True and False again

 What is the difference between true and false mind then? Again, I circle back to this point. During the group meditation this evening, the participant described her process as trying to figure out that this "self" that is aware is not separate in any way from the surrounding environment. In fact, any attempt to create a separate "mind" from the body and environment is yet another delusion. Do we not need to separate from realms of ignorance to establish what "true" really means? According to Chan Buddhism, this process of separating "true" and "false" mind is not all that straightforward.
   In Tea Words Volume II, Master Sheng Yen remarks:

If we attempt to use the concept of consciousness to explain true mind, there will be quite a bit of confusion. It might be possible to say that true mind represents a kind of pure, undefiled mental activity while false mind represents impure mental activity, but this would still lack clarity. To avoid confusion Chan masters simply refer to “mind.” (p.10) 

True mind is not something that is separate from false, because if that were the case then there would be something "false" that is not included as part of the true mind. in fact, true mind is simply "mind" itself. It's the very same mind that we use to generate both pure and impure concepts and mental activity. By trying to separate a true mind from a false, I am only feeding my tendency to assume that there is a separate self that exists independently of the world or other phenomena. This is also like saying that the villain in the dream needs to be caught and thrown in prison in order to set "me" free-when in fact both the villain and myself are both in the same dream, and therefore cannot be separated.
   Master Sheng Yen furthermore remarks "buddhamind and the mind of sentient beings are not fundamentally different; we can look at false mind as the process of practice and true mind as the goal of practice." (ibid) This entails that the process of knowing false mind is needed for true mind to be revealed. This is quite fascinating because it points to a more inclusive way of looking at phenomena as part of one's practice (an integral part, in fact) rather than as being separate. It also suggests that even the most incorrect view contains true mind beneath it, and is in fact embedded in it.

Sheng Yen (2013) Tea Words Volume II. Elmhurst: Dharma Drum Publications.