Habitual Tendencies and Habits
|
Venerable Master Hsing Yun |
¡@
|
¡@ Every person has habitual tendencies and actions. While habitual tendencies are usually neutral, for example, one can enjoy eating, sleeping, shopping, or looking good; habits on the other hand, can be good or bad. For instance, being neat, poised, polite, and cheerful are good habits, while gambling, smoking, drinking, and being lazy are bad habits. It is easier to change one's habits but more difficult to change or be rid of one's habitual tendencies. As long as one has determination, one can change one's bad habits and develop good ones. For instance, if one likes to gamble, one should stay away from gambling places; or if one likes to drink, then one should keep one's hands off of all alcohol. Eventually, all these bad habits can be transformed. However, habitual tendencies related to worry not only affect this present life, but may also affect future lives the way karma does. Mahakasyapa, a disciple of the Buddha, had already attained arhathood, but the moment he heard any music, he could not help himself and immediately began to dance. Even bodhisattvas who have attained the fifty-first stage of enlightenment, but still possess a small fraction of ignorance and habitual tendencies, are like the moon on the eve of a full moon, not quite complete. There is a fable: Once, a scorpion wanted to cross the river, so he asked the tortoise to carry him over. But the tortoise feared the scorpion's poison, so the scorpion reassured him, "Don't worry, since you are carrying me, if I stung you and you died, I could not live either!" The tortoise thought that was reasonable, so he carried the scorpion on his back and swam into the river. When they got to the middle, the scorpion stung the tortoise in the head. The tortoise was very upset at the scorpion for breaking his promise and stinging him. With much regret, the scorpion said, "I didn't mean to harm you, but I am used to stinging others, I'm really sorry!" As the saying goes, "It is easy to cease worries but difficult to change habitual tendencies." So, how are we going to change our bad habits and develop good ones? Others can only help us in some ways. We need to apply effort and have the determination to do it ourselves. For example, suppose we have always been lazy; if we do not work hard to change ourselves, even with the best teachers and friends by our sides, they cannot help us in any substantial way. Or, if we are so avaricious that we steal and cheat to satisfy our greed, we will probably not awaken to our crimes until we are thrown in jail for them. Therefore, in order to change bad habits to good ones, other than the influence of our surroundings and the impact of education, the most important factor is our own determination. So, should our action, speech, and mind be affected by bad habits, we need to have the willpower to cut them away. This can be likened to a rusting knife that needs to be sharpened quick and hard, or the splintering wood that needs strong reinforcement to regain the strength for proper use. Habits are hard to change; habitual tendencies are more difficult to correct. As the saying goes, "It is easy to move the rivers and mountains but hard to change one's nature." When our nature becomes tangled, the entanglements are habitual tendencies. Our nature is influenced by the world's ways and habits, so we need to expend great effort to purify ourselves. Just like an ancient mirror that is tarnished with dirt and dust, without constant scrubbing and cleaning, how can it possibly regain its clarity? |
Some People believe dharma to be profound, Something has to incomprehensible.
This is not the case at all. The Dharma is something we all can understand and use.
and spiritual aspects of life
Yahoo! Sports
Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football
** Menyadari apa yang sesungguhnya sedang terjadi SAAT INI di dalam diri saya maupun di luar diri saya **
** Kami kembali tuk hidup dalam kekinian yang menakjubkan; tuk menanami taman hati kami benih-benih kebajikan; serta membuat fondasi pengertian dan cinta kasih yang kokoh **
** Kami mengikuti jalur perhatian penuh, latihan tuk melihat dan memahami secara mendalam agar mampu melihat hakikat segala sesuatu, sehingga terbebas dari belenggu kelahiran dan kematian **
** Kami belajar tuk: berbicara dengan penuh cinta kasih, menjadi penuh welas asih, menjadi perhatian terhadap pihak-pihak lain pagi ataupun sore hari, membawa akar-akar suka cita ke banyak tempat, membantu sesama melepaskan kesedihan; dan tuk menanggapi dengan penuh rasa syukur kebajikan orang tua, para guru, serta sahabat-sahabat kami **
Yahoo! Groups Links
- To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dharmajala/
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
