A Commentary Literature on ‘Faith in Mind’

Chapter 5. Don’t Abide in Anything

Do not pursue conditioned existences;
Do not abide in acceptance of Emptiness.

Commentary by Wong Weng Hon

This is the fifth portion of the Chan poem ‘Faith in Mind’ composed by Third Chinese Chan Patriarch ((6th-7th century C.E).’Faith in Mind’ is highly readable and recommended for serious practitioners of Chan meditators or practitioners in particular and the general Buddhist cultivators in general. It embodies the quintessence of the entire Buddhist Tripiṭaka. The commentator, Wong Weng Hon, holds a degree from the Post-graduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies of Kelaniya University, Colombo, Sri Lanka. He specializes in the Sūtras of Perfection of Wisdom ( Prajñāpāramitā-sūtras), especially the Diamond Sūtra (Prajñāpāramitā Vajraccedikā Sūtra) with the completion of his thesis: Prajñāpāramitā-sūtras: Elimination of Ontological Commitment Appeases the Human Mind. He was a former Buddhist Studies lecturer of International Buddhist College (IBC), Southern Thailand.  

All phenomena of the empirical world are conditioned existences. In other words, they are dependently co-arisen from various conditions. A t the human level, all karmic activities are conditioned by greed, hatred and delusion. All conditioned existences are devoid of any permanent self, soul or intrinsic nature. They are not real and are illusionary like the magic shows which appear real but are actually unreal. Therefore, one should not be attached to conditioned things as they are impermanent, reliable to suffering and non-substantial or non-self. Suffering occurs because the wordlings pursue conditioned existences which are wrongly viewed. They are not viewed as they really are. They mistake the rope to be the snake and the mirage to be the water. They perceive impermanence as permanence; they perceive suffering as happiness; they perceive non-self and self. The worldlings are perverse. Owing to perversion, they are subject or liable to suffering.

When the true nature of things are known to be empty, one should not also dwell in or be attached to the notion of Emptiness. Emptiness should be utilized as an expedient device (upāya) to penetrate into the Law of Dependent Co-arising and Non-self. If one is attached to the notion of Emptiness, it is like a person holding a poisonous snake in the wrong way. The snake strikes back. All views must be relinquished. The relinquishing of all views including the view of Emptiness. Having relinquished all views, one enters the supreme way.