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

27 Oct 2022    Thursday     1st Teach Total 3717

How does the involuntary sound of reciting the Buddha's name arise in the mind? Who is reciting?

The recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) sounds that arise involuntarily are all initiated by the manas; it is the manas that is reciting the Buddha's name. At first, the mind consciousness cannot perceive it, and once it does perceive it, it cannot control it and has no choice but to follow along and listen to the sound of the Buddha's name. Being conscious is the mind consciousness's own awareness; being involuntary is not the mind consciousness's own awareness, but the manas's awareness, the manas's activity. This meditative concentration/meditative absorption (samādhi) of recollecting the Buddha is a state of meditative concentration, and this samādhi is relatively firm. Relying on this samādhi state, one can then engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) of the four foundations of mindfulness; the mind is also pure, making contemplative practice easy.

When the sound of reciting the Buddha's name arises involuntarily, continuously lingering in the mind and in the brain, this is the samādhi of recollecting the Buddha. All kinds of samādhi are emitted from the manas. Why can the manas initiate samādhi? For those whose recollection of the Buddha is not yet proficient, the samādhi of recollecting the Buddha will not appear; for those whose various contemplative practices are insufficient, samādhi states will also not appear. What is meant by proficient practice is that, through long-term persistence in one kind of cultivation, the manas has been successfully permeated; once the manas has been permeated to accomplishment, it will recite the Buddha's name and engage in contemplative practice automatically and spontaneously, and then all kinds of samādhi will appear. The arising of various samādhis is not decided by the mind consciousness and is not controlled by the mind consciousness; the mind consciousness can only passively accept and passively merge into the samādhi state, experiencing the samādhi and the feelings of body and mind.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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