 The
Subtle Meaning Of "Thou Shalt
Not Kill"
 Now
the next commandment is, Thou shalt not kill. It means to refrain
from killing. I've expounded on this millions of times. However, don't
always think that it's good enough if we don't kill; sometimes when
we try to save a life, we're killing. Have you heard me tell the story
about two nuns trying to save a centipede? I don't have many examples
to cite on this; I only remember that story.
One
day when I went to take a bath and brush my teeth, I saw a centipede
in my cup. The cup was covered with a piece of cloth. When I lifted
off the cloth, I saw a centipede in it. I was frightened, of course.
The centipede was also frightened. (Laughter) So I screamed, "Ah!"
(Master laughs.) That was a natural reaction. Since the centipede
couldn't go "Ah," it jumped. So both of us were scared. Hearing this,
two attendants outside quickly ran in and asked, "What's the matter,
Master?" I said, "I'm all right. There's a centipede." (Master and
audience laugh.) Then they said, "Okay. Master, you may go out and
let us handle it." I said, "Okay. Be careful! Handle it if you wish!"
There was a basin outside. So I brushed my teeth there.
A
long time after I had brushed my teeth, I still didn't see them come
out. (Laughter) So I asked, "Are you done with it?" They replied,
"Not yet!" I said, "How can two of you not be able to handle only
one centipede?" (Master and audience laugh.) I went inside to have
a look. Well! I heard a noise, "Tze, Tze, Tze, Tze." I asked, "What
are you doing?" They said that they were trying to drive it away to
with the shower head, but the centipede wouldn't move! I said, "Of
course, it won't. It's surrounded by water." (Laughter.) If I spray
you like that with the shower head, wouldn't you drown? The centipede
was very small and was surrounded by water. It could hardly breathe.
How could it possibly run away? It didn't know where to run!
Well!
The centipede almost drowned. I saw it going "Hu, Hu, Hu." It was
calling for help. So I said, "Stop! Stop! Stop! Let me handle it myself."
They were really great and compassionate for "not killing it," but
trying to drive it away with water, flushing and surrounding it with
water... Even if we were the centipede, we would have drowned. The
centipede was very small. When they kept doing that, the centipede
couldn't withstand it! So I said, "Forget it! Leave the centipede
alone!" So that was how they were trying to save a life.
Therefore,
it's not good enough to just refrain from killing. We have to be cautious.
When we walk, we have to be careful and watch out for insects. The
sink where we wash our faces and brush our teeth should be covered
up or be drained to prevent insects from drowning inside. The oil
lamps in temples are also professional killers. They're supposed to
be offerings to the Buddha, but they're filled with corpses of insects.
Since the oil lamps are uncovered, insects are killed instantly as
soon as they fall in.
When I lived in
a temple before, each morning when I wiped the altar table, I always
saw the lamps filled with dead sentient beings. I supposed that the
Buddha wouldn't be pleased with it! In ancient times, since there
were no other kinds of lights available, people had to use oil lamps.
But now we have electric lights, yet people still stubbornly insist
on using oil lamps. In ancient times, people used oil lamps and fragrant
oil to make offerings to the Buddha.
Why did people light
oil lamps to make offerings to the Buddha? Because oil lamps could
illuminate the road for Him. In addition, they were to light up the
face of the Buddha to let people see. They were also used to light
up the hallways in the temples, just like our road lamps here. However,
in ancient times, people covered up oil lamps. Shakyamuni Buddha also
instructed that when oil lamps were lit or put out, they should be
covered up to prevent insects from being injured or burnt. Nowadays,
people use big pots of oil as oil lamps. In the temples,
hundreds of oil lamps are lit all day and all night. First of all,
they waste oil. Secondly, they kill lots of sentient beings. When
we pursue spiritual practice, we're supposed to refrain from killing
and deliver sentient beings' lives, but we actually harm them, instead.
Therefore,
we must be careful. Refraining from killing includes a broader sense.
Not only killing with a knife is killing. Of course, we should avoid
killing if possible. We don't intend to kill by lighting oil lamps.
However, we can avoid it, by not using oil lamps. The Buddha didn't
say that we must make offerings to Him with oil lamps. In case some
places have no oil, how can people make offerings? Whatever we offer,
the most important thing is our intention. Besides, the lamp actually
refers to the lamp within us! Of course the scriptures point out that
all temples should light lamps or fires all the time so that people
can see the paths and go to meditate. It's the same in our ashram!
When you come at midnight, or during a seven-day retreat we get up
at three or four o'clock. If there were no lamps in temples or ashrams,
how could you see where you are going? You might step on other people's
heads, or some male practitioners may go to sit in the females' place
and some females may go to sit in the males' place, causing embarrassment.
So this is the reason for having lights. It's not that the Buddha
needs any lights!
For
instance, when I sit here, you always shine bright lights on me to
let people see me, but it's not that I need the lights. So all kinds
of lights are fine as long as you can see me. However, as to the wooden
Buddhas, no one comes to see them at night. Visitors only come in
the daytime. So no lights are needed at all in the night. Besides,
all the temples have electric lights now and it's easy to turn them
on to allow people to practice their morning and evening services.
What I mean is that
we should avoid killing if possible. There are many other things,
but I can't go through all of them. As to any insects or bugs, we
should avoid killing them if possible. Similarly, we should avoid
cutting grass and trees if possible. If there is no other way, we
can cut them, of course, to build houses or for hygiene. We can do
it when necessary. However, it's different if we destroy them with
a vicious heart for no reason.
 Thou
Shalt Not Commit Adultery,
Not Steal, Not Lie
Another
commandment is, Thou shalt not commit adultery. That is, to refrain
from having more than one husband or wife. I've explained the reason.
If you have too many husbands, you won't have any next time. Suppose
you have seven husbands. Then in the next seven lifetimes, no one
will marry you, because you once had too many! For example, you make
ten thousand NT a week. If you spend it all in one day, of course
you have no money left for the rest of the week.
The
next commandment is, Thou shalt not steal. This everyone understands,
and I've talked about it many times. There are many kinds of stealing,
and stealing money is only one kind. It's okay to steal if you're
starving, but don't do it if you have money. Stealing also includes
casually receiving offerings from people. As well, you must not hint
at people to offer! Sometimes when we talk for too long, we're also
stealing, that is, stealing people's time. When people are impatient
with you, you still keep on babbling. That's also stealing.
If we sell something
for ten dollars when it's actually worth only two dollars (if we say
that it's very good when it's actually not and only worth two dollars,
but we sell it for ten dollars) and cheat others to buy more, this
is wrong and is stealing, too. Stealing doesn't only mean to go out
and steal. When we go to work and see that the boss isn't there, so
we slip away and go home early, it's also stealing. If we take home
something from the factory that the boss didn't give us, it's stealing,
too. When we live in a group, there are many things there for the
public, not only for us. It's stealing if we take something that isn't
given to us.
The
next commandment is, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbor. You understand this one already, and I've also talked about
it many times. It's explained at the time of initiation, too. There
are many kinds of lying. The worst kind is that, our spiritual level
is low, but we cheat others that we've attained a higher level by
saying some mysterious things. We coax people into believing that
our level is higher than theirs by talking about mystical things.
We hide our real level and make people think that we know many things
that they don't know. To cheat people in this way is the biggest lie.
For another instance, after a Master passes away, some people like
to become masters and then cheat people that they're the successors.
By doing that, they incur the worst karma.
Sometimes
we make a mistake. And when people ask us about it, we don't admit
it but let Master or our boss punish the whole group. This is also
lying and is bad, too! If we admit our mistake, it'd be fine. Don't
involve other people in it. Sometimes, I have to punish those people.
It's okay if they make a small mistake. But they don't admit it and
the issue becomes worse and involves the whole group. They wouldn't
be punished because of the small mistake, but since it involved the
whole group and made a lot of noise, I have to punish them. They didn't
admit it, but forced me to bother the whole group and question people
one by one, and still didn't confess, of course I'd have to punish
them. I'd punish them for lying, but not for the trivial matter.
Don't
Covet Other People's Belongings
Another
commandment is, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, ... Of
course we shouldn't covet other people's belongings. We wouldn't accept
them even if people gave them to us, not to mention coveting other
people's things. I've told you that if we accept other people's offerings
that we don't deserve, we're only taking their karma. However, we
don't know whether we deserve it or not, so we had better not accept
any, unless people really force us to accept it. If we have no alternative,
we should just accept it and then give it to someone else or give
them something in return.
I think that the
Chinese understand this rule very well. During the Chinese New Year,
people give gifts to each other. After gifts are passed on too many
times, the gift that you gave earlier may come back to you. Is that
not so? This is also fine! At least we won't owe others anything.
The Americans have a tradition, that is, when two people go out for
coffee, each one will pay his own bill. This is also good! They don't
have to display false courtesy, and then fuss about who drinks more
and who drinks less, (Master and audience laugh), or they may feel
embarrassed.
There
is a very funny Au Lacese story. Two people went out to eat a kind
of food called jackfruit. It's a kind of fruit that has spines outside
and looks very ugly. It's this fat and this big with many seeds and
sweet knobby flesh inside. These two people reached an agreement,
"We don't know who will eat more and who will eat less, of course.
So we'll count the seeds, and then we'll know how much each person
should pay." After they both agreed, they went out to share a big
jackfruit together.
One
of them was very honest, but the other swallowed all the seeds. (Master
and audience laugh.) Seeing that, the first person didn't say anything.
After finishing eating, the first person suddenly screamed, "Oh! My
stomach hurts very much! My stomach really hurts!" He rolled on the
floor and kept on screaming. The second person wasn't done eating
yet. While eating, he asked, "What's wrong with you?" The first person
said, "I accidentally swallowed a seed. Now it's growing. Oh! It's
getting bigger and bigger. Oh! It has grown up to here now! (Master
points to Her chest.) Oh! It's up to here now! (Master points to Her
throat.) Oh! Quickly think of a way to save me! Why is it growing
so fast?" The other person was frightened to death. He asked, "You
swallowed only one seed and it has grown this big. (Laughter.) What
will happen to me since I've swallowed five seeds?" (Master and audience
laugh. Applause) So don't swallow any fruit seeds! (Master and audience
laugh.) 
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Master
Says
Keep
The Commandments In Order To Become Special Friends Of The Lord