Even
if our enlightenment is limited, when put into use, it's better than
waiting for the big Tao/Truth. So apply whatever you can digest, don't
be in a hurry to do miraculous things, see magical things and understand
the magical worlds. Do it step by step, no rush. When you learned the
ABCs as a child, you just had to learn them well. Then the teacher taught
you some sentences, and you digested these sentences, didn't you? Now
you know how to learn and how to read. So take your time. How can it
be that you are just in kindergarten and you can read "The Story of
the Three Realms"? And you blame your teacher for not letting you read
it. You can't expect to read a book or sutra when you first go to school
or after just a few days. You can't just have expectations and blame
the teacher when you haven't learned the little that you have been taught.
There's a movie, perhaps
you have seen it, called "Karate Kid". It's about an American boy who
learned karate. Only after he was beaten up, did he go to the old man.
He accepted the boy, since the boy was beaten up too many times by some
other karate groups. However, before teaching the boy anything, he had
him promise that he would listen to whatever he said, do whatever he
taught him to do, and learn well. The boy promised. Then, what was the
boy asked to do? Wash and wax cars and floors, clean and paint walls,
for many days. Even though he had sore muscles, he couldn't take a break.
Finally, the boy couldn't stand it anymore, and complained, "I came
for karate, but you teach me nothing!"
He was so eager to learn karate
to avenge and protect himself, that he thought his teacher was teaching
him nothing. It looked like he wasn't learning karate. He complained
he was being used and treated as a worker and a slave... He felt he
had been tricked and criticized his teacher a lot. So, the teacher asked
him: "How do you wipe the car?" He told the boy to pretend he was wiping
the car, and the boy bent down and began to wipe the car in the air.
The teacher said, "No, it's okay to stand and wipe. Just keep doing
that movement." Then his teacher attacked him, and the boy used that
very movement to block him. He was able to do it. Then the teacher told
him to "wipe the walls with both hands," and he attack him again. The
boy blocked the punch again while he was "wiping the walls". The teacher
kept attacking him, but he kept blocking the attack by moving in the
same way as he did his daily work. The things his teacher told him to
do were not just ordinary tasks, but had been transformed into kung
fu moves. For example, if we just wipe randomly, that would be different.
His movements were techniques. He said to wipe from here to there; from
there, down; then, left; then, right like this. These were all kung
fu movements.
Usually, one would
be practicing the same movements in the studio. It's better to use them
all the time. He had taught the boy only two months and he became proficient
in kung fu. So he had to apply the techniques in his daily chores. Otherwise,
just by practicing two-and-a-half hours a day for two months, one couldn't
compare with those who've practiced for years -- especially when the
boy had never practiced kung fu before. He was just an ordinary boy,
and within two months he was trained and became the best in the United
States. This was because his teacher told him to use the moves in his
daily work, such as scrubbing the floor. So everything he did became
kung fu practice. In this way, he learned all the techniques very well
in just two months.
Similarly, sometimes a
Master teaches us something, and doesn't let us know that we're being
taught. If a Master announces, "I'm teaching you," it would be too lousy.
His life is his teaching. His speech and deeds are all there to teach
us. He has this quality naturally. Therefore, if we're waiting, expecting
some magic or wonders to occur, we'll be further away from our goal;
we'll be looking too far beyond. So, I've told you that you'll be able
to observe and gain enlightenment from various aspects in your daily
work.