The Bodhisattva's Study of the Six Perfections

If we Buddhists wish to realize the tathāgatagarbha, to awaken to the true mind and see our nature, and to become true bodhisattvas, then we must cultivate the dharmas that bodhisattvas should cultivate; bodhisattvas should practice the bodhisattva's six pāramitās. Of the six pāramitās, the first is the pāramitā of generosity (dāna). As a bodhisattva, one must certainly cultivate the perfection of giving: on the one hand, it is to form wholesome karmic affinities with sentient beings; by giving sentient beings what they need, they will come to trust and follow you in learning the Buddha's teachings and practicing; on the other hand, it is to cultivate one's own merit, for only when one's merit is complete will one have the opportunity to attain enlightenment and become a bodhisattva in the true sense, entering the gate of Buddhism.

A bodhisattva who has awakened to the true mind has entered the gate of Buddhism; a bodhisattva who has not yet awakened to the true mind is still outside the gate of Buddhism and is not yet a bodhisattva in the true sense. Therefore, to be a bodhisattva, one must first cultivate the practice of giving so that one's merit becomes complete; one must also form affinities with sentient beings, because by forming affinities with sentient beings, one will have the opportunity to deliver them. Sentient beings will joyfully become your disciples who follow your learning, and only then can you lead sentient beings to cultivate step by step. In the future, when you attain buddhahood, these sentient beings will all protect and uphold the Dharma in your buddha-land. Therefore, giving is very important.

The second pāramitā is the pāramitā of keeping precepts. Because of keeping precepts, the mind does not transgress the rules, and thus can become tranquil, not committing sinful karma and faults, and hence not being burdened by evil karma. Because keeping precepts makes the mind tranquil, meditative concentration can arise; with samādhi, one can engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and investigate Chan, thereby understanding the true principle and realizing the eighth consciousness. Therefore, bodhisattvas should keep precepts to purify their mental conduct. No bodhisattva has the thought of violating precepts; if one deliberately violates precepts, then one is not a true bodhisattva, which shows that one's innate afflictive obstruction (kleśāvaraṇa) is still heavy, that one is not yet qualified to enter the gate of Buddhism, and cannot become a true bodhisattva. Therefore, to be a true bodhisattva, one must certainly keep precepts—at first keeping them passively, then changing to keeping and guarding them voluntarily and consciously, until finally there are no precepts left to keep. Because the mind has already become pure, without any mind to violate precepts, all actions and conduct accord with the self-natured pure mind. At this point, one no longer needs to actively keep precepts; it becomes keeping without keeping—bodily, verbal, and mental actions at all times and places conform to the precepts, conform to the Buddha's teachings, and are consistent with the nature of the tathāgatagarbha. This is keeping the precepts of the mind-ground.

The third pāramitā is the pāramitā of forbearance. Cultivating forbearance also requires the mind to attain purity, subduing one's innate afflictive obstruction, and also forming wholesome affinities with sentient beings. Although sentient beings present us with many humiliating circumstances, the mind must endure and subdue itself, not retaliate against sentient beings, and not hate sentient beings. In this way, enmity with sentient beings is dissolved and wholesome affinities are formed, and one's own mental disposition and afflictive obstructions can also be effectively subdued. This is the mental conduct of a true bodhisattva and the hallmark of being a true bodhisattva. Therefore, one must certainly cultivate the pāramitā of forbearance.

The fourth pāramitā is the pāramitā of diligence. As a bodhisattva, one must certainly apply diligent effort in the Buddha's teachings without slackening. In what aspects should one be diligent? Be diligent in giving, diligent in cultivating merit and forming wholesome affinities with sentient beings, diligent in keeping precepts, diligent also in forbearance, diligent in cultivating meditative concentration, and diligent in cultivating one's own prajñā wisdom. Being diligent in practice at all times and places, wholesome dharmas will grow rapidly, and then one can quickly awaken to the true mind and see one's nature. This is the pāramitā of diligence, which can carry one to the other shore of birth and death.

The fifth pāramitā is the pāramitā of meditative concentration (dhyāna). A bodhisattva must certainly cultivate dhyāna, with the mind abiding in one object, neither scattered nor dull. Only by developing the power of concentration can one carry out various contemplative practices, and only then can one realize the Buddha's teachings. This concentration is of two kinds: one is the concentration of the four dhyānas and eight absorptions; the other is the concentration of a decisively settled mind—for the Mahāyāna teachings, for the tathāgatagarbha teachings, the bodhisattva's mind has become settled, believing without doubt, never retreating. Regarding the dharma by which awakening to the true mind and seeing one's nature can make one a true bodhisattva, the dharma by which one can attain buddhahood, and the prajñā dharma of true reality, the mind also becomes settled. The skill of the four dhyānas and eight absorptions, especially the preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) before the first dhyāna, must certainly be cultivated; this is the foundation for contemplative practice and Chan investigation. Only with this concentration can one practice contemplation well and realize the self-nature of one's own mind. Therefore, meditative concentration is very important. Concentration can also generate merit, called the merit of concentration. Most importantly, with concentration one can grow the Mahāyāna prajñā wisdom. Therefore, cultivating concentration can carry one to the other shore of birth and death.

The last of the bodhisattva's six pāramitās is prajñā wisdom. What does prajñā refer to? It refers to our self-natured pure mind, the tathāgatagarbha, which is the unborn and unceasing mind-substance. The prajñā scriptures are mainly the 600 fascicles of the Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, all expounded around the tathāgatagarbha. The Heart Sūtra, the Diamond Sūtra, and many other prajñā-related scriptures all expound the prajñā nature of the tathāgatagarbha. We must study these contents and understand the principles; after understanding the principles and cultivating meditative concentration, we can investigate Chan. Only when these six pāramitā conditions are complete do we have the ability to investigate Chan; when the conditions of time and circumstance are complete, we can realize the self-natured tathāgatagarbha and awaken to the true mind and see our nature.

As for the bodhisattva's practice, it mainly consists of these six aspects. The last one is the pāramitā of prajñā, which is the most important practice content. All practice is for the sake of obtaining great wisdom; with wisdom one can accomplish all dharmas. Only by relying on wisdom can liberation be attained; only by relying on wisdom can one be delivered from birth and death and accomplish the buddha-way. Therefore, we should all strive to steep ourselves in prajñā wisdom and in the tathāgatagarbha teachings.

However, truly realizing the tathāgatagarbha is not easy, because throughout countless kalpas we have clung tightly to the false appearances of the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) and the eighteen realms, grasping the functions of the seven consciousnesses as self and as real. This obscures our own self-nature, making us unable to recognize the true dharma and acknowledge only false appearances. If we can first eliminate the self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) and then investigate Chan to seek the tathāgatagarbha, it will be relatively easier. This requires cultivating the Hīnayāna teachings of the Āgama Sūtras to eliminate self-view. After becoming a stream-enterer (Srotaāpanna) or once-returner (Sakṛdāgāmin), one eliminates the false appearances of the five aggregates and eighteen realms one by one, and then searches for the truth within these false appearances.

Within the illusory dharmas of the arising and ceasing of the five aggregates, one must seek that unborn and unceasing luminous pearl; after eliminating self-view, it becomes easy to find. Because once the false appearances are all eliminated, the truth can be revealed. Before eliminating self-view, one easily takes these false appearances of the five aggregates as the luminous pearl. If one takes the five aggregates as the luminous pearl, then the true pearl of the self-natured tathāgatagarbha becomes hard to find, for the true and false are mixed together and difficult to distinguish. Once we have eliminated the five aggregates and eighteen realms, it becomes easy to find the self-natured pure mind, and we will quickly enter the gate of Buddhism.