" One’s mind is transformed while listening to the teaching, while contemplating, and then while applying in practice, so one can achieve powerful mental transformation."
“After a few years of learning, you would find yourself much clever than before.You are able to make judgment faster than before, have a serious and responsible attitude to explore any matter, not just brush it aside lightly.”
Global Lamrim 2, Lecture 0012
While learning the Lamrim we are taught to contemplate extensively on what we learn and not brush aside anything, this helps us to develop a serious and responsible attitude in exploring any matters. Do you agree with this? Why?
“Responsible” is a strong word because we usually need to be responsible, for example, for your parents’ livelihood or your children’s livelihood, for your family or let’s say, I need to be responsible for my job or I will be fired. So what aspect of the dharma will motivate you to have a serious and responsible attitude?
For those living in HDB flats would have noticed advertisement fliers that were initially placed into the letter boxes and sometimes a lot of these fliers are thrown all over the ground. In the past I may just walk pass it without caring about it. After I learned about karma, I thought it was my chance to carry out virtuous deeds, that’s why I would actually take the time to pick it up. So this is the difference between an attitude of not just brushing it aside lightly and wanting to have a more serious attitude towards exploring that matter.
The Triple Gem are a great merit field which means that a little seed that you plant will get a very big, a very major consequence, so I was motivated to have a serious and responsible attitude when I faced the Triple Gem, because if I am not careful and committed non-virtuous deeds to the Triple Gem, I am going to suffer major consequences because they are our merit field. That is why I would be very vigilant and very careful right now, like what are the things that I would think about them and whether I am respectful towards them.
So compared to the past when we didn’t know about how important the Triple Gem are, I wouldn’t have minded this and would brush it aside lightly. For example, when you are in some social gatherings, when people are kidding and they say something perhaps it is English or Chinese referential term to the Triple Gem which is actually disrespectful but it is meant to be a joke. I wouldn’t have really thought much about it in the past but right now, I would actually be careful about it.
The above two experiences highlight the difference between why learning the dharma and having a better understanding of the dharma will let you have a serious and responsible attitude to explore this, rather than in the past where you would have brushed it aside lightly.