All fellow cultivators, some people do not understand why I do not speak first; instead people who accompany me speak first? Since you came here just to listen to me, you cannot wait to some extent and as a result you are anxious. Although you're anxious, you are still here waiting. This is a test while I explain the Dharma, testing to see if you have enough patience, required for most cultivators. Furthermore, I am willing to learn from anyone at any time and any place. That is why wherever we go to speak, I always listen first. To whom do I listen? I listen to my students. This contains two meanings. One is that I listen to see if they speak with principle as I attempt to learn more too. They are all young and capable scholars. They acquire new information and wisdom. Compare to an arcane person like me, they are much more lively and innocent. Hence I want to learn from them too. This is the other significance.

You have heard first from a few Dharma Masters who came with me; hence you understand me in more depth. If my companions lied, then needless to say, you know this teacher must lie all the time. If my companions are competitive, then needless to say, you know I am competitive; hence the scholars that I teach are competitive too. If they are greedy, then it shows that I have taught them poorly so that they really do not understand the Buddhadharma. Consequently, they are always looking for connections and searching for answers outside of themselves; or they behave selfishly and pursue self advantage; they lie or speak dharma that seems ambiguous and impractical. These would be proof of my inept teaching.

This is how you observe me and learn about how I usually teach. The way we teach is to take each other as students and teachers. Someone wise is a teacher; someone less intelligent is a student. We learn from one another and complement one another by making up for each other's strengths and weaknesses. This is also a science on morality and a view of virtue. We help each other, help each other reflect and emulate each other.

There is a term for our method of teaching, it is called, "developing inherent wisdom". We see what views or explanation we have on a topic or a passage of the text. We use wisdom to convey the meaning of this sutra. This is our own. Wisdom means that we are using our inherent wisdom and not wisdom that we've found outside of ourselves. This is great wisdom replete in our inherent nature. The resources, capability, and basic capitol to this wisdom are what we develop. Although wisdom is innate, we still need to develop it using strength from the outside. This is how we can excavate and apply wisdom and other resources.

For this reason, I also say, wherever I go, I learn. To talk about patience I have learn to be patient. No matter what people do, they must be patient, then that will they will excel. This is why is said that patience is a priceless jewel. If we can be patient then we acquire a priceless jewel, but "no one uses it well." People do not practice patience. For instance, sitting there listening to someone lecture, you become anxious because you are annoyed at other people are talking and become annoyed. This means that one cannot be patient. If one can be patient, then one can climb to higher heights, which means that it is a priceless jewel. No one knows how to use it well. Be patient once, be patient twice, then explode the third time around. The power of that explosion is more severe than an atom bomb. "If you know how to use it well," if you know the function of patience, "then everything is fine." There wouldn't be any problems with anything. This is why if you are patient then everything is no problem! Speaking of patience, this Chinese character is a heart radical stabbed by a sharp knife. The sharp tip of this knife stabs right into the heart and is extremely painful, but if one can bear a bit of pain then one passes.

More than a dozen years ago, the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, there is a disciple of mine whose Dharma name is Guo Le, he taught problem children at school. Because of problem children, there were more problems. Either this problem happened or that problem happened. Problems came one after another all day. He came and asked me to help and asked if there is a mantra to recite to make all the issues involving problematic children disappear. At that time I told him that there is a mantra that is most effective, but it depends on whether he knows how to recite it. "Listen to me carefully, I'll teach you now, this mantra is, 'Be patient! Be patient! Be more patient, sa puo he!'" He went back to recite this mantra then returned to tell me how effective this mantra was. Recite this and children's problems disappear, they are chased off. If you do not believe it, then I can get this person here so that you may question him in person. This is not something I made up.

We're talking about Buddhist ethics. "Are you talking about ethics?" This is ethics precisely because ethics requires being principled and reasonable. Ethics in Chinese is pronounced the same as "wheels" so it turns round and round without stopping like the wheels of a car. A family has its family ethic, a person has personal ethics, a country has national ethics and a planet has global ethics. For instance, the earth is turning, that is ethics. A nation that continues to exist, for example, represents ethics. From this president to the next present, from that president to yet another president, out of the pool of citizens come people who rotate to be president. Is this not ethics?

A country has its ethics; a family has its ethics. Fathers have sons, so there is ethics between father and son. A son has children, so there is ethics between grandfather and grandson. Our body? We are happy on occasion, there is ethics to being happy. We are sad on occasion, there is ethics to being said. We sometimes sleep, there is ethics to sleep; we eat for a while, there is ethics to eating; we dress for a while, there is ethics to dressing. These are all ethics turning, moving forward nonstop. Continue!

"When ethics fail to turn, its force withers and dies." Like father, son and brothers, their relationships contain familial ethics. If a father does act like a good father but go and act like a son, or that the son does not act like a good son but acts like a father, then fathers are not like father and sons are not like sons. This is called ethics that fails to turn. When ethics fail to turn, its force withers and dies. Families are destroyed, so are nations and the world. As long as we are no longer ethical, there will be nothing. There is a lot of principle here but do not pay attention to them because they are so ingrained. They do not apply much effort in this area and dismiss it, forgetting the fundamental principles.

People, for example have their individual ethics. Its origin is Buddha nature. They do not use Buddha nature. What do they use instead? They use emotions. Nature flows and become emotions. Emotions between men and women are so entangled and sticky that it is as if they are stuck together with superglue. That is why they become relatives who are entangled. Nature flows and becomes emotion; emotion flows and become desire. Originally people were pure in their inherent nature, but they become defiled with sexual desire. They continue to chase after thoughts of desire. Thoughts of desire include desire for money. People want more money. Thoughts of sex occur because everyone enjoys beauty. People's thoughts of desire are tainted, but everyone wishes to be tainted rather than pure. Left-home people must be pure as they cultivate the Way. Most parents who have children who want to leave home will cry and scream as if their children are dead. Parents who understand are glad, saying, "'One child enters the Buddha's doors and nine generations enter heaven.' I will depend on him in the future." Those who do not understand will cry and scream, holler and wail.

"Leisure is blessings but people do not enjoy it; defilement is offense but everyone is greedy." People chase after fame and fortune around the world, wanting wealth and status, money, sex, fame, food or sleep. They want a good reputation. They want good food. Someone is thinking, "I do not want to eat good food!" Do you want to eat bad food? I do not believe that! I do not believe that you are willing to eat spoiled food. Sleep. Some people are most skilled at sleep. Other people sleep for one day and he has to sleep for two days. Sleep is a competition. Money, sex, fame, food, and sleep are the five roots of hell. This is also a cycle. From money to sex, from sex to fame, from fame to food, from food to sleep, after sleep they go back looking for money again. Everything on this planet is a cycle, just as we people are transmigrating throughout the six paths. It is also a cycle that we are suddenly born in the heavens and suddenly asuras. Asuras are bandits in the heavens. They have heavenly blessings but no authority in the heavens. They often fight with those soldiers and generals in the heavens, defeating Jade Emperor's armies. Some people suddenly become asuras, suddenly become humans and then suddenly become evil ghosts, animals, hell beings-going round and round on the wheel of rebirth. This is also the wheel of principles (or ethics in Chinese). Principle means theory. If people understand this theory then they pass the test. If they do not understand this principle, they are going against the Way, which leads to ethics that stops turning, dissipating in force.

Some people are calculating inside, saying, "I cancelled an important appointment to come and listen to Buddhist ethics. But I have listened to what you've said here and it is essentially useless, it does not help me one bit. I am so disappointed!" Your disappointment is exactly my hope, my intent. Why? I am a strange person. I do not like what other people like and I like what other people do not like. I do not want what other people want and I pick up what other people do not want. As it is said, "I pick up what people toss; I give away what other people pick up." I'll tell you honestly that you have been tricked big time by coming here to listen to me today. What trick? You have wasted valuable time as you listen here. I very much agree with the false thoughts you have. Why? You've been tricked as you come here and listen to Buddhist ethics. But by being tricked and taking more losses, you will turn your delusions into wisdom. Ingenuity occurs when you develop yourself into a major fool. It is a good thing to take more of a loss. Throughout my life, I have not wanted what other people want; I have not been greedy for what other people are greedy for. If this is not stupidity, what else could it be! Stupidity is the source leading to enhanced wisdom.

Laotze of China said these words, "The Great Tao is invisible and it gives rise to heaven and earth; the great Tao is insentient and it orbits the sun and moon; the great Tao is nameless and it nurtures all things. I do not know its name, so I force a name onto it and call it Tao." A name is given to it, Tao. "All things are born from the Tao, those who receive it automatically understand the principles contained therein, that Bodhi neither decreases nor increases." This is from Elder Tai Shang's Purity Sutra. "The Tao is clear and turbid." That which is clear is our inherent nature; that which is turbid is our thoughts of desire. "There is movement and stillness." Movement is yang and stillness is yin. "Heaven is clear and earth is turbid." "Heaven moves and earth is still." Heaven belongs to movement while earth belongs to stillness. Heaven is yang while earth is yin. "The masculine is clear and feminine is turbid." Males are pure and females are turbid; they have a turbid energy. Men move and women are still. Men belong to yang while women belong to yin. "By sinking into the origin and letting it flow onto the ends, everything is born. Clarity is the origin of turbidity; movement is the foundation of stillness. If people can be pure always, heaven and earth will return to one." If people are always pure, then heaven and earth will become one. As it is said, "Coalesce with the virtue of heaven and earth; coalesce with the brightness of sun and moon; coalesce with the order of the four periods of time; coalesce with auspiciousness and inauspiciousness of ghosts and spirits." This is also ethics, becoming one with all things then that is a wheel that does not stop.