A monk was practising walking meditation along a footpath in the wilderness.

He continued practising until late into the night.

Suddenly, he felt something soft and slender under his feet. From experience, he knew that he had stepped on a snake.

Without a word, he dashed back to his hut.

For the next few days, he stopped practising walking meditation there.

One day, his master asked him why he had stopped practising walking meditation. He told his master what had happened.

The master said, “You stepped on the snake. The snake was injured, but you were unharmed.”

He added, “You stepped on the snake. You knew it was a snake, but the snake did not know you. So who should be afraid? Do you think that the snake will stop moving around after the incident?”

The monk was speechless.

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If you were the monk, you might reply as a matter-of-factly, “Precisely it is the knowledge of stepping on a snake that causes the fear.”

Such a response only goes to show that you do not understand the master.

It is normal to be fearful of things we are afraid of. And we can gradually work towards eliminating the fear.

However, if we are fearful but do not know what we are afraid of, it is truly frightening as the fear inside us cannot be resolved.

Therefore the master said that the snake should be the one who should be fearful, because it does not know when it would be stepped on again by some unknown things.

What would you associate a tree with?

A sculptor would think of how best to make use of its characteristics to turn it into a unique piece of art.

An artist would study the best angle to capture its unusual shape with his paintbrushes.

A timber merchant would calculate its commercial value.

A botanist would observe its state of health.

A logger would think of how best to fell the tree.

These are habits developed over a long time because of their occupations. They are also termed occupational sicknesses.

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A student of mine spoke about the impermanence of life as he lost three family members within a year.

“It’s a good thing that you practise Buddhism and learnt about the contemplation of impermanence. Otherwise, this could be an even bigger blow to you,” I said.

“The contemplation of impermanence is like an immunity injection. It immunes us against the impact of impermanence,” I continued.

Another disciple beside him said, “Master, there are many types of immunity injections, including those against flu, virus, etc.” He was a doctor by profession and he was speaking from his habits.

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One morning, a young Buddhist was sweeping the floor in a courtyard after a storm.

The courtyard was scattered with fallen withered leaves and twigs caused by the storm.

As he was sweeping, he found some fresh green leaves amongst the fallen dried leaves and twigs. He felt a jolt as he realised that it’s not just withered leaves that would fall to the ground.

At that moment, he decided to become a monk.

How did this happen? He was able to have a realisation of impermanence because he had the habit of contemplating impermanence.

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In Buddhism, the observing of precepts is to develop the habit of restraining oneself. The practice of concentration is to develop the habit of focusing and controlling our mind. Wisdom is the habit of identifying the self as impermanent, arising from causes and conditions, and emptiness.

Zen Master Mazu Daoyi heard about Zen Master Fachang beginning to give Dharma talks. He sent a monk to ask him, “What have you learnt from Master Ma that makes you think you are capable of giving Dharma talks here?”

Master Fachang replied, “Master Ma told me that the mind is the Buddha, therefore I preach here based on his teachings.”

The monk said, “Master Ma has made changes to his teachings recently.”

Master Fachang asked, “What’s the difference?”

The monk replied, “Non-mind is non-Buddha.”

Master Fachang said, “That old fellow keeps confusing others. He can have his ‘non-mind is non-Buddha’, I only know about ‘the mind is the Buddha’.”

Having heard this reply, the monk conveyed it to Master Mazu Daoyi.

Master Mazu Daoyi told everyone, “The plum has ripened.”

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Whether the plum has ripened is not a matter of subjective opinions, but whether the plum has met the requirements of ripening.

Likewise, a person’s level of maturity is not dependent on his efforts to demonstrate his maturity, but through his speech and actions.

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To fully develop, a seedling will need to withstand the harshness of the sun and the rain. If a fruit has feelings, it will certainly not enjoy the experience of being exposed to the sun and the rain. However, is it not true that it is precisely the sun and the rain that cause the fruit to become richer?

We must not reject adversities, for they are blessings showered upon us by Manjushri to develop our wisdom. 

People in general like to be connected but do not understand the true meaning of being connected.

“What should you do to get connected with Amitaba Buddha?” the master asked.

“By reciting Buddha’s name until I see Buddha in person,” the student replied.

“Wrong. Our patriarch told us to rid our minds of Buddha and evil spirits alike,” the master said.

“The Three Great Saints of the West will appear to guide me upon my death,” the student said.

“This is also incorrect. How could you trouble the Three Great Saints of the West to meet you upon your death? This would curtail the blessings you have accumulated,” the master said.

“In that case would master please explain how do I get connected with Amitaba?” the student asked.

“By learning the action, speech and thoughts of Buddha,” the master replied.

“Where can I obtain such information?” the student asked.

“The forty-eight great vows of Buddha,” the master replied.

“What has that got to do with getting connected with Buddha?” the student asked.

“The forty-eight great vows are the action, speech and thoughts of Buddha. If you do not even know enough of Buddha, how can you get connected with him?” the master said.

“Master, despite what you have said, I am afraid I still do not understand,” the student said.

“It doesn’t matter. Just continue to recite Buddha’s name diligently and hope that the compassionate Buddha would come and meet you and show you the way to the pure land when the time comes,” the master said.

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When we learn Buddhism we learn from Buddha his morality, concentration and wisdom. We learn his action, speech and thoughts; his capabilities; and a lot more other aspects. However, there are some who learn Buddhism by “learning from themselves”, i.e. they do whatever they like to do, learn whatever they like to learn, speak whatever they like to speak, and think whatever they like to think.

Often, Buddhist practitioners face the following bottleneck at some stages of their practice, which prevents them from progressing further.

“Master, can I observe the Five Precepts without taking the vow to abide by the Five Precepts?”

Keeping precepts accumulates merits and results in a good rebirth. This is what I want. On the other hand, violating precepts causes one to descend to Hell. This is what I do not want.

Basically, this is the psychology of coveting winning but dreading losing.

But, why did Buddha set out the Five Precepts in the first place?

The Five Precepts set out the basic principles of how to be a noble person. For example, when you are bitten by a dog, you do not reciprocate by biting the dog back. This is because you are not a dog but a human being, who reacts and expresses differently. This is also why a human being is born as a human being.

However if you kill the dog because it has bitten you, then there is something wrong with the way you express yourself. That is because you have reacted by biting the dog back.

Precepts can also be seen as “a place for learning”. We learn from observing the “what to do’s” and “what not to do’s” of the precepts. Among the “to do’s”, under what circumstances they become “not to do’s”? And for the “not to do’s”, what do you do?

On the surface, precepts are like ropes that bound us to no end. In reality, keeping precepts is a strength. It empowers our lives. Why is it said that each of those who observe the Five Precepts is protected by the 25 protector deities of Buddhist law? It is because once they have taken the vow, they have the precepts in their heart. With these precepts comes the desire to uphold them. The 25 protector deities of Buddhist law represent the desire to uphold the precepts.

How did the notion that men should venture out and women should stay at home develop?

In the primitive age, human beings depended on brute strength to fight for survival.

In the agricultural age, they needed strength to till the farm for livelihood, and the adventurous spirit to compete with others.

Thus, the notion that men venture out and women stay in is the perfect combination.

In the industrial age, the advent of machines reduced the need for raw physical strength. The evolution of transportation equipment also increased the outward mobility of women.

In today’s technological era, the social structure has undergone substantial changes. The combination of men venturing out and women staying in is just one of the many forms of working together, but may not be the best.

If we continue to hold on to the old concept of men venturing out and women staying in, yet find it difficult to apply it to our daily lives, suffering will ensue.

Where does suffering come from? It originates from our concepts.

A monk asked Zen Master Shitou Xiqian, “What should I do to become liberated?”

Master asked, “Who tied you up?”

The monk asked again, “How to arrive at the Pure Land?”

Master replied, “Who contaminated you?”

The monk asked again, “How to achieve nirvana?”

Master said, “Who gave you life and death?”

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I hold a pen and ask you, is it long or short? If you say it is long, you are comparing it with another shorter pen in your mind.
If you say it is short, you are comparing it with another longer pen in your mind.
If I remove the pen in your mind, can you tell me whether the external pen that I am holding is long or short?

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The differentiation of long or short exists only if there is comparison. Without comparison, there is no such differentiation. Therefore, when there is no comparison, we can only say, “It is neither long nor short.”