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VII On Being Diligent and Truthful 1. Master Chŏngsan said, “Deluded people believe what appears as real but do not believe what does not. While they are absorbed in external glory, they are not even interested in searching for the internal truth. While they pay attention to even small increments of immediate gain and loss, they do not consider vices or blessings of the future; con‑ sequently, what they do falls into mere form and fabrication. Eventually, dancing with joy for daily false desires and greed, they fall into the pit of evil karma. How pitiful that is! We can learn from a fable. A deer loved her magnificent antlers but was ashamed of her ugly‑looking legs. One day, being chased by a hunter, she was escaping danger through the bush; her magnificent horns impeded her escape but her unsightly legs ran well and saved her life. Although this is only a fable, if we reflect it on ourselves, we can say that it is a warning critique that truly depicts the world.” (CP 10:1) 2. The Master continued, saying, “In keeping with the develop‑ ment of material civilization, this wonderful world becomes brighter daily.95 However, if one wishes to enjoy exquisite, modern conveniences of all sorts to the full, one needs power and wealth. As public sentiment becomes overtaken by this reality, people grow arrogant and self‑conceited if they obtain some of what they desire. Those who do not obtain what they desire using whatever contemptible means, commit all sorts of vices and sow various seeds of enmity. And when they are threatened one morning by the hunter of adversity, they are at a loss with fear, trying to 181 182 / The Dharma Master Chŏngsan of Won Buddhism find the way out of danger with the power of concentration, know‑how, and right conduct, which will be ineffective without daily practice. More‑ over, being hindered in various ways by the distortions of fame, power, and wealth, they are forced into the jaws of death. How pitiful that is! Moreover, at death, which everyone faces eventually, the fame, power, and wealth that one has enjoyed are useless. Rather, in building up layers of karma and strengthening the attachment of evil passions, they cause one to lose freedom of spirit and hinder one’s affinity for the good path. You should think through this thoroughly and bear it in mind, so as to devote yourselves to attaining the three great powers of cultivation, inquiry, and heedful choice, testing your actual mental power against any matter you face at any time.” (CP 10:2) 3. The Master continued, saying, “Since you have entered this order for Buddhist practice, you may guess the essence of false and true. How‑ ever, if you do not check your practice daily and hourly while residing in the order, you could, unawares, easily be attracted by external splendor. If as a Buddhist practitioner you possess vast knowledge, a good writing style, or eloquence, you may mistake it for true power of practice and be conceited. If you are praised or remunerated, you can easily be proud of yourself, as if you have achieved something great. However, true practice is not in what you say or write. It lies in the following Threefold Prac‑ tice. First, it lies in the spiritual ability to be free from the six paths and four forms of birth, upon attaining spiritual freedom. Second, it lies in the wisdom to have no doubt about falsehood and truth, and right and wrong, upon awakening to the source of facts and principles. Third, it lies in the spontaneous observance of all precepts as the heedful choice is all in accordance with laws. Only with these three powers perfected can one be assured of having attained buddhahood. Therefore, in the moral religious order, one who, no matter how ignorant, lowly, or deficient in speech, has the root of faith in the dharma and pursues mind cultivation well is never regarded lightly but is expected to be a great, future vessel of the dharma.” (CP 10:3) 4. He continued, saying, “Moreover, if you attain the true power of this mind cultivation, you can ably govern myriad things in the universe, and can make good use of fame, wealth, and treasure, and all knowledge. External splendor based on real power is like water flowing from a spring and a shadow caused by a real thing: the water and the shadow are...

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