The World Is a Huge Delusion

“Mahamudra: Essence and Practice”( Book II)

The World Is a Huge Delusion

◎Chen Yixin: How can we break down all the attachments?

●Xue Mo: You need to comprehend that “All phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, and a shadow” before you can talk about breaking attachments. As a matter of fact, everything lies in your mind-nature. For example, once Gampopa asked Milarepa what seeing a lot of buddas meant. Milarepa told him that it was because qi had gone into one of the chakras. Another time, Gampopa told his master that he saw in his dream that his mother was suffering. Milarepa explained that it was because Gampopa had held qi too tight. Actually, what Gampopa saw was part of his mind-nature. However, it is wrong to think that Buddha-lands are an illusion arising from one’s mind-nature. Scientists have found that over 96% of the universe is dark matter and dark energy, which is invisible to the human eye. We don’t know yet if the so-called Buddha-land is in existence although scientists haven’t figured it out.

Our theory of the mind-nature is to break attachment, not to negate the world.

In order to help his disciples to break attachment, Gampopa would first of all enlighten their mind-nature by transmitting Mahamudra. If that disciple wasn’t able to accept it, he would then teach him to practice both the creation and perfection stages. His purpose was not to waste the time of disciples of superior capacities. As a result, the Kagyu sect gained high reputation and produced quite a few achievers even during Gampopa’s lifetime.

If you are not equipped with the wisdom of the nature of emptiness, if you don’t understand that all manifestations are illusionary, if you take illusion for reality and practice according to some institutionalized teachings for dozens of years, you would probably still be full of greed and hatred, like the Geshe who poisoned Milarepa. The superiority of Shangpa Kagyu is demonstrated in the fact that it ignores all those rituals and teaches disciples to focus on the cultivation of the mind-nature. When one is awake and aware at the present moment, when one is happy at the present moment, human society is the Pure-Land and all phenomena are the manifestation of Buddha and Yidam. Mahamudra is not in pursuit of being reborn or going to a Buddha-land. All phenomena are within one’s own nature, and one’s own nature belongs to the nature of emptiness. Everything is like a dream or illusion, and there is no place for obsession or attachment.

All phenomena are the manifestation of one’s own nature. If you seek the Buddha outside of your own nature, you are a non-Buddhist.

That is why Mahamudra of Shangpa Kagyu is so great. It does not teach you to concentrate on name and form and impermanent phenomena. One who is after institutionalized teachings surely is not a Mahamudra practitioner.

Those who don’t understand the importance of the mind-nature  can’t grasp the essence of Buddhism. No matter how many times they have recited the mantras, their mind isn’t purified, they are unable to see through various phenomena, and they still have no idea as to what liberation and practice are.

Liberation has to do with knowledge, but not necessarily. If we don’t break attachment, the more knowledge we acquire, the harder it will be for us to achieve liberation.

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《光明大手印：实修心髓》下

世界是个巨大的梦幻

◎陈亦新：如何破除所有的执著？

●雪漠：你必须要理解，“一切有为法，如梦幻泡影”，之后才谈得上破执。事实上，一切东西都存在于你的心性里。比如，冈波巴曾问密勒日巴，他看到的很多佛代表什么？密勒日巴说这是气进入了某个脉轮的原因。当冈波巴说他在梦中看到母亲受苦，密勒日巴就说这是你把气持得太紧。其实，冈波巴看到的那些东西，也不离心性。当然，如果有人认为佛国仅仅是心性中生出的虚幻，这也是错的。时下，科学家发现宇宙中有96%以上是我们看不到的暗物质和暗能量。我们不知道，所谓的佛国，是不是也是一种我们目前的科学还无法知晓的存在？

我们的心性学说是为了破执，而不是为了否定世界。

为了破执，冈波巴弘法时，直接给弟子开示心性，传大手印。要是弟子不能接受，他再叫他修生圆二次第。他这样做的目的，是不想耽误上根弟子。因此，在冈波巴还住世的时候，噶举派就名满天下了，出现了大量的成就者。

如果你没有空性智慧，不明白一切的显现，都是一个巨大的梦幻；要是你执幻为实，按照某种制度化的教法，花上十几年、几十年去学去修，很可能还会像那个毒死密勒日巴的格西一样，内心依然充满着贪婪与仇恨。而香巴噶举的殊胜就在于，它不去管那些制度化的礼仪，让人直接从心性入手，明白于当下，快乐于当下，红尘就是净土，一切都是佛和本尊的化现。大手印不求往生，不求佛国，万象不离自性，自性归于空性。一切都是如梦如幻，无执无著。

所有的显现都不过是自性的化现。如果你离开了自性而求心外的佛，那就是外道。

所以说，香巴噶举的大手印是非常了不起的，它不会让人在名相上、在一些虚幻无常的事相上着手。追求那些制度化教法的人，肯定不是大手印行者。

一些不明心性的人，往往抓不住佛教的精华。无论他的咒子念了多少遍，心还是不清净，看不破，不知道何为解脱，何为修行。

要知道，解脱与知识有关系，但关系不大。如果我们不能破除执著的话，知识学得越多，就越难以解脱。

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