That is the Question!
When we meditate or quieten our mind, we become aware of the futility of unwholesome acts. Unwholesome acts are those acts that harm us as well as others. Unwholesome acts are prompted by self-centered desire, jealousy, anger, hatred and greed. They only harm us, not others. They forestall our spiritual progress.
Therefore, the key is to avoid them and in turn avoid the needless karma. In addition, to cultivate a tranquil “no-big-deal-mind.” A mind that is capable of taking all the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune and say, “No Big Deal.” 🙂
The Buddha had a “no-big-deal-mind.” And a “don’t-know-mind.” He was able to deal with every situation in an unstructured way and respond to it with a “don’t-know-mind.”
In Zen, it is called catching the big fish with a straight hook.
To catch a small fish, you need crooked hook. To catch a big fish, you need a straight hook. Paradoxical? Yes, like all great truths.
A. N. Whitehead once said that a great truth is one, whose opposite is also a great truth.
Here is the story:
There was a fisherman in ancient China who for forty years used a straight needle to fish with. When someone asked him, “Why don’t you use a bent hook, like everyone else?” The fisherman replied, “You can catch ordinary fish with a bent hook, but I will catch a great fish with my straight needle.”
Word of this came to the ear of the Emperor, so he went to see this fool of a fisherman for himself. The Emperor asked the fisherman, “What are you fishing for with your straight needle?”
The fisherman answered, “I am fishing for you, Emperor!”
When the mind-needle is straight, all blessings follow.
That is the practice.
It has nothing to do with fishing.
If you have understood the message, why bother fish?
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