Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Awaken Your Buddha-nature (讓佛性甦醒)
Time passes. The seasons turn endlessly. So we should seize each moment. No matter what kind of environment we are in, we should always bring out our intrinsic nature. We must learn to recognize our nature and progress from the state of ordinary person to the state of a noble being. This is very important. It does not matter what season we are in, we should be practicing every minute and second. We should now know that in winter, the air is cold and the ground is frozen, so everything hibernates, more or less, straight through to springtime. When the weather warms, everything starts to wake up, not only plants, but animals as well. The spring climate is very suitable, and all things in nature restart their lives. So, the soft spring breeze nourishes our nature.
We are the same; we are also a part of nature. Buddhist practitioners especially should all know that everyone has a pure, intrinsic nature. However, we are hibernating as ordinary people. Being able to study the Buddha-Dharma is like the springtime; our intrinsic nature re-awakens. The soft spring breeze nourishes it. We should revive our intrinsic nature.
In the summer, due to the greenhouse effect, the temperatures have continued to rise. It is very hot. But, when the weather is hot, the earth helps everything mature. It is like Empress Wu Ze-tian. She wanted to see peony flowers in the winter and asked everyone to find a way to make it happen. They wisely decided to build a shed around the peony tree and warm it with fire, so there was no distinction between day and night. It was as if the sun was always shining. So the peony flowers opened. The sun’s transformative power can ripen everything in the world. Now we also understand that some fruits and vegetables can be ripened regardless of the season by artificially changing the temperature. Since our Buddha-nature has awakened, our intrinsic nature is being nourished by the soft spring breeze. Since our nature has re-awakened, we must also maintain it. Even in the hot summer, we can let the summer sun ripens our wisdom. The summer sun ripens our wisdom.
What about fall? In the fall, the days are clear, the moon is bright. The peak of autumn is cool and pleasant, everything feels vast and open. We should know that even in the fall we must carefully protect our minds and keep them pure. We want our minds to always be like the clear and bright autumn moon.
If it is winter, we can think that the snow can beautify our lives. If it was winter now, everyone would cheerfully rush to go see snow wherever it fell. Since the snow covers the ground, everything is clear and bright white, so beautiful. When the snow covers the earth, you feel as if it is spotlessly clean. Although the earth has four seasons, whether spring, with its soft breezes, summer and its blazing heat, or autumn, when the leaves fall from the trees, we must always think of the clear, bright sky. Although the winter is cold and everything withers, we must beautify our hearts and our Buddha-nature within. The heart is quite warm; it has no winter.
It has a loving and undefiled center. If we revive our intrinsic nature all year round, until our wisdom is clean, then we reach purity. This is what practitioners must maintain in all four seasons. No matter what state of disharmony the outside world is in, practitioners must still re-awaken their pure intrinsic nature at all times. We must always have wisdom. We must be pure and undefiled at every single moment.
Studying Buddhism is like the soft spring breeze, which nourishes and awakens our intrinsic nature. After our Buddha-nature begins to awaken, we must let our wisdom ripen, as if under the hot summer sun. Always take good care of your mind, let it be like the clear, bright autumn moon, or the undefiled winter snow. This is what practitioners must maintain in all four seasons.
Earlier we talked about the precepts. If we uphold the precepts, we can observe all the regulations. In addition to the Four Demeanors, there are the 3,000 Regulations, and the 80,000 Observances. These should always be in our hearts. We must look after our hearts every minute and second. In walking, standing, sitting or lying down, we must not depart from the path of practice. During every minute and second, we must maintain a Bodhisattva’s 80,000 Observances in our lives. I just mentioned the four seasons in the text of Dharma as Water, spring, summer, fall and winter.
Next in the text it says, “During the Eight Kings of the year we create a multitude of negative karma. Practicing the Sixteen Bad Occupations, we create negative karma.”
We ordinary people have violated all the precepts we mentioned before, not to mention the Four Demeanors, 3,000 regulations or 80,000 Observances. We are not usually mindful in our practice. It is like I just said; we must maintain our state of mind in all seasons. We must maintain our undefiled wisdom and purity. Our minds must always be like this. We must maintain it every second. If we can do this, then we can escape “the Eight Kings of the year.” What are “the Eight Kings of the year?” Each year actually has eight parts, eight changes in the climate.
Eight Parts:
Rising Spring Spring Equinox
Rising Summer Summer Solstice
Rising Autumn Autumn Equinox
Rising Winter Winter Solstice
Rising Spring means just entering spring. After that comes the Spring Equinox, which is when it is obviously spring. Rising Spring borders on and replaces winter. There is still the cold air of winter. Reaching Spring Equinox, the climate is already warm, and very suitable. So spring has two sections, Rising Spring, and Spring Equinox. Then there is Rising Summer and Summer Solstice.
During Rising Summer it starts to get warm, the temperature begins to climb, and the sun starts to get very strong. Slowly the spring weather turns hot. This is Rising Summer. This is the juncture of spring and summer. By the Summer Solstice, it is already very hot. This is the season of Summer.
Next is Rising Autumn. After the hottest period, fall slowly begins. The temperature starts to drop. The Earth’s angle with the Sun is slowly changing, as the Sun shines more on a different part of the Earth.
The weather slowly becomes cooler. The time when autumn replaces summer is called Rising Autumn. Then, when the weather has obviously turned cool, it is the Autumn Equinox. Autumn weather is nice and cool, not like the oppressive heat of summer. When the weather turns pleasant, this is the Autumn Equinox. Slowly, Rising Winter begins. The pleasant weather starts to become obviously cold, which is Rising Winter. It slowly changes from pleasant to cold.
Winter Solstice is when it is obviously winter. The weather is very cold. This is the Winter Solstice. In a year, there are four seasons and eight parts. Rising Spring, Spring Equinox, Rising Summer, Summer Solstice, Rising Autumn, Autumn Equinox, Rising Winter and Winter Solstice. These eight categories are called the Eight Kings. They divide the weather into obvious parts spring, summer, autumn, winter. The four seasons make one year. This is obvious. It allows us to understand that life on Earth has four seasons. Seasons actually differ by location. Right now, it is summer here, but in a different part of the world it is winter. As the Earth circles the sun, it orbits and revolves, so the climate changes; in the same world, there are different climates. When Tzu Chi members go on humanitarian or disaster relief missions, I always ask, “Is that country hot or cold?”
They tell me, “Here, it is summer today; the place I will be in a few days will be winter.”
I reply “You should bring clothes for both hot and cold.”
In just a short period, maybe even two or three days, one day here, two days there, they have both summer and winter, which are completely different. In nature the weather is divided into four seasons.
All things on Earth follow the seasons, but our resolve and Buddha-nature are eternal. Since we all have this fundamental, intrinsic Buddha-nature, and have encountered the Buddha-Dharma, it is like our Buddha-natures have met spring and have been re-awakened.
Thus we begin to cultivate wisdom. We must maintain our purity; we must always have that clarity. We must maintain cleanliness of the mind. This is what Buddhist practitioners must do. Recently, we have been talking about precepts. Precepts are very important, as they are protection for our minds. In the constantly changing seasons, this never-ending process of time, we must guard our minds well.
In the eight parts and four seasons, in other words, the whole year, do not let your ordinary mind wander and break precepts, thus “creating negative karma. Practicing the Sixteen Bad Occupations we create negative karma.” What are the Sixteen Bad Occupations? These Sixteen Bad Occupations are what some people do to make a living. Some people not only break the Precepts, killing, stealing, lying, sexual misconduct, and drinking, in order to make a living, they raise pigs or fish, run slaughterhouses, or do many other things. In total, there are sixteen kinds.
If I were to name them one by one, we would see that many businessmen break precepts. Let us not talk about it much and make everyone uncomfortable. But I do want all to be aware of them.
Sixteen Bad Occupations:
1.Slaughterer 2.Executioner 3.Pig/Sheep farmer 4.Fisherman 5.Hunter 6.Fowler 7.Snake catcher 8. Chicken/dog farmer 9.Snake charmer 10. Thief 11.Bandit 12.Prison Guard 13. Prostitute 14. Liquor seller 15.[Cloth] Dyer 16. Seed Crusher [for oil]
Among these Sixteen Bad Occupations, there is even cloth dyer. Our recycling volunteers collect lots of empty bottles. We recycle these bottles and use them to make blankets or clothes. They had a meeting with me and told me, “Master if we use this dye or those colors, there will be pollution.” There was potential for environmental issues, so I felt that the Buddha was truly wise. The sum up, we must thoroughly keep the precepts.
We talked about this yesterday. If we maintain the Four Demeanors well, the 3,000 Regulations or the 80,000 Observances of a Bodhisattva are all included within. So, in practicing Buddhism, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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