If greed and self-grasping have not been eradicated, and one has not attained the fruition of an Arhatship, the habitual tendencies of clinging to “I” and “mine” will persist, linking to the final mind at death. This connection inevitably ensures a future existence, for when causes and conditions are complete, the result must arise.
Without cutting off greed and self-clinging, and without reaching the stage of an Arhat, the mind will always assume that there is a solid self. Once this sense of self is assumed, it naturally feels like "I am the one who is aware." This is how self-grasping operates, and from this self-grasping, the experience of having a body arises. Take deep sleep as an example: even though the storehouse consciousness (ālaya) and self-grasping are present, they are covered by mind of slumber. When we wake up, we immediately feel "I have a body." At that moment, we are not actively thinking "I" as a concept, yet there is a deep, background sense that something—unseen but real—is moving. That subtle, persistent feeling is the sense of self.
You may not consciously think about it, but there is always an individual in motion. Whether or not you call it “I” is not the point. Yet the point is this “I” is felt to be independent and in control—able to move from left to right. When this movement is obstructed, you feel constrained and suffer. Where does that suffering come from? It stems from the injury felt by your perceived controlling. And why is this sense of control harmed? Because control inherently carries demands. At the very least, the demands to control your own body. Therefore, as long as self-grasping persists, suffering will inevitably remain.
If we die in this lifetime without having eradicated self-grasping, then a body and Samsara are inevitable. The specific form this body takes, however, is uncertain: it could be a human body, an animal’s body, or even the body of a hell-being or a hungry ghost.Of course, through accumulating good karma, one might also attain a celestial body. Nevertheless, unless self-grasping is eradicated, Samsara is unavoidable.
When causes and conditions are complete, their result must assuredly arise—just as in the reasoning that establishes beginningless existence when examining the prior limit. (akin to the logical inference of beginninglessness when contemplating the past. )Due to the presence of self-grasping, the duality of “that which observes” and “that which is observed”, “that which controls and “that which is controlled”, comes into being.
The controller is our mind; the controlled is the outer environment. For instance, my body can exter control over this cup of water—if it couldn’t, how would I be able to lift it into my mouth and drink? It is precisely due to possessing this faculty of control that one masters the object: the “I” is presumed as the subject, and drinking the water is felt as receiving an outcome that rightfully belongs to me.
Without removing self-grasping, the mind will always generate the split between ‘the one who knows’ and ‘what is known.’ This habitual pattern cannot be broken on its own. It can only be cut through genuine practice, which allows us to return to our inherently pure, luminous awareness and to respond to life spontaneously, without the compulsion to control. Failing that, we wander on from life to life. The mind’s urge to control doesn’t disappear just because a world ends. When that urge is active, it activates corresponding karmic seeds. Whatever kinds of seeds are activated, that is the kind of world and body that will appear. This is how karmic cause and effect works. The body that appears is called the “primary retribution”, and the surrounding situation is called the “environmental retribution”.
Even if liberation is not yet your aspiration, you should still sow virtuous seeds in your own mind, so that what comes up later is more favorable. Such fruit can even ripen within this very life.
Young practitioners who learn to make offerings, practice generosity, and give rise to bodhicitta will find their later years filled with ease, pleasant and agreeable circumstances will naturally gather around them. Through sustained cultivating of bodhicitta, both body and mind experience a profound and unwavering joy. Regardless of the external situation, the mind remains ease and happy. Furthermore, because of this practice of bodhicitta, the environment one inhabits will be rich and supportive.
Yet, in truth, we do not genuinely believe in any of this. Our practice is driven solely by the desire to acquire certain personal powers, without ever considering renunciation or bodhicitta. A hidden thought may hold is “I will meditate, get some special power, show it off, and then offerings will flow in.” This is the mentality of a hungry ghost, based on such mindset, accomplishment is utterly impossible. Thus, we must closely examine: what, in essence, is our practice for? If you practice with bodhicitta, you stop pursuing those powers; instead, you will your inquiry will turn inward: “Do I really possess a mind intent on benefiting others?” Once you truly possess that altruistic mind, all of these things just aren’t issues anymore.
Once I asked Khenpo Chime Rinpoche, “Which supernatural ability holds the supreme power?” Without hesitation, he answered, “Bodhicitta. Bodhicitta is the greatest of all powers.” Therefore, in practice, we must constantly observe ourselves and be utterly clear about our true motivation and aim. Some of our hidden intentions are incorrect, and as long as these intentions lie concealed in the mind, they inevitably give rise to corresponding actions.
When spiritual practice fails to soften and purify our minds, when bodhicitta remains uncultivated and our inner awareness unclear, we find the reason why there are so many conflicts within Buddhist communities. Not everyone who joins can have a perfectly pure motivation, or is able to observe their own minds clearly; many are still driven mostly by old habits. From this lack of self-awareness, conflicts springs. Therefore, we must observe ourselves closely, hold ourselves accountable, and forgive others. Those newly arrived—unless they were already practitioners in past lives—will naturally be influenced by their habits. It is not right to immediately react against others simply because their habits are still visible.
Since everyone begins with a mental continuum that is profoundly afflicted and disordered, purify is attained only through step-by-step accumulating of merit and purifying obscurations. This is the law of cause and effect: regardless of what phenomenon it is, once causes and conditions are complete, the result will inevitably arise without any obstruction.
Take barley for example: when the seed (cause) exists, and the conditions of earth, water, fire, and wind are all complete, barley will inevitably grow. This is the fundamental, natural law of cause and effect. That is to say, if all the necessary factors that constitute a thing are present, the result must appear. It is not that some objective spirit makes it appear; it is not that God says, “Let there be light,” and light appears. Light can arise only when its specific caused and conditions are complete. The completion of causes and conditions means that different aspects of the mind come together, from which the phenomena perceived by the mind emerge.
Therefore, that the next moment of mind depends on the present moment of is something we can know directly - no complex inferential reasoning needed. For example, my mind from this morning has been continuously arising without interruption, and even when I rest at night, the mind is still arising. Up until the moment of death, my mental continuum remains unbroken—this can be known directly through experience.
One thing is certain: from morning till night, when does the mind actually stop? If it truly stopped, life would end. People sometimes think the mind stops at night, but it does not. If it stopped, how could your blood keep circulating? All that happens in sleep is that six senses take a break: the body doesn’t feel, the ears don’t hear, the eyes don’t see. But the heart keeps beating, and that beating is also driven by the mind. If there were no such activities, if the mind were completely dead, how could you possibly wake up in the morning? What would do the waking? It’s the mind again. The fact that you wake up proves that your mind was only asleep before.
The mind has not ceased. “Ceasing” would mean disappearance, no-existence. Not seeing or feeling something does not mean it’s gone. Being gone means it can never come back. For instance, if I am thinking through a problem and have not yet figured it out, and suddenly fall asleep, -yet when I wake up, I pick up the same thought—it might seem like there was a break. But how could I pick it up again if the mind had truly ceased? Thus, the mind must have continuity.
This continuity is what proves the Yogācāra (Consciousness-Only) view: there must be manas-consciousness and ālaya-consciousness. If there were no manas and ālaya, and the six sense consciousnesses also stopped completely, then once someone fall asleep, they would never wake up again. Thus, there must be manas-consciousness to maintain continuity. After the six consciousnesses temporarily stop, their seeds are still preserved in the ālaya-consciousness. Once the sleep factor passes, these seeds are activated again. And the six senses consciousnesses are taken up again in an unbroken flow.
Therefore, there is no need at all to rely on logical reasoning to establish that the mind in the morning and the mind in the afternoon are continuous. However varied the contents of thought may be, it is always “I” who am thinking, “I” who am experiencing—this is what continuity means. Continuity does not require that the content be the same; it is not continuity of content. Rather, it is as if there is a connecting thread—otherwise, the before and after would be unrelated. This is why it is called a continuum (saṃtāna): a moment-by-moment linkage. The appearances within the continuum may differ, but there must be an underlying continuity.
If one realizes selflessness, the so-called impure mind will of course no longer arise, its cause has been obstructed. Like a burnt barley seed: even with earth, water, fire, and wind complete, no barley will grow. Likewise, if one has realized the twofold selflessness before death, the proximate cause for rebirth and Samsara no longer exists. All impure karma and afflictions have been completely cut off- so an impure mind can never arise again.
This article is a preliminary translation draft and has not yet been reviewed or proofread by the speaker.
