"When Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara was practicing the profound Prajna Paramita, he illuminated the five skandhas and saw that they are all empty, and he crossed beyond all suffering and difficulty." This line from the Heart Sutra speaks of Guanshiyin (whose name in Sanskrit is Avalokiteshvara) Bodhisattva, who realized perfect penetration by means of the faculty of hearing. He "turned the hearing back to listen to his own nature, so his nature attained the unsurpassed Way." To turn the hearing back means to "turn the light around and reflect within," and to "investigate." If you investigate, you will discover an inconceivable state. I cannot describe this state to you; if you want to taste its flavor, you have to work at your own practice. Turning the light around means to reflect, to investigate, to illuminate. You have to truly practice if you want to experience that inconceivable state. You turn the light around and reflect within, using your Prajna wisdom to illuminate it and dispel all the darkness. This is also known as turning the hearing back to listen to your own nature. Your inherent nature is pure and undefiled, but your mind--not the true mind, but the human mind which exploits for selfish benefit--is defiled. That mind is very unreliable, like a monkey that bounces up and down all day long. Turning the hearing back to listen to the nature means watching over the mind until the mind returns to the nature. The mind moves, but the nature is still and unmoving. When the stillness reaches an extreme, the light becomes penetrating. When you are still to the utmost point, the light appears and your nature attains to the unsurpassed Way. This is the method that Guanshiyin Bodhisattva cultivated. Reflecting within means seeking inside yourself, listening to your nature to see if you have thoughts of greed, anger, or stupidity. If the three poisons are not present, then you have the three nonoutflow studies: precepts, concentration, and wisdom. This is the general meaning of turning the hearing around to listen to the nature.

Because he turned the hearing back to listen to his own nature, he was able to contemplate at ease. Being at ease is a state of being without others, self, living beings, or a life span. "At what level is one at ease?" you ask. One is at ease at the level of sagehood. Ordinary people are not at ease. Sages have no mark of others, self, living beings, or life span, so they can be at ease. Ordinary people are attached to these four marks, so they are never at ease. People study the Buddhadharma but cannot see the four marks as empty, so they cannot obtain ease. To be at ease, you must sweep away the three minds and annul the four marks. "The mind of the past cannot be got at," because it has already passed. "The mind of the present cannot be got at. "You may say "this" is the present, but by then it has already become the past. There is no such thing as "the present"; it is false. "The mind of the future cannot be got at," because it is not here yet. Since the future hasn't arrived, why think about it? If you know that the three minds cannot be obtained and the four marks are empty, then you are the Bodhisattva Who Contemplates at Ease.

We are holding a Chan session so we can contemplate at ease. Everyone should contemplate at ease. Don't say, "Guanshiyin Bodhisattva is the Bodhisattva Who Contemplates at Ease; it says so in the Heart Sutra." Whoever is at ease is the Bodhisattva Who Contemplates at Ease. This Bodhisattva doesn't have a fixed identity. All living beings can be the Bodhisattva Who Contemplates at Ease. As you begin to sit in Chan, contemplate yourself to see if you are at ease. If you are, you'll be able to "illuminate the five skandhas and see that they are all empty." That is what is meant by "practicing the profound Prajna Paramita." If you can do that, then you'll be able to "cross beyond all suffering and difficulty." Having ended all suffering, you are at ease. Not only will Guanshiyin Bodhisattva become one with us, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the ten directions will become one with us.