Chan Meditation Center | Dharma Drum Mountain New York

WORDS OF MASTER SHENG YEN

WISDOM OF THE DAY

We advocate the idea of a “Pure Land on Earth” which is based on the principle of giving rise to bodhicitta in order to achieve one's own Pure Land to help sentient beings realize their Buddha nature. The purification of the environment is achieved through the purification of people's mind and behaviors. Use precepts and regulations to achieve a pure life, use meditation to settle the confused body and mind, and use wisdom to guide the direction of life.
A vow is a commitment to life; the most important thing is to put it into action.
A true practitioner, a true Buddhist, does not seek happiness for oneself, but wishes all sentient beings to be freed from suffering. This is just like the vow of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, “I will never attain Buddhahood until the hell is empty,” and Amitabha's forty-eight vows, as well as the ten great vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. These are all great vows made for all living beings, for others, and for the endless future.
In addition to praying for the blessings of all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and deities, one should also learn from the wisdom and compassion of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, be the incarnation of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, lead by example, and help oneself and others. If everyone can do so, our society will definitely be at peace and harmony.
Vows should be the direction of one's life, with the hope that this life can take a positive path instead of a negative one. What is the positive path? It is one where in this life one will treat others with compassion and not be selfish, treat oneself with wisdom and not give rise to defilements often, and walk the journey in a down-to-earth manner without being of two minds or too ambitious.
The Power of Great Aspiration - With a smile, a blessing, Let us all fulfill good aspirations, Creating a pure land on earth.
Treating others with gratitude is the happiest, most peaceful and worthwhile thing to do for oneself. By doing so, one will cultivate an open mind and also strenghten the mind of compassion.
Buddhism places great importance on recognizing and repaying kindness. People should accept the reality of life with gratitude and then dedicate themselves to the vast number of sentient beings with the attitude of repaying kindness.
One must give rise to bodhicitta, renunciation, great compassion, repentance, and gratitude so that one is able to deepen their practice continuously. Then one can gradually eliminate and cease defliements until they are totally cut off.
Treat all people as future Buddhas and present Bodhisattvas, serve and contribute to them, and grow in devotion. By doing so, one will gain more and make great progress. This is the principle of “benefiting others is benefiting oneself.” Through devotion, one's life value is also enhanced.
“Live in the present, the Buddha is in the present.” We should live in a down-to-earth manner, clearly knowing we're living as we should be. This is a very responsible attitude towards life which is the basis of attaining the Buddhahood.
The purpose of a Chan practitioner’s life is not to pursue or give up things, or to express oneself, or to be happy or vexed because of good or bad. One works hard simply to fulfill the responsibilities of life, neither for oneself nor for others. One's principle is to keep the mind from being disturbed by circumstances or separated from circumstances.
Selflessness is to settle down the “I” of selfishness and defilements, and then enhance the “I” of compassion and wisdom. This “I” of wisdom and compassion is the “I” of no-self.
Inspire yourself, inspire others, be thankful for good and bad conditions, be grateful for what you have contributed, learn from the compassion of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, make great vows, do not regard suffering as suffering, and relieve suffering in the midst of suffering. This is the Bodhisattva spirit of benefiting oneself and others and of helping oneself and others.
By recognizing the fact that all phenomena in the world are impermanent, you can achieve true peace in your inner world.
Meditation is a way to train ourselves to maintain a calm, bright and open mind at all times in the midst of instability, restlessness, or disturbance. Whether the external environment is settled and peaceful or not, at least the state of our mind remains calm and at ease. Anyone who can do this is a person who gains happiness.
When defilements arise, do not contend with them, but dissolve them with a mind of humility, repentance, and gratitude.
Observe your present mind, knowing that it does not exist and that this so-called “I” is actually just a thought in the mind. Since the present mind does not exist, the mind of the past and future does not exist either. With this understanding, the wisdom of “selflessness” will be revealed.
We should recognize and appreciate our good fortunes. Peace and happiness can be readily found if you learn to recognize and appreciate them. We also need to practice being content with what we have. Contentment leads to long-term happiness. Finally, we need to treasure our existing blessings while creating more positive karma—a two-pronged approach of conservation and regeneration. Anyone who can practice this way will have Great Merits and Virtues.
If one does not give rise to defilements, then one will not affect others. If every sentient being does not irritate others with their own afflictions, then the limitless defilements can be cut off. Likewise, if one vows to achieve Buddhahood, one should first tame one's inner world.
A Buddhist who is a practitioner of the Bodhisattva Path takes calming the mind as the basic principle for settling down oneself and uses calming others to fulfill the merit of calming oneself.
Selflessness is to let go of the defilements of self-centeredness and dissolve the mind of attachment, fear and worries. By doing so, the mind of wisdom and compassion will manifest. With the manifestation of wisdom and compassion, the mind will be settled, joyful and bright, which is the result of practice.
We must believe in the concept of "causes and consequences in the past and future" as well as that of having the task of receiving retribution and fulfilling our vows. With this faith, our mind will be at ease. With the mind at ease, we will feel happy and joyful.
Happiness lies in our own mind and is not affected by environment. If we have happiness and joy in our mind, we will be able to influence others around us and let them feel happy as well. This is what DDM advocates-- to "uplift the character of humanity" so that we may be able to "build a pure land on earth".
Spiritual Environmentalism -- A Cure for Happiness: Due to erroneous views, sentient beings feel unhappy. If the upside-down view is corrected, one will find that happiness is present in every moment and at every place. This is the so-called "spiritual environmentalism".
Bodhisattva practice is fulfilled in the midst of hardship and suffering as well as in the midst of helping people in hardship and suffering. Welcoming a new year, we still need to face many things. Whether they are good or bad, favorable or unfavorable, we should regard them as enhanced contributory conditions for practicing the Bodhisattva path.
I, who pray for blessings, vow to cultivate good affinities with all people and to practice to benefit myself and others so that we may be free from the ocean of suffering. I, who pray for blessings, vow to learn and protect the Buddhadharma so that there will be less troubles and afflictions in the world.
I, who feel well and safe, pray for enhanced blessings and wisdom, for peace in the world, and for the joy and contentment of all people. I, who is in frustration and hardship, pray for the elimination of disasters and obstacles so that everyone can be free from suffering and gain happiness
A World of Blessings - With a calm body and mind, we have peace in every moment. In harmony with ourselves and others, we have blessings everywhere.
The nature of habits is emptiness. When wisdom arises, the troubled mind will naturally be dissolved. Unwholesome habits may still be manifested but we already know clearly that the habits are empty in their nature.
To peacefully harmonize with others, reflect inwardly and not be emotional in daily life, these are the practices of concentration.
Those who maintain a more serene and inward-looking mind will be less troubled by the external environment.
As long as our direction remains the same, no matter how hard things are, or whether our path is great or small, we will eventually find our own way.
Merit begins in the mind. The bigger the heart is, the greater the merit. The so-called big heart is to be willing to share what we have with others.
To achieve self-mastery and take charge of your own life, learn to control the body and mind. We should be master of our own body, and mater of our own mind.
In success be humble, in failure undaunted. In poverty work hard, and when disparaged raise yourself up. In a position of wealth be frugal, and in a high position be diligent.
Counting our blessings, we are forever content and happy. Cherishing our blessings, we are always fortunate. Cultivating merit, we increase our happiness. Sowing the seeds of merit, all will be blessed.
If one is able to adeptly use the concept of “impermanence”, then one will live in the midst of the joy of fresh thoughts, peace at every moment, and continuous movement forward without regression.
The so called “beginner’s mind” allows one to practice each time as if it were for the first time. It doesn’t matter whether your past attempts at practice were good or bad. What’s most important is that, for each thought, each period of time, one uses the method.
Happiness and suffering actually come from our perceptions. If we can see them as a process to develop compassion and wisdom, we will enjoy great freedom and ease.
There is no need to be arrogant about the good things that happen to us, nor feel troubled and upset about the bad things. The best approach is to make timely efforts to make progress and seek improvement.
People with compassionate mind will always be respected and valued. Compassion means showing care and consideration toward and helping others unconditionally.
When looking outwardly, what we can see and hear are very little. Only when looking inwardly can we experience endless time and infinite space.
The true self is to be able to be the master of yourself. To be able to control one's own body and mind, and be one's own master -- that is the true self.
There is no such thing as "stable" or "unstable" in the external environment. What really has the decisive impact on our emotions is the feelings in our inner world.
We often only see the faults of others instead of our own unwholesome habitual behaviors. One who only knows about others but not oneself feels vexed all the time. They do not know how to behave properly, and are unable to achieve success.
Chan first verifies our selfness, then transcends it. To verify our selfness means to assume total responsibility, transcending selfness is to not only assume our total responsibility and duties, but to not expect anything in return.
When vexations arise in the mind, we should give rise to a mind of repentance-- then the habitual tendency will vanish instantly.
People have their karmic retributions and bad habits and cannot be without imperfections. Each person has a mind filled with wounds, a body covered with scabs. One has to let go and to tolerate, to open up each scab. Otherwise, one will never know how ugly he is.
Use each opportunity to train your mind, at every moment, wherever you are. Neither pursue anything, nor dislike anything. Because good and bad are originally one.
What is this thing called "I"? It is none other than the deadlocked consciousness. Most people look at things in either a subjective or objective way. If people are more objective in dealing with things, then they are more rational and are approaching wisdom.
Always be aware of what your mind is doing. If you can calm and settle your own mind, you will also be able to bring calmness and stability to others.
What it means to unify our inner world is not to seek this unification beyond our body and mind, not to conquer the nature, not to overcome the external obstacles but to subside and unify our inner conflicts.
Do whatever you can to the best of your ability, learn what's required of you, take up responsibilities, dedicate the best of yourself, and constantly improve yourself. This is the best way to find the true self.
If our minds were able to be unified for just a few moments, then during those brief few minutes we would experience limitless freedom and joy.
Your mind is not an easy thing for you to direct, not easy for you to calm. Those people who do not practice, who have not observed the ability of their minds to be active, will believe that their minds have no problems. These people are ignorant.
As long as the mind changes, heaven will be in front of you and hell will leave you. When we can go beyond the dualistic view of heaven and hell, our mind becomes the mind of equanimity.
If you often examine the trends of your words, actions, and thoughts and find them to be filled with pride, jealousy, greed, resentment, anger, and doubt, then change them. If you can’t, then avoid them. That is practice.
Arrogance, inferiority, suspicion, jealousy, hatred, resentment, anger...are all part of the self. In addition to using a variety of meditation methods to resolve such habitual tendencies, one should also cultivate repentance as a supportive method.
To transcend means to let go, to let go of vexations from self-centeredness. The attitude of transcendence should be -- it's good whether one has or does not have, do not pursue, do not fight, do not possess, but still dedicate yourself to do what you can do.