Episode 33 – Vow to Be Blessed-field Monastics
>> Be a model of virtue, exercise compassion and wisdom. Assemble in harmony and respect, be replete with precepts and virtues. Follow the Buddha’s wisdom in eliminating afflictions. Initiate the practice of blessings and wisdom and cultivate a great field of blessings.
>>one is harmony of principles, the other is harmony of practice. With harmony of principles, all realize Nirvana by eliminating discrimination and being free from contrivance. The Hearers use wisdom to be discerning and avoid the bonds of views and thinking. This is the highest wisdom of humankind. This is the method of entering Nirvana they have chosen.
>> Harmony of practice is the Six Points of Unity, which are: Unity in precepts for common practice. Unity in views for mutual insight. Unity in sharing benefits equally. Unity in body to live together. Unity in speech without discord. Unity in mind for mutual joy.
Be a model of virtue, exercise compassion and wisdom. Assemble in harmony and respect, be replete with precepts and virtues. Follow the Buddha’s wisdom in eliminating afflictions. Initiate the practice of blessings and wisdom and cultivate a great field of blessings.
If we want to practice spiritual cultivation, we must become blessed-field monastics. The field of blessings is where we can. In the field of blessings, we can connect with, transform and rescue sentient beings. We not only plant our field of blessings, but help others plant theirs too. Monastics can be [male] bhiksus or [female] bhiksunis. We must [do all of the following]. First, we must end evil; we cannot let afflictions cover our minds. Second, we must scare demons. Afflictions surround us at all times. If our understanding and thinking deviate even slightly, we will be tempted by the demonic path. So, we must scare demons and end evil. Next is the manner of our spiritual practice, which is to beg for food through alms. Inwardly, begging for alms adjusts the mind. Outwardly, we can make connections with others.
We can live a very simple life, with the bare minimum. We eat only the amount we need to for our bodies to be healthy. We should also use just the right amount of things. We only need several pieces of clothing; we do not need to stockpile a lot. But if we cannot control our minds, once the door of desire opens and evil thoughts arise, we will become greedy. Then that greed will be endless and what we eat will no be longer simple, and what we wear will no longer be plain. We will go beyond the bounds of a practitioner. This is not right. This happens when the mind is imbalanced. Spiritual practice balances the mind, and [one method is] to beg for food as alms. We need not be so concerned with our daily living. Just getting by is good enough. This is [how we engage in] spiritual practice.
Besides this, we cannot avoid other people. Outwardly, we need to make connections. Take a look at the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism 40-plus years have passed as quickly as a day, from the beginning to the present. We started by teaching the rich, helping the poor and inspiring love in every person. We all live in the same world. But many people suffer from hunger and cold, many people feel helpless and lead tough lives. So, we must quickly call on people with extra food and clothing and awaken their compassion to help others. This is [how we] educate the rich. Certainly, some people are very rich. If the love in their hearts is awakened, they can benefit even more people. Thus, Buddhists transformed by the teachings know to be giving and generous. Consider ten men who eat ten servings a meal. If each of them ate one fewer serving, then ten men would eat ten fewer servings and there would be enough food to feed someone else, and that person would not be hungry or cold. This is how we educate the rich and help the poor.
Consider the huge floods in Burma. Tzu Chi volunteers rushed there to provide care. Later, when Typhoon Morakot reached Taiwan, the Burmese heard about it. Though they lived in poverty, they also willingly contributed rice by eating less. This is how they helped others. They also prayed sincerely for Taiwan. Even people without a penny can still contribute. [One of] the poorest countries is Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is very poor and every family must also live in a society filled with unrest. Because we helped them in the past, because we sowed that seed, they turned around and helped us. Even if it was only a nickel or a penny, or very small amounts of money, [it showed] their love. Even though it was not very much, they still willingly and thoughtfully worked together to help [us]. That is love.
In fact, conditions cannot form without causes. Once you give people blessed conditions, the love in their hearts is easily awakened. Sentient beings in the past may have lacked the nourishment of Dharma. They did not encounter the Buddha-Dharma, did not hear the Buddha’s teachings and did not do good deeds. Therefore, in this life and future lives, their living will be difficult. We provide them with causes and conditions to first make offerings to the Sangha, and then to begin to believe. Then, [with the chance] to hear the Dharma, they will understand their karmic retributions. Then they will not focus on the negative and will do what is good. This is the benefit of hearing the Dharma.
So, we must rely on the Buddha’s wisdom and strengthen our faith so we can overcome any kind of obstacle. When we want to make great aspirations, even the demons will be scared, and they will manifest conditions to stop us. We must have perseverance. Our wisdom must persevere so that we can eliminate these mental and physical obstacles.
For example, over 40 years ago, when I wanted to start Tzu Chi, some people who knew of me said, “That person is very wise. She claims to not accept offerings. But she is now using the excuse of helping others to collect money. Wouldn’t she spend some of it too?” When I heard such negative criticisms, I thought, “I must believe that I am selfless and that there is love in everyone.” That was when this idea occurred to me. Whenever I heard such comments, I encouraged myself to believe in my selflessness and strengthen my thoughts of sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness. I was unselfish. I also believed that there is love in everyone. As long as I did well, people would be responsive.
If I allowed my mindset to fall into a haunted state, I would have been harmed by critical voices and felt a sense of discouragement. I would have thought, “I am doing so much, why are you saying that about me?” I would have felt frustrated and there would be no Tzu Chi School of Buddhism today. So, we need to destroy afflictions. No matter how external conditions obstruct us, if we make this great resolution, we will never be influenced by them.
So, bhiksus must be evil-enders, demon-scarers and almsmen; they must be all three to be called bhiksus. In fact, another [way to refer to] bhiksus is the Sangha, or a harmonious assembly. A Sangha must have at least four people. One person cannot be a harmonious assembly. Two does not count, either. Only a group of more than four can be considered a harmonious assembly.
A harmonious assembly refers to people bringing their varying temperaments together in harmony. Because all of us grew up with different families and social experiences and formed different habits, having us suddenly all live together comes with difficulties. But now that we are at this training ground, we must live in harmony. We must completely let go of our past habitual tendencies and adapt to the new environment. We must live together harmoniously to be called a harmonious assembly.
There are two kinds of harmony;
one is harmony of principles, the other is harmony of practice. With harmony of principles, all realize Nirvana by eliminating discrimination and being free from contrivance. The Hearers use wisdom to be discerning and avoid the bonds of views and thinking. This is the highest wisdom of humankind. This is the method of entering Nirvana they have chosen.
The first is harmony of principles. We came here for spiritual practice so certainly we need to have harmony of principles. Our common practice must be in the same direction and on the same level. These principles must be in harmony, so that “all realize Nirvana by eliminating discrimination and being free from contrivance.” We need to learn and experience this.
The Buddha-Dharma was taught for all capabilities. People with high, moderate and low capabilities listened and absorbed with their own wisdom. People of low capabilities listened to this teaching and understood that the Buddha was telling them to take a step back to see the bigger picture. Some people hear that and not only do they take a step back, they also accommodate others. Yet other people hear that and take it even further by feeling gratitude in their hearts. The same remark is heard differently by those of varying capabilities.
The words spoken by the Buddha are ultimately discerned by the listeners. So, the Hearers use wisdom to discern. We use our wisdom to discern His remarks and the extent of its effect on our minds. However we receive it, as long as we accept it, we can avoid the bonds of views and thinking. We need to know that we each have different perspectives and thoughts. They are like ropes that bind us and prevent our escape. We cannot think our way out of them. This is caused by our views and thinking. When we see things, our minds are unable to let go of them.
In the passage I just quoted, those with low capabilities think this means, “Do not take issue with others anymore.” It is that simple. They will no longer be confused by their views and understanding and will no longer take issue with others. People of moderate capabilities think, “Exactly. Not only will we not take issue with them, we will accommodate them and be as open as the sky.” This view and understanding is different and is of a higher level. Some may even say, “I am grateful to them. I want to express my gratitude to negative people [for helping me spiritually]. I respect them and thank them. They manifested these circumstances to teach me so I need to be grateful to them.”
If we can eliminate a small bit of ignorance from our minds, or a moderate bit of ignorance, naturally, we can eventually eliminate deep and tremendous ignorance. If a little bit can be eliminated, why can’t a large amount be eliminated? So naturally, our views and thinking can be opened up. The highest wisdom of humankind is that we can choose the method of entering Nirvana, a state of perfect rest where no afflictions arise. Nothing in the world is worth getting afflicted over, or taking issue with others. That is unnecessary. Since it is unnecessary, we can let go. We will not linger on past delusions or future discursive thoughts, we will live in the present moment of our interactions, instead. Then naturally our minds will not give rise to afflictive emotions. Not at all. Isn’t this realizing Nirvana by eliminating discrimination and being free from contrivance? This state of tranquility and clarity is the state of Nirvana.
Harmony of practice is the Six Points of Unity, which are: Unity in precepts for common practice. Unity in views for mutual insight. Unity in sharing benefits equally. Unity in body to live together. Unity in speech without discord. Unity in mind for mutual joy.
The second is harmony of practice. Harmony of practice refers to daily living, when people interact with each other, such as “unity in precepts for common practice.” Today we hear that we all need to abide by certain rules. If we can all obey the rules, this Sangha will be very harmonious and beautiful.
We must learn to have “unity in views for mutual insight.” Our views should not diverge. We must not say, “I want it this way, you want it that way. I think this table will look better here. You think it will look better over there.” Just over a table, we may spend a long time moving it around. That is not right. “Or perhaps I should just ignore where you put it.” If we see something inappropriate, but do not raise the issue, then is this a spiritual training ground? No, it is not. We need to have a unified view on how to decorate the room and pick the best option. That is “unity in views for mutual insight.”
“Unity in sharing benefits equally” means we [monastics] live together so there is no need to haggle over what is yours and what is mine. Each of us can tidy up our own things. But if one lacks something, one can use another’s. Of course, if one uses another’s things, one needs to let them know. So, sharing benefits equally refers to material goods. When we handle material goods and the like, we need to share them harmoniously and equally.
“Unity in body to live together.” Our conduct must be in harmony. Our manners and conduct allow everyone to be happy with each other. We work as the sun rises and rest when night comes. This is the schedule we stick to together. It refers to “unity in body to live together.”
“Unity in speech without discord.” What is worthy of dispute? There is no need to argue. We all speak with one voice. When someone says something, we cannot move their words around and twist them. This is inappropriate; we will confuse others. So when listening, listen carefully. When speaking, speak properly. Having “unity in speech without discord” means we strive to not create interpersonal disputes and conflicts. If we do, that is evil speech.
“Unity in mind for mutual joy” means when we are delighted at hearing a teaching, we share it with each other. This is because attaining the Dharma is like attaining a treasure. So when we live together, we need to have harmony and respect whether in principle or practice. Then we can be models of virtue and exercise compassion and wisdom, assemble in harmony and respect, and be replete with precepts and virtues. We hope to achieve those through practice so we can “follow the Buddha’s wisdom in eliminating afflictions.” To “awaken blessings and wisdom”, we “cultivate a great field of blessings.”
When we learn and practice the Buddha-Dharma, if we can accept these words into our minds, we can cultivate precepts and virtues. So everyone, please be mindful at all times.