How to achieve liberation

In order to avoid the suffering of samsara it is necessary to begin training your mind. Apart from the mind, there is no other place where we experience the suffering of samsara, and no other place where liberation is attained. Therefore, we must utilise different methods or means to help us remove and purify our habits of attachment to the self, to remove the five poisons of craving, hatred, ignorance, pride and jealousy, and purify our body, speech, and mind. This is how we liberate ourselves from the sufferings of samsara.

From time immemorial, our habits of attachment to phenomena as truly existent are deeply entrenched. Life after life we strive conscientiously after the love of clinging to the self. We are now incredibly proficient in practicing the five poisons of craving, hatred, ignorance, pride and jealousy, in the same way a mountain stream flows downhill without needing any assistance. To cultivate renunciation and Bodhicitta is like pushing a car uphill, and as soon as you relax the car will roll back downhill again. The habit of clinging to ourselves has no form, yet it is very resilient and it is difficult to transform. Even though we understand that it is the root cause of all afflictions, it is not so easy to let go just because we want to. An example is our craving or greed. We understand that it is of no benefit, and we try to force ourselves to abandon it. When we are not faced with the objects of our desire everything seems quite fine. The moment we encounter the objects of our desire, our attachment arises beyond our control. Even though we are growing older, our afflictions and attachments have not diminished. On the contrary, many people, as they grow older, also become more stubborn attracting more afflictions, with the result that their suffering may be more severe. Therefore, adopt suitable means when training your mind and over a long period of time and with concerted effort, your afflictions and attachments will gradually decrease, as drops of water gradually wear a hole in a stone over time.

In general, the Buddha Dharma has three methods to overcome afflictions: the Theravada Vehicle to remove afflictions; the Mahayana Vehicle of Exoteric Buddhism to turn afflictions into Bodhi; Zen and Vajrayana Dzogchen (Great Perfection) to transform afflictions into the Dharma, by which afflictions are liberated naturally the moment they arise. There are many different methods with the same aim. As Ali Panchen? said, “The different vehicles of purification, transformation and methods on the path have the same objective of removing afflictions. The theme of all great wisdoms is the same.”

Due to the different capacities of sentient beings, the content of the eighty-four thousand methods of Buddha Dharma are divided into vehicles. A vehicle is a means or method like a car, boat, plane by which we go from one place to the next. Generally, the Buddha Dharma includes the mundane vehicle and the supra-mundane vehicle. The mundane vehicle, otherwise called the vehicle of men and gods, is based on the theory that all phenomena originate based on the law of cause, condition and effect. With the coming together of causes and conditions, the effect will manifest itself. We change our fate by refraining from unwholesome acts and performing good deeds, therefore increasing our good fortune in the future. The supra-mundane vehicle, or liberation vehicle, which includes Theravada, is based on the foundation of the mundane vehicle, the further realisation of the wisdom of the emptiness of self and partially of the emptiness of phenomena, in order to remove afflictive obstacles (abandon all afflictions), enabling us to attain the state of an Arhat. With respect to Mahayana, maintaining the solid foundation of the mundane vehicle and further perfecting the realisation of the wisdom of the emptiness of self and emptiness of phenomena is essential, in order to completely abandon the obstacles of afflictions and cognitive obstacles. Only in this way can the state of Buddhahood be attained.

Therefore within the Buddha Dharma, the mundane vehicle of men and gods, and the supra-mundane vehicle of liberation are contained in these phrases: abandon negative deeds – we should relinquish even the tiniest negative deeds; practice virtue well – embrace even the tiniest of positive deeds; purify your own mind – work diligently to train your mind, purify body, speech, and mind.

Due to the different capacities of sentient beings and their different motivations resulting from different mindsets and wisdom, there are these three paths within the Buddha Dharma.

First of all, take refuge in the three jewels of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Maintain the practices and keep the precepts of taking refuge. Secondly, avoid the ten non-virtuous deeds and diligently practice the ten virtuous deeds. Carefully evaluate cause and effect, just like caring for your eyes. Change your karma through vigorously promoting good deeds and avoiding bad deeds, thus accumulating merits for this life and for the future. This is the lesser motivation of liberation.

It is necessary to realise that the nature of samsara is suffering: seeing samsara as a burning house, or as a prison, which gives rise to extreme renunciation, eagerly seeking for the happiness of nirvana. Mistakenly believing that nirvana is a truly existing phenomenon, we become bound by this concept. Although we have compassion, it is not very deep. We do not want to give up our own well-being in order to benefit other sentient beings. This is the motivation of the middle practitioners, the vehicle of the direct disciples, and the vehicle of the self-enlightened ones.

Mahayana Bodhisattvas understand that both samsara and nirvana are concepts of the mind based on the realisation of emptiness. They do not completely dislike samsara and do not fervently seek for nirvana, they just carry on the great task of helping countless suffering sentient beings in samsara. In this process, the Bodhisattvas themselves naturally purify all afflictive hindrances and cognitive hindrances, therefore attaining perfect realisation. This is the motivation of the greater practitioners.

This chapter is part of: Introduction Course - Part 1: Renunciation