The self-nature gives rise to all dharmas
The self-nature gives rise to all dharmas; this is the meaning of wholesome roots, and the self-nature abundantly contains all dharmas. “Root” means foundation, and the foundation is that which gives birth to and nurtures goodness. Here, saying “Root means giving rise” is speaking from the meaning of “bringing forth and fostering growth.”
Reality means seeking the true foundation. The dependent environment is our living environment—mountains, rivers, the earth, and even empty space—all are part of our living environment. Where do these things come from? They manifest from the self-nature. Therefore, what is sought in Buddhism is precisely the realization of the mind and the seeing of one’s true nature. Mind and nature are complete and perfect within every sentient being. It is often said, “In sages, it is not increased; in ordinary beings, it is not diminished.” The self-nature of us ordinary beings has truly not been reduced in the slightest; the self-nature of the Buddhas is not greater than ours in the slightest! From the perspective of self-nature, everything is completely equal: equal in essence, equal in appearance, equal in function. There is nothing unequal. Though equal, there is a difference between delusion and awakening. Apart from delusion and awakening, there is no difference. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas dwell within the Ten Dharma Realms, and we ordinary beings, as well as crawling, flying, and walking creatures, hungry ghosts, and hell beings, also exist within the Ten Dharma Realms. When awakened, one is free and joyful; when deluded, one creates karma and undergoes retribution. The issue arises from delusion or awakening. Buddhist teaching is meant to help us break through delusion and attain awakening. Delusion is the cause of all afflictions and suffering; awakening is the cause of all happiness. As long as one breaks through delusion and attains awakening, one leaves suffering and gains happiness. “Leaving suffering and gaining happiness” refers to the result; breaking through delusion and attaining awakening refers to the cause and conditions. One must work from the level of causes and conditions. Therefore, we understand the true nature of reality: all dharmas arise from the self-nature.
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are awakened. What are they awakened to? The self-nature. Ordinary beings are deluded, and what they are deluded about is also the self-nature. Within the self-nature there is neither delusion nor awakening; delusion and awakening belong to people. We should ask: “What is delusion like? How are Buddhas and Bodhisattvas awakened?”
The Śūraṅgama Sūtra explains the phenomenon of delusion very clearly: “A single thought of unawareness.” Thus we can know that this single thought of unawareness precedes ignorance. Because of one thought of unawareness, ignorance comes into being. From ignorance arise the three subtle appearances. From the three subtle appearances emerge the six coarse appearances. The three subtle and six coarse appearances then develop into the dependent and primary retributions adorned throughout the Ten Dharma Realms. This is how they come into existence.
If we now investigate: Why is there a single thought of unawareness? To tell the truth, unawareness means there is “a thought.” The moment there is a thought, it is called unawareness. Put this way, it is very clear: in the true mind and original nature, there is definitely not a single thought. The moment a thought arises, there is unawareness, and thus delusion. From morning to night, our thoughts arise one after another. Who knows how many false thoughts there are? Even if we want to stop them, we cannot. This is truly troublesome! Why has it become this way? Because that one thought of unawareness in the distant past has, over time, developed into a habit. To put it more bluntly, we have “cultivated the habit of generating false thoughts.” Therefore, false thoughts can never simply be stopped at will. The problem originates here.
If you wish to recover your original face and truly awaken completely, you must eliminate false thoughts entirely. Among false thoughts, the most subtle is called ignorance; those slightly coarser are called dust-and-sand afflictions; coarser still are called views-and-thoughts afflictions. Views-and-thoughts afflictions, dust-and-sand afflictions, and ignorance afflictions are collectively called “false thoughts” or “delusive thinking.” Delusive thinking arises, beginning with the most subtle and gradually becoming the coarsest. The Buddha teaches that if we wish to eliminate false thoughts, we can only begin with the coarsest, then move to the less coarse, then the subtle, and finally the most subtle. Therefore, we must first eliminate the afflictions of views and thoughts.
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Afflictions of Views and Thoughts
What are view afflictions? What are thought afflictions? In modern terms, “views” refers to understanding or perspective. If your view is mistaken, if you see things completely wrong, that is called the delusion of views. Thought delusions are errors in thinking; your thinking is completely mistaken. Thus, once views-and-thoughts afflictions are eliminated, your perspective and thinking regarding the universe and life become correct and free from error. Eliminating thought delusions leads to the attainment of Arhatship.
The ancients practiced with the aim of eliminating views-and-thoughts afflictions. Their purpose was entirely different! They also recited the Buddha’s name, but they did so in order to eliminate false thoughts and attachments, or at least subdue them. That was their purpose. Nowadays, we recite the Buddha’s name hoping that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will bless us with promotions and wealth. It is completely different! Therefore, our accomplishments do not compare with those of the ancients.
“In the Buddha’s gate, every sincere request receives a response.” How does one seek? Why is there always a response? Because the self-nature can generate all phenomena. Therefore, where does one seek in Buddhism? One seeks within one’s own self-nature. It is not something sought externally. Seeking externally will not succeed. If you seek from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas outside yourself, from statues molded from clay or carved from wood, those statues themselves can hardly preserve themselves. How could they bless you? One must seek from within the self-nature. Then indeed, “every sincere request receives a response.”
Internally, one must eliminate afflictions; externally, one must not be seduced or deceived. Only then can our cultivation become effective. The internal afflictions are called the Five Poisons: greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt. Greed, anger, and ignorance are the Three Poisons and must be eradicated. The greatest external temptations and deceptions are wealth, sensuality, fame, and profit. These are the four great demon kings. If every day you remain in the palm of the demon king’s hand, unable to escape, how can you achieve anything? How can you escape the six realms of rebirth? How can you attain rebirth in the Pure Land? Therefore, one must remember: externally, do not be seduced or deceived; internally, eliminate greed, anger, and ignorance. Only then can one recover the self-nature, which can generate all phenomena.
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Cultivating Virtue to Perfect Inherent Virtue
The Sixth Patriarch said: “Who would have thought that the self-nature is originally complete?” “Originally complete” refers to inherent virtue. But for inherent virtue to manifest, cultivated virtue is required. What belongs to cultivated virtue? Purity, equality, and awakening belong to cultivated virtue. What do we cultivate? We cultivate a pure mind and an equal mind. That is cultivated virtue. Adornment is the functioning of inherent virtue. Today we say that adornment means supreme perfection, without the slightest flaw. Among all Buddha lands in the ten directions, none possess adornments like those of the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Every Buddha land still has some imperfections, but only the Western Pure Land is without deficiency. That is true adornment.
From the standpoint of principle: the Buddha’s name, “Namo Amitābha Buddha,” is used to restore our own pure and equal mind. The Buddha’s name is merely a skillful means. One must recite it earnestly. “Earnestly” means never doubting, never interrupting, and never mixing it with other things. Whether reciting the Buddha’s name or sutras, one must follow this principle. Only then is one “fully cultivating virtue to perfect inherent virtue.” Inherent virtue is awakening. In Chan Buddhism, awakening is called “great and thorough enlightenment.” When the mind is pure and equal, one attains complete realization. Upon attaining great and thorough enlightenment, immeasurable wisdom and immeasurable virtues all appear.
From the standpoint of practice: where do we begin? We now know that we must cultivate purity, equality, and awakening, but where is the actual starting point? In terms of concrete phenomena, the Dharma-body wisdom-life of the World-Honored One is the Tripiṭaka scriptures. Thus, in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, the Buddha is called Vairocana Buddha of the Pure Dharma Body. The Buddha sacrificed his life without regret. The Dharma is of utmost importance. The wisdom-life of the Dharma body is certainly more important than physical life. The first requirement is to arouse the aspiration—here referred to as the Ten Minds or the Ten Great Vows of the Avataṃsaka. After arousing the aspiration, where does one begin? “Afflictions are endless; I vow to cut them off.” One begins by eliminating afflictions.
In other words, once views-and-thoughts afflictions are completely eliminated, the mind becomes pure. When dust-and-sand afflictions are completely eliminated, the mind becomes equal. When one breaks through one portion of ignorance and realizes one portion of the Dharma body, awakening has occurred. Only then does one qualify for the vow, “Dharma doors are boundless; I vow to learn them.”
Regarding all worldly and transcendent dharmas, one must develop the greatest patience and an incomparable endurance in study and cultivation. Yet while cultivating and learning, one must not become attached to any dharma. Only then can one truly understand all dharmas. Why? Because attachment to dharmas is a mistake. What does attachment become? It becomes prejudice. If it is not attachment to views, then it is attachment to precepts and practices. It becomes wrong views. Whether regarding worldly or transcendent dharmas, principle or phenomena, cause or effect, one should understand everything but cling to nothing. Why not cling? The Śūraṅgama Sūtra says that “all conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows.” Therefore, non-attachment is wisdom; attachment is error. Those who learn skillfully find wisdom in everything encountered by the six sense faculties. Wisdom is present everywhere.
Everything encountered by the six faculties can be said to be temptation and deception of the highest order. In ancient times there were not so many temptations. Today, frankly speaking, there are far too many. Almost everything seen and heard is tempting and misleading. How could one avoid being moved? When the mind is pure, the land is pure. If the mind still contains such things, while externally there are wealth, sensuality, fame, and profit, and internally greed, anger, ignorance, and arrogance, then avoiding the Avīci Hell would already be fortunate. What further accomplishment could there be? Therefore, Buddhist practitioners must maintain the highest degree of vigilance at all times.
When the mind truly attains purity, equality, and awakening, the six faculties encountering external conditions perceive everything equally. Why? Because all discrimination, attachment, and delusive thinking have been eliminated. Once discrimination, attachment, and delusive thinking are completely gone, all phenomena are one; nature and appearance are non-dual. Entering this realm is what Chan Buddhism calls “realizing the mind and seeing the nature.” What is nature? Nature is the dharma of equality. Nature is that “all appearances are not truly appearances.” That is seeing the nature.
“Arising with a mind that follows thoughts”—how should this be understood? “Following” means accord and compliance. In truth, it is precisely “constantly accord with sentient beings and rejoice in merit and virtue,” one of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s Ten Great Vows. Thus we know that Samantabhadra practice is cultivated through a pure mind and an equal mind. “Purifying the three karmas” means purity of body, speech, and mind. Only when these three karmas are pure can one practice Samantabhadra conduct.
It appears easy, but in reality it is not. By reading many Mahāyāna scriptures, we understand that unless one’s wholesome roots, merits, and karmic conditions from past lives have matured in this lifetime, one cannot accomplish this. You would not even encounter this Śūraṅgama Sūtra. Even if you did, you would not believe it. Even if you believed it, you would not practice earnestly. For a person to be able to believe, vow, and practice, it must be because wholesome roots accumulated over immeasurable past kalpas have matured. At the same time, all Buddhas and Tathāgatas of the ten directions and three times secretly support and bless that person. When these causes and conditions converge, it enables us in this very life to forever transcend rebirth, attain rebirth in the Pure Land, and become a Buddha without regression.
