The Great Secret of Mind

things should be done. Taking the lead, in fact it knows nothing.
Like the eyes that see external things but cannot see themselves, we cannot see
ourselves. At first, this body was created from the juice of our parent’s sperm and
blood and the elixir of the four elements, so right from the start, it is a multiplicity.
But we see this aggregation as a singular entity and call it “I”; perceiving it as real
and true, we label those who produced us “parents,” and our mother’s and father’s
brothers and sisters we label “uncle” and “auntie.” As an extension of this process,
those who help us are considered “friends” and those who seek to harm us are
regarded as “enemies.” To the former, we attach “love” and to the latter “hatred,”
and these imputations are considered to be indisputably valid. Not only that, but
even the different delusory beings of the six realms are considered real and true,
and our concepts of beings as truly existent become as solid and inflexible as iron
pillars. In this way, trying to subdue enemies and assist friends, our short life ends
like a lamp’s being switched off. Then the delusory dualistic mind provides a
primary cause, our specific karmic propensities gathered in previous lives provide
the conditions, and we are born into suffering in one of the six realms.
If we analyze what we call “I,” we see that it does not exist as a discrete entity. It
depends upon our parents’ sperm and blood, the four elements, and atoms. This
aggregation of many components is called “I.” It does not exist concretely, yet
knowing it to be delusion, we still hold to it and say “I” and “mine.” A multistory
structure built on a frozen lake in the winter will collapse when the ice melts
under the spring sunshine; in the same way, if we depend upon the “I” as a
foundation, when we explore it and find that it has no true existence, it will
collapse. Then, since the “I” does not exist, so parents, relatives, and spouse also do
not exist, and the entire structure comes tumbling down. Our enemies and friends
likewise do not exist. A patient suffering from jaundice sees a white conch as
yellow in color; so too we perceive illusory mental projections as real and
nonexistent objects as existing. If we cover a wall with realistic drawings, which
look three-dimensional, of animals sporting in a landscape, the depth is mere
illusion; there is no actual foreground and background, no inside and outside on
the wall. When we look at the picture and say the deer are standing on the
mountain slope, it is mere verbal convention; even so, we perceive the picture as
three-dimensional. In the same way, the mind takes specific characteristics of the
objective field as real even though no substantial existent can be found anywhere.
Suffering arises from our fixation upon “I” and “mine” as definitely real.
If the tree’s root is not cut, no matter how much we cut its leaves and branches,
it will continue to grow. Likewise, unless the root of the ego is severed, we will be
unable to free ourselves from suffering. Egoist concepts arise from the mind; if we
investigate the phenomena that arise in the mind, we find that the mind is like a
supreme judge who decides everything but does not have a true frame of
reference. It has not so much as a moment of peace because it is constantly
running after the good and avoiding the bad. When suddenly it hears a sound, it
runs after it to find out what might be there. Is it the sound of a person or a natural
sound? Is it good or bad? Is it useful or not? If it is considered useful, we seek its
source, listen to it, figure out how long it will last, where it exists, and try to