Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Value of Life (生命價值觀)
Of the Six Roots, which are eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind, we have discussed up to body and mind.
For their bodies, people desire soft clothing made of expensive materials. Actually, the only purposes of clothing are to cover our bodies and keep us warm. That is the value of clothing. What other value is there? But ordinary people want to use the way they dress to show off their status. They want to look impressive; they think that shows their value. Is that necessary? Actually, these are unwholesome thoughts.
The mind is full of discursive thoughts and turns toward aberrant ways. The transgressions created from the Six Roots are countless and boundless.
“The mind is full of discursive thoughts.” Where do these unwholesome thoughts come from? They come from our minds. When our Roots connect with Dusts, our minds begin to discriminate. This is where chaotic thoughts arise. They are unwholesome, so we easily transgress.
I often say we have to be vigilant and reverent. We must be careful in everything we do; only then can we face the external world with true reverence. We cannot take what does not belong to us. If there are things that are inappropriate to use, we should not think of ways to use them.
When we are vigilant in training our minds, our six sense organs, or rather the first five, will not lead cravings to arise when we see things. Once we have cravings, we begin to grasp. Ordinary people remain in this ignorance, so their minds become confused.
Thus, these “Six sense organs create countless and boundless transgressions.” We do not know how many we have already created. Because our minds become confused when we come in contact with external conditions, we “turn towards aberrant ways.”
Aberrant ways go against the Right Dharma. This happens because consciousness gives rise to cravings when sense organs and sense objects meet. Then those cravings cause us to create much karma.
So, when we “turn towards aberrant ways,” we create much bad karma. When we learn Buddhism it is most important to take preventative measures. We can repent our past and prevent future offenses. This is an important part of learning Buddhism.
We are all ordinary people. Who has never made mistakes? Even if in this life we seem to be without fault, perhaps we made many mistakes in past lives. So, do not think, “I didn’t create any karma. Why do I need to repent?” As a Buddhist practitioner, whether or not we have created karma, it is important to recognize that we are ordinary beings transmigrating in the Six Realms.
Therefore, we inevitably have habitual tendencies. Whether we made mistakes or not, we have to sincerely repent. Thus, this section of the repentance text says, “Today we openly repent with utmost sincerity to the Buddhas, Dharma and Sangha of the ten directions.”
What time does “today” refer to? It is every day, not just right now. Truly, in every moment of every day, we have to remind ourselves to be vigilant of our mind. If we can constantly be repentant, our past ignorance and karmic obstacles will slowly melt away.
Next, we need to be preventive, self-reflective, disciplined and aware. This is how we can prevent future defilements. So, sense organs can assist us in our spiritual practice.
Take our eyes, for example. When we look at our surroundings, sometimes we can see things that are far away, and sometimes we see things that miniscule. Sometimes when we see things, we decide one thing is good and another is not. Everyone say, “Your eyesight is very good.”
This is the functioning of our eyes. They have their specific ability. Similarly, the ears, nose, tongue and body all have their own abilities. How do we create karma?
Without the power of the Five Roots, we would not have contact with our surroundings. Flowers are just flowers, grass just grass. Although the things we see remain the same, the ability to see eternal objects creates a connection. The Roots have the ability to connect, so they have this assisting function; they serve as Assisting Conditions.
Our eyes, ears, noses, tongues and bodies all have this assisting ability. Our external surroundings are our conditions. If we do not come in contact with them, our minds will not discriminate.
We all have ears. But sometimes one person hears something, white others do not. If someone is deaf, his ears cannot hear. Although the ear is there, it has no ability. Though there is sound, he has no power to hear it. So, we need both the power and the conditions. If we cannot hear others yell at us, we will not become afflicted.
But if we cannot hear, we may be doubtful whenever others speak. These are the strengths and weaknesses of ordinary people. We have strengths and weaknesses. Some have abilities; some do not. Our surroundings cause thoughts to arise.
Haven’t we heard people say, “People with bad hearing bend words. I did not say anything about you. Why would you think that?” So, when conditions, Roots and Dusts interact, they have assisting abilities and conditions.
Without Sequential Conditions, karma cannot be created. There has to be a sequence. There is a before and after, Roots and then Dusts. This sequence is connected. Without it, karma could not manifest. We would not create karma.
The Dusts can delude consciousness. Consciousness gives rise to cravings. External objects and surroundings seduce our consciousness and draw it out. After our consciousness begins to discriminate, we cannot let go; so we remain attached to external conditions.
Without these objects and conditions, Sequential Conditions and Connecting Conditions, we would not create karma. Of course, it is because we are ordinary beings that these three factors can come together to create karma.
So, we are still on the topic of Roots, Dusts, and Consciousnesses. Next we talk about the workings of the mind. This is how thoughts arise in our consciousness, and how the mind interacts with objects. So, the mind’s functions allow us to interact and to take action. If we are tempted into creating karma, it will never end. Because the mind-consciousness exists, unenlightened selfish love will gradually bring out ignorance. Then people become attached, unwilling to let go.
The other day didn’t we hear a volunteer talk about his relative? His relative built four houses, but only lived in part of one. Why did he need the other houses? Because he loved buying things. This obsessive-compulsive disorder is a type of mental illness. Some people keep swiping their credit cards to buy things. The rack up so much debt because they cannot control themselves. They are attached to using this kind of ability. Like many of the things people do nowadays, this all beings with working of the mind. They arise in sequence and continue without pause. This is a type of mental disorder. Ordinary people all have some form of mental disease. If their minds were healthy, they would not be ordinary people. If we had healthy bodies and minds and correct thinking, we would not make the mistakes that we do.
But ordinary beings are ill in mind and body; we are lost in this world with discursive thoughts continuously arising. This is due to the sequential workings of the mind. That is why we think unwholesome thoughts. These are thoughts we should not be thinking, but our habitual tendencies continuously give rise to these afflictions.
When we learn Buddhism we should have open hearts and simple thoughts. It is this simple. Open your hearts more. Keep your thoughts simpler. Do not complicate things.
There is another form of mental disorder, which is lingering in attachment to the past and not taking care of present matters. We must be realistic, focus on our responsibilities today, on how we can be responsible to ourselves, and on how we can eliminate afflictions. That is a truly healthy mindset. If we stay attached to the past while practicing, afflictions will return and obscure us.
So, we have to be careful. Do not be attached to the past. Do not let the workings of the mind continue to connect with the past, present and future.
This will continue without end, and afflictions will arise continuously. Naturally, due to karma and ignorance, we will keep crating karma. Since we are learning Buddhism, we must rely on the power of the Three Treasures. We need to think about how we can eliminate our afflictions.
What exactly is the value of life? There is a story about a disciple who left home with his spiritual teacher. He kept wondering, “What is the value of life?”
He kept asking until his teacher got annoyed. One day the teacher told him, “Take this stone and sell it in the market. But if someone actually makes an offer, do not accept it.”
So, he set out to the market. Someone at the market saw the rock and said, “This rock is very big and pretty.”
So, the person offered to buy it for two dollars. But someone else said, “This rock is useful, I can use it as a weight.”
So, he offered ten dollars. The disciple was very happy with these offers. It was just a rock, but people were offering up to ten dollars for it, “Teacher, can I sell it?”
The teacher said “Not yet, Take it out to display again. Let people make offers, but do not sell it”
So, he went out again. He put the rock and someone saw it right away. “This rock is very beautiful.” He said, “I will give you $1,000.”
Someone else said, “100,000.”
The offers for the rock went up to $100,000. He rushed to tell his master and asked, “Can I sell it ?”
The teacher told him, “So, how should we calculate the value of life? We need to first look at ourselves from the perspective of a jewelry appraiser and appreciate our own worth. The value of our life does not come from other people’s estimates. How much are we actually worth. Take that rock for example. If we ask others to appraise it, the value can range from “$2 to $100,000. We create the value of our life. We can create a lot of value with it, or treat it as a rock that has no value.”
This reminds me, not too long after Tzu Chi began, a highly revered monk from Thailand. Dharma Master Pu-Jing ,came to Taiwan. Since he was a revered practitioner from Thailand when he came to the Tung Ching Temple, all the monastics wanted to go welcome him, I was also invited, so I went along.
After we settled him in at the Tung Ching Temple. I met him briefly, but I was in a hurry to get a ride back. He saw me in the car and waved. He said, “Hold on! Where are you going?”
I said “I am going home.”
“Where is your home?”
Our home is on a farm, it is a bit far.”
“Let me come, let me come ,Open the door, quick! if you don’t open the car door now, A bunch of people will follow us.”
I opened the door and he snuck out with me, leaving his retinue. He came back with me in our car. Back then we lived very simply. Outside, by the four columns of the Buddha Hall, there was a rock facing the front. The rock was a gift from a lay practitioner. After it was cut open, Its edges were squarely cut and it was beautiful. This was a Hualien serpentine rock.
This monk told me, “No it’s a piece of jade.”
It was very big and our place was very simple. Where would we put it?
So, we left it at the entrance. When Master Pu-Jing came, He had given me a delicate gift, I still have it. But what could I give him in return? I didn’t have much so I asked Master Pu-Jing “Can I give you this rock as a gift?”
He said “oh, this is very beautiful!” He was very happy. It was heavy but he said, “I can take it back and carve it into a jade Buddha. It will be a beautiful green.”
We ourselves did not know, whether this rock was valuable or not. We just left it outside. No one ever tried to take it either. When this revered monk came, we gave it to him, and he decided to carve it into a Buddha statue.
You see, that it value. Since then, I have felt that everything has value. Even rocks are valuable. It depends on how we make use of it. Now everyone bows to it as a Buddha statue. Perhaps I would have used it to prop up my chair or table legs.
In conclusion, what it the value of our life in this world? It depends on our hearts, on our Roots, Dusts and Consciousnesses. If we are attached, maybe we cannot let go of a something that has no value. Perhaps some of the most valuable things are found in our own hearts. Our Buddha-nature is the most valuable. Yet perhaps we are wasting it. So, we should determine the value ourselves.
Everyone, the value of our lives can be vast and profound. So, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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