Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Follow the Right Path, Benefit Yourself & Others (清淨無邪自利利他)
Time passes, and every day we hope that our minds can remain calm with our thoughts composed. This is easier said than done! This takes a lot if effort. The Buddha wanted to enable us to realize the Truth through terminology, so He categorized the teachings.
We already know about the Four Immeasurables and Six Perfections. I have also explained 5 Spiritual Roots, 5 Powers and the 7 Factors of Bodhi. Next is the Eightfold Noble Path.
The Right Path can forever eliminate all our sufferings, so we attain Nirvana, the state of ultimate peace and tranquility, the realm of the sage. So the Eightfold Right Path is also called the Eightfold Noble Path.
The Eightfold Right Path: Right View, Right Though, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
The Eightfold Right Path begins with Right View. We all know we cannot learn Buddhism without the right views. If our understanding is slightly off or our direction is slightly erroneous, right will become wrong. If one thought strays or if our direction is even a little off, our understandings and views will be deviant. So Right View I is very important.
Second is Right Thought. In our daily living, in interacting with people and dealing with things, no matter what the conditions are, we must carefully contemplate the surrounding conditions, people and things. If we can think deeply about them, everything in the world, be it a blade of grass or a tree will clearly show (the Dharma to us.) If our thinking is misguided, the perspectives we develop will be completely wrong. So out thoughts must be correct. In the world, much of what people seek cannot be obtained, so they experience suffering. Even though we know this, we still insist on seeking what is unattainable. Seeking pleasurable experiences for this body leads our thinking to go astray, which then leads us to seek more. When things don’t go our way, afflictions arise. Hence, we should carefully contemplate everything in this world, be it a blade of grass, a tree a grain of sand, or the animal world. We must comprehend them and the Truth contained in them. We must really ponder the states of our minds and bodies. This takes Right Thought.
If we can observe how everything relates to our bodies with mindfulness and serenity, we will naturally be in a tranquil and pure state. I often say that a state of tranquility and purity is not far out of our reach. It is within our minds. When facing all external conditions, if we can remain correct in our thinking, then at that very moment, our minds are in a state of tranquility and purity. If our perspectives and views are correct, our vows will be as vast as the universe. We will be firm in our resolve and mission. We will “remain unwavering for countless eons”. It all depends on a single thought. If each thought is right, everything will be right. If our thoughts are wrong, everything will be incorrect. That’s called “wrong”. “Right” is when our thinking is correct. So doing correct deeds starts with having Right Thought.
When all our thoughts never leave the Dharma, we uphold Right Mindfulness. This is called Right Thought. When the practice of Right Thoughts is perfected, naturally we will create pure karma with the mind.
If we have Right Views and Right Thoughts, we can practice Right Speech. Right Speech is very important. Through our words, we can benefit others. It can also eliminate their afflictions and guide people onto the right path. At school, teachers pass on their knowledge with the words they speak. The students accept and assimilate the words into their thinking. So teachers must use Right Speech. Aside from school, we also need to use Right Speech when we interact with others. Words that hurt or harm others are evil. Instead f speaking harmful words to others, we should use words to benefit them. This is called Right Speech. We see families that suffer from misfortunes, suffer from illnesses or suffer from relationships.
According to folk beliefs of the past, the infidelity of a husband can be ended by the ritual of making an offering. Some will spend a lot of money on having offerings and spells performed. These misguided beliefs lead people astray. If we know of a family with marital problems, we should guide them with wisdom. In Buddhism, teachings for women can be found in the Lady Yuye Sutra. It is the teaching Buddha gave to the daughter-in-law of Anathapindika. It may also be used as a guide on how to be a virtuous woman. By being a good wife and a caring mother, she will naturally have harmonious relationships. How we relate to and treat others can affect their behavior, too. So thinking about how we speak is very important.
We may say unfounded things, such as, “You must be running into bad luck. You need to make offerings or perform certain rituals.” These are all incorrect thoughts and speech. We should use sincerity and wisdom as our guides. Thus, Right Speech should be used to teach in school and at home, and most importantly, to teach in society. That is why I often say, “Speak good words, do good deeds, and think good thoughts.” If our thoughts are good, what we say will be correct. So Right Speech is very important.
Do not say anything that damages others. Only say words that benefit everyone. This is called Right Speech. When our practice of Right Speech is perfected, we will create pure karma with our speech and we will not make mistakes in what we say.
Next is Right Action, which is proper behavior. As I often say, “our every action creates karma.” Every move we make, from how we walk to what we do with our hands, creates karma. Thus we must be very careful with our usual actions and behaviors. I often praise the accomplishments of Tzu Chi volunteers in Indonesia. There is a group of people in Jakarta who are filled with love. They divert time and energy to focus on Tzu Chi missions. Jakarta now shines bright with promise. The Angke River was once filled with garbage. It used to be covered with trash.
There were many illegal dwellings and squatters who lived by the river. They did not even have solid ground on which to build, so they constructed stilt houses on the river. These illegal structures did not have solid walls. They were beyond destitute, they had nothing. In their daily living, how did they get water? Even tap water, which is so easily accessible to us, was not available to them because their houses were illegally build on the river.
We often say that clean drinking water is important and people cannot live without water. Everyone knows this. But these impoverished people lived on the river, the water they saw was all covered with garbage. Where did they get water? From the filthy river under the layer of garbage. That was the water they used for drinking and washing. These impoverished, suffering people have lived on the river for decades. Aside from living on a river filled with garbage and filthy water, they had to endure the unbearable stench each day.
This group of entrepreneurs in Indonesia had an opportunity to visit the place. They had thought about doing something, but the conditions were never suitable when they encountered Tzu Chi, everything came together and created the most wonderful affinity.
Once this seed of compassion entered their minds, they quickly became diligent and focused. They used their power and the resources of their respective enterprises. Each of them ran a very large enterprise. Each of them easily had over 100,000, or even 200,000 employees. In the past, they focused on managing their businesses. Now their focus has shifted and the strength of love has been awakened. Look at how powerful they are. Their love and strength helped to clear the river of illegal dwellings and remove the garbage so the turbid river is now clean. Look how much they have achieved! Once the river was clean, the water flowed again. The trash was removed.
We also built housing for the locals and established a Tzu Chi village. Upon completion, those buildings were like works of art that emerged from the ground. The walkway between each row of buildings is very wide and spacious. There are beautiful houses at the end of the roads. At the end of two rows lies another row of apartments. Later, I commented that it was like looking at old Beijing. It felt like we had entered ancient times, with buildings arranged like those in places. Seeing it filled me with joy. This housing for a thousand households, once built, was very impressive. Within the complex, there is a primary school, a secondary school, and a free clinic. The free clinic is like a full-scale hospital. That place has already become a very impressive housing community. This is an example of Right Action.
The entrepreneurs had the ability, and used it to help so many people, allowing their country to have a truly clean metropolitan area, so Right Action had to do with our deeds. If we behave correctly, we can help many people. Not only can we help others, we can even uplift an entire society and country. Thus, our actions are very crucial.
If all our conduct is pure and without evil, we can benefit ourselves as well as others. This is called Right Action. When the practice of Right Action is perfected, we will create pure karma with the body.
As we learn the Buddha’s way, we know that all our actions create karma. The karma we create is dependent on ourselves. Therefore, each one of our must not overlook or avoid small good deeds. The accumulation of such deeds can become a great strength. So everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水).
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