The True Nature of Reality: Awakening from Confusion

The Unfolding of the Profound Dharma

In the great treatise on the awakening of faith, the text is divided into the section of establishing the meaning and the section of explanation. The section of explanation is further divided into three distinct parts. What are these three? First, the manifestation of the correct meaning; second, the counteraction of erroneous attachments; and third, the differentiation of the stages of the path toward Bodhi.

The first, the manifestation of the correct meaning, refers to the realisation of the True Suchness of the heart, which is the ultimate, equal, and correct truth. The second, the counteraction of erroneous attachments, addresses the two forms of delusion that bind us: the attachment to the self and the attachment to the Dharma. Those who cling to the self cannot see through the illusion of the ego, and those who cling to the Dharma cannot transcend the forms of the teachings. Both are considered erroneous attachments. The third, the differentiation of the stages of the path, involves understanding how to generate Bodhicitta and progress toward the fruit of the path that is beyond all marks.

The Gateway to the One Heart

When we speak of manifesting the correct meaning, we rely upon the One Heart. This One Heart is also known as the Dharma Realm, True Suchness, or the Tathagatagarbha. Within this single Dharma, there are two gates. The first is the gate of True Suchness, and the second is the gate of birth and death. The gate of True Suchness represents the absolute, unchanging nature of our original essence. The gate of birth and death represents the heart as it follows conditions—becoming stained by confusion or purified by the Dharma.

These two gates encompass all phenomena. Although they are described as two, they are fundamentally one. They are not separate, for the cycle of birth and death relies upon the foundation of True Suchness for its existence. As the Shurangama Sutra teaches, a single moment of unawareness gives rise to the three subtle marks, and through the influence of external conditions, the six coarse marks grow. Originally, our nature is the True Heart, which possesses no form or colour. Because a single thought of confusion arose, the illusion of birth and death was created. Yet, even within this cycle, we have never truly departed from True Suchness. True Suchness is constant, unchanging, and yet always follows conditions.

Transcending the Veils of Illusion

When we speak of the suffering caused by attachment, we must ask: how can we leave suffering behind? To understand this, we must look at the structure of our consciousness and how it binds us to the cycle of being reincarnated:

• The Consciousness of Confusion: This is the initial movement of the heart when we lose awareness of our true nature.
• The Consciousness of Transformation: This gives rise to the perception of external realms, manifesting through the seven consciousnesses: the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind, and the seventh consciousness, Manas.
• The Consciousness of Manifestation: This is the power that projects all external phenomena into our field of experience.
• The Consciousness of Wisdom: This is the faculty that attempts to distinguish between pure and impure phenomena.
• The Consciousness of Continuity: This is the process where our perceptions of seeing, hearing, and knowing continue in an unbroken chain, perpetuating the cycle of karmic conditions and the causes and effects, and birth and death.

Beings are often trapped because they mistake these illusions for reality. We cling to suffering, and this suffering creates karmic bonds that keep us trapped in the cycle of being reincarnated. How can we stop this cycle of suffering? A single moment of awakening is enough to shatter it.

Awakening to the Pure Light of Wisdom

To achieve true purification, we must ensure that our three karmas—body, speech, and mind—are pure. We must realise that the Six Roots and the Six Dusts are not inherently flawed. The fault lies not in the senses or the objects they perceive, but in our own attachments and discriminations. When we stop clinging to the six coarse marks—the marks of wisdom, continuity, attachment, naming, action, and the suffering of karmic bonds—we can finally achieve the transforming consciousness into wisdom.

When you listen to the sutras and hear the Dharma, you must not cling to the marks of the written words, the marks of speech, or the marks of the heart's conceptualising. To rely on the heart to interpret the meaning is to miss the true intent of the Buddha. Listening to the sutras should be done without relying on the ordinary mind or the consciousness, for the heart is merely the Manas consciousness of the Alaya consciousness, and the consciousness is the sixth consciousness. By listening to sutras and hear the Dharma and reading without these mental filters, you will naturally find the path to awakening.

To all the Bodhisattvas and virtuous ones in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, remember: in your practice of listen to sutras and hear the Dharma, do not cling to the external forms of language or thought. Simply listen, and let the truth resonate within your original nature. Namo Amituofo.

This message was recorded by the chief writer, Buddhist practitioner Shi Hai Liang.