The world of Tzu Chi (Vol.108)

TZU CHI 108 51 * This article is extracted from the book “The Master Tells Stories”. The assembly of monks was pure and righteous, but events like this were unavoidable. It is not surprising that even in our own time, our minds are mostly governed by the things around us. Anger, greed and delusion often appear in our daily behaviour. We must learn Buddha’s tranquil mind and behaviour so that we can be as pure as a flowing mountain stream. “If I didn’t do it, then of course I would answer no. Buddha should know that.” “Then isn’t your answer the same as Dravya’s? Young people should logically analyse everything in detail.” Buddha then turned to the other monks. “I want you to look into this matter. I want Mitra to go outside so all of you can question Mika.” Then Buddha left. The monks then began questioning Mika. “When did you see Dravya molesting your sister? Was there anyone else around? Or were you the only one who saw it?” The monks kept asking Mika, and there were many questions that he did not know how to answer. He realized that he had made a mistake and felt ashamed. He then admitted that he had intentionally made up the story to slander Dravya and that Mitra had accused him because he had told her to. This all happened because he had been assigned to a poor village where the food was bad. The truth was revealed and Buddha returned. The monks reported their findings to Buddha and Dravya was declared innocent. Mika was very embarrassed and sincerely apologized to Buddha for his actions. Buddha admonished him, “If you don’t look after your mind, anger, greed and delusion can easily arise. It is greed to seek delicious food! Since you have become a monk, you should only think of food as something to nourish the body, nothing more. But you clung to your taste for fine food, so your anger appeared when you considered that food bad. You then turned your anger on the monk who serves the assembly. You even deceived your sister into making a false accusation. All these happened because of the three poisons of anger, greed and delusion in your mind.” Mika wished that there was a hole in the ground that he could hide in. He was determined to correct his mistakes and to study diligently.