The Nature of Mental Notes: An Interview with Skanda Bodhisattva

The Echoes of the Heart and Mind

It is a well-known principle within the Buddha’s gate that one should always keep all beings in one’s heart and mind. However, how many practitioners truly live by this principle? What is the heart, and what is a mental note? Every person acts according to their own limited understanding of these concepts. When you face the people, events, and objects around you, or even when you face yourself, your perceptions and decisions often deviate from the truth. You lose the accuracy of the right path. Consequently, a selfish heart and self-centred thoughts arise without your awareness.

Practitioner Su often reminds us during our sessions of listening to the sutras and hearing the Dharma that we must act according to the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way. Yet, when you are confronted with a situation, why do you so often forget this and allow your habitual personality to manifest? It is because your heart lacks meditative concentration. You are easily swayed by external environments, constantly drifting and unable to be the master of your own mind. When you face a problem and a thought arises, you are effectively awakening the beings within your body who have a connection to that issue. These beings have their own views and methods. If your own spirit lacks sufficient energy and firm resolve, the views of these internal beings will surface and become your own thoughts.

The Tangled Web of Karmic Debts

These interferences from beings are often continuous, arriving in wave after wave, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. In such a state, how can you truly be the master of yourself? The thoughts you believe to be your own are, in reality, the thoughts of these beings. Your spirit has lost its autonomy. Under these circumstances, how can you speak of spiritual clarity? These beings are desperate to seek balance for their past grievances; they are not interested in helping you reach a correct conclusion. Instead, they lead you to act in ways that go against the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way. This is when various emotions arise:

• Anger and resentment: You feel a surge of hostility that clouds your judgement.
• Dissatisfaction: You become unhappy with your circumstances, leading to a sour expression.
• Malicious intent: You may even entertain harmful thoughts towards others.
• Powerlessness: You feel a sense of internal collapse, leading to physical and emotional instability.

These states of mind lead you to create negative karma, which only deepens your cycle of suffering.

The Sacred Duty of the Monastic

In Mahayana Buddhism, the mere arising of a thought or intention is already the creation of karma. This is especially true for the monastic community. According to the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way, those who have left the home life are entrusted with the duty of selflessness—to keep all beings in their hearts at every moment. If a monastic’s views and actions violate this duty, they will face the consequences. This is why the Precepts are essential; they serve as a safeguard to help you avoid violating these universal principles.

If your practice is not effective, if your spirit lacks stability and meditative concentration, you allow your karmic creditors and attached spirits to take control. You allow your habitual personality to dictate your actions. How, then, can you hold fast to the great goal of following the righteous path? This is the reason why some monastics and lay practitioners find their souls being taken to the hells at night for questioning and punishment. If you can raise your awareness, you will be able to detect when you have lost control. You can immediately shift your thoughts or stop inappropriate behaviour. By not being controlled by these beings, you can cease the creation of negative karma and avoid the suffering of being taken to the hells.

The Clarity of the Awakened Being

Those who have realised their true nature are entirely governed by their own clear, all-knowing, and all-capable spirit. When they encounter problems, they can quickly make clear judgements and take appropriate actions. They do not suffer from the interference or control of other beings. However, because they still possess a physical body, other beings can still attach themselves to that body to cause interference or harm. For those who have realised their true nature, these interferences are seen with absolute clarity. They do not affect the clarity or the sensitive awareness of the spirit. They continue to face the people and events around them based on their true self, teaching beings without ever violating the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way. They do not have habitual personalities that manifest, and they do not suffer the evil consequences of impure thoughts. This is the preciousness of those who have realised their true nature, and it is why we must practise in a pure environment, isolated from the pollution of the outside world.

The Shield of Compassionate Protection

When facing problems, those who have realised their true nature can address them with great efficiency. This is why Practitioner Su has been able to lead the salvation team of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre and the fourfold assembly to overcome many obstacles, save beings, and succeed in rain-seeking efforts. The entire Dharma Realm knows that Practitioner Su’s body has suffered injuries due to his efforts to seek rain and save beings through his Dharma Body. Therefore, the Jade Emperor and the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas were able to cooperate with the rain-seeking efforts yesterday. This is truly good news. Today, the salvation team continues to chant Namo Amituofo twenty-four hours a day for rain. We continue to invite the spirits residing in Practitioner Su’s body to listen to the Dharma and counsel them to leave, inviting them to be reborn in the Western Pure Land. We can feel that the attitude of these beings has softened significantly compared to before.

When protectors like myself encounter stubborn beings, we counsel them to enter the five memorial tablets placed in the air. Many beings soften their rigid attitudes upon seeing the light emitted from these tablets. The transformative power of the Buddha-light can soothe the dissatisfaction and injustice in the hearts of these beings, making them willing to let go and resolve their conflicts. This is a very natural process. The fourfold assembly at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, living in an environment constantly illuminated by the Buddha-light, must truly cherish this opportunity to learn.

As for the body of Practitioner Su, it is currently surrounded by layers of protection from protectors like myself and shielded by a Vajra-cover. It is very difficult for beings to find an opportunity to enter his body. However, because Practitioner Su’s body is so sensitive, he often feels when a being is approaching, and his body reacts simultaneously. Fortunately, these are merely reactions; they have not caused any actual harm to his physical body as they did in the past. We continue to stand guard. Namo Amituofo.

This interview message was recorded by the Buddha’s disciple, Shi Haiyuan.