Dharma Talk Summary

June 20, 2010

Talk Given by Rev. Hye Kyong

10 Minutes

Dhammapada Reading: Chapter 6 "The Wise"

A wise person who would admonish you for your faults is a good person to follow.

Following such a one is like following a guide to a buried treasure.

Simply being with that person is helpful to you.

Today is Father's Day. How many people here are fathers? How many people have fathers?I think that fathers are overrated. I think fathers got a day just because mothers had one.

It's kinda weird with fathers. I was watching fathers in my neighborhood this week while thinking what I was going to talk about. I started watching the fathers, some pushing strollers and know that he wouldn't be there if the mother wasn't. Nothing really tells men how to be fathers, there's no instruction manual. We don't really know what to do all that much. I guess our function really is to keep our kids from growing up to be assholes. That's pretty tough to do in some cases.

My parents had me pretty late in life. I think my mom was about 40 something so you can imagine that they planned for me. My older siblings pretty much sucked the life out of my parents by then. They were shells of people.

I didn't get to know my dad as well as I would've liked to and I didn't think to ask the questions I want to know now. There were a couple of things he did teach me though, and they still stuck with me today. My father said he was an atheist but I wonder what if the Buddha-Dharma was available to him back then. One of the things he taught me was, "Do unto others as you want done to you."

I found this reading, "Everyone fears being hurt, all of us fear death. Knowing this, see others as yourself and cause no harm. Everyone fears being hurt, life is dear to all, knowing this, see others as yourself and cause no harm."

I thought, Dad was a bodhisattva and didn't even know it.

As most of you know I've been a musician all my life and started playing at a pretty early age, around 12. I would be sitting around playing guitar and my dad would come in and ask, "Can you play Windchester Cathedral?" I'd say, "no." Then he would say, "You can't play nothing if you can't play Windchester Cathedral!" Secretly I did learn it but I never told him.

I came across this other reading,

"Who are you?" asked the Master.

"I am a soldier for the great emperor's personal guard."

"Nonsense!" said the Master. "What kind of emperor would have you around him? To me, you look like a beggar." At this, the soldier started to rattle his sword in anger. "Ohhhhhh.... you have a sword!" said the Master. The solider could not hold himself back, he drew his sword and threatened the Master. At this the Master said, "Now you know half the answer, you are opening the gates of Hell." The solider drew back and put away his sword and bowed. "Now you know the other, you have opened the gates to Heaven."

So I guess learning Windchester Cathedral is like opening the gates of Hell for me, but nonetheless I guess I learned the answer.

The thing I'd like you to take away from this talk you need to realize what you have available now in the Dharma is something you need to appreciate. Do it now, don't wait until it's too late. I often think I wish I would've found out about this a lot sooner then I did. Make an effort, do it now. Don't waste your life.

Happy Father's Day!