If we want to learn Buddhism, we must constantly be alert to keep our minds on correct thoughts and hold our actions to the highest standards. That means being mindful of our physical actions and our mental attitudes, which means coming to a true awareness and understanding of ourselves. Without first knowing oneself, how can anyone come to a true understanding of the natural laws of all things outside of oneself? The first step we must take is to understand our own physiology and psychology. That is the subject of "the Fourfold Stage of Mindfulness." We should take this opportunity to fully appreciate these teachings on self-learning. How does one learn to truly understand something? Most importantly, one must focus on being mindful in order to analyze and to know oneself. The following discussions will deal with these concepts in more detail.

We must start with a basic concept: the human body is not worth fighting for inch by inch. Most people are very much concerned about their own interests because of the existence of "I." But what is "I?" There is an "I" because of the existence of my body as a separate identity. Without this body, there is no "I" to fight for or worry about. Most people have a worldview centered around their own bodies and are constantly paying attention to what "I" get from this and that. Therefore, Buddha teaches us to broaden our worldview and to focus our mind on analyzing this human body.

1. The nine openings of the body produce filth.

In today's society, cleanliness is a very serious problem. Filth and uncleanness is a hidden worry for almost every urban family. I believe that if a family had no water for one day, most people would find the situation intolerable. Why? Because there would be no water to wash and clean.

There is a famous saying from the Lament of Compassionate Water [a Tang Dynasty sutra]. "The nine openings of the body produce filth." In addition to those which pour from the seven facial openings of eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth, there are further excretions from the body, such as urine and feces. Which of the above secretions could be regarded as clean? Sputum comes from the mouth, tears and various other drippings flow from our eyes and nose when we are upset, earwax accumulates daily in our ears...Is there anything from the human body that could be regarded as clean at all?

Many people afflicted with illness and pain cannot clean themselves and so quickly become dirty. In hospitals, is there a single room that could be considered clean? Although everyone praises the cleanness of the Tzu Chi Hospital and the diligence of the housekeeping staff, patients are still constantly excreting their bodily wastes. In fact, there are even people who need to connect a tube to their abdomen to rid it of body wastes, which are extremely odious. Such are the accepted terms of life and illness.

Most of you are healthy, but do you believe healthy bodies are clean? Not so! On a hot day , most of you here at the Abode of Still Thoughts get up early in the morning to do your prayers and morning lessons in the main sanctuary. By the time you complete these practices, you are already sweating all over. After a full day's work, you all want to wash and bathe to clean up the accumulated dirt before retiring comfortably in the evening. So you see, the bodies of healthy people are also unclean.

All of us will eventually take our last breath and die * dust returns to dust, ashes return to ashes. Within several hours of death, our earthly body will start emitting an unpleasant odor. On hot days especially, the flesh becomes bloated and quickly starts to stink and rot. What on earth are we ultimately fighting for in the name of this body? For the lusts and desires of this fleetingly temporary body, human beings have committed so many crimes and created so much bad karma, which leads them to be reborn in the three most horrid realms of hell, hungry ghosts or beasts.

In sum, all manner of unclean things and events center around this unclean body. In this life as a human being, if we could first see through the nature of our physical body, then we would be able to put this unclean body to its best possible use. If we cannot see through the surface of our physical existence and hide our understanding like a treasure in a safe, then no matter how we protect our bodies, their true potential will not be realized.

2. The physical body may even be the vehicle for carrying out divine purposes.

Without farmers sweating in the fields, from planting seeds to harvesting, we would not be able to survive, even if gold covered every part of our bodies. Today's modern society is situated in such a prosperous environment because laborers risk their lives every day to construct our buildings, no matter whether it is hot and humid or cold and windy. Cultivation of the mind requires that we learn from the spirit of the farmers. To contribute to all living beings, we must have the spirit of the laborers. Devoting our bodies to our society is the way to make our lives worthwhile and useful.

Although the body is by nature unclean, it is also the ultimate vehicle for carrying out divine purposes. The karma which leads us up to heaven or down to hell is entirely created by our bodies. One also needs this bodily vehicle to carry out the ten karmically meritorious acts. Only by using our body can we cultivate the four noble truths which explicitly illustrate the nature and philosophy of this world and enable us to let go of the fear of death. It is also with this body that we can achieve the six highest perfections and then walk on the Path of the Bodhisattvas. Therefore, we may initiate our great wisdom and cross over from this shore of the life cycle of birth, aging, illness and death to the other shore of nirvana (an entirely different level of existence, which is oneness with the absolute). What we mentioned above are all ways to cultivate ourselves, ways which are only possible because we have these physical bodies Clearly, we want to be sure that we make good use of our bodies. Those who take advantage of their physical vehicles will attain salvation, while those who misuse their vehicles will fall to their lowly fate.

Life is constantly changing, and we should always keep this perspective in mind. Buddha teaches us to redirect our mental effort inwardly, rather than outwardly, to observe the uncleanness of our body and mind. Whenever we selfishly desire more material things for ourselves, we must immediately warn ourselves: recognize the unclean nature of the body and let go! Don't overprotect it. In fact, why not exchange the concept of our body as made of gold bricks for that of our body made of clay bricks? Gold bricks make us worried and overprotective, whereas we do not have to be too concerned about anyone stealing the clay bricks we collect for construction, no matter how large the pile. Wouldn't it be nice if by thinking this way we could be carefree and make the best use of our physical resources? This is why we are alive - to make the best use of our time and fulfill the worthwhile functions of our physical vehicles.

3. We may not recognize the great treasure of wisdom with which our ordinary bodies are endowed.

The Buddha used to tell his disciples: "Everyone has a bountiful treasure of wisdom, but many of us do nothing with this precious wisdom. Instead, we waste our time by constantly seeking the satisfaction of the five desires (wealth, sex, fame, food and sleep). Life in this world is only a few decades in length. Isn't it a pity that most people kill their time and waste their lives in such ways?"

Buddha saw through to the truth of the universe and enlightened people with his teachings. When he first started lecturing on Buddhism, he taught people the methods which were later documented in the Avatamsaka Sutra. But due to the public's delusion and ignorance, Buddha had to develop four additional levels of teaching to reach his audiences. He initiated people into Buddhism like a wise guru slowly guiding students to learn steps one, two, three, four and five. But many still could not understand and appreciate the message and had to remain standing indecisively at the same place, wasting time. Our lives are wasted if we do nothing significant for humanity, and yet at this point we still do not know how to take advantage of the treasure in our hands and work for more precious goods that nurture more lives. Such is the story of most living beings.

4. We can cultivate a clean, pure wisdom from this unclean human body.