Teachings of the Mentor
Author: Fafu
Translator : Lotus
Giving Offerings Without Any Greed
A person should not always hope someone could give him something. Many worldly people want to get more pay, more money and higher official position all the time. But they seldom consider how to benefit their country, their people and the sentient beings. Seldom they do this.
There are also so many people who have benefitted others, but after having benefitted them, they are full of regret. What’s the reason for this? Because it is the sentient beings in today’s world who can totally make you regret. Anyone of them can completely cause you to be regretful. Why? Because the sentient beings in this world don’t repay kindness and even bite the hand that feeds them, which is clearly revealed in The Flower Adornment Sutra. It is extremely foolish and lack of wisdom for you to hope that these people could repay you. If you have wisdom, you can perceive the essence of the sentient beings and know that they will never repay you a little even though you hold this hope every day. We can benefit people without wanting repayment in our hearts, which is the teaching of the Buddha and is also a kind of practice of bodhisattvas. What we should do is to help people without any condition and end, free from the eager to get repayment from them. We can do something for people silently. Even though what we do is trivial, it will be good. If we don’t have great ability, we can do some we can. If we have no ability to do anything, we can make a vow that we’ll have abilities to do this in future.
Praise for Our Mentor
I praise you endlessly, the mentor, because you have completely inherited and manifested the wisdom and insight of the buddhas in you without any misunderstanding and distorting.
I praise you endlessly, the mentor, because you have been preaching the Dharma harmoniously and at ease according to the various kinds of causes, conditions and stage of beings. What you have taught is original, free from defilement, profound and endless. You yourself are the vehicle of the Dharma.
I praise you endlessly, the mentor, because you have attained the subtle wisdom of Cause and Effect and can protect and nourish the speech karma with skillful means. You revealed the wisdom of Cause and Effect to us especially when you were in difficulty, you still said you were all right.
I praise you endlessly, the mentor, because you have obtained the wisdom of Effect of Conditions. Even though facing an operating tool, you treat it kindly and compliantly and treasure it so that it can be in your control and you can operate and transform it at ease.
I praise you endlessly, the mentor, because you have always stayed with us and listened to our sufferings and affliction with endless patient. You lead and inspire us and clear up our confusion using wisdom.
I praise you endless, the mentor, because you protect us kindly. What you have said is harmless. Although we often overthrew you by speaking these words like “This is what you have taught. You said we needn’t make obeisance before the buddhas”, you still forgave us with joy and felt no any anger in you. You led and inspired us with kindness and compassion, saying: “It’s a good deed to make obeisance before the buddhas. Why do you say we don’t need to do this?”
I praise you endless, the mentor, because you are humble, mild and take responsibility for us. When we couldn’t understand what you taught, you didn’t scold us, still speaking with smile: “Maybe it is because I don’t explain it clearly.”
I praise you endlessly, the mentor, because you are established in eloquence and what you have taught is convincing, invulnerable and full of logic so that we can accept it whole- heartedly.
I praise you endlessly, the mentor, because using the Buddhadharma to analyze the worldly things with skillful means, you have made us research various kinds affliction and understand the evil consequence of it. You want us to get rid of the affliction and not let it harm us any more so that we can establish the merit and virtue like the buddhas. You hope us to keep the same minds and practice as the buddhas.
I will praise you forever, never forget why I started and have been attaining peace and joy forever.
