We must act like an exemplar and refrain from acting immorally. What defines an exemplary person? To put it simply, an exemplary person is someone who is willing to take a loss. What about someone who is morally-debased? The morally-debased are constantly thinking about how to take advantage of others. I hope that all disciples can practise self-discipline at all times, asking yourself whether you are an exemplary person or a morally-debased person. You must repent and reflect on the things you did wrong in the past.
How does somebody become ignorant? Ignorance stems from one’s failure to reflect upon themselves. Everyone should practise self-reflection when you return home each day, asking yourself: “What have I done wrong today? What have others done for me?” These days, everybody brags about how many good deeds they have done and how many people they have helped, but too few reflect upon the mistakes they have made.
Bodhisattvas have no attachments to worldly affairs; they pay attention only to their own cultivation. Why is this so? Those who understand themselves are able to enlighten sentient beings.
“Having no attachments to worldly affairs” means not observing or being aware of other things. “Paying attention only to their own cultivation” means they are being introspective, and focused upon self-enlightenment. You might wonder if focusing only on one’s own enlightenment without caring about others is the practice of Theravada Buddhism? But you’d be wrong. Those who understand themselves do so with their feelings. In fact, they are enlightening all sentient beings. Human beings are an entity, with each person’s body coming from the same primeval soul. Try to bring awareness to your feelings by using your primeval soul, so that what you actually feel is all the sentient beings of this world. If you can sense whether or not you are doing the right thing, you are feeling sentient beings. Hence the notion: “To have great compassion is to regard ourselves as being one with all”.
“What is the most honourable thing in life?” Please bear this in mind: even when faced with hypocrisy and injustice, the most honourable thing in life is that you are still able to maintain kindness towards these people. If you discover that the other party is a hypocrite or an unrighteous person, and yet you’re still able to extend your warmth to them with a smile, then you are a Bodhisattva. How many of you can do this? Learn to be tolerant of others, as they are yet to start their spiritual practice – they are still just ordinary people. However, you are a practitioner. You know your “self” is just a false self. Therefore, do not regard the “self” as something real. How can we earn respect from others? It is through our cultivation in both our speech and our behaviour. That is why we call it “cultivation of the mind and behaviour”. It encompasses our speech and actions, including the behaviour of our minds.
A person’s life only becomes meaningful when it’s connected with the lives of others. With them, there is you. With you, there is me. With me, there is them. This is a circle. Without interpersonal relationships connecting us all, one cannot survive in this world. For example, if a person is intolerant of others, has no friends, doesn’t get along with their parents, children or friends, and has no contact with others, then what is the meaning of their existence in this world?
We are a community of shared life. From a metaphysical point of view, human beings are of a primeval community. Since the beginning of time, we have been together. Therefore, we should help and care for one another. If you see somebody’s shortcomings and point them out for their own sake, you need not worry about being misunderstood. In fact, everything in the world is closely related to all living phenomena. In other words, everything in this world has its meaning and its purpose. We human beings have sentiments, just as vegetables have the elements that allow them to grow. For example, watermelons grow to be consumed and help you quench your thirst. Similarly, vegetables grow to be consumed by you and provide you with nutrients. Do you think plants have no life? The fact that they are consumed adds meaning to their lives. Therefore, we human beings, and everything in this world, have meaning and purpose. Take note: do not waste food, as it amounts to the wasting of life and the diminishment of blessings! Many wealthy people are very generous in the act of giving, but frugal when spending money on themselves. This is not stinginess, but rather an act of cherishing one’s blessings. They know such blessings are hard to come by.
An enlightened person will not be worried in times of hardship. Whatever circumstance they encounter, they act in accordance with karmic conditions, without regard for gains or losses. Their mind remains steady, neither increasing nor decreasing. While conforming with the Way, they turn themselves from an ordinary person into a sage. This very mind is Buddha.
An enlightened person will not be worried in times of hardship. An enlightened person will not be worried when encountering trials and tribulations. This is because they have realised the truth – that suffering in life is inevitable. People come into this world to suffer. They know that suffering is natural, and something they ought to endure. As such, there is no cause for worry; they will accept the hardship willingly. On the other hand, those who continue to worry are yet to awaken.
We need to act in accordance with karmic conditions, adopting the best approach to perfect those conditions. Those who have attachments are unable to do so. Regardless of circumstances, Buddhist practitioners need to keep their minds steady, neither increasing nor decreasing. Increasing means that you take matters seriously, while decreasing means you don’t take them to heart. When you take something seriously, you put a lot of pressure on yourself, but when you choose not to, you become indifferent. A true practitioner would even have the agents of the Underworld conform to their karmic conditions.
These practitioners turn themselves from an ordinary person into a sage. An ordinary person has endless worries and insatiable desires. We all know that Confucius is a sage, having passed down Chinese culture from generation to generation. The sage’s main characteristic is their forgiving nature. In fact, forgiving others is the beginning of cultivating compassion. How can you be compassionate if you are unable to forgive? If you are unforgiving towards someone, you will eventually develop a hatred for them, and when you hate someone, you lose compassion.
This very mind is Buddha, and this phrase encompasses a myriad of phenomena. It means that your mind should not be swayed by circumstances. If you possess a Buddha’s mind, then you are a Buddha. If you possess a demon’s mind, then you are a demon.
We respect our faith. How are we to maintain it? The answer is to respect it. Respect comes not from other people, but from yourself. You must respect your own faith. If you don’t even believe that you can succeed, how will you ever be able to do so? How could a person succeed in practising Buddhism if they do not have confidence? A person who is easily swayed by what others say will, in the end, achieve nothing. As an individual, our abilities are limited. That’s why, for any individual to make progress in their spiritual development, they must focus on practising one Buddhist practice for the rest of their lives. If they attempt to learn all Buddhist practices, they are bound to fail. But even worse than that, there’s a possibility that they may go astray and become demons. Therefore, it is imperative to respect our faith and resolve to practise Buddhism diligently.
Expedience (skill-in-means) is the ultimate. By saying expedience, we are not referring to convenience, as is often thought. Rather, it is a method. An expedient method enables you to adapt your approach to a particular situation.
发表于 2020-8-16 21:58:18