Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Transcend the Ordinary, Become a Sage (超凡入聖)
Time constantly passes away in the blink of an eye. Life or death is determined by a single breath. Today we are healthy. But will we live past today?
Will death arrive first, or will tomorrow? No one knows. If we cannot inhale after we exhale, then this life will be over. If we clearly know our past mistakes, can we not seize the moment and quickly correct our faults? Can we not quickly change our negative habitual tendencies and be mindful of our every action and every word? If we can always remain alert and aware, we are practicing vigilance.
When we move, speak or think, let us always be vigilant. Do not overlook anything. There are spirits three inches above our heads. They are not only above us; we are surrounded by spiritual beings. This applies to all of us. Do not think that what we do and what we say are only observed by the person we are talking to and no one else knows. They know. Those beings around us and those three inches above us know. What is more, we know it in our hearts. We ourselves know if we are right or wrong.
So, we should not harbor negative intentions. Our minds should always be like the Buddha’s; we must not keep darkness in our minds. Darkness is not only found outside of us, it is in our minds, too. If we do not pull it out, then our bright, clear and penetrating wisdom cannot shine through. Let us remember to be careful and disciplined in our daily living, in body, speech and mind.
If we can all understand that life and death exist in the space of a breath, we will not wait to repent in the future. We must quickly repent for our pasts.
Time passes in the blink of an eye. Life or death is determined by a single breath. Be careful and disciplined in body, speech, mind. Do not overlook the spirits three inches above you.
We have repented the evils of body and speech. I have guided everyone through each one. Every day we are discussing repentance. If we can repent the Four Evils of Speech, we can attain the Four Unhindered Powers of Eloquence. This is how we spread Dharma, benefit all beings.
There is Unhindered Eloquence in explaining the meaning, speaking the Dharma, phrasing speech and speaking with joy.
With these abilities, everything we say will be harmonious and bring people together. We have to speak true words, be honest and gentle. When we do, with four types of speech we universally benefit all begins. We are not just speaking for people to hear. The spirits three inches above us can hear us, too. The spiritual beings around us can also hear.
So, let us always expound the Dharma. If we speak good words, we are expounding the Dharma. It will benefit all humans and heavenly beings.
Everyone, all we have to do is open our mouths. It is that easy. Besides benefiting people, we can also expound the Dharma for heavenly beings. It is this easy to create merits and virtues. But if we do not self-reflect, then we continue to create karma. So, we must be more aware, and be vigilant and reverent. With every matter and every person and at every moment, we must be mindful.
The repentance text continues to say, “We will be understanding of the customs and languages of sentient beings. If we speak in a way that in accord with the time and people’s aptitudes, those listening will gain understanding and liberation.”
If we can attain the four Powers of Eloquence, and harmonious and gentle tones of voice, then with our wisdom we can naturally understand the customs and languages of sentient beings.
That means we can understand all sorts of sayings, slang local languages. We can understand it all. We can learn anything we study. Look at our long-term volunteers. They volunteer at the hospital and encounter aborigines, Hakka, Americans, Japanese. They are determined to learn a few phrases to ask how they are doing or to greet them. This makes other people very happy.
This reflects a willingness to create good affinities with others and speak good words to them.
We do not need many phrases, just a couple. Whether we pronounce it correctly or not, as long as we are sincere, we will elicit laughter and happiness.
So, people are truly amazing.
When we are willing to get close to others, language is very important.
If we can speak harmonious and graceful words, the listeners will be very happy. As for dialects, slang, and so on, it is good we understand them, but even better if we can speak them. If we can speak multiple languages, we can teach according to the circumstances.
Whatever people’s ability and language may be, we can communicate with them.
Some people want their young children to be language geniuses. Our current educational system guides children to learn many languages.
But recently I read an article about mainland China’s a one-child policy. Every family highly values the child’s education. There was a couple with very advanced degrees. They also diligently learned English. After their child was born, they only spoke English to him. Although they are Chinese and living in China, they only conversed in English. They hoped he would learn the language early on. This was intended to train their child. Since they lived in China, he learned to speak Chinese outside the house. So he understood English and Chinese. Then he started elementary school when he was six. After school, his parents sent him to tutors to learn Japanese and French. The child was truly a genius with languages.
Until, when he was 8 or 9, one day all he could do was cry. He kept crying, He could not answer any questions because he did not know which language to use. His thoughts were completely confused. He could not express what he was thinking or what he wanted to say. Suddenly his language pathways were confused.
So, sometimes I feel that the most important thing to teach our young children is how to be spiritually sound. Teaching them about life is most important. Forcing them to develop the ability to speak many languages when they are so young is truly dangerous. In regards to the language we use, the most important thing is the Four Unhindered Powers of Eloquence. We need a healthy mind and clear and wise thinking. Then we will naturally have these four powers and everything we say will be harmonious and graceful.
In this way, no matter what we say, anyone listening will be very happy. What is most critical is teaching according to the situation. The even if people are hearing a translation, they will still be happy.
So our mental well-being is very important. Besides being mentally sound, Buddhists also have the following hopes. What do we hope? We will transcend the ordinary and become a sage. We will open our Wisdom-eye. After repenting and making this vow, we take refuge and pay respect to the Three Treasures.
“Transcend the ordinary and become a sage.” Everyone, don’t we learn Buddhism to attain Buddhahood? We often say that the mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different. We all inherently have the Buddha-nature, and enlightened nature. We are just confused. Over so many lifetimes, we have been influenced by worldly customs and societies, so our thinking has become muddled, like that child who learned too many languages at such a young age. In the end, the language pathways in his brain got confused.
How much more difficult is it for us to change the habitual tendencies that we have accumulated over many lifetimes and kalpas?
We practice solely to change negative habits. How can we heighten our awareness? By being “vigilant and reverent.” We use these words in our daily lives to remain alert and to remind ourselves to prevent negative habits from arising? Do we have a bright enlightened Buddha-nature in our minds? Or do our minds still harbor darkness? Have we banished this confusion and ignorance? If we are constantly careful, disciplined and self-aware, we will treat everyone reverently.
This reverence includes having faith, steadfastness, sincerity and integrity. If we can do this, we will slowly eliminate our bad habits and elevate our enlightened nature. We will transcend the habits of ordinary people and approach the state of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas.
Bodhisattvas have the Buddha in their hearts and the Dharma in their actions. Bodhisattvas seek the Buddha’s Path and transform sentient beings. If we constantly absorb the Dharma into our minds, transform sentient beings through our actions and teach according to the circumstances, we will approach Buddhahood step by step. So let us, “transcend the ordinary and open our Wisdom-eye. Our goal is to have wisdom and understanding. We can only do this through repentance.
The text says, “After repenting and making this vow, I take refuge and pay respect to the Three Treasures.” We have talked about the bad karma created through actions and speech. Whether they are general transgressions or specific negative karma, I have shared them with you one by one, so that can all be more aware. We need to repent.
If we can repent and make vows, then our body and mind can take refuge in the Three Treasures. We rely on the Treasures, the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, in our daily living.
When we take refuge with them, we do not say, “Oh, I took refuge many years ago.” No, we take refuge every day. Every day we turn from the dark toward the light, repent our mistakes, correct the past and practice for the future. This is taking refuge. Throughout this life, we will depend on the three Treasures, the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. Thus can we transcend the ordinary to become sages.
Everyone, always be mindful. We know life is short and temporary. It only exists in the space of a breath. Time passes quickly. It is gone in an instant. Let us always be careful and disciplined with our body, speech and mind. Do not forget there are spirits above you. This will remind us to always speak good words to benefit not only the people around us, but also our surrounding environment. So please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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