The Fourth Paragraph
The truth is that when one has recognized the true mind, all
sufferings and afflictions cease right away.
The three evils (greed, hatred, and illusion/ignorance) will be transformed, and one will attain the three
kayas* (kāyas or bodies; i.e., the Dharmakaya Buddha, the Sambhogakaya
Buddha, and the Nirmanakaya Buddha). If
one wants to put an end to all the wrongs caused by the six senses (eyes, ears,
nose, tongue, body, and discriminative perceptions), then one needs to realize
the dangers caused by the six enemies (sight, sound, smelling, taste,
feeling/sensation, external phenomena).
Those who want to transform their
own bodies and to transcend this world know only alchemy; in their search for
answers about Emptiness, Buddhist followers do not need to avoid the phenomenal
world of forms and sounds.
When one realizes the true mind,
and has a firm belief in the Perfect Wisdom, one does not need to search for
Buddhas or Patriarchs in the East or the West.
Having experienced Oneness and reached Enlightenment, does one really
have to labor over chanting sutras nor sitting in meditation, following either
the Southern or the Northern Buddhist traditions?
From the Tripitaka one learns that
one needs to follow the monastic rules of the Zen tradition and instructions;
burning the incense and taking care of the altar does not mean one has to spend
money on decorations and rituals.
If everyone has accumulated moral
merits (knows how to live morally), is there any among us not a Buddha
him-/herself? Those who rigorously
observe the precepts, and have eradicated all envies and greed are actually
Maitreya Buddhas.**
(to be continued)
(to be continued)
