Having a Kaleidoscope Is Far Better Than Chasing Ten Thousand Flowers

Ru Chun: "Now when I encounter things, I no longer rush about in a panic. There are many solutions, and many inspirations always pop up in my mind." This is a manifestation of the manas's meditative concentration and wisdom. With concentration and wisdom, one has a well-thought-out plan and remains calm and unhurried. Having inspiration is innovation—at the level of the mind consciousness it is called innovation, but at the level of the manas it is not called innovation; this should be His inherent wisdom. He is originally the Dharma King, unrestricted by any dharma; He can know all dharmas, whether past, present, or future, whether in the heavens, the human world, or underground. As long as He transmits to the mind consciousness those dharmas that the mind consciousness cannot discern, at the level of the mind consciousness they become new dharmas (innovation). If the mind consciousness can receive them normally, that is meritorious, worthy of the manas's hard labor; otherwise it fails the manas's good intentions, making the manas feel suppressed and uncomfortable. Therefore, the development of the manas's wisdom is also called the development of potential—it is wisdom we inherently possess. If we diligently cultivate precepts and meditation, the manas can produce wisdom.

Assessment: There are quite a few errors in this passage. First, the manas is not the Dharma King; it is not at ease with regard to dharmas, being restricted by its own ignorance, and it does not know or understand many dharmas—that is precisely why it must be cultivated. It is the tathāgatagarbha that is the Dharma King: all dharmas come from Him, He is not swayed by any dharma, and He is at ease with regard to dharmas. Second, inspiration comes from the manas; inspiration can also be called innovation, and innovation is the joint achievement of the manas and the mind consciousness. Third, the manas's wisdom is not inherent wisdom; it is wisdom that can only arise through cultivation, that is, acquired wisdom. Inherent wisdom is the great wisdom of the tathāgatagarbha. Some people, after learning a bit about the dharma of the manas, think the manas is heaven itself, as if it could substitute for the functions of the tathāgatagarbha—they are extremely prone to wild speculation in their minds.

Your meditative concentration has indeed made some progress, and your mind consciousness deliberates more deeply and more extensively. Although you have grasped more theory and have more to say, however abundant the theory, its practical effect is not great. After Cūḍapanthaka attained the fruit of the arhat of the fourth fruit, he still could not teach the Dharma—he was clumsy of speech—but he accomplished everything in practice; he had the wisdom of liberation and the wisdom of non-arising, yet simply could not express it, and his breadth of knowledge was also insufficient. Even so, this did not prevent him from being a sage; he had the wisdom to liberate himself from birth and death in the three realms—the apple had been eaten and was in his belly, and this was real and tangible. How many times stronger is he than those glib talkers who can write a hundred books yet are afflicted with the full burden of greed, hatred, and delusion, who are ordinary beings? 

Look at the experiences others have shared—solid and genuine, without a trace of the false or fake, without any element of intellectual understanding. Their meditative concentration is excellent: upon taking their seat they can quickly enter meditative concentration. The functions of their mind consciousness are somewhat weaker, while the functions of the manas are powerful; they truly have the wisdom to solve practical problems, including wisdom in the Buddhadharma. As long as something enters the manas, their deliberation of it is thorough. Our learning of Buddhism and cultivation is meant to solve the practical problem of fundamental birth and death, not to learn theory. So it is enough to grasp just some theoretical knowledge—do not keep drilling deeper into it. Apply your mind where it matters most. As long as the manas's wisdom is developed, dharmas you previously did not understand can all be understood, and knowledge you previously did not know can all be made clear. Then, summarizing your own wisdom and passing it on turns it into the theoretical knowledge that others need—bringing immeasurable benefit to both others and yourself.

Many people do not know how to learn Buddhism and cultivate practice. Every day they relish collecting knowledge everywhere—whether useful or useless, whether helpful to themselves or obstructive—collecting some and then forgetting some. Especially during the long stretches of time in the three evil paths, because there is too much suffering, they forget almost everything they learned when they were human, retaining very little. Moreover, some people as they age have poor memory and cannot even recall what they ate yesterday. So is it not unwise to spend vast amounts of time on broad learning and rote memorization? If after learning Buddhism one does not develop the inexhaustible treasure trove and does not know to take the golden key in hand, one may appear to be working hard, but it is actually wrong effort (mithyā-vyāyāma)—the more diligent one is, the farther one strays from the Path.

What Qingfeng said that day was well put: some people just love studying the patterns in a kaleidoscope. Before they have figured out the first pattern, it changes into a second pattern; through ten thousand pattern changes they chase after each design, and in the end their eyes are dazzled and they still have not figured anything out. Why do they not realize they should study the kaleidoscope itself and make one, so that all patterns and figures can be mastered at will? Knowledge in the world is immeasurable and developing explosively—who has the energy to chase after and study it every day? Make the great bodhi resolve, strive to become a knowledge repository yourself, with all knowledge flowing forth from your own mind in an endless stream—then all sentient beings can draw the nourishment of knowledge from this repository of yours. How beautiful a thing that would be? Everyone is just being hopelessly foolish.