Understanding a Sage: The Secret of the Soul and the Power of Hope

Once, a person came to the temple and said to the teacher, "I come to the temple to practice." The teacher asked, "Practice means correcting what?" The person replied, "Correcting the mind/heart." The teacher asked again, "And what is the mind/heart?" The person fell silent. That question may seem simple, yet it touches one of the greatest mysteries of human life: the soul. In a dharma talk given during the Buddha's birthday celebration, the Venerable Thích Chân Quang guided us from hope—the very source of our life—to an understanding of the sage and the deep nature of the soul.

Hope: The Guiding Light of Life

We are able to live because of hope. The Buddha came bearing absolute hope, but that hope must be a lofty hope, not worldly goals.

"We hope for a world in which people live kindly and love one another. We live, we move forward, only because we have hope."

So what hope is worthy? The teacher made it clear: if we hope for wealth, fame, or personal love, then the suffering (dukkha) we must pay in exchange for that joy is far too great. On the other hand, if our hope is the path of practice and enlightenment, then even a thousandfold hardship is worthwhile.

"If what we hope for is something lofty and holy, then even if it costs a thousand or ten thousand times of hardship, it is still worthwhile."

From Hope to Optimism, But Do Not Let It Become Arrogance

Hope gives rise to optimism, and optimism gives rise to strength. But if we are not careful, optimism turns into presumption and arrogance.

"The Buddha gives us hope, hope gives us optimism, optimism gives us strength. But that optimism and strength must not be allowed to become presumption and arrogance."

The teacher warned: when our mind/heart begins to grow calm and blessings from merit increase, we may fall into one of two attitudes. The first is to become relaxed and careless, believing ourselves to be at ease. The second is to be extremely careful, weighing every sin and every merit down to the smallest speck of dust. A true practitioner must choose the second attitude—with humility, seeing oneself as "an ordinary speck of dust at the Buddha's feet," and respecting everyone.

Seeing the Goodness in Others: The Measure of Wisdom

The teacher taught: "We must strive to find the goodness in others and always find the faults in ourselves." That is the attitude of a true practitioner.

"To see the goodness in others is also to measure our own wisdom."

To see the goodness in others, we need wisdom and virtue of a corresponding level. For example, only a musician can fully understand a singer's technique. Likewise, only with compassion can we feel compassion for one who has compassion. Therefore, seeking the goodness in others is a form of practice that helps us perfect ourselves.

Understanding a Sage: Touching the Depths of the Soul

Each person understands the Buddha in their own way. Some see the Buddha as a teacher of moral principles, some as a philosopher, some as a deity with supernatural powers. But only those who understand the Buddha as a sage of supreme enlightenment receive blessings from merit.

"Only those who understand the Buddha as a being of supreme enlightenment—not a king in heaven, but the teacher of both the heavenly realms and the human realm—understand rightly, and they are the ones who receive blessings from merit."

Understanding a sage is difficult, because we must reach a comparable level ourselves. But we can begin with reverence, and then strive in our practice to gradually attain that understanding. Each time we come to the temple, each time we remember the Buddha, it is not merely for enjoyment, but to strengthen our spiritual resolve.

The Practice of Looking Inward to Transform

The teacher divided the mind/heart into four layers. The first layer consists of the automatic thoughts that chatter in our heads even when we do not want them to. We listen to the teacher's talk while our mind wanders to bread, to a bowl of noodles. That is the layer of the mind/heart that is disturbed.

To practice, we must know our own mind/heart.

"Only by knowing our mind/heart can we correct it. And only by correcting the mind/heart can it be called practice."

Looking inward is the first step onto the path of enlightenment. Only when we clearly understand the waves of the mind/heart can we transform them.

The Buddha came to give us a hope that is lofty and absolute. Each day, let us live with that hope, keep a humble heart, be careful in even the smallest actions, and strive to see the goodness in others. That is the path to understanding a sage and to the flourishing of the soul. As the teacher reminded us: "Our true purpose is not to be happy, but to strengthen the spiritual resolve within our own soul."