The goal of Buddhist cultivation is to transcend the life and death of samsara. In order to do this, we must first understand the meaning of samsaric life and death, and what it means to transcend it and reach liberation.
Some people see suicide as a way to resolve all their suffering and difficulties in one fell swoop. In reality, suicide will bring nothing but deeper pain and afflictions to themselves and their families. Thus, Buddhadharma teaches us to free ourselves from suffering by working on the causes, not by looking only for the results. Since the pain and poverty we experience in this life are the effects produced by causes we ourselves planted in the past, the way to liberation begins by accepting responsibility, facing reality, and working hard to change our future. How can we change our future? First, is by having contrition and practicing repentance; second, is by having patience; third, is by proactively cultivating wholesome deeds and eliminating unwholesome ones; fourth, is by using the Buddhadharma to transform consciousness into wisdom. By transforming our afflictions and taking responsibility for the karmic effects or retributions that have already manifested through the methods explained above, we will be acting on the right principles and have peace of mind. By proactively cultivating wholesome causes in the present, thus increasing our merits and wisdom, our future path will become brighter and brighter. In this way, we will reach true liberation.
In the cultivation of learning to realize buddhahood, we must first understand the root source of life and death in samsara—only then, will we know how to transcend it. The truth is that life and death are caused by the afflictions and attachments in our mind. Because the mind has afflictions and attachments, their karmic seeds arise and cease endlessly in our eighth consciousness; these seeds manifest as experiential states, which in turn cause us to plant additional seeds even more deeply. After death, the experiential states we have attachments to will appear in our consciousness. Seeing these states, we consequently give rise to greed and afflictions, which become the karmas that drive us to take rebirth again and again in the cycle of samsara. It is because of this that afflictions and attachments are the root cause of samsaric life and death. Sexual desire, ignorance, denial of causality, not knowing the intrinsic buddha nature of sentient beings—all of these are afflictions.
Ordinary people misunderstand “birth” as the moment they are born from their mother’s womb, and “death” as taking their final breath. If we focus our efforts on this form of life and death, we will have no way to reach liberation. This is because it is a karmic result that has already manifested; if we want to be liberated, we cannot run away or kill ourselves. Instead, we must work on the present causes: overcome the afflictions in the mind, eradiate unwholesome thoughts, and undo the knots in the heart. With untying these knots and awakening to the mind, comes liberation.
The reason we are born is because after we died in our past lives, our consciousness could not control itself. As a result, it was carried along by karmic forces in the cycle of samsara. Thus, we must use samadhi stillness and prajna wisdom in order to master ourselves. If we want to be free from life and death, we have to learn the Buddhadharma—cultivating both samadhi and prajna. This very mind must be clear and lucid, remain in right samadhi, and know that all things are illusory and insubstantial. To reach this state, we should regularly cultivate samadhi stillness and apply prajna wisdom to reflect with awareness. Know that the buddha nature inherent in sentient beings is non-arising and non-ceasing; the mind-nature of our intrinsic knowing and pure awareness is ever-present. Throughout our daily lives, always reflect inward with the light of awareness, transform our afflictions, and contemplate the empty nature of dependent arising, as well as the principle of causality. In this way, we will overcome our greed and attachments to perfect both samadhi and prajna, thus transcending life and death.
Therefore, transcending life and death is something we must do at every moment. By cultivating this way until all our afflictions and attachments are eradicated, we will fully realize our true mind, our intrinsic nature. It is the one that is non-arising, non-ceasing, and not subject to life and death. Realize the state where we do not raise a single thought. Then we will be free from the cycle of samsara and reach true liberation.