Eradicate wrong attitudes Toward Guru

“Mahamudra: Essence and Practice” (Book  II)

Eradicate wrong attitudes Toward Guru

◎Yixin Chen: Many people are likely to come up with wrong perspectives that they think Buddhahood is to know everything, let alone a foreign language. They don't know that guru’s abhiseca and dharma teaching is only associated with samma-ditthi and wisdom. If disciples need some social knowledge, they can resort to books. Some disciples always ask something of dharma in the world. If the guru tells them that he doesn’t know, they will think that the Buddha is not omniscient at all. Nowadays the Buddha is trumpeted as an omnipotent existence who knows everything. So they always nag guru with mundane questions. But when they made evil karma, encountered bad luck or suffered from a serious disease, they are eager to rely on the guru to heal them from diseases immediately. If the treatment failed, they would easily lose their confidence.

●Xue Mo: Yes. These people still don't know how to practice Buddhism and they haven't samma-ditthi. The reason why they stay close to the guru is to hope to get blessing and some obtaining reward in the world. They always hope to make a fortune through guru's blessing. I told them that the guru is not a servant for disciples. There is no point that guru should bless you to make fortune if you convert to him. Some people always bother guru with secular questions about abnormal phenomenon in dreaming and among others. I said, "Why do you make confusions between true and false, reality and illusion? Both samsara and nirvana are all huge mirage, not worth fascination. Why do you care about those dreams? Certainly, if you provide for guru in pure belief, you will also be entitled with big obtaining reward in return. But if you intend to be rewarded ten times what you contribute as a merchant bargaining in the market, your soul proves to be unclean. The real offering for guru is called three-wheel with empty body ——no body of provider, no body of receiver and no body of offerings. Although the interest-driven offering will bring you with some obtaining reward, but it is far beneath the fantastic offering of three-wheel with empty body.

Therefore there is no way that guru serve disciples for mundane purposes——to respond to every request from disciples. And there are some evil-minded people who made bad friends suffered bad luck and ranted at guru， saying “ As a guru, you are supposed to take responsibility for my misfortune?" Their eyes are infatuated with the opportunity to be with guru or put guru as a good platform in a sole purpose to ask for resources and secular interests. These people actually cannot be qualified as a disciple anymore, but bad friends who are camouflaged by the outfit of a disciple.

You know, the heart of a real consummate guru is clear of solicitude. He has entered the bright Mahanudra enlightenment realm. On the contrary, could he be a consummate guru if his heart is still occupied by secular affairs? No wander the consummate guru is able to bestow the enlightenment blessing to disciples who have steadfast belief other than responding to every bit mundane affair for a little offering from them. Certainly, because of the merits you gained in offering, on condition that you provide for guru with pure belief, you will also receive interests and merits in return. But you should never treat your guru as a labor in that way, either.

The reason that causes this phenomenon is that the path of accumulation of disciples are still not complete.

After completion of the creation stages, the path of accumulation will be consummated. The significance of the path of accumulation is:①To unnderstand you are equivalent to Buddha;② Have contemplation force to some extent;③Have confidence. Especially the latter directly determines the success of later Buddhism practice. The confidence is also composed by three aspects——the first，is to have confidence in Buddha dharma; the second, is to have confidence in guru and understand that the guru is equivalent to Buddha; the third, is to have confidence in yourself that you can arise divine pride.

The path of initial application focuses on practicing single-mindedness and contemplation force through treasure-bottle Qi，mystic heat，etc. They are categorized into single-minded yoga and path of initial application before effectively seeing nature. When you have achieved the status of perceiving heart and seeing nature by practicing single-minded yoga , then you can resort to guru for confirmation

When the guru attests to your successful enlightenment into Mahamudra, you will enter the phase of darsana-marga. In other words, you have achieved the enlightenment by perceiving heart and seeing nature. Then you enter the phase of bhavana-marga. The practice after darsana-marga is the real practice Buddhism. All practice austerities before darsana-marga are preparation for darsana-marga.

What you see in Darsana-marga is nothing but emptiness. Only after seeing emptiness, can all Buddhism practice be of meaning to a further extent. There are many kinds of monasticism and there are ten levels of Bodhisattva S'vetaketu corresponding to ten stages of practice after darsana-marga. They are stage of joy, stage of purification, stage of enlightenment, stage of flaming wisdom, stage of invincibleness, stage of confronting brightness, stage of trekking, stage of immovability, stage of flexible wisdom ,stage of dharma-cloud,etc.

What you achieve from practice is what attested to be enlightenment by your guru——emptiness. You must sustain it, improve the essence and abandon the dreg. There are many subtle points which are hard to explain in a few words.

Both conversion and bodhicitta-samutpada trainings are used to help you establish confidence in the guru and then see nature. When you have been got along with a noble and enlightened guru, it is really pitiful if you only study some knowledge from books. So sometimes when you ask some questions on the book, the guru would say," pls ask someone else or read books yourself." Because we are not supposed to ask questions like these. We should ask the master some questions that appear in our practices rather than bother the master with some conceptual knowledge. You should strive to practice Buddhism and report to the guru when you achieved anything. Then guru will give you confirmation or instructions according to your practice status, just like Gampopa who asked questions to Milarepa. The guru will tell you what status you are in and what is the next step for you to practice. That is what a guru is supposed to teach. You carefully practice day by day under guru’s guidance until one day the guru will happily say, “Yes, that's it." That means you have been enlightened into the emptiness. This is what the inerrant and genuine practice be like. No adequate confidence, no way to be enlightened into Mahamudra; no breaking the obstacles, no way to be enlightened into Mahamudra; no severing from solicitude, no way to be enlightened into Mahamudra ;no abandoning secular obsessions like fortune or fames no way to be enlightened into Mahamudra.

There are three ways for people with high potential to be enlightened into Mahamudra: Sudden enlightening , making through three key breakpoints，ultimate achievement when enlightened. Both Niguma and Sukhasiddhi are achievers in these ways. The ever-bright Mahamudra which I was enlightened into when meeting with the guru was also steadfast, which skipped phases such as Concentration ,Leaving Drama，One Entity，No Meditation. What’s more, at that time I didn't know what Mahamudra is, nor did I have any acquaintance with the name or features of it. I was clear of behaviors of maintaining duty or meditation. I just feel that this is what it is supposed to be. I was a natural to have a neutral heart. Perhaps, who knows, I had already completed fundamental concentration trainings before I saw the guru because from 17 years old, I have practiced Taoists’ Dan method and Hinayana Dhyana. I also learned some Vajrayana practice method from Buddhist abbot Naida Wu in Songtao Temple of Liangzhou. I often stayed secluded to cultivate excellent Dhyana kung fu. I could keep in a Samadhi in a few days without delusion. Although that was not the ever-bright Mahamudra, I have cultivated samadhi, just a few yards away from seeing nature. As soon as I saw the guru in the right time, I could see the Rigpa and be enlightened.

If people who do not practice well by Concentration Yoga, he still have to make through it after seeing nature Then he will go down to the training of One Entity Yoga and end up with No Meditation Yoga. So it is very important to practice in the creation stage and the Perfection Stage. Without these two stages of training, you still need keep strict maintaining duty  even you have been enlightened into Mahamudra. Otherwise, it is easy to be perverted by arrogant wisdom

The practice after seeing nature, in fact, is Mahamudra. The so called Mahamudra actually is the self-nature brightness cultivated by you..

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《光明大手印：实修心髓》下

破除对上师的邪见

◎陈亦新：许多人总爱产生邪见，他们以为，成佛就是无所不知，连外语也会精通的。他们不知道，上师灌顶传法，教我们的是正见和智慧。要是弟子需要一些知识，自己可以去看书呀。一些弟子老是问一些世间法的东西，上师说我不知道。他们就会想，佛也有不知道的呀。现在外面传得神乎其神，说没有佛不知道的，于是他们老是问一些世间法的东西。也有人造了恶业，或遭遇了恶缘，生了重病，却希望上师一下子能祛了病，若有失望，他们甚至就失去了信心。

●雪漠：是的。那些人还不会修行，没有正见。他们亲近上师，是希望他们能得到加持，得到一些世间福报。他们老是希望上师能加持自己发财。我就说，上师又不是给弟子打工的。不能说你皈依了上师，上师就加持你发财。有的人老是拿世间法的东西干扰上师，问一些梦兆异象等问题，我说你何必认假为真、执幻为实，轮回和涅槃都是一个巨大的幻梦，不值得执著，你又何必管那些梦境呢？当然，你要是净信供养自然也会得到大福报，但你要是像世间的做生意那样，供一希望得十，这种心本身就不干净。真正的供养是三轮体空，无能供，无所供，亦不执著供之行为。有欲望的供虽也有些福报，但跟三轮体空的大供养是不能同日而语的。

所以，不能将上师当成弟子的打工仔，你求这个，我给你办这个；你求那个，我给你办那个。更有一些邪恶之徒，交了恶友，遭了噩运，却对上师恶言相向，说：“你是上师，我不找你找谁？”他们的眼睛老是盯着上师身边，或是将上师当成好平台，只想索取资源，得到世间法利益，这些人其实已不是弟子了，是穿着弟子外衣的恶友。

要知道，真正成就上师的心中是了无牵挂的，他进入的，是光明大手印证境。要是他的心中盛满了俗事，还算成就师吗？成就上师当然可以给具信弟子以证量加持，而不是他老是听你的话，接受了一点供养，就去给你办俗事。当然，因为你供养的功德——要是你净信供养的话，也会有福德和功德，但千万不能把上师当成另一种意义上的打工仔。

造成这种现象的原因，就是弟子们的资粮道还不圆满。

生起次第圆满之后，就俱足了资粮道。资粮道的意义在于：①明白你是佛；②有了一定的定力；③有了信心。尤其是后者，直接决定着后来的修行。这信心，也包括三个方面，一是对佛法有信心，二是对上师有信心，明白上师是佛；三是对自己有信心，能生起佛慢。

加行道则以修专一和定力为主，如宝瓶气、拙火等等。在没有真正见性时，都属于专一瑜伽和加行道的范围。当专一瑜伽修到一定时候，明心见性了，你再去找上师印证。

当上师为你印证，认为你契入了大手印后，你就进入了见道。也就是说，你已经明心见性了。此后进入的是修道。见道后的修行，才是真正的修行。见道前的所有修炼，都是在为见道做准备。

见道“见”到的，就是空性。见到空性之后，你的所有修行才有了另一种意义。修道有好多种，十地菩萨的十个阶段，就是见道后修行的十个阶段，如欢喜地、离垢地、发光地、焰慧地、难胜地、现前地、远行地、不动地、善慧地、法云地等。

修道“修”的东西，就是上师印证你“证”到的那个东西，也就是空性。你必须保任它，有所修，有所舍，其中有许多很细微的地方，一言难尽。

修皈依发心等也是为了让你对上师建立信心，进而见性。要是你跟了具德具证的上师，而你仍只是学一些书本上的知识，那就太可惜了。所以，有时候，当你问一些书本上的问题时，上师可能会说：“你去问某某，或是去看书。”因为这些东西不是应该问他的。我们应该问上师一些自己在实修时遇到的问题，而不该老是拿一些书本上的概念性的东西去打搅上师。你应该精进地去修行，证到一些东西后，向上师汇报，上师才会根据你的修行状况为你印证或是开示，就像冈波巴去问密勒日巴那样。上师会说，这种状况，是如何如何，再告诉你如何修。上师就是做这些事的，你精进地修，上师一天天指点，直到有一天，上师会高兴地说：“对，就是它。”那么，你就算契入空性了。这时的修，才是无误的真正的修。信心不俱足，契入不了大手印；破不了障碍，契入不了大手印；破不了牵挂，契入不了大手印；放不下名利等世俗的东西，契入不了大手印。

上根者进入大手印有顿悟顿证、一箭透三关、一悟究竟者，如奶格玛、司卡史德。我见到上师本尊之后，契入的光明大手印，也是坚固无动摇，没经过专一、离戏、一味、无修等层次。而且，那时我并不知道啥叫大手印，根本没有这种名相，也从来没有保任、观想啥的，只觉得它“本来”这样，自然而然地有了一颗平常心。更也许，专一之类的基本功，我在见到上师之前就完成了，因为从十七岁起，我修过道家丹法和小乘禅定，在凉州松涛寺住持吴乃旦那儿也学过一些密宗修法，也常常闭关，禅定功夫极好，能一定数日，不生妄想。虽然这不是光明大手印，但定力已生，只是未见本然而已。一见上师，因缘俱足，就能见到本觉，进而证悟。

若是专一瑜伽修得不好的人，在见性后，仍需经过专一瑜伽的训练，再进入一味瑜伽，终而进入无修瑜伽。所以，修生起次第和圆满次第是非常重要的。要是没有生圆二次第的训练，你即使契入大手印，也得经过严格的保任，否则就容易流于狂慧。

见性之后的修，其实就是契入了大手印。那个叫大手印的，其实是你修出的自性光明。

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