Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Five Powers (五力)
Every day I constantly and repeatedly urge and remind everyone to keep their minds firm and resolute. When the mind is unsteady it will change according to external states or the conditions of our daily lives. Our emotions will fluctuate with the changes in our lives. This leads to immense suffering.
We previously mentioned the Five Roots and Five Powers. First, we should have the Root of Faith. With Faith, we have strength. But blindly believing in everything that others say is also incorrect. We must choose and put our faith in what is proper. Once we have chosen we should vow to put it into practice. Even with proper beliefs and the right direction, we will never arrive at our destination if we lack the physical strength to take action. We need to be able to endure hard work. Thus, strength is crucial.
So, vigorously walk the Bodhisattva-path with pure thoughts and true diligence. Work with people and practice with Samadhi, wisdom, no complaints and no resentments.
This means we should practice the Bodhisattva-path. Since we made a vow, we should put forth effort and use our power to fulfill the vow by walking the Bodhisattva-path. Our minds should be pure. If our thoughts are pure, our actions will not go astray. True diligence is not allowing the mind to stray. So we need pure thoughts to diligently practice in this world and work with other people.
We learn Buddhism to help save sentient beings, just as those who major in education aspire to become teachers who can help students. Since we chose the Buddha as our teacher, we should adopt His mission as our own. The mission of the Buddha is to purify oneself and to educate others. As we develop our wisdom, we should apply it to help other sentient beings. So we need to practice among other people. If we carry out our mission in the world, Samadhi and wisdom will naturally arise within us. If we are constantly moving forward on the right track, we will not be affected by the outside environment.
If we lose the power of our diligence, we become lazy and slip into decadence. So we should be firm in our resolve and utilize our wisdom. Regardless of the situation, we should apply our wisdom and Samadhi, and be without complaints or resentments. I would also like to remind everyone that yesterday we discussed the Five Roots.
Next, we will talk about the Five Powers.
The Five Powers:
The Power of Faith, The Power of Diligence, the Power of Thought, the Power of Samadhi, The Power of Wisdom.
Faith requires extensive and firm roots. It also requires strength. Faith without Power can still lead us astray. So “have Faith in the Right Path and in the Practices to Enlightenment. If the Root of Faith grows, it can protect us from afflictions so we will remain unaffected by any doubts.”
That is the Power of Faith. We should believe in the Right Path. The Right Path will help us to progress in the right direction. The Buddha’s teaching is vast. But if we go off the path even slightly, it is very difficult to return. So the Buddha, I His wisdom, established another method; in addition to the Root of Faith, there is the Power of Faith.
With proper belief, we can single-mindedly walk on the correct path. Thus, He said developing our faith protects us from afflictions. It is like a tree with roots spread out to anchor itself so that it may have the strength to grow and provide shade to protect others. So faith can protect us from afflictions.
These afflictions put tremendous pressure on us. But as long as we are on the right path, naturally there will be no afflictions. So we will “remain unaffected by any doubts.” All of those minor doubts will no longer influence us.
Next is the Power of Diligence. We have discussed the Root of Diligence, now we are speaking of the Power of Diligence. “When following the Right Path and the Practices to Enlightenment, if the Root of Diligence grows, laziness of body and mind will be eliminated.” This means that in the Practices to Enlightenment, if the Root of Diligence develops, one will be filled with the Power of Diligence. In this way, with this Root and Power, which is also the strength of our vows, we can overcome laziness of the body and mind. With strength and resolve, we become motivated, diligent, and fearless of any hardships. Our indolence is eliminated.
For example, sometimes it is very hard to get out of bed in the morning. Why must we get up so early? We must go to the morning service in the main hall to inspire our reverence. But it is hard! If we dwell on how hard it is, it becomes even more difficult to get out of bed. It is especially tough during the winter to get up from under the warm covers. So one may easily give into laziness.
But since it is time to get up, and we have vowed and resolved to engage in spiritual practice, how can we fear the cold and crave sleep? So we naturally lift the covers and quickly get ready for the day. In this way, don’t we maintain a sense of ease and freedom? As we enter the main hall together. Listening to the sound of the bell and drum, the assembly orderly lines up and follows the Karmadana, who leads the group in recitation. Then we feel peaceful and free, forgetting the challenge of a moment ago, when we struggled to get out of bed.
Thus, if we have the Root and Power of diligence, if the strength of our vows is developed, the laziness of the mind and body disappears. Our minds will be clear and we will carry out the world-transcending Dharma. How do we do this? How do we lead others? We must be able to leave the Six Realms and avoid the Three Evil Paths. Then we will understand the teachings that transcend the mundane world. This is the Power of Diligence.
Diligence is finding the proper path and continuously moving forward without stopping. We should be diligent in all that proper and not be lazy at all. When laziness arises, our resolve diminishes. When our vow is strong, it dispels laziness. It is like a balance scale, if one side is heavier, that side will dip. So we should always be diligent.
We should strengthen our will, beginning with the Thirty-seven Practices to Enlightenment. We must be mindful of what we have learned. We have spoken of the Fourfold Mindfulness, the Four Right Efforts, the Four Bases of Spiritual Power, the Five Roots, and now the Five Powers. They all help to maintain proper mindfulness.
So, “Focus on the Right Path and the Practices. If the Root of Thought grows, one will be able to destroy all evil thoughts, and achieve all transcendent merits.”
If we can eradicate all deviant thoughts, we will create many merits. We can let every thought be filled with love. We must safeguard the path to enlightenment. This path is to benefit others and ourselves. We follow the path for ourselves. When we have increased our knowledge of the path, we will give to benefit others beings. If our thoughts are proper, we develop merits by cultivating inwardly and practicing outwardly. So our thoughts should be proper.
The fourth is the Power of Samadhi. If our Power of Samadhi and our will are strong, we will not be affected by external conditions. The Power of Samadhi refers to “focusing on the Right Path and the Practices. When the Root of Samadhi grows one can destroy all confused thoughts.” If the Root of Samadhi is well-established, we will not have false thoughts or be affected by our environment. If we root our practice in the truth, We can realize Samadhi. We will know that to unlock our innate wisdom, we must be righteous and follow the principles. We should clearly recognize the true principles.
Otherwise, if we do not have principles, a slight misstep can lead us far off the path. If we commit any improper acts we will regret them for rest of our lives. So our Power of Samadhi must be firm.
Next is the Power of Wisdom. It is the wisdom of the Fourfold mindfulness. We have discussed how the Root of Wisdom is encompassed in the Root of Wisdom is encompassed in the Fourfold Mindfulness we should know this. To develop wisdom, we should contemplate the impurity of the body, the suffering of feelings, the impermanence of the mind, and the empty nature of all things. We should contemplate all of that. In the Fourfold Mindfulness, examining our subtlest thoughts is contemplation. We contemplate inwardly and practice outwardly. We look within ourselves to contemplate the causes of afflictions. Man’s biggest source of trouble is his body. Because we have a body we find ourselves in this environment where we cannot avoid having feeling towards people and conditions, not to mention the afflictions of birth and death, and the suffering of illness and aging.
Thus, the body is indeed a serious liability. It is impure and can create big problems for us. So we should use this problematic body to really ensure that our thinking is righteous, really ensure that our thinking is righteous, and our Samadhi is sufficient. Only then can we diligently progress in the right direction. We should truly understand the body. The body is the cause of suffering. The body is very unclean. So why do we struggle for the sake of our bodies or for the sake of the external environment? What drives us to do so?
When we contemplate these details, we realize that the body is an object of defilement. So why be bothered by it? Wisdom is transforming views into contemplation through the practice of the Fourfold Mindfulness, Four Right Efforts, Four Basses of Spiritual Power, Five Roots and Five Powers. Wisdom can illuminate all Dharma. When one contemplates the subtleties, it unlocks and inspires one’s wisdom. With wisdom, one can eliminate all delusive grasping and clinging.
Fifth of the Five Powers is the Power of Wisdom. The wisdom of the Fourfold Mindfulness illuminates all Dharma. If the Root of Wisdom grows, one can eliminate all delusive grasping and clinging and break through ignorance.
In learning Buddhism, we should choose the right beliefs and the right path. We should diligently practice on the right path so our conduct does not deviate. We should often contemplate the Five Roots and Five Powers. We should practice with diligence to develop the Roots of Faith and Power of Faith, Roots of Diligence, Power of Diligence, the Root of Thought, Power of Thought, the Roots of Samadhi, Power of Samadhi, and the Root of Wisdom and Power of Wisdom. We should establish the Five Roots and Five Powers so that they become deeply rooted and flourish. Then we will be able to avoid much a suffering. In practicing Buddhism, the Root and Power of Faith are very important.
So we hope everyone will choose properly. “Faith is the is the source of the Way mother of merits.” With the right faith and diligence, our Samadhi and wisdom will be perfected. So please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
首頁 
