The World Of Tzu Chi(Vol.128)

2020 • 11 50 * This article is extracted from the book “Reminders under the Sala Trees – A Commentary on the Sutra of the Buddha’s Bequeathed Teachings”. The Buddhist precepts on the other hand are preventive measures. There are many temptations in society, but if we can constantly keep the precepts in mind, reflect on ourselves, and prevent our minds from becoming influenced, then our bodies will not create negative karma or violate the precepts. “The precepts are the foundation directing us towards liberation through propriety and obedience; they are therefore called Pratimoksa .” “Propriety” refers to having Right Views, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Samadhi. When our thoughts and views are correct, our everyday speech and actions will naturally be proper; if we can handle every matter with propriety, we will not fall into improper thinking and evil ways. “Obedience” means “following principles”. The phrase, “One who abides by the heavens lives; one who disobeys, perishes”, means that if we can abide by the rules of human nature and the heavens, and practise good deeds through our actions, then our pure wisdom-life can grow. Going against the principles is evil. After we create negative karma, our wisdom- life will diminish, and we will give rise to the evil causes for falling into hell. In short, on our path as Buddhist practitioners, we have to follow the precepts in order to attain liberation. The most fundamental method to do this is to cultivate good thoughts. Thus, it is called Pratimoksa , or “going towards liberation”. “Following the precepts will enable you to achieve all kinds of Samadhi.” As spiritual practitioners, we must cultivate and learn the Three Flawless Studies: precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. By upholding the precepts, we can attain Samadhi. If our mind is uninhibited and does not follow the precepts, our thoughts will be in chaos. Then, our desires will have free play and we will be unable to settle our minds. In this way, we will have no way to attain Samadhi. Therefore, before we can achieve Samadhi, we must first uphold the precepts until our mind relinquishes desires and cravings. So, the first step in spiritual practice is to uphold the rules for how to live our lives as human beings. This is what upholding the precepts refers to. If we are careless and say something wrong or hurt others, whether we do so intentionally or unintentionally, whenever we look back at the event, we will feel anxious and uncertain. If we feel anxious, how can we attain Samadhi? So, we must act in accord with the precepts. Then, we will be able to achieve Samadhi and proceed to “eliminate suffering and attain wisdom”. (To be continued in the next issue) REMINDERS UNDER THE SALA TREES