“Too old to learn; just be good.”

One day at a Buddhist center, while helping a monk carry some supplies to another building, he asked my age. Such a question in Chinese culture is not at all rude, even if we had just met. Knowing another person’s age helps determine how to treat the person. Those who are younger treat those who are older with the proper respect.

In response to his query, I replied, “Forty-eight.”

He considered my answer for a moment, and responded earnestly, “Too old to learn. Just be good.”

Over the years, people have reacted differently to this “too old to learn” comment. I didn’t question or get upset over the first part. Perhaps it was the way he said it. Perhaps it was my growing familiarity with this question.

Somehow, I just zoomed in on that last bit. Such a simple instruction: Just be good. That’s all we have to do. We don’t need to complicate our practice. Don’t need to study a vast array of sutras and commentaries.

Just learn one sutra.

Just chant one Buddha’s name.

Just be good.

First comes patience. Ultimately . . .

“If many beings have been born in the Pure Land

and they have vowed to help us,

where are they?”

They could be here already! They just don’t walk up and say “Hi, I’m from the Pure Land, and I’m here to help you.” We wouldn’t believe them!

Remember the story of a man who drowned and went to heaven? This man asked God why God hadn’t saved him from drowning. God asked if he remembered the farmer who came by in a boat. The farmer offered to rescue him but he declined, saying he was waiting for God.

“That was me,” God said. “But you refused my help because you were waiting for God.”

Like that man, we have preconceived ideas of how awakened beings will help us. So we’re not aware of true help when we see it.

It comes from those who humbly work to build a center. From the cooks who prepare the meals at a retreat so we can chant in the cultivation hall. From the master who spends hours trying to find the right words to help his students understand the teachings.

Our help is here already. We just need to open our hearts and minds to see it.

In the eyes of an awakened being, we are all seen as . . .