(Photo by Nicole De Khors / BURST)
Once, the Buddha was giving teachings at Jetavana Grove in Sravasti. Among the masses who came, there was a haggard- and undignified-looking monk. Like the rest, he prostrated himself reverently before the Buddha. Then he put his palms together in greeting to the rest of the monastics, before retreating to a corner to sit.
Many of the monks present had been observing him and the same thought came to their minds: “This monk doesn’t seem to bear any semblance of a cultivator of virtue.” The Buddha sensed the doubt in their minds and then proceeded to explain that one should never judge a man by his appearance. He said the monk in question had attained the level of an Arhat, i.e. he had perfected all pure practices, eliminated all afflictions and been liberated from the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, it would be wrong to view him with contempt.
Only one who possesses the Buddha’s wisdom can accurately judge a person who has reached such a level of spiritual cultivation. If one jumps to a conclusion too quickly and forms erroneous perceptions, it will only impair one’s spiritual development.
The surface of still water bears no trace of ripples and can reflect a myriad of images, yet only a grain of sand is needed to disrupt the calm, and a slight breeze is enough to ruffle the surface of the water, causing the once-clear images to disappear. Similarly, our innate nature can be likened to clear, still water. Once it is slightly tainted by external conditions, it will be hard for us to develop wisdom.
Hence, we must not discriminate against people and things in the world based on their outer appearances, but rather face everything that we come across in our daily lives with a genuine, sincere, and pure heart. We must also seek to understand every person’s life and mindfully learn the lessons in life. Only then can we gain great wisdom.
Extracted from Master Cheng Yen’s Daily Journals, Winter, 2007
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