Episode 326 – Uphold Precepts without Flaws and Leaks
>> Practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Vow to cultivate blessings and wisdom through listening, contemplating and practicing. Deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues. With right understanding and views come pure thinking and True Suchness.
>> The Buddha, “wishing to restate His meaning,” spoke in verse, saying. Bhiksus and bhiksunis’ may harbor overbearing arrogance.’ Upasakas may have self-arrogance and’ upasikas may lack faith.’
>> The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but they defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.
>> Precepts can guard against wrongs and stop evils. Not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even have unwholesome thoughts. [Precepts] are pure and refreshing because when people stop doing evil and do good deeds, they will feel at peace, with a clear conscience. When the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure and refreshed.
>> Precepts are the precious raft that carries us out of the sea of samsara. If there is a leak in the raft, we will sink and drown in the sea of samsara. There are different kinds of precepts, such as precepts without faults and flawless precepts.
When we walk outside and feel a breeze, we feel peaceful and refreshed. So, we must be grateful. Though things are currently safe and peaceful, we do not know what the future holds. Regardless, we must always remain grateful and reverent. We must constantly nurture our reverence for people, matters and things. We must always foster a sense of gratitude.
We ordinary people have the habitual tendency to be attached to our own thoughts and feelings, without consideration for other sentient beings. This present era really is the turbid era of Dharma-degeneration. Therefore, all of us are needed; since we have the karmic conditions to encounter the Dharma and have understood it, after we understand the Buddha-Dharma, each of us must really listen to, accept and uphold it.
The Buddha-Dharma is all around us. If we do not reach out, take it in and mindfully persevere [in our practice], if we do not do this, “once our human form is lost it takes kalpas to regain.” Therefore, we must accept and uphold the Dharma. Not only must we accept and uphold it, but we must also practice it flawlessly. “The [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom” are what we collectively cultivate.
Since we have found the Dharma, we must practice the Flawless Studies [so that] we do not allow it to leak away. Every day, we must take the Dharma to heart. The teachings that enters our hearts are the indispensable practices of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.
Practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Vow to cultivate blessings and wisdom through listening, contemplating and practicing. Deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues. With right understanding and views come pure thinking and True Suchness.
As we engage in spiritual practice, if we do not uphold the precepts and use them to discipline our minds, then we will quickly go astray. When we abandon precepts, we easily make mistakes.
The precepts guard against wrongs and stop evils. We must always guard against ignorant thoughts arising in our minds. Without precepts, ignorance will constantly arise. With greed, we crave pleasures for ourselves. With anger, we always feel that we have been wronged by those around us. Thus, the more we think, the angrier and more resentful we become. This results from not following precepts.
So, precepts can guard against wrongs. Thoughts of killing, stealing and sexual misconduct are not the only things to guard against. No, we need to [watch] our every thought. Precepts are like a rope that marks a boundary. When we reach it, we know not to cross it. They are also like walls that separate the inside from the outside, the right things that we need to do from the wrong things we must not do. So, those who follow the rules will just see the rope without daring to step over.
I often give the following example. In the past, I often visited our building sites. If people were working, they would use a rope to section off that area. When our staff saw me walking by, they would quickly take the rope down and say, “Master, please walk this way.” I said, “No, I cannot.” I still need to go around this area. He said “what for? Please walk this way.” I said, “No, I cannot.” [They asked], “Why? We took it down already.” Although the rope was gone, the boundary was still there, so I could not cross it. Spiritual practitioners must have this sense. Furthermore, we need to treat the precepts as a wall that we erect.
Because we are ordinary sentient beings, if a rope is [our only boundary], those who are not willing to uphold precepts can lower the rope and step over it. Since the majority of people will do this, we probably need to build a wall. A low one is still not sufficient; we must build a tall one. Look at how tall a prison’s walls are. The walls around an ordinary house are relatively low, but prison fences are much taller. The precepts are a boundary that prevents us from making mistakes or transgressing. So, we need precepts.
How can spiritual practitioners do without them? We often say, “organized with the precepts.” When we are in a group, we can be harmonious and orderly [when we all follow] the precepts. Precepts are for organizing ourselves, not for disciplining other people. When everyone in a group upholds the precepts, the group is disciplined and can [work] in harmony. This is what the precepts [are for].
Only with precepts can our minds be in Samadhi. Precepts create a broad and direct Bodhi-path, a very open and expansive road. This is the Bodhi-path. The Bodhi-path is very straight. If we walk on this very direct and broad path, we will not cross the boundaries. This is true mastery in our spiritual practice. Because of this, our minds can be in Samadhi. If our minds are in Samadhi, we will not deviate even slightly. This state is called Samadhi.
We must not succumb to the various phenomena around us that influence our minds. We must continue to firmly uphold the precepts. Those who can do this have the most wisdom. But if we are without wisdom or if we lose it, that means our minds are not in Samadhi. Moreover, [such] instability shows that our minds lack precepts. So, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom are most important to spiritual practitioners. Therefore we must “practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.”
To emulate the Buddha, we must make vows. The Four Great Vows are what everyone in the Jing Si Dharma-lineage must make. “I vow to enlighten countless sentient beings. I vow to eliminate endless afflictions. I vow to learn infinite Dharma-paths. I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” These are vows that we must put into practice.
We must transform sentient beings. Even if they [committed] the. Ten Evils and Five Offenses, we still must do all we can to transform them. We must foster everyone’s spiritual aspirations. When Bodhi-sprouts begin to grow, we must be gardeners. Nurturing a seedling is a gardener’s duty. Whether grasses, trees or flowers, all are part of the gardener’s responsibility. [The plants] we wish to preserve must be earnestly protected. What kind of grass should we plant? What kind of design should we create? We must be very mindful to create a beautiful landscape. So, to engage in spiritual practice,
we must make vows. If we do not have vows, we will have no plan. When we build a house, we need blueprints. To create a landscape, we need to have a site plan. People often talk about blueprints for their lives. To live our lives, we must have a plan. When we learn from the Buddha, we must have goals. So, all of these are “vows.” So, these vows, aside from being blueprints in our minds, must also be put into practice. Once we draw the blueprints, we must use them to begin construction. This is practice.
Our ideals and actions cannot be separated from two things, which are blessings and wisdom. To attain “blessings,” we cultivate practices of loving-kindness. We must have a spacious heart. We must protect sentient beings like Mother Earth, who nurtures all things. We must embrace Mother Earth, just as she embraces all things. This is loving-kindness. [We must] have hearts like those of kind mothers and fathers. The Buddha is the Three Realms’ Guiding Teacher, the Kind Father of the Four Kinds of Beings. Since we want to learn from the Buddha, we must learn “loving-kindness.” So, cultivating loving-kindness [brings] blessings. We must give to sentient beings and benefit humankind.
We must also have “wisdom.” Only with wisdom will we not bring disorder to our lives and the roles we play in society. Since the blueprint for our lives is to engage in spiritual practice, we must have wisdom.
So in learning the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, we must listen, contemplate and practice. As for actualizing our vows, since we have made these vows we must cultivate blessings and wisdom. We also must continuously practice while listening and contemplating. We must listen, then consider, Were my behaviors, thoughts and interactions with people and matters in accordance with what I heard today? Have I broadened my heart and embraced everything? So, we must earnestly contemplate whether we made mistakes over the course of the day. If mistakes were made, we must quickly repent. “Repentance brings purity.” To form good karmic connections, we must listen, contemplate and practice. When we promptly take action, we are practicing. This is how we actualize our vows.
Since we have made these vows we must earnestly engage in spiritual practice in accordance with our ideals. Only then can we “deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues.” As our roots of goodness grow deeper and extend further, this tree will become stronger and sturdier. Thus, the roots of goodness must be deeply rooted to create “the power of merits and virtues.” If the roots spread deep and wide, this tree will be strong. So if we work hard on this, the practices we cultivate will be very firm. So, we must “deeply plant roots of wisdom to create power of merits and virtues.” This means we must truly and earnestly take care of our minds. Do we have precepts, Samadhi and wisdom? Are we listening, contemplating and practicing? When we engage in [all these practices], we will attain the power of merits and virtues.
Such merits and virtues also require right understanding and right views. We must comprehend the Buddha’s understanding. Moreover, we must penetrate His views. Thus, we must earnestly contemplate all-encompassing wisdom and return to the pure land of our minds, which is the state of the Tathagatas, our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. If we can cultivate and attain these states, then won’t we understand the entire Lotus Sutra? The Buddha-Dharma is that simple. But the Buddha, for the sake of sentient beings, patiently guided us over and over again.
Therefore, as we discussed previously, The Buddha, “wishing to restate His meaning,” spoke in verse, saying. Bhiksus and bhiksunis’ may harbor overbearing arrogance.’ Upasakas may have self-arrogance and’ upasikas may lack faith.’
When the Buddha began to speak, He precisely said what was in that earlier section of prose. When I think of this statement, I really feel a sense of sorrow, a bit of sadness. It is truly hard [to read about]. During the Buddha’s time, He personally gave teachings, but His disciples, the bhiksus and bhiksunis, still “harbor overbearing arrogance.” The Buddha must have felt a sense of sadness, which caused Him to say these words.
The Buddha felt this way, and. I have felt this way too. “[They] may harbor overbearing arrogance.'” How can we subdue our overbearing arrogance? Others cannot help us; only we ourselves can fully understand the Dharma. Among people, [there are] infinite Dharma-doors. Only when we strive to fully understand all Dharma will we be able to develop our wisdom and eliminate “overbearing arrogance.” So, this section of the sutra really breaks my heart and causes me to feel sad. How much longer could He be with His disciples? This made Him very worried,
because other than those bhiksus and bhiksunis who harbored overbearing arrogance even upasakas and upasikas, who were the lay disciples, had self-arrogance and lacked faith. So, even during the Buddha’s lifetime, the [lack] of people who truly had faith in the Buddha was already a problem, not to mention our present era. So, we must constantly be vigilant of ourselves.
When the Buddha began to speak, those who bowed to the Buddha and left “were 5000 in number.” These 5000 people “did not see their own faults.” These overbearingly arrogant people did not know that they had faults. This is what the most pitiful people were like. They did not know that “their upholding of the precepts was flawed.” They did not uphold the precepts, so they had imperfections. The Dharma leaked out as soon as they heard it. Thus, “their upholding of the precepts was flawed.”
The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but they defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.
Let us discuss these precepts again. Precepts “guard against wrongs and stop evils.” As we already discussed, not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even have unwholesome thoughts.
Following the precepts can make us pure, so, they “are pure and refreshing.” Precepts are called “pure and refreshing.” When we uphold the precepts, we are streams of purity. An Indonesian Muslim leader explained to me that in their language, [the words “Tzu Chi”] mean clean and pure. Indeed, we must uphold precepts. The words “Tzu Chi,” aside from signifying giving with love, having great universal compassion and being unable to bear sentient beings’ suffering, also means we ourselves must uphold the precepts well. This is how we will be purified. If we adhere to precepts, our minds will be pure and refreshed.
Sometimes when I see people, I say, “You seem so cool and calm.” They say, “By not taking issue, we can remain cool and calm.” So, [the precepts] are pure and refreshing. We must not take issue with others or make mistakes. Then our minds will naturally be pure and undefiled, free of vexation and anger.
Anger is like a burning fire. When we lose our tempers, we feel like we are engulfed in flames. The fire of ignorance can destroy the forest of merits and virtues. So if we uphold precepts, not only will we not create evil, we will not give rise to evil thoughts, then our minds will naturally be pure and refreshed. If we can stop evil and do good deeds, we will be at peace, with a clear conscience. If we can stop all evil and not commit any bad deeds, everything we do will be good. Then our minds will be at peace, since we have abided by the principles. This brings peace and a clear conscience. This is a benefit of our spiritual practice, part of which is upholding precepts. So, “when the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure and refreshed.” This comes from upholding precepts.
Precepts can guard against wrongs and stop evils. Not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even have unwholesome thoughts. [Precepts] are pure and refreshing because when people stop doing evil and do good deeds, they will feel at peace, with a clear conscience. When the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure and refreshed.
If we do not value precepts, our “upholding of the precepts is flawed.” Precepts are the precious raft used to cross the sea of samsara. In order to cross the sea of samsara, we need to uphold precepts. If we do not, we will surely sink. So, if we want to safely cross from the shore of afflictions, of suffering and hardship, to reach the state of Buddhahood, we must cross the river of afflictions. That requires a boat. Precepts are like a boat; they allow us to remain safe as we cross from this shore to the other shore. If this boat is damaged, it will capsize and we will sink into the sea of samsara.
So, our boat cannot have leaks or holes. If the boat leaks, it will sink; that is certain. If we do not uphold precepts in our practice, we will also degenerate. Therefore, precepts must be upheld without flaws or Leaks; only then are we upholding precepts.
Precepts are the precious raft that carries us out of the sea of samsara. If there is a leak in the raft, we will sink and drown in the sea of samsara. There are different kinds of precepts, such as precepts without faults and flawless precepts.
Everyone, to learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must follow a sequence. First, we cannot lack precepts. [By upholding] precepts, we allow our minds to receive the Dharma without letting it leak away. This helps us to safely and truly penetrate all principles, and make these principles more universal so that everyone can understand them. We must safely cross the river of afflictions ourselves, and also use a spacious heart to teach everyone to cross this river together. This is our aspiration, is it not? So, we must always be mindful.