My Heart is Gentle

Regarding mischievous beings like Mara, the master would scold them while also patting their heads and shoulders, telling them to behave obediently, for they too shall become Buddhas in the future and should cease their troublemaking. For the sake of all sentient beings attaining Buddhahood, and out of compassion for their suffering, the Bodhisattva manifests a fierce countenance while simultaneously harboring a heart brimming with boundless compassion, tender and deeply moved.

A Bodhisattva who has cultivated great compassion, upon seeing the chaotic and wayward behavior of sentient beings, sighs with pity for their delusion while maintaining a mind as vast and all-encompassing as the sky. This inner state is not only infinitely expansive but also exceptionally soft and pliant. Presently, my own mind is exceedingly gentle, and I harbor great fondness even for those mischievous troublemakers. Having interacted with such playful rascals since childhood, I hold no aversion towards them.

Furthermore, a Bodhisattva should possess the realization that all phenomena (dharmas) are transformations of the Tathagatagarbha. In truth, there are no phenomena at all; they are all the empty appearance and empty nature of the Tathagatagarbha. How utterly free and comfortable it would be to take refuge within the Tathagatagarbha and enjoy its cool tranquility! Just the other day, a disciple said, “Quickly find the Tathagatagarbha, then take refuge within it to enjoy the coolness and stillness, free from all mental disturbances of right and wrong.” This disciple possesses great wisdom, and we should learn from him.

The Sutra on the Non-Activity of All Dharmas: “Activity” means running, functioning, appearing, or manifesting. In truth, all dharmas have no actuality and no activity. Why is this so? All dharmas are of the nature of Nirvana – quiescent and non-active, neither arising nor ceasing, unbound and unliberated, eternally still like empty space.

All dharmas are the appearance of the Tathagatagarbha. To perceive the Tathagatagarbha is to perceive no dharmas at all; this is taking refuge within the Tathagatagarbha. What dharma is not the Tathagatagarbha? All are the emptiness nature of the Tathagatagarbha. Therefore, there are no appearances of the mundane dharmas of the Three Realms, no appearances of good or evil, no appearances of chaos or disorder, no appearances of opposition or duality. The Bodhisattva constantly abides in Ultimate Emptiness (atyanta-śūnyatā), with a mind perpetually abiding in samadhi, unattached to anything. If there is any attachment, one is not a Bodhisattva. If one perceives any appearances of good or bad, one is not a Bodhisattva.

Thus, my mind is gentle, soft, and pliant to the utmost degree, beyond expression.