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Text:
At the age of 50, one is
able to awaken and know the errors of 49 years. This is not far
removed from being a superior man who changes his ways and moves
towards the good. An ancient author has said, "I know that my
past faults were not remonstrated, yet know that in the future I can
catch up. Knowing that the confused path is not far behind, I am
aware of today's rights and yesterday's wrongs." In Buddhism it
is said, "Of all bad karma which I have done based on
beginningless greed, hatred and stupidity, committed by body, mouth
and mind, I now repent and reform...Offenses arise from the mind;
use the mind to repent. When the mind is forgotten, offenses are no
more. Mind forgotten and offenses eradicated, both are empty. This
is called true repentance and reform." It is hoped that sentient
beings of the Dharma Realm will read this, minutely savor its
flavor, actually practice it themselves, and from their pain produce
repentance and reform. Confucius said, "To have faults and not to
change is indeed a fault. ..When you have faults do not shrink from
changing." There is no greater good than this.
Commentary:
At the age of 50. This, of course, does
not mean merely the age of 50. At any time we are able to awaken and
know the faults of yesterday. At as young an age as 20, one may come
to a sudden realization that the deeds of 19 years were confused and
unprincipled. One may even realize that the deed of just a moment
past was not fully in accord with principle. This is the result of
turning the light inward to contemplate one's own nature.
A superior
man. This refers to the ideal man of culture and civilization.
The mark of the superior man is not merely found in his bearing,
education or lineage for all of these may be affected, studied, or
forged. Nor is it merely seen in his courage and heroism when in the
public eye. The truly civilized man, the true nobleman, always acts
in accord with principle yet is not hidebound by traditions and
inflexible patterns. Such a man not only acts to rectify wrongs
affecting the public, but always inspects his own conduct with a
critical eye. He does not overlook the slightest fault in his own
person and is lenient yet just with others. He acts properly in
private as well as in public, for he knows that he always stands
before heaven and earth and can never hide from them. When such a
one finds a fault in himself he does not dwell on it or explain it
away. He immediately makes moves to correct it and return to the
norm. This is the essential of the superior man. One who can change
his errors and move towards the good holds a lofty place among men.
An ancient author has said, "I know that
my past faults were not remonstrated, yet know that in the future I
can catch up. Knowing that the confused path is not far behind, I am
aware of today's rights and yesterday's wrongs." These lines
are from T'ao Yuan Ming's prose poem,
Return. T'ao Yuan Ming, or T'ao K'an, was a recluse who once
obtained an official post in a nearby district. His salary was a
good one, consisting of five pecks of rice a month, and his work was
minimal. A month had passed in his new post, when the time came for
an official inspection. T'ao K'an, on realizing that he would have
to ride out to the boundary of his district, and there kneel to
greet the inspector, said, "I will not bend the waist for five
pecks of rice." He gave up his position and returned to his
cottage to cultivate chrysanthemums and write.
One should always remonstrate with himself, be
his own Good and Knowing Advisor, see his own confusion and correct
it, knowing that it is not too late to catch up on his losses. When
one knows his own errors, the major step in change has been made;
from that point onwards, although it may at times seem difficult, it
is possible to rectify all one's faults.
"Of all bad karma which I have done based
on beginningless greed, hatred and stupidity, committed by body,
mouth and mind, I now repent and reform."
Greed, hatred and delusion are found at the root of our actions,
even those which seem to be motivated by selflessness, love and
knowledge. Difficult to understand, as this at first seems, it will
be born out by sufficient introspection. The power of ordinary
people to delude themselves as to their motives is well known.
Within the last century, numerous schools have arisen to explain
this and we have watched the growth of a new and occult
vocabulary-neurosis, psychosis, complex reaction, compensations and
the like---when in fact everything is simply a manifestation of
greed, hatred or delusion.
The body, mouth and mind are the vehicles which
perform the actions motivated by the three poisons: greed, hatred
and delusion. The body is capable of killing, stealing and sexual
misconduct. The mouth spews forth-false speech, confused prattle,
harsh speech, and slander. The mind governs body and mouth through
greed, hatred and wrong views. These are called the ten unwholesome
karma paths and they constitute the greater part of our conduct.
They can be transformed into their opposites by our efforts; this is
called turning towards the good. To change is simply to repent.
Repentance is no emotional outpouring, no futile regret over spilt
milk. We regret, and we change, and that is all there is to it. One
gradually learns to stop doing all manner of bad and move towards
all manner of good. This is the conduct of the superior man. It is
very simply the way by which one begins to leave the confused and
troubled state of an ordinary mortal to become a Buddha. It must be
done not merely with words and superficial conduct but in the very
depths of the mind and consciousness. Therefore, once we begin to
put our daily lives in order, we find it necessary to seek out a
good advisor. He remonstrates with us and teaches us the proper
means of cultivation, and thus we eliminate the accumulated garbage
in our minds, stop the deeply ingrained habits, which continue to
produce ever more garbage, and attain true freedom.
"Offenses arise
from the mind; use the mind to repent. When the mind is forgotten,
offenses are no more. Mind forgotten and offenses eradicated, both
are empty. This is called true repentance and reform."
The acts of the mind are greed, hatred and stupidity. The
mind wanders and reels about the universe of its own thought,
planning, scheming, measuring and calculating. Like a monkey loose
in a grove of ripe fruit trees the mind clambers on everything,
grasping, pulling and making a general mess. This mad mind directs
our daily activities of body and speech, hence all our offenses are
ultimately derived from the mind. Everything, in fact, that has name
and form, that is labeled and known as distinct from other things,
is a product of the mind.
We must cut off offenses at the root. Thus,
what we must reform is not merely our behavior but the very depths
of our minds. We must take our petty realms of consciousness and
expand them until we are capable of the great conduct of the
superior man, capable of including all good deeds as well as bad
ones. Reform is in the mind, not in the shallow surface layers of
what we know as the thinking mind, but in the deep, hidden
wellsprings of consciousness, which can only be reached through
great effort. When we reach such depths we pass well beyond the
limitations of thinking and verbal constructs. This is called,
mind forgotten. It is important to
understand that this does not imply a simple forgetfulness of our
wrong deeds. Rather it is a total passage beyond all normal thought,
through which we reach the very source, and there wash off the
accumulated dust.
All this talk is not to be construed as
symbolic dogma. It is simply a description of that which can and
must be done, and a description of the outcome of following a set
discipline. Just as a cook uses a recipe calling for all sorts of
powders, liquids and flours, following it step by step until a new
finished product appears as if by transformation, so too should we
follow the instructions of those who have gone before us. Naturally
the experienced cook discards the formal recipe and improvises on
his own; this ability, however, is attained only after thorough
practice, following recipes so often that the embodied principles
are penetrated. Based on the principles we discover we can cook as
we wish; so too when cultivating the mind ground. By doing as we are
told, we may pass beyond and forget the mind which produces the
offenses, seeing both mind, and mind made offenses, as empty. To
have done this is to have repented and reformed. If we have not yet
accomplished this, our offenses remain, our mind remains, and the
deep, secret wellsprings are not reached.
It is hoped that sentient beings of the
Dharma Realm will read this, minutely savor its flavor, actually
practice it themselves, and from their pain produce repentance and
reform. Sentient beings, in Chinese, means literally "having
feeling". Sentient beings are of many varieties and consciousness
levels, ranging from the simple consciousness of an ant through the
highest of gods who are in the consciousness state of "neither
thought nor non-thought". In the middle of all these, between heaven
and earth, stands man. Feet on the earth, head brushing heaven, only
man is neither too stupid to be unaware of his errors, nor too
enraptured to care to change them. And thus, though change and
reform is not impossible among lower living things or in the
heavens, it is rare. Only among men can it be a common occurrence.
It is hoped that all beings consider the words,
"I now repent and reform",
and that those who can read will not only say it to themselves, but
speak it aloud. It should be sung and chanted aloud for the animals,
ghosts, demons and others. It should be spoken clearly, for many are
stupid and do not understand well. It should be spoken clearly to
penetrate the ecstatic but impermanent state of the gods. It should
be spoken so that all beings actually see the pain caused by their
errors and reform.
Our errors cause pain to ourselves as well as
to others, but we often mistake this suffering for pleasure. When we
consider and savor the words quoted above, we can see beyond the
superficial appearances to the deeper meaning of life, and thus
change towards the good.
Confucius said, "To have faults and not
to change is indeed a fault. ..When you have faults do not shrink
from changing." There is no grater good than this.
To know that we are wrong, and refuse to change, is the
greatest of errors. It is too easy to excuse our continued faults by
pointing out precedent. We may even say that maintaining our error
is in itself a good, and that we at least remain consistent. To
treat our clearly obvious wrongs as if they were rights, is an act
of cowardice, When we have faults, there is clearly only one thing
to do, and that is to change. To do so is the noblest and most
heroic conduct, for it is only a superior man of courage who can
clearly admit and rectify his wrongs. This is the greatest good. Tzu
Kung said, "The faults of the superior man are like eclipses of
the sun and moon. He has his faults and all men see them; he
changes, and all men look up to him."
There are, ultimately, very few who need not
listen to the words of the text, for, as it is said:
The sagely man has few errors;
The superior man changes his errors;
The petty man covers over errors;
The stupid man sees no errors.
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