Review of Session 1-4
Two entryways based on the Dharma of the One Mind:
- The Suchness of Mind - Transcending all forms of verbalization, description, and conceptualization
- The Arising and Ceasing of Mind - i.e. in Saṃsāra, experiencing birth & death
- Awakened - Innately, yet ignorant
- Unawake - because “thought-moment after thought-moment have always followed one another in a continuous flow (‘mindstream’ / citta-santāna) and sentient beings have never been free from conceiving….Due to not truly realizing oneness with Suchness, there emerges an unenlightened mind and, consequently, its thoughts (conceptions)
The Causes and Conditions of Saṃsāra:
- Thought (manas) - incorrectly perceiving and reproducing the world of objects and, conceiving that the reproduced world of objects is real, continuing to develop deluded thoughts. Also known as:
- Karmic Consciousness - set in motion by Ignorance, a.k.a. the ‘deluded mind’
- (R)evolving (’turning’ ‘operating’) Consciousness - perceiving a subject (of karmic consciousness)
- Presenting (’manifesting’) Consciousness - Reproducing the entire world of objects, like a mirror
- Discerning (’knowledge’) Consciousness - Differentiating objects presented by the presenting consciousness
- Continuity Consciousness - citta-santāna, the ’mindstream’
- Thought consciousness (vijñāna) - positing ‘self’ and ‘mine’ as real and clinging to them:
- Citta-santāna, ’mindstream’
- Thought Consciousness
- Separating Consciousness
- Phenomenal Discriminating Consciousness
- Mind (citta, i.e. the ālayavijñāna) - And there are six kinds of defiled mind overcome by bodhisattvas
- Attached to characteristics
- Attached to the continuity (citta-santāna 相續)
- Attached to Differentiating knowledge of characteristics
- Manifestation of subtle characteristics
- A perceiving mind
- The original karmically active mind
Four kinds of permeating or habituating (‘perfuming’):
- Of/by Suchness (a.k.a. ’Pure Dharma’)
- Of/by Ignorance (a.k.a. ’defilement’)
- Of/by Karmic Consciousness (a.k.a. the ’false / deluded mind’)
- Of/by Perceptual Fields (a.k.a. ’six sense organs/objects’)
“The pure state of Suchness certainly has no defilement, but if it is permeated by ignorance, then the characteristics of defilement appear on it. The defiled state of Ignorance is indeed devoid of any purifying force, but if it is permeated by Suchness, then it will come to have a purifying influence.” (Hakeda Tr.)
Permeation of Suchness by Ignorance
“It may be said that, on the ground of Suchness ignorance appears. Ignorance, the primary cause of the defiled state ‘permeates’ into Suchness. Because of this permeation a deluded mind results. Because of the deluded mind, deluded thoughts further permeate into ignorance. While the principle of Suchness is yet to be realized, [the deluded mind], developing deluded thoughts [in a state] of non-enlightenment, predicates erroneously conceived objects of the senses and the mind.”
Permeation of Ignorance by Suchness
“It may be said that there is the principle of Suchness, and it can permeate into ignorance. Through the force of this permeation, Suchness causes the deluded mind to loathe the suffering of samsara and to aspire for nirvana. ... Thus a person comes to believe in their essential nature, to know that what exists is the erroneous activity of the mind and that the world of objects in front of them are nonexistent, and to practice teachings to be free from the erroneously conceived world of objects. Knowing what is really so—that there is no world of objects in front of them—and therefore with various upaya practices courses which conform to Suchness. They do not attach themselves to anything nor give rise to any [deluded] thoughts. Through the force of this permeation [of suchness] over a long period of time, ignorance ceases. Because of the cessation of ignorance, there will be no more rising of the [deluded activities of] mind. Because of the nonarising [of the deluded activities of mind], the world of objects [as previously conceived] ceases to be; because of the cessation of both the primary cause (ignorance) and the coordinating cause (objects), the marks of the [defiled] mind will all be nullified. This is called “gaining nirvana and accomplishing spontaneous acts.”
Two kinds of permeation of the deluded mind by Suchness:
- Permeation by the intrinsic reality (essence) and characteristic of Suchness Q: Regarding the intrinsic nature of Suchness, why do all sentient beings not realize it? A: There are countless, boundless forms of Ignorance ”A human being, though in possession of the correct primary cause, [Suchness as a] permeating force, cannot put an end to defilements by themself alone and enter nirvana unless they are provided with with coordinating causes, i.e., encounters with the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, or good spiritual friends.”
- Permeation by the function (external influence) [of Suchness]
- Conditions of differentiation (’specific coordinating causes’) ” A person, from the time when they first aspire to seek enlightenment until they become an Enlightened One, sees or meditates on the Buddhas and bodhisattvas [as they manifest themselves to him]; sometimes they appear as his family members, parents, or relatives, sometimes as servants, sometimes as close friends, or sometimes as enemies.”
- Conditions of uniformity (’general coordinating causes’) ”The permeation through the influence of the Wisdom whose essence is one [with suchness].”
The Function of Suchness in the Mind as Arising and Ceasing
“It is neither that Suchness arose in a former time, not that it will cease at some future time. It is absolutely constant.”
The function (influences) of Suchness of are two kinds:
- Based on the phenomena-discriminating consciousness (i.e. vijñāna)
- Based on the karmic consciousness (i.e. manas)
“The mind can never be apprehended, even if one seeks it in the Ten Directions, because it lacks the characteristic of form/shape. It is like a person who has become disoriented and therefore deems east to be west, when in reality the directions have not been reversed. Sentient beings are the same. Being ignorant and disoriented, they will therefore deem the mind to be [the agent of] conceiving but, the mind really does not move. If they are able to investigate, they will know that the mind is without conceiving (心無念). Then they will readily enter the gateway of Suchness.