39. Enlightened Nature

“The enlightened nature is contained in all the individuals with all degrees of esteem such as the natural nature, the evident nature, the knowledge of oneself is rather better than the knowledge through imitating or studying and reciting the sutra.” –T.V.

• Every living creature is bearing Buddha natures. The Buddha nature is the spontaneous nature, which radiated all over when it was not yet polluted. But when the living creature is doubtful, attached, hidden it is referred to as ignorance. Buddha natures, therefore, become the Mara natures. The Mara nature usually manifests chaotic scenes, which creates karma. The karma leads the living creatures unceasingly into the cycle of birth and death. The disciple who has studied a lot of sutras, not aware of correcting his nature will naturally still be greedy, hateful, and ignorant, accepting to be living creatures living in the three worlds of desire, form, formless and in the six ways of devas, man, asura, hungry devil, animal and hell.

“For human beings from the far antiquity, they are living or remembering things in the past and become falsely living ones. They are only hoping rather than sincerely correcting their bad habits to become noble, generous and would be able to understand thoroughly the sutra that is just barely passing on the level of their eyes. Therefore, there is no use of studying it.” –T.V.

• The disciples have usually wished to see the Buddha descending from the heaven or to hear the instructions beside their ear, dreaming of phenomenal events. Few of them are consented to observe all the dharma from seeing, hearing, and knowing or dissolving obstructions. If the disciple knows how to review and examine his mistakes, improving his character to be natural, he would understand thoroughly and naturally the Buddhist sutra when reading it without thinking or studying to understand.

“The disciple would attain the dharma in accordance with his conception.” –T.V.

The way of practice of a disciple would lead him to a result in function in his conception. For example, for the one who has conceived that the practice of the dharma should be noble, realizing in a quiet place far from the noisy world, his path is the fairy one. For the one who practices by ideas, thinking and acting through studying and learning without concentrating on correcting his nature, would remain polluted, his path is that of Raksasa. Because of his wrong hope, the disciple becomes fairy, deity, and holy. Therefore, there are Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds, with wicked ghosts and devils.

“In the path of practicing the dharma, you should only worry about not knowing how to practice, but don't worry about not being liberated.” –T.V.

• There are disciples who have practiced without knowing the goal of their practice. Some are wishing for liberation, but do not know how to practice the dharma subject of liberation or believe in a master who could not define the dharma subject of liberation. They are thus seeking for liberation through their conception. You should only worry about not practicing correctly in the dharma subject of liberation; the correct practice will always lead to liberation. Don't seek for liberation through complex super natural ways, and don't worry about not being liberated, you rather should concentrate on the virtue, the teaching and the sitting meditation. If all three of these are well achieved you will get the nature enlightenment. The nature enlightenment is the clear-mind.

“The intellectual and learned men need more labor of practice than reading the sutra, while those of little education need to read the sutra rather than practical labor.” –T.V.

Those of high education are in greater need of practice to improve their nature than studying sutra, aiming to get the nature enlightenment. For those of low education they have to read sutra to know thoroughly the teaching and also improve their own nature to get the nature enlightenment. These two classes of living creatures are both impregnated so they both need supplement in order to be neither increased nor decreased.

“The speaking through self-consciousness is the Buddha's words, if not using self-consciousness, speaking means Mara’s illusive words. This paragraph requires much attention on the part of the disciple.” –T.V.

Those who have cleared away their living creatures’ nature are rare. They have already practiced the form and formless, the purity and impurity to be free from living creature’s nature. They have already met the Buddha, have entered into the rank of bodhisattvas and are waiting to be ordained by Tathagata. Every one of their words is based on the dharma, which is lively and saves living creatures in a practical manner. The preaching of the dharma, without clearing away one's living creatures nature and even after having learned and studied all the Triple Canon, would still be the teaching of Mara, which is based only on the thoughts, not the preaching of the Insight.

“The universe and humanity are included in the circle of generating the mind. Whenever mind generating in practicing to know one's own enlightenment nature, once nature is enlightened, one could be free from generating the mind. The one who is not caught by generating the mind is the no-born. Once the mind is cleared, this is called enlightenment.” –T.V.

• The Four Species including mankind are generating thoughts and running after the thoughts generated in nature. Nature is just the mind. Being generated by nature and living with it - that is “generating the mind”. Once the disciple has no more false hope and his body and mind could control, dominate, and restrain the nature, he immediately understands, getting out of the generating mind and no longer involves with it. How to do that? The self generates the mind. If we are continuously observing it, not allowing it to control us then we could control and command our mind. Therefore, we are no longer being born thus there is no more death. The one with no more birth and death is called the ‘no-born’.

Those with generating minds are called living creatures. As living creatures, there must be differentiation between the interior and the exterior of the body. The interior is the dharma mind; the exterior is the dharma form. Because of that differentiation, the mind gets the control and generates countless dharma. The ones of second vehicle see the chaos, generating the annihilation in order to attain the emptiness dharma, and become those of birth and death, not knowing that they believe it to be true. This mistake is falsely activated in accordance with the moved consciousness to become the false hope, unceasingly in the transmigration of birth and death.

For that reason an enlightened awakened one is very necessary for the practice of the dharma. It is the same for all disciples, by just a short time of negligence, lacking of control and domination, they would be subjected to the generated mind without knowing it and believe they are masters in a legitimate practice.

For example, for those who have believed in the Buddha praying and worshipping, the generated mind makes them superstitious and satisfied, if anyone told them to correct their nature, give up their bad habits, they would get angry, hateful without even looking at that person’s face.

For example, the long-term practice of worshipping and praying has become compassionate, but not intellectual. Therefore, the disciples do not know what is right and wrong, when seeing someone in suffering they become more suffered than he, because beings are inclined to the good cause. They are clinging to believe that the Buddhist believers must have pity in such manner. If there was someone doing bad things or saying cruel words, they would keep away from him and hate him, not having the intelligence to understand the origin of the wicked man’s cruel words and actions.

When they abstain themselves from doing evil things and repent to convert themselves and seek out an awakened one, who would show them the way of voluntary leaving attachment and clinging, they could finally understand thoroughly.

LORD SUPREME MAITREYA WITH LONG HOA