Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Three Karma of Wisdom (三慧業)
With each passing day we draw closer to death. So, each day in this spiritual training ground, are we being mindful of our actions, speech and thoughts?
Do we speak to promote the Path, offer our hands to work for the Path, tread on the Path with our feet, and advance our mission with each breath?
This means that when we speak, we should speak meaningful words. Dharma is like a path. Whatever road we choose, we must focus on the experience of our spiritual practice. Now that we have found the Buddha’s teachings, and are in the Jing Si spiritual community, are we constantly passing down our Dharma-lineage?
What do we live for? Do we live for our own enjoyment? Or for the benefit of suffering sentient beings? We built Tzu Chi as a training ground. Having established our school of Buddhism, do we constantly share with everyone the Dharma-lineage of our practice? Is our purpose to speak for the Path? Do we dedicate our hands to doing good? I often say, “Do good deeds with your body.”
We must put these teachings into practice. I often say the Abode is home for Tzu Chi volunteers. Our big family supports itself. We offer our hands to work for the Path. Do we tread this Path with our feet? If so, the karma of body, speech and mind can become the Threefold Blessed Karma or the Threefold Karma of Wisdom. So, we must always advance in our mission. Whatever our intent is, let us vow to realize it through our actions. Then we can cultivate both blessings and wisdom. If we can create many good affinities with people and share many good things with them, aren’t we cultivating blessings and wisdom?
Blessings are the joy we gain from taking action. Wisdom is the freedom we gain from understanding. Do we feel happy and free every day? In this spiritual training ground, we should focus on our practice with each breath. This is all out of concern for sentient beings. They are lost in a long night, in a boiling sea, transmigrating through the Six Realms.
How can we awaken sentient beings? We must always have compassion for them. If we feel-compassion, we will not shun our duty, which is our spiritual practice. We must actively engage in spiritual practice; do not avoid it.
We practice on the Bodhisattva-path because we feel compassion for sentient beings. We do not practice only for ourselves, nor pass our days lounging around. No, we are concerned for sentient beings.
Like being in a boiling sea at night they are deluded by their dark, ignorant mindset. So, we are concerned for them. In everything, we must begin with ourselves, then we can help them realize that if they turn their heads, shore is in sight. Otherwise, they transmigrate within the Six Realms or descend into the Three Destinies. This will be unbearably painful.
Let us always remain present and mindful. Speak, practice and focus on spiritual cultivation. Think about others’ suffering at every moment. When you walk the Bodhisattva-path, always be present and mindful. Speak, practice and focus on the Path. Advance in your mission with each breath. Out of concern for sentient beings, help them escape the Six Realms.
Sentient beings suffer so much. They create a lot of karma. Every time they open their mouths, they create karma.
There are four evil karma of speech. We have covered harsh words, lies and flattery. We have now arrived at gossip. Being “double-tongued” creates conflict. Yesterday we talked about creating alienation between kings and ministers, or creating enmity and resentment between countries for our own benefit. Innocent people will suffer the pain of being separated from loved ones. This is also caused by gossip, which brings conflict everywhere.
The repentance text says, “With gossip, we caused discord between father and son separation of spouses, distance between relatives, loss of gratitude for teachers and the end of friendships.”
See how powerful gossip can be? It can cause discord between father and son. We often see this in modern society.
In the past, fathers were kind, sons were filial, as if the parents could do no wrong. This is very rare in modern times. If a father points out his son’s mistake, the son will turn against him. In our current society, this is very common.
Nowadays, when people talk, they cannot learn from each other. In the past they passed down guidelines, not only in families, but also through teachers. The entire society and time period reinforced these rules. In those times, in those societies, people had to be filial. If they were not filial they were reviled. It was considered a disgraceful, shameful behavior. If someone said our children were unfilial, we would feel our own character was damaged.
Now, lack of filial piety is very common. Instead, parents are telling their children, “I’m sorry. I was wrong.” Our way of life has evolved to this. This is truly frightening. Because things are passed by word of mouth, we no longer know who said what; things are very confusing and unclear.
So, what does it mean to have filial piety? It is difficult to say. Knowing this, can we sit here and do nothing? Let us help every family understand ethical and moral guidelines by teaching them when we talk. Education does not only happen in schools, but in society and in every family, as well. Otherwise, gossip will go beyond discord between father and son.
It can cause “separation of spouses.” Right now people already have bad manners. Fewer and fewer people remain pure. Then someone says, “You married this kind of husband? He is nothing special, get a divorce!”
They will get divorced quickly.
Sometimes spouses live in the same house, but Sometimes spouses live in the same house, but there is emotional distance. Whether physical or emotional, this distance came about because no one taught them or counseled them.
So there will be “separation of spouses.” There is also “distance between relatives.” Relatives were close to each other. In the past, people took good care of familial relationships. So big families and clans were very close.
But now people are very distant, even with close relatives. Young people do not even know how to address their aunt’s son, daughter, son-in-law or daughter-in-law. The do not know.
So there is “distance between relatives.” Everyone has increasingly distanced themselves from their human nature. The language we use is part of our education; it is passed on and reflects the changes in modern society, so we even “lose gratitude for teachers.”
Parents nurture our physical life; teachers develop our intellect. Our debt to them is as high as mountains. “A teacher for a day is a teacher for life.” What about now? Now we “lose gratitude toward teachers.” People are no longer grateful.
“I came to study, so you should teach me.” They do not show teachers any courtesy. They may even show disrespect with their words. The teacher-student relationship has grown distant. And what about friends?
In the past we had to be loyal, trustworthy and upright with our friends. Those qualities no longer exist. Thus “friendships end.” Nowadays, this causes many worries.”
Then we talk about “We may even sabotage the alliances and friendship between two countries, creating resentment and leading soldiers to hurt or kill citizens.”
Think about it. Before, we were talking about families and losing emotional connections with relatives. Now we talk about inciting conflicts. Two countries originally had a strong alliance. But gossip incited conflicts and led to the alliance being altered, so it was easy for a coup to occur. In some countries, people instigate this, or they may create discord, and so on. Then a group splits into different factions that badmouth or spread gossip about each other. That creates resentment, so they call up the army. Then a coup happens. This is truly the hardest on the people.
Look at all those countries with refugees spread around the world. We all have to be mindful and take good care of our minds so we will not hurt people with words.
Next it says, “These transgressions.” Before, we said that language creates chaos in people’s minds, causes people to ruin their character, causes families to become estranged, causes societies to become chaotic and countries to go to war against each other, etc. All this comes from karma of speech.
“These transgressions are countless and boundless. So today, as well as every day, we have to sincerely and openly repent and seek mercy from all Buddhas, Dharma and sages.”
They body commits murder, theft, sexual misconduct. The mouth speaks lies, flattery, gossip, harsh words, and so on. Our minds are filled with greed, anger, ignorance. Together these are the Ten Evils. Since Beginningless Time, they have continuously caused us to create so much bad karma.
So, we have to always openly repent and seek mercy. We have to be very sincere. We have finished speaking on these Four Evil Karma.
Everyone, “people promote the Way, it cannot promote itself. We must keep our minds and practice on the Path. Can we only hear the Dharma and practice the Way in the time and place when the Buddha was present? Not necessarily. Right now, the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism is in Taiwan. But people around the world can follow the principles of this Dharma –lineage.
Tzu Chi volunteers give mindfully and lovingly. They all walk the path I walk, teach the Dharma I teach. They do not have to come to Hualien to promote Tzu Chi locally. They can establish training grounds anywhere.
They say, “Master says in Tzu Chi we do things this way.” So, they speak to promote the Path, offer to work for the Path, and tread on the Path. They advance our mission. This is their vow, so they devote their lives to Tzu Chi. They are diligent in seizing every moment. They vow to be in Tzu Chi the rest of their lives. They practice Tzu Chi’s mission with every breath. What for? They are concerned for sentient beings, so they try to lead by example. They bring Tzu Chi’s training ground to communities all over the world.
So everyone, please be mindful. When you watch your body, speech and mind, you are truly passing along our Dharma-lineage.
Everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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