Seven-day Retreat Talk (Day 5)

Breakfast Talk December 3, 1992 

How do we obtain wisdom? Many practitioners believe Buddhist wisdom comes from enlightenment. So then, how does one become enlightened? Wisdom and enlightenment manifest when your focus changes from the self; when greed, hatred, ignorance, arrogance, suspicion and doubt, which arise from self-centeredness, no longer manifest. One accomplishes this through methods of practice. Practice is guided by views, or attitudes. When one's attitude is correct, it is called "right view." When it's off base, then it's called "heretical view." To develop right view, you need to expand your awareness from the self to all sentient beings. Self- centeredness slowly dissolves as you develop compassion for others. When self-centeredness no longer arises, wisdom manifests. The development of compassion is the development of bodhi mind. Complete bodhi mind is anuttara samyak sambodhi (unsurpassed, altruistic, enlightened mind). To generate bodhi mind, which means achieving Buddhahood, you must traverse the Bodhisattva path; that is, develop compassion such that your concern will be directed toward saving all sentient beings. Sakyamuni Buddha practiced for the benefit of sentient beings. In his wisdom he saw the inevitable cycle of birth, aging, sickness and death. He also the constant cycle of life and death when larger animals preyed on smaller animals. He practiced to find methods that would help to alleviate the suffering of sentient beings. Thus, compassions was Buddha's starting point. Everyday we recite and chant the Four Great Vows. The first vow is, "I vow to deliver innumerable sentient beings." The last vow is, "I vow to attain Supreme Buddhahood." In the order of the vows that we must develop compassions and deliver sentient beings first, and attain Buddhahood later. Most of us want to derive personal benefit from meditation. We want enlightenment. But think of it this way. Say you want bread. In the old days, you had to plant a crop of grain first. Now you have to work so you can buy it. Even beggars have to make an effort to get food. The point is, you have to expend energy to attain a goal. In our practice we must also expend energy. We must plant seeds. And our field is sentient beings. We need to establish a connection with sentient beings. Doing this, we generate compassion, which eventually can lead to bodhi mind. In light of what I said, we should vow that whatever you do will be done for the benefit of sentient beings. When we sit to meditate, we should desire to sit for the benefit of sentient beings. To help others become healthy, you must learn how to be healthy too, and you must learn the ways so that you can help others also learn. This is the path of compassion. 

Lunch Talk December 3, 1992 

Practice and cultivation in the Ch'an sect are often misunderstood by outsiders or newcomers. People read stories and koans where practitioners attain enlightenment upon hearing a single word. It's misleading. They think they can become enlightened by reading one or two books. Especially misleading can be the term, "sudden enlightenment." People read this and think enlightenment requires little, if any, practice. They wait for enlightenment to strike them spontaneously. Very few people have become enlightened, including disciples of great patriarchs. For example, Master Ma-tzu had the greatest number of disciples in Ch'an's history. He also had the greatest number who attained enlightenment, about 120. Sung dynasty master Ta-hui Tsung-kao once helped eighteen disciples reach enlightenment in a single night. Simple arithmetic tells us that if he kept up that pace, he could help 180 disciples reach enlightenment in ten days, 1800 in one hundred days! Obviously, it doesn't work this way. Ta-hui was not handing out diplomas. I counted the number of disciples who achieved enlightenment under his guidance -- less than 25 in his entire career. He just had a spectacular night. Still, you might be impressed by the numbers I've rattled off. Remember, though, that Ch'an Buddhism has been around for centuries, and thousands upon thousands of people have devoted their lives to practice. What about the vast majority who did not achieve enlightenment? Was practice a waste of time for them? Should they have given it up? I don't think you believe this. Everyone derives benefit from practice, to one degree or another. Many people believe that the whole purpose of practice is to achieve enlightenment. Such people would like everyone else to help them in their practice and lend their support. After enlightenment, they will gladly return the favor. This is not the way to develop compassion or follow the first of the Four Great Vows. Such people can even change from being initially loving kind to becoming more and more selfish. Insisting that others cater to them instead of offering their help to others. Practicing in this manner for years will only serve to create heavy karmic debts. They are making it even more difficult for themselves to achieve enlightenment. They have forgotten that the foundation of practice is benefiting sentient beings. Practice and generating bodhi mind complement each other. When your practice is an even mixture of both, you and others will benefit. Please, keep compassion in the forefront of your mind. If it is difficult for you, then develop a sense of humility, which serves as a catalyst for the growth of compassion. 

Afternoon Talk December 3, 1992 

At times people will ask me how long it takes to achieve enlightenment. There is no set time. A second, an hour, a year, a lifetime, many lifetimes. In ordinary matters, on person might achieve in an hour what takes another a week. One person, with a single phrase, might save a million people, whereas another might not be a single person in an entire lifetime. Don't waste your time calculating how long it will take; rather, consider your diligence now, consider your karmic obstructions. Karmic obstructions are obstructions generated and carried in our minds from time without beginning, through life after life until now. The bad and good karma that we have created is carried within our minds. Ceaselessly, thought after thought, we carry this karmic debt, and we continue to attach to our selves. This is what drives us on. 

****Question on first, second and third karmic obstruction**** 

Environmental karmic obstructions are trivial compared to those within the mind. They are more easily overcome. I knew a monk who had to return to lay life, and when he began working, he abandoned his practice because he felt overwhelmed. On the other hand, I know a lay person who has a complicated job, and he says that, in fact, the job encourages him to practice better. Even if the jobs were similar, why should they have opposite effects on two different people? Realize that the environment is only a minor aspect of one's obstruction. True obstruction comes from the mind. If you maintain a mind of humility, then you can practice any time, any place. Also, if you maintain the impetus to generate bodhi mind, then every person you meet will be a recipient and a source of help. Not only every person, but every situation can become both a recipient and a source of benefit. One situation may cause in aversion in some, yet help others to practice better. Remember, any situation can be an asset to your practice. It depends on your point of view. The cultivation of Ch'an is to transform ourselves, not the environment. Once we are transformed, the environment will also, quite naturally, have transformed, and we can positively influence everyone we come in contact with.