The 3 Minds & the 3 Encompassings
- CSS Staff Writers
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Written based on lectures given by Thầy Hằng Trường in Vietnamese during a Bodhisattva Training in Orange County (Fall 2014).
The Bodhi Minh or Bodhicitta consists of 3 Minds: Straight Mind, Great Compassion (Mind) and Profound Mind. The 3 Encompassings are characteristics that practitioners of the 3 Minds manifest in their life: All-encompassing Openness
Encompassing Magnanimous Perfect Harmony
Three main trends in spiritual practices.
In spiritual practices, there are three main trends:
1. Practicing to attain complete liberation and inner freedom, remaining untangled in the defiled mundane world. This is known as the "upward-striving" path, cultivating the Straight Mind and develop Prajna (transcendental wisdom).
This trend aspires to higher ideals and transcendance.
2. Practicing so that when connecting with others, the True Mind flows from one's heart into every relationship; this allows those we interact with to sense liberation, while one remains unattached. Typically, when relating to someone, emotions and sentiments arise. Patriarchs therefore designated this type of connection as “Compassion” — written in Chinese characters as ‘not-heart’ implying a state beyond mere emotion or sentiment. The Compassionate relationship transcends emotions such as joy, anger, sadness, hatred, or resentment. We often mistake Compassion for ordinary affection, but in reality, it is the manifestation of the True Mind within every relationship.
Examples.
* When the True Mind permeates the relationship with one’s parent, it manifests as filial piety.
* When the True Mind permeates the relationship with friends, it gives rise to a spirit of unconditional support and assistance.
* When the True Mind permeates the relationship with a spouse, it manifests as the offering of unconditional love.
The True Mind expresses itself through different qualities depending on the specific relationship (for example with colleagues, children, grandchildren, a partner, etc.). We engage in a vast array of relationships—infinitely diverse in nature—and our practice must ensure that the True Mind permeates every one of them.
This trend aims to develop the Great Compassion consciousness/mind and aspires to pervade kindness and compassion to all.
3. Cultivation aims to develop the Profound Mind and skillful means, because in life we interact with living environments, circumstances, work, systems, structures, different activities, and different workflows—contexts in which every individual constantly shifts their dynamics. These relationships are more complex than mere interpersonal ones. When the True Mind permeates the universe, it gives rise to complex systems, each governed by its own immutable laws or principles, and each embedded within a specific culture.
This trend aspires to uplift all beings through skillful means.
Manifestations of the 3 Minds after bringing the fruits of the practices above into daily life.
1. When a practitioner develops the “Straight Mind", their mind opens up. To an external observer, this person manifests a quality of “all-encompassing openness", characterized by ease, optimism, amiability, pleasantness. This state can be described as infinite openness and unencumbered freedom.
2. When the practitioner reaches the stage where the True Mind infuses their interpersonal relationships, observers perceive them as magnanimously tolerant and forbearing (even when facing verbal abuse, mistreatment, etc.).
A heart of Great Compassion remains unattached. Feelings of affection, love, hatred, or anger all create attachments; such emotions bind one to the ego. To be unattached here means not being bound by the ego, but rather living constantly in alignment with the True Mind.
3. When a practitioner cultivates the Profound Mind, they possess vast and profound understanding, enabling them to handle any situation without becoming stuck. To an external observer, this manifests as Perfect Harmony and Unimpeded Fluidity: the ability to ensure that all undertakings proceed smoothly and seamlessly.
High intellect, broad knowledge, a mastery of skillful means, and the ability to coordinate people and tasks in perfect rhythm are hallmarks of this state.
All-encompassing Openess, Encompassing Magnanimous, and Perfect Harmony represent the ideals of the Compassionate Service Society. We must learn to embody this spirit and cultivate ourselves to reach a state where we are never stuck, attached, bound, or become dark.
Hàm Dung (Infinite Openess), Bao Dung (Encompassing Magnanimous), and Viên Dung (Perfect Harmony)
Hàm signifies openness, a lack of attachment, and the absence of any ego-traces. Dung signifies understanding, unobstructed flow, freedom, and spaciousness. Together, hàm dung describes a state of infinite openness and unencumbered freedom.
Bao implies enveloping or encompassing. Dung implies an infinite capacity/ability to contain while simultaneously transform what/who is contained.
Viên (Perfect/Complete) encompasses all aspects, times, and places.*Dung* (Fluid/Harmonious) signifies a state of being all-encompassing, unobstructed, smooth-flowing, and at ease. The word Dung in Viên Dung and Hàm Dung is the same, whereas the word Dung in Bao Dung carries a different meaning (and is written differently in Chinese).
The 3 Minds are Principles, while the 3 Encompassing are Phenomena. The Avatamsaka philosophy refers extensively to the concept of Principle vs Phenomenon.
Comments