There is a big difference between the teacher-disciple ethics in Buddhism and the teacher-disciple or teacher-student relationship in the world.When I was young, I had a period of experience as an apprentice. After the graduation ceremony of the elementary school, I went to work as an apprentice on time at XNUMX:XNUMX in the morning. I didn’t even have a day of summer vacation, so I went to a hairdressing salon at the arrangement of my family. Register as an apprentice.Why did you choose to be an apprentice at such a young age?The main reason is that I don’t want to stay at home. Although there is warmth at home, my life can be considered a relatively prosperous life. Among the local children, I live a very good life. However, the noisy and dirty environment of the grocery store makes me very uncomfortable. I don't get used to it. I am afraid of getting dirty even when I go to the old-fashioned toilet. In my heart, I always wanted to run away from home early and go outside to see the world, unlike other relatives who can live in their hometown comfortably.

My thirteen-year-old apprenticeship was the busiest period in the world before I became a monk. I would get up at about five in the morning to cook breakfast for the owner's family of five, the designer, and me, and I had to clean the shop. After finishing the work in the store, I am also responsible for cooking lunch, dinner and washing everyone's clothes. The most terrible thing is that in the evening, one person has to wash the clothes in the washing machine and wash the guests' towels from the first floor. I took it to the fifth floor to dry it. At that time, the sky was getting dark, and I was afraid of people upstairs, and my nervousness was relieved of my physical fatigue. Occasionally at night, I had to bathe her three children for the proprietress, although I was going to learn skills. , but I have experienced almost everything that should be done in a family. Sometimes I am so tired that I want to be lazy, and the lady boss will threaten to send me home, and I will immediately cheer up and be obedient.The shop closes at ten o'clock, and clean up the environment at night. It's almost eleven o'clock when I go to bed. When it comes to the New Year, I used to work without sleep for several days and nights, because during the New Year, the hair salon is not closed day and night, and charges will be charged. Also doubled, everyone was so busy that they didn't even have time to eat, and most of them ruined their stomachs.Now that I'm older, I'm afraid I can't do anything about going back to the days when I didn't go to bed for a few days and nights, and I couldn't eat on time.This is the traditional Chinese master-apprentice relationship. Living and living with the master’s family will give you all kinds of training in life first, and also cultivate your obedient disposition. After you have passed all aspects, you will gradually improve your skills. It is taught to you. After three years and four months of study, you have learned the skills, and in the future, you will have the opportunity to start your own business and develop your career.Fortunately, I once had this comprehensive experience in life, so when I was assigned by my father to work at Mandu Hair Salon, the largest chain store in the province at that time, at the age of sixteen, I was easily able to get the haircut every month for half a year. The division of labor system in the group is an easy task for me, until the chairman Mr. Lai Xiaoyi personally presented the first-place performance bonus to the branch.

However, the relationship between master and apprentice in Buddhism is not as simple as in the world. Strictly speaking, the relationship between master and apprentice in Buddhism is life-long, even life-to-life, so choosing the corresponding master is a very important matter. If you choose the wrong one and become a monk in a confused way, not only will you not be able to achieve the virtue of being a disciple from the beginning to the end, but you will probably also delay your own karma and preaching the Dharma and benefiting your life.The reasons why I became a monk have been mentioned in many CDs. I am the kind of person who is confused. I will become a monk when the master asks me to become a monk. Moreover, I have never known my master at all. We only met for half an hour and made an agreement. Three days later, the shaving was done. The strange thing is that there were other netizens waiting for shaving in the dojo at that time, and the master did not help them. This is probably the fate of the past life, and this kind of case is rare in Buddhism.At that time, I and the other two brothers were the first batch of disciples who had been ordained by Master, and one of them had been practicing fortune with Master for more than ten years. But unfortunately, my senior brother made me cry on the third day of my shaving. After that, I can imagine how dark and dark I was, and I was unable to advance or retreat. Dilemma can be said to be the most grieved and painful period of such a long time.Of course, as a cultivator, everything is right in the outside world, and the fault is all in oneself. It is only because I have no blessings and no wisdom, and I have not formed a good relationship with others in past lives, that I will be inspired by this kind of adversity.But the truth is said, but before the karma of the beginners appeared, it was really unclear, let alone how to deal with it, everything could only be resigned, and it was extremely painful.As a first-time apprentice master, in my eyes, I still feel very sympathetic to him, because whenever the brothers and sisters are troubled by my existence, they will quarrel with the master every day, forcing the master to rush When I left, Master gave me a headache. Although I also felt inexplicable, I didn't know where I was wrong, and caused troubles to my brothers and sisters, but after all, it was because of me, so I still feel very sorry to Master.Regarding these personnel matters, Master didn't say anything, just said that I am a person who can only do things and not be a person.It was not until many years later that I understood the subtle factors, so I sighed in my heart that it is really difficult to be a human being in this world, and I especially lamented that no one taught this course, even my parents and relatives. I don’t understand, and it’s not convenient for Master to teach. When encountering a realm, I can only bear it myself. Even if I want to change my mind, I can’t get in there. , even when you die, you don't know how you died, it's really called an unjust death.In view of this, I would like to say a few more words here to provide some vigilance to future students, otherwise, if you are not careful, you will have no place to live even in the compassionate Buddhist sect.

After the painful lesson of being a monk or a monk, I tried my best to reflect on myself. Apart from the intricate karma in my previous life, I didn't really understand the virtues of being a disciple beforehand, and I didn't fulfill my duty as a disciple. , so these results will be inspired.The so-called virtue of a disciple is to be loyal and filial to the master, to serve the master all his life, to obey his words, to abide by his duties, and to never see the master before.At the time, I didn’t understand these truths at all. I just thought that after I made an agreement with my master, I could follow my master as I wished. I thought that we were a family anyway. My family traditions will also be different. For example, Master’s Taoism is mainly about preaching scriptures and preaching the Fa, while Master’s here mainly focuses on Fa conferences. The causal difference is very big. If I want to follow Master’s teaching, I will I shouldn't have had my ordination under Master's seat in the first place. This was my own confusion and ignorance. So after I had my ordination, not only did I feel pain because of all kinds of incompatibility, but also because I didn't wholeheartedly live and give, and it brought a lot to the people around me. He was unhappy, and he failed to fulfill his duty as a disciple with all his heart.

In addition to having their own duties and obligations, teachers and apprentices must also have the knowledge of being on the same boat. This is also within the scope of human morality.Many people with a Taoist mind come to the Sangha to get close to their teachers and study the Fa, but they will always hold their own ideals in their hearts. As long as you have your own thoughts and attachments, whether it is right or wrong, you will not be able to integrate with the group. If you are one, you will eventually be excluded and have no place to stand, unless you can really meet people who are big-hearted and willing to achieve you, but in the current environment, this is a very difficult and rare opportunity.For example, when I first came to the Sangha, my brothers and sisters asked me to do some things that I thought were not very compatible with the precepts, so I would feel very embarrassed and troubled, always worried that this would hinder my liberation practice. , There is no absolute right or wrong in many things, and the rules are not rigid.As a member of the Sangha, if you cannot follow the orders of the person in power and do things with one heart, you will definitely not be accepted.Therefore, to get close to the teacher, you must first have a certain degree of understanding of the teacher's personality, the teacher's Dharma, and the personnel situation of the sangha's permanent residence before you can live together. Accept it as per the order, otherwise no matter how right your thoughts are or the other party is wrong, in the society of Chinese culture, others will think that you are lacking in virtue as a disciple, and then you can only eat yellow lotus dumbly. Hard to say.This is like a woman, once married as a wife, she has to give up her heart to recognize her points, to be born as her husband's family, and to die as a husband's ghost. This is the standard of virtue that the Chinese believe.

Are such strict moral standards in the Sangha really justified?Is it still necessary to comply with the current trend of the times in which democracy and freedom are generally pursued?First of all, we need to understand that the Buddhist Sangha is a transcendent practice group. The truth taught by the Buddha, its values ​​are completely different from the standards of the world, and even completely beyond the imagination of human wisdom. Therefore, when looking at this issue When it happens, you must first jump out of the secular standard in order to understand it.Because the ultimate goal of Buddhist practice is to achieve life and death and attain Buddhahood.The Buddha said that the present in the human world is only for the great event of teaching and transforming all beings.The key to life and death is to get rid of the two attachments to the self and the law. The reason why there are all kinds of troubles and conflicts in the world is because everyone has their own strong thoughts and attachments, which produces all kinds of opposing realms and pains. It is to overcome this obstacle through various tests in the realm of life, and finally to achieve Buddhahood.And the role played by the master is to take the standpoint of a past person and use all kinds of skillful means, including accommodating and subduing the conditions, so that the disciples can gradually eradicate their habitual problems that have been solid since beginningless in their lives.Therefore, the disciple's trust and obedience to the master is particularly important. If this basic relationship cannot be established between the master and the disciple, the future cultivation path will not be discussed at all. In the end, the master and the disciple will become a nominal mutual benefit. It's just a relationship. This is undoubtedly a very big loss for the disciples who have not yet opened their wisdom.Therefore, when entering Buddhism, one must first cultivate the virtues of the disciples. With good virtues, one can feel the true love and guidance of the teachers, and there will be fewer wrongful paths on the path of cultivation.As a master, you must also take full responsibility for the disciple's Dharma body, wisdom and fate, and this responsibility is not just in front of you and in one lifetime, but is related to the causal relationship between life and life. That's why it's much deeper than the parents who reincarnated in this life.Modern people, because they don’t understand this principle, so when they enter Buddhism and practice, they all get along with the standards of people in the world. Between teachers and students, they can’t feel the real and extraordinary results from each other. Everything is just a nominal and superficial karma.