The Aura of Wisdom
By Living Buddha Sheng-yen Lu
Translated by True Buddha Foundation Translation Team (Cheng Yew Chung, Victor Hazen, Dance Smith)
Translated by True Buddha Foundation Translation Team (Cheng Yew Chung, Victor Hazen, Dance Smith)
This was translated from Grandmaster Lu's 154th book, 智慧的光環.
CHAPTER 6 - Purification of One`s Mind
I replied, `What you learn from me is how we can purify ourselves, not how to gain spiritual powers.`
My disciple asked, `Isn`t it true that the Buddha has spiritual powers?`
I said, `The Buddha does have spiritual powers, but those with spiritual powers are not necessarily buddhas.`
I told him that even ghosts have powers, so do good and evil beings.
The Mara has spiritual powers, so does the heretic.
Spiritual power is but a chance occurrence, a by-product of one`s cultivation in Buddhism.
One should not be attached to such phenomenal powers or one will risk going astray onto the wrong path.
If one should cultivate only spiritual powers, it is easy to cling to those states.
Discursive thoughts may arise, leading one into delusion.
Eventually one shall fall into the grasp of Mara.
When attracted to phenomenal spiritual powers, one will deviate from the Buddha`s teachings and turn oneself into a dark ghostly creature.
What exactly does the Buddha teach us?
It is still this familiar saying:
To not do any evil, to cultivate good, to purify one`s mind: this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
I have written over one hundred and fifty books.
Seriously speaking, I can summarize the millions of words I`ve written into four words:
`Purification of One`s Mind`
In Tantric Buddhism, it is stated that the three karmas are transformed into the three secrets:
the secret of the body, secret of speech, and secret of the mind.
The purification of the body, speech and mind is essentially the `purification of one`s mind`!
The act of cultivating the heart and purifying one`s mind leads one to buddhahood.
To only develop spiritual powers leads one to becoming a Mara.
If you are a practising True Buddha practitioner, you need to discern these matters carefully!
Amituofo
Lotuschef
Pure Karma
If one should cultivate only spiritual powers, it is easy to cling to those states.
Discursive thoughts may arise, leading one into delusion.
Eventually one shall fall into the grasp of Mara.
When attracted to phenomenal spiritual powers, one will deviate from the Buddha`s teachings and turn oneself into a dark ghostly creature.
What exactly does the Buddha teach us?
It is still this familiar saying:
To not do any evil, to cultivate good, to purify one`s mind: this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
I have written over one hundred and fifty books.
Seriously speaking, I can summarize the millions of words I`ve written into four words:
`Purification of One`s Mind`
In Tantric Buddhism, it is stated that the three karmas are transformed into the three secrets:
the secret of the body, secret of speech, and secret of the mind.
The purification of the body, speech and mind is essentially the `purification of one`s mind`!
The act of cultivating the heart and purifying one`s mind leads one to buddhahood.
To only develop spiritual powers leads one to becoming a Mara.
If you are a practising True Buddha practitioner, you need to discern these matters carefully!
Amituofo
Lotuschef
Pure Karma
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