Lecturer: Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Karma of Speech Is Hardest to Prevent
Practice Purity, Guard Against Wrong(修淨防非)
The Buddha taught us how to condition our bodies and minds. What method do we use? Precepts.
With precepts, we inwardly cultivate pure thoughts prevent wrongdoings, stop evil and do good. Virtue comes from taking them to heart and setting an example through our actions.
This is the virtue of the precepts. So, as we learn Buddhism we must uphold precepts. By doing so, we can establish pure and thoughts in our minds. If our thoughts are not pure, they easily attract all kinds of conflicts and afflictions. So, we must have precepts. We need to abstain from conflicts and afflictions so they will not enter our minds. Even if there are temptations in our environment that seduce us, with precepts we can guard against wrong and stop evil. Not only will evil not enter our minds, we can practice kindness among others. If we have precepts, we can prevent and stop evil thoughts from entering our minds. We can even develop good thoughts. This is the function of precepts. What about virtues? Virtues are gained by the virtuous. I often say that when we learn, we should gain understanding and absorb that understanding into our minds. So, if we work hard and use the Buddha’s teachings in our daily living, when dealing with matters or things, we can develop a general understanding about people and matters. If we take it to a higher level, we develop knowledge. If we take it further to the next level, that is wisdom. These are virtues. Virtues are learned. If we learn mindfully, we can attain understanding, knowledge, and the highest goal, which is wisdom. With wisdom we can eliminate all evil and accomplish all good deeds in our practice. Then we have Dharma in our actions. This is what I often say. Keep the Buddha in your hearts, the Dharma in your actions. Then we can be model for others and set an example with our actions. This is what we need to learn from the Dharma. Precepts are the first step. With precepts we will not do wrong. Then everything we do can be good. So, everyone needs to be mindful. As I said previously, draw close to good friends, avoid evil ones. Today we look at what the repentance text says “We may have been arrogant, pretentious, conceited, opinionated, domineering and easily provoked. We may have disregarded relationships, thinking we were right and they were wrong and hoped for a lucky break. For these and other transgressions, today we completely repent.”
This section of text is also very simple.
We need to know that we should be close with wholesome friends and distance ourselves from negative ones, but it is also said, “We are our own greatest enemies.”
If our minds go slightly astray, all our subsequent behavior will be wrong.
I often say that we need to control our minds.
People with wisdom are not arrogant.
If we lack wisdom, but have a little skill or talent, then we assume we are the best.
This is arrogant and pretentious.
This is posturing.
We are not special, but we pretend to know a lot.
If someone raises a point, we think we know all about it.
We may say, “I know. It’s this and that.”
We should remain silent.
When others speak we need to listen mindfully.
This is humbly asking for teachings.
This means we really need to open our minds.
Although we know much, we need to accommodate others’ suggestions or input and opinions.
Perhaps we know much about something, but they have a different explanation.
So, we need to open our minds and humbly ask for teachings.
If they are slightly wrong in their explanation, we can humbly say, “”This seems right, but what happens if you take this other thing into account?
“I’m just making a small suggestion.”
If they can accept this, then you can learn from each other.
But if they are wildly off and firmly attached to delusions, we should respectfully keep our distance.
Do not always think that they are wrong, and that only you know what is right.
Do not belittle their knowledge as limited and think you know so much.
Truly, we cannot know everything in the world.
Sometimes we also need to listen to the understanding others have attained, their feelings and realizations from seeing or doing something.
Wisdom is not only found in the Sutras or in academic knowledge.
The most important wisdom is only found when we have good relationships with others.
If we are arrogant, pretentious, or always posturing, it will truly be difficult to live harmoniously with others.
So, let us be very careful.
“Conceited and opinionated” refers to people who are unrestrained and arrogant.
Besides being conceited, they are arrogant.
They are very overbearing in handling things.
Such people are “conceited and opinionated”
Perhaps we are “domineering and easily provoked”.
Perhaps we are easily enraged, so whenever someone does something displeasing, we cannot suppress our reaction.
We immediately lose our temper.
On top of losing our temper, we react with our bodies.
We yell, throw things, and so on.
We cannot suppress this inner rage.
We are easily enraged.
This is being “domineering and easily provoked.”
If we are even a little bit unhappy, we express it immediately.
Others will then feel uneasy around us.
We may “disregard relationships, thinking we are right and they are wrong.”
We do not have worldly wisdom.
We need to know how to understand other people.
We must understand and analyze many things When it comes to people and matters, we need to clearly identify our emotions. Gratitude, affection, sympathy, etc. are all emotions. We have relationships with many types of people.
We need to feel the kindness of others, the kindness of our parents, or the kindness of our teachers in educating us, or that of the whole world and all sentient beings in providing for us. Then there is affection.
Affection is complicated .So, we need to know the feeling between people, and understand how relationships work. But some people are always very impulsive. Besides being arrogant and egotistical, they cannot suppress their temperament.
They are very impulsive, so they do not recognize proper conduct; they cannot differentiate anything， so they “disregard relationships” In learning Buddhism, recognizing relationships is important because we live in this space with other people.
We have to understand relationships， so we will not be overbearing or brusque. That will not happen. So, those who “disregard relationships” often think “we are right and they are wrong”. “Why talk about emotions? I am right”.
“Who cares about relationships?” “Let us talk about logic, Dharma”. They refuse to address relationships. This is not right .Whether in matters or principles, we must be accommodating Dharma is very important, but when we are using it in this world, relationship, reason and Dharma must be in harmony.
Therefore, some think “we are right and they wrong, and hope for a lucky break”. What exactly is a lucky break? A “lucky break” has no basis. When we are in certain circumstances, and something bad happens to someone else, but we are unaffected, this is a “lucky break”.
When there is an unforeseen accident we cannot walk our path smoothly an steadily. Some people say, “If we earn money with a lucky break” “we lose our virtue” This means the methods improper.
Someone made money at any cost, by any means. That is very immoral. So this is another explanation. So, “hoping for a lucky break” meaning using improper means to attain things. “For these and other transgressions, today we completely repent”
This means we need to humble ourselves and use our true talents and knowledge among others .To do this we need to uphold precepts. With precepts and virtues, we will not have these bad qualities. If we violate precepts and lose our virtue, these qualities will appear in our minds and our behavior.
So, let us always be mindful.
Next it states,
“We may not share imminent wealth”
”because we have no honor , no shame”
“We may have slaughtered animals ,sold alcohol,”
“or practiced deception to make a living ”
We often see this with people nowadays. They “do not share imminent wealth “
Usually when we work with others ,we diligently strive toward the same goal.
In terms of today’s businesses ,some people feel that modern society’s need cannot be met by the strength of one person alone.
So ,they find many people to pool their knowledge.
They use everyone’s knowledge to discuss ways to forge a business.
Everyone throws in their assets and they all work hard to make it a success in the beginning , everyone is cooperative and through their collective knowledge talents and hard work ,
they are able to succeed.
Through this process,they create a large company.
As it beings to earn money ,some beings to want to take over.
So they “do not share imminent wealth”
They want to make all the money without sharing it with others.
When they “do not share imminent wealth,” wealth has scrambled their brains.
They see wealth and become deceitful.
When they first saw money ,they were kind ,and helped each other protect it.
But over time , they thought,
“I work so hard . I am just guarding their wealth”
“I gave so much, “
“why do I need to share it with them ?”
When this mindset arises ,they have lost their wisdom.
If they lose their innate wisdom ,they have “no honor ,no shame”
They lose their innate virtues.
So ,they try anything to take other people’s share.
What happens if others find out ?
They do not think about consequences.
This is not honorable ; it is shameless.
These people embezzle or misappropriate assets .
This is “not sharing imminent wealth ,”
“having no honor ,no shame,”which means having no integrity.
Or ,we “slaughtered animals , sold alcohol” This means we killed in order to eat.
See ,killing is a profession.
Some people sell alcohol so others will drink and lose control of their minds.
Or , people “practice deception to make a living “
The professions of killing and selling a alcohol disturb people’s minds or destroy the health of the body.
But they do not care ,as long as they make money .
Harming others bodies and disrupting their minds is very wrong.
As we learn Buddhism ,
we must not break human morals and ethics.
There is no reason to kill.
Drunken conduct marginalizes us and creates chaos and disorder.
So ,no matter what type of life we lead, we need to first consider others and consider ethics and virtues.
This is truly the goal of our human existence.
Eeveryone ,as we learn Buddhism, we follow precepts out of love.
Precepts help us cultivate purity.
Our minds need to be clean so we can guard against wrong，so we are not greedy when we see wealth.
Then we will not be tempted to make money by any means possible.
So, we must uphold precepts to guard against wrong ,stop evil ,and do good.
We need to learn and internalize virtues.
We need to set an example through our actions.
This is the duty of spiritual practitioners.
Everyone ,please be careful in your daily living.
A slight deviation in the mind ,a slight mistake in behavior, may cause us to lose our virtues and our minds.
So everyone ,please always be mindful.
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