(Continued from issue #276)
Instructional talk given by Venerable Master Hua at noon on December 5, 1982 at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
When cultivating, you should be able to “pick it up” and “put it down”;be serious in what you’re doing.
As to the Six Great Principles of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas:
1. If you don’t contend, then you won’t kill. Killing occurs because thoughts of contention take control. When you start contending, you have the attitude of “Get out of my way or you shall die!” The casualties that result are beyond count.
2. If you are not greedy, then you won’t steal. Why do you want to steal others’ things? It’s because of greed. If you are not greedy, even if people give you something, you won’t want it. So you should get rid of greed, therefore you won’t steal.
3. If you seek nothing, you won’t have thoughts of lust. Thoughts of lust arise because you seek something. Women seek boyfriends, and men seek girlfriends. Not only do they seek, they plunge headlong into the pursuit as if nothing else mattered.
If they didn’t seek anything, then how could they have thoughts of desire? Of what use is a handsome man or a pretty woman? They are just stinking skin-bags containing flesh. Are they worth hankering after? If you seek nothing, you won’t violate the precept of sexual misconduct.
4. If you’re not selfish, then you won’t tell lies. People tell lies because they’re afraid of losing personal benefits. Overcome by selfishness, they cheat people and tell lies, hoping to hide their true face from others.
5. If you don’t seek to benefit yourself, then you won’t violate the precept against taking intoxicants. Why do people take intoxicants? It’s because they want to mess up their bodies and confuse their minds, bewildering themselves to the point that they think they’ve become gods or immortals, enjoying them-selves in the heavens. Once intoxicated, they will scold people and do as they please, and their lustful desires increase. Some people also want to use intoxicants to speed up their blood and energy circulation. After taking them, they forget everything. It’s as exciting as smoking opium. It’s all because they are overcome by the wish to benefit themselves that they take intoxicants.
Thus, these six principles are just another name for the five precepts. Why don’t I talk about the five precepts? It’s because everyone is so used to hearing about the five precepts. If I say to a person, “Don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t engage in sexual misconduct, don’t lie, and don’t take intoxicants,” he’ll reply, “I already know that! Why should I listen to you?” So I changed the names to be: don’t contend, don’t be greedy, don’t seek, don’t be selfish, don’t try to benefit yourself, and don’t lie. Actually, everyone has also heard these terms before and understands them, but very few can truly practice them. That’s why I’m reminding everyone:
Not contending equates to not killing;
Not being greedy equates to not stealing;
Not seeking equates to not engaging in sexual misconduct;
Not being selfish equates to not telling lies;
Not aiming to benefit oneself equates to not taking intoxicants.
(The End of the Article)