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Dharma Master Cheng Yen responds to questions and comments from visitors, volunteers, staff, and disciples.
Goodness cannot be imposed
Question: What is goodness?
Answer: Goodness is wisdom. It comes from having and exercising both discriminating wisdom and impartial wisdom. With wisdom comes goodness and beauty. Goodness cannot be imposed through authority and power. This means that you cannot use the intention of doing something good as an excuse to impose your thinking onto others.
Temper compassion with wisdom
Question: What is the relationship between compassion and goodness?
Answer: If you have compassion but lack wisdom, problems may arise. For instance, kindhearted people are often swindled by others. When this happens, not only is compassion not helpful to achieving the goal of doing good deeds, it has enabled the evil deeds of the swindlers. Therefore, we must exercise compassion with wisdom in order to truly accomplish goodness.
Finding beauty and joy
Question: What is most beautiful? What is most joyful?
Answer: Tranquility is most beautiful, and peace most joyful. Together, this is the most wonderful, delightful, and sublime state in which to practice meditation, cultivate the mind, and refine one’s character.
Excerpts from Still Thoughts: A Collection of Short Teachings and Jing Si Aphorisms Volume 1, Third Edition, by Shih Cheng Yen, published in 2025 by Jing Si Publishing.
