Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Take Good Care of the Mind (顧好自我心地)
When we sit in meditation, we hope to calm our minds. But outside we can hear the loud chirping of birds. They are singing happily. Their world is different from ours, and they use time differently, too.
So how do we use the time we have to adjust our state of mind? This is also very important. The world is filled with myriad living beings, with very different ways of life. So we need to adjust our mindset. Isn’t this how the world works? Humans and animals, at any given time, have different states of mind.
Even between people, many differences exist. Some people go to bed late so they wake up late. They do not rest when they should. What are they doing? Some stay up late to make a living, others stay up late in order to save lives. But others are wasting their lives. They stay up because of self-indulgence. At the same moment in time, different types of people are leading different lifestyles.
So, how do we organize our lives? What kind of lifestyle is normal and ideal? As Buddhist practitioners, we must choose the correct way of living. So we must adjust our minds well. When our mind and our way of life fit properly with the time and space we are in, this is the most ideal state. If time, space, and state of mind are in perfect accorded, that is optimal.
First and foremost, we must always remember, in time, space, and state of mind, there is karmic retribution. We must remember this Law of Cause and Effect.If we are familiar with it, we will always take care of our good thoughts, and plant these good seeds at all times. This is right.
When we learn Buddhism, we must choose the correct way of living. When our mindset can adjust to and harmonize with time, space and the conditions, this is the best condition.
Here is a story about Buddha’s experience with time & space and a karmic seed. In one of the many lifetimes of the Buddha, He was a spiritual practitioner. This practitioner wanted to quiet his mind. He searched for a place to meditate to see if he could enter the state of Samadhi and realize the universal Truth. He was very devoted. Going deep in the mountains, he became one with Nature. He was very diligent over many months and years. His lifestyle was relatively simple. He cared more about cultivating his Wisdom-life than his physical body. So he never took a bath or changed his clothes. Over time, his body became very filthy.
In winter, he put on more clothing, but he had not washed his body for a long time. One day as he was meditating, a louse on his body made things unbearable. A louse is similar to what w call a flea. It bit him all over, so his entire body was itchy. He wanted to quiet his mind, but with the louse on his body he could not settle down. So he reached into his clothes and caught the louse with ease. Now what? He could not kill it, but if he left it on his body, it would keep biting him and making him itchy. He really could not stand that. What could he do?
Deep in the wilderness, animal carcasses could be found everywhere. So he put the louse on an animal bone. Seven days later, the louse died, and he could finally practice in peace. This is the first part of the story.
At one time, Sakyamuni Buddha was traveling with His disciples. They begged for alms as they promoted Dharma.When they came to a small town, there was an elder who was delighted to see these monks, especially the Buddha. So he asked the Buddha if he could make offerings. As long as they were teaching there, he wanted to make offerings to them. The Buddha smiled and silently agreed.
This elder was very happy and began to prepare sumptuous food as offerings to the Buddha and Sangha. Seven days passed, and suddenly there was a heavy snowstorm. The snow blocked off the roads. The Buddha said, “We do not need to go out today.”
Ananda said, “Venerable Buddha, it is time for lunch now. If we do not go out today, we will be hungry all day.”
The Buddha replied, “Even if we go out, we will not find any food.”
Ananda said, “Sure we will. The elder said as long as we are here, he will make offerings to us.”
The Buddha then said, “The time for his offerings is over.”
Ananda was very puzzled. Why would that be? There was a member of the monastic community who had gone out early in the morning. He returned around noontime and told the Buddha, “Venerable Buddha, it is very strange. The elder said he no longer wanted to make offerings. It has been seven days, so the offerings will cease, starting today.”
Ananda was mystified to hear this. The Buddha had just said this would happen, and true enough, the elder stopped making offerings. There must be a reason. So he quickly asked the Buddha, “What is the reason behind this?” The Buddha then told everyone, “Countless Kalpas age, while I was engaged in spiritual practice, there was a louse on my body. I caught it, found an animal bone, and placed it there. It had a lot to eat. But after seven days, it died. To repay my kindness for those seven days, he made offerings to us for seven days. It has now been seven days so we must continue on with an empty stomach.”
This is a story about the course of the Buddha’s spiritual practice. This story revealed the events of another time and place, many Kalpas ago, deep in the mountains. It also described the mindset and conditions of Buddha during that time of practice. So no matter when something happened, or in which lifetime it happened, our actions, our mindset, and the conditions of that time are all very closely linked to what happens now. We have lived since Beginningless Time and will live for endless future lifetimes. So there is neither beginning nor end. We must recognize the past, pay attention to the present, and value the future.
Also, we the disciples, from Beginningless Time until today, have created wrongdoings due to the Four Grounds.
“The Four Grounds may create all wrongdoings.” This refers to the Four Grounding States. Four Grounds are our ignorance in views and thinking. Delusions in views and thinking exist in the Three Realms. We now that our views and ways of thinking in life are closely tied to our state of mind. Whether we look at past, present, or future, views and thinking are always involved. We must pay careful attention to our state of mind and our mindset at all times.
The Four Grounding States are: Deluded Views of All Phenomena, Cravings in the Desire Realm, Form Realm and Formless Realm.
The first of the Four States is Deluded Views of All Phenomena. Our deluded views encompass everything in our daily living, from our mindset to the external phenomena, the Six Sense Organs and Sense Objects. When we make contact with and see things, they all enter our minds. Will these things have an effect on our minds? Yes. For ordinary people, the effects are complex. When we come in contact with external phenomena, our minds will try to discern the reality. As I have said in the past, greed, anger, delusion, ignorance and affliction will arise in reaction to phenomena. This is what happens to ordinary people. If we do not pay careful attention to our state of mind, at times our actions will be biased by our views. Those with tremendous afflictions and ignorance or those who are strongly attached to those views out of habit, will stray in a very extreme way.
We often hear news of conflicts between different ethnic groups, between different religious sects, or between different nations. Ethnicity is not the core issue. National interests are not really the issue, and neither are religious differences. The issue is our views. When two countries go to war, the battles cause so much destruction and create so much suffering. As I often say, the deviant views of the few who are in power create international crises. They occur because of people's views. So everything has to do with our thoughts, views, understanding and state of mind.
The 4 Grounds are delusions of views and thinking. Deviant thinking and perspectives will create many afflictions and lead us to create countless wrongdoings. Therefore we must always take good care of our minds. Do not allow greed, anger, delusion, ignorance and afflictions to confuse our views and thinking.
Therefore, no matter what the circumstances are, no matter what the environment is, if we can manage our minds well, our life can be categorized as "good". Refrain from all evil, do all that is good. As long as we are kind and loving, then despite differences in ethnicity, religion or nationality, we will love everyone and this world will be a Pure Land. The world now is defiled and corrupt. The cause is none other than people's minds and views. Deluded Views of All Phenomena refers to our minds. When our deluded minds, views and perspectives are used to view all phenomena, we may produce afflictions, ignorance, and evil.
As we learn Buddhism, we must always be mindful. Whether past, present, or future, no matter where or when we are, we must carefully look after our minds. We must truly take care of the seeds we plant. So we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
首頁 
