Licenses Expiring and Conditions Maturing

 

The following is from a thoughtful reader who took the time to respond to my question of how he came across our websites: 

I am a beginner in the practise of Pure Land Buddhism. Since young, I visit temples from time to time with my family. Although I consider myself a Buddhist, the right conditions never arise for me to learn more about Buddhism. 

In October of 2006, I decided to visit Nan Tien Temple in Wollongong which is around an hour south of Sydney. On the way to the temple, I was happily speeding along the highway till I was stopped by the traffic police for speeding. Other than a speeding ticket with a huge fine, it also came to my attention that my driver licence was about to expire. As such, I decided to renew my licence at the RTA (Road Traffic Authority) in Sydney the following week.

So one weekday morning the following week, I was walking to the RTA when I come across a sign advertising free distribution of Buddhism books. The shop that the sign was referring to was closed and I made a mental note to visit that shop one day. 

A few days later, I finished work early and decided to visit the shop. This was the first time I visited Maha Bodhi Buddhist Centre which is run by Mr Michael Chen and his wife Mrs Jennifer Chen. They are kind enough to introduce some books on Buddhism to me and since then I had been visiting them every few weeks.

After being formally introduced to Buddhism by Michael, my interest in Buddhism grew...I never looked back since.

When the seeds we have planted mature, conditions will be such that "coincidences" will occur. As we see in the above account, they can do so in most unusual ways. So we don't need to try to force things to happen. By according with proper conditions, as the reader did by renewing his license, the conditions will unfold naturally.  A shop will be noticed, a mental note to visit on another day will be made, and the visit will be paid. All through according with proper conditions.

Ninety-nine Faults

The Buddha taught us to have “a mind that embraces the expanse of space and encompasses the vastness of the universe.” He taught “Compassion is the essence, and expediency is the means.” He taught us to have loving-kindness and compassion, to end delusion and attain enlightenment, and to end suffering and attain happiness. If what we think, say, and do is the very opposite of his teachings, is this learning from the Buddha? No, this is going against the teachings of the Buddha. Such a person believes in his afflictions and residual habits. He believes in fame and wealth. He does not believe in the Buddha’s teachings.

What should we do if we wish to help propagate the teachings? We should start with ourselves. This is an era of democracy, freedom, and openness. For many, individual rights are considered to be of the utmost importance. Therefore, we must not interfere with others or criticize them. We can only examine ourselves to see if we have these faults. It is very important to start with examining ourselves. We should be modest and praise others, even when they praise themselves and disparage everyone else. If a person has ninety-nine faults and only one merit, we praise the merit and do not mention the ninety-nine faults or keep them in mind. We focus on cultivating our purity and goodness. If we do this, the Buddha’s teachings will have bright future to be passed on to many generations to come.

Buddhist practitioners should try to keep in contact and encourage one another often. If other Buddhists accept us, we can work together to propagate Buddhism and benefit others. If they do not accept us, we should not pressure them but respect their wishes.

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

What is "Renunciation"?

We often hear about renunciation in Buddhism. For the vast majority of Buddhists, renunciation does not mean giving up a worldly life and becoming a monastic. It means letting go of one’s attachments. The Buddha showed us how for he had no attachments to this world. Unfortunately, as ordinary beings we are still very much attached to the world in our every thought. Although the Mahayana teachings emphasize substance rather than form, if there is substance, it will certainly be reflected in form. Therefore, if our thoughts transcend this world, our behavior will reflect this.

How will our behavior reflect our thoughts of transcending the world? We will not be attached to anything in this world, be it a good reputation, money, or our five desires of wealth, lust, fame, food, and sleep. Our every thought will be like those of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. For ourselves, we come to this world to cultivate, which is to train and discipline our minds when we encounter various situations. We are here to test ourselves to see if we still have wandering thoughts and attachments to this world. For all other beings, we are here to teach and help them on behalf of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. We should have the Buddhas’ great compassion and skillful means to help all beings, who are suffering in this world.

We help different people achieve different goals. We help people with a superior capacity to end the cycle of birth and death, to transcend the Three Realms, and to be reborn in the Western Pure Land to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime. We help people with a medium capacity to end delusion and attain awakening and to advance to a higher stage in their cultivation. We help people with a dull capacity to plant the good roots of enlightenment.

In other words, regardless of a person’s capacity, we should benefit him or her impartially, like Buddhas and bodhisattvas do. On our part, we are impartial at the level of inner truth and the level of phenomena when it comes to helping beings. On the part of the beings, they are equal at the level of inner truth but are not equal at the level of phenomena. For example, when we teach Buddhism, we teach everyone to the best of our ability. But people will understand the teachings differently so some people will grasp more, others less. This is because every being’s good roots, good fortune, and conditions are different.

To renounce the world is to see through the truth of impermanence, to let go of all wandering thoughts and attachments, to attain freedom of mind and spirit, to accord with proper conditions, to be mindful of Amitabha Buddha, and to aspire to attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land.

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

Every Thought is a Karma

Our every thought is a karmic act. If a cause arises from wisdom, so then will the effect. If a cause arises from ignorance, so will the effect. Unfortunately, we plant causes mainly because of our ignorance, and this is why we have created innumerable transgressions in our past and present lifetimes. Most of the time, our bad deeds outweigh our good ones! If our good deeds had exceeded the bad ones, we would have already transcended the cycle of birth and death.

As long as we remain in this cycle, we will undoubtedly commit more bad than good deeds. Thus, we should be very cautious and mindful. Fortunately, as the Buddha tells us, our karma is not fixed and can be transformed. Since everything arises from our minds, our karmas also arise from our minds. Since our wrongdoings are created by our minds, then they can also be transformed by our minds.

Shouldn't, Wouldn't

One of Ajahn Chah's disciples had a knee problem that could only be corrected by surgery. Although the doctors had assured him his knee would be well in a couple of weeks, months went by and it still hadn't healed properly.

When he saw Ajahn Chah again, he complained saying, "They said it wouldn't take this long. It shouldn't be this way." Ajahn Chah laughed and said, "If it shouldn't be this way, it wouldn't be this way."

~ Ajahn Chah