Now, I will talk about being a “practitioner”. Every one of us is practising, but what exactly does the term “practitioner” mean? Are you disciples qualified to be practitioners? Those who are qualified must first reach a certain level of spirituality. Firstly, when encountering any kind of suffering or hardship in the world, the practitioner must have the ability to endure it. Their level of spirituality must then gradually increase.
Also, after a certain period of time of their practice, practitioners should act in accordance with karmic conditions and not feel pain. When they feel pain, that means they haven’t truly liberated themselves from suffering. Only when their spiritual state elevates to a certain level can they be called a practitioner.
First, a practitioner must prevent afflictions from arising. So, if you still find afflictions springing up everywhere, that means you are not a true practitioner. For a practitioner, even if afflictions do arise, they should immediately use their wisdom to subdue it within their mind. Then they may be qualified as a practitioner. Why did I use the words “even if afflictions do arise”? It’s because human beings all have the seven emotions and the six sensory pleasures. So when the obstacle created by afflictions emerges, you must eliminate it immediately.
When we are practising, a demon will arise from our minds. In Buddhism, we refer to this as the demon of afflictions. The more afflictions you have, the greater the demonic obstructions. It is your job to dispel them.
But how do we get rid of the demon of afflictions? You must start by reminding yourself that you’re a practitioner – and therefore different from ordinary people. So you cannot let pain get the better of you. Even if you are in the midst of great suffering, you must subdue it and – gradually – prevent the pain from affecting you. When the demon of afflictions approaches, the best solution is to go with the flow, acting in accordance with your circumstances. Maintain a cool, calm state of mind even in adversity. No matter what disaster befalls you, calm down first of all.
The mind must not have any fluctuations. This is known as Chan (Zen) meditation in Buddhism. Chan meditation is a higher-level state in Buddhist practice. Without the power of concentration, everything in the world can make you worry. I hope you can also learn a bit of Chan meditation in your practice of Buddhism. That’s because Chan meditation allows us to calm our chaotic minds. Do not get to the bottom of anything in the world, and instead learn the essence of Chan meditation, a spiritual state.
Whether the external conditions are favourable or unfavourable, we must always act in accordance with the circumstances. With a calm mind, you can have no fluctuations within. It is like a river making waves as it flows, and then when it reaches the ocean, there’s not a single wave. A person with meditative concentration has a mind as broad as the ocean, which can accommodate every turbulent, breaking wave it encounters, subduing all of them. To attain meditative concentration, one must let their mind become calm and settled.
Let your mind and your energy flow effortlessly. The energy field one’s mind creates must be allowed to move and flow effortlessly. Do not try to stop the flow of your energy field. For example, when somebody is very angry and unhappy, stopping them from losing their temper or showing their emotions will cause them to get sick. Therefore, you should allow them to get all of the emotion out. Let them say what they want to say and expend their energy. Afterwards, they will be fine.
If you stop them from expending their energy, what happens next is troublesome and they become susceptible to major illnesses like cancer or liver-related diseases. The energy emanated by the mind should be left to flow freely. Follow its flow, and cultivate your mind. People who have truly attained a certain spiritual state won’t even allow the circulation of the flow to affect their energy. Without giving rise to the energy, there is no need to put in effort to move it.
In addition, it’s not the case that when you encounter unwholesome conditions, you quit cultivating. Nor is it the case that when you encounter wholesome conditions, you stop your cultivation. Neither is correct. Regardless of the situation, you should still cultivate diligently.
“Constantly dwelling in clear enlightenment”. Once you attain clear enlightenment, your attachment to things will be dissolved. A person who clings to things as if they are real does not see the true picture. A person who attains understanding never clings to anything. “Constantly dwelling in clear enlightenment” means they are eternally clear and enlightened, so that they can keep the Buddha and the Buddha-nature constantly. For those who are ignorant and not awakened, they will never be constantly enlightened. Therefore, they won’t be able to retain their Buddha-nature.
In layman’s terms, it’s a case of: “I understand it thoroughly.” And once you do, you won’t be selfish. You regard fame and fortune as less important, then you understand, and then you become enlightened. It’s that kind of eternity that can truly take root in your mind, and it’s what it means to be “constantly dwelling”.
Remember: “Everything comes and goes naturally. Everything that exists in the chiliocosm, whether good or bad, naturally comes and naturally goes. It appears from a state of emptiness, and then returns to a state of emptiness. If you think that way regularly, then your mind will have no fluctuations. You will then understand that everything that happens, and everything that you encounter, is simply a natural phenomenon.
You will realise that the reason for the hardships and the karma you’re experiencing right now is that you did not cultivate yourself in the past life. It’s therefore only natural that you undergo retribution in this lifetime. Once you realise it, are you going to cling to anything? Without such attachment, your intellect and your wisdom can dwell in the world eternally.
You must distance yourself from desire and from seeking. Think about it: what can we truly obtain? If you can’t obtain what you desire, you will only get suffering and afflictions instead. Seeking to obtain something that clearly does not belong to you is in fact very painful. I hope that practitioners in the Human Realm can forget completely about their desire and their seeking. Desire brings nothing but suffering; and seeking will not deliver what is meant for you. Only what comes to you naturally is truly meant for you.
Remove any thought the very instant it arises. Don’t let it linger in your mind, or it will bring you disaster. According to Buddhism, anything – or any rise of thought – can be removed in a flash. However, most of you would allow that thought to run wild inside your head. When a selfish thought, a greedy thought or any unwholesome thought arises and you let it continue unchecked, it will be trouble.
For example, imagine a good friend telling you that they won some money by gambling. You then think to yourself: “To be honest, I may also have a bit of luck.” When this thought appears, you must remove it, immediately. “I mustn’t think that way, let alone act upon it. It’s not right. I absolutely must not do it!” Another analogy: You use a marker to write on a whiteboard. Though the ink is black, you are able to easily erase what you just wrote with your hand. However, if you wait a few seconds longer, it will become harder to wipe off.
When an unwholesome thought arises, it sows an unwholesome seed of karma in your Eighth Consciousness. The Bodhisattvas teach us a method to remove it: the moment you have an unwholesome thought, or you are about to get angry, you must dispel it right away. If you can, you are a wise person. The instant an evil thought arises in your mind, it bears the fruit of negative karma.
Therefore, Bodhisattvas teach us to dispel it as soon as we can, otherwise it will linger and carry the shadow of karma in your mind. Many disciples are cultivating themselves, but their minds are yet to transcend this mundane world as they move along the path of cultivation.
Remember: one should transcend this world. To transcend means, essentially, to awaken. When you cultivate after awakening, your experiences will be distinctly different compared to those who are yet to be liberated from their afflictions in the Human Realm. The latter cultivates with the baggage of afflictions, while the former cultivates with their spiritual state having already transcended this world of afflictions. Do you think the result will be the same? One is like a truly empty container, with a mind free of contaminant, while the other is filled with many unending delusions and distracting thoughts.
For example, when reciting Buddhist scriptures, one person does it while working, while another person just sits quietly in front of their Buddhist altar and recites. Do you think the effect of their recitation will be the same? When you put your spiritual state in the world of afflictions and then try to cultivate, it will of course be an uphill battle.