How to maintain a pure heart?

There was a Buddhist devotee who picked fresh flowers from her own garden every day and brought them to the temple as an offering to Buddha. One day, when she was delivering the flowers as usual, she happened to meet the Zen Master coming out from the temple hall.

The Zen Master, upon seeing the devotee, praised her, “You are such a devoted Buddhist to offer fresh flowers to the Buddha every day! According to the sutras, people who often offer fresh flowers to the Buddha would be blessed with a dignified appearance in their next lifetime.”

The devotee upon hearing the compliment happily replied, “This is what I should do. Every day, I feel my spirit being cleansed whenever I come to the temple to pay respect to the Buddha. However, the moment I reach home, troubles would come and haunt me. As housewives in this noisy city, how do we maintain a pure heart?”

Instead of replying the devotee directly, the Zen Master asked instead, “Since you always offer fresh flowers to the Buddha, you must have very good knowledge about flowers. How do you keep flowers fresh?”

Devotee replied, “To maintain the freshness of flowers, all we have to do is to change the water in the flower vase daily and also snip away a part of the stem at the bottom of the stalk. This is because that part of the stem is submerged in the water and this causes it to rot easily, affecting the ability of the flower to absorb water. When flowers fail to absorb water properly, they will wilt easily.”

The Zen Master replied, “The rationale for maintaining a pure heart is the same. We are like flowers living in an environment that is similar to the water that support the flowers. Only when we constantly purify our spirit and soul will we be able to change our temperament and aura. We also need to constantly repent, self-reflect and correct our past bad habits as well as our behaviour. Only then will we be able to absorb energy from the Universe.”

The devotee, upon hearing the Zen Master’s reply, joyfully thanked the Zen Master, “Thanks for your invaluable teaching, Master. I hope that, in the near future, I will have the opportunity to stay in the temple for a period and listen to the drumming of the morning bells in addition to enjoying the peace and serenity of the chanting.”

The Zen Master replied, “Your breathing is akin to the singing at the Vatican, the beating of your pulse is like the drumming of the morning bells, your body is the Universe and your two ears are Bodhi leading you to enlightenment. Why then do you need to be physically staying in the temple when you can enjoy peace and quiet everywhere if you choose to?”

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