Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Nine Bonds Part 9(九結九)
When we come to the monastery to practice, the first lesson we need to learn is to perform the morning service. If we do not participate in morning recitation, then we are not practicing.
In the cold of winter, with the strong wind, the moment we lift our covers we are already practicing. If we are reluctant to leave the warmth, then we are already greedy in the first moment of our day. Greedy for what? For sleep. Every day, we train ourselves during our first action of the morning. A Patriarch of the past, talking about sleep, said,
“One sleeps 100 years before awakening one lingers in the web of wrongdoing without seeking escape.”
Dispelling accumulated karma is difficult if we continue to sleep and hide under our covers. While others practice, recite Sutras, seek Dharma early in the morning, we are hiding under the covers. Then what spiritual practice can we speak of? We have already given up with the first step, the first moment of our practice. Even if we live to be 100, we will have spent most our lives immersed in stolen slumber. If we forgo practice, not only do we lose time being asleep, we also lose the values developed through practice. With this way of life, can we be diligent? We will just be wasting time in the monastery.
If we wait till we reach 100 before we think about awakening, it will be too late. This is how we continue to be entangled in a web of wrongdoings which entraps us and prevents us from being liberated. Why can we not be liberated? Because we are not awake. When are we not awake? When it is time for practice. Some say they are too tired, so they cannot participate in morning recitation. Some say they cannot do it because of poor health. This is all in the mind. We become lazy and degenerate when we are entrapped by our minds, and we have no desire for escape.
Everyone, when does life happen? When we have feelings and sensations. Where is the value of life? In giving and in living in harmony with others. That is valuable. If we live only for ourselves and crave those little pleasures, then it is difficult to work with others. This mentality shows that we only watch out for ourselves and do not want to give up our habits. In a place of practice, we practice in harmony. Can a selfish person be successful here? No, there is no way. Since we have chosen the monastic life, we must seize every moment to practice as if it is our first day of practice.
Everyone, every day we must truly demonstrate that we have taken the first step in our practice. Dawn is signaled by bells, and evening by drums. The sound of the morning bells signals the first moment of each day. It is an important moment. The sound of drums at night signals the moment we should go to sleep. Between the morning bells and the evening drums is when we train with. Unity, Harmony, Love and Concerted Effort to manage this spiritual training ground. This is true practice.
Everyone, to learn Buddha’s way is to train our minds. We should not let our minds be entangled in a web, such that we do not seek the methods of escape. Otherwise, our accumulated karma will continue to bind and entangle us. If we do not eliminate it, it will continue to bind us. We must attend to our lives and not be greedy, because greed keeps us from advancing forward. We will now speak of the ninth Bond. It is related to greed. Ninth is the Bond of Stinginess. To be stingy is to be miserly and avaricious.
“Sentient beings cling to wealth and offerings. They are stingy and unwilling to share material necessities. They commit a wide range of bad deeds, and invite the suffering of future births and deaths.”
As for “clinging to wealth and offerings”, is spiritual practice about living in comfort and enjoying life until we die? No. Did we take human form purely for pleasure? Are we here to make money, wear nice clothes, eat well and live comfortably? If we lead that kind of life, we are entangled in the karmic web of sleep. That is truly suffering beyond words. So we must not “cling to wealth and offerings”.
“Material necessities” are things we use daily. Must we always use the best? Should we use our lives to pursue the finest clothes, food, and pleasures? Perhaps many of us already have them, but are we willing to give them away? We often say, “having one, we lack nine”. We are reluctant to let go and to give. Spiritual practice is about learning to let go of the things we cannot part from. Doing so is a sign of true spiritual practice. Whether we are lay or monastic practitioners, we must train ourselves to be giving. We must let go so we can gain. When we let go of an affliction, we can attain a thought of purity. When we give away a bit of wealth, we can obtain a bit of happiness.
Let go of an affliction, gain a bit of purity. Give away a bit of wealth, gain a bit of happiness. True spiritual practice is learning to let go and to give.
If we do not let go, greedy afflictions accumulate in our minds.
If we are unwilling to give, we cannot put our love into action when we see suffering sentient beings. So we must learn to let go and to give. We should not just think about enjoying ourselves and accumulating more possessions without giving to others. It we do so, we will “commit a wide range of bad deeds.” If we do not do good, we naturally become bad. If we are unwilling to be earnest and diligent, we degenerate and become lazy. These are opposites. A section in the Madhyama Agama Sutra states:
“I see how people in this world ignorantly cling to wealth with no generosity. When they obtain wealth, they want even more. Being stingy, they hoard their wealth.”
This text is simple. The Buddha said He saw people act this way. They may be wealthy and own many things, but they are ignorant, greedy and angry. Ignorance is the lack of wisdom. People think the wealth they have in this world will belong to them forever. The human life is naturally impermanent. How many decades will we live? It is rare to live to 100. Even if we live that long, how much time do we truly utilize? So can wealth truly be ours forever?
When ordinary people have money, they are “ignorantly attached with no generosity.” They lack wisdom, so they are slaves to their wealth. This means they are reluctant to give. “When they obtain wealth, they seek even more.” They have obtained wealth, but they want more. I often say, if we get one thing, we wish to have ten things. So we forever lack nine. Isn’t that ignorant? It is, because we are unwilling to give. If I have $10, I can give away $1. Let’s think about it, if I have $10, I would give away $1; if I have $100, I would give away $10; and if I have $1000, I would give away $100. This is how we can inspire others. Even if everyone gives a little, when we accumulate it, we can benefit many suffering individuals in this world. Do not disparage small contributions.
They can help us accomplish great things and enhance our spiritual practice. We can rejoice in others’ good deeds. Even if they make only a small donation each month, as long as they remember that “Tzu Chi does good deeds, this inspires them to be giving.” Though the amount is small, the thought is there. With these thoughts, this giving is even better. What can worldly wealth accomplish? It can do many things for us. But how much can we really eat, wear, and consume? The rest is extraneous, so why don’t we use it to help accomplish more things? If we are stingy, how much can we accumulate?
I saw a story about an old shopkeeper. She did not know how to do math or charge people. If someone asked how much 1kg of sugar costs, she said, “$5.”
“No it’s $10.”
“No it’s $15!”
When the customer gave her $20 for 1kg of sugar, how much change did she give? “Oh, here is $50 in change.”
The customer said, “Ma’am, you made a mistake.”
“Oh, I made a mistake? I should give you $100, right?”
“That is further off. Ma’am, let me tell you, I give you $20, it cost $15, so I only need $5 in change.”
The customer was honest. They took $5 from her and said, “This is $5. I gave you $20, this is my $5 change.” Things like that often occurred in her store each day. There were people who, if the old woman gave them extra change, happily accepted it and even took extra merchandize with them.
Her old friend, a retired teacher, often came and sat with her. After seeing this happen repeatedly, one day her friend said to her, “You can’t run a business this way. You might as well shut it down. We are old and losing our faculties, so we should not be in business. If you continue like this, you will lose all your money.”
“Why would I lose all my money?”
“You can’t add or subtract.”
“Who says I can’t?”
“You always give people the wrong change, so eventually you’ll go broke.”
The owner took out her ledger and said, “Not only can I do math, I can keep books. Look at this ledger.” But the retired teacher could not understand it. The ledger was densely packed with “1”s. There were “1”s on top, “1”s on bottom, “1”s all over, written closely together. The ledger was worn and greasy. The pages looked the same, from the first to the last.
The friend said, “I can’t understand this.”
She said, “How can you not understand? I’m very good at math and accounting. Look, I will explain. If I’m happy, I’ve profited.”
“Why are you happy?”
She said, “I stand here and the customers come and go. They all buy things from me. Sometimes when they pay me $10, I will give them $50 in change. Some people will return the extra and only take $5 from me. Do you know how happy I am to see that honesty? I keep track of that with a line on top. See, you can compare whether I paid more or received more.”
“What is paying? Paying is when I give them extra change and they happily walk off with the change. Some will even take an extra pack of cigarettes or a bottle of soda with them. Then I’m unhappy and I draw a line at the bottom of the page. Take a look to see if I’ve received or paid more. I really receive a lot.”
Every day, every page was filled with marks. The top half was completely filled but the bottom was occasionally blank or marked with a few lines. He said, “So this is your life’s philosophy!” “Yes, I see people in the world as good people with integrity. If the world is filled with honest people, then there will be no greed, and the world will be enriched. So I’m happy every day.”
Everyone, this is a philosophy for life. Not only should we not be greedy, we hope others are not greedy, either. Not only should we be diligent, we also hope others are diligent as well.
Everyone, we must be diligent in this dignified spiritual training ground. If we hope for a harmonious society, then no one can be greedy or stingy. Everyone, greed can apply to everything, from sleep to business. That is right, it fills our daily lives. So, everyone always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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