“Liberation” represents the elimination of the afflictions that bind people and cause them to suffer in the cycle of birth and death. To be liberated, one must practice according to the content of the Buddha’s Mahayana Sutra of Infinite Life to attain rebirth in the Pure Land, forever leaving behind delusions, discrimination, and attachments, and reaching the realm of freedom and non-action, as this sutra teaches: “Only do good deeds, do not do evil deeds, self-liberate, gain that merit, long life, attain Nirvana,” “Any sentient being who encounters this sutra will be liberated according to their wishes.” During the time of the Buddha, there was a Brahmin hermit who, upon meeting Venerable Sariputra, immediately asked: “Nirvana, Nirvana, my friend Sariputra, please tell me what Nirvana is?” Venerable Sariputta replied: “The destruction of greed, the destruction of anger and hatred, the destruction of false ignorance is what people call Nirvana. When talking about Nirvana, the Buddha taught: “If any living being has abandoned pleasure and greed, has attained wisdom, then they have attained tranquility and liberation from birth and death; have attained Nirvana, that is, reached a place of permanent, eternal rest right in this life.” Thus, Nirvana is not a realm, a scene, a state of mind, and of course Nirvana is not nothingness. It is clear that we cannot use human words and language to describe Nirvana. Speaking like that, does Nirvana really exist or not?

In the Na-Tien-Ty-Kheo Sutra, King Milinda asked Na-Ty-Kheo: “What is Nirvana?” The Venerable Na-tien replied: “Your Majesty, Nirvana really exists, and Nirvana can only be known by wisdom. If living beings can keep their minds pure and upright, free from karmic obstacles and free from base desires, they will see Nirvana themselves.” The king asked the Venerable Na-tien: “Please give an example of Nirvana.” The Venerable Na-tien continued: “Your Majesty knows there is something called wind, right? But does Your Majesty know what color the wind is? What shape it is? Is it thick or thin? How long or short is it?” The king replied: “The wind is formless and colorless, how can it be pointed at? Even though it cannot be pointed at, it still exists.” Now the Bhikkhu Na-tien concluded: “It is the same, Your Majesty, Nirvana is something that really exists, but it has no form or color, so it cannot be described in words or language for people to see.” The king asked again: “Then how can one know Nirvana? How is it that through freedom from afflictions, liberation from karma, through peace, tranquility and purity, one can attain Nirvana?” Then Na-tien replied again: “Like a person who falls into a raging fire, if they try to get out and reach a cool place, they will feel extremely happy; that is Nirvana. Likewise, a person who escapes from the fire of greed, anger and delusion will enjoy the peaceful happiness of Nirvana. Just as a person who escapes from unwholesome thoughts will enjoy the happiness of Nirvana. And finally, those who are free from the fear of birth, aging, sickness, and death will enjoy the bliss of Nirvana.”

Moreover, the Buddha has a supernatural character, miraculous powers, and superior wisdom because he has truly realized Nirvana. Yet he himself had to affirm: “I am not God, nor am I a deity, but only a human being, but a human being who has conquered the world.” The Buddha is the Victorious One, He is the Fearless One in the world because He has conquered the world. However, He does not need a throne to rule and does not need subjects to honor and serve Him. He lives very alone with three pieces of robe and an alms bowl, but He has conquered His mind to live with His True Nature; that is the great victory of the Great Enlightened One, the Great Hero, the Great Power! On the contrary, Genghis Khan, Qin Shi Huang, and Na Pha Luan, although having glorious victories on the battlefield, could not conquer their minds, becoming slaves to delusion and confusion, and until death, their minds were still filled with painful desires and could not be liberated; so what use is that victory? Therefore, for humanity and the universe, the Buddha taught that all phenomena are: “Birth at the right place, destruction at the right place,” meaning being born right here and dying right here. As for the Buddha, all phenomena are “birth without birth.” Therefore, the Buddha's incarnation appears everywhere but is still "birthless." Therefore, for Buddhism, a pure mind is the ultimate liberation, because when we have a pure mind, we will experience the true nature of all things. But the true nature is formless and colorless, so how can it be explained? Therefore, Master Vinh Gia said: "In dreams, the six paths are clearly present. When awakened, the three realms are empty and desolate." That is the realm of truly liberated beings.

Human beings have been struggling and drifting in the cycle of birth and death for countless lifetimes because of karma. If we create karma, we must receive the retribution of being reborn in the cycle of birth and death, one life ends, the next comes endlessly. Because we live in the dark veil of ignorance, chasing after external objects that confuse our minds, we forget our inherently pure True Mind and Self-nature. The more we chase after the six desires and seven emotions, the more karma we create, just like a cluster of poisonous plants that grow very quickly, then connect together to form a dense, large bush that is very difficult to eradicate. The human mind is truly important; it is the center of life, of the universe, and of all things. It is the hidden stronghold of all vices, but it is also the fertile land that sprouts the seeds of enlightenment. Therefore, it is this mind that creates happiness, and it is also this mind that creates countless afflictions and sufferings. Living beings are controlled by karma. Also because of not knowing how to distinguish between the two fundamental things, the deluded mind and the true mind; therefore, in the past, even those who practice Buddhism could not attain Buddhahood, but at most they could only attain the Saintly fruits in the ranks of Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas, or could only become devas; at worst they could become demon kings. People go through many lifetimes of practice, and in the end they become demon kings, isn't that a great injustice?

What do the two fundamental things, "deluded mind" and "true mind" mean? Deluded mind is that from many past lifetimes until now, we mistakenly think that this eye, ear, nose, tongue and body are us and also mistakenly think that the thoughts of the mind are our mind, so we are distracted by the external world and give rise to deluded consciousnesses (feelings, thoughts, actions, consciousness). As soon as the previous thought arises, the next thought immediately arises, causing people to be happy, sad, resentful, angry, greedy, wanting, etc., that is, the mind always changes according to circumstances. The external scene is filled with delusions and impurities. The True Mind is the pure Bodhi-Nirvana nature that is inherently present in all living beings. That is the ever-present True Mind, the pure and bright nature that does not change, is unborn and undying in time and space, is always clear, pure, and equal everywhere. Although people already have the pure True Nature within them, because of the delusion of the worldly scene, they forget their True Mind and live in confusion and suffering. For example, a person has a diamond in his pocket without knowing it, every day he is busy with business and selling, working hard, but still lacking in everything; now he awakens and reaches into his pocket to take out the diamond and sell it, then he will be rich and prosperous. We are the same, if we know how to awaken, turn delusion into enlightenment, and destroy all ignorance and afflictions, then Bodhi-Nirvana will naturally manifest.

Humans have six senses: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. These are the six doors to communicate with the six external senses The six senses: form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma, which give rise to the six consciousnesses: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Among the six senses, the eye and ear are the two sharpest because they come into contact with external objects more than the others. However, between the ear and the eye, the ear that hears sound is still the most sensitive. For example, when we are in a closed room, we cannot see anything outside, but the ear still hears sound, and from there, delusions arise. Although there are six senses, we only need to choose one to practice; for example, when Avalokitesvara and Manjushri Bodhisattva practiced and attained perfect hearing, the other five senses naturally became completely pure. Because in the minds of living beings there are forty-eight thousand afflictions, the Buddha revealed forty-eight thousand methods to eliminate those afflictions. People who practice the Buddha Recitation Dharma often choose the mind to practice; why? Because when the mind is completely pure, the other five senses will also become perfect following it, which means they will attain the Threefold Buddha Recitation. sister, return to one's original face. When a practitioner attains the Samadhi of Buddha Recitation, he always lives in the four dignified states of walking, standing, lying, and sitting, all pure, that is, he is constantly living in that Dharma body. The right concentration of Buddha Recitation is different from the concentration of Hinayana, which requires sitting in meditation, so it still depends on the states of exit, entry, and abiding. Hinayana, when sitting in meditation, the mind is still concentrated, but when leaving meditation, the deluded mind immediately arises again. As for the person practicing Buddha Recitation of Mahayana, right in daily life, every second, every minute, walking, standing, lying, sitting, he can always rest his mind in Right concentration, without having to work at exiting or entering.

In the past, although Ananda was the most learned disciple of Buddha, it was because he had not yet seen through all dharmas with his True Mind; he took the external worldly scenes into his mind and mistakenly considered them as the True Mind. A person who wants to attain the path of liberation must know how to reflect back, turn inward to eliminate all deluded consciousness, then the mind will be pure. For example: A person If a practitioner of Pure Land sees a happy scene and feels joy, he has already ruined his practice, let alone seeing a scene that is contrary to his will and causes anger, or seeing someone suffering and causing his mind to ache. Just think, if he wants to practice to have a pure mind but is always controlled by external circumstances, causing greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt to arise like this, then how long will it take him to practice to have a pure mind? That is why, although Ananda followed the Buddha for twenty-five years in his life, he still could not cultivate and attain the True Mind; that is because he lived with external emotions instead of returning to live with inner wisdom.

Because we have too many habits and delusions, our lives are filled with endless suffering! Delusions are the external, the written, the nominal, the mental conditions. If a practitioner of Buddhism is still deluded and attached to these things, there is no way to recognize the true teachings of the Buddha and return to the True Mind and Self-nature. The more we eliminate delusions, the purer and more understanding our mind becomes. so deep; when the mind becomes equal, it will reach the realm of enlightenment! Purity is the lightness of the afflictions of views and thoughts. When the afflictions of views and thoughts are cut off, then a pure mind will appear; when the afflictions of defilements of the world are cut off, then an equal mind will appear. However, why can't our mind be pure and equal? Because there is still the ego! As long as there is the ego, the mind cannot be pure and equal. For example, if we think we are a little better than others, that is arrogance, ego-clinging, and not pure and equal. In the school of consciousness-only, ego-clinging is the seventh consciousness, called the Mano-consciousness. In the Mahayana dharma, there is a saying: "The original face is not born before the parents give birth," meaning that the self does not exist because the parents give birth to us. Because the self is born from the Mano-consciousness, it already exists before the parents give birth to us. This consciousness relies on the Alaya-consciousness (the eighth consciousness) like a shadow following a shape and takes the eighth consciousness as the basis for its transformation and manifestation. Therefore, there is Alaya consciousness has Manas consciousness; Alaya consciousness is born in whichever realm, Manas consciousness manifests accordingly. Manas consciousness always takes the objects of perception in Alaya to consider and compare, causing the mind to be agitated and polluted. For example: If Alaya consciousness is likened to a piece of land, then Manas consciousness is the root of a tree that always clings to the ground; if Consciousness is likened to the trunk of a tree, then the five senses (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body) are the branches growing from the trunk. Another example: If Alaya consciousness is likened to water in rivers, then Manas consciousness is the root of the water hyacinth floating on the surface of the water; if Consciousness is likened to the body, then the five senses are the branches and leaves of the water hyacinth.

Because of ego-clinging, until death, even though the body has lost its root, people still cling to the existence of the soul, so they are transmigrated in the six paths, unable to escape from the body of reincarnation. Why? Because the soul is only is another form of ego. A truly enlightened person lets go of the soul, the mind is no longer bound by any ego form, then the soul naturally transforms into spirituality. Only then will the mind be truly pure and liberated, and the space for activity will also expand accordingly. For example, the realm of activity of Arhats and Bodhisattvas is much larger than that of ordinary people because their minds are purer than ours. However, the realm of Sravakas and Bodhisattvas has not yet transcended the ten directions of the Dharma realm. Why is that? Because they have not yet completely destroyed ignorance, so their minds still have thoughts. After completely destroying ignorance, the spirit nature no longer exists, but it transforms into Self nature. At this time, the mind has returned to its source, that is, returned to the eternal True Mind, so it is called Buddha, a true Buddha, not a false Buddha. We see, there is only one mind but it is called by three different names: soul, spirit nature, and Self nature. So, is our current thought false or true? Delusion is delusion, truth is enlightenment. Just one thought of delusion and Self-nature will immediately transform into Alaya-vijnana. Conversely, when enlightened, Alaya-vijnana will immediately return to Self-nature.

According to modern science, the universe is formed by three things: energy, matter and information. According to Buddhism, Alaya-vijnana is also formed by three things: ignorance, karma, realm and transformation. These three things have the same meaning as energy, matter and information in the interpretation of science. However, science does not explain very clearly about three issues: Where does energy come from? Where does matter come from? Where does information come from? Many explanations of science about the universe and humanity are still within the realm of hypothesis, not theorems, let alone truth. However, science also knows about the conservation of energy: Energy is never lost, it is only transformed from one form to another. For example, electrical energy can be converted into light energy to illuminate a room, or into heat energy to warm a room, or cold air to cool a room, etc. Then from these forms, energy continues to be converted into other forms or returns to its original form without ever being lost; Science calls this the Law of Conservation of Energy. In Buddhism, Buddha talks about the Oneness which is Self-nature. When ignorance is gone, it will return to the Oneness. In other words, when ignorance is gone, the three ignorances of karma, realm, and transformation become Oneness! That is the similarity between the transformation of energy in Physical Science and the transformation of karma in the human universe. That is also the meaning of the saying of the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng: "Who would have thought that Self-nature is inherently complete." Self-nature is inherently present, but does not manifest. When the mind gives rise to a wandering thought, Self-nature follows that thought and can give birth to all dharmas. All dharmas, including the main report and the supporting report, arise simultaneously, without before or after. The main report is the form of ignorance and karma, which is the self. The supporting report is the form of the realm, which is our living environment. In other words, the main report arises when the self appears. The supporting report is the living environment that appears. Or more broadly, the main report is the form of karma of living beings and the supporting report is the living environment of living beings. Regarding this matter, modern Science and Philosophy still cannot explain clearly; yet the Buddhist scriptures from three thousand years ago have explained it in such detail! Unfortunately, Science only relies on material phenomena and does not clearly understand the operation of the energy of karmic consciousness. In the True Reality, there is no such phenomenon. The True Reality only manifests wisdom, virtue, and good appearance, without the form of ignorance and karma.

When a single unconscious thought of living beings arises, they immediately lose their Self-nature, and then give rise to the phenomena of greed, anger, ignorance, and arrogance. Why? Because the Manas consciousness has ego-views, it always thinks, measures, and discriminates. Because of this constant thinking, the cognitive nature of the Manas consciousness is not objective and honest, but is always distorted and changed; in the Vijñāptimātratā school, it is called non-quantity. Therefore, the Manas consciousness is attached to the self and what belongs to it, and is related to ego-love. Ego-love is greed and liking for the self, which gives rise to arrogance. When arrogance combines with anger, people become ego-ignorant. The four great afflictions: ego-views, ego-love, ego-arrogance, and ego-ignorance often depend on each other, influence each other, cover up, and cloud the inner consciousness, that is, defile the Alaya consciousness and give rise to the six previous consciousnesses (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind), causing people to drift forever in the cycle of birth and death; These are the phenomena of transformation in the universe of living beings.

When a practitioner destroys the five consciousnesses (eye, ear, nose, tongue and body), these five consciousnesses will transform into the Accomplishment Wisdom. When the mind consciousness (sixth consciousness) is destroyed, this consciousness will transform into the Wonderful Observation Wisdom. Although the Arhats, Pratyekabuddhas and Eighth-Bhumi Bodhisattvas have completely destroyed the six consciousnesses, they still have to continue to practice and attain the destruction of "feeling" and "perception," that is, entering the Cessation of All-Encompassing Concentration, then the ego-grasping will no longer arise in the Manas Consciousness, meaning that they have reached the state of egolessness. The ego-grasping no longer arising does not mean that the Manas Consciousness has disappeared, that it no longer exists. When they completely transform the ego-grasping into egolessness, then the Manas Consciousness will transform into the Wisdom of Equal Nature; that is, the seventh consciousness (Manas) now no longer exists, but only the Dependent Reality and all other dharmas remain. At this time, they see all the roots and differences in each species of living beings, and depending on conditions, they transform into bodies to teach the Dharma to save living beings. At the same time, the Alaya consciousness transforms into the Great Round Mirror Wisdom. At this time, the practitioner realizes the True Nature of the Principle. The True Nature of the Principle is also called the True Suchness True Nature. “True” refers to the substance, that is, the Essence that can be born and can be transformed. “Suchness” refers to the form, that is, the form that is transformed from the Essence. Essence and Appearance are inseparable; therefore, in Mahayana Buddhism, it is often said that “Nature and Appearance are not two.” For example: Pure gold is the substance of objects made of gold, then the form of that object is Suchness. Why are these objects called Suchness? Because although they are different in shape and function, their substance is all gold. For example: rosary beads, rings, bracelets, cups, plates, etc. all have different shapes and functions, but their substance is all gold. Therefore it is said: “Form is the same as Nature, Nature is the same as Form, Nature and Form are not two.” From this example we can see: If a wise person recognizes from the Form of objects that they are all pure gold, he immediately grabs them; but a deluded person does not recognize that all objects are gold, so he throws them away. In Buddhism it is the same; when deluded, a discriminating mind arises, and he does not see the Self-nature; but if he is enlightened, he immediately sees that everything is a manifestation of the Self-nature! Therefore, Nature and Form are not two! Nature has no form, but it can manifest Forms; although it manifests forms, those Forms are illusory, not real! However, an enlightened person still sees its Self-nature from those illusory forms. Therefore, a person who chases after Forms but does not see the Nature is called ignorant. On the contrary, a person who still sees the Nature in all Forms is an enlightened person. Therefore, in the Mahayana teachings, it is often said: “All dharmas are empty, completely unobtainable.” The Diamond Sutra also says: “All things with form are illusory,” “all conditioned dharmas are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows.” That is the True Suchness, the unchanging truth, never changing; it is not the hypotheses or theorems that are constantly changing over time and space. The Truth is the principle of the True Aspect, the true aspect of reality that never changes. That true aspect is: In the Aspect there is Nature, Nature and Aspect are not separate from each other. Indeed, Nature cannot be obtained and Appearance cannot be obtained either. If Nature is unobtainable, how can Appearance be attained? Therefore, in a Mahaprajna Sutra, the Buddha taught: “All dharmas are without possession, all are ultimately empty, unobtainable.”

Currently, where do our afflictions arise from? The Buddha said, “It is unattainable,” meaning it cannot be obtained. Yet if we insist on attaining it, we will only bring upon ourselves trouble and suffering. The wisdom of the Tathagata has no limits, and the suffering of living beings also has no limits. Once we are enlightened and understand the true nature of reality, we will no longer have attachments, nor will we give rise to false thoughts; because all false minds such as feelings, thoughts, actions, and consciousness cannot be obtained, they are all false appearances. Where do feelings, thoughts, actions, and consciousness come from? They come from the Self-nature. The Self-nature has the four pure virtues of “seeing, hearing, knowing, and smelling.” After losing the Self-nature, the nature of “seeing, hearing, knowing, and smelling” immediately transforms into feelings, thoughts, actions, and consciousness. The four “feelings, thoughts, actions, and consciousness” are collectively called the conscious mind or false mind. The mind (feeling, thinking, action, consciousness) is false, not real, only the True Mind (Purity, Equality, Enlightenment) is real.

Buddhist scriptures say: “The fire of anger and ignorance, the three poisons, burns the entire forest of merit, cultivating the Bodhisattva path, keeping the body and mind pure.” We all know that on the path of spiritual cultivation, building and collecting merit is very difficult; yet when we just give rise to a single false thought of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, doubt, or jealousy, it is easy to kill the merits achieved. Therefore, in the Infinite Life Sutra, the Buddha taught: If sentient beings want to move towards ultimate liberation and enlightenment, to realize the True Mind and become a Buddha, they must transcend the practice of Samantabhadra to reach the shore of enlightenment; that is, they must gather the six senses, stay away from worldly guests, turn the mind to one place to purely recite one Buddha's name. The Buddha told us not to direct our minds outwards, because outside there are so many evil spirits such as: slander, greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, suspicion, jealousy, etc. that disturb our minds. Therefore, we cannot doubt, we must be determined not to mix in false thoughts and delusions, then our minds will be pure and liberated, true to the meaning of the title Bodhisattva Liberation. Therefore, we must normally practice using a sincere mind towards everyone, then we will certainly not be disadvantaged. A sincere mind is not more towards the Buddha, not less towards living beings. Even if people use false thoughts to treat us, we must not use false thoughts to treat them. Because our goal is to reach the Pure Land, we must abandon everything in this world, no longer be greedy, no longer want to possess. If others treat us badly, we still have to treat them well, if others slander us, we still have to praise them. Why? Because we have the wisdom to know clearly, these disadvantages are the factors that help us achieve patience, attain great tranquility and the benefits of liberation; therefore, even if we have to suffer disadvantages or losses, it does not matter.

Furthermore, because we have truly let go, we no longer have conflicts with anyone else. What worldly people cannot let go of are wealth, beauty, fame, profit, the five desires, and the seven emotions. We can let go of all these things, even the Buddha Dharma, let alone these illegal things. If we can let go of all conditions, the mind no longer has any thoughts, whether good or evil, then we will ourselves attain the Wondrous Power of Non-action, which means no afflictions or worries, truly at ease, the mind is open and clear, there is no greater joy; that is the realm of the Bodhisattva of Liberation. Bodhisattva Liberation uses this True Mind to live, work, interact with people, and interact with things, so every thought in the Bodhisattva's mind is like the Buddha's mind. Therefore, the main point of this sutra is: "Generate the Bodhi mind, wholeheartedly recite Amitabha Buddha." Just by reciting Amitabha Buddha with a mind of non-action, we can certainly be reborn as Buddhas.

However, due to long-standing habits, we humans like to run after external worldly scenes, so we must always live in the bondage of afflictions and suffering, not knowing that in every blink of an eye, hundreds of millions of thoughts arise one after another in our consciousness. As soon as the previous thought arises, it is immediately replaced by the next. That is why we sometimes feel happy, sometimes sad, sometimes angry, sometimes resentful, sometimes loving, sometimes hating... Small joys replace great joys, new anger replaces old anger. A few minutes ago I was happy, but in a flash, tears were flowing. All changes in consciousness are due to the impact of external worldly affairs. Buddhists call it the conscious mind or the deluded mind, which means the mind that is born and dies and changes according to circumstances and time.