A Commentary Literature on ‘Faith in Mind’

Chapter 9: Relinquishing All Views

Banish existence and you fall into existence;
Follow Emptiness and you turn your back on it.

Commentary By Wong Weng Hon

When one faces a problem or difficulty in life, one is normally obsessed or taken up by the problem and also by the idea of overcoming the problem or difficulty. Attachment to the problem is a form of suffering; attachment to the idea of overcoming the problem is another form of suffering. The anguish arises from the substantial view of oneself as the subject and the problem as the object. There are two substantial entities which bother the victim. The Buddha teaches that the problem and the victim are one and the same. There are no two separate substantial entities. If one lets go clinging on the problem and the idea of overcoming the problem, sufferings ceases. Modern Chan master Seng Yen of Taiwan  preached in Kuala Lumpur  a few years ago  that when one confronts  a problem, one  should face  it calmly (not to cling to it), accepts  it calmly ( not to cling to it), manages it mindfully and wisely (not to cling to it )  and  having dealt with it responsibly, let go completely (not to cling to it totally). This is indeed a beautiful piece of admonition to all practitioners. If one rejects or repels one’s existing problem, one is enslaved by it. A practitioner is trained to perceive Emptiness (of inherent existence) of all things or phenomena of the empirical world. Having learnt the view of Emptiness, one should not be attached to the view of Emptiness. All views including the view of Emptiness should be relinquished to enter the Supreme Way (Enlightened Path or State). Any attachment to view will move one away from the track of the Supreme Way. Emptiness view is just like a raft. Having crossed the far shore, one should abandon it. This is a very important golden advice in the practice of true Dharma. One should be mindful and wise not to allow any method of practice to entangle oneself.

While the Indian Prince  was still a Bodhisatta, he attained  the highest level of concentration of his mind  at the realm of neither perception and non-perception  in which he was totally free from thoughts (known as emptiness samādhi) he let go this complete emptiness of thoughts and reached the  attainment of cessation which he did not even grasp at. Consequently, he attained the 6th supernormal knowledge of the complete destruction of cankers-the supreme enlightenment of a Tathāgata.