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Some people born into this world come to repay their debts. Some have come to contract debts; some to cultivate the Way. Some have come to create karma. Some have come for fame; some for profit. Some have come for food; some for sex. They themselves do not know the circumstances of their past existences, nor how to cut off delusions and stop the flow of birth an death. Moreover, they do not wish to understand the good or evil karmic conditions of their past lives, to change their faults an renew themselves. Instead they discharge their responsibilities in a perfunctory manner, and act in reckless ways. Even people endowed with wisdom find it difficult to know their past lives and to perpetuate supreme causes. Nor is it easy to suddenly arrive at an understanding, always remain unchanging, and endure suffering and toil. Why is this? Because ignorance is hard to break through, and obstructions pile up layer upon layer. The outflows of existence are hard to restrain, and doubts billow like thick clouds.

Those who truly wish to understand must seek within themselves when things don't go their way. They should not complain to heaven or blame other people. Instead they should subdue themselves and return to propriety. Avoid contention and greed. Do not seek. Be unselfish, and not out for personal gain. In encountering any state even-adverse situations-take things stride. Toward all people be friendly and humble. Endure what others cannot endure, yield where others cannot yield, eat what others cannot eat, and tolerate what others cannot tolerate.

Moreover, you should know that most worldly people repay goodness with enmity. And yet they are the very ones who help us perfect the strength of our patience. Whenever oppression and difficulties increase to the point that others slander us, recognize that they are good and wise advisors come to aid us in increasing our virtue and cultivation of the Way. A verse says,

Face to face with adversity, accept it graciously-this is Paramita.
Devadatta is just the Good and Wise Advisor come to aid us.
Kindness and animosity from past lives are now repaid in kind.
Grievances and feuds from distant kalpas are now being settled.
Acknowledge your accounts and debts; do not delay repayment.
Establish merit to atone for offenses-do not pass your life in vain.
Clearly distinguish good from evil; be careful about cause and effect.
The deep abyss and thin ice-how can one easily escape them?

Commentary:
Adverse conditions are anything that you don't like to happen to you; things that go against you. Things you like are not considered adverse conditions. Only the things you don't like, or the situations that rub you the wrong way are called adverse.

For example, there may be words you don't like to hear, but people will say exactly those things to you. There may be food you don't like to eat, but they'll give you that very food. There may be situations you absolutely can't bear, but you will have to bear them.

"Face to face with adversity, accept it graciously," means accepting them harmoniously in a compliant manner. For example, if someone scolds you, you should think, "Oh, this person is singing a song for me. And I should gladly listen to this song." What's so bad about getting a scolding? Just accept it graciously and happily. From adversity you can cultivate the strength of your patience. Adverse conditions can be either favorable or unfavorable. But the things that go against you are the very things that increase your resolution and will-power. They bolster your determination to be a genuine human being. That's the meaning behind "heroes arise from adversity." When you cultivate, you shouldn't be greedy for offerings, thinking, "Oh, if people would give me food and clothes, that would be very good." That's a pretty meaningless attitude. Rather, you should think, "There's nobody making offerings to me, and I should be happy about that. If I don't have food to eat, I'll just fast. If I don't have enough clothes to wear, I'll just fortify my body so that I'm impervious to the cold or heat. I can bear it. And if I don't have a place to stay, I can live under a tree." Train yourself that way. Don't hanker for other people to give you things, or become happy if you get some little thing from them. If you lack Way-virtue, and you accept offerings from other people, it's not easy to digest them. So it says, "If you're not done with the three minds, it's hard to digest even water." The three minds are the mind of the past, the mind of the present, and the mind of the future. If your mind always goes off in those three ways and is filled with polluted thinking, then you can't even digest one swallow of water offered by people. So it is said

A single grain of a donor's rice is as heavy as Mt. Sumeru. If, having eaten it, one doesn't cultivate the Way, One will have to repay it with a coat of fur and horns.

"A single grain of rice from the donor is as heavy as Mt. Sumeru. If, having eaten it, one doesn't cultivate the Way," then in the future one will be reborn as a cow or a horse to pay back the debt. Or one will be a chicken and lay eggs. When a chicken lays eggs she sounds, very honest. But there is another way her cackle can be interpreted, too.

She says, "Gwo da!" Gwo da can mean "My offenses are too big!" She's saying, "My offenses are too big!" When the hen lays eggs, that's what she says, "Gwo da, Gwo da! My offenses are really big!" That's how it sounds; as if she's admitting that her offenses are great. But does she really understand? No. She's not really admitting that her offenses are great. Actually, she's saying, "The eggs that I lay are larger than everybody else's." Gwo da-oversized. "My eggs are really big!" So she's still telling a lie. She says, "Gwo da! Gwo da! Gwo da!-really big, really large, super large!" But you should know that when a chicken lays eggs, she's paying back the offerings she received from other people in the past.

To "cultivate the strength of your patience," means you train yourself to take things that go against You. You fortify your strength of patience to the point that you can endure what you cannot endure. So the essay says, Some people born into this world come to repay their debts. This means in the past they overspent; they overdrew from their accounts. As a result they must come to this world to settle their accounts. All of us have come to this world to repay our debts.

What debts? If you are somebody's son, you are repaying debts by being a son. If you are somebody's father, you are repaying debts by being a father. If you are someone's husband, you are repaying debts by being a husband. If you are someone's wife, you are repaying debts by being a wife. And if you are my disciple, you are repaying debts by being a disciple. But if you don't want to repay that debt, it's okay.

Then, Some have come to contract debts. They want to take out some more loans. So, what do they do? They are always trying to get off cheap, always trying to get something from other people. They will never take a loss. People who are not willing to take a loss are here to contract more debts. Then, some to cultivate the Way, like some of you here who have left the home-life to cultivate the Way. Then, Some have come to create Karma. There are people who come to this world to kill, to commit arson, and to steal. All that creates karma. I'm just speaking in a very general way, but if you analyze this in depth, you can see that the variations abound. Many people have come to create karmic offenses.

Moreover, Some have come for fame. All day long they want to be Number One. They are trying to buy a name and are fishing for a reputation. They want a false name. Some for profit. Some people have come into this world just to become wealthy. They only want to make money. They don't know about anything else. You tell them about something else and they say, "I don't care about that. Just as long as I have money, that's fine." For money they'd do anything. Once the rooster crows and they get out of bed, they have only one thing on their minds, to rake in capital.

Some have come for food. They say, "If a person lives for his entire life and doesn't eat, he's really an idiot. I've got to eat delicious food, mouth-watering food, every day!" If the food they eat is delicious, then they don't want anything else. Just take a look at the way pigs eat soybeans. If you feed them soybeans they just shove their noses right into the soybeans, flapping their ears up and down. In the past, I've fed pigs and I know how they eat. The way chickens eat is that they peck at their food non-stop, to the point that they just forget everything else.

Some for sex. They think that the pleasure between men and women is the greatest bliss, that there's nothing higher. If the can't enjoy that pleasure, they feel they might as well die. They themselves do not know the circumstances of their past existences, nor how to cut off delusions and stop the flow of birth and death. They aren't' willing to cut that off. Moreover, they do not wish to understand the good or evil karmic conditions of their past lives-that is, what karma they created, and what results they reaped. For example, a good act will reap a good result; an evil act will reap an evil result. But these people do not wish to know those things. They go about life in a very muddled way. They don't want to change their faults and renew themselves. They won't say, "The reason I'm going through so much suffering now is because in the past I didn't cultivate. So I'll change my faults and really cultivate well." They won't do that. Instead they discharge their responsibilities in a perfunctory manner, and act in reckless ways. They say, "Oh, we'll just let another day pass. Let's just muddle through it." They're really careless.

Even people endowed with wisdom find it difficult to know their past lives-people with some wisdom may want to know about their former lives. They may find out that in their last life they were a dog, because in the past they always liked to fight with people; they liked to bite people. If they are wise people, they may want to know their past lives, and to perpetuate supreme causes. And in the past they planted supreme causes and so in this life they want to perpetuate those causes. But, this is not easy. Nor is it easy to suddenly arrive at an understanding-to suddenly comprehend their past lives-or to always remain unchanging. That is, they may think, "No matter whether I get a response or not, I'm still going to cultivate. I'm going to be always resolute." But it's not easy for them to endure suffering and toil. Most people would say, "I've already taken too much of a loss." They don't wish to endure suffering. Why is this? Because ignorance is hard to break through. Ignorance is very difficult to smash, and obstructions pile up layer upon layer.

There are many obstructions that impede your cultivation. The outflows of existence are hard to plug up. It's like a bottle that's constantly leaking. You fill the bottle, and then the water leaks out of the other end. And doubts billow like thick clouds. You talk to people about the Buddhadharma, and they start having doubts. They say, "Is it really this way?" Their doubts are as thick as clouds. You talk to them about the truth, and they don't want to believe it. Just now somebody said he doubted whether Way-virtue was true or not, and that's a real pity.

Those who truly wish to understand must seek within themselves when things don't go their way. When things are going wrong, for example, when people are not treating you well, you should "returnthe light and look within." Always look within yourself. This means to find your own faults; not to blame others. They shouldn't gripe to heaven or blame other people. They shouldn't say, "Heaven is unfair, people are unjust. Why is it that I'm so poor and he's so rich?" Instead they should subdue themselves and return to propriety. This means to restrain selfish desires and always comply with proper principle. Avoid contention and greed. Do not seek. Be unselfish, and not out for personal gain. In encountering any state-even adverse conditions-take things in stride. Toward all people be friendly and humble. Being friendly doesn't mean fawning on people, trying to pat the horse's behind, so to speak. When you meet rich people, you flatter and kowtow to them, ingratiating yourself in a very disgusting manner. But when you see poor people come, you won't even look at them. You refuse to pay the least bit of attention to them. That's not the way to be. Endure what others cannot endure, yield where others cannot yield, eat what others cannot eat, and tolerate what others cannot tolerate. Moreover, you should know that most worldly people repay goodness with enmity. Worldly people are common people and the better you are to them, the more animosity they feel towards you. They repay kindness with enmity. Now, why do they do that? This is just an example of the stupid conduct of people. That's how they behave when they're stupid. The kinder you are to them, the more they will respond to your kindness with resentment. But although it is that way, we still should be kind to people and behave virtuously. So just let them be. When you cultivate, you need to focus your attention on one thing-make sure that you yourself are doing the correct thing. But you need not pay attention to whether other people are doing correct things or not. It suffices that you yourself do the right thing. Whether other people are good to us or not doesn't matter, for these people who repay virtue with enmity are the very ones who help us perfect the strength of our patience.

If you are good to people, you shouldn't seek a reward from them. When you bestow kindness upon them, you don't ask for recompense. And after you've given something to other people, don't have regrets. If you are kind to people, you don't want them to pay you back. Why is that? You should say, "It's because I'm representing the Sages. I'm representing heaven and earth to maintain the truth." Do things that benefit people; you don't want other people to benefit you. "I want to help others; I don't need other people to help me." If you want other people to help you, then you are spineless. Only people lacking determination will keep on asking others to help them. They drag their feet in the mud and are not spirited. They just can't get their energy up.

Have a firm will. Adversity forges great people. People who are not good to you are testing to see whether you are earnest. If you are genuine, and not seeking for any reward, what does matter if they are good to you or not? So you had better not believe the principles I tell you. Because once you believe them you will always be taking a loss.

Whenever oppressions and difficulties pile up-that means when people are really piling it on thick, being very discourteous to us-to the point that others slander us, we should recognize that they are good and wise advisors come to aid us in increasing our virtue and cultivation of the Way. They are helping us foster our blessings and wisdom and accomplish our Way-virtue. They are actually helping us out.

Many people scold me and slander me. Most people who scold me are monks and nuns. I'm telling you the truth. Some people say, "I haven't seen members of the Sangha scold you!" Well how many monks and nuns have you seen? Actually, there are many laypeople who slander me as well. There's a saying,

If you do not attract jealousy,
Then you are somebody with very ordinary talents.

But we should investigate. Why are people scolding me? It's because they're afraid their supporters will believe me and not make offerings to them anymore. They think if they scold me, their Dharma Protectors will protect their own Dharma, and then they will have food to eat. Well, that's a good thing. I'm indirectly giving to them. If after scolding me they get food to eat, am I not indirectly saving their lives? Because they malign me, they get Dharma Protectors and obtain benefits-that's very good! In Buddhism, we stress compassion. And so, if I can help them in this way, it's certainly okay with me.

What follows is a verse. I call it a gatha or a verse. It's not poem. The words need not rhyme, and it doesn't adhere to a fixed meter. I'm just very casually reciting eight lines as a gatha which has a much looser structure than formal verse.
Face to face with adversity, accept it graciously-this is Paramita. This is a method of reaching the other shore.

Devadatta is just the Good and Wise Advisor come to aid us. Shakyamuni Buddha himself said, "Devadatta is the very one who helped me become a Buddha." Devadatta was willing to fall into the hells, so as to help the Buddha become a Buddha.

Kindness and animosity from past lives are now repaid in kind. People are kind to you or unkind to you, all because of conditions from past lives. Now you have to pay them back; clear your accounts. Somebody may say, "I don't believe in past lives." Well, do you believe there was a yesterday? "Yes, I do." Well, do you believe there was a last year? "Yes, I do." Well, if you believe that, that's just past lives. For example, let's say that last year you killed a person, and this year, somebody else kills you. You kill someone's father, somebody will kill your father. If you kill someone's brother, somebody will kill your brother. If you scold people, then people will scold you back. If you kick somebody with your foot, then another person will slap your face. That's called repaying in kind. You say you don't believe in past lives, but if I hit you now, does it hurt? Well, if it hurts, that's also a retribution. Know that Grievances and feuds from distant kalpas are now being settled. Past feuds and grudges are being resolved.

Acknowledge your accounts and debts; do not delay repayment. People are too concerned about progress. But can it solve birth and death? If you can reach the point that you don't have to die, that's real progress. "Well," somebody says, "I don't believe in the principle you are talking about." I didn't ask you to believe. You're too smart, so you won't believe in something that a stupid person like me says.

Establish merit to atone for your offenses-do not pass your life in vain. Own up to your debts-pay them back. Don't prolong them. Don't seek outside aid, so that you accumulate more debts. Instead establish merit to offset the offenses you created in the past. Don't pass your life in vain.

Clearly distinguish good from evil; be careful about cause and effect. You should understand that if you do good things, you'll get a good reward; if you do evil things, you'll get an evil retribution. Like causes bring like results.

The deep abyss and the thin ice-how can one easily escape them? It's as if you were approaching a deep abyss or treading on thin ice. It's very difficult to get out of cause and effect. You have to bevery careful. Now someone is saying, "Dharma Master, what you said today, I just can't believe-not a single sentence!" Then, I haven't uttered a single sentence.