Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Take Care of the Mind so It Is Not Defiled (顧好一念 心莫受污)
In our daily living, our sense organs, sense objects and environment are always coming together. Just now I went outside and saw the beautiful shadows of the trees on the wall. What I saw was a shadow, yet my mind instantly knew it was from a tree.
When I turned my head, next to me, I saw the tree, and far away was a streetlamp. The light was passing through the tree, and casting the tree’s shadow upon the wall. It was amazing. The instant I came in contact with the sight, my mind’s reaction was, “This is beautiful” and I could not help turning my head to look. The tree’s shape was so beautiful, and since it was such a dark hour, if it were not for the distant lamp shining, I could not have seen the tree’s shadow on the wall of the Buddha Hall.
This is how the mind perceives the world through the sense organs, sense objects and consciousness. In this case, everyone should know exactly which sense organ is coming in contact with which sense object. It is the eyes.
Since they see the world, they elicit the delusions of form. They give rise to ignorance and give birth to greed. So we need to look after our thoughts; and not let our mind be polluted.
This means that everything in the outside world, no matter its appearance, is always deluding our minds. If I had seen the shadow of the tree on the wall and thought it was real, that would be delusion. I quickly turned around and said, “The tree is here.” I was also able to analyze the cause as being the lamp shining through.
Otherwise, I would told you that on the wall of the Buddha Hall was an image of a tree. When I finish speaking, if you go outside to look for this image in the daylight, it will not be there. So I am explaining this to you before the delusions arise. I am explaining to you that in the daytime you cannot see it, because the sunlight shines directly on it. In the daytime, the lamplight has no effect, so that shadow disappears. When our consciousness is clear, we will not be confused or deluded by the environment.
So, we need to always take good care of our minds. Do not let the mind be deluded by the environment. If we become deluded, we will always give rise to ignorance. The ignorance in our minds will always arise. The rise of this ignorance is the birth of greed.
Always take good care of your mind. Do not be deluded by external conditions. If we are deluded, the mind’s ignorance breaks out, and all evil habits are born accordingly.
The next passage of the repentance text continues to explain to us.
“Previously we repented the karma of body and speech. Now we repent in sequence the karmic obstacles of the Six Sense Organs.”
Earlier, we repented the three karma of the body, killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. That is the negative karma created by the body. There are four kinds of karma of speech, lying, flattery, gossip and harsh words. We have previously spoken of these in detail.
After hearing about them, we should change at once. Not only must we correct mistakes, we also need to be diligent in eliminating bad habits and cultivation good ones. So, we correct the bad, follow the good. Then it is true repentance. We have to repent until all karma and conditions are completely exhausted.
We cannot transgress again. If we do, then we have not thoroughly repented. So, do not let the pollution of ignorance defile your mind again.
So, it says, “Now we repent in sequence the karmic obstacles of the Six Sense Organs.” Imperial Preceptor Wu-Da was very meticulous. He knew sentient beings have inferior abilities. Just saying you want to change does not mean you can instantly change and be completely clean.
For those with higher aptitudes, from one corner they can know the other three. If they are told one thing, told how to build one corner, then they can build the other three as well.
But with sentient beings, if you tell them how to build the left corner but not how to build the right one, even though it is exactly the same, they will not be able to build it. Why do we need to be taught again each time? The habits of ignorance are hard to eliminate.
We often talk about what we need to practice. We need to eliminate our habits. If we can do this, then we can practice further. We can take what the Buddha taught us, and by following those directions, move forward step by step.
Then we naturally make progress.
Since we can take the first step, can’t the second step be taken in the same way? The front foot steps out, then the back foot lifts up. This is how we make progress.
In learning Buddhism, we must be both willing and diligent. Otherwise, no matter what we hear, we will be repeatedly bound by our sense organs, sense objects and consciousness.
So, we must practice the Dharma meticulously. We must change continuously, ceaselessly, to see if we can take this muddy water and dilute it with clear water, until all the water has become clear. This is the only method. We need to listen to the Dharma every day.
Actually, what you will hear is fairly similar. Although it is similar, we need to raise our awareness and remind ourselves not to transgress again. This is how we listen to the Dharma. Only by always listening to the Dharma can we understand and attain realization.
So here it says, “Now we repent in sequence the Six Sense Organ,” eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and consciousness. Everyone can memorize them “The karmic obstacles of the Six Sense Organs.” We need to constantly repent karmic obstacles. One kind of repentance is general repentance. This is repenting all of our body’s wrongdoings. People say, “The greatest liability of life is having a body.” Likewise, all the karma that we create is due to our having this body. Killing, stealing and sexual misconduct are all performed by the body.
Also, the four kinds of negative speech also come from the body. As for greed, anger and ignorance, if you did not have this body, you would not make contact with the world, and greed, anger and ignorance would not arise.
But we do not have that option. Although our body is not eternal, consciousness continues. However, we have no guarantee of being born human. This consciousness suffers karmic retributions, which will not disappear when life ends. Since we have this body, we will create much karma. But it is not true that if we did not have this body, we would not create more karma. This body follows the laws of nature. We have brought all this karma to this life and crated all these affinities with people. If they are good affinities, we want to repay the kindness. If they are negative affinities, we need to willingly accept them and earnestly repay our debts. Whatever we do not repay in this lifetime, we have to repay in the next.
So we must repay them willingly and happily. Then the karma will be exhausted. When our life ends, if we paid back a little extra kindness on top of our debt, then in our next life, they will have good affinities with us, and will also repay our kindness. When this life’s negative affinities have ended, the positive connections that we made in this life will continue, and we can help each other succeed in the future.
So, we often say, “We need to use beneficial conduct and work with others to help them transform.” In this way, when we meet in the future, we can help each other transform.
Because in the past, no matter how others treated us, we still responded with loving words
No matter how much they asked from us, we always gave happily. If we can always use giving, loving speech, beneficial conduct and cooperation with anyone and everyone we encounter, and keep giving until there is a surplus, even if in this life we are not transformed, perhaps next life they will help us transform.
This is our consciousness; ordinary beings constantly follow their karmic consciousness. Of course, we also wish to wash clean our karmic consciousness, completely wash away the karmic forces, and return to our intrinsic Tathagata-nature. If you remember, not long ago, I told everyone about Tathagata in Bonds. The meaning of Tathagata in Bonds is that all sentient beings have the same Tathagata –nature as the Bubbha. Everyone has it. But we are ordinary people, and we live in the mundane world. There is so much ignorance binging us, so we are called the Tathagata in Bonds. This means that although we are in the midst of ignorance, we still have not lose our pure intrinsic nature, it still exists within us.
As long as we can constantly cleanse ourselves, constantly repent, wash away all the defilements of our spirit and completely eliminate our ignorance, we can return to the Ninth Consciousness, which is the pure Tathagata-natrue.
At that time we will be completely pure, and we will not follow our karma to reincarnate.
So, in summary, we need to repent constantly. When we make a mistake we should quickly repent; if there is a stain ,we need to quickly wash it. After we wash, we do not want to get dirty again. So, with general repentance, we repent all of our transgressions.
There is also specific repentance which is repenting each individual wrong.
If we can repent everything in general, all the karma of body and mind, then we have an overall idea that, “I should reflect on myself in this way. I should have this kind of awakening. I should act in this way. I should not do wrong again.”
We just mentioned that a carpenter can teach you how to make a table corner. It may be rounded or pointed. Since he taught you the skills to make it, when you get to the point where you need a corner, you make it in the same way. This is general repentance.
For people with relatively high capabilities, it is enough to just tell them once. Then they understand everything. But ordinary people must learn things one at a time.
Just talking about the body takes so long. There are so many different varieties just in the three kinds of [physical] karma.
We have talked about karma of speech for a while. Even these four kinds need a lot of explanation. This is because we all listen and think, “I know , I know,” But you do not know that the other things arise because you begin speaking harshly.
You cannot find the source of it. After we encounter the branches we still do not know where the root is.
So we must start from the branches. When this kind of thing happens, we need to start from there, and keep pulling out the branches.
We specifically report the three kinds of karma. We discussed the karma of body and speech. Now we are discussing karma of the mind. But the mind by itself cannot be seen. So, now we need to go back and look at our “Roots.” We need to report wrongdoings of the Sense Organs, which originate in the Threefold Karma. If you put someone else’s things somewhere without obtaining their permission if you steal or seize things, etc., it is because those objects enticed the desirous thoughts in your mind. Because those desirous thoughts arose, they command our bodies to take action.
So, repenting the Threefold Karma is inseparable from the Six Sense Organs. Wrongdoings of the Six Roots originate from the Threefold Karma.
The Threefold Karma are brought about when the Six Roots are tempted.
They eyes, ears, nose and tongue
lead the body to create karma. The Five Roots originate from consciousness. They cause transgression when causes and conditions come together.
The Threefold Karma and brought about when the Six Sense Organs and tempted. The Five Roots are the conditions for karma. The Consciousness is the causes for karma.
When causes and conditions come together, transgressions are created.
Everyone, our eyes see the environment and draw in all delusions of form, allowing ignorance to arise and giving birth to greed. Se we need to take good care of our thoughts. Do not let the mind be polluted.
Everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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