During the Tang Dynasty, a Ch’an master, Venerable Yin Feng, possessed great magical power according to the legends. Once, he came across a fierce battle between two armies. Anxious about the potential lives to be lost, he tried to make peace through patient persuasion.
Nobody listen to his advice.
Finally he threw his staff into the sky, flew up and proceeded to dance with his staff. The battling soldiers looked at him dancing in the air and stopped fighting with each other. An otherwise bloody battle was instantaneously stopped by the Ch’an master’s magic. Even since that event, people called him the Master of the Flying Staff.
The Ch’an master has a very good sense of humor, and was full of Ch’an surprises. One day he was lecturing on the subject of life and death. He asked his disciples, "Have you seen people die during sitting meditation?"
His disciples replied, "Certainly. One Ch’an master passed away during sitting meditation."
The Ch’an master asked, "Then, have you heard of people dying while standing?"
"Yes, we have. The family of Venerable Fu all died while working their farm. Many Pure Land practitioners can also die at will." His disciples replied.
The Ch’an master then asked, "How about seeing anyone dying while standing on his head?"
His disciples were astonished and replied, "That we have never heard of or seen before."
The Ch’an master said, "Fine. In that case, I will show you." He then stood on his head and entered Nirvana. His disciples were shocked and saddened. They hurried to make funeral arrangements and encountered a difficult problem. When they attempted to move the master’s body, they found it immovable like a steel pillar. No matter how much force they used, they could not pry it off the ground. Nobody knew what to do until the arrival of the master’s sister, a highly cultivated nun. She scolded, "You used magic to confuse people while alive. Do you still want to use the same trick to impress others at death? Come down now!"
Strangely, the body fell on command. The Ch’an master did not want to impress others with his magic. He did want others to see how Ch’an practitioners could treat the state of death with total control and freedom.
From http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/D%20-%20Chinese%20Mahayana%20Buddhism/Authors/Hsing%20Yun/On%20Magic%20and%20the%20Supernatural/The%20Buddhist%20Perspective%20on%20Magic%20and%20Supernatural.htm
Showing posts with label Chinese Budhism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinese Budhism. Show all posts
20130313
Notes on the Ego as Seventh Consciousness
The state of transposed substance that has the obscuring indeterminate nature is the connection between the sentience and the basis.
The state of transposed substance has two modes: the real and the seeming. Real transposed substance refers to the seventh consciousness relating to the eighth consciousness by falsely transposing the latter's perceiver division into a 'self'. That 'self' has no reality of its own, but is based upon the substance of the perceiver division of the eighth consciousness. [The seeming transposed substance refers to the sixth consciousness's relations with external states.]
The seventh consciousness is referred to as the "Ego", "Ego-self", and for cases of mental disturbance, "Ego-delusion" e.g. paranoia, phobia, anxiety to the point of confusion and hallucination (mental mirages).
The "self" is a delusion arising from the experience of the eighth consciousness' perceiver division. Having no independent reality, it appears in the mind (manas, or Sixth Consciousness) as the hallucination of the "self".
The obscuring indeterminate nature is one of two modes of the indeterminate nature, the third of the Three Natures. The other mode is the non-obscuring indeterminate nature. Obscuring refers to those states of consciousness that have the function of, literally, 'covering' one's true nature. That is what the seventh consciousness does. As will be explained, it 'covers'--it distorts the true nature of--the perceiver division of the eighth consciousness. The non-obscuring nature refers to the perceived division of the eighth consciousness. It is said to be non-obscuring because it does not distort or obscure the true nature of the mind.
"Obscuring" refers to the ability to hide (occultation). Its opposite is "non-obscuring."
The seventh consciousness obscures the mind (manas) regarding the eight consciousness. By hiding the true nature of the mind, the ego mistakes the eighth consciousness for the "self".
In the mind arises the thought "I have a self", and close examination of the ego leads to obscuring the eighth consciousness.
Sometimes, the more you confront yourself with the truth, the more the "self" establishes itself as "real".
With meditation though, it is possible to remain calm and perceive the seventh and eighth consciousness as they truly are.
The eighth consciousness is non-obscuring since it does not distort or obscure the true nature of the mind.
In between the seventh consciousness--'sentience' in the verse--and the perceiver division of the eighth consciousness--'basis' in the verse--there arises a state of transposed substance, which is the object of the seventh consciousness and which is identified by the seventh consciousness as being the 'self'. This is the process that obscures one's true nature.
Through one's sentience, one misperceives the basis of eighth consciousness as the "self". Hence "sentient being" is synonymous with "one who mistakes the basis of consciousness for the self", and also implies that sentience is not empty of ego-delusion nor empty of ego-self.
However, only the seventh consciousness is full of "ego-delusion" arising as the "self" or "ego-self".
Reference:
VERSES DELINEATING THE EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES by Tripitaka Master Hsuan-Tsang of the Tang Dynasty, Translation and Explanation by Ronald Epstein: http://online.sfsu.edu/rone/Buddhism/Yogacara/BasicVersesseventhcons.htm
The state of transposed substance has two modes: the real and the seeming. Real transposed substance refers to the seventh consciousness relating to the eighth consciousness by falsely transposing the latter's perceiver division into a 'self'. That 'self' has no reality of its own, but is based upon the substance of the perceiver division of the eighth consciousness. [The seeming transposed substance refers to the sixth consciousness's relations with external states.]
The seventh consciousness is referred to as the "Ego", "Ego-self", and for cases of mental disturbance, "Ego-delusion" e.g. paranoia, phobia, anxiety to the point of confusion and hallucination (mental mirages).
The "self" is a delusion arising from the experience of the eighth consciousness' perceiver division. Having no independent reality, it appears in the mind (manas, or Sixth Consciousness) as the hallucination of the "self".
The obscuring indeterminate nature is one of two modes of the indeterminate nature, the third of the Three Natures. The other mode is the non-obscuring indeterminate nature. Obscuring refers to those states of consciousness that have the function of, literally, 'covering' one's true nature. That is what the seventh consciousness does. As will be explained, it 'covers'--it distorts the true nature of--the perceiver division of the eighth consciousness. The non-obscuring nature refers to the perceived division of the eighth consciousness. It is said to be non-obscuring because it does not distort or obscure the true nature of the mind.
"Obscuring" refers to the ability to hide (occultation). Its opposite is "non-obscuring."
The seventh consciousness obscures the mind (manas) regarding the eight consciousness. By hiding the true nature of the mind, the ego mistakes the eighth consciousness for the "self".
In the mind arises the thought "I have a self", and close examination of the ego leads to obscuring the eighth consciousness.
Sometimes, the more you confront yourself with the truth, the more the "self" establishes itself as "real".
With meditation though, it is possible to remain calm and perceive the seventh and eighth consciousness as they truly are.
The eighth consciousness is non-obscuring since it does not distort or obscure the true nature of the mind.
In between the seventh consciousness--'sentience' in the verse--and the perceiver division of the eighth consciousness--'basis' in the verse--there arises a state of transposed substance, which is the object of the seventh consciousness and which is identified by the seventh consciousness as being the 'self'. This is the process that obscures one's true nature.
Through one's sentience, one misperceives the basis of eighth consciousness as the "self". Hence "sentient being" is synonymous with "one who mistakes the basis of consciousness for the self", and also implies that sentience is not empty of ego-delusion nor empty of ego-self.
However, only the seventh consciousness is full of "ego-delusion" arising as the "self" or "ego-self".
Reference:
VERSES DELINEATING THE EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES by Tripitaka Master Hsuan-Tsang of the Tang Dynasty, Translation and Explanation by Ronald Epstein: http://online.sfsu.edu/rone/Buddhism/Yogacara/BasicVersesseventhcons.htm
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