Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Turing Away from Enlightenment toward Confusion (背覺合塵)
Among all the actions in our daily living, speaking is unavoidable. In our daily living, most of our activities involve speaking. So, let us be careful when we open our mouths.
Confucius said, “Clever words and displays of flattery are rarely benevolent.” This refers to speaking words that compliment and praise people who are not that good, without pointing out their obvious mistakes. Everything we say will be an attempt to say what they want to hear. These are pleasing words. If we only say what they want to hear, we lack benevolence and virtue, just like them.
People should not do things in order to be praised. If they want to be praised for doing a small bit of good, they are not really being charitable. If they brag about every little good deed, and we go along and praise it, then we compound their arrogance. It is wrong to praise them in this way.
We should tell them that doing good deeds is our fundamental responsibility. This is the right thing to do; there is no need to flaunt it. If we continue to flaunt it, after a while, others will think it nothing special. If you do a good deed, but do not let others know, if people happen to find out, it will seem special and praiseworthy.
As a “benevolent friend,” instead of going along with their idea of doing good for fame, we can educate them. This is the right thing to do. This will benefit them. If others make mistakes, we can quickly tell them, “That is a mistake.” To maintain our integrity, we need to explain the correct principles to them. Do not use clever talk and displays of flattery to affirm others or to please them.
Did Confucius consider a person like this to be benevolent and virtuous? No. When we see others who are successful, we follow them and try to please them. Are we being virtuous and wise when we do this? No really, we are “rarely benevolent.” “Rarely” means lacking. A person like this is very lacking in virtue.
We have to be careful when we speak, pay attention to what others say, and observe if their actions are right or wrong.
In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha also said, “Do not praise their beauty or publicize their evil.”
So we should be moderate in our speech. If we know something is wrong, we should advise them at once. This is the behavior of a truly wise and loving person. Clever talk, in Buddhism, is referred to as flattery, literally “flowery words.” These words are like beautiful decoration; they are false and lacking in sincerity.
Someone is clearly mistaken. We know it when we hear them, but we agree with what they say, “That’s not bad; it‘s quite good!” This is flattery.
If we just seek to curry favor, then our words are empty and false. They are clearly wrong, but we do as they say, and clam they are right. Even though we believe they are wrong, we tell them they are right. That is phony.
Phony people are not truthful or sincere. People who lack sincerity lack benevolence. This is what Confucius said. This is a principle of the Buddha-Dharma.
Clever talk and displays of flattery are rarely benevolent.
Flowery words are phony and lack honesty. If we turn from enlightenment toward confusion, we become lost and influenced by conditions. It is best to recognize mistakes and correct them.
The Buddha spoke of four kinds of karma of speech. Earlier we talked about harsh words and lies, now we are talking about flattery.
These flowery words are beautifully decorated, but they contain profound effects that cause people to turn from enlightenment toward confusion.
Sentient beings inherently have Buddha-natures. This Buddha-nature, this kind, pure and innocent mind can be deceived by flowery words. They may be spoken words, they may be written or they may be in some other media. Right now there is a lot of pornography online, which causes some young people to lose their way.
Some people read and get lost in novels. In particular, some novels are written to be very moving and engrossing, and can truly arouse people’s lust. Besides being spoken, flowery words can be created by other means, through writing and such, and cause people to turn from enlightenment toward confusion, to go against their true nature. They may cause people to be contaminated by sense objects and sensual desires, thus becoming lost and influenced by conditions.
I have also heard of “fans” who follow movie stars or singers. They follow these idols all over the world. They abandon their duties as housewives or students to follow these stars everywhere. The celebrities do not recognize them; they are simply part of the crowd, screaming and yelling. This is a form of delusion.
They become lost and influenced by conditions. Flowery and clever words delude their minds. So, we have to constantly be self-aware. If we are like this , it is most important to recognize and correct our mistakes and do good. We must repent every day.
The text continues to say, “From Beginningless Time until today, we have committed many transgressions with flattery, extravagant wording and beautiful calligraphy.”
“Extravagant wording” describes words that are overly pleasing and unrealistic. They are falsely beautified. So flattery is phony, untrue. Some words are written in ink. We just talked about how people write books, novels, poems and songs in an effort to incite others’ lust and desires. These works create karma.
The text continues to say, “Overly elaborate writing, cleverly written songs, seductive descriptions and obscene portrayals tempt those of lesser morals to lose control.”
Isn’t this section very obvious? Some writing is overly elaborate. Some people write very well, very beautifully. People become mesmerized by their novels. This is like people at web cafes becoming obsessed. Even without meddling with the mind, one can become obsessed. On the computer, there are things called blogs, right? There are many of these things. I hear when students turn on the computer, they have no interest in reading news reports about good deeds or suffering and disasters, but they spend time online [looking at other things]. When we see young people now, the national test scores for college students are falling continuously. Many college students receive score of only 30 some points, maybe around 40 or 50 points. It makes us worried to see this average score. Why is this happening?
It is because their minds are seduced by sensory objects. Their duty is to study, but they do not focus on their classes. Instead they are online. They are immersed in it, so they follow their emotions to pursue certain environments.
Time is limited. If their senses are deluded, then the clear, alert minds that are needed for studying become turbid. They turn from enlightenment toward confusion, and they become troubled.
So “overly elaborate writing” goes too far. It is so distanced from reality that one cannot discern right from wrong. Modern people have lost their sense of shame because of these overly elaborate writings.
There are also “cleverly written songs.” Some people sing and spend their entire day singing karaoke. I have never seen a karaoke establishment, but I often hear a lot of parents’ complaints. In the news, especially, we can often see some young people who become obsessed with these karaoke establishments. They forget to go home ; they stay there and sing. There are now even businesses that broadcast unsightly film that show pornographic images. They incite people’s sexual desires so they commit wrongdoings. These businesses use modern technology to create pornographic and seductive sounds, forms and images. They ignite flames of desire in people’s minds. These people lose themselves. These “obscene portrayals” cause some people to lose their sense of shame. These “obscene portrayals” are truly worrisome.
Master Wu-Da actually described this in ancient times. It has already manifested in modern times. They “tempt those with lesser morals to lose control.” Those with lesser morals will become addicted. Others will become infatuated with and praise the people who write such works. They are treated like heroes. Should we be worried?
The Sutra talks about “those with lesser morals.” Where are those with high morals? How many are left? These actions create a cultural trend. Why is modern culture so defiled and lost? How can we not be worried? I am very worried. I hope everyone will elevate their conscience. In order to truly be a good person, we have to recognize shame. That is the difference between humans and animals. In truth, people are now losing their morals.
They pursue things that tempt them and cause them to lose control. This is worrisome “We tempt people to be lost in alcohol and lust so they cannot return to themselves. We are unrestrained in seeking personal revenge, ignoring public opinion.”
Clever words and displays of flattery will entice people to become lost in alcohol and lust, and lead them to lose their minds. It is painful for people to stop drinking. Sometimes we see people in the hospital carrying alcohol in a plastic bottle.
I ask, “What is that?” and they answer that it is mineral water, when they actually put alcohol in the container. The doctor told them not to drink in the hospital so they hide what they are doing. It is painful for them to change, “they cannot return to themselves.”
Some of them are deluded by lust. They do not consider women to be valuable, except as men’s playthings. In abandoning themselves to alcohol and lust, they “cannot return to themselves.”
Some are “unrestrained in pursuing revenge.” Perhaps we have created enmity with someone, so we give a very vivid description about them, even thought it is not true. Whether we say it or write it, we are seeking revenge. Perhaps we use official means for personal revenge. Many people do this as well.
To summarize, when we learn Buddhism, we have to be conscientious or we will lose our good sense. Then we will create tremendous bad karma. So let us constantly guard our speech.
In our daily living, our tongues are always wagging. So we must be careful of our speech, avoid clever words and phony appearances. Otherwise we will lack benevolence. As it is often said in the Sutra, we have to be cautious of flattery, gossip, lies and harsh words. Think about how easy it is to become by people’s gossips. They cause people to turn away from enlightenment. And become lost and influenced by conditions. We should always be vigilant. It is most important to recognize and correct our faults and do good. Always be self-aware and please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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