How should the heart be cultivated?
When one renounces worldly life to cultivate the heart, how should the heart be cultivated? It is to have no discriminating mind; a pure heart is a Buddha. As we interact with people from all directions, we must not differentiate between them.
Regardless of whether one is a layperson or a monastic, everyone should be treated equally, without discrimination. Our purpose in helping sentient beings is to do so with this non-discriminating heart. Laypeople may not understand this principle,
often judging things as good or bad, distinguishing right from wrong, and separating love from hate; while monastics, regardless of what is right or wrong, good or bad, merely respond passively on the surface without engaging deeply. They do not let their ears and eyes lead them to discrimination,
nor do they cling to these perceptions. This is what it means for the heart to be renounced. If a monastic spends their time saying this person is good and that person is bad, engaging in discussions of right and wrong, then they may have renounced their physical form but not their heart.
*Breaking Through the Demonic Realm* A practitioner must seek liberation amidst the experiences of color, sound, smell, taste, touch, and phenomena—there can be no path without confronting demons; becoming a Buddha is not an easy task. Without enduring hardships and facing demonic obstacles, how can one cultivate through ignorance and afflictions?
A practitioner works on overcoming these demonic obstacles (inner demons). Only by breaking through ignorance and afflictions within the demonic realm can one attain liberation; only by letting go of color, sound, smell, taste, touch, and phenomena—freeing the heart from attachments—can one achieve pure liberation and reveal the Bodhi mind.
Therefore, practitioners must not fear demonic obstacles nor seek comfort in favorable conditions; otherwise progress will be hindered. *Fearless of Criticism* We must possess the courage to remain unafraid of criticism from others; as long as our hearts are righteous, we need not fear straying off course—even if others stray off course themselves.
If someone acts hesitantly out of fear of criticism or becomes anxious when overhearing private conversations—thinking others are talking about them—that reflects a lack of insight and an excessive suspicion.
*How to Achieve Purity in the Six Senses* In our practice, we aim to refine our six senses against the discriminating afflictions arising from contact with external phenomena—distinguishing between good and evil sounds among various other judgments—which indicates impurity in our six senses.
The practice involves addressing these discriminating afflictions until there is no distinction made by our six senses towards external phenomena; only then can we achieve purity in our six senses and realize that all five aggregates are empty.
*The First Step in Practice: Taming the Restless Mind* The initial step in practice involves taming this restless mind that follows its whims without restraint—it’s quite challenging. However, we must make vows to eliminate these habitual tendencies accumulated since beginningless time,
summon courage for diligent ascetic practices—doing what’s difficult while undertaking tasks that others shy away from—and vow for personal achievement akin to divine beings such as saints or Buddhas. With such faith, understanding, practice, realization—and awakening—the karmic obstacles will diminish.
When karmic obstacles fade away everything becomes joyful; one does not feel suffering even while residing in this mundane world—it feels like being in a celestial realm.
*Seeing Through and Letting Go* Letting go does not merely mean verbally expressing it nor waiting until death approaches with clear awareness devoid of any attachment to family ties or suffering from separation—that truly signifies letting go.
To reach such a state of letting go requires gradually cultivating indifference towards matters related to material possessions and emotions throughout daily life—becoming increasingly able to relinquish attachments so that true detachment can occur.
If even a trace of familial attachment remains then one continues within samsara. We must recognize that coming into this mundane world carries karmic burdens; thus within this realm,
we need to find pathways leading us towards purity while seeking new routes for liberation from birth-aging-sickness-death suffering—not indulging further into comforts derived from clothing food shelter transportation which would only create more negative karma leading back into old cycles of rebirth.
Do not covet longevity; if one does not understand how to cultivate properly along paths toward liberation—even living two hundred years would merely result in accumulating more karma—once those two hundred years pass it still leads back into samsara.
Our physical body is something that comes into being and eventually perishes—it cannot serve as something permanent upon which we rely indefinitely. We must see through it and let go while recognizing that our spiritual essence—the true self—is neither born nor dies.
Having attained human form should inspire us not to squander it but rather understand that walking upon paths toward liberation relies on this human existence for cultivation. If unaware of this necessity yet indulging excessively in pleasures related solely to bodily needs such as food clothing shelter etc.,
exhausting every means possible will lead us towards creating immeasurable negative karma resulting ultimately within three evil realms among four forms of rebirth where we too could find ourselves included. Thus this human existence serves as both turning point—a momentous opportunity—as well as potential calamity if misused;
it represents karmic debts needing repayment alongside transformation elevation enhancement!