The Art of Living Well
by Master Lee Feng San Shifu
Translated by Sophia Lui
Edited by Ric Meyers
Has anyone noticed that nearly every religion has a codified set of rules for living? Some people try to abide by them, while others take flight at their very mention, as if they were a binding curse which, upon its recitation, sets off a headache. Therefore, to help students learn better without causing them alarm, we will adopt another approach to the subject.
According to Chinese wisdom, a layperson is encouraged to abstain from negative actions. However, when it comes to complex moral problems in the modern world, it may be necessary not just to appeal to precepts, but to use basic teachings — such as the Middle Way — to aid interpretation of the precepts, so that they will be relevant to all human experience.
Therefore, if a person can really abstain from wrong-doing, it also means that they have the ability to understand and live according to the precepts. And, if living by the precepts has become a way of life for them, they will also know how to resolve any issue which arises. They will not be inflexible, intolerant and unsympathetic. Through living by the precepts, we will finally become purified, so that when we encounter unwholesome events, we are able to transform them with a pure heart and actions that are devoid of self-interest.
This is what it means to practice self-cultivation in daily living, and using daily living as a means to develop ourselves. In this way, we live and learn at the same time. If we try to abide by the rules of conduct without knowing how to be flexible and sympathetic with ourselves, or if we view the rules of conduct as a binding curse, then we will end up in a tight spot.
We are talking about life, so therefore rules must also be alive, and we must be able to live them. Whether it is about abstinence, precepts, or resolution of issues, we must be able to live them out, and take our circumstances into consideration. In this way, our thoughts and actions will be alive at every moment.
“Self-cultivation is found in daily living, and daily living itself is self-cultivation. In exercising abstinence, abiding by the precepts, and resolving issues, we live in freedom and ease.” — Lee Feng San Shifu