Why was Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, able to attain awakening simply by hearing the phrase “One should give rise to the mind that abides nowhere” twice? Because his spiritual capacity was already mature.
So what path should our own practice follow? We too must walk this same path. Then why is it that, even after hearing these same words, we do not become enlightened? The answer is very simple: our spiritual capacity is insufficient. In other words, we do not understand our own minds. In fact, it is not merely a matter of “not understanding”—we are completely incapable of controlling our own minds.
Can ordinary people truly control their minds? We simply allow our habitual tendencies (vāsanā) to run wild and torment us. We fail to love what should be loved, while desperately clinging to what should not be loved. We want to restrain hatred, yet cannot. When jealousy arises, we are powerless against it. When loneliness comes at night, we feel compelled to call friends just to talk. All kinds of emotions and thoughts continually torment us, to the point that we cannot even sleep at night.
First, our minds are completely out of control. Second, even when the mind becomes slightly calmer, we still do not understand how it actually functions or what its true condition is. Because we do not study, reflect, practice, observe the mind, cultivate meditative concentration (samādhi), or train the mind, we remain utterly ignorant of what the mind is capable of. Although the mind creates our entire world we experience, we know absolutely nothing about it. This is ignorance (avidyā); this is saṃsāra.
Therefore, to completely fail to understand one’s own mind, while also making no effort to observe it, is precisely what is meant by insufficient spiritual capacity. Only when one’s spiritual capacity has matured can one seek out a guru or realized master to directly point out the nature of mind, enabling one to immediately recognize the essence of mind—this is awakening. After awakening, one must continue to sustain and deepen this realization through ongoing practice.
—Excerpted and compiled from The Relationship Between Buddhist Theory and Practice
This article is a preliminary translation draft and has not yet been reviewed or proofread by the speaker.
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