眾生無邊誓願度
煩惱無盡誓願斷
法門無量誓願學
佛道無上誓願成

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Dharma Teachings

05 Oct 2020    Monday     2nd Teach Total 2678

The knowing of the mind consciousness is useful only when it perfumes the manas.

Many people give rise to afflictions, which have a bad influence on both themselves and others. The mind consciousness knows this should not be so, yet there is nothing at all it can do. The mind consciousness cannot control the manas, and can only let the manas' afflictions manifest, being at the mercy of the manas. The mind consciousness knows it should not be this way, but its knowing is not detailed, and the manas does not know; wanting not to be afflicted, it simply cannot manage it. The mind consciousness should carefully contemplate and impregnate the manas; once the manas understands the principle, the mind consciousness will be able to control the manas, and will be able to avoid afflictions.

It is the manas that carries ignorance and afflictions to future lives, not the mind consciousness. Therefore, whatever the mind consciousness has learned, known, and understood must, by all means, be implemented into the manas; otherwise, once the mind consciousness ceases, the manas, being ignorant and unknowing, will take rebirth, and there will be no good retribution. Two birds in the forest are not as good as one bird in the hand. If what the mind consciousness has known, understood, and learned is not delivered into the storehouse, then once the mind consciousness ceases, there will be no usable seeds in future lives—would that not be a pity?

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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