| Introduction |
| The ‘generation stage’ (Sanskrit: utpattikrama) of Esoteric Dharma advocates the paying-attention of Buddha Pride. What is ‘Buddha Pride’? It will be talked about later. ‘Self-Arrogance’ is to be talked first now. |
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| Orthodoxy |
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In Hinayana Dharma, the mind of equality of Bodhicitta (the enlightened mind) is cultivated to make the personal ‘Self-Arrogance’ of ordinary people decreases gradually. |
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In Mahayana Dharma, obeying the Bodhisattva Vows, cultivating selflessness and benefitting others as well as practising equality of charitable-giving (almsgiving). |
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Then cultivate Tantric Buddhism. The receiving of empowerment is required to make one become Yidam Body. Thus, the personal arrogance of ordinary people is sublimated into ‘Buddha Pride’ of Yidam Buddha. Say, I have turned into Yidam; I have to initiate Yidam’s great vows, cultivate the same great conduct as Yidam and verify the same emptiness as well as compassion like Yidam etc. without entering Self-Arrogance of ordinary people any more. |
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| 2. |
Take the example of Venerable Milarepa, a Vajrayana Patriarch. When he returned to his cave, he found that it had already been occupied by an assembly of demons. Having tried to ‘commend’, to ‘damn’ and to ‘offer’, (the Patriarch) could not make the demons leave. At last, he raised ‘Buddha Pride of Void Dharmakaya’ and told them, “You don’t need to leave, please stay and live together with me.” At the same time, he burst straight into the cave. The demons had already returned to Emptiness and there were no traces of them any more. This is an illustration of ‘Buddha Pride’ and it can thereby be developed into the Wisdom of Sameness. |
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| 3. |
It is very difficult to express concretely what ‘Buddha Pride’ is either by speech or in words. It is a kind of special physical and mental state in which one is filled with both confidence and wisdom. That is, one has the entire certainty to take sentient beings to surpass the miserable ocean of the Six Realms of Transmigration and reach the yonder shore of enlightenment as well as liberation. ‘Buddha Pride’ is also a state that one is full of power inherently. Since the mind of ‘Buddha Pride’ is supported by the achievement of the mind of Bodhicitta (the enlightened mind) as a prerequisite so as to verify and enlighten Emptiness of the Ultimate(Paramarthasunyata), its ‘power’ can hence follow the terrain and momentum to come and go freely with perfect penetration without hindrance. |
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It is essential for every Mahayana/Vajrayana practitioner to possess the mind of ‘Buddha Pride’. When Buddha Sakyamuni was born, He was with one hand pointing towards the sky and one hand pointing towards the ground and said, “Within and beyond the Three Realms, I’m the Supreme!” This is precisely what the mind of Buddha Pride is. |
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| Epilogue |
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As the differences in opinions or thoughts among senior and junior fellow Dharma Brothers (under the same Master), one of the parties classifies the opposite party into different groups and categories, or despises them, or envies them, or regards them as demons and applies all sorts of different methods to repel as well as attack them. All of these wrong doings have already been regarded as violating the precepts of Vajrayana. Practitioners should learn the mindset of Venerable Milarepa Patriarch to accept demons, to fuse, to be present and to coexist together with them. One needs to know that all sentient beings have their Buddha nature and so do demons. They will eventually attain the state of Buddhahood one day and the same will happen to the senior and junior Dharma Brothers. |
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Some Dharma practitioners are exceedingly egotistic and some are even intense in Self-Arrogance. When there is ‘I’ in one’s internal obstinacy, then all other people are inferior to me. When one’s external obstinacy has ‘mine’, then all of mine (everything that I own) are highly superior to those of the others. Such a person considers that he/her is right on every matter while the others (whose opinions are different) are wrong. Furthermore, he/her always looks down on others. Having Self-Arrogance does not only make one cling to deviant views and obscurity, but also blocks one from the way to Buddhahood.【The Shurangama Sutra】says, “Buddhas of the Ten Directions look upon Self-Arrogance and name it ‘drinking the water of stupidity’. Bodhisattvas avoid arrogance as if they are repelling a tremendous deluge.” Hence, those who have severely Self-Arrogance will have no achievement in cultivation after all. |
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| Remarks |
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‘Self-Arrogance’ means viewing ‘I’ as the centre of oneself in which the ‘I’ that is tightly-grasped leads to the formation of the mind of arrogance.《Discourse on the Theory of Consciousness-Only》says, “A person with Self-Arrogance (Chinese version我慢者) is due to one’s haughtiness that gives rise to Atma-graha (the holding to one’s ego) and this results in one’s mind being exalted, so it is named Self-Arrogance.” Arrogance means depreciating the others whereas being proud of oneself as one is self-assured that one has something to rely on. |
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There are four types of arrogance and seven types of arrogance in ordinary people. The four types of arrogance are Arrogance, Excessive Arrogance, Severely Excessive Arrogance, Self-Arrogance. The seven types of arrogance are Arrogance, Excessive Arrogance, Severely Excessive Arrogance, Self-Arrogance, Augmented Arrogance, Inferior Arrogance, and Deviant Arrogance. |
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