The world of Tzu Chi March 2020(Vol.120)

2020 • 03 52 concept of giving up the limited self in order to achieve the greater self. Yet, they end up clinging to the concept of greater self, in that way remaining unable to let go of their limited self. They are unable to thoroughly understand that to truly engage in spiritual cultivation, one must first let go of one’s attachment to self—“The limited self must merge into the greater self.” If we interact with people, it is inevitable that we will encounter conflicts with others. However, if we have truly attained “non-self”, how can we have afflictions due to interpersonal matters? When we have no afflictions, then every place is a spiritual training ground. Some spiritual practitioners cling to the principle of non-self, yet they strive for an environment for spiritual cultivation that truly belongs to them. This too is an inverted view. Next is the attachment to “impurity”. Such people consider everything in society dirty and unclean, so they give up on the human realm. However, according to the Buddha’s mindset, no matter how filthy the environment is, it can be turned into a beautiful setting; no matter how terrible a person is, he can be gradually transformed into a good person. With this kind of mindset, we will be able to get along with others. If we emphasize the ugliness of the world and let the environment continue to deteriorate, then there will be no Pure Land in this world. Afflictions arise from our own minds. For example, whether a smell is fragrant or foul, whether something is filthy or clean comes from the differentiation of the mind. Some people enjoy eating preserved eggs and stinky tofu, which have a smelly odour; they feel that these are tasty delicacies. So, there is no definite standard determining whether a smell is pleasant or foul. As Buddhist practitioners, whether we are stubbornly attached to mundane existence or harbour a Small Vehicle practitioner’s biased attachment to emptiness, we are not following the ideal of the Middle Way. As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must adopt the MiddleWay. We need to take the realm we live in and purify it; even though this realm is filled with afflictions, we cannot give up on afflicted people. If we give rise to the mindset of “impermanence, non-self, non-joy, and impurity” whenever we encounter other people, we will easily end up shunning the real world. On the other hand, the attachment to “permanence, joy, self, and purity” that ordinary beings have towards the world causes endless desires, which lead to the creation of much negative karma. If we sincerely wish to engage in spiritual practice, we must cultivate wisdom and ever- lasting compassion. We need to put the Buddha’s teachings into action among people without being affected by interpersonal conflicts around us. Only by doing this will we be able to serve people without obstructions. We need to be vigilant of the above eight afflictions and inverted views. So, how can we then apply “permanence, joy, self, and purity”? It all depends on whether the path we choose is the right one or a mistaken one. This is like choosing whether to use our palms or the backs of our hands: it all depends on how we use them. If we can properly use our hands, we will be able to accomplish everything, but if we try to use the backs of our hands to move things, of course, everything will be difficult. So, it completely depends on how we ourselves make use of them. The Buddha decided to enter Nirvana under the Sala tree in order to teach people the essence of “The Four Virtues and Eight Inverted Views”. Most of us ordinary beings live our harma