Teaching of the month - Apr 2023

FORTIFYING ONE’S MIND WITH DHARMA IN SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

KuanYin-r04

OM MANI PADME HUM
Spiritual practice begins with the interest to purge oneself of all negativities which consist of one’s faults and weakness and wrong views for the purpose of developing a virtuous mind.

Recognising one’s faults must be done and then, in all seriousness, one should pursue to exterminate them. Just wishing that those faults to vanish is not a practice because it will never be possible. Knowing such weaknesses is to become so aware of them that each time they surface as a negative thought which produces a strong urge to put it into action, corrective measures can be taken at once!

Of course not all thoughts can be manifested into actions because the right conditions may not be present themselves, this does not mean that there is no harm in dwelling into such kinds of harmful thoughts. Once the mind gets attached to them and enjoys dwelling in them, it will increase its force of energy which weakens practice. Daily one should remind oneself of the weakness that must be overcome because life has provided the opportunities to do so. And until one has perfected oneself by subduing such poisonous thoughts and curbing such unwholesome activities, many more lifetimes must be spent to attain the purpose of this lifetime. There is no assurance that one can continue to enjoy such a happy rebirth that is in this present form. Those who indulge with the pleasures of unwholesome activities instead of controlling and cutting them off are likely to generate more negative karmas which lead to the downfall of rebirths into the lower realms. Then when they once again earn themselves rebirths as human beings once more, what chance have they to have a stronger and more determined mind to elevate themselves spiritually when in this present life one has already the benefits of spiritual guidance?

Each lifetime offers the chance to develop the mind, to fortify it with positive energy so that imprints are created that can be made used of in the future! A person who refuses to advance spiritually will foolishly live ‘to the full’ with all kinds of indulgences, without a care for what will happen next. Then he is no better than any animal which lives for the purpose of staying alive and to satisfy all its animalistic instincts! The spiritual person cares for this and every lifetime to come. He becomes a disciplined and wise person who is aware of the effects of harmful and destructive actions. He recognises his weaknesses and the difficulty of overcoming them; he also understands how much more difficult it is for those who have not yet set their minds to improving themselves, and he develops the virtues of patience and forgiving. He is less likely to act with vengeance for he has seen and realised the power of an angry mind, a mind filled with hatred. He therefore refrains himself from any action that brings pain and problem to others.

More than that, he becomes a more serious practitioner by meditating on the pains and problems of life and sees the great need to overcome them. When the mind is thus tuned to this manner of seeing life, Bodhicitta is likely to flourish. Then life becomes an experience through right practice. Using the fellow creatures for practice, he will progress rapidly, leaving behind all traits that are unwholesome.

How does one make use of life to improve oneself? By seeing the weaknesses of oneself and others, one determines to first find the strength and wisdom to get rid of negativities. By seeing others suffering in ignorance, one values and practises the Dharma, and makes the wish to lead other to practise it. When faced with unreasonable people instead of repaying unkindness with anger and force, one feels grateful that one is not in that position, one feels calm enough to handle the situation and then an explosive incident is prevented. Whatever bad things that others are doing to oneself, the same actions have been done towards them in the past by oneself. It is just a matter of cause and effect and now, with the maturing of such causes, one is facing their effects, which offers one the opportunity to repay debts of past unkind deeds. When looked upon that way it becomes quite impossible for one to reduce oneself to the mind of the antagonists. Just as there are people who will harm oneself, there will also be others who will be kind to oneself. Again, this is karma in action! It is of course not easy to practise the Dharma which has the highest of standards.

It is not sufficient to be just a good and virtuous person who avoids harmful actions. Even that is not sufficient. One has to perfect all virtues, taking as many lifetimes as is necessary. One must also earn the merits of having the right environment and conditions to put to practice any intended virtue. How many have thought about doing charity but do not have the right occasion and persons to act upon? Then it was just a thought, without the achieving of it. Therefore, whenever an occasion is before oneself, act immediately, seizing that as a golden opportunity! Therefore, when one is confronted by an unreasonable person who harms oneself, instead of getting all worked up and ready to exchange ‘blow for blow’ why not take it as a great opportunity for Dharma practice? It’s a rare chance for one to practise the virtue of Patience. The one who antagonises oneself should be treated as a ‘teacher’ of patience for oneself. When this line of thinking can be accepted and acted upon, then ‘that person is to be treated as a ‘jewel’ for one’s practice! He is teaching oneself to avoid self-cherishing, pointing one’s mind to the Dharma. This explains why nothing is negative or positive!

Thursday, 10th September 1987 (7th Moon 18th Day)

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