Parabola Magazine

TO TRULY LIVE THE TEACHINGS

Interview by Diane Wolkstein

From the mountains of China, Master Minghai speaks with Parabola about living a good life, the path toward awakening, and the future of civilization.

Diane Wolkstein: Thank you for taking your time to speak to us. We have been traveling in China for a month now, drinking tea and speaking about the dharma with several different abbots.

It is good fortune that you are here and able to speak with us. A storyteller friend of mine, Rafe Martin, told me that the highlight of his trip to China was hearing you give a dharma talk, so I have been eager to meet you.

Master Minghai: Oh yes, I remember him. He was here last year and told a Buddhist story to our group. A good one.

DW: I would tell you a story as well but I know your time is limited so let me begin with some questions. You had a promising career as a philosopher at Peking University. What made you give up your studies to become a monk?

MM: In the first two years at Peking University, I majored in Western philosophy. Then I became interested in Eastern philosophy-Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism. What drew me to Buddhism was reading the biographies of the Buddhist monks. Do you know Hong Yi, the painter? Before I read his biography, I had imagined Buddhism as being a rigid code of behavior. Hong Yi studied art and music. In fact, once Hong Yi became a monk, his life transformed and he became as free as his art. His life became a work of art. Bai Zhang's poem describes the life of a monk:

Good fortune to be a monk.
The universe gains a free being.
Staying when the conditions are right,
going when the conditions are not;
free as white clouds blown in the breeze.
Hong Yi's life, natural, spontaneous, inspired me to also find the deep point in myself where I can transform myself. If I can hold on to the wholeness at the depth of my being, I can help others.

While I was at the university, I had many young friends, and on the weekends we visited different temples and listened to many masters speak. I was drawn to Jing Hui, who became my master. Jing Hui was a disciple of Empty Cloud. He is a scholar and answered my many questions. In addition, in his presence there is a deep air of quiet and serenity.

DW: What does it mean to live a good life?

MM: For me it is the satisfaction of knowing that I'm walking on the path toward the full enlightenment of my life. Even if there are difficult moments-there is always suffering in life-I still know that I am on the path....