The Buddha Nature in the Context of
the Three Dharmachakras

I would like to extend my greetings and my appreciation to all of you for having taken the time to receive these instructions. I have been asked to present an introduction to Buddhism, the Buddhadharma, “the teachings of Lord Buddha.” What I wish to talk about is a very important topic from the final cycle of the teachings which Buddha Shakyamuni gave to us. The principal theme of this cycle of teachings is the Buddha nature. Before I begin discussing this subject, though, I wish to remind you that we need to be free of the three faults while listening to the holy Dharma. The three faults are compared with a vessel or cup. The first fault is being inattentive, compared with a cup turned upside down that cannot hold what is poured into it. The second fault is being inconsiderate of the contents, compared with a cup with holes in the bottom. The third fault is being distracted by disturbing emotions while receiving the teachings, compared with a cup filled with poison that contaminates anything poured into it. We need to be free of all three faults and generate the pure motivation to attain enlightenment for the welfare of all living beings without exception. We listen to the holy Dharma for this purpose and aspire to integrate the teachings in our lives accordingly.

Generally, the teachings that have come down to us from Buddha Shakyamuni are extremely vast and profound. The reason for this spread of both profundity and extent is basically the very different motivations, propensities, and capabilities of individual people. Some of the teachings that the Buddha presented were directed towards people who were very much in the midst of their daily obligations. Others were provisional teachings intended to lead a person into a deeper appreciation. And some of the teachings were about how things actually are, what we call “the definitive” or “certain section of teachings.” The vast body of instructions is generally known these days as “the three cycles” or “the three Dharmachakras.” The first cycle, which was the initial formulation of the Buddha’s experience, is concerned with the Four Noble Truths. The second cycle is known as “the teachings of no characteristics,” and the third cycle – which will be our principal theme here – is known alternatively as “complete differentiation,” “perfect delineation” or, probably more familiarly, “the teachings of the Buddha nature.”

The First Dharmachakra

The first cycle of teachings is known as the teachings on the Four Noble Truths. The First Noble Truth is basically concerned with an exposition of the suffering and frustration we experience in our lives; it grants a very clear understanding of the dismay and unsatisfactory nature of ordinary experiences in conditioned existence. In the Second Truth, Lord Buddha explained at great length the source or cause of this dissatisfaction, which fundamentally is the emotional concerns – which arise in all of us – and the process by which those motivations turn into suffering. This comes to a delineation of the workings of karma, how an action becomes a seed and produces a certain result. From that he demonstrated a way of life or path that will lead one to become free of suffering, how to live in a way that will dissolve the dissatisfaction of existence, the Third Truth, which is the path. He showed very clearly how this path would lead to the dissolution of suffering, the Fourth Truth, which has come to be known as nirvana, the “transcendence of misery.” You see from the above that the principal focus of the three cycles of teachings was on suffering – its causes, its manifestation, and its cessation. Because the context is suffering, the natural inclination and main message of the teachings is how we can become free of suffering itself.

How do we actually make use of that perspective? What do we have to do in order to clear away suffering, frustration, and the unsatisfactory nature of our lives? Lord Buddha was very careful to distinguish between the experiences we have of the world around us and the suffering – the frustration, the lack of satisfaction – in our lives, which comes from the way we interpret those experiences. It isn’t simply the world and what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch that are the actual cause for the lack of satisfaction in our lives. It is much more the way we approach and interact with our experiences that cause a lack of satisfaction. This lack of satisfaction comes from the supposition that drives us to see ourselves always as someone who is experiencing something – we see ourselves to exist as someone in opposition to the world. From this perspective, the presence of the sense of ourselves in discordance with the world is the basis for an unhappy experience of life. So, Lord Buddha, in the First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, or the first cycle of teachings, elaborated that sense we have of ourselves as existing in opposition to the world.

When we look at it, we see that experiences can arise without any need of a sense of the self. So, through calming the mind, through morality, by acting ethically in body and speech, through training the mind – learning how to restrain the mind so it doesn’t react emotionally – and through developing a calmness which allows for a development of insight into how the mind is and how we react, we come to appreciate that the sense of self, that we feel strongly to be, is actually false. However, an intellectual understanding of this is not by itself sufficient, rather insight needs to develop and grow in us until it becomes a functional and operative understanding. This is essentially the method by which one comes to be free of suffering according to the first cycle of teachings.

Generally speaking, most people have the impression that a religious life – in our context Buddhism – and a worldly or an ordinary life are contradictory, that both don’t have very much in common nor relate to each other at all. Furthermore, there is the erroneous supposition that Buddhism teaches a way to stop all experiences so that we can cease experiencing the world, so that we are free to block everything out. Both assumptions are quite wrong and show very mistaken impressions of Buddhism. In fact, the very opposite is much more so the case. Buddhism is solely concerned with how to live in a way in which we do not experience life as unsatisfactory, as meaningless. Buddhism is really focused on how we live, not about getting away from life. As I mentioned, the first of the Four Noble Truths is the truth of suffering, that life is unsatisfactory, that we do experience frustration and pain. This is valid for all of us and isn’t a teaching on how to get away from things; on the contrary, it is a teaching on how to pay attention to just what our life is made up of and how it is usually experienced. Rather than thinking up ways to escape from suffering, the approach in Buddhism is much more to understand suffering and what it means to be discontent. When we really understand what it means to be unhappy and how pain arises, then we know what to focus our attention on, namely on removing the source of dissatisfaction from our experience. And the source of dissatisfaction, according to the Buddha’s teachings, is the negative emotions we feel.

One of the principal ways we remove the negative emotions is through developing a very clear, a very ethical approach to life. We take the workings of karma into account, i.e., we appreciate that all our actions are seeds, that only and alone our actions condition us to experience specific results. If the actions are negative, the results we will inevitably experience will be painful. Therefore, far from teaching us to flee from life or to try to escape from suffering, Buddhism is actually concerned with leading us to understand what our life consists of, what suffering means, how it arises, and what we can actually do about it. The first cycle of teachings is really concerned with helping us understand the nature of dissatisfaction in our lives and shows us how to resolve that.

The Second Dharmachakra

The second cycle of teachings Lord Buddha presented is known as “being without signs,” “being without characteristics.” It deals with what our experiences are actually made of, what all the things we experience are, how they really are.

When we look at how experiences are, we see that the way they are is fundamentally different from the way we perceive and conceive of them as being. If we look at any particular phenomenon we experience – even the smallest and most insignificant object or event – we see it is made up of many, many factors which have come together to make that particular object a possibility of experience. This statement strongly suggests that there is no object present, whereas objects do exist as a coming together of many conditions. However, we do not see objects as the product of many conditions – we simply see things as independent objects. We are particularly predisposed to seeing things as independent objects, because we feel we ourselves have substantial existence. This is what is known as “clinging to a sense of an individual self.” We see ourselves in opposition to the world and consequently turn ourselves into an “own thing.” We then proceed to turn everything that makes up the world into “other things,” what is known as “the self of phenomena,” “the self we impute on all experiences.” However, when we look at what we actually experience, we see that we simply experience the coming together of many, many different factors, many different conditions, and that nothing has any existence in its own right. This is the essence of the second cycle of the teachings.

We have to be very careful here because many misconceptions can arise at this point. One might feel that saying there is no actual object present means that nothing exists. This would be quite a serious mistake. These teachings do not say that nothing exists nor do they imply that something exists. In Buddhism, we call the view believing nothing exists “nihilism” and the view believing something exists “eternalism,” the notion that things exist forever while they don’t. The view according to the Second Turning of the Wheel of Dharma or cycle of teachings does not adhere to eternalistic nor nihilistic ideas. We feel that something really exists, but when we look, we see that all experiences are simply the product of many different factors, so it can’t be the case that something really exists. On the other hand, when we say nothing exists, we are immediately confronted with our personal experience that something is going on, so we can’t say nothing exists. The point is to come to an understanding that the designations “existent” and “non-existent” are not accurate descriptions of the world, which is the reason why the second cycle of teachings is termed “the great middle way” – the great middle way goes beyond all philosophical postulates and extremes.

The way we practice the great middle way is to generate and develop what is known in Buddhism as “awakening mind,” awakening to our relationship to the world and awakening to the way the world is. Awakening to the way the world is means awakening to emptiness and awakening to our relationship to the world means awakening to compassion. So, we have the principles of loving kindness, compassion, and the awakening mind as the key principles in the second cycle of teachings. Many of you may have heard the term “emptiness” and wonder what it means. It is a key principle that needs to be understood exactly in how it works and its role in the cycle of teachings.

We cannot understand a concept such as emptiness merely through intellectual reasoning or study in any way. No matter how much we may reason philosophically, no matter what logic we may be able to come up with, the way we see and experience the world will still be in terms of existents, and just this contradicts the way the world actually is. On the other hand, we may feel emptiness refers to nothing, there being nothing, like the emptiness in a box – for instance, there is no “thing” in the box. We feel emptiness means there is nothing going on and we try to understand the world that way, which would be an even greater mistake, because it directly contradicts our own experiences in every instant.

Emptiness refers to “a middle way” and doesn’t simply mean absence or nothing, because there is a very wonderful capability or quality that arises in conjunction with the understanding of emptiness. This is what we know as Bodhichitta or, to translate it, as “awakening mind” or “awakening heart.” Bodhichitta is the natural manifestation of compassion and concern for others, which comes with the appreciation of the ineffable nature of all phenomena. So, the main theme of the second cycle of teachings is not that nothing exists or that something exists, it is that our experience is beyond any conceptualization. When we actually begin to experience the world and ourselves from that angle, then we find ourselves awakening to a very rich and wonderful engagement in the world, one that is characterized by compassion and gentleness.

In the first cycle of teachings it was taught that life is unsatisfactory. The Four Noble Truths help us understand the nature of this dissatisfaction and how to resolve it. In the second cycle of teachings it was taught that our experiences cannot be characterized, they are free of the extremes of eternalism and nihilism. The third cycle speaks about the Buddha nature.

The Third Dharmachakra

We find a very important and very wonderful teaching being presented in the Third Dharmachakra, namely that every sentient being is not fundamentally different from an awakened Buddha, that every living being has what we term “the Buddha nature.” This does not mean that there is some “thing” inside each of us that can be pointed to as “the Buddha nature,” that could grow into a Buddha. The idea that there might be something inside us of this kind is eliminative according to the teachings of the second cycle. However, the Buddha nature is nothing other than what we always and already are.

As it is, we live our lives in great confusion, and the teachings on the Buddha nature suggest this confusion. All disturbing emotions, the pain and distortions that we consider and define as “our experiences” are but incidental impurities and are not fundamentally what we in truth are. The Buddha nature is ever-present and manifests when all the confusion of ordinary experiences is cleared away; it is the empty, clear or radiant, and open mind. It is no “thing” in itself. And the empty, clear or radiant and open mind is never different from the mind of a Buddha, a Fully Awakened Being, i.e., we ourselves are not different from a Buddha, except for the presence of incidental impurities. According to these teachings, there is really no difference between the Buddha nature as taught in the third cycle and with awakening mind, which was mentioned in association with the second cycle of teachings. Awakening mind is “awakening to how the world is,” and Buddha nature is “the potential for awakening” – they are not two different things but are intricately entwined since one of the principles of awakening mind is a compassionate attitude towards ourselves and others.

You will notice that some people are naturally compassionate. It doesn’t matter who approaches them, everyone likes them, feels comfortable with and trusts them. That kind of spontaneous trust, inspiration, calm, and ease indicate the presence of the Buddha nature in that person. Some people seem to be naturally angry, aggressive, short-tempered, and so forth. The teachings say that anger isn’t the fundamental nature of an individual; the disturbing emotions are incidental impurities, adventitious stains that can be cleared away.

According to the third cycle of teachings, everybody has the Buddha nature – everybody has the potential to awaken. As individuals, there is no fundamental distinction, there is no difference between anyone, there is no basis for prejudice or discrimination present in any of us. There is also no justification to privilege one person against another, since we all fundamentally have the same nature. The only difference between us is the extent to which that nature is actually manifest or not. The more impurities or confusion we have, the less that nature manifests. The less impurities, the more that nature manifests. So, the task then becomes one of enabling the Buddha nature to manifest purely and fully in our lives. We do this by going back to the first cycle of teachings, which discusses karma, how we act, what we do on a day-to-day basis, the ethical actions of learning restraint, of learning how to perform virtue, and how to avoid non-virtue. These practices allow the Buddha nature to manifest. We can also look at the second cycle of teachings, which is principally concerned with the development of love, compassion, and the two aspects of awakening mind, awakening to our relationship to the world and awakening to how the world is. It is through the practice of these instructions that we can clear away our own confusion so that our true nature – the adamantine ground – manifests purely and fully.

Questions

Question: If Buddha nature is the fundamental reality, then why do impurities exist?
His Eminence: The point here is not an explanation of why there are the incidental impurities but on how we experience things now. In answer to your question, the incidental impurities we were discussing are an experience of ignorance, of not knowing. What does ignorance or not knowing refer to? The lack of experiential, direct understanding of how we are. That lack of understanding is present and overwhelms us, so we do not perceive ourselves or the world correctly. While our mind or essential nature is empty and clear – that is one way it is described – misunderstanding causes us to perceive emptiness as a “thing,” which we take to be a self. That assumption causes us to perceive and conceive the clarity that arises in the mind as “something else” or “other.” Both the notion of “self” and “other” are duality. It is ignorance or the misunderstanding and the propensity for duality that are the cause for incidental impurities.

Question: Rinpoche, you said that a religious life and a worldly life can be united. The teachings appear to be separate. It appears that if we learn to practice religion, we are encouraged to take vows and then have to return to worldly ways – then we’re on our own. I believe we could say we can put them together and here we are.
Rinpoche: We learn how to practice, and many practitioners spend considerable time in retreat. How do we join what we practice with how we actually are? Is that your question? Really, when we get down to it, our practice is best when it permeates every aspect of our lives and everything we do, whether we are walking, sleeping, sitting, or eating. Everything we experience becomes a reminder or an opportunity to practice mindfulness and awareness. Every interaction we have with another individual is an opportunity to practice not being self-centered or not regarding the world as originating with oneself. Being open and acknowledging the feelings and needs of another person is something we may find in the practice of taking and sending, for instance. This is what we learn to practice. It is intended to be used to completely permeate our lives so that everything we do is a response in that way.

Question: Rinpoche, would you tell us why the Four Noble Truths are called “noble.”
Rinpoche: They are called “noble truths” because they aren’t ordinary statements that are just true. They have a level of truth and profundity that makes them very special.

Question: How do we gain experience of emptiness or an understanding of what emptiness is?
Rinpoche: By studying and reflecting the teachings one will come to some understanding. A direct understanding arises when there is no longer an experience of something being understood – understanding is not separate from what is understood. That’s when the understanding of emptiness really arises.
The entire topic of emptiness needs to be approached with a great deal of caution, because there are so many misunderstandings here. People take emptiness and make it into a thing, which is one form of misunderstanding; they conceptualize it and try to load it on everything they encounter – a major deviation. So, the topic really requires heedful analysis and training. What is very important here is that you have access to and rely on instructions from an authentic teacher who can guide you in this area.

Question: How do we deal with clinging in our relationships, such as parent and child, child and parents, wife and husband, and so forth?
Rinpoche: This is a source of concern for many people, and I encourage you not to worry about this at all. Many people feel if one dispenses with clinging, one won’t have any relationships. This is not what happens. Basically, the clinging present in the relationship is the source for the problems that may arise in relationships. As one becomes clearer and more and more free of clinging, the relationship becomes deeper, closer, and less problematic.

Question: Would someone like myself, who has not gone through a period of purification practice, benefit from the Kalachakra initiation?
Rinpoche: It certainly wouldn’t be a sign of disrespect if you felt interested and wish to attend the empowerment. If you feel inspired and confident, the empowerment will likely benefit you. Nevertheless, it is best to approach it with some understanding and awareness of what it means and involves.

Question: What happens to the Buddha nature at the time of death?
Rinpoche: At the time of death, when the structures of consciousness disintegrate, we experience what we truly are, which is the Buddha nature; this occurs in the first intermediate state following the death process. If an individual has trained during life and has some experience, then at that time a practitioner becomes completely free by realizing his or her own nature.

Question: Experiencing what we are, what is that which experiences?
Rinpoche: To answer your question directly as it was posed, one would say the mind is what understands how we are. But, to be more precise, we would rather say at that point there is no differentiation between what is understood and the understanding.
Student: So, are we in a certain sense a center of awareness?
Rinpoche: In a sense.

Question: What is the most efficient method of clearing away obscurations?
Rinpoche: Generally speaking, to be present with mindfulness and awareness in every moment and every area of our lives. On the basis of that mindfulness and awareness, to do what is virtuous and to avoid what is non-virtuous. Put another way, with the basis of mindfulness and awareness, to always be motivated with the wish to be helpful to others. That will naturally lead us to engage in virtue and to avoid what is non-virtuous. More particularly, there are specific practices within the tradition, such as the preliminary practices that are very effective ways of clearing away obscurations.

Question: It seems that in order to realize the Buddha nature, it takes a great deal of practice, it is very difficult, and takes a great deal of commitment. Is the only way to do this to become a monk or nun?
Rinpoche: There isn’t a single path we could say is the path everybody should follow, because we are all very different. Some persons have greater obscurations than others, some have more abilities than others, so there isn’t a single course everyone should follow. It’s an individual matter, but it may be helpful for you to become a nun.

Thank you very much.

May virtue increase!

Presented at the Karma Kagyu Center in Toronto, Canada, 1990. Translated from Tibetan by Ken McLeod. Transcribed by Gaby Hollmann in 1990. Copyright Jamgon Kongtrul Labrang, Pullahari, Nepal, 2007.

Taken from: http://www.rinpoche.com/teachings/jkrnature.htm

Modern Buddhism is comprised of three main branches: Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Zen. Although these three branches are often thought of as quite distinct, they do share a common basic structure. This common structure consists of the three treasures, or “jewels,” of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Time and space, cause and effect make this world. All of this comes from thinking. Human beings’ minds are composed of emotions, intellect and will. These are called the three clouds, because if you cannot control your emotions, intellect, and will, or they do not function harmoniously, they will cloud over your true self. Then you lose your way in this world, causing more suffering for yourself and others. Because of these three clouds, Buddhism has the three corresponding treasures of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Then what is Buddha? Buddha means waking up and attaining your true self. If you attain your true self, you become Buddha. But in Zen teaching, Buddha is not special. Buddha means if you attain your true self, you attain your own mind. An eminent teacher once said, “Mind is Buddha; Buddha is mind.” So how can you attain your true self? At first, when you begin practicing, you only believe in Shakyamuni Buddha and in his teaching. As you practice this teaching, you see that you can better control your thinking and emotions. And if you control your thinking and emotions, then you can take away suffering and get happiness. As a result, your mind is not moving as outside conditions constantly change. Then you can see clearly, you can hear clearly, you can smell clearly–everything is beauty, just as it is. Then you can believe that the sky is blue, the tree is green, a dog is barking, ‘Woof, woof!’ You can believe in everything. Somebody once asked Un Mun Zen Master, “What is Buddha?” He replied, “Dry shit on a stick.” Perceiving that is the same point. This is moment-to-moment life. We call this the treasure of Buddha.

Beauty does not come from the outside appearance of things. In the treasure of Buddha, “beauty” means that when your mind is not moving, everything is beautiful. I was teaching in Paris several years ago, and saw an exhibition of paintings. An important picture was hanging alone on a large wall. From across the room, you could not tell what this painting was about. As I walked up to it, this picture became clear — two old and worn-out socks, with holes in them, hanging in a frame! All dirty! But that was considered to be the best picture. Everybody in the museum was saying, “Wow, that’s number one, you know?!” But why have these dirty, worn out socks hanging in a high-class museum? What do these socks mean? What is their inside-meaning? The inside-meaning is a very important point.

The inside-meaning of this picture is that some human being did a lot of walking in these socks, putting a great deal of energy into them. With time passing, the socks became worn and full of holes–they showed a lot of suffering. So this picture of old socks is making a very important point: this picture teaches us something about a human being’s life. So although the socks are very dirty, the meaning is very beautiful. Where does this beauty come from?

True beauty comes from our not-moving mind. In Sanskrit, it’s called samadhi, which means deep meditation, unmoving. When your mind is not moving, everything is beautiful, just as it is. If your mind is moving, however, then even if a beautiful picture, a beautiful landscape, or beautiful things appear in front of you, this view quickly changes in your mind, and does not seem so beautiful. For example, when you are angry, or sad, or depressed, then even the birds chirping right outside your window sound irritating or depressing. Because you attach to feelings or outside conditions, whenever these feelings or outside conditions change, then your mind is constantly changing, changing, changing. You lose your center. Then even a beautiful landscape may seem ugly or revolting. So the most important thing is to keep a not-moving mind, moment to moment. Then you can perceive true beauty, and you can digest your understanding so that it can become wisdom.

A not-moving mind gives rise to faith. When your mind is not moving, you can believe in this world. The word for that is faith. Believing in Buddha as an “object of faith” means believing in your true self. Faith means simply that you can believe in your true self, your original nature. Then you can believe your hands, your eyes, your ears, your nose, the trees, the sky, God, Buddha — everything! Someone once asked me, “Soen Sa Nim, do you believe in God?” I said, “Of course I believe in God!” The person was shocked: “But you are a Zen teacher! How can you possibly believe in God?” “I can believe my hands. I can believe my nose. I can believe my eyes. Why not believe in everything? I believe this tree, this dog, this cat — why not believe in God?”

You can believe in everything; believing in everything means realizing that you and everything are never separate. [Hits the table.] OK? You and everything are never separate. Let’s say a husband and wife both believe in their true self. Then even though the husband’s and wife’s bodies are separate, this mind always becomes one and they are never separate. If you believe in your true self, then you can believe in everything; you and everything already become one. The name for that is “faith.” “Mind is Buddha; Buddha is mind.” You are Buddha; Buddha is you! When you see, when you hear, when you smell, when you taste, when you touch — everything is beauty, just as it is. With a not-moving mind, even shit is very beautiful! When this becomes clear, your true way appears clearly right in front of you. So the treasure of Buddha means keeping a not-moving mind.

However if you only understand this, that’s merely intellectual. If you haven’t attained your true self, you don’t truly understand what is life, what is death. So it is very important that you take away ignorance and get enlightenment. How do we do this? First, you must digest your understanding. When you truly digest your understanding, then “The sky is blue” becomes yours. That means your understanding is becoming true wisdom. Your ignorance is changing as your mind opens. When you completely digest your understanding, our name for that is “getting enlightenment.” Wisdom appears by natural process as you continue practicing, digesting your understanding. That is Dharma — the treasure of Dharma.

What is the meaning of Sangha, the treasure of Sangha? Sangha is the ethical side of our life, which means having “correct life.” Correct life comes from your will, from your center. This means taking away bad habits, and following a good way which helps all beings. If your center is not moving, then having correct life is possible. We also refer to that as “correct direction.” That’s the Buddha’s basic teaching–keeping a correct direction. “Why do I want to do this or that? Only for me, or for all beings?” In order to keep our correct direction, however, we need some basic rules or guidelines for our life. These rules, or precepts, always point us toward saving all beings. Precepts are not rules to limit our actions; precepts mean correct direction. If you follow these precepts, you attain goodness. Then only correct action appears by itself: you don’t check inside, you don’t check outside. Moment to moment just doing it is possible, because these precepts already point the way to our correct job of helping all beings. Then you can believe in your true self one hundred percent. One name for that is “freedom”; another name is “holiness.” This is also called “become Buddha.”

Buddhism has a very clear teaching structure: the treasures of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The Chinese characters for this reads sam bo, three treasures. There are three dimensions to sam bo. They are original sam bo, form sam bo, and true sam bo. The original three treasures are the historical figure Shakyamuni Buddha; the actual teachings of Dharma which he gave 2,500 years ago in India, before any sutras appeared; and the assemblies of monks and laypeople who followed his teachings while he lived — the original Sangha. So that’s the original Buddha, the Buddha’s original Dharma speeches, and the original Sangha of people who heard and followed his teaching. In Sino-Korean, we call that jin che sam bo, the original three jewels.

More than 2,500 years have passed since the original three jewels appeared in this world. Now we have sun jun sam bo, or form of the three jewels. Since the original Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha have disappeared, what is the form of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha that we see today? Every temple has a Buddha statue. In Buddhist temples and in our Zen centers in the West, the Buddha statue is gold. This gold Buddha is the form Buddha — it represents the original Buddha. Today we have many sutras, as many as 48,000 sutras. These are the written records of the Buddha’s teaching. We also have books with teaching and events from the lives of eminent teachers in the history of Buddhism. That’s the form of the Dharma. And originally, while Sangha meant only those people alive at the time of the Buddha who heard his teachings and put them into practice, today there are many Buddhist communities throughout the world . This is the Buddhist Sangha, the form of the Sangha. All together, that’s sun jun sam bo, the form of the three jewels.

Then what is the true Sangha? What is true Dharma? What is true Buddha? In Korean and Chinese characters, we call this il che sam bo, which means “become-one three treasures.” Your pure and clear mind is Buddha. When your mind-light shines, that is Dharma. When your mind acts with no hindrance, that is Sangha. Buddha is your pure mind, Dharma is clear mind, and Sangha is your “no-hindrance mind.”

But what is a pure mind? What is clear mind? What is a no-hindrance mind? A long time ago, somebody asked Joju Zen Master, “What is Buddha?” He said, “Go drink tea.” Another time, someone asked Joju, “What is Dharma?” “Go drink tea.” “What is Sangha?” “Go drink tea.” In Sino-Korean, we call that shil yong sam bo, which means real three treasures. If you drink tea with a clear mind, then in that moment, you become actual Buddha, actual Dharma, actual Sangha. Joju Zen Master answered many kinds of questions with “Go drink tea!” If you don’t understand this you must go drink some tea, right now! Then you will attain the actual Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, OK?

In the Compass of Zen, it says that the treasure of Buddha means beauty, the treasure of Dharma means truth, and the treasure of Sangha means morality or goodness. In Sino-Korean, we call this jin song mi — “truth, goodness, beauty.” How are these connected? What is the relationship between truth, goodness and beauty? Everyone has seen a beauty contest on television. Many women come together and are judged on beauty. That means the judges look for each woman’s beauty, or mi. But they only look at the woman’s body and face. If her face and body are beautiful, and if her actions are graceful, then this woman wins the contest. But real jin, truth, is not only how our face and body appear: real truth and beauty are found in our mind. What does our mind look like? Usually our mind is filled with many kinds of ignorant thoughts, and that makes the mind seem ugly. If you practice hard and gradually take away ignorance, you get enlightenment. Then wisdom appears: that’s true beauty and truth.

Everybody has goodness, or song, already in their mind. One way to easily see this is by going to a movie where a good character is battling a villain. The good person is being beaten badly; maybe he or she is about to die. It looks like the villain is going to win! That’s no good! So everybody in the movie theater is thinking, “No good! No good! Get up! Get the bad person!” If the good character and the others suffer a lot at the hands of the scoundrel, then everybody watching the movie feels upset. Nobody wants the good person to die. The anxiety we feel is the innate goodness we already have in us. “Get up! Get up! Get the bad person!” This mind appears. So that’s goodness. This goodness comes from where? It comes from our nature, our true nature. Myself and all beings are not different, and are never separate. That’s why goodness is realized in Sangha. So, true goodness means correct direction — precepts.

Taken from: http://www.kwanumzen.com/primarypoint/v11n2-1994-summer-dssn-threetreasurestructureofbuddhism.html

The well-known motto of Ch’an Buddhism is that “perceiving the true self, one becomes a Buddha.” The “true self” signifies the Buddha nature inherent in all sentient beings. The discovering of the “true self” has become the single most important pursuit of the Buddhist, especially in Sino-Japanese Buddhism. On the contrary, early Buddhism teaches that ultimately no substantial self (i.e., ‘anatman’) can be found, since the self is nothing but the union of the five aggregates. Modern Buddhologists as well as the Buddhists have been intrigued by the inconsistency that one single tradition teaches both that there is no self on the one hand, and that the goal of religious life is to discover the true self, on the other hand.

The big questions concerning these two contradictory doctrines include:

– How did they develop during the course of Buddhist history?
– How can they be reconciled?
– Are these two ideas actually as contradicting as they appear to be?
– Is the concept of the Buddha nature an outcome of the influence of other Indian religious thought upon Buddhism?

It is out of the scope of this short paper to answer all these questions. Therefore, this paper will deal with the antecedent and synonymous concept of the Buddha nature, that is, ‘tathagata- garbha’ (‘ju lai tsang’). Specifically, this paper will examine the meaning and significance of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ (Buddha nature) based on three ‘tathagatagarbha’ texts and argue that the ‘tathagatagarbha’/Buddha nature does not represent a substantial self (‘atman’); rather, it is a positive language and expression of ’sunyata’ (emptiness) and represents the potentiality to realize Buddhahood through Buddhist practices. In other words, the intention of the teaching of ‘tathagatagarbha’/Buddha nature is soteriological rather than theoretical.

The term “‘tathagatagarbha’” is generally taken as to mean that the “garbha” of a ‘Tathagata’ exists in all sentient beings without exception, and though temporarily contaminated by adventitious defilement (‘agantukaklesa’), it is the cause which eventually leads sentient beings to enlightenment. The notion of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ can be traced to a luminous�A inherently pure mind (pabhassar citta) found in the ‘Anguttara-nikaya’ (1:5):

Pabhassarm ‘idam’ bhikkhave cittam ‘tan’ ca kho ‘agantukehi’ upakkilesehi ‘upakkilitthan’ ti pabhassaram idam bhikkhave ‘cittam tan’ ca kho ‘agantukehi’ upakkilesehi vippamuttan ti

Oh! ‘Bhiksus’. The mind is pure! It is defiled by the adventitious defilement. Oh! ‘Bhiksus’. The mind is pure! it obtains liberation through the adventitious defilement.

When the original pure mind came to be regarded as something capable of growing into Buddhahood, there was the ‘tathagatagarbha’ doctrine. Although the concept of an intrinsically pure mind exists in the Nikaya Buddhism, many Buddhologists, such as Wayman (1), Paul (2), Yin-shun (3) think that the ‘tathagatagarbha’ thought was originated from the ‘Mahasamgika’, but was rejected by the ‘Theravada’. This theory is also held by Mizuno who points out that the pure mind (‘pabhassarcitta’) articulated in the Nikaya Buddhism is not totally identical with the original pure mind (‘prakrtivisuddhi-citta’) articulated in the ‘Tathagatagarbha’ doctrine, for Mizuno asserts that the former is static whereas the latter is dynamic in that it is capable of eradicating defilement.(4) At any rate, the relationship between pure mind and the adventitious defilement appears to have been wholly adopted by the ‘Mahasamghika’ and later by the ‘Mahayana’.

According to I-tsing’s Nan-hai-chi-kuei Nei-fa-chuan (The record of the Buddhist kingdoms in the Southern Archipelago), “the so-called ‘Mahayana’ (in India) is no more than the two: one ‘Madhyamika’, the other ‘Yogacara’.”(5) Although it is commonly held that the ‘Madhyamika’ and ‘Yogacara’ were the two major philosophical schools in Indian ‘Mahayana’ and although it might be true that ‘tathagatagarbha’ thought never formed an academic school in India, this does not mean that the ‘tathagatagarbha’ doctrine never played a significant role in the development of Indian Buddhist thought.(6) This is attested by the fact that there are many ‘tathagatagarbha’ scriptures composed in India approximately from the third to the sixth century, such as the ‘Tathagatagarbha-sutra’, ‘Maha-parinirvana-sutra’, ‘Anuatyapurn-atvanirdesa-sutra’, ‘Srimaladevisimhanada-sutra’, ‘Lankavatara-sutra’, Rotnagotravibhaga, Buddha-nature Treatise, etc.

Since the beginning of this century, many ‘Buddhologists’ have become interested in the ‘Tathagararbha’ doctrine and have shed new light on tathagatagarbha thought. However, their studies, especially on the Ratnagotravibhaga, lead to two different interpretations of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ doctrine, i.e., ‘tathagatagarbha as a monistic doctrine, and ‘tathagatagarbha’ as the embodiment of the principle of dependent co-arising (‘pratityasamutpada’) or ’sunyata’, following the traditional ‘Mahayana’ Buddhist lines.

Obermiller, who maintains the ‘Tathagatagarbha’ as monistic, in the introduction to his translation of the Ratnagotravibhaga, says that in this text, “we see that Aryasanga has come to a fully monistic and pantheistic conception” and that “The central point of this most developed theory is the teaching that the fundamental element of Buddhahood, the essence of the Buddha in a living being represents an eternal, immutable (‘asamskrta’) element, which is identical with the monistic Absolute and is unique and undifferentiated in everything that lives.”(7)

Takasaki, an eminent scholar of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ doctrine, asserts that the ‘tathagatagarbha’ thought holds some monistic element. He says: – “When Buddhism developed itself into ‘Mahayana’ Buddhism, it could not but take the appearance of Monism as a result of Absolutization of the Buddha and approach the Upanishadic thinking in its philosophy … for explaining the possibility of anyone’s acquiring the Buddhahood, the Monistic philosophy was used as the background. In this last point lies the significance of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ theory of this text. This theory is in one sense an inevitable result of the development of Mahayanistic monism in its religious expression.”(8)

Although Takasaki notes that there is a difference between the nature of monism in the Ratnagotravibhaga and in the Upanishads, for the Absolute taught in the Ratnagotravibhaga is the manifestion of ’sunyata’ which is of a quite different character from the substantial Absolute of the Upanishads, still he believes “there was an influence from the Upanishadic thought for the ‘astivada’ of the Ratna to establish its monistic doctrine.”(9)

The reason for those scholars’ holding the ‘tathagatagarbha’ doctrine as monistic is that they base their interpretation on passages in various ‘tathagatagarbha’ literature which assert the equivalence of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ to terms with all-pervading character, such as ‘tathata’, ‘dharmakaya’, ‘dharmadhatu’, etc., which describe the ‘tathagatagarbha’ as being eternal (nitya) and immutable (‘atman’), which assert the fundamental purity of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ (equating the ‘tathagatagarbha’ as ‘prakrtiparisuddhi-citta’, the original pure mind), and which assert that the ‘tathagatagarbha’ functions like a first cause from which the phenomenal reality emanates.

However, if we examine more carefully the ‘tathagatagarbha’ doctrine, we will find that it can be interpreted as an expression of the concept of ‘pratityasamutpada’ and ’sunyata’. Yamaguchi (10) and Ogawa(11) follow this traditional line.

Interestingly, modern Buddhologists are not alone in their puzzle about the question of whether the ‘tathagatagarbha’ represents a kind of Upanishadic ‘atman’. Bodhisattva ‘Mahamati’ in the ‘Lankavatarasutra’ raised a question concerning this issue. He said to the Buddha:

– Now the Blessed one makes mention of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ in the sutras, and it is described by you as by nature bright and pure, as primarily unspotted, endowed with the thirty-two marks of excellence, hidden in the body of every being like a gem of great value … it is described by the Blessed One to be eternal, permanent, auspicious and unchangeable. Is not this ‘tathagatagarbha’ taught by the Blessed One the same as the ego-substance taught by the philosophers (tirthikas)? (12).

In this passage, the Buddha clearly identified the ‘tathagatagarbha’ with emptiness, markless, ‘tathata’, etc., meaning that the ‘tathagatagarbha’ is without any substantial entity. Then the question arises: — if the ‘tathagatagarbha’ is empty by nature , why the Buddhas teach a ‘tathagatagarbha’ possessing all positive attributes, such as eternal (nitya), self (‘atman’), bliss (sukha) and pure (subha)? The Buddha goes on to answer this question:

– The reason why the ‘Tathagatas’ who are Arhats and fully enlightened Ones teach the doctrine pointing to the tathagatagarbha which is a state of non-discrimination and imageless, is to make the ignorant cast aside their fear when they listen to teaching of egolessness. It is like a potter who manufactures various vessels out of a mass of clay of one sort by his own manual skill and labour … that the ‘Tathagatas’ preach the egolessness of things which removes all the traces of discrimination by various skillful means issuing from their trancend-ental wisdom, that is, sometimes by the doctrine of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ , sometimes by that of egolessness … Thus, ‘Mahamati’, the doctrine of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ is disclosed in order to awaken the philosophers from their clinging to the idea of the ego. Accordingly, ‘Mahamati’, the ‘Tathagatas’ disclose the doctrine of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ which is thus not to be known as identical with the philosopher’s notion of an egosubstance. Therefore , ‘Mahamati’, in order to abandon the misconception cherished by the philosophers, you must depend on the ‘anatman-tathagatagarbha’.(13)

It is pointed out in this passage that the ‘tathagatagarbha’ is empty in its nature yet real: it is ‘Nirvana’ itself, unborn, without predicates. It is where no false discrimination (nirvikalpa) takes place. There is nothing here for the Buddhas or Bodhisattvas to take hold of as an ‘atman’. They have gone beyond the sphere of false discrimination and word. It is due to their wisdom and skillful means (‘upaya’) that they set up all kinds of names and phrases in order to save sentient beings from mistaken view of reality. In other words, it is exactly to help sentient beings case away their fear of ‘anatman’ that the ‘tathagatagarbha’ with positive attributes (i.e., ‘asunya-tathagatagarbha’) is taught, and at the same time it is to get rid of the clinging of ‘atman’ that the ‘anatman-tathagatagarbha’ is taught. Thus it is clear that the ‘tathagatagarbha’ is not an Upanishadic ‘atman’. Now let’s turn to examine how Yamaguchi and Ogawa who hold this traditional line interpret this doctrine.

Yamaguchi points out that the statement in the Ratnagotravibhaga, “O Noble youth, such is the essential nature of the dharma (‘dharmanam dharmata’), whether the ‘Tathagatas’ appear in the world, or whether they do not, these living beings are always possessed of the matrix of the ‘Tathagata’” (15) is parallel to the statement found in the Sammyutta-nikaya “Whether the ‘Tathagatas’ were to appear in the world, the theory of ‘pratitysamutpada’ remains.”(16)

Here we see the ‘tathagatagarbha’ was considered as a valid principle as ‘pratitysamutpada’. Thus Yamaguchi holds that the most important point in expounding the ‘tathagatagarbha’ in the Ratnagotravibharga is that “the ‘pratitysamutpada’ is the ‘tathagatagarbha’.” (engi sunawachi nyoraizo)(17).

Ogawa, following the same position, interprets the ‘tathagatagarbha’ according to the commentary of the ‘Ratnagotravibhaga’ by the Tibetan master, Dhar-ma rin-chen. He argues that the ‘tathatagatagarbha’ is essentially the same as ’sunyata’, and also it has the ’sunyata’ nature which allows the mind to understand ’sunyata’. The crucial point of this interpretation centers on the passage “all sentient beings are possessed of the ‘tathagatagarbha’” in the Ratnagotravibhaga. It expounds three ’svabhavas’ of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ to justify the above passage. According to Dhar-ma rin-chen, the three ’svabhavas’ are ways of explaining the ‘tathagatagarbha’ form three perspectives: – from the perspective of the result level of the ‘Tathagata’, from the perspective of the nature of the ‘Tathagata’ and from the perspective of the cause of the ‘Tathagata.’(18)

1/- ‘Dharmakaya-svabhava’: – from the perspective of the result level of the ‘Tathagata’. The ‘Dharmakaya-svabhava’ means that the ‘Dharmakaya’ of the ‘Tathagata’ penetrates all sentient beings. According to Takasaki, this first ’svabhava’ is derived from the ‘ Tathagatotpattisambhavambhava-parivarta’ of the ‘Avatamsaka-sutra’ as cited in the Ratnagotravibhaga: — “There is no one among the groups of sentient beings in whose body the wisdom of the ‘Tathagata’ does not penetrate at all.”(19) It seems that when “the ‘dharmakaya’ of the ‘Tathagata’ pervades” is taken to mean that there is no part of the universe where the substantial entity is not present, it could fall into a monistic interpretation. However, according to Dhar-ma rin-chen, the ‘Dharmakaya’ is explained as having two aspects:

1) ‘Dharma-dhatu’, the perfectly pure realm of ultimate truth itself, in which “dharma” means “teaching” and “‘dhatu’” means “cause”. Therefore, the ‘Dharmadhatu’ refers to the supreme truth which is the cause of the teaching, and
2) arya-dharma which means the teaching in its form as conventional truth. This conventional teaching is the nature outflow (‘nisyanda’) of wisdom.

Thus we see whereas the former aspect of the ‘Dharmadhatu’ refers to the truth realized by the Buddha, the static aspect of the ‘Tathagata’s’ enlightenment, the later refers to the dynamic aspect of the ‘Tathagata’s’ enlightenment, i.e., teaching the Dharma. This is to say that the Buddhadharma, or the teaching, spontaniously flows out of the ‘Tathagata’s’ compassion for the benefit of sentient beings. Therefore, when the Ratnagotravibhaga states that “all beings possess the ‘tathagatagarbha’” (because the ‘Dharmakaya’ of the ‘Tathagata’ penetrates all sentient beings), it simply means that sentient beings are able to hear the pure dharmas and are everywhere and constantly permeated by them, as the nesessary outflow of the ‘Dharmadhatu’.(20) In other words, the universality of the ‘Tathatagatagarbha’ expressed here refers to the potential capacity within living beings to be effected by the teaching of the Buddha and hence does not have a notion of a substantial entity.

2/- ‘Tathata-svabhava’: – from the perspective of the nature of the ‘Tathagata’. This ‘tathata-svabhava’ means that the ‘tathata’ of the ‘Tathagata’ is not different from the ‘tathata’ of the sentient beings. The underlying principle of this identity of the ‘tathata’ of the ‘Tathagata’ and that of sentient being is ’sunyata’. Since the ultimate nature of both the ‘Tathagata’ and sentient beings are ’sunyata’, they are seen to be undifferentiated. The only difference is that when the ‘tathata’ is associated with defilement, it is called the “‘tathagatagarbha’” or ’samala tathata’ (of sentient beings), and when the defilement is removed, it becomes ‘nirmala tathata’ (of the ‘Tathagata’). Yet they are essentially identical. Therefore, one says that all sentient beings possess the ‘tathagatgarbha’ when referring to the existence of the ’sunyata’ nature of living being’s mind which is essentially free of defilement. Again no notion of immutable substance should be asserted.

3/- ‘Gotra-svabhava’: – from the perspective of the cause of the ‘Tathagata’. This ‘gotra-svabhava’ means that the gotra (seed nature) of the ‘Tathagata’ exists in all sentient beings. The gotra in this context is explained accroding to the two-fold structure: – 1) the ‘prakrtistha-gotra’ (innate gotra), and 2) the ’samudanilagora’ (acquired gotra). According to Dhar-ma rin-chen: Based on the innate gotra, the first body, which is ‘Dharmakaya’, is obtained. Based on the acquired, perfected gotra, the later two form bodies (’sambohogakaya’ and ‘nirmanakaya’) are obtained.(21) The ‘prakrtistha’ gotra which obtains the ‘dharmakaya’, does so on the basis of the wisdom (‘prajna’) through which insight into the reality of all dharmas is attained. According to Dharma rin-chen, the ‘prakrtistha’ gotra is the primary meaning of the ‘tathagatagarbha’, because it is identified with ’sunyata’ and as such the primary “cause” of Buddhahood. The ’samudanita’ gotra which obtains ’sambhogakaya’ and ‘nirmanakaya’, does so on the basis of vigorous practices and the accumulation of innumberable merits and thus is the productive “cause” of Buddhahood. The ’samudanita’ is called the uttara, or ultimate, because it signifies the central theme of general ‘Mahayana’ practice, that is, “wisdom (‘Dharmakaya’) becomes compassion (‘rupakaya’)(22).

In other words, within the very meaning of gotra is experssed the movement from ‘prajna’ to ‘karuna’. This might be called hsia-huei-hsiang, a down-ward transformation or ‘tatha-agata’, i.e., returning from the realm of enlightenment to that of this world of sentient beings�wa process of enlightening others, after the socalled shan-huei-hsiang, an up-ward transformation or ‘tatha-gata’, i.e., striving for the realm of enlightenment from the realm of this world of sentient beings, a process of enlightening oneself. However, this “two-way traffic” process should not be seen as two distinctive and separated processes�F rather, they are non-dual, interrelated and inter-dependent.

Based on the commentary of Dhar-ma rin-chen, we can conclude that the real purpose of the passage “the gotra of the ‘Tathagata’ exists in all sentient beings” is to articulate bodhisattva practices based on wisdom. This is supported by the structure of the Ratnagotravibhaga, which is arranged by the following order:

1) Buddha,
2) Dharma,
3) Sangha,
4) ‘Dhatu’,
5) Bodhi,
6) ‘Guna’ (merits) and
7) Karma (act).

The seven ‘vajrapadas’ are expalined in terms of cause, condition and result. “‘Dhatu’” is the “cause”; bodhi, ‘guna’, and karma are the “conditions” through which the three jewels (of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) as “result” are manifested. As kiyota says that the wisdom, merits and practice of a Bodhisattva constitute the condition through which the “Buddha-is-caused”. The expression “Buddha-is-caused”, or “Buddha-caused” is derived from ‘Buddha-dhatu’. It is employed synonymously with the ‘tathagatagarbha’. As Kiyota rightly points out, the term “cause” here does not refer to a first cause (i.e., a substance or a physical entity), but symbolically as a potential (a principle) which is empirically revealed through a set of conditions�wwisdom, merits ,and practices.(23) In other words, the ‘tathagatagarbha’ as a potential inherent in the human consciousness can only be realized through Bodhisattva practices.

The above arguments are mainly based on the Rathagotravibhaga. At least two other ‘Tatnagatagarbha’ related ’sutras’ also support this viewpoint. One is the Buddha Nature Treatise (24) and the other, the ‘Mahaparinirvana sutra’(25).

In the Buddha Nature Treatise, the author gives five reasons to the question why the Buddha spoke of Buddha nature. They are:

1) to cause sentient beings to depart from inferior mind,
2) to leave behind arrogance,
3) to get rid of delusion,
4) to keep away from slandering the truth and
5) to sever the attachment to self (26).

By overcoming these five shortcomings, one gives rise to five virtues, namely , diligent mind, reverence, widom (‘prajna’) knowledge (‘jnana’) and compassion (‘karuna’). Clearly, right from the beginning, the author does not try to establish that the Buddha nature stands for something substantial. Rather, he points out the soteriological function of the teaching of the Buddha nature.

Delusion refers to the two erronous views of the substential existence of both person (‘atman’) and things (dharma). Ignorant actions arise from these two attachments to the self and external things which prevent human beings from perceiving the truth. To the author of the Buddha Nature Treatise, the truth is nothing but the Buddha nature, for “Buddha nature is the Thusness revealed by the twin emptiness of person and things.”(27) Thus it is said that “if one does not speak of Buddha nature, then one does not understand emptiness and consequently will cling to reality and slander Thusness.”(28) Since the Buddha nature is the implementation of emptiness, it can be any thing but an entity.

Furthermore, in the chapter of expounding the nature of Buddha nature, the author identified Buddha nature with the ‘Dharmakaya’, which is characterized with four virtues (‘guna’). One of them is “self” (‘atman’). This “self” is immediately identified with the perfection of non-self (‘anatman-paramita’). How can the self be at the same time the perfection of non-self? The author explains:

– All the heterodox, in their various ways, conceive and grasp a self in those things which lack self, namely, the five skandhas�wform, etc. Yet these things such as form, etc. differ from what one grasps as the mark of self�F therefore, they are eternally lacking in self [However] with the wisdom of Thusness (chen ju chih). all Buddhas and bodhisattvas realize the perfection of non-self (‘anatman-paramita’) of all things Since this perfection of non-self and that which is seen as the mark of not-self are not different, the ‘Tathagata’ says that this mark of the eternal not-self is the true, essential nature (chen t’i hsing) of all things, therefore. it is said that the perfection of not-self is self. As the ’sutra’ verse says,

Already the twin emptiness [of person and thing] is pure. [In this] is realized the not-self, the supreme self, Since the Buddha realizes the pure nature (hsing). Not-self turns on itself (chuan) and becomes self.(29)

It is evident from this explanation that the teaching of Buddha nature is the instrument employed along with ‘prajna’ to realize the true, essential nature of all dharmas, namely, the non-self. Soteriologically speaking, ‘tathagatagarbha/Buddha’ nature also functions as an active skillful means, for it is reiterated in several ‘tathagatagarbha’ texts that ‘tathagatagarbha’ is the basis of ’samsara’ and ‘nirvana’. That is to say without ‘tathagatagarbha/Buddha’ nature, sentient beings would neither arouse aversion to ’samsara’ nor desire for ‘nirvana’. Therefore, ‘tathagatagarbha’ is active, not static. In other words, it represents actions of practice, rather than an monastic substance.

This interpretation can be further attested by the three causes of the Buddha nature explained in the Buddha Nature Treatise. The Buddha nature consists of three causes:

1) “deserved” cause,
2) the cause of intensified effort, and
3) the casue of fulfillment.(30)

The three-cause schema signifies that depending on the “Thusness manifested by the twin emptiness (i.e., Buddha nature)”; and through the intensified effort of Buddhist practices, one “should obtain” or “deserves” the fulfillment of Buddhahood. Apparently , the pivot of the triple cause is the cause of intensified practice, for it plays the role of activating the potentiality to realize the Buddha nature.

As we know, the ‘Mahaparnirvana-sutra’ is one of the most important ’sutras’ which articulate the concept of Buddha nature. Just as the Ratnagotravibhaga claims that all sentient beings possess the ‘tathagatagarbha’, so the ‘Mahaparinirvana Sutra’ teaches that sentient beings have the Buddha nature. In explaining what it means by sentient beings’ having the Buddha nature, the ‘Mahaparinirvana Sutra’ distinguishes three different ways of understanding the term “to have”:

– Good son, there are three ways of having: first, to have in the future, Secondly, to have at present, and thirdly, to have in the past. All sentient beings will have in future ages the most perfect enlightenment, i.e., the Buddha nature. All sentient beings have at present bonds of defilements, and do not now possess the thirty-two marks and eighty noble characteristics of the Buddha. All sentient beings had in past ages deeds leading to the elimination of defilements and so can now perceive the Buddha nature as their future goal. For such reasons, I always proclaim that all sentient beings have the Buddha nature.(31)

Since the above passage identifies sentient beings’ ways of having Buddha nature with the third way of having, i.e., having in the future, it is again a proof that the teaching of the universal Buddha nature does not intend to assert the existence of substantial, entity-like self endowed with excellent features of a Buddha. Rather, Buddha nature simply represents the potentiality to be realized in the future.

Elsewhere in the ‘Mahaparinirana Sutra’, Buddha nature is defined as the ultimate emptiness and the Middle Way. It says:

– Good son, Buddha nature is the ultimate emptiness ,which is ‘prajna’ itself. [False] emptiness means not to perceive emptiness or non-emptiness. The wise perceive emptiness and non-emptiness, permanence and impermanence, suffering and happiness, self and non-self. What is empty is ’samsara’ and what is not empty is great ‘nirvana’ … Perceiving the non-self but not the self is not the Middle Way. The Middle Way is Buddha nature.(32)

The essential point of this passage is that true emptiness, or in this case Buddha nature, trancends any dictomony�wbeing and non-being, self and non-self, suffering and happiness, etc. Ordinary people and the heterodox see only the existence of self, while ‘Sravakas’ and Pratyekabuddhas perceive only the non-self, but not the existence of a self. Clinging to one extreme or the other, they cannot realize the ultimate, and true emptiness and consequently cannot realize the Middle Way. Without the Middle Way, they are not able to comprehend Buddha nature. Trying to lessen the monistic flavour of the Buddha nature, the ‘Mahaparinirvana Sutra’ interprets Buddha nature as both emcompassing and transcending the notions of self and non-self. It makes the doctrine of the Buddha nature adhere closely to the Buddhist teaching of non-duality and the Middle Way. Thus Buddha nature should not be treated as equivalent to the monistic absolute. If it does seemly indicate the presence of a substantive self, it is actually a positive expression of emptiness.

In conclusion, when we try to interpret the thought of the ‘tathagatagarbha’, we should keep several points in mind:

1) The ‘tathagatagarbha’ symbolizes the potential for enlightenment (a principle) rather than a material “essence” of ultimate truth,

2) the ‘tathagatagarbha’ is based on the framework of the ‘Mahayana’ doctrine of ’sunyata-pratitys-amutpada’.

3) The development of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ doctrine signifies the ability of a religious tradition to meet the spiritual needs of the masses aiming at a given time.

That is to say the ‘tathagatagarbha’ thought was formed as an positive soterio-logical approach to counteract the “’sunyam sarvam’” (all is empty) view. The ‘tathagatagarbha’ which strongly articulates a devotional and experiential approach to salvation provides much to the hope and aspiration of the people at large. It is this positive aspect that was taken up and strongly emphasized in Chinese Buddhism.

4) The ‘tathagatagarbha’ doctrine is employed as a skill-in-means (‘upaya’). This does not necessarily mean that the theory of the ‘tathagatagarbha’ is neyartha, a teaching requiring further qualifications — rather, it is a skill-in-means in that it is taught to suit the needs of a certain kind of people and circumstances. This is why it is said in the ’sutra’ that in order to teach the emptiness of all dharmas, the Buddhas preach sometimes by the doctrine of the ‘tathagatagarbha’, and sometimes by that of emptiness. Thus it is better to take the ‘tathagatagarbha / Buddha nature’ as representing “profound existence” derived from “true emptiness” rather than as a monistic self./.

NOTES:

(1). A. Wayman, “The ‘Mahasamghika’ and the ‘Tathagatagarbha’,’ Journal of International Association of Buddhist Studies, Vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 35-80.

(2). Diana Paul, A Prolegomena to the ‘Srimaladevi-sutra’ and the ‘Tathagatagarbha’ Theory, dissertation, Wisconsin, 1974, pp.73-80.

(3). Yun-shun, Indian Buddhism, Chen-wen Press, Taipei, 1976, p.167.

(4). Mizuno Hiromoto, The Meaning of the Original Pure Mind, Indogaku Bukkyogaku Kenkyu, Vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 8-16.

(5). T. 54, p. 205c.

(6). There is no evidence that the ‘Tathagatagarbha’ formed a school in India. For one thing there never existed a patriarchal figure in the ‘tathagatagarbha’ as ‘Nagarjuna’ in ‘Madhyamika’ and ‘Asanga’ in ‘Yogacara’. However, Fa-tsang identified a “ju-lai-tsang yuan-chi tsang”, i.e”. “a school of ‘Tathagatagarbha-pratityasamut-pada’”. Furthermore , Takasaki identifies ‘Tathagatagarbha-vada’ in the ‘Lankavatara-sutra’ and claims it is used as an independent school in contrast to ‘Atmavada’. For further discussion on this issue, see M. Kiyota, “‘Tathagatagarbha’ Thought — A Basis of Buddhist Devotionalism in East Asia,” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 12, no. 2-3, pp. 207-229.

(7). Leningrad Obermiller, “The Sublime School of the Great Vehicle to Salvation, Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism,” Acta Orientalia, Vol. IX, p. 104.

(8). Jikido Takasaki, A Study of the Ratnagotravibhaga , Rome, 1966, p. 28.

(9). Ibid. p.61.

(10). Yamaguchi Susumu, Hanyo Shisoni, Tokyo, 1956.

(11). Ichijo Ogawa, Nyoraizo-Bussho no Kenkyu, Kyoto, 1969.

(12). Daisetz T. Suzuki, tr. The ‘Lankavatara Sutra’, Parajna Press, Boulder, 1978, pp.68-69.

(13). Ibid. p.69.

(14). Ibid. p.69.

(15). Takasaki, pp.294-295.

(16). T. 2, p.84b.

(17). Yamaguchi, p.86.

(18). John Makransky, “Rgyal Tshab Rje’s Interpretation of the Three Meanings of ‘Tathagatagarbha’ with Reference to the ‘Tathagatagarbhasutra’, the Ratnagotravibhaga and some Philosophical and Historical Developments,” unpub. paper.

(19). Takasaki, p.35 and p.189.

(20). Ogawa, pp. 75-77.

(21). Ogawa, p. 85.

(22). Ibid.

(23). Minoru Kiyota, “‘Tathagatagarbha’ Thought — Basis of Buddhist Devotionalism in East Asia,” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 12, no. 2-3, p.214.

(24). Traditionally, Fo Hsing Lun (The Buddha Nature Treatise) is attributed to Vasubandha and translated into Chinese by ‘Paramartha’. Some Buddhologists, for example, Takasaki, suspect that it was actually written by ‘Paramartha’. However, this is still an unresolved issue. At any rate, this text represents the Yogacarin view concerning the Buddha nature.

(25). This is the ‘Mahayana’ version of the Buddha’s ‘Parinirvana’. Its content concentrates mainly on the ‘Mahayana’ doctrines such as the eternal nature of Buddhahood rather than on the description of the last days of the Buddha.

(26). T. 31, p. 787a.

(27). T. 31, p. 787b.

(28). Ibid.

(29). T. 31, p. 798c. Adapted from the translation in Sallie King’s “The Buddha Nature– True Self As Action,” Religious Studies, 1982, pp. 259.

(30). T. 31, p. 794a.

(31). T. 12, p. 524b. Adapted from the translation in Miug-wood Liu’s “The Doctrine of the Buddha Nature in the ‘Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra,’” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, vol. 5, no. 2, 1983, p. 70.

(32). T. 12, p. 523b.

-ooOoo-

It goes beyond belief, it goes beyond concept or idea, it goes beyond trying to accumulate any merit, it goes beyond, how long you have been practicing, it goes beyond how much you meditate, it goes beyond how well you know the sutras or the bible, it goes beyond how many times you go to church, synagogue, mosque, or temple, its all about pureness of heart, and mind and then live and act in COMPLETE LOVE.

In the New Testament St. Paul writes:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Its not about the title of I am a Buddhist, I am a Christian, I am a Hindu, I am this or that, or I believe in God, or I believe in Buddha, or I believe in Jesus, or Kirshna, none of those things matters, its about living in love.

But love cannot be activated when their is defilement in the mind and heart. Love cannot reside in filth, in lust, in pride, in hate, in anger, these things must go in order to really have love flow like a river of water in your life.

Once you renounce these things, love automatically appears in your thinking in your attitude. That is why meditation is key to removing defilement.

Get rid of any thing that will impede you from discovering True Self, your inner Buddha, God within. Let not ego win your heart over. If ego is king of your life, then you will not experience true happiness, true joy, true peace, you will end up looking for it in all the wrong places.

It is better to know, than to just believe. Let love be the main ingredient in everything we do.

Take care and be well. Namaste!

Truly yours your internet friend.

Going Back To The Womb
Its about going back to the “state of mind” you once knew

Thoughts are described to be like people walking on the street, passing by you. As these people walk by, they whisper things to you to grab your attention.

Suddenly, you become interested in a person that is passing by you, because you are curious to know what they’re whispering to you. You decide to stop and have a conversation with the person, you engage into a deep conversation. Then you start to learn about the person, exchange a phone number or email address and eventually you create some kind of bond with the person. Suddenly, as days go by, this person starts to call and email you a lot, so much that you find it strange. Suddenly, this person gets so comfortable with you, that he starts to ask you for some money and then you end up giving some money to this person. Then this person decides to slowly move into your house and sleep on your bed. Then this person starts to eat everything you have in your refrigerator. Then this person starts to run up your phone bill, your electricity bill, basically this person becomes a complete nightmare and starts to invade all your space.

Well, that is the same way with thoughts that pass by you. You can stop and acknowledge the thought, have a conversation with it, try to make sense out of it, give it a label, play with the idea, feel the emotion of it, get its sensations, and then eventually you end up agreeing with it. That thought will waste your energy, take away your happiness and peace. And then slowly it will manifest itself into an action and speech, that is when you know it has made itself at home in your mind. This is what happen; you did not reject the thought, you did not resist the thought, instead you fell for the lie once more. You allowed the thought work its way into your heart. This is how it works; a thought first hits your mind, then it hits your heart and then it manifests into an action, and then you feel suffering. Therefore, when thoughts pass by you, like thoughts of prejudgment, lust, pride, greed, anger, hate, jealously, fear, inadequacy, anxiety, impatiences etc.. whatever it is, recognize its not your True Self thinking, its actually your false self, spewing some garbage, some ignorant idea for you to believe it. You need to ignore it, resist it, do not agree with it and just say, “Oh its just delusion again” and just see it pass by.

The thought is like a pebble that hits the water, it creates a ripple, that spreads very far, but eventually it just fades away.

Thoughts are like empty puffs of clouds passing by. Thoughts are created by these three things, by things you hear, by things you see or by things you remember whether it be past, present or future events.

I like to also look at thoughts like bubbles from soda. Thoughts come up like the bubbles from the carbonated water. When the bubble makes it to the top of the surface of the soda, it just pops and you can see the fizz, or you can even hear it fizzing. Well thoughts are just like that, you see the bubbles coming up and fizzing, making noise, but you just have to sit there and notice it but without giving it thought, because eventually while you sit there the fizzing will stop and the bubbles will stop coming up and the soda becomes flat. Well of course soda needs to be out side of its bottle, uncovered, for a matter of days, for it to become completely flat without any bubbles or fizz. It is the same with meditation, it can take minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, for you to learn how to train your mind, to quiet down your mind and make it completely flat, calm and smooth. Training your mind is a process. Some people can achieve it quickly, some people can achieve it at a slower pace. The point is that you do not look at it in a time table or a process. This is not a forceful technique, its a natural process. Its about going back to the “state of mind” you once knew when you were in the womb.

When you are in meditation you are quieting the mind, you are entering solitude, its like you are going back to the place where you were a fetus, into your mothers womb. This was the place where you first started life, the place where you had no thought, no doubt, no ideas, no concepts, no delusion, just complete peace. It was like you were in deep meditation, in complete enlightenment, it was nirvana, it was heaven.

Here is another analogy. You are a lotus flower growing on top of mud. Even through this ugly waste, where no one would like to lie on, this is where you grow out of, to become a beautiful lotus flower. The mud is your false self, your ego, mara, which is filled with disgusting, dirty thoughts. These thoughts cannot leave you, because you are intertwine with these thoughts. You are growing on top of these thoughts, it is inside of the mud but its not alive, its just empty. These thoughts hope to take form, but it can only take form if you allow it. So this is how it works…when a thought pops up, like, ” I hate this person,” and then you say within, “Yes, I hate this person,” you are basically agreeing with this lie that the false self is telling you. You are literally shaking hands and agreeing with the thought. So by agreeing with it, the thought takes form, it becomes like a seed that will plant itself into the mud. When this seed starts to grow, it grows into a wild weed who’s sole purpose is to grow, choke and kill your lotus flower. Impure thoughts of greed, pride, lust, jealousy, fear, hatred etc.. is thoughts from the false self, it will try to choke out your beautiful True Nature, your beautiful lotus flower. Control and quiet down your mind, direct your mind to stillness, do not believe the false self, the ego. Do accept these seeds of weed into your soil. Learn what is your True Nature, and cultivate your True attributes.

In the Old Testament, in Genesis 3:22, And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

We have these two sides in us, its just like Dr. Jekel and Mr. Hyde. You can be the most holiest priest, pastor, monk, nun, pope, yogi etc.. but you will still have these thoughts visit you, you will still have mara visit you, you will still have the devil visit you, what ever you want to call it, these good and evil thoughts are inside of everybody’s mind. But its up to you to put a conscious effort to put a stop to it, to control it, to dominate it with the Dharma, or if you are a Christian or Muslim, dominate it with the Word of God.

If you read that verse completely, it said “…He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever,” this means, as human beings now we have to work to awaken our True Self. Once we passed our childhood, we entered adulthood and gradually our innocence was gone. So now we need to reach out our hand to the “tree of life, and eat the new fruit,” which is the Dharma, the scared spiritual teachings to find the Way back to our Original Source so that we can live forever free from attachment, free from suffering. And once we know the Truth, it will set us free. Once we get to know our True Self we will be set free. That is why Jesus said you must be born again, its like going back to your original state of mind, that means pure, innocent, clean heart, clean mind, empty from all desire. This means going back to the way we were when we lived in the womb. Your natural self, your True Self. If we were computers it means we need to reboot.

The Truth is here, it has been expressed through many spiritual teachers from history, but you have to go and find it and then realize it. You need to meditate to get there because that is the vehicle to your inner self, your True Self. You need to sacrifice and give up all worldly desires, give up selfishness. Its not easy to control the mind, its not easy to be enlighten, its not easy to follow the Eightfold Path, its not easy to carry the cross, but its attainable, when you are serious, its attainable when you make a honest serious vow, and do this again and again everyday, until you let out your last breath here on earth.

It is well worth it because, by doing this, you obtain your True Self, then you will feel what you once felt when you were a baby. You will feel what Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Papji etc.. felt. They discovered their True Self. Going back to that special place, going back to the womb.

I hope this was helpful to you as it was for me. Lets go back to that special place and visit it again and again everyday and take it with us everywhere we go. Peace and be well.

Your internet friend.

Sri H.W.L. Poonja, lovingly referred to as Papaji, was born on October 13, 1910, in a part of the Punjab that is now in Pakistan.

He had his first direct experience of the Self at the age of nine. He met his Master, Sri Ramana Maharshi, in 1944. Shortly afterwards he realized the Self in the presence of his master.Being a householder, he continued to work and support the many members of his extended family until his retirement in 1966. After extensive travel Papaji settled down in Lucknow, India, where he received visitors from around the world. He died on September 6, 1997.

“Let there be Peace and Love among all beings of the Universe.” (Papaji)

Visit www.blissvideo.com for more videos and dvds from Papaji.

Be well and take care. Namaste.

Here is a different interpretation:

“Upon a heap of rubbish in the road-side
ditch blooms a lotus, fragrant and pleasing.”

Dhammapada – Flowers

Let me paint a picture here. We are following the teachings of the Buddha, cultivating each precept, but then Mara attacks us using all kinds of past illusions, trying to awaken our old cravings, our old desires. Images start to pop up, and we feel a little weak, but we turn away and take no heed to Mara, and the army of illusion and then reenact the Stanzas of Victory. We want to do nothing but follow the pure and holy path, but sometimes Mara seems stronger than our determination. See the truth is this, the more you seek the pure path, the more you want and intent to do good, the forces of Mara, the ego, the false self, will try to awaken and try to fight back, because you are killing it softly. In the second verse in the Stanzas of Victory, the Buddha fought using His patience and “self-control.”

SELF CONTROL, what does that mean?

The Buddha used self control, and this is “virtue” a huge and powerful virtue that will determine your success in walking the the eightfold path.

Controlling one self, from not reacting to these delusional thoughts that is trying to awaken your old cravings, your old desires of anger, of lust, of hate, of pride, of fear, of what ever it is, Mara will try its best to make you revisit these bad habits of the false self. And then, lets say you happen to slip into one of these cravings and then you feel so sick and guilty, so discouraged, you even feel sorrow and of course you start to feel suffering because you did something you should have not done.

“Why do what you will regret?
Why bring tears upon yourself?”
Dhammaapada – The Fool

Why would the Buddha write this? Because He knew we will face our cravings again even if we are holy and following the Buddha path. Only because you took a sincere vow to follow Buddhahood, doesn’t mean you will not have Mara visit you. When the Buddha sat in meditation under the Bodhi tree, that’s when Mara saw that Buddha is getting closer to his goal, and Mara try to hit Him with everything. That is the same with Jesus Christ when He went to dessert to pray, the Devil which is the same as Mara, visit Jesus and try to tempt Him.

The more you try to get closer and closer to purification, and walk the path of enlightenment, you will have these wicked visitations, of remembrance of your old self, the false self, or you will get any thought that will try to knock you out from the pure path. In the beginning verse that I used to start this writing, the Lotus grows in the litter, on a heap of rubbish, on a heap of garbage, on a heap of mud or crap! You are not a super righteous person that has no faults, you have imperfections that you are dealing with on a constant basis. 99% of the time we are thinking vexation thoughts. We are full of this mud, this crap, this junk, but the good news is that the Buddha can grow out of this garbage, Christ can grow out of this garbage, God can grow out of this garbage, a beautiful fragrant Lotus flower can grow out of this rubbish.

You are like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, they live in the same house. The True Self and False Self live in the same house but you must decide who will be the master of the house.

“…The wise man directs his mind.”
Dhammapada – The Wise Man

This can also be interpret like this:
“Wisdom directs the mind.”
Because the Bodhisattva, which is you, rely on the Perfection of Wisdom. Remember let understanding fight for you in every trial.

The continuing verse says..
“The wind cannot shake a mountain.
Neither praise nor blame moves the wise man.”

You are the wise man or woman, or you can say nothing can move the wise man or woman, or nothing can move Wisdom. The wind is thoughts, and the wind will always blow, like it will always rain, but when it rains, just take out the umbrella and protect yourself.

RELY ON THE DHARMA, RELY ON THE PERFECTION OF WISDOM.

The verse continues to say this…
“Want nothing.
Where there is desire or craving,
Say nothing.”

When Mara speaks, say nothing, take no heed like the Buddha, just recite the Dharma, remember the Dharma, take refuge, in the Buddha, In the Dharma, and In the Sangha.

No one is perfect, that is why we need “self control.” If you fell, just get back up and try again. Let your Lotus flower grow in the midst of the storm, in the midst of all the garbage that seems to come your way, and say grow Lotus grow!

I hope this has encourage you like it did for me. Be well, Namaste!

Why kick yourself to the ground? Why feel inadequate?

Do you not realize how precious and valuable you are?  We are like diamonds in the ruff.

Who is perfect?  Not ourselves, but our True Nature within us is perfect.

The master within us is perfect, our inner True Self, our Buddha Nature, the Holy Spirit, the Light inside of us.

The voice inside of us that complains and cries of feeling inadequate is not the voice of our True Self,  in fact its the voice of the False Self.

Why pray a prayer of remorse or constant apologizes? But rather pray a prayer of thankfulness, and realize how blessed you are, look at the bigger picture.  Our small mind likes to look at the small picture, but our big mind always looks at the bigger picture.  The big mind is the mind of the master, the Buddha, the mind of God.

Pick your head up and see the gem that you truly are.   You need to know this, you need to learn this, you need to cultivate and understand your true nature.  Your true nature is not sorrowful nor prideful.  Your true nature looks beyond the physical beauty, it sees and knows its original beauty.

Stand up and dust off your garments, arise and smile.

Life is compared to driving a car.  We automatically start driving the car from day one.  We drive and drive with poor direction.  Right next to us we have a GPS, but we refuse to use it, because we swear we know how to get to our destination.  As we drive we make turns and find ourselves lost.
When we finally decide to use the GPS we finally get to our destination safe and sound.

When we reconnect and recognize our True Self, we start to master our self.  Things become much clearer and starts to make more sense.  We finally start to drive with purpose.  We finally get out of the ditch of guilt, remorse, feeling inadequate, depression, anger, hatred, etc.   Everybody’s circumstances are unique, but we have challenges and we all have the same answer.

Train your mind to think good things, leave the old thinking behind. Its good to do housekeeping, and throw out all the old things that are useless, that are taking too much space in the house.  Bring in new furniture and redecorate the house.  The new furniture is the new habits, the new way of thinking, the new knowledge, the new wisdom, the new and improve self, the True Self.

Dhammapada – Choices Chapter 1
“Look how he abused me and beat me,
How he threw me down and robbed me,”
Live with such thoughts and you live in hate.”

“Look how he abused me and beat me,
How he threw me down and robbed me.”
Abandon such thoughts, and live in love.”

You live constantly thinking on the issues in your life, the circumstances in your life, it can be issues with finances, physical, marriage, mentally, spiritually,  whatever the case may be, if you constantly are thinking about your problems then your speech, your energy, your mind is going to tired, weak, sick, full of anxiety.  Your faith becomes small and your reality becomes a nightmare.  Live with such thoughts and you live in hate. This way of thinking will lead you to hate life, hate going to places, hate talking with people, or if its not hate, its some kind of irritation, or discomfort with yourself, with life.  This discomfort keeps you sleeping and not awake to the truth of the matter.  In the symbol ying and yang, it shows that there is two sides to the spectrum, but it becomes one symbol.  Both events of good and bad will forms itself to one symbol which will be the final result.  Each circumstance is created to develop, to mold, to refine, to strengthen ourselves to become that one symbol, the True Self.

I know a person who recently had a car accident, which almost took the life of everyone in the car, but she stood calm, while everyone in the car was shocked and started to panic.  She was the only one who refused to panic and quickly took charge of the situation and helped everyone in the car.

The captain in the boat cannot panic!  Face the issue and be strong and realize, that this too will pass.

You will not drown, the life jacket is being thrown at you, grab it and calm down, you are being pull to a safe place.   Abandon such thoughts, and live in love. Abandon the thoughts of defeat, of inadequatness, and grab a hold of love, of peace, and happiness, its inside of you, just dig deep within and awaken the safe place.

Do not let the thoughts from the False Self take over, awaken to your True Self, stay connected and live in the way.  Meditate, pray, read, sing, hum, be around positive people and replace the old way of thinking.

You were not created to be abandon.  Have faith and know that God who is inside of you will help you.

“I saw bees coming to the flower fields everyday to drink nectar.  They never thought or doubted to themselves they will not see any nectar in the field, they just went to field and drank.  Nectar was always there. ”

Help will always be there, find it, and once you find it cultivate it, make friends with it, and grow with it.

True Self, will provoke things of love, kindness, comfort, peace etc. But the person who walks according to self-centered ideas and passions, he or she s listening and reacting to what the False Self says which provokes hatred, greed, impatience, lust, pride etc. The thoughts from the False Self are compared to a baseball stadium, in where you are batting up and waiting for the next pitch so you can hit the ball, but the people in the bleachers are yelling, booing, even cursing at you so that you lose concentration from swinging and hitting the ball. The people in the bleachers are the thoughts from your False Self.

Your False Self, will try to create ruckus, so you can listen and pay attention to its statements, which are all false. The False Self is also compared to the army of illusion or the people behind the gate. They are yelling statements to grab your attention, but you, the master need to block it out, and know your true nature, your True Self and concentrate and watch the ball as it comes so you can hit it.

Dhammapada – Choices Chapter 1
“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.”
—
“Mistaking the false for the true
And the true for the false,
You overlook the heart
And fill yourself with desire.

See the false as false,
The true as true.
Look into your heart.
Follow your nature. (Your True Nature)”

Don’t believe those thoughts of despair, of confusion, of loneliness, of insecurity. Know your True Self, and your True Self is God within you, the Holy Spirit that leads you to all truth, to all that is of peace and love. You create your world by what you think about. The mind is like a bull that you need to grab by the horns and control. Cut out all the assumptions and speculations. If you act by what is true then true action will be performed, which powers up things and makes things work positively.

For your false-self, the ego, no longer lives and your life is concealed within the spirit of love and peace.

And when your True Self the likeness of your Creator is awaken, who is our source of life, then you will be awaken in true peace. Put to rest, therefore, your old bad habits that were slowly formed when you were growing up: selfish passions, wicked lust and greed which is all disobedience to the Creator of pure light which dwells within you.

Put off from you all these: Pride, lust, anger, selfishness, contentions, strife, jealously, deceit, unclean speech and thoughts. Strip off the old person you use to be with all its old habits, and put on the new enlightened person that is born anew by knowledge in the image of our Creator of the universe which lives within you, where there is neither race, nationality, language, color, gender, religion, sect, groups, titles or labels, but the Creator of the universe is all in all.

Put on therefore (as a chosen one, the set-apart ones) compassion, loving kindness, gentleness, humbleness of mind, meekness and a long-suffering spirit. Be forbearing one to another, and be forgiving one to another, and if a person has an issue concerning his neighbor, as our Creator loves and will never hold anything against you, also you love and never hold anything against your brother or sister.

And with all these, love, which is the bond of whole heartedness.