Buddhadharma is like an immense mountain

with 84,000 paths leading to the peak:

enlightenment.

Choose and stick to just one path.

To reach the summit of a mountain in the most efficient manner, climbers choose one route. Depending on their abilities, some might take a safer path, others a more difficult one. Once the path is chosen, they stick to it. They do not keep trying different paths or they would end up going around the mountain instead of up it, thereby wasting time and energy.

Our practice is the same.

With the summit as our goal, we choose the path that fits our abilities and conditions. Like the climbers, we too need to stick to our chosen path. Taking our eyes off our goal, we can become enthralled by the path next to us. “It looks easier!” “It looks more challenging!” “I’ll try it!”

Becoming enamored of trying different paths, we will end up circling the mountain as we begin to lose sight of our goal of attaining the summit.

No wandering thoughts does not mean not thinking.

We think of the task that needs to be done;

but when completed we do not dwell on it,

do not linger on failures or successes.

Hearing that we should not have wandering thoughts might sound like we should not be thinking at all. But actually it means we should not have improper thoughts. Having something to do, clearly we need to think about how best to do it. These are proper thoughts.

If people criticize what we did, we need to consider what was said and how best to proceed. Was the criticism valid? Did it not really apply? More proper thoughts.

But what if we then keep returning to thoughts of the criticism? These are wandering, improper thoughts. Why? Recollecting our past successes depletes our good fortune. Recollecting failures plants the wrong kind of seed: embarrassment, guilt, anger, and so on. Both distract us from what we are now doing as well as waste our energy.

Do not linger on the past. Learn from it, move on, and pay attention to the present.

Whatever the situation,

adverse or favorable, normal or unusual,

remain balanced in your Buddha-name recitation,

unwavering and unshakeable.

The mind that is moved from its clear, natural state is a distracted, agitated mind. It is a mind that leans first in one direction and then another, threatening to lose its stability. What we aim for in our practice is to be firm and strong.

When others praise us, we do not get caught up in fame or pride.

When others criticize us, we do not become angry or argue.

When things go as planned, we do not become arrogant.

When we encounter situations not planned for, we do not worry or become fearful.

How can we attain such stability? Every time we perceive a distraction—good or bad—we return to the Buddha-name. This is our practice. The more we practice, the better we get whether we’re participating in a sport or playing an instrument. Or chanting the Buddha’s name.

Before teaching others, first cultivate yourself.

Achieving some level of success in cultivation,

you will reach the point where your behavior speaks

more loudly than mere words.

Usually when finding something we like we want to tell others about it. It is the same with Buddhadharma. And often, it seems the newer we are to the practice, the more we want to tell others about it. Very understandable, but if we cannot yet do something how can we teach others how to do it?

If we do not yet find a lessening of our anger and a sense of calmness through the practice, how can we teach others to accomplish these?

If we speak of letting go of worry and fear, but are often anxious, how can we convince others to let go of worry?

When we try to teach before we do, others will resist us. And understandably so. When we are more firm in our cultivation, our behavior will reflect our words. We will be viewed as experienced and trustworthy. And we will then be able to truly teach.

We should mind our own business

and not the business of others.

This advice from Great Master Yinguang speaks to us of gossiping. It is incredibly easy to slip into the habit of gossiping. Consider what you talk about with others. A project you’re working on, or your co-workers? What you just learned, or what you heard someone did?

When we gossip, we indulge in speculation and spreading rumors. But even if what we say is true, is it really our business to discuss it with others? Are we breaking the trust someone placed in us?

We can justify our gossiping by telling ourselves that the other person will never know. But the one we told knows. Perhaps they will think less of us. Very likely, we will have planted negative thoughts in their minds. How? We don’t gossip by saying how wonderful someone is! We talk about perceived wrongdoing.

Instead, we should not talk about what others have done but focus on what we ourselves are doing and correct our faults before others gossip about us.