Letting Go of Attachments and Face Means Letting Go of the Self

Buddhist teachings speak of a kind of "forbidden ascetic precepts" (禁取戒) — that is, the precepts established by non-Buddhist paths that are unreasonable and cannot lead to liberation, demonstrating the ignorance of those non-Buddhist paths who do not understand liberation. Therefore, in the cultivation and realization of the Buddhadharma, to eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), one must abandon the forbidden ascetic precepts of the non-Buddhist paths and no longer keep those precepts; only then can one correctly and in accordance with the Dharma hold the Buddha's precepts, and only then can one eradicate the view of self. Thus there is no need for us to keep clinging to vows and oaths that were previously meaningless, wasting energy and mental effort. Wherever there is grasping, there is birth and death, and there is no liberation. A bodhisattva must have great wisdom. The bodhisattva's great wisdom far surpasses that of worldly merchants, various speculators, and all sorts of politicians. Bodhisattvas will not waste time and energy on things without benefit; they do beneficial things, or things of great benefit, doing what is most important.

Letting go of unnecessary and unimportant face before others is letting go of a kind of self. Be indifferent to others' meaningless evaluations and opinions of you, because since there is no self, why care about those unreasonable evaluations? As long as you do what is right, as long as you do things that benefit people, as long as you have not wasted your time, as long as you have been worthy of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas and of sentient beings, anything goes. Holding onto an unreasonable obsession and being unable to be flexible and accommodating is ignorance. As long as there is an obsession, Māra Pāpīyas will exploit this mentality and make you do foolish things. But with no-mind, you will not be exploited by others; no one can take advantage of you or use you, and thus there will be no evil consequences. The Buddha always taught bodhisattvas not to care about false reputation and fame; whether defamed or praised, the mind should not waver — only hold fast to the truth.

Adjust your own cultivation goals well and head straight toward them; do not concern yourself with unnecessary matters — the loss outweighs the gain. Use wisdom, not emotion. Do not fear being seen as a failure in the eyes of others; only you yourself know how things actually are. Do not consider your unnecessary image in the minds of others — that is a self. Only by extinguishing all kinds of self is one truly one who has eradicated the view of self. There was never a self to begin with — what is there to care about?