Lessons 3 : The Way to Cultivate Kindness - part 4

[Liao-Fan]: What is big goodness and small goodness? Once there was a high ranking official named Jung-da Wei, who was led into the spirit world to be judged for his good and bad deeds. The judge there ordered for his records of good and evil to be brought out. When the records arrived, Jung-da was astounded at the courtyard full of his bad records, and at the single scroll which contained his good deeds. The official then ordered for the two to be weighed on the scale. Surprisingly, the bad records which had filled the courtyard were lighter than the single scroll of good deeds, which was only as thin as a chopstick. Jung-da asked the judge:

[Jung-da]: I'm barely forty years old, how could I have committed so many wrongdoings? [Liao-Fan]: The judge answered him, saying:

[Judge]: When you give rise to a single thought that is improper, it is considered a bad offense there and then, it does not have to be carried out through action to be counted as a wrong. For example, when you see a pretty lady and give rise to improper thoughts, that is considered an offense.

[Liao-Fan]: Jung-da then asked him what was recorded in the single scroll of good deeds which outweighed the evil deeds. The judge replied:

[Judge]: Once the Emperor planned to build a great stone bridge, and you proposed against the project due to the hardship and toil it would cause the tens and thousands of people needed for the work. This is a copy of your proposal to the Emperor.

[Liao-Fan]: Jung-da said:

[Jung-da]: I did make the proposal, but the Emperor dismissed it and began the project anyway. My proposal had no effect on the matter at all, how can it bear so much weight against my numerous offenses?

[Liao-Fan]: The judge replied:

[Judge]: Although the Emperor did not take your suggestion, that one thought of kindness you bore for the tens and thousands of people was very great. If the Emperor had listened to you, then the good performed would be even greater.

[Liao-Fan]: Therefore, when one is determined to do good for the benefit of all people, then a small deed can reap great merits. If one thinks only about benefiting oneself, then even if many deeds of kindness are performed, the merit would still be small.

[Liao-Fan]: What is difficult goodness and easy goodness? The knowledgeable scholars of the past used to say:

[Scholar]: When one wishes to conquer one's greed and desires, one should start with the most difficult to overcome. [Liao-Fan]: Fan-chr, a student of Confucius, once asked his teacher how to cultivate one's humanity to its fullest. Confucius replied, "Start with what's most difficult to practice". What Confucius meant by the most difficult, was to sever the selfish mind, and one should practice that by conquering what is most difficult for oneself to conquer. We should practice like the old teacher, Mr. Su of Chiangshi, who gave two years worth of salary to a poor family who owed money to the government. Thus he saved them from being torn apart should the husband be taken to prison.

[Liao-Fan]: Another example is Mr. Jang from Her-bei:

[Narrator]: Mr. Jang saw an extremely poor man who had to mortgage his wife and child, and had no money for their redemption. If he was unable to pay for their return, the mother and child could both lose their lives.

[Liao-Fan]: Therefore, Mr. Jang gave his ten years of savings to the poor man so the family could be reunited.

[Narrator]: Such examples as Mr. Su and Mr. Jang are rare, for they have given what is most difficult to give, and what others could not sacrifice, they did so willingly.

[Liao-Fan]: Another example is Mr. Jin from Chiangsu Province. He was old and without any sons, so his neighbor offered their young daughter in marriage to him, to give him descendants to carry on his lineage. But Mr. Jin could not bear to ruin the otherwise bright and long future of this young girl, and so refused the offer and sent her back home.

[Narrator]: This is another example of being able to overcome what is most difficult to conquer in oneself. Therefore, the heavens showered down fortune which was especially good for these three old men.

[Liao-Fan]: It is easier to accumulate merit and virtue for those who have money and power than for those who are poor. But if one refuses to cultivate kindness even when it's easy and when one has the chance to do so, then it would truly be a shame. For those who are poor and without prestige, doing kind things for others is a great difficulty; but if in this difficulty one can still manage to help others, then it is a great virtue, and the merits gained would be boundless.

[Liao-Fan]: In being a moral person and dealing with affairs, we should help others whenever the opportunity presents itself. You should know that helping others is not such an easy task, and that there are many ways to do it. In short, the ways of helping others can be simplified into ten important categories. The first is 'supporting the practice of kindness': [Narrator]: When we see people trying to do a little kindness, we should assist them in their deeds and help their kindness grow. When we see others who wish to do good but cannot accomplish it on their own, we should lend a hand and help them succeed. This is the way we can cultivate 'supporting the practice of kindness'. [Liao-Fan]: The second category is 'harboring love and respect': [Narrator]: We should harbor respect towards those who are more knowledgeable, older, or of higher status than we are. For those who are younger, less fortunate, or of lower status, we should harbor a mind of loving care.

[Liao-Fan]: The third category is 'helping others succeed': [Narrator]: When we see a person who is considering whether or not to do a good deed, we should persuade him to put all his effort into doing it. When others meet with difficulties in practicing kindness, we should help think of ways to overcome the difficulty and guide them to success. We must not be jealous at the accomplishments of others, nor try to sabotage their good acts.

[Liao-Fan]: The fourth category is 'persuading others to practice kindness': [Narrator]: When we meet a person who is doing evil, we should tell him that doing evil will only result in great suffering and painful retribution, and that he should avoid doing so at all costs. We should tell people who refuse to practice kindness or are only willing to practice a little kindness, that doing kind deeds will definitely have its rewards, and that kindness not only has to be cultivated, but must be cultivated constantly and on a large scale.

[Liao-Fan]: The fifth category is 'helping those in desperate need': [Narrator]: Most people tend to give when there is no need to give and refuse to give when there really is a need. When we meet people who are in great difficulties, emergencies, or dangers, we should lend them a hand and help in whatever way we can to bring them out of their difficult times. The merits accrued from helping others in times of desperate need are boundless indeed. However, one should not become proud and conceited for doing such deeds.

[Liao-Fan]: The sixth category is 'developing public projects for the greater benefit of the people': [Narrator]: Projects which will bring great benefit to the public usually have to be performed by those with great influence and power. If a person has this capacity, such as rebuilding the water system or assisting a disaster area, then he ought to do it for the benefit of the general public. Those without such influence and power can do great deeds, too. For example, when one sees a small leak in the dam, one can use pebbles and dirt to stop the water and prevent disastrous flooding. Though this act may be small, the effect will not go unnoticed.

[Liao-Fan]: The seventh category is 'giving through donation': [Narrator]: People of this world love, seek, and even die for money. Who is actually willing to help others by giving their own money away? When we recognize the difficulty involved in donation, we can come to appreciate the rarity of the man who is willing to give for the purpose of helping others in need. He is an even greater man in the eyes of the poor. According to the law of cause and effect, 'those who give will in turn receive', and 'those who refuse to give will not receive'. When we cultivate one share of kindness, we will receive one share of fortune, there is no need to worry about having nothing left when we give to help others.

[Liao-Fan]: The eighth category is 'protecting the proper teachings': [Narrator]: This is referring to the teachings of different religions. We must be able to differentiate between proper religions and deviant religions, and between proper teachings and deviant teachings. The teachings of deviant religions do great harm to people's minds and hearts, and naturally should be abolished. On the other hand, teachings with proper wisdom and views, such as that of Buddhism, which promotes kindness and goodness in society, should be supported. If one happens to see others in the act of destroying such proper teachings, one must put forth a complete effort to protect and uphold these teachings.

[Liao-Fan]: The ninth category is 'respecting our elders': [Narrator]: Anyone who is deeply learned, knowledgeable, has high prestige, or is older than us is considered to be an elder, and should be highly regarded and respected.

[Liao-Fan]: The tenth category is 'loving and cherishing all living things': [Narrator]: We should feel sympathy for all living creatures, even the tiny ants, who know of suffering and are afraid to die. How can we kill and eat living beings and not feel the least sorry? Some people even say that these things were meant for human consumption, but there is no logic in this argument, and it is only an excuse for those who desire meat.