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

08 Jun 2019    Saturday     1st Teach Total 1587

What does "embracing greed but not embracing the Dharma" mean?

Original text of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra: 佛说:所谓贪者。若取、若舍、若触、若味。系著外尘。堕二边见。复生苦阴。生老病死忧悲苦恼。如是诸患皆从爱起。斯由习近世论。及世论者。我及诸佛。说名为贪。是名摄受贪欲不摄受法。大慧。云何摄受法。谓善觉知自心现量。见人无我。及法无我相。妄想不生。善知上上地。离心、意、意识。一切诸佛智慧灌顶具足。摄受十无尽句。于一切法无开发自在。是名为法。所谓不堕一切见、一切虚伪、一切妄想、一切性、一切二边。

Explanation: Toward anything, whether one has a mind of grasping or a mind of renunciation, whether one touches it or immerses oneself in it, when the mind is bound to these sense objects, all of these are manifestations of craving and attachment, and one will fall into the aggregate of suffering feelings; birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress then become unavoidable.

All the faults of birth and death are entirely brought about by craving and attachment. Habitually engaging with worldly treatises and associating closely with worldly dharmas gives rise to craving and attachment toward worldly dharmas. The Buddha said that such sentient beings take in craving and attachment within their minds, not taking in the Dharma.

What is taking in the Dharma? It is being well aware that all the dharmas one knows and contacts are manifested from one's own mind—immediate manifestation from one's own mind (manas)—that they are manifested through the conjunction of the three transforming consciousnesses, and are brought forth by the true mind, the eighth consciousness, in dependence on conditions, and thus do not truly exist. The eighth consciousness is the first consciousness capable of giving rise to dharmas; the seventh consciousness is the second consciousness that prompts dharmas to arise and manifest; the six consciousnesses are the third consciousness that manifests dharmas. When the three conjoin, all dharmas are brought into operation.

When contacting all dharmas, one should clearly be aware that the five aggregates and eighteen elements are without self, and be aware that all dharma-marks are without self-nature, without true existence; they are all produced, subject to arising and ceasing, impermanent, subject to change, and unreliable. In this way, one will no longer have any notions about dharmas, the mind will no longer depend on these dharmas, one will no longer give rise to mental activity toward them, and will no longer generate thoughts and concepts of attachment and discrimination—wholesome and unwholesome, true and false, right and wrong, beneficial and harmful, and so on.

Having realized that all dharmas are without self, without true existence, born from the deluded constructions of one's own mind, one no longer applies the mind toward anything, and thus becomes free from craving and attachment, free from the suffering of birth and death. Not applying the mind means not specially handling or treating things: when affairs come, one uses them, yet uses them without mind; when affairs depart, they cease, and the mind retains no lingering attachment. The mind is unbound, without hindrance or obstruction, free and at ease. Let all dharmas arise and cease on their own, coming and going, having nothing to do with me—this is great liberation.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra's Testimony That the Manas Eliminates the Identity View and Self-View

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The Scope of Greed

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