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

22 Sep 2022    Thursday     1st Teach Total 3679

How does the sound of Buddha-recitation that arises involuntarily in the mind come about? Who is reciting the Buddha's name?

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 and the manas's activity. This kind of Buddha-recollection meditative absorption (samādhi) is a state of meditative concentration, and this concentration 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, and it continuously lingers in the mind and in the brain, this is the Buddha-recollection samādhi. All kinds of samādhi are issued forth from the manas. Why can the manas initiate samādhi? For those whose Buddha-recollection practice is not yet proficient, the Buddha-recollection samādhi 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 a single practice, 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 various samādhis 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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