lake of lotus (30) the application of wisdom-the wisdom in directing one's dharma practice...

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By Vajra Acharya Pema LhadrenTranslated by Byron K.K. Yiu

The Wisdom in Directing One’s DharmaPractice (30)

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Why Should One Recite and Chant the “Buddhist Sutras”?The Operation and Abstruseness of the “Mind Phenomena”How to distinguish among all religions and practices on “which could help sentient beings to be liberated from the fetters of the cycle of karmic existence”?The Wonderful and Efficacious Merits on the Reciting of Sutras

Excerpt of Last IssueFor the general populace, and even up to the great Dharma

practitioners, their objectives of Dharma practice should be more

or less of the following types:

1. Praying for worldly desires – For example: to seek for

oneself and one’s own relatives to have “longevity,

recovery from illness, success in one’s career, good

marriage, wealth increase, averting disasters and relief

from sufferings, as well as reunion with those deceased

loved ones”. Also, there are those who hope to get the

“ease of heart and security at the present life”, etc.; or

Issue no. 30 Back to Content









for “fame, wealth, respect” in order to study

Buddhism; as well as for those who put in efforts

to practice the Dharma.

2. Rebirth in the good realms – For example:

to hope and pray for rebirth in the heavenly

realm, or in the human realm, and not to fall into

the evil realms (of animals, hungry ghosts and

hells).

3. Liberation from the tractions of the “cycle of

karmic existence” – to hope and pray for the

freedom in deciding for oneself as to whether

one would be reborn into the six realms (of

heavens, asuras, humans, animals, hungry

ghosts and hells), or whether to remain in the

highest level of the “Realm

o f F o r m ” , s u c h a s t h e

“Akanistha” (the “Heaven at

the End-of-Form-Realm”),

which is beyond the control

of the tractions. (Please

refer to the explanations

on the “Three Realms” in

the article on the “Profound

Abstruseness of Life and

Death: The Meaning of Near-

Death Experiences” in Issue

17 of the “Lake of Lotus”).

4. Attainment of Buddhahood

– The recovery of one’s

“Pr imordial Nature” and

the originally possessed and boundless

capabilities, which are free from any bondages

and to remain in the “Dharma Realm”. (The

“Nature of the Mind”, also known as the

“Buddha Nature”, or the “Primordial Nature”,

refers to the original possession of that most

crystal clarity of awareness. Please refer to

the articles on “The Meaning of Near-Death

Experiences” in Issues 4 & 5 of the “Lake of

Lotus”).

What are the methods that one can choose in order

to achieve these four types of objectives? What will

be their effects? What are the critical key points that

one should pay attention to when judging upon and

in choosing those methods of Dharma practice?

Regardless of what kinds of religions, the practice

methods can be broadly divided into the following

types:

1. Prayers – Including confessions, repentance

of one’s conducts, and in the making of

aspirations and wishes;

2. Recitations – mantras, Buddhas’ Holy Names,

or sutras

3. Visualizations – themes include the formulae

for different types of “meditation”,

or even the making use of the

internal functions of one’s body

for coordination.

Irrespective of which types of

practice methods, it must include

the training of one’s “mental

strength”. Otherwise, it would

not be able to produce any

effects. One of the important

points for judging which of the

practice methods are the most

effective ones is the degree of

influence that these can have on

one’s “mental strength”? What

percentage will they constitute?

The previous five chapters have clearly explained the

effects and mysteries that the sound has produced

upon people (Please refer to the articles on the

“Wisdom in Directing One’s Dharma Practices” of

Issues 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the “Lake of Lotus”).

The part on the rationale for the “resonance” and

“operations of particles” is one of the functions on

the recitation of mantras. Since the sound of mantra

does not necessarily have to be words that could be

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translated or understood, particularly those mantra

which are meant for the following purposes:

1. linkage or condensation;

2. cutting off the linkage or condensation

3. taming and shattering

The last few chapters

(in particular please

refer to the art ic le

o n t h e “ W i s d o m

in Di rect ing One’s

Dha rma P rac t i ce ”

in Issue 26 o f the

“ L a k e o f L o t u s ” )

have mentioned that

the merits of having

received the “relevant

t e a c h i n g s ” i n t h e

recitation of mantras are remarkable and vast. As to

its abstruseness, apart from relating to its rationale

on “resonance” and the “motions among the

particles”, it is also very much related to the different

high or low levels of the “Right Concentrations” (or

“Samadhis” in Sanskrit). According to Bodhisattva

Maitreya’s classification, in Volume 45 of the

“Yogacaryabhumisastra”, “Dharanis” are divided

into the following kinds:

(1) Dharma Dharani – the successful symptom for

the receiving of the “relevant trainings” in the

proper recitation on this type of “mantras” is

that one would be able to remember the words

and sentences of the various Sutras in one’s

numerous lifetimes (please refer to the article

on the “Wisdom in Directing One’s Dharma

Practice” in Issue 26 of the “Lake of Lotus”).

(2) Meaning Dharani – the successful symptom for

the receiving of the “relevant trainings” in the

proper recitation on this type of “mantras” is that

one would be able to remember the meanings

of the Sutras in one’s numerous lifetimes (please

refer to the article

o n t h e “ W i s d o m

in Directing One’s

Dharma Practice” in

Issue 26 of the “Lake

of Lotus”).

(3) Mantra Dharani

– the successful

symptom for the

receiving of the

“relevant trainings”

i n t h e p r o p e r

recitation on this

type of “mantras”

is that , through

one’s “meditational power”, one would be

able to experience the special effects of the

“mantras”, and would thus be able to help

other sentient beings to remove all kinds of

calamities and illnesses (please refer to the

article on the “Wisdom in Directing One’s

Dharma Practice” in Issue 27 of the “Lake of

Lotus”).

(4) Endurance Dharani – the successful symptom

for the receiving of the “relevant trainings” in

the proper recitation on this type of “mantras”

is that one would be able to know the true

existence of, and the real meanings behind,

the various Dharmas, as well as the ability

without losing them (please refer to the article

on the “Wisdom in Directing One’s Dharma

Practice” in Issue 28 of the “Lake of Lotus”).

Why Should One Recite and Chant the “Buddhist Sutras”?

“Buddhist Sutras”, as ancient books and records,

actually stored the boundless wisdom of the Lord

Buddha. By the using of words to show the Lord

Buddha’s wisdom to the world, it also wishes to let all

sentient beings to truly understand the kind of wisdom

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that was unveiled by those words, so as to know

how to apply them. Unfortunately, in achieving such

kinds of results are not easy things, except for those

ripe sentient beings who have the past causes and

merits, and they also should have the wisdom seeds

within their unconscious. Thus, even though people

have been trying to abandon the ancient words, and

have changed them into modern terminologies, it is

still unable to make this wish come true.

Yet, are there alternative ways to make this wish

come true? For those who have already gotten the

wisdom seeds in their unconscious and for those who

do not, when reciting and chanting the “Buddhist

Sutras”, would there be any difference between

them? As a matter of fact, the Buddhist Dharma

reveals that sentient beings have different levels of

“consciousness”, and their structures, usages and

ways of evolution cannot

deviate from the “mind

phenomena”. (P lease

refer to the DVD on “The

Teachings on Authentic

Practice in Exoteric and

Esoteric Buddhism (6):

The Abstruseness of

the “Mind Phenomena”

– Lecture Delivered on 28

June 2008, and the article

on “The Meaning of Near-

Death Experiences” in

Issue 15 of the “Lake of

Lotus”). If one would like

to understand more about

the reci tat ions of the

“Buddhist Sutras” such that one could recognize

the difference between those who already have the

wisdom seeds within their unconscious and those

who do not, and at the same time learn whether

there are alternative ways available, so as to be able

to make the wish come true, then one should have

to understand the operation and abstruseness of the

“Mind Phenomena” in advance.

The Operation and Abstruseness of the “Mind Phenomena”

Buddhism considers the “mind” as the cardinal

subject of all our spiritual functions. There are eight

different kinds of functions of the “mind”, and the

Lord Buddha Shakyamuni called it as the “mind

phenomena” (the “citta” in Sanskrit). Among the

eight different functions

of the “mind”, the most

basic and fundamental

of them all is the “Eighth

Consciousness” (or

“ A l a y a - v i j n a n a ” i n

Sanskrit). “Alaya” is a

Sanskrit word meaning

“ s t o r e h o u s e ” . T h e

Chinese “Discourse

o n t h e C h a p t e r o n

the Elaboration of the

Profound Meanings of Mahayana” has mentioned

that “‘Consciousness’ is another name for the ‘Mind’”.

Hence, ‘Consciousness’ is the ‘Mind’. In simple

terms, ‘Consciousness’ is a kind of ‘Energy’.

The characteristic of the “Eighth Consciousness” is

like a warehouse, or the hard disk of a computer.

All kinds of matters and affairs that had occurred

in one’s past countless lifetimes would have been

stored in the “Eighth Consciousness”, regardless

of whether they are good or bad. The “Eighth

Consciousness” is a place for the stashing of all

karmic forces of all sentient beings (the web of

“karmic forces”: due to both virtuous and wicked

deeds amassed through countless past lifetimes,

the linkages of the mental strength of both one’s

inner self and of others are crisscrossing and inter-

influencing each other, so as to form the network

of tractions. This is known as the “karmic network”.

Please refer to the DVD on “The Inconceivable

Law of Karma”, published by the Dudjom Buddhist

Association) and is the cardinal subject for the “cycle

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of karmic existence” (or “Samsara” in Sanskrit). It

has existed ever since time immemorial, and will last

forever without an end. Even though it goes through

endless cycles of various lifetimes, it will never be

deteriorated or annihilated.

The “Eighth Consciousness” is

the combination of one’s “intrinsic

na tu re ” w i th t he “mundane

deluded mind”, a fusion into

oneness of both “awareness” and

“attachment to ignorance”, and

so all sentient beings will have

the ability of “self-awareness”.

Every thought or notion, or every

word or deed, will form “a seed of

karmic force”, and so it is called

a “karmic seed”, or simply “seed”

(or “bija” in Sanskrit), and can

be conceived of as some kind of

a “mental strength” with memory

functions to be stored inside the

“Eighth Consciousness”.

Since the “Eighth Consciousness” is merely

responsible for the storage function, it does not

have the function of differentiation. However, the

“habitual nature” of all sentient beings is fond

of looking outwards to explore and grasp onto

concepts and things of the external environment.

For the convenience of operation, another kind of

function, namely the “Seventh Consciousness” (or

“Manas-vijnana” in Sanskrit), is thus derived from

the “Eighth Consciousness” through one’s “mental

strength”. “Manas” is a Sanskrit word meaning

calculation or conjecture, which are the functions of

the “Mind”, and is the noumenon of one’s “Mental

Consciousness” (or “Mano-vijnana” in Sanskrit, or

simply the “Sixth Consciousness”).

As the “Seventh Consciousness” is rooted from the

“Eighth Consciousness” and only comes into being

for the fulfillment of desires, it is the foundation for

the “mental strength of desires”. In this way, it is

influenced by the “mental strengths of greed, hatred

and ignorance” that has been stored inside the

“Eighth Consciousness” and grasps onto the “images

projected by these negative forces”, thus deeming

i t tha t there is the ex is tence

o f an “ego” or a “sel fhood”

(known as “ego attachment”

in Buddhism). In the course of

a lifetime, the distorted “nature

of mind”, which was addicted to

one’s own “ego”, has gradually

been formed. It consistently and

ceaselessly plots for only selfish

gains and benefits of self-interest

and self-protection. Therefore, the

“Seventh Consciousness” could

be considered as the center for

handling self ishness and self-

concern. In this way, it makes the

“intrinsic nature” of the “Eighth

Consciousness” to become more

dim and blurred, as well as more deeply hidden.

When a person’s “nature of selfishness and self-

concern” has become even more aggravated,

one would then wish to obtain and garner even

more benefits from the externals, then the “Sixth

Consciousness” (or “Mano-vijnana” in Sanskrit,

or simply the “Mental Consciousness”) is formed,

which is the “function of application” of the “Seventh

Consciousness” (or “Manas”). Both are parts of

the “Mental Consciousness”, with the “Seventh

Consciousness” as its “noumenon” and the “Sixth

Consciousness” as its “function of application”.

The “Sixth Consciousness” is the integral center

of all psychological and mental activities. All

our sensations of “seeing, hearing, feelings”,

as well as “perceptions, cognitions, thoughts

and judgments” of al l sorts are guided and

directed by the “Sixth Consciousness”. In western

psychology, the “Sixth Consciousness” belongs to

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the level of “consciousness”, while the “Seventh

Consciousness” and the “Eighth Consciousness”

belong to the domain of the “unconscious”. Due

to the fact that the “Seventh Consciousness” is

the “root of the Mental Consciousness”, while the

“Eighth Consciousness” is the basic ground and

root of all phenomena (or “dharmas” in Sanskrit) of

the universe, hence all the activities of the “Sixth

Consciousness” (or the various

discriminations associated with

the “Mental Consciousness”) are

undoubtedly influenced by both

the “Seventh Consciousness” and

the “Eighth Consciousness”.

As such, in order to let the “Sixth

Consc iousness” to manage

so many exam ina t i ons and

judgments of things, it will require

quite a number of “instruments”

to help collect the necessary

information and data. Hence,

s o m e m o r e f u n c t i o n s h a v e

been derived from the “Sixth

Consciousness”, namely: the

“First Consciousness” (or the discriminations

associated with the “Eye Consciousness”), the

“Second Consciousness” (or the discriminations

associated with the “Ear Consciousness”), the “Third

Consciousness” (or the discriminations associated

with the “Nose Consciousness”), the “Fourth


with the “Tongue Consciousness”), and the “Fifth


with the “Body Consciousness”).

A l l t hese f i ve k i nds o f d i sc r im ina t i ons o r

“consciousnesses” (or “vijnana” in Sanskrit) are,

indeed, the five kinds of “energies” that are relying

upon the five “sense organs or faculties” (or “indriya”

in Sanskrit), namely: the eyes, the ears, the noses,

the tongues and the bodies, for the collections of the

five “sense data” (or “visaya” in Sanskrit) from the

externals, namely: the forms (the shape and imagery

of a substance), sounds, odors, tastes and the tactile

sensations, which are the five kinds of sensations

and perceptions. The “Sixth Consciousness” also

relies upon the “mental organ”

for the distinctions of “all kinds of

phenomena” (mundane worldly

matters) known as “sense data

and/or conceptual objects”.

After having collected all sorts

o f i n f o r m a t i o n a n d d a t a , i n

accordance with the habitual

guidance and influences of both

the “Seventh Consciousness”

and the “Eighth Consciousness”

as its main criteria, the “Sixth

Consc iousness” wou ld then

classify these information and

data under its own “subjective

judgments”, or even distortion

respectively, and then hand them over to the

“Seventh Consciousness” with its provisions of the

conclusive information and data. The “Seventh

Consciousness” would then act as a “messenger”,

and then further pass on these information and data

to the “Eighth Consciousness” for storage.

The “Eighth Consciousness” stores lots of distorted

“cognitions”, and so the “Buddhist Dharma” has

called these as the “obstructions due to knowledge”.

The knowledge “being recognized” is, indeed,

different from the truth, and it will form a “hindrance”

to prevent oneself from returning to one’s own

“real nature”; that is, to prevent oneself from the

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“attainment of Buddhahood”.

“Mind” is the origin of our own nature: which is

o r i g i n a l l y o n e n e s s ,

singleness and united,

s u c h t h a t i t h a s t h e

boundless and greatest

p o w e r . H o w e v e r ,

b y “ g r a s p i n g ” o n t o

cer ta in subt le “po in ts

o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s ” ,

t h e “ F i r s t t o E i g h t h

Consciousnesses” has

been gradually derived

and created. It then mixed

with matters to form all the

various different kinds of

sentient beings. Therefore,

one shou ld ge t r id o f

all the “grasping”, even the most subtle “point of

consciousness”, in order to facilitate the fusion of the

“First to Eighth Consciousnesses”, so as to combine

and return to the original oneness, singleness

and united “Own Nature”, whereby one could be

liberated from the ‘cycle of karmic existence’ and

eventually to “attain Buddhahood”. This is the

essence of all practices, and is really the ultimate

goal.

How to distinguish among all religions and practices on “which could help sentient beings to be liberated from the fetters of the

cycle of karmic existence”?If one intends to combine the “Sixth and Seventh

Consciousnesses” and the “Eighth Consciousness”

to become an organic whole, then one should

install a “fusion programming” within one’s mind

in advance. By knowing that the “First to Eighth

Consciousnesses” come from one origin, and that

one should return to the original state; we call this

as the “Cognition and Programming” of the

“Oneness”. Therefore, within the procedures of

certain practice rituals of “Vajrayana”, it will let all the

bodies, including all “cognitions”, to be “transformed”

and to be “combined”. This is an extremely

important practice and programming whereby

one could distinguish among all religions,

schools and practices on “which could help

sentient beings to be liberated from the

fetters of the cycle of karmic existence”.

Which one is useful and which is not? This

is the way for one to distinguish them. But

there are only a few Buddhists, or Dharma

practitioners, who can truly know how to use

this criterion to distinguish them. Clearly, this

indicates that the standards of contemporary

Buddhism is getting worse and worse, to the

extent that it becomes purely complied with

the conventions of this secular world, while

signaling its coming to the final stage of its

ending.

These “Mind Phenomena” actually follows the sentient

beings’ “minds” to continuously “grasping”. Indeed, this

has evolved through numerous lifetimes and countless

periods of “time”. Just like “The Theory of Evolution”, this

evolutionary process takes a long long time to develop,

and thus it will also require a long long time to reverse its

process. Therefore, the Lord Buddha Sakyamuni states

that the ordinary practices of the “Exoteric Buddhism”

will require “three asamkhya kalpas” of time to enable

oneself to return to one’s “Own Nature” in order to “attain

Buddhahood”. (“Three Great Kalpas”: a kalpa refers

to a period of time, a “small kalpa” is equal to the time

required for an universe to go through the process of

“formation, persistence, disintegration, annihilation” .

Twenty “small kalpas” equal to one “medium kalpa”

and four “medium kalpas” equal to a “great kalpa”.

And one asamkhya kalpa is equivalent to the 1051 time

of a universe to go through the process of “formation,

persistence, disintegration, annihilation”. Thus, three

asamkhya kalpas is actually an immeasurable long

time, as time required for each universe to go through

the process of “formation, persistence, disintegration,

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annihilation” is different.)

Are there any shortcuts? As long as those teachings

contain the important element of “Emptiness”,

then they should have certain degrees of relevant

programmings. According to the revelations of

the “Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra” (that is, the

“Large Sutra on the Perfection of Transcendent

Wisdom”), turning the “Mind Phenomena” to the

“Buddha’s Own Nature” requires one to enter into

the twenty different levels of “Emptiness” (please

refer to the article on “The Wisdom in Directing One’s

Dharma Practice” in Issue 28 of the “Lake of Lotus”).

As for “Vajrayana” practices, if they do not lead one

astray in becoming

s u p e r s t i t i o u s o n

the var ious forms

and manifestations,

b u t i n s t e a d t o

concentrate on one’s

“ m i n d t r a i n i n g ” ,

together wi th the

p r o g r a m m i n g o f

“Emptiness” within

the practice rituals

as supplementary,

then the chances of

success will be much higher. If this can be further

coordinated with the teachings of the “Tibetan

Book of the Dead”, then the shortcut will naturally

be revealed. (Please refer to the DVD on “Emptiness

-- Neither Existence Nor Voidness”, published by

the Dudjom Buddhist Association). If relying on the

Exoteric Buddhist way of “Sutra chanting” for one’s

practice, and if those Sutras include the teachings

of “Emptiness”, then one would have the chance to

return to one’s “Own Nature”. For those Sutras that

contain the teachings of “Emptiness”, the “Heart

Sutra” is definitely the best known and the most

popular one. As regards to the merits in the chanting

and reciting of Sutras, the first and foremost thing is

to arouse one’s inner original great wisdom so that

one would be able to return to one’s “Own Nature”.

While, secondly, it can help to make contacts with

all the Buddhas, which is most loved by worldly

people as they could then receive blessings from

the Buddhas, as well as to get protections from the

protectors.

The Wonderful and Efficacious Merits on the Reciting of Sutras

With no doubts, there are numerous cases, from

the past up till the present, that have revealed the

wonderful and efficacious merits on the reciting of

sutras, and the following is just another real case

recently.

Case TwoThis is a sensational case, yet it also causes great

sadness. It happened on 23 August 2010 in the

Philippines. It is known as the Manila hostage crisis,

which ended with eight hostages being killed with

three other seriously injured. Miss Li Ying Quan

is one of those survivors, and she has recently

published an article, describing the incident in

“Mingpao”. Within this article, Miss Li Ying Quan

has mentioned that she had been reciting the “Heart

Sutra” when she was in dire peril. Ultimately, and

luckily, she and her mother were able to get off

safely. Herein we quoted some of the paragraphs

from this article as follows:

“Mingpao Exclusive” (29 August 2010): “ … I

hided underneath the chair and escaped from the

gun shooting. At that instant, I couldn’t believe that

the story appearing in movies was now happening

to me. I could see my mother, who was also hiding

underneath the chair on the other row, and I felt a

bit of ease. After the first round of gun shoot, the

coach was extremely quite. At the same time, there

were booming rounds of thunder, together with rain

kept hitting on the coach roof. It was such a great

contrast with the dead silence that reigned inside

the coach. It was extremely dark, except when

21










the gunman had discovered that someone was

still alive, that he kept on his gun shooting with the

lights of firing, accompanied by their sounds. I saw

blue lights of firing penetrating the creeping body

of a tour’s member, who was now motionless and

was not making even a sound of groan. After quite

sometime, the roaring sounds

of gun shooting resounded,

accompanied with the incessant

sounds of the coach being hit.

All in all, it reminded those alive

that they could be shot to death

within the next second.

By seeing those dead bodies,

my mind naturally recited “gate

gate paragate parasamgate

bodhi svaha” (the “Mantra”

o f the “Heart Sutra” ) . By

so doing, I wish those tour’s

members who had died were

able to go to the ‘Other Shore’

promptly, which has been my

thinking habit whenever I saw

some living beings at their moments of death. Not

intending to, but I think, are they really dead? A few

minutes ago, they were still alive, and now were their

souls still hovering around inside the coach? Slowly,

I recited the “Prajñaparamita Hridaya Sutra” many

times, chewing each and every word again and

again. “Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, when practicing

deeply the Perfect Wisdom clearly saw that all

five Skandhas are empty and passed beyond all

suffering … Because the Bodhisattva is the Perfect

Wisdom of Emptiness, his mind has no hindrance.

Having no hindrance, there is no fear and far from

all fantasies and… ” Definitely, I believed I still have

hindrances, as though my mind was reciting the

‘Heart Sutra’ for many times, but I still thought of the

many things that I wish to do, but had not been done

yet. And I still thought of my lovely family members

and friends. It is beyond doubt that it would be good

if I could survive. After all these, I was no longer that

frightened as when it got started. But I was deeply

worried about my mother to be discovered as alive

by the gunman because she was coughing after

two tear bomb attacks. The gun fight would seem to

have never ended as it lasted for such a long time. I

felt that lots of blood had wet my hairs and body, all

came from other people’s blood.

But who knows when the blood

may come from myself by the

next second. The next few days

after being rescued, I can still

smell the smell of blood.”

(Web l ink to the ar t ic le a t

URL: ht tp: / /news.mingpao.

com/20100829/vza1h.htm)

It is because of Miss Li Ying

Quan’s true understanding on

the meaning of “Non-grasping”

within the “Heart Sutra” such

that she could generate a kind

of wisdom of composure amidst

the crisis, and also possesses

the “altruistic mind” (“Bodhicitta” in Sanskrit) of

wishing the deaths to be liberated. Indeed, these

had led her through all those unbearable sufferings.

The good practice of “offering my best wishes

whenever I saw some living beings at their moments

of death by reciting the “Heart

Sutra”” has, indeed, trained

her own mindset with “the main

programming” of “benefiting

both onesel f and others”,

which also helps Miss Li Ying

Quan to accumulate countless

merits. Her compassionate

mind and acts not only can

touch upon all people’s hearts

and minds, but it can also

link up with all the Buddhas

and Bodhisattvas, and their

protectors. Thus, Miss Li Ying

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Quan and her beloved mother could become one of

those few survivors. Clearly, this is a phenomenon in

which virtues breed miracles.

Love goes far, that reaches boundless, enables

you to fill with virtues, to be never exhausted;

Not grasping, let go for limitless, enables you to

return to one’s own nature, limitless powers.

The above-mentioned case enables people to deeply

realize what merits in the reciting of Sutras can be.

If one has already possessed these wisdom seeds

within their unconscious, then a kind of compassion

will naturally arise deep down inside one’s mind, and

will become a habit of helping oneself and others.

Therefore, not only will the merits in the reciting of

Sutras are to be able to increase sharply, it is often

also being able to make wishes come true at the

fastest pace. And, most importantly, it is extremely

efficacious.

If one’s main practice is in the reciting of Sutras,

whereby the Sutras being recited contain the

teachings of “Emptiness”, then these Dharma

practitioners could be able to return to one’s “Own

Nature” at the pace much faster than those who

do not have these wisdom seeds sown in their

unconscious. Thus, one does not need to wait for

such a long “time” as three “asamkhya kalpas” in

order to return to one’s “Own Nature”.

Why is that? It is because in western psychology,

the “Sixth Consciousness” belongs to the level of

“consciousness”, while the “Seventh Consciousness”

and the “Eighth Consciousness” belong to the

domain of the “unconscious”. Due to the fact that the

“Seventh Consciousness” is the “root” of the “Mental

Consciousness”, while the “Eighth Consciousness”

is the “basic ground and root” of all phenomena

(or “dharmas” in Sanskrit) of the universe, hence all

the activities of the “Sixth Consciousness” (or the

various discriminations associated with the “Mental

Consciousness”) are doubtlessly influenced by

both the “Seventh Consciousness” and the “Eighth

Consciousness”. Thus, when one is using the “Sixth

Consciousness” to recite the Sutras, then it could

reverse the direction of influence by producing an

effect on both the “Seventh Consciousness” and the

“Eighth Consciousness”. More importantly, if there

also exist the wisdom seeds being sown in one’s

“unconscious”, in which concerted actions could also

be taken with them. Then, the degree of influence

will be much faster and easier when comparing with

those whose “unconscious” do not have the wisdom

seeds. It is all because these peoples had already

gotten the “wisdom rooted in their past lifetimes”.

The following Sutra is a testimony on the above

explanation.

“Five hundred years after the Lord Buddha had

left this human realm by entering into Parinirvana,

for those people who have kept their vows and

created their virtues, having read these sessions

and sentences (of the Sutras), and have generated

their faiths toward the Sutras by believing that these

are indeed the truths, then it is known that these

people have not only cultivated their virtuous roots

in one Buddha, two Buddhas, three Buddhas, four

Buddhas and five

B u d d h a s , t h e s e

people have indeed

already cultivated

v i r tuous roo ts in

countless tens of

millions of Buddhas

(that means these

wisdom seeds have

already been sown

in the “unconscious”

of these people).

The re fo re , when

these people who

hear about these

s e s s i o n s a n d

sentences (of these

Sutras) , and can

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generate a thought of

pure faith in accordance

with the Lord Buddha’s

knowledge and view,

Subhū t i , and in jus t

a n i n s t a n t , t h e s e

sentient beings could

make contacts with all

Buddhas and can thus

have such countless

virtues and merits.”

However, if there are

no such wisdom seeds

being sown within one’s

unconscious, and one has to merely rely upon the

chanting and reciting of the “Buddhist’s Sutras”

for one’s practice, would there be other ways to

help out? The answer is “Yes”, but the paces will

definitely slower than those Dharma practitioners

who already have wisdom seeds being sown in

their unconscious, and it will even be slower than

those who have followed the shortcuts on the “Mind

Training” of “Vajrayana” practices.

Other ways in reciting the “Sutras” include:

1. Reciting Sutras intensively and in a continuous

manner in order to influence – Influencing both

the “Seventh Consciousness” and the “Eighth

Consciousness” to open their main gates.

2. Us ing a spec ia l hea r t -eas ing rhy thm

to recite Sutras – the resonance of the

heart-easing rhythm will enable both the

“Seventh Consciousness” and the “Eighth


3. Keep up the pure thought arisen from the Sutra

until one enter the meditation state – pure thought

lead to the meditation state enables both the



These three ways of reciting Sutras enable

the “Sixth Consciousness” to influence both


Consciousness”, which quickly let the Sutra’s

wisdom to replace or suppress the bad seeds

within both the “Seventh Consciousness” and

the “Eighth Consciousness”, so that it could

remedy the flaw of lacking such wisdom

seeds within the unconscious. To combine

the “Sixth Consciousness” and both the


Consciousness”, so as to go for the direction

in “returning to one’s Own Nature”, and to

replace or suppress the bad seeds within both


Consciousness”, is certainly an inevitable stage.

Though every sentient being originally already has

the “Wisdom of Buddha Nature”, but if they have

too many erroneous information hidden in the

“unconscious” of both the “Seventh Consciousness”

and the “Eighth Consciousness”, which means that

they have a large amount of “obstructions due to

knowledge”, such that this will hinder them from the

recovery of one’s “Own

Nature”. In order to let the

original wisdom inside

oneself to arise, the first

th ing that one needs

to do is to e l iminate

the obstructions. Then,

further add the kind of

“hormones” that could

s t imu la te one ’ s own

inner wisdom, that is,

t h o s e “ w i s d o m t h a t

has been mentioned in

the Buddhist’s Sutras”.

Therefore, one needs to

“replace first, apply later,

then let go, lastly totally

let go, and merging into

Emptiness”.

24










Many people have gotten the illusive notion of

“visualizing Emptiness and attaining Buddhahood

within an instant”, but in fact, there are twenty

d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s o f

“Emptiness”, and so

this is not what ordinary

people would conceive

of as the “emptiness of

everything -- insensate

emptiness”, which is

indeed most laughable.

Thus, do not be “so

foolishly self-conceited

a n d m a k e o n e s e l f

a l a u g h i n g s t o c k ” .

Instead, i t would be

much better to practice

in such a way as to

keep your own feet on

the ground, and try

to find a “Guru” who

truly understands the

B u d d h i s t D h a r m a !

Please do not find those

gurus that will only use empty words to deceive

others, only know how to give “empowerment” rituals

and only give the so-called “blessings” to others. Do

not let one’s own brain to be so full of those rubbish

information, but not even a taste of the kind of

wisdom that were contained in the Buddhist Sutras.

Because by doing so, it not only would “not allow

oneself to achieve Emptiness”, but will also block off

the arising of one’s own inner wisdom. Then, only

at the moment of one’s own death that one starts to

realize that one has been cheated all along by those

gurus who only know how to give “empowerment”

rituals. Yet, those rituals seem not to be effective at

all, and then one will start to become “panic” inside

oneself. It will, indeed, be “not knowing how to die”

for oneself, but, sorry, it will be too late for regrets by

then!

According to the Sutras, the merits in the reciting

of Sutras are most profound. Other than the above-

mentioned merits, there are other splendid merits

that we will continue to explore in the next issue.

Are there any differences in the

recitations of “Mantras, Buddha’s

Holy Names, or the Sutras”? Which

of them would have a greater

strength? What kinds of benefits

w i l l they have? What a re the

differences in the techniques of

reciting them? There are two levels

when producing human sounds,

namely the “conscious” and the

“subconscious” levels. Will they

be beneficial to one’s Dharma

practice? What are the effects

that are produced in the practice

methods for the recitat ions of

“Mantras, Buddha’s Holy Names, or

the Sutras”? To what degrees and

levels do these practice methods

influence one’s “mental strength”?

What is the highest objective that

can be achieved through these

methods? What is the length of time that one has to

spend on these methods?… (To be Continued)

(Note: The newly released books on “The Wisdom

in Directing One’s Dharma Practice (1)” and “The

Wisdom in Directing One’s Dharma Practice (2)

– Seven Methods of Strengthening One’s Mind

to Counteract Adversities” have already been

published. The content for “The Wisdom in Directing

One’s Dharma Practice (1)” includes the articles on

“The Wisdom in Directing One’s Dharma Practice

from Issues 1 to 10 of the “Lake of Lotus”, while

“The Wisdom in Directing One’s Dharma Practice

(2) – Seven Methods of Strengthening One’s Mind to

Counteract Adversities” includes the articles on “The

Wisdom in Directing One’s Dharma Practice from

Issues 11 to 20 of the “Lake of Lotus”).

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lake of lotus (30) the application of wisdom-the wisdom in directing one's dharma practice...

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