The Three Aspects of the Mind: A Path to Awakening
Teachings from Master Xuanzang
Recorded on February 13, 2019
The Foundation of All Teachings
All dharmas are mind-only. Everything in this world arises from the thoughts of the mind. Every teaching within the Buddha’s teachings—whether found in the Sutra, Vinaya, or Abhidharma—is ultimately focused on the mind. Although different schools may employ various methods, all paths lead back to the same source: the mind. Everything is created by the mind and arises from the mind. Today, we shall discuss a topic that is both vital and inseparable from our practice, drawing upon the three aspects of the mind as presented by Zen Master Zhongfeng in the : the physical heart, the discriminating mind, and the luminous knowing mind.
The Physical Heart: Our Temporary Vessel
Regarding the physical heart, the Thrice Yearning Ceremony states: The physical heart is what exists within , born of the parents' blood and energy. This refers to the physical organ that sustains our life. It is a crucial part of our body, responsible for blood circulation and the heartbeat. In terms of the four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—it belongs to the water element. To ensure our practice is effective, we must maintain the proper functioning of this physical vessel.
In detail, the heart is composed of countless cells. These cells begin to develop while we are in the womb and reach a state of maturity after birth. Any structural abnormality can lead to illness, which in turn becomes an obstacle to our practice. Whether these heart conditions are congenital or acquired, they are all linked to the from our past lives. They are, in essence, a part of the cycle of rebirth.
The Discriminating Mind: Navigating the World of Duality
Regarding the discriminating mind, the Thrice Yearning Ceremony states: The discriminating mind is that which makes various distinctions based on the good, evil, favourable, and adverse conditions we encounter. This mind is the result of the interaction between our eight consciousnesses and the external world.
- The Eight Consciousnesses:
- These include the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body consciousnesses, the sixth (discrimination), the seventh consciousness (attachment), and the eighth consciousness (the ).The Fifty-one Mental Factors: Through the interaction of these consciousnesses, various mental states arise. There are fifty-one types of mental factors, encompassing both good and evil.
Because there are more evil mental factors than good ones, it is a common reality that human habits and personality traits lean more towards the negative. Our delusion, discrimination, and attachment—along with our , , and —are all contained within this discriminating mind. Before one reaches an awakened being, this mind remains part of the cycle of karmic retribution. Our practice is to work precisely here: to transform these mental states into a state of no-mind, no-thought, , and no-selfishness. When this is achieved, our practice is successful.
The Luminous Knowing Mind: Our True Nature
Both the physical heart and the discriminating mind are governed by ; they arise and perish with the body. They are phenomena of causal conditions, illusory and impermanent. They change according to circumstances. Practitioners can view this world as a grand illusion, using the physical heart and the discriminating mind to find the luminous knowing mind—our true self. This is what we call using this temporary body to find the eternal truth. Once a practitioner finds their true self-nature, they must use both the temporary and the eternal to help other beings trapped in this illusion find their own true nature. This true nature is the luminous knowing mind.
The text describes it thus: The luminous knowing mind is that which remains unconfused amidst a thousand differences. It remains unchanged through the three periods of time. It shines alone with brilliance, standing apart from the ordinary. It does not increase in the sages, nor does it decrease in the ordinary beings. This is our innate, luminous awareness.
Purification and the Path to
The physical heart has form and colour, while the discriminating mind and the luminous knowing mind are formless. Though they are abstract concepts, they are essential to our practice. The physical heart and the discriminating mind are illusions born of karma, while the luminous knowing mind is the truth of our original nature. We must continuously purify our temporary body and illusory perceptions to reclaim this luminous knowing mind.
To transform the discriminating mind into a state of no-mind and no-attachment, we must engage in purification, and then more purification. We must ensure that our spiritual obstacles do not manifest and that our cannot find us. Even if they do, because we do not give rise to thoughts or attachments, we do not provide them an opportunity to interfere. Instead, we may even help them find purification. When every cell and organ in our body functions harmoniously, and our Six Roots are clear and unobstructed, we are on the path to Awakening. When every cell in the body manifests this luminous knowing mind, we have transformed the Alaya consciousness into the Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom.
Expanding the Mind-Capacity
From another perspective, we can look at the mind through the lens of mind-capacity. The mind encompasses the vast void, and its capacity extends to the ends of the universe. This is not unfamiliar to students of the school; we hear it often in class. Yet, when a situation arises, our minds often shrink to the size of a sesame seed. This is due to our karma, our habits, and our inertia.
Seeing others' faults, jealousy, unfriendly speech, anger, selfishness, and our persistent delusion, discrimination, and attachment—all these arise because our mind-capacity is not sufficiently open. We fear loss, and we lack faith in ourselves, in Namo Amituofo, and in our teachers. These situations interact to form the fabric of our daily lives. Purification, and then more purification, along with repenting and changing our ways, is the only path to Awakening.
Dear students, learning in the pure environment of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, you must seize every opportunity. Under the guidance of Namo Amituofo, Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju, and Practitioner Su, every moment is a golden chance for . Please, cherish it dearly!
Recorded by the Buddha's disciple, Shi HaiZe
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About the Author
Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre
Contributed to Pure Land Buddhism knowledge library