Being Aware Of Our Own Buddha Nature

When the Sixth Zen Master Hui-Neng walked from Shing-Zhou to Huang-Mei over a course of a little over one month to meet the Fifth Zen Master for the first time, the Fifth Master asked Hui-Neng who he was, and what he wanted. Hui-Neng, who was not the Sixth Master yet, replied that he was a lay person from Shing-Zhou who wanted only to reach Buddhahood and nothing more.

When the Fifth Master was finally looking to pass on his position, his lead lecturer, Sheng-Shou constructed the poem below:

Our Bodies are alike the Bodhi Tree

Our Minds are alike the Bright Mirror

We Need to Constantly Clean

To Keep Them Dustfree and Pure

The Fifth Master realized that Lecturer Sheng-Shou still was not aware of his own Buddha Nature, and had not seen past the impermanent nature of material things. Thus, the Fifth Master did not pass Tao to the Lecturer. After overhearing another monk’s recitation of the Lecturer’s poem, Hui-Neng also constructed a poem:

The Bodhi Tree Originally Did Not Exist

Nor Was the Existence of the Bright Mirror

Since There Were Nothing to Begin With

How and Where Would Any Dust Accumulate

The Fifth Master realized that Hui-Neng was already aware of his Buddha Nature and had seen past the existence of material things, and thus transmitted Tao to Hui-Neng as well as granting him the title of Zen Master.

The essence of “The Sutra of the Sixth Master Hui-Neng” is:

Our Bodhi Nature Was Pure to Begin With

By Following this Innate Nature,

We Will Become Buddhas

We would all be Buddhas if we always follow our Buddha Nature in our every action. It should be obvious how important being spiritually aware is. From past to present, the goal of all who practiced Tao, as well as the criteria in The Fifth Master’s decision on who to pass the position to, is the awareness of one’s own Buddha Nature. It is also our only obstacle of reaching Buddhahood ourselves. The importance and preciousness of being aware of our own Buddha Nature cannot be emphasized enough.

The Fifth Master was in the Red Period, when one needs to finish practice Tao prior to receiving Tao. To receive Tao was a very difficult task. For example, the Buddha was born into royalty as a prince due to his exceptional Karma, and had a very comfortable life in the palace. When he gave all that up to seek Tao, he did not have servants tending to his every need nor his family to keep his company. The Buddha finally reached enlightenment after approximately six years of living like this. Someone with such an exceptionally good Karma still needed to endure six years of harsh life to reach Tao; the rest of the people practicing Tao were sure to have an even harsher time.

We are presently in the White Period, and Tao befalls on every lay person. We are able to receive Tao first, then, practice Tao with guidance from Buddhas. Our fortunate Yuan(緣, cosmic connection) has allowed us to receive Tao from the Holy Teacher, who watches over us and guides us as we practice Tao. Our Holy Teacher tells us what Awareness is, what Buddha Nature is, and guides us to be aware of our own Buddha Nature after transmitting to us the precious Tao that countless many have sought. This is quite precious and fortunate timing for us.

What is the meaning of “being aware of one’s own Buddha Nature”? It is being aware and understanding our own Buddha Nature and knowing that it is no more in Buddhas and no less in us. We know that we were all originally Buddhas, but that our nature has been contaminated and in the process we have forgotten about our Buddha Nature. We have been trapped in the reincarnation cycle since our spirits were contaminated, and our Buddha Nature gradually lost way to human nature. Now that we are once again aware, we need to restore our Buddha Nature by practicing Tao and following Tao in our every action and every thought.

This is a very simple concept, but in the past, Tao was not prevalent and could only be obtained when one has completely purified oneself. Also, Tao was only passed from one to one, thus, it was very rare to meet and receive Tao from a true master.

Due to the option of being able to receive Tao first prior to completely purifying ourselves, we have greatly reduced the energy and effort in finding a true master — in the White Period, The Holy Teacher. Buddhas’ communication has informed us that we were forgiven 70% and only need to practice 30%. Due to our fortunate timing and God’s grace, we do not need to spend a lot of energy( 70%) in seeking Tao; we only need to focus on the practice of Tao since we are able to receive it so easily.

We need to practice Tao and constantly purify ourselves — taking away our bad habits and temper. Since we have already found the path back to the True Heaven, we need to save our families and friends by sharing this precious Tao with them. Then, we can all practice Tao and return to be by God’s side. All who have reached Buddhahood are largely propelled by the will to save others’ spirits. The Buddha, and the Sixth Master Hui-Neng were both only focused on saving others once enlightened — signifying the importance of saving others’ spirits.