Cultivators in the past used to be wearing five types of ornament. First, the hear gear which represents one’s root guru, his principle deity and his vajra protector; the Three Fundamentals whom a cultivator should be mindful of. Second, the ear rings which represent abstaining from hearing as well as circulating the rumors. There is a saying: “Rumors will be stopped when reaching a wise person.” The rumors will be ‘bounced off’ by one’s ear rings and will not be circulated further through his mouth. Third, the rosary which represents the purification of the speech; not creating bad karma through speech and not scolding anyone in any way. Instead, chant the mantra and speak pure words. Fourth, the bangle which represents helping others at all times. Fifth, the belt which represents disciplines; abstaining from doing immoral actions.
Actually, if we are serious about cultivation, whether wearing those ornaments or not, we still have to do the good actions. We must abide by the precepts very closely in order to succeed in our cultivation one day. Otherwise, all efforts will go to waste. If we cultivate badly, we will end up in the Three Lower Realms (animal, hell, hungry ghost) because of the transgression of precepts.
When one has started walking the path of spiritual cultivation, he should not continue to mingle with his old acquaintances who are non-cultivators. This is not my personal opinion. This is one of the precepts in Buddhism. After being initiated into Vajrayana Buddhism, you ought to be with the Vajranists, and avoid going out with those who are not. Sakyamuni Buddha knew that when a student has been initiated into Buddhism but continue to mingle with others who are not, there would be 99% probability that he would be influenced by the rest and end up failing in his cultivation. There is a saying: “One will only become a good person after three years of hard work but could turn bad in no time.”
Mankind is weird. A person will pick up the bad habits easily immediately after being born into this world. For instance, we will naturally develop a habit of eating meat from birth, but we will have to learn through a period of time on how to become a vegetarian later. One will decide on his own on eating meat and likes it too. One has the tendency to do things that are immoral. So, it will take a long time, maybe three years, for a person to develop good habits but he could turn bad very quickly. This is a very strange phenomenon. Mankind tends to develop bad habits easily in this world of Five Defilements.
In the “Ksitigarbha’s Root Vow Sutra” , it is mentioned that the people of this world tend to create bad karma through every thought of theirs. Those who do not, will not end up in this world. Those doing good deeds will only end up in the heavenly realm or in the Western Blissful Pure Land; they will not come back to this world. Those ended up in this world are less perfect, who have the tendency of doing the wrong things such as bullying others, making money etc. for the sake of his own benefit.
Sakyamuni Buddha said, “You cannot mingle with people outside of your circle of cultivation, or you will be influenced by them.” There is a saying, “Those near the red color will end up red, and those near the black color will end up black.” When you are in a pool of black ink, you will not end up white; that is impossible. Unless you are an enlightened being who choosed to return to this world at your own will, for the purpose of helping others. If you want to help others, you will have to befriend those you wish to help, and behave like them. Otherwise, you will not be able to help them when you look alien to them. Only an enlightened being is able to join them in order to help them. If you are still struggling in your own cultivation, and you are not an enlightened being who choose your re-incarnation, you cannot do so. If you mingle with them, you will be led to downfall with certainty.
Sentient beings only talk about money, wealth, cars, shares, children, the children education and their results. They will not be talking to you about impermanence and liberation from the cyclic existence. Even the cultivators tend to talk about such worldly concerns, let alone the commoners. This is what I have been stressing – when you are together, the best topic is impermanence and Buddhism; don’t talk about anything else that is a waste of time. When I am eating my meals with others, I talk about impermanence and cultivation which are more meaningful. It is a waste of time talking about jokes and unrelated topics; we might as well not be together. So, when we are together, we must only talk about the cultivation of Buddhism but not worldly concerns. When you talk about the worldly concerns, it will only bring you to the downfall.
Don’t be deceived by what we saw. You might find your wife ugly but other women outside pretty. Let me tell you this, when you marry the pretty woman, she will also become ugly one day. When you look at the woman from afar, you will think that she looks pretty. Of course, she will only show you her best side. When you bring her home, you will see the ugly side of her; she will quarrel with you everyday. You tend to find what you do not yet possess good but you will not cherish it anymore once it is in your possession; you will continue to talk about other things that you do not yet possess. Actually what is in your possession and what is not are the same. When you manage to get hold of a woman whom you did not possess in the past, you will find her becoming irritating over time and start to have conflicts with her. This is sentient beings. Seeing it from afar, one will find the object pretty through haziness and blurriness. One will only see the ‘true color’ in a near distance.
So, we are deceived by our own eyes. But it is easier said then done. People only want to see the good side, attracted by the ‘beauty’ and enjoy the flirting. Sentient beings are driven by their lust. It is not easy for one to overcome the temptations, but he has to constantly remind himself to remain alert. That is why Sakyamuni Buddha introduced the numerous precepts to protect the cultivators, knowing very well that they will fall for the temptations. Knowing very well that there is a pitfall right in front, they will just keep walking and finally fall into the pitfall. Only when he is already at the bottom of the pitfall, he will regret, “Gosh, how on earth did I get in here?” It will be too late by then, because he is already inside the pitfall.
The precepts are very crucial. One must read them everyday. In Vajrayana Buddhism, the cultivators are required to read the precepts on the first and fifteen day of every lunar month, reminding themselves the importance of precepts. When you read the precepts everyday, you will have to watch every step of yours, telling yourself what you can and cannot do. When you are about to set your vision on something inappropriate, tell yourself “stop”! When you are about to utter an inappropriate word, tell yourself “stop”! When you are about to harbor a negative thought, tell yourself “stop”! Gradually, you will develop a true compassion in you. Finally, when you have fully united with the teachings, liken to the mixture of milk and water in a perfect union with the two totally non-distinguishable, you have succeeded in your cultivation.
It is easy to just talk about the theories, but there is hardly anyone who is able to put them into practice. I hope that all of you will take precaution of what is said and abide by the precepts closely. Sakyamuni Buddha knew that His students would fall after He left, being tempted to leave the spiritual community for worldly pleasures. He would no longer be around to guide the students. So, He said, “The precepts shall be your teacher.” That shows the importance of the precepts. I hope that you will go study the precepts and observe them closely.
Actually, the constant contemplation of impermanence is a key point of cultivation. Whoever develops the strongest sense of urgency through the observation of impermanence will be the greatest achiever; there is no other shortcut. If a person has not felt the sense of impermanence, he will not be able to develop his sense of renunciation which is key to doing good cultivation. There are just too many worldly concerns in your life that you will not be willing to do your practice multiple times a day, and you will not set your priority on practice. The constant contemplation of impermanence is very crucial for cultivation.
Mater Nan said, “Every practitioner must go through a crisis in life facing death. If a person has not experienced death, he will not be able to make it in his cultivation.” What it means is that, if you have not truly experienced death, you will not understand the imminence of death. When your relatives pass away, you will experience impermanence temporarily, but you will soon forget it when agitated by an unpleasant event and lost your composure.
We went to the hospital to visit Sister Wen today. Initially she told us that she would be discharged by Sunday but the doctor advised her to stay for one more week for further observations. Her heart is very weak. This is impermanence. Her heart can hardly function now, working abnormally in a reverse manner. She did not know the reason of her heart failure. This is impermanence. I hope you will learn from her experience. When your sense of impermanence is very strong, you will develop a strong sense of renunciation and care less about the worldly concerns. Even when you are happy, you will return to your sense of impermanence soon after. When you return to your sense of impermanence, you will practice diligently and will succeed in your cultivation easily.
The four fellow cultivators who did not turn up last night for the prayer session are here with us tonight. They remind me of impermanence. They had missed the wonderful session last nigh. Last night when I just lifted the incense to start the prayer session, a lound thunder was heard in the sky. There was a series of thunders lasting through the whole prayer session last night until the first mantra of Marici was being chanted by us. It was immediately followed by a heavy rain, lasting till the prayer session ended. We took some rain water blessed by Marici and shared it with all. The four fellow cultivators are sitting right in front of me now, isn’t this impermanence?
Contemplate on impermanence regularly and develop your sense of renunciation; this is key to making progress in your cultivation. Otherwise, you will be wasting your time.
