Blog » Symposiums And Lectures » Repentance » Repenting of Karmic Obstacles, Letting Go of Attachments
Repenting of Karmic Obstacles, Letting Go of Attachments2014-10-09
By DM Heng Je
English Translated by Nancy Chu
All Good Wise Advisors: this Dharma assembly came about through the presence of each person here, so we should all feel great joy. In these past seven days, everybody has been very diligent and endured a lot of difficulties, waking up early and returning home late. Here, time has passed quickly. Jin Ming Shr just said that time has gone by very quickly, and we will conclude the session this afternoon. I would like to congratulate everyone for finishing this session.
Everybody has been bowing the repentance vigorously. But when we bow in repentance, what are the benefits of it? It is like what I asked everyone to consider at the beginning: when we bow in repentance, what kind of karmic obstacles are we hoping to eradicate? How many of you have thought that, and then while bowing thought of areas of yourself that you should change? Because when we are repenting we can truly change our hearts. When our thoughts are proper, we will certainly have responses in the proper Dharma, and through that we will be able to connect with auspiciousness or blessings. If our thoughts are not proper and we have thoughts that are harmful or negative, we will not be able to enjoy happiness. Therefore, no matter what karmic obstacles you repented for during the past seven days, we all have to make our minds proper.
Before the end of the session, I would like to encourage everyone with two points. The first is that our intention must be to do good and not harm. In the repentance text, Chan Master Jrgong said, Every one of us has once obstructed others in doing the utmost good. How do we know that we have obstructed people in doing good? If we have never obstructed people’s good work or envied people’s goodness, then we should now be able to practice Chan samadhi and wisdom and then when we recite the sutras we will not feel that it is hard work or tiring. Why can’t we do all this? If we can’t do all of this, then we can know that we have all, in countless kalpas past, have obstructed others. Because of obstructing others, when we now encounter the Buddhadharma, we aren’t able to make the Bodhi resolve, vow, and practice.
Can we think of any examples here? “Are we like this?” If someone were to say, “That person is very good at reciting the Buddha’s name and every day they recite for tens of thousands of times.” Then I might say, “Not at all! They go shopping with others too!” And I’ll continue to say, oh, this person also does such and such a thing, and go on for a while about them. That would be because I am jealous that others say this person is good at reciting the Buddha’s name and I also want to be recognized as a good cultivator. Or else maybe somebody says, “That person cooks well,” and you say, “No, she puts a lot of mushroom MSG in her dishes.” The subtle jealousy our heart, the heart that cannot bear to see another’s goodness, there is truly no good in that.
If we look back at the story of Yu Jingyi’s encounter with the Kitchen God, we can see that he thought of himself as a very good cultivator and capable literatus. How could he not be proud of himself? The Kitchen God spoke to him for a long time, and the most important two words were “evil intention.” You may have done many good works so that others will praise the good you superficially do. But if your heart is not good, then that lack of goodness will keep you from good fortune and happiness. Venerable Master Hua kept telling us, Buddhism is the teaching of the mind – how to change our minds to light, kindness, and compassion. If our minds are not bright but violent instead, then we need to cultivate it to bring it to goodness. That is why in our last afternoon of the bowing repentance, we should all examine ourselves and ask ourselves, how do we change that subtle darkness in our hearts, and when can we do it?
The second point is a reminder that in the repentance text, Chan Master Jrgong explains why we cannot escape from the wheel of birth and death. It is because we are attached to blessings. The Buddha said that we haven’t been able to become Buddhas because of false thoughts and attachments. What are our attachments? Whether we have a field of blessings or a tiny bit, we are attached to it. You laypeople have families. Maybe the wife wants to come to the monastery to cultivate, and the husband wishes the wife to stay at home. In fact, it’s best if she stays home every day. As for the children, if they don’t see their mother they will be upset. Or perhaps it’s the other way around: the husband likes to go the monastery to cultivate and the wife stays at home all day. Each of us as something we are attached to and cannot let go. What about what our expectations of ourselves and our expectations of life? In social relationships and within families, there are often conflicts. What happens when there are conflicts? You might say, it’s a very good thing to the monastery and cultivating makes me happy. When I return home I can take care of the household very well. But the people at home don’t like you go to the monastery. Why not? Perhaps you don’t do enough, you must fulfill your responsibilities at home first, express concern for your spouse, take good care of your relatives, and when everything is settled at home, then you can spend your spare time on cultivation. If you say, Dharma Master, this doesn’t seem like what other people say, then think about it.
How many of you agree with me? Why do I say this? Because a family must be harmonious and happy. If you and your spouse have a terrible argument, and you’re unhappy when you come here, you cannot peacefully cultivate either. As for him, he will certainly not agree for you to come and insist that you stay home. If you take good care of him at home and explain a bit of the Buddhadharma to him, then he might agree that you come or accompany you in coming here.
Why is it that those who practice the Pure Land Dharma-door and vow to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss can let go of everything and mindfully recite Amitabha Buddha’s name? As for meditators, how can they steel their hearts and not be concerned about worldly matters to sit and investigate Chan? Why is it? Can anybody tell me?
Assembly answers: They’ve let go of false thoughts and attachments.
They’ve let go of false thoughts and attachments – wonderful. It is because we know that absolutely everything in this world, whether it is sentient or insentient, is impermanent and not real. So in our minds we have found a goal and a refuge. We return to that mind and to our self-nature so we can put everything down and see through it all. We are no longer attached. If we are attached to that little blessing, if my grandchildren are very filial, I can let go of that. If my husband loves me very much, I can let that go. If I have a lot of beautiful clothes, elegant jewels, stocks, and a fine car, and so on, I let go of all of that and am not attached to it. Why can’t we end birth and death? It is because we are attached to certain things. We don’t realize that we can’t take any one of these things away with us when we go. They are like moon in the water, flowers in space, like a bubble or mirage, unable to last forever.
There is a story about Patriarch Upagita. Before he left the home life and realized the Way, he had a flower shop. He was very kind-hearted by nature. In this city there was a prostitute who often instructed an attendant to buy flowers for her. One day, the attendant brought back many flowers, and the prostitute asked, “Strange, did you steal the flowers? I didn’t give you that much money; why are there so many flowers?” The attendant told her, “It is because the owner of the shop loves to give and often gives people more. So today he gave me extra flowers.” The attendant also told her that “this person seems like someone with a lot of talent, is very dashing and young and also very intelligent.” The prostitute said, “Then invite him sometime!” But Venerable Upagita knew her profession so he didn’t go. Later, while this prostitute was with a wealthy young man, a merchant from far away came who gave her many gifts. So she killed the young man she had been with and buried him in the courtyard and joined with the merchant.
When the family members of this wealthy young man discovered that he was missing, they reported it to the local official. They searched everywhere, and came to search in this prostitute’s house. In her courtyard they found this young man’s corpse and knew that he had been killed by her. They sentenced her and her hands, feet, ears, and nose were cut off as punishment. She thus became a crippled, ugly woman. At this time, Upagita knew that this prostitute had changed her looks, and brought an attendant with him to see her. The prostitute kept crying, and said, “Back then, I asked several times for people to invite you but you never came. Now that I’m like this, you’re here to see me. What do you mean by this?” Venerable Upagita then said, “I came to see true appearance.”
“In the past, your face was beautiful, but that was only a layer of skin. Beneath the skin there are tendons, blood, pus, and a putrid heart. Now, though you don’t have that face anymore, the heart you had is still there.” Upagita then explained to her that everything in the world is formed by the four great elements. They are not real, but our original mind is still eternally there. This prostitute heard Venerable Upagita say that everything is impermanent, but our true mind and original nature are unmoving and unchanged. The more she heard the more she was filled with joy and faith, and the more she understand this Dharma. I’ve told this short story but glossed over the Dharma. Everyone has heard it many times, though. “Suffering and emptiness are impermanent; in the four great elements there is no self…” When he finished explaining these principles, this prostitute had attained the Pure Dharma Eye.
So regardless of what our state is like, whether you think it is full of bliss and satisfaction or danger and disaster, you should always be mindful of your own true mind. We are not attached to all of these external things whether they are good or bad, because they change as quickly as the breath and are impermanent. So I think that if we keep our thoughts on Dharma, we will always be at ease. Within discomfort, we must forget about differences - close or distant relationships, permanence or annihilation - and practice impartiality. We cannot transcend birth and death because we have these thoughts of discrimination. We value that which we like and take lightly what we dislike. In reality, that is our discriminating and attached mind, and lost the opportunity for your cultivation.
