(Photo source: Envato)
A small bird wishing to escape a hunter’s reach flew towards the community of monastics led by the Buddha. At first, it hid in the shadow of Venerable Shariputra. However, unable to feel truly at ease, it flew towards the Buddha and found calmness and tranquillity within the Buddha’s shadow.
Venerable Shariputra inquired of the Buddha why the difference in the bird’s response. The Buddha smiled and replied that although Shariputra was foremost in wisdom and, having cultivated and abstained from killing for countless lifetimes, had purified all his karma of killing, yet the thought of “killing” had not yet been eradicated completely from his consciousness. Though subtle in nature, such a thought could still be detected by the bird.
The Buddha on the other hand, had not only abstained from killing, but his mind, too, was free from the thought of killing and was thus pure and clean. So, the bird could rest at peace within his shadow.
From this story, we learn that what matters is not only the physical act of upholding the precepts; even our most subtle thoughts must be free from evil intentions.
In our pursuit of spiritual cultivation, we are in fact cultivating to free ourselves from our negative habituations. Therefore, if we can get rid of these negative tendencies quickly, our minds will be calm and still, and be free of desires and wants, which thus gives us peace and ease of heart.
Before entering into the fold of Tzu Chi, it is inevitable that as mortals, we commit wrongdoings. Now that we have made vows and aspirations, we must uphold the precepts in both actions and thoughts.
As we recruit living bodhisattvas around the world, if we can inspire more people with blessings to join us, our collective blessings will be able to mitigate disasters.
I urge everyone to be vigilant of their thoughts and sincerely pious at all times, and further work to create collective good karma. Vigilance and sincere piety are wisdom. To have collective good karma, we must form more positive affinities with people and cultivate both blessings and wisdom on the Tzu Chi Bodhisattva Path.
Extracted from Master Cheng Yen’s Daily Journals, Summer 2008
Translated by the Tzu Chi Singapore translation team
Share 
