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

09 Aug 2018    Thursday     2nd Teach Total 783

Is the affliction of anger beginningless ignorance or ignorance with a beginning?

Is the affliction of anger (dveṣa) beginningless ignorance or ignorance with a beginning? If it is beginningless ignorance, then it has existed since beginningless kalpas, stored in the tathāgatagarbha, belonging to the afflictions of the manas. After the mind consciousness arises, the manas directly influences and supervises the mind consciousness, causing the mind consciousness to also possess the mental factor of the affliction of anger. If the affliction of anger belongs to ignorance with a beginning, that would mean the affliction of anger only appeared in the middle period of a life; then when did the affliction of anger begin to exist? Due to what did the affliction of anger arise—what was its cause? Whether from the Buddhist sūtras or from observation of reality, no evidence can be found to prove that the affliction of anger has a point of beginning. Since it has no beginning, it is beginningless; being beginningless, it corresponds to the manas and not to the mind consciousness—the mind consciousness only comes to possess the mental factor of the affliction of anger through being influenced and instigated by the manas after birth. Everyone is also born with the ability to get angry, without needing to be taught or to learn it later in life; therefore, the manas has possessed the mental factor of the affliction of anger since beginningless kalpas.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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All mental activities that the mind consciousness cannot control are of the manas.

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