Preface
In this world, most people are busy living day after day, chasing external success and recognition, but few people really explore the truth in their hearts. People often indulge in desires and cling to material things, while ignoring the true meaning of life - awakening. Such a life, although seemingly fulfilling, is actually an endless loss. Only by thoroughly understanding the essence of life and getting rid of falsehood can we find true happiness and freedom.
Next, we will lead you from a false life to your true self, and by breaking through the "self-attachment" and "dharma-attachment", you can enter a deeper level of inner awakening. Only by correcting your own thoughts can you truly be liberated and move towards the light of wisdom.
The world of illusion: a life addicted to illusions
Most people are pursuing worldly success, believing that wealth, status, fame, and sensual enjoyment are the source of happiness. But such pursuit will only bring more anxiety, pain, and emptiness. People use all their efforts and unscrupulous means to try to control everything outside, but they don’t know that the real dilemma comes from within.
If a person's heart is full of obsession, falsehood and deception, no matter how rich his life is, he is just living in hell; on the contrary, even if he is in adversity, if he can fully understand the truth, his heart can still be pure and joyful, just like being in heaven. True beauty does not come from external decoration, but from the brilliance that blooms from the inner truth. Only true awakening can free people from the shackles of falsehood and find the true meaning of life.
Towards truth: Breaking free from the shackles of falsehood
Many people spend their entire lives acting. From childhood to old age, they have long been accustomed to surviving with false smiles, lies, and disguises. Such "acting skills" even make them believe it, thinking that the world is like this and life is an inevitable hypocritical game. However, this twisted way of survival ultimately only brings loneliness and pain.
True practice is to change yourself from the inside out, rather than simply changing your external behavior.
- Stop deceiving and calculating, and return to your true self. Learn to be sincere to others and don’t use hypocrisy to cover up your fear.
- Change your distorted thinking and face the reality. Stop using excuses to cover up your mistakes and face your inner problems bravely.
- Get rid of external attachment and find inner peace. Life is not a drama. Put aside the performance and live your true self.
Only in this way can we no longer be trapped by worldly troubles and truly move towards freedom and awakening.
The path of wisdom to dispel delusion: from the emptiness of the five aggregates to the Treatise on the One Hundred Dharmas
“All five aggregates are empty” It is an important core of Buddhist wisdom. It tells us that the five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness) that constitute the "self" are essentially impermanent and illusory. It is precisely because we mistakenly believe that the five aggregates are real that we will give rise to "self-attachment" and fall into pain and attachment.
Furthermore, the Treatise on the Hundred Dharmas explains in detail all mental phenomena (mental phenomena, mental factors), matter (material phenomena), and various conceptual existences (mental non-associated phenomena), helping us understand: "I" is not a fixed existence, and all things (dharma) are just temporary phenomena under the combination of causes and conditions.
The significance of understanding this is:
- Everything we cling to (wealth, affection, fame, status) is temporary and will eventually change or disappear.
- "I" does not exist independently, but is a collection of the five aggregates. Clinging to "I" will only bring pain.
- Since neither "I" nor "Dharma" is permanent, we do not need to care about the various evaluations and gains and losses of the outside world, but should focus on inner practice.
Breaking down the attachment to self and the attachment to dharma: towards ultimate liberation
In the journey of life, the most fundamental bondage comes from our attachment. Buddhism believes that the root of suffering lies in **"self-attachment"and"Dharma attachment".“Ego”It refers to the wrong cognition of "self". We stubbornly believe that "I am independent, real, and unchanging", and based on this, we establish attachment to self-interest, identity, and emotions, thus generating greed, hatred, fear, and anxiety."Dharma attachment"** is the attachment to all external phenomena, believing that things in the world are fixed, and thus being obsessed with the pursuit of material things, relationships, fame, and power.These two are the core sources of all troubles and suffering.
To truly move towards ultimate liberation, one must **analyze the roots of "self-attachment" and "attachment to dharma" layer by layer, and gradually let go of them through practice. **This is not just a theoretical understanding, but requires in-depth thinking, observation and practice to truly transcend.
Step 1: Recognize the illusory nature of ego
What exactly is "I"? We always habitually say "I am thinking", "I am angry", "I am successful" or "I am in pain", but where is this "I"?
In Buddhism, the "I" is just a collection of the five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness), and has no fixed entity:
- color: refers to the body, which is composed of the four elements of earth, water, fire and wind, and is constantly changing (such as aging and disease).
- by: refers to feelings. Our emotions and feelings are changing all the time, and nothing is fixed.
- think: refers to thoughts. People’s thinking changes every day, and today’s thoughts may be different tomorrow.
- OK: refers to behavior and will. Our choices are influenced by the external environment, experience, and memory, and are also constantly changing.
- knowledge: Refers to consciousness, our cognition and understanding that changes over time and experience.
**If "I" really exists, it should be constant, but the reality is that our body, feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and consciousness are constantly changing, so what exactly is "I"? **It is just a temporary combination of the five aggregates, not an independent entity.
However, due to long-standing habits, we habitually believe that "I" is real and constantly strengthen it:
- Obsession with identity: We think that “I am a certain role”, such as “I am the director of a certain company”, “I am a parent”, “I am a member of a certain nation”, so once our identity is challenged or lost, we will fall into great pain.
- Clinging to feelings: Believing that "my emotions are real", I am therefore swayed by joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness and cannot maintain inner peace.
- Obsessed with appearance and body: Believe that "my body must stay young, healthy and beautiful", but aging and illness are inevitable, so they are constantly anxious and afraid of death.
These attachments make us live in pain all the time.True awakening is to see through the illusory nature of "I" and realize that "I" is only a temporary product of cause and condition, not a constant and unchanging entity.
Practical methods
- Reflection on the unreality of “I”:
- Observe your own body. From infancy, adolescence, adulthood, to old age, it changes every day. Which stage is the real "me"?
- Observe your own emotions. You may experience joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness in a day. Which emotion is the real "me"?
- Observe your own thoughts. The beliefs you held in the past may have changed long ago, or even become completely opposite. Which thought is the real "me"?
- Let go of your attachment to “self”:
- When faced with criticism, ask yourself: "Where is the 'me' being criticized? If the 'me' is constantly changing, does the criticism really matter?"
- When you encounter failure, ask yourself, "Who is failing? If 'I' am not fixed, then what does failure matter?"
- When you feel pain, observe the nature of the pain and ask yourself, “Is this pain fixed? Will it eventually go away?”
Step 2: Recognize the illusion of “attachment to dharma”
"Dharma attachment" refers to our attachment to all external things, believing that they are real and permanent.However, everything in the world is the product of cause and condition, and is changing all the time.
For example:
- money: You may have a lot of wealth today, but you may lose all your wealth tomorrow due to market changes or accidents. Money is not fixed.
- relation: Today you have a good relationship with someone, but tomorrow you may drift apart due to misunderstanding or changes in environment. All relationships are impermanent.
- Success and failure: A person may be a social elite today, but may fall to the bottom tomorrow due to various factors. There is no fixed standard for so-called "success".
**"Dharma" is essentially impermanent, and our attachment to it will only bring more suffering in the end. **Therefore, true awakening is not to grasp something "permanent", but to accept that everything is changing and find freedom in change.
Practical methods
- Observe the impermanence of external things:
- Observe the changes in the weather: from sunny to rainy, no day is fixed.
- Observe the changes in your interpersonal relationships: friends, family, and colleagues may be close today but drift apart tomorrow.
- Observe the changes in society: the rise and fall of empires in history, the advancement of technology, nothing is constant.
- Reduce your attachment to external things:
- When you lose something, remind yourself: “It is impermanent and loss is natural.”
- When you encounter difficulties, think: "This is only temporary, no need to be too obsessed."
- When you own something, remind yourself, “This is only temporary, and I don’t have to rely on it to define myself.”
Step 3: Transcend attachment and move towards ultimate liberation
When we truly break through the "self-attachment" and "dharma-attachment", our hearts will no longer be troubled by emotions, material things, relationships, success or failure, and we will enter into true freedom and awakening.
- No longer afraid of losing: Because we know that everything is impermanent, loss is not really a loss.
- No longer obsessed with identity: Because we know that "I" is just a combination of the five aggregates, and identity is just a temporary label.
- No longer suffering from external changes: Because we know that everything is the result of cause and condition, we accept changes and follow the cause and condition.
Eventually, we will transcend the binary opposition - no longer distinguishing between "good" and "bad", no longer clinging to "gain" and "loss", but treating everything with equality. When we truly do:
- No Self: No longer cling to the concept of "I" and live freely.
- Unable to: No longer bound by the world's appearances, follow the cause and effect.
- Fearless: No longer fear loss, failure, or change, and truly dwell in the wisdom of awakening.
**True awakening is not to escape from the world, but to face the world with clearer wisdom. **When we break away from attachment, we will find that we already have everything, we are inherently complete, and the answers to all problems are in this moment of awakening.
Conclusion: Awakening starts from now
Awakening is not achieved overnight, but a process of continuous awareness, thinking, and practice. By breaking through the "self-attachment" and "dharma-attachment", we can find true wisdom and liberation, get rid of external falsehood, and return to inner peace.
From today on, observe your obsessions, let go of your excessive obsession with "self" and "things", and let your heart be truly free. Only by transcending falsehood can you move towards the path of true awakening!
The future of the world is determined by our thoughts and actions.
Today, give yourself a challenge -
💡 Look at yourself and the world with an awakened eye!
💖 Use actions of love to encourage more people to awaken!
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Awakening is not a moment, but a journey. I look forward to traveling with you!🚀
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