The Three Realms Are the World of Your Body and Mind

Just as we classify animals: one female, one male; whether it is noble or not, who knows.

Since you know you are clinging to appearances, then do not cling to appearances; and since you know exactly how you are clinging to appearances, you can stop clinging to appearances. Since you know, let go. Then come out—good. What are you struggling with now? Are you saying you should not come out? Are you coming out or not?

You have already come out, so come out. You can stay inside; you can not come out; you can come out too. As long as you know you are clinging to appearances, that is enough. Everything else is not a problem; the only thing to fear is that you do not know.

If you know you are clinging to appearances—whether in an outer realm or inwardly—and you know you are clinging to appearances, yet your habitual tendencies and desires are still being pulled along, still playing within, then you clearly know that you are being pulled along, that you are clinging to appearances. One day, there is hope of coming out of that realm.

If you go in and do not even know you have become attached, that is trouble—you will become lost. But you need to find: “Where am I being pulled? Do I like this realm, or the things in this realm? Why do they entice my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth? Is it my sense of touch enticing me? Or my eyes? Or my nose? Or the vanity in my mind?” And so on. All of this can be examined; then, little by little, contemplate it as empty, as dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows.

At first, if it is only conceptual emptiness, that is fine. Likewise, in this world, this is only theoretical, only conceptual; until you have reached true emptiness, forget about it—do not talk about wonderful existence yet. Really, it is nothing at all. All of this will be full of helplessness and impermanence; this wonderful existence brings us suffering, impermanence, helplessness, and unease, so there is no basis for speaking of wonderful existence, or of wonderful function.

They really are ropes that trap us, ropes that bind us—our leg chains and hand chains. Look, we have to eat, drink, use the bathroom, and sleep; without all that, how comfortable we would be! We would not have to earn money to support ourselves. Every day we still have to buy clothes for it, work like mad, and sometimes work simply to feed this mouth.

If this thing could be taken care of, it could simply not eat, not drink, and not sleep. Then would we still need to buy a house? Would we still need to buy some car to haul it all over the place? What else would we need? None of this is wonderful function; it is really all bullying us.

Once you realize Buddhahood, you will say: “What enjoyment! Without this mouth, how would I know that this world has so many delicacies?” That is another way of putting it. Without this body, how would I know that the cars in this world are so comfortable? Four wheels and two wheels are not the same. Everything you have becomes gratitude for what God has bestowed; everything you have becomes gratitude to emptiness: “I am grateful to emptiness for granting me so much enjoyment.”

“I have this thing, so I can enjoy things; and with my eyes, I may see the world—the high and low, mountains and seas, all different—and so many beautiful sights.” This is the state of awakening; this is wonderful existence.

If you have not awakened, the Three Realms are what trap you, binding you tightly in the burning house. The Three Realms—first, we call them the Three Realms; actually, speaking broadly, they are the Three Realms. You may have no clear sense of the Three Realms because you cannot see the other two realms; perhaps, to put it more concretely, the Three Realms are your body and mind. A world of body and mind is the Three Realms; you are trapped right here—what can you do? Within the self. So the burning house of the Three Realms is your own—do you think those Three Realms are outside?

Note: This text was prepared from a teaching video by Yang Ning. If it differs from the video, the video takes precedence. Watch the video.