The Peril of Attachment to Meditative States

To become a sage, one must find true coolness and ease in cultivating the mind, transcending the mundane and remaining unstained by dust.

The Vision of the Trapped Monastics

Dharma Master Faxi shares his experience: While circumambulating the Buddha, I entered a state of deep contemplation. In my vision, I saw towering mountains crumbling one after another. Within the hollowed-out remains of these mountains, there were vast spaces filled with many monastics. My heart was immediately stirred by the question of why this was happening. As this thought arose, images appeared of monastics walking through the mountains and others sitting in deep meditation within mountain caves. Seeing these two scenes, I felt a strong intuition that I was being asked to interview these monastics. I wondered why these monastics, trapped within the mountains, were suffering such karmic consequences. This interview serves as a warning to all monastics. I asked Namo Amituofo if my disciple, Faxi, was correct in this understanding.

Namo Amituofo provided these teachings: This is indeed the Buddha's intent.

Dharma Master Faxi: Namo Amituofo. I, disciple Faxi, invite the sentient being who is to be interviewed today.

The Illusion of the Mountain Path

The Spirit: For thousands of years, no one has known of our plight. Only because the space has opened today do I have the opportunity to speak. I was a monastic, a practitioner of asceticism. I travelled through countless famous mountains, all for the sake of encountering a deeper and more expansive understanding of the Buddha’s teachings. I devoted my heart to seeking the so-called Truth of the Buddha’s teachings and the gate to liberation. I did my utmost to propagate what I knew, and I wished to dedicate my entire life to the service of the Dharma Realm. I worked so hard, yet in the end, I did not reach the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. After I died, I went to a place no one would ever imagine: the bottom of a mountain. What an inconceivable karmic result this is.

Do you know that at the bottom of these mountains, there are immeasurable and boundless monastics? Upon arriving in these depths, I felt a profound chill in my heart. It turns out that the very monastic communities that claimed to be propagating the Dharma became the primary cause of their own downfall. I am not speaking of you who are alive today, but as a monastic myself, I truly feel an infinite sense of shame. Monastics truly must bear the greatest responsibility.

The True Meaning of Cultivating the Mind

When I first became a monastic, I was full of joy. I bowed before eminent masters and learned beside my teacher in the place where I resided. I studied for nearly ten years before I left my teacher to become independent. By then, my skills should have been mature. Alas, let me continue my story. I became a monastic when I was only eleven years old. On the eve of my twenty-first birthday, I bade farewell to my teachers, carrying only my three robes, one alms bowl, and a six-foot monk's staff. I made the world my home. I did this for two reasons: to propagate the Dharma lineage, and to cultivate and temper my mind and wisdom. My food and shelter relied entirely on the support of Dharma protectors. Everything was kept simple; nothing was allowed to be complicated.

I walked through all the great mountains and famous sites, and I passed through many villages and towns. I saw many monastics, each with different styles of practice. The Buddha established 84,000 Dharma gates, each arising according to the conditions of sentient beings. The World-Honoured One once said that he had never actually taught a single Dharma, because he was truly mindful and taught sentient beings of the Dharma Realm according to their different capacities.

The Trap of Attachment to Stillness

The monastic community led by the Buddha in those days demonstrated many great Dharmas. To accommodate the different capacities of future disciples, he left behind the Truth and the principles, such as the Sutras, the Vinaya, and the Abhidharma—the Tripitaka. There is no Dharma gate that was not left behind by the World-Honoured One. Why, then, did different gates lead to such different outcomes? In the three thousand years since the Buddha entered Nirvana, the decline of the Buddha’s teachings and the dangers of the Dharma-Ending Age have been evident, yet no one has dared to point out the true source of the error. Everyone prefers to continue living in comfort and peace. Whether it is the so-called forest-style monastic community or the city-based bodhimanda that is close to the world, where does the bias ultimately come from? In truth, it lies in the failure of cultivating the mind.

I spent decades not settling in any one temple, constantly changing my environment because I could not find a place to rest my heart. I was searching for the Truth I longed for in my heart, but until the moment of my death, I did not understand that the Truth is within one's own nature. To become a sage, one must find true coolness and ease in cultivating the mind, transcending the mundane and remaining unstained by dust. The fifty-three visits of Sudhana were meant to show disciples that the Truth lies in gathering one's own mind. Everything we perceive through the Six Roots—what we see, hear, and experience—is a lesson. How do we extract the precious meaning from these experiences? The fundamental importance is cultivating the mind.

A Call to Awakening

A true practitioner does not see the faults of the world, because everything seen and heard is shown by a good teacher. How then can there be faults? The stimulation, slander, and harm we encounter are all there to temper our resolve. Whether it is among laypeople or within the monastic community, there is jealousy, obstruction, competitiveness, stubbornness, provocation, arrogance, ignorance, and madness. Which bodhimanda is free of these? But have you ever paid attention to the bodhimanda within your own heart? Have you ever tidied up the bodhimanda of your own mind? I have seen so many large and small bodhimandas, yet I never tidied up my own. I ignored the discipline of my inner bodhimanda. The inner bodhimanda is the most difficult to regulate, but it is also the most intimate Pure Land bodhimanda.

I practised the Zen school, and I could remain in a deep meditative state for three or four months. We put effort into our meditative concentration, but we did not know there was a greater skill beyond concentration. In ancient times, few practised the Pure Land path because few could truly purify their own inner bodhimanda. Few sought liberation and rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss because no one truly understood what the Pure Land was. To be without mind, without thought, and without desire—it is difficult to be truly sincere. Because this practice is difficult, there are few practitioners. Today, I finally understand that not reaching the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss to end the cycle of rebirth goes against the original intent of the World-Honoured One. All 84,000 Dharma gates lead to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. But the West seems so far away; how can one realise it? People prefer to believe in the tangible efforts before their eyes rather than letting go of everything, which is the true skill. To have nothing—that is the West. That is no-self.

I have explained why so many monastics are at the bottom of the mountain. The space at the bottom of the mountain is exactly the kind of leisure that Zen practitioners love. It is a dignified bodhimanda created in response to the conditions of sentient beings, but it is not ultimate, nor does it transcend the Three Realms. Once one leaves the state of concentration, one is still within the six realms of rebirth. Even the Four Sacred Realms and the twenty-eight heavenly realms are not necessarily the true, dignified bodhimanda of the mind. True practitioners are not non-existent, nor is the path so difficult, but why are there so few? It is because one's own personality and habits always require more effort than the practice itself. People prefer to follow themselves rather than others. If one is not willing to fulfil others, how can one attain the great compassion of a Bodhisattva? If we do not examine ourselves on a grand scale, how will we know how much we have erred? Everything is a manifestation of the mind. The power of the heart is incredibly strong. All conditioned phenomena arise from the mind. Cultivating the mind is the path to Buddhahood. Namo Amituofo.

Dharma Master Faxi: Namo Amituofo. I am grateful for your compassionate sharing, which helps current practitioners awaken. It seems I do not yet know your Dharma name. How should I address you, Venerable? How many monastics are at the bottom of the mountain? Are they willing to listen to the sutras, or do they wish to seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss?

Dharma Master Miaode: My name is Shi Miaode. The monastics here have their own leisure; they are attached to the states they have realised. I fear my small strength is not enough to invite them all out. However, the compassionate voice of Practitioner Su has already moved some who are willing to seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. There are still so many others. Perhaps Practitioner Su will need to continue to compassionately contemplate and save them. Both the True Teachings and the Image Dharma are present here. Practitioner Su, there are too many. It is a pity for these monastics; few have truly achieved success. The Dharma lineage of today must rely on the efforts of all you great practitioners. The Buddha’s teachings are truly an immortal Dharma; they should not be allowed to perish. I rely on you all to propagate the Dharma. When I have the ability in the future, I will certainly join you in fulfilling the great vow of the Buddha. Please start by giving the five great numbers to this group of monastics from the various famous mountains and spiritual mountains who are trapped at the bottom of the mountain. I am grateful for your compassion. Namo Amituofo.

Dharma Master Faxi: Your great vow will certainly be fulfilled. May you be reborn in the Pure Land. Namo Amituofo.