BUDDHISM WISDOM AND FAITH...continue Chapter 2....

The Practices of the Bodhi Mind

10) How to Develop the Bodhi Mind

Awakening the Bodhi Mind, as indicated earlier, can be summarized in the four Bodhisatva vows:

Sentient beings are numberless, I vow to save them all;
Afflictions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them all;
Dharma doors are boundless, I vow to master them all;
Buddhahood is unsurpassable, I vow to attain it.

However, it is not enough simply to say " I have developed the Bodhi Mind," or to recite the above verses every day. To really develop the Bodhi Mind, the practitioner should, in his cultivation, meditate on and act in accordance with the essence of the vows. There are cultivators, clergy and lay person alike, who each day, after reciting the sutras and the Buddha's name, kneel down to read the transference verses: " I wish to rid myself of the three obstructions and sever afflictions..." However, their actual behaviour is different: today they are greedy, tomorrow they become angry and bear grudges, the day after tomorrow it is delusion and laziness, the day after that is belittling, criticizing and slandering others. The next day they are involved in arguments and disputes, leading to sadness and resentment on both sides. Under these circumstances, how can they rid themselves of the three obstructions and sever afflictions?

In general, most of us merely engage in external forms of cultivation, while paying lip service to "opening the mind." Thus, the fires of greed, anger and delusion continue to flare up, preventing us from tasting the pure and cool flavor of emancipation as taught by the Buddhas. Therefore, we have to pose the question, " How can we awaken the Bodhi Mind?"

In order to develop a true Bodhi Mind, we should ponder and meditate on the following six critical points:

Point 1 : the Enlightened Mind

Sentient beings are used to grasping at this body as "me, " at this discriminating mind-consciousness which is subject to sadness and anger, love and happiness, as "me." However, this flesh-and-blood body is illusory; tomorrow, when it dies, it will return to dust.
Therefore, this body -- a composite of the four elements ( earth, water, fire and air ) -- is not "me." The same is true of our mind-consciousness, which is merely the synthesis of our perception of the six "Dusts" ( form, sound, fragrance, taste, touch and dharmas ).

Take the case of a person who formerly could not read or write, but is now English or German. When his studies are completed, he will have knowledge of English or German. Another example is a person who had not known Paris but who later on had the opportunity to visit France and absorb the sights and sounds of that city. Upon his return, if someone were to mention Paris, the sights and of that metropolis would appear clearly in his mind. That knowledge formerly did not exist; when the sights and sounds entered his subconscious, they "existed". If these memories were not rekindled from time to time, they would gradually fade away and disappear, returning to the void.

This knowledge of ours, sometimes existing, sometimes not existing, some images disappearing, other image images arising, always changing following the outside world, is illusory, not real. Therefore, the mind-consciousness is not "me." The ancients have said:

The body is like a bubble, the mind is like the wind; they are illusions, without origin or True Nature.

If we truly realize that body and mind are illusory, and do not cling to them, we will gradually enter the realm of "no self" -- escaping the mark of self. The self of our self being this void, the self of "others" is also void, and therefore, there is no mark of others. Our self and the self of others being void, the selves of countless sentient beings are also void, and therefore, there is no mark of sentient beings. The self being void, there is no lasting ego; there is really no one who has " attained Enlightenment" . This is also true of Nirvana, ever dwelling, ever lasting. Therefore, there is no mark of lifespan.

Here we should clearly understand: it is not that the eternal dwelling "True Thusness" has no real nature or true self; it is because the sages have no attachment to that nature that it become void.

Sentient beings being void, objects ( Dharmas ) are also void, because objects always change, are born and die away, with no self nature.We should clearly realize that this is not because objects, upon disintegration, become void and non existent; but, rather, because being illusory, their True nature is empty and void. Sentient beings, too, are like that. Therefore, the ancients have said:

Why wait until the flowers fall to understand that form is emptiness?

The practitioner, having clearly understood that beings and dharmas are empty, can proceed to recite the Buddha's name with a pure, clear and bright mind, free from all attachments. Only when he cultivates in such an enlightened frame of mind can he be said to have "developed the Bodhi Mind."