4. THE SOLITARY LIGHT - THE PURE MIND

Remember that here we intend just to give general guidance within the path without great profundity to allow you to pay attention to the essential teachings and not be driven by an intelligent but false view of Dharma.

The aim is just to correct, if possible, the torpid thoughts and foolishness that normally lead you astray. If you have understood the message concerning the Solitary Light, then questions may arise about this Pure Mind.

Huangbo expressed it clearly and with close attention you may understand it:

"This mind is in and of itself Buddha. Buddha and sensitive beings are not different. But sensitive beings look externally, capturing appearances, the more they look, the more they lose. If they try to find Buddha using Buddha, or use the mind to capture the mind, they encounter nothing.

They do not understand that if you brake your thoughts and forget about your reflections, Buddha appears spontaneously.

This mind is in and of itself Buddha. Buddhas are sensitive creatures. As sensitive creatures this mind does not diminish; as Buddha, this mind does not augment. Including the six perfections, an array of practices and virtues without limit, are inherent and do not need maturity; when they are produced in adequate circumstances they can be used and when these circumstances end then they too rest."

So we have the Conscious mind, which we know as illusion, and the presence of this Solitary Light. Yet this Solitary Light is not some esoteric mind floating in Cosmic Consciousness, but an active mind that neither increases nor decreases yet is capable of Expounding Dharma and Receiving Dharma. As such it too is illusion, but not an illusion that in and of itself is touchable by conscious intellect.

This mind is a form of consciousness and the sincere student should examine here and see the clear relationship between the pure mind as the possible ninth consciousness:

THE DOCTRINE OF MIND

• • ALAYA AND KLISTA MANAS RELATION

  • AMALA-VIJÑANA:THE NINTH CONSCIOUSNESS

Now let it be clear that we have, so to speak, two minds, one consisting of the ninth consciousness and the other consisting of the other eight consciousnesses. Yet they are in a natural state not independent, but act in synergy, through the natural liaison of the Alaya consciousness.

However, in a stained state the communication between them is lost and the cognitive mind becomes dominant as far as attitudes, intentions and the readiness to respond are concerned.

 I said, "we have, so to speak, two minds, yet they are not independent", so there really is "one mind", which is also illusion. One mind, two minds, three minds. Yes, it is all very confusing when cognition tries to sort it out. Yet the real mind is there. This real mind we can say exists when we view the Alaya mind as free and there is no staining in the other consciousnesses.

It is then that we can experience the Solitary Light as it is. Yet the moment we turn that experience into word ideas and phrases it is illusion.

Huangbo described it perfectly:

This mind from the beginning (of human life) has never been born and never passed away. It is neither blue nor yellow; it has no shape and no form. It does not belong to existence or non-existence; it does not count as new or old. It is neither long nor short, neither large nor small. It transcends all limiting measurements, all labels, all traces, all oppositions.

This very being is it; when you stir thoughts, you turn away from it. It is like space, which has no boundaries and cannot be measured.

Try and experience this mind, stained though it might be, right now. You know it is there yet you can't touch it.

Now this sounds all very academic and as such it has little value, but if these explanations help a greater understanding that leads to an experience, which it is essential to develop. Then the words have value, as I have declared, to call attention to the roots and the fruit.