The Characteristics of Self-Nature

In which region of the world do sentient beings have the heaviest view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and the strongest self-grasping? Sentient beings who emphasize the self have the heaviest view of self and the greatest self-grasping. The Buddhadharma originated in India and was later transmitted to China (Zhendan), whereupon the Buddhadharma in India gradually declined while the Buddhadharma in China flourished more and more. Patriarch Bodhidharma, observing from India that China had the disposition for the Great Vehicle, risked his life, crossed over from India to China, transmitted the Dharma, and delivered those lost in delusion; thus the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma spread widely, and Great Vehicle talents emerged in an unending stream. Thereupon the Sixth Patriarch of the Chan school appeared in the world, and together with the Twenty-Eighth Patriarch from India abiding in the world, the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma stood as stable as Mount Tai.

Why did the Buddhadharma not spread to Western countries and other nations, but instead had to be transmitted to China (Zhendan)? It stemmed from differences in the cultural foundation and humanistic cultivation of nations and regions. China had cultural foundations such as Confucianism and Daoism, and the Middle Way, which manifests the root of human nature. Only with human nature can there be bodhisattva nature and buddha nature; without human nature, bodhisattva nature is even less possible. Looking at the current global pneumonia pandemic: with such a severe infectious disease, the people of those countries and regions still demand freedom and human rights, seeking only their own gratification, completely disregarding the safety of others' lives—this is the selfish view of self and self-grasping. What does the freedom those people demand represent? What does the human rights they advocate represent? It is entirely "I"—the view of self, the grasping of self.

Even if that so-called freedom does not harm the interests of others, that freedom still entirely represents the nature of self, emphasizing the self. The so-called human rights are all rights to manifest the self, to highlight the self—all are the nature of self. To be independent, to have autonomy, to demand equality, freedom, rights, and status—all these demands originate from a deeply entrenched self, emphasizing one's sense of self-existence, pursuing the release of the self, refusing to suppress that self. Such a heavy nature of self will not attract the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma; the conditions for deliverance are not yet mature.

By the same token, for a single individual, if the nature of self is very strong—greed, anger, jealousy, and intense self-assertion—the conditions for deliverance are also not mature. Even if such a person encounters the Buddhadharma, in this life they will not eradicate the view of self and attain deliverance. A Buddhist practitioner should maintain a vigilant mind at all times, constantly observing one's own mental actions and mental nature. When self-consciousness begins to surface, one should use Buddhist teachings to reflect upon, guide, and channel oneself, not letting the self run rampant until it finally becomes a disaster beyond control. One should carefully understand the manifestations of the nature of self, its appearance, its characteristics, and the environments in which it tends to arise; then, at the right moment, seize that self, contemplate it, straighten it out, persuade it, educate it, admonish it, and subdue it, until finally eradicating it. Then you will be a true hero standing tall between heaven and earth, at the summit of the world, a hero among people. How delightful that would be!