You fear losing a certain
eminent position. You hope to gain something
from that, but it comes from elsewhere. Existence does this
switching trick, giving you hope from one source,
then satisfaction from another.
It keeps you bewildered
and wondering, and lets your trust
in the unseen grow.
Entering through practice
refers to the Four Practices — all other
practices are contained within these. What are
the Four Practices? First, the practice of repaying wrongs.
Second, the practice of going along with the causal
nexus. Third, the practice of not seeking
anything. Fourth, the practice of
according with the
Dharma.
What is the practice
of repaying wrongs? When receiving
suffering, a practitioner who cultivates the Path
should think to himself: “During countless ages past
I have abandoned the root and pursued the branches, flowing
into the various states of being, and giving rise to much rancor and
hatred — the transgression, the harm done, has been limitless.
Though I do not transgress now, this suffering is a disaster
left over from former lives — the results of evil deeds
have ripened. This suffering is not something
given by gods or humans.”
You should willingly
endure the suffering without anger
or complaint. The sutra says: “Encountering
suffering, one is not concerned. Why? Because one
is conscious of the basic root.” When this attitude toward
suffering is born, you are in accord with inner truth,
and even as you experience wrongs, you advance
on the Path. Thus it is called “the practice
of repaying wrongs.”
Records of the Teachers and Students of the Lanka
you are ladybirds and the smell of a garden
You should expect grace,
that which makes life more than
manageable, but you look elsewhere,
wanting some delight other
than that.
Your conscious being,
with what you’ve been given,
should be like a beautifully laid-out park
with wildflowers and cultivated wonders,
a swift stream with places to sit
and rest beside it.
When a grieving person
sees you, he or see should recognize a
refuge, refreshment, a generous house where
one need not bring bread and cheese.
There will be plenty.
fertilizing my bamboo grove with horse manure
Give up religiosity
and knowledge, and the people
will benefit a hundredfold. Discard morality
and righteousness, and the people will return
to natural love. Abandon shrewdness
and profiteering, and there
won’t be any robbers
or thieves.
These are external
matters, however. What is most
important is what happens within:
look to what is pure; hold to what
is simple; let go of self-interest;
temper your desires.
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