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Inherently free of all labels such as dirty or clean,
my one mind is utterly complete.
Just as it is,
it is the underlying truth that supports everything in the universe.

Alright! We’ve got a new video up with English subtitles! This is a big one, too. It was originally done in Korean, and is the story of how the new statue of Daehaeng Sunim came to be. There’s some great teachings here, as well as some wonderful views of the Seon Center as it is now, and what it looked like 20 years ago.

In praise of the truth
that my past, present, and future consciousness always functions together as one.

The one mind of all Buddhas is my one mind,
inherently free of stained or pure.
My past consciousness as an unenlightened being,
my present consciousness as a being striving for enlightenment,
and my future consciousness as an enlightened Buddha
will all become one,
and everything in the universe,
just as it is,
will be the continuous flowing of my one mind.

Change is hard. It really is. Have you ever hit ice with a hammer? It mostly just absorbs the blow and shrugs it off. A few chips may fly off, but not much more than that. The best way to melt ice? Put it out on the road on a hot summer day. Then it will be gone before you know it.

Likewise, if we change the way we’re viewing ourselves, others, and what we are trying to do, then we’ll naturally start to act in different ways. Once that viewpoint truly changes, then everything else will follow. So we have to input new ways of seeing things, new ways of looking at things that are more in line with a “higher” perspective.

The very last things to fall away will likely be the most ingrained habits of thought and ways viewing things, which also usually cause the worst of our problems. But if we keep working at trying to live in tune with this Buddha essence of ours, one day we’ll suddenly see through those too, and laugh at how silly we’ve been.

So try to repeat these verses three times or more, because it often takes that many times to begin to really ponder the meaning and let it sink down inside us.

In Praise of One Mind

All places of energy and inspiration,
all places where enlightenment can be realized,
are found within one mind.
Just thoroughly entrust one mind with everything that confronts me,
such that all discriminations and views
about myself and the world utterly disappear.
At that instant I combine with my inherent nature
and the past, present, and future are all the Buddha’s Pure Land.
If my mind is thus empty and pure,
I will be at ease in whatever place or time I find myself.

This is the fourth part of the blessing that’s read every day during the mid-day ceremony.

May each and every one of us be filled with joy,
and may these intentions become the reality of our lives.
May the great power of one mind,
realized by all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
protect and look after everyone here today.
May it shelter and guide all those unenlightened beings
who are lost and suffering.
Having evolved over eons beyond measure,
until at last reaching this point,
we take all of the karma that we’ve created
through the five kinds of desires
and the ten evil actions,
and every kind of ignorance,
and entrust all this karma
to the compassionate power of one mind,
where it will all melt down.
May all those who follow the Buddha’s Way
keep experiencing the deep truth of this,
and never lose sight of this path.
May they always be surrounded by the compassionate love of all Buddhas
of the past, present, and future,
and may they always meet awakened teachers.
In a single flash of lightning,
may they forever transcend birth and death,
and attain the highest states of enlightenment.
May all beings brighten and deepen their wisdom without delay.
Here now, before all heavenly and human realms we raise this intention.

All Buddhas,
may ten thousand flowers bloom,
and ten thousand fruits ripen.
Let me know their true taste!

The use of the word “surrender” is interesting; it’s a bit more common in Korean, and is sometimes used in the sense of “behave,” “wise up,” or “get with the program.” So the unruly things, whether outside me or inside, recorded as the consciousness of the lives within me, upon meeting this inherent nature, settle down and get with the program. So in that sense, part of spiritual practice is taking whatever arises, and introducing it to our inherent nature.
I’m reluctant to write so much, either here or in the captions, because I don’t want to take anything away from this text. It’s only two lines, but there is *such* power there! There is such power in raising an intention like this.

May everything that arises in my life
surrender to and follow my inherent nature.

May I realize that all spirits of the dead
though shapeless and unseen,
are not separate from this realm of form and matter.

May I let go of my greed and desire.

May I develop the power to dissolve all habits of the body.

May I develop great spiritual ability and take care of the nation.

This next series are a set of intentions we can give rise to, which seem slightly random, but are things that naturally arise when we see every thing and being around us as another part of ourselves. There’s two ways to approach seeing like this: One is to just awaken and do it (that’s all, lol), the other is to begin moving our thoughts and perspectives in tune with this truth, even though we don’t yet see it for ourselves. With time, as we keep doing this, the underlying truth of this will suddenly become clear to us.

May I see the world as it truly is.

May I awaken to the great truth.

May I uphold the principles of the unseen realms, as well as the rules of society.

May I become one hand.*

* “One hand” means the hand of Buddha that reaches every time and place.