How to Gain the Greatest Benefit from Reading the Sutras? (Manas Training Series)

Many people lack a foundation in the prajñā emptiness teachings, yet they relish discussing Yogācāra. As a result, the more they study, the more attached to existence they become, the less empty they become, and the further they deviate from the Path. Yogācāra originally points entirely to the emptiness of all dharmas, yet when many people study it, it turns into solid, tangible existent dharmas and becomes merely an academic discipline—this is the misfortune of Yogācāra studies. In order to reverse this situation and fill in the foundational portion, from now on we shall turn back to focus on the study and practice of the prajñā gate. The prajñā gate serves as a bridge between what comes before and after: it helps those of the Small Vehicle eliminate self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi), and it also aids the study and practice of Yogācāra. Without a foundation in prajñā studies, studying Yogācāra is mere conceptual proliferation (prapañca). The World-Honored One preached six hundred scrolls of prajñā sūtras; if you persist in reading a portion every day, day by day your understanding of the prajñā gate will deepen, your mind will become increasingly empty, you will not cling to worldly signs, and your body and mind will be transformed.

To read the sūtras and truly understand the Buddha's intent and receive great benefit, one must have a certain method. First, one must generate bodhicitta and let it run through the entire process of study and practice. On this basis, one practices the bodhisattva's six pāramitās, and then applies oneself diligently and single-mindedly to the practice of the Path. Generally there are three ways of reading the sūtras: the first is when the mind consciousness reads with the mouth but without the heart, while the manas wanders everywhere indulging in delusive thoughts; the second is when delusive thoughts diminish, the mind consciousness reads the sūtras with concentration, the manas entertains few delusive thoughts, both attend to the sūtra text together, leaving a certain space for deliberating and understanding the meaning of the sūtra; the third is when the text has become familiar, the mind consciousness does not read, or reads slowly and silently, while cooperating with the manas in contemplation and investigation, with the manas focused on the sūtra text, continuously pondering it.

The first is the most elementary way of reading the sūtras—purely reading, without needing to understand the text. One must transition to the second and third ways in order to achieve the effect of reading the sūtras: to have a certain degree of reflection on the text, to correctly understand it, to grasp its meaning, and thereby effectively guide one's own practice.

How does one accomplish the second way of reading the sūtras? Reading must be attentive and single-minded, without mixed and scattered thoughts; one must forbid the manas from broadly grasping at objects, tethering it so that it attends only to the sūtra text. When reading, one should read slowly, leaving space for deliberation and understanding, and also giving the manas time to think. When reading a key passage or a point of doubt, one should pause, letting the manas quietly deliberate (manana) and digest it. This emphasizes the quality of reading the sūtras, rather than seeking speed as if merely completing a task.

Once this step is more or less accomplished, one transitions to the third way of reading, leaving most of the thinking work to the manas. The mind consciousness is only responsible for guiding the manas to each portion of the sūtra text, letting the manas condense the key points of each passage into a single point suspended in the mind, contemplating and investigating it in the mind alone. Only when reciting very slowly and without delusive thoughts can the manas remain unaffected by the recitation, suspending the dharma meaning in the mind and pondering it on its own.

This is the process of cultivating wisdom, and at the same time the process of cultivating meditative concentration (samādhi); with the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, the dharma principles enter the mind, the mind becomes increasingly empty, and eventually the body and mind are transformed. For one who knows how to read the sūtras, sitting there is like an old monk in meditative absorption: although the eyes are on the sūtra text, the attention is on the manas' silent pondering, extremely focused, to the point that dhyāna arises, the body and mind feel at ease and open, the mind opens and understanding dawns, wise thoughts gush forth like a spring, and wisdom shines upon the field of the mind like the bright sun—utterly refreshing. In doing anything, everything depends on how one applies the mind: not only must the initial aspiration be correct, but one also needs single-minded dedication, as well as correct and reasonable methods. In that case, the result may not only be twice the result with half the effort, but may even surpass that.