Blessing Nine:
Artfulness in Usage
Artfulness in Usage
E. ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
E.1 Metaphor: Vinaya to knowledge is as a scabbard to a sword
Even if you have theoretical knowledge and experience, you need to have an extra virtue to protect you from using that knowledge in the wrong way — that virtue is self-discipline. Without self-discipline, you will apply your knowledge to do immoral things. The people of old had sayings that:
“If a sharp sword lacks a scabbard, it can harm even the owner. If a hand-grenade lacks a firing pin it can kill even the owner. A person of knowledge and experience can come to an unfortunate end, if he lacks self-discipline”
E.2 Metaphor: Value of clay is in the value of the mold
The people of old remarked that a humble lump of clay in the middle of a field is a strange thing. Unshaped, in the middle of that field it is without worth. However, if you put it into moulds of various sorts, it acquires worth depending on the nature of the mould. If you put the clay in the mould for a plate or a cup, when it comes out of the mould, it has acquired some value — it is something you can use on the table. If you put it into the mould for a doll, then the resulting doll is of value and can be used to decorate the house. If you put the clay into the mould for a Buddha image, the clay is suddenly transformed into something superior to household use, but something to be the object of respect for all who see it. Thus you can see that the better the mould you subject the clay to, the more value it acquires. When we come to talk about people instead of clay, we find that in the same way, the thing that gives people their value is the self-discipline they abide by. The greater the degree of self-discipline, the more they are worth.
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