Not discussing faults of others (Part2)

sinweiy SG

continue from the expired topic:-
http://www.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/229222

either one have the mind of rejection or the mind of Equanimity (upekkha).

"Equanimity is a perfect, unshakable balance of mind, rooted in insight."

http://www.buddhanet.net/ss06.htm

when people don't know how to Respect each other, conflicts and wars occurs.

''Always look for our own faults

How can we look for our own faults? First of all you must see your own faults and not to look for others faults. Don't be like a camera that always takes picture outside and is never able to take the picture of it's inside. That is to say, it is unable to reflect upon itself. If you constantly look for others faults, "That person is really bad. He drinks, smokes, and takes drugs. He is truly bad and cannot be taught and changed. This person steals things and that one kills. And look at that man, he always boasts." You always look at other's faults and do not do the slightest reflection on yourself, "Have I committed killing today? Have I given rise to the thought of stealing, of deviant views, of lust? Have I lied today? Have I taken any wine today?" You never return the light and let it shines on yourself, but instead, always let it shines outside.''
-Excerpt from Venerable Master Hsuan Hua

sinweiy SG

Su Dongpo, the famous scholar, one day joined Fo Yin, a Buddhist monk, in sitting meditation. They meditated for some time before Su Dongpo opened his eyes and asked Fo Yin, "What did you see in me when I was meditating?" Fo Yin looked at him and nodded in approval, "You looked like a stately Buddha." Su Dongpo was very pleased. After a while, Fo Yin asked Su the same question. Su wanted to make a joke with him, so he said, "You look to me like bullshit." Fo Yin smiled, and did not retort. Su Dongpo felt he had taken advantage of Fo Yin, so he went back home in a good mood, and told his sister, Su Xiaomei about it. To his surprise, his sister laughed at him for his stupidity. Su Dongpo did not understand why. Su Xiaomei then explained, "Monk Fo Yin cherishes Buddha in his heart, so in his eyes you looked like Buddha. You said he looked like bullshit. That means your heart is full of bullshit."

The story tells us that a person's criticism of others may not be able to point out other people's problems, but it can surely reveal the mind, knowledge and spiritual realm of the criticizer himself. People are mirrors of their own mind, and the way one perceives others reflects the state of his own heart. As said in Buddhism, "The Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities." If a cultivator's heart is full of benevolence and peace, the evil around him will be dissolved, and everything within his sight will turn out beautiful.

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sinweiy SG

Is the Sound Annoying You?
If people were trying to meditate and wanted to shut the world out, Ajahn Chah used to give them a very hard time. If he came across a nun or a monk who had barricaded the windows of their heart and was trying to block everything out, he would really put them through it. He drew in one monk of this type as his attendant for a while and he would never let him sit still. As soon as he saw the monk close his eyes to "go into meditation" he would immediately send him off on some errand. Ajahn Chah knew that cutting yourself off was not the place of true inner peace. This was because of his own years of trying to make the world shut up and leave him alone. He had failed miserably. Eventually he was able to see this is not how to find completion and resolution.

Years ago, when he was a wandering monk, living on his own on a mountainside above a village, he kept a strict meditation schedule. In Thailand they love outdoor, nightlong film shows because the nights are cool compared to the very hot days. Whenever there was a party, it tended to go on all night. About fifty years ago, public address systems were just starting to be used in Thailand and every decent event had to have a PA going. It was blasted as loud as possible all through the night. One time, Ajahn Chah was quietly meditating up on the mountain while there was a festival going on down in the village. All the local folk songs and pop music were amplified throughout the area. Ajahn Chah was sitting there, seething and thinking, "Don't they realize all the bad karma involved in disturbing my meditation? They know I 'm up here. After all, I'm their teacher. Haven't they learned anything? And what about the five precepts? I bet they're boozing and out of control," and so on and so forth.

But Ajahn Chah was a pretty smart fellow. As he listened to himself complaining, he quickly realized, "Well, they're just having a good time down there. I'm making myself miserable up here. No matter how upset I get, my anger is just making more noise internally." And then he had this insight: "Oh, the sound is just the sound. It's me who is going out to annoy it. If I leave the sound alone, it won't annoy me. It's just doing what it has to do. That's what sound does. It makes sound. This is its job. So if I don't go out and bother the sound, it's not going to bother me. Aha!"

As it turned out, this insight had such a profound effect that it became a principle that he espoused from that time on. If any of the monks displayed an urge to try and get away from people or stimulation—the world of things and responsibilities—he would tend to shove them straight into it. He would put that monk in charge of the cement-mixing crew or take him to do every house blessing that came up on the calendar. He would make sure that the monk had to get involved in things because he was trying to teach him to let go of seeing meditation as needing sterile conditions—to see, in fact, that most wisdom arises from the skillful handling of the world's abrasions.

Ajahn Chah was passing along an important insight. It's pointless to try to find peace through nullifying or erasing the sense world. Peace only comes through not giving that world more substantiality or more reality than it actually possesses.
http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2003/winter/ajahnamaro.html