by Venerable Master Hua at Gold Mountain
Monastery December 26, 1992
Transcribed by Yu Chr
In
studying Buddhism, don't pursue futile paths. You may spend your
entire life going from one Buddhist temple to the next, only to
find in the end that you haven't gotten anything out of it: you
haven't been able to really lecture the Sutras; you haven't been
able to be really mindful of the Buddha; you haven't learned how to
bow repentances-or when bowing them you can't be singleminded. Why?
While bowing, you think, "I want to go to another temple. That
place is also bowing a repentance. I think I'll go there and take a
look."
For
another instance, in reciting the Buddha's name, you spend
two-and-a-half days here reciting, but then you say, "Oh, That
place is also holding a recitation session. I'll go there to recite
for another two-and-a-half days." Two-and-a-half plus
two-and-a-half makes five days, with two days left. "Ah, there's
yet another place holding a recitation session so I'll go to
participate for a couple more days. I don't want to plant good
roots in just one place; I'll plant good roots all over the place.
Then wherever they grow, I'll have good roots." Oh! Do you see? On
the one hand you are being mindful of the Buddha, while on the
other hand you have such massive greed and go around acting like a
guerilla commander. Not only are you running around yourself, you
convince others to do the same. The more people there are, the
bigger the band, and the greater the aid. Everywhere you go, you
have influence. As soon as people see that the guerilla commander
has arrived, and has brought such a large gang, immediately they
give you a special welcome and special treatment. Wherever you go,
you are welcomed and treated well. You are served the best
vegetarian food, and given the best of everything. At every temple
you go to, you are regarded with distinction: "That's a great
Dharma Protector! The Commander-in-Chief has arrived! Wow! He's got
a big gang of followers, so we want to keep him here." So all those
followers come. You see! Whether it's being mindful of the Buddha,
bowing repentances, or lecturing Sutras-it's all the same: they go
from this place to that place, and from that place to another
place. And they end up with nothing at all. Whether it's reciting
the Buddha's name, listening to lectures on the Sutras, bowing
repentances, or whatever else you might be doing, you should do it
in one place and do it singlemindedly. But you must use the
Selecting-Dharma Eye. You must recognize what is true and what is
false; what is proper and what is deviant. You must understand
this. Once you understand, then wherever you go will be right. If
you don't understand this, you may go running around at random for
your entire life to no avail.
I
am speaking true principle for you right now. Don't think, "I
should go to more places and thereby plant more good roots," for in
the end there is no growth anywhere, and the good roots planted in
a pile of ashes will not produce anything. You should plant good
roots in fertile ground. What kind of ground is fertile? Places
where genuine cultivation takes place. I don't venture to say that
ours is a place of true cultivation. You yourself go anywhere else
and see if you can find a place that is better than the City of Ten
Thousand Buddhas or Gold Mountain Monastery. I don't try to hold
people. But you should take a good look. Don't let it become a case
of the blind leading the blind, where you think people are good if
they say a few nice words to you, flatter you, offer you some
delicious vegetarian food, or lure you with a bit of
sweetness.
Those
who reside in a genuine Buddhist place do not try to get on the
good side of anyone. They would never say, "If you come to my
place, we have all kinds of good things." At our place, nothing is
good and everything is imperfect, because we are all still
learning. This is what I wanted to tell you today. If you think
what I have said is true, that's fine. If you think it's false,
that's fine too. Whether or not you listen, it's fine. I have done
what I think I should do. Wherever I am, I am not afraid that no
laypeople may come. I'm not afraid that people won't come here.
What am I afraid of? I only fear that I might cheat people, that I
might not be true. If I am not cheating people, people all have
eyes, and without this place being praised, they will come here. Do
you believe what I've said or not?