【Description】
What is self-cultivation? Is it about being a vegetarian, practicing meditation, chanting and repentance, or cultivating dharma powers and obtaining extraordinary abilities?
According to Zen thought, “dharma has no fixed methods,” and “the cultivators should develop a mind which doesn’t abide anything.” What are the deeper meanings of these statements? If a practitioner has been wiping the floor in a temple for 10 years without learning any sutras or dharma, does this count as self-cultivation? Is this right or wrong?
Grandmaster JinBodhi offers profound yet simple insight which allows you to comprehend the true meaning of self-cultivation within a few minutes. In this short video, Master also shares three key tips on how to elevate your self-cultivation realm. You can apply these tips to whatever you do and in any environment.
【You will learn】
- The story of the little monk who wipes the floor, and the inspiration it provides
- How masters cultivate the minds of their disciples
【Featured aphorisms】
- The practice of fortitude is often hidden in everyday dharma practice and the behaviors involved in doing and serving on a daily basis.
- When a disciple worships their master in front of the Buddha, makes a vow, and bows his or her head, the spiritual communication between the master and the disciple begins. The master can henceforth understand the changes in the disciple’s mood and state.
- Integrating compassion, fortitude and sincerity into work and daily life is the fastest way to self-cultivate.
【Content】
You have watched anime, right? Have you seen Ikkyu-san? This Japanese meditation practitioner wiped a corridor from one end to the other. He did that for 10 years. Could he have preached Buddhism? He preferred to demonstrate it through wiping the corridor. Is this right or wrong? Wiping floors for 10 years, that is it. He never read sutras or learned dharma. Is this right? Hands up if you think this is right. Hands up if you think this is wrong. Opinion is divided.
I think it is neither right nor wrong. Why are there people who think this is right? Imagine 10 years spent wiping a corridor without learning anything. Some would be worried about surviving for 10 years, because all they do is wipe the corridor, that is it. Anyone want to share their thoughts? Why do you think this is fine?
(It’s training to correct the ego.)
To correct the ego? (Yes.) To you, corridor wiping is humiliating and it corrected his ego.
(It would increase his tolerance.)
We will talk about this later. What else?
(He could clear his negative karma.)
Clear his negative karma? It is vague, but I think you could say that. What else? Endurance? Fortitude? They are related. (Fortitude.) Fortitude. Yes. This wiping trains you.
Think about it, nobody could stand wiping a corridor every day, regardless of the era they live in. You just don’t see it bearing any fruit. The master in charge gets all the credit and people prostrate before him. The monks do all the hard work without getting anything in return. Like when tourists are walking by, the cleaners are ignored. Since they are ignored, they feel lonely. Apprentices may not have proper clothes in summer or winter. They even don’t have enough food. You can imagine the poor conditions of this kind of practice. His living conditions were not good. The monk showed persistence.
In the 10th year, his family began telling him that he deserved a promotion. “Look, the assistant abbot and the senior disciple died, you deserve a promotion.” They even tried bribing the abbot, to no avail. What about in the 11th year? The monk was still wiping. Finally, his parents came to convince him to return home. They said it was not easy being a monk. He should be a higher-level monk, not a cleaning monk. They teased him, saying his master was his enemy in a previous life. That was the reason for all the wiping. “Why don’t you come home to a big house, good food and warm clothes? There’s no point in torturing yourself,” they said.
Liberation is a mental state beyond that. One is aware of the humiliation but is able to ignore it. Thus, the monk carried out his tasks without complaint. He met a good master who really intended to cultivate him. That is why he was given the cleaning job. The master had his reasons. He could have been asked to do other jobs for 3 years, but he was asked to clean for 10 years. Maybe his master thought he needed more than 3 years of practice. After 3 years, the monk’s mind had gone into a trance. Though he was still wiping, his mind had gone into a trance. He continued to obtain greater wisdom. Maybe that is why he wasn’t given other tasks.
For outsiders, that was too much. His parents felt their son was being mistreated. He was waited on hand and foot at home. He had never done physical labor. They saw their son as being enslaved by a cruel master. Even the master’s dharma brothers tried to intervene. “He started cleaning 6 years ago and he hasn’t stopped.” They questioned this training. However, masters know their disciples best. Why? When a disciple bows before his master in front of Buddha, a master-disciple bond is born. That is why masters know their disciples’ emotional changes. Masters can feel their disciples’ emotions and spiritual changes. Masters assign training that suits their disciples.
A cleaning job may seem nowhere near proper training, but it is a spiritual training and not only a test. It is a meditation practice that strengthens your mind. Fortitude can be cultivated outside of dharma teachings. Doing the center’s chores also trains your mind. When you are helping out at the center, you are not only helping others, you are practicing. We tend to forget about remaining firm and compassionate, as well as about the bond we share with our master. Sometimes, it is due to various distractions.
You may hate a fellow practitioner because they smell. You may be assigned too much work, so you feel frustrated and tired. You think you are being exploited. You may think this whole thing is slavery. “Why should I do these things? I am here to practice! I am not a servant!” That is the monk’s training, a 10-year cleaning job. Often, the things you do to benefit others doesn’t look like meditation. But are they training? Yes. I will be honest with you. Everything you do at the center trains you. The question is, do you have compassion, determination, and sincerity in your daily life and work? If not, you should. That is how you make progress.
Let’s repeat the 3 core elements of your life and work. What are they? Compassion. Determination. Sincerity. Compassion, determination, sincerity. Apply these in your life and work, by helping out at the center or doing things at your work and home. You should keep the same mind. It is about applying these 3 elements in your daily life.
Wiping a floor is a practice that strengthens one’s determination. Cultivation lies in daily life and work. Cultivating determination helps one transcend the ego and gain wisdom.