Lecturer: Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Cultivate Wisdom, Gain Insight into Compassion (啟智入悲增智慧)
In our daily living, we constantly hear sounds and see things. Our eyes and ears are sharp. Every day, we wake up and open our eyes. The first sense that makes contact is sight. The next is hearing. From the sounds of the world, we can develop wisdom and discern the suffering in the world.
Thus, we realize compassion. If we use a spiritually cultivated mindset to see or listen to the world, everything will help develop our wisdom. To understand Dharma, we start by listening; we listen, contemplate and practice, and thus enter Samadhi. This means that our ears can hear everything, and after we listen, we must contemplate.
Does this teaching resonate with our disposition? Can the Dharma from all our experiences completely enter our hearts? After it enters our hearts, can we put the Dharma into practice? We often say the world is full of suffering. Where is the suffering? Average people enjoy their daily life. They have food to eat, clothes to wear and everything goes mostly as planned. Where is their pain?
Actually, when we use our wisdom to listen, who in the world is without pain? Everyone is suffering more or less. Since this is so, how can we feel this suffering as our own? When we see others’ afflictions, how do we dispel them? When we see their suffering, how do we help alleviate it? This is gaining insight into compassion. The Sutras mention Guanyin Bodhisattva who was an ancient Buddha from some unknown time in the past. But before Guanyin Bodhisattva reached Buddhahood, there were other, even more ancient Buddhas. When Guanyin Bodhisattva began practicing during the Ancient Kalpa, a long, long time age, there was a Guanyin Buddha. The Guanyin Bodhisattva of that time started to receive the teachings of Guanyin Buddha. So, in that training ground, Guanyin developed Bodhicitta, vowing to attain the wondrous mind of all Buddhas and to have empathy for all sentient beings.
Listen to worldly sounds to cultivate wisdom. Discern worldly affairs to realize compassion. It is said that Guanyin Bodhisattva in the Ancient Kalpa developed Bodhicitta with Guanyin Buddha, vowing to attain the wondrous mind of all Buddhas and have empathy for all sentient beings.
This means that Guanyin made a vow to attain the Buddha-mind and have empathy for all sentient beings. This is great universal compassion. It beings with hearing all Dharma to inspire and develop wisdom. This way, we can understand the suffering of all sentient beings. We have to really use our ears to hear the suffering in the world. Then, we can cultivate a mind that feels everyone’s pain as our own.
So everyone, in our daily living and practice, no matter what we hear people say, we should be grateful and understanding. Everything is Dharma. So we can use this think to listen to matters in the world. In the past, we repented constantly. We repented the fact that our Six Sense Organs interacted with the Six Sense Objects to create much karma. We have also repented karma created by our eyes. If we thoroughly repent, everything we see is pure Dharma, and we especially hope to be able to see the Tathagata’s pure Dharma-body.
The same goes for the ears; we hear one thing, know ten and realize thousands. This happens through the ears. We may hear one sound and understand ten kinds of things, which translate into thousands. We say, “Understand one truth to understand all.” If we can cross the threshold of the Dharma, we can understand all principles. From understanding one thing, we can understand everything.
So, in summary, if our minds have been obstructed by defilements, we must keep washing away the impurities. Removing defilements is how we train our minds. This effort translates into wisdom. These are merits and virtues.
The next passage says, “May the virtues gained through repentance enable my ears to clearly hear the Right Dharma spoken by the sages, saints and Buddhas of the ten directions so that I may practice it accordingly.”
Indeed, we hope our ears will hear the sages, saints and all Buddhas of the ten directions. Where are all these Buddhas? If our mind is like that of the Buddha, everyone is a Buddha. If our minds transcend the ordinary, we are surrounded by saints and sages. Then we can be close with everyone and be understanding with everyone’s hearts. We can observe everyone’s behavior. We say, “In any three people, I find a teacher.” Everyone can be a living example of Dharma. When Tzu Chi volunteers provide relief, they bow and show gratitude and respect. “If we see others with the Buddha-mind, everyone is a Buddha.” Even those receiving our help are actually teaching us. They appear in our lives to teach us. So, we can promptly gain realizations, quickly become more vigilant and reverent. Think about it, aren’t they Buddhas of the ten directions?
So, it is with this mindset that we should face everything we hear in our daily living. With this, everyone is speaking Right Dharma. This Right Dharma, whether or not it is correct, will inspire and arouse our wisdom, then we can be more discerning. I hope we discern the world with the wisdom of the pure Tathagata within us. From what we hear, we can spread the teachings. Thus, we turn the Dharma-wheel. If we can be understand of everything we hear, that is turning the Dharma-wheel. That is the Right Dharma. We must practice in accordance with the teachings. We should use what the Buddha had taught us. Let us thoroughly apply the Dharma. We must first truly comprehend one teaching.
If we can experience the Dharma that the Buddha expounded over 2,000 years ago, everything we encounter is profound Dharma. With this mindset, everything that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas said, profound or simple, coarse or subtle, is all Right Dharma. If we are well-cultivated, no matter what others say to us, we will say, “Thank you. Thank you for reminding me. Thank you for teaching me.” No matter how harsh or rude others are, we still treat them as Bodhisattvas and believe they are teaching us.
So, we treat everyone as a Buddha or Bodhisattva. Then everything we hear, coarse or subtle, just like what I am saying now, are positive words. It is all a teaching. If we apply it, it becomes wondrous Dharma. When I am unhappy and you speak to me rudely, I might raise my voice and scold you. If I do, you should thank me, thank me for teaching you. If you are respectful, no matter how much I yell or say terrible things, you are also grateful. A respectful mind will treat profound, simple, coarse or subtle words all as Right Dharma.
So, we must use our ears to listen, contemplate and practice. After hearing something, contemplate it carefully. Then you have to begin your practice. Our daily living is all spiritual practice. So, when we listen with wisdom, external states constantly speak to us and teach us Dharma. External states help us to inspire and cultivate wisdom. Then, we use that wisdom to reflect and examine our surroundings. We develop wisdom and insight into compassion. Our surroundings reflect our wisdom. If we use wisdom to illuminate our surroundings, the Six Sense Organs will not create bad karma, not at all.
At this time, all external states become our wisdom. Wisdom lies in external states. External states help us develop wisdom. This is the teaching of the Right Dharma. So everyone, please practice this.
Our daily living is part of our spiritual practice. When we listen with wisdom, everything is a teaching. Use your surroundings to inspire wisdom. Use wisdom to illuminate your surroundings. That is the teaching of the Right Dharma.
Sometimes I read some very interesting articles. In Merit Times, there was an article. It said that sometimes we are recipients of kindness, and we must learn to repay it. Sometimes we give someone something very small. Perhaps we did not think much of it, but the recipient may be grateful for the rest of his life.
This was such a story. A Korean poet named Ryu Si-hwa told the story of an old man he had met while traveling in India, who was selling flutes on the side of the road. When he saw Ryu Si-hwa, the old man begged him to buy a flute and told him about his difficulties.
He said, “I’m pitiful. My wife passed away last year. She left behind five small children that I now must raise.”
Before the man could finish, the poet already thought he was lying and became suspicious. So, before the man was finished speaking the poet interrupted and said, “And you were kicked out by the landlord because you could not pay the rent, right?”
The old man said, “Wow, how did you know? My life is truly difficult. I am homeless with my five children. Please, would you buy a flute from me?”
In spite of how the man responded, the poet was still suspicious. But this old man was very sincere. After he finished talking, he picked up a flute and began playing. The sound was smooth and melancholy, and the poet was moved. He could not help but say, “Fine, I’ll help you.”
As a donation, he decided to give him ten rupees. Ten rupees in India, is about NT$9 [US$0.30] here. But instead, he pulled out a 100 rupees bill. He hesitated and thought, “I only intended to give him ten.”
But the old man looked so pitiful, he could not help out give him the bill. The old man accepted, and after receiving the hundred rupees, which is about NT$80-90 [US$3.00], he put his palms together, knelt and bowed. He kept bowing and said, “Thank you, thank you. I won’t ever forget this kindness.”
Early next morning, the poet heard the melodious sound of a flute coming from outside. He woke up to this beautiful sound. He opened his eyes and saw the old man from the day before below his hotel window, playing the flute.
When the old man saw he was awake, he said, “As long as you are here, I will play the flute here every day so you can wake up to this melodious sound.”
The poet thought himself truly lucky. I only gave him a small amount of money. This is like repaying a drop of kindness with a gushing fountain. Even if the prime minister had gone there, he would not have enjoyed the luxury of waking up to such melodious music every morning. He felt very grateful.
Everyone, how do we listen to the sounds we hear? Sometimes we have a mindset that is afflicted and constantly suspicious. But that is the way of worldly phenomena. They show us how to be mindful, how to let our senses encounter our surroundings. Look at how the poet was affected by this poor old man by the road. He will never forget what the old man taught him for the rest of his life. This is what we need to remember in our daily living. Listen to worldly sounds to inspire wisdom. Discern worldly pain to realize compassion.
In our surroundings, we must use both compassion and wisdom. So please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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