Chapter 6 Chapter Four Mind

We have made life into a dark, small cage, and yet we see it as the entire universe, and because we are locked in this cage, few of us can imagine another dimension of existence.Patrul Rinpoche told us the story of a frog in a well. One day, a sea frog visited the old frog who had never left the well all his life. "Where are you from?" asked the Frog. "From the sea," it replied. "How big is your sea?" "It's huge." "You mean as big as a quarter of my well?" "A lot." "Large? You mean half the size of my well?"

"No! Too many." "As big as... my well?" "It can't be compared." "No way! I want to see for myself." They set off together, and when the well frog saw the sea, its head exploded in fright. Although my childhood memories in Tibet are fading, I still have two moments when my master Jamyang Khyentse taught me the nature of mind. I didn't want to reveal these personal experiences, because according to Tibetan habits, I can't do so; but my students and friends believed that speaking about these experiences would benefit all beings, and they kept begging me to write them down

The first time it happened when I was six or seven years old.We are in Jamyang Khyentse's room, behind which hangs a large portrait of his predecessor, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo.The figures in the painting are solemn and awe-inspiring, and when the butter lamp flickers on the portrait, it is even more awe-inspiring.Before I knew what was going to happen, my master did something very unusual. He suddenly hugged me, lifted me up, and kissed me hard on the cheek.For a long time, my heart was completely empty, and I was immersed in a deep softness, warmth, confidence and strength. The second occasion was more formal and took place in a cave at Lhodrak Kharchu, where Guru Rinpoche, the father of Tibetan Buddhism, once meditated.I was about nine years old at the time, and we were stopping in a cave on our pilgrimage to southern Tibet.My master found me and told me to sit in front of him. There were only two of us, master and student, in the cave.He said, "Now I will impart to you the important 'nature of mind'." Picking up a bell and a tambourine, he sang an invitation to the masters, from the primordial Buddha all the way to his own masters.Then, he gave a preaching of xinxing.Suddenly staring at me, he threw a question with no answer: "What is the heart?" My whole being was captured, my heart disintegrated, no words, no names, no thoughts - in fact, even the heart No.

What happened in that astonishing moment?Past thoughts are dead, future thoughts have not yet arisen, and the flow of my thoughts is cut off.In that sheer shock, a blank space opens up, and in the blank space, only the present awakening exists, an awakening without attachment, a simple, naked, basic awakening.Even though it is so naked and devoid of anything, it exudes the warmth of infinite compassion. There are too many feelings at that time to describe!My master obviously wasn't expecting an answer.Before I can seek answers, I know there are no answers.I froze there as if struck by lightning, but a deep and bright certainty surged in my heart, which was something I had never experienced before.

My master asked, "What is the mind?" At the time I felt that everyone seemed to know that there is no mind, and I was the last one trying to understand it.So even looking for the mind seems absurd. Guru's teachings planted seeds deep in my heart.Later I finally learned that this is the method used by our lineage.But I didn't know this at the time, and that's why I was so surprised, so amazed, so powerful! In our tradition, the introduction of xinxing must have the "three truths": the blessing of a true master, the dedication of a true student, and the method of a true inheritance.

The President of the United States cannot teach you the nature of mind, nor can your parents, no matter how powerful or how much they love you.Only those who fully understand the nature of mind, and those who have the blessing and experience of inheritance, can pass on the nature of mind. As a student, you must discover and continuously nourish openness, vision, willingness, enthusiasm, and respect, so as to change the atmosphere of your entire heart and allow you to accept the transmission of the heart.This is what we call "giving".Otherwise, the master may transmit it, but the students will not recognize it.The transmission of the nature of mind is only possible when both the teacher and the student agree to enter into that experience: only in that psychic encounter is the student able to understand.

Method is also very important.For thousands of years, it is the same method that has been tested again and again to enlighten the masters of the past. It is quite unusual for my guru to teach me the nature of mind unexpectedly at such a young age.Generally, this is done after the student has received an initial training in meditation and purification of the mind.This training allows students to mature and open their minds to experience the truth directly.Thus, in that powerful moment of transmission, the guru can channel his understanding of the nature of mind (what we call the guru's "wisdom mind") into the minds of the now mature students.The master just introduces the true face of the Buddha to the students, in other words, awakens the students to realize the inner awareness.In that experience, the Buddha, the mind, and the wisdom mind of the guru emerge as one.And the student, under the light of gratitude and kindness, realizes without any doubt that there is no difference between the student and the teacher, between the teacher's wisdom and the heart of the student What a difference.

Dudjom Rinpoche said in his famous Enlightenment Song: Because the current realization is the real Buddha, in the openness and contentment, I find that the guru is in my heart.When we understand that the never-ending natural mind is the nature of the guru, there is no point in grasping, clinging, weeping prayers or man-made complaints.Just by resting in this state of innocence, openness, and naturalness, we can achieve natural self-liberation.When you fully understand that there is no difference between your mind and the guru's mind, you and the guru will never be separated, because the guru and your mind are one and always present in their true colors.Remember when I was a child and saw the death of Lama Zolton?When his master was invited to his sickbed, he said, "There is no distance between you and your master."

Just like Lama Zolton, when you realize that your guru is inseparable from you, you will have a strong sense of gratitude and awe in your heart, which Dudjom Rinpoche called "refuge of knowledge and vision".This is the reverence that arises immediately from the knowledge of seeing the nature of mind. In addition, Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche often taught me the nature of mind when teaching me Dharma and empowering me. Later, I also received teachings about the nature of mind from other masters.After Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche passed away, Dudjom Rinpoche loved and cared for me very much, and I worked as his interpreter for several years, thus starting another phase of my life.

Dudjom Rinpoche is the most famous master, mystic, scholar and writer in Tibet. My guru Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche often mentioned him, praising him as a very outstanding master, and also the representative of Guru Rinpoche in this era. avatar.Therefore, although I have never been close to him, I respect him very much.After my master passed away, I was in my early twenties, and one day I traveled to Kalimpong in the Himalayas to meet Dudjom Rinpoche. When I arrived at his monastery, one of his earliest American students, who was being taught there, was distressed by the lack of good translations for the teachings on the nature of mind.As soon as Dudjom Rinpoche saw me coming in, he said, "Oh! You're here. Great! Can you translate for her?" So I sat down and started translating.For an hour at a time, his teachings are all-encompassing and admirable.I was so moved and inspired a lot that I couldn't help crying.I know this is what Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche meant.

Soon, I asked Dudjom Rinpoche to give me a teaching.Every afternoon, I would go to his place and spend a few hours with him.He is short in stature, with a dignified appearance, and his hands are smooth and gentle like a woman.His hair is long and tied in a yogi-like bun; his eyes are piercing, and he has a mysterious sense of humor.His voice was compassionate, soft and slightly hoarse.Dudjom Rinpoche always sat on a low stool covered with a Tibetan rug, and I sat under him.I'll never forget the way he sat there, the evening sunlight streaming in from the window behind him. One day, when I was studying and practicing with him, I had the most amazing experience.All the teachings I had learned in the past seemed to happen to me, and all the material phenomena around me disappeared. I was very excited and murmured: "Rinpoche,... Rinpoche... it happened!" He bent down, with a face full of compassion that I will never forget, and reassured me, "It's okay...it's okay. Don't get too excited. It's not good after all. It's not bad either..." The wonder and joy overwhelmed me, but Dudjom Rinpoche knew that while good experiences are useful milestones in the meditation process, they can become a trap if there is any attachment to them.You must go beyond them to a deeper and more stable foundation: His words of wisdom brought me to that foundation. With his teachings, Dudjom Rinpoche has repeatedly inspired students to realize the nature of mind; his words ignite the fire of real experience.For many years, every day he would teach me the mind method, this method of teaching is called "pointing out" method.Although I had learned important teachings from my master Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche and planted the seed in my heart, it was Dudjom Rinpoche who fertilized it and made it bloom.When I started teaching, it was his example that inspired me. heart and mind Birth and death are in the mind and nowhere else, a teaching that still revolutionizes Buddhist wisdom to this day.Buddhism believes that the heart is the basis of all experience. It creates happiness and pain; it creates life and death. The mind has many layers, two of which stand out.The first is the ordinary mind, which Tibetans call sem.A master defined it this way: "The mind that has the concept of separation, has the concept of relativeness, and can cling to or reject external things is the ordinary mind. Basically, it will be combined with an "other", with "something". Combining, there is the relationship between the observer and the observed." sem is the loose, relative, thinking mind, and the ordinary mind can only interact with a projected, imaginary external reference point. Therefore, sem is the mind that can think, plan, desire, and manipulate; the heart that can be angry; the heart that can create and indulge in negative emotions and thoughts; it must continue to divide, conceive, and condense experience in order to affirm and confirm its "existence." "heart of.Ordinary minds are constantly changing, and are always affected by external factors, habits, and restrictive behaviors. The masters liken sem to a candle in the air, which is blown around by the wind and cannot be stabilized. From one perspective, the sem is flickering, persistent, constantly meddling in other people's affairs; its energy is expended in projecting outward.Sometimes I think of it as a Mexican jumping bean, or a monkey jumping from branch to branch.Viewed from another angle, however, the ordinary mind has a false and dull stability; a vague and self-protective inertia; Sem is as clever as a scheming politician, suspicious and distrustful of others.Jamyang Khyentse wrote: "Adept at playing the game of deceit." It is under the influence of this chaotic, confused, irregular, capricious ordinary mind that we are constantly changing and dying. In addition, we have the nature of the mind, the bottom of the mind, which is never touched by change or death.Currently, it is hidden in our hearts, in sem, blinded by our rapidly changing thoughts and emotions.Just as a gust of wind can blow away the clouds, revealing the radiant sun and the vast sky, so, under certain circumstances, a certain kind of enlightenment can allow us to uncover and glimpse this nature of mind.There are certainly many depths and degrees to these flashes of insight, but every depth and degree can lead to a certain understanding, meaning, and freedom, because the nature of mind is the foundation of understanding.The Tibetan language is called my rigpa, which refers to the original awareness of wisdom, clarity, brilliance and awareness in the present moment.It is, so to speak, knowledge of knowledge itself. Please don't make the mistake of thinking that xinxing is only in our hearts. In fact, it is the essence of everything.We want to emphasize again and again that to understand the nature of mind is to understand the essence of everything. Saints and mystics in history have used different terms to modify their enlightened state, and given different faces and interpretations, but basically, they are all experiencing the fundamental nature of mind.Christians and Jews are called "God"; Hindus are called "I", "Shiva", "Brahman" and "Vishnu"; Sufis are called "hidden nature"; "Buddha nature".At the heart of all religions, there must be a fundamental truth, and this life is a divine opportunity to evolve and realize that truth. When we think of Buddha, we naturally think of Prince Gautama Siddhartha, who became enlightened in the sixth century BC and taught millions of people throughout Asia the spiritual practice known as Buddhism.There is, however, a further meaning to the Buddha.Anyone who has fully awakened from ignorance and opened up his vast treasure of wisdom can be called a Buddha.The Buddha is the one who has eradicated suffering and frustration completely. He has discovered eternal happiness and peace. To most of us in this skeptical age, this realm seems like a fantasy or a dream, beyond our reach.We must keep in mind that Buddha was a human being, no different from you or me.He never said he was a god, he only knew that he had Buddha nature - the seed of enlightenment, and that anyone has Buddha nature too.Buddha nature is the birthright of every living being.I often say, "Our Buddha nature is as good as any Buddha's Buddha nature." This is the good news that the Buddha gave us when he was enlightened in Bodhgaya, and many people find this message very enlightening.His message—that all living beings can become Buddhas—brings great hope to all.Through practice, we too can become enlightened.If this is not the case, countless enlightened people from ancient times to the present would not be able to do it. It is said that when the Buddha became enlightened, what he most wanted to do was to show everyone that everyone has the nature of mind, and to fully share his realization.But he also regrets knowing that, despite his infinite compassion, it is still difficult for us to become enlightened. Even though we have buddha nature like Buddha, we don't see it because it's so wrapped up in our ordinary mind.Try to visualize here a vase, the space inside the vase is exactly the same as the space outside, separated by fragile walls.Our Buddha mind is enclosed within the bottle walls of our ordinary mind.When we are enlightened, it is as if the vase is broken into pieces, the space "inside" and the space "outside" become one.They are one: now we discover that they have never been separate and are not different, they are always the same. sky and clouds Therefore, no matter what kind of sentient beings we are, we always have Buddha nature, and our Buddha nature is always perfect.We say that even the boundless wisdom of the Buddhas cannot make the Buddha-nature more perfect; nor can living beings contaminate their Buddha-nature in their seemingly boundless chaos.Our true nature can be compared to the sky, and the chaos of the ordinary mind to the clouds.Sometimes the sky is completely obscured by clouds, and we look up and find it hard to believe that there is anything but clouds.But as long as we take a plane, we can find the boundless blue sky above the clouds.The cloud that we thought it was everything, became so small, so far below us. We must keep in mind that clouds are not the sky and do not "belong" to the sky.They just hang there, passing by in a slightly comical way and without belonging, never staining the sky or marking any marks on it. So, where is this Buddha-nature?It is in the sky-like nature of mind, completely open, free and boundless.Basically, it is so simple and natural that it cannot be polluted or corrupted, and it is so pure that it cannot even be described as clean or dirty.Of course, when we say that this kind of mind is like the sky, it is just a metaphor, which can help us start to imagine its all-encompassing boundlessness, because the Buddha nature has a quality that the sky cannot have-the awakened brilliance.There is a saying: Buddha-nature is nothing but the unblemished and undefiled present awakening, Knowing everything, emptiness without substance, completely natural, clear and pure. Dudjom Rinpoche wrote: There are no words to describe it, There are no examples to point it to; Reincarnation did not make it worse, Nirvana did not make it better; it was never born, did not die; it never came free, nor bewildered; it never existed, nor was it destroyed; it has no limits, Nor does it fall into any category. Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche said: deep and peaceful, simple and uncomplicated, pure and bright, mind beyond imagination; This is the mind of the Buddhas. Nothing in it should be eliminated, Nothing should be added, It just looks at itself naturally and cleanly. four mistakes Why do people find it so difficult to even imagine the profundity and excellence of the mind?Why does xinxing seem so weird and unbelievable to many people?Buddhism mentions four kinds of mistakes that prevent us from realizing the nature of mind in the present moment. 1. The nature of mind is too close to us, so that we cannot recognize it, just as we cannot see our own face, it is difficult for our mind to see our own nature. 2. The xinxing is so profound that we cannot get to the bottom.We don't know how deep it is; if we knew how deep it was, there should be some degree of realization. 3. The simplicity of heart is beyond our belief.In fact, the only thing we have to do is: believe that the nature of mind is naked and pure awakening all the time. 4. The nature of mind is so wonderful that we cannot tolerate it.Its vastness is beyond our narrow way of thinking.We simply cannot believe it, nor can we imagine that enlightenment is the true nature of our mind. Tibet is a place that devotes almost all of its energy to the pursuit of enlightenment. If the analysis of the above four errors is applicable to Tibetan civilization, it should be very suitable for modern civilization, which devotes almost all of its energy to the pursuit of ignorance.Modern civilization has no knowledge of xinxing. Writers or intellectuals have almost never written books on xinxing; contemporary philosophers do not directly talk about xinxing; most scientists completely deny the possibility of xinxing existence.In popular culture, xinxing has no place, no one sings about it, no one talks about it, and no one broadcasts it on TV.Almost all of our education tells us that everything is not real except the world that can be perceived by the five senses. Although modern people almost completely deny the existence of xinxing, sometimes we still get glimpses of xinxing.These inspirational moments may be enjoying a beautiful piece of music, or wandering in the quiet and clear nature, or tasting the bits and pieces of daily life.When we watch snowflakes falling, or see the sun rise slowly from behind a mountain, or see a beam of light cast mysteriously and ethereally into a house, it may give us a glimpse of the existence of mind.These moments of light, peace, and joy have happened to each of us, and they are so wonderful that we will never forget them. I think that sometimes we do have a partial understanding of these auras, but modern civilization does not provide us with the atmosphere or structure to fully understand them; Unintentionally asks us to be turned away thousands of miles away.We know that even if we wanted to share these experiences with others, no one would take it seriously.As a result, we ignore these potentially life's most revealing experiences.This is perhaps the darkest and most disturbing part of modern civilization, where the question of who we really are is not only ignorant but also inhibits the study of it. look inside And let's switch to another angle entirely, not just from one direction.Modern civilization teaches us to spend our lives chasing our thoughts and projections. Even when we talk about the "heart", we talk about only thoughts and emotions; Just a projection to the heart.The heart is where all projections arise, but no one ever actually goes into the heart, and this has tragic consequences.Guru Rinpoche said it well: Even though what we call "mind" is widely respected and discussed, it is still not understood, misunderstood, or half-understood. Because the mind has never been properly understood, as it does not understand itself, countless philosophical concepts and propositions have arisen.What's more, because ordinary people don't understand and don't know their own nature, they continue to wander in the three realms and six realms, experiencing suffering. Therefore, not knowing your own mind is a serious mistake. How can we change this situation now?very simple.Our mind has two positions: looking outward and looking inward. Now let's look inward. It may be a small matter to change the direction of seeing, but it can make a huge difference, and it may even prevent the various threats of disaster in this world.When more people understand their xinxing, they will appreciate how beautiful the world they live in, and will be willing to fight for the preservation of this world.Interestingly, "Buddhist" in Tibetan is pronounced nangpa, which translates as "introspective person"—a person who seeks truth from the heart rather than from the outside.All the teachings and trainings of Buddhism are aimed at one goal: to look inward to the nature of mind, so as to get rid of the fear of death and help us realize the truth of life. Looking inward requires us to have great sensitivity and courage, which is tantamount to completely changing our attitude towards life and heart.Because we have been indulging in external seeking, we have been unable to touch our inner life.We dare not look inward because our culture doesn't tell us what we'll find if we do so, and we even believe that looking inward carries the danger of going mad.This is the last and most powerful plot of the ego to keep us from discovering our true nature. So we make life so exciting that we don't risk looking inward. Even the idea of ​​meditation can freak people out; Think of experiencing those states as being thrown out of a spaceship, floating forever in a dark, bleak nothingness.This is arguably the most ridiculous misunderstanding.But silence and stillness terrify us in a world that seeks distraction; we keep ourselves from being quiet with noise and frantic busyness.Examining our xinxing has become the last thing we dare to do. Sometimes, I think we are afraid to ask the question of who we are honestly because we are afraid of finding out that there is another truth.How might this discovery explain our way of life?What will our friends and colleagues think of these new discoveries?Armed with this knowledge, what do we do?With this knowledge comes responsibility.It was as if the door of the cell had been burst open, and the prisoner still preferred not to escape! Promise of Enlightenment In the modern world, only a very small number of people have the quality of realizing the nature of mind.So even if it is difficult for us to imagine what enlightenment is like, or what kind of person is enlightened, it is even more difficult for us to start imagining ourselves as enlightened. Our society, while emphasizing the values ​​of life and liberty, in fact assumes that we should only seek power, sex, or money, and that there is a constant need to escape contact with death or real life, if we are told, or we think we are We can't even believe it ourselves when it might be possible; if we really believe there is such a thing as spiritual transformation, we'll all think that only the great sages and gurus of the past can do it. The Guru Lama often mentioned that in the modern world, many people lack self-love and self-esteem, and our entire outlook is based on the false belief that our own capabilities are limited.This negates any prospect of our awakening being possible; and, more tragically, violates the central idea of ​​Buddhism: that we are inherently complete. Even if we want to start to think that we have the possibility of enlightenment, if no one shows us the method of mind, or tells us that it is absolutely possible to realize mind, as soon as we see that our daily life is completely angry, greedy, jealous, resentful, cruel, Desire, fear, anxiety, and confusion will forever wipe away any hope of enlightenment. However, enlightenment is a very real fact, and there are enlightened masters alive on earth.When you meet a master face to face, you will be shocked and moved from the bottom of your heart, and you will understand that the words you thought were just conceptual words such as "brightness" and "wisdom" in the past are actually true.Today's world, while full of crises, is also very encouraging.The modern mind is slowly coming into contact with various realities.Masters such as the Lama Guru and Mother Teresa can be seen on television; many Eastern masters have traveled to the West to visit and teach; and books from all mystical traditions are gaining a growing and broad readership.The tragic situation of the earth is gradually awakening people to carry out global transformation. As I said earlier, enlightenment is a real thing; no matter who we are, everyone can realize the nature of mind under the right environment and proper training, and thus understand that we are immortal and eternally pure. .This is the promise of all mystical traditions in the world, and countless people have fulfilled this nature, past and present. The beauty of this promise is: the mind is not something external to the body, not a monster, not unique to the elite, but all human beings; the master told us that when we realize the mind, it is unexpectedly normal.Spiritual truths are not intentionally manipulated, nor are they mysterious, they are simply common sense.When you realize the nature of mind, confusion is peeled off layer by layer.You don't really "become" a Buddha, you just gradually lose your confusion.Becoming a Buddha is not becoming an all-powerful spiritual superman, but finally becoming a real human being. One of the greatest Buddhist traditions calls the nature of mind "ordinary wisdom."I cannot express it more fully: there is nothing unusual about our true nature and the nature of all beings.The irony is that our so-called ordinary world is truly extraordinary because of our crazy, deliberately constructed hallucinations of deluded visions of the world of samsara.It is this "unusual" scene that makes us blind to the "ordinary", natural, and inherent human nature.Imagine the Buddhas looking at us right now: how surprised and saddened they would be by our hopelessly confused state! Because we make things so complicated by our mediocrity, sometimes when our guru teaches the method of xinxing, we think it is too simple to believe.Our ordinary mind tells us that this cannot be the nature of mind, and the nature of mind should be more than that.It should be more "glorious", brilliant lights flickering in the void around us, fair-haired angels descend to greet us, and then a deep wizard's voice: "Now you have heard the method of mind-nature." In fact. , this kind of plot is absolutely non-existent. Because in our culture we place too much emphasis on intelligence, we imagine that enlightenment requires a high degree of ingenuity.In fact, much ingenuity is a hindrance.There is a Tibetan proverb that says, "If you are too clever, you will miss the point." Patrul Rinpoche said, "The logical mind seems interesting, but it is the seed of confusion." People may be intoxicated by their theories, But you may lose the point of everything.We Tibetans say, "A theory is like a patch on a garment, it will fall off one day." Let me tell you an encouraging story: A guru in the nineteenth century had a stupid student.The master taught him again and again, and showed him his xinxing, but this disciple was still confused.The master lit the fire, so he said to the apprentice: "Look, I want you to carry this big bag of barley to the top of the mountain. You must not stop and rest along the way. You must walk to the top of the mountain in one breath." This apprentice is simple-minded. However, he has unshakable respect and confidence in his master, so he does everything according to the master's words.The bag was very heavy, so he picked it up and began to climb up the hill, not daring to stop.He just kept walking, and the bag got heavier and heavier, and it took him a long time to get to the top of the mountain.Putting down the bag, the whole person fell to the ground slumped, although exhausted, but very comfortable.He felt the fresh mountain wind blowing against his face.All obstacles were disintegrated, and his ordinary mind also disintegrated.Everything seemed to stop.At that moment, he suddenly realized his xinxing.I thought, "Ah! This is exactly what the master has been telling me." So I ran back down the mountain and rushed into the master's room regardless of any taboos. "I already understand...I really understand!" His master said to him pointedly: "So, you had an interesting trip to the mountain!" You can also have the experience of that apprentice on the top of the mountain, and that experience will give you the audacity to bargain with life and death.But what is the best, fastest and most efficient way?The first step is to practice meditation.Meditation can purify the ordinary mind, unmask its masks, remove habits and confusion, and allow us to recognize our true colors when the conditions are ripe.