Warning to the World
Those who do not embody the fundamental nature of the Way remain lost in the cycle of birth and death, manifesting in wombs, eggs, moisture, or spontaneous generation—creatures that fly, crawl, swim, or burrow. Among them, those who lose their human form are as numerous as the dust of the earth, while those who attain a human body are as scarce as a speck of dirt under a fingernail. Even among human beings, many are born in remote, barbaric lands or into lowly stations; or they receive a female body. If born male, they may suffer from deformities or a hundred ailments. Even if a man achieves all ten marks of perfection, he lives in a fearful age amid the five corruptions, with a body of flesh and a life sustained by breath. His lifespan is like a spark in flint, a lamp before the wind, a wave in a river, or the last rays of sunset—fleeting in an instant. Within this brief life, those who die prematurely from accident or illness are beyond count. Those who live to old age, reaching sixty, are one in ten thousand. Even if one attains the age of destiny—fifty years—setting aside the ignorance of childhood, and considering the thirty years from the prime of life at thirty to the wealth of forty, more than half are consumed by sickness, disaster, worry, and suffering. Thus the ancients said: "In a fleeting month of life, one can open their mouth to laugh for only four or five days." Therefore, we know that sorrow is long and joy short, pleasure rare and pain abundant. Life is like standing on a perilous peak ten thousand feet high, or being adrift in an endless ocean a thousand fathoms deep. Even if we seize a moment of happiness, we are always afraid of sinking.
Moreover, birth wearies me in the womb; aging steals my youthful vigor; sickness depletes my strength; death destroys my spirit. Honor makes me arrogant; disgrace crushes my spirit; wealth indulges my greed; poverty strips me of support. Joy stirs my emotions; pain torments my mind. Praise lifts my pride; blame shatters my reputation. Cold oppresses my body; heat torments my heart; thirst dries my throat; hunger weakens my belly. Shock unnerves me; fear robs me of my soul; worry disturbs my spirit; frustration defeats my resolve. Favor increases my attachment; opposition fuels my hatred. Kinship pulls at my heart; distance breeds resentment. Harm destroys my body; sorrow ties my gut in knots. Encountering circumstances gives rise to thoughts; following emotions stirs intentions. Whether pleasant or unpleasant, none truly satisfy the heart. All of these feed the wheel of karma and wholly destroy the foundation of the Way.
Some even deceive their rulers, defy their parents, act arrogantly toward others, and chase after the trends of the times. Their hearts are beastly, their minds scheming. They seek profit and chase fame, deceive others with flattering behavior, cling to power and bully the lonely, amass disasters and promote their own karma. They fan the flames of their desires, stir up dust, and turn their backs on awakening. Their views are twisted, their true nature lost. Concerned only with the present and ignoring the future, they act with the mouth but never repent, rushing forward without looking back. They seek only life, unaware of death. Thus, every thought burns them, every step leads to the abyss.
Now, if you can seize even a single moment of life in this world, you must nurture compassion and virtue. Do good, cultivate the mind, and eliminate evil. The scriptures say: "Doing good brings a hundred blessings; doing evil brings a hundred calamities." Therefore, all the favorable and unfavorable conditions in this world—these vain sufferings of body and mind arise because we do not realize that the Three Realms are but one mind. The first five consciousnesses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) and the eighth consciousness (storehouse consciousness) all perceive reality directly, without objects external to the mind. Only the sixth consciousness (thinking mind) uses inference to construct an external world. This external world is entirely born of thought and arises with every thought. Without thought, the ten thousand phenomena are formless. Thus a sutra says: "When thought ceases, the mind is still; when consciousness stops, there is non-action." It also says: "All phenomena are unstable; they rest solely upon thought. One who skillfully understands emptiness has no thoughts toward anything." If you understand the principle of the One Mind, there is naturally nothing outside the mind that can be presented. How then could there be joy or sorrow to concern the heart, right or wrong to stir the mind?
The Buddha's verse says: "Not realizing that objects are only mind, one makes all kinds of distinctions. Having realized that objects are only mind, distinctions no longer arise." Once you understand that objects are only mind, you abandon external appearances. From then on, distinctions cease, and you awaken to the equal and true emptiness. Therefore, the Awakening of Faith says: "All objects and states are merely the mind's false activity. If the mind does not arise, all appearances of objects vanish. Only the True Mind pervades everywhere." Thus, the Three Realms are illusion; they are only the workings of the mind. Apart from the mind, there are no sense objects. Moreover, all distinctions are merely distinctions of one's own mind. The mind does not see the mind; no form can be obtained.
An ancient master said: "If there is anything outside the mind, there is birth and death and reincarnation. If there is nothing outside the mind, birth and death are forever abandoned." A sutra says: "All phenomena arise only from the manifestation of the mind." A treatise says: "In the Three Realms, there is no other reality; they are only the creation of the One Mind." Since you have come to believe in the One Mind, you must unite with it through meditation. As a sutra says: "If you could teach all beings in the great trichiliocosm to practice the ten good deeds, this would not compare to sitting in single-minded stillness for the duration of a meal, entering the Dharma-gate of oneness." If you can truly realize your own mind, and unite concentration and wisdom, you can remain unmoved amid worldly troubles and attain enlightenment. Throughout your life, nothing surpasses this practice. I urge all future practitioners to imprint this teaching upon their hearts.