Chapter Six : Doubts Clarified 2 The Founding Master asked several of his disciples,
“If a person only harbored unwholesome thoughts secretly in his mind or committed transgressions secretly without anyone’s knowledge, why would he be ashamed to face the myriad things in heaven and earth?” Yi Wonhwa replied, “Even if it is something that a person did quietly by himself, the myriad things in heaven and earth know everything, just as one’s whole body is aware of a small bug crawling silently at one spot on the body. Even if this is but one small deed performed by a person in the vastness of heaven and earth, all things will naturally become known to the myriad things in heaven and earth. Thus, they themselves become ashamed to face the myriad things in heaven and earth.” The Founding Master said, “What Wonhwa says is plausible enough, but let me add one more thing. For example, a person who performs unwholesome deeds might think to himself that no one will know what he quietly decided to do in his own mind. However, once he has settled on that decision in his mind, he will soon act on that decision; and, once that decision is acted upon, the world will soon come to know of it. This is why one feels ashamed even if the result of that transgression occurs in secret. Therefore, when you are trying to discover a matter that someone has done in secret, you need only observe the result that becomes manifest. But people try in vain to learn other people’s secrets in advance.” http://www.wonbuddhism.org/
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