The Wisdom in Directing: One's Dharma Practice

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14
By Vajra Acharya Pema Lhadren
Translated by Byron K.K. Yiu
The Wisdom in Directing
Ones Dharma
Practice (30)
14
Why Should One Recite and Chant the Buddhist Sutras?
The Operation and Abstruseness of the Mind Phenomena
How to distinguish among all religions and practices on which could help sentient beings to be liberated from the fetters
of the cycle of karmic existence?
The Wonderful and Efficacious Merits on the Reciting of Sutras
Excerpt of Last Issue
For the general populace, and even up to the great Dharma
practitioners, their objectives of Dharma practice should be more
or less of the following types:
1. Praying for worldly desires For example: to seek for
oneself and ones own relatives to have longevity,
recovery from illness, success in ones career, good
marriage, wealth increase, averting disasters and relief
from sufferings, as well as reunion with those deceased
loved ones. Also, there are those who hope to get the
ease of heart and security at the present life, etc.; or
Issue no. 30 Back to Content
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for fame, wealth, respect in order to study
Buddhism; as well as for those who put in efforts
to practice the Dharma.
2. Rebirth in the good realms For example:
to hope and pray for rebirth in the heavenly
realm, or in the human realm, and not to fall into
the evil realms (of animals, hungry ghosts and
hells).
3. Liberation from the tractions of the cycle of
karmic existence to hope and pray for the
freedom in deciding for oneself as to whether
one would be reborn into the six realms (of
heavens, asuras, humans, animals, hungry
ghosts and hells), or whether to remain in the
highest level of the Realm
of For m , s uch as t he
Akanistha (the Heaven at
the End-of-Form-Realm),
which is beyond the control
of t he t ract i ons. (Pl ease
refer to the expl anati ons
on the Three Realms in
the article on the Profound
Abstruseness of Life and
Death: The Meaning of Near-
Death Experiences in Issue
17 of the Lake of Lotus).
4. Attainment of Buddhahood
The recovery of one s
Pri mordi al Nat ure and
t he ori gi nal l y possessed and boundl ess
capabilities, which are free from any bondages
and to remain in the Dharma Realm. (The
Nature of the Mi nd, al so known as the
Buddha Nature, or the Primordial Nature,
refers to the original possession of that most
crystal clarity of awareness. Please refer to
the articles on The Meaning of Near-Death
Experiences in Issues 4 & 5 of the Lake of
Lotus).
What are the methods that one can choose in order
to achieve these four types of objectives? What will
be their effects? What are the critical key points that
one should pay attention to when judging upon and
in choosing those methods of Dharma practice?
Regardless of what kinds of religions, the practice
methods can be broadly divided into the following
types:
1. Prayers Including confessions, repentance
of one s conducts, and i n the maki ng of
aspirations and wishes;
2. Recitations mantras, Buddhas Holy Names,
or sutras
3. Visualizations themes include the formulae
for different types of meditation,
or even the making use of the
internal functions of ones body
for coordination.
Irrespective of which types of
practice methods, it must include
the trai ni ng of one s mental
strength. Otherwise, it would
not be abl e t o produce any
effects. One of the i mportant
points for judging which of the
practice methods are the most
effective ones is the degree of
influence that these can have on
ones mental strength? What
percentage will they constitute?
The previous five chapters have clearly explained the
effects and mysteries that the sound has produced
upon people (Please refer to the articles on the
Wisdom in Directing Ones Dharma Practices of
Issues 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the Lake of Lotus).
The part on the rationale for the resonance and
operations of particles is one of the functions on
the recitation of mantras. Since the sound of mantra
does not necessarily have to be words that could be
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translated or understood, particularly those mantra
which are meant for the following purposes:
1. linkage or condensation;
2. cutting off the linkage or condensation
3. taming and shattering
The last few chapters
(in particular please
r ef er t o t he ar t i cl e
o n t h e Wi s d o m
i n Di r ect i ng One s
Dhar ma Pr act i ce
i n I ssue 26 of t he
L a k e o f L o t u s )
have mentioned that
the merits of having
received the relevant
t eachi ngs i n t he
recitation of mantras are remarkable and vast. As to
its abstruseness, apart from relating to its rationale
on resonance and the moti ons among the
particles, it is also very much related to the different
high or low levels of the Right Concentrations (or
Samadhis in Sanskrit). According to Bodhisattva
Mai treya s cl assi fi cati on, i n Vol ume 45 of the
Yogacaryabhumisastra, Dharanis are divided
into the following kinds:
(1) Dharma Dharani the successful symptom for
the receiving of the relevant trainings in the
proper recitation on this type of mantras is
that one would be able to remember the words
and sentences of the various Sutras in ones
numerous lifetimes (please refer to the article
on the Wisdom in Directing Ones Dharma
Practice in Issue 26 of the Lake of Lotus).
(2) Meaning Dharani the successful symptom for
the receiving of the relevant trainings in the
proper recitation on this type of mantras is that
one would be able to remember the meanings
of the Sutras in ones numerous lifetimes (please
refer to the article
on t he Wi s dom
i n Di recti ng One s
Dharma Practice in
Issue 26 of the Lake
of Lotus).
(3) Mant r a Dhar ani
the successful
symptom for the
recei vi ng of t he
relevant trainings
i n t h e p r o p e r
recitation on this
type of mantras
i s t hat , t hr ough
ones meditational power, one would be
able to experience the special effects of the
mantras, and would thus be able to help
other sentient beings to remove all kinds of
calamities and illnesses (please refer to the
article on the Wisdom in Directing Ones
Dharma Practice in Issue 27 of the Lake of
Lotus).
(4) Endurance Dharani the successful symptom
for the receiving of the relevant trainings in
the proper recitation on this type of mantras
is that one would be able to know the true
existence of, and the real meanings behind,
the various Dharmas, as well as the ability
without losing them (please refer to the article
on the Wisdom in Directing Ones Dharma
Practice in Issue 28 of the Lake of Lotus).
Why Should One Recite and Chant
the Buddhist Sutras?
Buddhist Sutras, as ancient books and records,
actually stored the boundless wisdom of the Lord
Buddha. By the using of words to show the Lord
Buddhas wisdom to the world, it also wishes to let all
sentient beings to truly understand the kind of wisdom
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that was unveiled by those words, so as to know
how to apply them. Unfortunately, in achieving such
kinds of results are not easy things, except for those
ripe sentient beings who have the past causes and
merits, and they also should have the wisdom seeds
within their unconscious. Thus, even though people
have been trying to abandon the ancient words, and
have changed them into modern terminologies, it is
still unable to make this wish come true.
Yet, are there alternative ways to make this wish
come true? For those who have already gotten the
wisdom seeds in their unconscious and for those who
do not, when reciting and chanting the Buddhist
Sutras, would there be any difference between
them? As a matter of fact, the Buddhist Dharma
reveals that sentient beings have different levels of
consciousness, and their structures, usages and
ways of evolution cannot
deviate from the mind
phenomena. ( Pl ease
refer to the DVD on The
Teachings on Authentic
Practice in Exoteric and
Esoteric Buddhism (6):
The Abstruseness of
the Mind Phenomena
Lecture Delivered on 28
June 2008, and the article
on The Meaning of Near-
Death Experi ences i n
Issue 15 of the Lake of
Lotus). If one would like
to understand more about
t he r eci t at i ons of t he
Buddhist Sutras such that one could recognize
the difference between those who already have the
wisdom seeds within their unconscious and those
who do not, and at the same time learn whether
there are alternative ways available, so as to be able
to make the wish come true, then one should have
to understand the operation and abstruseness of the
Mind Phenomena in advance.
The Operation and Abstruseness of
the Mind Phenomena
Buddhism considers the mind as the cardinal
subject of all our spiritual functions. There are eight
different kinds of functions of the mind, and the
Lord Buddha Shakyamuni called it as the mind
phenomena (the citta in Sanskrit). Among the
eight different functions
of the mind, the most
basic and fundamental
of them all is the Eighth
Consci ousness ( or
Al aya- vi j nana i n
Sanskrit). Alaya is a
Sanskrit word meaning
s t o r e h o u s e . T h e
Chi nese Di scourse
on t he Chapt er on
the Elaboration of the
Profound Meanings of Mahayana has mentioned
that Consciousness is another name for the Mind.
Hence, Consciousness is the Mind. In simple
terms, Consciousness is a kind of Energy.
The characteristic of the Eighth Consciousness is
like a warehouse, or the hard disk of a computer.
All kinds of matters and affairs that had occurred
in ones past countless lifetimes would have been
stored in the Eighth Consciousness, regardless
of whether they are good or bad. The Eighth
Consciousness is a place for the stashing of all
karmic forces of all sentient beings (the web of
karmic forces: due to both virtuous and wicked
deeds amassed through countless past lifetimes,
the linkages of the mental strength of both ones
inner self and of others are crisscrossing and inter-
influencing each other, so as to form the network
of tractions. This is known as the karmic network.
Please refer to the DVD on The Inconceivable
Law of Karma, published by the Dudjom Buddhist
Association) and is the cardinal subject for the cycle
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of karmic existence (or Samsara in Sanskrit). It
has existed ever since time immemorial, and will last
forever without an end. Even though it goes through
endless cycles of various lifetimes, it will never be
deteriorated or annihilated.
The Eighth Consciousness is
the combination of ones intrinsic
nat ur e wi t h t he mundane
del uded mi nd, a f usi on i nt o
oneness of both awareness and
attachment to ignorance, and
so all sentient beings will have
the ability of self-awareness.
Every thought or notion, or every
word or deed, will form a seed of
karmic force, and so it is called
a karmic seed, or simply seed
(or bija in Sanskrit), and can
be conceived of as some kind of
a mental strength with memory
functions to be stored inside the
Eighth Consciousness.
Si nce t he Ei ght h Consci ousness i s merel y
responsible for the storage function, it does not
have the function of differentiation. However, the
habitual nature of all sentient beings is fond
of looking outwards to explore and grasp onto
concepts and things of the external environment.
For the convenience of operation, another kind of
function, namely the Seventh Consciousness (or
Manas-vijnana in Sanskrit), is thus derived from
the Eighth Consciousness through ones mental
strength. Manas is a Sanskrit word meaning
calculation or conjecture, which are the functions of
the Mind, and is the noumenon of ones Mental
Consciousness (or Mano-vijnana in Sanskrit, or
simply the Sixth Consciousness).
As the Seventh Consciousness is rooted from the
Eighth Consciousness and only comes into being
for the fulfillment of desires, it is the foundation for
the mental strength of desires. In this way, it is
influenced by the mental strengths of greed, hatred
and ignorance that has been stored inside the
Eighth Consciousness and grasps onto the images
projected by these negative forces, thus deeming
i t t hat t her e i s t he exi st ence
of an ego or a sel f hood
( known as ego at t achment
i n Buddhi sm). In the course of
a lifetime, the distorted nature
of mind, which was addicted to
ones own ego, has gradually
been formed. It consistently and
ceaselessly plots for only selfish
gains and benefits of self-interest
and self-protection. Therefore, the
Seventh Consciousness could
be considered as the center for
handl i ng sel f i shness and sel f -
concern. In this way, it makes the
i ntri nsi c nature of the Ei ghth
Consciousness to become more
dim and blurred, as well as more deeply hidden.
When a persons nature of selfishness and self-
concern has become even more aggravated,
one would then wish to obtain and garner even
more benefits from the externals, then the Sixth
Consciousness (or Mano-vijnana in Sanskrit,
or simply the Mental Consciousness) is formed,
which is the function of application of the Seventh
Consciousness (or Manas). Both are parts of
the Mental Consciousness, with the Seventh
Consciousness as its noumenon and the Sixth
Consciousness as its function of application.
The Sixth Consciousness is the integral center
of al l psychol ogi cal and mental acti vi ti es. Al l
our sensati ons of seei ng, heari ng, feel i ngs,
as wel l as percepti ons, cogni ti ons, thoughts
and j udgment s of al l sort s are gui ded and
directed by the Sixth Consciousness. In western
psychology, the Sixth Consciousness belongs to
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the level of consciousness, while the Seventh
Consciousness and the Eighth Consciousness
belong to the domain of the unconscious. Due
to the fact that the Seventh Consciousness is
the root of the Mental Consciousness, while the
Eighth Consciousness is the basic ground and
root of all phenomena (or dharmas in Sanskrit) of
the universe, hence all the activities of the Sixth
Consciousness (or the various
discriminations associated with
the Mental Consciousness) are
undoubtedly influenced by both
the Seventh Consciousness and
the Eighth Consciousness.
As such, in order to let the Sixth
Consci ousness t o manage
so many exami nat i ons and
judgments of things, it will require
quite a number of instruments
to hel p col l ect the necessary
i nformati on and data. Hence,
some mor e f unct i ons have
been deri ved f rom t he Si xt h
Consci ousness, namel y: t he
First Consciousness (or the discriminations
associated with the Eye Consciousness), the
Second Consciousness (or the discriminations
associated with the Ear Consciousness), the Third
Consciousness (or the discriminations associated
wi th the Nose Consci ousness), the Fourth
with the Tongue Consciousness), and the Fifth
with the Body Consciousness).
Al l t hese f i ve ki nds of di scr i mi nat i ons or
consciousnesses (or vijnana in Sanskrit) are,
indeed, the five kinds of energies that are relying
upon the five sense organs or faculties (or indriya
in Sanskrit), namely: the eyes, the ears, the noses,
the tongues and the bodies, for the collections of the
five sense data (or visaya in Sanskrit) from the
externals, namely: the forms (the shape and imagery
of a substance), sounds, odors, tastes and the tactile
sensations, which are the five kinds of sensations
and perceptions. The Sixth Consciousness also
relies upon the mental organ
for the distinctions of all kinds of
phenomena (mundane worldly
matters) known as sense data
and/or conceptual objects.
After having collected all sorts
of i nf or mat i on and dat a, i n
accordance wi t h t he habi t ual
guidance and influences of both
t he Sevent h Consci ousness
and the Eighth Consciousness
as i ts mai n cri teri a, the Si xth
Consci ousness woul d t hen
cl assi fy these i nformati on and
data under its own subjective
j udgments, or even di storti on
respecti vel y, and then hand them over to the
Seventh Consciousness with its provisions of the
conclusive information and data. The Seventh
Consciousness would then act as a messenger,
and then further pass on these information and data
to the Eighth Consciousness for storage.
The Eighth Consciousness stores lots of distorted
cognitions, and so the Buddhist Dharma has
called these as the obstructions due to knowledge.
The knowledge being recognized is, indeed,
different from the truth, and it will form a hindrance
to prevent oneself from returning to ones own
real nature; that is, to prevent oneself from the
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attainment of Buddhahood.
Mind is the origin of our own nature: which is
o r i g i n a l l y o n e n e s s ,
si ngl eness and uni ted,
s u c h t h a t i t h a s t h e
boundless and greatest
p o w e r . H o w e v e r ,
b y g r a s p i n g o n t o
cer t ai n subt l e poi nt s
o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s ,
t h e F i r s t t o E i g h t h
Consci ousnesses has
been gradual l y deri ved
and created. It then mixed
with matters to form all the
various different kinds of
sentient beings. Therefore,
one shoul d get r i d of
all the grasping, even the most subtle point of
consciousness, in order to facilitate the fusion of the
First to Eighth Consciousnesses, so as to combine
and return to the original oneness, singleness
and united Own Nature, whereby one could be
liberated from the cycle of karmic existence and
eventually to attain Buddhahood. This is the
essence of all practices, and is really the ultimate
goal.
How to distinguish among all
religions and practices on which
could help sentient beings to be
liberated from the fetters of the
cycle of karmic existence?
If one intends to combine the Sixth and Seventh
Consciousnesses and the Eighth Consciousness
to become an organic whole, then one should
install a fusion programming within ones mind
in advance. By knowing that the First to Eighth
Consciousnesses come from one origin, and that
one should return to the original state; we call this
as the Cognition and Programming of the
Oneness. Therefore, within the procedures of
certain practice rituals of Vajrayana, it will let all the
bodies, including all cognitions, to be transformed
and to be combined. This is an extremely
important practice and programming whereby
one could distinguish among all religions,
schools and practices on which could help
senti ent bei ngs to be l i berated from the
fetters of the cycle of karmic existence.
Which one is useful and which is not? This
is the way for one to distinguish them. But
there are only a few Buddhists, or Dharma
practitioners, who can truly know how to use
this criterion to distinguish them. Clearly, this
indicates that the standards of contemporary
Buddhism is getting worse and worse, to the
extent that it becomes purely complied with
the conventions of this secular world, while
signaling its coming to the final stage of its
ending.
These Mind Phenomena actually follows the sentient
beings minds to continuously grasping. Indeed, this
has evolved through numerous lifetimes and countless
periods of time. Just like The Theory of Evolution, this
evolutionary process takes a long long time to develop,
and thus it will also require a long long time to reverse its
process. Therefore, the Lord Buddha Sakyamuni states
that the ordinary practices of the Exoteric Buddhism
will require three asamkhya kalpas of time to enable
oneself to return to ones Own Nature in order to attain
Buddhahood. (Three Great Kalpas: a kalpa refers
to a period of time, a small kalpa is equal to the time
required for an universe to go through the process of
formation, persistence, disintegration, annihilation .
Twenty small kalpas equal to one medium kalpa
and four medium kalpas equal to a great kalpa.
And one asamkhya kalpa is equivalent to the 10
51
time
of a universe to go through the process of formation,
persistence, disintegration, annihilation. Thus, three
asamkhya kalpas is actually an immeasurable long
time, as time required for each universe to go through
the process of formation, persistence, disintegration,
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annihilation is different.)
Are there any shortcuts? As long as those teachings
contain the important element of Emptiness,
then they should have certain degrees of relevant
programmings. According to the revelations of
the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra (that is, the
Large Sutra on the Perfection of Transcendent
Wisdom), turning the Mind Phenomena to the
Buddhas Own Nature requires one to enter into
the twenty different levels of Emptiness (please
refer to the article on The Wisdom in Directing Ones
Dharma Practice in Issue 28 of the Lake of Lotus).
As for Vajrayana practices, if they do not lead one
astray in becoming
s uper s t i t i ous on
t he vari ous f orms
and manifestations,
b u t i n s t e a d t o
concentrate on ones
mi nd t r ai ni ng ,
t oget her wi t h t he
pr o gr a mmi n g o f
Emptiness within
the practice rituals
as suppl ementary,
then the chances of
success will be much higher. If this can be further
coordinated with the teachings of the Tibetan
Book of the Dead, then the shortcut will naturally
be revealed. (Please refer to the DVD on Emptiness
-- Neither Existence Nor Voidness, published by
the Dudjom Buddhist Association). If relying on the
Exoteric Buddhist way of Sutra chanting for ones
practice, and if those Sutras include the teachings
of Emptiness, then one would have the chance to
return to ones Own Nature. For those Sutras that
contain the teachings of Emptiness, the Heart
Sutra is definitely the best known and the most
popular one. As regards to the merits in the chanting
and reciting of Sutras, the first and foremost thing is
to arouse ones inner original great wisdom so that
one would be able to return to ones Own Nature.
While, secondly, it can help to make contacts with
all the Buddhas, which is most loved by worldly
people as they could then receive blessings from
the Buddhas, as well as to get protections from the
protectors.
The Wonderful and Effcacious
Merits on the Reciting of Sutras
With no doubts, there are numerous cases, from
the past up till the present, that have revealed the
wonderful and efficacious merits on the reciting of
sutras, and the following is just another real case
recently.
Case Two
This is a sensational case, yet it also causes great
sadness. It happened on 23 August 2010 in the
Philippines. It is known as the Manila hostage crisis,
which ended with eight hostages being killed with
three other seriously injured. Miss Li Ying Quan
is one of those survivors, and she has recently
published an article, describing the incident in
Mingpao. Within this article, Miss Li Ying Quan
has mentioned that she had been reciting the Heart
Sutra when she was in dire peril. Ultimately, and
luckily, she and her mother were able to get off
safely. Herein we quoted some of the paragraphs
from this article as follows:
Mingpao Exclusive (29 August 2010): I
hided underneath the chair and escaped from the
gun shooting. At that instant, I couldnt believe that
the story appearing in movies was now happening
to me. I could see my mother, who was also hiding
underneath the chair on the other row, and I felt a
bit of ease. After the first round of gun shoot, the
coach was extremely quite. At the same time, there
were booming rounds of thunder, together with rain
kept hitting on the coach roof. It was such a great
contrast with the dead silence that reigned inside
the coach. It was extremely dark, except when
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the gunman had discovered that someone was
still alive, that he kept on his gun shooting with the
lights of firing, accompanied by their sounds. I saw
blue lights of firing penetrating the creeping body
of a tours member, who was now motionless and
was not making even a sound of groan. After quite
sometime, the roaring sounds
of gun shooti ng resounded,
accompanied with the incessant
sounds of the coach being hit.
All in all, it reminded those alive
that they could be shot to death
within the next second.

By seeing those dead bodies,
my mind naturally recited gate
gate paragate parasamgate
bodhi svaha (t he Mant ra
of t he Hear t Sut r a) . By
so doing, I wish those tours
members who had died were
able to go to the Other Shore
promptly, which has been my
thinking habit whenever I saw
some living beings at their moments of death. Not
intending to, but I think, are they really dead? A few
minutes ago, they were still alive, and now were their
souls still hovering around inside the coach? Slowly,
I recited the Prajaparamita Hridaya Sutra many
times, chewing each and every word again and
again. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, when practicing
deeply the Perfect Wisdom clearly saw that all
five Skandhas are empty and passed beyond all
suffering Because the Bodhisattva is the Perfect
Wisdom of Emptiness, his mind has no hindrance.
Having no hindrance, there is no fear and far from
all fantasies and Definitely, I believed I still have
hindrances, as though my mind was reciting the
Heart Sutra for many times, but I still thought of the
many things that I wish to do, but had not been done
yet. And I still thought of my lovely family members
and friends. It is beyond doubt that it would be good
if I could survive. After all these, I was no longer that
frightened as when it got started. But I was deeply
worried about my mother to be discovered as alive
by the gunman because she was coughing after
two tear bomb attacks. The gun fight would seem to
have never ended as it lasted for such a long time. I
felt that lots of blood had wet my hairs and body, all
came from other peoples blood.
But who knows when the blood
may come from myself by the
next second. The next few days
after being rescued, I can still
smell the smell of blood.
( Web l i nk t o t he ar t i cl e at
URL: ht t p: / / news. mi ngpao.
com/20100829/vza1h.htm)
It is because of Miss Li Ying
Quans true understanding on
the meaning of Non-grasping
within the Heart Sutra such
that she could generate a kind
of wisdom of composure amidst
the crisis, and also possesses
the altruistic mind (Bodhicitta in Sanskrit) of
wishing the deaths to be liberated. Indeed, these
had led her through all those unbearable sufferings.
The good practice of offering my best wishes
whenever I saw some living beings at their moments
of death by reciting the Heart
Sutra has, indeed, trained
her own mindset with the main
programming of benefiting
bot h onesel f and ot her s,
which also helps Miss Li Ying
Quan to accumulate countless
meri ts. Her compassi onate
mind and acts not only can
touch upon all peoples hearts
and mi nds, but i t can al so
link up with all the Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas, and their
protectors. Thus, Miss Li Ying
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Quan and her beloved mother could become one of
those few survivors. Clearly, this is a phenomenon in
which virtues breed miracles.
Love goes far, that reaches boundless, enables
you to fll with virtues, to be never exhausted;
Not grasping, let go for limitless, enables you to
return to ones own nature, limitless powers.
The above-mentioned case enables people to deeply
realize what merits in the reciting of Sutras can be.
If one has already possessed these wisdom seeds
within their unconscious, then a kind of compassion
will naturally arise deep down inside ones mind, and
will become a habit of helping oneself and others.
Therefore, not only will the merits in the reciting of
Sutras are to be able to increase sharply, it is often
also being able to make wishes come true at the
fastest pace. And, most importantly, it is extremely
efficacious.
If ones main practice is in the reciting of Sutras,
whereby the Sutras bei ng reci ted contai n the
teachi ngs of Empti ness, then these Dharma
practitioners could be able to return to ones Own
Nature at the pace much faster than those who
do not have these wisdom seeds sown in their
unconscious. Thus, one does not need to wait for
such a long time as three asamkhya kalpas in
order to return to ones Own Nature.
Why is that? It is because in western psychology,
the Sixth Consciousness belongs to the level of
consciousness, while the Seventh Consciousness
and the Eighth Consciousness belong to the
domain of the unconscious. Due to the fact that the
Seventh Consciousness is the root of the Mental
Consciousness, while the Eighth Consciousness
is the basic ground and root of all phenomena
(or dharmas in Sanskrit) of the universe, hence all
the activities of the Sixth Consciousness (or the
various discriminations associated with the Mental
Consciousness) are doubtlessly influenced by
both the Seventh Consciousness and the Eighth
Consciousness. Thus, when one is using the Sixth
Consciousness to recite the Sutras, then it could
reverse the direction of influence by producing an
effect on both the Seventh Consciousness and the
Eighth Consciousness. More importantly, if there
also exist the wisdom seeds being sown in ones
unconscious, in which concerted actions could also
be taken with them. Then, the degree of influence
will be much faster and easier when comparing with
those whose unconscious do not have the wisdom
seeds. It is all because these peoples had already
gotten the wisdom rooted in their past lifetimes.
The following Sutra is a testimony on the above
explanation.

Five hundred years after the Lord Buddha had
left this human realm by entering into Parinirvana,
for those people who have kept their vows and
created their virtues, having read these sessions
and sentences (of the Sutras), and have generated
their faiths toward the Sutras by believing that these
are indeed the truths, then it is known that these
people have not only cultivated their virtuous roots
in one Buddha, two Buddhas, three Buddhas, four
Buddhas and fi ve
Buddhas , t hes e
people have indeed
already cultivated
vi r t uous r oot s i n
count l ess t ens of
millions of Buddhas
(that means these
wisdom seeds have
already been sown
in the unconscious
of t hese peopl e).
Ther ef or e, when
these peopl e who
hear about t hese
s e s s i o n s a n d
sentences (of these
Sut r as) , and can
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generate a thought of
pure faith in accordance
with the Lord Buddhas
knowl edge and vi ew,
Subht i , and i n j ust
a n i n s t a n t , t h e s e
sentient beings could
make contacts with all
Buddhas and can thus
have such count l ess
virtues and merits.
However, i f there are
no such wisdom seeds
being sown within ones
unconscious, and one has to merely rely upon the
chanting and reciting of the Buddhists Sutras
for ones practice, would there be other ways to
help out? The answer is Yes, but the paces will
definitely slower than those Dharma practitioners
who already have wisdom seeds being sown in
their unconscious, and it will even be slower than
those who have followed the shortcuts on the Mind
Training of Vajrayana practices.
Other ways in reciting the Sutras include:
1. Reciting Sutras intensively and in a continuous
manner in order to influence Influencing both
the Seventh Consciousness and the Eighth
Consciousness to open their main gates.
2. Usi ng a speci al hear t - easi ng r hyt hm
t o reci t e Sut ras t he resonance of t he
heart-easing rhythm will enable both the
Seventh Consciousness and the Eighth
3. Keep up the pure thought arisen from the Sutra
until one enter the meditation state pure thought
lead to the meditation state enables both the
These three ways of reciting Sutras enable
the Sixth Consciousness to influence both
Consciousness, which quickly let the Sutras
wisdom to replace or suppress the bad seeds
within both the Seventh Consciousness and
the Eighth Consciousness, so that it could
remedy the flaw of lacking such wisdom
seeds within the unconscious. To combine
the Sixth Consciousness and both the
Consciousness, so as to go for the direction
in returning to ones Own Nature, and to
replace or suppress the bad seeds within both
Consciousness, is certainly an inevitable stage.
Though every sentient being originally already has
the Wisdom of Buddha Nature, but if they have
too many erroneous i nformati on hi dden i n the
unconscious of both the Seventh Consciousness
and the Eighth Consciousness, which means that
they have a large amount of obstructions due to
knowledge, such that this will hinder them from the
recovery of ones Own
Nature. In order to let the
original wisdom inside
oneself to arise, the first
t hi ng t hat one needs
t o do i s t o el i mi nat e
the obstructions. Then,
further add the kind of
hormones that could
st i mul at e one s own
i nner wi sdom, that i s,
t hos e wi s dom t hat
has been mentioned in
the Buddhists Sutras.
Therefore, one needs to
replace first, apply later,
then let go, lastly totally
let go, and merging into
Emptiness.
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Many people have gotten the illusive notion of
visualizing Emptiness and attaining Buddhahood
within an instant, but in fact, there are twenty
di f f er ent l ev el s of
Empti ness, and so
this is not what ordinary
people would conceive
of as the emptiness of
everything -- insensate
empti ness, whi ch i s
indeed most laughable.
Thus, do not be so
foolishly self-conceited
a n d ma k e o n e s e l f
a l aughi ng st ock .
I nst ead, i t woul d be
much better to practice
i n such a way as t o
keep your own feet on
t he gr ound, and t r y
to fi nd a Guru who
truly understands the
Buddhi s t Dhar ma!
Please do not find those
gurus that will only use empty words to deceive
others, only know how to give empowerment rituals
and only give the so-called blessings to others. Do
not let ones own brain to be so full of those rubbish
information, but not even a taste of the kind of
wisdom that were contained in the Buddhist Sutras.
Because by doing so, it not only would not allow
oneself to achieve Emptiness, but will also block off
the arising of ones own inner wisdom. Then, only
at the moment of ones own death that one starts to
realize that one has been cheated all along by those
gurus who only know how to give empowerment
rituals. Yet, those rituals seem not to be effective at
all, and then one will start to become panic inside
oneself. It will, indeed, be not knowing how to die
for oneself, but, sorry, it will be too late for regrets by
then!
According to the Sutras, the merits in the reciting
of Sutras are most profound. Other than the above-
mentioned merits, there are other splendid merits
that we will continue to explore in the next issue.
Are there any differences in the
recitations of Mantras, Buddhas
Holy Names, or the Sutras? Which
of t hem woul d have a great er
strength? What kinds of benefits
wi l l t hey have? What ar e t he
differences in the techniques of
reciting them? There are two levels
when producing human sounds,
namely the conscious and the
subconscious levels. Will they
be benef i ci al t o one s Dharma
practi ce? What are the effects
that are produced in the practice
met hods f or t he reci t at i ons of
Mantras, Buddhas Holy Names, or
the Sutras? To what degrees and
levels do these practice methods
influence ones mental strength?
What is the highest objective that
can be achieved through these
methods? What is the length of time that one has to
spend on these methods? (To be Continued)
(Note: The newly released books on The Wisdom
in Directing Ones Dharma Practice (1) and The
Wisdom in Directing Ones Dharma Practice (2)
Seven Methods of Strengthening Ones Mind
to Counteract Adversi ti es have al ready been
published. The content for The Wisdom in Directing
Ones Dharma Practice (1) includes the articles on
The Wisdom in Directing Ones Dharma Practice
from Issues 1 to 10 of the Lake of Lotus, while
The Wisdom in Directing Ones Dharma Practice
(2) Seven Methods of Strengthening Ones Mind to
Counteract Adversities includes the articles on The
Wisdom in Directing Ones Dharma Practice from
Issues 11 to 20 of the Lake of Lotus).
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