Teachings of the mentor
Author: Fafu
Translator : Lotus
Free from self-praise
It’s no use of talking too much about this issue if you are not careful of controlling yourself not to praise yourself all the way. When someone praises you, the sense of shame should arise in you. It is called showing and selling your merits and virtues when you praise yourself or consider yourself excellent.
What’s the meaning of this? It means that when you are showing your merits and virtues, you are trading them for others’praise. It is because you want to buy others’ praise or respect with it. Someone may ask: “Will my merits and virtues be sold out the moment someone glorifies me?” No. It’s up to you to sell them. What’s the meaning of this? It means that people don’t know what kind of merits and virtues you have, but at the moment he praises you, his praise will become the seeds of his merits and virtues and it’s nothing to do with you. He plants his roots of merits and virtues while you plant yours. However, your mind of wanting others to know your merits and virtue is the same that you first render your merits and virtue to show off and then you use them out with your showing just like the money which you have earned and then used up. How could you still have the merits and virtues when you use them up and do not reserve them? Then what should we do when people praise us? A sense of shame should arise in ourselves because we have not been good at everything.
We should be extremely cautious and don’t indulge in self-admiration which is called trading out your merits and virtues and is bad for you. It will be harmful for you to be of self-admiration, let alone praise yourself.
Praise the Mentor
I praise you endlessly, our mentor, because you can precisely explain the meaning of Buddhist sutras and firmly preserve the principle as it goes: “It is the demon’s speech when a person’s teaching is beyond the sutras and it is a misunderstanding of the buddhas of the three periods of time when he fathoms the sutra not according to its meaning but its words.”
I praise you endlessly, our mentor, because you have the profound subtle wisdom and insight, penetrate the essence of the things and everything is in your sight.
I praise you endlessly, our mentor, because you know the past and present including home and abroad, precisely master the astronomy and geography and also because you can penetrate precisely the current of the world, let alone the trifle of daily life and even every word.
I praise you endlessly, our mentor, because you choose your words with great care and because your teaching is precise, brief and clear, easy to understand so that it can make sentient beings grasp the points easily.
I praise you endless, our mentor, because you cultivate the practice of giving at all times and give the good things to others. You have manifested the stage of benefitting others selflessly.
I praise you endless, our mentor, because you abide by your orientation and never exceed it. You have been loyal to the Shakyamuni Buddha and led and inspired the sentient beings to take refuge to the Triple Jewel.
I praise you endlessly, our mentor, because you have worn the supreme clothes of a mind of shame. You have never claimed credit for yourself and become arrogant. You have been always recollecting the kindness of the buddhas and feel ashamed that you have not been perfect yet.
I praise you endlessly, our mentor, because you have led and inspired us with skillful means, saying “for a person in lay life, there is nothing more important than showing filial obedience to parents. If you don’t show filial obedience to your parents, then you will be killed by the nature. ”
I praise you endlessly, our mentor, because you have given the most appropriate blessings to sentient beings in order to help them to obtain what they need according to their various situations.
I praise you endlessly, our mentor, because you are good at letting us dwelling in happiness, showing up in time to resolve the embarrassment, creating joyful circumstance and making sentient beings happy.
I vow that I will praise you continuously, without stop or break. I vow that I will praise you with joy and vigor in my body, speech and mind.
