Clinging to the True Mind Is Also an Illusory Dharma

Commentary: By concentrating and guarding the true mind, delusive thoughts cease to arise; the mind of self-attachment is extinguished, and the Dharma of Nirvana manifests.

If, during the process of cultivation, one attains the true mind, initially for the purpose of calming the mind, one may concentrate and guard the true mind, taking it as the refuge. As the cultivation deepens, one will realize that guarding the true mind is also a deluded dharma, superfluous; the mental activity of guarding itself is the mental activity of the deluded mind, signifying the arising of delusive thoughts. Why guard the true mind? It is still because one regards the true mind as "I" and "mine," hence the guarding; thus, the mind of self-attachment is not extinguished, and the mind is not yet sufficiently empty. At this stage, the mind is clearer and quieter than before, seemingly like the true mind, free from other thoughts. This is a state of meditative concentration (dhyāna), which can also be said to resemble the state of the true mind without thoughts. To say that the true mind of Nirvana has manifested is acceptable, but somewhat forced. Because the true mind of Nirvana is always manifesting; those who have realized the true mind know this.

If it is said that concentratedly guarding the mind is acceptable, this "guarding the mind" refers to preventing the deluded mind from engaging in false fabrication, and especially refraining from creating karmas of greed, hatred, and delusion, returning to purity, or returning to the true self-nature. The notion of "guarding the true mind" is debatable, because the true mind does not need guarding. For the realized, guarding the true mind is superfluous, only adding afflictions and attachments, preventing them from passing the prison barrier (the final barrier). For the unrealized, they wish to guard it but cannot find it—how can they guard it? However, the very word "guard" indicates the presence of thought. Whether guarding the true mind or the deluded mind, as long as there is "guarding," it is a delusive thought. At this point, only the conscious mind's delusive thoughts cease to arise; the mental faculty (manas) absolutely has thoughts. When there are no thoughts, the mind is empty, guarding nothing, unable to guard, and the mental activity of guarding ceases. When there are thoughts and mental activity, both the true mind of Nirvana and the deluded mind exist. Which one is the manifested mind of Nirvana? Since there is a mental activity of guarding, mental activity is not extinguished; what is guarded is "mine" (self-attachment). Regardless of what is guarded, it is guarding "mine"—the mind of self-attachment is fundamentally unextinguished.

The state of Chan (Zen) Buddhism cannot be compared with that of Vijñānavāda (Consciousness-Only). During the Chan cultivation stage, the mind is not yet sufficiently empty. Even after passing the third barrier of Chan, the mind is not as empty as that of someone at the Vijñānavāda stage. As long as a single mental activity is not empty, one cannot pass the third barrier of Chan, nor even reach it. Only with an empty mind can one attain the Nirvana with residue and gain the capacity to pass the Chan school's third barrier, the prison barrier of life and death. Guarding a true mind binds one to that true mind; there is still the karma of birth and death, preventing Nirvana. Guarding is the karma of birth and death; guarding creates complications, the mind is not tranquil. The Fourth Dhyāna is called "abandoning thought and attaining purity." Abandoning thought is purity; abandoning thought means there is no guarding, the mind is empty, guarding nothing, abiding nowhere. With guarding, one cannot enter the state of non-perception (asaṃjñā-samāpatti), much less the state of cessation (nirodha-samāpatti). Why can one not enter the state of cessation? Because the mental faculty still has sensation and perception; guarding is perception. In the state of non-perception, there is no guarding by the conscious mind; consciousness cannot function. Guarding is similar to the cultivation of concentration by fixing the mind on one point. "Fixing" means placing, means counteracting—it involves action, involves operation.

What we are discussing now is the ultimate result of cultivation, not the process. During the process, one should do what needs to be done, employing various methods and measures as required by the effort, which are also unavoidable. But at the point of the final result, mental activities must be extinguished. For example, only when upholding precepts reaches the point of not needing to uphold them does one become free within the precepts, without transgressing them. It becomes a complete habit and propensity of the mental faculty; mental activity is naturally like this, without need for thought, supervision, or regulation. Spontaneously, mental activity accords with the precepts.