Tonight,
we did a Guru Rinpoche Prayer under the guidance of Acho Rinpoche. After which,
he shared with us the following story about a student who consulted Venerable
Hui Lu of Taiwan on his spiritual practice. The student is a practitioner who abides
strictly by the precepts; however, he just cannot tolerate his fellow
practitioners who fail to do so. He criticized others for failing to abide by
the precepts and felt troubled by this matter. Venerable Hui Lu asked him if
Sakyamuni Buddha would feel troubled in the same way that he did. The student
said that he did not think so. Venerable Hui Lu told his student that Sakyamuni
Buddha would certainly accommodate the shortcomings of others and would not criticize
them. He told his students that the latter only scored 50 marks out of 100 for
abiding by the precepts, and the remaining 50 marks will need to be earned
based on his tolerance of the shortcomings of others. Sakyamuni Buddha was a very
disciplined person but he accepted the fact that others were not. When a person
thinks that he has done better than others in terms of upholding the precepts,
he will inevitably start scrutinizing the shortcomings of others and criticize them,
thus committing negative karma through his speech. In that sense, he will not
score 100 marks in his practice of upholding the precepts. The student returned
to his own Buddhist center and continued to do his practice by focusing on his
own conduct and not paying attention to the shortcomings of others. People of
his center noticed the change in him and later learnt the teachings given by
Venerable Hui Lu too. Acho Rinpoche advised that a practitioner should not criticize
the shortcomings of others but, on the contrary, wish for their gradual
improvements instead. Not only that, a practitioner should learn to rejoice in
the good deeds of others. Generally, a person will feel jealous about others doing
better than himself out of ego, and fail to rejoice in the success of others;
such mindset will only impede his progress on the path to enlightenment.
Next,
Acho Rinpoche shared an article he read on the Internet which talked about 9 negative
habits in spiritual practice which should be abandoned. Initially, a practitioner
will be told to abandon his attachment to his family, his wealth, his career,
his relationships etc., which are considered the more obvious attachments in
our worldly pursuits. However, to an advanced practitioner, there are more
subtle attachments in the spiritual practice that should also be abandoned.
1st, abandon
the “duration of practice” one has gone through. An advanced practitioner tends
to feel proud about his long duration of practice and thinks that he is more
advanced in his spiritual practice than others. However, spiritual accomplishment
is not measured by the duration of practice because there are those who had
attained enlightenment immediately when being initiated into the practice.
2nd, abandon
the “number of sutras” one has read. An advanced practitioner tends to feel
proud about the large number of sutras he has read. However, the amount of
reading does not translate into a true spiritual accomplishment of a practitioner.
The Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, Master Hui Neng, understood the teaching
of Diamond Sutra when he first heard it. There are many who have read the
numerous sutras and yet do not understand the teachings expounded.
3rd, abandon
the “spiritual experience” one has attained. There are numerous methods
expounded by the Buddha, tailored for the different needs of the individuals.
Every method is designed to lead a practitioner to the state of enlightenment
one day. So, an advanced practitioner should not assume that his own experience
is the only authoritative method.
4th, abandon
“arguments”. An advanced practitioner tends to assume that his views about the
Buddhist teachings is the most accurate and ultimate one, and like to debate
with others to prove his points. So, he should abandon the differences in
opinion and not debate with others.
5th, abandon
the “tendency of wanting to teach others”. An advanced practitioner tends to assume
that he knows a lot more than others and like to teach others, and claim credit
when others seem to be making improvements. However, a person will naturally
attain spiritual realization when the time is ripe, not because of the teaching
given by someone. There is no need for one to claim credit over the progress of
others as that will only create a sense of arrogance in the “teacher”.
6th, abandon
the “merits of offering”. A practitioner should understand the profound meaning
of “Formless Offering” and “mental activities free of attachment”, and does not
feel attached to the merits of offering.
7th, abandon
the pride of making “connections with the great masters”. All the great maters
are great because of their high spiritual attainment, which has nothing to do
with us. One should not brag about his connections with the many great masters
and take their glamor as his own.
8th, abandon
the “wish for recognition”. When one yearns for the recognition and praises of
others, he is desiring a worldly achievement which will impede his spiritual
progress and binds him to the state of suffering.
9th, abandon
the “practice”. When a practitioner has reached the final stage of spiritual
cultivation, he must abandon even the conceptual thinking of “practice”. When
one attains the state free of ego, what is the basis for a conceptual thinking
of “I” who does the “practice”? When one still has the concept of “I” who does
the “practice”, he is still bound to the
state of worldly achievement.
Acho Rinpoche said, “practice”
is only an expedient method. In the past, those who were busy cooking in the
kitchens and cleaning in the toilets were the ones who finally attained
enlightenment, simply because they were selflessly working for others. These 9 negative habits to be abandoned are targeted
at the advanced practitioners because they are the ones who will face the dilemma
of “self-attachment” and “teaching-attachment”.
As long as one has not truly abandoned such habits, he will never attain
the state of enlightenment.
Reported by Sun-moon KFS on 6-8-2017
@Singapore
