Choices That Will Haunt Us for a Lifetime

A few nights ago, I was talking with someone who told me he had been listening to a talk I had given some years ago. In the talk, I had related a true story about a snake, a cat, and a compassionate husband and wife. You can read the blog entry that tells what happened here.  Essentially, a couple found a six-foot python in their bathroom.  Worried about their cat, yet not wanting to harm the snake, they called a snake catcher who caught the snake and released it unharmed in a safer habitat.

The person who had listened to the story at night later went to sleep. The next day, he listened to the news. One of the major stories was of a couple who found a snake.  But the husband's reaction was very different from the husband in the above account.  This man acted not out of compassion but more likely out of fear, and possibly anger. It is believed that he and his wife were trying to flush out the snake that was in a shed. The man's gun went off accidentally, and he shot his wife dead. They had four children.

Every moment, we decide what to do in the next. Every choice will have a consequence. What consequences?

The mind of understanding. Or the mind of fear.

Knowing that you had acted wisely. Or knowing that you had acted impulsively, without thinking.

A moment of knowing you did what was compassionate. Or a lifetime of knowing you had killed the mother of your four children.

One Who Has Enough

Maitreya will succeed Sakyamuni Buddha to become the fifth Buddha in the Saha world. He presently resides in the inner court of the Tusita heaven. Tusita is a Sanskrit word meaning “being aware that one has enough.” What is the criterion for attaining Buddhahood? To know that one has enough! One who is aware that one has enough will attain Buddhahood. Therefore, bodhisattvas who are waiting to succeed [become the next Buddha after the current one has entered parinirvana] Buddhas live in the Tusita heaven and not anywhere else.

Those who know that they have enough desire nothing. Those who are not content still have desires. In this sutra, Maitreya is listed here to signify that those who learn and practice this Dharma door are like bodhisattvas who are waiting to succeed Buddhas. This is truly a method that is hard to believe. But this is the truth, because when one practices this Dharma door, one will attain Buddhahood in one lifetime.

Maitreya is now in the Tusita heaven and in the future will descend to this world to manifest his birth and his attainment of Buddhahood. When we practice this Dharma door, we will be reborn in the Western Pure Land and, once there, we will learn from Amitabha Buddha. We will also perfectly attain Buddhahood in one lifetime. We do not have to wait until another lifetime. That is why Sakyamuni Buddha introduced the Western Pure Land to us.

…We Pure Land practitioners should emulate Maitreya: whenever and wherever we meet someone, we should always put our palms together and say “Amituofo” with a smile. We should not discriminate whether what this person says is good or bad. What he says should not affect us. If this person says something good, we reply with “Amituofo.” If this person says something bad, we also reply with “Amituofo.” We turn all right and wrong, and good and bad, into the thought of Amituofo, the thought of great compassion.

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

The Story of Maitreya

Maitreya appears as a layperson in India but as a monastic in China. The image of Maitreya is modeled on the monk Budai. Budai was a monk of the Southern Song dynasty. Nobody knew his real name. He carried a big cloth bag (budai) every day. When people made offerings to him, he would put the offerings in the bag. This is why people called him Budai Monk, and he became well known by this name.

He roamed the streets every day. When someone asked him what Buddhism was, he smilingly put the cloth bag on the ground, indicating that Buddhism teaches letting go. When asked what one should do after letting go, he picked the bag up, put it on his shoulder, and left. In other words, Buddhism teaches one to first let go of everything, and then, after one has let go, one takes up the helping of all beings. Budai was a bodhisattva. He answered the question without saying a word, and his answer carried a very deep meaning.

Budai did not die of any illness. He revealed his real identity as Maitreya incarnate at the end of his life, just before he died. Since then, in China, the image of Maitreya has been modeled on the monk Budai.

Ancient sages praised Budai as “having generated an impartial mind and having developed a joyful look.” This praise teaches us to be impartial to all beings and to look happy. “A joyful look” means that someone has a tender loving heart. It means the person has affection. Mahayana Buddhism often talks about compassion, which is affection. But this affection is not based on emotions. This is why Buddhism uses the term compassion instead of affection to avoid misunderstanding.

If the affection is sincere, pure, and impartial, and is based on wisdom, Buddhism calls it compassion. We can see that the affection of people of this world is insincere, impure, partial, and is not based on wisdom. Their affection is fickle, not everlasting. The affection of Buddhas and bodhisattvas towards all beings is eternal because they are not selfish, and they do not have wandering thoughts, discriminations, and attachments. Their affection flows from the true nature and accords with sincerity, purity, non-discrimination, and wisdom. So we should start our practice with generating an impartial mind and developing a joyful look.

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

Convenience is a Dangerous Thing

In the US when I wanted to buy something online, I conveniently charged it. (Don't worry; I'm a compulsive payer who pays even before the statement comes out.) Living in Australia now, I just ordered a solar oven from an online store, but there was no charge option.  Instead, the company's bank account was given so I could transfer the amount due from my bank account to theirs. Not quite as convenient.

But infinitely better. Because with this system, if you don't have the money, you can't spend it.

Unlike in the US, where if you don't have the money, you just borrow it from your friendly bank that's happy to send you a little piece of plastic. Dangerous plastic. When the statement comes in, you realize that you can't pay it off because, as you suddenly remember, you don't have the money. So you make a partial payment. And are charged an excessive rate of interest on the remaining balance.

As the interest and balance start to go up, you begin making minimum payments. And use your charge card more often. Then all the time. Then you start missing payments.

And you know the rest.

In a culture that scoffs at the idea of "living within one's means" as something one’s grandparents did, where an advertising industry spends millions of dollars a year to learn the subtleties of how to addict people to shopping, buying for cash has become an a rarity.  

Why is this on a Buddhist blog?

Because the Buddha lived a balanced life, a simple life. A life of contentment. A life without worry or fear. A life focused on selflessness and giving, not self-indulgence and instant gratification.  

From what I’ve seen, overall, life in Australia isn’t as convenient as life in the US. And that’s probably a very good thing. 

Better than TV – The Equine Perspective

We’re having a yard sale. Okay, okay, it's Charles and Celine who are having the yard sale and Nancy and Kelly are helping them. Don’t know where the nun is. Must be working on that silly computer again.

But we’re the official greeters! We don’t usually linger at the gate like this but honestly, all these people! It’s fascinating. They just keep coming. The upper pasture has become a parking lot with all the trucks and cars.

All this activity must be something like that TV that people stare at for hours every day. But this has to be soooo much better. TV is just a silly box that doesn’t even know you’re there.

This, on the other hand, is real! People keep talking to us and petting us and telling us how beautiful we are. Just wish they’d have thought to bring some carrots. Oh well, nothing is perfect.

But this has to be close.

Everybody is talking to one another and laughing. We’re all enjoying the beautiful clear weather after some wonderful days of rain. The dew is still on the grass and it’s all sparkly. (Probably like those stones people call diamonds but this sparkly grass can be enjoyed by everyone, and hey, it’s free!) The grass tastes yummy (although if anyone is reading this, a few carrots would make it even yummier, hint, hint!) The cats are lolling around on the verandah. We’re all breathing the beautiful, clean air.

And no one is watching that dumb TV.

~ By Jess and Chamele (for those who can't remember names, the black horse and the white horse)