..續本文上一頁ain Buddhahood. We should use this Perfect Wisdom to break up the five bundles of aggregates that make up our personality, and thus get rid of the pollutions and contaminations. To follow such a practice ensures the attainment of Buddhahood. The three poisonous elements (greed, anger and infatuation) will then be turned into good conduct (sila) and self-realisation (samadhi) and wisdom (Prajna). When one is free from defilement, Wisdom reveals itself steadily and cannot be distinguished from Mind-essence. Those who understand this Dharma will be free from idle thoughts. To be free from discriminations, from clinging to desires, from illusions; to set free one”s true nature; to use Prajna for contemplation; to take an attitude of neither indifference nor attachment towards all things--that is what is meant by realising one”s true Essence of Mind and (in its perfection) is the attainment of Buddhahood.

　　Learned Audience: If you wish to penetrate the deepest mystery of the Dharma-world and experience the deepest realisation (samadhi) of Prajna, you should practice Prajna by reciting and studying the Diamond Sutra (the Vajrakkhedika) which will enable you to realise Essence of Mind . You should know that the merit for studying this Sutra is distinctly set forth in the text in laudatory terms; it is immeasurable and illimitable and cannot be enumerated in detail. This Sutra expounds the highest thought of Buddhism and our Lord Buddha delivered it specially for the very wise and quick-witted. The less wise and the slow-witted

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　　doubt its credibility. Why

　　 For example: When it rains through the power of the celestial Naga on the plains of India, cities, towns and villages are drifted about as if they were only leaves of the date tree; but should it rain on the great ocean, the level of the seas of the whole world would not be affected by it. When the followers of the highest school of Mahayana study the Diamond Sutra, their minds become enlightened as they realise that Prajna is immanent in their own Mind-essence. Since they have their own access to highest wisdom through the constant practice of concentration and contemplation (dhyana and samadhi) they realise that they no longer need to rely on scriptural authority.

　　The Prajna immanent in the minds of every one may be likened to the rain, the moisture of which refreshes every living thing, trees and plants as well as sentient creatures. When rivers and streams reach the sea, the water carried by them merges into the one body, which is a good analogy. When rain falls in a deluge, plants which are not deep-rooted are washed away and eventually they perish. It is the same with the slow-witted when they hear about the teachings of the "Sudden School." The Prajna immanent in them is exactly the same as that in very wise men, but when the Dharma is made known to them they fail to enlighten themselves. Why is it

　　 It is because their minds are thickly veiled by erroneous views and deeply rooted infections, just as the sun is often thickly veiled by clouds and unable to show its splendor until the wind blows the clouds away. Prajna does not vary with different persons; what makes the seeming difference is

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　　the question whether one”s mind is enlightened or is beclouded. He who does not realise his own Mind-essence, and rests under the delusion that Buddhahood can be attained by outward religious rites, is rightly called the slow-witted. He who knows the teachings of the "Sudden School," and who attaches no importance to ritual, and whose mind al ways functions under right views so that he is absolutely free of defilement and contamination, such an one may be said to have realised his Mind-essence.

　　Learned Audience: The mind should be framed in such a way that it will be independ…

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