7_The Importance of "Pure Heart" in Today's Society

The Importance of "Pure Heart" in Today's Society

Dharma Seal Temple, Los Angeles, U.S.A. Hongzheng

With the advancement of science and technology, society has progressed to an unprecedented level, but at the same time, the social and environmental systems that people rely on for a healthy existence have also begun to experience certain problems and are beginning to deteriorate. Issues such as the Covid-19, global climate change, geopolitical conflicts in certain regions, slow economic recovery, increasing disparity between the rich and the poor, conflicts caused by differences in religion, race, and ideology, technological development, and the development of selfish greediness have all had an impact on social harmony, environmental security, ecological balance, and the survival of mankind.

The current social environment has both challenges and hopes, but most importantly, we need to learn what we can do to keep a clear head and be able to analyze problems rationally, to participate actively in social activities, and to make our own efforts for world peace and social harmony.

For Buddhists, in order to avoid the occurrence of negative problems, we must work on our mind, as the saying goes, "A pure mind is the way.” It is said in the Vimalakirti Sutra that "if a Bodhisattva wishes to attain a pure land, he should purify his mind; and as his mind is pure, the land will be a Buddha's pure land". According to Buddhism, the root cause of social disharmony and world turmoil lies in the impurity of the human heart. Because of the impurity of the human heart, all kinds of troubles based on the three poisons, that are greed, anger and stupidity arise, thus leading to all kinds of social problems and social unrest. To solve these problems, we must begin by purifying the human heart. Therefore, this article focuses on the importance of purifying the mind in today's society.

一、Purification of people's hearts is fundamental to social harmony

A series of undesirable behaviors caused by greed, anger and evil thoughts in people's hearts have led to social unrest. In order to achieve social harmony, it is necessary to work from the heart, replacing evil thoughts such as greed, anger and evil views with good thoughts such as Buddhist compassion, wisdom and equality. This is a process of replacing evil thoughts with good thoughts, but this process cannot be accomplished overnight, and can only be thoroughly achieved by constantly correcting one's own concepts and behaviors. Therefore, only by continuously purifying one's inner self and achieving physical and mental freedom and happiness can one create social harmony.

In The Three Essentials of Buddhist Learning, Teacher Yin Shun said, "Although there are many ways to cultivate Buddhism, the main ones are only the purification of the mind first and altruism first." He believed that to study Buddhism is to learn from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas the methods of cultivation, the main content of which is the cultivation of a pure mind. This purity of mind is to remove from one's mind such disturbing elements as greed, anger, evil view, arrogance, and doubt, which are the very things that cause people to be unable to act according to the Dharma and the law for the benefit of others. Therefore, by removing these disturbing elements, people can be motivated to be loving kindness, compassionate, joyful, and equanimity, so that they can benefit themselves and others according to the Dharma. According to Teacher Yin Shun, "Pure mind led to pure sentient beings" and "Pure mind led to pure land" means "to reveal that Buddhists should begin with the purification of themselves, and then extend it to the land and other sentient beings." Therefore, the practice of Buddhism is a process of purifying the mind by removing inner distress, increasing wisdom and compassion, and allowing the inner light of the mind to illuminate the outer world.

From this, we can see that Buddhism does not encourage people to be passive and avoid the world, but to actively enter the world for the benefit of the masses. Purity of mind is the purification of our inner being through spiritual practice, and to enter the world for the benefit of the masses is to translate inner purity into external action.

In Buddhism, there is a verse of the Seven Buddhas that everyone is familiar with: "Do not do any evil, practice all good deeds, purify one's own mind, this is the teaching of all Buddhas." This verse points out the importance of purifying the human heart. To do no evil is to cut off evil deeds; to practice all good deeds is to promote good deeds. However, whether it is to increase the number of good deeds or to completely eradicate evil deeds, it is necessary to make efforts in the mind to achieve success, therefore, the Buddha especially put forward the admonition of "purifying one's own mind".

In the process of practice, when people can replace the afflictions of greed, anger, evil views etc., with the Buddhist concept of loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, they can let go of their "ego" and reduce their selfish desires, which naturally promotes social harmony; and when people can build up a sense of equality and cultivate the spirit of mutual help with the Buddhist concept of equal mind, it naturally promotes social progress.

Through the practice of Buddhist precepts, Dhyana practice, and the growth of wisdom, we can help purify our minds, sublimate our personalities, and enhance our moral cultivation, so that we can become a beneficial person to society.

In short, Buddhism believes that the root cause of all the disturbances in human society is the impurity of the human heart. Therefore, in order to solve social problems, the first step is to purify the human heart. Therefore, Buddhism advocates the environmental protection of the mind as a positive and effective way to purify society. Through the wisdom and teachings of Buddhism, we can purify the hearts of people, elevate their personalities, and help them create a harmonious and beautiful social environment.

二、Elements of Purification

As we all know, Buddhist practice is based on the purity of the mind, which is the cornerstone and guide on the path of cultivation. Only by purifying the mind can we carry the wisdom of the Buddha's teachings, blossom the flower of enlightenment, and create a pure land. So how can we purify our minds?

Firstly, to accept the precepts and discipline the body and mind to keep away from troubles. According to Buddhism, all sentient beings, because they have lost their true heart and act according to their delusional mind, create all kinds of bad karma that affect social harmony in order to satisfy their inner desires. The precepts of Buddhism are not just superficial not to do, but also to discipline one's own body and mind, so that the body and mind will be far away from all kinds of unwholesome behaviors and concepts, and thus achieve the purpose of "dignifying the land and benefiting sentient beings". For example, the five basic precepts not only encourage people to restrain their desires, abide by ethics, and stay away from evil deeds, but also to do good deeds in their daily lives to promote the moral upliftment of the individual. The Bodhisattva precepts of Mahayana Buddhism emphasize the spirit of compassion and altruism, encouraging people to care for others and contribute to the community, which is a great contribution to the spirit of social harmony and charity. The Buddhist precepts do not only restrain people from external behaviors, but also include the practice of internal awareness, which enhances people's moral consciousness and self-awareness of their behaviors through the cultivation of the concepts of stopping evil thoughts and promoting good thoughts. It is clear that Buddhist precepts have a positive effect on the ethical foundation of today's society, not only in reducing social conflicts and promoting environmental protection, but also in enhancing the meaning of human life as a whole.

Secondly, practicing meditation cultivates positive thoughts and induces wisdom. In the current social environment, people's minds are restless and mental illnesses are frequent. The reason for this is that people are not able to be aware of their inner world and are easily influenced by the outside world, which in turn creates negative emotions, accumulates negative energy, and creates a certain negative impact on society as a whole. The practice of Buddhist meditation can help people to observe their own thoughts, cultivate concentration, and become aware of their own inner world. In this way, one develops the ability to concentrate on oneself without any external influence, which in turn leads to the illumination of one's own wisdom. In this process of inner awareness, one can observe the emergence of good and bad thoughts, and then one can discard the bad thoughts and focus on the good ones. Over time, one's mind will be purified and one's personality will be uplifted. In reality, with the practice of meditation and the cultivation of positive thoughts, one can reduce negative inner emotions, learn to manage stress, and achieve a balance between mind and body, which naturally reduces conflicts and promotes social harmony.

Thirdly, one should read more Buddhist scriptures and practice Dharma to grow in wisdom. According to Buddhism, when one penetrates deeply into the scriptures, one becomes wise as deep as the sea. The Buddhist scriptures contain profound wisdom about life, not only exploring the suffering and the way out of life, but also providing the right guidance for people to find the meaning and value of life. The Buddhist teachings of karma will enable people to learn to be responsible for their own behavior, and thus be able to control their own behavior, which will play a great role in purifying people's hearts and promoting social harmony. Those who study the Sutras regularly not only improve their moral qualities, but also develop their own positive awareness, distinguish between right and wrong, and have the wisdom to solve life's difficult problems, bringing inner peace and liberation to themselves and others. There are 84,000 teachings in Buddhism, and there is always one that suits everyone, and the one that suits you is the best.

As a religion with a history of nearly 3,000 years, the Buddhist scriptures are ancient and profound, and their wisdom and guidance on the meaning of life are still highly relevant even in today's world of advanced technology. If we can understand just a little bit of it, it will be enough to last us a lifetime!

三、The Leading Role of Buddhists in Pure Heart

As a practitioner of Humanistic Buddhism with "Pure Heart, Altruism First", he should play an active role in leading the way in today's society, and contribute to the harmony of mankind and the stability of society. Such a practitioner of Humanistic Buddhism is a model of human Bodhisattva practice, a good knowledge for all mankind, and can bring positive energy to the whole society.

First of all, a responsible practitioner of Buddhism in the world must be a person who holds the pure precepts, practices meditation, has a pure heart, is physically and mentally healthy, and has a correct sense of values. In his daily life, he upholds the Buddha's spirit of loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, and always practices the Bodhisattva spirit of "boundless mercy and great compassion", participating in various charitable and public welfare activities, and setting an example for the whole society to establish a correct atmosphere. The public can appreciate the Buddhist virtues of "contentment" and "frugality", and experience from them: "The law of contentment is the place of wealth and peace. He who is contented, though he lies on ground, is happy; he who is not contented, though he is in heaven, is not satisfied. He who is not contented is poor though he is rich, and he who is contented is rich though he is poor. The one who is not contented is always led by the five desires, but the one who is contented is compassionate." The power of example is infinite, and Buddhists should be role models of correct values.

Secondly, a compassionate practitioner of Buddhism in the world should not only practice the Dharma himself, but should also encourage more people to participate in Buddhist Bodhisattva practices, so that they can become practitioners and leaders in the purification of the human heart. Only in this way can more people, through the practice of Dharma, purify their own hearts and souls, achieve personality elevation, and become a bright light in the darkness, and then light more lights, so that the world will be filled with the light of love. As the lyrics of a song say, "If everyone gives a little love, the world will become a better tomorrow." If everyone in this world becomes pure and kind-hearted through the practice of Buddhism, the whole society will naturally become harmonious!

Finally, as a practitioner of Humanistic Buddhism, one should not only be an advocate and guide of spiritual environmental protection, but also a leader of "environmental awareness". In 1992, Venerable Sheng Yen put forward the concept of environmental protection with "spiritual environmental protection" as its core to promote social harmony and world peace. Spiritual environmental protection mainly refers to the purification of the mind, and environmental awareness means "to protect the safety of life, to maintain the quality of life and to safeguard the space for living." (Venerable Sheng Yen's article). With spiritual environmental protection as the core, environmental awareness can be carried out more thoroughly. However, spiritual environmental protection should not just be a slogan or a personal self-purification, but should be practiced by leading people in real life. Therefore, "starting from me" is the essence that every human Bodhisattva should possess.

In conclusion, as a Buddhist, one should not only be a Bodhisattva in the human world, but should also be a good knowledge (human soul engineer) to the general public in today's society. We should not just be a self-compassionate person who only cares about personal practice, but should actively participate in social purification activities and contribute to the building of a more harmonious, beautiful and healthy society.

Conclusion

As Buddhists, purification of the mind is an important and indispensable practice. It is because only through the continuous purification of one's own inner mind can we achieve physical and mental freedom, grow in wisdom, and benefit the public. It can be said that purification of the mind is a fertile soil for social harmony, providing a favorable spiritual environment for the harmonious development of society. Therefore, it is the responsibility of every Buddhist to promote the Dharma and spread the Buddhist spirit of compassion, equality, and wisdom, and it is the goal of every Buddhist to "dignify the land and bring happiness to sentient beings".