You must understand your mind, and what it does. In Buddhism, the concept “Mind-substance separate from thought is virtue” means that your mind must be completely separate from your thoughts. You must put your heart into everything you do. If what goes inside your mind is wholesome, then it’s virtue. That’s because once it’s inside, you will know about your morality. Accepting wholesome things makes you a virtuous person, but if contaminants enter your mind, it means you are lacking in virtue.
How can you be free of distracting thoughts? First, you must distance yourself from all thoughts, which is known as “non-thought’”. Non-thought is virtue. What that means is that you will become a virtuous person when you have no thought, or you are able to separate out the thought. When you have any thought, your mind will fluctuate. Just like a pendulum, your mind will swing back and forth and be unable to settle when you have thoughts. But when you have no thoughts, the pendulum becomes completely still.
With thoughts, there will be deviation of thoughts. That’s why you must understand that having “no thought” is virtue. If you are frequently devoid of thoughts, it will transform into another kind of thought called “no non-thought”. If you have any thoughts at all, afflictions will arise. Afflictions arise because of thoughts, and so the ability to transform thoughts into non-thoughts is virtue.
The truth of the universe is that, despite the myriad of different changes, the principle remains the same. It’s just like the cycle of rebirths in the Six Realms of Existence. Humans are trapped and unable to get out of the endless cycle of rebirths. Getting out of it requires the guidance of an enlightened teacher.
Many people follow my teachings and there seems to be some progress in their cultivation, but they then get dragged into the cycle again. Life is like a great vortex – when you manage to come out a bit, you get sucked back in again. Note, therefore, that you must make the transformation from having afflictions to having no afflictions. That way, your virtues emerge.
All sentient beings have thoughts, but thoughts do not interfere with the Buddha-nature, and the Buddha-nature does not interfere with our thoughts. The reason your thoughts do not affect your Buddha-nature is because they cannot reach the deepest part of your mind, where the inherent nature and Buddha-nature reside. The Buddha-nature that you inherently possess will not interfere with your thoughts. Whether good or bad, the Buddha-nature remains in its same, original form. Even if someone has been put in jail, their Buddha-nature still exists. That’s why we should allow the Buddha-nature to stay permanently, whilst keeping positivity alive in our hearts.
The thought of non-thoughts is virtue. When you already have no thoughts, you obviously won’t even think of them. For example, someone might say: “I have no opinion on this matter.” But in fact, their opinion still exists. This is called the “thought of having no thoughts”. The thought of non-thoughts is the Buddha-nature.
“Not being separate from our own nature” means that we should never separate from our inherent nature – our Buddha-nature. That is merit. Our own Buddha-nature is not defiled. If we can apply it freely, it’s virtue.
I’ve now mentioned two different meanings with regard to merit and virtue. Firstly, merit and virtue emanate from within. You must possess the Buddha-nature and learn the merit and virtue of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Secondly, your Dharma body must possess merit and virtue. As I said before, if you have obtained merit and virtue, your body becomes the Dharma body – or the body of merit and virtue. And it is true merit and virtue.
The Dharma body of merit and virtue is true merit and virtue, and then the true Buddha-nature will appear. How? Because after your mortal body has created something from your inherent nature, the true Buddha-nature appears from the depths of your mind. The Buddha-nature that appears is the foundation upon which you can truly learn Buddhism. Only with the true Buddha-nature as the foundation can the good deeds you perform be considered merit and virtue. Otherwise, everything you do remains good deeds, and you receive worldly blessings.
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas protect and bless those who are willing to help themselves. In other words, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas bless those who are willing to correct their shortcomings. People who aren’t willing to do that will never receive blessings from the Bodhisattvas. First, they must have a sense of remorse before they can be saved. In other words, they first must repent, and only then can they be saved. If one does not even have a sense of remorse about their bad habits, how can they be saved?
The Buddha is the most ordinary person in the world, because he recovered the original state of the Buddha-nature. We are kind-hearted people, and so as we continue to cultivate our minds, the Buddha-nature will emerge at the end of the day. That is when we recover the original state of the Buddha-nature, which is the primeval soul of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
All phenomena occurring in this world – everything, all of it – is a prison of the Human Realm. If you believe them and take action accordingly, it’s akin to entering this prison and becoming unable to get out. It’s a prison we enter ourselves, and we lock ourselves into. For example, imagine that someone treats you badly, so you hate them and keep thinking about how they will hurt you. Didn’t you just enter your own prison?
Showing respect to other people is to make yourself dignified. If you are a refined and cultured person, you know about the Buddha-dharma and you know about courtesy – and so you are dignifying yourself. Not only do you benefit from it, you also elevate your character.
Ultimately, the Buddha-dharma is the method for attaining the awakening of life. You must get enlightened – you must hurry and wake up! The method is the Buddha-dharma, and it will help you to understand the truth of the universe and of life.
Let me say this: “The world is one big joke”. This world is a stage that makes you a laughing stock. Think about your seniors; think about your past; think about your future; think about everything you have done until now. Isn’t it all a joke? Everything is illusory. When you can’t catch your breath, everything is gone. Each and every thing in this world is illusory. You came empty-handed, and you will leave empty-handed.