Do not covet supernatural powers

“Ding…” The phone rang rapidly, and the young layman Yu asked in a slightly nervous voice: “Principal Guohong, do you have a telepathic connection with him?” I replied: “No.”

“I now meditate and recite sutras every day. These days, there is a voice talking in my ears 24 hours a day. It seems to be a great protector with a name. He knows what will happen in the future and keeps telling me.”

“You must not be persistent and greedy for this sound. This is not the understanding of his mind. Take a good look at “A Brief Explanation of the Fifty Yin Demons of the Surangama Sutra” written by Master Xuanhua. You must have concentration and clear understanding and mindfulness. “Vajra “The Sutra” says: “If you see me with forms and seek me with sounds, you will follow the wrong path and cannot see the Tathagata.” When you are meditating, you must not be greedy and clinging to the various realms, and you must be as unmoving as possible. , Don’t let fifty kinds of evil spirits take advantage of it.”

“I see……”

A month later, at two o’clock in the middle of the night, the phone rang again urgently, “Principal Guohong, this is Xiao Yu, please save me. There are many voices disturbing me. I’m afraid, I may not survive tomorrow.” …” After listening to his story, I already understood: layman Yu went astray because of his greed for supernatural powers. Since the situation was urgent, I led him to recite the Shurangama Mantra and the Great Compassion Mantra word by word on the phone to calm his mind a little. The next day, I invited many enthusiastic Buddhist friends with correct knowledge and views to visit him. With everyone’s help, layman Yu’s mood improved slightly.

Although Lay Buddhist Yu practices vegetarianism, meditates, chants sutras and recites mantras, why does this situation still occur? Or is it because it has leaks in itself. While studying, he was guilty of severe masturbation, which left him physically weak and narrow-minded. After embarking on the path of learning Buddhism, although I have restrained my masturbation habit, my thoughts are still unclean. I have not really felt repentant to change my ways, and I have not practiced practice to realize it. He always thinks about his own body and his own affairs, and does not work hard on his mind. Instead, he is obsessed with how many sutras he recites and how many times he recites mantras to eliminate karma and achieve enlightenment. When he meditates, he is greedy for supernatural powers and falls into wrong views. , so the evil spirits will take advantage of the situation and come in.

Practicing to attract demons is often caused by greed (seeking supernatural powers, induction, enlightenment…). Therefore, when practicing Buddhism, one should first recognize the clear path and have correct knowledge and views. Those who are above must first obtain fundamental wisdom—knowing one’s mind and one’s nature. After truly seeing nature, because you recognize the protagonist, you will be able to see situations without confusion, and you will not be disturbed by demons. For those who are inferior, even if they cannot start from the fundamentals, they should still understand what “learning Buddhism and practicing Buddhism” means. Although “learning Buddhism and practicing Buddhism” requires chanting sutras and meditating daily, the purpose is to understand the principles in the sutras and, after gaining wisdom, practice them according to what the sutras say; at the same time, it is also to cultivate concentration and make the mind pure. Just like sharpening a knife is to chop firewood, and training a soldier is to go to the battlefield, the power of concentration and wisdom is cultivated through chanting sutras and meditating, and then applied in daily life. If Buddhist practitioners can use the power of concentration and wisdom they have cultivated, change their selfish habits, and gradually reach the lofty and great realm of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, transform their ordinary minds into the same mind as Buddhas, and benefit all sentient beings everywhere, then this can be called true “learning”. Buddha”.

The “Surangama Sutra” declares the “Five Yin Demons” (also known as the “Five Aggregates”): form, feeling, thought, action, and consciousness each have ten kinds of demons, and together they are fifty kinds of Yin demons. “Surangama Sutra” says: “The achievement of breaking chaos depends on the master of the five yins in your heart. If the master is confused, the guest will get the convenience.” In fact, our original Buddha nature and the yin demons are in a host-guest relationship. If you are confused, then the guest will get what you want; if the host is not confused, then the guest will stay away from you. Practitioners should not be greedy for true supernatural phenomena, nor should they criticize them casually, nor should they cling to or reject the middle way. The magical powers of Hinayana practitioners are obtained by practicing meditation. The “Buddha Speaks of the Inconceivable Realm of Supernatural Powers in Mahayana” tells us how Mahayana practitioners can achieve supernatural powers: “The Buddha told the Son of Heaven of Puhua Banner that if the Bodhisattva Mahasattva achieves his joyful desires In this way, those who have supernatural power should have four methods: first, listen to the profound teachings with joy, and thirdly, listen to the profound teachings and understand their meanings. There are four ways to understand and practice. The first is to adhere to the sutras taught by Buddha Tathagata. The third is to practice the sutras. Keep it in mind. The four are to spread the teachings. There are four. The first is to listen to the true teachings and the students to respect them. The third is to respect the Dharma and never give up. The fourth is to always praise the Dharma. These are the four things that should be fulfilled. The first is the mind of equanimity. The third is the mind of non-poison. If the Bodhisattva Mahasattva practices the following four methods, he will achieve the most powerful transformation. Career. Recovery can lead to wisdom and eloquence.”

“The Great Prajna Paramita Sutra” says: “All dharmas are inherently empty. Good manifestation is when the Bodhisattva Mahasattva practices Prajna Paramita for a long time. By contemplating the emptiness and using expedients skillfully, he can trigger the extraordinary supernatural power Paramita, and live in it. This paramita of supernatural powers can again cause the mind to dwell in the divine realm of the eyes, ears, and ears, and to realize the extraordinary wisdom and wisdom. Without being separated from the paramita of supernatural powers, all bodhisattvas and mahasattvas can freely mature sentient beings in the pure Buddha land. , attaining the supreme and perfect Bodhi. Good manifestations, so the supernatural paramita is the path to Bodhi. All Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas follow this path to seek the supreme and perfect Bodhi. When seeking the path, they can self-perfect all good dharma. It can also enable him to practice good Dharma and not be attached to the good Dharma even though he does this. So what is the reason? The Bodhisattva Mahasattva knows that all good Dharma is empty in nature and has no attachment to it if it is not of its own nature. Then there is the flavor of love, because there is no attachment and no flavor of love, so there is no flavor of love in the self-nature. “If you really have supernatural powers, you must take it as your responsibility to help and educate all living beings, and you must not mix any greed, anger, ignorance, pride, or selfishness. Heart, then you will achieve the three corresponding supernatural powers mentioned in the “Mahayana Sutra”: possess the power of mature sentient beings, often be praised by Buddhas, and everyone will believe in everything you say.

Therefore, every Buddhist disciple should take the precepts as his teacher, strictly abide by the precepts, firmly believe in cause and effect, get close to good teachers and good friends who have correct views and emphasize practical cultivation, and use methods such as chanting sutras, chanting mantras, chanting Buddha’s name, meditating, etc. that suit his own aptitudes. Methods to capture the mind and protect thoughts; in daily practice, develop bodhicitta, follow the path of Bodhisattva, do more things that benefit sentient beings, only work hard without asking about the harvest, always clean up your own mind, constantly get rid of self-image and self-grasping, and strive for nothing. time, you can restore your true appearance. Therefore, the “Heart Sutra” says: “Relics, all dharmas are empty, neither born nor destroyed, not dirty, not pure, neither increasing nor decreasing. Therefore, there is no color in the air, no thoughts, thoughts, actions, consciousness, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. Colorless sound, fragrance, touch, no vision or even unconscious world, no ignorance and no end of ignorance, no old age and death, no end of old age and death, no accumulation of suffering to destroy the path, no wisdom and no gain…”

Tip: Everyone has supernatural powers and Buddha nature. We should not be greedy or seeking on the path of practice, and have correct knowledge and views. Nagarjuna Bodhisattva taught: “With a distracted mind, you cannot see the true nature of all dharma. For example, in the wind A burning lamp cannot shine on anything. A lamp in a secret room will surely shine.” From this, we can see that if you keep your mind pure, practice precepts and concentrate on wisdom diligently, wisdom will manifest itself when your mind is pure.

“The Avatamsaka Sutra” says: “Forgetting Bodhicitta and cultivating good Dharma is called demonic karma.” Forgetting Shan’er, let alone not developing it? Therefore, when learning Buddhism, one should develop renunciation and bodhicitta, with the goal of clearly seeing one’s nature and achieving ultimate liberation from oneself and others. If you have the right intention due to the situation, you will be able to practice diligently and conscientiously correct your mistakes and practice good deeds. After all the worries are eliminated and the leakage is eliminated, the magical power will be achieved without asking for anything. If you study Buddhism for the purpose of seeking supernatural powers, not only will you not be able to eliminate karma, open up wisdom, and achieve ultimate liberation, but you will also be in danger of being disturbed by demons and causing great suffering. “Surangama Sutra” says: “If you don’t eliminate the three confusions (troubles), even if you have supernatural powers, they are all useful functions in the world. If your habits are not extinguished, you will fall into the devil’s path.”