How to Repent of Demonic Obstacles and Remove the Nightmare of Sins

After many people begin to study and practice the Buddha's teachings, they shift from pursuing benefits in worldly affairs to pursuing the benefits of studying and practicing the Dharma. Yet the inner self is not severed, the self-grasping is not severed, and they instead reinforce the view of self and self-grasping: "I want more and more disciples, I want greater and greater power, I want higher and higher fame, I want the reverence of more and more sentient beings"—all for the sake of feeling comfortable psychologically. But does this comfortable feeling of the mind have any real significance? When people fawn over me, I feel comfortable; this comfortable feeling is a sensation of the mind consciousness, and this mind consciousness is arising-and-ceasing, illusory and transformed—inherently false and unable to exist for long; it arises and passes away, ceasing day and night.

A true practitioner should frequently calm the mind and constantly introspect on one's own mind: What exactly am I pursuing? I grasp at wealth—what is the purpose of grasping at wealth? I now crave enjoyment and crave feelings and sensations—what is the purpose? What meaning does it have? What faults does it entail? I have all kinds of desires—what will be the final outcome of these desires? See clearly your own mind, and bravely face your own mind; make clear what the ultimate purpose of your study and practice of the Buddha's Dharma is, and how to reach that goal through practicing the Dharma in accordance with reason and the Dharma, so as not to run contrary to your ultimate aim. If the mind seeks nothing, the goal can be reached quickly—so what more am I pursuing? One must often ask oneself: What do I want? What am I striving and fighting for? Can it bring liberation? Does it have any real meaning? Is everything I pursue merely an illusory image conjured by the tathāgatagarbha? Will what is gained be lost again, or even more be lost? Do such unreasonable attention (manaskāra) and pursuits bring more shackles of bondage, or more meritorious benefit of liberation?

The more a person wants to gain, the more one tends to lose. Learning Buddhism means lightening the burden on the mind; we must not let the false marks of the world blind our eyes. We must see others clearly, and see ourselves even more clearly, constantly introspecting in this way. If in learning Buddhism one only covets external marks and does not work on the mind, then because of craving for marks, one fights and scrambles in the world, sells one's soul, and acts against one's conscience—this can only increase one's afflictions and the burden on the mind. Using the Buddha's Dharma as a tool for contending over worldly benefits, as a tool for personal greed, as a tool for overpowering others—this is truly a transgression, bringing endless calamity. If a practitioner, instead of seeking to lessen the afflictions on one's own mind and the minds of sentient beings, piles layer upon layer of shackles onto those afflictions and creates all kinds of unwholesome karma, this will harm Buddhism and sentient beings alike—seeking to rise, yet falling instead, with the losses outweighing the gains. This is truly an unwise course; one should quickly repent and reform, and remove the nightmare of sin.