Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Uphold Proper Roles and Responsibilities(守本分盡本事)
Life is impermanent. We see many disasters around the world. If we think about it, these disasters, be they natural or man-made, all originated from the mind. They are all caused by human activities.
Since the disasters are caused by mankind, shouldn’t we all look inward and self-reflect? Indeed, we should self-reflect. The Buddha said, “Sentient beings are steeped in defilement.” “Who is without transgression?” “Who is without fault?” The Buddha said that for life after life, sentient beings have been blinded by ignorance. Who dares to claim that he or she has never committed a wrong? Because we are ignorant, we err without realizing it.
It is just like how, in our daily living, we may not even be aware that we are already ill. Only through medical exams do we find out. With modern technology, we may be able to detect the disease in its early stages. But that depends on our recognition of our need for a medical exam. This is what people call a health checkup.
This is the way it is with our physical life. What about our Wisdom-life? We must believe that we inherently possess it. We all possess a nature equal to the Buddha’s. It is just obscured by layers of ignorance. The layers make it darker and harder for us to discover our most precious and pure intrinsic nature.
Therefore, we humans should not be egotistic and say, “I’ve done nothing wrong in my life.” “I haven’t committed any mistakes, so why do I suffer from so many misfortunes?” Do not think that way. We may think that we have done nothing wrong, but perhaps, in our previous lives, we committed many wrongs. And perhaps, in this life, we are simply unaware of and do not detect our many misdeeds. We do not realize that our conduct has already gone astray. Moreover, since others are unaware as well, most of us believe that we committed no wrongs.
However, the Buddha told us that sentient beings are those who are reborn in the Six Realms because of ignorance. Who dares to claim to be free of wrongdoings? As we transmigrate in the Six Realms, obscuring defilements continue to accumulate. Who is without transgressions? Who is without fault?
So the Buddha said, “Ordinary people act foolishly, and are blinded by ignorance.” Such are ordinary people. Since they are foolish, they are unaware of their actions. They are continuously blinded by ignorance.
We all have a nature equal to the Buddha’s, but are blinded by greed, anger and ignorance. So we intentionally and unintentionally make mistakes and are trapped in the cycle of rebirth in the Six Realms.
I saw a US news report about the rape of a 73-year-old old woman. The police focused much attention on this case. So in the ensuing months they spared no effort until they finally found the culprit. Unexpectedly, id was a 15-year-old teenager. This was not his first offense. He already had a record of past crimes. This time, the police would prosecute him as an adult.
Look at the state of our society nowadays. It is a cause for concern. People are blinded by ignorance. These are karmic seeds that they brought with them from previous lives. These karmic seeds can be truly frightening. Just think about it, this teenager has already committed multiple offenses. Isn’t this an ingrained habit? This habit has been carried over from past lived.
In the US, there is also a story about a 13-year-old. At the age of 13 months, he was already solving math problems. I often hear students say that math is the most difficult subject. But at the age of 13 months, this child was already solving math problems. When he was two, he was able to pick out grammatical errors in an English essay. He was just two. It is no wonder then that, at age 13, he has earned two bachelor’s degrees. He has aspirations. He wants to be President of the United States. This 13-year-old child has such high aspirations and talent. He was born with such intelligence and wisdom. Has the boy’s mind never been defiled?
The Buddha’s nature is pure and undefiled. That is why His wisdom is transcendent. But we ordinary people have been defiled, so we have to relearn everything in each lifetime. Have you ever wondered why we must relearn everything when we are born to this world? We are ordinary people. Some in our day-care center for the elderly suffer from memory deterioration. So they are gradually forgetting various events of their lives. But if you ask them about their past, about things from their childhood, they still remember clearly. But they forget who spoke to them a moment ago. They forget names and do not recognize faces.
See, in this lifetime alone, we already have so many afflictions that cloud our thinking. What about across multiple lifetimes? Such accumulation is very frightening. But look at the 13-year-old in the US. He has already earned two bachelor’s degrees. At 210months, he was solving math problems. Really, we can only say that his nature has remained undefiled by afflictions. So once born, he did not need to learn. He understood without being taught.
Throughout his life, his aptitude always remained above average. I hope this child will always retain such clever and keen wisdom and apply it toward life of goodness. I hope he never loses that kindness, compassion and love. Then if he really becomes president one day, he would truly be a “Wheel-turning Sage King” a leader who not only has an untarnished nature but also loved his people and his country. I believe such a leader will bring many blessings to humanity.
But from what we hear today, most young people are causes for worry. Their minds are even more worrisome. Those minds are blinded by ignorance. That is why they “befriend unwholesome individuals” and “are confused by afflictions”. When they are drawn to bad friends and when good people approach them, they are displeased. Without good affinities, it is difficult for good people to influence them. But bad people can easily build rapport with them and lead them down the wrong path. Being drawn to bad friends is a cause for real concern.
Many youths today are drag racing on the streets, taking drugs, joining gangs. Such young people really worry us. They are blinded by ignorance and born with bad affinities created in past lives. That is why they are drawn to unwholesome friends and their minds are confused by afflictions.
Afflictions and confusion are causes for concern. If a family has a child like this, it is very painful. I saw an article about an unemployed middle-aged-man. He was very irritable being unemployed. He never made an effort to learn any skills. He was unemployed and no one would hire him, so he had no way to make a living. Being frustrated every day, he complained that his parents did not raise him well.
His father felt wronged. “When you were young, we tried to guide you but you wouldn’t listen.” “Instead you spent time with bad friends.” “We told you to study hard, but you played and never worked hard.” “Now that you have to provide for yourself, you put all the blame on your parents.” Is that right?” The father and son got into a heated argument. Soon after, someone found the father dead and his body was covered in blood. The son was the prime suspect, and it made the news. This article is really saddening.
Afflictions have confused the mind, so morality lost. This is why we need religion and we need the Buddha’s teaching. It constantly warns us to return to our true nature, to find our way back. Where did we come from? We should seriously work hard to rediscover the origins of our true nature. We need to learn Buddhism so that our minds will not be disturbed by afflictions.
It is said, “Ignorant of our true nature, we are self- indulgent and self-assured”. If afflictions confuse our minds, even the most untarnished true nature will be lost. If we cannot discover our true nature, we will be ignorant.
A mind disturbed by afflictions needs the constant reminder of Buddha-dharma to remain vigilant. Constantly practice to refine your disposition and behavior to return to the radiant intrinsic nature.
When ignorant, we become self-indulgent and self-assured. Being indulgent means to be headless and unrestrained, refusing to fulfill our basic human roles. Doings what we please is called self-indulgence. If we do not take care of our minds, we become very undisciplined. “What I say is right” “Whatever other people say is wrong.” With such self-indulgence and self-confidence we slowly become entrenched in our bad habits, and continue to act improperly. If we are unwilling to listen to others’ advice, we will slowly accumulate a lot of bad habits.
When we learn Buddhism, it is very important to learn how to discipline our minds, fulfill our basic roles as humans, and obey the rules of ethics and morality. If we are ethical and moral, and fulfill our responsibilities, it will be easier for us to restore our true nature,
Learning and practicing Buddhism is learning to discipline our minds. When we fulfill our roles and act to the best of our abilities, then we can take the next step toward restoring our pure, intrinsic nature.
This boy earned his degrees by age 13, such purity was innate. We all have this wisdom-nature. But if this nature deviates and is covered by ignorance, we get the 14- or 15-year-old who has committed various offenses. Though he is not yet and adult, the courts will try him as an adult because his offenses were so serious.
Ultimately, these are all bad habits. If we continually act on and repeat them, our entire lifetime will be covered in delusion and ignorance. Everything we do will be wrong. Without morals and ethics, we are not fulfilling our proper duties. We should truly work hard to recover our true nature by looking after our minds. So we should take good care of the mind.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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