The Mind of a Practitioner (Dharma Words II)

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This book addresses the common problems and situations we all face in our hectic and complicated lives in this modern world, whether these are our personal relationships, family concerns, financial problems, health issues, and so on. The topics covered within these pages offer us specific attitudes and behaviors we can adopt that are not only beneficial for the matter at hand, but also further our spiritual cultivation as a whole.

The outward manifestations of spiritual practice such as religious services and ceremonials, or specific methods of cultivation like chanting and meditation, can sometimes lead us to ignore how the common and everyday incidents in our lives can really call upon us to apply our spiritual principles in an effective manner. Like water that can slowly and imperceptibly wear away even the hardest rock, the course of our lives from birth, old age, sickness, and death is formed by how we choose to act and respond to these small, everyday matters in life.

Readers will also appreciate the practical and easily accessible style in which Master Hsing yun offers his advice and guidance; lightly sprinkled with quotations from classical texts. Give yourself time to ponder and reflect upon the topics addressed; the words may appear simple and straightforward, but their meaning is quite profound, so keep this book handy.

I can think of no better summary and introduction to this book that what Master Hsing Yun says himself within its pages: “When we can experience the truth of the Dharma in everyday matters, it is true cultivation.”

This book addresses the common problems and situations we all face in our hectic and complicated lives in this modern world, whether these are our personal relationships, family concerns, financial problems, health issues, and so on. The topics covered within these pages offer us specific attitudes and behaviors we can adopt that are not only beneficial for the matters at hand, but also further our spiritual cultivation as a whole. The outward manifestations of spiritual practice such as religious services and ceremonials, or specific methods of cultivation like chanting and meditation, can sometimes lead us to ignore how the common and everyday incidents in our lives can really call upon to apply our spiritual principles in an effective manner. Like water that can slowly and imperceptibly wear away even the hardest rock, the course of our lives from birth, old age, sickness, and death is formed by how we choose to act and respond to these small, everyday matters in life. Something as minute and intangible as a single thought can have grave implications, and yet we hardly realize it, or perhaps even discount is effect. This is why the Buddhist teaching of Karma is so important.

Karma means “action,” but it is often confused with such notions as destiny or fate, which are actually quite different. Karma is the law of cause and effect, the operation of causality as it relates to the formation of our lives as epitomized by the expression, ”one reaps what one sows.” Specifically in Buddhism, Karma relates to the actions of one’s body, speech, and mind; in that how we act, how we speak, and even how we think slowly and imperceptibly create the life we experience. A negative thought repeated billions of times, day after day, can create a rut so deep in one’s life that it becomes an unconscious and habitual attitude, something that can color and distort one’s life in unimaginable ways. Given innumerable lifetimes over countless eons of times, the accumulative effects of even these mental actions can be quite devastating. This is why Master Hsing Yun is constantly asking us to consider and examine our attitudes and behavior as we live our daily lives.

However, it must be underscored the Karma does not mean “punishment”. Indeed, nothing could be further from the truth. The Law of Karma is experience. Besides the more cautionary advice that Master Hsing Yun offers to avoid difficulty and suffering, he goes on to give guidance as to how we can bring positive qualities into our experience, as indicated by such topics as the “Four Joys in Life,” “The Way to Success,” “Keys to a Long Life.” And so on. Karma is the operation of cause and effect, and so a positive cause will bring about a positive effect. Joy and happiness do not simply fall from the sky for no reason, they come as the result of our behavior and action. Everything we experience in life comes to us through the power of karma, both the bad and the good, we turn away from the bad and towards the good by the way we act, speak, and think. This is the hopeful message that Master Hsing Yun is constantly asking us to consider very carefully.

Readers will also appreciate the practical and easily accessible style in which Master Hsing Yun offers his advice and guidance; lightly sprinkled with quotations from classical texts. One can meander at one’s own pace, jumping forward or moving back, or pausing here and there along the way. But perhaps the most important thing to remember is give yourself time to ponder and reflect upon the topics addressed; the words may appear simple and straightforward, but their meaning is quite profound, so keep this book handy.