People who study the Buddhadharma are starting to plant their seeds in the soil. Will those seeds grow thereafter? That depends on the various conditions. When all the conditions come together, the seeds will grow without problems. If the contributing factors are missing, the seeds may become sterile. The same applies to whether we plant our seeds of Bodhi, our resolve for Bodhi, deep enough, firm enough.

If we plant the seeds deep and firm, those seeds will definitely grow roots and sprout in the future, but it will still be a long time before they bear the fruits of Bodhi. This depends on how hard we work. If we become skilled at our practice and realize the fruit that is enlightenment, we then enjoy our harvest.

The process of seeds developing roots, sprouting, budding, blooming, and bearing fruit requires a long period of nurturance, irrigation, and fertilization. What is the fertilizer? It is moral virtue that comes from studying Buddhism. Cultivate according to moral virtue. Let the basic precept be the non-obstruction of moral virtue.

According to Confucianism, "Virtue is the fundamentals while wealth is superficialities." [Using the metaphor of a tree, "virtuous conduct is the root for people while money is just one of the items hanging on the branch tips."] Cultivators must cherish their blessings and be frugal in every respect. Do not waste any money or material goods. After days and months of this, we develop virtue; consequently, twigs and leaves will burgeon and fruits will multiply. If we do not give them any fertilizer and do not really nurture and irrigate them, the sprouts, flowers, and fruits will easily wither and die. That is why the first precept for cultivators is to pay attention to our virtuous conduct.

Virtuous conduct begins with the smallest acts. "Do not avoid a good deed because the act is small." Do not think that it is only a small act of kindness so you avoid it. You are waiting to do good deeds that are grand, but there are not so many of those. Mountains are built one speck at a time. Although specks of dust are tiny, after some accumulation, they turn into a mountain. Although one act of virtue may seem insignificant, after accumulating them for a while, they also turn into a mountain of virtue. Not going against moral virtue is an act of virtue; not giving others problems is an act of virtue. No matter what it is that we do, take helping others as our basic responsibility. Anything that hinders others in terms of gain, time, cultural refinement, wisdom, etc. goes against moral virtue. This is why our every move and every act, every word and every deed must follow the basic rule of not overlooking moral virtue. If we want to cultivate, we must first develop virtues. We cannot cultivate without acts of virtue. When people want to cultivate, demonic obstacles come looking for them. This is because they do not have any virtue. That is why, "Virtue is the fundamentals while wealth is the superficialities."

Moral virtue is equivalent to the sun and moon, to heaven and earth, and to people's lives. The absence of virtue is equivalent to death, to the nonexistence of the sun and moon, heaven and earth. What is moral virtue? It is primarily about benefiting others. Its mission is about not hindering others, which is to be full of humanness, justness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness.

1. Humaneness. Someone humane will not take another's life.
2. Justness. Someone who has the good sense to always do things just right. Things are done according to the golden mean: neither too much nor too little, neither too far to the left nor too far to the right. Everything is done according to the Middle Way. Someone who understands justness and is just will not steal.
3. Propriety. Propriety is a kind of manners, rites. Someone who respects the social protocols will not engage in sexual misconduct. Theft and illicit sex are not the norm and both happen because people do not accord with justness and propriety.
4. Wisdom. Someone who is wise will not drink or take drugs. Only stupid people do such absurd things.
5. Trustworthiness. Someone who is trustworthy will not lie.

If the five invariable ideals of humaneness, justness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness were done perfectly, there would be morality, there would be virtue. This is why moral virtue starts with the mind, its source lies with our mind. Although it manifests a certain color, it is not green, yellow, red, white or black, but a sheen that is virtue. That is why Han Yu wrote in the text, Origin of the Way, this passage, "Boundless love is humaneness, which done appropriately is justness. From these come the Way. When they are complete within and nothing is expected from without, that is virtue." Mencius said, "Humaneness, justness, propriety, and wisdom have their roots in the mind. The color they give off can be seen on someone's face, told from the back, spread to the limbs so that people can tell without the four limbs gesturing." Not only does virtue show on the faces of people, their backs also radiate this light of virtue. It is even seen in their four limbs. Although this sign of virtue can hardly be described, everyone understands. The manifestation of virtue is a real skill and knowledge; it cannot be faked. Pretense can only fool people temporarily, but not for long.

Cultivating the Way is about cultivating real moral virtue and not obstructing others; at the same time not being afraid of others' sabotage either. Quietly accept any obstruction that comes our way. Anyone who is unkind or unreasonable to us is our spiritual teacher. Being able to compliantly accept whatever adversities that come our way and to be okay with them show our mastery over patience. Do not be affected by a few words. Some people are unaffected because they do not have any sense of shame or guilt, but that is not right. We want to cultivate a kind of unaffectedness that is about being able to bear what other people cannot bear, which is a real talent. Otherwise, we will just have to start anew.

Taoists consider "three flowers gather on the crown" and "five energies facing perfection" signs of perfected moral virtue. To some Buddhists, these two phrases sound heretical. What is heretical and what is not? There is nothing heretical or anti-heretical about these terms, they are descriptions of the result of a certain form of practice. The three flowers are essence, energy, and spirit. At one point all three turn into a kind of glow about us. The five energies are the perfection of humaneness, justness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, hence the saying "five energies facing perfection."

According to Buddhism, someone who perfects moral virtue acquires the wisdom of great and perfect mirror, the wisdom of impartial nature, the wisdom of wonderful contemplation, the wisdom of achievement, the three bodies, four wisdoms, five eyes, and six penetrations. One cannot reach this state with any one of the virtues missing. This is why Buddhism talks about myriad virtues as adornments, consequently it includes all religions, all the religions are just one part of Buddhism. This is why I often compare Buddhism to college courses, Taoism and other more profound religions, high school courses, and typical worldly religions such as Confucianism etc. as elementary courses.

Those who are in elementary school, high school, and college are all students; those who belong to different world religions are all spiritual seekers. Hence we ought not to be sectarians and say this religion is the best when I am in this religion and that religion is the best when I am in that religion. It is wrong to think, "Our former faith becomes subservient to our current belief; our discarded ideas are tainted compared to our current ideas." The correct perspective is that all religions are a part of Buddhism. This is because the Buddha said, "All beings have the Tathagatas' wisdom and virtue; they can all become Buddhas." All beings have the Buddha nature, including heretics. They are also sentient beings and have a chance to realize Buddhahood. Why do we want to shut people behind closed doors? Buddhism pervades all of space and the Dharma Realm so that there is no limit, no sectarianism, and no views of self or others. This is why people who are studying Buddhism must expand their capacity of mind and avoid being narrow-minded and miserly.

According to Taoism, one sign of virtuous Taoists is that they look like youths but they have gray hair. Although their hair is gray, they have the face of a child and their skin is taut and smooth. By the power of their morality, this kind of physical transformation takes place. Although their hair is gray, it is not dry and has a sheen to it (it is not from hair gel). Their hair and body hair emit light. People who have a certain level of cultivation and those who have their five eyes open can tell right away.

But Buddhists go one step farther, not only do their hair emit light, their entire body emits light, the ends of every hair on their body emit light. Every one of their pores is unique. People who cultivate Buddhist practices to a certain level can turn their gray hair black and grow back teeth they have lost. Taoists can also reach this state of growing their teeth back but they cannot make their entire body emit light. That is the difference. To see if someone is a good spiritual teacher, we do not need to have our five eyes open. With some expertise, we can tell with our regular eyes whether someone is a good spiritual teacher. Someone with no virtue looks cross and despicable!