Dharma : Analects of Master Kuang Chin : Chapter 9 - On Work Ethics

Chapter 9 - On Work Ethics

1. Whatever you do, do it willingly and joyfully; otherwise, your wisdom cannot grow.

 

2. Do whatever needs to be done, irrespective of whose responsibility it is. As long as you do it willingly, you will earn merits for yourself. Do not criticize others for not doing their jobs. Bad-mouthing will only create negative karma. Remember, you are working for no one else but yourself in order to eradicate your karmic obstructions.

 

3. Think (and plan) carefully in whatever you do and be your own master. Do not follow blindly what others say or do, make your own judgments. Practice means cultivating wisdom through the tasks we perform and the mistakes we make.

 

4. Perform your monastic assignments dutifully. If you simply want to enjoy a good life and neglect your duty, your merits accumulated in previous lives will soon be used up.By then, you will be under the full swing of your karmic obstructions and it will naturally be difficult for you to hold on and continue your practice in the monastery.

 

5. Concentrate on your assignments and do your best. Do not try your hands on verything and end up doing nothing well.

 

6. Through carrying out daily chores in the temple, we may discipline our minds to become sharp and deft. The way a person performs his/her duties reflects the degree of dedication and concentration of his/her mind. Those who carry out their tasks with an undivided mind can also concentrate on their practice. That's why we should try to comprehend the essence of practice through performing monastic duties. Thus, when you carry out your assignments with utmost sincerity and concentration, your mind will be as pure and clean as the bright moon, and your wisdom will fully unfold. By then, you will know clearly as to what needs to be done or where has to be cleaned, even a grain of dust on the floor will not escape your eyes. As everything becomes apparent and crystal clear, you will not feel bewildered at the tasks assigned to you. Such a state indicates the revelation of wisdom.

 

7. Cheerfully accept instructions and advice. For example, the Master might ask you to wipe again the chair you just cleaned. Your spontaneous reaction might be: "Why? It is clean enough!" If so, you still react like a lay person rather than a practitioner, and vexations will arise. As a practitioner's mind is straightforward, you should just answer: "Fine, I'll wipe it again." This will test your proficiency in practice and gives you an opportunity to train your mind.

 

8. In addition to perseverance, an attitude of "non-attachment" is also necessary to do a job well. "Non-attachment" does not mean indifference or carelessness, but rather you should do your best and not worry about the results. If your mind lingers on the task after it is done, it is a sign of attachment. Such attachment will obscure your wisdom, generate vexation, and even spoil your accomplishment.

 

9. Be patient in performing all your tasks. For example, when you are sweeping the floor, not only should you clean the floor but also purify your mind. You can recite the name of the Buddha while working. Don't let your mind become slack or diffused. Practice disciplining your mind through work so as to purify your deeds, words, and thoughts.

 

10. Be patient while working. Also, recite the Buddha's name and free your mind from vexations. By so doing, you will naturally attain a certain level in your practice.

 

11. "Treat everything of the monastery with care, as if protecting your own eyes." Plancarefully before taking any action, rather than doing it at will and carelessly. Use the most proper and flawless way to take care of the possessions and affairs of the monastery.

 

12. Do your best on your daily chores and practice diligently with an undivided mind. Were you able to do so, even sweeping the floor can lead to enlightenment.

 

13. Work can train our minds to concentrate and make our reactions deft. Therefore, it's better that we have something to do lest we should be overrun by erroneous and illusive ideas and waste our life in vain.

 

14. "Don't think too much" does not mean that you should not use your head and make plans when carrying out a task, but that you should not dwell on it once the job is done. Lingering not on past successes or failures lest your vexations should increase.

 

15. Don't be stubborn and insist on a certain way of doing things or cling to any specific principle; flow with circumstances! For example, when someone does you a favor, if you feel uncomfortable because you either think you are unworthy or fear it might cost you some merits, then you are rigidly clinging to a principle. In fact, if you wish others to gain merits, you yourself have to acquire abundant merits and wisdom, and attained an impeccable level in your practice. Only by then can you persuade others to follow you, to plant the field of blessings thereby increase their positive affinity with Buddhism. And such efforts are in accord with the bodhisattva vow that quests for self-elevation while benefiting others.

 

16. At times, those who are in responsible positions in the monastery may reprimand us or correct our mistakes. They do so because they care about us. Regard them as our valuable mentors; don't be upset or be vexed upon hearing any reproach.

 

17. Put the Master's words into practice: recite the name of the Buddha while carrying out your daily chores about the temple; get rid of your clinging to both "the sense of self" and "the Dharma." By so doing, you can gradually unfold your wisdom. However, wisdom is formless and colorless; you might not even realize that it has unfolded. But when it does, you can naturally figure out the most adroit and flawless way to handle any problem that emerges.

 

18. You should incorporate recitation into your daily routines, i.e. recite the Buddha's name while working to the extent that your mind becomes tranquil and untainted, and you can hear distinctly every word you recite. "Recite with the essence of your mind and listen with the same" until the mind is "undivided and unperturbed."

 

19. Recite the name of the Buddha with an undivided mind. But when you concentrate on your work and are free of illusive thoughts, your mind is also undivided. In that state, you would have no thought but how to benefit others and whatever you do would be based on lovingkindness and compassion; also all your understandings would naturally be right views hence your mind a buddha-mind.

 

20. Work can help discipline and keep our minds from being distracted and dispersed. Therefore, to monastic practitioners, the meaning of work is not the same as that to lay people because their inspiration and goal are not the same. Lay people work to earn profit, monastic practitioners to enhance their practice. Maybe there seems not much difference as monks/nuns, like lay people, also need three meals a day along with proper clothing and housing, but the essence is completely different.

 

21. How can we carry out a task successfully? It requires complete cooperation andcommunication among all involved. It won't work if someone within a group would only give orders. For example, when working on a garden, if someone is unfamiliar with the task, those who do should show him how to do it. Otherwise, not only things can't get done, animosity may be generated within the group.

 

22. Monastic practitioners ought to be merciful and compassionate. Do not try to command people according to lay principles. Put the Dharma into practice so that, by our virtue, we can convert other sentient beings naturally.

 

23. "Don't do anything that is immoral, and do all things that are right." Practitioners should unconditionally do whatever would benefit other beings. And, instead of being resentful, endure all hardships with a pure and joyful mind. Fill your heart with senses of lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity and carry out your daily tasks with abodhi mind. Keep on these practices and you will eventually comprehend their true virtue and your wisdom will unfold.

 

24. Instead of criticizing others, we should try our best to do things others would not do,or to complete tasks others could not finish. Otherwise, we would be acting like a lay person.

 

25. "Alms come from the ten directions (i.e. different places) should be returned to the ten directions." People from the ten directions offer alms to the temple, believing they are planting the field of merit. We who receive such alms should practice diligently so that their offerings would not be given in vain. Then, we should transfer our merits acquired through practice to all beings of the ten directions. By such transfer of merits, we should wish to repay the grace of our parents, of all beings, of the state, and of the triratna (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) and to relieve the suffering of those in the three evil divisions of rebirth (beasts, hell, and hungry ghosts), and hope that all beings can escape misery and attain happiness.

 

26. As a lay practitioner working in the secular world, you should always keep your promises, avoid greediness, and do your best in all endeavors. If you are devoted to your tasks, your supervisor will hold you in high regard. It is the same with being a Buddhist:if you truly believe in the Buddha, the Buddha will bless you.

Dharma : Analects of Master Kuang Chin : Chapter 8 - On Gossiping

Chapter 8 - On Gossiping

1. Those who like to gossip are bound to create negative karma through their words.

They are also "troublemakers".

 

2. Avert words so as to shun misdeeds. When you do speak, make it to the point and cut all unnecessary remarks.

3. Do not Gossip. Gossip leads to failure; gossip makes people feel restless.

 

4. Before criticizing others, consult your mind first.

 

5. Don’t keep finding fault with, or making comments about, others. As soon as you utter one word, you are in the wrong and are creating negative karma of words. Therefore, it is very important for practitioners to be watchful of what they say.

 

6. Through their words, some people can easily make others feel vexed or baffled, not knowing what to do. Unfortunately, these same people are also prone to insist that others comply with their wishes, though they themselves never listen to others. These people are likely to become deluded and vexed, and are difficult to be liberated.

 

7. Be watchful of your own mind all the time: curb all greedy aspirations and unnecessary chattering. There are enough bad seeds to confine you in the cycle of rebirths, do not plant more. Discuss Buddhadharma if any conversation is necessary and vow to be reborn in the Pure Land.

 

8. When you are vexed, do not talk to one person after another. The more you talk, the more trouble you will cause. You might as well use the time to perform prostration. This will alleviate your karmic obstructions thereby reduce your vexations.

 

9. Those who praise and flatter us are not good teachers. On the contrary, those who criticize us, be it right or wrong, can truly help us in our practice. When reproaching us, the latter are providing us with chances to reflect on ourselves and strengthen our practice. So when we are reprimanded, not only should we feel ashamed and repent our karma, but we also should reaffirm our vows and practice even more dilligently. Only by so doing can we expect to make progress in our practice.

 

10. “Do not detest those whom others detest, or criticize those whom others criticize.”

When others foster negative affinities, do not follow. You should be able to master your own mind and make independent judgments so as to foster good affinities with others, which is essential because “before attaining Buddhahood, be sure to foster good karmic affinity with people.”

 

11. To find fault with others and talk about it is a sinister act in itself; it is also an indication of an impure mind. Your mind will become more composed and unfettered if you get rid of the habit of differentiating pleasant circumstances from the bad. Therefore, keep it to yourself when you see anything immoral or anybody breaching the Dharma. Do not expose them, nor feel any aversion. "With your mind in a pure state, you will be free of vexations." This also indicates the potency of your practice.

 

12. From the perspective of practice, the major problem of criticizing others is not“whether he is in fact wrong and I am right,” but the fact that our ears and eyes are already making judgments and our minds are closed to everything but our own perceptions. Further, we are creating negative karma through the incipience of our ideas and depriving ourselves of merits. Therefore, our six sensual organs are like six thieves, and the purpose of practice is to prevent them from wildly pursuing the sense objects so that we can close the door to vexation. We should train our ears not to crave for pleasant melodies; eyes, agreeable surroundings; nose, fragrance; mouth, tasty food; and train our minds to be free of discrimination. Then we can concentrate on reciting the Buddha’s name and the sutras, performing prostration, sitting meditation, and other practices that will liberate us from the cycle of birth and death. If we keep up these practices, how could we have the time and the mood to pursue external distractions, or to comment on how others behave?

 

13. If you criticize others and your mind is disturbed or vexed by it, you would have no one but yourself to blame. Do not be judgmental of what others do: be tolerant. Then, not only will you enjoy peace of mind but will avoid creating negative karma through your words. This is the first and utmost important principle in practice. Remember: "Act according to (rather than against) circumstances, forbear everything, then enjoy peace of mind." This is the best antidote for a troubled mind.

 

14. Don't say that there are good people and evil ones. All judgments are but distinctions made by our minds. To those who really know how to practice, all sentient beings are helpful mentors.

 

15. When somebody tries to harm us, we should think: "It must be because I have done him harm in previous lives. I should stop this vicious cycle of bad karmic affinity and try  to liberate him as well." Everything that happens, no matter how insignificant, has a cause.

 

16. Some people always look around and act mysteriously when talking to others. Those who saw such behavior might think he/she was speaking ill of somebody, which is not necessarily true. Therefore, we should be ourselves in whatever we do lest we should create unnecessary misunderstandings.

Dharma : Analects of Master Kuang Chin : Chapter 7 - On Forbearance

Chapter 7 - On Forbearance

1. Be patient and tolerant when under attack or criticism. Even when falsely accused, feel grateful for the opportunity to practice "forbearance". "No attainment in practice is possible without forbearance". Those who can bear insult without resentment have attained genuine wisdom.

 

2. Forbearance does not mean that you should keep reminding yourself "I have to toleratethis", or feel "I am being patient". If such reminders are necessary, you are still clinging to the "form" of forbearance. Practice to the extent that external circumstances will have no bearing on either your emotions or your mind. For example, when people reprimand you, you do not feel being reproached. This is "formless", hence genuine, forbearance.

 

3. You should express your repentance when others insist that you are wrong, even

though you might be in the right. It is to acquire such forbearance that we practice.

 

4. Be tolerant even when others blame us for things they have messed up. Regard it as a good opportunity to practice "forbearance" and "selflessness".

 

5. Do not regard those who attack, criticize, or reprimand us as evil. From the perspectiveof practice, they are providing us with adverse conditions that can help our endeavors.Those who know how to transform circumstances will use these opportunities to exercise forbearance and attain a higher stage in their practice. They will also feel grateful because these adversities are assets upon which they can depend to be reborn in the Pure Land.(Therefore, when facing blame, criticism, or accusation, you should) accept it and endure it instead of weeping about it. Otherwise, you are just being foolish!

 

6. Only by bearing all distresses can you expect to make progress in practice. Repent to your accuser even though you are in the right. If you were able to do this, you would have attained a certain level in practice.

 

7. If we can tolerate insults, bullying, and being taken advantage of without seeking

retribution or being vexed, not only will we eradicate our karmic obstructions but we also will attain instant peace of the mind. And as we are free of vexations, our merits and wisdom will grow.

 

 

8. Forbearance is the foundation of practice and the most important precept. It is the
largest source of merit. Those who can practice forbearance will enjoy the greatest
blessed rewards. Forbearance will also help to strengthen self-control, alleviate karmic obstructions, and unfold wisdom.

 

9. Most people are unwilling to be taken advantage of or to acknowledge that they are inthe wrong. Thus, they constantly argue rights from wrongs, bitterly pointing fingers atothers, even using words sharp as knives when making their accusations. We monastic practitioners, with our practice based on forbearance and compassion, should actdifferently. Whatever the nature of the circumstances we come across, howeverunmistakably unreasonable, we should invariably handle them with gentleness and compassion. Try to tolerate everything and practice forbearance against all adverse circumstances. This is the true virtue of monastic practitioners.

 

10. In the course of seeking guidance, we should not expect to be treated well or gain any advantage. Rather, try to learn through adverse conditions. If you won't tolerate being taken advantage of, you won't learn anything. Hence, "forbearance" is of utmost importance. We should endure not only physical hardships but also challenges of all sorts. For example, when others resent us, not only should we bear no hard feelings but we also should foster good affinity by reciting "Amitabha Buddha" for them. Only those who practice forbearance can expect to have their wisdom fully unfold.

 

11. The minds of monastic practitioners should be free of anger and resentment. The

worse people treat us, the more compassionate we should be in our attempt to deliver them. Do not harbor resentment or take revenge, as any lay people would.

 

12. The monastery is a place where people from all different places come for practice, so everyone here has his/her own unique character. We have to adapt to this environment, not vise versa. For all we know, it is impossible to ask even our own parents or siblings,not to mention people from different places, to accommodate  us. Therefore, learn tolerance and humbleness so that our minds can settle and our practice can be on the right track.

 

13. Monastic practice is quite different from lay practice. In the monastery, instead of

arguing right or wrong with your master, you have to accept all instructions. If you can be so patient and tolerant, your attachment to the "form of self" will be expelled gradually.

 

14. If someone finds faults with us, we should remind ourselves: "This is a good chance to exercise forbearance and make progress in practice". So, instead of blaming others, we should reflect upon ourselves. Remember, no matter how we feel, our sentiments are nothing but distinctions made by our minds.

Dharma : Analects of Master Kuang Chin : Chapter 6 - On Calming the Mind

Chapter 6 - On Calming the Mind

1. About going into seclusion for practice: is it your mind or is it your body that needs to be secluded? If the former, then your mind is the place where you can practice and your body of temporary fusion of the four elements is spacious enough for the purpose. But if your mind is dispersed and your body craves for material comforts, it doesn't matter how spacious the place is, it will not be large enough to contain your distracted mind ruled by physical desires.

 

2. People nowadays are different from those of the old days. If the latter were one hundred percent devoted to practice, the former is only ten.

 

3. How to stabilize the mind during practice? We can start by not engaging our minds in whatever circumstances we run into while staying unfettered whether at rest or inaction. But what is the mind? As the mind alights on nothing and fills the illimitable void of the universe, where can we find it? Those fettered by attachments are not our real minds; they are ordinary, physical minds defiled by karmic forces and secular apprehensions.

 

4. In everyone's mind, there are always two forces - the moral and the evil – struggling against each other. Unfortunately, the latter always prevails. When the moral one says: "I am good", the evil one will respond: "No! No! You are evil, I am good!" The "evil" force is aggressive and likes to show off. Without practice to reinforce the moral force, the evil one will easily prevail thereby creating karmic obstructions for us. Thus, it is said (in the Scripture concerning Ti-ts'ang's fundamental promises) that: "The incipience of our ideas are all sinful and destructive". We should all practice diligently in order to nurture the good seeds. Continue to sow the seeds of noble ideas and eradicate the bad ones

poisoned by our greed, anger, and ignorance. If we do, these good seeds will naturally sprout when we face adversities and present us with right mindfulness to ward off the temptation of evil ideas.

 

5. Are you afraid? If you are free of fear, your mind is calm; if not, it is restless. Fear springs up when your mind becomes dispersed; you fear because you are unable to compose yourself. Accumulated fear inevitably generates vexations; and a restless mind will impede determination in practice.

 

6. Relinquish all your attachments! If you can do that, you have already attained a certain stage in your practice. Practice to always be free of anxiety and impediments lest any idea of attachment should distract you at your deathbed and confine you to the cycle of rebirths.

 

7. Nothing is more important than escaping the cycle of birth and death! Since everything in this world is but phantasm and magical delusion, why cling to, or worry about it? Learn to let go! Whatever others do, it's not your concern. Do not let everything hang over your head thus creates vexations for yourself. Otherwise, you will be constantly under the whims of others and there will be no hope of your escaping the six divisions of rebirth.

 

8. Our vexation has no real substance. It comes and goes like the wind, leaving no trace and nothing to hold on to. Even so, as long as we are vexed, we can never feel quite at ease. The purpose of practice is to unite our minds from all impediments, particularly the notion of "who I am, what I am doing" (so that our minds won't be bridled by our sense of self).

 

9. "Let go of all attachments" is not just a slogan; you should carry it out in your daily

activities, be it walking, staying, sitting, or sleeping. For example, if you recite the name of the Buddha solemnly with an unfettered mind to the extent that right mindfulness comes forth to guide you when you die and you don't suffer from the pain of parting with loved ones, then you have genuinely "let go of all attachments". You should know that even an inkling of attachment is powerful enough to confine you to the cycle of birth and death. We are all born into this world with boundless karmic obstructions accumulated in our previous lives. Instead of adding more negative karma through incessant pursuit of good food, lavish clothing, and cozy housing, we should learn and practice Buddhadharma. Otherwise, we would still be trapped in the old path of rebirths.

 

10. There is no need to quest for a long life. If you do not recognize the need of liberation and the meaning of practice, the longer you live the more time you would have to accumulate karmic obstructions. Even if you live to be two hundred, you still can't avoid falling back to the cycle of birth and death. This physical body of ours is by no means permanent; it will decay and eventually perish. Therefore, we should relinquish our attachments to our body and practice to bring forth the essence of our minds, which is our intrinsic nature and is above birth and death.

Dharma : Analects of Master Kuang Chin : Chapter 5 - On the Sense of Self

Chapter 5 - On the Sense of Self

1. Most people are prone to criticize others and sing their own praises.Compliments bring them delight; criticism anger and distress. This is because they make a clear distinction between "self and others". If you enter practice without relinquishing this kind of distinction, your mind can never be settled. Because when you cling to the sense of "self", you are bound to see everything only in "your own way", and value only your own ideas. The discriminative and calculating mind thus arose would in turn hamper your practice, increase your vexations, and keep you from eradicating your karmic obstructions.

 

2. Most people like to "listen" so as to gather information and find out whether anyonespeaks ill of them. They also like to "discern" the mood of others and act upon it. All these are habitual patterns of common people, i.e. they are easily distracted by events that do not concern them and they have a strong desire to please others for personal gains. This type of conduct will have an adverse effect on their practice.

 

3. Learn not to differentiate or discriminate so as to relinquish your attachment to the sense of "self", then wisdom will unfold. If you continue to cling to the sense of "self", you cannot expect to attain any level in your practice.

 

4. All vexations in this world are caused by constant conflicts between self and others.We should see whether our practice could obliterate the distinction between self and others and also eliminate discrimination and calculation. The first step is to practice"forbearance", which is also the foundation of our practice. Do not insist that you are always right, for such assertion only indicates that you haven't acquired right mindfulness thereby act more like an ordinary person than a practitioner.

 

5. In order to eliminate attachments to the sense and form of self, you can begin by lessening your cravings for tasty food and lavish clothing. After a while, your sensual passions will be greatly reduced. You will then become less discriminating and will gradually enter the path of liberation that makes no distinctions among the forms of self,others, sentient beings, and life.

 

6. Don't always keep your eyes on the faults of others. Instead, reflect more on whether you yourself have made mistakes or are in the wrong so that you will not deviate from the path.

 

7. Most of those who like to show off their talents or want to gain advantage over others end up in failure. Therefore, don't turn your back on other people's advice simply because you feel you are better educated, better informed, or more capable. Otherwise, your education and intelligence will only foster arrogance, hamper your practice, and make it more difficult for you to be in accord with Buddhadharma. There is an old saying:"Humility gains; arrogance losses". The more talented and capable you are, the more humble you should be. Such is a reflection of true wisdom.

 

8. Everyday when beating the evening drum, we ought to recite the following stanza inour minds: "Get public work done, public work be done. Put public work before privateaffairs". This recitation is to remind us that we should not let others do public duties while we ourselves concentrate only on our own practice (whether reciting the Buddha's name or the sutras, or performing prostration, they are all private affairs). If a practitioner focuses only on private affairs instead of vowing to work for the benefit of others, he/she is still clinging tightly to the sense of "self" and can never attain liberation. On the other hand, if a practitioner is dedicated to the monastery, is compassionate to all beings while providing them with expedient guidance for practice, he/she will be filled with dharmic joy. Thus, in practicing altruism, you can unfold the wisdom immanent in your mind and accumulate merits along the way. This is called the dual practice toward gaining both merit and wisdom.

 

9. Do not keep on clinging to the sense of "self". Otherwise, you will continue to drift within the five kasaya periods of impurity and among the six divisions of rebirth, with no hope of escaping.

 

10. If you succumb to your physical desires and insist on having good food and lavish clothing, all these attachments are reflections of your greediness.

 

11. We practitioners should not plan on being venerated. If we do, we are greedy and are still attached to the "form of self". Be humble and courteous so that we can eliminate our attachment to the "form of self". If we walk the path according to the wisdom of ordinariness, we are practicing to attain "sila, samadhi, and prajna (precepts, perfect absorption, and wisdom)".

 

12. More often than not, we are unaware of our own attachments. The results of such attachments will naturally surface when conditions are ripe. These results are our "karmic obstructions". Over the eons, all of us have accumulated immeasurable and illimitable negative karma. If we do not gradually reduce them through diligent practice, they will appear at our deathbed. So, at that crucial moment, whatever you crave for or are attached to will come forth to distract you. Without adequate self-control, you will be swayed easily by these distractions and remain fluctuating in the cycle of birth and death. If you crave for even a blade of grass in this world, you will be reborn into it and remain in samsara. A blade of grass symbolizes an idea, and an idea stands for one cycle of birth and death. So you see, the power of our minds is immeasurable. Without the guidance of right mindfulness, we will follow the fluctuation of our own karma without even realizing it. Thus, many that appear to be practicing solemnly are in fact mostly absorbed in their illusive and erroneous thoughts.

 

13. The purpose of listening to the sermons is to practice the methods expounded in order to rectify misconduct and eradicate karma. Don't continue to follow illusive ideas and clutch on to your own "egotistic views". Neither should you keep making distinctions between "self and others", nor hold on to your habitual tendencies of gossiping and making judgments. Remember to recite the name of the Buddha as often as possible!

 

14. You can neither deliver sentient beings by words nor preach the Dharma by offerings. What you should do is to practice diligently and attain a stage where you can impress and convert others without deliberate efforts. Only by then will you be able to deliver other beings.