It is Buddhism—whether you call it completeness or Buddhahood—awakening is not that difficult. It is simply letting go of the self; it is that simple. If you cannot let go of the self, then all the rest—even if you say, “Form and emptiness are not two”—means nothing. What does it matter that you can talk … Read more
Although people have a self and are selfish, evil is not real either. So an evil person can also transform toward goodness; he may be evil today and gradually transform tomorrow. If he were real, if there were something real there, he would not be easy to transform. Precisely because both are empty, good and … Read more
As long as you remain on this path, keep reflecting and cultivating. Whether you are reading or practicing sitting meditation, you keep having doubts, keep failing to understand what you are doing, and keep struggling with it over and over. In fact, our whole life is spent struggling. Keep struggling like this, and one day … Read more
Awakening is formless. You know, life itself is Buddhadharma; fundamentally, there is no appearance of awakening. But at the beginning, because we are too familiar with appearances and too attached to them, we still need an appearance of leaving these things behind to strengthen your confidence. This is how Buddhadharma explains it: it is all … Read more
You should know, we often talk about the Lotus Sutra; every day we say that we are the Tathāgata. But when we put it that way, people cling to an appearance of the Tathāgata. It is better to express it through emptiness. That Tathāgata is emptiness: no-self, no-Buddha; without the appearance of self or Buddha, … Read more
Do what needs doing. When you finish, leave no trace; it is as if you never acted. You can respond to what others say and do what needs doing. Sometimes we act deliberately—calculating, intentional, and long-planned—or greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, and doubt arise immediately deep inside us. That is the mind moving. It is not … Read more
There is really no appearance to cling to. In your realm, there are many appearances; as long as you do not regard the appearance in that realm as more exalted than sitting here drinking tea amid the red dust, that is enough. Do not make distinctions about it. For example, many Bodhisattvas, while cultivating and … Read more
Without awakening, it is truly unbearable. Everything binds us; every sensation binds us too. Cognition is a method; it works through changing your cognition. At the very beginning, you think that when ignorance moves, the universe explodes; when ignorance moves, you then emerge and generate the myriad phenomena. At the very beginning, it is a … Read more
Your family, your children, your parents—those things you call “mine”—are sometimes things you can sacrifice yourself for; you can give up anything. But when it comes to your friends, friendship, loyalty, and all those things of honor, you can go to any lengths for someone else. But you cannot break through that sense of loyalty … Read more
If you do not have even a little meditative stability, or if this understanding of yours is becoming clearer and clearer, more and more lucid, then it seems you can withdraw from this sensation. Otherwise, this sensation will trouble you relentlessly. In other words, this sensation, this feeling in your body and mind, is instinctive. … Read more
