A Guide to the Cultivation and Realization of the Mind: Part Two
Chapter 2: Training the Manas (2)
Eleven: Steps for the Manas to Deliberate on the Idiom “患得患失” (Worrying over Gains and Losses)
Step one: take a deep breath, calm the mind down, and calm it down further, until distracting thoughts gradually diminish to none.
Step two: let the eye consciousness fix its gaze on this idiom, while the mind consciousness grasps the general idea without engaging in, leaving no room for the mind consciousness to function. Conditioned reflexes are the manas's habitual tendencies, a mechanism formed by the manas's long-term habituation and perfuming; the mind consciousness does not understand it and can do nothing about it, able only to fully obey and comply.
How does the manas form conditioned reflexes? It is the result of intense training in ordinary times; trained into habit, as if into muscle memory, any movement or technique is executed directly without passing through the brain. That is to say, it does not take the route of mind-consciousness—but is there still time? It is like on a battlefield, with the enemy's swords, spears, and halberds pointed at you—can you still scratch your head pondering countermeasures? The mind consciousness'ss, does the manas have mental activity? Of course it has mental activity, and extremely fast, soundlessly—not only are the five universally present mental factors interlinked, the five object-specific mental factors also follow closely, appearing at all times; the most prominent are the concentration mental factor and the wisdom mental factor. Without concentration there is no focus; the slightest distraction or stray thought and the movements become disordered, the opponent exploits the opening, and the match is lost. At such times the mind consciousness's wisdom can hardly exert force; it all depends on the manas's wisdom. If the manas has no wisdom, one flails about, unable to respond normally to various situations—then what is the point of competing?
It is the same when we actually practice contemplative practice of the Buddha's Dharma: the mind consciousness positions the manas on the dharma being contemplated, carrying the knowing of the object of contemplation, settled on the dharma; the rest is all the manas's direct-perception observation. For example, observing a flower: just fix your gaze on the flower and observe; just look—no need to use the mind consciousness to analyze and imagine: what variety this flower is, where it was grown, its shape and colors, whether it is beautiful, whether it will bloom again, whether it can still grow, what would happen if given to so-and-so—these and other miscellaneous thoughts must all be strangled and extinguished. Still less should one forcibly draw conclusions based on learned theory, subjectively asserting: this flower is impermanent, illusory, empty, manifested by the tathāgatagarbha, the tathāgatagarbha using the four or five great seeds, arising in dependence on such-and-such conditions. You cannot even contemplate—how have you already drawn conclusions? So much fuss—what benefit is there?
Just contemplate with the manas: whatever there is, contemplate that; do not imagine, infer, or analyze, until you have clearly observed the arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing of the object contemplated, until the dharma before your eyes no longer has any reality, samādhi appears, and emptiness and non-self are realized. Then how strong is the manas's power of wisdom (prajñā-bala) after all—is it still that wisdom-inferior manas? If wisdom were inferior, how could it contemplate, how could it know the arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing of dharmas? How could it realize the Path? By now, what mental factors the manas has or lacks should all be clear, shouldn't they?
Sixteen: What Is the Correct Method of Contemplative Practice?
Contemplation is observation—objectively examining. Simply put, it is looking single-mindedly, with undivided attention; it is not imagining, nor thinking, still less analyzing and dissecting. Whatever phenomenon appears before you, directly observe that phenomenon; what has not appeared should not be imagined; do not dissect or analyze; do not use learned dharmas to fit into slots; do not substitute in any theoretical knowledge; do not be bound by any framework. To put it plainly: you must beat the mind consciousness to death—do not let it push itself forward, showing off with various theories, applying all sorts of learned knowledge, and then, having observed nothing, drawing conclusions through analysis.
Imagining what Beijing looks like, versus walking to Beijing and directly viewing Beijing—those are utterly different states; one could say a vast difference between heaven and earth. The latter is personally seeing, personally realizing, actually verifying; the former does not even count as sleepwalking—it cannot even be dreamed. Yet with two flapping lips and flying spittle, one lectures on and on, striking the pose of a great theorist, writing treatises, even building a reputation—when in fact one is nothing at all.
When the first Buddha practiced, there was no theory at all, no knowledge had been learned—on what basis did He become a Buddha? On the basis of truthful observation of the various phenomenal realms, direct-perception observation, with a mind fine as a hair; from the various phenomenal realms He discovered the truths behind them, and upon discovering a truth, summarized a truth, forming theories to guide later people. Until He had realized the emptiness of both the Great and Small Vehicles, continuing to empty, continuously emptying; when there was nothing left to empty, He became a Buddha.
Now the master has spoken too much Dharma, and the disciples have studied too much; studying back and forth, their minds have grown lazy; when problems arise, they directly apply learned theories, no longer willing to investigate and realize on their own—theory has become the obstruction of the knowable (jñeya-āvaraṇa). Were those theories summarized by your own practice? Since not, how can they be applied everywhere? The mouth babbles on and on, but the legs cannot take a single step; the destination is never reached, and arriving by mouth doesn't count. Theory is meant to guide the direction and methods of realization, not for showing off, not for disguising oneself, nor as a means to obtain worldly empty dharmas and false dharmas. Sinking into the golden pool of theory, one can also suffocate to death. The Buddha-dharma is not only good medicine; if used poorly, it becomes poison—illness upon illness.
Take contemplating a ring of fire as an example: what counts as truthful observation? Observe the ring of fire carefully and single-mindedly; just observe and gaze—that is all. In plain words, just stare at it. After meditative concentration appears, you will find the ring of fire somewhat unreal, not quite substantial; continuing to observe, you will find the ring of fire no longer looks like a ring of fire; observing further, you discover the ring of fire is actually a torch, or merely a burning match head—where is there any ring of fire? Finally, contemplating the torch and match head as empty too, observing them into nonexistence—the principle is the same.
The ring of fire is still the original ring of fire, the torch still the original torch; it is that after the contemplator's meditative concentration appears, the mind becomes subtle and wise, and so discovers the trick and difference within. The mind's cognition changes—dharmas are emptied, things are emptied, self is emptied, persons are emptied. Without concentration, the mind is coarse and cognitive power low; what is seen are all illusions, yet one does not know, deceived by one's own vision—that is, deceived by one's own habitual cognition. Formerly so adamantly believing everything to be really existent, oneself especially really existent—yet observing to the end, one finds not a single dharma in the world is really existent. You have thus deceived yourself for immeasurable kalpas—shouldn't you beat your chest and stamp your feet?
Contemplating the breath, contemplating the whiteness at the nose tip, contemplating embryonic breathing, contemplating the white bones, contemplating flowers and grass—whatever you contemplate, contemplate in this way, and the results will be like this. When you observe that the contemplated dharma arises, abides, changes, and ceases, is no longer real, is illusory, is empty, a small goal has been achieved. Do not add the mind consciousness's imaginings or theoretical analyses; whatever the mind consciousness analyzes is useless. The road must be walked with the feet. Confine the mind consciousness, don't let it stir up trouble; use the manas to observe directly, observe directly, contemplate purely; use the manas to directly see the Path—the mind consciousness cannot see the Path.
Look at the cases of the sages' actual realization and you will know: however we analyze them, it is only similar understanding, not what is seen, known, and felt in direct perception; the state produced by analysis differs vastly from the actual direct-perception state, sometimes by poles apart. The analysis may sound perfectly logical, the words may be dazzling, but after actual realization one says, "So that's how it is"—overturning all former imaginings and cognitions.
Deep in the direct-perception state, personally seeing, personally experiencing, one may not be able to express it clearly and accurately; whereas in the mind consciousness's state of non-valid cognition, though one speaks very reasonably, it is not actually so. It is like eating an apple: before eating, all sorts of analysis, looking up materials, writing various papers and expositions, holding forth brilliantly, every sentence splendid; after eating, one knows, "So this is the taste of an apple, this is the feeling"—only then does one know what the true taste is, overturning former cognition, and then burning the papers with a match, for not a single sentence hit the mark—mere empty words.
What is the direct-perception state? Currently enjoying it, personally experiencing it, abiding in samādhi, without analysis, without thinking, without imagination, without understanding—directly feeling it. Many people's so-called enlightenment has never directly felt even a tiny bit of the direct-perception state, has no personal experience, no benefit received, relying entirely on the brain's imagination and understanding. So one must still do the work and actually realize. Do not take too seriously the various analyses and understandings before realization, and still less regard what is understood and analyzed as enlightenment; the two differ too greatly, incomparable. However much you study, however much you think, it is useless, of no benefit to realization; better to directly do the work—only then is everything obtained real.
Seventeen: The Core of All Contemplative Practice Is Observing Only Without Engaging Conditions
Original text of the Sūtra of Ten Rebirths:尔时阿难白佛言。未闻观身之法。其事云何。唯愿说之。佛告阿难。夫观身之法者。不观东西。不观南北。不观四维上下。不观虚空。不观外缘。不观内缘。不观身色。不观色声。不观色像。唯观无缘。是为正真观身之法。除是观身。十方谛求。在在处处。更无别法而得解脱。
Explanation: Ānanda asked the Buddha about the method of contemplating the body—how should one contemplate the body? The Buddha replied: The method of contemplating the body is that when contemplating the body, do not contemplate east, west, south, north, the four intermediate directions, up, or down; do not contemplate empty space; do not contemplate dharmas outside the body; do not contemplate dharmas inside the body; do not contemplate the body's material appearance; do not contemplate features and voice; do not contemplate the form of the material body. Regarding the material body, only contemplate simply, without grasping at dharmas unrelated to the contemplation—for example, using the mind consciousness to think about, analyze, imagine, speculate, infer, or judge the various dharmas inside and outside the material body. Achieve observing without engaging—only this is the true and correct method of contemplative practice. Apart from this method of contemplating the body, search sincerely throughout the ten directions; no matter where you seek, you will find no other method that can attain liberation.
"Observing only without engaging conditions"—these four characters are the core of all contemplative practice, containing an enormous amount of information, excluding a great many operations unrelated to contemplating the body; those operations are all methods of thinking and analyzing with the mind consciousness, not direct observation, correct contemplation, and pure observation. The mind consciousness grasps everywhere, thinking of east and west, south and north, roaming far and wide—all unrelated to contemplating the body, not the means of attaining liberation. Excluding these functions of the mind consciousness is the manas's direct observation, the true contemplative practice, the contemplative practice that can attain liberation, the contemplative practice consistent with the contemplations of the four foundations of mindfulness, the contemplative practice of the twenty-five sages of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the contemplative practice of all sages and worthies, and likewise the contemplative practice of all Buddhas and bodhisattvas.
The method has been stated very clearly, yet some people still cannot apply the effort. One reason is that using the mind consciousness has become too habitual; they cannot imagine how to observe without using the mind consciousness, do not know how to observe using the manas's direct observation—in short, apart from the mind consciousness's functions, they are at a loss. There is no way to demonstrate this further; one can only rely on oneself to ponder and practice continuously and meticulously. During practice, one may use the mind consciousness to think and understand; after thorough understanding, one must then do the work accordingly and practice contemplation.
Original text:佛复告阿难。但自观身。善力自然。正念自然。解脱自然。何以故。譬如有人。精进直心。得正解脱。如是之人。不求解脱。解脱自至。
Explanation: The Buddha told Ānanda: Just contemplate the body directly; the power of wholesome dharmas will arise naturally, right mindfulness will arise naturally, and liberation of mind will appear naturally. Why is this so? For example, if a person diligently cultivates with a direct mind, he attains correct liberation. For such a person, though the mind does not seek liberation, the fruit of liberation comes naturally—obtained without seeking.
The method of practice the Buddha taught is very clear: just contemplate, contemplate directly, do not let thoughts run wild, mentally filling in plots, sentimental interpretations, adding many matters and twists and turns, which instead yields no power. Apply effort directly in contemplative practice, without other thoughts, without other ideation. Just like the contemplative methods taught in the Sūtra on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness—practice contemplation truthfully, and the power of wholesome dharmas will naturally arise, wholesome roots will grow and mature, and the stages of heat, summit, patience, and the supreme worldly dharma will naturally manifest. When the mind possesses right mindfulness and accords with the principle of the Four Noble Truths, body and mind are naturally liberated. Though the mind never sought liberation, liberation appears naturally.
This is the method of the manas applying effort in contemplative practice; all contemplative practice is like this—from the stage of ordinary beings to the stage of equality enlightenment (equal-enlightenment bhūmi), the Path is realized through such contemplative practice. In the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, Sudhana, within a single lifetime, visited fifty-three good spiritual teachers; each taught him one dharma gate, and Sudhana directly observed in samādhi until samādhi appeared, at which point that dharma gate was accomplished and completed. Then he went to visit the next good teacher; in this way Sudhana cultivated from the stage of ordinary beings to the stage of equality enlightenment. Finally he visited the last good teacher, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, who taught him to make the ten great king vows, dedicating them toward the land of bliss (sukhāvatī), in hopes of perfecting the Buddha fruit.
Since Sudhana cultivated to the stage of equality enlightenment using precisely this direct-observation method of the manas, we should not blaze another trail, insist on adding the mind consciousness's wild imaginings, or use opportunistic shortcuts to obtain the true fruit of the Path. The fruit of the Path is not obtained with the mind consciousness; it is cultivated by the manas, the master, obtained through direct observation. Therefore, in Buddhism there is no such thing as the mind consciousness realizing the fruits, or the mind consciousness seeing the mind and seeing the Path. Opportunistic methods using the mind consciousness are not to be adopted or used; even if used, it is use in vain—no wholesome fruit is obtained, no true fruit of liberation.
Eighteen: The Results of Learning to Actively Use the Manas
Since a disciple learned to use the manas, work efficiency has rapidly improved, and workload has grown severalfold. Now, in doing anything, he no longer worries about methods—methods he can think of are plentiful; as soon as he keeps a matter in mind, he applies himself to it, and then sitting down there, even just taking a nap, a pile of solutions will come. When methods for handling problems appear, they must be immediately written down or immediately implemented, otherwise they are easily forgotten afterward. After implementation, things get better and better. Previously, not knowing how to use the manas, he was worried to death when encountering matters, especially when work was busy, not knowing how to handle or resolve them, racking his brains.
The disciple has indeed had some realizations from using the manas over these years, but is not good at summarizing them. Sometimes the methods, tricks, and inspirations the manas comes up with are simply indescribably wonderful; he himself feels amazed, wondering how they came about.
Assessment: This sharing of experience is solid and real, without a trace of the false or of conceptual interpretation; meditative concentration is very good—upon sitting, entry into samādhi comes quickly; the mind consciousness's function is somewhat weaker, while the manas's function is powerful, truly capable of producing wisdom that solves practical problems, including wisdom in the Buddha-dharma. As long as a problem enters the manas, the deliberation is very thorough.
After the mind consciousness throws out a problem, it stops thinking, suspending it in the manas's mind, letting the manas deliberate in secret; the manas will silently, without fanfare, deliberate, and the result appears naturally; when the mind consciousness becomes aware of this result, it suddenly understands. At this time one discovers that although the mind consciousness is not thinking, one still senses a force of thought, a power of thinking, operating—this is the manas's hidden mode of secretly deliberating on a problem. How deep and how long the deliberation is, and what the result is, are determined by many factors.
The prerequisite for being able to actively use the manas and let it deliberate is that one must calm the mind and must have concentration; the deeper the meditative concentration, the more powerful the manas's deliberative function and the more astonishing the results. If one has preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) or first-dhyāna concentration, it becomes relatively much easier for the manas to deliberate on the Buddha-dharma, to eradicate the view of self, and to see the mind and see nature. If concentration is insufficient, it merely feels as if the manas is deliberating, but in fact the mind consciousness has not stopped and is also participating in the thinking; the result then contains elements of the mind consciousness's analysis and inference, and the result is not quite real.
Learning to apply this skill brings great achievements in both worldly and supramundane dharmas, possessing unique great wisdom, able to handle all sorts of affairs with multiplied efficiency and remarkable results. This skill can be cultivated starting from elementary school; once mastered, not only are results doubled with half the effort, self-study ability may grow severalfold; every trade and profession will produce outstanding talents—and such original, creative talents, robots can never catch up with or replace.
Nineteen: The Superior States of Having Learned to Use the Manas
I have a disciple who learned to use the manas; whenever he encounters a problem, wisdom gushes forth, and solutions emerge one after another. As the solutions appear, he has no choice but to immediately solve the problems, implementing one plan after another, resulting in working day and night without pause, until his body can no longer bear it. Because once wisdom appears, if the thoughts in the mind are not implemented, those ideas may afterward become unrecallable—a great pity. After solving one problem, the mind opens up, another idea appears, and that idea must again be implemented to solve another problem; going on like this, one has no choice but to work continuously, becoming a workaholic. Although work efficiency increases severalfold, many times over, the body cannot sustain it.
So I advised him: henceforth, whenever gushing sparks of thought and wisdom appear, immediately record them with your phone; just record them in concise language, or even just with a few keywords. Because these are ideas that arose in your own head (in the manas's mind), when you open the record later and the mind consciousness browses it, you will recall the general content, the train of thought will reappear, and the wisdom resources will not be wasted.
There is another disciple who, after studying the Dharma with me a few years ago, went abroad to study and work; in only fifteen months, he completed nearly five years' worth of work and study tasks, and signed a ten-year contract. This is all from learning to use the manas, with wisdom for handling problems growing rapidly, exceeding work and study targets.可见 the manas's potential is enormous; the only fear is that the mind consciousness and physical stamina cannot keep up, and the body cannot sustain it.
I teach the Dharma using exactly this method: for a given point of Dharma meaning, as long as the mind settles down and immerses in it, all sorts of ideas and thoughts keep pouring out; sometimes the body is fatigued and the mind consciousness cannot keep up, so there is no way to form all the trains of thought into written records. Forming all the thoughts in the mind into text also consumes much vital energy and blood, and for me, vital energy and blood are precious resources that must be used sparingly. So I have no choice but to record only fragments, or only keywords; when I open them later, the trains of thought reappear. But because there are too many recorded fragments, there is simply no time to organize them, while new thoughts and ideas keep appearing; the old records have piled up for years without the energy to process them. So I can no longer respond to the questions of the various disciples; otherwise it would be endless, and no dharma could be formed into text and published.
Knowing how to use the manas truly means having inexhaustible wisdom. The manas—He never rests, while the mind consciousness's energy falls far behind; text and language cannot keep up with the manas's thoughts, and wisdom cannot be formed into text, which is also a pity. That is just how it is with a quick mind: self-benefit is no problem, but enabling others to benefit meets with obstacles. Yet this is still far better than a quick mind consciousness with a manas lacking wisdom. With a quick mind consciousness, one talks fluently and dazzlingly, but in reality it may not be so at all.
Thus it is clear that the mind consciousness and the manas are not necessarily in harmony. Some things we can sometimes do, yet though we can do them, we cannot summarize and generalize; if we must form them into language and text to express them, it appears very difficult, or there is no time and energy to form them into language and text. For example, the great arhat Cūḍapanthaka: his manas's realization and virtue were extremely high, yet he could not express them in language and text to benefit sentient beings—this is a defect of the mind consciousness's wisdom. The manas accomplished it, but the mind consciousness could not explain it clearly or express it—able to do but not to say. Conversely, some people's mind consciousness talks dazzlingly while their manas cannot move a single step—able to say but not to do. The Buddhas and bodhisattvas, due to long-term liberation of sentient beings, can both do and say; their manas and mind consciousness work in concert, mastering both the essential teaching and the doctrinal teaching—the essential being the manas's wisdom, the doctrinal being the mind consciousness's wisdom; both wisdoms are profound.
Judging from the wisdom states derived from the manas, once the manas's wisdom is opened and fully activated, it is not inferior or weak; on the contrary, it is very vigorous, while the mind consciousness's wisdom appears somewhat inferior and weak, unable to keep up with the manas's rhythm; language and text cannot describe the manas's samādhi states, and often cannot even understand the manas's states. Moreover, as practice deepens continuously, the manas's wisdom grows ever deeper, finally so deep that it completely replaces the functions and roles of the six consciousnesses, extinguishing the six consciousnesses and not using them, with one taking the place of seven—how powerful must such functional wisdom be, so powerful that the mind consciousness can no longer even be called inferior. To those from ancient times to the present who say the manas's wisdom is inferior, seeing such facts, what thoughts do you have? Do you still remain obstinately unenlightened, stubbornly clinging to the incomplete theories produced by the mind consciousness's thinking? Later, the states of actual realization of the various sages will be used to shatter these false and incomplete ideas.
Twenty: Skillful Methods for Training Contemplative Practice
A skillful method is one that can be applied anytime and anywhere, unrestricted or with few restrictions. Training walking contemplation and investigation is a rather convenient method; the space can be large or small, and investigating the Great and Small Vehicle dharmas while walking works rather well and can be practiced anytime. When training, relax the whole body: the head and neck should be naturally relaxed, the shoulders, arms, and hands naturally relaxed without exertion; the back and waist naturally relaxed without exertion; the hips and legs also naturally relaxed without exertion—relaxed from head to toe, without exertion. Step out and walk naturally; the speed may be somewhat slow—the slower the better; fast is also fine—the faster the better; neither fast nor slow is also fine.
During the whole-body-relaxed walking, at first empty the mind, thinking of nothing at all, without mixed scattered thoughts—just walk with the mind empty like this. Once the mind has emptied, then gather in the mind's spirit, concentrate the attention, and focus on observing and feeling the soles of the feet, experiencing the sensations at the soles.
Out on the street, in an undisturbed spot at your workplace, or in a somewhat open area at home, relax the body and empty the mind as you walk, walking in emptiness; when distracting thoughts decrease, focus the attention on the soles of the feet, without other ideas, without stirring thoughts to think; only simply sense, feel, observe, and experience. As time passes, what is sensed will differ from usual, with a different flavor, a different experience; when the season's conditions converge, seeing the Path of both the Great and Small Vehicles happens right here.
To strengthen the sensations and dredge the meridians, you can buy massage insoles—insoles with rounded protrusions—to step on; first, they provide a massage effect; second, they enhance the sensations, achieving the effect of gathering the mind and strengthening the power of perception. This method is convenient for those who have no time to sit or find it inconvenient to sit; for those who sit for long periods, this method can relax the muscles and bones and make thinking more agile.
Twenty-One: Using the Breathing Buddha-Recollection Method to Contemplate the Stream of Sound
This method is recollecting the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) while breathing deeply; the recollection operates in rhythm with the breath. Inhale deeply to fill with air, and as you exhale, slowly recite "A-mi" while exhaling; as the exhale finishes, "A-mi" is also finished; inhale fully again, and on the next exhale, recite "tuo-fo" while exhaling; as the exhale finishes, "Amituofo" is also finished.
With each inhalation, draw the breath down to the dantian; when the dantian's qi is full, it flows to all parts of the body. One stream of qi flows from the dantian to the huiyin (perineum, "seabed"), then from the seabed to the weilü, then sequentially upward to the lower back, the back, the Dazhui acupoint, the shoulder blades, then to the arms, hands, and various parts of the head. At this time one feels the whole body filled with qi; the lower back, back, and shoulders feel very comfortable; the back straightens, the shoulders sink, the arms become soft, the breath is calm, and the mind is utterly still. Meanwhile, the chest cavity is full of slowly flowing breath, and the mind's capacity opens accordingly, boundlessly vast—one feels the mind could contain the entire void.
After the dantian's qi is full, slowly exhale upward from the dantian, passing through the navel, chest cavity, lungs, trachea, throat, mouth, and nasal cavity; the recitation's airflow also passes through the tongue and teeth; the sound stream and air stream sequentially vibrate each part, and the body has strong tactile sensations. When the breathing Buddha-recollection has calmed the mind and the tactile sensations are distinct, one can contemplate the sensations in each part. The method of contemplation is the same as contemplating the breath and so on. Contemplating in stillness, the sensations wherever the sound stream and air stream reach are all perfectly clear; in the end, one can realize the emptiness of the five aggregates.
Some contemplate the whiteness at the nose tip and gradually contemplate out smoke-like vapor; with eyes closed, they can see the breath at the nose tip in a smoke-like form, seemingly particulate; occasionally, with eyes closed, they can see the scenery around the body as if suspended particles, the scenery void and ethereal, with a somewhat unreal feeling. This feeling approaches the truth, drawing near to the truth; with such a contemplative state, realizing the truth will not be too difficult.
If one contemplates tables, chairs, walls, and so on all as particulate, as illusory, to the point of forgetting the former feeling that things are real, then in samādhi the body may pass through these things without obstruction; but once one again becomes aware that things are real, the things again become obstructions. Thus the mind's solid grasping at things obstructs all of one's actions, causing blockage everywhere. Correct practice is to realize the illusory nature of dharmas and remove the grasping; then body and mind extend in all directions without obstruction, able to ascend to heaven and enter the earth as if moving through empty space.
Twenty-Two: How Can One Make Good Use of One's Own Thinking?
Question: When a person dies, do all the sentient beings in the body leave? After death, are there still sentient beings in the body, especially formless sentient beings?
Answer: To solve this problem, first understand why sentient beings attach to others' bodies and what they hope to achieve by using others' bodies. Then consider what happens to the body after a person dies, and whether it is still of use to sentient beings. Following this order of thinking, once everything is thought through clearly, one can understand whether, after death, various sentient beings still remain in the body.
Regarding all kinds of problems, we must have a clear train of thought; our thinking must be logical—this far exceeds solving the problem itself. If thinking lacks logic and the train of thought is unclear, even if one problem can be solved, other problems still cannot be solved, all having to rely on others; yet relying on anyone is not as good as relying on oneself—self-reliance is fundamental. If your own thinking lacks logic and your train of thought is always unclear, then analyze why you are this way, what causes your thinking power to be insufficient, then find ways to resolve that cause, giving yourself a very powerful mind to solve the many problems—whether key problems, or simple foundational ones.
