【Description】
What do we cultivate in self-cultivation? Why do some people become demanding and picky after practicing for a while?
Many people use knowledge of dharma to pick on others rather than focusing on self-improvement. When critical people point a finger at others, they don’t realize that all their other fingers are pointing at themselves. When they criticize, they forget that they are deviating from the right path of practice.
In this video, Grandmaster JinBodhi analyzes the essence of spiritual practice in accessible language, and helps practitioners rediscover their original intention.
【You will learn】
- The essence and key points of self-cultivation
- How to avoid detours on the practice path
【Content】
What a practitioner cultivates is their heart. After arriving at practice venues, some practitioners have issues after practicing for a time.
Some cultivate by disrespecting their masters. They show reverence at first, then challenge their masters. “Master, you are so ugly.” “You only just realized it?” “I couldn’t tell from far away. Now that I’ve left home to become a monk, I realize how ugly you are. Had I known, I wouldn’t have become your disciple.” Some disrespect their masters.
Some disrespect their dharma brothers. “I thought this place was a paradise, full of compassion. Every man is a buddha, every woman a bodhisattva. All extremely compassionate. Now I regret coming here. The women are evil fairies, and the men are gangsters.” They become heavily afflicted. Some even pick on guests or newcomers. Veterans pick on newcomers. Many practitioners pick on newcomers, even torment them. They have forgotten to work on themselves instead of others.
The first type that I can’t stand: those who disrespect their master. They have forgotten their original intention. What are you here for? This happens after practicing for a while.
There is another type obsessed with “forms”. It is not an obsession with beautiful people, but with the delicious, the nifty, the fun. Once, I bumped into a fellow practitioner. I asked, “Aren’t you a former practitioner?” He stammered, “Yes, Master…” He was a bit embarrassed. Embarrassment usually means he is not practicing or coming to the center. I asked him why he didn’t practice. “I am embarrassed to say”, he said. “Go ahead. You are no longer at Bodhi Meditation, anyway.”
He said, “The center’s food tastes bad.” He was treating the center like a restaurant. He would come only if the food tasted good. This type of person is no better than the previous types I mentioned. He is easygoing with people but not with food or material things.
Yet another said, “I no longer come but not because of food. Not because of people either. I am very unattached that way. The master is not bad either.” “Then why aren’t you coming to Bodhi Meditation anymore?” Because our center doesn’t look like the ancient temples in movies and photos. So I asked, “Chinese or Indian temple?” He thought about it and said, “Chinese, since I am Chinese.” I told him to go back to China.
These people forget the reason for practicing. They become attached to irrelevant things, forms such as environments, appearances and objects, instead of introspection, self-analysis, self-observation and self-awareness. They also forget about self-improvement.
Meditation cultivates our hearts so that we are not attached to forms. Cultivation requires introspection, self-analysis, self-observation, self-awareness and self-improvement.