Selected Lectures on the Sutra of the Meeting of Father and Son
Chapter One The Thirteenth Dream Simile
Original Text: The Buddha said: Great King, suppose there is a person who, in a dream, engages intimately with many beautiful women. After this person awakens, he constantly recalls the wonderful tactile sensations experienced in the dream. Is this real? King Śuddhodana replied: It is not real.
Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, for example, suppose a person engages in intimate interactions with many beautiful women in a dream. After this person wakes up, he continuously recalls the wonderful tactile sensations experienced in the dream. Does this event truly exist? King Śuddhodana said: This event is not truly existent.
After this person finishes dreaming and wakes up, he still regards the events in the dream as real, constantly immersed in the dream, recalling it incessantly, clinging with greed and unwillingness to let go. This person lacks wisdom; he does not know that dreams are false and unreal. He should not be infatuated with unreal false appearances, pursuing illusory sensations and feelings; he should not be so deluded and inverted, taking the false as real. The sensations experienced in the dream are all illusory; how much more so are the feelings when recalling the dream after waking up—they are even more illusory.
Does the thing recalled in the mind exist? It no longer exists; otherwise, it would not be called recollection. For example, recalling that something eaten earlier was very fragrant—the food has already been eaten, the fragrance is now gone, no longer existing. No matter how much one savors the memory, it has no actual effect; it is even entirely without benefit. What has vanished does not return. Yet dreams are even more illusory than past real experiences. Recalling them only demonstrates the mind’s greedy attachment and unwillingness to let go, uselessly immersing in illusory imaginings, vainly consuming precious time and energy.
Another example: recalling words someone said—are those words still echoing in the ears during recollection? There is no sound in the ears; past sounds, spoken words, do not exist for the present; they have no effect anymore. If one then clings to those sounds, constantly grasping and fixating, that is illusion upon illusion. The very moment the sound existed was illusory; how much more so what has already vanished—it is even more illusory and unreal. Regarding the past objects of the six senses (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and mental objects), if they are said to still have an effect, it is actually the false discriminations and thoughts generated by the mind, the mind again producing false feelings and attachments. In reality, they no longer have any effect; what has passed has passed. Clinging and unwillingness to let go only increase afflictions in vain. Sentient beings in daily life perceive the myriad dharmas of the six sense objects as very real, yet in reality, they are all unreal, like flowers in the sky or illusions.
Sentient beings have been like this since beginningless kalpas, constantly pursuing things that are not real—illusory and insubstantial—mistaking the illusory five-aggregate world as real, with incessant delusional thoughts, only increasing their suffering. Seeing the foolishness and suffering of sentient beings, the Buddhas, moved by compassion, appear in the world, proclaim the truth, guide the ignorant masses, enabling them to leave the decaying house of ignorance and head toward the great path of liberation. Since the objects of the five desires and six sense objects are as unreal as a dream, one should focus the mind on cultivation. No matter how much effort is applied to the six sense objects, it is futile; it only serves to satisfy false desires. Essentially, such desires are unnecessary. Because of these desires, one does many meaningless things and creates much unwholesome karma. Without those worldly desires, sentient beings would be normal people, awakened people, pure people, people without karmic obstructions and without afflictions.
Cultivating the Way means cultivating the mind. To cultivate the mind well, one must first recognize the illusory and unreal nature of one’s own mind and the illusory and unreal nature of the six sense objects one clings to. Then, by cultivating concentration and contemplation, one can eliminate false greed, desires, thoughts, and feelings, eradicate the afflictions and ignorance of the mind. Only then can one be free from the suffering of birth and death. This is the practice of the Śrāvaka vehicle. The practice of the Mahāyāna is to illuminate the mind and realize enlightenment, to realize the ālaya-vijñāna, to know where it operates, what functions it performs, how it functions, how it gives rise to the five aggregates, how it combines with the deluded mind, how it produces the myriad dharmas, and how it manifests the mind-consciousness.
After realizing the ālaya-vijñāna, one realizes its unborn and undying nature. At the same time, one knows that it is the ālaya-vijñāna that produces this five-aggregate body, this "I." Therefore, the five aggregates it produces are empty, false, and illusory. The eighteen elements (āyatana) it produces are empty, illusory, and unreal. This also simultaneously realizes the Śrāvaka fruit of emptiness. At the moment of enlightenment, one not only attains the Mahāyāna fruit but also the Śrāvaka fruit. However, attaining the Śrāvaka fruit of emptiness does not necessarily mean simultaneously attaining the Mahāyāna bodhisattva fruit. But when one attains the Mahāyāna bodhisattva fruit, one simultaneously attains the Śrāvaka fruit of stream-entry (srotāpanna), and the karmic seeds for the three evil destinies are also eradicated.
Sentient beings create much unwholesome karma over countless lifetimes. After enlightenment and attaining the fruit, one no longer needs to undergo retribution in the three evil destinies; one only experiences minor suffering in the human realm. In the next life, one may be born in the heavens to cultivate or remain in the human realm to cultivate, but will not fall into the three evil destinies again. Unless bodhisattvas have the capability and vow to go to the three evil destinies to liberate sentient beings whose conditions have ripened. For example, if a disciple has very deep roots of goodness but occasionally, due to carelessness, creates karma leading to the three evil destinies and falls into them, a bodhisattva with the capability can follow him to the three evil destinies to continue liberating him. This is the aspiration of a bodhisattva. However, bodhisattvas descend to the three evil destinies not due to unwholesome karma but due to their vows. Their suffering is far lighter than that of sentient beings who go there due to karma, because bodhisattvas have wholesome vows.
Original Text: The Buddha said: Great King, what do you think? Is this person wise, clinging to what he dreamed as real? The King said: No, World-Honored One. Why? In the dream, after all, there are no beautiful women, let alone those wonderful tactile sensations. It should be known that this person only wearies himself in vain, gaining nothing.
Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, what do you think? This person regards the things he dreamed as real and clings to them. Is he wise? King Śuddhodana said: This person is not wise, World-Honored One. Why? Because in the dream, after all, there are no beautiful women, let alone those wonderful tactile sensations—it is even more impossible. From this, it should be known that this person only vainly exhausts his mind, gaining no real benefit, obtaining nothing.
King Śuddhodana was very awakened, knowing that there truly are no lovely women in the dream; there isn’t even a person, let alone those wonderful tactile sensations—they simply do not exist. In reality, in the daily lives of sentient beings, all people, affairs, and things are the same as the realm in a dream. In a dream, it seems all dharmas exist, yet ultimately they have no substance; all are illusory, not real, without actual function. The Buddhas long ago awakened from the great dream of birth and death in the three realms, knowing that all dharmas ultimately have no existence, their appearances are all illusory and unreal. Therefore, they eradicated all greed and attachment; not a single dharma remains in their minds.
How to recognize and understand that the five aggregates are as illusory and unreal as a dream? This requires recognition and contemplation from two parts: the material body and the mind-consciousness. The material body is a physical body like wood, constantly arising and ceasing, changing. If the mind-consciousness does not operate on the material body, the material body has no activity or functional role. The first seven consciousnesses functioning on the material body constantly arise and cease, cease and arise, arising and ceasing like a whirling circle of fire. The seven consciousnesses are not real. The ālaya-vijñāna continuously delivers seeds of consciousness; only then can the seven consciousnesses function. If the ālaya-vijñāna does not deliver seeds, the seven consciousnesses do not function, and there are no functional activities of the five aggregates. The five-aggregate body as a whole is assembled; it is composed of form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness—it is not real. If one is missing, the five-aggregate body is incomplete. A life form assembled from various causes and conditions is a false dharma, and it is illusory right now; there is no need to deliberately think of it as illusory.
In any single moment of the five aggregates’ activity, if the ālaya-vijñāna does not deliver seeds of consciousness, the five-aggregate activity immediately stops; there are no signs of life. The material body is illusory like this. The five-aggregate body is like a robot—it is not autonomous, it is controlled. If the seed storehouse does not continuously supply raw materials, the machine stops functioning. If the mental faculty (manas), this power switch, is not activated, the raw materials cannot be transported to the material body, and the five-aggregate body still cannot function. Such an illusory material body has no reality at all; its apparent existence only confuses the eyes and deludes the mind.
These constantly arising and ceasing illusory appearances—though ordinary people and bodhisattvas are reluctant to part with them, they equally cannot grasp them, just like the illusory scenery in a dream. The mark of self, the mark of others, the mark of sentient beings, and the mark of life—these four marks equally lack real appearances, like objects in a dream. Real life is the same as a dream; there is no real "I," no "you," no "him," no sentient beings, no lifespan. These are all false appearances of illusion. When one truly recognizes and realizes this internally, one attains the fruit. Realizing that real life is the same as a dream means one has cultivated to the bodhisattva fruit of the ten stages of dedication (daśa-bhūmi).
Among the five aggregates, the most used are the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. The sixth consciousness is various thoughts, views, feelings, sensations, and discriminations. For example, the mind that can hear the Dharma is the sixth consciousness, the mental consciousness. The Dharma being explained on the platform is the object of mind (dharmāyatana). When the mental faculty (manas) and the object of mind contact each other, the ālaya-vijñāna gives rise to the mental consciousness. It will think and analyze what was heard, then generate discernment, contemplation, and feelings of understanding or not understanding regarding the Dharma. Sentient beings live mainly relying on the sixth and seventh consciousnesses; the first five consciousnesses are secondary. The five consciousnesses do not have as many or as complex mental activities; they are simply the coarse seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching. Subtle discriminations, feelings, and thoughts are mainly the function of the sixth consciousness. The mental faculty (manas) is the consciousness that makes decisions; without the mental faculty, there is no sixth consciousness. The activities of sentient beings’ five aggregates are mainly governed by these two consciousnesses. Cultivation mainly focuses on cultivating these two consciousnesses. When these two consciousnesses are completely transformed, the first five consciousnesses change, and the functions of the eighth consciousness can be fully manifested; then sentient beings become Buddhas.
Therefore, is cultivation about cultivating the true mind or the deluded mind? The true mind does not need cultivation. When the deluded mind’s ignorance is exhausted and afflictions are eradicated, then the true mind returns to its original state. When the seeds of unwholesome karma are cleansed from the true mind, the true mind restores its original nature, and sentient beings become a Buddha. The reason sentient beings are not yet Buddhas now is that the ālaya-vijñāna still contains the ignorance and defiled karma of the seven consciousnesses. Becoming a Buddha requires breaking through countless ignorances. Realizing one principle breaks one ignorance; when ignorance is completely broken, the Buddha Way is perfectly accomplished. This is the path of cultivation.
After waking from a dream, one still constantly recalls the dream, immersed in the dream. It should be known that this person only wearies himself in vain, gaining nothing. He only causes his mind to consume energy in vain, to no avail. The consciousness greedily pursues illusory enjoyments, only temporarily obtaining a kind of psychological comfort; in reality, there is no benefit at all. Obsessing over non-existent people and things—such conscious sensations are too illusory. Sentient beings since beginningless kalpas have been clinging to unreal people, affairs, and things, suffering themselves. Originally, there is nothing happening outside; it is only the consciousness fantasizing and deluding there. "The world is originally without trouble; it is the ignorant who trouble themselves." Sentient beings are all ignorant people, taking external things as real, then the mind constantly churns and surges, yet nothing is actually happening; they are just creating suffering for themselves.
When one truly realizes that all dharmas are empty and without marks, the mind becomes unmoving. When unmoving, the mind is pure and free. When unmoving, the mind attains the joy of cessation (nirodha-sukha). This is the most joyful; that joy contains no afflictions at all. Joy always contains afflictions: reuniting with loved ones is joyful but is affliction; marrying and having children is joyful but is affliction; it can also produce suffering—none are pure and free. When one cultivates to the joy of cessation, the unmoving mind has not a trace of affliction or agitation. Sentient beings now cannot imagine what the mental state of having no afflictions or emotional surges is like. If one truly tastes that joyful state, one would probably never again be willing to cling to any worldly state.
The ālaya-vijñāna has not a trace of affliction; it is always in the joy of cessation. Why? Because it has no eyes and does not see, no ears and does not hear, no nose and does not smell, no tongue and does not taste, no body and does not feel touch, no mind and does not think of dharmas—it has no mental state at all, yet it is not foolish. Those who have not realized the ālaya-vijñāna find it difficult to experience the joy of attaining samādhi. It is entirely different in nature from the joy of worldly family reunions or the joy of promotion and wealth. The joy of cessation contains no joy at all; all worldly dharmas are unseen, unclung to—there is no confusion, no disturbance. Yet worldly joys are all within disturbance; they are not tranquil; they are affliction and suffering.
Carefully contemplate the illusory nature of the mind-consciousness; meticulously observe the arising, ceasing, and illusory nature of all dharmas in the world. The mind will then reduce its grasping, have fewer fantasies and random thoughts. People’s mental illnesses will decrease; neurasthenia and insomnia will lessen; various ailments will diminish. Where do illnesses come from? One is the karmic retribution of past actions; the other is present afflictions and delusional thoughts. Sentient beings all create suffering for themselves. When the principle is understood, the mind has no afflictions; when the principle is not understood, afflictions are heavy, suffering is immeasurable—all self-created, given by no one. All illnesses are illusory, without origin; when illnesses vanish, there is no place of cessation, because they are illusory. Understanding these principles can cure all illnesses. Physiological doctors, psychological doctors—all are unnecessary. All illness obstructions arise and cease illusorily. When the Buddha Dharma is understood, all dharmas are understood. Studying the Buddha Dharma well means all worldly dharmas are completely understood.
Worldly people’s physical illnesses, mental illnesses, all family troubles, troubles in work and career—such things are all the result of being bound by one’s own ignorance and karmic obstructions. Those who have not studied Buddhism do not understand these principles; those who have studied Buddhism but have not yet understood deeply, who have not engaged in profound contemplation and observation, are obscured by their own ignorance. To truly understand worldly truth, one must first understand oneself; afterward, all dharmas can be understood.
Therefore, not understanding worldly dharmas means the mind has knots and bonds; what needs to be untied is one’s own mental knots, not solving external situations. Do not complain that external form objects are so tempting, insisting on disturbing one’s mind. Reflect on why one’s own mind is attracted by external forms, why it is grasped by external forms, why it insists on clinging to external objects. Is it the external objects that bind and cling to oneself? No, it is one’s own mind that insists on grasping, and as a result, it is bound by the objects. Originally wanting to grasp the objects, one ends up being grasped by them. The five desires and six sense objects bind one tightly, causing one to suffer the suffering of poverty and rebirth for life after life, bound in the ocean of birth and death in the six paths of rebirth.
Contemplate where all worldly dharmas come from, where the mind-consciousness comes from, how the five aggregates and worldly dharmas manifest. Then one can realize the Mahāyāna bodhisattva fruit. Then, like King Śuddhodana, attain the patient endurance of the non-arising of dharmas (anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti), becoming a first-ground (prathama-bhūmi) bodhisattva—that would be even better. After attaining the first-ground bodhisattva fruit, what fruit is attained upon rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss? Listening to Amitābha Buddha personally explain the profound Dharma of Consciousness-Only, one can quickly attain the bodhisattva fruits from the second to the eighth ground. An eighth-ground bodhisattva can, in a single thought, transform and create a trichiliocosm; countless planets can be created immediately. With one hand holding the Earth and the other hand holding sentient beings, the bodhisattva can move sentient beings to another galaxy without them being aware. An eighth-ground bodhisattva opens his mouth, and the waters of the four great oceans pour into his mouth; fish, shrimp, dragons, and other sentient beings do not know they are being sucked into the bodhisattva’s belly; they cannot perceive it.
When this planet is about to be destroyed, the eighth-ground bodhisattva moves all sentient beings on this planet to another planet, and the sentient beings do not know. One billion Earths, one billion Mount Sumerus, ten six-layered desire heavens—all heavenly realms are one billion; one billion hells, one billion Yāmalokas, one billion four great oceans—together they form one trichiliocosm, extremely vast. An eighth-ground bodhisattva can manifest it all.
The states of great bodhisattvas are difficult for sentient beings to imagine. When unable to imagine, it is hard to believe there are so many inconceivable things. In fact, when sentient beings’ roots of goodness, merit, and conditions are truly complete, realizing these dharmas is not difficult, let alone believing them. We should have faith in the Buddha and the Dharma, faith in the bodhisattvas, and also faith in ourselves. Diligently cultivate precepts, concentration, and wisdom. Merit is the foundation; one must continuously perfect and complete the provisions and conditions for practicing the bodhisattva path. When the conditions for realization appear early, the aspiration to become a bodhisattva will be fulfilled.
Original Text: The Buddha said: Great King, thus, thus. Foolish, ignorant ordinary beings, lacking learning and wisdom, upon agreeable contact, give rise to delight and attachment. With minds defiled and clinging, they create such karma: three kinds of bodily karma, four kinds of verbal karma, three kinds of mental karma. Having created that karma, it perishes moment by moment. After that karma perishes, it does not abide in the east, south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, above, below, or the middle. At the end of life, they see their previous deeds appear in their thoughts, like that person upon waking recalling the events of the dream. When the final consciousness perishes, their own karma manifests.
Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, indeed it is so. Foolish, ignorant ordinary beings, lacking learning and wisdom, upon agreeable contact give rise to delight and attachment. With minds defiled by desire for contact, they create foolish karma—three bodily, four verbal, three mental—and unwholesome karma appears. After creating this karma, the karmic actions perish moment by moment. After the karmic actions perish, they do not abide in the east, south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, above, below, or the middle. But at the end of life, one sees all the deeds done in this lifetime appear in the mind; the mental consciousness can perceive them all, discriminate them clearly, know them all in the mind, missing nothing. At that time, one knows where one is going; therefore, one very much hopes relatives can help liberate one from karmic obstructions, but by then one can no longer speak and cannot express it. When one becomes an intermediate state being (antarābhava) and wants to tell relatives, but the realms of yin and yang are separated, communication is impossible; beings of two different worlds do not share a common language.
After the consciousness perishes, this life ends; the dream of this life is concluded. Thinking now, real life truly seems like being in a dream. After the six consciousnesses perish, one follows karma to transmigrate. Because the mental faculty (manas) desires a five-aggregate body, the ālaya-vijñāna cooperates to manifest the intermediate state body. Those with extremely good or extremely evil karma have no intermediate state body. Extremely evil people fall into hell without an intermediate state body; as soon as the breath ceases here, the hell body manifests. Extremely good people, after death, have a heavenly body manifest; they are directly born in heaven to enjoy blessings.
As soon as the hell body appears, even if one regrets creating unwholesome karma and wishes to repent and remedy it, there is no opportunity. In the intermediate state, one can still repent; relatives may still be able to remedy it. Without an intermediate state, there is no way; the karmic seeds are fixed. Unless some people are very awakened and repent with their hell body while in hell, if their power is sufficient and their mental strength is strong, they can also escape from hell. If one has greater merit, after death, Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva may be waiting at the gate of hell, teaching him repentance or verses from the Buddha Dharma. If one can recite along, it can eradicate hell karma, thus enabling one to escape from hell. If one has received the bodhisattva precepts and falls into hell, if one knows which precept was violated and repents in the mind, it can also eradicate karma and free one from hell. Therefore, in our daily cultivation, we should accumulate much merit, cultivate much wisdom. When undergoing unwholesome retribution, there will be many opportunities for liberation. The fear is lacking merit, not knowing how to apply the Dharma, not understanding how to repent one’s karmic actions. Listening to more sutras and Dharma teachings gives more wisdom for liberation.
Original Text: Great King, consciousness is the master; karma is the condition. These two kinds are interdependent. When the initial consciousness arises, actions are performed and retribution is received; none are lost. One may go to hell, fall among animals, the realm of Yama, or asuras, or among humans or gods. The same kind of rebirth continues without interruption.
Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, the ālaya-vijñāna is the master of karma creation. The created karmic actions serve as karmic conditions; the ālaya-vijñāna conditions the karmic actions, which become the causes and conditions for the birth of the next life’s body. When the initial consciousness of the body arises, the karma created in the previous life begins to bear retribution in this life. Creating karma and receiving retribution—neither is lost. This person will inevitably go to hell, the ghost realm, the animal realm, the asura realm, or the human and heavenly realms. The five-aggregate body corresponding to the karmic actions continues to function without interruption.
The ālaya-vijñāna and karmic conditions combine, and the initial consciousness of the next life arises. Once consciousness is produced, there is suffering; karmic retribution manifests. Only when there is feeling does one formally receive retribution. Is retribution received by the body or the mind? Mainly the mind receives retribution because the mind has feelings; that is called receiving retribution. If the material body has no consciousness, no matter what suffering is inflicted, the body does not feel suffering; there is no suffering. Therefore, retribution is mainly received by the mind; only with a mind can one feel suffering and happiness; without a mind, one cannot feel suffering or happiness.
For example, a wooden table has no karmic retribution; no matter what is done to the table, the table has no feelings; it does not receive retribution. Because there is a mind, there are feelings; therefore, retribution is received by the mind. The mind creates karma; the mind receives retribution; whoever creates it receives it. Can the body create karma? If the body could create karma, a table could also create karma; a clay figure could also create karma. But a clay figure has no mind; it cannot create karma or receive retribution. A dead person creates no karma and receives no retribution. But this mind that creates karma is arising and ceasing, changing, impermanent, and can be extinguished; therefore, it is not real. The mind-consciousness depends on external conditions; the ālaya-vijñāna delivers seeds, and the mind-consciousness can function. If the ālaya-vijñāna does not deliver seeds, there is no mind-consciousness; then nothing can be done. If one knows how to listen to this passage and has sufficient conditions and merit, one can not only realize the Śrāvaka fruit but fully realize the Mahāyāna fruit.
After the mind-consciousness is produced, creating karma and receiving retribution are not lost; they do not disappear without cause. After creating karma, there will definitely be retribution; it is not that after creating karma, nothing happens. If one receives a hell body, the body remains in hell without interruption. As long as the lifespan of hell lasts, the mind-consciousness functions for that long, feeling suffering for that duration. The eye-consciousness functions on the same body; the ear-consciousness functions on the same body; the mental consciousness functions on the same body. When the body changes, these consciousnesses change; past life events are unknown, cannot be recalled—this is amnesia. Because the mind has changed, there is no recognition of past life events.
Original Text: Great King, the perishing of the final consciousness is called the dead aggregate. The arising of the initial consciousness is called the living aggregate.
Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, at the end of life, when the consciousness perishes, the five aggregates are called the dead aggregate. When the initial consciousness arises, the five aggregates are called the living aggregate.
At the end of a sentient being’s life, when the breath ceases at death, the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mental consciousnesses—the six consciousnesses—perish. After the consciousness perishes, it is the dead aggregate; the body is like wood, without awareness, without life; then it is not the living aggregate but becomes a corpse similar to a wood carving or clay statue—the dead aggregate. On the body of the next life, the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mental consciousnesses—the six consciousnesses—arise again, and a complete living being appears, with the various functional activities of the five aggregates. If the six consciousnesses do not arise in the mother’s womb, it is not a complete person. After four months, around six or seven months, when the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mental consciousnesses are all present, it is then a complete person. Before the mind-consciousness is produced, it is not a living person because without the mind-consciousness, it is not a complete person, but it is not a dead person either, because the seventh consciousness and ālaya-vijñāna exist.
Therefore, abortion is half killing. This depends on how many months the abortion occurs; the severity of the killing karma differs. Abortions within the first six months: the fetus is not yet a complete living being, but there is still sin, only the magnitude differs. Abortions after six months are complete killing because the fetus is already a complete living being. When the mind-consciousness has not yet arisen, abortion is not considered killing, but there is definitely still karmic sin.
For example, eating eggs: an egg is not a complete living being, but the egg contains a fertilized ovum that will become a chicken; there is also retribution. Eating eggs and eating chicken are two different kinds of retribution; it is a matter of greater or lesser sin. Although the egg contains a fertilized ovum, it is not a complete living being; it has no five-aggregate activity. When it hatches into a chick, it is then a complete life, or just before hatching, it is already a complete living being—that also counts as killing.
Therefore, if abortion is unavoidable, do it as early as possible. The earlier, the less suffering for the fetus, because there is no mind-consciousness activity; it does not know suffering. Only after death, when the mind-consciousness returns to the intermediate state, does it know it was born in vain; it certainly has resentment. When the fetus’s mental consciousness has not yet arisen, being aborted causes no suffering. Only when returning to the intermediate state realm and the mind-consciousness arises again is there suffering and resentment. Killing karma has many degrees of severity. Based on whether the five aggregates are complete or not, one can judge one’s karma—what degree of sin it is.
The severity of sin also lies in the mental action, the degree of hatred, whether there is hatred, whether there is intent to kill. For example, suppose there is a complete living person in a sack; a person unintentionally kills him, not knowing there is a person inside the sack, thinking it is an inanimate object. As a result, he accidentally kills the person. This is not intentional killing; because it was unintentional, after death, he will not undergo unwholesome retribution in hell. Nevertheless, when he meets that person again in the future, he will also be unintentionally killed by that person once. When killing a person, it depends on whether it is intentional or unintentional killing. Intentional killing is with an evil mind, an evil nature—it is the karma of killing, belonging to the killing of a person. Unintentional killing has no evil in the nature of the mind, so there is no sin, but there is still cause and effect.
From another perspective, if the sack contained a piece of wood or some object, not a person, but if one killed it out of hatred, treating it as another person to kill—originally, the wood is not a living being; killing it is equivalent to chopping firewood—but because the mind harbored hatred and intent to kill, treating it as a person to kill, it belongs to the sin of killing a person; this karma is great. The severity of sin lies in the mind used. If one steps on an ant with an extremely evil mind, this sin is also great because the hatred is too heavy; it is different from ordinary killing. Ordinary killing is sometimes unintentional, sometimes with a little hatred—the retributions are all different. Therefore, in law, sentencing is also divided into intentional and unintentional killing; the judgments are different.
In summary, cultivation is cultivating the deluded mind of the seven consciousnesses. When the deluded mind is well-cultivated, the mind becomes pure. When there are no unwholesome karmic seeds in the ālaya-vijñāna, one becomes a Buddha, completely restoring one’s original nature. Now, sentient beings’ ālaya-vijñāna still contains defiled karmic seeds, has ignorance, and the seven consciousnesses have greed, hatred, and delusion afflictions. But the Buddha’s seven consciousnesses are all pure; they have all transformed consciousness into wisdom and are completely selfless.
Original Text: Great King, when that consciousness arises, it comes from nowhere; when it perishes, it goes nowhere. When its conditions arise, they come from nowhere; when they perish, they go nowhere. When that karma arises, it comes from nowhere; when it perishes, it goes nowhere. Great King, there is not the slightest dharma that goes from this world to the next world. Why? Because of the emptiness of inherent nature.
Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, when the initial mind-consciousness arises in the mother’s womb, where does it come from? Is there a place it comes from? It has no origin; its origin cannot be found. When the mind-consciousness of sentient beings perishes, where does it go? It also has no place to go; its destination cannot be found.
When the conditions for the mind-consciousness arise, the mind-consciousness emerges. These conditions also come from nowhere and perish to nowhere. The birth of the mind-consciousness requires some supporting conditions; without supporting conditions, the mind-consciousness cannot arise. For example, producing eye-consciousness requires nine conditions: light, space, sense faculty, object, attention, basis of discrimination, basis of defilement and purity, fundamental basis, and seeds. Therefore, eye-consciousness does not arise without cause; only when these nine conditions are complete does eye-consciousness arise; if not complete, it cannot arise. Therefore, in the mother’s womb, the fetus has no eye-consciousness because there is no light or space in the womb. In the womb, the first consciousness to arise is the mental consciousness because the mental consciousness requires fewer conditions to arise; its birth is easier.
Without space, if a hand is pressed tightly against the eye, the eye-consciousness cannot see the hand. Without sunlight or lamplight, the eye-consciousness cannot see objects. If conditions are not complete, the eye-consciousness does not arise on the current form object. Therefore, causes and conditions must be complete to produce eye-consciousness. Eye-consciousness arising dependent on conditions means it is false, not autonomous; eye-consciousness cannot determine its own existence because it lacks autonomy.
The other consciousnesses are similar. For example, the birth of ear-consciousness requires eight causal conditions to be complete; except for light, the other conditions needed for eye-consciousness must also be complete for ear-consciousness to arise. The birth of nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, and body-consciousness requires seven conditions to be complete; except for light and space, the other conditions must be complete for them to arise. The birth of mental consciousness requires five conditions: attention, mental faculty, object of mind, ālaya-vijñāna, and mental consciousness seeds—fewer conditions than the five consciousnesses, so it easily arises. The birth of the mental faculty (manas) requires only attention and the seeds of the seventh consciousness—even fewer conditions—so the mental faculty is always functioning, very difficult to extinguish. Only when the mental faculty no longer gives rise to attention to the dharmas of the three realms, when attachment to the three realms is severed, will the mental faculty perish. Therefore, any dharma produced by the gathering of various causal conditions is an impermanent dharma, a false dharma, a non-self dharma.
For example, several people form a group; this group is also false. If each person leaves, there is no group. This group can be said to exist or not; it is not autonomous; it gathers when causes and conditions are complete—it is false, can be said to exist or not, without reality. This group is a false name, a concept, just using a noun to express this state. This group is a false name for an illusion; it is merely giving a name to the state of the group’s gathering, calling it a group, not real. Is A called the group? Or is B called the group? Individually, neither can be called the group; gathered together, it cannot be called the group either. It is merely giving a noun to the false appearance produced by gathering for the sake of verbal communication. All dharmas are like this; they are forcibly given a name for expression.
Similarly, the five aggregates are the same. The five aggregates are assembled from various causal conditions; they are a false state of existence. This state can arise, can cease, can disperse; therefore, it is not substantially existent, not indestructible. The various functions and roles of the five aggregates—the ability to see, hear, taste, touch—once dispersed, the five aggregates no longer exist. Therefore, the sentient being’s five aggregates are also unreal. Analyzing the composition of the five aggregates is the same as analyzing the composition of a group. Actually, any name can be given to the five aggregates. Giving this five-aggregate form the name "human," giving another five-aggregate form the name "ant" or "mosquito," facilitates discrimination. In essence, they are all five-aggregate conglomerates. When the functional roles of the five aggregates disperse and vanish, sentient beings no longer exist. So-called sentient beings are all illusory, falsely combined five-aggregate bodies.
The Buddha said not the slightest dharma goes from this world to the next world. We should believe the Buddha’s words, knowing that nothing can be taken from this life; only karma follows the body. Since this is so, we should carefully consider how we should live this life to take more wholesome karma, less or no unwholesome karma. Since we are fortunate enough to encounter the Buddha Dharma and cultivate in this life, we should cherish the opportunity to study Buddhism, create much meritorious karma, cultivate wholesome dharmas, focus the mind on the Buddha Dharma. Worldly dharmas are sufficient if they are passable; carry more wholesome karmic seeds to future lives to use for studying the Buddha Dharma, so that in the future, one may encounter the Buddha Dharma as soon as possible and accomplish the Buddha Way.
But whether wholesome or unwholesome karma, their nature is empty; they cannot be controlled; they arise and cease, arising from nowhere, ceasing to nowhere, illusory and unreal. For example, killing a person with a knife: before killing, this killing karma does not exist; it has no origin. There is also no doer of this killing; the superficial phenomenon is like an illusion conjured by a magician—there is no creator of karma. The act of killing is produced by the combined operation of the material body and mind-consciousness. The material body is false; the mind-consciousness is false; neither is real. The actions of the five aggregates are not real. Moreover, once the act of killing occurs, it vanishes without a trace in an instant. Therefore, the act of creation itself is empty, yet it leaves behind karmic seeds.
And the karmic seeds themselves are also empty, coming from nowhere, ceasing to nowhere, from nothing to nothing. After retribution is received, the karmic seeds also vanish without a trace. Karmic seeds are also empty, false. If karmic seeds were not false, after receiving retribution or after repentance, karmic seeds should not disappear. If karmic seeds could not disappear, then sentient beings should suffer retribution forever, endlessly. A killer should suffer in hell forever, should be slaughtered by others forever, without end.
Therefore, it can be said that all sinful and meritorious karma is false, coming from nowhere, going to nowhere. Nevertheless, all meritorious karma will ultimately cause sentient beings to gradually approach Buddhahood until finally accomplishing the Buddha fruit. All sinful karma will ultimately cause sentient beings to suffer endlessly, lamenting ceaselessly. Thinking it over, only the ālaya-vijñāna is real and unchanging, unborn and unceasing, eternally existent. All other dharmas are empty, illusory, arising moment by moment, ceasing moment by moment, arising and ceasing countless times faster than lightning.
Original Text: Knowing thus: the initial consciousness and the initial consciousness are empty; one’s own karma and one’s own karma are empty; the body consciousness and the body consciousness are empty; if there is cessation, cessation is empty; if there is birth, birth is empty; samsara and samsara are empty; nirvana and nirvana are empty. All are inherently empty. There is no doer, nor receiver. It is only according to worldly convention that this is shown, not the ultimate truth, that this is spoken.
Explanation: One should know thus: the initial consciousness and the emptiness of the initial consciousness; know the karma one creates and the emptiness of that karma; know the body consciousness and the emptiness of the body consciousness; know thus: if any dharma arises, its arising is empty; if any dharma ceases, its cessation is also empty; simultaneously know samsara and the emptiness of samsara; know nirvana and the emptiness of nirvana. The creation and flow of karma have no doer and no receiver. All dharmas are only displayed according to worldly discrimination; in the ultimate truth (paramārtha-satya), such statements are not made.
The initial consciousness arising in the next life’s body is also empty; the created karma is also empty; the body consciousness is also empty. If this dharma is also ceased, the cessation itself is empty—is there a real principle of cessation? No, it is empty; all dharmas just arise like this. Sentient beings revolve in the six paths—as humans, devas, animals, hungry ghosts—this samsara is also empty. If samsara were not empty, one should revolve forever, unable to attain liberation, unable to become a Buddha; cultivation would be useless.
Sentient beings can sever samsara, can transcend samsara; this shows that samsara is empty; there is no real, indestructible dharma of samsara. If one is not real oneself, is there a real dharma of samsara? No, it is all empty, all illusory. If one attains nirvana, extinguishing the dharmas of the threefold world—the five aggregates extinguished, the eighteen elements (dhātus) extinguished, the body extinguished, the mind extinguished, feelings extinguished, thoughts extinguished, bodily, verbal, and mental actions extinguished—all extinguished, only the ālaya-vijñāna remains, neither arising nor ceasing, pure and quiescent. This state is called nirvana. The state where the five aggregates and eighteen elements are all extinguished is itself also empty, also arising, ceasing, and changing—not eternally unchanging. The nirvana state also comes from nowhere, goes nowhere; there is no one who enters nirvana, no one who emerges from nirvana; there is no doer, no receiver.
Therefore, nirvana is not truly existent; nirvana is a manifestation of a quiescent state, as unreal as the noisy phenomena of the world—it is illusory. This state is also empty; only the ālaya-vijñāna is not empty; all else is empty. Nirvana has no marks; even the state of emptiness is empty; it does not depart from the ālaya-vijñāna to have this emptiness.
All dharmas have no doer and no receiver. A fourth-fruit arhat who has entered nirvana—there is no person who attained the fourth fruit, no arhat who entered nirvana, no arhat enjoying the joy of cessation. Who enjoys the joy of cessation in nirvana? Can this person be found? In nirvana, there is no person, no arhat; if there were, it would not be nirvana. The arhat’s material body is extinguished, the mind-consciousness is extinguished, the functions of the five aggregates are extinguished, the phenomena of the eighteen elements are extinguished. Therefore, in nirvana, there is no arhat, no one enjoying the joy of cessation.
Original Text: Great King, you should know that the sense faculties are like illusions, objects are like dreams. All dharmas are entirely empty and quiescent. This is called the liberation gate of emptiness. Emptiness without the mark of emptiness is called the liberation gate of marklessness. If there are no marks, then there is nothing to seek; this is called the liberation gate of wishlessness. If one can understand these three liberation gates and walk together with emptiness, the path to enlightenment is as vast as the nature of dharmas and as ultimate as space. These similes should be known thus.
Explanation: Great King, you should know that the six sense faculties are like illusions, and all objects are like dreams. All dharmas are entirely empty and quiescent; this is the liberation gate of emptiness (śūnyatā-vimokṣa). Dharmas are empty yet have no mark of emptiness; this is called the liberation gate of marklessness (animitta-vimokṣa). If all dharmas have no marks, then no wishes should arise; this is called the liberation gate of wishlessness (apraṇihita-vimokṣa). Thus, the three liberation gates of emptiness, marklessness, and wishlessness coexist with emptiness, walking the path to nirvana; one should cultivate thus. To seek nirvana, one must first know that all dharmas are the true reality, the dharmadhātu, the one true dharmadhātu of the ālaya-vijñāna, pervading the ten directions to the limits of space. Regarding these similes, one should understand them thus.
