Instructional talk given by Venerable Master Hua
Don’t rashly tell lies or do things to fool yourselves.
Certainly, left-home people must build their foundation. What is the foundation of left-home people? It is strict observance of the precepts and Vinaya (rules of discipline and training). The Four-part Vinaya, the Shramanera precepts (rules for novices), the precepts for Bhikshus, the precepts for Bhikshunis, the Brahma Net Sutra (Bodhisattva Precepts), etc. All these must be memorized well and studied thoroughly. Only then do you have the qualifications to be a left-home person.
If the foundation is not solidly established, then all day long you’ll either be daydreaming of wealth or having fantasies of lust. As such, although you have physically left home, your mind is not on the Way. You are 108,000 miles distant from the Way. Such left-home people can only be called the scum of Buddhism. They should not be acknowledged as left-home people.
A left-home person must not exploit his connections with people, even less should he live all by himself in a hut and convince the laypeople to support his Dharma. If you accept offerings just for yourself, your conduct is not in accordance with the Buddha’s regulations. Those who behave this way should quickly stop and reform before it is too late. As the saying goes,
One grain of the donor’s rice
Is heavier than Mount Sumeru.
If you eat it and don’t cultivate,
You’ll pay back as creatures with fur and horns.
In ancient times, people who truly cultivated the Way did live alone in huts, but they tilled the land to support themselves. They certainly didn’t rely on external conditions. They lived in huts because they wanted to eliminate greed. When they went into seclusion, it was to perfect their learning and their virtuous conduct. If it is truly for the sake of cultivation, you may live alone, but you may not accept offerings from laypeople exclusively for yourself. If you do, you are turning Proper Dharma Age into Dharma-ending Age, which is tantamount to destroying Buddhism.
Nowadays, cultivator of the Way likes to live alone in a hermitage. Why? If he doesn’t uphold the precepts, nobody sees him. If he breaks the rules, no one knows. He can do whatever he wants because no one is watching over him. He is completely free to do as he pleases. You could say he has no restrictions. Living all by himself in the hermitage, he invites a bunch of laypeople to hold some Dharma session. The fact is: he is just living off the Buddha, relying on the Buddha for his clothing and his food.
Some monastics use the money donated by the laity not for Buddhist affairs. Instead, they used the money to buy expensive, brand-name car for their personal transportation, or a television, and watch TV all day long, forgetting about the morning and evening recitations. Perhaps, they purchase a refrigerator to store nutritious food. In short, these monastics indulge in luxury and crave for comfort. This is very prevalent nowadays. The attribute of the Buddhist practice of asceticism has been distorted. This is truly being ungrateful for the great pains underwent by Shakyamuni Buddha to save living beings!
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