Chapter 8: The One with Discerning Eyes

A disciple once asked, "Grand Master often mentions 'ming yan ren'- the one with discerning eyes. Who exactly is the one with discerning eyes?"

I answered, "What I mean by that is, one with discerning eyes is one who clearly understands the path to salvation."

The disciple said, "Then the Buddhist Mendicants must surely be the ones with discerning eyes!"

I replied, "That is not necessarily so. There is a verse that says it well, 'how many can regain their human form, if they were to lose it while wearing the Buddhist cassock? Nothing is better than cultivation and purification, why then is one's heart still lingering in the trappings of samsara?"

Let me explain further:

A discerning person is able to observe and clearly perceive the myriad manifestations of this world. By understanding the truth behind worldly phenomena, one is able to cultivate the Buddhadharma. This results in the power of stability and stillness, which purifies the heart and clears the thoughts. It enables the practitioner to obtain unequalled wisdom, to master one's life and death, and to completely eradicate all sufferings. A person who does not wallow in the blind pursuits of sentient beings is the one with discerning eyes.

The flip side of a person with discerning eyes is the ignorant and benighted person. What then is the ignorant and benighted person?

1. One who is completely ignorant to the fact that all worldly phenomena are impermanent
   
2. One who does not at all understand that greed will only bring agony and decadence
   
3. One who attempts to possess everything, in the belief that worldly pleasures will provide eternal happiness
   
4. One who does not accept the laws of karma, disbelieving transmigration and the reasons for liberation

To cite a poem:

Mountain-high pileup of skeletal remains.
Departing tears billow over the four oceans.
The mortal world will inevitably be undone in the end.
What joy then is there in this life that zips by, in a snap of the fingers?

I tell my disciples:

"We must calm ourselves down. In meditation, practice the inner observation method. Think about the problems faced in this world so as to understand the truth about impermanence. Realize that the cause of anguish and decadence lies in human greed and desire. Thereafter, learn to stem the desire to fulfill the lust generated by our six sensory roots. Diligently cultivate the dharma to maintain clarity of the heart. By doing so, we will be able to put an end to our ignorance, thereby eliminating the cause of decadence and freeing ourselves from the cycles of birth and death."

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