Date: 01/04/2025 01/05/2025
Location: Star Ocean Meditation Center
Teacher: Otto Huang
Dharma Talk
The Eight Methods for the Comfort of Lay Practitioners
Once, a young Brahmin named Yu Zha Jia came to visit the Buddha.
“Buddha, what should laypeople like us, who yearn for renunciation, do to gain peace and comfort in this life?” asked the Brahmin Yu Zha Jia.
“Brahmin, there are four principles that can bring you peace and comfort in this life. What are these four? They are: having the necessary means of livelihood, guarding your possessions, having good friends, and living a righteous life.
What is having the necessary means of livelihood? It means having the skills to earn a living, such as farming, trading, cattle herding, archery, administration, or other work that can support yourself.
What is guarding your possessions? It means being able to properly protect your wealth and food from being confiscated by the king, stolen by thieves, destroyed by fire or water, scattered by loose individuals, or harmed by various disasters.
What is having good friends? It means being able to make friends who possess faith, morality, generosity, and wisdom. These friends will encourage and advise each other, helping to eliminate sorrow and troubles and preventing them from arising. They will also nurture happiness and good deeds without letting them fade.
What is living a righteous life? It means living within your means, balancing income and expenditure. You neither show off your wealth nor become miserly. You live simply without indulging in luxury, and you avoid falling into poverty and hardship.
Brahmin! Do not indulge in wine, lust, gambling, or associating with bad friends. These four things are like breaking your wealth store with four holes, causing all your wealth to leak away.
Brahmin! These are the four principles that can bring you peace and comfort in this life.”
“Buddha, then what should one practice to gain peace and comfort in the next life?” asked Brahmin Yu Zha Jia.
“Brahmin, there are also four principles that can bring you peace and comfort in the next life. What are these four? They are: having faith, keeping precepts, practicing generosity, and having wisdom.
What is having faith? It means having deep respect for the Buddha’s awakening, establishing faith, and holding onto it so that no one can shake it. You will never be swayed to follow other gods or heretical teachings.
What is keeping precepts? It means firmly adhering to not killing, not stealing, not engaging in sexual misconduct, not lying, and not drinking alcohol.
What is practicing generosity? It means having a mind free from greed, always engaging in acts of generosity. For example, you can practice generosity through the liberation of others, or by giving with your hands, enjoying giving, and offering equally to all.
What is having wisdom? It means knowing the Four Noble Truths—suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering—and having the wisdom to discern and eradicate delusions and afflictions.
Brahmin! These are the four principles that can bring you peace and comfort in the next life.”
