The mind of the past cannot be obtained,
The mind of the present cannot be obtained,
And the mind of the future cannot be obtained.

Where then does the mind reside?

Modern life is complex, and most people are switching the roles they play all the time. We’ve become attached to the six sense objects of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and dharmas, and worry each day about what we gain and what we lose. If we’re not enjoying beautiful sights, then we’re grasping at sounds and tastes. We mistake what is false to be true, what does not exist to exist, and what is defiled to be pure. We each find ourselves bewildered by our own delusional thoughts and the thoughts of others, and by the illusions of life and the world. We each have a heart and a brain, but as sentient beings, we are muddled in delusion, and our minds abide in the five desires and the six sense objects.

As long as the mind abides in something, it is not secure or stable. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and dharmas will change. Once you make a sound, it no longer there; it is no longer yours. Yet if you do not abide in anything, do not engage in anything, and instead transcend all things, where will you abide? This is abiding in prajna, for it is something else entirely which transcends this world. However, even while abiding in the world of prajna one can freely interact with sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and dharmas, for as human beings who live in the world we must have things like homes and families. It is possible to live like the great Buddhist layperson Vimalakirti, who is described in the Vimalakirti Sutra as “Though a layman, he is not attached to the three realms. Though married, he always cultivates purity.”

When the Buddha became enlightened he didn’t give up things like eating; he did not reject the world. He too lived in the world, and could become upset the same way we do, as well as scold others. But the Buddha’s scolding is not the same as when an ordinary person scolds another. When the Buddha admonished his disciples, he would call them “ignorant of affliction,” “deluded,” or “inhumane.” To me, this is scolding, but it is scolding done in a way that is artful rather than vindictive. When we get mad, our anger is followed by a surge of emotions, but when the Buddha was upset, he did not abide in his emotions. One such example is when the Buddha reprimanded his son, Rahula. It seemed that the Buddha was being very stern, but he was doing so to teach and reform his son. From here we can see that the Buddha was not fixed in his emotions, nor could he be manipulated by his emotions.

“Subhuti, what do you think, does the Tathagata have eyes of flesh or not?”

“Yes, World-honored One, the Tathagata has eyes of flesh.”

“Subhuti, what do you think, does the Tathagata have heavenly eyes or not?”

“Yes, World-honored One, the Tathagata has heavenly eyes.”

“Subhuti, what do you think, does the Tathagata have wisdom eyes or not?”

“Yes, World-honored One, the Tathagata has wisdom eyes.”

“Subhuti, what do you think, does the Tathagata have Dharma eyes or not?”

“Yes, World-honored One, the Tathagata has Dharma eyes.”

“Subhuti, what do you think, does the Tathagata have Buddha eyes or not?”

“Yes, World-honored One, the Tathagata has Buddha eyes.”

“Subhuti, what do you think, has the Buddha said that the sand in the Ganges River is sand or not?”

“Yes, World-honored One, the Tathagata has said that it is sand.”

“Subhuti, what do you think, if there were as many Ganges Rivers as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River, and if all of the sand in all of those rivers were added up, and if the number of Buddha worlds equaled the number of all of those grains of sand, would that be a lot?”

“It would be very much, World-honored One.”

The Buddha said to Subhuti, “The Tathagata fully knows and fully sees the minds of the sentient beings in all of these worlds. And how can this be? The Tathagata has said that all minds are not minds and that thus they are called minds. And why is this so? Subhuti, the mind of the past cannot be obtained, the mind of the present cannot be obtained, and the mind of the future cannot be obtained.”

In the above passage the Buddha uses the grains of sand in the Ganges River as a metaphor for the great number of living beings in existence, and yet the “Buddha eyes;’ which encompass all eyes, are capable of knowing the mind of all living beings throughout the various Buddha realms.

The Treatise on the Awakening of Faith in Mahayana contains a highly influential passage that says “one mind opens two doors.” Living beings and the Buddha inherently have the same nature. It is only because of delusion, the distinction between ignorance and enlightenment, and the processes of arising, abiding, change, and cessation that defilement and purity exist. “One mind opens two doors” is a way of expressing this relationship: though the nature of the mind does not change, the mind has both an aspect that conforms to suchness and a delusional, conditional, and ignorant aspect.

There is no inherent difference between living beings and the Buddha, for the mind of a living being is the mind of the Buddha. As living beings inherently possess Buddha nature there is fundamentally no distinction between them and the Buddha whatsoever. This is how the Tathagata is able to fully know and fully see the nature of the minds of living beings.

Living beings have simply become muddled and deceived by the six sense objects. They come up with all manner of deluded thoughts and have forgotten the true mind, which is quiet and undisturbed. With such deluded thinking they cannot possibly gain insight into true reality.

The Buddha, however, is no longer affected by karma, and has become enlightened to the true mind. The Buddha knows that he is one with all living beings, and it is because of this oneness that the Buddha generated the compassion to liberate living beings by extinguishing their suffering with his compassion.

The “Buddha eye” mentioned in the above passage is said to encompass all kinds of vision, hence the expression “the same contemplation in oneness;’ which is “the myriad phenomena return to the one, for there is no other contemplation.” In the same way as the one “Buddha eye” can encompass the five eyes, a single grain of sand encompasses all the sand of the Ganges River, one world encompasses many worlds, and one mind can encompass the minds of all living beings.

The five eyes mentioned in the above passage from the Diamond Sutra does not imply in any way that a person grow five pairs of eyes. The five eyes refers to five different states of vision that can be achieved with our eyes, through which we can see much more than our eyes normally can. The five eyes are:

1. Eyes of flesh: This refers to the type of vision that people in this world normally possess. This kind of vision can be halted by all manner of impediments.

2. Heavenly eyes: This type of vision is like that possessed by heavenly beings, though it can be obtained by ordinary people through meditation. Heavenly eyes allow one to see everything, whether indoors or outdoors, day or night. This kind of vision is still hindered by misunderstanding of principles.

3. Wisdom eyes: This is the vision possessed by sravakas and pratyekabuddhas. It is vision imbued with wisdom, and is thus superior to the vision of heavenly eyes, but because of the obstruction of knowledge this vision lacks compassion. It is still inferior to the Dharma eyes, which provide vision with both wisdom and compassion.

4. Dharma eyes: This is the vision of bodhisattvas, and can adapt to any given circumstance to liberate sentient beings. With the vision of Dharma eyes, bodhisattvas perceive all worldly and transcendental phenomena in all their details, as well as the minds and karma of all living beings

5. Buddha eyes: The Buddha perceives the truth of all phenomena. Buddha eyes include the attributes of the four previous kinds of vision, but are far superior to them.

Again, there is no difference between the Buddha and ordinary people; the two are equal. Even though the Buddha possesses the “five eyes,” he still possesses eyes of flesh like living beings. The five eyes can also be attained by ordinary people; ordinary people are only impeded by the assurance that their views are correct and their attachment to them. Because ordinary beings are still constrained by their biased views they cannot see all things thoroughly.

The Flower Adornment Sutra describes the mind of the Buddha in the following verse:

Pure in mind and free from all flattery and deceit;
Joyful by nature, delighting in compassion.

As long as we learn how to transform miserliness and greed into generosity, hatred into joy, and malevolence into kindness, then enmity and worry will be eliminated as a matter of course, and we will no longer find ourselves “licking honey off the razor’s edge” in mad pursuit of the taste of the five desires.

Changing the external world is not as good as changing our own mental state. Consider how two people can feel differently about a pond full of fallen flowers: one person may feel pity that the fine flowers have lost their petals, while another may be happy that the fruit will soon be ripe.

There is a Buddhist verse by Fu Dashi that says:

Heavenly eyes are far-reaching and unimpeded; Eyes of flesh are impeded and not far-reaching; Dharma eyes only contemplate the worldly; Wisdom eyes are directly aligned with emptiness; Buddha eyes are like a thousand suns Shining at different places with the same light; Perfect illumination within the Dharma realm, Where no place is left unrevealed.

The expression” dharma realm,” fajie (法界) in Chinese, refers to the world of absolute reality that the Buddha has awakened to. The dharma realm is as vast as space, and within it there exists no mental distinctions; self and other are one and equal. All living beings can be seen as existing as living beings with the Buddha’s own mind. When the mind is free from discrimination, it becomes like a flawless, bright mirror that can reflect anything that is but before it without obscuring it at all.

The discrimination created from illusory phenomena is abiding in notions. The Diamond Sutra says, “All forms are illusory,” but if we can refrain from abiding in notions, then we will not be affected by these illusions. If we are not affected by illusions, then there is nothing that arises or ceases. In this way our pure intrinsic nature can manifest.

The mental state of”non-thought” is not obtaining the mind of the past, present, or future, and is also called the state of non-attachment Only when we are free from attachment can our lives move forward rather than remaining in place like a spinning top. When we are free from attachment the mind does not abide in the six sense objects; it does not abide inwardly nor does it abide outwardly, but comes and goes freely. In pursuing the state of”non-thought” it can help to remember these three things:

1. Do Not Relive the Past

As long as one’s current life is better than the past there is no need to be attached to past glory. But so many people can be like old, white-haired ladies, reminiscing about bygone days. People get old and feel that they have lost their youth, that the years are adding up and that time is against them. This is when they sink into remembering the past, for looking back at bygone times can become a familiar habit. This is why one should not relive the past.

2. Do Not Desire the Present

The many cravings and desires we encounter in this present life follow one after another. We should not get caught up in who is right and who is wrong, or worry about who wins and who loses. Once we begin to obsess about such things we start to discriminate and judge.

3. Do Not Fantasize about the Future

The cycle of constant arising and ceasing is plagued by impermanence. The future has not yet arrived and already it is impossible to plan for the changes of impermanence. Since every moment is formed through a combination of causes and conditions it is impossible to guarantee what the future will bring.

This approach to the past, present, and future can be related to the Buddhist “threefold training” of morality, meditative concentration, and wisdom. In order to not relive the past, one can establish meditative concentration. To not desire the present, one should observe proper morality. To not fantasize about the future it is important to cultivate wisdom. The mental state of “non-thought” where the mind of the past, present, and future is not obtained is precisely the Buddhist threefold training.

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