No one enjoys being bad because he is a human being who has the desire to be happy. Those who cause others to be unhappy are themselves suffering, but without any awareness of being in that state of suffering. They are being influenced by unsuitable conditions and their minds are clouded by delusion. They will continue to do evil until this cloud of evil is removed either through their own effort by way of realisation and repentance, or by the surfacing of appropriate good karma.
Only when they have been awakened will they realise their past evil, will they turn to do good and cherish being good to others. That is why you will hear tales of many who have been extremely cruel turning extremely kind and gentle almost overnight. History can provide many such cases, among the circle of one’s own friends, can such stories be heard. This is how it is! Just as enlightenment can come in an instant, within a day, within any space of time in a gradual manner, so too does one change overnight. The evil one can become good just as naturally as a kind and pious person can turn into a monstrous being. That is why one must accept the doctrine on Impermanence, that is why one must believe in the teaching on Karma, and all the teachings of the Great and Fully Enlightenment One, the Buddha, who has fully realised the nature of being of all sentient beings. Reflect on this! Once you have a fair notion of what has been said in the above message and you sit and dwell upon it, you will begin to see life from a different point of view.
It is easy to judge others, to discriminate, to accept or reject people. But this is not wise. Anyone can tell a bad person from a good one, anybody will prefer to be in the company of the generous to that of the selfish ones. No wisdom is required to tell one how to choose friends who will be of great advantage to himself. It is wisdom when one is able to see the differences in person or situations and is able to handle them without discriminations. A person who has wisdom will be able to mix with the bad people and still remain unchanged, and he may yet begin to change them to the path of goodness. He does not condemn and tell others of their evilness and that they must be good. He will instead learn to teach them by subtle suggestions or even good examples. He will not curse them for what they are, but will easily understand that they have been so, not by their own choice and therefore realise that their true being or nature do not enjoy what they are. Such person then become the object of practice and he will daily send good and virtuous thought energy to their minds during his meditative practices, during his worship, and during all times of the day whenever they appear in his thoughts. He will hope that their good and beneficial karma will quickly arise so as to change them to better beings. He is patient with them, with their speed of change, because he is only a mortal, and his good thoughts may still take time to firm the roots. With this understanding, he becomes a cultivator, always aware of the human weaknesses of others and his own, and he will not give way to laziness in his daily practices. Thus he becomes a disciplined cultivator, and he accepts the Dharma as his guide. He develops Bodhicitta and sets about his cultivation towards reaching Bodhisattvahood so that he will not waste a single moment of any day in dark moods, giving way to the attractions of non-virtuous thoughts, deeds and words. Since each second brings forth countless sentient beings into samsara, and every second brings changes to the minds of human beings, the true cultivator turns his mind to generate good thought to help such beings. Not only to help physically but through the power of the mind which is infinite. There is then no more time to waste on wishful thinking but to spend every living moment in contemplation towards the goodness of all beings.
Since the good can become bad and the bad to good, how can there be any more thoughts of discrimination? The task being selfless in nature, how can there be any preference at all? Everyone has his good points and such good points must be appreciated. Those who are kind, patient, compassionate are the fortunate ones and they can be led to adopt the good paths of practice much more easily. So whenever someone is before you and waiting to learn to pray, to adore the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, you must not be affected by their outward appearances. It is their hearts that count, it is their motivations that count, and their natural desire to walk to the path of God should be encouraged! Always remember that within the body of a heart, a heart of gold can easily be found! That is why not all divine beings choose to descend in the forms of attractive beings so that only the wise ones may recognise their true attributes.
When on the path of goodness, one must be wise, be learned, and be pure. The goal of life is not easily recognised by man, those who have discovered it must not forsake it. To have such a great opportunity to practise out of this realisation, one must be prepared for some sacrifice. Yet the word ‘sacrifice’ is not the correct term to use. Once on the path of cultivation, changes must be expected which means one’s thinking, circle of friends, and even environment may be changed. This is so because one is on the path of changes, from the worldly to the spiritual. With this knowledge, when changes come, do not despair, do not ask why, do not expect that only goodness will be before you. Put your full faith in yourself and then only do your request for the blessings of the Lord whom you are hoping to draw grace from. Those who have found Kuan Shih Yin are the very fortunate ones. They will only need to call and She will respond. But they must call with faith and they must live life as purely as they can. They can rely on the saving powers of Kuan Shih Yin to deliver them at the end of their lives only when they have not lived with evilness in their hearts.
That is why one must resort to reciting Her name constantly lest evil influences take their minds. Once sworn to practising the good path, Kuan Yin followers may turn to the Bodhisattva Path which will mould them into compassionate beings. Then their lives will be changed drastically and they will always remember that in their most difficult of times, they will no longer question ‘why’ but rather calmly dwell with the prayer, “Niang, let thy will be done!” That is total surrender to the moulding that Kuan Shih Yin is performing for your own benefit. And then your good points will be seen by others and they will put their trust in you which leaves you to live as a Kuan Yin devotee!
Tuesday, 28th May 1985 (4th Moon 9th Day)