Three Steps One Bow
Letters to
the Venerable
Master Hua
from Bhikshus Heng
Sure
and Heng Ch'au
on their bowing pilgrimage
to the City
of Ten Thousand Buddhas.
Booneville Road
9/10/79
Dear Shih Fu,
"The Bodhisattva vows that all beings dwell peacefully in purified Buddha1ands...that they dwell in the ultimate path and in places of peace and happiness."
Avatamsaka Sutra
Ten Transferences Chapter
"My mother has escaped (from a country at war). No one has heard from her. She may be lost at sea. I hope that you will think of her in your prayers."
We were deeply moved by this girl's sorrowful request. Why do we study and practice the Buddhadharma? Because we have found pure goodness within it. Buddhadharma is the best medicine on earth. It can cure the suffering of afflictions. If everyone behaved according to these ancient universal rules, all wars would stop and suffering would vanish instantly.
For example
the Bodhisattva on the First- Ground makes great vows. Afterwards his
heart changes. He obtains the ten kinds of minds or attitudes.
(1) The Mind of Benefit. Who benefits from wars? Demons. Undertakers. Corpse
worms. Bomb- bui1ders.
(2) A Soft, Pliant Mind.
The mind that does not force itself
on others, how much the less does it want to fight a war.
(3) A mind that Accords. "Will
you monks please
be careful up ahead, maybe walk
past our construction vehicles
and bow on the other side where it's safe?" "You bet we will
will, Mister.
No problem."
(4) A Mind
that is Tranquil.
"You better tell
me what you're doing or I'm
going to break your heads." Heng Ch'au, with a sincere smile,
"We're
Buddhists, making a pilgrimage.
We bow and pray." "Oh yeah? Buddhists? I thought you was those (X). Oh
well,
good luck
to you."
(5) A Mind that is Subdued. I would
sure like to polish
off that plate
of dofu
but I'm nearly
full.
Principle
says to stick to the Middle,
not too much, not too little. Principle
is the truth, my thoughts are false.
I'll be patient and subdue my greed. Well,
look
at that. The host who brought us this offering and stayed to share it with us was hungry too.
if I had grabbed the extra food he would
have suffered. Good old
principle!
Can't
beat it!
(6) A Mind that is Still.
Better take off my scarf. No, wait. Concentrate. Don't think about yourself.
Hey the wind's coming up. I'd better put on my hat. No, wait. Don't move. Concentrate. Oh, time to
meditate.
(7) A Humble Mind. My good fortune in getting a complete
and healthy human body is one in a billion.
If I break the rules
I can find myself
in a cow's body,
or as a swarm of these green grasshoppers on a lonely
dirt track here in Point
Arena, all
in the wink
of an eye. Only through the great kindness of
the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
my parents and eiders, have I been prevented from falling
into the hells or suffering long
as a hungry ghost.
My greed and anger are as large as the Rocky
Mtns.
My greed offenses are as many as the sands
of Arizona and New Mexico. My deviant views would
fill up empty space if they had shape
and substance. How can I be lazy
and not sweat blood to cu1ivate repentance and reform? How
could
I dare to show anger at any being?
8) A Moistened Mind. The drought of
1976-1977 turned Southern California
into a yellow, crackling mirage. Everything was thirsty.
Every plant
was brittle
and thorny. A11
the animals were scrawny and scaly.
There was no fertility, no forgiveness in the land.
This is my state of mind when I am
greedy, when I seek self-benefit.
When I am angry and harsh my mind is just this way. As soon
as I remember to moisten my mind and heart with the water of great compassion and kindness,
it turns into May of 1979
in Marin
County. Wildflowers fill
the fields,
fat cows graze, sleek
Morgan co1ts
gallop
in herds across the ridges, shorebirds sing and fish jump in
the lagoons. A moistened mind is a happy,
growing place. Wars? Why
bother? What insanity.
9) An Unmoving Mind. "You crazy goofs, Get up from there!"
"This is the work of Great
Bodhisattvas." "You are my good advisor. You
remind me of my boundless offenses
of flattery
and climbing. I vow to dwell
in the heart of level
equality towards all
beings. I bow to you in gratitude. We will
become Buddhas together."
10) An Un-turbid Mind. We read Buddhist Sutras. We don't keep up with the
news. We don't hear advertising. We don't listen
to recorded music. We eat plain
food. Our desires are reduced and our needs
are few. We are happy and content. Our
thoughts are not hot, fast, or warlike.
We don't think ahead or left
or right. We repent of past offenses and guard against desires. We pray
for the welfare
of a11
beings. We are learning
to respect the rules.
We have found much happiness and peace in cultivation
as we
"Subdue ourselves and return to
principle."
It's the surety of following the old, old, old, rules, and discovering their deep harmony within ourselves. It feels like coming across the buoy channel markers in a fog. You know that soon you'll be in port. The old rules tell us how the universe really is before thought and debate, before words and speech. The Buddha's Way is the ancient road back home. It feels like the first view of the landing lights on the airport runway after a rough-weather plane ride.
As unruly, freedom-loving people, we have reached defensively to the notion of "rules." That ideas sounds all to much like courts and cops, lawyers and prison. But respect for the real Rules and worship of them in thought, word, and deed, brings true freedom. That's the Buddhadharma's great gift to us all.
drawing left
on the monk's car by anonymous fellow-traveller
Heng Ch'au and I have the feeling that the True Principles of the Buddhadharma are the "deep contours" of the original mind. We all share them, that's why the Dharma is the language of the heart. We met a Sioux Indian in Stinson Beach who said, "You guys are neat. My teacher is the medicine man of the Rosebud Sioux. He says that when you're neat, you never have troubles. You just slip right on through all situations."
Who is the Buddha? He's a living
being who came to be so "neat" at following
the rules
that he disappeared inside
them. He lost himself by perfecting his
conduct
according to the teachings.
What is the Dharma? The rules. How to live. How to walk, talk and think as we make our way back to the Original Home.
What is the Sangha? It's the lucky people who have found the trail through the dense forest of confusion. People who give up what's false in order to protect what's true.
Why do we bow? Universal Worthy's ten vows instruct us to. His Ten Kings of Vows are foremost among the rules.
We bow to worship and revere all Buddhas. We bow to praise the Thus Come Ones. We bow as an offering to them and to a11 beings. We repent of a11 the times in the past we've broken the rules. There are six more vows.
We bow to the King of Kings of all the rulebooks, the Flower Adornment Sutra. It is the map of the universe. Nature's own blue-print. Like Virginia from Morro Bay said when she heard about the precepts, "Boy, when you follow the rules, it realty takes a load off your back, doesn't it?"
Disciple Kuo Chen
(Heng Sure)
bows in respect
September 17. 1979
9 miles
above Booneville
Dear Shin Fu,
(When
the Bodhisattva gives...)
he
does not expect a reward, he does
not seek fame or reputation, he is
not greedy for benefit...he gives
only
to gather beings in.
Why do we have faith? Because we have been greatly given to. Our feelings have been deep1y moved by the giving we have witnessed and by the boundless gifts we have received.
Why are Buddhas and Bodhisattvas greatly happy? Because of one basic quality: the kind of giving that they can do. On the other hand,
Greed kills,
Desire is death.
Selfishness
ends the world.
This is what we've learned on the pilgrimage. As pilgrim monks we have seen lots of "true-life adventures" and of all the good and bad deeds we've witnessed, the scenes that will live longest in our hearts are the acts of kindness, compassion, joy, and giving.
Kindness: Sunday morning. Sea Ranch. A police car stops, turns and slowly creeps back around the curve 200 yards ahead, to where our car is parked. Suddenly a white pick up truck guns its engine and squeals away, the cop in hot pursuit. A break-in prevented, two grateful monks. Another debt of kindness to repay.
Compassion: Mendocino City, road crew grades the highway. The dust turns the air to pea soup, each time the sweeper passes. We can't breathe. It blots out the sunlight. Then a big caterpillar bulldozer stops. The driver says to Heng Ch'au, "I want to apologize for all the dust and noise we're making. I hate to bother anyone in their worship. Do you plan to be here long because we'll be working and making lots of dust." Heng Ch'au gives him a handout sheet. As he takes it he says, "You fellas from that place out of Ukiah? I hope to see that some day. (He is referring to the goals of our work described in the handout sheet). See ya later. God Bless." From then on the sweepers lift their brushes as they pass our bowing.
Joy: Foggy morning in Gualala. Big white truck passes, stows, stops. Tall, bearded man in heavy work boots approaches Heng Sure. His face is full of emotion and light. Is he crying or happy? He bows slowly, holds an apple in both hands above his lowered head. He's happy. He stands, hands the apple to the monk then joins his palms and says, "Thank you, brother." He turns and disappears into the fog.
Giving: Labor Day, 1977. Three cars full of monks, nuns, and laypeople get up at 3 A.M. and drive seven hours to Santa Barbara arriving just on time to bring food, goods, and high-voltage cheer to us. The vibes are pure white, yang, and vitalizing. Their reward? No reward. A long, hot drive back to San Francisco in Labor Day traffic. They gave us Dharma, wealth, and fearlessness. Everyone was greatly happy. This is the kind of selfless work that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do. It gives us faith. It teaches us how to give.
Giving Away the Fruit
The Open-handed Harvest.
"Faith causes all
the roots to grow
clear
and sharp...
Faith can grow a Bodhi
tree."
Hsien Shou
Chap.
12, Part 1
On our altar are three round red fruits: a crimson tomato, a red Delicious apple, and a scarlet nectarine. They came from people in the Point Arena area. People offer the produce from their gardens with special happiness. Each time, there is an extra touch of magic in the giving. "These came from our labor on this land. I want to share the fruit of my work with you because I believe in what you do."
Cultivation feels this way. The Bodhisattva's path of transference makes possible a rare, special kind of giving. The gift is pure goodness, yang 1ight blessings, merit and virtue. The Sutra calls it "good roots." All Buddhas giving of their good roots the foundation of their cultivation.
What we give away is ourselves. Since our egos are as big as Mt. Sumeru we have a lot to give. There are offerings to the Buddha, giving to all beings, renunciation of personal benefits, forsaking of evil, all are included in the Buddha's practice of happiness.
But the fruit of this work is never harvested. The Bodhisattva exists only to work. He takes no vacations and expects no rewards. His only satisfaction comes from the gradual growth of his effectiveness. As he gets better at giving Dharma he gets to do more of it. Kuan Shih Yin Bodhisattva bestows happiness from a thousand hands and eyes. His joy at giving is always the same as the happiness of the Point Arena gardeners, only multiplied by a thousand. Maitreya Bodhisattva is the "happy Buddha" because his big bag is ever full of gifts to all beings. Kids flock to him. His joy Is as full as his belly.
We've been Buddhist disciples for only a few years and each step we've taken along the path has taught us more about giving. While we never forget our vows to realize the fruit of Buddhahood even this is an open-handed harvest, not to be grasped or owned.
Sometimes the suffering of reducing our attachments to self seems bitter and hard to bear. A single thought of transference makes it light and joyous. Pure seeds planted in the Buddha's field of blessings nurtured with hard, selfless work, produce a rich harvest that we can share with a11 the world.
"I hope you pilgrims will enjoy this produce. It came from our garden. You are in our prayers, too. Bless you." (note left on bag of vegetables and placed on our car).
Disciple Kuo Chen
(Heng Sure)
bows in respect