Living to Nurture the Heart – The Root of All That Is Good

In a warm teaching session at the temple, Venerable Thích Chân Quang posed a question: "Why must we go to the temple? Why must we cultivate ourselves?" The answer begins with something simple yet profound: our own heart.

The Heart – The Root of All That Is Good

The Venerable affirmed that everything good and bad in our lives springs from the heart. If the heart is bad, a person becomes bad; if the heart is good, a person becomes good. Outer appearance may attract others, but it is the heart alone that creates lasting happiness.

"If our heart is bad, then we as people are bad. If our heart is good, then we as people are good."

Take the example of choosing a life partner. One may be drawn in by outward beauty, but "whether happiness lasts over the long term depends on the heart." A public official, a teacher, or a doctor with a good heart will bring benefit to everyone; a bad heart, on the other hand, causes harm and creates wrongdoing.

Weighing Wrongdoing and Merit in Every Action

The Venerable stressed the importance of recognizing wrongdoing and merit. Every action, every word, every thought must be weighed: is this wrongdoing or merit? Helping others is merit, but if we boast about it or look down on those we help, it becomes wrongdoing.

"In the end, the true value of our life, of our whole existence, lies in the wrongdoing and the merit we carry."

When we die, we take nothing with us—not money, not fame, not love—only our wrongdoing and our merit. And where does that wrongdoing and merit come from? From our own heart. That is why a person with wisdom is one who knows to "weigh and measure wrongdoing and merit, again and again."

The Two Roots of Evil: Past Lives and the Present Environment

Where does evil enter our heart? The Venerable pointed to two main sources. The first is the negative seeds we carry from past lives, and the second is mistaken influences from our present environment. A child raised in a family where the father teaches "the strong win and the weak lose" may grow into a bad person. Even within Buddhism, if we learn the wrong doctrine, our practice can deform the heart.

The Venerable warned against a teaching that says "practice means giving up everything and doing nothing at all." It may sound lofty, but if we do nothing, we become lazy. And:

"To be lazy is to be selfish and cruel."

For when we do nothing, we place our burdens on others and create wrongdoing. In contrast, the correct teaching tells us to have faith in cause and effect (karmic law), to help others, and to do good without clinging to our accomplishments. In this way blessings from merit increase, and life becomes peaceful and joyful.

Right Understanding Grows Merit, Wrong Understanding Deepens Wrongdoing

Understanding determines action. If we understand rightly, we act rightly, and our merit grows. If we understand wrongly, we act wrongly, and our wrongdoing deepens. A person who lives with a wholesome heart accumulates merit so great that they can "turn heaven and earth around."

"A person whose wrongdoing keeps multiplying will be erased by heaven and earth, becoming meaningless in this life. But a person rich in merit can truly turn heaven and earth themselves."

That is why we need to study the true Dharma and protect our hearts from harmful influences.

Living Each Day to Nurture the Heart

Hearing this, we may ask ourselves: "What do we live for?" The Venerable offered many answers—living to love, to grow rich, to eat. But he emphasized one above all:

We live to nurture our heart, so that it grows better with each passing day.

This is the true main goal; every other goal is secondary. In youth, we study in order to build the heart; in old age, we build the heart to become someone worthy of respect. Each day, we should uproot greed, hatred and delusion, along with anger and selfishness, and cultivate compassion, wisdom, and humility. This is the surest way to a peaceful and joyful life, and to giving something back to the world.

Let us begin today. Let us look back at our own heart, weighing every thought, every word, every action. Do not let evil slip into and take root in the heart. Nurturing the heart is the supreme goal, and when the heart is good, heaven and earth will follow us. Homage to the Original Teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha.