If the Mind Is Not Pure, the Marks Are Not Pure

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: 随其心净则佛国土净。If the mind is not pure, then the Buddha-land is also not pure, because when the view is not pure, the appearances are not pure—how could the land be pure? If the mind is not pure, how could there be a pure Buddha-land? Indeed, only when the mind is pure can the view be pure, and only when the view is pure can the appearances be pure. Ordinary sentient beings have impure minds, so their views are impure, and the appearances they perceive cannot be pure. Therefore, when sentient beings see the Buddha, they will also regard the Buddha as being just like themselves, having the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion; they will even pick out all sorts of faults in the Buddha, seeing the Buddha's pure conduct as defiled conduct. For example, there was a woman of a non-Buddhist path who came to listen to the Dharma at the Buddha's Dharma assemblies. Every time she was the last to leave, and in the morning she was the first to arrive at the assembly, leading everyone to misunderstand that this woman was living together with the Buddha. Several months later, she placed a wooden basin on her belly and pretended to be pregnant. When everyone saw this, they all believed that the Buddha had indeed had an affair with this woman, and there was much discussion. Later, the Four Heavenly Kings could no longer bear to watch, so they transformed into a mouse that gnawed the wooden basin apart, and it fell out—only then did everyone suddenly realize the truth.

If sentient beings truly understood the Buddha and had faith in the Buddha, would they have divergent thoughts and doubt the Buddha? In the final analysis, it is still that sentient beings' minds are filthy and defiled, and they themselves assume the Buddha would do such a thing. Those disciples with pure minds would never have any objection or disrespect toward the Buddha; they would completely and thoroughly trust the Buddha's purity. Whatever kind of mind sentient beings have, that is the kind of appearance they will recognize; they will not go beyond the scope of their own mind's cognition. Therefore, a person with a defiled mind does not believe that anyone could have an extremely pure mind, and because this is inconsistent with their own conduct and views, they become suspicious whenever something happens—indeed, they do not even need to become suspicious; they directly confirm the other person's fault. From this example, we can see that sentient beings' minds are indeed filthy and defiled, lacking correct knowledge and view. 

When a person with a pure mind encounters matters, they simply let them pass without a trace, without entertaining thoughts. A person with an impure mind, however, harbors all sorts of speculations, all sorts of views, and all sorts of doubts lodged in the chest, unwilling to let go; gossip and disputes arise like the wind, and conflicts abound. That is why the secular world is in chaos every day, with no days of peace. From families to society, groups large and small are all like this. The reason is that sentient beings' minds are too filthy, the defilement is too severe, and there are too many misunderstandings—hence there is much gossip and dispute.