Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Reflections on Still Water(月映千江朗朗清空)
Every day at this same moment, we feel the same tranquility and the blessing of a peaceful life. But can we extend this feeling of tranquility and peace throughout the entire day? That is difficult.
Our minds constantly react to external conditions. Our minds worked very hard yesterday in dealing with people and things. Then throughout last night, we had a few hours of rest. Whether we are laboring with our body or constantly active with our minds, we cannot rest until the end of the day.
However, some people are preoccupied with people and events of yesterday. When they sleep in the night, their minds cannot calm down and are still active. When they wake up in the morning, they cannot forget yesterday’s worries and unpleasantness. As soon as they open their eyes, the past rushed into their minds. This mind is like a lake whose waters are stirred up whenever the eyes open. So the lake water is never still. This is due to afflictions.
The minds of ordinary people face a constant stream of afflictions that they can’t stop. External conditions always look hazy because we cannot calm the waters and clearly reflect the moon. We learn Buddha’s Way to calm the lake water of our minds, so it will always be tranquil.
Our minds are just like a lake. But it needs to be a lake with calm waters. If the water is tranquil, naturally we will see a bright, clear and pure reflection of our external conditions. Therefore, it is said, “There are a thousand moons in a thousand rivers”. This shows that when the water is still and calm, and is undisturbed, the reflections will be pure and clear.
If the lake water in our minds can remain tranquil and peaceful, it will not be disturbed by afflictions and ignorance. The moon can be reflected in a thousand rivers, and we can see the clear sky.
But it is not easy for ordinary people to keep their minds calm. All sentient beings exist in a state of ignorance. As we learn Buddhism, we learn that greed arises from ignorance, whether we are lusting or craving momentary pleasures. The Water Repentance states that ordinary people do not know to repent even when they act wrongly.
They are often drawn to bad friends so they are unrepentant and defilement remains in their minds. Because of this, everything they do becomes more and more deluded. Their ignorance minds grow more chaotic & confused. They create more and more of these delusions.
Since beginningless time, sentient beings’ minds have been shrouded by accumulated ignorance. Then in this lifetime, they continuously create a life of further delusion and confusion in response to the external conditions they encounter. It is written, “Those who drink are deluded and unwise”.
Ordinary minds constantly create greed and infatuation out of ignorance, and they are unrepentant. Like contaminated water, they do not have a pure and clear reflection.
In learning Buddhism, we learn to develop the mindset we need to face problems, so that we can solve these difficulties together. This requires wisdom. We all inherently possess an innate wisdom. But it is covered by our ignorance, so it is not readily apparent.
We must be very mindful of our thoughts and do our best to calm the lake water of our minds. Then we can clearly see our external conditions. Otherwise, our innate wisdom cannot shine through. When this is the case, we will often find ourselves associating with ignorant and deluded people. If this ignorance does not pass, it is like a dark cloud that blocks the sun or the moon. If the cloud does not dissipate, the sun and the moon will not appear.
Without wisdom, we constantly break precepts and commit transgressions like other sentient beings.
In the same way, due to lack of wisdom, we “constantly commit offenses and break precepts like other sentient beings”. Like others, we often commit offenses and break precepts.
When works strike, that can be also a form of ignorance. Making money is tough, there is not a lot of work, wages may be low, etc., but if everyone can work a little harder and help stabilize society, then there will be order in working conditions. When there is peace, countries will trade with each other and we will not lack for job opportunities.
So if we all use our wisdom, then won’t everything turn out well? Otherwise we continually create obstacles for our futures and our hopes. Our minds originally had wisdom as bright as the sun and moon but it has been covered by dark clouds. And thus, we continually commit evils.
We go against what is right, against what is logical, against what is moral. Such are transgressions. If we can abide by principles, naturally, our lives will be smooth. When we commit transgressions, we go against the order of things. In this way, we do not follow the rules and we break precepts, ignore ethics and morals.
Not only should we love ourselves, we should also love others, esteem elders, and respect morals. Let us awaken the love within us to love everything in the world. Moreover we need to love all living beings. If we have no love or respect, we so against what’s natural.
Having this mentality, we will break many precepts. Without respect or love, we will harm or kill other sentient beings just for the momentary pleasure it brings. If we refuse to let go of our attachments, we cannot control ourselves and will be greedy. To satisfy a momentary craving, we will kill many living creatures.
Our minds inherently have wisdom that is as bright as the sun and moon. But due to ignorance and delusion, we go against morals and ethics and do not follow rules and precepts. Thus, in our transgression, we harm sentient beings.
Humans are called the most sentient of all beings. However, we are the butchers of all beings. This is the greatest tragedy of life. We disrespect others and do not cherish life. So human beings are also called sentient beings. We should know that a moment’s thought of transgression and breaking precepts can start the vicious cycle of all types of evils.
Today we openly and with utmost sincerity repent all our past transgressions and all our past transgressions present collective evils.
“Past transgressions and present evils” Past transgressions refer to the bad karma we brought from our past lives. From our past lives we bring a lot of bad karma and a lot of evil. We continually accumulate bad karma. We do not bring anything with us to this world except the karma we have accumulated. This becomes latent habits which grow worse. They are the seeds of karma we bring to this life. These are called past transgressions.
They have already been formed. Present evils refer to the karma we still continually create. Unaware, we will are accumulating karma. Who can commit evil without creating karma? After we commit an evil, the seed of bad karma comes into existence.
We bear the consequences of transgressions. The evil of inciting others to do the same is truly frightening. Transgressions are offenses we commit. Evils are offenses we teach others to commit. Such are transgressions and evils.
Do we know if we are knowingly committing these offenses or unknowingly influenced others? If we are doing so knowingly, this type of bad karma will be tremendous and unavoidable. We may evade legal prosecution in this lifetime. Even if we evade it in this lifetime, we cannot evade it in future lifetimes. If we evade retribution in this lifetime, it is because we created some blessings along with evils in past lifetimes. Once our blessings are depleted and this lifetime ends’ we will bring the bad karma we created in this lifetime to the next.
Perhaps we’ll be born into a place that is nothing like our present conditions. It may be a remote and impoverished area, full of hardship and suffering. Perhaps, in the next life, when we are born, we will face suffering and torment, of the body, in our family circumstances or in our relationships. In the next life, we may face tremendous suffering and challenges. This is not impossible.
We brought with us the karma accumulated from previous lifetimes. We came to this life and now continue to create new karma. Thus, the combination of our past transgressions and our present evils continue to create layers of entanglements.
Whether we committed the offenses or incited others to do so, if we now know that we were wrong, as long as we have one more day, or one more month to live, we need to immediately repent while we are alive. With one more year of repentance, we wash away a year of transgressions and evils. With one more month of repentance, we wash away a month of defilement. Even if it is our last day alive, we can still create the seeds of repentance.
As long as we repent, we can be saved. So the sooner in life we repent, the more time we have to accumulate the pure seeds of repentance. Then we can more quickly eliminate some of the ignorance, some of those transgressions and evils that cover our minds.
Now that we know, starting today, let us repent openly and with utmost sincerity. Let us happy and quickly repent our past mistakes and present missteps. To repent is to openly confess our wrongs “I was wrong, I admit that I was wrong.” Whether we made the error yesterday, today, or even if we just misspoke, it is still a mistake. If we can admit our mistakes in time, that is called repentance.
It is said, “repentance is cleansing”. If we immediately. Openly repent from the depths of our hearts, with utmost sincerity, we will accumulate the seeds of purity.
Repentance can eliminate ignorance. Therefore, it is very important to repent as we learn Buddhism. I kept saying, Dharma is like water, it can wash away defilements. Ordinary people are deluded and without wisdom. We do not lack wisdom, it is inherent us, but it is cover by ignorance so it cannot shine forth.
We must believe that we come into life with a lot of bad karma. In this lifetime, intentionally or not, we still continually create bad karma and commit evils. Therefore, be very cautious. If a wrong is committed, quickly correct it. Repent and admit the mistake promptly. Thus we can gradually eliminate our wrongs. Everyone, every bit of karma we eliminate is a bit of wisdom we gain. So everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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