The world of Tzu Chi (Vol.111)

TZU CHI 111 59 very important in training your mind.” “Although this bhiksuni made the vows to become a practitioner, she did not practise mindful speech. This is a result of the greed in her heart, and of her habitual tendencies. She was like this in her past lives and is still the same in this lifetime.” The Buddha then proceeded to share this bhiksuni’s past karma: Many years ago, a flock of birds lived in the woods near Vulture Peak. Due to a change in the climate, the head of the flock led the other birds on a migration to the south. While passing by a rich caravan, one of the birds saw corn and peas spill from ripped bags in the caravan’s merchandise. This bird thought, “I want to eat those corn and peas, but if I go now, the others will follow, and I will not get as much.” So the bird waited. Finally, when the flock paused to rest, the bird said, “As we were flying, I saw vicious predators and humans nearby; we shouldn’t rest here or go back or else we may be harmed.” The flock believed the bird and continued on their way. Meanwhile, the bird circled back to gather all the corn and peas that had fallen from the caravan. Standing on the road, happily consuming the fallen corn and peas, the bird did not notice a carriage approaching from behind. The bird was killed. The injured bhiksuni was that bird. As Buddhist practitioners, we should remain pure in our actions, words and thoughts. In our practice, the greatest difficulty comes when we allow our minds to be affected by our environment. No matter what happens around us, we must remain pure and calm. Otherwise, our minds will waver, and we end up making mistakes that we will regret forever. * This article is extracted from the book “The Master Tells Stories”.