Chapter Thirteen: On the Order 20

The Founding Master said, “Just as gallant lions and tigers can finally be felled by such a trifling thing as mange if it spreads over their bodies, so too may those who establish the great aspiration to practice hinder their vows and destroy their whole life’s work by the most insignificant of mental states, which work like mange. Thus, practitioners must always be on guard lest they be infected by mental mange. Let me give you a few examples. First, a person takes offense when a master admonishes a public class with many disciples, assuming that the admonition was directed only at him. Second, forgetting his original intention in coming to practice, one seeks in vain the same treatment at the temple that one received in one’s own home. Third, if advice was given to better one’s own road ahead, instead of being guided by it regardless of the specific situation, one confronts this or that person in self-justification and considers the advice-giver to be his enemy. Fourth, as one’s position and reputation builds, one’s pride accordingly grows. Fifth, one insists that others single him out for special treatment within the congregation and is concerned only with one’s own well-being. Sixth, though not taking proper care of one’s own mind and words, one resents one’s mentor and colleagues for not being sympathetic to oneself. Seventh, the more consideration others display toward him, the more one feels dissatisfied and forms new habits that one did not have previously. All of these conditions may not be great evils, but they readily become mange that interferes with practitioners’ dedication to progress. You must be extremely cautious about these.”