Liberating living beings without attachment to the notion of self does not mean taking charge of another person’s life or doing everything for someone else. It means helping another person to assume sole responsibility for his or her own life, career, and spiritual practice, even in the process of liberating living beings. To do this we must be able to supply for the various needs of living beings.

Having the aspiration to liberate living beings means more than giving them food when they are hungry and giving them clothing when they have nothing to wear. Such material exchanges and emotional interactions are bound to certain notions and are not long-lasting. To truly liberate living beings means to enable them all to enter nirvana without remainder, so that they can reach the state beyond birth and death. In order to liberate so many living beings and lead them to nirvana we must have an aspiration that is without duality. This is the only way to truly liberate living beings.

This skill is not one that can be mastered through learning, but can only be mastered through doing. Once we have generated the aspiration to liberate living beings we have limitless potential.

The Encouragement for Generating the Aspiration for Enlightenment by the Venerable Xing’an states:

I once heard that generating aspiration heads the list of essential practices for entering the Buddhist path, while making a vow comes first among the urgent tasks for spiritual cultivation. When the aspiration is generated, then the Buddhist path can be accomplished; and when the vow is made, then living beings can be liberated.

The Dharma places value on what is practical. The secret to success is to have the will to get things done combined with responsibility and practicality. In order to have great aspirations we must have no notion of self. The less we involve our own “self,” the greater the number of people we can contribute to, the less we feel our own attachments, and the more tolerant of others we become.

The early years at Fo Guang Shan were truly a difficult time, and manpower was in short supply. Even so, I had no qualms about my decision to send Tzu Hui, Tzu Jung, Tzu Chia, Tzu Yi, and Tzu Chuang to Japan to pursue advanced studies. Many people at the time would say to me, “If they go and make a life for themselves abroad and don’t come back, you would be losing such talent, and would have wasted all your time and effort on them. But even if they do return, how could you lead such superior intellectuals?” As it turned out, they did, indeed, return and helped Buddhism accomplish many things. There is an old saying in Buddhism, “Learning the Way can happen sooner or later, but each person has their special excellence:’ I have never felt that I was any smarter than my disciples. My hope has been that they will surpass me, just as the blue dye made from an indigo plant surpasses indigo in color.

In the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha reminds Subhuti not to be attached to the thought that “living beings can be liberated.” This is because living beings are empty, and lack any real form. If we get caught up in thinking and assuming that living beings can be liberated, the we can become trapped by attachment to the notions of self, others, sentient beings, and longevity. This concept is explained in the following passage:

“Subhuti, what do you think? Do not say that the Tathagata has this thought: ‘I should liberate sentient beings’. Subhuti, do not have this thought. And why is this? In reality, there are no sentient beings for the Tathagata to liberate. If there were sentient beings for the Tathagata to liberate, then the Tathagata would have a notion of self, others, sentient beings, and longevity:’ “Subhuti, when the Tathagata speaks of a self, it is the same as no self, and yet all ordinary people take it as a self. Subhuti, the Tathagata says that ordinary people are not ordinary people, and that this is what is called ordinary people.”

“No self” does not mean that we do not exist, but that we must not create a duality between ourselves and others. The Flower Adornment Sutra says that there is no difference between the mind, the Buddha, and living beings. There are three different ways of thinking about the self, which we will call the “soul,” the “transient self,” and the “true self:’ The “soul” is the misleading view of a permanent self put forth by many non-Buddhist teachings. The “transient self” is the false sense of self that ordinary beings cling to. The “true self” is the freedom of self realized by the Buddha,¹ The true self is the true nature of equality among all phenomena.

The Buddha sees no distinction among the mind, the Buddha, and living beings, for all ordinary beings are endowed with the Buddha’s wisdom. The designation “ordinary being” is but a temporary name, but what we call “ordinary beings” are just those who are attached to notions for a time and have not yet awakened. They have yet to gain realization into the cycle of birth and death. If, while liberating living beings, a Buddha were to generate the mental impurities of discrimination and partiality, then that Buddha would also become an ordinary person. When we are liberating living beings, we should do so without discrimination, and with a mind of equality, with no external perception that there are living beings to be liberated or any internal perception of a “self” that does that liberating.

It is ordinary beings with their sense of”self” that leads them to be attached to their own successes, and it is the fear that the successes of others will be higher than their own that creates discrimination and calculation. What such people do not realize is that a person’s intelligence, abilities, wisdom, and accomplishments all come about through the combination of causes and conditions, and are actually the accumulated efforts of many people. Since our success comes about by the contribution of others, we also need not keep patting ourselves on the back when we help other people.

My disciples should not pursue advanced degrees for their own sakes, nor should they do so to make Fo Guang Shan a success. People should pursue education for the sake of the oneness, harmony, and coexistence of this world’s living beings, and to be able to more effectively liberate sentient beings without attachment to the notion of self. This is why I let my disciples go abroad to pursue advanced degrees: so that they can broaden their minds, expand their vision, and give back to society what they have taken from it.

Now that I mention it, they are not even my disciples, nor are they the disciples of Fo Guang Shan. They are the disciples of Buddhism and of humanity. That is why, from the very founding of Fo Guang Shan, I established four “working principles” for our future endeavors. They are:

1. Give people confidence.
2. Give people joy.
3. Give people hope.
4. Render service to others.

Our hearts and minds are forever open to others and open to the world. By implementing these four working principles we can align ourselves with the Diamond Sutra’s entreaty to liberate living beings without attachment to the notion of self and realize the prajna of true reality.

Source: Hsing Yun, Four Insights for Finding Fulfillment: A Practical Guide to the Buddha’s Diamond Sutra, Los Angeles: Buddha’s Light Publishing, 2012.

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Footnote:

1. The “eightfold unimpeded self” consists of eight abilities possessed by the Buddha to expand the self beyond its normal bounds: (1) manifesting many bodies, (2) manifesting an infinitely small body that fills the universe, (3) manifesting a gigantic body that is so lightweight it can fly, (4) manifesting many forms in the same place, (5) using any sense organ as any other, (6) attaining all phenomena without the perception of having attained phenomena, (7) expounding the meaning of a single verse for countless kalpas, and (8) pervading all places like space itself. Ed.