The Transformation of Mental Activities After Enlightenment

The patriarchs of the Chan school said: 悟后不异旧时人，只是不是旧时行履处。This means that after realization, one is still the same person as before; only one's mental actions in dealing with people and affairs have changed, no longer the same as before, different from the mental actions of the past. The way one applies the mind in doing things has changed, one's view of the world has changed, and one's view of the five-aggregate body has changed. These changes show that realization is not merely the mind consciousness becoming enlightened—the manas must also become enlightened. Only then, after enlightenment, can one be no different from the person of old, yet no longer dwell in the old conduct and practice. If one's conduct and practice have not changed, if one's mental actions and mental nature have not changed, then one should examine whether one's enlightenment is genuine or false.