A Good Reputation

Do not speak of others’ faults, and do not talk of your own virtues. Wisely contemplate the oneness and equality of all sentient beings, and you will enjoy a good reputation.

Sutra on the Principles of the Six Paramitas

Do not speak of others’ faults

We should always try to see the good in others, not the bad. On the samsaric level of this saha world alone, back-biting and faultfinding are known by most people to be totally counter-productive. Not only does faultfinding produce nothing but anger and mistrust, but the effects of negative speech also create an environment in which it becomes difficult to do anything positive.

If you find yourself behaving this way, bite your tongue and seriously reflect on your behavior at the first convenient moment.

Negativity and excessive criticism lead nowhere but downhill. Usually people engage in these practices out of feelings of jealousy, anger, or low self-esteem. Once you become sensitive to the enormous problems cause by faultfinding, you will be much less prone to engage in it again.

Having encouraged sensitivity on the subject, let me quickly add that over-sensitivity toward criticism of you is to be avoided at all costs. This is the bodhisattva path; we are gentle with others no matter what. We do not violate them, and if they should violate us, we do not feel disturbed.

Do not talk of your own virtues

The bodhisattva seeks to live perfectly within the inherent equality of all life. He does not attack others and he is not proud of himself. This is balance. This is equanimity. Just as we should not be negative toward others in what we say, so we should never allow ourselves to sing our own praises. If you have any virtues at all, they will be noticed by others. Let others praise you if there must be praise, but do not praise yourself.

Wisely contemplate the oneness and equality of all sentient beings

When you are able to do this, you will be beyond all praise and blame. You will see that there is no such thing as praise or blame. The gaze of one who is compassionate can see this for compassion is the highest wisdom. In the depths of compassion, we become aware that there are no differences among the myriad sentient beings of this vast universe. The Buddha mind, the bodhi mind, and the minds of sentient beings are the same. In this consciousness, all dualities merge into the universal truth. In this consciousness:

Language is gone
The mind is still
Without beginning
Without end
This is Nirvana
All else is the way of the world
Only this is the highest Siddhanta.

Mahaprajnaparamita Sastra

From Being Good, written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun.

Image from Pixabay.

More Featured Articles

Our emotions are a very important part of our everyday life, and they star in a leading role on the stage of relationships. The ability to feel and our freedom to act upon these feelings give us both joy and sorrow, and it is imperative that we maintain our emotional well-being to minimize the potential for suffering within relationships. Emotions are the glue that bind Read more
I once copied out a sutra in blood by pricking myself, and once I also burned my arm as an offering. I once remained silent for a year without speaking, and once I also kept my eyes closed for three months without seeing. Later on, I would occasionally open my eyes and suddenly feel: Oh, there are still verdant mountains; there are still trees; the Read more
The Buddhist precepts are here to protect us from wrongdoing, lead us away from what is bad, and towards what is good. Vinaya Master Daoxuan of the Tang dynasty composed the Simplified and Amended Handbook of the Four-Part Vinaya [Sifenlü Shanfan Buque Xingshi Chao], in which he analyzed the precepts in terms of their “rules,” “essence,” “practice,” and “characteristics.” When one puts the actual rules Read more
If we want to understand what the Dharma teaches us about building affinity and living in harmony with others, we must first understand the four great all-embracing virtues. The Buddha teaches that for us to realize our true capacity of connecting with and serving our fellow citizens, we have to first build a good rapport, and the four virtues are tools to that end. The four Read more
In fact, what I have enjoyed the most in my reading, and it could be said that a piece of writing that has had an important influence upon my life is the poem “Thoughts on My Fiftieth Birthday,” written by Venerable Master Taixu during his visit to India when the lay Buddhist Tan Yun-shan, Chairperson of the Institute of Chinese Language and Culture at Visva-Bharati Read more
True stature is not created by form or ornament; words spoken out of jealousy and greed oppose it. Only when evil has been stopped at its roots, and when there is wisdom without anger is there true stature.— Dharmapadavadana Sutra The False Stature of This WorldEveryone wants to be well regarded by others. However, in seeking true stature, people too often waste their time in Read more
Technological progress and advances in modern science have led to material improvements that have enhanced the quality of people’s lives on many levels. Yet, no matter how much we have progressed or how advanced our technology is, there still remain fundamental problems in life that science will never be able to solve.Two of the greatest problems people face are birth and death. No sooner are Read more
Dharma is for people. There is one thing about the Dharma that I am completely sure of: the Dharma is for people. The Buddha’s teachings are not a cold philosophy designed merely to rearrange the concepts in our minds, they are a living act of compassion intended to show us how to open our hearts. I learned this truth just as everyone must learn it—by Read more
The occurrence of a disease is closely related to one’s mental health, physical health, spiritual health, behavior, habits, living environment, and even the society and culture in which one lives.  Harmonizing all of these elements and engaging in specific practices can help to bring about optimum health and prevent illness.  Gaining awareness about the cause of illness and conducting our lives in a manner that Read more
In Buddhism, the root cause of human suffering and other problems are identified as the mind. It thus proposes to tap into this invaluable resource by transforming any unwholesomeness into wholesomeness. Buddhism instructs sentient beings on how to recognize the mind, calm the mind, and handle the mind. The Buddha taught for forty-nine years during his lifetime. Whether his teachings were about the four noble Read more
We need to change and transform ourselves continuously: In order to achieve eventual perfection, we need to work on correcting our bad habits. Read more
People often ask me, “What ad­versity have you experienced in your life?” And for a moment, I can­not come up with an answer. I have always maintained the attitude of taking things as they come, as in the sayings “When the soldiers come, de­ploy the generals to fight back; when there is a flood, use earth to stop it” and “When encountering a mountain, cut Read more