Dhamma Talk
by Ven. Master Jen-Chun
In a composed and tranquil manner.
Be respectful, wholesome, and sincere
As if the Buddha were standing before you.
Our pretenses are an expression of the ego-self. Thus, if we are true practitioners of the Dharma, we must dispel all our pretenses, the false masks of the ego-self. The ego-self is the iron fist at the gateway of the mind, protecting the fortress of the “I.” So we must utilize our time effectively to sever our notion of self. When you can subdue and eradicate the self, then you will be able to face all people with wholesome joy. You will be able to look at everyone with the most sincere mind of Dharma, smile at them warmly, and welcome them in a very composed way.
A true practitioner of the Dharma must understand, firstly, that the Buddha is one who has attained Buddhahood; and secondly, that ordinary humans are all potential Buddhas. So under all circumstances, we should look upon all people as if we are facing the Buddha. We should look upon all Buddhas as if we are seeing all people. Thereby, we see Buddha and all people equanimously and equally. If we were to look down at other people with a conceited mind, that would be like looking down on all the Buddhas — a serious transgression indeed. So, if we look upon all people as if we were seeing the Buddha before us, we will always respect and revere everyone with the purest and most wholesome mind.
When our Buddha Shakyamuni first attained Buddhahood, he said that nothing can be achieved without respect. This means that if we do not extend sincere respect to others, we cannot realize any great achievement. So the Buddha respected all the Buddhas as well as all people. Why? Because he truly understood that while his Dharma-body came from all the Buddhas, his form-body came from all sentient beings.
Purification comes by severing the I.
Thus, the bodhi task is firm and wide,
Ever bolder, without obstruction.
All the Buddhas and the great bodhisattvas are the manifestation of great compassion and great wisdom. As practitioners of the bodhisattva path, we should develop a mind of compassion as vast as the great ocean. We also need the wisdom to eradicate and purify ourselves by severing the I. Thus, we must learn the great wisdom and great compassion of all the great bodhisattvas.
The word “bodhi” is short for bodhi-mind, the aspiration for enlightenment. This is the great vow of a bodhisattva, which combines great wisdom with great compassion. A person who has generated the bodhi-mind is always young, firm, and strong in spirit. Such a person will never regress. In their minds they can embrace and reach out to all sentient beings. They are unobstructed in learning the Dharma and thus can eradicate the I, the unreal notion of self.
Distinguish things to be abandoned and nurtured.
Distinguish clearly what it means to sink and what to generate,
Distinguish clearly between the defiled and the pure.
In this verse, “the old” refers to old habitual ways, the ways of defilement. An old way, for instance, is not being able to firmly uphold the five precepts; the new way is to firmly uphold the five precepts. If you can clearly distinguish between the old ways and the new, you can proceed to eradicate defiled qualities and nurture the pure, undefiled path.
“To sink” means to fall down to the lower realms; “to generate” means to promote, to be upright and diligent. If we can clearly distinguish what should be eradicated and what should be nurtured, then we will no longer fall down. In countless lifetimes to come, we will always be able to take the initiative and make the resolve to walk this path to Buddhahood. Thereby we will eradicate all defilements and acquire all purity.
These verses of advice clearly show the concise essence of Dharma practice. The Dharma is the highest and purest kind of culture, the most perfect civilization. A true practitioner of the Dharma must learn from this culture of wisdom how to eradicate the self, the false I, and then learn to manifest in body, speech, and mind the purity and perfection of that ultimate civilization. Thus, one will become the most righteous and luminous kind of person. You will always walk the path and promote the path for countless lifetimes to come. Our lives can become the Dharma-body of the Dharma, the manifestation of all the Buddhas. So, as I always encourage myself, I urge you all to remember to make that vow in life after life: to live in the Dharma and thereby be a bodily manifestation of Dharma.
(The above talk was given at the close of a ten day Vipassana retreat held at Bodhi Monastery in June 2003.)