Fourth Dharma: May Confusion be Transformed into Wisdom There are two ways of looking at transforming confusion into wisdom. First, you can think logically that all sentient beings have the ability to attain enlightenment—the same ability as the Buddha, who has already become enlightened. Although this ability resides in all living beings, because they do not know how to remove obscurations, they are unable to realize their buddhahood. In quantity and quality, there is not the least difference between the enlightenment that is within the Buddha and the enlightenment or buddha nature that is within all sentient beings. The difference between an enlightened being and ordinary beings is that the buddha nature of ordinary beings is covered, and the Buddha’s buddha nature is exposed—it has come out while ours is hidden away.The wisdom of enlightened beings and the wisdom of ordinary beings is equal in quality. A simple example will illustrate this. Suppose you fill two identical basins with pure water, and one of them has some mud in it, while the other is clean. Now it is the nature of water to be clear, but because one basin has mud in it this water is not as clear as that in the clean basin. The quality and quantity of the water are the same, however. The more mud you can take out or let settle, the clearer the water becomes; finally, it becomes as clear as the water in the basin without mud. So the qualities of purity and clarity were always there—they were not obtained after the removal of the mud—but they needed the proper conditions to become manifest.The only way to keep this water clear after the silt has settled is by not moving it at all. In terms of our mind, sitting meditation, or shamata practice settles our mind and helps us maintain a clarity within ourselves. That does not mean, however, that we have completely removed our defilements, but that our mind is settled and our clarity has become manifest.The second way to transform confusion into wisdom is to practice the developing and accomplishing stages of meditation in the vajrayana. In this way, we come to the realization that everything is void and that there is no separation of projector and projection—that is the ultimate level. We also come to the understanding that everything is interdependent. For example, deep realization is dependent on the blessings enlightened beings and is also dependent on our inner wisdom, which is constantly there and equal to that of the Buddha. Interdependence can also be illustrated by observing how we perceive objects with our eyes. If we did not have the ability to see, then even if we had eyes, we would not be able to see an object. For the object to appear, we must have the faculty of vision. Clear vision helps our eyes to see objects distinctly, just as the sun makes it easier to see objects clearly. These elements are all interdependent—they arise together and help each other. Likewise, with the blessings of realized and enlightened beings, and with our own inner wisdom, we can come to the final stages of realization. At that point, our wisdom fully emerges; we have removed the obscurations covering it so that it can shine forth completely. During all stages of practice it I important to remember that this wisdom was there all the time. Thus the Fourth Dharma is: may the path lead to the realization of wisdom; may confusion be transformed into wisdom.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 03:11:51 +0000
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