Social Activities

Yutang Lin

Allowing emotional ties to pull hither and thither,
Where is the earnestness to cultivate non-duality?
Maintaining sects by engaging in social functions,
How could that withstand the worldly influences?
Without discarding social activities delusion lasts;
Long years of solitude gradually approach purity.
Having escaped the multilevel cage of one self,
Reach all beings equally through serving Dharma.

Comment:

To be solid in one practice it is necessary to give up thoughts related to socializing with others. In addition, a practitioner needs to decline all social visits and activities. Only in this way could there be long-term solitude and training on spiritual path. The maintenance of a Buddhist school should base on its propagation of Buddhist teachings and solid Dharma practices, but not on sociable and festive gatherings. Otherwise, it would be just a special kind of worldly organization or even trade; not only could it not help people attain liberation but also would it increase conditions for further entanglement. Only after one has transcended self-interests could one provide conditions toward liberation for beings in the six realms of transmigration. Buddhists in the pursuit of enlightenment should know well what to choose, and be patient in discarding the minor matters in order to attain the supreme goal.

Written in Chinese on July 30, 2001
Translated on August 8, 2001
El Cerrito, California

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