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Manifestation Only 01
The 50 Verses on Manifestation-Only were composed in a very practical spirit to support the practice and care of the community: from daily mindfulness practice, building the sangha, transforming the inner self, to healing mental illnesses. In the past, Manifestation-Only teachings were often just theory, but these 50 verses, once memorized, can be immediately applied as an instrument for retreats as well as for psychotherapy programs.
The first verse begins with the image:
I. Mind is a field in which seeds are sown; every kind of seed is in it. Mind-ground is also the totality of those seeds.
– “Earth” is likened to the capacity to store, to contain all seeds (Buddha seeds, Mara seeds, sage seeds, ordinary seeds, loyal seeds, betraying seeds, etc.);
– “Mind-ground” is the store, that is, the total content being preserved, waiting for conditions to sprout;
– Illustrative examples: the earth in which basil and perilla seeds are sown; the Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha with the verse “the earth speaks of solidity, vastness, and inclusivity”; the saying “if the mind-ground is clear, the sun of wisdom will naturally shine.”
In Manifestation-Only teachings, store consciousness is also called by many names to express different aspects of the mind-field:
- The capacity to store (năng tàng)
- The totality of seeds (sở tàng)
- The object of attachment, the basis for the sense of self (ngã ái chấp tàng)
- The consciousness containing all seeds (sarvabījaka, nhất thiết chủng thức)
Thus, the verse introduces the fundamental concept of ālayavijñāna—the stable mind-ground that stores and maintains all seeds, thereby guiding us in how to take care of, nurture wholesome seeds, and to transform negative seeds.