The Aura of Wisdom 

By Living Buddha Sheng-yen Lu
Translated by True Buddha Foundation Translation Team (Cheng Yew Chung, Victor Hazen, Dance Smith)

This was translated from Grandmaster Lu's 154th book, 智慧的光環.

CHAPTER 6 - Purification of One`s Mind

A disciple once approached me with an offering and said, `Guru, please teach me how to gain great spiritual powers.`

I replied, `What you learn from me is how we can purify ourselves, not how to gain spiritual powers.`

My disciple asked, `Isn`t it true that the Buddha has spiritual powers?`

I said, `The Buddha does have spiritual powers, but those with spiritual powers are not necessarily buddhas.`

I told him that even ghosts have powers, so do good and evil beings. The Mara has spiritual powers, so does the heretic. Spiritual power is but a chance occurrence, a by-product of one`s cultivation in Buddhism. One should not be attached to such phenomenal powers or one will risk going astray onto the wrong path.

If one should cultivate only spiritual powers, it is easy to cling to those states. Discursive thoughts may arise, leading one into delusion. Eventually one shall fall into the grasp of Mara. When attracted to phenomenal spiritual powers, one will deviate from the Buddha`s teachings and turn oneself into a dark ghostly creature.

What exactly does the Buddha teach us? It is still this familiar saying:

To not do any evil, to cultivate good, to purify one`s mind: this is the teaching of the Buddhas.

I have written over one hundred and fifty books. Seriously speaking, I can summarize the millions of words I`ve written into four words: `Purification of One`s Mind`

In Tantric Buddhism, it is stated that the three karmas are transformed into the three secrets: the secret of the body, secret of speech, and secret of the mind. The purification of the body, speech and mind is essentially the `purification of one`s mind`!

The act of cultivating the heart and purifying one`s mind leads one to buddhahood. To only develop spiritual powers leads one to becoming a Mara. If you are a practising True Buddha practitioner, you need to discern these matters carefully!

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01 - Spiritual Conviction
02 - Vanity
03 - Adopting a Monistic Life
04 - Manifestations
05 - Spiritual Response
06 - Purification of One's Mind
07 - Right View
08 - The True Acharya
09 - Self Importance
10 - The Four Levels of Empowerment
11 - Making Offerings
12 - Making Offerings (2)
13 - Spiritual Authentication
14 - Keeping the Codes and Precepts
15 - The Spirit of Upholding the Precepts
16 - The True Buddha School
17 - True Practice
18 - Respect the Guru
19 - The Most Comprehensive System of Buddhist Practice
20 - Do Not Slander the Tantric Teachings
21 - Ignorance
22 - Liberal Authentication
23 - The Sutra and Tantra Traditions
24 - Dharma Epithet
25 - The Secret Referred to in the Secret Teachings
26 - Mahabodhicitta, the Mind of Perfect Enlightenment
27 - Perfect Penetration of the Sutra and Tantra Teachings
28 - The Mandala
29 - Attaining Budddhahood in this Very Body
30 - Refrain from Killing
31 - Taking Meat or Vegetarian Meals
32 - Offering Wine and Meat to the Buddha
33 - Why Practice Buddhism and Do Cultivation?
34 - The Guru's Power of Blessing
35 - The Precious Teachings of Tantric Buddhism
36 - The Jambhala or Wealth Deity Practice
37 - The Wrathful Guardian Deities
38 - Yab-Yum, the Consort Practice
39 - Fundamental Rationale of Tantric Buddhism
40 - The Heart Essence and the Orally Transmitted Secrets
41 - Cultivating with Contemplation and Visualization
42 - Aijikan, the Visualization of the Seed Syllable AH
43 - Choosing One`s Principal Deity (Yidam)
44 - The Fourfold and Sixfold Refuge
45 - Radiating Light Blessing
46 - Radiating Light Invocation
47 - The Importance of the Four Preliminaries
48 - The Secret of Contemplating on Emptiness
49 - Elucidation on the Three Powers
50 - Reverence for the High King Sutra
51 - A Buddha Manifestation of Great Authority
52 - Merging as One
53 - The Key Instructions of Entering, Abiding and Absorbing
54 - Seen in the Context of Heresy
55 - The Importance of Cultivating Chi