Bro Teoh’s 27th Sept 2018 Thursday class

Brother Teoh’s 27th September 2018 Thursday Talk outline Short Notes 

1. What is Heart and what is Mind? According to brother Teoh this is a very difficult topicand very few people can truly comprehend. In Mandarin, the same word 心 (xin) is being used for both (the Heart and the Mind).  Mahayana tradition teaches two types of minds – the Mundane (or Thinking) mind and the True mind.
2. Sincerity is related to the conscience (no evil roots or cunningness). The Heart as an organis special as it is related to the conscience. Reason why true cultivator always said, ‘follow your heart and not your deluded thoughts (mundane mind).’ The heart is where the seat of consciousness resides. The karmic force triggers off the life force and cause the heart to beat giving rise to the pulse of life that pumps our blood to nourish our entire body. Thebrain is where the memories are and as thoughts (mundane mind) are response tomemories hence the mundane or thinking mind is closely related to the brain. The consciousness since birth is trapped within this physical body that has the 5 physical sense bases and the brain. Upon contact of mind with the sense bases, sense door consciousness (like seeing consciousness, hearing consciousness and thought consciousness, etc.) can manifest. You need to understand all these to penetrate the Mind and the Heart and to understand who you are?  

1. Life force or karmic force comes from our karmic nature. When destructive karma hits,heart beat stops. Form and mind separates because brain dead and we call this death. Thelife force energy can be used to pump the heart, to make us conscious, to sustain life and give rise to consciousness, thoughts and emotions. It can also be use to access the gatewayto one’s nature to bring about the internal transformation (of consciousness) via trustingour nature to meditate without the interference of thought.
2. The 3 things that sustain human life are: – consciousness, the physical body and the life force. A functioning physical body is needed to sustain life. But when some vital bodily organs are damaged, then consciousness can’t stay on. Body and consciousness need to harmonize just like the analogy of the car and the driver. If car is not in proper conditionthe driver also can’t drive it. Just like candle light’s analogy – it can only lights up with these 3 important conditions sustaining it: Wax (equivalent to the physical body), wick and the candlelight.
3. One needs wisdom to be able to live life well. To understand oneself one needs to understand the consciousness, the physical body and the life force.
4. Mind is linked to the brain because brain is memory and thoughts are response to memory. Thought consciousness comes about when mind consciousness makes contactswith the brain. Before one develops the wisdom via meditation, this (the brain) is hellbecause one will acts according to memory (which are the accumulations of all our goodand bad experiences, views and opinions, belief systems, and delusion, etc.), which is Not acting at all. Most of the time, the accumulated experiences are your negativepsychological memories (i.e. you scars of memories, fears, worries, anxiety, phobias, sorrow and lamentation and insecurities, etc. Human beings want to be secure and safe in life (the wanting is a craving) which is all part of their delusion. Nowadays, the world seems to be less safe, human beings seek safety/security hence their insecurity is the root cause of their own fear, worry and anxiety. One should instead act according to wisdom following Noble 8-Fold Path.
5. According to the Buddha, the highest security or only safe refuge is taking refuge in theTriple Gem. The Buddha is perfect in virtue and wisdom, thus he has the dharma. The Dharma is his teaching. The Sangha are his enlightened disciples and thus have the dharma as well. With the Dharma, one knows how to cultivate following the advice of the Buddhato avoid all evil, do good and purify the mind. One must thus takes care of karma and develops wisdom. Hence the highest security is virtue and virtue is your highest protection. If you want to have the good and happy life, do not break the precepts for do Good begets good and do evil begets evil. Without fear, your mind states are peaceful,calm and secure. There are no worries or insecurities as you have faith in your own nature(both karmic and spiritual).
6. Virtue is the highest and best protection. If you take care of karma, karma will take care of your life. There is nothing to fear. Whatever that happens, there are causes and conditions behind, hence what happens is the reality of the moment – cannot be otherwise. When you act according to memory (which are your accumulation of wrong views, traditions, belief systems, conditionings and the 3 evil roots), you are in fact acting according to yourfears, worries, anxieties, insecurity, selfishness, etc. Instead, you should act according towisdom and understanding. With right view, you can act following Noble 8-Fold Pathwhich is the path that leads to the end of all suffering.
7. Law of karma – ‘We are borne of our karma, heir to our karma, conditioned and supported by our karma and we are what we are because of our karma’. So whatever that arise there are causes and conditions linked to karma behind. Therefore Act with wisdom via not blaming others or yourself and not getting angry or fearful as one knows it is all karma related. No point being miserable over what happened. Accept the reality of the moment, as most likely you have done these to others in the past, and now with conditions, you have to go through it. Thus you are at peace, have clarity of mind to understand what has happened then you can act to resolve things amicably the dharma way and move on.  
8. To resolve something amicably we need to apply the Noble Eightfold path; right view leading to the arising of right thought, right speech, right action, etc. following advice of the Buddha to avoid all evil, do good and purify the mind. Develop wisdom throughcomprehending the law of dependant origination (12 links) to understand how you function as a human being, how this mind functions. And the other essential dharma orteaching of the Buddha (4 noble truth, its 3 turnings, other related essential dharma that spin off from there). You will know how to act because you will know what dukkha is? Thecause of its suffering, knowing that suffering need not be because cessation of suffering which is realizing the enlightened state of Nibbana in the here and the now is possible; and the path to realize it is through cultivating the Noble 8-Fold path.    
9. There are 2 types of mind, mundane mind and true mind:  True mind = silent or meditative mind (your nature).       Mundane mind = thinking mind, condition arising/dependant originating mind, monkey mind which is heedless.12. Meditation is to get one to realize one’s true mind. Master Hui Neng’s teaching is tobring one directly to the true mind. When you silent your mind, your true mind in pure awareness will be able to see how the mundane mind functions and operates and insight into phenomena to realize the 3 universal characteristics of nature. 

   13. Due to ignorance (avijja), thinking (or sankhara activity) starts causing the mundane mind to arise. To cease avijja, one needs the dharma, the right view or wisdom tostraighten one’s views. Without self-delusion (sakkayaditthi), one will understand that the form and mind is impermanent, dependent originating hence not you. Then the 3 evil rootsof greed, hatred, and delusion cannot arise.

   14. These evil roots arise due to one’s self-delusion – believing that this form and mind is you and real (or exist) causing the “I”, the Ego or Personality to arise. With the deluded Egowanting to own, possess and control things, grasping and clinging arise, giving rise to thisevil root of Greed (selfishness and greediness). As you think you exist, you can also becomeemotional, angry, jealous (evil root of Hatred) and insecure and fearful (evil root ofDelusion). 15. When you can see that they are all condition arising, dependant originating and causal phenomena that arise when the supporting conditions are there then you willawaken to or insight into the 3 universal characteristics of impermanence, suffering and non-self (anatta) which are inherent in all things within the conditioned world. Then you will understand clearly why this body and mind is not you, but merely a karmically conditioned vehicle and tool for you to come to this existential world of ours.

   16. Thus, contemplate daily that this body of ours is of the nature to grow old, get sick, and die. No amount of sorrow and lamentation can bring back the dead. Nothing actually dies. Hey no you, hey no me. No mark of a self cultivating, no mark of others and no mark of even dharma, existence and life. This penetrative understanding from the Diamond Sutraand Heart Sutra will bring forth the wisdom needed to live life beautifully within this existential world. When you understand all these, you become very different.

   17. Human beings tend to follow their thought (mundane mind) instead of their heart (conscience). Thought is neither good nor bad. It depends on the user of thought. Thus one must know how to use it. With dharma, thoughts become right thoughts which are rather beautiful. Without wisdom, these thoughts come from memories which are filled with fear, greed and delusion hence no conscience, sincerity nor virtue. On the other hand, with conscience, sincerity and virtue, one cannot harm others. But for human beings withoutwisdom, the cunning, deluded mundane mind takes over, not knowing there is a true mind. But when you understand all these, your mind is beautiful.

   18. How can the heart, an organ have a conscience? The life force pumps the heart, that’s how your heart area receives the karmic or life force. The final link is: for one to come to this existential world, one needs a form and mind (vehicle and tool) to come. The Karmic force and mind that comes due to karma resides within the heart. The gateway to yourtrue nature is also within your heart area. That’s the reason why when you are in yournatural state of silence (without thought) your true nature or conscience around your heart area is sensitive and can truly feel with pure awareness. But very fast your mundane mind takes over and causes you to doubt. When one meditates with understanding, one will come into contact with one’s true mind. Then when you continue to relax into all mindstates and silent everything, your nature will be able to detect the gateway and ‘melt’ orflow soothingly into it. The true mind is also your conscience, no evil, no ego, thus anatta. This true or silent mind (which is connected to the form and mind) can meditate and cause one to insight into or awaken to truth, reality and all nature’s law. This wisdom which is then connected to this form and mind can cause the form and mind to be enlightened. But this – your this life’s segmented form and mind of your nature is not you because it is anatta.

   19. Every living being has this true mind i.e. the conscience (inborn) which won’t do any evil. However, most human beings don’t understand what that is and they tend to overwrite it via their thoughts (mundane mind). The heart is the conscience. The gateway is inside the heart. Hence the famous quote: “follow your heart”. For example, when one goes looking for property, your nature knows – if you feel comfortable and good with the place, before any thought comes to delude you then you can buy the property. Only when you feel good, you buy. With Dharma cultivated, everyday is an auspicious day. Without the dharma, an auspicious day could also turn into an inauspicious day. Your heart or conscience comes from your nature’s understanding and wisdom. For those unenlightened, they can hardly perceive their conscience. Even if it arises it can only guide them for awhile before their thought (mundane mind) comes in and takes over.

   20. Brother Teoh was able to explain all these are because his nature understands and all these sharing from him are not from any book or other source. Today’s sharing is a true gem, covering the whole understanding of life and the cultivation. To understand thisdharma cultivate, Pariyatti – the learning of the teaching (1^st phase of dharma) is not that difficult but to realize it via putting it into practice – Patipatti (2^nd phase of dharma) is more difficult and takes time. When one awakens then one get to realize Pativedha (the 3^rdphase of dharma), to live the noble life of an ariya (an enlightened being), and one gets to enjoy the fruition of one’s practice.

   21. What makes the world turns or goes round? It is love. Here love is not Universal love. It is craving, attachment, possessiveness, emotions, lust and passion. When you have craving, your thought will develop craving to own and have things, leading to strong will power to plot, scheme, deceive and violence – by hook or by crook you need to have it. But with dharma, you can’t do all those things those normal deluded living beings like to do e.g.you are not greedy for money; you are not violent; you don’t take advantage of others; you can’t cheat, deceive, kill or harm others; you can’t do highly excitable and crazy worldly things, etc. With dharma, you can still be part of life, but the inside is already so different. You won’t be so excitable like normal people, as there is clarity, heedfulness and understanding (wisdom) that enable you to understand that all these are not real or what you think. When you have this wisdom, your mind and your brain is different and you arevery sensitive because you can sense and feel many things. You will come to understand why living beings are really living beings and they are rather deluded because of their ignorant inherited from their karmic past, and there is nothing to be pitiful about. Becausethey are deluded, they would do foolish things. People are just the way they are. Foolish people do foolish things, deluded people do deluded things and crazy people do crazy things. Wonderful people do wonderful things. With this understanding, you can become a blessing to all, you are so different, so ‘beautiful’ and you are always at peace, have such beautiful mind and understanding, always heedful, joyful and contented. 

   22. Brother Teoh shared, it is because he went through life, and he understands deeplywhat fear, anxiety, sorrow and lamentation are like. He saw how people suffer and hewitnesses a lot of suffering during his young days. He contemplated deep into life when he was young because he was unique and different. He has a strong conscience to not harmany living beings. And when he did try to drown a mouse, he got his ‘payback karma’ very fast, getting sinuses. He further shared, things we do due to ignorance in the past will come back to haunt us when there is condition (karma). And with wisdom, one can’t do any harm to anyone. But before you connect to your true nature, you can still make mistakes. But because of your unique spiritual and karmic nature, when you come, your karmic nature, vows and your understandings will prepare you because you are different;you will know you are different and you will understand somehow. When Brother Teoh was young, he too has this very strong feeling to sense that he was different but at that time he can’t understand what it is (the full picture) until later. But as he grows older, hewitnessed how things unfolding so beautifully and naturally. In the year 1986 via aspecial message from one of the great beings (Quan Yin Bodhisattva) brother Teohstarted his cultivation sincerely and diligently. Then when his form and mind connect in the year 1989, everything became very clear. During those 3 years (1986 till 1989) the teachers come, the guide comes, the books come, messages come and his understandingsand transformations kept unfolding. Since 1989, His nature and his nature’s understanding have become so ‘strong’ and life was so meaningful and wonderful. Just like what is stated in the Heart sutra: “True emptiness is wonderful existence”.

   23. All these understanding of the Karmic and spiritual Natures and other Natures’ lawespecially the law of karma that brother Teoh had shared with us all, are not documented in any book or anywhere. Most cultivators also cannot understand unless they have that type of cultivation and Nature. Brother Teoh shared that karma is only ‘stored’ and linked to our karmic nature, and when his present segmented life’s form and mind came to this world it can sense and see all the unique signs and happenings occurring when he was young and that was the reason why he knew he was different. Later on as he grew up andwhen he has developed the condition to receive and inherit all his past cultivation then he saw how all these unique things unfolding very naturally, like it is meant to be (as if everything has been planned and taken care off already). It is as if my nature doesn’t haveto do anything apart from just accord and flow with nature’s conditions as they unfold so beautifully. Speaking from his own experience, brother Teoh shared that once his meditation enables him to connect to his true nature, these wisdom and understandingkeep arising.  The karmic nature starts operating upon conception of the being (our 5 aggregates of form and mind) but for the spiritual nature it is different because before you connect to your true nature you cannot inherit anything. But the moment you connect, you will progress very fast because you will start to inherits from your spiritual nature immediately after that. One progresses very fast from then on and can reach back to theirprevious cultivation level from their past lives very fast. Once connected back the cultivator will continue his cultivation from where he/she stopped in this lifetime. When you have touched your true mind and realize your true nature you will be able to access the gateway to your nature. The only way to do that is via cultivating the Bodhisattva way. The sainthood way is still very elementary (not as complete) – equating it to a handful of leaves verse those leaves in the whole of the forest. The sainthood way is only a handful of leaves i.e. mainly the 4 noble truths and its 3 turnings teaching. The Bodhisattva way is much more comprehensive because it involves the cultivations of the 10 perfectionsover long periods of time; especially the parami on – perfection of wisdom. The Bodhisattva way is therefore definitely not easy but is rewarding and very wonderful. 

   24. Sister PG shared what happened to her this afternoon while at work. When negative mind states come into play, she was aware and mindful of it. She was trying to key into her waze the address to her destination somewhere in Puchong but it could not be done and time was running out. She can see her impatient building up because of her wrong thoughts conditioning. As she was driving, she reminded herself to be heedful and mindfuland not let any negative mind states set in. She was very careful when driving. As she wasvery mindful, it helped her to brake on time as another vehicle swerve into her lane suddenly. Everyone in the car froze. Brother Teoh further shared that when one is mindful, one is able to avoid conditions which could lead to negative karma to arise.

   25. When you take care of karma, karma will take of your life. Nothing protects other than your virtues, kindness and wisdom. When one cultivates the dharma correctly, one can see the changes happening for the better in one’s life – personality-wise, character-wise, and understanding-wise. The way one lives one’s life, is very important. After all our wrong views (especially self-delusion) have been rooted out, sensual desire and ill-will will also dissipate. When one is heedful with the 5 spiritual faculties developed, the opposite 5 mental hindrances would not arise anymore. People are just the way they are, the world is the world, so just let things be – this is right view. Whatever happens in life, do not panic,do not arise the fear, worry and anxiety to stir your mind to arise the mental hindrances of mind that will hinders your mind from entering the meditative states of inner peace and inner awareness. And also don’t be reactive or emotional for these activities will only creates negative condition for negative karma to arise/ripen. Without this understanding,when things don’t go your way, you will become angry and agitated because your thoughtvia your wrong view will tell you to react with negativity. What needs to be done is to not believe those thoughts, calm your-self down then with clarity of mind do the needy toresolve issues amicably via the dharma way (Noble 8-Fold Path). 

   26. Brother Teoh shared that whenever he is in a situation, he will never perceive it with negativity but instead accept it as a life reality with right view and then take it as a blessing in disguise for him to learn from it. He will use his understanding and at times his common sense to finally resolve the issue at hand amicably via the dharma way. Then you can laugh over it after that.

   27. After the mundane mind has collapsed, he shared that the cultivator will have to learn how to use that Supra–mundane mind which is so fine (like No mind), and you hardly feel anything and like there is no movement. This mind is so different from the mundane mind which is very gross with a lot of images. It is much easier to train the mundane mind to bemindful or aware because it is grosser. But after it has collapsed, there is like nothing at all and no mind to train, so like nothing to do. You need to know how to handle such situation via wisdom or you will end up having unnecessary ‘problem’ again.

   28. Brother Teoh shared that there is a tendency for most cultivators who have progressedto be deceived by the thought again after a period of cultivation. Don’t listen to thethought because this is the mundane mind that has duality! Instead, silent your mind andgo back to your nature to develop the understanding. Only the nature or silent mind can see things as they are to awaken. But thought is useful when there is wisdom. Whenwisdom is already a part of you and it has stabilized, you can then share your understanding with others, and then thought becomes beautiful. Everything is beautiful. Today’s dharma sharing is due to condition from Brother Swee Aun’s question and thehigher consciousness among some kalyanamittas, who can understand what brother Teoh shared.

   29. Progress in dharma cultivation, lead to more understanding, then one is able to use it in real life. Dharma understanding and virtue can protects those like Sister PG. She was able to avoid the conditions for negative karma to arise. With dharma, one feels blessed. With one’s virtues developed via correct cultivation, one is protected, giving rise to favorable conditions to avoid any severe karmic conditions/fruition. If you don’t take care of karma and you are heedless, you get entangled in situations and problems, leading to suffering and misery. But if you cultivate sincerely you will find your life changing for the better. This is for the individual cultivator to find out. When this happens, your faith in triple gem will be unshakable especially their faith in the Buddha and his teaching. This free teaching is a true gem!  Do cherish it! Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu.

   (Above draft is prepared by sister Phey Yuen)