Seeing Interdependent Conditions Clearly Lets You Cultivate Your Practice While Influencing Others
That earnest, aching wish— the kind that longs to see rough iron forged into fine steel, frustrated when progress stalls— has softened and leveled out over long years of practice. He, too, is shaped by his own karma and the causes and co...
That earnest, aching wish— the kind that longs to see rough iron forged into fine steel, frustrated when progress stalls— has softened and leveled out over long years of practice. He, too, is shaped by his own karma and the causes and conditions of his merit and fortune. Standing in our genuine duty to practice compassion, we must do everything in our power to benefit him, but we also have to recognize that many of these causes and conditions depend entirely on whether he is able to grasp them for himself. It is not our place to take on the weight of his great matter of birth and death for him. Shouldering that burden does him no good, after all: no one can carry another person’s karma for them. Over time, as we face more and more circumstances, body and mind grow ever more able to accept things just as they are. After all, the way causes and effects unfold in accordance with their own nature is not something anyone can easily step in to change.
All we can do is do our best to plant the seeds of causes and conditions that will strengthen his resolve, right up until his final moments on this path of birth and death. Only when we see clearly the illusory nature of the causes and conditions behind these fleeting gains and losses can we cultivate our own practice while also influencing others. Even the greatest blessings and spiritual support from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will not reach you if you do not resonate with them, if you cannot follow their teachings and put them into practice. The Buddha’s Forty-Eight Vows also call for your mind to align with them, for you to be able to resonate with their intent. It truly is not possible to attain liberation through stubborn, self-willed action alone. You must let your mind and consciousness settle into unwavering resolve, so that the path and your mind can truly connect and respond to each other.
Original Title: Dharma Talk by Venerable Huaping
Reposted from WeChat Public Account: "Observe Here"