THE SORROWLESS FLOWERS
Thiện Phúc
VOLUME III
578. Four Self-Injuries
579. Ten Kinds of Nondoing of Great Enlightening Beings
580. Ten Steps in the Nourishment of Perfection
581. Ten Things which Cause Practitioners to Be Pure
582. Four Forms of Good Behavior
583. Mind-Only
584. Eight Meanings of “Mind-Only”
585. The Pure Land Is In Your Mind
586. Good and Evil
587. Six Unconditioned Dharmas
588. Twenty Four Not Interractive Dharmas
589. Eleven Form Dharmas
590. Fifty-One Mental States That Are Interactive With the Mind
591. Eight Perceptions
592. Let’s the Sorrowless Flowers Always Bloom In Our Minds
Tài Liệu Tham Khảo
578. Four Self-Injuries
There are four self-injuries or four self-raidings. First, in youth not to study from morning till night. Second, in advancing years not to cease sexual intercourse. Third, in wealth not being charitable. Fourth, in present life not to accept and practice the Buddha’s teaching.
579. Ten Kinds of Nondoing of Great Enlightening Beings
According to the Flower Adornment Sutra, Chapter 27, there are ten kinds of nondoing of Great Enlightening Beings. Great Enlightening Beings who abide in the concentration of the differentiated bodies of all sentient beings also attain ten kinds of nondoing. First, the nondoing of physical acts. Second, the nondoing of verbal acts. Third, the nondoing of mental acts. Fourth, the nondoing of spiritual powers. Fifth, the nondoing of comprehension of the essencelessness of phenomena. Sixth, the nondoing of knowledge of nondissolution of the force of actions. Seventh, the nondoing of nondiscriminatory knowledge. Eighth, the nondoing of knowledge of nonorigination. Ninth, the nondoing of knowing things have no destruction. Tenth, the nondoing of following the letter without destroying the meaning.
580. Ten Steps in the Nourishment of Perfection
There are ten steps in the nourishment of perfection (these minds are associated with the ten necessary activities) in which the Bodhisattvas have the following minds: the mind of kindness, the mind of pity, the mind of joy, relinquishing, almsgiving, good discourse, benefitting; friendship, dhyana, and wisdom.
581. Ten Things which Cause Practitioners to Be Pure
According to the Flower Adornment Sutra, Chapter 18, there are ten things which cause the practices of Enlightening Beings to be pure. Once Enlightening Beings have atained purity in practice, they also ten even greater things. First, giving up all possessions to satisfy the wishes of sentient beings. Second, adhering to pure morality, not transgressing. Third, being inexhaustibly gentle and tolerant. Fourth, cultivating practices diligently without regressing. Fifth, being free from confusion and mental disturbance, through the power of correct mindfulness. Sixth, analyzing and comprehending the inumerable teachings. Seventh, cultivating all practices without attachment. Eighth, being mentally imperturbable, like a great mountain. Ninth, extensively liberating living beings, like a bridge. Tenth, knowing that all living beings are in essence the same as the Buddhas.
582. Four Forms of Good Behavior
Four respect-inspiring forms of demeanour or four instances of prajna which a monk or nun should practise everyday: walking, standing, lying, and sitting. The Buddha taught about the Four Postures in the Satipatthanasutta: “Bhikkhus, when walking, a Bhikkhu understands ‘I am walking;’ when standing, he understands ‘I am standing;’ when sitting, he understands ‘I am sitting;’ when lying down, he understands ‘I am lying down;’ or he understands accordingly however his body is disposed. Again, Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu is one who acts in full awareness when going forward and returning; who acts in full awareness when looking ahead and looking away; who acts in full awareness when flexing and extending his limbs; who acts in full awareness when wearing his robes and carrying his outer robe and bowl; who acts in full awareness when eating , drinking, consuming food, and tasting; who acts in full awareness when walking, standing, siting, falling asleep, waking up, talking, and keeping silent.”
583. Mind-Only
Mind-only or idealism, the theory that the only reality is mental, that of the mind. Nothing exists apart from mind. Similar to “Only Mind,” or “Only Consciousness” in the Lamkavatara Sutra. Mind-only is the theory that the only reality is mental, that of the mind. The theory that the only reality is mental, that of the mind. Nothing exists apart from mind. A Sanskrit term for “Mind only.” A term that implies that all of reality is actually a creation of consciousness. It is commonly associated with the Yogacara tradition of Indian Buddhism, although it is only rarely mentioned in Yogacara works, which generally use the term Vijnapti-matra, or “Cognition-only.” Even though the term is rare in Yogacara literature, it is used by Tibetan Buddhism to designate the tradition, instead of the better-attested term “Yogacara,” or “Practice of Yoga.” From the Alaya arise two kinds of consciousness, manyana and vijnapti causes all feelings, perceptions, concepts, and thoughts to appear. It is based in the sense organs, the nervous system, and the brain. The object of vijnapti is reality in itself and is possible only when feelings and perceptions are pure and direct. When seen through the veil of conceptualization, the same object can be only an image of reality or a pure image such as a dream while asleep or daydream. Although the object of a pure sensation is reality in itself, when this reality is seen through concepts and thoughts, it is already distorted. Reality in itself is a stream of life, always moving. Images of reality produced by concepts are concrete structures framed by the concepts of space-time, birth-death, production-destruction, existence-nonexistence, one-many. Within vijanpti, there are six consciousnesses: consciousness of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and thinking. The mind-consciousness has the broadest field of activity. It can be active in conjunction with the other senses, for example, awareness of seeing. It can also be active on its own, such as in conceptualizing, reflecting, imagining, and dreaming. Following the five consciousness of the senses, mind-consciousness is called the sixth consciousness. Manyana or manas and alaya are the seventh and eighth consciousnesses.
According to the theories of Vijnanavada, the doctrine of consciousness, or the doctrine of the Yogacaras that only intelligence has reality, not the objects exterior to us. Dharmalaksana sect, which holds that all is mind in its ultimate nature. The doctrine of Idealism School concerns chiefly with the facts or specific characters (lakshana) of all elements on which the theory of idealism was built in order to elucidate that no element is separate from ideation. Although it is usually expressed by saying that all dharmas are mere ideation or that there is nothing but ideation, the real sense is quite different. It is idealistic because all elements are in some way or other always connected with ideation. This doctrine was based on the teaching of the Buddha in the Avatamsaka Sutra, that the three worlds exist only in ideation. According to Ideation Theory, the outer world does not exist but the internal ideation presents appearance as if it were an outer world. The whole world is therefore of either illusory or causal nature and no permanent reality can be found. In India, two famous monks named Wu-Ch’o and T’ien-Ts’in wrote some sastras on Vijnana. They had an outstanding disciple named Chieh-Hsien, an Indian monk living at Nalanda monastery. Later, Chieh-Hsien established the Vijnanavada school and contributed much to the arrangement of the Buddhist canons. In China, Hsuan-Tsang, to whom Chieh-Hsien handed over the sastra, founded this school in his native land. Later, the school was also called Dharmalaksana (Fa-Tsiang-Tsung) and was led by Kwei-Chi, a great disciple of Hsuan-Tsang.
There are five kinds of wisdom or insight or idealistic representation in the sutras and sastras (the first four are objective and the fifth is subjective). First, wisdom or insight in objective conditions. Second, wisdom or insight in interpretation. Third, wisdom or insight in principles. Fourth, wisdom or insight in meditation and practice. Fifth, wisdom or insight in the fruits or results of Buddhahood. According to The Lankavatara Sutra, there are six proofs for the “Mind-Only”. Things are not what they seem is proved from the analogy of a dream and magical creations. When Ravana, king of Lanka, saw images of the Buddha all around him, which later disappeared, he thought, “Could this be a dream? Or a magical phenomenon like the castle of the Gandharvas?” He reflected again, “This is no other than the projection of my own mental creations.” As we do not truly understand things as they are, we separate the seen from the seer, thus producing a world of dualities. “Where there is no false discrimination, one really sees the Buddha.” As long as we are in the dream, we do not realize that we are all dreaming, that we are slaves of false discrimination. For it is only when we are awakened from it that we know where we have been. The analogy of dream is quite a strong argument against the reality of an external world, but it is not all effective for them who are actually dreaming. So it is with magical creations. The Indians have been noted for their skill in the art of conjuration, and thee are no people among whom the use of mantrams and dharanis is so universal. Hence the frequent allusions to magic in the literature of Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism. The magician is so wonderfully proficient in making the spectators see objects where there are none whatever. As long as they are under his spell, there is no way of making them realize that they are the victims of hypnotism. The favorite analogies besides the dream and magic that are resorted to in the Lankavatara to show the unreality of objects seen externally and internally are: paintings, a hair-circle to the dim-eyed, a revolving fire-wheel, a bubble looks like a sun, reflected trees in water, images in a mirror, an echo, fata morgana, a mechanical man, a floating cloud, and lightning. Second, all things are relative and have no substance (svabhava) which would eternally and absolutely distinguish on from another. Things are nothing but relations; analyze them into their component elements and there will be nothing left. And are not all relations the constructions of the mind? Thus the citta seeing itself reflected is due to reflection and discrimination; so far no harm is done, for the mental constructions are perceived as such and there are no wrong judgments about them. The trouble begins at once when they are adhered to as externally real, having their own values independent of the valuing mind itself. This is why the sutra emphasizes the importance of looking at things (yathabhutam), as they really are. When they are thus looked at things, they are no more than the mind itself. The principle of relativity creates a world of individuals, but when it is transcended, there is Mind itself. The third proof, names and images are mere signs (samketa) and have no reality whatever (abhava) in themselves, for they belong to the imagination (parikalpita). Imagination is another name for false discrimination, which is the mischievous agency of creation. The fact of One Mind (ekacittam) is thus buried in the differentiation of individual existence. According to words they discriminate wrongfully and make statements concerning reality; and because of these statements they are burned in hell. How much we owe in our daily intercourse to words! And yet what grave consequences, not only logically but spiritually, we suffer from words! The light of the mind is altogether beclouded in and with words. The mind has, indeed, created words, and now taking these words for realities independent of their creator, it gets entangled in them, and is swallowed up in the waves of transmigration. The ignorant take what is presented by the mind itself for objective realities which do not really exist, and because of this wrong representation, discrimination is falsified. This, however, is not the case with the wise. The wise know that names and signs and symbols are to be taken for what they are intended from the beginning. While the ignorant cling to them as if they were realities and let their minds blindly follow up this clinging. Thus, they get attached to a variety of forms and entertain the view that there are really “I” and “mine,” and by doing so, they hold fast to appearances in their multiplicity. Because of these attachments, their higher wisdom is obstructed; greed, anger, and infatuation are stirred up, and all kinds of karma are committed. As these attachments are repeatedly committed, the ignorant find themselves hopelessly enwrapped within the cocoons woven out of their wrong discriminations. They are swallowed up in the waves of transmigration, and do not know how to go ahead in the work of emancipation for they turn round and round like the water-wheel. It is owing to their ignorance, indeed, that they fail to realize that all things, like maya, the shining mote, or the moonlight on water, have no self-substance, that there is nothing in them to take hold of as “me” and “mine;” that all things are unreal (abhuta) born of wrong discrimination; that ultimate reality is above the dualism of marked and marking, and the course of birth, staying, and disappearance; that is manifested due to the discriminating by one’s own mind of what is presented to it. Imagining that the world is born of Isvara, Time, Atom, or Universal Soul, the ignorant are addicted to names and forms thereby allowing themselves to be swayed by them. The fourth proof, “that which is unborn has nothing to do with causation, there is no creator, all is nothing but the construction (vyavasthana) of the mind, as I teach that which is unborn.” That there is no creator such as Isvara or Pradhana or Brahma is one of the principal theses of Mahayana Buddhism. According to the Lankavatara, the notion of a creator is due to discrimination, which always tends to lead the mind in a wrong direction. When it is seen that all is mind-only (cittamatra), that which is unborn will present itself instead. No birth, not because of non-existence, nor because existence is to be regarded as mutually dependent, nor because there is a name for existence, nor because name has no reality behind it. That all is unborn does not belong to the realm of Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, or philosophers, or of those Bodhisattvas who are still on the seventh stage; no-birth is constructed on the truth of the Mind-Only. Fifth, the absolutely idealistic monism, the logical necessity of reaching the ultimate notion of unity; thus, the Lankavatara accepts the doctrine of “Mind-Only” instead of “Matter-Only.” When no creator is recognized and all forms of dualism are set aside as not in accord with the real state of things, there remain two ways for achieving the unification of thought, realism and idealism; and the Lankavatara denies the reality of an external world (vishaya), or outside objects (bahyabhava) that are characterized with multitudinousness (vicitrata), the doctrine of “Mind-Only” seems to be the natural conclusion. Thus the absolutely idealistic monism is to use the transcendental knowledge (prajna or jnana) to take cognisance of the manifoldness of an objective world, not by the relative knowledge (vijnana). Again, this transcendental knowledge is not within the reach of the two Vehicles, as it, indeed, goes beyond the realm of beings; the knowledge of Sravakas moves by attaching itself to beings which they take for realities, while the pure transcendental knowledge of the Tathagata penetrates into the truth of the Mind-Only. While the objective world disturbed this unity and makes the mind, thus disturbed, perceive manifoldness within its own body. It then clings to these individualizing disturbances as real, thus losing its original purity or unity altogether in them. This is the source of spiritual tribulations. Sixth, the proof of three worlds are mind itself. This is the strongest of all the proofs that can be advanced for the statement that the world is mind itself (tribhavas-vacittamatram), is that of intuitive knowledge (pratyaksha). While this is what is final in all form of conviction, speculative or practical, the force is especially strongly felt in religious truths, which are not founded upon reasoning but upon immediate perception. So with the Lankavatara, its thesis is derived from its immediacy and not from its intellectual precision. The ultimate principle of knowledge is not dependent upon anything logically reasoned: it is “I see and I believe.” It is what is realized within oneself means of the supreme wisdom (aryajnana) of the Tathagata, or rather it is the supreme wisdom of itself, for the awakening of this wisdom means the grasping of the ultimate principle, which is the same thing as the realization within one’s inmost consciousness of the truth that there is nothing in the world but the Mind. This truth is beyond the realm of discursive knowledge. This special knowledge which may be called intuitive. The Buddha taught Mahamati in The Lankavatara Sutra: “Oh Mahamati, if they form any notion at all about it, there will be no supreme wisdom taking hold of reality (vastu). By this we know that knowledge that takes hold of the ultimate cannot be brought into a system of categories; for if anything is to be said about it, it turns into an idea of it and the real thing is no more there, and what is left behind is nothing but confusion or delusion. Attachment to realities as having self-substance is produced from not knowing (anavabodha) that there is nothing but that which is projected and perceived by one’s own mind. Avabodha is really awakening; something is awakened within the consciousness, and it is at once recognize that all is mind. The awakening is above the dualism of “to be” (sat) and “not to be,” (asat), the latter being due to false discrimination (vikalpa). The awakening is, therefore, the sight of the ultimate principle of existence as it is in itselt and not determined by any form of confusion or otherness. This is what meant by “To see yathabhutam.”
During the first centuries of Christian Era, a new Buddhist school known as the Mind-Only (Yogacarins), began to form. After 500 A.D. it came to dominate the thought of the Mahayana more and more. The distinctive doctrine of the Yogacarins taught that the Absolute is “Thought.” This doctrine is not really a new one. It had been clearly stated in the scriptures of all other schools. Between 150 and 400 A.D., we have several other literary documents which teach “Thought-Only.” The Lankavatara Sutra, the Avatamsaka, and the Abhisamayalankara occupy a position midway between Madhyamikas and Yogacaras. The Abhisamayalankara is an influential commentary on the Prajnaparamita which has guided its exegesis from 350 A.D. onward, and which is still the basis of the explanation of the Prajnaparamita in the monasteries of Tibet and Mongolia. The Avatamsaka takes up the teaching of the sameness of everything, and interprets it as the interpenetration of every element in the world with everything else. Dharmalaksana sect, which holds that all is mind in its ultimate nature. The doctrine of Idealism School concerns chiefly with the facts or specific characters (lakshana) of all elements on which the theory of idealism was built in order to elucidate that no element is separate from ideation. Although it is usually expressed by saying that all dharmas are mere ideation or that there is nothing but ideation, the real sense is quite different. It is idealistic because all elements are in some way or other always connected with ideation. This doctrine was based on the teaching of the Buddha in the Avatamsaka Sutra, that the three worlds exist only in ideation. According to Ideation Theory, the outer world does not exist but the internal ideation presents appearance as if it were an outer world. The whole world is therefore of either illusory or causal nature and no permanent reality can be found. In India, two famous monks named Wu-Ch’o and T’ien-Ts’in wrote some sastras on Vijnana. They had an outstanding disciple named Chieh-Hsien, an Indian monk living at Nalanda monastery. Later, Chieh-Hsien established the Vijnanavada school and contributed much to the arrangement of the Buddhist canons. In China, Hsuan-Tsang, to whom Chieh-Hsien handed over the sastra, founded this school in his native land. Later, the school was also called Dharmalaksana (Fa-Tsiang-Tsung) and was led by Kwei-Chi, a great disciple of Hsuan-Tsang.
584. Eight Meanings of “Mind-Only”
The doctrine of “Mind-Only” runs through the Lankavatara Sutra as if it were wrap and weft (sợi ngang) of the sutra. To understand it is to realize the ultimate truth, and not to understand it is to transmigrate through many cycles of births and deaths. The sutra lay much emphasis on the importance of the doctrine, so much, indeed, that it makes everything hinge on this one point of the salvation of the world, not to say anything of the individual. Also according to the Lankavatara Sutra, the Buddha taught about the eight meanings of ‘Mind-only’: “Oh Mahamati, First, the ‘Mind-Only’ leads to the realization of the ultimate truth. language is not the ultimate truth; what is attainable by language is not the ultimate truth. Why? Because the ultimate truth is what is enjoyed by the wise; by means of speech one can enter into the truth, but words themselves are not the truth. It is the self-realization inwardly experienced by the wise through their supreme wisdom, and does not belong to the domain of words, discrimination, or intelligence; and, therefore, discrimination does not reveal the ultimate truth itself. Moreover, oh Mahamati, language is subject to birth and destruction, is unsteady, mutually conditioned, and produced according to the law of causation; and what is mutually conditioning to the law of causation, and produced according to the law of causation is not the ultimate truth, nor does it come out of such conditions, for it is above aspects of relativity, and words are incapable of producing it, and again as the ultimate truth is in conformity with the view that the visible world is no more than our mind, and as there are no such external objects appearing in their multifarious aspects of individuation, the ultimate truth is not subject to discrimination. Oh, Mahamati, when a man sees into the abode of reality where all things are, he enters upon the truth that what appears to him is not other than mind itself. Second, the Mind-only is grasped by pure thought. Absolute intelligence or prajna does not belong to the two Vehicles. It has, indeed, nothing to do with particular objects; the Sravakas are attached to the notion of being; absolute intelligence, pure in essence, belonging to the Tathagata who has entered upon the “Mind-Only.” Third, Bodhisattvas do not enter into Nirvana because of their understanding of the truth of the “Mind-Only.” All the various doings in the triple world such as the grading of stages in the discipline of Bodhisattva and his steady promotion are nothing but the manifestations of Mind. This is not understood by the ignorant, therefore all these things are taught by the Buddhas. And again, the Sravakas and the Pratyekabuddhas, when they reach the eighth stage, become so intoxicated with the bliss of mental tranquility (nirodha-samapatti) that they fail to realize that the visible is nothing but the Mind. They are still in the realm of individuation, their insight into reality is not yet pure (vivikta). The Bodhisattvas, on the other hand, are alive to their original vows flowing out of their all-embracing loving hearts; they do not enter into Nirvana; they know that the visible world is nothing but the manifestation of Mind itself; they are free from such ideas as mind (citta), will (manas), consciousness (manovijnana), external world, self-substance, and distinguising marks. Fourth, the Mind-Only and the dualistic conception of being and non-being, which is the outcome of wrong discrimination (vikalpa), stand opposite to each other, and are irreconcilable until the latter is absorbed into the former. Its teaching, intellectually speaking, is to show the fallacy of a world-conception based on discrimination, or rather upon wrong discrimination, in order to get us back into the right way of comprehending reality as it is. “As the ignorant and unenlightened do not comprehend the teaching of the Mind-Only, they are attached to a variety of external objects; they go from one form of discrimination to another, such as the duality of being and non-being, oneness and otherness, bothness and non-bothness, permanence and impermanence, self-substance, habit-energy, causation, etc. After discriminating these notions, they go on clinging to them as objctively real and unchangeable, like those animals who, driven by thirst in the summer-time, run wildly after imaginary spring. To think that primary elements really exist is due to wrong discrimination and nothing else. When the truth of the Mind-Only is understood, there are no external objects to be seen; they are all due to the discrimination of what one sees in one’s own mind. Fifth, not to understand the Mind-Only leads one to eternal transmigrations. As the philosophers fail to go beyond dualism, they hurt not only themselves but also the ignorant. Going around continually from one path of existence to another, not understanding what is seen is no more than their own mind, and adhering to the notion that things externals are endowed with self-substance, they are unable to free themselves from wrong discrimination. Sixth, the rising of the Alaya is due to our taking the manifestations of the mind for a world of objective realities. The Alayavijnana is its own subject (cause) and object (support); and it clings to a world of its own mental presentations, a system of mentality that evolves mutually conditioning. It is like the waves of the ocean, stirred by the wind; that is, a world made visible by Mind itself where the mental waves come and go. This ocean-and-waves simile is a favorite one with Mahayana Buddhists. Seventh, thus we see that there is nothing in the world that is not of the mind, hence the Mind-Only doctrine. And this applies with special emphasis to all logical controversies, which, according to the Lankavatara Sutra, are more subjective fabrications. The body, property, and abode, these are no more than the shadows of Mind (citta), the ignorant do not understand it. They make assertions (samaropa) or refutations (apavada), and this elaboration is due to Mind-Only, apart from which nothing is obtainable. Even the spiritual stages of Bodhisattvahood are merely the reflections of mind. The Buddha-abodes and the Buddha-stages are of Mind only in which there are no shadows; that is what is taught by the Buddhas past, present, and future. Eighth, when all forms of individuation are negated, there takes place a revulsion (paravritti) in our minds, and we see that the truth that there is nothing but Mind from the very beginning and thereby we are emancipated from the fetters of wrong discrimination.”
585. The Pure Land Is In Your Mind
The term “the Pure Land is in your mind” means this single mind encompasses the four kinds of lands in their totality. From the Six Common Dharma Realms to the Four Dharma Realms of the Sages are not beyond the present thought in the Mind. The mind can create the heavens as well as the hells. The mind can achieve Buddhahood, but it can also turn into a hungry ghost or an animal, or fall into the hells. It can be a Bodhisattva, a Pratyekabuddha, or a Sravaka. Since everything is made from the mind, nothing goes beyond the mind. If we want to create Buddhas in our minds, we become part of the retinue of the Dharma Realm of the Buddhas. The other Dharma Realms are the same way. Sincere Buddhists should always see this and pay attention to all daily activities from walking, standing, lying down, or sitting… We must regulate ourselves in accord with propriety of a true Buddhist. Sincere Buddhists should always remember that we create more and more karmas and commit more and more sins because we are not concentrated and determined. We get dragged into situations until we forget what we want to do. We forget our goal is to cultivate to become a Buddha, a Bodhisattva, or any of the four kinds of the sages. Instead, we only know how to create hells, hungry ghosts, and animals, etc. Thus, Buddhas and demons are only a single thought apart. Buddhas are kind and compassionate, while demons are always competitive with unwholesome thoughts. In the Lankavatara Sutra, the Buddha taught: “The Bodhisattva-mahasattvas sees that the triple world is no more than the creation of the citta, manas, and mano-vijnana, that it is brought forth by falsely discriminating one’s own mind, that there are no signs of an external world where the principle of multiplicity rules, and finally that the triple world is just one’s own mind.”
Someone asked Great Master Yen-Shou that if the realm of “Pureland within the Mind” is ubiquitous throughout the ten directions, why not try to penetrate it instead of wanting the Pureland and abandoning the Impure Land praying to gain rebirth to the Ultimate Bliss World and sit on the lotus throne. Doing so not seem to be consistent with the theory of “No Birth.” If one has the mind of being tired of impurity but is fond of purity then that is not the mind of equality and non-discrimination? The Great Master replied: “Pureland within the Mind is a state achieved only by those who have seen and penetrated the true nature and have attained the Non-Form Dharma Body. Despite this, according to the Buddha’s Inconceivable (Unimaginable) World Sutra, those Bodhisattvas who have attained the First Ground Maha-Bodhisattva or Rejoicing Ground to enter the world of “Everything within the Mind,” still vow to abandon their bodies to be born quickly to the Ultimate Bliss World. Thus, it is necessary to understand”No Dharma exists outside the Mind.” If this is the case, then the Ultimate Bliss World is not outside the realm of the Mind. As for the theory of no-birth and the mind of equality and non-discrimination, of course, in theory this is true. However, for those who still do not have enough spiritual power, have shallow wisdom, impure minds, are bound by heavy karma and afflictions; moreover when tempted with the five desires and the forces of life, how many actually will be able to attain and penetrate this theory. Therefore, these people, most sentient beings of this Dharma Ending Age, need to pray to gain rebirth to the Ultimate Bliss World so they can rely on the extraordinary and favorable conditions of that world in order to be able to enter quickly the realm of Pureland within the Mind and to practice the Bodhisattva’s Conducts. Moreover, the book of commentary “Ten Doubts of Pureland Buddhism” taught: “Those who have wisdom and have already attained the theory of “Everything is within the Mind,” yet are still motivated to pray for rebirth to the Pureland because they have penetrated completely the true nature of non-birth is illusory. Only then can it be called the “true nature of non-birth. As for the ignorant, those who lack wisdom and are incapable of comprehending such a theory; therefore, they are trapped by the meaning of the world “Birth.” Thus, when they hear of birth, they automatically think and conceptualize the form characteristics of birth actually exist, when in fact nothing exists because everything is an illusion. When they hear “Non-Birth,” they then mistakenly think of “Nothing being born anywhere!” Given this misconception, they begin to generate a mixture of gossip, criticism, and mockery; thus create various false views and then degrade the Dharma. Such people truly deserve much pity!”
586. Good and Evil
According to Buddhism, good is defined as to accord with the right, and bad is defined as to disobey the right. Due to the confused mixture of good and bad karma that we have created, sometimes we have wholesome thoughts and sometimes unwholesome ones. With wholesome thoughts, we vow to avoid evil and do good. With unwholesome thoughts, we are eager to do evil and avoid goodness. For endless eons we have been committing good and evil karmas, doing a few good deeds one day, committing some bad deeds the next day, and then some neutral deeds the day after that. Sincere Buddhists should be very careful in each and every action: walking, standing, lying, and sitting. We should have bright and pure thoughts at all times. At the same time, we should try our best to avoid dark and impure thoughts. In the Dharmapada Sutra, the Buddha taught: “The evil-doer grieves in this world and in the next; he grieves in both. He grieves and suffers when he perceives the evil of his own deeds (Dharmapada 15). The virtuous man rejoices in this world, and in the next. He is happy in both worlds. He rejoices and delights when he perceives the purity of his own deeds (Dharmapada 16). The evil man suffers in this world and in the next. He suffers everywhere. He suffers whenever he thinks of the evil deeds he has done. Furthermore he suffers even more when he has gone to a woeful path (Dharmapada 17). The virtuous man is happy here in this world, and he is happy there in the next. He is happy everywhere. He is happy when he thinks of the good deeds he has done. Furthermore, he is even happier when he has gone to a blissful path (Dharmapada 18). Do not associate with wicked friends, do not associate with men of mean nature. Do associate with good friends, do associate with men of noble nature (78). Do not disregard small good, saying, “it will not matter to me.” Even by the falling of drop by drop, a water-jar is filled; likewise, the wise man, gathers his merit little by little (Dharmapada 122). A fool does not realize when he commits wrong deeds; by his own deeds the stupid man is tormented, like one is lighting fires wherein he must be burnt one day (Dharmapada 136). Even the royal chariot well-decorated becomes old, the body too will reach old age. Only the Dharma of the Good Ones does not decay. Thus the good people reveal to good people (151). Whosoever uses good deed, to cover evil deed being done. Such person outshines this world, like the moon free from the clouds (173). Being absent a long time, a man has returned home safe and sound; relatives, friends and acquaintances welcome him home. In the same way, good actions will welcome the well doer, who has gone from this world to the next world, just as relatives welcome a dear one who has come back (219 & 220). Even from afar the good ones shine, like the mountain of snow. The bad ones even here are not to be seen, like the arrows shot in the night (304). Better not to do evil deed, afterward evil deed brings up torment. Better to perform good deed, having done good deed there will be no torment (314).”
587. Six Unconditioned Dharmas
There are six unconditioned dharmas or six inactive or metaphysical concepts. The unconditioned dharma, the ultimate inertia from which all forms come, the noumenal source of all phenomenal. Those dharmas which do not arise or cease, and are not transcient, such as Nirvana, the Dharma body, etc. Unconditioned merits and and virtues are the causes of liberation from birth and death. First, Unconditioned Empty Space (Akasha). Second, Unconditioned Extinction (Pratisamkhyanirodha) which is attained through selection. Extinction obtained by knowledge. Third, Unconditioned Extinction (Apratisamkhyanirodha) which is Unselected. Extinction not by knowledge but by nature. Fourth, Unconditioned Unmoving Extinction (Aninjya). Extinction by a motionless state of heavenly meditation. Fifth, Unconditioned Extinction of Feeling (Samjnavedayitanirodha). Extinction by the stoppage of idea and sensation by an arhat. Sixth, Unconditioned True Suchness (Tathata).
588. Twenty Four Not Interractive Dharmas
According to the Consciousness-Only School, there are twenty four indefinites or not interractive dharmas, or unconditioned elements, or non-interactive activity dharmas: acquisition or attainment (prapti), life faculty or life (jivitendriya), generic similarity or nature of sharing similar species (nikaya-sabhaga), dissimilarity or nature of making different species (visabhaga), no-thought samadhi or meditative concentration in thoughtless heaven (asamjnisamapatti), samadhi of extinction or meditative concentration in extinction (nirodha-samapatti), reward of no-thought or facts obtained by thoughtless meditation (asamjnika), bodies of nouns or names (namakaya), bodies of sentences or words (padakaya), bodies of phonemes or letters (vyanjanakaya), birth, impermanence (anityata), becoming or revolution (pravritti), distinction (pratiniyama), interaction or union (yoga), speed (java), sequence or succession (anukrama), time (kala), direction (desha), numeration (samkhya), combination or totality (samagri), and discontinuity or differentiation (anyathatva).
589. Eleven Form Dharmas
Eleven Form Dharmas include the five physical organs: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body; and the six modes of sense: matter, sound, smell, taste, touch, things. According to the Sangiti Sutta in the Long Discourses of the Buddha, there are five roots or faculties (indriyani) or the five organs of the senses of five spiritual faculties: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body. The five sense-organs can be entrances to the hells; at the same time, they can be some of the most important entrances to the great enlightenment; for with them, we create karmas and sins, but also with them, we can practise the right way. According to Bikkhu Piyananda in The Gems Of Buddhism Wisdom, you must always be aware of the sense organs such as eye, ear, nose, tongue and body and the contact they are having with the outside world. You must be aware of the feelings that are arising as a result of this contact. The six objects or the six objective fields of the six senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and idea or thought; rupa, form and colour, is the field of vision; sound of hearing, scent of smelling, the five flavours of tasting, physical feeling of touch, and mental presentation of discernment. Forms included in dharma-ayatana or elements as objects of consciousness (dharmayata-nikani-rupani) include a substantial form analyzed to utmost , the smallest atom, an unsubstantial form as aerial space or color analyzed to utmost, the remotest atom, a perceptive form conceived at ordination, the innermost impression, a momentary illusive form, and a form produced by meditation. The five faculties and the Six modes of sense have a very close relationship. First, eye is now in contact with forms (rupa). Second, ear is now in contact with sound. Third, nose is now in conatct with smell. Fourth, tongue is now in contact with taste. Fifth, body is now in contact with touching.
590. Fifty-One Mental States That Are Interactive With the Mind
According to the Kosa Sastra, there are one hundred divisions of all mental qualities and their agents of the Consciousness-Only School, or five groups of one hundred modes or things. Fifty-one mental states are divided into six parts. Part One is the five universally interactive mental states (sarvatraga). The first mental state is the attention (manaskara) or paying attention on something. The second mental state is the contact (sparsha), which means after paying attention on something, one has a tendency to want to come in contact with it. The third mental state is the feeling (vedana), which means once contact is established, feeling arises. The fourth mental state is the conceptualization (samjna), which means once feeling arises, conceptualization occurs. The fifth mental state is the deliberation (cetana), which means once there is “conceptualization,” then “deliberation” sets in. Part Two is the five particular states (viniyata). The sixth mental state is the desire (chanda). Desire means to want for something. The seventh mental state is the resolution (adhimoksha). Resolution means supreme understanding without any doubt at all. The eighth mental state is the recollection (smriti). Recollection means remembering clearly. The ninth mental state is the concentration (samadhi). Concentration means exclusively pay attention to something. The tenth mental state is the judgment (prajna). Judgment means ability to judge which average person possesses. Part Three is the eleven wholesome states (kushala). The eleventh mental state is the faith (shraddha). Faith means to have a sense of belief or an attitude of faith. The twelfth mental state is the vigor (virya). Once one has faith, one should put it into action with vigor. The thirteenth mental state is the shame (hri). Shame also means “Repentance.” The fourteenth mental state is the remorse or embarrassment (apatraya). The fifteenth mental state is the sbsence of greed (alobha). The sixteenth mental state is the absence of anger (advesha). The seventeenth mental state is the absence of ignorance (amoha). The eighteenth mental state is the light ease (prashraddhi). Light ease, an initial expedient in the cultivation of Zen. Before samadhi is actually achieved, one experiences “light-ease.” The nineteenth mental state is the non-laxness (apramada) or to follow the rules. The twentieth mental state is the renunciation (upeksha). Renunciation means not to grasp on the past, but to renounce everything within the activity skhandha which is not in accord with the rules. The twenty-first mental state is the non-harming (ahimsa), which means not harming any living beings. Part Four is the six fundamental afflictions (klesha). The twenty-second mental state is the greed (raga). Greed for wealth, sex, fame, food, sleep or greed for forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and objects of touch. The twenty-third mental state is the anger (pratigha). Not obtaining what one is greedy for leads to anger. The twenty-fourth mental state is the ignorance (moha). Once anger arises, one has nothing but “ignorance.” The twenty-fifth mental state is the arrogance (mana). Arrogance means pride and conceit which causes one to look down on others. The twenty-sixth mental state is the doubt (vicikitsa). Cannot believe or make up one’s mind on something. The twenty-seventh mental state is the improper views (drishti). Part Five is the twenty Derivative Afflictions (upaklesha). Derivative Afflictions include ten minor grade afflictions, two intermediate grade afflictions, and eight major grade afflictions. Ten minor grade afflictions include wrath, hatred, covering, rage, deceit, conceit, harming, flattery, jealousy, and stinginess. The twenty-eighth mental state is the wrath (krodha). Wrath which comes sudenly and is a combination of anger and hatred. The twenty-ninth mental state is the hatred (upanaha). Hatred happens when one represses the emotional feelings deep inside. The thirtieth mental state is the rage (pradasa). Rage, of which the emotional reaction is much more severe than hatred. The thirty-first mental state is the hiding (mraksha). Hiding means covering or concealing something inside. The thirty-second mental state is the deceit (maya). Deceit means false kindness or phone intention. The thirty-third mental state is the flattery (shathya). The thirty-fourth mental state is the conceit (mada). Conceit means to think high of self and low of others. The thirty-fifth mental state is the harming (vihimsa). Harming means to want to harm other people. The thirty-sixth mental state is the jealousy (irshya). Jealousy means to become envious of the who surpass us in one way or other. The thirty-seventh mental state is the stinginess (matsarya). One is tight about one’s wealth, not wishing to share it with others. Two intermediate grade afflictions include lack of shame and lack of remorse. The thirty-eighth mental state is the lack of shame (ahrikya). Lack of shame means to do wrong, but always feel self-righteous. The thirty-ninth mental state is the lack of remorse (anapatrapya). Lack of remorse means never examine to see if one is up to the standards of others. Eight major grade afflictions include lack of faith, laziness, laxiness, torpor, restlessness, distraction, improper knowledge and scatteredness. The fortieth mental state is the lack of faith (ashraddhya). Lack of faith means not trust or believe in anyone, not to believe in the truth. The forty-first mental state is the laziness (kausidya). Laziness means not to try to eliminate unwholesome deeds and to perform good deeds. The forty-second mental state is the laxiness (pramada). Laxiness means not to let the body and mind to follow the rules but does whatever one pleases. The forty-third mental state is the torpor (styana). Torpor means to feel obscure in mind or to fall asleep in the process. The forty-fourth mental state is the restlessness (auddhatya). One is agitated and cannot keep still. The forty-fifth mental state is the distraction (mushitasmriti). Distraction means to lose proper mindfulness. The forty-sixth mental state is the improper knowledge (asamprajanya). One become obssesses with defilement. The forty-seventh mental state is the scatteredness (wikshepa). Part Six is the four unfixed mental states (aniyata). The forty-eighth mental state is the falling asleep to obscure the mind (middha). The forty-ninth mental state is the regret (kaudritya) or repent for wrong doings in the past. The fiftieth mental state is the investigation (vitarka means to cause the mind unstable). The fifty-first mental state is the correct Examination (vicara means to pacify the mind).
591. Eight Perceptions
According to The Mahayana Awakening of Faith, there are eight perceptions: seeing (caksur-vijnana) or sight consciouness, hearing (srotra-vijnana) or hearing consciousness, smelling (ghrana-vijnana) or scent consciousness, tasting (jihva-vijnana) or taste consciousness, touching (kaya-vijnana) or touch consciousness, thinking consciousness (mano-vijnana), and the discriminating and constructive sense (klista-mano-vijnana). Among them, mind or mano consciousness (the mental sense or intellect, mentality, or apprehension) or the thinking consciousness that coordinates the perceptions of the sense organs.The discriminating and constructive sense. It is more than the intellectually perceptive. It is the cause of all egoism (it creates the illusion of a subject “I” standing apart from the object world) and individualizing of men and things (all illusion arising from assuming the seeming as the real). The self-conscious defiled mind, which thinks, wills, and is the principal factor in the generation of subjectivity. It is a conveyor of the seed-essence of sensory experiences to the eighth level of subconsciousness. The storehouse consciousness or basis from which come all seeds of consciousness or from which it responds to causes and conditions, specific seeds are reconveyed by Manas to the six senses, precipitating new actions, which in turn produce other seeds. This process is simultaneous and endless. According to The Lankavatara Sutra, this system of the five sense-vijnanas is in union with Manovijnana and this muatuality makes the system distinguish between what is good and what is not good. Manovijnana in union with the five sense-vijnanas grasps forms and appearances in their multitudinous apsect; and there is not a moment’s cessation of activity. This is called the momentary character of the Vijnanas. This system of vijnanas is stirred uninterruptedly and all the time like the waves of the great ocean. Also known as Alayavijnana. In the Lankavatara Sutra, the Buddha told Mahamati: “Oh Mahamati! The Tathagata-garbha contains in itself causes alike good and not-good, and from which are generated all paths of existence. It is like an actor playing different characters without harboring any thought of ‘me and mine.’” Alaya means all-conserving. It is in company with the seven Vijnanas which are generated in the dwelling-house of ignorance. The function of Alayavijnana is to look into itself where all the memory (vasana) og the beginningless past is preserved in a way beyond consciousness (acintya) and ready for further evolution (parinama); but it has no active energy in itself; it never acts, it simply perceives, it is in this exactly like a mirror; it is again like the ocean, perfectly smooth with no waves disturbing its tranquillity; and it is pure and undefiled, which means that it is free from the dualism of subject and object. For it is the pure act of perceiving, with no differentiation yet of the knowing one and the known. Mana is the waves that are seen ruffling the surface of the ocean of Alayavijnana when the principle of individuation known as Vishaya blows over it like the wind. The waves thus started are this world of particulars where the intellect discriminates, the affection clings, and passions and desires struggle for existence and supremacy. This particularizing agency sits within the system of Vijnanas and is known as Manas; in fact it is when Manas begins to operate that a system of the Vijnanas manifests itself. They are thus called “object-discriminating-vijnana” (vastu-prativikalpa-vijnana). The function of Manas is essentially to reflect upon the Alaya and to creat and to discriminate subject and object from the pure oceans of the Alaya. The memory accumulated (ciyate) in the latter is now divided into dualities of all forms and all kinds. This is compared to the manifoldness of waves that stir up the ocean of Alaya. Manas is an evil spirit in one sense and a good one in another, for discrimination in itself is not evil, is not necessarily always false judgment (abhuta-parikalpa) or wrong reasoning (prapanca-daushthulya). But it grows to be the source of great calamity when it creates desires based upon its wrong judgments, such as when it believes in the reality of an ego-substance and becomes attached to it as the ultimate truth. For manas is not only a discriminating intelligence, but a willing agency, and consequently an actor. The function of Manovijnana is by hypothesis to reflect on Manas, as the eye-vijnana reflects on the world of forms and the ear-vijnana on that of sounds; but in fact as soon as Manas evolves the dualism of subject and object out of the absolute unity of the Alaya, Manovijnana and indeed all the other Vijnanas begin to operate. Thus, in the Lankavatara Sutra, the Buddha said: “Buddhist Nirvana consists in turning away from the wrongfully discriminating Manovijnana. For with Manovijnana as cause (hetu) and support (alambana), there takes place the evolution of the seven Vijnanas. Further, when Manovijnana discerns and clings to an external world of particulars, all kinds of habit-energy (vasana) are generated therefrom, and by them the Alaya is nurtured. Together with the thought of “me and mine,” taking hold of it and clinging to it, and reflecting upon it, Manas thereby takes shape and is evolved. In substance (sarira), however, Manas and Manovijnana are not differentthe one from the other, they depend upon the Alaya as cause and support. And when an external world is tenaciously held as real which is no other than the presentation of one’s own mind, the mentation-system (citta-kalapa), mutually related, is evolved in its totality. Like the ocean waves, the Vijnanas set in motion by the wind of an external world which is the manifestation of one’s own mind, rise and cease. Therefore, the seven Vijnanas cease with the cessation of Manovijnana.”
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What Buddhists
