Chapter 17: Questions and Answers

1. Question: Why is it that when someone in the Saha World recites the Buddha's name with the aspiration to be reborn, a lotus flower belonging to that reciter appears in the Seven Jeweled Pond of the Pure Land, and why does each person's lotus differ in color and size?

Answer: The Tathagatagarbha and the manas (mental faculty) are both formless and without appearance, able to reach anywhere in the ten directions without obstruction. Moreover, for the Tathagatagarbha, any world, no matter how distant, is within Its own mind, separated by not the slightest gap, without distance or boundaries. As long as manas has an aspiration and the conditions are sufficient, the Tathagatagarbha will comply with and cooperate with manas, fulfilling its aspiration. The Tathagatagarbha always complies with and cooperates with the volition (manasikāra) and mental formations (caitasika) of manas.

A reciter who is very diligent and possesses profound good roots will single-mindedly focus on the Pure Land from within. Manas then develops the aspiration for rebirth, and thus manas makes the vow to be reborn in the Pure Land. The Tathagatagarbha then cognizes the mental formations of manas, understands manas's decision, and goes to the Pure Land to create the environment for rebirth. It constructs a lotus palace in the Seven Jeweled Pond corresponding to the reciter's level of practice. Of course, it is manas that decides to do this. The Tathagatagarbha then emits the four great elements (earth, water, fire, wind) into the Seven Jeweled Pond, thereby constructing a lotus pedestal. The quality, size, and color of the lotus pedestal are determined by the level of cultivation of the six consciousnesses, that is, based on the seeds of good karma stored within the Tathagatagarbha from the reciter's practice of Buddha recitation. The Tathagatagarbha can discern the seeds of good karma from the recitation and, based on these seeds, emits the four great elements to form the lotus pedestal.

After the lotus pedestal is created, the Tathagatagarbha continues to sustain it, and manas looks forward to being reborn there in the future. If the reciter becomes lax in practice, loses the resolve for the path, or develops other aspirations and no longer wishes to be reborn in the Pure Land, then the Tathagatagarbha ceases to sustain this lotus pedestal, and it gradually withers and disappears. After rebirth in the Pure Land, manas and the new six consciousnesses reside within that lotus pedestal, which is extremely vast in area. Thus, the land of the Pure Land expands. Moreover, the better the quality of the lotus pedestal, the more magnificent the lotus ponds of the Pure Land become, and the Pure Land itself becomes more splendid. Therefore, diligently reciting the Buddha's name is to adorn the Buddha's Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

2. Question: Why does listening to the Dharma in person have greater transformative power and better effect than reading books or listening to recordings? When listening to the master speak, one can develop concentration and understanding following the master's voice, gaining deeper comprehension and realization of the Dharma meaning, and deriving more benefit from the teachings. Why is this?

Answer: Reading books or listening to recordings requires mental imagination and conceptual thinking, involving more inference and non-valid cognition, resulting in weaker effects and less transformative power. During direct reception in person, there is more direct perception. There is also an intersection and resonance between the manas of both parties, a magnetic field effect, because manas trusts most what it sees with its own eyes; it resonates best under direct observation. When reading, manas does not see directly; the distance is far, requiring mental conceptualization and imagination by the consciousness, so resonance is slower and transformative power is weaker. Seeing the other person's body language and facial expressions in person, hearing the voice directly, all enhance one's own understanding and feeling, allowing manas to strengthen its direct observation, resonate more, and thus have stronger transformative power. Therefore, when the Buddha was in the world, disciples followed Him closely, unwilling to leave Him, because leaving the Buddha meant losing this powerful transformative influence.

3. What is the difference in karmic retribution between intentionally committing evil deeds and unintentionally committing evil deeds?

Intentional evil deeds and unintentional evil deeds have different adjudication results in worldly law. For example, intentional killing and unintentional killing have different legal sentencing outcomes. According to Buddhist principles, their karmic causes and effects also differ. Because the state of mind differs, the karmic retribution differs: intentional acts are heavier, unintentional acts are lighter. Both worldly and transcendental laws prioritize the motivation of the mind; different mental natures result in different karmic retributions. The mind is the master of all things. Intentionally committing evil deeds means manas acts out of a defiled mentality, directing the six consciousnesses to commit evil. Its mental nature is vile, the inherent offense (guilt) is heavy, and it is unforgivable. Unintentionally committing evil deeds happens by chance, not deliberately; manas is not acting from a defiled mentality. It's merely that the evil conditions manifest, and the karmic fruit ripens. Its mind is not evil, so the offense is light and forgivable. "Nature" refers to mental nature, meaning the quality of having greed, hatred, and delusion or being free from them. Evil deeds committed with greed, hatred, and delusion have heavy karma; evil deeds committed without greed, hatred, and delusion have light karma.

Similarly, intentionally doing good with a good mind, purely wanting to benefit others, with a good mental nature, results in great good karmic retribution. Unintentionally doing good, where the motivation is not to do good or benefit others, but karmic conditions ripen, the karmic fruit manifests, coincidentally benefiting others – the mental nature is not necessarily good; it might even be evil. Then the good karmic retribution is small. When sentient beings create good or evil karma, the Tathagatagarbha faithfully records it, simultaneously recording the good or evil mental nature of the sentient being, their motivation and intention, without missing the slightest detail. Given this, the karmic retribution for intentional and unintentional actions differs. Skillfully using the mind is the content and core of what we sentient beings should cultivate. A different mind leads to different results in creating good or evil karma. When Buddhas and sentient beings do the same thing, the results are as different as heaven and earth. The Buddha gains immeasurable merit, while the merit of sentient beings is very limited, because the mind is different. The Buddha has a pure mind; sentient beings have a defiled mind.

Intentionally doing good means having the subjective thought to benefit others; the mind-ground is good. Unintentionally doing good means the mind may not necessarily have the thought to benefit others, but the action coincidentally allows others to gain benefit. Therefore, those who intentionally do good, because of their kind mind-ground, receive great retribution. Those who unintentionally do good, because they are not actively doing good, have less merit from a kind mind-ground, so the retribution is small. Doing evil is the opposite: intentionally committing evil brings heavy evil retribution because the mind-ground is evil; unintentionally committing evil brings light evil retribution because the mind-ground is not evil.

When evil karma is created and the karmic seeds are stored, the mental activities (citta-saṃskāra) of the seven consciousnesses are also stored together. If the mental activity is evil, the evil mental activity of the seven consciousnesses plus the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses are stored. If the mental activity of the seven consciousnesses is good, the good mental activity plus the bodily, verbal, and mental actions are stored. An evil mental nature incurs karmic offense; the karmic retribution of the bodily, verbal, and mental actions plus the retribution of the mental activity constitutes dual retribution. Therefore, the karmic retribution for committing evil with a good mind differs from committing evil with an evil mind. Intentional killing and unintentional killing have different karmic retributions because the mental activity differs. Mental activity is very important. If the mind-ground is defiled, it will create evil karma life after life.

4. Question: Why do phenomena like "seeing without perceiving" and "hearing without registering" occur? Do consciousnesses exist at such times?

Answer: The occurrence of phenomena like "seeing without perceiving," "hearing without registering," and "eating without tasting" indicates that manas has no interest in the present sights, sounds, or tastes. It has other more important matters to attend to and does not focus on the immediate situation. Manas does not put full attention on things it does not care about. When manas is indifferent, it does not let the conscious mind (mano-vijñāna) focus on discerning things it is not interested in. Then the discerning function of consciousness with eye-consciousness or consciousness with ear-consciousness becomes very slight, resulting in phenomena like seeing without perceiving, hearing without registering, or eating without tasting.

However, eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, and tongue-consciousness should still exist at such times because when the sense faculty contacts the sense object, the Tathagatagarbha produces consciousness. Since there is seeing, hearing, and eating, it means the sense faculty has contacted the sense object, so consciousness must have been produced by manas. The difference is that these consciousnesses discern very faintly, only discerning a little, so that the conscious mind feels it is not discerning. When seeing without perceiving, after all, the eye faculty has contacted the form object. The Tathagatagarbha transmits the image of the form object through the eye faculty to the subtle sense faculties (brain). When sense faculty and sense object interact, the Tathagatagarbha produces eye-consciousness and consciousness, and there is discernment; it's merely a difference in the degree of discernment. Hearing without registering and eating without tasting are the same.

The sense faculty is the receptor. As long as it contacts the sense object, it will receive the form object, and an inner manifestation (pratyakṣa) will be produced. The question is whether consciousness will be produced at this time. For example, during dreamless sleep, inner manifestations exist, but no consciousness arises to discern them. However, "seeing without perceiving" is different from the state of deep sleep where one knows nothing. In this state, there is knowing because one still knows light and dark; it's not that one doesn't even know the light or dark before the eyes. Since one knows light and dark, there is discernment by consciousness, albeit very faint. If manas truly does not want to see, it might not produce consciousness. If there is slight perception, there is consciousness discerning. Consciousness can be dispersed and unfocused. The more objects consciousness faces, the fainter the discernment. For example, "keeping an eye on all directions" or "hearing sounds from all sides" – consciousness can discern many things, but the mind becomes scattered. Thus, untrained individuals cannot know some things very clearly.

The discernment of consciousness has primary and secondary focuses. What is primary and what is secondary is decided by manas. Therefore, the degree of discernment for various objects differs, leading to phenomena like seeing without perceiving. When seeing without perceiving, one walks without falling or bumping into walls, knows light and dark, and is focused on the matters being contemplated internally. If there were no knowing by consciousness at this time, one wouldn't know if it was night or day, and one couldn't walk either. When seeing without perceiving, there should be knowing because this is not a meditative state of the second dhyāna or above; at most, it can only reach the first dhyāna.

In states of the second dhyāna and above, the five sense consciousnesses are absent; one does not perceive the five sense objects. But one still knows one is in samādhi, knows one has no thoughts – that means the conscious mind exists. Generally, people say there is no conscious mind here, no knowing, but actually, there is knowing; the conscious mind exists. This state is much deeper than "seeing without perceiving" or "hearing without registering." Therefore, in "seeing without perceiving" and "hearing without registering," knowing and consciousness still exist. If there were no eye-consciousness, one should not know light and dark. When seeing without perceiving, one knows light and dark, so eye-consciousness and consciousness exist. Both consciousnesses have specific objects of focus; they are almost entirely undistracted by other things, but still slightly distracted, unlike the state of deep sleep where one knows nothing.

5. Question: Form (rūpa) manifests within the subtle sense faculties (brain). Where does mental phenomena (citta-dharma) manifest?

Answer: There are eight types of mental phenomena. The Tathagatagarbha Itself does not need to manifest; It is the source of all dharmas, unborn, unceasing, formless, without appearance, without location, yet pervading all places and all dharmas. The seventh consciousness (manas) is formless, without appearance, not inside, outside, or in the middle of the physical body, but it can contact the mental objects (dharmas) within the subtle sense faculties, thus it is not separate from the subtle sense faculties. Wherever dharmas appear, there is the impelling function of manas. The six consciousnesses are formless, without appearance, not inside, outside, or in the middle of the physical body. They contact and discern the inner six sense objects within the subtle sense faculties, so they are even more inseparable from the subtle sense faculties. Wherever the inner six sense objects manifest, the six consciousnesses exist and function. According to the Buddha's teaching that consciousness arises from the contact of sense faculty and sense object, we should understand that the six consciousnesses necessarily arise at the point where sense faculty and sense object contact, that is, within the subtle sense faculties. The dharmas of the six sense objects are all manifested by the three transforming consciousnesses (ālaya-vijñāna, manas, and the six consciousnesses). Therefore, where the six sense objects exist, there is the operation of the eight consciousnesses. Although the seven consciousnesses (manas and the six) are not separate from the subtle sense faculties, they are also not inside, outside, or in the middle of the physical body, being formless and illusory.

The seventh consciousness (manas) can silently encompass all dharmas manifested and sustained by the Tathagatagarbha. Objects outside the subtle sense faculties can also be contacted and discerned by manas, such as one's own corpse, fallen flesh and bones, possessions from past lives, people connected from past lives, mental objects from past lives, etc. Manas can contact and discern all these dharmas, which are not within the subtle sense faculties. Therefore, the seventh consciousness is not inside, outside, or in the middle of the physical body, nor is it separate from the subtle sense faculties (the brain).

Mental factors (caitasika) are also mental phenomena; they are dharmas corresponding to the eight consciousnesses, arising along with the operation of the eight consciousnesses. They are formless, without appearance, and not inside, outside, or in the middle of the physical body.

6. Question: When someone wants to commit suicide and takes action, why does manas agree to suicide?

Answer: Whether the suicidal action is forced or voluntary, it is certainly taken by manas; it is manas's decision. When manas feels helpless and becomes utterly disillusioned with life, it can make the choice to commit suicide. One reason is due to karmic force. When karmic seeds ripen and karmic conditions manifest, manas resonates with the karmic seeds and uses suicide to conclude the karmic condition, realizing the karmic seed – this is the fruition of karma, settling causes from past lives. The second reason is environmental pressure. Manas becomes utterly hopeless about everything in the world, places hope in future lives, and becomes disillusioned with the present life, thus choosing suicide. This is the cause in the causal chain of the present life, leading to the fruit appearing in a future life.

Manas's despair is called "the mind dies," the heart becomes like dead ashes, leading it to destroy the body and leave the human world. From this, it can be seen that manas indeed has desires; where there is despair, there were desires. When desires cannot be fulfilled, one is forced into despair. When manas decides to commit suicide, it cannot directly extinguish the life faculty (jīvitindriya) itself. It must direct the six consciousnesses to take external measures to harm the physical body, such as drowning, hanging, cutting wrists, and other suicidal acts. At this time, manas actively seeks suicide and death; it is quite resolute, regardless of whether there is erroneous analysis or guidance from the conscious mind.

If a suicide attempt fails and the person is revived by others, but still wants to die, they may decide to attempt suicide again when no one is paying attention. This shows manas is determined to die; the heart is like dead ashes, utterly disillusioned and cold. There are stories of people committing suicide merely by leaning against a stool leg – such is the state of a heart like dead ashes. Utterly disillusioned and cold, lying in bed, one can die without taking any measures because manas has not the slightest hope left for survival.

If a person has starved for several days with no food in sight and is on the verge of death, but someone deceives them, saying food will come soon if they just wait a little longer, then that person can endure for a long time without dying. This is because manas clings to great hope, strongly longing for food. It does not decide to leave the body and persists in not letting the six consciousnesses cease. This is the result of being encouraged and inspired by others. As long as manas's hope is not extinguished, it does not leave the body. Therefore, manas has desires, willpower, and hopes; it has goals it wants to achieve and things or people it wants to avoid, and thus there are times when hope is extinguished.

7. Question: After an Arhat emerges from Nirvana, is the newly born manas something that has a beginning?

Answer: When an Arhat emerges from the state of Nirvana, manas still continues the afflictive habits (vāsanā) and ignorance (avidyā) from past lives; it still has beginningless ignorance. As for whether manas has a beginning, one could say it has a beginning – it is a newly born manas. One could also say it is still the manas from before entering Nirvana, with the same habits, tendencies, and ignorance as the manas before Nirvana; it is continuous.

However, these are merely matters of individual perspective and are unimportant. Arguing over some concepts is not very meaningful. Let each person define concepts as they wish; it's irrelevant to the Dharma meaning. We only need to understand "grasp the meaning, forget the words" (得义忘言) and "rely on the meaning, not the words" (依义不依语). This way, pointless disputes are reduced, saving mental energy for more meaningful study and practice. We who learn the Buddha's teachings should also learn not to get entangled in terminology and be adept at freeing ourselves from the fetters of various terms.

Thinking is divided into right thinking (sammā-saṅkappa) and wrong thinking (micchā-saṅkappa), right reasoning and wrong reasoning. This way, logical thinking can be more rigorous. Possessing strong logical thinking ability is part of a Bodhisattva's study of logic (hetuvidyā). Bodhisattvas who understand logic, when debating with others, are meticulous in thought and rigorous in logic, enabling them to be invincible.

 Hymn to Manas

For countless kalpas mired in dust deep    With horns and hair, on wild grass fed

Led and pulled, in darkness paths we keep    Turning from light, in suffering's wheel instead

Now turning back to the luminous way    Washing heart, reforming face, drinking nectar sweet

Whip and staff in hand, to Pure Land race    Far from dust and stain, Nirvana's city meet

Chastising Manas

Busy day done, sleepiness thick and deep    Sudden pain and itch wake me from sleep's hold

Hand scratches skin, heart disturbed, cannot keep    Resting again, pillow-side, peace untold

Since beginningless time, clinging to body strong    Mosquito bites, tiny bumps, also trouble the mind

Often vexed by feelings, right or wrong    When will I release this body, true freedom find?