Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Treat Friends and Foes Impartially (怨親平等無分別)
The state of Permanence, Bliss, Self and Purity is Sarvajna, the fruition of spiritual practice, where one realizes the pure Buddha-land, helps all beings attain enlightenment and is unstinting in giving all the wealth one has, including one’s physical life.
The fruition of spiritual practice is Sarvajna. When we are at ease among sentient beings, we will not be defiled by their impure desires. Moreover, we can work among people to relieve their suffering. Doing this requires the Buddha’s perfect wisdom. Therefore, the fruit of Sarvajna is the state of Buddhahood, the state of realizing All-encompassing Wisdom.
If we can do this we can realize the pure Buddha-land and help all sentient beings. If we can understand the true nature of everything in the universe, and not give rise to discursive thoughts while among others, we will create good affinities. When we can make connections with people, we can thus purify the minds of all living beings. Isn’t this what we mean when we talk about purifying the world and creating a Pure Land in this world?
We always hope that we can turn this world into a Pure Land. When will that manifest?
Only when all minds are purified. This world will then become pure and all living beings will achieve enlightenment. Of course, to develop Bodhicitta we must “be unstinting with our physical wealth.” A healthy body is a source of wealth because we can rely on our strength to make a living without too much difficulty. Aside from physical wealth, we also have spiritual wealth. If we have ample wisdom, we will have the strength to save others, the wisdom to help them, and we will not be stingy in any way. We have already talked about practicing the 6 Perfections and the 4 Immeasurables, which help us develop Bodhicitta. Buddha taught us that these are the requirements for Bodhicitta.
Next, we must be impartial toward all beings. This means to “feel love and compassion for all beings and not differentiate between self and other.”
When we deal with sentient beings, we should learn to be impartial toward both friends and foes. When we feel Great Loving-kindness and Great Compassion, we will feel connected to all living beings. So “do not differentiate between self and other.” We cannot make a distinction between “him” and “me,” “his” and “mine.” If we are preoccupied with comparing ourselves to others, we will “differentiate between self and other” When we clearly separate “other” from “self” conflicts easily arise. Next it says, “Why is this so?” How do we explain it?
“If we see foes differently from friends, we are discriminating and making distinctions, and thus, attachments will arise.”
If we see someone we hate, resentment will arise. We will become partial and treat foes differently from friends. If we do not have an impartial mind, we will say, “This is one whom I deeply love. This is one whom I do not love.” When we differentiate between those we do and do not love, we will have a discriminating mind, and “thus attachments will arise.” As attachments appear, we will start to show bias. That will be troublesome.
“Attachment to conditions gives rise to afflictions.” If we are attached to certain conditions, all kinds of afflictions will arise and we will create all kinds of bad karma “With bad karma as causes and conditions, we will attain negative fruits.”
This all sounds very easy and straightforward putting it into practice is not easy. How can we truly be impartial to friends and foes? First of all, we need to treat all older men as our father and older women as our mother. We must treat those around our age as siblings. If we treat everyone as parents and siblings, then we will not treat friends or foes any differently. We will no longer make such distinctions.
Thus we need to develop three states of mind. First is an impartial mind. As I just said, when we do not separate foes from friends, we have an impartial mind.
Second, we need to have a filial mind. In the Sutra of Profound Gratitude to Parents, it is said that when the Buddha saw a heap of white bones, He promptly prostrated on the ground. When Ananda asked for the reason, the Buddha answered, “This mound of white bones is tall as a mountain. Did you know that these bones belong to my parents from my countless past lifetimes?” According to Buddha-Dharma, this physical life is but one period of existence. When we leave this life, we head toward another. We constantly return to be reborn in this world. Just think about those who died and left that pile of white bones. Once they are reborn, can we really be sure that they weren’t our parents in another life? We should treat everyone as a parent from one of our past lives. If the Buddha could prostrate himself in front of those bones, then for all the people we encounter now, we should be able to consider everyone of them as a parent from our past lives. Or perhaps they will be our parents in the future. So we must create good affinities now. Therefore, we should have a filial mind.
The third is a compassionate mind. Buddha’s greatest hope for us was that we develop a compassionate mind. This was also His most earnest teaching. So, we must treat all living beings with such a mindset. Only then can we be impartial to friends and foes. Only then can we eliminate our discriminations and attachments.
When we have an impartial, filial, and compassionate mind, we will be impartial to friends or foes, and have an undiscriminating mind.
If we do not discriminate, we will be open to all worldly matters and material things. If we are not attached to them, we will not really have any afflictions. By following Tzu Chi’s Bodhisattva practices, our volunteers are living Bodhisattvas who can be role models for people to follow.
A fire broke out in the industrial park of Wugu. It was a toy factory that caught fire. The fire started as the factory closed for the day. The owner and his wife happened to be out together. Where did they go? The husband and wife are a Tzu Chi couple. So what were they doing? They went to collect donations, so they had already left the factory. Their parents, younger brother, and three or four workers were still in the building. When the couple heard the news that their factory was on fire, they rushed back. By the time they returned, there were 38 fire trucks trying to put out the fire. The whole building was destroyed. But their only question was, “Is everyone safe?” “Yes” “Thank goodness! I am so grateful” They were not panicked. They were very calm. As long as people were safe, they were grateful.
Everyone wondered how they could be so calm and remain so grateful. Afterwards, the man said, “First, I am grateful that everyone is safe. Second, I am grateful to the firefighters who put out the fire. They worked so hard and it was so dangerous. So I need to thank them. Third, I am grateful to Tzu Chi volunteers. When they heard that my factory was on fire, they all came to comfort everyone so no one was frightened and everyone remained calm. So I am grateful to have these. Tzu Chi Bodhisattvas by my side I am truly grateful. Fourth, I am grateful to my employees. They all told me we will start anew and rebuild the factory together, so I am grateful to them. Lastly I am grateful that this fire did not damage other factories in the area. Everyone else was safe, they only factory that burned down was mine. For this, I am grateful.”
Because all these thoughts of gratitude rose up in his mind, he was able to remain calm. Most inconceivably he and his members had just collected donations totaling a few hundred thousand NT dollars in cash and checks. He had just put the records and the money, along with his own commissioner badge, as well as several of his honorary board member certificates, in the factory. He said, “The honorary board member certificates were destroyed and can be replaced. But incredibly, the cash, checks and records were all undamaged. They were only burnt around the edges, so they could still be deposited at the bank.” Those things were all safe. He found this quite inconceivable.
So he said, “I will continue with Tzu Chi’s work. I have to catch up.” This is what Tzu Chi people are like. He was able to let go and have no attachments. He was full of gratitude. He said, “Worldly assets are collectively owned by the Five Groups.
Worldly assets can be taken by the Five Groups: natural disasters, man-made calamities, corrupt officials, thieves and robbers, and unfilial children. So wealth can never truly be considered our own.
He had heard me say, “Worldly assets belong to these Five Groups, so why be so attached? He remembered this during this great disaster. Instead of thinking of what he lost, he thought about how much he still had. This mindset is extraordinary. If you ask him, “What are your hopes for the future?” He will answer, “To strengthen Tzu Chi’s work.” He hoped that after his factory was rebuilt, his employees would have a deeper understanding of the impermanent nature of life. He was grateful to his employees for their willingness to stand by him, so he also hoped that their Wisdom-life would grow and that they will share the joy he experiences in carrying out Tzu Chi’s missions. Isn’t this the mind of a Bodhisattva?
A Bodhisattva is impartial to friends and foes. He himself could experience this principle as he walked Tzu Chi’s Bodhisattva-path, learning and realizing much. First, he thought of how material wealth is collectively owned by the Five Groups. Then he thought to focus on what he had and not what he lost. Then he felt fine. He recognized that there was much to be grateful for in the world. Aren’t these worldly blessings? So he still felt that he was very blessed, he even experienced something inconceivable; the money lovingly raised and collected from countless members was untouched by the fire and did not share his collective karma. Therefore, this fire did not defeat him. Instead, it strengthened his will to practice.
See, isn’t this transcending the attachment to existence and non-existence? If we face reality, do not think about the obstacles and treat everyone impartially, then we will not create the causes and conditions for afflictions. So let us always be grateful. As we learn Buddha’s way, if we can transform our attitude toward challenges in our daily living, we are developing true mastery. Fellow practitioners, learning Buddhism is about applying what we have learned.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水).
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