Introduction - 84,000 Dharma Doors
We
who cultivate the Way should be cultivating non-attachment, whether it
be to good and evil, or fine and ugly, right or wrong, slight or
important, great or small -- none of that should be attached to. And we
should cultivate and practice all 84,000 Dharma-doors, for each is
foremost. There aren't 84,000 second-rate ones, or for that matter,
84,000 important ones or unimportant ones. So when you cultivate the
Way, if you cultivate even the seemingly most insignificant Dharma door
to accomplishment, then it counts, and again it's your cultivation of
it that counts if the Dharma door is as big as Mount Sumeru. It's not
the case that the slight one is not important, while the one huge as
Mount Sumeru is.
- From the small comes the great,
- the near becomes the far,
- Starting near goes to far.
That's
how one has success in cultivation. It's not to say, for example, "I'm
not going to eat things I don't like the taste of, and I'll eat more of
those foods that appeal to me more." People who cultivate the Way to be
heroically vigorous in cultivating whatever Dharma they are involved
in. Although it may seem to be the most insignificant Dharma door, but
if you are able to cultivate it, you can accomplish your Way karma. And
it may be the most important Dharma, but if you can't cultivate it,
your Way karma won't be accomplished. If you fail to recognize an
important Dharma, it becomes unimportant; an unimportant Dharma, if
recognized, becomes important. It all depends on whether you recognize
it or not. For example, when you eat, do you know what the things you
eat taste like? If you do, then you'll have feelings about whether they
taste good or bad. But if you aren't aware of what they taste like, you
won't know if they taste good or bad or what. As it is said:
- In the door of Buddha's work
- Not one Dharma is rejected.
- In the substance of True Suchness,
- Not one speck of dust is set.
You
can take any Dharma and cultivate it to accomplish Buddhahood. But in
the self-nature of True Thusness, not even a dustmote can remain, which
is why its light is all-pervasive.
Excerpt from a talk by Ven. Master Hua,
p. 14 - 15, "Listen to Yourself, Think Everything Over Vol. II"
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