Mind
23 articles in category.
Lay Practitioner Zhuang Chunjiang: A Study of Tathāgatagarbha — Chapter 3: The Development of the Teaching on the Mind's Innate Purity
According to the Mahāvibhāṣā and the Abhidharmakośa, "mind" (citta) carries the sense of "growing, accumulating, and lineage"—it's a broad, general term that doesn't denote a singular nature (which is why investigating its "substance" is...
ReadHidden in Every Thought Are These Five Default Settings
Omnipresent Mental Factors
ReadThe final thought at the moment of death, deliberately strengthened, determines your afterlife destination
Many classic treatises emphasize the final thought at the moment of death. In the nine grades of rebirth, the ultimate focus always returns to the time of passing: the dominant condition that determines our afterlife destination is this ...
ReadHow to Tell If You Are Abiding in the Mind of Birth and Death or the Mind Beyond Birth and Death
Ananda addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One! I have been blessed with the Tathagata’s supreme compassionate teachings, and my mind has now opened and awakened. I know that through my own practice and realization, I can attain...
ReadFully Arousing the Three Minds and Dedicated vs. Mixed Practice
Shandao Master composed some of his most brilliant passages in the Four Annotations, first in the section expounding the profound meaning, and second in his commentary on the chapter on the highest grade of the highest birth. He especial...
ReadWhen You Indulge in Delusive Thoughts, You Stir Up Your Past Karma
When we begin to observe the mind, contemplating the nature of the present moment, we cannot immediately perceive the essence of mind-nature itself. What we first encounter is its surface layer. It is like looking at a mirror—you cannot ...
ReadThe Three Non-Retrogressions: Station, Practice, and Thought
If we speak of this world, in the Tripitaka [teaching] it is the First Fruit; in the Common [teaching] it is the Ground of Seeing; in the Separate [teaching] it is the Initial Abiding; in the Perfect [teaching] it is the Initial Faith. T...
ReadHow Do External Circumstances Make Their Way Into Your Mind to Hurt You?
To cultivate forbearance, you must first develop a clear understanding of the mental objects that arise within your own mind. These mental objects act as a critical bridge for the transmission of affliction. Let me put this to all of you...
ReadEnd-of-Life Mindfulness Has Two Key Points
I believe end-of-life mindfulness has two key points: first, you must learn to recite the Buddha’s name properly. Reciting the Buddha’s name is the foundational practice, whether you are at home or in the intensive care unit. The very fi...
ReadEach Thought Illuminates True Principle, Each Mind Quells Illusory Dust
When we cultivate the Śūraṅgama Samādhi, there are two principal methods: the first is contemplative insight into principle, and the second is practical cultivation through conduct.
ReadTreat Your Job as a Way to Temper Yourself: Use Work Experiences to Cultivate and Refine Your Mind and Heart
When I go to work today, I am not working for anyone else. I treat my job as a form of tempering: I refine my mind and heart by working through every situation I encounter on the job. In the past, we only went to work to seek good perfor...
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