【Description】
Studying Buddhism and self-cultivating are not about learning impractical concepts and theories but about dealing with obstacles and solving problems in specific situations. In Buddhism, “faith, vow and action” are essential elements of self-cultivation. If you have faith and have made a vow but are hesitant to take action, you will fail to enlighten yourself, let alone help others.
This story reveals what true enlightenment is. When the heavy rain hits and water fills the temple, who is the most enlightened disciple helping everyone out of danger? Let’s tune in to this intriguing little story to gain courage and the ability to act.
【You will learn】
- The story of the flood
- The meaning of “action” within the concept of “faith, vow and action”
- How to face real affliction
【Featured aphorisms】
- The world is a combination of causes and effects; self-cultivation is about learning how to handle individuals and events and how to deal with the obstacles in front of you
- Without true affliction, there will be no true enlightenment.
【Content】
Let me tell you a story about a flood. There was a monastery at the foot of a mountain. This monastery had its back to the mountain; it sat in a gully. The terrain was steep in the back and low in front. In order to have a flat foundation, the builders used stones to reinforce the front of the temple and built walls. They dug a trench in the front yard to collect drinking water.
There was no rain for several days and then suddenly a heavy downpour came. The rain was torrential, and their trench filled up. Water filled the front yard. Soon the water rose up the high walls. The monks had to climb on the roof. Those on the roof started to feel the swaying of the temple. The abbot climbed on the roof of a nearby building.
Someone asked the abbot, “Why is our roof swaying?” A monk who had studied The Sutra by the Sixth Patriarch said, “It is not the temple but your mind that is swaying.” Upon hearing this, the monks believed they were enlightened and began to meditate.
One monk jumped down from the roof and kicked the door open. Water gushed out. The temple stopped swaying. “So is your mind still swaying?” the monk asked. “No, not anymore,” answered the rest. Those on the roof clapped and said, “Our power of concentration released the water!” The abbot smiled.
I think faith, aspiration and practice must be genuine. Face up to reality with genuine motivations, real actions. Today, whether practicing meditation or doing good deeds, I do it to teach Buddhadharma or help people to pacify disasters or solve their problems or enlighten their thinking; I also build places of teaching and practice. I do it all to liberate sentient beings. Down to earth. Do not fixate on things that are delusions.
This is a world of causes and conditions. When we practice, we practice on the basic elements: people, defilements and objects. The objects of practice are the obstacles you are facing. How do we recognize this obstacle, and how do we resolve this obstacle? The building is collapsing and everything is perishing. Those people on the brink of death weren’t looking at reality. They were under the delusion that they had become enlightened. They didn’t realize they were going under.
Face up to reality. Enlightenment is built upon reality. Humans need emotional afflictions, for without afflictions, there would be no realization. I want to remind our disciples that without afflictions, there is no possibility of enlightenment. Where there are real afflictions, there is real enlightenment. False afflictions lead to false enlightenment.
Faith, aspiration and practice must be genuine. Face up to reality with genuine motivations, real actions.