Good thread... here's a sharing:
In cultivation, at what state of the mind does one
awaken? What is the state of awakening
like?
The correct concept of cultivation
First of all we need to understand what is
cultivation. Some people think that cultivation means not having an
occupation but to be engaged in the daily activities of prayers to
the Buddha, meditation or chanting the sutras. The actual purpose
of cultivation is to eradicate our undesirable conduct and to
maintain our good conduct. In other words, to follow the
Bodhisattva path in emulating the practices of the Bodhisattvas. When we know
the meaning of cultivation, then we understand its purpose, which
is to eradicate our self serving and evil habits and thus reduce
our negative karma. However, many people do not understand this
principle and they misinterpret its meaning. Actually, not only
those who have renounced to be Buddhist monks or nuns need to
cultivate, lay-Buddhists also need to cultivate, if not more
diligently. Even those who do not subscribe to any religion need to
cultivate. Cultivation is not only a matter for monks or nuns
alone.
What is cultivation? Where
do we practise cultivation? Let me tell you a story: More than
twenty years ago, I took four years to cultivate as I travelled
across the country. Step by step, I covered Taiwan by walking. Once
when I was in Hua-Lian, an elderly Buddhist asked me, "Master! A
monk should reside in the temple to meditate, pray and chant
sutras, but when you travel about what are you cultivating? I
replied, "That’s right! I am cultivating. Sakyamuni Buddha teaches
us to cultivate our conduct. He does not encourage us to cultivate
sitting down! In the past few years I had been practising sitting
meditation, now I wish to travel about. While walking and also
amidst all my other activities, I do not commit evil deeds, I chant
the names of the Buddhas, I praise and commend others, I tell
people about the Dharma, I avoid the places of vice, this is the
way I cultivate."
Thus, to cultivate means
cultivating in the midst of our activities. This is a point that
many people do not understand. They think that cultivation will
result in a society that is pessimistic and low-spirited. This is a
mistake. Jen Chen Buddhism advocates cultivating in the midst of
our daily activities. Many retired old folks have no need to attend
to household chores anymore, thus they can afford to spend their
time to chant the names of the Buddhas and to cultivate in the
midst of their leisure. However, there are many housewives who need
to tend to their children, household chores and many other matters.
How do you expect them to cultivate in their leisure? Thus, the
need to cultivate in the midst of their activities; while cooking
they could chant the names of the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas. No
matter what activities they are engaged in, it is always possible
to cultivate. Instead of gossipping about our neighbours and
friends or engaging in other frivolous talks, why not refrain from
all these. This is cultivation. Therefore, only when we cultivate
in the midst of our activities do we understand the meaning of
cultivation. To cultivate in our leisure may cause others a lot of
frustrations. For example, a husband may be upset because his wife
neglects the household by spending too much time chanting or
running from temple to temple. For her to introduce Buddhism to her
husband, thus, would not be an easy task. If she understands the
principle of cultivating in the midst of her activities, it would
be acceptable to the husband. Should he be invited to places of
vice, he would know how to turn them down because his wife is a
diligent cultivator. Both husband and wife are then cultivating at
the same time.
There will be progress in
our society when we understand the principle of cultivation.
Otherwise, society will backslide. Over the last few decades, I
have come to realize that we need to cultivate wherever we are.
When we possess the correct concept of cultivation, any time is an
appropriate time for cultivation, any place can be the place for us
to seek enlightenment. If each and everyone of us conduct ourselves
in this way, then the world will become a pure land. If we think
that we can only cultivate in the temples, or that we cannot
cultivate when we are working, then it is very possible that we
commit evils deeds without even knowing. When we are with Buddha
every moment, and cultivate constantly, then we are truly
practitioners of Buddhism.
As to when in the
cultivation process does one awaken and what it is like to be
awakened, only when you follow the guidance of the Dharma and put
it into practice, will you know you have awakened: when you drink
the water, only you know how warm or cold it
is.
How do we practise Buddhism
when we are so busy with our careers and constantly facing a
shortage of time?
Cultivating
amid our activities
Many of us think that
learning and practising Buddhism means utilising Sundays, our rest
days or daily, to pray or meditate in temples. This perception is
neither right nor wrong. We may be busy with our work and other
activities, but, Buddhism is best practised amid these activities.
Should one be totally inactive or free, what else is there to
practise?
It is common to see people
working and singing at the same time; machinists talking while
working the machines; housewives working on their chores and
exhorting their children at the same time; others work with their
minds preoccupied with all sorts of other problems not related to
their work. In short, they may be occupied physically, but
mentally, their minds are not free or empty. As such, does learning
and practising Buddhism really pose a problem to our heavy
schedules? This is definitely not so. A verse from the "Seven
Buddhas" reads: "Avoid all evils; do all that are good; purify
one’s mind. These are the teachings of all
Buddhas".
So, we just need to purify
our minds. While at work, although our body may be in action, it is
actually amid these actions that we cultivate. The mind should not
wander and the mouth should not chatter unnecessarily. We should
concentrate on the work wholeheartedly, and constantly act on
purifying our thoughts. This is practising Buddhism, and in fact it
is the right approach. With this in mind,
the busier we are, the more opportunities
we have in cultivating. Let us not treat Buddhism as a form of
superstition and think that to practise means having to make
extraordinary efforts such as going to the forests or temples to
meditate or to chant.
A commuter, when
travelling in a train for example, may emulate the mental purity of
the Buddha, and listen to the rumbling of the wheels and at the
same time rythmically chant the name of the Buddha or Bodhisattva
so that the mind does not wander. Naturally the mind will become
pure and calm. Learning Buddhism means emulating the mental purity
of the Buddha. Buddha is one who has already attained perfect
enlightenment, sublime wisdom and blessings. On the other hand the
commoner has lesser blessings and wisdom. Still, he would have made
tremendous advancements if he merely practises Buddhism amid his
daily activities to the extent that he attains purity in his bodily
actions, speech and thoughts.
Thus, no matter what we
do, where we are or how busy we may be, we can still practise
Buddhism. As long as we put this into practise, our wisdom will
develop and our blessings will gradually grow. For this reason, Jen
Chen Buddhism advocates practising amid the activities of our daily
lives; practising without attaching to the notion of practice;
maintaining awareness without attaching to the notion of awareness;
and attaining without attaching to the notion of attainment. When
we understand this principle and have no more confusions, we can be
considered great practitioners of Buddhism.