Interreligious dialogue : Detachement

B lessed One, what is meant by this term Nirvana?" Replied the Buddha,
"When the self-nature and the habit-energy of all the
sense-discriminations, includ- ing ego (alaya), intellect (manas), and the
faculty of judgment (manovijnana), from which issue the habit-energy of
wrong speculations--when all these go through a revulsion, I and all the
Buddhas declare that there is Nirvana. The way and the self-nature of
this Nirvana is emptiness, which is the state of reality."

quote 4307 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Lankavatara Sutra 38

T he doing away with the notion of cause and condition, the giving up of a causal agency, the establishment of the Mind-only--this I state to be no-birth.

The getting-rid of the idea that things are caused, the removal of the dualism of imagined and imagining, the being liberated from the alternatives of being and non-being--this I state to be no-birth.

No external [separate] existence, no non-existence, not even the grasping of mind; things are like a dream, a hair-net, Maya, a mirage... this is what characterizes no-birth.

It is only in accordance with general convention that a chain of mutual dependence is talked of; birth has no sense when the chain of dependence is severed.

If [someone holds that] there is anything born somewhere apart from concatenation [the chain of mutual relations], he is one who is to be recognized as an advocate of no-causation as he destroys concatenation.

If concatenation worked [from outside] like a lamp revealing all kinds of things, this means the presence of something outside concatenation itself.

All things are devoid of self-nature [separate existence], have never been born, and in their original nature are [transparent] like the sky; things separated from concatenation belong to the discrimination of the ignorant.

When this entire world is regarded as concatenation, as nothing else but concatenation, then the mind gains tranquillity.

quote 4159 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Lankavatara Sutra 78

W hen no offence is offered by them, they are as if non-existent;
When the mind is not disturbed, it is as if there is no mind.
The subject is quieted as the object ceases;
The object ceases as the subject is quieted.

The object is an object for the subject;
The subject is a subject for an object.
Know that the relativity of the two
Rests ultimately on the oneness of the Void.

In the oneness of the Void, the two are one,
And each of the two contains in itself all the ten thousand things.
When no discrimination is made between this and that,
How can a one-sided and prejudiced view arise?

quote 3759 | The Seng-ts’an
Hsin-hsin ming “Inscription on the Self of the Self”, Suzuki, 1960, pp. 76-82

E ven after the Truth has been realized, there remains that strong, beginningless, obstinate impression that one is the agent and experiencer... This has to be carefully removed by living in a state of constant identification with the supreme Self. Sages call that cessation of mental impressions, "Liberation."

quote 3700 | (Adi Shankaracharya) Shankara
Vivekachudamani; Prahhavananda, 1947;

I n order to reach the summit of this high mount, (the soul) must have changed its garments (resulting in) a new understanding of God in God, the old human understanding being cast aside; and a new love of God in God, the will being now stripped of all its old desires and human pleasures, and the soul being brought into a new state of knowledge and profound delight, all other old images and forms of knowledge having been cast away, and all that belongs to the old man, which is the aptitude of the natural self, quelled, and the soul clothed with a new supernatural aptitude with respect to all its faculties. So that its operation, which before was human, has become Divine, which is that that is attained in the state of union, wherein the soul becomes naught else than an altar whereon God is adored in praise and love, and God alone is upon it …

quote 3461 | Saint John of the Cross
Ascent of Mount Carmel. Trans. E. Allison Peers, Book 1, Chapter 5, Paragraph 7

H ere our reason and every activity characterized by the making of distinctions must give way, for our powers now become simply one in love, grow silent, and incline toward the Father's face, since this revelation of the Father raises the soul above reason to a state of imageless bareness. There the soul is simple, spotless, and pure, empty of everything. In this pure emptiness the Father reveals his divine resplendence, which neither reason nor senses, neither rational observation nor distinctions can attain.

quote 2828 | John Ruusbroec
John Ruusbroec, adapted from John Ruusbroec: The Spritual Espousals and Other Works, translated by James Wiseman (Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1985)

A fterward, I saw him in a darkness, and in a darkness precisely because the good that he is, is far too great to be conceived or understood. Indeed, anything conceivable or understandable does not attain this good or even come near it.

quote 2817 | Angela of Foligno
Angela of Foligno, from Angela of Foligno: Complete Works, translated by Paul Lachance (Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press,1993).

T hat human being who is inwardly illumined by the light of the Holy Spirit cannot endure the vision of it, but falls face down on the ground and cries out in great fear and wonder, because he has seen and experienced something that is beyond nature, thought, or conception.

quote 2807 | Saint Symeon the New Theologian
The Philokalia: The Complete Text, vol. 4 (London: Faber & Faber, 1995)

W ith repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in its source. When the mind that is subtle goes out through the brain and the sense-organs, the gross names and forms appear; when it stays in the heart, the names and forms disappear. Not letting the mind go out but retaining it in the Heart is what is called "inwardness (antar-mukha). Letting the mind to go out of the Heart is known as "externalization" (bahirmukha). Thus, when the mind stays in the Heart, the "I" which is the source of all thoughts will go, and the Self which ever exists will shine. Whatever one does, one should do without the egoity “I" If one acts in that way, all will appear as of the nature of Shiva (God).

quote 2703 | Ramana Maharshi
The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi (Tiruvannamailai, India: Sri Ramanasraman, 1979).

W hen it is said that all things are egoless, it means that all things are devoid of self-hood. Each thing may have its own individuality - the being of a horse is not of cow nature-it is such as it is of its own nature and is thus discriminated by the ignorant, but, nevertheless, its own nature is of the nature of a dream or a vision. That is why the ignorant and the simple minded, who are in the habit of discriminating appearances, fail to understand the significance of egolessness. It is not until discrimination is gotten rid of that the fact that all things are empty, un-born and without self-nature can be appreciated.

quote 2606 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch XII, p.345, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

H e is master of the Dhyanas and enters into the Samadhis, but to reach the higher stages one must pass beyond the Dhyanas, the immeasurables, the world of no-forrn, and the bliss of the Samadhis into the Samapattis leading to the cessation of thought itself.
The dhyana-practiser, dhyana, the subject of dhyana, the cessation of thought, once-returning, never-returning, all these are divided and bewildering states of mind. Not until all discrimination is abandoned is there perfect emancipation.

quote 2600 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch IX, p.336, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

T hat is, the goal of tranquillization is to be reached not by suppressing all mind activity but by getting rid of discriminations and attachments.

quote 2596 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch VII, p.323, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

T o practice dhyana, the earnest disciple should retire to a quiet and solitary place, remembering that life-long habits of discriminative thinking cannot be broken off easily nor quickly.

quote 2593 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch VII, p.321, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

S o long as the mind is distracted and is making conscious effort, there can be no culmination as regards the various vehicles; it is only when the mind is alone and quiet that it is able to forsake the discriminations of the external world and seek realization of an inner realm where there is neither vehicle nor one who rides in it.

quote 2590 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch VII, p.320, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

B ut the cessation of the discriminating-mind can not take place until there has been a "turning-about" in the deepest seat of consciousness. The mental habit of looking outward by the discriminating-mind upon an external objective world must be given up, and a new habit of realizing Truth within the intuitive-mind by becoming one with Truth itself must be established. Until this intuitive self-realization of Noble Wisdom is attained, the evolving mind-system will go on. But when an insight into the five Dharmas, the three self-natures, and the twofold egolessness is attained, then the way will be opened for this turning-about to take place. With the ending of pleasure and pain, of conflicting ideas, of the disturbing interests of egoism, a state of tranquillization will be attained in which the truths of emancipation will be fully understood and there will be no further evil out-flowings of the mind-system to interfere with the perfect self-realization of Noble Wisdom.

quote 2578 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch.IV, p.309, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

B y the cessation of the sense-minds is meant, not the cessation of their perceiving functions, but the cessation of their discriminating and naming activities which are centralized in the discriminating mortal-mind. By the cessation of the mind-system as a whole is meant, the cessation of discrimination, the clearing away of the various attachments, and, therefore, the clearing away of the defilements of habit-energy in the face of Universal Mind which have been accumulating since beginningless time by reason of these discriminations, attachments, erroneous reasoning, and following acts. The cessation of the continuation aspect of the mind-system as a whole, takes place when there is the cessation of that which supports the mind-system, namely, the discriminating mortal-mind. With the cessation of mortal-mind the entire world of maya and desire disappears. Getting rid of the discriminating mortal-mind is Nirvana.

quote 2577 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch.IV, p.309, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

A s a mirror reflects forms, the perceiving senses perceive appearances which the discriminating-mind gathers together and proceeds to discriminate, to name and become attached to.

quote 2572 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch.IV, p.304, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

T he mind-system which is the source of the evil out-flowings consists of the five sense-organs and their accompanying sense-minds all of which are unified in the discriminating-mind. There is an unending succession of sense-concepts flowing into this discriminating or thinking-mind which combines them and discriminates them and passes judgment upon them as to their goodness or badness. Then follows aversion to or desire for them and attachment and deed; thus the entire system moves on continuously and closely bound together. But it fails to see and understand that what it sees and discriminates and grasps is only a manifestation of its own activity and has no other basis, and so the mind goes on erroneously perceiving and discriminating differences of forms and qualities, not remaining still even for a minute.

quote 2571 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch.IV, p.303, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

T he five Dharmas are: appearance, name, discrimination, right-knowledge and Reality. By Appearance is meant that which reveals itself to the senses and to the discriminating-mind and is perceived as form, sound, odor, taste, and touch. Out of these appearances ideas are formed, such as clay, water, jar, etc., by which one says: this is such and such a thing and is no other, this is name. When appearances are contrasted and names compared, as when we say: this is an elephant, this is a horse, a cart, a pedestrian, a man, a woman, or, this is mind and what belongs to it, -the things thus named are said to be discriminated. As these discriminations come to be seen as mutually conditioning, as empty of self-substance, as un-born, and thus come to be seen as they truly are, that is, as manifestations of the mind itself,-this is right-knowledge. By it the wise cease to regard appearances and names as realities.

quote 2566 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch.IV, p.299, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

W hen it is clearly understood that there is nothing in the world but what is seen of the mind itself, discrimination no more rises, and the wise are established in their true abode which is the realm of quietude. The ignorant discriminate and work trying to adjust themselves to external conditions, and are constantly perturbed in mind; unrealities are imagined and discriminated, while realities are unseen and ignored.

quote 2563 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch.III, p.297, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

E rror is like maya, also, and as maya is incapable from producing other maya, so error in itself cannot produce error; it is discrimination and attachment that produce evil thoughts and faults. Moreover, maya has no power of discrimination in itself; it only rises when invoked by the charm of the magician. Error has in itself no habit-energy; habit-energy only rises from discrimination and attachment. Error in itself has no faults; faults are due to the confused discriminations fondly cherished by the ignorant concerning the ego-soul and its mind. The wise have nothing to do either with maya or error.

quote 2552 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch.II, p.292, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

T hen said Mahamati to the Blessed One: Why is it that the ignorant are given up to discrimination and the wise are not?
The Blessed One replied: It is because the ignorant cling to names, signs and ideas; as their minds move along these channels they feed on multiplicities of objects and fall into the notion of an ego-soul and what belongs to it; they make discriminations of good and bad among appearances and cling to the agreeable. As they thus cling there is a reversion to ignorance, and karma born of greed, anger and folly, is accumulated. As the accumulation of karma goes on they become imprisoned in a cocoon of discrimination and are thenceforth unable to free themselves from the round of birth and death.

quote 2540 | The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch I, p.282, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

W hile the Tathagata, in his teaching, constantly makes use of conceptions and ideas about them, disciples should keep ill mind the unreality of all such conceptions and ideas. They should recall that the Tathagata, in making use of them in explaining the Dharma always uses them in the resemblance of a raft that is of use only to cross a river. As the raft is of no further use after the river is crossed, it should be discarded. So these arbitrary conceptions of things and about things should be wholly given up as one attains enlightenment. How much more should be given up conceptions of non-existent things (and everything is non-existent).

quote 2536 | The Maha Prajna Paramita
Diamond Sutra, 6, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

M oreover, these sentient beings must have also discarded all arbitrary ideas relating to the conceptions of a personal self, other personalities, living beings and a Universal Self, because if they had not, their minds would inevitably grasp after such relative ideas. Further, these sentient beings must have already discarded all arbitrary ideas relating to the conception of the non-existence of a personal self, other personalities, living beings and a Universal Self. If they had not, their minds would still be grasping after such ideas. Therefore, every disciple who is seeking Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi should discard, not only conceptions of one's own selfhood, other selves, living beings and a Universal Selfhood, but should discard, also, all ideas about such conceptions and all ideas about the non-existence of such conceptions.

quote 2535 | The Maha Prajna Paramita
Diamond Sutra, 6, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

T hen the Lord made this more emphatic by saying:-Subhuti, when disciples begin their practice of seeking to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, they ought thus to see, to perceive, to know, to understand, and to realize that all things and all Dharmas are no-things, and, therefore, they ought not to conceive within their minds any arbitrary conceptions whatever.

quote 2529 | The Maha Prajna Paramita
Diamond Sutra, 31, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

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Detachement > from discrimination