Chapter Two Making Good Use of Six Senses
Our bodies have to take the trial of material laws to prove whether they can endure the mission of this material world. If not, we then die. As the Creator allowed us to become human and gave us a human form, our bodies should be useful and right. Amongst many causes and conditions, however, it is inevitable for materials to collide with one another. Similarly, it is inevitable for the body to wear out from laboring. The wheels of a vehicle wear out. Tools wear out. Axes wear out after they are used to chop firewood for a while, right?
We can get ourselves to recover gradually if our body wears out. When the body is damaged, the Creator has also left us a precautionary system—adjustment through our inner yoga system, which is our antibody and immune functions. These were already considered when human beings were created. Of course, when these functions are in process, certain causes and conditions must be manifested. These causes and conditions cannot stand alone from our form, perception, conception, volition and consciousness. Sensation must occur when the body, five senses and the physiology are functioning. Pain is a kind of consciousness—a kind of material consciousness. Do you understand? Then it comes to a fact: although we don’t want pain, we don’t know what we should want. In this world we can’t pursue only one kind of "want". What about if we want "the Way" but nothing else and take on this as the only pursuit? Does that make sense? But I think it doesn’t because "the Way" is in everything. Therefore you must accept everything in your life. You will lose a little when you do a little selection. You will lose as much as you have selected. Therefore, human life is imperfect. Human feelings are imperfect. Human energy is not fully furnished. Bad destiny, incomplete feeling, incomplete family and incomplete life are caused by our tendency of selection. If we accept everything in our destinies, including bitterness, spiciness, tartness and sweetness, everything will be fully furnished naturally. This is the platform of following causes and conditions stated by Patriarch Dharmabodhi. By neither pursuing nor rejecting both suffering and happiness can one be alone in self-realization. This is the quality of a saint.
Therefore, we can’t always ask for something. What do we always want? We always want to lie down, free from work. In the mountain on the west, I discussed this issue with Sister Huang. Do you remember? Sister Huang argued with me on that day about this issue. Sister Huang said, "In this light, do you think I did something wrong? I am a lazy person. I don’t want to work." I asked her to inform me when she wants to work. She said, "I am going to lay down." I said, "How long can you keep laying down?" She said, "I will lay down for three days." I said, "Good. That’s the deal." As soon as I said that’s the deal, she said, "Ah, not three days. I will lie down for two days. Humph, it won’t work. In fact I can only lay down for one day." I replied, "Yeah, do you know the feeling when we have to keep laying down but we don’t want to? You will understand it is more tiring than standing or working." If you don’t believe it, you can go to the department of orthopedics and ask about the feeling of lying down for three months because of a broken leg? If you don’t believe it, you can try it tomorrow. This is Dharma.
Why don’t we stay in a certain position in exercise? Why do we move our bodies around? It is activity! Activity is not what a mummy does. It is what a live person does! Why do we want to keep in an unmoving position over there? In life, we constantly change the angle and relationship between the material nature and us. Each one is necessary. One kind is complementary to another kind. They are linked up in harmony and one can’t be short of the other. You always say: I want this but not that. Therefore your life is incomplete. Do you understand? You talk about that the food is too salty, but later, you will add more salt. You talk about that the food is too plain, but later, you will add more water. You talk about that the food is too spicy but later, you will add some chili sauce. This is how things go. Do you understand? Therefore, nothing is good or bad. We can’t simply avoid things or select the good over the bad. As a matter of fact, even though you know what you want, criticizing this is salty and that is plain according to the standards of your senses, how do we cook for all of you? Are you going to refuse to eat? Right? Therefore do not believe in the senses or listen to them. Just simply accept everything.
In fact, the Creator always takes care of every detail of your life with the best and appropriate measure. If there were no mercy from the Creator, or He did not carefully look after you, life wouldn’t be able to go on! The body wouldn’t be able to fight the stringent laws of this material world. A little change could kill us. Over Sister Zhang’s place down the mountain, a patient drank "the Fruit of Happiness". I said, "Alas, that thing is bad. That medicine has a very strong side effect." Old Hu told me, "He is fine now. He got recovered on the seventh day. He will leave the hospital tomorrow." However, he talked to me again next day, "That person died." A little "the Fruit of Happiness" can kill people. When we make selection according to our whims, a little trouble can kill us! You can’t surpass this limitation.
However, our bodies actually possess a kind of tremendous potential and can endure the trial of regular karma. For example, the unbearable symptoms of flu, infection of respiratory channel, running nose, and the exhaustion of the body, as well as of the opening of bodily energy channels, generally won’t kill you. (It means the bodily mechanism of endurance generally won’t break down.) But there is a principle. That is your heart must be clean. Your heart is not allowed to have evil thoughts. If your heart is polluted with evil thoughts, evilness can run its course. If your heart is upright, Buddha can run His course.
Therefore, it is O.K. when a child is having diarrhea or flu. Our children don’t take medication when they catch cold. If the children of other people catch cold, they might panic. We don’t have medication; neither do we prepare medication. There are a lot of people here, young and old. Do we live on medication? How can we live on medication like others? We can’t depend on it, otherwise we are not spiritual cultivators! In fact while changing ourselves in the process of spiritual cultivation, we let our bodies to adapt to nature. In the process of adaptation, we are aware of the adapting state of our bodies, at which time our consciousness will develop. Through the precious human body, you are allowed to learn in reverse the secret of universes and the entire knowledge of manifestation and non-manifestation of the rhythms of nature. This is the meaning of life. Then, we will become more intelligent. Our judgmental methods of things will be different from others’, as well as our ability of acceptance. Although we live like others, we are clear-minded, but they are not. The purpose that humans come to this world is to accomplish the understanding of life secret. If we are focused on this mission everyday, then we don’t waste time. If we live just for survival everyday, we are living mummies. This principle is very simple. I believe all of you can understand it.
What I discuss everyday is this. This is the principle for the human being. Then, we apply this method, attitude and principle to our lives. We will be in spiritual consciousness. You will live peacefully with the attitude of non-interference and desiring for no reward. Your individuality will demonstrate independence. Your determination will overcome all demons. You conquer all conditional matters with the method of desiring for no reward. Every problem will be automatically resolved. It is situated in peace without any desire. Do you understand? (Applause.) Of course, it is impossible for us to attain to this platform all at once. In the process, it is inevitable for us to experience many trials and frustrations. But those trials and frustrations are meant to display the level of our realization. They are essential and necessary.
We say that it is impossible for a child to grow up smoothly. He must get sick several times. That is because the Creator loves him, allowing him to expand his immune system and physical mechanism, and letting his body develop quickly, normally and in accordance to inner rhythm, for accomplishing his mission. Then, we say, "No, don’t let him be like that. Let him bathe in syrup, without any suffering." Then, I will bathe you in syrup tomorrow. You can try to feel the feeling. (Jien Li was laughing.) Do you want me to bathe you tomorrow? (Master laughed.) You won’t stand it for just a short while. You will rather like to be in salt water instead of syrup. In a while, you will want to be in spicy water. Eventually you will find out clear water is the best. Do you believe it? If clear water is the best, don’t you see lots of people bathe in the sea water? People call for the sea with affection. Don’t you sing the song about it everyday?
We don’t have ocean here. However, we went to a river to swim. That was the third day after Autumn Equinox. Wow, the water was very chilly. But we still jumped in bravely. That Old Brother Li was in such an old age and thin statue, and that Little Sister Wang was so skinny, but they were willing to examine whether they had courage to challenge nature. The courage to challenge nature is not to conquer nature, but conquer our denial, misunderstanding and incorrect judgments of nature by our senses. In fact, it is to challenge our fear. Do you understand? The nature won’t increase or decrease the water temperature for two degrees because we jump in, right? However, whether we can stand the cold water or not won’t increase or decrease our body temperature for two degrees, right? The ability to stand it or overcome our fear resulted in that "we" residing in the body enjoyed it eventually. Did Xuei Bai get in on that day? Is that right? Did Lu Lu jump in? She was a child but she jumped in, very brave! It was the third day after Autumn Equinox!
We don’t have to suffer that this year. I prepare to do it this way this year. There is a pond. I want to clean it and level it. Then, fill it with water. And clear out the weeds on the banks. We will spend two days to get it done. Then, we will dig the pond to increase its depth. At last we will flow water in and let it sit there to get heated. Then we will pave the banks with wood. So we can lay or sit down there to enjoy the sunlight. Do you understand? That water won’t be so cold. It also can’t be too deep in order to accommodate both adults and children. We can either swim or bathe. Although we don’t have a clean ocean, it is not bad to have a clean bay. (Everyone laughed.)
You mustn’t rush on anything. The Creator will arrange. He says: let’s take time. When we are in the process of harmonizing with nature, the needs that will show up later will be furnished in the process. This is how one’s fate changes. Do not let negative feelings arise in your mind. Listen to the arrangement of the Creator. Although stating that you believe in the Creator, take refuge in the Creator, and let the Creator take care of everything for you, you still want things to go your way. What can you do? It is usually not successful at last, right?
Therefore, when our hearts are peaceful, the hearts of children will be peaceful, too. They won’t bug you. Do you understand? When we adults are anxious, this emotion will directly work on the children through the electrical charge of the brain. Then, they will be anxious. Why do we bring flowers when we visit a hospitalized friend? Why not cow dung? Do you understand? As cow dung is a disinfectant approved by the Vedas, better than formalin used by hospitals, why don’t we use the cow dung as the disinfectant? Why don’t we bring cow dung to visit a patient? Uh, it depends on our peaceful mind to change our lives and fates. The peace of mind depends on incessant adjustment of it. In order to adjust it, we must keep track of it anytime incessantly, and do not let it go freely. It will go wrong as soon as we stop keeping track of it.
Let me tell you a story. A few years ago, the British fought against Argentina in the Falkland War. Great Britain owned the most advanced destroyers armed with missiles. As a result, one of them was wrecked by Argentina in the war, and another destroyer was seriously damaged. Argentina didn’t use missiles but bombed them by fighter planes. Therefore, the value of these kinds of expensive destroyers is dubious. Then, in the Gulf War in which the U.S. fought Iraq, as the ally of the U.S., Great Britain sent out her navy fleet. There was a similar kind of destroyer in the fleet, called HMS Coventry. The captain of this destroyer was very smart. He taught his soldiers this kind of philosophy: the power of fighting doesn’t depend on the advanced technology of weapons, but people are the more important factor. Over reliance on advanced weaponry technology will lead to failure. It is because people are alive while weapons are dead. When the living depends on the dead, the living will become dead. Look, who can have this kind of thought? However, this captain was not a spiritual cultivator! But he truly understood Dharma. He knew how to face the environment, duty, phenomena and nature. Therefore, when his warship was attacked by missiles during the war, his soldiers detected the missiles and responded quickly, avoiding being sunk.
What does this tell us? The reason I am telling you this story is to let you know that you should concentrate on whatever you are doing and make good use of six senses, letting ears and eyes execute their missions. In this light, it is still inevitable to have collision with things in this material world. But if you pay full attention, even though you collide with something or miss something, there will be remedial measures. It won’t surpass the limitations that the body can bear so you won’t suffer the outcome of destruction. Do you understand? Therefore, when you are laboring, you might scrape your skin off sometimes but it will be healed just like that. If you don’t look, hear or move as necessary, you will suffer. The result is punishment.
Whose eyes can’t see? Whose ears can’t hear? Whose hands can’t move? Who is short of something? Why is the gap of difference so huge between the methods people adopt to deal with problems as well as their abilities? Situated in the same world, our attitudes toward life, our manifestation of life energy, and our levels of consciousness determine the difference of our moral standards. Isn’t that right? This is called "making good use of six senses." We must pay attention to control and use these tools skillfully. What is the good of a dog that doesn’t guard the door and a cat that doesn’t chase mice? We must manage our six senses, making good use of them and treating them well. They will become our friends. If we ignore the management, they will become the children who waste away family assets. It is hard to guard family wealth from family thieves. Any hole is opened up by them.
Buddha said that everything was created by the mind. Both good and bad creations are produced by the mind. Whether to create or not is a decision made by the mind. What I have discussed is the secret of mental Dharma in spiritual cultivation. Dharma is not merely composed of bodily postures. The bodily postures of eight-fold yoga are called yoga physical exercise by many great sages. Do they work? They do work! But like the most advanced warship, they are only a target for attack. If you don’t make good use of them, aren’t they like a living target? Right? All this can’t break away from making good use of the mind and consciousness. If drifting away from it, all is dead.
Therefore I can say that, these Chinese words, life, activity, working, and vividness, are all composed with a character--liveliness. They all show the essence of nature. In order to "understand the heart and see Buddha’s nature", one has to observe life meticulously. Didn’t I discuss "reverse knowing" to you yesterday? Reverse knowing has to employ six senses, too. So is direct knowing. Do you know spring? It can be pulled outwardly and inwardly, right? Appropriately use everything. It is right and good if they are used appropriately and clearly at any moment. If everything is handled this way, it will be like what the Southerners call it, "nothing can stop you". You act freely and won’t go beyond the rules. Whatever you do are in accordance with the rhythms. Have you ever seen a rope walker walking on the rope without falling off? Have you ever seen the performance of a Circus? The performers can complete such breathtaking acts in an easy spirit. Aren’t we scared from watching their performances? Can you act like them? I know I can’t. Right? This is a principle of the Way. This is called dao li (a principle of the Way)!