Chapter 40: Practicing the Dao into heart.
The Buddha said,” The Sramana practices the Dao, who is not like
the grinding cow; although the body practices the Dao, the Dao of heart doesn’t
be practiced. If the Dao of heart is practiced, why should it be necessary to
practice the Dao?”
To be a positive and creative person, not to be a passive and
stubborn person, when we are learning something
Two thousand
years ago, humans used millstones to grind grain. The millstones were too heavy
to be pushed by humans. Therefore, humans thought of a way to let cow push the millstones.
In order to drive the cow forward, humans hung a bunch of grass in front of the
cow, and the cow instinctively walked forward in order to eat the grass. By the
force of the cow, the millstones moved, so it began to grind. Therefore, the
cow pushed the millstones and went round the stones in each day. If the cow
didn’t move, the owner even whipped it with a rope. The cow even didn’t know why it had to push
the millstones. We called it the grinding cow.
What the grinding
cow has done in each day is an usual and fixed way of doing things and what it
gives the humans the impression is passive, ignorant, stupid, rash and stubborn. Its
heart is dim. There must be an incentive before the grinding cow so it is willing to
move. Even though the body of the grinding cow is pushing millstones routinely
and is working hard every day, but it is in vain and it has no clear goal.
The Sramana is
Buddhist monk. The Buddha said that the Sramana who practice the Dao doesn’t be
like the grinding cow, who only knows to do things routinely with the passive
mind but without good intention and virtuous mind. That is why the Buddha said,
“Although the body practices the Dao, the Dao of heart doesn’t be practiced.” Even though we are not the Sramana, it
is also remind us to be a positive
and creative person, not to be a passive and rash person, when we are learning
something.
Practicing the Dao by forms and situations so as to practice the
Dao of heart
As Buddhist monks
(or nuns) and no matter they are junior or senior, they have a lot of basic works
to do every day in the Buddhist group in order to learn Buddha and how to
practice the path of Buddha (practice the Dao) in daily life. Meanwhile, there
are also many routine works of life trivia.
For example, some
of them are assigned to cook or work in the kitchen, or to clean the toilet, or
to clean the Buddhist hall or the courtyard, and so on. That is they must work
together in the Buddhist group so as to run the Buddhist group well. In this
group, they can't pick a job and they can’t have the heart of likes or dislikes
about any job. That is because what the place of this group is the place for
learning and practicing the Dao (the path of Buddha), not the place for running
business.
Except for the
routine work of life trivia in each day, the Buddhist monks (or nuns) have to
obey and keep the precepts, to chant the Buddhist scripture, and to recite the
name of all Buddha, to bow to worship the Buddha so as to repent the self-fault
or to pray the bliss for the self and the sentient beings, and to meditate at
some fixed time. In addition, they have to attend the Buddhist class so as to
listen to the teaching of Buddha by the Buddhist master or the senior Buddhist
professor. They also do these things routinely in each day.
If the Buddhist
monks (or nuns) don’t understand the meaning for doing these things, although
they work hard every day, what they are looked is like the grinding cow who
pulls the millstones and wears out the cow's body shape. When they are unable
to have the initiative to do anything, they will feel tired and bored, and
think that it is meaningless for practicing the Dao (the path of Buddha).
An inspired story
There is a story
which could inspire us. In a Buddhist group, there is a little novice monk who decided
to practice the Dao to follow the Buddha’s teaching and was assigned to sweep
the floor in the courtyard. There were a lot of fallen leaves on the ground. The
little novice monk always complained that there were endless fallen leaves
every day and why the master assigned him to bear so much heavy work. Many
years passed away, the little novice monk had grew to be a young man.
One day, he was
still complaining while sweeping the floor. The master took a walk to beside
him and watched him complaining. The master asked him, ”You have swept the
floor for many years. Do you have swept “the garbage” out of the floor of your
heart?” Then, the master smiled with mercy and went away. The young man felt
confused and began to think what “the garbage” in the floor of heart is and why
“the garbage” has to be swept out of the floor of heart. Then, the young man
was thinking about this question while sweeping the floor every day.
Another day,
there was a senior Buddhist monk who walked beside the young man and saw him
take a rest under a tree. The senior blame him and said, “The sluggard! How
dare you to be lazy. Why don’t you hurry up to sweep the floor clean? ” The
young man was unhappy about this blaming and suddenly wanted to leave this
group. After a period of time, the master came to beside him and saw the young
man who was anxious while sweeping the floor with upset. The master advised him
and said, ”Why don’t you “sweep” the worries out of your heart? ” Then, the
master looked at him, smiled with mercy and went away. The young man suddenly
seems to be inspired and began to diligently sweep the floor with the good mood.
Do you have been
inspired from this story? Do you have swept “the garbage” from the floor of
heart every day? What is “the garbage” in our heart? How to define “the garbage”
in our heart? In a word, it means all the unpleasant things or all the worries
which are resulted from our desire, love, greed, hatred or the stupid
infatuation.
To hone our mind to be good and virtuous through forms and
situations
All these things which
are the routine works in the Buddhist group are situations, which are also some
kind of forms. Since these forms and situations are temporary, these things
could be changes in any time. The most important is to hone our mind to be good
and virtuous through these forms and situations. That is to practice the Dao of
heart (the path of heart), which means to walk in the path of good and virtuous
heart. This is the most direct and simple meaning in learning Buddha.
Extending the
meaning as said above, no matter what position we are in and what we are doing,
the most important thing is to practice the Dao of heart (the path of heart).
That is to practice the Dao of heart is more victory than to practice the Dao
by doing any things in any form. (The Dao means the path.)
In other words,
whatever we are employees or bosses, whatever we are scholars or entrepreneurs,
or whatever we are the junior or the senior learners in any religion, what we
are doing is the changes on the surface of any matters or circumstances. The
most important is whether we are inspired from these changes of matters or the
worldly routine jobs. This is to reflect the Dao of heart (the path of heart).
Therefore, to reflect the Dao of heart is not limited in the form of learning
Buddhism, but can be demonstrated and expressed in various professions of the
worldly, even in the various religions.
What is the meaning about practicing the Dao of heart (the path of
heart)?
It has the more
broaden and deep meaning about practicing the Dao of heart in Buddhism. What is
the meaning about practicing the Dao of heart? In a word, it is the wisdom,
which exist the difference between the shallow and deep wisdom.
To learn the Dao
and to practice the Dao are dependent on the heart. If the Dao of heart is not
practiced, there is no dependent and no use to learn the Dao and to practice
the Dao.
The Buddha said, “If
the Dao of heart is practiced, why should it be necessary to practice the Dao?”
It means that if the natural wisdom of the self is naturally flowing,
practicing and functioning, any apparent ritual, form or situation in
practicing the Dao is not necessary. That is why there is the Zen to be another
hand down from the Buddha in addition to the whole Buddha’s teaching. The Zen
completely throws off the conventional dogma in Buddhism and directly indicates
the nature of mind. That is, the Zen is focus on practicing the Dao of heart
and it doesn’t care about any ritual and form, but it doesn’t mean not to
respect the self and others.
It is not easy
for the ordinary people to practice the Dao of heart. Therefore, to
simultaneously both practice the Dao with ritual and form, and practice the Dao
of heart, is necessary. For the senior learners, they can throw off any ritual
and form, and singly practice the Dao of heart, when they are inspired and
achieve the certain level in Buddhism.
Regarding to
practice the Dao of heart, it is also mentioned a lot in the Sutra of 42
chapters said by Buddha. In a word, to practice the Dao of heart is the focus
point and highlight in Buddha’s teaching. Then, what is it? It is to maintain
the heart in the clear, pure and clean state and to let the natural wisdom of
self to appear and flow naturally. When the Buddha was meditating in the
sitting way and was enlightened under the Bodhi-tree, the Buddha said, “All
sentient beings have the virtuous appearance of natural wisdom, but which
cannot be proved by them because of their vain thinking and their cling.”
The Dao of heart (The path of heart) is lively, flexible and
creative
That is, our vain
thinking and cling for anything is the obstacle to inspire our natural wisdom.
In other words, our vain thinking and cling for anything is to hinder or to
limit our virtuous destiny and to result in our frustration and bad fate. That’s
why the Buddha had taught us the concept of no-thought, no-desire and no-doing
through practicing the Dao of Buddhism, which really stabilizes our mind and makes us no
demanding for anything, so as to prevent us doing anything wrong to harm the self
and others. This is the nature of practicing the Dao of heart, which are
lively, flexible and creative.
Those people who
don’t learn and practice the Dao will easily generate the vain hope and cling
to any wishful things, which makes them worry the gaining and losing. This
situation makes them unease in mind, makes them limited in thinking and makes
them have the sensitive feeling about the frustration and failure, when their
attaching expectation is failed, which will easily makes them result in the
hatred to the humans and the events, afterward hurt the self and others.
Does the chasing for the personal great dream conflict with the
Buddha’s teaching?
The concept for
dropping out our vain thinking and cling seems to run in the opposite direction
about bravely chasing the great dream. The American dream makes the America
great. The personal great dream makes the individual great. In the past time, I
often see the American movies. There is a feature for the American movies. That
is to emphasize and encourage humans bravely chasing the personal great dream
and the characters will finally achieve their goal after experiencing a lot of frustration
and failure. It is really uplifting our mind.
I also find that
this concept is quite different from our traditional education in Taiwan,
including the traditional teaching of Buddha in Taiwan. The most difference is
that the America encourages the humans to make dream, try it and bravely take
the adventures through the cooperation with partners step by step. However, the
traditional education in Taiwan encourages humans to keep themselves superior, excellent,
obedient and safe through the individual competing strength in education and in
career.
Therefore, we might
have one question. Do making dream, trying it and taking the adventures
conflict with the teaching of Buddha? When we profoundly think about it and
realize the Buddha’s teaching, we will find that there is no conflict between
them. Meanwhile, we will acknowledge it is acceptable to abandon the vain hope
and cling. There is no conflict for these concepts. Why?
The reasoning (the principle) and the event are perfectly
integrated which makes each event without obstacle.
If you have read
the Sutra of 42 chapters said by Buddha from chapter 1 to chapter 39, you might
have the fundamental concept, that the emptiness and the existence (or the
possessing) are one. That is, the meaning of the true and the meaning of the
worldly are one. The emptiness is the true reasoning (the principle). The
existence (or the possessing) is the worldly event. When we really have realized
these concepts and practiced these concepts in daily life, we can perfectly
integrate these concepts together and make the event or the dream (what we are
doing) to be completed or realized in the condition without obstacle and
limitation.
There is nothing
to gain and nothing to lose for us, even the event or the dream is failed. That
is because we have established the healthy mind through practicing the Dao as
said above--abandon the cling for anything, let it go and let it be. That is
called that the reasoning (the principle) and the event are perfectly
integrated which makes each event without obstacle.
The concept of
without obstacle is established on the mind, the self-nature and the emptiness.
The event itself will certainly meet any changes of situations. However, there
is no good and no bad about any changes of situations. That is because our mind
is dwelling on the emptiness. In the emptiness, there is no good and no bad.
Since our mind is dwelling on the emptiness, there is no obstacle in our mind.
Since there is no obstacle in our mind, there is the mastery in our mind to
communicate and achieve the subject or goal. In this state, it is the true
mastery.
The appearance with illusion and disappearance with illusion based
on the self-nature
Finally, we will
find that there is no conflict between the natural wisdom and bravely chasing
the great dream. Why? It is the appearance with illusion and disappearance with
illusion based on the self-nature. Even though we are not the Sramana, there is
no conflict and no obstacle between the true and the worldly, when we practice
the Dao of heart and make or realize our great dream step by step and down to
earth. This is the real practicing and the real proving about the Dao of heart
(the path of, the virtue of and the merit of the heart).
Where is the best
place for us to practice the Dao of heart? When we understand the above
mentioned concept about the perfect integration of reasoning and event, we will
know that the worldly where we are is the best place for us to practice the Dao
of heart.
Supplementary note: Dao is transliterated
from Chinese, meaning way and method, deeper meaning as a system of learning or
religion.
p.s. Dao is Tao, which is transliterated
from Chinese. The original meaning of Dao is the way and path, and it is
extended to be the truth of life that we can learn and practice in our lives.
