Seeing Clearly

Seeing Clearly Buddhism in Every Step D4 (英文版) Venerable Master Hsing Yun © 2014, 2018 by Fo Guang Shan International Translation Center All rights reserved. Written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun Translated by Amy Lam Edited and proofread by Fo Guang Shan International Translation Center Printed in Taiwan Table of Contents I. To See Space 1 II. To Know Time 8 III. To Understand Community 17 Seeing Clearly I. To See Space Most of us have an idea of what constitutes the space outside of us; it is the environment in which we live. This includes the house we live in, the city we live in, or even the world we live in. We need to manage the space outside of us. For example, if we wish to travel we need to know which route to use, what kind of transportation we need, how much time it requires, what we need to pack for the trip, and what poten- tial problems we may encounter along the way. If we plan ahead, chances are we will have a wonderful trip. Longer trips, like traveling around the world or into outer space, require much more extensive planning, but the considerations are pretty much the same. If we expend the effort to plan, to understand, we stand a fair chance of being able to manage the space outside of us. But there is a limit to the space that is outside of us, what we may call our “external space.” 1 Regardless of how powerful or resourceful we are, the extent of our external space is still very limited. Some may disagree because we now have the ability to send people to the moon or to far-away space sta- tions. While these wonders are a reality, the area we can cover is still just a small corner of our solar system. Our solar system is a miniscule fraction of our galaxy, and there are millions upon millions of galax- ies in the universe. Hard as we may try, the space in which we can leave our mark, in the scheme of the universe, is as insignificant as a dust particle. Most of us spend our whole lifetime trying to amass as much “space” as possible in the form of land or material possessions, but there is a Chinese saying that puts this into perspective: “With ten thousand acres of fer- tile land, we sleep in an eight-foot space at night.” The space inside of us, our “internal space,” is another story. It is formless and hard to visualize or comprehend. The Buddha told us that the space inside of us is many times larger than the space outside of us. One of the sutras says, “The mind encompasses the space of the universe, traversing realms as numer- ous as there are grains of sand in the Ganges.” We should get to know the space inside of us rather than becoming preoccupied with the space outside of us. To be clear, when I say “internal space” I mean the heart, and we should learn to let our heart grow. In Chinese literature, when someone has a big heart, 2 we say that even boats can sail around in it. The Buddha told us that the immenseness of the heart can encompass the whole universe. When we open up the heart, we feel the whole of the universe within us. Once, someone suggested to the father of Venerable Tzu Hui that he should do some traveling. He point- ed to his heart and replied, “The whole universe is right here within my heart. Where else would I want to go?” How free! How can we allow our hearts to grow? The Vimalakirti Sutra contains a teaching called the “Dharma door of non-duality,” which means not cre- ating distinctions or divisions. When we open our heart, we are vast like the oceans that welcome water from all tributaries, large and small, or like Mount Sumeru1 that embraces all kinds of soil, coarse and fine. When we open our heart, disputes, politics, and power struggles will no longer affect us. We will be at ease wherever we find ourselves. Only when we are at ease with the space inside us can we enjoy the space outside of us. The World Ahead, The World Behind In life it is important to know how to forge ahead, but it is even more important to know how to pause and look back. Most of us only know how to go forward 1. In Buddhist cosmology, Mount Sumeru is the tallest mountain in existence. 3 and do not realize that there is also a world of possibilities behind us. When things are going our way, we charge ahead, seemingly unstoppable. When we come to a brick wall, we stubbornly continue our forward motion and bring much unnecessary suffering upon ourselves. The Buddha teaches that at any moment in life, there are two worlds to choose from: One is the world ahead; the other is the world behind. We should know how to make use of both of these worlds, without excluding either of them. When the time is right to charge ahead, we should charge ahead. When it is time to turn back, we should turn back. These two worlds are like our two hands; we should use both, for there is no need for us to go through life with one hand tied behind our back. There is a Buddhist poem that describes how we can move ahead by stepping backward. It goes like this: Planting rice by hand in the field, With lowered head, the sky is seen in the water. Purifying the six sense organs is the way; Step back to proceed onward. When we come to a precipice in the journey of life, we should remind ourselves that if we take a step back and think, we can better see that the ocean is clear and the sky is wide-open. We can look to the 4 behavior of water for a perfect example of this at- titude. We all need water, and it is everywhere. When water flows downhill it picks up speed, and as it ap- proaches flat land it slows down. As it travels over the flat land, it meanders and automatically changes course when it hits obstructions. If we can learn to be like water and know when to change course, we will sail through life’s obstacles and avoid unnecessary hardship. Some people have said to me, “Your religion teaches people to refrain from smoking, drinking, and gambling. It takes all the fun out of life! Isn’t that way of life too rigid and depressing?” We Buddhists refrain from smoking, drinking, and gambling because we see through the short-lived joy these activities hold; we know enough to step back and change course. We would rather devote our energies to practicing the teachings, spreading the Dharma, and helping others. When we truly understand that there is always a world behind us, then we will know that we can always choose to turn back. When we are faced with money, fame, love, or hate, we need not charge ahead; we can also turn back. When we know how to step back, we will actually progress in life. When we embrace not only the world ahead of us, but also the world behind us, then life is full of possibilities. 5 From the Phenomenal to the Transcendental When we look around us, the world we see is cov- ered with all kinds of colors and dotted with many different shapes—not unlike looking into a kaleido- scope. This is the world we all live in, and where we pursue our hopes and dreams. How we live our lives in this world is entirely up to us. Some people see the world as a place to make money, others see it as a place for sharing with their loved ones, and there are those who see it as a place to make a name for themselves. It is very easy to get caught up in the things of this world. Our delusions prevent us from seeing that all phenomena arise from a combination of causes and conditions, and have no independent nature of their own. The Diamond Sutra says, “All phenomena are illusory.” If we understand this truth, we can transcend the phenomenal world and not be bound by it. What is the transcendental world? Notice that the question is “what” and not “where,” for the transcendental world is right here on Earth. Living in the transcendental world does not mean that we have to give up our everyday activities, like eating or sleep- ing. We will continue to eat, sleep, and put on our clothes. The difference is that we are no longer preoccupied with the trifles of life. If we live in this world of money and fame without getting caught up in it, then our world can become a transcendental world. 6 It is admirable to remove yourself from the rat race, but it is even more admirable to work within it and remain true to yourself. The lotus flower is a much admired symbol of Buddhism, for while it grows in the mud it remains pure. It is easy to stay immaculate in a sterile environment, but it is a lot more difficult to remain clean in a filthy setting. For a Buddhist, choosing to retreat in isolation is not the supreme form of cultivation; instead it is to remain unmoved when surrounded by temptation.

Load more