[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
totally something else, completely different from what you ve always
thought it was, from beginningless rebirths up to the present. All this
time your mind has merely been labeling I on the association of body
and mind, and that is how it exists. But every time your mind has
merely labeled I, it doesn t appear back to you as if it s been merely
labeled. That s the problem. If the I did always appear to you as merely
labeled by the mind, it would be impossible for you to generate anger,
jealousy, grasping, attachment and all the other painful emotional
minds. If you were able to perceive the I as merely labeled by the mind
there would be no base upon which delusions could arise. Then you
wouldn t create motivating karma, suffering or samsara itself.
What happens is that after your mind merely labels I, when it
appears back to you it does not appear as if it has been merely labeled
by the mind. It appears back in completely the opposite way, as if it
has not been merely labeled by the mind. That is the hallucination.
Therefore, the reality of the I that is merely labeled by the mind is
that it is totally empty. It exists, but it is totally empty. It exists, but it
is totally empty of existing from its own side. While it is empty of
existing from its own side, the I exists. How? In mere name. When
you realize this, you have gained an unmistaken realization of empti-
ness. On the single object, I, you are able to unify dependent arising
42
LIVING WITH BODHICITTA
and emptiness. The I itself is both empty yet existent. It exists, but it
is empty. When you realize these two, without division, you have
gained an unmistaken realization of emptiness. If, in what you think
is a realization of emptiness, you cannot unify these two or find a
contradiction with existence, then your so-called realization of empti-
ness is wrong. When it comes to this point and you cannot define
how the I exists, you cannot see the existence of the I, that means
your realization of emptiness is not the actual realization of emptiness
but just ordinary emptiness.
When you analyze, the I becomes extremely subtle so subtle that
even though it is not non-existent, it is as if it were non-existent. It is
not non-existent, but it seems to be non-existent. It appears not to
exist; it becomes an unbelievably subtle phenomenon. The line of
demarcation between the existence and the non-existence of the I is
extremely fine, extremely subtle. So fine that what is existent appears
to be almost non-existent. What it is, however, is merely labeled by
the mind.
43
PATIENCE AND THE COMPASSIONATE HEART
Guru Shakyamuni Buddha said,
Do not engage in any harmful actions;
Perform only those that are good;
Subdue your own mind
This is the teaching of the Buddha.
What did he mean? The above verse encapsulates the entire teaching
of the kind, compassionate Buddha. In it, he is telling us sentient
beings, who want only happiness and do not want suffering, how to
achieve our aims.
Where do happiness and suffering come from?
Happiness and suffering do not come from outside but from
actions motivated by our own minds, our own thoughts. Happiness
comes from positive actions. Problems come from mistaken, or
unskillful, actions. Positive actions, pure actions, are motivated by a
positive, virtuous attitude, the pure mind, the healthy mind, the
peaceful mind.
All happiness the transient happiness of our everyday lives, and
ultimate happiness, both liberation and enlightenment comes from
each being s positive attitude and virtuous actions; from the pure
45
VIRTUE AND REALITY
mind. Liberation is the complete cessation of all suffering, including
rebirth, aging, sickness and death, and its cause. Enlightenment, the
great liberation, which is even higher than this, is the cessation of
even the subtle defilements of mind and the completion of all realiza-
tions. Each and every sentient being has the potential to experience
all this. It comes from positive motivation and good karma. All suffer-
ing comes from each being s negative attitude and non-virtuous actions.
In your life, until your mind labels something as a problem, before
you have the concept of problem, you don t have any problems.
Before your mind fabricates the label, problem, you don t see prob-
lems in your life. What do I mean by concept here? It s where your
thought interprets a certain situation as a problem. In other words,
your mind creates the designation problem for this particular situ-
ation. Before that happens, you don t see any problem with the
situation, but the moment your mind creates the label, problem,
and believes in it, that is the moment that the concept of problem has
been created. You have created the concept of life problem.
This is just a simple example of how problems come from your
own mind, how problems depend upon your own concepts, how
problems depend upon the very concept of problem. The problems in
your life depend upon your having the concept of problem having
the thought, creating the label and believing in it. This is just a very
simple example of how your problems depend upon your own mind.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]