Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Four Methods of Contemplation Part 4 (四種觀行四)
We must believe in karmic cause and effect. As are the causes, so are the effects. This is the truth that the Buddha spoke, so we must have faith in the teachings. Then, we can always be aware of the karmic law of cause and effect that is always present in our daily life.
Stay close to good teachers and helpful friends. Everyone around us is a teacher to us; we choose others’ good points and emulate them. As we live among people, no matter what appears in front of us we must learn from what is good, and become alert when seeing what is bad. Every person is our teacher, so we have to be friendly with all of them. Their behavior and actions serve as lessons.
If we can always treat others as our teachers and helpful friends, we can choose to learn from the good and self-reflect upon seeing the bad. If we do this, then who in the world isn’t our good companion? With Right Faith in the Buddha’s and Bodhisattvas’ teachings, we will always be peaceful and at ease.
First, contemplate causes and conditions to know that one’s wrongdoings arise from ignorance. Due to unclear thinking, poor contemplation and ignorance of one’s faults, one grows apart from good friends and from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Then one follows a demonic path of evil and peril.
As I said earlier, we must believe in causes and conditions, and in effects and retributions. We must seriously consider the karmic law of cause and effect. If we lack “clear thinking and right contemplation,” then we do not know if we were at fault, so we “grow apart from good friends and from all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.”
We must know that good friends, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can always caution us and alert us to our mistakes. We need to be reminded to think clearly and to practice right contemplation. If we lack those qualities, we easily grow apart from good friends. We will not recognize our benefactors even if they are right in front of us and we will not recognize our mistakes. So clear thinking and right contemplation are very important. If they are absent, we remain unaware of our mistakes, incapable of recognizing good friends, and we go against the Right Dharma of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. That would be wrong and terrifying.
So we learn Buddhism, which is true, clear thinking and right contemplation. These are just simple words, but they are very important to our practice. Without them, we would be in danger as if on a perilous path. We will easily deviate from the right path. When we grow apart from good friends and Buddhas, we “follow a demonic path, an evil and perilous path.” It is very easy for us to follow evil teachers. If we follow them, they will tempt us onto the demonic path. That is a perilous road. What happens if we follow an evil path? The text says that, just like a fish that swallows the hook without knowing the danger, a silkworm binding itself in a cocoon or a moth drawn to die in the flames, with such causes and conditions, one cannot be free.
Being enticed onto an evil path is very dangerous. It is like a fish swallowing a hook. We know that fish live freely in the water. Sentient beings have their own natural habitats. In the natural environment for humans there is fresh air. Air allows us to breathe, balance the Four Elements, and have healthy bodies. This is our natural environment. A fish’s natural environment is in the water. Water enables them to live, as air does for us. They are carefree, yet some people want to catch them. They use bait to tempt fish to swallow the hook. In the past, people used earthworms as bait. Now, they make a ball with all sorts of fragrant ingredients to put on the fishhook. They throw it into the water and fish come when they smell the bait. To eat the bait, they unknowingly swallow the hook. The hook is crooked, and with a slight tug, it catches the fish’s mouth so it cannot escape.
When people lose right thinking and contemplation, they are like a fish caught on a hook. The fish does not recognize the danger. It was tempted by the smell of the bait, so it ate the hook. Isn’t this the same with humans?
We are “like silkworms spinning cocoons.” The silkworm produces silk to bind itself. It “binds itself inside a cocoon.” People who lack clear thinking and perspective are afflicted by everything they deal with. Sometimes we misspeak, but even if we immediately recognize the mistake, it already came out of our mouths. Then we feel bad, and become afflicted. Even if the other person has forgotten already, we still feel like we must repent. But after repenting, we may accidentally repeat the mistake because while repenting, we still suppressed our feelings.
Repenting means saying, “I am wrong, I need to quickly explain that I meant no ill-will. I really did not mean it. Maybe my viewpoint was incorrect.” We had no ill-intentions, so if we explain, then maybe the other party will say, “I didn’t think anything of what you said.”
“Oh, it’s good you have no hard feelings, you are so broad-minded, I should learn from you.”
Not only must we uphold a heart of vigilance and repentance, put after we do something wrong and then repent, we need to let it go. Do not let it dwell in your minds. If we do not let go, we bind ourselves. Though we may have carelessly said something wrong or carelessly hurt someone through our actions, we must quickly express our repentance, and let that be the end of it. Then we will not be “the silkworm that binds itself in a cocoon.”
We are all ordinary people. We know we should not make mistakes, but if it happens, we should not let it bind us. If we keep thinking about it, we will be bound by afflictions. This is very taxing. Although we do not do bad things on purpose, we must openly repent after we do them. Repentance will cleanse us so that we do not bind ourselves.
“The moth drawn to die in the flames.” Everyone, if we do not take care of our minds, then with greed, foolishness, ignorance or anger, we will be like a moth that files into the flame. This shows a lack of clear thinking and right contemplation. We should be cautious of our external environment. Do not succumb to even a bit of temptation. If we lack clear thinking, with all the traps in the world, we may end up ensnaring ourselves, getting ourselves stuck. This is a lack of clear thinking. We must always maintain a good heart, and possess right views of the karmic law of cause and effect. If we lack right thinking and contemplation regarding karmic retribution, then we will easily lose our way. Then it is difficult to free ourselves and escape. We must always stay close to good teachers and helpful friends. They help nurture the good thoughts that we must retain in our minds.
Always maintain good thoughts. With a correct view of karmic law of cause and effect, and by staying close to good teachers and helpful friends, one will not easily lose one’s way.
There was a parable in an essay I read. There were two people. One of them rode a swift and tireless horse. This horse ran really fast. The way it ran seemed so carefree, like it was running on air. It was pleasant to watch. The other man owned over 1000 camels, a huge herd. Every day he herded them along the road. One day, they both reached a wide open space, like a desert they stopped at the same time. It was so rare to meet someone on the road, so they started chatting and had a very friendly conversation.
The camel owner said, “Watching your horse run from afar makes me happy. You look so majestic on your horse. The horse runs like it’s flying over the clouds. It looks so beautiful. Can I exchange my camels for your horse? How does that sound?”
But the horseman said, “No, the horse has been with me for many years. He is like my good friend I can’t bear to part with him.” So he was unwilling to trade his horse for the herd of camels.
The other man said, “This herd of camels is worth so much. Why are you so unwilling to trade this one horse?”
“It is not that I do not want to. I just really love this horse.”
So each man valued different things. As the two men were about to part ways, the man with the camels suddenly came up with a plan to get the horse. He screamed in pain, so the horseman quickly dismounted, went over and asked, “What’s wrong?”
He said, “I don’t feel good. My head hurts, my chest feels tight. I don’t know if it’s a head or heart problem. I must see the doctor right away.”
“What can I do?” The horseman said, “I’ll take you there on my horse.” He helped camel owner up onto the horse.
Once mounted , the camel owner said, “ Now that I am on the horse, it is mine.” The horseman did not lose his temper. He calmly said, “Since you want it so badly, and you’re already on it, it’s yours. But once you reach town and someone asks how you got this horse. You absolutely must not tell them you methods.”
The man on the horse asked, “Why can’t I tell them how o got the horse?”
“Because if you tell people, they will copy you and do unlawful things like you just did.”
The man on the horse quickly dismounted. “I’m sorry I used such unlawful means to get this horse. It goes against my conscience. You are right. If I tell others about this method, they will copy unlawful method to get things. This is wrong.” And so this good thought arose in his mind.
Everyone, we are all the same. Whatever happens, we should remain calm. Though someone may forcefully take away our possessions, we must reason with them. We have to maintain good thoughts and inspire others to have good thoughts. Isn’t this explained in the Four Right Efforts? We must remember to quickly eliminate evil that already exists, and prevent future evil form arising. We must nurture goodness that already exists and encourage more goodness to arise.
Everyone, remember the karmic law of cause and effect. Apply right thinking and right insight. Please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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