The Characteristics of the Nature of Self-Clinging

Which region of the world has sentient beings with the heaviest self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) and the strongest self-grasping? Those sentient beings who emphasize the self have the heaviest self-view and the greatest self-grasping. The Buddhadharma originated in India and later spread to China (Zhendan), whereupon the Buddhadharma of India in the Western Regions gradually declined, while the Buddhadharma of China (Zhendan) flourished more and more. Patriarch Bodhidharma, observing in the Western Regions that China possessed the disposition for the Great Vehicle, risked his life and flew from India to China to transmit the Dharma and deliver deluded beings, so that the Mahāyāna Buddhadharma could spread widely and Mahāyāna talents emerged in an unending stream. Thus the Sixth Patriarch of the Chan school appeared in the world, and together with the twenty-eighth patriarch of the Western Regions abiding in the world, the Mahāyāna Buddhadharma stood as stable as Mount Tai.

Why did the Buddhadharma not spread to Western and other countries, but instead spread precisely to China (Zhendan)? It stems from differences in the cultural foundations and humanistic cultivation of nations and regions. China had cultural foundations such as Confucianism and Daoism, and the Middle Way, which manifests the root of human nature. Only with humanity can one have the bodhisattva nature and the Buddha nature; without humanity, the bodhisattva nature is even less possible. Judging from the current global pneumonia pandemic: with such a severe infectious disease, the people of those countries and regions still demand freedom and human rights, seeking only their own gratification, completely disregarding the safety of others' lives—this is the selfish self-view and self-grasping. What does the freedom those people demand represent? What does the human rights they advocate represent? It is entirely "I"—it is self-view, it is self-grasping.

Even if that so-called freedom does not harm the interests of others, that kind of freedom still entirely represents the nature of self, emphasizing the self. As for the so-called human rights, they are all about manifesting the rights of the self, highlighting the self—all of it is the nature of self. To be independent, to have autonomy, to demand equality, freedom, rights, and status—all these demands originate from a deeply entrenched "I," emphasizing the sense of self-existence, pursuing the release of the self, refusing to suppress that "I." Such a heavy nature of self will not attract the Mahāyāna Buddhadharma; the conditions for deliverance are not yet mature.

By the same token, for a single individual, if the nature of self is very strong, with greed, anger, jealousy, and intense self-assertion, the conditions for deliverance are also not mature. Even if such a person encounters the Buddhadharma, in this present life they will not eliminate self-view and attain deliverance. A Buddhist practitioner should maintain a vigilant mind at all times, constantly observing one's own mental actions and mental nature. Whenever self-consciousness begins to rear its head, one should use Buddhist teachings to reflect upon, guide, and channel oneself, not letting the self run rampant until it finally becomes a disaster beyond control. One should carefully understand the forms of manifestation of the nature of self, its appearance, its characteristics, and the environments in which it tends to arise; then, at the right moment, seize that "I," contemplate it, straighten it out, persuade it, educate it, admonish it, and subdue it, until finally eliminating it. Then you will be a true hero standing tall between heaven and earth, dwelling at the summit of the world, a hero among people. How delightful that would be!