Hundred Dharmas (Lesson 5)

The Shastra on the Door to Understanding the Hundred Dharmas

DHARMA TALK 5 – FUNDAMENTAL AFFLICTIONS (根本烦恼)

- Greed (贪), Anger (瞋), Foolishness (痴), Arrogance (慢), Suspicion (疑)

BY MASTER JINGLIAN

 

To all honourable ones and laypeople who are present:

 

We are now about to learn the fourth category of Dharmas Belonging to the Mind, which is Fundamental Affliction (根本烦恼).

 

The 6 types of Fundamental Affliction are Greed (贪), Anger (瞋), Foolishness (痴), Arrogance (慢), Suspicion (疑) and Unwholesome Views or Improper views(恶见/不正见). These 6 fundamental afflictions are the roots of all affliction. When one has these 6 fundamental affliction. All other afflictions arise from these 6 fundamental afflictions. This is the reason why they are called Fundamental Afflictions.

 

What is affliction? Affliction is emotion that irritate, disturb and confuse our body-and-mind. This emotion make us irritable, disturbed and confused, causing our body to feel hot and our mind disturbed.

 

The first fundamental affliction is Greed. Greed is deep attachment and being tainted by all good things in the Three Realms. Regardless whether it is in Realm of Desire, Realm of Form or Formless Realm, there are things that we greedily love, stubbornly attached and have great difficulty in giving up or putting down. These things possess an attraction that is difficult to resist or overcome. For example, we often hear that one is willing to sacrifice or go Hell for the love of someone or something. Even though one understands that the consequence of infinite sufferings, one is still willing to commit; this energy is called Love to Greed / Greedy Love (贪爱). This energy comes from the karmic seed of Love to Greed, the karmic force of Love to Greed and the karmic habit of Love to Greed.

 

 

This Love to Greed is the root of transmigration, causing us to reincarnate within the Three Realms and unable to escape. A thought of Greed causes us to end up in continuous transmigration. Why do we have a medium body after we die? This is because when we are alive, we are greedily attached to this physical body. So after death, a medium body is formed out of our attachment to this body when we are alive. When we are alive, we take very good care of our body in all possible ways and hold strong attachment to our body. So this Greed over our body causes a medium body to form after we die. When we are in the medium body, our greed increases a million-fold, especially our greed to lust. This thought of lust, like a strong magnetic force, draws the medium body to where there is affinity for rebirth. So rebirth is the result of Love to Greed. Once we are reborn, we start a new life in another physical body form. Then one continues to greed over the body and when death comes, the next medium body is formed. This cycle goes on and on, as long as we have greed over our body form. So now we understand the root of transmigration is our Love to Greed.

 

 

One may ask if a Buddhist cultivator will have less Love to Greed? It depends if the Love to Greed is decreasing daily or the object of greed has just shifted from attachment to worldly things to attachment to Dharma. Has the nature of greed changed or the intensity of greed reduced? This question is worth spending time to contemplate and reflect upon. Even with the study of Buddha Dharma, but because of this fundamental affliction of Greed, one is unable to stay in Samadhi, attain Fruition and Enlightenment. Why can Greed cause one not to be able to stay in Samadhi? As long as one has a continuous emergence of desire in the mind, this greed will become more active during meditation when one’s mind tries to settle down. With the karmic seeds of Greed constantly arising and asking oneself, “What to do? What to plan? What to buy? What to ask?”, one will never be able to stay in Samadhi. Regardless whether one craves the comfort of Five Desires in this Phenomena World, fame or the feelings of body-and-mind, one cannot stay in Samadhi as all these are under Greed.

 

 

Greed causes our mind to be unfocused, scattered and cluttered with thoughts, resulting in the inability to stay in Samadhi. When karmic Seeds of Greed keep churning and ripening, our mind will be supplied with a continuous flow of false thoughts and when we start to analyse them, we become distracted. There will be old disgruntlements and new dislikes which are also part of Greed because when one cannot satisfy or fulfill one’s greed, the feeling of disgruntlement, dislikes and so on will arise. The love to Greed will keep feeding thoughts such as “That matter cannot be gotten over”, “That obstacle cannot be overcome”, “Think of how to get back on someone”, “Think of what to do” and soon a heart to hurt others manifest. All these thoughts start from the Love to Greed which is the root of transmigrations that obstruct us from staying in Samadhi, attain Fruition and Enlightenment.

 

 

Regardless of whether it is in Realm of Desire, Realm of Form or Formless Realm, when our mind keeps holding onto the attachment and stubbornly finds joy doing them, that is the Love to Greed. However, there are differences in the type of Greed in these 3 realms. The Greed in the Realm of Desire is basically about the opposite sex, food and sleep. The Five Desires and Six Dust (refers to the five senses and six ayatanas/sense base) are more inclined to attachment and greed on material objects such as antique, collectible items and so on. One will be willing to protect the objects of one’s greed with their life. This is the Greed in the Realm of Desire.

 

 

Some people are able to put down their desires and renounce their social status but are unable to put down their spiritual pursuit. So every day, these people will live on simple food and things, hoping to achieve a spiritual mind of peace, serenity and purity. This belongs to the Greed of the Realm of Form. As long as one still attaches to the pursuit of something and in this case the spiritual peace and pureness, there is still Greed. When there is a “I want to be spiritually pure, I want…”, there is a desire and this will lead to sufferings when one cannot achieve that desired state. Then one will ask if it is right not to desire for purity? Yes, if we can see through the True Nature of this Universe, put down all conditions and let our mind be in a state of non-desire, without a thought arising, the True Nature or True Mind will arise before us. This is because our True Nature is always Pure and adding a desire or greed to hope for such and such purity will taint it. So do not crave as it is also a desire of Greed for anything and this is wrong. This is why we say when one has a desire, one cannot be liberated from the Three Realms.

 

 

Some people are able to put down their desires for opposite sex, food and sleep, as well as their desire for spiritual pursuit and can just live with the flow of life. However, he cannot put down Relationship (情). Regardless of whether it is family love, friendship or love relationship, he has a strong attachment and always cannot overcome it. This type of Love for Relationship belongs to Greed of the Formless Realm.

 

Therefore, regardless of whether it is the desire in the Realm of Desire, the love in the Realm of Form and relationship in the Realm of Formless, the fundamental affliction is Greed and it is the root cause of our transmigration. Desire, Love and Relationship are the 3 types of Greed that exist in these three realms. As long as you still have greed for Desire, Love and Relationship, which belong to the three realms of existence, it is impossible to break away from the wheel of existence. This is because they are the root cause for transmigration.

 

Now that we are learning Dharma and learning to walk the Path so as to break away from the three realms, but how do we break away from the wheel of existence and be free from the three realms? Since we know that the Love to Greed is the root cause of transmigration, then it is quite simple. To break free from transmigrations, we must sever our Love to Greed. How can we sever that Love to Greed? Those who have better wisdom can cultivate the Contemplation of Emptiness (空观) and in the Wisdom of Emptiness, all do not exist in reality as they do not have inherent existence. One can also cultivate the Contemplation of Impurities (不净观) or practise giving, letting go and putting down.

 

 

How do we practise Contemplation of Emptiness? First, we must choose an object of Greed. The object must be one that we greed the most. Then we must have that mind of Greed and the situation / state of Greed (所贪的境界). We should ask ourselves if that thought of Greed in our mind and the object / situation of Greed, really exist. Those who speculate in shares or buy lotteries, can ask themselves if those thoughts about shares or lotteries in the mind really exist. The thought will arise and then perish. Then one thinks about it again and the thought arises and after a while, the thought perishes. These thoughts repeatedly arise and perish. One should ask if these impermanent thoughts really exist. No, they do not really exist. Even though every thought is about the same situation / state, that mind of Greed is impermanent and thus does not really exist. Next, we shall contemplate on the object of Greed such as shares or lottery. Share prices are always changing, constantly moving up or down. If it really exists, it should not be impermanent and keep changing. So it does not exist in reality. Through contemplation, both the mind of Greed and the object of Greed are impermanent, arising and perishing with cause and condition, so they are illusory and do not exist in reality.

 

Why does our Greed arise? It is because we believe that they exist and forget that they are non-self; Empty without Self and only exist according to cause and condition. So in that instant of Greed, we attach to the thought that they exist in reality. However, when we use wisdom to contemplate, we realize that the mind that loves to greed and the object of greed do not exist in reality. With that, we can put down or let go of that mind that has the ability to greed and the object of Greed. We should always contemplate in this way whenever a thought of Greed arises. By contemplating on the mind that loves to greed and the object of greed, we see its arising and perishing according to cause and condition and thus they are impermanent, Empty without inherent existence and impossible to possess. Since all are unreal, our love to greed can also be put down. This is the cultivation for Contemplation of Emptiness and by doing so frequently, one can quickly attain the Wisdom of Emptiness. The steps are arising and perishing, impermanent and thus Non-self (生灭、无常，接下来就是无我). Once attaining Non-Self, one will be liberated from transmigration. So those who speculate in shares should contemplate in this way and maybe one can get enlightened.

 

This method is to subdue the Love to Greed and one should cultivate the Contemplation of Emptiness to break through that Greed, regardless of how strong it is.

 

Some people are attached to their own or other’s physical form. For these people, they can cultivate Contemplation of Impurities (不净观) to subdue their attachment to the Greed over physical forms. In this cultivation, one has to visualize the body of their loved ones or their own body undergoing changes of deteriorations after death. This method is known as Nine Thoughts of Visualization (九想观). This visualization process is very effective in severing the attachment to physical forms because the decomposition process is full of unsightly impurities and smelly by-products of decomposition. These sights are disgusting and once one can feel disgusted towards the outcome of physical forms, one will then be able to destroy the energy in the karmic seeds of Greed over physical forms. Over time, the seeds of Greed will be weaker and weaker until one can overcome it totally.

 

 

If one loves to Greed over materials or things external to our body, one should cultivate giving. One should donate the most beloved items to charity or for public use and over time with this practice of giving away and putting down, one’s greed over external things will be severed. We have spoken about dāna-pāramitā (施波罗蜜) and it starts from giving away things that are external to us, as these gifts will not take away one’s life. In the cultivation of Bodhisattva path, a Bodhisattva can quickly give away his head, eyes, brain or bone marrow when any sentient beings need it. When a Bodhisattva has perfected dāna-pāramitā, there is nothing He cannot give away and that includes His life. So one can gradually practise giving and putting down to subdue one’s Love to Greed.

 

Next, we can often contemplate on the pitfalls of Love to Greed. What does Greed give you? We always assume that once we satisfy our Greed, our life will be fulfilling as our desires and wants are satisfied, achieving a seemingly good quality of life. However, in reality, Greed is the root cause to transmigrations and Greed only causes us to be trapped in the vicious cycles of transmigration.

 

 

Besides, Greed also obstructs our wholesome roots from growing. We have said that Absence of Greed, Anger and Foolishness are our three Wholesome Roots. An Arhat attains the Absence of Greed, Anger and Foolishness and thus can be liberated from transmigration. If a cultivator is unable to put down and give, regardless of how auspicious the Dharma Gateway, one will not be able to attain Enlightenment. If one is on the cultivation path and one’s Greed is growing towards Dharma Gateway, Dharma place, Dharma teachers or Dharma treasures, this Love to Greed has not reduced but just the objects of Greed have changed. In fact, the objective of our cultivation is basically to learn how to put down all conditions that are related to our body-and-mind and this world. So our every thought is to be put down until finally this thought of “Putting down” should also be put down. This is called the Dual Extinction of the Ability to Arise and Being Arise (能所双亡). By returning its “Ability to manifest” and its “Manifestation” to its origin, our True Nature or Original Nature will be emerge right before us to attain Enlightenment. This is because in the purity of True Nature, there isn’t any body-and-mind and this world as they are all manifestations or by-products of the 8 Consciousness. Where do 8 Consciousness come from? From the arising of a foolish thought, our True Mind manifests the 8 Consciousness and thus the body-and-mind and this world. Subsequently, we continue to build attachments to these body-and-mind and world and then start to discriminate them with our false mind and get attached to them again. This cycle continuously repeats itself. Every day we keep on having contacts with this phenomena world and our 6 faculties continuously interact with the 6 sense objects. If we understand that they are manifestations of the 8 Consciousness caused by the arising of false thoughts from our foolishness, followed by the continuous attachments and discriminations towards these manifestations, we can easily put down our body-and-mind and the things in this world and return the 8 Consciousness to the True Mind. We need to understand the True Mind is free from thoughts and the 8 Consciousness is formed from a false thought. So by extinguishing all thoughts, the 8 Consciousness returns to True Mind. This is how we return to our True Nature - by giving up all falsehoods of the Mind (反妄归真).

 

This is why we have to practise giving and putting down until one day, the thought of giving or putting down is also extinguished, we will return to our True Mind. In the True Nature, there is no attribute or existence such as body-and-mind or this world because they are just manifestations by 8 Consciousness.

 

So if we do not understand this Truth and keep building on our Love to Greed, more sufferings will manifest to trap us in the cycles of transmigration with more sufferings ahead. If we can sever our Love to Greed, it means we are severing transmigrations. From the Six Realms to the Four Holy Dharma Realms and then to the Ten Dharma Realms of existence (十法界), all these 51 mental formations are manifestations of the 8 Consciousness from a thought of desire. By returning Consciousness to the source (舍识用根), we will then return to The Dharma Realm of One Truth (一真法界). This Dharma Realm of One Truth is expounded relative to the Ten Dharma Realms of existence. So when the latter extinguishes, the former will also extinguish and then the non-arising and non-perishing True Nature of the True Mind will be before us. Hope all can sever Love to Greed and attain Samadhi to liberate from transmigration and then be enlightened quickly.

 

 

The second Fundamental Affliction is Anger. This Anger refers to the feeling of hatred, ferocity and rage (憎恨忿恚) that arises from the causes and results of sufferings in this Three Realms that we cannot endure. When we are unable to endure the sufferings, we stir up emotions belonging to Anger such as ferocity, hatred, frustration, jealousy and harm that stem from afflictions. In short, anger arises from the intolerance to sufferings before us.

 

So what should we do? Let us think of where all these sufferings come from. They are past karmic causes ripening now. Who causes them? If one believes in cause and effect, one will understand that it is due to one’s past misdeeds that yield the current sufferings and there is no need to blame anyone else except ourselves. No one is trying to hurt you, make life difficult for you or find trouble with you - it is the ripening of past karmic debts.

 

 

If one is able to believe in karma and accepts the sufferings as the debts that need to be repaid from one’s past karmic misdeeds, one will be able to accept the sufferings blamelessly. Is there anyone who is happy to suffer? Is there anyone who is happy that karmic debts are repaid? No, normally this happiness only applies to good karmas and when one is happy, the good karmas will be used up. So when the sufferings are more, this means that the karmic debts are more and one has to endure with a peaceful heart. If one becomes angry about the sufferings, one will only create future bad karma and end up not being able to clear any karmic debts. So when we are suffering, we should be happy to be able to clear our karmic debts and not be angry. If we can endure the sufferings with a peaceful heart and also repent on the past karmic debts, especially the Repentance based on Truth (实相忏), our sufferings will be over quickly. In this repentance, we understand that the nature of karma is Empty and the nature of sufferings is also Empty and soon our sufferings will be over and our Wisdom of Emptiness will arise. If we do not understand this True Nature and take them as really existing, we will suffer more. If we can raise the Bodhi Mind (菩提心) by saying, “May the anger of all beings ripen upon me and may all beings be free from anger”, our fit of anger will diminish as Great Compassion arises. So when one is undergoing sufferings but is able to repent and generate the Bodhi Mind, one will not only clear the karmic debts but also build merits. So the most auspicious Dharma Gateway to clear karmic debts and build merits is to generate Bodhicitta or raise the Bodhi Mind (发菩提心).

 

 

Therefore, when one is going through sufferings, other than believing deeply in in karmic cause and effect, one should also accept the suffering with a light heart so as not to create new ones. In addition, one also generates the Bodhi Mind. By doing so, one can perfectly and completely uproot and destroy the karmic seed of anger. This is because once we hold the Bodhi Mind, our anger dissipates instantly. So in the future, when we are angry, remember to generate a Bodhi Mind immediately so that we can sever this root of anger.

 

 

On the other hand, one can also contemplate the pitfalls that come with Anger.

We know that Anger can obstruct our Three Wholesome roots – Absence of Greed, Anger and Foolishness. When anger arises, one will not be able to attain the wholesome root of Absence of Anger and thus cannot generate Compassion.

This is because “Anger obstructs “慈” and Harming obstructs “悲””. Where does the heart to Harm come from? It comes from Anger. Harming belongs to the Minor-grade Derivative Afflictions of Anger. So if we do not sever our Anger and let it rage, we can never be compassionate and thus unable to attain the Merits of Endurance (忍辱的功德). When we are unable to endure sufferings, anger will arise. These are the pitfalls of Anger.

 

 

Moreover, when one is angry, the body-and-mind becomes unsettled. The heartbeat and breathing will increase, the blood pressure goes up, the body heats up and the mind gets frustrated with all sorts of afflictions. When the body-and-mind is ‘boiling’, one can easily become irrational because one has lost patience and become crazy with anger. With these unsettling moments, the “fire” to take revenge is kindled and one can easily commit many unwholesome deeds. This unwholesomeness committed by body, speech and mind will bear fruits and ripen upon oneself, bringing more sufferings. So in order not to suffer, one should not be angry in the first place. We must remember the saying, “A thought of Anger opens up a million doors of obstacles.” This means a thought of Anger will ripen the karmic seeds and cause one to reap the effects. Within the grounds of our 8th Consciousness, we have both wholesome and unwholesome karmic seeds and the time of ripening will depend on us. If we are angry everyday, the unwholesome seeds will ripen first and cause sufferings to arise. Whenever anger arises, the little merits that we have accumulated will be burnt. One may ask why there are still obstacles after doing so many wholesome deeds. The answer is simple. One has burnt away one’s merits with anger. So depending on whether one is building or burning merits faster, the result will materialize as without or with obstacles. After understanding this fact, we always have to repent for having the karmic seeds of anger and the habits of anger and not being able to sincerely generate Bodhicitta. This is nobody’s fault but entirely our own fault. If we continue to think and practise in this way, we will be able to subdue our anger and accumulate the merits of Bodhi Mind and Endurance. In summary, the fastest means to subdue Anger is to generate Bodhicitta or raise Bodhi Mind.

 

 

The third Fundamental Affliction is Foolishness. Foolishness refers to not knowing Reality and Phenomena (事理) of this world. Phenomena (事) refer to the Phenomenal Attributes (事相) of all dharmas. Reality (理) refers to the True Nature (实相) of all dharmas. In this Phenomenal Realm (现象界), all dharmas are impermanent and arise and perish according to causes and conditions. If we do not understand these Phenomenal Attributes of all dharmas and take them as real and existing, we are in the state of Secondary Ignorance / Non-Enlightenment (枝末无明). This is because The True Nature of all dharmas that arise and perish with cause and condition are Empty. If we do not understand that all arising and perishing impermanence in this Phenomenal Realm is dependent on a non-arising and non-perishing permanent Reality Nature Realm (本体界), we are ignorant to the True Nature of all dharmas and are in the state of Innate Ignorance / Non-enlightenment  (根本无明). When we are ignorant to the True Nature of all dharma, we do not understand that the arising-and-perishing are due to cause and condition and also do not understand that the arising-and-perishing Phenomenal Attributes (事相) of Phenomenal Realm (现象界) are manifested from the non-arising and non-perishing True Nature of the Reality Nature Realm. This is known as Innate Ignorance / Non-enlightenment (根本无明). In short, if we are confused by the phenomena in the Phenomenal Realm (现象界), we are in the state of Secondary Ignorance / Non-enlightenment (枝末无明). If we are confused by the reality of Reality Nature Realm (本体界), we are ignorant to the True Nature of all dharmas and are in the state of Innate Ignorance/Non-enlightenment  (根本无明).

 

 

These two types of Ignorance / Non-enlightenments “blind” us from seeing the non-arising and non-perishing permanent True Nature through the arising and perishing impermanence of Phenomenal Realm. Hence we are attached to Self and all the dharmas around us and result in our Greed, Anger, Foolishness, Arrogance and Unwholesome Views (Fundamental Afflictions) and Derivative Afflictions, driving us into all types of sufferings.

 

So where do all these sufferings come from? We have previously mentioned that they come from our angry mind. If we probe further and ask where does the angry mind come from? It is because we thought there was an “I”; a Self who is attached to all dharmas. So when there is any obstruction or contradiction to this craving, “I” will get angry. If you obstruct my ‘Love to Greed’, “I” will suffer. But if you can fulfill my habit of ‘Love to Greed’, “I” will feel happy. Is this not right? The feeling of happiness will arise. If this habitual energy to crave is obstructed, “I” will feel suffering arising. But if this craving is fulfilled, “I” will feel very happy. So where does this anger come from? It comes from Ignorance or Non-enlightenment (无明) that creates our attachment to a Self. This thinking that evolves around a Self or “I”, gives rise to Greed, Anger, Foolishness, Arrogance and Doubt. Why do we have Self-Attachment? As mentioned previously, it is because we are ignorant to the reality that all dharmas arise from causes and conditions and their Self Nature is Empty of an inherent existence. As long as, it has the characteristic of arising and perishing, it is impermanent and Non-self. When one does not understand this teaching, one is foolish or ignorant. As mentioned earlier, Ignorance can be sub-divided into Secondary Ignorance/ Non-enlightenment (枝末无明) and Innate Ignorance/Non-enlightenment  (根本无明). All the Self-attachment and attachment to dharmas arise from Ignorance or Non-Enlightenment. It is this ignorance that creates a Self that we attach ourselves to. With this Self-attachment, all forms of defilements or afflictions arise, causing us to create karma or deeds that bring about sufferings and transmigrations. Therefore, Ignorance and Foolishness are root cause of transmigration. We have also mentioned that the root cause of transmigration is craving or ‘Love to Greed’. But where does this craving come from? It is from ignorance. Because of ignorance, it is thought that an “I” exist and thus giving rise to an “I” to crave and greed. Hence, in actual reality, ignorance and foolishness are the actual root cause of transmigration.

 

 

This Ignorance / Foolishness not only obstruct the arising of the 3 Wholesome Root (Absence of Foolishness, Absence of Greed and Absence of Anger), it also causes us not to understand the reality that All Dharmas are Non-Self and is therefore the root of all afflictions. It is because of this ignorance that we think there is a Self. All afflictions arise from this Self and subsequently, reactions to these afflictions create more karma and accumulate more bitter fruits. All problems of defilement arises from foolishness. What should we do then? How do we handle this foolishness? How do we handle this ignorance? Practise the Contemplation of Non-Self (无我观) to subdue Foolishness and learn to understand that all arising-and-perishing are illusory and not real, in order to see the non-arising and non-perishing of the Noumena or permanent Reality Nature (本体界). In this way, we return to our True Nature and we will be able to cut through both foolishness and ignorance and also the arising and perishing of all phenomena. The non-arising and non-perishing True Mind is thus attained.

 

How can we see? What is it that arises and perishes in these impermanent phenomena? In fact, every day we are using our True Nature but just fail to recognize or identify it. Why do we not know? This is because we are non-enlightened or foolish. So we need to practise within the arising and perishing of all phenomena in order to experience and realise that underlying nature of the Noumena or Reality Nature that is non-arising and non-perishing. We see with our eyes everyday, right? Let us recollect our discussion in Dharma Talk 2 on the Eight Consciousness. We mention that the Eye Consciousness needs 9 causes-and-conditions to arise and lacking in any of them will not give rise to sight. Therefore, eye consciousness belongs to the nature of arising and perishing.

 

 

Since our eyes can see all forms, so is that ability to see also belongs to arising-and-perishing? Or is it non-arising and non-perishing? Our ability to see let us see when our eyes are open but if we shut our eyes, can we still see? Yes, we can. We can still see darkness. So this ability to see is non-arising and non-perishing (不生灭). If this ability to see is arising-and-perishing (生灭), the ability will appear when we see and disappear when we don’t see. But why when we close our eyes, we can still see darkness. I can see anytime I want. In the dreams, can you see clearly? Yes, we can still see when we are dreaming and the ability to see is thus non-arising and non-perishing because it is the function of our True Nature.

 

 

The functions of our True Nature include the ability to see, hear, smell, feel (觉) and be aware / know (知). They are the functions of our True Nature. However, the consciousness of eyes, ear, nose, body and intellectual mind are impermanent because their arising-and-perishing are based on the right causes and conditions. However, our ability to see, hear, feel, know and so forth, will never disappear because they are non-arising and non-perishing. In this way, we can use the arising and perishing in this phenomenal world to penetrate and immediately realise the non-arising and non-perishing Noumena / Reality Nature Realm (本体界). This is how we should practise and realise our True Nature.

 

 

In fact, every day we are using our True Mind to see but unfortunately, after seeing, we immediate discriminate and attachment to these external phenomena. Understand? For example, we differentiate the forms from the Eye Consciousness and start to have like or dislike based on our discriminations and attachments. Understand? If we understand we are using our True Nature’s ability to see, there should not be the arising of discrimination or attachment because it is non-arising and non-perishing. Unlike the True Mind, the 6^th Consciousness will differentiate and the 7^th Consciousness constantly reviews, thinks and measures, creating Self attachment by discriminating each and every perceivable phenomenon from the 8 Consciousness. Therefore, we behave in the same way as that of our past. With every seeing, we are so used to immediately discriminate and attach a Self to like and dislike and then arouse Greed, Anger and Foolishness, clinging to the Forms, Sound, Smell, Taste and Feel which belong to the Six Sense Objects of this phenomenal world. This is the Foolishness of not understanding that the Eye Consciousness and all dharmas in the Phenomenal Realm are arising-and-perishing without permanence. It is because you do not understand that is why you cling to the Six Sense Objects of the phenomenal world and give rise to discrimination and attachment. This delusion creates afflictions and thus karmic deeds. As long as, there is a “I like” or “I dislike”, it gives rise to Greed, Anger and Foolishness. These afflictions create karma and sufferings and cause us to trap in the vicious cycles of transmigration. This is how it happens. Just one ignorant thought and we have to bear the fruit of the consequence.

 

 

If I do not react like the past and just be aware of seeing, the function of the True Mind kicks into action. The True Mind is non-arising and non-perishing and thus there is no discrimination and attachment. This is how the 6^th Consciousness is transmuted to the Wisdom of Perfect Insight (妙观察智) and the 7^th Consciousness to the Wisdom of Universal Equality (妙观察智). If I use the seeing function of the eye faculty, I am merely using the function of Wisdom. Understand? This wisdom is inherently present in my True Mind. Therefore, I can see clearly everything “as is” without the discrimination and attachment and thus without the delusion and karma, that cause transmigration. It is just like that. Understand? The same applies to hearing. The ability to hear enables one to hear different sound without discrimination and attachment and the True Mind directly interacts with the Wisdom of Perfect Insight and Wisdom of Universal Equality. The same goes for the ability to smell, feel (觉) and know (知). The Wisdom of the True Mind does not give rise to delusion, discrimination and attachment. Every day, when our 6 sense faculties come into contact with the 6 sense objects in this phenomenal world, as long as there is no discrimination and attachment, we are in fact letting our True Mind interact with the 2 wisdoms. So we will be without false thoughts from the discrimination created by the 6^th Consciousness and without afflictions and thoughts. Our Mind is now acting like a mirror reflecting all the 6 sense objects of this phenomenal world. The mirror just shows the appearance of objects and does not express any like, dislike, the desire to reflect or not. Our True Mind is also like that. It just reflects like a mirror, without arising any emotions, false thoughts, discrminations and attachments. By living our daily lives this way, we are in our True Mind that resides in the non-arising and non-perishing state of Reality Nature Realm, constantly reflecting and observing the arising and perishing nature of the Phenomenal Realm. During the process, we should not arise any delusions and karma. Over time with constant observation and reflection of the arising and perishing nature of the phenomenal world, we will realise the non-arising and non-perishing Reality Nature Realm and have the ability to sever our Foolishness and Ignorance. This is how one should practise the Contemplation of Non-Self.

 

 

If one can understand vijñaptimātratā / Mere-Consiousness (唯识), you will know that the above is an exemplification its theory. It explains how we can from the arising-and-perishing phenomenal world, understand and realise the non-arising and non-perishing aspect of the Noumena or Reality Nature Realm. By using this wisdom to investigate into Mere-Consciousness, you will also be able to reach the same conclusion. How did the arising and perishing phenomenal world arise? It manifest from the 8 Consciousness. How did the 8 Consciousness arise? It arises from one ignorant thought. There is a saying, “A thought of Ignorance gives rise to  three subtle aspects (of basic ignorance , subject and object), that interact with the conditions in Phenomenal Realm to give rise to six coarser aspects (1. Knowledge 2. Continuous Responsiveness 3. Attachments 4. Names 5. Karmic deeds 6. Sufferings).” (一念无明生三细，境界为缘长六粗) When we are facing all the phenomena or objects in this world, we apply our understanding that they are all manifestation of our 8 Consciousness which are in turn caused by ignorant thoughts of false thinking. So as long as we do not raise a false thought in our mind, we will return to our True Mind that is without Self and attachments.

 

 

In the teachings of Mere-Consciousness, there are many terms. For example, all the arising-and-perishing in this Phenomenal Realm is known as Dependant Origination (依他起性). It means to follow or depend on the arising of the causes and conditions to fulfill the functions of Eye Consciousness, Ear Consciousness and so on. The Perceiver Division / Ability-to-Perceive Mind (见分) of the 8 Consciousness causes our Self-attachment to arise. The Perceived Object / Phenomena / Division (相分) of the 8 Consciousness is the source of our attachment to dharmas. We cling to the Perceiver Division of the 8 Consciousness and take it as Self. We cling onto the Perceived Division of the 8 Consciousness as dharma. This is the origination of “Self-Attachment” and “Attachment to Dharma” and it is known as Fabrication of Conceptual Attachment / Fabrication of Universal Attachment (徧计所执性). Under the circumstance of following the arising and perishing of conditions in the Phenomenal Realm, we fabricate our Universal Attachment to all and believe that “I” am seeing, creating a Self that is seeing and an object phenomenon that is being seen. This creates Ability-to-Perceive Mind (能缘的心) that belongs to the Perceiver Division (见分). The Perceived Object (所缘的境) that belongs to the Perceived Division (相分). This is how the Self-Attachment and Attachment to Dharma arise. Mortal beings will instantaneously follow the arising conditions and fabricate attachments to all, creating attachment to Self and dharmas.

 

 

After having this understanding, we should at the instant of any arising causes and conditions, stop fabricating Conceptual / Universal Attachment and return to Ultimate Reality (圆成实性). All these terms such Dependant Origination, Fabrication of Conceptual / Universal Attachment, Ultimate Reality, can be confusing. This is how we can return to our original nature within our True Mind. If you don't understand this Mere-Consciousness teachings, it will be discussed in more details in later parts of this Shastra. In short, a thought of Foolishness creates 8 Consciousness that manifest the Ability-to-Perceive Mind (见分) and the Perceived Object / Phenomena (相分). We have mistaken the Ability-to-Perceive Mind as Self and thus causes Self-Attachment to arise. We have mistaken the Perceived Object / Phenomenon as dharma and this causes our attachment to dharmas. These two attachments are known as Fabrication of Conceptual Attachment / Fabrication of Universal Attachment (徧计所执性). Now when we encounter all the arisings that depend on conditions in this Phenomenal Realm, we just need to stop the fabrication of Conceptual / Universal Attachment and then return to Ultimate Reality (圆成实性) of the Reality Nature / Noumenon Realm (本体界).

 

The above explanation is about the third Fundamental Affliction - Foolishness and Ignorance, and how we can sever it. By understanding all dharmas in the Phenomenal Realm and Reality Nature Realm, one can instantaneously return to True Mind by ceasing all attachments to the Phenomenal Realm. This method will uproot our Innate Ignorance / Non-Enlightenment (根本无明) and Secondary Ignorance / Non-Enlightenment (枝末无明).

 

 

The fourth Fundamental Affliction is Arrogance. Arrogance refers to the feeling of superiority over others and possess the tendencies to look down on others. Regardless of the facts and reality, upon comparison with others, one will somehow feel more superior in all aspects. This is called Arrogance.

 

There are 7 types of arrogance.

 

Towards those who are not as good and as good as oneself, one does not bother about them because they are not as good or almost as good. One feels superior over them in any way. This is called Arrogance.

 

Towards those who are better than oneself, one feels they are not superior as one see them as on par with oneself. This is Over-arrogance. In such obvious situation, they are more superior but because of arrogance, one still feels they are on par. This is arrogance which has exceeded the normal level and has become too much. Therefore, this is called Over-arrogance.

 

 

Towards those who are obviously very much better than oneself, one still feels more superior out of arrogance and this is called Arrogantly Over-arrogant. This arrogance exceeds the normal level by a lot.

 

The fourth type of arrogance is to treat this arising-and-perishing, impermanent Non-Self as “Me”. When one likes to impose upon others, always feels more superior than others, has the habit to control, order and instruct others and still feels one is deemed fit to do so, this is called Self-arrogance.

 

 

The fifth type of arrogance is called Excessive Arrogance and is usually a trait among people who cultivate. When one cultivates meditation, Dharma Gateway, Recitation of Buddha or Mantra Chanting, one may see various signs and assumes that one has some spiritual powers. However, in actual fact, these are the illusions that manifest from a deluded mind. In this case, one’s arrogance has exceeded the original level and scaled to a new level. One will think that one has possesed spiritual powers or one has gone into the first dhyāna, the second dhyāna, the third dhyāna in their meditation or one has attained First Fruit, Second Fruit and so on. Once a cultivator attains First Fruition, one has already attained Non-Self and severed Self-Views (我见). In the mind of a person with First Fruition, one has no Self and will not say “I have attained First Fruition”.

This arrogance of Self is known as Excessive Arrogance and is only found in cultivators.

 

 

The sixth type of arrogance is when one puts up a façade of arrogance, does not look up to anyone and acts as if one is good in everything and nothing bothers oneself. However, one feels inferior deep inside and this inferiority complex has caused one to put up an arrogant façade. This is known as Inferior Arrogance because one is so inferior deep down inside and is fearful that others will look down on him so one pretends to be excellent to cover the feeling of inferiority.

 

The seventh type of arrogance is the Unrightful Arrogance and can be classified under Externalist or Non-externalist. When others do not praise him, he will self-praise and boast of his achievement. However, when the tasks are assigned to him, he encounters problems in doing each and every thing. So his self-praise is just an attempt to seek reputation and advantages and this is called the Unrightful Arrogance.

 

On the other hand, in some externalist practices, for example one cultivates ascetic practice in the belief that it will bring merits and are willing to give up their life for such practice. They believe that ascetic practice will build merits, remove karmic debts and attain Fruition and Nirvana. However, this is different from the Buddha’s teachings of Nine Levels of Samadhi to Nirvana (九次第定的涅盘). Without the Mindfulness in Samadhi as taught in the Buddha’s teachings, all ascetic practices are non-meritorious and unable to remove karmic debts and attain Fruition. Nevertheless, they still go around propagating their practices and look down on those who do not practise such ascetic practices. This is known as Unrightful Arrogance and is found in externalists who think that their dharma gateways are the best and are very special, despising other cultivations and practices.

 

 

As explained above, Excessive Arrogance is found in cultivators and Unrightful Arrogance is found in externalists. What are the differences? The first difference is that Excessive Arrogance is an arrogance developed from the meritorious cultivation while Unrightful Arrogance is from non-meritorious practices. Cultivators with Excessive Arrogance have a little merits but have boasted that they have auspicious merits. In fact, their arrogance have exceeded their meritorious cultivation and thus known as Excessive Arrogance.

 

The second difference is that Excessive Arrogance is found in Buddhist cultivators and externalists while Unrightful Arrogance is found only in externalists.

 

 

The third difference is that Excessive Arrogance is found in saints and mortal beings while Unrightful Arrogance is found only in mortal beings. In the Hinayana, Sages with First, Second and Third Fruitions, may in moments of mindlessness give rise to Excessive Arrogance. Although they have severed sakkāyadiṭṭhi / View of a Self (萨迦耶见), the Sages in a slip of mind, still display Excessive Arrogance as that habit is still around and the corresponding karmic seeds are only under control and not totally cleaned out. In the Mahayana Bodhisattva Path (大乘菩萨道), according to Distinct / Separate Teachings (别教), Bodhisattvas before the Fourth Ground, still give rise to arrogance in a slip of mind. However, as their Wisdom of Samadhi and Contemplation of Cessation are very powerful, they are able to detect the arising of their arrogance and cease it before creating any bad karma.

 

The above are the three differences between Excessive Arrogance and Unrightful Arrogance.

 

 

How do we overcome Excessive Arrogance? We can contemplate on the pitfalls of Arrogance by questioning ourselves. If we continue to be arrogant, what faults do we have?

 

Firstly, an arrogant person cannot accept the suggestions of others or accommodate their comments. Over time, one becomes narrow-minded because one always thinks one is more superior and need not listen to others. When one sees others who are better, one will not feel remorseful but maintain that there is no need for changes and improvements, giving the excuse that one can also be likewise but has only chosen not to do so. We have mentioned about people who have Remorse and Shame (under Eleven Wholesome Dharmas) will look up to virtuous people and hope to become one as well. So when one is arrogant, one will not have remorse and shame in their mind.

 

 

Besides, arrogance will hinder us from becoming good listeners as one has no respect towards others’ views and will not be humble enough to seek teachings. These characteristics obstruct one’s cultivation. One will have little respect for the Triple Gems (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) and does not listen to Buddha Dharma, cultivate faithfully or study under a sangha. By not listening, contemplating or cultivating Buddha Dharma, one will end up obstructing one’s cultivation. So arrogance stops us from being humble and respectful. It grows into conceit and one starts to despise all. This will cause one to do a lot of unwholesome deeds especially the serious offence of despising the Triple Gems and thus embroiled in transmigrations and sufferings.

 

 

We need to reflect as to why we have taken so long to cultivate and yet have not attained enlightenment. Maybe arrogance is the reason. If one has read a few sutras, cultivated Dharma Gateways, studied under good advisors, frequented Dharma places and changed a few Dharma teachers but still cannot cultivate successfully, one may have to ask if one’s arrogance is creating the obstacle to cultivation. Arrogance can cause our cultivation to stagnate or improve at a very slow pace. To overcome arrogance, one has to always hold a heart of remorse and shame, especially towards the Triple Gems and then humbly seek and learn Buddha Dharma through hearing, contemplating and cultivating. Before one attains Fruition or Enlightenment, one still has to be remorseful for not yielding results in cultivation. With this in mind, one continues to practise humility and respect to overcome the arrogant mind.

 

 

The fifth Fundamental Affliction is Suspicion. It refers to the tendency to suspect and habour disbeliefs, causing one to hesitate and not able to decide on matters. One can easily observe those who have roots of suspicion. They will usually first suspect instead of believing what is being said. When one buys something, one has fear of being swindled. When one does business, one has fear of being betrayed. When one is in courtship, one has fear of being cheated. After marriage, one has fear that her husband has extramarital affairs because he stammers and is vague in his speech. When a person with a suspicious mind comes to learn Dharma, he will suspect the Dharma teacher by finding faults in the teacher’s behavior. So when he spots certain teachings that are in his opinion, not aligned with Dharma, he will not have faith in the teaching and will also have doubts about himself. Regardless of which Dharma Gateway, he tends to doubt his own roots and ability to cultivate and will also doubt the Dharma teachers, the Dharma and himself. You may ask what is the root cause of such Suspicion. This is because one has not understood the True Nature of Non-Self and thus unable to generate a firm Resolution in one’s decision.

 

 

In general, there are 6 reasons why one habours suspicion.

 

The first reason is that one has not heard of the Buddha Dharma and so will have wrong views that lead to suspicion. To overcome this obstacle, one must frequently listen to right teachings of the Buddha Dharma so as to rectify one’s misunderstanding and suspicion to build beliefs and faith.

 

The second reason is that one finds fault in Dharma teachers or errors in the teachings. To overcome this, one has to understand there is a difference in attainment between oneself and the Dharma teacher. So if one is less attained in cultivation than the Dharma teacher or good advisor, one will not be able to understand and appreciate their wisdom and thus the countless skillful means might also be misunderstood. So one may observe why the Dharma teacher uses different means to teach different students and will also change the method daily. This may cause one to misunderstand that as favoritism or dislike. This type of suspicion that comes from one’s lack of faith towards the Dharma teacher will affect one’s progress in cultivation regardless of who the teacher is.

 

 

The third reason is that Buddhism has branched into a few schools and factions and sometimes the teachings may differ. We have Hinayana (小乘), Mahayana (大乘) and Vajrayāna (金刚乘). In Hinayana, there are Theravāda (上座部), Mahasamghika (大众部) and so on. In Mahayana, there are more schools such as Eight Sects, Ten Sects and so on. In Vajrayāna, there are four main sects and each sect has their sub-sects. Sometimes we hear Hinayana and Mahayana pitching against each other and then comes Vajrayāna. So when one is reciting Buddha’s name, one may wonder if one can count breath, go for anointment and participate in Puja. One will be full of questions and starts to compare the different Dharma places and the difference in teachings. One teaching teaches Existence while another teaches Emptiness, one says can be done while another says cannot and one says can eat meat while another says must be vegetarian. There are so much verbal fighting and just about the food we eat, it is already a long argument. With so many schools and sects, the opinions and ways of cultivation are also different. All these will cause a beginner to be confused and full of doubts. One may try to understand that Sakyamuni Buddha had expounded the Dharma from True Mind for forty-nine years. All Hinayana and Mahayana are expounded by Him but why He did not struggle with these Dharma within Him. The reason is He has already returned to True Nature and different Dharma is meant for different beings with different roots and circumstances. Just like different medicine is meant to heal different illnesses. Without the ultimate wisdom of a Buddha and thus the skilful means, we will not be able to understand and thus various doubts and suspicions arise over the different views from different factions and schools of thoughts.

 

 

So when we have not realised our True Nature, we will always be discriminating and building attachments based on our own understanding. This causes us not to be able to assimilate the teachings of various schools and factions into our True Nature. Unless we have realised our True Nature, we will not be able to return all dharmas into the True Mind and then express them naturally from our True Mind. So before returning to our True Nature, one tends to have suspicion. How can one realise one’s True Nature? There are a few methods which we had mentioned. For example, one can cultivate the Contemplation of Emptiness, Contemplation of Non-Self or Wise Observation through the teachings of Mere-Consciousness. Once you realise the True Nature, you will be able to assimilate all dharmas and perfectly interfuse them in your True Mind.

 

 

The fourth reason is the suspicion of one’s ability. Perhaps it could be one’s stupidity or foolishness that one does not understand the Phenomena and Reality, the Phenomenal Attributes (事相) of all dharmas and the Reality of all dharmas. When one goes for Dharma talks, most of the time one is drowsy, unfocused or cluttered with false thoughts and the Dharma cannot be planted into the mind. Maybe one’s foolishness is more severe, so one will suspect when one is unable to attain or raise awareness. One finds it hard to believe because one is unable to actualize the benefits of cultivation and feels that the Buddha Dharma is very difficult and profound. Otherwise, one feels that one cannot attain the spiritual powers mentioned in the Sutra or that of the Great Bodhisattva. One feels that these are some far-fetched phenomena and become doubtful of achieving them. What should one do? One can repent on the obstacles from the past innumerable eons and diligently repent on obstacles on understanding and cultivating Dharma, especially Repentance based on Truth (实相忏). One has to understand that all beings have inherent wisdoms and virtues of a Buddha that have yet to be realized. This inherent True Nature is obstructed by obstacles from afflictions, knowledge and karma. We have to believe that everyone has inherent Buddha Nature and build our confidence that we are able to attain and return to our Buddha Nature. Since it is inherent in us, as long as all the obstacles are removed, we will be able to attain and return to our Buddha Nature. This kind of strong faith is very important for our cultivation.

 

 

The fifth reason is that one is unable to penetrate and understand the profound teachings of the Mahayana on the True Nature of Dharma.

 

The sixth reason is that one is unable to understand the vast teachings of the Mahayana. The vast teachings are skillful means to benefit different sentient beings and are expounded based on different circumstances and roots of the listener.

 

How can one overcome suspicions due to the fifth and sixth reasons? In cases like these, we have to diligently read more Mahayana Sutras and be enlightened on the Prajna Wisdom of Emptiness. When we realise our True Nature, we will naturally be enlightened on the profound teachings of the Mahayana and understand its vast teachings. This is because once we return to the True Mind, we will naturally be equipped with the vast skillful means.

 

 

The above explanation is about Suspicion.

Today, we have completed the introduction on the five Fundamental Afflictions of Greed (贪), Anger (瞋), Foolishness (痴), Arrogance (慢) and Suspicion (疑). Tomorrow, we shall continue with Improper Views.

 

May these merits be dedicated to all and

May All walk the path to Enlightenment.