23  Doing Good with a Pure Heart and Mind

[Today’s Q&A is included in this discourse for its Vajra Sutra-related content.]

Question: The goal of spiritual cultivation is to gain a lucid understanding of the mind, see buddhanature, and transcend life and death. However, does the true understanding of the mind, seeing buddhanature, and transcending life and death refer to complete enlightenment? Without complete enlightenment, can one truly understand the mind, see buddhanature, and transcend life and death?

Why are you asking such a question? Let me tell you; it is how it is. A true understanding of the mind and seeing buddhanature is complete enlightenment. Without complete enlightenment, it’s impossible to truly understand the mind or see buddhanature. Once you have attained complete enlightenment, you can then put it into practice, and eventually you will be able to transcend life and death. This happens once all your channels are open and your subtle vital energy (qi) and lightdrops flow smoothly. Then you [your soul] can leave your body and go wherever and whenever you want. It is imperative that a spiritual cultivator maintains the radiance and lucidity of the clear light inside their heart-mind.

Inside our bodies we have five kinds of qi: the upper qi, lower qi, peripheral qi, fire-accompanying qi, and life qi. The life qi remains unmoved while one is alive; it only moves at death. The other four kinds of qi can move at any time. When you want to leave the world, you do so by moving your life qi. By using your other qi, you push the life qi upward to exit the body through the opening at the tip of your head. It’s impossible to achieve this without the tantric practices of qi, channels, and lightdrops. This is the only way to transcend life and death, and it only exists in Tantrayana.

Say you have completed all your duties in this world, you have turned the dharma wheel, nothing else keeps you here, and you want to return to the sagely realms. At that point, all you need to do is move your life qi upward and let it exit through the apex opening. This is called transcending life and death, where you control your own life and death. You can decide whether you will continue to live or pass away. This is indeed hard to grasp without complete enlightenment.

The transcendence of life and death, and true understanding of the mind and seeing buddhanature, are not possible without complete enlightenment. The transcendence of life and death is only possible in Tantrayana due to the inner tantric practices. This is the key point. One sees buddhanature when one has opened the seven cakras—crown, brow, throat, heart, navel, sacral, and base—through the tantric practices of qi, channels, and lightdrops. At this point, the central channel has been opened, and qi can flow freely through all the channels. When the central channel and all seven cakras are completely open, one has been completely purified and thus can see buddhanature and know what it is all about. One will understand the nature of the mind. This is called the true understanding of the mind and seeing the buddhanature. As such, one is also in charge of one’s own life and death. These are all possible only upon complete enlightenment.

The three treasures of Tantrayana are qi, channels, and lightdrops. When the central channel and the seven cakras are completely opened, you reach a state of total purity. At this point, you have seen buddhanature, gained a true understanding of the mind, and are in complete control of your life and death. This is referred to as complete enlightenment. You will not be able to achieve any of them before enlightenment.

Now let us discuss chapter twenty-three—Doing Good with a Pure Heart and Mind.

“Furthermore, Subhuti, in anuttara samyaksambodhi, everything is equal without any distinction. Practicing all good dharma without any notion of self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan will result in anuttara samyaksambodhi.

“Subhuti, the Tathagata states that the so-called good dharma is not good dharma; it is merely named good dharma.”

Let me first explain the title—Doing Good with a Pure Heart and Mind. It is indeed very challenging to achieve this. The key point is having a pure heart and mind, which is particularly difficult. During the Lamdre exposition, we discussed the purity scale—how pure are you? Complete purity signifies perfection, whereas level one purity is of course far from perfect.

Doing Good with a Pure Heart and Mind is almost impossible; only buddhas can do it. What is mentioned in the title alone is extremely difficult to actualize.
Essentially, doing good with a pure heart and mind refers to the conduct and behavior of the buddhas. How can there be any human being who is completely pure?

Were we not taught to distinguish between good and bad when we were young? We want to be good people and not bad people. There is a distinct dichotomy when we separate “good” from “bad.” Such preconditioning is wrong! A sensible person knows that there is no absolute good or absolute bad, as there is good in bad and bad in good.

My schoolteacher once told a story about a bandit who entered a village with the intention to rob. He noticed a baby climbing to the edge of a well, almost falling in. Although he was on his way to commit a crime, he grabbed the baby and took him to safety. He still proceeded with the robbery, yet he had enough compassion to save the baby first. My teacher told us that no one on Earth is completely good or bad. You can’t classify people into a strict dichotomy of “good” or “bad.”

Instead, we apply purity proportion, as mentioned in the Lamdre teaching. My explanation of the title Doing Good with a Pure Heart and Mind differs from others because they typically don’t explain what a pure heart and mind is and how to achieve it. What exactly is a pure mind? In this world, there is no one with a pure mind. Really, no one.

Grandmaster is a very good and honest person, yet I still managed to steal books when I was young. Since childhood, I have always loved reading, and that is a good thing. I lived in Kaohsiung from elementary to high school until I was nineteen. Back then, my house was on Linsen Road, with the Dapeng Bookstore just a block away on Chiuping Road. I read lots of books and rented them from that bookstore. When I saw a book that I really loved, I stole it. Being an avid reader is a good thing, but stealing books is bad. I found a way to steal books and got pretty good at it since I was not caught. [laughs] However, in the end after stealing too many books, my dad found out. He took me to the bookstore, along with all the stolen books, and made me apologize to the shopkeeper. I admitted my wrongdoings, asked for forgiveness, and returned the books. Reading and loving books is good, but stealing is unquestionably bad. Those who steal books are called cultured thieves. Being cultured is good, but being a thief is bad.

It is impossible for a human being to be entirely good. They need to be gradually purified. As mentioned in buddhadharma, the purity scale indicates the level of one’s purity. When you have reached a certain level of purification, you become a bodhisattva. You start by being a Joyous Bodhisattva at the Ground of Joy when you initially purify yourself. Only when you reach the eighth ground and above are you considered true bodhisattvas; they are bodhisattvas awaiting buddhahood. When you reach level ten purity at the Ground of Dharma Clouds, you are called a would-be buddha and are very close to buddhahood.

Let me ask all of you, how much have you purified yourselves? What level of purity have you reached? Are you sure you have never harbored any bad thoughts at all? Not even the slightest trace? Can you guarantee that all your thoughts are entirely good without even a hint of jealousy, envy, anger, or other negativities? Can you have nothing at all on your mind? Can you be completely empty without any thoughts, like earlier when I am seated here on the dharma throne? Who among you is one hundred percent pure?

Now you can see why I say this title—Doing Good with a Pure Heart and Mind—is extremely crucial. Others might skim over it, perhaps repeating the words or saying something like, “A pure mind is a pure mind.” In contrast, I have explained how to be pure and the different levels of purity: from one to two to three…to eight—where your mind has become immovable, though still with two parts impurity. Starting at level eight, you have become a true bodhisattva and are guaranteed not to regress into impurities.

The purity scale is a bit like when you order a steak; how would you like it cooked? There are many levels—well-done, medium-well, medium, rare, or even raw. But no one eats it raw. I believe I am the only one who explains it this way. If other people define a pure mind as being a good person, how can there be an entirely good person? Think about it.

Now do you understand the real meaning of pure mind? Are you a completely good person? Are you truly pure? You are not pure if you still differentiate between good and bad, high and low—or if you still have likes and dislikes. You befriend people you favor and distance yourself from those you scorn, finding them repulsive, making you want to vomit. If an enemy uses a particular toilet, you don’t even want to use that same toilet. Having discriminating thoughts means you don’t have a pure heart and mind, as everything is equal in the face of buddhanature.

With respect to buddhanature, all sentient beings are equal. Good and bad don’t matter in [the realm of] buddhanature—they don’t exist. People have issues because their minds discriminate between good and bad. If you have a pure mind, such thoughts will never arise—they don’t even occur to you! The same applies to envy and jealousy. If someone is doing very well and is number one, and you become jealous of them, it means you are not pure. If you’re envious or jealous, you are not pure because you still have thoughts of who’s above and below, or good and bad [dualistic view]. Do you understand my explanation today?

Have you ever read other people’s commentaries or listened to their expositions? Did they explain it this way? [Someone answers, “I don’t remember.”] You don’t remember? Then it’s as if you haven’t read it. But it’s good that at least you’ve read it. Reading is better than not reading.

I once read a joke that goes like this: A grandpa was reading by the river accompanied by his grandson. The curious grandson asked his grandfather, “You’ve read so many books, but do you remember them all?” The grandpa replied, “Actually, after I read them, I forget.” The grandson laughed at his grandpa, “Why do you read, then? Might as well not read at all.” The grandpa handed his grandson a basket, covered with black soot from carrying charcoal, and said: “Go and fetch some water with this basket.” The grandson did as he was told, but the water seeped through the cracks as the basket couldn’t hold any water. He brought the empty basket back to his grandpa. Grandpa said, “Ahh, the basket can’t hold water. Now try again.” The grandson tried again to get water, and he failed. Frustrated, he exclaimed, “Doing this is useless! It’s impossible to hold water with this basket!” Grandpa replied, “That’s right. Reading books seems useless because I can’t remember them. Whatever I read today, I’ll forget tomorrow. But take a look! The basket is now clean, and it was black with soot before.”

The point of the story is that by reading the Vajra Sutra, you will gradually be purified. You first read it, then forget, then reread it, and after a few times, you are gradually purified. Thus, one is instructed to recite and write—in addition to upholding—the Vajra Sutra, as you will gradually increase your purity level each time you do so.

Today, we have only discussed the title Doing Good with a Pure Heart and Mind. This is to teach you to use your pure heart and mind to do good. Nobody explains this pure heart and mind like Grandmaster, correlating it with the purity levels. According to Lamdre, when we reach purity level eleven, it is essentially buddhahood.¹The purity proportion and the opening of cakras are what is important in determining one’s attainment. Whether purity level eleven is called buddhahood or bodhisattvahood is not as important, since they are merely names defined by humans. Mahayana tradition generally specifies buddhahood to start at purity level eleven, whereas some Tantric traditions at level thirteen or twelve-and-a-half. The Five Dhyani Buddhas are at level thirteen, and the Primordial Buddha is at level sixteen.

Om mani padme hum.