[eBook] The Thirty-Seven Principles of Enlightenment

[eBook] The Thirty-Seven Principles of Enlightenment

"I am very impressed by Dharma Master Cheng Yen."-- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Dharma Master Cheng Yen is a role model for us all."--Dalai Lama

Introduction

The Thirty-Seven Principles of Enlightenment contains 7 parts: (1) The Four Right Efforts, (2) The Four Steps Towards Obtaining Supernatural Powers, (3) The Four Considerations, (4) The Five Roots, (5) The Five Strengths, (6) The Seven Factors of Wisdom, and (7) The Noble Eightfold Path. The Buddha reminded us to practice the Thirty-Seven Principles to Enlightenment, which tells us the way to live a wholesome life. We must have right views and correct belief, think in a wholesome way, and earn our living honesty.

When we are inspired to do good and serve as a bodhisattva, it takes just the slightest setback to upset us and make us afflicted. Then, we want to quit. When we start to have the intention and conviction to do good, very quickly, our faith in what we're doing wavers and we lose our conviction. It's all because we're upset, or we resent others for not treating us well. So, we really have to be on guard against this and always be vigilant to stop ourselves from developing such a wrong mentality. We need to always check to see whether our good intentions have changed, whether we've slackened or stopped, and whether our convictions are gone. Then we need to ask ourselves whether we have, unintentionally, injured people and made them lose their good intentions or convictions.

The Thirty-Seven Principles of Enlightenment teaches us to reflect and realize how the body is unclean, realize that feelings cause suffering, realize our thoughts are impermanent, and realize that all phenomena are empty of a true, permanent self. We must be cautious in all we do. We have to take good care of our heart and mind and stay true to our Buddha nature by removing any wrong that has already started, preventing any wrong from starting, beginning doing good deeds, and continuing to do good deeds. We must never postpone doing good deeds or put off correcting our wrongs because regret is too high a price to pay. We must avoid all that is wrong and do all that is good and wholesome because life is too short.

About Author

Dharma Master Cheng Yen was born in 1937 in a small town in Taichung County, Taiwan. When she was twenty-three years old, she left home to become a Buddhist nun, and was instructed by her mentor, Venerable Master Yin Shun, to work “for Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings.” In 1966, she founded a charity, which later turned into the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, to “help the poor and educate the rich”—to give material aid to the needy and inspire love and humanity in both givers and recipients.


In recent years, Master Cheng Yen’s contributions have been increasingly recognized by the global community. In 2011, she was recognized with the Roosevelt Institute’s FDR Distinguished Public Service Award and was named to the 2011 TIME 100 list of the world’s most influential people. In 2014, she was presented with Rotary International’s Award of Honor in recognition of her humanitarian efforts and contributions to world peace.