April 2008 - 17th

Today I read the first of the Buddhist sutras - I don’t know if it is coincidence that Mom happened to have one from our last trip to Hong Kong or not, but I certainly find it auspicious. It is titled the Sutra of the 42 Chapters. There were some verses in there I found very profound. I tried meditating on them while I was reading them, but while it is not exactly metaphorical like some passages from the Bible, it has a straight-forwardness about it that seems elusive to a mind that does not focus.

One particular teaching I liked from Buddha was from verses number 7 and 8:

The Buddha said: “There was one who heard that I upheld the Way and practise great benevolence and compassion. On this account, he came to scold me, but I remained silent and did not retort. When he had finished scolding me, I said: “Sir, if you treat another with courtesy and he does not accept it, does not the courtesy rebound to you?” He replied that it does and I continued: “Now you have just cursed me and I did not accept your curses, so that evil which you yourself did has now returned and fallen on you. For a sound accords with the noise that produced it and the reflection accords with the form. In the end there will be no escape, so take care lest you do what is evil.”

The Buddha said: “An evil man may wish to injure the Virtuous Ones and, raising his head, spit towards heaven, but the spittle, far from reaching heaven, will return and descend upon himself. An unruly wind may raise the dust, but the dust does not go elsewhere; it remains to contaminate the wind. Virtue cannot be destroyed, while evil inevitably destroys itself.”

How very true. And yet, it seems harder sometimes to put that into everyday context. As Buddha admitted: “It is hard to bear insult without making an angry reply.” Yes, it is hard. But no one said the Way or the virtuous path was ever an easy one. It’s so much easier to hate and become victim to our aversion and passions. That then is what they must mean about Buddhists having to actively fight peacefully to stay on the path of truth and compassion. It requires a suppression of the baser emotions. Constantly the Three Poisons (hatred, ignorance and lust) are struggling to find a liana grip to entangle us.