In our daily lives within society, we often feel a pressing need to prove our worth. We believe that our value is derived from the consensus of the public, the importance of the roles we play, or the contributions we make to our families, our nation, and the world at large. Throughout this process of survival, we frequently find ourselves in situations where we must compete with others to secure our place or to be heard. However, in our interactions with one another, we often fall into the trap of trying to highlight our own importance and the validity of our personal perspectives.
When we encounter an opinion that differs from our own, we tend to insist on our own views, refusing to admit defeat. We firmly believe that our way of thinking and our methods are the correct ones. Yet, we fail to realise how much complex thinking and cause and effect are woven into this insistence. Within our , we carry the weight of our the "self," personal ego, and selfishness from countless past lives, as well as the history of our past relationships and the laws of and cause and effect that bind us to those we encounter today.
The Reality of Mutual Loss
This conflict is no longer a simple matter of discussing the facts at hand. It has become a tangled web of many hidden factors. Because our own perspectives are already clouded by our past, they are no longer objective. How, then, can there be any logic in refusing to admit defeat? In reality, when we insist on being right, both parties have already lost. If the matter involves a wide range of people, it is even more critical that we do not stubbornly cling to our own opinions.
Even if you feel that you have gained the upper hand in an argument, it is merely a temporary and hollow satisfaction. Both parties have simultaneously created new karma. The resulting consequences—whether they manifest as good or evil, fortune or misfortune—must be borne by the individuals themselves. There is no one who can take your place in facing these outcomes. Regardless of who is right or who is wrong, the result is inevitably mutual destruction.
The Practitioner’s Lost Identity
In truth, before the outcome of such a dispute is even determined, the moment both parties insist on their own views and refuse to yield, they have already completely forgotten their identity as practitioners. In the back-and-forth of such arguments, how much turbulence is generated within the heart? How much anger, resentment, and unwillingness to let go are stirred up? These emotions invite a host of negative thoughts and attract attached spirits to manifest before us. For a practitioner, these events are devastating to one's spiritual progress.
My dear children, I ask you to reflect: Are you still truly yourselves? How many have you invited to stand before you? Is your spirit still at peace, or has it been driven away by anger, wandering into the vastness of space? You must understand that your karmic creditors are standing by, applauding your discord. A record of this karma has already been made. By engaging in verbal battles and destroying the harmony of the bodhimanda, you have already secured a place in the heart-gouging hell and the tongue-pulling hell. These are the consequences that you completely forget while you are in the heat of an argument.
The Heavy Burden of Subjectivity
Following such outbursts, of oppression and drowsy states often descend upon you. You may then choose to tell others about the incident, perhaps to vent your frustrations or to seek support from the fourfold assembly (monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen). In doing so, you add your own subjective opinions, slandering the other person and recounting their faults in the hope of gaining validation. The thoughts and emotional fluctuations of the following days will then revolve entirely around this single incident. The pure heart that you have worked so hard to maintain becomes defiled and covered in darkness, and it may take a long time for you to recover your balance.
My children! When you listen to the Sutras and study the teachings, your teacher, Practitioner Su, reminds you day after day to change personality traits and habits. Where have those lessons gone? Where is your Patience (Endurance)? Where is your ? Where is your Wisdom (Prajna)? Where is the practice of letting old karma dissipate through accepting conditions as they are? The qualities of tolerance, having no mind, no thoughts, and no attachments have long since vanished! Where is the awareness that you should be cultivating by not letting thoughts arise and not letting the heart be moved?
The Trap of Ego and Attachment
At the time of such conflicts, all that remains is intense turbulence, filled with resentment, ego-attachment, the "self," personal ego, and selfishness, anger, and fury. You ask yourself: "Why should I yield to them? Why should I listen to them? Why must they do as they please? I will risk everything; I cannot swallow this insult!" The result of this attitude is an unstoppable stream of thoughts, spiritual obstacles, and the manifestation of attached spirits. Your heart feels heavy, old illnesses resurface, and the beings in the hells, having received the signal of your turbulence, begin to complain to the King of Hell, recounting your past transgressions. At night, your spirit is dragged into the hells to be questioned and punished. You must understand that at such moments, you are already controlled by your karmic creditors or attached spirits; you are no longer the master of your own life. By clinging to the fleeting and illusory sensations of , you trade away the peace of your spirit and invite suffering.
When will you learn to embrace Patience (Endurance), compassion, and a vast mind-capacity? When will you learn to simply smile at these challenges? Even if you must speak, let your heart first be still. Stop the anger, and without carrying any emotional resentment, smile as you tell a story. Learn to "see through" and "let go" of your ego-attachment to your body, your feelings, and your .
The Path to
When you recite the Sutras, perform prostrations, and chant Buddha's name, you do so for many reasons: to make up for missed daily practice, ensuring your discipline remains intact; to cultivate merit through service in the temple, serving the fourfold assembly (monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen) without attachment; and to accumulate virtue through your assigned duties and responsibilities. Why do you do all of this? You do it to cultivate Meditation (Concentration), to cultivating the mind, to solidify your spirit, and to cultivate a pure heart. And why do you cultivate these things?
You do this to irrigate the lotus you have planted in the Western Land, accumulating the provisions necessary for rebirth in the ; to ensure that when the tests of life arrive, you can face them, pass through them, suffer less, and ascend to a higher level; to heighten your awareness, so you are not deceived by the illusions of karma, keeping your heart clear, bright, and mind is not defiled; to maintain Goodness in every thought, and ultimately, to reach Awakening, so that you may use your awakened being to save and teach others, performing the of beings so they too may be reborn in the Western Pure Land.
A Call to True Practice
Regardless of the reason or the excuse, and regardless of who is right or wrong, because of a momentary refusal to admit defeat, you not only cause mutual destruction and burn down your forest of merit, but you also take one step forward and three steps back in your practice. My children, is this truly worth it? Why not let the boat pass and leave no trace in the water? Why not resolve conflict with a smile? Why not walk through a hundred flowers without a single petal sticking to your robes? Even when a strong wind blows, remain unmoved. My children, you must possess this level of skills to have any possibility of Awakening!
Meditation (Concentration) in the midst of activity, compassion, Patience (Endurance), Wisdom (Prajna), and a vast mind-capacity—these are the things you urgently need to strengthen!
This message was recorded by the Buddha's disciple, Venerable HaiZe.
