CHAPTER IV: TRANSMISSION OF THE PRECIOUS DHARMA

E.      THE TATHAGATA MEDITATION 

7. The Essence of Nature

The essence of nature inherent in human beings is perfectly tranquil and clairvoyant, but because of their false arising thoughts, human beings are running after their frequent expectations and ambitions from one limit to another. For that reason, the essence of nature becomes particular seeds of natures divided into four distinctly different degrees, which are called: the seeds of living being natures, the seeds of Bodhisattva natures, the seeds of Buddha, natures and the seeds of Tathagata natures.

When the seed of Buddha nature is still hidden, one’s unconsciousness and enlightenment cannot be distinguished, and it’s called the Buddha of nature. When enlightened, it’s called the nature of Buddha.

The Tathagata is immobile and nowhere can be pointed out as the Tathagata. In observing the Tathagata, the Bodhisattva must use the immobile, all-embracing nature to observe the Tathagata. That nature is called the Tathagata nature or the Eyes of Tathagata Constitution.

Everything is possible and accessible because of the essence of nature, without having to pray to anyone for anything; When one knows how to exploit the essence of nature, this one can use everything. Human beings who, therefore, practicing the Buddhism, knowing how to rely on the essence of nature to resolve erroneous passions will be enlightened. Human beings practicing the sitting meditation rely on the essence of nature to be clearly aware of meditation, that is, the awareness of meditation nature. Thanks to the meditation nature, meditators can communicate with the Three Realms, fully know the Three Thousand Worlds, and avoid erroneous passions. Should neither generate false expectations to see the Three Thousand Worlds, nor frequently expect to attain the Three Realms by disembodying and entering into the scene. Though a meditator could attain the Three Realms and thoroughly comprehended the Three Thousand Worlds by generating false expectations, illusory thoughts while disconnected from the essence of nature, those attained worlds are all false, being formed by insane illusory thoughts; they are not enduring at all. —T. V.

E.      THE TATHAGATA MEDITATION 

The intelligent person practicing the sitting meditation most needs to review themselves firstly, from their spirit of seeking the Tao to their impediment karma, consciousness karma, root karma, suffering karma, fetter karma, and ask how this prevents the way of their practice. They then must resolve it by themselves. Otherwise, they must actively look for a Master, who could guide them in resolving if they are unable to do it by themselves. When they recognize their own bad nature—which makes their Dharma practice unreliable, lacking in conducting vow—they should resolve and correct it. In this way, the practitioner lets their essence of nature be harmonious and open, will result in boundless achievements.

Therefrom, recognizing that one’s essence of nature is in conformity with the essence of nature of the universe’s original truth.

There are four features in the seeds of living being natures: Increase–Decrease– Accumulation–Tranquility as explained previously.

For living being natures, they often take shelter in the tranquility to be content with their old age, that is just like a patient taking a soporific to relieve the pain. In the first stage, a sitting meditator is often in disturbance by frantic chaotic thoughts, so they make use of the tranquility to calm their frantic chaotic thoughts. When the salvation is completed, they lighten up and become fully aware of their frantic chaotic thoughts. This is called the ENLIGHTENED TRANQUILITY. A practitioner has to practice through tranquil enlightenment in order to be fully aware of either the meditation nature or the Dharma nature, which inherently is only one. Otherwise, without tranquil enlightenment, they use tranquility to practice tranquility, like most Tao practitioners in this Period of Return, being accumulated tranquility, gradually leading the practitioner to isolated tranquility.

The tranquil enlightenment is lively, flexible, harmonious and open because it knows how to lean on thousands of Dharmas. While the isolated tranquility is caught in the living being precepts and thus becomes the accumulated tranquility. Those falling into the isolated tranquility of meditation subject will be obscurely dreamy, generating a disease of hollowness at the top of their head, which is very uncomfortable and could lead to insanity. When a meditator wrongly practicing, they are more and more distant from the True Essence; on the other hand, when knowing how to manage and control themselves, the increase–decrease–accumulation–tranquility are the four precious gems. If a meditator practices by their own volition, generating frantic chaotic false thoughts, not knowing how to use, to manage and control themselves in the meditation subject, the more they practice, the more they are poisoned.

When a Tao practitioner is gradually aware of the essence of nature and thoroughly comprehends the mediation nature, their practicing way will be very lively and completely clear. In truth, the Buddha path does not have any Dharma that is the Dharma of kindness or evilness, goodness or badness, gentleness or cruelty. It only appears so for Tao practitioners who do not thoroughly comprehend the liveliness and activeness of thousands and thousands of Dharmas. They only read the sutra without practicing the resolution, which is the very practice of BEING-KNOWN, so it is difficult for them to realize the meaning of the sutras.

The essence of nature is always active. When a practitioner performs their sitting meditation: how their arising false thought is, how their wish is, how their level of virtue and intelligence is, then that meditation is manifested accordingly to the nature of the practitioner. However, the practitioner believes that to be the corresponding meditation, they therefore attach to meditation and become immersed in it.

The World’s Most Venerable Maitreya has reminded:

No matter how a meditator wishes, meditation nature responds in accordance with that wish, leading it to proceed as if it is real. However, the meditator believes that to be emerging or entering, and thus they have expectations of and attachment to meditation nature. —T. V.

The Buddha mind and the living being mind are not different but different; because living beings do not coincide with the Buddha mind, they have not become Buddhas. Therefore, Tao practitioners must lean on the meditation nature to clearly know it without being in error. Following this way, the Bodhisattvas could know the manifestation of the meditation nature according to the wishes. The Bodhisattvas, therefore, have made a great vow with compassion-will-courage of mastering the essential nature of meditation to be transformed into the essence with the Tathagata Buddha.

For the immense universe, including human beings all over the worlds, all are called the Tathagata Essence. For Tao practitioners, the essence appears in the form of individual nature, where it is called the essence of nature. When a meditator is in sitting meditation, it is called the meditation nature. When one is acting badly, it is called the bad nature; When acting beneficially and peacefully, it is called the good nature. Therefore, it is not outside the essence of nature. A Tao practitioner, who knows how to lean on the essence of nature to practice adequately their effortful deeds and virtuous deeds, will naturally be self-enlightened; Due to this, the practitioner is assimilated to the universe called the Tathagata Essence. Meditation practitioners should follow the footprints of the Bodhisattvas who have walked on the path of practicing the Dharma. In the past, the Buddhas have vowed with compassion to completely save living beings, and the Bodhisattvas of today also follow the same original vow in order to achieve the complete enlightenment and to save living beings.

Why is the Meditation Sect mind-transmitted-to-mind, achieving from Full Enlightenment to True Enlightenment? —T. V.

Because the Meditation Sect only specializes in essence of nature with self-enlightenment, it does not make use of writing. Even though writing is used, it is only a finger pointing out, aiming to gain the intuition. Therefore, a meditator relies on the meditation nature to be aware of their own nature, not receiving the meditation to be enlightened. That is why it is called the Mind Essence, mind-transmitted-to-mind for Full Enlightenment; the Tao practitioner with the completion achieves the True Enlightenment.

A meditator leaving the essence of nature will certainly not clearly know the meditation nature; furthermore, by creating fixed thoughts, frequent thoughts or by studying, thinking, and predicting, they are going in the wrong direction and getting lost from the Tathagata Meditation.