Thursday Dharma Talk by Venerable Zhen Jue

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What is your mental attitude when you attend every Thursday's dharma session? In reluctance, do you drag yourself into the shrine hall? What was churning in your mind? Were you thinking: “Sigh! Thursday dharma session again, it's a drag!” or “Oh! I'm bogged down with work, I don't have time for this!” Or are you attending the dharma session to please your supervisors, to condescend your supervisors or to condescend Shi Fu? But can you be condescending towards the Buddha-s and Bodhisattva-s? We are not attending this dharma session for the sake of anyone else. We are doing it for our own Path towards Buddhahood! We are seated here today with the aspiration to accrue more bodhi-requisites!

If you enter the shrine hall with a torpid mind, you will inevitably slouch in torpor or lean against the wall. The bodily gestures are tell tale signs of our mental states.

Don't let Shi Fu wait for you. Your unpunctuality causes delay which hinders the practice of others. The seconds and minutes wasted in waiting could have been conditions for dharma realization. If there were ten people attending the dharma session, we are hindering ten people from listening to dharma. And for every second of delay, the negative repercussions are multiplied tenfold. Inversely, when you try to engage in practice, all these will come back to us in full measure as hindrances. You can't put the blame on anyone or anything when this happens, you can only blame yourself for failing to fulfil the pre-requisites of preliminary entrance into practice. It should be borne in mind that Shi Fu puts emphasis on the preliminary practice, the actual practice and the consummative practice.

Could you identify such mental states when you attended today's dharma session? Why were we unable to do so? This is because we were not exercising our mindfulness. And this provided the opportune condition to discuss mindfulness with you today.

If you were mindful enough, you will not be slouching and leaning against the wall. If you were mindful, you will not be late. Now, arouse your mindfulness and set your body upright and listen attentively.

Characteristics of Sati (Mindfulness)

• apil a pana ‘not losing' (noting); ‘not wavering'

• upagga n ha ‘seeking out' (sustains)

A.) apil a pana : ‘not losing' (noting) pertaining to four dyads of dharma-s

‘not losing' (noting)

(positive)

‘losing' (does not note)

(negative)
Four dyads of dharma

1.) kusala

; wholesome

1.) akusala

; unwholesome

2.) sav a jja

; blameless

2.) anav a jja

; blameworthy

3.) appa ni ta

; important

3.) h i na

; insignificant

4.) sukka

; light

4.) ka n ha

; dark

B.) upagga n ha - a s mindfulness springs up in the mind, mindfulness seeks out the categories of good qualities and their opposites

upagga n ha ‘seeking out' (sustains) functions are 2 levels:

upagga n h a ti ; seeks out / sustains

(positive qualities)

apanudeti ; dispels

(negative qualities)

1.

h i ta

; beneficial qualities

ah i ta

; harmful qualities

2.

upak a r a

; sustains helpful qualities

anupak a r a

; dispels detrimental qualities

When our mind is invaded by defilements or suffused with negative thoughts, the mind is perturbed in upheavals. On the contrary, when our mind associates with wholesome dharma-s, the mind is calmly balanced and steadfast.

Since countless aeons we have been ingrained with more unwholesome states than wholesome state; our amalgam of unwholesome states is colossal compared to wholesome states. According to karma, the stronger mental states will always take the lead. And there is only one mind for each mental moment. Since our unwholesome mental states are more predominant, unwholesome thoughts will supersede wholesome thoughts. When mindfulness is not sustained by constant application, it becomes weak. When this happens, our adventitious thoughts, discriminative mind and calculative mind runs faster than our mindfulness. As a result, defilements supersede wholesome mental states.

How can this be applied in our daily life? When we encounter unpleasant events, people or conditions, on the outset, we should learn to set forth mindfulness and immediately note our current mode of mental flow, noting whether it is perturbed or calm. This should be followed by identifying the root defilements (greed, anger and ignorance) that actuate negativities. If we truly hope to uproot the problem, we need to search deep within ourselves for these root defilements when they manifest as negativities at bodily, verbal and mental level.

We often brush aside issues without introspecting deep down into the roots complacently thinking that everything will be OK as memory fades or when emotional storms subside. But with the roots remaining intact, when conditions fall into place, the same problem will recur to haunt us endlessly. For example, you are furious at someone, but the person no longer appears before you for some time, everything seems fine as memory fades, but when you should encounter the person again, instantaneously the fire of fury begins to burns beyond control. This is because we fail to pluck out the roots.

The maxim of the method - to arouse our mindfulness, followed by noting our current mode of mental flow – perturbed or calm, and by means of wisdom, we identify the root defilements and exercise the appropriate “medicine” to transform the defilements.

Life is uncertain, grasping onto trivia is only a futile struggle. Conditioned phenomena are subject to arsing and disintegration. But we are often entrapped in our own attachments of the past, grasping to the illusory images that we have conjectured. For example, we harbour anger towards our enemy. Why do we throw ourselves into a fit of fury from an illusory image conjectured in our mind? This neither brings any benefit to the other party nor yourself.

We need to ask ourselves, what are the things and conditions that are conducive for my Path to Enlightenment, what are the things and conditions that will retain me in suffering and Samsara ? Is it worthwhile to exhaust our life in all these petty wrangling, struggles and indignation? Why don't we channel our energy into the endeavour of accumulating bodhi-requisites?

Here, I would like to share a story with you taken from mahaprajnaparamitasastra illustrating the fulfilment of silaparamita (Perfection of Virtue). Once there was a nāga (dragon) who had amazing but deadly powers because of its abundant accruement of merits from many past lives. Its stare would kill a being instantly and its breath would instantly incinerate a being. Since this naga has the inclination to learn dharma for many past lives, one day when conditions fell into place, it arose in the naga a strong volition to beseech from the Buddha (past Buddha) the observance of eight precepts for one day and one night.

Having transformed itself into a human, he approached the Buddha and undertook the eight precepts. Then, he proceeded to meditate under a tree. After some time, without sustaining strong mindfulness and energy, the naga slid away into sloth and torpor and fell asleep. Slumbering in deep sleep, he reverted back to its original form of a naga .

Along came a hunter who failed to hunt anything for the day, and having seen from a distance the splendour of the naga 's skin, the hunter desired to possess the naga 's skin. With a sharp knife in hand, the hunter climbed onto the naga , planted his foot on the naga 's head and started to scale the naga 's skin. Awakened by the sharp pain, the naga thought to himself: “I could have easily killed you with the powers that I am endowed with.” But in the next moment, he reflected thus: “No, I can't do this! I am observing the Buddha's eight precepts today. I cannot violate my abstinence of taking life!” The naga remained still and endured the pain while his entire skin was removed by the hunter. Now without the external skin as covering, the nāga 's flesh was exposed with fresh blood bleeding. No sooner, attracted by the fresh blood and flesh, millions of ants began to feast on the naga . At this moment while bearing the excruciating pain, the naga thought: “I should return to the ocean, submergence into the cool water with alleviate the pain.” But then, the naga reflected: “No, I can't do this! If I entered the waters, all the ants on my body will be drowned. I am observing the Buddha's eight precepts today. I cannot violate my abstinence of taking life!” The naga remained still and resolute, forbearing the pain as the ants ate away all his flesh and each single drop of blood. Before the naga 's life ended, the naga composed the following verse:

In this life time, I nourished the sentient beings with my flesh and blood.

But in future, I will nourish sentient beings with dharma.

This naga was one amid the many past lives of the Sakyamuni Buddha.

From the above, we can observe that unwholesome thought first arose in the naga 's mind. But when right mindfulness was applied, negativities were transformed. We needn't be disheartened or fear the swift arising of unwholesome mental states, but instead, we should continue to arouse our mindfulness, pluck up our courage to face our negativities and transform them.

In addition, we should re-examine the concluding words of the verse. In times of great adversity, we should always never forget our bodhi-mind – the aspiration for Buddhahood for the salvation of sentient beings.

Similarly, if you practitioner of the Pure Land method, when we encounter unpleasant events, we should arouse mindfulness and seek out what accords with the 48 aspirations of Amitabha Buddha; we should seek out what is conducive for the journey to Western Paradise. Stagnate not on what retains us in Samsara but strive for what brings us across to the yonder shore of Enlightenment.

Remember, beginning from next week, we should make a point to be punctual, sit up straight listening intently. May your act of punctuality be actuated by the aspiration to facilitate sentient beings in their strive towards the Path of Enlightenment.

References:

Khuddakanik ā ye, Milindapa ? hap ā? i (1-408) 彌蘭王所問經

Ch a??hasa?gīti Pi?aka? Suttantanpi?ake Khuddakanikāye, Selangor Buddhist Vipassanā Meditation Society, 2006, Selangnor, p.77

Bhikkhu Pesala, The Debate of King Milinda, Inward Path, Penang ? Malaysia, 2001, p.10~