The Way to Cultivate Prajna
What exactly is this deep prajna practice? Prajna is the truth that governs the universe, the myriad things, society, and life. This truth is contained in everything. Thus, it is difficult to find it from the outside. We must search for prajna in our mind, which is closest to us. We must then use it to extinguish defilements and idle thoughts, do away with desires, and train the mind in mercy, wisdom, and liberation in order to reach the other shore, in other words, to become a buddha. This process is called the profound prajna practice. |
Contents
Introduction
Emptying the Mind • 11
The Most Frequently Read and Recited Sutra • 12
Aspiration to Cleanse the Karmic Power • 13
With the Composure of an Immovable State of Mind As It Is • 14
Building the Prajna Dragon Boat • 15
The Buddha Realized Prajna and Possessed It • 16
How to Read and Recite the Heart Sutra • 17
The Structure of Emptiness and Nonbeing in the Heart Sutra • 21
About the Full Version and the Concise Version of the Heart Sutra • 22
Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra (The Full Version) • 25
Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra (The Concise Version) • 28
Master Kyongsan’s Interpretation of the Heart Sutra • 30
CHAPTER ONE
Toward the Other Shore
A Core Scripture Guiding Us to the Stage of Buddhahood • 35
Prajna Is the Truth • 36
Three Elements of Prajna • 39
The Three Meanings of Prajna • 41
Where Is Prajna? • 44
Toward the Village of the Buddhahood Land • 46
To Reach the Village of the Buddha Land • 48
Moving Ceaselessly Toward the Other Shore • 49
The Shore of Māra Defeated • 51
The Status of Beyond the Household and the Status of Tathagata • 53
Core Path of Practice • 55
CHAPTER TWO
Introduction to Prajna
Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva of Compassion • 62
In Search of Prajna in Our Mind • 64
The Battle between the True Mind and the False Mind • 66
Defeating the Minions of Māra • 67
The Minions of Māra within Our Mind • 68
To Know the No-mind Realm Is to See One’s True Nature • 70
The Five Skandhas, or Five Aggregates • 71
The Functioning of Karmic Consciousness • 77
Seeing the Five Aggregates Clearly • 79
The Physical Body Is Inherently Nonbeing • 81
Humans Are Beings of Nonbeing • 82
The Mountain That We Must Climb Over • 85
The Authentication of a Teacher • 86
The Practice of Cultivating the True Mind • 88
Breaking Away from All Suffering • 90
CHAPTER THREE
The Truth of Prajna
Existence and Nonexistence Are Not Different from Each Other • 97
What Causes Change? • 102
Being and Nonbeing Are One • 103
All Manner of Minds Are Also Buddhas • 106
The Prajna Truth Is Empty of Defining Characteristics • 110
How Old Is the Prajna Truth? • 111
Prajna Truth Is the Realm of Absolute Values • 112
Prajna Truth Is Immeasurable • 113
CHAPTER FOUR
Realization of Prajna
One Who Lives by the Way and Principle of Emptiness • 125
What Drags the Self Around? • 127
The Mental Operations of Sensations, Perceptions,
Impulses, and Consciousness • 130
How to Preserve the Realm of Nonbeing • 131
We Live by Commanding Six Faculties • 136
Six Objects to Which We Respond • 137
The Six Types of Consciousness That We Create • 138
The Soul Shares Affinities with the Parents • 140
The Buddha’s Life • 141
Three Pleasures Enjoyed by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas • 143
Twelvefold Chain of Dependent Origination • 147
Mind Ignorant of the Truth • 148
The Repository of Volitional Action • 150
The State in the Womb • 151
Separation from the Mother • 152
Feelings of Attachment: Craving • 153
Trying to Grasp the Object One Craves: Grasping • 155
The Desire to Prolong: Becoming • 156
We Live through Lives in the Past, Present, and Future • 159
To Move beyond Craving, Grasping, and Becoming • 162
This Mind of Here-and-Now Is Important • 165
The Buddha’s First Dharma Instruction • 168
Break Away from the Buddhadharma to Be Truly Free • 170
Enlightened, but without a Trace of Enlightenment • 174
CHAPTER FIVE
The Practice of Prajna
How to Practice • 182
How Bodhisattvas Practice • 184
Adopting the Prajna Truth as a Standard • 186
Prajna in Our Mind • 188
With the Unimpeded Mind • 190
Creating the Immovable State of Mind • 192
Wisdom Is Attained When We Rely on Prajna • 194
Shine upon Desires and Melt Them Away with the Light of Prajna • 195
Waking Up from the Dream through the Power of Prajna • 196
How Did the Buddhas of the Three Time-Periods . . . ? • 198
The Capabilities of Buddhas • 200
What Actually Controls Matter and the Soul • 201
CHAPTER SIX
Spell of Prajna
The Meaning of the Spell • 208
Assistants in Our Mind • 209
Spells Corresponding to Sensory Conditions • 210
Let Us Reach Prajna through the Spell • 213
Eliminating All Suffering • 216
The Buddha’s Life Is a Life of Prayer • 217 |