There is a story recounted in the Samyukta Agama about two monastics who argue about who is better at chanting. One day the Buddha’s great disciple Mahakasyapa reported to the Buddha, “Lord Buddha, there are two monks who are both unyielding in nature; one is Ananda’s disciple Nantu and the other is Maudgalyayana’s disciple Abifu. The two of them argue with each other from time to time over who is the best at chanting, and tomorrow they are going to decide once and for all who can chant the most sutras and teach the Dharma the best!”

The Buddha sent someone to summon Nantu and Abifu. He then asked them, “Have you heard my teaching on how to determine the winner and the loser when two people are arguing with one another?”

“We have never heard of such a teaching concerning winning or losing.”

“The real winner is someone who puts a stop to the confusion caused by greed, anger, and ignorance; diligently practices the threefold training of morality, meditative concentration, and wisdom; and can destroy the thieves of the six sense organs. One who can truly contemplate how the five aggregates of form, feeling, perceptions, mental formation, and consciousness are as insubstantial as a plantain trunk; and can make the Noble Eightfold Path their guide can realize the bliss and tranquility of great nirvana. You may be able to recite hundreds of thousands of verses from memory, but if you do not understand their meaning, then how does that benefit your liberation?”

The Buddha wants us to cultivate right concentration, part of the Noble Eightfold Path, and stay away from any conflict between ourselves and others. The Diamond Sutra emphasizes how one should not abide in anything. In terms of human commercial enterprises, one must not become attached to a single fixed market. Do not cling to old markets and old industries, but have the courage instead to open up alternative avenues, seek out alternative markets, and set up new creative teams. By implementing strategies like “value reassessment,” “collective creation,” and “systematic leadership,” one can develop brand new enterprises and live a life as vast as endless space.

Source: Hsing Yun, Four Insights for Finding Fulfillment: A Practical Guide to the Buddha’s Diamond Sutra, Los Angeles: Buddha’s Light Publishing, 2012.

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