What lies at the root of our mental afflictions? At bottom, it is the grasping at a personal self. Our persistent, unyielding attachment to a fixed identity or standard is itself a vivid expression of such self-grasping. Sometimes this stubborn attachment is even crowned with the name of "virtue." For instance, an upright person feels disturbed upon seeing others act dishonestly; a diligent worker feels irritated when others slack off. You may cling stubbornly to certain positions and standards—yet why demand that everyone else conform to them as well?
To be sure, such tendencies do reflect a degree of moral rectitude. Yet if you cling rigidly to this virtue and insist that others match it, you inevitably breed afflicted emotions and distress. And if you yourself happen to be an undisciplined mess, then lived reality becomes an unmitigated nightmare—you live entrenched in affliction day in, day out. But upon rebirth in a pure realm, this rigid stubbornness begins to loosen its grip.
Yet, coarser and more pernicious habits prevail in the world, such as intense greed and excessive aversion. When our rigid "attachments" grow too intense, they solidify into virulent anger—which is precisely why we harbor such profound hatred toward wrongdoers. Yet at the moment we hate such people, does this not conflict with bodhicitta? In that instant, bodhicitta is nowhere to be found; all that remains is solely a powerful sense of righteous indignation. But if one genuinely aspires to practice the Bodhisattva path, how can this suffice?
Others fall into the opposite trap: in their eagerness to act as a Bodhisattva, they succumb to another form of attachment. Believing that generating bodhicitta requires flawlessness in every single endeavor, they forcibly attempt tasks far beyond their present capacity. Such presumptuous behavior, wholly devoid of wisdom, is inevitably crushed by reality. Therefore, when first entering the Bodhisattva path, one must still proceed with wisdom.
Regardless, we must step by step uproot the deeply ingrained habit of always operating from the reference point of "self." Whether we occupy the moral high ground or collapse into the pettiness of unwholesome habitual tendencies, starting from this cognitive anchor of "self" remains the ego at work. Good or bad, it is all the self's domain. As you gradually internalize these dynamics, your mind will naturally unwind, and an authentic joy will first arise within yourself.
When inner joy arises, Dharma joy naturally dawns. Otherwise, our joy remains perpetually conditional—we experience happiness only when external reality conforms to our self-imposed standards. Yet more often than not, the world refuses to cater to your demands. Only when the "self" is absent does "everything become sublime"—even the sound of a flushing toilet rings out as "Namo Amitābha." But once this sense of "you" appears, that state remains far beyond reach.
This article is a preliminary translation draft and has not yet been reviewed or proofread by the speaker.
Comments (0)