Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: A State of Tranquility and Stillness (寂靜無境)
Date: October. 08, 2013
Is your mind serene right now? Only when the mind is calm can the Dharma enter it. The Sutra of Infinite Meanings keeps reminding us that wisdom arises when the mind is serene.
Therefore it states, “His wisdom is serene, His emotions calm and His contemplation focused and tranquil. His thoughts cease, His consciousness extinct, and thus His mind is still.”
This passage also tells us that wisdom can produce a sense of serenity. We all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. We all intrinsically have wisdom. But we are unable to settle our minds. So, there are times when, we understand everything, but there are also times when we are ignorant and cannot comprehend the principles behind people, matters or things. Therefore, to have wisdom requires serenity. Then we can be austere and calm.
So, serene wisdom is the pure and clear wisdom we attain when we are serene. If we remain pure and serene, if our minds are calm and stable, we can clearly understand and discern external phenomena. What does it mean to be serene? “Patience is the way to have wisdom and peace. Wisdom is the way to be decisive and discerning under any condition.” This means that our discerning wisdom makes distinctions between external phenomena. Our impartial wisdom [helps us] see how everything can be equal. Wisdom is need first to discriminate and to clearly discern right from wrong. With wisdom, we can know what is right and what is not. We must insist on [doing] what is right. If something is not right, we must find a way to resolve and deal with it. This takes decisiveness. Some people will say, “We just have to be accommodating”. When we are being accommodating, we also need wisdom to know how to guide others. If we have no wisdom and just blindly accommodate everything, we will indiscriminately do good deeds and cannot distinguish right from wrong.
So, our hearts must be broad, with the wisdom to accommodate everything. However, we must distinguish right from wrong. This takes wisdom. So, we must have discerning and impartial wisdom. Therefore, discerning wisdom is very important and must contain impartial wisdom. So, “His wisdom is serene, His emotions calm and His contemplation focused and tranquil.” Our minds have to be focused and tranquil and able to clearly distinguish right from wrong. When we need to, we must be accommodating for a period of time, and then we can exercise wisdom to deal with the matter. This is how we filter right from wrong. We rely on our wisdom to make choices, to remain steadfast, to find ways to accommodate others and maintain harmony with external phenomena.
“His thoughts cease, consciousness ends, and the mind becomes still.”Thoughts cease, consciousness ends.We know we have a mind, thoughts and consciousness.I often speak of the Buddha-mind.The Buddha-mind should be within the Storehouse Consciousness.Our mind is in our Storehouse Consciousness.So, the Buddha-mind, at its purest, will then be in the ninth consciousness.The Storehouse Consciousness is the eighth.
As I have said, the ninth consciousness is where [the mind] is the purest.The ninth consciousness is Buddha-consciousness.We all intrinsically have it, but we generally use our minds instead.Our minds can contain everything.Earlier, I talked about the seventh and sixth consciousnesses.The sixth consciousness is connected to the Five Roots and Five Dusts [Sense Objects].So, this mind-consciousness connects with external phenomena.Then it creates [actions], contemplates and thinks of way to fight, or grasp, to crave or to be attached.This is all in the seventh consciousness.So, we must have both knowledge and wisdom.So, the “mind” is in the eighth consciousness, “thought” is in the seventh consciousness, “consciousness” is in the sixth consciousness.
Earlier, I said they are all considered mind-consciousnesses and are related to external conditions.It is very important that our minds remain very pure.This is why I talk about the mind every day.Only when the mind is pure can we distinguish the good from the bad among the phenomena that we connect with in external conditions.So, our mind are very important.If we are austere with our passions naturally our minds will become clearer, very pure and undefiled.
Calm emotions: Also called being austere with our passions or austere with our desires, which means having a clear and still mind.
The Sutra of Infinite Meanings begins with “[Their minds]” pure and tranquil, “vows as vast as the endless void”.This is the state of mind that we spiritual practitioners seek .“Focus” means to contemplate, to really concentrate our thinking.“Focused and tranquil contemplation” is to be more focused in our thinking.
Focused and tranquil contemplation is free of desires, free of seeking and free of contrivance.
I have said before that even though Bodhisattvas play effortlessly in this world, they are very focused in their thinking, focused and tranquil in their contemplation.We can also play effortlessly in this world, free of greed and desires, free of anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt.“Contemplation” means to think.Deep thinking can lead to pure and undefiled contemplation.This take great focus.Our minds cannot be scattered.
To concentrate, we must be free of desires, seeking, contrivance.To be free of seeking or contrivance means we do not want to fight for or grasp at anything in the world of physical existence.This way, our minds can truly be austere and pure.
Next, let us speak of “thoughts,” the extinction of thoughts and consciousnesses.
As I just mentioned, thoughts are in the seventh consciousness.In this consciousness, we [must not] allow external phenomena to agitate our minds.We can begin to prevent our seventh consciousness from creating karma of the mind.If the seventh consciousness creates a good thought, we create good karma.If it gives rise to a bad thought, we will create bad karma.So, the karma of the mind can be good or bad.When there is greed, there will be anger.This may lead to negative views.If greed or cravings arise, our right thoughts views, mindfulness and our right path will go off course.
Therefore, we cannot be greedy.A very important part of spiritual practice is eliminating desires.Greed, anger and evil views are negative karma of the mind.I often say, “one deviant thought leads to thousands of mistakes. One small deviation can take us far off course. Deviance means having gone astray. Once we have deviated, we are wrong. If we are off by a little bit, we [create] bad karma. That is why I often say that we must take good care of our minds. If we do good deeds, our minds will often be inclined toward goodness. “Without greed, there is no anger. Without incorrect views, there is only good karma”.Our minds are already calm and still. There will be no passion or cravings that can create ripples in our minds.
If there is no greed, anger, resentment, no deviant views, then all our thoughts are positive. This positive karma will lead to actions. Thus, we are focused on saving others. What are we saving? Minds. We save the minds of others, from their sufferings and deviation. This is why Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to this world. Though they live like sentient beings, they are focused on saving the minds of people.
The Tathagata-garbha does not arise or cease. If we return to our true intrinsic nature, that is the Buddha-mind. Our intrinsic nature is naturally tranquil, still and clear. This is the Buddha's intrinsic state of mind.
The eighth consciousness is the Tathagata-garbha Consciousness, which does not arise or cease. The Buddha-mind is intrinsic, tranquil and pure. Perfect enlightenment does not arise or cease.
We engage in spiritual practice to [become] enlightened beings who cannot bear for sentient beings [to suffer]. Thus, we remain in this world. But, [we need to have] truly pure and simple affection, which is free of defilements. This is how our minds can become pure and clear. Otherwise, our unenlightened affections will lead us to be biased toward this side or that one, to seek and to have endless desires, etc. So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must have very strong resolve.
The Lotus Sutra states,“I recall that in ages past, immeasurable, countless eons ago, there was a Buddha, on honored among people by the name of Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant. This World-Honored One proclaimed the Dharma, saving countless sentient beings and causing countless millions of Bodhisattvas to penetrate the wisdom of Buddhas”.
This is passage reminds us of a previous one, which was a long explanation. From this passage alone we recall that, at that time. Manjusri Bodhisattva gave this long explanation as a response to Maitreya Bodhisattva. So, he talked about what happened a long time ago and everything that has happened since then. It took a very long time for all these Buddhas to attain enlightenment. So, “there was a Buddha, one honored among people”. This did not refer to just one. There were 20,000 at that time. At this time, there was Sakyamuni Buddha. In the future, there will be Maitreya Buddha and many others who will carry on. So, “there was a Buddha”. So, “one honored among people”. They all share the same epithet. One of the Buddha's virtuous epithets was “one honored among people” and was what we call those who have become Buddhas. They have perfected Their virtues. They are the most respected and accomplished among people.
So, when we call Them “Buddhas, we do so with the utmost respect because. Their Buddha-virtues are already perfect. They are very magnificent and extraordinary, so we must respect Them.
There was a Buddha, one honored among people. This is a virtuous epithet of the Buddha. A Buddha is the most venerated and magnificent among all beings.
So he said, “This World-Honored One proclaimed the Dharma, in order to help countless sentient beings.” Teachings given by the World-Honored One were solely to help transform infinite sentient beings, to enable countless beings to penetrate the wisdom of the Buddha. “Penetrating the wisdom of the Buddha refers to [His] intrinsic nature. Every Buddha came to this world to give teachings solely to enable sentient beings to become equal to the Buddha, to reach the state of Buddha-wisdom. [Buddhas come] to lead every person back to their intrinsic nature, their True Suchness. If we can return to our intrinsic Buddha-nature, our knowledge lasts forever and we will clearly comprehend everything. [Our knowledge] of things is then permanent, unlike the impermanent ways of unenlightening beings.
Ordinary people say, “I know, I know.”They know now, but when something new comes along, they are confused again. This does not happen in a Buddha’s state. A Buddha’s understanding lasts forever; He understands everything. Having discovered the true principles, He will not lose them again. He will always maintain this purity, the understanding that true principles will not change. True principles are unchanging. Only in the state of unenlightened beings are there constant changes. If we reach the state of a Buddha, everything will be calm and permanent, unchanging.
Penetrate the wisdom of Buddhas. A Buddha’s wisdom is His true nature. His understanding lasts forever and can penetrate limitless states; such is the Buddha’s wisdom of limitless states.
So, when we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must apply them to our daily living. We must live in the Buddha’s state every day and not let any of it leak away. This leaking is part of impermanence; it prevents us from keeping things in our minds. The minds of unenlightened beings constantly leak out true principles and constantly leak out phenomena. What remains when we allow true principles to leak out? Ignorance and afflictions, and the affinities with sentient beings. Whether we create good or bad affinities with others, we continue to experience impermanence and cyclic existence. We must understand all this. If our minds are not pure, true principles will constantly leak away and what remains ignorance and afflictions. As unenlightened beings, time leaks away and so does life.
This leaking happens over time, as our life grows shorter. Our desire for wealth [causes] things to leak away. But since we engage in spiritual practice, we also attain and can still attain Buddhahood in the future. But it is a pity to let these things leak away. So, we must constantly still our minds and prevent things from leaking away. So, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV - Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
[/b]
首頁 
