(Photo by Wong Twee Hee)
There is a passage in the Buddhist scriptures that tells the story of a businessman, who was an honest character and believed in the Dharma. His son was replete with roots of goodness and wisdom (i.e. he was very kind and wise). When the son grew older, the father, who was a Buddhist practitioner, let his son take over his shop so that he could concentrate on learning and practising the Dharma.
One day, the father told a bhikkhu who had attained the state of arhat: "Honorable One! I very much look forward to my son becoming a Buddhist and learning the Dharma."
The bhikku said, “It is rare for one to have such a thought. I will allow him the opportunity to get close to the Buddha, Dharma and sangha.”
After that, the bhikkhu went to seek alms at the son’s store and explained the Buddha’s teachings to him, with knowledge and insight. The son rejoiced after listening to the Dharma, and he asked the bhikkhu, "How can I become a Buddhist? How can I truly cultivate spiritually?”
The bhikku said, “You must take good care of your mind. If you are able to keep all your thoughts kind, compassionate, loving, and peaceful, then you are engaging in spiritual cultivation.”
The son asked, “How do I take care of my intangible thoughts? And how do I determine which thoughts are good and which aren’t?”
The bhikku replied, “You can make use of black beans and white beans to test whether you have good or bad thoughts in your mind. Drop a white bean (in a container) if you give rise to a good thought and drop a black bean once a bad thought arises. When the number of black beans decreases and white beans increase, it means that your good thoughts have increased. A reduction in the number of white beans will indicate that your unwholesome thoughts and afflictions have increased.”
The son did as what he was taught by the bhikku by turning his shop into a “cultivation ground” and taking good care of his mind. When someone came to patronize his shop, he would give rise to joy and gratitude, and served his customer with hospitality. After his customers left happily, he would drop a white bean (into the container).
Sometimes, when he came across fussy and calculative customers, he would drop a black bean for feeling resentment and dislike towards them. At the end of the day, if the black beans outnumbered the white ones, he would remind himself to work harder in taking care of his mind.
After a period of time, there were still more black beans than white beans, and so, the son resolved not to let his mind be affected by external conditions. He told himself not to give rise to unwholesome thoughts when faced with unpleasant situations and to deal with everything with an equanimous and joyful mind.”
With his diligence and hard work, the number of black beans finally decreased and eventually, they totally disappeared.
Our thoughts are the key to spiritual cultivation. A person's success or failure often hinges on a single thought in his mind. If we can take good care of our minds and maintain an equanimous mind, we will dwell in a tranquil state. The way to do this is to cultivate great love and kind thoughts.
There are 84,000 Dharma doors (cultivation methods) in the Buddha's teachings. Each of these Dharma doors or methods was taught to suit the aptitudes of sentient beings. The son in the story made use of black and white beans as a reminder for himself and as a guideline for spiritual practice. What method of cultivation should we adopt so that our hearts will always be joyful, without any mental afflictions and obstacles? Actually, it all depends on whether we can be mindful in cultivating kind thoughts at all times and if we can take good care of our minds.
Source: Tzu Chi Taiwan website
Translated by Tzu Chi Singapore translation team
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