What is wisdom? It is the wisdom to perfectly
understand and to patiently accept the Four
Noble Truths to know the fact of suffering and
its nature; to know the source of suffering; to
know the Noble Path that leads to the end of
suffering.
Before a farmer gathers a harvest in autumn, he
must first plough the ground, sow the seeds,
irrigate, and remove the weeds as they come up
in spring. Likewise the seeker of Enlightenment
must follow the three ways of practice. A
farmer cannot expect to sow the seeds today,
to see the plants tomorrow, and to gather the
harvest the day after. So, a man who seeks
Enlightenment cannot expect to remove
worldly desires today, to remove attachments
and evil desires tomorrow, and to attain
Enlightenment the day after.
Just as plants receive the patient care of the
farmer after the seed has been sown and during
the growth from plant to fruit, so the seeker of
Enlightenment must patiently and perseveringly
cultivate the soils of Enlightenment by following
the three ways of practice.
Four sublime states
There are four sublime states of mind that the
seeker of Enlightenment should cherish. They
are Metta, Karuna, Mudita, and Upekkha -
loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy
and equanimity. One can remove anger by
cherishing loving-kindness; one can remove
cruelty by compassion; one can remove
jealousy by sympathetic joy; and one can
remove the habit of discriminating enemies and
friends by an equanimous mind.
With care one may cherish these four sublime
states and may get rid of greed, anger, suffering,
but it is not an easy thing to do. An evil mind is
as hard to get rid of as a watchdog, and a right
mind is as easy to lose as a deer in a forest. An
evil mind is as hard to remove as letters carved
in stone, and a right mind is as easy to lose as
words written in water. Indeed, it is the most
difficult thing in life to train oneself for
Enlightenment.
When one realizes how difficult it is to work
towards Enlightenment, one appreciates the
attainment of the Buddha. He is the dower of
humanity who blossoms once in a myriad year.
If Enlightenment is easy to gain, we need not
have the Buddha to show us the Way. It has
been said that:Rare is birth as a human being,
Hard is the life of mortals.
Hard is the hearing of the Sublime Truth,
Rare is the appearance of the Buddha.
[Dhammapada 182]But take heart anddo not lose hope. Did the
Buddha not promise that the Dhamma is of one
flavor, the flavorof deliverance? With energy,
vigilance, patience and wisdom we will reach
our Goal. And as the road is long, we must start
walking now instead of admiring the map the
Master had provided: a journey of a thousand
miles beings with the first step.In training for Enlightenment, some may
succeed quicker than others, therefore, one
should not be discouraged. When a man is
practicingarchery, he does not expect a quick
success but knows that if he practicespatiently,
he will become more and more accurate. A river
begins as a brook but grows ever larger until it
flows into the great ocean.11