Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche on Buddha Nature

http://www.atimandala.org/article.php?story=20080307090920772&query=buddha

Is my meditation correct? When shall I ever make progress? Never shall I attain the level of my spiritual Master? Juggled between hope and doubt, our mind is never at peace.


According to our mood, one day we will practise intensely, and the next day, not at all. We are attached to the agreeable experiences which emerge from the state of mental calm, and we wish to abandon meditation when we fail to slow down the flow of thoughts. That is not the right way to practise.

Whatever the state of our thoughts may be, we must apply ourselves steadfastly to regular practice, day after day; observing the movement of our thoughts and tracing them back to their source. We should not count on being immediately capable of maintaining the flow of our concentration day and night.

When we begin to meditate on the nature of mind, it is preferable to make short sessions of meditation, several times per day. With perseverance, we will progressively realise the nature of our mind, and that realisation will become more stable. At this stage, thoughts will have lost their power to disturb and subdue us.

Emptiness, the ultimate nature of Dharmakaya, the Absolute Body, is not a simple nothingness. It possesses intrinsically the faculty of knowing all phenomena. This faculty is the luminous or cognitive aspect of the Dharmakaya, whose expression is spontaneous. The Dharmakaya is not the product of causes and conditions; it is the original nature of mind.

Recognition of this primordial nature resembles the rising of the sun of wisdom in the night of ignorance: the darkness is instantly dispelled. The clarity of the Dharmakaya does not wax and wane like the moon; it is like the immutable light which shines at the centre of the sun.

Whenever clouds gather, the nature of the sky is not corrupted, and when they disperse, it is not ameliorated. The sky does not become less or more vast. It does not change. It is the same with the nature of mind: it is not spoiled by the arrival of thoughts; nor improved by their disappearance. The nature of the mind is emptiness; its expression is clarity. These two aspects are essentially one's simple images designed to indicate the diverse modalities of the mind. It would be useless to attach oneself in turn to the notion of emptiness , and then to that of clarity, as if they were independent entities. The ultimate nature of mind is beyond all concepts, all definition and all fragmentation.

"I could walk on the clouds!" says a child. But if he reached the clouds, he would find nowhere to place his foot. Likewise, if one does not examine thoughts, they present a solid appearance; but if one examines them, there is nothing there. That is what is called being at the same time empty and apparent. Emptiness of mind is not a nothingness, nor a state of torpor, for it possesses by its very nature a luminous faculty of knowledge which is called Awareness. These two aspects, emptiness and Awareness, cannot be separated. They are essentially one, like the surface of the mirror and the image which is reflected in it.

Thoughts manifest themselves within emptiness and are reabsorbed into it like a face appears and disappears in a mirror; the face has never been in the mirror, and when it ceases to be reflected in it, it has not really ceased to exist. The mirror itself has never changed. So, before departing on the spiritual path, we remain in the so-called "impure" state of samsara, which is, in appearance, governed by ignorance. When we commit ourselves to that path, we cross a state where ignorance and wisdom are mixed. At the end, at the moment of Enlightenment, only pure wisdom exists. But all the way along this spiritual journey, although there is an appearance of transformation, the nature of the mind has never changed: it was not corrupted on entry onto the path, and it was not improved at the time of realisation.

The infinite and inexpressible qualities of primordial wisdom "the true nirvana" are inherent in our mind. It is not necessary to create them, to fabricate something new. Spiritual realisation only serves to reveal them through purification, which is the path. Finally, if one considers them from an ultimate point of view, these qualities are themselves only emptiness.

Thus samsara is emptiness, nirvana is emptiness - and so consequently, one is not "bad" nor the other "good." The person who has realised the nature of mind is freed from the impulsion to reject samsara and obtain nirvana. He is like a young child, who contemplates the world with an innocent simplicity, without concepts of beauty or ugliness, good or evil. He is no longer the prey of conflicting tendencies, the source of desires or aversions.

It serves no purpose to worry about the disruptions of daily life, like another child, who rejoices on building a sand castle, and cries when it collapses. See how puerile beings rush into difficulties, like a butterfly which plunges into the flame of a lamp, so as to appropriate what they covet, and get rid of what they hate. It is better to put down the burden which all these imaginary attachments bring to bear down upon one.

The state of buddha contains in itself five "bodies" or aspects of buddhahood: the Manifested Body, the Body of Perfect Enjoyment, the Absolute Body, the Essential Body and the Immutable Diamond Body. These are not to be sought outside us: they are inseparable from our being, from our mind. As soon as we have recognised this presence, there is an end to confusion. We have no further need to seek Enlightenment outside. The navigator who lands on an island made entirely of fine gold, will not find a single nugget, no matter how hard he searches. We must understand that all the qualities of buddha have always existed inherently in our being.

Pith Instructions on the Great Perfection - Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

http://www.turtlehill.org/dilgo.html

The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions, and to all people, experiencing everything totally without mental reservations and blockages, so that one never withdraws or centralizes into oneself.

This produces a tremendous energy which usually is locked up in the process of mental evasion and a general running away from life experiences.

Clarity of awareness may, in its initial stages, be unpleasant or fear-inspiring; if so, then one should open oneself completely to the pain or the fear and welcome it. In this way the barriers created by one's own habitual emotional reactions and prejudices are broken down.

When performing the meditation practice one should develop the feeling of opening oneself completely to the whole universe with absolute simplicity and nakedness of mind, ridding oneself of all protecting barriers.

Don't mentally split into two when meditating, one part of the mind watching the other like a cat watching a mouse.

One should realize that one does not meditate to go deeply within oneself and withdraw into the world. In buddhist yoga, even when meditating on chakras there is no introspection concentration: complete openness of mind is the essential point.

The ground of samsara and nirvana is the alaya, the beginning and the end of confusion and realization, the nature of universal shunyata and of all apparent phenomena. It is even more fundamental than the trikaya and is free from bias toward enlightenment. It is sometimes called the "pure" or "original" mind.

Although prajna (wisdom) see in it no basis for such concepts as different aspects, the fundamental aspects of complete openness, natural perfection, and absolute spontaneity are distinguished by upaya (skillful means) as useful devices.

All aspects of every phenomenon are completely clear and lucid. The whole universe is open and unobstructed, everything mutually interpenetrating. Seeing all things nakedly, clear and free from obscurations, there is nothing to attain or realize. The nature of things naturally appears and is naturally present in time-transcending awareness; this is complete openness.

Everything is perfect just as it is, completely pure and undefiled. All phenomena naturally appear in their uniquely correct modes and situations, forming ever-changing patterns full of meaning and significance, like participants in a great dance. Everything is a symbol, yet there is no difference between the symbol and the truth symbolized. With no effort of practice whatsoever, liberation,
enlightenment, and buddhahood are already fully developed and perfected. This is natural perfection.

The everyday practice is just ordinary life itself. Since the underdeveloped state does not exist there is no need to behave in any special way or try to attain or practice anything.

There should be no need of striving to reach some exalted goal or higher state; this simply produces something conditional or artificial that will act as an obstruction to the free flow of the mind. One should never think of oneself as "sinful" or worthless, but as naturally pure and perfect,
lacking nothing.

When performing meditation practice one should think of it as just a natural function of everyday living, like eating or breathing, not as a special, formal event to be undertaken with great seriousness and solemnity. One must realize that to meditate is to pass beyond effort, beyond practice, beyond aims and goals, and beyond the dualism of bondage and liberation.

Meditation is always perfect, so there is no need to correct anything. Since Everything that arises is simply the play of the mind, there are no "bad" meditation session and no need to judge thoughts as good or evil. Therefore one should not sit down to meditate with various hopes or fears about the outcome: one just does it with no self-conscious feeling of "I am meditating" and without attempting to control or force the mind, and without trying to become peaceful.

If one finds that one is going astray in any of these ways, one should stop meditating and simply rest and relax for awhile before resuming.

If, either during or after meditation,one has experiences that one interprets as results, they should not be made into anything special; recognize that they are just phenomena and simply observe them. Above all, do not attempt to recreate them as this opposes the natural spontaneity of the mind.

All phenomena are completely new and fresh and absolutely unique, entirely free from all concepts of past, present, and future- as if experienced in another dimension of time; this is absolute spontaneity.

The continual stream of new discovery and fresh revelation and inspiration that arises at every moment is the manifestation of the eternal youth of the living dharma and its wonders; splendor and spontaneity is the play or dance aspect of the universe as guru.

One should learn to see everyday life as a mandala in which one is at the center, and be free of the bias and prejudice of past conditioning, present desires, and hopes and expectations about the future.

The figures of the mandala are the day-to-day objects of one's life experiences moving in the great dance of the play of the universe, the symbolism by which the guru reveals profound and ultimate meaning and significance. Therefore, be natural and spontaneous; accept and learn from everything.

See the comical, amusing side of initiating situations. In meditation, see through the illusion of past, present, and future. The past is but a present memory or condition, the future but a present projection, and the present itself vanishes before it can be grasped.

One should put an end to conceptions about meditation and free oneself from memories of the past. Each moment of meditation is completely unique and full of potentiality of new discovery so one is incapable of judging meditation by past experience or by theory.

Simply plunge straight into meditation at this very moment with your whole mind, and be free from hesitation, boredom, or excitement.

When meditating it is traditional and best, if possible, to sit cross-legged with the back erect but not rigid. However, it is most important to feel comfortable, so it is better to sit in a chair if sitting cross-legged is painful.

One's mental attitude should be inspired by the three fundamental aspects, whether the meditation is with or without form, and it may often prove desirable, if not essential, to precede a period of formless meditation by a period of meditation with form.

To provide for this eventuality many classes of preliminary meditation practices have been developed over centuries of buddhist practice, the most important being meditations on breathing, mantra recitation, and visualization techniques.

To engage in the second and third of these classes, personal instruction from one's guru is required, but a few words on the first would not be out of place here as the method used varies little from person to person.

First, let the mind follow the movement of the breath, in and out, until it becomes calm and tranquil. Then increasingly rest the mind on the breath until one's whole being seems identified with it.

Finally become aware of the breath leaving the body and going out into space, and gradually transfer the attention from the breath to the sensation of spaciousness and expansion.

By letting this final sensation merge into complete openness, one moves into the sphere of formless meditation.

In all probability the above description of the three fundamental aspects will seem vague and inadequate. This is inevitable since they attempt to describe what is not only beyond words but beyond thought as well. They invite practice of what is, essentially, a state of being.

The words are simply a form a upaya, skillful means, a hint which if acted upon, will enable one's innate wisdom and naturally perfect action to arise spontaneously.

Sometimes in meditation one may experience a gap in one's normal consciousness, a sudden and complete openness. This experience arises only when one has ceased to think in terms of meditation and the object of meditation. It is a glimpse of reality, a sudden flash that occurs infrequently at first, and then, with continued practice, more and more frequently. It may not be a particularly shattering or explosive experience at all, just a moment of great simplicity.

Do not make the mistake of deliberately trying to force these experiences to recur, for to do so is to betray the naturalness and spontaneity of reality.

《坐禅三昧经》中五门的思想及意义——蔡宏

http://www.fjnet.com/fjlw/200909/t20090901_133663_5.htm

大智度论

大乘佛教的慈悲精神和智慧解脱

http://www.xschina.org/show.php?id=9121

http://www.lama.com.tw/content/meet/acto.aspx?id=1530

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!h8SLyhuHAxg6cSAHblcclh4-/article?mid=963

大乘佛教的主要精神，如果用一句话来概括的话，那就是“悲智双运，福慧并修”。这里，“悲”和“福”体现的是大乘佛教度人利他的慈悲精神，“智”和“慧” 体现的是大乘佛教自度自利的智慧解脱。“悲智双运”是就大乘佛教的教义和宗旨来讲的，而“福慧并修”则是从修道者的修行方向和方法来讲的。

　　大乘佛教的慈悲精神

　　二千五百多年前，释迦牟尼因观世间众生沉溺欲海，饱受生老病死之苦，从而发心出家求解脱之道。经过十余年的访师求道和潜心修行，释迦牟尼终于证得了解 脱生死轮回之无上正等正觉（阿耨多罗三藐三菩提）法。之后，释迦牟尼以此无上菩提法化导众生，说法四十余年，直至圆寂，以实践他降生之时即立下的誓愿： “三界皆苦，吾当安之”（《修行本起经》卷上）；“此生利益一切人天”（《过去现在因果经》）。佛陀的这一誓愿，体现了佛教关怀众生、利乐有情的伟大的慈 悲精神。

　　按照佛教经典原本的解释，“慈”和“悲”是分别从两个不同的方面来体现佛教对众生的关怀的。慈是与众生乐，悲是去众生苦。如《大智度论》中说：“大慈 与一切众生乐，大悲拔一切众生苦。大慈以喜乐因缘与众生，大悲以离苦因缘与众生。”（卷27）佛教视“苦”为一切世间法的根本相状，求道修证也就是要脱离 此无边之苦海。所以，在拔苦与乐的慈悲精神中，亦以拔苦为更根本。佛教的这种慈悲精神，在大乘佛教中得到了最充分的发扬，甚至被视为佛教的最根本精神。如 《观无量寿佛经》中说：“佛心者，大慈悲是。”《大智度论》中则更明确宣称：“慈悲是佛道之根本。”（27卷）在大乘佛教所崇仰的那些佛、菩萨中，无一不 有自己的誓愿，然救世济众则是他们共同的誓愿。此中，尤以地藏菩萨救度众生的誓愿最大，最为感人。据《地藏菩萨本愿经》中记载，地藏菩萨发愿说：“若不先 度罪苦，令是安乐，得至菩提，我终未愿成佛。”（卷上）所以，后人为地藏菩萨所作的对联曰：“地狱未空誓不成佛，众生度尽方证菩提”，充分表达了地藏菩萨 的大誓愿。大乘佛教中有许多救苦救难的佛、菩萨，除以上已提到的释迦牟尼佛和地藏菩萨外，阿弥陀佛和观世音菩萨等也是最受广大信众崇拜的救苦救难的佛、菩 萨。应当指出的是，大乘佛教通过佛、菩萨体现出来的这种慈悲精神，主要并不是让人们通过祈祷去期待佛、菩萨来救度自己，而是要 信众按照佛菩萨的慈悲精神去实践。上述“福慧并修”中的修“福”业，即是要求信众通过对大乘佛法“六度”（六波罗蜜）中“布施”、“持戒”、“忍辱”等修 法的实践，以实现利他的慈悲精神。中国的禅宗强调“明心见性，见性成佛”和“即心即佛”，认为“自性迷，佛即是众生；自性悟，众生即是佛”，倡导“自性自 度”，更是把实践济世利生的慈悲精神视作是否悟得“自性佛”的体现。

　　和平与发展是当今世界的时代主题，它不仅需要有一个各国人民、政府之间的平等相待和互相尊重的国际环境，更需要人人都怀有一颗博大的爱心和同情心。若能发扬大乘佛教慈悲利他的精神，将有助于人类爱心和同情心的养成和增长。

　　此外，大乘佛教的慈悲精神，不单是对人类社会，它也遍及于一切有情之生命，乃至所有无情之山水土石。佛教对有情生命之慈悲，不仅体现于“不杀生”的戒 律中，更体现于为救有情众生之生命，可以不惜牺牲自己的一切，乃至生命。在佛典中有大量记载着佛、菩萨为救助有情众生，不惜牺牲自己一切的故事。其中， “割肉喂鸽”、“舍身饲虎”等是人们熟知的故事，虽不免有所夸张和极端，但它表达了慈悲利他精神的理想和升华。佛教对无情山之山水草木的慈悲，则体现为对 人类生存环境的良好保护。中国有句俗话：“天下名山僧占多”。不错，中国的佛教寺庙大多建在风景幽雅、环境优美的名山中，而他们对优美环境的保护也作出了 重要的贡献。

　　我们现代人如能从佛教的不杀生和同情、爱惜一切有情众生之生命，以及积极保护生存环境等慈悲精神中学到一些东西的话，我想对改进当今世界面临的严重的生态失衡和环境破坏，当会有所裨益的。

　　大乘佛教的智慧解脱

　　佛教认为，人世间的一切烦恼和痛苦都来源于人们的分别心。佛典中常说：“心生则种种法生，心灭则种种法灭”（如《大乘起信论》等），就是说现象世界的 一切差别，都源于人们的这种分别心。人们由分别心而起我执、法执，生贪、瞋、痴三毒心，成种种颠倒妄想，从而陷于无尽的烦恼，无边的苦海，不得解脱。对 此，大乘佛教认为，要得到彻底的解脱，就必须以无分别的、平等的“般若”智慧，从根本上去除人们的分别心。这也就是《金刚经》中所谓的“是法平等，无有高 下，是名阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。” 对于现代人来讲，精神上最大的痛苦和不幸，大概无过于“自我”的失落。而这种“自我”失落，完全是现代人盲目依赖物质手段和无节制追求物欲的结果。若追究 其根由，也不外于佛教所揭出的贪、瞋、痴三毒心。贪，为人的贪欲心；瞋，为人的瞋怒心；痴，为人的愚痴心。贪欲是对名声、财物等己所爱好的东西的无限制追 求；瞋怒是对不合己意的有情众生的嫉妒或憎恨；愚痴则是对事理的颠倒执着。三毒心的不断扩张，使现代人在不断扩张的物欲追求中，身为物欲之奴隶而尚不自 觉；在日益发展的高科技面前，越来越被自己所创造的科技环境所支配，而走向“自我异化”。正是在这样的环境下，人们失去了越来越多的个体自我本有的主动和 自由，越来越找不到人生真实价值之所在。

　　佛教以戒、定、慧三学来对治贪、瞋、痴三毒，教导人们以布施心去转化贪欲心，以慈悲心去转化瞋怒心，以智慧心去转化愚痴心。大乘佛教以本来清净为诸法 之本性，既不应有人我之分别，亦不应有物我之分别。世人之追境逐欲，求名为利，自寻物尽之烦恼，实为自我清净本性之迷失。俗话说，“生不带来，死不带 去”，这对于每个个人来讲，是一条颠扑不破的真理。试问，世上有那一个人不是赤条条地来，又赤条条地去的？由此可见，对于每一个个人来讲，大乘佛教以清净 本性为自我，是极其深刻的。

　　清净也就是空，不过大乘佛教是不离色言空的，他反对各种离色空、断灭空的说法，并斥之为戏论。因此，大乘佛教并不否定人们创造的物质财富，以及人们必 要的物质生活。他只是要人们不要迷执于物相，沉溺于物欲。人类创造的财富，归根结底是属于全社会的，对于个人来说终究是身外之物，不仅不可执着贪求，更应 发心施舍，还之于社会大众。一个迷执于自我的人，必然把追求个人身心之欲求放在首位，这样他也就把自己封闭于自筑的牢笼中，终日价用尽心计谋略，落得个无 穷得失烦恼，而终归于空虚盲然的人生。若能打破我执，视人我诸法平等无二，行慈悲利他之行，则必将体现出自我的真实价值，识得清净本性之自我的本来面目。

　　由此说来，大乘佛教之慈悲利他精神和智慧解脱法门，在今天还有其合乎时代的现实意义，可为现代人精神修养的资粮。