、 4 1 N D A N D T H E D P N A T U R E O F 、 1 1 N D what is its mode Of being.> lts deep nature is a mere emptiness Of its own inherent existence. This means that the faulty defilements that pollute the mind—such as ignorance, lust, and hatred—are temporary, and there- fore separable from the mind. Once these defilements are understood tO be superficial and not in the mind's basic nature, ℃ see that the deep nature Of the mind is clear light, emptiness. DEFILEMENTS ARE SUPERFICIAL, THE NATURE OF THE MIND IS CLEARLIGHT Buddhist texts explain in different ways the statement, "Defilements are superficial, the nature Of the mind is clear light. " still, this is not a matter of Buddha's saying something SO vague that it could be interpreted in any way one wishes. Rather, it has many different explicit and implicit meanings. ln Highest Yoga Tantra there are many ways Of drawing meaning out Of an abstruse state- ment. 〇 ne can explain its literal meaning, its general meaning, itS hidden meaning, and its final meaning. To clarify Buddha's statement, "Defilements are superficial, the nature of the mind is clear light," in 173

7 Focusing the Mind 。 , 。。。。。 0 。 , 。 , 。ⅵ。、 ho 、 progress toward 。 meaningfullife unfolds: First comes morality, then con- centrated meditation, then " isd01 れ . Wisdom relies on the single-mindedness Of meditation, and meditation depe nds upon the self-awareness of morality ln the last five chap- ters we have discussed the practice of morality, which makes you more settled and peaceful and your mind ready for 1 れ ore spiritual advancement. With a conscious mode ofbehavior, concentrated meditation, called calm abiding, can be accomplished. Still your mind is t00 scattered for increasingly effective meditative practice which reqtures 丘 concentration. Even a small noise here or there can immediately distract you. Since it is absolutely necessary 1 1 7

E XA M I N I N G H O ー B E I N G S A N D TH I N G S E X I S T appearance and reality Through meditation you have identified both the false mode of appearance and the false mode ofapprehension. Let us return tO the central point: A11 Of us have a sense of 。。 I" but we need to realize that it is only designated in dependence upon mind and body The selflessness that Buddhists speak of refers to the absence of a self that is permanent, partless, and independent, or, more subtly, it can refer tO the absence Of inherent existence Of any phenomenon. However, Buddhists d0 value the exis- tence Of a self that changes 01n moment tO 1 れ 01 れ ent , designated in dependence upon the continuum Of mind and body. AII of us validly have this sense of"l. " When Buddhists speak of the doctrine of selflessness, we are not referring tO the nonexistence Of this self With this "I," a11 of us rightfully want happiness and do not want suffering. lt iS When ℃ exaggerate our sense Of our- selves and Other phenomena tO mean something in- herently existent that ℃ get drawn intO many, many problems. 14 9

I N T R 0 D U C T I O N riers. I am convinced that despite different cultures and different political and economic systems, ℃ are all basically the same. The more people I meet the stronger my conviction becomes that the oneness Of humanity, founded on understanding and respect, is a realistic and viable basis for our conduct. YVherever I go, this is what I speak about. I believe that the practice Of compassion and love—a genuine sense Of brother- hOOd and sisterhood—is the universal religion. lt does not matter whether you are Buddhist or Christian, A40S1e1 れ or Hindu, or whether you practice religion at a11. What matters is your feeling of oneness with humankind. DO you agree? DO you think this is nonsense? I am not a God King, as some call me. I am just a Buddhist monk. what I am saying comes 01 れ 1 れ y 0 " n practice, which is limited. But I do try to implement these ideas in my daily life, especially when I face problems. Of course, I fail sometimes. sometimes I get irritated. Occasionally I use a harsh word, but when I do, imme- diately I el "Oh, this is wrong. " I feel this because I have internalized the practices Of compassion and wisdom that form the core of this book. These daily practices are very useful and very valuable in 1 れ ) ' own 1 2

F 0 C U S I N G T H E M I N D space between 01d and new ideas, discover the natural, unfab ricated, luminous and knowing nature Of the mind unaffected thought. When you remain this way, you understand that the mind is like a mirror, reflecting any Object, any conception, and that the mind has a nature Of mere luminosity and knowing, Ofmere experience. After you recognize the nature Of the mind as 1u1 れ i ー nosity and knowing, stay with it. Using your powers 0f mindfulness and introspection remaln in that state. If 2 thought comes, just lOOk intO its very nature, and the concept lose its po 嶬℃ r and diSSOlve Of its 0 , n accord. Sometimes, With exertion, メ ou can prevent a thought from fully forming. More likely, though, when you reach this state Of recognizing the basic, unaffected, unfabricated nature of the mind, thoughts will dissolve as they form, and even when they do come, they will not be powerful. Know that just as the waves 0f the ocean are made Of water, thoughts are made Of the luminous, knowing nature of the mind. And through continual daily practice, thoughts will weaken and disappear without any Other exertion. This practice Of meditation itself sharpens your mind and improves your mer れ or メ qualities that are certainly useful beyond spiritual practice, whether in business, 1 2 9

P R A C T I C I N G 、 1 0 RA L I T Y anxiety about getting this or that kind of food. Lay people can emulate this practice by not insisting on spe- cial foods. Even if you are rich, you actually cannot con- sume much more than poor people, except tO your 0 は 1 detriment. BOth rich and poor have the same stomach. With regard to clothing, monks and nuns are limited tO only one set Of robes. TO own more than one, he or she must get the blessing of another monastic, keeping in mind that the extra robe alSO belongs tO the Other person. We cannot wear expensive clothing. prior tO the Commttnist Chinese lnvasion, S01 れ e ー times wore lUXttr10LlS clothes, WhiCh amounted tO cor- ruption and self-deception. ()n a way, the Communist Chinese have been kind to us by destroying these cor- ruptions!) This limitation in dress is the practice Of CO れ - 市お . Lay people can adopt a similar practice through moderation in dress. The same iS true for adornments. wearing 1 れ ore than one ring on each finger is certainly t00 much! lt is a mistake tO think that it is really worthwhile to spend more on 応 od , clothing, and adornments JtlSt because you have 1 れ ore 1 れ one メ Rather, spend more on health and education for poor people. This is not forced socialism but volun ね com- passlon.

I D E N T I F 1 N G T H E S C O p E 0 F S U F F E R I N G more and more and 1 れ ore. ThiS, in a sense, iS real poverty—always to be hungry, hungry, hungry with no time tO be satisfied. Others might not be rich, but con- tentment provides them with 、 ver worries, fe 、 ver ene- mies, fewer problems, and very good sleep. On more than one occasion, When I have ViSited very nice homes in riCh communities, I inside the medicine chest in the bathroom and found S01 れ e medications tO provide energy for the day and others to induce sleep at night. Contentment might do both of these jobs better S1nce it reduces anxiety during the day, paving the way for sleeping peacefully ln the frenzy of modern li we lose sight of the real value of humanity. People become the sum total of what they produce. Human beings act like machines whose function is tO make money. This is absolutely wrong. The purpose of making money is the happiness of humankind, not the Other way round. Humans are not for money, money is for humans. need enough to live, SO money iS necessary, but ℃引 SO need tO realize that if there is t00 much attachment tO wealth, it does not help at all. As the saints of lndia and Tibet tell us, the ℃ althier one becomes, the more suffering one endures. 3 5

〇 V E RV I E W 0 F T H PAT H T 0 E N L I G H T を N M E N T last here for five thousand years. At the end of that five thousand years it will finally be destroyed by someone , hO iS a reincarnation Of Buddha himself, since When that day comes there will be no further value in the teaching. However, there are a billion world systems like ours, with limitless billions Of those. ln some Of them the teaching is newly being introduced; in some it is waning. The teaching continually remams somewhere at a11 times. The Buddhas never disappear, and the teaching never vanishes. SUMMARIES FOR DAILY PRACTICE Here in one place are the summaries for practice gathered 伝 om throughout the book. Focus 。れ ones suitable for your level at this point. Or, you could alternate among them over the course Of a week. Cultivated patiently over time, the practice s will become more and more familiar, and your li will become more meaningful 213

E X A M I N I N G H 0 ー B I N G S A N D TH I N G S E X I S T can turn bad once it is affected by conditions. FOOd that 100kS SO good in a restaurant may not sit SO well in your stomach. This is a clear sign Of a discrepancy between appearance and reality. These phenomena themselves are called conven- tional truths; they are known by consciousness that goes no further than appearances. But the same objects have an inner mode Of being, called an ultimate truth, that allows for the changes brought about by conditions. A WISe consciousness, not satisfied With mere appearances, analyzes to find whether objects inherently exist as they seem tO dO but discovers their absence Of inherent exis- tence; it finds an emptiness Of inherent existence beyond appearances. Emptiness, or selflessness, can only be understood if ℃ first identify that of which phenomena are empty. Without understanding what is negated, you cannot understand its absence, emptiness. You might think that emptiness means nothingness, but it does not. Merely from reading it is difficult to identify and understand the object of negation, what Buddhist texts speak of as 143

D I S C OV R I N G H 0 ー TRO U B L E S TA RT S A N D S T O P S once, whereas the Other class Of counterproductive emotions—which include such feelings as lust, hatred, enmity, jealousy, and belligerence—should not be expressed; they become more and more frequent. Expressing them tends tO make them stronger and more prevalent. lt is better tO reflect on the disadvantages Of engaging in such emotions and tO try tO displace them with feelings of satisfaction and love. We should force- 丘 1 Ⅱ y overcome negative emotions 、 Mhen they appear, but it ℃ uld be even better tO find ways tO prevent them in the first place. Lust and hatred give rise tO the Other counterpro- ductive emotions and thereby create a , hOle 10t Of trouble in this ー orld. 、 cannot be content tO live with the consequences of lust and hatred. Of the two, hatred iS worse on an immediate basis because it SO brings harm to others, but lust is responsible for driving on the process Of cyclic existence¯the repeated round of birth, aging, sickness, and death—from lifetime to lifetime. The root of lust and hatred is ignorance Of the true nature of a11 living beings as well ignorance of the nature Of inanimate things. ThiS ignorance is not JtlSt lack Of knowledge but a consciousness that imagines 45