㎡BJ﹜胚F」

利盞＝切藻喳

摘圓淨空法師法譫

／﹁

吸／刪

∕l／M汾

FOR THE SAKE

OF ALL BEINGS

FROM THE WORKS OF

VENERABLE MASTER CHIN KUNG

© 2012 Pure Land College PressPublished 2012, Some rights reserved. No part of this book may

be altered without written permission from the publisher.Reprinting is allowed for non-profit use.

For the latest edition, contact purelandpress@gmail.comEdited by Venerable WulingTranslations by Silent Voices and the Pure Land Translation

Team

15141312 12345

ISBN: 978-0-9807114-7-9

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication DataShi, Chin KungFor the sake of all beings : from the works of VenerableMaster Chin Kung1. Pure Land Buddhism — Doctrines. 2. Buddhism — Doctrines.

Includes index.

294.3926

Printed by:The Corporation Republic of Hwa Dzan Society2F., No. 333-1, Sec. 4. Hsin Yi Road, Taipei, Taiwan

Tel: (886)-2-2754-7178 Fax: (886)-2-2754-7262E-Mail: hwadzan@hwadzan.tw

Printed in Taiwan by He Yu Publication House

CONTENTS

Venerable Master Chin Kung AM i

Foreword V

Pure Land 1

Buddha-name Chanting 28

Sutra Recitation 41

Principles 46

Cultivation 95

Three Learnings 137

Three Refuges 141

Five Precepts 145

Six Paramitas 150

Amitabha Village 155

Interfaith Harmony and Multiculturalism 157

Education 181

Sources 211

Index 214

VENERABLE MASTER CHIN KUNG AM

Venerable Master Chin Kung AM (b. 1927) is an

eminent monk in the Pure Land school of Mahayana

Buddhism. He has learned Buddhism for sixty years

and lectured on it for over fifty years. He is advisor to

over 100 Amitabha Buddhist Societies and Pure Land

Learning Centers worldwide, and founder of the Pure

Land Learning College Association, Inc. (PLLCA),

Toowoomba, Australia.

Master Chin Kung pioneered the use of the Inter

net and satellite television in propagating the Bud

dha's teachings. His recorded lectures are distributed

in books and on DVDs, CDs, and other media. He

has sponsored the printing and distribution of the

Buddhist Canon and Buddhist sutras, books, and im

ages as well as books on moral education. All these

are freely distributed worldwide. To this day, theMaster still teaches tirelessly on a daily basis. His lec

tures are broadcasted live via satellite television and

the Internet to audiences around the world.

Born in Lujiang County, Anhui Province, China,

the Master studied Buddhism and the classics under

the guidance of Professor Fang Dongmei, a great phi-

losopher of his time; Zhangjia Living Buddha, a re

nowned monk of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition; and

Mr. Li Bingnan, a lay practitioner and master of Bud

dhism. In 1959, Master Chin Kung became a monk at

Linji Temple in Yuanshan, Taipei and was given the

Dharma name Chin Kung, which means "pure empti

ness." He has served as instructor at the Tripitaka In

stitute at Shipu Temple, professor of the School ofPhilosophy at the Chinese Culture University, and

president of the Chinese Buddhist College.

Master Chin Kung founded the Hwa Dzan

Dharma Giving Association, the Hwa Dzan Buddhist

Audio-Visual Library, and the Corporate Body of the

Buddha Educational Foundation in Taiwan.

For his achievements in building interfaith har

mony and fostering peace, Master Chin Kung hasbeen awarded honorary doctorate degrees and professorships by the University of Queensland, GriffithUniversity, and the University of Southern Queensland,Australia; and Syarif Hidayatullan State Islamic Uni

versity, Indonesia. He is the Honorary Founding Patron of the Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict

Studies at the University of Queensland.

In 2005, Master Chin Kung was appointed to the

Member of the Order of Australia in the General Di

vision by Queen Elizabeth II. He was recognized forservice to the Buddhist community in Queensland,particularly through the propagation of Buddhismand the fostering of interfaith activities between di

verse ethnic groups, and to the community throughsupport for educational and health institutions.

In 2006, Master Chin Kung and the PLLCA were

invited by UNESCO to co-organize the event "Celebrating the 2550th Birth Anniversary of the Buddha"at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris. The subject of theevent was "Discover the Buddhist Contribution to

Humanity" to enable more people to learn from theBuddha how to reconcile conflict and promote socialstability and world peace through teaching. The goalwas to prove that through the moral teachings ofsages and saints, it is possible to teach people to begood, and it is possible to teach people of differentfaiths to live together harmoniously.

In 2009, Master Chin Kung was appointed as anInternational Trustee of Religion*) for Peace an interna

tional peace organization, which is active on everycontinent. Its mission is to create multi-religious part-

nerships to confront issues such as stopping war,

ending poverty, and protecting the earth.Since the late 1990s, Master Chin Kung has both

initiated and participated in interfaith forums andsummits in many countries speaking on the importance of education. He explains that it is imperative

that all religious teachers sincerely "Learn to be ateacher and act as a role model for all" and encourages

these teachers to practice the teachings of the sagesand saints in their daily life, delve deeply into theteachings of their own religions, and also humblylearn from other religions.

Currently he is lecturing the Infinite Life Sutra hoping that the daily teachings can transform the currentmindset of people today and help foster world peace.

Master Chin Kung's message of loving-kindnessand compassion for all has been the central theme ofhis teaching. Harboring thoughts of sincerity, respect,humility, and harmony and dedication to help all beings to gain long-lasting happiness and joy has beenhis meaning of life.

FOREWORD

Rare it is to be born as a human.

Rare it is to be born

when the Buddhadharma is known.

Rare to have a wise Master to teach.

Rare to have the good fortuneto learn from the Master.

For over sixty years Venerable Master Chin Kung hasbeen learning the Buddhadharma. For over fifty, withskillful means, great patience, and profound clarity—and the sincere wish that all beings awaken andfind true happiness—Venerable Master Chin Kunghas tirelessly taught all who wished to learn.

Countless gems of wisdom exist throughout all histalks, writing, and correspondence. The book that youare holding holds just a taste of them. A taste of theBuddhadharma for you to savor.

For us, his students, it was a privilege and an absolute joy to work on this book. Translations werecarefully read and one excerpt after another seemedto step out of the files and into the book. The readingcould have gone on much longer, from every translation that we have worked on since the early 1990s.

Unfortunately further reading would have meant delaying the printing of this book. That could not be allowed to happen.

And so, you now hold this first edition of excerptsfrom the ongoing work of Venerable Master ChinKung.

Like working on this book, even titling the bookwas a pleasure. Upon asking some friends for thoughtson what to name the book, one replied, "What wouldsum up Venerable Master Chin Kung's teachings?" The answer immediately came to mind: for thesake of all beings. A file search quickly revealed thatTeacher had indeed said that in one of the lectures.

Never has a title sprung forth so effortlessly, or soperfectly.

It is our plan to periodically update this book asnew translations are done. Toward that end, if youfeel that we have missed something, and we know wehave, please email us the excerpt in both the Chineseand its English translation, plus the published source.

The Editor

Pure Land College Press

Toowoomba, Australia

September 2012

With deep appreciation

we thank our teacher

Venerable Master Chin Kung

who for over sixty years

has dedicated himself to learning Buddhism,

and who every day

dedicates himself anew to teaching

for the sake of all beings.

PURE LAND

Pure Land

1. Purity, impartiality, and enlightenment are theguidelines for learning and practicing. What are welearning? We are learning to (1) cultivate a puremind, (2) cultivate an impartial mind, and (3) be

awakened and not deluded. Purity, impartiality, andenlightenment are three in one, one in three. The Pure

Land school focuses on the cultivation of a pure mind.When the mind is pure, the land will be pure. Theconnection between us and Amitabha Buddha of the

Western Pure Land lies in a pure mind. EILS

2. "Amitabha Buddha" is Sanskrit. Amitabha means

"infinite," Buddha means "awakening." This nametherefore implies infinite enlightenment. "Infinite" describes that which is innate in the true nature: infinite

wisdom, infinite virtues and abilities, and infinite aus

picious marks. These three categories of "infiniteness"

cover all the infinities in the whole universe.

"Amitabha Buddha" is a name of the true nature. That

is why Master Zhongfeng said "My mind is AmitabhaBuddha; Amitabha Buddha is my mind." ASC

PURE LAND

3. To understand the cycle of birth and death, onemust first know that life is filled with suffering, and

that the suffering in future lifetimes will become even

worse than in the current lifetime. If one does not

want to be reborn in the human path, can this wish be

fulfilled? Unless one mindfully chants the Buddha-name and seeks rebirth in the Western Pure Land,

one's wish may not be fulfilled. Therefore, one mustbe determined to attain rebirth there in this lifetime.

This is the true bodhi mind. EILS

A. With faith, vow, and the recitation of the name of

Amitabha Buddha, we will be able to be reborn in the

Pure Land and never again fall back in our practice.

Up until now we have made progress in one lifetimeonly to fall back for lifetimes after that. This constantprogression and retrogression is why it is taking us solong to attain enlightenment.

But once we are in the Pure Land, we will never

fall back again, which will allow us to attain our goalmuch more quickly. And as we are progressing, wewill learn the infinite ways in which we can help allthose we have vowed to help be liberated from suffer

ing as well. ASC

PURE LAND

5. What is the nature of the mind? An example, which

is easy to understand, is called purity of mind in the

Pure Land school. When our minds are pure, all of

our deeds will be good. Thus, we will accumulate far

more than just ten thousand good deeds. Amitabha

Buddha is a name of millions of virtues. As we gradually come to understand the true reality, we will realize that what Great Master Ouyi said was logical, that

Amitabha Buddha encompasses all the infinite waysof practice. He said: "If we are able to be mindful of

Amitabha Buddha, then we will understand all the

wisdom of the Buddhist canon." CD

6. We Pure Land practitioners cannot make people

practice the Pure Land method. When someone's

condition has matured, we should voluntarily introduce Buddhism to help the person. There are manystages in learning Buddhism. As the person graduallyadvances in practice, he or she will naturally find themost direct route —the wondrous Pure Land method.

Therefore, to help all beings skillfully and expediently,we should be patient. EILS

PURE LAND

7. Amitabha's Pure Land is a land where saints and

ordinary beings live together, but it includes all FourLands. When we go there, of course we go to the

Land of Common Residence of Ordinary Beings and

Saints because we carry residual karmas.

In all other Buddha-lands of the ten directions, the

Four Lands are separate. Sakyamuni Buddha's Land

of Real Reward is in the Dharma Realm of the One

Reality, and his Land of Expedient Liberation is in thefour enlightened worlds. The lands are separate.

It is like schools in this world. Elementary schools,

middle schools, and universities are separate. The

Western Pure Land is unique. The students of ele

mentary school, the students of middle school, thestudents of university, and post-graduate students allshare the same classroom. This is unique. This is why

it is called a teaching that is hard to believe.When we go to the Western Pure Land, we are

like elementary school students. But there are alsouniversity students, post-graduate students, and Ph. D.students in the same classroom. When we face diffi

culty, they will help us. An inconceivable world!Therefore, attaining rebirth in the Land of Com

mon Residence of Ordinary Beings and Saints, the

PURE LAND

first of the four lands, is the same as attaining rebirthin the Land of Expedient Liberation because arhats

are our fellow practitioners.

It is also the same as attaining rebirth in the Land

of Real Reward, the third of the four lands, because

bodhisatrvas are there with us.

It is also the same as attaining rebirth in the Land

of Eternally Quiescent Light, the highest of the fourlands, because Buddhas are also there with us. ASC

8. Although there are an uncountable number of

methods, their objectives are the same. It is often said,

"all roads lead to Rome" and "all methods are the

same." Pure Land practitioners should never criticize

or slander Zen, Esoteric, or any other schools because

their objectives are the same as ours; they simply follow different methods. This is similar to our taking abus while others chose to walk. We cannot say thatthey are wrong when all roads lead to the same desti

nation. They have the freedom to choose their way.BACW

9. At the core of the Pure Land teachings lies threeprerequisites, or guiding principles, for our rebirth

PURE LAND

into the Western Pure Land: faith, vow, and practice.

Faith is to have complete trust or confidence in some

one or something. Vow is the vow to be reborn in the

Western Pure Land. Practice is reciting the Buddha-

name as well as living a moral life.

As Great Master Ouyi wrote in his commentary

on the Amitabha Sutra, "Without faith, we are not

sufficiently equipped to take vows. Without vows, we

are not sufficiently equipped to guide our practice.

Without the wondrous practice of reciting the

Buddha-name, we are not sufficiently equipped to

fulfill our vows and to bring our faith to fruition."

ASC

10. Sentient beings are deluded. They indulge in the

Five Desires and the Six Dusts —in worldly pleasures.

We should generate a mind of great compassion, em

pathize with sentient beings, and introduce the PureLand method to them. Compassion and empathy must

be put into action. This is enthusiastically propagatingthe Pure Land method. With all our hearts, we must

do our best—we must treat this task as the most im

portant thing in this lifetime. EILS

PURE LAND

11. Mr. Li Bingnan often said that only two or three

out of ten thousand Pure Land practitioners are able

to actually attain rebirth. It is because these two or

three practitioners truly believe, accept and prac

tice—the others do not. These 9997 practitioners

chant with their mouths only and are not mindful in

their chanting. They have not eliminated their afflic

tions and residual habits. They are still attached to

fame, prestige, gain, wealth, the Five Desires, and the

Six Dusts. When this is the case, even Buddhas can

not do anything about it. ASC

12. Those who can accept the Pure Land method pos

sess great roots of goodness, good fortune, and good

causes and conditions. If we did not already have the

best root nature, it would be impossible for us to ac

cept the Buddha Mindfulness Chanting method.

Those, who can accept it and practice earnestly, canneutralize the transgressions accumulated over infinite

lifetimes with the merits of their chanting.

The Pure Land is a gathering place for the utmost

virtuous people. Once reborn there, we will be a

member of this assembly and the equal of such virtu

ous people as the Bodhisattvas Samantabhadra,

PURE LAND

Manjusri, Avalokiteshvara, and Mahasthamaprapta.

CD

13. We should put into practice Great Master Yin-

guang's teaching of "maintaining the five [human] re

lationships, faithfully fulfilling one's responsibilities,

avoiding being polluted by that which is bad, keeping

a respectful and sincere mindset, believing in and

vowing to practice the Buddha-name chanting

method, and aspiring to attain rebirth in the Western

Pure Land." This is the absolute direction and the

only goal. ASC

14. The causes and conditions of how the Land of Ul

timate Bliss came about were different from those for

the other Buddha Lands. The causes and conditions

for the latter were complicated and not simple: good

ones and bad ones were mixed together. In the West

ern Pure Land, Dharmakara chose only pure and vir

tuous dharmas. His purpose was to provide a wonder

ful learning and practice environment for the beings

from all the Buddha Lands in the ten directions who

truly generate the great mind and who aspire to [un

derstand and] transcend the cycle of birth and death,

PURE LAND

and attain Buddhahood in one lifetime. He wanted to

provide the best learning and living environment.

EILS

15. Having good roots means that we have firm belief

and firm vows. We have firm belief when we do not

have the slightest doubt about the Pure Land teach

ings. We have firm vows when our one and only wish

is to attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, and

we let go of everything in this world except this wish.

We must have these two conditions to be considered

as having good roots. ASC

16. Great Master Yinguang spoke of small-size culti

vation centers with no more than twenty practitioners.

Small centers will be easy to maintain. There is no

need to ask for donations, no need to hold Dharma

assemblies or ceremonies for helping the deceased attain a better rebirth, and no need to confer precepts or

to give lectures on the sutras. . . .

But it is hard to find practitioners of the same

mind. Pure Land learning centers could completelyfollow Great Master Yinguang's instruction, but I

added one thing: a lecture session. Why? Because if

PURE LAND

we do not understand the Pure Land teachings, we

may gradually lose our enthusiasm. The more we lis

ten to lectures on the sutras, the more we will under

stand the Pure Land teachings. Listening to lectures

on the sutras will help us dissolve our doubts, develop

confidence, and strengthen our belief and vow. It will

guarantee our success in this lifetime. We should do

nothing else but listen to lectures on the sutras and

mindfully chant "Amituofo." In so doing, our minds

will always be focused. ASC

17. When the Buddha was in this world, which was

during the Dharma-perfect Age, people had high ca

pacities and the majority could succeed in any method

that they chose to practice! After the Buddha's time,

during the Dharma-semblance Age, people did not

have as high a capacity as earlier. With that, the quality of the Buddha s teachings gradually deteriorated as

it was passed down. But it was not that the sutras had

degenerated; rather, it was the lecturers' interpreta

tion of the sutras that had worsened. As time went by,

the lectures on the Dharma became more and more

incorrect.

10

PURE LAND

Now it is the Dharma-ending Age, more than

three thousand years after the Buddha's parinirvana.

The deterioration has reached a point where we do

not know what to do. It gets more and more difficult

for us to attain realization from learning and practic

ing Buddhism. EILS

18. It is said in Buddhism that "nothing can be carried

over to the next life except our karma." These are

critical words of caution. Knowing that our karma

will follow us like a shadow, we need to be diligent in

cultivating good deeds and not to carry our negative

karma with us, for to do so will lead us in the Three

Bad Paths. Good karma will lead us to be reborn in

the Three Good Paths. And pure karma from Con

stant Mindfulness of Buddha Amitabha will lead us to

be reborn in the Western Pure Land.

From this, it is clear what we need to do in this

life. We need to broaden our perceptions and expand

our thinking instead of being concerned with triviali

ties or calculating our gains and losses. Life is very

short. It would be of tremendous merit if we could do

more goodness in this life, to benefit more people. CD

11

PURE LAND

19. Three thousand years ago, the Buddha knew

completely what was going to happen in society to

day! He did not fail those of us who truly sought tran

scendence, who truly sought enlightenment. In the

Great Collection Sutra, he said that in the Dharma-

perfect Age, one could succeed in cultivation by ob

serving the precepts; in the Dharma-semblance Age,

one could succeed in cultivation by practicing medita

tive concentration; and in the Dharma-ending Age,

one could succeed in cultivation by learning the Pure

Land method.

The Buddha was telling us, the people today, that

we will definitely succeed in our cultivation if we

learn and practice the Pure Land method. EILS

20. The most important thing in our cultivation is to

correct our wrong behavior. If we are not happy with

a person or a thing, it will obstruct our rebirth in the

Land of Ultimate Bliss, because our minds are not

pure. This is why it is hard to attain rebirth in the

Land of Ultimate Bliss and why Mr. Li Bingnan said

that only one or two out of ten thousand Pure Land

practitioners succeed in attaining rebirth there. Most

practitioners only manage to suppress, not eradicate,

12

PURE LAND

their afflictions. It depends entirely on their luck

when they are on deathbed. If they cannot suppress

their afflictions that arise at the moment of their last

breath, they will fall into the Three Evil Paths. ASC

21. The Western Pure Land is an ultimate, perfect

state. If a person wants to learn a particular method,

this person, whatever his capacity, will hear the

method that accords with his or her capacity. For ex

ample, if one has the capacity for Theravada teach

ings, one will hear Buddhas and bodhisattvas lectur

ing on Theravada teachings. If one has the capacity

for Mahayana teachings, one will hear nothing butMahayana teachings. A being will immediately hearwhat he or she wants to hear, and immediately seewhat he or she wants to see —all at the level of the be

ings capacity. This is great perfection and truly ulti

mate. EILS

22. There are two ways to be reborn into the Pure

Land. One way is to cultivate and accumulate merits

and virtues daily, and to follow the regular way ofpractice to seek rebirth into the Pure Land. The other

way is for those who have committed egregious evil

13

PURE LAND

deeds to be deeply remorseful at the last moments of

their life.

Therefore, do not look down on those who have

committed wrongdoings. Perhaps at the last moment

of their lives, their ability to feel deep remorse will be

so strong that they may attain a higher level of rebirth

than we can. This is very possible. It is said that a

prodigal who returns home is more precious than

gold. Ordinary people cannot be compared with them.

Thus, we cannot look down on those who have com

mitted wrongdoings. CD

23. The bodhisattvas of the Western Pure Land have

the ability to travel to all the Buddha Lands and to

any place in the entire Dharma Realm. The sutras

teach that the past has no beginning and the future

has no end. From this, we know that space (in Bud

dhism it is called Dharma Realm) is immensely vast.

This is the area the bodhisattvas cover in their trav

els—the vastness of the Dharma Realm. If they have

an affinity with a place, they will manifest themselves

there to benefit the beings. EILS

14

PURE LAND

24. Like Sakyamuni Buddha, all Buddhas lecture ac

cording to the level of the audience. When the people

in the audience have different capacities, there are

many sutras that the Buddhas would not speak. But

they would definitely speak the three Pure Land su

tras. Why? Because these sutras are suitable for all

beings. These are the sutras that all Buddhas must

speak. That is, they must introduce the Pure Land

teachings to all beings. If a being's conditions have

matured, and this being believes, makes the vow, and

practices the teachings, he will make accomplishment

in this life. And the great vow of all Buddhas to help

all beings will be fulfilled. ASC

25. The conditions are mature for some beings but not

for others. If a being does not have the conditions, one

should help the being develop the conditions. If the

conditions of a being are not yet mature, one shouldhelp them mature. If the conditions of a being have

matured, one should guide that being to attain rebirth

in the Western Pure Land. EILS

26. Throughout the boundless worlds in the ten direc

tions, the bodhisattvas of the Land of Ultimate Bliss

15

PURE LAND

(1) seek the Buddhadharma and (2) help all beings.

When they seek the Buddhadharma, they are not at

tached to the act of seeking. When they help beings,

they are not attached to the act of helping. They dis

card all attachments and teach all beings. This way,

they are able to attain infinite merits and virtues. EILS

27. As Pure Land practitioners, we have to achieve a

certain level of attainment and transcend the cycle of

rebirth to be able to be reborn into the Western Pure

Land. Theravada practitioners need to reach, at the

least, the level of Stream-enterer, which is achieved by

severing various wrong views. It is the lowest of the

four stages of sagehood in Theravada Buddhism. At

this point of attainment, practitioners will continue to

be reborn into the heaven and human realms for seven

more times. In this way, they are assured of attainingthe state of arhat although it may take them a long

time to do so. But by not falling into the Three Bad

Realms, they are considered to have achieved attain

ment.

According to this criterion, the minimum standard

to achieve attainment in Mahayana Buddhism is to ridourselves of a portion of our attachments, to sever the

16

PURE LAND

eighty-eight kinds of deviated thoughts and views. If

we cannot sever these, we have not yet achieved at

tainment. Mahayana practitioners, who successfully

sever them, reach the Initial Belief Stage. Theravada

practitioners who sever various wrong views reach

the stage of Stream-enterer. Without these accom

plishments, we will still be reincarnating within the

cycle of rebirth, still repaying our debts.

However, there is still another way: to seek rebirth

in the Western Pure Land. Otherwise, attainment is

not possible. If we cannot go to the Pure Land, we

will have achieved nothing. Seeking rebirth in the

Pure Land is actually much simpler than severing the

eighty-eight kinds of improper thoughts and views

because we do not need to sever them all, but can

carry our remaining karma with us. As long as we

have faith, vows, and practice [moral living and constant mindfulness of Amitabha Buddha], we will

achieve attainment. The Buddha explained this to us

in the Infinite LifeSutra and the Amitabha Sutra. CD

28. If we can discard all wandering thoughts and attachments, we will attain infinite merits and virtues. If

there is even one thing that we cannot discard or let

17

PURE LAND

go of, we will not have any achievement. But to let go

is truly hard. Because of this, infinite great compassion arose in Amitabha Buddha, and he established a

special cultivation place in the Dharma Realm for

learning and practice —for beings like us who cannot

let go to also have achievement. This is inconceivable!

With the cultivation places of all the other

Buddhas in the ten directions, one must let go of both

worldly phenomena and supramundane teachings before one can be reborn there. But, only in the land of

Amitabha Buddha, [while letting go is ideal,] not let

ting go is also alright. This way, everyone will be truly

helped and awakened. EILS

29. What if we can truly put down all the wandering

thoughts, discriminations, and attachments? Theworld will be changed immediately! What will it become? The world will become the Land of Ultimate

Bliss. What is the difference between our land and the

Land of Ultimate Bliss? Sakyamuni Buddha intro

duced us to the Land of Ultimate Bliss where people

of supreme virtue assemble. When people s minds arevirtuous, the land will be stable and secure. Every

thing will be wonderful, without the least defect.

18

PURE LAND

When peoples minds are vicious, the land and everything in it will be vicious too. WPH

30. People with true aspiration and profound insightneed to know that seeking rebirth into the Pure Land

wholeheartedly and meeting Amitabha Buddha is the

perfect and complete accomplishment of life. We

should let go of attachments to worldly activities, bothphysical and mental, and rid ourselves of differentiat

ing thoughts. There is nothing worthy of worry andnothing worthy of greed. We accord with conditions

and do not seek affinities in our daily lives. Howhappy and free we will be for we will have trulyachieved. CD

31. This world does not provide a good learning environment nor does it provide good teachers or fellow

practitioners. The human life span is short, far too

short for learning. Amitabha Buddha provides us withthe best learning environment. And if we want to go,we can. Sakyamuni Buddha told us that when we goto that environment, all Buddhas will be our teachers,

and people of supreme virtue will be our fellow practitioners. ASC

19

PURE LAND

32. In the Pure Land there is no cause for our greed,

anger, and ignorance to arise. Why? Because whatever we need will appear before us, so we have no

cause to become greedy. Everyone in the Western

Pure Land is a good person. Nobody has any badthoughts or bad intentions. Nobody uses harsh language. We have no cause to become angry. In otherwords, there is no condition for us to become angry.

What our senses touch is the Dharma, the sages'

teachings. We will not be ignorant. In other words, wedo not have to end or do anything about our greed,anger, and ignorance. When we live there longenough, our greed, anger, and ignorance will naturallybe uprooted. ASC

33. If one does not have the Ten Virtuous Karmas as a

foundation for ones learning and practice, one willnot be able to attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land

even though one practices Buddha-name chanting.How do we know this?

It is stated in the Visualization Sutra that one

should first cultivate the Three Conditions before [be

ginning to] cultivate the pure karma to go to the PureLand. The Three Conditions are the foundation of

20

PURE LAND

Mahayana Buddhism. Without such foundation, one

will not succeed in one's cultivation and learning, regardless of which Dharma door one learns and practices. The Three Conditions are the common founda

tion. They are "the true causes—the pure karmas—that the Buddhas of the three time periods cultivate to attain Buddhahood." The three time periodsrefer to the past, the present, and the future.

There are innumerable Dharma doors that enable

one to attain Buddhahood. All the Dharma doors are

based on the foundation of the Three Conditions. It is

like constructing a building. Regardless of its heightand structural design, the building must have a firmfoundation to be sound. TVKS

34. Although the Pure Land method allows one to

bring ones residual karmas into the Western Pure

Land, one must suppress ones sexual desire, anger,and ignorance. This way, one will be sure of attainingrebirth there. If one cannot suppress them, then nomatter how much one chants the Buddha-name, it is

as an ancient Chinese said: "Even if one chants until

one's throat is hoarse, one's chanting is still futile."One will only form a good affinity with Amitabha

21

PURE LAND

Buddha, but one will not succeed in attaining rebirth

in the Pure Land in this lifetime. EILS

35. When our three karmas of body, speech, and mind

are the same as Amitabha Buddha, we become his

manifestation. We return to this world to fulfill his

original vows. This is even more remarkable than being a person of virtue and sincerity. Originally, we arereborn in this world to repay our karmic debts, butnow each of us is Amitabha Buddha coming to this

world through the strength of our vows! This is themost remarkable and unsurpassable method in chang

ing our destinies. CD

36. In the Western Pure Land, everyone has the same

appearance, the same physical conditions, the sameliving environment, and the same learning. Everyoneis equal in everything there. Therefore, one will nothave afflictions such as arrogance or a sense of inferi

ority.

Although one still has the seeds of afflictions andresidual habits, there are no conditions that will cause

these afflictions and residual habits to arise. ASC

22

PURE LAND

37. We should make a vow that when we attain re

birth in the Western Pure Land and attain Buddha

hood, we will first help those beings we have killed."When I attain Buddhahood, you will be the first onesI help. Please do not cause trouble or obstruct me. If

you obstruct me, I will not be able to succeed in culti

vation, and you will continue to suffer in the SixPaths."

The Dedication of Merit says ". . . repay the FourKinds of Kindness above, and relieve the suffering ofthose in the Three Paths below." In the Three Paths,

the first ones to be helped are those who hold grudgesagainst us. EILS

38. When we encounter animals, we should mindfullychant the Buddha-name and dedicate the merit to

them. It is quite usual to chant "Amituofo." It is even

better if we chant the Three Refuges. "Return andrely upon the Buddha so as not to be reborn in the

hells. Return and rely upon the Dharma so as not tobe reborn as a hungry ghost. Return and rely uponthe Sangha so as not to reborn as an animal." We

chant this to the beings in the Three Evil Paths. Whenwe encounter animals, we can chant the Buddha-

23

PURE LAND

name and dedicate the merit to them, as well as chant

the Three Refuges. EILS

39. When we are reborn into the Pure Land through

the state of Constant Mindfulness, we will be reborn

in the Land Where Saints and Ordinary Beings Dwell

Together. With the state of One Mind Undisturbed inMindfulness, we will be reborn in the Land of Expe

dient Liberation. With the state of One Mind Undis

turbed in Enlightenment, we will be reborn in theLand of True Reward. The level of attainment we

achieve determines which land we will be reborn into.

There are also different levels in the state of Con

stant Mindfulness; thus, there are nine levels of birth.

People who are reborn into the higher three levels ofbirth are able to pass away whenever they wish. Atthat time, they can go without any illness and may bestanding or seated. If they do not feel like leaving thisworld yet, they can stay longer. Everything can beachieved at will.

People who are reborn into the middle three levelsof birth are able to know a few months in advance

when they are going to pass away. Again, they mayleave this world standing or seated.

24

PURE LAND

In the lower level, people will know several days

in advance of their death, but they may become ill be

fore their time of death. ... In this lifetime we can at

tain the state of Constant Mindfulness in which we

will have the ability to pass away at ease, to leave

whenever we wish. This is to be reborn into the

higher three levels of birth, into the Land Where

Saints and Ordinary Beings Dwell Together, and to

carry our remaining karma along with us. CD

40. Wandering thoughts are afflictions and karmic

obstacles. As soon as they begin to rise, we will recognize them and change them into Amituofo. As the six

senses encounter the external world and a wandering

thought, which may be pleasurable or unpleasant, virtuous or unvirtuous arises, we immediately replace it

with a second thought of either Amituofo or Namo

Amituofo. Although the first thought is wanderingand deluded, the second thought is Amituofo. This is

to awaken. This awakening needs to be immediate so

there is no room for delusion to grow. This is how wewill effectively uncover our wisdom. CD

25

PURE LAND

41. When one is often mindful of good dharmas, ones

mind will be virtuous. When one often contemplates

good dharmas, one's thoughts will be virtuous. When

one often observes good dharmas, one's conduct will

be virtuous. The criterion for virtuousness is to per

manently end the Ten Evil Karmas: killing, stealing,

committing sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech,

harsh speech, enticing speech, greed, anger, and igno

rance. When one's every thought, every word, and

every action accord with the Ten Virtuous Karmas

and the virtues innate in the true nature, one will be

free from all sufferings in the evil paths. BC

42. If we cannot attain Supreme, Perfect Enlighten

ment due to our insufficient efforts, it is all right as

long as we can go to the Pure Land and meetAmitabha Buddha, for then we will uncover our true

nature. This convenient and suitable method cannot

be found in any other teaching. With others, if we donot achieve enlightenment, we will not be considered

as having achieved attainment.

When we practice mindfulness of Amitabha Bud

dha, it is not necessary for us to be able to see the truenature. As long as we can see Amitabha Buddha, we

26

PURE LAND

will have achieved attainment. All our negative karma

will be suppressed when we sincerely and single-

mindedly chant. How can "Amituofo" have any nega

tive karma? It is true and perfect goodness, not that of

good or bad for such goodness is relative. True good

ness has no duality and is the absolute great goodness.CD

27

BUDDHA-NAME CHANTING

Buddha-name Chanting

A3. For a true practitioner who wants to have a fast,

assured success in his practice in this lifetime, the

Buddha-name is all he needs. One chants and reads

the sutras to understand the truth. Once confidence is

established upon ones understanding of the principles

and the truth, one will naturally let go of everything

else. Not only did Sakyamuni Buddha use this method

as the foremost method to teach all beings, but all

Buddhas do the same. The Pure Land method is hard

to believe but easy to practice. Only when one has

great good fortune and great wisdom will one be able

to believe this method. EILS

44. The way to cultivate a pure mind is to mindfully

chant the Buddha-name. When we are not chanting

the Buddha-name, we should listen to the chanting of

the Buddha-name. It is best if we can listen to our

own chanting. So, we could record our chanting, andwhen we are not chanting, listen to this recording.

This is very effective. This is cultivating a pure mind.

EILS

28

BUDDHA-NAlVECHANTING

勻5.AspractitionerswhochanttheBudd｝Ia’sname’if

weareabletocorrectonebultdailyandbemindfUl

ofAInitabhaBuddha’tbeninthreeyear’stimewewill

berebornintoeitherthehighormiddlelevelsofthe

PureLand.ThisistbewaJ/tocultivatetobecomea

Buddha.Thequestioniswhetherwearewillingtodosoearnestly.Weare{bolingourselvesifweareunable

tofindonefaultdai!y.In色iIingtolmowt｝lem’wewill

{ailtocorrectthem.Howcanwehopetoimprovein

t}1iswaJ/?W}1enthereisnoimprovement’t}1ereisre-

gression.Tbregardourselvesasin炮llibleandtbat

eveIythingwedoiscorrectistbemostborriblewaytolive.CD

16.Tl1eBuddha-namechantingmethodissuitable{br

eveIyonetolearnandpracticeregardlessofonesca-pacity.Ot}1ermethodssuchasZenmeditationand

TibetanBuddbismarenotaseaSyfbronetolearnandpractice.TbeBudd}1a-namec}1antingmetbodissim-pleandconvenient.Itdoesnotmatterwhetherone

hasaBuddhaimageatbomeorifonehasflowersto

offbrbEveIyonecanlearnandpractice.Thismet}1od

doesnotempbasizeappearancesorlearningenvIron-ment.Itisthemostconvenientmethod.EILS

29

BUDDHA﹣NA八几ECHANTING

17.T｝IeBuddhasaid:“Alldharmasarecreated匕ytbe

mind.”Wbenwethinkaboutamatter[tbatwillbene-

fitotbers>eveIymomentofeveIydaJ)never{brget-

tingit’thent}Iismatterwillbesuccess{Ullyaccom-

plisbed.Ifwetbink’“ThisissodifBcult·Icannotdo

it.Forgetit!”thenthismatterwillnotbeaccom-

plished.Why?Becausewhenwestopt}Iinkingof

benefittingot}Iers’westopgeneratingenergy.

Thoughtswilltru!ygenerateinconceivableener盯╴tbisiscontinualmind{i1lness.

爪∕henoneunderstandsthisprinciple’onesees

t}1att}1osewhoaremind{i1lofBudd}1awillattain

Buddhabood·ApractitionerwhochantstbeBuddha-

namewillde6nitelyattainrebirthintheWesternPure

Land╴thisisalsot｝Iesameprinciple.Wbenone

mindⅢIychantsⅡAmituo﹛b〃andismind｛Ulofthe

WesternPureLand╴beingdiligentlymind刖without

anyinterruption╴AmitabhaBuddhawillde6nite!ycoInetoone.EILS

么i8‧PurityofmindcansuppressthenegativelKarma

accumulatedoverinBnitepasteons.Howcanweat-

tainpuritJ/ofmind’stilInessofthought?Wecandosothroughtbeunmovedmindthatisindeepconcentra-

50

BUDDHA-NAMECHANTINC

tion.ThisiscaIedOneMindUndisturbedint}Ie

methodo「cbantingmind｛ilIbtheBudd｝﹞a’sname.

Onceweattainthisstate’alIofournegativekarma

willbesuppressed.However’wbenanewwandering

thoug}Itarises’ournegativeIKarmawillagainmateri-alize·CD

19.IfwewanttopracticeIaIpietytoperfbction’we

justneedtosingIe-mindedlychanttheBuddha-nameandseekrebirt}IintheWesternPureLand.Whenwe

meetAmitabbaBuddha’our{iIialpietywiIItbenbe

per{bct.Itisbecause[onceweareinthePureLand>

wewiⅡbeabIetorecognizeourparentsandalsoaⅡ

ourparentsinpastli{btimesandclearlylmowwbicb

pathstbeyarein’sot}Iatwhentbeconditionsarema-

ture’tbeywiIIlistenandacceptouradvicetomind-

{UllychanttbeBuddha-namew}Ienweurgethemto.ThiswaJ)wewilIIavetbeabiIityto}Ielptbem.Wewillbeabletobelpour{amilies’ffiends’andthose

whohaveana冊nitywitbus╴廿omeveIyoneofourlifbtimes╴transcendtheSixPaths’attainrebirtbin

the叭／esternPureLand’andattainBuddbabood‧This

isgreat{ilialpiety!Tbisistruefilialpiety!ElLS

3l

BUDDHA-NAIIECHANTING

50.Single-mindedlycbanting“Amituofb”dayand

nigbtwillreduceallofourwanderingtboughtsinto

onethoughtofAmituo{b·IsAmituofbgoodorbad?Neither.Ithasnothingtodowithtbedualityofgoodandbad{britaccordswithourtruenature·Thedual-

ityofgoodandbadonlyexistsinourconsciousminds’notinourtrueminds.叭∕ithprolongedprac-

tice’wewillnaturalbattainenlightenmentifweare

constantlymindfi1lofAmituofb.Amongeighty-fburthousandmetl1ods’thismethodisunsurpassed.CD

5l.T}1ecultivationmet}1odtbatwepracticeismind-

fi1llyrecitingthenameofAmitabhaBuddba.W}latisthemeaningofAmitabhaBuddha?Amitabhameansinfinite’andBuddhameanswisdomandawalKening.

Therefbre’AmitabhaBuddhameansinfinitewisdom

andinfiniteawalKening.Thisisagoodthought.Infi-nitewisdomandawakeningisBuddha-nature·IntlIe

caseofp}1enomena’itisD}1arma-nature.WhenwechantAmitabbaBuddha’wearechant-

ingD｝Iarma-nature.叭∕isdomandawakeningresidein

eveIythingintheuniverse.叭∕isdomandawakening

areinnateineveIytl1ingintheuniverse‧叭／isdomand

awakeningpervadetbewboleuniverse.ThisDharma

32

BUDDHA-NAMECHANTING

doorofmind{UllyrecitingtheBudd}la-nameisabso-lutelyper｛bct.ThisisthestatedescI.ibedinthedljα﹣hz〃zc／α儿αM∕／Yz.ASC

52Single﹣minded!ychanting“Amituofb〃dayand

nightwillreduceallofourwanderingthougl1tsintoonethoughtof“Amituo｛b.’’Is‘‘AInituofb〃goodor

bad?Neither.Ithasnothingtodowitbthedualityofgoodandbad{britaccordswit}Iourtruenature.The

dualityofgoodandbadonlyexistsinourconsciousminds’notinourtrueminds·

Withprolongedpractice’wewillnaturallyattainenlightenmentifweareconstantbmindfi1lof“Ami-tuofb.”Amongeighty-fburthousandmethods’this

met}1odisunsurpassed.CD

55.Somepeoplemaysayt}1atwhenonec}1antsman-

tras’onewillalsogetbelp廿omBuddhasandbodhi﹣

sattvas.Indeed’wbencl1antingmantrasaspracticed}WtheEsotericschool’theBuddhasandbodhisattvas

willalsobetberetohelp’butitisnotasgoodaschantingthenameofAmitabhaBuddlIa.V/henone

cl1antsmantras’onewillhavethehelpofoneortwoBuddhasorbodhisattvas.Tbhavetbebelpofthreeto

55

BUDDHA-NAIVECHANTING

6veBuddhasandbod}Iisattvasisincredible.Butwben

onemind{illlychantsthenameofAmitabhaBuddba’

onewillhavethebeIpofaItheBuddhasintheten

directionsandinthethreetimeperiods.TbisiswhythemeritofthenameofAmitabbaBudd}Iaisincon-

ceivable!ElLS

51·Whatdoespropertboughtarisingmean?Itis

‘‘Amituo{b”:t}1emosttruth{i1}andultimateproper

tbought.T}leonIyimportantissueinourIifbistocon-stantlymaintainpropert}lougbts’tonotclingtodevi-atedorerroneousones’andtobeconstantlymindⅢ

ofAInitabhaBuddbadayandnight’witboutinterrup-tion.Ifwecancontinueourcultivationinthisway,thenintbreemontbswewillreceivewonder{i1lre-

suIts.IfwecanconstantlymaintainmindRlInessofAmitabhaBuddha’witbtbisonethougbtweareas-

suredofreducingourwanderingdiscriminatoIy

t}Iougbts·

Itisimpossiblefbrustonothaveanywanderingtboughts.Donotbea什aidofthemsolongas

thougbtsofAInitabbaBuddhacanoccupyustbemost:sucbassixtypercentofourthougbtsofAmitabhaBuddhawitbonly{brtypercentthatare

51

BUDDHA-NAMECHANTING

wandering.IfwearenotconstantlymindfUlofAmitabhaBuddba’tbenourmindswillbe6lledwitb

wanderingthoughts·

Ifwecancontinuethispractice{brthreemonths’increasingtbethougbtsofAInitabhaBuddhaandde-

creasingourwanderingtbougbts’wewillbeateaseandfTeeinspirit.Ourmindswillbecomemoreserene

andourjOy廿ompracticingtheteachingswillshowthatourlKarmicobstacleshavebeenreduced.Inthe

past’ourmindswere6lledwitha田ictionsandwor-

ries’andourfUtureslookeddarkNowwecanbe

happy)conBdent’andwiseasourlivesbecomeinter-

esting’andour{i1turesbecomebright.CD

55.Atalltimes>whenonesing>e-mindedlychantst}IeBuddha﹣name’themindwillbe廿eeofallwandering

thoughts’a朋ictions’worries’andconcerns.Mindfi1UychantingtheBuddha-namewillthustameallofone’s

{aculties.One’sbodywillbesuppleandone’smind

willbegentle.OnewillbeabletoachievephysicalandmentaIwell-being·EILS

56‧爪／emaywanttoaslK’‘iWbatisthemethodthatt｝Ie

bodhisattvasofthe叭∕esternPureLandpracticeto

55

BUDDHA-NAMECHANTING

acbievetamingalltheir{acultiesand}Iavingasupple

bodyandgentlemind?”Itismind{illlychanting“Ami-tuO{b.’’

AsMabasthamapraptaBod}Iisattvasaid’‘‘Iand

6By﹣two｛bllowpractitioners....”℉iRy﹣two”refbrs

tot}Ietenstagesoffaitb’tenstagesofabiding’ten

stagesofpractice’tenstagesofdedication’tenstagesofground’thestageofequalenlightenment’andthestageofwondrousenligbtenment.‘℉ellowpractitio﹣

ners”refbrstopractitionerswhosbaredt}1esameas-pirationandfbcusedonpracticingthePureLandmetbod.T}1isteIsust}1atfTomMa}Iast}1amaprapta

Bodbisattva’sinitialgenerationoftbebodhimindun-tilattainmentofBuddhahood’}Iepracticedthechant-

ingof“Amituofb/’wit}loutanychanges.T}lisistrubinconceivable!Chanting‘‘AInituofb’’enablesusordi-

naIybeingstoattainBudd}Iahood.EILS

57.Tbpracticegooddeedswitbonesinceremindmeanstobaveanabsoluteproperandvirtuous

t}Ioughtast}Ie6rstthought.Therearenowanderingsecondthoughts.Tbchant“AInituo{b/’istosingle-mindedlypracticeConstantMindInessofAmitab}laBuddhaandwhole}Iearted!yseekrebirtbintotbe

56

BUDDHA-NAMECHANTING

PureLand.Tbemostmarvelouswaytore{brmand

reduceourlKarmicobstacIesistohavenowanderingtboughts·Thisdoesnotmeantonotbaveanyproperthougbts.叭∕ithoutpropertboughts’webecomeigno-

rant.叭／anderingthoug｝ItsarediscriminatoIytboughts

andattacbments.ItisnoteaSy{braveragepeopletoachievethestateofnowanderingthought.ButeveIy-onecanac｝lievethis匕ypracticingtheBudd｝laMind﹣

fUlnessCbantingmethod·CD

58·Thisisanunsurpassedprinciple.PuriIofmindcansuppressthenegativekarmaaccumulatedover

infinitepasteons.Howcanweattainpurityofmind’stillnessoftbought?叭／ecandosothroughtheun-

movedmindtlIatisindeepconcentration.Thisiscalled‘‘OneIVndUndisturbed’’inthemetbodof

chantingmindfUllyt}leBudd}Ia’sname.Onceweat-

taint}Iisstate’allofournegativekarmawillbesup-pressed.Hovvever’whenanewwanderingthoughtarises’ournegativelKarmawillagainmaterialize.CD

59.Bysingle-mindedlychantingtheBuddha-name’wewilltasteboundlessmeaningsandflavorbARerwe

tastetheHavoroftbeDharma’therewillbenostop-

57

BUDDHA-NA八【ECHANTING

pingus.Duringourlearning’wewil}trulyfbeljOyandwiIldeBnitebbemalKingcourageousanddiligent

progress.

Now’whenwecbanttheBuddba-namewedonot

tasteany日avoroftheDharmabecausew｝1enwe

chant“Amituo{b’’wearethinkingofotherthings.

Tbisisthereasonthatourcultivationhasnotgone

anywbere.WEshoulddiligentlycontinuewit}Iourcbanting.An;yt}Iingt}IatobstructsusfTomsingle-mindedlychantingshouldbediscarded.

Inaddition’weshouldcbantwit}Iasincere’pure’

andrespect{Ulmind.AfterchantinginthiswaJ/{brhalfayear’wewilltastethe日avoroft｝IeDbarma.

Whenwedo’wewillhavecon{idenceinattainingre-

birthint｝Ie叭／esternPureLand.Themorewechant’

tbe6rmerourcon6dence.Wewillbeabletoknowin

advancethetimeofourrebirth·EILS

60·Howdoesonesubdueandtransfbrmones

thoughts?﹨八／henanevilthoughtarises’oneshould

instant!yhavet}lewisdomtobeawareofitandstopt}1ewanderingt}1ought.Formanykalpas’fbrwbic}1tbereisnobeginning’ordinaIybeingsbavebeenim-mersedinafHictionandhabits’sotbeynaturallyhave

38

BUDDHA-NAMECHANTlNG

manywanderingtbougbts.Butasitissaid’“Donot

{baratbougbtarising;{barrealizingittoolate.”When

aneviltbougbtarises’onesbouIdimmediatelydetectitandtrans{brmitinto‘lAmituo{b.’’Tbisiscultivation·

Int}]eZensc}Iool’tbisistbepracticeofenligbtening

illumination.HereiswI]erewepractice:trans{brming

aneviltI]ougbtintoavirtuoustboug}It’trans{brminganevilthougbtinto“Amituo｛b.’’Thetboughto「“Ami﹣

tuofb”isthemostvIrtuous.Thereisnothoug}Itmorevirtuousthantbis·EILS

6l·The“Chapteront}IePerfbctandCompleteReaIi-

zationofl﹨／Ia｝〕astbamaprapta”什omtbeSα／Ⅶ／《αα〃zα

Sα夕ⅦteⅡsusbowMahasthamapraptaBodbisattvaconcentratedonBudd｝Ia﹣nameRecitation廿omthe

timehetookre{i1geuntiIthetimeheattainedenligbt-

enment·Hetaug}Itusthattheproperwaytochantis

t}]ecompIementaIypracticeofconcentratingt}]esixsenseorgansandcontinuouspuremindfi1lnessofAmitab}]aBuddha·PuremindfU}nessistochantwitb

apuremindandwitboutdoubtoranyinterminglingwithotbertbougbtsormethods.Continuousistbe

uninterruptedcbantingwit}Ionewordafferanother

andisthekeytosuccessinthepracticeofBuddha-

59

BUDDHA-NAIVECHANTING

nameRecitationthatwastaught匕yMahasthama﹣

praptaBodhisattva·BACW

10

SUTRARECITWTION

SutraRecitation

62.Single-mindedlychantingasutrawit}Ioutwander-

ingthoughts’distractions’ordoubt╴tbisiscultivat-

ingmeditativeconcentration.Fromstartto{inisb’enunciatingclearlyeveIywordwithoutmistakeoromission╴tbisiscultivatingwisdom:fUndamental

wisdom.Tbus’chantingasutraiscultivatingsimulta-

neous!ytheprecepts’meditativeconcentration’andwisdom.Ifonet}1inksaboutt}1emeaningoft}1esutra

whilechantingit,itwillruintbecultivationofpreceptobservation’meditativeconcentration’andwisdom

[theThreeLearnings>.Thisistreatingtbesutraasa

worldlybookEILS

65.Myteac}IerLivingBuddbaZhangjiasaid:“Bud-dhismdoesnotemphasizefbrmsorrituals’butrather

truesubstance.”Ifwepayattentiononlytotbe{br-

malityandbiltopro{bundbcomprehendtbeessence

ofthesutra’steaching’wewillnotprogressanyfUr-

t}Ierthanjustbeingzealousaboutourbithandtbus

beeasilymanipulatedbythosewithbadintentions.REN

1l

SUTRAREClTATION

61.Chantingthesutrasiscultivatingtbeprecepts’

cultivatingmeditativeconcentration’andcultivatingwisdom.Wbencbantingasutraonesimp!yreadst}]ewords’withouttbinlKingoft}Ieirmeaning.Chantingsincere!ytbiswayiscultivatingtheprecepts’medita-tiveconcentration’andwisdom.

Tbesutrasaretobereciteddailybutnotfbrtbebene｛itoftheBuddba.爪／erecitethemasanotberre﹣

minderofhowtocultivateourmindandbowtoprop-erlyinteractwithothersandcircumstances.Forex-

amp｝e’ou『dailyconductisanexpressionoftbeIM﹣

〃此L雊Sα伽whenweemulatetbequaIities｛bundwitbinit·EILS

65.Sutrasflow什omthepureandquietmindoftbe

Buddha·Wbenwedevelopamindaspureandquiet’wewiIunderstanda>Iwereadinasutra.Thereason

wbyasutraissohardtounderstandnowisthatour

mindsarefilledwithwanderingthoughts·Howcan

thismindbein}Iarmonywitbonetbatispureandquiet?Thisisw}WwedonotunderstandtheBud-

dha’swords‧So’ifwewanttolearn仕omagoodteacber’weneedtotrustandbelievetbattbeirmetb-

odsareproperandcorrect.BACW

12

SUTRARECITATION

66.Tbesutrasbelpustounderstandthetruerealityof

li{bandtheuniversesothatwewillknowtbeproper

waytothinkandbehaveaswellastheappropriate

cuItivationmetbodtouse.OnIywhenwetrulyaccord

witbtbeteacbingsofthesutra’wiIIwebenefit.BACW

67.Ifwechantor『eadindi仳rentlywitboutapplying

t}Ieprinciples’thenaIoureffbrtswillbefi1tile.Only

wbenwebecomeawareoftbepurposeandmetbodof

chantingthesutracanweactuaIlyachieveanyresults.

...TbdaJ﹚peoplesimp!yreciteabsentminded∣J〃like

smallchildrenw}Iosingasongwitht}Ierigbtwordsto

therighttune’butwitboutunderstandingthemean-

ing.Onlywbenwebecomeawareofthepurposeand

methodofcbantingthesutracanweactuallyachieve

an;yresults·BACW

68.IftheBuddba’steachingsarenotintegratedinto

ourminds’andourmindsarestilldictated匕youraE

Rictionsandhabits’whatistheuseofcbantingthe

sutras?Onlyourverbalkarmaisgood;w}1ereasour

mindsandbehaviorstillremainunimproved·Sow}1ile

ourchantingdoesplantaseedinourAlayacon-sciousness,t}Ieseedisdormant{brnow’Buteven

勻3

SUTRARECITATION

t}1oug}1t}1ebene6tissmallandnotimmediate’itisbettertoc}1antasutrat}1annottochantata}l.

W}1et}Ieryouchantwit}1afbcusedmindorwitba

wanderingmind’youwiIplantaseedinyourAlaya

consciousness.Ifyouchantwitha{bcusedmindand

withsinceri吼t｝Ievitalityoftheseedwillbestrong‧If

youchantwithawanderingmindorwit}Ireluctance’

tbevitaliIoftheseedwillbeweakASC

69.叭／hatisthefirststepinourlearningBuddbism?

Start{)yrecitingonesutra.Doweneedtounderstandit?No.Forw}Ienwebavenotendeda{Hictions’our

understandingwillbeerroneous.T}lenwhydowe

reciteonlyt}lissutra?Byrecitingthesutra’theThree

Learningsofsel仁discipline’deepconcentrationand

wisdomareaccomplishedtogetl1er.BACW

70.MnLiBingnanalwaystoldhisstudentsthatwhen

theylistenedtolectures,theyneededtoconcentrate

onunderstandingtheprinciplesinthesutraandnot

thewordsthemselves·Theseprinciplesarethelaws

governingt}leBuddha’steachingsaswellasworldly

teac}lings.One’whotboroughlyunderstandsthe

principlesofonesutra’canthenusethemtomasterall

11

SUTRARECIT八TION

sutras.Tbbene6t’thestudentmustconscientiously

andwhole}leartedMbllowthemetbodstaughtI)ythe

teac}Ierwithoutbeingdistracted})yan;ythingnewordiff它rent.BACW

15

PRINCIPLES

SelP••••

Cn••••

rP

7l·Theteac}1ingsofMabayanaBudd}1ismemp}1asize

per{bctbarmony)per{bctwisdom’per{bctundertalK-

ings’andperfbctmerits.PeopIetodayshouldtIyto

appreciatethispointandIearn廿omtheteacbings‧

Onlytbesages’teachingofwisdomcanbelpusim-

proveourselves.Buddbismteacbesustoeliminateoura刖ictionsandbadhabits.Inot｝Ierwords﹚weareto

correctourwrongtbougbts’wrongmindsets’wander-

ingthoughts’discrimination’andattachments’andaccordwiththerulesofnatureandtbeorderinw}Iicb

nature{bnctions·

爪∕eshouldunderstandtberelationshipbetweentbeentireuniverseandtberuIesofnature:tbeulti-

matetrutbisthateveIytbingisindeedoneentityandisbarmonious.Weandtbeuniverseandareoneen-

tII.LS

72ThereasonwhyourmeritscannotcomparewiththoseofBudd}Iasandbodbisattvasistbediffbrences

intbeminds’intbeintentions.T}1eenvironment

changesaccordingtothemind·AsordinaIypeopIe’

weareveIynarrow-minded;thus’nomatterbow

16

PRlNCIPLES

muchgoodfbrtuneorbowmanymeritswecultivate’

wearebound匕yourdiscriminationsandattachments.

Butthesenolongerbindbodhisattvasandarhats.

Evenwhentheyper{brmasmalldeed,tbeirmeritsare

in{inite·Inunderstandingtbisprinciple’oureveIytboughtwiIlbeper{bct!andourmeritsandvirtueswillbein6nite.CD

75.Whydoesconf>ictarise?Becauseone’stbougbts’speec}I’andbebaviordonotaccordwiththeinnate

virtuousnessofone’snature.Whenone’st}Ioug}Itsandbehaviordonotaccordwitbonejsnature’con日ictwill

arise.Whycan’tone’sthoughtsandbehavioraccord

withone’snature?IfwelookcarefMIJ〃wewiⅡ6nd

tbattheoriginofcon日ictisgreedThere｛bre’inthe

teac}IingofSal[yamuni’greed’anger’andignoranceareconsideredtberootcausesofconHictandare

calledtheT}IreePoisons.ThemostfimdamentaI

amongtheThreePoisonsisgreed-onesgreedfbr

materialgain.LS

74叭∕eseetbattheuniverseisevercbanging’andthe

cbangingneverstops{brasecond.BuddbismcaIls

this“instantaneousarisingandceasing·’’Wbentbe

17

PRINCIPLES

tiderises』itis‘‘arising”;whenthetideebbs’itis

“ceasing.”Weusualyseeonlytheconstant!yc}lang-

ingp}Ienomena’butwedonotseet}1enoumenontbat

manifbststbesechangingpbenomena.

Althougballp}Ienomenaariseandceaseinstanta-

neouslJ〃andareconstantlychanging’t｝lenoumenon

oftbeuniversetbatmani{bstsandmalKeschangespos-

sibledoesnotcbangeatall.It}Iasthequalitiesofnei-

therarisingnorceasing’neitbercomingnorgoing’

neithereternalnorimpermanent’andneitberonenor

many.Thesearethequalitiesusedtodescribethenoumenonoftheuniverse.Itisour“original{acebe-fbrebirth.”ASC

75.NeedlessworIyingisalsoanindicationofkarmic

obstacles.T}Iepastispast’whatistheuseofdwelling

onit?Tbmorrowisyettocome.Tbwonderaboutitistohavewanderingthoughts.Somepeopleareex-

tremelygoodatworIymgandwonderingaboutt}Iepastandt}Ie{i1ture.Tbeycandosoalldaylong.Thisistomakeamountainoutofamolebillandthisisa

lKarmicobstacle.CD

18

PRlNCIPLES

76.爪／hatkindofmindareweusingnow?Thede﹣

ludedmind’nottbetruemind.Tbereisnohindrance

inthetruemind.叭∕ithtbedeludedmind’wlIenwetIy

toseesomet}1ingwithournakedeyes’wecannotseeitclearly.

ItislikeloolKingtbroughdistortedglasses’seeingtheexternalenvironmentthrougbalayerofdelusion.

ThisdelusionistbeEightConsciousnessesand{iRy-onemindobjects.WitbtbegIasses}Ieavilycontami-nated’wetbeninteractwiththeexternalenvironment

t}Iroughtheseconsciousnessesandmindobjects.There{bre’t}IeenvironmentbascbangedtotbatoftbeSixDusts.

W}Ientheseconsciousnessesandmindobjectsarenotappliedtoseetheexternalenvironment’thenwedonotseetheenvironmentoftbeSixDustsbutthat

ofthetruenature.CD

77·OureveIythoughtandeveIyactionarerecorded’

likethedatainacomputer.OurAlayaConsciousnessrecordsallourgoodandevilthougbtsandactions’similartowhatacomputerdoes.Tbisisourdatabase’

containingnotonIydataint｝lisli隹timebutalsodata

廿omallpastli｛btimes.SpirituaIbeingsandpeople

19

PRINCIPLES

whohavetbeabili•canreadourdata.Therefbre’we

sbouldbecautiouswitbourthoughts‧叭／eshouldnot

allowanyeviIthoughttoarise.EveIythoughtshouIdbeofbene6tingallbeingsandnotbeofbarming

tbem.ThiswaJ/’wewiItrulysucceedinattaining

greatvirtue.EILS

78.Greed’anger’ignorance’arroganceanddoubtare

tberootsofaIInaturaIdisasters·Theyarealsotherootcausesofhumandiseases.Whenonehasthe

causesofil}ness-greed’angeEignorance’arroganceanddoubt╴inone’smind﹚onetendstofbelresent﹣

ment’hatred’vexation’anger’andannOyanceand

tbusgivesrisetot}]ougbtsofkiIing’stealing’sexual

misconduct’andIying.Tberetributionswillbethe

malfi1nctionoftbeinterna}organsandt}1eoccurrence

ofdiseasesandepidemics·SC

79.WhenIwantedtostudyBuddhismwithMr.Li

Bingnanandto{brmalIybecomehisstudent’heput｛brwardthreeconditions:℉irst’廿omtodayon,you

canonIylistentomylectures.YOuarenotallowedtolistentoanyotherD}]armamastersorlaJ/practitio-ners.Second’fibmtodaJon’youarenotaIowedto

50

PRINClPLES

readanyboolK’beitasutraoranylKindofbooIK’withoutmypermission.”Tbe{irstconditionb>ocked

myears’andtbesecondcoveredmyeyes.“Third’wbatyoubaveIearneddoesnotcountwitbme·YOu

areto{brgetitaI·TbdaJhyoustartanewwithme·”

ThesetbreeconditionswereveIy｝Iarsb.﹨八／henI

{irstheardtbem’IthoughttMtthisteac}IerwasveIyautocratic’domineering’andunreasonable.He

soundedsoincredib!yarrogant.Nevertbe｝ess’a仕er

consideration’Iacceptedhisconditionsandbecamebisstudent·Ididnotknowthenthattheseconditions

werepreceptsmeanttohelpmecuto任mya冊ictions.

T}IemoreoneseesandIistens’themoreaIc-

tionsonebas;tbelessoneseesandlistensorw}]en

onedoesnotseeorIisten’onewiIbavenoafflictions·

So’myteacberusedt}Iismetbodtobelpme{i1lIthevowof{‘AfHictionsareinexhaustibIe;Ivowtoend

t}IemaI.”BACW2

80‧﹨八／benwe’asordinaIypeople’loolKaroundus’we

seeon!ytheiIusoly)ever-cbangingphenomena’not

tbetruthofthesephenomena·ItisIilKeloolKingatastormJ/sea.Wetendtoseewavesandsur<Wefbrget

5l

PRINCIPLES

thetrutb.叭／batisthetruth?Thetruthisthattbe

wavesandsurfarewaterbASC

8l.叭∕hentbeBudd｝1asaidthatallphenomenaare

emptJ/)}1emeantt}Iattbenoumenonisempty:allt}1e

phenomenadonothavesel仁natureandareempⅣin

themselves.EveIytbingisemptyandwitboutsel￡

‘‘Self’’impliesbeingincontrol.“EveIJ/thingisemptyandwitboutself’jmeanstbatnoonecontrolstbephe-nornena。

Then’bowdop}Ienomenacomeabout?Tbeyarise仕omthecombinationofvariousconditions.Bound-

lessconditionsgatberandgeneratethem.Therefbre’

phenomenadonotbavesel仁natureorselfidentitJ∕.Wbenweareclearaboutt}Iistrutb’weshouldab-

solutelynotattac}ltoanyphenomenaorgiveriseto

anyt}1oug}1t.T}1emindshouldalwaysbepure)impar-tial’andawakened.EILS

82IfweseesomeoneinneedandunreservedIygive

himonedollar’thentbemeritofthisaccordswithour

truenaturebecauseatthattimewedidnotdiscrimi-

natebetweenot}Iersandus·Wedidnotdistinguis}1betweenreceiveranddonor.叭／ewerenotattac｝Ied‧In

52

PRINCIPLES

t｝1isway﹚themerits仕omgivingonedollarareinBnite

fbrtheyaretheuncoveringofourv1rtuousnatures·CD

83.JealouSyandhatredareindeedthougbtsofsteal-ing.Why?Becauseonedoesnotliketoseeot}lersdo-

ingbetter‧T｝Iismindsetisnotnormal.叭∕is｝Iingt｝Iat

othersbeworseo趾orbecomingdispleased’critical

orslanderouswhenseeingvirtuouspeopleorgooddeedsbeingdone╴theseareallthoughtsofstealing.

Avirtuouspersondeligbtsuponseeingot}Iervir-

tuouspeopleorgooddeedsandwillwholebeartedlyassistthesepeopleandhelptbemaccomplishtbeirgooddeeds·AvirtuouspersonwiIsetagoodexamplefbrwbatevercommunity}]eisin’and}Iisgooddeedswillde6nite!ybene6tthegeneralpublic.

叭／henwe｝Ielpot｝Iersachievetheirgoals’wewillsucceedinourcultivationofvirtues‧叭∕henweob﹣

structothers’wearecommittingtremendouslygraveo{fbnses.EILS

81.IfoureveIythoughtisofsel仁bene｛it’oursel仁

attachmentwillgrowdaily.Evenasweplantsomegoodcauses’ourattachmentswillincrease.TheBud-

55

PRINCIPLES

dhatoldustbatifwewishedtotranscendtbeCycleof

birthanddeath’wemustridourselvesofbot}Iself

andlKnowledge-attac}]ment.SelEattacbmentsareaEnictionsthathinderus廿omattainingpuriⅣofmind.

Knowledge﹣attacbmenthindersus什omuncovering

ourall-knowingwisdom’ourtruewisdom·BACW

85.W}Iatexactbisnowanderingt}Ioughts?Wbatiscorrectthought?Havingnowanderingthoughtsisbeing廿eeofallwanderingthougbts’alldiscrimina﹣

tions’andallattachments.Correctthoughtisaclear

andcorrectunderstandingofallprinciplesandmat-ters’causesandresuIts’andthenoumenonofany-

thinganditspbenomenaIexpressions.There{bre’incorrectthought’tbereiswisdom’andtherearevIrtues

andcapabilities’andauspiciousmarks.Incorrectthought’therearenowanderingthougbts,discrimina-tions’andattachments·ASC

86‧TbeDltz〃zo／zJSα仃ⅦsaJ／s:“EventbeDharmabasto

belaidaside’letaloneworldlyteachings.”“Dharma﹚』

re{brstotheBuddbadbarma.Ones}Iouldnotbeat-

tacbedtotbeBuddhadharmaeit}Ier.AnyattachmentisamistalKe.

51

PRlNCIPLES

TbeBuddbadbarmaisIikeaboat’somet}Iingweusefbrcrossingariver.Uponreachingourdestina-tion’weshouldletgoofthetooltbatgotusthere.The

Buddhad﹜﹞armaistobelpusovercomedi冊culties‧

Whenwebavedoneso’weshouIdnotbeattachedto

theBuddhadharmaandsbouldIetgoofittoo.EILS

87.AsordinaIybeingswitb{artoomaIWwanderingsthoughts’discriminations’andattachments’weview

eveIU/thingduaIistically.WedonotviewaIIpbenom-enaasone.Whenourtruewisdommani{bsts’wewiII

knowthatallp}]enomenaareone’nottwo·

TaIKetbelido「amug｛brexample.Itisconcaveon

onesidebutitisconvexontheotherside.Ifpeopledonotunderstandtbistruth!thentwopeoplestand-ingondi仳rentsidesofthelidwillquarreloverwbetberthelidisconcaveorconvex.Thisisbecause

tbeylookattheIid什omdi仳rentsides‧Wbentheyseebothsidesoftbelid)theywillrealizethatconcave

isnodi仳rent廿omconvex‧Theyareone’nottwo‧ASC

88.AncientsagessaidthatawiseandvirtuouspersonlKnowstbateveIytbingincluding“onesipandone

55

PRINCIPLES

bite’’isdestined.However’{bolishpeoplerelentlessly

pursuethingstbatarealreadydestinedtobetbeirs.CD

89.Thereisnoneedtobeoverlyseriousortocriticize

eveIJ／thing.Aswe｝IavelearnedintheDm〃zo／zi）Sα力沉:

“AllphenomenaareiIlusoIy’likedreams’mirages’bubbles’sbadows.”Nothingisreal·Astbeancients

said’allphenomenaareasHeetingasclouds.Thereisnothingworthyofangerordispute.Thereisnopoint

indwellingont}Iings’fbrtbiswillhinderourcultiva-tionofpuritJ/ofmind.CD

90.InGreatMasterOUyi’scommentaIyont}1e

d〃z咖肋αSα∕／Yz’weread’‘‘Oneletsgoofthephenom-

enaoneseesandkeepsinmindandneverreminisces

abouttbem.”Lettinggore{brstohowwearetoreacttoourexternalenvironments.

Outsidestimulioftentemptus.But’idealbnw}Ienweseeorhearthesestimuli’weshouldnotbeat-

tac﹜Iedtotbem.叭∕｝﹞entheyareover’weshouldnot

reminisceabouttbemagain·EveIytimewerecall

them’aseedisplantedinourAlayaconsciousness’andwecreatealKarmiccause.Ourmoutbsarenot

56

PRINCIPLES

creatingalKarmiccause’neitberareourbodies.Itis

ourt}Ioug}Itsthatarecreatingkarmiccause.ASC

9l·MahaJ/anabodhisattvascherishthehearttohelp

alIsentientbeings.Theynotonlyknowtbeirownsu仁

{bringandtIytohelpthemselves’buttbeyalsowanttohelpallsentientbeingsJbequallywishtobelpaIlbeingsistbegreatbodhimind.The』MMM】吮M伽

tellsusthatbodbisattvas“be廿iendandvoluntarily

helpalllivingbeings.”Evenifwedonotrequestit’theycometohelp.Tbvo>untaribintroduceBuddbismtoallisthepurecauseofabodhisattva.

Tbhelpa}lbeings’we6rstneedtoknowhowto

helpourselves.Tbdotbiswe廿eeourselves什omwor﹣

riesandafflictions.BACW

92.Allofourencountersinli{b’wbethergoodfbrtune

orbad{brtune’goodluckorbadluck’wealthorpov-erty╴allaredestined.OrdinaIypeoplecannotchange

tbis·Ifwearenotsupposedtobavesomething’noamountoftIyingtoboldontoitwillsucceed{brlong.Converseb〃wewiⅡnaturallyreceivewbatweare

supposedto·Itisnotworththeeffbrttodowhatis

57

PRINCIPLES

wrongandtoriskallinthebopeofattainingselfsatis{action.CD

95‧ConditionsmaJ／be色vorableoradverse.叭∕henan

adverseconditionappears’ones}Iouldknowt}Iatit

results廿omabadcauseplantedinthepast.Ifaper-

sondispleasesoneorgoesagainstone’thenone

shouldjustlaugbito匪astbiswillcancelouttbe

karmicdebtincurredinthepast.Ifonebecomesan-

gIy)onewilIincuranotberdebtontopoftbeoIddebt.Insteadofcancelingouttbeolddebt’onevviIhave

evenmoreprob}ems.Asitissaid’“Ifoneowesmoney)

onewiIlrepaJ/wit}Imoney.Ifoneowesli{b’onewill

repaJ/withli{b.ReprisalbreedsreprisalItisWclicalandneverending.”ElLS

91.ThisprincipIe)‘itocultivateoneistocultivateall’’wasexplainedinthed﹙﹚αhI〃zJα尺αSα夕Ⅶ‧ItistbeIearn﹣

ingandcultivationofnon-hindrance.EveIytbingarises什omourtruenature.Ifthecultivationisinac﹣

cordancewithtbetruenature’t}Ienitcanberegarded

ascu}tivatingalllfwedogooddeedst}Iatarenot廿omourtruenatureandbecauseweareseeking’we

wilIonIyreceivewbatweseek-notbingmore.Ifwe

58

PRINCIPLES

seekfibmthetruenature’tbennotonlywillweattain

whatweseekbutalsowewilIgaininBnitebenefits.CD

95.Manypractitionersbavevoicedtheconcernover

whattheys}Ioulddobecausethey{bundithardto

maintaintheiraspiration{brenlightenmentandt}]eyoRenretrogressed.Tbesepractitionersstatedt}Ie

trutb.ItisindeedveIyeaSytoretrogress.Itisuptooneselftothinkofawaytopreventoneself廿omret﹣

rogressing.BecausepeopIehavediffbrentcapacitiesandkarmas’tbereisnoonefixedmetbod.Iftbere

wereaspeci{icmetbodsuitab>e{breveIyonedespitetheirdiHbrentcapacities’thenSal[yamuniBuddha

wouldnot}Iaveneededtoteac}IeightJ/-fburDharma

doors’orcountlessD}]armadoors.HewouldonlyhaveneededtoteachoneDharmadoor!ASC

96.Greedisthecauseoft}IelKarmat}Iatresultsinus

beingbornintothehungIygbostrealm.By跑ilingto

ridourselvesoftheresentmentandangercaused匕y

greed’wewillbebornintothehellrea>m·Ignorance’havingnowisdom’resultsinusbeingbornintheanimalrealm.

59

PRINCIPLES

InbothworldlyteachingsandinBuddhismthere

istruthand色lsehoodjjusticeandinjustice’rightand

wrong’goodandbad.Anignorantpersoncannottellt}Iediffbrencebetweenthem·Intentiona>oruninten-

tionaI’heorsheoftencon｛i1ses巨lseboodandtruth’

badandgood·BACW

97.Wbenweobservealltheworries’pain’bitterness’

anger’good{brtune’mis{brtune’good’evil’conflicts’con廿ontations’andnaturaldisastersaroundthe

world’weseethattheyareduetotbewrongunder-

standingofthetruthaboutli{bandtbeuniverse·

Fromt}lismisunderstanding’weerroneouslygen-erateemotionalattacbments’di仳rentiatebetween

othersandourselves’andexpandtheconHictsand

con廿ontationswit｝Iinourselvestoallbeings’a仳irs’

objects’andthenaturalenvironmentoutsideour-selves.Thisiswhywehaveworseningdisasterseve-

Iywhere.

InrealitJ/)naturaldisastersarecaused}Wbumanminds.TbeBuddhasaid:“GreedisthecauseofHood.

Angeristhecauseof6re.Ignoranceistbecauseofwind.ArroganceandinequaliIarethecauseofearthqualKes.’>REN

60

PRlNCIPLES

98.Onceweunderstandtbe{i1ndamentalprinciples’

wewilIunderstandtbateveIytbingint}Iisworldand

beyondarises什omtbemindandchangesaccording

toourperceptions.IfweseektobecomeBuddhas’we

willbecomeBudd}Ias.IfweseelKtobecomebeavenly

beings’wewiIbecomeheavenlybeings.Everythingaccordswiththemind.Thed﹙!α加〃zdα几αSα〃Ⅶtellsus:

“爪∕esbouldobservetbenatureoft｝IeDharmaRealm

aseveIythingiscreatedbythemind.〃There｛bre’the

waJ/ofseekingistoaccordwit}Itheprinciplethat

eveIytbingarises什omt｝Iemindandischanged匕y

ourpercept1ons·CD

99.T}1epracticeofpatienceandtoleranceisex-

tremelyimportant.On!ywhenwearecapableofen-

duringeveIyt}Iing’canourheartscanbepureandun-

affbcted匕yexternalin｛luences.Whenwecanbeunaf

{bcted’ourexternaIenvironmentwillbetteraccord

vvitbourthoughts.WPH

l00.Weo仕en｝IearaboutrenunciationinBuddhism.

FortbevastmajorityofBudd}lists’renunciationdoes

notmeangivingupaworldlylifbandbecomingamo-

nastic.Itmeanslettinggoo「one’sattac｝Iments.Tbe

6l

PRINCIPLES

Buddhashowedusbowfbrhehadnoattacbmentsto

thisworld.Unfbrtunate!J〃asordinaIybeingsweare

stillveIymuchattachedtotheworldinoureveIy

tbought.Althoug}ItbeMahaJ/anateachingsemphasizesubstancerathertban{brm’iftbereissubstance’it

willcertainlyberef>ectedinfbrm.Tbere{bre’ifour

thoughtstranscendtbisworld’ourbe}IaviorwilIre-日ectthis.ASC

l0l.Itiserroneousto〔havethoughtso日notwisbing

{brsomet}Iing’becauseonewouldrejectallopportuni-

ties【Thoughtso日wishing｛brsomethingisseeking

a冊nities.〔Tboughtso日notwishing｛brsomethingis

alsoseekinga冊nities‧Tberefbre,bodhisattvasprac-

ticetheMiddle叭／ay:whentheyteacbbeings’tbeyare

accordingwitbconditions’notseekinga冊nities.EILS

l02.叭／eoftenreadinthesutrasofthefireburning

our{brestofmerits.WhatistbisBre?Itisangerand

hatred‧叭／henweloseourtempers,weloseourmerits

asweI}.Ifyouwanttoknowbowmuc}Imerityou

bave’thinkofthelasttimeyoubecameangIy.爪／ith

oneangIythoug}It’theBreburnsour{brestofmerits.

62

PRlNClPLES

爪∕hatismerit?ItispuritJ∕ofmind’concentration’

andwisdom.T}IinlKaboutit’ifweIoseourtempers’bowcanwemaintainourconcentrationandwisdom?

Impossible.As{brgood{brtune’itisourweaIthand

inteIigence·WbenourmindattainsConstantMind-{UInessofBuddbaAmitabbaorOnelVndUndis-

turbed’wecanaccumuIatemeritsandvirtues.But

wit}ljustoneoutburstoftemper’aIislost:nomoreConstantMind｛i1lnesso「Budd﹜IaAmitab｝Ia’much

lessOneMindUndisturbed·There{bre’weneedto

remainvigiIantsoasnotto}oseourmerits·CD

l03.TheBuddbatoldusthatifwepracticetheT℃n

VirtuousKarmas’wewiIlnotfaIIintot}]eTbreeBad

Realms.Instead’wewouIdlikelytobebornintbe

IIeavenreaImsifwepracticetbesegoodconductsdili-

gent!y.Ifweacbievethedeepconcentrationalong

withtbeFourImmeasurableMindsofloving-

kindness(givinghappinesstoothers)’compassion

(takingawaybitternessofothers)’jOy(Iiberatingoth-

ers仕omsu仳ringand｛beIinghappy｛brtbem﹚and

lettinggo(ofthefirstthreeminds)’wewillrisetoan

evenhigherIevelofthebeavens’tbeHeavenofFormandtbeHeavenofFormIess·BACW

63

PRINCIPLES

l01.Thelawofcausalityneverchanges’eitherintbis

worldorbeyond;themorewealtbwegive’tbemore

wealthwewillgain.爪∕edonotevenknowwherethis

wealt}IwillcomefTom’butitwillcome.Tbemore

teachingwegive’themorewisdomwewillgain’so

wedonotwanttowitbboldanyofourwealthor

knowledge.Povertyistheresultofnotgivingwealth

Ignoranceistheresultofnotgivingteacbing’andill-

nessandshortlivesaretheresultofnotgiving{bar-lessness.CD

l05.Ifweseektoresolvedisastersandconflicts’we

muststartfibmwithinourownbodyandmind.We

needtotrulya{Brmthatallbeingsareone.Allpbe-

nomenonareinharmon[yoriginaUy.Thinkingtbus’

wewillnaturalIybesincere’compassionate’peacefi1l’

respect{Ul’}1umb}e’andloving.

Int｝IeJ∕﹟／fM喧L旋Sα伽’itisstated:“Whereverthe

Buddha》steacbings日ourish’eit｝Ierincitiesorcoun-

tIysides’peoplewillgaininconceivablebene{its.Thelandandpeoplewillbeenvelopedinpeace.Thesunandmoonwillsbineclearandbright.Windandrain

willappearaccordingIyandtberewillbenodisasters.NationswilIbeprosperousandtherewillbenoneed

61

PRINClPLES

fbrsoldiersorweapons.Peoplewillabide匕ymorality

andaccordwitblaws·Theywillbecourteousand

}lumble’andeveIyonewillbecontent’witboutinjus-tices.Tberewillbenotheffsorviolence·TbestrongwillnotdominatetheweakandeveIyonewillgettheirfairsbare.〃REN

l06.TbdaJ)manypeopleareseriouslyillWhydot}1eybecomeill?Wberedot}Ieillnessescomeffom?

Therootcauseisouranger.Ifwecancalmdownand

nevergetangIJ/)tberewilIbenomoreiIlness.When

welearnthat’wewillbeheaIthy.Althoughtherearestillman<ypeopleandreasonsouttherethatcanmalKe

usangIJ/)(weBuddhistscallthemourkarmiccredi-

tors）’wedonotbavetobesoobedientandgetangⅣ

wl]entheyirritateus.IfwegetangIyoncetbeyirri-tateus’thenweare{bo}ed·

Wehavetoknowt}Ietruth.TbeyareberetomalKemeangIy.IlKnowthat’andIwillnotfbllowtheirwill.

Onthecontrary)Iwillsmileattbem.Int}1iswaJ/)noonecanbarmme.

Whocanbarmus?Actual!J乃wecanon!ybe

}larmedbyourselves!Ifwecanlearntbis’nomatter

l1owhardpeopIetIytoirritateus’wewillbeimpervi-

65

PRINCIPLES

ous.Ifwecanbeimpervious’wewilltrulysee

throughtotbetrutbandletgoofeveIytbing.wPH

l07.Whenbadcausescreatedinthepastencounter

presentadverseconditions’theretributionsfbrt}Iesewrongdoingsmature.However’ifwerefTain廿om

committingfi1rthermisdeeds’wecansuppresst}Iead-verseconditions.TbebadcausesstiIlexist’butwith-

outtherightconditions’theywiInotmature.The

principleinchangingdestiIWisbasedonthiscondi-tionalaspectoftbelawofcausality.Causeiswhatwascreatedinthepastandisunc}Iangeable;butcondition

ischangeableandcontrollable·

Wereapwbatwesow.爪∕ecanplantmelonandbeanseeds-thesearecauses·Whenwedoso’wewill

growmelonsandbeans╴tbesearetbefiuits’there﹣

sults.Butwecannotgrowbeans廿ommelonseedsormelons廿ombeanseeds.Causeisaconstantbere.

﹨八／hatwevvillbarvestdependsontheconditions.Ifwe

wouldliketoharvestbeans’wepIanttbeseeds{br

tbemandputaw叩t｝Iemelonseeds‧

Foracausetocomeintoe仳ct’appropriatecondi-

tionsarerequiredForexampIe)seedsneedt}Ierigbtconditions’wbicharegoodsoiI’{brtilizer’sun’and

66

PRlNCIPLES

watertogrowwell·Evenaftertheseedsareplant-

ed╴andacausethuscreated╴wecanpreventthem

什ommaturing.WesimplywitbhoIdtbewaterand

sunligbt.T}IeseedswilInotgrow.Tbeywillnotma-

tureinto什uitsbecausetheydonothavetherigbtconditions·CD

l08.InBuddhism’wearetaugbtnotonlytolove’butt｝Iatourlovealsoneedstoarise廿omamindofsincer-

i吼puritJ／﹚andequaIityWecalItbiskindoflove

compassion.CompassionisrationaIlove.叭／ealso

needtousetruewisdom.叭／isdomist｝﹞etruemind

andemotionistheillusoIymind·Lovet}IatarisesffomemotionswillcbangewbileIovetbatarises廿om

wisdomwiIInevercbange.Hence’Budd}1asdonot

uselove’butinsteadusecompassion.

0nappearance’loveandcompassionseemthe

same’buttheirintentionsaredi仳rent.Lovemaycbangetobatredbutwithwisdom’lovewillnever

change.AllBuddhasandbodhisattvaswiIoveusno

matterwhat;whetberweloveorhatethem’become

jealous’ors}andeI)barmordestrOythem.T}leircom-passion{bruswiInevercbange.Thisistruelove.TVKS

67

PRlNCIPLES

l09.Mostofuswill6ndthatours1xsensesbecome

poIutedwhentheyencounterexternalsurroundings·Whenthesearepleasing’wedevelopaheartof

greed╴thisispollution.W｝Ienthesearedispleasing’

wedevelopaheartofresentmentandanger’wbic}Iis

pollutionaswellWeneedtoremembertbatt}IeFiveDesiresof

wealth’sex’bme’{bod’andsleepandtbeSevenHu-

manEmotionsofjOy)anger’sorrow){bar’love’}late’

anddesireareimpuritiesoftheheart.OriginallJ乃our

truenaturewaspurewit｝1outimpurities.叭∕eneedto

eradicateallimpuritiesandrelyuponourpureheart.BACW

ll0.Thesutrastellus:〃CauseandeffbctarelinIKed

throug}Ithepast’presentandfi1ture.’’Whatweun-dergointhislifbtimearetbeconsequencesofw}1atwehaddoneinourpreviouslifbtimes’whilewhatwedonowwilldeterminewbatweundergoinour{i1ture

li｛btimes.IfwecultivateveIydiligentlJ〃weneednot

waituntil{i1tureli{btimestoreapourrewards;in-

stead’wemayseeourdeedsbear廿uitinthislifbtime!CD

68

PRlNCIPLES

lll.WeshouldbeimpartiaItoaIpeopleinanysitua-

tion’w}1ethert}1eyaregoodorbad.Animpartialmindwillleadtoapuremind.AttacbmentasweIIasdissat-

is跑ctionandenmityarewanderingthougbts.叭／hen

oneisfTeeofallwanderingthoughts’alldiscrimina-

tions’andaIlattachments’onewillattainapureand

impartialmind‧叭／hentbemindispureandimpartial’

onewilldeBnitelybeawakened’notdeluded.OnewiII

tbenrealizetbegoalof‘‘puritJhimpartiality’anden-Iightenment.’’EILS

ll2·V/CreadintbeMa}Iayanasutras:‘‘Allphenom-

enaaremani｛bsted匕ythemind〃and“Ourenvlron﹣

mentchangesaccordingtoourmind.’’“Environme㎡’

heremeansmountains’rivers’earth’trees’f>owers’

andgrass.Theycanallbechanged})yourminds.Webavetoremembert}Iissentence·

IfIcanbeapersonwitbapure’vIrtuous’sincere’compassionatemind’thenthemountains’rivers’

earth’trees’flowers’andgrasswillbecomestrongand

wonderfi1lIfmymindisR1Iofgreed!anger’igno-rance’andarrogance’andmytboughtsareconstantlyoftakingadvantageofotherstobenefitmyself;thentheouterworldwillbecomefiagile.WPH

69

PRINCIPLES

ll5·Thetruenatureisoftheutmostpurityandvirtu-

ousness.Itisperfbctandradiant.Habitsaretbebad

thoug}Itsandviewsthatoneacquiredafferbirtb.

Simp!yput’tbeconflictbetweentbetruenatureand

acquiredhabitsistbecon{lictbetweenaItruismandselEbenefit.Compassion’loving-kindness’andallvir-

tuesareinnateinthetruenatureofallbeings;selfisb-

nessandallbadt}Ioughtsarenot.OH

lM.TheBuddbataughtusthatwealth’wisdom’and

longli{bareaIlKarmicresuIts.Ifwewanttoobtaintberesult’wemust6rstestablisbandnurturethe

cause.Goodcausesbringaboutgoodresults:bad

causesgarnerbadresults.Wherethereisacause’t}1erewiI}bearesultandw}1erethereisaresult’t}1ere

wasacause.Tbisisanatura}lawt}]atneverc}1angesandtbelawaroundwhichaIIot}Ierlawsintbeuni-

verserevolve·

Wheredodisasterscome廿om?T｝Ieyarethe

mani{bstationsofourminds.TheJ/occurbecauseour

mindsareimpure’witbtooman5yaberranttbougbts’

w}]icbiswhywe}]avesomanydisastersonour

planet.TheSα／Ⅶ／甽〃zαSα伽teⅡsusclearlytbatour

consuminggreedcanresultinRoods·Ourconsuming

70

PRINClPLES

angercanresuItinfire’causingvolcaniceruptions

andescalatingtI﹞etemperatureofourpIanet‧叭／hen

ourplanetgetsangIy’sheshowshertempert}Irough

volcaniceruptions·lgnorancebringsaboutdisasters

caused匕ytyphoonsandburricanes.Arroganceresults

ineartbquakes.叭／benwearearrogant’ourmindisno

longer〕ustandweIoseoursenseo「equaIity.Inequal﹣

ityinourmindcauseseart}Iquakes·

There{bre’greed’anger’ignorance’andarrogancearetbe{burrootcausesoftbe{burdi{fbrentdisasters·

WPH

ll5.WhetherattainingsometI]ingoutsideofourselves

sucbasmateriaIobjectsorinsideourseIvessuchasvIrtues’westil】needtoseek斤omwithin’什omtbe

mind.Seeking廿omtbeoutsidewouldbe｛iltile.Why?

Theoutside｛actorisaconstant╴itcannotcbange.

Tbemindisavariable╴itchanges‧CD

ll6·Howdoman-madecalamities’war’{brexample’

comeabout?T｝Ieyare廿omthecon廿ontationaIand

con{lictingthoughtsinourminds.Forexample’whenthereisproBt’wbodowethinkofbeneHttingfirst?Ifwetbinkofourselves6rst’tbenitwillbedi冊cultto

7l

PRINCIPLES

avoidconflictsofinterestwithothers.IfeveIyonethinksofhim﹣or｝1erse｝βhowcant｝1iswor｝dbesafb

andsecure?

Ontbeotherhand’ifeveIyonecanputothersbe-{brethemselves’howcanthisworldbeindisorder?

WPH

ll7.Man[yscientistsnowbelievethateveIythingin

thisworldiscomposedofelementaIyparticlessucbas

electronsandquarks)andtbattheyareallactually

tinyquantumparticles(pbotons)vibratingatdiffbrent

什equencies.TbosequantathatvibrateveIyslowly

{brmrocksandminerals.Thosevibratingfasterfbrm

animals’plants’andbumanbeings.Tbosevibrating

evenfasterbecometelevisionandradiosignals.Eve-

Iythinginthisuniverseismadeupofquantathatare

generatedintensivelyandcontinuously’andthese

quantaoriginateanddieataspeed{astertbanwecan

imagine.MR

ll8.Ifonehastbeslightestthougbtofselβtrouble

will{bllow.Why?Becauseonemakesmistakeswhen

onebasevenathoughtofsel仁interest.Onlyw｝Ien

onehasnothoughtofselfLinterestand}Iastrulyletgo

72

PRINCIPLES

ofeveIJ/tbingwiIIone’smindbeliberatedandone’swisdombeuncovered.ASC

ll9.Tbreconcileconflict’itisimperativetodecrease

andeventuallyletgoofthedesire{brmaterialgain.

T}leoppositeofmaterialgainisbenevolenceandjus-tice’whichiscompassion(c/M)astaughtinBud-

dhism.Benevolenceisci╴｝Ielpingallbeingsattain

happinessandsacri{icingoneselffbrot}Iers.Justice

refbrsto｝IeIpingaIlbeingsendsu仳ring.Itisequiva﹣

lenttobei.Tbere{bre,Buddhismadvocates“Compas-

sionistheessence’andexpedienWistbemeans’”

wbileConfUcianismteacbesbenevolenceandjustice.

Alt｝Ioughtbewordsusedaredi仳rent’theyconvey

thesamemeaning.Mencius’metbodofsolvinga

problemisexact!ythesameasthatoft}]eBuddba:

theybothstart廿omtberootcauses‧LS

l20‧Matterisaccumulated仕omunitsofconscious﹣

ness’(tberapidarisingandceasingofthougbts).T}Iereisnomattertbatexistswitboutconsciousness.

Bothphysicalandmentalpbenomenaarederived

廿omourthoughts‧Onceourtboughtarises’various

phenomenaint}Ieuniverseappear’Onceourthought

73

PRlNCIPLES

ceases’tbeuniversedisappearsandatt}Iesametime

ourtruenatureinstant!yemerges.SE

l2l.AllpbenomenaintbeuniverseareoneentiIandaretbemani佺stationofthetruenature.Whenone

thoughtarises’alIob)ectsinstant!yappear.Wbenthereisoneexistence)allexist.Whenoneexistence

ceases’allexistenceceases.Tbereisnoorderorbe-

{breandaRer·ItismuchliketbeteIevisionscreenthat

changesimagesaIthetime’butaItbechangescome廿omonescreen‧Di仳rentimagesaret｝Ieresu】tof

diffbrent什equenciesoftransmission.T｝Iec｝Iangeof

廿equenCycanbecomparedtothechangeofthougbts.

Whenonetbougbtarises’aIob)ectsfbllows.Thatis

w｝WBuddhasaid:“Allphenomenonarises斤omthemind.川REN

l22WeneedtoavoidalIthatisevilandembraceall

tbatisgood·Webeginwithourselves.First’wecan-

notallowourselvestobeaffbcted匕yworldlypbenom﹣

ena.Inot}Ierwords’wemustnotbeattacbedtot}1e

FiveDesiresandtheSixSenseObjectsbutletgoof

t}1em’{braslongasweclingtothem’wewillnever

eradicateoursel&s}Iness.Thesetboughtsofself

71

PRlNCIPLES

bene儡taretberootofaIlnegativekarma.Allgooddeedsthataredoneoutofevilintentionswillbecome

eviI.CD

l25.Apersonwbohasathoroughandcorrectunder-

standingofthetrutho『Ii｛bandt｝Ieuniverse╴all

principlesandmatters’tbenoumenonofanythingand

itsp}IenomenaIexpressions’andcausesandre-

sults╴iscaIledaBuddha‧Asagealsobasac】earun-

derstandingoftbetruthoflifbandt}]euniversebut

nottborougbly.Thedi仳rencebetweenaBuddbaand

asageistbeextentofunderstanding·AL

l21·Con{i1cianismandBuddhismbothteachustobe

betterpeople’tobevirtuous!andtoacbieveuniversal

barmonya仕erweachievepersonal｝﹞armony.T｝IeBuddbasaidint｝IeZZ／zⅢ﹑∕αo必／KZI／γ〃α您／Sα夕Ⅶthat

bod}1isattvasbaveamet}Iodt}]atcanhelpthemenda}I

suffbringsintheThreeEvilPat}Is.Themetbodisbe-

ingmindfi1lofandcontemplatingwbolesomet}Ioughts

often’andobservingwholesomebehaviorandspeech

nig}ItanddaJ/)witbouthavingeventbeslig}Itestnon-

vIrtuousthought·ThiswaJ/)onewillendalIevils{br-

75

PRINCIPLES

everandperfbct!yaccomplisbgooddharmas╴whole﹣

somethoug}Its’behaviorandspeech.BC

l25.WbenwecontemplatecarefilllJ乃weseethatall

thecomplexproblemsthrougbouthistoIyandaround

tbeworldarise廿omcontradiction’con日ict’opposi-

tion’andinequality.Whenweprobedeeper’weseethattherootofcon日ictistbecon日ictbetweenthetrue

natureandt}Ieacquired}1abitsofbumanity.Inot}1erwords’itisthecon｛lictbetweenaItruismandsel低

beneBt.

There{bre’theBuddhataughttbisfUndamental

principle:“Whenthemindispure’thelandwillbe

pure.爪／benthemindisatpeace’allbeingswillbeat

peace.Whenthemindisimpartial’theworldwillen-

jOyequaIity〃Hetaughtustopuri句ourselves’enrich

ourspiritualli{b’returntoouroriginalgoodness’and

achieveharmonyofbodyandmind.ThiswaJ)alltbe

contradictions’con日icts’oppositions’andinequalities

intheworldwillnaturalyberesolved.BC

l26·IfoureveIyt}Iougbtisofourselves’ego-

attachmentwillworsendaJbydayHowthencanwe

transcendt}leThreeRealms?TbisiswbytheBudd}Ia

76

PRINClPLES

taughtustoalwaysthinkofbene6tingallbeings·This

waJ/)tbetboughtsofbenefitingourselveswillgradu-

alIydiminishandgoawaJ.OureveIthoughtand

eveIydeedshouldbe{brallbeings’not{brourselves.Whenallbeingsbavegoodfbrtune’wetoohave

good{brtune’becausewearealsooneoft}Iebeings·

Similar!J〃wecannotavoidmisfbrtuneifallbeingshavemis{brtune’EILS

l27.Goodnessspringing廿omourheartsarises仕om

truesinceritJ/andistruegoodness.Whatistrue

goodnessandblsegoodness?叭／emustlookintoour

heartstoseeifwearegenuinelypracticinggoodness.

FalsegoodnessissimpMbllowingotbers’toactwith-

outsinceritJ／wbilewishingfbrareturn.乃uegood-

nessistowisb{brnothinginreturn·CD

l28.LearningandpracticingBuddbismisnothing

otherthanlettinggoofvvanderingtboughts)discrimi-nations’andattachments.Whenonedoesso’thetrue

mindwillmani{bst·Itistruetbat“inBuddhism’eveIywishcanbefi1l6lled.”EILS

77

PRINCIPLES

l29‧Weo仕enreadintbesutrasofthe6reburning

ourfbrestofmerits.Whatisthis5re?Itisangerand

batred.、Whenweloseourtempers’weloseourmerits

aswell.Ifyouwanttoknowhowmuchmerityouhave’thinkoftbelasttimeyoubecameangIyWith

oneangIytbought’the{ireburnsourfbrestofmerits.

WhydoaIIourmeritsgetdestrOyedwithjusta

Iittleanger?BecauseweloseourpuritJ/ofmind.

Tbere{bre’aItbeteachingsandattainmentsarebased

onpatienceanddeepconcentration.Theyarenotonly

tbelKeytoourcultivationintranscendingtheCycleof

rebirthbutthekeytoworldlymattersaswell.“Tb

remainunmoved匕yslander’’isdeepconcentration

andistberevelationofwisdom.TbbecomeangIyduetoslanderisamani仕stationofkarmicobstacles.叭∕e

canchoosewbet}Iertohaveourwisdomrevealedor

ourkarmicobstaclesmateriaIize·CD

l50.IfoneseelKswisdom’onemustachieveapure

mind.叭／｝Ienonebasapuremind’wisdommanifbsts.

Apuremindislikeamirror.Its{i1nctionistoseeeve-

Iytbingclear!yinitsreHection.This[seeingeveIy

thingclearIy>is}]avingwisdomlfonewantstohave

apuremind’one’smindmustnotbecontaminated

78

PRINCIPLES

evenintheslightestway╴bymundaneteachings（t｝﹞e

FiveDesiresandtbeSixDusts）or匕ysupramundane

teacbings﹙thatis’Mabayana’T｝﹞eravada’True化ac｝I﹣

ings’orProvisionalT℃achings）.Thisisveryimpor﹣

tant·OnemusttIytohaveamindoftheutmostpuritJ/andwordsandbehavioro「theutmostvirtuousness.

ElLS

l3l.Noton!ydobumanbeingspossessthebearto『

compassionjanimaIsdotoo.Thisistru|ytbevirtuous

originalnature.Tbenatureofanimalsisnodi仳rent

ffomours’butbecausetheyareevenmoredeeplyde-

ludedthanweare’theyhavebeenbornasanimals.

Al｝tbebeingsintbe爬nDbarmaRealmssbaretbe

sametruenature.ThisiswbytheBuddba’int}]eMa-

haJ/anasutras’spokeof“unconditionalgreatcompas-

sionandtbelKindnessofrealizingthatweareoneen-

tity.”CD

l52Oneisjealousbecauseonecannotbeartosee

othersdoweIlApersonreceivessometbinggoodbe-causetbispersonhadcultivatedagoodcause╴thisis

hisorberreward.Whatistheretobejealousof?If

wewantgoodrewards’weonlyneedtopIantgood

79

PRINCIPLES

causes.Weshouldlmowtorejoiceatothers’meritori-

ousdeedsandbelpthemaccomplisbt}Iem·EILS

l35.WhycanBuddhismresolveallproblems?The

dpαhz〃zc／α尺αM∕／1αsaJ／s:‘‘Allphenomenaaremani｛bsted

byt｝1emind.〃Tbismeansthatal｝thep｝Wsicalp｝Ie﹣

nomenaandmentalphenomenainlifbandtbeuni-

verse’andevenabstractconcepts’arecreatedbyour

ownmindsandhavenot}Iingtodowithotherpeople.

Whenathougbtarises’phenomenawillmanifbst.

W}IenthemindisstilI’nophenomenawillmani{bst.

ThisisnaturalItisdescribedas‘‘itisthewayitis’’inBudd}Iism.BC

l31.Humilityenablesustopreserveourgoodre-wards.叭∕ithoutit’wewilllosewhatwehaveaccumu-

latedandallofoure｛fbrtswillhavebeeninvain.爪／e

needtore!yonhumiIityfbritenablesustopreserve

ourgoodness.CD

l55·Peopleoffensaythatonebringsnothingwithoneatbirthandonetakesnothingwithoneatdeatb.

爪／henwedie’wecannottakean《ythingthatweown

witbus.Wemustclearlyunderstandtbistrutb.Does

80

PRINCIPLES

an;ythingwe}Iavenowbelongtous?No!Ifwethink

tbatwbatwehavebelongstous’thisisignorance·

WbatwehaveweareiustusingtemporarilJ〃like

whenwestayinahotelNothingbelongstous.Ifwe

canthorough!yunderstandtbisreali吼wewillnot

havegreed·Wewillbeateaseregardlessofwhatwe

encounterinli{bandwiInotmindortalKean;yt}Iing

seriously.Whenweunderstandthetruth’wewillbave

peaceofmind.Wbenwehavepeaceofmind’wewill

surelyseethetrutb.Tbere比re’wesbouldletgoof

eveIyt｝lingthatisirreIevant╴absolute!ygivenorise

togreed.Weshouldentbusiasticallydomoregood

deeds{brthesalKeofallbeingsandsociety.EILS

l56·PeopleinthisworIddonotunderstandt}Ietrutb

ofIifbandtbeuniverse.TheyareignorantandseIBsb·TheBudd｝Iatoldusthetrutbo「lifbandtheuniver-

se╴theentireD｝IarmaRealmisoneenti吼andt｝IetruenatureofBuddbasandbodbisattvasandtbatof

allbeingsareone.Fromthis’werealizethatweand

alltheotherbeingsintbeentireDharmaRealmare

closelylmit╴whenweloveourseIves’wewiⅢovealI

8l

PRlNCIPLES

beings;wbenwehelpotbers’wearehelpingour-seIves·EILS

l37.VirtuallyeveIyonewouldpre{brtobegood.Even

theworstpersonwillusuallysaJthatbeorshewould

Iiketopracticegoodness.Fromthis’wecanconclude

tbatagoodheartandbehavioristhetruenatureof

bumanitJ/.Buddbismteacbesusthattbisisavirtueofourtruenature·

Ifthisisthecase’whydopeopIeresorttoimmoral

conduct?TWoreasons’First’peoplecommitbaddeedsbecauseoftheira刪ictionsandbad｝Iabits‧Sec-

ond’tbeydosobecauseofbadconditions.叭／biIethey

a『ecommittingbaddeeds’mostarebotheredbytbeir

conscience’un{brtunateIy’theydonotbaveanygood

廿iendstobelpthemtore｛brm’andsotbeybecomemoredeludedandconfi1sed·CD

l58.TheBuddbadividedalIactivitiesintothree

kinds:good’bad’andmoraIlyneutralMoralyneutralmeansthattheactivitJ/isneithergoodnorbad.For

example’wipingone’sfacewithatowelanddrinking

acupofteaaremora}lyneutralactivities.TVKS

82

PRlNClPLES

l39.Insteadoflosingourtempersandbecomingan-

gIy﹚weshouldsincereIyre日ectandremindourselves

t｝latweareonlyhumanandthateachofusbas炮ults.

Ifwecannotfbrgiveothersjsbortcomings’bowcan

weexpecttbemto{brgiveours?

ThinIKinginthismanner’wewillnolongercon-

demnothersbutwiInsteadfbelempathy<brthem.

Peopleon|ymakemistakesduetotheirignorance.

TheyIacktheabiIitytodistinguishbetweentrueand

false’properanddeviated’andbetweenbarm{i1land

beneficiaI.Tbus’tbeycannotcorrecttbemseIves’end

tbeirerroneouswaJ／s’orcuItivateIKindness.叭∕es｝IouId

{belSympat}Wfbrtbemandnotbereproachfi1lInsodo-

ing,we﹛blIowtbeBudd｝Iabandbodhisattva’swaJ／o「

relatingtopeopIeandsituations.CD

l10.Ifonecultivatesgoodfbrtunebutlosesones

tempero仕en’harborshatredandjealouSJ／﹚isarrogant’

orlovestooutdootbers’onewillbavenomeritsbut

willstiIbavegreatgoodfbrtune.Tbisisbecausegood

{brtunecannotbeburnedaway.WbicbpathwilIt}Iis

kindofpeopleberebornin?TheBudd}Iasaidthat

theywillbereborninthepathofasuras.Asurashave

good{brtunebutnovirtues.Theyarepronetoanger

83

PRINCIPLES

andlosetheirtempereasilyandhurtothers.Butwhen

theyuseuptheirgood{brtune’theywiIallintoabad

realm.Buddhismoftentalksabout“angerandre-

sentmentinthethirdli｛btime”╴onecultivatesgood

fbrtuneinthe6rstli{btime’enjOysitintbesecondlifb-time’and{allsintoabadrealminthetbirdlifbtime.

EILS

Ml.W}Ienafami!ymemberisinacrisis’weshouldrecitesutrasandaBuddha’sname’andthendedicate

themeritstoallbeingsthrougbouttheuniverse.We

sbouldwishthataIivingbeingswillnolongersuffbr’

butbebappyandhealthy.Wbenwearesincereinthis

t}1oug}lt’our{amilymemberswilIgainasweI.W}U?

Becauseourheartistrubpervasive!CD

l12PeopleoffensaJ/)(‘Ihavededicatedallmymerits

toothersandgainednothing｛brmysel【﹨入／hatisthe

useinpracticinggoodness?”Thiscouldonlycome

廿omanarrowmind.Ifweprostratein仕ontofthe

Buddhabutdonot{belanyresponse’itisbecauseour

heartsareselfishWearetotallysel慍seekinganddo

notlmowtbatweshouldmagnifyourmeritssothat

t｝1eyencompasst｝1eentireuniverse.叭／benwededi-

81

PRlNCIPLES

catet}IemeritstoaIivingthings’itislikepassingon

alig}It·Weuseourf>ametolightthoseofotbers’so

thatthewholeworldisbathedinbrightness.Thisre-

sultsingreatbenefit{brallwithnolosstoourselves·

PeoplewhopracticeBuddhismneedtodedicatethe

merits廿ompracticetoalllivingbeingsintbeuni-

verse’toawakening’andtoreaIitJhinordertoun-

covertheperfbctcompIetetrueBuddba-nature.CD

l15.Peopleintbisworlddonotunderstandtbetrut}I

oflifbandt}Ieuniverse.TheyareignorantandselBsh.TbeBuddbatoldusthetruthoflifbandtheuniver-

se╴theentireDbarmaRealmisoneentity’andtbetruenatureofBuddhasandbodhisattvasandt}Iatof

allbeingsareone.Fromthis’werealizetbatweand

alltheotherbeingsintheentireDharmaRealmare

closelylmit╴whenweloveourselves’wewiⅢoveaⅡ

beings;w}]enwebelpothers’wearebe}pingour-selves.EILS

I1.Tbelawofcauseandeffbct’w}IatweoHenre{br

toaslKarma’spansmanylifbtimes.Whensomeone

takesadvantageofyou6nancialIJ乃youareleaving

bebindmoneythatismeant{br{Utureli{btimeswhen

85

PRINCIPLES

itwillbepaidbackDonotdwellontbismatter.Do

notbesitatetodogooddeedsbecauseoftbeseobsta-

cles.Justasweappreciatematerialthingscomingto

usnow’wewiIikewiseappreciatetbemintbefi1ture’w}Iethert}Iat{i1tureiscIoseordistant.ASC

l15.ItismostimportanttbatasBuddhists’welKnovv

exactlyw｝Wwearepracticing╴toaccumulatetheul﹣

timategood{brtune{brourIastmomentsofli{b.W}Iat

isultimategood{brtune?IttolKnowthatwhenour

timeisup’wecanleavetbisworldwithoutiIIness,ina

sittingorastandingposition’andthatweknowex-

actlywherewewillbegoing.Thisisthegreatestgood

{brtune’butmostpeopleareunawareofthis·Practi-

tionerssbouIdconstantlyremindthemselvestosbare

theirgood{brtunewitbothers·Thatwaythegood{br-tunewillbeevengreater.CD

l16·Ourviewpoints’speech,andbehavioraIlHow仕omourtruenaturewhenweseeourtruenature.

Otberwise’theyHow廿omoura刪ictionsandresidualbabits·

Ourviewpoints’speech’andbehaviorarestillsel{L

ishanddictatedbyourgreed’anger’andignorance.

86

PRlNCIPLES

ThereisnoseI&shnessorgreed’anger’andignorance

inBuddhas’andDharma-bodyMahasattvas’view-points’speech’andbehavior‧叭／esbouldaskourselves

ifwearestiIlsel{ish’orifwestiIIhavegreed’anger’ignorance’andarrogance.IfwestiIilKethisordislike

tbat’westiI]aveanegothatIikesanddisIikes.

Wbenwebaveanego>thenwestiIIbaveselfisb-

ness.Eveni{thereisonb/atraceofanyoftboseinus’

wearenotyetawalKened·Westi}Ihavenotseentrue

nature.Onewhohasseentruenatureiscompletely廿eeofsel6sbness’greed’anger’ignorance’andarro-

gance.ASC

M7.l\/Iaitreyaisanexpertontl1econsciousness-onIy

teacbings·Hesaidtbatinthearisingofthougbts’t}Ierearel.28xl0l5wavemotionsinonesecond.

WitheveIywavemotion’physicalandmentalphe-nomenasimuItaneousb/mani{bst.Tbinkabouttbis.

爪／benwewatcbamovie’twenty﹣｛bur廿amesare

flashedpersecond’whicbalreadymakesusfbeItbat

thescenesont}IescreenareveIyreaI.Thepresentuniverse-theexternalenvironmentt}]atoursix

sensescomeintocontactwith╴appeartousatthe

superspeedofl·28xl0l5fTamespersecond.Tbisis

87

PRINCIPLES

whyitisstatedint｝IeDlh〃m〃﹜Sα伽:“Allpbenomena

areiIlusoIy.〃T﹜Iisisthetrutb’notjustadescription’

ofal}pbenomena.BC

l18.Whenwearerebornintbe叭／esternPureLand’

ourwisdom’capabilities’v1rtues’andabilitieswiIbeuncovered.爪／ewilltbenbeabletocomebacktotbe

NineD｝1armaRea｝mstohelpt｝1osew｝Io｝1aveana任

6nitywithus.Whata{finiI?RepayinglKindness’tak-

ingrevenge’collectingdebts’andrepayingdebts.Wehelpthosewhobavethesefburkindsofa冊n-

iⅣwitbus.Aslongasthereisa冊nitJ／’withwisdom

andexpedientmeans’wewillbeabIetohelptbemenddelusionandattainenlightenment’andtobelp

themtrans{brmfibmordinaIypeopIetosages.W}Ien

webelpothersac}Iievetbesegoals’wealsoac}Iieveinourcultivationofvirtues’wisdom’andgood{brtune.ASC

l么i9‧叭／hensomeoneo仳ndsusfbrnoreasonatall’it

ist}Ieirprob}em’notours·Ifsomeoneattacksusun-{airlJMtdoesnotconcernus.EveniftheyattackusphysicalJ〃tbereisnoreasontobecomeangⅣ.This

bodyisnot“me.”PuriIofmindwillneverbehurtby

88

PRINClPLES

attaclKsjaspuriIofmindbyitsnaturecontains

nothing.Itisas}]amethatwedonotemplOypurityofmindwhenweinteractwitbothersorcircumstances·

WhatweuseistheillusoIymindnott}1etrueselE

BuddhismteacbesustoseektbeoriginalselEThis

true’pureminddoesnotgiverisetoan:ywanderingthoughts.OursurroundingswiIlnota仳ctthepure

mind.Ifsomethingdoesnotconcernus’w}WshouldweworIyaboutit?WhysbouIdwebesoattachedto

it?OnceweseverallwanderingdiscriminatoIythoughtsandattachments’whatistberetoconcernuS?

Notbing·

Byunderstandingthelogic’ourmindswillbeset-

tledandnolongera肚ctedbyexternalconditions’

andwewillachieveperfbctpeaceofmind·Regardlessofw}Iathappensaroundus’wecanremaincalm·爪／henweencounter炮vorabIeconditions’wedonot

giverisetotbeheartofgreed.Encounteringunfavor-ableconditions’wedonotgiverisetotbeheartofan-gerbRegardlessoft}Iecircumstances’weareableto

maintaintbemindofpuri咖equalib／﹚andcompassiontogenuineIyre{brmourselves.CD

89

PRINClPLES

l50.TbePLz吮／v〃Sα伽saJ／s:“Ifoneisatruepracti﹣

tioner’onewillnotseet｝Ie｛auItsofothers.刎W｝Wwill

onenotseethe{auItsofothers?Becauseoneregards

alldbarmasasillusoIy!Tbereisnobult.Thereisno

merit·Nogoodandnoevil.One’smindisimpartial:withoutdiscriminationorattachment’tbereisneitber

goodnorevil’neitherrigbtnorwrong’andneitbert『uenor｛alse.OnewilInatura｝lynotspeakoft｝1e

bultsofotbers·Tbere{bre’goodorevil’rigbtor

wrong’andtrueor庖lse╴t｝Ieseareun【bundeddis-

criminations{brmed})ypeopleint}lisworld.ElLS

l5l·Modernscientistsacknowledgetbatmatterinthe

universeisgenerated匕ywaves.Thespeedofwavesis

veIyrapid.Thiswaveoriginatesint}Ievibrationofthoughts·

Matterdoesnotexist·ItisaniIusoIypbenome-

nonoftheentanglingandaccumulationoft}Iougbts.

Itsfbundationisthoughts.Withoutthoug}Its’therewillbenomatter.Thisconclusioncoincideswiththe

teac}IingsintheBuddhistsutras’wbichsaythatanunawakenedthougbtisthemarkofkarma.ThemarlK

ofkarmaisap}Ienomenonofthevibrationofthoughts·Fromvibrationmani{bstst}Iespiritualp}]e-

90

PRINCIPLES

nomenaandthephysicalphenomena.Understandingthis’wewiIlreaIizethatobjectschangeinaccordancewitht}Iemind.SC

l52Tbosewhoacbievethe{burd}WanasandtheeigbtconcentrationscannottranscendtheSixPat}Is

becauset}Ieyareattachedtothestateofmeditative

concentrationtbeyareinandwiIInotletgoofit.At-

tachmentleadstogreed’whichisstillawanderingthougbt·

Tbisistoremindustoexercisewisdom·Wecan

enjOytbestateofmeditativeconcentrationbutshouldnotbeattachedtoit·Ifwecanacbievethisnon-

attacbment’tberewilIbenoadverseeffbcts.

Itistbesamewithourpresentsituation.Wecan

enjOywhateverweareexperiencingbutweshouldnotattacbtoit.Ifdiscriminationsandattachments

ariseinus’tbenwearewrongandwillhavetrouble.ASC

l55.AsbeingsensnaredintheCycleofrebirtb’vveare

allsub）ecttowhatiscaIledtheEightSu仳rings.Tbe

firstseven╴birtb’aging’iIlness’deatb’separation廿omIovedones’associationwiththosewedislike’

9l

PRINCIPLES

andun﹛i1lⅢeddesires╴aresuHbringasretribution.

Thelastone’thesu仳ringduetotheBveaggregates’

isageneraldescription·

叭∕heredoessu仳ringcome什om?T｝IeBuddha

talkedabout“su仳ringduetotheBveaggregates.”

T}IeBveaggregatesarefbrm’{beling’conception’im-

pu}se’andconsciousness.Formrefbrstot}1ep}Wsical

body.Feeling’conception’impulse’andconsciousnessrefbrtomentalactivities·

AlllivingbeingsaremadeupoftheseBveaggre-

gates.Inot}Ierwords’lifbisthecombinationofmatter

andmind.Thebodyismatterandtbusissubjectto

birthaging’illness’anddeatb.Mentall﹚乃wearesub-

jecttotheexperienceofun{illIeddesires’separation廿omlovedones’andassociationwitbt｝1osewedis-

like.ASC

l51.Positiveandnegativekarmaaswellast}Ieentireuniversearecreated廿omourmind.T｝1eBuddbatold

usint｝Iedpα加／M／α几αM〃Ⅶ:“Thenatureoftbe

Dbarmarealmsarisesfi.omtbemind.Natureises-

senceandessenceisthemind·’’HowdoMaha:yana

bod}IisattvasentertbehelIrealmstohelpthebeings

there?T}leseenlightenedbeingsdosobyunderstand-

92

PRlNClPLES

ingtheprinciplethateveIJ∕t｝Iingarises仕omthemind.

WeIearn廿omtbeK／吻α／洲αSα伽t｝lattobreak

throught}Iedoorsofthehells’oneneedstounder-

standt｝1ateveIJ∕tbingarises廿omt｝1emind‧叭∕hatis

Hell?Acreationofourminds.Understandingtbis’wewilllearnthattherearenogatestohell╴wecan

comeandgo廿ee∣y!CD

l55.Howcanonebetruly廿eeofconfilsionordelu﹣

sion?Letusobserveatru!yawakenedperson.This

personbasaclearunderstandingofhim-orberselfas

wellasthelivingenvironment.Understandingis

awalKening.Whatisthestandard{brunderstanding?TheBuddhawasatru!yawakenedperson.Heis

ourstandard·TbeBuddhasaidt}Iattbetruthoft}Iis

worldis“su仳ring’emptiness’andimpermanence.﹚』

T}1isisthetrut}1oft}IismundaneworId.Noonecan

escape什omtbis.

T}1isworldisIedwithsuHbring’isempIinna-

ture’andisimpermanent.Wemustclearlyunderstand

t}1is.Whenwedo’wesbouIdabandonsuffbring’emp-tiness’andimpermanenceinthisworIdandseelKthe

stateofpermanence’]Oy)trueselEandpurity.Acbiev-

ingt}Iis’wearetru|yawakened.Thestateof“perma-

95

PRINClPLES

nence》jOy﹚trueselβandpurity〃istbestateofBuddhasandbodhisattvas·EILS

l56.W}1etherintentionalorunintentional’obstructing

ot}Iersorbarmingotherstobenefitourselvesissome-

t｝Iingthatwemustnotdo.Ourlivesareshort.叭∕hen

wetIytobene6tourselves!howmuchbenefitcanwe

gainand<brbowlongcanweenjOyit?Andfbrthis’wewillhavetberetributionoffallingintotbeTbree

Evi】Patbs.TheIengt﹜Ioftimewesu仳rtberewilⅢar

exceedtheamountoftimewespendenjOyingthose

f}eetingbene{its.

Whywouldwewanttodosuc}Ia{bolishthing?ASC

91

CUIjTIVATlON

Cultivation

l57·WeshouIdbeasrespectfi1ltonon-sentientbeingsastoBuddbas.Forexample,tablesandcbairsare

non-sentientbeings·Ourrespecttothems}Iouldbe

thesameastbattoBuddbas’withoutan《ydi仳rence‧

ThisisthepracticeofSamantabbadra‧叭／henwesee

tabIesandcbairs’weputtbemintheirproperplaces

andkeeptbemclean.Tbisissbowingourrespectto

tbem.Tberespectinourheartsisexactbthesame’tboughhowweexpresstberespectdi仳rs.Practicing

respect｛braIlBuddhasstarts廿omthispoint【theim-

partialrespect{braIIbeings>.ElLS

l58.Enlightenmentistoknowandcorrectourbults.

BodhisattvasareenIig}Itenedsentientbeings.Weare

alsosentientbeings’butareunenIightenedsincewedonotlKnowour{aultsandthusdonotknowtocor-

rectthem.Webelievetbatwearealreadycorrect.

‘‘DoIbaveanyfaults?”wequestionourselves’and

tbinkingfbraIongw}IiIewecannotfindany·Tbus’itissaidthatordinaIypeopledonothave陋ultswhile

bodbisattvashaveman<y.TheyconstantIywatchovertheireveIytbougbt’word’anddeed’IKnowingthat

95

CUIjTIVATION

tbeybavemanysbortcomings’continuouslycorrect-

ingthemanddoingsofbrthreegreateons.Whenwetl﹞inkaboutbowmany值ultstberecanbe﹚howcan

wepossibbtbinkthatasordinaIypeoplewedonothaveany!CD

l59.Respect╴eveIythingshou｝dstartwithit’notjust

wbenwearelearningtbesupremeBuddhadharma.

‘‘Single-mindedrespect”╴weoftenreadthesewords

intherepentancesectiontbatappearsintheBuddhist

practicebookSingle-mindednessisthepracticeof

Samantabhadra.Itsignifiesimpartia}itJ/.Single-

mindednessismaintainingthesamemindwhetherwe

encounterBuddhas’people’animals’ortablesandchairs.叭／ithtwominds’di仳rencesanddiscrimina-

tionarise·T}Iere{bre’withtwomindsortbreeminds’

wearenotquiterespectfblandnot{bllowingtheprac-ticeofSamantabbadra.Wemustclearlyunderstandthisbe{breweknowhowtolearn·EILS

l60.TbeBuddba’steachingisthemostwondrousand

v1rtuousteacbinginthisworldandbeyond.W}1erever

theBuddha’steacbingispropagated’wbetherina

countIJ/)acitJ/)oravillage’ifthepeoplecan{bllowbis

96

CUIJTIVATION

teachingsandpracticediligentlJ〃tberewillbegood

learningresults:trans﹛brming廿omanordinaIybeing

intoasage’trans｛brmingsu仳ringintohappiness’and

trans{brminggreed’anger’andignoranceintopreceptobservation’meditativeconcentration’andwisdom.

叭／hatwillbeshownistbat“theworldwouldbein

harmonyandaccordance.’’Theentireuniversecanbe

inharmon;yandcon{brmity.SC

l6l.Tbac}1ieveinourpractice’weneedtoletgoof

world!yconcerns.Lettinggodoesnotmeantbatwe

donotcareandwillnotbe】p.叭／ecare’extendour

helpandletgosimultaneously.Thisiswisdom.Those

whocarebutcannotletgoarestillruled匕yemotions.

HowdoBuddbasandbodbisattvasmanageto

care’help’andIetgo?Tbeybavetruewisdom.T}1eyhaveturnedaIltheiremotionsintowisdom’w}Iichis

t}Ieultimateper{bctwisdom.Theyhavewondrousand

amazing{lexibilityandskills.Althougbt}Ieybelpall

beingsoutofgreatcompassion’t}IereisnoslightestattacbmentintI1eirminds.Thisistbewonderfi1l

workingofinnatevirtues.ASC

97

CUIjTIVATION

l62.C}1angingourconductandimprovIngourse}ves

istruecultivation.Itis})ynomeansjusta{brmalityof

recitingsutras’prostratingbe{bretheBuddha’or

chantingmantras.Tb}]avecultivatedanentireli{btime

andstiIlbemiredintheCycleofrebirthistohave

simp!ygonethrougbthe{brmalities.Forothers’{br-

malitiesexempli5theteacbingssothattbeymightsee

themandbegintoawalKen.Forus’t}Ieyserveasre-

mindersoftbeteacbings·

Forsel仁cultivationhowever﹜importanceisnot

placedonthe{brmalitiesbutratherondiscovering

our跑ults.Tbisisawakening.Tbcorrectourfaultsis

toimproveinourcultivation’There{bre’tbemostim-

portantpointis[brustobecalm’introspective’andbewatch{i1lofourconductasweloolKfbrourbad

habitsandbuIts.Whenweknowtbese’wewillknow

wheretobegin’wbattocorrect,andbowtoproceed.

叭∕ecantbenconcentrateanduseallofourenergyto

refbrm.CD

l63·Themoreoneac}Iievesinpractice’t}Iemorewis-domonewiIbave·Themorewisdomonebas’the

deeperisone’sbeliefandthustbemoreonewill

achieveinpractice.Asoneacbievesmoreinpractice’

98

CUIjrIvATION

onewiIbaveevenmorewisdom·Thisis}Iowmedita-

tiveconcentrationandwisdomcomplementeacb

otherperpetually.W}lenonepracticesthisway)onewilltranscendallevilpaths.EILS

l61.SakyamuniBuddhaattainedenIigbtenmentand

Buddhaboodattheageofthirty.A{ferhehadattained

Buddbahood’hestartedtopropagatetheDbarmaand

beneBtallbeings.Hedidso{brfbrty-nineyearsuntil

}Ieenterednirvanaateighty.

Duringtbe｛brty﹣nineyears’Sa止yamunididnot

haveadayo任W｝W?Becausewhatbetaug｝It╴end﹣

ingtheCycleofrebirthandtranscendingtheThree

ReaIms╴wasveIyimportant‧Sohecouldnottake

aIWdayo仔.Hadhedoneso’bisstudents》learning

wouldbavebeeninterrupted’andtbeywouldhave

regressed.LearningislilKegoingupstreaminaboat;if

youdonotmove{brward’yougobackward.Itisthe

sameincultivation;ifonedoesnotmakeprogress’

oneimmediate!yregresses.ASC

l65·Oncetbemindispure’allobstaclesthatprevent

us什omobtaininggood廿uits廿omourcultivationwil｝

beeliminated’andonewiⅡstayaway廿omtbeevil

99

CUIjTIVATION

paths.叭∕henoneis廿eeofanger’onewilltranscend

thedoorofhells.Whenoneis仕eeofignorance’one

willtranscendthedoorofanimals.Whenoneis廿ee

ofgreedandmiserliness’onewilltranscendthedoor

ofbungIyghosts·There{bre’wbenoneeradicates

greed’anger’andignorance’onewilltranscendthe

ThreeEvilPaths.Andifonedoesnothavethesligbt-

estyearning{brt}1egood{brtuneint}1ebumanand

heavenlypaths’onewilltranscendtheSixPatbs.EILS

l66.Virtue’morali吼kindness’andintegrib／areontheinsideandarethecultivationofvirtuousconduct.

Fame’wealth’andprestigeareont}Ieoutsideandare

tbeenjOymentsinli{b.Tbbeabletoreceivebothkinds

ofbene6tsisofgreatvalue.Asissaidint﹜Ied﹙jα﹣

hz〃Mα尺αSα∕／γz’﹛‘nottobehinderedintbematterof

phenomenaorprinciples’’istbeultimateandperfbct

enjQyment.Tbisist}Iegreatper{bctionofeveIything

goingaswewish’whenwearesatis6edwitl1eveIy-

thing·Tbisistobeliberated;itistodoalltbatisbe-nevolentandnobleaswewish·CD

l00

CUIjTlVATION

l67‧Givingislettinggo╴lettinggoofeveIythingin

tbisworld·AlIt}Iea{Hictions’evenillnesses’birthand

death’andtherootcauseoftransmigrationcome

aboutbecauseoneisunwillingtoletgoofwandering

thougbtsandattacbments.Onetrulyreapstbe廿uitof

one’sactions.TbepurposeofgivingistobeIponelet

goofone’sconcerns’worries’aIictions’wandering

thoughts’discriminations’andattachments·EILS

l68.Inre{brming’weneedtohavesbame’fbar’and

courageousdetermination.Tb}]aveas}1amefi1lbeartis

tobeawakened.Tbhavearespect{i1land{bar{Ulbeart

istobeconscience-stricken.Onlywhenwehavebotb

ofthese’dowegiverisetotbecourageousanddeter-

minedhearttbatenablesustoregretandre{brm.

Realizingtbis’whyareweunabletocorrectour

{auIts?Sincewehaveyettopossessashame{Mand

{bar{i1l}Ieart’wedonothavet}Iemotivationtbatgivesrisetoacourageousanddeterminedbeart.Ifwedo

notknows}Iame’thenwewillnotbeafiaidofbeinglaughedat匕yotherssotbereislittleincentive｛brustocultivatekindness·CD

l0l

CUIIIVATlON

l69.Patienceisfbrbearance.TheF／叫〉zαM力1αsays:

“Allaccomplishmentsareattributedtopatience.』D

T}Iere{bre’patiencerequiresresoluteendurance·Con-

siderablepatienceisneededfbranyaccomp}ishment

inworldlyundertalKings’letaloneinlearningBud-

dhism.Onemustbeabletoexercisepatience‧叭∕hen

oneispatient’onewiIIbeabIetomaintainatranquilmindandadvanceinone’scultivation.Ifoneisnot

patient’onewillnotbaveanyprogressinone)sculti-

vationnomatterhowdiligentlyonecuItivates.Pa-

tiencerequirestrueeffbrt.Itisaprerequisite{brmeditativeconcentration·EILS

l70.TbacknowledgeaⅡofone’so仳nseswit｝Ioutbid-

ingaIWthingistoregretanderadicateone’slKarmic

obstacles.Tbismustbedonesincere!ytobeeffbctive.

AwalKeningisachievedwbenweareabletoidenti6

ourfaults.CultivationisaccomplisbedwbenwehaverealizedthesefauItsandcorrectedt}]em.Sincemost

peopleareunawareoftheirmistakes’theyarenot

trulycultivating.Tbere{bre’the6rststepistorecog-nizeourbad}Iabits.CD

l02

CUIJTIVAT<ON

l7l‧叭∕benonehasmeditativeconcentrationandwis-

dom’onebasgreatbeneBt·Meditativeconcentrationandwisdomcome{brtbwbent}]etruemindisactive.

Asaresult’oneisabIetocontrolone’sdestinyanJ/-wbereintheuniverse.Wbenonedoesnot}Iavemedi-

tativeconcentrationandwisdom’oneiscont『olled匕y

aIictionandtemptation.Thisispitiable.

T}Ierefbre)cultivationisnothingbutthis:inter-

nallJ〃riddingoneselfofgreed’anger’andignorance;

andexternally’cuttingo仔aIltemptations.ElLS

l72Eventbehighest-leveIBodbisattvasstillhave

{aults·Whatkind?TbeystiIIhaveonedegreeofigno-

ranceyettobebrokentbrough.IfEquaI-

enlig}1tenmentBodhisattvasstillneedtoregretand

refbrm’wecanimaginebowmucl]weneedtodo!

Fromnowon’weneedtohavethecompassionate

beartto化elremorseandchange｛brthebetter‧Even

uponreachingthelevelofEquaI-enligbtenment

BodhisattvasjwewiIIstiIlneedtodothis.On|ywben

thereisnotbingleRtocorrectwillwebecome

Buddhas.Wecannotattainsupremeenligbtenmentif

westiIlbaveoneremainingfauIt.CD

l03

CUIIIVATION

l75.TbeT℃nVirtuousKarmasaremoreprofbund

andextensivethantheFivePrecepts·TbeFivePre-

ceptsaretheBuddba’steachingtohisstudents·The

T℃nVirtuousKarmasaretheBuddba’steacbingtoall

thebeings’teachingsthatweshouldabide匕yindaily

li{b>atwork’inengaginginatask’interactionwith

people’anddealingwithasituation.TVKS

l7么i.ThebasiceducationalgoalsinConfUcianismare

tosevermaterialdesires’obtainawakening’up}1olda

sinceremindandavirtuousbeart’developself

discipline’baveaharmonious跑miIJ乃governacoun﹣

tIJ/)and{bsterworldpeace.TbdaJ/)schoolsdonotem-

phasizetbeseprinciplesorthehumanities’butstress

tecbnolo田∕.Nowonderourthoughtsandbehavior

havenoguidingprinciples‧叭／earenottaughtt﹜Iat

whenweseethemisdeedsofothers’wearetotakea

hardlookatourselvesandseeifwel1avefblfilledour

dutiesasleaders.CD

l75.Tbegravesto仳nseofalliskilling;thegreatestobstacletoone’scultivationissexualdesire.Tbeseare

twogreatobstacles·IfinonescuItivationonewisbestotranscendthisworld’onewillnotbeab>etotran-

l01

CUIjTIVATION

scendtheThreeRealmswitbouteradicatingsexuaIdesire.EILS

l76.Insteadoflosingourtempersandbecomingan-

gI’weshouldsincerelyreHectandremindourselves

t｝latweareon!ybumanandtbateachofushas由ults.

Ifwecannotfbrgiveot}Iers’shortcomings’bowcan

weexpectthemtofbrgiveours?Tbinkinginthis

manner’wewillnolongercondemnotbersbutwiII

insteadfbeIempathy{brthem.Peopleonlymakemis-

takesduetotheirignorance.Tbeylacktheabilityto

distinguis}Ibetweentrueandfalse’properanddevi-

ated’andbetweenharmft1landbene{icialTIIus’t}]ey

cannotcorrectthemselves’endtheirerroneousways’

orcultivateIdndness.WeshouldfbelSympathyfbr

themandnotbereproacb{i1lInsodoing’wefb>low

theBuddha’sandbodhisattva’swaJ/ofrelatingto

peopleandsituations.CD

l77·IfoureveIythoug}Itisofourselves’ego-

attachmentwillworsendaJbyday.Howthencanwe

transcendtbeT}1reeRealms?Thisisw}Wt}1eBudd}Ia

taugbtustoalwaJstbinlKofbene{itingallbeings.T}Iis

vvay)thetboughtsofbene6tingourselveswillgradu-

l05

CUIJIVATION

allydiminishandgoaway.OureveIthoughtand

eveIydeeds}Iouldbe{braIbeings’not{brourselves.

WhenaIlbeingshavegood{brtune’wetoobavegood

{brtune’becauseweareaIsooneofthebeings.Simi-

IarlJ乃wecannotavoidmis﹛brtuneifalIbeingshavemisfbrtune·EILS

l78·Con{i1ciustaughtIoving-IKindness’exp}aining’

“T}Iebenevolentperson}Iasnoenemies.”Ifwecannot

acceptan;ythingthatiscontraIytowbatwethink’

thenweareneitberlKindnorcompassionate.Conf>ict

simplydoesnotexistwithintbebeartofloving-IKindness.T}1isisalsowhatismeantinBuddhismas

greatcompassionandiswhatweneedtoIearnand

practicetotrulybenefitourselves.CD

l79.Weoftenburtotherswithourcarelessspeech.

Thosewe}IurtmaytakeoHbnseandbeargrudges’

andinthe{i1turewillseelKrevenge.Thus’maIWprob-

lemsarecreatedoutofmisunderstandings’andre-sentmentsarisebecauseofwhatwehavesaid.“The

speakerhadnosucbintention’tbeIistenerinterpretedittobeso.”叭／eneedtobecarefi1landrestrainedin

l06

CUIjrIvATION

ourspeechAnd廿anMy’tbereisnoneedtotaIkaIot.

IntalkingIess)wewiIIcommit{bwermistalKes.CD

l80.LikeConfi1cianism,Budd}Iismisalsofbundedon

filia}pietytoonesparentsandrespect{brone’steach-

ers·Con{i1cianteac}IingHourishedbecauseoftbis

fbundation’asdidtbeBuddba’steacbing.FiliaIpiety

istbusveryimportant’fbronlywhenoneisBlialwiII

onerespectteachersJfonetrulyrespectsonesteacb-

ers’onewiⅡreceivetheWaytaught匕ytheteachers.If

onedoesnotrespectone’steachers’theywiIInotbe

abletoteacboneanyt}Iingnomatterbowgoodtbey

are.W}W?BecauseonewiIInotbeIievetbemnorbe

wiⅡingtoIearn廿omt｝﹞em.叭／｝﹞enonerespectsones

teachers’onewiIIistentotheirteachinganddiIi-

gent!ypracticeaccordingly.OnewiI}tbusreceivetbe

meritsandbeneBts.Respectingone’steachersisre-

spectingtbeWaJandreceivingit.EILS

l8l.WCsbouldnotattachto{brmaIitiesinourprac-

tice.ForexampIe’t}]osew}]oareolderandlessagile

donotneedtolKneelwhenrecitingasutra.TbseekabondbetweenBuddhaAInitabhaandourselvesiso「

theutmostimportance.Wecancontinueourpractice

l07

CUIJTIVATION

evenwhenlyingdown.Theweakoragedcanuset}le

mostcom｛brtablepositionwbilechanting“Amituo｛b〃

orrecitingthesutra’beitlKneeling’sitting’orwalk-

ing.Ifweak’wecanliedownandlistentotbesutra

onatape.LJinginbedlisteningtothesutraorc}lant-

ing‘‘Amituofb”canachievetbesamemeritsaswben

wearesittingorwalking.CD

l82.Z}IangjiaLivingBuddbataug}Itthatbecauselifb

isshortand｛i1llofsu仳ring’onemustendwrongdo﹣

ingsandpracticevirtuousconduct’accumulatemerits

andcultivatevirtues’andshouldnotcompetewit}1

otbersorcravean;ything·Thesearethekeyguidelines

thathetaughtme·

There{bre’wbensomeonecompeteswit}Imefbr

something’Iwillyieldtotbisperson.I}1avebeen

learningtoexercisefbrbearanceandtoallowothersto

takeadvantageofme.WhydoIdothis?Becauseal-

lowingotberstotakeadvantageofmebringsmegood

{brtune.Thisistrue!EveItimeIyieldorallowot}I-

erstotakeadvantageofme’Ienduphavingwonder-

{i1lconsequences·IhaveaIwaysadvancedtoahigber

levelineveIyaspect’andmystateofmind}1asim-

proved·T}Iere{bre’Ihavebecomemoreandmore

l08

CUIjTIVATlON

confidentintheteachingsofmyteacbers’bodhisatt-vas’andBudd}Ias.ASC

l85.InlearningBuddhism’oneneedson!ytocuIti-

vateapuremind.Wbenonehasapuremind’onewilI

naturallybeimpartialandenligbtened.Atalltimes’in

allplaces’andinaIlsituations’whether{avorabIeor

adverse’oneneedstomaintainapureanduncontami-

natedmind.ThemindwiInaturallybepurewben(l)

internallJ乃greed’anger’ignorance’andarrogancedo

notariseinone’and（2）externallJ〃oneisnotattached

toaIWenvironment’goodorbad·Apuremindist}]e

truemindandistruewisdom.叭／henhandlingany

situation’onewilIdoitcorrect!yandcomplete!J〃

withoutaniymistalKes‧Allmistakesarise什omdesire

andthoughtsofgainandloss.EILS

l81.Wecancorrectourbultsbybeginningtoc}lange廿omourmindsandpracticinggooddeeds.Ifwe

practice什omourminds’thenevenasmaⅡgooddeed

suchasunreservedIygivingapennytoapersonin

needwouldbeofin6nitemeritsandvirtues.Why?Thisdeedcomes廿omtbegreatcompassioninourtruenature’thusthebroadmindednessisboundless·

l09

CUIJTlVATlON

TbegoodfbrtuneisinBnite{brt}Iegooddeedarises廿omourmindsandaccordswitbourtruenature.

However’ifthegooddeedarisessole!y廿omourac﹣

tions’tbenitisasmaIlmerit｛britdidnotarise廿om

ourtruenature·CD

l85.Inengaginginatask’interactingvvitbpeople’

dea>ingwithasituation’inda>yli{boratwork’re-

memberthataIIowingotherstotakeadvantageofone

willbringonegood{brtune.Onemustnotbavetbe

thoughtoftalKingadvantageofotbers.Ifonetriesto

takeadvantageofotbers’onewiIIsu仳rgreatloss.

V/henonehasthethoughtoftakingadvantageofotb-

ers’oneistransgressingthepreceptofnostealing.TVKS

l86·Wes}1ouIddoourbesttoperfbrmdeedstbatwiIl

bene{itotbers·Maybethereisalimittowbatwecan

do’butifweper{brmdeedswit}Iasincere’respect{i1l’

andpuremindandwithpatience’wewillhavethe

supportofBuddhasandbodbisattvas·Ourwisheswill

surelybefUIled.EILS

ll0

CUIJrIVATlON

l87.AIongtbepathofcultivation’tbereareman<yob-stacles.Asinarace’weaIstartatthesamestartingIine’butsomeprogressa}Ieadofothers’some}agbe-}Iind’andsomearee>iminated.Why?Becausetherearemanyobstacles‧Tbeobstac】esm叮bepeopIeor

situations.TI﹞eymaybeour血mily’廿iends’ort｝Iose

wehavehurtintbepastandowekarmicdebtsto.

W}1ocanovercomeaItbeseobstaclesandpro-gressintbeirpractice?T}losewbosingle-minded!yconcentrateoncuItivation·Inourpractice’werecite

theBuddba’snameorourselectedsutraeveIydaJ.WealsostudytheteacbingseveIyday.I『weareveIy

buSywitbworkand{ami!yresponsibiIities’wecanat

leastchantandstudy{bra{bwminutes.Tbemain

thingistopracticeandstudyeveIyday.ASC

l88.IndoingaIWdeed’nomatterbowsmall’one

shou}ddedicatethemeritaccruedtoaIIbeings’wis}>-ingtbataⅡsuHbringbeingscouldleavesu仳ringbe-

bindandattainhappiness·ThisisafbrmofDharma

oHbrings:匕ygivingofourselves｛brallbeings.

OnedoesnotpersonalbenjOytbegood{brtuneonebascuItivatedbutsharesitwithaIIbeings.Tbisistbemeaningofdedication.Onesharesone’swisdom’

lll

CUIjTIVATION

good{brtune’skills’andabilitieswitballbeings’wishingthatallbeingscouldhavepeaceandhappi-ness.Tbisisabod}Iisattvapractice.

Cantbisbedone?Ybs.Ifonetrulypractices’oth-

erswillbenefit.IftbesepeopIeareabouttoencounter

adisaster’andt}Iereissomeonewbobasgreatgood

{brtuneandmerits’eitbertheywillnotencounterthe

disasterortheseverityofthedisasterwiIlbereduced·EILS

l89.Ifweconcealour匝ults’tbeywillincreaseatan

alarmingrate·Ifwearesmart’wewiIlletthembelKnown.Tben’w}Ienwearecriticizedandcorrected’

ourkarmicobstacleswillbegraduallyeradicated.If

othersspealKoutaboutourmistakes’begrate{i1levenifwehavenotdonewhattheysaidwedid’fbrtobe

wronglyaccused{)yot}Ierswillalsoeradicateourkarmicobstacles.Tbereisnoneedtore{i1teordefbnd

ourselvesinthe｛aceofundeservedaccusations.叭／ben

wearede{bnsive’otberswillnotwanttohelpuscor-rectour{aults·T}1ent}1eoffbnsewillbecomeeven

moreserious.CD

ll2

CUIJrIVATION

l90·Althoughone!sdestinyispredetermined’it

changeseveIydayinaccordancewithone’sbebavior·

So’canonechangeone’sdestiny?Yes’onecan·If

one’sbehavioreveIydaJ/addsaIittletoorsubtractsa

littlefTomgoodfbrtune╴byonedoingsmallgood

actsandcommittingsmallbadacts╴thenone’slifb

willbegoverned})yone’sdestiny)andtherewillbeno

cbange.Butifonedoesmajordeeds╴eithergoodor

evil╴thenone’sdestiIWwillbecbanged.

Therefbre’one’sdestin;yaReroneis{brtJ/yearsold

isgreatlyinHuencedbyone’sbe}laviorinthislifbtime.

One’sdestinybe{breoneis{brtyyearsoldispre-

determined’greatIyin｛luenced匕yone’sgoodandevil

deedsdoneinpastlifbtimes.Ifoneistrulyawakened

anddiligentlyendswrongdoingsandpracticesvirtu-

ousconduct)one’sdestiIWwillcbange{brthebetter

aReroneis{brtJ/yearsold·T}1isisveIyimportant.EILS

l9l.Illnessescome什omtbemindandbe｝1aviort｝1at

arenotvirtuous.Itisbrougbtabout}Wnegativekar-

mascommittedoutofgreed’anger’ignorance’and

afHictions·T}IeancientCbinesesaid:“WOrIycanage

aperson.”I\/Iedicalsciencebasnow{bundtbatlosing

ll3

CUIjTIVATION

one’stemperisthesameasgradualIycommittingsui-

cide.WhenoneseveIythoughtaccordswit}It}]eT｝﹞reePoisonsandt｝﹞eT℃nEvilKarmas,thew｝﹞ole

body╴blood’bones》flesb’andcells╴willcbange｛brtheworse.Thisisthecauseofillnesses.

IfwereceivetheteachingoftheBuddbaandtbe

sageseveIydaJ/’andwemaintainasincere’pure)im-

partial’compassionate’loving!andjOyousmind’eveIy

ceIIinourbodieswillbehealthy.Howtbencanwe

getsick?

Fromthiswecanseet}Iatconstantlyhavingcom-

passion’Iove’andgratitudeinourbeartistruIythe

mostimportantbctor{brphysicaIandmenta}weI}-

being’abarmoniousreIationsbipwitbotbers’andaharmoniousenvironment.BC

l92Ifoneistrulyawakened’onewilInaturallybe

unperturbedinanysituationandonecanenterveIy

deepmeditativeconcentration-beingunperturbedis

achievingmeditativeconcentration.Whenone’smind

isnotperturbed)onewilItruIyunderstandaIphe-

nomena.Thisunderstandingiswisdom.Being什eeofdiscriminationandattachmentismeditativeconcen-

tration.叭／benwebavebothmeditativeconcentration

ll1

CUIJTIVATION

andwisdom’meditativeconcentrationandwisdom

areper{bctandcompIete.Tbisist}]ep}acewberewestarttocultivatemeditativeconcentrationandwis-

dom.ThisisreaI·ElLS

l95.Makingo仳ringstoinfinitesagesisaIsoagreat

vIrtuousdeed.But’weIearn什omthe／MM乙L從

＆山Ⅶtbatitisevenbettertoturnback什omdelusion

andtoconscientious!ycuItivate.CuItivationisto

changeourselves.Tbeancientsagesregardeditasthe

greatvirtueofregrettingandre{brming·CD

l94T｝Iesesituations╴someonesaJ∕scharmingwords

tousbutwedonotattacbtotbewords’orsomeone

triestostiruptroubIebutwe{beInoanger-helpustocuItivateandattainmeditativeconcentrationand

wisdom.OneMindUndisturbedandtbeBuddha-

nameCbantingSamadhitaughtinPureLandBud-

dbismarebotbattainedintbiswaJ/·Ifone’smindis

perturbedbyotbersgossipingorpassingrumors

aboutus’oneshouldimmediateMbelremorse:“Iam

wrongagain.Iama仳cted｝）ytheexternaIenviron﹣

mentagain.”EILS

ll5

CUIjTIVATION

l95.Cansocietybesaved?Tbeanswerismostdefi-

nite!ypositive.Butsavedbywhom?Webavetotake

tbisasourresponsibilityrightnow.‘‘Itismyrespon-

sibilitytosavetheworld·’’Tbereisnodiffbrencebe-

tweenmyselfandtbeworld╴tbeworldandIareone.

On!ywhenIcanletgoofaIlmysel{ishthoughts’my

thoug}Itsofgreed’angeI)ignorance’andarrogance’canIeliminatethedisastersinthisworldandcalmthe

Eart}l’scIimate·WbenIcantrulyletgoofallconHicts

againstaIpeopleandtheenvironment’wiIourworld

wiIbebarmoniousandpeace{i1l.T}Iere{bre’weneed

tohaveagreatbodhimind’agreatcompassionatemind.WPH

l96.Anancienteminentmastersaid’“[Whenwedie’>

wecannottakeanythingwithus;on!ylKarmaswillac-

companyus‧〃Fameandhonor’wealthandrank’and

moneyandpossessions╴wecannottakethesewit｝1

us.AlltbegoodkarmasandbadlKarmascreatedin

ourlifbtimewilIstaywithus.Thosewboaretruly

awakenedknowthattheyshouldcultivatewhatthey

cantalKewitbtbem.爪∕hattbeycannottalKeaIong’

theyshouldjustignoreandwastenoener盯onthem.EILS

ll6

CUI」TIVATlON

l97.叭／ecanc｝Ioosewhichevermet｝1odbest6tsour

manneroflivingandleve>ofacbievementandunder-

standing.Tbemostimportantpointistoconcentrate

onjustonemethod.TbemoremethodswetIyto{bl-low)themoreconfi1sedwewiIIbecome.Themore

confi1sedweare’themoredi冊cuItitistosucceed.

ThisisveIyimportant’assamadhiordeepconcentra-

tion’ist}IelKeytosuccessinourlearningandcultiva-tIon.BACW

l98.Con{i1ciusoRensaid:“IneveIygroupofthree

people’thereisteacherwecanIearn什om‧’’Whenwe

inc}udeourselvesinagroupoft}Iree’t}1erewillbeonepersonwhoismorevirtuousandonewboislessvir-tuous.Weemulatethefbrmerandobservetbelatter

toseeifwehavetbesame值uIts.Ifso’wequicldy

correctthem.IntbiswaJ/)welearnfTombot}Iexam-

ples.AL

l99‧叭∕hatisthedi仳rencebetween“enIig｝Itened’’and

unenlightened〃?OnewholKnowstbattheyhave﹙『

many阻ultsisanenlightenedbeing╴abodhisattva.

Onewbodoesnotknowtheypossessnumerousfaults

isunenlightened╴anordinaIyperson.CD

ll7

CUIIIVATlON

200·Wealt}Iisgood{brtune’anditwiIbeusedup

someday·Itisstatedinthesutrastbatoneswealtbbelongsto6ve色milies.The6rstiswater﹚whichcan

{loodonesproperties.Thesecondis{ire’w}1ichcan

burnonesproperties.Tbetbirdisthegovernment.In

thepast’thegovernmentwouldcon6scateaIlthepropertiesofacriminal.The{burthisrobbersandthieves.Tbe｛i仳isspendthriRcbildren’whoarebard

toguardagainst·EILS

20l.T}IeBuddhahastaughtustoIetgoofal}desires

andgreed.Hedidnotaskustoturntonewobjects{brourgreed.Inthepast’wesoughtworldIyjOys’nowweseekandattacbtoBuddbistlKnowledge.Tbe

mindofgreedisstiItbere.T}]erefbre’wbether{br

wor}dlyli{bor{brBuddbistknowledge’wewoulddowellnottobegreedy.GreedisthesourceofalImis-deedsandwrongdoing·BACW

202.“Thesincereandhonestbeart”istheessenceof

theeightguidelinestaugbtbyCon{ilcius.Weaccom-

plishtbisbyseveringourdesiresanduncoveringourtruenature.FaiIingtodotbis’wewillbeunableto

accomplisbultimatesinceritJ/·Whenseveringdesires’

ll8

CUIJTlVATlON

wbatarewecuttingo仔?TheSixDustsorpolluting

｛actorso「sight’bearing’smell’taste’touc｝I’and

thoug｝Itandt｝IeFiveDesires｛brweaIt｝I’sex’跑me’

fbod’andsleep·Ifthesedesirescannotbereduced’

ourbeartswiIlbeconstantlya仳cted匕yoursur﹣

roundings.Howcansuc}Iaheartremainsincere?CD

205.ChineseBuddhistsprimariIypracticeMahaJanaBuddhismandwis}]todeveIopthebodbimind’t}Ie

awaIKenedmindthatisgenuinely什ee什omdelusions

andthatrealizesthisworldisⅢedwithsu仳ring‧It

isthecompassionateandsinceremind’vvitheveIythougbttoattainrealization{brselfandothers.The

BuddbatoIdustbatsu仳ringexiststhroughoutthe

sixrealms’includingthehumanandbeavenrea}ms.

InthehumanrealmcanbesummarizedastbeEightSu仳ringsofbirth’oldage’siclKness﹚deatb’bard-

ships’theinabilityto}Iavewhatwewant’separation仕omthosewelove’andassociationwiththosewedis-

Iike.BACW

204DeepconcentrationisthestateofconstantIymaintainingamindofpuriIandequaIity.CultivatingdeepconcentrationdoesnotsoIeIymeansittingin

ll9

CUIJTIVATION

meditationintbecultivationhall.Practicingsitting

meditationissimilartoteachingtheskiIlstoabegin-

ner.ARergraduation仕omschool’tbestudentsneed

topracticewbattbeyhavelearnedinthecultivation

ball匕yappb∕ingtbeprinciplesintheirdailylives.The

practitionerwiIIhavepracticeddeepconcentratIonwhen｝leorshecanremamuna仳cted匕yexternalcir﹣

cuInstances·AL

205.Thefirststage[incultivation>isbelief.Wbenweareabletobelievethenourconditionshavematured.

T}lereisasaying“theBuddbaisunabletohelpthose

wbohavenoa冊nib∕with｝Iim.”Whatisa冊nity?Itis

beingabletobelieve·EvenaBuddhacannothelpsomeonewboseconditions}Iavenotyetmatured.But

whentbey}Iavematured’t}IepersonwiIhavebeIieET｝IentheBuddbacanhelp.Religionsaredi仳rent仕omBudd｝Iisminthatoncethebelieversbave｛aith’

tbeyaresaved.BeliefinBudd}1ismmeanstbatwebe-lieveinthebeneBtsofBuddbismandacceptoneof

themanymethods.BACW

206.Inordertogain’wemustfirstletgo.Ifwearereluctanttoletgo’tbenwewillnotbeabletogain·In

l20

CUIjTlVATI0N

t｝Iesutras’wereadthattogiveistogain.﹨八∕e6rstgive

upsometbinginordertogainsomethinginreturn.

叭∕ithoutgiving﹚wewillreceivenothing.So’thisles﹣

sononre{brmingourdestiniesisaIlaboutlettinggo.Whatifweseeksomething?TbseelKalso}Ielpsustoreceive.But}1owdoweaccomplisbtbis?JustletgoandwewillreceiveeveIythingweareseeking.CD

207.Weneedtoknowthepropersequenceofcultiva-

tion:belief)understanding’practice’andattainment.

WhenwespeakofbelieE{irstwebelieveinourselves.

ThisiswhereBuddbismdi仳rs廿omreligion.InreIig﹣

ion’t}1emostimportantcriteriaistobelieveinGod.

InBuddbism’themostimportantcriteriaistobelieve

inourselves’notsometbingoutsideofourselves.WeneedtobelievethatwehavethesameBuddhanature·

BelievetbatoriginallywewereBuddhas.Be>ievetbatwearenodi仳rentffomt｝IeBuddhas.Believethat

ourtruenature}Iasbecomepollutedandtbatoncewe

removethispollutionwewilluncoverourtruenature·BACW

208.Itisessential{brustolearnmodesty{britistheIKeytocultivatingandimprovingourvirtue.Weneed

l2l

CUIJTIVATION

torealizet}Iatothersarebetterthanusandthatthey

exceIinwhattheydo.W}Ienweare{aIseandcon-ceited’otherpeoplemaynotseethis;however)Buddbas,bodbisattvas’andthebeingsandspiritso『

}Ieavenandearthseeusvelyclearly.Thus’ourmod-

estymustbesincereandcomefibmdeepwitbin.Wearenotbettert}Ianot}Iersandiftheyaccumu-

Iatemeritsandwedonot’tbentheyarebettertIIanus.Evenwbenwedarenotcommito仳nses’ot｝﹞ers

arestillbetterthanus.Tbisisper{bctmodestJ/andit

istbepracticeoftbeteacbingofhumi】ityint｝Ied∣’α﹣

／n〃Mz尺αSα伽.Iamtheon!ystudent;eveIyoneeIseis

myteacher.CD

209.EveIyaspectinone’sli比s｝﹞ou｝dbesimpIe.Sim﹣

pIicity>eadstoalongli{b.TbeancientC}Iineseoftensaid’‘《Illnessentersthrougbtbemouth.川Nowada《ys’

manypeoplecontractstrangeillnesses’wbichcome

mostMibmthe{bodconsumed.InthepastinCbina)therewerepeopleintbecountIysidewhomaintainedasimplediet’butt}Ieywerehealt}Wandlivedalongli{b·Thisprovesthatt}1esimplerthe{bod>tbehealth=ieroneis.Apuremindwithnowanderingthougbts’a

regu｝arroutine’asimplediet’比wdesires’andcon﹣

l22

CUIjTlVATION

tentment╴tbesearetbeessentialsfbrgoodhealtb‧EILS

2l0.Inthepast’practitionersateonemealadaJ/·Mr.

Liateamealbe{brenooneveIydaJ/.HisworlKload

wastbesameasthatof6vepeopIe·but}Ieneeded

on!yonemeaI’andbeateveIyIittleatthat.W}W?Be-causebehadveIy比wwanderingthougbts’discrimi-

nations’andattachments’andtbususedveIylittIeen-er田／.ASC

2ll·Afferwe}IavebeIiefinourseIves’weneedto

havebeliefintbeBuddba’steac}Iings.GreatMaster

OUyidescribedtbisasbelievinginprincipIesandinmatter.叭／heredoesmattercome仕om?Fromthe

principle’tbatisthepuremindofthetruenature.AlI

pbenomenaint｝1euniversearise斤omt｝1eprinciple.

TheyarereIated匕ytheendlessCycIeofcauseande仁化Ct‧

Acausegivesrisetoane仳ct’whicbinturnbe﹣

comesthecauseofthenexte仳ct‧Tbisprocesscon﹣

tinuesceaseless|y.DeveIopingunderstandingandbe-

liefintruerealitybuildsourconBdenceenabIingustoseektboroughunderstandingofeveIything.Onlyin

l23

CUIJrIvATIoN

thiswaycanwebe廿ee廿omcon｛i1sionanddoubt》wbichareobstaclesinourcu}tivation’andobtainen-

jOymentandsmoothadvancement.BACW

2l2.Beinggluttonousandstin田／╴residual｝Iabits

斤omcountlesskalpas╴aregreatobstaclestotbe

practiceofgivingandmustbeovercome.OneshouldIiveathriRyli{bandmaintainthissimpleli{b.Evenw}1enonebecomessuccessR1land}1asgreatwealt}1in

thefUture’oneshouldstiⅢivethri仕i!y.Thisway﹚one

willtruIybavegood{brtune.EILS

2l5‧Howthendowere｛brmourselves廿omour

minds?Wesincerelycultivating匕ywantingtocorrect

ouro仳nses’practicinggoodness,andre廿aining廿om

wrongdoings.叭∕l1enwecorrect仕omourminds’there

isnosucht}Iingasshouldorshouldnot.Refbrmingourselves匕yreasoningandrealizingtheprincipleisconditionalHowever’whenwere｛brm斤omt｝Ie

mind’itisunconditional’pure’andsincere·Inthis

waJ/)givingrisetoeventheslightestofkindthoughtswillbeinharmon;ywithourtruenature.Knowing

tbateveIythingarises什omthemind’weneedtocor-

rectourbults匕ybeginning廿omtbemind.CD

l21

CUIjTIVATION

2l1.Sincesentientbeingshavenotyet{bundtheirtruenature’weteacbtbemtoendtheirerroneous

waJ／sandcultivategooddeeds.叭／benwebaveuncov﹣

eredourtruenature’tberewillbenoerroneousways

tobeendedandnogooddeedstobecuItivated’fbr

ourmindswil}beinastateofpurityandequali-

ty╴theOneTrueDharmaRealm╴tbestateofnon﹣

cultivationandnon-attainment.WitlIinsuchstates’

westilldowhateverisneeded{brcuItivationandat-

tainment·But’wedonotattachtoeitherextremeof

empt1nessorexIstence.CD

2l5·TbcbangeIKarmicretributionsandresolveall

disasters’Ioftenuseatreeasanexample.T}1emindis

theroot’ourthougbtsarethetrunlK’ourbehavioris

tbebranc}Ies’andourspeechistheIeaves.IfwetIyto

correcttheproblemofanunhealthytreebypluckingo仔eacⅢeafwhilefbrgettingtotreattheroot’oure仁

fbrtswillbefUtile·Butifweweretobeginfibmthe

root’tounderstand什omtbebasics’ourproblems

wouldbeeasilysolved.AL

2l6.Iamgratefi1ltoMs·HanYin’whohelpedmefbr

tbirtyyears.Duringtboseyears’shebelpedmebave

l25

CUIJTIVATlON

tbeopportunitytolectureonstageeveIyday.ShewasatrueDharmaprotector.Iamgratefi1ltoberffomthe

bottomofmyheart{brmypresentacbievement.

Wit}IouttbetbirtJ/yearsoflecturingexperienceon

stageeveIydaJ/)bowcouldIhaveanyachievement?.

S}1et}1enpassedaway.Iwillalwaysremember}Ier

and{belgratitudetoherbHowdoIrepaylIerlKind-

ness?Witbmyac}Iievement.ThisistheonlywayI

canrepay}1erkindness·ASC

2l7.Itismucbbettertopracticegoodnesswithout

Iettinganybodylmowandevenbetterifsomepeople

reproacbedus’{brthiswiIIheIptoreduceournega-

tivekarma·Itwouldbebestifournegativekarmaandretributionswerereducedandeveneradicated’wbile

ourmeritsandvirtuesremainedunknown·CD

2l8.WhydidtheBuddhanotsimplytelIuswithwhatweneedtolKnow?Hedid‧Butwedidnotlisten‧叭∕e

weretoldthemethod’butthougbttoourselves’∣‘叭∕ell

thismaynotbeagoodmethod.Iheardtbatanotheroneisbetter.’!叭／ehavethusarguedwit｝ItbeBuddbas

andbod}Iisattvas·So’theybavecbosennottocometo

l26

CUIJrlVATION

us.PleasecarefUllJ／considertMs.WeneedtobeveⅣ

patientbe{brewecanattainachievement.Witbout

patience’wecannotadvancetoabigberstage’{brpa-tienceistheprerequisite{brmeditativeconcentration

anddiIigence.BACW

2l9.Whenwe6ndourseIvessub)ectedtobearing

gossip’wewouldjustrespondwithAmituo{blftheygossipmore’thenagainsay’‘‘Amituo{b·’)Letthem

heartbisseveraItimes‧A仕ertheyare﹛inishedtalking’

wewiIbaveIistenedbutdisregardedw}]attbeysaid.Wewillonb/havesaid“Amituo{b”totI]em.Thisis

good比ritisbestnottosaJ／muc﹜﹞‧CD

220.叭／benonebas｛bwdesiresandiscontent’ones

aIctionswilIreduceandbeligbter.EveIJ/daJ/’itisenougb{broneto}]avea{i1IIstomac}I’adequatecIoth-ing’andapIacetos｝﹞ieldone什omwindandrain.A

contentpersoniso仕enbappy.Whenoneiscontent’

onewillwant{bwthings.TbeIessonewants’tbe

mo『eateaseandthe｝lappieroneis.Ifonetrulydoes

notcompetewithothersorcraveaIWt}Iing’onewiIbehappierthanacelestialbeing·ElLS

l27

CUIjTIVATION

22l.GreatMasterYinguangaptb/saidt}latwbet}Ier

ornotoneachievesinone’slearningdependson}Iow

sincereandrespectfi1loneis.Ifoneisinsincereordis=

respectH1l’onewillachievelittle.ASC

222Whenpeopleverballyabuse’criticize>andslan-derus’wesbouldacceptitwithagrate{Ulheartrather

thanavenge{Ulbeart.Why?Tbeybaveprovidedus

wit}Iinvaluableassistancethatcanhelpusre{lectand

correctourmistalKesimmediate!yifwedohavet}lese

bults’orguardagainstthemifwedonot.Ifwearenotatfault’donotblamethesepeople;insteadbeen-

couragedtomake{i1rtberimprovements.CD

225.Therearethreecategoriesofpatience·First’tol-

eratetheinjuriesofphysicalandverbalabuse.Pa-

tienceisavirtue.叭／ithpatience’wewillhaveaquiet

andpuremind;t}1us’itwillbeeasiertoattainmedita-tiveconcentrationandacbievement.Wbenwesuc-

cess{i1Ilypracticepatience’wewillgaintbegreatestgoodfbrtune·

Second’bepat1entwithvariationsoft}Ienaturalelements’hotandcold’summerandwinter’hunger

andtbirst’aswel}asnaturaldisasters.

l28

CUIJrIvATION

Third’bepatientint}Iearduouscourseofour

practice.Be{breweattainthejOyofcultivationand

ourcultivationbecomesstrong’wewilIencounter

manyobstacles.However’oncewegetthroughthis

p}Iase’wewillattainbappiness·BACW

221.AfterthesixthPatriarchofZen’Master

Huineng’becameenligbtened’circumstances{bund

himactingasanattendanttoagroupofl1unters.

Dai!J〃hewitnessedtheirhuntingandkilling.Heservedmeatandcared{brtbem.Thebunterswerebis

masters;hewastbeirservant·Hedidtbisfbrnot]ust

ashorttime’butfbrBfteenyears.

Couldwehaveenduredthis?Henotonlyen-

dured’butwascontentedanddidnotbavean;ywan-

deringthougbts’discriminations’orattachments.

ThesewereBffeenyearsoftruecultivation.He

reachedenligbtenmentwhenhewasinHuangmei’inthesouthernpartofChina.Whetherunderfavorableoradversecircumstances’hecultivatedbismindof

purity’equality’greatcompassion’andloving-

kindness.Thereisnothingmoreimportanttoourcul-tivationtbanthesefburvirtues’andtbesewerewbat

hepracticed.CD

129

CUIjTIVATION

225·FourkindsofkarmicIinksexistbetweenchil-

drenandparents.T}IeBrstistorepaylKindness·In

pastli{btimes’theyhadagoodandhappyrelations}Iip

withoneanotherbTbecbiIdrencometorepaykind-

ness’sotheyareveIyIal.

Tbesecondistoexactrevenge.Tbec}Iildrenare

IKarmicdebtors廿ompastli｛btimes.T｝﹞eyareusually

wastreIs.WI1entbeygrowup)theywillcausethe巨miliesruin.

ThethirdistocoIIectdebt.ItaIldependson}Iow

muchtbeparentsbadowedtbecbildren.Ifthepar-

entsdidnotowemucb[previously>’tbecbildrenwill

dieyoung.Ift}Ieparentsowedtbechildrenalot’the

parentswilIspendalotofmoneyontbecbildren’s

educationandtalKeveIygoodcareofthem’andthe

cbildrenwiIsudden!ydiewhentbeyareadults.

The{burtbistorepaJ/debt.Thec}Iildrenowedthe

parentsinpastlifbtimes.叭／bentbeamountisalot﹚tbe

cbildrenwiIookaRertheirparentsveIyattentively.

Ifthecbildren’sdebtislittle’theywilltalKecareof

tbeirparentsjustenougbtoensurethattbeirparents

Iacknothing·Butthereisnorespect{brtheirpar-

ents╴t﹜lecbildrenon!ytakecareoftheirp｝WsicaIneeds.

l50

CUIjTIVATION

叭／henthesefburkindsofkarmiclinksexistbe﹣

tweenpeople’theywilIbecome{amily.PeoplewillbecomereIativesor廿iendswhentbekarmicIinlKis

WeaIKer·Whenthelinkisstronger’peoplewillbecome炮mi!y.EILS

226.Astudentonceaskedme’“IamconfUsed匕yso

maIWmethods‧叭／bic｝Ionedoyout｝IinlKIshouldchoose?”

Attbetime’tberehappenedtobeaballonthe

ground’wbichIpointedtoandsaid’“LooIKatthis

ball.Thesur值cehaspointscountlessastbenumber

ofmethods·Theteachingsrequireyoutofindt}Iecen-

terofthebalI‧YOucanreacMt廿omanypointonthe

sur跑ceaslongasyou｛bllowastraightline.YOuneed

not6ndasecondorathirdpointfbrasanoldsaJinggoes’℉oIIowtberoadandyouwiⅡgethome.ThereisnoneedtocircIearound.’”

HethenunderstoodtbatBuddhismpursuesthe

truemind.Onceweattainenlightenment’weattaineveIything·T}Iere{bre’nomatterwhichmethodwe

choose’tbelKeytosuccessisconcentrationonone

method.SoIongasweadheretoourchosenmethod’

wewillacbievedeepconcentration’attainwisdom’

l5l

CUIJTIVATION

anduncoverthe乃ueNatureofGreatPer﹛bction.

BAC叭∕

227.Howdoesones｝low匕yexample?Bypracticing

accordingtotheteacbings.Ifweteachpeopletoact

onewaybutweourselvesactanotherwayanddonot

practicewbatweteac}I>tbenthosew}1olistentous

maynotbelieveourwords·Forexample’ifItellyou

tomindfUllyc}lanttbeBuddha-nameandIdonotdo

somyselEwouldyoubelievemywords?YOuwouldnot·

Onemustpracticewhatoneteacbes.Thisis‘<show

匕yexample.”Oneisnotputtingonasbow;oneun﹣

derstandstheteachingsandprinciplesinthesutras

andactualypracticesthemIly.Onedoeswhatt}IeBuddbateachesonetodoanddoesnotdowhattbe

Buddbateacbesnottodo.EILS

228.Itisawanderingt}Ioughttohopefbranearb

}Iarvestofrewards{brourgoodness’{brsuchthinkingcancreateobstacIes.Weareonlytoaskaboutthecul-

tivation’nottheharvest.AslongaswediIigentlycul-

tivate’theharvestwillnaturalMbllow)whybotberto

constant!yseekit?Tbisisthetruewayofcultivation:

l32

CUIjTIVATION

tonotseelKanything.Justconcentrateonendingim-

properbehaviorandcultivatinggoodness;eventuallJ〃wewillobtainwhateverwedesire.

叭／henweseekourgainsarelimited,fbrmost

like!ywewil>onlyreceivewhatwerequest’asourcultivationofvirtuesisnotinaccordancewithour

vIrtuousnatures.WitboutseeIKing’eveIythingisamani{bstationofandinaccordancewithourvirtuous

natures.CD

229.TherearetwoapproachesinlearningBuddhism·

The｛irstispractice╴hereonestartswit｝Icultivatinga

puremind.T｝Ieotberisunderstanding╴hereone

studiestheteac}Iings.Wbicbapproachismoreadvan-

tageous?Practice.As}ongasone}1asapuremind’it

doesnotmatterthatonebasnolKnowledgeofBud-dhism.Ifoneeradicatesa{Hiction’tbenthemindis

pureandtbeBuddbaLandwiIalsobepure.Onewillbeabletoattainrebirtbint}IeWesternPureLand.

IILS

250·Ifwewisbtoattainwealth’wepracticethegiv-ingofwealthTbattainintelligenceandwisdom’we

practicethegivingofteaching·Tbattainhealtband

l55

CUI」rlvATION

Iongevi軏wepracticethegivingof｛barlessness.Tbis

isthecorrectwaytochangeourdestinies.By{bllow-

ingtherigbtprinciplesandmetbods’wecanevenat-

tainSupremeEnligbtenmentmucblessworldIyen-

jOymentandhappiness.CD

25l.Itissaid’“Asheepdiesandisrebornahuman;a

humandiesandisrebornasheep·”Inthisli{byouare

thebumanandyouarestrongerthanthesheep;you

lKiIandeatit·Int}]enextli{b’tbes}]eepbecomest}Ie

humanandyoubecomethesheep;hewil}killandeat

you.Eachone’inturn’paysbackTbisis“alternate!y

barmingandlKillingoneanother.〃Suchagony!

Tbeweakbeingtbepreyofthestrongisanab-

normalpbenomenon.ItisamaliciousreIation-

ship╴oneofcontinualreprisals.Inaddition’when

onetakesrevenge,onewiIlnotdoitint}Ieexactamount╴onewilloverdoitalittle‧Tbere｛bre’the

enmitywillcontinueli{btimeafterli{btimewit}IoutendandwiIneverbereso}ved.TheretributionswiIIbe-

comemoreandmoreterrible.EILS

232AllBuddhasSymbolizeourvirtuousnature.All

bod}IisattvasandarbatsSymbolizetbevirtueofprac-

l31

CUIjIVATlON

tice.Witboutthevirtueofpractice’theinnatevirtu-

ousnaturecannotbereveaIed·TbiscompIementaIy

relationsbipiswhytbeBuddhatableincIudesbotb

Budd}1aandbodhisattvaimages·T}]eBuddhasrepre-

sentoriginaInatureandt}Iebod}Iisattvasrepresent

theapplicationofthisnatureandfbrm·TbisoriginaI

natureisemp吼asitbasnoset｛brm.AIIcreationsor

｛brmarise仕omtbisoriginalnatureandoncethereis

{brm’thereisappIication·BACW

233.Tblmowour{au}tsdaiIyistoawakendai!y.Once

wediscovera炮uIt’wesincerelyco『rectit;t｝﹞isishow

wewiIbuiIdourstrengt}IofcuItivation·Weneednotdomuch.I『wewereto｛indandcorrectone｛auIta

daytbenwewouIdbecomeasageorvirtuousperson

intbreeyears.CD

251.叭／eunderstandthetrutb’sowesbouId比elem﹣

pathy｛braIIbeings╴wesbouIdIovethem’notbarm

tbem.叭／hatisthecauseo「warsinthisworId?The

BuddhatoldustbatitisIKiIIing.There｛bre’i「warsare

toend{brever’beingsshouIdnoteatmeat·ElLS

>55

CUIjTIVATION

255.Tbe叨〉〃Mz尺〃αM∕mtellsusthat“asincereheart

isacultivationplace’apureheartisacultivation

place’andacompassionate}Ieartisacultivation

place.”Apropercultivationplaceiswithinourhearts·

Whenourmindsareontbepathtoenlightenment

tbennomatterwhereweare’tberewillalwaJ/sbea

place{brcultivation.CD

l36

THREELEARNlNGS

TbreeLearnings

236.Inorderfbrustoresolvedisasters’theultimate

met}Iodisto“cultivateprecepts’meditativeconcentra-

tion’andwisdom;ceasecreatinganddestrOygreed’

anger’andignorance‧〃AlI﹛brmsofprayers’althoug｝I

e仳ctive’arenottheBnaIsoIution.Only匕yuniver﹣

salyspreadingtheteachingso『morali吼virtue’and

causali吼canweultimate∣ytrans｛brmpeople’sminds

and}IelptosoIveaIIthecompIexproblemsonEarthREN

257‧叭／hentheBuddhataughtallbeings’hisaimwas

{brpeop}etoacbievetheT}]reeLearningsofprecepts’

meditativeconcentration’andwisdom.Abiding匕ytbe

preceptsleadstotbeachievementofmeditativecon-centration.And廿ommeditativeconcentration’wis﹣

domarises.Meditativeconcentrationispivotalto

one’slearningandcultivationofBuddhism.Abiding

匕ythepreceptsisthemeanstoac﹜lievemeditative

concentration·Meditativeconcentrationisthemeans

touncoverwisdom·Uncoveringwisdomisthetrue

objectivebecauseonlywisdomcanhelpussolveaⅡ

problems.EILS

l57

THREELEARNINGS

258.Buddhismteac}IesustoworktoeIiminategreed’

hatred’andignorance;toabide匕yprecepts’practice

meditativeconcentrationandwisdom;toeliminateaIl

tbecon日ictswitbinourselvesagainstaIIpeopIeand

environment;toletgoofallsel{is}Ithoughts;andto

onIyconsidertheneedsofothers.Ifwecantruly

learnthisprinciple’weare“seeingtbrough’’tothe

truth.Butweneedtostart匕yputtingtheseteachings

intorealpracticebycomplete!ylettinggoofaIgreed’

angeI}ignorance’andarrogance;eradicatingalleviI

andpracticingaIIgooddeeds;andpracticinggiving

andpatience.DoingsowewillaccumuIatemeritandvirtue.WPH

259.WhentheBuddbawasinourworId’hewasjOy-

{i1}andopen-minded’w}Ietbertakingpartindailylifb

orteachinganditwasthisjOyandenergythatat-

tractedpeopleandbelpedtbemtoacceptBuddhad-harma.Buddhadbarmaisnotmeanttobindus,butto

benefitaIbeingsbybringingtbem)Oyand}Iappiness.

The{brmationofthepreceptswastoshowustbe

rightpatbtoattainahappyand{i1IIinglifb.BACW

l58

THREELEARN<NGS

210.叭／hatarethesu仳ringsofthesentientbeingsin

ourcurrentage?T}]eBrstiscommittingtbewrongdo-

ingsoft﹜1eT℃nEvilKarmas‧T｝﹞eBuddhataugbtus

tbeFirstLearningofpreceptstoovercometbese·The

secondsu仳ringistheinabilitytoremainsereneand

atpeace·TheBuddhataughtustbeSecondLearning

ofmeditativeconcentrationtoacbievepuriIofmind

andtranquiIitJ/.Thetbirdsuffbringisignorance.Tbe

BuddhataugbtustbeThirdLearningofwisdomto

overcomeourcurrentstateofignorance.BACW

21l.TheBuddbatoldust}latifwecanabidebythe

preceptsandlaws’wewouIdhaveatranquilbodyandmindthatwiIIenableustobe什ee什omworriesand

｛bars.Since’deepconcentrationarises什omtranqui】﹣

ity’t}]epreceptsareessentiaItoselfcultivation.Ifwe

breaktheIawortbeprecepts,thenourconsciences

wilIbeplagued匕yguiltevenwearenotpunished.

Moreover’eveni「weavoidworId!yretributions’tbere

isnowaJ／toavoidourlKarmicretributions.﹨八∕hent｝Ie

bodyandmindaredisturbed’wecannotconcentrate

onourpracticeandtopracticesuccessfillly’weneed

tobetranquil·Itissaid,“Preceptsorsel{LdiscipIine

l39

THREELEARNINGS

leadtodeepconcentration’廿omwbicbwisdom

arises.’’BACW

212·Oncewehavedevelopedapureandquietmind’

andbaveattainedwisdom’wecanbegintobroaden

ourknowledge.叭∕ecansee,beaI｝andlearnofany﹣

thingthatweareinterestedin’fbrnowwehaveat-

tainedwisdomandwiⅡnotbea仳cted﹛〕yoursur﹣

roundings·Sincewe}1aveselFcontrol’tl1emoreweseeandhearthewiserwewillbecome’andthe

greaterourstrength廿omdeepconcentrationwillbe‧

Howaredeepconcentrationandwisdomincreased?

Remainingunmovedbysurroundingswillenhance

deepconcentration·Developingaclearandunder-

standingmindwillenhancewisdom.Thenwecan

learn什omothersc｝Ioolstoenhanceourdeepconcen-

trationandwisdom.First,wepracticeprecepts’con-

centration>andwisdomtoattainouroriginalwisdom.

Thenwecanlearnextensivelytoper{bctouracquired

wisdom.Thisisthew叩oflearning廿omancienttimes.BAC叭∕

l10

THREEREFUCES

ThreeRefUges

215.WhenwetakerefUgeint}IeThreeJewels’we

6rstreturntoandrelyupontheBuddMForun-

countableeonsjwehavebeenwanderingbelplessly

andmiserablyinthesixrealms.Nowwehavemeta

goodteacberwhoshowsusthatweneedtoreturn

ffomourdelusionanderroneousthinking’andtorely

upontheawakeningofourtruenaturethatwasorigi-

nallyawakened.So’theBuddhatbatwerelyuponisnottobe{bundoutsideofourselvesbutisinnateto

ourtruenature.BACW

211.ThkingreH1geintbeBuddbameansbeingawalK-enedandnotdeluded.Takingre{UgeintheDharma

meansbeingproperandnotdeviated.Thkingrefi1geintbeSanghameansbeingpureandnotpolluted.T｝IesearetheThreeJewelsof乃ueNaturefbrour

practice:awalKening’properunderstanding’andpu-

rity·Fromnowon’weneedto{brgetourpastandre-turntoandrelyupontheseThreeJewelsanduse

themtocorrectourthougbts,speech’andbehavior.BAC叭／

l1l

THREEREFUGES

215.Onceweattainenlightenment’weattaineveIy-

thing.Tbere{bre’nomatterwbicbmethodwec}Ioose’

t}Iekeytosuccessisconcentrationononemethod.So

Iongasweadheretoourcbosenmethod’wewiII

ac}1ievedeepconcentration’attainwisdom’andun-covert}IeTfueNatureofGreatPer{bction.

FromaIofthis’wecanseehowimportantthe

「BipleJeweIsaretous’｛brmonIKsandnunsaret｝﹞e

treasureoftheSangha.Weneedtorespectallof

t｝Iem.爪∕ecanlearn什omthegoodones’aswellas

廿omthosew｝﹞odonotfbⅡowtberulesandguidelines.

爪／Cemulatethe｛brmerandusethelattertoserveas

negativeexamples.

Ifwe值iItounderstandtbattakingre｛Ugeint｝Ie

TbreeJeweIsdoesnotmean{bllowingacertainper-

son’thent}IerewiIlbet}Iemostseriousofconse-

quences’aswewiIallintoAviciHeI.Why?ThereisonlyoneSangbaintheuniverseandtheSanghainourworIdisapartofthiswboIe·Ifwetakerefi1gein

and{bllowonlyoneindividualmonkornun’regard

tbatpersonasouronlyteacher’andre{ilsetorespectothers’wewiIIbe!‘splittingandsowingdiscord

amongtbegroup.”ThisistheBftbo『tbeFiveDeadly

Offbnses.Tbe{irstfburarepatricide’matricide’inten-

l12

THREEREFUGES

tionaIycausingaBuddhatobIeed’kiIingabodhi-sattvaoranar}]at.Tbus’itwouldbeevenworseto

chooseon!yacertainmonko『nun｛b『re｛Ugetbannot

totakere{i1geataII·

Furtbermore’weonIyneedtotalKere{Ugeonce.ItdoesnotaccompIishaIWt}]ingtotakere{i1gefibmonepersonthistimeandtben什omanotberIater‧叭／emaJ∕

thinlKtbatwecangetmucbmoreprotectionifwe{bI-

lowmanymonIKsandnuns.ButasthesaJ/inggoes:‘|AclaJ／idolcrossingarivercannotevenprotecthimsel股”

Nobodycanprotectus.Onlywhenwetakere{ilgeintbeThreeJeweIsof吩ueNature!canweprotectour﹣seIves·BACW

216.TbeThreeJeweIsinourtruenatureareawaken-

ing’correctunderstandingandpurity·TbeBuddbasigni{iestheawaIKeningofourtruenature’the

DharmasigniBesthecorrectunderstandingofourtruenature’andtheSanghasignifiespurityofour

truenature·Weshouldberespect{i1Itothem.EveIydaJ/’inoureveIyt}1oughtwesbouldaskourselvesifweareawakened?Dowebavecorrectunderstand-

ing?Areourthoughtsandviewscorrect?Areour

mindspure?ThepurposeofdwellinginanduphoId-

l13

THREEREFUGES

ingt}IeThreeJewelsistoconstantlyThreeJewelsof乃ueNature.EILS

M勻

remindusofthe

FIVEPRECEPTS

FivePrecepts

217.ImetwitbZhangjiaLivingBuddhaonceaweek

Heoftenremindedme’eitherintentionalyoruninten-

tionalJ〃“PreceptsareveIyimportant.〃Afterhe

passedawaJ)IstayedbythecrematoIythatwasbuIt

especiallyhbiscremationfbrthreedays.DuringtbosethreedaJ/sandnigbts’IkepttlIinlKingaboutw}Iatbe}Iadtaughtme{brtbetbreeyearsthatIstud-iedwithhim.

SurprisinglJ乃whatmadetbedeepestimpression

was“PreceptsareveIyimportant.”Icouldnot6gureoutwhybutthoughtthattberemustbeareason{br

MasterZ}lang)iatokeeptel}ingmetopaJattentionto

precepts.SoIstudiedprecepts.AndtbenIrealized

tbatworld|yrulesneededtobeconstant!yamendedto

suitthepeopleofthattimeperiod.Preceptsaresu-pramundanerules’notworldlyrules.Ifyouwanttotranscendthisworld’t｝IeSixPatbs’andthe呸n

Realms’youbavetoabidebyprecepts.AS

218.PreceptsarerulesthatallBuddhasandbodbi-

sattvasabide匕yintheircultivationovercountlesslifb﹣

times·TheyarerulesfbrtranscendingtheSixPatbs

l叮5

FIVEPRECEPTS

andtbeT℃nRealms’notworld!yrulesfbrdailylifb.

Thatiswhytbeycannotbecbanged’theFivePre-

ceptsinparticuIarbDoyoutbinkt}IattheFivePre-

ceptscanbechanged?IsnokiIlingwrong?How

aboutnostealing’nosexualmisconducts’nolying’

andnodrinlKing?Theycannotbecbanged.Theyare

ma〕orprecepts匕yprincipIeandindeedtranscendtime

andspace.AS

219.TbeFivePreceptsarenolKilling’stealing’com-

mittingsexualmisconduct’!ying’andtakingintoxi-

cants.TbeBrst{buroffbnsesarephysicaltransgres-sionsoftbetruenature·Whetherornotwebave

takentheprecepts’itiswrongtocommittheseacts.

But{bronewhohas{brmallytakentheFivePrecepts’

t}IiswiIbeconsideredascommittingadoubIeviola-tIon.

Takingintoxicantsisdi仳rent‧Apersonwhobas

nottakenthepreceptsisnotguiltJ/w}IendrinlKing’

however’apersonwbohastakenthepreceptsand

thendrinkswillbavebrokenthisprecept.Thepur-

poseofre｛iaining仕omintoxicantsistopreventus

廿omcommittingtbe｛irst｛burtransgressionswbile

undertbeinfluence;therefbre’intoxicantsinthem-

l叮6

FIVEPRECEPTS

selvesarenotwrong.Thisisanexampleofw}Wwe

needtounderstandthepurposeoftheBuddha}spre-ceptsetting’its{imction’anditsbene{it.BACW

250TheBuddbataughtthebasicFivePreceptsandthe6rstoftheseistbe6rstoftheT℃nGoodKarmas:

donotkilI.ContinuingtokiIlistocomplete!ydisre-

gardhisteacI1ingsandisanultimateactofdisrespect.

ThisdisrespectistantamounttobeingunfiIialtoour

parents.ConseqUent!JMfweignoretbeseinstructions

andkill’weareneithercompassionatenorIaI.BACW

25l.叭／henwepracticeadberingtot﹜Ieprecepts’the

mostimportantpointisto{bI}owt}]eir{i1ndamental

spirit;“Donot}Iingthatisbad:doeveIJ/tbingthatis

good’”Doingnot}IingbadisaT}Ieravadapreceptdi-

rectedtowardusandistobe{bIIowedconscientious!yinordertodevelopselfLdiscipline‧TbeCbinesecaⅡ

tbis‘‘AttendingtoonesownmoraIwellbeingeven

whilealone.”WbenwepracticeselfdiscipIine’weneedtoremaintruetotbeprecepts’evenwhennoone

isaround·“TbdoaIltbatisgood”isfbrthebenefitof

aIlbeingsandisabodhisattvapreceptthatteacbesus

l17

FIVEPRECEPTS

bowtointeractwitbotbers.Preceptsarethecriteria

{brdistinguishingbetweengoodandbad.BACW

252.SomepeoplebavecompIainedt}Iattherearetoo

manyprecepts’thatitistooeaSytoviolatethem’andthus’theyabandonabiding匕ythem.Thisiswhymost

peoplepre{brreadingorlisteningtotallKsaboutt}Ie

sutraswhileavoidingthoseonprecepts.叭∕eneedto

remembertbatpreceptsguideusinourbehaviorand

aretheproperconductofallBuddhas.Iftherewere

noprecepts’therewouldbenoBuddbism.Iftberewerenocourtesies’t}IerewouldbenoConfi1cianism.

Merelyrecitingtbesutraswithoutpracticingtbeir

teachingswillresultinournotreceivinganyoftheirbene6ts.BACW

255.Agoodillustration[oflivingasimpleli{b>ismyIateteacber’Mr.LiBingnan’wholivedasimpleyet

happyli{b.Fordecades’heonlyateonemealaday)but’wheneverhewasinvitedout{brdinner’heac-

cepted.Onseveraloccasions’beinvitedmetoaccom-

panyhim.SinceIhadbeenpracticingt}Iepreceptofnoteatingafternoontime{bryears’MbltveIyuncom-{brtablewbenbeinginvited.

l18

FIVEPRECEPTS

Mr.Lisimplysaid’℃omewithme!Comewit｝I

me!”Laterheexplained:”叭／ithtbisattacbment’you

wil}notbeableto}1elppeoplebecauseifyouintendtobelptbem’youmust}IeIpthemtobebappy.EatingtbisdinnerisnotvioIatingthepreceptsbutli仕ing

t}Iem.Theyinvitedyouwithgoodintentions.Ifyourejectt}Ieirinvitations’theywilltbinkyouareclosedtoreason.Tben’tbeywillnoton|yrejectBuddbism;

but’willalsosaythatwepractitionersarearrogantandlookdownuponotbers·T}Ieymayalsourgeotb-erstoavoidBuddhists.So,youcouIdruintbeoppor-tunityofanuntoIdnumberofpeopIetolearnofBud-

dhism·TbiswillresuItinthecreationofnegativekarma{bryou.

>,

Therefbre’hewasnotviolatingthepreceptsbutwasinsteadsimplyliftingtbemfbrthismeantmakingotbershappJ/)helpingthemtolearnofBuddhismas

wellasaccordingwitbconditions....WecanseefibmthistbatBuddhismisf>exible.BACW

l19

PARAMITAS

ParaIitas

251.WhenwearewilIingtoIetgoofourweaIth’we

wiⅡgainweaItb.Wbenwegiveteacbings’wewiⅡ

gainwisdom.﹨八／henwegive｛barIessness’wewiIlgain

heaIt}IandIongIifb.ThelawofcausalityisarealityandasnaturaIastbelawsofheavenandearth.Ifwe

per{brmgoodnesswit}]outexpectationofreward’withoutthewisb{brprestige’wealth’wisdom’}Iealth’

orlongli{b’witboutt}Iewisb{bran;ything’tbenweareboundtouncovereveIytbingthatisalreadyinour

truenature.Istbisnotbeing什eeandhavinggreat

contentment?CD

255.The{irstparamitaisgiving·Forus’thismeans

Iettinggoandhelpingothers.Therearetbreekindsofgiving:thegivingofweaItb’thegivingofteachings’andtbegivingof{barlessness.Givingisakarmiccause.Ifwewanttohavewealth’wesbouldpractice

thegivingofwealth·IfwewanttobeinteIligentandwise’wesbouIdpracticetbegivingofteachings.Ifwewishto}1avegoodbea}tbandaIongIi{b,weshould

practicetbegivingof比arIessness‧

l50

PARAMIT八S

Intbegivingof{barIessness’themostimportantthingisnotto}Iarman<ybeing.InadditiontonotIKiI-ingbeings’wesbouldnotevencauset}]emtohave

a刪ictions.Avegetariandietisafbrmoftbegivingo『{barlessness:Wedonoteatthef>esbofanimaIsor

causethemtohavea刪ictions.Tbbemoreproactive’

weshould什eecapturedanimals.EILS

256.Thesecondparamitaisabidingbytheprecepts.WesbouIdobservethepreceptsandcodesofbe}Iavior

thattheBuddbalaidout.TbeteachingsinthesutrastbattbeBuddbaearnestb/andpatient!ytaughtussbouldbe｛blIowedtoo.Wesbouldalsoabide匕ytheIawsandcustomsofourcountries.Ifweabandontbe

precepts’thentbepracticeandupholdingoftbeBud-dba’steachingswiIdisappear·EILS

257·Thethirdparamitaispatience.TbaccompIisbanyundertaking’oneneedstobearanJ/hardshiptbatoneencounters.Int}IeprocessofcuItivation’onewilI

sure∣yencounter廿ustration.Themorediligentoneis’thegreatertheamountof什ustrationone｛aces.

Whyist｝lefesomuch什ustration?Becauseofthe

evilkarmastbatonehascommittedovercountless

l5l

PARAI<ITAS

kalpas’obstacles廿omkarmic｛brcesareunavoidable.

Tbeonlysolutionistotolerateanyhardship.TbiswilldecreaselKarmas.Ifonehasmeditativeconcentration’

itcaneliminatekarmas.Oneshouldfaceobstacles

withwisdom’resolvethemwitb{brbearance’acqui-

esce’andmakediligentprogress.OnIywiththe

paramitaofpatiencewillonebeabletoimprove.Ifoneisnotpatient)onewillencounterobstacles.EILS

258.T}Ie{burthparamitaisdiligence.TheCbinese

term｛briidiligence’’is／泣叨加Jingmeans“pureand

unadulterated〃andjinmeans“makingprogress.〃For

bodhisattvas’diligenceistbeonlyvirtuousroot.

Nowadays’man;yBuddhistpractitionersmalKetbemistakeoflearningtoomanydi仳rentthings’result-

inginam1xture.Alt}1ougbt}IeymakeprogresseveIy

daJ/)tbeirprogressisadulteratedTheyspendalotoftimeande仳rtbutt｝Ieiraccomplis｝1mentisveIylim-

ited.

TbelittleachievementIbaveintbislifbtimeisdue

tohavingagoodteacher.He{brbademetoproceedinanun｛bcusedandrandomway‧Ilearned廿omMI﹪Li

BingnaninTaichung{brtenyears·

l52

PARAlⅥIT八S

Histeachingmethodwasthatevenifastudent

wasveIysmartandbadanexceptionalcapabili吼lIe

orshecouldsimultaneouslyon!ylearntwosutrasatmost.Ifthestudentwantedtolearnthreesutras<atonetime>’hewouldnotteachthisstudent.Students

whodidnotbaveagoodcapabilityIearnedon!yonesutra·

OnlywbenMr.Liconsideredthatastudenthad

learnedasutrawellenougbwouldbeteachtbestu-dentanewone.Otherwise’hewouldnotaIowtbe

studenttolearnanewsutra.Duringmytenyearswit}IMr.Li’IlearnedBvesutras’whereasinaBud-

dhistcollege’tbestudentsstudymorethanBvesutraslnonesernester·EILS

259.ThefiHhparamitaismeditativeconcentration·It

meansbeingincontroIofone’smind.Witbin’tbemindisunmoved;wit}Iout’themindisnotattachedto

phenomena.OneshouIdnotbeeasi!ytemptedbyanyexternalphenomena.Forexample’whenonelearnsa

sutra’oneconcentratesontbissutra.ThiswaJ/)onewouldbeincontrolofone’smind.EILS

l53

PARAMITAS

260.Tbesixtbparamitaiswisdom.Simp!yput’whenoneinteractswithpeopleandengagesintasks’oneshouIddosobasedonreason’notonemotions.EILS

26l.Areadverseencountersgood{brus?Forpracti-

tioners’yes!Itisgoodtrainingtobavesomeonecon-stant|ycausingtroubIe{brusandtonothavetbingsgoingourway.Withouttheseadversities’}Iowwouldweachieveconcentration?Adverseconditionsand

a冊nitiesprovideuswitbiusttberig｝Itopportunities

todiscipIineourseIvesandtopracticetbeParamitaofPatience.爪／ecannotbethank｛i1Ienougb｛brt｝Ieseop-

portunities’muc}1}esstocomplainaboutt}]emorgetangIy·CD

l51

AMlT)\BHAVILLAGE

AIIitabhaVillage

262PresentIJ〃tbereareon!yafbwcountriesthat

providesocialwel血re｛brtbeirseniorcitizens.Coun﹣

triessuchastbeUnitedStatesandespecialyAustra-liabavecompIetesociaIweIbreprograms’andseniorsareveIyweIItakengoodcareof

Butretirementorganizations’whetherrun})ytbegovernmento『bytbeprivatesector﹚mostlyempha﹣

sizecaring{brseniors)physicalconditionsandpaJlessattentiontoenricbingtheirspirituaIlifb·Tbose

wbotakecareoftbeseniorso仕endosomechanicalb／andmaJ/showlittleIoveorconsideration.Conse-

quent∣y’seniorscan比eIemp吼Ionely’and｝IeIpless’

waitingdaiMbrdeath

Inviewofthisandinspiredbythe{burlKindsof

mindandpracticeofgreatcompassiontbatwelearnintbed﹙》αhz／〃‘／α人αSα∕／Ⅶ’Ihaveanewidea｛brsenior

retirement·IhopepeopIeofvisionandfbresightwillgladIypromoteandimplementit.Seniorshavede-

votedthemseIvestosocietyandshouldstarten]OyinggoodfbrtuneintheiroIdage.Tbisistherealizationofaper{bctsociety.MT

l55

AIlITABHAVILLAGE

265·EveIyoneofushasparents’andmostofuswillalsobecomeoldsomeday.Menciussaid’“叭／eshould

respectourparentsandextendthatrespecttoalloldpeople;wesbouldloveourchildrenandextendtbatlovetoaIchildren.’’

Seniorsbavededicatedt｝1eir｝ivestot｝1eir色milies’

socie吼andcountries.Itisonlyappropriatethatchil﹣

drenshowBlialpietytotheirnowelderlyparentsand

repaytbeirkindness.Wesbouldtrulyextendthe6lialpietyfbrourparentstoaItheseniorsintheworld’establis}Iaparadise{brseniors’andshowourloveandrespect{brthem.

Ifwecandosoand’additionallJ〃﹙l）｝lelp哽eligious

groupsandethnicgroupstoworktogether’(2)propagategoodtraditionalculturesintheworld’and﹙5）promotethesages’teac｝lingsoffilialpie吼respect

fbrtbosewhoareolder’andloving-kindness’thenall

peoplewillbehappyandt}Ieywillsupportourunder-taking’toget｝1erwitbt｝Iebeings廿omalldimensions.Aharmoniousworldcanbeexpectedsoon.MT

l56

INTERFAITHHARlVONYANDMUIJTlCUIjTURALISM

InterfaithHarIoIWandMulticulturalisⅢ

261.TheBuddba’steac}Iing’theteachingofallt}IesagesthroughouthistoIyandaroundtheworld’andreligiousteac}1ingaIaremulticulturaleducation.In

particulaI｝thed﹙﹚αm〃Mα尺αSα∕／1α’whicbisasummaIy

ofBuddbism’tru!ycontainsprofbundwisdom廿om

tbeper｛bctfi1sionofdi仳rentreligionsandcultures.

Forexample’alltheorgansofabo咖suchasthe

eyes’tbeears’thenose’tongue’hands’and{bet’must

dotbeirdutiesandcooperatewitbotherorgans.ThiswaJ)thebodywiIlbebealthy.

Alloft}Ieet}Inicgroups’cultures’religions’schoolsofthougbtwereoriginaUyasinglelifbcom-munib/.T}1erefbre,theysbouldseekcommongroundandputasidediffbrences’existand｛lourishside匕yside’respectandbelponeanotber’getalongharmoni-ous!J乃andtreatoneanotberequally.Theuniversewas

originaUyharmonious.TheworldwasoriginaUyone色mily.MT

265·Religiousrespectandcooperationisthefbunda-

tionfbrglobalbarmon[y.Tbacbieveworldpeace’

l57

lNTERFAITHHARIIONYANDMUIjTICUIjTURALISM

t}1eremustbe}1armoIWandequaltreatmentamong

countries﹚amongpoliticalpartiesorpo｝itical伍ctions’

amongetbnicgroups’andamongreligiousgroups.Itisdi冊culttoachievethis’butitiseasiertostart

witbacbievingharmonyamongreligiousgroups.Re-

ligiousrespectandcooperationmustbebasedonlearning廿omeachotherinorder｛bronesownrelig﹣

ionstostayvital.IfeveIyreligiousadherentwereable

topracticetbeteachingsofthesages╴compassion’

Ioving-lKindness’sincerity’respect{i1lness’bumility’andbarmony-andgetaIongharmoniouslywithoth-ersandtreattbemequalIJ〃thenperfbctbarmonyand

sociaIharmoIWwouIdbenearbMT

266.T}IecoreoftbeteacbingsofaIsages’inthis

worldandbeJ/ond’issincereloving-lKindness·Tbroug}Itbeteachingofmorality’tbelawofcauseandeffbct’wisdom’andscience’thesagesaimtoun-

coverthevirtueoftbeutmostpurityandvirtuousness

innateinallsentientbeings.Thesevirtueswillmani-

{bstwbeninteractingwithothersandengagingin

dai!ytasIKs.MT

l58

lNTERFAlTHHARMONYANDMUIJTlCUIJTURALISM

267.TbdaJ/’manyreIigiousscholarsbeIievetbatGod

oradeitybasnophysicaIbody;Heisomnipresent.ThisstatementaIsoappIiestoDbarma-natureinBud-

dhism.Tbere﹛bre’weIKnowtbataIthoug｝Idi仳rent

termsareused’aIreIigionsspeakoft}Iesametbing·Ihavediscussedthisbasicconceptwitbmanyre-

IigiousIeaders’andwealIagreethattbegodswor-shippedinaIlreligionsaretheoneandonlytrueGodintheuniverse.IaslKedt}Iem’“Doyouagreet}]attbetrueGod｝Iasper比ctwisdom?”Theyagreed‧〃The

trueGodbasmiracuIouspowers,wbichareincon-

ceivable’andcantrans{brmintoanything.”Tbeybe-lievedthis.

AndtbenIsaid’“HebasturnedintoSal<yamuniofBuddhism’ConR1ciusofChina’JesusChristof

Cbristianity’andPropbetl\/IubammadofIsIam.A}I

thesepeopIewerein跑cttI﹞etrueGod.Therefbre’we

areaⅢami!y.〃

Itisadmirableoftbesereligiousleaderstoaccepttbisideawithopenbearts.Ithoughttbatalotofdis-

cussionmightberequiredbe{bretheywouldacceptthisidea’butithasbeenwarm!yreceived})ymyreIig-ious廿iends.Thisisquiterareandcommendable.LS

l59

INTERFAITHHARlVONYANDMUIJTICUIjTURALISM

268.Tbresolveconflictandpromotesocialstability

andworldpeace’wehavetostopcompetingfbrrec-

ognitionandmaterialgain’andactivelypromotetheteachingofbenevolence’justice’andcompassion’a

teachingtbatwiIIelpallbeingsattainenligbtenment.Thisteac}Iingistbesameastheteachingoflove

taughtinreligion:GodIovespeople.

Throughcare{Mobservation’wewillreallyappre-ciatethatal}thegreatsagesineveIycountIythrough-outtimeandt}Ie{bundersofthemajorreligions’who

wereallsages’completelyrenouncedmaterialgain

andgreed’andhadpureminds.Therefbre’theyprac-ticedwhattbeytaughtandwereabletoteachotbers

topractice.Theyexertedbr-reachinginf>uencedur-ingtheirtimesandon{i1turegenerations.LS

269.Thegoalofreligiouseducationistorealizethetrut}Iofallphenomena’whic}Itheearth’theheavens’

andIoriginate廿om.AllthingsandIareone’nottwo.

Tbee仳ctofthereligiouseducationistoreach

completevIrtueandultimatewisdom’respectallbe-ings’andvowtoserveallbeings.

Fromthiswecanunderstandtbatreligiouseduca-

tionistheguidelinetoreaIizingaharmonioussociety

l60

INTERFAITHHARMONYANDMUI」TICUIjTURALISM

andahappylifb.Ifwepayattentiononlytorituals

andfailtopro{bundlycomprehendt}Ieessenceofthe

sutra’steachingjwewilInotprogressany{Urtherthan

justbeingzealousaboutour{ait}landthusbeeasilymanipulated匕ythosewithbadintentions.REN

270.TheQur’ansaysthatAllabisbenevolent.The

Biblesays:℉orGodsolovedtheworld..‧.”Tbe

fbundationofCon{i1cius’andMencius’teachingis

benevolence’rigbteousness’lOyaltJ/)and{brgiveness.

ThegoalofMahaJanaBuddhismissincerityandcompass1on.

Tbere{bre’wecanunderstandthegoalsofalIre-

ligionsinthisworldarebenevolence’compassion’

universallove’sinceri吼respect’bumili吼andbar﹣

mon[y.ThecontentofallreligionsincludetheseBve

teachings:etbics’morali軏causali吼philosop叮and

science·The{irsttbreecategoriesareuniversalteach-

ings{brallpeopleregardlessofgender’age’orsocial

status.Allpeopleshouldlearntheseteachingsinear-

nest.Tbelattertwocategoriesarefieldsofteacbings’whicharedeep∣ystudied匕ya｛bwindividuals.REN

l6l

INTERFAlTHHARⅣlONYANDMUI」TlCUIJTURALISM

27l.Westartwitbthetrainingofteachersbyestab-

lishinganinstituteofreligions·ARertbat’weestab-IishauniversityofreIigionsoramuIticulturaluniver-

sitywheretbeseteacberscangoontoteachstudents.Tbtrainoutstandingpropagators’coursesinmo-

rality’virtues’religioustexts’thelawofcauseandef﹛bct’science’pbilosophJ〃andsoonshouldbecon﹣

ducted.EachreligionsbouldestablisbitsowncoIlege.

Eac}IcoIegehasbothcompulsoIycoursesandspe-cializedcourses.Inadditiontofbcusinginthetextsof

hisorberreligion’astudentcanalsostudyt}Ieteach-

ingsofot}Ierreligions.

AHerbeingassessedandendorsed匕ytbegovern﹣

mentasbeingtrulybeneficialtosociaIarmoIWand

stability’lecturescanbebroadcasttoreligiousadher-

entsthroughouttheentirecountIyandevenaroundtbeworldviatheInternetandsateIitetelevision·MT

272.Foundersofallreligionswereactuallythedi仳r﹣ent{brmsandidentitiesthatthetrueGodtoolK{brthe

purposeofteachingdiverseethnicgroups’witbtheirvariedculturalandhistoricalbackgrounds’atdi仳r-

enttimes.Tbougbtbeteacbingmethodsaredi仳rent’

l62

lNTERFAITHHARIlONYANDMUIjTICUIjrURALlSM

whenweIookattbemcareⅢlJ〃wewi｝lseethattheir

directions’goaIs’andpurposesaretbesame.

T}1estartingpointofalIreligionsislove.Thatthe

startingpointistbesamemeansthattheysharetbe

samegoalanddirection·Therefbre’religiousgroups

canworktogether.Therewereninereligiousgroups

inSingaporewhiIeIwastbere.TheyreaIlyworked

togetherasoneandgotalongbarmoniouslyIike

brothersandsisters.TbisbeIpedtobringstabilitJ/andpeacetotbecountIyLS

273.Ourtruenatu『eisneit｝lerphysicalnorspirituaI’

noranaturalp}Ienomenon.ItistruepuritJ/)true

goodness’compassion’impartialitJ／’andper比cten﹣

lightenment.乃uenatureneitherarisesnorceases.lt

isalI-knowingandabletocreateeveIythingwitboutcon廿ontation.

EveIJ/thing’nomatterhowinsigniBcant’isderived仕omtheirownoriginaltruenature.Itisre｛brredtoas

tbetruecreatoroftbeuniverse’thetrueGodinmanyscripturesofdiffbrentbithsandreligions·WeshouIdrealizetbatweareunifiedintoGoda}lthetime(not)ust“witbGod”).Weareunifiedintotheuniverseas

l63

INTERFAITHHARIIONYANDMUIJTICUIjrURALISM

oneness.Theworldiscreated{)ytbepowerofcon-sciousness.RRE

271.ReligiousharmoIWisthelKeytoworldpeace·If

eachreligioncanpromoteimpartialityandstrivetoattainbarmoniouscoexistence’thenharmoniousrela-

tionshipsamongl)countries’2)et}micgroups’and3)

politicalbctionscanbeacbieved·Moreover’religious

barmoIWistheeasiesttobeginwitbwhencompared

tot}Ieothertbreerelationships’becauseallreligious

textsteachustodogooddeedsandabandonevil

deeds’toletgoofselfis}mess’toenbanceourspirits’

andtore廿ain廿ompursuingwealtb’丘me’andot｝Ier

selHshdesires.Ifreligiousadherentstrulypracticewbatthesacredtextsteacb’tbeadherentswilllivein

barmonywithallbeings·RRE

275.T}Ieultimategoaloftheteac}1ingofallreligions

istoguidethehumanmindtogoodness.Tberefbre’a

religionshouldtakeupthemissionofrightingthebumanmindandeliminatingdisasters.Thereare

morepeoplewhohaveafaithtbanthosewhodonot.Iftbosewbobavea丘itbcantalKethelead’restoring

tbesages’teacbingofmorali軏v1rtues’andcausali吼

l61

INTERFAITHHARlⅥONYANDMUI」TICUIjTURALISM

and’startingfTomthemselves’trulypracticetbe

teacbingofthesages’theywillbeabletomovethose

whodonohavea{aithThroughtbis’theycanlead

theircountries’politicalparties’andet}micgroupstoreturnto}Iarmon;y-barmonyinhavingthesameun-

derstandingandinsharingbene{its-andtowbere

peoplegetalongharmonious!J乃treatingoneanother

equally.ThiswaJ/)worldstabilityandMrmonycanbeachieved.SC

276.Instrivingfbreternalhappiness’wemusteradi-

cateallthatisbadandembraceallthatisgoodto

trans{brmdelusionintoenlightenment.Itisimportanttobevirtuousinourt}Iougbtsandconduct’andtolive

in}IarmonywitbpeopIeofallraces’religions’andna-

tionalities’andwithallbeings.Ifweregardallseniorsasourparentsandallcbildrenasourownaswecare

[br’protectandguidethem’wewillbesettinggoodexamples·Thus’wewillattainpeaceandhappiness{brall.AL

277.Allt}Iereligionsintbeworld’howeverdiverse’

areofone俎milyandoriginallylivedinharmonywitheachother‧Asthenameofthed﹙jα∕Iz／〃dα尺αSα〃Ⅶim-

l65

INTERFAITHHARMONYANDMUIjTICUIJTURALISM

plies’inagardentherearevariousspeciesofmagni{i-

centnowers’eachshowingtheiruniquebeautyand

廿agrance’togethercreatingabeautifi1lscene.Butif

tbegardenis}imitedtoon!yonespecies’isn’titbor-

ing?RRE

278.Tbhelppeopledevelopcon6denceinreligious

education’eveIyreligionshouIdestablisht}Ieirown

modelcitiesofharmony·Tbrougbconstantteaching’

tbeteachingsinthesacredtextswillbepracticedin

daiIyli{b.Tbiswillinspireothercitiesto{bllowsuit.

Asaresult’thewbolecountIywillbestableand

peaceI’andpeoplewillenjOybappiness.EventuaUy’

tbewholeworIdwil}beledtoharmon;y·Thiswillbe

thegreatestcontributionofreligiouseducationtoto-

day’ssocietJ/.IbelievethatthissacredundertalKing

willbavetbeheIpandblessing廿omthesagesofaⅡ

tbereIigions.SC

279.W}WisIoveregardedasthecoreoftbesacred

teachings?Tbereasonistbattbeuniverseiscreated

匕yanexclusivecreator’tbenoumenonoftheuniverse’w}Iodominatesallintheuniverse.Humansarecer-

l66

INTERFAITHHARl﹨／lONYANDl﹨／lUIjIICUⅢ、URALISM

tain|yinc}usive.Tbecreatorthere{breisaIsothenou-menonofhumankind.

SinceweareintegratedintoalIbeingsintbeuni-

verse’wesbouIdloveeveIybodyandeveryobjecttbe

sameasweloveourownbodies(externaI|y’t}IeBve

senseorgans;inte『nalb〃tbeorgansoftbebody）.CatI]oIicsandCbristianscaIthenoumenonoftbe

universe‘‘God/’MusIimssaJ/!lAlIah’”BuddbistssaJ/

“truenature’”andTaoistss叩‘‘Tho.〃Althougbitis

calledsometbingdi仳rent匕yeachreIigion’thees﹣

senceistbesame.ForexampIe)tbeBiblesays:<‘Inthe

beginningwastbeWOrd’andthe叭／Ordwaswitb

God’andtheWOrdwasGod‧〃（Jo｝ml:lNAB）.RRE

280.Particularb/inthisage’wbenin{brmationis

readi!yavailable’thewboleworIdhasbecomeaviI-

lage.I『reIigiousadberentstru!ylearntheirreligious

texts’theywillappreciatethewondrousmeaningof

“T}IereisonlyonetrueGodandthetruthiseternaI

andunchanging.’)Forexample’theomniscientand

omnipotentGodbashundredsorthousandsofmani-fbstations·HeiscaIedAl}abinIslamandGodin

CbristianityandCatbolicism.Hemani{bstedasCon-

fUcius’Mencius’Laotzu’andZhuangtzuinChina.In

l67

INTERFAITHHARMONYANDMUIjrICUIjTURALISM

Buddbism’beiscalIedthetruenature·Allthediffbr-

enttermswerecreatedtoaccordwitht}Iediffbrent

historicalandculturalbackgroundsoftbebeingsand

tobcilitateteaching·BC

28l.ReligiousgroupssbouldworlKtogetherandbelp

eacbother·Inaddition’tbeyshouldlearnfibmeach

otherandshowtheloveoft}Iesagesthroughthoseof

uswhohavea｛aith‧爪／eshouldstart廿omthereligion

webelievein.爪／eshouldbroadenourminds’loveour

religionsaswellasallotherreligions.叭∕elearnnot

onlythesacredtextsofourreligionbutalsothoseof

otherreligions.WewillfUrtherunderstandthatall

religionsaretru!yone巨mily.Thecoreoftbeteacbing

ofallreligionsisnothingbutcompassionandloving-kindness·SC

282.TbdaJ/)travelandcommunicationaremorecon-

venient·Religionssbouldhavemoreinteractionwith

eachother’cooperatewithandlearn什omonean-

ot｝Ier.Wes｝Iouldunderstandtheteachingsgiven匕y

t｝﹞etrueGodtot｝1edi仳rentre｝igionsandtbus

deepenourunderstandingofourownreIigioustexts.

WesbouldbringourselvesclosertotbetrueGod.

l68

INTERFAITHHARMONYANDMUIJICUIJrURALISM

MostimportantlJ〃religiousadherentsshouldexpress

theloveofGod匕ytheiractions’匕ypropagatingitto

peopleallovertbeworIdandtbussavingtheworld.RRE

285.Onthebasisofreligiouscooperation’wes}Iould

taketbenextsteptopromotemutuallearningamong

religionsinordertostrengtbenthespiritsofunity.

Mutuallearningwillenableustorealizethatthereis

onIyonetrueGodintheuniverse.AlItbeho!yonesof

di仳rentreIigionsarethemanifbstationsoftbeonetrueGod.

Weshouldunderstandtbatallthesacredteacb-

ingsareliteralygiven匕ytbeonetrueGodbutindif

fbrentfbrmsorappearances·Tberefbre’Irespectall

tbebolyGodsoftbedi仳rentreligions.InrealityI

amrespectingonetrueGod.Bystudyinga>lreligious

texts’wecandeepenourunderstandingoftbeteach-

ingsoft}1esametrueGod.Bydoingso’wecanbring

ourselvesclosertoGod’enhanceourspirits’broaden

ourminds’encompassaIint}Ieuniverse’andbring

ever-lastingpeaceand}IarmoIWtoallbeings.RRE

l69

INTERFAITHHARIIONYANDMUIjrICUETuRALISM

281.Allofthedi仳rentreligionsintheworldareone

family.WCshouIdcompIete!yletgoofarrogance’

jeaIouSy’andgreed’treatoneanotherequaIly’get

alongwitheveIyonebarmoniouslJ〃andworktogether

tohelppeopleawaken‧Su仳ringarises廿omdelusion.

Happinessarises廿omawakening.Onlywbenweare

tru!yawakenedwillwenaturallyIeavesu仳ringbe﹣

hindandattainhappiness.OH

285.Ourtruenatureisneitherphysicalnorspiritual.

Itistruepuri吼truegoodness’compassion’impartial﹣

itJ/’anduniversallove.T\menatureneitherarisesnor

ceases·ItisaI-knowingandabletocreateeveIytbing

withoutcon廿ontation.InvariousreIigions’people

re{brtothisast}Ietruecreatoroftheuniverse’tbe

trueGod.SE

286.Foryears’IhavediligentIylearnedvariousrelig-ioustextssuchastheOldandNewT℃stamentsand

theO㎡an.WbenIstudytbeBible’Ibecomeade﹣

voutCbristianoradevoutCatholic.WbenIstudytbe

Qur’an’IbecomeadevoutMuslim.MJ/sincerityand

respect<brAlIabandGodarepureandimpartiaI’just

likemysincerityandrespect{brBudd}Iasandbodbi-

l70

lNTERFAITHHARlⅥONYANDMUI」TICUIIURALISM

sattvas.IdeeplyunderstandthatonlywbenIcom-

pIetebputdownthetbreeobstaclesofjea}ouSy’anger’

andgreed’anda冊rmtbataIlsagesaremybestteach﹣

erswiⅡIbene6t仕omstudyingthetextsandrealIy

understandthetruemeaningsoftbesages’teachings·SE

287.Ideeplybe}ievetbatreligiousteac}1ingsoncau-

sality﹚moraIi吼andethicswiIIdeBnitelyturnt｝Iebad

inushumanstogood’poIIutiontopurity’anddeIu-

siontoenlightenment.TbisistbeonbcorrectsoIutiontovariouskindsofconRictsandhumanandnatural

disasters.Ifthead}IerentsofdiversefaithsandreIig-

ionscancooperatesincere|y;observetheruIes;cuIti-

vatetbemselves;practicetheteachingsandinfluence

ot｝Iers;learn廿omoneanother;respectoneanother;

}ove’careabout’andcooperatewithoneanot}Ier;t}]en

societyandtheworIdwiIIbe}Iarmonious.RRE

288.IfwewanttosavetheworIdtodaJ/’religions

mustMvesolidarityandmutuallycoexistandcooper-

ateinbotbgoodtimesandbad.Inordertoachieve

religiouscooperationandsoIidarity’wemusttalKere-

ligiouseducationastbe{bundation’andeveIyrelig-

l7l

INTERFAITHHARlVONYANDMUIjrICUIJTURALISM

iousadherentshouldlearnbisorherownsacredtexts

indepthAlso’weshouldlearn廿omoneanot｝Ier’re﹣

spectourdiffbrences’andseekcommonground·Do-

ingso’tbee仳ctofreIigiouscooperationwillbelong

lastingandcontinuousIyvibrant.REN

289.Ifwewanttotrulyachievesocialstabili哪har﹣

monJ/)andprosperitJ/)weshouldstartwit}Ieducation.

ReligiouspraJersonbe仳ctatemporaIysolution’not

apermanentcure.Tbe仳ctapermanentcurerequires

trans{brmingthehumanmindandhelpingeveIyone

abandonevilandcuItivategoodness’amendt}Ieir

conduct!andsett}Ieirthoug}Itsupright.Wesbould

earnestlyanddiIigentIyimplementreligiouseducation

andpropagateit·IfeveIyreligioncanengagecon-

tinuous!yinteaching{bryears’thiswiIlbeofgreat

}Ielptoeliminatedisastersandpromote}1armony.SC

290.Ifonesincereb/{bIowstbeteaching’onewill

gainthetruebene6t’nomatterwhatteachingitis’be

itConfi1cianism’Buddbism’orTaoism’oranyotber

religion.Itisbecauseallreligionshavetheirownfim-

damentalprecepts.Ifanypractitionertrubrealizes

t}lepreceptsofhisreligionindailyli[b’bewillnatu-

l72

INTERFAITHHARlⅥ0NYANDMUI」TICUIJTURALISM

rallybepeace｛ilIandtranquilIfwedon’tIearn廿om

tbe{imdamentalteacbings’tbew}IolelearningprocesswouldbeIikeatreewithoutroots’likewaterwit}Iout

asource’like日owersinavase’likeabousebuilton

emptyair.WewiIon!ybaveacademicaccomplish-

ments.ThepractitionerwiIIhardlybeapersonwbo

wiⅡalleviatesu仳ring!c｝IangedeIusionintoenlight-

enmentjandtrans{brmordinaIybeingsintosaintsand

sages.REN

29l·Fort}1epurposeoffacilitatingteac}1ing’Bud-

dhismdividestheentireuniverseintothreeparts:

noumenon)mind’andmatter.Theset}Ireepartsare

actuallyoneentity.Noumenonistbeessence’whichis

consideredbyBuddhismtobeabletomani{bstand

alterphenomena.Inthestatement“[phenomenaare>

manifbsted﹛〕ythemindanda】tered匕ytheconscious﹣

ness/’t}Iemindisthenoumenon’andtheconscious-

nessrefbrstodiscriminationandattachments’botbof

whichmani{bsteveIytbingintheuniverse.T}Iatwhic}Icanbemanifbstedandt}1emani{bsted

areone’nottwo.Frombere’wetIytounderstand

tl﹞attheentireuniverseisonesel￡Ourmindsmerge

wit}1Dharma-nature’andourbodiesmergewitb

l73

INTERFAITHHARlⅥONYANDMUIIICUI」TURALISM

Dharma-body.Dbarma-bodyre{brstothephysical

pbenomenaint}Ieuniverse’andseeing’smelling’cog-

nition’andknowingrefbrtothementaIphenomenain

theuniverse.Thesetwokindsofphenomenacome

什omtbesameorigin‧TbisoriginiscalledDharma﹣natureinBuddbismandiscaIledGodordeitiesin

otherreligions.LS

292.IbavelongadmiredthetraditionalChinesecul-turesofConH1cianism,Buddhism,andThoism’aswell

astbesacredteacbingsofdi仳rentreligionsinthe

worId.EvenwithBRy-nineyearsofIearning’IoftenfbelthatIhavemuc}]moretolearn.Inevertireof

learningandI’malwaJ/seagertosharewbatI’ve

Iearntwithotbers.NowIameighty-{buryearsold’

andIstil>talKegreatpleasureinlearning.IneverfbelthatIamtoooIdtolearn·SE

295.Aslongaswebaveapure’kind’sincere’and

compassionateminds’t}]ent}]erewillbeworldpeace’andtbesurroundingenvIronmentwillbecomebeauti-

{i1l.Butifwebaveimpureminds’withthoug}Itsof

bene{itingourseIvesw}Iilebarmingothers’andifwehavemanyilIthoughtsofgreed’angeI)ignorance’and

l71

INTERFAITHHARlⅥONYANDMUI」TICUI」TURALISM

arrogance’wewiIbring{brthman;ydisasters’aswhat

ishappeningintheworldrightnow.Inotherwords’

wereapexactlywhatwesow.Tbecbapter“TheIn-

structionofYi”int﹜IeBoo尺q／HL﹜∕D／rl／states:‘Dogood

anda}]undredgoodfbrtuneswiIlmani{bst.DoevilandahundredmisfbrtuneswiIIensue‧〃TbeOu’ran

~

states:“Andwbateverofmis{brtunebefaIsyou’itisbecauseofwhatyour｝landshaveearned.’’﹙么i2:30’

NobIeQuran)TbeBiblestates:“Isitnotcalamitytotheunrigbteous’Anddisastertotbeworkersofiniq-uity?’’(Job3l:5ASV)MC

291.AlltbefbundersofaIIreIigionsvoluntarilytaught

multiculturaIteachings.ForexampIe’Jesustaughtfbrthreeyears’theProp}IetI\/Iuhammadtaught{br

twenty-sevenyears’andBuddbaShakyamunitaug}]t

｛br比rty﹣nineyears.EveIyday,theyaⅡsetperfbct

exampleswitbtheirownconduct·Tbeirbebaviorwas

sincereandcompassionate)evenwhentheywerestiIlorsilent.

There{bre’religiousadberentsshoulddeeplyreal-izethatreligiouseducationisnecessaIy{braharmo-niousworld.Ifwe{blIourresponsibilitiesinwhat-

everpositionweareinandputintopracticetbe

l75

INTERFAITHHARMONYANDMUIJTICUIjTURALISM

teacbingsonetbics’morali吼andcausalitJ／）andculti-

vateourselvestoteachothers’Ibelieveautopian

worIdcanbeexpectedsoonwithreligionscoexisting

ingoodtimesandbad.REN

295.〔Iwasonceasked匕yastudent’】“Howcandif

{brentreligiousgroupsgetalongharmoniouslywitb-outconflict?”Iansweredt}Iatthemostimportant

tbingistolearnonesownreligiousteachingdili-

gentIy.

Forexample)IndonesiaaclKnowledges6verelig-

ions:Islam’CatboIicism’CbristianitJhHinduism’and

Buddhism.Tbese6vereligionsarelikeaperson’s{ive

fingers.Theydi仳rinlength﹚butwhenonetraces

thembacktothepalm’thewrist’andtbearm’one

willknowthatt}Ie{ingerssbaretbesamerootandthe

sameor1g1n·

Tberefbre’aslongasonecontinuestodelve

deeplyintoone’sreligioustexts’whenonegetstoacertainlevel’onewillnatural!ycomprehendtheteach-

ing.叭∕｝Ienoneisexposedtothetextsofotherrelig﹣ions’onewillalsobeabletounderstandthem·Anan-

cientsaylngspeaksof“delvingdeep!yintooneteacb-ingandimmersingoneselfinit{bralongtime.’’When

l76

INTERFAITHHARMONYANDMUIjTICUI」TURALISM

onedelvesdeep!yandreachesacertainlevel’onewilI

attainapuremindandwillnaturallybaveat}lorougb

understanding.OH

296.叭／benwep叩cIoseattentiontotbeteacbingsin

tbesutrasorreligioustexts’wewillfindtbatthespirit

oftheteachingsandtbeprincipIestaught})ythesages

ofallreligionsareabout80percentsimiIar.Thedi仁

{brencesariseduetotbesageshavingaccommodated

peopIe’sIivingbabitsandusingexpedientmeansto

陋cilitatetbeirteaching‧

Fromt}Iis’wecanseethattbeteacbingoftbe

sagesoriginated廿omthetruenatureofaIIbeings.

TbetruenatureoriginaIIycontainseveIygoodquality

andcanmani{bstalIp}Ienomena.EveIythingthatac-

cordswitbt}IetruenaturewiIIouris}I.AIWtbingt}Iat

goesagainstthetruenaturewiIIdecline.Thisisw}W

eveIydynastyinCbinapasseddownthesages’teacb-ings·T}IiswaysocietybadpeaceR1landstabletimes

andpeoplewerebappy.BC

297.WbenwecarefMlylooIKatbistoIy’itiseaSyfbrustoseet}IattheteacI]ingofeveIyreligioninthe

worldisaper{bctmu}ticulturaIsociaIteachingoftbe

l77

lNTERFAITHHARIlONYANDMUIIICUIjTURALISM

utmostvirtuousness·The{bundersofalltbereligions

werevoluntaIymulticuIturalsocialeducators.

Jesustaugbt<brthreeyears.T}IeProphet

Mubammadtaughtfbrtwenty-sevenJ/ears.Con{Ucius

taug｝It｛b『Bveyears.SakyamuniBuddbataugbtfbr

{brty-nineyears.Theyallletgoofprestige’wealth’

andgreedcompletely.Tbeywerepureinmindand

body.Tbeyengagedincultivationandtaughtpeople廿omallwaIksoflifb’withoutdiscrimination.There-

{bre’theywereabletoexertprofbundandwide-

reacbingin日uenceonpeopleoft｝﹞eirtimesandlater

generations.OH

298.T}IeBuddhistsutrasstate:‘iAllphenomenaarise斤omourminds;ourenvironmentcanbetransfbrmed

bytbemind.”Tbere{bre’IdeeplybelievetbatamongaIlthereligiousteacbings’t｝Ieteachingso『causality’

morali吼andvirtuecantrulytrans｛brmpeople什om

eviltogood’廿omcontaminatedtopure’and廿omde﹣

IudedtoawaIKened.Theseteacbingsarealsot}leonly

way╴theonIyproperpath╴toresolveallthecon﹣

日icts’disasters’andcaIamitiesintbetwenty﹣firstcen-

tuIyIfpeopleofalIreIigionscancooperateandworIKtogether’{bIowthecommandmentsandprecepts’cul-

l78

lNTERFAITHHARMONYANDMuIjTlCuI」rURALISM

tivatethemselves’practicetheteachingsoftheirown

｛aithandheIpothers’Iearn廿omandrespectandcare

{broneanotber’tbenaharmonioussocietyandpeace-{UlworIdcanbeper{bctlyrealized.LP/J

299.TbisisamulticuIturalworId·Therearedi{fbrent

reIigions’scbooIsoftbought’etbnicgroups’andna-

tions.WeareaIlpartofabigger炮miIy.Howcanwe

figbtwitboneanotber?Weneedtoliveinpeacew}Iilerespectingindividualdi仳rences.Webavetorespect

oneanot｝﹞er.WedonotaslK｛brrespect仕omothers

butrespectotbers6rst.Eveni『tbereisnorespectin

return’westiIIsI]owoursincererespecttoothers.

EventualIy’onedayotherswillpaytheirrespecttous.IpaJ/myrespecttohim,careabouthim’care{br

}]im’andhelpbimwit}]aI}mybeartwithoutaskingan<ythinginreturnbecauseIknowweareoneentity.Iknowtbewholeunive『seisoneentity‧Hejustdoesn’t

IKnowitJ／etbecausebeisstillunenlightened.﹨八∕henbeattainsawareness’hewilltbinkanddothesame.

WPH

500.TbdaJ/’sworldemphasizesmulticuIturaIismand

seekscooperationamongdi仳rentreligions’etbnic

l79

INTERFAITHHARlVONYANDMUIjrICUIjTuRALISM

groups﹚andcountries.叭／eareoneentity.叭／eneedto

respect』｝ove’careabout’care｛br’andcooperatewit｝1

oneanotber.爪／eneedtopursuebarmon《y.How?

Harmonybeginswitbinourselves.Insteadofaskingot}Ierstorespectandgetalongwitbus’weourselves

needtorespectandgetalongwithotbersfirst.Itdoes

notmatterwhet}IerotberspayequaIrespecttousor

tIytogetalongwitbus.Eventuallywewillmovetbemandinf>uencethemifwepersevereinrespectingtbem.

IfIbavethemeresttboughtofdemandingthat

otbers{irstgetalongwit}Ime’barmonycannever

tru!ybeachieved.ItisbecauseIplacemyselfinaconf>ictingpositionwit}1thetboughtofdemanding’

dominating’andpossessingotbers.SoIdomyutmost

toloveot}IerpeopIe’careaboutand{brt}1em’and

helpthemwholeheaITedIy.IdoallthiswithoutaskinganythinginreturnbecauseIlKnowtbatweareoneandthattbisuniverseisoneIivingentitySE

l80

EDUCATION

Education

50l.Goodteacbersaregenuine!ycompassionate’lKind’patientinteacbing’dedicated’andtIytoprotecttheirstudents廿omcontaminationofthemind.Itis

cruciaIfbrustobeclosetoagoodteacher;however’beingclosedoesnotmeanbeingnexttot}]eteac}]erbutrathertolistentoand{bIowtheirteachings.ItisusuaIbveIyhardto{lndt}lerigbtteacherandweonlymeethimorheraffermaIWIi{btimes.SomepeoplehavesaidtometbatIwasmost{brtunatetohavemet

goodteachers’butwherecouldtheyfindone?Thisteacheristobeencounteredrathertbansougbtandthechances{brtbisarerareindeed·Itisamatterof

aHinityandtherightconditionsmaturing.爪∕eneedtonurturethegoodrootandopportunities·BACW

502.Thereisapassagein‘‘DukeWenofTeng’PartI’’inz〃b／zc血《d:Ahumanmustbehave｝iIKeabuman.Ifone

iswelIbdandwarm!ycladandlivescom{brtaUybutdoesnotreceivemoraIeducation’tbenoneisnodi仁

fbrent什omananimaIandtendstoactonimpulse.Thesages(tbesagesherere{brtoKingsYaoand

Sbun’wbolived1500J/earsago)wereworriedabout

l8l

EDUCATION

this·KingS}]unappointedXieasMinisterofEduca-tiontoteachpeopIeIanaturalIovebetweenparentsandcbildren’mutualobligationsbetweenleadersand

theirpeopIe’distinctresponsibiIities{brhusbandsandwives,anaturalorderbetweentheoIdandtbeyoung’

andtrustbetween什iends.”Thispassageexplainshow

tbeeducationaISysteminCbinawasfbrmallyestab-}isbed·BC

503.WbentbeteacherthinlKst}Iatwearegoodstu-

dents’hewillrequireusto{bllowtbreerestrictions;Brst’hewiIlcoveroureyesandbIockourearssothatnoworrieswiIlintrude.Wbenwetru!yhaveaban-

donedalIattachmentsandgainedwisdom’wewiIbe

aIlowedtostudyothermethods.Tbere{bre’extensivelearningiscOnductedintbesecondstagerathertbanatthebeginning.

Di冊cultiescanariseifweengageinextensive

}earningatt}1eveIybeginning·Itissimilartohearinginstructions廿omoneteacherandbeginningto｛bl｝ow

himorherandthen}IearinginstructionsfTomasec-

ondteacberandfbelingasifwewere{acingtwopaths

goingindi胱rentdirections‧Witbthreeteachers’wewillbecaughtatathree-wayjunctionandwithfbur;

l82

EDUCATION

wearestuckatacrossroadsnotknowingwbicbwaJ/togo.

Tbere{bre’itisimportanttofbIowon!yoneteacberatonetime.BACW

304.TbeBuddhataughtustobelieveinagoodteacber.Wemustbaveconfidenceintbisgoodteac}Ier.Ifnot!hecannotheIpus>nomatterhowgreat}IiswisdomorabiIitiesare.Dowebe>ievethattbe

BuddhabasuItimateper化ctwisdom’virtues’and

abilities?ThosewbobeIieveandunderstand}Iave

numerousanddeepgoodroots’whichwereplantedinpastIi{btimes.

MyconfidenceinBuddbismgrewasIstudiedand

practicedit.﹨八∕henI｛irststarted’Ihadmanydoubts

but{brtunate!yIbadgoodteacherswbopatientlyandskillIb/taugbtme.There{bre’inteacbing>tbemostcruciaItbingistheteacher’sattitude·ASC

505.Buddhisteducationisdi仳rentfibmmodern

educationintermsofconceptsandmethods;fbrin-stance’inauniversitywemustbeveIycarefi1landtalKeourtimechoosingourmajor.Buddbism’how-ever’isdi仳rentbecausebereweareexpectedto

l85

EDUCATION

awakentoper｛bct’completewisdom伍rstandthenin

tbe{i1turewewiIbecomeknowledgeableinallotber

departmentsoftheuniversiI.Wheredowestart?Westart廿omtheintensivestudyofacertainmetbod;as

issaid:“awakeninginonesutrameansawalKeninginallsutras.”Whatdoesawakeningmean?AwaIKenedmeanswebaveattainedwisdom.BACW

306.TheinnatenatureofhumanityisfiIedwit}1pu-

rityandgoodness.PeopIeseekeager!ytobavea}lar-monioussocietyandcommunity.Mostsimplydonotknowthemethodtoachievethis.Onceawayis

{bund’hopeiswithinsigbt’mostpeoplearewillingtodotbeirbesttoseeitrealized.PeopIecanbeeasily

taught.Tbeycanbetaughttobecomebetter.MC

507·ModerneducationissimiIartobuildingapyra-

mid.Wereadextensivelyandt}Iennarrowtbescope

of}earningtospecializeinonesubjecttoprogress什omextensivetointensivelearning‧But’nomatter

howtallthepyramidorbowlargeitsbase;thepyra-midhasitszenith‧Buddhismisdi仳rent｛britislikea

treewithroots’trunkbrancbes’leaves’andfinaIly

廿uits‧Anin｛initeprocess’itstarts仕omonepoint’the

l81

EDUCATlON

root’anddevelopsintotbeGreatPer{bctionoftbe

TTueNaturesothateventuallyweunderstandeveIy-

thing·

WOrldlyImowledgebasitslimitationsa仕erwhich

tbereisnomoretoIearn’butBuddhismisboundless·

T}]ewisdomofBuddhismisbeyondthecompre}]en-

sionofaveragepeople·BuddbismmaJ/seemordinaIyatthebeginning’buttbeachievementswemalKelater

areinconceivablewhiIeworldlystudiesinitiaUyap-

pearextensiveandcomprehensivebutintheend’

providenoIastingaccompIishment.BACW

308.TherootsofConfi1cianism’Buddhism,andTho-

ismareGMMDzα﹚.／b／.Bc叼αGboJA／t!α〃〔DZZIG叫’

t｝IeZb〃ⅢⅧOαJKtz／γ〃αJSα伽’andthedccoα／咖γRe﹣

γα甽α〃JR叩’〃Jc’respectiveIy.IthinktbeZb〃Ⅲ∕αoαJ

KZz／wzαdMβⅦcarriestbesameweig｝ItastbeBudd｝IistCanon·

Why?BecausetbeⅡ〃Ⅲ∕αo!!JKh／w1αJS叻Ⅶistbe

｛bundationo『Sal﹝yamuniBuddha’s｛brty﹣nineyearsof

learning’practicing’andteaching.Itillustrates}Iow

theBuddhistcanonisputintopracticeindailylifb’atworlK’andint｝Ieinteractionswitbpeople.Also’G∕z妣﹣

／b〉zcu∕b／.﹠卹αGbo0A八／0〃sbouldcarIJ／thesame

l85

EDUCATION

weightastbeConfUciantexts’anddccoα叻q／Rc7α甽

α／zJRcU／﹚o〃‘／βthesameweightastbeTaoistscriptures.

叭／esbouIdvaluetbesetbreerootsandrespectthem

tbiswaJ/.Wes}loulddiligentlyIearnandpracticetbese

threerootsandthenpropagateanden}Iancetbem.MT

309.The6rsteightsentencesintbe〃／℃cαα／1αc∕B／.

C血／‘Mbaretbeupmostconceptsineducationpassed

on匕you了ancestors廿omthousandsofyearsago.

‘‘ThenatureofpeopIeatbirtbisinnate!ygood.〃This

sentencegiveshumannatureapositivedescription.

EveIyoneisbornwitbvirtue.Sal[yamuniBuddhasaid:“AlIsentientbeingsareoriginallyBuddhas.”So

simpleanddirect!YOuareaBuddha!Whybavewe

nowbecomeanimper{bct’worldlyperson?Intbe

川／℃c甽α／yαc∕B／.ChzMb’thereisagreatexplanationthat

explains:‘‘Theirnaturesaresimilar;theirhabitsarevastlydi仳rent.〃WPH

5l0.Mr.OUyangJingwusaid’“WeshouldlKnowthat

t}Iereareman[yexpedientmeansinBuddbism.Thereisnoset{brm.”Ifpositiveteacbingmethodsarebene-{icial’weusethem.Ifnegativeteacbingmethodshave

l86

EDUCATlON

advantages’weusethemtoo.T}Iere{bre’teacbing

metbodsinBuddbismaremanyandvaried.T}Ieycan

bepositiveornegative·Botbfavorableandadverse

conditionscanbeused{brteac}Iingpurposes.Tbereis

onlyonegoaI╴bene6tingaIlsentientbeings匕ybeIp﹣

ingthembreaktbrougI]deIusionandattainenlight-

enment’andtoleavesu仳ringbehindandattainbap﹣

pIness.BACW

3ll.Tbecultura}teac}]ingoft}1eancientsagescan

bringpermanentstabiIiIandpeacetotbewbo}e

worId.ThemostimportantthingisthatthepeopIethemselvesshouldtrulyunderstandtraditionaIcul-

ture’endingtbeirdoubtandinitiatingbeIie旺仆adi﹣

tionalculturet｝﹞atcame什omtbeteacbingsofsaints

andsageactuaIIy日ows什omtbetruenatureofaIIbe﹣

ings’transcendingtimeandspace.Suchwisdomis

neveroutoffasbion·ThelKeytosuccessfi1llearningissincerityandrespect.﹨八／benoneisneithersincerenor

respectfi1ltowardstbeteachingoftheancientsages’evenifonereadsaI}tbebooIKs’onewilInotobtainanytruebenefit.AsCon{ilciussaid’“Inarrate[whattbe

ancientssaid>ratherthanwritecreative!y.IbelieveinandenjOytbeteachingsoftbeancients.”SC

l87

EDUCATION

5l2.Thereisnodi仳rencebetweenouroriginaIvir﹣

tueandthatofBuddhasorbodhisattvas.Whyarewe

nowsodi肚rent?Itisbecauseouracquiredhabitsare

di仳rent.WearepollutedinoureveIydaylives’﹛）y

ourenvironmentand匕ycompIicateda仳irsbetween

people.叭∕henwearepolluted’weacquirebadhabits.

OnetaIKesthebehaviorofone’scompaIW.Ifwestay

cIosetosaintsandsageseveIydaJ/)wewiIbecome

saints.IfwestayclosetoimmoraIpeopleaIItbetime’

wewilltakeontheirbehaviorandeventuaUybecome

immoralpeople.Tbere{bre’ourancestorsreaIizedthe

importanceofeducation.Sointbe〃／℃cαα／Ⅶc陀／,

ChzMb’thefbllowingsentencestates:“Iftbereisno

teacbing’ournaturewiIdeteriorate·”WPH

5l3.MI\Ou;yangJingwuwasagreatBuddhistscboIarinhistimes·He{bundedChinaInnerLearningCol-

}egeinNanjing’whe<emanyextraordinaIyBuddhist

practitioners’botbmonasticandlay)werenurtured.

Inl925’begaveaspeecbatNanjingNormalUniver-

sitJ/titled“TheBuddhadharmaisNeitheraReligionnoraP}Iilosophy.ItisaModern-daJEssentiaI.”BACW2

l88

EDUCATlON

5l1.Tberearefburmaincategoriesineducation.

Tbese{burcategoriescannotbeseparated.Thefirstis

et}Iicalrelationseducation·ThesecondismoraIprin-

cipIeseducation.TbetbirdiscausalitJ/education’and

the{burthistbeeducationtaug}ltbythesaintsand

sages’includingreIigiouseducation·Ifthefbureduca-

tionscanbecarriedoutcompIeteb’tbeworldwiIbe

peace{Ul’societJ/wiIlbestabIeandsecure’andpeople

wiIbeMppyandfi1lIed·Ifthe{bureducationsare

ignored’notsurprisingbhtbewor}dwillbec}1aotic.叭∕PH

5l5.Thepropagationofthebenevolenceandcompas-

sionofthesagesmustrelyontbeIearnerhimselfto

putt}Ieseintopracticethroughbisspeech’behavior’

andtboughtsw}]eninteractingwithotbersandengag-

ingintasIKs·Tbesages’teachingsteacbustobeginwithchangingourseIves.(Forexample’Con{i1cius

taughtt}1efburabandonments:abandonwanderingtboug}1ts,abandondiscriminations’abandonattacb-

ments’andabandonsel6shness.)Ifoneaspirestobe-

comeasage’onemustbeginwitbresoIving-什omone)sbeart-theconffontationsandconflictswith

othersandtbeexternalenvironment.ThiswaJ/)one

l89

EDUCATION

wiIbeabletounderstandt}Ietruemeaningofthe

Con{UciansayingITblearn’andtoconstantlypractice

whatisIearned<andderivebene6t>ispurepIeasure.川

MT

3l6>estabIishedTheLu>iangCentreofCultural

Educationinmyhometown’thetownshipofThngc}Ii’

LujiangCounty’AnhuiProvince’Cbina.Tbecoreof

thecentre’steacbingist}IeCon{i1cianteacbingof

S肋Idα／泓／允／﹑﹠卹αGbojA／Uo〃【DZ〃G!q.Tbecenter

helpedt}]elocalgovernmenttopropagatemoraledu-

cationtoallpeople.Tbeprojectstartedwitbtbirty-

seventeachers.Theyspentthreemontbslearningand

practicingD【Z／Gα／‧Lateron’theyorganizedateacb-

ingteamandwentintoviIlagestoteachtbevillagers·

TheteacberspracticedBliaIpietJ∕﹚什aternaIlove’

kindness’andlove.Wit}Iinashort{bwmonths’t}Ie

socialatmospherechangedfbrthebetter’provingthat

“bumannatureisoriginalygood”and“apersoncan

betaughttobeabetterperson.”SC

5l7.Today’tbeworldisingreatturmoiIandpeople

yearn{brwiseleadership.InordertouniversaIlybene6ttheworld’avertimminentdisasters’andre-

l90

EDUCATlON

solveimmoralityandtheensuingangerandconf>icts’

eveIyonemustmaintainagoodheart’dogooddeeds’

saygoodwords’andbeagoodperson.Theonlywaytoachievet}IisistomakeeveIyeffbrttopromotethe

teachingofgreatawakeningandtoreIyontbegolden

maximsandteacbingso『tbesagestbroughoutt｝Iebis﹣

toIyandaroundtheworId.Itisbopedt}Iataccordcanthusbereac}Ied.MT

3l8·AnideaImoderncultivationcenters}]ouIdbelike

aschoolThescboolitselfwiIIbeliIKeaci吼lilKean

AInericancoIlegetown.T℃nsucbcultivationcenters’

sinceChineseBuddhismhastenscbools’areenough{brthenation.EachcuItivationcentersbouIdbedi-

videdintotwodivisions:acuItivationcenter’whicbis

fbrpractice’andalearningcollege’whicbisfbrteacb-Ing.

ThkethePureLandsc}]ool{brexample.APureLandtowncouIdbeestabIisbedwithaPureLandCuI-

tivationCenterandaPureLandLearningCollege·ThePureLandCultivationCentersbould{bcus

onthepracticeofBuddha-namechanting.Thereshouldbemanycultivationballstoaccommodate

practitionerspracticingdi仳rent｛brmsofBudd｝Ia

l9l

EDUCATION

Remembrance’sucbasBuddhaRemembrance}W

visualizationbycontemplationofanimage’and匕y

Budd}1a-namecbanting.

ThePureLandLearningCollegeshould{bcuson

teachingtbesutrasandtrainingteac}Iers.Tbereshou>dbeHvetotenlecturehalls{brlecturingonthe

{ivePureLandsutrasandonetreatise·EveIyonewillbewelcometocomelistentothelectures·MT

3l9·Ametbodthathaslongbeenpracticedinthe

Buddhistcommunitytotrainlecturersoft}Iesutrasis

tohavestudentsrepeattbeirteac}Iers’lectures.Tbose

withgoodlearningcapabilitiesandgoodmemories

arec｝Iosen｛brtraining‧爪／isdomtaughtinBudd｝Iism

isdiHbrent廿omworldlyintelligence.TYuewisdom

mustbebasedonthefbundationofpreceptobserva-

tionandmeditativeconcentration.Repeatingt}Ielec-

turesofone’steacheriscultivatingprecepts’medita-

tiveconcentration’andwisdom.The6rstpersonin

BuddhistbistoIytorepeatbisteacher’slectureswastheElderAnanda’w}Iowasastudentandpersonal

attendantofSal[yamuniBuddha{brmanyyears.MT

l92

EDUCATION

320.Buddhismisalsobasedontbefbundationoffilial

piety.Thus’theritualofmakingoffbringstoancestorsandtbeestablishmentofancestralmemoriaIIaIlsare

hig}llyregarded’as6lialpietyistbeultimaterootandfbundationofCbineseculture.IfweareabletobeBl-

ialtowardsparentsandancestors’abletoremember

ourroots’tbenwewillnaturallybeabIetothinkand

conductourselvesproper!yandtore什ainfTom

wrongdoings·CD

32l.ConfUciussaid:“Ifbeldeligbt{i1lwhenIcancon-

stantlypracticeandrealizewbatIhavelearned.〃This

‘‘delight”isnot廿omtbeoutsidebut什omourinnate

virtue.Itissoprecious!Ifonecandoso’tbisperson

willbe}lealthyandlong-}ived’bappyandsatis6ed.Chineseancestorsoftensaidt}Iatitispleasanttoread

andstudy.Tbisbappinessbasnotbingtodowithour

materiallifb’ourwealth’status’orpower.Tbishappi-nessisffomlearningandpracticingtheteachingsoftheancientsagesandsaints.Thisistbetruebappi-ness.Therefbre!MahaJ/anaBuddhismoHensays“BodbisattvasarealwayshappyandexperiencejOyintbeDharma·’’WPH

l93

EDUCATlON

522.InancientCbina’thosewhotaughtyoungchil-

drenplacedgreatimportanceonbasiceducation.

Theytaug}ItIalpiety’respect’andsinceriI’{brthesearetbeoutlinesoftbeteacbings.Thus’thecbildisthe炮theroftheman’｛brthecbaracternurturedin

ourchiIdhoodwillbecomeournaturew}Ienweare

grown.T}Iisprovidesthe{bundation{brthenurturing

ofsagesandvirtuouspeoplewhowillprovide{bra

moralsocietyandawise!ygovernedcountIySinceancienttimes’tbishasbeent}IeCbineseso-

ciaItradition.TheCbinesesaJ/thateducationisessen-

tialinestablishinganewgovernment’trainingits

leaders’andgoverningitspeople.CD

325.TbeteacbingofallreligionsisessentiaIlyabout

thesacredteacbingofloving-kindnessandcompas-

sion.Thewordiireligion’’’whicbis之u／叨血oinManda-

rinChinese’basinspiringimpIications.Zongmeans

primaIy’important’andvenerated.Jiaomeanseduca-tion.There{bre’zongjiaomeansprimaIyeducation’an

impo『tantteacbingthatisworthyofourveneration.

Religiouseducationincludestbe{bIIowingfivecategories:morality’ethics’causalitypIosop}W’andscience.Ifreligiouseducationcanberestoredandif

l91

EDUCATlON

alIreligionscancooperateandworktogetbertopro-motetbesacredteachingstotheworld’wecande6-

nitelyacbieveworIdpeace.TbeneveIbodywiIbegoodandeveIytbingwillbegood.

Educationist}Ieon!ywaJtoreconciIedisastersandcon日icts‧Educationbasbeenandisthe｛imda-

mentalapproacbtomaintainingIong-lastingsociaIstabilityandpeaceinthepastandpresent’intheEastandt}IeWest·RRE

321.Sinceancienttimes’tbeChinesewaJ/oftbinkinghasbeentoaccordwitbone’snatureandinnatevir-

tues‧TheCbinesecaⅢttheteachingofaαo肫／∕zMand

thelawofcauseandeffbct.Wbatisdaode?Intoday’slanguage’daoistherulesofnature’theorderinwhichnature{imctions’and‘‘natureisharmoni-

ous╴supreme｝﹞armoIW.〃Deis｛b｝lowingtberulesofnature·

Forexample’ayearisdividedintotbe{bursea-

sonsofspring’summer’autumn’andwinter.Tbisisa

phenomenonoftberulesofnature.Thisisdao·If

one’sli{bandthinldng(thinkingbelongstot}Iementalworld’andbodytothephysicalworld)accordwith

theseasonalruIesofplantinginspring’growingin

l95

EDUCATION

summer’harvestinginautumn!andstoringinwinter’

onewillenjOygoodphysicalandmentalhealtb.

Tl1erefbre’{bllowingtherulesofnatureandaccording

withharmon;yarede.Ifoneviolatestherulesofnatureandbreaches

｝larmony﹚onewillcertainlysu仳rfTombad｝Iealt｝I

andbepronetoiIness·Sowehavetl1ede6nitionofdaode.LS

525.PeopIearoundtbeworIdneedtoreturntotradi-tionalvaluesandstrivetoattainpeace.Howdowe

attainpeace?Througbeducation·Themostimportanteducationisthatoftbefami!yasitisthebasisofall

education.Whena｛amilylosesitsenseofuni吼itaf

｛bctsthestabilityofsocietybecause色miliesaret｝Ie

｛bundationofsociety.Thecoreofa炮milyisthebus﹣

bandandwi{b>andwhenspousesdonotgeta}ong’

societywillnotbepeaceRll.TbisiswhyCon{i1cian-ism’Buddhism)andTaoismempbasize{amilyeduca-tion.AL

526·Allsageshavet}IeirwaJ/ofdoingtbingsandtheyarecorrectindoingthingstbatwaJ.Weshould

clearlyobserveandconsideralIvieWpoints.Thenwe

l96

EDUCATION

willbeabletouncoverourwisdomandtotrulylearnthevirtuesandabiIitiesthatwesbouldlearn.Itisin-

appropriatetosaytbatConfi1ciuswaswrongtoseeka

positionatt}leimperialcourtandthatSal[yamuniwascorrecttorenounceworldlyattac}Iments.Bothof

themwerecorrect;tbeysimplyhaddi仳rentwaJsofdoingthings.

叭∕emustlearn廿omdi仳rentpeopletomakeour

learningcomplete.Ifonebaspositionorpower’oneshouldworkconscientious!ywhilemaintainingapuremindasSal<yamunidid.ThiswaJ/)onewillachieveper{bctioninhisundertalKings.LS

527.Intoday’ssociety’whatisthedrivingfbrcebe-bindhardwork?Wealtb’{ame’andprestige!I\/IostpeoplewilldowhateverisnecessaIytoacquiretbese.Ift}IerewerenoweaIthtogain’howmaIWwouldbewillingtoworlKsobard?\/CIy{bw!Int}Iepast’tbedrivingfbrcebehindpeople’s}Iardworkwasfilialpi-e叮‧Intheirmindfi1lnessofancestorsandparents’t}Ieydidtheirbesttoaccumulatemeritsandvirtueson

tbeirbehalf)andtohonorthem.Thisdriving{brceismuchworthierandnoblerthantbatofwealth’色me’

andprestige!TbishasbeentbetraditionofChinese

l97

EDUCATION

cultureandCon{i1cianteacbing{brseveralthousand

years·CD

528.ManypractitionersbaveaslKedme’“Ms·HanYinhaspassedaw己ymanyyearsagoandyetyoustill

missher·Isn’tthisanattachment?”Irepliedt}Iatifmy

missing}Ierisbasedonemotions’tbenitisanattacb-ment’butifitisbasedonwisdom’t}Ienitisateach-

ing.Ibada}IalIbuiltincommemorationofI\/Is.Han·T}Iisisfbreducationalpurpose:teacbingthepublicto

keepinmindt}Iebvorsothersbavedonetot}IemandtorepaJ∕lKindness.IaIwayskeepinmindallt｝Ie缸vors

Ms·Han}Iaddone{brmeandtIytorepaJ/berkind-ness.ASC

529.Educationofchildrenshouldstart仕ompreg-

nanCy.Altboug}1maIWparentsmaynottIytoexert

goodinfluenceontheirchildrenbe{brebirtb’theyImowtbataReraba匕yisbornitwillbein｛luenced匕y

whatitseesand｝lears.Regardlessofwhetheraba匕y

isabIetounderstand’assoonasitopensitseyesit

willseeand}Iear’anditstartslearningandimitating.

Doingsoisitsnature’andnatureisdao.Att}Iistime,

l98

EDUCATlON

t}Ieparentssbouldexertpositiveinf>uenceonthe

ba叮andthisisteacbingofde.LS

530.PeoplewhotruIybavegood{brtunearekind

bearted’bonest’andtoIerant·Tbeirspeecbandman-nerarecalmanddigniβed.ConfUciussaid:﹛﹛叭／itbout

dignitJhoneisunabletoinspireothers/’OnlywithdignitJ/andtheabilitytoinspirerespectareweabIetoe仳ctivelyinteractwithothers.CD

55l.TheancientCbinesepaidgreatattentiontotbeteac}Iingoftbesages.Thestartingpointofthisteacb-

ingisBrstoftbeFiveCardinalRelations}Iips:anatu-rallovebetweenparentsandcbildren.Thelovebe-

tweenparentsandcbiIdrencomes廿omtbenature’it

isnottaughtorcreated匕yan;yone.InBuddhism’itisca}ledaninnatevIrtue·Educationteacheschildrento

maintaintbisnaturallovetbroughoutone}sentireli{b.

Tbisistbebasicgoaloftheteaching.T}Ienextstepistoenhancethislove·

First’parentslovetbeirchildren’andchildrenare

filialtotbeirparents;eIdersiblingsare廿iendlytoyoungersiblings’andJ/oungersibIingsrespecteldersibIings;husbandsareresponsible’andwivesareat-

l99

EDUCATION

tentive;andrulersarebenevolenttotbeirsubjects’

andtbesubjectsarelOyaltot}leirrulers.Next’peoples｝Iou｝dlovetbeir什iends’tbeirneighbors’t｝1eirown

communitiesandtbensocietJ/)theircountIy)andt}1e

humanrace.“Humanbeings’regardlessofan﹙ydi仳r-

ences’sbouldbelovedequalb.〃SC

352AncientChinesesageswerelKnowledgeable

aboutscienceandtecbnolo田／﹚andyettbeycl1osenot

tocontinuedeveIopmentofsuchlmowledge.Why?

They｛bresawtbatintheend’tec｝molo田／vvouldde﹣

strOyourworld.So’theychoseinsteadtoconcentrateontbe}1umanities’to}Ielppeopledevelopwisdom’

andtounderstandandpracticemorality)tohelppeo-

pIefullyunderstandtberelationsbipbetweenhumans’amonghumansandspirits’andamonghumansandnature’andtobecomeapersonwhoisfbarlessand

indomitable.OnlyintbiswaJ’willindividualsexperi-encetruehappinessandwellbeing’andwillcitizensandcountrieshaveagenuine{i1ture.Tbisisgenuineeducation.CD

333·Astotheimportanceofmoraleducation’ancient

Chinesesagesparticularlyempbasizedt}latfbrpeople

200

EDUCATION

toenjOyhappiness>bmiliestoenjOyharmony)coun-triestoenjOystabili吼andtheworIdtoen〕Oypeace’selfcultivationis{Undamentalandeducationisessen-

tial.Tbachievetbese{burgoals’wemuststartwitb

cultivatingourselvesanda}sopropagatet}]eteac}Iingsofthesages.BC

354WhatBuddbasandsagesrealizedandgainedisIove{brself·Whattheytaughtislovefbrothers.Tbe

teachingofallsagesistheteac}IingofsinceritJ/)love’andt}Iestandardsofbehaviorinli{basenunciatedin

GM光肋ct／允rBc吻α仇o0A／Mo〃【DZ〃G‘Z﹞andint｝Ie

T℃nVirtuousKarmas‧Theteachingofallsagesisthe

inheritanceofhumanwisdomandexperienceasweIlastheheritageofworldciviIizations.LS

335.Sinceancienttimes’Chineseemperorsandgov-ernmentsinalldynastiesregardedteachingastheirfirstpriority·Ofallthemeasuresadoptedandimple-mented匕ythegovernment’educationwasthemost

important·Allotbermeasuressupportededucation.BC

20l

EDUCATlON

556.Ifonewis}IestohavegoodsiblingsorchiIdren’

由milyeducationmustbetaughtinone’s｛ami!y.Fora

伯m】ytoprosper’educationisessential.Whenone

enterssocie吼wbetberonerunsabusinessorengages

inanoccupation’ifonewishestbebusinesstopros-

per’tbefirstpriorityiseducatingtheemplOyees.BC

357.Chineseeducationisateachingofbenevolence

andjustice’love’andsupremebarmony.Itdoesnotteacbonetocompete{brmaterialgain.Tbere{bre’childrensbouldbetaugbttogiveprecedencetoothers

atayoungage.

Inadditiontolearningtore什ain什omcompeting

witbotbers’tbeysbouldaIsolearntosacrificetbem-se｝ves.Itisdi仳rent什omtodaJ／’seducation’wbich

startsteachingcompetitioninkindergarten.Competi-tiondenotesseI{isbness·WhenchiIdrenaretaughtto

compete{brrecognitionandmaterialgainatayoung

ageandareinstilledwitht}Ieconceptofbene{itingoneselfattbeexpenseofothers’asgrownupstbeywillnotrealizethatbene6tingoneselfattheexpenseof

othersiswrong.

Tbere﹛bre’tbeteacbingo「loveteachespeopIeto

loveothersastbeylovetbemselves’alwaJ/stbinking

202

EDUCATlON

aboutmalKingsacri{icesandaboutservingoth-ers╴societJ／’tbecountIy﹚andallbeings、﹨八／hendoing

so’tbeyneverconsidertbeirowninterests.Tbeteacb-

ingofthesagesstarts廿omhere‧LS

558.MyteacherPro匠FongDongmeiintroduced

Buddhismtomeandsaid:“TbeBuddbaisagreatp}]i-losopher’areveredpbi}osopber·Budd}1ismist}Iepin-nacleofalIphilosopbiesintbeworld’andlearningBuddhismistbegreatestenjOymentofIifb.”

﹨八／iththescientificadvancementsinrecentJ／ears﹚

especiaIlyinthe6eldofquantumphysics’peoplearegraduallyseeingtbatwhattheBuddhasaid2500

yearsagowasindeedatruedescriptionoftberealitJ/oftheuniverse.Bycontinuousandprofbundstudyoftbesutras’webelievetbatnotonIywillBuddhismbe“t}Iepinnac}eofa}lphilosopbiesintheworld/’itwiIl

alsoberecognizedasthehighest{brmofmoralitJ/)vir-tue’causalitJ/)andscience·lntwentJ/tothirtyyears’BuddbismwilIbeacceptedasanadvancedscience·REN

359.Parentsandeldersmustsetanexample{brthe

children.Babiesseeandbearupont}Ieirbirtb.Tbey

203

EDUCATION

starttoimitateot}IersevenbefbretbeycanspealKor

walIK.Thespeecbandconductoftheireldersmust

con{brmtomoralprinciplesandet}Iicssothatw}1atthebabiessee’hear’andcomeincontactwithwillin-

Huencethempositive!y.TheC}lineseproverb“Tbe

behaviorofachildtbreeyearsoldwilIrevealwhat

tbispersonwillbeIilKeattbeageofeightJ/.Tbebe-haviorofacbildofsevenwillrevealw}Iatthisperson

willbeliketbroug}1outbisorherwbolelifb’’malKesalotofsense.LS

510.Ifwearetru!yawakened’weshouldremembertbe

teachingofGreatMasterYinguang:practicevvithasmallnumberofpractitionersatasmallcuItivationcenter;donotseeka冊nities;cbant“AInituo｛b’’single﹣

mindedlyandseekrebirtbintheWesternPureLand.Ifanopportunityarises{brustoteachstudents’thendosotopassdowntbeteachingsoftbesages.Itdoesnotmatterhowmanystudentswehave;ittakesonlyonestudenttopassdownt}Ieteachings·ASC

51l·Goodadviceistbeteachingsoft}Iesagesofthis

worldandbeyond.Latergenerationscalledtheseteachingssutras.Tbesutrasspeakoftruthsthatdo

201

EDUCATlON

notchangewitbtime.Thetrutbtbatsurpassestimeis

thesamenow’asitwasthousandsofyearsago;itnevercbangeswbetherintheeastorint}Iewest·

Tbewritingsandteachingsofsagesdidnotcome

fibmtheirpersonaIexperiencesandopinions’fbrif

tbeydidtheywouldbebiasedorinappropriate.His-toIyisnotmadeupofopinionsbutofaccumulated

experienceswbereassutrascontainthetrutht}Iat

arises廿omtheoriginaltruenature.Thus’tbeteach-

ingsinthesutrasaretbeabsolutetrut}Ithatsurpassestimeandspace.

Wewillbene6tandimproveifwebelieveintbe

teachings’butifwedonot’tbenwewillmisst}Iese

remarkablebene{its.Thisiswbywesaytbatdoubtis

oneoft｝Iesixfimdamentala田ictionsofgreed’anger’

ignorance’arrogance’doubt’anddeviatedviews.CD

312.The6rstgoalofancientChineseeducationwas

toensurethatthea仳ctionbetweenparentsandcbil﹣

drenwouldremainuncbangedduringtbeirli{btimes.T}Iesecondgoalwastoenhancethissincereloveand

toexpanditsscopetoincludetbebmi!J〃brotbersand

sisters’tbecommuni吼socie吼tbecountIy﹚buman﹣

lKind’andevenallbeings.Oneshouldlovenotonly

205

EDUCATION

}]umankindbutalsoanimals,trees’{lowers’andgrass.

Tbiswastheconcept’anditwastbedesiredgoalof

C}Iineseeducationtoexpandt}Iescopeofthislove.LS

313.TbeZb／z「／DⅧo蛔KZz／wzαJSα〃Ⅶisthefbundation

{brenteringBudd}Iism.Butbe{breoneentersBud-dhism’onemusthavetbe{bundationoflearning

G／!妣肋印∕brBc卹αG﹚o0A八／o〃〔DlZIα!qanddc-

coα叻q／R叩蛔M〃0R叩o〃‘Ie.GMM∕〉!cM,rBe吻αGbo0A／秒0／zistbe化undationofConfUcianmoraleducation.

Itcontainsteacbings{br{amilyeducation.Parents

andeldersteachachild6IialpieIandrespect{br

teacbers.dccoα叻q／Rc7ααl∕α〃JR卹﹚o／凹cisthe｛bunda﹣

tionofⅦoistteachingoftheIawofcauseande仳ct.BC

511.Wbenonelearnstbeteachingofthelawofcauseande仳ct’onewillnotdaretocommitevildeeds.

Whenonereceivesmoraleducation’onewiIl{bel

ashamedtocommitevildeeds·Ifonehassucha{bun-

dationwhenoneentersBuddhism’itwillnotbehard

｛bronetolearntheFivePreceptsandtheT℃nVirtu﹣

ousKarmas.Wbenonetrulypracticestheteachings

206

EDUCATlON

inthe咒〃Ⅲ∕α﹝﹚〃JKh／W!αJS〃伽’GM﹜e／∕〉!cM﹚／﹑Be卹α

Gbo〃A／Mo〃【D﹛ZIG﹝q’anddcco／〃咖㎡R叩﹛d／∕α〃JRc﹣

Jpo〃健／6onewiIltrub／breakthrougbsuffbringandat﹣

tainhappiness.BC

315.DuringbisIi｛btime’Sa止yamuniheIdmoretban

300teac}Iingassemblies.HisteachingwasveIyrichincontent·Hebeganteac}Iingattheageofthirtyand

passedawaJatseventy-nine·Hespent{brty-nineyearsteachingwit}Ioutinterruption·WeIKnowthat

Confi1ciustaught{bronlyBveyears’andJesustaug}]t{brthreeyearsbe{brebewaskiIled.ProphetMuhammadtaught{brtwenty-sevenyears.AmongtbeancientandcontemporaIysagesofaIlet}]nic

groups’Sal[yamuniindeedwastheonewhotaugbtfbrtbelongestperiodoftime’andtbecontentofhis

teachingwastherichest·T}]ere{bre’tberesultsofbis

teacbingareoutstanding·HisIi{bprovidesagoodex-ample{brus.OnlytbrougbeducationcanwerealIyreconcileallcon日ictsthatarecOmplicatedandcom﹣

plex·LS

316.T℃acbingandlearningaretbe｛bundationt｝﹞at

willIeadtoabarmoniousworld{brallbeings.Re-

207

EDUCATION

gardlessofthetimeorplace’therootofsocialstability

andhappinessisteachingandlearning.Theyaret}Ie

onIywaydemonstratedbyallthegreatsaintsandsages·0therapproachesarenotthecorrectpaths.LP/M

317.TheChinesesayt}Iateducationisessentialines-

tablishinganewgovernment’trainingitsleaders’and

governingitspeople.Ifthebasicqua}ityofeducationisnotclearlyrecognizedandimplemented’incorrect

viewscanbedestrOytheentireculture’countIy)and

evenitspeople!

Allthegovernmento冊cialsinancientChinastud-

iedtheworksofwisesagesandvirtuouspeople.Even

ifsomebadselBs}1intentions’tbeirwrongdoingswere

probablylimited.Tbeywouldhaveon!ybenttherulesonlysomucbbe{bretbeystarted{belingregret{i1l.

TbdaJ/)sexualmisconduct’wrongdoings’evencriminalactsareallviewedasmatterofbct.Weno

IongerhaveashameR1lheartor比elremorsefUl.Ⅵ／e

bavelostoursenseofmoralityandourconscience.

Andt}Iisisdeeplytroublingbecauseallthatseparates

usfTomanimalsisagoodbeart.CD

208

EDUCATION

318.叭／batchildrenseeandhearduringtheirfirst

threeyearswiIeaveadeepimpressiononthem’and

theywillbeabIetoteIlright廿omwrongandgood

廿omevilattbeageofthree.Thesecbildrenwi】lbe

immunetomanyharm{i1lpollutantsint}Iecontempo-raIyworldThisimmunitywillbewitht｝Iem廿ombirth

叭∕bentheystartattendingprimaIyschoolatt｝Ie

ageofsixorseven’ifteachersmalKesuret}1attbe

childrenad}IeretomoralprinciplesandetbicseveIydaJ/)itwillenbanceandextendtbemoraleducation

thatthechildrenhavebeenreceivingsincebirt}I.

ThiswilIIelpthem{brma{bundation{brgood

character’wbichwilIensurevirtuoustboughts’speec}I’andconductfbrt}Ierestoft}Ieirlives·The

cbildrenwillgiveprioritytoothers’treatotberswit}I

respectandbumi}ity)engageintaskswitbcaution)

andgetalongharmoniousb/witbothers.Tbere{bre’nodisputewillarise.A仕ertheyhavefbrmedafbun﹣

dation{brmoralconduct’theyshouldbetaughtthewritingsoft}Iesagestoreceivet}Ieteachingofethics’moralitJ／）t｝Ielawofcauseande仳ct’andwisdom.LS

209

EDUCATION

519.IfsocietyistoremainstabIe’itsmembersneedto

Iivein}Iarmony.On!yharmonycandrawustoget}ler

intermsofopinions’ideas’andourwaJ/ofli{b.In

ot}Ierwords’beingbarmoniouscanminimizetbedif化rencesinhumanrelationsandimproveequality.Af

tertbat’peaceandtben{inal|y’happinesscanbe

achieved.Tbobtainhappinesswemusthaveapeace-

{il}heartandbody.BothBuddhistandworldlyteach-

ingsemphasizetbeimportanceofbarmonyandre-spect.BAC叭∕

350.Wemutualyrespect’love’andcooperatewitb

oneanot}Ier’settingourselvesasamodeIofpeaceand

barmonytos}IowthewboleworIdtbatmulti-racia}’multicultural’andmuIti｛aitbharmony╴andpeace╴is

achievable.

Tbeidealofthebumanracebecomingone{amilyisattainable.I\/IC

2l0

SOURCES

Sources

AL;d﹛l’α光c〃卹q／Lol卹肋!伽cwJ﹨anslatedbySiIent﹨∕Oices.Sin﹣

gapore:AmitabhaBuddbistSociety(S)’2000

ASC:A／﹜z伽川αS／∕∕／丫JCommentaIy.LectureSeriesgivenin

Tbowoomba’M匙y2003.TianslatedbythePureLandT｝ansIa﹣

tionTbam.Tbowoomba.仆ansIationcurrentlyongoing.

BACW:BαdJAt〃〃:〃cdⅡ’α光c〃呵q／C〃叩αd《Mi〃zα〃〃【Ⅲ力〃Ⅱ.First

EditionJ\anslatedbySilentVOices.Singapore;AmitabhaBud-dhistSociety(S)’l999.

BACW2:βαtⅢ山〃z:川↙d【l﹚α人c〃勿㎡Cb〃Ip﹝MMb〃α〃〃Ⅲi／do〃z.Sec﹣

ondedition.T\anslatedbythePureLandT\ansIationTbam.Tbowoomba.Tbbepublished.

BC:“BuddhistContributionstoResolvingSociaIProblems·’’AddressgivenatThe21t}>GeneralCon{brenceoftheWOr}dFeIIowshipofBuddbists’Tbkyo’Japan’November2008‧仆ans﹣

IatedbytbePureLandT\ansIationTbam.

CD:C乃α叨呵Dc﹠／伽J／.ⅣanslatedbySlIentVOices.Singapore:AmitabhaBuddhistSocieI(S)’l999.

ElLS:Ⅱ’‘／c〃ceq／’∕乃cj／（／iM隆L從Sα∕／Ⅶ.LectureseriesgiveninSan

Francisco’Augustl993.T\ansIatedbyPureLandT\anslationT℃am‧TbowoombaJbbepubIished.

LP/J:“LettertoPopeBenedictXVI’InPreparation{brMalaJ/-sianInterfaitbDelegation’sAudiencewithPopeBenedictinJune20l0”TlansIatedbyPureLandT﹨anslationT℃am.Tbowoomba:20l0

2ll

SOURCES

LP/M:“LettertoPopeBenedictXVL’’T\anslatedbyPureLand仆anslationTbam.Tbowoomba:20l0.

LS;“Learning廿omSakyamuni:ReconcilingConHictandPro﹣

motingSocialStabiIityandWOrIdPeaceThrougbTbacbing/’AddressgivenattbeCelebrationofthe2550thBirtbAnniver-saIyoftheBuddha’UNESCOHeadquarters’Paris’France’October2006.T\anslatedbyPureLandTianslationTbam.

MC:‘‘BuildingaModelCityofPeaceandHarmonyinTbowoomba.〃AddressgivenatMoraliⅣ＆Virtues:AFaithPer﹣

spectiveForumatTbowoomba’Australia’Marcb’20l2·T\ans-IatedbyPureLandTTanslationTbam.

MN:“ABriefIntroductionofVenerab}eMasterChinKung’s

MainThougbts.’’吁anslatedbyPureLandT﹨ansIationTbam.

Tbowoomba:PureLandLearningCollegeAssociationInc,2008.

MR:‘<TheMissionofReligionstoSavetheWorld·”AddressgivenatTheACRPExecutiveCommitteeMeeting’KualaLum-pur’Malaysia’M4y20lLT\anslatedbyPureLandT\anslationTbam.

OH:‘‘OneHumanity)ManyFaiths.”AddressgivenatInterbithSummit{brPeaceandHarmonyinAustraIiaandtheAsia-Paci{icRegion’Brisbane’AustraIia’FebruaIy2009.T\ans}atedbyPureLand乃anslationTbam.

REN:“ReligiousEducationisNecessaIy{braHarmoniousWOrld.’’AddressgivenatThe2ndInternationaICon{brenceofMulti-ReligiousandMulti-CuIturalCommunication’Dacca!Banglades｝l’November20l0.乃anslatedbyPureLandTfansla﹣tionTbam.

2l2

SOURCES

RRE:“RestoreReIigiousEducation’Pmy{brEnduringWorIdPeace.’’AddressgivenatWOrIdDayofPmyer{brPeace’TbeVatican’Rome’October20llT\anslatedbyPureLandIansIa-tionTbam.

SC:‘‘EliminatingCrisesThrougbReligiousEducation:TboughtsOnBuildingaSacredCib/ofReligionsandCulture.’’AddressgivenattheWOrldFellowshipofBuddbistsInter{aithForumjBangkok’Thailand’May20l2T\ansIatedbyPureLandTTans-lationTbam·

SE:‘‘ReligiousEducation:SavingtheEarth’’AddressgivenatTbe3rdWOrldPeaceForum,YOgyakarta’Indonesia’June20l0.仆anslatedbyPureLand乃anslationTbam‧

TVKS:〃eBα〃乃α印cα人﹫／q／／此ⅢzJ／㎡Zb〃Ⅲ加〃!止／Kh／γ﹜md.TYans﹣

latedbyPu『eLandT﹨anslationTbamJ﹨ansIationcurrent∣yon﹣goIng.

WPH:“WOrIdPeaceandHarmony:AnInspiration仕omWater‧”

AddressgivenatWater&PeaceGlobalForum’Shiga’Japan’March20l0.T}ansIatedbyPureLandT}ansIationTbam.

2l3

INDEX

INDEX

Re{brencesaretoexcerptnumbers’notpagenumbers.

dcc〃α〃匠∣q／Rc7α＆／∕α〃d肋仰〃‘∣c’508’515

a冊nity’23’31’19’l18’205’30lafHictions’20’56’10’55’68’69’7l’79’81’9l’l57’l16’l67’

l9l’220’255’31l

AmitabhaBuddha’l’2’1!5’7’l8’27’28’50’51’55’12}15’17’

19’5l’55’51’57’6l’90’l02)l8l

d／mM肋αM仃Ⅶ’9’27’90

ange乙52’51’1l’73’78﹚89j96’97’l02’l06jl09’ll2』lMjl29’l10’l16’M9’l60)l65’l7l’l83’l9ljl91’l95’236’238’

286’293!3lZ51l

animaIs’58’ll7’l3l’l59’l65!255’512’517

arrogance’36’78’97’ll2’ll1’l16’l95’258’281attachments

ego’l26)l77

knowIedge’81seIE81

attainment’27)39’12,56’l29)207)2l1

dl!α／n〃】‘∕α人αsα〃Ⅶ’5l﹚98’l55’l51’262’261j277

AvaIokitesbvaraBodhisattva’ll

awakening’l’28’10’5l’lll’l12’l16’l55’l62’l68’l70’l90’l92’l96’203’235’215)216’281’298’505’3l7’310

baby’babies’529’339baddeeds’badkarmas’l37’l96

belieEl5’l6’27’l63’205’207j2ll’3ll

benevo}ence’ll9’270’3l5

birtbanddeath’3’l1’81’l67

bodhimind’3’56’9l’205

Buddha-namechanting’l3’350l91’5l8

2l1

Buddhanature’5l’M2

BuddhaMind{ilIness’57

<NDEX

causaIitJ∕’causeandeHbct’l01’l07’ll0’l叫,2ll’236’25么i’266’

270’27l’275’287’291’298’5l1)523j321’338’313’518

chiIdren’200’225’265’276’302’322’529’33l!556’537’539’

312’318’

compassionjcoInpassionate’l0’28’l03’l05’l08’ll2’ll9’l3l’l19’l6l’l72’l78’l81)l9l’221’235’268’270’273’28l’

293’291’30l’3l5’523

conditions’l2’Ml5’21’25’30’33’79!8l’93’l0l’l07’l57’

l19’205’253’26l’262’50l’3l0

conHict’75!97’ll5’ll6’ll9’l25’l78’l95!238’268!287’295’

298!300’5l7’323’315

Con｛i1cius’Con｛hcianism」78!ll9’l21!l80’l98’252’267’270’

280’290’292’297’308’5ll’32l’325’326’350’515

consciousness’68’76’77’90’l20’l17’l53’273’29l

ConstantMind{ilIness’l8’27’59’51!57!l02

content’contentment’l05’209’220)221>251

deIusion’10’76’M8’l55’l93’203’276’281’287’3l0

desire’31’l09’ll9’l55’l71’l75!20l’202’209’220]228’271’

512(a}soseeFiveDesires)

destiny)destinies’35!l07’l7l’l90!206’230Dbarma-bodMl16’29lDharma-endingAge’l7’l9Dbarma-nature’5l’267

DharmaReaIm’7’25)28’98’l36’l15’2l1

D﹙h／〃〃／】JM／／Ⅶ』86’89’l17

dignity’550disasters’78’97’l05’ll1’l95’2l5’225’236’275’287’289’293’

298’5l7

2l5

INDEX

discriminate’discriminations’29’72l82’85’87’l28’l50’l67’

2l0)221

D!ⅢG／必508!3l6’551’515

doubt’l5’l6’6l!62’78’2ll’501’5ll’51l

EightConsciousnesses’76EightSuffbrings’l55’205enlightenment’l’1’l9’59’52’56’6l’l58’l72’221’255’268’

273’276’290’3l0

etbics’270,287’291’323’359’518

emotions’l09’l6l’260’528

empathJ〃l0’l59’l76’251

{aith’1’9’27’56’63’205’269’275’28l’287’298

bme’ll’l09’l66’l96’202’271’527

｛amilJ乃l1l’l71’l87’225’261’277’28l’281’299’325’556’512’313’

FangDongmei’Pro{bssor’538{aults’l39’l50’l58’l62’l68’l70’l72’l81’l89’l98’2l3’222’

225

{bar’60’l09’l68’21l

{barlessness’l01’250’251’255’332

βliaMilialpiety!19’l80’225’250’265’3l6’520’522’527’33l’315

{ire’97’l02’ll1’l29’200

FiveAggregates’l55FiveDesires’l0’ll’l22)l30>l55>202

FiveCardinaIRelationships’53l{lood’97’ll1’200

{brbearance’l69’l82

FourLands

LandofCommonResidenceofOrdinaIyBeingsandSaints’7

2l6

INDEX

LandofExpedientLiberation’7Lando「RealReward’7

LandofEternallyQuiescentLight’7

G／℃α∕α此C肋／ZM仇Z’l9

greed’50’52’1l’75’78!96’97’l09’ll2’ll1’l55)l16’l19’l52>l60’l65’l7l’l83’l9l’l95’20l’256’238’268’281’

286’293’297’51l

gooddeeds’goodkarmas’5’l8’57’83’91’l22’l52’l55’l11)l81’l90﹚l96’2l1’238’250’271』5l7

gooddbarmas’1l’l21good{brtune’l2’72’92’97’l02’l26’l10’l15’l65’l77’l82’

l81’l88’200’2l2’225’262’330

goodness’l2’l8’12’l25)l27’l31’l37’2l7’228’251’273’285’289)306

gossip’l91’2l9G／【妣肋a﹟允rBe吻αGb﹙﹚0A八／o〃’308’551’313

babits,60’68’7l’ll3!l25’l5Zl16!296’509)3l2

HanYin’Ms.)2l6’328

happiness’l03’ll9’l88’250’259’276’278’281’52l’532!511’516}519

harmony’65!7l)l05’l21’l25’l60’2l3’500’521’535’519Huineng’Master’221humility﹚l51,208’265’270’5么i8

ignorancej52’51’1l’75’78》96﹚l01’ll1’159!l16’l65’l7l』

l76’l83jl9ljl95’238’210’293’51l

iIlness’59’l01’l06’M5’l55’l9l’209’521

impartiality’l’lll’285／∕﹟／f〉Ⅱ此L旋sα〃泣’27’9l’l05’l93

intoxicants’219

2l7

INDEX

jealouSy)85’281’286jOy)51’59’l05’l09’l55’l9l’20l’225’239’32ljustice’96’l05’ll9’268’337

karma﹚7’l8’27’53’51﹚55﹚59’1l』12’18’58’68’95’96’l22’

l11’l5l’l51’l9l’l96’2l7’255’257(alsoseeTbnVirtuous

KarmasandTbnEvilKarmas)karmicdebts’35’95’l87

kiIing’1l’78>l75,221)23l’231’215’218!255kindness’37’l3l’l39’l18’l66’l68’l76’2l6’221’265’266’

5l6j525

K﹜吻α／Ⅷαsα∕／Ⅶ’l26

LandofUItimateBIiss’l1’l5’20’26’29

letgo’Iettinggo’l5’28’50’15’86)90’l00’l05’l06’ll8>l22’l28’l35』l52’l6l’l67』l95’20l!206j258﹚251’255』27q’

281j297

LiBingnanjMr‧’ll’20』70’79’255’258

}ovingkindness’l03’ll3’l78’221’265’265’266’28l’323Lu)iang’3l6

lying’1l’78’218

MahasthamapraptaBodhisattva’l2’56’6l

materiaIgain>75’ll9’268’357matter’l20

meditativeconcentration’l9’62』65!l52’l60’l7l’l92’l91’2l8’

236’237’238’210’257’3l9

Mencius’ll9’265>280’502

meritsandvirtues’22’26’28’72’l02’l81’2l7

misdeeds’l07’l71’20l

modes•’208money’93﹚l叫’l96’255

2l8

lNDEX

moraIitJ/’l05’l66’236’266’270’27l’275’287’291’298>5l7’523』352’358’518

muIticuItural’-ism’27l’291’297’299’300’550

obstacIes’10’51!57!75’l29’l11’l65’l70’l75’l87’l89’2ll’

223)228’257’286

OneMindUndisturbed’39’18’58’l9叮

OUyangJingwu’lVIr.’3l0’3l3

OUyi’GreatMaste叼5’9’90’2ll

parents’19’l80’225’250』265’302﹚320’527j529’35l!559’312

patience’99’l29’l69’l86)2l8’223’238’257’26l

peaceofmind’l35!l19physics’338precepts’l6!l9’62’61’79’l73’256﹚257’259’21l’212j217╴

219’25l’252’256’290’3l9(alsoseeFivePrecepts)pbi｝osophJ〃270’27l’3l3

P&M/b/w!sMV)l5l

P／叫〉Iαs／《∕∕Ⅶ’l69

pregnanq/529

puremind’purltyofmind’l’11’18’58’6l’81’89’l02’lll’l29’l30’l19’l83’l86’209’2ll’223’229’210』268﹚295j326

purity’l08’lll’ll3’l30’l19’l55)201)2lq’211’216’266)273’285!287

physics’558

rebirth’3’7’9’ll’l5’l6’20’22’25>27

re{brm’57’l37’l19jl62’l68’l72’l93’2l3

relationsbips’l3’271’35lremorse’22jl91’317

reprisaI’95’23lresiduaI

2l9

INDEX

habits’ll’36’l16’2l2

karmas’7’51

respect’-{hl’l5’59’l05’l57’l59’l68’l80’l86’22l’225’215’216’265﹣265’269’270j283’286’287﹚298╴300’308’3ll’

522’550’33l’315’318’319’550

retribution’78’l55’l56’2l5’2l7’23l’21l

retrogress’1』95

revenge’l18’225’25lroots’l2’l5’78’290’301’307)308’520

SakyamuniBuddha’21’29>5l’13’75’l61’297’508’509’5l9’515

SamantabhadraBodhisattva’l2’l57’l59

science’l57’l9l’2ql’270’27l’325’332’358

selRcuItivation’l62’21l’333

selfish,-ness’ll3’l22’l56’l12’l13’l16’l95’258’271’3l5’

337’317

sexual

desire’3』’l75

misconduct’1l’78’219’517

simple’l1’27’16’209’2l2’255’509simplicity)209sincerity)55’68’l08’l27’202’265’270’286’5ll’322’551

singIe-minded’l59

singIe-mindedIJH2’19j50’52’55’57’59’62’l87’510SixDusts’l0’ll’76’l30’202

SixPaths’57’19’l52’l65’217’218

SixSenseObjects’l22steaIing’1l’78’85!l85’218su仳ring3’1’37’1l’9l’l03’ll9’l21’﹞53’l55’l60’l82’

l88’205’210’281’290’3l0’311（alsoseeEightSu仳rings）

Supreme’Per{bctEnlightenment’12’230

220

INDEX

sh／γZ／叨α〃ZαM〃Ⅶ’6l’ll1

Thoism’290’292!308)525s

〃／℃cαα／Ⅶc庇／﹑ChM／血’309

TbnEviIKarmas’1l’l9l’210

TbnVirtuousKarmas’33’1l’l05’l21’l75’331’3叫

Zb〃Ⅲ﹑m〃必／Kh／γγm延／s／【／／γZ’l21’308’315’511

T}IreeBadRealms’27’l05

TbreeConditions’35’79

ThreeEvilPaths’20’38’l21’l56’l65

tolerance’tolerant’99’330

truenature’2’1l’50’52,76’82’91’l09’ll3’l20’l25’l3l)l57’

l16’l81’202’207’2ll’2l3’226’213’215’216’219’251’

273’279’280’285!296’307’5ll)51l

vegetarian’255Ⅲ﹚ZMZ觔Ⅶs／﹛仇Z’255

v>ewpoints’l16’526

vow’﹣ing’么i’9’l5’l5’l6’21’27’35’57’79’269

wanderingthougbts’28’29!10!50’52’51’55’57’60’62’65’7l’75’85’lll’l28’l19’l67’209’2l0’221)5l5

wealth’ll,92’l02’l01’l09’ll1’l66’l96’200’202’2l2’250’

251)255j271’297’32l’527

wind’97’l05’220

worldpeace’l7么i’265’268’271’295’325

worIdbteacbings’70’96’519worIy)worries!30’51’75’9l’97’l19’l67’l9l’21l’503

wrongdoing’22’l07’l82’l90’20l’2l3’210’520,517

Yinguang’GreatMaster’l5’l6’22lj310

22l

INDEX

ZhangjiaLivingBuddha’65’182’217Zhongfbng’MasteI)2zongjiao’525

222

l﹨／I己ythemeritsandvirtues

accrued什omtbisworlK

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repaytheFourKindsofKindnessabove’

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Amitabl1aBuddhistSocieties

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