Today, I’d like to talk about the concept of the Bodhi-mind in Heaven. What is the Bodhi-mind in Heaven exactly? How many levels does Heaven have? The Desire Realm, Form Realm, and Formless Realm heavens are all distinct, each representing a unique level of Heaven. So, where does the Bodhi-mind exist within these layers? Let me tell you, every level of Heaven contains the Bodhi-mind, as do the Human and Animal Realms. The Bodhi-mind, much like sunlight, illuminates the inherent nature of each sentient being; every sentient being possesses a Bodhi-mind within their inherent nature. What we cultivate is this inherent nature, this Bodhi-mind.
The Bodhi-mind in Heaven is purer, less tarnished and very clean. Remember, once you make the vow to practise Buddhism, your daily visualisation and contemplations should involve manifesting your Bodhi-mind and compassion, which originate from the heavenly Bodhi-mind. Can we achieve this in our Human Realm? Yes, we can. We can transform the Bodhi-mind in Heaven into the human heart for use in the Human Realm.
For instance, your heart is transparent, but it’s shrouded by external defilement, making it dirty and possibly invisible. This represents the human heart. But when you ascend to Heaven, the defilement on your heart diminishes, making it clear and transparent again. At this point, you can see your own Bodhi-mind and your compassion.
The conscience in the Human Realm seems to dwindle because it becomes increasingly polluted. Therefore, it’s important for you to understand the nature of the Bodhi-mind and the great compassionate heart in Heaven. Then, you can apply this model to the Human Realm, regularly checking whether your inherent nature and conscience remain pure and compassionate.
The Bodhi-mind is the heart of a Bodhisattva, renowned for its immense compassion. When we immerse ourselves in practising Buddhism, we aim to acquire the wisdom of the Buddha and embody the luminous spirit of the Bodhisattvas. But why can we see our inherent nature and Bodhi-mind in Heaven? Because those who ascend to Heaven are innately kind, they have the ability to perceive these qualities within themselves. Heavenly beings have the capacity to manifest the compassionate heart of a Bodhisattva anywhere, anytime, and they can see their own Bodhi-mind.
Just like the fairies in animated films, these heavenly beings can drift from one place to another at their will. Many of them spend their days in Heaven thinking how they might assist others. They inhabit a favourable environment where they enjoy tremendous freedom and are universally kind-hearted. Meanwhile, here in the Human Realm, we are perpetually surrounded by tasks to complete and things that we need to work on.
In the Human Realm, if we cannot perceive our inherent nature or conscience, we might end up committing various misdeeds and fostering negative thoughts. Hence, it’s a challenging task for humans to see their inherent nature. We can only try to ‘connect with our conscience’, suggesting that our conscience has become so obscure that we can only feel it, much like how a blind person relies on touch. If we could see, would we still need to touch? The logic is straightforward.
Our inherent nature in the Human Realm has become so unclear that only in Heaven can we see it clearly. Only after seeing it can we compare and reflect upon our inherent nature and conscience.
In the Human Realm, even though your heart might not be visible externally, inside, you should feel as if you can see it. Let me elaborate this point. For example, when a person is acting in a play, they might pretend there’s a door where none exists. They would approach it, open it, and peer inside. Even though they see nothing, they pretend they do. Similarly, in a scene where they’re supposed to sew clothes, despite there being no needle or thread, they pretend there are, and mimic mending the clothes. This suggests that you should project what you observe in Heaven onto the invisible aspects of our Human Realm. Only then will you develop true insight and start cultivating accordingly.
Can you see Guan Yin Bodhisattva? But why do you understand that the deeds of Guan Yin Bodhisattva are to save those in suffering? This is your perception; you use your human senses to resonate with the Bodhi-mind in Heaven.
You should visualise and contemplate it every day. Contemplate that your kind-heartedness is visible to you; visualise your inherently benevolent nature. ‘I want to save others. I want to be compassionate. I want to help others.’ — Contemplate this every day, then express it outwardly.
Everyone knows about the cycle of rebirth in the six realms of existence. Now, let me explain to you about the cyclical existence of negative karmic affinity. What is this cyclical existence of negative karmic affinity? It occurs when you formed unfavourable bonds in your past life, and in this life, you continue to face conflicts and establish more negative bonds. This is what we refer to as the cycle of negative karmic affinities. For instance, when you’re scolded by someone, your mind starts to spin, and the cycle begins. After being scolded, everything you encounter makes you unhappy. Then comes distress, followed by resentment, which then leads to retaliation. This is the start of the cycle of negative karmic affinities. When someone is angry, that’s when the negative karmic affinities are cycling. If you don’t get angry, this cycle won’t turn.
How do we resolve the cycle of negative karmic affinities? The solution lies in visualising and contemplating emptiness. In contemplation lies visualisation, and in visualisation lies contemplation, hence it is termed as visualisation and contemplation. For instance, when you visualise and contemplate Guan Yin Bodhisattva, you do so by closing your eyes – not by keeping them wide open, as that would be observing rather than visualising. Visualising means conjuring up the image of Guan Yin Bodhisattva and seeing her within your mind. When you visualise and contemplate emptiness, you envision your body as being void. For instance, if someone scolds you, you should perceive yourself as void: “I have nothing, it doesn’t matter to me, everything is an illusion.” In such a situation, you should think, “They’re scolding the karmic obstacles on my body. My karmic obstacles are indeed unpleasant. Not only should others scold them, but I should also scold them.” Will you still get angry then? If you consider these karmic obstacles as your own and absorb them, of course, you’ll get angry. But if you dissociate these karmic obstacles from yourself, view them as inferior substances induced by the external environment, or consider them as the negative karma from your past life that you’ve brought into this one, and acknowledge these karmic debts as ones you must repay, and even regard them as beneficial conditions fostering your progress, you won’t get angry if you think this way. This is what cultivation means.
After visualising and contemplating your own emptiness, you should enter a state of meditative absorption. What is meditative absorption? Put simply, it’s quieting your mind. Only after entering meditative absorption can one transition into emptiness. Once a person calms down, their thoughts can surface. If your mind cannot settle and your thoughts are racing wildly, how can you achieve calmness? If you sit here with a restless mind, you won’t be able to learn anything. To put it politely, your mind is unsettled; bluntly put, you’re overwhelmed with distracting thoughts.
Cultivating the mind is a stringent process; it can’t tolerate any degree of distraction. Even the slightest distracting thought can impede the proper cultivation of the mind. When cultivating the mind, you should forget about all people and events. How do distractions come about when reciting scriptures? It’s because various individuals and circumstances cause ripples in your heart, leading to a surge in distracting thoughts. Remember to maintain cleanliness and purity in both body and mind, always prepared to clear any negativity. All unwholesome thoughts, actions, and intentions must be eradicated.
Any Buddhist practitioner must, first and foremost, dispel arrogance. Regardless of your skills, wealth, or circumstances, as long as you sit in the audience and listen to the teachings of the Dharma, you are a student of Buddhism. Bodhisattvas do not discriminate; it doesn’t matter who you are at the moment. As long as you are seated listening to the Dharma teachings, you must engage in sincere study. Arrogance has no place here; if it arises, you won’t be able to truly grasp Buddhism. What benefit does your wealth bring today? Can it clear away your karmic obstructions and misdeeds? Only merit and virtue can cleanse one’s karmic obstructions. If a wealthy individual uses a substantial amount of money to perform good deeds but considers their own potential gains, all their merit and virtue become nullified.
Secondly, anyone practising the Buddha-dharma must eliminate laziness and carelessness. Those cultivating their mind can’t afford to be lazy. If you’re reluctant to rise in the morning, go to bed early at night, and sleep heavily throughout the day, the more you sleep, the more you grow dull and plump; heavy sleepers cannot awaken their wisdom. From the perspective of the Buddha-dharma realm, a heavy sleeper lacks several of the six paramitas (perfections). Therefore, as Buddhist practitioners, you must dispel laziness and carelessness.