Teaching of the month - Mar 2026
APPLY WISDOM IN EVERY ACTION
OM MANI PADME HUM
The feeling of being rejected by others can cause a great deal of pain to the heart, can cause much suffering to the mind, and confidence is lost. Why should one have such feelings when there is no cause for such a rejection?
It is always the doubt; the mind plays games with itself whenever one tries to understand its nature. Hoping to clear the mind of entanglements will always end up with more entanglements. It is just the same as trying to remove dust from an old carpet, which is seemingly quite clean, but when the cleaning is applied, the dust will be all over the room. This is just as a normal mind, which seems to be quite okay, but once the process of cleaning is applied to it, the filth of the past will easily be loosened, and therefore the entanglements, the torrents of thoughts that attack you at every moment!
There must be wisdom employed in all that you do. Even to clean a carpet, you do not foolishly shake it with all your might, hoping to remove all the accumulated dirt and dust, it will be too tiring, and the loosened dust will choke you and cause you to give up the cleaning. Apply wisdom in every action; after you have applied right understanding, right action may follow. This is the same as in the process of the cleansing of the mind. If wisdom is lacking, the effort applied, no matter how great, may be wasted, and then one may give up the idea of it all!
Cultivators of the Path must be prepared to go through difficulties. The Bodhisattva Path is not an easy path; it is not just doing good work or wishing that all other beings are healthy and happy; it is much more than that. One must be prepared to face all kinds of frustrations, must be able to remove all kinds of emotions, must be prepared to suffer along with others, must be ready to do much more and gain so little that unless there is wisdom, again it will be like the cleaning of the carpet and the mind with no idea of how to go about it.
No one rejects you; it is you who reject others. There is always a cause because the effect cannot be there without the cause. One must clearly transcend the idea of separateness of cause and effect; they are One! But why worry even if others seem to reject you. Have you done them wrong? Caused them to be annoyed with you? Have you been untrue to your promises? Are you a bad person that they would shun? If you are not, why should there be worry or turmoil within the mind unless it is the ego that you are hoping to please? Egoity must be replaced with humility, and then even being rejected will not cause any pain to the heart.
Live your life in accordance with the Dharma; live for the purpose of improving yourself and for the sake of bringing meaning to others’ lives. Live with reality, accept the totality of life. Do not only accept that which is pleasant and reject whatever is unpleasant. They are one and all. Both must be accepted as part and parcel of life, for without one where is the other? Accept difficult times with calmness, accept sufferings as catalysts towards happiness, accept misfortunes as tests of your patience, detachments, and the ripening of past karmas.
Know the impermanence of all things in the universe; all unhappiness must come to an end after some time, after a lifetime, or even after many lifetimes! Every unhappiness has its cause. You have set them in the moments of delusion and ignorance, at such times, others have been unhappy, while you are not. When the causes such as these ripen, the effects take place, and you have to accept them with understanding and wisdom! Do not treat such circumstances as a punishment from God. It is the punishments that you have caused for yourself! Knowing this Law of Causality, you will cease to do evil and will do only good not only to yourself but also to others at all times. And then the suffering is lessened; once you can accept suffering with this state of mind, where is the suffering? If it becomes a part of your life of cultivation, then there are more chances for you to sow good seeds so that in the future you will no longer have unhealthy and painful circumstances of life! So, when you are happy and healthy and rich, know how to live this part or period of life with wisdom. Apply dana and perfect it so as to practise Dana Paramita! This is the first state, the initial step towards walking the Bodhisattva Path, My Path, the Compassionate Path! And you will live to plant more good causes for a happier future.
But it must be well understood that millions of lifetimes have been lived, and your mind is not capable of knowing or remembering how you have lived. Have there been more good causes than bad ones? Look back into your present life. How have you lived? Have you done more rights or committed more wrongs? You are the true judge; you know your own self best in this lifetime. So, you must be ready to expect the ripening of past causes, whether good or bad! But you do not know when they ripen, and so how can you be prepared or dictate or desire to have good or bad times as you wish them to come for your own convenience?
Not knowing what to expect, you can only hope to cultivate a strong mind to face all circumstances whenever they arise! Not sure of the future you must at once make sure that all future actions of body, speech, and mind be pure in nature so that their causes when ripened will at least bring you more moments of happiness in life, whether in this very lifetime or in future ones!
The way to do it is to be strict with yourself, be ready to walk the Path of Selflessness and ‘leave home’ by leaving familiar grounds and practising that which only those who are seriously seeking for a happy future will practice. Be true to your own self, carry your own self over, and if you should have the heart of a bodhisattva, you care for the well-being and the sufferings of others, you will easily be living for the Bodhicitta, the wisdom heart that creates the enlightenment thought. And then there is no more fear in life; there is only the life to live and living it fruitfully! Rejection does not trouble you. You have understood pains of all kinds, and the pain of rejection will be too insignificant. But know such a pain with wisdom is not easy; many still feel the pain as very severe, so what should you do? Pray for happiness of such persons. It is a good idea, but an idea is only passive with wisdom. Be active; go, go and accept those who are being rejected!
Saturday, 27th August 1983 (7th Moon 19th Day)