Buddhism:
The
Awakening of Wisdom and Compassion
By Venerable Master
Chin Kung
Edited by Silent
Voices
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It is necessary for
us to a have correct understanding before practicing Buddhism; otherwise,
all the time spent in cultivation will be futile, as the most superior
result will not be attained. Therefore, I would like to briefly explain
the true nature of Buddhism.
Chinese history tells
us that about three thousand years ago, Buddha Shakyamuni, the founder of
Buddhism was born in Northern India. He lived seventy-nine years and
dedicated forty-nine of them to teaching. In 67 AD, one thousand years
after he entered Nirvana, these teachings were formally introduced into
China.
Prior to acquiring a
good knowledge of Buddhism, we need to understand the terms Buddha,
Dharma, Buddhist Dharma and Buddhist teaching, as they are important to
our cultivation. Buddha is a Sanskrit word, meaning “wisdom and
enlightenment”. Why was it transliterated as Buddha and not translated
into wisdom and enlightenment? The meaning of “Buddha” is so profound and
extensive that these two words were insufficient to cover the original
meaning. Therefore, transliteration was used with further explanations.
In essence, Buddha
means wisdom. In application or function, it means enlightenment. There
are three levels of wisdom. First, “General and All Knowledge Wisdom” is
the correct understanding of the noumena, or essence, of the universe. It
is the wisdom of knowing the general aspect of all existences, the wisdom
of Theravada sages. Second, “Differentiation Wisdom” is the wisdom that
can correctly comprehend all the infinite phenomena of the universe, the
wisdom of knowing the discriminative aspect of all existences, the wisdom
of Bodhisattvas. How did these phenomena arise? From where? In what
way? What were their results? Third, “Overall and Perfect Knowledge
Wisdom” is the exhaustive and perfect perception and comprehension of the
truth of life and the universe without the slightest doubt or error, the
wisdom of Buddhas. Buddha Shakyamuni, possessing all three of these kinds
of wisdom, completely understood the true reality of life and universe.
The function of
wisdom is enlightenment. There are three classifications of
enlightenment. First is "self-enlightenment", a state in which one
possesses no erroneous thoughts, views, speech or behavior. Arhats and
Pratyekabuddhas in Theravada Buddhism have attained this level of
self-enlightenment, but have not yet generated the Bodhi mind to help
others achieve enlightenment. Second, is "enlightenment of self and
others", a state in which one helps others to reach enlightenment after
achieving his or her own. Bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism have attained
this level. Third is "Perfect Complete Enlightenment", a state in which
one reaches perfection in both enlightenment for self as well as helping
others to reach enlightenment. This is the state of Buddhas.
The Buddha told us
that this perfect wisdom and virtue are innate to all beings. The sutras,
recorded teachings of the Buddha, tell us that “all sentient beings can
attain Buddhahood.” and “every being possesses the wisdom and virtuous
character of the Buddha”. In other words, all beings are equal to Buddhas
in nature. However, due to our discriminatory and wandering thoughts and
attachments, which are the root cause of all sufferings and disasters, we
have temporarily lost our original Buddha nature. Thus, we continue being
born into the endless cycle of birth and death.
The more we rid
ourselves of these wandering thoughts and attachments, the more we will
experience freedom from suffering, and the more wisdom and enlightenment
we will uncover. Once we completely free ourselves from discriminatory
and wandering thoughts and attachments, our fixations to certain ideas or
objects, we will regain our lost Buddhahood; our original perfect
enlightened state, our self-nature Buddha.
Possessing great
wisdom and enlightenment enables us to truly know all that exists and all
that is infinite. This includes matters and objects as tiny as a speck of
dust or the finest hair on the human body, to those as great as the
infinite universe. All of these are the objects of our perception, or
wisdom and enlightenment.
The Buddha used the
word Dharma to symbolize all these infinite phenomena. Buddhist Dharma or
Principle, is the infinite wisdom and enlightenment, the perception of all
things and laws in life and the universe. Chinese people often say that
Buddhist Dharma is as infinite as the object perceived is infinite and the
wisdom perceivable is infinite. This wisdom is innate to our self-nature.
The Buddha said, “Our
innate perception and the objects in the universe perceived are ONE not
TWO.” When we think about it logically, if the Buddha’s words are
complete and perfect, then we can believe that this wisdom and
enlightenment are ultimate and perfect. However, if perceived and
perceivable are opposites, then wisdom can hardly be complete and perfect,
but rather it is limited.
The Buddha told us
that knowable and known, perceivable and perceived are ONE not TWO. This
is called the One True Dharma Realm, the most genuine, perfect and highest
realm as explained to us in the Flower Adornment Sutra. The
Western Pure Land of the Pure Land School also belongs to and is not
separate from the One True Dharma Realm. This Western Pure Land, was
created by Buddha Amitabha as an ideal place of cultivation as those who
are born there are no longer subject to reincarnation within the six
realms.
In 1923, a well-known
Buddhist scholar, Mr. Jing-Wu Ou-Yang gave a speech at Nanjing Normal
University in China, entitled “Buddhism is Neither a Religion Nor a
Philosophy, but the Essential for Our Modern Time.” It caused
considerable sensation. His well-documented speech gave much conclusive
support to the proper definition and viewpoint of Buddhism.
This question arises in all those who wish to better understand it.
Buddhism is a most virtuous and perfect education directed by the Buddha
towards all sentient beings in the universe. This education covers a
boundless range of phenomena and principles that is much broader than what
is currently studied in modern universities. In regards to time, it
encompasses the past, present and future. In regards to space, it
encompasses everything from our daily lives to the infinite universe.
Buddhism is an education of the wisdom and understanding of life and the
universe. It is not a religion. The teachings of Confucius concerns one
lifetime. The teachings of the Buddha cover infinite lifetimes.
How can we tell that
Buddhism is an education? Today, the terms teacher and student are only
used in school. We call Buddha Shakyamuni, our Original Teacher and call
ourselves students, as did our predecessors in ancient China. This is
unlike religions in which the god and his or her disciples do not have a
teacher-student relationship, but rather a parent-child relationship. In
Buddhism, however, it is clearly stated that the Buddha is the teacher and
we are the students. Bodhisattvas and we are classmates; they were the
Buddha’s former students while we are his current ones.
Furthermore, a monk
or nun is called He-shang, which is the transliteration of the Sanskrit
word meaning a direct mentor who provides teachings and acts as our
personal guide. We share a close teacher-student relationship with this
individual. Temples, or Way Places, have only one He-shang. Teachers who
teach on behalf of the He-shang are called Asheli. Their speech and
behavior can be models for us to follow. Others who do not directly teach
would be called Dharma masters or Fashi. They are like teachers whose
lectures we do not attend or those who do not directly teach us. All
these terms are characteristics of education and are not found in
religion.
For further examples
of how Buddhism is an education, we can examine Chinese way places where
the activities are held. The way place is an educational institution
combining Buddhist teaching and art, similar to the combination of a
modern school and a museum. Nowadays, people pursue the arts in
everything. Buddhism, however, practiced artistic teaching as early as
three thousand years ago.
The staff
organization of the way place further illustrates the similarity to modern
schools. The He-shang is equivalent to the principal of the school,
deciding policies, making plans for courses of study and employing the
teachers. Reporting to the He-shang are three associates or program
executives, who are in charge of everything directly related to teaching,
advising and disciplining, and general services. In China, a traditional
way place was regarded as a Buddhist University. From this administrative
structure, we can further see that Buddhism truly is an education.
Currently, there are
at least five forms of Buddhism. The first form is the traditional
Buddhism I have just discussed. It is the education of the Buddha’s
teachings. This original form is rarely seen today. The other four forms
are deviations of this one.
The second form is
religious Buddhism. Although originally not a religion, it has become one
in the past few hundred years. Today, it is difficult to deny this.
Why? The external form of Buddhism today is indeed that of a religion.
It is no longer the education found in a traditional way place where
cultivators had up to sixteen hours a day for both lessons and
cultivation. The lessons included listening to lectures and discussions.
The cultivation session included either Buddha name chanting or sitting
meditation. Study and cultivation were used hand in hand to strive for
the right and proper understanding and practice, to purify practitioner's
minds and to eventually attain the state of enlightenment.
Since the monks and
nuns spent sixteen hours a day on study and cultivation, there was little
time for discriminatory or wandering thoughts, and so achievement could be
attained relatively quickly. Unfortunately, this traditional form of
Buddhism is seldom seen nowadays in way places for many of them have
become a place to make offerings, to pray for blessings and to conduct
memorial services. It is little wonder that people regard Buddhism as a
religion.
The third form is
philosophical or academic Buddhism often found as a course in college.
This is inappropriate. Why? Buddhist education is a complete university
in itself, including all branches of learning. But now it is reduced to
merely a philosophical discipline. Regarding it as such, we miss the
importance of the fact that the teachings are a necessity for all sentient
beings. Why? Because these teachings can resolve all problems ranging
from those in our current lives to those in the future, including even
those of birth and death. Buddhism's scope is broad and profound and
regarding it as merely an academic field of study is frankly, another
deviation. These two forms cause no serious harm to society. Religions
try to encourage people to be good. Philosophy strives to pursue truth
and to gain knowledge.
The fourth and most
recent deviation is Buddhism as a show. It consists of a few hours of
music, singing and dancing with a short talk in between. However, the
fifth form is a deviation that has gone too far, that of the distortion of
Buddhism into a cult. This deviated form has appeared in the last thirty
to forty years. The exploitation of Buddhism by evil cults has gone too
far. In the name of Buddhism, they take advantage of the weaknesses of
human nature, creating chaos by cheating and misleading people,
endangering the safety of the public. Some of their propaganda and deeds
can sound extremely enticing and appealing. However, if we join their
activities, which doom us to ruin, by the time we realize our mistake, the
damage will have already been done. It will then be too late to regret.
Therefore, we need to choose wisely which form to practice in order to
receive the true benefits.
What is the ultimate
goal of the Buddha’s teachings? It is to attain the Perfect, Complete
Enlightenment. Transliterated from Sanskrit, it is called
Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Out of respect, this phrase was maintained in
its original form rather than translated. There are three stages within
this enlightenment; “Proper Enlightenment”, "Equal and Proper
Enlightenment” and “Perfect, Complete Enlightenment”.
The Buddha told us,
that although scientists, philosophers and religious scholars may have
reached a good understanding about life and the universe, this realization
is neither complete nor proper. Why? Although they have obtained some
understanding, they are far from having freedom from anxiety, from ending
their afflictions. They indulge themselves in the Five Poisons of greed,
anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. They remain mired in all the
troubles of human relationships and are swayed by personal feelings. In
other words, they are human.
If a person has
severed greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, doubt and afflictions, the
Buddha will acknowledge this person as having attained the first level,
that of Proper Enlightenment. He or she will be called an Arhat, the
initial academic degree in Buddhism. Arhats differ from Buddhas in the
way that they use their mind. They use it in the same manner we do. The
difference is that we still have afflictions while Arhats do not.
The next higher level
of enlightenment is that of Equal and Proper Enlightenment, represented by
Bodhisattvas. They resemble Buddhas in motivation but have not yet
reached the same level of enlightenment. The minds of Bodhisattvas are
genuine; they remain forever unchanged and are similar to those of Buddhas.
Buddhas use the full and perfect true heart. Buddhas represent the
highest level of enlightenment, which is the Perfect Complete
Enlightenment.
In Buddhist classic
literature, the perfect, true mind of a Buddha was symbolized by a full
moon. The mind of a Bodhisattva was symbolized by a crescent moon, which
was neither full nor perfect. And the mind of an arhat was symbolized by
moonlight reflected from the surface of water, it is not real.
These three levels of
enlightenment can be compared to our college educational system. The
level or degree of Arhat is similar to earning an undergraduate degree.
The level of Bodhisattva is similar to earning a Master’s degree and the
level of Buddha is similar to earning a Doctorate’s degree. The word
Buddha is not exclusive to Buddha Shakyamuni, but is a common title for
any being who has attained the perfect complete enlightenment. Thus,
Buddha, Bodhisattva and Arhat are only names or titles to represent the
levels of enlightenment or a degree we receive in Buddhism. And they are
most certainly not deities to be worshiped.
So, a Buddha is one
who has fully comprehended the truth of life and the universe and acquired
the ultimate and perfect wisdom. This is also the goal of Buddhist
education; to enable beings to attain this same level of wisdom.
Therefore, Buddhism is an education of wisdom.
The principle of
Buddhism is to break through all superstitions and delusions. It is to
resolve delusion to attain happiness and enlightenment, to eliminate
suffering to gain serenity and purity of mind. What is delusion? When we
do not thoroughly and properly understand the phenomenon around us, we
tend to be deluded and to have wrong ideas, which lead us to make
mistakes. Then we suffer ill consequences as a result. However, if we
have correct understanding about life and the universe, we will be free
from mistakes in thought, judgement and behavior. Then our result, or
effect, will be favorable. Thus, resolving delusion to attain
enlightenment is the cause and eliminating suffering to attain happiness
and purity is the effect.
Only through
resolving superstition and delusion, can enlightenment be attained. This
is the objective of the Buddha’s teaching. This wisdom will enable all
beings to differentiate true from false, proper from improper, right from
wrong and good from bad. It can help us to establish a dynamic and caring
attitude toward life and our surroundings. So, we can clearly see that
Buddhism is neither passive nor obsolete, nor is it retreating from
society. As said in the Buddha Speaks of the Infinite Life Sutra of
Adornment, Purity, Equality and Enlightenment of the
Mahayana School
or the Infinite Life Sutra, Buddhism can perfectly solve all
afflictions and problems. It enables us to obtain true and ultimate
benefits by creating fulfilling lives, happy families, harmonious
societies, prosperous nations and a peaceful world. These are the
objectives of the Buddha’s teachings for our world now. The ultimate
objectives of abandoning all worries thus transcending the six realms are
even more incredibly wonderful. Therefore, we can see that it is an
education that will enable us to attain truth, virtue, beauty, wisdom and
genuine eternal happiness.
After understanding
the goals and principles of the Buddha’s teachings, we need to deepen our
understanding of the Dharma. What is the Dharma? It is the true reality
of life and the universe, all the teachings of the Buddhas, which are
included in sutras. These ancient textbooks documented all of the
Buddha’s teachings and were recorded by his students. The most basic one
of Mahayana Buddhism is the Original Vow of Earth Treasure Bodhisattva
Sutra. It can be regarded as a textbook for first grade students,
within which, the truth was clearly explained, not with spoken language
but with emissions of light. The sutra, as told by Buddha Shakyamuni,
begins with his emitting infinite bright lights called:
1.
Great
Perfection Brightness Cloud,
2.
Great
Compassion Brightness Cloud,
3.
Great
Wisdom Brightness Cloud,
4.
Great
Prajna Brightness Cloud,
5.
Great
Samadhi Brightness Cloud,
6.
Great
Auspicious Brightness Cloud,
7.
Great Good
Fortune Brightness Cloud,
8.
Great Merit
Brightness Cloud
9.
Great
Refuge Brightness Cloud,
10.
Great
Praise Brightness Cloud.
Although ten kinds
are given, it does not mean that there are only ten. The number ten is
regarded as a symbol of perfection, a complete cycle symbolizing
infinity.
What is called
perfection in the Earth Treasure Sutra is called infinity in the
Infinite Life Sutra. Not only can life be infinite, everything can be
infinite! However, of all the infinities, that of life is the most
important. We may have boundless wealth and immeasurable good fortune,
but how can we enjoy them if we do not have sufficient lifespans?
Therefore, the Pure Land School uses “infinite life” to symbolize all
infinities. In the Earth Treasure Sutra, the ten Brightness Clouds
represent this concept. “One is all, and all is one” clearly explains the
infinite cosmos and life.
Upon what did the
Buddha base his teachings of life and the universe? First is the Great
Perfection Brightness Cloud. The great perfection of Esoteric Buddhism is
the true self-nature in Chinese Buddhism. The true self-nature is great
perfection. The following nine clouds of compassion, wisdom, etc. are
perfect, everything is perfect. This great perfection is our own innate,
true self-nature. It was from this initial point that the Buddha imparted
the infinite teachings to us, thus revealing the true nature of all
phenomena in the universe. Everything that the Buddha taught is innate to
us. It is the original true self-nature within each of us. The purpose
of his forty-nine years of teaching was to help us to learn how to live
happy and fulfilling lives. This unique and complete education is for all
sentient beings and is much more vast and extensive than our modern
educational system.
People work hard
everyday. What drives them to get up early in the morning and work long
hours before coming home? It is the pursuit of prestige and wealth,
especially wealth. Would people continue to work if they could not
receive money or some degree of prestige after having worked for a whole
day? It is most unlikely. Most would become listless and unwilling to
work. Therefore, for most people, the driving force in our society is
wealth, followed by prestige.
Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas desire neither wealth nor fame yet they work harder than we
do. What is the driving force behind this conscientious teaching while
expecting nothing in return? It is the second Brightness Cloud, the Great
Compassion Brightness Cloud. It is like a mother’s love for her children,
especially her newborn baby, but it is more profound in depth. A mother
does so out of natural love and compassion, asking for nothing in return.
This love is called a heart of compassion. The compassion of the Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas towards all sentient beings is boundless, unconditional
and universal. It is the eternal driving force that compels them to help
all sentient beings. Therefore, the Great Compassion Brightness Cloud
follows the Great Perfection Brightness Cloud.
In order to teach
others, we practice cultivation as well as encouraging others to do
likewise. We do so to sincerely introduce Buddhism to other people. What
is our driving force? Compassion. But if we do so for wealth or fame,
then it is purely business and this is totally wrong for it totally
violates the very spirit of Buddhism.
In fact, the
circulation of the teachings, including sutras and reference works should
be unconditional. Copyrighted materials do not accord with the true
spirit of Buddhism. Every time I am presented with a Buddhist book, I
first check for the copyright page. If it says “This book is protected by
copyright; any unauthorized printing of this book shall lead to
punishment”, I will not read the book. If asked why I do not want to read
it, my answer is that any true and good knowledge should benefit others
unconditionally and that reprinting should be allowed. It would be a
waste of time and energy to read copyrighted books. Only the writings of
those who are broadminded and kind-hearted and who sincerely practice what
they teach deserve to be read and studied. How can we expect a
narrow-minded, profit-seeking person to write good things and conclude
them with the great perfection?
Compassion is built
on rationale and is free of emotions. To be otherwise, it is delusion and
therefore is wrong. There are two Buddhist sayings, “Compassion is the
essence; accommodating means are the way to guide people with different
capacities”. The other seemingly says the complete opposite, “Unwise
compassion often incurs misfortunes and accommodating means often leads to
immorality”. The reason behind this apparent contradiction is that if we
ignore rationality and instead yield to emotion, compassion then often
results in misfortune while doing favors for someone gives rise to
immorality. Hence, this is followed by the Great Wisdom Brightness Cloud,
the third of the ten great perfections. Perfect wisdom gives rise to
perfect compassion. Wisdom is the method of convenience. Only by wisely
utilizing various methods of wisdom and compassion, can we help sentient
beings be enlightened and freed from sufferings.
The next brightness
cloud is the Great Prajna (Intuitive Wisdom) Brightness Cloud. What is
the difference between intuitive wisdom and wisdom? The Great Wisdom
Sutra states, “Prajna innocence, knowing everything”. It is intuitive
wisdom without knowing and yet knowing everything. Without knowing is
intuitive wisdom; knowing everything is wisdom. In other words, one is
essence and the other is function. From a different perspective, wisdom
is the knowledge of things and the realization of truth. Intuitive
wisdom, our original wisdom, is that which can free people from worries
and afflictions. Acquired wisdom is that which can interpret all
phenomena in the universe. It arises from the original wisdom. If we
cannot completely attain the great perfection of the universe, how can we
teach about it to others?
When worries are
completely eradicated and ignorance dispelled, we can attain our own great
perfection and restore our original ability. From that point on, we are
in a state of total awareness and capable of doing everything, we are
omniscient and omnipotent. The brightness clouds of wisdom and intuitive
wisdom contain profound meanings and are the perfect complete wisdom.
How do we attain
wisdom? It is innate to our self-nature, but it is now covered. Where is
it? The Buddha told us that it is not permanently lost just
temporarily lost. When we reach enlightenment, we can uncover this
wisdom. Then how can we free ourselves from delusion and recover our
original ability? One method taught by Buddha Shakyamuni is deep
concentration, which is also called the Great Samadhi Brightness Cloud.
Samadhi is another transliteration from Sanskrit meaning the proper
enjoyment, which has the same meaning as deep concentration.
Buddhism emphasizes
cultivation or correcting our thoughts and behavior. It is to correct
everything that arises from our body, mouth and mind, the three karmas of
erroneous behavior, speech and thoughts. To correct the three karmas, we
start from the mind as the Zen School teaches, “cultivation should start
from the root”. What is the root? The mind. If our mind is proper then
our thoughts, speech and behavior will likewise be proper.
In Buddhism, there
are innumerable methods of practice. All of these methods are ways for
concentration in cultivation. Not only the Zen School emphasizes
concentration in cultivation. All the schools do, although they may not
all use the term meditation.
Pure Land Buddhism
calls it One Mind Undisturbed or purity of mind. Esoteric Buddhism
explains it as Three Mystic Practices, the three karmas of body, speech
and mind corresponding to those of the Buddha. Used here corresponding
means concentration. We can see that various schools emphasize the same
principles. They simply use different terms to describe it. Therefore,
since all lead to the same goal, all methods are equal and no one method
is better than another.
We can choose
whichever method best fits our manner of living and level of achievement
and understanding. The most important point is to concentrate on just one
method. The more methods we try to follow, the more confused we will
become. The more confused we are, the more difficult it is to succeed.
This is very important, as samadhi or deep concentration, is the key to
success in our learning and cultivation. We explain these as the Three
Learnings of precepts or self-discipline, deep concentration and wisdom.
Self-discipline leads to deep concentration. From deep concentration
arises wisdom. Therefore, intuitive wisdom arises from deep
concentration. This deep concentration in our self-nature is called the
Great Samadhi Brightness Cloud.
Of the ten brightness
clouds, the first five explain fundamental principles and the latter five
explain the methods. The fundamental principles are the basis of Buddha
Shakyamuni’s teachings. The following are the five methods.
First is the Great
Auspicious Brightness Cloud. What does auspicious mean? For most of us,
auspicious means to get what we deserve. If we obtain what we do not
deserve, then it is not auspicious. The meaning of auspicious in Buddhism
is much more profound: throughout the universal existence, nothing is
beyond our knowledge and experience. This is great auspiciousness. For
example, when we are mindful of Buddha Amitabha and vow to be born into
the Western Pure Land, we will attain birth into the Western Pure Land.
If we vow to be born into the Flower Adornment World, we will attain the
stage of awakening of Buddha Vairocana. This is the original meaning of
auspicious.
In our world, Buddha
Shakyamuni taught different methods for different levels of understanding
and this is the utmost auspiciousness. First, the Buddha’s teachings
never contradict the true reality of life and the universe. Second, the
Buddha always adapted his teachings to fit the audience’s level of
comprehension. His teachings would be a failure if they proved to be
incomprehensible for the listeners or if they were too simple and boring.
Neither of these would be auspicious. Therefore, the appropriate teaching
is most auspicious. The Buddha conveys all he wishes to: we hear all that
we can understand and absorb. This is the utmost, the greatest and
perfect auspiciousness.
Nowadays, people
pursue wealth, knowledge, health and long life. This is called good
fortune. If the Buddha asks us to learn and practice Buddhism but we do
not receive what he said we would, then we will reject the teachings.
Why? If we cannot get what we wish for now, how can we believe we will
receive what is promised to us for the next life? It is all too distant
and uncertain. When will we get to enjoy the promised great reward?
However, if we can receive benefits now, we will be much more likely to
believe in the promise of even greater rewards in the future. By truly
practicing Buddhism, we will attain all that we wish for.
This is similar to a
tree blossoming and bearing fruits. Only when we see the beautiful
blossoms, will we believe there will be good fruits. If the flower does
not bloom, how can we believe there will be fruit? Therefore, we have the
Great Good Fortune Brightness Cloud following the Great Auspicious
Brightness Cloud. We must cultivate the cause before we can attain the
effect.
The next guiding
principle is represented by the Great Merit Brightness Cloud. All Buddhas
spent a long period of time, one hundred eons, cultivating good fortune
after attaining Buddhahood. Why? A Buddha cannot help sentient beings if
he himself does not have good fortune. People will not believe in a
teacher who talks of good fortune but obviously lacks it. However, when
the teacher has good fortune and explains that it comes from cultivation,
then people will listen and follow his or her teachings. Therefore, only
if the teacher has good fortune and virtue in addition to wisdom can he or
she help sentient beings. Thus, the Buddha taught us to cultivate both
good fortune and wisdom. However, good fortune is different from merit in
that merit helps us to transcend the cycle of birth and death. We
accumulate merit by practicing the Three Learnings of precepts or
self-discipline, deep concentration and wisdom.
In our practice, we
need to rely on the next principle of The Great Refuge Brightness Cloud.
This is not what is usually thought of as taking refuge in the Triple
Jewels of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. Rather, it is to return
to and rely upon the Triple Jewels, the great perfection of our
self-nature.
The Great Praise
Brightness Cloud symbolizes educating others about Buddhism, praising the
perfect and infinite merits and virtue of the self-nature. What does
Buddhism teach us? To attain our perfect self-nature. Zen Buddhism often
says that we should search for the original state of our perfect
self-nature.
In summary, Buddha
Shakyamuni emitted light at the beginning of the Earth Treasure Sutra.
This light has many more infinite, boundless meanings than the ten
brightness clouds discussed. The first five brightness clouds are the
Great Perfection of self-nature and the last five are the function of the
self-nature. These ten comprise the basis of the Buddha’s teachings and
are to be found in many sutras, often represented by emissions of light.
Many people read of the brightness clouds without any real understanding
of the profound meanings within. Not only this sutra, but also all sutras
start and flow from the Great Perfection.
The sequence of
practice in Mahayana Buddhism is represented in China by the four Great
Bodhisattvas: Earth Treasure of Jiuhua Mountain; Great Compassion of Putuo
Mountain; Great Wisdom of Wutai Mountain; and Universal Worthy of Emei
Mountain.
Earth Treasure means
stored treasure of the great mother earth, which represents our mind.
Without the earth, nothing could survive. So, the Buddha used the earth
as a metaphor for our mind, which is the Great Perfection. It encompasses
infinite compassion, wisdom, intuitive wisdom, auspiciousness, good
fortune, merit and virtue. Therefore, all that the Buddha told us in the
sutras is infinite, is the Great Perfection. Understanding this will
enable us to find the boundless meanings within.
The Earth Treasure
Sutra explains that we begin our learning and practice by being filial
to our parents and respectful to our teachers and elders. Buddhism is an
education of honoring teachers and revering their teachings, which is
based on the foundation of filial piety. How can we expect a person who
is not filial to his or her parents to respect his or her teachers? A
teacher, regardless of learning and capabilities, cannot impart knowledge
to a student who does not respect or listen.
Therefore, only when
we honor teachers and revere their teachings can we truly succeed in our
learning of Buddhism. The Original Vow of Earth Treasure Bodhisattva
Sutra is the sutra of the filial piety, which is the very heart of the
Great Perfection. All other perfections arise from it. From here, we
extend this loving and caring for parents to respecting teachers and
elders.
We keep expanding
from here until we respect and care for all sentient beings without
discrimination or attachment. This is the enhancement and extension of
Earth Treasure Bodhisattva and is the teaching of Great Compassion
Bodhisattva. Therefore, without filial piety, there would be no great
compassion. This is similar to building a house. The second floor must
be built upon the first floor. In being filial to parents and showing
compassion for all other beings, we should not use emotions. Rather we
need to base this compassion on rationale and wisdom. Only in this way
can we attain positive results.
Next is Great Wisdom
Bodhisattva, who symbolizes wisdom and Universal Worthy Bodhisattva who
symbolizes the practice of filial piety, respect, compassion and wisdom in
our daily lives. If we practice these principles when interacting with
others, handling matters and objects, then we ourselves are Universal
Worthy Bodhisattva.
The teachings of
Universal Worthy Bodhisattva are perfect. As the Flower Adornment
Sutra tells us, we cannot attain Buddhahood if we do not follow this
teaching. Why? This Bodhisattva is perfect in every thought, every vow
and every deed. Without true wisdom, the great vow of Universal Worthy
Bodhisattva cannot be fulfilled.
These four great
Bodhisattvas exemplify this understanding and represent the perfection of
Mahayana Buddhism. Therefore, from Earth Treasure Bodhisattva, we learn
filial piety and respect, from Great Compassion Bodhisattva, we learn
great compassion, from Great Wisdom Bodhisattva we learn great wisdom and
from Universal Worthy Bodhisattva we learn the great vows and conduct.
Buddha Shakyamuni
used innumerable methods to correspond with the level of attainment of his
listeners. However, regardless of the particular method, he never
deviated from the Great Perfection. In other words, all his teachings
arose from the self-nature. Consequently, all methods are equal. It is
like the harmony between the leading role and the supporting roles in the
Flower Adornment Sutra. If Buddha Shakyamuni is the leading role,
all the other Buddhas are the supporting roles. When Buddha Amitabha is
the leading role, Buddha Vairocana will be the supporting role. Any
Buddha can take the leading role.
Harmonious
cooperation between the roles is also found among the Bodhisattvas. If we
regard Great Compassion Bodhisattva as the leading role in our learning of
Buddhism, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are in the supporting roles.
If Earth Treasure Bodhisattva takes the leading role, Great Compassion
Bodhisattva or others take the supporting role.
This principle
applies to sutras as well. When we choose the Infinite Life Sutra
as our primary sutra then all the others become secondary. If we take the
Diamond Sutra as the primary then the Infinite Life Sutra
and the Flower Adornment Sutra become the secondary. All
Bodhisattvas and all sutras are equal in nature. Whichever primary method
is chosen it is praised as number one. However, saying that a certain
method is number one does not mean that the others are less important or
effective. If we forget this, then we commit a serious offense. What
offense? Praising oneself and belittling others.
Consider the origin
of the Visualization Sutra. When Queen Vaidehi suffered from
overwhelming family misfortune, she bitterly said to Buddha Shakyamuni,
“Life is filled with suffering. Is there not a place without suffering?
I wish to live in such a world”. Through his extraordinary abilities,
Buddha Shakyamuni displayed for the queen all the worlds of all the
Buddhas in the universe. She vowed to be born into Buddha Amitabha’s
Western Pure Land, the world of Ultimate Bliss and requested that Buddha
Shakyamuni teach her how to accomplish this.
He taught her to
practice the Three Conditions explaining that they were the fundamental
causes of attaining Buddhahood for the Buddhas of the past, present and
future. Therefore, they are a crucial part and foundation of our
practice. The Three Conditions are the basis of Buddhism and crucial in
our attainment of Buddhahood.
To be a virtuous
person, it is necessary to first follow the Three Conditions. In sutras,
we often see the phrase “good men and good women”. What are the
requirements for being good? Meeting each of the eleven principles
contained in the three Conditions. Thus, we will see that the
requirements are stringent. Good men and good women in the heaven and
human realms need only meet the First Condition. Theravada practitioners
are required to fulfill the First and Second Conditions. But for Mahayana
practitioners, good men and good women must meet all three. As we see in
Mahayana sutras such as the Earth Treasure Sutra and the
Infinite Life Sutra, it is to live our lives in accordance with the
eleven principles.
Failure to satisfy
any one of the principles would prohibit a person from being considered
good. Regardless of what the Buddha taught, the methods of learning and
cultivation or the true reality of life and the universe, all accord with
the Great Perfection. The eleven principles of the Three Conditions are
likewise perfect in every word.
The First Condition
includes:
1)
Being
filial to our parents,
2)
Being
respectful to our teachers and elders,
3)
Being
compassionate and not killing any living beings and
4)
Following
the Ten Good Conducts.
Consider the first
and second principles of being filial to our parents and respectful to our
teachers and elders. The Chinese character for filial piety, “Xiao”, is
comprised of two parts. The top part “old” means the previous generations
and the bottom part “children” means the future generations. This
demonstrates that the previous generations and the future generations are
actually one entity. They are ONE rather than TWO. In our modern world,
the existence of the generation gap has resulted in parents and children
being TWO instead of ONE. This gap contradicts the principle of filial
piety, which has no generation gap.
The past had its own
past; the future will have its own future. The past had no beginning and
the future will have no end. They are one. Filial Piety reaches beyond
time and extends throughout the universe. In other words, it encompasses
the entire universe. Who can practice the principle of filial piety to
perfection? Only a Buddha can do so. Without having attained Buddhahood,
we cannot achieve the Great Perfection in practicing filial piety.
Filial piety has
profound meanings in Buddhism. It means to take care of parents
physically, mentally and to fulfill their wishes. To further extend and
enhance our respect and care for our parents, we have compassion for all
beings in this world. As stated in a precept sutra, “All men are my
father; all women are my mother”. This is the broadening of our mind of
filial piety so that it encompasses all beings in the universe, in the
past, present and future.
Mahayana teachings
are based on the principle of filial piety for without it there would be
no principle of respecting teachers. It is illogical that we would not be
filial to our parents, yet respectful to our teachers. We could have
ulterior intentions, for example, flattering the teacher to obtain a
better grade. Filial piety and respect go together. At the same time
that we are filial to our parents, we also elevate that filial piety to
being respectful to our teachers. Only when we realize this truth will we
truly appreciate the value of the principle of filial piety. The Earth
Treasure Sutra is the Buddha’s teaching of filial piety for only when
we treat our parents with such respect can we uncover the infinite
treasures within our own self-nature.
Being filial toward
our parents is a virtue of our self-nature. Only virtuous acts can
uncover our self-nature. It is the first and most fundamental principle
of the Three Conditions. The Chinese respect ancestors even though they
are distant from them by hundreds, even thousands of years. They
memorialize them on important festivals. Why? Their ancestors and they
are all one entity. There is no gap between them. Sincerely
memorializing our ancestors corresponds with our self-nature. If we
remember and respect our ancestors, we will certainly be filial to our
parents. When we are filial toward our parents, it naturally follows that
we will respect our teachers.
When we disappoint
our parents by not respecting teachers, not following their instructions
and not studying hard, we violate the principle of filial piety. Also,
siblings would do well to live in harmony. Not getting along with
brothers and sisters will cause parents to worry thus also violating the
principle of filial piety. By getting along with others at work, meeting
responsibilities and abiding by laws, we will not cause our parents to
worry, thus we accord with the principle of filial piety. These are a
true perfection of virtue. Buddha Shakyamuni taught us to begin our
learning from here. He is our original teacher from three thousand years
ago. If we respect a teacher from this far in the past, how would we not
respect our current teachers?
When we pay respect
to an image of the Buddha, we are not worshipping him. We respect the
image as a representation of our Original Teacher and therefore we pay our
debt of gratitude to him. This is why the followers of the Buddha respect
the Buddha’s images as well as memorial plaques of ancestors. This
practice has a far-reaching and widespread educational significance, for
at the sight of them, we remember our obligation of caring for and
respecting our parents, teachers and elders.
The Earth Treasure
Sutra tells us about compassion after explaining the Great
Perfection. Compassion is the third principle of the First Condition.
Compassion is also a virtue of self-nature and crucial to our practice.
When the virtue of filial piety and respect for parents and teachers is
expanded, it becomes compassion. Compassion includes not killing any
living being. This statement has profound meanings. Without a thorough
comprehension of the Earth Treasure Sutra, we cannot understand the
true meaning behind not killing any living being.
Of all bad karmas,
that resulting from killing is most serious. Why? All living beings have
the natural instinct of fearing and evading death. Although killing is
the direct retribution of the victim who killed the present killer in a
previous lifetime, the current victim does not know this. He or she would
not think, “I killed this person so now this person is killing me”. If
only the victim could understand this, there would be no anger at the
retribution. Instead, the present victim will think, ”You are killing me
now. I will kill you next.” This vengeance will be repeated in the
endless cycle of birth and death and the mutual hatred will grow stronger
and stronger.
This is the most
terrible of all the bad offenses and is why we need so urgently to
practice compassion for all beings. There are infinite ways to practice
compassion, but in the Three Conditions, the Buddha particularly stressed
not killing any living being. In other words, killing is an ultimate act
of being unfilial towards our parents and disrespectful towards our
teachers and elders.
The Buddha taught the
basic Five Precepts and the first of these is also the first of the Ten
Good Conducts; do not kill. Continuing to kill is to completely disregard
his teachings and is an ultimate act of disrespect. This disrespect is
tantamount to being unfilial to our parents. Consequently, if we ignore
these instructions and kill, we are neither compassionate nor filial.
The fourth principle
is “Following the Ten Good Conducts” which are criteria for good behavior
and are to be found in many cultures and religions throughout the world.
Buddha Shakyamuni told us that if we practice these good conducts, we
would not fall into the Three Bad Realms. Instead, we would likely to be
born into the heaven realms if we practice these good conducts
diligently. If we achieve the deep concentration along with the Four
Immeasurable Minds of loving-kindness (giving happiness to others),
compassion (taking away bitterness of others), joy (liberating others from
suffering and feeling happy for them) and letting go (of the first three
minds), we will rise to an even higher level of the heavens, the Heaven of
Form and the Heaven of Formless.
The Buddha groups the
Ten Good Conducts into three major categories: physical, verbal and
mental. Physically, we are prohibited from killing, stealing and
committing sexual misconduct. Regardless of their good deeds or their
ability in deep concentration, those who have sexual desires can only rise
as far as the Heaven of Desire. This Heaven has six levels; the higher we
rise, the lighter these desires.
A person who
sincerely cultivates and has thus attained even the lowest level of deep
concentration would be able to suppress sexual desires. At this level the
Five Desires of wealth, lust, fame, food or drink and sleep would not
arise. Although the desires are not completely eradicated, they can be
suppressed by deep concentration. Only the one, who can resist
temptations of desire, can attain this state and thus be born into the
heavens above the First Level Meditation Heaven. Understanding this
explains why attainment throughout this process is so difficult. When we
are attempting to practice, we can first ask ourselves, “Can I resist the
Five Desires of wealth, lust, fame, food or drink and sleep”? If we yield
to temptation, we will not be able to rise to this level of heaven.
The second good
conduct is to not steal. For instance, some people like to evade paying
their income taxes. This is equivalent to stealing money from the country
and the retribution from this is much serious than that from stealing
private property. When we steal one person’s property, we only have a
debt to that one person. But if we steal property of the country, we will
have a hopelessly insurmountable debt because then we will have stolen
from and thus owe every taxpayer. For example, the United States has a
population of well over two hundred million. Two hundred million
creditors! Just imagine the consequences! Therefore, a sincere
practitioner must be a law-abiding person devoted to meeting public
responsibilities. One who does not violate the good deeds of no killing,
stealing or sexual misconduct conducts themselves properly.
There are four verbal
good conducts; no lying, abusive language, bearing tales and seductive
words. First, do not lie. To lie is to cheat deliberately, it is
dishonesty. Second, do not make rude or abusive remarks. Those who have
this bad habit speak with no sense of propriety; their words can be
irritating or very harmful.
Third, do not talk
about others behind their back for this sows discord among people. A
person says to Sam, “Tom has said something bad about you.” And then this
person says to Tom, ”Sam has said something bad about you.” Whether this
person does so deliberately or unintentionally, he is bearing tales and
gossiping. In our society, many people do this unintentionally. At
times, so many people participate in this that the subject becomes
distorted beyond recognition. A well-meant message or remark may become
just the opposite after everyone who passes it adds or omits something.
This can cause serious consequences ranging from discord among individuals
to war among nations.
Fourth, do not use
seductive words. These can sound very sweet and enticing but often
conceal bad intentions. Just look at many of today’s movies, singers and
performers. They sound beautiful and look good but what are they teaching
people to do? To lie, steal, or kill. Fifth, do not commit sexual
misconduct.
Finally, there are
three mental good conducts; no greed, anger or ignorance. Greed includes
being stingy, reluctant to give of our belongings, our knowledge to help
others. This can become the greatest obstacle to overcome in our
practice. The Buddha taught giving as a way to eradicate our greed. Some
practitioners are able to resist any worldly temptations; however, they
cannot resist the desire to learn many methods of practice. So, they have
not truly rid themselves of their greed.
The Buddha has taught
us to let go of all desires and greed. He did not ask us to turn to new
objects for our greed. In the past, we sought worldly joys, now we seek
and attach to Buddhist knowledge. The mind of greed is still there.
Therefore, whether for worldly life or for Buddhist knowledge, we would do
well not to be greedy. Greed is the source of all misdeeds and
wrongdoing.
Greed leads to
resentment and anger. Why? We become resentful and angry when our greed
is not satisfied and this brings about immense worries and afflictions.
Greed is the cause of the karma that results in us being born into the
hungry ghost realm. By failing to rid ourselves of the resentment and
anger caused by greed, we can be born into the hell realm. Ignorance,
having no wisdom, results in us being born into the animal realm. In both
worldly teachings and in Buddhism there is truth and falsehood, justice
and injustice, right and wrong, good and bad. An ignorant person cannot
tell the difference between them. Intentional or unintentional, he or she
often confuses false and truth, bad and good.
The Three Poisons are
the biggest obstacles to our attainment of enlightenment. Buddhism,
especially the Zen School, advocates starting our practice from the root,
the mind. To start from this root, we need to sever our greed, anger and
ignorance.
These three physical,
four verbal and three mental deeds comprise the Ten Good Conducts. If we
are filial to and care for our parents, respect and serve our teachers and
elders, and are compassionate without any killing and practice the Ten
Good Conducts, we will be regarded as good people by society. However, we
still cannot be called “good men and good women” in the Buddhist sense
because the criterion for this are higher than just these four
principles. Thus, it is not easy for us to achieve even the basic
standards.
The second of the
Three Conditions is:
5)
Taking the
Three Refuges,
6)
Abiding by
precepts laws and customs and
7)
Behaving in
a proper and dignified manner.
Mahayana Buddhism is
based on the foundation of Theravada Buddhism, which was introduced into
China during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, thirteen hundred years ago, but
soon gave way to Mahayana Buddhism. Why did the Theravada teachings
decline in China? In ancient times, people who learned Buddhism had
already been nurtured in the Taoist and Confucian teachings, which were
enough to replace the Theravada teachings. Since the Taoist and Confucian
teachings were also similar to those of the Mahayana teachings, it was
natural for the Chinese to accept them. Thus, the Theravada teachings
were not practiced as Taoism and Confucianism served as the foundation of
Mahayana teachings.
Consequently,
Theravada teachings never really developed in China. Today, people learn
and practice Mahayana but ignore Theravada Buddhism, Taoism and
Confucianism. This is similar to ignoring the foundation and first floor
when building a house. Such an attempt would not work because the house
would be “a cabin in the sky”. This is why we see so few Buddhist
successors today.
Theravada Buddhism is
established on the human-heavenly basis, which includes being filial to
our parents, respectful to our teachers and elders, compassionate to
others and diligent in practicing the Ten Good Conducts. With this base,
we can meet the criteria to begin learning and practicing Buddhism. To be
a Buddhist practitioner, after we have acquired basic understanding, we
pay respect to the teacher and take the Three Refuges of the Buddha, the
Dharma and the Sangha, the fifth principle of the Three Conditions. We
pay respect to Buddha Shakyamuni and express the wish to follow his
teachings for the rest of our lives. From this point on we will have the
standards for changing our thoughts, speech and behavior.
Taking Refuge in the
Triple Jewels is to take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.
In ancient times, everyone understood the meaning of the Triple Jewels.
Today however, many people do not. When they hear the word "Buddha", they
think of an image. When they hear the word "Dharma", they think of a
sutra. When they hear the word "Sangha", they think of monks and nuns.
The Sixth Patriarch
of Zen, Master Hui-Neng, foresaw the possibility that people in the future
would misinterpret the meaning of the Triple Jewels. Therefore, whenever
he taught he would not use the words Buddha, Dharma or Sangha. Instead,
he used awakening, proper understanding and purity. These terms are more
easily understood and less subject to misunderstanding. They are called
the Triple Jewels of Self-nature, which are the true principles for us to
follow. If we become misled here and follow an individual master, we will
remain misled from now on. If that happens, how can we achieve any real
attainment?
When we take refuge
in the Triple Jewels, we first return to and rely upon the Buddha. For
uncountable aeons, we have been wandering helplessly and miserably in the
six realms. Now we have met a good teacher who shows us that we need to
return from our confusion, delusion and erroneous thinking and to rely
upon the awakening of our self-nature. Our self-nature was originally
awakened. So, the Buddha that we rely upon is not to be found outside of
ourselves but is innate to our self-nature. The Pure Land School teaches
“Buddha Amitabha and the Pure Land are already within our self-nature”.
Buddha Amitabha, Buddha Shakyamuni and all Buddhas manifest from our
self-nature. Therefore, what we rely upon is the Buddha or awakening of
our self-nature. From now on we should be awakened and never again be
deluded or filled with attachments, for if we do so then we have not
turned back.
Next we return to and
rely upon the Dharma, of which our thoughts and viewpoints of life and the
universe completely accord with true reality. This treasure is only found
within our self-nature. Buddha Shakyamuni taught us to return form
erroneous thoughts and viewpoints and to rely only upon those that are
proper. This is to return and rely upon the Dharma. The Buddha did not
tell us to blindly follow him but rather to find the truth for ourselves.
Next we return to and
rely upon the Sangha, which represents purity of the Six Senses of sight,
sound, smell, taste, touch and thought. Most of us will find that our six
senses become polluted when they encounter external surroundings. When
these are pleasing, we develop a heart of greed, which is pollution. When
these are displeasing, we develop a heart of resentment and anger, which
is pollution as well. We need to remember that the Five Desires of
wealth, lust, fame, food or drink and sleep and the Seven Human Emotions
of joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate and desire are impurities of the
heart. The Buddha told us that originally our self-nature was pure
without impurities. We need to eradicate all impurities and rely upon our
pure heart. This is to return and rely upon the Sangha.
In summary, taking
refuge in the Buddha means being awakened and not deluded. Taking refuge
in the Dharma means being proper and not deviated. Taking refuge in the
Sangha means being pure and not polluted. These are the Triple Jewels of
Self-nature that the Buddha taught us for our practice: awakening, proper
viewpoints and purity. From now on, we need to forget our past and return
to and rely upon these Triple Jewels and use them to correct our thoughts,
speech and behavior.
When we attain one of
the Three Refuges, we achieve the other two as well. Think about it.
Will an awakened person have erroneous viewpoints? Will this person have
an impure heart? Can a person with an impure heart and erroneous
viewpoints attain awakening? The Buddha has shown us three guidelines to
uncover our original self-nature and to attain Buddhahood. This is
similar to a way place with three entrances, we only need to step through
one and we are in!
Zen Buddhism uses the
sudden enlightenment method to uncover our self-nature. However, only
cultivators with superior capability and purity of mind can achieve
attainment in this way. For example, Master Hui-Neng only taught students
with superior capabilities.
Other schools such as
the Tiantai, Flower Adornment and Three Sastras (Discourse) Schools use
the proper thoughts and viewpoints method by correcting thoughts and
behavior following the guidelines in the sutras. However, this requires
endurance and much practice because achievement takes a long time and we
have to study many sutras.
The Pure Land and
Esoteric Schools, however, emphasize practice through purity of mind
through cultivation. It is logical that these two schools are popular
today in the Dharma Ending Age. However, the Pure Land School does not
require unusually superior abilities or a long period of time for
practice. As it stresses the Buddha Name Chanting Method to attain purity
of mind, it is much easier to practice and to reach attainment in than the
Esoteric School. Again, although the doors to the way place are
different, each of them will give us entry. Therefore, all methods are
equal and that the three methods of enlightenment, proper thoughts and
viewpoints, and purity are in essence the same.
Thus, we need to
acquire a clear understanding of the Triple Jewels of Self-nature and to
know which method to choose as the basis for our practice. Only in this
way will we find genuine refuge. Otherwise, we will remain ignorant of
where to take refuge and upon what to rely.
Although we may now
have more understanding of the Triple Jewels, we may still be confused as
to how to practice them in our daily lives. Each school has its own
representations of the Triple Jewels. For example, in the Flower
Adornment School they are Vairocana Buddha, the Flower Adornment Sutra,
Great Wisdom Bodhisattva and Universal Worthy Bodhisattva and the
forty-one Great Bodhisattvas, respectively. They are our role models to
emulate.
The Triple Jewels of
the Tiantai School are Buddha Shakyamuni, the Lotus Sutra and the
Bodhisattvas named in the sutra, respectively. In the Pure Land School
they are Buddha Amitabha, The Infinite Life Sutra, the other four
sutras and one sastra or commentary; Great Compassion Bodhisattva, Great
Strength Bodhisattva, Great Wisdom Bodhisattva and Universal Worthy
Bodhisattva, respectively.
We learn compassion
from Great Compassion Bodhisattva and single-minded concentration from
Great Strength Bodhisattva. “The Chapter on the Perfect and Complete
Realization of Great Strength Bodhisattva” in the Surangama Sutra
tells us how Great Strength Bodhisattva concentrated on the Buddha Name
Chanting Method from the time he took refuge until the time he attained
enlightenment. He taught us that the proper way to chant is the
complementary practice of concentrating the six sense organs and
continuous pure mindfulness of Buddha Amitabha. Pure mindfulness is to
chant without “doubt, intermingling with other thoughts and methods”, to
chant with a pure mind. Continuous means uninterrupted with one sentence
after another. This is the key to success in the practice of Buddha Name
chanting, which was taught by Great Strength Bodhisattva.
Mr. Xia wrote in his
book entitled “Essentials for Practice of the Pure Land School” that Great
Strength Bodhisattva was the founding patriarch of the Dharma realm.
Initially, his comment greatly surprised me because I had never heard this
before. Later, I understood what he meant and greatly admired him for his
perception. Throughout the universe, Great Strength was the first
Bodhisattva to concentrate solely on the Buddha Name Chanting Method.
When Buddha
Shakyamuni manifested in our Saha world, the first sutra he taught was the
Flower Adornment Sutra. In this assembly, the Ten Great Vows of
Universal Worthy Bodhisattva concluded the sutra and guide us to the
Western Pure Land. Thus, Universal Worthy Bodhisattva is the founding
patriarch of our Saha world. Then, after the Infinite Life Sutra
was introduced into China, Master Hui-Yuan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty,
which was sixteen hundred years ago, built a cultivation hall and gathered
together one hundred twenty-three fellow practitioners. They exclusively
studied the Infinite Life Sutra and practiced the Buddha Name
Chanting Method. Therefore, the three founding patriarchs of the Pure
Land School are Great Strength Bodhisattva of the Dharma realms, Universal
Worthy Bodhisattva of the Saha world and Master Hui-Yuan of China.
Years ago, my late
teacher, Mr. Bing-Nan Lee, of Taizhong in Taiwan, suggested that I should
introduce the Pure Land Buddhism to the west. I established a Way Place
in Dallas, Texas and called it the “Flower Adornment Society”, the same
name I used in Taiwan. When I brought statues of Buddha Amitabha, Great
Compassion Bodhisattva and Great Strength Bodhisattva from China, they
were too small for the twenty-one foot hall. I thought that it would be
better to have larger paintings with western features to symbolize the
introduction of the Pure Land Buddhism to the west.
Just one day before
my departure for the United States, I received some paintings with the
request that they be taken to Dallas. I still do not know who the donor
was. The paintings were of Buddha Amitabha, Great Compassion Bodhisattva
and Great Strength Bodhisattva. What a surprise! Buddha Amitabha had
Indian features, Great Compassion Bodhisattva had Chinese features and
Great Strength Bodhisattva had western features! The donor had the same
idea that I had. The western features of the founding patriarch of the
Dharma Realm symbolized the arrival of the Pure Land Buddhism in the
United States. Thus, the Pure Land Society was set up in the west. Mr.
Lian-Ju Xia had been the first to suggest that a Pure Land Society be
formed. But it was not to be in China, but rather in Dallas.
The Triple Jewels are
also represented by images of Buddhas, sutras and monks and nuns. They
are to remind us of the need to return and rely on the Triple Jewels of
our self-nature. When we see images of the Buddha, they remind us to be
awakened and not deluded when interacting with people, and handling
matters and objects. Without this daily reminder we will remain confused
and wrapped up in worldly affairs.
The sutras are to be
recited daily but not for the benefit of the Buddha. We recite them as
another reminder of how to cultivate our mind and how to properly interact
with people, and handling matters and objects. For example, our daily
conduct is an expression of the Infinite Life Sutra when we emulate
the qualities found within it.
The image of a monk
or nun, whether or not he or she has abided by the precepts, reminds us to
keep our six senses from becoming polluted. We need to understand that we
do not take refuge in individuals who pass on to us the meaning and the
cultivation guidelines of the Triple Jewels of awakening, proper thoughts
and viewpoints, and purity.
