The Shurangama Sutra says that in the Dharma-ending Age, evil teachers preaching the Dharma are as numerous as the sands in the Ganges River in India. What is called an evil teacher? An evil teacher is someone who preaches the Dharma contrary to what the sages say, causing living beings to give rise to thoughts of right and wrong, of self, greed, anger, ignorance, and arrogance. If it is true Buddhism, it will definitely teach living beings to eliminate thoughts of right and wrong, of self, of greed, anger, ignorance, and arrogance, so that afflictions gradually become lighter, and their minds become cool and free, and their wisdom grows.

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas appear in the world for only one purpose: to reveal the Buddha's knowledge and help living beings open up their wisdom. As long as living beings have true wisdom, no matter what the matter, they can naturally handle it very satisfactorily; this is truly saving living beings! Only the Buddha Dharma teaches people the teachings of the Buddha, only the teachings of the Buddha can truly help people stop evil and cultivate good, break through ignorance and attain enlightenment, transform ordinary people into saints, escape from birth and death, and enter the Holy Path. Liberation is to remove the bonds of defilements and karma, leave behind the fetters, escape from the suffering of the three karmas, and attain freedom and freedom. The essence of liberation is nirvana. Because sentient beings are hindered and bound by afflictions and afflictions, they are always in birth and death. When they attain nirvana, they are immediately freed from those afflictions, so the Buddhist scriptures call it “liberation and deliverance.” The great vow of a Bodhisattva is not only to free oneself from birth and death, but also to free all sentient beings from birth and death, and to be forever liberated. The method to realize the great vow and attain liberation is simply to protect the Dharma, to propagate and expound the Buddha Dharma so that we and sentient beings can break through ignorance and attain enlightenment.

Currently, what method should we use to practice to break through ignorance and attain enlightenment? The Infinite Life Sutra teaches: “Receive, recite, copy, make offerings, and teach others.” The Buddha said that in the Dharma-ending Age, the most appropriate, safest, and most effective method is to study and practice, that is, to recite, teach, and practice the Buddha’s teachings like a measuring line so as not to fall into evil ways. The teachings of the Buddha are spoken by the Buddha, and the commentaries are composed by the Bodhisattvas. This is a gradual practice, and there are certainly no flaws. The Buddha and Bodhisattvas always remind us everywhere that if we follow the teachings, we will definitely have achievements. The Master uses the method of teaching the sutras to remind and guide disciples to enter the door, but each individual must personally remember the Buddha’s teachings and practice correctly. The key to whether the achievements are shallow or deep, big or small, is not the length of time we spend studying and practicing, but how much we can let go. But if we cannot truly see through them, we will not be able to let go. Therefore, chanting sutras and listening to sutra lectures to gain insight is very important!

If we practice for many years, endure for many lives and many kalpas, but cannot see through and let go, the result will still be just a common person in the cycle of birth and death. Only when we can let go a part can our practice be raised one step higher. It is like when we step up a ladder, we must let go of the first step to be able to go up to the second step, and then we must continue to let go of the second step to be able to go up to the third step, etc. If we only put one foot on the top step, but the other foot refuses to let go of the bottom step, then there will never be a way to go higher. Even if we practice for another three hundred years, we will still not make any progress, still be at the same place. Letting go is very important!

What must we let go of? The Infinite Bliss Chapter of the Infinite Life Sutra teaches: “Naturally preserving, true purity, supreme aspiration, tranquil tranquility and happiness. One day it will be completely opened and illuminated, within its natural form, its original purity, its immeasurable light, natural fusion, and supreme transformation. Uat Don becomes the seven treasures, spreading horizontally into all things. Its bright light appears together, uniquely good, incomparable. Its manifestation has no upper or lower, it is clear and unobstructed.”

The Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng said: “Who would have thought that Self-nature is inherently pure?” Patriarch Baizhang taught: “The uncontaminated mind-nature is inherently complete.” These two statements have the same meaning as “naturally preserving true purity.” The Bodhisattva has let go of all kinds of delusions, discriminations, and attachments, only at will preserving the uncontaminated true mind, which is inherently pure, completely cutting off all duality. Thus, “naturally preserving true purity” is the unsurpassed path! Because this path is the ultimate truth, the ultimate nature, and there is nothing better, the sutra teaches us to take this practice as our “unsurpassed aspiration.” So, “Naturally preserving the true purity” is also the “unsurpassed aspiration” of those who practice the unsurpassed path. For this reason, the ancient sages often said: “The truth is the highest path, the ordinary is the most miraculous dharma.” So where is the profound and miraculous nature of the Buddha Dharma? The profound and miraculous nature of the Buddha Dharma lies in its simplicity, its truth, and its ordinary nature. Why? Because if we naturally preserve the true purity and the unsurpassed aspiration, we will naturally attain tranquil and blissful tranquility. Tranquil and happy meditation also means purity, silence, motionlessness, serenity, freedom, and constant joy. This is the highest state of meditation. Zen masters call this state the Samadhi of No Mind.

Zen master Cao Phong said: “Only in the Samadhi of No Mind, suddenly touching, hitting, and groping for the upward key, in a corresponding instant, thoroughly understanding the source of the mind, entering the principle of One Mind.” This is the meaning of the phrase “One day, completely enlightened.” “Enlightened” means enlightened, clearly understanding. “Completely enlightened” means thoroughly enlightened, thoroughly understanding. So, “Enlightened, thoroughly enlightened” means thoroughly enlightened or enlightened mind and nature. We only need to let go of all concerns and always abide in the Samadhi of No Mind, that is, we only need to naturally maintain our mind as normal, peaceful and happy, then in a moment, suddenly completely enlightened, enlightened mind and nature, thoroughly understanding, thoroughly understanding the source of the mind. What can we realize? This sutra says: “In the natural state, nature is inherently pure.” In other words, the Buddha said, we will realize the natural state of nature ourselves.

So, what is the natural state of nature like? The Shurangama Sutra says: “A deluded person thinks his head is lost and frantically searches for it, which is not natural.” It is also like when the ancient monk, after attaining enlightenment, immediately said: “The nun was originally a woman” and “If he had known earlier that the lamp was fire, the rice would have been cooked several times.” When he is no longer deluded, he sees that his head is still lying there, the nun is a woman, the lamp is fire; isn’t this all natural?” To put it another way, to make it easier to understand, once the infatuation is gone, one returns to one's own natural state. Buddhists call that natural state of nature Bodhi! Just like when one is not yet enlightened, one sees "mountains are mountains, rivers are rivers," when one is a little enlightened, one sees "mountains are not mountains, rivers are not rivers," but once one is completely enlightened, one sees one's own nature, one sees "mountains are still mountains, rivers are still rivers"; that is returning to the natural state of nature! Therefore, Zen master Cao Phong continued: "Going and coming is still the same person as before, the place one went and returned to in the past has not changed!" If it were just the same, never changing, wouldn’t that be the natural appearance of nature? Ultimately, what is the natural appearance of nature? It is the inherent True Appearance of Self-nature! Mountains, rivers, men, women, present times, past times, etc., all things are imprinted with the true seal of True Appearance; therefore, right in appearance is the Way, right in fact is truth, everything is inherently pure, everything is the natural appearance of nature. The unnatural appearance is not the external scenery but the mind that discriminates, often giving rise to one’s own false thoughts in front of the external world. Whenever one’s mind lets go of all concerns, abides in peaceful and tranquil meditation, then one suddenly understands what is the natural appearance of nature.

The Bodhisattva Precepts Sutra also says, “My Self-nature is inherently pure. If one understands the Self-mind, sees the Self-nature, then one will all attain Buddhahood.” Because the natural appearance of nature is our inherently pure Self-nature, the Infinite Life Sutra states: “Originally pure.” The word “originally pure” here has two meanings: First, the natural nature of all phenomena in the universe is one and not two; within that natural nature there is naturally an original body, that original body is the foundation, this sutra calls it “originally pure.” Second, “original nature” is natural, a sudden enlightenment, not created; one day when our mind is enlightened, clearly understood, transparent, and thoroughly understood, we will naturally find our original mind and understand that all dharmas are contained within that original mind. We should know that the True Nature of Self is the root, and that the original mind found is only a natural appearance within nature, which naturally has its own root. Within that natural appearance, there is naturally immeasurable light, naturally merging, and supremely transforming. The natural lights merge into each other, then naturally rotate and revolve throughout without stopping, transforming without hindrance. This is the essence of the True nature, which is neither still nor illuminating, but is always still and always illuminating. Because it is still and always illuminating, illuminating and always still, from the Dharma body flow forth the Reward Bodies, Transformation Bodies, etc., from the principle body arise countless wonderful functions with immeasurable light, forms and appearances merging and transforming into each other, rotating and transforming, surpassing the ten directions. world. The Buddha has all these excellent physical features, and each excellent feature emits light. Within the light there are colors, and within the colors appear the appearance of countless Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and worlds in the ten directions. These are all the things that express the ultimate meaning of the phrase “naturally merging, supremely transforming” in this sutra passage. This light also knows how to practice Buddha’s work, embracing sentient beings who recite Buddha’s name in the ten directions of the world without leaving out a single one; these are the supreme things of Buddha’s light. In other words, the Bodhisattva of the Land of Ultimate Bliss, from the Fundamental Wisdom of Manjushri, gives birth to the Differentiating Wisdom of Samantabhadra, speaks countless wonderful Dharma doors, and transforms countless sentient beings in the ten directions of the world, just as it is recorded in the Amitabha Buddha Praise Verse: “The halo of light transforms countless Buddhas, countless Bodhisattvas appear within. Forty-eight vows to save sentient beings, nine grades of golden lotus to attain liberation.”

Why did the Buddha often emit rays of light when preaching the Dharma? Because he wanted to make sentient beings quickly awaken, he emitted rays of light to receive sentient beings. In the assembly preaching the Infinite Life Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha emitted rays of light from his mouth, then retracted them and entered them into the crown of his head; this is a manifestation of the Dharma: “Coming and returning are all the same.” Going is also going to the treasure of bright wisdom, returning is also returning to the treasure of bright wisdom. The solemn and solemn report of the Pure Land is all manifested from the original nature of Amitabha Buddha; that is, the three solemnities are all incorporated into one dharma phrase, and that one dharma phrase is a pure phrase and is also the True Wisdom of Non-action Dharma Body. Therefore, the original nature or the natural appearance of nature is truly just one purity, which is also the True Wisdom of Non-action Dharma Body!

“Uat Don” is the abbreviation of Uat Don Viet, the name of one of the four great continents in the North of Mount Tu Di. Uat Don Viet is superior to the other continents in the four great continents, so the Chinese translate it as Thang Thuong Sanh. There, people live up to a thousand years old, do not need to plow, weave, or work, and food and clothing are naturally abundant. The earth we are on belongs to the Southern Jambudvipa Continent, located in the South of Mount Sumeru. Now, the sutra compares the Pure Land to the Uddakaya Continent, naturally born in abundance, filled with all kinds of food, clothing, and utensils, naturally born with the seven supreme treasures. “Spreading horizontally into ten thousand things” means that naturally from the ten directions of space appear ten thousand things; all ten thousand things and all things are naturally born from the natural root, and the natural root is as the Shurangama Sutra teaches: “Originally the mysterious, bright and clean body of Bodhi.”

In the Pure Land, everything is created by the great vow of Amitabha Buddha, and is also what is already present in the pure mind of every living being. The mind itself inherently possesses all ten thousand virtues, and can transform into wonderful forms. When one’s mind is free from the dust of ignorance, it becomes pure and solemn, with wonderful light, beauty, and purity, and all wonderful forms naturally appear together. In the previous chapters, the sutra says things like: “All things in the water are pure and bright, their forms and colors are unique, extremely wonderful, beyond measure,” “the light and color are splendid, infinitely majestic and splendid,” and “wonderful and beautiful, pure and solemn, surpassing the ten directions,” etc. Because the beautiful and auspicious things in the Land of Ultimate Bliss are all natural forms of nature that cannot be compared to the worlds of the ten directions, the sutra says: “The bright light and stars appear together, unique and auspicious, incomparable. They are manifest without above or below, and are clear and boundless.” “Manifest without above or below” is the principle that the Bodhisattvas of the Land of Ultimate Bliss realize, and are also things contemplated by the Buddha’s wisdom, so that principle is all suchness, all are equal dharmas, without high or low. That dharma is profound vertically, and broad horizontally, without boundaries. The sutras such as “This Dharma is equal, without high or low” and “mind, Buddha and sentient beings, all three are without distinction” all express the meaning that: Bodhisattvas of the Pure Land have realized the Dharma of Equality, so they no longer have a mind that discriminates between high and low, above and below. Because the mind does not cling to high and low, above and below, the mind is thusness. Because the mind is thusness, the mind becomes clear. Once the mind becomes clear, what will it reveal, illuminate, illuminate, and understand? What the mind clearly understands is the principle of equality, without high or low of all dharmas.

Because the form of Buddha wisdom arises from the fundamental nature, Buddha wisdom is boundless and endless. The essence and function of Buddha wisdom are identical, principle and wisdom are not two, both the agent and the object are lost, completely eliminating duality, and neither language nor thought can describe it, so the sutra says: “boundless and endless.” So, “unbounded understanding” is the Buddha wisdom that always shines, that Buddha wisdom is also the Suchness wisdom. Furthermore, “unbounded understanding” also means to reach, to understand clearly, to be transparent to the very source of the mind. The word “unbounded” here means to attain Buddha wisdom. “Unbounded” is like space, vertically it is the ultimate both above and below, horizontally it is the eight directions that have no boundaries, it cannot be exhausted. The ability to shine of Buddha wisdom is also like that, unbounded understanding!

Master Jia Xiang explained the phrase “unbounded understanding” as: “The realization of the fruit has no good or bad form or difference. Unbounded understanding is wisdom, unboundedness is the realm of the True Reality.” The realized fruit has no good or bad form, big or small, high or low, or difference because wisdom is in accordance with the realm of the True Reality, and the True Reality has no boundaries, so that wisdom also has no boundaries. Master Jingying explained the phrase “throughout, without limits” in another way. He said: “Just thinking of the path, virtues and virtues are clearly revealed, without distinction between superior and inferior faculties, all can be reborn, so it is said to be manifest without above or below. As for being reborn, one can thoroughly understand all supernatural powers without limits, so it is said to be throughout and without limits.” Master Jiaxiang’s meaning is: The three levels of superior, middle, and inferior can all be reborn, so that is “without above or below.” Because the people of the Land of Ultimate Bliss all have unlimited supernatural powers, it is said to be “without limits.” In the end, “throughout and without limits” is the natural state of the root, which is also the natural form of natural appearance!