Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Actualize the Six Perfections in Myriad Actions (六度萬行)
In the past, many of the Zen Patriarchs and many students practiced meditation.
Once, as a student monk sat in meditation, his teacher walked by and asked, “What are you doing?”
“I am meditating”
“Why are you meditating?”
“To attain Buddha-hood”
Several days later, this student monk saw the venerable teacher grinding a brick.
He found that odd. Why was a Zen Master grinding a brick? So he asked, “Master, why are you grinding this brick?”
The Zen Master smiled at him and said, “Because I need a mirror.”
The student monk said, “How can you make a mirror out of a brick?”
The Zen master smiled again and said, “If I cannot make a mirror by polishing a brick, How can you attain Buddha-hood through sitting meditation?”
After that moment, the student monk had a sudden awakening.
Everyone, this is resonance. I have shared this koan, this story with you; does it resonate? Are you enlightened? That depends on your aptitude. As for me, I hear it and realize, “Ineed we cannot attain Buddha-hood just by meditating. How could it be so easy?” To attain Buddha-hood, the Buddha taught us to practice “the Six Perfections in myriad actions.” We must be able to master the practices of giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. These six are tools for our practice. Bodhisattvas practice by actualizing the Six Perfections in their myriad actions.
As a whole, they are called myriad actions. But they can be categorized under Six Perfections. They will take us from the shore of life, death and suffering to the shore of Nirvana, peace and joy.
As practitioners, we must first open our hearts and minds to give the land and all living beings the same respect we have for ourselves. So we feel their pain and mourn their sufferings. If we see all living beings as one, then we will naturally give to them without any difficulties.
So before we give, we must first open our hearts and minds. This is “a mind that encompasses the universe.” As we give, we must also follow our rules. Sentient beings are often lured toward traps by desires and cravings. To safely travel this path to enlightenment, it is very important that we avoid the traps if desires and cravings.
So we must always observe the precepts. To uphold precepts we must have endurance and patience. We must withstand the temptations of desire and the aggravations that lead to conflict. We must have this level of mastery to forever uphold the precepts. Besides patience we also need diligence. Simply tolerating adversity is not enough. We must practice diligently.
The next Paramita is Samadhi. As we learn Buddhism, we shouldn’t be attached to the form of meditation. In truth, we can practice meditation everywhere. As the ancient Zen Masters told us, carrying firewood and water can be a meditation. Eating and drinking can be a meditation. Any action that we engage in can be a meditation. The meaning of meditation is maintaining Right Mindfulness so that our minds are constantly and firmly fixed in the right direction. Right Mindfulness is most important. So we must always take good care of our minds. Do not let your mind wander off or become confused. We may all be sitting here in the correct posture, but are our minds on the path to enlightenment? This is what we must tend to at every moment.
At every moment, uphold and maintain Right Mindfulness. When the mind is still and unmoving, that is Samadhi.
I still remember an incident on May 18, 2001. That evening, a chemical plant in the Hukou Industrial Park suddenly exploded. Commissioners and Faith Corps members immediately mobilized to provide care. Among them was Mr. Fan Feng-tian. As he stood by the roadside to make a phone call, a car with its headlights off drove toward him. The driver did not see Mr. Fan on the side of the road and ran into him. Mr. Fan was severely injured.
When I heard this news, I was very worried. The prognosis was not good. Of course, the Faith Corps members and Commissioners from his area were very nervous. He was in a coma for about a day. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw many tubes attached to his body and vaguely saw Tzu Chi people gathered around him. In particular, he saw two Faith Corps members who with him, made up a threesome that would recite the Buddha’s name for the dying. When he saw those two amongst all the others, he thought they were there to recite for him.
But he could not speak because there was a tube in his mouth. Moreover, his eyes were very swollen, so everyone assumed he was still unconscious. So with his hands, he tried to gesture to the person standing near him. The person noticed and cried out, ”He’s awake! He’s awake! ” He moved his hands as if to say that he wanted to write something. “Do you want paper?” He blinked his eyes once. So they put paper and pen in his hand. He started to draw and everyone tried to guess. He was saying, “It’s not my time yet, please don’t recite for me.”
He was so optimistic! After he slowly regained full consciousness, his son told him that the man who hit him Mr. Pan, felt very guilty. When Mr. Pen came to visit him, he was still unconscious. So, Mr. Pan kept telling the son, “I’m very sorry. I feel guilty towards your whole family, especially your father. I injured him so badly. I really blame myself.” When his son saw how much Mr. Pan blamed himself and how anxious he was, he told him, “Don’t worry. No matter what happens to my father, I know he would never blame you. He won’t even ask you for compensation. That is how my father is, I know him.” When he become conscious, his son conveyed what he had said to Mr. Pan. He replied, “I am very happy to hear that My son did not disappoint me.”
After the incident, Mr. Pan still continued to visit him regularly and still continued to blame himself. Once his tubes were removed and he could speak, he told Mr. Pan, “There was no hatred or animosity between us. I know you didn’t hit me on purpose. I have no animosity toward you. I was not standing there waiting for you to hit me. In life, we often talk about karmic affinities. This was our affinity, so you accidentally hit me with your car. All this is due to affinities. Right now, one of my eyes cannot see, so the doctor will operate on it. Even if I cannot regain my eyesight, I still won’t blame you and I won’t ask for compensation. This is the first thing I must let you know. The second thing I want to say is and you must listen, do not blame yourself anymore. All this is due to karma affinity. So do not blame yourself.”
Thought this time, Mr. Fan remained very positive. Afterwards he told us, “When I was on a coma, my mind remained somewhat conscious. I keep reminding myself that I must not die. I can’t just randomly die like this and leave Master Cheng Yen and Tzu Chi. I kept constantly reminding myself of this.” He held firm to those thoughts.
Later, he had surgery to repair his eye & fractures. He stayed in the ICU for four or five days before he was transferred to an ordinary ward. When I arrived in Xinzhu in mid-June, I asked the local Commissioners and Faith Corps Members, “How is Mr. Fan doing?”
They replied, “He is sitting over there.”
I could not believe it. When I saw him sitting there, I immediately stood up and passed through the crowd towards him. He was sitting in a wheelchair. His legs were set in place by wooden splints and struck out straight, but he wore suit, the Faith Corps uniform. I said, “You do not look like you have been injured.”
He replied, “Master, please do not worry. I am still a Faith Corps member.”
However, l later discovered that in order to set my mind at ease, he endured much pain to put on the suit. Putting on the pants was tormenting. It took him two hours. All he wanted was for me to see him dressed neatly as a Faith Corps member. He did all this to set my mind at ease.
In addition to coming himself he also brought the patient in the bed next to his, who came to donate NT$1,000,000. His fellow patient wanted to do this because he saw Tzu Chi volunteers visiting all the time and also heard their conversation. They weren’t talking to him, just having Bodhisattvas dialogues amongst themselves. He was truly touched by this, so he told Mr. Fan, “I was touched by just seeing your interactions, so I want to join Tzu Chi.”
Apart from this fellow patient, he also brought Mr. Pan, the driver who hit him. He did not ask Mr. Pan for compensation, but Mr. Pan just could not forgive himself, so he donated several hundred-thousand NTD and personally handed the check to me. This is a Tzu Chi Volunteer.
His mind was never confused, even at the brink of death. He is an example of a
Bodhisattva who diligently practiced Samadhi. He was so calm. He clearly and firmly knew his path, what he wanted to do and how he wanted to treat others. So despite such a considerable tragedy, his mind did not waver in the least. This is called Samadhi.
With determination to walk the Right Path, we will not waver even in the face of great disaster. This is being diligent in practicing Samadhi.
In our spiritual practice, I hope that no no matter what circumstances we face, we can maintain this mindset. This is the level of true mastery.
Everyone, we learn Buddhism to train our mind to this level of mastery. So we cannot just sit and wait for enlightenment. That would be like that Zen Master grinding a brick to make a mirror. The important thing is to apply the methods the Buddha taught us. Those are our tools. Dharma is like a tool, like a raft that ferries us to the other shore.
The Dharma I speak is like a raft. If even Dharma must be relinquished, how much more so non-Dharma! -Diamond Sutra, Chapter 6, Right Belief id Rare.
This conveys what I mean. I hope we all remember that Dharma is to be used. We should not become attached. Once we have reached the other shore, if we do not leave the raft behind, we cannot set foot on the shore. So, I tell you all that we must give unconditionally. We let go of the last step as we take the next one. We should always do our duty. Let us not rest on and become proud of our accomplishments. So not think about them. After you are done, let them go.
We compare Dharma to a raft. We use it to cross the river of life and death. When we reach the other shore, we must ultimately leave it to climb ashore. Therefore we should not be to attached to it.
Look at Mr. Fan, it has been over a year since his accident. Physical therapy is painstaking. But he transcends the pain and can be happy. His mind does not dwell on the pain. He can leave it behind and move on after he completes his physical therapy. So he is a role model for us as we learn and practice Buddhism.
This is meditation. Our life can be a meditation; how we deal with everything can be a meditation. So please, let us always maintain this mindset; a calm mind is meditation. Please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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