How to Practice Wisdom

"How does one practice Wisdom? Someone who practices wisdom and think: 'If I practice such Wisdom, I shall attain Emancipation and save those in the three unfortunate realms. Who is that indeed benefits all beings, crossing them to the other shore beyond birth and death? It's difficult [to be present when] the Buddha appears in the world. It is an event as rare as coming across the flowering of the Udumbara. I shall now thoroughly cut away the bonds of all defilements. I shall gain the fruition of Emancipation. On this account, I shall now learn to practice Wisdom, I shall burst the bonds of defilements, and attain Emancipation'. Any person who practices the Way thus, is not someone who practices Wisdom.

How does a person truly practice Wisdom? The wise person meditates on the sorrows of birth, old age and death. All beings are overshadowed by ignorance and do not know how to practice the unsurpassed Right Path. He prays: "I pray that my body will suffer great sorrows in lieu of all beings. Let all the poverty, degradation, thoughts of precept’s transgression, all the actions of greed, anger and ignorance of all beings gather over me. I pray that all beings will not acquire a mind of greed, and will not be bound up in body-and-mind. I pray that all beings will soon cross the sea of birth and death, so that I need not face them and feel sorrow. I pray for everyone to attain unsurpassed Enlightenment." When a person practices the Way thus, it sees no Wisdom, no form of Wisdom, nor any who practices Wisdom, and nor the fruition to be achieved. This is practicing Wisdom.

Oh, good man! Someone who thereby practices Shila, Samadhi and Wisdom is a Bodhisattva; one who cannot thereby practice Shila, Samadhi and Wisdom is a Sravaka."

Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 35, on Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 3.

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How to Practice Samadhi

"How does one practice Samadhi? If one, when practicing samadhi, does it to enlighten himself, for profit, not for the sake of all beings, not for the practice of Dharma, but by greed, by defiled food, for sexual reasons, due to impurities of the nine holes, for disputes, for beating and killing others; any person who practices Samadhi thus, is not someone who practices Samadhi.

Oh, good man! What is the true practice of Samadhi? Someone who practices for the sake of all beings, to deploy in the minds of beings the all-equal idea, the non-retroactive Dharma, the holy mind, to enable beings to attain the Mahayana, to guard the Unsurpassed Dharma, for beings do not retrogress from Enlightenment, for them to gain the Surangama (Samadhi), the Vajra Samadhi, Dharanis [i.e., long mantras or magic spells], to enable beings to obtain the four unhinderednesses (wisdom), to enable beings to see the Buddha Nature. And when practicing thus, one sees no Samadhi, nor form of Samadhi, nor a person who practices this, nor any results to be achieved. Oh, good man! If things indeed proceed thus, we say that this person is practicing Samadhi."

Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 35, on Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 3.

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How to Practice the Precepts

The Buddha said:" Oh, good man! There is a man who upholds the prohibitions and precepts, but [does so] for the happiness that he can obtain for himself, for humans and gods, and not to save all beings, and not for protect the unsurpassed Wonderful Dharma, but for profit and for fear of the three unfortunate realms, for the life, lust, power, safety, eloquence, for fear of state laws, evil reputation, for fear of dirty name, and for worldly works. Such guarding and upholding of precepts cannot be called practicing the precepts. Oh, good man! What is the true upholding of the precepts (shila)? When someone upholds precepts, the goal should be to pass the beings to the other shore, to protect the Wonderful Dharma, to save the unsaved, to enlighten the unenlightened, to enable those who have not yet taken refuge taken it, to enable those who have not yet attained Nirvana attain it. Practicing thus, a person does not see precept (shila), how it is actually upheld, the person who upholds precepts, the results to be attained, whether the person has sinned or not. Oh, good man! If anyone acts thus, this is the upholding of precepts (shila)."

Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 35, on Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 3.

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The Practice of the Way

“Oh, good man! You say: 'A person dies moment after moment. How can there be any growth'? But as the mind is not cut off, there is growth. Oh, good man! A man recites. The letters read cannot occur simultaneously. Which came first cannot extend to the middle, and which was read in the middle, cannot go to the end. The man, the letters and the mental image die out moment after moment, and practicing a lot we come to knowledge.

Therefore, know that a person cannot be equal to the others. If were equal, no differences could arise. The same applies to the practice of the Way by a being. By one action, a person may not achieve the goal. But through long practice, it does away with all defilements."

Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 35, on Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 3.

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Abstract of Nirvana Sutra Chapter 34

“In the Path of Bodhi, there is not someone who turns back. Oh, good man! The one who regretted after having start out, now sees those who went before and who have gained the treasures, sees them return undisturbed, and make offerings to their parents, giving to their relatives, enjoying much peace. Seeing this, a fire burns again in his mind, he adorns his body, starts out on the way again, spares no effort, endures all kinds of hardships, and goes to the Mountain of the Seven Treasures.”

Read more in Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 34, on Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 2.

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The Pillars of Samsara

Lion's Roar said: "There are not thorns in the Void. How can we speak of extracting them? Nothing holds the skandhas. How can there be any binding?"

The Buddha said: "Oh, good man! The chain of defilement binds the five skandhas. Away from the five skandhas, there is no defilement; away from defilement, there are no five skandhas.

Oh, good man! The pillars support a house. Away from the house, there are no pillars, and without any pillars, there is no house. It's the same with the five skandhas of beings. When there is defilement, we speak of bondage. When there is no defilement, we speak of Emancipation. Oh, good man! The fist contains the palm (of hand). The three factors of bondage, meeting and dispersion, birth and death, are not different things. The same is the case with the five skandhas of beings. When there is defilement, we have bondage; when we have no defilement, there is Emancipation.”

Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 35, on Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 3.

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The Extinction of the Five Skandhas

"When someone befriends the Buddha, the Buddha's disciples, and the Good Master of the Way, and when he listens to the 12 types of sutras, due to his hearing of Dharma, there comes about a realm of good. When he sees the realm of good, he acquires great Wisdom. Great Wisdom is the correct seeing. When he gains such seeing, he repents of the life of birth and death. In consequence of this repentance, no joy arises [regarding samsara, birth and death]. When he does not feel that joy, he truly destroys the greedy mind. When he destroys the greedy mind, he practices well the Noble Eightfold Path. When he practices the Noble Eightfold Path, he emerges from the birth and death. When there is no birth and death, he gains the Emancipation. When the fire does not meet with the fuel, this is extinction. When there is no more birth and death, we say that we cross over the extinction. This is the extinction of the five skandhas."

Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 35, on Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 3.

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