Find out what you're thinking
Cultivation is not in other things, but in cultivating the mind. If you want to cultivate your mind, you have to understand your thoughts. Only when we understand our thoughts can we find our minds through them. After finding the nature of the mind, we know how to cultivate the mind.
Just as if you want to find water, you must first find and understand the water waves. Because water is formless, while waves are phased. It is only through the phases of water waves that we can recognize the aqueous nature of phases. There is no other way.
What do thoughts look like?
According to Ma Ming Bodhisattva's "Mahayana Theory of Belief", there are four aspects of thought, the so-called:
(1) The appearance of life, that is, the appearance of the mind that has just arisen, is often born suddenly in the realm of the realm, or suddenly born alone, which is the initial ignorance of the mind;
(2) Dwelling is the continuous phase of thoughts, which is characterized by subtle distinctions and attachments;
(3) Heterogeneity, that is, the change of thought, that is, from the dwelling phase of one thought, followed by the change to the next thought, along a theme, derived from a series of closely related thoughts, one after the other, one after the other, the length of time is uncertain, it is characterized by deeper and deeper attachment, and produces a relatively coarse desire to love, hate, take, and give;
(4) The extinction phase is the phase of the elimination of thoughts, and the thoughts of this series have finally ended.
In order to have a clear understanding of the four aspects of thought, let's analyze it through a typical scenario in our daily life.
For example, a person, such as a man, walking on a secluded path, when he turned a corner, he suddenly saw another person appear in front of him more than ten meters away. As a result, he will have a series of thoughts, and he will have the four aspects of birth, dwelling, alienation, and destruction.
What is the origin of this series of thoughts?
When he "sees" that person at the first moment, and doesn't even know that the other party is a person, the moment the other person's image "appears", the idea has already arisen. And the extremely short process of the other party's image from nothing is the birth of thoughts.
Obviously, the birth of this thought (i.e., the initial ignorance of the mind) is almost impossible to observe. You might as well put it aside for a moment and we'll talk about it later.
What is the dwelling of this series of thoughts?
When he saw the other party and knew that the other party was a person, he entered the edge of the residence.
And when he confirms that the other party is a person - this is the residence of the first thought. At this time, there is already a distinction and attachment to people.
What is the out-of-phase of this series of thoughts?
When he confirms that the other party is a person, he usually won't stop there, driven by habits. His first thought will not wait for it to be extinguished, it will change immediately, and if he looks closely, he will see who the other party really is—this is the out-of-phase of the thought—and from then on he will enter the second thought.
When he finally confirmed, oh, that it was a woman, it was already the second thought of the change.
The average man still doesn't stop there, he doesn't wait for the second thought to disappear, he will continue to change under the impetus of habit, and then look closely, is this woman pretty—this is the disappearance of the second thought—and from then on will enter the third thought.
When he finally confirmed, oh, that the other party was a young woman—this was already the third thought of the residence after the change.
······
In this way, he will continue to change a series of thoughts, such as:
The fourth thought: Ah, it's really fate to meet beautiful women on the road! - Fifth thought: It's worth it to be with her! - Sixth thought: How do I greet her? - The seventh thought: Will she reject me? - blah blah blah.
In the constant change of thoughts, the attachment is getting deeper and deeper, and there is love or hate, there is the "taking" that you want to get, or the "giving" that you want to refuse. Regardless of whether you act on it or not, you already have the so-called "karma" here, and you will be rewarded with it in the future.
What is the extinction of this series of thoughts?
When the man finally came to his senses: Oh - I am a student of Buddhism, how can I have such nonsense! What a shame!
- This is the extinction of some of the previous thoughts, which have been replaced by another new thought, and it has finally ended.
Once we have a general understanding of the state of our thoughts, we can begin to practice. That is, to learn to observe the thoughts of the present moment, so that one's mind can move step by step towards enlightenment, and eventually return to full awareness.
As for the meaning and level of "enlightenment", Ma Ming Bodhisattva made it very clear in the "Theory of Belief", and the general situation is as follows:
1. The enlightenment of ordinary practitioners
For ordinary ordinary cultivators, it is only after they have developed one or a series of delusions of greed, hatred, and ignorance that they become aware of: Oh, I shouldn't have these evil thoughts! As a result, he will no longer continue to have negative thoughts and delusions, and he will not initiate negative karma of his body and language.
- Compared to ordinary people in the world, this is already very good, and his morals and character can be called noble.
This is the case with the man in the previous scene, although he encounters beautiful women along the way, and he has a heart of climbing, attachment and desire, but he is still able to perceive it in time, and does not initiate the vulgar negative karma of body and language. In today's era, it's still commendable.
However, Ma Ming Bodhisattva concludes:
"Although the name is restored, it is not perceived."
- In this way, when the delusional distracting thoughts of greed, hatred, and naivety have come to an end after they have gone through birth, dwelling, alienation, and extinction, they cannot be called enlightenment from the perspective of true practice, because the karma of evil thoughts (desires) has been created—it has accumulated the habits of greed—it belongs to the segmented birth and death within the Three Realms.
2. The enlightenment of the three sages and bodhisattvas
The so-called three virtuous bodhisattvas refer to the practitioners in the ten dwellings, the ten elements, and the ten dedications. From the beginning of the residence, that is, the initial heart residence, there are a total of thirty positions, which are explained in detail in the "Lengyan Sutra" and the "Huayan Sutra".
The bodhisattvas who live in the throne have been enlightened and have no life to endure and see the Dharma nature in a similar way. The so-called dharma-nature is the mind-nature, the Buddha-nature, the consciousness, the Mahayana emptiness, the perfect awareness. The bodhisattvas who resided at the beginning of their reign were able to attain the position of non-retreat among the three non-retreats of the bodhisattvas because of their similarity to seeing the Dharma-nature, that is, they would no longer degenerate into the realm of ordinary ordinary people.
For the bodhisattvas of the Three Wise Ranks, they are able to realize the disappearance of their thoughts. That is to say, when the thought changes from the residence, they immediately notice it - and the thought naturally ends. As a result, they seldom create the karma of life and death within the Three Realms.
The same is true of the two-vehicle people (arhats and Buddhas), who are about the same level of enlightenment as the bodhisattvas of the three sages. Moreover, they can do it without creating karma of life and death in the Three Realms at all. However, their wisdom is usually inferior to that of the bodhisattvas of the Three Wise Ranks, because they do not have a large mind.
In the previous scene, if this man is a bodhisattva of the Three Sages, after he sees that the other person is a person, he will have a subtle attachment - this is the dwelling appearance of thoughts. But he doesn't continue to have the idea of deliberately observing whether the other person is male or female—that is, he has almost no thoughts of disappearance. At the same time, the thought came to an abrupt halt—and naturally returned to the unmoving clarity of mind.
In this kind of clarity of mind, of course, he clearly observed the other party's gender, appearance, approximate age, etc., and also knew that the other party was a beautiful woman, and he still had more or less distinctions and attachments to these. However, this kind of attachment is relatively weak, and it will only occur until the dwelling state of the thought, which is not enough to push his mind to produce subsequent strong attachments and desires, let alone vulgar and contrived oral and physical karma.
- It must be noted that the bodhisattvas who have not yet attained enlightenment are usually not able to achieve such perfection, and they need to further train their minds - Zen Buddhism calls this "cattle herding". That is to say, the understanding of the principles of the Dharma nature has been relatively thorough, but the journey of the mind has not yet reached home. Therefore, it can only be called similarity. Or, some people call it "enlightenment." But the first bodhisattvas are indeed enlightened, and they can understand their natural awareness without thinking about it right now, but this understanding is not yet completely continuous—and this will not be possible until the first bodhisattva.
It should also be noted that the bodhisattvas of the first residence already possessed special wisdom merits, which are widely praised in the Huayan Sutra, and they are true Buddhas, "who have heard the Dharma, that is, they are self-liberating, and they are not taught by others"; Kanneng abbot of the Dharma, "Praise for staying away from the cycle of birth and death, and making a place of refuge for suffering sentient beings." The Lengyan Sutra even calls it "the establishment of the Holy Throne" - they have already embarked on the "True Bodhi Path".
3. The enlightenment of the Dharmakaya Bodhisattva above the first ground
The so-called Dharmakaya Bodhisattva refers to the eleven positions from the first ground to the ten places, plus the Bodhisattvas of equal enlightenment.
The bodhisattvas of the first place have truly seen the Buddha nature and attained the Dharmakaya, so they are called "Dharmakaya Masters" – they are what Zen Buddhism says, the true Buddhahood of seeing nature.
Although in the scriptures, the bodhisattvas of the first place are called the Mahayana path, the bodhisattvas from the second to the seventh place are called the monastic path, and the bodhisattvas above the eight places are called the non-monastic or enlightened paths. Actually, primordial bodhisattvas can also be called "enlightened" – because they have already attained the Dharmakaya. And because the Dharmakaya is the Dharma realm, they can also be called "Buddhas" – true enlightened beings.
According to the texts of the Tiantai sect and related Buddhist scriptures, if the causes are ripe, the primordial bodhisattva can even manifest the attainment of supreme enlightenment in a hundred worlds and manifest himself as a Buddha.
- Obviously, there is no fault in calling them Buddhas.
For example, Nagarjuna, in his lifetime, according to records, only attained the first ground. And the merit and wisdom he showed was almost like that of the Buddha.
It took Nagarjuna only 90 days to learn all the Buddhist scriptures in the world, and he was completely proficient - he even felt that this was nothing remarkable, and that it was far from the true wisdom in his heart.
So, he was ready to stop being a disciple of the Buddha – he was going to be a new Buddha – he was going to be the master!
At this time, the Dragon King Bodhisattva appeared, and he invited Nagarjuna to the Dragon Palace, and asked him to read all the Buddhist scriptures that were not available in the world—Nagarjuna was stunned—and he studied day and night. However, the more he learned, the more he realized that he would never finish learning! And the infinite wisdom that he was proud of has been displayed in the Buddhist scriptures - there is nothing to be proud of anymore.
So, Nagarjuna once again reverently became a disciple of the Buddha. Later, he also became the patriarch of the Zen Buddhism. Not only that, but almost any sect of Buddhism reveres Nagarjuna as its patriarch.
After Nagarjuna attained the primordial ground, when he was preaching, he often showed an incredible transformation—his color and body were gone, and in its place was a round light—like a bright moon. This is what is recorded in the biography as the "Present Moon Cycle Theory".
- The bodhisattvas of the first land already have such incredible merits, no wonder they are also called Buddhas.
The bodhisattvas above the primordial ground are fully equipped with the three non-retreats of the bodhisattvas, the so-called non-retreat of position, non-retreat of action, and non-retreat of mind. They don't retreat into ordinary people, they don't retreat from the bodhisattva behavior of benefiting all sentient beings, and they don't retreat from mindfulness, which corresponds to the Dharma-nature, and there is no difference.
For bodhisattvas above the primordial ground, they are able to realize the dwelling form of their thoughts – that is, the thoughts in their hearts are no longer dwelling, and they are far from the cause of separation and attachment. This does not mean that they will no longer have thoughts, but that in the minds of the bodhisattvas of the first earth, the thoughts that arise are only the clear thoughts of the present moment, and do not develop into continuous distinctions.
If there is any deficiency of the Dharmakaya bodhisattvas above the primordial ground, it is that they still have thoughts and subtle understandings – this is ignorance. As the Lengyan Sutra says:
"Knowing and seeing is knowing, that is, there is no ignorance; Knowing what you don't see, you are nirvana. ”
In the course of future practice, from the beginning to the time of enlightenment, the Dharmakaya Bodhisattva will gradually break through ignorance and gradually complete the Dharmakaya until he finally becomes a Buddha.
In the previous scene, if the man is a bodhisattva above the primordial ground, he will naturally move in the light of mindfulness. As soon as the person on the other side catches his eye, he will have a clear thought - this is the appearance of the thought, nothing more. Through this understanding, he "knows" the other person's situation in all aspects, but he will no longer have the subsequent successive distinctions and attachments.
However, since an idea has already been generated, it is often more than just a thought, just like a stone falling into the water, it will naturally make a few ripples. The Sixth Patriarch couldn't have said it more clearly:
"Huineng has no tricks, and he keeps thinking;
Counting the state of mind, how long is Bodhi? ”
- "Count the state of mind", that is, corresponding to the realm, naturally moved a few thoughts. However, among these naturally arising thoughts, they only have the appearance of life, and do not develop into the form of dwelling, nor do they produce attachment. This is the mind of the bodhisattvas above the primordial ground.
As a result of this pure mind, the bodhisattvas above the primordial ground gradually manifested their Dharmakaya, pure wisdom took place, and incredible supernatural powers were gradually revealed. In the Theory of Initiation, it is called "the state of wisdom and purity" and "the inconceivable karmic phase" - and it will continue to increase and never stop.
4. The Buddha's enlightenment
The so-called Buddha refers to the fully enlightened person after the bodhisattva land has been exhausted.
When the samadhi contemplation is extremely deep, when the causes and conditions are in place, as the Theory of Belief says:
"A thought corresponds, the heart is at the beginning, and the heart has no initial phase. To stay away from the subtle thoughts, you can see the nature of the heart. The heart is the abiding place, and the name is the ultimate enlightenment. ”
Obviously, the enlightened Buddha completely dissolved his thoughts in his last thought. Following this thought, we return to the source of our true mind. The consummation of the mind was revealed, and Lang Ran felt that it was present.
At this time, the mind is the abiding and unchanging Dharmakaya, in which everything manifests and dies illusory. The Dharmakaya, on the other hand, has not changed at all.
As the ultimate enlightened being, the Buddha no longer had any disturbing thoughts, and even the appearance of the thoughts was enlightened – that is, in the immovable mind, when thoughts were about to arise – and the thoughts did not arise at all.
- It's really incredible, all the wisdom, all the magic powers, and so on, are naturally sufficient, and they appear as they happen, and the Buddha didn't have the slightest thought.
The list of Buddha's enlightenments is endless, as detailed in the Mahayana texts.
From the "enlightenment" of ordinary practitioners, to the enlightenment of the bodhisattvas of the three sages, to the enlightenment of the bodhisattvas above the primordial ground, and even to the enlightenment of the final Buddha, it is inseparable from the understanding of the mind and the observation and cultivation of the mind on this basis.
After understanding the thoughts, the practitioner can gradually go deep into the mind and become aware of the extinction of the thoughts – so that the delusions will not continue one by one, and the negative karma of the body and language will be stopped in time. Then be aware of the disappearance of your thoughts—so that you will not have heavy attachments and feelings, and you will rarely create the karma of birth and death within the Three Realms; Then become aware of the dwelling state of the mind – in this way there will be no continuous distinction, the attachment will naturally be extinguished, and the mind will be able to leave the Three Realms of birth and death, and the mind will be integrated into the pure Dharmakaya; Finally, the mind becomes aware of the state of life – so that there is no change in life and death, all the subtle thoughts have been dissolved, and the practitioner becomes a full-fledged Buddha.
If you understand your thoughts, you will practice in a down-to-earth manner.
- I wish it to be so, and I wish it to all living beings.
