Table of Contents
Buddha’s Birthday:
An Auspicious Month
Teachings of
Master Man Sang: Sutra of the Eight Realizations of Great Beings
Story
From the Sutras: Doing Good and Building Merit
Dharma Transmitter: Correcting
Mistakes – Three Levels and Ten Lessons (1)
Changing With
Circumstances: Collective Karma
Cornucopia: The
False Joy of Three Miles
Buddha’s Birthday: An Auspicious Month
By
Ven. Yin Chi
April this year was a very busy and
special month. Many big events occurred. To celebrate Buddha’s Birthday, the
Hong Kong Buddhist Association hosted the Buddha’s parietal-bone relic from Qixia Monastery in Nanjing, so that local residents could
pay respects to it.
During the excavation in 2008 of the
remains of Nanjing’s Dabao’en Monastery, a memorial
tablet was found. It mentioned “the Buddha’s parietal-bone relic interred in Changgan Monastery.” In addition, a huge metal stele was
found in the crypt. Archeologists from Nanjing Museum extracted from it the
world’s biggest, most revered and most refined gold-plated “Seven-Treasures
Pagoda” of King Ashoka. The stele also housed a miniature gold coffin, which
contained the Buddha’s parietal-bone relic.
According to the scriptures and
historical texts, the Buddha, after entering nirvana, left tooth, finger-bone
and parietal-bone relics. They are known to the world as relics of the Buddha’s
true body. Among them, the parietal-bone relic is regarded as the most
precious. The relic, buried for over a millennium, has resurfaced at a time of
abundance. That it was made possible for Hong Kong people to venerate is due to
the compassion of the elders of the Hong Kong Buddhist Association. It is also
the good fortune of local residents.
The time the relic was in Hong Kong
was a holiday period, so those who participated the related activities indeed
cherished their own karmic merit. Ordinary practitioners also looked forward to
the auspicious event with eager anticipation and great enthusiasm. For them,
paying respects to the relic was like venerating the true body of the Buddha.
Those fortunate enough to accompany or to welcome the relic as it arrived
enjoyed a personal encounter with the Buddha, harmonizing further with the
theme of the World Buddhist Forum, “Common Aspirations and Actions Towards a
Harmonious World.”
The forum took place concurrently in
Hong Kong. The event was an international gathering of Buddhist worthies.
Assembling in Hong Kong, leading monastics and householders from around the
world made use of the forum for discussion and debate. They hoped to bring good
fortune and wisdom to Buddhism, the world and Hong Kong. That both key events
took place simultaneously in Hong Kong marked an auspicious occasion for the
ages.
The run-up to the arrival of the relic
and the opening of the forum coincided with the Ching
Ming Festival – a month honoring filial piety, to which Buddhist circles attach
great importance. Every year, the Hog Kong Buddhist Association holds
large-scale Ching Ming ceremonies that encourage
participants and practitioners to remember their ancestors. They also dedicate
to their forebears the merit from penitence rites as well as sutra- and
Amitabha-recitation that they perform, hoping the latter will soon be reborn in
the Three Fortunate Realms.
At Lo Hon Monastery, we have been
holding Ching Ming memorial ceremonies and three-day
Amitabha-recitation retreats for nearly 20 years. An occasion for remembrance,
the ceremony also provides a tranquil space for busy urbanites so they can let
go of their myriad activities, calm their minds and recite the name of Amitabha
Buddha. Through focused recitation, they can purify and refresh their minds and
bodies.
It was during our
Amitabha-recitation and abstinence services that we received news of the
passing of Ven. Elder Benhuan. Regarded as a national
treasure, he was an esteemed monk known to virtually everyone in the Buddhist
community. He lived for over a century and was renowned for his compassion and
his longevity. Every year, multitudes would show up on his birthday to offer
their felicitations and blessings. We say life is impermanent and everything
that is born must die, but the sudden news of his passing nonetheless stirred
feelings of regret.
I did not know Ven. Benhuan well. When he gave a Dharma talk at Chi Lin Nunnery
around the turn of the millennium, I served as his interpreter. I also called
on him several times. There’s a saying in Buddhism, “A person becomes more
precious with age.” It doesn’t merely praise longevity, but celebrates the
accumulation of merit by monastic elders as they age. We are grateful for Ven. Benhuan’s legendary applications of compassion to worldly
realities, as well as his exemplary faith and persistence relating to the
Dharma. As for his passing, we should let go of our regret and resolve to learn
the essence of his compassion, so that his spirit and teachings will long
remain in the world.
This April has indeed been a special
and auspicious month, with the confluence of rare and momentous events in the
Buddhist world. We pray that the arrival of the parietal-bone relic in Hong
Kong will allow the Buddha’s special light to shine on the local community. We
hope that each practitioner who has venerated the relic will
undertake the bodhicitta vow and
attain Buddhahood together. May the Buddhist Forum be a model for Hong Kong of
harmony, mutual trust and communication. May the Buddhist community turn its
remembrance of ancestors and regret for the passing of a monastic paragon into
an active energy benefitting both self and others. That way we can build a
hopeful, harmonious and accommodating society.
Sutra of the Eight Realizations of
Great Beings
THE
SEVENTH REALIZATION: To be aware that the five
desires lead to nothing but trouble. Though ordinary people, we do not immerse
ourselves in the pleasures of the world. Always on our minds are a monk’s
garments, a clay bowl and ritual instruments. We set our minds on leaving the
householder’s life and following the Dharma. We live a clean, pure and
dignified life, and are compassionate to all.
Always
on our minds are a monk’s garments, a clay bowl and ritual instruments: The garments are the three types of
robes worn by monastics – the robes of five, robes of seven and the great
robes. The robes of five are the “working clothes,” used when performing sundry
tasks. They should be worn in the monastery while doing chores and outside when
traveling. The robes of five are made from stitching together five strips of
cloth. Each strip consists of a long piece and a short piece. They are
therefore commonly known as the robes of five.
The robes of seven consist of even
strips, each with two long pieces and a short one. So they are called the
seven-piece robes, or robes of seven. Since they are worn on top of the robes
of five, they are also known as over-garments. They are used during such
activities as venerating the Buddha, penitence, meditation, abstinence and
giving or hearing Dharma discourses.
Then there are the great robes.
During the time of the Buddha, he would wear this garment whenever he went into
the palace to preach the Dharma. Nowadays the term refers to the great red robe
worn by Dharma masters. Of the three types, it is the largest, thus the name
“great robe.” It has the greatest number of strips, divided into three
categories. Three types of such robes are considered to be the “lower
category.” They consist of nine, 11 and 13 strips of cloth (two long, one short
piece each). Another three types form the “middle category,” with 15, 17 and 19
strips (three long, one short piece each). A final three constitute the “upper
category” – 21, 23 and 25 strips (four long, one short piece).
A
clay bowl and ritual instruments: The bowl is a utensil that monastics use
to hold their food. It is also known as a “bowl of proper measures,” as its
form, color and capacity should all comply with monastic regulations. “Form”
refers to the substance of which the vessel is made. There are clay bowls and
iron bowls. The color must not be black or red. And capacity is determined by
the food intake of the vessel’s bearer, though the person must take care to
avoid excess. It is because of such regulations that a monastic’s alms vessel
is known as a “bowl of proper measures.”
Every ritual instrument in a
monastery or Dharma center is used to venerate the Buddha, undertake penitence
or perform Dharma services. These implements include offering cups, censers,
bells, drums, chimes and “wooden fish” percussion instruments.
The three types of robes, alms bowl
and ritual instruments are all used by monastics. Why then should householders
constantly have on their minds things used by monks and nuns? The Buddha’s
intention is to teach us to respect and have faith in the Three Gems. By being
regularly mindful of the robes, bowls and ritual implements, we maintain an
admiration for the purity and broadmindedness of monastics, thereby reminding
ourselves to learn from them and not be corrupted by worldly pleasures. We may
be lay practitioners, but we can plant the seeds of monasticism.
A poem by the late-Qing Dynasty
emperor Shunzhi reads, “Food in the monasteries of
the land is as high as a mountain; alms bowl in hand, one can eat wherever one
wishes. Gold and white jade are neither as precious nor as rare as one who
wears monastic robes.” Even the emperor was respectful towards monastics. The
poem notes that monasteries were numerous at the time; anyone who takes
monastic vows can stay overnight and eat vegetarian meals there. The emperor
reveals his sentiments: To the nation’s ruler, gold and jade aren’t of great
worth. What he most values are those who give up the household life to practice
the Dharma.
Yet it isn’t easy to do so. The
poems continues, “As lord and master of the land, I fret constantly about the
welfare of people and nation. A hundred years, 36,000 days – they cannot
compare with a monk’s half-day of leisure and freedom.” Against expectations,
he regrets that the karmic conditions aren’t present for him to lay down his
duties and cares to become a monk. All he can do is envy the monastics. Most
people covet the power and position of the emperor. Who would have seen them as
impediments to Dharma practice? The emperor’s feelings show that it is not such
an easy thing to take monastic vows. It is possible only when virtuous roots
nurtured in previous lives converge with a firm resolve in the present one.
We may not immediately have the
opportunity take monastic vows. It is fine if we can make up our minds to do so
in the future.
Doing
Good and Building Merit
The Buddha travelled widely to give
his teachings. One day, as he passed a village, he saw an old man selling fish in
the marketplace. The man was weeping even as he was hawking his merchandise.
“Why is heaven tormenting an old man like me? What did my son do wrong, that he
had to die so young? If he were still alive, I would not have to suffer selling
fish like this.”
As he witnessed the old man’s
anguish, the Buddha actually smiled. He went on a bit further and came upon a
huge pig. The animal was covered with excrement, but that didn’t bother it as
it trotted along its way. The Buddha couldn’t help smiling again.
When Ananda
saw this, he was startled. He went up to the Buddha and respectfully asked,
“Lord Buddha, why are you smiling like this today? I’m sure you wouldn’t have
smiled for no reason; there must be some underlying principle. Can you please
tell us the reason, so as to still the questions in people’s minds?”
“Ananda,”
replied the Buddha, “it’s good that you have asked. There are three reasons I
smiled. First, I would like to use the old man’s foolishness to teach people.
He caught fish every day and took countless lives without feeling the slightest
remorse. Yet when his son died, he was bitter that heaven took away a life of
his. This is extremely misguided behavior. Secondly, there was once a flying
emperor who did much good. But because of his great pride, he was reincarnated
in this life as an old man who sells fish for a living. Thirdly, inhabitants of
the Celestial Realm Without Thought have lifespans of
84,000 years. Yet they are firmly attached to the notion of emptiness and do
not understand that emptiness itself is empty. So when their lives as celestial
beings end, they are reborn as fish to suffer inside the old man’s wicker
baskets.”
“Ah, can it be true that even one with
such lofty status and substantial virtue as a flying emperor cannot escape
karmic retribution?”
“Ananda,”
replied the Buddha, “good fortune and calamity are both impermanent. When a
person becomes a ranking official and enjoys wealth and prestige, he can escape
all harm if he treats the people generously. But if he indulges his riches,
does as he pleases and performs mistaken acts, will suffer when he has
exhausted his stock of good fortune. Thus have the fruits of karma always
followed us, the way a shadow trails its form and an echo arises from a sound.
It doesn’t matter whether we are rich or poor.
“In a past life, I was a
practitioner of the Dharma. My neighbor, though, believed in gods and demons
and did much evil. Adversity followed him like an echo. On every day of
precepts observance, I would go to the monastery to hear the Dharma. I
accumulated merit regularly, eventually gaining Buddhahood and the highest
levels of respect in the Three Worlds. Alas, my neighbor remained mired in
sorcery, killing, alcohol and sex. He was repeatedly reborn to suffer in the
Three Wretched Realms. Today I am a Buddha while he has taken the dirty and
smelly form of a pig. Ananda! It is because I
diligently studied the Dharma over eons and delighted in the company of
monastics that I have attained this splendid form.”
After concluding his discourse, the
Buddha gazed with compassion upon all sentient beings.
Editor’s note: The effects of karma cannot be influenced by the powerful, manipulated by deities and demons, or controlled by heaven. They govern everything in life and the universe. As the scriptures say, “The good and evil fruit of karma trail us the way a shadow follows its form. Karma past, present and future go round and round and do not disappear. If we waste our present life, we will always regret it!” So we should pay attention to the law of karma. If we cultivate positive karma extensively, it will bring us good fortune and wisdom in our present and future lives.
Correcting Mistakes: Three Levels
And Ten Lessons (1)
On My Experiences in Correcting Mistakes was a
series of talks given by Master Hongyi at Xiamen’s Miaoshi Monastery during the Spring Festival of 1933. His
audience consisted of both monastics and lay practitioners. It was a summation
of his own efforts over 50 years at improving himself.
In
the text, Master Hongyi cited the Confucian classics
and supplemented them with the teachings of the Buddha and the lineage masters
while explaining his views on rectifying mistakes. To Dharma practitioners,
especially beginners, these viewpoints provide important guidance. The full
text is divided into the general discourse and discussions of specific issues.
Three Levels of Correcting Mistakes
The
general discourse focuses on the different levels of rectification, of which
there are three:
1.
Learning. First, we are asked to read
the Buddhist and Confucian texts frequently, so we can differentiate between
good and evil, and understand how to encourage the former and avoid the latter.
Master Hongyi especially recommends that people
unable read the texts first read the Collection
of Maxims. They will be able to benefit greatly from that book.
2. Reflection. After we have read the
Buddhist and Confucian texts and understood their teachings, we should reflect
on our every word and deed to see if they are good or bad. If negative, we
should correct them immediately and thoroughly. Besides remedying our
wrongdoings, we should, before bed, review in detail our actions during the day,
and perhaps even write them down in a diary. This makes it easier for us to
spot any mistakes and remedy them.
3.
Correction. When we have discovered
our mistakes, we must resolutely correct them and avoid repeating them. To
highlight the importance of such rectification, Master Hongyi
quoted a well-known disciple of Confucius. “The wrongdoings of a superior
person can be compared to a solar or lunar eclipse,” said Zigong. “Everyone can
see it; if it is corrected, everyone admires such action.” Another ancient
worthy said, “One who is aware of his own mistake is enlightened. One who
corrects it is a saint.”
Ten Lessons on Remedying Wrongdoing
1.
Be humble. To be humble means we
understand there are karmic causes behind our wrongdoing and are courageous enough
to face up to it. We are determined to remedy our mistaken thoughts and deeds.
At the same time, we should seek humbly to learn from others. We should let
them point out mistakes we aren’t aware of, so as to improve ourselves.
2. Behave properly. We are ordinary beings
whose every thought, deed and impulse is thoroughly known to the Buddhas,
Bodhisattvas and even deities and demons. If we keep this always in mind, we
would not dare behave badly any more.
3.
Be generous and accommodating. In our
interactions with the world, we should be sincere and generous towards people
and accommodating towards things and situations. We would then be a truly kind
and honest person.
4.
Prepare to be disadvantaged. We must
not take advantage of others, but be ready to accept disadvantage. It might
seem that being disadvantaged is to suffer loss. In fact, one develops wisdom
and an accommodative capacity through setbacks. The ancients said, “I may not
know who is a superior person, but I suppose it is the one who is constantly
willing to accept disadvantage. I am not sure who is an inferior person, but I
assume it is the one who always tries to gain an advantage.”
5.
Be sparing with words. It is
important that a practitioner be sparing with words. Many misfortunes that
befall people result from verbosity. To speak few words is better than to speak
many words, and not to speak at all is better than to speak few words. By
speaking less, we avoid many calamities. That’s why the ancients always advised
people to speak and act carefully.
Collective Karma
By Ru Zang
I don’t
know what it began that children who accompanied their parents to gatherings
with relatives and friends would arrive with expressionless faces, their hands holding
all kinds of new-fangled electronic toys. They then continued to play with
their devices. Some of them would respond peremptorily to their parents’
requests to greet their elders. More just sat silently in some corner and kept
manipulating their electronic products.
Being
guests, the elders would chat courteously with the parents about the
youngsters’ appearance, health, schooling and so forth. For their part, the
parents superficially reproached their children; more often, however, they
would make excuses for their behavior. The kids, meanwhile, were completely
uninvolved, reacting not at all.
After a
suitably polite response by the hosts, the focus of the conversation would
return to the world of grown-ups. No efforts were made to correct or teach the
children, as everyone knew that doing so was futile and would only lead to
embarrassment. Gradually, the process became habitual. Children, after
arriving, would just sit in a corner and conduct their own activities. The
adults would play along and ask no questions, conversing only among themselves.
Today Hong
Kong’s society and education are focused entirely on efficacy and benefits as
starting points. The emphasis is on academic performance. Parents hope their
children will get good grades, so they can attend prestigious secondary schools
and then a choice faculty at university. The goal is a well-paid job when they
enter society.
So parents
demand only that their children focus on their studies and obtain high marks.
As they grow up, the youngsters have their food, housing and personal needs
taken care of by either their parents or a housemaid. Everything is handed to
them on a platter, and all their problems are solved by their parents.
Indeed, even
the education authorities’ well-intended plans to promote physical and
extra-curricular activities were misinterpreted as an additional factor for
determining academic progress. These activities became another focus of
parents’ efforts to steer their children’s development. In the process, the latter’s
individual differences and interests are ignored. Parents ask that their
children devote all their time and energy to achieving high grades in their
studies and extra-curricular activities, often bypassing other aspects of
character development.
Values emphasized in the past – such
as humility, respect, tolerance, honoring the elderly and helping the young,
even self-sacrifice for the greater good – are not necessarily related to
academic performance and advance. As a result, parents and children alike
attach little importance to them. Some even see such values as a source of
personal inconvenience or loss. Gradually, it has become difficult to find
these formerly common ethical values in the younger generation.
The expectations and influence of
grown-ups on children’s behavior are rooted in the former’s own values. If they
consider ethical education an important part of life and character-building,
adults will naturally transmit them to their offspring as they are growing up.
More importantly, they will set personal examples and teach their kids through
their own speech and behavior, so the latter will develop in the right
direction.
A society’s temper and values are
the products of many internal and external factors in a specific time and
place. They are also the karma formed by the interaction of individuals with
the larger environment. We should no longer blame only parents or just the
younger generation for our social environment. It is collective karma.
Dealing with it, people from
different circles should consider not only superficial factors and personal
interests, undertaking narrow, blind pursuits, criticism or resistance. They
should seek to understand the crux of the relevant issues and avoid excessive
grasping. If people can take a step back for self-reflection and be content
with their circumstances, they will be able to create a healthier environment
as well as a harmonious and happy society.
The False Joy
of Three Miles
There was a
country whose soil was extremely infertile. Its climate was dry and it lacked
water resources. The entire population depended on a single source of water – a
pool deep in the hills. Every morning, crowds assembled with their buckets and
bottles to draw water that would nourish their families.
Besides
fetching water for their own families, the people had to take turns in
delivering the liquid to the faraway palace where the king lived with his large
clan, guards and servants.
Five miles
separated the ornate palace from the pool. That meant a round-trip of ten
miles, which would take at least several hours. Moreover, the road meandered
and was difficult to travel.
As the
people made their way towards the palace, the heaving and shaking along the way
meant that half the water they were carrying was spilt. Extra trips were
necessary, adding to their burden.
Though they suffered, the people
dared not refuse the labor because of their king’s oppressive authority.
Popular resentment swelled throughout the land. Fearing it might boil over into
uncontrollable upheaval, the nation’s officials told the king about his
subjects’ grievances. The king called the people to the palace so he could
understand how they really thought.
“Are you really suffering from carrying
the water every day?” he asked. “Your Majesty,” rasped one honest-looking
farmer, on behalf of the assembly. “Every day we carry water from the pool in
the mountains. The road is rugged and it is very inconvenient.”
“We have to travel five miles from
our village to the pond,” an old man with a white beard added solemnly. “It is
too far, and there is no transportation. Every day we have to make several
round trips, shouldering heavy buckets of water. It adds up to walking dozens
of miles. The backs of our young men become bent from the effort, and their
hair has turned partly white.”
On hearing the flurry of complaints,
the king said anxiously, “That really is too harsh! But we cannot stop the flow
of water. Without its nourishment, we will all die of thirst. Let’s think up
something together. Let’s see who has a plan to solve our problems.”
“We can build a water wagon, to be
pulled by beasts of burden,” suggested an elder sagely. “That would conserve
our strength as well as increase transport capacity.”
“Your idea is a good one, though it
doesn’t solve the problem of the considerable distance that needs to be
traveled,” said the king non-committally.
“We could construct a pipe to carry
the water from the pool straight to our village,” suggested a young men,
surprising the assembly with his imaginativeness. “That would solve the problem
once and for all, no?”
People spoke one after another,
competing to put across their opinions. Even so, they were unable to agree on
the best plan. As the debate bubbled on with no consensus in sight, an
unprepossessing young man stood up slowly and said, “I think all we need do is
to replace the road sign that says ‘5 miles’ with one that says ‘3 miles.’
Since the road becomes shorter, doesn’t that solve the problem of distance?”
“Wonderful! This idea is great!”
came the response. “From now on, we won’t need to carry the water five miles,
but only three miles.” With great enthusiasm, the entire population spread the
joyful news that five miles of road had become three miles.
Buddhism teaches four kinds of
reliance: 1. Reliance on the Dharma, not on individuals; 2. Reliance on wisdom,
not knowledge; 3. Reliance on the perfect, not the imperfect; and 4. Reliance
on the meaning, not the words. Sometimes, we focus too much on the superficial
meaning of words and neglect the actual substance behind them. Consider the
above parable, where five miles of travel became three miles. All that was
changed was a false, empty name, which did nothing to improve the actual situation.
Indeed, such foolish, self-deceptive actions sometimes make us blind to
reality.
-
From
the internet
By Ven. Yin Chi
QUESTION: My younger brother’s girlfriend is very
impolite. She never greets me when we meet, as though she has not respect for
me at all. I know my brother plans to marry her soon, but I am not too fond of
her. Should I complain to my brother? If so, how?
My father plans to leave all his
assets to my brother when he passes away. What should I do? Should I try to
gain my rightful portion?
My maid is very disrespectful and
doesn’t apologize even after doing something wrong. I sometimes feel she is
like my boss and I am very unhappy about this. What should I do?
I am a Buddhist, though my husband
and daughter are both Catholics. Can I accompany them to church? When they make
Catholic gestures with their hands, can I follow them?
ANSWER: People always respect those who
show them respect. Since your brother’s girlfriend doesn’t greet you, you can
make a point of greeting her first. After a while, she will certainly respond.
You can express your feelings, but marriage is their affair. You should not
interfere with their karma.
Since the
assets belong to your father, you should respect his decision. Your father
painstakingly raised you both, and you now have your own family. Why should you
insist that he leave a portion to you? If he thinks that leaving all his assets
to your brother puts his mind at ease, why should you make him uneasy?
If your maid
is unsuitable, you can consider letting her go when her contract expires. By
doing your own housework, you would be able to spare yourself the upset.
People have
the freedom to choose their religious beliefs and should respect one another’s
faiths. I don’t suppose you would ask your Catholic husband and daughter to
accompany you to Buddhist services. Similarly, they should not ask family
members of a different faith to go with them to their religious activities.