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Bai Juyi paid a visit to Chan Master Niaoke Daolin and found him sitting in a tree by magpie’s nest. He said, “Chan Master, what a dangerous place to build a house!” The master replied, “Magistrate, it is you who have built in a dangerous place.” Bai Juyi objected, “How can a high imperial court official be in danger?” The master replied, “The fire is jumping from one log to another, people scheme endlessly to topple their betters.”
Hastily changing the subject, Bai Juyi asked, “What is the essential teaching of Dharma?”
“Do no evil. Do only good.”
“What? Every child knows this!”
“That is true,” said the master, “but tell me how many grown-ups know it!”
“Do no evil. Do only good.” Is not so commonplace as it seems. In practice, it is far from routine. Yet, if we would all abstain from doing evil, wouldn’t that put an end to evil in the human realm? Would not society, then, be filled with joy?