Commentary on the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Second Edition) (Newly Revised)
Chapter 4: Contemplating the Mind — Mindfulness of the Mind
Next we discuss the third contemplation: abiding in the contemplation of the mind. The four establishments of mindfulness are: contemplating the body as impure, contemplating feelings as suffering, contemplating the mind as impermanent, and contemplating dharmas as non-self. This short section on contemplating the mind is not long in length, but its meaning is very deep and extensive.
Original text:然。诸比丘。比丘如何于心观心耶。于此。诸比丘。比丘心贪者。知心贪。
Explanation: Now we continue the contemplative practice further. Bhikṣus, how does a bhikṣu contemplate the mind with regard to the mind? Regarding this question, bhikṣus, when the bhikṣu's mind is craving and attached, he should know that his mind is craving and attached.
Contemplating the mind means observing the mind's thoughts and behaviors, its afflictions and habitual tendencies, observing the arising and ceasing of thoughts in the mind. This method of contemplating the mind is: when you discover your mind is craving, you must know that your mind is craving. In contemplating the mind, one first contemplates the mark of craving in the mind; when craving arises in the mind, one must know that the mind is craving. What are the ordinary person's mental thoughts generally like? Nothing more than those afflictive mental factors within the mind: greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, doubt, and wrong views, along with some notions of wholesome and unwholesome, true and false, good and bad, as well as the breadth or narrowness of the mind's capacity — all of these first manifest through the form of mental thoughts. Whether one's own thoughts are liberated or bound by the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion can be known by observing one's thoughts at all times and places. After observing these mental actions and thoughts, one can gradually counteract them; perhaps you will find some methods to counteract them, or perhaps you can subdue them without deliberate counteraction — this is the function of contemplating the mind.
There are two key points here: one is the mind's craving, and the other is knowing. This knowing is very important. Knowing, or being aware, represents awakening and awareness. Countless sentient beings, precisely because they do not know their own minds and cannot be aware of their own minds, have afflictions without knowing it, causing themselves to transmigrate through birth and death in the six realms, drifting in the ocean of saṃsāra and karma, unable to attain liberation. After knowing that one has a greedy mind, one will imperceptibly subdue it, and the greedy mind will gradually lessen and may even cease. Not knowing is ignorance; knowing is awakening. What kind of person is awakened? An awakened person is a sage; an unawakened person is an ordinary being obstructed by the karma of birth and death. Therefore, when craving arises in our minds, we must turn the light around and shine it inward, illuminating our own thoughts and mental actions, being able to detect that our mind has greedy thoughts.
What is called craving? Craving is delighting in and taking pleasure in sense objects, adhering to sense objects, clinging to sense objects, grasping at sense objects. Taking marks from objects, and then discriminating, grasping, and clinging to them — this is the mode of activity of craving. What is the range of what craving grasps? Observe what sentient beings crave and you will know. First is craving for form — generating greed toward form. The range of form is very broad: all dharmas seen by the eye are called form, including people, things, and various objects. When various states of material sense-objects appear, after the eye faculty contacts them, the mind gives rise to attachment — craving, delight, fondness, dwelling on objects, grasping, seizing — and various thoughts emerge.
For countless kalpas, sentient beings have always been within these thoughts, never having awakened, not knowing that these various thoughts are greedy thoughts, the cause of birth-and-death transmigration; because of these greedy thoughts, they have fallen into the three evil realms for countless kalpas. In the transmigration of the six realms, they suffer immeasurably without being aware of it, precisely because they cannot control their own thoughts, allowing unwholesome thoughts to run rampant, flowing down to the present after countless kalpas. Now that we have encountered the Buddha's dharma, we must use the Buddha's dharma to awaken our own minds, to be aware and to illuminate our own minds, examining ourselves against the Buddha's dharma, then controlling our thoughts, changing our thoughts, removing unwholesome thoughts, and cutting off greedy, defiled thoughts. Only in this way can we escape the transmigration of the six realms and attain liberation.
Next is craving for sounds. Various kinds of sound objects confront the ear faculty; when the ear faculty contacts sounds, one gives rise to a mind of delight toward pleasant sounds, and upon hearing sounds that do not accord with one's wishes, one gives rise to a mind of aversion. Thus the mind of craving and aversion constantly chases after objects, adhering to objects, clinging to objects; the mind is bound by sound objects and cannot escape them, and of course cannot escape the transmigration of the six realms. This is the cause of birth-and-death transmigration over countless kalpas.
Because the mind believes sounds truly exist, it gives rise to delighting greed and aversion toward sounds. Upon hearing sounds praising oneself, the mind becomes happy. What kind of mind is happiness? It is the mind that takes up objects, the mind craving objects, the mind craving sounds. The greedy thoughts arising when the ear faculty hears sounds are the cause of creating karma, the cause of birth-and-death transmigration. Liking to be praised and pursued by others, liking fame and reputation, liking to be respected by others — all of these belong to the greedy mind. Therefore, the greedy mind cannot separate from objects and is stuck to them. Originally we wanted to grasp at objects and seize objects, but as a result we are bound, tied, and tethered by the objects; thus we cannot escape objects and cannot escape the birth and death of the three realms and transmigration.
So when seeing forms and hearing sounds, we must turn the light around and shine it inward to see what state our thoughts are in. When craving, we must know the mind is craving; we must know the mind is grasping and seizing objects, delighting in objects, dwelling on objects. We should know that such a mind should not exist, should be cut off, should be departed from — at this point awakening begins. Therefore, after awakening, one has the opportunity and the strength to cut off craving; after cutting off craving, the mind can attain liberation and realize liberation by wisdom. Only when wisdom is also liberated and the mind is not obscured by craving can one escape the transmigration of the three realms and six paths.
Another object of craving is the odor object. The nose faculty confronts odor objects — whether fragrant or foul, or any other kind of smell, whatever confronts the nose faculty is an odor object. When the nose smells scents, observe what state the mind is in, what the thoughts are like, whether they are greedy and defiled. We ordinary people generally like fragrant smells; when smelling a fragrance, we feel comfortable and pleasant; if we smell a foul odor, we feel disgust and want to avoid and depart from it. Whether liking the odor object or avoiding it, both belong to grasping at the odor object; there is a discrimination at the level of marks, and grasping belongs to the mental actions of craving and aversion. This thought is the cause of birth-and-death transmigration, because one has taken up the object and clung to it, believing the object to be real, without emptying the mind, and so is stuck and bound by the object. At the time of death, because the mind has not separated from this object, one is locked by this object within the birth-and-death transmigration of the three realms and six paths; therefore craving and grasping odor objects is the cause of birth and death. Grasping odor objects, one cannot attain deep meditative concentration (dhyāna), because in samādhi the mind is empty; if the mind has things and is not empty, there is no meditative concentration or wisdom, and there can be no liberation.
The taste object is also an object of the mind's craving. When the tongue tastes flavors, upon encountering delicious food and flavors the mind gives rise to craving, and toward disagreeable taste objects it gives rise to aversion. With a mind of craving and aversion, one is stuck and bound by taste objects; the mind cannot escape the realm of taste objects and is bound by objects, unable to attain liberation. When taste objects appear, grasping at the marks of taste objects, giving rise to craving and aversion, the mind loses its ease and cannot attain liberation. When grasping at delicious food, one is seized by delicious food. Delicious food belongs to the three realms, to worldly dharmas of the three realms, especially to the dharmas of the desire realm; the mind cannot escape the desire realm, and the first dhyāna cannot be accomplished — let alone the three realms, one cannot even escape the desire realm. Because of craving the taste objects of the human world, one does not even have the preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) of the desire realm and cannot reach the desire-realm heavens. Craving the dharmas of the human world, one will not have the meditative concentration of the heavens. Craving the things of the desire realm, including craving the states of the desire-realm heavens, one cannot have the meditative concentration of the form realm and cannot reach the form-realm heavens.
For dharmas belonging to the desire realm, if one craves them, one cannot escape the desire realm; for dharmas belonging to the form realm, if one craves them, one cannot escape the form realm; for dharmas belonging to the formless realm, if one craves them, one cannot escape the formless realm, because the mind is tied together with the object inseparably; only by departing from objects can one attain liberation. If the mind cannot depart from objects, cannot be liberated from objects, it cannot escape the three realms. Therefore, ordinarily craving food and drink and taste objects, or craving forms, sounds, odors, and tastes, none of these can lead to liberation.
Next, another object of craving is the tangible object. First let us speak of those coming from the external environment, such as the contact of clothing with the skin of the physical body — the contact of touching — and also the contact of light, and the contact of various objects with the physical body; all of these belong to tangible objects (not to mention sexual desire between men and women). When the physical body, the body faculty, and body consciousness dwell on the realm of contact, liking tangible objects or loathing tangible objects — both belong to part of craving. Liking and delighting all belong to dwelling on the marks of objects. When we adhere to objects, grasp at objects, and discriminate objects, we are stuck and bound by these realms of tangible objects; such a mind cannot depart from tangible objects, and being together with tangible objects, one cannot attain liberation from the form realm and the formless realm.
The result of grasping at objects is being together with the objects. Where are the objects? The objects are in the three realms, in birth-and-death transmigration. Objects do not go beyond the three realms, so the mind and the body of the five aggregates cannot leave the three realms, and objects forever belong to the dharmas of the three realms and cannot leave the three realms. When we crave the objects of the desire realm, we can never escape the desire realm. Is there anyone willing to be locked together with objects, forever bound together? Of course no one is willing, but when objects come, the mind grasps at them and will certainly be bound. When an object comes, first there is a mark; upon the mark a name is established, and establishing a name is discrimination; after discrimination comes clinging and grasping, and thus the mind is trapped by the object and cannot attain liberation, cannot separate from the object, cannot attain liberation from the object, and cannot leave the three realms. This is the cause of birth and death of lack of self‑mastery (avaśatā).
The last of the six sense-object realms that the mind craves is the mental object (dharma-object). Dharmas are the subtle dharma-marks manifested upon the five kinds of objects; all objects are dharmas. We take a mark from every object and establish a name, giving rise to discrimination, and then various mental actions arise — the mental actions of greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, and wholesome and unwholesome minds all appear — and we are bound by the six sense-object realms, unable to attain liberation. The chain of birth and death is tied together with objects; since objects do not go beyond the three realms, we do not leave the three realms. If objects do not go beyond the desire realm, we do not leave the desire realm; if we wish to ascend to the heavens to enjoy pleasures, to have the states of concentration of the first, second, third, and fourth dhyānas, to reach the form-realm heavens — none of this is possible.
If we grasp unceasingly at the objects of the human desire realm, we cannot come into contact with the objects of the desire-realm heavens. The more we grasp at lower-level objects, the less we can contact and enjoy higher-level objects, and the farther they are from us; the more we cling to the dharmas of the three realms, the farther we are from the Buddha's realm. To reach the highest level of realm, one must abandon the lower-level realms. Because the mind has a limited capacity, it is impossible to grasp everything; if one grasps the dharmas of the desire realm, one does not have the dharmas of the form realm; if one grasps the dharmas of the form realm, one does not have the dharmas of the formless realm.
Then what dharmas should we want? Strive for the dharmas of the highest level; then abandon the dharmas of the lower levels, layer by layer, all of them — not grasping, not seizing, not adhering, not craving, and also not loathing. Toward these objects, the mind does not dwell on them; not dwelling is called "not minding," because all objects are empty and illusory. One should not give rise to a discriminating mind; not giving rise to discrimination is not dwelling on objects. Treating objects as illusory, empty, and unreal — such a mind is liberated and at ease; then birth and death are held in our own hands, and we are not swayed by objects.
To break through ignorance, one must have a mind of illuminating awareness. First illuminate yourself: when greedy thoughts arise toward objects, you must awaken. In practice, first illuminate yourself; do not go about illuminating others. Or if you have observed others and discovered greed in their minds, you should also turn the light around and shine it on yourself: do I have the same thoughts? What to do upon discovering you have the same thoughts? You must know that this thought is bad, has the faults of birth and death; after knowing, this problem can gradually be dealt with.
First there is knowing — this is the most preliminary and most important. After knowing, what is the next step? If the greedy thought is very serious, you can think of some methods to counteract it; if it is not serious, simply knowing it in the mind makes it easy to handle, and the greedy thought will gradually lessen. The counteractive measures may need to be carried out quietly; the changes in mental actions may not be observable by the consciousness at first. It is like a thief who is coming to your home to steal: the first step, knowing that he is a thief, makes things easy. After knowing, we can sit at home watching him; the thief, knowing he has been discovered, will be too embarrassed to steal again and will retreat, and from then on we will no longer be robbed or plundered, thereby safeguarding our lives and property.
Original text:又心离贪者。知心离贪。
Explanation: When the mind has already departed from craving and no longer craves the six sense objects of form, sound, odor, taste, touch, and dharmas, one should also know that one's mind has departed from craving.
After practicing for a period of time, when facing objects the mind does not crave, one should also have a mind of awareness and illumination, knowing in the mind that one is now in a state of not craving objects: when form objects appear before you, you are indifferent and unconcerned, neither delighting nor loathing. When sounds appear before you, you are indifferent, neither delighting nor loathing. If you hear sounds of insult and become very angry, that is dwelling on the object, taking up the object, treating the object as real, being bound by the object. In fact, the object of sound — whether praise or insult — is itself empty, illusory, unreal, arising and ceasing, impermanent. From the perspective of the Mahāyāna dharma, all are various false appearances manifested by the tathāgatagarbha; therefore, do not give rise to greed, delight, or aversion toward these sound objects; try your best to see objects as empty — doing this is quite difficult.
Even if one cannot see objects as empty, objects are still illusory and empty. When the mind does not dwell on objects, objects cannot tether the mind; when the mind dwells on objects, in fact objects still cannot tether the mind or bind oneself — it is only the mind attaching itself to objects. When the mind does not dwell on objects, it is free, at ease, and liberated, and life has value, meaning, and joy. When the mind departs from craving, one must know it internally, which shows that one has the power of introspection (pratyavekṣā-bala), the power of illuminating awareness and discernment, and has meditative concentration and wisdom.
Original text:又心嗔者知心嗔。又心离嗔者。知心离嗔。
Explanation: When there is hatred in the mind, one should know the mind is hateful. When the mind has departed from hatred and is without anger, one should know one's mind has departed from hatred.
What is called hatred? In common speech, being displeased and angry is called hatred. Giving rise to an unpleasant feeling in the mind, giving rise to a mind of aversion and anger, is called hatred; disliking objects is called hatred. After disliking the six sense objects, the mind stirs with waves, becomes unbalanced, and after giving rise to resentment, vexation, and fury, further gives rise to a mind of hostility and harm — all of this is called hatred. The objects of hatred are still form, sound, odor, taste, touch, and dharmas — people, affairs, things, and principles — among which form also includes the mark of self, the mark of person, and the mark of sentient being. Severe hatred is called rage; after rage, one takes action. When hatred arises, it first harms oneself, and only then harms others. When hateful thoughts arise, and when one wants to retaliate, the mind is stuck and bound by objects, unable to attain liberation, unable to be at ease; at the time of death, one is confined by objects and karmic conditions within the six realms, especially the three evil realms.
All objects are within the three realms; the desire realm has the most objects and is the most attractive, and sentient beings find it hardest to be liberated from the desire realm. Having created karma of hatred, the karmic seeds are stored and one must undergo retribution in the desire realm, undergo retribution in the three evil realms — this is the principle of karma binding sentient beings. Therefore, when we give rise to hatred toward objects, we must give rise to a mind of illuminating awareness. In practice, one must first have knowing; after knowing one's own mind, the next step is to adopt skillful methods and measures to make the mind depart from hatred — this is practice. If the first step cannot be awareness of hatred, one will not drive away the hateful mind or subdue it, and one will transmigrate along with the hateful mind, and karmic actions will be created.
When facing infuriating objects and the mind gives rise to no hatred and no desire to retaliate, the mind has already departed from hatred. Departing from hatred sometimes means cutting off the hateful mind, and sometimes does not necessarily mean cutting it off — the hateful mind may still lie dormant without manifesting activity. The mind not giving rise to hateful thoughts may be suppressing hateful thoughts, not cutting them off. Suppression, subjugation, and cutting off have differences in level. Those who suppress and subdue hatred are people before the first and second fruits; only after the third fruit can hatred be cut off. Before the third fruit is departing from hatred; "departing" has many meanings, and perhaps the third fruit also includes departing, because having no manifest afflictions of hatred in the mind is departing. When the mind presently does not give rise to hatred, it can be called departing from hatred, but not necessarily cutting off hatred. If the hateful mind never manifests, that is cutting off hatred. One must have first-dhyāna concentration to cut off hatred; before first-dhyāna concentration there is subjugation and suppression — departing does not necessarily mean cutting off. Clarifying these concepts and their meanings, one knows at which stage of practice one currently is.
Original text:又心痴者。知心痴。
Explanation: The Buddha said, if the mind is deluded, one should know that at this moment one's mind is deluded.
The meaning of delusion is the hardest to define and clarify, and even harder to detect, because of delusion, one finds it hard to discover one's own delusion. Among the three afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, greed is the easiest to cut off, hatred is next, and delusion is the hardest to discover and cut off. The one-thought ignorance belongs to delusion; craving for the three realms also belongs to delusion; even hatred belongs to delusion. Not to mention other more subtle delusions — greed and hatred must both be cut off starting from the third-fruit person and are only fully cut off at the fourth fruit, while truly cutting off all delusion and ignorance must wait until the buddha stage. Delusion is also called ignorance. Whether in worldly dharmas of the three realms or in the Buddha's dharma, whatever the mind does not understand, does not know, is unclear about, or cannot do is called delusion and belongs to ignorance. With ignorance there is no illumination; illumination is clarity; ignorance is darkness in the mind without light.
The ignorances that need to be broken on the path to buddhahood — even with countless computers computing together, they could not be counted — are as many as the dust in the air, as the sand on the seashore, utterly impossible to count. Since this is so, who can still give rise to arrogance and claim to have great wisdom? Even if one now cultivates a tiny bit of realization, it is nothing at all. Observing from a certain height and breadth, we are merely a speck of dust in the air, merely a grain of sand by the great sea. Observing further from the perspective of the worlds of the ten directions, we count for even less; the buddhas and great bodhisattvas of the worlds of the ten directions are immeasurably many, and their wisdom is extremely deep, subtle, and vast; compared with them, we are like a drop of water compared with the ocean. Therefore, we have no qualification whatsoever to give rise to arrogance; having arrogance is delusion, and we must find ways to counteract, subdue, and abandon it.
The range of delusion is very broad and very subtle, covering almost every aspect and every field. Cognition of the world of the five aggregates, cognition of the nature of seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing, cognition of the trichiliocosm — all are ignorance. Being deluded about the truth of the Four Noble Truths, being deluded and ignorant about liberation from birth and death, not knowing and not realizing it; being deluded about the reality of the dharma realm, being deluded about the non-self of all dharmas, being ignorant of the principle of becoming a buddha. Thus one takes all dharmas one contacts as self and mine, believing them all to be real, and for countless kalpas has created immeasurable karma of delusion. The range of delusion is the broadest and finest, and cutting it off is the hardest. The arising of any affliction or habitual tendency is because of delusion, including the mind of joy and the mind of happiness — all are because of delusive ignorance. If the delusive ignorance regarding the Hīnayāna liberation from birth-and-death transmigration of the six paths is fully cut off, one is an arhat of the fourth fruit, liberated both ways and liberated by wisdom; if the delusive ignorance in the Mahāyāna process of becoming a buddha is fully cut off, one is a buddha. Bodhisattvas still have immeasurably many delusions and ignorances, especially the dharmas on the path to buddhahood, which are even more numerous and subtle; not knowing these dharmas is delusion.
The types of delusive ignorance include one-thought ignorance, beginningless ignorance, and ignorance as numerous as dust and sand; subdivided, there are even more types. Worldly people's delusive ignorance regarding worldly dharmas is already extremely great; if one fully understood all worldly dharmas, one would be a buddha. As long as one is not a buddha, one cannot fully understand worldly dharmas; only a buddha can understand all worldly dharmas. Sentient beings have transmigrated in the world for countless kalpas, yet still do not understand worldly dharmas, much less do them well; they cannot even be good human beings.
If we strictly define ignorance and delimit its content and scope: as long as the mind seeks anything, it shows that one takes objects as real and takes all dharmas as real — that is ignorance. These ignorances need an extremely long time to break through bit by bit. Throughout the six periods of the day, including sleep, one must give rise to illuminating awareness. When objects appear, one must give rise to a mind of illuminating awareness, understanding that these are empty, illusory, impermanent, manifested by the tathāgatagarbha by borrowing various conditions. All objects, good or bad, are illusory, not real; the mind does not dwell on them, does not delight in them, is empty, gives rise to no thoughts — then ignorance is broken. Without objects there is no mind; without the mind, one cannot discover one's own ignorance. How then to cut it? One must cut it amid objects, especially amid adverse conditions, because in adversity more of those thoughts arise. Without adversity, afflictions hide and do not manifest; a bodhisattva's afflictive habitual tendencies also do not manifest, buried deep, and the scissors of wisdom have no use.
Both wisdom and meditative concentration are scissors for cutting off afflictions. When objects appear and afflictions arise, one should reflect at that very moment, picking up the scissors of wisdom to cut off the afflictions. If afflictions are suppressed without opportunity to manifest — like pressing grass down with a stone — sooner or later they will appear again, and then the grass may grow wildly, beyond control. Therefore, the Sahā world is a very good world for practice: with many objects, there are many opportunities to cut off afflictions. Other buddha-lands are all favorable circumstances; afflictions do not easily manifest, and the scissors of wisdom cannot be used. The more the scissors of wisdom are used, the more afflictive habitual tendencies are cut off, and the faster one achieves realization.
Then what is the goal of our practice? It is to attain liberation sooner, to quickly reduce ignorance and afflictions. Then, when encountering conditions and facing objects, we must subdue and cut off afflictions. All adversaries may come forth together; it does not matter if they all come at once — one must see them as empty and be able to endure. When afflictions arise, cut them off; when afflictions arise, snip them away; thus all afflictions will be broken bit by bit, and ignorance can quickly be fully severed. In other buddha-lands there are no such objects, and becoming a buddha is very slow — one may remain treading in place for many kalpas. The sutras introduce that bodhisattvas in other buddha-lands spend many kalpas happily and leisurely surrounding the Buddha, with superknowledges, yet their states of wisdom cannot advance; for many kalpas their bodhisattva stages cannot rise, and progress in practice is not easy.
Therefore, when we have cultivated to the point of not being easily swayed by adversity, we should come to places with heavy afflictions like the Sahā world to practice. In such a world, there are many objects to encounter, many adverse conditions, many opportunities for afflictions to manifest, hence many opportunities for illuminating awareness, more opportunities to use the scissors of wisdom, more opportunities to snip off ignorance and afflictions, and more ignorance is cut off — this is called genuine practice. If everything you face is favorable, and you say your practice is good — where is the goodness? Practicing amid adversity is the fastest, but practicing amid adversity also makes it easy to sink. What kind of person easily sinks while practicing amid adversity? Those without the power of illuminating awareness easily sink. Those with the power of illuminating awareness practice faster the more they are in adversity, cutting down the thorns one by one, bravely facing adversity and adverse conditions. When these adversities and adverse conditions are gone, one's own mind has also been fully counteracted, and there are no more adverse conditions. A buddha has no adverse conditions; even if there are, they are displayed for sentient beings to see.
Original text:又心离痴者。知心离痴。
Explanation: If the bhikṣu's mind has departed from delusion, he should know that his mind has departed from delusion.
Only through continuous diligent practice on a particular dharma can one depart from delusion regarding that dharma, but one still cannot depart from delusion regarding all dharmas. Only the Buddha has departed from and cut off delusion regarding all dharmas. Sentient beings' departure from delusion refers to a particular aspect — having departed from delusion regarding a certain kind of object. What was previously deluded and not understood about a certain matter or principle, not known, not comprehended, not understood, is now understood — one has departed from delusion regarding that dharma. For example, with the Hīnayāna dharma of the Four Noble Truths: originally not understanding it at all and not knowing how to practice, now one understands and can practice, and has realized it — one has departed from delusion, or it may be called cutting off delusion. But in other aspects there is still much one does not understand, and ignorance is extremely abundant. Even having realized the first, second, third, or fourth fruit of the Hīnayāna, or a Mahāyāna bodhisattva fruit, one still has this delusion regarding worldly dharmas, let alone supramundane dharmas. Because the range of that delusion is too broad, we have only cut off delusion in a certain aspect. What was previously extremely severe delusion, now upon examination is found to be gone — this is called departing from delusion; for the time being, this delusive thought and ignorance are gone.
Departing from delusion also includes two levels: suppression and cutting off. What are suppression and cutting off? For example, regarding the five hindrances: first subduing and suppressing the afflictions of the five hindrances, then first-dhyāna concentration appears, and only afterward can the afflictions of the five hindrances be cut off bit by bit — this is the sequence. For example, regarding the issue of realizing the fruits: realization has intellectual understanding (解悟) and realization-awakening (证悟); realization-awakening is called cutting off delusion, intellectual understanding is called departing from delusion. The Mahāyāna seeing the mind and seeing the nature is the same: realization-awakening is called cutting off delusion, intellectual understanding is called departing from delusion. After cutting off beginningless ignorance, there are still many dharmas one does not understand in other aspects — one has neither departed from delusion nor cut off delusion. Even a great bodhisattva has much in worldly dharmas that is not understood and cannot be done, still has delusive ignorance, and also has much in the Buddha's dharma that one cannot do.
Only when all the Buddha's dharma has been fully realized, and the delusion regarding worldly dharmas has also been exhausted without remainder, is this complete. Only the Buddha understands and can do all worldly dharmas; bodhisattvas cannot. For example, some people who have realized the bodhisattva stages of several bhūmis, when engaging in some worldly matter, some cannot do it well; even with superknowledges, there are some things they cannot manage. There is always something they do not understand — regarding medicine, food, pharmaceuticals, physiology, psychology, and so on, they are not fully versed, nor do they completely grasp sentient beings' psychology — all of this belongs to delusion.
Only by grasping sentient beings' minds can one guide sentient beings, counteract their afflictions, and lead them toward the path of liberation. If a bodhisattva cannot do this, he lacks the ability to fully understand sentient beings' thoughts, and the sentient beings he leads also lack wisdom — all of this belongs to delusion. The wisdom of worldly dharmas and the wisdom of the Buddha's dharma are connected: the higher the realization of the Buddha's dharma wisdom, the more worldly dharmas one understands, and the less delusion one has.
Original text:又心集中者。知心集中。
Explanation: When meditative concentration improves and one can concentrate mental power during contemplative practice, one should know in the mind that mental power is concentrated.
Now we discuss the concentration of the mind. Before studying the four establishments of mindfulness, the mind is scattered: regarding matters in the east, the mind dwells on and adheres to objects; regarding matters in the west, the mind also dwells on and adheres to objects; south, north, above, below, past, future — the mind dwells on and is bound by objects in all of them. Sentient beings are all like this: the manas's grasping is extremely broad; when this object comes, the mind sticks to it; when that object comes, the mind also sticks to it. The mind is like an octopus — in fact even more scattered than an octopus. This is called distraction. Now, in practicing concentration and contemplative practice, the mind is no longer scattered and can gradually concentrate on one point, concentrated on one dharma, possibly concentrated on two or three dharmas. Concentration does not necessarily mean concentration on one dharma; two or three also counts as concentration. Originally scattered among eight or ten dharmas, now concentrated on two or three — the range has shrunk considerably, and this is also called concentration.
When the power of concentration is very good, one can simultaneously discriminate three or four objects, and the mind is still concentrated and pure, the power of concentration is quite good, and wisdom is also high — this cannot be generalized; it must be judged person by person. Some people, when concentrated on one dharma, do not even have enough discriminating power of mind, and their wisdom is not good enough — they cannot even do one thing well at a time. People with good concentration and wisdom can do five things at a time and do them all well, even six things, all done well — that is called "eyes watching six roads, ears listening to eight directions," fully aware of everything, discriminating clearly, and also arranging things well. This is a person whose concentration and wisdom are both very strong, achievable only by one who has cultivated concentration and wisdom life after life. If not so, you can have him concentrate on one point, and he can concentrate, but after concentrating, to handle the matter well he cannot do — this is because wisdom is insufficient; although the mind is concentrated, wisdom is lacking.
When a certain matter appears and the mind, facing it, can concentrate, with some meditative concentration so that the conscious mind is no longer scattered — at this time one should introspect in the mind and know. Having a knowing mind is an awakened mind; an awakened mind shows that your mind has not scattered, that you can hold onto your thoughts — this is preliminary practice.
Original text:又心散乱者。知心散乱。
Explanation: When the mind is scattered, one should know the mind is scattered.
Throughout the six periods of the day, facing objects, whether the mind is scattered or concentrated, one must have a mind of illuminating awareness and must know. Knowing is the turning of the light of the conscious mind back to shine inward, the power of introspection (pratyavekṣā-bala) of the conscious mind. When the consciousness has the power of introspection, one has both meditative concentration and wisdom. A deluded person's conscious mind has no power of reflective illumination; one does not even know what one has done. Not knowing what psychological state one is in, the self-validating cognition (svasaṃvedana) of the conscious mind does not manifest. A person with strong self-validating cognition is a person with high power of wisdom (prajñā-bala). This power of wisdom includes not only the wisdom of the Buddha's dharma but also the wisdom of worldly dharmas. Clever worldly people know what they themselves have done. After knowing, they will reflect on whether what they did was right or wrong; what was wrong they can promptly correct, and what was right they can promote and maintain — these are clever worldly people.
People with wisdom in the Buddha's dharma should all the more have the power of reflective illumination: any thought that arises now can be introspected and grasped, and one can adopt a correct and effective method to accomplish things perfectly, handling people, affairs, things, and principles harmoniously. People without wisdom often have the consciousness's self-validating cognition not manifesting; when in delusion, they do not know it in their minds, and even think themselves clever and brilliant. Both the scattered mind and the concentrated mind must be known. The Buddha tells us we should have this power of illuminating awareness, illuminating the thoughts arising in the mind at all times: whether they have greed, hatred, and delusion or not, whether there is concentration power or not, whether the mind is broad or narrow, whether high or low — all must be known.
Original text:又心广大者。知心广大。
Explanation: What is a broad mind? "Broad" refers to scope — the immeasurably boundless dharmas; "great" generally refers to degree, but also has the meaning of scope. Our mind should be directed toward the immeasurably boundless dharmas and should not cling to the small objects before our eyes. The broadest mind can be directed toward the worlds of the ten directions, toward the realms of the buddhas of the ten directions, not toward the small realm of the ordinary person before one's eyes.
What the mind should consider is how to become a buddha, how to practice the bodhisattva path, how to attain great liberation; considering the future-life retributions, the retributions in other buddha-lands and the progress of the path; considering how in the future one can lead vast numbers of sentient beings life after life together onto the path of buddhahood and liberation; considering how the sentient beings one transforms and gathers can become ever more numerous. The mind should be directed toward these dharmas — this is breadth, this is greatness — not merely considering immediate gains and losses. Considering the states of the bodhisattva's stage-by-stage advancement in future lives, becoming a Dharma lord in other buddha-lands in the future, or manifesting in countless buddha-lands as a buddha to save people — considering such things, the mind is broad.
A mind that is not broad refers to considering only these small matters of the ordinary person before one's eyes: immediate benefits, monetary benefits, benefits of family and retinue, benefits of reputation, benefits in wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep — then the mind is narrow. Whether one's present mind is broad or narrow, what thoughts arise when facing objects, what the mind's capacity is like — one must know all this clearly. Upon knowing, one realizes one's mind is too narrow, caring only for one's own small immediate interests, unable to consider anything else.
Only after the mind is broad can one gradually subdue the mind within — or deliberately, with measures, subdue the mind within, or unintentionally, without measures, subdue the mind within. Unintentional, measureless subjugation refers to the work done behind the scenes by the seventh consciousness, the manas — all of this is not known by the consciousness. The seventh consciousness, the manas, silently deliberates (manasikāra) behind the scenes; when the deliberation is worked through, He can effect the change. Deliberate, measured subjugation means having the conscious mind adopt certain counteractive methods. First there must be knowing, and only then the next step of operation. The mind's operation refers to introspection, illuminating awareness, taking measures, deliberation, and giving rise to meditative concentration and wisdom to solve problems — all of these are the subsequent work of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses.
The work visible on the surface is all done by the consciousness — the consciousness is thinking of ways to solve problems, deliberating how to counteract. The consciousness passes the considered problem to the manas and then lets go; the manas deliberates behind the scenes. On the surface it seems the mind no longer attends to the matter, but in fact the manas is operating behind the scenes, unknown to others. After He has considered the pros and cons of the matter thoroughly, He will make a decision, and then the solution emerges, and the six consciousnesses must carry it out without error. When the manas has deliberated clearly, the mind changes, and when objects come again, there are no afflictions.
Whose decision is it to not crave and not be afflicted? It is the manas's decision. Why is there such a decision? Because the manas has thought it through; He has been working hard behind the scenes all along. On the surface, the consciousness only knows that the mind craves, and then seems to do nothing, but in fact the manas has been deliberating and deciding behind the scenes all along. To summarize: when facing objects, whether the mind is broad or narrow, one must be utterly clear and lucid within; then the next step is easy.
