Actually, paramount advisors of goodness appear in the world due to  many causes and conditions. While the Venerable Master explained the  eighth conduct of the ten conducts in the Avatamsaka Sutra, he mentioned that some great Bodhisattvas vowed to save living beings in the  turbid world. Bodhisattvas do not want to teach in an environment where living beings are wise, understand kindness and repay virtue, use intelligence and wisdom to resolve matters, and are surrounded by many  good advisors.

Bodhisattvas' vows vary widely. Though some Buddhist friends possess excellent roots, larger-than-life good advisors do not necessarily  emphasize gathering-in their kind. As a result, when these individuals  have questions or problems, they must consult with good advisors who  are less perfect in their accomplishments. An adage goes, "The teacher  may lead you to the gate, but you are on your own once you're in."  Even excellent advisors cannot possibly resolve every question for us as  we cultivate. We must investigate our own issues.

Let's take a look at the example of our schools. I have been a teacher  at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas for several years now. My life is  peaceful at times, overwhelming at other times. I teach every day. I  attend morning and evening ceremonies day after day, month after month,  semester after semester. Upon reflection, I am often troubled by waves  of doubt and delusion. Sometimes I become melancholy over students'  lack of discipline and immaturity, yet I can't find a fitting method to  change it. After the problems have been accumulating for a while, they  will suddenly explode all at once. As more teachers begin to pay attention to these problems, we discover the complex factors involved in  resolving these issues at a fundamental level. To change students'  character, teachers' moral fiber and their cooperation are also challenged  in turn. When the conditions for success are incomplete, we can only  manage problems on a temporary, case-by-case basis. Teachers and students drift and tumble amid the waves of collective karma; everyone  sees that many long-term problems are unlikely to be resolved, thus can't help but be disappointed. Now that the outstanding advisor has gone, no one knows what to do with many of these problems. One  teacher told me that when the Venerable Master was in the world, there  were just as many problems in the schools; however, the Venerable  Master would often arrive at the schools at a critical juncture. People  became inspired and simply endured those many difficulties. Once when  I was talking to one of the Master's long-time disciples about this, he said, "Why do you think there are many issues now? In my opinion, this is  really nothing. In the past we had a refugee program, now that was really  thorny!" I thought about it and accepted it. It's not necessarily a bad thing to  have concerns, as long as we are patient and courageous in facing reality, I  believe that the Buddhadharma will ultimately resolve these issues.

When we have difficult questions, it's important to seek the help of  imperfect advisors. We should also be respectful toward them. If they  have some success in a certain area of the Buddhadharma, we are essentially paying respects to the Buddhadharma when we pay respects to  these good and wise advisors. We must observe the merits of wise  counsels, instead of stressing their faults. By humbly and reverently  learning from their strengths, we will attain benefits in the Dharma.

If we compare cultivating to a long journey, a clear-eyed advisor knows  every detail of our trip, from start to finish, from initial resolve to perfect  realization. Since s/he can travel back and forth freely, s/he can guide and  direct us throughout the entire trip. The advisors who haven't yet reached  perfection are good friends capable of pointing out the direction, providing  food and lodging along certain parts of the path. Although they cannot  attend to us throughout the entire trip, they know how to help us overcome  barriers practically as we travel. Once we notice that our cultivation is inadequate and don't know what to do, we should pay attention to those who  are able to practice competently. That may be a way to find a good advisor.

Since kind and wise advisors are so important to cultivators, we should  learn to be each other's good advisors in our day to day lives. We will  not speak of abstractions; we'll just talk about our daily morning and  evening ceremonies. Everyone attends ceremonies together, adorning  the monastery with their earnestness—we are being each other's good  advisors here. An old Bhikshu who came to stay at the Sagely City  didn't know about the Venerable Master's achievements at first. After  reading some of the Venerable Master's instructions, he was touched and  said to me, "The Venerable Master seems to be someone with great  wisdom. I didn't know and slighted him. I was so wrong." Those friends  in the Way who are printing and circulating the Venerable Master's instructions are kind and wise advisors. The elder Bhikshu who was ashamed  and repented courageously is also our good advisor.

The Buddhadharma emphasizes practice, not talk. I want to conclude with an example of the Buddha teaching with his conduct. Once  the Buddha was traveling in the human realm, and he told the Honorable  Ananda, "My back hurts, I will lie down and nap." After the Honorable  Ananda laid out some blankets on the ground for him, the World Honored One lay on his right side, one leg above the other. He focused on  and contemplated a clear image with proper mindfulness and wisdom.  He said to the Honorable Ananda, "Tell me about the seven factors of  enlightenment." 

At that time, the Honorable Ananda responded to the Buddha, saying,  "World Honored One, the factor of thought in enlightenment is  said to be..." The Buddha told Ananda, "Talk about vigor." Ananda  answered the Buddha, "I will discuss vigor as the World Honored  One had explained it. Well-Gone One..." The Buddha told Ananda,  "Vigor is simply about cultivating harder and harder until one realizes anuttara-samyak-sambodhi." After saying these words, he sat  erect, straightened his body and focused his thoughts.

This demonstrates how respectful the Buddha was toward the Dharma. Once he heard the excellent teaching on vigor, he disregarded his backache to sit upright and restrain his thoughts as a role model. If you want to be a kind and wise advisor to living beings, you must emulate the Buddha!            

  (The End)