Source/Selected from “Vimalakirti Sutra", Lesson 22”
Segment Time: 01:07:00—01:13:15
Buddhist practitioners should not view matters through the prevailing “law of the jungle”, nor should they act from a self-centered duality—competing for personal gain, stirring up disputes, manipulating others, and so on. For non-Buddhists, however, their various struggles in worldly life—whether social, economic, or otherwise—are largely governed by such logic. Simply put, this is how they behave: “Others bear the loss, while I seize the victory.” Yet this is exactly the reverse of the Mahāyāna principle of mind cultivation: “I bear the loss; may the victory be offered to others!”
For ordinary people living in such a manner, then there is nothing more to say. But if you aspire to follow the path of a Bodhisattva, you must completely reverse this way of thinking; otherwise, what would it truly mean to speak of learning to be a Bodhisattva? Once you have chosen this path, a fundamental transformation of your mindset is required. Through long-term, sustained practice and internalization, those so-called notions of success and failure, right and wrong, will gradually fall outside the scope of your concern.
What, then, occupies the mind of a Bodhisattva? Their victory lies solely in the awakening and realization of sentient beings. And what constitutes a Bodhisattva’s failure? In truth, once one has attained the state of a Bodhisattva, there is no failure to speak of. Even if the efforts to benefit others do not outwardly appear successful, as long as bodhicitta is fully perfected, one’s own realization is thereby accomplished.
However, even a Bodhisattva may experience a so-called "failure". If, when teaching sentient beings, a Bodhisattva lacks the requisite merit, ability, or favourable conditions, and as a result the beings fail to practice properly or are unwilling to practice, this may be considered a form of failures for the Bodhisattva. Therefore, a Bodhisattva’s true “benefit” lies in enabling sentient beings to progress smoothly along the path to liberation, rather than in scheming or manipulating others as worldly beings do.This is unlike the logic portrayed in some popular palace dramas: 'See, after all that scheming, I still won in the end.' Such plots merely reflect the law of the jungle and are nothing more than the antics of ordinary beings. But where is the practitioner who aspires to cultivate the Bodhisattva mind, devoting their days to imitating the palace intrigue behavior exemplified by Zhen Huan? In learning the Bodhisattva’s path, we must thus detach ourselves from these ways of thinking.Even in daily life, we have to keep in mind that, while we might not immediately attain the state of a Bodhisattva,we should gradually guide ourselves in that direction, step by step.
None of us can become a sage immediately, but we should strive in that direction; otherwise we will never achieve it. Yet there are also those who seem to be sages from birth—figures who appear before us already perfected. They are simply too far beyond our reach, so all we can do is look up to them. Such reverent admiration, as a form of accumulating merit, is certainly beneficial. But if we only admire without learning from them, it will serve no further purpose.
If ordinary beings wish to transcend ordinariness and attain sagehood, they must learn from the sages. Of course, we do not aspire to be sages merely to be admired. Sages themselves do not become sages to be admired; rather, their purpose is to elevate those who admire them to their level. To achieve their purposes, sages may outwardly appear to act like ordinary beings. Yet in the heart of sages, the noble and the ordinary are fundamentally one, without any sense of superiority or inferiority.
Although learning may proceed slowly, even at the slowest pace, bodhicitta must still be gradually put into practice. Otherwise, one may study, practice, or meditate, appearing very diligent, but if one’s cultivation is concerned only with oneself— caring nothing for anyone else—even if the sky were to fall, one would still focuses exclusively on one’s own path of liberation, such a path does not constitute the Mahāyāna Bodhisattva way.
Some practitioners do not cultivate Bodhicitta, and naturally care nothing for the liberation of others. Of course, they are not necessarily bad, and we may also respect them for their diligent practice. In fact, from the perspective of Mahayana Buddhism, there is actually nothing particularly worthy of respect here, because they are only concerned with their own practice and their approach does not reflect Mahayana thought at all.
Why is it that we so often fail to penetrate the nature of mind? More often than not, it is because of the subtle attachment to self hidden within our minds.
Form, or material phenomena, can be readily “emptied”, revealing that they are merely illusory and devoid of inherent existence. Yet the latent attachment to self is not material; the joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, as well as love and hatred, arising involuntarily in the mind cannot easily be “emptied”. Therefore, we should cultivate Bodhicitta, which is itself a form of “emptying” mental phenomena. It gradually dissolves all emotions and judgments rooted in self-attachment. Through sustained cultivation, self-grasping of persons is weakened, allowing the mind to develop sufficient innate luminous clarity, so that one can genuinely rest in self-assured awareness.
That is why some great masters have said that if one wishes to realize the Great Perfection, one must first cultivate oneself as a Bodhisattva—this is precisely the reason.
In the process of Dharma practice, many of us constantly complain about this difficulty and that obstacle, always hoping to find a shortcut—a once-and-for-all method or secret instruction. We wander about in search of it, believing that as long as we discover the right method or key instruction, enlightenment will naturally attained. That is simply impossible. If you are still a small-minded, self-centered ordinary being, how could a single phrase awaken your true nature? Where does such a good thing happen? The right approach is to become a Bodhisattva first. Once you do, the pith instruction will naturally come to you.
So we need to understand the key to spiritual practice. People often talk about the “key”, but what really is the key? Without Bodhicitta, any supposed “key” is invalidated; lacking the Bodhicitta “key” will nullify your practice.
When we study and contemplate, we may learn various views on emptiness from different lineages. Yet when it comes to actual practice, much of it often seems unusable. In truth, spiritual practice itself is not very difficult. The real difficulty lies in overcoming all the messy, self-centered stuff in our own minds. At this point, you have to be ruthless—you have to raise the blade and strike at your own ego. It does hurts. But since what you are pursuing is liberation, that pain is well worth it.
If you declare that you have no desire for liberation, there is nothing further to say. Simply live your life, enjoy what you eat, and savor the pleasures while you can. After all, you won’t live long, at most a hundred years. By then you'll become an old witch—wrinkled, grumpy, and barely able to enjoy a bite Even if you were to live through an entire kalpa, compared to the beginningless kalpa, it would be as fleeting as a white steed passing through a crack, like lightning streaking across the sky—gone in an instant.
If you claim you have no wish for liberation, just imagine how much suffering awaits you. We should be more compassionate towards those who refuse liberation, and remember to offer them all the tasty treats.
