Blog » Sweet Dews Of Dharma Talks » 2014 » Rules, Are Lost between You and Me
Rules, Are Lost between You and Me2014-08-27
Spoken by Dharma Master Heng Yun on June, 2013 at the Dharma Realm Buddhist books Distribution Society, Taipei
Today is the eighteenth anniversary of Ven. Master’s Nirvana. It’s been eighteen years and yet many people still come to participate in Ven. Master’s memorial ceremony. As you can see Ven. Master Hua’s teachings had truly flowed into everyone’s heart.
In just a moment, we will start the Grand Meal Offering ceremony. What was the occasion that this particular offering ceremony started? When Ven. Master was alive, the Grand Meal Offering ceremony was once held at the old Gold Mountain Monastery, which was known as the Gold Mountain Chan Monastery at that time. I have seen the pictures of the ceremony but did not participate in it. Ven. Master gave instructions to people in the ceremony which not many people attended. A circle was formed in front of the Buddha and offerings were passed around. In 1983, I moved to CTTB as a permanent resident and I have not seen this type of offering again. Due to Ven. Master’s passing into Stillness in 1995, we held a memorial ceremony for Ven. Master’s Nirvana. It was not until then the Grand Meal Offering ceremony was revived again; most founders of monasteries and great virtuous ones were honored with such ceremony on their Nirvana Day. Out of my expectation, with such causes and conditions, the Grand Meal Offering ceremony has continued every year since then.
For the past few years, I realized that people no longer say they are coming to participate in Ven. Master Hua’s Nirvana Memorial, instead, to the Grand Meal Offering Ceremony. Such sign actually indicates that people forget the true meaning of Ven. Master Hua’s memorial day and made the Grand Meal Offering ceremony the main theme of the day. Why do I specifically mention this phenomenon? It’s because I do not wish this memorial day turns into a day of gourmet feast for all of us. If this is the case, I really feel sorry for Ven. Master.
When I was a novice, actually a laywoman to be exact, I was already working as the kitchen manager. Because of this, I sometimes needed to prepare Ven. Master’s lunch. He ate very simple food. I remember at the time I was the co-manager with another fellow cultivator. One day, this fellow cultivator resolved to be filial to the Master. She took the time to cut the fruits very nicely and arranged a beautiful fruit platter to present to Ven. Master. It ended up that this person was scolded by the Master, “This is simply a lookdown on me!” Ven. Master did not touch the fruit at all.
Everything Ven. Master ate and wore was very simple. There was no salt or oil in his diet; it’s just plain and simple. What did he eat? He would usually eat a bowl of congee or a bowl of rice and a bowl of plain mixed vegetable soup along with some fruits and nuts. Just like aforementioned, no specially arrangement or platter was allowed; just leave the food there the way it is or else Ven. Master would not eat it. Additionally, we could not give him too much food since he didn’t wish to eat that much. Ven. Master’s diet was so simple and plain. Due of this reason, we should not indulge ourselves in a gourmet feast on his Nirvana Day because by doing so, we would have attended to trifles to the neglect of the essentials, which means we forget the true significance of Ven. Master’s Memorial Day.
Sometimes, we monastics will also forget and inform the lay people, “Remember to come for the Grand Meal Offering ceremony!” Instead, we should have said, “This is Ven. Master’s Nirvana Day. Let’s come together to reminisce Ven. Master.” This memorial day should retrospect of the past and prospect of the future. We should examine ourselves: “Ven. Master Hua has passed into Stillness for eighteen years. What have we done during these years What should we do in the years to come? If we hold the memorial with this attitude, it is more meaningful and beneficial. This should not be the day that we “celebrate” Ven. Master’s passing. If so, we have lost its meanings.
We should also think about Ven. Master’s teachings, of which, have we embodied? Today, we recited the Chapter of Universal Worthy’s Practices and Vows. A passage in the text said, “Make the offering of cultivating according to the teachings.” Have we cultivated according to the teachings? Have we followed the teachings in our practices? If we have cultivated according to the teachings, this alone is an offering. Making an offering does not merely mean to bring food to the monastery. When Ven. Master was alive, he always reminded us frequently that we do not fight, do not be greedy, do not seek, do not be selfish, do not pursue personal advantages and do not lie. Then, when we encounter circumstances in our everyday life, have we fought with others? Ven. Master had instructed us not to wash others’ laundry. Are we washing other’s dirty laundry often? These are very beneficial instructions in our daily life and are the foundations of one’s cultivation. We should cleanse our minds and reflection upon ourselves every day. Ask ourselves, “Do I fight? Am I greedy? When I do the Buddha’s work, am I greedy for gaining merit and virtue?” For example, if I am good at doing something or I like doing something, none of you should do it or can do it but me. I am the one who will do it all.
Not fighting, not being greedy, not being selfish, not pursuing personal advantages and not lying are basically the Five Precepts. Ven. Master explained “not seeking” as not pursuing men and women. As far as this point is concerned, do we have the correct knowledge and views? In the past, our tradition was more conservative than now. Men and women hardly interact with each other. Nuns seldom talk to the men side. If there was monastic business to discuss with the men side, two nuns must be present during the time of conversation.
In the 80s, an incident had occurred. At the time, monks worked at the CTTB administration office. All mail were sent to the office first. Therefore, nuns had to get our mail from there. One of the bhikshunis often used lunch time to pick up the mail from the administration office. One night during the lecture time, a bhikshu went up to the stage to scold that bhikshuni and everyone was shocked! Not long after that, that bhikshuni returned to the lay life. Ven. Mastered talked to us about this afterwards. He told us the reason why the bhikshu scolded that bhikshuni. It was because he wanted to cultivate but then when she went to pick up the mail, she always smiled at him. He couldn’t stand it.
Although monastics have renounced worldly conditions to cultivate, we are not sages after all. We are only walking on the Path and therefore, we have not cut off all of our love and emotions yet. Consequently, we must know the rules. The branch monasteries are mostly managed by the women side. Unavoidably, we need to talk to lay men about monastic business from time to time. So, lay men must know how to be a proper Dharma protector. It is not so easy to nurture a monastic. On the women side, lay women must live and work in the monastery for two years as a “pure person” first. (Note: this is the training stage of becoming a novice nun.) After two years, the lay woman would have been qualified in her behaviors and her resolve to walk the path. If she passes, she can enter the monastic life as a novice nun for at least three years before she is ordained. All together, it takes five years of training. Hence, it is not very easy to train one to become a monastic.
Dharma protectors must know your boundaries. If a layman must talk to a nun, he must find another layman or laywoman to accompany him in the conversation. This is the most basic requirement. In the past, Ven. Master’s rule was that if a bhikshuni needs to go to the administration office, she must be accompanied by another bhikshuni in order to go because the men side works in the office. Even though Ven. Master has passed away for a long time, we still must know the rules in this area.
Now we communicate via e-mail on the internet all the time. In the past, there was only one telephone located at the administration office in the entire CTTB. There was no e-mail or cell phones; none of these existed. At that time, phones were very prevalent. But Ven. Master never added more phones anywhere regardless of how inconvenient it is. Later, things became more open. It is now the digital age. We could not help but use e-mail to communicate to discuss monastic affairs. What is the code of conduct when monastics use e-mail to communicate?
When I was a lay woman or a novice nun, I frequently encountered the following situation. A bhikshuni would come to me and said, “Could you sign a ‘seen by’ for me?” (Note: It’s a way to co-sign a note.) Because she wanted to write a note to someone, she had to find another person to sign“seen by”, which means this is not a note I sent you alone; another person has also read the content. From here you see the monastic back then had good concept of this. Nowadays, even if we do not cosign “seen by” the notes we pass to another woman, at the minimum, nuns must cosign a note communicating to the men side. Do not send e-mail to the men side alone by yourself. Laymen must also know this: do not communicate to the nuns via e-mail one on one by yourself. When communication is one on one, who knows what you talk about in the e-mail?
Therefore, when I send e-mail to the men side, I will copy another bhikshuni in the e-mail. This is a way to protect my cultivation. It’s not easy to leave the home-life. I have been a nun all these years and I don’t really have much cultivation. But at least I hope to continue my life as a nun. Monastic must amass some provision and know their places and duties. We must know how to protect our own cultivation. In the past, if we fool around with the men side, Ven. Master would scold us very badly. Moreover, even the interaction amongst the same sex, for example, laywomen should not send unimportant and miscellaneous e-mail to the nuns to distract them from their cultivation, or offer nuns iPhone or iPad. If monastics cannot self-discipline themselves, it is easy for them to lose their resolve on the Bodhi path.
The reason I am talking to you about this is because the participants today consist of monastics and lay people. I hope to help lay people understand how to protect monastics; it’s actually mutual protection. Lay people should not support only one monastic; by doing so, he or she will be “supported to fall” to the hells. This is planting a very bad cause. In the future, the monastic and the dharma protector will become family members. In the Chronicles Biography of Ven. Master Xu-Yun, the past causes and conditions of an incense vendor were told there. The incense vendor in the past life was a bhikshu; his present wife was a lay woman in the past. Because the wife (laywoman) had offered the husband (bhikshu) a precept sash in the past life, they became spouses this life. Therefore, there is this kind of conditions.
When making offerings, one must make offerings to the Sangha community. It should not be the case that I like this Dharma Master, I will only make offering to him or her only. This kind of offering is not good for monastics and will harm his or her cultivation. Lay people should not have this kind of behaviors frequently because monastics will gradually get used to it. Maybe in this life, they are still left-home people. However, due to a mistake made on the causal ground, in the future lives, they will not be able to become monastics again. Those of you who are sitting here were probably monks and nuns in the past; however, due to insufficient causes and conditions, you are a lay person this life. You feel regretful, right? Although we cannot become left-home people this life, we can create causes to become one in the future. These causes to plant are to help establish and maintain Ven. Master’s traditions in our monasteries; make offerings properly accordingly to the Dharma. You can plant these causes.
When making offerings, one must make offerings to the Sangha community. It should not be the case that I like this Dharma Master, I will only make offering to him or her only. This kind of offering is not good for monastics and will harm his or her cultivation. Lay people should not have this kind of behaviors frequently because monastics will gradually get used to it. Maybe in this life, they are still left-home people. However, due to a mistake made on the causal ground, in the future lives, they will not be able to become monastics again.
Those of you who are sitting here were probably monks and nuns in the past; however, due to insufficient causes and conditions, you are a lay person this life. You feel regretful, right? Although we cannot become left-home people this life, we can create causes to become one in the future. These causes to plant are to help establish and maintain Ven. Master’s traditions in our monasteries; make offerings properly accordingly to the Dharma. You can plant these causes.
These are bits and pieces of our traditions which is a lot. As far as our rules are concerned, some of our traditions are gradually lost. In the past, if someone does not come to the sutra lectures at night, this person is considered to be leaving the monastery soon; about to return to the lay life. If monastics do not wear their sash, it feels like they are not wearing clothes at all. We must understand Ven. Master’s intention of wanting us to wear our precept sash all the time. Ven. Master told us a true story before. A Dharma Master named Wenjian, who left the home-life in another monastery. He wished to uphold the practice of always wearing the precept sash but his teacher did not agree because a monastic wearing the precept sash is deemed to be a freak in many monasteries. Therefore, Ven. Master taught him a method to communicate with his master, “Tell your teacher and say that if I don’t wear my precept sash, I will have lust and start thinking about women. Ask him this way and see if he will let you wear your precept sash.” Dharma Master Wenjian asked his master as instructed. Subsequently, his teacher gave permission to Dharma Master Wenjian to wear his sash at all times.
As you can see, people who did not have opportunities to wear their precept sash tried various means to wear it. Ven. Master provided us so many opportunities to wear our sash every day in order to plant the supreme causes of Bodhi, we certainly should maintain the monastic appearances and respect ourselves as monks and nuns. As for lay people, when you wear the black ceremonial robe with the precept sash with good deportment and demeanor, this is considered respecting your own spirit and respecting yourself as a cultivator. Don’t you think there is a difference between behaving with dignity and guffing around?
Why are we talking about this? It is because “not seeking” includes not pursuing women and not pursuing men. Therefore, the line between men and women must be clear. Moreover, as for “not beging selfish” and “not pursuing personal advantages”, we should also ask ourselves whether or not we are self-centered or chase after personal benefits. For example, I want to have all the good food; I want to give the best offerings in today’s special meal-offering ceremony.
When lay people create meritorious virtues, these kinds of situations appear sometimes. Furthermore, take building a monastery as an instance, if people hear about building Buddha statues, everyone fights to obtain that merit and virtue. If it is for building toilets, no one resolves to pay. This is the discriminating mind.
Therefore, we should re-acquire the six great principles—not fighting, not being greedy, not seeking, not being selfish, not pursuing personal advantages and not lying —and truly apply them in our daily life so that we could do justice to Ven. Master. We should not have a grand feast on Ven. Master’s Nirvana Day. It is wrong, really wrong!
In just a moment, we will make a grand meal-offering. The offerings usually include incense, flowers, lamp, fruits, vegetables, tea, gems and incense paste, which is what Indians rub on their bodies; there is no such item in China. Therefore, we only have seven kinds of offerings.
The first is offering of incense, which is symbolic. It means we must remind ourselves of the “ precept fragrance.” The Incense Praise says, “Incense in the censor now is burning; all the Dharma Realm receives the fragrance. From afar the sea vast host of Buddhas now all inhale its sweetness.” The next lines say, “In every place auspicious clouds appearing. Our sincere intention thus fulfilling; All the Buddhas show their perfect bodies.” These lines refer to the incense of the mind is now open, which means there is no more stinking things like greed, anger and delusion in the mind. This is what is meant by the precept fragrance. So, there is special significance of these offerings.
Flowers – everyone’s Bodhi flower must blossom and be adorned with Bodhi inside and outside, not just being adorned in the exterior appearances.
Lamp – the light of the mind is bright forever. One lamp can break the darkness existing for a thousand years. Dark energy like jealousy, obstruction and unhappiness are all broken through. The light of the mind must be illuminated. When this light is lightened up, it itself is a very sincere offering.
Fruits – it is meant for bearing fruition of Bodhi. Everyone must bear the fruition of bodhi.
Vegetables – they can nourish our physical bodies and are symbolic for strong and powerful Dharma Body. Additionally, it also means that our Dharma Body and our Wisdom Life will increase and grow.
Tea – it is cooling and can quench thirst. Therefore, if heated afflictions from body and mind disappear, one obtains coolness.
Gems – we should manifest the Dharma treasure of our inherent nature. When we make offerings, not only should we make offerings to the Buddhas of the ten directions but also make offerings everywhere to the living beings in the ten directions. It does not matter if they are poor, rich, of high ranks, low ranks or in any of the twelve classes of living beings (born from the womb, eggs, moisture, by transformation, with form, without form, with thoughts, without thoughts and so on), we should bring forth the resolve to make offerings.
Because we are going to have this grand meal-offering today, I hope everyone can really understand the significance of this offering. I think, in this way, Ven. Master will be happier. He wouldn’t feel, “Today is my Nirvana Day and you are having a feast here!” If we can practice according to his teachings, this is being filial.
