How a Bodhisattva Practices Wisdom and Detachment

Since the light of wisdom cannot exist with the darkness of stupidity, the Bodhisattva who practises Wisdom Paramita strives to avoid the causes of stupidity. For example, he is averse to good dharma, lazy, and dull, and reaches out and acts without proper mindfulness, etc. Instead, he devotes himself to attaining a wider range of wisdom, such as various kinds of meditation and the wisdom of the divine powers. There are three kinds of wisdom: first, the wisdom that comes from hearing; second, the wisdom that comes from thinking; and third, the wisdom that comes from practicing. I. Wisdom by Hearing: In order to bring wisdom by hearing to maturity, the Bodhisattva cultivates wisdom by reading, listening, learning, remembering, questioning, and analyzing with correct mindfulness, diligence, and wisdom, using methodical wisdom as the foundation. The overall combination of the wisdom through hearing is: (1) the Five Aggregates, the Twelve Divisions, the Eighteen Realms, the Four Noble Truths, the Twenty-two Roots, the Twelve Causes, the Thirty-seven Bodhicitta Points consisting of the Four Noble Truths, and the various types of dharmas, such as good and evil. (ii) Worldly knowledge that is beyond reproach and helps to bring happiness and welfare to all beings. In this way, the Bodhisattva cultivates the wisdom gained through hearing and becomes a wise man, realizing himself and establishing wisdom for others. Similarly, in order to serve all sentient beings, the Bodhisattva cultivates the wisdom to immediately find the appropriate method in the local area, i.e., the wisdom of skillful methods. By utilizing this wisdom, the Bodhisattva has the ability to recognize what is helpful and what is destructive when interacting with others. Secondly, the wisdom that comes from contemplation: The Bodhisattva cultivates the wisdom that comes from contemplation by y scrutinizing the Four Noble Truths, the Five Aggregates, the Twelve Divisions, the Eighteen Realms, the Twenty-two Roots, the Twelve Causes, and the Thirty-seven Bodhi Points, all of which are the ultimate dharmas. Carefully reading, listening, learning and memorizing the Five Aggregates and other actual dharmas is the wisdom that comes from hearing. The wisdom that comes from thinking is to think first and then examine the actual dharmas that one has read, heard, learned, and memorized. Third, the wisdom of practice: After thoroughly understanding the characteristics and ****phases of the Five Aggregates and other ultimate dharmas and establishing the knowledge of the Mundane Truth, the Bodhisattva then meditates in order to attain the wisdom of practice in the previous part, that is, the first nine contemplations, such as the contemplation wisdom of observing the impermanence of the existing dharmas, suffering, and the absence of self. By practicing the wisdom of contemplation in this way, the Bodhisattva fully realizes that the objects outside and inside the body are only phenomena of the noumenon: this group of natural phenomena is only noumena, which are born and extinguished according to karma. In fact, there is no creator or created. Names and colors must disappear after they arise, so they are impermanent. Since it is constantly arising and disappearing, it is suffering. Since it is uncontrollable, it is egoless. Viewing the reality of internal and external objects in this way, the Bodhisattva gives up his attachment to them, to all existential dharmas, and helps others to do the same. Before attaining Buddhahood, the Bodhisattva, on the basis of great compassion, goes on to help sentient beings enter the threefold path of action, through which they are able to realize the three bodhicittas. Alternatively, he helps those who have entered the path to reach maturity. For himself, the Bodhisattva is committed to attaining the five freedoms of meditation and the divine powers. With the help of the power of meditation and the power of the Avatars, he reaches the peak of wisdom. This is the way in which the Bodhisattva practises the Paramita of Wisdom. Thus, the Bodhisattva first realizes the unsatisfactory nature of desire and the realm of life with the wisdom of faults: because the home life is the abode of many troubles; because the constraints of a wife and children are obstacles to one's cultivation of goodness. Being involved and bound in various daily activities such as business, farming, work, socializing, etc., home life is not a proper place to attain the bliss of detachment. People's desires and pleasures are like a drop of honey on the tip of a sword; they are more harmful than enjoyable. These pleasures are short-lived, like the images of movie clips. They are enjoyed only by confused perceptions like the twisted costumes of madmen. Lust is as misleading as a cover for a pile of dung, and as insatiable as licking the water from a finger. Lust is like a person who is overly hungry and is devouring food, which brings many misfortunes and is harmful. It is also like bait on a hook, bringing past, present and future suffering. Lust is like the heat of a burning fire and the stickiness of gum; it is like a murderer's cloak that conceals the murderer's weapon. After first examining the evils of desire and the realm of life, and then examining the benefits of detaching from them, the Bodhisattva devotes himself to practicing the Paramita of Detachment. Since monkhood is the root of the nectar of detachment, in order to practice this nectar in the absence of the Buddha's teachings, the bodhisattva became a hermit under practitioners who believed in karma and in the creation of karma. However, if the Buddha appears, he will join the Buddhist sangha. After becoming a monk, he cultivates the Precepts of Stopping and Doing; in order to purify these precepts, he then practises the Tathagata. With the water of purification enriched by the Tathagata, the Bodhisattva washes away his inner troubles and possesses unimpeachable purity of body and speech. He is content with whatever robes, food and shelter he receives. After following the first three of the four traditions of the sages, he devotes himself to attaining the fourth tradition, that is, to delight in meditation, choosing one of the forty karmic practices until he attains near-conduct and restfulness. At the attainment of meditation, the Bodhisattva realizes the nectar of detachment. This is how the bodhisattva practises Dharmakaya.