Saturday, April 12, 2014

SZ on MEANING OF "TEN STAGES OF MIND DEVELOPMENT"





Kukai's (Kobo Daishi) major work "The Ten States of Mind/Consciousness) ---


THE MEANING OF "TEN STAGES OF MIND DEVELOPMENT"
Dharma Talk by Living Buddha Lian Sheng on 6/10/90
(page 252-253 Achievement of Rainbow Light Body volume one)
Translated by Yuan Zheng Tang

I have finished talking about the ten stages of mind development as categorized by the Japanese monk Koho yesterday. Although Koho had classified our minds into ten stages such as the first stage of "Animal mind" to the tenth stage of "Secret and solemn mind", it is the same mind that went through the transformation.

It is the belief of Tantrayana that everything on earth has a mind of its own. Thus a mountain has a mind, so has a stream, river, sea, sun , moon, star, glass, tree, padi and seedling. The most important question to us is how do we go about really understanding them ?

In my opinion, Koho tried to tell us that we must not slander ourselves, let alone underestimate ourselves. It is said in the Manjusri Bodhisattva five-syllable hymn that : "If we call ourselves commoners - mortals, we are slandering the Buddhas of past , present and future lives." This is because the Tantric doctrine clearly affirms that : "You are a Buddha."

Certain analogies had been used to describe the cultivators. Those who cultivate Mahayana are considered "riding on the cow vehicle" ; those who practise Hinayana- "riding on the goat vehicle" and those who concentrate on Vajrayana - "riding on the mystic power vehicle." In other words, if we want to be enlightened as a Buddha as soon as possible , we must ride on the last type of vehicle.

Only Tantrayana advocates "instant Buddhahood." - After attaining mystic powers, we are able to have a breakthrough and be enlightened. All the ten stages of mental development are one and the same as the mind of a Buddha.

Therefore, we cannot give up , consider ourselves hopeless , be resigned to the fact and claim that we have animal minds. By so doing , we are slandering the Buddhas of past, present and future lives.

As we are all future Buddhas, we will have spiritual achievement in the future. If we constantly visualize ourselves as Buddhas, we are upholding the Tantric principle of "instant Buddhahood", and this itself is a tell-tale sign of our future Buddhahood. To-date, no other schools can promise you a faster way to spiritual fruition yet.

As animal minds and human minds are the same as that of the Buddhas', we must always will that our speech, body and mind function naturally, so that we will be fully enlightened and become Buddhas in no time.

Om Mani Padme Hum.


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