The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra

Master Shen - Long 神龍祖師

© 2024 by Master Shen-Long All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the artist and publisher.

First published in 2019 in the United States of America.

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The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra

A General Explanation of Prajna Wisdom by

Master Shen - Long 神龍祖師

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About Master Shen-Long Master Shen-Long is otherwise known as Master Sheng-Yao (courtesy name: Xiao-Yao 逍遙 or personal assumed name: Shen-Long 神龍, Tai-Yi (the great purity) 太一, Tai-Chu (the great beginning) who seeks enlightenment 太初道人, and so forth). He is an artist, calligrapher, writer, poet, philosopher, Buddhist master and the founder of the Enlightenment Power Mind School. He has conducted public talks on many Buddhist scriptures including the Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra (心經), the Sutra of Infinite Life (佛說大乘無量壽莊嚴清淨平等覺經), the Buddha speaks of Amitabha Sutra (佛說阿彌陀經), the Essential Annotation on the Amitabha Sutra (彌陀經要解), the Great-Strength Bodhisattva (Mahasthamaprapta) Chants/Mindfulness Amitabha in Perfection to Become Buddha (大勢至菩薩念佛圓通章), the Suramgama Sutra (楞 嚴經), and the Vimalakirti Sutra (維摩詰經).

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Master Shen-Long 神龍祖師 is with Amitabha Samadhi mudra, wishing all sentient beings who view this portrait to become Buddha.

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Preface to the Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra 般若波羅密多心經序 This Heart Sutra is the essential Prajna (wisdom); it is a wonderful door to the teaching of the Buddha. If one can understand the profound meaning within, then one is a Buddha Bodhisattva.

This scripture I explained publicly in 1999 was translated by the Great Master Xuan-Zang, in fact it is a reliable edition and is concise and easy to understand.

If readers carefully learn the content, and have heart-to-heart comprehension, then there must be some inexplicable state of enlightenment. If so one can awaken to the truth - the noumenal universe as the true nature of the manifest world – and attain the state of nonattachment, and instantly have the enlightened mind in perfection.

It is the end of the year during the coldest time, the mountains are loaded with snow, sitting next to a small red clay stove inside a bamboo cage, warms my intrinsically enlightened sincere devotion, only to write down this preface to transport my utter sincerity. Politely wishing that people who have seen my teaching materials, all can return to the ocean of omniscience with perfect wisdom attained by Shakyamuni on attaining Buddhahood and maintain the self-nature of eternal peace and tranquil light within. Until then, all living beings and Buddha are silent, the eternal realm of truth (Dharma realm) is nonexistent and vanished, wouldn’t it be free flowing the original intention of the Buddhas, the whole is in perfection!

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Precisely:

徹始徹終本來無, 皆大歡喜畢竟空。 From beginning to end there exists nothing originally, to everyone's delight and satisfaction it is absolutely immaterial.

當知念佛波羅密, 即是諸佛妙心經!

All ought to know the mindfulness of Amitabha Paramita, that is the wonderful Heart Sutra of the Buddhas.

Master Shen-Long praises respectfully

Auspicious Year

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Master Sheng - Yao With two palms together in Buddhist salutation in homage to all

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Opening Gatha of the Sutra The supreme, extremely profound, and marvelous Buddha teaching, It is difficult to encounter through the trillion existences of world periods.

I now see Buddha and hearing his truth, to accept in mind and uphold, I vow to thoroughly understand the true doctrine of Tathagata.

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The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Having perfect insight into being master of oneself Bodhisattva (as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara-Guan Yin) while cultivation into the profound Prajna Paramita (perfection of wisdom) to initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive that the nature of the five Skandhas1 (five aggregates) – all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness are nonexistence. So, release oneself from all obstructions caused by suffering and misfortune.

Listen Shariputra, all material forms are not different from immateriality; immateriality is not different from all material forms. The essence of all material forms is immateriality; immateriality is indeed the essence of all material forms. The other aggregates - feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness are the same as this.

Shariputra, the characteristics of all existing things (form or formless) are immaterial (the absence of inherent essence in any phenomenon), it is neither arising nor ceasing, neither impure nor pure, and neither increasing nor decreasing.

Therefore, within immateriality which does not have material form, there is no feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness.

No eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind. No sight, sound, smell, taste, tactile objects, thought.

It is non-existent of the Realm of the Eyes, up to and including the non-existence of the Realm of Mind and Consciousness. Non-existent of the unenlightened condition, also non-existent of the ending of the unenlightened condition, up to and including the non-existence of aging 1 The Five Skandhas are the five components of human beings - all material forms, the feeling towards all material forms, thinking that starts from feeling, the mental formation from thinking continuously, and consciousness.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra

and death, also the non-existence of the ending of aging and death.

There is no suffering, source of suffering accumulation, the cessation of suffering, and the way leading to the cessation of suffering. There is no attachment to Prajna wisdom, also no attachment to what one acquires.

Being in the state of nonattachment to what one acquires, hence the Bodhisattva relies on Prajna Paramita (the perfection of transcendent wisdom), hence they have no hindrance in one’s mind. There is no hindrance in the mind, hence non-existence of the frightening and terrifying, keeping one away from cognitive distortion, dreams, and wishful thinking. Reaching to the ultimate Nirvana (the imperturbable stillness of the mind after the fires of greed, hatred, and delusion have been finally extinguished).

The Buddhas of past, present, and future all rely on Prajna Paramita, hence the attainment of Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhi (the Supreme Perfect Enlightenment).

Hence, knowing Prajna Paramita is a Mantra of Great Dharani, a Mantra of Great Luminosity, a Mantra of Unsurpassed, a Mantra of Rank Unequalled. It can get rid of all suffering. It is real and not false.

Hence it is said the Mantra of Prajna Paramita. It is recited like this: Gaté Gaté Paragaté Parasamgaté Bodhi Savaha!

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The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Before I explain the title of this Sutra, I need to make a statement and let everyone know about the origin of this sutra.

We all know that there is a well-known Sutra called the Diamond Sutra. The Diamond Sutra is the expansion of the Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra (the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom). The so-called expansion also means the Heart Sutra is the quintessence of the Diamond Sutra.

It is the central axis. If you understand the Heart Sutra, then you are certainly proficient in the Maha-Prajnaparamita Sutra, consisting of 600 volumes (delivered by Shakyamuni in four places at sixteen assemblies) as translated by Master Xuan-Zang. What is called “being proficient in” means you have comprehended and experienced entry into the Buddha truth.

Today I will, to the best of my ability, try not to use Buddhist terminology to expound, because for those that have studied Buddhist terminology, while they may understand it, the general audience would have a problem examining it deeply. Today I will only talk about the word Prajna (wisdom).

Listening to scriptures requires patience. During listening, you need to concentrate your attention completely. After you finish listening, do not think about it over again. When your mind is crystal clear; this is called Prajna.

What is the function of Prajna? Its function is wisdom. Because Prajna has multiple meanings, in which wisdom only represents one of them.

Prajna originates from Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the Indian language which has multiple implied meanings. The Heart Sutra, everything it says

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra is in itself; it is the central axis of multiple implied meanings. Here I have Introduced the general concept to everyone.

Now, let us formally go into the Sutra title. Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra, as I just said, we are going to talk about Prajna. Understanding Prajna, before Shakyamuni Buddha was born to this Saha land, in India there were 96 groups of non-Buddhist teachings (unorthodox). These so-called “non-Buddhist teachings” were seeking the dharma outside of the mind. People were all looking for so-called “wisdom”. These people had very high meditative concentration skills; not what we ordinary people talk about such as the very ordinary exercise of quiet sitting or Yoga. They are all in the stage of entering the realization. This so-called “the stage of entering the realization” means that they see with their own eyes, hear with their own ears, even their six supernatural powers were gradually recovered.

What did they see? They saw the phenomena of the universe, like we speak about the Milky Way galaxy, this state is called throughout heaven and earth, as we talk about “Heaven”. How many tiers of Heaven can they see? Heaven has 28 tiers.

This happened before Shakyamuni Buddha was born. This was the attainment of those ascetic practicing monks, or practitioners of Brahmanism, and from other religions. However, there was a problem: they knew the outcome of something, but do not know the cause of the outcome.

In other words, we know this phenomenon today, the so-called “phenomenon” - where we come to listen to the scriptures, which brings us all together, there are the four elements of “people, event, place, things”. One knows this phenomenon, but one does not know the contributory cause and condition of how people come together. Of course, there was a small portion of people who knew the contributory cause and condition, maybe not that thoroughly.

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The most important problem is that many people who have attained a very high level of attainment want to make a breakthrough and want to achieve complete selflessness to no longer have the concept of “self-I”. One wants to attain this goal but cannot achieve it.

Why? It is because one still has attachment. One practices through spheres of eight levels of meditative concentration which comprise the four meditation heavens of the Form Realm and the four formless concentrations of the Formless Realm.

In Chinese culture, Daoism mentioned this. Daoism is the teaching of Lao-Zi (the founder of Daoism and the essential book of Daoism, the Daodejing); there is also another person named Zhang Dao-Leng, but we must not confuse his way with Lao-Zi. In Daoism, Lao-Zi speaks of: The Way that can be described is not the universal and eternal way.

Regarding the universal and eternal way in Daoism, the condition of realization is very similar to those 96 groups of non-Buddhist teaching, but it is not the same.

If you have studied Confucianism, you also know that the Chinese often mention: Sincerity, right mind, to cultivate one's moral character, to govern one's family, to rule a country, to pacify the country.

“Sincerity” is precisely Samadhi (state of intense concentration achieved through meditation).

Zeng Guo-Fan (1811-1872; Qing dynasty politician and military man) also said: No (distracting) thought arising is called sincerity.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Therefore, no matter what view and from which angle, each nationality that has wisdom, the condition they want to achieve is almost the same.

How come the same? They want to resolve the problems of life.

What problem? Afflictions.

Living in this world we seem to have infinite and boundless afflictions. Shakyamuni Buddha in his era talked about this, and he knew that all living beings needed to resolve this.

He stated that: Buddha cannot save people without immediate causal connection (like those who have no interest in Buddha's teachings.)

What is the immediate causal connection? It is a condition.

If you do not want to have enlightenment, he will not come. At that time, people wanted eagerly to attain enlightenment, and to resolve this round of mortality concerning oneself; so, Buddha appeared. He resided in this world for 49 years and spent 22 years explaining Prajna.

Why is this so important? Wisdom is very intriguing, just like a person with all five sense organs, except the eyes. Prajna is the eyes.

The eyes lead you to see all phenomena clearly, and by this way you can enter the true facts of the universe. This kind of wisdom we often use “light” to represent it instead. We constantly mention: Buddha or Bodhisattva emits light.

What is the light? It penetrates all; in this way it represents the ability of Prajna. Everyone has this ability.

How come we have lost it today? It is because our minds are too

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chaotic. From the moment we wake up every day until nighttime, maybe dreaming every night; the dreams are without ceasing.

What are dreams? It is your distracting thoughts and delusional thoughts. We are constantly unaware of these kinds of distracting thoughts and delusional thoughts.

Why are we not aware? Our minds are too rough.

If presently you have a bit skill, what kind of skill? It is your mind that can activate direct observation and penetrate crystal clearly. When you have this skill, superficially you can be joyous and laughing, like your everyday eating, sleeping, and having tea. Other people cannot perceive it, but your inner being is crystal clear. Whatever other people think, activating whatever kind of idea, you are completely clear. You could say this is a supernatural power, but in fact, it is not. It is a function you have after you have purified of defiling illusions. This is like Prajna, and while it is very close to it, it is not the same.

Why? You still have the “ego - I”. If you cannot remove the concept of “ego - I”, no matter how good your supernatural ability is, it will not work; this is called “outflow”. Like a cup with a hole, no matter how much water you put into it, it is ineffective.

Currently our society is very mixed, there are all kinds where some have so-called supernatural powers or extra-sensory perception, however, most of them have outflows.

(1) A person still exists with the ego “I”.

(2) A person exists with greed.

(3) This round of mortality (birth and death) cannot be resolved.

In that case, we need to activate our observation directly and penetrate clearly in every phenomenon.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra How to observe this directly? You need to be especially clear: Regardless of what you are learning, it will generate residual effects.

What are residual effects? When you are not clear, you will walk down the wrong path.

I have seen many people, where everyone tries very hard to cultivate oneself in the right practice seemingly to become a Buddha tomorrow, rushing forward continuously and incessantly, and thus, one rushes to the wrong place. The main reason for this is that one does not have Prajna and one's mind is unsettled.

Furthermore, Prajna is hugely different from knowledge and intelligence. Intelligence is when someone talks to you about anything, and you seemingly know it all, but you do not know its origin. For instance, the computer - we can access many different programs, and after entering the world of programs, it gets more and more amusing, but there is a kind of residual effect that makes you edgy. After 24 hours in it, you will go crazy because a kind of addiction is formed - this means it has become an obstruction.

What kind of obstruction? You mind has become attracted to it and become lost into these computer programs.

When using Prajna, it is different. Prajna has no delusion.

Prajna is for you to use these computer programs, and not be used by the programs. I use this method to explain this, and I believe everyone can understand this.

But how do you use it?

For instance, to everybody here listening to my talk, does your Prajna now manifest?

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I do not believe so.

Why does it not manifest? It is because you cannot control your subconscious, or what we often speak of as your so-called “stream of consciousness”. More scientifically, it is the fluctuation of your mind.

What is the “fluctuation”? When you see something good you activate likeness, and when you see something not good you will initiate annoyance; this is called “fluctuation”. This fluctuation makes you unclear.

Explaining further, a mind of yours should be like a mirror where all phenomena is reflected clearly from the mirror, but the mirror itself does not have the emotions of “happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy”. Of course, I am not saying that one does not truly have emotions of “happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy”; as if one did not have affections and feelings, it is not like that. It is knowing you are not deluded by it. When you are not deluded, it activates a function.

It activates what function? It is called going with the flow but not following the bad example of others. You are not apart from society, you hang out together to have food and drink with them, however your mind is clear, and you know when to do what. Also, you are not in opposition with them, in addition you are to the satisfaction of all, and are also able to be at the urgent and important moments (as in moments of life or death) to help them.

How to help? There are two ways: one way is knowing where one’s ending place is after death, and in that instant, if they can accept your way of thinking and looking at things, then you may turn their thought successfully. The second way is before their life has ended, which is precisely this moment right now, you use an ingenious method to reveal their shortcomings, and let them self-awaken. This is a very simple method. However, the problem is that you need to be awakened beforehand.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Regarding this “awakening”, it is seeing all phenomena clearly, as described in the sutra text: To initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive that the nature of the Five Skandhas (five aggregates) – all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formation, and consciousness are non-existence.

Omniscient penetrative illumination is just like a light; originally this room was dark inside, but when you turn the light on, you can see everything in this room - this is the function of wisdom.

Clear perception is without discrimination and attachment. It is different from the ordinary way of using the eye to see, it is the mind without any defilements. This way seems difficult for the people of the modern era. Why? It is because we have never had this kind of education before or been in touch with the teaching of the Buddha. There are two kinds of this form of education, either the religious way or the academic way.

Sometimes the religious way makes people feel conflicted. Why? It’s because of superstitious belief.

The academic way is more complicated and has too much terminology and names that are not easy for letting a person to become purified of defiling illusion.

These are the problems of our modern era.

Returning to our main topic, if you can see yourself as composed of ions, then I congratulate you; you are starting to enter Prajna, the so-called becoming enlightened.

Becoming enlightened in what? You truly understand the source of the universe.

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The source of myriad things is what? That is the origin of all phenomena, such as the mountains and rivers, Earth, people, events, places, objects, germs, ants, and all phenomena. Everyone has this ability.

I have mentioned this several times already. Why am I continuously emphasizing this point? It is because you do not use it; it is such a pity and of no benefit to you.

We people are living in a dream, how do you live in the dream?

Telling the truth, all is not worthwhile. Today you are either very rich like a multi-billionaire or you are in dire straits and dejected, or you are of mediocre quality, or you are tired of living - it all does not matter, for all is unreal.

Why do I say it this way? All of you think, from when you were very little until now: What have you gained?

Also, what have you lost?

If you have this concept, it is called Prajna insight.

Why? Because you have seen clearly, you have broken the concept of time and space. So, if your mind attitude is calm and orderly like this, then when other people laugh you will also laugh with them.

Why? You can perceive their situation, but you are not deluded by it. In addition, you are not only into their situation, you are unrestrained physically and mentally.

Today, honestly speaking, living in this society is very exhausting. I believe all of you are on average over 25 years of age, and like those of us who are middle aged are probably all in a kind of decline, as our lives are, step by step, closing in on the next life. In this kind of environment, how do you remove the concept of time and space?

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra This is very important.

We have so many things that need to get done, and if there was nothing to do, our inner mind would become anxious and restless. This is normal. If this kind of phenomena did not exist, then everyone would become Buddha, one that is able to do as one pleases entirely. So, if you want to resolve the affliction of birth and death, it is most important that you start from Prajna. The simplest way to start is to learn how to be disillusioned with all and cast off all your attachments.

Just a moment ago, we mentioned a major phenomenon - life is but a dream. How do you maintain a clear-headed condition within this dream, and resolve this dream with the round of mortality (cycle with birth and death)? I think these are matters of vital importance.

I just offered all you need to see through everything. Seeing through everything is not like what is described in novels: "to reject the world for a monastic life". This is the wrong way of doing. Seeing through everything is when your mind no longer has any worries; it is not to detach from this human world, everything is the same as usual in all walks of life. If you are an entrepreneur, you are smooth and steady running your business. If you are retired, you play golf daily and happily.

Your mind has nothing to worry about anymore, this is the difficult part.

I think everyone knows this; everyone wants to be without worries.

How to be without worries? It is simple, seeing through everything is to see the true facts of reality. There are two ways: (1) Using analysis.

(2) Using cessation insight, meaning to be calm and have an insightful mind through any external disturbance and delusional thought.

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I am going to talk about “analysis” first. For instance, on this table there is a cup, clock, and a piece of paper. Now with new scientific developments, explanation of this is now easier, for they are all composed by ions. When you place these objects under an X-ray, they become transparent, and when you place them under infrared ray they turn into another dimensional space and placed under the ray of αβ they turn into another phenomenon. It is thus clear that they are fluctuations of ions by a combination of equations. If you have this concept, then making money will be very pleasant.

Why? Money is a fluctuation, so is your mind. If your mind is without fluctuation, then bills of money are controlled and used by you.

All of you need to think: why does your mind fluctuate?

You take all matters seriously and are overly attached to them.

Regarding “taking seriously”, it does not mean to tell you to not take work seriously, one must not misinterpret this, I do not mean it this way. “Taking seriously” means that your mind knows what you are doing and you are trying your utmost to do it, but the amazing thing is that when you are doing it, your mind will not be affected.

For instance, even under a clamorous environment, your mind is unmoved. Why is it unmoved? You are not affected by it! However, your mind also knows the conditions of this clamorous environment, therefore you need to use the way of analysis.

A person like us who is unable to see through everything, we are precisely incapable of doing analysis. For instance, if you like someone or dislike someone, you need to analyze this person: is this person's physical body not composed of carbohydrates?

We are largely unfamiliar with this concept. If you apply scientific

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra concepts to live your life, your life will be very pleasant.

But a scientist cannot escape from one thing, which is their cycle of birth and death; he will eventually die, and even if he has studied it thoroughly, he still will not be able to control his birth and his death.

Of course, we have also heard many reports, for instance: it is believed that if you rapidly freeze the body and wait 500 to 600 years, then endow it with life, maybe you will come alive again. While this theory sounds funny, it expresses how scientists are starting and trying to resolve the phenomena of birth and death. They do not know that solving “the phenomena of birth and death” is a dream! It is because there is no birth and death.

Do you not see we are going through the cycle of birth and death daily?

We get up from bed in the morning, a thought arises, then no thought exists; when we go to bed at night it is the same way, where a thought arises, then no thought exists. For 24 hours, we go through the cycle of birth and death.

Why does this phenomenon exist? It is because of matters you are unable to understand and unable to see it clearly.

Let me talk about this further in-depth: I just mentioned “Cessation Insight”; what is it? It is when you see all “people, events, places, objects”; your mind and body does not fluctuate. When you see a person, your mind is completely without fluctuation, then you are very clear about what this person is thinking. This ability, speaking honestly, is something you have never lost; the problem is that you have not used it.

Our mind is very strange; when we try to handle a matter, it varies from person to person, however, we all have experienced the following situations of being fickle and impatient or being wishful and

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demanding. While this is unpleasant to hear, we all have greediness and are reluctant to give up - this is precisely where the problem is. If you have no greed and know the impossibilities but continue to persevere, I congratulate you! You have finally set one foot forward and taken one step towards enlightenment. For instance: To make money, do I not compete with others?

Do I not argue with others? Yes, you must do that. But you do not use the thought of greed to argue, and you do not use a competitive mind to argue.

Then many people will ask, since it is this way, what do I make money for?

People normally outdo each other intentionally and so they are puzzled by it, either they go beyond the bounds of what is right or lose interest in their driving force. Therefore, living in the world, everyone has a different way of thinking and looking at things, which also means each person has different attachments and delusional thought; that is, each person has different dreams. If we manage those different conditions and after we are clear with it, then you control this dream. We need to cultivate ourselves in the right practice to correct our way of thinking, doing, and looking at things; this is very important.

Therefore, today we are speaking of Prajna; if you can use a method to calm your mind, to have your mind be unmoved by any phenomena to a certain extent, then so-called Prajna can also manifest.

How to be calm?

How to be fixed and undisturbed?

In general, there are many ways, such as to thoroughly penetrate with meditative insight, practicing esoteric cultivation, or mindfulness of

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Amitabha. People need to think about which method best fits them. If none of them fits, then I encourage you to take 10 minutes every day in your house either laying down or sitting up or standing, it does not matter what posture you are in, to relax and not think about anything.

The average person is unable to do this; one cannot even do it for one minute, let alone ten minutes.

Why is it that one cannot do it? One does not have this kind of habit.

We need to form a habit of being able to relax at any time and in any place. This is very important.

This kind of relaxing does not mean you do not care - this mental attitude is extremely subtle. This is not to say that you are not concerned with everything; rather, it is to reduce pressure on yourself, whether in front of the public or alone by yourself. Some people, when in front of the public, will be ill at ease and uncomfortable - it is the pressure. Also, at the time one faces oneself, and during that moment of transition, one gets agitated - this is also called pressure. This kind of problem needs to be resolved by the right method.

Relaxing; in fact, to speak bluntly, when one has achieved true relaxation, then that is called “meditative concentration to Samadhi”.

“Meditative” refers to absolute purity. “Concentration to Samadhi” refers to completely without fluctuation in body and mind. One must not misunderstand “relying on the teaching of Zen Master to thoroughly penetrate with meditative insight in the teaching of the Buddha” as to meditate by just being seated there; this is only one of a thousand ways.

In fact, the high classification in “Samadhi level” is the mind unmoved every second.

For instance: When war is coming, one sees war as a dream.

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Would a bullet hit him?

Basically, he does not react to it. Even if the bullet penetrates the body, one’s body is transparent.

This is not a fairy tale; it is because you have not entered enlightenment. After awakening and entering enlightenment, just like scientists obtaining evidence, after verification one genuinely sees it.

Before, I talked about how atoms and ions exist, modern scientists have admitted it to call fluctuation. This is very intriguing; thirty years ago, scientists were still unable to prove it; why can they do so now? The scientific instruments are more advanced now.

To say it negatively? Scientific technology is king, but the human mind has not advanced.

Currently we tend to rely on scientific technology too much, which will hugely ruin us, for it will be hard for the human brain to recover back to their normal stage again. Therefore, when people talked about the year 2000 coming, we all became nervous. We were afraid by that time we were going to run out of water and electricity, which was all controlled by computers. If your mind is purified of defiling illusion, this kind of phenomena fundamentally would not exist.

Why? All the Milky Way galaxies are an illusory dream and vision in bubbles.

When a person has truly seen the true facts, then one can see the fluctuation of all the stored memory banks in the brain. This is very scientific and can be tested.

For instance: many people do not believe they had a previous life, or they do not believe in the six destinies of reincarnation, but hypnosis has proven to them that they had a past.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra For instance: one was an extraterrestrial, an Egyptian, an American or from all other countries. How they died is documented in history records, and one can even find one's tomb.

There is a book called Many Lives, Many Masters; I believe many people have read this book. This book was written by a western scientist and sought to prove whether the six destinies of reincarnation existed. It proved that a person has reincarnated not just one life but many life terms through many existences of world periods, which represents phenomena. This phenomenon shows that you had infinitely boundless dreams - we call it illusory dreams and visions in bubbles.

Now every one of us is in a dream where is a person talking about Prajna (wisdom), to which everyone listens to it, and all of this is stored in the memory bank. You need to break through this phenomenon, your mind needs to be in an internal state of imperturbability; at least to a certain extent of Samadhi state, this is very important.

This kind of Samadhi state we have just mentioned is to be relaxed always. We need to learn to relax, starting with the physical, from your way of sitting, your attitude of speaking, the words you speak; your “eyes, ear, nose, tongue, body” produces “sight, sound, smell, taste, touch”; idea (thought) and consciousness must be unmoved.

If you feel bored, it shows your rejection of this dream.

If you feel excited, you still have attachment to this dream.

If you feel you are without choice, you misunderstand this dream.

What kind of misunderstanding? The unenlightened condition lack of understanding.

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These are all phenomena. Our minds offer answers to us every second. Our minds are too rough; therefore, an ordinary person does not understand. To cultivate oneself in right practice is not go to the Monastery that is only one method. Just like “relying on the teaching of a Zen Master to thoroughly penetrate with meditative insight in the teaching of the Buddha” it is unnecessary to be in a seated position.

To cultivate oneself in right practice is during your thought arising in the mind. To have thought arising in the meditative concentrated mind, then this level of Samadhi attainment, speaking directly, exceeds “practicing through spheres of eight levels of meditative concentration which comprises the four meditation heavens of the Form Realm and four formless concentrations of the Formless Realm”. This still is “conditioned” concentration, there are ways to follow. If it is “unconditioned” concentration” (unconditioned, is a term referring to anything that transcends conditioned existence in the state of our world), its level will be very far-reaching, and too profound.

Today we do not talk about this “unconditioned concentration” for the time being, because everyone here cannot feel it with their hands, and this type of “unconditioned concentration” is cultivated after one has eradicated the unenlightened condition to become a Bodhisattva, like Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva - this class of figures who effortlessly achieved enlightenment leading to nirvana. This is too difficult for the ordinary person, there is no way to imagine this - it is inconceivable.

Today, we only talk about the environment of our current mind, how to stabilize your inner mind, how to let you have less worry, even to the extent of how to face your death.

As I have just mentioned what is the direct condition of it? It is just like a searchlight that shines over everything. It is like sunlight that

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra penetrates the Earth. Now there is a problem - you do not let it shine on you, you open an umbrella or run into the house. Your mind is not open; this is the problem. Nowadays every one of us talks about privacy rights, this is a serious problem. If you have the idea of privacy (secrets), it means your mind exists with variations.

What kind of variations? Some areas you are unable to think with clarity, and cannot be disillusioned with all, which is where the problem is.

If a person lives under bright prospects, honestly, if you can attain a certain extent of bright prospects, this problem of birth and death will also be gone. Birth and death itself are non-bright, we constantly think of death, where death is the dark side. Frankly speaking, we now look outside and see that the color of the sky is dark, but when your mind is fixed and undisturbed, you will see that the color of the sky is bright and shining.

How come? Your mind is shining, whereas the entire universe is dark. This is merely a hypothesis right now, and whether you can become enlightened is not included in this discussion for the time being. Today I am just speaking about phenomena.

Secondly, the situation of using “Cessation Insight” is like water; there is no place it cannot flow through which also means that there is nothing it cannot pass. If you make your own path very narrow, being unhappy everywhere, that is called asking for trouble. This and Prajna (wisdom) are directly related. You want to recover this pure instinct; you must not make life difficult for others. Especially the condition of your subconscious, for instance: We often conduct ourselves, Firstly, obviously not liking the situation, but you had to put on a smile face.

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Secondly, simply speak out with blunt statements.

Thirdly, put it all in your mind and do not let it out.

However, for a person who uses Prajna, one will not have this problem and any word from one's mouth will all sound right.

Why is it all right? It is not that he himself thinks it is right; rather it is pleasing to other people's ears. Everyone should give this a try.

If you think you are a happy person, then you need to think - why do you stand in opposition to people?

If from now on you are not in the opposite, then your head is clear. Becoming clearer to the level of being without burden, then this person is called “starting to become enlightened”. This so-called “starting to become enlightened” as if having a little experience for oneself regarding this cosmic life. This is very important.

This already is not a matter of age, nor is it necessarily a matter of personality maturity - it depends on whether your mind is influenced by the outside world or not. Honestly speaking, the outside world has no influence on anyone; it is your own discrimination, attachment, and delusional thought.

Some people constantly mention: “Fate and fortune tease man”.

I also constantly refer to a sentence: "Fate is personality, fortune is one’s encounters".

If your personality has changed, your encounters will also change, so think about this.

Everyone knows this proverb: The rivers and mountains may change, but not one's essential

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra nature. (You cannot change who you are, can a leopard change its spots?).

This sentence is a killer to many people; I think approximately 80% were ruined by these words. One does not feel one can make the change; it is a pity to be limited by one's own restriction.

Originally, our life condition is not this way; everyone’s appearance is also not like this way. “All phenomena manifests from the mind!” Since all phenomena manifests from the mind, why is it that for some people when we look at them, it seems we like them all? When we look at him, we feel very pleasant, like being soaked in the warm and cozy spring wind, and we love to get close to him. Some people when we look at them, we respect them but keep a respectful distance.

Even sometimes we look at ourselves, one day we look good, another day we look ugly, the next day we are looking good again.

Sometimes when we are in a bad mood, for a couple months we are disgusted with ourselves entirely, often a person is angry alone, and makes life difficult for themselves. I trust a lot of people are feeling that way. Where does it come from? It is because your mind has misleading views and ways of thinking, which produces this kind of phenomena.

Modern psychology cannot resolve problems; it can only provide phenomena. However, Prajna is different: Prajna resolves the problem thoroughly but does not hinder phenomena.

Therefore, a person with wisdom whose body and mind are cheerful, he can laugh out loud definitely. You can be at ease; his laugh is neither from a suppressed inner feeling nor squeezed out by force. His way of laughing is relaxed; even if he is alone by himself, he also laughs.

He is not a mental case, nor does he have a psychological problem; he is under the state of rejoicing from tasting the teaching of the Buddha, he is pleased.

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Why? First, he has resolved his biggest problem: he has ended the phenomena of birth and death.

I think everyone will envy him.

I hope to give an answer to everyone to not only be envious, but to show that everyone can have the same attainment, you only need to change your concept. Change to the concept of learning Prajna.

Every one of us who come to this world has a mission. It is the mission of learning to return to the pure state and without defilement, which is the fundamental essence of the universe.

In Buddhism, they talk about the Buddha-nature within oneself, which is precisely one’s own enlightenment nature without any taint.

In Zen Buddhism, they talk about one’s original face (true features).

In Esoteric Buddhism, they talk about “Dzogchen - Great Perfection” to attain and maintain the natural primordial state or pure natural condition.

Christianity and Catholicism both talk about the supreme and unexcelled, the omniscient and omnipotent. In fact, this “supremacy” represents yourself, but nowadays people all mistake it for the other false impression.

Jesus, through his whole life what did he demonstrate? He demonstrated wisdom. When he was crucified on a cross, he made the statement that he would resurrect in three days and then he proved it.

What did he prove? He does not have the phenomena of birth and death. Therefore, he resurrected. He used this kind of education way to teach people at that time.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra What about those of us in the East? There was the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, Hui-Neng. The teaching of the Buddha was transmitted to China during an early time. Later it was annihilated in India, but in China it reached a great height of development. The most well-known story was about the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism. He was illiterate and did not know how to write, like a person without education.

When he went to see the Fifth Patriarch, the Fifth Patriarch asked him: "What do you come here for?"

He replied: "I come here to be Buddha."

It was strange that he could answer this way, for he did not know any words, how could he know?

He also stated that: The mind of the disciple constantly expands with wisdom.

Wisdom is Prajna. We are not like him.

If the Master were to ask us, we would say: "The mind of the disciple constantly generates afflictions". This is for sure.

For if you do not have afflictions, you would not become human. The Chinese character for human is “人” and has a left-slanting brushstroke and a right-slanting brushstroke, which displays having either gain or loss, right or wrong, good or bad, virtue or evil, and so forth. This is the antithetical theory.

Let us look at the Sixth Patriarch, after he clearly understood the true facts of the universe, this so called “having achieved supreme enlightenment” is called understanding life in the universe thoroughly.

What was his experience? It is the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch.

The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch was a recording of

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his words after he became enlightened. A “Sutra” is a guidebook. If we want to have enlightenment, we follow his method; this is the origin of Zen Buddhism. Very simply, his method is to be disillusioned with all and casting off all attachments. His way of being disillusioned with all and casting off all attachments is to do them in an instant. Even if we cannot do it in an instant, we should try. Let us practice it for 10 years and see if it works or not.

If we cast off one grade of our delusional thought and attachment daily, then you will have one grade of wisdom, one grade of Prajna; the purpose is to resolve this illusion of birth and death. Although it is an illusion and you still need to work on it.

Under what kind of situation will you do it? When you truly understand clearly, then you will do it.

However, when you do it, again you would say: “It is correct that I have understood it all, but I cannot do this.” This shows you have not truly understood, and you have not seen clearly.

To have true clarity is when you are willing to use the enlightenment concept daily to live your life. What is living with the enlightenment concept? It is being purified of defiling illusion and being equal.

The so-called “purified of defiling illusion” does not mean avoiding, like taking a nap, running away, or leaving home to become a monk or nun. There are no such things. “Purified of defiling illusion” means that one does not have the concept of taking for one's own regarding any matter; or more directly, it is to be without covetous (greedy) thought.

This greedy thought in the Chinese mind is exceptional. Since ancient times to today, this “greediness” is far-reaching. From the aspect of food, except for airplanes which they cannot eat, they consume all. In China, Taiwan, and elsewhere, this has caused karma.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra In China, in Taiwan, or elsewhere, this has caused karma.

What is Karma? It is delusional thought and attachment.

For one's greediness, one lets the self and other people live restlessly everywhere. Therefore, today if we need to use Prajna, you need to learn Buddha’s way.

What is learning Buddha’s way? You are preparing to become Buddha, and no longer fool around in this secular world, and are no longer conducting matters with “greed, aversion, and ignorance”.

“Aversion” is anger after one does not get what one desires.

“Ignorance” is after a person gets angry for too long and becomes confused and unable to distinguish between right and wrong. Therefore, this kind of phenomena in this society causes people to pursue things stubbornly and blindly. We need to think, we also have quite a bit of “greed, aversion, and ignorance” in our mind; how to remove them? Very simple. Change the concept, change to the Buddha's concept. Because the Buddha's concept is in harmony with the rest of the world but also does not depart from the world.

Therefore, the greatest phenomenon of a Buddha is what?

He has purified of defiling illusion. The mind without fluctuation and without defilements is called Prajna.

I have continuously talked from the beginning of this chapter until now about having “no fluctuation” – like having an unmoved mind, this state of being “unmoved”, everyone please by all means do not misunderstand, it does not mean to act as a dead person or as a blockheaded person. I have said many times, the mind is set and cannot be changed and cannot be deluded. The greatest problem of our humanity is precisely that we are deluded; we are deluded by sentiment, environment, and by figments of one’s imagination; we then create an

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illusion that lets ourselves be reincarnated, let ourselves enjoy, and let ourselves be in agony.

If you want to stop this phenomenon, then I need to advise everyone that besides relying on the teaching of Zen Master to thoroughly penetrate with meditative insight in the teaching of the Buddha, or cultivation in the way of Esoteric Buddhism, you should be mindful of Amitabha. People of the past few hundred years mistake having mindfulness of Amitabha as a method for old folks to practice, or for uneducated folks who are the hopeless ones, to let them go at that, and we tell them to have mindfulness of Amitabha.

Mindfulness of Amitabha is what condition? Nobody knows.

Where do they go? No one knows.

What is the theory and doctrine of it? No one knows.

This is the biggest problem. Especially in current society, people still do not understand having mindfulness of Amitabha.

Why? They do it with lack of understanding and by being superstitious.

I walked down many of these paths myself in the past; I was in contact with Esoteric Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and Pure Land Buddhism, and others like Catholicism and Christianity. I discovered a phenomenon where people are all superstitious, and they follow the masses and repeat what everyone says.

I constantly encounter many people who tell me: "Buddhism is very good."

But when you ask them what is so good about it? They cannot explain.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Other people say: Buddhism is superstition.

When you ask them how is it superstition? One answered that they worship idols or other things and cannot explain clearly at all.

Therefore, may I offer a bit of advice for everyone, if you truly want to change your body and mind, you ought to become familiar with the teachings of the Buddha. After all, what is the teaching of the Buddha?

Because Prajna is the core of the teaching of the Buddha, after you understand Prajna, then you will naturally be proficient in the teachings of the Buddha. After understanding the teaching of the Buddha, then your Prajna is much easier to access.

I just talked about the mindfulness of Amitabha, what is the meaning of it? Let us examine the word “mindfulness 念”; the Chinese word combines the two characters of “今” which means “now”, and “ 心” which means “mind (heart). Now, at this very moment, what is the state of your mind? “At the moment”, is precisely the instant your mind is undeluded.

What do we speak about when referring to the mindfulness of Amitabha? It is your mind right now that is crystal clear and understands directly.

“Buddha” is absolutely and plainly clear. Everyone, do not misunderstand, this is not only to imply a line of verse – Amitabha; it is not. The original meaning is for you to be without delusion every second - this is called mindfulness of Amitabha. Over time, this fundamental ability of all living beings has become worse and worse.

What is the fundamental ability? It is one’s ability of implementing and comprehension.

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Therefore, mindfulness of Amitabha can be divided into three kinds; the most simple and common is relying on the name of Amitabha.

What is relying on the name of Amitabha? To have mindfulness of the name of Amitabha.

It originates from the Infinite Life Sutra; the Buddha speaks Amitabha Sutra. Amitabha made 48 universal vows, in his 18th vow refers to: Having mindfulness of Amitabha wholeheartedly ten times, one certainly will be reborn into Amitabha’s Pure Land.

Returning to the topic if we apply Prajna to look at this 18th vow.

How to look at it? It is very simple: when your mind has been purified of defiling illusion until there are ten pure thoughts, you then, because of the power and energy of the great vow of Amitabha, will see your original pure without defilement kind of life force energy. Therefore, here is a very important issue, it is not superstition; it is after your mind is purified of defiling illusion and you truly see it. Just like many people who practice “meditative concentration to samadhi” and can see the six realms of reincarnation truly exist, Heavens and Hells truly exist. He knows it very well, but he does not say it.

Why? Other do not believe it.

Then who expounded the Buddha speaks Amitabha Sutra, the Infinite Life Sutra? It was expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha.

Therefore, in this cognitive sphere, only practice it yourself. How? It is to have mindfulness of Amitabha.

Why do I promote mindfulness of Amitabha? Because it is convenient. You can put effort into it at any time and any place and it will not break.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra What effort? The effort to remind yourself to have a clear mind will not break.

This is the same as the way of Zen meditation, but it relies on one’s own ability.

If you are mindful of Amitabha without a delusional thought for 24 hours, then you are into the state of “entering into meditation by tranquilizing the body, mouth, and mind”. However, this delusional thought has not ended, this state is “united with Amitabha in your mind”.

To progress to the next level, the delusional thought being cut off, then you enter the state of “wholehearted concentration on Amitabha without scattering”.

What is “wholehearted concentration on Amitabha without scattering”?

You have attained the reward of Arhat, the state of selflessness, and cut off afflictions of views and perceptions.

The next level is called “one mind undisturbed in enlightenment”.

It is like what I have just mentioned, where thought after thought is without delusional thought. You are still mindful of Amitabha but completely without distracting thought. What does this mean? It means you do not have attachment; you have eradicated the “unenlightened condition” which is equivalent to the cognitive sphere of the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism.

For us to attain the cognitive sphere of the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism is too difficult. We also cannot attain the level of Arhat.

However, to have mindfulness of Amitabha and to unite with Amitabha without distracting in each thought-moment, everybody can do. Your cognitive sphere to apprehend the ultimate essence of things is without duality or distinction from the cognitive sphere of all Buddhism sects;

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but there is one specialty, that is you have the support from Amitabha’s power of vow. Granted your realization of the truth is not up to the highest level, but you only need to get to 20%. It means that even within one day, if your mind has purified of defiling illusion for 20% of the time, you will have the opportunity to go to Amitabha Pure Land. If only at 10% it is hard to say, at 20% there is a chance. Of course, if you go above 50% then you are confident with success. But I cannot demand this of you, I can only let you know about this phenomenon.

In Taiwan, many people are mindful of Amitabha when they approach their end, without sickness, have no suffering and entry into the state of meditative concentration. However, the average person is unclear about this and does not know how the person died, too many stories which increasingly pile errors on top of errors. But at least there were 400 to 500 people who had a pure body and mind, no defilement, and were crystal clear when they left. This is truly not easy to attain.

This kind of situation, simply stated, is a miracle in Christianity, yet it is not. Frankly speaking, most of them who have gone were ordinary unenlightened people, perhaps a few senior monks and great virtuous ones. In general, some of them even were illiterate and they relied on the name of Amitabha.

Why? An aged person with nothing to do. One thinks about the name of Amitabha daily, mindful to the end and casts off all attachments.

After casting off all attachments and there is no more pressure. Exactly what the Sutra describes: One knew exactly when to go to Amitabha Pure Land and knew when Amitabha comes to meet and receive. When he told the people around him, people thought that he might be beyond cure? Or was he going too overboard with a superstitious belief?

Yet strangely, his time and the situation all occurred as to how he had described. He left either by standing or sitting, and you cannot say this was not a miracle. However, the issue is these people were ordinary and

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra simple, and were nothing special. Therefore, Amitabha and Shakyamuni Buddha speak repeatedly in Sutra scripture and declare. Furthermore, he says that all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas everywhere encourage everyone to use this method of mindfulness of Amitabha to enlightenment.

For those who rely on the teaching of Zen Master to thoroughly penetrate with meditative insight in the teaching of the Buddha: honestly speaking, individuals who have truly entered enlightenment like the cognitive sphere of the Sixth Patriarch are very, very few - cannot say that there are none. Secondly, the practice of Esoteric Buddhism having “body, mouth (words) and mind” united with the Buddha is truly difficult to attain. Especially for the ordinary unenlightened person, it is not possible to be that way, and without their kind of training, it is impossible. As the result, it is better to rely on the name of Amitabha.

What is the cognitive sphere that is realized from the name of Amitabha? Most people do not know.

Buddhist Sutras have already stated this, but we are careless and overlook all of this, but the sphere of one's realization is the same as Amitabha’s personal realization - 100% Prajna (wisdom). This is the reason I talk about Amitabha Pure Land - it is directly related to Prajna.

His mind has already been purified of defiling illusion and without rising afflictions, therefore, under this condition, the benefits and merits are extremely infinite.

Everyone during ordinary days is all busy with things to do, and when you deduct the time of eating and sleeping, and further deduct time for your delusional thoughts and afflictions, think how much time of clear-headedness do you have? Probably what is left in your lifetime is less than 10%. If you truly concentrate on the mindfulness of Amitabha and form a habit of mindfulness of Amitabha daily - the habit of enlightenment - then I congratulate you. You will naturally know when

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to resolve your cycle of birth and death. Because you are all here today, I need to offer a method to you, otherwise all this talking is wasted.

Because Prajna, by using other methods to attain is too difficult, even if your supernatural powers manifest before you, it is no use; it has no connection with supernatural powers. I have seen many people have supernatural powers; they truly have this power, and can even achieve many inconceivable situations. But I am telling you, they have piles of afflictions. Why? Just like I said, they think life is real.

If after arriving in Amitabha’s Pure Land, you relook at this world, that will be different. You have recovered complete purity, and will not be confused about the world anymore.

When you are not confused, you do what? You go to save and convey all living beings to deliverance. At that time, you are helping sentient beings completely.

Why? You have the ability, not only are your six ubiquitous supernatural powers recovered, but also you have supporting power from the infinitely boundless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and after that you yourself become enlightened which leads to Buddhahood in perfection.

Therefore, do not underestimate this name of Amitabha; when you are mindful of Amitabha, you arise and resonate with all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and you already enter their world, only you are not aware and do not understand. When the favorable circumstances are ripe, your mind will be crystal clear.

Therefore, the only function of Prajna is to have clarity. To have thorough clarity is called “achieving supreme enlightenment”.

Today, especially regarding the word Prajna in the title of the Sutra, if you do not understand it, what the following scriptural text talks about will be harder to understand, very hard to understand.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra What is the core that is explained inside the Heart Sutra? It is the central axis of infinite bright light - Amitabha.

Therefore, when we are mindful of Amitabha: “A” means infinite.

“Mita” means quantity or capacity.

“Bha” means enlightenment.

You may say it represents a Buddha's name, or it represents all Buddha’s names of the ten directions of the universe and from the “past, present, and future”. It is the name of our own nature within. Therefore, when you are mindful of Amitabha daily, it is to remind you not to forget that you yourself has infinite radiance, infinite wisdom, infinite supernatural powers, and infinite lifespan. Strange, (it is to remind you) how did you become this way today?

Therefore, this name of Amitabha has infinitely boundless functions, the only principle is for you to be mindful of it with full sincerity. The so-called mindfulness with full sincerity does not mean to have mindfulness of Amitabha 24 hours. The mindfulness of Amitabha with full sincerity is to have a mind purified of defiling illusion, even if you are only mindful of Amitabha for one time in a day, that would be enough. This is very important.

To rely on the teachings of Zen Masters to thoroughly penetrate with meditative insight in the teaching of the Buddha or practicing Esoteric Buddhism is the same way; you must control your distracting thoughts and delusional thoughts, then you will be successful. Therefore, the true cultivator does not practice superficial formality, nor is counting how many Sutras they have recited, nor how many times you bow to the Buddha, nor how much money or things given when you make offerings, nor how much you practice giving. It is rather that you can

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truly understand thoroughly and truly cast off all your attachments.

In fact, speaking bluntly, practicing giving should be giving all your afflictions away. Throwing out afflictions first is more important, otherwise everything else is meaningless talk.

Therefore, in summary, the most important thing is that everyone needs to do it; I think you all know how. I wish that every one of you will seize your limited life to have mindfulness of Amitabha to apprehend the ultimate essence of things and enter those infinite lives.

Because Prajna if you do not practice this, you will never know its role.

To practice what? That your mind needs to be purified of defiling illusion.

If your mind has not purified, there is no way to experience that state of Samadhi (state of intense concentration achieved through meditation). That kind of intense concentration is not how we emphasize ordinarily about how your mind settles down. It is when neither motion nor stillness does not produce any function then it yields a kind of Samadhi. This is a very deep kind of purified state in the mind.

For instance: right now, all of you here, if you can use Prajna to perform observation on everyone, everyone is called the Five Skandhas (the five components of our existence) – “all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formation, and consciousness”.

Do these Five Skandhas exist? No, they do not exist. Things that are non-existent are hard to explain.

Five Skandhas – “all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formation, and consciousness” are the phenomena due to fluctuations of the mind.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra From the last week meeting to today, regarding your mind, if you can slightly start the function of being enlightened as the result of insight as seeing all phenomena clearly, then there will be some different receptions. You can experience all worldly phenomena that seem like illusory dreams and visions in bubbles. When you know it is a dream and a bubble, you then can know how to control it.

This so-called “control” means you remain unmoved. Although you remain unmoved, you are also able to do your duties very conscientiously and perfectly - this is the expression of Prajna, also exactly Prajna Paramita (perfection of wisdom).

Paramita is a Sanskrit term, and Sanskrit is known as the Brahma sound. It is the language of Brahma Heaven. Some of the spoken language of ancient India is also called Sanskrit.

Where is Brahma Heaven from?

Where are humans from?

When the Earth formed, beings of Brahma Heaven flew to our Earth and visited out of curiosity. After they landed, they initiated thoughts of greed and later could no longer fly again, so they stayed. This sounds like a fantasy story and seems like an impossible thing. However, returning to the subject, if you can have the skill of Samadhi level (state of intense concentration achieved through meditation), precisely you while cultivation into the profound Prajna Paramita (perfection of wisdom), then you will be able to see the true facts of the universe.

The origin condition of human beings on earth were from the Heaven of Brahma, from the Heaven of Abhasvara (Light and Sound).

We often speak of the combination of light and sound; seeing from the Divine power of all religions, or Buddha, or Bodhisattva, they all use light as a form of representation. This “light” has different colors that

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represent different pure conditions in the mind - this is very important.

Then this Paramita can be translated as ascending the other shore (nirvana). This shore here is the suffering sea; we go to the other shore of happiness and without afflictions, it uses this to describe that is Prajna Paramita – by using wisdom to ascend the other shore, using wisdom to detach afflictions. After you have wisdom, then no afflictions will be produced. After you have already seen the true facts of the universe clearly, what possible afflictions would you have?

Our human afflictions come in two kinds: One kind prepares for a rainy day, letting your imagination run wild.

The other kind is anxiety and fear, cognitive distortion, and fantasizing.

So, one day you are in a good mood, and the next day you are in a bad mood. Some people go home after listening to the Sutra explaining, in their mind the explanation of Sutra went well, their life is good. But after two or three days, one is no longer working.

Why? One’s old habits have flared up and one’s temper has turned bad again.

Why does one’s temper become bad, and again it flares up?

Because one is unable to get over it. I think everyone has experienced this.

Why? It is because one makes life difficult with one’s own ideas.

If you can see past it, then you will be in harmony with all and you will not flare-up anymore.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Why? You have understood thoroughly and think clearly. Your words and actions become pleasant, you do not set yourself against others, and do not make life difficult for yourself, this action resembles Prajna. But it is not, it is only understanding thoroughly.

Here talking about using Prajna to ascend to the other shore; that is different, and it is just like the description in the Sutra text: While cultivation into the profound Prajna Paramita (perfection of wisdom) to initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive that the nature of the five Skandhas2 (five aggregates) – all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness are nonexistence. So, release oneself from all obstructions caused by suffering and misfortune.

All his suffering including life and death entirely do not exist.

Looking at this Sutra title again, the Heart Sutra, first it talks about Heart, which has three implied meanings: 1. Quintessence: The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra is the most important part of the Maha-Prajnaparamita Sutra canon, it is the best feature. If you can understand thoroughly the contextual meaning of this section, your wisdom will develop, it is also equal to uphold the “Vajracchedika Prajna”. “Vajracchedika” means “eternally un-destroyable”, eternally indestructible and immutable.

Every one of us has this wisdom, why does it not seem to be there now? It is not that truly none is there, rather it does not launch its function. Therefore, Heart represents the quintessence.

2 The Five Skandhas are the five composition elements of our existence including, all

material phenomena, the feeling towards all material phenomena, the thoughts that start from feeling, the mental formation from thinking continuously, and consciousness.

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2. Heart represents “one-pointed concentration without scattering”.

Why “one-pointed concentration without scattering”? Why not say it is “three minds and two consciousness”?

Our current mind is known as “three minds and two consciousness (the 6th consciousness of discrimination, and the 7th manas consciousness of attachment)”. The “three minds” are the minds of the past, present, and future. We sit at home every day and we either think about the past, or think about this moment now, or think about the future. Here it talks about not thinking of the past, present, and future, then to think of what?

The mind does not think.

Why does It not think? The mind is fixed and undisturbed. After the mind is fixed and undisturbed, it initiates the function of omniscient penetrative illumination (wisdom).

In the Sutra text, to have perfect insight into being master of oneself (as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara – Guan Yin). It initiates the function of being master of oneself. I believe everyone looks forward to being the master of oneself, and furthermore, someone has already tasted it. But it is hard for us to maintain.

What is it called being master of oneself? Being master of oneself and “happiness” are not the same; “happiness” is a kind of reception that passes very fast; however, being master of oneself is not, it is to keep a kind of joyous with clear way of thinking forever. Regarding life, one knows all and is disillusioned with all. In this world, one is very proactively helping others, but one acts in accordance with conditional causation and does not accord with delusional thought and attachments; also, one does not act in accordance with the power of karma.

When I want to do things the way I want, that is acting in

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra accordance with the power of karma.

Acting in accordance with conditional causation means your mind has purified of defiling illusion and is not seeking anything.

Just like how we listen to Sutra exposition once weekly, it is produced from the fateful coincidence as connection from our past.

Not that you want to hold a class to hear the teaching of the Buddha, then everyone comes, you will succeed, it is impossible. This requires the completeness of conditional causation - predestined affinities, and it cannot be forced. If you know how to act in accord with conditional causation, your mind will be fixed and undisturbed, and you will not be afflicted by the specifications or concepts of society; this is the meaning of the second layer.

The meaning of the third layer: being in charge. If your mind can be in charge. Of course, the precondition is that your mind has purified of defiling illusion, which means it is undefiled and unadulterated.

We all know that the minds of the people of this society are all defiled. It is not truly defiled, but rather in their minds they feel discontent. We all can see the phenomena of this world currently, where minds are discontent, and therefore they not only fight in arguments, but also fight in love, they fight being discontent within themselves.

They are unpurified which is to say that their way of thinking, looking at things, thoughts, sayings, doing and so forth are all too chaotic, and does not stop for a moment. This is more troublesome than the outer environment.

Some people comment: “The outside environment is so bad, we cannot live, cannot stay”; this is only secondary, the true serious problem is the disordered mind. The mind is afflicted and is unable to figure out why?

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You ask him: “For what reason are you unable to figure it out?”

You explain all kinds of theory to him, he already knows it all. But he says: “I cannot do it.”

This means one has not truly got over it. If you have truly come around, it cannot be unachievable, it is also impossible for you to still have afflictions.

Therefore, everyone needs to think over these three layers of meaning representing this condition: you want to attain the condition of having perfect insight into being master of oneself, you must learn how to be purified of defiling illusion, this is where the importance lies.

Everyone knows the teaching of the Buddha has 84,000 methods to enlightenment. Every method is aimed at this problem of the purified mind. Last time I mentioned that currently the best and the most convenient method to enlightenment is the mindfulness of Amitabha.

Even Christianity also has mindfulness of the name Lord Jesus Christ; the principle is the same. They teach you to gather all your distracted thoughts and delusional thoughts to concentrate on the name of Amitabha; everyone knows this principle. But the issue is: have you achieved it?

If, for 24 hours a day, you can have 10 minutes without delusional thoughts, then your way of thinking and looking at things will change. You play an important role. It is not affiliated with external eating, drinking and being merry, does not relate with your profession in any kind of business.

It does not obstruct either your work or social activities; it belongs to Mental Dharma, therefore, it is called the Heart Sutra.

Mental Dharma is a condition which you need to practice during thought arising in the mind - this is most important.

This thought arising in the mind is just a thought moment.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra We feel very tired today, think about it, why are you tired?

95% of your physical capability is consumed by your delusional thoughts, is this right?

If you got up this morning with peace in mind, live life in a regular pattern, you are unlikely to have delusional thoughts. You sleep well, eat well, and whether you eat more or less, nothing stands in the way. Whether you are fat or slim, it is not a hindrance. Why? You join in the fun and play along according to local conditions, staying with people together is neither serious nor with attachment. Everyone has had this kind of experience. You have attachment and then you take something to heart, and then you will be angry with others. You need to be relaxed – need to be relaxed everywhere. Plus, to have mindfulness of Amitabha, do not just sit there and have delusional thoughts. While having mindfulness of Amitabha, one after one clearly, then your mind will not be disorderly, this is a useful method.

Therefore, in accordance with the Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra after your mind is purified, then you initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive. Having omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception emerges a state of concentration achieved through meditation. After having concentration achieved through meditation, then that wisdom is Prajna. This Sutra means guidebook. We speak the Holy Book (Bible) where “holy” means non-defiled guide.

Christianity talks about the Lord. What does the “Lord” mean? It means you can be the master of your own affairs.

Buddhism talks about being a Buddha, which means you can be a Buddha. What means being a Buddha? You can control your own life, your fate of life and death.

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We are currently all experiencing dispensation regarding the various forms of reincarnation, sometimes this way, sometimes that way, experiencing birth and death daily. Getting up in the morning one thought arises, five minutes later again one thought arises and one thought ceases, also, spending time being lazy and doing very little. What to do?

One thinks of a lot of tricks. But after thinking about tricks for a long time, you get weary and tired, wishing to free oneself from it but also unable to do so.

Think about it carefully inside everyone, we all have this problem – this is called “basic afflictions”. Basic afflictions are unseparated from three things - greed, aversion, and ignorance. If you have “greed”, then you surely have afflictions. For instance: eating too much will cause indigestion or diarrhea. The “cause” is greed; the “result” is discomfort in the belly and diarrhea. “Aversion” is greed for something, and when one cannot get it, one gets angry. No matter what it is, if things do not go in accordance with your idea, you then get angry. “Ignorance” is when one becomes muddle-headed and does not know what to do in this life and being confused the whole day living one’s life.

All of you here have a decent life, but you do not know what to do every day. You feel you are locked in a difficult condition, feel unwell, also cannot go deep into society either, there seems to be no way to save it. This speaks from the negative side. On the positive side, you have a job, you are now financially capable, you get to a certain level then help everyone. Is this so? No, this is not it. This is called phenomena.

Phenomena will change in accordance with the concatenation of cause and effect. You think it is real, then you are screwed. If you rethink clearly: life is fundamentally just a dream; to see what you do in this dream?

Since it is a dream, who is having this dream? I am having this dream.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Self-having this dream, then there is a way, can you control this dream?

If all of you go back to having dreams, you can control this dream, then congratulations to you, the round of mortality can be controlled by you.

Therefore, the School of Buddhism states: the most serious issue is you cannot control the round of mortality (birth and death). That is the trouble.

Being born, we do not know where we are from?

When dying, we do not know where we will be?

You only can follow the worldly ways of thinking and views of doing.

There is another serious problem - ego face. How many deaths are caused by this ego-face.

What is an ego-face? It is a layer of skin on our face.

How does this layer of skin take shape? It is from our secular way of thinking and looking at things.

Every day we live in this kind of narrow scope of life, constantly comparing yourself to others will surely make you angry at yourself. The problem is your anger does not go anywhere. Every day we all get angry; this is certain. Regardless if it is an immense anger or minor anger, you need to think, who gets hurt in the end? It is yourself.

One does not realize life is but a dream, therefore, one is unable to have a good dream; instead, one insists on having a dream that makes life difficult for oneself. This is very interesting, because ourselves are this type of person, and we all have this kind of experience, am I right?

We all want to free ourselves of worldly afflictions, but the fundamental problem is there is no such thing as freeing oneself, also

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the non-existence of afflictions; it is the restless and un-peacefulness of your inner mind. This is very important.

For instance: we come here, you sit there, the moment when your mind has purified of defiling illusion, you will perceive everybody’s way of thinking and look at things surely. If your mind is impure, then you are restless and unable to sit still, never mind the others. Therefore, everyone is different. If everyone can, within the scope of their lives, have their mind fixed and undisturbed for one to two minutes, this would be very beneficial to them. Of course, first you must change your concept.

Remove worldly concepts - ego face, money concept; after removing them, making money will then be easier for you.

Why? Because there exists no gain and loss.

Our society is precisely about gain and loss. Gain and loss has taken every one of us from our pure state into absolute defilement. Why? I say absolutely 100%, you have become its slave, and even after death you will not let go of it.

Many people still want to come back after they have died. Come back for what? To do things. One still wants to occupy one’s own way of thinking and looking at things in their mind.

All things already do not belong to one. Are there not many haunted houses?

The previous owner loved the house extremely, could not let go, so one comes back. These phenomena occur many times in modern society. In ancient times, of course this occurred too.

We have often talked about malicious spirits – is it real? It is surely real.

All phenomena of this world are real and there are no unreal ones. But let

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra me tell you, their veracity is only in a dream. If you know this is a dream, your life will change.

Change to what? Change to the world of ultimate bliss.

Everyone must not be superstitious; the world of ultimate bliss is not the religious idea that there is Amitabha Pure Land, do not be mistaken. That world does exist, that is a phenomenon and a dream too. However, that dream is unadulterated and has no cycle of birth and death, yet it is still a dream. You all must understand this thoroughly.

The purpose for my encouragement for everyone to go to Amitabha Pure Land is to let you all have a good dream. This dream after you go there, then you will realize that the purpose is for you to wake up from this good dream. If you are truly awakened, you are called Amitabha.

“A” means infinite.

“Mita” means quantity or capacity.

“Bha” is enlightenment.

The infinite this kind of life, inextinguishable spiritually, and inextinguishable materially.

Therefore, the function of Buddhism is absolutely not a religion.

Religion is superstition; rather, the teaching of the Buddha is an education.

Why do I mention this concept again? All of you are still unclear about this kind of concept. Especially the teaching of the Buddha, which you need to practice in your daily life, you need to apply Prajna Paramita in your daily life. You come to hear it once, you put it into practice once.

Give it a try! In your daily life, you can call other names and do whatever

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is needed to fix things up, which is no problem, but your mind needs to be purified of defiling illusion.

I am performing every second today, since it is like having a dream, there is no need to be overly serious. If you take it all seriously, then you are making things difficult for yourself. In the future, when you want to die, frankly speaking, you will be unable to die. Every person would be unable to die.

Why? It is because all of you in the past were humans and have been reincarnated into the six destinies of hell, hungry ghosts, animas, Asuras, human beings, and heavenly beings.

Why come back today again? You are taking a new lease on life again. Because every time all transforms into the same condition, you cannot get out of this reincarnation. Therefore, this is a big issue, you need to have insight of being master of oneself (as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara -Guan Yin).

[Sutra text] Having perfect insight into being master of oneself Bodhisattva (as Bodhisattva AvalokitesvaraGuan Yin) while cultivation into the profound Prajna Paramita (perfection of wisdom) to initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive that the nature of the five Skandhas3 (five aggregates) – all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness are nonexistence. So, release oneself from all obstructions caused by suffering and misfortune.

3 The Five Skandhas are the five composition elements of our existence including, all

material phenomena, the feeling towards all material phenomena, the thoughts that start from feeling, the mental formation from thinking continuously, and consciousness.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Commentary: To have perfect insight is precisely what we have just talked about as “purified of defiling illusion”. After being purified, only then it means to have perfect insight. If you have not purified, there is no way to have perfect insight. Therefore, to have perfect insight is using your mind to see, not using your physical eye. When your mind is clear, there is no confusion in all matters, only then can you see perfectly.

What do you see? You can see the past, the present, and the future.

In the other words, what are worldly problems? Because you are incapable to have perfect insight. You act impulsively and emotionally, you cannot have perfect insight, you are unable to be master of yourself.

Think about this, a person in this kind of life, we all know that we must face death one day. If your head fixates on this death idea, you will feel unwell. You think that: “It is inevitable that there will be one day I will be finished, so now I better hurry up and accomplish some projects that need to be done, or need to be handled, and it is best to complete them quickly.” To me this kind of mind attitude expedites death.

I recall that there was once an eminent monk, who returned to this life and was still in his mother’s tummy.

He said: “I do not want to come here again.”

The mom then said to him: “You have not been born yet.”

He replied: “Yes, because all living beings suffer extremely.”

We have all heard about the Tibetan living Buddha that returned to this life, and many eminent monks of China that have returned to this life; they are all Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas are enlightened living

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beings; they have already become enlightened and then come to help everyone to break delusions and achieve enlightenment.

This Bodhisattva who was in his mother’s tummy then already started to complain: “As all sentient beings suffer extremely, I have come here and may not necessarily be able to save everyone, but I have no choice, this is my pledged vow.”

This kind of Bodhisattva, truthfully speaking, was reborn based on their own compassionate vow. He is infinitely compassionate and merciful.

Compassion and mercy are what average people speak about as being universal love, but this is deeper than universal love.

Do you know why? It is because he is already selfless. He also has no others in mind. He is purified thoroughly.

If you still have the thinking of “I”, still have thoughts of “I” sacrifice to consecrate, then these attachments and afflictions will still approach. If you are without anything, then you become normal. Therefore, the Heart Sutra in the end states:

Being in the state of nonattachment to what one acquires, hence the Bodhisattva relies on Prajna Paramita (the perfection of transcendent wisdom), hence they have no hindrance in one’s mind. There is no hindrance in the mind, hence non-existence of the frightening and terrifying, keeping one away from cognitive distortion, dreams, and wishful thinking.

Therefore, to have perfect insight of being master of oneself Bodhisattva is what kind of person?

To have perfect insight into being master of oneself Bodhisattva,

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra to say the least, is someone like Guan-Yin Bodhisattva (Avalokitesvara).

An Absolute Universal Enlightenment Bodhisattva (Samyak-Sambodhi having attained the 51st stage of the 52 cultivation tiers), who is equivalent to Buddha, and who still has not eradicated the last one grade of the unenlightened condition or fundamental worry such as the first thought activation of un-enlightenment and confusion. Why do they not eradicate this one last grade of the unenlightened condition? Speaking honestly, if they eradicate this last grade of the unenlightened condition, then they will have no more contact with all living beings, for they will be in the state of Nirvana. The so-called “state of Nirvana” is to live in the endless spiritual source of all things eternally, thus they will have no connection with our dream.

Therefore, the Absolute Universal Enlightenment Bodhisattva (Samyak-Sambodhi) are very compassionate, but it does not mean that they cannot eradicate it. They would rather not eradicate the last grade, so they can be in our dream to help us, like Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guan-Yin). With regards to Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guan-Yin), regardless from which religious school, very few have not heard of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guan-Yin) is number one in the public consciousness, and Amitabha is number two.

In other religions, there are none who do not know about Jesus Christ, this shows their deep connection with all living beings.

Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guan Yin) represents infinite compassion and infinite mercy. Where “infinite” means to the utmost limit. Therefore, ancient people have said: Have the ultimate compassion towards one who does not have conditional causation; to have the ultimate mercifulness is based on sameness in essence.

It means that even if people do not have connection with you, you treat them equally.

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“To have the ultimate mercifulness is based on sameness in essence” is the same saying that we are all from the same origin in the universe. Some people say the source of the universe is called “God”; others say the source of the universe is called “Buddha-nature” – they are the same thing.

Who is in control of you? You are in control, no one else can control you.

In the Bible, it says: God creates the world.

Truthfully speaking, you yourself do the creation.

A person without wisdom cannot see the true facts of the universe, so seeing is vague. How do you know it is vague? If your mind has purified of defiling illusion to a certain degree, you will see crystal clearly all the worlds in the Milky Way galaxy.

Who can see it? Shakyamuni Buddha has already seen it.

Therefore, he speaks about the condition of the universe clearly, and left us 5,000 volumes of the Tripitaka which talks about the true facts of cosmic life - this is very important.

This can be proven, why is it that so many people know the past, present, and future during meditative concentration?

Many people, when looking at a person, know one’s way of thinking, looking, and doing, even to the extent of other related materiality. There is no other reason; one has already recovered the undefiled ability of Buddha-nature within oneself. Looking at those people who truly cultivate themselves in right practice: You asked them: “Do you have ubiquitous supernatural power?”

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra They would tell you: “No.” You ask any other questions, they would all reply: “No.” Do they answer correctly? Yes. Why is it correct? Originally there exists nothing. All ideas are from your own thinking. It is not that they do not want to tell you.

Buddhism mentions the phrase “indefinable” (truth that can be thought but not expressed); it does not mean that something cannot be said, rather there is no way to describe in words regarding the function of your pure essence.

All of you think, if you let go of your fate of life and death, you need to do one thing - to open your breadth of mind. People without an open breadth of mind, no matter how one practices, it does not work.

Why? A person with a narrow breadth of mind has two situations: one has bearing, one has sickness, so surely one will get sick. Secondly, in the future one will end up in a not so good place.

Why? Narrow people go to a narrow place.

A broad-minded person is naturally under the state of an endlessly vast and bright world. Therefore, narrowness itself has only one problem: one cannot let go of materiality. This materiality includes one's physical body.

Someone says: “My back is sore and has been aching all day long; there is no medicine that can cure it.”

You ask them: “What kind of sickness do you have?”

One does not know how to say it. Why? One’s mind has never been relaxed.

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You ask him: “Do you think about anything?”

He replies: “No.” Why? His unenlightened conditions are too serious, and he is already unable to have self-control.

Using the basis of meditative concentration to view it, all the spaces in this person’s head are packed tightly. It is just like an air filter that has not been cleaned; it is stuffed full and needs to be replaced.

Then you might say that the machine is still running, right?

Why is it still running if it needs to be replaced? I am telling you that is a forewarning before it breaks. One keeps on running for a short while and is probably broken.

We all know that when kitchen ventilators stop working efficiently and are unable to rid the smell of cooking, it still technically runs. But I am telling you, it is already packed tightly with greasy oil, and while the motor still runs, it does not function effectively.

Our brain is the same way; a person with a narrow breadth of mind is more like a kitchen ventilator completely covered with grease this is the reason. However, one will be defensive and say: “It is alright, I am still alive and running.” It is right that you can still move, it does not work, which is precisely called “living in a daze.” The more serious ones are like a “walking corpse”, insensitive to everything.

I have encountered a friend here who was about fifty years of age.

When we met for the first time, he asked me: “Look at me, what should I do in this life? I have done everything.”

This person was not joking; he was very seriously asking the

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra question and he wanted an answer. I did not speak then, and I said: “I am hungry and need to eat something.”

After we finished eating, we chatted freely the whole afternoon and did not talk about any serious matters until the evening and he still awaited my answer. I then asked him: “How do you feel from just a moment ago until now?”

He replied: “No feeling, to live is meaningless.”

I said: “There you go; since living is meaningless, you need to consider if you want to change this filter in your mind?”

He asked: “What kind of filter?”

I said: “For all your life you have been rolling around in the material world, your money will never run out for ten lifetimes, you have nothing but this.”

After he heard this, he was in an awkward state and did not know whether to laugh or cry. Because his life has reached its peak, that is all he asked for. His remaining life is to do what? He has nothing to do.

This person also has good merit, and he does not act recklessly and has no interest in anything else but making money. Thus, he has made so much that he is numb to making money and he does not want to make it anymore. The amount of his money-making is calculated by seconds, as in how much money per second can be made.

Therefore, all of you need to think about his situation; speaking honestly, all of us are this way. Only today we have not achieved our goal yet. This goal itself is without end. Unfortunately for him, he has already reached its end; he is approximately 49 or 50 years old and he has reached it. This is the blessed reward from his previous lives; however, his breadth of mind does not work.

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Why does it not work? He does not understand how to develop spiritually. This person has no spirituality.

What is spirituality? You are full of spirit and energy, and not spiritually demanding, spiritually happy, spiritually joyful. This is not bought by money. Money bought is useless. You cannot even buy it.

Money, do we need it? Leave it to fate. It cannot be demanded; the more you demand it, the more painful it will be.

You cannot but do it, so you use what mind to do? Do it without pressure in mind.

Everyone here in this room, some people who come here are rich people in exile, some people are under wealth status their whole life, and some are entrepreneurial and self-supported.

Is life hard?

If you feel it is hard, you have a problem.

If you feel mentally unsatisfied, you have a problem.

If you feel you have enough money, feel great and relief, you have more problems.

Why? You do not understand the truth of the universe.

We speak today about the so-called: “Growing up in blessing, one often fails to appreciate what blessing really means”. This “blessing” is not what we talk about in general. Blessing comes in several kinds: one is “blessed virtue”, one is “blessed reward” and one is “good fortune”.

“Blessed virtue” refers to a person who does good deeds with benevolence, and give alms of one’s wealth. Some people are wealthy but do not have benevolence. This “benevolence” is not talking about

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra kindness; it means one has greedy intention towards oneself and others.

A smart person knows all materiality is unreal, and to develop spirituality is real. He knows himself what he needs to do. He is a number one smart person. However, there are too few smart people in this world. Why there are so few? They are deluded by materiality and deluded by phenomena.

After one is deluded, if one still has “blessed reward” left, as we just mentioned “blessed virtue”, you have good fortune and wisdom too, it is pretty good. “Blessed virtues”: “virtue” is the function, refers to light. Your mind is bright, to have money is very good, but your mind has a bright light, a kind of joy called “blessed virtue”. This is different from meritorious virtue.

Meritorious virtue is much higher; meritorious virtue is where one does not enjoy self-blessed virtues but gives to others.

Who is like this? Having perfect insight into being master of oneself Bodhisattva (as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara – Guan Yin), Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta. All those Bodhisattva Manjushri, Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, Amitabha, Shakyamuni Buddha; their “blessed rewards” are indeed huge. The “blessed rewards” of Buddha has also extended everywhere over the universe, but he does not keep it for himself and gives alms to all living beings. Therefore, Amitabha who builds Amitabha Pure Land, such a wonderful place, he does not keep it for himself and instead gives to all living beings to enjoy. The merits of this kind of person, “merit” means pure mind and equality, when one has equality and purity is the “light”. This “light” is infinitely boundlessly bright. Therefore, the “blessed reward” of Amitabha is known as Infinite Light, Infinite Life.

The “blessed reward”, that is one class lower, one enjoys the blessed reward. The “blessed reward” is the same as money, which will

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eventually be used up, but there is also virtue. What kind of virtue? One helps all living beings.

Then what is “blessed reward”? That has a bit resemblance with all of you, it is not the whole reward.

What is it? In your past lives if you had repaired bridges and roads, gave alms to help others, in this life others will help you also. If in past lives you practiced money giving, you will have money in this life. If in past lives you practiced medicine giving, in this life when you get sick there will be people looking after you. If in past lives you practiced sharing the teaching of the Buddha, in this life you obtain the blessed reward of intelligence and wisdom. These blessed rewards can also be used up.

The last one is called “good fortune”, which means you have a good material life and within there is annoyance, like a mind with a million knots. Excellent in material enjoyment, but there are many things that do not fall in with your wishes.

You ask one, what is troubling you? Even one does not know.

Are you knotted inside? As if there is, as if there is not.

In general, when people comment: “You have good fortune”.

Honestly speaking, you must not be glad. Because, your inner mind has annoyance, you have many things that are not to your liking and contrary to your wishes, then this can be serious.

We have just explained from spirituality and materiality until now, what is it? We realize that we ought to be Bodhisattva to have perfect insight into being master of oneself (as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara – Guan Yin).

The precondition of being master of oneself is to have Prajna.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Prajna is precisely your mind wants to learn to be purified of defiling illusion; you do not learn and merely envy others, that is useless.

We have reached a point in this life, otherwise all of you would not be here to listen to this Sutra exposition. Most of you want to find a way to solve your current problems. Most people are like that, if all is smooth, the rich and noble do not want to be enlightened; fundamentally they did not have this idea at all. Let us look at government officials – none of them want to be enlightened, they will not. Why they are unlikely? They are already on the power boat. Therefore, ancient people had the sayings: Retires at the height of his official career in time to avoid misfortune.

Or stop at the edge of the precipice and before it is too late.

Today understand having perfect insight is purified of defiling illusion. At any time and any place your mind is purified and unaffected by any phenomena, then I truly congratulate you. Either you are making money, or working, or looking after others, or you are by yourself, your body and mind are in an extremely pleasant state and you are unspeakably happy.

Regarding this, I can let all of you know, I am a person who usually finds amusement in my own way. My way of finding amusement is very different, as I often do not think about what I am thinking. If you think that you are in the middle of enjoyment, then you would feel unwell, because you are afraid of losing this enjoyment.

What if in the future I lose it, what to do?

Is it not all over? People are having this problem.

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We are all the same as the unenlightened, we are not saints. Who is a saint here?

A saint would not sit here. Everyone is a common person.

Therefore, I tell my experience. When you do anything to devote your mind and concentrate. But you need to remember, when concentrating on this matter, you no longer have attachment to it. Do not say you forget it after you finish. In the moment of handling that matter has already been forgotten.

After accomplishing the task, when people praise you did very well, there is no need to be happy also. If people say you did badly, there is also no need to feel sad about it.

Why? Everything is unreal.

You are with everyone; it is called acting according to circumstances as taking part in merely accidental amusement. A hypocritical show of affection, that is it. If you are serious, you are making things difficult for yourself, also making things difficult for others. This is because while we stay in this society, we often speak insincerely.

Why? It is because of our ego face and fear that we will offend somebody.

In the dream, there is nothing of this sort.

When you speak insincerely, and others also talk insincerely, it is because you are in opposition to each other. But you are not now. You now see all living beings are Buddha, then you are at peace. Jesus Christ regards to living beings, he precisely is: “I am them” and “They are also me”; it is a kind of education.

Therefore, religion nowadays has changed, and quite distinct from each other as Christians and Buddhists are incompatible like water

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra and fire. I hope all people’s minds need to purify, need to change. All is caused by man-made attachments; this has no connection with the enlightened one.

If you want to widen your breadth of mind, it is very simple: you accept all sentient beings as the way as they are; no more divide, and no more ideas of I, you, or him; and then you will be very happy.

Having perfect insight into being master of oneself Bodhisattva (as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara-Guan Yin), you all should think attentively about this. If you want to be master of oneself, then you need to concentrate your efforts. At the time your thoughts arise in the mind, put aside your distracting thoughts and delusional thoughts, concentrate on making the effort. Either you are preparing for a rainy day, or you are worrying about this and that, remove them for the time being, after a while, you will naturally benefit from it. This so-called “benefit” is just that you can be in control. Having perfect insight into being master of oneself, there is an additional meaning, one integrates with all living beings harmoniously. In the past, there was a gong-an (a study case in Zen Buddhism) of a conversation between Su Dong-Po (1037-1101, a writer and calligrapher during the Northern Song dynasty in China) and Zen Master Fu-Yin: One day Su Dong-Po asked Zen Master Fu-Yin: “What do I look like to you?”

Zen Master Fu-Yin replied: “I see you like a Buddha.”

Fu-Yin also asked: “What do I look like to you?”

Su Dong-Po replied arrogantly: “I see you like a stool.”

Later when Su Dong-Po returned home he told his younger sister what had happened. His younger sister was very smart, and she said: “Brother, this time you lost.”

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Su Dong-Po said: “I did not, he looked like a stool to me, why would you say I lost?”

His younger sister replied: “The Master has a wide breadth of mind to see you as a Buddha, because he is a Buddha. Your breadth of mind is that of a stool, so you see others like stools.”

After Su Dong-Po heard this, he felt very ashamed.

We all know Su Dong-Po was the fifth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism – Zen Master Jie of another branch of the Zen School. He reincarnated next to become Su Dong-Po, and he forgot everything he had learned as a Zen Buddhism Patriarch. Those conversations were his verbal phrases, and he acted recklessly out of instant pleasure. He received the answer and thought he had the upper hand, and thus, his younger sister hit the nail on his head with one word.

We also are the same way, where you think “I have done all these good deeds, I am almost like a Buddha or a Bodhisattva”; you are having a dream. Or “I am atrocious and hopeless”, and you have these concepts which means you are imposing restrictions on yourself. Because these are ways of behaving and looking at things in daily life.

Or “I am an ordinary unenlightened one, this has nothing to do with me, I only need to be a good person and have a good heart and that is enough”; this is the source of your living afflictions. If you cannot see past them, then you will increase your afflictions and delusional thought, so your life will be lived awfully and without choice.

You say one’s life is good; one is also not living too badly.

You say does one feel happy? One is unhappy, without the happy feeling.

Since you are without any happiness, this means the whole day

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra you are in all obstructions caused by suffering and misfortune.

What is the most suffering? One’s heart suffers the most. The unhappy heart, no greater sorrow than a heart that never rejoices.

We say true sadness is when a heart dies and cannot live.

However, the ancients of Zen Buddhism have addressed: Ending thoughts on your mind, let your Dharma Body4 live.

Everybody knows this. This can be explained when your thoughts no longer indulge in flights of fancy, and the bright light of your life is recovered.

We often mention this “bright light”; to tell the truth, very few people can see the bright light. They are unclear what this bright light is. They mistakenly think that a little bit of happiness is the bright light.

What is bright light? It is when you no longer have any worries, including no longer worrying about the phenomena of life or death, you will have bright light.

We originally were in the state of neither arising nor ceasing, there was no variation of birth into death. We ourselves thought of it as such. If you become having perfect insight into being master of oneself (as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara-Guan Yin), you can then release oneself from all obstructions caused by suffering and misfortune.

While cultivation into the profound Prajna Paramita (perfection of wisdom), remember cultivation is the effort of implementation.

When the effort attains to the profound unfathomable, to the core.

When this kind of unmoved effort of yours is into completeness and then the moment your Buddha-nature within manifests – this is called to initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception 4 Dharma Body means an internal state of tranquility, exempt from all external sensations.

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to perceive that the nature of the five Skandhas5 (five aggregates) are non-existence.

While cultivation into the profound Prajna Paramita (perfection of wisdom), you have already crossed the suffering sea to the enlightenment and happy shore; at that moment, you will see all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness are unreal.

The Five Skandhas: Skandhas are a kind of aggregate, like a dream and a bubble, and these bubble assemble. In fact, they are the five kinds of optical illusions and mirages.

All material forms are the fluctuation of all phenomena of matter (materiality).

Scientists now have made this discovery, where before there were electrons, ions, neutrons, and now no more. Presently science talks about light fluctuations, fluctuations in thoughts. The most advanced and sophisticated science and technology all talk about this. Waves like a computer; our current computer nowadays can be replicated, right?

Forms can be replicated, and I heard that even humans can now be replicated; I trust that certainly can be done in future.

Then you ask, where does this kind of replication technology come from?

How do scientists know this?

How did he discover this? He discovered that there was a fluctuation.

What is a person with extrasensory perception? They are people who have not forfeited their original ability.

5 The Five Skandhas are the five composition elements of our existence including, all material phenomena, the feeling towards all material phenomena, the thoughts that start from feeling, the mental formation from thinking continuously, and consciousness.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Before there was a little girl, and she could see and penetrate through all substances. If you covered her eyes, her nose could also see; her six sense organs had interoperability and her ears could also see – this is inconceivable! When we hear this, we think that this is simply impossible, and that it sounds like a fantastical story, but it is true.

Why? She has already transformed herself to become a wave of ions, her whole head can see, and she is using the method to initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive.

Other people say it is some awesome one who can even use their pores to see.

Buddhist Sutras describe the disciples of the Buddha, and many of them have ubiquitous supernatural power, and every one of them has different kinds of supernatural power. In fact, the ten great disciples of Buddha all have identical ability in their supernatural powers, they only express their teachings differently.

You need to think, what is supernatural power? It is our inherent ability. Our inherent ability does not function currently.

Although, some people still retain a little bit of it. I have a friend whose supernatural power has not been lost. Since he was little, he could see things in different dimensions, and he could see the ghost and deity worlds. When he was born, his memory was not completely lost, and he knew which family he would be born into, and he very clearly knew how he reincarnated, and since very little, he could see certain phenomena. For instance: when he looks at a fish, he does not see it as we see it, he sees its bones. Why? When he was young, his teacher said goldfish are very beautiful, so he let them draw goldfish. Everyone drew fish, but he instead drew the bones of the fish.

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So, the teacher asked him: “Why are you drawing the bones of the fish? Everyone else is drawing pretty fish, and you draw fish bones.”

He replied: “No, it is not that way, teacher; I see you also as a skeleton.”

His teacher found him to be very strange and asked his parents about this, and his parents said: “Correct, he has this ability.”

His teacher did not believe this, so he tested him: “Since it is this way, how much money do I have in my pocket right now?”

He looked and immediately told the teacher how much money he had in his pocket. The teacher thought it was strange. His teacher then said: “Granted I have met you and seen this, I still do not believe it.”

He replied to his teacher: “Whether you believe it or not does not concern me; I see things this way, I am just speaking honestly of what I see.”

For instance, when looking where to drill a water well and to find the water source: Workers went to the place, and he said to them: “No that is not right, the source should be here.”

One of the workers said: “Little kid, what do you know.”

The other workers then said: “Let us give it a try here; based on our experience, it seems there should be water under here.”

Thus, they drilled, and water came out.

Why could he see this? He has Divine (Heavenly) vision.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra What is Divine vision? His eyes have not been defiled, and some of the condition in his head has not been defiled.

We constantly hear how in our society exists many people with supernatural powers, and of course there are many fake ones, and of course some are real. The so-called real ones are what? The real ones precisely have this ability. In accordance with their own statement, some abilities are inherent and innate, some are acquired from seated meditation, or from life energy cultivation (involves moving meditation, coordinating slow flowing movements, and calm meditative state of mind), or exercising in other methods. It is possible that this ability can be honestly attained by using methods to recover a certain extent of abilities.

Once, many people went to listen to the Sutra exposition of a Master, and within the group there was a U.S. pilot who was shot down during the Vietnam War by a machine gun, and whose whole body hurt with bullet wounds. He ran to a temple, and the old Master there was very merciful and kept him there, so the communists of Vietnam could not find him. After he recovered, he learned seated meditation from the venerable Monk and recovered his supernatural power of the Divine Eye. This person went to listen to the Buddhist Master exposition the Sutra, and each time before the exposition started his eyes were open and he chatted with everyone, but as soon as the Master expounds the Sutra, he would shut his eyes. People around him thought that this was strange.

After a while one of them asked him: “Why do you close your eyes?”

He replied: “I close my eyes to enjoy the Buddha light. A Master who has enlightened into the Buddha-truth who expounds the Sutra will have a light emission. Because I have this ability, I can

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see it. “ This cannot be faked. Even in the photos, you can see it.

We look at the photo of the venerable lay practitioner Xia, LianJu: his body and mind are transparent and without any defilement. He originally even was emitting light at the back of his head and his feet. This photo of him has been reprinted for too long, but you can still see that the original photo has an emission of light. Before, the photo of Patriarch Yin-Guang is the same way. These people all have a transparent body and mind, how come? They do not have afflictions.

Let us talk a little more, seems many old women who have no education, they are also transparent. We have seen this in the central area of Taiwan where there are many like that. You do not look as they are all common people as old men and old women, what is so good to look at.

We see them, honestly, we are very respectful. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas all salute to them.

Why? Because their bodies and minds have been purified without a hint of defilement.

The common person only sees the external face, but Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, ghosts, and spirits see them with respect. There are many examples like this.

Why? Their mind has purified of defiling illusion. They are compassionate and merciful, nothing to be grabbed tightly in hand.

Money, houses, cars, sons and daughters, grand kids, do not take it to heart and put all down completely. Even the ghosts and spirits that saw them, not only respect them but also help them. There are too many examples like this. Just saying everyone’s connection is different and would not talk about these things.

I remember before there was an experienced cultivator and she

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra said that when she genuinely practices cultivation, her hand is transparent to the sun. She is of the modern generation, no one asked her, and she said it herself.

She said: “The so-called master hand in cultivation practice, they are truly transparent.” Because they have this experience themselves. For instance, she said: “Her master’s whole body is transparent.”

What is the meaning of transparent? It means that the cell of her mind is not metabolized, it expresses not having production and annihilation. In modern language, it is without birth and death. The assemblages of cell ions are images of light entirely.

Ours are vague flesh and blood bodies, it is our delusional thought and attachment that lets it turn into materiality. Therefore, regarding the word “death”, we avoid it as taboo, and it weighs heavy in our mind.

In the past, there was once a man on death row, and at the moment of his execution, a very wise doctor asked him: “How do you want to die?”

The man answered: “I must not be executed by firing squad, I must not have death by hanging, I request a proper death.”

The doctor said: “No problem, I will help you by bloodletting; there is no pain with bloodletting. I will injecting anesthetics. So now, turn your head and give me your hand. You will leave here pleasantly.”

The prisoner, after listening to what the doctor said, agreed and gave his hand to the doctor.

The doctor said: “I am now going to cut open your artery, then

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I will do the bloodletting; you will gradually fall into the state of sleep.”

After not too long the doctor said: “Let go, you can leave now.”

The man left.

As a result, the man’s family members came to examine the body and saw that there were no cuts.

How come? It’s because the man thought he had died, so his soul left.

This doctor was very smart; he did not do anything, and with a couple of words he resolved the whole thing. It’s clear that “death” is not a real thing. All those examples mentioned were based on fact, it is not talking nonsense.

All of you need to think, inside our heads there are the two words - birth and death, then you are controlled by it forever. Therefore, I suggest that all of you change this concept. Change to what kind of concept? To initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive that the nature of the five Skandhas6 (five aggregates) are nonexistence, to become having perfect insight into being master of oneself (as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara-Guan Yin).

Having perfect insight into being master of oneself (as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara-Guan Yin) has no life or death.

Why? All material forms are not different from immateriality; immateriality is not different from all material forms. The essence of all material forms is immateriality; immateriality is indeed the essence of all material forms.

He knows birth and death are the fluctuation of the mind and 6 The Five Skandhas are the five composition elements of our existence including, all

material phenomena, the feeling towards all material phenomena, the thoughts that start from feeling, the mental formation from thinking continuously, and consciousness.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra body, it is attachment to a concept. If you cling to dying, you will surely die.

Many people are old and retired and immigrate here, preparing a sum of money for medical expenses, and old age pension. I am telling you, they will surely get sick, surely grow old, and their funeral arrangements will be taken care of by themselves.

Is there a person here who thinks: I am just born, or my life is infinite?

I have seen a person who the older he gets, feels more and more rejuvenated and has recovered his youthful vigor. Everyone looks at you and looks at people besides you, then you will know. We do not need to ask others.

Therefore, a clear-headed person does not have this kind of problem. Then you say, will people not die?

This so-called death is only a transformation, as the body is no longer needed. Just like wearing cloth to a certain degree, or machines that we use to a certain extent; we do not want it anymore, changing to another one.

A person with wisdom will change to what kind of body? They will change to an incorruptible adamantine body - a Buddha body, an enlightenment bodily form such as the bodily form of Amitabha. We are Amitabha originally. We are originally Infinite Light, Infinite Life, Infinite wisdom, and Infinite wealth.

Why infinite? The essence of the universe is infinitely boundless; we all are the Life form in there.

The Buddha-nature is just like the Pacific Ocean and we are all bubbles in the Pacific Ocean. Those bubbles of ours have attachments,

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such as your bubble is named Smith, and my bubble is named Washington, his bubble is named so and so; we compare with each other and have attachment to each other.

You say to him: “You need to become Buddha.”

One replies: “What does that have to do with me?”

One does not think his bubble is the Pacific Ocean.

You just remove the attachment to your bubble, then you succeed. Even if you do not remove the bubble, you are still a Buddha, only you are non-functional.

Here we speak of the bubble; is it the Pacific Ocean? Yes, it is.

Whether you break or unbreak the bubble, the bubble is forever the Pacific Ocean.

Therefore, does life or death exist? No, it does not.

The bubble which exists the phenomena of production and annihilation (arising and ceasing), however the Pacific Ocean does not exist production and annihilation (birth and death). Therefore, the variance of the body and mind; you must observe. The variance of the body and mind fundamentally is illusions and completely does not exist.

Why? You change on objects daily. Where this one matter is resolved, again you are anxious about those other matters. This is precisely one bubble perishes and yet another bubble arises; then one ceases again and the second one arises again.

The reason why other people explain to cultivate yourself in right practice, it is to revise your way of thinking during your thought arising in the mind. After you have cultivated to a certain extent, then it is called cultivation into the profound Prajna Paramita (perfection of wisdom).

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Your effort becomes more and more useful, you are more and more certain to have control over your life condition.

Therefore, this Sutra, most importantly calls us to pay attention: you have the ability to control your birth and death (the round of mortality). If you do not have the ability to control your birth and death, then the enjoyment of everything in this world is illusory.

Let us think, from the time you were born until now, what things have you acquired? Those things that you have obtained are just conceptual and not realistic. It is your perception that I have got it, and I am very relieved. How about things you do not get? That is also what you think you do not get. Therefore, “gain or loss” has constituted our living behavior standards. When we “gain” we feel happy; when we have “loss” we suffer.

We just talked about many real examples; the main purpose is to wish that all of you do not make life difficult for yourself. Most people all have the same old shortcomings: 1. The more one cannot get, the more one has curiosity. This is one kind.

2. The more other people disapprove, the more you insist on your own opinion.

Everybody refuses to obey others, all have this problem.

If a person listens to everyone’s word, then one is called ignorant. If a person only listens to the self and not to others, one is having an excessively greedy mind. To have attachment, be obstinate and self-opinionated, it is not saying these kinds of phenomena cannot be altered, it absolutely can be corrected. These phenomena itself are defiled by us. These phenomena apply the method of having perfect insight and initiating omniscient penetrative illumination with clear

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perception to perceive; the purified mind precisely is wisdom; it is Prajna exactly.

What we have explained today you must practice in your daily routine. You cannot detach from it, and you cannot take it as a kind of worship or conviction – that will not work.

He states so, release oneself from all obstructions caused by suffering and misfortune. What does release oneself mean? It transcends control, to resolve. Everyone understands this, but no one knows how to apply it correctly. In fact, release oneself is precisely changing the concept. You can only change yours, not that of others.

It is the same way as “keeping moral discipline”; you can use moral discipline on yourself but not on others. If you have an abnormal fear of uncleanliness like being a neat freak, you cannot demand others to be the same way as you. If you have any unpleasant and unlikeable conditions, you cannot demand this on others. If you see others eating meat and you feel unpleasant, this would not do; you see others who are vegetarian, and you feel unhappy, this also would not do. You cannot manage others; you can only manage yourself. The best is being selfless, then you truly become a liberated person, and this liberation called release oneself.

Transcending all obstructions caused by suffering and misfortune, what does this all means? It is the reincarnation cycle of birth and rebirth.

All regarding to phenomena of universe has all resolved, then in that case, these meritorious benefits are tremendous.

Misfortune is disasters; nowadays there are many disasters such as natural disasters, man-made-disasters, and wars. If your mind is fixed and undisturbed, then your energy is undisturbed. Like the recent earthquake which happened in Taiwan where many houses collapsed on the street yet one house stayed standing because that house owner’s energy was undisturbed.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Does this kind of thing happen? Yes, it happens.

From the looks of that person’s external appearance, there is nothing special and very ordinary, but you do not know his mind condition. Especially in ancient eras, on the battlefield, it was all handto-hand combat.

Why is someone fine during a crossfire with a storm of shots and shells?

Why does someone who is hiding behind others get killed by a shot?

Come to think of it, this is absolutely not an accident.

It is not accidental, why? All is caused by yourself.

I have a friend who belonged to an organized crime syndicate.

You should know that most of the people involved in organized crime syndicates have a condition that they kill for pleasure. My friend, during a storm of shots and shells, intense killing, suddenly became enlightened.

At that time, he was right in the middle of cutting with his Japanese katana sword, cutting one person down and another person down. Cutting to the last, he abandoned the action, and threw the Samurai (katana) swords aside. In that moment he no longer wanted to engage in this anymore, he was in a heavy encirclement of many people, the guys dead and wounded were bloody miserable, but he walked out from the battlefield peacefully and freely. This was his own personal experience.

He said: “When you let go of all, all disasters are unable to get close to you. How come? In that kind of condition, you already turn transparent, and nobody can see you.”

This also is not a miracle. I can tell you it was the person’s mind.

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A bullet can read a person, if one is bloody awful guy, then it shoots the one down. It can also go around corners, so you can feel assured. Every one of you should think about this, it is not a joke, many of this kind of things do happen this way.

Why do I make these examples? These examples are very important. All of them concern us; I hope everyone understands the illusion of universal fluctuation from these examples.

You have purified mind of defiling illusion, your energy has also purified, then you can release oneself from all obstructions caused by suffering and misfortune. If your mind is disconcerted, frankly speaking, even when you walk you will slip, when you drink, you get stuck. The mind must not be disconcerted.

I say this is to let all of you to understand the wisdom condition.

You have wisdom that is equal to having a kind of central axis that can control life. I am wishing for everyone to all go home and use a little bit of time, using the method of mindfulness of Amitabha to compose your mind. When you need to resolve a very important matter, I advise you to relax, the more relaxed the better, and then to have mindfulness of Amitabha. When mindfulness of Amitabha is to the pure state, you will know immediately how to make the decision.

Next, we explain the true facts of the Five Skandhas7 (five aggregates)- all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness.

All material forms are very important, all form objects, represent all phenomena of matter, which we abbreviate as “materiality”. This numberless as the atom’s situation, we can see in our daily living. The simplest situation is your body. Your body has metabolism.

7 The Five Skandhas are the five composition elements of our existence including, all material phenomena, the feeling towards all material phenomena, the thoughts that start from feeling, the mental formation from thinking continuously, and consciousness.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Metabolism is what kind of transformation? It also belongs to materiality.

How does it transform? It transforms from the mind, exactly from your thought’s fluctuation, only then your body changes. If your thought has no fluctuation, your body does not change. We need to pay special attention to this point.

Therefore, the phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death” of many people is surely going to happen, but there are also many people without the phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death”.

Those people who do not have “birth, aging, sickness, and death” exist in our world? Yes, they exist, absolutely. It is only that you do not know.

Why? 1. Your mind has not purified, you are unable to perceive this kind of pure condition.

2. You are too anxious and too stressed regarding life, also cannot perceive it.

Here is an example: Does the ether and our great Earth change?

Our earth for several million years, the big deal was merely just earthquakes and mountain-making movements, just a bit of change. But the ether you do not notice it.

We talk about the sky of fifty thousand years ago or a million years ago, does it stay the same? Frankly speaking, it is different every second, but you do not feel it, your mind is too rough.

Therefore, I have just talked about “birth, aging, sickness, and death”, (1) A person gets up in the morning until nighttime, one thought

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arises and one thought ceases, this is called “birth, aging, sickness, and death”.

(2) Metabolism of your body is also called “birth, aging, sickness, and death”.

Otherwise, it is impossible for us to get sick from birth until now. How does the sickness come to be? You start the anxiety regarding matter, which begins many different situations, delusions, attachments, and then sickness starts. There are many kinds of sicknesses; there is physical sickness and mental sickness. Frankly speaking, the sickness of this body and spirit both manifest from your mind.

The average person can sense the surface phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death” but it is not easy for one to go further deeper into this layer: as what we just mentioned if your mind is unmoved then there is no phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death”. Only the average person cannot perceive it, he is thinking where is his mind located? Secondly, how to be unmoved?

In previous chapters, we talked about the condition of initiating omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive. If you are a person with wisdom who regards the life of the universe with crystal clarity, then you can control “birth, aging, sickness, and death”.

The Heart Sutra talks about Prajna Paramita, precisely means to have wisdom, then you can control birth and death (the round of mortality).

So, why do we start talking from all material forms? All material forms refer to the external, including your body. If you can control this, your thoughts will gradually be purified. That is it.

Feelings (towards all material forms), in general refers to “the feelings” that the laity speak of as your feelings. Feelings cannot belong to Mental Dharma; it only belongs as a kind of intuition effect. How does

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra this thing come to be? It is you with regards to form objects as we speak of in the material world, bringing delusional thought and attachment as a result in this.

For example, tonight we dine together to have a group meal, each of us has a different feeling. Then you have a problem as either good or bad, likes or dislikes; either you like or are annoyed or think nothing great about it, these completely belong to feeling and this kind of feeling will cause your discrimination and attachment, this is where the problem is. If a person is without discrimination, one does not have attachment. If a person has attachment, then one surely has discrimination.

Why? One wants to discriminate between right or wrong, good or bad, beautiful or ugly, and so forth.

Society brings us an idea, it is a dye vat, it is a collection of these sorts of ideas - right or wrong, good or bad, beautiful or ugly. It is the fountainhead of delusional thought and attachment. Speaking further in-depth, where does this kind of feeling come from? It is produced from your mind of not understanding the truth of the universe.

Next is to explain thinking (that starts from feeling), which is the continuation of your delusional thought and attachment.

Today, if we look at something that tastes very delicious, if you do not think about it then it passes. Only you want to continue, you keep on continuing with it, and your way of thinking becomes more and more serious, it becomes more like a kind of ambition, and you want to carry it out. “Action, verbal speech, thought”; truly speaking, all of this is brought up by ideation. How to create ideation? Whatever your mind thinks, it will be made.

Each one of us has had this experience. Undoubtedly, there are

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many things that one should not do but one insists on doing them. Why does one insist on doing them? One thinks about it and does not merely think about it, rather one thinks about it every second, thinks day and night; at the end, it then becomes real.

What is the phenomenon of becoming real? It is the illusion of a continued thought. Speaking more in-depth, you are living in the illusion.

Our life is an illusion; this kind of illusion is an inconceivable illusion. At night we have dreams, where do these dream experiences from?

Here is an ancient proverb: What one thinks about during the day one will dream about at night.

We need to carefully think this over.

You look at all material forms, feelings, thinking; if you do not have a doubt about the objects of material form, you would not get to this point. If you do not have feeling of it, you will also not be thinking about it continuously. Then, to most people, afraid there is a misunderstanding, that is the end of it; would this person not become an idiot now?

But all of you need to remember, to be an idiot is also but a dream.

We live in this world and this dream is beyond thought; all of you, from your memories of childhood until now, do you not feel as though it was just an instant?

This instant is what, do you know? It is your feelings.

All your conduct is just in this feeling. Today you either fail at doing business, or you suffer from being wrongly accused by others, or you are the best of all possible worlds today; I am telling you that is all feeling. You want to prove to yourself, so you must have gratitude and grudges – these are all feelings. Feeling belongs to illusion.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra What is real? Very simply when you are dreamless.

A person who does not dream can control one’s own birth and death.

How interesting is this. In general, we call the someone enlightened in the East or the West who regards the phenomena of birth and death as following: If you asked the enlightened one: “Are you afraid of death?” He never has this kind of thought.

How about birth? He never has this kind of thought either.

What does the enlightened one do daily? One does things, even when one knows it is impossible to succeed.

Confucius, he was crystal clear that no one would accept him during the Warring States Period and the Spring and Autumn Period, yet he still traveled to various countries.

What was his purpose? His purpose was to train his mind and to see whether his mind would be affected by daily life.

He once made a statement: Mount Tai (in the Shandong province, China, the easternmost of the five sacred mountains) collapses before me now and I will not change my composure.

This is what modern people need to learn. Confucius carried himself in this way. Confucianism is the foundation of conducting oneself. Since it is the foundation of conducting oneself, it can completely control situations regarding the human world. He once stated his point: If you cannot understand birth, how can you understand death!

This is wonderful! What was his purpose? To let you experience happiness and have days without worry for the rest of your life.

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Later, Daoism was developed in China; “Dao - the way” is: The way that can be expressed is not the universal and eternal way.

What is the “Dao (way)”? It is the truth of the universe.

Lao-Zi (philosopher and founder of Daoism) put this way into practice.

Unfortunately, he experienced this condition on his own, and this is not something the average person can achieve. He talks about: Non-action, to be wholly in harmony with all, to behave in a completely natural, uncontrived way.

Non-action does not mean you are not doing anything; instead, it is you do without the attachment of doing. After you did it, you felt that you did not do it, so you would not get tired.

Ancient Chinese all have this kind of education. However, in the modern era this education has been completely deposed.

Why? Nowadays the focus is centered on the individual self, such as “I am the greatest”; it all starts from this “I”. This “I” has created a kind of unreal phenomena. This is the expansion of the concept of “I”.

When you ask everyone how have you been? One will tell you one’s feeling. From one’s perspective is the “I”. Our afflictions are entirely from this “I”.

What is the biggest definition of the “I”? That is thinking.

The Chinese character for thinking is “想 xiangˇ”, as on top of the mind lodged with the appearance of things; then you circulate incessantly in that phenomenon which is “birth, aging, sickness, and death”. During “birth, aging, sickness, and death”, the variation from all things will influence your mind, and then you follow the rotation of “birth, aging,

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra sickness, and death”. As we say “reincarnation” like a car wheel which rotates incessantly. Later when Buddhism was transmitted into China, a person truly understands the truth of the universe had a path to follow.

The path to resolve the affliction of birth and death, that is to resolve this thinking.

How to resolve? Non-thinking.

Life of non-thinking is a wide horizon, there is no restrictions of time and space. Here I am only putting forward the concept, later I will explain more in detail.

All material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formation; next talk about mental formation precisely is thinking continuously, it would not break.

To what extent? One instant is approximately one-fourth of a second. Within this one-fourth of a second there are 900 times of productions and annihilations (arising and ceasing). That is amazing.

Speaking bluntly, one second has 3,600 times of arising and ceasing which just like a camera has lens opening and closing 3,600 times in one second. Therefore, most people have no way to tell. When you say to one that “life is but a dream”, one will not believe it. Because the change is too huge. If you say to one that “the physical body is unreal”, one would refuse to admit it even at one’s death.

We watch gun-shooting scenes in movies, was a bullet really shot? No one has really seen it with the naked eye.

After the gun is fired, men are on the ground. However, if you use a high-speed camera to look, the speed of the bullet is very slow.

Our thoughts are remarkable; it speeds to what extent? Our thoughts are as rapid as the speed of light, where in one second it can rotate around the earth several times. Even the speed of light cannot

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compete with the speed of our mind thoughts. The speed of light is a rabbit, thought on one’s mind is a bird.

Everyone knows that all phenomena of the universe are made by thoughts. When the thought unbreaks, then the six directions of reincarnation unbreaks, and the phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death” then would not break.

If your intention is pure, you no longer dream, you become a free person, then this kind of person is called a “Buddha”. Everyone must be clear about this concept.

Buddha is not a deity, not a religious object, not a kind of religious worship, and not God; he is a person who understands the truth of the universe without afflictions.

Does Buddha have material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formation? No, he does not.

All material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formation, and consciousness; Next talks about consciousness; they are known as four kinds: 1. The first five consciousness are “eyes, ears, noise, tongue, body” which produces “sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.

2. The sixth consciousness is sub-consciousness is the perception and discriminative ability of the mind.

3. The seventh is attachment called Manas consciousness.

4. The eighth is the Alaya consciousness which is the memory file. This file is very exquisite; where every bit and all the trivialities from generation to generation are filed. Frankly speaking, something after we done, we have already forgotten,

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra but this Alaya consciousness does not forget and all images imprint exactly like a filing storage warehouse; since the infinite existence of world-periods until today, it is completely clear of all phenomena.

What does it record? Illusions.

A person’s stubbornness is which consciousness? The Manas consciousness - the 7th consciousness as I want to do it this way, I want to do it that way, I must be that way, I ought to be what way; these are stubbornness. Ancient people always spoke about: Choosing what is good and holding fast to it.

They only chose what is good. Buddhism does not, it chooses what is pure and good. Holding fast to purity means without defilement.

You can ask anyone at random – have your whole life purified of defiling illusions? They cannot figure it out.

Why? They have defilement - delusional thought and attachment.

Then the sixth consciousness, as we often describe as the subconscious. What is it? It is a delusion.

Why speak of it as delusional? It is untrue and illusory, basically it has no trace at all as shadows, images. If we live in attachments and delusional thoughts, I am telling you get no real benefit, you get no real benefit to die, also to live, to aging, and to get sick.

So, what is the meaning of life? Very simple, no longer have this dream, stop it, then your life has meaning.

Why? You will no longer worry about any matters.

1. You will no longer need to sleep, and you do not feel tired at all.

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2. You do not need to eat anything.

Before the venerable Monk Guang-Qin was this way, he had no need for eating. He was reluctantly to eat a piece of fruit; he was showing everyone that he was the same as everyone by still eating something.

3. You absolutely do not have any afflictions.

To most people, it appears one has become superman. In fact, that is not so; everyone can be this way. The problem with our education is that it does not include the method for how to become enlightened. So, the first time we hear it, we feel strange: What is this enlightenment about?

How should I apply it in daily life?

Frankly speaking, when you relax you have already applied it.

The key question is how to relax? Relax any time and any place being self-less. It is not ignoring; one is truly relaxing inside the mind. For instance, you sit here for a couple hours, and during these two hours your mind is fixed and undisturbed.

1. You did not doze off.

2. Your mind was not in a mess.

3. Your mind did not search everywhere for a target.

You have this kind of ability; and if during a whole day, you can have ten minutes to be this way, then I congratulate you because you will have 1% chance to detach from your fate of birth and death.

Each one of us lives in this world to do what, do you know?

No, you have no idea.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra You ask a person where you come from? One does not know.

What to do in this life? He barely knows enough.

Where do you go? Unknown.

One who has religious belief will answer on the side of their religious belief. One without religious belief will put trust in oneself. There is another kind who does not believe in anything, also does not believe in themselves, and they live in confusion every day.

This kind of phenomena is what? It is all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formation, and consciousness.

This consciousness one has not yet developed. development, one does not have wisdom.

Without

What is wisdom? The mind is like a mirror that can reflect everything in clarity and one can see things clearly, and certainly does not arise with afflictions and doubt, then it is correct.

Therefore, the life of modern people come in three kinds: 1. Worried about worthless things.

2. Sleep is forever not enough.

3. Eat, drink and being merry – one does not abandon the self to a life of pleasure.

Where do these three phenomena come from? One has no control over life in the universe. This is a big problem.

The purpose of explaining the Heart Sutra today is to wish for everyone to throw out their worries a bit, to look at this society in the mind settled like still water and unmoved by external matters. Speaking

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the secular way, to be rational. When you are emotionally charged, you are in trouble.

What is the condition of rationality? Being rational up to 100% is precisely the state we always mention - Prajna. Therefore, he says: To initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive that the nature of the five Skandhas8 (five aggregates) – all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness are non-existence. So, release oneself from all obstructions caused by suffering and misfortune.

So, the Five Skandhas are all unreal. This is called release oneself from all obstructions caused by suffering and misfortune. It indicates that all afflictions are gone, completely have nothing. Therefore, the Great Master Yong-Jia at his moment of enlightenment as he has truly seen the truth of the universe, made this statement: In a dream, there was undoubtedly transmigrations through the six kinds of rebirth, after enlightened, nothing there and boundless universe also vanished.

What are the “six kinds of rebirth”? It roots from the “birth, aging, sickness, and death”, “virtuous versus evil”, “good versus bad”. You can act whatever way you want in a dream, but after you awaken, you and the dream are no longer related. This kind of situation I trust everyone has experienced.

Why does this experience not work? You are pulled back by your inherently worldly idea, back to your present situation.

Therefore, we have cultivated ourselves in right practice for a long while, for four to five years remain the same. We are pulled back by our worldly way of thinking, looking at things, worries, and fears.

8 The Five Skandhas are the five composition elements of our existence including, all

material phenomena, the feeling towards all material phenomena, the thoughts that start from feeling, the mental formation from thinking continuously, and consciousness.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra The people in the world have three troubles: 1. money, 2. greed, and 3. birth and death.

If you can resolve birth and death, then there is no problem with the prior two.

If you resolve money and greed, you still have birth and death to resolve.

If you can remove greedy thoughts, you might be able to resolve birth and death, also money may be resolved.

All of you must not misunderstand, I am not telling people not to make money; rather I am talking about when making money, the mind is without greed. Your mind is clear and without pressure and not only that, you have purified of defiling illusion, and you also do not bring any distress to any other person involved; then it is the real thing. If you can use this concept to face your birth and death, then birth and death (the round of mortality) to you is merely an illusory dream.

Chinese people have a statement: “People die and become ghosts.”

What is the condition of a ghost? It is greed.

The greedier a person is, the more one’s mind is unclear. When one cannot attain one's aim of greediness, then they get angry. After getting angry for a long duration of time, one is in a daze and unable to distinguish between right and wrong, good and bad. One becomes obviously aware of this, but one cannot do anything about it, except continuously follow one’s greedy thought.

Every one of us has experienced this and is familiar with the word “greed”.

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Like today, if the food is tasty, I will eat two more mouthfuls even if it might cause me to have an upset stomach which does not matter, I have already consumed the food.

Secondly, the stock market; if our stock prices rise two or three points then we are very happy, this is also greed. Tomorrow if the market collapses then we leave it for later to consider. If the stock price remains high, we get anxious again.

You just experienced this kind of delightful enjoyment a moment ago, and you are anxious again that this pleasure or happiness will soon be lost, this is called “worrying about personal gains and losses”. If you can let go a bit like how we just explained about all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formation, and consciousness; then this worry about personal gains and losses would probably not exist. Then your living will be very pleasant; this is called “true living”. Just a moment ago that situation was not called living, it is called “dying”.

Every day you die at least once because unhappy matters occur every day. Therefore, birth and death are very interesting; it is next to you every day and leads you by the nose every day.

Since it is a dream, why do you not want to have a good dream?

Instead, you insist on having a dream with birth and death or a dream of gain and loss?

It is not worth it. Then someone would say: Regarding life in the universe, we need to be disillusioned with all and cast off all attachments.

To be disillusioned with what? To be disillusioned with does not mean dropping everything as to abandon family and children, going to the deep mountains to practice cultivation, shaving the head and wearing a cassock (kasaya). It is no such thing. This is for a special person, and it is another kind of circumstance.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Genuinely being disillusioned with all is to see clearly the whys and wherefores of matters, to see the real situation about cosmic life. To cast off all attachments means one does everything without pressure.

Some say: “No, I cannot do it. I cannot cast off attachments, I have responsibilities. The whole family relies on me. If I do not make money how can they survive?”

This is known as making life difficult for yourself. If you are making money and providing for the entire family, if your breadth of mind is being disillusioned with all and cast off all attachments, your whole family will not be opposed to you; instead, you function to everyone's delight and satisfaction. Friends around you look at your face, will naturally be influenced by you. When they see you, they will feel comfortable like receiving the caress of a warm Spring breeze, and certainly they will not have any unwell feelings. This is precisely the reason we have constantly mentioned to provide happiness to all living beings.

All living beings do not necessarily only aim at humans – phenomenon rises from numerous conditions of natural affinity in harmonious unity. The “harmonious unity” precisely is together by the concatenation of cause and effect in the whole range of existence. It exists cause and condition, assembled as one to shape producing a phenomenon.

For instance, every one of us who sits here, while we all have different facial appearances, different ways of thinking, different personalities; we are the combinations of causes and conditional causation. Some people are pleasing to the eye and some people are offensive to the eye.

Why? You are affected by the appearance of things, and you have attachment to it.

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Sometimes when we see someone as an enemy on a narrow road; sometimes we see someone who looks very familiar.

Why? It is the result of predestined affinity and conditions of your past life. You have both good karma and bad karma.

Everyone needs to think, all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formation, and consciousness has brought us the phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death”. This “birth, aging, sickness and death” we have just mentioned is unnecessary and pointless.

Recently I ran into a friend whose relative just passed away, and within this matter of life and death she comprehended one thing: Nothing you can take with you. The body suit you came in is the same one you go out in.

Never mind at the time of death that there is nothing you can take with you, even now you already cannot take anything with you.

What can you take with you at this moment? You also cannot take your past, also your future with you.

Ancient people said: “Past, present, and future are all unreal.”

It only lives in your way of thinking, looking, saying, and doing; it does not exist in the “reality” as we talked; this is certainly impossible.

Therefore, today we learn the way of Buddha, and learn not to deceive ourselves.

How to face? It is 100% face. You cannot say 1%, never mind, whatever I could not do it. As the proverb states: It is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one’s character.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra You are being fooled again. The description of “It is easier change mountains and rivers than to alter one’s character,” this is what people tell you, the common education in this society. If you lived in outer space, then you fundamentally would not have this kind of education. If you lived in another enlightened family, this is a concept.

I once encountered a person who was very simple. He could read people clearly; however, his mind was unmoved by any phenomena.

Why unmoved? He told me it was simple; we think differently.

How come? He rarely has his way of thinking. He does not dream at night, has good health and longevity. He knows when to leave the Earth.

Are there many people like him? Yes, there are many.

For example, in earlier agrarian-based societies there were many people like him. They did not stress, also would not have afflictions. Every day they get up to work at sunrise and retire at sunset - the societal condition was very simple. Therefore, the ancients who listened to the Sutra exposition could become enlightened.

What is become enlightened? One sees the truth of the universe.

Modern people like us are relatively difficult. Why? There is too much to be concerned about, worry too much. Not only do you have to take care of yourself, but you must take care of other things as well.

[Sutra text] Listen Shariputra, all material forms are not different from immateriality; immateriality is not different from all material forms. The essence of all material forms is immateriality; immateriality

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is indeed the essence of all material forms. The other aggregates - feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness are the same as this.

Commentary: The name Shariputra means Shariputra Buddha. Shari is a bird’s eye, which means his wisdom is top among the ten great disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha. This kind of bird’s eye is without near-sightedness (myopia), and sees clearly. We often describe a first-class pilot who can see very clearly without the aid of any instruments.

Then why call him? Calling him, it is to tell him to pay attention.

In fact, Buddha calls his disciple’s name in the Sutra, he is precisely calling us.

You must not say that reading Sutra does not relate to us. After reading the Sutra for quite a while, in any case it only talks about his era and his disciples. This is where you make a mistake, if we do not have this sickness, Buddha would certainly not speak out about it. Therefore, he then said here: all material forms are not different from immateriality; immateriality is not different from all material forms. Just a moment ago we talked about all material forms, all phenomenon is called all material forms. All material forms are equal to immateriality and vice versa.

Immateriality means not having anything at all.

All material forms mean everything is there.

Why Immateriality and all material forms are the same?

We speak of “life is but a dream”, in the dream you have everything; that is a dream. Does nothing exist in a dream? Is it a phenomenon?

Speaking from the aspect of phenomena – everything is there. Speaking of the essence, it does not have anything at all. “Not have anything at all”

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra and “everything is there” are same time and not separated.

Here is another example: “discipline precepts ward off bodily evil, meditation calms mental disturbances, wisdom gets rid of delusions and proves truth” are together. Discipline precepts are exactly the meditation; the meditation is exactly the wisdom; it is an integral whole with three aspects. Just like other people who speak about civic ethics, when you have ethics only then to be civic. You are civic and you have ethics are equal meanings. It is inseparable. It is not to say: I have ethics then become a civic, or I am civic first then work on the ethics. It does not mean that.

Ancient people of China received educational instruction beginning as young as three years old where they were taught to recite from memory the Three Character Classic (a 13th century reading primer consisting of Confucian tenets in lines of three characters), with lines such as: People at birth, are naturally good, the natures are similar, the habits make them different (from each other).

People at birth refers to a person at birth is naturally good, one is very pure.

Natures are similar, means everyone is born like a clean white sheet.

Habits make them different (from each other), refers to one’s environment, one’s personality and one’s habits have caused huge differences between each other.

What is this? It is the course of a dream. All of one’s life is the course of a dream. In your dream, whether you kill people or set fires, or if you are fully obedient to your parents, all are unreal.

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If all is unreal, do we still need to do it? Yes, we still need to do it.

Why? It has phenomena.

You cannot say I killed people and set fires, and everything is all right, that there is no recourse. No, it does not work that way. It exists with karmic consequences from cause and effect. Karmic consequences from cause and effect are not non-existent; there is phenomenon.

For instance, donating a body organ, can you donate your organ while you are still alive?

When someone cuts you, do you not feel pain? Yes, it hurts. Can you say it is unreal?

In other words, why would a person who has a purified mind say it is unreal?

There are some who are truly transparent in body and mind, like the Sixth Patriarch Hui-Neng. He left after he received the Buddhatruth from Huang-Mei (the Fifth Patriarch) then, other people were even chasing to kill him. One monk stabbed him in the heart, resulting in a transparent body without substance. To us this is a miracle; in fact, it is not a miracle.

The Sixth Patriarch said to the monk: “Do not be afraid, do not be afraid....”

The answer is simple; he had already cast-off attachment to his body and mind, thoroughly changed his concept. Therefore, his body and the space (ether) are no different, he remains unchanged, he is not solid substance, he is a transparent form.

We are not. When thinking about organ donation, just thinking about it we are also scared. If now another person said that I want a pair of eyes, would you give him your pair of eyes, even without anesthetic?

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra What kind of person can do this? It is precisely an enlightened person. One knows the truth of the universe and the whole physical body is composed of ions. Therefore, one does not have these perceptions, one has already detached from all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formation, and consciousness; no feeling exists.

But we do, when we get sick, can we not go to see a doctor? It is very difficult; very few people can manage this way.

Body aches, tooth aches; these aches are killing, do you not need to see doctor? Yes, of course. Why? One cannot endure the pain.

One’s concept considers such pain is real.

The education of the Buddha teaching is not. Buddha teaching talks about aching, as in who aches? You ache on your mind. Our science talks about one’s nerve in the throbbing, incorrectly; it is your mind clinging to nerve pain. Remember this, it is the attachment, you attach to pain only then you feel the pain; if you do not have attachment to it, there is no pain.

Why? Many people have the willpower.

Some cancer patients in the final phase say to themselves: “I will not die”. That is not lip service; one says it with true willpower and determination. This results in the body cells recovering back to normal. If one can turn this willpower and determination to enlightenment, casting off attachment to phenomena of birth and death then one succeeds.

Therefore, people target different subjects.

Today we look from the aspect of all material forms are not different from immateriality; immateriality is not different from all material forms. In fact, the phenomena of the universe change daily.

But this change is temporary. Just that light flickered on and off, like a flashlight which flashes on and off. Because the speed of flash is

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extremely fast, we thought it was continuous. This continuity causes us to think it “exists”.

Therefore, a person who cultivates oneself in right practice should practice at thought arising in the mind. Reciting Sutra or mindfulness of Amitabha is a method, mainly to compose your mind. To cultivate without thought movement in an instant is extremely important. If you allow this thought to continue, then all is finished.

We just mentioned, after the continuous movement of thoughts, the body and mouth begin to move, it is important. All phenomena in the universe are related to thoughts. Therefore, all material forms are not different from immateriality; immateriality is not different from all material forms. It is simple if you think it is unreal, it is truly unreal. You think it is not a big deal, or that it is desperately serious; therefore, not a big deal and desperately serious both are the same.

Talking about immateriality, as not having anything at all, is incorrect. Nothing at all that is when everything is there. Here is an example: This glass cup, we see it, does it exist? Yes, it exists. it is a temporarily composed ionic combination. So, we say temporarily composed to call “existent”. When it is temporally composed, we also know it will disperse. The moment it composes that is precisely the process of arising and ceasing, through incessantly arising and ceasing, therefore, it is known as immateriality (due to the lack of an immutable intrinsic nature within any phenomenon).

All of you, if you experience this truth, you remind yourself at any time and at any place, to put all pleasant and unpleasant situations are put on this basis, your mind is then fixed and undisturbed. You will not be subject to external influences; this is the root of cultivation.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra For instance, we are mindful of Amitabha ordinarily; when afflictions come, you have mindfulness of Amitabha.

Think about it, does Amitabha exist? Yes, he exists.

The moment you are mindful of Amitabha, it is already nonexistence.

Non-existent (Immateriality) and existent (material form) are the universal Buddha-nature.

Real and unreal exist simultaneously.

Is this right? The real is unreal, the unreal is exactly the real. If you take this idea and elaborate on it, let go of everything, you will no longer have discrimination towards anything. Therefore, the essence of all material forms is immateriality; immateriality is indeed the essence of all material forms.

The phenomenon is unreal, the unreal is precisely the real, it is phenomenon. This “real” represents phenomenon. The “unreal” represents the impermanent nature of aggregation and dissipation.

So, the other aggregates - feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness are the same as this.

[Sutra text] Shariputra, the characteristics of all existing things (form or formless) are immaterial (as the absence of inherent essence in any phenomenon).

It is neither arising nor ceasing, neither impure nor pure, and neither increasing nor decreasing.

Commentary: He again calls Shariputra to listen attentively; you see, this shows

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all existing things (form or formless) are immaterial (as the absence of inherent essence in any phenomenon).

What all existing things (form or formless) are immaterial means?

The word All expresses numerous, referring to all phenomena.

All existing things (form or formless) are combinations of all phenomena, this is immaterial (as the absence of inherent essence in any phenomenon). This immaterial is precisely the same way as the mode of existing. Why does he say immaterial? He is afraid we have attachment, so he uses immaterial. In fact, it should speak as “all existing things (form or formless) are absence of inherent essence yet to have forms”.

Therefore, he says: It is neither arising nor ceasing. This condition of neither arising nor ceasing then becomes interesting.

This glass cup, is it called phenomenon of arising? Yes. This glass cup, does it have phenomenon of ceasing? Yes. It is neither arising nor ceasing, the phenomena of arising and ceasing both do not exist.

For instance, now my hand is touching the water in the glass; what is the difference between my hand, the water, and the glass?

This is: the characteristics of all existing things (form or formless) are immaterial (the absence of inherent essence in any phenomenon). It is neither arising nor ceasing.

He then said: neither impure nor pure, and neither increasing nor decreasing.

Impure means filthy. Pure means clean. Filthy is clean, clean indeed is filthy - this is truly inconceivable. For many people who are neat

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra freaks, this is hard to endure.

The ancients had a statement: “Gold and stool are no different.”

An enlightened one, who has entered the truth of the universe has no discrimination over this. In the past, we have seen many examples of Buddhas or Bodhisattva who take material shape in society. How do they live their life? You can either scold him, bite him, or kill him; he completely does not have arising thought in mind.

His way it seems does not have anything to do with our lives.

Our lives seem like a problem that must be solved – the practical issues.

For instance: making money to provide for oneself, needing to go see a doctor when ill, needing to eat when hungry. But the Buddha’s and Bodhisattva’s life is different from us. He has the same physical body, only his inner state is different. He eats and keeps on eating without stop; after he eats a mountain of food, he eats another one.

Why? He does not have attachment. If he does not eat; he can never eat, he does not have this on his mind.

Remember this, from start to finish I speak precisely about “thought on your mind”. Today is exactly due to thought on our mind.

You think you are hungry; you would be hungry any time. If you do not think you are hungry in your mind, or you do not expect to be hungry, your stomach also will not contract - this is normal. Our stomach and our five internal organs of the “heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys” originally had the aromatic scent of sandalwood and was not polluted.

Currently our five internal organs smell, and fermentation in our internal organs means it is not clean.

Why is it unclean? Too many thoughts on the mind with afflictions. For the most of it, we have eaten things that we should not eat.

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Ancient people who stay in meditative concentration state, they absolutely have no need to eat anything.

What is meditative concentration? The body and mind all have been purified of defiling illusion and have less desire.

Buddha and Bodhisattva also eat, how do they eat? They eat any food you give them. If you give him wood, he will eat it. If you give him nails, he will also eat it. He does not have “eating” in his thought.

Therefore, after things went into his mouth it transformed into light ions, because he himself is a light ion. Therefore, all things become light ions, and fundamentally there exists no hindrance. Therefore, even if you hit him, scold him, or kill him, all is without hindrance. He and materiality have no distance.

For instance, scientists here have researched that there are atoms, electrons, and neutrons, but Buddha and Bodhisattva do not have these concepts.

How does the image of Buddha and Bodhisattva form? It is the attachment of our beings; they move to respond to our appeal.

Buddha or Bodhisattva do not manifest form fundamentally. If you say they have manifested form, it is troublesome; it indicates you are using your way of thinking to look at this manifestation.

Many people say: “In any case, Buddha or Bodhisattva will protect me.” This speaks nonsense; there is nothing of that sort. Or some feel that if they are not mindful of Amitabha then they have let Amitabha down; this way of thinking is even more troublesome. You must bear in mind that you must turn your concept. This is not religion. This is the truth of the universe.

Then where do we entrust the care of our heart? We do not have a heart, then you succeed.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Most people are unable to do this; what do you think we need to do?

Therefore, Buddha and Bodhisattva say it is okay and it is very simple, what you call life is suffering, then I build you a boat. How does he build it? He uses the same “sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, thought”; “eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind” to build. He uses your delusional thought and attachment to build. He teaches you to put all your delusional thought down, to have attachment on one thing which is having delusional thought on Amitabha and attach to Amitabha, to have delusional thought there is Amitabha Pure Land. To have attachment there exists Amitabha Pure Land. He teaches you to take control of your mind. All methods to enlightenment are all like this.

Amitabha Pure Land, is it real? Yes, it is real.

I am telling everyone; it belongs to the illusion that manifests from a pure mind. Although it belongs to illusion, it does not have the phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death”; and, it does not exist with “right or wrong, virtue or evil, good or bad”; it is completely pure.

But within its pureness there still exists variation, slight variations across several tens of thousands of millions of years which you are unable to tell. Maybe after the space has been destroyed, you would still be unable to see it. But Buddha and Bodhisattva can see the difference.

Because the minds of Buddha and Bodhisattva have thoroughly purified of defiling illusions, also Amitabha Pure Land is thoroughly purified.

However, our world here changes every second. Like plants and flowers, if you do not water them, they will die after two to three days.

If you lack one day of meals it may be fine, how about after five days without food? Average people cannot do it. This is not about endurance, it does so naturally. Our body will die if it lacks water. After death, the body will dry and become dust. Human beings become dust after cremation.

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You need to think; this dust is still a materiality, where does it come from?

If an enlightened person sees this, one will know this thing manifests from the thought on one’s mind.

Therefore, the wise one of the ancients, what attitude does one use regarding life in the universe? One absolutely does not care and has no attachment. Therefore, their way of living is known as neither impure nor pure. One will not be more inclined on the pure side, and one will also not be more inclined on the impure side.

Which side does one walk on? One has no attachment to either side. You see how clean this mind is.

One is neither increasing nor decreasing. This is also our living being’s shortcoming. This so-called increasing and decreasing are the same as making money. On top of our deserved profits today, we wish to have a bit more; to be able to have a bit more then to have a bit more is called increasing. Decreasing means to eliminate, to reduce and to gradually enter calmness. Increasing is to gradually enter the anticipated mental changes. Therefore, increasing and decreasing have great influence on our life.

This “clean or filthy” is our living environment, the attachment of our inner being. Increasing, decreasing is also. Then increasing, decreasing, is very obviously, as we just mentioned. It is exactly the reality of our livelihood. That house is comfortable and very nice, but then one day the old man gets restless again, and he wants to build another one or he wants to look for a better house again - this is increasing. In addition, some people’s houses are too big, move to a smaller one - this is decreasing. All are afflictions. During this increasing, decreasing; to examine whether your mind has moved or not. If your mind is moved, you then do not call the state of neither increasing nor decreasing. It is

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra called go up increasing or go down decreasing.

This increasing, decreasing causes what? It causes the phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death”.

From when we were born, we were little, we had an idea – we hope to grow up soon. However, after having afflictions to a certain extent, you wish that things were like before during your childhood, being happier and being more naive. When you grow old, just like when you were a kid, so the behavior of old age and young age are messed up together. When finally facing death, then you are broken-hearted at having to leave. This kind of situation happens to us almost every day.

[Sutra text] Therefore, within immateriality which does not have material form, there is no feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness. No eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind. No sight, sound, smell, taste, tactile objects, thought.

Commentary: We have already explained all material forms, feelings, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness, then why does he say: within immateriality which does not have material form? He means to tell you that even “non-existent” and “existent”, all does not exist; it goes one step further. Everyone take your time to experience it.

I give an example: This water, if we take a tree branch to draw on the water, it will create a ripple when we draw on it. But the ripple also disappears any time when you draw.

In the moment of drawing, it fades away to what? It is immateriality.

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To speak about immateriality, this is beyond thought. He says it is: Therefore, within immateriality which does not have material form, there is no feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness.

So, all material forms, feelings, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness, also do not exist. The water also does not exist.

You say, the phenomenon of opposition does not exist, nonopposition also does not exist, it is also a temporary phenomenon. Water becomes steam when met with heat. When steam rises to meet cold air it becomes rainfall. Despite the difference in phenomena, water still exists.

But here he is telling you that even water does not exist. Therefore, he said: opposition does not exist, non-opposition also does not exist.

All Bodhisattvas practice the middle way, they do not stick to two extremes, and even do not stick to the middle position. It sounds difficult, it seems very mysterious. I’m telling you, it is not so.

So, you say how to live? It is very simple.

If you are hungry then eat. When eating, do not nitpick.

If you want sleep then to go to sleep, do not do so for the sake of your ego face.

But when wisdom starts to function, one is outstanding. In front of the public, one with wisdom handles all perfectly. When one is alone with oneself, one finds amusement in one’s own way.

If you do not have thought on your mind, you are not limited by space. When you are not limited by time and space, therefore, within immateriality which does not have material form, there is no feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness. No eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind. No sight, sound, smell, taste, tactile objects, thought. One must not think this cognitive sphere is unattainable, no need to be envious. Your daily life is exactly this way, honestly speaking,

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra you live within this.

Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind, which are sense-organs.

Mind is thought.

Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, thoughts refer to the eyes that see sights (forms), the ears hear sounds, the nose smells scent, the tongue tastes flavors, the body is tactile objects, the mind corresponds with thought. Every day, from morning to night, six roots are in touch with six qualities (the cause of impurity). “Quality”, we mean phenomena. “Roots” are our sense-organs.

When six roots are in touch with six qualities, what state is it in? If your mind has thought arising in the mind with discrimination and attachment, you then activate the mind and consciousness, then it is very troublesome.

We often talked about the “three minds and two consciousness”.

It is very difficult for us to concentrate our thoughts and efforts. The living of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is called single-minded, it represents no defilement. We are “three minded and two consciousness”, having one moment in the past, one moment in the present, one moment in the future. Therefore, the problem of life is due to the “three minds” of past, present, future; and “two consciousness”: the 6th consciousness of discrimination and the 7th (Manas) consciousness of attachment.

Why “three minds and two consciousness”? Because one wants to discriminate; one wants to have attachment.

[Sutra text] It is non-existent of the Realm of the Eyes, up to and including the non-existence of the Realm of Mind and Consciousness. Non-existent of the unenlightened condition, also non-existent of the ending

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of the unenlightened condition, up to and including the non-existence of aging and death, also the nonexistence of the ending of aging and death. There is no suffering, source of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the way leading to the cessation of suffering. There is no attachment to Prajna wisdom, also no attachment to what one acquires.

Commentary: This Sutra is becoming more and more brilliant. It is non-existent of the Realm of the Eyes, up to and including the non-existence of the Realm of Mind and Consciousness; the change within is huge. This is what we just mentioned as eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind; sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, thoughts; even these kinds of sensory organ function also does not exist.

Therefore, since ancient times, there were many people who misunderstood the Heart Sutra; to the conclusion there is nothing at all; in that case, what is the meaning of our life? They are all mistaken; the Sutra talks about nothing at all, meaning everything is there.

So, if you did not understand the former explanation about: Therefore, within immateriality which does not have material form, there is no feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness. Then the following explanations will be even harder to understand.

If we go further up: to initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive that the nature of the five Skandhas9 (five aggregates) … are non-existence. If you do not understand initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with

9 The Five Skandhas are the five composition elements of our existence including, all material phenomena, the feeling towards all material phenomena, the thoughts that start from feeling, the mental formation from thinking continuously, and consciousness.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra clear perception to perceive, then the following explanations you also do not know either.

In that case we go further up to: Having perfect insight into being master of oneself Bodhisattva (as Bodhisattva AvalokitesvaraGuan Yin), about having perfect insight is extremely important.

How does the perfect insight in your mind, cognitive sphere will manifest in your outside. Someone went to the coffin store and saw Amitabha Pure Land; someone went to a funeral home and saw there is “purity, equality, and enlightenment”.

How come? One’s mind has purified of defiling illusion.

I recall there was an old friend of mine who practiced cultivation by volunteering to help the families of the dead at a funeral home at night and kept watch beside the coffin. With only a five-watt light, all around him were coffins filled with dead people; several people went there, and some would be restless for the whole night.

How come? They would hear sounds that were not supposed to be heard and would see things which are not supposed to be seen.

Some were only there for five or six minutes and felt the atmosphere was not right and then they would run out. All those people do not understand: the characteristics of all existing things (form or formless) are immaterial.

However, there was someone who sat there with a crystal-clear mind, unsoiled by impure practices. Why? His body and mind were being the master of himself. He did not place any of those things in his mind.

His mind was completely unmoved.

You asked him: why could he be unmoved?

He answered that: “It was very simple; all are phenomena. What is the difference between a dead person and a living person?

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Today one place is filled with living people, that place is filled with dead people, what is the difference?

This is his concept.

Taking it up a notch, very simply one has cast off attachment to phenomena of life or death; he is completely without this concept. Moving another step further, also there is no concept, seeing the appearance of all things also does not exist.

Today, regardless of any method to enlightenment, if you cannot see clearly about life in the universe, it is not easy to cultivate yourself in right practice. Especially your habit; only you understand yourself the most. Can one control one’s habit? If one can change the concept, then one can control.

Therefore, I feel that in many situations, other people cannot help you. Others can only provide a method, just like how Buddha and Bodhisattva explain Sutra, and he tells you the truth of the universe and passes on the method of enlightenment to you. Whether you understand it or not, can one do it exactly, that all depends on yourself.

How to do it? If you are interested in this, remind yourself during your morning and evening exercise sessions.

Why recite Sutra in the morning? In the morning when one gets up, there are not too many thoughts on one's mind then to edify once again, especially the Heart Sutra: all material forms are not different from immateriality; immateriality is not different from all material forms. If only to remember a couple phrases in the Sutra is sufficient.

The essence of all material forms is immateriality; immateriality is indeed the essence of all material forms. You get up in the morning to remind yourself to not be overly attached to all phenomena, overly fussed about everything, you will find a wide horizon. You go to work

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra regarding your boss, colleagues-either levels above, the same level, or levels below, regarding your old enemies or creditors; you will see them all in clarity. Just for today, you put into practice being disillusioned with all and cast off all attachments; to bring into the range of life.

Coming back from getting off work in the evening, very tired and taking a bath, eating a meal, I advise you to watch less television. Let us be practical, why watch less television? You have enough afflictions; you do not need to look at any more. Some people say watching television helps one to relax. Speaking truthfully, it is not relaxing; it is taking you to another place to have delusional thought. So, you think it is relaxing.

After bath, you do what? Very simply, you should compose your mind. Do not think about anything, settle down for five minutes.

After five minutes, you can either recite the Sutra, or have mindfulness of Amitabha. Why do the mindfulness? Your power of mind control is not strong enough, after five minutes you will want to watch television again, or you want to plan other projects. Let us take another 10 minutes to re-settle the mind.

How to compose the mind? Recite Sutra.

For the beginner, one needs to recite Sutra. Sutra recitation can stabilize your mind. When reciting Sutra, never mind the Sutra’s meaning. People nowadays seem to want to understand the Sutra first before they recite it. Frankly speaking, it is impossible to understand it thoroughly. Your mind has not been purified of defiling illusion, there is no way for you to comprehend this state of complete purity. Like we just said about the Heart Sutra, if your mind has not purified, you cannot enter; you just hear the surface meaning of my words as it seems to mean that, but it does not.

Every day, remind yourself during morning and evening sessions of practice, at least once for three to five years; this is called fundamental

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learning. To learn what? To learn your view and attitude towards life, this is all positive. You see life clearly then there is no friction between you and your colleagues, there will be no friction between you and your family because of any different concepts, you not only accept them but also do not initiate afflictions from it. This is what we call to apply the teaching of the Buddha in everyday life.

And what about yourself? When you are happy physically and mentally, spiritual power resulting from the discipline of Sutra recitation and to mindfulness of Amitabha profoundly, you yourself know where you are going to be. You will know perfectly well. Our body is just like clothing; you can take it off at any time.

Someone might say: “No, I cannot do this. My phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death” are too serious, this is impossible for me.”

Then you make life difficult for yourself.

Our body is like clothing. Clothing needs to be maintained and cherished, but do not be attached to it. You possess it, it becomes trouble.

It is easy for you to use it. Therefore, Smart people have the right to use it, but do not want to possess it.

For a man of wisdom, using and possessing are the same; cast-off attachment to both using and possessing. One can still use it, but do not have the thought of using.

Taking it to the next level, there is no notion of using or possessing, no thought at all, one does not use it anymore.

Why does one not use it? One’s way is known as effortlessly achieving the way of enlightenment leading to nirvana.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Now we come to reality, we are taking the state of the Heart Sutra as just mentioned to use once in real-life here. For instance, when other people scold you, you do not even hear it. It is not that your ears have a problem, your mind is fundamentally not focused on that. If people say you are good, you won’t be happy either; if people say you are bad, you won’t get angry either.

Why? It is because all phenomena are all material forms are not different from immateriality; immateriality is not different from all material forms. So, have you all thought about it clearly?

When you drive, you know all traffic lights, either left turn or right turn is all clear. For instance, when you drive to a new place, your mind uses this method - neither increasing nor decreasing, neither impure nor pure. You are crystal clear and plain to the point, check the map and go in, do not doubt. While driving, relax and enjoy, also do not panic. Just take your emotions off, using your wisdom and your rational mind to start. So, everyone goes home and put this into practice in your mind. Otherwise, hearing all this teaching without self-implementation is useless.

Next, we explain: It is non-existent of the Realm of the Eyes, up to and including the non-existence of the Realm of Mind and Consciousness. You want to understand the state of the Prajna Paramita Sutra, first look at the word of non-existence which can be explained with multiple meanings: (1) It is without attachment.

(2) It means that although non-existing, it also shows that it exists. I believe you may not understand this meaning.

How come? We now see that everything in the world is existent, there is this, there is that; there are “who-people, engaged in what

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matters, where-places and involved with what objects”, women and men; all is existence. If you use this way of thinking, you are not using your Prajna. Instead, you are using the way of all material forms, feelings, thinking, mental formation, and consciousness. Here, it explains the nature of Five Skandhas10 are non-existence; if you use the secular way to say the Five Skandhas all exist; this is troublesome.

The reason why we have incessant afflictions is precisely thinking all things exist. You work hard to make money, then you can have it. You are troubled at work or unstable in your life, you feel it. Or regarding the phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death” you feel it. To tell the truth, after you read the Heart Sutra, you feel uncomfortable.

The appearance of all these things are delusional thoughts made from your attachment. If you feel that these things are unreal, then congratulations, you free yourself of worldly worries. If you think these things are real, I guarantee you will enjoy and suffer through it.

Therefore, within this enjoyment and suffering there are many different levels. Like these kinds of different levels, they are precisely different kinds of attachments. For instance: When we eat a meal, sometimes you will think, to pick and to select. To what extent will you then be pleased and satisfied? To tell the truth, it is impossible to be satisfied and pleased. Or, you think about the past, or think about the present, or think about the future; no matter how you think it is impossible to be as you wish.

Why not as you wish? Your way of thinking, looking at things, saying and doing still apply with the nature of the Five Skandhas as all existing, not the nature of the Five Skandhas are non-existence. We understand this from here.

10 The Five Skandhas are the five composition elements of our existence including, all material phenomena, the feeling towards all material phenomena, the thoughts that start from feeling, the mental formation from thinking continuously, and consciousness.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Now we start to explain: It is non-existent of the Realm of the Eyes, up to and including the non-existence of the Realm of Mind and Consciousness.

The meaning of the Eyes, scientists in general explain the optic nerve – the nervous system of vision. You think it is real, then you are wrong. It is the continuity of memory of arising and ceasing of 900 times in an instant.

How to explain this? If you watch the shooting of a gun from a high-speed camera, I had mentioned this before, the bullet leaves from the muzzle of the gun to hit the target, such short distance, we look at it as being a split second. Using a high-speed camera to look, every extract is static and segments, this then proves “the appearance of things” is unreal.

“The appearance of things” are the misconception manifested from your mind, and this misconception has brought you infinitely boundless attachment. Speaking further onwards, it brings you infinitely boundless afflictions. Therefore, what we see from our physical eyes are surely not the first real situation which has already passed through three reflexes. Therefore, what we see are the temporary appearance after delusional thought and attachment.

For instance: Today explaining the Sutra, there are many people here, and we see the condition of everyone: If you use physical vision you see their skin.

If you have divine vision or Heavenly vision, seeing through, you see the internal organs.

If you are an Arhat with wisdom vision, you see the condition of selflessness and without individual existence.

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If you are a Bodhisattva with Dharma vision, you see the state of an ion’s arising and ceasing.

There are many kinds of Bodhisattva, If you are a Bodhisattva who has attained the first stage of the joy of Mahayana Bodhisattva development (as the 41st level of the 52 cultivation tiers) and have already eradicated the unenlightened condition, then you see the fluctuations of thought on one’s mind.

If you have eradicated all 41 grades of the unenlightened condition and become a Buddha, then you would see nothing is there, even “thought” does not exist.

All of you take a moment to think: where do your come afflictions from?

These afflictions of yours, truly speaking, are just because of this physical vision of yours. The physical vision cannot see things clearly; plus, you are nearsighted (myopia). Nearsighted (myopia) vision is different with lens strength, therefore eventually the ability of the eyes will fade away.

Ancient people made the effort to have their minds fixed and undisturbed. You think they were blind but in fact they were not; their wisdom vision opened and could see the truth about life in the universe.

However, we are unable to see, we do not know the truth about life in the universe, and are only able to see the phenomena about life in the universe; this is the biggest difference.

So, the biggest difference between us and Buddhas and Bodhisattvas: we see phenomena while they see the truth.

Everyone in this society functions to a certain extent, but some people only think about themselves. Some think of others, some think of family. Some people think about a village, while others think about a country.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra What is the condition of these people? They have different attachments.

Buddha is not this way; the Buddha’s condition is very simple, where all things either with life phenomena or without life phenomena are equal. This is also part of our afflictions too. Our major problem is inequality. This inequality exists with the four types of human emotions like “happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy”, and exists with “right or wrong”, “good or bad”, and so forth; so, one feels unwell. One’s daily life is either feeling unwell about this or feeling unwell about that. What about happiness? One is not very happy either, a rapidly passing happiness then there is nothing left.

Therefore, do Buddha and Bodhisattva exist in this world? Yes, there are extremely many. But the problem is that you do not know them.

You are using an unenlightened person’s way of thinking to look at Buddha and Bodhisattva. They also eat, drink water, and pee; also are angry, discriminate, have attachment, and delusional thought like a common man. Only to speak the truth, they are this way because your attachment and delusional thought appear this way.

Do they have this? No, they do not have. Even if he were living with you, you would be unable to tell.

Why? You still think he is unenlightened. This is a very strange phenomenon.

I remember I saw a man before, and of course later we learned that he was not an ordinary person. His phenomena were: You scold him, he scolds you back; you hit him, and he also slaps you back. If this kept going, someone was going to be killed. But strangely, you stab into his body which is transparent. Only until then, we just knew that was

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fake, but the day after you know he is not an ordinary person, he passed away. Therefore, a genuine Buddha or Bodhisattva is not the same as us; their way of life is different from ours; he is acting with us.

What is his acting? He acts: It is non-existent of the Realm of the Eyes, up to and including the non-existence of the Realm of Mind and Consciousness. What you see is his false impression.

Therefore, when a person has entered the state of meditative concentration to Samadhi level, their scope of living is unfettered and are the master of themselves.

Why? He sees that all people's thought behavior which shows that the self is making life difficult for the self. These afflictions in one’s own mind incessantly revolve. Your life span is also the same as your afflictions. How heavy your afflictions are, how heavy the condition of your life span will be. This so-called “heavy” means bearing a heavy burden.

We have often heard: “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance”.

Why? He follows his heart’s desires.

He gets his desires, why feel happy? He feels relaxed and no obstacles. This time is very short, and it is impossible to grasp it, even he himself cannot control this.

For instance, if this year you bought a good camera, a good car, or a good house, then your frame of mind will be different, all your focus is on this. It will be like this maybe for three to five days. Some people are longer for one to two months. If it were a little longer, this person would be different. If you can prolong a lifetime, and you never tire of this, then two situations: Either one is overly attached, or one has got over it and not greedier. On the surface, you cannot see it. You say you have any

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra hobbies, or you have any spiritual sustenance, from these aspects it is hardly noticeable. This is very important.

Therefore, It is non-existent of the Realm of the Eyes indicates you have no attachment to phenomena seen by your physical vision.

If you no longer have attachment, then you would not have those afflictions we have just mentioned; it just that everything you see does not bother you.

Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind -the six roots (sense organs) are the same, and fundamentally do not exist. If you attach to them then they exist, they have functions. The ears can hear sound, we all like to hear good things, only everyone's standards are different.

Everyone says this sounds nice, that sounds good, or this does not sound good, that does not sound good, it is different. The reason is the same as It is non-existent of the Realm of the Eyes what was said before, precisely it is what is the extent of your attachment. Therefore, the rest may be deduced by analogy, the analogy to the end even mind and consciousness is also non-existence.

What kind of mind do we use currently? It is the three minds and two consciousness. The three minds are the past mind, present mind, and future mind; the two consciousness are the Monas (the seventh) of attachment and the sixth consciousness of delusion.

These three minds and two consciousness can be very troublesome, especially when one gets busy and does not feel it. For instance: currently if you are not busy, you start to think about the past, the present, and the future. When you done thinking about it, you start to cling to it. This one is unpleasant, that one is disgusting. At a single thought about that happiness, that is not bad. The 7th consciousness - Monas consciousness does the attachment, the 6th consciousness does the delusion; these two things take in the file, then arrive at the

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8th consciousness (Alaya) – we talk about the memory of the brain. This memory bank is not only for this life term; it has memorized all your infinite lives. If your memory recovers, you will see everything you have done in your past lives, all are remembered clearly.

I have also encountered a person who was completely aware of his previous lives of the infinite existence of world periods. If your mind has restored purity, then you are completely clear for the infinite existence of world periods, it is not like what you imagine.

Buddha and Bodhisattva know about either good deeds or bad deeds in their past with full clarity. Full clarity is what? Just like us now, as you look at me, I look at you, clearly appearing before one’s eyes. He did not see it through hallucinations. Our life is a hallucination, he is not; what he sees are hallucination within hallucination.

Therefore, I feel to study the Heart Sutra, the most important thing is to compare your life experience with the Sutra text. Buddhist Sutra is not that hard to understand. Frankly speaking, Buddhist Sutra, and the phenomena of the universe, it is you yourself that thinks it is difficult.

So, we now say there is no mind and consciousness, then that person is at ease. Without mind and consciousness does not mean that one cannot think. Those who have no mind and consciousness means that there are no distracting thoughts, where one's mind and consciousness are turned into bright light, turned into the sphere of Prajna (wisdom). To put it bluntly, this is a deeper level, it is revealed from his pure mind. It is a big difference.

To tell the truth, our mind is very difficult to be purified of defiling illusion, everyone here has this experience. Why is this mind hard to be purified? It is the function of consciousness which can cause the phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death”. This “birth, aging,

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra sickness, and death” according to the Heart Sutra, fundamentally are non-existent.

Why do you experience it exists? It is your wrong opinion. To explain again, it is because there was no enlightenment education when we grew up. If you have enlightenment education, you will not have this kind of suffering at all. The education we were brought up with, human education, is called “gain and loss” education, so you feel uncomfortable.

Many people often say that I have the notion of gain and loss, I cannot change it -- that is a lie.

Why? You have not truly seen it clearly. If you truly see it clearly, it is not a deception, it is the continuous phenomena of arising and ceasing from moment to moment. We have also said before, the scientific community proved long ago that the appearance of things all are fluctuations. If you use the fluctuation concept to live, I am telling you, you will not have gain or loss.

Non-existent of the unenlightened condition, also non-existent of the ending of the unenlightened condition. I need to explain about this unenlightened condition: Frankly, if we do not use Buddhism terminology to explain it is very difficult, only using Buddhist terminology to explain, some people cannot understand, and have no way to accept it. We call it the unenlightened condition. In a nutshell, the unenlightened condition means to be unclear, unclear about the truth of cosmic life.

Why is one unclear? Because one has the unenlightened condition.

How does the unenlightened condition start? I am telling you, it is called Non-existent of the unenlightened condition, fundamentally there does not exist the unenlightened condition. If you do not attach to the unenlightened condition, then there is no unenlightened condition.

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Meaning? If you do not attach to your afflictions, then your afflictions are non-existent. Strangely, if you want to cling to it, you then say the afflictions exist.

You see we are sitting now, there is a body, do we not? Yes. “Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind” “sight, sound, smell, taste, tactile objects, thought”, are they all there? Yes. Why do we have it? It is because you have attachment to it.

There are also people who say, I know what you are saying, however I cannot be unattached - this is one kind. The second kind is, I do not want attachment, I do not have attachment, then it means you still have a thought - I do not have attachments.

The teaching of the Buddha, sometimes speaking in the depth of it can cause misunderstanding, it is like telling a riddle; the misunderstanding is that the more you explain it, the more mysterious it becomes. In fact, it is not so; rather the more you talk about it, the clearer it becomes. It is because your mind is not delicate enough. If you are under the condition of Samadhi level (state of intense concentration achieved through meditation) when you hear the Sutra scripture, you uncover enlightenment and truly understand the truth of the universe.

The problem is that your mind has two modes: 1. Disorder, where your mind is frenetic and unpeaceful.

2. Lethargic (drowsy), where your mind is unclear.

These two phenomena lead you to arise the unenlightened condition.

There is one phenomenon like the following: A person who has eradicated the unenlightened condition exists one prospect which is although all the people are drunk, I will awaken

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra alone. Even though being of “awaken alone” status, he is still in the drunk condition, only he has not passed out yet.

Drinkers, when you shake him or move him, he would say: “I am not drunk yet.”

But in fact, is he drunk? Yes. We see it clearly. The awakened one is pretending to be drunk. Why does he pretend? To tell the truth, he wants to associate himself with everyone, but does not follow the bad example of everyone. His mental ground is bright; therefore, he associates himself with everyone. He looks to be the same as you, but he does not follow your bad example.

His every word and action daily; if you are with him, he is teaching you, but you do not understand.

The venerable monk Guang-Qin in the past while still alive had many disciples and many lay disciples also. Had anyone truly learned a lot from him? Too few.

Why? First his appearance was the same as us. We often think in our mind that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are different, that they must look like the painted portrayal on the scrolls or stated in the books as light-emitting and earth-moving.

In the final analysis, did they truly emit light and are earthmoving? All Buddha statues are for demonstrating the teachings.

His emission of light expresses he has purified of defiling illusion; the earthmoving is to shock people’s consciousness to become enlightened, to jolt you awake from the mist. Therefore, the image of Buddha and Bodhisattva are so expressed, in fact they do emit light. Has there been earthmoving? Yes. But we do not feel it.

You say, does the halo of Amitabha shine? Yes. Not only Amitabha, but Jesus Christ also shines, that light is also incredibly vast.

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Is anyone from the Heavenly world here? Yes, you just do not have this feeling.

Why? You have the unenlightened condition.

As we talk about this, I can prove it clearly. For instance: Our Earth was originally shining, the outer sky was not black, it was bright.

How come now it is not?

The attachments of humans are getting deeper and deeper, deep to a degree, the human’s mind is gloomy. In outer space, there are many planets that have individual rings of light like the planets of Venus, Mars, and Mercury. We earthlings do not seem to have this.

What does this mean? Our environment has become more and more polluted.

What is the pollutant? It is attachment and illusion.

Is it truly being polluted? It is not.

It does not really pollute; all of you must remember, this “unenlightened condition” is not real. It is phenomena. Just like us now always do not become enlightened. The self also knows the self-need to uncover enlightenment, why always has the self not become enlightened?

It is because in your head there is a thought of being “always not become enlightened”.

Therefore, another situation of the unenlightened condition is that all phenomena of this world are made from the unenlightened condition.

Speaking further in-depth, One thought of the unenlightened condition arises three extremely fine notions, and the image of the object perceived

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra serves as the triggering cause to manifest six coarse aspects.

The unenlightened condition refers to when one brings a sudden doubt to the environment. Originally you see the sun with light, suddenly you arise with the thought, why does it have light?

Three extremely fine notions are: 1. The unenlightened condition, which is the primal action, the stirring of the perceptive faculty; 2. The ability to perceive phenomena (perceptive faculties); 3. The object perceived.

What is “the ability to perceive phenomena (perceptive faculties)”? A sudden thought turns the original bright light into darkness; in a flash of a second, the stirring of the perceptive faculty begins. The “perception” is the continuity of attachment memory in your thought. This continuity of memory lets you begin to be confused, and after being confused to a certain extent, then the perceptual objects manifest before you.

For example: we usually look around with our eyes, then you will feel. You stare at the sky for a long time, you have tired eyes. Tiredness produces sky, flowers and illusion; after seeing illusion for a long time, it is just like a mirage, where you really think the mirage is true, which gives rise to perplexity, cognitive distortion, and fear.

Speaking out, the state of anything, how does it become karma?

How does it become the power of the continuity of memory? It is precisely your attachment; we just do not understand that it turns out to be a sky-flower illusion.

As soon as this object perceived occurs, incredibly, the empirical

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world turns into a condition where the object of perception upon which serves as the triggering cause. The triggering cause is a condition. From the condition to manifest six coarse aspects - sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, and thoughts, this is very troublesome. We just talked about how the nature of the Five Skandhas11 - all material forms, feelings, thinking, mental formation, and consciousness are non-existence, but he is not non-existence. Why? He thinks about it continuously – having delusional thoughts.

Therefore, we have an experience ourselves, a matter if you think about it continuously, either you have attachment to it or you just hate it. Then you must decide. After deciding, you still need to have a state of mind, are you going to do it or not? This is where all our afflictions come from.

If you think you have no afflictions now, really without afflictions, then your body becomes transparent, and your cells stop metabolizing.

In other words, you are not human anymore. What are you? It is barely enough to be called a Buddha. The word “Buddha” was a new word created by ancient people because it is beyond the description of words, therefore describes a non-human being. “佛” as Buddha, that is how it became.

Are there many Buddhas? They are so numerous that it is infinitely boundless. The enlightened people are extremely many. Where are these many enlightened ones? They are in your eyes, ears, noise, tongue, body, mind; to produce sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, thoughts.

If you do not have attachment to these phenomena, that is called a Buddha.

If you cling to these phenomena, then it becomes a “dispute between you and I; people, matter, places, object; good or evil; mountains 11 The Five Skandhas are the five composition elements of our existence including, all

material phenomena, the feeling towards all material phenomena, the thoughts that start from feeling, the mental formation from thinking continuously, and consciousness.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra and rivers and great earth” - all manifested.

Therefore, Non-existent of the unenlightened condition, also non-existent of the ending of the unenlightened condition. Ending means “not having”. Even the thought of “not having nor” can be.

Speaking earlier, non-existent of the unenlightened condition, Guan-Yin Bodhisattva is afraid you become attached to it, also non-existent of the ending of the unenlightened condition, it also non-exists not having the unenlightened condition of the sort.

All of you think this over, this mode of existing cannot necessarily be expressed through spoken and written languages.

Just like how we speak of “air”, is it there? Yes. How do you know?

If we went back a thousand years ago, to speak of the air that we are breathing in, would you believe it then? Now that we have scientific knowledge, of course there is air, what we breath in is air. Like this kind of question, these situations, we usually cannot think, because it belongs to the unimaginable and inconceivable Realm of eternal truth.

The so called “inconceivable'” means we cannot use language and words or common and average thinking activity to explain it.

Regarding this kind of situation, how do we get in? It is simple; everything relaxes, you let it go and there is no attachment, then you just enter. Just like when you are having a therapeutic massage by someone, you must relax to receive the massage, and if you do not relax, it will be useless no matter how hard the therapist presses. You need to relax and give rise to pleasure, and when the sore spots are being touched, you will feel overjoyed. The soreness becomes a kind of phenomenon.

Then how does this phenomenon come into being? To be honest, when you do not have the concept of the body, then you would

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feel the pleasure. If you have the concept of the body, pressing the sore spot hurts like you are going to die, it is impossible to bear. Or if a person is going to die, and your concept is that I am finished, then you will surely die. So, these thoughts are in our daily life, every day.

How do you remove the unenlightened condition? It is not making life difficult for yourself every day, and to remember it is not indulgence. The so called “not making life difficult for yourself” means to stand opposite your own persistence.

Today let delusional thought pass without delusional thought.

For instance: attachment to the body, delusional thought on various interests and disputes between people, let it all pass; do not hold onto it and do not cling to it. Honestly, probably after two or three months, your life will be transformed, and you will never suffer again. Eventually this persistence will also gradually disappear.

Man in this world has a goal. Everyone has it. Of course, there are people without goals, let us not talk about it for now. Today we talk about people with goals. There are many kinds of people with goals, what do I want to do? I think this way, or that way, and so forth; if this condition of “I” is under the unenlightened condition, then this “I” generates a function.

What function? To be incapable of being free. There is always something that seems to limit you, to limit this, also to limit that, this would not work, that would not work. Every day gets narrower and narrower, and at the end of your life you become so narrow that you stay in only one spot.

When this spot disappears that is your time to enter a mother’s womb in preparation for rebirth again into this world.

Therefore, everyone, how much do you understand about yourself? One just has a certain degree of knowing; one only knows whether one has habits or not, but one does not know whether to have the Buddha-nature within oneself or not.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Buddha-nature is the fundamental nature of enlightenment. I think most people really do not understand this. Therefore, here when we are talking about no attachment, it is to not attach to your habit.

Prajna speaks of this function in your Buddha-nature within. Therefore, many people who worship Buddha, and have mindfulness of Amitabha for lifetime, are still incompetent; one remains an ordinary unenlightened person.

Why? Regarding cosmic life, one does not want to change.

It is his own persistence to make his life difficult daily. If he thinks the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are his own Buddha and Bodhisattva, then it is all over.

You need to remember that the first thing to learn is the Buddha’s way to be lenient in your breadth of mind. To what extent? To be without boundary. All religions have this foundation. But I want to say: Buddhism is an education; it is not affiliated to religion.

The reason why is not affiliated to religion, because it does not have the unenlightened condition. Religion has the unenlightened condition; it has idolatry, one does not know anything about God and Heavens, there is no way and opportunity for a dialogue with God, this is not equal.

Only the teaching of the Buddha is not this way, it is full equality.

Why? Everyone can understand the truth of the universe. The issue is whether you want to understand it or not. Someone said: “I want to, how to start?” It is simple: throw away your “ego I”, and never again use the concept of “I” to live. For instance, “I” ate too much today, “I” feel sick, my stomach hurts, or look at that person; then it is all finished, that is “I” at work.

Therefore, all of you have come to listen to the Heart Sutra; most importantly the state of mind is what? The text of the Heart Sutra

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is very short, but it is the major crucial point of Prajna wisdom. If this mind of yours is free from obstructive thought, also non-existent “free from obstructive thought”, then you succeed.

Let us talk in a bit more elementary way, you have the behavior of thinking that indicates you are still in reincarnation.

What is reincarnation? A matter follows the track of an overturned cart (as in following a path led to failure in the past). The first condition of reincarnation is “greed”. The second condition is not reaching the result of craving and one is difficult to bear, that is “Aversion”. After it is difficult to bear for a long period of time, it becomes “Ignorance”, which is having lethargy and obsessively clinging. These three things “greed, aversion, and ignorance”, where do they from? They are from the unenlightened condition.

Therefore, next it states: also, non-existent of the ending of the unenlightened condition, up to and including the non-existence of aging and death, also the non-existence of the ending of aging and death.

We all know the phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death”. The older we get, the deeper it gets, because we are slowly dying.

Some ancient people were also amazing, the coffin was bought early and placed at home and painted once a year. These ancient old folks had their tombstones inscribed readily, their grave was dug early, some even lay themselves into the coffin beforehand to test out how comfortable it felt.

That was how old folks used to be, they wanted to return to their roots (like fallen leaves returning to their roots). Do you know, they will surely die. Why? Because he was ready to die.

Some people say: I am old and am prepared with a generous pension. What is this pension for? It is for medical expenses. One is ready to get sick. “Birth” one cannot prepare, because one had no choice, but “aging, sickness, and death” one can prepare for; this is a pity, and

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra pathetic. Why? Originally, we were supposed to be like free-range chickens being happy, at the time of death, either personal karma may be cut with one knife or we die in pain. This is okay, not so much pain. People are suffering now; I feel that is desperately serious. I want this, I want that, once one cannot get what one wants then they feel uncomfortable.

Otherwise, one lives in despair.

Where are these phenomena from? The phenomena of aging and death is because there is a lot to get done before your die. I tell you; you can never finish.

Why can’t it be done? If you have new attachment and new delusional thought in your mind, you absolutely cannot finish it. When you are done, I tell you, time and space are gone.

Therefore, ancient people regarded time and space as described in a poem by Li Bai (Tang dynasty poet, 701-762): Years alive are less than a hundred, always harboring a thousand years of anxiety in one’s mind.

Days are short and the bitter nights are long, why not have night outings with candles in hand - making merry while one can.

He said: life is less than a hundred years, yet anxiety lasts a thousand years, which is ten times one’s life span. Days are short. The sea of suffering is vast. At night one cannot sleep, daytime fun is not even a few hours, just a few minutes that is all. The night is a long night, why not have night outings with candles in hand - making merry while one can.

In ancient times, there was no light, holding a candle was called night outings with candles in hand.

What does it mean? Enjoy pleasure in good time. Even if one

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cannot sleep, do not miss the night. This is having fun in desperation, and trying to be happy amidst adverse circumstances.

Let us consider the life of Li Bai, a Chinese poet (701-762 CE), a genius and romantic figure during the mid-Tang Dynasty. In Chinese history, many people envied him. His death, how did he go? He died by trying to fish up the moon. While he was rowing a boat, he was drunk and saw the moon reflection in the lake; he tried to fish up the moon and fell into the water and drowned. Although this story is very dramatic, life is precisely this way.

A person pursues a goal, if you are still in your illusion then you will surely die. Or there is also a kind of unwillingness to die, it is very sad to say. To be honest, that was a joke.

Why? Fundamentally there is no such thing as aging and death.

Why not? Even if there is no unenlightened condition, where does this “I” come from?

“I” do not exist, then who is born, who ages, who is ill, and who dies? None.

So, there is no phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death”.

Non-existent of “birth, aging, sickness, and death”, also non-existent of the ending of “birth, aging, sickness, and death”. We quote this: nonexistent “who-people, what-matters, where-places, which-objects”, also non-existent of the ending of “who-people, what-matters, where-places, and which-objects”. This is extremely important.

The good thing about Buddhist Sutra is that it can wake me up in a sentence or two. Everyone seems to be enlightened now. The problem is it depends on how you maintain this awareness.

For instance, I expound the Sutra, but I do not regard it as a matter

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra of any importance. When I am on stage, I just open my mouth, it is done.

Am I not conscientiously Sutra expounding? No, I take the expounding to heart, every sentence, every condition, the unstable minds of the audience, I observe them clearly. But it is not nerve-racking; I am in the game.

When we do things it should also be this way; if you do things and always have conflicts with your boss, do not interact with colleagues, feel very unpleasant to those around you; I tell you, you are extremely clinging to these things as being real, you do not understand how to play. One does not take to heart the game, that is a master-hand. The so-called master-hand, again one has no hand. You say you are using the mouth to expound the Sutra, but to be honest, one has no mouth; you read it wrong again.

Therefore, listening to the scripture, the most important thing is if you did not listen. if you have listened to the scripture, it indicates you have attachment. If you have given your ear to it, you need to forget it. To listen without distracting thought in mind, without listening yet is listening to all the true meaning; to do with full concentration and no attachment when doing, without attachment of doing then is truly doing it perfectly. In the future, I think there will be many such similar sentences. It is very interesting to explain it in this way.

Why? One listens without distracting thought. Does it go in the left ear and out the right ear? One does not. When one listened, there were no distracting thought in one’s mind. Therefore, when one listens, one did not have that phenomenon of listening, yet the significant meaning is in one’s heart, one has experienced it.

So, listening to the scripture is called to experience the scripture for oneself. To see things is to not use the eyes to see, it is to experience things for oneself.

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Therefore, the Buddha discussed the teaching previously in different worlds, and all living beings have different attachments. In some worlds, beings have sharp (“sharp” meaning sensitive) noses. When you invite one for a meal, if one smelled the scent then one became enlightened. We here have numerous awfully sharp sense of hearing, very sensitive ears, listening to spoken words can be penetrating.

Some people are like this, when they hear something good will turn it into something bad, which means one has an overly worried mind.

Some hear something not so good then turn it into something good; this is called having an “unorganized mind”.

Some people after hearing for a long time but do not hear anything, this is called “having a mind of unenlightened condition”.

We listen without distracting thought in mind, and after listening, its condition of purity evokes resonance with the Buddha-nature within yourself. This is important. This listening is not a normal way of listening.

The normal way of listening is very simple, going to school to learn this and that. If the topic you are interested in, you listen to it; if you are not interested, forget it, and get out of class.

The teaching of the Buddha is not this way; the way of listening to the Buddha’s teaching is outstanding, listen to whatsoever being in the pure mind. What does that mean? No thought arises in the mind, but you listen to everything with completely understanding.

Listen to the scripture, if you are putting it all down to listen, I tell you, after one or two words you will uncover enlightenment, you will then know the truth of the universe. If you have not cast off all attachments, there are distracted thoughts in your head, I tell you, you never listened to it well.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra If you have cast off all attachments to listen, and do not say you are listening to Buddhist scripture, you will become enlightened even by listening to other people singing opera.

Why? The rise and fall of the opera sound, what you hear is called the sound nature, you hear the sound nature rather than hear the surface song. When we listen to the scripture it is also the same, to have listened to the essence of the scripture. If you do things like this, you will have touched the essence of things, you will not get tired no matter what you do.

For instance, if you are a businessman, you invest, you earn money, you do not get tired. If you have children and grandchildren with numbers up to 100 or even 1000, you will not be tired.

Why? Your mind will fundamentally not be bothered by it. At present, the biggest problems that is you have worry; these worries are the source of life and death, your mind moves up and down to follow it.

So many people say that to learn the Buddha’s way, the first thing one needs to do is to be non-affectionate. Do not misunderstand this, being non-affectionate means you are unmoved regarding affection.

Affection is confusion; if you are confused, your mind will be distracted, your thoughts are unclear. If your thoughts are unclear, the function between your central nerve system, autonomic nervous system, and brain are completely none, you are completely drawn by cognitive objects.

There was once a joke; people were practicing meditative concentration, everyone attained a good result, so called the fruits of one’s Buddhist practice.

Then one said: “More than ten years ago, someone owed me five dollars and still has not paid me back yet.”

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He initiated this delusional thought and while he saw the phenomena, he was confused by the phenomena and still had attachment to it.

If your mind has purified of defiling illusion, you will see your lives from age to age across the infinite existence of world-periods. You will not be confused by these phenomena. Although these phenomena exist through endless time and immeasurable space, they are a dream.

We speak in dreams that there exists the phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death”, the unenlightened condition, “eyes, ears, noise, tongue, body, mind”, “sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, thoughts”. When you dream, you know it is unreal, then congratulations, you have succeeded.

We dream with experience; some people dream of a monster, some see in a dream a tiger wanting to eat them and they become sweaty with fright. A clear-headed person, if in a dream, knows the dream is unreal, wakes up from the dream. Our life is like a dream, long but fast.

Look at the Heavens of the Thirty-Three (Trayastrimsas) described in the Buddhist scripture, like the Heaven of Jesus Christ, and the Jade Emperor (referred to in Chinese as the one who rules Heaven and Earth).

One day there is equivalent to 100 years here. We are here for a whole life that is less than 100 years, it is very difficult. Even if you are 100 years old, that is just a day in their Heaven. Therefore, space and time, the difference is infinitely boundless. The attachment is also different. The higher the level, the thinner the concept of time and space.

Last time we talked about the “Heaven of Neither-Perception nor Non-Perception”, the highest Heaven or the 28th tier is the top Heaven of the Formless Realm. Remarkably, one day there is 80,000 existences of world-periods. One world-period is 1,344 million years multiplied by 80,000. That means it has this number then month, year, and time can be calculated. The days of this Heaven from the Buddha’s vision - eyes

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra of the enlightened one, is an instant. This momentary feeling is like you are concentrating on one thing, suddenly time and space are forgotten, when you realize, strangely, how come so fast.

Many people on one’s 80th birthday they think: I am 80 years old, I think I will be in the coffin in a few years. This is what one thinks.

Buddha and Bodhisattva do not think this way: Eighty years as if an illusion, selflessness is the sincerest.

Sincerity to the extreme becomes selflessness. Therefore, other people say: The infinite existence of world-periods to Tathagata is as having illusory dream. After all conditional causation ended, originally it is no one there.

The Infinite existence of world-periods, infinite time is a pipe dream.

After all conditional causation ended, the state of disappearance of all conditions, that state of production and annihilation (arising and ceasing), originally it is no one there.

Just like our cells which go through a metabolic process daily, can you control it? No, you cannot. From birth we are destined to have death. This process, to tell you the truth, no one can escape. That is because you are using the three minds (past, present, future) and the two consciousness (discrimination and attachment). If you now use the mind of non-existence of aging and death, also the non-existence of the ending of aging and death, then I congratulate you; that is truly called: In dreams there are undoubtedly six destinies of reincarnation, after one is enlightened there is nothing and no universe.

I repeat these sentences today to remind you all: In future when conducting yourself and handling things, do not use this secular concept

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of “gain and loss”. If you use this kind of concept, then you will suffer unspeakably.

Why? When you are affected by gain and loss, you waste a lifetime.

Why not be disillusioned with all and cast off all attachments to live your life? Even if you cannot attain supreme enlightenment, at least you will live pleasantly.

“Being disillusioned with all” is to clearly see the truth of cosmic life, all phenomena are the assemblage of ions, atoms, and electrons.

“Casting off all attachments” is to take to heart the handling of all matters without pressure. Therefore, the basic concept of being disillusioned with all and casting off all attachments is to be free from worries and cares. If you have worries, then you are making life difficult for yourself.

Why? Time is already too short. Eating, drinking, and peeing has already occupied approximately half of this whole life, not including lying down in bed sleeping. True living in this life is less than one-third of the time. In this one-third, there are unpleasant days and muddleheaded days; truly satisfactory and happy days are not that many. In additional, there are different levels of happiness. So, a truly happy day in life are only a few minutes. If you spend your whole life with this attachment concept for only a few minutes of happiness, you truly wasted this lifetime.

If from now on you start to come around and let go of the concept of time and space now, then you are entering the phase of non-existence of aging and death. After, you further enter a kind of non-existence of the ending of aging and death, where even this thought of non-existence of the ending of aging and death does not exist.

From just a moment ago until now, we only talked about arising and ceasing (production and annihilation). Previously we talked about

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra the state of neither arising nor ceasing, this time we explain arising and ceasing; does it exist? No, it does not. Even neither arising nor ceasing does not exist, as nothing has been created, nothing can be destroyed, then where can there be arising and ceasing. All this is for the convenience of language. Therefore, Buddha explains the Sutra by using a lot of terminology. To let you not have attachment, that is using it in an ingenious way.

Now returning to the topic: There is no suffering, source of suffering accumulation, cessation of suffering, and the way leading to the cessation of suffering.

The first one is suffering. Who suffers? If everyone has the concept of selflessness, we do not need to continue to talk about what comes next. However, if your mind still has the “self-I” then this suffering is beyond words.

Looking at your life on earth, about 95% of the time is suffering, the remaining 5% still has painstaking suffering. I see our life is suffering indeed. You say you are happy, if you have a better blessed reward with a bit of money, you still rack your brains and labor the body, causing both physical and mental restlessness, and you truly suffer. But, if you think about it carefully, is there suffering? It does not seem to be either.

If in this life you were born in Ethiopia, then you are already suffering and cannot bear it. Now the suffering can be endured a little by staying in North America. Even fishing for three days and netting for five days (as in being too lazy to concentrate at work), hoping to have a chance to breathe. Can you catch the fish? You have already tried your best, but from what I can see, it is very difficult. This is related to the “cause” of practicing giving in your past lives. It is very difficult for you to make money in this life, you are under another’s disposal. To tell the truth, then you did not let others obtain and enjoy their deserved benefits in your past lives.

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For some people making money is easy in this life. I have a friend's friend who is this case. My friend would contact me when he was not busy; the purpose of his contact is he felt unbalanced mentally. Because he worked very hard, he was full of doubts and full of complaints when reaping without sowing. One day he called me and told me a story: He said: “A person who is the same age as him and his son work in a company, and his son wanted to give pocket money to his mother, so he gave his mother many stocks as a present. Then the stock went up, and it got out of hand. These stocks were calculated for nearly ten million U.S. dollars. Their own residence is worth about six or seven million dollars.”

My friend called: “He cannot figure it out. This matter was really unbearable for him.” He could not take it and said: “I make money the same way, and the house I live in is not as good as his, his pocket money is several times more than mine!”

I thought about it and then told him: “Why do you not compare with people who are worse than you? You fall short from the best, but you are better than the worst. The house you live in is not bad either. His money making was the result of practicing giving from his previous lives, it is easy for him to take it back in this life.”

But my friend would not believe this truth. This is a real thing that happened not long ago. Why I want to mention this is because some people are always mentally unbalanced. In fact, there is a reason. What’s more, these imbalances are of your own making and own thinking. Life is too short and very bitter; you should treat yourself leniently and not make life difficult for yourself. Moreover, there is no such thing as life fundamentally.

It is “non-existence of life, also non-existence of the ending of life”, you need to be skillful in the function, to use at your every

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra move, to use during thought arising in your mind, then this is called to cultivate yourself in right practice. This state of cultivation is called Prajna Paramita (perfection of wisdom, using wisdom to cross to the enlightenment shore - this is the superficial meaning. In fact, your mind is non-existence and existence are of the one Buddha-nature and undivided. Non-existence (immaterial) is the truth. Existence is the illusion (temporary appearance), the truth and temporary appearance exist simultaneously. This body of ours, if you say it is immaterial, that is correct. It is cellular composition, after it dissolves then there is nothing.

Now it is temporarily composed, temporarily possessed.

Thinking further about your seeing, hearing, cognition, and knowing; in other words, is your cognition real?

For instance, this table is no good, we kick it, is it real?

You say you do not understand life, is that real?

According to the concept of Prajna Paramita, all things are manifested by you. Suffering is also manifested by you, and we all suffer together. Therefore, the value of a person is one’s short life; the sooner you use the concept of being disillusioned with all and casting off all attachments to live your life, then the more you can be enlightened to comprehend the truth of the universe. If only you have one breath left, if you use the concept of being disillusioned with all and casting off all attachments, there is hope for you.

What hope? It is to have bright prospects. A bright prospect is your body and mind has attained a tranquil balance, and is also balanced emotionally and rationally. Emotion then transforms to become wisdom, and rationality transforms to become your Dharma Body. Dharma Body is the life essence of neither arising nor ceasing in the universe. In Buddhism it is called the Dharma Body, as Tathagata, Buddha-nature, and so forth.

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Therefore, to look at life, the first thing it talks about is suffering.

There are many kinds of suffering, and countless suffering.

Source of suffering accumulation, barely enough to explain as a gathering, where all sufferings accumulate in one place, becoming like the sea, to be called the suffering sea. Where is this suffering sea? It is at your thought arising in the mind. The outside realm has nothing to do with you. If in the outside realm, whether people hate me, scold me, or people let me down, these are all your way of thinking. Because you still have a “you”.

Where is the suffering sea? The suffering sea is the attachment in your mind, if you consider it is a sea of suffering, you feel uncomfortable.

The ancient people have a proverb: Nothing under the heavens matter until a foolish person messes things up for themselves.

A wise man will never mess things up for themself. I believe that none of you will admit you are stupid.

If you truly ask someone, are you a stupid person?

One might answer: “I am a stupid person.” But inside one’s mind they do not admit to that.

This is because people have discrimination and attachment. On this issue, extended to the end, one becomes increasingly blurred about life, and without direction. Sufferings mean too many, wrong here, wrong there, regarding the suffering sea there is no way to relieve, no way to extricate oneself. Mainly, one takes things too seriously, it is a big problem.

Therefore, if a person wants to free oneself of worldly worries, the only way is to have the mind purified of defiling illusion. “Pure mind” means your mind is unaffected at anytime and anywhere. On the outside

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra you deal with people, you laugh and know all is unreal. You are very clear that it is none of your business at all. This body of mine sooner or later will burn, this mind of mine cannot lay hold of the past, present, and future; then you have set the mind at rest.

As following the retribution for good or evil deeds from cause and conditions in this (or any) life are of variant ripening, and the power of karma, where do these problems exist? When you are in the dream, it exists. When your mind has no attachment, then there is no karma.

This non-attachment needs to be thorough; it cannot remain with either one or two percent, you need to be completely like the Sixth Patriarch Hui-Neng. The Sixth Patriarch Hui-Neng showed us how he completely cast off all of one’s attachment. All of you should read the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch if you have the opportunity; every single word and sentence in the Sutra is entirely about the condition after the Sixth Patriarch was enlightened.

So, the ancients made the joke: “For a person who has enlightenment, whatever one does is correct.” This is because the one has Prajna which is without deviation.

If an unenlightened person through worshiping Buddha and reciting Sutras, all is not working, it is just to form a good connection for future salvation; it cannot uncover enlightenment, cannot solve the problem of birth and death (the round of mortality). Therefore, be sure to figure it out, the School of the Buddhism does not request you to recite the Sutras or to have mindfulness of Amitabha. Sutra recitation, to have mindfulness a Buddha, they are tools. The teaching of the Buddha truly wants you to be disillusioned with all and cast off all attachments.

Next, we talk about cessation of suffering: Suffering must be able to cease. If you cling to suffering, then you have cessation of suffering. Now, being in the state of “non-existence of suffering, also

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non-existence of the ending of the cessation of suffering”, then you have succeeded.

Does cessation of suffering exist? People believe it is real and that they need to resolve it.

Is there such a thing as cessation of suffering? No, there is not.

Do we need to listen to the Sutra scripture? Yes, we do.

In form there is Sutra, does it exist after all? No, it does not.

Buddha and Bodhisattva help all living beings in this way; if you want to help a herd of pigs, you need to manifest as a pig then you can help them. If you want to help a herd of dogs, you need to manifest as a dog then you can help them. You need to be in the same form; if you are different from them then they will not accept you. So, for Buddha and Bodhisattva to help humans they need to assume human form; Buddha or Bodhisattva in the world of Hell or hungry ghosts must be the same form as they are - you need to become their colleague. Therefore, images of Buddha or Bodhisattva exist in every form. If you truly get a clear understanding, then you become a Buddha or Bodhisattva.

Thus, when we listen to the Heart Sutra being explained, we may slowly experience what is said inside. It explains non-existence from the beginning, and it also talks about how the Immaterial, and the material are no different. “Birth” and “death” are no different. Why does he explain it this way? His purpose is to tell you to not have attachment to birth and death; this is very important.

I feel that everyone needs to have the correct way of looking at life in the universe. Since you are learning the Buddha’s way, you need to use the concept of Buddha and Bodhisattva to live your life. If you use an ordinary unenlightened concept, as in the concept of yourself to live, then it is very troublesome. Your pain cannot be resolved, your affliction is you

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra yourself wanting to do this way, and your future will ripen as you have sown it. The people of Earth all have a shortcoming; they enjoy acting for themselves and suffering the consequences, torturing themselves, and they feel good about this.

The last is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. We have constantly talked about propriety and integrity, integrity is the function of propriety. The way is an undefiled living condition. Dao De Jing (The Classic of the Way and Virtue) by Lao-Zi states: The Way (Dao) that can be spoken of is not the universal and eternal Way. The way cannot be described with language and words, and is under the condition of selflessness.

Therefore, people speak of suffering, source of suffering accumulation, the cessation of suffering, and the way leading to the cessation of suffering. To have suffering, eventually the source of suffering accumulates more, we are going to cessation of suffering, after cessation then seeing the way leading to the cessation of suffering.

Seeing the way (leading to the cessation of suffering) is called to behold the Buddha-nature within oneself, seeing our inherent quality and the nature of life.

So, suffering, source of suffering accumulation, the cessation of suffering, and the way leading to the cessation of suffering does not progress in steps; it is done in one go. Knowing suffering, then abandoning suffering, after abandoning suffering, you then become enlightened. It is not that there is suffering, I want to leave slowly, after detaching from it, I then have enlightenment and I recover; there is no such thing.

It is the same way with “discipline precepts, meditation, and

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wisdom”: it is not saying; after observing the “discipline precepts”, precisely the “meditative concentration”. After having an internal state of imperturbability, then you have “wisdom”. There is no such thing.

When you abide to the “discipline precepts”, then having “meditation with a fixed and undisturbed mind” and “wisdom” are simultaneous. So, “disciple precepts, meditation, and wisdom” are all achieved at the same time.

If a person does not have anger, then this life on Earth is easy to handle. Therefore, suffering, source of suffering accumulation, the cessation of suffering, and the way leading to the cessation of suffering has given us inspiration; if you use Prajna wisdom to resolve life, and use complete rationality to see through this life, and furthermore, if you can laugh every day, would this not be a pleasant thing?

I hope all of you can truly have a playful attitude towards the human world; there is no need to make life difficult for yourself. A beginner may have problems understanding this, but it does not matter, you can try to apply the preceding concept of all material forms are not different from immateriality; immateriality is not different from all material forms in your daily life. If you truly cannot experience it, then use the method of mindfulness of Amitabha to calm down your mind.

There is no attachment to Prajna wisdom, also no attachment to what one acquires. This no attachment has many meanings, it can also be immaterial. The ancients had the statement of Three Insights: The study of 1. all are immaterial (the lack of an immutable intrinsic nature within any phenomenon), 2. all are unreal, 3. All are the middle ways.

One cannot have attachment to “all are immaterial”, also cannot have attachment to “all are unreal”, also cannot have attachment to “all are the middle ways”. This “middle ways” expresses I am without attachment to “all are immaterial”, “all are unreal”; maybe stick to another idea of “I have no attachment”. This kind of syntax and phrase, we have already

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra discussed a lot this so-called “no attachment” current situation before.

Here this wisdom represents Prajna in all.

Prajna Paramita, we have spoken before about needing to have Prajna to detach from the suffering sea, but here it explains that there is no need for Prajna and no need to cling to Prajna. What does that mean?

This no attachment to Prajna wisdom has a situation; it is you rowing, you rowing this boat over to the other shore. As the result, after reaching the other shore, and disembark, do you still need this boat? For some people, one still carries the boat on their shoulders, it becomes a burden. Therefore, this Prajna wisdom itself represents all Prajna wisdom. This Prajna wisdom, when you are not attached to it at the end, then the genuine wisdom manifests. When you are without attachment, this is Prajna wisdom, and at the end when completely without attachment, true wisdom manifests.

When you are not attached, Prajna wisdom this true wisdom then will move up one more level. Just like we talk about “effortlessly achieving the enlightenment leading to nirvana” in the unconditioned practice (being without causes or conditions, do not arise and do not cease).

The 41 Bodhisattvas have attained the realization of the Dharma Body and have eradicated the unenlightened condition. Between the first of the ten stages of the Bodhisattva who have attained Dharma body and the status of absolute universal enlightenment Bodhisattva of the Perfect Teaching school (the 51st of the 52 cultivation tiers), there are more than ten stages of difference. Their habituated tendencies from the unenlightened condition are also far from each other, but the problem is that they are all under unconditioned practice.

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So how to distinguish them under unconditioned practice?

They are already inactive; ultimately how to distinguish?

It is to distinguish their habituated tendencies from the unenlightened condition. Therefore, it is said there is no attachment to Prajna wisdom, also no attachment to what one acquires.

This what one acquires indicates we have wisdom now, the head is clear, we want to be free from afflictions. We call this way of thinking or this concept is the concept of wisdom, the concept of Prajna. However, here it is explained as also, no attachment to what one acquires, so the concept of gain or loss also does not exist, the concept of Prajna also does not exist. Because wisdom and acquiring itself are still tools; up to this level one still needs to cast off this - to eradicate the unenlightened condition.

If you say: “I have eradicated the unenlightened condition today”, then it is all finished; you still have the concept of “I” have eradicated the unenlightened condition today.

If you truly have eradicated the unenlightened condition: 1. You are selfless.

2. You do not have the unenlightened condition concept.

3. There is no attachment in your mind when your last grade of the unenlightened condition gets eradicated.

Regarding this “unconditioned practice”, strictly speaking, before one attains the 8th Stage Bodhisattva (the 48th of the 52 cultivation tiers) everyone would go through the state of withdraw and turnback from any position attained. This withdraw and turnback from any position attained means your mind still has fluctuation.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Where is this fluctuation from? It is caused by holding to the subtle concept of the ego.

To what extent is this subtle? Even you yourself cannot detect it.

For instance, now you are at the primary Stage Bodhisattva with Dharma Body attainment, then the second Stage Bodhisattva sees that you still have attachment, then from the third Stage Bodhisattva to see the second Stage and primary Stage all have attachments. So, for the higher graded-Stage Bodhisattva to see Bodhisattva of the Lower Stage, all have attachments; however, the primary Stage Bodhisattva is unable to tell the higher graded-Stage Bodhisattvas.

Just like how we always talk, after reaching Amitabha Pure Land, our way of living is exactly Amitabha’s way of living. Is there any difference between you and Amitabha? There does not seem to be any difference.

But Amitabha sees that the curvature of our thought arising in the mind is too great. For us to look at Amitabha, you could not tell. Of course, he is perfect and without movement, but we cannot tell that there is any difference between him and us. Like how we look at ancient eminent monks, their appearance is no different from us, and they act the same as us by eating, drinking, peeing, and sleeping. The only difference between them and us is when they leave the earth with their head clear. We leave with our heads unclear. It can only manifest from this place.

When you are truly there is no attachment to Prajna wisdom, also no attachment to what one acquires, that subtle discriminative thought entirely is non-existent. This is a very intriguing phenomenon. It is very hard for us to experience this in our life.

From the beginning of listening to the Sutra scripture until now,

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all of you may have a kind of feeling: this Prajna wisdom, after all how will it be producing?

We often hear people say: this person does not have wisdom.

This wisdom, what is it after all?

The general secular idea is to have wisdom and acquisition, however, the Sutra states: There is no attachment to Prajna wisdom, also no attachment to what one acquires.

This no attachment to Prajna wisdom, all of you must not be mistaken about this; this no attachment does not mean none. Prajna wisdom exists but you do not cling to it.

It is like when you write on water with a twig. While you write, it manifests form. After you finish writing, the manifested form is gone.

When you write, you can see the ripple above clearly but while there are ripples, as soon as your twig leaves the water, the water resumes its original state. What is this phenomenon? What you see is the separation and reunion of ions, the wavefunction of your optical vision. In fact, the ions did not move, but rather your eyes were affected by the phenomenon.

Going further in-depth, fundamentally there are no ions. It is - there is not a single thing originally.

No attachment to Prajna wisdom, itself is to not be attached to wisdom. To not have wisdom is when you do not know whether wisdom exists or not. One is where you do not have attachment, the other is the unenlightened condition. No attachment to Prajna wisdom and no wisdom called the unenlightened condition are different. All of you need to think about this conscientiously; between no attachment and the unenlightened condition, there is a big difference.

The unenlightened condition is us living muddle-headed daily, where life right now seems not bad and pretty good, and in the future

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra when you die there will probably not be any sickness and you die of old age. Some people say that his life was very happy. But if you look from the wisdom perspective today, this kind of living is known as the unenlightened condition of living, also a kind of living with attachment.

Although one is muddle-headed, there is attachment within one's unenlightened condition. If there was no attachment within the unenlightened condition, then one’s unenlightened condition would be easy to handle.

Why? Without persistence, if you tell one to wake up, one wakes up. Whatever you want one to do, one will do. If you tell one to have mindfulness of Amitabha, one then has mindfulness of Amitabha.

Today we have a big problem. We have attachment. Everyone’s minds all have different serious attachments, different serious gains or losses. If all of you can understand there is no attachment to Prajna wisdom, also no attachment to what one acquires, then the gain and loss in your mind will disappear. For instance: We live in a good house, or our household is very poor; you do not have this idea.

Other people purchased a car, we do not have that; you also do not have this idea.

What will my future life be like?

What kind of job to look for?

I need to be such and such; you do not have these ideas at all.

Now the issue is whether you want to do it? Do it. Yet do it without attachment.

Human afflictions are caused by comparing between the past,

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present, and future incessantly. There is a common saying: “Constantly comparing oneself to others will only make one angry.” There is another interesting one: “It does not hurt to shop around for the best deal.” You also need to think, is this real?

During our day-to-day situations, the most frequently encountered problems are many unpleasant trifles. If you use the concept of there is no attachment to Prajna wisdom, also no attachment to what one acquires to handle those trifles, then you will not have afflictions. Although all are small matters, it can extend to “birth, aging, sickness, and death”. I had a very unhappy life, die with deep regret, die with remaining grievance. If you apply the thinking way - there is no attachment to Prajna wisdom, also no attachment to what one acquires then you will not become this way. From the Diamond Sutra: All phenomena are like a dream, a mirage, a drop of dew, a flash of lightning; that is how to observe them.

Mainly, it is this problem.

[Sutra text] Being in the state of nonattachment to what one acquires, hence the Bodhisattva relies on Prajna Paramita (the perfection of transcendent wisdom), hence they have no hindrance in one’s mind.

Commentary: Now that you have realized there is no attachment to Prajna wisdom, also no attachment to what one acquires. Being in the state of nonattachment to what one acquires, the Bodhisattva relies on Prajna Paramita (the perfection of transcendent wisdom), hence they have no hindrance in one’s mind. If you apply this concept to live your life, then it becomes nonattachment to what one acquires. To be honest,

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra nonattachment to what one acquires means you have not lost anything and have not gained anything also.

We are most afraid of “gain and loss” in our life. “I have lost it”; it is so pitiful.

What have you lost? Does it not just state here that nothing is entirely lost.

In fact, nonattachment to what one acquires refers to being unable to gain acquisition, unable to lose any losses. Without loss is also without gain, so, no gain is also no loss.

Bodhisattva is a Sanskrit term meaning an enlightened sentient being. Why add the word “sentient” to it? This “sentient”, all of you need to be clear, these are living beings that have spirituality, souls, awareness, and are enlightened. This living being is self-enlightened, and after having understood the truth of the universe, helps those living beings who are still in the state of confusion and cognitive distortion, this is called a Bodhisattva. The ancients have a Gatha: Bodhisattva light like the pure and cool moon in the sky, who constantly roams in the sphere of absolute immateriality.

To repay the debts of the numerous existences of world-periods, being mighty like the spring breeze.

“Bodhisattva light like the pure and cool moon in the sky”, why use “moon” to represent? The word “moon” refers to perfect. “Pure and cool” means the Bodhisattva light is gentle and does not offend the eyes. It expresses how the Bodhisattva mind brings comfort to all living beings just like receiving the caress of the Spring breeze.

Every one of us knows of Bodhisattva (Guan-Yin) or has seen

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her image or has heard her name; you have a feeling that Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guan-Yin) is “loved by everyone”. Why is it that everyone who hears her name and sees her appearance will imperceptibly arise with a kind of home-like feeling as though reaching one’s destination? If everyone had the appearance of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guan-Yin), then the whole world would be at peace.

Therefore, everyone in Amitabha Pure Land has the appearance of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guan-Yin) and has the appearance of Amitabha. Why does our world not have the same appearance as them?

It is because everyone's minds are not that way.

Therefore, “Bodhisattva light like the pure and cool moon in the sky”, using Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guan-Yin) to represent this is the most appropriate. Then what kind of mind is Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guan-Yin) mind? It is called having perfect insight of being master of oneself stated at the beginning of this Sutra text: Having perfect insight of being master of oneself Bodhisattva (as Bodhisattva AvalokitesvaraGuan Yin).

Why is her light like the pure and cool moon in the sky? She, while cultivation into the profound Prajna Paramita (perfection of wisdom), when wisdom reaches perfection, at least has attained to the 8th Stage Bodhisattva (the 48th of the 52 cultivation tiers) with wisdom of nonretrogression and unmoved stage, that is to call one “the pure and cool moon”.

Of course, those Bodhisattva who have not eradicated the unenlightened condition do not count, such as Bodhisattva of the Functional Teaching school, or the condition of Hinayana all cannot count, because they have not eradicated the unenlightened condition.

Eradication of the unenlightened condition means to behold the bright light of the Buddha-nature within oneself. “The pure and cool moon” also represents the bright light of one’s own nature.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Her cognitive sphere is “who constantly roams in the sphere of absolute immateriality”. “immateriality” is the absence the inherent essence; why “the absolute”? It indicates not even a bit of attachment to immateriality. If we do not have attachment is pretty good, but she even does not cling to the idea of “no attachment”.

The meaning of the word “constantly” indicates without change.

It is not like us here to have “dispensation regarding the various forms of reincarnation as the various karmic transmigration- which is experienced by unenlightened people”, and “miraculous birth and death – which is experienced by enlightened bodhisattvas, or attainment of Arhat, Pratyek-buddha)”; these are two kind cyclic existences of birth and death in the six realms of reincarnation and ten states of existence. Our life here is called “various karmic transmigrations”, the end of life at the age of 80, just like how Shakyamuni Buddha took a material shape and came to earth. He taught for 49 years, resided on earth until the age of 79, and he also demonstrated human life’s various karmic transmigrations.

It is pitiful; people here are eagerly seeking fame and fortune.

This life on earth is to do what? Before your death is called “busying yourself with unimportant matters”. Life on earth is very intriguing.

What is the meaning of this life on earth, everyone needs to take a moment to think? The only meaning is to benefit the self but also to benefit others, to save the self and save others; this is the meaning of life on earth. Apart from this, one thinks only for oneself, then this kind of person is not only self-afflicted, but also brings chaos to others. This is a big problem.

Bodhisattva who have eradicated the unenlightened condition stay daily in “constantly roams in the sphere of absolute immateriality”.

That is precisely one acts freely and being the master of oneself, like the cognition sphere of while cultivation into the profound Prajna

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Paramita (perfection of wisdom). One initiates omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive that the nature of the five Skandhas12 (five aggregates) are non-existence. So, release oneself from all obstructions caused by suffering and misfortune.

He initiates omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception, therefore, the function of “the sphere of absolute immateriality” is called omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive. The true nature of “the sphere of absolute immateriality” is the Realm of Eternal Peace and Tranquil Light of Amitabha Pure Land, called the “Realization of nothing really arises or perishes”.

To explain a little more about this “Realization of nothing really arises or perishes”, it does not have phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness, and death”; so much that even the fluctuation of thoughts are unable to be produced, this is literally its meaning. It indicates he is all in all unmoved and in absolute stillness in all phenomena, it is hard for us to experience this. Regarding this “unmoved in absolute stillness”, “stillness” refers to the condition beyond disturbance as the state of nirvana; that turns into omniscient penetrative illumination, where one’s mind is settled like still water. The function of the mind settled like still water is just like being a mirror; it reflects everything in clarity and without difference.

For instance, if your mind is a mirror, you reflect the person you like and reflect the person you dislike. The mirror does not have any reactions.

The mirror will not say I want to reflect this person, I do not want to reflect that person. The mirror itself has no fluctuation, it is undisturbed.

After reflecting it, there is no thought arising, no movement of thought.

Therefore, the “the sphere of absolute immateriality”, should be interpreted as “unmoved in absolutely stillness”. This sphere of “unmoved in absolutely stillness” are most Bodhisattva above the 10th stage (as 12 The Five Skandhas are the five composition elements of our existence including, all material phenomena, the feeling towards all material phenomena, the thoughts that start from feeling, the mental formation from thinking continuously, and consciousness.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra beyond the 50th of the 52 cultivation tiers), it is called the “realization of Nirvana” which the level is higher than the “Realization of nothing really arises or perishes”.

The Absolute Universal Enlightenment Bodhisattva (the 51st of the 52 cultivation tiers) is the middle rank of Nirvana Realization.

The superior grade of the Realization of Nirvana is the attainment of Tathagata (Buddha).

“Constantly roams in the absolute sphere of absolute immateriality” is the sphere where the mind is without fluctuation forever. “To repay the debts of the numerous existences of worldperiods,” since one’s mind is unmoved, why does he still have debts of the numerous existences of world-periods? “The existence of worldperiod”, we are talking about time, and the period of past, present, and future, and the phrase “the existence of world-periods” represents this.

We constantly state that: Mindfulness Amitabha once can eliminate the grave crimes of life and death for eight billion existences of worldperiods.

Everyone who has mindfulness of Amitabha until now, do you have this kind of experience for yourself? Your mindfulness of Amitabha, not only has it eliminated the present retribution for evil acts, but it has also eliminated the retribution of future and past. If you have mindfulness of Amitabha 10 times, then the retribution for evil acts of the 80 billion existences of world-periods are fully terminated. So, someone has said: to have mindfulness Amitabha for a whole day and whole night, does one not become a Buddha then? All delusional thoughts and attachment have gone.

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The name of Amitabha has such formidable power. This is only a metaphor. In fact, mindfulness Amitabha can eliminate retribution for infinite billion existences of world-periods. How to eliminate? It is very simple; the infinitely boundless existence of world-periods of our life are precisely delusional thought and attachment. If this name of Amitabha can let you attain the state of purity without defilements, when there is no thought fluctuation, then your infinitely boundless karmic obstruction will all be eliminated, also delusional thought and attachment will be eliminated. When a thought becomes purified of defiling illusion, time and space also are non-existent; the phenomena of “birth, aging, sickness and death” are also gone.

The difference of one who knows to have mindfulness correctly or incorrectly can be wide. A person who has mindfulness of Amitabha correctly is “constantly roaming in the absolute sphere of absolute immateriality”. A person who has mindfulness of Amitabha incorrectly is “for repay the debts of the numerous existences of world-periods.”

To have the frame of mind of paying debts to have mindfulness Amitabha is quite pitiful. Some of you who have learned the way of Buddha for many years all can experience this way of thinking. But if you have no hindrance in mind to have mindfulness of Amitabha, do not say after the infinite existence of world-periods; just by this one mindfulness you become a Buddha. Then in this kind of situation, why once again does a need “to repay the debts of the numerous existences of world-periods”?

He wants to enter the dream of all living beings.

Why does he want to enter the dream of all living beings? We all know about the six realms of reincarnations (hell, hungry ghost, animal, Asura, human, Heaven), and the ten states of existence. The ten states of existence are the six realms plus another four holy realms of Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. All living beings in the ten states of existence have attachments. Beings of the four holy realms

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra have delusional thoughts about becoming Buddha, or Bodhisattva, or Pratyekabuddha, or Arhat. Beings of the six realms have delusional thoughts about becoming Heavenly beings, or Asuras, or hungry ghosts, or animals, or hells. The ten states of existence are all unreal and an illusory dream.

Therefore, Bodhisattva who “constantly roaming in the sphere of absolute immateriality” keeps the last unenlightened condition, which is the fundamental worry of the first thought activation of unenlightenment and confusion.

What is the fundamental worry of the first thought activation of unenlightenment and confusion? When you have a thought and manifest forms that is precisely the unenlightened condition. Bodhisattvas keep this one grade of unenlightened condition to enter the dream of all living beings, to enter the ten states of existence to awaken all the masses to break this illusory dream. If all people break their dreams, the last unenlightened condition of Bodhisattva is simultaneously eradicated.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is this way; he pledged: If the world of hell does not go empty; I vow not to become Buddha.

This vow is easy for him. It sounds to us to be exceedingly difficult; how is it possible for hell to be empty? I even cannot save my own family; to save beings in hell, that is impossible. But you need to know that the mind of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is the mind of “the absolute sphere of absolute immateriality”. This living being is a phenomenon taking place by the convergence of numerous causes and conditions; therefore, his mind does not have attachment. He is There is no attachment to Prajna wisdom, also no attachment to what one acquires. Being in the state of nonattachment to what one acquires. This is what the mind of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is like. So, does he suffer when goes to the hell

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world? He does not feel at all. Hell is a place where all beings are having the most serious delusional thoughts. His mind does not have delusional thought; therefore, we say his afflictions are already gone.

You do not need to feel envy, for if you have a purified mind, it is like receiving the caress of a Spring breeze. So, “the pure and cool moon in the sky”, “the sphere of absolute immateriality”, “being mighty like the spring breeze”; these things are all inter-changeable and inter-operable in essence and function.

To have no hindrance in one’s mind indicates the mind has nothing to be concerned about. Why no hindrance in one’s mind? Because even the mind does not exist.

Without mind, we always hear people say I am very interested in doing this, really want to do it well. I am telling you, you have a mind, then you will have hindrance. I have worked so hard for this family; this means you have hindrance. Or, I am looking after someone, he treats me badly, he is no good. Or again you have worked so hard for someone.

Do you know what this hard work is? It is your delusional thought and attachment.

Living in this society you unconsciously have a mind of reciprocation, and a mind of gain and losses; these have caused a person’s unbalanced frame of mind. The reason why your mind is unbalanced is because you have gains and losses and hindrance.

Here it talks about when there exists no mind, then it becomes:

[Sutra text] There is no hindrance in the mind, hence non-existence of the frightening and terrifying, keeping one away from cognitive distortion, dreams, and wishful thinking. Reaching to the ultimate Nirvana

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra (the imperturbable stillness of the mind after the fires of greed, hatred, and delusion have been finally extinguished).

Commentary: When you do not have a mind then There is no hindrance in the mind, hence non-existence of the frightening and terrifying. Today our worst affliction is frightening and terrifying, and not knowing about the future.

You ask, what will happen the next minute? One does not know.

One smiles and asks you back: “You ask me, how would I know?”

I met a lot of friends this afternoon and they all have this problem. They are at a loss, how to choose. I tell you, however you choose, your mind is restless. When you have a choosing mind, you feel uneasy. A clever man chooses. The confused person does not choose, also does not know what to do; one must be stubborn, on top of one’s stubbornness one does not want to change, then one will be in big trouble. This kind of person is called not keeping one away from cognitive distortion, dreams, and wishful thinking, also, not away from the frightening and terrifying.

As soon as something happens outside, it is desperately serious, one cannot adapt. I have seen a lot of cases like that.

Oh my, I am done for. So-and-so already died; how can l live on?

I see this kind of question a lot. It is none of her business. And this kind of issue is none of her business, even if it happens to you, it is none of your business. This body of ours is a body of hindrance, just like a cloth that can be thrown away. However, one needs to put this phony thing on oneself unfortunately. Your body’s metabolism and assemblage of cells are false. When your mind has this condition of hindrance, then you are frighteningly and terrifyingly afraid. You are afraid of losing, you do not

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know what day when unexpectedly, suddenly all disappears and you lose everything. After you lose it, you are then terrified. Terrified goes further than afraid. Afraid still can be resolved, but to be terrified is very difficult.

Some people are naturally terrified, not peaceful at all, and do not feel safe in the mind. Not only are they without any understanding regarding cosmic life, but one is also horrified, frightened and terrified by trivial matters. Let us look at some joking matters: Some people scream when they see a mouse, or yell when they see a cockroach. Why? Did you ever think about the condition of their mind, because when they see other things, they seem to have no problem?

We can look at the mind attitude of all living beings from a small area of their daily life, and of course those living beings also include yourself.

How was this kind of habit formed?

How has this unhealthy habit formed since the beginning-less existence of world-periods?

We explained this last time, that it was the start of the unenlightened condition when activating this one thought of unenlightened condition, and suddenly you do not understand this matter. So bluntly speaking, you did not understand this originally. The ancients said: Do not over cognitively apprehend through knowledge.

It is unnecessary to place a head on head as needless duplication. Besides, there is no need to ruin the effect by drawing legs on a snake, or ruining the effect by adding the superfluous. Go deeper, the less you know, the better you will be.

But people nowadays are not like that, contrary to this, as the

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra more one knows the better one will be. Therefore, the frightening and terrifying are available every day. Suddenly frightening and terrifying at the falling stock market, suddenly frightening and terrifying cannot find a job, suddenly frightening and terrifying at issue of losing face; one is bustling around endlessly. Therefore, this non-existence of the frightening and terrifying, then keeping one away from cognitive distortion, dreams, and wishful thinking. This keeping one away from means just not anymore.

What is cognitive distortion? The living beings of the six destinies of reincarnation all are cognitive distortion, where they invert the cause as the effect, and treat the effect as the cause. Maybe you ate this meal today that was your past relatives. This is beyond thought. People who enjoy eating meat, do not be nervous, it is all cause and effect. Today this piece of meat comes to you, it has cause and effect.

1. Why is it not that other meat and it happens to be this meat?

2. Why do you have predestined affinity with this family?

3. Why were you born in this place?

4. Why do we meet with each other today?

It all has its cause. The connection, how does it form? It is the seed of cause from doing things that will entail grave consequences. The extent of the complexity of this cause, even Buddha and Bodhisattva cannot end the explanation for the infinite existence of world-periods.

Activation of one thought has already started a “cause”, from this “cause” will bloom and bear “fruit-the effect”, it waits for a “triggering cause” which is the condition, when this condition reaches to a certain extent shapes in producing the “effect” with karma. It is the chain of cause and effect to receive a karmic result as a consequence of one’s action. The “consequence of one’s actions” is phenomenon. “Effect” is

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the consequence after phenomenon. Therefore, everything cannot be separate from the chain of cause and effect - as a man himself sows, so he himself reaps. If you cannot detach from “the ruling chain of cause and effect”, you cannot keeping one away from cognitive distortion, dreams, and wishful thinking. This thinking is strange: if you do not think about it, there is no dream; if you do not dream, then cognitive distortion does not produce.

There is an ancient gong-an (Zen study case) that is very interesting. One day there was a monk who passed by a household which was hosting a party for a wedding. This monk had a pure mind with supernatural power of Heaven vision, he could see the cause and effect of past lives. He saw this cause and effect was very amusing.

The bride that the groom took, she was his past grandmother who returned to this life.

The cooked chicken, duck, fish, and meat on the table were all their relatives and friends in past lives.

After he saw this phenomenon, he made a moment out of his personal feeling by writing down this Gatha: This is odd and picturesque; it is a curious occurrence.

The grandson takes wife of the past grandma.

The past raised chickens and goats are the table guests.

The Past relatives and friends are cooked in the pot.

Then he gave a soft smile and left.

I recall I have a friend who has this ability. He sees many phenomena, but he does not dare to speak it out. He also does not know that other people do not know, later he did not dare tell. Was what he

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra saw real? Yes, it was real.

Here talking about cognitive distortion, truly is cognitive distortion.

What was the previous life, what has become of this life, you encounter what situation; sigh, using the needle and thread, they are all about cause and effect!

You went outside and slipped today, do not blame God, or accuse others and say: “You are unlucky today”. At that time that was set how you slipped. Today if you encounter happiness, there is no need to cheer - it is from your seeded cause of the past. A wise person knows nonattachment to what one acquires. With a mindset of nonattachment to what one acquires, then one does not make the “cause and effect”; one’s mind will be fixed and undisturbed. Furthermore, that condition of fixed and undisturbed is forever, and one will never withdraw and turn back from any attainment. There is no need for all of you to worry; after we become Buddha will we go back to become a common person again?

That is surely impossible.

A common person before is a Buddha, this means you have the Buddha-nature within, but you have not cultivated to become Buddha yet. To cultivate to become a Buddha, you must wash the gold sand through water, then refine gold by fire. Your gold mine is gold bearing, you need to refine and remove the impurities. The impurities are delusional thoughts and attachments; I believe everyone here understands this principle. Yet strangely, one does not want to do it.

Why? Regarding the truth, one still does not understand. If you understand, you will do it and you will unknowingly be without cognitive distortion, without dreams and wishful thinking. Dreams express life.

Wishful thinking represents going off into wild flights of fancy,

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to think of past, think of present, think of future. Or I think to go to sleep, or I think I should do this or that, and so forth. After you get away from all, without these phenomena, it is precisely reaching to the ultimate Nirvana.

The ultimate expresses pursuit of the extreme and cannot continue, as one has been running down the road, completely reaching the ultimate sphere. Where all matters are seen clearly by you, also no cognitive distortion, no dreams and wishful thinking; then you advance into Nirvana. The meaning here, the state of neither arising nor ceasing, is called Nirvana. To have phenomenon of arising and ceasing is called dreams and wishful thinking.

Neither arising nor ceasing as nothing having been created nothing can be destroyed, there are no phenomena of producing and perishing, which is called “Eternal Peace and Tanquil Light. “Eternal Peace” means forever. “Tranquil” means calmness and extinction, without phenomenon condition, no state of fluctuation. “Light” is function, it penetrates all materiality, to initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive all materiality, your head is clear and plain and to the point.

Therefore, reaching to the ultimate Nirvana means becoming a Buddha, you become Infinite Light Buddha, Infinite Life Buddha in perfection. Through the infinite existence of world-periods to become Amitabha.

[Sutra text] The Buddhas of past, present, and future all rely on Prajna Paramita, hence the attainment of Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhi (the Supreme Perfect Enlightenment).

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Commentary: The Buddhas: numerous, infinitely boundless Buddhas have comprehended the truth of the universe thoroughly. They are people who have reached the final Nirvana. These type of beings all rely on Prajna Paramita (perfect of wisdom) to ascend to the enlightenment shore. They all have already initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive that the nature of the five Skandhas13 (five aggregates) – all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness are non-existence. So, release oneself from all obstructions caused by suffering and misfortune. After one relies on this, to attain Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhi (the Supreme Perfect Enlightenment).

Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhi means the Supreme Perfect Enlightenment. Why do they add the word “Supreme” to it? It is because there is nothing higher than that.

Arhat is an enlightened one. After Arhat removes “I-self” is the enlightened one.

A Bodhisattva is known as the “correct enlightened one”.

The “Supreme Perfect Enlightenment” represents the attainment of Buddha Tathagata.

All of you, if you want to recover the Buddha-nature within yourself, I encourage you all better to have mindfulness of Amitabha.

Since you want to become Buddha, why not take the “result” of becoming Buddha to be the “cause”? “The mindfulness of Amitabha to become Amitabha”; this is the certain truth.

Does affliction itself exist?

13 The Five Skandhas are the five composition elements of our existence including, all material phenomena, the feeling towards all material phenomena, the thoughts that start from feeling, the mental formation from thinking continuously, and consciousness.

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Everyone think it over attentively, does affliction exist?

This “Supreme Perfect Enlightenment” is a state of neither arising nor ceasing. The Buddhas of past, present, and future are these great enlightened beings, they all rely on Prajna Paramita, all rely on “the absolute immateriality”, and all rely on the non-existence of the frightening and terrifying, keeping one away from cognitive distortion, dreams, and wishful thinking.

All of you need to think, after all do you have the frightening and terrifying?

Why are some people afraid of many things?

People say to face it; the problem is, how to confront it?

The Heart Sutra offers the teaching of neither arising nor ceasing, precisely regarding the facts of reality, you use the method of ultimately being disillusioned with all. If you do not become disillusioned with all, it is difficult as I see it, never mind about the frightening and terrifying or cognitive distortion that is impossible to eliminate. For instance, driving out to meet here today and you were issued a fine for more than $200.

Oh my!

What is your state of mind about this?

You think that driving is too fast?

Or is the government unreasonable?

Or do you still regret the money payment?

You need to think about it, this is what we encounter in our daily life, there are some so-called unreasonable treatments, or quarrels between husband and wife, or various situations. Think about it, everyone, when this happens, what kind of attitude do you have?

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Are you ultimate disillusioned with all?

Or still ultimate unable to be disillusioned with all?

What kind of ultimate mentality is used by you?

So, people say to learn the Buddha’s way, the first to learn is the breadth of the Buddha mind. The breadth of the Buddha mind has cast off all attachments. Regarding whether it is reasonable or not, let go of whether it is reasonable or not; then you will be easier and will take things less seriously.

Let me tell you a story, once before there was a person who drifted about all day as a homeless man. Either winter days or summer days, he lived more comfortably than a Buddhist monk. The Buddhist monks with begging bowl in hand need to maintain a majestic presence to beg for alms from house to house. He did not require that; he took a broken earthen pot from house to house to beg for food. Whether he got food or not was all fine to him. He could fall asleep anywhere; there was no one to wake him in the morning, and at daybreak he would get up himself.

He was in very healthy shape, to what extent? Even a flea needs to build a nest on him, but he does not even have a nest of his own.

What kind of mentality does he have? To tell the truth, regarding cosmic life, he saw with clarity.

Of course, there are many kinds of beggars; when one is forced, he begs for food very painfully. This we cannot learn. I am talking about the one who has genuinely cast off all attachments and is disillusioned all. One who has no attachment to his own body and has attained the state of selflessness. This kind of person, if he learns the Buddha’s way and cultivates himself in right practice, that will be exceedingly; he will absolutely be reaching the ultimate of becoming a Buddha, reaching

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the ultimate Nirvana. Because he has less attachments.

Then for our modern people, should we be beggars?

May I offer a bit of advice to all of you; you should be beggars.

But you do not need to be begging for money or food at the door holding the alms bowl; I teach you to be non-attached spiritually. If in your mind there still exists my career, my sons, and daughters; this is big trouble.

In addition to working extremely hard being a cow and a horse all your life, you must work extremely hard being a cow and a horse for yourself.

After working in the office, you need to work inside the home. After you have finished socializing with the outside world, internally there is a lot of suffering. No one can confide in suffering; neither the wife and daughters will understand. In other words, the same is true, neither your husband and children will understand. You become very vexed, with a pile of garbage inside that has not been thrown away, which is very troublesome.

This beggar we mentioned above who must have practiced cultivation in his past life because he has disillusioned with all and cast off all attachments. When other people gave him either rotten food, he would eat it; or tasty food, he would eat it. He sees clearly on all matters.

Later, his son became a very wealthy man. Local people thought that his son was unfilial because his father was a beggar and the son should have started by offering to be a good son. Due to pressure from society and public opinion, the son finally found his father, bathed him, trimmed his hair, changed his clothes, and supported his esteemed father. After a few years, his old man disappeared again. The son went to look for him and found him again.

People asked the old man: “Why you do not want to live the way of wealth and honor?”

He said: “True wealth and honor is not this way. Genuine wealth

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra and honor are free spiritually, and to have freedom of action.

With one alms bowl filled with meals from thousands of households, roaming alone for thousands of miles!

His actions are no different from a person leaving home to be a Buddhist monk, he even has no need to set his majestic appearance as a monk.

This story represents that you must have no hindrance in your mind, cast off all your attachments, to what extent? Completely.

I need to talk about this point particularly: I ask all of you, has anyone cast off all your attachments? Some would say yes.

How much have you cast off? I am going to try.

I do not see any one of you has cast off your attachments. If one can cast off attachment of even one percent is not easy. Here we’re talking about casting off attachments 100%. “Casting off all attachments” does not mean that you change your plan, to retire, to make any special arrangements; rather, it is for you to completely remove worries and hindrance from your mind.

I think everyone has agitation; does agitation bring you happiness? No, you are very clear about this. I have seen many people who are like walking zombies; one live their whole life completely lacking meaning. Why? It is because one knows that oneself is not a walking zombie, rather the environment of reality has transformed one to be this way. However, everyone needs to know that the outer environment never interferes with yourself, it is your inner state. The biggest issue is one’s face (pride/ego). This face, to put it bluntly, is not worth a dime.

Now we are brought together here by fate to learn the Heart Sutra, what is the Heart Sutra? It is you do not have heart (mind) then

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you have succeeded. In fact, there is no need to spend a lot of effort, you merely need to having perfect insight into being master of oneself, to be a person comfortable in your skin, then this settles the account once and for all.

Buddhism states that there are two kinds of people that can become Buddha: one who has never made a mistake, which we cannot become because it is for an unusual person. The other kind is one who can change after making a mistake. Every one of us has made mistakes, where do mistakes come from? It is from not seeing clearly and thus, greedy thoughts arise.

Can we correct it? Yes, making corrections equal not making the mistake.

Because you correct it, then can keeping you away from cognitive distortion, dreams, and wishful thinking. Otherwise, cognitive distortion will constantly function, therefore, dreams and wishful thinking will follow and arise. If your concept is clear and plain to the point; to tell the truth, dreams and wishful thinking are not there, it does not emerge.

Some people are like this, as soon as stocks goes up, one starts dreams and wishful thinking. As soon as the stocks fell, one also dreams plus wishful thinking. But the two dreams and wishful thinking are different; one is a good dream and wishful thinking; the other is a dream and wishful thinking in anxiety.

Therefore, every age group has different dreams and wishful thinking imagination. This dream and wishful thinking are the source of anxiety in life. Each of you, do not be mistaken; this dream and wishful thinking is different from the planned one. We say life should be aspirational, good planning, should have youthful spirit, all to be right.

The problem is based on how to have youthful spirit, aspiration, and

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra planning? It is by means of having no hindrance in one’s mind as the base. If you have hindrance in mind, you cannot make your dream and wishful thinking come true, and your aspiration cannot be achieved.

What is omnipotent? People who take control of their own life, this kind of person is omnipotent.

Learning Buddha’s way, we ought to ask ourselves honestly, can you control your life? Taking control is precisely the non-existence of the frightening and terrifying. When one is non-existence of the frightening and terrifying, then to have no hindrance in one’s mind. To have no hindrance in one’s mind then non-existence of the frightening and terrifying, both interact as cause and effect.

Truly think about it thoroughly, and get rid of your worries. If you cannot solve it, put it aside then it is settled. The ancients said: The descendants can take care of themselves when they grow up.

God of heavens treats all kinds of living things fairly, as every grass has equal distribution of one dot of dew, no more, no less.

A piece of sky above everyone.

This is truly correct. It is enough for everyone to play their part. If you are truly making an all-out effort to bring out these innate qualities, you really do your best to play, then you might experience this concern, dreams and wishful thinking are superfluous.

So, does a person attain the state of “Supreme Perfect Enlightenment”? No. Your inherent state is the “Supreme Perfect Enlightenment”, you already have the Buddha-nature within yourself.

But for now, it is just you need to throw away the impurities in your

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Buddha-nature, let the original Buddha-nature become completely pure and bright, would that not solve it?

Although everyone has habituated tendencies, do not need to feel sad for these habituated tendencies, such as I have heavy habituated tendencies, or I have serious hindrance of karma, that is all a lie, that is a dream.

When dealing with all living beings, it is very simple - be respectful but keep a respectful distance. Other people are respectful to ghost and spirits but unwilling to approach, or be respectful to a base person (villain, or vile character) but unwilling to approach. To tell the truth, be respectful to everyone but keep them at a respectful distance. Why? You respect them, but you keep a respectful distance from them; this way you will not generate quarrels. In relationships between men and women, there only exist righteousness and justice and less emotion.

The ancients, regarding social norms, are completely clear. To tell the truth, Confucianism is precisely Buddhism; the ghost spirit is still the state of our soul. Confucius said: Be respectful to the ghost spirit and keep a respectful distance.

Not to say to stay away from them, rather for you to not to have hindrance regarding them. We are the same with people, whether a gentleman or a base person, they are not human anyway. If you take them as a human, then you suffer.

The Chinese word “人-human” has two slanting downward strokes representing the human as all having the state of “gain or loss, or right or wrong, virtue or evil, beauty or ugliness, good or bad”. Anyway, one is not human but an object of carbohydrates, you will then be at ease, you then also are in the state of nonattachment to what one acquires. In that

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra case, nonattachment to what one acquires then to have no hindrance in your mind, the focus is here.

Only you can save a person, that is one’s wisdom life. This so-called “wisdom life” is the state of enlightenment, you can help.

Therefore: Bodhisattva light like the pure and cool moon in the sky, who constantly roams in the absolute sphere of immateriality;” who are here to save the “wisdom life” of all living beings.

“To repay the debts of the numerous existences of world-periods,” indicating she is in the dream of all living beings. “Being mighty like the spring breeze,” she does not have attachment. This is what we truly need to learn.

[Sutra text] Hence, knowing Prajna Paramita is a Mantra of Great Dharani...

Commentary: This Mantra of Great Dharani, this word of Mantra we need to understand.

Mantra is the fluctuations of mental responses in the universe.

Mantra is the mindfulness of good or evil. An evil mindfulness is precisely a Mantra, in wishing someone to have a speedy death, the sooner the better, this is also a Mantra. Prajna is also a Mantra. Prajna is the energy of a purified mind. Therefore, Mantra, we may also explain it like an energy field. If your energy field has purified of defiling illusion, when others are with you, they will feel the tranquility. When we are with Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guan-Yin), that feels very tranquil.

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Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva has no worry, no affliction, acceding to our every plea. Why does she do it? She grants you whatever is asked for.

There is only one thing; if you ask for anything evil, she will not respond.

If you turn away from evil and go towards goodness, or want to have enlightenment, she will absolutely bring you to perfection.

Therefore, a Mantra is a fluctuation of language. The fluctuation of language starts from the mind. Starting from the mind creates a vast energy field. Therefore, the essence of the Great Compassion Mantra of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is “the absolute sphere of immateriality” which is the essence of have no hindrance in one’s mind, and the essence of no attachment to Prajna wisdom, also no attachment to what one acquires. From this fundamental essence generates: Have unconditional compassion towards one who does not have conditional causation, to have unconditional mercifulness to look upon all as the same Buddha-nature origin.

This is very important.

What is called “having unconditional compassion towards one who does not have conditional causation”? The table, the chair, and so forth; you have compassion for it. “Compassion” refers to non-aggressive, it is not gentle; it is a kind of concern without hindrance, no gain or loss, selfless, and unselfish. It is an unselfish concern, but without emotion.

If having emotion, then this problem is serious. To have emotion, then there is delusion, feeling; then all is ruined.

Therefore, whether it has “conditional causation (as connection)” or not, it is all equally without exception. This equality is beyond thought, it is the ultimate equality, as you are him and he is me; you, I, and him are three in one.

We need to learn: why are you him and he is me?

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra From the aspect of phenomena, every one of us is different, now that you are the same as me; why is my way of thinking and looking at things different from your way of thinking and looking at things? But Buddha and Bodhisattva can do that, as I am you and I am him.

This is because Buddha and Bodhisattva have the concept of equality. To them about oneself and others, there exists completely no idea of oneself and others.

He sees thoroughly all things are manifested from the Buddhanature within oneself, That precisely is the appearance of things from the convergence of numerous causes and conditions, it exactly is the appearance of all living beings.

That is the Buddha-nature everyone possesses, and there is no difference. In that case, they and our Buddha-nature are equal, since all are equal, then “have unconditional compassion towards one who does not have conditional causation.”

I will now give an example: If one day you run into someone, and he says: “Please alms-give your eyes to me.” Would you give it to him?

You certainly will think this person must have a mental problem. But Bodhisattva would truly give it to him. Bodhisattvas are not dumb; to them, all are equal. Even her giving also equals to non-giving, there is no attachment of giving or non-giving. This is because she is in the state of nonattachment to what one acquires. All of us have an attachment to this pair of eyes. Eyes can feel pain and have feelings, it is very valuable as windows to the soul. Bodhisattva does not have this concept; her generosity has no demand for payback, she has a real immaterial mind free from illusion.

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“To have unconditional mercifulness to look upon all as the same Buddha-nature origin”, is further level up.

What is “the same Buddha-nature”? It is the same life source; therefore, she “has unconditional mercifulness”.

“Mercifulness” is different from pity; to have “mercifulness” is to see all living beings is Buddha originally, now they are all in a daze. How does Bodhisattva handle it? She treats all living beings with compassion, awakens all living beings from confusion and cognitive distortion. Therefore, the Absolute Universal Enlightenment Bodhisattvas (samyak-sambodhi) wants to keep the last grade of the unenlightened condition - the fundamental worry or the first thought activation of unenlightenment and confusion, to help all living beings by entering their dream. This is the manifestation of great compassion; it is the extreme of “to have unconditional mercifulness to look upon all as the same Buddhanature origin”.

Therefore, I speak: Mantra, the context of the Great Compassion Mantra is established on “having unconditional compassion towards one who does not have conditional causation, to have unconditional mercifulness to look upon all as the same Buddha-nature origin. “ The name of Amitabha is also a Mantra of Great Dharani, a Mantra of Great Luminosity. Amitabha, he is not only representing the state of reaching to the ultimate Nirvana of the Buddhas; compassion is just one function of our Buddha-nature within, Amitabha is the treasury body of all truth; he is the meritorious virtue function of all Buddha’s entirety. This is where the difference is.

People often ask: What is the difference between the Great Compassion Mantra and Amitabha? To tell you the truth, they all manifest from the Buddha-nature and there is no difference; each plays

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra a different role that is all. The role superficially, when either reciting or thinking about it, Buddha or Bodhisattva are moved to respond; all is equal. Chanting the Great Compassion Mantra one can also become Buddha. However, the mindfulness of Amitabha is different; Amitabha has his vow power, you having mindfulness of Amitabha can help your rebirth in Amitabha Pure Land. Of course, this also requires the power of your vow to want to go to Amitabha Pure Land.

Basically, after you figure the principle and phenomenon out, in fact you may chant the Great Compassion Mantra to dedicate and transfer all merits to Amitabha Pure Land, can you pledge the vow to go to Amitabha Pure Land? Of course, you can. However, Amitabha represents the ultimate perfection.

The greatest purpose for expounding the Heart Sutra today is: What is your way of thinking about the mindfulness of Amitabha?

What is your mentality to treat people and conduct oneself in society?

If the way of treating people and conducting oneself in society is to have no hindrance in one’s mind, then the mindfulness of Amitabha can keep one away from cognitive distortion, dreams, and wishful thinking. Reaching to the ultimate Nirvana; non-existent frightening and terrifying then this moment you are at Amitabha Pure Land.

The teaching of the Buddha is for you to put it into practice. The teaching of the Buddha is certainly not academic, also it is not a branch of knowledge. Where do you put it into practice? You practice in every movement of your daily life.

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[Sutra text] Hence, knowing Prajna Paramita is a Mantra of Great Dharani, a Mantra of Great Luminosity, a Mantra of Unsurpassed, a Mantra of Rank Unequalled.

It can get rid of all suffering. It is real and not false.

Commentary: Next, I will talk about a Mantra of Great Luminosity, a Mantra of Unsurpassed, a Mantra of Unequalled, and so forth Mantras. I think everyone knows.

Mantra of Great Luminosity means the great bright light, an energy of luminosity. This luminosity reaches all over space, a manifestation of true thusness. The whole universe is within this energy of luminosity; this is precisely the Buddha-nature within oneself.

Mantra of Unsurpassed was just mentioned as the “supreme perfect enlightenment”. Mantra of Unsurpassed is the energy field that can completely become a Buddha in perfection.

Mantra of Unequalled Mantra means there is none like it, is equal to being unexcelled, the final (or the highest) perfection.

It can get rid of all sufferings. It is real and not false. Earlier we talked about while cultivation into the profound Prajna Paramita (perfection of wisdom). It can get rid of all sufferings. Think about it everyone, how to get rid of all sufferings?

The entire Heart Sutra talks about nonattachment to what one acquires.

You must know, you neither have lost nor have gained. You then are relieved. You are known as Buddha or Bodhisattva, like the “pure and

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra cool moon”. Therefore, nonattachment to what one acquires is our goal of cultivation practice.

How to be in the state of nonattachment to what one acquires?

Do not even think about it, just let go of everything.

Therefore, later it says: It is real and not false.

Real refers to the “true nature realm of the one reality”, clear and plain to the point, absolute non-existence of falsely perceived phenomena.

Not false indicates not a meaningless argument.

It is real and not false, expresses that your Buddha-nature within will not disappear for infinitely boundless existence of worldperiods. The instant you become enlightened, you will see infinitely boundless conditions that turn out to be a dream and unreal. In the end, you will see that the state of eradication of the unenlightened condition is real and not false. When you truly are in the state of nonattachment to what one acquires, you will then have eradicated the unenlightened condition.

When Avalokitesvara (Guan-Yin) Bodhisattva attained the second Stage of realizing the intrinsic truth with an unmoved mind (at the 42nd of the 52 cultivation tiers), a Tathagata told her the Great Compassion Mantra. Advancing quickly, she attained the 8th Stage Bodhisattva ‘s sphere of cognition (at the 48th of the 52 cultivation tiers) from her previous 2nd Stage attainment. Why? Her mind is fixed and unmoved; she has seen the state of nonattachment to what one acquires and the phenomenon of non-regression.

Do not be envious of this, we are mindful of Amitabha going to the Realm of “where all classes dwell” in Amitabha Pure Land, and even if

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attaining the lowest rank of the inferior class, we have attained the sphere of nonattachment to what one acquires. However, that attainment of nonattachment to what one acquires in Amitabha Pure Land is not what you can imagine. That sphere of cognition of nonattachment to what one acquires there, in comparison to here, the difference is huge. In Amitabha Pure Land, with the additional power of Amitabha’s nirvana merits and enlightenment virtues, you yourself are like Amitabha.

Why do I always encourage people to have mindfulness of Amitabha? If you truly go to Amitabha Pure Land, you then see it is an energy field. This energy field that is accomplished by all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. This praising is precisely bringing it to perfection. After reaching Amitabha Pure Land, even the feeling of no hindrance in your mind does not exist. In Amitabha Pure Land is genuine living, to what extent? It is neither arising nor ceasing; this is called real living. Our present life is called life and death.

The ancients had a description: All the flowers naturally end up falling; the splendor of Spring is endless. The mountain is naturally high; the water is naturally deep.

Everyone take a moment to think about this.

“All the flowers naturally end up falling” means that all wonderful phenomena will eventually pass.

“The splendor of Spring is endless”; “Spring” expresses the Buddha-nature, only the Buddha-nature within you will not be interrupted and is unending.

The mountain is naturally high; the water is naturally deep”, it is where all who-people, which-events, where-places, what-objects do not obstruct.

The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra [ Sutra text] Hence it is said the Mantra of Prajna Paramita. It is recited like this: “Gaté Gaté Paragaté Parasamgaté, Bodhi Savaha!”

Commentary: To tell the truth, every single word represents the perfect Buddha-nature within, all is Infinite Light, Infinite Life. Here I will not do any further translation. I am afraid the translation will start new attachments, again causing something to be attained. The whole scripture is finished today, and is considered successful.

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Epilogue The Heart Sutra (Prajnaparamitahrdaya) itself, if you want to really go deep, then I hope during your thought arising in the mind to mindfulness of Amitabha a lot. After being mindful of him for a long while, your mind will naturally be without hindrance. You are the same as Amitabha. You are precisely as stated in the Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra: Having perfect insight into being master of oneself Bodhisattva (as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara-Guan Yin), while cultivation into the profound Prajna Paramita (perfection of wisdom) to initiate omniscient penetrative illumination with clear perception to perceive that the nature of the five Skandhas14 (five aggregates) – all material forms, feeling, thinking, mental formations, and consciousness are non-existence. So, release oneself from all obstructions caused by suffering and misfortune.

Do not just envy it - It is true.

I believe you all have this wholesome root, especially in this life to mindfulness of Amitabha sincerely, and to go to Amitabha Pure Land.

Do not waste time. If you miss the opportunity this life, it is all over. I do not know the day when we will meet again. I do not know if it is as being a cat or a dog, I cannot figure it out either.

14 The Five Skandhas are the five composition elements of our existence including, all

material phenomena, the feeling towards all material phenomena, the thoughts that start from feeling, the mental formation from thinking continuously, and consciousness.

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Gatha of Transferring Merit May the merits of my public exposition of the Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra, dignify Amitabha Pure Land, Requite four kinds of grace from above, relieve the suffering of beings in the Three Wretched Realms – hell, hungry ghost, animal.

Wishing that all living beings as friends, foes, and all karmic debt collectors universally, all start the mind for Bodhi (enlightenment), together for rebirth to Amitabha Pure Land.

回向偈 願以宣講般若波羅密多心經之功德，莊嚴佛淨土， 上報四重恩，下濟三途苦， 普願諸眾生，冤親諸債主， 悉發菩提心，同生極樂國。

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