【Description】
“Wisdom” in the Six Perfections is also called “prajna.” What kind of state heralds the obtainment of wisdom, and how does it come about? Let us listen to Master JinBodhi as he explains wisdom in accessible language.
【You willearn】
- What it means to “perceive the true nature of the mind”
- The Cool and Pure Land and wisdom
【Featured aphorism】
- Perceiving the true nature of the mind is like having a bright light in your heart that allows you to clearly see yourself and the world, as well as human habits and ways of thinking.
- Reason obtained from purity brings a wisdom that goes beyond critical thinking.
- A state of no attachment, no fear, no birth and no death is The Cool and Pure Land.
【Content】
The sixth perfection is “wisdom” as many already know. It is the most difficult to translate of the Six Perceptions. What is it exactly? I call it “prajna.” What is prajna? It is hard to explain. It means “perceiving one’s mind and self-nature.”
When we see ourselves, the world, the human thought patterns and habits, we are very clear. “See” doesn’t mean we see something. “Perceiving one’s mind and self-nature” states clearly. In our mind, there is bright light, not hot, but cool, calm, and pure light. It is also called the “wisdom of purity.”
Among the major bodhisattvas around Buddha, Manjusri Bodhisattva is the wisest. Mount Wutai in Shanxi, China, was where Manjusri Bodhisattva taught and practiced. Walking up to Mount Wutai, he felt the coolness, as if he was in a calm, pure land. It is pure and cool, not hot; hotness induces passion. Coolness brings pure, rational thinking. Pure, calm rationality brings us wisdom that transcends thinking. That is prajna of purity, or some call it the wisdom of purity. This concept depends on how we describe and decode it.
True wisdom doesn’t come with passion or enthusiasm, but with purity; no attachment, no defilement, no benefits, no asking for, no yin, no yang, no beauty, no ugliness, no gain, and no loss. A state without attachment is calm and pure. No attachment, no fear, no birth, and no death. This state is “the state of coolness and purity.” It is also the wisdom of “the state of prajna.”