(Rev. Lian Wan talked about monks practicing martial arts and staying away from confrontations.  Grand Master once asked him to demonstrate Yong Chun shadow boxing with Dharma Brother Lin.  At the end, Rev. Lian Wan won the friendly match but left Brother Lin with a minor scratch on the face.  He felt terrible because he allowed his competitiveness unchecked and wasn’t thinking about the consequences.  Reverend Lian Wan reminded us that practicing Buddhism is to learn how to control and eventually eliminate your confrontational nature and maintain a placid mind.) 

(Acharya Lian Huo said, for most people the important things are wealth, worries, and cultivation.  The right order should be cultivation, wealth, and worries.   He then mentioned a few examples of lottery jackpot winners ending up with aweful consequences.  One’s life was threatened.  One couple divorced after 16 years of marriage.  One was killed.   And one’s daughter died of drug overdose.  It seems that money brings more worries and sometimes trouble.  He also said that blessings and misfortunes are always linked.  It’s okay to wish for more money when practicing Buddhism but we should also remember your ultimate goal is to return to the Maha Twin Lotus Pond.  If we follow Grand Master’s teachings and cultivate, He will bless us with wealth and give us peace of mind.) 

六祖說：「修此行者，是般若行。不修即凡；一念修行，自身等佛。善知識！凡夫即佛，煩惱即菩提。前念迷即凡夫，後念悟即佛。前念著境即煩惱；後念離境即菩提。」

• The Sixth Patriarch said, “To practice this is to practice Prajna.  Not practicing it is an ordinary man.  Singled minded in practice equates Buddha.  Virtuous and Knowledgeable Friend, an ordinary man is a Buddha; worries are englightenment.  A preceeding defiled thought makes an ordinary man, the ensuing enlightened thought makes a Buddha.  A preceeding thought clings to sensory state is defilement, the ensuing thought that frees from sensory state is enlightenment.”

• 3 key points here are:

1) all ordinary men or all sentient beings are Buddhas,
2) all worries are englightenment and
3) if you can free yourself from all attachments, you will awaken.  My question to you is how do you free yourself from all attachments and awaken?

• The important thing is to focus on Kagyu Mahamudra’s Yoga of One-Pointedness, Yoga of Simplicity, Yoga of One Taste and Yoga of Nonmeditation.

• Yoga of Simplicity teaches us how to leave all states.  This is what I want you to think, “how do you leave all states of attachment?”  If you can’t leave all states of attachment, you still have worries. 

• Reverend Lian Wan talked about eliminating one’s aggressiveness.  If you eliminate your aggressiveness, you are out of the state. 

• Acharya Lian Huo talked about money.  He thinks wealth brings you worries.  I say it’s true.  Just look at A-Bien.  He had the best fortune and held the highest position, but he didn’t know those would bring him trouble.

• All worries are enlightenment.  The Sixth Patriarch is enlightened so He can say that.  I am enlightened, so I can say that too.  But I want you to think, why worries are enlightenment?  How can we leave all worries and separate from them?  If you understand why worries are enlightenment and you know how to detach from your worries, you are enlightened!  

• We can use money for Buddha statues, building temples, spreading dharma, charity and for all good causes.  We need money to survive, thus all disciples should use legal methods to work hard and earn money.  If you have more money than you need, use it for good causes and charity.

• I am free of all attachments.  Nothing is related to me, and I don’t care about anything.  I know I probably shouldn’t say this here, and if Shi Mu heard me, she may be mad.  She is in Taiwan accompanying the two grand children to learn Chinese, and she works very hard to take care of the two little ones while their parents go to work.  I told her not to “worry” but she can’t help it.  I say “it is not my business” but it does not sound nice.  But my point is, I have reached the state of not being attached to anything.  I am free of concerns and sentiment.  This is what all of Buddhist practitioners should learn to do.

• A true enlightened person will not care too much.  He realizes nothing really matters and he is not attached to anything.

Please refer to www.TBSN.org for the full story.