal and external reasons, have finally been forced to stop—but this is by no means a final stop, nor an eternal stop, only a temporary one: karmic retribution no longer supports further dispute. Future lives are hard to say, for beings' karmic obstructions are deep and heavy, and afflictions never cease. Watching many people create unwholesome karma, watching many people receive unwholesome retribution, watching many people transmigrate through birth and death—what can be done? Beings are just like this; no one can control them, so cause and effect has no choice but to speak up.
7. Unintentional Faults, Though Without Offense, Still Have Unwholesome Retribution
First, let us explain: when there clearly was no intention to create unwholesome karma, why do faults appear? This is because the mind has delusion and ignorance. Ignorance and delusion are root afflictions, from which the other major, medium, and minor affiliated afflictions arise. The two root afflictions of greed and hatred are also caused by ignorance and delusion; without ignorance, without delusion, there is neither greed nor hatred; without ignorance and delusion, various faults would not appear. On the surface these faults are done unintentionally, but is it really without mind? It is not without mind—it is driven by afflictive habits. Because habitual tendencies are heavy, faults are committed without going through the brain, without thinking—even irreparable faults, so that people are severely hurt, or losses are great, even killing people, slandering the Three Jewels, damaging the reputation of the Three Jewels.
Most people say these are unintentional faults—not deliberately wanting anything, just carelessly, unable to hold back, and thus committed. Seen this way, they are not unintentional faults or unintentional losses, but with mind—with an affliction-defiled mind, a deluded mind, representing heavy habitual tendencies. A pure person has no such faults and errors; their bodily, verbal, and mental actions are pure and perfect, without fault. Even Māra Pāpīyas, searching for these people's faults for hundreds or thousands of years, can find none—there is no crack; Pāpīyas cannot take advantage to create any unwholesome karma, and must return disappointed. Therefore all faults and errors involve mind, and therefore all have unwholesome retribution. The retribution of delusion and ignorance is the three evil paths, mainly the animal path. Among all afflictions, delusion is the hardest to remove; only after greed and hatred are completely removed can delusion be removed, and only at the bodhisattva of equal enlightenment can the last portion of ignorance be eradicated—showing the solidity, subtlety, and pervasiveness of ignorance and delusion.
The heaviest karma of delusion is not killing and arson. The karma of killing, though it can cause fall into hell, has a limited eon-span; once the sinful karma is dissolved, one leaves hell. But slandering the Three Jewels, committing unwholesome karma against the Three Jewels, has an extremely long retribution eon-span. Even after leaving the three evil paths and being born among humans, because one once slandered the Three Jewels, there will still be the retribution of blindness, deafness, muteness, and dumbness, or not encountering the Three Jewels, not hearing the names of the Three Jewels. Even if part of the unwholesome karma is dissolved and one encounters the Three Jewels, the Dharma one studies cannot enter the mind, finding no door of entry—very distressing. Of all unwholesome retributions, none is heavier than this: it obstructs studying the Dharma and liberation, the loss of the greatest benefit.
8. A Buddhist Sage Must Be a Confucian Gentleman
Confucian culture is the foundation of Buddhist studies, teaching the way of being a person, the conduct of a gentleman, restraining body and mind, purifying body, speech, and mind, subduing greed, hatred, and delusion. It is precisely because of this Confucian cultural foundation that the Buddhadharma spread from western India to China (Cīnasthāna) and took root there, bringing blessings to the Chinese nation. Buddhist practice takes Confucianism as its foundation, and in thought, character, and moral cultivation should be even higher than Confucianism, purer and more exalted than Confucianism, all the more rising from the mud unstained.
Confucianism advocates the way of the gentleman: words once spoken must be acted upon, words and deeds consistent, exterior and interior the same, open and upright, with the bearing of a great man. The gentleman is the benchmark established by Confucianism; the benchmark of Buddhism should be the sage, transcending the gentleman. Therefore, one who is a gentleman is not necessarily a Buddhist sage, but a Buddhist sage must be a Confucian gentleman. One who is not a gentleman is neither a sage nor a good teacher (kalyāṇamitra). If someone claims to be a sage, a good teacher, one should compare his bodily, verbal, and mental actions with the virtue of a gentleman; if his conduct is not even as good as a gentleman's, or falls short of a gentleman, one should be vigilant, not be deceived, and guard against being defiled and assimilated, so that the mind-ground is not covered with dust.
Every Buddhist practitioner should also learn more from the conduct of gentlemen, study more of the traditional national learning of Confucianism and Daoism, gradually perfecting in character and integrity. Having acquired the moral cultivation of being a person, with mental nature mature and complete, then in studying and practicing the Buddhadharma, as soon as one applies effort there will be results. Only when theoretical skill (technique) and mental nature advance in step, perfectly combined, is it possible to be transformed—the carp leaping over the dragon gate—becoming a true sage, a model for sentient beings, qualified to lead sentient beings onto the path of liberation.
Many people study Buddhism for many years but cannot advance in their practice. What is the reason? Because practice is not merely technical application to the Path; more important is the tempering and refinement of mental nature, perfecting character. If one is not even qualified as a person, no matter how one applies effort, one cannot break through the cage of one's own mind to become a sage. Many Buddhist learners' virtue is not even as good as that of ordinary worldly people; the more they learn, the heavier their afflictions—greed, hatred, and delusion all present, seeking much in worldly dharmas, painstakingly scheming for fame and offerings. It is precisely such people who proclaim at every turn that they are enlightened and have become sages, while those with better virtue are very careful and cautious, meticulously examining themselves, not daring to lightly pin such a big label on themselves.
9. Why Does the Phenomenon of "A Sheng of Rice Creates Gratitude, a Dou of Rice Creates Enmity" Occur?
When a person is first given small favors, in conscience they know gratitude. When favors are continuously bestowed, a habit of being given alms forms; they enter a comfort zone, take it for granted, and develop dependence. When this taken-for-grantedness is broken and others no longer give, the comfort zone is gone, there is nothing to depend on, they feel uncomfortable, psychologically unable to accept it, and thus hatred arises. Breaking a person's habits is difficult; not letting people depend on you will breed resentment. People are unwilling to break habits, especially comfortable, enjoyable habits. People are unwilling to accept education that differs greatly from their habitual tendencies and views; to change a person, one must proceed slowly, not rushing things.
Since habits have such adhesive quality, one should strive to form good habits to drive out bad ones. For example, when breath observation becomes a habit, it will drive out scattered thoughts: while in random thinking, once one observes the breath, the manas's full attention concentrates on the breath, concentration appears, and the random thoughts disappear. It is the manas that gradually adapts to receiving favors, forms habits, and develops dependence. The manas's greed and inertia are great: forming bad habits is easy, changing them is very difficult; accepting favors is easy, losing benefits is hard to bear.
Which mind feels gratitude? Which mind becomes enmity? Love, hate, affection, and enmity all depend on which level and degree they fall to, whether real or fake, how real, how fake. Emotions that are relatively deep belong to the manas; relatively shallow ones that have not yet formed habits belong to the mind consciousness. At the mind-consciousness stage, emotions are easy to regulate; once they fall into the manas and form habits, emotions are hard to control.
Receiving favors, anyone with a bit of conscience has a grateful mind, keeping it in mind thought after thought, thinking of repaying when they have money—both the mind consciousness and the manas are like this. If the mind consciousness must constantly remind the manas to be grateful, it shows the manas has no conscience; a person with conscience needs no reminder from the mind consciousness. It is like a person whose mind consciousness has attained fruition needing to remind the manas at every moment: no afflictions allowed, do not cling to the five aggregates, the five aggregates are false. But when the manas itself attains fruition, there is no need at all for the mind consciousness's constant reminders; the mind consciousness need not speak, need not recite that the five aggregates are illusory—the manas knowing is enough.
10. What Exactly Is the "Great Love" Spoken of by Worldly People?
Bai Xuexiang expressed her view, saying: Worldly love has a direction; no matter how great the love, it has a direction. The enlarged version of a small person's love is great love. For example, the love of political greats is the enlarged version of a small person's love; otherwise wars would not occur. "This is my homeland, you cannot invade it"—and so war breaks out between nations; "This is my religion"—and so slaughter between religions; "This is my faith"—and so persecution between faiths, and so on—all because of great love.
True compassion has no conflict whatsoever; there is no large or small. All problems arise because true compassion has not been generated. Even humanistic love, though without conflict among humans, because it is based on "humans," inevitably slaughters animals and harms living beings. As long as it is based on "humans," no matter how loving, advocating the ideal of protecting animals, when others kill animals one flies into a rage—then there is no love.
What Bai Xuexiang said is very good! Only one who has truly experienced that emptiness could say this; without real experience, one could not even make it up. Worldly people love love and love affection; without feeling and love they seem unable to live. Feeling and love are the spiritual food of ordinary beings, not easily allowed to be taken away. All these are psychological emotions produced on the premise of there being self, others, and sentient beings. Some people have a bit of awakening, feel that this small self and small love are somewhat insignificant, so they advocate the great self and great love, as if sublimated—but it is all self. Without a small self, how could a great self emerge?
For example, the group one belongs to, including nation and earth—taking the group as the great self, everything for this great self, caring nothing beyond it, even attacking other groups for one's own group, as if selfless. But it is also selfish, because one's own interests lie within that group; without interests, one probably would not go to great lengths to defend that group. And what is attacking other groups? Of course unwholesome conduct—this is the manifestation of great self and great love.
In the twelve links of dependent origination—craving, grasping, becoming, birth, aging-and-death—the cause of all birth and death is precisely this craving. Because of craving there is grasping, and birth and death come. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do not speak of love; they speak of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity (maitrī, karuṇā, muditā, upekṣā), speak of the Bodhisattva's four means of attraction, embracing sentient beings with the four means of attraction, without stirring emotion—stirring emotion is itself the cause of birth and death. The great love spoken of by worldly people all involves birth and death; it is not empty. Only acting with an empty mind, compassionate and merciful toward people, is there no fault; otherwise great love is also a fault—with the nature of grasping, it must be so.
For example, a doctor toward a patient: it suffices to treat with all one's heart and strength. If one invests emotion, grieving and suffering like the patient or the patient's family, then the doctor's body and mind will be affected by the patient at every moment; before long, the doctor too will fall ill, and over time may even die of illness—how then could one continue to treat patients? Handle matters as matters, without love, without emotion; with body and mind detached, both body and mind remain healthy. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are likewise. If they invested love in sentient beings, their body-mind-world would be the same as sentient beings'—how then could they save sentient beings? In that case, it would be as if sentient beings' love infected the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, dragging them back to the ordinary realm; then there would be no Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, only ordinary people full of love.
The essence of love is greed, called greedy love. Whatever kind of love, and whatever is loved, all are afflictive emotions of the desire realm, unable to rise to the form realm; even the dharmas of the form realm and formless realm are still within birth and death of the three realms. Eradicating love is a practitioner's duty, replaced thereafter by compassion and mercy; the mind's capacity then expands, without the fault of birth and death.
11. Why Are There More Obstacles the More Diligent One Is?
Studying Buddhism and practicing is like driving a cart against the wind or rowing a boat against the current: the faster the cart or boat, the greater the resistance. Karmic conditions are like wind and water: following them leads to saṃsāra and the three evil paths; going against them leads to liberation and nirvāṇa. Of course following is comfortable—sliding down automatically without effort—while going against means heavy resistance and difficult progress. But practitioners should be brave, not fearing obstructive conditions. The greater the resistance and the greater the obstructions, the more one must courageously break through, never resigned to being manipulated and controlled by karmic power.
Breaking through the pass of karmic obstructions in one vigorous effort is the most energy-saving method. Retreating when meeting resistance, there will always be barriers ahead, obstructing liberation. For those who practice Buddhism lukewarmly, no obstructive conditions will appear: harmonious family, smooth career, good health, ever more money earned, everything smooth in worldly affairs, no interference, no māra-obstructions. Because you are not diligent and show no sign of wanting to leave, there is no need to disturb you—you are after all a guest bound for the three evil paths; creditors naturally need not worry about collecting debts, and adversaries do not worry you will escape their grasp. Because of not being diligent, the karmic seeds cannot be stirred, cannot be prompted to mature and yield retribution early; after retribution, free of debt and light, practice goes smoothly. But if karmic seeds do not mature and karmic conditions do not appear, they still lie dormant within the tathāgatagarbha, dragging you through birth and death in the six paths without refuge—an obstruction to liberation forever.
12. The Use of Adversity
A person's weaknesses, shortcomings, habitual tendencies, bad habits, afflictions, and various attachments are not all actively changed by oneself; some are changed because circumstances do not permit otherwise—having hit a wall, a thick wall appearing ahead, signaling "this road is closed, please detour"—and only then, having no choice, one turns or reverses: one weakness is overcome, one shortcoming gone, one habitual affliction vanished, one attachment dissolved.
Life's various dissatisfactions and adversities are like walls, preventing us from continuing along our fixed cognitions and habits, so we take another road—and it turns out this later road is better. Therefore adversity and setbacks are not enemies, and walls even less so; they are life's teachers, guiding us onto another bright road. For those with heavy habitual afflictions who cannot restrain themselves, hitting more walls is better—only thus is there a chance to awaken and turn. Those who commit unwholesome karma should receive unwholesome retribution as soon as they commit the evil—only then can they understand that unwholesome karma must not be done, and will gradually restrain their unwholesome thoughts. Reflect deeply at places of adversity, learn to turn, shift thoughts and cognitions, and the opportunity for a change of fortune will soon appear.
If a person's whole life goes smoothly, they will forever remain what they originally were—afflicted, ignorant and deluded, fearless in their ignorance, transmigrating through birth and death without end. Only by hitting many walls, when the old road no longer works, can one learn adaptability; only then can old attachments change and wisdom arise. So adversity is also good, and walls are also good. At certain times, good people are bad people, good things are bad things; at other times, bad people are good people, bad things are good things. This must be viewed dialectically, looking at the results, especially the ultimate future results.
When, because of deep attachments, you cannot leave any worldly dharma, if all worldly dharmas could actively leave you, leaving only the basic resources for living to be used for practice—that would mostly be something to wish for! But at the time of death, indeed all dharmas leave one and disappear, yet no one's manas takes this opportunity to sever self and attachments, nor does anyone feel that any dharma is impermanent and unattainable. Why is this? Under such circumstances, if someone tells you about the eighth consciousness, can you become enlightened?
13. How to Face Adversity
Question: When bad states arise (for example, being viciously cursed), what way of handling is the wisest? Is it repentance? Or maintaining a pure mind, immovable in suchness, following the principle that all marks are false and illusory, treating the state as nonexistent and neither contending nor debating? Or making a vow to endure this adversity on behalf of all sentient beings, vowing that all sentient beings may encounter auspicious and perfect good states? Or some other way, such as recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti)?
Answer: At different stages of studying Buddhism, the methods for handling adversity should differ; for different adversities, the handling also differs. The distinction is: if the adversity arises from one's own ignorance, afflictions, and past karmic obstructions, then one must examine one's faults, understand cause and effect, and repent of karmic obstructions and ignorance. When one clearly has karmic obstructions and faults, one cannot remain immovable in suchness, nor treat these states as illusory and ignore them—doing so only continues one's ignorance and increases delusion. And the adversity you encounter is your own problem, to be borne by yourself, not borne on behalf of sentient beings; it has nothing to do with sentient beings. When you have no faults and adverse conditions are imposed on you without cause, then, in order to subdue your own mental afflictions, you should see external states as empty, remain immovable in suchness toward states, willingly bear everything, yet receive nothing.
When one's afflictions are heavy and one lacks wisdom, upon encountering adversity one should introspect one's own mind, examine one's ignorance and afflictions, and understand the causes and consequences therein. If examination reveals it is one's own problem, one should promptly repent and correct errors; only thus can wisdom grow and ignorance and afflictions lessen. At this time one should not treat adversity as empty; if one empties out one's own ignorance and afflictions, one cannot recognize one's ignorance and afflictions, cannot grow in wisdom and lessen afflictions, and studying Buddhism has no real effect. When wisdom is severely insufficient, one cannot view adversity as empty and gloss over it, nor remain immovable in suchness toward states, because at this time one is precisely deluded about the states, unclear about them. What is needed now is not the wisdom of emptiness but understanding causes and reaching effects, clarifying cause-and-effect relationships, so as to cease evil and cultivate good. For example, when a child cannot yet read, one cannot regard the matter of learning to read as empty and not strive to learn to read; when one cannot yet distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, one cannot regard right and wrong, good and evil as empty and not distinguish them—doing so only continues delusion.
The vast majority of people do not understand worldly or transworldly principles, lack discernment, are muddled about all codes and standards of conduct, quite deluded, at the beginner stage of ceasing evil and cultivating good, at the stage of understanding cause and effect. If one views all encountered states and dharmas as empty, takes nothing seriously, ignores everything, then one cannot understand cause and effect, cannot recognize one's ignorance and afflictions, cannot correct all one's behavior; without right thinking one cannot gain wisdom, remaining deluded forever, and after death still going to the three evil paths to receive the retribution of delusion, especially prolonging the time in the animal path. Many people practice Buddhism in an inverted way: when they should not empty, they insist on emptying; when they should empty, they do not—so wisdom never arises. When correcting erroneous thoughts in one's own mind, one absolutely must not empty, must not lightly let states pass or ignore them. When one's understanding of oneself and the five-aggregate world is unclear, one should think rightly about these dharmas, so as to achieve clear, distinct cognition of the dharmas, without delusion.
Under what circumstances can states be emptied? When encountering form, sound, smell, taste, and touch, and greedy, sticky attachment arises in the mind—at that time emptying the states can subdue greedy attachment and subdue the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion. Only when one grasps at states because one takes them too much as real dharmas should one find ways to empty the states; then one will not grasp at dharmas that are empty, thereby subduing the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion.
