{"id":843,"date":"2026-07-07T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/minhlydao.org.vn\/en\/?page_id=843"},"modified":"2026-07-07T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T00:00:00","slug":"opening-the-gate-of-prajna","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/huyencong.minhlydao.org.vn\/index.php\/en\/quiet-cultivation\/opening-the-gate-of-prajna\/","title":{"rendered":"Opening the Gate of Prajna"},"content":{"rendered":"

OPENING THE GATE OF PRAJNA (BAC NHA KHAI MON)<\/strong><\/p>\n

GENERAL DISCOURSE<\/strong><\/p>\n

POEM:<\/strong><\/p>\n

KHAI<\/strong> (Opening) the mechanism of the teaching, the essential mind-to-mind transmission,
\nMON<\/strong> (Gate) of study for the esoteric practice bearing the fruit of Buddhas and Immortals.
\nBAC<\/strong> (the Eight Treasures) \u2014 the Golden Elixir forming the Life-Wisdom (Hue Mang),
\nNHA<\/strong> \u2014 MINH LY DAO awakens to this profound mechanism.<\/p>\n

VERSE<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.- MINH LY DAO opens the Gate of PRAJNA (BAC NHA),
\nTo save the world by destroying Ignorance.
\nIgnorance creates the karma of birth and death,
\nSubjecting one to endless suffering through the cycle of rebirth.<\/p>\n

2.- The twelve links of dependent origination bind tightly together,
\nIllusory transformations sweep and deceive us in confusion.
\nPassion, fame, and profit serve as bait,
\nLuring and deceiving through countless cycles of upheaval.<\/p>\n

3.- The fire of disordered thought and affliction blazes fiercely,
\nThe whole body becomes but a soulless machine.
\nLet no one in this world speak of wisdom or foolishness \u2014
\nIt is nothing but the sole tyranny of karmic obstruction at work.<\/p>\n

4.- The notions of Self, Other, Sentient Being, and Life-span,
\nCling to a “self” that obscures our original nature entirely.
\nThe very root of our fate arranges itself accordingly,
\nLoss and gain, glory and disgrace \u2014 none of it lies outside consciousness.<\/p>\n

5.- When the mind is stirred, it creates error and disaster;
\nOnce the mind loses its sovereignty, the consequences are never light.
\nTragically, discord and injustice follow,
\nIncest, betrayal of principle, and human affection bought and sold.<\/p>\n

6.- Love, whether ardent or cold, becomes a game of bartering,
\nThe “sack of wisdom” fills up like a trash bin.
\nCleverness and talent swarm like flies,
\nWhat, then, of the great deeds of heroes, East and West?<\/p>\n

7.- However vast their reach may extend,
\nThey still remain caught within the trap of Ignorance.
\nSpinning silk, they bind themselves within their own cocoon,
\nYet the wise know how to break through and fly free.<\/p>\n

8.- Life, in the end, is but a dream,
\nCleverly mocking, deceiving, and confusing us.
\nWhat is there, after all, but a false and fleeting illusion to chase?
\nVast is the ocean of suffering \u2014 where, then, lies its shore?<\/p>\n

9.- The place of liberation is found only by turning back and awakening,
\nHalting the steps of worldly life, settling the mind, calming the spirit.
\nThe inner mind and vital force are thereby restored,
\nSeeking out where one’s own hidden true nature may lie.<\/p>\n

10.- It has slept soundly through countless centuries,
\nAllowing Ignorance’s reasoning to run rampant.
\nRising and sinking endlessly through birth and death,
\nTrapped within an iron fortress of hellish suffering, unaware.<\/p>\n

11.- Quickly awaken it, rouse it from its slumber,
\nFor to rise up is to break the very chains and shackles.
\nRushing forward like a flood, toppling mountains, filling rivers,
\nCutting off karmic obstruction proves not so difficult after all.<\/p>\n

12.- The very hells melt away like ice,
\nCausing demons and spirits to be transformed as though they never were.
\nOnly then does one recognize the divine power of Prajna,
\nHaving forgotten that it was the true Master of one’s own being all along.<\/p>\n

13.- For so long, we have chased after form and grasped at shadows,
\nMistaking illusory phenomena for the mind itself.
\nIn vain we have wandered down the wrong path,
\nLonging for happiness \u2014 but tell me, have we ever truly found it?<\/p>\n

14.- It is not found outside, amid rain and scorching sun,
\nNor is it far away, across rivers to be waded and crossed.
\nThe Buddha of others may dwell in the Western lands,
\nBut our own Buddha lies right within our own heart.<\/p>\n

15.- Sentient beings, through Ignorance, have gone astray,
\nForgetting that their true master is the Prajna-mind itself.
\nThinking wrongly, they act wrongly in turn,
\nAnd the doctrine that all phenomena are mind-only becomes the very seed of Ignorance.<\/p>\n

16.- Consciousness projects itself into a thousand forms and ten thousand shapes,
\nDisplaying every manner of illusion, then assigning names to each,
\nFine and coarse, subtle and manifest, high and low \u2014
\nGiving rise to love and hatred, and thus to friendship and enmity.<\/p>\n

17.- The six sense-gates of consciousness receive and discriminate,
\nSound, taste, and scent, displaying form and color in array.
\nThoughts arise, false ideas are born,
\nStirring up confusion within the naive and innocent heart.<\/p>\n

18.- Desire drives us headlong through life and death,
\nForever trying to fill some hollow void.
\nGreed grows ever more bottomless day by day,
\nLike an elephant struggling in a swamp, sinking ever deeper still.<\/p>\n

19.- Rooted in false consciousness, craving never ceases,
\nRejoicing when satisfied, yet consumed by anger and delusion when denied.
\nArrogance, pride, and suspicion,
\nExpand the iron hell ever wider within the heart.<\/p>\n

20.- There is no escaping the reach of consciousness,
\nFor this power is vast and truly formidable.
\nIt governs Heaven and Earth on every side,
\nAnd outside the Prajna-mind, what does it fear at all?<\/p>\n

21.- Quickly seek liberation and unfold Prajna Wisdom,
\nOnly then will you possess power supreme and all-encompassing,
\nAble to restrain and subdue the thief within your own heart,
\nAnd fill in at once the deep pit of past transgressions.<\/p>\n

22.- When Prajna manifests, chaos turns to order;
\nWhen Prajna opens, demons and spirits vanish entirely.
\nNo longer mistaking the thief for one’s own child,
\nEvery matter, whatever it may be, becomes smooth, complete, and unobstructed.<\/p>\n

23.- Heaven, Earth, and Humanity are mysteriously united as one,
\nEssence, energy, and spirit coalesce into a single embryo.
\nOur own destiny, we ourselves determine,
\nTranscending birth, illness, old age, and death, beyond the reach of yin and yang.<\/p>\n

24.- Prajna is the divine, marvelous method,
\nEver shining forth throughout the entire world (Saha-loka).
\nHeaven and Earth themselves shall one day pass away,
\nYet this Bodhi-mind remains a fortress forever unshaken.<\/p>\n

25.- Prajna is likened to a ferry of salvation,
\nRescuing those adrift and drowning in the sea of suffering.
\nIt is likened to the primal vital energy of early spring,
\nBringing forth growth and flourishing, nourishing all living souls.<\/p>\n

26.- It is likened to a pill that restores life and revives the dying,
\nLikened to the very space that contains and encompasses all things.
\nLike a compass needle that always points due south,
\nIt has never once erred, from ancient times until now.<\/p>\n

27.- This Dharma was realized long ago by the Tathagata,
\nTransmitted in unbroken succession by generation after generation of Patriarchs.
\nBodhisattvas, Saints, and Worthies, as numerous as grains of sand,
\nHave all likewise entered this marvelous path, ascending beyond the ordinary as Immortals.<\/p>\n

28.- Taoism<\/strong> contemplates the mind, gathering the Three back into the One;
\nConfucianism<\/strong> preserves the mind, advancing in virtue and cultivating benevolence.
\nReturning to one’s root, reverting to one’s true nature,
\nGoverning the mind, governing the world, and governing the body \u2014 all without error.<\/p>\n

29.- Eliminate desire, and the mind becomes calm and still;
\nWhen the heart is empty, the spirit becomes light and pure.
\nOnce wandering thought and worry cease to arise,
\nPeace, joy, and ease naturally follow, and understanding naturally dawns.<\/p>\n

30.- This mystery is known only to oneself,
\nOnce steeped in the Way, one deeply and earnestly cultivates the body.
\nReleasing fame, profit, and the dust of this mundane world,
\nCutting off worldly ties, simplifying affairs, to draw near to the Buddhas and Immortals.<\/p>\n

31.- Restoring the original, true vital essence,
\nPreserving yang energy, so that illness and affliction are eliminated.
\nBalancing what is deficient and what is excessive,
\nModerating exertion, eliminating desire, replenishing deficiency, warming what is cold.<\/p>\n

32.- Once one perceives that body and health are at peace,
\nOne enters the secret chamber and sits to cultivate vital energy (khi cong).
\nNourishing and circulating the blood and bodily fluids,
\nThe four limbs and hundred parts of the body become mysteriously soft and at ease.<\/p>\n

33.- The nervous system, like a sensitive garrison,
\nNotices any obstruction, whether energy increases or diminishes.
\nPractice must be timed correctly, at the proper hour,
\nRegulating mind and breath, so that the heart becomes light and joyful.<\/p>\n

34.- To avoid the spirit dispersing and the vital energy scattering,
\nEmpty the mind of concerns and calamities, guarding against them in advance.
\nWhen the mind is empty, spirit and energy harmonize,
\nLike a lotus growing within fire \u2014 truly a most precious treasure.<\/p>\n

35.- When the body is unmoving, essence and emotion both grow still;
\nEssence and emotion become tightly united as one single household.
\nWhen intention reaches great stillness, uniting the three houses together,
\nThe Three Origins fuse as one \u2014 only then is true attainment reached.<\/p>\n

36.- Essence transforms into energy through the body’s stillness,
\nEnergy transforms into spirit through the emptiness of the heart.
\nOnce intention becomes pure, spirit returns to the void,
\nThe Three Houses meet one another, refining the elixir within the tripod and furnace.<\/p>\n

37.- The Ethereal Soul (Hon) resides in the liver, Essence is stored in the kidneys,
\nSpirit (Than) resides in the heart, the Corporeal Soul (Phach) hides within the lungs.
\nIntention dwells in the spleen, at the central Earth,
\nEach fixed securely and clearly in its own proper place.<\/p>\n

38.- Guard the passes and defend the fortress against invaders \u2014
\nThe nose, mouth, ears, and eyes on every side.
\nKeep the six sense-gates constantly closed,
\nExcluding sound, form, taste, scent, phenomena, and worldly dust from without.<\/p>\n

39.- Fast the tongue, and the heart preserves spirit in its single place;
\nFast the eyes, and the liver retains and stores the ethereal soul.
\nFast the ears, and the kidneys store and treasure the essence;
\nFast the nose, and the corporeal soul is preserved and gathered within the lungs.<\/p>\n

40.- Metal, Wood, Water, and Fire all return to Earth,
\nOnce purified, the Four Ancestral Elements return home together.
\nEyes, ears, nose, and tongue, free of all deviance,
\nEssence, spirit, ethereal soul, and corporeal soul gather as one into a single elixir.<\/p>\n

41.- The practitioner should press forward one step further still,
\nFor only by attaining utter emptiness can the mind be truly cleansed.
\nDo not lean to one side, do not cling, do not err \u2014
\nEmpty yet real, real yet empty \u2014 endlessly subtle and profound.<\/p>\n

42.- Once knowledge opens, emotion stirs within the heart,
\nDesire arises, and one’s lifespan grows shorter still.
\nWhen essence is full, its leakage becomes hard to restrain;
\nWhen spirit is strong, one must guard it carefully at every hour, like cream that must not spoil.<\/p>\n

43.- Refine and purify to remove impure essence and tainted blood,
\nMend and replenish wherever leakage has caused depletion.
\nBlock off every passage, every path in and out,
\nFirmly maintain discipline and concentration, forming a barrier against demons.<\/p>\n

44.- If purity has not yet been attained, one must apply still greater effort;
\nShould depletion occur, repair and replenish it at once.
\nTend the fire gently at the base of the cauldron,
\nSo that essence transforms into energy, and energy returns again to essence.<\/p>\n

45.- Energy generates blood, and blood in turn generates energy,
\nEach generating the other, mutually dependent and interrelated.
\nWhere one lacks within, borrow to replenish from without \u2014
\nTake the surplus of Kan to patch Kan, and fill the broken line of Li.<\/p>\n

46.- Restored to fullness, with neither deficiency nor excess,
\nEnergy is empty while blood is full.
\nFrom this point, Chien and Kun (Heaven and Earth) are properly positioned,
\nAnd yin, yang, nature, and destiny are transmitted mind-to-mind through this very method.<\/p>\n

47.- Many more subtle and profound methods are understood only by oneself;
\nOnce one enters meditation and penetrates the mystery, understanding follows at once.
\nAsk your own heart: is Prajna truly present within?
\nIt is the Teacher, the Master, the true and orthodox transmission itself.<\/p>\n

48.- Cultivation and verification lead to the unity of the Three Origins as one substance \u2014
\nThe Buddha’s Three Bodies, God’s Three Persons (Thuong De Ba Ngoi).
\nAll are together called by the single name “Prajna” here,
\nThe wisdom of liberation, and the very throne of Nirvana.<\/p>\n

49.- Liberation forms the very ladder of concentration and wisdom;
\nThe more concentration deepens, the more wisdom increases.
\nThe more diligently one cultivates liberation day by day,
\nThe three minds grow calm and settled, and the six senses sink into stillness.<\/p>\n

50.- The substance of Nirvana grows ever more tranquil day by day;
\nThe wisdom-mind grows ever more luminous day by day.
\nEven the most subtle, hidden karmic defilements are brought to light,
\nSweeping clean all demons and spirits, until their very kind is entirely dissolved.<\/p>\n

51.- The Dharma-body<\/strong> is Nirvana, the Boundless Ultimate;
\nThe Transformation-body<\/strong> is the Jade Capital of the Great Unity (Thai Nhut Ngoc Kinh);
\nThe Reward-body<\/strong> is the Precious Numinous Realm of the August Ultimate (Hoang Cuc);
\nPrimal Spirit, Primal Energy, and Primal Essence \u2014 this is the very Way of Heaven.<\/p>\n

HUNG DAO DAI VUONG<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bac Nha Tinh Duong, 1972 (22\/6; 26\/6; 28-6; 5\/7)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OPENING THE GATE OF PRAJNA (BAC NHA KHAI MON) GENERAL DISCOURSE POEM: KHAI (Opening) the mechanism of the teaching, the essential mind-to-mind transmission, MON (Gate) of study for the esoteric practice bearing the fruit of Buddhas and Immortals. BAC (the Eight Treasures) \u2014 the Golden Elixir forming the Life-Wisdom (Hue Mang), NHA \u2014 MINH LY […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":840,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-843","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/huyencong.minhlydao.org.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/huyencong.minhlydao.org.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/huyencong.minhlydao.org.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huyencong.minhlydao.org.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huyencong.minhlydao.org.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/huyencong.minhlydao.org.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/843\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huyencong.minhlydao.org.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/huyencong.minhlydao.org.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}