Mind-Ground Dharma Gate

When practicing the Heart-of-Heart Dharma, use the method of vajra recitation while on the meditation cushion: move the lips slightly while reciting the mantra, without making a sound. Reciting the mantra aloud depletes the vital energy, while silent recitation harms the blood. In our practice, we must first attend to the body and must not damage it. Therefore, in meditation and cultivation, one must protect the body well.

However, when karmic seeds churn, the mind becomes agitated, and one cannot remain seated; or when one becomes drowsy and falls asleep, with confused dreams appearing—then one should recite the mantra aloud. Only by eliminating those confused deluded thoughts and the demon of sleep can one enter samādhi. When such circumstances do not arise, one should still recite the mantra by the method of vajra recitation.

The speed of mantra recitation should be ten to twelve repetitions per minute. When reciting, let the mind recite and the ear hear: pass through the mantra inwardly, character by character. Do not recite with the mouth while the mind is absent. Listen with the ears to the sound of the mantra arising from the mind, hearing it with complete clarity. Only then can deluded thoughts be gathered in and held still, so that one gradually enters samādhi.

Among our six sense faculties—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—the mind faculty is like a monkey, accustomed to restless movement. It is difficult to make it quiet and still, without giving rise to deluded thoughts. Yet unless it is gathered in and held still, one cannot enter samādhi, develop wisdom, or realize the Way. Therefore, Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva taught that, in Buddha-recitation, one must “gather in the six sense faculties, and let pure mindfulness continue without interruption.”

That is, when reciting the Buddha’s name, one must most sincerely and earnestly use the sacred name “Amitābha Buddha” to grasp hold of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, telling them not to move. Only then can one peacefully enter samādhi. Of these six sense faculties, the mind faculty and ear faculty are the hardest to gather in.

By closing the eyes and not looking at things, one can gather in the eye faculty. By reciting the mantra with the mouth, one can gather in the tongue faculty. By not smelling unusual odors, one can gather in the nose faculty. By not allowing the body to contact external objects, one can gather in the body faculty.

Yet the human ear is extremely sensitive: it can hear sounds from very far away, even sounds from beyond a great mountain. External noise can disturb and vex the mind. As for the mind faculty, it is even harder to gather in. Even if one does not want it to move, thoughts leap out from within the mind of their own accord.

Why is this? It is a habitual tendency accumulated over many lives and kalpas. It is so accustomed to moving that it cannot remain still. In the Buddhist scriptures, this is called “directed attention.” It is also the first of the five universal mental factors spoken of by the Dharma Characteristics School: attention, contact, feeling, perception, and volition. It exists within the eight consciousnesses, constantly stirring at every moment and flowing unceasingly like water. Therefore it is called the continuous flow of arising and ceasing. It is extremely subtle, and ordinarily we cannot see it.

Someone says: “When we do not practice or meditate, we have no thoughts. Yet as soon as we practice and meditate, thoughts arise. Has our practice gone wrong, causing thoughts to arise?”

No. Ordinarily, the mind is in disorder, so one cannot see thoughts moving about chaotically. Once the mind becomes even slightly quiet, one sees thoughts moving. What should one do then? How can deluded thoughts be brought to rest? The only way is to use the ear faculty to gather in the mind faculty.

Use the ear faculty to listen quietly to the sound of Buddha-recitation and thereby gather in deluded thoughts. Since the mind cannot attend to two things at once, when it single-mindedly listens to Buddha-recitation and focuses on the Buddha’s name, deluded thoughts naturally cease moving. Therefore, in Buddha-recitation one must focus on the six characters “Namo Amitābha Buddha” or the four characters “Amitābha Buddha.” Hear each character with complete clarity; only then can deluded thoughts be gathered in and held still.

Likewise, in mantra recitation, each character must pass through the mind, and the ears must hear it with complete clarity. Only then is it in accordance with the Dharma. Thus, the essential point of seated meditation is that the mind recites and the ears hear, gathering in deluded thoughts and holding them still so as to enter samādhi. Otherwise, if you sit here reciting a mantra or the Buddha’s name with your mouth while your mind wanders in all directions, you cannot enter samādhi. You must let the mind recite and the ears hear, and meditate with wholehearted determination.

Most important, however, is that the mind become empty. Practice is undertaken in order to transcend the three realms and not be bound within the five elements. Therefore, one must let go of everything in order to enter the Way. Lay practitioners have one more obstacle than monastics: they have families and many afflictions. Before one matter is gone, another arrives; there are endlessly many affairs.

Therefore, we must remain vigilant at all times and see through these phenomenal appearances: they are all false and unobtainable. If the mind does not cling to them, coarse delusions will not arise. Then, even when one diligently applies oneself to seated meditation and mantra recitation, subtle delusions will inevitably come to assail one. These are habits accumulated over many lives and kalpas. They are accustomed to movement and cannot be stopped all at once, but there is no need to fear them.

When a thought leaps forth and you can see it, do not heed it; the deluded thought will naturally dissolve. When a thought arises but you do not see it, you follow it along, and then you cannot enter samādhi. The most important thing in seated meditation is to let go of everything and remain completely clear within. As soon as a thought arises, see it and do not heed it. Nor should you dislike it or suppress it.

Disliking it is itself a deluded mind. Suppression also will not work, for thoughts cannot be suppressed to death. It is like placing a stone over grass: once the stone is removed, the grass grows again. That will not do. Even if it were suppressed to death, it would become like earth, wood, metal, or stone, unable to function. Therefore, one must use a living method of transformation, not a method of suppression. When a thought arises, simply do not heed it; bring up the mantra, and the deluded thought will naturally be transformed away.

If one diligently practices in this way through seated meditation, eventually reaching one-pointedness of mind without distraction, the mantra will naturally dissolve and one will no longer be able to bring it up. Why is this? Because the mind that recites the mantra is still a deluded mind. There are subject and object: the mind that recites and the mantra that is recited. The same is true of Buddha-recitation: there is the mind that recites and the Buddha who is recited. Subject and object stand in opposition, and both are deluded mind.

Whatever is dualistic is false, not real. The true mind is beyond all relativity and without characteristics; whatever has characteristics is illusory. If we truly recite until reaching one-pointedness of mind without distraction, all dualistic and illusory things fall away and vanish. At that time, body, mind, and world all become empty; even empty space is shattered. Only then does the true and undeceiving innate nature fully reveal itself.

After receiving empowerment and practicing the Heart-of-Heart Dharma, there may be a period of diarrhea. Do not be afraid; this occurs because the power of the Dharma is taking effect. This Dharma has immense power of blessing, causing impurities, defilements, and habitual obstructions to be expelled in the stool, as though one were replacing one’s insides. This is a good thing, so do not be afraid.

After practicing for a period of time, one may gain some understanding when reading Chan-school writings. This is awakening at the level of principle. Intellectual understanding of words is of little use. Without direct realization, one’s samādhi power is insufficient. Though one may understand some of the principles, when circumstances arise, one cannot withstand them. Therefore, awakening at the level of principle cannot liberate one from birth and death. One must attain realization, directly see one’s intrinsic nature, and thereby gain real strength.

To “see,” of course, does not mean seeing with the eyes. It means directly realizing one’s intrinsic nature through the dharma eye of the mind-ground. Intrinsic nature has no characteristics, and the eyes can see only things with characteristics. At that time, even the person is gone—what eyes are there, and what is there to see? Although the dharmakāya has no characteristics that can be seen, it is not annihilationist emptiness. It is true great functioning and great energy; all phenomena and states in the world are its manifestations and transformations.

Take electricity as an example: the eyes cannot see it, yet without it the world cannot function. Or consider the salty taste in seawater: people can see the seawater, but they cannot see its salty taste; nevertheless, it certainly exists.

When, through practice, the discriminating mind comes to rest and the entire world dissolves into emptiness, one reaches the point of spiritual knowing, intuitively comprehends it, and sees the Way. Thus it is said that the dharma eye of the mind-ground can see the Way. But does seeing the Way mean that one has succeeded? Many people think so, but this is not so. One has not succeeded; one is still far from it.

One has merely opened the treasury and caught a glimpse of something. This is only an affair at the edge of the dharmakāya and is of no consequence. One still cannot be liberated from birth and death, and must continue striving forward until all bad habits have been eliminated; only then is the work complete. For this reason, Pure Land practitioners often say that the Chan school is not good: even if one realizes the mind and sees one’s true nature, one still cannot be liberated from birth and death. They say it is better to recite the Buddha’s name in the Pure Land school, a more reliable way to be reborn in the Western Pure Land and become liberated from birth and death.

When one has just realized the mind and seen one’s true nature, it is only initial awakening. One has broken through the fundamental huatou and only crossed the first threshold. Deluded habits still remain, and one cannot yet be liberated from birth and death.

One must diligently safeguard this realization, tempering the mind through circumstances, and completely eliminate the clinging and deluded habits accumulated over many lives and kalpas. Only when one truly accords with what the Diamond Sūtra says—“All appearances are illusory”—and remains unmoved, neither delighted in favorable circumstances nor troubled by adverse circumstances, can one eliminate cognitive afflictions and be liberated from segmented birth and death.

The Diamond Sūtra says: “The mind of the past is unobtainable, the mind of the present is unobtainable, and the mind of the future is unobtainable.” Since the mind is unobtainable, what is there to stir? A person who has truly seen intrinsic nature has only this awareness; everything else is unobtainable. Yet one must go still further: only when one does not abide even in awareness or in the unobtainable is it truly complete. If, on encountering circumstances, one gives rise to mind and is turned by thoughts, one is not a person who has seen intrinsic nature and awakened.

The four fruits of arhatship are also distinguished according to whether one gives rise to thoughts and mental activity. A first-fruit arhat may be pure and undefiled in the mountains and forests, but upon entering a city may still be dazzled by sights and give rise to a profusion of thoughts. This is because cognitive afflictions have not yet been eliminated. Cognitive afflictions mean giving rise to mind in response to circumstances and becoming deluded by thoughts about phenomena—that is, mistaking illusory circumstances for what is real and giving rise to the deluded thought of possessing them.

During seated meditation, many phenomena may appear, such as auspicious appearances of beautiful Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and lights, or ugly demonic appearances. Do not heed any of them. Anything with characteristics is false; once one becomes attached to appearances, it is easy to fall prey to demons.

Furthermore, when passing from characteristics to the formless, certain changes may occur: one may feel that the body has disappeared, or that the hands, feet, or head have disappeared, and so forth. Do not concern yourself with them. Even if it seems that the breath is about to cease or that the head is about to explode, there is no need to be frightened. These are preliminaries to the falling away of body and mind. Once fear arises and one becomes startled, all previous effort is lost and one emerges from samādhi.

When the time is ripe, there is a sudden great explosion: inwardly, body and mind, and outwardly, the world, all perish together; even empty space is shattered, and one’s intrinsic nature appears before one. But you must not seek this explosion by clinging to appearances. Once you cling to appearances, you are obscured by deluded thoughts; not only will there be no explosion, you will not even be able to enter emptiness.

Esoteric Buddhism has this advantage: one often receives the blessings of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, so that an external sound of explosion may trigger an inner explosion. But you must never seek it, wonder when it will come, or wait for it or welcome it with your mind. Do not attend to any of the appearances that arise in meditative absorption while sitting; simply disregard them. Remember well the warning in the Diamond Sūtra: “All conditioned appearances are illusory.” All visible appearances are false; if you do not attend to them, there will be no problem. But if you attend to them and become attached, you risk falling prey to demons.

A second-fruit arhat becomes aware as soon as a preceding thought arises and before the following thought occurs. Although such a person can avoid abiding in appearances and, upon awareness, return home and sit securely, thoughts still arise and cease; thus there is still birth and death. Therefore, one must still undergo another round of birth in heaven and descent to earth before being liberated from segmented birth and death.

Therefore, realizing one’s original nature is not the completion of the great task. One must still diligently remove habitual tendencies, enter the stage of the third-fruit arhat, where one remains unmoved when encountering circumstances, and then advance further into the realm of non-contrivance, reaching the stage of avaivartika. Only then has one initially completed the task. Thoughts, deluded emotions, and contrivance are all conditioned.

Cultivation from the first bhūmi, second bhūmi, third bhūmi, and so on through the seventh bhūmi is all conditioned. Only upon entering the eighth bhūmi does one reach non-contrivance. Although at the seventh bhūmi one has already realized non-contrivance, there still remains an idea of non-contrivance, a shadow of non-contrivance; thus it is not yet pure. Only at the eighth bhūmi does this shadow of non-contrivance disappear.

Therefore, each of us should assess ourselves and see whether our minds remain wholly unmoved when encountering circumstances. If deluded thoughts still rise and fall in ordinary times, that will not do; and if, amid circumstances, one becomes attached to them, that is even worse. Only when, at all times and in all places, the mind is as empty and clean as if freshly washed, able to function in accordance with conditions without attachment—true emptiness being wondrous presence, and wondrous presence being true emptiness—has one truly awakened.

Apart from sitting meditation, the most important thing is to apply oneself in daily life. Constantly watch yourself: as soon as a thought arises, see it and do not follow it. If a thought arises without your seeing it, and only after you have followed it for quite some time do you become aware of it, that will not do. The Chan school says: “Do not fear the arising of thoughts; fear only becoming aware too late.”

There is no need to fear the arising of a thought; one need only fear not knowing it. Following thoughts is birth and death. If you realize only after having followed thoughts for a long while, you have already been dead for quite some time; this also proves that you will be unable to transcend birth and death in the future. If we can become aware as soon as a preceding thought arises, without following thoughts, we can attain mastery over taking rebirth. Mastery over taking rebirth does not mean that birth and death have already been transcended; birth and death still remain. But at the critical moment of birth and death, one can be one’s own master, going wherever one wishes, without being dragged along by karmic obstacles to undergo karmic retribution according to karma.

Levels of Practice

The first step in practice is this: when thoughts arise, do not follow them. If you can refrain from following thoughts as they arise, you can be your own master amid birth and death, no longer drawn along by karma, and attain great freedom.

The second step is to directly realize non-contrivance. Let all matters come as they may, while my mind remains unmoved. This is genuine accordance, not forcibly suppressing them so that they do not move. It will not do to suppress them and prevent them from moving.

One should respond to all kinds of matters, accord with every condition, and have no discriminating sense that anything is good or bad: not delighting in what is good, nor disliking what is bad. Only then can the mind become calm and reach the realm of equanimous non-contrivance. Having reached this stage, one attains mastery of transformation, and segmented birth and death are thereby transcended. The first step is freedom amid birth and death; the second is mastery of transformation. One can transform the coarse into the subtle and the short into the long. Having reached the level of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva, one can manifest at least more than thirty mind-born bodies.

The third step is the elimination of the subtle continuous stream. The subtle continuous stream is the intentional attention discussed above. It flows within the field of the eight consciousnesses; ordinarily, you cannot see it even if you look for it. Only by entering the Great Samādhi of Vajrasattva can you see and eliminate it. When, at this stage, the subtle continuous stream has been completely eliminated, one can manifest countless transformation bodies and liberate countless sentient beings. Only then has one truly arrived home. It is not enough merely to awaken; one is still far from that. Therefore, one must continue to practice diligently.

Without bodhicitta, one cannot realize the Way. What is bodhicitta? Put simply, it is this: “Above, seek the Buddha Way; below, liberate sentient beings.” We practice the Dharma in order to liberate sentient beings below, not merely to liberate ourselves.

That all of you are able to receive this Dharma today is truly unsurpassable good fortune.

Practicing Chan requires several decades of wholehearted inquiry before one can realize one’s original nature. Moreover, modern life does not allow one to investigate Chan day and night. By relying on the Heart-of-Heart Dharma and receiving the Buddha’s empowering blessing, the path is much more convenient and rapid. Self-powered Chan practice is like traveling on foot, whereas practicing the Heart-of-Heart Dharma with the Buddha’s empowering blessing is like riding in a car or flying in an airplane. The two therefore differ in speed.

Having received this Dharma, you must cherish it, treat it with gravity, and safeguard it. More importantly, you must practice diligently, continuously and without interruption. You cannot practice today and stop tomorrow; in that way, you will certainly not attain accomplishment. What is even more wonderful about the Heart-of-Heart Dharma is that it fuses the myriad dharmas into one crucible.

Śākyamuni Buddha taught that practicing the fourth mudrā of the Heart-of-Heart Dharma enables one to be reborn in the Western Pure Land; moreover, one may be reborn in any of the Pure Lands of the ten directions according to one’s vows. This is the Pure Land school. Realizing one’s original nature and seeing one’s intrinsic nature is the Chan school. In the final realization, the mind penetrates the worlds of the ten directions; the worlds of the ten directions are complete within my mind, all Buddhas are within my mind, and I am within the minds of all Buddhas. Light interpenetrates light, layer upon layer without end; they mutually interweave without obstruction. This is the Huayan school.

Therefore, when we say that the school of heart esotericism encompasses all other schools without exception, this is truly no exaggeration. This Dharma is not easily obtained, so I urge everyone to apply yourselves well, persevere in sitting meditation and contemplation, and never treat it lightly. Still more important is applying yourselves after leaving the cushion; it is not enough to sit for two hours and then let the wild horses loose, acting recklessly. You must remain mindful of contemplation at all times while walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. Only then can you accord with the great Way.

Six Essential Points of Practice

First: let go of everything and devote yourself wholeheartedly. What use is there in being attached to worldly things and unable to let them go? All things in this world are formed through causes and conditions and have no substantial reality. They are like clouds passing before the eyes—empty and unreal, impossible to obtain and impossible to take away.

Even your own bodies are only provisionally existent: they cannot be retained and cannot be obtained. What need be said, then, of things outside the body? To take things as real and grasp them tightly is a foolish act not worthy even of a knowing person’s smile. Studying Buddhism and cultivating the Way is the undertaking of great wisdom; it is not something that those of lesser capacity and lesser wisdom can undertake.

To realize the Way, one must first see through everything. Only by sitting in meditation with wholehearted resolve can one enter samādhi and awaken. If, while sitting, you think this or that and let deluded thoughts fly about in confusion, all is lost. You must let go of everything and become like a dead person.

Second: while sitting in meditation and reciting the mantra, let the mind recite and the ears hear. This is the essential instruction for cultivating heart esotericism, and it is of great importance for entering samādhi and awakening. Therefore, I repeatedly remind you to put it fully into practice without any compromise. People are accustomed to the movement of deluded thoughts. Unless you listen with single-minded attention to the inner sound of mantra-recitation and gather in the mind faculty, deluded thoughts cannot cease. If deluded thoughts do not cease, how can one enter samādhi and awaken? Therefore, the mind must recite and the ears must hear: each word must be recited from within the mind and heard distinctly by the ears. Only then can the mind faculty be gathered in, deluded thoughts prevented from arising, and samādhi gradually entered.

Third: when thoughts arise, immediately become aware; neither suppress nor follow. When thoughts come, you must be able to see them. If you cannot see them, you will follow them; once you follow thoughts, deluded thoughts will scatter wildly and you will be unable to enter samādhi. Therefore, become aware as soon as a thought arises. Neither wander along with it nor suppress it so that it does not arise. Simply disregard it, bring forth right mindfulness, and recite the mantra one-pointedly. Deluded thoughts will naturally dissolve, and you will peacefully enter samādhi.

Fourth: sit at fixed times, neither hurried nor slack. Sit at regular times each day; once this becomes habitual, it is easier to enter samādhi. It is best to meditate in the morning, and better still before dawn. When sitting, do not be anxious to enter samādhi. With an ordinary mind, sit down peacefully and recite the mantra calmly, neither hurried nor slack. Do not seek to enter samādhi or awaken, much less vainly seek spiritual powers. The very thought of seeking samādhi, awakening, or the manifestation of spiritual powers is deluded mind. Once this thought arises, it obstructs one’s own gate to awakening; not only will one fail to awaken, one will also be unable to enter samādhi.

Fifth: after leaving the cushion, maintain continuous and seamless contemplation. Extend the still and settled practice of meditation into the activities of daily life. In walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, quietly apply it within yourself; maintain continuous and seamless contemplation, abiding nowhere, neither allowing circumstances to pull you along nor wandering with deluded thoughts.

Sixth: have a vast mind-capacity and embrace everything. A cultivator’s mind-capacity must not be narrow. One should be generous and broad-minded enough to embrace everything. Even if others treat me badly, I should treat them even better, without the slightest notions of love or aversion, delight or dislike. In accordance with conditions and one’s means, do every good deed. At all times and in all places, be free and at ease, without thoughts of gain and loss, praise and blame, success and failure. This is the greatest of spiritual powers.

Remember these six points and practice accordingly; you will certainly realize your original nature and directly realize Buddha-nature. Fulfill these six points without the slightest slackness, and you are assured of perfect realization of bodhi and great accomplishment!