Handout content:

Ruoyan: If cognition is quantity, it is meaningless to declare the nature of quantity in the theory, because cognition is proved by self-proofing. It has also been realized that the nature of non-deception is the same as the realization, abiding and realization of knowledge.

Verse: Staying peacefully can achieve righteousness, and do not deceive.

Only by accepting one's own nature, one should not be deceived without perfect understanding, metaphor, because cooking, etc. can function, such as To abide in what one understands is to not deceive oneself in one's karma; one can only understand (not deceive) oneself by accepting the uncertainty of one's own nature.

If it is said that not cheating on one's karma means to obtain the state, then no one can obtain it (sound, etc.). Therefore, the nature of quantity is not suitable for hearing and knowledge?

Verse: The sound is like a sound, it shows what you want.

There is no immeasurable fault in the hearing and knowledge that takes sound as its meaning, because the new manifestation , or to understand the meaning of what you want.

(Yir), including the amount of lightning seen, etc.

Course text:

Amitabha, all Dharma friends, good morning. Today we have a class on "The Theory of Interpretation". The main thing is how to connect the content we are talking about today with the other things we have talked about before. This is a key point.

Earlier we mentioned that Chenna Bodhisattva mentioned in the tribute text of "Jijianglun", where did Sakyamuni Buddha come from? Using great compassion and understanding the wisdom of selflessness, it is established in this way: the teacher Sakyamuni Buddha is a teacher who measures men, humans, and heaven. When he spoke this way, Chenna Bodhisattva's own secret thoughts were also the same. We are all people who follow in the footsteps of Gautama Buddha. Of course we worship him, pay respect to him, and follow him. We must understand: what he is like, where he comes from, and how we pay respect to him. What is the main reason? Is it worthwhile for me to follow him? Does he have the ability to save sentient beings? What are the reasons for having such ability to save sentient beings? These are all key, you know.

Why do you say that? Because today’s people and Buddhist practitioners don’t have this kind of attitude. It's what we usually say about following others' opinions and dancing along with them. This is exactly the attitude. Some people say this is good, but you think it is good. Others say this is not good, but you think it is bad. It is similar to the fact that when we do not have firm confidence and objective opinions, it is really difficult to succeed in practice. of.

For example, sometimes we look inward and observe. I am a follower in the footsteps of Sakyamuni Buddha. I regard him as my leader, I worship him and respect him. What was your motivation at the time? Why do you follow him? Why do you admire him? Do you understand this truth? This is important. What most of us think is, oh, he is a Buddha, and Buddha is very special. If we think this way, we will not study and discuss it. Then ask him, what is the reason for his specialness? I don’t know, “I don’t know, people say it’s extraordinary.” You see, this is our attitude. This attitude towards studying Buddhism is really very bad.

When most ordinary beings have such an attitude and ideology, they are easily fooled and deceived. The main reason is this. Therefore, the secret meaning of Chenna Bodhisattva is that our leader, our teacher, what factors caused him to be born, what kind of person he was in the past, and what kind of Dharma he practiced later in his practice to achieve this. The Supreme Enlightenment is the fruit of Buddhahood, so this is all told to us based on principles.

There are three types of measurement

We have already talked about these before, and there is no need to talk about them again for the time being. To put it simply, he established that Sakyamuni Buddha was a measuring scholar. When doing it, you must first understand: What does quantity look like before it is called quantity. Therefore, there are three types of quantities in the Buddhist scriptures: the quantity of scholars, the quantity of famous sayings, and the quantity of mental consciousness. There are three types.

In this case, the general meaning of measurement is not to deceive, and it is very important not to deceive. When talking about it in this way, why is Shakyamuni Buddha called the scholar's measurement? He has the ultimate capacity, and whether he is in this world or in other worlds, he himself has said that there is a world of hundreds of people, and there is also a "me" of hundreds of people. Indeed, we believe it. In this case, the teacher Shakyamuni Buddha is a measuring scholar, and he has positive measurement, supreme positive measurement.

Next, when it comes to exaggerating and explaining, what is the amount of consciousness? What is the definition of quantity? What is an example of quantity? So when we talk about these slowly, we refute other people's opinions and establish our own opinions at the same time. These are formulated based on countless truths and countless principles. It's not that I think, I think this is unreliable. spectrum.

So next, Chenna Bodhisattva has such an aspiration, and wants to establish Sakyamuni Buddha as a righteous and measured scholar. Such a process will of course later become the Dharma. The Bodhisattva Commentary can be supplemented and expanded, so its contents are explained in detail. In this kind of process, the quantity we just talked about is: new beginning, no deception, (this) is the definition of quantity, we talked about the example of quantity last week, holding the cyan actual quantity, This is probably how it is described and expressed.

The most important thing is the teacher Sakyamuni Buddha. He was just like us in the past life. Then he cultivated great compassion and awakened the Mahayana caste. Then he cultivated the wisdom of selflessness. Then Such a combination of tragedy and wisdom, a two-pronged approach, finally reached the Tathagata's fruition status. Only when the Tathagata attains the fruition state can he have the ability to save sentient beings, so he is called Savior. This is probably because of his order. It has been explained before, and this is probably the understanding.

The next step is when Dharmakīrti explains such a quantity. That is of course today’s stage. That is to say, when we connect the next stanza of "The Theory of Quantity", what happens in the middle? What's the situation? That’s what I’m talking about today. Therefore, we must read it in detail before and after. Otherwise, if you go directly to the verses, you will not be able to understand what is said. Of course, this is directly translated into Chinese by me. Sometimes there may be some mistakes in grammar and various aspects, incorrect usage, incorrect and inappropriate usage. If so, you can correct it yourself. Okay, the meaning cannot be changed, but in terms of the wording, in terms of the word, the usage of the word before and after or the verb and noun, if there is anything wrong, it can be changed. This is what I am telling you, of course. My Chinese level is not good, so I am prone to making mistakes sometimes.

Ruoyuan: If cognition is quantity, it is meaningless to declare that the nature of quantity corresponds to it in the theory, because quantity has been proved to be cognition through self-proofing, and it has also been proved to be the same as cognition. , homogeneous and non-deceitful nature.

Verse: Staying peacefully can achieve righteousness, and do not deceive.

Only by accepting one's own nature, one should not be deceived without perfect understanding, metaphor, because cooking, etc. can function, such as To abide in what one understands is to not deceive oneself in one's karma; to understand (not deceive) oneself by simply accepting the uncertainty of one's own nature.

At this stage, Ruoyan, Ruoyan, this is what other sects say. Some people have doubts like this. Some people say: Ruoyan, if cognition is quantity. We have talked about what the mental capacity is like, who is the intellectual capacity, and who is the verbal capacity. We have talked about it before. After talking about it, what we talked about last time is that we should not deceive when we are new. When defining the quantity of mental consciousness, some people came out and said that there should be some problems with your explanation. What he said here is that if cognition is quantity, cognition means mental method. As we mentioned earlier What he is talking about is the quantity of consciousness. What he is talking about here is that if consciousness is quantity and if quantity of consciousness exists, this is what he means.

In treatises, arguments, and classics, it is meaningless to declare the nature of quantity. If cognition is quantity, then our arguments and classics do not need such a detailed explanation. It is meaningless and meaningless. What is the reason? If the mind is measured, each mind has its own self-realization existence, and this is what it means. If the self-realization of one's own self-realization exists, there is no need for detailed explanations in our scriptures and scriptures. The self-realization of one's own self-realization will be clear and understandable.

So, there is no need to talk about it. There is no need to talk about it in the treatises and classics. Any consciousness can understand itself if it accepts its own self-realization. There is no problem, that’s what it means.

You see that the quantitative correspondence mentioned in the discussion here is meaningless, so why do we talk about correspondence? It should be that it might become meaningless and meaningless, but this meaning exists.

Therefore, he will say below that because the self-validating actual quantity proves cognition, this certification becomes cognition, that is, it is justification, that is, he understands it, so it is used as an evidence, so self-validating the actual quantity, Any mind that accepts its own self-realization, or receives its own self-realization, can achieve the realization of knowledge.

To realize success is to receive one’s own self-realization. This is the principle. Therefore, cognition exists and cognition is established. Therefore, this is a recognition based on realization. To know is to use it as a basis. That's what it means. In this case, since realization and cognition, abiding, and non-deception are of the same nature, the main meaning of other sects lies in this. Establishing cognition by receiving one's own self-evidence. In any case, it means receiving one's own self-evidence and understanding oneself clearly.

So there is no need to talk about a lot in the treatises and classics, there are many examples of quantity, the definition of quantity, etc. There is no need to talk about anything. Quantity is itself. When it comes to measurement, you can clearly understand it by receiving your own self-realized quantity. That means no need to repeat it. This is what it means. It has also been proved. What has been proved? What does it mean to be non-deceitful, which is the same as the realization, abiding and realization of knowledge? Then you see that any consciousness has become, lives, and is of the same substance as oneself without deception. So, what does it mean that it has become, lives, and is of the same substance as oneself? For example, let’s take our visual consciousness as an example.

The impermanence of eye-consciousness, the momentary nature of eye-consciousness, the conditioned nature of eye-consciousness, the changing nature of eye-consciousness, and the nature of doing things of eye-consciousness, these are all related to the formation and existence of eye-consciousness. , homogeneity, what is formation, residence, homogeneity? Achievement is established, and abiding is abiding. As you all know, for example, at the moment when eye-consciousness is formed, the momentary nature of eye-consciousness, the action nature of eye-consciousness, conditioned dharma, and impermanence are all established at the same time! And abiding is also at the same time. Yes, in this case they all are.

It is also of the same essence as the birth, existence and death of eye consciousness, and it does not deceive the nature. Even if you receive your own self-realization, you can still understand and recognize it. It is understandable that the part of homogeneity and non-deception is also part of the definition of quantity. To understand these things by self-proofing is to understand these things. In this case, what is the definition of quantity that does not need to be discussed in your classics and treatises? What is the difference between new and non-deceptive concepts? What are the examples of it? Keep talking, this kind of meaningless stuff doesn’t need to be talked about. What's the reason? Any quantity can receive its own self-realization. Once it exists, it can understand and recognize the formation, abiding, and homogeneous parts that are not deceitful and crazy. Then there is no need to say this, no need to say it! The above is what other sects say, and this is what other sects stand for.

This is between the verse on Dharmakīrti’s theory of interpretation that we talked about last week and the verse we are talking about today. There is such a meaning in the indirect content. exist. Therefore, this is what is difficult for most of us to understand by looking directly at the verses.

Then the next step is whether it is your own sect, Dharmakīrti is the answer. How did he answer? He answered like this. His answer was, I just blanked out the verse. This is a verse. Then you can see that abiding can lead to righteousness and don't cheat on this section. So, this is Dharmakīrti's answer to the above views. . Destroy their perceptions. Answer his question.

When he answered, he explained that one can do righteousness by staying calm and not cheating. When he is explaining, you can see that the answers above must be scattered. If you don’t understand the verse he mentioned earlier, the following is scattered. When it is scattered like this, it is not easy for you to see it. Just take your time and read it. It can be found, but when I was translating it, I tried my best to write it in a way that is easy for you to understand, but it is a bit difficult. The wording of "The Theory of Sutra" itself is very difficult. So, that’s about it. It's still possible. If you take your time and read it, you should be able to understand it.

Then when it comes to the answer, you can only accept your own nature. What do you think is the only way to accept your own nature? As we talked about before, for example, whether it is eye consciousness or cognition, they receive their own self-realization. Whether it is self-realization or self-realization, receiving one's own self-realization means simply accepting one's own nature. Only when you accept your own nature, you should not be deceptive if you are not perfect and understanding. For example, if you recognize and accept your own self-realization, you only accept yourself, and you do not necessarily understand everything. Therefore, the non-deceptive part of the cognitive function may not necessarily be understood. In fact, this makes sense.

Let me tell you something first.

For example, when our eye consciousness sees a color or our ear consciousness hears a sound, let’s talk about it in terms of ear consciousness. When the ear consciousness hears a pleasant (sound), a very beautiful sound, it is of course the moment. That is, if he has normal ear consciousness, he will not have an upside-down understanding. Is this a person who understands this sweet sound? At the moment when he understands the sound, does the ear-consciousness itself receive its own self-evidence? Of course it exists. Especially if the ear consciousness is normal, the ear consciousness receives its own self-realization, and it also receives its own self-realization reality. It can be said that who is the one who has received his own self-realization and understanding?

He only understands the nature of ear-consciousness. In addition to this, he does not know the part of ear-consciousness that understands pleasant sounds. You can't understand it if you receive your own self-realization. So, what I said above makes sense, right? Dharmakirti Bodhisattva replied: "Only by accepting one's own nature, one should not be deceived if it is not perfect." Perfection means this, perfection is complete, and this understanding is enough. It should be understood that it is not necessary to be completely understanding and not deceive. It is not necessarily possible to understand everything, especially the part about not being deceived.

As for the non-deception part, of course we explain this non-deception in this way. If you see flowers with normal eye consciousness, then the eye consciousness is correct and not inverted. , when the flower that the eye consciousness is seeing appears as a flower, there is no error or inversion in the flower that you see, it is as you see it, and the actual situation is also the same. The eye-consciousness does not lie about its own flowers. This is how it is explained. When the ear-consciousness hears sounds, when the ear-consciousness is normal, without errors or inversions, it does not understand the sounds it hears or smells. That’s how you explain it to deceive, so what’s the reason, as mentioned earlier.

Whether it is ear consciousness or eye consciousness, when they understand each other's own situation, they each receive their own self-realization. They only receive their own body and their own nature. Except for this In addition, they cannot see that the eye consciousness and the ear consciousness cannot understand or necessarily understand the non-deceptive part of their own situation. So, this is it. Just right, so the answer is very good. It's the same as what I said before, that's what it means.

Next is here, metaphor, metaphor means metaphor. Metaphorically speaking, because cooking and so on can function, then you see us burning, burning and boiling, in this case, they have it. The function it possesses is the ability to function, or it is the ability to function. There are also their functions, one of their abilities, the role they play, etc. That’s what it means, you know, okay, just stay as you understand it. You see, that’s where the content of the verse appears. How to explain "Anzhu"? This is what it means to abide as one understands it.

What does it mean? For example, let’s take an example, when we see fire or cooking, as for these, if your eye consciousness is normal, you can see fire, cooking, or cooking. Whether it's cooking, if your vision is normal when cooking like this, it will be as you understand it, that is, as you see it. As you can see, the actual situation also exists like this. As you understand it, what does it mean to abide? What you see now is the actual situation, and that’s what it means. So these are all expressions of a verse. Therefore, its wording is very complicated, so most people just don’t know how to use it. This is the reason. So it is not easy for ordinary people to understand.

Then when you look at us like this, for example, we see seeds, we see peppers, what you see is like this. If your eye consciousness and ear consciousness are normal, what you see is like this. What appears is as seen, and the actual situation exists as it is. This is what it means. If you understand such an existence, then if the actual situation exists in a different way as you appear, then you can't say that you can live peacefully as you understand it, right? In this case, it means not cheating on karma, that's it. So, what is the reason why any mind does not cheat? For any kind of karma, don't think of it as saying that we create bad karma and good karma. That's not what it means. This karma is the object that any mind sees at the moment. It is regarded as a karma. That's what it means.

For example, what we just said above is that when we hear sounds, if the ear consciousness is normal, it will not deceive the sounds; the eye consciousness that sees the flowers and the flowers they see will not deceive the flowers. This is it. mean.

What does it mean to abide peacefully as one understands it? If the eye consciousness exists as it is seen, as it appears, and actually exists as it is, what does that mean? It means that the eye consciousness is not deceptive about the situation of this flower of this karma, that’s what it means.

This is, that is, not cheating on karma, this is it, for example, in any form of ours, when it understands its own situation, there is no inversion. When looking at the mirror, there is no inversion. When looking into the mirror, it does not deceive its own situation, and it is interpreted in this way. So, this kind of explanation is more suitable, and it is to abide as one understands it. The abiding in this verse means that any object is When our mind understands it, as we see it, as it appears, the actual situation is also like this. The meaning of such existence, in this case, is that we are not deceived in our karma. It means that this means that any mind will not deceive its own situation. This is what it means.

Then again, it is only by accepting one's own nature that one will not know (not deceive). You see, in this case, what about that? It is only by accepting one's own nature. Therefore, any Form, accept your own self-realization, you can only accept your own nature, which means you may not be able to understand yourself, and you may not deceive yourself in the mirror, or you may not understand it. This is just right. So that’s just the answer. What is the reason? As Tazong said before, there is no need to talk about the definition of quantity in arguments and classics. What is the reason? Quantity is a consciousness.

If that quantity is the mind, then when you accept your own self-realized reality, and at the same time accept yourself, you will completely and thoroughly understand your own non-deception and each of your own contents. In this case, Is this what we mean by saying that expansion and explanation in classics and arguments are unnecessary and meaningless? So, when we answer his opinion and dispel his opinion below, our answer is very good. What is the reason? What is mentioned here, for example, we use fire to burn, boil, etc. In this case, at every moment, we use the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the nose to smell, the tongue to taste, and the body to touch. .

In this way, when we use any consciousness to enjoy and receive the mirror, each root consciousness at that time receives its own self-realization, receives its own self-realization, and receives its own experience. Apart from sex, they are unable to understand and realize their own self-realization, and they are not deceived about their own reflection. This is something that cannot be understood by self-realization factors or self-realization actualities. It may not be understood, but this is what it means. Then this is just right, so his answer is to dispel his opinion, it is just right, this is it. Only by accepting one's own nature, one may not necessarily be enlightened and not deceive, that's it.

If it is said that not cheating on one's karma means to obtain the state, then no one can obtain it (sound, etc.), so the nature of quantity is not suitable for hearing and knowledge?

Verse: The sound is like a sound, and it shows what you want.

There is no immeasurable fault in the hearing and knowledge that takes sound as its meaning, because the new manifestation , or to understand the meaning of what you want.

(Yir), including the amount of lightning seen, etc.

Then there is another one. If we say that we should not deceive our karma, then we should not deceive our karma. That is what we just talked about before. This karma is not to regard it as a good deed. Karma, bad karma, is just a pure thing. Just treat it as an object. Don’t lie to yourself in the mirror. Every consciousness has its own environment. So not cheating on your karma means gaining the state of mind. Of course, this is what we talked about before. For example, if there is no upside-down understanding of the object in any form, this is called the mind not deceiving itself in the mirror. As for the other one, Taizong was doubtful. He said that this kind of thing, not cheating on karma, is an acquisition. This acquisition is seeing, and seeing and acquiring are the same. For example, if we take an example and see cyan cloth with my eyes, we can say that my eye consciousness has obtained cyan cloth. This is how it is used. When the nose consciousness smells the fragrance, it is also the nose consciousness that gets the fragrance. This is what it means.

When it is obtained, in fact, in some places, the meaning used in society and life will definitely be different from the meaning used in Buddhist education. What is the reason? In Buddhist education, the choice of words is very strict. Its main meaning is that it can be used from time to time, and its main thing is that it can be used from time to time from the correct perspective of the content. The good use of words in our world is a folk custom. It is used in this way. When people in ordinary society use it, "obtaining" should mean that I get something, right? What kind of merit has been obtained? Similar to this, when any mind sees the object, we cannot use it to obtain the object. It cannot be used in this way in general society. But actually speaking, who uses the more correct and accurate one? It is true that what is used in Buddhist education is relatively correct, indeed relatively correct. You see, you are the gain in our imagination. What does gain really mean? Under what circumstances is it called an acquisition? Only when we go back to our roots can we realize that we are all people who can live a life amidst chaos anyway. This is indeed the case.

If it means to obtain a state, what can anyone say? What did he say? He said, then no one can wait for this state. Don't lie, we said it before. The first thing is to be able to do what is right and not to deceive. This has been mentioned before, and then it is the sound and so on. What is the sound level? Sound or "waiting" includes lightning, faster lightning, etc., that's what it means. Then what he means is doubtful, then no one can get it, no one can get the sound level, then no one can get the sound level, that is to say, if you don't deceive your own situation and don't see it upside down, then you are This can be regarded as a person who is not deceived about his own karma and his own situation. If he means this, then no one can understand sounds, lightning, etc. without inversion. This is what he means. If this is the case, therefore, the nature of quantity is not suitable for hearing and knowledge. You see this makes sense. What is hearing and knowledge? The cognition of hearing sounds, for example, our ear consciousness is called a hearing consciousness. When we hear a sound, we have a hearing consciousness of hearing it. This is the meaning of cognition, and no one can understand it. To the words of sound and lightning. So for this reason, the nature of quantity is new and does not deceive. What does it mean that the nature of nature is not suitable for hearing and knowledge? We translated it according to the explanation of the verse. Its main meaning is that hearing consciousness does not have such a quantitative nature. This is what it means.

What is the reason? If it has the knowledge of hearing and hearing sounds, it can obtain sounds. If it can obtain sounds, it will not deceive the sounds. Then this is wrong. What is the reason? No one can get the sound and lightning, and no one can completely understand what it means when seeing it, so why does it think so? What he is talking about is sound or lightning. These are too fast and no one can see it. No one can understand it upside down and catch it. This is what it means.

Okay, then in this case, what does it mean that the nature of quantity does not enter the sense of hearing? For this reason, the mind that hears the sound, the cognition that hears the sound, cannot have the nature of quantity. That is what it means. You know, it does not have, cannot have the nature of quantity. What is the reason? If it has the nature of quantity, it will not deceive. It will not deceive, that is, it will not deceive about its own karma or its surroundings. Then what is its own surroundings? Isn't it the sound that confronts you? It is impossible not to deceive the sound, and no one can clearly understand the sound.

In this way, it is easier for you to understand, so the sound level, the sound level in this is what we just talked about before, then you can see that "Sheng Yi Er" is also a verse. In this case, what I just said is that the nature of quantity is not related to hearing and knowledge. This is what his sect teaches. The following was answered by Dharmakīrti Bodhisattva, which dispelled the previous doubts.

Come back to the verse: The sound is like a sound, it shows what you want, so it is this. What does it mean to show what you want? The method of hearing-consciousness that arises from sound as its meaning, according to your way of speaking, is probably like this. For example, let’s take an example, what is the meaning of hearing-consciousness that arises from sound as its meaning? What does it mean to use sound as the meaning? The meaning of deriving is to have a detached object in the object. The detached object is the same as the approaching object. Who is the one who regards the sound as a detached object? It is our ear consciousness. Only when you hear it can you have a cognition, so the hearing and consciousness that takes sound as its meaning has a method, which is this.

Next, there is no fault that cannot be measured. It does not have the nature of quantity. This is what it means. If there is no fault, what is the reason? Because of the new display, what does the new display mean? This display is that since it has just started, the display is very clear. If the sound is not displayed upside down, you can understand the sound. This is what it means.

What is the meaning of new manifestation or understanding of one's desires? What is the meaning of understanding one's desires? Of course, the object accessible to ear consciousness is sound. So who is it that understands what one desires? sound. Therefore, the meaning of understanding one's own desires is a cognition of sound, which is probably what it means.

To put it simply, what was said before is not quite correct. What is the reason? In fact, our ear consciousness can clearly understand and access the sound. When we hear the sound, the ear consciousness does not show the sound upside down and sees the sound upside down. Therefore, this representation is the ear consciousness produced at the moment. Consciousness becomes a cognition of the object without any inversion, so it is called a quantity. In this case, there is no fault that the hearing consciousness does not have the nature of quantity. That's what it means.

That’s what other sects think. The duration of sound is relatively short, or the duration of lightning is relatively short, so we ordinary people cannot grasp it, cannot understand it, and understand it without inversion. . So in this case, there is no quantity in the ear-consciousness that hears the sound. What's the reason? It does not have the definition of quantity. If it has the definition of quantity, the difference between new emergence and non-deception is that it has just begun to arise. Non-deception means not deceiving one's own situation. who? sound. If you don't deceive your own voice, then you will have a wrong understanding of the voice, so he believes that there is nothing he can do if time is short, which is probably what he means.

The part of our class today is probably like this. What we talked about more is the sound we just talked about earlier, the sound level we talked about earlier. What does this level summarize? Summed up Lightning, that's it.