The Emptiness of Mind Is the Mark of Buddhist Attainment

If one believes that all dharmas truly exist, the mind cannot be empty; this is ignorance. If there is any dharma you consider real, it will obstruct you, becoming dust in your mind. This conceptual thought is the delusion of ignorance. Even the aspiration to attain Buddhahood, if regarded as a real dharma, still constitutes ignorance. Only when all ignorance is utterly eradicated, when everything is emptied and not a single dharma remains in the mind, does one become equal to the Tathagatagarbha. Only then can Buddhahood be attained. If, at the final stage of practice, there remains a mind aspiring to Buddhahood, or if the mind holds Buddhahood as a dharma, one still cannot achieve Buddhahood. True accomplishment is attained only when the mind realizes the emptiness of all dharmas internally—signless, wishless, and effortless.

Before the eighth ground, a bodhisattva's mind predominantly involves conditioned activity. Upon reaching the eighth ground, the mind becomes unconditioned and empty. Only then is the mind truly unconditioned and non-acting. Even when making offerings to the Triple Gem or engaging in activities for sentient beings and the Dharma, the mind remains empty. It is then that the Buddha bestows the prediction of Buddhahood. When the mind is not empty, prior to the seventh ground, even if one performs vast amounts of virtuous conditioned actions—diligently making offerings to Buddhas, Dharma, and Sangha—the Buddha will not bestow the prediction. This is because the mind remains conditioned and non-empty, incompatible with the unconditioned nature of the Tathagatagarbha, and ignorance is still heavy. Even if you make offerings to Buddhas life after life, offering all the jewels of a trichiliocosm to the Triple Gem, the Buddha will not bestow the prediction, let alone if you engage in mundane conditioned dharmas.

However, engaging in these conditioned dharmas can increase one’s merit, thereby accumulating the provisions for the wisdom of Buddhahood. Only then can wisdom grow. Therefore, one cannot claim that since all dharmas are empty, there is no need to cultivate any merit. If so, the mind remains unempty, and the sense of self persists. Without the support of merit, the true wisdom of emptiness will not arise. Even if one intellectually understands that certain dharmas are empty, without realization, it is not true emptiness. In action and activity, one remains unempty.

Since the path involves recognizing and realizing the emptiness of all dharmas, when engaging in activities, one should not assume that more actions equate to greater merit; this is not so. When liberating sentient beings, one should not assume that guiding more beings means greater merit; this is also not so. In truth, through engaging in bodhisattva activities like liberating sentient beings, one simultaneously increases personal merit, cultivates compassion, and continuously diminishes the self, extinguishing self-attachment. This allows the mind to grow increasingly empty, increasingly discerning, and increasingly unattached to appearances. Only when the mind’s emptiness reaches a certain depth is true accomplishment attained, enabling great deeds.

The amount of merit is not necessarily proportional to the quantity of actions performed or the number of beings liberated. What matters is the degree of emptiness attained in the mind during these activities—the extent of unconditionedness realized. Therefore, true practitioners do not obsess over how many followers they can influence or convert, believing that such achievements signify the greatest success. Instead, it is the depth of understanding of all dharmas and the degree of mental emptiness that truly reflect one’s realization of the Dharma. This is the standard by which to measure one’s merit and assess one’s bodhisattva stage. Thus, do not cling to appearances. The emptier and more unconditioned the mind is toward appearances, the deeper the realization and the higher the stage. Observe the underlying intention through the appearance. In practice, never grasp or cling to any appearance.

Even if you conduct a hundred Dharma assemblies a year, guide millions of beings, write a hundred books, or make offerings of billions to the Triple Gem, these are all conditioned dharmas. Using them to foster inner attachment and arrogance is the mark of self. Clinging to appearances, the more attached the mind, the less empty it becomes, and the lower the stage and realization. Without understanding this principle, one will frantically engage in and compete over conditioned activities: "I am stronger than all," "I am more capable than all," "I am first," "I am unique." All such so-called achievements are entirely rooted in appearances, entirely conditioned, entirely clinging. The mind remains utterly unempty. This becomes karma binding one to samsara. The more one engages in such actions, the less empty the mind becomes, the deeper the ignorance, and the farther from liberation.

Some may not engage in as many activities, yet they possess the wisdom of emptiness, seeing through the essence of all things, unswayed by phenomena, not trapped in appearances. With profound wisdom of emptiness, they naturally inspire others to empty their minds and refrain from clinging. Thus, the quality of liberating sentient beings is high. If a bodhisattva’s mind is unempty, how can the minds of their disciples become empty? If the bodhisattva clings to appearances, those who follow will cling even more. This is contrary to the path, incompatible with the Dharma. Therefore, spiritual practice means breaking through appearances, shattering the ignorance within one’s mind. Clinging to appearances is attachment to dharmas (dharma-grasping), which is also the root of samsara.

The scope of dharma-grasping is vast. Any form of grasping constitutes dharma-grasping, including the ego-attachment to the five aggregates and the subtler, more extensive dharmas beyond them. How to break dharma-grasping? First, one must realize the Tathagatagarbha and cultivate the wisdom of consciousness-only. Then, observe whether all dharmas truly exist or possess inherent autonomy. Through profound investigation, one discovers that all dharmas arise from the Tathagatagarbha dependent on certain conditions—all are illusory, arising and ceasing, devoid of inherent reality, autonomy, or independence. In essence, they are all functions of the Tathagatagarbha, a single dharma within the one true Dharma-realm, entirely operated by the Tathagatagarbha. There is truly nothing to grasp or attain. Thus, the mind loosens, no longer grasping, and dharma-grasping is broken.

If the mundane realm has no substantial conditioned appearances, what is left to engage in? When the mind is ultimately empty, Buddhahood is attained. When the ignorant grasping of every dharma is extinguished, there is nothing left to crave or cling to. The path to breaking dharma-grasping is extremely long—from the first ground to Buddhahood, spanning two great asamkhyeya kalpas. One asamkhyeya kalpa is spent breaking ego-grasping, and two asamkhyeya kalpas are dedicated to breaking dharma-grasping. Merely severing the view of self requires a long journey, illustrating the difficulty of practice and the depth of ignorance and clinging within the manas (mind-root).

All clinging—both ego-grasping and dharma-grasping—originates from the manas. Since the manas clings so tenaciously, one must break the clinging of the manas. This begins with shattering the manas’ view of self and view of dharmas, breaking the conceptual entanglements of the manas. Thus, one must sever the manas’ view of self and view of dharmas. The perception that all dharmas are real must be dismantled bit by bit. Only then can clinging diminish and cease. When clinging is utterly extinguished, ignorance is completely severed, and the mind is wholly empty, Buddhahood is attained.

The mark of accomplishment in practice lies in the degree of mental emptiness—the extent to which ignorant views are broken, how much is eradicated. When one sees through the emptiness of all dharmas’ characteristics, observing how they are empty, selfless, non-autonomous, unreal, arising, ceasing, and changing, the mind becomes empty. Then, one no longer wishes to engage in meaningless conditioned actions. Internally, there are no signs, no aspirations, and no actions—aligning with the Tathagatagarbha, one becomes a Tathagata Buddha.