Demon is Out of One's Mind -- Shi Zhenlin (Master)

Many cultivators of the Buddha Dharma tend to talk of spiritual penetration power with fear. They mistake it as an evil state or path. This is a kind of attachment arisen out of delusion. There are eighty-four thousand Dharma doors available for us choose to practice the Buddha Dharma. No matter which one we chose, the ultimate destination is to enter the Buddha Path, and attain Nirvana Without Remainder .

For example, if going to Beijing is analogous to entering Buddhahood, there are 84,000 roads leading to Beijing. However, we set off from different places. Some from Zhajiang province, others from Guangdong Province. As we start differently, we get different views along the way.

The same holds true for cultivation. You feel and experience differently, as you start differently, with different level of comprehension, and methods of cultivation. Once we reach a certain level in our cultivation, however, we all get to the same point. This is referred to as all the ten thousand roads come from the same origin. All the ten-thousand Dharmas shall the same root. It is so because our destination is the same, which is to attain Buddhahood. Therefore, as a cultivator, we should not be afraid of getting responses. Try to feel it. Just remember not to be attached to it.

If we walk to Beijing, which is our destination, we should not be enamored of or trapped by the views along the way no matter how beautiful they are. Just have a glance, and we should go ahead. If we are too enamored of spiritual penetration power and getting a response, and therefore get bound up by the state, we are then truly bewitched. All the evil appearances are manifestations of our mind. They arise because of the dust of (the three poisons of) greed, hatred, and ignorance, because of (the six thieves of) eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and consciousness, and because of the storehouse consciousness (sub-consciousness) and alaya consciousness (the eighth consciousness). Just remember that the eight consciousnesses are the root from which evil mind arises, and the doors through which it enters us, and keep the eight doors tightly closed in our everyday cultivation. Gradually, as we advance in our practice, the evil mind won’t be able to get in through the door, let along rattling our mind.

Our mind shall remain at peace if we can subdue our eye faculty and make it pure. Because the objects of sight are pure, the objects of the other five senses, namely of sound, smell, taste, touch, and thought are pure, too. When the consciousness is pure, we come to get many of the so-called responses. However, by then the storehouse consciousness (sub-consciousness) shall emerge to make us confused. If we can subdue the consciousness and make it pure, our deva eyes shall be open. There is nothing happening in the Three Realms that we do not know. We shall then understand many things in the realm of the Buddha Dharma. By then, the alaya consciousness (the eighth consciousness) shall emerge to confuse us. If we can subdue the alaya consciousness, our dharma eyes shall open. There is nothing happening in the Buddhalands of the ten directions we do not know. We shall know everything about all the sutras of the 12 sections of the Tripitaka, and the eighty-four thousand Dharma doors. If we can not only subdue but also transcend the eighth consciousness, our wisdom eyes and Buddha eyes shall both be open. We shall be in realm of the Bodhisattvas in the 10th stage and the Buddhas.

Practice is most emphasized in the Buddha Dharma. Hopefully, our co-cultivators can focus on the practicing of it instead of arguing over the wording. Only by doing so, can we really come to feel keenly and understand just how profound, extensive, and esoteric the Buddha Dharma is. The fundamental principals of the Buddha Dharma are faith, vows, and practice. First of all, we should place faith in its existence, make vows to do it and practice it. This is why Shakyamuni Buddha made His presence in the world. Amitabha-Buddha! Let’s apply our efforts to make progress together!