Knowing the Illusory and Departing from the Illusory

The Fleeting Nature of All Phenomena

What exactly is meant by the term 'illusory'? In the teachings of the Buddha, we understand that all phenomena born from Causal Conditions are inherently illusory. They arise and perish in a constant, fleeting cycle. Everything we perceive—the people we meet, the objects we handle, the landscapes we traverse, and the events that unfold—are all manifestations of these conditions. They are exactly like a dream.

Consider the elements of a dream: the people within it, the scenery, the shadows, and the fleeting images. When the dream ends, these things vanish. They are not permanent; they do not possess an enduring essence. Similarly, the world we inhabit is a grand, temporary display. When the Causal Conditions that brought these phenomena together disperse, they inevitably cease to exist.

The Entanglement of the Deluded Mind

Why do we suffer so deeply in this life? It is because we are deluded. We are captivated by the physical body and the illusions generated by the interaction of our senses with the world. We mistake these temporary experiences for reality, and from this confusion, all forms of suffering arise.

When we become entangled in this web of illusion, we fall into a cycle of negative patterns:

• Sensory Attachments: We develop deep-seated feelings, rigid thoughts, and habitual behaviours.
• Karmic Accumulation: These actions enter our consciousness and solidify into karma, which follows us like a shadow.
• The Five Poisons: We are constantly swayed by Greed, Anger, Ignorance, Arrogance, and Doubt.
• The Five Desires: We chase after wealth, lust, fame, food, and sleep, believing they will bring us lasting satisfaction.
• The Cycle of Life: We are tossed about by joy and anger, sorrow and happiness, reunions and separations, and the inevitable reality of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

All of these experiences are forms of suffering. When the Causal Conditions that sustain our current life finally dissipate, everything we have clung to turns to nothingness. The only thing that remains, the only thing that follows us into the next stage of our journey, is the karma we have created.

The Clarity of the Enlightened Vision

Most people in this world do not realise that their suffering is also born of Causal Conditions. It is what we call 'illusory existence.' Because they are deceived by this 'illusory existence,' they mistake it for something permanent and unchanging. Consequently, they are unable to escape, and their suffering continues without end.

However, the Buddha or Bodhisattva, the patriarchs and venerable masters, and Those who have realised their true nature see the world differently. They possess the clarity to understand the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way. They are able to distinguish clearly between the illusory environment and the ultimate reality.

Because they have attained this wisdom, they are no longer deceived by the physical body or the various phenomena born of Causal Conditions. They are not swayed by internal states such as feelings, thoughts, and sensory perceptions, nor by the Greed, Anger, Ignorance, Arrogance, and Doubt, the wealth, lust, fame, food, and sleep, or the emotional turbulence of joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, and the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

The Compassionate Work Within the Dream

Those who have attained this level of realisation know how to recognise the illusory nature of the world and, in doing so, depart from it. They do not run away from the world; rather, they remain within it to teach and transform all beings. Their work is like a 'water-moon bodhimanda'—a reflection of the moon in the water. It is like performing Buddha-work within a dream.

By acting in this way, they help all beings to recognise the true reality of all laws of the world. They guide us to look past the surface, to strip away the layers of delusion, and to finally rediscover our true self—our original, pure nature. We must strive to follow this path, learning to see through the illusions of this world so that we may leave suffering behind and find true, lasting happiness.

Namo Amituofo

Recorded and transcribed by Namo Amituofo’s disciple, Venerable HaiZe