眾生無邊誓願度
煩惱無盡誓願斷
法門無量誓願學
佛道無上誓願成

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Dharma Teachings

12 Jan 2019    Saturday     3rd Teach Total 1176

How to Live Each Day with the Mind Abiding Nowhere

The mind that abides nowhere is the self-natured pure mind. It is indeed possible to live our days by means of Him, yet it is utterly impossible to live our days without Him. Whether we use Him or not is not a matter of our subjective choice, for without Him no one could live a single day, nor even exist. The key is how He accompanies us through our days—how the five consciousnesses, the sixth consciousness, and the seventh consciousness live out their days. This is the most crucial point: if the days are lived well, one becomes a Buddha; if lived poorly, one falls into the three evil destinies.

If we wish to live our days with the mind abiding nowhere, then we must make the mind of the seventh consciousness abide nowhere just like the fundamental mind of self-nature. To accomplish this, we must first find the fundamental mind that abides nowhere and observe how it abides nowhere; then we should model ourselves after it. In the future, the seventh consciousness will be able to abide nowhere, and the practice of the Path will be complete.

If we want to understand the Buddha-dharma clearly, we must separate the true mind and the deluded mind and observe them, understanding their respective natures, functions, roles, and appearances. Then we must distinguish the seven consciousnesses from one another, understanding the functions, natures, roles, and appearances of each. In this way, we can see ourselves and all sentient beings with perfect clarity and understand the Buddha-dharma more thoroughly. Then, step by step, realizing the Buddha-dharma will not be a difficult matter.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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