Everyone has feelings and senses. The makeup of the human body is nothing short of miraculous, as we all have feelings and perceptions and our body’s composition is entirely controlled by our state of mind. Our minds control all our bodily functions and abilities. Therefore, if our minds are focused, these functions and abilities will bring forth their full effect. Conversely, if our state of mind is not concentrated, all of our bodily functions and abilities will stop working.
As devotees of Guan Yin Bodhisattva, what keeps you moving forward? The answer: your mental strength. You can then transform your mental strength into faith. If you do not have faith, you will never succeed in anything. Without faith, you will never see the light and you will not see a future. That’s why faith plays a significant role in cultivating the mind. It’s because of faith that you can courageously charge forward. When you lose faith, you will not be able to do anything well.
For example, imagine a family that is on the verge of breaking apart. If the couple wishes to preserve their relationship and keep the family intact, they will need to rely on their faith and mental strength to sustain and support it. They need to believe that their marriage will take a turn for the better; that it will move in a positive direction. However, whether such faith can be maintained depends on their perceptions. Specifically, it depends upon their perceptions about their past and their future. But the key point to look at is whether a person is cultivating their mind. If that is the case, they will have faith, and hope. Otherwise, there will be none. After all, feelings and perceptions are void and illusory.
Now, I want to talk about how to cope with favouritism and humiliation. On the face of it, both favouritism and humiliation conjure a feeling of being frightened. For example, a person who is constantly favoured will be frightened at the prospect of future abandonment.
Another example: an ordinary employee was told unexpectedly by his supervisor that he will be made manager on the very next day. The employee would be shocked and yet happy. However, there would be a kind of frightened feeling as well. Therefore, being both favoured and humiliated is associated with being frightened, bringing the greatest misery to our psyche.
As the saying goes, “Endure humiliation and be unaffected”, or; “Remain unaffected by favouritism or humiliation”. If you are promoted by your superior today, remain unmoved. Then, if tomorrow you are reprimanded and demoted, you continue to remain unmoved. This is a healthy way of thinking. The situation we should avoid is the feeling of exhilaration when promoted today, and the feeling of hopelessness when demoted tomorrow. Therefore, don’t allow misery to linger in your mind.
Normally, when one is presented with favours or humiliation, the result is a significant internal contrast. In this context, let me further explain the idea of favour and humiliation. Here, humiliation doesn’t merely refer to shame or insult. It also refers to when a person fails to accomplish a certain task. Being favoured would normally refer to a situation in which a person of a relatively lower status, or lacking something in substantive value, is suddenly elevated to a higher status.
In such a scenario, one may mistakenly believe that they are receiving genuine affection and feel pleasantly surprised. However, these feelings of pleasure are only temporary. In the movie, “Man with a Million”, a destitute character living hand-to-mouth was presented with a one-million-pound banknote. Ultimately, however, the banknote was returned to its rightful owners.
When a person finds themself in a favourable situation, they might become startled and wrongly believe that the world has given them a pleasant surprise. However, what comes next is a sense of loss. Once that is experienced, they will become mired in consternation.
For example, in ancient times, the Emperor may say: “I will promote you to Grand Chancellor (a position in ancient China equivalent to the prime minister today), as the incumbent has failed in carrying out his responsibilities.” If you don’t have what it takes to be Grand Chancellor, you will live in fear every day upon assuming this role, not knowing when you’ll be replaced. Who knows? Maybe your fate will be even more tragic than your predecessor, as you run the risk of execution. Therefore, do not hastily conclude that your temporary gain is a good thing. That is simply a display of foolish consternation.
When a favour comes, you are happy – but when it leaves, you are desolate. When humiliation comes, you are sad – but when it leaves, you are relieved of a heavy burden. If your mind is in this state of perpetual flux, you will never obtain inner peace. After all, everybody wishes for a life of serenity.
However, if your mind is always susceptible to such sudden fluctuations, how will tranquillity be achieved? For example, a person in good health may toil over work-related matters, obsessed with thoughts about how their boss or colleagues treat them unfairly, or preoccupied with work hurdles.
On the other hand, if this person is struck with severe illness and loses their job, they are now free of work worries but will start worrying about health issues. So when will our minds be settled and at peace? Without inner serenity, one is temperamental and moody, leading a life that seems sick all of the time. Despite being free of physical sickness, it will be apparent that you have developed a sickness in your mind. Why?
Because when others praise you, you are frightened. When others slander you, you are also frightened. People are very sensitive these days. When they hear a compliment, the first thing that comes to their minds is whether it was meant to be sarcastic. Isn’t that a sign of mental illness? That’s why modern society promotes the importance of both physical and mental health.
Having physical health alone is insufficient, as mental health is just as essential. Therefore, we must regard being favoured and humiliated indifferently. If you lose your job today, it is alright as you may find another one. If you are unexpectedly diagnosed with an illness, it is equally fine as you may be cured.
A person who is free of attachments is a truly selfless person. This may be hard to comprehend and reconcile in one’s mind – why is a person who is free of attachments a selfless person? To look at it from a different perspective, being free of attachments means being free of self-serving thoughts and the notion of self.
If you are constantly filled with concerns about yourself, such as work, your future, your family, and the like, aren’t these attachments selfish? One must learn to see things from a flipped perspective. If somebody is filled with all kinds of attachments, they must be utterly selfish. Guan Yin Bodhisattva comes to the Human Realm to save sentient beings and help them spiritually awaken.
But if she thinks about other Bodhisattvas in Heaven all the time, or about returning after all the hardships she has been through in the Human Realm, how will the Bodhisattva be able to achieve her goal? Many monastics vow to save sentient beings. For this noble cause, they choose to cultivate as Buddhist monks and nuns, and wish to return to the Human Realm in their next lives to save even more sentient beings. Indeed, this is also a form of altruistic devotion.
A person who is free of attachments is a truly selfless person. Through such altruistic devotion, one becomes unconcerned with themself, unconcerned with family obligations, their career, their prospects, their wealth and so on. They are truly practising the virtue of giving. Only those who are willing to give are truly selfless, so in helping others, we should aim to practise altruistic devotion. If you help others with the motive of using it for your personal gain or for reciprocal benefits for your family, isn’t this kind of help actually selfish?
It is because you have concerns for yourself and for your family members that you wish to help others. This is also known as help with strings attached. Of the many role models in our society who have helped many people, have they thought about themselves or asked for anything in return? Their help is free of obstructions, their compassion is unconditional, and their devotion is altruistic.
Only those who genuinely free themselves of attachments can become truly fearless. First, to be fearless, you must be selfless. That is because only those who can give everything away will have nothing left to fear. A common plot in the movies is when bad guys kidnap children, knowing that parents are so concerned about their children. They take advantage of this mentality to cause fear, in the hope of achieving their goal.
From another perspective, if your child or family member is kidnapped, will you feel concerned? How can you show great fearlessness under such circumstances? As a matter of fact, this is a misconception. When you are selfless, you possess the spirit of great fearlessness, and you cultivate well, Bodhisattvas will protect you. Your children and family members won’t be kidnapped, but instead remain safe and sound.
But if your family isn’t safe and sound, it’s an indication that your cultivation is falling short and you lack blessings, which leads to suffering and chaos within your family. Only someone who is fearless can become a person of great vision and achievement – and it is only people such as these who may take on the great responsibilities conferred from Heaven.