–Volume9(Par4)
Author: Fafu
Translator : Gemini
Dear Dharma Friends,
Welcome to this episode of the podcast provided by the Buddhas’ Practice Incorporated of Australia.
Today, we will continue our deep exploration of the Fifty Skandha-Daimons, focusing on the section regarding the breaking of the Skandha of Mental Formations.
I. Abiding in the Self-Nature and Departing from Craving:
The key to exhausting the Skandha of Mental Formations lies in the principle: “If the stirring of thoughts is exhausted, the floating thoughts are eliminated.”
For all ten demonic states that appear during the phase of breaking the Skandha of Mental Formations, their common underlying cause is the practitioner’s “craving” for a certain state or feeling during meditation (such as skillful means, experience, unity, analysis, subtle connection, stillness, past lives, spiritual power, entering cessation, deep emptiness, or extended lifespan).
Therefore, one should “single-mindedly abide in the Self-Nature and melt away all thoughts”. Regarding any boundary state that appears in meditation, “whether good or bad, one must not crave it.” Instead, one should “abide single-mindedly and without confusion in the Self-Nature.”
II. Avoid Self-Righteousness and Maintain Proper Views:
The crucial key to avoiding the Fifty Skandha-Daimons is to “never be self-righteous”, because this attitude easily leads the practitioner to mistakenly believe they have attained the holy fruit, thereby falling into the demonic realm.
Maintaining “Proper Views and Knowledge” is paramount. Many demonic states cause followers to “secretly develop wicked views”, “wash away the original mind and easily enter false enlightenment”, “lose their original mind”, or “deny cause and effect”.
Therefore, practitioners must be vigilant against the common characteristics in the statements of demonic teachers, such as: “breaking the Buddha’s monastic rules,” “secretly engaging in greed and lust,” “speaking favorably of calamities, auspicious signs, and sudden changes,” “slandering Bhikkhus and cursing the assembly of disciples,” “praising sexual conduct and not denouncing gross actions,” “denying cause and effect,” “claiming to have attained the Unsurpassed Nirvāṇa,” or “claiming to be the Buddha,” or “claiming to have ascended to Sainthood.”
III. Conclusion:
Discerning a “True Good Knowledge Advisor” is an important safeguard. To judge the authenticity of a Good Knowledge Advisor, “you must observe whether their every word and action conforms to the Buddhist scriptures. At the very least, their views must not violate the Buddhist scriptures. The more attainments they have, the better.” Under no circumstances should a practitioner “break the Buddha’s monastic rules or secretly engage in greed and lust.”
Thank you all for listening!
