Overcoming the Great Obstacles of Emotion and Drowsiness

This interview features Venerable Changren, a monastic who sought deliverance through the teachings of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. Residing at the centre, Venerable Changren provides guidance on the path to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This session was recorded on September 11, 2017, by the chief writer, Shi Fa.

Venerable Changren speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. Those who seek the path of practice have, since ancient times, always experienced many strange and miraculous events. Spiritual success is usually attained only after a certain amount of effort and diligent practice. It is difficult to say that the process of realisation is not arduous; trials and tempering will inevitably appear. After all, transforming from an ordinary person into a sage is not such a simple matter. However, when one's heart and intention shift, it can also be a very simple thing. The key may lie in whether one has a guide—not necessarily a famous master, but someone who can teach you something, understands you, and does not indulge your faults. Perhaps that is enough."

The Trap of Emotional Dependency

"As Causal Conditions change throughout different periods, one does not necessarily have to follow only one master. There is one most important principle in practice: practice is based on the Dharma and Truth, not on people or emotions. If these become obstacles and attachments, then no matter how well you practise, in the end, it will all be nothing left, because you will be unable to let go. If that is the case, why bother becoming a monastic or practising? It is not easy to let go of family and worldly life to come to a brand-new environment, only to perform the same old script. You change your environment, but your attachment simply shifts to your master or others who are kind to you. If you cannot let go of these worldly emotional entanglements, you might as well stop practising, because you will never be able to transcend, and in many cases, you will only create more karma.

It is common in practice to see a disciple's attachment to a master, and a master's attachment to a disciple. These things are not easily noticed in daily life, but they become a test at the very last moment of life. I have seen many people fall because of this; they are grabbed by emotion and cannot reach the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Many of them were even highly respected and virtuous eminent monks. What a pity that is. Looking around now, there is still too much worldly practice because it is accompanied by too many emotions. This is terrifying. How deep must your meditative concentration be to break through these? If this is truly the case, it would be better to leave these meaningless entanglements early. Within the bodhimanda, the only relationship should be that of fellow practitioners—allies who are all returning to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. You are not classmates, and you should not mix in unnecessary emotions. It is a very pure relationship: it is simply practice."

The Inner Child and True Independence

"If the relationships around you are not cleared up first, it is difficult to have a good environment to settle down. It is not the environment's problem; it is your heart playing tricks, along with the interference and manipulation of karma. You must have the awareness to see these things. If this environment can no longer provide you with the opportunity to practise, face it with reason. This is not the time to talk about emotions, because your practice in this life must achieve success. No matter who you are, it is equally important. Your achievement is that of a Buddha; how could that not be important? Practice is not the time for emotions, especially when you have already begged the Buddha to help you escape the sea of karma. If you have tied so many heavy stones to yourself, how can you be pulled up? You must tell yourself: do not sink any further.

Any fluctuation or feeling in the heart—whether it is family affection, romantic love, relationships between fellow practitioners, or between master and disciple—I have even seen it between monastics and lay practitioners—is a problem. Human beings are emotional animals, and these emotional fluctuations are very troublesome. Yet, being unable to let go is so murky and lacks clarity. At this time, you should ask yourself: why do you still need these? Is it because you are not brave enough and need a backer to lean on, or do you need encouragement and support? Or have you discovered other factors? Most of the time, it lies in the emptiness of the heart and the inner child who still wants to be encouraged and protected. Hurry and let the child in your heart grow up. Often tell yourself: 'I have grown up, I do not need these.' Regarding the need for the opposite sex, you should also tell yourself: 'I have independently handled everything; I do not need this extra care.' No matter what, you must train yourself to be independent; only then can you succeed."

Training the Self

"You come alone and you leave alone; you take nothing with you. This is the matter of life and death. If you cannot see through this, it is hard to achieve anything, because you will want to grasp things to give yourself a sense of security. It is not just for monastics; as a practitioner, you must train yourself to be an independent person. This is not about arrogance; such training helps you to see through and let go. If you do everything yourself and do not rely on others, you can truly grow. You learn courage from the setbacks you encounter. Outwardly appearing strong is just an illusion. If you still have emotional fluctuations when you encounter things, you are still too weak. You must train; this will be of great help to your practice and your life. Modern people are truly not as resilient as people of the past. This is the first time I have told everyone this. The resilient character of people in the past did not need to be taught these things at all. It seems that the more convenient life becomes, the less we move, the easier it is to have this dependent nature, and the easier it is to develop romantic feelings for caregivers and a negative, passive attitude toward life.

The education of the Buddha's gate is to teach disciples to let go of all hearts of desire, but disciples of the Buddha's gate have quietly extended many emotions, fundamentally destroying the clear and cool heart of practice. Many times, the obstacles in practice are self-inflicted because the heart insists on thinking. You have endless thoughts, yet you cannot get what you want in your heart, and in the end, you gain nothing. Is such behavior not foolish? Magnificent Causal Conditions lie in practice, and since you have already grasped the Truth, this is an arrangement of Causal Conditions. Sometimes, even if you beg, you may not encounter it. People come to learn from each other and grow. Other than that, all other functions should be closed and never opened again—such as all desires, cravings, and fluctuations. These will only prevent you from succeeding in your practice, and you will have to face immeasurable and boundless sins, because all the sins committed in past lives may manifest because of this. It is not worth doing this. You have heard so many principles; you should wake up. From now on, you must rely on yourself to resolve your own heart."

Confronting the Barrier of Drowsiness

"Next, there is an obstacle that all practitioners encounter, which is also an important checkpoint: drowsiness. Do you know why you sleep? There is a fact that many people do not understand: you cannot be the master. Do you know if you can still be your own master? How many times are you just having your body manipulated? You are nothing more than a resentful spirit kicked to the side, but generally, you do not know this because you still think you are living well and think your practice is not bad. You are too pitiful. You will never know your own matter of life and death. If you are interested in understanding your own affairs, I can tell you. Whether you follow through depends on your own determination. The achievement is yours personally, and it has nothing to do with me. It is only because your achievement can help many people that I am willing to help.

Are you clear in the moment of drowsiness? Do you understand the cause of drowsiness? Let me ask you again: can you catch your every thought and intention? I must say one thing first: many practitioners today have it too good; they have plenty of sleep, so it may be hard to understand this feeling. But if you are listening to sutras, chanting, performing prostrations, chanting Namo Amituofo, or meditating, and you find yourself zoning out, entering into a space as if you were dreaming, or if you are completely drowsy—a state of being extremely sleepy—do not be afraid. Because you have encountered the essence of practice. You should be happy, because the patriarchs and venerable masters of the past also had the checkpoint of drowsiness, but they broke through it and achieved a magnificent life. You are also practising; could you not be the next patriarch or venerable master?"

Acceptance and Compassion

"Every instance of drowsiness has its reason. It may be complex or simple. Regardless of which type you belong to, you must have perseverance and willpower to face it. Once you break through, it is an eternal achievement. First, tell yourself and ask yourself: 'Do you admit this? Are you very drowsy?' When dealing with things, many times you must first accept and acknowledge everything without any excuses or explanations. The moment you open your mouth or have a fluctuation in your heart, you have failed. I am now trying to help you completely deal with drowsiness. If you still have your own thoughts, you have already lost half the battle. It is not that I can help you; it is that you must face your problem sincerely. You must truly want to solve it, but not by using your personality. Personality cannot solve problems.

Whether it is truly solved also depends on the emotions that accompany it—whether it is sorrow, annoyance, arrogance, anger, or excitement. How many people can look at all this happily? Face this challenge filled with Dharma joy. If you cannot do this, it is still hard to break through because you still have personality involved, as well as a heart of gain and loss, and a lack of compassion. You must have compassion for yourself, and you must also have a heart of compassion for all things and all matters. Only then is it possible for you to truly break through."

The Hidden Habits

"Facing it with happiness means you are already halfway to success. Next is to find the root cause of the problem. How many times is it caused by karma? Yet you are unable to face the karma behind it. It might be targeting a personality, a matter, or a relationship, forcing you to face it. This is actually a great help to your practice. When you are still drowsy, it means your practice problem is still very large. You should sincerely face all the problems that manifest before you, but never use another personality to cover up this one. You will not wake up because of this; on the contrary, it will be even worse.

As long as you sincerely want to face the points above, they are easy to see in yourself. Next, I want to mention something that is not easy to see: hidden habits and hidden emotions. How has your practice been in the last few days? Do you still maintain your original intention? Do you maintain equal enthusiasm for all Buddha-related matters? Or do you already have a heart of discrimination? Do you feel filled with Dharma joy often? Or do you feel a lot of pressure? Or do you feel that you are not very motivated when doing things and quickly fall into a dream? Do you feel that your teachers are forcing you? Or do you feel that you are easily irritable? Have you not checked your vows for some days? Are you sure you are still a practitioner? Be careful. These simple examples all indicate that you are quietly regressing. You must have the awareness to discover that your behavior and attitude are already wrong. But do not feel embarrassed or feel that you are bad. For thousands of years, many practitioners have walked the same path. These processes will all happen; it is more important to be able to break through. Sometimes encountering these bottlenecks is absolutely a good thing, because it is also teaching you how to break through when you still have these problems. It is absolutely not by using old ways to solve the matter, nor is it by using personality, hard-handed methods, or an attitude of letting go and not wanting to care. None of these are correct. Instead, you must use a more compassionate heart to lead the child who still does not know how to handle the method, and save them from the predicament. I understand this state of mind very well; what is needed is infinite compassion, care, and patience. If you get intense at this time, you are finished. Your body will definitely not listen to you. You should be in a state of complete gentleness, slowly leading the child's cells to grow.

Everything is in the process of growth; why worry that you will not wake up because of this? Sometimes, timely relief of physical and mental fatigue is also necessary, because after all, the path of practice is just beginning. Walking steadily allows one to go far. Many things are not hard-and-fast rules, but rather about choosing the Dharma—choosing the best skillful means to help yourself enter true practice. Once you break through these instabilities at the beginning, it will be difficult to shake you later. But you must walk through these first, because you brought them with you from past lives—habits, personality, and different pollutions. Practice is not difficult, nor is it simple; it depends on how you want to walk. If you have a heart that wants to conquer everything and actively wants to break through, you are very good, but you are also prone to flaws, because you might collapse again when you are under pressure that exceeds what you can bear. The best way is to understand the child in your heart, understand them, know them, and then be a teacher, a good mother, and lead them well. If they do not understand, teach them; if they can do it, encourage them; if they really cannot do it, be compassionate and tolerant toward them. Lead them slowly; it is both compassionate and strict. Try to ponder it yourself; it will be very interesting. Namo Amituofo.

When you find the joy and slowly see the suffering of beings, and give rise to vows and great strength, how could you have time to let yourself be drowsy? The important thing is how the heart of practice changes. Is it becoming a Buddha, or becoming a demon? Everyone must have awareness."

Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, Australia

Contact: Venerable Hailyang / Practitioner Cao

Phone: +61-456-793-638

Blog: http://purelandstone07.pixnet.net/blog

E-mail: pureland.stone@outlook.com

Address: 120 Gordon Smiths Road, Goombungee, QLD 4354, Australia