The sun’s light is not destroyed, but merely deflected by the clouds and mists. The pure mind possessed by all sentient beings is also like this, in simply being covered by the layered clouds of discriminative thinking, false thoughts, and ascriptive views. If one can just distinctly maintain [awareness of] the mind (shou-hsin) and not produce false thoughts, then the Dharma-sun of nirvana will be naturally manifested. Therefore, it is known that one’s own mind is inherently pure.
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The True Mind exists of itself and does not come from outside [oneself. As teacher] it does not even require any tuition fee! Nothing in all the three periods of time is more dear [to a person] than one’s mind. If you discern the Suchness [inherent in the mind] and maintain awareness of it, you will reach the other shore [of nirvana]. The deluded forsake it and fall into the three lower modes of existence (i.e., animals, hungry ghosts, and residents of the hells). Therefore, it is known that the Buddhas of the three periods of time take their own True Mind as teacher. Hence the treatise says: “The existence of sentient beings is dependent on the waves of false consciousness, the essence of which is illusory.” By clearly maintaining awareness of the mind, the false mind will not be activated (pu ch 'i), and you will reach the state of birth- lessness (i.e., nirvana). Therefore, it is known that the mind is the fundamental teacher.
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Question: Why is the mind of ordinary people superior to the mind of the Buddhas?
Answer: You cannot escape birth and death by constantly reflecting on buddhas divorced from yourself, but you will reach the other shore of nirvana by maintaining awareness of your own fundamental mind. Therefore, [the Buddha] says in the Diamond Sutra (Chin-kang po-jo ching): “Anyone who views me in terms of form and seeks me by sound is practicing a heretic path and is unable to see the Tathagata.” Therefore, it is known that maintaining awareness of the True Mind is superior to reflecting on Buddhas divorced from oneself. In addition, the word “superior is only used as a word of encouragement in the context of religious practice. In reality, the essence of the ultimate fruit [of nirvana] is uniformly "same" (p'ing-teng) and without duality.
essentialsaltsbook notechandex - People who claim there are any magic words, essential practices or special postures are working hard trying to construct a lamp so that they can be free of the darkness. Unfortunately, they're working in the dark. If they'd just clear away all the mist and obstruction, they'd have enough light to finish their work - but then it would be pointless, eh? But these people have been lambasted enough. What about the people who acknowledge the sun, but ignore the clouds and mist? Personally I think they're worse off - they stumble around in a dark room but think they're walking in daylight.
Submitted January 27, 2018 at 11:19PM by essentialsalts http://ift.tt/2GnenbZ
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