Another related teaching:
One of the main teachings of the Buddha is the law of karma, the
teaching that all the lives we have are not without cause, are not
created by other beings, and are not by coincidence, but are all
created by our own actions. All the positive things such as love,
long life, good health, prosperity and so forth are also not given
by anybody else. It is through our own positive actions in the past
that today we enjoy all the good things. Similarly all the negative
aspects, like short life, sickness, poverty, etc. and all the
undesirable things are also not created by any outsider but by our
own actions, the negative deeds we committed in the past.
If one really wishes to be free from suffering and to experience
happiness, it is very important to work on the causes. Without
working on the causes, one cannot expect to yield any results. Each
and everything must have its own cause and a complete cause -
things cannot appear without any cause. Things do not appear from
nowhere, from the wrong cause, or from an incomplete cause. So the
source of all the sufferings is the negative deeds.
Negative deeds basically means not knowing reality, not knowing
the true nature of the mind. Instead of seeing the true nature of
the mind, we cling to a self without any logical reason. All of us
have a natural tendency to cling to a self because we are so used
to it. It is a kind of habit we have formed since beginningless
time.
However if we carefully examine and investigate, we cannot find
the self. If there is a self, it has to be either body, mind or
name. First, the name is empty by itself. Any name can be given to
anybody. So the name is empty by itself.
Likewise the body. We say "my body". just like "my house, my
car, my home, my country" and so forth, so the body and "I" are
separate. If we examine every part of the body, we cannot find
anywhere, anything called "I" or the self. It is just many things
together that form what we cling to as the body or the self. If we
investigate carefully from head to toe, we cannot find anywhere a
thing called self. The body is not a self because the body has many
parts, many different parts. People can still remain alive without
certain parts of the body, so the body is not the self.
Likewise the mind. We think that the mind may be the self, but
the mind is actually changing from moment to moment. All the time
the mind is changing. And the past mind is already extinct, already
gone. Something that is already gone cannot be called the self. And
the future mind is yet to arise. Something that is yet to arise
cannot be the self. And the present mind is changing all the time,
every moment it is changing. The mind when we were a baby and the
mind when we are an adult are very different. And these different
minds do not occur at one time. It is all the time changing, all
the time changing, every moment it is changing. Something that is
constantly changing cannot be the self.
So now, apart from name, body or mind, there is no such thing
called the self, but due to long habit, we all have a very strong
tendency to cling to a self. Instead of seeing the true nature of
the mind, we cling at a self without any logical reason. And as
long as we have this, it is just like mistaking a colorful rope for
a snake. Until we realize that it is not a snake but only a rope,
we have fear and anxiety. As long as we cling to a self, we have
suffering. Clinging to a self is the root of all the sufferings.
Not knowing reality, not knowing the true nature of the mind, we
cling to a self.
When you have a "self", naturally tere are "others" - the self
and others. The "self and others" are dependent on the "self". Just
like right and left, if there is right, there has got to be a left.
Likewise, if there is a self, there are others. When you have a
self and others, attachment then arises to one's own side, one's
friends and relatives and so forth, and hatred arises towards
"others" whom you disagree with, towards the people who have
different views, different ideas. These three are main poisons that
keep us in this net of illusions, samsara. Basically the ignorance
of not knowing and clinging to a self, attachment or desire, and
hatred - these three are the three main poisons. And from these
three, arise other impurities, such as jealousy, pride and so
forth. And when you have these, you create actions. And when you
create actions, it is like planting a seed on a fertile ground that
in due course will yield results. In this way we create karma
constantly and are caught up in the realms of existence.
To be completely free from samsara, we need the wisdom that can
cut the root of samsara, the wisdom that realizes selflessness.
Such wisdom also depends on method. Without the accumulation of
method, one cannot cause wisdom to arise. And without wisdom, one
cannot have the right method. Just like needing two wings in order
to fly in the sky, one needs both method and wisdom in order to
attain enlightenment. The most important method, the most effective
method, is based on loving-kindness, universal love and compassion,
and from this arises the bodhicitta, or the enlightenment thought,
which is the sincere wish to attain perfect enlightenment for the
sake of all sentient beings. When you have this thought, then all
the right and virtuous deeds are naturally acquired.
On the other side, you need wisdom, the wisdom that realizes the
true nature of all phenomena, and particularly of the mind -
because the root of samsara and nirvana, everything, is the mind.
The Lord Buddha said: "One should not indulge in negative deeds,
one should try to practice virtuous deeds, and one should tame the
mind." This is the teaching of the Buddha. The fault lies in our
wild mind, we are caught up in samsara or the cycle of existence.
The purpose of all the eighty-four thousand teachings of the Buddha
is to tame our mind. After all, everything is the mind - it is the
mind which suffers, it is the mind which experiences happiness, it
is the mind which is caught up in samsara and it is the mind that
attains liberation or enlightenment. So when the true nature of the
mind is realized, all other things, all other outer and inner
things, are then naturally realized.
So what is the mind? If one tries to investigate where the mind
is, one cannot find the mind anywhere. One cannot pinpoint any part
of the body and say, "This is my mind." So it is not inside the
body, not outside the body, and not in between the body. If
something exists, it has to be of specific shape or colour but one
cannot find it in any shape or any colour. So the nature of the
mind is emptiness. But when we say that everything is emptiness and
doesn't exist, it does not mean that it does not conventionally
exist. After all, it is the mind which does all the wrong things,
it is the mind which does all the right things, it is the mind
which experiences suffering and so forth. Therefore there is a mind
of course - we are not dead or unconscious, but are conscious
living beings, and there is a stream of continuity of the
consciousness, constantly. Just like the candle light that is
burning, the clarity of the mind is constantly continuing. The
characteristic of the mind is clarity. You cannot find it in any
form or in any color or in any place, yet there is a clarity that
is constantly continuing. This is the characteristic of the mind.
And the two, the clarity and emptiness are inseparable, just like
fire and the heat of fire are inseparable. The clarity and the
emptiness cannot be separated. The inseparability of the two is the
essence, the unfabricated essence of the mind.
In order to experience such a state, it is important first to go
through the preliminary practices. Also, through preliminary
practices one accumulates merit. It is best to meditate on insight
wisdom. For that one needs to prepare the present mind, our
ordinary mind that is constantly in streams of thoughts. Such a
busy and agitated mind will not be a base for insight wisdom. So
first we have to build a base with concentration, using the right
method. Through concentration, one tries to bring the mind to a
very stable state. And on such stable clarity and
single-pointedness, one then meditates on insight wisdom and
through this one realizes the true nature of the mind. But to
realize such, one requires a tremendous amount of merit, and the
most effective way of acquiring the merit is to cultivate
bodhicitta.
So with the two together, method and wisdom, one can realize the
true nature. And when one has realized the true nature, on the
basis of that and increasing wisdom, eventually one will reach the
full realization and will attain enlightenment.