Homemaker Bodhisattva

The other day I was listening to someone who was talking about his family. At one point, he was relating how much his wife disliked doing housework. And so to have a clean house, he cleaned it. Another person with us commented that it would be very different if only his wife could view the housework as a way of giving to her family.

Suddenly, I remembered something Teacher said many years ago:

If we are housewives, we practice giving when we do housework every day to make our houses comfortable for our families. A housewife without the mindset of giving would think that doing housework every day is tedious and boring. She would get tired of it. A Buddhist practitioner would think that she is practicing the Bodhisattva Path—the Six Paramitas—every day and is thus very happy.

A different mindset makes a world of difference.

We are practicing the paramita of giving because we give ourselves to our families.

But it does not stop here because we affect not just our families. If we take good care of our families and we become model families, we would be able to influence our neighbors, our relatives, and our friends.

This struck home because I'm sure we have all felt like that woman. Perhaps we found ourselves doing work we did not like to do. Perhaps we were given extra work to do when we were already very busy with our own. Or perhaps we were given something to do that was beyond our level of competence. 

Whatever the reason, we had something to do that we were unhappy with. Our mindset became one of resentment, frustration, self-pity. We became agitated. Or we just wanted to go to sleep. Whatever we felt, it wasn't good.

Then we remember—a different mindset makes a world of difference.

This is what practice is all about. Redirecting the mind from the negative to the positive. Transforming the mind with the practice of bodhisattvas, the practice of the first paramita, the paramita of giving.

Something to strive for—giving with the unrestrained, all-encompassing mind of an awakened being.

Real Buddhists Sit in Meditation. Right?

Question: Could you please send me an explanation as to why, as Pure Land Buddhists, we should always be Mindful of Buddha (Nien-Fo) and why we should chant the Buddhas name as much as possible. Our little Sangha thinks that I must be crazy to chant the Buddhas name. Real Buddhists sit in meditation. Maybe they will listen to you, they sure do not listen to me on this subject. :-)

Response: It takes three great eons—billions of billions of years—for us to become enlightened through personal practice. The Buddha attained enlightenment through meditation because he had practiced for those billions of years and had finally reached the point where he was just one breath away from enlightenment. He was able to let go of all attachments—all attachments—and to perfectly calm his mind. Perfectly and continuously. He was able to slip the boundaries of space and time, and perceive universal, unchanging truths.

This was something even the two most highly accomplished meditation masters of his time had not been able to accomplish. If even they were unable to match the Buddha's achievement, how can we be sure we can?

And what if we cannot?

We will continue to be reborn in the cycle of rebirth, to continue suffering. Unable to help ourselves. Unable to help others.

The Buddha knew this. And he taught the Pure Land method, taught us to single-mindedly chant "Amituofo" to end our suffering and that of others.

To attain lasting happiness and help others attain it as well.

So we're not crazy...we're doing what the Buddha wisely and compassionately advised us to do.

Twill Grows Up

We should repay the kindness of others;

we should let go of our anger.

Spend less time holding grudges

and more time repaying kindness.

Twill had been looking forward to the human’s picnic for weeks. As a teenage ant, he was too young to have been to one yet, but had heard all about them from listening to the older ants. There would be so much wonderful food there. And lots of ants too. Maybe he’d even get to meet some really cute girl ants.

 Twill was lost in his daydream when his mother called to ask if he had finished his chores and studied for his final exam. Since he hadn’t done either, he didn’t answer her. He knew that if his mother found out he would be stuck in the apartment and not get to hang out with his buddies. He decided he’d go see them now without telling his mother. There’d be plenty of time later for studying and chores.

He slipped out and quietly closed the front door behind him. He had only gone a dozen steps down the tunnel when his mother opened the door and stuck her head out. “Hello boys,” she called out to Twill’s friends at the end of the tunnel.

Then she looked at Twill. “Twill, have you finished studying and doing your chores?”

Twill was so embarrassed! Why did his mother have to treat him like a baby. He was a teenager for Pete’s sake! Twill gruffly retorted, ”I’m busy now, Mom.”

Twill’s mother stepped out into the tunnel and looked at him. Sighing, she said, “Twill, you’re not going anywhere until you finish your work. Back into the apartment. Now.” To Twill’s friends she said, “Twill will have to join you later after he’s done.” 

Twill stormed back into the apartment and angrily began doing his chores. As he was washing the dishes, putting out food for their pet grub, and packing the food his mother had fixed for the queen, he muttered to himself about how unreasonable his mother was. Why did she always go on about school and chores? Didn’t she know he had important things to do? He was almost an adult!

Was she always going to treat him like a child?

He was still very upset when he took out the trash. It was so unfair. And embarrassing. How would he ever face his friends again! He sat down on the ground, propped his elbows on a piece of wood and his chin on his hands. Why were parents always nagging their kids? If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. They never understood. Parents thought only about what they wanted their kids to do, not what their kids wanted.

After some time, he heard footsteps behind him. When he turned to see who it was, he saw that it was his mother.

“Son, I’m sorry you’re upset. You have chores to do because you’re almost an adult now, and I depend on you. And you have to study hard because a good final grade will get you that job you want.

“Twill, meeting our responsibilities is something we all need to do. And meeting them happily, or at least not unhappily,” she said as she smiled, “will make whatever we are doing more enjoyable.”

“Now, I have to get this seed inside. I came out here to find one because you’re going to need it for your final exam. After the picnic, when the other students start looking for them, they’ll be hard to find. I’ll go now and put it in your room for you.”

Twill watched his mother turn to leave. Now he felt terrible. Here he had been angry and complaining about her when, as usual, she had been thinking of helping him.

Not sure how to apologize, he called to her, “Mom?” She turned around to look at him.

Looking down at his feet, he said, “Thank you.” Then he looked up at her. “I really mean it. And I’m sorry.” The smile on her face could only come from a mother. He got up and ran over to the door. He opened it for her, and then helped her carry the seed back to his room.

It is better to remember the kindness of others

than to hold on to our anger.

No Longer Vexed

The path of practice can never be free of obstacles. Where there are people, there are disputes, annoyances, conflicts and all sorts of disagreeable  circumstances. Rather than expecting a smooth path, you ought to strengthen your will power when confronting difficulties. Remember, when your attention does not focus on adversities, you will neither cling to them nor be vexed by them. Then, you will be able to practice with an unfettered mind.

~ Analects of Master Kuang-ch'in

Like Looking Through a Gauze Curtain

People generally do not understand the meaning of Amitabha Buddha and thus disparage this practice. They think that chanting “Amituofo” is too easy and that anyone can do this, even a three-year-old child. No one understands the profundity of the name Amitabha Buddha. Who can fully understand it? Only Buddhas can fully understand the inconceivability of this name! In other words, even Equal-enlightenment Bodhisattvas cannot thoroughly understand it.

The understanding of Equal-enlightenment Bodhisattvas is compared to one’s looking at the moon through a gauze curtain. A person can see the moon through the gauze curtain, but there is still something between the moon and this person. To Equal-enlightenment Bodhisattvas, understanding the profundity of Amitabha Buddha is like looking at the moon through a gauze curtain. That is why this nianfo method is called a method that is hard to believe. One who truly believes has good roots and good fortune. It is aptly said in this sutra: “One cannot be born in this land with few good roots, good fortune, and favorable conditions.” Good roots, good fortune, favorable conditions, and belief—it is very difficult for one to have [all four].

~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra