–Volume4(Part3)
Author: Fafu
Translator : Gemini
Hello everyone! Welcome to this podcast episode provided by the Buddha’s Practice Association of Australia.
Today, we continue to explore the ultimate principles revealed by the Buddha: that delusion has “no cause,” that when the three conditions cease, the three causes do not arise, and that Bodhi is neither conditioned nor natural. Using the parable of Yajñadatta looking in the mirror and fearing he had lost his head, the Buddha teaches us to stop differentiating the three continuities of the world, sentient beings, and karmic retribution, thereby eliminating the dust and uniting with Awareness, realizing the inherent Bodhi which requires no cultivation or realization, and arriving directly at the Dharma of Non-Playfulness (Non-Dual Truth).
1. Delusion Has No Cause, Having No Basis:
Venerable Pūrṇa asked: Why do sentient beings give rise to delusion, obscuring their own Wondrous Bright True Mind? The Buddha used the parable of Yajñadatta, who looked in the mirror, feared he had lost his head, and ran around frantically, pointing out that his frantic running stemmed from “madness of the mind” with no other cause.
The Buddha taught that the Self-Nature is “Wondrously Aware, Perfectly Bright, Originally Perfect and Wondrously Bright”—intrinsically pure. If delusion is called “delusion” or “illusory thought”, how can it have a true cause or condition? If it had a true cause, it would not be called a delusion! Delusion is like an object in a dream; it is fundamentally unreal and cannot be grasped. Yajñadatta’s fear and frantic running were merely born from the madness of his mind, having no real root.
Delusion “arises spontaneously due to confusion”. As long as one recognizes that confusion has no true cause, delusion has no basis, just as objects vanish when one wakes up from a dream. Sentient beings cling to delusion as real, like the person who mistakenly believed his head was lost in the mirror. In reality, the head was never lost, and the Self-Nature was never confused.
2. When the Three Conditions Cease, the Three Causes Do Not Arise:
The Buddha further explained the key to realizing Bodhi: “You only need to refrain from following the differentiation of the three continuities: the world, karmic retribution, and sentient beings. When the three conditions cease, the three causes do not arise.” By stopping the differentiation of the three continuities, when the conditions for differentiation are cut off, the causes of delusion have nowhere to arise, and the mind’s madness naturally ceases.
Just as Yajñadatta, if he no longer followed the delusive thought of losing his head, his frantic running would stop, and his head was inherently present. The Buddha said: “Then, within your mind, Yajñadatta’s frantic nature will naturally cease. Cessation is Bodhi.” Bodhi is not external; it is not gained through cultivation; it is inherent in the Self-Nature and possessed by everyone. When the frantic mind ceases, the Wondrous Bright True Mind naturally manifests.
3. Bodhi is Neither Conditioned Nor Natural:
Upon hearing that “Bodhi is not conditioned”, Venerable Ānanda was confused, believing his enlightenment was based on “conditions”, and worrying he would fall into the externalist view of “naturalism”. The Buddha again used Yajñadatta as a metaphor to break his clinging: Yajñadatta’s head was “fundamentally natural”, never having been lost; his fear and frantic running were “a delusion arising from the mind”, not born of conditions. The head has no change; why would it need conditions?
Similarly, Bodhi is inherent in the Self-Nature, not cultivated through conditions, nor is it an external, natural occurrence. The Buddha emphasized that if one realizes the inherent head and recognizes the falsity of the frantic running, then “conditions” and “naturalism” are both mere playful arguments. Bodhi is the “path of no accomplishment where both arising and ceasing are extinguished” It cannot be achieved by conditioned cultivation but manifests when the frantic mind ceases and the Self-Nature appears. The Self-Nature is neither compounded nor fundamental, neither natural nor non-natural, separate from both union and separation—it is the Dharma of Non-Playfulness.
4. Reproaching Extensive Learning and Encouraging Non-Outflow Practice:
The Buddha gently reproached Ānanda for being the “Foremost in Extensive Learning” and being able to memorize the pure, subtle principles of the Twelve Divisions of the Canon, yet “only gaining playful arguments” and failing to escape the calamity with Matanga’s daughter. He taught: “It is better to cultivate non-outflow practice for a single day and be far away from the two sufferings of hatred and attachment in the world.” Non-outflow practicemeans subduing afflictions, abiding in the Self-Nature, and creating all forms of good karma.
5. Conclusion:
Delusion has no cause; it is merely an illusion manifested by the Wondrous Brightness of the Self-Nature. The three continuities arise due to differentiation. When the three conditions cease, the three causes do not arise, the frantic nature ceases spontaneously, and Bodhi manifests. Bodhi is neither conditioned nor natural; it is the Path of No Accomplishment, separate from both union and separation, the Dharma of Non-Playfulness.
Thank you!
