Cultivating the Mind as the Treasury of Mystic Power

Have you ever wondered about the purpose or meaning of life? I’m sure that everyone has their own opinion about this. But is there any goal worth pursuing throughout a lifetime, the mere pursuit of which brings unlimited blessings? Most people are only concerned with this life. They focus all their efforts on pursuing a career, and measure success in life in terms of fame and fortune. Such an orientation in life is typically accompanied by the pursuit of instant gratification of sense desires, but this only causes one to sink ever deeper into the quagmire of greed, hatred, and delusion. Our lives are influenced by innumerable factors; although it may not be possible to empirically prove the doctrine of rebirth, karma—the law of cause and effect—most definitely does exist. One person’s actions inevitably have an impact on other people, things, and even on the natural environment. As the old Chinese saying goes, “Tug one hair and the entire body moves.” This is why the Buddhist view is not limited to a single human life. If we want to experience happiness in all our future lives, then in this life we need to lay down wholesome roots and positive affinities by continually doing good deeds and cultivating generosity and wisdom.  Cultivating the Ten Minds—Leaving Sorrow Completely Behind  Those of us engaged in “Guanyin practice” cultivate ten states of mind which bring us into communion with the bodhisattva Guanyin.  The first one is the mind of great compassion, which means helping others to be happy and free of suffering. It is “great” in the sense of being unlimited and unobstructed. The second one is the mind of equality. This means transcending such limiting and discriminating concepts as self and other, high and low, good and bad, and male and female. Our original nature is free of all distinctions and oppositions. This is the mind of equality. The third one is the unconditioned mind. This is a function of our enlightened nature, which is the unconditioned mind. In contrast to the conditioned mind, it is unproduced. The unconditioned mind doesn’t fuss over right and wrong or good and bad; and it doesn’t attach to the accumulation of merit. It is the mind of non-production; it genuinely displays one’s self-nature; it is without pretense; it spontaneously gives rise to compassion and wholesome vows.  The fourth one is the mind free of defilement. Non-defilement means purity of mind. It’s not something we can purposefully produce; rather, it’s an intrinsic factor of our enlightened nature. It means cultivating the mind of a bodhisattva—a simple, straightforward mind free of defilements. It means not attaching to emotions and such concepts as right and wrong or good and bad; not arguing about trivialities; maintaining a positive attitude; and non-attachment. The fifth one is the mind of emptiness. This means continually contemplating that all phenomena are subject to arising and passing away, and that nothing can be truly obtained. It means seeing everything as impermanent and insubstantial. Doing so brings us back to our primary essence, our original face, and the ultimate emptiness of all phenomena. In this way we become free of attachment.  The sixth one is the mind of respect. This means treating others with respect and sincerity, similar to what is meant by Samantabhadra’s vow to “honor all buddhas.” This entails treating all sentient beings as our teachers and a source of wisdom, as mentioned in the Flower Adornment Sutra. The seventh is the mind of humility. This mind depends on the previous one, for only when we have a respectful attitude is it possible to be humble. Humility requires a willingness to learn. If we see ourselves as lifelong students, then we can learn a lot; but if we are lacking in humility, then we won’t learn very much. In cultivating the mind of humility we use the Great Compassion Mantra to overcome arrogance, see all sentient beings as future buddhas, and modestly regard ourselves as novice bodhisattvas.  The eighth is the mind of non-confusion. This means a mind which is steady and concentrated, just like our enlightened nature. Applying this kind of mind makes mantra practice highly effective. But if you have a lot of extraneous thoughts while chanting, then the results will be quite limited. The ninth one is the mind of non-attachment to views. This means not jumping to conclusions. It often happens that we jump to erroneous conclusions or misinterpret someone’s good intentions. This is why we need to guard against obstinacy. Our enlightened nature doesn’t attach to mere appearances. This is why non-attachment to views is said to be an essential element of intrinsic enlightenment.  The tenth is the mind of supreme enlightenment. It’s supreme because it arises from the vow to continue on the bodhisattva path for life upon life so as to benefit both oneself and others. There is no aspiration higher than this.  Effective Guanyin practice and recitation of the Great Compassion Mantra is based on the cultivation of these ten minds—the mind of great compassion, the mind of equality, the unconditioned mind, the mind free of defilement, the mind of emptiness, the mind of respect, the mind of humility, the mind of non-confusion, the mind of non-attachment to views, and the mind of supreme enlightenment. These are also called “the ten minds of the Great Compassion Mantra.” By cultivating these ten minds we include all aspects of life in our Guanyin practice.  http://www.093ljm.org