**Why is speaking considered an obstacle to spiritual practice? And why is the smartphone a major harm?**
According to the theory of “reflection”:
We see something (external stimulus) → we generate feelings and understanding (mental reflection) → we say something (verbal behavior).
Even seemingly proactive and purposeful actions—such as planning, imagining, lying, or writing fiction—are still based on past experiences. They are essentially reflections or reworkings of previous encounters.
Human language, whether passive response or active expression, is essentially the mind's reaction and projection onto external circumstances. Language concretizes and amplifies this internal reaction, causing mental fluctuations to become more intense, and reinforcing attachment to illusions of separation like “what I said,” “what you heard,” or “what he expressed.”
As the Sixth Patriarch Huineng said: “The wind moves, the banner moves, but ultimately it is the mind that moves.” What truly moves is not the wind or the banner, but the mind. If the mind remains unmoved, then even as the external world shifts and transforms, it cannot taint the heart. Conversely, once the mind is stirred, it begins to discriminate, to prefer or reject, to judge right and wrong—leading to endless disturbance and entanglement.
Speaking is a manifestation of the mind in motion.
Language is not only the result of mental agitation; it also feeds back into and amplifies it. The more one speaks, the stronger the internal reactions to external events become, deepening attachment. These attachments in turn cycle back through future thoughts and actions, reinforcing one’s fixation on the “self” and the “world,” thus creating a vicious cycle.
Spiritual cultivation is about “turning the awareness inward,” “stilling the mind and ceasing thoughts,” and “seeing one’s true nature with clarity.” To achieve this, the mind must first be calmed and brought back to its original state. But since language is a product of a restless mind, it disrupts that stillness, constantly pulling awareness outward, making it difficult to reflect inward and return to one’s true nature.
Thus, though speaking may seem trivial, it is in fact a major hindrance on the spiritual path.
**Only speak when necessary.**
Silence is not avoidance—it is the discipline and return of the mind. As the saying goes: **“Few words come naturally.”**
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**The Great Harm of the Smartphone**
One study measured the growth of global telecommunication data:
In 1986, each person received the equivalent of about two pages of newspaper information per day.
By 2007, this had grown to the equivalent of six full newspapers per day.
After 2007, with the widespread use of smartphones, the average person now “says” an additional **3,000 to 10,000 words per day** (an increase of 30% to 100%).
Smartphones allow people to express, comment, share, and chat anytime, anywhere. On the surface, this seems like progress in communication tools—but in reality, it reflects a mind that is constantly racing outward.
According to the reflection theory, language is the mind’s reaction to and processing of external stimuli—an outward manifestation of inner movement. The more we speak, the less tranquil the mind becomes, and the more easily it is stirred by external conditions—directly opposing the aim of spiritual practice: to calm the mind and cease restless thoughts.
The smartphone has ushered in **high-frequency language interactions**—social media comments, group chats, likes, and shares—which cause people to become ever more attached to the expressive “self,” the responding “other,” and the discussed “third party.” This deepens the dualistic mindset of subject and object, increasing ego-clinging and the habit of discrimination.
But the core aim of spiritual practice is to **dissolve the ego** and realize the emptiness of all phenomena. Language, however, continues to solidify and amplify the illusion of separation between self and other. It turns what is originally empty and illusory into something seemingly real and heavy—like a mental echo chamber that amplifies distractions and makes it harder to return to the true self.
**Chapter on the Perfect Penetration through Mindfulness of the Buddha by Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva**,
Excerpted from Volume Five of the *Śūraṅgama Sūtra*. Due to the advocacy of Master Yìnguāng, the 13th Patriarch of the Pure Land School, this chapter became one of the core scriptures of the Chinese Pure Land tradition, known as one of the “Five Sutras and One Treatise.”
At the Śūraṅgama Assembly, Śākyamuni Buddha asked the great bodhisattvas to explain the methods they used to enter samādhi and attain enlightenment. Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva explained that he had successfully cultivated through the practice of mindfulness of the Buddha (nianfo). The key to this method lies in “gathering in all six senses, and sustaining pure mindfulness without interruption.” By focusing the mind, recollecting and reciting the Buddha's name, and maintaining pure and continuous mindfulness, one achieves realization.
> Just like two people—one always remembers, the other always forgets—
> Whether they meet or not, whether they see each other or not,
> If both remember each other deeply,
> Then from life to life, they will be inseparable,
> Like a shadow following form, never parting.
>
> The Buddhas of the ten directions are compassionate toward sentient beings,
> Just as a mother remembers her child.
> If the child runs away, what use is the mother’s remembrance?
> But if the child remembers the mother as the mother remembers the child,
> Then throughout countless lifetimes, they will never be far apart.
>
> If sentient beings recollect and recite the Buddha’s name,
> In the present or in the future, they will certainly see the Buddha.
> They are not far from the Buddha.
> Without using other skillful means,
> They naturally open their minds.
>
> Just like a person who bathes in incense,
> The fragrance naturally clings to their body.
> This is called being adorned with the light and fragrance.
>
> In the past, at the causal stage,
> I entered the patience of non-arising (anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti)
> Through mindfulness of the Buddha.
> Now, in this world,
> I guide those who recite the Buddha’s name to return to the Pure Land.
>
> The Buddha asked about the perfect method of realization—
> I chose none other than this:
> To gather in all six sense faculties,
> And sustain pure mindfulness without interruption.
>
> By this, I attained samādhi.
> This is the supreme method.
**Counteracting Anger**
*Anger* (瞋心) refers to the mind's tendency to become angry or irritated. There are several methods to counteract anger:
1. **Practice Patience (Forbearance):**
Anything that provokes anger can be seen as an opportunity to cultivate patience. These adverse conditions become supportive conditions for the development of forbearance.
2. **Cultivate Loving-Kindness:**
Loving-kindness (慈心) is the direct antidote to anger. A heart filled with compassion and empathy can dissolve anger and hostility.
3. **Contemplate Selflessness:**
All afflictions are rooted in attachment to the self. The fundamental cause of anger is the clinging to the concept of "I" or "self." By loosening this attachment and contemplating the absence of a fixed self, one can weaken and ultimately overcome anger.
4. **Reflect on Impermanence:**
Everything in the world is constantly changing. This moment, this person, this situation—are all just fleeting instances in an ever-shifting reality. The person we are angry at, and the cause of our anger, are but brief appearances. Reflecting on impermanence helps to dissolve the grip of anger on the mind.
The Ullambana Dharma Assembly is held annually on the 15th day of the 7th month in the lunar calendar. The merits generated from making offerings to the Triple Gem through Buddhist practices are dedicated to the well-being and health of one’s living parents.
During the time of the Buddha, Brahmins in India would hold offering ceremonies for the deceased. On this day, they made offerings to the monastic community, dedicating the merits to departed ancestors and parents from past lives, in hopes of relieving their suffering and helping them attain liberation. When the *Ullambana Sutra* was introduced to China, its emphasis on repaying the kindness of one’s parents—by making offerings to the Sangha to deliver even seven generations of ancestors—resonated deeply with Confucian values of filial piety. As a result, successive Chinese emperors promoted the practice, and it flourished continuously throughout history.
During the Liang Dynasty of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Emperor Wu of Liang initiated the Ullambana Dharma Assembly to express gratitude and repay the kindness of one’s parents and ancestors. The tradition reached its peak during the Tang Dynasty, when both the government and the general populace actively participated in the celebrations.
**Speak Less**
The benefit of speaking less lies in reducing *verbal karma*. Living in the mundane world, it is inevitable that we have to speak. But the more we talk, the harder it is to avoid accumulating verbal karma.
*Verbal karma* refers to the karmic consequences brought about by our speech. It generally manifests in the following four forms—see which ones apply to you:
1. **False Speech (Lying):** This refers to telling lies that have no basis in truth.
2. **Divisive Speech (Slander):** This involves seizing opportunities to gossip or sow discord between people by speaking ill of one to another.
3. **Harsh Speech (Abusive Language):** This refers to constant scolding, cursing others when in disagreement, or using malicious language.
4. **Idle Chatter (Frivolous Speech):** These are words that sound pleasant or clever but lack substance or sincerity—flattery used for selfish ends, or speech that is frivolous, inappropriate, or disrespectful.
Therefore, in order to reduce verbal karma, one can practice speaking less.
> **All bodhisattvas, great beings, should thus give rise to a pure mind:**
>
> They should not give rise to a mind that dwells on forms;
> They should not give rise to a mind that dwells on sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, or mental objects.
>
> **They should give rise to a mind that does not abide anywhere.**
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### **Explanation in English (modern interpretation):**
This passage, from the *Diamond Sutra* (Sanskrit: *Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra*), is one of the core teachings in Mahayana Buddhism concerning the nature of emptiness (*śūnyatā*) and the practice of **non-abiding mind** (*wu zhu sheng xin*, 无住生心).
**1. “All bodhisattvas, great beings, should thus give rise to a pure mind”:**
A *bodhisattva-mahāsattva* is a great being committed to the Mahayana path of enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.
To “give rise to a pure mind” means to cultivate a mind free from defilement, attachment, or clinging.
**2. “They should not give rise to a mind that dwells on forms... or mental objects”:**
The six sense objects—form (sight), sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental phenomena—are called the *six dusts* (六尘).
The passage urges practitioners **not to attach the mind** to these sensory or conceptual experiences.
In practice, this means not letting external stimuli provoke greed, anger, or delusion.
**3. “They should give rise to a mind that does not abide anywhere”:**
This is the key instruction.
A mind that “does not abide” is one that does not cling to anything—not to the external world, nor to thoughts, emotions, or even spiritual concepts.
Yet, it is not a blank or inactive mind—it is active, compassionate, and wise, but free from fixation.
---
### **Contemporary Understanding:**
* When acting in the world, do not be led by emotions, praise, blame, or outcomes.
* Keep the mind **aware yet unattached**, **engaged but unstained**.
* Do good not for recognition, but because it naturally arises from a pure, unattached heart.
---
### **Summarized Teaching:**
> “To be free from all appearances is to be called a Buddha.”
> (*离一切相，即名诸佛。*)
This is a profound pointer to the **Middle Way**:
Not withdrawal from the world, but moving through it with clarity, compassion, and non-attachment.
"My teacher said: 'Dharma arises from conditions and also ceases due to conditions. All phenomena are empty and without a self.'"
If one’s understanding of the world remains unchanged throughout life, then the entire process of living becomes a kind of failure.
If *making a living* never transitions into *making a life*, then there is no true *life*—because nothing that truly pertains to *life* has ever happened.
This is why it's said: if one does not, through the course of life, experience the fundamental impermanence of the world, it is very difficult to give rise to the aspiration to transcend it.
Thus, Buddhism speaks of the "Three Realms as a burning house"—but the vast majority of sentient beings do not see themselves as living in a burning house.
The so-called "burning house" refers to the fact that all worldly things are rooted in impermanence and decay.
The Saha world, when translated, means "the world of endurance"—a realm where beings endure afflictions and are unwilling to transcend them. They remain enamored until death with what is "mine" and "what once was mine," pouring their entire life into these attachments without hesitation.
A hallmark of the degenerate age is precisely this deepening infatuation.
Material abundance, at its core, strengthens the ego. As the world develops, the increase in material wealth deepens the perception of self, which in turn fuels even more material production.
Thus, the entropy of the world keeps increasing. Entropy itself is a sign of energy degradation and systemic disorder.
In this time-space reality that is sinking downward, and within the limited window that is the human lifespan, the paths to transcendence grow fewer and fewer.
Therefore, from a methodological perspective, the practice of mindfulness through reciting the Buddha's name (*Nianfo*) is indeed a shortcut.
Those who display themselves are not enlightened;
those who justify themselves are not illustrious;
those who boast of themselves achieve no merit;
those who exalt themselves will not endure.
One who flaunts his own opinions will not gain clarity;
one who deems himself always right will not be truly distinguished;
one who boasts of himself will establish no real merit;
one who is arrogant and self-important cannot become a leader of others.
The Three Gates of Liberation
Also called the practices of Emptiness Liberation, Signlessness Liberation, and Desirelessness Liberation. These are three kinds of meditative practices.
1. The Gate of Emptiness Liberation: Realizing that all phenomena are inherently empty, yet not becoming attached to emptiness.
2. The Gate of Desirelessness Liberation: Understanding that all phenomena exist like illusions, thus generating no desires or pursuits.
3. The Gate of Signlessness Liberation: Realizing that all phenomena are without fixed characteristics, yet not apart from characteristics, thereby entering the Middle Way.