for the sake of all beings
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㎡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
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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
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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
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Foralistof
Amitabl1aBuddhistSocieties
and
PureLandCenters
pleasevisit
www.purelandcollege.org.au
Complimentsof
Rareitistobebornasahuman·
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w}1entheBuddbad}larmaisknown.
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Complimentso「:
TheCoTporationRepubIicofHwaDzanSocieⅣ
2F·’No‘333-l|Sec.4HsinYiRoad!Taipei!Taiwan
Tel:(886)-2-2751-7>78Fax:(886)-2-2751-7262E﹃MaiI:}﹞wadzan@bwadzan‧tw
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