21. Catch the Point in Buddhism

By Luang Pu Thate Desaraṅsī

January 21, 1985

Now, all of you, listen attentively to this skillful means. Since you have come to ordain together in Buddhism, make this resolution in your hearts: "I will constantly be aware that Buddhism is something we must study and train ourselves to understand." The religion is vast. If you cannot catch the point, you will become confused and lost, because the religion has many aspects and angles that you must penetrate to reach the truth. But once you catch the point, there is not so much complexity. As the Buddha taught in the Ovāda Pātimokkha:

Sabba pāpassa akaraṇaṁ, kusalassa upasampadā, sacitta pariyodapanaṁ — etaṁ Buddhāna sāsanaṁ.

"To avoid all evil, to cultivate what is wholesome, and to purify one's own mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas."

Just purifying your own mind to make it bright and clear is enough; that is the religion.

If you cannot catch the point and remain superstitious, grabbing at this and that, never hitting the mark, then it becomes vast. Therefore, catch the point. The point in Buddhism is nothing else — it is the mind itself. As the saying goes:

Etaṁ Buddhāna sāsanaṁ — "This is the teaching of the Buddhas." Only the mind is the religion. The mind that is defiled and the mind that is purified — it is this same mind. The mind that is clouded or afflicted by defilements is this mind. The mind that is bright and free from defilements is also this very mind. You don’t need many things. All those many aspects are simply to help you see the different facets of the mind. Talking a lot leads to many matters. But in truth, once you catch a single point, there isn’t much. It is just this one mind. Thinking good, thinking bad, thinking coarse, thinking subtle — it’s all this same mind. If it doesn’t think, then there’s no issue. And the way to make it not think is to catch that very point. That’s where the matter ends. If it thinks, then there are endless matters, without limit.

Therefore, in our practice of the religion, do not investigate too much. There is no end to it. No matter how much you investigate, there is no end if you don’t catch the point. Although the Buddha taught his disciples extensively, he never abandoned the principle: the single mind. The mind is what’s important. If the mind does not think or conceptualize, then everything ends. Thinking and conceptualizing in many ways are merely functions of the mind. When the mind does not think or conceptualize, it remains in one place. You see your own mind, and that’s it. Thinking and conceptualizing are separate — they are functions of the mind. The functions of the mind are endless.

The Buddha taught extensively in many ways so that we could see the single mind. If someone does not understand and cannot catch the mind, they get lost in the words and rhetoric. But if you catch that single mind, you are in line with the Buddha’s teaching — completely. That the mind has many aspects and appears as many things is due to its functions, not the heart itself. The true heart is one. The mind, on the other hand, has many aspects. No matter how extensively you explain it, it is endless. But when someone has reached the ultimate, they may describe the mind in many ways, following its functions, and then bring it all together into the heart. Coming to the heart — that one thing. The heart is singular. The mind has many aspects — the various expressions of the heart are called "mind."

But the Buddha also said that "mind" and "heart" are the same thing. Whatever mind, that is the heart. If you cannot catch the mind or grasp the heart, then you remain lost in the world without end. If you catch the mind, you see: "Oh! That is just a function of the mind." Thinking, conceiving, fabricating all kinds of things — the hundreds and thousands of phenomena described so extensively — they are all just functions of the mind. When you reach the heart, there is nothing — just stillness.

But in that stillness, what do you perceive? Whether you know or not, set that aside for now. First, let that stillness know the stillness itself. The mind’s functions are numerous, but the heart’s function is one. When the functions of the mind are gathered together, they become the function of the heart. This is what is meant by magga-samaṅgī — one who possesses the path. When one attains the path, its fruition, and Nibbāna, it all becomes one — that is reaching the heart.

If you want to know what the heart is like, infer it by considering this: Just stay still. Test your own strength. Hold your breath for a moment. Right now, not later. Just a short while. During the moment you hold your breath, what is there in that place? We say there is nothing, but you know that there is nothing. That mere knowing of nothing — that is the heart. That is the original, true heart. See that first. Then later, contemplate the mind that thinks so broadly and extensively. Always come back to the heart. That is where there is an end. Buddhism teaches that there is an end. It is not like worldly knowledge. Worldly knowledge can be taught endlessly, without limit.

Buddhism teaches by bringing everything down to the heart — mano, they call it the heart. When the mind goes out from the heart, if it is a function, it is called "mind." When it comes together as one function, it is called "heart." It can be compared to gathering together as samaṅgī (one who possesses). But when it is merely the heart, it is not yet true samaṅgī. The state of samaṅgī must come right there — reaching the heart at that point. Then you truly know and see all things. That knowing arises from this very heart. First, everything is abolished — all functions of the mind are eliminated — and then you reach the heart. Only then do you see what is real.

The affairs of the world are affairs of the mind. They are endless. If you never see the heart, you remain deluded and distracted by everything, delighting in everything. That is why the path, its fruition, and Nibbāna gradually converge into one. Magga-samaṅgī means coming together as one. Ekāyano ayaṁ maggo — the Buddha said, "This path is a single one, not many." It converges into one, not thinking or wandering out to external things. It comes together as one, and that is called magga-samaṅgī. To attain the path, its fruition, and Nibbāna, you must arrive at magga-samaṅgī. Each path is experienced only once, not again. That is the end.

When you come to practice the religion, aim to reach that point. If you cannot reach it yet, take it as a preliminary. Make it reach the heart — that is, see the heart. Do not follow the functions of the mind. Following them is useless. The mind’s functions think, conceive, and wander through everything. When you know the heart, even if the mind thinks and wanders, those are the mind’s own affairs. The heart remains stable. If you can gather the mind into the heart, then there is an end.

Buddhism is not like the teachings of ordinary scholars. Buddhism teaches to the ultimate — reaching the heart. Other religions or other fields of knowledge teach endlessly, with no foundation to grasp. Enough for now.