Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Give with a Pure Mind.(以清淨心去付出)
If we do not review the teachings after we hear them; they will disappear, like a bucket of water poured on a sun-baked rock. When the water is poured the stone gets wet. But because it is so hot, the water will quickly flow off or evaporate. When we look at the rock after a while it will still be dry. So no matter what we learn, we must take the time to review it anew.
Develop Seven States of Mind to eliminate the Three Obstructions. First is the sense of shame. Second is a sense of fear. Third is a sense of renunciation. Fourth is developing Bodhicitta. Fifth is impartiality toward all beings. Sixth is repaying the Buddha’s grace. Seventh is contemplating the empty nature of evil.
In these Seven States of Mind, we say that the third is a sense of renunciation.
The fourth is to develop Bodhi-mind. We should eliminate past afflictions, impure attachments and cravings, then contribute with a pure heart. This is Bodhicitta. The love of sentient beings, once awakened is called Bodhicitta. If we have not awakened, we will cling to fame and benefit as we do good. This still does not lead to Bodhi, just blessing in Heavenly & Human Realms.
We do not want to just cultivate blessings we want to follow the way of Buddha. We want to completely transcend the Six Realms, so we must walk the path of Buddha, which leads to a Great Awakening. Then we can become a fully enlightened person. This is what we seek.
Doing good out of desire for fame and wealth leads to blessings Heavenly and Human Realms, but we stay in the Six Realms of cyclic existence. Only by resolving and vowing to give with a pure heart, can we possibly transcend the Six Realms, become enlightened and attain Buddha-hood.
We need Bodhicitta in spiritual practice. So the forth state of mind is to develop Bodhicitta. After we do so, we will have love and affection for all sentient beings in the world. We will love all being impartially. So the fifth state of mind is impartiality toward all being.
This means enlightened beings, enlightened people, have awakened to the truth that all life is equal. So after we develop Bodhicitta we can be impartial toward all beings. Bodhicitta is not limited to this lifetime. In addition to loving all sentient beings and feeling interconnected with them in this lifetime we also return to accompany them life after life. Buddha and Bodhisattvas never leave the Saha World they constantly return out of compassion to transform all sentient beings.
With a pure and undefiled mind we seek the path to Buddha-hood. With impartial and unselfish love we transform all sentient beings. Life after life, we will not leave the Saha World.
When my disciples reach the end of their lives, I will tell them, “Go and return quickly. After leaving this human body, we still must return to the Human Realm. In our practice, we do not seek to be reborn in a particular place. Rather, our vow is to save people. Where do we have the opportunity to save others? Only in the Saha World where both joy and suffering exist. In addition to humans, life also exists in many other forms. In this world we all live interconnectedly. So to save and transform sentient beings, we must come to the Saha World.
In the Saha World, suffering and joy are intermixed, which is beneficial for cultivating the mind. Thus to save and transform sentient beings, and attain liberation through spiritual practice, being born in the Saha World is the best.
So Buddhas and Bodhisattvas never leave sentient beings. Life after life they accompany sentient beings and don’t give up on them. This is expressing Bodhicitta and being impartial toward all beings. We make no distinction between humans and other living beings. We do not discriminate between what we like and dislike.
Before Venerable Hong-Yi died, he told his disciples, “Before you place my corpse in the coffin, surround the coffin with water.” They asked him why? He explained that after the body is placed in the coffin, it will not be cremated immediately. It typically sits for few days. During that time, the body will begin to decompose and attract ants. The water prevents ants from entering the coffin. So when the body is cremated, the ants on the corpse will not be killed or harmed. It was done to protect life.
See this Dharma Master, gave his whole heart to sentient beings, even tiny life forms like ants. Even his last thoughts were about sentient beings. He showed his disciples that though these life-forms were small, we should still care for them meticulously. This is called compassionate love. It is a wise and inclusive love that embraces all beings.
With compassion and wisdom, we extend our love to all sentient beings. And care for them meticulously. At the same time we realize that all beings are equal and have the Buddha-nature.
In this world, the lives of humans and all other living creatures are equal. If we lovingly and carefully observe all living creatures, we can discover that they all have feelings, even ants. If ants work together, they can muster great strength. Don’t we often see really tiny ants carrying away food? When a piece of food falls to the ground and it is too big for one ant to carry, many will work together to carry it back to their nest for everyone to share. See, ants also have the spirit of teamwork and inclusive love. Instead of just enjoying the food alone, one ant will recruit others to carry it back to share with all.
In principle, all living beings feel the same affection, but many afflictions cover our human conscience. So instead of being conscientious, we are ruthless. When our conscience is obscured, desires and cravings arise. We belittle all other life-forms and even consume them. We humans should develop a sense of shame, a sense of fear and a sense of renunciation. Only be doing so can we develop Bodhicitta.
In developing Bodhi-mind, we can be impartial toward all beings. If we see all beings as equal and know we are all interconnected, we will not be selfish. Without selfishness, we will not create bad karma. With Bodhicitta, with impartial minds, we will be understanding and reasonable. We will feel for all beings and comprehend the Truths of life. How can we do this? Because of Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings.
Therefore, the sixth state of mind is repaying Buddha’s grace.It was Sakyamuni Buddha who awakened our conscience. Sakyamuni Buddha taught us that sentient beings were originally equal to Buddha. The minds of Buddha and sentient beings are equal, neither one is greater or lesser in compassion and wisdom. We just do not realize it.
In the Lotus Sutra, there is a parable about a poor, homeless man who wandered, destitute, with no place to go. An elder sewed a jewel into the lining of his clothes after feeding him. After he parted ways with the elder, this poor man still continued to drift about. He was homeless and destitute. He kept begging for a living. One day, the elder saw him again and asked, “Why are you still impoverished?” “Well, I have always been this poor.” The elder said, “You are mistaken. Actually, there is a priceless jewel on you.” “How could that be?” “Reach inside your clothes and see.” The poor man reached man reached in, “Yes! I actually have this jewel. Why didn’t I know it?”
Finding it difficult to make a living, he was content with little, sought nothing better and was unaware of the priceless jewel in his clothing. –Lotus Sutra, Ch. 8: Foretelling for 500 Disciple.
He had a jewel but was unaware. Aren’t we all like this? All of us have the same pure nature and infinite wisdom as the Buddha. If this precious jewel shines, it is a priceless treasure. We are the same. We possess this pure, intrinsic nature and boundless wisdom, but we do not know how to use it. Instead, it has been covered by ignorance so it gives off no light and has lost its shine. Its light is covered by ignorance. Now we have learned the method to strip away every bit of ignorance, layer by layer.
We know that all living beings are equal. We realize that our lives are interconnected with everything in the world. So now that our wisdom is shining through again, shouldn’t we repay the Buddha’s grace? Only by working to repay the Buddha’s grace can we truly achieve the same mindset as Buddha. Thus we won’t give up on the Saha World and will return to transform sentient beings.
To do so, we need to create good affinities with all beings. As we form good connections with others and give our love, we are actually repaying the Buddha’s grace. The Buddha guided us to realize the Truth, so we should diligently travel this path to repay His grace.
Due to the Buddha’s teaching, we have attained methods to eliminate ignorance and move toward enlightenment. The best way to repay the Buddha’s grace is to follow and practice His teachings.
When we speak of repaying the Buddha’s grace, we refer to the Buddha of our intrinsic nature. Within each of us already lies this precious jewel. All of us carry this treasure. We should be very grateful for this jewel, this wisdom that enriches our lives. We must always cherish and be grateful for it. Then we can take the next step and realize evil has no inherent nature.
We keep talking about ignorance, karma, delusion and suffering. There is so must ignorance and evil, how do we eliminate it all? Actually, if we can truly and thoroughly understand the Truth, these evil ignorance, and negative karma will naturally be eliminated.
When we realize the empty nature of evil, we have thoroughly understood the Truth. If we really understand the Truth, we can eliminate afflictions, karma & retribution and realize the inherent nature of evil is empty.
Evil has no inherent nature, it was created by the mind. When the mind ceases, evil dies. If the mind dies and evil ceases, they are both empty. This is called true repentance –Verse of Repentance
So everyone, please review and renew these Seven States of Mind every day. They give us a specific order in which to truly comprehend the Truth of Buddha-dharma. After we realize the Truth, we will have method to wash away the defilements in our minds. So Dharma is like water, we must constantly nurture our minds with drops of Dharma-water. To receive these drops of water that moisten the fields of our minds, we need to review the teachings and constantly reflect on what happened yesterday so we can understand what we need to do today. So everyone, please always be mindful.
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