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Abiding in our natural state of mind is a beautiful state, which is also our true innate nature."
The purpose of practising Buddhism is not about searching for a “particular state of mind”, but rather, about uncovering our “natural state of mind”. Everyone came to this world with such “natural beauty”. It is due to the exposure to negative influences in society later in life that they acquire bad habits that defile their minds. If a person is unable to abide in their natural state of mind, he will realise that the ideal state that he is pursuing often clashes with his environment. Hence, abiding in our natural state of mind is a beautiful state, which is also our true innate nature.
In practising Buddhism, we often heard of the need to “reflect on our innate nature”. Most people allow their minds to run wild and be driven by external conditions, not knowing how to reflect on themselves. If we fully understand our innate nature, we will be able to awaken and clearly see our true, innate Buddha nature—this is the ultimate goal of spiritual cultivation.
The ancient sage, Confucius, once took his students to the Long Men Waterfall for an outing. As he was gazing at the spectacular view of the water gushing down the cliff and the rapidly flowing stream below, he was inspired to utter this poetic verse, “The water that cascades from a height of ‘2400 feet’ is sending waves as high as ‘40 miles’.” We can imagine how magnificent the waterfall must be……
Confucius could not help being mesmerized by the magnificent view. Suddenly, he spotted a person bobbing about in the rushing torrents at a distance, and he quickly asked his students to rescue the drowning person. Just as the students were about to embark on their rescue mission, the person gradually swam towards them. It turned out that he was actually swimming in the water. In fact, he was having a relaxing time and even casually humming poetry! Apparently, the deep, gushing torrents did not affect the swimmer at all. Confucius curiously asked the swimmer after he went ashore: “How were you able to swim so leisurely in such a rapidly flowing stream? Do you have some kind of special power?”
The swimmer gave a simple reply: “No, I don't have any special power. I just simply love water! Besides, I’m used to swimming in the water, so I do not find the turbulent water challenging. This is a natural state that I like!”
Upon hearing that, Confucius had a deep realisation. He had once said to the government with disappointment, “If there is no way I can help to improve the country, I will go into hiding.” In other words, when the political environment was chaotic, he would rather live in seclusion. However, when he saw the swimmer who was able to swim leisurely in turbulent water, he deeply realised that, even in the midst of a dangerous and chaotic environment, as long as one keeps a joyful and non-contentious mind, the difficult environment can serve as a very good spiritual cultivation ground.
People can create a beautiful environment, but a beautiful environment cannot create the beauty in people. A group of harmonious and peaceful people will be able to bring peace and beauty to an unpleasant and ugly environment.
As long as we have fresh air and are able to breathe freely and easily, we are enjoying a carefree life, just like the swimmer who swam in the turbulent water—he was so happy and carefree due to his love for a natural environment.
I hope that everyone will light up the inner lamp in their heart, reflect on their true innate nature, and not let their mind wander wildly. We should not focus on the mistakes of others or their unkind words and forget to reflect on ourselves.
Extracted from “Sheng Huo De Zhi Hui”《生活的智慧》
Translated by the Tzu Chi Singapore translation team
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