Compassion That Shines Without Discrimination

Today's teaching begins with a passage where the Buddha explains practitioners' spiritual capacities through a comparison. Some people turn their minds around as soon as they hear even a small sound. Some need a stimulus a little closer before they move. Some only find their direction when there is a clear awakening. In a practitioner's mind, too, there are different speeds and depths like this.

Yet the Buddha's compassion does not divide or push anyone away because of these differences. Whether one's capacity is high, middling, or low, the teaching and compassion reach everyone evenly, just as the sun shines on every place. The speed of understanding may differ, but the compassion one can receive is not discriminated.

Even in the place where we hear a Dharma talk, one person may awaken immediately, another may understand slowly, and another may not understand for some time. But that difference is not a mark to be cast away; it is the condition from which we can begin again where we are now. More important than comparison is sincerely moving according to what I have heard now.

Practice is not the work of judging another person's capacity. It is the work of not letting the Dharma talk that has reached me simply pass by, and of taking even one step correctly from my own place. If we move without losing a small moment of awareness, even a slow person can steadily stand on the path.

Today, rather than looking at who is fast and who is slow, examine how sincerely your own mind moves after hearing the Dharma talk. Since compassion without discrimination is already shining, receive that light and walk the path of practice with all your strength.