真心直說

1. Right Faith in the True Mind

The Avatamsaka Sutra says: “Faith is the source of the Way and the mother of all virtues; it nurtures and increases all wholesome roots.” The Consciousness-Only teaching also says: “Faith is like a water-purifying pearl, capable of cleansing turbid water.” Therefore, among the myriad wholesome qualities that arise, faith stands foremost. For this reason, Buddhist sutras begin with “Thus have I heard,” precisely in order to engender faith.

Question: How does faith in the doctrinal school of the sutras differ from faith in the patriarchal school of Chan?

Answer: There are many differences. The doctrinal school leads humans and devas to believe in cause and effect. Those who delight in blessings and happiness believe that the ten wholesome actions are the wondrous cause, and that the human and heavenly realms are their blissful fruit. Those who delight in emptiness and quiescence believe that conditioned arising and cessation are the true cause, and that suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path are the noble fruit. Those who aspire to Buddhahood believe that the three incalculable eons and the six paramitas are the great cause, and that bodhi and nirvana are the true fruit.

Right faith in the patriarchal school is not the same as the foregoing. The patriarchal school does not place faith in the causes and effects of any conditioned dharma. It teaches only faith that one has originally always been Buddha, that everyone is fully endowed with the innately genuine self-nature, and that the wondrous essence of nirvana is perfectly complete in each person.

It need not be sought from another, for it has always been complete in itself. The Third Patriarch said: “Perfect like vast space, lacking nothing and having nothing in excess. It is only because of grasping and rejecting that things are not thus.” Master Zhigong said: “Within the body bearing form is the formless body; upon the path of ignorance is the path of non-arising.” Master Yongjia said: “The true nature of ignorance is Buddha-nature; this unreal, illusory body is itself the Dharma-body.” Therefore, sentient beings have always been Buddhas.

Once right faith has arisen, understanding must also be cultivated. Master Yongming said: “Faith without understanding increases ignorance. Understanding without faith increases wrong views.” Therefore, when faith and understanding are both present, one swiftly enters the Way.

Question: If one has only just aroused faith and has not yet entered the Way, is there any benefit?

Answer: The Treatise on the Awakening of Faith says: “If one hears this Dharma and does not become fearful or fainthearted, know that this person will certainly perpetuate the Buddha-seed and receive predictions of Buddhahood from all Buddhas. Suppose someone were to teach sentient beings filling the entire trichiliocosm and lead them to practice the ten wholesome actions. That person could not equal one who, regarding this Dharma, engages in right contemplation for the space of a single thought;

the latter’s merit surpasses the former’s beyond all comparison.” The Prajnaparamita Sutra says: “Even those who give rise to only a single thought of pure faith—the Tathagata fully sees and knows that these sentient beings obtain such immeasurable merit.” Therefore, if one wishes to travel a thousand miles, the first step must be true.

If the first step is mistaken, all thousand miles will be mistaken. In entering the realm of the unconditioned, if initial faith is lost, the myriad wholesome qualities all recede. Thus the Patriarch said: “If there is the slightest deviation, heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.” This expresses the same principle.

2. Other Names of the True Mind

Question: Right faith has arisen, but I still do not know what is called the True Mind.

Answer: Being free from delusion is called “true.” Numinous awareness is called “mind.” This mind is clearly explained in the Surangama Sutra.

Question: Is it called only the True Mind, or does it have other particular names?

Answer: The names established in the teachings of the Buddha and the Patriarchs are not the same. In the Bodhisattva Precepts, the Buddha’s teaching calls it the Ground of Mind because it can give rise to the myriad wholesome qualities. The Prajnaparamita Sutra calls it bodhi because awakening is its essence.

The Avatamsaka Sutra calls it the Dharma Realm because it interpenetrates and encompasses all things. The Diamond Sutra calls it the Tathagata because it comes from nowhere. The Prajnaparamita Sutra calls it nirvana because it is the destination of all noble ones.

The Sutra of Golden Light calls it Suchness because it is true, eternal, and unchanging. The Vimalakirti Sutra calls it the Dharma-body because it is the basis of the reward-body and transformation-body. The Treatise on the Awakening of Faith calls it True Suchness because it neither arises nor ceases.

The Nirvana Sutra calls it Buddha-nature because it is the fundamental essence of the three bodies. The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment calls it Dharani because all virtues flow forth from it. The Srimala Sutra calls it the Tathagatagarbha because it is concealed within and all-embracing.

The Sutra of Definitive Meaning calls it Perfect Enlightenment because it can illuminate and dispel darkness.

Therefore, Chan Master Yongming said in the Essentials of Mind-Only: “A single dharma has a thousand names; designations are established according to conditions.” All the remaining names are found throughout the sutras and cannot be enumerated exhaustively.

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Question: The Buddha’s teaching is now understood; what about the teaching of the Patriarchs?

Answer: The gate of the Patriarchs utterly transcends names and words. Since not even a single name is established, how could there be many names? Yet because names are used in response to differing capacities and conditions, there are indeed many.

Sometimes it is called One’s Own Self because it is the original nature of sentient beings. Sometimes it is called the True Eye because it can illuminate the characteristics of the myriad beings. Sometimes it is called the Wondrous Mind because it is empty and numinous, quiescent yet illuminating.

Sometimes it is called the Master because it has always borne responsibility. Sometimes it is called the Stringless Lute because even now it brings forth melody and rhythm. Sometimes it is called the Inexhaustible Lamp because it can illuminate and dispel deluded feelings.

Sometimes it is called the Rootless Tree because its roots are firm and secure. Sometimes it is called the Hair-Splitting Sword because it can sever the sense faculties and their objects. Sometimes it is called the Realm of the Unconditioned because its waves are calm and its sea is still.

Sometimes it is called the Mani Pearl because it can aid the poor and destitute. Sometimes it is called the Unlocked Lock because the gates of the six sense faculties are closed. It is also called the clay ox, the wooden horse, the source of mind, the mind-seal, the mirror of mind, the moon of mind, the pearl of mind, and so forth.

Its many different names cannot all be recorded. If one realizes the True Mind, one understands all these names. If one is deluded about the True Mind, one remains obstructed by names.

Therefore, it is essential to examine the True Mind carefully.

3. The Wondrous Essence of the True Mind

Question: The True Mind is now understood, but what is its essence like?

Answer: The Radiant Prajnaparamita Sutra says: “Prajnaparamita has neither the characteristic of existence nor the characteristic of arising and cessation.” The Treatise on the Awakening of Faith says: “The intrinsic essence of True Suchness neither increases nor decreases in ordinary beings, sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, or Buddhas. Nor does it arise earlier and cease later; it is ultimately eternal. From beginningless time, its nature has been intrinsically endowed with all virtues.”

According to the sutras and treatises, the fundamental essence of the True Mind transcends cause and effect, pervades past and present, establishes neither ordinary beings nor noble ones, and is free from all dualities. Like empty space, it pervades everything. Its wondrous essence is utterly quiescent, transcending all conceptual elaborations.

It neither arises nor ceases, is neither existent nor nonexistent, neither moves nor wavers, and abides eternally in serene clarity. It is called the ancient Master, the one who dwelt beyond the time of Buddha Awesome Voice, and One’s Own Self before the Empty Eon. It is eternally one and without the slightest blemish.

All mountains, rivers, the great earth, grasses, trees, forests and thickets, the myriad phenomena, and all defiled and pure dharmas arise from within it.

Therefore, the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment says: “Good men, the Supreme Dharma King possesses a great dharani Dharma-gate called Perfect Enlightenment. From it flow forth all pure True Suchness, bodhi, nirvana, and the paramitas, by which bodhisattvas are instructed.”

Master Guifeng said: “This mind is open and empty, yet utterly wondrous; radiant and sublimely luminous. Neither coming nor going, it penetrates the three times. Neither within nor without, it pervades the ten directions. Neither arising nor ceasing, how could the four mountains harm it? Apart from nature and characteristics, how could the five colors obscure it?”

Master Yongming said in The Resolution of Mind-Only: “Upon examination, this mind is the wondrous principle that universally encompasses all, the sovereign of the myriad dharmas. The Three Vehicles and the five natures all secretly return to it; it is indeed the mother of the thousand ranks of sages. Alone honored and alone precious, nothing can compare with it.

It is truly the source of the Great Way and the essential principle of the true Dharma. Have faith in this mind. What the bodhisattvas of the three times all study is this mind.

What the bodhisattvas of the three times all realize is this mind. What the entire great treasury of teachings elucidates is this mind. What all deluded sentient beings are deluded about is this mind.

What all practitioners awaken to is this mind. What the patriarchs transmit from one to another is this mind. What all monks throughout the world investigate and study is this mind.

If one realizes this mind, each and every thing is as it should be, and all things reveal it completely. If one is deluded about this mind, everywhere is confusion and inversion, and every thought is foolish and deranged.”

This essence is the Buddha-nature inherently possessed by all sentient beings and the fundamental source from which all worlds arise. Therefore, the Blessed One remained silent upon Vulture Peak;

Subhuti beneath the mountain peak forgot all words; Bodhidharma at Shaoshi gazed at the wall; and the layman in the city of Vaishali closed his mouth. All of these revealed the wondrous essence of this mind. Therefore, those newly entering the gate of the patriarchs must first understand this essence of mind.

4. The Wondrous Function of the True Mind.

Question: The wondrous essence of the true mind is now understood. What is the wondrous function of the true mind?

Answer: An ancient said: “When the wind moves, the tree of mind sways; when clouds arise, dust appears within the nature. If awakened, one clearly comprehends the matter of this very day. If deluded, one loses the person who has been present from ancient times until now.” This is the wondrous essence giving rise to function. The wondrous essence of the true mind has never moved; it is tranquil, true, and constant. Upon the true essence, wondrous function is presently manifest, unobstructed in every circumstance and wondrous in all things. Therefore, a patriarchal verse says: “The mind turns in accord with the myriad conditions; the place of its turning is truly profound. Following the current, one recognizes the nature—neither rejoicing nor grieving.”

Thus, at all times, in every movement, function, action, and conduct—going east or west, eating rice, putting on clothes, and so forth—the wondrous function is presently manifest. Yet deluded ordinary beings, when putting on clothes, know only that they are putting on clothes; when eating rice, they know only that they are eating rice. In every undertaking, they merely turn in accordance with appearances.

Though they use it every day, they do not know it; though it is before their eyes, they do not recognize it. Those who realize the nature, however, are never deluded in their movements, functions, actions, and conduct. Therefore, a patriarch said: “In the womb it is called the body; in the world it is called a person.

In the eyes, it sees; in the ears, it hears; in the nose, it smells fragrances; in the mouth, it converses; in the hands, it grasps; in the feet, it runs and leaps. When manifested expansively, it pervades the Dharma-realm; when gathered in, it is contained within a single mote of dust. Those who know it call it Buddha-nature; those who do not know it call it the spirit-soul.”

Thus Daowu brandished his ceremonial tablet, Shigong raised his bow, Mima struck with his fork, Juzhi raised a finger, Xinzhou struck the ground, and Yunyan displayed the lion. These revealed its great functions. If one is not deluded in daily affairs, one naturally moves freely in every direction, unhindered and at ease.

5. Are the Essence and Function of the True Mind One or Different?

Question: It is not yet known whether the essence and function of the true mind are one or different.

Answer: From the standpoint of characteristics, they are not one. From the standpoint of nature, they are not different. Therefore, the essence and function of this mind are neither one nor different. Why is this so? Let me explain it for you:

The wondrous essence is unmoving, cuts off all dualities, and is free from every characteristic. Those who have not realized the nature and directly confirmed it cannot fathom this principle.

The wondrous function universally responds to the conditions of the myriad beings, provisionally establishing illusory characteristics as though they possessed forms. With reference to these characteristics and absence of characteristics, they are not one.

Moreover, function issues from essence, and function does not depart from essence. Essence can bring forth function, and essence does not depart from function. With reference to this principle of inseparability, they are not different. It is like water, whose wetness is its essence; this essence is unmoving. Waves take movement as their characteristic and arise because of the wind. The nature of water and the characteristics of waves, movement and nonmovement, are therefore not one.

Yet apart from water there are no waves, and apart from waves there is no water. Their nature of wetness is one; therefore, they are not different. From this examination, whether essence and function are one or different can be understood.

6. The True Mind Amid Delusion.

Question: Everyone fully possesses the essence and function of the true mind. Why, then, are sages and ordinary beings not the same?

Answer: In sages and ordinary beings, the true mind is originally the same. But because ordinary beings’ deluded minds apprehend external things, they lose sight of their pure intrinsic nature and are thereby obstructed. Consequently, the true mind cannot manifest before them. It is like the shadow of a tree in darkness or a stream flowing secretly beneath the earth: it exists, but is not known.

The Sutra says: “Good man! It is like a perfectly pure precious pearl reflecting the five colors, which appear according to their location. A foolish person sees that mani jewel as actually possessing the five colors. Good man! The nature of perfect enlightenment manifests within body and mind, appearing responsively according to each kind. That foolish person says that the pure nature of perfect enlightenment actually possesses such a body and mind. The intrinsic nature is likewise thus.”

The Zhaolun says: “Within heaven and earth, in the midst of the cosmos, there is a precious treasure concealed within the mountain of form.” This is the true mind while still bound by afflictions.

Furthermore, Ci’en said: “The inherently existent Dharma-body of all Buddhas is the same. Ordinary beings are obscured by delusion, and therefore, though they possess it, they do not know it. Because afflictions bind it within, it is called the Tathagata-garbha.”

Pei Xiu said: “To abide in perfect enlightenment throughout the entire day without ever having awakened to perfect enlightenment—such is an ordinary being.”

Therefore, although the true mind abides amid the defilements of worldly toil, it is not stained by them. It is like white jade cast into mud: its color does not change.

7. The True Mind and the Cessation of Delusion.

Question: When the true mind is amid delusion, one is an ordinary being. How, then, can one escape delusion and become a sage?

Answer: An ancient said: “When the deluded mind has nowhere to abide, that itself is bodhi; nirvana and samsara are originally equal.”

The Sutra says: “Because those sentient beings’ illusory bodies cease, their illusory minds also cease. Because their illusory minds cease, illusory sensory objects also cease. Because illusory sensory objects cease, illusory cessation also ceases. When illusory cessation has ceased, that which is not illusory never ceases. It is like polishing a mirror: when all dust and grime have been removed, its radiance appears.”

Master Yongjia said: “Mind is the faculty; dharmas are its objects. Both are like stains upon a mirror. When the stains are gone, its radiance first appears. When both mind and dharmas are forgotten, that nature is the true.”

This is to emerge from delusion and become established in the true.

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Question: Master Zhuang said: “When that mind is hot, it burns like fire; when cold, it congeals like water. Its swiftness surpasses the interval between lowering and raising the head, and it can roam beyond the four seas. Its dwelling is deep and subtle. When it moves, it becomes mysterious and ascends to the heavens. This refers to the human mind.”

Master Zhuang described the mind of ordinary beings as impossible to subdue in this way. It is not yet known what method the Chan school uses to tame the deluded mind.

Answer: Use the Dharma of no-mind to treat the deluded mind.

Question: A person without mind would be no different from plants and trees. Please establish an expedient explanation of the doctrine of no-mind.

Answer: What is now called no-mind does not mean that its essence is devoid of mind and is therefore called no-mind. It means only that there is no thing within the mind; hence it is called no-mind. For example, when one speaks of an empty vase, it is because there is nothing inside the vase that it is called an empty vase. It is not because the essence of the vase is nonexistent that it is called an empty vase.

Therefore, a patriarch said: “If a person merely has no concerns within the mind and maintains no-mind amid affairs, that person will naturally be empty yet numinous, tranquil yet wondrous.” This is the essential purport concerning mind.

Examined according to this, it is the deluded mind that is absent; it is not that the true mind’s wondrous function is absent. Since ancient times, the patriarchs have spoken of methods for cultivating no-mind, and their kinds are not all the same. I shall now summarize and present ten kinds:

1—Awareness and Observation: This means that when engaging in practice, one should ordinarily cut off thoughts and guard against their arising. As soon as a single thought arises, use awareness to break through it. Once the deluded thought has been broken, one knows that no subsequent thought will arise, and this discerning awareness is no longer employed. At that time, both delusion and awareness vanish; therefore, it is called no-mind.

2—Resting and Ceasing: This means that when engaging in practice, one thinks neither of good nor of evil. As soon as the mind arises, let it cease; as soon as conditions are encountered, cut them off. The ancients said: “Become a strip of pure white silk! Become cold as earth! Become an incense burner in an ancient shrine! Go straight to the place of complete severance, where not the slightest discrimination remains; only when you are as though dazed and foolish will you have a small measure of accord.” This is the practice of bringing the deluded mind to rest and cessation.

3—Extinguishing the Mind While Preserving Objects: This means that when engaging in practice, one should cut off all deluded thoughts. Do not concern yourself with external objects; simply extinguish your own mind. Once the deluded mind has ceased, why worry that objects remain? This is the Dharma gate that the ancients called “taking away the person but not the objects.” Thus, there is the saying: “Here, fragrant flowers and wondrous grasses abound, yet the man of old is absent.” Layman Pang said: “Simply be without mind toward the myriad things; why worry that the myriad things will constantly disturb you?” This is the practice of ending delusion by “extinguishing the mind while objects remain.”

4—Extinguishing Objects While Preserving the Mind: This means that when engaging in practice, one contemplates all inner and outer objects as empty and quiescent, leaving only the one mind, standing independently and alone. Thus, the ancients said: “Do not become a companion to the myriad dharmas, nor stand in opposition to the various sense objects” (Bu yu wanfa wei lü, bu yu zhuchen zuo dui). If the mind clings to objects, that is delusion; now that there are no objects, how could delusion exist?

This is the true mind shining alone, unobstructed on the Way. It is the Dharma gate that the ancients called “taking away the objects but not the person.” Thus, there is the saying: “The flowers in the garden above have fallen, yet the carriage and horses are still here.” There is also the saying: “Where are the three thousand swordsmen now? Only Zhuang Zhou remains to establish peace.” This is the practice of ending delusion by “extinguishing objects while the mind remains.”

5—Extinguishing Both Mind and Objects: This means that when engaging in practice, first contemplate all external objects as empty and quiescent, and then extinguish the inner mind. When both inner mind and external objects are quiescent, from where could delusion arise? Thus, Guanxi said: “In the ten directions there are no fallen walls; on the four sides there are no gates either—utterly clean and bare, completely exposed” (Shifang wu biluo, simian yi wumen, jing luoluo, chi sasā).

This is the Dharma gate that the ancients called “taking away both person and objects.” Thus, there is the saying: “Clouds disperse and waters flow; in silence, heaven and earth are empty.” There is also the saying: “Neither person nor ox can be seen; precisely then, the moon shines clear.” This is the practice of ending delusion by “extinguishing both mind and objects.”

6—Preserving Both Mind and Objects: This means that when engaging in practice, allow the mind to abide in the position of mind and objects to abide in the position of objects (mind abides in the position of mind; objects abide in the position of objects). When mind and objects face one another, the mind does not grasp objects, and objects do not enter the mind. Each does not reach the other; naturally, deluded thoughts do not arise, and there is no obstruction on the Way.

Thus, the sutra says: “These dharmas abide in their own positions; the characteristics of the world constantly abide” (Shi fa zhu fa wei, shijian xiang chang zhu). This is the Patriarchs’ Dharma gate of “taking away neither person nor objects.” Thus, there is the saying: “A single expanse of moonlight shines broadly; how many people ascend the tower?” There is also the saying: “On the mountain, flowers bloom by the thousands and tens of thousands; the wandering traveler knows not to return.” This is the practice of ending delusion by “preserving both mind and objects.”

7—The Totality of Inner and Outer as Essence: This means that when engaging in practice, one contemplates and sees mountains, rivers, the great earth, the sun, moon, and stars, the inner body and outer body, and all dharmas as being entirely of one essence: the true mind, limpid, empty, and luminous, without the slightest difference. The great trichiliocosm and worlds as numerous as grains of sand are gathered into a single whole; where, then, could the deluded mind arise? Thus, Dharma Master Zhao said: “Heaven, earth, and I spring from the same source; the myriad things and I are of one essence.” This is the practice of ending delusion through “the totality of inner and outer as essence.”

8—The Totality of Inner and Outer as Function: This means that when engaging in practice, one regards the entire inner and outer body and mind, all dharmas in the world, and every movement, activity, and deed as wholly the wondrous functioning of the true mind. Every thought of mind that arises is the wondrous functioning manifest before one; where could the deluded mind find a place to abide? Thus, Yongjia said: “The true nature of ignorance is itself Buddha-nature; this empty, illusory body is itself the Dharma body” (the true nature of ignorance is Buddha-nature; the empty body of illusory transformation is the Dharma body).

The Song of the Twelve Hours by Zhigong says: “At the hour of the hare, early in the morning, the mechanism of madness lies concealed within the practitioner’s body. Sitting or lying down, he does not know that it is originally the Way; thus, in vain, he endures bitter suffering.” This is the practice of ending delusion through “the totality of inner and outer as function.”

9—Essence Is Function and Function Is Essence: This means that when engaging in practice, although one accords silently with the true essence, which is solely empty and quiescent, within it is concealed a spiritual luminosity; therefore, essence is function. Within that spiritual luminosity is concealed emptiness and quiescence; therefore, function is essence. Thus, Yongjia said: “Alert and quiescent is right; alert and full of deluded thoughts is wrong.

Quiescent and alert is right; quiescent and blankly indifferent is wrong” (Xingxing jijì shi, xingxing wangxiang fei. Jijì xingxing shi, jijì wuji fei). Since blank indifference is not admitted within quiescence, and distracted thoughts are not admitted within alertness, how could the deluded mind arise?

This is the practice of ending delusion through “essence as function and function as essence.”

10—Thoroughly Penetrating Essence and Function: This means that when engaging in practice, one does not distinguish inner from outer or discriminate east, west, south, or north. Regard the four directions and eight quarters solely as the Dharma gate of the “great liberation, perfectly round and complete.” Essence and function are undivided, without the slightest leakage. The whole body is gathered into a single whole; where could that delusion arise? The ancients said: “Throughout the whole body there is no seam or fissure; above and below, all is perfectly round.” This is the practice of ending delusion through “thoroughly penetrating essence and function.”

One should not employ all the above methods of practice. Instead, practice only one Dharma gate until it is perfected; then that deluded mind will naturally disappear, and the true mind will manifest before one. According to the capacities cultivated in the past, determine which method is suitable and practice that method.

The practice here is practice without contrived practice; one does not set the mind to exert effort. This Dharma gate for bringing the deluded mind to rest and cessation is of the utmost importance. There are still many methods for eliminating delusion, but for fear that the text would become overly elaborate, they have only been outlined briefly.

8. The True Mind in the Four Deportments

Question: The method for ending delusion has been explained above, but it is not yet known whether one should practice only while sitting or throughout all four deportments?

Answer: The sutras and treatises mostly speak of practicing while seated because success is easier to attain when sitting. Nevertheless, the practice extends through all four postures; by cultivating it gradually, one slowly becomes proficient. The Awakening of Faith Treatise says: “One who practices calm abiding should dwell in a quiet place, sit upright, and maintain right mindfulness.

One should not rely upon the breath, nor upon forms, nor upon emptiness, nor upon earth, water, wind, or fire. One should not even rely upon seeing, hearing, perception, or knowing. All thoughts that arise in association with recollection should be eliminated, and even the thought of eliminating them should itself be put aside, because all dharmas have from the beginning been free of thought: thought after thought neither arises nor ceases.

Nor should the mind be allowed to follow thoughts of external objects. Ultimately, use the mind to eliminate the mind. If the mind wanders, immediately draw it back and establish it in right mindfulness.

Right mindfulness means that there is only mind and no external object. Yet this mind itself has no intrinsic characteristic; thought after thought, it cannot truly be found. Whether sitting, standing, walking, coming, going, or engaged in any activity whatsoever, at all times one should continually remember and employ the appropriate skillful means of contemplation.

After practicing for a long time, one becomes proficient, and the mind comes to abide securely. Because the mind abides securely, it gradually becomes keen and responsive. Following this, one enters the ‘samadhi of true suchness.’ The afflictions are completely dispelled, faith increases, and one swiftly attains the stage of non-retrogression.

Excluded are only those who harbor doubts and disbelief, who slander, who bear grave offenses and karmic obstructions, or who are arrogant or indolent. Such people cannot enter.”

Judging from this passage, the practice extends through all four postures.

The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment says: “First rely upon the Tathagata’s practice of shamatha (calm abiding), firmly uphold the precepts, dwell peacefully among the assembly, and sit calmly in a quiet chamber.” This concerns the beginning of practice.

Yongjia said: “Walking is also meditation; sitting is also meditation. In speech or silence, movement or stillness, the essence remains serene.” This applies to all four postures.

In short, if one cannot stop the mind even by exerting oneself while seated, how could one enter the Way while walking, standing, and so forth? If one has become proficient in applying the mind, one will not rise even if a thousand sages approach, nor even glance up if ten thousand kinds of demons come dragging one away. How, then, could one fail to practice while walking, standing, and so forth?

Consider someone who hates another person: whether walking, standing, sitting, lying down, eating, or drinking, that person cannot forget the other at any time. Affection and attachment toward another are likewise. Moreover, love and hatred are activities of the intentional mind, yet they can remain continually present within that intentional mind.

The present practice is the activity of no-mind; why, then, doubt that it can remain continually present throughout the four postures? The only concern is that one neither believes nor practices. If one practices and believes, the Way will certainly be present throughout all postures.

9. The Abiding Place of the True Mind

Question: When the deluded mind ceases, the True Mind appears. If so, where are the essence and function of the True Mind now?

Answer: The wondrous essence of the True Mind pervades everywhere. Yongjia said: “Never apart from the present, it is forever quiescent. If you still seek it, know that you have not yet seen it.” The sutra says: “Its nature, like empty space, is forever unmoving; within the Tathagatagarbha, there is neither arising nor cessation.” Great Master Fayan said: “Everywhere is the path of bodhi; every place is a forest of merit.” This is where its essence abides.

The wondrous function of the True Mind manifests in response to conditions, like an echo following a sound. Fadeng said: “From the beginning, it has followed without ever departing, plainly evident before one’s face. Gathered clouds arise over the dark valley; a solitary crane cries to the distant sky.”

Wei Fu Yuan’s Commentary on the Avatamsaka Sutra says: “The Buddha-Dharma is found in the affairs of everyday life: in walking, standing, sitting, and lying down; in eating rice and drinking tea; and in speaking, questioning, and answering. Yet if, amid these activities, one gives rise to mind and stirs up thoughts, it is not the Buddha-Dharma.”

Thus, its essence pervades everywhere and is entirely capable of giving rise to function. It is only because the presence or absence of causes and conditions is not fixed that its wondrous function is likewise not fixed; this does not mean that there is no wondrous function. Practitioners of the mind who wish to enter the sea of the unconditioned and cross beyond all birth and death must not misunderstand the abiding place of the essence and function of the True Mind.

10. The True Mind and Birth and Death

Question: We often hear that those who see their nature transcend birth and death. Yet the patriarchs of ancient times were people who had seen their nature, so why did they all undergo birth and death? We now plainly see that practitioners in this world all experience living and dying. How, then, can it be said that they transcend birth and death?

Answer: Birth and death are originally nonexistent; they appear to exist because of delusion. It is like a person with diseased eyes seeing flowers in empty space. A person whose eyes are sound says that there are no flowers in empty space, but the person with diseased eyes does not believe it. Once the eye disease is cured, the vision of flowers in the sky naturally disappears. Only then does the person believe that the flowers were originally nonexistent. Even before the flowers disappear, they have no real existence; it is merely that the sick person deludedly clings to them as flowers, not that they truly exist in themselves.

Likewise, deluded people take birth and death to be real. If someone free from birth and death tells them, “Birth and death are originally nonexistent,” they do not believe it. One day, when their delusion ceases, birth and death will naturally be eliminated, and only then will they know that birth and death have always been nonexistent. Even before birth and death cease, they do not truly exist. It is only because of delusion that people take birth and death to exist.

The sutra says: “Good man, from beginningless time all sentient beings have undergone layer upon layer of inversion. They are like a confused person who mistakes the four directions and changes their positions. They deludedly take the four great elements to be the characteristics of their own body and the conditioned reflections of the six sense objects to be the characteristics of their own mind. They are like a person with diseased eyes who sees flowers in empty space. When those illusory flowers vanish from empty space, one cannot say that there is a definite place where they have vanished. Why? Because there was no place where they arose. All sentient beings deludedly perceive arising and cessation within the unborn. Therefore, this is called revolving through birth and death.”

According to this sutra, we may confidently know that one who realizes the True Mind sees that birth and death are originally nonexistent. Although people now know that there is no birth and death, they cannot escape birth and death because their practice has not yet reached fulfillment. Thus, a sutra says: “The woman Amba asked Manjushri: ‘Knowing clearly that birth is a dharma that does not arise, why are we still swept along by birth and death?’ Manjushri replied: ‘Because that power is not yet complete.’”

Later, Master Jinshan asked Master Xiushan: “Knowing clearly that birth is a dharma that does not arise, why are we still swept along by birth and death?” Xiu replied: “A bamboo shoot will eventually become bamboo, but can it be made into a fence right now?” Therefore, “knowing” that there is no birth and death is not equal to “personally realizing” that there is no birth and death. Personally realizing that there is no birth and death is not equal to “according with” the absence of birth and death.

According with the absence of birth and death is not equal to “functioning from” the absence of birth and death. People today do not even know that there is no birth and death, much less personally realize it, accord with it, or function from it. The same is true of those who take birth and death to be real and do not believe in the Dharma of no birth and death.

11. The True Mind: Primary and Auxiliary Practices

Question: As explained above, when delusion ceases, the True Mind becomes present. Before delusion has ceased, one simply practices no-mind to bring delusion to an end. Is there any other Dharma that can counteract the various delusions?

Answer: There is a distinction between primary practice and auxiliary practice. Taking no-mind as the means of ending delusion is the primary practice; undertaking wholesome deeds is the auxiliary practice. It is like a bright mirror obscured by dust: one uses the strength of one’s hand to wipe it, but one must also apply a cleansing agent so that its brightness may more readily appear. The fine dust represents the afflictions. The strength of the hand represents no-mind. The cleansing agent represents wholesome deeds. The brightness of the mirror represents the True Mind.

The Awakening of Faith Treatise says: “Furthermore, there are those who, having perfected faith, arouse the aspiration. What aspiration do they arouse? Briefly, there are three kinds: first, the straightforward mind, which rightly contemplates true suchness; second, the profound mind, which gathers all wholesome qualities; and third, the mind of great compassion, which wishes to uproot all the sufferings and afflictions of sentient beings.”

Question: It was said above that the dharmadhatu has a single characteristic and that the essence of the Buddha is nondual. Why, then, should one not only contemplate true suchness in a single thought, but also rely upon seeking and cultivating wholesome deeds?

Answer: It is like a great and precious mani jewel, luminous and pure, yet mixed with impure ore. Although a person may know its precious nature, if one does not employ skillful means to grind and polish it, it can never become clear and bright. Because defilements are immeasurable and pervade all dharmas, one must cultivate all wholesome practices.

Likewise, the essential nature of true suchness is empty and quiescent, yet it is obscured by immeasurable afflictions and defilements. Although a person may contemplate true suchness, if one does not employ various skillful means to permeate and cultivate it, purity will not be attained. Because defilements are immeasurable and pervade all dharmas, one must cultivate all wholesome practices to counteract them.

If a person cultivates and practices all wholesome dharmas, that person will naturally accord with the Dharma of true suchness.”

Examined in this light, the principal practice is to bring the deluded mind completely to an end, while the cultivation of wholesome dharmas serves as an aid. When cultivating goodness, one should accord with no-mind and not cling to cause and effect. If one clings to cause and effect, one falls into the state of an ordinary being; amid the blessed rewards of humans and devas, it is difficult to realize true suchness, and one cannot escape birth and death. To accord with no-mind is to realize true suchness. This is the skillful art of using expedient means to escape birth and death, while also encompassing vast merit and virtue.

The Diamond Prajnaparamita Sutra says: “Subhuti, if a bodhisattva practices giving without abiding in appearances, that bodhisattva’s merit and virtue are inconceivable and immeasurable.”

Nowadays, we see people in the world practicing Chan and studying the Way. As soon as they gain some knowledge of the original Buddha-nature, they presume upon their innate naturalness and cease cultivating wholesome deeds. In this way, not only do they fail to realize the true mind, but they instead become indolent. They cannot even avoid the evil paths, much less escape birth and death. This attachment is a grave error.

12. The merit and virtue of the true mind.

Question: There is no doubt that cultivating causes with a mind produces merit and virtue. From where does the merit and virtue of cultivating causes with no-mind arise?

Answer: Cultivating causes with a mind yields conditioned fruits. Cultivating causes with no-mind yields the merit and virtue that reveals one’s nature. These virtues have always been inherently complete, but because they are concealed by delusion, they do not appear.

Now that delusion has been eliminated, merit and virtue manifest directly. Therefore, Yongjia said: “The three bodies and four wisdoms are complete within the essence. The eight liberations and six superknowledges are imprinted upon the ground of mind.” Thus, the nature of merit and virtue is inherently complete within the essence.

An ancient verse says: “If one sits in purity for even a moment, it surpasses building seven-jeweled stupas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. In the end, jeweled stupas turn to dust, but in one thought of pure mind, perfect awakening is attained.” Therefore, the merit and virtue of no-mind are greater than those of having a mind.

Venerable Shuilao of Hongzhou went to visit Mazu. He asked: “What is the essential meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from India?” Mazu kicked him, knocking him to the ground. Suddenly, he awakened. Rising to his feet, he clapped his hands, laughed loudly, and said: “How marvelous! Hundreds of thousands of samadhis and immeasurable wondrous meanings are all present upon the tip of a single hair.” In that instant, he comprehended their source. He then bowed and withdrew. According to this, merit and virtue do not come from outside but are inherently complete within oneself.

The Fourth Patriarch told Chan Master Lairong (1): “All the hundreds of thousands of Dharma gates converge within the smallest space; merits and virtues as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are gathered at the source of mind. All the gates of precepts, samadhi, wisdom, superknowledges, and miraculous transformations are completely inherent within you and never separate from your mind.” According to the Patriarch’s words, the merit and virtue of no-mind are exceedingly great. Yet people delight only in merit and virtue manifested through external forms and therefore have no confidence in the merit and virtue of no-mind.

Notes:

(1) Lairong: His Dharma name was Farong, but because he was so absorbed in seated meditation that he would not trouble himself to greet anyone who came, people called him Lairong; the character lai means “lazy.”

13. Testing the true mind.

Question: When the true mind is manifest before one, how can one know that it has matured and become unobstructed?

Answer: When a student of the Way has brought the true mind directly into manifestation, habitual tendencies may not yet have been eliminated. When encountering familiar circumstances, one may sometimes lose mindfulness. It is like herding an ox: although one has tamed it and led it wherever one wishes, one still does not dare set aside the bridle and whip. One waits until its mind is fully tamed and its steps are steady, so that even if it runs into the young rice plants, it does not damage them. Only then does one dare let go. At that point, the young herdsman no longer uses the bridle and whip, and the ox naturally does no harm to the rice plants.

Likewise, after a practitioner recognizes the true mind, one must first apply effort to preserve and nurture it. Only when its great functioning has gained strength can one benefit living beings. If one wishes to test this true mind, one should first bring to mind the situations one ordinarily likes and continually imagine them present before oneself.

If, in response to those situations, thoughts of love or aversion arise, the mind of the Way has not yet matured. If no thoughts of love or aversion arise, the mind of the Way has matured. Yet even such maturity is not the state in which love and aversion naturally fail to arise.

One must test it once more. When encountering objects of love or aversion, deliberately arouse thoughts of love and aversion and make the mind grasp those objects. If the mind still does not arise, it is unobstructed.

It is like a white ox lying plainly in the open, doing no harm to the rice plants.

In ancient times, some reviled the Buddha and denounced the Patriarchs; this accorded with this mind. Nowadays, we see people who have only just entered this Chan school and do not yet know whether they are near to or far from the Way, yet immediately imitate the reviling of the Buddha and denunciation of the Patriarchs. In truth, this is far too premature.

14. The true mind is without knowing.

Question: When the true mind and the deluded mind encounter objects, how can the true be distinguished from the deluded?

Answer: When the deluded mind encounters objects, it knows them; but after knowing whether they are favorable or adverse, it gives rise to greed and anger. Moreover, it stores those objects within itself and gives rise to delusion. When the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion arise in relation to objects, this clearly is the deluded mind. The Patriarch said: “When opposition and accord contend with each other, this is the sickness of the mind.” Therefore, regarding objects as right or wrong is entirely the deluded mind.

The true mind, however, does not know, yet its knowing is constant; because its illumination is perfect, it differs from trees and plants. Because it gives rise to neither love nor aversion, it differs from the deluded mind. Thus, when encountering objects, it is empty and luminous, without love or aversion; it does not know, yet knows—this is the true mind.

The Zhao Treatise says: “The mind of the sage is subtle, wondrous, and formless; therefore, it cannot be said to exist. Yet its function fulfills every need; therefore, it cannot be said not to exist. Furthermore, because it does not exist, it knows without knowing; because it is not nonexistent, it does not know, yet knows. Therefore, not knowing is itself knowing. This does not mean that not knowing is something different from the mind of the sage.”

Furthermore, the deluded mind clings to existence when confronting existence and clings to nonexistence when confronting nonexistence. It constantly dwells on the two extremes and does not know the Middle Way. Yongjia said: “Rejecting the deluded mind and grasping true principle, the mind of acceptance and rejection becomes cunning and false. Students who fail to understand this employ it in cultivation; for a long time, they mistake a thief for their own child.” If it is the true mind, then although it is amid existence and nonexistence, it falls into neither existence nor nonexistence and constantly abides in the Middle Way.

The Patriarch said: “Do not pursue conditioned existence; do not abide in the forbearance of emptiness. Maintain a single even constancy, and all will suddenly cease of itself.”

The Zhao Treatise says: “The sage engages in existence without existing and dwells in emptiness without being empty. Although neither grasping existence and nonexistence nor abandoning existence and nonexistence, the sage mingles with the dust and toil of the world and journeys throughout the five destinies—departing silently yet arriving clearly, serene and inactive yet leaving nothing undone (serene, doing nothing, yet with nothing left undone).”

This speaks of sages extending their hands to help others, traveling throughout the five destinies to guide and teach living beings. Although they come and go, they do not abide in the appearances of coming and going. The deluded mind is not like this. Therefore, the true mind and deluded mind are not the same. Furthermore, the true mind is the ordinary mind, while the deluded mind is the abnormal mind.

***

Question: What is called the ordinary mind?

Answer: Everyone is fully endowed with a point of numinous luminosity, limpid like empty space and pervading everywhere. In relation to worldly affairs, it is provisionally called the principle of nature. In relation to deluded consciousness, it is provisionally called the true mind. It contains not the slightest discrimination and does not become confused when meeting conditions. It contains not a single thought of grasping or rejecting; whatever it encounters, it pervades completely and does not change in response to circumstances. “Even if one follows the current, one attains the wondrous; without departing from the present, one remains serene. If you still seek it, then know that you have not yet seen it.” This is the true mind.

***

Question: What is called the non-ordinary mind?

Answer: Phenomena include sacred and ordinary, defiled and pure, annihilation and permanence, principle and phenomena, arising and ceasing, coming and going, beautiful and ugly, good and evil, cause and effect, and so forth. If these were enumerated in detail, there would surely be thousands upon thousands of differences. Here, ten pairs have been presented, all of which are called non-ordinary phenomena.

The mind arises in dependence upon these non-ordinary phenomena and ceases in dependence upon these non-ordinary phenomena. This non-ordinary mind and its phenomena stand in contrast to the ordinary true mind discussed above; therefore, it is called the non-ordinary deluded mind. The true mind is originally complete and does not follow non-ordinary phenomena to give rise to various distinctions.

Therefore, it is called the ordinary true mind.

***

Question: The ordinary true mind has no other causes. Why, then, did the Buddha teach the law of cause and effect and the retribution of good and evil?

Answer: The deluded mind chases after various phenomena but does not understand them, and thus gives rise to various states of mind. The Buddha taught the Dharma of cause and effect to remedy these deluded states of mind; therefore, it was necessary to establish cause and effect. If this true mind does not chase after various phenomena and consequently gives rise to no such states of mind, the Buddha likewise has no need to teach these Dharmas. How, then, could there be cause and effect?

***

Question: Does the ordinary true mind not arise?

Answer: At times the true mind gives rise to functioning, but it does not arise in dependence upon phenomena. It is merely its wondrous, playful functioning and does not err regarding cause and effect.

15. The Abiding Place of the True Mind

Question: Those who have not realized the true mind, because they are deluded about it, create good and evil causes. By creating good causes, they are born in good realms. By creating evil causes, they enter evil realms. They undergo birth according to their karma; there is no doubt about this principle. But if a person realizes the true mind, exhausts all deluded passions, and accords with and realizes the true mind, being without causes of good or evil, where will the spiritual awareness of the next body find its lodging?

Answer: Do not suppose that having a place of lodging is better than having none. Nor should you imagine that having no place of lodging is like being a wandering vagrant in the world, resembling a ghost—an ownerless, solitary spirit. By raising this question in particular, you are hoping that there is some place of lodging, are you not?

– Indeed.

– For one who has realized the nature, this is not so. Because all sentient beings are deluded about the awakened nature, their deluded passions of love and attachment create karma as a cause, and they are born among the six destinies to undergo the good or evil fruits of retribution. Suppose good karma is the cause: one can then receive only a good result.

Apart from the place where one is born in accordance with that karma, one cannot experience any other place. It is so in every realm. Since beings follow their particular karma, they regard the place where they are suited to be born as pleasurable and a place where they are not suited to be born as painful.

This is because the place where one is suited to be born is regarded as one’s own lodging, while a place where one is not suited to be born is regarded as another’s lodging. Thus, where there are deluded passions, there are deluded causes; where there are deluded causes, there are deluded results; and where there are deluded results, there is lodging. Where there is lodging, distinctions arise between this and that.

When this and that are distinguished, there is liking and disliking.

Now, one who realizes the true mind accords with the awakened nature, which neither arises nor ceases, and brings forth wondrous functioning that neither arises nor ceases. The wondrous essence, true and eternal, originally neither arises nor ceases, while its wondrous functioning, adapting to conditions, appears to arise and cease. Yet because functioning emerges from the essence, that functioning is itself the essence.

What, then, could arise or cease? One who realizes the Way realizes the true essence; what relevance could such arising and ceasing have? It is like water, whose essence is wetness and whose functioning is waves.

The nature of wetness originally neither arises nor ceases, so how could waves within that wetness arise or cease? Moreover, waves have no separate existence apart from wetness; therefore, waves likewise neither arise nor cease. An ancient said: “The whole land is the eye of the monk; the whole land is the monastery.” Every place is where one who has awakened to the principle may establish body and life.

For one who realizes the true mind, birth and death within the six destinies vanish in an instant. Mountains, rivers, and the great earth are all the true mind. Apart from this true mind, there can be no separate place of lodging.

Since the three realms no longer constitute deluded causes, the six destinies certainly cannot constitute deluded results. Since there are no deluded results, what lodging could be spoken of? Where there is no lodging, there can be no this and that; and since there is no this and that, what could be liked or disliked?

The worlds of the ten directions are but the one true mind, experienced and employed in their entirety, without any separate lodging. Moreover, from the perspective of manifestation, one may come and go at will without obstruction. The Transmission of the Lamp records: “Minister Wen Cao asked Master Guifeng: ‘Once a person who has awakened to the principle reaches the end of his lifespan, where does he take lodging?’ Guifeng replied: ‘All sentient beings are fully endowed with the spiritually luminous awakened nature and are no different from the Buddhas.

If one can awaken to this nature, it is the Dharma-body, originally unborn in itself; what could it depend upon or where could it lodge? Its spiritual luminosity is never obscured; clearly and constantly aware, it has nowhere to come from and nowhere to go. Take emptiness and quiescence as your own essence; do not identify with the physical body.

Take spiritual knowing as your own mind; do not identify with deluded thoughts. If deluded thoughts arise, do not follow any of them. When life ends, karma will naturally be unable to bind you.

Although there is an intermediate-state body, you will be free to go wherever you wish. You may take lodging in the human or heavenly realms at will. This is precisely the true mind discussed above and the destination of the next body.’”

The three realms are tormented by affliction, like a burning house, yet sentient beings complacently immerse themselves therein and endure suffering for a long time. If one wishes to escape samsara, nothing surpasses seeking the Buddha. If one wishes to seek the Buddha, the Buddha is precisely the mind. Why seek this mind afar, when it has never been apart from this very body? The physical body is false; it arises and ceases. The true mind is like empty space, neither annihilated nor changed. Therefore, it is said: “When the bones disintegrate, they return to fire and wind; one eternally numinous thing envelops heaven and earth.”

Alas! Why have people today remained deluded for so long? They do not know that their own mind is the true Buddha, nor that their own nature is the true Dharma.

Wishing to seek the Dharma, they seek the sages in other regions. Wishing to seek the Buddha, they do not contemplate their own mind. If they claim that there is a Buddha outside the mind and a Dharma outside the nature, and stubbornly cling to this conviction while wishing to seek the Buddha Way, then even if they pass through kalpas as numerous as motes of dust, burn their bodies, cut off their arms, break their bones to extract the marrow, draw blood to copy sutras, sit continually without lying down, eat only one meal a day, read through the entire Buddhist canon, and practice tens of thousands of austerities, they will be no different from those who cook sand in the hope of making rice; they will merely weary themselves in vain.

If you simply understand your own mind, Dharma gates as numerous as the sands of the Ganges and immeasurable wondrous meanings will be attained without seeking. The Blessed One said: “I universally behold all sentient beings and see that they are fully endowed with the wisdom and virtuous attributes of the Tathagata.” He also said: “Each and every sentient being is illusory, yet each can bring forth the wondrous mind of the Tathagata’s perfect awakening.” Therefore, apart from this mind, there is no Buddha who can be attained.

The Buddhas of the past were simply people who illuminated the mind. The present sages and worthies are likewise simply people who cultivate the mind. Those who study and practice in the future should practice in accordance with this Dharma.

I hope that every practitioner will take care not to seek outside: “The mind-nature is undefiled and originally perfect in itself; merely depart from deluded conditions, and you are the Buddha of suchness.”