..续本文上一页d cool flavor of emancipation as taught by the Buddhas. Therefore, we have to pose the question, “How can we awaken the Bodhi Mind

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　　In order to develop a true Bodhi Mind, we should ponder and meditate on the fo lowing six critical points:

　　Point 1: the Enlightened Mind

　　Sentient beings are used to grasping at this body as “me,” at this discriminating mind-consciousness which is subject to sadness and anger, love and happiness, as “me.” However, this flesh-and-blood body is illusory; tomorrow, when it dies, it will return to dust. Therefore, this body – a composite of the four elements (earth, water, fire and air) – is not “me.” The same is true of our mind-consciousness, which is merely the synthesis of our perception of the six “Dusts” (form, sound, fragrance, taste, touch and dharmas).

　　Take the case of a person who formerly could not read or write, but is now studying English or German. When his studies are completed, he will have knowledge of English or German. Another example is a person who had not known Paris but who later on had the opportunity to visit France and absorb the sights and sounds of that city. Upon his return, if someone were to mention Paris, the sights of that metropolis would appear clearly in his mind. That knowledge formerly did not exist; when the sights and sounds entered his subconscious, they “existed.” If these memories were not rekindled from time to time, they would gradua ly fade away and disappear, returning to the void.

　　This knowledge of ours, sometimes existing, sometimes not existing, some images disappearing, other images arising, always changing fo lowing the outside world, is illusory, not real. Therefore, the mind-consciousness is not “me.” The ancients have said:

　　The body is lik e a bubble, the m ind is like the wind; they are illusions, without origin or True Nature.

　　If we truly realize that body and mind are illusory, and do not cling to them, we will gradually enter the realm of “no self” – escaping the mark of self. The self of our self being thus void, the self of “others” is also void, and therefore, there is no mark of others. Our self and the selves of others being void, the selves of countless sentient beings are also void, and therefore, there is no mark of sentient beings. The self being void, there is no lasting ego; there is rea ly no one who has “attained Enlightenment.” This is also true of Nirvana, ever-dwelling, everlasting. Therefore, there is no mark of lifespan.

　　Here we should clearly understand: it is not that the eternally dwelling “True Thusness” has no real nature or true self; it is because the sages have no attachment to that nature that it becomes void.

　　Sentient beings being void, objects (dharmas) are also void, because objects always change, are born and die away, with no self-nature. We should clearly realize that this is not because objects, upon disintegration, become void and non-existent; but, rather, because, being illusory, their True Nature is empty and void. Sentient beings, too, are like that. Therefore, the ancients have said:

　　Why wait until the flowers fall t o understand that form is emptiness

　　The practitioner, having clearly understood that beings and dharmas are empty, can proceed to recite the Buddha”s name with a pure, clear and bright mind, free from all attachments. Only when he cultivates in such an enlightened frame of m ind can he be said to have “developed the Bodhi Mind. ”

　　Point 2: the Mind of Equanimity

　　In the sutras, Buddha Sakyamuni stated:

　　All sentient beings possess the Buddha Nature; they are our fathers and mothers of the past and the Buddhas of the future.

　　The Buddhas view sentient beings as Buddhas and therefore attempt, with equanimity and great com-passion, to rescue them. Sentient beings view Buddhas as sentien…

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