I often say that it is difficult to talk about good and evil, especially when studying history, the deeds done by many great figures in ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, are extremely wrong in hindsight.

But at that time, he was thinking about doing good deeds, so his personal retribution was not bad.

But the man who came after was affected by what he had done, and it was a fault, and it was still evil, but it was only a small evil.

In the final analysis, the basic principle of Buddhism is only four sentences: "Do not do all evil, and do all good." Self-purification is the meaning of Buddhism. "Every time I read these four sentences, I personally feel ashamed, and I am really not sure how much I can do.

It's too difficult to "don't do all evil", this is still a negative good deed; "All good deeds" is active good deeds, and true bodhisattvas must do them.

The first two sentences are about external behavioral phenomena, and the third sentence is about the inner and fundamental Tao.

"Self-purification of one's mind" is not self-emptiness, purity is not the same as emptiness, and the mind has achieved that everything is empty or only in the Hinayana Arhat realm, falling aside.

In Zen Buddhism, it is said that it is "a bearer man", only seeing emptiness, not seeing existence.

If you have a single thought, the pure realm of emptiness is gone, then it is not a true determination.

The bodhisattva's precepts and wisdom are in the process of being a person and doing things, and even going up to heaven and going down to hell, and his thoughts are all in the center, and he is not afraid to move his heart.

Because the thoughts that start with the heart are pure and the most good, which is also equivalent to the "stopping at the highest good" as the "University" says.

If the first three sentences are done, there is no need to study any scriptures, and that is the Dharma.

So the fourth sentence says, "It's all Buddhism."

The Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi, alias Xiangshan Jushi, so he is also called Bai Xiangshan, and he is a person who learns Buddhism.

Bai Juyi has suffered several setbacks in his political career, and once he was demoted to Hangzhou Taishou.

At that time, people with merit and fame liked to be officials in the imperial court, and being sent to a local government was a demotion.

There is an embankment in the West Lake, called the White Causeway, which he repaired when he was too punctual, and there is a willow and a peach tree on the embankment. The beauty of the West Lake is related to the construction he made when he was a magistrate.

At that time, there was a Taoist monk in Hangzhou, his real name was no longer known, everyone only called him Zen Master Bird, because he spread grass on the cliff like a bird's cave, and people sat on it to meditate. Bai Juyi was the head of the local administration, and when he heard that there was such a monk, he went up the mountain to see him. After the visit, Bai Juyi asked Zen Master Bird to show him a clear path of Buddhist practice. Zen Master Bird's Cave said that it is very simple, that is, "do not do all evil, and do all good".

As soon as Bai Juyi heard this, he said that even a three-year-old child knew this truth, and Zen Master Birdie replied, but the eighty-year-old man couldn't do it. Bai Juyi was very impressed when he heard this, and immediately bowed to Zen Master Bird.

Bai Juyi is also telling the truth, the education we have received since childhood is like this, how can there be a teacher who teaches students to do bad things? Like I often tell a story, many years ago, my children were very young, I was very busy all day long, one day I was very tired, I wanted to sleep, so I told my children that if there were guests coming, they would say that I was not there. Later, a guest came, and the child said to them, "My father is sleeping, and told me that he is not at home." This cannot be blamed on the child, because we taught him not to tell lies, and just such an example shows how difficult it is to deal with good and evil.

Another story comes to mind. There is a gentleman who travels to Songshan and asks an old monk, the ancients who practiced can talk and laugh, "sit and die", and leave at any time if they want to go, very chic, why can't people do it now?

The old monk replied: "The ancients were thinking about Dinghui, and they were in chaos when they were dying? Today's thoughts are scattered, and they are stable at the end of their lives? ”

How to get rid of it? When you sit up and sit up, thinking about the pain in your legs, how can you sit and get rid of it?