August 08, 2021

Chapter 40: Practicing the Dao into heart.

(Chapter 40) A Brief Talk about The Scripture of Forty-Two Chapters Said by Buddha 


Co-translators in the time of Eastern Han Dynasty, China(A.D. 25 - 200) : 
Kasyapa Matanga and Zhu Falan (Who translated the said Scripture from Sanskrit into Chinese. )
Translator in modern time (A.D.2018: Tao Qing Hsu (Who translated the said Scripture from Chinese into English.)
Teacher and writer for explaining the said Scripture: Tao Qing Hsu


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.

 

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