How to Realize the Empty and Quiescent Mind as Expounded in Avalokiteshvara’s Ear-Gate Perfect Penetration Dharma Method

The Guan Yin Ear Faculty Perfection Dharma Door cultivated by Bodhisattva Guan Shi Yin in the Shurangama Sutra involves contemplating emptiness in meditative concentration, continuously eliminating illusory dharmas. This mode of practice requires extremely profound meditative absorption and exceptionally powerful prajna wisdom; lacking either, one cannot accomplish the Guan Yin Ear Faculty Perfection Dharma Door. This method entails continuously excluding all arising-ceasing, unreal illusory dharmas within the deepest meditative absorption until only one so-called "thing" remains that cannot actually be excluded or emptied—that is the true mind, the Tathagatagarbha.

This method of practice is excellent, but most people, indeed virtually everyone, cannot cultivate to this level. Firstly, because they cannot attain such deep meditative absorption; secondly, because they lack sufficiently profound prajna wisdom of emptiness to realize this mind of emptiness within the deepest samadhi; thirdly, because their aspiration is not vast enough, and their virtuous roots and merit are insufficient to support such practice. Therefore, when realization remains unattained, misunderstandings about prajna emptiness become very great. Given that the virtuous roots and capacities of sentient beings in this Saha World cannot succeed in this practice—even the initial emptiness is difficult to realize—prajna wisdom may be understood approximately, but meditative absorption is a hard requirement and the most practical cultivation skill; mere intellectual understanding cannot achieve it.

Thus, eliminating all illusory dharmas in samadhi is beyond ordinary people. This requires not only realizing the emptiness of the self (pudgala-śūnyatā), becoming a Stream-enterer (Srotāpanna) up to an Arhat (Arahant), but also realizing the emptiness of dharmas (dharma-śūnyatā), becoming a Bodhisattva on the Bhūmis (grounds), possessing the wisdom of consciousness-only (vijñapti-mātra). Only after eliminating all false and illusory dharmas, emptying them, does one finally reach the point where only one truly unemptyable, quiescent true mind remains. At that point, cultivation is complete. It is currently impossible for anyone to reach this level. Beings with such great capacity would not come to the Saha World because it is incompatible and would waste Bodhisattva resources; sentient beings in the Saha World do not require such supremely wise great Bodhisattvas.

After all illusory dharmas are eliminated, only an empty, quiescent mind remains, and profound emptiness is realized. But who realizes this quiescent mind? Who cognizes that quiescent true mind? There must still be a "who"; without this "who," it cannot be done. Yet this "who" is also empty, also something to be eliminated. Nevertheless, one must utilize this "who" that should be negated as empty to discover our inherent quiescent mind-substance, the Tathagatagarbha. This cultivation eliminates illusory dharmas by negating them, not by extinguishing them—one simply does not regard them as real. Then, using the illusory, non-true consciousness and mental faculty (manas), one realizes that indestructible true mind. Without the illusory consciousness and mental faculty, clear comprehension and enlightenment (明心证悟) are impossible.

What does this quiescent mind refer to? It means its substance is quiescent, formless, without characteristics, unseen by the eye, unheard by the ear, unsmelled by the nose, untasted by the tongue, untouched by the body, unfelt and unthought by the mind-consciousness. How then to empirically realize it? Through studying the Prajna sutras, one understands the nature of the true mind and the characteristics of its functioning. The functioning of the true mind is its operation within the five aggregates (skandhas). After understanding this, one must perfect the six paramitas, then engage in the work of meditative absorption and investigation, persistently investigating with single-minded resolve, before one can realize the quiescent mind.

The Ear Faculty Perfection Dharma Door is not a pure cultivation of concentration (samadhi); it is a method cultivating both concentration and wisdom (śamatha and vipaśyanā) equally. Based on the four dhyānas and eight samāpattis, one studies the profound Mahayana Tathagatagarbha Dharma. Within samadhi, one progressively abandons arising-ceasing illusory dharmas—everything except the Tathagatagarbha must be abandoned, including the mind that empties, the dharmas that are emptied, and even various conceptions of emptiness. Without wisdom, one fundamentally cannot cultivate this Dharma Door. Cultivating this door can lead to the thirty-two response bodies of Bodhisattva Guan Shi Yin. Whether in samadhi or wisdom-samadhi (prajñā-samādhi), it rivals that of all Buddhas; it is, of course, supremely perfect and penetrating (圆通). The closer a method is to the ultimate, the more absolute the Dharma, the more supreme the method, the more difficult it is to cultivate.

Cultivating the Dharma of no-self (anātman), severing the view of self to attain the purity of the Dharma-eye (dharmacakṣu-viśuddhi), emptying the five aggregates—this samadhi is the simplest and easiest method. How many people can guarantee they will attain it before the end of their life? If I did not propagate the Dharma and focused solely on cultivating Ear Faculty Perfection, I still could not cultivate it out. Very many people, even if they can cultivate the four dhyānas, may not necessarily cultivate Ear Faculty Perfection. Even those with the realization level of a First Bhumi Bodhisattva's consciousness-only wisdom may not necessarily cultivate it. Cultivation like Bodhisattva Guan Shi Yin, culminating in becoming an Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattva (等觉菩萨), will not occur in the Saha World. If one cannot even accomplish the first contemplation in the Sutra on the Contemplation of Amitāyus Buddha, then there is nothing to discuss; any talk is just empty words—what use is it?

Regarding the first contemplation in the Sutra on the Contemplation of Amitāyus Buddha—has everyone been practicing it for several years? Not one person has reported their results. Only upon achieving the third contemplation can one be assured of rebirth in Sukhāvatī (the Land of Ultimate Bliss) at life's end. If even the first contemplation is so difficult, how much more so the third? How much more so Bodhisattva Guan Shi Yin's Ear Faculty Perfection Dharma Door? The cultivation of the preliminary dhyāna (未到地定) in the desire realm is already so difficult; the first dhyāna is even harder—how much more so the four dhyānas? How much more so the samadhi required for cultivating Ear Faculty Perfection? If even realizing Stream-entry (初果) seems distant, clear comprehension of the mind (明心) is even harder, not to mention the consciousness-only wisdom of Bodhisattvas on the Bhūmis. How then can one speak of cultivating Bodhisattva Guan Shi Yin's Ear Faculty Perfection Dharma Door? Nearly half the world can eloquently discuss theory, but as for genuine practice reaching a certain level, truly few can be found in the world. This is the current state of the Dharma-Ending Age (末法时代) in the Saha World.