You Must Learn to Grasp the Underlying Principles Within Concrete Matters, or You Will Only End Up with Pointless, Fruitless Asceticism

Fundamentally, every offering placed on the altar serves a symbolic function; within each tangible form lies an underlying principle.

We will share a classical gong'an (a public case) that illustrates revealing principle through observable forms. Once, Confucius was traveling with his disciple Zigong on official business, and on their way they passed through Pu County, where another of his disciples, Zilu, was serving as county magistrate. In that era, a county magistrate was the head of a county, equivalent to a modern county governor. In Confucius' educational philosophy, he encouraged his disciples to pursue official careers, as the primary purpose of study in that period was to enter government service. As the classical Confucian adage goes, "Those who excel in learning should take up official posts." Thus, when one of his disciples once asked him how to grow vegetables and work the fields, Confucius was greatly displeased, saying that scholars had no business engaging in farm work, as it was neglecting their proper duties. The highest aspiration for a scholar was to serve in government. This is why, whenever a disciple had the opportunity to assume an official post, Confucius always encouraged them to do so. Zilu had finally obtained the appointment as magistrate of Pu County, so he threw himself into the role wholeheartedly, working diligently to govern well for the local people.

After he had been in office for some time, Confucius happened to be passing through Pu County with Zigong, so he suggested they stop by to see how Zilu was faring. When they arrived at the outskirts of the county, they saw that the rural roads were neatly maintained, and the drainage ditches on either side were dug very deep, with no signs of cutting corners. Confucius nodded approvingly and said, "Zilu is conducting himself with humility and courtesy here, and has earned the loyalty of the local people and his subordinates."

Next, when they reached the urban center of the county seat, Confucius saw that the houses were very plainly built, with no extravagant or ornate decorative carvings. He said, "Zilu is governing this place with great frugality and simplicity, leading by example for the people." When they arrived at the government office, they saw that all the officials were each at their own assigned posts, attending to their duties, and greeted everyone they passed with warmth and respect. Confucius said, "Zilu is extremely diligent in his governance and cares deeply for the people; he works hard to handle all governmental affairs, and is very approachable and kind to the common folk."

At this, Zigong was puzzled, and asked, "Teacher, you have come to this place without meeting Zilu in person, yet you already know he possesses these three virtuous qualities. How is this possible?"

Confucius replied, "Zigong, you do not yet understand the connection between form and principle. Look at how neat the roads are, and how deep the drainage ditches are dug—this shows that Zilu treats his subordinates with humility and courtesy, and has won their genuine loyalty, so no one dares to cut corners when carrying out their tasks. When we look at the city, every house is built neatly and plainly, which shows that Zilu leads by example and lives a life of great frugality and simplicity, so the local people have naturally adopted the same honest, unpretentious way of life. This is a perfect example of revealing the underlying principle through tangible circumstances!

"Third, at the government office, every official is at his own proper post, which shows that Zilu is extremely diligent and hardworking—he arrives at the office very early each day, leads by example, is devoted to governing for the people, and cares deeply for their wellbeing. So from these observable, tangible details, we can discern three core principles about his character and his approach to governance."

This is why we say that if one has true discernment, upon entering the altar of a practitioner's home, one can immediately tell what dharma gate they follow simply by looking around. If I see their principal deity, I know exactly what practice they are engaged in. Of course, those who practice Pure Land Buddhism should certainly enshrine the Three Sages of the Western Pure Land.

My former teacher, Elder Master Xing, was himself a dedicated Pure Land practitioner, and he repeatedly emphasized a key point: "Fellow Buddhist disciples, you must enshrine the Original Teacher. Many people neglect to enshrine the Original Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha, and this is a mistake. For those of us who practice the Pure Land path, our principal deity is of course Amitabha Buddha, but the Pure Land dharma was taught to us by Shakyamuni Buddha—we cannot forget our roots. It is acceptable to place a statue of the Original Teacher Shakyamuni at a slightly lower position than Amitabha on the altar, but Pure Land practitioners who completely omit enshrinement of the Original Teacher are acting contrary to the teachings."

This is why when we observe a practitioner's altar, we can first clearly see what their ultimate object of refuge is, the core of their spiritual practice. Second, we can also tell whether they maintain a consistent daily practice routine, simply by observing the arrangement of their altar. A main hall or home altar where regular practice is conducted will have a distinctly different, uplifting energy compared to one that is rarely used. This means we can easily perceive a person's inner spiritual aspiration, their true path of practice, simply by looking at the outward arrangement of their altar.

Just as Confucius needed no personal meeting with Zilu to know his character—he merely had to observe the condition of the county under Zilu's governance to immediately understand what manner of person he was. This is why Venerable Master Ouyi repeatedly emphasized this point: every single offering on the altar must be understood in terms of its underlying principle. If you fail to do so, your practice becomes pointless, fruitless asceticism. This kind of pointless, fruitless ascetic practice is nothing more than seeking the Dharma outside the mind, rather than turning inward to realize it within.