34) Opening up the Mind

As common mortals, by necessity we remain within the cycle of afflictions, subject to its delusive imperatives. Many times we cannot control ourselves. "Afflictions" means "being stirred up and burning," which is unsettling to mind and thought, an obstacle to the practice of the Way. For this reason, afflictions are considered obstructive. Moreover, as our Wisdom-Life Dharma-Body is disturbed by afflictions, they are also termed "demonic."

Some Buddhists keep the precepts against killing, practice charity, and recite the sutras and the Buddha's name; however, they concentrate mainly on the external aspects of worship and do not pay attention to eliminating delusive conditioning and afflictions. We should realize that if afflictions increase by one notch, the Bodhi Mind retrogresses by one notch; therefore, although we may recite the sutras and the Buddha's name, we cannot achieve calmness and purity. For this reason, the Sixth Patriarch, Hui Neng, stated in the Platform Sutra:

The deluded cultivate merit and forget about the Way, 
Thinking that cultivating merit is the Way; 
They practice charity and make offerings, gathering immense merit, 
While continually creating greed, anger and delusion.[45]

The word "Way," as used by the Sixth Patriarch, represents the pure True Mind. All methods of practice are expedients to return to that TrueMind. To attain the True Mind is to recover the Self-Nature and escape the sufferings of Birth and Death. The basic criterion for practice and attainment of the Way is to get rid of delusive thoughts and afflictions.

In the Sutra in Forty-Two Sections, Buddha Sakyamuni also taught:

A novice who practices the way should not be like a buffalo pulling a rotating grain mill; he should practice the Way not with his body, but with his mind. If the Way of the mind is cultivated, where is the need to cultivate the body?[46]

Reciting the Buddha's name, engaging in acts of repentance, sitting m meditation worshipping and circumambulating are all expedients to eliminate delusive karma and open up the True Mind. If the body and mouth practice these external forms of cultivation but the mind is still full of the karma of greed, hatred and delusion, how can this be called practicing the Way?

On the other hand, even if a person does not engage in these external forms, as long as his mind is always clear and bright, "like the moon reflected in a lake in summertime,' this is true practice.

A king once asked the twenty-seventh Indian Patriarch of Zen, "Other cultivators all recite the sutras; why is it that you do not?"

The Patriarch replied, "This humble monk, when exhaling, is not in contact with mundane conditions, and when inhaling, does not dwell in the 'conditioned world' of the Five Skandas. He has recited that sutra over and over millions of times."

The Patriarch meant that he habitually recited the "Wordless Sutra of the Mind."[47] This "sutra" means, externally not relying on or clinging to the multitude of conditions and,internally, remaining silent and still, unperturbed by the Five Skandas (Aggregates) and the Eighteen Elements. Even all marks, internal, external and in-between, are eliminated forever. This is the meaning of "mind cultivation."

Nevertheless, we should not be so attached to the above that we reject vegetarianism, charity, repentance, Buddha and sutra recitation. This is because all of these practices, from the standpoint of wisdom, help the practitioner swiftly eliminate karmic obstacles and become enlightened to his Self-Nature; from the standpoint of blessings and merit, they enable him to attain favorable karma and rebirth in auspicious lands or the Western Pure Land, where he may pursue his practice without retrogression. Only when he has perfected both merit and wisdom can he achieve Buddhahood.

For this reason, the great Bodhisattvas, completely enlightened as they are to the source of the mind, still practice the ten thousand merits to adorn the pure lands. For example, even though the Bodhisattva Maitreya is in his last rebirth before Buddhahood, he still practices repentance continually to rid himself of subtle obstacles and swiftly achieve Supreme Enlightenment. We should realize that the teaching in the Sutra in Forty-Two Sections and the words of the twenty-seventh Zen Patriarch are deliberately one-sided in character, partial examples designed to eliminate attachment to form -- that is, cultivation bereft of the mind.

In summary, in addition to reciting the Buddha's name, mantras and sutras and conducting repentance ceremonies, the Pure Land cultivator should also devote attention to "opening up the mind." For the mind to be awakened, so that Buddha Recitation can lead to swift rebirth in the Pure Land, he must rid himself of afflictions.

Going deeper, while uttering the Buddha's name is "form," it is also "essence," because noumenon does not exist outside of phenomena -- to recite is Buddha, to recite is Mind.That is why merit and wisdom are fully encompassed in the sacred words "Amitabha Buddha," perfectly fusing noumenon and phenomena, and swiftly leading the practitioner both to the state of Perfectly Enlightened Wondrous Mind and to the pure karma of rebirth in the realm of Amitabha Buddha.

35) How to Combat and Subdue Lust and Desire

Afflictions stemming from greed, while numerous, are all included within the defilements of the "five desires" and the "six Dusts." From the root of greed stem other evil afflictions, such as stinginess, envy, hate, fraud, deceit ... known as secondary afflictions. The "five desires" refers to the five defilements, that is, the desire for beautiful forms (sexual desire ...), wealth and money, fame and power, exquisite food and elegant attire, [excessive] rest and sleep.[48] The "six Dusts" are form, sound, scent, taste, touch and dharmas [i.e., external opinions and views].

The six Dusts encompass the five desires; however, the term "five desires was created as a separate expression to stress the five heavy defilements of human beings in the realm of the "six Dusts." The concept "six Dusts" is used when speaking in general, while the expression "five desires" refers to specific afflictions. I employ the term "six Dusts" here to cover other defilements not included in the five desires, such as excessive fondness for music and songs as well as infatuation with romances, novels, etc ...

When the five desires and six Dusts flare up, the general way to counteract them is through skillful visualization of four truths: Impurity, Suffering, Impermanence, and No-Self.

1. Impurity

This means that the body is impure, the mind is impure and the realm is impure. Impurity of the body means that we should reflect on the fact that beneath the covering layers of skin, our bodies and those of others are composed entirely of filthy, smelly substances such as meat, bones, blood, pus, phlegm, saliva, excrement, urine, etc. Not only that, body fluids are excreted through nine apertures (mouth, ears, nose, anus, etc.). If we stop to think carefully, the physical body of sentient beings is hardly worth cherishing.

Impurity of the mind means that once the mind develops thoughts of greed, it has already become evil and defiled, not unlike a limpid pond that has been polluted with dirt and sludge. The dirty pond cannot reflect the images of trees, mountains, sky, clouds; likewise, a polluted mind has lost all spiritual powers and wisdom. Thus, we have the saying:

One who knows how to cultivate does not waste his efforts; peaceful, still mind will bring spiritual powers and wisdom.

Those who are determined to tread the Way should endeavor gradually to sever the mind of afflictions, polluted by greed in its gross and subtle aspects.

The impure realm is the world of the Five Turbidities, full of dirt and mud, rocks and stones, spikes and thorns, which harbors countless sentient beings defiled in body and mind. Therefore, this impure world is not worth craving or clinging to.

2. Suffering

This refers to the fact that the body undergoes suffering, the mind endures suffering and the environment is one of suffering. The suffering of the body means that our body is not only impure, it is subject to birth, old age, disease and death, as well as to heat and cold, hunger and thirst and other hardships that cause us to suffer, preventing us from being free and happy.[49]

The suffering of the mind means that when the mind is afflicted, it is necessarily consumed by the fire of afflictions, bound by the ropes of afflictions, struck, pursued and ordered about by the whip of afflictions, defiled and obscured by the smoke and dust of afflictions. Thus, whoever develops afflictions is lacking in wisdom, because the first person he has caused to suffer is himself.

The suffering of the environment means that this earth is subject to the vagaries of the weather, scorching heat, frigid cold and pouring rain, while sentient beings must toil and suffer day in and day out to earn a living. Tragedies occur every day, before our very eyes.

3. Impermanence

This means impermanence of the body, the mind and the environment. Impermanence of the body means that the body withers rapidly, soon grows old and debilitated, ending in death. The ancients have lamented:

Oh, that time when we were young and would ride bamboo sticks, pretending they were horses, In the twinkling of an eye, our hair is now spotted with the color of frost.

What happened to all those brave and intelligent young men and those beautiful and enchanting women of bygone days? They ended as in the following poem:

Rosy cheeks have faded, heroes have passed away, Young students' eyes, too, are weary and sad.

Impermanence of the mind means that the mind and thoughts of sentient beings are always changing -- at times filled with love or anger, at times happy or sad. Those thoughts, upon close scrutiny, are illusory and false, like water bubbles.

Impermanence of the environment means that not only do our surroundings always change and fluctuate, but happiness, too, is impermanent. Succulent food, once swallowed, loses all taste; an emotional reunion, however sweet and joyful, ultimately ends in separation; a delightful party soon becomes a thing of the past; a good book, too, gradually reaches the last page.[50]

4. No-Self

This means that there is no self, no permanent nature per se and that we are not true masters of ourselves. This point, too, is divided into the no-self body, the no-self mind and the no-self environment.

The "no-self body" means that this body is illusory, not its own master.[51] It cannot be kept eternally young or prevented from decaying and dying. Even gods and "Immortals" can only postpone death for a certain period of time.

The "no-self mind" refers to the deluded mind of sentient beings, which has no permanent nature. For example, the mind of greed, thoughts of sadness, anger, love and happiness suddenly arise and then disappear; there is nothing real.

The "no-self environment" means that our surroundings are illusory, passive and subject to birth and decay. Cities and towns are in time replaced by abandoned mounds, mulberry fields soon give way to the open seas, every single thing changes and fluctuates by the second, one landscape disappears and another takes its place.

Visualizing that everything, from body and mind to the environment, is impure, subject to suffering, impermanent and without self, the practitioner can rid himself of the mind of greed. Sentient beings, lacking wisdom, always live upside down; they mistake the impure for the pure, suffering for happiness, impermanence for permanence, no-self for self.[52]They then develop delusions and become degraded and defiled. Therefore, Buddha Sakyamuni taught sentient beings the Four Truths, to sever their delusions.

For example, the human excrement that we consider fetid and dirty is regarded as fragrant, clean and succulent by animals such as insects, dogs and pigs -- because of their deluded karma. They therefore compete and struggle to gobble it up. The defiled desires of this world are considered by humans as lovely and clean. However, the gods and Immortals see them as foul-smelling, dirty and unclean, not unlike the way human beings regard dogs and pigs eating filthy substances. The various desires of sentient beings, defiled and upside down, are generally thus. The practitioner should strive gradually to destroy them.

36) How to Subdue Greed in its Subtle Form

As indicated briefly above, the five desires in their gross forms are easy to detect. The practitioner should, additionally, pay attention to the deep-seated, subtle manifestations of greed. For example, a hundred thousand dollars might not necessarily excite a person's greed, but an amount in the millions could move his mind; ordinary beauty can easily be resisted but heavenly charm has the power to lure people down the path of transgression. Even monks and nuns can be infatuated with exquisitely carved rosaries, beautiful statues or auspicious, peaceful realms; these too are in the category of defiled greed. We should see them as expedients, illusory causes and conditions, and not develop defiled greed. To shed light on this state of mind, I shall cite three stories, as examples ranging from the gross to the subtle.

Once upon a time there was an official who was well-known for his honesty. He would sternly reprimand those who attempted to bribe him with money and gold. One day, however, a rich and powerful person, seeking the resolution of a private matter, offered him the equivalent of a hundred thousand dollars. The official immediately accepted the bribe. Later on, when a friend asked him why, he replied, "A hundred thousand in cash can sway the gods." Thus, this official could only be honest with small bribes, but could not resist huge ones. This is a case of deep-seated greed.

Another story dates from the Ming dynasty. One day, an Elder Master was conversing with a visiting monk. The guest lamented, "The majority of today's monks and nuns are defiled by the desire for fame and profit." The Master replied, "I notice that you are pure and clean, because thus far you have always rejected fame and profit." When the visiting monk heard this, his face brightened for a fleeting moment. This monk, while disliking ordinary fame, was attached to a lofty reputation. This is a case of profound subtle greed.

There is another story [which forms the basis of a well-known koan]. Once there was a devoted old woman who built a place of retreat for a monk, arranging that he would not lack for anything, so that he could concentrate upon his meditation and practice. One day, after twenty years, she instructed her daughter: "Today, after serving the Master his meal, take advantage of the situation to embrace him tightly, asking him at the same time, 'how does it feel to be hugged these days?' Come back and let me know his answer as faithfully as you can."

The daughter dutifully did as she was told, putting her arms around the Master and asking the question. The Master replied, "I am not moved in the very least by sexual desire, no different from a dried up tree leaning against a cold mass of rocks in the middle of winter, when not even a drop of warmth can be found." The young girl repeated the answer to her mother, who said unhappily, "I have really wasted my time and effort during the last twenty years. Little did I know that I was only supporting a common mortal!" Having said this, she went out, evicted the monk, lit a fire and burned the meditation hut to the ground.

In truth, it is rare enough these days for anyone to cultivate to the level of that monk. As far as the old woman is concerned, she is said to be a Bodhisattva in disguise. Her action of burning down the hut was to "enlighten" the Master. Why is this so? It is because, while not moved by sexual desire, he still saw himself as pure and was still attached to the empty and still aspects of samadhi. Thus, he had not attained true and complete Awakening.[53]

To further clarify the matter, Zen practice requires the cultivator to pass through three "narrow gates." The practitioner who meditates on his koan until he has destroyed "the Great Doubt" [see Glossary under "Zen"], become fully enlightened to the significance of Patriarch Bodhidharma's arrival from the West [i.e., India], and clearly seen his Original Face before birth, has effectively passed the first gate. At this stage, although he has transcended the ordinary mind, deluded from time immemorial, he is still in the realm of subject-object, the realm of opposites of the contemplative mind and has not completely severed forms or transcended feelings. Therefore, while he has reached the state of No-Mind [non-discrimination, non-grasping] in everyday life, he is still separated from the Great Path of Enlightenment by an endless series of doors (degrees of delusion). The ancients have said, in this regard:

Do not say that No-Mind is inherently the True Path, No-Mind is still separated from Buddhahood by an endless series of doors.

Although this Master had reached a fairly high level of attainment, he was still attached to the mark of purity. This is another instance of subtle greed, which the practitioner should sever.[54]

The same is true for the Pure Land practitioner. He should know that all forms and marks are illusory. Even though he may have reached the level of one-pointedness of mind and seen precious lotus blossoms, other auspicious marks, or transformation bodies of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, he should realize that these are merely instances of good causes leading to auspicious results. He should be calm and still and not greedy for them -- nor should he deny their occurrence. Only then will he understand and be awakened to the principle of Truth-like No-Void of the Mind-ground.