By Shifu Shuman
Many people are curious about the formation and existence of the universe. Yet, how many people show interests in searching the quality of mind? Each and every sentient being has mind, but it does not mean that we truly understand our mind, not to mention to be the master of our mind and have full wisdom to manipulate it.
The quality of mind may be put into two categories: the deluded and the true. The deluded mind is turbid, impure, restless, negative, and attached. In contrast, the true mind is clear, pure, still, positive, and detached. The deluded mind causes us to be trapped in samsara and to experience sufferings again and again, while the true mind creates joy and leads to enlightenment and liberation. How to purify the deluded mind or how to return to the true mind is essential in Buddhist practice.
Conventionally, practicing Buddhism or meditation is the way to purification and liberation. For example, the aim of śamatha andvipaśyanā meditation is to guard the flame-like wavering mind and to clean the mud-like unwholesome mind. In contrast, Chan/Zen tradition proclaims that the mind is pure, originally and eternally. The point of cultivation is to simply return to its original state of enlightenment. However, the Chinese Tiantai Buddhist tradition professes the following view: the mind includes the good and evil, which applies to both the sage and the ordinary beings. It is not that the mind of the ordinary is profane and impure, while the mind of the sage is sacred and pure. Instead, both purity and impurity are found in even the perfect Buddha’s mind.
At first glance, this might sound shocking and seem to contradict to the Buddha’s teaching that many people have heard of. Nonetheless, Zhiyi (538-597), the founder of the Tiantai school, argues for the importance of seeing nonduality of two extremes (e.g., beauty and ugliness, moral and immoral, sacred and profane, delusion and awakening). The wise find no conflicts between opposites. The ordinary sentient beings originally possess wholesome qualities, making their enlightenment possible. The sages possess unwholesome qualities that do not pollute their minds, and rather this indicates their compassion of embracing the deluded sentient beings within. In sum, deluded beings are found in the enlightened beings, and vice versa. Before discussing the reciprocal relationship between the unenlightened and the enlightened, it is necessary to first elaborate on the nature of the ordinary mind.
Understanding the Ordinary Mind
The Buddha teaches about the three characteristics of the samsara world: impermanent, suffering, and no-self. This is also applicable to the characteristics of the ordinary mind. The mind is impermanent, as the Diamond Sutra teaches, “The mind of the past cannot be grasped, the mind of the present cannot be grasped, and the mind of the future cannot be grasped.” The mind constantly experiences the arising and ceasing of thoughts. From the moment we wake up in the morning, get up, brush teeth, have breakfast, and get dressed for work, we have generated many thoughts. Our mind does not rest at the time we go to bed, instead we continue to create thoughts in our dreams. Day and night, our mind is likened to a factory, busy in the process of producing thoughts.
We experience birth and death in terms of the rising and ceasing of thoughts. In other words, cyclic samsara is found right in this very mind. The constant change of birth, death, and rebirth of thoughts reveals our worries, discontent, uneasiness, and afflictions—in a word, suffering! We do not have full control of how or what to think; rather we are dominated and overwhelmed by wandering thoughts. Only when we clearly realize the unsubstantial nature of thoughts, can we be the true master of our own mind. Then we will have wisdom and courage to face and handle all difficult situations and to avoid wrongdoings and emotional damage. We will perform wholesome deeds and the purity of our mind will reveal, eventually reaching the state of tranquility and nirvana—unconditional and deathless.
The Mind and Mutual Inclusion
Nirvana is not a state separated from the samsaric world, and enlightenment is not apart from delusion. The deluded mind and the true mind are interconnected and include each other. Indeed, we live in a world where mutual support is required, as the Buddha teaches: all is tightly related and interdependent. The mind does not stay alone, either.
What is the relationship between our mind and the outside world? Zhiyi proposes the theory of “the three thousand dharmas of/in/as one moment of thought” (Ch. yinian sanqian). A discerning thought acts as the center of all entities: it subsumes and integrates all, and all reducibly penetrates it. The term “three thousand” represents myriad dharmas, i.e., a matrix composed of i) ten dharma realms of sacred and profane, each of which includes the other nine, ii) the ten suchnesses, or characteristics of the ultimate reality of all dharmas, and iii) the three worlds of time and space. Concerning the length of this article, we will not go into detail about how 3000 is calculated or expound suchnesses. Rather, for the point of this article, we need to recognize the mutual inclusion and tight relationship between all dharmas.
It is to be noted that the universe is not like a piece of flat paper that has edges and that all of the dots on its surface hold the same distance to other dots or the laterals. The universe is more like a ball; a dot on the surface of the ball does not differ from any other dot on the same surface. To be more precise, Tiantai would argue that regardless of its shape, each part of the world can be viewed as the center. This assertion recognizes the significance, values, and merits of each part of the entirety. Each entity is seen as the center of the entirety.
The Indra’s net illustrated in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra clearly conveys the concept of interpenetration, which echoes the notion of mutual inclusion. The world is portrayed as a web of countless bright pearls. In a particular pearl, the light and reflections of all other pearls are found. The light and reflection of this pearl is likewise found in each of the other pearls. Their light and reflections mutually integrate and penetrate each other, akin to the reflections echoed in multiple opposing mirrors. Their fusion and harmony is seen because there is no obstruction or contradiction among the pearls. Likewise, there is no difference between self and other, but we are too deluded to realize nonduality and continue to search for the source whence all distinctive things come.
Although the three thousand dharmas cannot be separate from the mind, we should not deem the mind as the only source of all dharmas. Any dharma, be it sentient or insentient, mental or material, acts as the center of all cosmos. Nevertheless, in Tiantai practice, the mind is especially singled out in the context of meditation and for the purpose of liberation because it is the closest, compared with other phenomena, to us. In short, the ordinary mind is simultaneously deluded and true and includes the three thousand dharmas of delusion and enlightenment.
The imagination of the mind, be it impure or pure, has no boundary and its capacity is immeasurable. Zhiyi tells us: when deluded, our mind gives rise to many thoughts and transforms into myriad phenomena. When enlightened, one realizes that the many ignorant thoughts are actually identical to the one true mind. In other words, multiple thoughts are found in the very mind which is concentrative and awakened. The deluded mind creates and includes myriad dharmas; therefore, it ought to be the focus of contemplation.
How to Deal with the Deluded Mind
The deluded mind acts like a restless monkey that enjoys swinging among trees. It is also likened to an inner tiger when we get angry. When any of the three poisons—desire, hatred, and ignorance—rises in our mind, we can contemplate on the Tiantai theory of “the three thousand dharmas of/in/as one moment of thought.” We adopt the approach of observing inwards, i.e., self-reflection. Turning our attention within, sitting in meditation, and carefully examining the quality of our mind in the moment. A positive mind benefits ourselves and the world, while a negative mind leads to destruction. The sincere recognition of the three thousand dharmas emerging together with a single thought reminds us of thinking positively and remaining mindful. Otherwise, we might bring damage to ourselves and others.
As the “Butterfly Effect” theory proposed by meteorologist Edward Norton Lorenz states, a seemingly insignificant change in one event can play a crucial role in the unpredictable effect. Similarly, the energy of a single thought can cause significant transformations and impact. The mind is so powerful. Thus, when giving rise to thoughts, we need to be careful so as to avoid unwholesome thoughts.
Moreover, when our mind is blown away by any of the external “eight winds”—praise, ridicule, defamation, eulogy, gain, loss, pain, and joy—afflictions and sufferings are stimulated. Facing such a challenging situation, we can adopt the approach of reaching outwards, i.e., other-mindedness. It is to send our compassion and lovingkindness toward those who bring us difficulties.
Once a lady consulted me regarding the difficulties her father has brought her in decades. His thinking tends to be negative, and he is demanding and authoritative. As he turned ninety, his demands increase too. For trivial things, he would immediately call her and request her to drive tens of kilometers to give her a hand. For instance, once he could not find his glasses, he commanded her to show up right away, instead of asking his caretaker to look for his glasses. Since she has a full-time job, she cannot always meet her father’s need. His unreasonable demand and blame brings her hypertension.
I recommended the lady to recognize the power of her mind, to send out lovingkindness to her father, and to contemplate on the mutual inclusion between them. By means of meditation, she can clarify the main reason that troubles her and avoid making the fundamental attribution error. Further, she will be able to understand that a trouble is not a pure trouble, but a great opportunity to enhance inner wisdom and to create harmony. Sitting in contemplation is the best antidote to the mind of delusion and afflictions.
Conclusion
Common people who have not well cultivated the Dharma have ordinary mind that is bond with delusion and sufferings. Zhiyi suggests that we refine our coarse and defiled mind by practicing meditation. The preparation to meditation is first to recognize the nature of our ordinary mind. When we clearly understand it, we will not be deceived by its illusion. Instead, we can rapidly recognize our emotions and feelings, shake them off, and eventually see them through. We can also further get rid of attachment to the illusory phenomena that surround us.
The Tiantai concept of “the three thousand dharmas of/in/as one moment of thought” emphasizes that all beings are found in a single thought. The mutuality between our mind and the world tells that just by observing our mind in meditation we can clearly see the multitude outside us. Furthermore, any conflict between human and nature, self and other, mind and matter, good and bad will be resolved. Simply put, when we completely realize the reciprocal relationship between the inner and the outer, we can embrace the entire world with deep gratitude.
As human, our mind tends to be deluded. Tiantai reminds us to acknowledge its impurity—a way to avoid self-pride. Tiantai also encourages us to recognize its power of creation and its tight relationship with all beings—a way to increase true self-confidence. In Buddhism, the lotus is a symbol of purity. Thanks to the nurture of dirty mud, lotus flowers look elegant and emit delightful fragrance. Zhiyi uses the lotus analogy to remind us that purity comes out of impurity and enlightenment is not separate from delusion. Keeping this in mind, we will not come to self-deprecation. Even when facing difficulties, we can respond positively and mindfully. At the moment we contemplate on the relation between our ordinary mind and the world, we will realize that delusion is enlightenment.