The Final Stage before Seeing One’s Nature

 

Section Two: Farewell to the Restless Mind

 

The Final Stage before Seeing One’s Nature

 

Ignorance is the root of all defilements. The most terrible thing about ignorance is that you don’t know you are ignorant. If you blindfold yourself with the knowledge you have acquired, or weigh everything with the knowledge you have acquired, you are separating yourself from the world and reality like a cocoon-spinning silkworm

 

“The highest mundane state” is the peak of all mundane dharmas. Following it, you enter into the practice of supramundane dharmas. When you begin the practice of the highest mundane state, ignorance, arrogance, and all kinds of obstructions will cease gradually. You watch them wither and fall as you watch a leaf fall into water, float down the stream and disappear from your sight. You won’t try to hold it and refuse to let go. Rather, you will be happy to see all this as you see a flower bloom.

 

But lots of practitioners of nowadays don’t understand this. Their cognitive hindrances, like cataracts, make them blind to the truth. Therefore, ignorance is the root of all defilements. The most terrible thing about ignorance is that you don’t know you are ignorant.

 

If you blindfold yourself with the knowledge you have acquired, or weigh everything with the knowledge you have acquired, you are separating yourself from the world and reality like a cocoon-spinning silkworm. The only difference is that, before you realize or accept it, it is difficult for you to break out the cocoon and become a butterfly. Hence an enormous obstacle, the so-called cognitive hindrance, which keeps light out of your sight.

 

Sometimes, not only are people unable to see light, but all kinds of afflictive hindrances arise: greed is a blindfold, hatred, another, and ignorance yet another, let alone various desires, doubt, and jealousy. All these blindfolds make it even more difficult for them to see any light. When they cannot see light, they will dash around desperately. This is where the suffering of sentient beings comes from.

 

You can’t blame the suffering on others, because it is a creation of your own mind. It proves you haven’t understood yet. The suffering is not thrust upon you by other people. Some people think that their petty annoyances are the result of other people’s bad influence. How stupid!

 

Actually, suffering is nothing more than a mood. It arises from the mind basically because of its ignorance. Therefore, the only way to eliminate suffering is by getting rid of ignorance. Blaming it on others can only increase the ignorance.

 

For example, you think you work as hard as another person, but you don’t gain as much as he does. You find it hard to swallow and then try to drown your sorrows in alcohol. But does it work? When you are drunk, you can’t remember anything and your mind stops working. You may feel some temporary pleasure, but eventually you will sober up. Once you meet him again, remembering the unfair treatment, you will still feel painful. Therefore, in order to be free from the suffering, what you need is not alcohol, but to give up the thoughts of calculation, focus on the present moment, and try to do things better.

 

But even when you have got rid of all the hindrances, your habituated tendencies are still there. You must continue to practice. Now, you will feel an increasingly intense happiness, both mental and physical, brought by strengthened good thoughts. You no longer care about the content and method of your practice. It is because you feel there is no defilement left in your mind, that your mind seems to have become tranquil, that subject and object seem to be inseparable, that you are no longer obsessed with either external objects or internal objects, and that the external world and your mind has become one and the same. But it is only the feeling of your body and you are still in the phase of meditation. You haven’t reached the phase of wisdom yet, in which you can break down attachment, let alone the phase of ultimate liberation. It is like pressing a rubber ball into the water. Once your hand is off, it will come up immediately. It is like a seemingly barren field in the winter. When spring comes, grass will sprout up. The same is true of Buddhist practice. You should go on practicing until you perceive your mind and see your own nature. Only then are you able to enter the Way and begin the practice of supramundane dharmas.

 

Following the building up of confidence, the power of meditative concentration is very important. Relapses are due to a lack of the power of concentration. Therefore, practicing concentration Yoga is laying a solid foundation for the high building of spiritual practice. You should note that also in the following practice.

 

After you begin the practice of the highest mundane state, a pure light will gradually show up. You seem to be able to perceive some brightness and emptiness, and your mind becomes purer and happier. But it is not enlightenment yet and it still belongs to the mundane dharma. However, although you haven’t seen the real brightness or your own nature yet, wisdom has already started to work. You will improve by leaps and bounds, as if you can cover more than a thousand miles overnight. But, in fact, you are still caught in worldly affairs. It is because in your heart still remains the self. Only when you attain the wisdom of no-self and stop grasping to a self can you achieve ultimate liberation. If you aren’t able to break down the attachment to the notion of an enduring and inherent self, whatever you feel, purity or happiness, is only a sensation of the physical body, far from being the supramundane wisdom. These sensations disappear when your body disappears. It is like sunshine. You can see it and enjoy its warmth. But when you go into the shade, the sunshine is gone. Something that can be lost is not liberation. Nevertheless, you are quite close to seeing your own nature. The only thing you need to deal with is not to be obsessed with that pure light. You must understand that it is also transient and then you can go on practicing energetically and delightedly.

 

You need to know that, when you are seeking enlightenment, you are not enlightened; when you are afraid of losing yourself, you are not lost. Whether seeking or fearing, it can be the cause of your attachment and hindrance to your further practice. Only when you are not afraid of being lost nor seek enlightenment, only when you free yourself of all attachment and concentrate wholeheartedly on practice, will you be able to see the reality. It is like some writers who produce good work only when they are drunk. But alcohol is not a magic pen. What truly inspires a writer is the unchained mind from the self. When your mind is free from rules, techniques, and indecision, the true mind and true feelings will sprout out spontaneously like a clear spring after the rain.

 

This is a metaphor that I often talk about: the deluded mind is the rough sea; the true mind is the calm sea. The true mind and the deluded mind are one and the same; originally one. Delusion and enlightenment are one and the same. You will understand the true meaning of it when you recognize the true mind. But you need a reliable teacher to confirm for you the true mind you have found. If it is the true mind, he will tell you, “Now, that is it.”

 

There was a monk who had been seeking enlightenment but in vain. One day, there was a Buddhist service in the monastery which was attended by hundreds of monks. Suddenly, this monk felt there was cold air rising in his belly like galloping horses. He felt like farting but tried hard to hold it back because there were so many people present. Nevertheless, his fundamental guru noticed it and gave him a sudden kick in the belly. Now he could no longer hold the fart. Just as people were laughing at him, he entered into an unspeakable state. His fundamental guru said immediately, “Keep this in mind: this is it.” At that moment, all his thoughts were stopped and what was left in his mind was sheer brightness. It is at that moment that he truly understood what the nature of emptiness was.     

     

There was another practitioner who was seeking enlightenment all the time. One day, he pleaded with his master, who had just returned drunk, to show him the true mind. His master lifted him up and threw him squarely on the ground. As he was blaming his master for his drunken fit, his master yelled harshly, “You old dog, what are you thinking now? Remember, that is it!” For the moment he fell to the ground, his thoughts were broken and there was pure light in his mind. Since then, that practitioner changed his dharma-name to Old Dog.

 

Notice

 

Translated by non-professional volunteers, there would be some inaccuracies in the translation. You are welcome to offer us some advice for emendation. Please feel free to contact us.We also look forward to you joining our voluntary translation team.

 

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第二辑：跟焦躁的心说再见

 

明心见性前的最后一站

 

无知是一切烦恼的根源。而无知最可怕的地方，就是你不知道自己无知。当你用自己所掌握的知识，把自己的眼睛蒙蔽住，无论做什么事情，都用自己掌握的知识去衡量的时候，就会像蚕织茧一样，把自己跟这个世界以及实相分隔开来。

 

世第一法是世间法中最高的一种法，接下来就要进入出世间法的修行了。进入世第一法的修行后，各种障碍、傲慢、愚痴都会渐渐断掉。你看着它们的断掉，就像看着一片叶子掉到水中，顺流而下，渐渐消失，你不会试图去抓着它，不让它走；你也像带着喜悦，目睹一朵花慢慢绽放。

 

但是现在的好多修行人都不明白这些，他们的“所知障”像白内障一样遮住了眼睛，让他们看不到实相。所以说，无知是一切烦恼的根源。而无知最可怕的地方，就是你不知道自己无知。

 

当你用自己所掌握的知识，把自己的眼睛蒙蔽住，无论做什么事情，都用自己掌握的知识去衡量的时候，就会像蚕织茧一样，把自己跟这个世界以及实相分隔开来。唯一不同的是，在意识到或者接受这一点之前，你很难破“茧”而出，很难蜕变成蝴蝶。这就造成了一种巨大的障碍，形成了所谓的“所知障”，让你看不到光明。

 

有时候，人们不仅看不到光明，还会因此产生各种“烦恼障”：贪婪给他裹了一道蒙眼布，仇恨再裹了一道蒙眼布，愚昧又裹了一道蒙眼布，各种欲望、怀疑、嫉妒更裹了一道道蒙眼布……这层层叠叠的蒙眼布，让他越发看不到一点光明。当他看不到光明时，就会乱冲乱撞。这就是众生痛苦的原因。

 

这种痛苦怨不得别人，还是由你自己的心造成的，说明你的心没有明白。这并不是别人强加给你的。有一些人，有一点小痛苦，就认为是别人的不清净带来的。这种人非常愚蠢。

 

其实，痛苦只不过是一种情绪，它是由心生起的，本质是因为心的愚昧、愚痴。所以要消除痛苦，只能从去除无知入手，若是把痛苦归咎于他人，只能加重这种无知。

 

比如，你觉得自己和某人付出了同样的努力，但是收获却远远不如他，因此觉得心不甘，生起烦恼，时常借酒浇愁。但是酒能消除你的烦恼吗？酒醉的时候，你什么都不记得了，心也生不起作用了，当然你可能获得短暂的快乐。但你终究会酒醒的，你一见到他，想起这种不平，心还是会觉得痛苦。所以，要想从这痛苦中解脱，你需要的不是酒，而是放下时常计较得失的念头，专注于当下，把事情做得更好。

 

不过，即使把烦恼障等障碍都破除之后，你的习气还没有除掉，你还必须继续修行。这时候，你会感受到一种由善念增盛、向善带来的一种越来越强烈的快乐，身心都非常快乐。你已经不在乎自己在修什么，怎么修了。为什么？因为你觉得心里好像已经没有烦恼了，心好像寂灭了，能所好像分不开了，外境内境都不执著了，外部世界和心也打成一片了。但这仅仅是身体的感觉，还在“定”的境界里，没有升华到一种能真正破执的智慧层面，更没有上升到出世间究竟解脱的层面。这就好像把皮球压在水里，等你一松手，它还是会反弹出来；又像冬天的土地上没有了草，可种子还在，春天一到，草又会长出来了。所以说，还要继续修。只有明心见性，才能真正入道，进入出世间法的修行。

 

建立信心后，定力很重要。状态反复都是因为定力不够。所以说，修专一瑜伽，就是给修道这座大厦打好地基，在下面的修行中，也要注意这一点。

 

进入世第一法的修行之后，渐渐会出现一种净光，你好像感觉到一种光明和空性，心中也开始变得清凉、快乐。但它还不是开悟，仍属于世间法。不过，虽然你还没有见到实相光明，没有明心见性，但智慧已经开始发挥作用了，你修行的进展会非常快，好像一个短短的夜晚就能奔走上千里路。

 

不过，事实上你仍然在尘世的系绊之中。为什么？因为这时你心中还有“我”。只有证得无我的智慧，破除我执之后。你才能看到自由的星辰，获得终极解脱。如果破除不了我执，清凉也罢，快乐也罢，都不过是身体的感觉，没有上升到出世间智慧的层面。肉体一旦消逝，这些觉受也就没有了。这就像你看得到阳光，能感受到那温暖，但当你走到树荫底下的时候，阳光就不见了。它还会被弄丢，证明它绝不是解脱。但这个时候，你离明心见性已经不远了，你唯一要做的，就是不要执著于那个“净光”，要明白它也是虚幻无常的，然后心情愉悦地精进修持。

 

要知道，当你追求觉悟的时候，并没有觉悟；当你害怕迷失自我的时候，也没有迷失。无论是追求，还是畏惧，都会成为你执著的原因，和修行的障碍。只有当你不畏惧“迷”，也不求“觉”，破除所有执著而专心精进时，才可能见到实相。这就像有的人酒醉后才能写出好东西来，但酒不是马良神笔，真正让人文思泉涌的，是摆脱了“自我”束缚的心灵。当你的心里没有规律、技巧、瞻前顾后时，真心、真情才会像雨后的清泉一样，自然而然地流淌出来。

 

我经常用一个比喻：海面掀起波浪时，是妄心；大海平静时，是真心。“真心”和“妄心”本为一体，“迷”和“觉”也本为一体。其中的真义，当你认知真心时自然会明白。不过，你找到的真心，还得有善知识为你验证，看那到底是不是真心。他会告诉你：“注意，就是这个东西。”

 

有位僧人，一直在求觉悟，但总是求之不得。有一天，寺院里举办法会，来了好几百位僧人。也不知怎么的，聚会的过程中，他突然觉得腹中冷气翻腾，如万马奔腾。他很想放个屁，但因为人太多不好意思，只好硬生生地忍住。谁知他的根本师发现了这个情况，还冷不防地在他的肚子上踢了一脚。他受了惊吓，终于忍不住放了个响屁，好多人哄堂大笑，他一下进入了一种难以言表的境界。这时根本师马上对他说：“记住，就是这个。”原来，在那一刹那，他的所有念头都断了，心中只剩一片光明，这时他才真正地明白了空性。

 

还有位修行人也是一直求觉悟，有一天师父酒醉归来后，他就请求师父给他开示心性，于是师父把他抱起来，狠狠摔到地下。当他摔到地上，心中还在埋怨师父撒酒疯时，师父却狠狠地骂道：“你这条老狗，心里在想什么？记住就是它。”因为摔到地下的那一刹那，他的念头断了，心中只剩一片光明。从此之后，这个人就把自己的法名改为老狗。

 

 

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