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Global Lamrim II

Lecture No. 0265

Lamrim Vol. 1: Pg36L5

Tape No | 4B 21:58 ~ 23:15

Date: (2020-10-12 ~ 2020-10-14)

Topic: Rely on the environment to cultivate the habit of introspection inwardly

I recalled that Master spoke about the problem of the demon-revealing mirror in the previous teachings [Discourse #104], and now he mentioned it again here [starting from Discourse #262]. In fact, he would reiterate this point in the later sections of his Lamrim commentary. You will notice that during the process being guided by Master, he always reminded us of this problem. This is because looking outwardly is a habit, and so is looking inward too. It is evident that beginners on this path have very strong tendencies to look outward, while the habit of looking inward is not there. Thus it is a must to rely on Gurus, Excellent Teachers, and the Sangha community, everyone has to pick up the hardship to begin training in the skill of introspection. [00:29]

Some people may realize that it is complete pitch darkness when they look inward, only seeing their self-justifications – My perspective stands to reason and is valid; with regards to what others perceive, there are many erroneous aspects that I observe. However, we are able to transcend these hurdles and look again. There are also people who are afraid to see themselves. When they introspect, they do not know what to expect and thus become very nervous each time they try to look inward. Actually, all these hurdles can be surpassed gradually, because when you notice a flaw, you rectify it, when you see a positive trait, you can augment it. There must be something beautiful and good in each of our hearts; otherwise, we would not be able to be reborn as humans, right? There are prerequisite conditions to be reborn as human beings, thus there is no need to be so afraid. It is inevitable that the cultivation of an introspective habit comes with hardship, all of us must not reject such training; do not reject the training. [01:13]

When we are discussing matters with others, we may notice that our sharp edges would inch (negatively) towards others as the discussion is going on! Given now that we have studied the scriptures, we engage in discussion of our viewpoints. And whenever our attitudes begin to show signs of aggression and harshness, can we have a self-detection response which alerts us: “Hey! I’m projecting my habitual tendencies towards others again!” At this point, shall we take a deep breath, recalibrate for a bit, and say: “I apologize, please excuse me for a second; I should remain as steadfast as a tree, let me adjust myself.” And then maybe you would try to put on a smile, withholding the intimidating facial expressions towards others. It is quite strange that for our faces, the only time we face ourselves is in the mirror; when we don’t look at ourselves in the mirror, we are always facing towards others. What types of facial expressions do we put on for others? Very few of us are aware of ourselves, right? Is this the case? Or are you all fully aware of the facial expressions you wear to face others? Only the time when we look at ourselves in the mirror do we meet ourselves. Other times it is others who will meet us face-to-face. Hence, try our best to give others a soften and gentler facial expression as much as possible. This also requires training. [02:12]

Therefore, I truly hope that we can cherish such reminders from Master. Look, in “The Life of Atisha”, when explaining about the precepts, this problem was mentioned again. Because if we don’t know how to introspect ourselves, we will not be able to achieve the requirements of the precepts – being fully aware of every thought flashing across our mind stream as well as every word we speak, we would be clearly aware of what we said one moment ago, which sentence was inaccurate, we would make rectifications the next moment. It is hard for us to catch up with our mind stream, our thoughts are too rapid! The speed of the lightning is very fast, right? The wind is fast, right? The shooting stars very fast, right? Shooting stars move so fast, yet we can still spot it! As the trees are swaying, or clouds drifting, we may know the wind is moving, but what about our thoughts? “That which passes is like this river”; thoughts like flood waters gushing through, how many thoughts can we capture? You just need to observe when you recite Migtsema, how many were recited mindfully; or when our mind wanders off while chanting the name of Avalokitsevara Bodhisattva, are we able to know at which interval did our mind begin to wander? And then at which moment did it come back on track again? [03:09]

Thus after contemplating like this: What we understand the least would be the work of our mind, the way we speak, our habits, and even our perception of beauty. When observing others, do we look at them from a beautiful perspective, or do we use an angle of finding everything as negative and horrible? Since there isn’t a term called “perception of ugliness”, what kind of lens are we adopting? What we perceive externally matches our own state of mind: without beautiful lens, what we see will be ugly things; we will not look at the promising aspects, because we have not developed this habit. [03:39]

In this paragraph, Master was introducing “The Life of Atisha”; when he explained the part on how meticulously Master Atisha observed even the most minute and subtle precepts, he mentioned this again: When you just started learning, never apply the yardstick to analyse all other people! We should “Upon obtaining the correct understanding, we examine ourselves based on the teachings,” and one more sentence, “strive to advance forward.” This is an uphill climb, uphill climbs are not easy; downward glides are easy, but we will lose our life. Therefore, every step on the uphill climb is always strenuous; it means for you to get out of your comfort zone. Of course, after you climb up a few steps and arrive at a certain scenic point, you can enjoy the view momentarily, there are such states. However, you have to keep climbing up; every step requires us to exert effort, and only by working hard can we reap the harvest! So, I hope everyone can persist well in the effort of introspection with the Dharma mirror, examining what your mind is thinking about, listen to what you are saying, and even making guesses on how your facial expression is like; make a guess! This is very beneficial for us. [04:36]

Let’s summarize. First, contemplate: if the environment we are in is one where everyone reflects inwardly, we would change this habit. In contrast, if the environment we are in always has people finding fault with one another, we will first tolerate, endure and bear with it, but one day we will not be able to hold it anymore and also start to blame others. Therefore, the environment for meditation practice/cultivation is extremely important! If in this environment, everyone feels that we should refrain from finding fault in others, finger-pointing is wrong and we should not bring suffering to other people. If you do not like other people to point fingers at you, you should not blame others as well. When your compassion arises, you should encourage or advise others. [05:07]

Thus, I witnessed the importance of the environment for teachings to be put into practice. Us being in this environment will guide us to be virtuous, we will not mix with people of our past who keep talking about the faults of others, creating verbal karma like divisive speech, gossiping, etc. If we talk about these every day, gradually by assimilation, we will change over time. However, if we are in an environment where OMAK (Observe Merits Appreciate Kindness) and introspection are practiced, we try to better ourselves every day. Take note! Suppose you live in this environment for ten years, how different in comparison would both outcomes look? After 10 years, how strikingly different will people living in these two different environments turn out respectively? This illustrates the importance of the learning environment; it also illustrates the importance of Lamrim classes, and the importance of the Sangha community! [05:50]

讲次 | 0265 (2020-10-12 ~ 2020-10-14)

标题 | 依靠好环境，练出向内看的习惯

《广论》段落 | P3-L5 获得功德事理分二……如理修行获证功德事理。　今初

音档 | 4B 21:58 ~ 23:15

手抄页/行 | 第1册 P125-L1 ~ P125-LL4　( 2016 南普陀版：P125-L2 ~ P125-LL3 )

手抄段落 | 所以大师就是个典型的例子……在第六页上面是利他。

(更新日期: 2023年12月15日)

00:00

我记得在哪一讲讲过一个照妖镜的问题，现在师父又讲，后面还会讲。你就会发现跟着师父在随学的过程中，师父一直要提醒我们这个问题。因为向外看是一个习惯，然后向内看也是一个习惯。很显然刚学的人向外看的习惯太严重，向内看的习惯没有，所以必须跟着老师、跟着善知识，跟着僧团，大家要学习艰难地开始向内看。00:29

有些人向内一看，黑洞洞的，什么也看不到，总觉得自己有道理——我能看到一大堆合理的道理，一看别人就看到一大堆不合理的道理。但是我们可以越过这些东西，再看。还有的人非常害怕看自己，当他看自己的时候，可能是不知道会发生什么，所以一看到自己就觉得非常紧张。其实这些都可以慢慢地穿越，因为你看到不好的你就改掉它，看到好的你就增广它，每个人的心里也都有美好的东西，不然我们就不能成为人了，对不对？生为人还是有条件的，所以也不要那么害怕。但是养成一个向内看的习惯是非常辛苦的，大家一定不要拒绝这种修炼，不要拒绝这种练习。00:13

发现在商量问题时，商量、商量，我们那个锋利的东西就出去对别人了！当然有可能现在学了教法之后，我们是见解上的讨论。但是当我们这个态度开始变锋利，开始变得非常生硬的时候，自己能不能有一个警铃开始响起来：“欸！我又开始对别人犯老毛病了！”这时候要不要深呼吸一下，调整一下，说：“对不起，给我一秒钟的时间。如树应安住，我调整一下。”然后你可能就再勉强地微笑一下，不要用那么可怕的脸对别人。因为我们这个脸非常奇怪，只有照镜的时候是面对自己的，不照镜的时候都是面对别人的。我们到底呈现出一张什么样的脸让别人看？很少人自己知道吧！对不对？是这样吗？还是你们都知道你们给别人看的是什么脸？就照镜子的时候会遇到自己，平常都是别人会遇到你的脸。所以尽量给别人一个稍稍柔和一点、和蔼一点的脸色，这个也是要修炼的。02:12

所以，非常非常地希望我们能够珍惜师父对我们这种提醒。你看，在《阿底峡尊者传》提到戒律的时候又提到这个问题。因为我们不会向内看的话，我们就没法达成戒律的要求——对自己的心念了了分明，对自己的语言了了分明，你非常知道前一刻说了什么，哪一句话是说错的，下一念就改了。我们跟不上我们的心念，心念太快了！电光很快吧？风很快吧？流星很快吧？流星那么快，我们还能看到呢！当那个树在摇摆，或者云在飞的时候，我们知道可能风在运行，可是我们的心念呢？“逝者如斯夫”，像洪水一般流过去的心念，有几个心念是能够抓住的呢？你只要在念密集嘛的时候，看看你清清楚楚念的有几个就知道；或者念几句观世音菩萨，接着走神了，能知道是在第几句走的吗？然后又什么时候拉回来的？03:09

所以这样想一想：我们最不了解的就是自己的心、自己的语言、习惯，甚至是自己的审美。出去看别人是用审美的观点在看，还是用一个到处看不好的、看恐怖的观点在看？——因为没有审丑这个词——用什么样的目光在看？我们看出去的和我们内心的世界是吻合的，没有审美，就会看到丑陋的东西，我们不会看光彩之处，因为没有养成习惯。03:39

师父在这一段讲《阿底峡尊者传》，讲到阿底峡尊者连最细微的戒都守得这么好的这件事时，又提到了这个——千万刚学的时候，不要拿这个标准去到处看别人啊！要“有了正确的认识，自己衡量自己”，还有那句话——“努力爬上去”。这是个爬坡，爬坡是不轻松的；掉下去很轻松，但是也没命了。所以向上爬每一步都很艰辛的，就是要摆脱你的舒适圈。当然你爬两步到一个风光的地方，可以稍稍看一下，也是会有这种境界。但是你必须要向上爬，每爬一步都要努力，努力才会有收获！所以希望大家好好地坚持法镜内照，看自己的心念在想什么、听自己在说什么，甚至猜一下你的表情是什么样，猜一下！这对我们是很有好处的。04:36

收摄一下。先想一想：我们所处的环境如果都是一个向内看的环境，我们就会改变这个习惯；如果我们所处的环境是一直相互指责的话，我们先忍、忍、忍，有一天也会忍不了，也开始指责。所以这个修行环境是很重要的！如果这修行环境大家都觉得不要指责别人，指责别人是错的，不要让别人痛苦。你不希望别人指责你，你也不要指责别人；当你有慈悲心的时候，你就劝劝别人。05:07

所以我看到这个修学环境的重要性。我们在这个环境里是会学好的，我们不会跟原来一直一直说别人过失、说别人过失这样的人聚在一起，口业的那几种——离间语呀、说是非，天天讲这个，讲久了之后，耳濡目染我们就慢慢变了。可是如果我们在一个观功念恩的环境，一个都向内看的环境，每天修炼自己的话，注意！假如给你十年，这两者你想想会差多远？十年之后，生活在这两种环境的人，他们会相差多远？这就是修学环境的重要性，就是广论班的重要性，就是僧团的重要性！05:50