The Enlightenment Thought - A Teaching by Khenchen Appey Rinpoche
By definition, enlightenment thought means to promise something with the mind. For instance, if one were thinking of going somewhere today, then one would go according to the idea that one had created in one’s mind. If one thinks of going to eat, then one will create that idea or the mental thought of eating. This is actually a promise in one’s mind.
This idea of promising something with the mind occurs not only in the Mahayana tradition but in the Hinayana tradition as well. Within the Hinayana tradition, there are three different types of enlightenment thought:
The thought of gaining the state of an Arhat. This is the Arhat enlightenment thought.
The thought of gaining the state of the Pratyeka Buddha. This is the Pratyeka Buddha enlightenment thought.
The thought of gaining the state of full and perfect enlightenment. This is called the fully enlightened Buddha enlightenment thought.
It can be seen that within the Hinayana tradition, there is an enlightenment thought. This is called by definition a small enlightenment thought.
Within Mahayana we have the thought of working for others. This is called the great enlightenment thought. So within Hinayana, the enlightenment thought refers to a thought that is directed to one’s own purpose alone, whereas in Mahayana the thought is directed toward the purpose of all living beings. This is known as the great enlightenment thought because it encompasses someone other than oneself.
Within the Mahayana tradition, there are two main schools of enlightenment thought. One is known as the Mind-Only (Cittamatra) school of the enlightenment thought, and the other is the Middle Way (Madhyamika) school of enlightenment thought. The Mind-Only school originated from the great Bodhisattva Maitreya and was transmitted to the Indian saint Asanga and others like Chandragomin. Through them it was passed on to and practised in Tibet by the earlier Kadampa school and later by the Gelukpa school.
The Middle-Way school originated from the Bodhisattva Manjushri and was passed down to Nagarjuna and other great scholars and saints like Shantideva. When it went into Tibet it was practised by the Sakya and other schools.
According to certain teachers, even within the Sakya, there are many distinctions between the Mind Only school of enlightenment thought and the Middle Way school of enlightenment thought. Some of the differences can be seen in the qualities of the one who bestows the precept of the enlightenment thought, the one who receives it and the rules that one has to follow. According to some other scholars, there is actually no distinction between the two.
The enlightenment thought can be divided into two parts, the wishing enlightenment thought and the entering enlightenment thought. The wishing enlightenment thought is the wish to gain the state of full and perfect enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is a promise to obtain the result of Buddhahood. The entering enlightenment thought is the promise to engage in the cause of gaining that result. It uses various methods of practising and gaining the merit and wisdom to achieve the result of Buddhahood.
The enlightenment thought can also be divided into two other main categories – the relative enlightenment thought and the ultimate enlightenment thought. Both the wishing enlightenment thought and the entering enlightenment thought fall under the category of the relative enlightenment thought. The ultimate enlightenment thought refers to the nature of ultimate reality or the wisdom of emptiness, by which one can understand all phenomena to be free from any conceptualisation. It is being completely void of any characteristic, or being what is known as empty by nature.
According to certain teachers, it is said that at the time the enlightenment thought is bestowed upon a person, it is given in the form of a ritual. The moment when we make the promise to gain Buddhahood for the sake of others is known as the ritual, the taking of this enlightenment thought. According to certain teachers, it is also said that both the relative and the ultimate enlightenment thought can be given in the form of a ritual, just like taking refuge.
Sakya Pandita, however, objected to this strongly. He said that it is only the relative enlightenment thought that can be taken in the form of a ritual. The ultimate enlightenment thought could only arise in the meditation of someone who has gained the first Bhumi or the first stage of Buddhahood. At the time of meditation, one would gain the realisation of emptiness, which signifies the attainment of the first Bhumi. This realisation of emptiness in a state of meditation is known as the awakening of the ultimate enlightenment thought. Hence, according to Sakya Pandita, this can only arise through a meditative experience, and can never be given through a ritual or ceremony. It cannot be passed on to a person through words.
According to the teaching of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, the latter said that there are five ways by which we can create the enlightenment thought:
Through a spiritual friend who explains what the enlightenment thought is, and also the benefits of the enlightenment thought.
Through awakening to one’s race and thereby creating the cause for entering into the enlightenment thought.
Through the accumulation of great virtue and merit.
Through studying or listening to the teaching, whereby one knows the benefits of the enlightenment thought, the qualities of the Buddha and the various teachings of the Mahayana.
Through continuous meditation upon the various teachings that we have heard and studied.
The performance of the ceremony of the enlightenment thought can be given according to four different traditions:
The Middle-Way school divides the rules of taking the enlightenment thought into two parts. One is the rule in relation to the wishing enlightenment thought, and the other is the rule in relation to the entering enlightenment thought.
There is a tradition in accordance to the teaching of the Mind-Only school. This is explained in great detail in a book called the “Twenty Verses Concerning the Enlightenment Thought”, written by Chandragomin.
There is a tradition according to the Middle-Way school, which we will explain later.
There is another tradition that arises from the great Mahasiddhas, like the one given at the Sakya “Lamdre” teaching, which arises from the two great Mahasiddhas Virupa and Naropa.
It can also be taken through the taking of Tantric initiation. During the initiation there is the recitation of the Vajrayana Sevenfold Prayer, whereby one receives the Bodhisattva vows or the enlightenment thought vows.
Wishing Enlightenment Thought
The rules in relation to the wishing enlightenment thought are given in a very brief, middle or extensive form.
Brief Vow – The brief form of the enlightenment thought vow is just the wish that “I must gain the state of full and perfect enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.” The thought of never being separated from that wish or never discarding that wish represents all the precepts of producing the enlightenment thought.
Middle Vow – When we are adopting the enlightenment thought, we may have the idea that we are not able to fulfil this wish to gain the state of full and perfect enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. When we have that thought, we must overcome it. The thought of overcoming this negative thinking is actually the middle form of the enlightenment thought vow, and this is divided into three parts:
To be discouraged right at the very beginning and feeling that one is unable to do it. One has doubts about one’s strength, power or bravery to accomplish this, and one does not create the proper interest right from the very beginning. This is mediocre thinking.
To be discouraged at a later point in time.
To abandon the enlightenment thought through fear of worldly existence.
The first point means that having the thought that there is such a vast difference between ourselves and the Buddha, who has such great qualities and high realisation, we can never gain such a state, due to this, it creates a wish to abandon our enlightenment thought. The whole purpose of the middle form of vow is to realise that we have this thought of obstructing our enlightenment thought and the method to overcome it. To overcome this lack of strength or confidence, the great Bodhisattva Maitreya, for example, said that every moment in this world there is someone who gains enlightenment in some place. Because of this, there is no reason why we cannot gain such a state. Thinking this way will help us to overcome our discouragement of accomplishing the path.
Also the great Bodhisattva Shantideva said that not only ordinary people but even a small insect, which doesn’t have the advantage of a human existence, is able, through diligence, to gain such a state of liberation and omniscience. If such a being has the possibility to attain this, then why shouldn’t someone like ourselves who has the power to understand what are good and bad deeds, and has the power to gain such a state of enlightenment, be able to do so? Through thinking in this way, we can overcome this initial discouragement.
There is a story to show that through even a very small cause we can obtain a very good result. Once upon a time, there were seven insects on top of a leaf. The leaf was blown into a stream that carried it out into the ocean. Because of the wind, the leaf was taken to a place where a Buddha image was floating in the ocean. Due to the wind and the current, the leaf circled around the image three times.
Even though the insects did not have any motivation to circumambulate the image, their merit acquired by this action, they were reborn in their next life as seven women. In this new human life, they belonged to a very low caste. They were very poor, but they would cut grass and collect wood, and then sell these. With the earnings from these menial tasks, they made offerings and created virtuous deeds. As a result of their virtue, they were reborn in a later life as the seven daughters of a king who lived in the time of the Buddha Kashyapa.
During that lifetime, they made many offerings to the Buddha Kashyapa. The latter related the story about how they had come to be what they were and also made the prediction that the seven sisters would eventually gain full and perfect enlightenment. In this way, even from a very small cause not even arisen from a proper motivation, they were able to attain the state of enlightenment.
Also, there was once a layperson who lived during the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. He had decided to become a monk and take ordination. He approached Shariputra asking him to bestow upon him the ordination of a fully ordained monk. Through the supernatural power of his mind, Shariputra looked into this person’s past and could see no cause for him to be given ordination at that time. He told him that he did not have any cause or had performed any virtuous act that would allow him to take ordination at that time. The petitioner was very upset.
The man then approached the Buddha and told him what had happened. The Buddha said that this was not correct. Actually, a very long time ago, the man was a pig and one day, as he was being chased by a dog, he ran around a stupa three times. Due to this, he had gained enough merit to create a cause for him to receive ordination. So the Buddha himself bestowed upon him ordination and, through his own practice in that very lifetime, he gained Arhatship. Shariputra had supernatural power, had clairvoyance, and was able to understand the mind of others. Being an Arhat, however, his power could only extend to a certain limit in time and space. Due to this, he was not able to see completely all the deeds of others.
“The great Bodhisattva Shantideva said that not only ordinary people but even a small insect, which doesn’t have the advantage of a human existence, is able, through diligence, to gain such a state of liberation and omniscience. If such a being has the possibility to attain this, then why shouldn’t someone like ourselves who has the power to understand what are good and bad deeds, and has the power to gain such a state of enlightenment, be able to do so?”
Also, once there lived a woman who made an offering of rice to the Buddha. The Buddha gave a prediction that, due to the offering, she would for many lifetimes in the future, gain fortunate rebirths in the realms of gods and men, and that she would eventually attain the state of Pratyeka Buddha. The woman’s husband thought that this was rather absurd and said that for just one bowl of rice the Buddha would lie by saying that someone could attain such a great result. So he approached the Buddha and asked him why he had to lie and told him that he was making trouble for himself by telling such a lie just for the sake of obtaining a simple bowl of rice.
The Buddha asked him in return about the huge fruit tree that he had in his yard. He asked him the size of the seed that resulted in such a huge fruit tree. The man replied that the seed that had produced such a huge tree was actually very small, even smaller than a mustard seed. The Buddha said to him that he could see for himself that from a very small cause he could have a very great result. The man thought for himself and agreed that from a small cause one could gain great result. He was convinced of what the Buddha had said and, in that very lifetime, he was able to attain the first Bhumi.
Similarly, there were cases of people who just offered a small amount of herbs to the Buddha and through this created the enlightenment thought and were able to attain the state of enlightenment. There were others who gave a very small piece of cloth or even just a little bit of drinking water to the Buddha. Even from very small causes, they were able to produce the enlightenment thought and gain the stage of result. Therefore, there is no reason why we should be discouraged about never being to attain the state of enlightenment. If we do not produce the enlightenment thought and attain the state of realisation of liberation, then we will have to stay in this world of existence for a very long time. And the suffering that arises from having to stay here will be much greater than the suffering that we could ever experience through practising the path to gain enlightenment. Since this is the case, there is no reason why we should not produce the enlightenment thought.
The second aspect of the middle form of vow is to lose interest in the practice and be discouraged, thinking that we will never be able to gain the result. For example, sometimes when we perform deeds of giving, we think that we can gain the result very quickly, that we can become rich very quickly. Instead, it ends up that we become very poor after giving something and this causes discouragement. Again, if we are practising our Sadhana meditation, but we do not receive the blessing of the deity, we become discouraged and want to throw away the practice. Similarly, we can also become very discouraged if our effort to help a friend or relative to overcome his obstacles and recover from his sickness is not successful and the person dies, though many rituals or other dharma activities have been performed. This may lead us to abandon our practice.
If someone is very sick and dies even after rituals have been performed to overcome the sickness, this may be due to any of the seven causes. There are seven different causes for a person’s death. If any of these seven causes are not averted, then the person can die. The three main causes for death are:
The exhaustion of one’s life force
One’s previous deeds
The exhaustion of one’s merits
Any one of these can act as the cause of death. Death may also be caused by a combination of any of these three factors. Hence, from these three main causes there are seven different causes of death.
If our life force is exhausted, we should perform certain rituals or meditations on long-life deities such as Amitayus or Vijaya in order to restore it. If our previous bad deeds are the cause of our death, we should release animals in order to avert it. The animals that we release must be those that are either going to be killed or that are dying. We can buy them and release them so that they can have life. This will purify our karma and restore our life force.
If our merit is exhausted, we can replenish it through many means – like making offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, reciting scriptures like Sutras, making offerings to the Sangha, making gifts to others, and making food offering to various spirits of the world. It can also be any type of manner that creates virtue, that replaces non-virtuous thoughts with thoughts of virtuous, or any manner that obstructs any thought of non-virtue in our mind. These are different methods to replenish our merit and thereby extend our life span.
If only one of these three – life force, karma or merit – is exhausted, then there are methods to extend someone’s life span and also to make sure that a person will not die. If two of these factors are exhausted, then it is a little difficult, but possible to avert death. If, however, all three are exhausted simultaneously, there is no method that can help. Even the methods possessed by the Buddha are unable to avert this person’s death at that moment. So if someone dies even after different rituals have been performed, this is the sign that the person died because the three factors were simultaneously exhausted.
We should also see that there are three different types of result of karma that can arise:
The fully ripened result that means that the result of the deed can appear in this very lifetime.
The second type of result is less powerful than the first and its result will arise only in the next lifetime.
The third type of result will only appear at the earliest three lifetimes later or even very far in the future.
Sometimes we see that a person who has performed much virtue in his lifetime is experiencing a lot of suffering, while someone who has performed a lot of non-virtue seems to be experiencing a lot of happiness. We should understand that the experience of suffering and happiness are the results of the deeds of one’s previous lives and not only of this life.
So, in order for a result to arise in this lifetime, the deed must have very great power. And to produce a deed that has great force, the object for whom we are performing this deed must be someone very special, such as a fully enlightened being. The motivation for performing the deed must be incredibly strong, also the article involved in the deed must be a very special object. If any of these factors are less strong, then the result will arise in the next lifetime and, if less powerful than that, then the result can only arise after three or more lifetimes. This means that it is very difficult for a result to arise very quickly, in this very lifetime.
Also, some people think that those who follow the Buddha’s path will experience great suffering. One should understand that until the state of enlightenment is attained, everyone has to suffer, like Maudgalyana who was murdered and another Arhat who died after eating grass ashes. This means that the practice of dharma does not exclude us from experiencing suffering.
Nonetheless, the methods employed in the dharma are the best methods to completely destroy all our sufferings from the result point of view.
Some new practitioners think that by making a few offerings in one day, they will have a night of good dreams or that something wonderful will happen to them. Some people practice their Sadhana for one or two days thinking that they will meet one of the deities the next day. They may even think that one of the Buddhas will walk into their room and shake their hand to congratulate them on their meditation. For someone who has practised just a little bit of virtue, the result cannot come so quickly. We do not have the causes or conditions for the result to arise.
On top of that, it is not even good that the results ripen too quickly. This is because a lot of non-virtue has been committed through our speech and mind daily. If the results were to come too rapidly, we would have a lot of suffering very quickly. Also, if we perform a little virtue and gain a very fast result, the happiness is also going to disappear very quickly. It would create more unhappiness in our mind. So it is actually better for the result to ripen a little bit slower and at the proper time. We should not expect the result to ripen too quickly. It has to come through the proper causes and conditions.
The fact that the result of a practice cannot arise immediately is a sure sign of the infallibility of the law of cause and result. The reason for this is that a result must arise from proper causes and conditions. If all the causes and conditions do not happen simultaneously, then the result cannot arise. If we want the result to arise at an improper time, at the time when all the causes and conditions have not ripened, then it will show that the law of cause and result is not correct because it would mean that the result could arise before the condition. For example, if we plant a seed of a flower and as soon as we have planted the seed, we think that we should see the flower the same day or the next, that will not happen. This is because the causes and conditions not have ripened for that result. Also, if we are a little sick and we think that we can overcome it immediately by doing a little bit of virtue, it cannot happen because all the causes and conditions have not ripened for that to happen.
The third aspect of the middle form of vow is to abandon the enlightenment thought due to fear of samsara. It means that due to being afraid of having to experience many great sufferings in this world, one abandons one’s enlightenment thought. Again, when someone harms us, we think that we cannot return his harm in a peaceful way, and instead we want to harm him in return, that way we throw away our enlightenment thought. Sometimes for the sake of all sentient beings we have to endure staying in this world of existence for a very, very long time and we are unwilling to do so. Due to these three thoughts, we wish to abandon our enlightenment thought.
“In regards to our great fear of this world of existence and the suffering in this world, we should understand that this world of existence is by its very nature not real. It has no existence of its own, no true nature of its own. The world that we are experiencing or perceiving is just like a magical show. Since it is not real, there is no cause for us to fear it. Through understanding the illusory nature of this world of existence we can overcome fear of being in this world of existence.”
If someone harms us, we should understand that by harming him in return we will only create greater suffering. Whenever we experience harm from someone, we must meditate very carefully that we should return any harm that we receive with compassion or with loving kindness, that through this compassion and loving kindness towards others, we will be able to overcome any harm that we have received.
We have the idea that this world of existence lasts for a very long time, and as it takes a very long time to gain the stage of enlightenment for the benefit of others, we do not wish to stay here for that long. We should understand that the concept of short or long is just a conceptualisation of our own mind. They have no meaning of their own. The ideas of long periods or short periods are just ideas that we conceive through our own misconception. In reality, this concept of time is meaningless. Through this understanding, we can abandon the wrong thought and overcome our wish to abandon the enlightenment thought.
We can also overcome our abandonment of the enlightenment thought by praying to the great Bodhisattvas or deities. For example, one very great Indian saint by the name of Dinnaga had at one point in time thought of giving up his enlightenment thought and through praying to Manjushri, Manjushri appeared to him. Through Manjushri’s blessing, Dinnaga kept his vows of enlightenment thought.
Extensive Vow - The third form of vow, which is the extensive vow of the enlightenment thought, has three parts:
The causes of producing the enlightenment thought
The conditions to increase the enlightenment thought
The methods to overcome the destruction of the enlightenment thought
“The cause of the enlightenment thought is the production of thoughts of loving kindness and compassion.”
The conditions for increasing the enlightenment thought are to rely upon spiritual friends, to produce great faith in the Buddhas, and also to understand the deeds of Mara – the nature and influence of Mara and the methods to overcome them. In order to produce the conditions to increase our enlightenment thought, we pray to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to overcome the deeds of Mara, that we do not fall under the influence of Mara. We also pray that we remember the benefits of the enlightenment thought, the faults of this world of existence as well as the faults of Nirvana or personal liberation. We also remember the various qualities of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, such as their miraculous powers, their supernatural cognition, and supernatural knowledge. We also meditate on the idea that through the enlightenment thought we are able to bring benefit not only to ourselves but also to others. In this way, we are able to produce the conditions for increasing the enlightenment thought.
The methods to overcome the destruction of our enlightenment thought means that we can destroy our enlightenment thought:
Through losing faith in the Buddhas and in the Guru, and creating anger or hatred toward the Buddhas or the Gurus. In order to overcome this, we should first of all create proper faith in the Buddhas and also in the Guru. Through producing faith in the Triple Gem and the Guru this would obstruct any thought of anger or bad thoughts toward them.
Through jealousy of the prosperity of others. When we see others’ prosperity, it creates jealousy in our mind and this jealousy itself will harm our enlightenment thought. To overcome this, we should produce a thought of joy at the prosperity of others, that whatever they have we should be very happy that they are able to obtain it.
Through thinking of benefiting only ourselves, and not to benefit anyone else. To overcome this improper thought, we should meditate on cherishing others in place of cherishing ourselves.
When we do not know the qualities of the Buddhas or the enlightened ones, we have no desire to obtain these qualities and due to that our enlightenment thought can be destroyed. In order to overcome this, we must understand the various qualities that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have. Having understood them, we should engage in the various methods by which we will be able to gain them.
Entering Enlightenment Thought
What has been described above are the three trainings of the wishing enlightenment thought. Also, from the point of view of the entering enlightenment thought, there are three trainings – the brief, middle and extensive.
Brief Vow – The brief training for the entering enlightenment thought is basically the idea that we should abandon as much as we can, according to our capacity, all non-virtuous deeds and to accomplish all the virtuous deeds that we are able to. And also if by chance we perform any non-virtue in the morning, we should confess it at night, and any non-virtuous act we do in the night we should confess it the next day. And whatever virtuous deeds we do, we should always dedicate the merit arising from that act as a cause for our gaining the state of full and perfect enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.
Middle Vow – In regards to the middle vow of the entering enlightenment thought, there are four black dharmas and through performing them we will forget the enlightenment thought in the next life, and it will become spoilt. Through performing the four white dharmas, our practice of the enlightenment thought will continue to increase and grow in the next life and will not be spoilt.
The four black dharmas are:
To deceive the Guru, the Triple Gem or those who are worthy of receiving offering.
If we tell those who are practising virtue, especially those who are practiisng the Mahayana path that what they are practising is wrong and thus create a thought of regret in their mind for what they have done.
To criticise the Bodhisattvas.
To deceive or trick sentient beings in this world.
The four white dharmas are:
Not to lie.
To call others to enter the practice of virtue especially to enter the Mahayana path.
To praise or to create faith in the Bodhisattvas.
To have the thought of benefiting other living beings.
Extensive Vow – The extensive vow for training for the entering enlightenment thought is to meditate again and again on the enlightenment thought. This acts as a cause to produce the enlightenment thought. This acts as a cause to produce the enlightenment thought.
To create the conditions for increasing the enlightenment thought, one should recite any sevenfold prayer that one knows three times in a day and three times in the night, and also to engage in the various deeds that the Buddhas or the Bodhisattvas have done. One should engage in deeds of giving and other deeds of virtue. Examples of these deeds can be found in the Jakatas, or life stories of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
The method for not spoiling the entering enlightenment thought according to the Akashagarba Sutra is to avoid the fourteen root downfalls of the Bodhisattva vows. And should they be broken, one should confess them.
One method for not spoiling our Bodhisattva vows is through reliance upon our Yidam or special deity, like the great Indian teacher Dinnaga, who had managed to keep his enlightenment thought through reliance on Manjushri. Dinnaga was born in South India to a very powerful and rich king. When he grew up, he gave up his life as a prince and entered the Buddhist Order. The Order he entered into followed one of the Hinayana traditions. This tradition held the view that there was a self, and that everyone possessed it. However, Dinnaga had heard that within the (Mahayana) Buddhist tradition, there was the idea of no self.
Nevertheless, being a monk in that monastery, he felt that he should not contradict the abbot who had mentioned such a view. He thought that he might be wrong. But in order to find out the existence of self that the abbot had mentioned, he created four new windows in his room and burned four more lamps at night. He examined his body very carefully to find where the self was. He could, however, not find the self. At times, he would even take off all his clothes and stand naked in front of a mirror to search all over his body for his self. Some of the monks in the monastery saw him doing this and told the abbot about it.
The abbot called for him and told him that since he had renounced the world, he should act in the proper way and should stop doing strange things. Dinnaga then told the abbot that he was trying to find the self and was thinking that his impure vision might have been obstructing him from seeing properly what the abbot was talking about. So he made four new windows and burned more lamps, hoping to see it. Failing to see the self, he thought that his clothes might be obstructing the vision of his true self. So he took off his clothes and searched very carefully. Since he could not find the self, he told the abbot that maybe the abbot’s view of the existence of a self was not proper. The abbot told him that the other monks in the monastery had accepted his view of the self, and as Dinnaga was denying his view and had the negative view of nihilism, he felt that it would be better for Dinnaga to leave the monastery.
Dinnaga left the monastery and decided to go the mountains of Northern India to meditate. On the way, he met another prince who noticed the sign of a wheel on Dinnaga’s foot. He told Dinnaga that if Dinnaga were to become a king, he would be very powerful. He was willing to give half of his kingdom to Dinnaga if he agreed to join him. Dinnaga told him that within the three realms of existence, there was no purpose in him ruling a kingdom or having worldly power.
Dinnaga found himself a cave where he meditated and studied the various scriptures of the Buddha. During his study, he realised that the meaning of the Buddha’s teachings were scattered in many books. So he decided to write a book to bring all the ideas together in a short manageable form. Before he started on his work, he wrote one verse in praise of the Buddha on the wall of his cave and stated his purpose in writing the book. Many wonderful signs like earthquakes arose and lights illuminated a wide area at that time.
In the same area, a Hindu scholar and meditator saw the signs appearing. Being a good meditator, he saw through his supernatural power that Dinnaga was writing the text in a cave. He realised that the book that Dinnaga was writing would create great harm to the Hindu tradition. So, whenever Dinnaga went our on his alms rounds, he would go to the cave and wipe out the verse on the wall. Every time he did that, Dinnaga would rewrite the verse on the wall. That happened three times. On the fourth day, when Dinnaga wrote the verse, he left a message inviting the person who had wiped out the verse to meet him and clarify the reason for doing this. When the Hindu went to wipe out the verse for the fourth time, he saw the message on the wall. So he remained until Dinnaga returned.
When Dinnaga returned to the cave, they debated on the proper view of ultimate reality. Dinnaga won the debate and said that the Hindu scholar should give up his religion and embrace Buddhism. The scholar refused to. So, through his miraculous power, he issued forth fire from his mouth and burned off Dinnaga’s hair and beard. Though the fire was so powerful that it burned the trees around that area, it could not harm Dinnaga because he had produced the enlightenment thought. The Hindu scholar flew off and disappeared in the sky.
Dinnaga at that point thought that in return for what he had done for the dharma, his hair and beard had been burnt. He thought that this was only one person, and if there were many such people in the world, and if that was the kind of return that he would get, there would be no use for him gaining Buddhahood for the sake of all the wretched sentient beings.
Thinking in this way, he wrote his intention to give up the enlightenment thought on a piece of wood and threw it into the air. He decided that from the moment the piece of wood landed on the ground he would give up his enlightenment thought and never work for the sake of sentient beings again. But the piece of wood didn’t land on the ground. When Dinnaga looked up into the sky, he saw Manjushri holding the piece of wood and he asked Manjushri why he was doing that. Manjushri asked him what he was doing, and Dinnaga explained what he was doing, and Dinnaga explained what had happened. Manjushri told him that he should not give up his enlightenment thought. He said that he would stay with him and act as his spiritual friend until he attained the first Bhumi. He also told Dinnaga that what he was writing was very good and he should continue with his writing because it would be beneficial to many sentient beings.
