Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Uphold Good Thought; Gather Good Affinities (守住善念會聚好緣)
Every day, we have been discussing the practice of repentance. Sometimes we unintentionally do or say something that may cause grief or harm to others. We may feel that if reason is on our side, we can “fight when we need to fight” and “speak when we need to speak.” We think that we’ve done nothing wrong. So we are aggressive in our rightness. In ordinary people, this mentality is frightening. We cannot think that way. We must always know that with everything we say we create bad karma and commit wrongdoings. Therefore we must constantly raise our awareness.
So the Water Repentance states, “Moreover, we have already created countless bad karma in our past lives.” We may think we have not created bad karma in this life, but perhaps we did so in past lives. Karma follows us around the way our shadows follow us wherever we go. So, bad karma “follows the perpetrator like shadows follow the body.” “If we do not repent, our evils grow each day.” We must now know that if we refuse to repent, all the bad karma we created and are creating now will just keep accumulating.
The following verse states, “If we do not repent, our evils grow each day. Know that the Buddha does not want us to conceal our flaws.”
The Buddha does not want us to cover up our wrongs. If we know we were wrong, we must quickly repent. We must also repent for what we are unaware of. If we are always penitent, our attitude will be like a constant flow of water that quickly washes away what is dirty. Repenting is like washing filth with clear water.
Look at how the Japanese are so polite. Even if they just walk in front of someone, they say, “Pardon me, pardon me.” If they inconvenience others in any way they say, “I apologize, I’m sorry.” So if we always think we are troubling others, we will naturally express our apologies and say, “I am sorry” or “Pardon me.” Others will respond with, “Don’t worry about it.” Then everything will be fine. Some people walk around with an arrogant air. The sight of them walking around like that can easily irritate others. You may think that it is no big deal, “I am just walking by.” However, others have already become afflicted. If you create afflictions in others, you are creating a bad affinity with them. You may not feel anything but they will remember this moment.
This is why we keep talking about ignorance. When others do things to us, we will take it personally and get angry. We always remember it. Perhaps the other party has already forgotten it, but we still remember. Therefore, some people say, “I have never treated people poorly.” This is a mindset of “concealing our flaws.”
Fellow practitioners, as afflictions like this accumulate, we will have more and more flaws. Thus, the Buddha taught us in the hopes that we will always be vigilant. We must always use Dharma to cleanse our minds. This is called repentance.
If we did something wrong and caused afflictions to arise in others, yet feel no repentance and take issue with how others treat us, we have a mindset of “concealing flaws.” The more flaws we have, the more afflicted we are and the more bad karma we accumulate. Only be vigilantly self-reflecting and always washing our minds with Dharma-water can we wash away these defilements.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, there was a handicapped couple. The husband was in a car accident, which paralyzed him from the waist down. He needed a wheelchair to get around. He had a big family. His parents lived with him. His father suffered from Alzheimer’s and required constant care. His mother was elderly, frail and ill. He also had four children, but none of them were his own offspring. The first child was an abandoned infant. He felt sorry for the baby, so he took him home. The other three were his oldest brother’s children. His brother abandoned his family. No one knows where he is. Then his sister-in-law passed away. He could not bear to see his brother’s children homeless on the streets, so he adopted them. He became disable because of a car accident. His wife suffered from polio and was also in a wheelchair. Altogether, there were eight people in the family.
The family was so impoverished, how did they survive? Though the husband and wife were poor, they were not poor in spirit. They worked very hard. Since he could not walk on his feet, he strengthened his hands so he could drive. He rented a cab so he could earn a small income to support this family of eight. His wife also worked very hard by selling lottery tickets. Although they were poor, he was not willing to sacrifice his children’s education. So he provided for their schooling. Their lives were very difficult, but there are always sounds of laughter coming from this family.
Though they were impoverished, they were a happy and harmonious family. Unfortunately, the husband experienced kidney failure and needed dialysis. He did not have health insurance, and each course of dialysis costs a lot of money. Since he was unable to work, the financial burden rested on his wife. So she tried to sell more lottery tickets, and started mending others’ clothes at home. This was their source of income.
When our volunteers in Kuala Lumpur learned of this case, they were much moved. Even though the family lived in a run-down house and led very difficult lives, there was a smile on every face. They asked the husband, “Is your life very hard?” The husband replied, “It is what it is. This is the reality of my life. I don’t think too much about it, so I’m fine.” “Don’t think about it.” We should carefully contemplate this comment. See how his mindset is not affected by his circumstances. Otherwise, every day he’d wake up to the reality that he and his wife are wheelchair bound, that he cannot do very much. Even with his father’s Alzheimer’s, and his mother’s illness, he insisted on putting 4 children through school. How can that life not be difficult? Under such mental stress, most people would lose their will and give up.
But this family has not given up. This family is happy and harmonious. Skipping meals was not a big deal. Their greatest concern was money for dialysis. When Tzu Chi people learned about this, they gave them $300 Ringgits every month. The family was filled with gratitude. As we are faced with various circumstances, we must be able to open our minds, be understanding and be happy. Then we will not be limited by our circumstances. As the days pass, he feels no poverty in his heart. He feels that he is rich because he still has his father, his mother, and this group of children. Although they are not his by birth, they are adorable and lively, so he feels very content. He is not hung up on his present life. Isn’t he truly accepting of his lot in life? Such acceptance means understanding that we sowed the seeds for these circumstances in our past live, so we willingly accept them now. We should not assume that in this life, everything will always be alright. Maybe we have brought bad seeds to this lifetime. So when we face karmic retributions, we must gladly accept them.
But if we have done wrong in this life, we must always repent, so that we no longer conceal those seeds. In that moment we know that the cause has already been planted. Where was it planted? In our hearts. It is called the field of the heart. Once a seed is sown, it waits for suitable conditions. The conditions I speak of are water, sunlight, air. So a karmic seed may be sown in the field of someone’s heart. Perhaps it is in our hearts. We do not know. Perhaps it did not land in our hearts, but in someone else’s. Therefore, when we do something, we may not immediately experience the result, but we have still created karma.
I remember an incident in Hualien where a person jumped off a building and landed on a person standing below. The person below was crushed to death. The person who jumped only had minor injuries. Think about it. How can such a coincidence occur? There have been many cases like this in Taiwan. You may think your actions are no big deal, but when karmic conditions mature, no matter where you are, even the most unexpected accidents can happen. Such misfortune will just happen to you and not to anyone else. There may be many other people around, but the misfortune only befalls you. In reality, there are no “accidents”.
Things happen due to cause and conditions that were already there. This is very accurate and exact. Thus, if we owe a debt, we must quickly repay it, or the interest will grow. We must know that even if we only borrow a little, if we do not pay it back quickly, but instead run and hide and avoid it, more and more interest will accrue. We must not do this.
Otherwise, that little bit of bad karma will grow bigger the more we keep avoiding it. These mistakes are indeed frightening. Therefore, we must constantly repent, or we will “long be submerged in the sea of suffering”, due to obscuration. Therefore, the Buddha did not want us to keep any trace of defilement. He wanted us to be purified completely.
We confess and repent the wrongs we committed. If, in order to keep our name clean, we will long be submerged in the sea of suffering due to concealment of (our defilements).
“We confess and repent the wrongs we committed.” We must bravely and openly reveal our wrongdoings. “I was wrong. I behaved a certain way. Were you hurt by what I said? Please accept my apology if I hurt you. I am very sorry.” If we can do this, we can resolve our issues with each other. I often hear Tzu Chi people say, “We reveal our mistakes to improve. That was the kind of person I was. Fortunately, I am in a good environment now. The volunteers are like mirrors that show me what I am like so I can always be vigilant. Therefore, I am very grateful.”
You see, this is how a good environment can help people maintain their good thoughts, and protect their Bodhi seeding. But they also need to willingly and openly repent to this affinity to result in success. Thus, we need to “confess and repent the wrongs we committed. In order to clear our name.” We cannot just hide our misdeeds form others. We must not claim that we are good and pure, that we have no faults and always do good deeds. We cannot do this. If we do, we will “long be submerged in the sea of suffering due to concealment”.
If we hide our misdeeds because we are afraid to let others know, and only brag about our good deeds, then we will be trapped in the sea of suffering and unable to pull ourselves out. This is all because we cover up our defilements.
When we do wrong things, we should openly repent and maintain good thoughts.
Then good conditions can gather. If we single-mindedly cover up our mistakes and only brag about our good deeds, our minds will be long submerged in the sea of suffering.
Fellow practitioners, as we learn Buddhism, if we are aware of our mistakes and fix them, that is a good thing. Do not refuse to correct he little faults; do not always try to cover them up, or we will be trapped in the sea of suffering. We must especially take care of our minds. That family in Malaysia has such a difficult life. But the eight of them are happy and harmonious. Therefore, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水).
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