Table of Contents
Teachings of Master Man Sang: Sutra of the Eight Realizations
of Great Beings
Story From the Sutras: Beware of Arrogance
Dharma Transmitter: Master Mengcan
on the Ten Good Actions
Cornucopia: Three Pieces of Chocolate
Changing With Circumstances: Planting Merit
Personally
Chan Talk: Of Speech and Silence, Movement and Stillness
By Dharma Master Yin
Chi
Environmental protection is no
longer a new topic, having been discussed since the end of the last century.
Though many speak loftily about conservation the effects have been limited,
largely because earnestness is lacking. Our society recently witnessed a vigorous
debate about the expansion of landfills. Once again, conservation and waste
reductions have become hot topics of conversation …
Key Buddhist concepts such as
dependent arising, cause and effect, compassion, equality and appreciation of
blessings constitute a foundation for environmental conservation. They advocate
its implementation from concept to action, and its extension from personal and
family level to all of society. Buddhism can thus be considered the religion
that most comprehensively embraces environmentalism.
Dependent
arising and harmony: Buddhism considers all things to be inter-related and
inter-dependent for their existence. This is also the key to ecological
equilibrium. The Bodhisattva’s Garland
Sutra says, “Do not despoil nature, and it provides boundless riches.” It
explains that so long as we do not damage the natural environment, it can
supply humanity with unlimited resources. In other words, people have an
inter-dependent relationship with animals, nature and even all things around
them. To co-exist peacefully, we must maintain a harmonious balance and
accommodate ourselves to the natural order.
Cause
and effect: Buddhism emphasizes the law of cause and effect. It believes
that positive causes produce positive effects, while negative causes have
negative effects. Humanity’s greed, pleasure-seeking and waste lead to a
depletion of resources, planting the negative seed of nature’s despoliation. As
a result, the environment is rapidly degraded, sickening the earth,
transforming the climate and producing frequent natural disasters. Dire threats
emerge to the lives, health and safety of humankind.
This is a graphic illustration of
the teaching that we reap what we sow. To rectify
ecological imbalances, those who understand cause and effect know they must
work on the positive cause of conservation.
Compassion
and equality: “Compassion” means to give happiness to sentient beings and
relieve them of suffering. When Buddhism speaks of compassion and equality, it
is referring to both human beings and animals. It urges respect for all life
and avoidance of killing. Today the slaughter stemming from people’s culinary
desires is upsetting the ecological balance.
The Surangama Sutra says, “Remember that all sentient beings have bodies like our
own. Be aware that all meat comes from living beings. Why then should we want
to eat it?” Therefore Buddhism encourages non-killing, the protection of life
and vegetarianism. The last is not only a religion-inspired practice, but also
a new trend in healthy living pursued by people today, as well as a means of
saving our planet.
According to a report by the United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the environmental injury is
extensive from the livestock husbandry needed to supply the world’s demand for
meat. The damage includes air pollution, climate change, contamination and
waste of water resources, deforestation, soil despoliation and the extinction
of species. Most of the carbon dioxide emitted in the word comes from animal
husbandry.
A report by advocates of
vegetarianism to reduce CO2 emissions notes that 40 million tons of grain would
be enough to feed the entire planet’s seriously under-nourished people. Yet the
West alone uses 540 million tons of grain to feed its livestock. If the whole
world adopted a meat-dominant diet, existing oil supplies would last only 13
years. By adopting vegetarianism, the same amount of oil would be good for 260
years. The agricultural land required to feed a single meat eater would suffice
to nourish 20 full vegetarians. If everyone ate one vegetarian meal a day,
carbon dioxide emissions would be substantially reduced. For sure,
vegetarianism can save the planet.
Successful
conservation must begin from the heart. The Buddhist principles of “cause and
effect, compassion, protection of life, equality, harmony, vegetarianism,
generosity and frugality” constitute the most comprehensive and thorough
perspective on environmentalism. Greed is the main cause of ecological damage.
So environmental protection is itself the practice of precepts and charity. By
stopping the incessant pursuit of pleasure, we not only break our habit energy
of greed but contribute something to our planet. This accords with the
Bodhisattva practice of benefitting both self and others.
We should cherish and protect
sentient beings on an equal basis. If we avoid killing them and eating their
meat, we safeguard animals as well as maintain the ecological balance between
them and plant life. Attaching importance to cause and effect, we learn to use
the precepts, concentration and wisdom to temper our unbridled desire for
material things and our pursuit of them.
We appreciate, cherish and continue
to nurture our blessings. With this attitude we live simply; we are gratified
and enjoy relatively carefree lives. We value natural
resources and practice recycling, so as not to waste them. This has less to do
with money than our wish not to squander our blessings.
“Environmental conservation” is an attitude
towards life. May we, with compassionate, harmonious and uncontaminated minds,
restore this pure land on earth. May we bequeath to future generations an
environment as clean as it is fertile.
Sutra of the Eight Realizations of
Great Beings
THE
EIGHTH REALIZATION: To know that the inferno of
life and death brings endless anguish and affliction. We must develop the
Mahayana mind to deliver all beings. We are willing to bear untold suffering on
their behalf, so they might experience ultimate joy.
We
are willing to bear untold suffering on their behalf: Last time we said there were two ways
of developing the Mahayana mind to deliver sentient beings. The first is to
“deliver ourselves first, then others.” The second is to “deliver others first,
even though we haven’t yet obtained deliverance.”
The Mahayana mind to save all beings
is a part of the Bodhisattva’s resolve to “deliver others first, even though we
haven’t yet obtained deliverance.” Such an attitude naturally precludes our
harming other people. If we can make such a resolution, we would of course
eliminate immeasurable negative karma.
Cultivating the Mahayana mind also
means being willing to bear untold suffering on behalf of other beings. If we
see others in difficulty, we would be prepared to take up their burdens. That’s
because Bodhisattvas have great compassion and regard all others as being the
same as themselves. When they see others suffer, it is as though they
themselves are suffering. How could they not go to others’ rescue? And if we
are willing to suffer in the place of other beings, how could we take their
lives? World peace will arise naturally if everyone had such resolve.
The great compassion of Bodhisattvas
bears hardships on behalf of others. But we might tell ourselves that beings’
suffering is the consequence of karma they created themselves. Since all people
have to bear the negative effects of their own negative actions, how are we
supposed to suffer in their place?
To be willing to bear the suffering
of beings means being like a mother who would rather be sick herself than to
see her children ill. A Bodhisattva is like that. He or she prefers to suffer
rather than to see others suffering. From this we can see how great is the
Bodhisattva’s capacity for compassion.
We are asked to bear untold
suffering on others’ behalf, but can we really do so? For example, when we see
elderly, frail or handicapped people on a bus, we can offer them our seats.
This is a practical example of how we can apply “suffering on others’ behalf”
in everyday life.
If we wish to gain Buddhahood, we
must start with the causal factors. As the saying goes, don’t forgo even the
smallest good action or perform the slightest evil deed. We should pick up
banana peels we see on the ground, so others will not trip on them. Though it’s
a small matter, it counts towards the aim of doing good every day. It is not
how much money we donate that constitutes a good deed, but that such a
charitable attitude arises from our readiness to bear untold suffering for the
sake of others.
So the Eighth Realization teaches us
to cultivate the Mahayana mind, deliver all, and be willing to suffer on behalf
of beings. If we induce others to hear the Sutra
of the Eight Realizations of Great Beings, they would commit fewer bad
deeds and perhaps even turn from evil to good. Even without suffering, we would
be able to diminish the vexations of others.
The world talks about love, while
Buddhism speaks of compassion. Compassion means to give others joy and to
temper their distress. Being ready to bear untold suffering on others’ behalf
is the great compassion that Buddhism mentions. Great compassion enables
sentient beings to achieve ultimate happiness. What can allow them to gain such
joy? And what is ultimate happiness? We will discuss this next time.
(to be continued)
Beware of
Arrogance
In the time of the Buddha, some
merchants took a dog along with them on a business trip. On the road they paused
to take a rest. When they weren’t looking, the dog made off with a piece of
meat and ate it. One of the merchants found out soon enough. Furious, he broke
one of the animal’s legs by beating it with a stick and abandoned it by the
roadside.
Ven. Sariputra, with his special
powers, became aware that the injured dog was starving. He donned his robes and
entered the city on an alms round. Using his powers again, he appeared beside
the dog and gave it the food he had collected. The animal happily ate it, after
which Sariputra expounded the Dharma to it. When the dog died, it was reborn
into a Brahmin’s family in Sravasti.
One day this Brahmin saw Sariputra
enter the city on his alms round. He went up to the monk and asked, “Venerable,
don’t you have a sramenera
[novice] following you?” Sariputra replied, “No, I don’t. But I hear that you
have a son. Will you allow him to follow me and take monastic vows?” The
Brahmin said, “I have a young son named Kunti. When
he is a little older, he can follow you and practice as a monk.”
When Kunti
was seven, the Brahmin took him to join Sariputra’s
Sangha. Sramenera
Kunti immersed himself in the Dharma and practiced
diligently. Finally, his mind opened and he achieved Arhat status.
That he could meet a sacred being in
this life and achieve Arhathood, Kunti
reasoned, must be due to his past karma. Using his special powers, he saw that
he had been a hungry dog in his previous life. Saved by the compassionate
Sariputra, he was able in this life to take human form and become an Arhat. Sramenera Kunti made a vow: “By Ven. Sariputra’s
grace, I was able to escape suffering. For the remainder of this life, I will
follow and serve him.” So he remained a sramenera and never took full vows.
Observing this chain of karma, Ven. Ananda asked the Buddha, “What evil deed had he committed,
so that he was born as a dog? And what meritorious roots did he cultivate,
allowing him to be helped by Sariputra and gain liberation?” The Buddha told Ananda, “In the time of Kasyapa
Buddha, a group of bhikkus gathered to practice.
There was a young monk in the Sangha with a mellifluous voice, who was good at
chanting. Everyone was delighted to hear him. Another, older monk had a coarse
voice and did not chant well. But he had accumulated enough merit to gain Arhathood.
Because of his beautiful voice, the
younger bhikku mocked the older one, saying the
latter’s voice was like a dog’s bark. The older monk knew the younger one had
planted a negative seed. He said compassionately, “I am already an Arhat, with
all the attendant merit.” The younger monk knew he had done wrong and was
afraid. Blaming himself, he hurried to repent before the older bhikku.
The Buddha told the assembly, “The
young monk is Sramenera
Kunti today. The fruit of his negative speech was to
take the form of a dog for 500 lifetimes. But because he became a monk and
accumulated merit from upholding the precepts purely, he was able to see the
Buddha and gain enlightenment.” The senior monks happily accepted what the
Buddha told them and acted accordingly.
It is said that “our outer
appearance reflects our inner attitude.” If our thoughts are wholesome, what we
say and do will be positive, as will our karma. Arrogance led the young monk to
speak negative words, condemning him to 500 lifetimes as a dog. Yet he also
became enlightened by upholding the precepts and practicing. Therefore all
karmic consequences arise from our thoughts, which we should guard carefully.
From Sutra on Virtue and Folly, Fascicle
13
Master Mengcan
on the Ten Good Actions
In the Ksitigarbha Sutra, the aim of both the
Buddha and Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is to overcome our “Ten Evil Actions.” The Inquiry into Good and Evil Karma Sutra
also focuses on these ten negative deeds. According to the Ksitigarbha Sutra, they cause sentient beings to fall into the hell
realm.
What are the
“Ten Evil Actions”? In terms of deeds, they are killing, theft and sexual
misconduct. In speech they are lying, duplicitous talk, slander and harsh speech.
And in our consciousness, they are thoughts relating to greed, anger and
delusion. The deeds of our body, words from our mouth and thoughts in our mind
are the “Ten Actions.” If we refrain from these Ten Evil Actions and only do
what is wholesome, that is to undertake the “Ten Good Actions.”
To speak
positive words and avoid harsh speech, to foster harmony among others and not
to harm them – that is to avoid duplicitous talk. Never speaking nasty words is
to refrain from harsh speech. To combat harsh speech, we should praise the virtues of others, as well as say
things that are pleasing to them. Avoiding idle talk means not to say
unreasonable words, or to indulge in aimless chatter to pass the time or in gossip.
If we refrain from meaningless talk and from deceiving or cheating others, our
speech would be pure.
Qualified by
the word “avoid,” an action creates positive karma. Without the “avoid,” it
produces negative karma. If greedy, angry or deluded thoughts arise in our
minds, they would constitute wrong views. And to hold wrong views is not to
understand and to be confused, which leads to ignorance. That is the result of
greed, anger and delusion. By avoiding greed, anger and delusion in our minds,
we generate positive karma. In terms of our physical actions, avoidance of
killing, theft and sexual misconduct produces good karma. Sexual misconduct is
what occurs outside marital relations, though in an ultimate sense it means to
refrain from lust entirely. That would be positive karma.
The Ten Good
Actions are the “Cycle of Good.” If we commit offenses, they become part of the
“Cycle of Evil.” What is the function of “cycle”? As we know, cycles are
constantly in motion, so “cycle” means continual change. Why are we endlessly
in the cycle of rebirth in the Six Realms? The reason is karma. Negative karma
ensures that we cannot leave, as does positive karma.
The “Ten
Actions” have their preliminary and ultimate stages. When sentient beings
commit the Five Gravest Transgressions and Ten Evil Actions, for example, the
extremity of the Ten Evil Actions has been reached. These are the Ten Evil
Actions discussed in the “Chapter on Independent Practice” and the “Chapter on
Dependent Practice.” If sentient beings practice good diligently until they
accomplish the Ten Actions at the level of the Buddhas, the “Ten Wisdoms” are
the result.
We will
first speak of using the Ten Actions of the Buddhas to counter the Ten Evil
Actions of sentient beings, as this sutra is titled Ten Actions. Why is it also called Ksitigarbha’s Ten Actions? At its conclusion, the one who is asked to circulate
and protect this sutra is Bodhisattva Akasagarbha – who is also assigned the task in the “Exhortation to Human and Celestial
Beings Chapter” of the Ksitigarbha Sutra.
Do you know the meaning of “Akasagarbha”? In the Avatamsaka Sutra, Bodhisattva Akasagarbha refers to a capacity to accommodate and embrace all things. “Garbha” means a storehouse of treasure. “Akasa,” or Void, does not refer to the vast space of the cosmos but to the attainment of emptiness, or true mind – the 12 characteristics of the Observation Sutra. In reality, “emptiness” is not empty and the Void contains all things. Akasagarbha is urged to propagate this sutra.
These Ten Actions have never
stopped, whether good or evil actions. When will they cease? When our minds
become quiet. All Buddhas have attained the state where the Ten Actions have
ended, realizing their true nature. Leading us to this goal is the Great
Vehicle, or Mahayana.
- Excerpted from the Concentrated Mind Forum
Three
Pieces of Chocolate
The
following events happened in a French family. One day a boy was playing
basketball in the living room after school. Suddenly, the ball hit and toppled a
vase on the bookshelf. The vase fell to the ground with a loud crash, a large
fragment of its neck broken off. The vessel was not an ornament, but an antique
passed down by ancestors.
Alarmed,
the boy patched it up with glue and nervously placed it back in its original
position. That evening his mother thought the vase looked a bit “different.”
She asked her son during dinner: “Did you break the vase?” The child had a
sudden inspiration and replied, “A cat jumped in through the window and I
wasn’t able to chase it away. He leapt down in the living room and knocked over
the vase on the shelf.
The
mother knew that her son was lying, as she took care to close all the windows
before going to work and didn’t re-open them until she got home. Without
revealing herself she said, “How careless of me. I didn’t close the window
properly.” Just before turning in, he found a note on his bed. It was his
mother, summoning him to the study.
The
boy opened the door uneasily. His mother took out a box from a drawer and
handed him a piece of chocolate from it. She told him, “This is your reward,
for you have used your amazing imagination to conjure up a cat that can open
windows. Later, you will certainly be able to write compelling detective
stories.”
Then
she put another piece of chocolate into the child’s hand, saying, “This is your
reward for displaying outstanding restorative abilities. Though you used glue,
the crack is almost perfectly sealed. But this is paper glue. To repair the
vase, a stronger glue as well as more professional craftsmanship are needed.
Tomorrow we will take the vase to the home of some artists, to see how they
might restore a piece of damaged artwork to its original condition.”
The
mother took out a third piece of chocolate and said, “This last piece
represents my deep apologies to you. As a mother, I should not have put the
vase in a place where it can easily be knocked over, especially in a home with
a sporty boy. I hope you weren’t hit or frightened.”
“Mama, I …!” After that, the
boy never told another lie. Whenever he had an urge to do so, the three pieces
of chocolate would float up before his eyes.
-
From the
internet
Planting Merit Personally
By Ru Zang
Even in today’s utilitarian society, there are
many warm-hearted people who volunteer according to their circumstances to help
the needy. Friends have questioned why I served at Lo Hon Monastery and
Buddhist Man Sang Hall as a voluntary worker for many years, to the extent that
I took early retirement to become a fulltime volunteer. Why didn’t the Dharma
center and the monastery hire staff to perform the tasks? Besides, there are
many elderly, ill or handicapped people who need assistance. Wouldn’t it be
more meaningful to volunteer to help such immediately needy persons?
There is
usually some goodness in people’s hearts. According to their capability, they
will extend a helping hand to the needy and relieve their troubles. Most direct
their efforts at immediately visible problems. Even those with longer-term
aspirations only render assistance or provide training, so the beneficiaries
can become happier, more independent or more self-reliant in this lifetime.
Buddhism
teaches clearly that our lives are in our own hands. Only we can truly improve
and turn around our own destinies, and the ups and downs in our lives are also
our own doing. It is only by giving of ourselves and forming good karmic ties
that we can fundamentally alter our lot through the workings of law and effect.
Monasteries and Dharma halls are called fields of merit, and monastic groups
are known as sanghas of merit. By establishing a
Dharma center in the busy city center, Master Yin Chi opened a field of merit
for the public. It enables people to hear the Dharma and raise the quality of
their lives, as well as to sow meritorious seeds personally, creating an
abundant future for themselves.
I have followed Master Yin Chi for
some time. I personally witnessed the relocation of our Dharma center from
Causeway Bay to North Point; the dedication and toil she put into that cannot
easily be imagined. North Point is a densely populated area with convenient
transportation. Master Yin Chi chose it to more expediently welcome the public.
Now, when the center holds activities or on holidays, we have many visitors who
do not know much about Buddhism, or not at all. They all find the center’s
dignified appearance appealing.
Only then did I fully appreciate the
importance Master Yin Chi attached to the choice of location, as well as her
insistence on its proper design and decoration. Events have proven that her
devotion was not in vain. She has put a field of merit before us, awaiting only
the karmically connected to plant the seeds themselves.
Each time she gives a Dharma talk,
Master Yin Chi brings out deep meanings with simple means by infusing the
Buddha’s teachings with everyday life. We often smile at the examples she
gives, because they seem to point to our own experiences. Through such
personal, gradual means, the teachings are etched into the audience’s
consciousness. This enables us imperceptibly to “awaken” and change ourselves
fundamentally. More importantly, it reminds us that we must consider our own
“futures” – that changing our lives for the better now is to create better
futures for ourselves.
Times flies, and ten years have
passed. Though our Dharma center looks as dignified as ever, we were obliged
last year to spend a sizable sum on renovating the antiquated air-conditioning
system as well as other aspects. The assembly supported the effort according to
their abilities and circumstances, making offerings to the Buddha and towards
lamps, the air-conditioning, audio-visual equipment … With their help, a
bright, splendid Dharma hall and merit field once again stands amid the urban
bustle. It allows the Dharma’s waters to flow into the hearts of busy
city-dwellers, providing a spiritual home for confused or troubled sentient
beings.
Lo Hon Monastery also faces the
problem of a dangerous slope that needs maintenance. As a result, Master Yin
Chi is trying to turn crisis into opportunity, surmounting many difficulties
and environmental limitations to hold the monastery’s first-ever sea-land
Dharma service in October. Besides raising funds to repair the slope, the event
allows the assembly to support the monastery according to their circumstances.
At the same time, they can make offerings to their ancestors, creating good
karma by benefitting both the deceased and the living.
Our volunteer workers are excited about
meeting this new challenge. Since the start of the year, they have begun making
intensive preparations for different aspects of the sea-land service. We also
welcome the assembly to contribute to this effort what they can and to join our
team of volunteers. By doing so, they would be planting positive seeds in this
merit field by getting close to and supporting the Three Gems. The amount of
time or money donated is not the most important thing, which is to help make
this solemn and splendid service a reality and show our gratitude to the Three
Gems. What is significant is to nurture our capacity for giving, to serve
others and to develop positive thoughts over the long term. This is also why we
volunteers happily do such work, so as to realize the meaning of “personally
planting the field of merit.”
Of Speech
and Silence, Movement and Stillness
Chan Master Da’an was a diligent practitioner. Having received Dharma
teachings from Chan Master Shitou, he was unable to
realize a state of samadhi
(perfect concentration), despite his extensive reading of the sutras. He was
thus unable to penetrate the loftiest Chan principles involving the nature of
mind. He envied other Chan masters, who could do quiescent meditation,
transcend all things, enter a mental state of water-like stillness, or even
venture into the void of the Three Domains and in the ten directions. Envy
aside, he was ashamed to face Master Shitou. He
constantly felt uneasy and struggled to understand the cause of his problem.
Later he
called on Chan Master Huaihai of Baizhang
and asked, “What are Dharma-learners like?” Master Baizhang
came straight to the point: “They resemble those who ride an ox to seek oxen.”
Master Da’an asked again, “What should we do after
becoming acquainted with the Buddha?” Replied Master Baizhang,
“It is enough simply to ride the ox back home.”
This
explanation did not put Master Da’an entirely at
ease. He asked again, “How do we preserve our Buddha-nature?” Master Baizhang explained, “Like the cowherd, who uses a wooden
staff to manage his herd so the animals won’t trample the crop.” After hearing
this, Master Da’an practiced accordingly. At all
times he disciplined and affirmed himself, never again seeking externally.
After some
time, Chan Masters Da’an and Lingyou
formed the Guishan sect. When the latter entered
nirvana, the assembly recommended that Master Da’an
become abbot. In his final years he returned to Fujian Province and lived in Yishan Monastery. He would sit all day long without
speaking a word. Rarely did he venture outside his room.
The resident
monks murmured behind his back, calling him Master “Lan(lazy)’an.”
One said, “To stay silent all day is to be like a rock. Is that really Chan?” Chined in another, “He sits still all the time, neither
leading the assembly in practice nor directing the monastery’s affairs. Is this
so-called Chan?”
The
whisperings reached the ears of Master Da’an. One day
he gathered the assembly and announced, “Please join me in sitting today,
without speaking. In just three days you will come to know yourselves.”
The monks
followed Master Da’an in sitting for a day. Their
backs and legs ached. The next day, they all told him they would rather perform
their usual tasks than sit in meditation. Only then did Master Da’an tell them, “Sitting for a day is better than busying
yourselves for a thousand years.” The monks had nothing to say.
Master Da’an was not a lazy person. In his youth, while helping
Master Lingyou establish the Guishan
sect, he farmed all day long. Though it
is said that carrying water and firewood is Chan, Chan is not just that. As the
saying goes, “Good and evil are the Dharma, but the Dharma is not good and
evil.”
Doing chores
is Chan, and sitting is also Chan. To speak of the Dharma is Chan, and so is
being silent. Movement is certainly Chan, but even more so is stillness. Why
divide things into speaking and staying silent, moving and keeping still? Why
view being busy and being idle as two different things?
When we ride
an ox to look for oxen, it’s because we don’t recognize our own Buddha-nature.
To ride our ox home is to let go of all things!
By Ven. Yin Chi
QUESTION: Is it fair that the sea-land Dharma service
should be divided into the inner and outer altars? Why does the inner altar cost
so much?
ANSWER: Different Dharma activities
take place in the inner and outer altars. Those in the inner altar comprise
mainly services involving the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, sacred protectors of
the Dharma, spirits of the Six Realms and deceased ancestors. The contemplative
abilities of the Dharma masters there are very important. At every point, the
presiding monk must concentrate and invite the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and
celestial sages, according to proper ritual. He must also make use of the power
of sutras and dharanis, as well as the support of the
Three Gems, to summon sentient beings in the Six Realms and ten directions to
attend the service. In addition, all other monastics and participants are
expected to carry out the Dharma activities in strict compliance with the
regulations.
The inner
altar is a solemn place of great purity. Participants must therefore bathe
themselves and observe precepts of purification, so that their bodies and minds
are clean. The making of noise is prohibited and non-participants cannot enter
at will. The altar’s dignity and purity must be preserved, so that Dharma
activities therein will not be affected. These are the rules governing the
inner altar.
The outer
altar actually comprise many different sites. The main altar is largely for the
Penitence Rite of the Liang Emperor. The others are chiefly for the recitation
of sutras. They are open to the public and all are welcome to attend as they
wish.
The sea-land
service is special because it features many altars and a variety of Dharma
activities taking place simultaneously and in a single location. Its karmic
circumstances are most auspicious. Because the Dharma activities are different,
so is the strictness of demands made of their participants. Thus there is no
unfairness in the separation into inner and outer altars.
Most people
believe the inner altar of a sea-land service to be particularly auspicious.
Besides its strict requirements, which include a respectful and pious attitude,
the inner altar makes offerings to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and sacred Dharma
protectors. Before their images are placed a variety of quality offerings such
as flowers and fruits, as well as an array of fine objects. In a physical
sense, the scale and splendor of the decorations and offerings in the inner
altar cannot be compared with those at other altars or ordinary Dharma
services. It is understandable that expenses are higher, so participants must
be determined to support them and share in the accomplishment of the service.
QUESTION: Is the sea-land service
only for delivering the deceased?
ANSWER: The Ksitigarbha Sutra says, “as for the deceased, if their relatives
wish to benefit them and perform virtuous acts, they will receive one seventh of
the merit. Six sevenths will accrue to the living themselves …” This tells us
that whatever merit we dedicate to the deceased, we ourselves derive the
greatest benefit. So such merit actually profits both the deceased and the
living!
Some 60 or
70 monastics, even a hundred-odd, take part in a sea-land service. It has many
altars, simultaneously accommodating the reverencing of Buddhas, recitation of
sutras, rites of penitence … The sea-land service not only delivers the dead,
but augments the good fortune and longevity of the living. Beyond that, it
allows spirits in the Six Realms to partake of its benefits. Indeed, it is a
grand, auspicious service of abstinence and deliverance, bringing benefits to
all beings.